Free At Last!

As much as Faith probably wanted to believe the best of the Melody that had incidentally squashed her navi, the truth of the matter was that, when it noticed that it had indeed landed on a navi and harmed it, the melody made the most adorably happy-eyed expression and bounced up and down in place a few more times (on top of Feint, no less, though it didn't seem to cause any additional harm... just discomfort).

Why it was gleeful at scoring an unexpected hit on an unknown navi was anyone's guess, but the only one who might be able to explain was the note itself... and a moment later, Feint's claws raked through it from two directions and swiftly removed all trace of it from the net.

Elsewhere the fishy took another rushing pass at Feint, but missed by an even wider mile than before, and looked like it was contemplating giving up and going back to playing with the musical chimes.

One of the remaining Melodies happened to see the destruction of its friend and, in distress began to hop over towards the scene of destruction. Even so, its jumping only carried it most of the way over, for now, leaving the note quite close to Feint for the time being. The third one remained playfully oblivious, jumping about on the chimes and making them jingle.



-=Hardly Musical=-

MelodyA: 80Hp [Grass][Close to Feint]
MelodyB: DELETED
MelodyC: 80Hp [Metal][Middle of the arches, on a metal chime]
Fishy: 70Hp [Grass][to the right of Feint, turning back towards the arched structure]
Spikey: DELETED

-=Hardly Patient=-

Feint.Exe: 130Hp [Grass][A short distance from the arch structure][RageClaw, 4/6]

-=Hardly... Hard? ... Terrain=-

10% Metal [The Arch Structure, and two or three Chimes]
10% Glass [A couple of the chimes]
30% Grass [Area around the arches]
50% Normal [Area under the arches, and some of the Chimes]

-=Objects=-

Arched Structure: 200Hp [Anchored]
Suspended ChimesA-F: 10Hp Each [Suspended under the arches]

Notes: The arched structure can be climbed on with a well Rped action, and acts like metal terrain. Likewise a jump action and/or good RP can be used to climb and purchase on any of the chimes, which variously act as Glass, Metal or Normal.

Depleting a Chime's Hp will cause it to drop to the ground, possibly modifying the ground terrain.

 

*Tch!*

Feint made a clicking noise with her tongue as the second Melody drew near.

"They're just eager to die."

"No, they're just defending themselves because you're picking on them!"

Feint ignored her operator and stepped toward the second Melody, quickly lunging at it with her claws in attempts to turn this one to ribbons as well. First a wide-slash with the left claw then another wide cut from the right.

The Fishy looked like it had given up, but she'd still pursue that one before all was said and done.

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


Action #1 - Dodge (Evasive Movement toward MelodyA)

Action #2 - RageClaw1 (DMG: 40 ~ ACC: B ~ Slashing ~ 3/6 Uses) @ MelodyA

Action #3 - RageClaw1 (DMG: 40 ~ ACC: B ~ Slashing ~ 4/6 Uses) @ MelodyA

The Melody that had come to avenge its buddy was suitably more fired up than the last, and as Feint dashed in the note jumped. As a result, the aggressive navi's first claw swipe raked harmlessly through the space where it had been. The note, equally, landed in the space where Feint herself had been a moment ago.

When she turned to swipe at it a second time, the note was already bouncing up again, and she met a second clawful of air, though this time the note managed to bounce squarely on her head, knocking Feint flat again (-10). It bounced away again, landing on the grass nearby, and if the first note had seemed gleeful and happy, this one regarded feint with undeniable surliness.

Elsewhere, the final note bounced between its chimes, slipped on a glass one, and fell to the ground with a crash. It paused to look up at the chime, as though some deep betrayal had taken place. The fishy seemed highly amused by this.


