((From Mazer's house))
The trio warped in from the "ceiling" of the network in a set of cyan beams, which crashed down to the floor below and quickly faded to reveal the Navi and his two SPs. They quickly became reacquainted with their surroundings, though it's admittedly been a while since they've been in the ACDC network. To be honest, it was nice to arrive in a peaceful atmosphere for once. The only noises they could hear were from the miscellaneous chattering of programs as they went about their business, and the occasional sound of data zipping beneath their feet. The only thing that seemed out of place was a single program, who was facing away from the trio and oddly floating a couple inches from the floor. A communique came in through each of the programs' minds, from their NetOp. ["I think that might be PsycheMan, he said he was always available to meet up, but I didn't expect him to be that punctual..."]
The relaxed atmosphere dimmed a bit with that observation, but Mach was anxious to get things started. "PsycheMan, I assume? I'm MachMan, we're here to help you out with your search," he called out to the Navi. "Hm, I appreciate your promptness, MachMan." the Navi spoke calmly and respectfully, though his back was still facing the group. He did start to slowly rotate in place to face them, as he continued to speak. As he turned, the trio got a better look at the Navi. He was clad in a purple bodysuit with black armor over his limbs, a flowing white belt over his waist, and what appeared to be a large purple crystal affixed to the front of his helmet. "Nice to meet... YOU!" Though his eyes looked to be closed during his slow turn to face the trio, as soon as he turned enough to get within eye shot, one of his eyes snapped open with a shocked glare, as his last word changed from greeting to accusation.
"Um..." Mach muttered with a questioning look on his face, while Aera looked nervous, and Vector seemed to be suddenly more alert. The floating Navi's previously stoic expression twisted to an angry scowl. "How dare you mock me... after what you've done!" he barked as the crystal on his helmet began to glow and a pair of RockCubes materialized on either side of the group. Without warning, the cubes of stone lurched towards the group, forcing Aera and Vector to leap forwards to escape their lumbering path, while Mach simply shot upwards a few feet to avoid the twin RockCubes as they smashed against eachother. If he was a betting man, he'd put a few hundred zenny on the Navi intended to squash him between the RockCubes. As such, he readied himself for combat by raising his shields and bringing his twin beam cannon online under his right forearm. He didn't immediately point the weapon at the Navi, he was still unsure what exactly was going on. "What are you talking about? Have we met before?"
This seemed to enrage the Navi even more, causing his scowl to crack open to reveal gritted teeth, and the Navi to uncross his arms before shooting his left skyward. This caused the RockCube to Mach's right to rocket upwards, prompting him to roll to the left to avoid the hurtling object, but he then quickly found the left following close behind. He managed to roll away from that one as well, but it caught his foot as it shot past, which shot pain through his leg and caused him to over-rotate, so he stopped with his body nearly parallel to the ground. Aera and Vector recovered from their hasty dodge, and prepared for combat as well; bolts of white electricity arced between Aera's hands and the ground below, while Vector's forearms and hands reformed into a pair of broad, sharpened blades.
"The hell do you want?" Mach demanded, now floating less than a foot in front of the Navi thanks to a quick teleport. He was starting to lose his patience, and was giving the Navi a chance to realize what he was dealing with before the bullets would start flying. He suddenly found himself being inexplicably driven back by some invisible force as the Navi shouted back "I could ask you the same thing! What have you done with her? Where's Nell?!" His arms shot skyward, and Mach felt the time for diplomacy had to wait for a bit. He opened up with his beam cannons as he began to strafe to the side, but the Navi began to strafe as well before he drove his arms down and raised a Guard shield.
Some of his beam shots missed, while others crashed against the Guard shield, which in turn retaliated with a blast that bashed against his own shields. Vector sliced one of his forearms down in a vertical slash, causing several angular slivers of metal to whistle towards the Navi. In response, Vector found himself getting lifted and then forcibly thrown in Mach's direction. Mach caught sight of the two RockCubes coming down on his position like oddly shaped meteors, but with the added Vector projectile if he dodged left or right he'd be hit by one of the RockCubes, and up or down wouldn't get him out of the way of Vector's trajectory in time. However, Vector took advantage of his own construction to cause his torso to "bleed" into his limbs and spread apart, so he essentially passed "around" Mach instead of into him.
With the previously closed avenue now open, Mach's wing structures howled and caused him to rocket forwards before he disappeared in a flash of cyan. He then reappeared behind the Navi, but his arrival was accompanied with a strong shockwave and a sound akin to a sonic boom. The sound and pressure wave stunned the Navi just long enough for Mach to put the barrel of his buster at the base of the Navi's skull. "I'm not your enemy, but you're starting to make me reconsider. Explain yourself." Aera rose up in front of the Navi, with angry white bolts of electricity arcing between her limbs and the floor, to further illustrate Mach's point. Thankfully for all involved the Navi's expression began to soften, and what's left of the RockCubes fragmented in the freshly made craters in the floor.
"You claim to not be my enemy, but you have my enemy's face," the Navi replied, his voice still notably agitated. "I'm afraid I don't follow," Mach quipped back, not yet convinced to lower his buster. "The Spectral Navi, the one that attacked Nell and I, its face looked just like yours. Trust me, I'll never forget that face, even if I tried."
Mach raised an eyebrow as he slowly lowered his buster. Aera also began to stand down as well, the bolts started to weaken, though they still continued to chirp and crackle over her arms and between her fingers. Vector had reformed a few dozen feet away, and floated back to the group. His arm blades still hadn't folded down, just to be safe. "Well I can assure you, we've never met, and I'm fairly certain I don't have any evil doppelgangers floating around," Mach insisted as his buster finally folded down and disappeared to leave his normal hand in its place.
SP Search Mission
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"That still doesn't explain the resemblance..." PsycheMan protested, though his voice sounded notably less agitated. Mach touched down and calmly walked around the Navi to face him directly. "I also want an explanation for that, but you know everything I know; so lay off the boulder-chucking." Aera and Vector fell in to Mach's sides to face PsycheMan as well, still unsure of their "client's" intentions.
"Now, we might not have met, but we might've met Nell and not known it. Do you have an image file of her?" Mach asked, looking to get back to the business. This seemed to appease PsycheMan; his eyes finally closed and his expression appeared to normalize as he extended an open hand, palm up. A 3D image of a young girl materialized in the air above his palm, and rotated slowly. The SP looked to be modeled after a 10 year-old child, with short brown hair and bright green eyes. Her robes looked like that of a monk or martial artist, and seemed out of place on such a small, young figure. Unfortunately, none of the three recognized her. Both Aera and Vector looked to Mach and shook their heads slightly. "Sorry, we haven't seen her, and "Nell" hasn't come up in anything we've seen or heard until now," Mach admitted, prompting PsycheMan to close the rotating image file before muttering "... I see."
Aera tried to help out by bringing a couple questions to the Navi. "Have you tried contacting the NetPolice to help find her? Where did you see her last?" She presumed the Navi reached out the NetPolice, but she'd seen enough bizarre reactions to not make that assumption. To her point, she didn't expect an almost sarcastic laugh from PsycheMan. "Hah, for such a strong group, you are oddly naive. The NetPolice essentially told me "we're busy with more important stuff, go look for her yourself," and ignored any other requests. Even the mention of a wickedly strong creature attacking people in ACDC didn't warrant a moment of their time; shows how much they care..." he trailed off before turning in the air and "looking" out in the distance, though his eyes remained closed. "It was here in ACDC Net, not far from here. That's where I was attacked, and where we got separated."
MachMan crossed his arms, and addressed PsycheMan with a question of his own. "Care to guide us there? Other than combing the BBSes for possible communiques from Nell, that's probably the best place to start." "I've been there more times than I could count; I scoured the area, and not a single clue," PsycheMan retorted with a familiar gruffness back in his voice. Mach didn't want a fight to break out again, but with no other alternatives, his only other option would be to simply say "ok, cya" and call it quits. "Might as well try, while we're still here. It might help to have a 3 fresh sets of eyes in the search." PsycheMan was slow to answer, but it seemed their logic was enough to convince him to try one more time. "Alright... try to keep up," PsycheMan replied before he quickly started to glide over the net floor. Mach couldn't help but chuckle at the "try to keep up" challenge, which helped lighten the mood at least a little for not only him, but his SPs as well. PsycheMan's method of locomotion was odd, but he was moving at a significant clip.
The trio's respective propulsion programs quickly came online and sent the three rocketing after the Navi. By the time PsycheMan thought to look back to see if they were even attempting to follow, he found the three less than a couple arm-lengths away and easily maintaining equal speed with him. "Hm," was all the Navi remarked as the newly formed "four-ship" of programs zipped over the network floor. Pockets of viruses occasionally came into view, but PsycheMan essentially ignored them and passed by, even as they chattered in protest and brandished their assorted weapons in frustration. A few minutes into their cruise a Metool tried to maneuver in front of the group and block their path, but PsycheMan's large crystal on his helmet began to glow, and the Metool soon found itself floating upwards like an oddly-shaped balloon so the group could harmlessly pass underneath. As soon as they made it past the virus, the odd force keeping it aloft disappeared, leaving it to flounder momentarily in the air before it dropped to the ground like a stone.
PsycheMan didn't seem the type for small-talk, so Mach didn't make an effort to make conversation during their transit. Several more minutes passed by until PsycheMan began to slow down, and an odd mark on the ground came into view. He rapidly slowed to a stop, prompting Mach and his SPs to do the same. They'd paused on the outer edge of a jagged ring of blackened tiles, looking like scorch marks from an explosion. On closer inspection, the discoloration was scratched and worn, suggesting whatever caused this happened a significant time ago; it was a wonder why this blemish wasn't repaired, but they were significantly deep into the ACDC Network, and a sizeable distance away from civilization. "Here we are," PsycheMan announced simply.
Mach and his SPs slowly touched down, and began to fan out as they scoured the floor. From first glance, there wasn't anything out of place save for the scorch marks. "Did your fight with the "Spectral Navi" make these markings?" Mach asked as he scraped the toe of his armored boot against the ground, chipping some of the charred material, which only revealed more discolored layers of tile beneath. "No, it was there before we arrived, and we didn't hear or see anything that suggested we got there shortly after whatever caused this scar," PsycheMan replied while remaining in a zen-like floating stance. "We too looked around to sate our curiosity, until we were attacked..." the Navi trailed off, prompting Mach to halt his search and look to PsycheMan. "Other than "having my face," what else can you tell me about this "Spectral Navi"?" he asked with legitimate curiosity.
The subject seemed uncomfortable for PsycheMan, but with nothing else to do he decided to give them the details. "It had spiked orange hair, just like yours, but with red eyes, and its mask split in half like a fanged maw. Its head was supported by a sickly cyan, almost gelatinous body, with two spine like wings sprouting from its back, and had two oversized hands that floated independently. My attacks would pass right through it, but its blows were as solid as stone. I told Nell to run when I realized I was outmatched; I was forced to EJO soon after."
"Now, we might not have met, but we might've met Nell and not known it. Do you have an image file of her?" Mach asked, looking to get back to the business. This seemed to appease PsycheMan; his eyes finally closed and his expression appeared to normalize as he extended an open hand, palm up. A 3D image of a young girl materialized in the air above his palm, and rotated slowly. The SP looked to be modeled after a 10 year-old child, with short brown hair and bright green eyes. Her robes looked like that of a monk or martial artist, and seemed out of place on such a small, young figure. Unfortunately, none of the three recognized her. Both Aera and Vector looked to Mach and shook their heads slightly. "Sorry, we haven't seen her, and "Nell" hasn't come up in anything we've seen or heard until now," Mach admitted, prompting PsycheMan to close the rotating image file before muttering "... I see."
Aera tried to help out by bringing a couple questions to the Navi. "Have you tried contacting the NetPolice to help find her? Where did you see her last?" She presumed the Navi reached out the NetPolice, but she'd seen enough bizarre reactions to not make that assumption. To her point, she didn't expect an almost sarcastic laugh from PsycheMan. "Hah, for such a strong group, you are oddly naive. The NetPolice essentially told me "we're busy with more important stuff, go look for her yourself," and ignored any other requests. Even the mention of a wickedly strong creature attacking people in ACDC didn't warrant a moment of their time; shows how much they care..." he trailed off before turning in the air and "looking" out in the distance, though his eyes remained closed. "It was here in ACDC Net, not far from here. That's where I was attacked, and where we got separated."
