A chance to show off

((Jacked in from => Jenny's Home))

'Sleepy' and 'quiet' were the terms most often used to describe both ACDC town, and its associated network, and this lazy afternoon didn't seem to be any different as CourseMan arrived, a muted swell of energy leading the shadows of one building to swell and flow until the navi in question slipped free and stepped out into the street with a contented sigh. He glanced around, then stretched his hands out to the sides, preparing his battle routines.

From his palms, a welling of water began, covering first his palms, then his whole hands, before stretching down into a pair of long sinewy whips that weaved back and forth in balance and rhythm to Courser's movement as he flexed his arms and shoulders and turned about.

"So, how about we make the net a little bit safer then, shall we, Jenny?"
"Alright."

He grinned to himself as he pondered which way to head. Jenny was very easy to fluster, it seemed. Just the right smile and the right glance... as devilishly handsome as he was, it was almost no challenge. Ah well. One direction seemed as good as any other, so, stepping forward, Courser began to glide; a small eddy of water rising about his feet, letting him adopt a casual, side-on pose, almost like he was surfing, as he set off.

[Ready for Battle 1]
CourseMan glided along until he ran into a quartet of ghosts. They looked like they were going to lick him with their long, slimy tongues!

-Viruses-
SpookyA: 30HP
SpookyB: 30HP
SpookyC: 30HP
SpookyD: 30HP

-Terrain-
100% Normal

-Navi-
CourseMan.EXE: 100HP

~Battle 1: Start!!~
As the group of, admittedly kind of cute, ghost viruses came into sight, Courser turned and began to arc around them, scoping. His hands, initially held low as he glided, rose now into a more readied pose either side of him, whips beginning to wave and lash more viciously.

"You ready, Jenny? These are Spookys, but if you just go with the flow, we'll get them cleaned up in no time at all, all right?" He had heard the small intake of breath from Jenny when they'd first shown up, so he made his tone as 'prince charming' as he could. In the meantime though, he was done casing and now it was time to make his intentions clear.

"A-alright. How do you know that, though?"
"Know your enemy, my dear. You've got to know what works if you want to bust. Any chip you've got should do fine for these though. No rush." He was rewarded with a muffled sigh on the line and allowed himself a small smile. Rachel had programmed him with a basic database of the most commonly known viruses, but anything more than run of the mill would still be a mystery to him... He didn't need to tell Jenny about that though. Instead, he finished his quick circle of the viruses, gliding to the front of them again and shifting his stance to a fighting pose that put one shoulder forward and his weight on his back foot. His forward hand was low, palm up, its water-whip waving and lashing in front of him, while the other writhed and coiled behind him.

"Shall we dance?" He grinned, teeth flashing as he kicked off, beginning to dash forward. For courser himself the motion only lasted a moment before he paused, but looking from the front the rushing navi never missed a beat, charging straight at the group with a twinkle in his eye.

The real CourseMan, on the other hand, kept moving forwards after a slight pause, though a bit slower than his after-image. He let his water eddy dissipate and began to veer slightly to the right as he moved, circling, keeping his eyes open in case any of the little guys managed to stay focused on him. He'd be ready if they did, certainly. Showmanship was one thing, but the shadows felt far more friendly than the limelight, and one split alone was by no means his limit for deceptions. He'd make any that chose to ignore his little front-and-centre show regret it.

"Whenever you're ready, Jenny." He kept his voice low and the movements of his lips muted, but back towards centre field, his mirror mimicked the words precisely, and far more obviously, before leaping is a twist and bringing his whips around as though meaning to attack. In his ear heard Jenny stammer a quick affirmative, and felt the data flow to him. He put out his left hand as it processed, and after a moment he recognised it as her shotgun chip. His fingers moved within the water covering them as the whip contracted into a tighter, more solid, globe then again as, within that, a scattered mass of tiny, shot-like energy balls began to form, microspheres of tightly compressed water spinning rapidly on themselves inside the large, slower-flowing globe.

As Courser's steps carried him around the small cluster of ghosts he aimed at the nearest one, but hesitated for a moment, waiting. There was enough punch in the chip to blow through a single target after all, better not to waste it. He kept arcing, trained on his target, until what he could see of one of the ghosts was completely eclipsed behind the nearer one, then clenched his fist tight with small snarl. The tiny pellets bust out, propelled at a brutal speed towards his target in a narrow, tight spread even as his arm recoiled roughly from the shot power. The water about his feet kicked up again for a moment, and he let himself spin neatly around, using the recoil to weave his body with a casual grace before continuing his circle.

