The navis' spectacular swordswork made quick work of the massive Stormbox, slicing and scoring the circuitry thereof. In a sputter of sparks and gears, it collapsed upon itself into a useless pile of rubble, sending a dark plume of smoke high into the air. The desert fighters quickly prepared themselves for their next onslaught, but were caught off guard by the burst of wind generated by the strange new viruses. The twin fans started up their spiraling attack just as Pianissimo stole the sound from the scene.
Unable to track the navis via sound, the sinister stormcrafters simply sent a cyclonic burst of air in the general direction of Pianissimo and Divinity. Instantly, shards of glass and sand swept upward, slicing into the dynamic duo in a painful, stinging wind. Divinity managed to escape with minimal damage due to her areagrab (10), and neatly skewered her opponent. Pianissimo, unfortunately, took the full brunt of the scything storm (30) before putting down the offending viruses with an upward burst of energy.
"Congratulations," muttered the administrator "You're doing quite well. Combat aptitude is top-notch, but..." he shook his head, "you really ought to work at interacting with your environment if you want top marks for the remaining trials."
((Third Reward Earned))
--Enemies--
StormBox Omega: Deleted
Wind Virus? A: Deleted
Wind Virus? B: Deleted
MetFire: Deleted
Bright Glow A: Deleted
Bright Glow B: Deleted
Bright Glow C: Deleted
Bright Glow D: Deleted
--Allies--
Divinity: 60 [Fire Element]
Pianissimo: 40
Field:
Glass
Sand
Planeswalker Test Arena D
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"Interacting with the environment? We've been doing that. Or do you mean consistantly?" Pianissimo muttered, remembering the puffball falling through a glass patch and into a bottomless pit. He kicked up some sand, supposing he could've used it for a bit more than dissolving into a sandstorm. Then he cringed as he aggravated a wind-scythe wound on his leg. The armor was still intact and had sealed back over it, but the wound itself was still there. The best that could be said was that he wouldn't get sand in it.
Getting back up, he looked at Divinity. She appeared to be much less injured than he was, but it was worth asking anyway. "You okay?" he said in his usual faint voice, shaking some more sand off his hands and walking over to her.
Getting back up, he looked at Divinity. She appeared to be much less injured than he was, but it was worth asking anyway. "You okay?" he said in his usual faint voice, shaking some more sand off his hands and walking over to her.
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"If you want us to interact with the environment as much as possible, then you should provide chips we can temporarily use for such battles," said Divinity as she tilted her head to the right side slightly. She then shrugged and spoke to him again, "We'll do our best." She remained floating above the ground, thinking of how to use the panel system they were testing could be utilized more while she remained her position in the air. Slowly flapping her wings a few times, she turned to Pianissimo and started to speak to him.
"I am fine, thank you. I'll survive. This armor isn't just made to make me look good. But what about you? That's some bad wound, you got there," she said as she floated towards him slowly. Holding her hand out to him so he'd stop in front of her, she kneeled down in her floating position and held a hand on his leg softly. "Only a scratch..." she muttered as she practically downloaded her friends well-being into her system so she'd know if something was wrong. Standing up slowly, she merely smiled at him and said, "Don't worry. I'll protect you if it gets difficult for you."
"I am fine, thank you. I'll survive. This armor isn't just made to make me look good. But what about you? That's some bad wound, you got there," she said as she floated towards him slowly. Holding her hand out to him so he'd stop in front of her, she kneeled down in her floating position and held a hand on his leg softly. "Only a scratch..." she muttered as she practically downloaded her friends well-being into her system so she'd know if something was wrong. Standing up slowly, she merely smiled at him and said, "Don't worry. I'll protect you if it gets difficult for you."
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Pianissimo rolled his eyes at Divinity's comment about her armor. "It's not that bad," he said in response to her concern about his injuries. "I've had worse. Much worse." The armor was doing its job, so he would be fine. It wasn't like his entire right arm had become useless again or something.
