Vacation in Orbit

Even with victory well in hand, Mach and company continue to exercise the wiser path of discretion. Aera sticks her next IV to herself, and supports it with a small boost of healing. For a wonder, she gets both of these actions right this time.

Meanwhile, Mach supports his huddling SPs in a less subtle manner. Clear of all confusion, he stabilises himself in the air, then hammers the floating Megalian with a line of all-purpose 'this-is-really-going-to-hurt'. Unsurprisingly, it does. The impact of the first shot is enough to let it tear through the protective aura, and the rest shred the virus beneath with a painful level of precision. The Megalian itself tries to dodge away, but holding steady, Mach tracks with it perfectly, and it can't escape the punishment.

Aera moves to Vector for some cover, and Vector obliges... though initially, he seems to interpret 'Give cover to Aera' as 'Try to crawl underneath her'. After an awkward moment, though, he gets it right on the second try, and holds his defence firm.

As Mach prepares to bring justice to their last foe standing, the annoying tactician Invader, his bold little fighter plane tries to make the best of its orders. Instructed first to attack a virus that was destroyed before it could try, it does a small loop and makes a run on the only target left in the cube instead. Between the sudden change, though, and the Invader trying desperately to flee to the ceiling, an unfortunate number of its shots go wide. Three of its tracers do manage to ping the moving target, though.

When it reaches the ceiling, battered and on its last legs, the Invader turns to look back, meaning to take a pot-shot at anyone that followed it, but it's right at that moment that Mach, in a moment of soul-crushing perfection, appears directly behind it and slashes the virus into oblivion. Job done, the navi drops back to the ground, with a little help from his thrusters, to rejoin his SPs in victory.

Mostly it's a not insignificant amount of Zenny that remains, and a scattering of BugFrags, but over in the corner, where the worst of the electrical mayhem took place, the Invader that Aera fried had reduced into some useful Chip data instead.

=Viruses=
Invader2A: DELETED
Invader2B: DELETED
Invader2C: DELETED
Invader2D: DELETED
Megalian-E2A: DELETED
Megalian-E2B: DELETED
Megalian-E2C: DELETED

=Terrain=
100% Metal [Split into 6 'walls' inside cube; any terrain-altering affects will only alter one wall at a time]

=Intruders=
MachMan: 250HP [8-hit Shield (Reinforced)][IV][Base][Buster Crash (2 turns)]
Aera.SP: 70HP [Shield Broken!][IV][Base]
Vector.SP: 28HP [2-Hit Shield (Reinforced)][Base]


-=Battle NAXA Rogue 6 Victory!=-

Spoils: 5900 Zenny, Synapse2, 67 BugFrags
Aera gets 33 BugFrags
Vector gets 33 BugFrags
Aera and Vector can decide who gets the last odd BugFrag.

Quote (Synapse2)

Damage: 120 + Piercing + Chain 3
Accuracy: B
Description: Produces a powerful ray through sheer force of thought, which arcs towards nearby enemies when it hits a target.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Special: Chain 3: This attack, upon striking a target, may change directions towards a new target. This may be done up to 2 times in one attack.

----------

There's barely a moment of quiet enough for everyone to gather up their rewards, before the floor that they're standing on lights up in a bright green light, while the other five sides of the cube light up red. The loud, omni-present voice returns, blaring into the space from all angles.

[Quarantine Enforced! Rebuilding Defence Barriers!] There's a lurch, then the cube begins to shift again, its panels rotating and realigning. It's almost like the Navi and his SPs are inside a giant rubix cube that someone is playing with. There are gaps in the walls, showing the passages they'd seen before, but they're fleeting glances, and booking it out of the cube while it's turning and spinning might be a bit dangerous.

[Reconfiguring... Reconfiguring...] The shifting and turning slows as the cube begins to settle on a new configuration. The red panels fade, but the green side remains lit, still with its gravity holding tight to the SPs, though it seems to have become the ceiling side now. As the shifting slows, the gaps out last a little longer. If they want out, this might be their last chance to leg it before the defence system tries to have another go at them.

[Intruders Assessed! Eliminating Intruders!] The little polyhedron hasn't blipped back into the cube just yet, but there's a good chance it's not far away.

Mach and company managed to make quick work of the remaining viruses, finally clearing the wonky battlefield. Aera and Vector were finally able to restore their program functions; Vector reconfigured his body plates to double check his functionality as Aera stretched and tried to loosen herself up before gathering up the spoils of the battle. Mach saw the glowing data in the corner, and made his way towards the prize. However, their reward gathering was rudely interrupted by sudden color, moving walls, and that cursed announcer.

Mach quickly looked around the room, noticing gaps appearing in the walls as the room reconfigured. It looks like they needed to exploit the gaps if they planned to escape. "Let's move!" Mach ordered, causing Aera to scramble as he himself dashed forward to retrieve the chip. Vector, on the otherhand, decided to capitalize on his own structure by flinging a wide array of body plates over the battlefield. The plates flitted around like insects, homing in on bits of bugfrags and zenny data before picking them up and bee-lining back to Vector's location.

With the configuration apparently nearing completion, the walls movements slowed, giving the group all the more reason to attempt an escape. After retrieving the battlechip data and uploading it to the PET, he jetted over to Aera just as her collected spoils disappeared, scooping her up in his arms. "Hang on," the Navi said calmly as he changed direction and darted towards Vector. Aera reached her hand out as they passed, grabbing Vector's own. The fractal SP looked at the pair with surprise as his arm effectively "stretched" along. Upon realising their intent, the rest of his body followed, quickly catching up to the pair.

Mazer was watching the walls movements as well as his Navi, trying to predict an opening. The idea was to try and pass through as soon as the gap opened, to give them the best chance of making it through without leaving something behind. If there wasn't a suitable gap ahead of the Navi, Mazer would have called out any potential gaps around in an attempt to guide him. However, Mazer knew Mach could process much more information at a much faster pace, so he wouldn't interject unless Mach appeared to be making a major error. With his thrusters burning brightly and providing more than enough thrust, he chose a gap nearby and attempted to pass through.


ACTIONS:
Mach: grab Aera
Aera: grab Vector
Vector: hang on
Mach: attempt to escape, with Aera and Vector in tow

Without wasting any more time than they dared, Mach picked his moment and made a break for it, scooping collecting his SPs and darting through one of the small gaps in the cube. Despite going as early as he dared, the wall closed shut with a very heavy sound indeed, just as the last of Vector's plates slipped though. That was very close.

Inside, the small polyhedron blinked in and fanned the cube in light, calling in more viruses, but Mach and Co. were already long gone. It didn't seem like it was going to be quite that easy, though. The corridor they found themselves in was made of the same uniform metal panelling, and as they ran, it was washed in a warning shade of red. The voice followed them, seeming to call out from all sides.

[i][Quarantine Breached! Quarantine Breached![/i] It was joined by the sound of an emergency tone, sounding repeatedly, though it didn't make the voice itself any harder to hear. [Defense Barriers Extrapolating... Extrapolating... Vulnerable Partitions Formatting to Advanced Quarantine!]

The corridor they were in had been long and square until this point, but now it changed. The red wash of light began to pulse in time with the claxton, and the central panel on each side, including the ceiling and floor, turned to the side and disappeared, leaving a worrying void.

Without any further warning, the four extended sections that their passageway had been rendered into, divided. The four corners slid away from each other, opening the gaps between them wider and wider, and taking Mach with them. They stopped a fair distance apart, and then began to grow and extend again, as more metal panels flipped out from the existing ones. They grew until each corner had a waist high skirting, and was wide enough to stand comfortably on, but more fascinating was the direction and extension that the reformation took. By the time the operation stopped, what had once been a long, solid corridor had become something that resembled a wire-frame diamond prism, with three floors.

The first, where Mach and the others were standing, was little more than the skirting path around the centre of the prism, complete with waist-high panel guards. The same guard panels extended downward underneath, as well. The other two 'floors' wee located close to the apex of the diamond, where the with of the path made an almost complete floor as it ran around, with only a small hole in the centre, and another identical platform down the bottom.

Curiously, the same wall-oriented gravity seemed to be in effect here, as previously. It remained normal while they walked on any of the floor levels, but with an effort, it would be possible to put one's feet on the joining sides of the wireframe, and become oriented to it instead. Perhaps this also meant that the undersides of the platforms would hold them as well?

If the gravity was determined to keep their feet on panels one way or the other, that was probably the good news. The bad was that, outside their diamond prism, inky blackness seemed to surround them completely. Even looking up, they couldn't see the normal starry night sky, but simply more black void.

The Polyhedron that had missed them before winked into existence in the centre of the space. When the voice came this time, it was still omni-present, but seemed to emanate from the little object more than anywhere else.

[Intruder Analysis Accounted For! Advanced Quarantine In Effect! Dispensing Cleaning Protocols! Eliminating Intruders!]

The light show focused mostly on each of the prism's vertices this time, but others scattered along different points of the perilous arena. As the viruses began to show up, there seemed to be something very wrong about all of this. If this was a security system, shouldn't it be trying to purge viruses... and not actively using viruses to purge navis? There was little time to ponder the matter, though.

Atop the two apexes of the diamond, on the outside of the panels, the light beams brought in a pair of many-armed viruses, heavy-looking and with a large sphere instead of legs, they each flexed and spun a total of six free-floating arms about themselves.

Further inward, on each of the mid-section layers, two green Satellites phased in, small lights blinking as they prepared to seek their targets. Finally, on the the central pathway in the two corners nearest Mach and co, and directly opposite each other, a pair of CannonGuards rose from the metal panels in each corner, both pointing towards the intruders. Like this, snugged against the rising edges, they had their back and one side to the panels, with only their tops and inside edge exposed.

Their floating septahedronal tormentor spun around once, then twitched, as though glitching out, before winking out of existence again. Though not quite, it seemed. Something was left behind after it was gone: a floating blue crystal suspended in the very centre of the much greater diamond.


-=Viruses=-

VishiegeA: 180Hp [Atop the peak of the diamond wireframe]
Satellite2A: 200Hp [On the upper platform]
CannonGuard2A: 150Hp [Central Corner]
CannonGuard2B: 150Hp [Central Corner]
Satellite2B: 200Hp [On the lower platform]
VishiegeB: 180Hp [Upside down, atop the very bottom point of the diamond wireframe]

-=Terrain=-

Metal: 80%
Missing: 20%

Metal panelling in the wire-frame form of a large diamond prism, completely hollow. All lines are wide enough to walk comfortably on, but no more. They have additional panelling that act as rails, though they only come up to waist height. There are additional 'wires' part way up and down from the top and bottom vertices, effectively marking the area off into quarters. These two lines of panelling are at points narrow enough on the diamond that they almost form a complete platform, save a small gap in the centre.

-=Objects=-

Blue Mystery Data: 30HP [Dead centre of the diamond wireframe, floating free]


Terrain Notes: As before, all surfaces maintain self-orienting gravity. In this case it would be quite possible to step off an interior ledge, and 'fall' around to be standing on the underside, or move around as though on a level plan, on any side. The missing panel notation represents the fact that, while the gravity is localised to the panel,s it is just that; local. There is no purchasable surface beyond the wireframe itself, and as a result ejection is much easier than usual in this environment.

-=Naxa Rogue Battle 7, Start!=-

MachMan glanced back after passing through the aperture, and was relieved to see Vector made it through as well. Aera continued to ride calmly in Mach's arms, and held Vector's hand firmly to keep the SP in tow as they went through what looked like a long corridor. However, it seemed they were still in the automated system's area of influence, and it quickly reacted to the group's attempted escape. "Here we go again," Mach groaned as he activated his defensive shielding. Aera did the same before being deposited on the platform that formed beneath the group. Vector also stood firmly on the floor and looked around at the new battlefield. ["This is new,"] Mazer chimed in, looking over the battlefield. ["Looks like you're all in the center of a MD wireframe, with one platform above and below you, yet nothing else outside of this structure."]