MachMan crossed his arms, and addressed PsycheMan with a question of his own. "Care to guide us there? Other than combing the BBSes for possible communiques from Nell, that's probably the best place to start." "I've been there more times than I could count; I scoured the area, and not a single clue," PsycheMan retorted with a familiar gruffness back in his voice. Mach didn't want a fight to break out again, but with no other alternatives, his only other option would be to simply say "ok, cya" and call it quits. "Might as well try, while we're still here. It might help to have a 3 fresh sets of eyes in the search." PsycheMan was slow to answer, but it seemed their logic was enough to convince him to try one more time. "Alright... try to keep up," PsycheMan replied before he quickly started to glide over the net floor. Mach couldn't help but chuckle at the "try to keep up" challenge, which helped lighten the mood at least a little for not only him, but his SPs as well. PsycheMan's method of locomotion was odd, but he was moving at a significant clip.
The trio's respective propulsion programs quickly came online and sent the three rocketing after the Navi. By the time PsycheMan thought to look back to see if they were even attempting to follow, he found the three less than a couple arm-lengths away and easily maintaining equal speed with him. "Hm," was all the Navi remarked as the newly formed "four-ship" of programs zipped over the network floor. Pockets of viruses occasionally came into view, but PsycheMan essentially ignored them and passed by, even as they chattered in protest and brandished their assorted weapons in frustration. A few minutes into their cruise a Metool tried to maneuver in front of the group and block their path, but PsycheMan's large crystal on his helmet began to glow, and the Metool soon found itself floating upwards like an oddly-shaped balloon so the group could harmlessly pass underneath. As soon as they made it past the virus, the odd force keeping it aloft disappeared, leaving it to flounder momentarily in the air before it dropped to the ground like a stone.
PsycheMan didn't seem the type for small-talk, so Mach didn't make an effort to make conversation during their transit. Several more minutes passed by until PsycheMan began to slow down, and an odd mark on the ground came into view. He rapidly slowed to a stop, prompting Mach and his SPs to do the same. They'd paused on the outer edge of a jagged ring of blackened tiles, looking like scorch marks from an explosion. On closer inspection, the discoloration was scratched and worn, suggesting whatever caused this happened a significant time ago; it was a wonder why this blemish wasn't repaired, but they were significantly deep into the ACDC Network, and a sizeable distance away from civilization. "Here we are," PsycheMan announced simply.
Mach and his SPs slowly touched down, and began to fan out as they scoured the floor. From first glance, there wasn't anything out of place save for the scorch marks. "Did your fight with the "Spectral Navi" make these markings?" Mach asked as he scraped the toe of his armored boot against the ground, chipping some of the charred material, which only revealed more discolored layers of tile beneath. "No, it was there before we arrived, and we didn't hear or see anything that suggested we got there shortly after whatever caused this scar," PsycheMan replied while remaining in a zen-like floating stance. "We too looked around to sate our curiosity, until we were attacked..." the Navi trailed off, prompting Mach to halt his search and look to PsycheMan. "Other than "having my face," what else can you tell me about this "Spectral Navi"?" he asked with legitimate curiosity.
The subject seemed uncomfortable for PsycheMan, but with nothing else to do he decided to give them the details. "It had spiked orange hair, just like yours, but with red eyes, and its mask split in half like a fanged maw. Its head was supported by a sickly cyan, almost gelatinous body, with two spine like wings sprouting from its back, and had two oversized hands that floated independently. My attacks would pass right through it, but its blows were as solid as stone. I told Nell to run when I realized I was outmatched; I was forced to EJO soon after."
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Mach listened intently as PsycheMan described the creature that attacked him and his SP. He didn't suspect the Navi of making the story up even prior to his in-depth description, and it didn't change his mind. It was odd for it to somehow have his face though... and there was no real explanation behind it. "Hm... did it say anything to give any idea as to why it attacked you, or where it came from?" Mach asked, trying to gleam any sort of lead to follow. Unfortunately his attempt came up blank, as PsycheMan replied "Not a word, nor warning. I'm not even sure where exactly it came from, it just somehow appeared and was upon us."
Mach scratched his chin before he turned to look to his two SPs. Both Aera and Vector were busy making a slow patrol over the area, their eye(s) combed the ground for anything that stood out, or any data readouts that would prove useful. "And I assume it hasn't attacked you again after coming back so many times?" All Mach received in response was a shake of PsycheMan's head. Mach rolled his shoulders and sighed, "Alright then, I'll join my SPs in looking for clues then." PsycheMan's now stone-faced expression didn't show much, but Mach felt the Navi was starting to get annoyed by the apparent futility of their search, since he allegedly cased the area multiple times before.
About a half hour went by in relative silence, and all three programs found themselves with nothing to show for it. Mach stood up straight from his crouched position and stretched his back. "Hm, looks like there really isn't anything here... well that was a waste." PsycheMan had floated in place the entire time, and it was a valid question whether or not the Navi had dozed off while the rest searched, but his quick response suggested he was fully aware the entire time. "Indeed. If there's nothing else, then take your reward, and I'll be off," he remarked and revealed a data packet containing a small amount of zenny in his hand. Mach saw the gesture, and shook his head. "Keep it, I'd feel bad to take your money without really getting you any closer to finding Nell. However, you now have 3 more folks who will keep an eye out for her. We'll let you know if we find anything, I hope you two are reunited soon!" Vector and Aera moved to Mach, the latter gave PsycheMan a hopeful smile as she stopped next to Mach. PsycheMan didn't return the smile, instead he closed his hand and crossed his arms. "Very well. Regardless, I appreciate your continued help. Good day." he said coldly before he disappeared in a flash of purple light that beamed up and out of the network.
The trio's eyes traced the Navi's path until it disappeared into the "ceiling" of the network, then looked amongst themselves. "What shall we do next, sir? Widen our search, or return to the PET?" Vector asked unexpectedly, considering he'd been silent since entering the network. "Hm..." Mach looked around, to see if there were any other landmarks or other items of interest nearby. "While we're out here, we could take a look around, give the area one last pass, just in case we missed anything. Sound good?" Mach offered before looking to his SPs for responses. Both replied with affirmative nods, so they'd stick around for a little bit longer.
Mach scratched his chin before he turned to look to his two SPs. Both Aera and Vector were busy making a slow patrol over the area, their eye(s) combed the ground for anything that stood out, or any data readouts that would prove useful. "And I assume it hasn't attacked you again after coming back so many times?" All Mach received in response was a shake of PsycheMan's head. Mach rolled his shoulders and sighed, "Alright then, I'll join my SPs in looking for clues then." PsycheMan's now stone-faced expression didn't show much, but Mach felt the Navi was starting to get annoyed by the apparent futility of their search, since he allegedly cased the area multiple times before.
About a half hour went by in relative silence, and all three programs found themselves with nothing to show for it. Mach stood up straight from his crouched position and stretched his back. "Hm, looks like there really isn't anything here... well that was a waste." PsycheMan had floated in place the entire time, and it was a valid question whether or not the Navi had dozed off while the rest searched, but his quick response suggested he was fully aware the entire time. "Indeed. If there's nothing else, then take your reward, and I'll be off," he remarked and revealed a data packet containing a small amount of zenny in his hand. Mach saw the gesture, and shook his head. "Keep it, I'd feel bad to take your money without really getting you any closer to finding Nell. However, you now have 3 more folks who will keep an eye out for her. We'll let you know if we find anything, I hope you two are reunited soon!" Vector and Aera moved to Mach, the latter gave PsycheMan a hopeful smile as she stopped next to Mach. PsycheMan didn't return the smile, instead he closed his hand and crossed his arms. "Very well. Regardless, I appreciate your continued help. Good day." he said coldly before he disappeared in a flash of purple light that beamed up and out of the network.
The trio's eyes traced the Navi's path until it disappeared into the "ceiling" of the network, then looked amongst themselves. "What shall we do next, sir? Widen our search, or return to the PET?" Vector asked unexpectedly, considering he'd been silent since entering the network. "Hm..." Mach looked around, to see if there were any other landmarks or other items of interest nearby. "While we're out here, we could take a look around, give the area one last pass, just in case we missed anything. Sound good?" Mach offered before looking to his SPs for responses. Both replied with affirmative nods, so they'd stick around for a little bit longer.
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Just as the trio began to make their way out of the circular explosion scar, a scratching, cracking noise popped up behind them. They quickly turned to see some of the panels a few meters away jitter and flex, until one was pulled under by a four-fingered claw. Another claw whipped up from the fresh hole in the ground, and slammed to the floor. The three programs looked amongst themselves and didn't exchange a word, though they all activated their defensive shielding nearly simultaneously. The creature slowly dragged itself out of the hole and into view. Its entire body, claws included, looked like a mishmash of different pieces of viruses; pieces of metool helmets over its knuckles with mattock points acting as claws and protective spines, bits of Catack treads wrapped like bandages, and quite a few OldStove hulls making up its cocoon-like shell.
It paused, seemingly content with where it sat on the floor, and appeared to face the trio as an unsettling rumbling growl emanated from the creature. It didn't at all match the description of the Spectral Navi PsycheMan told them about, but its arrival seemed too well-timed to be a coincidence. That said, Mach wasn't entirely sure of their first move. The creature took the initiative, and bore its open claws towards the group, namely one towards Vector and the other to Aera. The two SPs rocketed away in an attempt to dodge the lunging claws, but they quickly changed direction and gave chase while still connected to the cocoon in what appeared to be extendable cables. Mach opened up with his beam cannons while the creature was focused on the SPs, but each of his shots did nothing but leave a few glowing circles on its patchwork shell.
"Gah!" Aera grunted as she was caught in the claw's grasp, then she nearly had the wind knocked out of her as the claw was rapidly retracted back to its master. Vector tried to parry the claw's lunges with slices of his now blade-like arms, but after an aggressive swipe the SP's guard was down, then he too was apprehended and reeled back in. Mach couldn't help but watch as the two claws, with his SPs firmly in their grasp, returned to either side of the cocoon. Aera looked to him with an obvious look of duress on her face, and was about to call out to him until she flinched hard, and her expression twisted into a look of severe pain. "nnghaaAAAAA!!" she screamed and began to thrash. Her screams could still be heard even as she seemed to open up with every ounce of electrical power she could muster. Though white-hot bolts of lightning shot from her body and arced over the creature's hand and body, its lack of reaction made it appear undeterred by the electrical assault. Mazer's eyes went wide, and his mind immediately shifted to evac. He opened the SP's respective displays and pressed the EJO command buttons for each. The buttons lit up, showing the command was sent, but he could plainly see the SPs didn't jack out. He pressed the buttons again and again, but they were still unresponsive. ["What the fuck?!"] he cursed before he tried to find an alternate way to get the SPs to safety.
In a panic, Mach rushed forward with buster at the ready; his target was the tether holding the claw to the creature's main body. It didn't appear as armored as the rest, maybe he could cut through it with a few blasts. He'd never get the chance, since he barely got within arms reach of Aera before he was bashed backwards by a haymaker thrown by the other claw. Vector was still in its clutches, and his fractal body was spasming and pulsing. Mach quickly re-established up and down and tried to get back to his feet. Aera's groaning cries grabbed his attention, and he was greeted to the sight of Aera valiantly fighting the pain to reach out towards Mach with a trembling hand. Streams of data like blood vessels were stretched over the skin of her face, and tears were streaming from her eyes as she managed to groan "MAAAaach..." Her voice rapidly trailed off as her pupils and irises faded into the whites of her eyes, moments before she went limp and collapsed in the clutches of the creature. Vector appeared to have lost consciousness as well, with pieces of his body clattering to the floor. "N-no..." Mach stammered.
Both SPs started to fragment into glowing cubes of data, but instead of floating off or beaming out, the data retreated into the clutches of the claws. Soon after, the claws opened to reveal nothing remained of his SPs, but they too started to spasm and quake. The creature's main body started to swell and twist, causing pieces of its shell to crumble and fall away, until a large chevron-shaped wedge stabbed out of the front of the cocoon like a massive blade. Its claws seemed to smash out of their patchwork shells as well, revealing a pair of free-floating mechanical claws with a jewel-like crimson dome in each palm. The claws were effectively cut off at the wrist, with a single spine jutting straight out, where the wrist and forearm bones would normally be. Additional spines punched through the top of the cocoon, then the creature's entire body just seemed to explode in blinding flash of light.
