Inspirational Collaboration

Terra's MarkCannon fist struck the RoyalHawk before it could react and fly away. The vines exploded as they reached the virus, wrapping around it and binding it tightly into a chicken nugget. No longer able to flap its wings, it plummeted to the ground like a rock. Fortunately, it landed in some mud which helped somewhat soften its landing. It was still held fast by the vines and was unable to move or attack. It was soon struck by Durandal's Elecreel, putting the downed bird out of its misery and also striking the Bladia for some heavy damage. The FlameBeast was able to leap out of range of the electric sparks and made its way to Terra. Inhaling sharply, it howled and simultaneously unleashed a rolling wave of fire at Terra and her lush terrain. The grass was incinerated in an instant, converting it into a toasty black soil. Terra was able to evade the flames but was forced off of her terrain. Meanwhile, the Bladia had turned its attention to Durandal and waved its heavy sword in the air once before slamming it down at the navi with help from its floating arm. The incredible attack missed but still shook the ground, stumbling Durandal mid-run and cracking the floor around the point of impact.



Bladia: 120 HP [sand]
FlameBeast: 120 HP [soil]
RoyalHawk: DELETED

Terrain: 40% Normal, 15% Cracked, 10% Mud, 10% Sand, 25% Soil

Durandal: 140 HP [cracked]
Terra: 145 HP [normal]
Terra's eyes lit up as the beast of fire incinerated the grassy ring that she had made. She had sensed the beast's advance earlier on and immediately headed off for better grounds, but she could not help but watch each blade of grass turn to ash and feel a little less lively inside. Scarlet noticed the change in Terra's expression, and asked, "Any requests, Terra?"

"ZapRing, Sword," replied Terra simply, to which Scarlet said, "Will do."

Tapping a couple of keys on her floating keyboard, Scarlet sent the two chips to Terra, who immediately activated the two chips into her offense systems. "Durandal! I'll deal with this monster! You take the sword-wielder!" she called out, as she initiated the battlechips' loading processes. Fusing the two together into one process, she waved her arm in front of her to activate them. Immediately, a thin pillar of earth rose in front of Terra, which she gripped immediately and tore out of the ground.

The pillar rippled about its length with a rapid pulse as it transformed in Terra's hand. Metal began to form from her hand up the pillar, and its shape started to taper into a pointed shape. Then, she waved it once horizontally, completing the formation of the pillar into a beautiful shortsword. Without wasting any time, she slashed the air with an uppercut. The air tore at the touch of the blade, leaving a trail of yellow light. The trail halted in the air for a moment before launching itself at the beast.

Afterwards, Terra broke into a sprint, holding the shortsword with both her hands at her side. As she ran, rocks began to revolve around the blade, growing larger and more numerous. Getting within striking distance of the FlameBeast, she roared with a fearsome war cry. The rocks then suddenly clung fast to the shortsword, forming a gigantic two-handed sword. She then swung it horizontally in a powerful slash, trying as hard as she could not to upset her balance.

The rocky exterior of the two-handed sword soon fell off and disappeared into the ground as the shortsword underneath reappeared. Terra took this chance to reassess her situation, leaping back in anticipation of a counterattack.


[1] ZapRing1 @ FlameBeast [Elec 40 + Stun1]
[2] Sword @ FlameBeast [Null 80 + Slashing] [5/6]
[3] Dodge [Soil Evasion Bonus?]
"Durandal, I'll deal with this monster! You take the sword-wielder!" Terra shouted as she prepared to engage the fiery creature.

Durandal shook his head slightly, irritated at the turn of events. Terra was vulnerable to the creature's flames and was at a disadvantage in combat against it. Meanwhile, he had witnessed the sword wielding virus' strength first hand and didn't relish the thought of engaging it at close quarters. He was better prepared to deal with the fire virus while Terra used her terrain skills and ranged weaponry to safely handle the swordsman.

"Well," he muttered under his breath. "Thou dost not always receive thy desires."

"Hm?" Katherine asked.

"Nothing, though I am hesitant to engage my current foe."

"Its understandable. That virus packs a wallop judging by the way its sword shattered the ground. Just try and avoid it and I'll slot in whatever we have left."

"Aye Milady," Durandal agreed.

The Navi put actions to his words and did his best to distance himself from the monstrous swordsman. He backpedaled away from the Bladia, determined to move away from the shattered panels that crunched beneath his feet. He had seen first hand the effects of smashing the terrain beneath a virus and didn't want to experience it from the other side of the equation. He moved slowly, but steadily. The cracked panels shifted beneath his feet, threatening to tumble into the darkness and take him with them. As he neared the edge of the cracked panels, Durandal gathered himself into a leap and lunged backward to what he hoped would be safety.

