SciLab Deux! - The Battle of Fifteen NETs

A trio of pearly light beams descended into the second layer of SciLab NET. The three Navis appeared in a mid-slide across the glass floor. Quickly spreading their dragon's wings and taking to the air. Flying high over the landscape they watched the thousands of lights below them moving this way and that, for the NET was a series of tubes, and data packets and electricity moved like cars on the road. Moving from one destination to the other.

DragonierMan.EXE: 200/200 HP
Suzume.SP: 100/100 HP
Aya.SP: 100/100 HP

[Requesting Battle 1.]

[SciLab Battle 1 of 5.]
[Battles Fought 05/75.]

The deeper SciLab net was quieter as Drago and his girls arrived. the ever-present flow of data zipping back and forth remained, but there was a certain quietude about it, like a city viewed at night. At the edges of one's vision, it was hard to shake the feeling that something more was watching from the dark, and that secrets law just beneath the gloom, barely out of sight. A cold wind was blowing.

Actually... that wasn't just the atmospheric. It was, rather, quite a literal northern wind that blustered and buffeted at the trio quite fiercely within moments of their arrival. Down below where the trio flew, there was a jumble of complicated terrain, made uneven by various pieces of complicated looking fixtures or strange vents and coolers sticking up from the ground. There was a main pathway that branched in a few places, lined with glowing solar panels, but Drago and his team had previously shown quite a disdain for things like 'paths', 'roads' or really, 'ground' in general, so the thing that was most likely to interest them was, instead, the primary source of that rather fierce breeze.

It was coming from a small platform, just above ground level, where a large vacuum fan was fiercely sucking in air and creating a buffeting pull all around it. On an identical platform, just on the other side of the solar path, a second wind device was working away with equal vigour. this one was blowing a gale in the opposite direction with just as much force, and all together it made the dim sky-ways of this little area of SciLab quite turbulent indeed.

At rest on what appeared to be some kind of coolant tower, just beyond the wind boxes, a large pair of mechanical hands faced each other... casually thumb-wrestling. When Drago and his team came into sight, however, the digits looked skyward in unison. The hands rose up and clasped together, turning palm outward to make a motion as though cracking their fingers, fist-bumped each other once, then slipped away to either side, putting some space between themselves as they made ready to meet the new threats.



-=Trying Their Hand=-

Handy2-A: 120Hp [Back Right][Metal]
Handy2-B: 120Hp [Back Left][Metal]
RareWindBox: 200Hp [On Left Platform][Magnet][Blowing!]
RareVacuumFan: 200Hp [On Right Platform][Magnet][Sucking!]

-=Disregarding the Land=-

DragonierMan.EXE: 200/200 HP [High Altitude]
Suzume.SP: 100/100 HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 100/100 HP [High altitude]

-=Less in Demand=-

30% Solar [Predominately a path up the middle of the field]
40% Metal [Most of the rest]
20% Magnet [Two raised platforms at the back, either side of the solar strip]
10% Missing [The space under the raised platforms in black and empty]

-=Battle 1, Start!=-

DragonierMan, Suzume, and Aya were buffeted by multiple winds and had to flap their wings a little harder to keep steady. The three surveyed the battlefield as they picked out their targets. Drago pointed at the Handy2s, "Take out the hands first with ranged attacks, I'll deal with the fans."

"Roger that."
"Roger that."

The twins flapped their wings and sped off, trying to get out of the constant gale. They raised their hands and targeted the two Handy2s as they approached, taking aim as they gathered the energy needed to launch their attacks. Moving to align themselves with their separate targets, they painted them with light and shadow, respectively. Drago, meanwhile, tried to get directly above the RareWindBox so that he wouldn't be blown around. He aligned himself above it, then he tilted himself down, aiming at the virus below him. Then he dived at it, claws outstretched.

He streaked down in a beam of light, dashing into his attack. Hurtling down with great strength. He hoped that if the RareWindBox could aim at him from this angle, that the speed and power of his attack would be enough to get through the wind resistance. At a similar time, the girls unleashed their blasts of energy at the Handy2s. The crack and boom of their pearly energy blasts filled the air with raucous glee, followed by two smaller pops as they launched their own buster energy behind the cannon shells. The slugs sped through the air, most likely encountering some air resistance from the blowhard viruses, and impacted somewhere off in the distance. Hopefully, they hit their targets and deleted them before they could release their dangerous, dangerous bomb payloads. For the power of bombs were not affected by mere winds. If the twins got lucky, they might even temporarily disable one of the Handy2s' weapon data and make it drop a dud.

Drago, if he missed with his dash, might still be near the RareWindBox, or the RareVacuumFan. His claws glowed a golden color and extended from his gauntlets, forming powerful bear claws. He then attempted to swipe these huge claws at the RareWindBox, or the RareVacuumFan. If he managed to connect, he would dig into the chassis and lift it up off the platform, then change targets and fling the virus at the other platform. Hopefully, he could cause the one fan virus to smash into the other fan virus and jumble them up, throwing off their aim. Then he would fly towards the jumbled mess and do it again. Swiping up one of the viruses and then sending it hurtling into the other. Playing a game of hot potato with mechanical boxes. During the back and forth he would probably have to flap his wings hard to get through the wind resistance. It was up to fate to determine how many back-and-forths he was able to make. But he was having the time of his life regardless.


