The longer Griffin watched ScorchMan growl under the spider's snapping assault, the hotter his shoulders felt against his raglan. It was nothing but the simple sympathy of really, truly knowing that feel (bro), but the sympathy of a burn could make the burly fireman wince just as easily as the burn itself. "Hang on, dude," he called and rattled through his chip folder. Familiar jolts of adrenaline were shooting up the big man's wrists, though the lack of anything physical to burn his energy on left Griffin feeling strangely untethered. A nebulous spark of an idea was trying to catch alight; he spun the camera and scanned the earth, trying to see enough to fill in the gaps.
The shine of metal. Rancorous, predatory skittering. A handful of unfamiliar, untested chips and the barest understandings of how they might work. The idea flared up without warning - in his Work Voice he barked, "Run to your three and keep ahead of it!" Seeking out whatever felt most applicable to the not-quite-a-plan, his fingers found a chip displaying rocket boots and thought
'sure let's roll with it'. "Pop this one ASAP, okay?
Distantly, ScorchMan felt the chip as a flare of heat in his chest-furnace. The bulk of him was occupied with wrestling a nigh-invisible foe that moved quicker and quieter than anything so large had any right to. That, and the burns - the ones across his back were ignorable, but it was the sting in ScorchMan's belly that had the Navi gritting his teeth, liquid fire seeping and spreading higher up his limbs with every step. There was nothing for it but to push into his boots, pivot ninety degrees and sprint where his Operator had indicated. The chip was unfamiliar; ScorchMan reached for it like a weapon, snarling when the data slipped from his grasp and flowed down his legs instead of loading into his busters. "What - am I - supposed - to
do with this?" There was a split-second of the most peculiar pressure inside his boots, like his feet had just swollen to twice their size-
and the SkyShoes ignited.
The world vanished. All there was to register was smoky lava-baked air on all sides, and a pillar of fire gushing from the sole of each foot. Also, an angry bellow that sounded a lot like, "WOULD YOU WARN A GUY!!" From somewhere behind ScorchMan came an apology, barely audible over the wind rushing through his helmet. More noticeable was the second chip: this one felt uncomplicated, easier to handle by far, and fluorescent-bright in a way he recognized the instant it loaded.
Flailing as he tumbled and spun, ScorchMan's off-hand found a handle as it unfolded from his gauntlet. With something to centre his body on, the Navi managed to lock his legs tight together and start controlling the spin. The wild torchlights brightened and melded upon being united. There was just the small matter of finding the arachnid's white-hot maw to distinguish which direction
below lay, and he would be able to right himself.
A flicker of heat-beyond-heat against his back. Ever-rising heat. His legs came up over his head once more, and kicked forward to break the spin. In the split-second of hanging freely before he had to get his feet back under himself, ScorchMan let gravity point his DollThunder railgun down to earth, felt for the dripping starburst at the spider's maw, and squeezed the trigger. Lightning flashed, all the heat and light of a sun condensed into a snapping, forking river of plasma. The Navi could have been a thundercloud - filled with swirling heat and gusting through the air, the inside of his skull a riot of scintillant fire, he certainly felt like one.
There was no thunder, but then, that was probably for the best. It dawned on ScorchMan that he didn't even know if being this high up would necessarily guarantee his safety against this particular foe. If it still had a means of reaching him he didn't know about, he'd best make it as difficult for the beast as possible, and so he threw himself once more into a tuck and roll. It was, in hindsight, rather easier when one knew which direction was up, and thus when to throw one's rocket boot-equipped feet out to stop flipping and right oneself. From a point somewhere to ScorchMan's left, he could hear Griffin shouting, "Yes! Yes, that was perfect! Keep this under you, it could probably still get you if it jumped, and I bet you anything the bastard's gonna be mad enough to try!"
The rapid verbal torrent was punctuated with a third chip. ScorchMan recognized the Guard the instant it began to unfurl, comforting weight spreading from his gauntlet like a solid steel wing. The shield spread asymmetrically, only a small portion extending past his hand, with the bulk following the line of his forearm well past his elbow. With a grunt, he wheeled his arm up and flexed his bicep in a classic strongman curl. With his legs flexing into the thrust of his rocket boots and his shoulders slightly hunched for balance, much of ScorchMan's body was concealed behind the Guard. His buster trigger seemed almost to itch, nevermind that it was somewhere in his head and not exactly scratchable. He wanted badly to just bark at Griffin for more guns, more fire and take whatever came at him, but his stings yet stung, warnings dearly received against letting the spider have too much liberty. Fighting blind was still far too novel, and his fire too fresh-kindled. Theirs' would have to be a shared victory, or no victory at all.
-BurnTurn Summary-1. Feint [Bait Myriad towards Metal]
2. SkyShoesEffect: High-Alt Flight
Accuracy: S
Description: Grants the user the ability to freely fly at high altitude. Initial takeoff is considered a dodge. If shot down, user may take off again until effect ends.
Duration: 1 turn
Element: Null
Special: Beware of fall damage.
Trader Rank: D [Dodge: vertical takeoff into forward flip]
3. Take Aim
4. DollThunder1Damage: 80 + Line-Attack5
Accuracy: B
Description: Fires a powerful bolt of lightning that pierces through objects and enemies alike.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Trader Rank: D: Myriad [80 Elec {B+}, Line Attack5]
5. Dodge
6. Guard2Effect: (1 Hit Shield) + (Reflect(up to 120 + Piercing + Line Attack): On Hit)
Accuracy: S
Description: Generates a 1-Hit Shield upon activation. When this shield blocks one hit from a non-Break attack, it responds with a hyper-fast damage ray.
Duration: Until broken or overridden.
Element: Null
Special: Negated by Break. Ignores Impact.
Special: Reflect: Damage returned is equal to the damage of the attack blocked or the damage cap listed, whichever comes first. Reflect is not subject to negation by Impact.
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: C (Held under feet)