Welcome to the Urban Jungle

Like many before her, HunterWoman warped into ACDC Area as her first step towards becoming a more skilled NetBattler. Unlike many before her, she was more interested in harvesting something other than money or chips from the local viruses. Also unlike many before her, the first thing she did upon entering was...sniff the air. "Hmm...nope, no viruses in this area."

"...It's a wide open area, Hunter. Your eyes could tell you that."

"But my eyes can't tell what's going on...BEHIND ME!" She turned around, only to find more nothing. "Wait, they totally can! Wow, I'm amazing!"

"Hoo boy...well, we can't do either of our jobs if we can't locate any viruses. And the faster we do that, the faster I can get back to my siesta. So, can you get on with it?"

"On it, chief!" Suddenly, a very strong feeling struck her. She didn't know why, but she could tell that if she turned left and ran straight ahead, she'd run into something neat. Instinct, or something like that. She bolted in that direction, not even bothering to grab her trusty crossbow yet. Hmm? Was that a sigh coming from her operator? Nah, just her ears playing tricks on her. Or maybe...SOMEONE WAS BEHIND HER. ...Nope. A look back revealed nothing, nor did the sniff that came afterward. Mildly disappointing. But she already knew where to go, so onward!

(Searching for Battle #1)
With a keen hunter's eyes and... possibly over-zealous twitch reflexes, HunterWoman went in search of her quarry. Instinct was guiding her along the trail of interesting things, and surely enough, she was not disappointed. What she ultimately found was a small patch of the ACDC net space covered in small shrubs and hedges, some taller, some shorter, giving off a vaguely split-level feel to things. The main path was clear, and one of the shrubs in the back corner seemed to be emitting an eerie green glow, but more interesting in this little hedge-row was the great big fuzzy-looking teddy bear that was sleeping peacefully in the middle of the pathway, curled up on itself yet still managing to completely block the way.

Two of the tallest shrubs, to either side, revealed themselves to be less coniferous, and more... cactus... as they turned to face the new arrival. One wobbled slightly, then launched the top-most section of its body towards the navi, missing by a small margin before the 'head' recalled tote body again. The teddy yawned and rolled over.

-=The Viruses=-

CactyA: 70Hp [Normal][Mid-left of the area][Mostly visible behind some low-standing shrubs]
CactyB: 70Hp [Normal][Mid-right of the area][Mostly obscured behind some taller shrubs - only the head is visible from Hunter's current location]

Teddy: 100Hp [Normal][Middle of the path][Sleeping!]

-=The Hunter=-

HunterWoman.Exe: 150Hp [Normal][Front centre of area]

-=The Garden Path=-

50% Normal [All ground is normal]
50% Grass [Being a hooligan and standing on top of any of the shrubbery counts as Grass]

-=The Non-Shrubby Shrubbery=-

An assortment of green shrugs and hedges that can be climbed on with any kind of mobility action (i.e. dodge and feint are fine, doesn't need to be move), or taken cover behind. They are prevalent enough that one can assume that 'cover' is never more than a dodge away.

Green glowing bush: 15Hp [Back left corner]

-=Battle 1, Start!=-
As soon as she noticed the patch of green, HunterWoman picked up her pace even more, only stopping once she was towards the middle of it. "Ooh, pretty!...Wha?" Her hunting instincts kicked in, causing her to immediately notice the bear sleeping in the middle of the road. "Huh. Snoozin' away. ...I feel like it'd be bad form if I shot it like that."

"Well, on the flip side, it's its own fault for falling asleep in a spot it can easily be attacked from. I say it's fair game, in every sense."

"Yeah, but what if it's friendly? This isn't the real world, where a bear's almost certainly gonna maul your face if you get too close. If I let it be until it wakes up, maybe it'll just give me a nice big bear hug, instead of trying to tear me into pieces! And then barely missing, causing my bodysuit to tear up and reveal I'm not wearing anything under it!"

"As...lovely as that sounds, you do have a point. Maybe you should just leave it alone."

"Hmm, maybe. ...Uh-oh!" The hunting Navi performed a rare action for her, and froze, allowing a rolling cactus head to go right by her before returning to its base. "Yep, that's a jerkface Cactikill. I think I just found my first target!"

"Me too. And cacti are edible once you get past the thick, spiky skin, so it'll probably net something for the shop if you can knife it."

"No holding back on the stabby-stabby, got it! But let's soften it up a bit, shall we?" HunterWoman reached back with her right hand, allowing her crossbow to attach itself to her, and held its front with her free hand. "C'mon, let's hunt us a virus!"

"All right, let's see...ah, I think this'll work. BattleChip, Cannon! Slot in!"

Despite the name, no cannon formed anywhere on the Navi's body. Instead, a large green arrow formed in her quiver, which she reached back, grabbed, and loaded onto her main weapon. Using her free hand to steady her aim, she focused on the Cactikill. Be the Cactikill. Know its movements...though from where she was, it probably wouldn't alter where she needed to shoot all that much, based on what she knew about it. Oh well. She activated the firing mechanism, causing the bolt to sail toward the similarly colored virus. If it managed to land, it'd actually have the force to send it backward a bit, even though it was a plant, and plants normally didn't move easily. The internet was a fun place like that, though. Who needed logic? Not her!