~

With net physics that normally weren't terribly concerned with aesthetics like wind, having to truly fight the air currents may possibly have been a refreshing change for the often airborne navi. As it was, the gusts kicked up by the two fans wasn't easy to get out of, and seemed far more pervasive over the area than one might initially expect. Having fought his way to a good attack position, Drago dashed down fiercely at the fan that was blowing its hardest to push him away, fighting both its buffet, and the tugging curls of wind drawing him towards the other fan instead. With a cone of suppressed air about him, it seemed to go well, but when the crash from the first impact subsided, Drago found himself having struck down against the edge of the platform, just next to his target, rather than into it. Even so, it left him in a prime position to enact the next part of his plan.

Still up above, the twins fought for stability amidst the warring gales and made their shots. Where their master had gotten a touch unlucky with his dive, the dual high velocity shots fared much better against the bad conditions, each managing to nail their respective handy viruses before either of them could make it to their portals. In one fell swoop, a barrage of potentially terrible hand-related puns were prevented as both viruses were destroyed. The pair had some free shots after those successes, and could direct them to the stationary fans instead, but it seemed as though their luck had run dry for now, when the two smaller bursts of energy failed to connect with anything.

Down below, Drago was ready to get hands on with the blustery machines. His first attempt to grab hold of the windbox beside him didn't pan out, and between its swivelling parts and the point-blank gale blowing against him, he couldn't get a grip right away. A second attempt, however, let him sink claw into the metal and give it a heave towards the other one. The throw, accompanied by wildly redirecting winds wasn't quite as on-target as he might have hoped, and the clunky device crashed and bounced to the side of its counterpart, then tumbled off the ledge and clattered to the ground below.

The vacuum fan was still drawing in with a vengeance and it made it only a tiny hop for Drago to jump over to the other platform and take a hold of the undamaged fan. this throw went far better as the dragonier hurled the sucking box down towards the blowing one; they came together with a crash and then, face to face, didn't appear to want to separate right away. Fitted together as they were, the air currents rushed through both in unison, creating a roar that sounded almost similar to a jet turbine. They rolled and tumbled from the remaining force, outer casings quite dented and crumpled all around.

It took a bit more effort to catch up to the viruses this time and Drago needed to make a wing-assisted effort to get close again, but he seemed to be getting the hang of playing with his new toys and easily prided one away from the other long enough to wind up and crash it back against it a second time. They struck differently this time, crunching together before rebounding off in different directions. The VacuumFan came to a halt on the solar pathway, face down and with its suction force holding it firmly to the panel. It made a sound that was almost painful to the ears, and one, as expected, not dissimilar to the sound of a more conventional vacuum cleaner protesting being pressed to the carpet. The WindBox crashed and slid back towards the platforms, stopping just short of tipping into the empty void below; about half of it hung out over the edge of blackness, and it would only take the smallest shove to send it falling off the field, taking its potential goodies with it. As though sensing its mortal peril and delicate situation, the WindBox clicked its fan off and sat very, very still.


-=Trying Their Hand=-

Handy2-A: DELETED
Handy2-B: DELETED
RareWindBox: 60Hp [On the edge of the gap beneath the left platform][Metal][Not daring to breath]
RareVacuumFan: 95Hp [Face down in the centre][Solar][Stuck to the ground with suction]

-=Disregarding the Land=-

DragonierMan.EXE: 200/200 HP [Ground level, near the back right][Metal]
Suzume.SP: 100/100 HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 100/100 HP [High altitude]

-=Less in Demand=-

30% Solar [Predominately a path up the middle of the field]
40% Metal [Most of the rest]
20% Magnet [Two raised platforms at the back, either side of the solar strip]
10% Missing [The space under the raised platforms in black and empty]

That went really well.

All the enemies were deleted or disabled. DragonierMan raised his hand and called a halt to his comrades. He then glided over to the RareWindBox and tried to pull it back onto solid ground so it wouldn't fall into the bottomless hole. "You are utterly defeated," he said to the RareWindBox, raising his voice to be heard over the RareVacuumFan. "Both of you shall submit, or I will end you now. Submit, and I will spare you. I will even put you back onto your platform, after you tribute unto me your treasures so that I might be appeased."

He lorded over them his superiority, drawing forth his sword, and tapping the ground with it. He waited to see if both would give some sort of signal that they were done with the fight. If they continued to resist, he would continue his attack. Throwing them at each other with his claw and then slashing at them with his sword. If they did submit, he would lift them up and place them back on their platforms before leaving with his rewards.

Suzume and Aya did nothing but wait and see.


~

In a show of unexpected benevolence, Drago dialed it back a notch and opted to go for dominance rather than destruction. Even the most sentient of the wind and fan series probably couldn't lay claim to anything really equatable with self awareness, but perhaps there was at least some sense of self preservation buried down there somewhere: The fan gave something of a slow creak that might be interpreted as a sigh of relief when it was dragged back form the edge, and the vacuum fan gave up on sucking and switched itself off. The two damaged machines sat quietly for a moment, doing their best impression of silent automata, before each fan stuttered briefly and coughed up a sum of zenny. Let's be honest, having that inside their workings probably wasn't good for them anyway. Around the rest of the battle field, the remaining data from the handies would reveal a little more cash, and some convertible chip data, all of which was much easier to gather up now that the wind had stopped.

-=Trying Their Hand=-

Handy2-A: DELETED
Handy2-B: DELETED
RareWindBox: SUBDUED
RareVacuumFan: SUBDUED

-=Disregarding the Land=-

DragonierMan.EXE: 200/200 HP [Ground level, near the back right][Metal]
Suzume.SP: 100/100 HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 100/100 HP [High altitude]

-=Less in Demand=-

30% Solar [Predominately a path up the middle of the field]
40% Metal [Most of the rest]
20% Magnet [Two raised platforms at the back, either side of the solar strip]
10% Missing [The space under the raised platforms in black and empty]

-=Battle 1, Victory!=-

Spoils: 1400z, CountBomb2, 32 BugFrags

Quote (CountBomb2)

HP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 50 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Attack Damage: 150 + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Bomb placed in enemy area that explodes after two turns.
Duration: 2 turns or until destroyed.
Element: Null

"Wise choice," DragonierMan stated as he uprighted the viruses, flew them back up to their platforms, and put them back where they were prior to the battle. Suzume and Aya picked up the rewards left behind while Drago was doing this. Then all three flew off.