Once Mach lowered his arm from shielding his eyes, and the light died down, he finally got a look at the creature. Its lower torso consisted of a large, angular chevron-shaped wedge, looking fairly similar to Vector's head in overall shape. The front surfaces of its metallic hull was specked with a seemingly random array of spherical mechanical eyes of varying shapes, and they all started to glow crimson as they began to "power up." Attached to the wedge were a pair of angular blade-like claws, similar to that of a crab or scorpion, but the claws themselves appear to be more designed for snipping and cutting as opposed to grasping and crushing. The creature's mechanical, serpentine spine was attached like a plug to the top of its Vector-esque lower torso. Said plug was lined with six 2" long spines that crackled with electricity, as if to form a protective barrier around the creature's spine. Its upper torso was significantly smaller, but still larger than a standard-sized NormalNavi. Its angular chest looked like a mix of Vector's plating and Aera's armor, but nothing is attached to its shoulder sockets other than a pair of immobile conical spikes sticking horizontally outwards. Attached to its back were four large cylindrical structures splayed outwards, with a few glowing cyan panels along its surfaces.
The creature's head looked scarily similar to Mach's, albeit entirely mechanical, with horizontal jagged split over its mask and piercing red eyes glaring down at him. The mask proceeded to split in half like a pair of jaws before a deep, growling laugh bubbled up from its metallic gullet. "Ha...hahah..."
Its floating hands flexed and cracked its knuckles as its angular pincers snapped open and shut like a pair of massive tin-snips, and it tilted its head from side to side, cracking and loosening its freshly "hatched" joints. "Now... time to eat..." It growled as it hungrily leered at Mach. The Navi was finally standing firmly on his feet, and called out to Mazer. "Mazer... I need chips. Now." Mazer, who looked to have spent the last few seconds pulling his hair out, tried to shake himself back to focus before he responded. ["Which ones?"]
"All of them."
It paused, seemingly content with where it sat on the floor, and appeared to face the trio as an unsettling rumbling growl emanated from the creature. It didn't at all match the description of the Spectral Navi PsycheMan told them about, but its arrival seemed too well-timed to be a coincidence. That said, Mach wasn't entirely sure of their first move. The creature took the initiative, and bore its open claws towards the group, namely one towards Vector and the other to Aera. The two SPs rocketed away in an attempt to dodge the lunging claws, but they quickly changed direction and gave chase while still connected to the cocoon in what appeared to be extendable cables. Mach opened up with his beam cannons while the creature was focused on the SPs, but each of his shots did nothing but leave a few glowing circles on its patchwork shell.
"Gah!" Aera grunted as she was caught in the claw's grasp, then she nearly had the wind knocked out of her as the claw was rapidly retracted back to its master. Vector tried to parry the claw's lunges with slices of his now blade-like arms, but after an aggressive swipe the SP's guard was down, then he too was apprehended and reeled back in. Mach couldn't help but watch as the two claws, with his SPs firmly in their grasp, returned to either side of the cocoon. Aera looked to him with an obvious look of duress on her face, and was about to call out to him until she flinched hard, and her expression twisted into a look of severe pain. "nnghaaAAAAA!!" she screamed and began to thrash. Her screams could still be heard even as she seemed to open up with every ounce of electrical power she could muster. Though white-hot bolts of lightning shot from her body and arced over the creature's hand and body, its lack of reaction made it appear undeterred by the electrical assault. Mazer's eyes went wide, and his mind immediately shifted to evac. He opened the SP's respective displays and pressed the EJO command buttons for each. The buttons lit up, showing the command was sent, but he could plainly see the SPs didn't jack out. He pressed the buttons again and again, but they were still unresponsive. ["What the fuck?!"] he cursed before he tried to find an alternate way to get the SPs to safety.
In a panic, Mach rushed forward with buster at the ready; his target was the tether holding the claw to the creature's main body. It didn't appear as armored as the rest, maybe he could cut through it with a few blasts. He'd never get the chance, since he barely got within arms reach of Aera before he was bashed backwards by a haymaker thrown by the other claw. Vector was still in its clutches, and his fractal body was spasming and pulsing. Mach quickly re-established up and down and tried to get back to his feet. Aera's groaning cries grabbed his attention, and he was greeted to the sight of Aera valiantly fighting the pain to reach out towards Mach with a trembling hand. Streams of data like blood vessels were stretched over the skin of her face, and tears were streaming from her eyes as she managed to groan "MAAAaach..." Her voice rapidly trailed off as her pupils and irises faded into the whites of her eyes, moments before she went limp and collapsed in the clutches of the creature. Vector appeared to have lost consciousness as well, with pieces of his body clattering to the floor. "N-no..." Mach stammered.
Both SPs started to fragment into glowing cubes of data, but instead of floating off or beaming out, the data retreated into the clutches of the claws. Soon after, the claws opened to reveal nothing remained of his SPs, but they too started to spasm and quake. The creature's main body started to swell and twist, causing pieces of its shell to crumble and fall away, until a large chevron-shaped wedge stabbed out of the front of the cocoon like a massive blade. Its claws seemed to smash out of their patchwork shells as well, revealing a pair of free-floating mechanical claws with a jewel-like crimson dome in each palm. The claws were effectively cut off at the wrist, with a single spine jutting straight out, where the wrist and forearm bones would normally be. Additional spines punched through the top of the cocoon, then the creature's entire body just seemed to explode in blinding flash of light.
Once Mach lowered his arm from shielding his eyes, and the light died down, he finally got a look at the creature. Its lower torso consisted of a large, angular chevron-shaped wedge, looking fairly similar to Vector's head in overall shape. The front surfaces of its metallic hull was specked with a seemingly random array of spherical mechanical eyes of varying shapes, and they all started to glow crimson as they began to "power up." Attached to the wedge were a pair of angular blade-like claws, similar to that of a crab or scorpion, but the claws themselves appear to be more designed for snipping and cutting as opposed to grasping and crushing. The creature's mechanical, serpentine spine was attached like a plug to the top of its Vector-esque lower torso. Said plug was lined with six 2" long spines that crackled with electricity, as if to form a protective barrier around the creature's spine. Its upper torso was significantly smaller, but still larger than a standard-sized NormalNavi. Its angular chest looked like a mix of Vector's plating and Aera's armor, but nothing is attached to its shoulder sockets other than a pair of immobile conical spikes sticking horizontally outwards. Attached to its back were four large cylindrical structures splayed outwards, with a few glowing cyan panels along its surfaces.
The creature's head looked scarily similar to Mach's, albeit entirely mechanical, with horizontal jagged split over its mask and piercing red eyes glaring down at him. The mask proceeded to split in half like a pair of jaws before a deep, growling laugh bubbled up from its metallic gullet. "Ha...hahah..."
Its floating hands flexed and cracked its knuckles as its angular pincers snapped open and shut like a pair of massive tin-snips, and it tilted its head from side to side, cracking and loosening its freshly "hatched" joints. "Now... time to eat..." It growled as it hungrily leered at Mach. The Navi was finally standing firmly on his feet, and called out to Mazer. "Mazer... I need chips. Now." Mazer, who looked to have spent the last few seconds pulling his hair out, tried to shake himself back to focus before he responded. ["Which ones?"]
"All of them."
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The resulting battle seemed to last hours, though in reality it lasted a furious handful of minutes. Mach's quick maneuvers & high speed hit-and-run attacks were furious, and paced as quickly as his NetOp could upload chip data. Mach didn't request any specific chips, he just made mental snapshots of his arsenal as chips were used and uploaded, then picked the next chip(s) as necessary. Though many of his attacks resulted in large explosions of fire, ice, and electricity, the creature's own assault was unrelenting. The size difference between the two made the battle look almost like a moth pinging off a lightbulb, and for the first few chaotic minutes it seemed just as futile. The creature seemed to realize it, and began to taunt Mach as it seemingly shrugged off the Navi's attacks, calling his attempts "a waste of time" and encouraging him to give up and "accept the inevitable."
Mach realized he was chewing through his chip repertoire at an alarming rate with little progress, so he started to slow his barrage, instead utilizing the multitude of crosses at his disposal to provide an additional array of abilities and attacks to bear. While his barrage slowed, his physical speed did not, even while continuously shifting forms and switching between attack and defense. Mazer eventually got all of the chips uploaded, and really couldn't do much than take a back seat to the action; Mach was moving so quickly he could barely get a word in before the Navi switched to a different chip or trajectory.
The hulking creature soon found itself being "pushed back on its heels" by the Navi's shift in strategy, so it made a few changes of its own. Mach teleported above and slightly behind the creature, saber in hand, and moved to drive it down at the base of the creature's skull. Several of its remaining beam emitter "eyes" had relocated Mach, allowing the creature to react and shift its upper body to turn up to the Navi; but it had somehow changed its own face to look exactly like Aera's. "Her" face showed immense distress and shock, and shrieked in alarm using her voice. Mach's intense expression instantly shifted to surprise, and he paused in the air with his blade still pointing directly between Aera's eyes. [[i]"Wha... Aera?"[/i]] he thought to himself, then a split second later, he was blindsided by a hammer-like fist from above. He was slammed to the ground, completely caught off guard by the floating hand that had crept above him during his moment of surprise.
He quickly tried to get back to his feet, and used his thrusters to boost away from the creature's second hand that tried to follow up by slamming down on his previous position. As he tried to regain his composure and get back into his strategy, he heard Aera's voice call out again, but with a venomous smoothness in its tone. "Come now, Mach... You said you love me, right? This is your chance to become one with me... I can give you everything you desire, you don't need to fight anymore." Both Mach and Mazer were briefly taken aback; it had her voice, her memories. Mach's shock soon turned to rage, it was using her and their most intimate moments against him. He had to drive through the sight of her face and the sound of her voice. It wasn't her, she would never tell him to just give in. So he continued to fight on.
A few chaotic minutes later, Mach only managed to slow down once he got down to his last chip, his final DashAttack1. He was down to the last of his arsenal, and also at the last of his own strength, and it showed. His wing structures had been whittled down to mostly inoperable scraps, while his armor was peppered with burns and scrapes. His left forearm dangled limply from his elbow, due to the trio of jagged blades sticking out of the limb like slivers of broken glass. The toe of his right boot was sliced clean off, leaving about half of his foot remaining. He was lucky, at the time the creature was aiming to lop off Mach's entire leg. Thankfully for him the creature looked worse for wear as well; both of its floating claws lay were reduced to debris littering the floor and one of its pinscers was mangled and inoperative. A good number of the beam-emitting eyes on its lower torso were cracked or smashed, and half of the spikes that protected the creature's spine were severely damaged. Finally, the creature's lower jaw appeared to be broken, it wouldn't close and appeared to shake whenever the creature's head moved.
Mach had just recently broken his RageClaw3 over the creature's spine after swooping in with a horizontal slash from behind, and just turned to face the creature head-on. He managed to make the creature reel from the hit to the spine, with the intent of creating an opening for his final attack. The thrusters in his feet and chest howled to catapult him directly towards his enemy, and continued to pour on the speed as he activated the chip. The spectre raised its large fractal claw, and attempted to catch Mach as he passed between the pincers, but even as it snapped shut like a bear trap, Mach was already through. However, it also had trained the remainder of its eye-like beam emitters to cover the gap between the pincers, that was the real trap.
It was too late for Mach to evade, he was already committed to bee-lining it right between the spectre's eyes. The beams sliced into his body and left glowing orange trails of molten data behind. A split-second later, Mach's body slammed full force into the creature's head, which caused it to hyper-extend backwards in a sickening *CRACK!* The chip's power was cut short and Mach's originally straight trajectory was fouled by the impact, which caused him to tumble to the ground a dozen feet behind the program. He hit the floor like a sack of bricks, which caused his EJO sequence to activate. His body flashed cyan before beaming up and out of the network, leaving the hulk to fall backwards in a loud crash. Its face was crushed inwards, and its lower jaw hung only from a single connection point on the side of its head. Finally defeated, the creature's body started to fragment and fall apart into cube-shaped bits of data as they spilled out over the floor.
As the creature's massive body dissolved, two notable chunks of data appeared to pool together, one was centered where its back used to lay with the other near the center of its former lower torso. The former occasionally twinkled orange, and the latter blue, but both seemed to stick around while the rest dissolved around them. They continued to remain almost a minute after the rest of the creature's body had disappeared, but soon they too started to fall apart and fade. A few moments later the battlefield, with its new set of scorch marks and craters, finally became still.
((EJO back to ACDC Town))
Mach realized he was chewing through his chip repertoire at an alarming rate with little progress, so he started to slow his barrage, instead utilizing the multitude of crosses at his disposal to provide an additional array of abilities and attacks to bear. While his barrage slowed, his physical speed did not, even while continuously shifting forms and switching between attack and defense. Mazer eventually got all of the chips uploaded, and really couldn't do much than take a back seat to the action; Mach was moving so quickly he could barely get a word in before the Navi switched to a different chip or trajectory.