A plan began to form in Durandal's mind as he moved. The Bladia had been kind enough to provide him with a section of vulnerable panels. With luck, Durandal would be able to use them to his advantage and craft a trap for the imposing virus. He stopped his retreat at the edge of the cracked terrain, standing with the weakened panels between him and the Bladia.

"Come and get me, fiend. My blade piercing thine black heart shall be the last thing thou feels." Durandal taunted.

The Navi could feel the battlechip data coursing through him and smiled in anticipation. He had trusted in Katherine to provide him with the strongest weapon in their arsenal and she had done just that. Sparks of electricity flashed to life along Durandal's blackened armor as he activated the battlechip. Electricity arched along his body as he directed the surge of energy into his sword and bolts of energy danced along the blade in response. Wisps of static electricity reached out toward the Bladia, the battlechip's magnetic properties taking hold. Arches of energy leapt from his sword toward the virus, linking them together with magnetic force.

Durandal widened his stance and slowly drew back his sword in preparation to strike. He released the full power of the MagBolt battlechip, hoping to draw the Bladia toward him. He struck out with his sword, slicing upward in a diagonal chop meant to catch the virus below its armored layers and cut deep into its form. With luck, the virus' heavy body would shatter the weakened terrain and send it tumbling below while Durandal stood safely beyond the crumbling panels.

A black aura washed over the length of Durandal's sword, snuffing out the remnants of electricity and absorbing them into the darkness. The Navi raised the sword above his head, prepared to deliver a devastating chop down on the Bladia no matter if it had fallen or not. He slashed down, threatening to cleave anything within the path of his blade. The aura froze in the air, hanging in a perfect crescent like an afterimage of the sword's descent. With a spoken word, Durandal sent the shadowy crescent hurdling through the air toward the Bladia.

Summary:
1. Dodge back to position himself at the edge of the cracked terrain
2. MagBolt1 (90 Elec DMG + Stun + Magnetic Pull) to Bladia [Attempt to cause Bladia to break cracked terrain]
3. Shotgun (50 DMG) to Bladia
The two navis chose to take out their enemies separately, which suited the viral monstrosities just fine. The Flamebeast continued to chase after Terra as the Bladia engaged Durandal.

Terra attempted to halt the Flamebeast's movements with a Zapring first but the virus proved to be too wily for that. It flashed from panel to panel using its agility, easily evading the static bolt. Undaunted, Terra charged in after it with a large sweep of her Sword. Her blade managed to connect with the rapid flickering images of the beast, cutting a large gash across its hunched back. It howled in pain but the single attack was not enough to bring it down. It immediately retaliated with a breath of flame, far too large to evade at close range. Terra was engulfed in the fierce blaze of fire (20 x 2).

On Durandal's end, he had opted to get himself to more stable ground before attempting to draw in the Bladia towards him. His Magbolt-imbued sword hummed as the Bladia was drawn in - slowly at first, but picking up speed as it drew closer. The virus continued to rush toward Durandal so fast that it almost looked as if it was willingly rushing towards him. Durandal's electrically charged attack connected with the Bladia's massive metallic sword, much to the navi's satisfaction. However, the Bladia didn't seem fazed in the slightest, nor was it falling helplessly into the cracked panel beneath it. Whether it had blocked the attack or negated it was not clear but the attack simply wasn't effective. As it raised its weapon to strike down Durandal, he countered the virus's counter with some kind of Shotgun sword aura. The two swordsmen exchanged blows of equal strength (50), both swords leaving behind dark shadowy trails.



Bladia: 70 HP [cracked]
FlameBeast: 40 HP [soil]
RoyalHawk: DELETED

Terrain: 40% Normal, 10% Cracked, 5% Broken, 10% Mud, 10% Sand, 25% Soil

Durandal: 90 HP [normal]
Terra: 105 HP [soil]
"Ah!" exclaimed Terra as she instinctively put up her sword to defend against the breath of fire. The stone casing clustered around the sword, transforming it into a makeshift shield as the fire was redirected around her. Unfortunately, the temporary nature of the protection meant it did not last long, and the flames broke through, blasting Terra backwards. She managed to stay on her feet, but was injured severely from the burns as her Wood-type element intensified the damage taken.