[Requesting Battle 2.]

[SciLab Battle 2 of 5.]
[Battles Fought 06/75.]

Moving on from the latest scene of destruction, the trio most likely found themselves following roughly along with the solar pathway that stretched on far below. The various complicated machinery was growing denser in this part of SciLabs, the corridors a little more packed, and before long they would be able to see small gantry rails rising up, curling around and passing through the blocks of delicate-looking tech. All this was very nice of course, until a flurry of small, rapidly spinning hurricanes came gusting up towards them. They passed by the trio, weaving back and forth, then curved around and passed back the other way, still failing to connect. Looking down, it would become easier to identify the source of the little twisters: amongst the now fairly tall blocks of metallic circuitry, the rail system was inhabited by several small industrial fans, apparently on track wheels. They shifted about on the rails with precision, sometimes rolling around corners, or through structures, only to pop out again somewhere else and launch more of their little whirlwinds up at the trio. It looked as though there were three of them in total.

In the main thoroughfare, a slight way ahead of them still, two far more directly offensive viruses were taking a bead on Drago and his girls. At the back, a MagTect was arrayed in a snappy blue paint job and was already angling its magnets upwards in preparation, while a little ahead of it the reflective dome of a green-coloured PulseBulb glinted. the latter simply hovered in place for now, but if they'd experienced the virus type before, they'd be aware that it was known for sudden and precise movements. It seemed as though the trio were heading into an area that had a fair amount of anti-air capability, and it was sure to test their nimbleness before long if they pressed on in this direction. If any of them had particularly sharp eyes for the situation, they might notice that one of the small tunnels in the circuit towers was emitting a faint blue glow of light, and despite having tracks leading into and out of it like the rest, none of the mobile hurricanes were passing into that particular tunnel.

-=Aiming High=-

MagTect+: 160Hp [Solar][Central Back]
PulseBulb2: 180Hp [Solar][Mid Centre]

HurricaneA: 180Hp [Metal][Left Side, on a rail between Tower A and Tower C]
HurricaneB: 180Hp [Metal][Right Side, out of sight in a Tunnel in Tower B]
HurricaneC: 180Hp [Metal][Right Side, visible, moving around the outside of Tower D]


-=Still in the Sky=-

DragonierMan.EXE: 200/200 HP [High Altitude]
Suzume.SP: 100/100 HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 100/100 HP [High altitude]

-=Not Able to Fly=-

TowerA: 200Hp [Back Left side, Two tunnels][Counts as Magnet]
TowerB: 200Hp [Back Right side, Three tunnels][Mid Level tunnel has a blue glow][Counts as Magnet]
TowerC: 200Hp [Near Left side, One tunnel][Counts as Magnet]
TowerD: 200Hp [Near Right side, Two tunnels][Counts as Magnet]

The Towers are each ringed with a variety of rails that circle them, connect them, and pass through their various tunnels. The hurricanes move around on these rails, often hiding and breaking line of sight with their target, to emerge elsewhere in an attempt to catch them out. Despite ample rail connection, no Hurricanes seem to ever be moving into the mid level tunnel in the back right tower, which emits a faint blue glow.

-=Honestly, Why?=-

30% Solar [Main open thoroughfare up the centre]
50% Metal [All the rails for the hurricanes, and any other ground]
20% Magnet [Each tower acts like magnet if purchased upon]

-=Battle 2, Start!=-

"Try to split them up, but keep moving. It looks like they got our number," DragonierMan said as he saw the quickly moving Anti-Air batteries, zooming along an intricate rail system and trying to get a good bead on them. "I got the left," Suzume said as she broke off from the group, sailing away towards TowerC with a flap of her wings. "I got the right," Aya stated as she zoomed off on her own wings toward TowerD. "Maybe I can find out where that blue light is coming from," she mused as she soared through the air. "The middle is mine! Rrraaahhh!" Drago roared as he folded his wings and dove towards the MagTect+ and PulseBulb2. The wind whipped around him as he streaked toward the two viruses, the cloth ruffling and armor creaking as he tore through the air with swiftness. He leaned to one side then another as he corrected his descent, rolling like a barrel. Trying to line himself up while also avoiding attacks as he came on.

Eventually he made it to his target and unfurled his wings wide like a parachute, air-braking quickly to a halt. The jolt would have thrown off an amateur, but Drago had the sureness and skill of a mighty dragon. He let forth another roaring howl at point blank, breathing out a cloud of emerald gas. The powdery gas poured out like a chimney, choking everything in a green fog. As the fog passed it covered the ground in a dense, organic soot. Grass sprung forth from the soot, rolling out until a field of green covered over the golden glow of the solar panels. It was a nice change of pace to see some nature in this technological wonderland. Though anyone who breathed in the smog would feel loopy and befuddled a few moments later, and wouldn't be able to appreciate the new lawn.

The twins continued to dodge and weave around the towers. "Is that all you got?" Suzume mocked the small industrial fans that zoomed around on the tracks. "You're nothing but a blowhard." Aya took a tour around TowerD. "Come and get me!" Aya taunted the ones that followed her as she spun around one of the structures. Aya then flew toward TowerB as she followed the blue light. "Now where is that data packet?" she asked herself as she corkscrewed around the tower. Making an estimated guess that the blue light belonged to a Blue Mystery Data (BMD).

