Machman MkII's tragic past

The program took the blow, then retaliated with its own, by shooting a blobby-looking cannonball at Machman, who dodged.

Unknown Program: 1037 HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

Machman.exe: 50 HP [XIIICross] (3 actions remaining)
Machman darts away from the cannonball, and slides to a stop.

Interesting. So it counters any attacks, but also attacks when I put my guard down. Requesting Heatshot and Counter1 chips!

[Battlechips uploaded! Stay focused!]

Machman widens his stance and raises his right arm out towards the Unknown Data. His left hand braces against his forearm as his right arm and hand twists and expands into a large red buster, covered in blackened vents. A small shiny cone-shaped projectile rests inside the buster's barrel, ready to be fired. A small spark is created and causes the projectile to catch fire, burning brightly. A quiet whir noise emits from the buster as the vents start to take in air, intensifying the flames and making the inside of the barrel glow brighter and brighter. Within seconds, the "bullet" inside is white hot and bathed in purple-white flames. He carefully aims towards the blob's core and fires with a loud bang. White and purple flames burst from the barrel and the multiple vents, creating a cone of flame as the fire-imbued round streaks towards its target.

Machman's left hand lets go of his right arm and returns to his side. His right; however, changes yet again from the large red HeatShot buster to a giant metal fist, covered in thick, red metal plates from the tips of his fingers all the way up to his right shoulder. His right arm looks almost 4-5 times larger than his left, and looks as if it ways a ton, but he flexes his fingers and draws his giant fist back as if his arm didn't weigh a pound more than normal. The HeatShot explodes in a large fireball and lights up the area. Machman stands at the ready, waiting for an attack to counter.

He focuses back on his plan: He will teleport out of the way of the attack and bash the blob with a crushing fist, then take immediate evasive action by running in spirals around the blob, slowing down and reversing directions multiple times to coax the enemy to attack his current position; only to hit air since Machman would have already dashed away. He will stay low to the ground, just in case he needed to jump over or even slide under any potential attacks.

ACTIONS:
HeathShot1: Unknown Data (55dmg Fire + Splash)
Counter1: Unknown Data (Counter enemy attack with GutPunch 70dmg + Impact + Breaking)
Dodge

Heat Guard: 0HP
Invisible Edge: 1 Turn Remaining
Thrust Laser: Ready
XIIICross: Active
The blob swiftly dodges the Heatshot, and then sends a volley of spikes at Machman, who counters with his FIST. Ouch.
Nothing else happens.

Unknown Program: 967 HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

Machman.exe: 50 HP [XIIICross]
Machman continues to run around the virus, keeping his speed up.

Mazer, requesting BubbleStar1, ZapRing1, FireBurn1, and Guard1 battlechips!

[Setting up for a combo? Go for it!]

As Machman continues to run around the blob, his right hand changes and swells into a blue buster covered in holes, while his left changes into a yellow rectangle with two metal loops protruding from the end. Machman prepares to jump over the virus as the clear film is drawn over the barrel of the bubble launcher and fills with smaller bubbles. As his bubble launcher finishes loading, the metal loops on his ZapRing launcher charge up with electricity, forming a yellow hoop of electric power.

Machman leaps up into the air, well... It really looks like he just vanished and materialized in the air, and pointed both weapons downwards towards the blob. Machman aims at the Unknown Data with his BubbleStar launcher and fires the hardened bubble with a slight blip sound. The bubble travels to the ground fairly fast, and is just about to explode and spray cage-like bubbles in the surrounding area. Just before the bubble hits, Machman fires his ZapRing; carefully timing the impact of the ZapRing to happen just after the bubble explodes. If he times it just right, the bubbles will be fairly close to each other and the electricity will spread all around the area the bubbles occupy, creating a electric net and hopefully stunning the blob for a few moments.

Machman blurs out of view again and reappears on the ground with his right palm facing towards the hopefully stunned enemy. His hand erupts into flames, seemingly fueled by a constant stream of heat and energy from the red jewel on his wrist. His left arm crosses in front of his body, seemingly carrying a large yellow Guard1 shield. He props it in front of his body, low enough for his eyes and right arm to have a clear line to the target.

Burn.