Mach and Aera both tried to cage their bearings, combining their observations with the visualization of Mazer's description. Aera also summoned an IV pack before placing it on Vector's back, her hands easily passing through the growing cloud of defensive metal plates orbiting the fractal Navi. It was a smart move, because their polyhedron "friend" reappeared and brought a series of viruses to the battlefield before disappearing, leaving a blue Mystery Data in its place. At least it left a gift for the "intruders...." A pair of CannonGuards materialized in another corner of their platform, revealing an immediate threat to the group. "Mazer, requesting SummonBlack1!" Mach called out. Mazer quickly slotted the chip through the PET, ["Uploaded. Looks like you a Satellite on each platform, and some multi-armed viruses on the poles of the frame. Uploading a BigHammer and AirShot as well!"]

Mach nodded in acknowledgement and activated the SummonBlack as well as his twin decoy drones. A black, swirling portal materialized in the void ahead, prompting an inky black NightMare virus to rise into existence. It's pointy body was covered in tattoo-like runes that glowed a bright crimson, and traced all the way down to its single wickedly-curved blade. Without warning the virus vanished, only to reappear directly behind the pair of turret-like CannonGuards. It immediately brought its blade to bear, delivering a wide horizontal slash in an attempt to cleave both viruses in half. After its potential assassination of the CannonGuards the NightMare bled into the void and disappeared out of sight. During that time, Vector directed several of his protective body plates to Aera's nearly transparent energy shield to provide a couple extra layers of protection as the female SP healed herself. She then directed a much larger amount of recovery data to Vector, causing green electrical energy to arc amongst his body plates, restoring energy and program alike.

Mach's wings slid into position and began to spool up. "I'll take high, you two take low. Stay frosty and don't stray too far, alright?" "Will do, happy hunting!" Aera replied as Vector nodded dutifully. Mach flashed a thumbs up before he disappeared in a burst of cyan light, teleporting away. Vector took the opportunity to support Aera before they moved out. He left behind his two decoys, and they quickly glanced over towards the SPs in unison before flitting away, going up and over the outer wall before making their way towards the bottom of the wirefram. "Hold still for a moment, my queen," the SP advised as his body started to become more and more like a formless cloud of metal. Aera looked over to Vector and nodded, prompting the fractal SP to stream over her and reconfigure as her own personal armor. Aera couldn't help but smile as Vector's body plates floated and fastened themselves into place, while it didn't enhance any of her capabilities, she couldn't help but imagine herself transforming into a superhero of sorts, and had to resist striking a "hero pose." Vector's plates formed a nearly complete set of armor for Aera, consisting of angular greaves pointing up to the serrated blade-like skirt around her waist. Her upper torso was covered by something akin to an armored corset/breastplate, with a pair of angular pauldrons covering her shoulders and vambraces over her forearms. Additionally, several metal plates secured themselves to Aera's ear pylons and angled over her eyes, forming a solid angular visor while others extended the length of the pylons and wrapped around her forehead like a makeshift tiara. Though the visor was of solid metal construction, a display came to life in front of her eyes, showing exactly what she'd see if the visor was transparent. Vector's cycloptic red eye appeared on the outer face of the visor, so he could also have a visual on their surroundings.

Though Aera would've prefered a moment to admire the armored outfit, she took action and took hold of the wall behind her before flipping over the edge. She attempted to move to the underside of the platform of which she once stood, utilizing the panels' exclusive gravity fields (as well as stabilization of her wing thrusters) to keep her anchored to the structure. Once reaching the underside of the platform, she would attempt to stand up essentially inverted compared to her original position, looking "up" at the Satellite2B on the lower platform. While Aera and Vector attempted to perform their best gecko impersonation, MachMan immediately materialized directly behind the Vishiege on the northern pole of the wireframe, wielding a massive hammer. The hammer looked very heavy, and could be fairly accurately described as an "Anvil on a Stick" The face of the hammer was a nearly flat square, but it formed into a circular spike-like point on the opposite end. Mach held the hammer with both hands, and didn't perform an overhand swing to deliver the hammer directly down towards the Vishiege's head and body with crushing force. After hopefully smashing the virus like an arm-covered watermelon, the hammer fragmented and disappeared as Mach jetted straight down, in an attempt to evade potential counterattacks.

Once Aera secured her position on the "ceiling" above the Satellite, she pointed her arm to the virus, sending out an invisible magnetic beam. If caught, the tractor beam-like pull would drag the Satellite closer to Aera. Once in range, a white-hot bolt of lightning would arc from her right hand and stream down the magnetic beam towards the virus, delivering a paralyzing shock. A few pieces of Vector's armor flaked away from Aera before floating beside her like a dagger before being flung towards the virus, following the electrical attack. Hopefully the combined attack would deal a significant amount of damage to the virus, and possibly leave it at least temporarily disabled. The decoys had their focus set on the Vishiege hanging out at the bottom of the battlefield, and tried to draw the virus's attention away from the two SPs by cutting quick arcs over and around the virus, like a pair of aircraft putting on a show.

Mach continued down, passing the peak of the wireframe before perching himself on the underside of the battlefield's north pole. As he did so, he activated his AirShot chip, causing his right hand and forearm to reconfigure into a highly modified buster. The barrel of the buster had several step-downs near the muzzle, and two fist-sized accumulator tanks mounted on the 10 and 2 O'clock positions on the buster itself. Each accumulator rapidly built up the required pressure needed as Mach aimed towards the Satellite in a similar fashion to his female SP. After securing the target in his sights, he fired the weapon with a sharp *pop.* Like Aera, he too fired off an invisible projectile, but this one consisted of highly pressurized air, and had enough kinetic energy to send his target reeling backwards. With any luck, the satellite would bounce off the floor and out of position, get launched into the void, or even pin-ball amongst the surfaces of the battlefield. However, the satellite could either avoid the attack, or the virus itself could get ricocheted into its attacker. To hopefully prevent debris collision/counterattack, Mach kicked on his thrusters again to dash a limited distance down the inner surface of any of the four beams making up the upper portion of the wireframe.


ACTIONS: -[Passive Haste, Accuracy Enhancement, Dodge x2, Decoy x2]-
1. Heavy Shielding: MachMan (6-hit shield + 3TCD)
Aera: Repulsion Shield (2-hit shield + 1TCD)
-[IV: Vector (Heal 5 per action)]-
Vector: Orbital Blade Defense System (2-hit shield + 1TCD)
2. SummonBlack1: CannonGuard2A,B (160dmg + Slashing + Wide Attack {max 3 targets})
-[Reinforce: Repulsion Shield (+2 Hits)]-
-[Recharge: Aera (Heal 18)]-
Aera: Electrotherapy to Vector (Heal 72 + 2TCD)
Vector: Equip to Aera
Aera: move over outside wall to the underside of the platform
3. SCRAM Boost: Teleport behind VishiegeA (Teleport + 2TCD)
4. BigHammer2: VishiegeA (220dmg + Break + Impact)
-[Dodge]-
Aera: Magbolt1 to Satellite2B (90dmg Elec + Stun + Magnet pull) [+25 elemental bonus/single target bonus dmg]
Vector: Attack Satellite2B (40dmg Aqua + Disarm)
5. Movement: Transfer to underside of diamond peak for clear Line Of Sight of Satellite2A
6. AirShot3: Satellite2A (120dmg + Microburst)
-[Dodge]-

DecoyA: Dash to VishiegeB, then orbit
DecoyB: Dash to VishiegeB, then orbit

Without wasting any time, Mach and Co. raised their defences as Aera began to restore some of their damage, but this time the Viruses had ported in ready to blitz, and their shields were barely up before each of the cannons let loose their first shots, striking Aera and Vector respectively. The shields held, and Mach was already responding with his dark summon. By some unfortunate miscarriage of ill-luck, however, the nightmare's brutal slash seemed to pass across its target without so much as scratching it. Had it actually missed a stationary target? How?

There was no time to ponder misfortune though, and they wasted no time in reinforcing damaged shields and spreading around more healing energy. At the top and bottom of their precarious arena, the two Vishiege were also fired up and on the warpath, each letting loose with a flurry of long-range fists. The lower one sent three fists screaming towards Mach, who deftly managed to dodge the only one that actually looked to hit him. The other one, was also gunning for Mach himself, but it was distracted by the two decoys harassing it, and spent two of its strikes battering them away. It's third fist arced out and inward again dead on target for the real Mach, but passed through the space he had been in just as the navi teleported away.

Meanwhile, Aera underwent an amazing transformation that vaguely resembled the offspring of a magical girl and a transformer, giving Vector the chance to enjoy having a pretty girl inside him. The Cannons fired again at the unified SPs, though one missed completely and the other only managed to damage the their shielding a little more.

As Aera began to reposition, MachMan appeared right behind the uppermost Vishiege, uncomfortably large hammer raised high overhead. It raised its three remaining arms in front of itself, as though to defend against the incoming crunch, but very little withstand the might of that blow. Certainly not the Vishiege, who got crushed into a broken mechanical mess.

Aera had just positioned herself in prime attack position directly 'below' the lower Satellite, but it chose that moment, to send out its scanning lock-on beam, beginning in a straight vertical position. This meant the beam started right on Area's forehead, and didn't need to move at all before its sights locked. Its boosters fired, beginning to take off, but Area had no intention of letting it get away. There was a hanging moment where the Satellite's boosters struggled for altitude, while Aera's magnet fought to drag it back to her. Then, as the two forces struggled, it wavered over the gap in the platform, decided it was high enough, and switched to its attack.

Two things happened at once: It sent a barrage of painfully accurate tracer shots directly back down at Aera, and its thrusters stopped. The result was a rapid-fire crash down as the Satellite itself was pulled down to Aera and Vector's position almost as quickly as the bullets it was firing. The tracers weren't particularly damaging, but they were very effective at shredding through both Aera and Vector's remaining shields, with only two shots failing to find their mark. With their shields riddled, Vector's own armour plating bore the brunt of the remaining five shots, completely protecting Aera from harm, but at a painful cost himself. It was lucky he'd just been healed up to full, but unfortunate he hadn't managed to stay there long (Vector -45).

On the bright side, Aera did indeed manage to slam the expensive-looking orbital virus to the panel beside her and blast it apart with a righteously vengeful electrical bolt. Vector also managed to chip in an attack of his own, but it only stirred the already crumpled wreckage, a bit belated and after the fact. Forgivable, given the punishment he'd just taken on his fellow SP's behalf.

At the other end of the diamond, Mach was getting into position to deal with his own Satellite. He took up the same position, and as this one began its targeting sweep, achieved the same result: a red laser-light bullseye painted directly on his forehead. The Satellite immediately took off to begin its attack, but rather than Pull, Mach opted to Push, beating away the Satellite with a beautiful swing. His shot was good, flinging it cleanly through the central gap in its platform at a screaming pace. As luck would have it, though, throwing the satellite away in a perfectly straight line didn't interfere with its targeting lock, and it fired off its barrage of tracers back at Mach as it sailed away.

Nine of its shots went true, and despite Mach's efforts at dodging, he just couldn't seem to get out of the line of fire or the Satellite's enhanced targeting capabilities. The hail of weak-yet-numerous bullets beat through Mach's shields, and three of them managed to inflict some minor damage to the navi (-27). The satisfying crunch as the Satellite crashed down, badly damaged, right next to Aera at the other end, on the other side of it's destroyed companion, while humorous, was only a small consolation.


