Scientific Chaos

((Oh... wow, didn't realize this post was 4 pages long. My bad. D: ))

Machman started to slow down as several blips appeared on his radar, and continued to pop up quickly as more and more viruses were identified, 7 in total. Aera watched the screen light up with target blips, and continued to channel energy into Vector with a small, steady stream. With the viruses being framed by small green targeting "pippers" in the background, Aera looked down at her hands as a small rectangular patch materialized in her grasp. Her fingers tingled from the weak energy trying to flow out the patch, and shifted in her chair to adhere it to the floor of the cockpit. Now attached, it would provide a gradual flow of restorative data into Mach's frame, continuously repairing his programming as the battle goes on.

Mach continued to slow down, hesitant to start the battle without arming himself and hashing out a battle plan.
[[i]Mazer, please send me a Boomerang, BombCorn, RockCube, PoisonMask... and the Burner chip.[/i]]

Mazer nodded as he retrieved the requested chips. As he looked at the Burner chip in his hand before slotting it in, he realized this was the first time he had ever used this chip, even though they had obtained it a while ago. He slotted it in, and looked at its functional data. Mazer adjusted his glasses and read it carefully on his screen.
[Gonna try to get close, Mach?]
[[i]That's the plan, sir. I'm going to target the MagTecs and one of the Killys with my initial salvo, and I'd like you two to attack the MegaBunny and the other Killy while I do so. After that, eject and fall back to the RockCube I'll be setting up below. Shield up and sit tight once you get there. I'm going to try to get right in the middle of them and blow them away before they have the chance to spread out. Any questions?][/i]
None, sire.
Sounds good to me, Mach... but be careful...

Aera's normally smiling face expressed valid worry, considering how powerful these viruses have been, literally jumping into the middle of them is a very risky procedure. Outside of the MachFighter, a nearly see-through blue energy shield rose around the front of the Machfighter, and was bolstered by several of Vector's armored body plates, which stood in place like little angular spiders on a web of nearly clear energy. A pair of missiles materialized under Mach's fuselage, the first looking like a standard missile with a slightly bloated warhead, while the other had the tell-tale hammerhead warhead design of the boomerang chip missile.

A pair of dark objects ejected from Mach's underbelly, and quickly split to his wingtips, before they changed into twin copies of him in the blink of an eye. They smoothly banked away to get proper aerobatic distance from their master before they surged ahead towards the viruses below. They rolled and strafed as they descended, and tried to act as aggressive as possible to draw the viruses' attention away from the real Mach. Quickly after they broke off from their leader, Mach released his munitions, which dropped several feet before their solid rocket boosters ignited and sent them streaming towards the ground. Their smoothly curving white contrails traced their path in the sky.

The Boomerang missile looked more like an aircraft as it turned and banked before it leveled out just a couple feet off the ground. The other missile appeared to be making a beeline towards the magtecs, but when almost 20 feet in the air, the engine cut off and actually fell away along with the nosecone, leaving a cylindrical warhead just falling towards the ground. With mechanical timing and precision, a pair of small rocket motors ignited from its "lid," and started to make the cylinder spin and slow it's decent, before actually stopping in the air and rising a few feet. As it spun, two small arms swung outwards, flinging a pair of puck-like devices from it just as the rockets went silent, and the hollow shell fell to the ground. These little pucks, armed with the actual warheads spun rapidly in the air, allowing the tiny onboard targeting beam to sweep over the battlefield in a series of offset circles, effectively scanning the ground for its target. As soon as the beam reflected off the armored Magtecs, the pucks exploded, firing a highly volatile, almost liquefied data slug down towards the viruses.

As the pucks were deployed, the cruising, broad-headed missile swept through the area, curving sharply in an attempt to pass over the locations of the two Magtecs and one of the Killys in an attempt to ram them with its solid wedge-shaped warhead. As if the two pronged attack wasn't enough, the signature crack of lightning rocked the area immediately after a pair of electrical bolts hit the battlefield with a pair of bright flashes and explosions of electricity. The bolts appeared to have been directed towards the Megabunny, but the resulting explosions were large enough to feasibly catch other targets in the blast. Flying much slower than the lightning bolts, a single spear-like sliver of metal whipped through the sky and stuck the ground like a dark blue javelin, hopefully piercing the other Killy on its way down.

