As much as hucking enthusiastically provided logs at sonic bats might be fun, Astraea and her operator decided that it was time to get serious and deal with the pests with some slightly heavier artillery.
The alien girl moved with surprising precision to put herself in a place where she might get a clean cross-over shot on two of the bats as they passed again, and even if she herself was less certain about her ability to pull it off, the proof was in the result: as before the bats tagged over, with two swinging low as the middle one winged higher. As they crossed over, Astraea pulled, and both of her targets were sent momentarily reeling with indignant screeches, as the spray of shotgun buck tore at them both.
The third bat, unhindered, had just enough time to launch another sonic volley at the alien, but as before, this one was absorbed by her shield, and though the defence collapsed in on itself again, the navi herself was spared any pain. A moment later, her retaliation paid the bat no such kindness, swiftly deleting it with little fuss.
Off to the side, the little shrubby had another go as well. This time, its log bounced across the clearing, but by some unusual alignment of chance one side of it hit a raised rock and bounced one end of the log upwards high enough to almost tip it end over end. The first bat, recovered from the disorienting shotgun blast, was just lining up to hammer at Astraea with a sonic pulse of its own, when, seemingly out of nowhere, the high-bouncing end of a wooden log blind-sided the virus with a great deal of pent up frustration, and vindication. The little shrubby actually bounced up and down a few times, having finally connected something, albeit by sheer dumb chance, before darting away to hide behind its tree again and peek out to see what Astraea thought, and what she might do next.
-=Cave-dwellers and Co.=-
PulseBatA: DELETED
PulseBatB: 20Hp [Hight Altitude][Near cave]
PulseBatC: DELETED
Shrubby: 50Hp [Grass][Cover][Near Left Woods, Behind Tree B][Apparently Non-Hostile to Astraea]
-=Construct Creator=-
Astraea: 100 HP [Normal][Shield Broken][Near the Log]
-=Terrain=-
80% Grass
20% Normal
Small wooded clearing, with a rockface on the right hand side. The rockface has a cave entrance in it, and a number of small rock spikes around it. Area is mostly grassy, save for a circle around the entrance of the cave. Paths lead back the way you came, and directly forward on the far side of the clearing.
-=Objects=-
Outcropping Trees A-D: 40Hp Each [Wood][standing out from the tree line slightly, on the left side.]
Stone Spikes A-C: 10Hp Each [Small rock spikes capable of stopping moving objects, but little else. Near the cave mouth]
Rolling LogA: DELETED
Rolling LogB: DELETED
Rolling LogC: TO INFINITY.... AND BEYOND!
Rolling LogD: 10Hp [More or less the same place where all the others ended up.]
Cinder Turret A: BROKEN
Testing Run
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It turned out that the fire Navi was better at aiming than she had thought and she managed to hit two bats with one shot. After that she was sent reeling from a hit that destroyed her shield but the alien invader was able to eliminate the bat. She realized then that there was one bat left and nothing to defend herself with so she gave the last bat her full attention 'Shift weight forwards, lean slightly into force and rebalance as necessary.' She thought as she raised her arms over her chest and braced herself for the oncoming attack.
Only for a log to smash into the bat and knocking the bat off course. Astraea blinked slowly and lowered her arms just as slowly as she reasoned out the fact that she hadn't thrown that log. She had almost forgotten all about the Shrubby during her log throwing, having mentally reclassified it as just another ammo source in her mind.
"WHOOO! SHRUBBY-BRO DID IT!" Alex whooped loud enough for the sound to carry to all currently present. It was pretty obvious the Shrubby's act of accidental "bro-ness" had struck a chord with the Op. It had apparently helped him pull out of his earlier grogginess to boot. "That little wood-bro just saved your butt Astraea! Now we gotta do somethin' nice for 'em!"
The Navi frowned a bit at her NetOp's declaration of 'owing' but didn't remark on it at the moment. Doing favors for a virus was just too odd of a concept for her to want to deal with right now, and she wasn't really sure how she should. Maybe find it a nice out of the way place where other Navis wouldn't bother it? The only place she could think of was the Homepage and she doubted the virus would be happy there. If she found it somewhere on the Net proper than anyone could get there as well. The flapping of wings brought her attention back to the task at hand and she turned to fully face the sole-remaining Bat.
Her zap gun was already out so the alien found no reason to not aim and fire. Once, twice, and a third time the trigger was pulled! Although the last time was mostly just to make sure.
[sup]PEWPEWPEW[/sup]
--Summary--
1-3) Buster Shot 10 @PulseBatB, Acc A
Only for a log to smash into the bat and knocking the bat off course. Astraea blinked slowly and lowered her arms just as slowly as she reasoned out the fact that she hadn't thrown that log. She had almost forgotten all about the Shrubby during her log throwing, having mentally reclassified it as just another ammo source in her mind.
"WHOOO! SHRUBBY-BRO DID IT!" Alex whooped loud enough for the sound to carry to all currently present. It was pretty obvious the Shrubby's act of accidental "bro-ness" had struck a chord with the Op. It had apparently helped him pull out of his earlier grogginess to boot. "That little wood-bro just saved your butt Astraea! Now we gotta do somethin' nice for 'em!"
The Navi frowned a bit at her NetOp's declaration of 'owing' but didn't remark on it at the moment. Doing favors for a virus was just too odd of a concept for her to want to deal with right now, and she wasn't really sure how she should. Maybe find it a nice out of the way place where other Navis wouldn't bother it? The only place she could think of was the Homepage and she doubted the virus would be happy there. If she found it somewhere on the Net proper than anyone could get there as well. The flapping of wings brought her attention back to the task at hand and she turned to fully face the sole-remaining Bat.
Her zap gun was already out so the alien found no reason to not aim and fire. Once, twice, and a third time the trigger was pulled! Although the last time was mostly just to make sure.
[sup]PEWPEWPEW[/sup]
--Summary--
1-3) Buster Shot 10 @PulseBatB, Acc A
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Unexpected help aside, Astraea only had a small amount of work to do to take care of the last remaining bat. The little shrubby was still so pleased that it had managed to score a hit that it didn't get around to throwing another log before the alien navi had successfully pinged the last remaining hostile virus and put an end to the strange battle.
With the bats gone, the shrubby looked out from behind its tree ,contemplating the navi that had helped it; it seemed like it wanted to be friendly, sort of, but was plagued with the crippling anxiety and trepidation shared by most of its kind. It remained mostly behind its cover for now, but It watched her with a faintly hopeful expression.
Meanwhile, there were some spoils to collect. The bats had left behind a small amount of convertible zenny for her troubles, and one of them had collapsed into data that could be converted into usable chip form.
-=Cave-dwellers and Co.=-
PulseBatA: DELETED
PulseBatB: DELETED
PulseBatC: DELETED
Shrubby: 50Hp [Grass][Cover][Friendly?]
-=Construct Creator=-
Astraea: 100 HP [Normal]
-=Terrain=-
80% Grass
20% Normal
Small wooded clearing, with a rockface on the right hand side. The rockface has a cave entrance in it, and a number of small rock spikes around it. Area is mostly grassy, save for a circle around the entrance of the cave. Paths lead back the way you came, and directly forward on the far side of the clearing.
-=Battle 2, Victory!=-
Rewards: 380z, Pulsar1
With the bats gone, the shrubby looked out from behind its tree ,contemplating the navi that had helped it; it seemed like it wanted to be friendly, sort of, but was plagued with the crippling anxiety and trepidation shared by most of its kind. It remained mostly behind its cover for now, but It watched her with a faintly hopeful expression.
Meanwhile, there were some spoils to collect. The bats had left behind a small amount of convertible zenny for her troubles, and one of them had collapsed into data that could be converted into usable chip form.
-=Cave-dwellers and Co.=-
PulseBatA: DELETED
PulseBatB: DELETED
PulseBatC: DELETED
Shrubby: 50Hp [Grass][Cover][Friendly?]
-=Construct Creator=-
Astraea: 100 HP [Normal]
-=Terrain=-
80% Grass
20% Normal
Small wooded clearing, with a rockface on the right hand side. The rockface has a cave entrance in it, and a number of small rock spikes around it. Area is mostly grassy, save for a circle around the entrance of the cave. Paths lead back the way you came, and directly forward on the far side of the clearing.
-=Battle 2, Victory!=-
Rewards: 380
Quote (Pulsar1)
Damage: 70 + Object Triggered Blast2
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.
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Astraea holstered her buster then wiped her hands off on her overalls. She wandered over to the remaining log and took a seat with a satisfied sigh. Her body wasn't the best for playing action hero and the unusual exertions were downright tiring. She still had a job to do and so it was that she opened her eyes and flicked open the case on her belt. She sighted the remains of her Cinder Turret, scrunched her face at the sight, and then tapped out the command sequence to begin harvest of the data scattered everywhere.
"Hey are you planning to sit there long? I've got a stomach to stuff and I'd rather be around for your next fight." A little video window popped up slightly to the side of the Navi and Alex's face appeared inside. He had a grin twitching at one corner of his mouth but other than that everything seemed normal.
"I was hoping to maintain my position for the moment to regain my stamina. I shall wait until you return after procuring victuals to continue my investigation of the Net proper." The typing stopped as a bright white spot appeared a little ways above the net floor. It just sat there for a moment then began to stretch and flex until it finally expanded and vanished with a little 'pop!' and left what was undeniably a miniature flying saucer in its wake. It made a quiet collection of old-time computer noises and then began zipping around sucking up the spoils of war and the remains of the turret with a little tractor beam. Astraea tilted her head forwards, eye stalks straining forwards to get a good look at the thing. This was of course followed by the alien pressing her lips together to hide a smile. She opted instead for letting out a dramatized sigh that just happened to turn into her Op's name. "Alllleeex."