-=Viruses=-

VishiegeA: DELETED
VishiegeB: 180Hp [Counter Set]
CannonGuardA: 150Hp
CannonGuardB: 150Hp
SatelliteA: 80Hp [Pinballed to Aera's end]
SatelliteB: DELETED


-=Allies=-

MachMan: 223Hp [BusterCrash (1 turn)][Shield Broken!][Metal]
Aera.SP: 88Hp [Shield Broken!][Magical-Girl-Transformer-Mode Go!][Metal]
Vector.SP: 65Hp [Shield Broken!][Being Worn Like a Cheap Suit]


-=Terrain=-

Metal: 80%
Missing: 20%

Metal panelling in the wire-frame form of a large diamond prism, completely hollow. All lines are wide enough to walk comfortably on, but no more. They have additional panelling that act as rails, though they only come up to waist height. There are additional 'wires' part way up and down from the top and bottom vertices, effectively marking the area off into quarters. These two lines of panelling are at points narrow enough on the diamond that they almost form a complete platform, save a small gap in the centre.

-=Objects=-

Blue Mystery Data: 30HP [Dead centre of the diamond wireframe, floating free]


Terrain Notes: As before, all surfaces maintain self-orienting gravity. In this case it would be quite possible to step off an interior ledge, and 'fall' around to be standing on the underside, or move around as though on a level plane, on any side. The missing panel notation represents the fact that, while the gravity is localised to the panels, it is just that; local. There is no purchasable surface beyond the wireframe itself, and as a result ejection is much easier than usual in this environment.

((Was Vector's IV destroyed, or is it still active?))

Their foes proved to be even more capable than they thought, the team was quickly stripped of their shields and took a sufficient amount of hits. However, they were still fit to fight, and they managed to make a good dent in the enemy's force. Looking back down at the battlefield, Mach quickly formulated a plan as he tasked his NetOp for chips. "Mazer, let's try out the new Synapse chip, and I'll also need the CannonBall, DashAttack2, and Magnum as well." As Mazer retrieved and began slotting in the chips, Mach recieved a quick message from Aera, reading [[i]We'll take care of the Satellite, and try to incapacitate the Vishiege.[/i]] The two SPs were several platforms below, but a Satellite had been bounced down to their area. Aera's "armor" briefly glowed green as she restored some of Vector's energy.

Mach's thrusters ignited, sending the Navi down towards the platform from which they first started. Two of his decoy drones materialized nearby to replace their fallen counterparts, and quickly copied the Navi before zooming off to their commanded areas. One surged ahead and went down to the center of the middle platform, in an attempt to draw the attention of the CannonGuards as Mach jetted down behind the first CannonGuard. The other made its way to the southern pole of the wireframe to further pester the Vishiege perched there. Though the two were spread out, the Invaders' attacks seemed to have a significant amount of range, and their associated chip might have enough reach to touch both targets. However, he had a plan B just in case. Oddly enough the chip didn't require a weapon, it prompted Mach to concentrate on the turret. Without warning, a cyan ray of energy blasted from Mach's forehead towards the CannonGuard. If it connected, Mach willed the energy to arc across the platform to its counterpart to deliver a powerful dose of electric current. It was an odd attack, but Mach surmised he could use to great effect, especially with clustered targets.

If the energy didn't have enough oomph to reach the CannonGuard, or the virus reacted quickly enough to block the attack with its armored shutter, Mach would've fallen back to his alternate plan. A perfectly spherical, dark gray ball materialized in his right hand. Though the cannonball was quite heavy, Mach managed to wield it without any major issue, almost taking a pitcher-like stance as he verified his aim. He then whipped the cannonball forward with an overhand throw, aiming at the dead center of the turret. Even if the virus closed its shield-like shutters, the cannonball would hopefully punch through. After throwing the orb at his target, Mach dashed to the side, trying to fall in behind one of the four rising edges to avoid counter fire.

While Mach engaged the turrets, Aera and Vector had their sights on the Satellite. Aera raised her right hand towards the virus while a pair of metal plates hovered just past her shoulders. Electricity flowed from her internal capacitor programs and down her arm and hand before arcing from her palm towards the virus in the form of a blindingly white lightning bolt. Upon impact the bolt exploded, sending smaller streams of electrical discharge through the immediate area. Vector followed up by flinging the two slivers of metal at the virus as well, hoping to finish the target off so they could focus on their next objective.

Now on the outer spar of the wireframe, pointing down towards the southern pole and the remaining Vishiege, Mach quickly prepped his dash attack chip. The thrusters on his wings and feet were primed and ready to go. After a final check on his expected trajectory, Mach kicked his thrusters to full power, sending himself zooming towards the virus at a rapidly increasing speed. The "air" around him could barely get out of the way in time, forming a pressurized veil of data over the Navi. Mach reached his desired attack speed and maintained it as he attempted to blast his way through the Vishiege's position. After doing so, he cut power to his wing and boot thrusters temporarily as the thrusters on his chest ignited like a pair of retro-rockets. Once he managed to kick his feet out in front of himself, and his wing binders repositioned foward, he relit them as well to attempt to stop himself quickly. He groaned under the strain, but his program was designed to hold up to rapid direction changes, being a speed Navi and all.

Mach turned back to the Vishiege, raising his right arm as he activated the Magnum chip. Data streamed over his forearm before quickly manifesting itself in the form of a large trio of heavy cannon. The chambers of each barrel were open, revealing the artillery-caliber armor-piercing incendiary rounds briefly before their respective slides slammed shut, driving each of the rounds home with three heavy metal clacks. Mach adjusted his weapon's positioning to refine his aim on the Vishiege. A green crosshair appeared in his vision, which quickly turned into a red diamond once it fell upon the center of multi-armed virus's body. He triggered the weapon, causing it to fire a single round with a loud boom and a flash of orange flame. The recoil was substantial, but the slide slamming to the rear helped disperse some of the force, as well as eject the nearly 1 foot long brass shell casing. The round was designed to punch through heavy armor, and even terrain, as well as immolating anything in its path. "Requesting TankCannon." Mach added as his eyes darted over the battlefield, attempting to locate other targets. His first priority would be to blast the Satellite to pieces if his SPs were unable to bring it down themselves, with the second priority being one of the CannonGuards, if he had a clear line of fire.

Aera and Vector had also shifted their focus to the Vishiege. Aera ran/boosted her way over the platform in an attempt to get herself in range of her target, touching down lightly and reacquired her foe. By the time she repositioned herself, Mach had already blasted past and fired a salvo of artillery rounds. Seeing her Navi was out of the line of fire, she raised her arms and pointed them towards the Vishiege. Her arms acted to direct the energy she quickly built up in her capacitor programs, charging them to the point of overload while Vector attempted to steel himself. Once reaching the limits of their capacity, she purged the programs in one burst, causing an explosion of light and electrical power. Since Vector was grounded to the SP, he was largely unaffected by the electric discharge. The surge of power created a magnetic pulse, which streamed down between her arms towards the virus. If it hit, the virus would hopefully be stricken with an array of cognitive errors and glitches, similar to what Mach and the gang experienced only a few minutes prior.

With the requested chip uploaded, thanks to Mazer, the triple-barreled cannon fragmented and collapsed down into a slightly smaller gun with a single barrel. This one looked more like a battle tank's main gun. He directed his aim back to the Vishiege, which briefly cast a large shadow from Aera's abrupt light show. He tried to put his crosshairs directly over the virus's main body before firing. The cannon went off with a similarly loud boom, but with a larger barrel flash accompanied by a significant plume of white smoke. Mach's thrusters barked as they attempted to keep him from being driven back, even though the barrel itself slid backwards several inches to disperse some of the recoil. The cannon fragmented moments later and disappeared, and Mach started to reassess the battlefield once again to plan out his next steps if need be.


ACTIONS: -[Passive Haste, Accuracy Enhancement, Dodge x2, Decoy x2]-
-[Recharge: Vector.SP (Heal 18)]-
1. Movement: Dive down to middle platform, behind CannonGuards
2. Synapse2: CannonGuardA, B (120dmg Elec + Piercing + Chain3)
3. CannonBall: CannonGuardB (150dmg + Breaking)
-[Dodge]-
Aera: Attack SatelliteA (50dmg Elec + Spread1)
Vector: Attack SatelliteA (40dmg Aqua + Disarm) x2
4. DashAttack2: VishiegeB (120dmg + Impact + LineAttack(5) + Movement)
-[Dodge]-
5. Magnum: Vishiege, SatelliteA, CannonGuardA (120dmg Fire + Breaking + Panel Breaking x3 targets)
Aera: Move into line of sight of VishiegeB
Vector: Brace
Aera: Telsla Pulse to VishiegeB (Confusion + 2TCD)
6. TankCannon3: VishiegeB (160dmg)


DecoyA: Move in front of the CannonGuards to draw fire
DecoyB: Move to Vishiege to draw fire

(The IV Broke during the bullet storm, when Vector took direct damage — I should have recorded as much though, you're right)

The team barely miss a beat, despite the heavy opening barrage, as Mach repositions to play mind games with the CannonGuards. The first focuses on Mach's decoy, taunting it from the centre, and dangerously close to the Mystery data hanging there, just as Mach swoops in behind to sear it into data fragments with a blistering bolt mind power. The blistering tail of lighting arcs out ward, crossing straight across the wide gap towards the other Cannon, but fizzles out before it makes it halfway. This is a good thing, since that mystery data would have been right in the line of fire if it hadn't.

The other cannon manages to take a shot, but it wavers at the last moment, trying to switch target to the real Mach, and the shot goes wide. Mach returns fire with a heavy cannonball of his own, but it seems as though his normal targeting system isn't quite compensating for the variable gravity quite well enough, and the heavy shot crashes harmlessly into the rising spar beside the cannon instead. For a stationary auto-gun, this one seems to have an annoying amount of good fortune.

Meanwhile, elsewhere: The damaged Satellite begins sweeping its surrounds with its targeting laser again, as it attempts to tip-assist itself back to launch position. Aera and Vector are right there, in its face, and, naturally, it locks them. Alas for the beleaguered orbital instrument, the close proximity of the two SPs also means it gets quickly over-loaded and torn apart even as it begins its launch cycle. It barely makes it off the ground before beginning to disintegrate.

More prepared for his fellow SPs ability to overkill things on the conductive metal terrain, Vector doesn't waste his follow-up attack, but redirects it, the small metal plate shooting upward tot eh remaining CannonGuard above. The Cannon in question was just aiming down at the pair, and opening its muzzle in preparation to fire, when Vector's plate strikes and lodges neatly in the shutter, causing a nasty system jam. The result; some minor damage to the cannon, which also fails utterly to fire.

On the outside of the prism, Mach moves into position to complete a triumvirate of baseball similes; from batter, to pitcher, and now a very impressive base-runner. As he does, his target unleashes three of its floating fists in a warning to stay back, but of the two aimed at Mach himself, one goes wide, and he easily dodges out of the way of the second as he prepares to dash. The third first is sneakier, passing by Mach and striking its actual target, the vector-clad Aera, in the back. Ever the guardian, Vector is already braced up for anything, and absorbs the hit for her with ease. (Vector -7)

It's too late for the virus to do anything else as Mach makes a perfect dash along the thin strip of panels, crashing through the Vishiege with such speed and force that it reels back on its metal ball, completely unable to counter the assault like it had intended to. Its hardened outer body let it shrug off the worst of the actual damage however, and it lashes out with its remaining three arms instead. Unfortunately for Mach, he's only just killed his momentum as the vengeful fists rocket towards him, and though he tries his best to dodge, he's caught exposed for the moment, and the two that were on target manage to connect. (-15 x 2) Who knows what the third one was doing.... it was miles off.

At this point, it seems Mach is quite finished playing around, and lines up a panel-rending force of destruction with a triple of magnum shells. He aims well, punching through the Vishiege in a clean line that sees the other two shots neatly into obliterating the last CannonGuard Seems its luck finally ran out. Aera and Vector show up a moment later to help finish up, but that that point, the only things left to clean up are the piles of Zenny. By good fortune, none of their new-found wealth falls into the void. One oddity remains: With their controlling Vishiege destroyed, the three arms that were out at the time regroup to float in a disconsolate and confused circle, have a quick round of rock-paper-scissors with each other, then promptly collapse into a neat packet of chip data next to MachMan.