"That'll do nicely! Now, let's just get a bit closer!" While some Navis might've been hesitant to jump up on a bush, HunterWoman had absolutely zero reservations on the matter, and jumped up and landed on a shrub near the preferably injured virus. "Hi! I'm HunterWoman, and you're about to be my first prey! Nothing personal!...Actually, it kinda is, since you tried to sucker punch me. Well, it wasn't a sucker PUNCH, since you don't have arms, but it was totally a sucker roll! And that's not cool! So I'm gonna find out what the inside of a cactus virus looks like!" She took out her hunting knife, holding it in maximum stabbing position, and leaped atop the Cactikill. Well, in a manner of speaking; she was actually going at it knife first, followed by her feet. For her own safety, she probably should be hoping her attacks both struck true, or else she might find it was literally a thorn in her side...of her foot. Or the bottom. Either way, ow.

[Order of Turn:
1-Cannon chip attack on CactyA (60, A, Knockback)
2-Dodge onto bush near CactyA
3-Carving Knife sig attack on CactyA (40, Slashing)]
Displaying an admirable lack of any kind of dam between her internal monologue and her tongue, HunterWoman made an enthusiastic show of narrating her battle and saving any would-be wild-life documenters from doing so. Of course, high powered cannon fire generally wasn't a common staple in traditional hunter-prey scenarios, but the net would be what it was. What it was at this particular moment, was a whole lot of pain for the cactus virus that HunterWoman had set her sights on.

The only virus that was both alert, and with a clear line of sight on the navi, the targeted Catcy readied itself to launch another segment of itself at her, just as the cannon shot thudded into its midsection and tore through. The whole virus wobbled, stuttering back until it leaned against the hedge-row behind it and ultimately sent the loosed projectile segment straight up into the air instead of in a useful direction. When it crashed down again, the whole virus more or less collapsed into a jumble of round segments just in time for the eager hunter to alight before it, knife in hand. A brief introduction later, while the virus was still trying to pick itself up, she came at it with more than enough vigour to finish off the business quickly.

While this small pocket of carnage went one, HunterWoman might notice that she had a much clearer view on the second Catcy, from here, though the sleeping bear was now between her and it. It was facing her, but seemed to be acting more warily, if such a thing were possible for a virus like it. The bear... yawned in its sleep and rolled over again.

-=The Viruses=-

CactyA: STABBY-STABBY
CactyB: 70Hp [Normal][Mid-right of the area]

Teddy: 100Hp [Normal][Middle of the path][Sleeping!]

-=The Hunter=-

HunterWoman.Exe: 150Hp [Grass][Mid-Left of the area, on a bush.]

-=The Garden Path=-

50% Normal [All ground is normal]
50% Grass [Being a hooligan and standing on top of any of the shrubbery counts as Grass]

-=The Non-Shrubby Shrubbery=-

An assortment of green shrugs and hedges that can be climbed on with any kind of mobility action (i.e. dodge and feint are fine, doesn't need to be move), or taken cover behind. They are prevalent enough that one can assume that 'cover' is never more than a dodge away.

Green glowing bush: 15Hp [Back left corner]

As soon as her knife successfully landed on the Cactikill, HunterWoman sprang into action. Like mad, she sliced and sliced, until there was little left but water. Naturally, it fell, but a large cup-like container formed on the ground, and not a drop was lost. She put her crossbow attachment back, and picked it up, and summoned a box that didn't seem like it would hold the entire container. "Hi, magic hammerspace box, time for your first job!" She set it in the box, and mysteriously, managed to all go in despite it being physically impossible. "See you back home!" The box vanished, leaving the huntress with her enemies.

"Well, that was fun! Now let's see..." The Teddy was still asleep, being a deep enough sleeper to ignore the ravings of a Navi as she mercilessly slaughtered another virus. The other Cactikill was...there, though she could sense it wasn't exactly happy over the death and subsequent mutilation of its cohort. "Hmm, I think we've got two choices, Diana. Either I let the Cactikill do its namesake and kill me, or I can kill it and let it join the other one in the afterlife! What do you think I should do?"

"Oh, after months of programming work, I absolutely want you to lose your first battle."

"Really? Because I think you'd rather I stick around for a while!"

"...Don't tempt me." Hmm. Now that she didn't have that crossbow, now was the perfect time to try something a little different than arrow shots. "You're probably ready to get going, so here, this should work for your offensive. Plus, if that Teddy's not the innately evil sort, it might help to have a feature or two like it. BattleChip, RageClaw! Slot in!"

HunterWoman raised her hands in front of her, as, from the wrist up, they transformed into a perfect replica of a Teddy's paws and claws. "Uh, wow! Is this permanent? Because if it is, I think I'll need a manicure."

"It's just an attachment. Those aren't actually your hands."

"Good, having nails that long would drive me nuts!" Hand worries aside, the great green hunter leaped from her cushy spot on a bush, to an equally cushy spot on another bush much closer to her new prey. "You know, when you think about it, it's kinda depressing, killing stuff for a living. That's why I don't think that hard about it!" What followed could only be considered a complete and total attempt at mauling the cactus virus that would probably make the Teddy proud if it was awake. Slashing and slashing and slashing...whether they landed or not, it certainly wasn't for lack of energy. "Too bad you're a cactus and not a potato...we could totally make hash browns!"

"Hunter?"

"Yeppers?"

"Please stop acting like a loon."

"I'm not, I'm acting like a bear! Claws and everything! See? I'm still slashing away! Slashing and slashing and slashing, and slashing some more!" While she got no vocal response, HunterWoman could very clearly hear a sigh from her operator.