With his weapons away, it was time to move to the second phase of the assault.
[[i]Ready you two?[/i]]
Aera nodded hesitantly as the straps around her waist and chest unbuckled and retracted into the seat, and looked up towards the location of the cockpit hatch. The sky appeared to move as the still projecting hatch slid up and away, revealing the actual sky above. Vector's body started to form on top of Mach's fuselage, near his twin vertical stabilizers.
[[i]Alright, hang on tight![/i]]

Aera instinctively closed her eyes and brought her hands towards her chest and tucked her legs in, just as small rockets ignited under her seat, launching the entire assembly up a small guide rail, and completely out of the cockpit like a bullet out of a gun. Aera's surprised shriek couldn't be heard over the scream of the rockets, but Vector watched as she very promptly exited the Machfighter, and he released his hold as he moved his body plates perpendicular to the wind, causing him to be forcefully blown back and off Mach's frame. His eye continued to watch Aera as he fell, even as the seat started to disintegrate around the female SP, releasing her into a freefall. He adjusted his body positioning to slow down and meet back up with Aera. Only then did he actually look down, and saw a large square rapidly appear on the ground below. As he got closer, he could see it was a rock cube, and their protective cover.

The SPs adjusted their flight paths and fell towards the stone cube. Aera's wing thrusters kicked on about a dozen feet from the ground, which slowed her descent so much as to have her feet touch down with just a gentle tap. Vector had no such thrust capabilities, but his body plates moved out to his sides, and actually started to spin around him, like a set of auto-rotating rotor blades. This also slowed him down enough to safely drop to the ground, and he touched down with a slightly rougher landing, but he moved behind the RockCube without as much as a peep. Some of his body plates hovered around his body as a protective shield, while Aera formed her own energy shield. They kept their backs to the rock cube, hopefully trying to keep themselves from being noticed by the viruses.

While his two SPs fell towards the ground, Mach's entire frame started to glow, before it almost appeared static-y and distorted before he completely disappeared. As soon as he vanished, he just as quickly reappeared, standing right in the middle of the viruses. He could have reached out and touched the boomers near him, but that only meant they could as easily reach out and touch him as well. In the split second that he reappeared, it appeared as if his entire body exploded in a rapidly expanding vortex of flames. Aera and Vector actually saw the shadow of the RockCube move, due to the bright orange flash of the explosion. If they weren't shielded by the RockCube, they would have felt the heat of the torrent of flames that whipped around Machman, scorching the entire area.

Just as the flames started to die down, and finally reveal Machman standing in the middle of the blackened battlefield, a large metal shield materialized behind him, securing itself over the IV patch on his back. The shield covered his entire body, and appeared to be rather heavy, but Mach stood fast, his eyes still aglow from the previous attack. Framed in a gold, spiked trim, the blue face of the shield actually had a... well... face emblazoned on it; it looked like a pair of orange eyes with a mouth, covered by a faceplate, much like Mach's own. However, the seemingly painted-on face actually started to move, its eyes looking much more sinister as the face mask split in two, creating a toothy maw, curved into an almost sadistic smile. Just as it did so, plumes of shimmering purple data poured from hidden vents in the shield's trim. The gaseous data rolled over the area, inundating it with corrosive, choking miasma. Mach's energy shield seemed to protect him from the miasma, but it was actually the shield's own protective field that repelled the miasma from its wielder.


ACTIONS:

-[Recharge: Vector.SP (Heal 18HP)]-
-[IV: Machman.EXE (5HP Heal per action or until destroyed)]-
1. Heavy Shielding: MachMan.EXE (6-hit shield + 3TCD) [Facing Forward]
-[Reinforce: Heavy Shielding (+2 Hits)]-
2. Boomerang1: MagTecXA, B, KillyA (60dmg Wood)
3. BombCorn1: MagTecXA, B (50dmg Wood
Aera Attack MegaBunny, KillyB (35dmg Elec Spread1) [x2]
Vector: Attack KillyB (35dmg Aqua)
4. RockCube: Summon RockCube on Metal terrain a good distance from the enemy (200HP RockCube)
Aera/Vector: Eject from MachFighter, and land behind the RockCube, using it as cover
Aera: Repulsion Shield on self (2-hit shield + 1TCD)
Vector: OBDS on self (2-hit shield + 1TCD)
5. SCRAM Boost: Teleport in the middle of the virus group, closest to the Doomer viruses
-[Disable MachFighter.GMO]-
6. Burner: DoomerA,B, MagTecXA,B, MegaBunny, KillyA,B (130dmg Fire Nova2)
--Afterburner Action-- PoisonMask: MachMan.EXE ((2-hit shield) + (50 Poison + Miasma (Nova2)) [Facing to the rear]

DecoyA: Immediately dive into the fray, trying to confuse the viruses and disrupt a coordinated attack
DecoyB: Immediately dive into the fray, trying to confuse the viruses and disrupt a coordinated attack

The group began their assault with a bit of healing and a heavy amount of defenses, Machman sending his afterimages into the fray, distracting the Killys and Doomers as they shot attacks at the illusions to no avail.

The MegaBunny hopped out of the way as the MachFighter sent out the Boomerang toward the virus group, cutting through the MagTecs and destroying the panels beneath them, prompting the viruses to move forward and fire missiles at Machman as he destroyed them with his Cornshot missile.

Aera and Vector assaulted the other viruses with their own attacks, the MegaBunny being a bit too fast for anything to hit while the targeted Killy was struck multiple times.