From fighting them before, Drago knew that the PulseBulb family of viruses was capable of protecting itself in a strong metallic shell. Assuming that defense was up, and had negated his breath weapon, Drago reached out with his right hand to summon a large hammer into it. He let the hammer head fall into his left-hand palm as he gripped the haft with his right hand. "I'm gonna to wreck it!" he said as he rushed forward to slay the virus with the heavy hammer. He did a little fancy foot work while moving towards the PulseBulb2, his feet stomping through the grass as he rushed the pillbox virus. He then cocked his arms back and let the hammer swing out like a baseball bat. As it whooshed through the air, he followed the back swing and spun on his axis. He became like a spinning top, deflecting with his armor and hammer. As he came down from his spin, he extended his arms out again and let the hammer have another crack at the virus. If he didn't get it the first time, he might have gotten it the second time. Scoring a run for the Dragons.


~

Giving his orders and leading the charge, Drago made his dive towards the central foes while his girls scouted the flanks. Even as he closed in on the tow most visible viruses, the PulseBulb shot upwards, coming right for him. It opened its case, ready to emit its sonar blast, but the dragonier had already blown past it, leaving the sonic virus to screech at empty air. The MagTect followed suit, launching its magnets in a curving pincer, but they missed their first pass while Drago executed a nimble roll to bring him into striking distance of the grounded target. The two missiles passed each other then continued curving, still homing in on Drago, but they wouldn't be able to save the virus itself as his breath attack first rent the solar ground before it, then converted it to a verdant green. There was little left of the magnet virus by the time the cone of grass took root. the edge of the cone had managed to deal some damage to the base of the nearby towers, but they still seemed stable enough, for now.

Meanwhile, the twins dodged and wove through the air, scouting out the space around the rail network. One hurricane paused in the gap between two towers, halting on its rails long enough to shoot a whirlwind up at Suzume and though she peeled away from it successfully, the little twister wove around to come back at her for another pass. On the other side, while Aya searched and taunted, one of the mobile fans halted at the corner of its tower to send a volley in her direction. The launched twister spun of to the side wildly, but arced even as it did, trying to come back towards her from behind. The third emerged from one of the interior passages inside another tower to take a pot-shot at Drago himself, but the natural flow of his own movements while he fought were enough to move him clear of the harmful gust. Like the others, though, it wasn't done with him yet.

Drago opted to disregard the irksome breeze for the moment, in favour of the more direct threat, readying his hammer and swinging it with brutal efficiency back up at the PulseBulb he'd passed a moment ago. It still had its casing open when the first hammer-stroke connected, and though it managed to close it and rush back towards him before the second connected, the outer shell did nothing to protect it and it crumpled before it could launch a second attack. The little hurricanes were still vigorously protecting their towers, and they each shuffled along their rails to new positions and took more shots. Suzume and Aya each had more whirlwinds directed at them, but these too failed to connect on their first pass. The team had done well avoiding so many of the projectiles so far, but it left a frightening number of shots still in the air and coming for them all at once.

Upon her inspection of the second tower, Aya found that the unused tunnel did, in fact, seem to contain a glittering BMD inside it, hidden away neatly. She'd barely had time to get a good look, though, before the little hurricane that had attacked Drago first swivelled to her sharply and released a far more concentrated burst for forceful air. She didn't manage to get away from this sudden strike, and the force of the gust threw her to the side, away from the tunnel with enough for to crash into the mechanical structures at the side of the area they were in. They seemed to be protecting the prize, apparently.


-=Aiming High=-

MagTect+: DELETED
PulseBulb2: DELETED

HurricaneA: 180Hp [Metal][Left Side, on far corner of Tower A]
HurricaneB: 180Hp [Metal][Right Side, inside edge of Tower B]
HurricaneC: 180Hp [Metal][Right Side, crossing over the path, between Tower D and Tower C]

-=Still in the Sky=-

DragonierMan.EXE: 200/200 HP [High Altitude][3 Attacks Homing]
Suzume.SP: 100/100 HP [High Altitude][2 Attack Homing]
Aya.SP: 70/100 HP [High altitude][2 Attack Homing]

-=Not Able to Fly=-

TowerA: 110Hp [Back Left side, Two tunnels][Counts as Magnet]
TowerB: 110Hp [Back Right side, Three tunnels][Mid Level tunnel has a blue glow][Counts as Magnet]
TowerC: 200Hp [Near Left side, One tunnel][Counts as Magnet]
TowerD: 200Hp [Near Right side, Two tunnels][Counts as Magnet]

The Towers are each ringed with a variety of rails that circle them, connect them, and pass through their various tunnels. The hurricanes move around on these rails, often hiding and breaking line of sight with their target, to emerge elsewhere in an attempt to catch them out. Despite ample rail connection, no Hurricanes seem to ever be moving into the mid level tunnel in the back right tower, which emits a faint blue glow.

-=Honestly, Why?=-

15% Solar [Main open thoroughfare up the centre]
45% Metal [All the rails for the hurricanes, and any other ground]
20% Magnet [Each tower acts like magnet if purchased upon]
20% Grass [Cone area between the back two towers.]

"Aaahhh! Get away! Get away!" Suzume cried as she flew this way and that, trying to avoid the trailing tornadoes. "Keep running Suz!" Aya called across the battlefield as she also was trying to get away from her own trailing tornadoes. As Suzume flew up and down and around and around, Aya's bracers glowed and formed a golden I-Field of protection around her. She then covered herself in shadows as she flew, kniting her wounds. Suzume folded her wings and dived as the tornadoes pursued her, streaking down in a beam of light. Moments later the streak of light turned upward and climbed. The wind and G-Forces rippled across Suzume's face and caused the skin to pull tight, her mouth closed so she wouldn't swallow any bugs.