The hulking creature soon found itself being "pushed back on its heels" by the Navi's shift in strategy, so it made a few changes of its own. Mach teleported above and slightly behind the creature, saber in hand, and moved to drive it down at the base of the creature's skull. Several of its remaining beam emitter "eyes" had relocated Mach, allowing the creature to react and shift its upper body to turn up to the Navi; but it had somehow changed its own face to look exactly like Aera's. "Her" face showed immense distress and shock, and shrieked in alarm using her voice. Mach's intense expression instantly shifted to surprise, and he paused in the air with his blade still pointing directly between Aera's eyes. [[i]"Wha... Aera?"[/i]] he thought to himself, then a split second later, he was blindsided by a hammer-like fist from above. He was slammed to the ground, completely caught off guard by the floating hand that had crept above him during his moment of surprise.
He quickly tried to get back to his feet, and used his thrusters to boost away from the creature's second hand that tried to follow up by slamming down on his previous position. As he tried to regain his composure and get back into his strategy, he heard Aera's voice call out again, but with a venomous smoothness in its tone. "Come now, Mach... You said you love me, right? This is your chance to become one with me... I can give you everything you desire, you don't need to fight anymore." Both Mach and Mazer were briefly taken aback; it had her voice, her memories. Mach's shock soon turned to rage, it was using her and their most intimate moments against him. He had to drive through the sight of her face and the sound of her voice. It wasn't her, she would never tell him to just give in. So he continued to fight on.
A few chaotic minutes later, Mach only managed to slow down once he got down to his last chip, his final DashAttack1. He was down to the last of his arsenal, and also at the last of his own strength, and it showed. His wing structures had been whittled down to mostly inoperable scraps, while his armor was peppered with burns and scrapes. His left forearm dangled limply from his elbow, due to the trio of jagged blades sticking out of the limb like slivers of broken glass. The toe of his right boot was sliced clean off, leaving about half of his foot remaining. He was lucky, at the time the creature was aiming to lop off Mach's entire leg. Thankfully for him the creature looked worse for wear as well; both of its floating claws lay were reduced to debris littering the floor and one of its pinscers was mangled and inoperative. A good number of the beam-emitting eyes on its lower torso were cracked or smashed, and half of the spikes that protected the creature's spine were severely damaged. Finally, the creature's lower jaw appeared to be broken, it wouldn't close and appeared to shake whenever the creature's head moved.
Mach had just recently broken his RageClaw3 over the creature's spine after swooping in with a horizontal slash from behind, and just turned to face the creature head-on. He managed to make the creature reel from the hit to the spine, with the intent of creating an opening for his final attack. The thrusters in his feet and chest howled to catapult him directly towards his enemy, and continued to pour on the speed as he activated the chip. The spectre raised its large fractal claw, and attempted to catch Mach as he passed between the pincers, but even as it snapped shut like a bear trap, Mach was already through. However, it also had trained the remainder of its eye-like beam emitters to cover the gap between the pincers, that was the real trap.
It was too late for Mach to evade, he was already committed to bee-lining it right between the spectre's eyes. The beams sliced into his body and left glowing orange trails of molten data behind. A split-second later, Mach's body slammed full force into the creature's head, which caused it to hyper-extend backwards in a sickening *CRACK!* The chip's power was cut short and Mach's originally straight trajectory was fouled by the impact, which caused him to tumble to the ground a dozen feet behind the program. He hit the floor like a sack of bricks, which caused his EJO sequence to activate. His body flashed cyan before beaming up and out of the network, leaving the hulk to fall backwards in a loud crash. Its face was crushed inwards, and its lower jaw hung only from a single connection point on the side of its head. Finally defeated, the creature's body started to fragment and fall apart into cube-shaped bits of data as they spilled out over the floor.
As the creature's massive body dissolved, two notable chunks of data appeared to pool together, one was centered where its back used to lay with the other near the center of its former lower torso. The former occasionally twinkled orange, and the latter blue, but both seemed to stick around while the rest dissolved around them. They continued to remain almost a minute after the rest of the creature's body had disappeared, but soon they too started to fall apart and fade. A few moments later the battlefield, with its new set of scorch marks and craters, finally became still.
((EJO back to ACDC Town))
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((From ACDC Town))
A single cyan beam zipped down from the "ceiling" of the network and crashed down a few meters away from a few impact craters from his battle with PsycheMan. Mach's angular frame came into view as the cyan light disappeared, and he started to walk forward, avoiding the craters as he went. Unseen by others, Mach's gaze combed over the floor and surroundings, to establish his starting point before retracing his steps.
He pulled up some old data to figure out the heading he'd previously used when following PsycheMan, then plotted his course with a simple diamond-shaped marker that appeared in his HUD. The control surfaces on his shoulders and legs moved back and forth, and his engines began to spool up with a shrill whine. As the amount of thrust increased, his feet began to slide over the floor from being pushed along, which kicked up the occasional spark or bit of debris. He continued to slowly throttle up and pick up speed, and gradually rose off the ground as he zipped over the network floor.
As he reached a comfortable cruising speed, he brought his elbows back so the backs of his upper arms lay flush against the undersides of his engine nacelles, and pointed his forearms forward. With his arms effectively "folded" away, combined with his bent legs trailing behind, Mach's profile became much more aerodynamic as he cruised along. He kept an eye open for viruses or other programs, but he didn't plan to stop or alter his course unless something actively tried to divert or slow his charge into the network.
((Ready for battle 1, etc))
A single cyan beam zipped down from the "ceiling" of the network and crashed down a few meters away from a few impact craters from his battle with PsycheMan. Mach's angular frame came into view as the cyan light disappeared, and he started to walk forward, avoiding the craters as he went. Unseen by others, Mach's gaze combed over the floor and surroundings, to establish his starting point before retracing his steps.
He pulled up some old data to figure out the heading he'd previously used when following PsycheMan, then plotted his course with a simple diamond-shaped marker that appeared in his HUD. The control surfaces on his shoulders and legs moved back and forth, and his engines began to spool up with a shrill whine. As the amount of thrust increased, his feet began to slide over the floor from being pushed along, which kicked up the occasional spark or bit of debris. He continued to slowly throttle up and pick up speed, and gradually rose off the ground as he zipped over the network floor.
As he reached a comfortable cruising speed, he brought his elbows back so the backs of his upper arms lay flush against the undersides of his engine nacelles, and pointed his forearms forward. With his arms effectively "folded" away, combined with his bent legs trailing behind, Mach's profile became much more aerodynamic as he cruised along. He kept an eye open for viruses or other programs, but he didn't plan to stop or alter his course unless something actively tried to divert or slow his charge into the network.
((Ready for battle 1, etc))
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As Mach continued along the nets like his name suggested, he would fly over a large portion of field that seemed to have been completely ignored for the last several years, Machman having managed to skip over the cracked panels just enough to make it to the western most outcropping of normal panels. If he looked over to the south, he could see only the barest framework of the network holding it together in small squares and a gaping abyss leading to an EJO zone right above the Rogue networks. But he would soon hear a bat swooping overhead, even more so than he was now, as a Pulsebat was hanging from the "Ceiling" of the network, wings over it's round-ish body. To the north and east of him, he could see three more viruses, a simple Oldstove chugging along and belching flames from it's mouth, a Kabutank moving precariously and slowly over cracked panels to the most northern part of the battlefield and, strangely enough, a CannonDumb sitting atop the beetle-tank virus, shooting off in random directions and seemingly stuck to the back of the Kabutank. The viruses were not -directly- in the newly rebuilt Machman's way...but on the small outcropping of normal panels in the middle of the area, a small green diamond slowly rotated about and sparkled in the light towards his side. Maybe it was worth fighting just to see what was inside?
-- Viruses --
OldstoveOldstove (Oldstove)
Oldstove viruses move and dodge at a very slow pace.
Area: ACDC, Kotobuki Town, Netfrica, Hades Isle
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Fire + Line Attack(3) + Panel Crack
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Flamethrower to one enemy.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): FireBurner1, Zenny
Special: Slow Movement. Cracks Terrain.: 50 HP (Normal)
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas
HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack.: 80 HP (High-Altitude) (Missing)
CannonDumbCannonDumb (CannonDumb)
CannonDumb viruses attack any targets in sight every action they are able to. They can and will attack objects, but only objects they can damage. They will not waste cannon fire on IronBody, Shadow, or Invisible targets. The exception is Canodumb DS, which will fire at anything with its DarkCannon's beam blasts. All CannonDumb viruses may opt to spend one action prior to attacking marking their opponent with target lock. They gain the 10% accuracy benefit of Take Aim against this opponent for any and all follow-on attacks until they lose sight of the target, or switch targets.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Yoka
HP: 50
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires its cannon after aiming.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: Mark Target
Secondary Attack Accuracy: S
Secondary Attack Description: Marks an enemy within line of sight with a target lock that raises the accuracy of this virus by +1 Rank (10%) until the virus is forced to switch targets or loses sight of the marked target (they take cover).
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Cannon, Zenny
Special: Immobile: 50 HP (Cracked) (On top of Kabutank)
KabutankKabutank (Kabutank)
While closely related to Beetank, Kabutank are a bit smarter and faster. They will use terrain and objects to their advantage if possible, and prefer to not allow Navis clean shots at them. They have one passive movement per turn, which can be used as either a movement or dodge.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Okuden Valley, Beach, NetVegas
HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Blast 2 x 2 bombs
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Launches a pair of bombs that explode in a small radius.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Blast 1 + Seeking
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a bomb that ignores invisibility.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): DoubleBomb, SeekerBomb1, Zenny: 90 HP (Cracked) (To the north-eastmost part of the cracked field)
-- Navis --
Machman.EXE: 490 HP (Normal)
-- Terrain --
35% Cracked (North and North-eastern parts)
15% Normal (Middle portion with cracked to the east)
50% Missing (South half of the field)
-- Objects --
GMD: 20 HP (Normal, middle of the battlefield)
-- Battle 1 Ready? Start!! --
-- Viruses --
OldstoveOldstove (Oldstove)
Oldstove viruses move and dodge at a very slow pace.
Area: ACDC, Kotobuki Town, Netfrica, Hades Isle
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Fire + Line Attack(3) + Panel Crack
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Flamethrower to one enemy.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): FireBurner1, Zenny
Special: Slow Movement. Cracks Terrain.: 50 HP (Normal)
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas
HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack.: 80 HP (High-Altitude) (Missing)
CannonDumbCannonDumb (CannonDumb)
CannonDumb viruses attack any targets in sight every action they are able to. They can and will attack objects, but only objects they can damage. They will not waste cannon fire on IronBody, Shadow, or Invisible targets. The exception is Canodumb DS, which will fire at anything with its DarkCannon's beam blasts. All CannonDumb viruses may opt to spend one action prior to attacking marking their opponent with target lock. They gain the 10% accuracy benefit of Take Aim against this opponent for any and all follow-on attacks until they lose sight of the target, or switch targets.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Yoka
HP: 50
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires its cannon after aiming.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: Mark Target
Secondary Attack Accuracy: S
Secondary Attack Description: Marks an enemy within line of sight with a target lock that raises the accuracy of this virus by +1 Rank (10%) until the virus is forced to switch targets or loses sight of the marked target (they take cover).
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Cannon, Zenny
Special: Immobile: 50 HP (Cracked) (On top of Kabutank)
KabutankKabutank (Kabutank)
While closely related to Beetank, Kabutank are a bit smarter and faster. They will use terrain and objects to their advantage if possible, and prefer to not allow Navis clean shots at them. They have one passive movement per turn, which can be used as either a movement or dodge.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Okuden Valley, Beach, NetVegas
HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Blast 2 x 2 bombs
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Launches a pair of bombs that explode in a small radius.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Blast 1 + Seeking
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a bomb that ignores invisibility.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): DoubleBomb, SeekerBomb1, Zenny: 90 HP (Cracked) (To the north-eastmost part of the cracked field)
-- Navis --
Machman.EXE: 490 HP (Normal)
-- Terrain --
35% Cracked (North and North-eastern parts)
15% Normal (Middle portion with cracked to the east)
50% Missing (South half of the field)
-- Objects --
GMD: 20 HP (Normal, middle of the battlefield)
-- Battle 1 Ready? Start!! --
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As expected, Mach happened upon some viruses. Though they didn't do anything that warranted him to pay them any mind, a floating GMD did catch Mach's eye. He still wanted to make up for lost time and kick off his potential rematch, but a poorly-defended GMD might contain something that'll give him even a slight edge over his nemesis. With his mind made up, the back edges of his nacelle fins inched upwards to keep his altitude while he throttled down his engines to bleed off airspeed. "I'm planning to mop these up and take the GMD, requesting Magnum, BubbleCross, Sunshine, and Airshot chips."