The missiles fired from the MagTecs before closed in on Mach as he ejected Aera and Vector, leaving them a Rockcube. They all came at his sides, racking him with blows, that he luckily mitigated part of with his shield, but two went through.

His support units hid behind the Rockcube, establishing their own defenses while the Killys blasted lighting bolts at the MachFighter while the Doomers shot extremely quick Boomerangs at him.

But Mach had other ideas as he warped right into the Doomers, avoiding the attacks. This prompted the Killys to move as far away as possible as Mach unleashed a Burning Tornado of destruction, instantly deleting the Doomers.

Machman then threw a PoisonMask on his back, though the viruses made no move toward him.

KillyA: 240 HP (Solar)
KillyB: 140 HP (Solar)
MegaBunny: 200 HP (Solar)
MagTecXA: DELETED
MagTecXB: DELETED
DoomerA: DELETED
DoomerB: DELETED

Terrain:
30% Solar
10% Cracked (Where MagTecs once were)
50% Metal
10% Furnace (Around Machman)

Allies:
Machman.EXE: 150 HP [6-Hit Shield Front][2-Hit PoisonMask back][IV equipped]
RockCube: 200 HP
Aera.SP: 70 HP [2-Hit Shield]
Vector.SP: 109 HP [2-Hit Shield]

Machman looked over the battlefield, and saw the boomers and magtects were destroyed, but the Killys and the Bunny virus managed to evade his attacks. They were definitely smarter than the majority of the viruses, especially since they seemed to anticipate Mach's lightning-fast attack. As he stood there for a few moments, Mach's decoys appeared next to him, and stepped out to his sides, making him appear to be one of 3 identical Navis.
Mazer, BambooSword please. Let's see how fast they really are.

Mazer grinned as he popped the BambooSword from the clip with his thumb, and started to slot it in.
[Give 'em hell, Mach.]

The battlechip data coded into the PET and very quickly uploaded to MachMan's programming, just as he crossed his arm across his chest. The armored shield on his back made a loud pop and jettisoned from his back. A blue and orange hilt materialized in his hand, and a similarly colored armored knuckle guard stretched over his hand, moments before a green-tinged cyan blade burst forth from the top of the hilt like a bright flame, before it tightened into a sharpened, slightly curved blade. Both decoys did the same, exactly mirroring their master.

Both decoys surged ahead, temporarily leaving their master behind, but he would quickly catch up. Mach leaned forward and pushed off with his right foot, and the thrusters on his wings lit briefly to give him a large burst of thrust, sending him forward like a shot, making a bee-line towards the fleeing Killy viruses. His blade was trailing behind him in his right hand, and his sapphire eyes were locked on his targets.

Aera and Vector peeked out from behind the RockCube to see Machman chasing down the electrical viruses, sword in hand. As soon as he got within range of both viruses, he delivered wide, horizontal slash over the viruses' positions. He hoped to cleave them in half with a flash of his green blade, which left a crescent-shaped blur of green as it sliced through the air. However, as soon as he swung his blade from his right to his left side, his body flashed and blurred for a split second before he disappeared and left his Decoys alone. They quickly switched targets, and crossed paths as they converged on the MegaBunny virus.

As soon as Aera and Vector saw Mach disappear, the female SP realized she could help him finish off the Killys without hitting Mach, since he was now clear of the area. She quickly charged up her body, electrical bolts coursed from her shoulders down to her hands as she pointed them both towards the Killy viruses. Vector followed Aera's queue, and several sharpened blades emerged from his arm, arranged in a row. As electrical bolts leaped from Aera's hands and surged towards the Killys, Vector picked out the strongest of the two, and whipped his arm away from his body, which launched a trio of knife-like blades towards it. They flew silently through the air, nowhere near as flashy or loud as the thunderbolts that exploded on the ground ahead of the blades, hopefully catching both killy viruses in the explosions.

Mach quickly re-appeared behind the MegaBunny, and immediately tried to bring his blade down upon the virus with a diving vertical slash, before quickly curving the path of his swing in, towards his body, and turning the blade to keep his momentum while completely redirecting his swing and delivering a wide horizontal slash. He had to get close, and strike quickly, because the Bunny viruses (this one especially) have a bad habit of evading seemingly unavoidable attacks.