(HunterWoman GET: Cactus Water)

[Order of Turn:
1-Dodge over to CactyB
2-RageClaw1 chip attack on CactyB (40, B, Slashing)
3-RageClaw1 chip attack on CactyB (40, B, Slashing)]
In what was almost a comical stage-aside, the huntress made quick and messy work of carving up her newest prey and squirreling the spoils away for later. The other Cacty was not impressed, and seemed to be losing what little reason a barely sentient cactus plant virus was capable of having in the first place. It launched its own spiky projectile towards her, completely neglecting the fact that there was a rather large obstruction between itself and its navi target. As HunterWoman dodged clear and closed the gap between them, the errant cactus ball bounced off the rather expansive rump of the Teddy virus instead, before recalling itself.

The Teddy rumbled, yawning and sat up, looking around with bleary eyes and scratching distractedly at the spot where the cacty had struck it. It was just in time to see HunterWoman happily tearing apart the offending cactus with a few well-placed swipes of her new claw, though it seemed more curious than anything. It motivated itself enough to lumber a step or two towards the navi, sniffing at her, and her claw, a few times, then rumbled some more, plopping back on its behind and yawning again.


-=The Viruses=-

CactyA: STABBY-STABBY
CactyB: SLASHY-SLASHY

Teddy: 90Hp [Normal][Middle of the path][Lazy][Vaguely Curious]

-=The Hunter=-

HunterWoman.Exe: 150Hp [Grass][Mid-Right of the area, on a hedge.]

-=The Garden Path=-

50% Normal [All ground is normal]
50% Grass [Being a hooligan and standing on top of any of the shrubbery counts as Grass]

-=The Non-Shrubby Shrubbery=-

An assortment of green shrugs and hedges that can be climbed on with any kind of mobility action (i.e. dodge and feint are fine, doesn't need to be move), or taken cover behind. They are prevalent enough that one can assume that 'cover' is never more than a dodge away.

Green glowing bush: 15Hp [Back left corner]

While she had noticed the accidental attack on the Teddy, it didn't fully register in HunterWoman's head until her berserker assault had ended. But once it did, she turned right around to see the the large bear. A good chunk of new Navis might've been a little freaked out by this, or just gone for the kill, but she did neither. Instead, she returned the favor, and gave the virus a good greet and sniff. "Hi!" Sniff sniff. "You seem all right to me. I don't smell anything that might hint at any problems."

One might have expected her operator to just sigh exasperatedly, but she was in fact watching and listening to the scene intently. She actually found it interesting, being able to interact in such a manner.

"Oh, right, check out my claws!" She slowly raised her hands up to show off the RageClaw, though not so far up to look threatening. "Yours are still bigger, though. Which makes sense, your paws are bigger than mine!" The huntress squatted down, until she was basically sitting in the position. "Say, I know you're sleepy and all, but can I ask you something? See, there's this place I can send you, where you can take all the naps you want, and no one'll bug you about it. No Cactikill hitting you in the butt, no Navis trying to kill you...the one catch is that you won't be able to harm anything ever again. Granted, harm's kinda relative, since uou couldn't cut a fly virus, but you could still bring down a tree in one swipe! But, I can't send you there unless you want me to! It's the rule. So let me know if you want me to send you there. If not, I'll let you get back to your nap, okay?"

[Order of Turn:
1-Return sniff
2-Compare claws
3-Give zoo spiel]
Satisfied that the cactus-killing navi wasn't going to attack, the teddy rumbled heavily and shook itself. It was hard to tell if it could actually understand what HunterWoman was saying, exactly, but he certainly looked at her, tilting his head a little as she spoke. The raise of her claw again drew another sniff. It would be hard to gauge exactly what he thought about the zoo offer; there was no immediate, eager acceptance, but it didn't seem to be adverse to what she was selling, at least as far as could be told. Perhaps it was undecided still?

When she was finished talking, the Teddy lumbered back to something of a standing position, though on all fours, more like a regular bear, and brought its nose right up to the point of almost touching Hunter's. If she was paying attention, she would probably hear the long intake of breath that came before the virus let out a short roar. It wasn't loud by normal standards, though being right by her face still made it bracing. It was brief, and wasn't particularly angry sounding either; more like a test.

If the some-time huntress didn't run away or get violent, however, the Teddy's next action was to rear up slightly, wrap Hunter up in that great big bear-hug she'd been hoping for, and flop back to the ground, more or less on top of her, and using her chest as a pillow. The position wouldn't be painful or even uncomfortable, really, but it would be very difficult to actually get out of again without the Teddy's cooperation. The Teddy in question had closed its eyes and began to make sleeping sounds for a moment, but then opened the one nearest Hunter's face and peeked at her playfully, before going back to 'Sleep'. On the bright side, the Teddy was so fuzzy!


-=The Viruses=-

CactyA: STABBY-STABBY
CactyB: SLASHY-SLASHY

Teddy: 90Hp [Normal][Middle of the path][Hunter-Pillow!][Not-Really-Sleeping-At-All][Positive Disposition]

-=The Hunter=-

HunterWoman.Exe: 150Hp [Normal][Bear-Hug][It's So Fuzzy!!]