"Oh my, I wonder who programmed that to happen!" Alex was laughing, oh no! The abrupt pauses and restarts and not-quite hiccups in his speech were simply a side effect of recovering from a weekend of partying. "Oooh, a new chip too. Right, I'm off to grab breakfast. Oh! Try to figure out a way to pay back your virus-bro while I'm gone, yeah?" He kept his seat, and thus his video window, until Astraea gave him an 'i know it was you' look and a nod. With that granted he was grinning outright and out of view as he stood and the window snapped shut.
"Perhaps you should consider procurement of clothing as well!" She called after him, then turned her attention to the matter of her battle partner. What to say? The Shrubby was still sitting over there and being shy so how should she handle that? She was use to talking to people in professional setting not in casual encounters. Wasn't it best to not look directly at the person, letting them come to you on their own? Or maybe that was for animals... Either way she'd still have to say something.
"Your assistance was an asset in this encounter." She began, not really appearing to talk to anyone in particular but with only two of them there it was pretty obvious who she was talking to. She shifted her attention off of the Shrubby and onto one of her feet, picking it up and setting it on her other knee so she could pull at the bits of wood stuck to the bottom. It was easy enough work that she could toss up a search inquiry and regulate it to a background process. "Would it be a reasonable assumption that you inhabit this area? The habitat surrounding this area is pleasant to the eye." She paused in her task to inspect the bottom of her foot . Apparently she liked what she saw because she gave a little satisfied nod and swapped feet, still maintaining a calm expression. She couldn't do much for her voice though, and despite the fact she was speaking quietly it still sound somewhat like someone stepping on gravel. "If you wish to join me over here I would appreciate the company."
"Hey are you planning to sit there long? I've got a stomach to stuff and I'd rather be around for your next fight." A little video window popped up slightly to the side of the Navi and Alex's face appeared inside. He had a grin twitching at one corner of his mouth but other than that everything seemed normal.
"I was hoping to maintain my position for the moment to regain my stamina. I shall wait until you return after procuring victuals to continue my investigation of the Net proper." The typing stopped as a bright white spot appeared a little ways above the net floor. It just sat there for a moment then began to stretch and flex until it finally expanded and vanished with a little 'pop!' and left what was undeniably a miniature flying saucer in its wake. It made a quiet collection of old-time computer noises and then began zipping around sucking up the spoils of war and the remains of the turret with a little tractor beam. Astraea tilted her head forwards, eye stalks straining forwards to get a good look at the thing. This was of course followed by the alien pressing her lips together to hide a smile. She opted instead for letting out a dramatized sigh that just happened to turn into her Op's name. "Alllleeex."
"Oh my, I wonder who programmed that to happen!" Alex was laughing, oh no! The abrupt pauses and restarts and not-quite hiccups in his speech were simply a side effect of recovering from a weekend of partying. "Oooh, a new chip too. Right, I'm off to grab breakfast. Oh! Try to figure out a way to pay back your virus-bro while I'm gone, yeah?" He kept his seat, and thus his video window, until Astraea gave him an 'i know it was you' look and a nod. With that granted he was grinning outright and out of view as he stood and the window snapped shut.
"Perhaps you should consider procurement of clothing as well!" She called after him, then turned her attention to the matter of her battle partner. What to say? The Shrubby was still sitting over there and being shy so how should she handle that? She was use to talking to people in professional setting not in casual encounters. Wasn't it best to not look directly at the person, letting them come to you on their own? Or maybe that was for animals... Either way she'd still have to say something.
"Your assistance was an asset in this encounter." She began, not really appearing to talk to anyone in particular but with only two of them there it was pretty obvious who she was talking to. She shifted her attention off of the Shrubby and onto one of her feet, picking it up and setting it on her other knee so she could pull at the bits of wood stuck to the bottom. It was easy enough work that she could toss up a search inquiry and regulate it to a background process. "Would it be a reasonable assumption that you inhabit this area? The habitat surrounding this area is pleasant to the eye." She paused in her task to inspect the bottom of her foot . Apparently she liked what she saw because she gave a little satisfied nod and swapped feet, still maintaining a calm expression. She couldn't do much for her voice though, and despite the fact she was speaking quietly it still sound somewhat like someone stepping on gravel. "If you wish to join me over here I would appreciate the company."
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Across from where Astraea was recuperating from her battle, the little shrubby watched from behind its tree. NetNavis were strange, strange creatures, and so varied. It had only had one or two brief encounters with them in the past; the first time, the navi had attacked it, and it had fled for its life as fast as it could shuffle. The second time, the navi, who had looked very different, had been the one to run away screaming wildly about plants. The shrubby had been curious about what this one would do, when she had stumbled into its... disagreement, with the PulseBats. They certainly made things interesting. And terrifying.
Even so... this one seemed to only have been hostile to the bats. She had certainly seen the little shrubby... but now she was... Well it was probably talking, the little virus decided. It couldn't understand a word of it, but it sounded like communication, at least.
It was really hard for the Shrubby to tell, exactly, but if the NetNavi was resting, and talking, then it probably wasn't going to attack again. It couldn't decide whether she was trying to talk to it, or whether she was just talking to her imaginary friend; most navis did that, or so it had heard, but it seemed safe enough to at least get a little closer. It could always run away again if it got too scary.
It was a few more moments before the thought turned into an actual action, but eventually the little Shrubby stepped out from behind its tree and sidled over to stand next to the strange-looking alien on the log. As was the way of Shrubbies, its gentle shuffle over translated as a very sudden, very swift rush by anyone else's point of view, but a rational person would be able to tell it wasn't attacking; they teleported for that, after all. It bobbed up and down gently on the log beside her, inspecting Astraea up close.
Mostly, it just liked rolling logs at things, and a lot of navis took objection to that, but secretly, this particular shrubby had always been intrigued by netnavis, and this chance to examine one more closely, even if it was accompanied by instinctive sensations of trepidation and the urge to run away, was a chance not to be missed. It looked up at her face, then up further to her eyes, then back down over the rest of her body. Then it took another glance at her face, then the feet that she was tending carefully. The little shrubby was quite fascinated, all in all, even if it couldn't understand a word she was saying.
Even so... this one seemed to only have been hostile to the bats. She had certainly seen the little shrubby... but now she was... Well it was probably talking, the little virus decided. It couldn't understand a word of it, but it sounded like communication, at least.
It was really hard for the Shrubby to tell, exactly, but if the NetNavi was resting, and talking, then it probably wasn't going to attack again. It couldn't decide whether she was trying to talk to it, or whether she was just talking to her imaginary friend; most navis did that, or so it had heard, but it seemed safe enough to at least get a little closer. It could always run away again if it got too scary.
It was a few more moments before the thought turned into an actual action, but eventually the little Shrubby stepped out from behind its tree and sidled over to stand next to the strange-looking alien on the log. As was the way of Shrubbies, its gentle shuffle over translated as a very sudden, very swift rush by anyone else's point of view, but a rational person would be able to tell it wasn't attacking; they teleported for that, after all. It bobbed up and down gently on the log beside her, inspecting Astraea up close.
Mostly, it just liked rolling logs at things, and a lot of navis took objection to that, but secretly, this particular shrubby had always been intrigued by netnavis, and this chance to examine one more closely, even if it was accompanied by instinctive sensations of trepidation and the urge to run away, was a chance not to be missed. It looked up at her face, then up further to her eyes, then back down over the rest of her body. Then it took another glance at her face, then the feet that she was tending carefully. The little shrubby was quite fascinated, all in all, even if it couldn't understand a word she was saying.
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Well, everything seemed to be going well so far. So far she'd been successful, it was probably for the best if she kept the ball rolling. There was a flurry of movement from the virus that caused the alien to stiffen reflexively and then relax when it proved to be just the Shrubby taking a seat next to her. In hindsight that was a really silly reflex for her to have since the Shrubby had shown no aggression to her thus far. She finished up with her foot and set it back down. She wiggled her toes then turned to her companion to observe it fully.
And found herself being examined as well. A small smile cracked her face. "Your performance during this encounter was admirable." Keep the tone light and friendly, she reminded herself, turning away from the virus to look at the forest surrounding them. It was a pleasant scene despite (or perhaps because of) the manufactured feeling Astraea got from the trees. The colors were restful to the eyes and they weren't too far of from her ally's color palette either. "I understand the appeal of this area, it is restful." Well, most of it was restful...
The cave was looming behind her, and the awareness of its presence suddenly seemed to prickle along her spine. It wasn't from fear, at least she didn't think that was the cause. It was the same sort of feeling one would have if they stuck their foot over the edge of a staircase or a cliff. Abruptly she twisted around on the log to face the cave. The spires in front could be compared to teeth, she supposed, and the darkness beyond like the throat of a beast. Yes, if she considered it that way...
"It projects an intimidating atmosphere." Her voice was low and thoughtful and it sounded more like she was talking to herself than to her companion. Without a doubt, the fact that she even had a companion had slipped away completely.
At least that was the case until her search results came back and pinged her awareness.