ACTIONS:
-[Discarding PoisonMask]-
1. Strategic Action: Chase down Killy viruses
2. BambooSword: KillyA,B (80dmg Wood)
3. SCRAM Boost: Teleport directly behind the MegaBunny (Teleport + 2TCD)
Aera: Attack KillyA,B (35dmg Elec Spread1) [x3]
Vector: Attack KillyA (35dmg Aqua) [x3]
4. BambooSword: MegaBunny (80dmg Wood)
5. BambooSword: MegaBunny (80dmg Wood)
Aera: Electro-therapy to MachMan.EXE (72HP Heal + 2TCD)
6. Afterburner Cooldown

DecoyA: Flank Killy viruses, then attempt to block off the MegaBunny's escape route [Right Side]
DecoyB: Flank Killy viruses, then attempt to block off the MegaBunny's escape route [Left Side]

The decoys began to circle the Killy viruses, but proving their lack of ordinary...ness, they simply looked at each other and nodded. They pointed their arms forward towards the various MachMen, and launched beams of electricity from them, in an attempt to hit each and every one of them. Miraculously, even though by chance they each fired a beam at the real deal, the Navi didn't even have to change course, as the jolts sailed past him. The decoys, however, were significantly less lucky, and each dissipated as they ate beam.

Speeding up to the electrical viruses, MachMan delivered his BambooSword attack, getting a direct hit on one of them. The other Killy, however, managed to get out of the way with a nifty sidestep. It also screwed up the aim of the SPs quite badly, as Aera and Vector only managed to hit it once each. Since when did viruses get to do cool stuff like that? The Navi warped to the MegaBunny to try and end its participation, causing it to try and hop off...unfortunately for it, it managed to trip and fall, making the task of erasing it from existence extremely easy.

Aera made things even more satisfying by healing up her boss, bringing him to his maximum endurance. However, the warp had happened to set things up nicely for the lone virus, as MachMan's newly unguarded back was now fully exposed, and absolutely nothing that could stop it from taking out its frustrations on him, as it crossed its arms and launched a ball of electricity. Sadly, its mark was dead on, and the flying Navi found his body coursing with the effects...

KillyA: DELETED
KillyB: 80 HP (Solar)
MegaBunny: DELETED
MagTecXA: DELETED
MagTecXB: DELETED
DoomerA: DELETED
DoomerB: DELETED

Terrain:
20% Solar (MachMan's here)
20% Cracked (Where MagTecs, KillyA, and MegaBunny once were)
50% Metal
10% Furnace

Allies:
Machman.EXE: 130 HP [6-Hit Shield Front][BambooSword: 1 use left][IV equipped] (Stun 1)
RockCube: 200 HP
Aera.SP: 70 HP [2-Hit Shield]
Vector.SP: 109 HP [2-Hit Shield]

Hm, faster than expected...

Machman still managed to hold on to his sword while his body coursed with electricity, leaving him mostly numb, and occasionally twitching as a spark arced over his body. He started to move his wing assemblies away from his back while he attempted to regain control of his body. Since he had never seen a Billy with that amount of agility, he decided to pull out all of the chocks. His ear pylons opened up as the two halves of his targeting visor folded out, and connected right between his eyes, before fastening themselves to his face. An advanced integrated display lit up in his vision, and almost instantly identified the Killy virus as his eyes glanced towards it.

He could feel a slight tingling sensation from the IV pack on his back, but then he felt a surge of similar energy surge in through the back of his neck, accompanied by a green flash. He had been hit by one of Aera's healing bolts as she and Vector moved out from behind the rockcube and started to advance. Mach's wing assemblies stopped out at his sides, and faced perpendicular to the virus as two small orbs of glowing crimson plasma started to form in the middle of each of the rings. Looking like a pair of bright red eyes, the wings glared at the virus, their "eyes" swelling larger and larger before they burst forth in a pair of large beams. The plasma lasers screamed over the terrain before they plowed through the Killy's location, hopefully with enough force to blow the virus away, with very little remains left over.

He didn't want to leave the virus's survival to chance, so as soon as the beams finally thinned out and died down to a pair of glowing lines of flickering embers, he dashed forward, blade in hand towards the Killy virus. His wings dutifully followed behind him, and their thrusters popped occasionally on command, to make MachMan weave erratically and make a jagged path towards the virus. He changed directions almost half a dozen times on his approach before he made one final lunge towards the virus, attempting to cross over the virus's position in a diagonal path. As he dashed past the virus, he swung his sword with his right arm, and tried to center the virus right at the mid-point of the blade so he could utilize every inch of the blade in case the virus attempted to move away again.

Using his targeting visor, his entire body moved with surgical precision to hopefully put the blade right in the "equator" of the Killy's orb-like main body, and slice the virus in half like a knife through and orange. Still off in the distance, the two SPs tried to get closer, but wouldn't dare to attack now, since MachMan was so close to the target.



ACTIONS:
1. Stunned
-[Recharge: MachMan.EXE (18HP Heal)]-
Aera/Vector: Move out from behind RockCube towards MachMan
2. Enhanced Perception: MachMan.EXE (Accuracy Enhancement x3 + 3TCD)
3. Superior Thrust Laser: KillyB (60dmg x2 Multi-Hit + MicroBurst + 3TCD) [+ Accuracy UP]
4. Dodge
5. Strategic Movement: Get into melee range of KillyB
6. BambooSword: KillyB (80dmg Wood Slashing) [+ Accuracy UP]

DecoyA: -standby-
DecoyB: -standby-

As Machman was stunned and began to measure up the last remaining Killy, the virus fired two electrical spheres that slowly crept forward. The moment lasers was fired, the virus was determined not to go down so easily as it mended its body in the last second before the devastating Thrust Lasers crashed against it.