Mazer hadn't expected combat to be initiated so quickly, but his chip mag was still on his desk from their brief skirmish with DragonierMan and Yasu. He began to slot in the chips as requested, but gave a word of caution to the Navi. ["On their way, don't over-exert yourself, especially with these 'small fries'."] Both of Mach's arms mechanically swung down from their stowed positions, with his forearms and hands still pointed directly forward. As soon as they did so, his right forearm and hand swelled and reconfigured into a heavy circular barrel with a larger three-shot revolver cylinder back near his elbow. At the same time, his left forearm formed into a slightly smaller barrel with an underslung capsule-shaped pressurization tank.
Two targeting "pippers" appeared on Mach's HUD, and moved along with his newly formed weapons as he trained them on his targets: his right was trained on the flame-spewing OldStove, while his left pointed towards the middle of the Kabutank's hull. Once he got a solid lock on the OldStove, the magnum that made up his right forearm jerked straight back with a loud boom and a burst of flame. The cylinder near the back rotated to put the second round in line with the barrel as the freshly-fired shell impacted with a fiery explosion.
Thanks to all three targets being relatively close together (the Kabutank and CannonDumb moreso), he quickly shifted to solidifying his targeting solution for his left weapon and fired. The weapon had significantly lower recoil and zero muzzle flash, because instead of an explosive bullet it fired off a glob of highly pressurized water. It eventually impacted, but instead of an all-around splash, it exploded with a high-pressure spray of water in an "X" shape to hopefully pelt all three viruses. The spray wouldn't last long, so Mach could easily re-acquire his next target: the CannonDumb mounted on the Kabutank's hull. He fired off the Magnum a second time, his mechanical arm did well to manage the recoil and point down to the CannonDumb's viral platform and fire a third time after the cylinder rotated and seated the final round.
As soon as the Magnum fired off its third and final round and both of his arms began to revert to their default forms, Mach rolled his frame to the left in a forward-moving cartwheel then quickly acquired the PulseBat overhead. He activated both his Sunshine and Airshot chips, which prompted his right arm to again transform into a gun-type weapon, while a bright sphere of light materialized high overhead. With no further warning, a ray of energy burst forth from the sphere directly towards the PulseBat. If the high-intensity laser didn't reduce the small virus to fragmented scrap, Mach hoped a crushing burst of kinetic energy delivered from his newly-formed AirShot cannon would finish the virus off.
If the viruses continued to live even after what amounted to significant overkill, Mach would cartwheel to the other direction before requesting "Persistent... Requesting Synapse and TankCannon." Mazer supplied the chips as requested, and as soon as the Synapse was uploaded, a white-hot bolt of electricity jumped from the tip of his nosecone and surged to the ground-based viruses. After hopefully electrocuting the closest virus, it then arced to the closest virus that still remained, and would arc again if anything else remained.
While the bolt of electricity bounced amongst the remaining ground targets, Mach's left arm reformatted into a long-barreled heavy cannon. Though it looked possible to weigh over half his own weight, Mach would be able to handle it easily and swing it into position to drop the crosshairs directly over the PulseBat. The resulting boom and recoil from the TankCannon firing would cause his entire body to jolt, but with any luck, the PulseBat would've felt much more severe, and fatal, effects.
Mazer hadn't expected combat to be initiated so quickly, but his chip mag was still on his desk from their brief skirmish with DragonierMan and Yasu. He began to slot in the chips as requested, but gave a word of caution to the Navi. ["On their way, don't over-exert yourself, especially with these 'small fries'."] Both of Mach's arms mechanically swung down from their stowed positions, with his forearms and hands still pointed directly forward. As soon as they did so, his right forearm and hand swelled and reconfigured into a heavy circular barrel with a larger three-shot revolver cylinder back near his elbow. At the same time, his left forearm formed into a slightly smaller barrel with an underslung capsule-shaped pressurization tank.
Two targeting "pippers" appeared on Mach's HUD, and moved along with his newly formed weapons as he trained them on his targets: his right was trained on the flame-spewing OldStove, while his left pointed towards the middle of the Kabutank's hull. Once he got a solid lock on the OldStove, the magnum that made up his right forearm jerked straight back with a loud boom and a burst of flame. The cylinder near the back rotated to put the second round in line with the barrel as the freshly-fired shell impacted with a fiery explosion.
Thanks to all three targets being relatively close together (the Kabutank and CannonDumb moreso), he quickly shifted to solidifying his targeting solution for his left weapon and fired. The weapon had significantly lower recoil and zero muzzle flash, because instead of an explosive bullet it fired off a glob of highly pressurized water. It eventually impacted, but instead of an all-around splash, it exploded with a high-pressure spray of water in an "X" shape to hopefully pelt all three viruses. The spray wouldn't last long, so Mach could easily re-acquire his next target: the CannonDumb mounted on the Kabutank's hull. He fired off the Magnum a second time, his mechanical arm did well to manage the recoil and point down to the CannonDumb's viral platform and fire a third time after the cylinder rotated and seated the final round.
As soon as the Magnum fired off its third and final round and both of his arms began to revert to their default forms, Mach rolled his frame to the left in a forward-moving cartwheel then quickly acquired the PulseBat overhead. He activated both his Sunshine and Airshot chips, which prompted his right arm to again transform into a gun-type weapon, while a bright sphere of light materialized high overhead. With no further warning, a ray of energy burst forth from the sphere directly towards the PulseBat. If the high-intensity laser didn't reduce the small virus to fragmented scrap, Mach hoped a crushing burst of kinetic energy delivered from his newly-formed AirShot cannon would finish the virus off.
If the viruses continued to live even after what amounted to significant overkill, Mach would cartwheel to the other direction before requesting "Persistent... Requesting Synapse and TankCannon." Mazer supplied the chips as requested, and as soon as the Synapse was uploaded, a white-hot bolt of electricity jumped from the tip of his nosecone and surged to the ground-based viruses. After hopefully electrocuting the closest virus, it then arced to the closest virus that still remained, and would arc again if anything else remained.
While the bolt of electricity bounced amongst the remaining ground targets, Mach's left arm reformatted into a long-barreled heavy cannon. Though it looked possible to weigh over half his own weight, Mach would be able to handle it easily and swing it into position to drop the crosshairs directly over the PulseBat. The resulting boom and recoil from the TankCannon firing would cause his entire body to jolt, but with any luck, the PulseBat would've felt much more severe, and fatal, effects.
ACTIONS: (Passive Haste, Accuracy Enhancement, Status Cure, Dodge x2, Decoy x2)
1. 
Magnum1Damage: 120 + Break + Panel Break x 3 Targets
Accuracy: A
Description: A triple barreled gun that blasts through defenses and terrain alike. Rare
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: C: OldStove, CannonDumb, Kabutank
2.
BubbleCrossDamage: 130 + Spread 4
Accuracy: A
Description: Shoots a bubble blast whose explosion penetrates enemies to hit up to four enemies diagonally from it, as if forming a X shape.
Duration: Once
Element: Aqua
Trader Rank: A: Kabutank, CannonDumb, OldStove
-Passive Dodge-
3.
Sunshine80 + Blind + Beam Attack +80 damage to Non-Elemental targets
Accuracy: A
Description: A sphere resembling the sun appears high above the user, then releases a ray of sun light at a target designated by the user. The beam passes through everything in its path, causing great damage and blinding all it hits as it smashes through everything in a straight line. Rare
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C: PulseBat
4.
AirShot3Damage: 120 + Microburst
Accuracy: A
Description: A buster-like gun that shoots a bullet of compressed air, sending whatever it hits flying.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: B: PulseBat
-Passive Dodge-
5.
Synapse2Damage: 120 + Piercing + Chain 2
Accuracy: B
Description: Produces a powerful ray through sheer force of thought, which arcs towards nearby enemies when it hits a target.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Special: Chain 2: This attack, upon striking a target, may change directions towards a new target. This may be done up to 2 times in one attack.
Trader Rank: C: OldStove, CannonDumb, Kabutank
6.
TankCannon3Damage: 160 / 160 + Blast 2
Accuracy: A / C
Description: An enormous cannon whose ammunition can be altered to either a single high accuracy shot, or a low accuracy shot that can explode to hit several enemies.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Dual Mode: This chip has two separate modes of operation. The user may pick which one they wish to use at the time of activation.
Trader Rank: B: PulseBat
DecoyA,B: Inactive
Magnum1Damage: 120 + Break + Panel Break x 3 TargetsAccuracy: A
Description: A triple barreled gun that blasts through defenses and terrain alike. Rare
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: C: OldStove, CannonDumb, Kabutank
2.
BubbleCrossDamage: 130 + Spread 4Accuracy: A
Description: Shoots a bubble blast whose explosion penetrates enemies to hit up to four enemies diagonally from it, as if forming a X shape.
Duration: Once
Element: Aqua
Trader Rank: A: Kabutank, CannonDumb, OldStove
-Passive Dodge-
3.
Sunshine80 + Blind + Beam Attack +80 damage to Non-Elemental targetsAccuracy: A
Description: A sphere resembling the sun appears high above the user, then releases a ray of sun light at a target designated by the user. The beam passes through everything in its path, causing great damage and blinding all it hits as it smashes through everything in a straight line. Rare
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C: PulseBat
4.
AirShot3Damage: 120 + MicroburstAccuracy: A
Description: A buster-like gun that shoots a bullet of compressed air, sending whatever it hits flying.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: B: PulseBat
-Passive Dodge-
5.
Synapse2Damage: 120 + Piercing + Chain 2Accuracy: B
Description: Produces a powerful ray through sheer force of thought, which arcs towards nearby enemies when it hits a target.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Special: Chain 2: This attack, upon striking a target, may change directions towards a new target. This may be done up to 2 times in one attack.
Trader Rank: C: OldStove, CannonDumb, Kabutank
6.
TankCannon3Damage: 160 / 160 + Blast 2Accuracy: A / C
Description: An enormous cannon whose ammunition can be altered to either a single high accuracy shot, or a low accuracy shot that can explode to hit several enemies.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Dual Mode: This chip has two separate modes of operation. The user may pick which one they wish to use at the time of activation.
Trader Rank: B: PulseBat
DecoyA,B: Inactive
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Sometimes battles between navigators and viruses are fraught affairs of life and death; epic battles of skill and tactics, storied encounters worthy of song and legend, worth recording in history and telling to friends. This was not one of those times.
After a couple of seconds of swift and brutal mop duty, which wouldn't have caused Mach to break a sweat and certainly didn't give any of the straggling viruses that got in his way a chance to respond, he was free to quickly clean up the pittance of zenny their remains provided and open the data crystal that was left behind, if he still wished to.
Afterwards, the GMD would stop spinning and open up before Mach would make a move (because he probably willed the GMD open or something) and inside would be...a giant rock fist, bigger than the outside of the GMD it's self. How that's possible is anyone's guess, but either way, Mach could probably turn it into chip data to add to his ever expanding collection of WMDs.
-=Viruses=-
OldstoveOldstove (Oldstove)
Oldstove viruses move and dodge at a very slow pace.
Area: ACDC, Kotobuki Town, Netfrica, Hades Isle
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Fire + Line Attack(3) + Panel Crack
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Flamethrower to one enemy.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): FireBurner1, Zenny
Special: Slow Movement. Cracks Terrain.: DELETED
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas
HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack.: DELETED
CannonDumbCannonDumb (CannonDumb)
CannonDumb viruses attack any targets in sight every action they are able to. They can and will attack objects, but only objects they can damage. They will not waste cannon fire on IronBody, Shadow, or Invisible targets. The exception is Canodumb DS, which will fire at anything with its DarkCannon's beam blasts. All CannonDumb viruses may opt to spend one action prior to attacking marking their opponent with target lock. They gain the 10% accuracy benefit of Take Aim against this opponent for any and all follow-on attacks until they lose sight of the target, or switch targets.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Yoka
HP: 50
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires its cannon after aiming.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: Mark Target
Secondary Attack Accuracy: S
Secondary Attack Description: Marks an enemy within line of sight with a target lock that raises the accuracy of this virus by +1 Rank (10%) until the virus is forced to switch targets or loses sight of the marked target (they take cover).