Summary

*Not Without My Wingman! Self-Decoy as Free Action
1) Charge-Time 1, for Forked Streams
2) Setting Forked Streams: Counter(Incomming Attack): Multi-Stage: Decoy and Dodge, Then Multi-Hit: (15 Aqua, Shot-type) x 2 hits.
3) Shotgun (50, spread 1, A), at (Without knowing their formation: Nearest Spooky on Courser's Left, aiming for a line up with it and Next Nearest Spooky)

Cooldowns

Forked Streams — 3 TCD
Courser split off from himself and circled around the viruses to his right, as the clone went left. Two of them took the bait and quickly teleported up to the clone, licking it to deletion. They laughed in a chattering, ghostly way; thinking they had defeated the Navi with their ghostly strength. It took them a moment to learn their error, and be a little shocked.

Which gave Courser the time to finish charging the Forked Streams.

Then he Shotgun blasts the nearest of the two that didn't act, and therefore were the closer two to be targeted. The two Spookies teleport away as the shot goes wide, missing them. The ghosts appear on flanking sides of Courser and attempt to lick him. One actually manages to score a blow against the Navi with its tongue, even managing to get through the Dodge and hit the real Navi out of two targets, but is severely punished by a double stream attack that deletes him.

The clone that was created vanishes a few moments later.

-Viruses-
SpookyA: 30HP
SpookyB: 30HP
SpookyC: DELETED
SpookyD: 30HP

-Terrain-
100% Normal

-Navi-
CourseMan.EXE: 90HP [Decoy Broken!] [Forked Streams Used!] [Decoy Expired!]
Too slow, drat! A flicker of motion between the release of his shot and contact, and his targets were gone. The next thing he knew, the pair were either side, tongues menacing. It was one thing to have the data telling him all about their flitting and teleporting, another to actually have to deal with it in person. He split away again, diving to the side as he released a quick counter blow, but one of the little beasties guessed right and still managed to give him a distinctly uncomfortable slurp. He came up, skidding away as he released the small counter shot.

"Hey, hey, easy! No tongue on a first date!" He waved a warning finger at the spooky that hadn't received the brunt of his retaliation, smirking. Across from him, his more recent copy turned about and pointed after loosing his shot, then laughed once it struck home. He turned and called loudly to the remaining ghosts, half laughing.

"See that? You ought know better than to mes—" Unfortunately, all out of the small amount of energy such a quick clone had, he faded away before finishing his taunt. Oh well. Alone again for the moment, courser knew he didn't have long to size up the situation, and Jenny's voice was in his ear.

"Oh! Courser, are you alright?" It was cute the way she fretted.
"All fine, don't worry. Keep them coming, though, Jen."
"Yes!" At least she was quick; he could feel her next chip filtering to him almost before she'd answered. Hmm. Something a bit more to his style, this one, nice.

Still grinning, he darted in again, turning a quick roll into the midst of them. Two Coursers came up from the roll, one using the motion to spin and weave while he slashed his whips at the pair that had dispersed the first clone, while the other, the real CourseMan, kicked back, turning the momentum into a sharp leap backwards, arms crossed in front of him.

The tendrils of water snaking from his hands bristled first, then separated and burst outward into sharp spikes of dense liquid. At the peak of his jump, he threw his wide and drew the whips back with a flick that tore the needles free and sent them streaking down towards the ghosts which he hoped, with any luck, would be busy with his friend. Speaking of... No sense leaving a mate hanging after all. As he landed, Courser darted forward again, moving in to slip seamlessly into the opposed position to his copy's movements, guarding flank with his own decoy with a flourish of water slashes that made it hard to tell which were illusion and which real.

Or it would have, if not for more chip data reaching the more corporeal of the pair. He allowed himself a mental shrug. No sense wasting it after all. He was ducked low, mid-weave, as the change began; the sinuous trails of his whips drawing in and splitting until they more resembled long, scything claws that moved as extensions of his fingers. He knew from a glance where the one behind him ought to be and as he rose, Courser swept his claws around in a heave, meaning to grab and hurl his victim at the remaining Spooky that he'd neglected. Whether his target was still where it should be or not wasn't something he had time to consider; he was already far too committed to the action before he'd given it much thought.