Meanwhile, DragonierMan ignored the tornadoes trying to smash him and took aim at the nearest virus. He formed a mach cone of energy and dashed towards the nearest virus, trying to smash it. He smashed through the air as he moved to smash the virus. Then after his attempted smashing of the virus, he brought his hammer around and swung it at the virus, trying to smash it. As it smashed the spot where Drago thought the virus was, the hammer itself broke. Drago had smashed the iron hammer to bits with his strenuous use. He then spread his wings and flew away, dodging a bit in an effort to not be smashed. Assuming he wasn't already smashed while he was smashing things... Smash.

He zipped and zagged up to the next nearest virus. Weaving this way and that as he closed. His clawed gauntlets glowed and the talons enlarged, becoming great bear claws. He then tried to swipe up the Hurricane into his clutches and toss it off the rails. His muscles rippled as he threw the virus as far as he could. He then danced over to the immobilized virus and brought the bear claw down on the virus, slashing at the metal body. Shredding and tearing at the body like a wild beast.


~

Done with his more immediate foes, Drago turned his attention to the hurricanes that were still rattling about their rails and taking pot-shots at their airborne foes. While the girls made swift their evasion of the myriad little whirlwinds homing in on them all, Drago was more direct, moving straight for the virus just up and to his left, at the back of the first tower. The two magnet missiles still tracking for Drago didn't manage to correct enough, and instead crashed headlong into each other as their quarry darted away, while some of the whirlwinds trailing Aya and Suzume managed to make their second pass - fortunately without connecting on either girl. there were more shots in the air still, but these ones dissipated without causing any more trouble.

The hurricane that Drago made for attempted to back up, sliding along its rail in reverse and zipping around a bend, into one of the tunnels that passed through the first tower. DragonierMan wasn't about to let it get away that simply, however, and ploughed on after it with the crash of rending metal and circuitry. The narrow tunnel was nowhere near large enough for a warrior of his size, but Drago made it bigger with brutal efficiency as he charged after the virus, slamming it with his dash before finishing it off with a final swing of his destructive hammer.

DragonierMan emerged from the other side of the tunnel, while the hurricane virus did not. the tower itself creaked and shuddered, sparks flying and smoke billowing out of the dangerously enlarged passageway; the destruction seemed to have caused a number of chain reactions and blow-outs all through the structure and it looked to be in the brink of collapsing any moment now, and taking a good portion of the rail system with it.

The virus nearest the second tower - the one hiding the mystery data - took another go at Aya, sending out a second little vortex of wind to zig-zag and swerve after her. It missed, though continued to track around towards her again, but the similar whirlwind from before managed to find its mark despite her swift movements. Fortunately for the girl, and less so for the virus, Aya was ready to the turn of her luck, and as the first bite of the whirling gust struck her field, she teleported away, saving her the follow-up hits. It might be a bit hard to know exactly which gust came from which virus at this point, but the data trail apparently knew: Aya reappeared by the hurricane that had just attacked her and countered it with a crushing blow that made the virus shake and teeter on its rails. Though she didn't have a protective field of her own, Suzume managed to at lest avoid the remaining gust that was following her, long enough for it to fade away harmlessly.

While this exchange was going on, Drago headed for his next target, the other remaining virus. this one had just crossed between the two front towers, and shot a whirlwind at the approaching navi, though it went wide at first. It would almost certainly be back later. Drago didn't hesitate in this opportunity, however, to reach out and get a good claw-full of the blow-hard virus and lift it from its rails. Its wheels stopped and reversed, spinning for a moment, then shifted gears again nad spun back the other way in futility, though it did try to aim a more concentrated, direct blast of air at the navi holding it. A deft twist of his body was enough to evade the more directed burst of air and Drago hurled the virus to the ground a moment later, where it landed with the crunch of bending metal.

The team had put up a very artful series of evasive manoeuvres while they worked to finish off the annoying defences, but it seemed they couldn't dodge forever in the end. A moment after his successful throw, the trailing whirlwind from earlier managed to sneak up on Drago, and he didn't manage to respond fast enough to prevent the localised tempest from catching him in the back. It passed over him like he small wind-storm it was, whipping him several times with the cold bites of its spinning, before fading away on the other side. almost directly ahead of him, at the other end of the field, Aya had just delivered her blow to the other virus and Suzume was coming out from between two of the towers at the end of her swift dodging; Drago would have a good view as the damaged hurricane swivelled on its base, away from Aya, just so that it could blast Suzume with a fresh tempest before she had any chance to respond to the sudden attack. She experienced the same triplicate of sharp, cutting winds as the whirlwind passed over her, though the poor girl wasn't nearly as sturdy as Drago himself. Regardless of what he thought of this, the dragonier still had a job he was working on, and that was dealing punishment to his own virus first; he followed it towards the ground and added another brutal slash of his claws to its misery. as well as being derailed, this one was now very much worse for wear, and it had landed poorly enough that it wouldn't be moving around any time soon. another positive was that the air was somewhat clearer for the trio now, with only two whirlwinds still at large, homing towards Aya and Drago respectively.