However, everything was for a naught when the electric spheres either missed or collided with Machman's shield, giving the navi the perfect chance to cut down the Killy with his Bamboosword.

KillyA: DELETED
KillyB: DELETED
MegaBunny: DELETED
MagTecXA: DELETED
MagTecXB: DELETED
DoomerA: DELETED
DoomerB: DELETED

Terrain:
20% Solar
20% Cracked
50% Metal
10% Furnace

Allies:
Machman.EXE: 160 HP [5-Hit Shield Front][IV equipped]
RockCube: 200 HP
Aera.SP: 70 HP [2-Hit Shield]
Vector.SP: 109 HP [2-Hit Shield]

-BATTLE WON!-
2,500z + 81 Bugfrag + [Boomerang3] BattlechipBoomerang3
Damage: 120 + Group Attack (Arc)
Accuracy: B
Description: Throws a boomerang at enemies
Duration: Once
Element: Wood
Special: Group Attack (Arc): This attack may hit between 1 and 4 enemies on average, perhaps more depending on the situation. This version of Group Attack hits in an arc that loops back to the attacker. If attempting to hit too many targets with poor RP, you may also hit yourself, so be careful.

Mach's blade made a satisfying singing whine as it cleaved through the virus, and finally ended the battle. Mach watched as the green energy blade retreated back into the hilt, before it too began to disappear. Hearing his SPs approach from behind him, he turned back to them and gave them a thumbs up.

However, he lowered his hand as he saw Aera's expression; instead of a cheery smile, she looked concerned about something. Mach raised an eyebrow and made an inquiry in regards to her concerned expression.
What's wrong?

She wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed the side of her face against his shoulder.
When I said be careful, I didn't mean jump in the middle of them... dummy.

Mach quickly remembered Aera's words of caution at the start of the battle, and how he didn't even respond to her. Mach's expression became more serious, and he tried to make it up to her by wrapping his arms around her as well, one hand gently running over her hair.
I'm sorry for worrying you, Aera. How can I make it up to you?

She looked up at him and winked, bringing back her signature infectious smile.
I'll think of something. Just don't worry me like that, Vector and I were too far away to help you quickly if you were in serious trouble.
You're right, I should've thought of that.

She stepped back and looked Mach over, her brow slightly furrowed as she inspected him, inciting a slightly embarassed look from the Navi.
Well, you don't like you're too banged up, so I forgive you.

Mach laughed before he put his gloved hand on top of Aera's head, slighly ruffling her hair.
Thanks, mom~
Hey!

Vector cleared his throat as he approached, with Zenny, Bugfrags, and a Battlechip in his sharpened, angular metal hands.
My apologies for the intrusion sire, m'lady, but I have the spoils of the battle. We may also want to depart, I fear other viruses may have been attracted to the battle, and could possibly be preparing an ambush.

Mach looked over at Vector and nodded before looking over towards the horizon, scanning the area. The zenny and battlechip disappeared from Vector's hands as they were downloaded to the PET.
Since the viruses here are more advanced than anything I've seen on the net, I wouldn't be surprised if they're capable of organizing a coordinated assault. Let's head out; stay close and keep your eyes open.

Mazer watched the data download into his PET, and whistled at the new battlechip they obtained, it was rather powerful wood-element chip, something their arsenal sorely lacked until now.
[I agree, move out while I set this new chip into our folder. It's an upgraded version of your boomerang chip, with double the attack power.]

The group had already started to hover a foot or so off the ground and began to move forward at a rapid pace.
Double? I can't wait to try it out!
The trio, with Machman out front with Aera and Vector to his right and left (respectively) in a small wedge formation, hit a rather quick cruising speed and zoomed through the net. Mach and Aera's eyes continued to move about, while Vector's single glowing red eye sweeped slowly from side to side methodically, trying to disallow anything from evading his sensors.


((Ready for Battle #5))

[MODLOCK ENGAGED]

Surprisingly, Machman managed to avoid encountering anything for several minutes, with nothing even showing up on his radar as he flew the ancient lab network. When something did finally show up, however, it was something big. Easily comparable to a fighter jet in size, the blip approached from behind at an alarming speed, catching up to the trio within seconds.

Then it rose up in front of them, shooting up from the air below only barely fast enough to avoid a collision. Up close it looked like little more than a massive arrangement of unattached metal plates, painted a shimmering purple and leaving a trail of shifting colored light in its wake. When looking back after passing through the trail left behind., the arrangement of parts clearly took on the shape of a giant metal bird, with glowing wings and a fanned tail.