Summary

1) Dodge
* Self-Decoy
2) AquaNeedle1 (20=>25 x 3, Variable, B) at SpookyA, SpookyB, and SpookyA again.
3) RageClaw (20 Impact, as Throw, B) grabbing for SpookyB, to throw at SpookyD.


Cooldowns

Forked Streams - 2TCD

CourseMan continued erratic movements with his Decoy. Then launched a bunch of watery-needles at the enemy, striking all three.

The ghosts then teleported from their spots to lick at the CourseMans. Two popped the Decoy while CourseMan managed to dodge away from the third.

CourseMan then rushed over to one Spooky, sunk a watery-claw into it, and threw it at another Spooky. The two collided together in a heap and were both converted into junk data.

-Viruses-
SpookyA: 5HP
SpookyB: DELETED
SpookyC: DELETED
SpookyD: DELETED

-Terrain-
100% Normal

-Navi-
CourseMan.EXE: 90HP [Decoy Broken!] [RageClaw1: 5/6]
"Hah-haa! Not quick enough, little guy!" Courser let the cocky smirk wash over him as he slipped past his would-be assailant. There was just something so very satisfying about a flurry of solid hits that gave his opponent no chance to respond, on top of looking wonderfully flashy while he avoided their other attempts at harm. One last target to clean up and he'd be done. Shaking out his hands, he let the claws melt back into his normal whips. It wouldn't take much to wash up this last one, and he felt much more comfortable with them in their normal form.

"Last spook standing, I'd say your number's up." He made a quick loop about the last spooky, weaving as he did, somewhere along the way he blurred, and then there were two weaving in and out of each other's lines in perfect sync. They both taunted for another moment, keeping an eye for the tell-tale flicker of its teleport, and ready to dart away if needed; no sense taking chances, after all.
"No hard feelings..."
"It's just what we do, after all..." First one spoke, then the other, before they peeled off in different directions, arced around, and dashed in again quickly, water-whips raking in cross-strike to each other. They passed through, turned side-on and threw out a hand, each releasing a deceptively fast bolt of compressed water at where their target ought to be if the real courser had somehow failed to connect on the first pass. He contented himself that it would look fancy either way, since, if there was a ghost to hit, it'd be pelted by their shots at the middle of their cross pattern, and if not, then the shots would still collide with each other in a watery spray, over the remains of where the poor thing had been. Yes, suitably flashy.

Summary

*Can't Keep A Good Man Down (Self-Decoy)
1) Dodge
2) Buster Strike (10, A) at Spooky (So does his Wingman, if he's still about, although his is just wet and uncomfortable and does no damage ^.^)
3) Buster Shot (10, A) at Spooky (So does his Wingman, if he's still about, although his is just wet and uncomfortable and does no damage ^.^)

CourseMan continue to skate around the Spooky and shoot it with compressed water into deletion. The Spooky didn't stand a ghost of a chance. The viruses left some money behind as they all disappeared back into the aether.

-Viruses-
SpookyA: DELETED
SpookyB: DELETED
SpookyC: DELETED
SpookyD: DELETED

-Terrain-
100% Normal

-Navi-
CourseMan.EXE: 90HP [Decoy] [RageClaw1: 5/6]

~Battle 1: Victory!!~
Rewards: 360z
As he slid to a halt, turning in a small, neat circle once before letting his water eddy die down, Courser nodded thanks to his decoy and let it fade along with his whips, then adjusted the collar of his coat with a nonchalant shrug. He sent the pocket change back to Jenny, then stretched and rolled his shoulders.

"So, that's your 101 on busting in real time. What'd you think Jen?" He began walking at an idle pace, looking about himself just in case while he waited, and sure enough she didn't respond right away. It was a few moments before he heard her nervous giggle and a quick glance showed him that his PET was currently enjoying a scintillating view of her ceiling.

"You looked awesome, hehe." Fingers covered the screen for a moment as she apparently groped for the PET with one hand and brought it in front of her face. "Very dashing, hehe." Courser only grinned, ignoring the hints of colour in her cheeks and pressed onwards.

"Well, just leave all the intimate details to me, hmm, that way you can just slot the chips and sit back to enjoy the show. Ready for the next round?" He picked up his pace, kicking to a surf again looking for the next target. Over the line, he heard his operator murmur a somewhat vague assent and shook his head with a grin, moving forward.