-=The Garden Path=-

50% Normal [All ground is normal]
50% Grass [Being a hooligan and standing on top of any of the shrubbery counts as Grass]

-=The Non-Shrubby Shrubbery=-

An assortment of green shrugs and hedges that can be climbed on with any kind of mobility action (i.e. dodge and feint are fine, doesn't need to be move), or taken cover behind. They are prevalent enough that one can assume that 'cover' is never more than a dodge away.

Green glowing bush: 15Hp [Back left corner]

HunterWoman didn't flinch as the Teddy stood up. She didn't flinch when they ended up nose to nose. And she didn't even flinch as it roared in her face. Instead, she simply nodded after it finished. "Your teeth look great! No need for a cyberdentist here!" She was more than happy to stay sitting and chatting with the virus, but it had other plans, like giving her that bear hug from earlier. "Yay, hug!"

"...You know, if bears did that in reality, I'm pretty sure hunting would be a lot more popular." Diana mused to herself, not even speaking loudly enough for her Navi to hear her. "Well, maybe not hunting, but parks and nature reserves would definitely be more popular."

Meanwhile, the huntress Navi was busy enjoying being used for a pillow. "Guess I'm comfy! And you're super warm fuzzy! Isn't it great?" If she ever found a violent Teddy that wanted to maul her face off, she was definitely skinning it and making a nice warm fuzzy blanket. "I'd totally scratch your ear right now, but both my arms are pinned, so I can't! Oh well!" Instead, she joined in on the pretending to sleep, though she did the reverse: when the virus not-woke up, she'd not-go to sleep, and vice versa. It wasn't much of an illusion when she was actually giggling, though. Getting tickled by fur would do that. Or maybe she just really enjoyed having a bear lay on top of her. It was hard to tell sometimes.

She did, however, hesitate a little to try something else on her own. She didn't want to do anything that'd make her look like a threat and ruin the fun. Raining on parades was NOT her style.

[Order of Turn:
1-Enjoy fuzziness
2-Join in on 'sleeping'
3-Don't do anything stupid]
The playful game of peek-and-sleep went on for quite some time, between a fairly simple-minded virus, and a navi too amused by things to curtail it. Eventually, however, the Teddy shifted a bit and began snuffling about HunterWoman's clothes, quite possibly looking for pockets to explore or snacks to find. It was thorough, highly ticklish, and completely lacking in any human-oriented concept of decency or privacy and if sniffed, nosed and searched, but this did also mean that HunterWoman herself would find that she was no longer utterly pinned down by soft squishy teddy-weight.

Short of having any actual snacks or frags to feed it, this might be a good opportunity for her to pitch the virus haven again; it was still hard to tell just how much about her previous offer the Teddy had understood, but it seemed more outright positive and friendly that it had initially.

-=The Viruses=-

CactyA: STABBY-STABBY
CactyB: SLASHY-SLASHY

Teddy: 90Hp [Normal][Middle of the path][Searching for Goodies!][Positive Disposition]

-=The Hunter=-

HunterWoman.Exe: 150Hp [Normal][Being Searched][That Tickles!!]

-=The Garden Path=-

50% Normal [All ground is normal]
50% Grass [Being a hooligan and standing on top of any of the shrubbery counts as Grass]

-=The Non-Shrubby Shrubbery=-

An assortment of green shrugs and hedges that can be climbed on with any kind of mobility action (i.e. dodge and feint are fine, doesn't need to be move), or taken cover behind. They are prevalent enough that one can assume that 'cover' is never more than a dodge away.

Green glowing bush: 15Hp [Back left corner]
Unfortunately for the Teddy, HunterWoman didn't have a whole lot of spots where she could hide things, when all she had was a skinsuit, a small top, some leaves, and a bit of luck to so much as hide certain areas of herself. On that note, it had no issues with investigating those areas...fortunately, the Navi wasn't known for being shy. "Hey, that tickles!...Whoa, friendly, aren't ya? Yeah, in theory I could have something there, but I think it'd get uncomfortable pretty quick. Plus, if I really wanted it, I'd have to either take off my suit completely or wreck it up, and who has time to do that when you're hungry? Not me!"

"...Yeah, THAT'S the problem with that..."

"Hee hee! I'm really sorry, but unless you really want to eat an arrow or two, I don't have anything edible on me. Hey, that actually reminds me! Remember that place I was talking about? They actually have a virus chef now, that can make really really good food! And you know how you know they know what viruses like to eat? Because they actually ARE a virus! A Mole, to be exact. I got to eat something he made the other day...and, well, it was the best thing I've ever put in my mouth! And I know they aren't stingy on feeding every one there, so you'll get plenty of it! Honestly, if I was a virus, and I knew what I do, I'd totally go! Laying around with a full belly and not having to worry about getting attacked...that's the life!...Actually, I'm probably too hyper for the laying around, but other than that...hey, you already looked down there! I swear I'm not holding out on you!"

[Order of Turn:
1-Endure/enjoy search
2-Ponder risks/rewards of keeping snacks
3-Pitch zoo again]
After a thorough search, the Teddy was forced to conclude that HunterWoman wasn't fibbing about having no snack food on her person for it, though it continued to snuffle at her hair while she chatted away in her usual bubbly fashion. Fortunately, her luck was in and while it might not have grasped the finer details of her rapid diatribe, the teddy did seem to get the idea that she was offering food in some fashion. It sat back again, making a sound somewhere between a growl and a rumble as it nodded its head a few times, then watched her to see what she'd do. Provided HunterWoman could offer the virus some kind of obvious link, it you mostly likely sniff at it once or twice, then accept it, being whisked off to who knew where, leaving the hunter navi on her own again. while she was here, a brief examination of the glowing shrub in the back, forgotten about until now, would reveal that it was, indeed, a mystery data. It was probably a foregone conclusion judging from the huntress' enthusiastic personality, but, did she want to open it?