Astraea visible startled and then settled down with a wry twist of her mouth. "My apologies," The alien began, twisting her body to face the virus full on. "I fear I have allowed myself to become caught up in the scenery and have neglected your presence." She lightly scratched at her neck as she accessed the results and scanned them briefly. A lot of hits along the lines of 'sanctuary from virus but' not many in the opposite direction. Oh hang on, there was a post that looked interesting..
"Have you ventured into there before?" She asked, gesturing towards the cave. The discussion board she had found looked pretty dead, and it only had a bare mention of a zoo for her to go off of. As long as she long as she refined her search terms she could probably find something. She sent her new refined search off into the wild, wild Net with her equivalent of a hope and a prayer. She just had to wait, it shouldn't be too long at this point.
And found herself being examined as well. A small smile cracked her face. "Your performance during this encounter was admirable." Keep the tone light and friendly, she reminded herself, turning away from the virus to look at the forest surrounding them. It was a pleasant scene despite (or perhaps because of) the manufactured feeling Astraea got from the trees. The colors were restful to the eyes and they weren't too far of from her ally's color palette either. "I understand the appeal of this area, it is restful." Well, most of it was restful...
The cave was looming behind her, and the awareness of its presence suddenly seemed to prickle along her spine. It wasn't from fear, at least she didn't think that was the cause. It was the same sort of feeling one would have if they stuck their foot over the edge of a staircase or a cliff. Abruptly she twisted around on the log to face the cave. The spires in front could be compared to teeth, she supposed, and the darkness beyond like the throat of a beast. Yes, if she considered it that way...
"It projects an intimidating atmosphere." Her voice was low and thoughtful and it sounded more like she was talking to herself than to her companion. Without a doubt, the fact that she even had a companion had slipped away completely.
At least that was the case until her search results came back and pinged her awareness.
Astraea visible startled and then settled down with a wry twist of her mouth. "My apologies," The alien began, twisting her body to face the virus full on. "I fear I have allowed myself to become caught up in the scenery and have neglected your presence." She lightly scratched at her neck as she accessed the results and scanned them briefly. A lot of hits along the lines of 'sanctuary from virus but' not many in the opposite direction. Oh hang on, there was a post that looked interesting..
"Have you ventured into there before?" She asked, gesturing towards the cave. The discussion board she had found looked pretty dead, and it only had a bare mention of a zoo for her to go off of. As long as she long as she refined her search terms she could probably find something. She sent her new refined search off into the wild, wild Net with her equivalent of a hope and a prayer. She just had to wait, it shouldn't be too long at this point.
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Everything seemed to be going well, so far! The navi hadn't reacted badly to its approach, and now seemed happy to keep talking away in its strange navigator dialect while it looked her over. The way she seemed to be glancing at it every so often made the shrubby sure that she was probably talking to it directly, and it found itself wishing it could understand. Being able to actually understand what netnavis said would be a wonderful thing, as far as it was concerned. It did sound like proper language. It was sure it was, but the poor shrubby had so little exposure to hearing it, so far, that that as about all it could be sure of.
When she turned to look over at the cave, the Shrubby followed her gaze, peeking out from behind her slowly. It didn't like the cave. The cave was scary, and there were other viruses that came out of it that it usually had to run away from. It would like it if the cave wasn't there.
It liked the woods, but not the cave. If it could live in woods that didn't have a spooky cave,that would be nice, but, it had never had the courage to wander too far away from what it felt like was its 'home', so, it always ended up back here, near the cave again. It shivered slightly and hid closer behind the navi. She, at least, didn't seem worried by the cave, but it would really prefer if it and the cave never had to see each other again.
When she turned to look over at the cave, the Shrubby followed her gaze, peeking out from behind her slowly. It didn't like the cave. The cave was scary, and there were other viruses that came out of it that it usually had to run away from. It would like it if the cave wasn't there.
It liked the woods, but not the cave. If it could live in woods that didn't have a spooky cave,that would be nice, but, it had never had the courage to wander too far away from what it felt like was its 'home', so, it always ended up back here, near the cave again. It shivered slightly and hid closer behind the navi. She, at least, didn't seem worried by the cave, but it would really prefer if it and the cave never had to see each other again.
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Astraea didn't have eyebrows to raise but she gave a good impression of doing so anyways as the Shrubby hid behind her. Evidently it was not a fan of the cave, and she could probably take that as 'no' to her question. The fact that it hadn't actually answered her brought a small frown to her face. "I believe you may lack understanding of spoken word." She sighed.
"Oh! I see you're getting nice and chummy with your Shrubby-buddy there, figured out how to repay 'im yet?" Astraea perked up as Alex's window popped into existence before her. Her operator now had sweat pants and a breakfast sandwich he was currently in the process of tearing into. He gave the virus a big grin and a friendly wave before resuming his breakfast.
"I have begun an inquiry using updated searching algorithms. An earlier endeavor revealed mention of a 'viral zoo' but I do not yet have-"
PING!
"Well speak of the devil I'm assuming. So how's a 'viral zoo' going to help your buddy there?" Alex took a hand off his sandwich to provide proper air quotes to go along with his not-quite mocking tone as his Navi perused the information that had been relayed to her.
"It will allow for continued existence without threat of deletion. It appears others have begun contributing to the endeavor by offering safe-haven to viruses that lack the natural aggression of most viral entities. Your silence is requested for a short duration." Luck was with her, there was a link she could use to transport her green friend to the place. Alex's video window was overlapped by another, larger window that showed concept art and a panning shot of a few of the actual enclosures. Astraea reached out and paused the window on the image of a large forested area. In her eyes it looked tranquil as was, there were what she was assuming were more realistic trees that threw shadows across the floor which she thought might be more of the grass panels.
A thought occurred to the alien and she twisted to face the side and the image slid through the air until it was no longer overlapping the cave but now floated directly just beyond the log. Astraea narrowed her eyes in concentration, her mouth curling into a slight frown as she began tampering with the coding itself of the view, one hand touching the image while the other typed away furiously on her little belt bound keyboard. After a minute or so her expression relaxed and pulled her hand away from her belt to place both on the image. Once there she began to slide the image back and forth, zooming in and out with a pinch of her fingers. Once she had demonstrated the extent of the way one could move the image about she leaned back and looked directly at the Shrubby once more.
"I believe you should attempt manipulation of the image as well." With the fact that it probably didn't understand a word in mind she gestured first at the virus then at the image again. She adjusted the view a little and then looked expectantly at the Shrubby after moving her hands away, attempting to make her wish of having the Shrubby play with the view obvious. In truth, while she could touch and manipulate the view (or appear to) just fine, if the little virus touched the screen then it would find itself whisked away to the zoo for Astraea had embedded the link into the window itself. It felt a bit like cheating, but lacking a clear way to communicate with the virus left her feeling as if she had no other choice than to trick the little guy for his own good. She'd continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of the window until the Shrubby finally built enough courage to touch it.
"Oh! I see you're getting nice and chummy with your Shrubby-buddy there, figured out how to repay 'im yet?" Astraea perked up as Alex's window popped into existence before her. Her operator now had sweat pants and a breakfast sandwich he was currently in the process of tearing into. He gave the virus a big grin and a friendly wave before resuming his breakfast.
"I have begun an inquiry using updated searching algorithms. An earlier endeavor revealed mention of a 'viral zoo' but I do not yet have-"
PING!
"Well speak of the devil I'm assuming. So how's a 'viral zoo' going to help your buddy there?" Alex took a hand off his sandwich to provide proper air quotes to go along with his not-quite mocking tone as his Navi perused the information that had been relayed to her.
"It will allow for continued existence without threat of deletion. It appears others have begun contributing to the endeavor by offering safe-haven to viruses that lack the natural aggression of most viral entities. Your silence is requested for a short duration." Luck was with her, there was a link she could use to transport her green friend to the place. Alex's video window was overlapped by another, larger window that showed concept art and a panning shot of a few of the actual enclosures. Astraea reached out and paused the window on the image of a large forested area. In her eyes it looked tranquil as was, there were what she was assuming were more realistic trees that threw shadows across the floor which she thought might be more of the grass panels.
A thought occurred to the alien and she twisted to face the side and the image slid through the air until it was no longer overlapping the cave but now floated directly just beyond the log. Astraea narrowed her eyes in concentration, her mouth curling into a slight frown as she began tampering with the coding itself of the view, one hand touching the image while the other typed away furiously on her little belt bound keyboard. After a minute or so her expression relaxed and pulled her hand away from her belt to place both on the image. Once there she began to slide the image back and forth, zooming in and out with a pinch of her fingers. Once she had demonstrated the extent of the way one could move the image about she leaned back and looked directly at the Shrubby once more.
"I believe you should attempt manipulation of the image as well." With the fact that it probably didn't understand a word in mind she gestured first at the virus then at the image again. She adjusted the view a little and then looked expectantly at the Shrubby after moving her hands away, attempting to make her wish of having the Shrubby play with the view obvious. In truth, while she could touch and manipulate the view (or appear to) just fine, if the little virus touched the screen then it would find itself whisked away to the zoo for Astraea had embedded the link into the window itself. It felt a bit like cheating, but lacking a clear way to communicate with the virus left her feeling as if she had no other choice than to trick the little guy for his own good. She'd continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of the window until the Shrubby finally built enough courage to touch it.
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The little shrubby was trying hard to read the navigator's mood in her face, but it was a field of experience that the virus was not very familiar with. It wondered if she was going to go into the cave, given her looking towards it, but it hoped not; it certainly didn't feel brave enough to follow her tot hat place.