[Ready for battle 2]
A sparkle caught the eye and drew the Navi towards a floating green crystal the size of a basketball. It was being loaded into a truck bed by a Metool. Attached to the truck bed, and the one hauling it, was a tank. Mounted to the truck bed were two cannon turrets. A klaxon alarm was raised as the turrets spotted the Navi. Three cannons were turned on the Navi as the tank rotated its turret as well. The Metool panicked from the sudden loud noise and fell off the truck bed.

-Viruses-
Kabutank: 90HP [Connected to Truck Bed]
CannonDumbA: 50HP [Truck Bed]
CannonDumbB: 50HP [Truck Bed]
Metool: 40HP

-Objects-
Truck Bed: 100HP
GMD: 20HP [Truck Bed]

-Terrain-
100% Normal

-Navi-
CourseMan.EXE: 90HP

~Battle 2: Start!!~
The scene ahead certainly caught courser's eye, though he gave them a wide berth at first, just looking as he arced around. Good, he recognised all of those. Now, how best to take care of the viruses without damaging the prize...

"So, artillery, and treasure... What do you think, Jenny, doesn't it just make you all excited in your privateering parts?"
"Don't know about you, but I'm excited!" It was unclear exactly when it had happened, but where once there was one, there most definitely were now two navis weaving back and forth as they went. A quiet, stifled giggle was the main response, then,
"Oooohh... Ok, let's do it!" There was a hint of sigh in her voice, and Courser couldn't resist; he stretched luxuriantly and buffed his knuckles against the exposed top of his chest for a moment before beginning his battle routines. The small groan that was his reward brought a broader smile to his lips.
"Well then, if your interest is aroused..." He flexed his arms, water encasing his hands and forming his combat whips again while his double did the same. "Come..." he shamelessly put a wealth of charm and command into his voice as he continued. "Just give me what you know I need, Jen, and we'll dance."

He didn't get the chance to enjoy the effect his teasing had on his operator as the alarm began. His copy glanced at him then winked.
"Speaking of dancing... Jig's up, shall we?" The clone darted forward ahead of him, but Courser himself wasn't far behind.

As they closed, Courser picked his target, then gestured to his copy.
"Keep those cannons busy, but keep them clear of the prize." In the back of his mind, the thought occurred that it was probably quite narcissistic to talk and give orders to his own decoy, really. It wasn't necessary, since it, like any of his other illusions, was an extension of his own visual and tactile matrix, albeit with limited processing subroutines to allow it to act independently... but really, his own internal will was enough to control it. It still felt kind of natural to talk to him though.

As he narrowed in on the Kabutank at the front of the truck, Courser was vaguely surprised to feel chip data reaching him finally. Still, judging from the awkward angle of his viewscreen, he guessed that Jenny was only using one hand to operate her PET anyway. Ah well. At least it was something useful for the situation, and more, coupled to the truck as it was, he highly doubted his target would be dodging any time soon. He immediately curved his approach, braking with a skid and putting a hand out towards his target while he used the wake of his water eddy to steady his aim for the few moments the shot took. The whip on his extended hand stretched and drew up, swirling into a solid cylinder. Fully formed, the cannon barrel shifted to an almost opaque tone, and the shot that fired a moment later more resembled a solid metal round than the water it was comprised of.

Absorbing the recoil with a quick spin that sent him ducking away again, Courser cast one eye to his copy while he waited to see if Jenny was sending anything else. The other CourseMan had made instead for the two turrets and the adorably startled metool at the other end, putting himself in the midst of them with a laugh. Ducking and weaving amidst the admittedly stationary targets, he got a particular little gleam in his eye that the real courser recognised all too well. What was he up to? No time to watch though, as the next chip reached him. Either Jen was being cautious and traditional, or else she was just shoving chips in on auto-pilot. Courser knew where his money would be. Still, it was useful. As he finished his arc from the first shot, the same arm swung around again, pointing at his target, now from the other side. The configuration hadn't really changed much, but as he lined up this time, making sure that the tank itself was the only thing in his sights, the volley that fired was the smaller, tighter burst of pellets indicative of the shotgun chip. He caught the recoil again, letting himself turn neatly, then flicked his collar, grinning at the viewscreen. It was currently seeing some bedsheets and half of Jenny's face, one eye watching him intently from where she was sprawled.