In the centre of the prism, The Blue Mystery Data glows brightly for a moment or two, and, being free of even the possibility of foul play, proceeds to open on its own... revealing Zenny. Lots of Zenny.


-=Viruses=-

VishiegeA: DELETED
VishiegeB: DELETED
CannonGuardA: DELETED
CannonGuardB: DELETED
SatelliteA: DELETED
SatelliteB: DELETED


-=Allies=-

MachMan: 193Hp
Aera.SP: 88Hp
Vector.SP: 76Hp

-=Battle 7 Victory!=-

Spoils: 4570z, MeteorKnuckle2, 54 BugFrags

Blue Mystery Data: 8400z

Quote (MeteorKnuckle2)

Damage: 40 + Impact + Break + Knockback + Variable Targeting x 3 Fists
Accuracy: B
Description: Launches a triple rocket punch. Each fist targets separately.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Variable Targeting: Allows the user to select a target for each individual hit of an attack. This means they may strike the same target multiple times, multiple different targets, or a mix of the two as they wish.

-------------------

By the Time Mach and Co. have gathered their spoils, the prism-shaped wireframe of panels has begun to move again. Thankfully, this time it's just collapsing down into a flat, solid diamond platform, with a thin path of metal panels folding out of themselves into a long pathway that led away in two directions. Now that the fighting was done with, however briefly, it could be seen that the dark void they'd been surrounded by was quite limited in scope, and following either pathway, be it outwards, or deeper in, would soon put them back on more solid ground.

The battlefield finally quieted down, Mach and company's strategies mostly paid off. However, Mach did take several hits in the exchange of fire between him and the Vishiege. There were still some scrapes and dents on his armor from the virus's array of fists, but overall he was still in good shape. The stillness of the field was interrupted by some of the virus's left over arms, prompting Mach to raise his buster defensively. However, the arms played a quick round of rock-paper-scissors before disappearing, leaving a packet of battlechip data behind. "This place just gets weirder and weirder..." Mach muttered as he retrieved the chip data, downloading it to his PET.

His SPs gathered up the spoils as well while he moved over to the BMD. It opened and deposited its spoils on the platform. Mach picked it up, his eyes widened a bit as he saw the zenny total. He whistled as it disappeared, "Check this out, Mazer." A similar reaction flashed on Mazer's face a second or so later, and the total continued to grow as Aera picked up more zenny and bugfrags scattered over the battlefield. [[i]"Wow, you guys hit pay dirt here! This'll have us set for at least a couple Navi shop runs,"[/i]] Mazer replied. Vector, still acting as Aera's armor, sent a few metal blades to assist her in gathering up the spoils. In the end, they scored nearly 13K, as well as a sizable amount of bugfrags.

The battlefield started to reformat itself again, prompting Mach to jet over to his SPs. He didn't want them to get separated in the field shift, but it seemed moot as the wireframe folded down into a simple platform. Two walkways folded out, one leading back from where they came... they think, and the other possibly deeper in. The group noticed a distinct lack of a klaxon or polyhedral warning systems, so maybe it was a point of respite? "Hm... well, want to keep going? Aera looked over to Mach, and Vector's eye on the visor peered over at the Navi. Aera nodded with a smile, "Sure, let's see where this leads!"

Vector didn't protest as Aera walked next to Mach as they made their way down one of the pathways, hopefully deeper into whatever strange system they've stumbled upon.

((Ready for Battle #8 or whatever's next))

The lack of any continued warning claxon or alarms was probably a relief to all concerned, however, as they left behind the reformatted void and returned to more stable surroundings, their harassing 'friend' returned as well. As it had shown signs of before, it now jittered slightly and seemed to glitch-phase its actual location to the left and right of the trio as it followed along in front of them.

It didn't seem inclined to keep silent, either, which really was a pity.

[Critical Fail- Failure in Quarantined Sectors! Contamination Spreading! Contamina- Contaminant... Cont- Contaminants Spreading!]

The area they passed through into, as the little polyhedron shouted, was a much wider, open area. A series of steps climbed upward now, as broad as the chamber itself, with a large double-vaulted doorway at the far end, up top.

[Con- Con- Contaminants Spread to Primary Core Path- Pathways! Core Vectors Breached Breached Breached! Core Vectors Breached!]

As they reached the first steps, the security system's status reports turned problematic again, the little floating nuisance glitch-blinking randomly about the large space at increasing speeds. There was the sound of panels shifting again as it spoke.

[Foreign Conta- Contaminents Further Extrapolated! Com- Com- Compensating... Compensating... Variables Accounted For!! Purging Containments!]

The mechanical shifting of panels became the sounds of smooth metal sliding against itself as the floor of the chamber they were in beg to rise up, step by step, quickly leaving behind the door, and their way back. The ceiling, on the other hand, did not move at all, and soon they were left standing in a space only barely half as tall again as MachMan himself stood. It would be only a small stretch, maybe a short jump, to reach up and touch the ceiling now. At the far end of the much reduced chamber, the uppermost wall panels recessed once, then folded away, letting in the sound of tramping mechanical feet, and with it, a group of pint-sized soldiers.

Their armour was a bright blue, and covered their whole bodies, save to bold yellow visors over the eyes. Two rush out from each side, forming a uniform line across the path to the doorway and adopting identical fighting stances, one foot forward and feet wide, with their hands up and pointed palm outward towards Mach and his SPs. One of the little super-soldiers bore a small insignia on his right shoulder, showing two bands of colour, and barked something in incomprehensible machine gibberish at his troops. Still 'talking', he made a decisive gesture, cutting his right hand across in front of him, before pointing directly at the intruders. The other three shouted an answer in perfect unison, and each of their raised hands began to glow.


Closer to Mach, another set of the wall panels opened, this time admitting a fast-moving troop of bright yellow Swordy, their blades crackling with electricity. They formed a line between Mach and the Soldiers behind, and, like them, the Swordy on the end bore an emblem of rank, though his was right in the centre of his armour. This one raised its sword in brief salute, then swung it once. The other three followed suit, each crossing their blades across their front and preparing to strike.


The floating polyhedron continued to cry out for the 'Foreign contaminants' to the 'Purged', albeit in slightly broken and stuttering commands, but didn't seem intent on blinking away this time. Or maybe that function just wasn't working right now?


-=Virus Vanguard=-

Super-X2 EX: 220Hp
Super-X2A: 180Hp
Super-X2B: 180Hp
Super-X2C: 180Hp

Swordy-E2 EX : 200Hp
Swordy-E2A: 160Hp
Swordy-E2B: 160Hp
Swordy-E2C: 160Hp

-=Foreign Contaminants?=-

MachMan: 193Hp
Aera.SP: 88Hp
Vector.SP: 76Hp

-=Objects=-

Security Projection: ??? [Glitching about, demanding that Mach and Co. be purged.]


-=Terrain=-

100% Metal

Low-ceilinged sealed chamber. The sides are a slight stepped up, and towards the far end, a few steps remain, climbing to that level.

-=Naxa Rogue Battle #08 Start!=-

Mach and the gang peered up at the polyhedron with unamused looks, prompting Mach to raise his defensive shields as Aera's VectorArmor lit up with little green sparks. Aera also placed a freshly materialized IV pack on the back of her armored corset, while Vector sent a series of metal plates out from under the skirt to begin orbiting a little more than arms-length away.

However, it appeared the polyhedron was more intent on babbling on and on as they reached the stairs ahead, acting as if the previous battles had taken a toll on its system. It started to become more erratic and it's chattering more threatening, and the area started to change again. They were now in a very height restricted cooridor, and two rows of viruses marched in to greet them. Without any natural cover or the chance to evade vertically, they had limited options for avoiding attack, but the same applied to their enemies as well. Mach could safely assume his SPs wouldn't fare well in an all-out brawl with so many viruses, so his idea was to create some cover to give them a fighting chance. "Requesting Boomerang, RockCube, and TankCannon. Will likely need the BambooSword later too," he exclaimed, causing Mazer to retrieve the chips. ["You got it, they're on the way,"] he replied as he started to slot them into the PET. Vector's eye slid from side to side on the visor over Aera's own eyes, both on edge to see if any viruses elected to make the first move. Aera's compact wings were at the ready to send her sliding to the left in an attempt to avoid incoming fire.

Mach recieved notification of the first chip upload, and drew his arm back as the large green boomerang materialized in his right hand, and an amber arc appeared in his field of view. With the current battlespace setup, the boomerang was sure to hit at least something, but his primary targets were the senior ranking Swordy off to the side, then strike down one of the Super-X's in the rear row, then come back through the Swordy on the opposite side of it's leader. He tried to line the arc up on the three viruses, but wouldn't complain if it hit more of them. He hurled the boomerang with an overhand throw, sending it whizzing forward on a wide arc, its rapidly spinning shape looking and acting similar to a buzz saw blade. It continued its turn back to MachMan before being caught, and started to fragment in his hand. Mach widened his stance and bent his knees slightly before his wing thrusters pointed out to his left and kicked on, sending him sliding to the right, his feet kicking up a few sparks as he tried to avoid incoming fire. As he evaded his two decoy drones materialized behind him and projected their Mach copy images over themselves before splitting off and flying down the opposite sides of the room in an attempt to flank the viruses and draw their attention.

Mach activated the RockCube chip, causing a bright square shape to materialize on the floor near Aera, shortly followed by a cube-shaped column to rise from the floor, almost all the way up to the short ceiling. Aera smartly dashed behind the RockCube, providing her cover and at least preventing attacks from directly ahead of her. She and Vector both recieved a message from Mach as he raised his rapidly materializing TankCannon towards the Super-X column. [[i]Focus fire on the Mechs, but keep an eye out for the Swordys, don't let them catch you off guard.[/i]] Vector responded immediately by shifting his orbiting shield blades to Aera's 6 O'clock position, and Vector's eye somehow moved from Aera's visor to the back of her skirt, granting him overwatch behind Aera. Several of the shield blades turned outwards like metal spines, ready to parry attacks and deliver a painful counter; Vector was also prepared to fire a dagger of blades at one of the Swordies, aiming specifically at their blade-weilding hands in an attempt to disable or knock them away. Aera peered out from behind the RockCube, and raised her right arm as she took aim at the row of pint-sized mechs.

Mach aimed his TankCannon towards the center of the Super-X column, opting to utilize it chip's secondary high explosive ammunition. Once he had his aim secured at the center of the line, he fired off a shot with a loud boom and a bright orange muzzle flash. The barrel itself slid back almost a half foot as the weapon recoiled, but the kick still caused the Navi to slide backwards a few inches. Since there wasn't much distance between Mach and his targets, the round detonated seemingly at the same time the weapon went off, sending flames, bullet fragments, and a pressure wave out a significant distance. Aera followed up by firing off several explosive strikes of her own, targeting each side of the mini mech row with a pair of bright lightning strikes from her palm. The bolts seared through the air before exploding, sending electrical arcs spreading outwards.

["You still want that BambooSword?"] Mazer inquired as Mach's TankCannon fragmented and disappeared. "Sure, send it," Mach replied before juking to the left. A second later, Mach activated the chip, causing his saber to materialize in his right hand. The hilt was blue with some orange trim, with a single hole on the top of the hilt and a nearly full hand-guard arcing over the handle. Mach looked over the battlefield to locate the current location of the Swordy group. Once he found his targets, he swung his arm out to the side, prompting the plasma blade to burst forth from the hilt like a green flame, before it tightened down to a defined edge. His wings swung into position before its thrusters ignited, sending Mach cruising across the room, kicking up sparks with his feet as he closed in on the Swordys.