-=Aiming High=-

MagTect+: DELETED
PulseBulb2: DELETED

HurricaneA: DELETED
HurricaneB: 110Hp [Metal][Right Side, inner corner of Tower B]
HurricaneC: 40Hp [Solar][Derailed, on the ground between Tower D and Tower C]

-=Still in the Sky=-

DragonierMan.EXE: 140/200 HP [High Altitude][1 Attack Homing]
Suzume.SP: 40/100 HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 100/100 HP [High altitude][1 Attack Homing]

-=Not Able to Fly=-

TowerA: 20Hp [Back Left side, About to go][Counts as Magnet]
TowerB: 110Hp [Back Right side, Three tunnels][Mid Level tunnel has a blue glow][Counts as Magnet]
TowerC: 200Hp [Near Left side, One tunnel][Counts as Magnet]
TowerD: 200Hp [Near Right side, Two tunnels][Counts as Magnet]

The Towers are each ringed with a variety of rails that circle them, connect them, and pass through their various tunnels. The hurricanes move around on these rails, often hiding and breaking line of sight with their target, to emerge elsewhere in an attempt to catch them out. Despite ample rail connection, no Hurricanes seem to ever be moving into the mid level tunnel in the back right tower, which emits a faint blue glow.

-=Honestly, Why?=-

15% Solar [Main open thoroughfare up the centre]
45% Metal [All the rails for the hurricanes, and any other ground]
20% Magnet [Each tower acts like magnet if purchased upon]
20% Grass [Cone area between the back two towers.]

"Take evasive action!" DragonierMan bellowed as he grunted under the stress of being sickled by several tornadoes. He flapped his wings harder to stay airborn, as the strength was being sapped from him from his many open wounds. He reached into his belt and produced a glowing battlechip packet. "Cover your eyes!" he shouted to Suzume and Aya as he crushed the packet in his hand and tossed it skyward. A miniature sun erupted from the data packet, blanketing the world in bright, blinding light. The distracting explosion allowed the twins to wing away. Suzume tried to fly far, far away. Gaining distance with every beat of her tired and injured wings. She tried to avoid running into any tornadoes until she got away. Aya, however, had recovered from her wounds and was moving into position to finish off the virus she had punched moments before with her counter. She also tried to avoid running into any more tornadoes as she flew right into TowerB to confront the hiding virus. She was also trying to keep an eye open to the tornado that was still tracking her. Hopefully hiding in the tower would cause the tornado to miss.

Drago stopped for a moment to heal his own wounds, melding his armor back into place with a few punches and some more roaring. Suzume also stopped to heal, bathing in a beam of light. Aya took the opportunity to run up to the virus and launch a terrible burst of energy from her hands. She had aimed along its movements, watching the way the shadows moved underneath it as she tried to deck it right in the schnoz. Anticipating where it would go by the way it moved so far in the battle, she moved to intercept where she thought it would try to go to avoid the attack. Hopefully, the tower would hold from her attempts to delete this virus. Another hope was that she would knock the virus off its railings and out of the tower.

Drago then switched his attention toward the downed virus. He swept up to it with a side-to-side weave and lashed out across its hide with his powerful claws. He moved again, sliding around the virus' side as it tried to turn to face him, and gave it another smack. If HurricaneC was deleted by the first swipe of his mighty claw, he then dashed over to HurricaneB, which hopefully was booted out of the cave by Aya. Then he laid into it with a powerful smack from his glowing bear paw.


~

While Aya and Suzume tagged out, Drago set up some cover, bathing the field in blinding light. One had to wonder how exactly you blinded mechanical viruses like the hurricanes, but presumably they had some kind of in-built photo receptors: they certainly reacted like they were seeing spots. Healing up and clearing curing their own ills aside, Aya took the offensive while her sister backed off.

She deftly dodged the bundle of wind homing on on her as she made for the hurricane that was still on its rails; the virus launched a second whirlwind at her as she approached, but by good fortune and nimble movement, she managed to duck around that as well, closing in to land a crushing blow on her target. It rattled and rocked shuttling back along its rails with a screech or brakes, but managed to keep its perch. On the bright side it was well in the open now, after that shove.

The twister that was homing for Drago failed to connect a second time as the dragonier moved to finish off his work on the downed virus. At the last moment, it launched another blast of fiercely directed air towards him, but the navi was able to twist out of the way and silence the windy annoyance once and for all. With only one target left he took wing towards Aya's position, coming to help finish off the last virus.

For her part, Aya had just finished delivering her attack when the rattled hurricane responded, sending a forceful burst of air back down the tracks at her. Its aim was good and it seemed like she had nothing left for getting clear; the burst of wind crashed into her, sending her flying away of the second time that fight, once more to crash roughly against the unforgiving surface of another tower. Just as the girl was sent flying, however, Drago swept in, capitalising on the opening to follow up his SP's strike with one of his own. It was enough to put an end to the barrage of anti-air fire in this area for now, and the rushed sounds of combat stilled.

One of the towers was very near to collapse, but the one housing the mystery data, safe in its tunnel, was quite secure, and now Drago and his team were free to inspect it at their leisure.

-=Aiming High=-

MagTect+: DELETED
PulseBulb2: DELETED

HurricaneA: DELETED
HurricaneB: DELETED
HurricaneC: DELETED

-=Still in the Sky=-

DragonierMan.EXE: 170/200 HP [High Altitude]
Suzume.SP: 70/100 HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 70/100 HP [High altitude]

-=Not Able to Fly=-

TowerA: 20Hp [Back Left side, About to go][Counts as Magnet]
TowerB: 110Hp [Back Right side, Three tunnels][Mid Level tunnel has a blue glow][Counts as Magnet]
TowerC: 200Hp [Near Left side, One tunnel][Counts as Magnet]
TowerD: 200Hp [Near Right side, Two tunnels][Counts as Magnet]

-=Honestly, Why?=-

15% Solar [Main open thoroughfare up the centre]
45% Metal [All the rails for the hurricanes, and any other ground]
20% Magnet [Each tower acts like magnet if purchased upon]
20% Grass [Cone area between the back two towers.]