"AAAAAAAHH!"

The bird stopped in midair after nearly hitting Machman, turning on the spot and shifting form. The navi's new appearance was that of a human female, clad in a purple flight suit and helmet. Heavy boots adorning her feet contained rocket thrusters, keeping her suspended in midair.

Mach and the gang flew swiftly through the network, passing by a multitude of different data formations, and what looked like incredibly old buildings, almost as if they'd been there for hundreds of years. They didn't happen to find any more viruses, which was a fairly decent change of pace, considering it seemed to be a non-stop assault by incredibly powerful viruses.

Though Mach's radar was clear at the time, he continued to keep his eyes peeled for any possible threats; Aera and Vector were doing the same. Suddenly, a large signal was detected directly behind them. Mach's eyes focused before he swiveled 180 degrees, though he was still moving forward, and his thruster wings were still facing towards his direction of travel.
Incoming, be on alert.

Aera looked over her shoulder before turning around as well, while Vector's body simply reconfigured, so his "front" was facing towards the threat. His forearms changed into somewhat long, fixed blades, and several spines started to form from his shoulders; showing his eagerness for battle.
Mazer, watch our six.

Mazer adjusted his glasses before focusing intently on the PET screen, and started to zoom out his view, giving him better vision of the extended area ahead.
[Gotcha, I'll alert you if any obstacles pop up.]

Almost as soon as Mach finished speaking, the object was already bearing down on them. He was surprised by how fast it approached, and if it wanted to attack, they would have been at a severe disadvantage. However, he heard a feminine sounding cry from the object, and it sharply pulled up to avoid colliding with the group. They got a good look at the program, it looked like a combination of Vector's orbital blade body structure and Mach's Fighter GMO...

Though his vulcan was already formed and affixed under his right forearm, Mach simply watched as the large metal bird reformed into a female Navi, fitted with flight gear and large boosters on her feet. Mach raised an eyebrow and started to slow down, it didn't look like she was there to attack them. He raised one of his hands towards his mouth, and called out to her.
Hey! Are you alright!?

The purple-clad navi slowly descended, dropping through the sky until she was nearly level with Machman before answering. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Um...sorry about that. I didn't expect anyone else to be all the way down here, so you kinda surprised me. Are you okay?"

Suddenly, the navi flipped up the visor obscuring her eyes, and a look of recognition dawned on her face. "Wait, Machman? I did remember that right, right? It's me, Cirrus! Remember me?"

As soon as she had recognized Machman, however, Cirrus's expression shifted to one of embarrassment. "Wait, what am I saying, of course you wouldn't. I was a booster engine at the time. And a support program."

Mach was about to respond to the Navi, until she raised her visor and claimed to recognize him. Mach had never seen this Navi before, so unless she was watching a tournament match, or maybe was in the crowd during the Dash Attack race, chances are they never met. At least, until she mentioned her name. As his vulcan disappeared under his right arm, he focused more intently on the Navi.
Cirrus? You certainly changed since the last time I met you! .. wait, you said you were a SP, but you're now a Navi program? I've never heard of that...

Aera's eyes went wide, as she too recognized the name. She beamed at the Navi, rediscovering a friend.
Of course we remember you! How have you been?

Vector's blades retreated back to his arms, but continued to eye the Navi cautiously. He had never met Cirrus, and though she seems to be a friend, he couldn't help but be at least slightly wary. She was capable of an incredible amount of speed, which could prove to be very dangerous if she decided to cut their friendship short.

Cirrus fidgeted a little. "Yeah, upgrades. I wasn't conscious for that part so I couldn't actually tell you how that happened. But I'm a whole new me, now. I've even got my own fighter form and everything, which I...almost ran into you with." Within a few seconds she brightened up again, addressing both of them as Aera joined in as well. "And I've been great! Been testing out my weapons down here for awhile now. But it seems like someone cleared this sector out of viruses recently. I haven't found anything out here except you guys."

An idea came to her. "Hey, since it's so empty here, would you like to have a quick netbattle?"

Machman crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side as he thought over her offer to netbattle. He looked over towards his two SPs, and asked them for their opinion.
You two alright with having a friendly Netbattle?

The two SPs were slightly nervous about the prospect of a Netbattle, since their last one did not go so well, even though their opponents weren't exactly enemies either. Aera smiled weakly and nodded, and Vector did the same.
Alright then, any particular rules or restrictions?

((Ready))

Cirrus considered it for a moment. "Nope. Anything goes. Although I'd like to fight you at your full strength, so here's this." She tossed Machman an EnergyPack that activated as soon as it reached him. While it healed him to full, Cirrus flew back to a good distance, then transformed into the bird-like fighter body and took off.

