First Encounters

Once again Mel found herself at the mercy of her partner's wit as it threw a shield up to protect them both from the rolling log. As it split to the side, Mel could see that her Shotgun blast had been true and destroyed its target, but the bush was still alive and very much kicking. The two fish had whirred past her, and while they had missed, Mel wasn't comforted by this fact. The grass was making it harder to tell what was happening in front of her.

What can we do with this? Phil asked as he handled the FireBurn1 battlechip. Beth looked at it and had an idea. Mel, we're sending you that chip you collected earlier. See if you can't hit one of those fish with it, she advised as Phil pushed it through the reader.

The resulting change on Mel's right arm seemed contradictory to her usual programming; instead of being calmingly cool, the heated canister that extended from her forearm heated up not just the rest of her arm, but the rest of her body as well. She'd seen what the stoves were capable of and didn't want the Mett to be a victim to the burn, so she moved two steps to the left and targeted the fish on the left. Dash your way through this, she taunted mentally as she unleashed a wave of burning fire at the target. As it travelled, it seemed to eat away at the grass in the area, fuelling its inferno and turning the simple flames into a rather nasty fireball. The heat took even the Mett by surprise. That was effective, she commented, as the heating element dissolved and her regular arm re-emerged. Wish we had more of those.

Phil was in awe from the destructive power of the FireBurn chip, and tried to reinsert it, but to no effect. A second and third swipe returned the same effect. Why can't we send it again? he whined.

You can't just resend a battlechip. It needs to be recalibrated by Mel's internal code, which can't be done while she's in battle mode, Beth explained. That's why you have to use them wisely.

The longer grass, while it had been helpful in increasing the effectiveness of her fire charge, was beginning to get on Mel's nerves. Let's try to clear some of this rubbish, she sneered as she began the restoration function. Once again her legs and feet began to glow a whitish colour (although through her dress you could only see the blue gown become lighter), and the sudden bursts of energy flowed forward from her feet, into the ground and towards the area with the surviving virii.

[TURNS]
1) [Act] Dodge (+two steps to the left)
2) [BC] FireBurn1 (50 100 DMG + Line 3, A, Fire/Gun) => FishyA <amplified by Grass panel>
3) [NC] ResetStage => Area in front of Mel and LeaderMetool

[CD]
Glaciator: 0 => 1 [Used]

Mel: 100 HP

The peculiar sensation of working with a chip that was so opposed to her own element wasn't enough to distract Ameliorate from trying her shot anyway. As she lined up with the Fishy just to her left, it looked as though it was preparing to attack a second time, but something else happened that the young navi hadn't been expecting: turning her back to the right fishy had given it all the impetus it needed to react just that little bit faster.

It shot past the girl, winging her hard with the wave of impact as it blew past, and stopped just shot of its all; try as she might, Mel's own quick manoeuvring hadn't been enough to get her out of the way this time, but it did have a more positive side effect. The second Fishy's over-zealous charge had left it right in line with the other one, and before either of them could react any further, the line of scorching fire that Mel had prepared washed over them both. the grass ignited raising a fierce pall of fire that was enough to char both fish viruses from the net before it faded, and the back-wash of heat would have been enough to make anyone wince.

Mel's little friend shuffled around under his domed helmet and peeked up, but when he saw the flames he immediately dropped the rim of his defence and stayed hidden with a barely audible 'Meep!'

The shrubby also reacted to the fire with shock, its features turning to clear and overt distress, but Mel wasn't done tormenting the little bush-thing. A moment later, the white wave of energy rippled across the ground from Mel's feet, clearing out not only the charred grass stubs consumed by the fire, but a large area in front of her as well, returning the ground to normal. This left the Shrubby exposed, and rather than attack again, it let out a small squeak and darted backwards with impressive speed to hide in the nearest edge of the grass instead.


-=With the Wind=-

Shrubby: 50Hp [Centre Back Field][Long-Grass]
Bunny: DELETED
FishyA: DELETED
FishyB: DELETED

-=Toeing The Line=-

Ameliorate: 85Hp [Normal]
LeaderMetool: 40Hp [Just ahead of Mel][IV][Guarding][Normal]

-=The Field of Reeds=-

50% Grass
50% Normal

Notes:

Long-Grass: Grass terrain, but long enough that it can act as partial cover and concealment. Dodging is a little bit harder in the grass, but accuracy is also slightly hampered. It is concealing enough that foes which rely on cover do not feel exposed while in it.

((You recorded your Glaciator signature as used there, but didn't use it; formatting miss? In case not, recall that all sigs reset between battles, regardless of their cooldown, so it's fine.))

((In a previous writeup I'd planned to go with Glaciator, but decided instead to go with Reset Stage (more and more I'm happy with that decision for NCP starter). Thought I erased it from the move summary, but forgot about the CD. :D))

The speed of the floating fish had been unexpected, and was too much for the poor girl's legs. She staggered and fell onto the ground. Unfortunately for Mel, said ground had just been restored back to its natural state, so it wasn't a soft landing into grass, but a harder landing onto flat ground.