Mach's primary target was the Swordy EX, but he wanted to utilize his blade's reach for his advantage and try to slice several at once. Once he closed in, he brought his blade to bear and delivered a wide, horizontal slash as his thrusters went quiet. His blade path was very temporarily illuminated by a green glow, showing the somewhat flattened arc, thanks to the leftover momentum before he slid to a stop. He kept his blade at the ready, fully intent on using it again, if need be.


ACTIONS: -[Passive Haste, Accuracy Enhancement, Dodge x2, Decoy x2]-
Vector: Equip to Aera.SP
1. Heavy Shielding to Mach (6-hit shield + 2TCD)
-[Recharge: Vector (Heal 18)]-
-[IV: Vector (Heal 5 per action)]-
Vector: OBDS (2-hit shield + 2TCD)
-[Reinforce: OBDS (+2 hits)]-
Aera: Dodge
2. Boomerang3: Swordy-E2 EX, Super-X2A, Swordy-E2C (120dmg Wood + Group Attack (Arc))
-[Dodge]-
3. RockCube (200HP Object)
Aera: Move behind RockCube
-[Shield Bash (Block/Deflect attacks for 1/2 damage at the cost of an additional shield hit)]- max 2 uses
Vector: Attack Swordy-E2B (40dmg Aqua + Disarm)
4. TankCannon3: Super-X2A,B,C (160dmg + Blast2) (C-accuracy)
Aera: Attack Super-X2B,C (50dmg Elec + Spread1)
Aera: Attack Super-X2EX, Super-X2A (50dmg Elec + Spread1)
-[Dodge]-
5. Movement: Get in melee range of Swordy-E2s
6. BambooSword: Swordy-E2 EX, A, B, (80dmg Wood + Slashing {Can hit 3 targets at once})

DecoyA: Race along right side of the room
DecoyB: Race along left side of the room

Battle Stations again, and Mach and Vector quickly raise their shields, while Aera busies herself with some minor restoring, trusting to her handy-dandy Vector-suit to keep her safe. Their defences come up not a moment too soon, as the Super-soldiers begin a truly vicious bombardment of small electrical energy shots. With direction from their commander, all three of them seem intent upon pinning Mach down in an overwhelming barrage of fire, and his shielding takes a beating as Area darts to the side and out of the way. The storm of lasers stops as the electrostatic haze builds up, the little mechs lowing their arms for a moment to assess.

Mach stands strong, however; his shields are shot and a few solid hits mark him besides, but still readying his own offence all the same. In the tight space, it proves impossible to escape the amplifying effect of the conductive floor beneath them, and a crackle of electricity remains to remind the navi of the greater than expected sting. (Shield Broken! -30, -30)

The defending line of Swordies form an intimidating wall of force between Mach and the ranged attackers, and he makes a strong swing with his boomerang to try and thin the ranks. The commander Swordy was waiting for him, though, and as he throws, it blinks forward to attack, teleporting out of the harm's way and right up to Mach directly, making a vicious opening sweep. It isn't the only skilled close-quarters combatant, however, and Mach successfully dodges back out of its strike in turn.

Meanwhile, the Boomerang was having some admittedly atrocious luck. Having missed its first target the Boomerang arcs around, tilting as it curves to graze past the side of one soldier without connecting, only to twist all the way over on its return, to shoot clean over the heads of the other two, harmlessly. What unbelievably rotten luck.

The other Swordies were ready to follow their captain's lead, and attempt to body-block and harass their foes to stop them getting to the soldiers, so when Mach's two decoy make a bee-line up the sides, the first and third Swordies immediately teleport to them and strike, hitting empty air, but successfully dispersing the clones. The probably thought they'd done a good job.

Mach summons a covering RockCube for his two SPs to hide behind, which they do, but the middle-most Swordy is not perturbed by this development. It blinks in to attack anyway, appearing in front of the cube, drawing back its sword and plunging it deep into the rock with a fierce thrust. Over the other side, Aera and Vector probably thought they were safe... until two feet of long electrical sword bursts out of the stone to pass just to the side of her head and over one shoulder. That was far too close.

Vector prepares his shields to strike back, and makes an attack of his own, managing to find a neat line around the side of the cube with enough accuracy to strike the Swordy as it fought to pull the sword from the stone. It might have become a king, if it had managed it, but unfortunately for the virus, Vector's shot is very precise, striking its hands so that it loses its grip completely and reels back, leaving the blade behind, lodged in the rock.

With the swordies variously out of the way, Mach brings out the heavier guns, aiming his TankCannon at the line of super-soldiers. The blast is impressive and violent, but apparently just as much harmless sound and smoke, as actual shrapnel and shot. Two of the soldiers take the brunt of the blast, badly damaged to the point of nearly breaking down, but the other two manage to avoid the worst of the attack, and remain unscathed. Fortunately for Mach's image, they don't stay that way for long, as Aera peeks out from her cover to add some electrical bursts of her own. The two bursts are enough to rain electricity over all four of the little soldiers, and only one is gets missed by the spreading current, while the commanding Super manages to jump back, out of the way in time. The first, having only just shielded his commander from the tank shot before, falls to the second discharge, and begins to disintegrate.

The Commander, however, isn't about to take this felling of his troops quietly. He shouts an order that apparently means for the remaining two to keep up their fire on Mach, but has a different plan himself, clenching fists at his side as the central panel on his armour opens to reveal a much more imposing force cannon. Strangely, he doesn't aim it at Aera, so much as her defensive Cube, which gets blasted into dust by the focused electrical beam, and leaves the two SPs exposed again.

The remaining Soldiers had cooled their weapons by now, and start to bombard Mach with laser shots again, but he is already moving. Some of the shots miss altogether, and as they fire, one of the Soldiers' arms sparks, then blows backwards, malfunctioning in some way that sends his remaining shots into the ceiling. Unfortunately for Mach, there is enough of a hail of lasers that he couldn't dodge them all, and several more create damaging impacts to his armour while the electricity in them courses through his systems, conducting badly through him to the metal panelling. (-30 x 4)

The two Swordies who had skilfully disposed of the harmless decoys earlier, now turn their attention to real targets. Seeing Area exposed, the two try to double-team her, with one blinking to the place where the cube had been, in front of her, and the other teleporting behind. Mach arrives a moment alter, intent upon delivering vengeance to the viruses and putting himself in position to strike not only the one in front of Aera, but also the Swordie behind it, still groping for the sword which had clattered away amidst the Cube's destruction, and their leader as well.

The bad news is that, before he could swing, the two Swordies either side of Aera are already lashing out, and in his prime striking position beside her, Mach is also now in range for being struck by their wide sweeps. The good news is that they were both mostly focused on Aera, and miss him anyway. The Swordy in front can't even hit Aera, while the one behind strikes Vector's waiting shields. Though several plates of the shielding shatter, the metal shards composing it lance back, scoring minor hits against the offending virus.

Mach makes his attack, raking his wooden blade across the group of Swordies and rendering two of them into data. Alas, the Commander Swordy was holding his blade in a neatly posed formal guard between attacks, and it deflects Mach's strike. It retaliates, and once again Mach is able to avoid its attack, though the wide strike also connects with Vector's shields, shattering the remainder of them, but costing the Swordy more metal spikes to the face for its effort.


-=Virus Vanguard=-

Super-X2 EX: 220Hp
Super-X2A: DELETED
Super-X2B: 80Hp
Super-X2C: 20Hp

Swordy-E2 EX : 180Hp
Swordy-E2A: DELETED
Swordy-E2B: DELETED
Swordy-E2C: 145Hp

-=Foreign Contaminants?=-

MachMan: 13Hp [Shield Broken!]
Aera.SP: 88Hp [Wearing Vector]
Vector.SP: 109Hp [Shield Broken!][IV][Exploring His Career Options As Women's Clothing]

-=Objects=-

Security Projection: ??? [Glitching about, demanding that Mach and Co. be purged.]


-=Terrain=-

100% Metal

Low-ceilinged sealed chamber. The sides are a slight stepped up, and towards the far end, a few steps remain, climbing to that level.


-=Notes=-

I feel terrible that the dice were so cruel this round. Sorry.

Mach took one helluva beating, as the Super-Xs seemed to utilize him as target practice. Aera, Vector, and the RockCube didn't fair much better either, so the group was generally exposed. However, Mach still had his saber at the ready. Mach still should've been close enough to one or both of the Swordys, and didn't want to afford them the time to blink away and reposition themselves. If he was able to strike without catching his SPs in the swing, he delivered a wide horizontal slash towards the Swordy-E2, hopefully catching its captain as well. As Mach attacked, Aera sent a green bolt of energy to the Navi for the purpose of repairing some of the damage he sustained. After sending the recovery code, Aera kicked on her wing thrusters and sent herself sliding diagonally backwards in an attempt to avoid any incoming lasers or blinking Swordies. As she moved away, Vector fired a sliver of metal towards the Swordy captain, attempting to damage and possibly knock away its sword, or at least redirect its attention away from Mach.

Mach decided to give the Swordy captain a taste of its own medicine, blinking out of sight with a cyan flash, before materializing behind the virus and immediately delivering a second horizontal slash. The green blade carved a bright green crescent through the air, then started to flicker at the conclusion of his strike before fizzling out, its power drained. Hopefully out of danger, at least temporarily, Aera raised her energy shields while Vector commanded several of his body plates to reinforce said shield. The metal plates lay flat against the outer boundary of the nearly transparent energy shield, hardening the SP's defenses. ["What do you need next?"] Mazer inquired as his Navi attempted to zig-zag away from his previous targets, summoning his two decoys and sending them off towards the remaining Super-Xs in similar zig-zag patterns. His eyes darted over the field, trying to figure what would be best to use before responding. "Counter first, then Synapse and... Fireburn," he replied.

A couple seconds later, Mach's right arm was covered in rapidly materializing bits of data, which formed into armored yellow plates that covered his arm from his shoulder to his finger tips. His fist seemed to have swollen to at least twice its normal size, and completely iron-clad. He cocked his GutFist back, in preparation to deliver a lightning-fast counter, which seemed likely due to the sheer saturation of enemy fire they've encountered thus far. Mazer continued to slot in the other two chips while Aera went on the offensive in an attempt to wear down the Super-Xs' ranks. She delivered a high voltage blast from her right arm, sending it surging towards the lead Super-X with a loud thunderclap and a burst of light. The bolt exploded on impact, sending hazardous electrical discharges outwards as the current branched out to any nearby conductive source. Vector expected the Super-Xs to respond with their own energy blasts, so he attempted to steel himself in preparation, spreading some of his protective armor to cover more of Aera's frame.

As soon as the Synapse chip was uploaded, Mach focused on the commander-type mech. As he did so, a cyan pulse of energy zipped from the Navi's forehead and raced just above the metal floor as it made a beeline towards the lead Super-X. Due to the nature of the chip, Mach had control over the electrical pulse, even after striking a target. His goal was to zap the lead Super-X, then have the energy arc to its closest counterpart, then arc again to the last remaining pint-sized mech before his attack ran out of juice and dissipated. Following the brain blast, Mach's wing thrusters sent him boosting to the right, attempting to avoid the myriad of beam attacks the mechs possessed. As he did so, Mach activated the last chip underneath the mechs' position, causing the floor panels to seemingly erupt into flames, setting a wide strip of the floor ablaze. The trio hoped the mechs were enveloped by the flames, but Vector was prepared to pick off one of the viruses if it managed to avoid or move out of the fire. A thin sliver of metal floated next to Aera as Vector aimed, then it shot forward like a miniature spear, whistling slightly as it sailed towards its target.