Digging her boots into the soil, Terra gritted her teeth as the fires disappeared from her sight. Her skin showed no signs of being burnt, but her vitality was significantly decreased. She wouldn't be able to take much more of the same type of attack. She then saw Durandal's battle, a clash of the Bladia's brutal swing-and-forget style and Durandal's refined combat style. He seems to be having trouble with the virus, Terra noted. Determined, she requested, "Scarlet, Pulsar."

Meanwhile, Scarlet's fingers were running across the holographic keyboard in front of her, noting each and every movement of the sword-wielder and flame-breather viruses. A scan revealed the viruses' ID tags to be Bladia and FlameBeast respectively. Grinning to herself, she set the video recorder to set footage of both the viruses in action. In her franticness, she managed to devote some of her multitasking to pressing a button at the side, sending the Pulsar data to her Navi.

Sensing the battlechip data arriving through her systems, Terra readied her stance. With a roar of determination, she picked her sword up and had another go at the virus. Her legs propelled her at a much faster speed on the natural soil as she summoned the ground to her aid once again. Boulders revolved around her shortsword, then stuck fast to it. The stone greatsword was then swung in a semicircle, its massive heft aimed to destroy the FlameBeast with one powerful burst of impulsive force.

The momentum of the sword kept Terra going, which she used to whirl around and release most of the sword's temporary mass back to the ground. Her body flowed like the wind, executing evasive maneuvers with finesse and grace. Her focus then shifted to the Bladia as her sword pulsed with energy. "Heads up!" she shouted to her ally. Then, with the Pulsar's data loaded into it, Terra hurled the shortsword suddenly at the blade-wielding virus. Or, at least, she appeared to; the thing she threw was only an after-image, and her sword was still in her hand. Still, the image was primed with concussive sonic energy, and it was going to do some real damage if it connected.


[1] Sword @ FlameBeast [Null 80 + Slashing] [4/6]
[2] Dodge [Soil Evasion Bonus]
[3] Pulsar1 @ Bladia [Null 70 + Object-Activated Blast2]
"Damn," Durandal muttered as the Bladia avoided his trap and counter with a massive swipe of its sword. "I see thee are immune to the shifting of the soil."

The knight fell back, sword held to defend himself incase the virus pressed its assault. Durandal didn't like giving ground to a virus, but this swordsman was more skilled than any opponent Durandal had ever faced. However, Durandal still maintained the advantage in terms of health and overall attack strength. He would need to push his advantage and defeat his opponent before the virus gained the upper hand.

"Are you alright?" Katherine asked, her voice tinged with worry.

"Aye milady, though this virus is quite strong and the difference in our styles is vast. Still, no man is invincible."

Durandal wasn't exactly certain of that last statement. The virus seemed to have shrugged off the effects of the Magbolt, one of Durandal's strongest weapons. He supposed the virus could have something akin to a Navi's signature program and was able to craft a temporary shield or perhaps its armor was more durable that Durandal had first thought. Either way, he would have his work cut out for him.

Flames erupted along the length of Durandal's silver blade. The Navi channeled the newest surge of battlechip energy into his weapon of choice, empowering the sword with the FireHit battlechip. Durandal charged toward the virus, coming into range of the Bladia's sword, and then breaking to his left. He feinted with his blade as he attempted to flank around to the virus's right side. He brought his sword around as he ran and sliced down in a diagonal chop meant to cleave into the virus' arm.

Durandal continued his assault, trying to circle behind the virus to attack its flank. He struck again with a horizontal slice at the virus' midsection. The sword whistled as it parted the air around it, the flames licking hungrily as they fed on the oxygen.

"Heads up!" he heard Terra shout.

Durandal's combat training took over and the knight dropped to one knee, falling into a roll to his left. With luck, he would avoid whatever Terra had warned him about.

Summary:
1. Dodge to flank Bladia
2. FiteHit1 (60 + 5 Fire DMG, Impact) to Bladia
3. FireHit1 (60 + 5 Fire DMG, Impact) to Bladia
The Flamebeast reared its head for another fiery breath as Terra charged back into the fray. Their attacks looked as if they connected simultaneously, but Terra's Sword struck a fraction of a second before the virus's attack hit her and the virus's searing attack dissipated into harmless bits of data along with its hulking body.

Durandal and the Bladia were still engaged in a fierce swordfight at a near stalemate. With every Firehit infused blow Durandal made, the Bladia parried it away with relative ease. However, while concentrating on defending itself, it made no attacks of its own. Its tight focus on Durandal also made it possible for him to practically rotate the virus and turn its back on Terra. A sudden Pulsar blast caught the virus unaware and ended the battle swiftly.