Before it could fret about this any more,e however, she was talking again... although this time it was fairly sure she was talking to her imaginary friend, and not it. It was surprised to see a visual of said friend, however. This was news to it, and it bobbed on its toes uncertainly as the image.... waved? It was a strange looking creature, whatever it was. If it was actually real, though... where did it go when the window was closed? This thought perplexed the little shrubby for several long moments while the navi talked back and forth with it, and its simplistic features took on the signs of deep puzzlement.
After a few more seconds, though, the picture of her imaginary friend was replaced by one of forests and trees. This was a sight that the shrubby found much less puzzling, and far friendlier. It liked trees. They were good for hiding behind, and for sleeping under. It always felt safe around trees. Grass was good too. Grass made it happy.
The strange navigator began to toy with the image a little bit, moving it around with her hands. The shrubby tilted its head, curious, then edged around until to could see around the side of the screen, and behind it. So... were they trees, or weren't they? The sight was quite confusing for the poor shrubby, but it cheered up as it came back around to the front to look at the picture properly again.
So... it looked like trees and grass, and the navi could move it around and make it bigger? This gave the little shrubby an idea that seemed quite brilliant to it. Maybe it could cover the cave? If she put the tree-picture over where the cave was, then it wouldn't be ale to see the cave any more. The navi seemed to be implying that it should do it though. Perhaps she was giving it a gift? That was a strange concept, certainly, but maybe, if it could at least show her what it was trying, she might help do the fiddly work. It reached out to try and begin shifting the odd image in the same way she had, leaning over to nudge at it with its leafy body.
The result was more or less as Astraea had planned; the shrubby was grabbed up by the transport link and whisked away to what was, in reality, the safest net-haven a virus could hope to find. The shrubby itself was very surprised and disoriented for a few moments, especially when it found itself in a completely different place,. And with the navi it had been with nowhere to be seen... but... there were other navis nearby, and they didn't seem hostile... It's flight instincts were going into overdrive, but for this particular little shrubby, its curiosity about navigators was more powerful still. Tentatively, it approached them.
Back in ACDC, Astraea shortly received a successful transfer notification, along with a thank you for her donation, and an assurance that the virus would be well cared for. Job well done!
Before it could fret about this any more,e however, she was talking again... although this time it was fairly sure she was talking to her imaginary friend, and not it. It was surprised to see a visual of said friend, however. This was news to it, and it bobbed on its toes uncertainly as the image.... waved? It was a strange looking creature, whatever it was. If it was actually real, though... where did it go when the window was closed? This thought perplexed the little shrubby for several long moments while the navi talked back and forth with it, and its simplistic features took on the signs of deep puzzlement.
After a few more seconds, though, the picture of her imaginary friend was replaced by one of forests and trees. This was a sight that the shrubby found much less puzzling, and far friendlier. It liked trees. They were good for hiding behind, and for sleeping under. It always felt safe around trees. Grass was good too. Grass made it happy.
The strange navigator began to toy with the image a little bit, moving it around with her hands. The shrubby tilted its head, curious, then edged around until to could see around the side of the screen, and behind it. So... were they trees, or weren't they? The sight was quite confusing for the poor shrubby, but it cheered up as it came back around to the front to look at the picture properly again.
So... it looked like trees and grass, and the navi could move it around and make it bigger? This gave the little shrubby an idea that seemed quite brilliant to it. Maybe it could cover the cave? If she put the tree-picture over where the cave was, then it wouldn't be ale to see the cave any more. The navi seemed to be implying that it should do it though. Perhaps she was giving it a gift? That was a strange concept, certainly, but maybe, if it could at least show her what it was trying, she might help do the fiddly work. It reached out to try and begin shifting the odd image in the same way she had, leaning over to nudge at it with its leafy body.
The result was more or less as Astraea had planned; the shrubby was grabbed up by the transport link and whisked away to what was, in reality, the safest net-haven a virus could hope to find. The shrubby itself was very surprised and disoriented for a few moments, especially when it found itself in a completely different place,. And with the navi it had been with nowhere to be seen... but... there were other navis nearby, and they didn't seem hostile... It's flight instincts were going into overdrive, but for this particular little shrubby, its curiosity about navigators was more powerful still. Tentatively, it approached them.
Back in ACDC, Astraea shortly received a successful transfer notification, along with a thank you for her donation, and an assurance that the virus would be well cared for. Job well done!
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It was over and the Shrubby had gone and Astraea sat on the log looking at a static image.
"..Wow, that seems kind of...underhanded. Like, couldn't you just explain to the little guy what was going on?"
"Understanding necessary for communicating complex ideas and thoughts could not be reached. While viral ally displayed traits indicative of higher understanding, I lack knowledge of linguistics sufficient to bridge the gap displayed between myself and the subject in an acceptable time table." She finally closed the image and then gave the cave a suspicious look. She didn't really want to continue on the current conversation track with Alex so the best bet would be a diversion. Luckily she had multiple topics available to her. "The Shrubby expressed fear and nervousness of this formation, I am reluctant to leave current location but investigation seems prudent."
"What, really? I guess it makes sense he was hiding behind you earlier then." He watched as Astraea stood up from the log and dusted off the top of her overalls needlessly and began making her way towards the cave. "So, it trusted you to keep it safe from what ever is in there and then you tricked it into getting sucked into a link to some 'zoo'. I bet he's terrified right now." He sounded quite bitter about the whole thing.
Astraea stopped in her tracks and turned to face Alex's window with a grim, angry expression. "I acted in what I believed to be the best interest of the party involved. Every moment the virus stayed on the Network was another moment a less sociable Navi could have come along, or more aggressive virii!" She swept a hand towards where the Pulsebats had fallen to make her point. Alex grew more and more embarrassed as Astraea lectured him but he kept his face as disapproving as hers. "In the act of approaching me, the viral entity risked harm and eventual deletion. Instead it was granted a moment of friendship and transportation to a location where it will receive more of the same and be able to endure in safety for as long as it exists. I never promised it anything lasting, just as you do not extend the offer of long-term monogamy to your bed partners. There was no betrayal here, no breach of trust that exists as more than an implication." Turned out Astraea could be firm and pointed in her list of reason why she was in the right. She was personally fine with the whole situation, while it was disappointing that the Shrubby hadn't stuck around longer there was no point in keeping it where it could be injured by fire of either the friendly or non-friendly types. Besides, she could always visit when the zoo.
Alex kept his eyes locked with Astraea's while he listed to her rant on in that gravelly voice of hers. While normally he could handle said voice just fine, hearing it point out the reasons why he was wrong (even if that's not what she was saying it was what she was implying!) made him rather irritable. He attempted to go at it from another angle. "You could have at least /tried/ to explain things to him but I doubt you even did that! And how do you know the zoo is so great, huh? Been there yourself?" He folded his arms over his chest and stared right back at her. "There's no reason to be bringing in my sleeping habits into this conversation either! That's something between two adults who speak the same language, not that shady crap you just pulled!" He seemed pretty satisfied that he had gotten her off track with that comment.
For her part the alien Navi considered the situation and then closed her eyes and blew out a long, deep breath before opening them again. This argument wasn't going anywhere and from a strategic standpoint it'd be best to just walk away. The easiest way to do that would probably be a concession on her part, but she didn't mind. It wasn't like it hurt her pride or anything. "You are correct, I did not attempt to fully explain the situation to satisfactory levels of understanding on both sides. I still feel I made the correct decision but I am capable of understanding that you believe differently. I will prepare a file containing information on the conditions of the zoo itself for your perusal at a later date so that hopefully better understanding of why I made the decision I did can be reached. would remind you, however, that it was not I who decided I owed him a debt but you." She gave him a small respectful nod and then continued, her voice somewhat quieter than before. "Furthermore, you are also correct in that my analogy was flawed and inappropriate in the first place. I do not wish for you to feel I disapprove of your decisions as an adult." With that she turned and began making her way towards the caves with a hand hovering close to her ray gun. There was no sense in letting herself be caught off guard by a foe in these tunnels, especially as she and her operator were probably still going to be negotiating an end to the hostile words between the two.
--Searching for Battle #3--
"..Wow, that seems kind of...underhanded. Like, couldn't you just explain to the little guy what was going on?"
"Understanding necessary for communicating complex ideas and thoughts could not be reached. While viral ally displayed traits indicative of higher understanding, I lack knowledge of linguistics sufficient to bridge the gap displayed between myself and the subject in an acceptable time table." She finally closed the image and then gave the cave a suspicious look. She didn't really want to continue on the current conversation track with Alex so the best bet would be a diversion. Luckily she had multiple topics available to her. "The Shrubby expressed fear and nervousness of this formation, I am reluctant to leave current location but investigation seems prudent."
"What, really? I guess it makes sense he was hiding behind you earlier then." He watched as Astraea stood up from the log and dusted off the top of her overalls needlessly and began making her way towards the cave. "So, it trusted you to keep it safe from what ever is in there and then you tricked it into getting sucked into a link to some 'zoo'. I bet he's terrified right now." He sounded quite bitter about the whole thing.