-=Hardly Musical=-

MelodyA: 80Hp [Grass][Close to Feint]
MelodyB: DELETED
MelodyC: 80Hp [Normal][Ground below the arches]
Fishy: 70Hp [Grass][to the right of Feint, looking away]
Spikey: DELETED

-=Hardly Patient=-

Feint.Exe: 120Hp [Grass][A short distance from the arch structure][RageClaw, 2/6]

-=Hardly... Hard? ... Terrain=-

10% Metal [The Arch Structure, and two or three Chimes]
10% Glass [A couple of the chimes]
30% Grass [Area around the arches]
50% Normal [Area under the arches, and some of the Chimes]

-=Objects=-

Arched Structure: 200Hp [Anchored]
Suspended ChimesA-F: 10Hp Each [Suspended under the arches]

Notes: The arched structure can be climbed on with a well Rped action, and acts like metal terrain. Likewise a jump action and/or good RP can be used to climb and purchase on any of the chimes, which variously act as Glass, Metal or Normal.

Depleting a Chime's Hp will cause it to drop to the ground, possibly modifying the ground terrain.

"Why you little..."

Feint grew more and more agitated with each hit she took, and right about now she was starting to feel soreness in her body from the consecutive blows. Electrical energy began to gather around her body again just as it had earlier; simultaneously, she zipped around to the other side of the Melody as her claws burst into shards of data to be replaced by the Shotgun Chip Faith had loaded up.

*Click*!

Ammo went into the chamber of the gun, along with the stored electrical charges, and then out came an exploding blast of energy, intending to catch the Fishy in the aftermath assuming she had lined up properly with her initial target, the Melody.

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


Action #1 - Feint (Tactical Movement around MelodyA, lining it up with Fishy)

Action #2 - Overdrive (Take Aim + Imbue Elec + Strengthen 30 ~ 2 CD)

Action #3 - Shotgun (DMG: 85 Elec ~ ACC: A+ ~ Spread 1) @ MelodyA & Fishy

Suitably infuriated by both her own misses, and the Melody's aggravating bouncing, Feint manoeuvred to bring some heavier duty fire-power to the brawl. The angry note nearest her began to bounce around wildly, seemingly disregarding friend and foe alike. It was hard to tell whether this was elation from landing its attack, or incommunicable fury at the destruction of its friend. Who could really tell, with these viruses? Feint, at least, didn't really seem to care.

She watched the note long enough to line up a careful shot, an then, at the perfect moment, Let loose the shotgun burst that tore it to shreds, just as it crossed path with the Fishy, just a little further off. The latter had given up on the annoying navi, and was about to make another pass at the musical chimes, but alas, no more.

The last note was still happily oblivious, and bounced back up to perch on another of the glass chimes, making it ring softly.



-=Hardly Musical=-

MelodyA: DELETED
MelodyB: DELETED
MelodyC: 80Hp [Glass][On a glass Chime]
Fishy: DELETED
Spikey: DELETED

-=Hardly Patient=-

Feint.Exe: 120Hp [Grass][A short distance from the arch structure]

-=Hardly... Hard? ... Terrain=-

10% Metal [The Arch Structure, and two or three Chimes]
10% Glass [A couple of the chimes]
30% Grass [Area around the arches]
50% Normal [Area under the arches, and some of the Chimes]

-=Objects=-

Arched Structure: 200Hp [Anchored]
Suspended ChimesA-F: 10Hp Each [Suspended under the arches]

Notes: The arched structure can be climbed on with a well Rped action, and acts like metal terrain. Likewise a jump action and/or good RP can be used to climb and purchase on any of the chimes, which variously act as Glass, Metal or Normal.

Depleting a Chime's Hp will cause it to drop to the ground, possibly modifying the ground terrain.

"I'd tell you to leave the last one alone because it's not doing any harm, but I know you'd just ignore me and attack it anyway."

"Now you're learning."

*Sigh*

Faith loaded up her last two chips, unwillingly assisting Feint in a brutal murder of something she believed to be totally innocent.

And just as before, Feint popped the chips into her gun's ammo slots and took advantage of the virus' obliviousness.

