For Honor, For Dignity, For.. A Bet

The vision of the peaceful Netsquare was quickly replaced by the swirling, ever changing lights of the portal and the vortex within. Moments later, the battle-ready navi stepped onto the grid, eyes thoroughly scanning the area.

"Keep your eyes open, Aestus."

"When are they ever closed, my dear Cassius?"

The NetOP smiled briefly, his hand resting on the monitor of the terminal.

"Quick, effective, and above all," Cassius began as Aestus swung her blade, her hair and clothes rippling slightly from the wind of the slicing weapon. Readying herself into battle position, giving the appearance of a dancer prepared to perform at a recital, she nodded understandingly, completing the sentence.

"With style."
It seems like you ran into the normal mets that everyone seems to run into when they first play the MMBN games, joy.

MetA: 40
MetB: 40
MetC: 40


Aestus.exe: 100

Battle 1
Ready Steady GO!
Aestus suddenly tenses, her iridescent eyes locking onto the three approaching virii.

"There appears to be three of them, those little virii with the helmets." Cassius's voice echoed about the net as the mets close in on their position.

"Small virii.. Helmets... weak underside." Aestus says to herself, tightening her grip on her naginata.

"You've been doing your homework." Cassius chuckles as the navi raises her blade, the flawless metal glinting odd colors in the shifting lights of the net. As Aestus prepares to charge into her attack, the sound of their voices speaking in unison are heard across the battlefield.

"Low, sweeping, quick." Aestus's eyes shift and she runs at the mets with dazzling speed and deftness. Caught up in the display, Cassius nearly forgets to push the bay closed on the PET. In an instant, a bright light swirls around the forward blade of the navi's naginata, slightly warping the solid shape of the sickle into a more straight form. Her aim is precise as she crouches low while she runs, holding the blade true to a spot on the ground directly behind the center of the head met.

With astonishing accuracy, even through the visual obstacle of the met, she hit her mark. Should the met have gotten in her way, it would be struggling painfully on the blade of her naginata. Not even stopping to think, having made her calculations moments after her first objective, she lets the momentum of the spear take hold, rotating the front end fully around to face the second met briefly before slamming fiercely into the ground. Should the first met still struggle on her blade, the misfortuned virus would have served as a hard point of a swiftly driven hammer aimed straight at his comrade.

The head of the naginata in the ground, she effortlessly vaults into the air, landing directly behind the second met. Sliding into a pivot, she rotates her hips and slides her leg to line up with her target. Her blade screeches as it soars just over the met's head. The apparently misdirected blade flies in an arc over the met, the shaft of the naginata changing hands in mid swing. With a twist of her wrists, the turning of her hips and a small jump, the blade changes it's it's horizontal flight into an oppositely diagonal one, the Navi's point of reference a line straight through the met.

The blade reaching the imaginary point in her mind, she redirects the arc of her weapon yet again, guiding it behind her where she vaults into the air yet again. Using the naginata to achieve a quarter turn in the air, she lands in front of the third met. Her eyes flash again as her still moving blade travels downward over her head and toward the very spot the met stood upon.

"Primoris..."

She slides her front foot to her side, achieving another shift of her blade and arriving at the side of her opponent. The edge flies horizontally toward the met, it's path a line just beneath its helmet.

"Secundus..."

Pivoting and turning again, she ends behind the met, and for the first time through the whole of her assault the momentum of her blade slows.

"Unda Dea Ultionis!" She shouts, her blade no longer a scythe to slice at her foes, but a deadly spear aimed directly at the met's back.

_______
Strong Thrust @Met 1 /w Naginata, Impale, throw at Met 2 (Rageclaw)
Intentional miss of strike on Met 2 to achieve a misdirection and small jump. (dodge)
Uses momentum of weapon to strike Met 2
Unda Dea Ultionis @ Met 3
][boump][
((Yeah... don't think you can post 4 actions, so I'll disregard that "use momentum to attack Met thing" Also, state the damages your attacks do when you post.))
Aestus whacks the first two into each other and barrages the third with a flurry of blows, deleting it.

MetA: 20
MetB: 20
MetC: DELETED


Aestus.exe: 100
][I rebut, sword Navis have a free dodge, I came to understand.][
((Only if they do two consecutive Melee attacks, which you didn't.))
][It would seem the example that was provided to me has mislead me.. Inconvenient, but it is what it is.][

Aestus's eyes focus again, taking in her bearings and the status of her enemies. She winced, realizing in retrospect the odd absence of resistance from one of her strikes.

"You're a bit off, but your form is still dead on." Aestus manages a thin bit somewhat bitter smile. Taking a moment, she surveyed the quickly disappearing met that fell victim to her final attack.

"It looks like your Unda Dea Ultionis packs a good punch though. Same strategy. Aim low, move fast. They're wise to us now so we're going to have to do this a bit more cleanly."