Divinity had checked the wound, stood back up, and said something about protecting him if things got too rough. "Heh, I appreciate the concern," he said, the eyepieces of his helmet darkening so his eyes were no longer visible. "However, I don't plan on becoming a burden anytime soon. Not in my nature."
Divinity had checked the wound, stood back up, and said something about protecting him if things got too rough. "Heh, I appreciate the concern," he said, the eyepieces of his helmet darkening so his eyes were no longer visible. "However, I don't plan on becoming a burden anytime soon. Not in my nature."
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The Admin Navi nodded to Divinity as Pianissimo finished speaking, and added his own two cents to the conversation... which turned into dollars shortly after: "Fear not for your friend's safety. You've made it far enough and faced steep enough odds that I believe a little medical aid wouldn't be out of the questions... His mild voice trailed of on a rising, perhaps amused note, as he raised his left arm in benediction, as if to bless the two Navis. He made a strange hand motion causing the two Navis' wounds to vanish and their strength to return. In fact, the pair felt strangely better than they had before the event...
"There now." ...he said as he lowered his arm once again... "As for your other concern, I cannot provide you with additional battlechip data during the event. But..." He smiled... "...I believe I can provide you with an environment that lends itself to interaction. His smile faded, and his tone became cautionary... "However, unlike the previous battles, you will not be provided with data on your surroundings. Interacting with the environment you will be provided with will be key to your survival in this battle to a much greater extent than your individual capabilities. He paused for a moment, then gave them a final "Good hunting."
A sudden flash of light... Then the world went blank and silent, both.
When their vision returned, Pianissimo and Divinity were standing dead in the center of a great castle's courtyard, complete with and completely surrounded by fortified walls. The great garden-like octagonal courtyard spread out before them, complete with polished stone walkways, colorful beds of flowers, groves of trees, polished stone fountains and pools, and vast expanses of ankle-deep grass with rectangular patches of polished stone in their centers... A garden paradise warded by pristine castle walls.
Behind them, a monumental three hundred foot tall polished alabaster spire, carved to resemble a Rook and covered in runic symbols, stood in silent watch over the gardens of the great courtyards. Eight enormous tapestries, hung at precise intervals from a stone ring three quarters of the way up the spire, bore the standard of the lord of the castle (whoever he may be), emblazoned on a strange blue cloth that shifted color from light to dark depending on how the light hit it... The Rook-esque tower's turret held an enormous crystal sphere in it's stony grasp, shining brightly in the artificial sunlight... Strangely, the tower had no entrances.
Even the castle walls encircling the garden sanctuary were aesthetically pleasing, even from this distance, a good 300 (plus) feet away. Made of the same polished, pristine stone as the spire, the solid stone walls stood several stories high, with open arched gates and long, sloping, almost decorative, ramps leading from the inner courtyard to the tops of the battlements.
A window appeared in front of each of the Navis before they could take any more of the scenery in... It was a window showing them live streaming video... of themselves? The wired part was that the point of view was from far above, looking almost directly down at them... looking at their screens of streaming video. Any move they made was clearly visible on-screen, and in real-time. After a few moments, the observer's point of view zoomed out, then looked upwards... or rather, outwards, over and beyond the castle walls, to a vast grassy plain with rolling hills...
There, almost a kilometer distant, faint dots could be seen moving on the horizon... The observer zoomed his point of view in on those dots... which revealed them to be a battalion of viruses! In the lead was a single green Swordy (a strange color for a Swordy, to be sure), followed by a double line of six (normal) gray Swordies (a dozen). Behind them, what looked like a pair of angry mountains (for lack of a better description), with hulking stone arms and deep frowns, ground their way forward, each carrying a bullet shaped virus that neither Navi recognized in their hands.
The green Swordy stopped and raised its blade, signaling the force of viruses to come to a halt. The massive stone viruses set down their cargo while the Swordies fanned out in front of them...
Meanwhile....