*POW-PO-PO-PO-POW*

The first bullet transfigured itself into what could best be described as a green ring of electricity as it shot across the air, attempting to strike the Melody's blindside and immobilize it. The next three shots fired off more rapidly than expected, like a burst of a semi-automatic machine gun. And the final shot was just a blank round from Feint's gun; a ball of air intending to finish off the unsuspecting creature if the rest of her barrage failed to.

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


Action #1 - ZapRing1 (DMG:45 Elec ~ ACC: A+ ~ Stun 1) @ MelodyC

Action #2 - Vulcan1 (DMG: 10 x 3 Hits ~ ACC: A+ ~ Spread 1) @MelodyC

Action #3 - Buster Shot (DMG: 10 Null ~ ACC: A+) @ MelodyC

With the field clear of foes immediately attacking her, Feint set her sights on the last virus nearby, still happily bouncing from chime to chime. Her barrage caught it in between jumps, peppering the virus first with a concussive shock that held it still, then a volley of lesser shots. All but one of the Vulcan rounds connected cleanly, very nearly shredding the oblivious note. It dropped off the chime and crashed to the ground, stunned and twitching slightly, but still alive.

-=Hardly Musical=-

MelodyA: DELETED
MelodyB: DELETED
MelodyC: 5Hp [Normal][Stunned!]
Fishy: DELETED
Spikey: DELETED

-=Hardly Patient=-

Feint.Exe: 120Hp [Grass][A short distance from the arch structure]

-=Hardly... Hard? ... Terrain=-

10% Metal [The Arch Structure, and two or three Chimes]
10% Glass [A couple of the chimes]
30% Grass [Area around the arches]
50% Normal [Area under the arches, and some of the Chimes]

-=Objects=-

Arched Structure: 200Hp [Anchored]
Suspended ChimesA-F: 10Hp Each [Suspended under the arches]

Notes: The arched structure can be climbed on with a well Rped action, and acts like metal terrain. Likewise a jump action and/or good RP can be used to climb and purchase on any of the chimes, which variously act as Glass, Metal or Normal.

Depleting a Chime's Hp will cause it to drop to the ground, possibly modifying the ground terrain.

"Ugh, over-estimated myself."

Disappointing, really. Feint fired off several more rounds of her empty chamber, peppering the field as best she could to finish off the tenacious musical note.


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


Action #1 - Buster Shot (DMG: 10 Null ~ ACC: A+) @ MelodyC

Action #2 - Buster Shot (DMG: 10 Null ~ ACC: A+) @ MelodyC

Action #3 - Buster Shot (DMG: 10 Null ~ ACC: A+) @ MelodyC

The odds of the marksman navi failing to hit a stationary and stunned musical note as it lay twitching on the ground, were exceptionally slim. So it was that, finally, Feint finished off the last virus on the scene with a few disdainful bolts from her weapon. It gave a last high-pitched squeak, as though wondering why this had happened to it, before collapsing into disintegrating junk data. The last of the hanging chimes stilled, and the musical wind-chime fell silent.

-=Hardly Musical=-

MelodyA: DELETED
MelodyB: DELETED
MelodyC: DELETED
Fishy: DELETED
Spikey: DELETED

-=Hardly Patient=-

Feint.Exe: 120Hp [Grass][A short distance from the arch structure]

-=Battle 2, Victory!=-

Spoils: 420z

 
"It sounded so sad..."

"How tragic."

Well, what was done was done. But Feint wasn't done. She continued wandering around for more viruses to beat up on, and Faith continue wondering why she allowed this to continue for as long as it did.

But who knew? Maybe Feint would actually decide not to savagely attack anything that appeared before her. It wasn't too much to hope for, right?


REQUESTING BATTLE #3

Leaving the quaint musical scene behind, and devoid of all life and song, Feint continued looking for things to wantonly murder. Her journey found a meandering path that soon opened out into a broader, well paved roadway through the net. It seemed to lead to a bluff hedge wall, and a moderately impressive set of wrought iron gates, and something that looked suspiciously like a mansion courtyard beyond; behind the gates was a long drive, with a few bush sculptures, and stone water feature in the middle.