Aestus nods, readying herself again. Taking a leap backward from the mets to give herself the moment she needed to reformulate her approach, she crouches down low. Several thin lines appeared before her, intricate paths the blades of her naginata could take. Narrowing her eyes, she focuses on two paths and advances. Closing in on the met to her left, she swings her weapon upward, the edge of the blade soaring up from under it's feet, then retreating as the second end of the blade cuts the same path behind it. Pivoting again, attempting to act too quickly for the virii to devise a counterattack, she leaps deftly over the met and crouches down, swinging the blade in a wide arc that reached cleanly and well beneath the brim of the virus's helmet.

::Synopsis::
Attack met A x2
dodge
Attack met B

][That one should work][
((Remember to state your damages. Your buster attack, calculated by the formula AttackxRapidx2, currently does 8 DMG. Happy busting.))

Aestus cuts some stuff into the viruses, but they're not dead yet.

MetA: 4
MetB: 12
MetC: DELETED


Aestus.exe: 100
Aestus turned frustratedly to face the virii, gripping tightly onto her faithful naginata. Moments later, Cassius's voice crackles into her ear.

"Looks like we're going to have to skip out on style a bit here. We can't rely on your regular naginata strikes yet, wait until you're a bit more proficient with it."

Her reply is a somber nod.

"What would you have me do now.." Cassius frowns at her significantly darkened tone.

"I know we spent a long time learning those moves, but you're just not strong enough yet for it to be truly effective. But not to worry." There is a beeping noise as Aestus's weapon slips from her hands and begins to spin in front of her.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"It's a chip. Move in front of the weakest virus and let it fly. It's a projectile blast that'll hit more than one thing at a time. It should take care of what's left."

"You know I'm not used to ranged combat, Cassius.." Cassius's voice becomes firm.

"Then we're going to have to learn, aren't we? Remember, Meditor planto perficio." The phrase evokes a small smile from the navi as she lines up the center of her weapon with the virii.

"Make sure they're in a straight line, then let it fly." Aestus nods, letting the shot go. The weapon fires a hailstorm of energy bullets, raining on the mets. The area around them is impacted and a cloud of dust rises. Tense, Aestus stands at ready, prepared for either met that may have survived the attack

Synopsis:

Shotgun: 50 + Spread 1 Met A--->B
And... done.

MetA: DELETED
MetB: DELETED
MetC: DELETED


Aestus.exe: 100

-VICTORY-
Get: Guard1
Aestus stood over the last virus as it slowly disintegrated back into the code from whence it came. Wincing, her weapon clearly trembles in her hand as she looks down at the ground. A long moment of silence passes before Cassius is heard.

"You did good, Aestus. I'm proud of you."

She scoffed, twirling her blades about through the air, eyes scanning their every movement.

"It's not the weapon, Aestus. I didn't take effective damage calculation into account. It just means we'll have to work on your agility a bit, that's all." Cassius's voice was soft, reverting back to its usual nurturing tone, or at least as far as Aestus was concerned.

"We'll just keep busting up virii until we don't have to make so many passes at the enemy. Look at the bright side, you didn't take a point of damage. You're good."

Aestus nodded, though still clearly disappointed with her performance. Cassius felt strangely detached from the navi at the other end of the terminal. Whenever it came to Aestus's proficiency in battle, she was always hard on herself. It was something he got used to seeing. But this time it wasn't a simulation or an exercise, it was a real battle. There was a deeper sense of disappointment in her eyes that he couldn't get over. Finally, his voice firmed up a bit.

"Subsisto res rumex quod amplio." He said, arms crossed. Aestus looked up and into the screen on the terminal, her expression a mix of shock and amusement.

"And what is that supposed to mean, Cassius?" She placed her weapon on her back, still retaining her battle regalia.

Why did she have to be so beautiful..

"And what's with that strange slack expression on your face?" Aestus's second question snapped Cassius back to the conversation.

"It means, if you're not satisfied with your performance, work on it. I mean, it's what you tell me all the time." Aestus managed a smile, something Cassius hardly got to see, at least in such earnest. It pulled his lips to curl into a grin. Her reply was a simple nod.

"Now, I believe that constitutes the resolution of our bet, my dear navi. You won, so I guess it's time for me to hit the books." Aestus started to nod, but her usual steely resolve faltered. As quickly as she tried to hide it, the grin on Cassius's lips broadened.

"You don't want to stop, do you?" Aestus's aloofness vanished in an instant and she folded her arms as a mother would right as she was about to scold her child.

Why are you so good at that..

"Must I remind you that your grades are at stake here, Cassius?" But her complaint seemed to fall on deaf ears. Cassius's grin remained.

"You know, if you want to fight again, all you need to do is say so." The most incredible thing happened as Aestus stood before her operator. Her azure skin got darker around her cheeks. If she were her regular self, Cassius imagined her face would be a tinted shade of red. The sight made his jaw drop slightly. She was either greatly embarrassed, or getting seriously angry with him. Either way, Cassius wanted to see how it would turn out. The navi bowed her head, hand gripping her weapon even tighter. Bowing his head in turn, he nods.