The castle gates suddenly slammed closed, and openings in the arches appeared... The garden of paradise vanished, leaving only stone walkways and grass behind, still encircled by the fortress walls. Siege crossbows, loaded with an endless supply of ethereal bolts, appeared atop the castle walls, mounted to allow castle defenders a generous firing arc.... Ballistae appeared on the battlement towers, with ethereal shafts stacked nearby.... And massive trebuchets, easily the size of a school building, materialized on those seemingly useless patches of stone out in the courtyards themselves; their hamster-wheel-like paired tensioner mechanisms ready to provide the massive weapons with their awesome launching power.... All of the weapons appeared fully functional.
The green Swordy then signaled the attack with a chip of his sword, and the viruses surged forwards.
The siege was on.
-----------------------------------
--Enemies--
--Storm Squad-- (Outside the castle walls, 2 turns to standard attack range, within siege range, all charging)
Swordy EX: 90 [Regeneration]
SwordyA: 60
SwordyB: 60
SwordyC: 60
SwordyD: 60
SwordyE: 60
SwordyF: 60
SwordyG: 60
SwordyH: 60
SwordyI: 60
SwordyJ: 60
SwordyK: 60
SwordyL: 60
--Siege Squad-- (Outside the castle walls, 3 turns to standard attack range, within siege range, all preparing to attack)
Mountain? A: 120 [Stonebody]
Mountain? B: 120 [Stonebody]
Bullet? A: 100 [Ironbody]
Bullet? B: 100 [Ironbody]
--Allies--
Divinity: 120 [Fire Element] (Inside the castle walls, at the base of the Spire)
Pianissimo: 140 (Inside the castle walls, at the base of the Spire)
Field:
Normal
Grass
Holy (Polished Alabaster Stone)
"There now." ...he said as he lowered his arm once again... "As for your other concern, I cannot provide you with additional battlechip data during the event. But..." He smiled... "...I believe I can provide you with an environment that lends itself to interaction. His smile faded, and his tone became cautionary... "However, unlike the previous battles, you will not be provided with data on your surroundings. Interacting with the environment you will be provided with will be key to your survival in this battle to a much greater extent than your individual capabilities. He paused for a moment, then gave them a final "Good hunting."
A sudden flash of light... Then the world went blank and silent, both.
When their vision returned, Pianissimo and Divinity were standing dead in the center of a great castle's courtyard, complete with and completely surrounded by fortified walls. The great garden-like octagonal courtyard spread out before them, complete with polished stone walkways, colorful beds of flowers, groves of trees, polished stone fountains and pools, and vast expanses of ankle-deep grass with rectangular patches of polished stone in their centers... A garden paradise warded by pristine castle walls.
Behind them, a monumental three hundred foot tall polished alabaster spire, carved to resemble a Rook and covered in runic symbols, stood in silent watch over the gardens of the great courtyards. Eight enormous tapestries, hung at precise intervals from a stone ring three quarters of the way up the spire, bore the standard of the lord of the castle (whoever he may be), emblazoned on a strange blue cloth that shifted color from light to dark depending on how the light hit it... The Rook-esque tower's turret held an enormous crystal sphere in it's stony grasp, shining brightly in the artificial sunlight... Strangely, the tower had no entrances.
Even the castle walls encircling the garden sanctuary were aesthetically pleasing, even from this distance, a good 300 (plus) feet away. Made of the same polished, pristine stone as the spire, the solid stone walls stood several stories high, with open arched gates and long, sloping, almost decorative, ramps leading from the inner courtyard to the tops of the battlements.
A window appeared in front of each of the Navis before they could take any more of the scenery in... It was a window showing them live streaming video... of themselves? The wired part was that the point of view was from far above, looking almost directly down at them... looking at their screens of streaming video. Any move they made was clearly visible on-screen, and in real-time. After a few moments, the observer's point of view zoomed out, then looked upwards... or rather, outwards, over and beyond the castle walls, to a vast grassy plain with rolling hills...
There, almost a kilometer distant, faint dots could be seen moving on the horizon... The observer zoomed his point of view in on those dots... which revealed them to be a battalion of viruses! In the lead was a single green Swordy (a strange color for a Swordy, to be sure), followed by a double line of six (normal) gray Swordies (a dozen). Behind them, what looked like a pair of angry mountains (for lack of a better description), with hulking stone arms and deep frowns, ground their way forward, each carrying a bullet shaped virus that neither Navi recognized in their hands.