"Nice choices, my lady. Ready for round two?" He couldn't resist adding a wink to that before casting his eye back over the field in the brief moment he had spare. Apparently the gleam of mischief he'd seen in his decoy's eye had been with the intent of muddling the poor metool even further, as he was apparently and thanks to the solid nature of his form, doing his best to turn the startled thing over onto its helmet completely.

Summary

*Divide and Conquer: Free self-decoy.
1) Cannon (60 + knockback, A) at Kabutank.
*Decoy playing can't touch me with CannonDumbs and Metool
2) Dodge
*Decoy trying to flip Metool over on its head.
3) Shotgun (50, Spread1, A) at Kabutank.
CourseMan skated up towards the group as he split into two. Both Navis weaved through each others' paths, further confusing the viruses from which one was the real CourseMan. The Kabutank and Cannons fired at the approaching Navis. The Cannons split their fire while the Kabutank launched a pair of small bombs into the middle of the two CourseMans' paths.

The barrage was intense, and even with their evasive maneuvers, one of the Cannons tagged the Decoy. CourseMan managed to dodge out of the way of a screaming cannon shell to run right into a pair of explosions. The Kabutank's twin bombs exploded around both Navis. The Decoy vanished in a cloud of smoke while the real CourseMan was blackened and nicked by shrapnel. The concussive force also threw off CourseMan's aim, his shot flying harmlessly past the Kabutank.

The Kabutank then started to move, trying to get out of the way of CourseMan's path. However, CourseMan skid to a halt and took aim at the moving virus. The Navi's Shotgun blast struck the tank, blowing a hole in its armored plating.

The Metool, not wanting to be left out of the battle, struck the ground with its pickaxe. It sent a retaliatory shockwave at CourseMan. Though the Navi easily dodged out of the way of the energy wave.

-Viruses-
Kabutank: 40HP [Connected to Truck Bed]
CannonDumbA: 50HP [Truck Bed]
CannonDumbB: 50HP [Truck Bed]
Metool: 40HP

-Objects-
Truck Bed: 100HP
GMD: 20HP [Truck Bed]

-Terrain-
100% Normal

-Navi-
CourseMan.EXE: 70HP [Decoy Broken!]
Well, that didn't go quite as planned... Blinking smoke from his eyes, Courser kept moving nonetheless, and shrugged off the sting of shrapnel. It wasn't really as bad as all that. Sort of. He worked his shoulder surreptitiously for a moment, willing the sensation away.

"You'll have to do better than that my friends! You missed both of us!" He winked across the field at his decoy, who had slipped into substance again behind one of the cannons and quickly tore a figure eight amongst the two pieces of fixed artillery before taunting the metool nearby with laugh.

Courser himself moved the other way, still focused on the tank in between taking a quick glance at his screen to see whether Jenny had noticed the slight fumble. He could see part of her face and one eye while the lower half was obscured by sheets. The dreamy, lidded set of her gaze reassured him that his less than perfect moments had gone unnoticed. He tipped an invisible hat to her with a grin.
"Any more toys, my lady?"
"Mm... yeah, just a..." there was some movement that he couldn't quite track with, before the view settled again. "hahh, there, that good?" Courser didn't take the time to check what she'd sent, just grinning to her and stretching to show off his chest a bit more.
"Perfect. Just what I needed." He winked again before returning his attention to the battle.

One reason there as no need to check what she'd sent was, of course, how very limited her stockpile was to being with. He couldn't really afford misses like that until their arsenal expanded a bit. It was more risky to him, perhaps, but safer in the end to make sure he had a clear shot before trying anything. He tried to keep his eyes on everything that was going on, picking his moment as he lined up as carefully as he could. It was a difficult enough shot to make perfectly at the best of times, and he stayed light on his toes until he was sure he had an opening.

As he dodged and wove, his whips twitched and thrashed in rhythm to his movement, beginning to split into sharp protrusions and spikes that bristled and tugged outward, trying to tear free. As the opening came, Courser me eyes with his copy for the briefest moment, then turned his arc into a small spin that lent speed to the Axel jump that followed. At the peak of the spin his arms flared out, whips lashing around at a frightful speed and shooting several of the tight water spines outward like darts. One was aimed directly at the tank before him, but the other two went further, driving instead towards one of the stationary turrets, just as his decoy ducked in to bring his own wave whips overhead at it in a far more eye-catching 'attack', laughing again as he did.