After putting a good deal more distance between herself and Machman, she turned back around. Gun turrets above and below her body swiveled to face him.
___

---Enemy:---
Cirrus.EXE: 525 HP


---Allies:---
Machman.EXE: 200 HP
Aera.SP: 70 HP
Vector.SP: 110 HP

---Terrain:---
??? (Far, far below. Looks like Metal from here)

Dogfight BATTLE 5 START

((Sorry, gotta turn splice. If you need me to, I'll tack on the 5th and 6th actions))

Mach caught the energy pack with his right hand, and it quickly dissolved as he closed his hand around it; its restorative energies coursed through his body and repaired his programming to full strength. The relieved Navi smiled and showed his gratitude.
Thanks, Cirrus. Alright, I'm ready when you-

Before he could finish, Cirrus had already started to put some distance between them.
-are... Aera, Vector, prepare to mount up!

Mach jumped into the air, giving himself enough room to safely activate the .GMO without hitting the ground or his SPs. In a flurry of metal and glowing cyan light, Mach's body made the very expedient transformation into a large, quad-engine fighter aircraft. His polished metal skin shined in the light, giving him a very sharp, razor-like look, his forward-swept wings especially. His anti-grav engine was active, and kept him hovering a few feet from the ground. Aera and Vector both jumped up towards the MachFighter, and the metal hatch slid open to welcome them in. Aera eased down into the cockpit and sat in the surprisingly comfortable ejection seat, while Vector spread apart like a fragmented umbrella before settling in, armoring a large portion of Mach's fuselage, while keeping only a handful of plates inside the cockpit.
[[i]Mazer, requesting a Bubble-V chip for now. I want to see what she's capable of.[/i]]
[Right, uploading the chip now. Don't let her get behind ya!]

Mach quickly raised his energy shields, bolstered by several of Vector's orbiting metal body-plates, as his systems booted up. Aera watched as the inside of the cockpit came to life around her. The 360 display lit up and showed a seamless view of her surroundings, and a very advanced HUD overlay materialized in front of her. Almost instantly, a targeting box floated over Cirrus's form, identifying the Navi as a target. More and more information started to appear on the screen, with graphical information showing the direction of her movement, speed, and X/Y/Z coordinates relative to Mach's own position.

Without warning, Aera was pushed back into her seat, prompting several safety harnesses to wrap over her chest and abdomen like thick woven ribbons. They cinched down firmly, but not tight enough to cause discomfort. Aera could see flashing prompts appear near Cirrus's frame, and a simple warning tone blared from the speakers, indicating the Navi was taking aim at Mach. She could also see a missile indicator appear on her weapons screen, indicating a missile had materialized under Mach's right wing.

Indeed there was a missile, and it was only secured under his wing for a few moments before it was pushed away from Mach's frame. It dropped only a couple feet before its solid rocket motor lit, sending it streaming towards Cirrus in very smooth, shallow banking turns. Once the missile was away, Machman pulled up and banked hard to the right, bringing him into a sharp, spiraling barrel roll. As he did so, his drones materialized directly behind him, and started to warm up their projectors while they followed like a pair of small pilotfish behind their master. As Mach went inverted at the 12-O'clock position in his barrel roll, the decoys projected their cloned images of MachMan, and followed so closely to each other, their holographic projections were almost perfectly layered on top of one another. They mirrored the MachFighter exactly, even down to Vector's protective armor plating and the nearly clear energy shield in front, dotted with slivers of Vector's armor.

The missile continued dutifully towards its target, its metal guide fins directing it towards the purple Navi. If it got close enough, it would explode nearby, detonating its payload of a highly pressurized, incredibly dense fluid. Though not entirely powerful, the wide spray would be somewhat difficult to avoid, and could help MachMan get Cirrus on the defensive, so he could retake the pace of the dogfight. Once he got closer, and saw more of how Cirrus maneuvered, he would bring his stronger weapons to bear.

Still accelerating through the maneuver, which he hoped would keep him from getting pegged immediately by Cirrus's attack, he completed the barrel roll along with his drones. However, instead of smoothly following through and moving either straight ahead or to the left, his control surfaces snapped sharply to their movement extremes, causing his entire frame to quickly continue his roll to the right, before snapping to a stop with his wings perpendicular to the ground. Aera couldn't even draw in a breath before Mach yanked his nose "up" to drive his frame off to the right, while leaving one drone taking the more natural left-most path, and the other charging straight ahead towards Cirrus. With any luck, she wouldn't think Mach's somewhat large frame would be capable of such extreme aerobatics and fire upon the decoys instead.

Mach continued to move off to the right, and Aera kept her eyes glued to their opponent, trying to see what she would do next. Depending on what she did, Mach could take advantage of the situation and get behind Cirrus, effectively taking back the pace of the battle, which he needed to make up for his late start.