-=The Viruses=-

CactyA: STABBY-STABBY
CactyB: SLASHY-SLASHY

Teddy: RESCUED

-=The Hunter=-

HunterWoman.Exe: 150Hp [Normal]

-=The Garden Path=-

50% Normal [All ground is normal]
50% Grass [Being a hooligan and standing on top of any of the shrubbery counts as Grass]

-=The Non-Shrubby Shrubbery=-

An assortment of green shrugs and hedges that can be climbed on with any kind of mobility action (i.e. dodge and feint are fine, doesn't need to be move), or taken cover behind. They are prevalent enough that one can assume that 'cover' is never more than a dodge away.

Green glowing bush: 15Hp [Back left corner]


-=Battle 1, Victory!=-

Spoils: 280z, CactusBall1

Quote (CactusBall1)

Damage: 20 x 2-4 Hits + Ground Attack
Accuracy: C
Description: Rolls a spiked ball at an enemy. The exact number of times this attack hits is random, but is always between 2 and 4.
Duration: Once
Element: Wood


Open GMD?
"Yay!" Yay, it accepted! HunterWoman gave the Teddy a big smile, and set up a link next to them. It wandered through, as she sat up and watched, and waved. "Bye! I'm sure I'll see you there before too long!"

"I think we can call our first hunt a rousing success. I'm sure Mr. Wilde will be happy with that Teddy...if I recall correctly, it covers one of the sections they didn't have anything for yet."

"Woo, win-win! Wait, I made a new friend, too! Win-win-win! ...And the Cactikill are goners, and they can't attack anyone ever again! Win-win-win-win!" Some data caught the huntress's eye, causing her to look over at it. "And there's some leftover data for the taking, so the HunterWoman Memorial Zenny Fund won't be a big fat zero! Win-win-win...uh, how many wins are we up to now?"

"A lot. Can you send it over, now?"

"Oh, sure." With the intensive act of waving an arm at it, the data was transferred. "I detected chip data in there...since Teddy wasn't actually deleted, I guess it's Cactikill's?"

"...Yep." CactusBall. Yay. "Well, it's a chip, at least. That always helps."

"Yay, new chip! Win-win-win-win-win-win-win-win! ...Okay, I think that was too many wins. Eh, I'm sure something else happened that boosted it up! ...Like that!" At long last, HunterWoman laid eyes on the shiny bush. Her eyes widened as she stood up and got a closer look. "Ooh...this is mystery data! Can I open it? Can I, can I?"

"Your call."

With barely an instant passed, the data was opened, and its contents revealed. Her operator was hoping for something not painful, but the Navi didn't care. She just wanted to see what was inside that glowing bush.

(YES OPENING GMD YAY)
With her rewards duly pocketed, HunterWoman began to examine the other reward waiting for her on the field. the bush turned out to be a very thin disguise of assorted leaves and branches, draped over what looked like a regular mystery data, and upon opening it, the crystal began to spin swiftly, throwing off the various bits of leaf-litter. It slowed to a halt after a moment, then split along the central edge. Dark smoke began to curl its way out from the crack ,the the upper two facets of the crystal pulled back on themselves to reveal a pair sinisterly amused eyes. A deep chuckle reverberated around the area as the smoke crept out and the 'crystal' spun once more, seeming to warp away. Oh dear...

Within moments, the quaint, cute little bushes and hedges around HunterWoman sprang up and expanded, until they reached at least as high again over her head as the navi herself stood. The rumbling laughter could be heard again, and patently it was still very close to her, but from where she stood now HunterWoman seemed to be in the corridor of a full blown hedge maze. The maze had a passage just behind her, on her left, and turned to the right a short way back from that. It also turned left directly ahead of her only a short distance away. There were no new viruses on the scene immediately, which might seem a little strange to those versed in encounters with mimics, but if she listened closely, HunterWoman might be able to detect several lost-sounding "Meep"s coming from within the maze around her. There was a scuttle and sounds of movement, and more desperate calls.

-=The Lost Party =-

MetoolA: 40hp [Normal][Lost!]
MetoolB: 40hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolC]
MetoolC: 40Hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolB]
MetoolD: 40Hp [Normal][Lost!]

-=Master of the Maze=-

Green Mimic: 200hp [Normal][Not Lost; Knows darn well where it is... but is also somewhere in the maze]

-=Opener of the Data=-

HunterWoman: 150Hp [Normal]

-=Suddenly Hedge-Maze!=-

60% Normal [The floor of the maze is all normal terrain]
40% Grass [Climbing or standing on the maze walls will count as grass terrain]

Notes: the hedge walls can be climbed onto or over with an action and decent RP, or pushed through with 2 actions. Slashing attacks directed at a section of the wall will deal double damage to hedges.

-=The Maze Itself=-

The maze is comprised of many hedge sections, each roughly a couple of panels across, such that removing one would make a clean 'branch', just like any other turning or side passage. Each hedge has 80hp, takes double damage from slashing attacks, and counts as wood element.