The green Swordy stopped and raised its blade, signaling the force of viruses to come to a halt. The massive stone viruses set down their cargo while the Swordies fanned out in front of them...
Meanwhile....
The castle gates suddenly slammed closed, and openings in the arches appeared... The garden of paradise vanished, leaving only stone walkways and grass behind, still encircled by the fortress walls. Siege crossbows, loaded with an endless supply of ethereal bolts, appeared atop the castle walls, mounted to allow castle defenders a generous firing arc.... Ballistae appeared on the battlement towers, with ethereal shafts stacked nearby.... And massive trebuchets, easily the size of a school building, materialized on those seemingly useless patches of stone out in the courtyards themselves; their hamster-wheel-like paired tensioner mechanisms ready to provide the massive weapons with their awesome launching power.... All of the weapons appeared fully functional.
The green Swordy then signaled the attack with a chip of his sword, and the viruses surged forwards.
The siege was on.
-----------------------------------
--Enemies--
--Storm Squad-- (Outside the castle walls, 2 turns to standard attack range, within siege range, all charging)
Swordy EX: 90 [Regeneration]
SwordyA: 60
SwordyB: 60
SwordyC: 60
SwordyD: 60
SwordyE: 60
SwordyF: 60
SwordyG: 60
SwordyH: 60
SwordyI: 60
SwordyJ: 60
SwordyK: 60
SwordyL: 60
--Siege Squad-- (Outside the castle walls, 3 turns to standard attack range, within siege range, all preparing to attack)
Mountain? A: 120 [Stonebody]
Mountain? B: 120 [Stonebody]
Bullet? A: 100 [Ironbody]
Bullet? B: 100 [Ironbody]
--Allies--
Divinity: 120 [Fire Element] (Inside the castle walls, at the base of the Spire)
Pianissimo: 140 (Inside the castle walls, at the base of the Spire)
Field:
Normal
Grass
Holy (Polished Alabaster Stone)
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Looking around at the garden she was caught by the scene before her and spoke to Pianissimo, "Doesn't it look beautiful? Who could imagine such a place existed in the net world. Then again, what can't we make these days..." She took a few steps over the grass below them, her boots making no sound on it as she had returned to the ground instead of floating, and pointed at a place while turning her face towards Pianissimo. "Hey, do you have any food? Maybe we can take a break and have a picnic." But as she said this and looked at Pianissimo, she also saw the huge tower behind them and tilted her head backwards to look at the top. "Now that's big..." she muttered and kept staring at it.
But her sight was quickly torn away from the building as she saw the floating window before her and held it with a hand on each side to look closely at it. "Hey! Pianissimo!" she shouted at her companion, "That's us! Wait..." She held her face closer to the screen and then looked at Pianissimo, "Do I look fat? This new outfit shows my skin and well..." Letting go off the screen as it remained floating before her, she held her hands on her stomach while softly pinching it, "Do I look good? Doesn't this look wrong...?" She held her hands off her stomach again and turned around to show Pianissimo her back while also looking at her own back with the video window.
"Hey... Hey!" she said as the video shifted its position to another place in the field they were standing in. "Oh..." she muttered as she turned around again and pointed at the dots on the window, one by one, while talking to Pianissimo and Area, "I don't think they're here for the picnic... There are an awful lot." She sighed as she turned to look into the distance where the actual dots where, instead of the video window, and spoke softly in a whiny voice, "Why do they bring out so many enemies for us to defeat just to test... Ah well, it can't be helped." She grabbed the window with one hand and flung it towards the dots in the distance while programs deep within herself became activated for the coming battle. Looking at the window fly away, she saw the gates close before them and crush the window she had thrown. "Oops... I guess we can't get out now..." she muttered and looked up at the walls.