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Cannon, Zenny
Special: Immobile: DELETED
KabutankKabutank (Kabutank)
While closely related to Beetank, Kabutank are a bit smarter and faster. They will use terrain and objects to their advantage if possible, and prefer to not allow Navis clean shots at them. They have one passive movement per turn, which can be used as either a movement or dodge.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Okuden Valley, Beach, NetVegas
HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Blast 2 x 2 bombs
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Launches a pair of bombs that explode in a small radius.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Blast 1 + Seeking
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a bomb that ignores invisibility.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): DoubleBomb, SeekerBomb1, Zenny: DELETED
-=Navi=-
Machman.Exe: 490 HP [Normal]
-=Terrain=-
35% Cracked [North and North-eastern parts]
15% Normal [Middle portion with cracked to the east]
50% Missing [South half of the field]
-=Objects=-
GMD: 20 HP [Normal, middle of the battlefield]
-=Mop-Up 1, Completed!=-
Spoils: 480z, 15 BugFrags
GMD:
GolemHit1Damage: 140 + Break + Panel Crack + Wide Attack
Accuracy: C
Description: A fist of stone falls from the sky to smash an enemy, and create a shock wave that hits two nearby enemies. The area affected by the fist becomes Cracked terrain.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D: 140 + Break + Panel Crack + Wide Attack (Acc: C)
After a couple of seconds of swift and brutal mop duty, which wouldn't have caused Mach to break a sweat and certainly didn't give any of the straggling viruses that got in his way a chance to respond, he was free to quickly clean up the pittance of zenny their remains provided and open the data crystal that was left behind, if he still wished to.
Afterwards, the GMD would stop spinning and open up before Mach would make a move (because he probably willed the GMD open or something) and inside would be...a giant rock fist, bigger than the outside of the GMD it's self. How that's possible is anyone's guess, but either way, Mach could probably turn it into chip data to add to his ever expanding collection of WMDs.
-=Viruses=-
OldstoveOldstove (Oldstove)
Oldstove viruses move and dodge at a very slow pace.
Area: ACDC, Kotobuki Town, Netfrica, Hades Isle
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Fire + Line Attack(3) + Panel Crack
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Flamethrower to one enemy.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): FireBurner1, Zenny
Special: Slow Movement. Cracks Terrain.: DELETED
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas
HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack.: DELETED
CannonDumbCannonDumb (CannonDumb)
CannonDumb viruses attack any targets in sight every action they are able to. They can and will attack objects, but only objects they can damage. They will not waste cannon fire on IronBody, Shadow, or Invisible targets. The exception is Canodumb DS, which will fire at anything with its DarkCannon's beam blasts. All CannonDumb viruses may opt to spend one action prior to attacking marking their opponent with target lock. They gain the 10% accuracy benefit of Take Aim against this opponent for any and all follow-on attacks until they lose sight of the target, or switch targets.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Yoka
HP: 50
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires its cannon after aiming.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: Mark Target
Secondary Attack Accuracy: S
Secondary Attack Description: Marks an enemy within line of sight with a target lock that raises the accuracy of this virus by +1 Rank (10%) until the virus is forced to switch targets or loses sight of the marked target (they take cover).
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Cannon, Zenny
Special: Immobile: DELETED
KabutankKabutank (Kabutank)
While closely related to Beetank, Kabutank are a bit smarter and faster. They will use terrain and objects to their advantage if possible, and prefer to not allow Navis clean shots at them. They have one passive movement per turn, which can be used as either a movement or dodge.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Okuden Valley, Beach, NetVegas
HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Blast 2 x 2 bombs
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Launches a pair of bombs that explode in a small radius.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Blast 1 + Seeking
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a bomb that ignores invisibility.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): DoubleBomb, SeekerBomb1, Zenny: DELETED
-=Navi=-
Machman.Exe: 490 HP [Normal]
-=Terrain=-
35% Cracked [North and North-eastern parts]
15% Normal [Middle portion with cracked to the east]
50% Missing [South half of the field]
-=Objects=-
GMD: 20 HP [Normal, middle of the battlefield]
-=Mop-Up 1, Completed!=-
Spoils: 480
GMD:
GolemHit1Damage: 140 + Break + Panel Crack + Wide AttackAccuracy: C
Description: A fist of stone falls from the sky to smash an enemy, and create a shock wave that hits two nearby enemies. The area affected by the fist becomes Cracked terrain.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D: 140 + Break + Panel Crack + Wide Attack (Acc: C)
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The barrage of fire did it's job, and swept the field clean of all opposition. Mach would take pride in the rout, but he wasn't exactly facing the "Varsity Squad."
His arms reverted to their default forms while he calmly approached and touched down in front of the GMD. Upon opening the floating data, he learned the minor detour was worthwhile; the powerful new chip was a shoo-in for his arsenal. "Hm, this will do," he remarked as he download the chip data and took off.
After taking a brief moment to regain his bearings, he eased his throttles up and resumed his cruise over the netspace.
((Ready for Battle 2))
His arms reverted to their default forms while he calmly approached and touched down in front of the GMD. Upon opening the floating data, he learned the minor detour was worthwhile; the powerful new chip was a shoo-in for his arsenal. "Hm, this will do," he remarked as he download the chip data and took off.
After taking a brief moment to regain his bearings, he eased his throttles up and resumed his cruise over the netspace.
((Ready for Battle 2))
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With that brief bit of cleaning dealt with, Mach continued his lofty cruise over the older parts of ACDC. The area he was in seemed much more dilapidated than most, and the sections of broken away terrain continued along an identifiable vein as he went, looking from the air a bit like a fault shift opening up, or perhaps something sundering the ground. It was odd that it hadn't been recovered yet, given that these were the normal nets and some of the most frequently used and maintained.
A little further on, he'd likely spot another group of viruses, seemingly playing fairly near to the rent ground, though with no navigators or other programs in sight they seemed mostly to just be playing with each other. In the middle of an open space, a single Metool was hunkered down under its helmet, tapping on the ground with its pickaxe uniformly once a second, and calling out short sounds. It was viral gibberish, but it seemed to be counting aloud.
Around it, other viruses were rushing to and fro. A pair of shrubby had already darted behind a long bushy hedge, and were bouncing on their toes patiently. Over the other side, a bunny was just now darting towards the same hiding place as a slightly slower Metool, bearing a gun muzzle over its face, instead of its normal pickaxe. the bunny got there first, darting behind the tree they'd been aiming for, and jump-skipping once or twice. In a sudden panic, the NeoMet turned and began running back the other way, looking for anew hiding place while the metool in the middle continued to count.
It probably wasn't of any concern to Mach, but the viruses playing hide and seek were, still, quite oblivious to his flight above.
-=Viruses=-
BunnyBunny (Bunny)
Bunny viruses move by hopping. They are adept at jumping, and can reach higher terrain or hop onto objects with ease. They are also very good at dodging, and are treated as having Haste (+10%) for Evasion purposes only at all times. Omega Bunny has double Haste (+20%). These effects cannot be removed except by Glitch. They attack by launching a ZapRing from their ears.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Elec + Stun1
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Hops around randomly before lining up a shot and firing.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ZapRing1, Zenny
Special: Slightly better dodges.: 50Hp [Hiding behind tree][Normal]
ShrubbyShrubby (Shrubby)
Shrubby viruses take cover when they are not attacking. Shrubby viruses teleport from behind cover when attacking, but never at any other time. If there is nothing on the field to use as cover against an enemy, and the only other viruses on the field are Shrubbies or viruses that cannot provide cover against attacks, they will stop attacking and attempt to flee starting next turn. Later versions of the Shrubby virus carry rockcube chip data, and will use that to make new cover when none is available.
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Ground Attack + Attack Target Pair
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Rolls a 10 HP log at opponent. The log is 2 panels wide, and can cross broken or missing terrain if only one of the two panels it crosses is broken or missing. This attack can hit up to two side-by-side targets, and can stop direct incoming attacks, but is stopped by objects.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RollingLog1, Zenny
Special: If the Ring Log falls into Sea Terrain, it will remain there and float as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers two panels.
Special: If the Ring Log strikes an object, it will remain there as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers 2 panels.
Special: If the Ring Log crosses a Lava Panel, it will burst into flame.A: 50Hp [Hiding behind bush][Normal]
ShrubbyShrubby (Shrubby)
Shrubby viruses take cover when they are not attacking. Shrubby viruses teleport from behind cover when attacking, but never at any other time. If there is nothing on the field to use as cover against an enemy, and the only other viruses on the field are Shrubbies or viruses that cannot provide cover against attacks, they will stop attacking and attempt to flee starting next turn. Later versions of the Shrubby virus carry rockcube chip data, and will use that to make new cover when none is available.
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Ground Attack + Attack Target Pair
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Rolls a 10 HP log at opponent. The log is 2 panels wide, and can cross broken or missing terrain if only one of the two panels it crosses is broken or missing. This attack can hit up to two side-by-side targets, and can stop direct incoming attacks, but is stopped by objects.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RollingLog1, Zenny
Special: If the Ring Log falls into Sea Terrain, it will remain there and float as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers two panels.
Special: If the Ring Log strikes an object, it will remain there as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers 2 panels.
Special: If the Ring Log crosses a Lava Panel, it will burst into flame.B: 50Hp [Hiding behind bush][Normal]
NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)
NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.
Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach
HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.: 40Hp [Running towards stone benches][Normal]
MetoolMetool (Metool)
Metools not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.
Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach
HP: 40
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Piercing + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Whacks ground with pickaxe, sending forth a shockwave.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Throws a mattock at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Guard1, ShockWave, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.: 40Hp [Guarding][Counting][In centre of area][Normal]
-=Navis=-
Machman.Exe: 490Hp [High Altitude]
-=Terrain=-
70% Normal
30% Missing
-=Objects=-
Tall Tree: 40Hp [Wood]
Long Bush: 30Hp [Wood]
Stone Benches: 80Hp [Stonebody]
-=Probably Not A Battle 2, Start!=-
A little further on, he'd likely spot another group of viruses, seemingly playing fairly near to the rent ground, though with no navigators or other programs in sight they seemed mostly to just be playing with each other. In the middle of an open space, a single Metool was hunkered down under its helmet, tapping on the ground with its pickaxe uniformly once a second, and calling out short sounds. It was viral gibberish, but it seemed to be counting aloud.
Around it, other viruses were rushing to and fro. A pair of shrubby had already darted behind a long bushy hedge, and were bouncing on their toes patiently. Over the other side, a bunny was just now darting towards the same hiding place as a slightly slower Metool, bearing a gun muzzle over its face, instead of its normal pickaxe. the bunny got there first, darting behind the tree they'd been aiming for, and jump-skipping once or twice. In a sudden panic, the NeoMet turned and began running back the other way, looking for anew hiding place while the metool in the middle continued to count.
It probably wasn't of any concern to Mach, but the viruses playing hide and seek were, still, quite oblivious to his flight above.
-=Viruses=-
BunnyBunny (Bunny)
Bunny viruses move by hopping. They are adept at jumping, and can reach higher terrain or hop onto objects with ease. They are also very good at dodging, and are treated as having Haste (+10%) for Evasion purposes only at all times. Omega Bunny has double Haste (+20%). These effects cannot be removed except by Glitch. They attack by launching a ZapRing from their ears.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Elec + Stun1
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Hops around randomly before lining up a shot and firing.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ZapRing1, Zenny
Special: Slightly better dodges.: 50Hp [Hiding behind tree][Normal]
ShrubbyShrubby (Shrubby)
Shrubby viruses take cover when they are not attacking. Shrubby viruses teleport from behind cover when attacking, but never at any other time. If there is nothing on the field to use as cover against an enemy, and the only other viruses on the field are Shrubbies or viruses that cannot provide cover against attacks, they will stop attacking and attempt to flee starting next turn. Later versions of the Shrubby virus carry rockcube chip data, and will use that to make new cover when none is available.
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Ground Attack + Attack Target Pair
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Rolls a 10 HP log at opponent. The log is 2 panels wide, and can cross broken or missing terrain if only one of the two panels it crosses is broken or missing. This attack can hit up to two side-by-side targets, and can stop direct incoming attacks, but is stopped by objects.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RollingLog1, Zenny
Special: If the Ring Log falls into Sea Terrain, it will remain there and float as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers two panels.
Special: If the Ring Log strikes an object, it will remain there as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers 2 panels.