"You don't have to s-"

"Yes. I wish to continue." Her reply was more like a jumble of words shot from a cannon than a structured sentence from an intelligent navi. Cassius blinked a couple of times, more than surprised with Aestus's sudden change in behavior.

"Well, far beit from me to stop you." A bay in the terminal opened up, dumping the used chips onto the desk with one more that Cassius didn't recognize.

"Well look at that, a new chip. Well friend, let's wait around for a bit. I'm sure there's some virii still wandering about in the net. If those were the last ones, I'm sure we deserve some medals. Then again, this is -my- luck we're talking about here." They both snickered, then the playful candor on their faces faded away again. Taking her weapon from the ground, holding it at the ready, they waited for the next opponent to appear.

][Waiting for battle 2][
VIRUSES! MORE OF THEM!

CanondumbA: 50 HP
CanondumbB: 50 HP
CanondumbC: 50 HP
ShrubbyA: 50 HP (behind CanondumbA)
ShrubbyB: 50 HP (behind CanondumbB)

Terrain: 100% Normal

Aestus.exe: 100 HP

-BATTLE 2! GO!-
Aestus watched as the Virii materialized before her, readying her weapon.

"Look out with these things, Aestus. Those three in the front are projectile. They look affixed to the ground and their mobility looks limited." Cassius loaded a chip into the terminal, Aestus's spear beginning to spin on the surface of her hand.

"Cut a wide berth around, they don't look like they would have an easy time rotating, but it looks like they can aim up. Avoid jumping over them, or staying in their line of fire." Without another word Aestus charged forward, obediently making a wide arc around the cannons and slipping behind them.

"Two virii behind the cannons!" Aestus took a moment to aim then let the shot fly at the virii. The moment the shot fired, Cassius pushed another chip into the console, the blades on Aestus's naginata instantly curling into a claw. Her weapon swept along the ground, its taloned blades taking a path from one of the shrub-like virii that would sent it into the cannon in front of it. Quickly spinning about, her blade would swing in an attempt to catch the other virus and fling it likewise into the cannon in front of it. Taking no chances, Aestus fliped backward several feet in an attempt to prepare herself for the enemy's counterattack

::Synopsis::
Shotgun - Damage: 50 + Spread 1 (Set A from behind)

Rage Claw - Damage: 40 + Slashing / 20 + Impacting (throw shrubby A into Canondumb A

Rage Claw - Damage: 40 + Slashing / 20 + Impacting (throw shrubby B into Canondumb B

Dodge
Stuff occurs.

CanondumbA: SHRAPNEL'D
CanondumbB: 30 HP
CanondumbC: 50 HP
ShrubbyA: BLASTED
ShrubbyB: 30 HP (behind CanondumbB)

Terrain: 100% Normal

Aestus.exe: 100 HP [Rageclaw]
Aestus rounded off, surveying the virii for a moment before she crouched on the ready to attack again. Cassius nodded, sending the navi back toward the virii again. She noted the slightly smoking cannon.

"Focus your attack on that main cable attached to the head." Aestus made a quick slash across, up and down the length of, and jabbed her weapon toward the canondumb's main cable. Quickly spinning about, she took the clawed side of her naginata and swept it toward the remaining bush virus, attempting to hurl it at the other cannon. For good measure, she sliced at the cable connecting the head of the cannon to its base and leaped off to the side once again.

::synopsis::

Unda Dea Ultionis 40 dmg (back of Canondumb B.)

Rage Claw - Damage: 40 + Slashing / 20 + Impacting (launch remaining shrubby at Canondumb C.)

Buster Attack Canondumb C (8dmg.)

Dodge
MORE STUFF OCCURS.

CanondumbA: SHRAPNEL'D
CanondumbB: DELETED
CanondumbC: 22 HP
ShrubbyA: BLASTED
ShrubbyB: 10 HP (behind CanondumbC)

Terrain: 100% Normal

Aestus.exe: 100 HP [Rageclaw]
[I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that Rageclaw's damage is split into two hits of 20 when it is used to throw things. It does 20 to the thing that's thrown, and 20 to the thing if it hits.]
][I'll keep that well in mind][
Aestus sized up the remainder of her opponents, eyes falling on the last Shrubby and Cannon.

"Ah that explains a thing or two." Aestus, prepared to charge, halted momentarilly.

"What do you mean?" Cassius's fingers were a flurry on the keys of the terminal as his eyes scanned the numbers appearing on the screen.

"Remember that program I told you about? Anyway.. I understand that weird inconsistency now." Aestus growled up at her operator, trying to get his focus back on the battle.

"Right.. Just use that throw attack one more time. It ought to finish them off this time." Nodding, the navi obeyed the command. The hooked end of her naginata hurtled once again toward the shrubby, aiming to hurl it at the cannon. For good measure, she followed behind it, slashing at the cannon herself. As better caution taught her, she again lept back to saftey after the blows were struck.

::Synopsis::

Rage Claw - Damage: 40 + Slashing / 20 + Impacting (ShrubbyB ---> Canondumb C)

Buster: 8 (Cannondumb C) x2

Dodge