"Pianissimo, I'll hold them off from the castle walls. You try something with those things behind us," Divinity said as her shields started to light up brightly. The emotions of her face shifted from her usual self to serious before she shouted at Pianissimo again, "Don't worry about me! Attack them!" Lifting herself from the ground again with the power of her FloatShoes program, she twirled around while releasing four celestial crosses of energy from her shields. The crosses began to twirl around Divinity like guardians of light, while Divinity stopped spinning around and faced the group of enemies before the duo.
The crosses now moving around her frantically, she slowly started to walk towards the ramp on the wall as her feet stepped upon the air below them and held a hand into the air. A bright light came from her silver halo that slowly started to cover her entire armor and skin. Her body had eventually been swallowed in the light and emerged from it with the gold parts of her body entirely silver, just a tad darker than the rest of the silver on her armor, while bringing her arms to the sides. "Area, I'm protected now. Send me the attack," said Divinity quietly while looking at Pianissimo and hoping he had already started to execute offensive attacks.
"I've got it, yes. There's a bunch of enemies," said Area as she looked through her chips. "It'd be wise to take down a lot in the begin... We'll focus on single enemies afterwards," she continued after taking the chip she had in mind out of her pack and slotted it into the PET.
Divinity held her right arm as she suddenly started to run while her feet refused to touch the ground, but only the air below it. Going up the ramp, she ended up on the top of the walls and looked at the surroundings of Pianissimo and her castle. A green glow came from the shield she had held out to the right as it started to configure the Boomerang data for the next attack. She brought her left hand to her mouth and held a finger softly on her lower lip while turning her head to the sky. A shame Druidman can't be here... she thought and turned her head to the enemies, No daydreaming! I've got to attack! While flinging her right arm to the left she looked at the enemies that came marching for the castle and looked for a good spot to attack. Positioning her feet and body so that her right side would be towards the enemies, similar to an archer, she kept her eyes on the targets. "Almost..." she muttered while squinting her eyes a bit, "Closer... Now!" With a swift movement, she flung her right arm to the back of her body while releasing the shield from her wrist to fly out to the enemies. She kept looking at the shield as it passed her defensive crosses and flew over the green planes below her to strike the opponents. Knowing that it'd return eventually, she held her right arm before her and waited silently.
1. Angelic Gift [4 1-hit Barriers] @ Divinity.
2. Justice Aura [60 HP Barrier; Barrier heals 20 start of each turn] @ Divinity.
3. Get on the castle walls at the front.
4. Boomerang [60 Wood; Multiple Targets] @ Swordy group & SwordyEX.
But her sight was quickly torn away from the building as she saw the floating window before her and held it with a hand on each side to look closely at it. "Hey! Pianissimo!" she shouted at her companion, "That's us! Wait..." She held her face closer to the screen and then looked at Pianissimo, "Do I look fat? This new outfit shows my skin and well..." Letting go off the screen as it remained floating before her, she held her hands on her stomach while softly pinching it, "Do I look good? Doesn't this look wrong...?" She held her hands off her stomach again and turned around to show Pianissimo her back while also looking at her own back with the video window.
"Hey... Hey!" she said as the video shifted its position to another place in the field they were standing in. "Oh..." she muttered as she turned around again and pointed at the dots on the window, one by one, while talking to Pianissimo and Area, "I don't think they're here for the picnic... There are an awful lot." She sighed as she turned to look into the distance where the actual dots where, instead of the video window, and spoke softly in a whiny voice, "Why do they bring out so many enemies for us to defeat just to test... Ah well, it can't be helped." She grabbed the window with one hand and flung it towards the dots in the distance while programs deep within herself became activated for the coming battle. Looking at the window fly away, she saw the gates close before them and crush the window she had thrown. "Oops... I guess we can't get out now..." she muttered and looked up at the walls.
"Pianissimo, I'll hold them off from the castle walls. You try something with those things behind us," Divinity said as her shields started to light up brightly. The emotions of her face shifted from her usual self to serious before she shouted at Pianissimo again, "Don't worry about me! Attack them!" Lifting herself from the ground again with the power of her FloatShoes program, she twirled around while releasing four celestial crosses of energy from her shields. The crosses began to twirl around Divinity like guardians of light, while Divinity stopped spinning around and faced the group of enemies before the duo.