More pressing for Feint's immediate concern, however, was the fact that the gates had just clanged open, to the sound of panting and small excited yaps. A trio of Swordies 'march' swiftly from the gates. Each seems to be holding the leash of an almost rabid-looking Spikey, straining to break free ahead of them. Each Swordy takes a moment to sword-salute feint, then they release the leads.

The three Spikeys bound forward first, licks of flame dropping from their panting mouths as the rush the navi, though ti seems the swordies don't intend to wait either.

-=Gate Gaurds=-

Swordy-N A: 60Hp [Normal]
Swordy-N B: 60Hp [Normal]
Swordy-N C: 60Hp [normal]

SpikeyA: 90Hp [Normal][Pack Tactics]
SpikeyB: 90Hp [Normal][Pack Tactics]
SpikeyC: 90Hp [Normal][Pack Tactics]

-=Gate Crasher?=-

Feint.Exe: 120Hp [Normal]

-=Gate Grounds=-

70% Normal
30% Grass [verges to either side of the roadway]

-=Gates=-

Iron Gates: 100Hp [Anchored][IronBody]

-=Battle 3, start=-

"You think these are friendly too?"

"Cherish, run!"

Well, they finally see eye to eye about an enemy being an enemy, and then Faith goes and tells her to retreat. How cowardly.

"Run? Oh no Nymphra, they're just playing around. Having fun and all, you know."

Faith furrowed her eye brows at Feint's sarcasm (and mocking, no less) as she slammed a chip into her PET -- nearly breaking the device in her anger.

Giving up the act, Cherish accepted the chip data and loaded it into her weapon. Their arsenal was pretty limited. If she missed a shot, it'd put her in a fatal disadvantage against these rather oppressive-looking enemies. Maybe she'd take a few hits for attempting to wipe out the front line first, but the less enemies she left alive, the less retaliation she'd have to deal with.

Feint quickly stepped to the side, lining herself up so that when she fired the Shotgun blast at one of the charging Spikeys, the second explosion would attempt to catch another one. Hopefully these pups were as addicted to playing "catch" as the last dog she'd shot at was.


Sadly there was no time for further action by the time the pack would have reached her, so she crouched down, ready to dive through the ranks of the approaching hounds as they drew close, intending to end up behind them and then just keep on tumbling for a few yards because what else could she do while under attack. If she'd end up surrounded, then maybe she could play that to her advantage -- if the Spikey's missed with their fireballs, maybe they'd hit a Swordy by accident.

That was thinking a bit further ahead than where she was at the moment though; for now, it was best to tackle this obstacle one step at a time.


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


Action #1 - Feint (Re-angling position to line up SpikeyA and SpikeyB, preferably without stepping on Grass)

Action #2 - Shotgun (DMG: 50 ~ ACC: A+ ~ Spread 1) @ SpikeyA and SpikeyB

Action #3 - Dodge (Dodge-roll past the Spikey's, aiming to end up between them and the Swordies. Then over-exaggeration the Dodge-Roll so she'll hopefully be a harder target to hit. Still avoiding the Grass.)

Unfortunately for Feint, these dogs weren't the dopey, friendly variety she'd seen before; these spikes were attack dogs, and they came on aggressively, and with a certain instinctive level of pack-wiles. Two ofhte spikeys winged out to the sides, beginning to encircle Feint, while the first barked and sent a scorching ball of flame her way.

The navi managed to dodge it, just, but though she lined up her shot perfectly to snipe both her main target and a second, the circling Spikey dodged nimbly out of the way. At least her blast on the first one connected cleanly, making it yelp in pain.

The swordies had hung back at first, letting their hounds have the first go, but now, in the clear opening, they teleported to her one after the other, making swift swings with their blades. Feint managed to duck away from the first surprise attack, but the second scored across her back painfully, and the third, porting up beside the first, managed to strike her shoulder.