ACTIONS: -[Passive Haste, Accuracy Enhancement, Dodge x2, Decoy x2]-
1. BambooSword: Swordy-E2 C, EX (80dmg Wood + Slashing {Can hit 3 targets at once}) [1/3 uses remaining]
Aera: Electrotherapy to MachMan (Heal 72 + 2TCD)
-[Recharge: MachMan (Heal 18)]-
Aera: Dodge
Vector: Attack Swordy-E2 EX (40dmg Aqua + Disarm)
2. SCRAM Boost: Teleport behind Swordy-E2 EX (Teleport + 2TCD)
3. BambooSword: Swordy-E2 EX, C (80dmg Wood + Slashing {Can hit 3 targets at once}) [0/3 uses remaining]
Aera: Repulsion Shield (2-hit Shield + 1TCD)
-[Reinforce: Repulsion Shield (+2 hits)]-
-[Dodge]-
4. Counter1: MachMan (1-Hit I-Field) + (Counter(70dmg + Impact + Break): On-Hit) [blocks debuffs]
Aera: Attack Super-X2 EX, B (50dmg Elec + Spread1)
Vector: Brace
5. Synapse2: Super-X2 EX, B, C (120dmg Elec + Piercing + Chain 3)
-[Dodge]-
6. FlameLine2: Super-X2 EX, B, C (120dmg Fire + Ground Attack + Wide Attack)
Vector: Attack Super-X2C (40dmg Aqua + Disarm)

DecoyA: Draw fire from Super-X ranks
DecoyB: Draw fire from Super-X ranks

Aera's verdant heal-ray washes over MachMan, taking him safely out of the danger zone as he rushes in for the attack. His BambooSword has mixed luck at first, missed his intended target as the Swordy darts out of the way, but the bright green flash bites into the virus captain, almost as though the sword is trying to apologize for the initial whiff.

Angered and nearly done for, the advanced Swordy readies its blade for one last stand against the high-tech speedster. It readies for a warp just as MachMan does the exact same thing...only for Vector to snipe it into deletion with a well-placed metal plate, applied right between the glowing eyes.

Well. This is awkward.

Undaunted, MachMan continues his anti-Swordy offensive. The remaining swordsvirus tries to sneak in an attack of its own, only for the SCRAM Boost to kick in, warping the Navi to safety...directly behind the offending virus. His BambooSword lashes out one more time, and the Swordy vanguard is extinguished for good. The trio celebrates by...throwing out holographic decoys, donning a protective shield, and being a protective shield, respectively; nobody ever said that Rogue Net-capable Navis and SPs weren't capable.

The decoys manage to confuse one of the lesser Super-Xs, who thoroughly toasts the drone with a series of electric lasers. The other two viruses don't fall for it, unleashing a veritable onslaught on the trio. The leader virus rains down a hail of laser fire from its hands, blasting Vector's metal reinforcements clear off Aera's shield, and nailing MachMan with another laser...or it would have, had the Counter's I-field not kicked in. Any attempts at setting down a second volley of laser fire are interrupted by MachMan dealing the fighting robot a solid blow with an oversized fist. Aera lends her own support to the battle, dealing a considerable blow of her own to the Super-X.

The virus spins out of control for a moment, disoriented by the powerful sucker-punch, but regains its senses enough to make a second attempt at the trio's collective well-being. This volley has considerably less luck than the last, with both MachMan and the Vector-clad Aera managing to squeeze by the onslaught. The lesser Super-X, seeing its chance, pops seemingly out of nowhere, chest-cannon shining with the light of a powerful Arsenal shot. It rushes toward Aera and Vector, flexes its chest in preparation to fire, and with a bright yellow flash, the chest blaster dramatically...misses.

In what could possibly be a desperate attempt to save face, the Super-X has another go at charging its shot. It almost makes it to full charge...only for MachMan to, in a flurry of somewhat anticlimactic cyan mind-blasts, chain a deletion from its commander straight to it. The arcing Synapse doesn't quite make it to the final virus, still preoccupied with ensuring the decoys were very, very dead. Fortunately for MachMan (and unfortunately for the virus), a final fire blast and a spear-like projectile courtesy of Vector renders the mech-fighter just as dead as the holo-drones...and unlike the decoys, this virus definitely wasn't getting re-spawned next turn.

-=Virus Vanguard=-

Super-X2 EX: DELETED
Super-X2A: DELETED
Super-X2B: DELETED
Super-X2C: DELETED

Swordy-E2 EX: DELETED
Swordy-E2A: DELETED
Swordy-E2B: DELETED
Swordy-E2C: DELETED

-=Foreign Contaminants?=-

MachMan: 103Hp
Aera.SP: 88Hp [Wearing Vector] [2-Hit Shield]
Vector.SP: 109Hp [Being Worn By Aera]

-=Objects=-

Security Projection: ??? [Glitching about, demanding that Mach and Co. be purged.]


-=Terrain=-

100% Metal

Low-ceilinged sealed chamber. The sides are a slight stepped up, and towards the far end, a few steps remain, climbing to that level.

=BATTLE #8: VICTORIOUS!!=
Rewards: 5600z, ElecSword, 72 Bugfrags

Quote (ElecSword)

ElecSword
Damage: 80 + Slashing + Wide Attack
Accuracy: B
Description: Creates a sword made of electrical energy, and capable of effective wide slashes. Can hit up to 3 targets per slash with good RP.
Duration: Until Overridden/Broken. Breaks automatically after 3 swings.
Element: Elec

Mach and company managed to wipe out the viral defenders, but the encounter left the three rather worn and fatigued. Mach was just a bit under half power, while his SPs fared only slightly better. However, their struggle was rewarded with a plethora of zenny and bugfrags, as well as a battlechip. Mach retrieved the chip data from the now disappeared husk of the Swordy, uploading it to the PET. ["Got it, good work everyone. You guys took a beating out there, want to call it quits for now?"] Mazer asked from his newly opened pop-up window, watching his zenny and bugfrag totals slowly climb. Aera had been crouching down, gathering up some of the scattered zenny and bugfrags, but she stood and examined herself and Vector. "I'm okay, and Vector seems to be doing fine, I think we can handle more," Aera said reassuringly. Vector's eye moved to Mach, silently agreeing with Aera's evaluation.

Mach assessed himself as well, though he was a bit banged up, they could still likely survive another encounter or two. The reward flow was very inticing, and he believed he and his team were up for the challenge. He looked over at Mazer's window, flashing a thumbs up. "We still have some more fight left in us, we're good to keep going," Mach exclaimed confidently. Mazer's furrowed brow revealed his own unsurety, he didn't want the programs to bite off more than they could chew. However, his eyebrows raised as he remembered a tool they hadn't utilized in quite a long time. ["Here's a bit of a boost, just in case,"] he said as he selected one of his Subchips. Mach's body faintly glowed green for a few seconds, restoring some of his energy and repairing a bit of the damage he sustained. Mach could feel some of the aches fade, but it wasn't a full system restore. "Thanks, I forgot we had one of those left," Mach said as he stretched his shoulders. ["Yeah, that was our last one. At least we have plenty of cash to replenish our stores now."]

After the glow faded, Mach looked to his two SPs as he gestured towards the steps ahead. "Alright, let's move out. Keep close," he ordered. He started walking to the steps ahead, with the Vector-armored Aera following close behind.


((Use MiniEnergy [Heal 50], 0 remaining))
((Ready for battle #9))

((Vector had his IV active through that last turn, and didn't take any hits, thus his HP would have topped off... it's only one hit point, in this case, but it's accounted for now, for the sake of neatness))

The trio's incessantly persistent 'Friend' held still for a moment, then began to vibrate rapidly and spin on point. Perhaps it was having trouble processing the successive failures of each attempted containment? After another second or two, as Mach got healed up, it blinked out of sight completely, leaving the tight chamber empty and the door forward open. Unlike the previous times, there's no 'fix' for the area. It simply stayed configured exactly as it was, without returning to normal.

Through the door, the Navi and his SP were greeted to some fresh air at last... though it might not have been the most appreciated moment to experience it. The enclosed space simply ended, with a single thin path leading forwards. On all sides; left and right, up and down, there is nothing but black star-filled sky, and worse, the gravity here seemed to be of the distinctly normal variety. Wait... not quite. It was still the sort of gravity that would mean a lethal fall for any non-flier, but it would be a slower fate; the gravity is low, maybe about a fifth of normal, but still present.

The thin metal path extends for a few feet, then branches into a network of four overlapping diamonds. The first three were in line, two either side of the central one, with their corners overlapping enough to make another small diamond where they met, while the fourth made a similar junction with the far point of the central diamond. The shapes were quite large, and the paths only a single panel wide, enough that each smaller diamond still left a moderate gap in the middle.

At the far side of the furthest diamond shape, the thin metal path continued, up a slope, to a slightly more stable looking rectangle of panelling, before yet another large doorway.

Mach and company might normally have had a pleasant time to appreciate the setting, and the starry view, but alas for them, they were not alone here. A final bulwark of viruses were already waiting for them... only a few, but a few that looked very intimidating indeed. Floating free in the empty space above the centre of the diamond lattice, a glowing electrical sphere, bracketed top and bottom by a pair of sparking metal coils. Every few moments then spun and shifted about the sphere, but always returned to their upright position. It pulsed briefly for a moment, and four jolts of electricity arced out from it, to four evenly spaced Remote Bits, currently positioned over the four corners of the central diamond. Each one channelled the jolt into a severely painful looking lightning bolt, directly down to the panel they were each over, before each bit moved in unison, darting to take up new positions, each one now on the inward facing point of a different diamond, with the nearest on the point closest to MachMan.

On the safer-looking platform, at the far end of the space, there looked to be a large, carved idol with an impressive hammer slung over one shoulder. The weapon crackled and sparked, while the statue... stretched and flexed. Not a statue then. Oh dear.

Though there was no sign of the small security polyhedron, the omnipresent voice resounded at the trio from all sounds was they walked into the area.

[Core Breach Imminent! Core Breach Imminent! Core Defences Online! Maximal Security Protocols Activated! All Core Defence Systems Operational! Viral Contaminant Must Be Eliminated!]

The voice was accompanied by to pillars rising up on either side of the far door, allowing the topmost cube on each to lift free and float slightly. They were both cycling a colour wash, bathing the area first in blue, then red, then blue again. After a few more moments they settled on red, accompanied by the sounds of various warning and emergency tones, seemingly coming for a number of different directions.

The Zeus statue shifted to block the far door, hefting its heavy-looking hammer again, while the sphere controlling the remotes spun its telsa coils quickly, excess stating practically falling from it. This was clearly a 'none shall pass' situation, definitely going to be a fight. Did that warning just call Mach a Virus?

-=Core Defenders=-

ByteMaster Mk3: 520Hp [floating in the space above the central diamond shape]

Sledge III: 600Hp [Far end of the area, guarding door]

TRICUBE A: 220Hp [Showing Red]
TRICUBE B: 220Hp [Showing Red]

-=Viral Containments!?=-

MachMan: 153Hp
Aera.SP: 88Hp
Vector.SP: 110Hp

-=Terrain=-

40% Metal
60% Missing

Terrain is arranged as a series of four latticed diamond shapes, each with paths only a single panel wide, but fairly large, with a thin path leading up to a broader, more solid rectangular space of metal on the far side.

-=Objects=-

RemoteBitA: [Invulnerable][Belongs to ByteMaster][Above near point of near diamond]
RemoteBitB: [Invulnerable][Belongs to ByteMaster][Above innermost corned of left diamond]
RemoteBitC: [Invulnerable][Belongs to ByteMaster][Above innermost corned of right diamond]
RemoteBitD: [Invulnerable][Belongs to ByteMaster][Above innermost corned of far diamond]

-=Notes=-

Low Gravity: All movement effects (Push, Pull, Micro etc.)are amplified, but slowed down. Players may make long or high jumps far more easily than normal, but will take a slightly longer time to do so, and may potentially be vulnerable while floating. Falling off the panels completely, for a non-flyer, will still result in an ejection.