Special: If the Ring Log crosses a Lava Panel, it will burst into flame.A: 50Hp [Hiding behind bush][Normal]
ShrubbyShrubby (Shrubby)
Shrubby viruses take cover when they are not attacking. Shrubby viruses teleport from behind cover when attacking, but never at any other time. If there is nothing on the field to use as cover against an enemy, and the only other viruses on the field are Shrubbies or viruses that cannot provide cover against attacks, they will stop attacking and attempt to flee starting next turn. Later versions of the Shrubby virus carry rockcube chip data, and will use that to make new cover when none is available.
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Ground Attack + Attack Target Pair
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Rolls a 10 HP log at opponent. The log is 2 panels wide, and can cross broken or missing terrain if only one of the two panels it crosses is broken or missing. This attack can hit up to two side-by-side targets, and can stop direct incoming attacks, but is stopped by objects.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RollingLog1, Zenny
Special: If the Ring Log falls into Sea Terrain, it will remain there and float as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers two panels.
Special: If the Ring Log strikes an object, it will remain there as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers 2 panels.
Special: If the Ring Log crosses a Lava Panel, it will burst into flame.B: 50Hp [Hiding behind bush][Normal]
NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)
NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.
Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach
HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.: 40Hp [Running towards stone benches][Normal]
MetoolMetool (Metool)
Metools not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.
Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach
HP: 40
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Piercing + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Whacks ground with pickaxe, sending forth a shockwave.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Throws a mattock at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Guard1, ShockWave, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.: 40Hp [Guarding][Counting][In centre of area][Normal]
-=Navis=-
Machman.Exe: 490Hp [High Altitude]
-=Terrain=-
70% Normal
30% Missing
-=Objects=-
Tall Tree: 40Hp [Wood]
Long Bush: 30Hp [Wood]
Stone Benches: 80Hp [Stonebody]
-=Probably Not A Battle 2, Start!=-
last edited by
Mach picked up more viral signatures ahead, in his flight path. He banked to the right to start a half-circle path around the group, partially to avoid and return on course, and partially to get a better look in case there was something that would convince him to engage. He watched the single metool out in the open, and as the other viruses appeared to flee, he started to put two and two together. At the moment he was unnoticed, and for all intents and purposes, they were simply playing.
"Hm," he murmured to himself while he continued his banking turn to get back on course. The idea of the viruses playing brought back memories of SharoNet, where Mach and his SPs had a good-natured snowball fight with some Metools. Aera even seemed to befriend a Met, or at least she tried to. His briefly happy memory quickly darkened as it mixed with more recent ones, and his expression soured beneath his opaque canopy. He began to dread the thought of any memories of is former SPs would be so quickly stained; in his mind, his one hope at preventing that would be to avenge them... if there was still a foe to be the target of said vengeance.
Once he intercepted his original course and began to level out, he pushed up his throttles and quickly picked up speed. A few moments later, his afterburners kicked on, leaving behind two long cones of orange flame. If the viruses detected him and moved to fire upon him, Mach would continue on his way with the intent of simply outrunning them.
"Hm," he murmured to himself while he continued his banking turn to get back on course. The idea of the viruses playing brought back memories of SharoNet, where Mach and his SPs had a good-natured snowball fight with some Metools. Aera even seemed to befriend a Met, or at least she tried to. His briefly happy memory quickly darkened as it mixed with more recent ones, and his expression soured beneath his opaque canopy. He began to dread the thought of any memories of is former SPs would be so quickly stained; in his mind, his one hope at preventing that would be to avenge them... if there was still a foe to be the target of said vengeance.
Once he intercepted his original course and began to level out, he pushed up his throttles and quickly picked up speed. A few moments later, his afterburners kicked on, leaving behind two long cones of orange flame. If the viruses detected him and moved to fire upon him, Mach would continue on his way with the intent of simply outrunning them.
ACTIONS: (Passive Haste, Accuracy Enhancement, Status Cure, Dodge x2, Decoy x2)
1-6: Escape
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As the viruses played below, MachMan was flooded by memories and flew away without bothering them.
-=Viruses=-
BunnyBunny (Bunny)
Bunny viruses move by hopping. They are adept at jumping, and can reach higher terrain or hop onto objects with ease. They are also very good at dodging, and are treated as having Haste (+10%) for Evasion purposes only at all times. Omega Bunny has double Haste (+20%). These effects cannot be removed except by Glitch. They attack by launching a ZapRing from their ears.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Elec + Stun1
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Hops around randomly before lining up a shot and firing.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ZapRing1, Zenny
Special: Slightly better dodges.: 50Hp [Hiding behind tree][Normal]
ShrubbyShrubby (Shrubby)
Shrubby viruses take cover when they are not attacking. Shrubby viruses teleport from behind cover when attacking, but never at any other time. If there is nothing on the field to use as cover against an enemy, and the only other viruses on the field are Shrubbies or viruses that cannot provide cover against attacks, they will stop attacking and attempt to flee starting next turn. Later versions of the Shrubby virus carry rockcube chip data, and will use that to make new cover when none is available.
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Ground Attack + Attack Target Pair
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Rolls a 10 HP log at opponent. The log is 2 panels wide, and can cross broken or missing terrain if only one of the two panels it crosses is broken or missing. This attack can hit up to two side-by-side targets, and can stop direct incoming attacks, but is stopped by objects.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RollingLog1, Zenny
Special: If the Ring Log falls into Sea Terrain, it will remain there and float as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers two panels.
Special: If the Ring Log strikes an object, it will remain there as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers 2 panels.
Special: If the Ring Log crosses a Lava Panel, it will burst into flame.A: 50Hp [Hiding behind bush][Normal]
ShrubbyShrubby (Shrubby)
Shrubby viruses take cover when they are not attacking. Shrubby viruses teleport from behind cover when attacking, but never at any other time. If there is nothing on the field to use as cover against an enemy, and the only other viruses on the field are Shrubbies or viruses that cannot provide cover against attacks, they will stop attacking and attempt to flee starting next turn. Later versions of the Shrubby virus carry rockcube chip data, and will use that to make new cover when none is available.
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Ground Attack + Attack Target Pair
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Rolls a 10 HP log at opponent. The log is 2 panels wide, and can cross broken or missing terrain if only one of the two panels it crosses is broken or missing. This attack can hit up to two side-by-side targets, and can stop direct incoming attacks, but is stopped by objects.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RollingLog1, Zenny
Special: If the Ring Log falls into Sea Terrain, it will remain there and float as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers two panels.
Special: If the Ring Log strikes an object, it will remain there as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers 2 panels.
Special: If the Ring Log crosses a Lava Panel, it will burst into flame.B: 50Hp [Hiding behind bush][Normal]
NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)
NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.
Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach
HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.: 40Hp [Running towards stone benches][Normal]
MetoolMetool (Metool)
Metools not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.
Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach
HP: 40
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Piercing + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Whacks ground with pickaxe, sending forth a shockwave.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Throws a mattock at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Guard1, ShockWave, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.: 40Hp [Guarding][Counting][In centre of area][Normal]
-=Navis=-
Machman.Exe: 490Hp [High Altitude] [ESCAPED!]
-=Terrain=-
70% Normal
30% Missing
-=Objects=-
Tall Tree: 40Hp [Wood]
Long Bush: 30Hp [Wood]
Stone Benches: 80Hp [Stonebody]
-=Wasn't A Battle 2, End!=-
-=Viruses=-
BunnyBunny (Bunny)
Bunny viruses move by hopping. They are adept at jumping, and can reach higher terrain or hop onto objects with ease. They are also very good at dodging, and are treated as having Haste (+10%) for Evasion purposes only at all times. Omega Bunny has double Haste (+20%). These effects cannot be removed except by Glitch. They attack by launching a ZapRing from their ears.
Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Elec + Stun1
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Hops around randomly before lining up a shot and firing.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ZapRing1, Zenny
Special: Slightly better dodges.: 50Hp [Hiding behind tree][Normal]
ShrubbyShrubby (Shrubby)
Shrubby viruses take cover when they are not attacking. Shrubby viruses teleport from behind cover when attacking, but never at any other time. If there is nothing on the field to use as cover against an enemy, and the only other viruses on the field are Shrubbies or viruses that cannot provide cover against attacks, they will stop attacking and attempt to flee starting next turn. Later versions of the Shrubby virus carry rockcube chip data, and will use that to make new cover when none is available.
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Ground Attack + Attack Target Pair
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Rolls a 10 HP log at opponent. The log is 2 panels wide, and can cross broken or missing terrain if only one of the two panels it crosses is broken or missing. This attack can hit up to two side-by-side targets, and can stop direct incoming attacks, but is stopped by objects.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RollingLog1, Zenny
Special: If the Ring Log falls into Sea Terrain, it will remain there and float as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers two panels.
Special: If the Ring Log strikes an object, it will remain there as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers 2 panels.
Special: If the Ring Log crosses a Lava Panel, it will burst into flame.A: 50Hp [Hiding behind bush][Normal]
ShrubbyShrubby (Shrubby)
Shrubby viruses take cover when they are not attacking. Shrubby viruses teleport from behind cover when attacking, but never at any other time. If there is nothing on the field to use as cover against an enemy, and the only other viruses on the field are Shrubbies or viruses that cannot provide cover against attacks, they will stop attacking and attempt to flee starting next turn. Later versions of the Shrubby virus carry rockcube chip data, and will use that to make new cover when none is available.
Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Dentech
HP: 50
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Ground Attack + Attack Target Pair
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Rolls a 10 HP log at opponent. The log is 2 panels wide, and can cross broken or missing terrain if only one of the two panels it crosses is broken or missing. This attack can hit up to two side-by-side targets, and can stop direct incoming attacks, but is stopped by objects.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RollingLog1, Zenny
Special: If the Ring Log falls into Sea Terrain, it will remain there and float as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers two panels.
Special: If the Ring Log strikes an object, it will remain there as a 10 HP Wood Element object that covers 2 panels.
Special: If the Ring Log crosses a Lava Panel, it will burst into flame.B: 50Hp [Hiding behind bush][Normal]
NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)
NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.
Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach
HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.: 40Hp [Running towards stone benches][Normal]
MetoolMetool (Metool)
Metools not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.
Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach
HP: 40
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Piercing + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Whacks ground with pickaxe, sending forth a shockwave.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Throws a mattock at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Guard1, ShockWave, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.: 40Hp [Guarding][Counting][In centre of area][Normal]
-=Navis=-
Machman.Exe: 490Hp [High Altitude] [ESCAPED!]
-=Terrain=-
70% Normal
30% Missing
-=Objects=-
Tall Tree: 40Hp [Wood]
Long Bush: 30Hp [Wood]
Stone Benches: 80Hp [Stonebody]
-=Wasn't A Battle 2, End!=-
last edited by
The viruses didn't react, leaving Mach alone to continue cruising over the network. He folded his arms back to their stowed position and became more streamlined. A few moments of silence dragged on, until Mazer finally spoke up. ["With the NS issue more or less resolved, want me to try to let the Terror Girls know the threat has passed?"] Mach thought about it for a second or two before replying, "Maybe later, better to be busy fleeing than busy scheming up some other plan for "Network Disarmament" or something." ["Hm, guess you're right. The only issue I see is they might become harder to track down once they become mobile,]" Mazer commented; they claimed they would reformat TerrorMan into a submersible capable of flight, which meant they had any number of options for concealment and evasion. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Mach replied quickly, he didn't sound like he was in the mood to continue discussing that subject. Mazer wasn't fond of Mach's newly abrasive attitude, but considering recent events, he felt it best to just let it slide for now.
It proved to be an appropriate time to change subjects, as Mach's destination fast approached. A few landmarks stood out from his recollection of his previous venture out here with PsycheMan, which indicated his battlefield wasn't much further ahead. His throttles inched back, which caused the twin cones of flame that spewed from the exhaust nozzles of his twin engines to shrink and eventually disappear. His speed decreased as a result, which gave him more time to survey the battlefield as it slid into view while his arms deployed to their default configuration.
The large circular blast scar remained, but a multitude of other smaller blast marks were scattered around. Deep gouges from claws, cracked impact craters from fists, and darkened lines from lasers also criss-crossed over the field, which Mach could see with more clarity as he began to orbit overhead. However, there was no sign of the creature; no burrow or corpse, so it was hard to tell if the Spectre was in a state of hiding or oblivion. Mach defaulted to the former, and made his preparations for battle. His multi-layered energy shields materialized in front of him as he moved to arm himself. "Requesting TankCannon, MeteorKnuckle, Sunshine, Invis, and Counter for start. Keep the rest coming," he stated gravely as his eye stared down at the battlefield.