A tube of flame erupts from Machman's hand, stretching almost 50 feet and covering the area in front of him in flames. He continues to bathe his 12 o'clock in fire for a few seconds before retreating to the relative safety of his last guard shield. He readies himself to get out of there in a hurry, since the probably counter attack will drop his shield and leave him out in the open.

ACTIONS:
BubbleStar1: Unknown Data (20dmg Aqua + Bubble Trap)
ZapRing1: Unknown Data (80dmg Elec + Stun)
FireBurn1: Unknown Data (65dmg Fire + Line Attack)
Guard1: Unknown Data (Block attack and counter with 60dmg Null)
Dodge, dodge like your life depended on it... 'cus it does!
The Program separates into millions of pieces and avoids the bubbles, then reforms, and gets hit sequentially by the Zapring and the Fireburn attacks. As Machman throws up a Guard, the blob expels 30 needles at the navi, one of which is reflected, 10 of which, dodged, and the rest hitting.

Unknown Program: 861 HP (Cracked)

Terrain: 97% Normal, 3% Cracked (Under UP)

Machman.exe: 31 HP [XIIICross]
Machman gets hit by the needles, and strikes the ground hard. He is slow to get up, his body taking a serious beating.

Man, that thing is tough... Could I get some recovery chips here?

[Alright, Mach. I'll heal you up as much as I can. In the mean time, I have an idea. I think we could do some serious damage to this virus and even possibly force it down through the cracked floor!]

Alright, I'm liking this idea. Explain it to me quickly!

A green glow envelopes Machman, making minor repairs on his battered body. Machman feels a bit relieved, but still at less than half strength. He stretches his arms and back as Mazer continues to explain.

[I want you to summon a RockCube, then use a RageClaw to pick it up and crush that thing under the cube's massive weight! If we are lucky, we may even destroy the panels underneath the data and delete it in one strike!]

Machman's right hand drives into the ground, creating a red outline of a square in the floor. As he raises his arm and consequently brings up a massive stone cube from the floor, he raises an important point.

I doubt that thing will just stand still and wait for us to kill it. Plus we don't have any stunning chips left!

[You're right... We will just have to rely on your speed! Use a Boomerang to trigger a counter attack, and quickly throw the cube at it while it's engaging your previous position!]

Well, nothing else seems to work... Here we go!

Machman releases the cube after completely drawing it up from the ground, then draws his fist back. His fist starts to glow; his hand opens with fingers arranged in a "Tiger Claw" pattern before jabbing into the RockCube. He holds on with all of his strength and starts to dash towards the Unknown Data. His arm, now grasping a green boomerang, trails behind him as he closes in on his opponent. He takes aim at the blob and whips his left arm up in an incredibly fast motion, throwing the boomerang in a straight vertical spin. He doesn't care about the boomerang returning, just hitting.

Just before he believes the boomerang is about to strike the blob, he disappears in a quick blur. He then comes back into view about 50 feet directly above the blob. He has the cube hoisted over his head, both of his arms shaking under the weight of the incredibly heavy piece of stone. He quickly glances back down to the Unknown Data below and curls his body back, ready to throw.

KYAAAA!!!

Machman yells as he throws the RockCube with every last bit of his strength. He drops out of the air and touches down with a heavy thump. He tries to stand but the combination of pain and fatigue force him down to one knee. Machman's eyes are closed; if he didn't hit this thing, he surely doesn't want to see its counter attack coming. There was no way he was going to dodge it anyway.

ACTIONS:
Recover10: Machman.EXE (Recover10HP)
Recover10: Machman.EXE (Recover10HP)
RockCube: (Summon 200HP RockCube)
Boomerang1: Unknown Data (60dmg Wood)
RageClaw: Stab RockCube and throw at Unknown Data (180dmg? {20dmg dealt to RockCube by RageClaw})

Heat Guard: 0HP
Invisible Edge: Ready
Thrust Laser: Ready
XIIICross: Active
Machman heals, then summons a Rockcube, blocking an mighty punch from the blob. He throws the Boomerang, but the Program dodges, floating over the farthest cracked panel.
Using the power of the Rageclaw, the flaming swordsman turns his arm into a mace fueled by gravity, and slams it down on the Support Program, who punches Machman in the gut at the same time.
They both fall, crashing through the ground.
The Program simply thrusts itself upward and away from the broken panels.
Machman grabs onto the whole edge for dear life. Oh snap, that was close.