Hedge Section: 80Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak]

-=Battle 2, Start!=-

The spinning! The splitting! The evil laugh! ...Wait, what was that last one? HunterWoman realized too late that what she was opening wasn't a mystery data at all...but a Mimic. It was a tiny blow to her pride, actually, since that was basically beating her at her own game. But of more immediate importance was the sudden growth of the bushes. "Whoa, it's a jungle in here now!...Good thing I know a thing or two about jungles!"

"That's...great."

"I know, right? But wait, don't Mimics usually summon other viruses? Like, pew, and they show up?" She quickly shut up as she heard something...meep? "Hmm...sounds like a Mettaur. Several of them, actually."

"According to the PET, there's four of them. Should we handle them first, before going after the big game?"

"Honestly? I think it sounds like they're more surprised by all this than me! I think if we can kill the Mimic that's responsible for all this, and help them find their way out, we might make some new friends!"

"You're the virus expert. ...You don't think there's any chance you can befriend the Mimic, is there? That'd impress a lot of people."

"Well, their entire existance is basically built around being jerks, so I dunno if I'd get my hopes up. Though, this was a pretty harmless prank...so who knows? But first, we've gotta find it!" And to do that, some extra height would be super handy. With a small amount of effort, she climbed up atop a nearby hedge, balancing herself on a single, hopefully nice and sturdy branch. She then had a look around, to try and locate a certain green glowing crystal, and possibly some helmets with eyes and feet, as well. "I'm NOT going to fall. I'm NOT going to fall. I'm NOT going to fall."

"I'm really not sure that saying that over and over will make it true..."

"It's the power of positive thinking! I'm NOT going to fall!"

"...Whatever works, I guess."

[Order of Turn:
1-Get on top of bush and scout
---TURN SPLICE---
Powered by little more than sheer force of will and positive intentions, HunterWoman scrambled up onto the nearest maze section and found that, while it had a certain amount of give beneath her feet, the hedge growth was dense and wiry enough that she didn't seem to be in too much danger of simply sinking in... though it might be best to to place too much weight on any single point.

The view from up top showed that the maze was square, but not actually that big overall; it was compact enough that it would probably only take an enthusiastic child a few minutes to explore it all. then raised angle gave her a good view of the turns and branches of the small hedge maze, revealing that the single exit was across from HunterWoman's position, in the middle of the far wall. The navi herself was more or less against the opposite wall to the exit, about halfway along, and there did look to be a fairly small central square, from which the familiar green glow emanated. Spotting the scattered mets was a bit harder, since the maze was tall even for a navi, but in a few places she could catch glimpses of high-raised pick-axes waving slightly as the lost viruses made their way to and fro. Two of them, further off towards the right of centre, seemed to be sticking together, huddling in a dead end, while the remaining lost viruses were exploring the left and quite near to the entrance, respectively.

Time for surveying was short, however, since if nothing else the Mimic she had sprung was certainly aware of HunterWoman's presence. She couldn't see it, but it wasn't hard to guess from the glow that it was in the centre of the maze. Slightly more confirmatory was the manner in which the glow increased briefly, then sent a sputtering, crackling ball of energy skywards in an arc towards the navi. The initial arc wasn't really in any danger of actually hitting her, but it curved in the air, spiralling over and inwards as though to make a proper pass. Above the hedges, the homing ball of energy had nothing but empty space to work with, but it wasn't moving terribly quickly.

-=The Lost Party =-

MetoolA: 40hp [Normal][Lost!]
MetoolB: 40hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolC]
MetoolC: 40Hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolB]
MetoolD: 40Hp [Normal][Lost!]

-=Master of the Maze=-

Green Mimic: 200hp [Normal][Centre of the maze]

-=Opener of the Data=-

HunterWoman: 150Hp [Grass][Hedge-top][Glitch-Ball Homing! - From behind, next turn]

-=Suddenly Hedge-Maze!=-

60% Normal [The floor of the maze is all normal terrain]
40% Grass [Climbing or standing on the maze walls will count as grass terrain]

Notes: the hedge walls can be climbed onto or over with an action and decent RP, or pushed through with 2 actions. Slashing attacks directed at a section of the wall will deal double damage to hedges.

-=The Maze Itself=-

The maze is comprised of many hedge sections, each roughly a couple of panels across, such that removing one would make a clean 'branch', just like any other turning or side passage. Each hedge has 80hp, takes double damage from slashing attacks, and counts as wood element.

Hedge Section: 80Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak]

"Aha, found ya!" Fortunately for her, HunterWoman didn't NEED a whole lot of time to spot her quarry. Granted, it wouldn't be hard, what with the glowyness and all. With a little effort, she also managed to figure out the Mettaur locations. They wouldn't be hard to get out later, IF they didn't move much. She couldn't get down the exact layout of the maze, though, as an energy ball caught her immediate attention. It sailed harmlessly in the air, but she didn't care for the way it looped. Made it look like it might try to turn her into the hunted. "...I should probably move. HunterWoman, away!" The quickest way to her target was straight ahead, probably...which would involve a rather nice jump. Good thing she was designed to be the physically fit sort, not unlike an athlete. But this didn't quite mean she had proper training in the long jump, and she bent over, grabbing the hedge by its corner, and raising her rear end into the air, almost daring the earlier attack to speed up and smack her there. From that position, she sprung foward, almost as though she was a lioness going after some prey...