-=Battle 2, Victory!=-

Spoils: 2060z, 44 BugFrags.

Open BMD?

DragonierMan was left alone with the BMD after a good fight. He took a moment to breath deep the sweet smell of victory. Then he produced a cypher key in his hand and plugged it into the BMD to disable any unwanted visitors from appearing from the diamond. [Activate Untrap on BMD, then open BMD.] Meanwhile, the girls were devouring the BugFrags of their slain enemies and scooping handfuls of zenny into bags.

While the girls gathered up their own spoils, Drago took the precautions of safety before opening his prize. The crystal stuttered and trembled for a moment before expelling a thin plume of blue smoke, which snaked away into the net, leaving the crystal itself unharmed. It began to spin briefly in a more stable way, then unsealed to reward Drago with a tidy sum of zenny.

Untrap Used,

BMD rewards: 4000z!

Excellent. Zenny was always welcomed, more so than chips. In fact it would be great if there was some way to make money rain from the sky after every battle.

Or so DragonierMan was thinking as he spread his wings and took back to the air. The girls followed, and the group decided to follow the rail tracks off into the sunset.

[Requesting Battle 3.]

[SciLab Battle 3 of 5.]
[Battles Fought 07/75.]

As they flew onwards, the tall structures increased in density, as did the small rail network ringing and supporting them. The glow of the solar trail below branched out into a divergent tree of different, narrower pathways that laced between the towers while the pulsing of its light fell into rhythm with the dull background hum that ebbed and rose with a steady pattern. Past the initial layer of defenders on the rails, they now seemed to be occupied by more benign messenger programs, shuttling back and forth between the towers busily.

Less benign was the platform that the trio were now approaching, in the form of a series of strong-looking gantries laid over the tops of the towers and forming an upper floor, albeit with many gaps. Perched on the tops of the two furthers towers were a pair of gunner sentries facing their way. these wouldn't really have posed much concern for Drago and the girls on their own, but as the trio drew closer both sentries extended a set of strong bracing claws from their bases, to anchor onto the gantry below them and a deep, ponderously curious sound came from somewhere overhead.

Descending towards them, above the gunners, was something the size of a small planet, all grey on is swirling surface, and ringed by a single belt of colourful dust. It was orbited by several chunks of asteroid rocks, as well as a pair of more sophisticated-looking satellites, painted green with several flashing lights adorning them. The Satellites in particular angled their panels to face Drago and the girls as they continued to orbit the BigBang, preparing to lock on; the planet virus itself looked more curious than anything else, watching the trio with a pair of large, sleepy-looking eyes that barely revealed themselves to be there at all by virtue of only opening a crack.

A more erratic hum could be heard in and around the gentle pulse of the network and swift movement might draw their eyes to the source of this final layer of sound. A small UFO, in resplendent blue, zipped around the large planet in completely the opposite direction of the other orbiting objects, leaving a faint energy trail wherever it went.

-=Pressing On=-

DragonierMan.EXE: 170/200 HP [High Altitude]
Suzume.SP: 70/100 HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 70/100 HP [High altitude]

-=Watching On=-

ShooterA: 120Hp [Back Left][Metal]
ShooterB: 120Hp [Back Right][Metal]
BiggerBang: 240Hp [Immobile]
Satellite2-A: 200Hp [In Orbit]
Satellite2-B: 200Hp [In Orbit]
BlueUFO: 160Hp [In Orbit]

-=Trod Upon=-

60% Metal
40% Missing

The gantry work over the top of the towers serves as the stage for this battle, and counts as metal, however, attacks of over 100 striking the 'ground' will damage it. Falling through one of the many gaps in the gantry work will simply change the battlefield, to the lower area, and will not result in an EJO, or in the loss of viruses.


-=Battle 3, Start!=-

The trio flew deeper into the 'city' of SciLab. As they went, the land below them became more densely packed, and the rail system more intricate. It wasn't long before the next threat came over the horizon. A pair of manned turrets came into view. As they detected the Navis approaching, they braced their gun platforms and prepared to defend their airspace. The sunlight flickered for a moment above the Navis and brought the three to a stop. Something was descending through the cloud bank. As the clouds parted, an artificial moon came into view. A pair of satellites orbited around it, intermingled with rings of colorful rocks and dust bands. The moon looked quite sleepy. Oh, and there was a BlueUFO.

The triad watched as the viruses drew their battle lines. As they watched, they prepared for battle, drawing on all their inner strength. Stretching their arms out toward their opponents, the three took aim at the largest available target, the planetoid and its satellites. Energy welled up around their hands as they waited for the viruses to finish presenting themselves and become big targets. "Light them up," DragonierMan commanded as the time came to start the battle, releasing a cloudy cone of emerald pollen and grass clippings at the giant moon. Aya and Suzume launched their own payloads at about the same time. The high-explosive rounds flew from their hands and screamed across the battlespace before detonating among the satellites and floating debris. Meanwhile, the cone swept across the planetoid, trying to catch as many enemy targets as it could in its earthy grasp. The bright display of flashing lights and various colored energies made quite the scene, right before Drago yelled "Scatter."

The trine split up, disbanding in different directions. Drago sped forward and began weaving through the dust and asteroids as he made his way toward the top of the BiggerBang. Dodging around each tumbling rock, using the slower ones as stepping stones to leap off of, and shielding his face with his arm as he plowed through yet another dust ring. Suzume and Aya, meanwhile, began flying away from the viruses. They spread their wings and took to the sky, twirling upwards toward the cloud bank that the moon descended from, far away from the ground's gun batteries. They winged their way higher and higher while attempting to dodge bullets and beams, and the occasional flying rock. Feeling the wind beneath their wings and ruffling through their long hair as they soared.

