Something out of Place

The CannonDumb that Lyntael was using as cover could not get an angle on the Navi, no matter how well it rotated the upper part of its turret. Lyntael struck the turret with her elbow, causing a dent in its casing.

The other CannonDumb lit up as a small light next to its cannon, drawing a laser pointer around the first CannonDumb until it locked on to the Navi. A digital crosshairs appeared on Lyntael's chest as she was painted by the red light.

The Bunny hopped around and launched an electric ring at Lyntael. The ring whipped around her cover like a boomerang, but she managed to dodge out of its way before it could tag her barrier. Keeping herself pressed close to her CannonDumb bulwark.

Enemies
Bunny: 50HP
CannonDumb A: 40HP
CannonDumb B: 50HP [Target Lock: Lyntael]

Terrain
100% Normal

Ally
Lyntael.EXE: 140HP [10HP Barrier]
This time she managed to keep her eye on the Bunny as it hopped about. Cute as it looked, the creature had made it very clear that it wasn't friendly. As she focused on it, a tickle in the back of her awareness felt the electricity in its attack as it passed and she realised she could feel it when it was close. Electricity, certainly, but it didn't feel at all like her own natural charge.

Her attention was snagged away again a moment later as the sighting line from the far cannon clipped the edge of her exposed ankle, and immediately transferred itself to a mark on her chest, in an infuriating defiance of physics.

"Ah... no fair..." she muttered, glancing down at the lock mark. Here she was hoping she'd be safe from it, with the other cannon between them and no clear line of sight. But if it thought it could hit her, then it probably could, and now she had no idea where the shot would actually be coming from, when it did. Maybe it would still just fire straight at her, if she was lucky, and hit the other obstructing canon instead. At this point it was all she could hope for.

Her mind raced in small starts. The bunny was the real problem. It was quick and mobile, and while the calmer part of her mind knew she could easily keep up with the little guy, it wasn't having to dodge angry artillery in the process.

A much as her heart hammered and she wanted nothing more than to curl up and hide away from the foes that more or less surrounded her now she fought for composure, though it was little more than the thought that Rogan was expecting her to handle this that kept her as close to calm as she managed. It wasn't truly very calm at all, eyes blinking and wide, trying to watch everything as static sparked in her hair and her breath came short and rapid. It was enough for her to decide that patience was important here, at least and she watched the Bunny moving carefully, picking her timing with as much care as she could. As she prepared herself, tension growing, the feeling of excess charge in her extremities began to build. It was still a new, strange sensation, but at least by now she was expecting it, and it gave the frightened navi some small comfort. Crouched low, she steadied herself with one hand, waiting as her charge built further and further, watching for the perfect moment.

When the bouncing creature reached the point that was as close to her as it was likely to come, and began to turn away again, she reached out with her left hand and drew it in again sharply, her fist clenching tight as she tore at the air surrounding the small virus and pulled it towards her with gritted teeth, trying to drag it in closer to within her striking range. Without time to confirm her efforts, her next action followed immediately and her body unfolded in a sure, smooth action. The pent up charge in her wrists and ankles crackled as she came upright and continued, arching over and back onto the hand that was already raised and completing the flip in a vicious kick that whipped her right leg up and over in a blur of movement. Like last time, the dancing pulses of energy at her extremities looped in to her core then out again to the point of her attacking foot as a single bursting charge that released with a brutal ferocity at the height of her kick.

She finished the motion, turning over to land low again in a crouch that put her close to the ground, without having moved yet from her improvised cover spot. The sudden expulsion of energy left her gasping for a moment and she tried to stop her limbs from shaking as the static haze faded.



Summary:

1) Buster Charge
2) Buster Charge
-Free Action: Gust, as Pull, on Bunny, to drag it into melee range.
3) Full-Charge Buster Strike ((1+1)x20 = 40, Elec, A), at Bunny (or at least, at the point she feels it ought to be at, if successfully pulled).

Cooldowns:

All Ready
The Bunny was caught in an updraft as it was in the arc of one of its hops and was pulled along the air currents... into an electrified heel-kick. It thumped against the ground and expelled its electrical ring off into the distance, completely disoriented. A small bump grew out of its head. It might have a concussion, poor little thing.

The first CannonDumb, used as cover, could not find a target still. Rotating uselessly on its base. The second CannonDumb took a shot, but missed so spectacularly as to not hit either Navi or the virus used as cover.