"Yay, did i-whoa!" While she did make the jump, it was only by the slimmest of margins, and she found herself teetering on the edge. But she didn't even dream letting herself fall in a controlled manner, or take her time and get rebalanced. No, that would require a reasonable approach. And who had the time for being reasonable? Instead, she thrust herself a bit to the left, and used the momentum to start moving along the edge of the hedge. Not quite balanced, but not quite about to fall...in a way, her method wasn't entirely dissimilar to herself. Fortunately, there was a turn soon enough, and thrust herself to the side again to continue along. Doubly fortunately, she was a bit closer to the middle, so her risk of falling wasn't quite as high.

"Not the most graceful thing I've ever seen...but we don't get points for grace. Are you in attack range yet?"

The huntress Navi reached back, and attached her crossbow to her arm before pointing it forward. She could make out the top of her prey, but that was about it from this distance. "Um...I'm in attack range-ish? I don't have a total lock on it, but I think I can try something long ranged from here."

"Hmm...well then, I have an idea on what to use." RageClaw lacked range, and RollingLog and CactusBall would hit the ground pretty quickly. Cannon was also dicey, due to the limited area that it could hit. But their other chip...it was practically made for situations like this. "With this, it's probably best to aim low than high, but you could already figure that out, I'm sure. BattleChip, Shotgun! Slot in!"

A new arrow formed in HunterWoman's quiver, which she grabbed and loaded into her weapon of choice. "Ha, you're totally right! Now I won't need to worry about the bush in the way! Thanks!" If she could see that much of the virus, then it was about...so tall. Which meant the center of it would be right about...there. She just needed to aim a bit higher, so she'd have a better shot at hitting it directly...bingo. Mostly ignoring the obstacle between them, she aimed and fired the bolt. Unless the bush had some seriously weird property, the arrow's penetrating head could pierce it, and go on to hit the Mimic. Of course, she could always miss...or the arrow could go through the hedge, but its trajectory would be messed up juuuuust enough to go wide...or the Mimic could...actually, was it possible for it to get out of the way? She didn't recall that part about it. Oh well, she'd know soon enough.

---TURN SPLICE---
2-Jump north, then head west and north such that HunterWoman is directly to the west of the Mimic (Movement)
3-Shotgun chip attack on Mimic (50, A, Spread 1)]
It was a good thing that style and grace were not actually prerequisites for sticking a landing, or else HunterWoman would have had an uncomfortable tumble back to ground ahead of her. As it was, though, the hedges bent and gave, both as she jumped off, and as she scrambled a landing onthe other side, but ultimately her determination won out and she managed to get moving agian before the section she was on could complain too much.

The homing ball of crackling energy continued to track her, but from her new vantage point, HunterWoman could get a better bead on her target. The shot she took mostly savaged the hedge between herself and the Mimic, but the arrow retained enough force, barely, to punch on through and score a glancing blow on the virus as well. There came a slightly uncomfortable, crystalline sound of anger from the centre of the maze.

The sound of conflict caused various reactions from the metools scattered about the maze. though she couldn't see it, the one behind her started and ducked under its helmet, while across the other side, the pair that were sticking together ventured out towards the sound cautiously. To the north, the one near the entrance wandered down a dead end, determined that it was, indeed, dead, then began heading back.


-=The Lost Party =-

MetoolA: 40hp [Normal][Lost!][Guarding]
MetoolB: 40hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolC]
MetoolC: 40Hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolB]
MetoolD: 40Hp [Normal][Lost!]

-=Master of the Maze=-

Green Mimic: 150hp [Normal][Centre of the maze]

-=Opener of the Data=-

HunterWoman: 150Hp [Grass][Hedge-top][Glitch-Ball Homing! - From behind, next turn]

-=Suddenly Hedge-Maze!=-

60% Normal [The floor of the maze is all normal terrain]
40% Grass [Climbing or standing on the maze walls will count as grass terrain]

Notes: the hedge walls can be climbed onto or over with an action and decent RP, or pushed through with 2 actions. Slashing attacks directed at a section of the wall will deal double damage to hedges.

-=The Maze Itself=-

The maze is comprised of many hedge sections, each roughly a couple of panels across, such that removing one would make a clean 'branch', just like any other turning or side passage. Each hedge has 80hp, takes double damage from slashing attacks, and counts as wood element.

Undamaged Hedge Sections: 80Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak] (each)
Damaged Hedge: 30Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak]

HunterWoman nodded approvingly as she heard the displeasure of the Mimic, but immediately follwed up by putting up her crossbow for the moment. "Yep, this just isn't gonna work! Gotta get closer!"

"That's fine, but be careful. I'm not entirely sure what else that thing is capable of."

"Oh please, it's not like it'll grow massive tentacles and start poking me with them in places!...Although-"

"Just keep an eye out, is all I'm saying."

"Roger, Diana! ...That'd be a really weird name, don't you think?" Once more, the huntress Navi reared back like before, and leapt across the massive chasm of several feet to the next hedge wall. She did try to aim slightly to the right, to avoid standing on something that might no longer lack the structural integrity to support her weight. Or, as her mind probably put it to her, 'don't jump left unless you want to fall right down on your butt!'. But now, all she needed to do was look down, and there was the Mimic, in all of its shiny glory. "Hey there! Sorry, but I really need to crack open your shininess for the also shiny stuff inside! That's just how it works! ...Ooh, I just got a really cool idea! Diana, send me that, uh...RollingLog thingy! Yeah, that's what it's called."