Bladia: DELETED
FlameBeast: DELETED
RoyalHawk: DELETED

Terrain: 40% Normal, 10% Cracked, 5% Broken, 10% Mud, 10% Sand, 25% Soil

Durandal: 90 HP [normal]
Terra: 105 HP [soil]

[Battle 5 - Victory!]

Durandal get: 1500z + 2 FXP
Terra get: 1500z + 2 FXP
Terra's body was still tensed from all the action, gripping the shortsword in her hand tightly. After she confirmed that all of the viruses had been deleted, she sighed audibly, dropping the shortsword to the ground and letting it dissipate. The temporary battlechip data was purged, and she checked her wounds. Nothing very serious on her part, she noted. She then started walking towards her ally.

In the real world, Scarlet finished up her analysis on the viruses, and was quite pleased with her results. She was especially elated about the data she got on the Bladia virus, immediately saving it into the PET's storage. As she did so, a small message appeared on the screen. Opening it up revealed a small e-mail from a friend, detailing a firmware upgrade for terrain-based Navis that increased their efficiency. Navigating quickly to a Navigator-resource site, she downloaded the upgrade.

"Oh, Terra. Before you continue. I'm making some adjustments to your systems, hold still," said Scarlet.

Terra froze in place as a small light washed over her. The spectacle was over soon; the upgrade installed very quickly, and Scarlet had already started programming some new attacks for Terra. The Navi, meanwhile, walked up to Durandal and extended a hand to the knight, who had been rolling around thanks to her earlier warning of her attack. "Shall we continue?" she said.

[Battle 6 - Ready]
Durandal accepted Terra's hand and allowed her to aid him in regaining his feet. He swung his sword through the air in a tight figure eight, allowing the flames to dissipate. He inspected the sword, scanning the length of the silver blade for any imperfections or viral residue. Satisfied, he sheathed the blade and began dusting off his armor and cloth tasset. His fingers traced a long dent in his armor that ran from his left shoulder down to his waist. He recalled the force of the Bladia's strike, capable of smashing through his plate armor. The battle had been close, too close, but he and his companion had prevailed.

"Aye," Durandal said in response to Terra's question. "Let us continue. And...I must thank thee for thy aid. My opponent was quite skilled and wielded fierce strength."

The Navi gathered up his half of the rewards and sent them to Katherine. He attempted to estimate the sum total of his rewards. He believed that he was close to obtaining the gold needed for a variety of provisions. A few battles more and Katherine would be set in both zenny and inspiration.

[Battle 6, please]
The flooring took on a metallic sheen as the pair ventured further into the SciLab Network. It wasn't long before something else impeded their shiny new path. A deep chasm of unknown depth separated the navis from a group of viruses. Comprised mainly of Ironshields and Rattys, a single Windbox added to the difficulty of the upcoming battle. The Rattys looked to be pretty harmless from across the pit, leaving no question as to why they were hiding behind the defensive line of IronShields.

IronShieldA: 120 HP
IronShieldB: 120 HP
IronShieldC: 120 HP
RattyA: 60 HP
RattyB: 60 HP
RattyC: 60 HP
WindBox: 100 HP

Terrain: 30% Missing, 35% Metal, 35% Normal

Durandal: 90 HP [Metal]
Terra: 105 HP [Metal]

[Battle 6 - Begin!]
"Alright, updates done," said Scarlet, tapping the last few keys to send the upgrade to Terra. The Navi felt her body heat up slightly from the data flowing into her, but nothing else substantial. Shortly after, the warmth disappeared, and Terra looked at herself, clenching her hands slowly in puzzlement. "I don't feel any different," she noted, looking around.

"I added a function to analyze and replicate some other terrains other than the soil than you're currently pre-loaded with," replied Scarlet. "Try it out on that metal you're walking on."

Terra nodded, and started to sift through the data of the metallic paneling in her head, channeled through her feet. A process came up inside of her, fitting the data into the process she used earlier to shift the ground into soil like a jigsaw puzzle. Soon, she was practicing her skills on a small clump of soil she had in her hand, successfully shifting its form from metal to soil and vice versa. A small smile of accomplishment appeared on her face as she let the clump of metal roll around in her hand.