Astraea stopped in her tracks and turned to face Alex's window with a grim, angry expression. "I acted in what I believed to be the best interest of the party involved. Every moment the virus stayed on the Network was another moment a less sociable Navi could have come along, or more aggressive virii!" She swept a hand towards where the Pulsebats had fallen to make her point. Alex grew more and more embarrassed as Astraea lectured him but he kept his face as disapproving as hers. "In the act of approaching me, the viral entity risked harm and eventual deletion. Instead it was granted a moment of friendship and transportation to a location where it will receive more of the same and be able to endure in safety for as long as it exists. I never promised it anything lasting, just as you do not extend the offer of long-term monogamy to your bed partners. There was no betrayal here, no breach of trust that exists as more than an implication." Turned out Astraea could be firm and pointed in her list of reason why she was in the right. She was personally fine with the whole situation, while it was disappointing that the Shrubby hadn't stuck around longer there was no point in keeping it where it could be injured by fire of either the friendly or non-friendly types. Besides, she could always visit when the zoo.
Alex kept his eyes locked with Astraea's while he listed to her rant on in that gravelly voice of hers. While normally he could handle said voice just fine, hearing it point out the reasons why he was wrong (even if that's not what she was saying it was what she was implying!) made him rather irritable. He attempted to go at it from another angle. "You could have at least /tried/ to explain things to him but I doubt you even did that! And how do you know the zoo is so great, huh? Been there yourself?" He folded his arms over his chest and stared right back at her. "There's no reason to be bringing in my sleeping habits into this conversation either! That's something between two adults who speak the same language, not that shady crap you just pulled!" He seemed pretty satisfied that he had gotten her off track with that comment.
For her part the alien Navi considered the situation and then closed her eyes and blew out a long, deep breath before opening them again. This argument wasn't going anywhere and from a strategic standpoint it'd be best to just walk away. The easiest way to do that would probably be a concession on her part, but she didn't mind. It wasn't like it hurt her pride or anything. "You are correct, I did not attempt to fully explain the situation to satisfactory levels of understanding on both sides. I still feel I made the correct decision but I am capable of understanding that you believe differently. I will prepare a file containing information on the conditions of the zoo itself for your perusal at a later date so that hopefully better understanding of why I made the decision I did can be reached. would remind you, however, that it was not I who decided I owed him a debt but you." She gave him a small respectful nod and then continued, her voice somewhat quieter than before. "Furthermore, you are also correct in that my analogy was flawed and inappropriate in the first place. I do not wish for you to feel I disapprove of your decisions as an adult." With that she turned and began making her way towards the caves with a hand hovering close to her ray gun. There was no sense in letting herself be caught off guard by a foe in these tunnels, especially as she and her operator were probably still going to be negotiating an end to the hostile words between the two.
--Searching for Battle #3--
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With the Shrubby safely sent away, and the disagreement over methods at least partially quieted between her and her operator, Astraea made the decision to examine the cave which the little shrubby had been so intimidated by.
Picking past the rocky spike that rose from the floor around the entrance of the cave, and ducking past the hanging stalactites, the alien navi would find visibility quickly dropping even a short way inside. The bright light from the entrance became a glow at her back as the cave stretched into a broad tunnel that meandered left and right. It wasn't long before the light of the entry way was completely obscured and only a peculiar strain of dull, glowing moss seemed to provide any decent illumination. It wasn't particularly bright either, and was enough to show shape,s and stop her from tripping, but no more.
Well, there were a pair of dull orange glows just up ahead as well, and if anything they grew brighter as Astraea came near. Unfortunately, the light source turned out to be the furnace-like bellies of a pair of dilapidated OldStoves that had been resting against the wall of the cave. They picked themselves up with a shudder, stoking their flames. While this was going on, a rumble from just behind her announced another presence; just behind her, a bump in the ground burst open to reveal a Miner virus, holding one of its placable mines aloft as it looked about.
All three of the viruses seemed to be ready for a throw-down with the unexpected navi intruder, but before anything else could take place, they each froze in place as a surly-sounding bellow reverberated through the cave space. Something was awake. That something lumbered in slowly from a passage to Astraea's right, and as it came into the dim light of the two OldStoves, it looked like a very grumpy bear. The main difference was that... it looked somewhat more like a stuffed toy bear, than the actual variety, though it was certainly growling and acting like it had just been woken from a nap.
-=Craving the Brave Thing=-
OldStoveA: 50Hp [Back of cave area]
OldStoveB: 50Hp [Back of cave area]
Miner: 100Hp [Just behind Astraea]
Teddy: 100Hp [Towards the back right]
-=Braving the Cave-thing=-
Astraea: 100 HP
-=Paving the way... thing?=-
100% Normal
-=Waving at Staving the uhh... Objects.=-
Stalactites A-D: 20hp each. Dotted evenly about the cave ceiling.
Stalagmites A-D: 20hp each. Dotted evenly about the cave floor. [possible use as cover, but not reliable]
-=Battle 3, Start!=-
Picking past the rocky spike that rose from the floor around the entrance of the cave, and ducking past the hanging stalactites, the alien navi would find visibility quickly dropping even a short way inside. The bright light from the entrance became a glow at her back as the cave stretched into a broad tunnel that meandered left and right. It wasn't long before the light of the entry way was completely obscured and only a peculiar strain of dull, glowing moss seemed to provide any decent illumination. It wasn't particularly bright either, and was enough to show shape,s and stop her from tripping, but no more.
Well, there were a pair of dull orange glows just up ahead as well, and if anything they grew brighter as Astraea came near. Unfortunately, the light source turned out to be the furnace-like bellies of a pair of dilapidated OldStoves that had been resting against the wall of the cave. They picked themselves up with a shudder, stoking their flames. While this was going on, a rumble from just behind her announced another presence; just behind her, a bump in the ground burst open to reveal a Miner virus, holding one of its placable mines aloft as it looked about.
All three of the viruses seemed to be ready for a throw-down with the unexpected navi intruder, but before anything else could take place, they each froze in place as a surly-sounding bellow reverberated through the cave space. Something was awake. That something lumbered in slowly from a passage to Astraea's right, and as it came into the dim light of the two OldStoves, it looked like a very grumpy bear. The main difference was that... it looked somewhat more like a stuffed toy bear, than the actual variety, though it was certainly growling and acting like it had just been woken from a nap.
-=Craving the Brave Thing=-
OldStoveA: 50Hp [Back of cave area]
OldStoveB: 50Hp [Back of cave area]
Miner: 100Hp [Just behind Astraea]
Teddy: 100Hp [Towards the back right]
-=Braving the Cave-thing=-
Astraea: 100 HP
-=Paving the way... thing?=-
100% Normal
-=
Stalactites A-D: 20hp each. Dotted evenly about the cave ceiling.
Stalagmites A-D: 20hp each. Dotted evenly about the cave floor. [possible use as cover, but not reliable]
-=Battle 3, Start!=-
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It was a while before Alex spoke again, and in that time Astraea had wandered further into the cave. It was as she was stopping to examine some of the glowing moss more closely and dropped her hand away from her gun. It was then that he finally spoke up again.
"Alright, look. Let's just drop that topic and move onto something else, yeah?You shouldn't've said... what you did, but I could have not jumped all over you about it." He wasn't happy by any means but at least he was speaking again. For her part the little alien Navi listened quietly before doing her bit to bridge the gap that had sprang up between them.
"Understood. My inexperience in conversation has led to an erroneous saying on my part. The previous situation and your endeavours are, indeed, different in many ways. As stated previously I w-"
"Whoa whoa whoa! Just stop already! I'm still a bit pissed and I can't take an apology right now. Just...cool it and move onto something else." Astraea frowned at admission but nodded and turned onto other topics. In truth she was still a bit upset herself, it was probably best if they both moved on to other topics.
Like that orange glow up ahead.
"I hypothesize something may be around the curve." she stated, bare feet slapping quietly as she approached. Alex rolled his eyes and muttered something sarcastic under his breath.
The two Oldstoves were not enough to deter Astraea's advance, and neither was the Miner popping up behind her. The distant rumbling and obvious pause the other virii displayed did the trick. Her attention shifted to the newcomer and her frown deepened as she read the hp totals displayed. She felt the panic start to well up again and took a deep breath, closing her eyes before releasing it slowly to calm herself. Silver light spread over her skin like earlier and she opened her eyes. She could wing this just fine.
"Operator Alex, I request the newest acquisition to our arsenal." Her raygun was drawn and the silver light was being channeled into it. Alex just looked a bit confused and smacked himself (lightly) on the head with an audible 'oh!'.
"Newest chip! Right, right, on its way! Man, I must not be as awake as I thought because that made nooo sense for a bit there." The chip was dutifully activated, though without any of the previous enthusiasm he had displayed.
That lack of enthusiasm didn't hinder Astraea in the least, in fact it was possible she had missed it entirely! She was busy going over the data that had just been uploaded into her system. Her eyes shifted from viral signature to object and back again and the frown shifted into an expression of concentration rather than anger. She brought up the ray gun and pulled the trigger twice. With each pull the gun released a wave of sonic energy towards the stalagmite closest to the Teddy, Astraea hoping to catch the virus as the waves bounced off again.
With a familiar flick of her wrist Astraea flicked up the cover of her keypad and then made her hand dance across it. Cinder Turret A's appearance was heralded in a flash of light that momentarily threw harsh shadows across the cave walls.
CTA beeped a couple times in confusion and then turned and sighted at the at the Miner. It had been called to aid its master in battle, and it would do so proudly and bravely to make up for previous err, mishaps. It beeped a challenge and then spat a couple bolts of plasma at the Miner, scoring marks on its stupid face!
At least, that was the plan. With a heavy smack from Astraea to the back of the turret (did the turret's front just get a bit redder?) CTA was twisted around and away to face the Teddy instead. The lights on the machine dimmed a couple times, almost as if it was blinking, and then it seemed to realize what had happened and shot a couple slugs at the bear instead.