Enemies
Bunny: 10HP
CannonDumb A: 40HP
CannonDumb B: 50HP [Target Lock: Lyntael]

Terrain
100% Normal

Ally
Lyntael.EXE: 140HP [10HP Barrier]
((spliced turn incoming.))

Fixed for the moment on her goal, Lyntael's eyes snapped up again as she panted. Through the fading static haze her gaze stayed on the recoiling bunny, still a threat, albeit a disoriented one for now. She grit her teeth, bracing herself for movement against the ground, the sprang forward towards it, her mind made up to strike before it could recover.

Her body was still drained from the release a moment ago, and she was sure she wasn't moving as quickly as she might, but the air in the corridor still whispered to her, attuned to it as she was now. As she leapt out, the air moved with her body, helping to carry and speed where her own weariness took hold. Even as she struck forward, her fist driving down towards the dazed virus, she could feel that the pulse of energy that came with the strike was nowhere near as potent as her last, as much as she bolstered it with small, near frantic, shout.

Far above, Rogan had finished removing most of the documents he needed and opened a drawer in the business owner's desk, seeking the last two manifests he'd been contracted for. A moment of carelessness, really, and a silent warning page triggered, preparing an automated note to send to its owner. Rogan searched the drawer full of sensitive documents, unaware of the alert, but at the same time as the small navi inadvertently threw herself out from the safety of her cover in her efforts to stay with her target, a shrill whine shot through the security system, a single pulse that was the circuit preparing to open a channel for communication.

(Turn splicing here; whether or not she dispatches her target will have an RP effect on Lyntael herself)

Summary:


1) Basic buster strike ((1+1)x5=10, A) at Bunny. (With Airstep passive assist; RP only.)

((Turn Splice))
Leaving her cover, Lyntael launched herself at the dazed Bunny with the power of Airstep. Her fist popped the virus like a balloon, as it was deleted. Unfortunately the Navi, no longer in cover, noticed a tingling sensation on the back of her neck. A second bullseye painted her on the middle of her back to match the one in the middle of her chest.

What was she to do?

Enemies
Bunny: Deleted
CannonDumb A: 40HP [Target Lock: Lyntael]
CannonDumb B: 50HP [Target Lock: Lyntael]

Terrain
100% Normal

Ally
Lyntael.EXE: 140HP [10HP Barrier] [2 Actions Left!]
As her fist struck the panel below where the unfortunate bunny had been, she landed in a crouch, one knee on the ground and her other arm back and out for balance. A small ripple of sensation ran through her as she struck, making the young navi pause for a second as she drew a small gasp. Her eyes flickered, momentarily distracted and it was another moment or two before she registered the high-pitched tone that had been tripped. By the time she looked up and turned her head, she could see the pulse racing through the system already, seeking an outbound port for its message.

"Oh no..." Her words were a small whisper, more to herself than anything else, and didn't carry through to Rogan while he searched, but to her credit she reacted quickly and with more purpose to this threat than she had previously to the viruses. It was too late to terminate the command easily now, but maybe she could...

The message would be passing where she was in the system soon, and the part of her senses that could feel the electricity in the system locked onto it as it travelled. Disregarding the canons trained on her body, Lyntael darted towards them, or rather, towards the point where she could intercept the message. The pulse came into view a moment later, a bright trial of light visibly zipping along the ceiling of the corridor she was in. A small, back-seat, part of her mind complained silently about why these things were never at ground level, and she braced herself then leapt high, drawing an up-draught of air that carried her spring to the ceiling. As her hand touched the top panel she worked quickly, clearing one of the scrambled ports and then crosshatching its protocols as quickly as she could. The message zipped through a moment later and out into the net, safely redirected to the only other address the young navi knew; Rogan's own email.

It took only a moment, really, and as her concentration on the air surrounding her faltered the air current failed again, letting her fall back. Focused as she was on the task, and relieved to make it in time, Lyntael did not stick her landing nearly so well as last time, tumbling down to land in an uncoordinated heap on the ground, now directly between the two canons that remained.

Summary

2) High Jump as an action, with Airstep, to reach the ceiling (for very temporary high-altitude).
3) Action Lost (Fixing Rogan's mistakes, but ending with a return to ground level).
The other CannonDumb misses again as Lyntael takes to the sky, then drops down on her butt. Even with the Target Locks these turrets seemed pathetically inaccurate.