-=Naxa Rogue Battle 09, Start!=-

The area unsurprisingly again stated its intent to purge the team, but this time only four viruses materialized in response. However, the two larger viruses were a new sight to Mach and his SPs, and they appeared quite sturdy and dangerous. That being said, the TRICUBES were as equally dangerous, as they could provide a steady source of healing for its allies. "Requesting BigHammer and Boomerang!" Mach said calmly, forming a strategy to deal with their newest foes. Both Mach and Aera utilized the lower gravity and used their associated thrusters to perch themselves a half-foot or so off the ground. Aera formed an IV in her hands, and quickly placed it on Mach's back as he prepared to boost away. Vector sent several of his body plates orbiting himself and Aera, forming a protective shield around the pair.

With a flash of cyan light, Mach disappeared, leaving two decoys in his place. They quickly kicked off and flew towards the Sledge, forming a large double-helix path as they barrel rolled around eachother before splitting off on either side of the hammer-wielding virus. Mach had almost instantly reappeared next to the TRICUBE A, holding his BigHammer above his head in preparation to attack. Not to give the virus time to react, he brought the anvil-like hammer's head down on the virus's position, hopefully smashing the cubic virus to pieces. Mach dropped the rapidly fragmenting hammer and jetted up and back in an airborne backflip, attempting to dodge the likely barrage of attacks heading his way. He also activated his defenses, causing a nearly invisible blue dome of energy to materialize in front of him. Back near the platform, Aera had charged her capacitors to the point of overload, and pointed her arms towards the second TRICUBE. In a white flash of electrical energy, she purged her built up energy in one burst, causing a powerful EM pulse to surge between her arms and make a beeline towards her target. After launching her EM pulse, she pointed her right arm and hand towards Mach, and fired a bright green bolt of energy to him. The bolt was quickly absorbed into his body, giving him a rush of regenerative energy. Some of the residual energy was absorbed by Aera herself, repairing her programming a bit as well.

Mach, now holding the newly formed Boomerang in his right hand, took aim at the ByteMaster and tried to trace the amber arc projection through the Sledge and TRICUBE B as well. After getting an acceptable targetting solution, he whipped the boomerang forward with an overhand throw, causing it to spin up like a disk. It whistled through the air in a wide arc, hopefully using its hardened, sharpened edges to slice through any viruses in its path. Since she didn't fancy being an easy target, Aera jetted backwards, trying to stay on the path. As she boosted back, Vector launched a spear-like sliver of metal towards the Sledge, trying to see if the virus had any additional defenses, as well as potentially disrupt an incoming attack.

Mach didn't bother trying to catch the boomerang as it arced back, he instead climbed a bit more as he rolled to the side, attempting to avoid a counterattacks and let the boomerang fragment and disappear. "Send me the TankCannon and Magnum next, please," Mach requested, and Mazer reacted quickly. It seemed these four chips were becoming the go-to weapons in this place. ["Uploaded! Go get em!"] Mazer replied, cheering his Navi on. Mach pointed his right arm towards the ByteMaster, prompting the smooth-bore TankCannon to materialize atop his forearm, held in place by a series of braces and hardpoints. He aimed the weapon at the ByteMaster's sphere-like center mass, and used his wing and body thrusters to keep himself steady. He fired the weapon with a loud boom and a large orange muzzle flash, causing the barrel to recoil back several inches after sending the solid tank round towards the floating virus. As soon as Mach recovered from the recoil, the weapon reconfigured into a trio of large black barrels with each of their slides locked back, exposing the brass-colored armor-piercing-incendiary rounds.

The three slides slammed forward in unison, locking their ordinance in their respective chambers and prompting Mach to swing the weapon towards his targets. A targetting pipper appeared as he moved the weapon, which left a red triangle "lock" indicator on the ByteMaster, Sledge, and TRICUBE B. After locking on his three foes, he pointed the weapon at the ByteMaster, his aimpoint automatically moved to the previously established lock. He fired the weapon with a sharp bang, pushing the slide to the rear and ejecting the brass casing. With mechanical, slightly unnerving speed the weapon pointed towards the Sledge and fired off a second round, then just as quickly reacquired the TRICUBE and fired the last of its ammunition. All three rounds were fired over the course of a couple seconds, which left the chambers exposed and oozed a bit of white smoke before the weapon fragmented and disappeared.

As the round fired towards the Sledge exploded with a shower of glowing bullet fragments, Aera targeted the Sledge as well. She moved her right hand towards the large virus, and sent a pulse of electricity down her arm and out through her hand. The resulting electrical bolt burned through the air with a sharp *CRACK* and a flash of light. The bolt arced towards the Sledge and exploded on impact, sending voltage out over the immediate area as it went to ground through the highly conductive floor panels.


ACTIONS: -[Passive Haste, Accuracy Enhancement, Dodge x2, Decoy x2]-
Vector: Equip to Aera.SP
-[IV: MachMan (Heal 5 per action)]-
Vector: OBDS to self (2-hit shield + 1TCD) -[Reinforced (+2 hits)]-
1. SCRAM Boost: Teleport near TRICUBE A (Teleport + 2TCD)
2. BigHammer2: TRICUBE A (220dmg + Break + Impact)(B)
-[Dodge]-
3. Heavy Shielding: MachMan (6-hit shield + 3TCD)
Aera: Tesla Pulse to TRICUBE B (Confusion + 2TCD)
Aera: Electro-Therapy to MachMan (Heal 72 + 2TCD)
-[Recharge: Aera (Heal 18)]-
4. Boomerang3: ByteMaster Mk3, Sledge III, TRICUBE B (120dmg Wood + Group Attack (Arc)) (B)
Aera: Dodge
Vector: Attack Sledge III (40dmg Aqua + Disarm)
-[Dodge]-
5. TankCannon: ByteMaster Mk3 (160dmg) (A)
6. Magnum1: ByteMaster Mk3, Sledge III, TRICUBE B (120dmg Fire + Breaking + Panel Breaking x3 targets) (A)
Aera: Attack Sledge III (50dmg Elec + Spread1)


DecoyA: Harass Sledge III
DecoyB: Harass Sledge III

If this were some cool video game, there would most likely be some suitably electronic techno battle music playing about now. As it is, however, their battlefield is shrouded in the eerie silence of space, which seems to dampen and muffle the sounds of their combat with a weight that feels almost as thick as the low gravity.

While his SPs prepare themselves for the coming battle, MachMan scores first initiative, teleporting to the far end of the space, ready to swing his hammer at the first TriCube, leaving behind decoy drones that zip up the battlefield in a much more obvious and attention-grabbing fashion. The Sledge seems uncertain for a moment as the decoys zip about, and them raises its hammer, opting for the best course of action, when a thunder deity doesn't know who to shock: lightning for Everyone. It holds its hammer straight in front of it, then thumps the head on the ground, sending a visible wave of electricity rolling through the panels of the whole field. A moment later, heavy bolts of lightning drop from the sky to crash down to the panels.

The two drones get fried, but thanks tot he wonders of net physics, it remains possible to avoid a lightning strike that would otherwise have been destined for you. Mach proves this perfectly by being distinctly not where the bolt meant for him strikes. Aera is less lucky, as the rolling wave of ground thunder connects first, then the bolt strikes down for added insult. Vector's shielding takes the worst of it, though, and holds strong, for now.

Meanwhile, The sluggish gravity has finally allowed Mach to finish his down-swing, crushing the first TriCube into viral dust. The two Cubes lights were beginning to glow just before he obliterated one of them, but the other finishes its charge and sends two thin bolts of searing light towards Mach and Aera respectively. Despite the speed and accuracy of the beam, Mach anticipates the attack, flipping neatly out of the way just in time, but Aera, caught up in charging herself up, doesn't manage to avoid the one destined for her. Fortunately, Vector's shielding saves the day again, and allows her to finish overloading her capacitors and return a retaliatory bolt of confusion to the cube. It strikes, and the Cube begins to rotate itself, one face at a time either horizontally or vertically, at random intervals.

Mach gets his shielding up at the same time, just as a small chime sounds from the ByteMaster in the centre of the area. Its four RemoteBits each send out a sweeping beam of light, the four tracers scanning one side of the nearest diamond each, to complete the closed shape. This is bad news for Aera and Vector, still standing where they began, on the furthest point of the first diamond. As one of the tracer lights crosses them, all four shut off and each RemoteBit tilts to point in her direction, emitting lightning-quick beams of energy at the found target. In the last moment, Aera does her best to avoid the bolts of light, but between the slow moving gravity and speed of the bolts, it's too little too late to get clear of the painfully accurate attacks.

The first beam shreds what remains of Vector's shielding, and though the second beam passes low and misses, the last two are dead on. Vector takes the brunt of the strikes, protecting Aera, but the cost is high: his own elemental affinity, and the metal panelling they're hovering slightly above cause the current to course back and forth through the plates of the poor SP, and though Aera herself remains unharmed, Vector manages to stay up only be virtue of his second-chance protection (Vector -90, -90). The moment they finish their firing sequence, the ByteMaster's core spins its Telsa coils, and the four RemoteBits immediately reposition themselves, this time darting up to hover above the four corners of the furthest diamond shape.

Aera is already busy patching up Mach, and can't respond to her fellow SP's plight right away, but on the upside, she and Mach are pretty healthy by this point. Mach himself makes a play against the offending ByteMaster, lining up a very peculiar arc with his boomerang. Hit throw takes down field to pass cleanly through the core of the ByteMaster, causing it to spin its coils in a mad spasm for a few moments, before arcing back around and up again to the Sledge. An electrical forcefield springs into sight as the boomerang reaches its second target, but it pierces it and passes clean through, scoring a solid, damaging hit on the virus itself. The throw begins to turn over, arcing back the other way, to clip the remaining TriCube as well, before spinning off into space. It's a good thing Mach didn't plan to catch that one; such an effort probably wouldn't have gone well. The last strike makes the TriCube spin rapidly, and its colour changes to a bright blue.

Having finally decided that Mach is indeed the real target, the Sledge turns to face him, then raises its hammer overhead with both hands and hurls it, spinning a the navi. The throw goes high, its arc greatly extended by the low gravity, and sails harmlessly over Mach's head, spinning off into the void of space. A moment later, the sledge raises one hand above its head and grips its hand as though around some invisible handle. As its fingers close, a new hammer appears in its hand with a small electrical crackle. As though testing a theory, the next thing that happens is a quick, sneaky shot from Vector, his metal plate striking the Sledge's raised wrist and tearing the freshly summoned hammer out of its hand. Sadly, it has little true effect; as the new hammer falls into the void, the Sledge simply grips its hand again, calling the weapon right back.

This little exchange is interrupted by the field being washed in a blue glow; the last remaining Tricube bathes other two viruses on the field in a softer blue light, restoring a small amount of the damage dealt to them.

The Bytmaster's Bits are busy scanning the furthest diamond for intruders now, but when the beams fail to find anyone, the four Bits discharge heavily electrical bolts to the panels directly below them. It's a good thing no-one was underneath. The Bits immediately reposition again, forming something closer to a line just past the core: one Bit hovers above the uppermost point of each of the three in-line diamonds, while the fourth floats above the lowest point on the far diamond.

Mach isn't quite finished with his revenge on the virus though, and prepares a blisteringly heavy amount of fire power for it. Scoring direct hits with both his TankCannon, and then with his Magnum. The other two Magnum rounds also find their mark, tearing into the Sledge, and blasting the TriCube from the field completely. If only it could have gotten in on some of that healing from before. Ah well. Along with Mach's attacks, Aera pins the Sledge from down field with a shocking attack of her own, and its electrical affinity does nothing to shield it from the amplifying effects of the metal panels underfoot. When all is said and done, though, it does raise its hammer up high, causing the electrical aura around its form to regenerate to full strength.

-=Core Defenders=-

ByteMaster Mk3: 45Hp [floating in the space above the central diamond shape]

Sledge III: 145Hp [Far end of the area, guarding door][Discovered: Regenerating 80Hp Elec Aura]

TRICUBE A: DELETED
TRICUBE B: DELETED

-=Viral Containments!?=-

MachMan: 250Hp [6-Hit Shield][IV Intact]
Aera.SP: 106Hp [Wearing Vector]
Vector.SP: 1Hp [Shields Broken!]