Landing backside first, Mel got a taste of the other side of netbattling. Ow, was all she could muster up. As she got to her feet, she did a quick head count to see if her fireball had been successful, and was surprised to see only the bush and her Mett still standing. Did I scare its partner away? she asked.

Phil was quick to respond. You got both of them! That was awesome! he cheered.

While she hadn't been aiming for both, to get them was a good turn of events, as she was already panicking about her systems. How much of this can I take? she wondered to herself before getting back to the battle.

Only one target. Good. A snatch of hair later, followed by coding enhancements and another bolas snare was ready to be thrown. Gaining momentum, she set her sights on the green virus, hiding at the edge of the grass. I'd be better off taking this to him rather than attacking from a distance, she pondered out loud. Breaking into a run, Mel formed her next strategy. Have those blades ready! she called out.

Phil picked out the RageClaw chip and was just about to push it in before Beth's hand grabbed his wrist and held it away. She said have it ready, not do it straight away, Beth scolded. Realising his error, Phil stopped resisting and let his hand hover, chip ready to go.

As she sprinted forward, Mel took aim at the bush and threw the coil towards the edge of the grass, hoping the attack would stun him long enough for a follow-up. Now! she yelled, and almost instantly the giant claw burst forth from her right hand, ready to main. She lunged forward, slashing wildly at the foe in front of her.

[TURNS]
*) [SPA] Medical Mastery (All healing actions gain +20% HP healing)
1) [Act] Movement (run to edge of grass)
2) [Sig] Glaciator (20 Life Drain, C, Aqua/Thrown) => Shrubby
3) [BC] RageClaw1 (40 DMG + Slashing, {6 5 Uses Left}, B, Normal/Sword) => Shrubby

[CD]
Glaciator: 0 => 1 [Used]

Mel: 85 HP

((Just to confirm, the Medical Mastery subtype ability increases healing by 20%; in the example above, if Glaciator hits, it's 20 HP damage with 24 HP healing, correct? If Life Drain were to hit a shield/casing/barrier etc, does that still heal, or is that benefit negated because it didn't actually hit the enemy, just their defenses?))

While Mel recovered herself and picked herself up again, her allied Metool popped up and struck the ground with its pickaxe, sending a shockwave across the cleared space towards the Shrubby. Unfortunately, the little bush-monster darted to the side with a gliding swiftness, avoiding the wave and making her friend grumble something unintelligible.

By this point, though, Mel was readying her own attack, racing in to deliver her snare. By chance of the right breeze, good aim, and an opportune parting of the grass, the bolus whipped in and wrapped firm around its feet. The coils twisted and snared wrapping up and around its leafy body until the plant stumbled forward, out of the grass, getting progressively more tangled up until it ended up on its head with its back to Mel, feet kicking in the air while the vampiric nature of her attack drained it.

Ameliorate was on hand both to receive the bounty of stolen energy, and then to finish up the business with a quick slash of her claws on the vulnerable target. with that, the last of the hostiles had been eliminated, and Mel was free to gather the bits and pieces that had collapsed into usable zenny, while her little companion took some time to prod at the degrading data remains once or twice, cautiously.

Overhead, the light rain was growing steadily heavier as the wind picked up. There was a deep rumble overhead, from the darkest part of the cloud-covered sky and it was clear a storm was threatening. Beside her, the Metool Leader looked up towards Mel, then began to make its way back to the small village, hurrying the others to finish up their various repair work and take shelter for now. The others swiftly did, stowing hammers and brihgt yellow paint, and filing into the little domes quickly. With that done, however, the leader looked back towards Mel, to see what she intended to do.


-=With the Wind=-

Shrubby: DELETED
Bunny: DELETED
FishyA: DELETED
FishyB: DELETED

-=Toeing The Line=-

Ameliorate: 100Hp [Normal]
LeaderMetool: 40Hp [Just ahead of Mel][IV][Normal]

-=Batle 2, Victory!=-

Spoils: 400z

((In fact, Life Drain is counted as a separate effect to Healing; consider it this way: direct healing effects are pure restoration, but Life Drain, by its nature is absorption, so it doesn't work in quite the same way that recovery navis might be used to. As a result, the medical mastery bonus doesn't apply to Life Drain, I'm sorry to say. In regards to Life Drain itself, it acts as a vampiric drain, so this means that it will only restore at most the amount that you paid for in the signature (amplification can increase the damage dealt, but not the amount absorbed), OR the amount of damage actually done - Whichever of these is the lower value; if a target has a lower amount of HP left, or if you deal reduced or no damage for any other reason, you only receive that lesser amount back))

((Noted.))

Dispatching the last virus, Mel took a deep breath and pondered over the last few minutes. It's not enjoyable, but I guess the BIOS was right, most viruses need to be deleted, before they do damage. I refuse to believe they all need deleting though, she muttered as she gathered the loose zenny that had been distributed on the ground. She chuckled as Mett poked at the fragmented data. Did it realise that could be him one day...?