Unknown Program: 691 HP

Terrain: 97% Normal, 3% Broken

Machman.exe: 21 HP [XIIICross] [Rageclaw] (Hanging onto edge of Broken! 1 action to get up)
[Machman!]

Machman is holding on to the edge of the broken panel with one arm. He looks down to the abyss below and manages to swing his other arm onto the ledge and pull himself up and out.

Ugh... Nothing seems to be working! Damnit!

[Machman, I am sending the last few chips I have left. We need to throw everything we can at it at once. We have no other choice!]

Machman lifts his arms over his head and grasps the handles of his twin blades.

Time to pull out all the stops.

Machman swings both blades forward into the ready position. Feeling a little more invigorated by his excitement, he hops a little into the air and disappears. He then materializes behind the blob (It probably doesn't have a front or back, but that's not the point!). He lets go of his two swords and the float towards is right hand. He reaches his arm out towards the virus, with both swords floating just forward of his palm. The blades begin to orbit his hand and quickly speed up as a bright red orb of plasma charges up. The plasma becomes so energized his entire hand and arm are bathed in a blinding crimson light. He takes careful aim at the Unknown Data and fires the plasma in a massive red beam. The roar of the energy is almost deafening and the ruby glow permeates the entire area.

Out almost five miles away, a Metool notices a flash and turns to see the bright red glow over the horizon. It continues to watch with its big, bright eyes until the glow started to fade and eventually died off; then the Metool goes about its business (being awesome).

The blades, now white hot, stop spinning and flip until they face handle to handle. The blades fuse together at the hilt to create a large "V" shaped blade. Machman grabs the still glowing white blades and holds the tip of one edge. He aims towards the blob and throws with incredible strength and speed. The massive boomerang cools as it flies, changing from a glowing white to a shiny black, obsidian-like, disk. As the boomerang zips towards the Unknown Data with a deep humming sound, Machman widens his stance and leans forward; almost enough to be forced to place a hand on the ground to prevent himself from falling forward. He then takes off in a dead run and gains speed at an alarming rate. As he continues accelerating, a conical energy wave appears in front of Machman's body like an opaque shield. He heads straight towards his gelatinous foe and charges at full speed.

After Machman passes the blob, he immediately slows down to a quick dash and reverses directions. He faces back towards the Unknown Data and begins to charge again. However, this time he looks past the virus to see his thrown boomerang returning to him. He jumps into the air, reaches out, and grabs the boomerang in its center. As he starts to fall to the ground, he grasps the middle of the boomerang with both hands and pulls the blades appart in a seemingly effortless motion. Machman then readies his twin swords and thrusts both of them forward diagonally downwards towards the Unknown Data. Once he lands next to the data, he swings both blades outwards to withdraw them, delivering a menacing slash.

Machman then allows his swords to return to his back and he dashes away. As he runs around the blob in a twisting path involving multiple speed changes and direction adjustments, Machman tries to make sense of this situation.

[[i]I can't let this thing take me down. Not now! I still need to know who that spectral Navi was. I still need to find the answer to why it existed and why it merged with me! I wont let some data anomaly get in my way;[/i] NEVER!!!]

Machman increases his speed, breaking the sound barrier with a deafening BOOM as he darted around the Unknown Data, and anticipating some sort of counter attack.

ACTIONS
Tactical Action: Climb out of the missing panel
Thrust Laser: Unknown Data (60dmg Null + 2TCD)
Boomerang1: Unknown Data (60dmg Wood)
Dash Attack: Unknown Data (90dmg Null + Impact) {Melee Attack}
Precision Strike: Unknown Data (60dmg Fire + 2TCD)
Swordplay Dodge

Heat Guard: 0HP
Invisible Edge: 2 Turns Remaining
Thrust Laser: 2 Turns Remaining
XIIICross: Active
Machman heaves himself up, only to find himself face-to-face with another fist from the Unknown Program. Staggering back from his limited health, the flaming swordsman fires a beam, then pays homage to a red mecha, charges in with a powerful tackle, then strikes down with his two blades.
Was it over?
No.
Deadly spikes protrude from every inch of the Program as it charges toward Machman, as it nears, the navi dodges, only to find the spears coming at him from a near point-blank range! Was it over? Had all his fighting been in vain? Machman closed his eyes, knowing he couldn't dodge, waiting for the blow.