--Summary--
1) Starmight - 20 Strengthen
2) Pulsar 1 - 70 (+20) + Object Triggered Blast 2 (Primary Acc A, Blast Acc B ) @ Stalagmite near Teddy
3) Summon Cinder Turret - Summons 10hp object that does 2 hits of 5 Fire Shot (passive), Acc A , 1TCD
*Mobilize - Knock CTA between Teddy and Astraea
CTA: 2 hits of 5 Fire Shot Acc A @ Teddy
"Alright, look. Let's just drop that topic and move onto something else, yeah?You shouldn't've said... what you did, but I could have not jumped all over you about it." He wasn't happy by any means but at least he was speaking again. For her part the little alien Navi listened quietly before doing her bit to bridge the gap that had sprang up between them.
"Understood. My inexperience in conversation has led to an erroneous saying on my part. The previous situation and your endeavours are, indeed, different in many ways. As stated previously I w-"
"Whoa whoa whoa! Just stop already! I'm still a bit pissed and I can't take an apology right now. Just...cool it and move onto something else." Astraea frowned at admission but nodded and turned onto other topics. In truth she was still a bit upset herself, it was probably best if they both moved on to other topics.
Like that orange glow up ahead.
"I hypothesize something may be around the curve." she stated, bare feet slapping quietly as she approached. Alex rolled his eyes and muttered something sarcastic under his breath.
The two Oldstoves were not enough to deter Astraea's advance, and neither was the Miner popping up behind her. The distant rumbling and obvious pause the other virii displayed did the trick. Her attention shifted to the newcomer and her frown deepened as she read the hp totals displayed. She felt the panic start to well up again and took a deep breath, closing her eyes before releasing it slowly to calm herself. Silver light spread over her skin like earlier and she opened her eyes. She could wing this just fine.
"Operator Alex, I request the newest acquisition to our arsenal." Her raygun was drawn and the silver light was being channeled into it. Alex just looked a bit confused and smacked himself (lightly) on the head with an audible 'oh!'.
"Newest chip! Right, right, on its way! Man, I must not be as awake as I thought because that made nooo sense for a bit there." The chip was dutifully activated, though without any of the previous enthusiasm he had displayed.
That lack of enthusiasm didn't hinder Astraea in the least, in fact it was possible she had missed it entirely! She was busy going over the data that had just been uploaded into her system. Her eyes shifted from viral signature to object and back again and the frown shifted into an expression of concentration rather than anger. She brought up the ray gun and pulled the trigger twice. With each pull the gun released a wave of sonic energy towards the stalagmite closest to the Teddy, Astraea hoping to catch the virus as the waves bounced off again.
With a familiar flick of her wrist Astraea flicked up the cover of her keypad and then made her hand dance across it. Cinder Turret A's appearance was heralded in a flash of light that momentarily threw harsh shadows across the cave walls.
CTA beeped a couple times in confusion and then turned and sighted at the at the Miner. It had been called to aid its master in battle, and it would do so proudly and bravely to make up for previous err, mishaps. It beeped a challenge and then spat a couple bolts of plasma at the Miner, scoring marks on its stupid face!
At least, that was the plan. With a heavy smack from Astraea to the back of the turret (did the turret's front just get a bit redder?) CTA was twisted around and away to face the Teddy instead. The lights on the machine dimmed a couple times, almost as if it was blinking, and then it seemed to realize what had happened and shot a couple slugs at the bear instead.
--Summary--
1) Starmight - 20 Strengthen
2) Pulsar 1 - 70 (+20) + Object Triggered Blast 2 (Primary Acc A, Blast Acc B ) @ Stalagmite near Teddy
3) Summon Cinder Turret - Summons 10hp object that does 2 hits of 5 Fire Shot (passive), Acc A , 1TCD
*Mobilize - Knock CTA between Teddy and Astraea
CTA: 2 hits of 5 Fire Shot Acc A @ Teddy
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Fortunately for both Astraea and her operator, the throes of social awkwardness weren't quite enough to catch ether of them off guard in the face of clear and present danger, even if visibility itself was kind of low.
The first thing that happened was the Miner behind her ducking underneath the surface of the terrain. This was followed by an ominous beeping sound that seemed to rise from the ground itself, without giving any reliable indicator as to exactly where. The miner popped up again, beginning to shuffle around on its person for another mine to place.
While astraea powered up and added her own luminescence to the dim cave, the OldStove nearest her approached, stoked its fires, and appeared to be inhaling in preparation for blowing a gout of flame her way. At about this moment, however, Astraea let off her pulsar burst, aimed not at it, or the teddy, but at one of the conveniently placed rocky spires in between.
The pulse shattered the rock stalagmite, but the reverberations sent a swelling sound-wave out from the resonance point, almost like a tuning fork. The Teddy, who had been about to grab that very rock and throw it at the navi, instead reeled backwards with a pained roar, putting its over-sized, stuffed-toy paws to its head as rock chips assailed it. On the other side, the OldStove didn't quite get to make its attack either, toppled sideways in a screech of rending metal as the blast disabled it.
Several of the other stalagmites shattered as the sound spread, and two of the stalactites on the ceiling of the cave shook, and dropped. One landed on the remaining OldStove and shattered, but this wasn't enough to put it off from opening its grate and letting forth a line of scorching fire. In the tight confines of the cave, it was both highly illuminating, and unfortunately accurate, and Astraea got herself mildly scorched (-15).
In the meantime, she had called up her trusty turret, and with an affection slap on the rump, put him directly in the line of fire. The teddy was just shaking off the dazing sound-waves that had very nearly torn it apart, before the turret unleashed its own flavour of fiery fury on the beast. The flame bolts weren't particularly strong, but they were enough to send the plush bear up in fluff-charring smoke. It managed a piteous roar before disintegrating entirely.
-=Craving the Brave Thing=-
OldStoveA: 30Hp [Back of cave area][normal]
OldStoveB: DELETED
Miner: 100Hp [Just behind Astraea][normal]
Teddy: DELETED
-=Braving the Cave-thing=-
Astraea: 85 HP [Cracked]
-=Paving the way... thing?=-
90% Normal
10% Cracked [Line between Astraea and the OldStove]
-=Waving at Staving the uhh... Objects.=-
Stalactites A, D: 20hp each. Dotted evenly about the cave ceiling.
Stalactites B, C: DELETED
Stalagmite A: 20hp Near the way Astraea came from. [possible use as cover, but not reliable]
Stalagmite B-D: DELETED
Cinder Turret A: 5Hp [Allied][Normal][Short way in front of Astraea]
The first thing that happened was the Miner behind her ducking underneath the surface of the terrain. This was followed by an ominous beeping sound that seemed to rise from the ground itself, without giving any reliable indicator as to exactly where. The miner popped up again, beginning to shuffle around on its person for another mine to place.
While astraea powered up and added her own luminescence to the dim cave, the OldStove nearest her approached, stoked its fires, and appeared to be inhaling in preparation for blowing a gout of flame her way. At about this moment, however, Astraea let off her pulsar burst, aimed not at it, or the teddy, but at one of the conveniently placed rocky spires in between.
The pulse shattered the rock stalagmite, but the reverberations sent a swelling sound-wave out from the resonance point, almost like a tuning fork. The Teddy, who had been about to grab that very rock and throw it at the navi, instead reeled backwards with a pained roar, putting its over-sized, stuffed-toy paws to its head as rock chips assailed it. On the other side, the OldStove didn't quite get to make its attack either, toppled sideways in a screech of rending metal as the blast disabled it.
Several of the other stalagmites shattered as the sound spread, and two of the stalactites on the ceiling of the cave shook, and dropped. One landed on the remaining OldStove and shattered, but this wasn't enough to put it off from opening its grate and letting forth a line of scorching fire. In the tight confines of the cave, it was both highly illuminating, and unfortunately accurate, and Astraea got herself mildly scorched (-15).
In the meantime, she had called up her trusty turret, and with an affection slap on the rump, put him directly in the line of fire. The teddy was just shaking off the dazing sound-waves that had very nearly torn it apart, before the turret unleashed its own flavour of fiery fury on the beast. The flame bolts weren't particularly strong, but they were enough to send the plush bear up in fluff-charring smoke. It managed a piteous roar before disintegrating entirely.
-=Craving the Brave Thing=-
OldStoveA: 30Hp [Back of cave area][normal]
OldStoveB: DELETED
Miner: 100Hp [Just behind Astraea][normal]
Teddy: DELETED
-=Braving the Cave-thing=-
Astraea: 85 HP [Cracked]
-=Paving the way... thing?=-
90% Normal
10% Cracked [Line between Astraea and the OldStove]
-=
Stalactites A, D: 20hp each. Dotted evenly about the cave ceiling.
Stalactites B, C: DELETED
Stalagmite A: 20hp Near the way Astraea came from. [possible use as cover, but not reliable]
Stalagmite B-D: DELETED
Cinder Turret A: 5Hp [Allied][Normal][Short way in front of Astraea]
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Astraea was scorched by fire hotter and brighter than what her turret could throw. It bloomed from the mouth of the OldStove and engulfed her vision. When the fire cleared she was able to go ahead with dropping her backup and putting that plan into action. It turned out to be a well-thought out plan too, maybe she was getting better at the tactical side of things.