ACTIONS:
-[Activate MachFighter.GMO]-
Aera/Vector: Join with MachFighter
1. Heavy Shielding: MachMan.EXE (6-hit shield + 3TCD)
-[Reinforce: Heavy Shielding (+2 Hits)]-
2. Enhanced Perception: MachMan.EXE (Accuracy Enhancement x3 + 3TCD)
3. Bubble-V: Cirrus.EXE (80dmg Aqua Spread2)
4. Dodge

DecoyA: Complete the barrel roll by continuing off to the left of Cirrus's position
DecoyB: Complete the barrel roll by forging straight ahead towards Cirrus

Machman jumped and transformed, joining with his two support programs in the process. He shielded himself and chased after Cirrus.

Cirrus, meanwhile, wasted no time laying into Machman with her twin turrets, each firing in rapid succession and filling the sky between them with bullets. Machman's shields were torn apart within seconds, leaving his main body nearly exposed. Fortunately the reinforcements supplied by Vector held firm, granting him some protection. His own attack in the form of a bubble-charged missile did little to stop the attack, as despite the large frame of Cirrus's fighter body she banked and rolled out of the missile's path easily, then resumed a track toward Machman.

Meanwhile, Machman pulled off of his own path and banked sharply to the right, sending his decoy drones on more easily followed paths. Cirrus's gun turrets tracked the left decoy, blowing it out of the sky and revealing it to be a fake. A missile followed the center decoy, destroying it as well and leaving Machman alone against the bird-like fighter once more. Her top turret swiveled back to track Machman.
___

---Enemy:---
Cirrus.EXE: 525 HP (2 actions remaining)


---Allies:---
Machman.EXE: 200 HP (Shields destroyed) (Decoys destroyed) (2 actions remaining)
Aera.SP: 70 HP
Vector.SP: 110 HP (2-hit shield (protecting Machman))

---Terrain:---
??? (Far, far below. Looks like Metal from here)

In what seemed to be a blur of gunfire and movement, the very short seconds of combat ended with Mach's defensive systems all but entirely destroyed, and Cirrus had a very firm grasp of the battle's pace. Her twin turrets carved up his shielding in the blink of an eye, then she proceeded to shred his decoys with deadly accuracy. Though he hated to admit it, he was completely outgunned and even well-placed shots failed to even get close to the airborne Navi.

The battle's outcome was rather clear; Cirrus was going to win this battle very quickly. Mach leveled out and cut his throttles as he opened up a line to Cirrus.
[[i]Man, I never thought you'd be this strong... I concede defeat.[/i]]

Mazer raised an eyebrow, surprised by his Navi's quick admission of defeat.
[What? You're giving up?]
[[i]Sometimes you have to recognize when you're outclassed. This battle's over.[/i]]

Mazer shook his head in disbelief, but he didn't want to argue with the Navi. He wasn't the one fighting, so he trusted Mach's judgement. Aera had a similar look of disbelief, though she was still surprised with how swiftly Cirrus tore Mach's shield and decoys apart.


ACTIONS:

5-6. Surrender

Cirrus heard Machman's message and immediately cut her thrusters as well. "Oh...okay," she replied through the line. "Well, it was nice seeing you again at least." The bird-like navi banked and turned to fly off...but then immediately stopped dead in midair and reverted to a humanoid form.

Even with how short the battle was, they had failed to notice it approach, but now that the gunfire had died down a gigantic form loomed in front of both of them, easily the size of a battleship. The craft fairly flat in design, with a hammerhead-styled bow and massive fins extending above and below the stern. At a glance there was no way of telling just how well armed the ship was, but it didn't seem like too much of a stretch to assume that the dreadnought that had appeared in front of them was responsible for the sheer lack of viruses in that sector.

If the ship had noticed either Machman or Cirrus yet, it made no effort to attack them, leaving them a perfect opportunity to get out while the going was good. On the other hand, what looked like a loading bay had been left wide open on the side of the ship.
___

<Battle Over>

Cirrus.EXE: 525 HP

Machman.EXE: 200 HP
Aera.SP: 70 HP
Vector.SP: 110 HP


"Chariot" class aerial battleship: 3500 HP (Hangar bay open) (Hasn't noticed Machman or Cirrus)


((So, since I'm assuming you dropped out because of my sheer lack of modding speed, yes, you can leave now with no consequence. I'd just planned on ending the battle with these two running across this thing, and it seemed like a shame not to use it just because Mach surrendered.

Likewise, trying to board it also isn't a death sentence, although any battles inside will be at minimum chaos net battle 6+ difficulty.))

((That and I'm certain the battle would lead to Mach's 6th loss.))

Cirrus had accepted his admission of defeat and stood down as well, which though expected, came as a relief to Mach. She seemed disappointed, but kept her friendly demeanor.
[[i]Likewise, Cirrus. Take care.[/i]]

With that, MachMan activated his log out sequence, and his entire frame flashed cyan before disappearing as he beamed up into the PET, completely oblivious to the battleship that loomed ahead.

[Logged out]