More noise from above. Mel looked to the skies as they darkened. The rain was getting harder and faster, and the low rumble from earlier was getting louder. Indeed, the once bright landscape had taken a turn, and was not so inviting as it was upon logon. Undeterred, she rushed back to the village to ensure that all was well with "her" Metools, and was shocked at first to see only her battle ally, but a second look revealed all the Metts hiding in their domes.

As she turned her attention to the weather again, she noticed an irregularity in its pattern. While her battling program was nonexistent, a file in her base coding must be attuned to anything water-based, because her internal systems were reporting that the storm was not natural, but rather a hybrid product, the work of a network function being abused by an external source, and Mel had a pretty good idea what "external source" meant: more viruses.

In the real world, Beth was showing Phil now to recondition battlechips in preparation for the next assault. Phil only needed to be shown once; after the first demonstration he fixed the second, third and fourth chips with no trouble at all. I think this was a good idea, Beth concluded silently.

Mel was now in the centre of the village, orbiting from side to side as she felt something closing in on her position. Something was different though, a new feeling rushed through her as she kept her surroundings in check. What was that?

BATTLE #2: ENEMY DEFEATED!
Get Zenny: 400 (180 => 580)

Battle #3: Unseen! Initiate!

By the time Ameliorate had searched the village and made sure everyone was accounted for, the rain had grown into a heavy downpour. Inside their homes, the villagers huddled together, and most dropped under their helmets in surprise the first time the sky split and a flare of lightning traced an ever-branching tree of white across the underside of the dark clouds. The heavy crackle of it followed a moment later; the heart of the brewing storm was very close.

It might have been a perfectly normal storm, saving for how quickly the weather had changed, but Mel wasn't the only one acting wary; the Metool Leader had remained outside, along with her on look-out while its brethren sheltered. Perhaps it was anticipation that Mel was feeling, or maybe trepidation. It might even have been anxiety; the sense of something in the air was almost tangible, and as it whipped through the long grass in the fields around them, the wind began to sound like it was howling.

Flickering shapes raced towards the village through the rain, weaving and twisting on the wind as they came. One shrieked, then the other, and the sounds echoed through with an almost physical sensation before the two bats-like reached the borders of the small settlement. They seemed to be wearing small metal visors, and one had to wonder if they were worried about lightning strikes.

At ground level, two shades in the dark wove through the grass and out into the open, making straight for Mel and her ally. They were small and vaguely spectral, but each sported an impressively long, wet tongue that waved with alarming dexterity as they approached.

Beneath their non-existent spectral feet, a dull tremor rumbled through the ground, passing under Mel with a shake, before stopping in the centre of the village. Another pair of rumbles came, then a crash, and finally a small explosion erupted from the well, tearing the wooden top clean off it and sending a spray of water everywhere. A Miner popped up holding into the edge of the well, and bearing a large plate landmine over its head as though wondering if it needed to place another one. Or maybe it was sheltering from the rain? Along with the spray of water, a dull glowing green crystal had been launched from the well, and rolled off to one side. It came to a halt towards the back edge of the village, then lifted up to hover and spin again, after the fashion of Mystery Datas.

One of the PulseBats wheeled over the village, then let out a shriek that rained down on the nearest dome house, sending reverberations through it to the two metool hiding within. They were still cowering from the lightning bolt, safe beneath their helmets, but that had been close: the Metool Leader let out a startled 'Meep!' then immediately flung its pickaxe at the attacking bat, nailing it with a clang that sent it peeling back towards its ally for the moment. The wind moaned and the rain poured, but the battle wasn't going to wait.

-=Riding the Storm-Front=-

PulseBatA: 80Hp [High Altitude]
PulseBatB: 70Hp [High Altitude]
SpookyA: 30Hp [Normal][Outskirts]
SpookyB: 30Hp [Normal][Outskirts]
Miner: 100Hp [Water][In the well at the centre of the village]

-=Standing in the Rain=-

Ameliorate: 100Hp [Normal]
Metool Leader: 50(!)Hp [Normal]

-=Village Hidden in the Reeds=-
80% Normal [The village commons]
15% Grass [The extreme edges around the village; the space Mel cleared is already creeping back in, strangely]
5% Water [The Well]

0% Mines! [The Miner likes to place Mines. Mind where you step]

-=Shelter from the Storm=-

DomeHouseA: 70Hp [Wood][2 Mets]
DomeHouseB: 100Hp [Wood][0 Mets]
DomehouseC: 100Hp [Wood][2 Mets]
DomeHouseD: 100Hp [Wood][1 Met]

Well: 199Hp [StoneBody][Centre of the area][1...Miner]

GMD: 25Hp [Near the back of the village, behind Mel, in relation to the bats and spooks]

-=Battle 3, Start!=-

Notes:
It's Pouring!: Needless to say, everything counts as Doused, just in case anyone starts throwing fire around.
Long Grass: Grass terrain, but long enough that it can act as partial cover and concealment. Dodging is a little bit harder in the grass, but accuracy is also slightly hampered. It is concealing enough that foes which rely on cover do not feel exposed while in it.