With odds of three thousand seven hundred twenty to one, Drago tried to navigate the asteroid field. As he emerged at the top, he winged over the head and dropped a package. The package ended up to be a PotDragon of the Wood variety. Caught in the gravity well of the celestial body, the earth dragon raged in a circular motion, around and around and around again. A beast of tooth and claw, shredding its way downward until it would most likely also fall upon the Shooters below. A storm of grass seed followed behind the drake as it tore through the enemy lines, breeding a nice lawn in its wake to cover up the furrows.

Beating his wings to gain altitude, Drago climbed towards the heavens. Now that he had dropped the package, he wanted to get far away from the chaos that would ensue. He climbed further and further into the air, weaving from side to side as he rose higher and higher. The enemy was probably trying to shoot him down at this point and he was going to use his superior maneuverability to get away. He did however, drop behind him a metal cylinder as he flew. One last present for his enemies. "Blinder!" Drago yelled out a second before the steel cylinder burst into a dazzling fireball. The flare blanketed the sky with a blaze of harsh illumination. The Navis all covered their eyes as best they could, but even they would succumb to the blinding flash.


~

Drago and his girls met the new foes with a very direct amount of force up front, sending their respective cannon rounds and garden-fresh breath towards the largest of their targets. Even as they each fired, however, the gun turrets down below answered with a wildly spraying storms of machine shot, and the two man-made satellites orbiting the planetoid swept the field for any targets that moved. One managed to find a lock on Drago, while the other successfully drew its laser sight onto Suzume. Much of the bullet hail went wide, and a few rounds came close to winging the girls, even though most of it seemed to be directed at Drago himself. to his credit, the dragonier managed to avoid most of the gunfire this time, but even despite his most artful dodges five tracers, from the nigh uncountable barrage, managed to find mark on him.

Evasive manoeuvres aside, Drago's breath and the twin's tank rounds managed to do their job; the breath washed over the planet, nice big target that it was, though it failed to catch the satellite's as they orbited, preparing their launch procedures. Suzume's shot dealt a crippling amount of damage to each of them, but before Aya's could detonate right afterwards, the two satellite's attempted to lift away and break orbit for their attack runs. One didn't make it and was caught in the blast anyway, leaving little but scrap and debris, however the second managed to get clear of the blast zone and arced around through the empty space as it moved into position to attack. The cross-hair lock on Drago faded away, but the one on Suzume remained. The same couldn't be said for the giant planet virus as this repeated punishment hammered in, and caused its gravity well to falter. Slowly, the planetoid began to break up and fall apart, sinking towards the ground below with increasing speed. the remains would probably crash down soon, though how much of it would be left by then was hard to guess.

While this was going on, the little UFO had whipped free of the BiggerBang's orbit and buzzed around Drago excitedly while he tried to reposition. It had been clipped by one of the tank blasts, but now it didn't seem to want to be shaken off. It disappeared on its own after a few moments of this harassment, though where it had disappeared to wouldn't become clear until Drago tried to release his dragon surprise onto the Shooters below; the pot dropped, but rather than an angry dragon rushing out to devour all in its path, the same blue UFO peeked out sheepishly, looked around, then zipped upwards again back towards him for another attempt. For a little space-ship, it certainly seemed unduly excitable.

While Drago climbed ever upward, eager UFO trailing behind him, the Shooters turned to aim their spread of wild fire towards the SPs instead. another deluge of wildly scattered bullets follows, and while Suzume had the benefit of only having to dodge a single shot, Aya was not so fortunate. Ill chance was with her, and despite the seemingly random and undirected firing pattern, an unfortunate number of the tracers still managed to clip her.

The poor fortune wasn't over, either, it seemed - Suzume's own luck ran out moments later as the remaining satellite attained what it calculated to be perfect firing line on her and unleashed its dangerously accurate volley of lasers directly towards the girl's back. though she had done her best to avoid everything else so far, the Sp was caught out with this last attack and the results were... not pretty. Eight of the ten targeted shots riddled her body, leaving Suzume barely clinging on; it was only by virtue of her second chance protection that she managed to hold out against the full barrage, but even the smallest tap would send the wounded SP from the net if she didn't get healed up first. With its job done, and without the BiggerBang to maintain a nice orbit for it, the satellite settled back down to the ground floor, in between the two gun turrets.

Drago had one last present to give his opponents and allies alike. Still chasing him, the UFO was distracted by the shiny cylinder that he released behind him and moved to intercept it, but this proved a mistake. The blinder detonated in a brilliant flare before the space-ship could catch it, setting spots before everyone's respective eyes and other visual apparatus.


-=Pressing On=-

DragonierMan.EXE: 125/200 HP [High Altitude][Blind!]
Suzume.SP: 1/100 HP [High Altitude][Blind!]
Aya.SP: 10/100 HP [High altitude][Blind!]

=Watching On=-

ShooterA: 120Hp [Back Left][Metal][Blind!]
ShooterB: 120Hp [Back Right][Metal][Blind!]
BiggerBang: DELETED [Breaking Up and Crashing Down]
Satellite2-A: DELETED
Satellite2-B: 80Hp [Back Centre][Metal][Blind!]
BlueUFO: 40Hp [High Altitude][Near Drago][Really Blind!]

-=Trod Upon=-

60% Metal
40% Missing

The gantry work over the top of the towers serves as the stage for this battle, and counts as metal, however, attacks of over 100 striking the 'ground' will damage it. Falling through one of the many gaps in the gantry work will simply change the battlefield, to the lower area, and will not result in an EJO, or in the loss of viruses.