The crosses now moving around her frantically, she slowly started to walk towards the ramp on the wall as her feet stepped upon the air below them and held a hand into the air. A bright light came from her silver halo that slowly started to cover her entire armor and skin. Her body had eventually been swallowed in the light and emerged from it with the gold parts of her body entirely silver, just a tad darker than the rest of the silver on her armor, while bringing her arms to the sides. "Area, I'm protected now. Send me the attack," said Divinity quietly while looking at Pianissimo and hoping he had already started to execute offensive attacks.
"I've got it, yes. There's a bunch of enemies," said Area as she looked through her chips. "It'd be wise to take down a lot in the begin... We'll focus on single enemies afterwards," she continued after taking the chip she had in mind out of her pack and slotted it into the PET.
Divinity held her right arm as she suddenly started to run while her feet refused to touch the ground, but only the air below it. Going up the ramp, she ended up on the top of the walls and looked at the surroundings of Pianissimo and her castle. A green glow came from the shield she had held out to the right as it started to configure the Boomerang data for the next attack. She brought her left hand to her mouth and held a finger softly on her lower lip while turning her head to the sky. A shame Druidman can't be here... she thought and turned her head to the enemies, No daydreaming! I've got to attack! While flinging her right arm to the left she looked at the enemies that came marching for the castle and looked for a good spot to attack. Positioning her feet and body so that her right side would be towards the enemies, similar to an archer, she kept her eyes on the targets. "Almost..." she muttered while squinting her eyes a bit, "Closer... Now!" With a swift movement, she flung her right arm to the back of her body while releasing the shield from her wrist to fly out to the enemies. She kept looking at the shield as it passed her defensive crosses and flew over the green planes below her to strike the opponents. Knowing that it'd return eventually, she held her right arm before her and waited silently.
1. Angelic Gift [4 1-hit Barriers] @ Divinity.
2. Justice Aura [60 HP Barrier; Barrier heals 20 start of each turn] @ Divinity.
3. Get on the castle walls at the front.
4. Boomerang [60 Wood; Multiple Targets] @ Swordy group & SwordyEX.
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Pianissimo closed his eyes as the healing energy washed over him. He stood back up, now feeling better than before the event. "See?" he said to Divinity. "No problems here." He was smiling. Even though it was only slightly, such was a very rare thing for Pianissimo. "An environment than lends itself to interaction? Like a dense forest or something?" he asked the admin navi, almost hopeful. So many places to hide, so many ways to take down the enemy and never even be seen. It would be perfect.
The world went blank. The desert vanished, leaving nothing but emptiness. It would've been the perfect battleground for a straight fight, but as usual, it wouldn't last. The next thing he knew, he was in the middle of a castle courtyard. It wasn't what he expected, but he guessed it would work. The surrounding walls were fortified, and there had to be plenty of corridors to hide in and attack from somewhere. Even the fountains could be used in a pinch, and if all else failed, he could climb the battlements or, in extreme cases, scale the spire and rain death on the enemies.
Somewhere in examining all the possible ways to use the castle courtyard in a battle, Pianissimo was lost in the beauty of it. He had never seen an environment on the net quite like this, and it contrasted so sharply with the bleak expanse of his homepage or even the endless ice fields of Sharo that he was momentarily stunned. It was truly a garden of paradise. "Simply amazing," he said at some point while staring, then Divinity's comment about food brought him back only enough to look at her and chuckle slightly. "I almost wish I thought to bring some," he said before looking up along with her. The spire he had considered scaling was easily three hundred feet in height. Even getting to the ring where the standards hung, flashing in the light, would've been extraordinarily difficult. Getting to the crystal sphere set into the top would be nearly impossible. Pianissimo adjusted the light setting on his helmet so that he could see it more clearly, taking in the dazzling brilliance that wasn't lost even among three hundred feet of height difference. "Perhaps I should consider adding at least some element of this to my homepage," he whispered.