"Well, that performance really cleared the cave. Bit of a tough crowd though." Alex attempted a joke but his effort seemed to fall flat of reaching his voice. He sighed, shook his head, and sllid over a couple of chips on his holographic display. "Nevermind. Just...take this."
Astraea gave the ceiling of the cave a curious look then turned back to her work. The chip data was loaded into its usual form of weaponry and Astraea lifted the ray gun and took aim. Judging by the ominous beeping coming from...somewhere, moving around wasn't too great of an idea right now. She was beginning to understand the name 'Miner', and truth be told it wasn't what she had thought. It was probably best to save her big guns for that enemy so she moved to take out the Oldstove first.
Pew Pew
Twin laser blasts attempted to bore into the viruss face. CTA, as eager to impress its mistress as always, managed to make a shuffling-shaking movement that threatened to rip it apart at the scenes as it shuffled dangerously on its square to face a new target. It now had a beeline towards the Oldstove and once the shaking stopped, well, it wasn't hard for the little turret to blast away with a couple shots of its own.
Satisfied with her work so far the alien navi turned her attention to the Miner and raised the ray gun again. This time when she pulled on the trigger there was no immediate blast, but a build up of bright blue light in the depths of the barrel. A low whine began to fill the air, pitching higher and higher until finally the trigger was released. A powerful laser of bright blue blasted from the barrel and attempted to smash into the Miner and drive it back a pace.
--Summary--
1) Bustershot 10, Acc A @ OldStoveA
2) Bustershot 10, Acc A @ OldStoveA
CTA: 2 hits of 5 Fire Shot Acc A @ OldStoveA
3) Cannon - 60 + Knockback, Acc A @ Miner
"Well, that performance really cleared the cave. Bit of a tough crowd though." Alex attempted a joke but his effort seemed to fall flat of reaching his voice. He sighed, shook his head, and sllid over a couple of chips on his holographic display. "Nevermind. Just...take this."
Astraea gave the ceiling of the cave a curious look then turned back to her work. The chip data was loaded into its usual form of weaponry and Astraea lifted the ray gun and took aim. Judging by the ominous beeping coming from...somewhere, moving around wasn't too great of an idea right now. She was beginning to understand the name 'Miner', and truth be told it wasn't what she had thought. It was probably best to save her big guns for that enemy so she moved to take out the Oldstove first.
Pew Pew
Twin laser blasts attempted to bore into the viruss face. CTA, as eager to impress its mistress as always, managed to make a shuffling-shaking movement that threatened to rip it apart at the scenes as it shuffled dangerously on its square to face a new target. It now had a beeline towards the Oldstove and once the shaking stopped, well, it wasn't hard for the little turret to blast away with a couple shots of its own.
Satisfied with her work so far the alien navi turned her attention to the Miner and raised the ray gun again. This time when she pulled on the trigger there was no immediate blast, but a build up of bright blue light in the depths of the barrel. A low whine began to fill the air, pitching higher and higher until finally the trigger was released. A powerful laser of bright blue blasted from the barrel and attempted to smash into the Miner and drive it back a pace.
--Summary--
1) Bustershot 10, Acc A @ OldStoveA
2) Bustershot 10, Acc A @ OldStoveA
CTA: 2 hits of 5 Fire Shot Acc A @ OldStoveA
3) Cannon - 60 + Knockback, Acc A @ Miner
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With the cave mostly cleared, Astraea and her trusty construct made to put the finishing touches on the second OldStove. The first shot dinged it squarely, making the virus twist off target as it launched its own torrent of scorching fire. The blast managed to find the perfect gap between Astraea and her turret, hitting nothing, before the alien's second shot, and the pair of incendiaries from her turret battered the virus apart. The terrain from the fire stream was left cracked and damaged, and the point nearest where the stove had been fell in completely under the force of the successive fire blasts.
While they were doing this, the Miner burrowed beneath the surface again, planting another mine somewhere beneath the ground, before resurfacing. It may not have been the cleverest thing for the virus to keep popping back up from the same position; this time Astraea was ready for it, and it rose up to meet a very forcefully cannon shot to the face.
The virus shrieked and reeled back, popping out of its hole completely for a moment and onto its head, before frantically burrowing down again into the the ground where it landed. It emerged from this new hole shaking a fist and jabbering furiously at the alien navi, and began rummaging on its person for another mine to plant.
-=Craving the Brave Thing=-
OldStoveA: DELETED
OldStoveB: DELETED
Miner: 40Hp [Behind Astraea][normal]
Teddy: DELETED
-=Braving the Cave-thing=-
Astraea: 85 HP [Cracked]
-=Paving the way... thing?=-
850% Normal
10% Cracked [Two lines, slightly intersecting, in the space in front of Astraea]
5% Broken [The origin point of the two cracked lines]
-=Waving at Staving the uhh... Objects.=-
Stalactites A, D: 20hp each. Dotted evenly about the cave ceiling.
Stalactites B, C: DELETED
Stalagmite A: 20hp Near the way Astraea came from. [possible use as cover, but not reliable]
Stalagmite B-D: DELETED
Cinder Turret A: 5Hp [Allied][Normal][Short way in front of Astraea]
While they were doing this, the Miner burrowed beneath the surface again, planting another mine somewhere beneath the ground, before resurfacing. It may not have been the cleverest thing for the virus to keep popping back up from the same position; this time Astraea was ready for it, and it rose up to meet a very forcefully cannon shot to the face.
The virus shrieked and reeled back, popping out of its hole completely for a moment and onto its head, before frantically burrowing down again into the the ground where it landed. It emerged from this new hole shaking a fist and jabbering furiously at the alien navi, and began rummaging on its person for another mine to plant.
-=Craving the Brave Thing=-
OldStoveA: DELETED
OldStoveB: DELETED
Miner: 40Hp [Behind Astraea][normal]
Teddy: DELETED
-=Braving the Cave-thing=-
Astraea: 85 HP [Cracked]
-=Paving the way... thing?=-
850% Normal
10% Cracked [Two lines, slightly intersecting, in the space in front of Astraea]
5% Broken [The origin point of the two cracked lines]
-=
Stalactites A, D: 20hp each. Dotted evenly about the cave ceiling.
Stalactites B, C: DELETED
Stalagmite A: 20hp Near the way Astraea came from. [possible use as cover, but not reliable]
Stalagmite B-D: DELETED
Cinder Turret A: 5Hp [Allied][Normal][Short way in front of Astraea]
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Astraea let a grin slip on her lips as the Miner screamed in anger. There was still a chip buzzing her awareness so she tapped the data and channeled it. Again the ray gun glowed with a bright light that was hard to look at. It faded away quickly, revealing that the barrel of the weapon had doubled itself. The Navi held off on firing immediately. Instead she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reached for the cold fire that she could feel dancing just at the edges of her mind. She managed to pull some of it with her calm, but she could sense far more slipping away from her reaching fingers. Alas, Astraea would have to be happy with what she had.
The alien opened her eyes and shook her head to clear it. A silver sheathe of light was wrapped around her, but not for long. With another deep breath she focused and concentrated and forced the light over her gun. She heard her turret beep and fire off another couple of rounds, but for some odd reason it sounded distant to her. Ah well, there was really no point for her to worry about it now. She raised her gun and pulled the trigger twice. The weapon bucked a little in her hand but she was prepared and kept it on target. Slivers of silver were sent flying with the blue pellets of plasma, and they all sought to bury themselves in the Miner's dumb face. The ray gun itself seemed to fade back into its normal appearance, and Astraea took this as her cue to add another laser to the flying light show.
pew
The resulting shot sounded subdued, as if it was intimidated by the sheer power of what had gone before it.
--Summary--
1) Starmight: 20 Strengthen
CTA: 5x2, ACC A @ Miner
2) Shotgun: 50 (+20) + Spread 1, Acc A @ Miner
3) Buster Shot: 10, ACC A @ Miner
The alien opened her eyes and shook her head to clear it. A silver sheathe of light was wrapped around her, but not for long. With another deep breath she focused and concentrated and forced the light over her gun. She heard her turret beep and fire off another couple of rounds, but for some odd reason it sounded distant to her. Ah well, there was really no point for her to worry about it now. She raised her gun and pulled the trigger twice. The weapon bucked a little in her hand but she was prepared and kept it on target. Slivers of silver were sent flying with the blue pellets of plasma, and they all sought to bury themselves in the Miner's dumb face. The ray gun itself seemed to fade back into its normal appearance, and Astraea took this as her cue to add another laser to the flying light show.
pew
The resulting shot sounded subdued, as if it was intimidated by the sheer power of what had gone before it.
--Summary--
1) Starmight: 20 Strengthen
CTA: 5x2, ACC A @ Miner
2) Shotgun: 50 (+20) + Spread 1, Acc A @ Miner
3) Buster Shot: 10, ACC A @ Miner
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As it saw its nemesis begin to glow with gathered energy, the Miner did what any self-respecting miner would do in such a situation; it ducked below the surface to set another mine. The first shot from the cinder turret clipped it as it went down, but the second zipped harmlessly through the empty space that remained. Unfortunately for the poor turret, in this case, its own accuracy was rendered largely irrelevant one way or the other as Astraea herself obliterated the final virus the moment it surfaced again.
Most of the detritus and rubble in the cave was fairly useless, but amongst the remnants of scattered junk data, a fair amount of it turned out to be convertible zenny. the ominous subterranean beeping of the mines faded away as they went inert, so at least Astraea had the freedom to gather spoils and move around again now.