Then, she stopped as she sensed movement from a little ways away. Looking around, she found a row of viruses separated from them by a huge chasm. The chasm was not like the holes created earlier by the cracking of terrain Durandal did. She felt emptiness in the floor, a void of unchangeable depth. However, she could still sense the bottom of the canyon, an extremely faint trace of activity that would be inconsequential at the height they were at. She knew that if she fell in, there was no way out; the Emergency Jack-Out sequence would kick in first.

"This seems like a difficult arrangement," said Terra, mainly addressing Scarlet, but also directing it towards Durandal.

She then remembered something from the last battle: an electrical attack that was particularly powerful. She knew that electrical attacks were amplified by the metallic terrain, and lucky her, she just learned how to make some. The problem was how to bypass the shielded viruses' line of defense to get to the back line. "Scarlet, I need something to distract the shield viruses, so that Durandal can execute an attack," Terra said, preparing her terrain-formation process to back it up.

"I've got just the thing. You can throw that LittleBomb over their shields and wreck the place. They'll go nuts over it, and Durandal can attack then," she said. "Is that fine with you?"

"Yes," affirmed Terra, to which Scarlet replied by sending the battlechip data, tapping its icon on her screen. The sphere of metal in Terra's hand from earlier glowed dimly with a green light, and a small hollow circle of green appeared on it. "Durandal, please prepare to attack as soon as the bomb lands," said Terra, grasping the explosive with a determined grip. She then inhaled sharply, and shouted to get the viruses' attention. "Hey! Over here!" she yelled.

Then, pressing on the circle with her thumb, Terra hurled the bomb over chasm, aiming to land it a bit behind the IronShield line and into the Ratty group. The circle turned red as it flew and beeped intermittently, indicating its activation. Not wasting any time, Terra followed up and gave the metal panel under her foot a good stomp, activating her terrain-formation process. Instead of the ground underneath her changing this time, the white panels under her enemy across the chasm changed into the shiny grey metal, copying the composition she had analyzed earlier. She then watched the enemies with interest, sensing their movements and preparing to evade any possible attacks.


[1] LilBomb @ IronShield + Ratty [Null 50 + Blast2]
-- Use bomb as distraction for Durandal's attack
[2] Terraform: Tough Steel @ Other Side [Large Metal Terrain]
[3] Evasive action [Dodge]
"Interesting," Durandal observed as he watched Terra morph the terrain around him from soil to metal and back again. "It seems that thy mastery over the landscape has increased once more. I applaud thy skill, Terra. I strive to enhance my ability with the blade in such a way."

Durandal ran his hand over the hilt of his sword. He would need to hone his skills if he wanted to compete with Terra for much longer. He had believed himself to be quite skilled with the blade, but recent events had shown him to be lacking. The Bladia he had faced had not been terribly skilled, but the sheer strength of its sword arm had been more than enough to shatter Durandal's defense and disrupt his strategies.

"Ho," Durandal whispered to Terra as he caught sight of a group of viruses. "Another group of viruses to ply our strength against."

"This seems like a difficult arrangement," Terra said.

It was an understatement. Durandal and Terra were separated from the viruses by a large chasm. The majority of Durandal's skills were most effective within melee range and the chasm basically negated those abilities. It would not be difficult to have Terra form a bridge over the chasm with her geomancy, but crossing such a narrow bridge would leave him open to a variety of countermeasures.

Durandal took stock of the viruses themselves, examining each in turn. The most impressive of the viruses was a veritable line of metal. Three viruses stood in a line, each equipped with a massive metal shield that looked like it could withstand even the most powerful of attacks. It was like facing off against a phalanx of the soldiers of old, a wall of shields that defended the thrusting spears and piercing arrows of the army. Behind them was a series of the rat viruses he had seen before. Their mobile bomb attacks were no doubt just as hampered by the chasm as he was. Off to the side was a box of sorts that seemed to be creating a wind tunnel that blew toward him and Terra. He wasn't sure what effect the box would have on the battle, but it couldn't be good.

"Milady," Durandal said. "Please send me anything that can be used at range. I believe that Terra wants to maintain a distance for as long as possible."

Durandal had overheard Terra's half of the conversation and nodded to himself. An explosive could distract the shield viruses long enough for him to capitalize. He could feel the familiar surge of energy from Katherine's battlechips and sorted through the wave to find the weapon that would suit him the most. He drew his sword and readied himself for battle.

Electricity sparked along the length of Durandal's silver sword, coursing from the tip to the hilt. He guided the battlechip energy into the sword, forcing the electric charge to rise higher until the sword practically hummed with stored energy. Durandal raised the sword above his head, gripping the hilt with both hands in preparation for a vertical slash. He waited for Terra's attack to make his move, breathing deep to steady himself.