Summary

*You Missed Me Honest! (Self-Decoy)
1) Dodge
*Decoy dodging and taunting amongst cannons
2) Aim
*Decoy making a very fancy and very useless 'attack' against CannonDumbA
3) AquaNeedle ( 20(25) x 3, Variable, B(A), at Kabutank (x1) and CannonDumbA (x2))
The Kabutank, the Metool, and one of the CannonDumbs target the decoy, obliterating it in a hail of projectiles. The second CannonDumb shoots at CourseMan, but fails to hit the slippery Navi. The Navi retaliates with lashing tentacles of water as the Kabutank begins to speed off. The tank is damaged heavily by the pressurized water, and one of its truck bed turrets are ripped out of its housing and sent crashing to the street behind it, as it begins to run away with its prize. Leaving the poor Metool laborer behind. What would its wife and two tiny kids say?

-Viruses-
Kabutank: 15HP [Connected to Truck Bed] [1 Movement Away]
CannonDumbA: DELETED
CannonDumbB: 50HP [Truck Bed] [1 Movement Away]
Metool: 40HP

-Objects-
Truck Bed: 100HP
GMD: 20HP [Truck Bed]

-Terrain-
100% Normal

-Navi-
CourseMan.EXE: 70HP [Decoy Broken!]
"Now, press them!" The shout came not from CourseMan, but from the clearing cloud of smoke and dust had just dispersed his quickly reformed decoy. The clone that surfed out of the cloud was pointing towards the moving truck, as though ordering Courser himself while it arced away, for all apparent signs acting wary of getting shot at any more.

Courser, meanwhile was less concerned about the retreating enemies and more for running through his, admittedly very small, arsenal. In a quick glance he assessed his options, making a decision.

"Last one, Jen, then you can just sit back and enjoy the show, alright?" A vague hum responded, and there was a moment of awkward one-handed fumbling as she got her last chip sent over. Without any time to wait, CourseMan was already moving, darting in to scoop up the much beleaguered metool with one set of wave whips that were already retracting and firming into proper grabbing claws.

"Hang tight little guy, wouldn't want to get left behind now, would we?" He chuckled and winked at the metool, offering it a deceptively friendly smile as he grabbed for it. With a heave, he turned the action into a fluid, strong motion to hurl the virus at the retreating truck, aiming long, for the damaged tank itself.

Even if it connected, though, he'd have a run to catch up and claim his prize, so Courser took off, the small waves at his feed kicking up into a more furious wave that sent him chasing after the retreating vehicle. Across from him, his wing-man had cut in again, catching up first and waving a hand in front of the one remaining turret, blocking its view as he feigned fascination.
"So, you on remote or something? I always wondered what makes the mechanicals like you tick, you know? Just how much processing is going on in there? Any at all? Can you even feel this?" The questioning was delivered in a curious, eager tone as the decoy Courser messed about in front of the cannon, probing its muzzle with illusory water tendrils and other such inanities. He was, careful, though, to never put himself where a fired shot might hit something more valuable.

Courser laughed to himself, weaving back and forth for a moment as he drew alongside. He lashed out as one curve brought him closer to the side of the truck, raking at the turret with his claws.
"Quite messing around! We've work to be doing!" He let the amusement seep though his voice, even though he was, in effect, talking to himself.

Summary

*No, seriously, you missed, I swear it, honest, see?! (Self-Decoy)
1) RageClaw (20 Impact, as Throw, attempting to throw Metool at the retreating Kabutank, B)
*Decoy closing distance
2) Movement: Catching up to surf alongside the side of the truck that still has its cannon
*Decoy messing with and generally being a pain at CannonDumbB
3) RageClaw (40 Slashing, at CannonDumbB, B) (RageClaw with 4 uses left)


[[OOC: Sorry for missing several days... had quite the weekend.]]
CourseMan picked up the poor, stranded Metool and chucked its butt like a football into the retreating Kabutank. The Metool flew like an RPG and smashed helmet-first into the tank, smashing through it to the other side. The Kabutank exploded in a spectacular fireball, that for some reason did not seem to harm the bed it was hauling. Physics be damned.

The CannonDumb did not like this one bit. And it tried to fire upon the multiplying Navi as he closed. But the cannon shell went sailing by the two Navis as they dodged out of the way. CourseMan then closed and slashed the immobile turret as his decoy distracted it further, rending a huge gash along its machine housing.

The Metool stumbled to its feet and slammed its pickaxe into the ground. The shock wave sped across the ground and struck the real CourseMan. What a lucky shot!