-=Terrain=-

40% Metal
60% Missing

Terrain is arranged as a series of four latticed diamond shapes, each with paths only a single panel wide, but fairly large, with a thin path leading up to a broader, more solid rectangular space of metal on the far side.

-=Objects=-

RemoteBitA: [Invulnerable][Belongs to ByteMaster][Above far point of left diamond]
RemoteBitB: [Invulnerable][Belongs to ByteMaster][Above far point of centre diamond]
RemoteBitC: [Invulnerable][Belongs to ByteMaster][Above far point of right diamond]
RemoteBitD: [Invulnerable][Belongs to ByteMaster][Above near point of far diamond]

-=Notes=-

Low Gravity: All movement effects (Push, Pull, Micro etc.)are amplified, but slowed down. Players may make long or high jumps far more easily than normal, but will take a slightly longer time to do so, and may potentially be vulnerable while floating. Falling off the panels completely, for a non-flyer, will still result in an ejection.

((Turn Splice!))
The trio were able to bring down the TRICUBEs and put some serious dents in the two larger viruses, but Vector had gotten pretty well cooked in the exchange of fire. Electricity arced amongst the body plates, leaving jagged scorch marks over the majority of his body. His cycloptic eye flickered on Aera's visor, but managed to remain active as the SP clung on as best he could. Mach knew his SP was in trouble, but he also knew Aera would focus on keeping the SP functional while he dealt with the remaining foes. "Mazer, send me a BambooSword," Mach requested calmly, eying the Sledge and it's newly formed aura. Judging from the looks of said aura, the wood-imbued blade would make short work of it. Mazer had a solid guess regarding the Navi's plan, and silently agreed as he slotted in the chip.

With a flash of cyan, the Navi blurred out of sight, leaving Aera to raise her energy shields and apply an IV to the back of her Vector armor. Small streams of green regenerative energy trickled into the fractal SP's metal body, providing some slow-but-steady repairs. With the energy flow started, Vector sent some of his less cooked shield plates to the outer layer of Aera's shields. An area behind the Sledge flashed cyan for a split second, revealing MachMan, with his green energy blade at the ready. Mach swiped the blade in front of him in a wide, horizontal slash, carving a crescent-shaped path through the Sledge's position. After delivering his first cut, Mach's wing thrusters boosted him around to the Sledge's non hammer-wielding side.

While Mach repositioned himself, Vector utilized the chance to take revenge upon the virus that damaged him so. A trio of dagger-like blades slid out from the armored skirt around Aera's waist, and floated effortlessly in the air like fish in water. Vector's eye started to glow brighter and gave the ByteMaster a crimson glare and a prompt for the blades to attack. They sliced through the air like throwing knives, hopefully they were enough to bring down the floating virus. After the blades darted towards their target, green energy pulsed amongst Vector's body plates and repaired a bit more of the damage he previously sustained.

With a rising diagonal slash, Mach attacked the Sledge again, trying the cleave the virus in two with his green energy blade. While the virus was tough, its elemental affinity was a significant weakness, something the blade would easily exploit. Mach watched the virus as he attacked, waiting to see if the virus go still, fall over, or just fragment in front of him. He also glanced to the ByteMaster as well, to see if he needed to continue his assault.


ACTIONS: -[Passive Haste, Accuracy Enhancement, Dodge x2, Decoy x2]-
1. SCRAM Boost: Teleport behind Sledge III (Teleport + 2TCD)
Aera: Repulsion Shield (2-hit shield + 1TCD) -[Reinforced (+2 hits)]-
-[IV: Vector (Heal 5 per action)]-
2. BambooSword: Sledge III (80dmg Wood + Slashing {Can hit 3 targets at once}) (B) [2/3 uses remaining]
-[Dodge]-
Vector: Attack ByteMaster Mk3 (40dmg Aqua + Disarm) x3
-[Recharge: Vector (Heal 18)]-
3. BambooSword: Sledge III (80dmg Wood + Slashing {Can hit 3 targets at once}) (B) [1/3 uses remaining]

Actions Remaining:
Mach: 3 (+1 dodge)
Aera: 3
Vector: 0

Seeking to end the battle before his badly hurt SP can receive a coup de grace, MachMan makes plans for quick and decisive action. Quicker than expected, however, the two advanced viruses respond even faster.

A flying hammer from the Sledge singles MachMan out in the brief moment of exchange between the navi and his operator, and this one is much better aimed than the last. It strikes with a thunderclap, the heavy impact crushing a portion of Mach's shielding while the resultant Electrical blast shorts out another (Mach -3 Shield hits). The ByteMaster seems keen on him as well, it's four Remote Bits sweeping a long rectangle over his rough location, an successfully pinning him into one of the corners.

The trace beams immediately stop and the four bits turn as one to the navi, each receiving a large jolt from the ByteMaster Core, before firing a lighting fast pulse at him... that small delay leaves them not quite quick enough, and though the four beams are dead on accurate, all they hit is the cyan afterglow of the space where Mach had just been.

Mach comes out of his well-timed teleport, appearing directly behind the... uh-oh. Perhaps it was by some unusual guardian's intuition, or maybe the Sledge had been watching Mach carefully when he pulled this trick the last time... but either way, the moment MachMan disappeared from sight, the Sledge had responded: turning in place and swinging its mighty hammer at seemingly empty air; empty air that Mach just happens to teleport right into as the swing came around. The resulting crunch impacts hard against Mach's remaining shields (-2 hits), but by chance the nova of electrical energy that emanates from the statue as it strikes, passes him by harmlessly.

Failing to actually interrupt Mach with its clever guess ultimately spells the end for the Sledge, and the navi capitalises upon the defender's weak element, neatly piercing its aura and cleaving the statue itself into two halves, which immediately begin to disintegrate.

Towards the centre of the area, the ByteMaster's Remote Bits reposition again, losing Mach's trail, they return to draw a neat diamond with their scanning beams that crosses directly over Aera and Vector, who haven't yet moved from the place they were pinged at before. Another bolt is sent to the Bits, and another set of four blisteringly accurate electric beams converge on the joined SPs.

The lasers crash into Aera's newly formed and reinforced shields, destroying them, but leaving the two behind them mercifully unharmed. The Bits begin to reposition themselves again, but Vector takes swift and certain revenge before they can begin sweeping; a concentrated volley of metal plates rip through the ByteMaster's core causing its two telsa coils to spin and twist wildly for several seconds, before they drift further and further away from the core sphere, which in turn begins to grow and expand, and turn progressively more transparent as its form extenuates.

The two telsa coils begin to shake in an erratic fashion, before finally falling away into the void as the blue core sphere starts to deform, extruding uneven spikes and collapsing inward on itself again in a series of wild spasms. After a few more moments of apparent deletion-throes, the viral remains crystallise, returning to uniformity in the shape of a glowing blue diamond prism now, rather than a sphere. The four Remote Bits are less dramatic, crashing down to the panels with heavy clanks, before beginning to disintegrate into component data.

Nearby, there are a few crackles and sparks as the broken door-guard's aura attempts to reform itself again around the ruins of the virus, and for a moment it seems to almost succeed, before collapsing into a retrievable packet of chip data, nestled amongst the pile of zenny and bugfrags that remain of the intimidating statue.

Almost as an after thought, there's a small hiss as the door behind where the sledge had stood unseals itself and begins to open slowly. Unique amongst mystery data, the certain safety of the blue variety means Mach will surely want to open it, right? Assuming he does, it would reveal itself to contain another packet of chip data for the taking. Of course, he could always decide to ignore it, one supposes, but then he'd miss out on a chip that... admittedly, would probably have been more useful a few battles ago, rather than now...


-=Core Defenders=-

ByteMaster Mk3: DELETED
Sledge III: DELETED
TRICUBE A: DELETED
TRICUBE B: DELETED

-=Viral Containments!? Victorious Team!=-

MachMan: 250Hp
Aera.SP: 106Hp
Vector.SP: 29Hp (Only two IV pulses counted; Vector's second action ended the battle)


-=Battle 9 Victory!=-

Rewards: 6800z, 78 BugFrags, ElecAura2
BMD: Panic

Quote (ElecAura2)

Protection: Any Non-Wood attack lower than 80 HP
Accuracy: S
Description: Negates any Non-Wood attack less than 80HP
Duration: Three turns, or until destroyed
Element: Elec
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.

Quote (Panic)

Effect: Trap((Negate Confusion) Then (Confuse + To-All-Clause)): When targeted by a Confusion Attack.
Accuracy: S
Description: Negates the Confusion effect of an attack, then counters by confusing all enemies. All other effects of the attack still occur normally.
Duration: One Attack
Element: Null
Special: (Trap(Effect): Trigger): Trap effects are sprung when Trigger conditions are met. Traps do not trigger and cannot be triggered by other Traps. Traps are negated on contact by the Nullify effect, and do not trigger against attacks that include the Nullify effect. Traps do not trigger against Allies. Only one Trap may be set by an individual at a time, and setting a second will overwrite the first regardless of type. Traps remain in place until triggered, overwritten, or destroyed.
Special: Confusion Guard: This chip blocks Confusion.

Mach was fast, but the viruses were just as quick, even to the point of accurately predicting his movements. However, in the battle of hammer vs. blade, the green energy sword came out on top and paired the virus in half. Vector utilized his own blades to take down the ByteMaster, and in a twist of good fortune it folded down into a BMD.

Mach looked down at the deteriorating hulk of his statuesque foe, and it seemed to try reactivate its aura. Though it failed, it did at least manifest in the form of chip data. Mach picked up this new loot, and whistled as he identified its contents. "Check this out, Mazer. The statue has left us a gift, a very useful one at that," he stated as the packet disappeared, and he made his way to the BMD while the SPs gathered up the rest. Mazer had a similar reaction, ["Woah, an Aura... I hear these are quite hard to come by, and I can see why. I'll add it to the folder."] Aera and Vector scooped up a good armful of zenny and bugfrags, and watched as their spoils were downloaded to the PET. "What were those things, Mach?" Aera asked, referring to the large viruses. Mach shrugged as he touched the BMD, prompting it to open. "Not sure, I haven't seen them before, nor were they part of the standard virus database. Seemed like the one was a whole bunch of RemoteBits fused together, maybe it's something related?"

Mazer nodded in agreement to Mach's observation, and smiled as the BMD revealed a battlechip packet. ["Haha, lucky us!"] Mach grinned and identified the chip, before chuckling. "Wish we had this chip several battles ago, would've made things a helluva lot easier I think." Aera had walked up to Mach, and had a inquisitive look on her face. "This one is a trap chip, it counters any confusion effects and rebounds them back to the enemy," Aera nodded, "Definitely would've helped, but now I know what it would feel like to get zapped by my tesla pulse. Almost makes me feel sorry for the viruses, almost," she said with an impish grin. ["It looks like you all have gathered up everything of use, do you want to keep going?"] Mazer asked, bringing the group's focus back to the task at hand. Aera looked down at Vector, still acting as his armor, noting the scorch marks on most of the plates. "I don't know, Vector took quite a few hits," she said with concern in her voice. "I appreciate your concern, my queen, but I can still fight," Vector said in polite protest. His glowing red eye shifted towards Mach, "I can still be of use."

Mach nodded, and looked to Aera. She still appeared concerned for Vector, but she replied with a nod of her own. "We're still up for more, Mazer. Let's see if we can make our way out of this security system, and maybe disable it so other don't fall into this seemingly endless deathtrap." ["Alright then, just be cautious, and keep your eyes peeled. I somehow doubt this place is done with you all,"] Mazer advised as the trio made their way towards the door.

((Ready for battle #10))