Enemies
Bunny: Deleted
CannonDumb A: 40HP [Target Lock: Lyntael]
CannonDumb B: 50HP [Target Lock: Lyntael]

Terrain
100% Normal

Ally
Lyntael.EXE: 140HP [10HP Barrier]
It took her a few moments to pick herself up again, glancing about as she scrambled up to her feet. Pinned now between the two turrets, their cross-hairs painting her from either side, she flinched, fighting back the urge to cower. Shouldn't they have shot her already? Surely they hadn't both missed at this range? She shook her head, feeling the pulse of her charge cycle and build again, and with it some small measure of her own confidence. There was no time to worry about that. She needed to be done here and catch up, especially if Rogan was tripping security systems without noticing.

Gritting her teeth, Lyntael dodged in low to the ground, covering the short couple of steps to the undamaged cannon. She could feel the current suffusing her body regain its plateau again, electricity coursing all over her, just under her skin, with a small snarl that failed to exceed the boundaries of 'cute', lashed out at the cannon with one fist. Her back was turned completely to the other turret now, blind, but in her hurry to finish the conflict the young navi paid no heed to the danger.

Summary

1) Dodge action (close and low to CannonDumb B)
2) Preparing 'My Pain is Real': Trigger Counter (receiving incoming melee damage) 20 Elec, Nova2.
3) Basic Buster Strike ((1+1)x5=10), Melee, A, at CannonDumb B)

Cooldowns

My Pain is Real: 1 Turn Cooldown.
The CannonDumbs fire upon the Navi as she closes to melee range. The shells trace along the beams' paths, almost clipping the Navi as they explode around her. But she is too nimble and manages to dodge both attacks.

Then she smacks the undamaged turret into a damaged one.

Enemies
Bunny: Deleted
CannonDumb A: 40HP [Target Lock: Lyntael]
CannonDumb B: 40HP [Target Lock: Lyntael]

Terrain
100% Normal

Ally
Lyntael.EXE: 140HP [10HP Barrier] ['My Pain is Real' Counter]
They were definitely firing at her, she decided. Even as her heart jolted from the nearest of their latest blasts, though, Lyntael began to realise that virus or not, the turrets were quite simplistic and inaccurate. From her crouched, covering position at the base of one turret, she drew back her fist, letting out a long, slow breath as she focused and calmed herself.

Energy raced through her, building as it looped from her core to her extremities and back again, and the soft pulse at her wrists and ankles swelled to become a potent glow, and then a burgeoning crackle of electricity. A back-draught of air current rolled off her as her charge reached its peak, sending a blast of wind backwards from her, fierce, but undirected. She grit her teeth, forcing up the pressure until she couldn't bear the strain of it any more, then struck forward, driving her fist in and upward. Her teeth parted in a harsh cry as she struck, the accumulated charge looping from the ends of her limbs, into her core and then coursing out again to her striking fist. It released in a burst that once again left her to drop back to one knee, panting for a few moments.

Far above, in the real world, Rogan slipped the last few documents he was seeking into the small, sealed binder her carried before tucking it back into his coat. He looked around the office one last time.

"Lyntael. We're leaving. I trust there have been no alerts?" When she didn't answer at once, his brow furrowed and he pulled out his PET to look at it clearly. "Lyntael, answer. I read you as in conflict, but your vitals are mostly unharmed. The viruses that lurk on this business' network are not our concern; finish up and prepare to return to the PET." His tone was sharp and quiet; he wouldn't relax at all until they were well clear of he place, and he strode back towards the office door at a brisk pace now that his own work was complete, PET in hand and still listening for her confirmation.


Summary

1) Buster Charge.
2) Buster Charge.
-Free Action: Gust. As Back-draught, directed away from Lyntael in the direction of CannonDumb A; too far from it to really act as Knock, but potentially as an aide to further divert incoming cannon-fire from that direction.
3) Full-Charge Bust Strike ((1+1)x20= 40, Elec, Melee, A. At CannonDumb B)

Cooldowns

My Pain is Real: Cooling Down.
Lyntael braced herself and prepared to strike as the CannonDumbs locked onto her. Her charged strike from below struck too soon for her chosen target to fire, but the other CannonDumb fired a blast shortly after its partner's deletion. The gust of wind Lyntael sent out behind herself was just enough to divert the on-target projectile and instead send it whizzing past the Navi's midriff instead of into it.