-=Craving the Brave Thing=-
OldStoveA: DELETED
OldStoveB: DELETED
Miner: DELETED
Teddy: DELETED
-=Braving the Cave-thing=-
Astraea: 85 HP [Cracked]
-=Paving the way... thing?=-
850% Normal
10% Cracked [Two lines, slightly intersecting, in the space in front of Astraea]
5% Broken [The origin point of the two cracked lines]
Should have been noting that the floor was mines, and now up to 15% coverage, but it no longer matters because they're gone again!
-=Battle 3, Victory!=-
Spoils: 480z
Most of the detritus and rubble in the cave was fairly useless, but amongst the remnants of scattered junk data, a fair amount of it turned out to be convertible zenny. the ominous subterranean beeping of the mines faded away as they went inert, so at least Astraea had the freedom to gather spoils and move around again now.
-=Craving the Brave Thing=-
OldStoveA: DELETED
OldStoveB: DELETED
Miner: DELETED
Teddy: DELETED
-=Braving the Cave-thing=-
Astraea: 85 HP [Cracked]
-=Paving the way... thing?=-
850% Normal
10% Cracked [Two lines, slightly intersecting, in the space in front of Astraea]
5% Broken [The origin point of the two cracked lines]
Should have been noting that the floor was mines, and now up to 15% coverage, but it no longer matters because they're gone again!
-=Battle 3, Victory!=-
Spoils: 480
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The battle was won. Astraea moved about the cave cautiously once the beeping from the mines had stopped. Unlike before she gathered the spoils by hand, well by foot really. All it took was for her to pass near the scraps of data for it to swirl up around her feet and then fade into her skin. While she moved the turret watched, beeping every so often in a repeating pattern.
Eventually Astraea padded back over to the turret and gave it a pat on the curve of the top of it's plastic shell. Then she tapped it with the wrench and CTA was sucked suddenly into said wrench in a whirl of data packets. Astraea looked around the room and then attempted to continue further into the cave.
[Looking for next fight]
Eventually Astraea padded back over to the turret and gave it a pat on the curve of the top of it's plastic shell. Then she tapped it with the wrench and CTA was sucked suddenly into said wrench in a whirl of data packets. Astraea looked around the room and then attempted to continue further into the cave.
[Looking for next fight]
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With her cash collected and her companion collapsed, the construct creator cruised onwards! Ahem. Probing deeper into the cave system was difficult at first; the poor lighting and the frequent stalagmites jutting up from the floor made progress a little slow. The tunnel branched one or twice, but one direction was more or less as good as another, until she reached a point there the cave walls began to widen out again.
The light from the entrance was well and truly gone, and the luminescent fungus growths couldn't really spread much light to the open space of this cavern. there was, however, a soft green glow from the far right of the chamber. It was hard to see anything about what was causing it ,or where it was coming from, as an assortment of both floor and ceiling spikes seemed to form what was almost a toothy cage around the light source.
It was not the most pressing worry that Astraea had to deal with, however. Though it was hard to make them out in the darkness, a pair of shadowy shapes drifted about the chamber, occasionally letting long, slimy tongues loll out for a moment, before pulling them away again. Closer, a trio of small, round shapes seemed to be hopping about the cavern floor. they might have been bunnies, except that when one looked her way, its eyes glowed with an unusual luminosity, and as it charged its ear-prongs, the light from the shocking ring showed that the three of them had a starkly pale skin colour.
The shock ring wasn't aimed at Astraea, as it turned out. It whizzed past her and hit the wall just above another large shape behind her, that might easily have been a rock, until it shuddered and whirred, slowly coming to life. A pair of red eye glows lit up from the centre of the strange, quadrupedal spider-tank, and it shook its turret to clear some of the built up rust and dust.
-=Too Long in the Dark=-
SpookyA: 30Hp [left-ish back area]
SpookyB: 30Hp [right-ish back area]
BunnyA: 50Hp [Central]
BunnyB: 50Hp [Central]
BunnyC: 50Hp [Central]
Kabutank: 90Hp [Just behind Astraea]
-=Far From The Light=-
Astraea.Exe 85Hp
-=Terrain=-
100% Normal
-=Objects=-
Variety of stalactites and stalagmites: 20Hp Each, spaced erratically around the chamber.
Toothy Maw: 80Hp [Forming a partial cage of stone spikes around the GMD, at the back.]
GMD: 30Hp [behind the cage-like spikes]
-=Battle 4, Start!=-
The light from the entrance was well and truly gone, and the luminescent fungus growths couldn't really spread much light to the open space of this cavern. there was, however, a soft green glow from the far right of the chamber. It was hard to see anything about what was causing it ,or where it was coming from, as an assortment of both floor and ceiling spikes seemed to form what was almost a toothy cage around the light source.
It was not the most pressing worry that Astraea had to deal with, however. Though it was hard to make them out in the darkness, a pair of shadowy shapes drifted about the chamber, occasionally letting long, slimy tongues loll out for a moment, before pulling them away again. Closer, a trio of small, round shapes seemed to be hopping about the cavern floor. they might have been bunnies, except that when one looked her way, its eyes glowed with an unusual luminosity, and as it charged its ear-prongs, the light from the shocking ring showed that the three of them had a starkly pale skin colour.
The shock ring wasn't aimed at Astraea, as it turned out. It whizzed past her and hit the wall just above another large shape behind her, that might easily have been a rock, until it shuddered and whirred, slowly coming to life. A pair of red eye glows lit up from the centre of the strange, quadrupedal spider-tank, and it shook its turret to clear some of the built up rust and dust.
-=Too Long in the Dark=-
SpookyA: 30Hp [left-ish back area]
SpookyB: 30Hp [right-ish back area]
BunnyA: 50Hp [Central]
BunnyB: 50Hp [Central]
BunnyC: 50Hp [Central]
Kabutank: 90Hp [Just behind Astraea]
-=Far From The Light=-
Astraea.Exe 85Hp
-=Terrain=-
100% Normal
-=Objects=-
Variety of stalactites and stalagmites: 20Hp Each, spaced erratically around the chamber.
Toothy Maw: 80Hp [Forming a partial cage of stone spikes around the GMD, at the back.]
GMD: 30Hp [behind the cage-like spikes]
-=Battle 4, Start!=-
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It was probably a good thing Astraea wasn't given to fear of ghosts and ghouls because the next batch of viral menaces would have fitted such descriptions well. Instead she pulled her gun from its holster and tightened her grip on it. "Requesting ammunition for removal of viral threats."
Alex took a look at the area his Navi was currently exploring and frowned. "Man, that doesn't look like fun. Take care in the dark." Even with the holographic display all he could see was the faint light from the mushroom-things wasn't doing much good. Still, Astraea didn't seem to be afraid of the dark or the threats so it was up to him to support. He drew his hand across the display, dragging a pair of chips onto Astraea's barely visible form. "Knock 'em dead!" At least he was in the mood to talk to her again.
The Navi nodded at the command, thin lips drawn taunt in a look of concentration on her face. Her eyes were carefully tracking the movement of the bunnies, the pupils so wide that they almost eclipsed her irises entirely. There was something moving behind her, and she knew without turning that it was big. That was fine though, there were plenty of targets in front to focus on. It'd be best if the invader got out of the firing line she could worry about what exactly it was later.
She moved suddenly but carefully, bright blue light building in the depths of her gun's barrel and spilling out to light her way. She was drawing lines and calculating angles as she moved. Then she seemed to find her sweet spot, stopping moving, and brought up the raygun. The gun's trigger was pulled and the gun barked twice, sending out a shrapnel-esq cloud of energy splinters at a pair of the bunnies. From there Astraea shook out her shield, the familiar white interlocking pieces of plastic snapping into place to provide protection. It was going to be a tough fight for the alien but she was determined to whittle down the opponents numbers to a more manageable count.
--Summary--
1) Feint - Line up Bunny B & C
2) Shotgun - Shotgun - 50 + Spread 1, Acc A @ Bunny B & C
3) Shield - 1-hit Shield
Alex took a look at the area his Navi was currently exploring and frowned. "Man, that doesn't look like fun. Take care in the dark." Even with the holographic display all he could see was the faint light from the mushroom-things wasn't doing much good. Still, Astraea didn't seem to be afraid of the dark or the threats so it was up to him to support. He drew his hand across the display, dragging a pair of chips onto Astraea's barely visible form. "Knock 'em dead!" At least he was in the mood to talk to her again.
The Navi nodded at the command, thin lips drawn taunt in a look of concentration on her face. Her eyes were carefully tracking the movement of the bunnies, the pupils so wide that they almost eclipsed her irises entirely. There was something moving behind her, and she knew without turning that it was big. That was fine though, there were plenty of targets in front to focus on. It'd be best if the invader got out of the firing line she could worry about what exactly it was later.
She moved suddenly but carefully, bright blue light building in the depths of her gun's barrel and spilling out to light her way. She was drawing lines and calculating angles as she moved. Then she seemed to find her sweet spot, stopping moving, and brought up the raygun. The gun's trigger was pulled and the gun barked twice, sending out a shrapnel-esq cloud of energy splinters at a pair of the bunnies. From there Astraea shook out her shield, the familiar white interlocking pieces of plastic snapping into place to provide protection. It was going to be a tough fight for the alien but she was determined to whittle down the opponents numbers to a more manageable count.
--Summary--
1) Feint - Line up Bunny B & C
2) Shotgun - Shotgun - 50 + Spread 1, Acc A @ Bunny B & C
3) Shield - 1-hit Shield