The decoy that CourseMan made then expired in a puff of watery mist.

-Viruses-
Kabutank: DELETED
CannonDumbA: DELETED
CannonDumbB: 10HP [Truck Bed]
Metool: 20HP

-Objects-
Truck Bed: 100HP [Immobile]
GMD: 20HP [Truck Bed]

-Terrain-
100% Normal

-Navi-
CourseMan.EXE: 60HP [RageClaw: 4/6] [Decoy Expired!]
The tank exploding brought the escape attempt to a halt, but even so, Courser couldn't stop the small grunt of discomfort as the shockwave disrupted his water eddy and made him stumble a few steps. It was far from his most graceful moment. Even so, his instincts kept him moving and he rolled quickly back to the side, back the way he had come until he came upright again, rising claw-first behind the fixed turret to finish off the destruction work he'd started earlier.

As he dodged, his decoy reformed again, slipping up from the ground behind the cheeky metool and jumping over it with a nimble vault. He came down neatly collapsing with perfect coordination into a cross-legged pose, sitting right in front of the little creature's face with his hands on his knees and a disappointed frown on his features.

"Hey now... Is that any way to treat a guy who's just trying to make sure you're not left behind, huh? For shame, little guy, for shame... attacking an upstanding man of fortune like myself." He shook his head and let out a loud sigh. "Now, look at me when I'm talking to you, hmm? You can't just go shooting off shockwaves like that all over the place, any time you get a bit startled. It's undignified and very unclassy." Here, he sat up a bit straighter, though he was still sitting on the ground in front of the virus, and stretched enough to flick his collar and adjust his coat. There as a hint of self-aggrandising swagger in his tone as he continued, drawing attention to his perfectly matching outfit and rugged charm. "You should really take more care, or you might hurt someone you don't mean to. Just play it cool, like me, you know? Besides, if you..." The strange mix of scolding and advice continued without pause, the decoy seeming to enjoy the sound of his own voice more than anything else.

The real Courseman slipped out to the side, around the pair, and then came in again from the side, dashing in fast and low the last few paces to blind-side the virus and rake his claws at it again, no longer with any friendly smile but a cool, serious intent instead.


Summary

1) Dodge
* Is that any way to treat a mate? (Self-Decoy)
2) RageClaw (40 Slashing, at CannonDumbB, B)
3) RageClaw (40 Slashing, at Metool, B) (RageClaw with 2 uses left)
With the Metool distracted, the real Courseman came in and deleted both viruses with giant claws. All that was left as the decoy vanished with a smirk was to collect the prizes.

-Viruses-
Kabutank: DELETED
CannonDumbA: DELETED
CannonDumbB: DELETED
Metool: DELETED

-Objects-
Truck Bed: 100HP [Immobile]
GMD: 20HP [Truck Bed]

-Terrain-
100% Normal

-Navi-
CourseMan.EXE: 60HP [RageClaw: 2/6] [Decoy Expired!]

~Battle 2: Victory!!~
Rewards: Cannon, 270z

OPEN GMD: Y/N?
With a small sigh, courser made a last small circle around the space, letting the last of his momentum drift away. Done with, finally. the whole battle had been a touch more effort than he'd expected and he found himself vaguely short on breath as he surveyed the aftermath.

"So, Jen, what did you think? Good show?" As he spoke, Courser stretched, pulling open the unbuttoned front of his shirt a little more to catch the breeze as he panted. The beginnings of a delicate sheen of sweat marked his brow and he wiped it away with a casual motion as he waited for her answer. It came only in the form of a small, muffled gasp and a smothered giggle, then a short moan, while a glance at the viewscreen showed that it was, once again, mostly obscured. This time it looked like she was probably holding the PET against her chest or something, as it was mostly skin that covered the screen. Courser shook his head with a grin. Best probably to just take that as a yes and move on.

A good distraction would be the prize those viruses had tried to make off with and he busied himself examining it briefly, before reaching out a hand to activate it.

[Confirming Open GMD]
The GMD opens to reveal...

... A battlechip!

GET: Pulsar1

Quote (Pulsar1)

Damage: 70 + Object Triggered Blast 2
Accuracy: A (Primary) / B (Blast)
Description: Fires a sound wave. If it hits an object, its range is amplified, hitting anything near that object in a blast of noise.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Object Triggered Blast: Blast effect that only works if the attack hits an Object, such as a RockCube.