He gazed across the chasm toward his target. He would have to be sure of his strike as he would only have one chance to make this combo count. If he failed or if the viruses didn't react to Terra's bomb, his attack would be wasted.

He eyed Terra's bomb as she lobbed it toward the viruses. The bomb was supposed to land just beyond the wall of IronShields before exploding, the damage meant to cause the viruses to turn in reaction and leave themselves open to attack. He waited until he could hear the explosion before unleashing the electrical barrage. He sliced downward, a beam of electrical energy soaring over the chasm toward the IronShield. If it hit, the lightning would surge from the virus toward its fellows. With luck, Durandal would be able to take out the viral shields with a single blow.

The Navi flipped his sword, holding it poised behind him as he strafed to his right. If he missed his strike, he wanted to be prepared to dodge any counter that the viruses could hurl his way. He didn't fear the rats nor the box, but he was unsure of what the shielded viruses could do aside from protecting themselves and their fellows.

Summary:
1. Take Aim
2. ElecReel: 80 Elec DMG to IronShieldB with line spread to IronShieldA and C (x2 for metal terrain)
3. Dodge
Terra's Lilbomb went long and hovered in the air for a bit before blowing back towards the two navis. The duo narrowly avoided being struck by the resulting explosion with a quick dodge. The wind simply wouldn't allow for any accuracy when it came to bombs. However, the IronShields were too simple to understand the physics of the situation and they all raised their shields in response to the feint. The floor beneath them was made metal and Durandal's Elecreel fried the lot of them. The Rattys, now without their shields, decided it was all or nothing and leapt across the chasm to strike back at their attackers. Aided by the wind, they barely made the jump and landed safely on the navi's side.



IronShieldA: DELETED
IronShieldB: DELETED
IronShieldC: DELETED
RattyA: 60 HP [metal]
RattyB: 60 HP [metal]
RattyC: 60 HP [metal]
WindBox: 100 HP [metal]

Terrain: 35% Metal, 30% Missing, 35% Metal

Durandal: 90 HP [Metal]
Terra: 105 HP [Metal]
"It worked," said Terra, surprised at the effectiveness of the plan she and Durandal had flawlessly executed. The shielded line of viruses was wiped out completely, and the Ratty were exposed to their advances. "Nice job, Terra," commented Scarlet, commending her Navi. She was proud that her self-coded Navigator was already learning intermediate tactics, and at a much more rapid rate than she had expected. Scarlet found herself somewhat jealous that she could not contribute much to the fight except watch and comment; she then folded her arms and pouted to herself.

Meanwhile, Terra relaxed slightly as she saw the Ratty safely far away from their side of the chasm. She knew from previous experience that the Ratty attacked using ground-based offenses. Maybe it'd be best to leave them alone. They're not going to be doing anything to us, she thought. However, her assumptions were shot down as the rodent viruses decided to take a flying leap towards them. Aided by the WindBox, their gamble paid off, and soon the two were faced head-on with some scurrying crawlers.

Taken rather aback, Terra tensed up again, taking a couple of steps back in reflex. The first thing she did then was to turn their side of the battlefield to her advantage. A thump of her boot and the metal underneath their feet started to degrade and rust, depriving it of its tensile strength. The weakened metal rapidly broke down into dust, leaving behind a dark brown soil that was so familiar to the terraformer now. Scraping against the soil with her boot, she tested its traction, and was sufficiently satisfied.

Scarlet had been watching the battle without much interest, when the communication link popped up in her face. "Scarlet, Sword," said Terra simply. The operator took notice. While she knew that Terra probably had melee in mind, she took a look at the Ratty viruses, and immediately remembered a previous battle Terra had with them. "No, wait, Terra. I'll send you something else," said Scarlet, proud that she, for once, had been able to think up a better strategy.

The battlechip was loaded into the Navi's queue, and Terra nodded in agreement. "Mm, this is better. Thank you, Scarlet," the Navi said, smiling as Scarlet gave her a thumbs up. When before, Terra would have charged in and sliced up the offending viruses, she figured it was best to keep a distance from the missiles that the Ratty launched. Instead, Scarlet gave her the Pulsar, which would take advantage of the Ratty's own attack instead.

"Durandal, please stay away from the Ratty. I'm going to try something," she said, taking a leap backwards in case of any preemptive strikes by the virus.