Mazer took a breath and exhaled audibly through his nose before he slotted the requested chips in. He hoped and mentally prayed that monster was dead. Even if that meant Aera and Vector could never be recovered, he didn't want to possibly lose MachMan as well. The Navi confirmed the receipt of the chips, and activated the TankCannon over his right arm. His entire arm from elbow to hand transformed into what looked almost like a cannon turret, complete with a rifled heavy barrel and a block-like housing taking the place of his elbow. His left hand reached across to cradle the bottom of the barrel before he banked sharply to angle down to the battlefield.
He tried his best to continuously scan the field as he plummeted out of the air and touched down at speed. His thrust reversing vents opened while his vectoring paddles closed over his exhausts and stopped his forward momentum with surprising efficiency. Thanks to this, his spark-throwing slide only went a few feet. Normally he would remain airborne and at speed to increase his lethality, but he had to coax his enemy out of hiding first. However, he still held his cannon at the ready with the expectation to use it immediately. Several tense moments passed in silence, save for the metallic scraping and clanking of his prosthetic feet shifting to allow Mach to swivel in place.
"C'mon you bastard, don't hide from me," Mach hissed aloud while he continued to scan the field. No response. The silence of the battlefield was deafening, nearly to the point of insulting. Was it toying with him? Waiting for him to let down his guard? It went so far as to adopt Aera's face and voice to throw him off last time, so deception and deceit were to be expected. "I'm right here! What are you waiting for?" he called out with notable frustration. Silence was his only answer.
The internal locking mechanism lining his ellipse-shaped collar opened with several metallic clicks, which allowed his dark teal glass canopy to open and reveal Mach's heavily battle-scarred face. "There, do you recognize me now? You know who I am, and why I'm here! Show yourself!" he yelled as his only functional eye frenetically kept scanning the horizon for movement, but still nothing happened. About a half-minute of pregnant silence passed. "... Fine." he growled before he deactivated both his heavy shielding and TankCannon, much to Mazer's alarm. ["What are you doing?!"]
He kept his canopy open and stood with his arms outstretched and hands open. "I give in, I can't live like this anymore. You can have me, dinner is served..." he said with an unnerving calmness, before his expression eventually twisted into rage. "NOW FACE ME, COWARD!!" he roared, which caused freshly-closed wounds to open up again, and "blood" began to ooze from the right side of his mask. Still nothing, not a damn thing. He started to breathe heavily, causing his upper body to rock slightly, with his arms still outstretched. His eye darted side to side for what seemed like an eternity, hoping for something, anything. The dread started to descend upon him as the seconds continued to build, which mixed with the myriad of other emotions swirling in his mind, and it became overwhelming. Tears started to well up under his eye as the realization started to take hold.
It stole his SPs from him, and as a final insult, it perished after the battle and robbed him the satisfaction of enacting vengeance. Mach's arms slowly sank to his sides and his upper torso bucked and eventually doubled over as he began to sob. Mach sank to his knees, while Mazer felt a knot in his throat and the uncomfortable warmth of tears pooled in his eyes. Mach slowly pitched forward, but his arms moved to brace and keep himself from falling over. A few moments later, his sobs turned to angry cries, and his metal fingers creaked and scraped against the floor as they struggled to ball into fists. His right arm pulled back, then began to repeatedly drive his fist into the ground with a slight increase of strength and speed, as a growling roar rumbled from the Navi. He slammed his fist against the ground easily a dozen times, his newly mangled and crumpled fingers showed the sheer force he put behind each punch. After the lamentation and enraged outburst, his body stopped moving for a few minutes, bringing silence back to the ruined battlefield.
It proved to be an appropriate time to change subjects, as Mach's destination fast approached. A few landmarks stood out from his recollection of his previous venture out here with PsycheMan, which indicated his battlefield wasn't much further ahead. His throttles inched back, which caused the twin cones of flame that spewed from the exhaust nozzles of his twin engines to shrink and eventually disappear. His speed decreased as a result, which gave him more time to survey the battlefield as it slid into view while his arms deployed to their default configuration.
The large circular blast scar remained, but a multitude of other smaller blast marks were scattered around. Deep gouges from claws, cracked impact craters from fists, and darkened lines from lasers also criss-crossed over the field, which Mach could see with more clarity as he began to orbit overhead. However, there was no sign of the creature; no burrow or corpse, so it was hard to tell if the Spectre was in a state of hiding or oblivion. Mach defaulted to the former, and made his preparations for battle. His multi-layered energy shields materialized in front of him as he moved to arm himself. "Requesting TankCannon, MeteorKnuckle, Sunshine, Invis, and Counter for start. Keep the rest coming," he stated gravely as his eye stared down at the battlefield.
Mazer took a breath and exhaled audibly through his nose before he slotted the requested chips in. He hoped and mentally prayed that monster was dead. Even if that meant Aera and Vector could never be recovered, he didn't want to possibly lose MachMan as well. The Navi confirmed the receipt of the chips, and activated the TankCannon over his right arm. His entire arm from elbow to hand transformed into what looked almost like a cannon turret, complete with a rifled heavy barrel and a block-like housing taking the place of his elbow. His left hand reached across to cradle the bottom of the barrel before he banked sharply to angle down to the battlefield.
He tried his best to continuously scan the field as he plummeted out of the air and touched down at speed. His thrust reversing vents opened while his vectoring paddles closed over his exhausts and stopped his forward momentum with surprising efficiency. Thanks to this, his spark-throwing slide only went a few feet. Normally he would remain airborne and at speed to increase his lethality, but he had to coax his enemy out of hiding first. However, he still held his cannon at the ready with the expectation to use it immediately. Several tense moments passed in silence, save for the metallic scraping and clanking of his prosthetic feet shifting to allow Mach to swivel in place.
"C'mon you bastard, don't hide from me," Mach hissed aloud while he continued to scan the field. No response. The silence of the battlefield was deafening, nearly to the point of insulting. Was it toying with him? Waiting for him to let down his guard? It went so far as to adopt Aera's face and voice to throw him off last time, so deception and deceit were to be expected. "I'm right here! What are you waiting for?" he called out with notable frustration. Silence was his only answer.
The internal locking mechanism lining his ellipse-shaped collar opened with several metallic clicks, which allowed his dark teal glass canopy to open and reveal Mach's heavily battle-scarred face. "There, do you recognize me now? You know who I am, and why I'm here! Show yourself!" he yelled as his only functional eye frenetically kept scanning the horizon for movement, but still nothing happened. About a half-minute of pregnant silence passed. "... Fine." he growled before he deactivated both his heavy shielding and TankCannon, much to Mazer's alarm. ["What are you doing?!"]
He kept his canopy open and stood with his arms outstretched and hands open. "I give in, I can't live like this anymore. You can have me, dinner is served..." he said with an unnerving calmness, before his expression eventually twisted into rage. "NOW FACE ME, COWARD!!" he roared, which caused freshly-closed wounds to open up again, and "blood" began to ooze from the right side of his mask. Still nothing, not a damn thing. He started to breathe heavily, causing his upper body to rock slightly, with his arms still outstretched. His eye darted side to side for what seemed like an eternity, hoping for something, anything. The dread started to descend upon him as the seconds continued to build, which mixed with the myriad of other emotions swirling in his mind, and it became overwhelming. Tears started to well up under his eye as the realization started to take hold.
It stole his SPs from him, and as a final insult, it perished after the battle and robbed him the satisfaction of enacting vengeance. Mach's arms slowly sank to his sides and his upper torso bucked and eventually doubled over as he began to sob. Mach sank to his knees, while Mazer felt a knot in his throat and the uncomfortable warmth of tears pooled in his eyes. Mach slowly pitched forward, but his arms moved to brace and keep himself from falling over. A few moments later, his sobs turned to angry cries, and his metal fingers creaked and scraped against the floor as they struggled to ball into fists. His right arm pulled back, then began to repeatedly drive his fist into the ground with a slight increase of strength and speed, as a growling roar rumbled from the Navi. He slammed his fist against the ground easily a dozen times, his newly mangled and crumpled fingers showed the sheer force he put behind each punch. After the lamentation and enraged outburst, his body stopped moving for a few minutes, bringing silence back to the ruined battlefield.
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A few minutes later, Mach stirred again. "What do I do... what do I do now?" he asked himself aloud. His voice was quiet, though an added dull rumble denoted the Navi's frustration. During that time, Mazer had leaned back in his chair and was staring at the ceiling in silent introspection. He overheard Mach's grumbling, which prompted him to look back down to his screen.
["I can't imagine what you feel right now, but-"] "That's right. You can't," Mach interrupted with a menacing bitterness in his tone. "If you were there when we spoke to Yasu, if you at least paid attention, we might've seen through BrainMan's deception." Mazer was taken aback by the sudden accusations, ["Wait, I-"] "In fact, it was your idea to have us go on that mission, it's your fault went here in the first place!" Mach again interrupted with a snarl. Mazer had a confused look on his face, he remembered Mach specifically said he wasn't to blame... what changed? ["Mach, that's not fair..."] "Not fair?!?" Mach spat, then turned to glare directly towards Mazer's POV. "What have you lost?" he growled, more blood oozed from his mask and dripped to the floor.
Mazer looked away and put a hand to his forehead, obscuring his eyes. ["Friends... No, more like family."] Mach paused as Mazer spoke, though his intense frown showed no sign of fading. ["I helped bring them into this world, watched them grow... and... I watched them die too. Last night, I saw their last moments through [i]your[/i] eyes. That's why I haven't slept, I couldn't help but see it whenever I closed my eyes,"] Mazer explained and revealed his lie from before; Mach's expression didn't change, though his gaze shifted down to the floor. ["I know I haven't lost as much, but I feel your pain, Mach. I can't stand to see you miserable like this, I feel like I'm on the verge of losing you too."] Mazer moved his hand up to rake his fingers over his hair, and exposed the tears that welled up in his eyes. Mach's gaze remained down to the floor, till he looked away and huffed indignantly.
Mazer continued to slide his hand over his head and exhaled audibly as he tried to reign in his emotions. ["I'm so sorry, for what I did or failed to do. I won't deny my fault in this,"] he admitted, willingly taking the blame upon himself. ["But we gotta work through this, together. You in, Mach?"] Mach glared down at the ground as his canopy closed over his head. As it sealed itself over the ellipse-shaped collar, he responded simply, and coldly, "For now."
A few moments later, Mach's body briefly started to glow cyan before he beamed up and out of the network, and back to his PET.
((Log Out))
["I can't imagine what you feel right now, but-"] "That's right. You can't," Mach interrupted with a menacing bitterness in his tone. "If you were there when we spoke to Yasu, if you at least paid attention, we might've seen through BrainMan's deception." Mazer was taken aback by the sudden accusations, ["Wait, I-"] "In fact, it was your idea to have us go on that mission, it's your fault went here in the first place!" Mach again interrupted with a snarl. Mazer had a confused look on his face, he remembered Mach specifically said he wasn't to blame... what changed? ["Mach, that's not fair..."] "Not fair?!?" Mach spat, then turned to glare directly towards Mazer's POV. "What have you lost?" he growled, more blood oozed from his mask and dripped to the floor.
Mazer looked away and put a hand to his forehead, obscuring his eyes. ["Friends... No, more like family."] Mach paused as Mazer spoke, though his intense frown showed no sign of fading. ["I helped bring them into this world, watched them grow... and... I watched them die too. Last night, I saw their last moments through [i]your[/i] eyes. That's why I haven't slept, I couldn't help but see it whenever I closed my eyes,"] Mazer explained and revealed his lie from before; Mach's expression didn't change, though his gaze shifted down to the floor. ["I know I haven't lost as much, but I feel your pain, Mach. I can't stand to see you miserable like this, I feel like I'm on the verge of losing you too."] Mazer moved his hand up to rake his fingers over his hair, and exposed the tears that welled up in his eyes. Mach's gaze remained down to the floor, till he looked away and huffed indignantly.
Mazer continued to slide his hand over his head and exhaled audibly as he tried to reign in his emotions. ["I'm so sorry, for what I did or failed to do. I won't deny my fault in this,"] he admitted, willingly taking the blame upon himself. ["But we gotta work through this, together. You in, Mach?"] Mach glared down at the ground as his canopy closed over his head. As it sealed itself over the ellipse-shaped collar, he responded simply, and coldly, "For now."
A few moments later, Mach's body briefly started to glow cyan before he beamed up and out of the network, and back to his PET.
((Log Out))