"...I'm actually a little surprised you got the name right, to be honest..." But either way, she had no reason to deny the request. "Well, here. BattleChip, RollingLog! Slot in!"

As the chip data started to transfer, HunterWoman jumped high again, though this time she got very little horizontal distance. At the peak of her jump, a log several feet long in length appeared in front of her, which she grabbed with gusto and raised above her head. Now she just needed to wait for gravity to send her downward, like so...and as she neared the green crystal, swung down with all her might. But whether it connected Mimic or ground, the blow would prove so powerful that the log would snap in two. But she remembered the super awesome special effect, and with some special unseeable Navi command, caused the broken piece of wood in her hands to reform into a complete log. With a big smile at her target, she swung it like a baseball bat, and show parts of it other than the top part some love. "Home run!"

"Um, I'm no baseball expert, but don't you have to hit the ball a really long way for it to be a home run?"

"Details! ...Aww, my bat's broken!" Upon seeing that her weapon of choice for the moment was broken again (and if she'd managed to miss, she'd raise an eyebrow at pondering how that even happened), she casually tossed it to the side, since it wouldn't be much help like that. ...Well, maybe she could stab something with it, but why use a broken log when she had a perfectly usable knife for that?

[Order of Turn:
1-Hop to the next bush, then drop down next to Mimic (Movement)
2-RollingLog1 chip attack on Mimic (50+5, Wood, C, Wide Attack(2))
3-RollingLog1 chip attack on Mimic (50+5, Wood, C, Wide Attack(2))]
With her inner monologue acting in tandem with her outer monologue, HunterWoman made another pounce across the hedges as the homing ball closed in on her. Her leap and quick duck down almost got her clear of the tracking sphere of energy, but it managed to clip her just as she dropped off the side of the hedge, sending a jolt through her system along with a jittery thread of corrupt code. All in all this made her landing on the inside of the central square less than graceful, but that didn't slow the huntress down.

in fact... it really rather seemed to have the opposite effect. Everything else seemed to be slowing down. The moments stretched out as her senses prickled into heightened awareness. Was everything really moving slowly, or had the navi just found herself sped up?

Didn't matter. What mattered was the mimic in front of her, and the over-eager navi was quick to ready a beat-stick of commendable proportions. the Mimic, however had let out another low, deep chuckle as she tumbled into its enclosure, and by the time HunterWoman had picked herself up and was swinging her log, the crack in the crystal had opened further, and a brilliant beam of thick, raw energy blasted out of it with a crystalline tone. It was so beautiful, and with her heightened senses, HunterWoman could easily see the matrix of particle energy that made up the beam in a spiralling reticulation that bordered on fascinatingly kaleidoscopic. Alas, none of this information helped her in getting out of the way, and the beam was coming right at her chest.

Her first log shattered into fragments before the beam, unable to reach its target, and HunterWoman herself felt the brunt of the energy pulse rip clean through her as well. Far off, the little metool several hedges behind HunterWoman heard the noise and peeked up from under its helmet just in time to see a burst of green energy erupt from the hedge in front of it, rending leaves and twigs as it went. The little guy let out a garbled sound that was something between shock and panic before the beam blasted through it and shredding its way out the far side of the hedge maze. When the beam had passed, the little metool was still spinning about on one foot, then collapsed down, smoking gently and panting.

Fortunately, back at the centre of the maze, HunterWoman had more up her sleeve than just one long, and retaliated with a second swing. This one connected solidly, to the satisfying sound of crunching crystal. Other sounds of scurrying could be heard as the sounds of conflict spurring the other metools to do... whatever they were doing... a bit faster.

In the wake of the beam attack, the hedge section behind HunterWoman collapsed in completely in one place, an looked about ready to go elsewise. Each of the hedges in a direct line behind had also had much of their foliage stripped away and looked decidedly delicate.


-=The Lost Party =-

MetoolA: 10hp [Normal][Lost!][Cowering]
MetoolB: 40hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolC]
MetoolC: 40Hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolB]
MetoolD: 40Hp [Normal][Lost!]

-=Master of the Maze=-

Green Mimic: 95hp [Normal][Centre of the maze]

-=Opener of the Data=-

HunterWoman: 105Hp [Normal][Glitch: Over-Caffeinated (3 turns left)]

-=Suddenly Hedge-Maze!=-

60% Normal [The floor of the maze is all normal terrain]
40% Grass [Climbing or standing on the maze walls will count as grass terrain]

Notes: the hedge walls can be climbed onto or over with an action and decent RP, or pushed through with 2 actions. Slashing attacks directed at a section of the wall will deal double damage to hedges.

-=The Maze Itself=-

The maze is comprised of many hedge sections, each roughly a couple of panels across, such that removing one would make a clean 'branch', just like any other turning or side passage. Each hedge has 80hp, takes double damage from slashing attacks, and counts as wood element.

Undamaged Hedge Sections: 80Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak] (each)
Damaged HedgeA-E: 20Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak] (Each)
Destroyed Segment: DELETED




Over-Caffeinated: Over-hyped and hyper twitchy, all the victim's senses are on high alert. As a result, they can take one additional action per turn, over their usual action limit. After three turns of this the glitch will burn out and the victim will crash down, forfeiting an action each turn instead, for two turns. The glitch can be cured with status cure before the crash, preventing it, however the crash effect acts like a nerf, and cannot be cured except by time out, or when combat ends.