Nimble as he was, the viruses were aggressive and the opening round had left a mark.


-=Gate Gaurds=-

Swordy-N A: 60Hp [Normal] [In front of Feint]
Swordy-N B: 60Hp [Normal] [Directly behind Feint]
Swordy-N C: 60Hp [Normal] [Next to Swordy-N A]

SpikeyA: 40Hp [Normal][Pack Tactics]
SpikeyB: 90Hp [Grass][To Feint's Left][Pack Tactics]
SpikeyC: 90Hp [Grass][to Feint's Right][Pack Tactics]

-=Gate Crasher?=-

Feint.Exe: 90Hp [Normal]

-=Gate Grounds=-

70% Normal
30% Grass [verges to either side of the roadway]

-=Gates=-

Iron Gates: 100Hp [Anchored][IronBody]

"Ngh!"

Feint gave a rough grunt as two of the three sword strikes rung true.

"Cherish, you're surrounded!"

"No kidding!"

Frustration was speaking now. Outnumbered was one thing, but there was no way for her to evade six sources of damage when she could on realistically respond to three at a time -- and even then it was entirely left to chance.

It didn't really matter how evasive she chose to be; it was certain that she would get struck at a blind angle no matter which way she cut it. The most sound option was to eliminate as many potential attackers as quickly as possible. She'd take some hits in the mean time, but hopefully her firepower output would be able to catch up before they were able to put her down for good.


Electrical energy surged around her body and into her weapon just as before while she swiftly moved positions to break out of the inner-circle formed by the three swordies. Lining herself up to the side of the two in the front, she loaded in the Vulcan Chip data she had just received from Faith and fired away at point-blank range to the two that chose to attack her face on.


She felt defenseless now, only able to brace for more blows that would inevitably come. But she didn't think twice about declining Faith's recent command to retreat -- hopeless or not, she didn't shy away from a fight. Failure was more honorable than forfeit, even if it'd end up costing her more in the end.


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


Action #1 - Dodge (Re-angling again to line up Swordy-N A and Swordy-N C for Vulcan's Spread)

Action #2 - Overdrive ([Take Aim + Imbue Elec + Strengthen 30 ] ~ 2 CD)

Action #3 - Vulcan 1 (DMG: 25 x 3 Hits Elec ~ ACC: A+ ~ Spread 1) @ Swordy-N A and Swordy-N C
------ Base Damage was 10 * 3
------ Overdrive increased the total damage by 30 (added +10 per hit)
------ Elec Affinity added +5 per hit

Around the outside, the three Spikeys dodged and weaved, but with the three swordies up in Feint's personal space, finding an opening was difficult for them. Only one of the three took a clear shot, and even then, Feint dicked out of the way. Her movement was more focused on lining up her foes, so the evasion may have been chance, but it still looked pretty neat.

A quick move and an even quicker shot was all it took for Feint to improve her odds in this fight by a fair margin. In the short lull after their attacks, the retaliation of her amped up vulcan proved just enough to shred the armour and destroy two of the swordy viruses, while the third drifted back from her slightly, evasive. For now, her offensive gambit had paid off.


-=Gate Gaurds=-

Swordy-N A: DELETED
Swordy-N B: 60Hp [Normal] [Directly behind Feint]
Swordy-N C: DELETED

SpikeyA: 40Hp [Normal][Pack Tactics]
SpikeyB: 90Hp [Grass][To Feint's Left][Pack Tactics]
SpikeyC: 90Hp [Grass][to Feint's Right][Pack Tactics]

-=Gate Crasher?=-

Feint.Exe: 90Hp [Normal]

-=Gate Grounds=-

70% Normal
30% Grass [verges to either side of the roadway]

-=Gates=-

Iron Gates: 100Hp [Anchored][IronBody]

((OOC Note: Your navi's element bonus applies only to elemental chips; it can't effect signatures, or null chips that have been imbued. Think of Imbue as being a modifier effect that occurs after the chip has already been loaded through your navi in its basic form; the chip itself is still null. In this case, you still had enough damage, even without the element bonus, just, and all the hits connected.))