Then, without wasting any time, she drew up some soil from the ground beneath her, and quickly formed her signature rock-fist. Then, she turned the fist's fingers in towards itself, creating a petal-like arrangement. The middle of the petals began to pulse with a purple light, and the petals themselves vibrated in tandem with the pulse. Terra then waited for one of the viruses to fire their missile, during which her "flower" would release a deafening sonic explosion towards the missile and her enemies around it.


[1] Terraform: Fertile Soil @ Navi Side [Large Soil Terrain]
[2] Tactical Retreat [Dodge + Soil Bonus]
[3] (Prepared) Pulsar1 @ Ratty Missile [Null 70 + Object-Trigger Blast2]
-- Wait for Ratty to fire missile
"Aye," Durandal commented as he witnessed the aftermath of his assault. "Thy stratagem was quite sound. I commend thy tactics."

The swordsman thrust his sword into the ground, allowing the remnants of electrical energy to disperse into the earth. He glanced at the viruses that remained, calculating the best way to vanquish them. They remained across the chasm from him, immune to the majority of his skills. He would either need Terra to form her bridge or attempt to aid in whatever way he could from this side of the battlefield.

"Milady," Durandal said to Katherine. "I am unsure as to how to proceed. Ranged combat has never been my forte."

"Don't worry," Katherine answered. "We'll think of som-" Katherine was cut off as the rat-like viruses leapt the gap with the aid of the Windbox. "See?"

Durandal smiled and slid his sword out from the ground. It would seem that his opponents were eager for a fight and had come to him. The Rattys attacked by launching homing missiles that traveled along the ground. He would have to be sure to avoid such an attack, flank his opponents and strike back at melee range. He felt Katherine silently slot in a couple of battlechips and he directed the flow of energy into his weapon of choice. A wave of golden light radiated from the hilt of the sword, washing over the blade. Sparks of electrical energy surged along the length of the sword, writhing in response to the influx of power. Durandal raised his sword, prepared to strike at the first of the oncoming Ratty.

"Durandal," Terra spoke up. "Please stay away from the Ratty. I'm going to try something."

"Eh?" Durandal stayed his attack. "If it is thy wish. I shall focus on yonder blowhard."

The knight adjusted his tactics, strafing to his left to move out of the line of fire for both Terra and the rat viruses. The Windbox was directly ahead of him now, the gale pressing against his armor and disrupting the electricity swirling along the length of his sword. Durandal kept moving. It would be better if he could strike at the Windbox from the side or behind, but that was impossible. He would need to settle for attacking at an angle.

He reached his destination and slowed his movements, focusing his thoughts on the virus in front of him. He widened his stance, steadying himself in preparation to strike. Durandal raised his sword above his head, eyes locked on the Windbox. The electricity surged higher, arching across the chasm toward the virus. The energy created a static bond, linking Durandal to the virus with a magnetic field. Durandal drew back his sword, feeling the pull of the stationary virus. He increased the force of the magnetic pull, hoping to draw the virus toward him and into the chasm. With luck, he would be able to use the secondary ability of the MagBolt battlechip to drop the Windbox into the missing panels and remove it from the field of battle.

Summary:
1. Dodge
2. Take Aim
3. MagBolt1 (90 Elec + Stun + Magnetic Pull) to try and drop Windbox into the missing terrain.
((Bump))
After the Rattys moved across the chasm, they were immediately on the offensive as two spat out its tracking missiles, one heading towards Durandal and the other at Terra. Fortunately, the two navis saw the attacks miles away and nimbly dodged them.

The swordsman went on to successfully drag the WindBox towards the gap in the center and drop the poor virus into the unending fall. Terra, on the other hand, fired off the high frequency blast at the missile that just passed her by, causing it to violently explode and catch one of the Ratty within its blast radius. Unfortunately, it looked like the plan didn't work as well as Terra hoped, since the missile strayed too far from the group of Ratty when the navi dodged the attack.

IronShieldA: DELETED
IronShieldB: DELETED
IronShieldC: DELETED
RattyA: DELETED
RattyB: 60 HP [Soil]
RattyC: 60 HP [Soil]
RattonMissileA: EXPLODED
RattonMissileB: 50 HP [Heading towards Durandal]
WindBox: MISSING'D

Terrain: 35% Metal, 30% Missing, 35% Soil

Durandal: 90 HP [Soil]
Terra: 105 HP [Soil]
Watching the missile she shot with the sonic pulse erupt into a powerful explosion, Terra tensed up, anxiously waiting for the result of her attack. Unfortunately, in the excitement of the situation, two other Ratty had escaped the explosion and were safely scurrying around. Worse, yet another missile had escaped her attention and was heading for her ally!