Pianissimo finally managed to tear his eyes away from the magnificent spire, just in time to see a floating window blip into existance in front of him. He took it in both hands to look, just as Divinity made the near obvious observation that they were looking at themselves from above. And...Divinity was being self-conscious about her appearance.
"(Did she just ask you if she looked fat? Do NOT answer that. You MUST not answer that.)" Rigel whispered to him on a private channel.
"(And suddenly you're the one who knows these things? I already told you I have no interest. Nevertheless, you're right.)"
Pianissimo turned back to the display as it zoomed out, now showing them from quite a distance above. Pianissimo turned back to the crystal set into the spire. Was it...?
The point of view shifted, now showing the expanse of field beyond the castle walls. Small dots were moving in the field, but he wasn't sure what. The window zoomed into the dots. Were those...enemy knights? No, they were Swordy viruses. Close enough. A green one was at the head of the column, probably feeling rather special as a commander. There were also two mountain looking viruses and two bullet looking viruses that Pianissimo had never seen before. Pianissimo turned back to Divinity. "Looks like an invasion force to me. Probably here to lay siege. We could probably go out and meet them before they get here, but..." He tapped each swordy image on the window in turn. "Twelve of them, plus their commander and four others. I doubt we'd survive a direct confrontation." Pianissimo looked back at the screen. The viruses had stopped. Suddenly he heard loud slamming around him, and he looked to see the castle gates slam shut and various siege weapons appear all around him. "Well...that solves the problem of how we fight without going directly to them.
The commander signaled, and the viruses charged forward. "I'll be fine for cover, don't worry," Pianissimo said before making a break for the nearest non-spire tower. He threw the door open and started up the spiral staircase inside, meanwhile turning the com link back on. "Duke, I'm going to need your help with this. I know nothing about this form of combat."
In the real world, Rigel smirked. "Wow, you need me for something other than sending chips for once. That's a first."
"The smart remarks aren't necessary. Do you know anything about defending castles?"
"Well, I can help you operate the siege weapons, if nothing else. Like that ballista you almost tripped over."
Pianissimo was at the top, and had indeed almost tripped over the back of the slider of one of a few ballistas pointed in between the battlements. Several long ballista bolts were propped against the walls. Pianissimo picked one up. "Looks a bit like a lance. So what do I do? Do I load this thing as it is, or will I have to add chip data for it to work?"
"Should work either way, but chip data wouldn't hurt. Try this." Rigel sent a heatshot. Rather than forming a flame gun on Pianissimo's arm, however, it created a torch, as well as engulfing the head of the bolt Pianissimo was holding in flammable goo. Pianissimo set the bolt on the slider, resting the butt of the bolt against the claw. Once it was secure, he pulled back on the claw, but nothing happened.
"You'll have to twist the winches on the back," Rigel pointed out, a hologram appearing next to Pianissimo. The hologram indicated the metal crank-looking pieces on the back.
"Right. Can't make this simple, can they?" Pianissimo sighed, grabbing the winches and twisting them. The claw slowly moved back on the slider as he did this.
"If it was designed so you could just pull it back, I doubt even that crazy brawler guy we fought alongside in Sharo during that wild goose chase could pull it all the way back. Simplicity isn't the problem."
Pianissimo finally managed to crank the claw all the way back. "Now what?"
"Now you have to aim it. You'll get your maximum distance with about forty-five degrees, but you might want to go a bit shorter than that, since they enemy is moving and you want to lead them a bit."
"Why forty-five?" Pianissimo asked, trying to adjust the angle.
"At forty-five degrees, vertical and horizontal velocities will be equal. If you offset the two, you lose distance. Any higher and you lose horizontal velocity. Any lower and you lose vertical velocity, which means less flight time. And no, the increase in the other component doesn't offset the loss. Don't even ask. Anyway, your maximum range is about a kilometer, but like I said you're going to-"
"One more question. Are you sure you used to be a Computer Science teacher? Only that sounded an awful lot like a Physics lecture."