(Gotcha -- my mistake there.))


Well that turned out as best it possibly could. Feint almost cracked a smile at their success, but she wasn't out of the danger zone just yet.

"Cherish, delete the last knight!"

No hesitation came in executing those orders as a Cannon Chip appeared in Feint's hand. She was a bit more cooperative now that there was just a tad less stress in the equation. But odds were still against her at this point, so it was no time to get comfortable.

A second chip came in: Zap Ring.

"Maybe you can finish off the weakened wolf too?"

"..."

Well there was no harm in trying. If she'd miss though, Faith only had the Rage Claw chip left, so it'd be a daunting fight to finish with only that.

Feint loaded both chips into her weapon and fired first at the nearby Swordy -- the kickback from the cannon blast nearly knocked her off balance, one could only imagine how hard it'd hit from the other side of the barrel.

Before the dust cleared from the shot, her weapon sparked with electricity as she turned to fire it at the Spikey she'd shot before with her ShotGun Chip. That same electricity trailed behind the green disk-shaped projectile in the air as she attempted to finish off the hound before it had the chance to attack.


Now she was nearly out of resources and still in the opening, vulnerable to attacks. She hated making habits while in combat, but it was a pretty solid strategy to go early on the defensive -- ready to evade incoming attacks -- than to strike again and leave herself exposed. Sometimes, though, she really didn't have a better option.


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


Action #1 - Cannon (DMG: 60 ~ ACC: A ~ Knockback) @ Swordy-N B

Action #2 - ZapRing1 (DMG:40 ~ ACC: A ~ Stun 1) @ Spikey A

Action #3 - Dodge (Ready to Evade)

Still intent upon slicing the intruder, the remaining Swordy teleported tot he front, preparing to give Feint a serious running through, only to catch the marksman's cannon shot clear to the helmet. It clattered back against the iron gates and crumpled down.

Meanwhile, one of he other spikeys darted around in front of Feint, barking and trailing fire from its mouth, trying to draw her attention while the other two attacked, but the navi was having none of it. Her electric ring managed to clip the injured virus before it could fire, but the second one launched a globe of fire towards her back. By chance of her other movements, though, Feint had just enough forewarning to avoid the shot, barely.

The remaining two spikeys paused to look about, then began to growl warningly at the navi, though they didn't look to be giving up the attack just yet.


-=Gate Gaurds=-

Swordy-N A: DELETED
Swordy-N B: DELETED
Swordy-N C: DELETED

SpikeyA: DELETED
SpikeyB: 90Hp [Grass][To Feint's Left]
SpikeyC: 90Hp [Grass][to Feint's Right]

-=Gate Crasher?=-

Feint.Exe: 90Hp [Normal]

-=Gate Grounds=-

70% Normal
30% Grass [verges to either side of the roadway]

-=Gates=-

Iron Gates: 100Hp [Anchored][IronBody]

((I have a period of inactivity approaching, so I'm gonna try to bail and jack Feint out. Sorry for the huge delay on this post too, btw))

"We're almost out of chips, Cherish..."

"..."

Two more fiery dogs remained, and a RageClaw chip wouldn't prove too useful at the moment. Looks like she'd grant Faith's wish for once and let them get away this time.

"Guess we're out of options then. Despite how eager I am to kill time trying to scratch at these pooches, I'll let them be for now."


A Spikey on each side at least meant nothing hindered her escape route straight ahead. Electricity traced her footprints as she sprinted down the empty road to retreat from the remaining two enemies.


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


Action #1 - Escape

Action #2 - Escape

Action #3 - Escape

Fully expecting to have to guard their gate to the bitter end, the remaining two spikeys paused as the navi opposite them decided to cut and run. One tilted its head slightly, setting some of the nearby grass on fire as it panted. This did, however, mean that neither of them actually gave chase in time to prevent Feint from making a clean getaway.

((Escape successful))