And then, as if on cue, a beep sounded in her head. Scarlet's voice came up, declaring, "Oh, also, Terra, I've added a defensive mechanism to replace the healing process from before. It takes some power from the ground underneath, giving it better effici-" Terra put up a hand to stop her operator for a moment, then accessed the defense process. Acting quickly, she executed it on Durandal's person, pointing her hand at him.

The process took place quite quickly, with the ground beneath the dark-armored Navi shimmering with light. A small block of earth flew up in front of the knight, which had a green X marked on it. Floating in place, the block emitted a semi-transparent brown sphere around Durandal. Terra drew back her hand, impressed. Scarlet folded her arms in satisfaction, asking, "That fine?"

"It's fine," said Terra simply, scanning the enemies for any sign of attacks going in her direction. Leaping back, Terra drew into a defensive stance, ready to evade any offensive. As she did so, Scarlet quickly tapped her screen on the icon depicting a small cannon to send another battlechip to her Navi. "MarkCannon," said Terra, as she identified the data sent to her briefly. She drew her rock-fist, now exhausted of its Pulsar, to her hand. Immediately, the earthen fist molded itself around her fingerless glove like a snug gauntlet.

"These viruses are fast. Mark's lock takes care of it," said Scarlet, explaining her choice. Terra affirmed it with a nod, and pointed her gauntlet at one of the Ratty. Balling up the hand into a fist, the gauntlet melted into the barrel of an arm-cannon, which steadied itself to point at the virus with precision. It then fired a powerful cannon round, enough to take down the rodent's weak integrity.


[1] Terraskill: Earthen Barrier 1 @ Durandal [20HP Planar Barrier] -- Soil: Wood
[2] Dodge [Soil Movement Bonus]
[3] MarkCannon1 @ RattyB [Null 70 + Lock-On + Seeking]
"Durandal," Katherine called as her Navi gazed through the smoke. "There are two viruses left, both rats, and a missile is headed your way."

The Navi nodded, thankful that his NetOp could view the action behind the veil of smoke and debris kicked up by the exploding missile. He thrust his sword into the earth, channeling his remaining battlechip data into the blade in order to destroy the incoming projectile before it could reach him. Seconds before he was about to unleash his strike, a block of soil rose up in front of him. A barrier folded itself around him, encasing him in a semi-transparent brown bubble. He glanced at Terra, brow raised in question.

"Thy skills are quite formidable," Durandal admired. "A force to be reckoned with."

Durandal held back his strike, waiting for the missile to destroy itself on the newly constructed barrier, and focused his attention on the remaining viruses. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, his muscles tensing in preparation of his attack. He ripped his sword out of the earth, sending a shockwave of energy toward the two rat-like viruses. With luck, the rats would scurry in the path of the energy wave while attempting to avoid Terra's attack.

Durandal charged forward, following in the wake of the shockwave. Flames erupted along the length of his sword as he ran, swirling out behind him in a fiery trail. He neared the closest virus and chopped down with his sword. The flaming sword cleaved through the air, threatening to bisect the rat before it could launch another missile. Durandal sidestepped to his left, turning to flank the virus. He brought the sword up in a diagonal slash, angled to flip the Ratty and leave it unable to evade.

Summary:
1. ShockWave (40, Line, Piercing) to Rattys
2. FireHit1 (65 Fire, Impact) to RattyA
3. FireHit1 (65 Fire, Impact) to RattyA
Shpladow! The Ratton missile exploded against Terra's dirtball, saving Durandal from an otherwise heavy blow. The two mice scurried left and right, trying to be evasive but one was unable to escape the pinpoint accuracy of Terra's MarkCannon. Durandal simply resorted to brute strength to deal with his target, attacking the remaining Ratty with an energy wave followed by two fiery sword swings. The virus was deleted swiftly.

IronShieldA: DELETED
IronShieldB: DELETED
IronShieldC: DELETED
RattyA: DELETED
RattyB: DELETED
RattyC: DELETED
WindBox: MISSING'D

Terrain: 35% Metal, 30% Missing, 35% Soil

Durandal: 90 HP [Soil]
Terra: 105 HP [Soil]

[Battle 6 - Victory!]

Durandal get: 400z + IronShield1 + 2 FXP
Terra get: 400z + Ratton1 + 2 FXP