Enemies
Bunny: Deleted
CannonDumb A: 40HP
CannonDumb B: Deleted

Terrain
100% Normal

Ally
Lyntael.EXE: 140HP [10HP Barrier] ['My Pain is Real' Counter]
Her eyelids flickered, staring at the ground as she panted from her exertion, and Lyntael didn't respond to Roan's call right away. She picked herself up again and turned to face the last target, feeling a tired strain in her legs and setting her feet to stop her body from weaving as she steadied herself. He was done, and she was slowing him down. That much made it through to her and she shook her head, taking deep breaths as she struggled against her own depleted current.

"S-sir... Hahh... Yes, sir. I'll— I'll be ready soon, sir. I'm sorry, sir." She could feel the pulse of her own heartbeat, racing quickly as it struggled to restore her energy, but each time she expended herself like this, it seemed to take longer. Her arms still felt tired and heavy as she raised them to a more defensive set. The tingle across her skin was still there, and she could feel the latent charge, but it was... different cycles, and other pathways within her... and all of it far too complicated to focus on mid fight, and as tired as she felt. Rogan was waiting for her now; there was no time to stand around and wait for the limits of her own weak body. She grit her teeth instead, running back towards the last turret.

Her footing was sure at least, but it was far from nimble now as she made a straight line towards her goal. In reality, it was only a handful of strides for her, but it felt longer. Rogan's voice came back to her as she approached, one arm drawn back to prepare whatever force she could muster so soon after her last exertion.

"Enough with the theatrics, Lyntael. I grow weary of it." It was only small, but a tiny seed of frustration edged through her at his words as she came into striking range of her target and she forced a heavy breath through clenched teeth.

"Yes, sir." A moment later a thread of shock crossed her mind, even as she drew back her fist. Too exhausted to notice, she had come face to muzzle with the last turret, planting her final steps right in front of its tracking barrel. There was no time to dodge or reposition as she struck out, and all she could do was hope, and brace for the impact she was sure would be coming. As her fist hooked around, the small amount of charge she'd regained looped in from her extremities and back out to her fist, releasing in a distinctly more half-hearted burst than her attack moments before, this time draining her almost completely, and she struggled to remain upright after the swing, over-extending badly.

Summary:

1) Movement (straight line towards CannonDumb A; calling it movement even if the distance is short enough for dodge, since there's nothing nimble or evasive about the action)
2) Buster Charge.
3) Half-charge Buster Strike ((1+1)x10= 20, Elec, Melee, A. At Cannondumb A)

Cooldowns:

All Ready.
Lyntael charged the last remaining CannonDumb and took a cannon blast at point blank range to her barrier. Her electrical counter exploded around her, along with her barrier, as she punched the CannonDumb with her electrically charged fist. Needless to say the CannonDumb exploded from all the electricalness. Leaving behind some zenny.

-Enemies-
Bunny: Deleted
CannonDumb A: Deleted
CannonDumb B: Deleted

-Terrain-
100% Normal

-Ally-
Lyntael.EXE: 140HP [Barrier Broken!]

~Battle 2: Victory!!~
Rewards: 360z
Unsteady as she was, the force of the latent charge bursting outward took Lyntael unprepared as it reacted to the collapse of her static barrier. From her bent and over-extended pose, she was thrown upright again, forcibly arched back in a brief but fierce tension as it rolled off her, dragging a ragged cry from her as it did. Oblivious for the next few moments, it was lucky that she was alone at last as the young navi swayed once, then sank down to her knees on the ground.

It was a restive sense that overtook her next, soothing her exhaustion, though if anything her panted breathing grew rougher. She blinked, looking up and around as a vaguely warm feeling washed through her, different somehow to the normal feeling of her charge. She licked her lips, letting it pass with an uncertain look working through her usually soft features. Eventually she pushed herself back up to her feet, getting the heat of her breathing back under control, and quickly fed the zenny data back through to Rogan.

"I'm ready..." She stopped herself, swallowing once as she fixed her unexpectedly breathy tone, then tried again. "I'm ready now, sir. I'm very sorry for the delay."

"Mm. Out you come then." His brief response followed a moment later along a crackling surge all around her feet. A bolt of lightning lanced down with a sharp crack to envelope the girl, fading away only a second later and leaving the small network to silence again.

----------
((Lyntael Jacking out, Returning to => ACDC))