After a while, the speed flare, realizing that his systems, while badly damaged, were still intact, took a peek at the situation.

The blob had frozen in midair, so had the spikes. It seemed time itself had prolonged Machman's peril.

Suddenly, the blob exploded, sending a mucus-like substance flying everywhere. The pink-glowing, rune-covered orb which comprised the program's center flew too, right into Machman's chest.

It seemed the battle was over, but Mach should do something about those spikes that might be falling on him any second now.

Unknown Program: ASPLODE

Terrain: 97% Normal, 3% Broken

Machman.exe: 1 HP (In vicinity of deadly falling spikes!)

-VICTORY?-
Get: SupportProg
((Machman! Do not believe in yourself! Believe in me, who believes in you! Use your wings to pierce the heavens!!!))

Machman, laying on the ground almost motionless, watches as the blob explodes and the orb of light sinking into his chest. He could also see the spikes suspended above his completely drained body. He couldn't move, he was completely helpless. He could hear the muffled shouts of Mazer in the background as he fumbled with his PET desperately trying to yank out the jack and retrieve his fallen partner. Machman's body starts to glow as deactivates the XIIICross; his eyes still staring up at the deadly spikes waiting to run him through.

Heh. Didn't think it would end like this...

[[u]Activating Test Program[/u]]

Machman's eyes slowly close, accepting his fate. Suddenly, Machman feels someone else with him; someone who felt so familiar... His eyes snap open to see a face with a pair of bright orange eyes staring back at him from just a foot or two away. It was a Navi, one who looks just like Machman. His hair was bright orange and spiked back with a few bangs over his face, and his nose and mouth were covered in a blue mask as well. He even has the same ear fins as Machman, but his eyes... They were so different! He seemed to be looking through Machman's entire being, into his very "soul." The expression was stern, but a hint of kindness would be read on the Navi's face.

I'll wait for you.

The Navi turns away from Machman, towards the spikes in the air. The spikes were released from the invisible force holding them back and careen towards Machman. The Navi's two slim metal blue wings snap up and kick in, propelling him into the midst of the spikes.

ACTIONS:
Machman.EXE:
Deactivate XIIICross_LVL2
An oddly familiar Navi appears (Activate SP)
Can't Move!
Can't Move!

Aera.SP (Hallucination-induced image of MachmanMkI): Block attack
Machman glides out of the way safely using his hallucinatory LSD-trip powah, but he's still badly damaged, so, yeah... badly damaged.

Machman.exe: 1 HP

Maybe he should jack out and heal up, then come back. Mazer might want to install that glowing orb thinger too.
The Navi's arms are a blur as he parries each of the spikes, flinging them in different directions. He even switches to his busters and blasts away at the rest of the spikes. Machman watches the Navi in awe, but his view starts to become darker and his vision starts to blur. Eventually everything become black, and he passes out.






[[u]Primary Test Complete........ Activating Program: Aera[/u]]

Machman attempts to open his eyes and starts to regain feeling in his body. He could feel that his head was being propped up by something, and he could feel a hand stroking the side of his face. The hand felt soft... delicate. He was finally able to open his eyes, and meets eyes with a stranger. It must be a Navi... a female Navi. Her bright blue eyes and fair face is framed by bright orange hair held up in a short, thick ponytail. Her eyes shine and she smiles at the sight of Machman finally waking up.

Are you okay? You were sleeping for a pretty long time!

Machman attempts to sit up, but quickly abandoned that action from the sharp pain shooting up his body.

I think I'm alright... Maybe.

Oh, I never introduced myself! I'm Aera! Nice to meet you!

Oh, uh. Hi. Um... what happened?

A small window opens next to Mazer's head with Mazer's face.

[Aera saved your hide, buddy. She managed to keep you stable, but I need to log you off now.]

Alright. I doubt I can move anyway...

Machman and Aera start to glow blue and cyan, respectively, and form into two bright beams before beaming out of the net area. The netscape has finally become quiet and still once again.

Off in the distance, a tall blue and orange angular figure stands watch over the area. He turns away, his bright orange eyes shining in the light and starts to walk deeper into the net. As he walks, his body starts to become transparent and fragmented. His body breaks up into tiny little pieces and blows away as if in a digital breeze until he is completely out of sight.

((Logged Out))