The hologram was noticeably impatient now. "Just because I don't teach it doesn't mean I don't know anything about the damn subject. Back to what I was saying, your maximum range is about a kilometer, maybe more, but you're going to want to go less than that for reasons I already said. Also because you'll lose accuracy with too much distance. Now can we start firing before these guys get too close?"
"Sorry," Pianissimo said, finally figuring out how to adjust the angle. He set it slightly lower than forty-five degrees, then cranked it lower still, hoping to adjust for the moving target. "Okay, now to light the flammable goo...stuff," he muttered, grabbing the torch once again and holding the flame against the bolt head. The goo immediately burst into flames. Pianissimo stepped away, trying to figure out how to actually fire the thing, before spotting a lever connected to the claw, or at least something holding the claw in one place. Pianissimo gave a mighty groan as he pushed the lever, which would barely budge at first, but then almost fell over. A loud CRACK was heard as the claw and bowstring shot forward, and the flaming projectile went flying forward and over the castle walls. Hoping like hell that he didn't hit Divinity, he looked back at the ballista. Half of the entire frame was vibrating like crazy. He would have to wait a bit before firing another shot.
"Using that thing again will have to wait," Pianissimo told Rigel.
"Well, try not to give our bullet and mountain soldiers a chance to get a shot in on you, at least," Rigel answered, the hologram wandering back down the staircase until he was completely below the level of the rooftop. "Down here." Pianissimo nodded and walked down the staircase as well until he could no longer see over the top. "I'll use this to see them for now," he said, pulling out the window he suspected was a live feed from something in the crystal sphere atop the spire.
_________________________________________________
1: Set Ballista
2: Load Heatshot into Ballista
3: Fire Ballista @ SwordyEX
4. Dodge
The world went blank. The desert vanished, leaving nothing but emptiness. It would've been the perfect battleground for a straight fight, but as usual, it wouldn't last. The next thing he knew, he was in the middle of a castle courtyard. It wasn't what he expected, but he guessed it would work. The surrounding walls were fortified, and there had to be plenty of corridors to hide in and attack from somewhere. Even the fountains could be used in a pinch, and if all else failed, he could climb the battlements or, in extreme cases, scale the spire and rain death on the enemies.
Somewhere in examining all the possible ways to use the castle courtyard in a battle, Pianissimo was lost in the beauty of it. He had never seen an environment on the net quite like this, and it contrasted so sharply with the bleak expanse of his homepage or even the endless ice fields of Sharo that he was momentarily stunned. It was truly a garden of paradise. "Simply amazing," he said at some point while staring, then Divinity's comment about food brought him back only enough to look at her and chuckle slightly. "I almost wish I thought to bring some," he said before looking up along with her. The spire he had considered scaling was easily three hundred feet in height. Even getting to the ring where the standards hung, flashing in the light, would've been extraordinarily difficult. Getting to the crystal sphere set into the top would be nearly impossible. Pianissimo adjusted the light setting on his helmet so that he could see it more clearly, taking in the dazzling brilliance that wasn't lost even among three hundred feet of height difference. "Perhaps I should consider adding at least some element of this to my homepage," he whispered.
Pianissimo finally managed to tear his eyes away from the magnificent spire, just in time to see a floating window blip into existance in front of him. He took it in both hands to look, just as Divinity made the near obvious observation that they were looking at themselves from above. And...Divinity was being self-conscious about her appearance.
"(Did she just ask you if she looked fat? Do NOT answer that. You MUST not answer that.)" Rigel whispered to him on a private channel.
"(And suddenly you're the one who knows these things? I already told you I have no interest. Nevertheless, you're right.)"
Pianissimo turned back to the display as it zoomed out, now showing them from quite a distance above. Pianissimo turned back to the crystal set into the spire. Was it...?
The point of view shifted, now showing the expanse of field beyond the castle walls. Small dots were moving in the field, but he wasn't sure what. The window zoomed into the dots. Were those...enemy knights? No, they were Swordy viruses. Close enough. A green one was at the head of the column, probably feeling rather special as a commander. There were also two mountain looking viruses and two bullet looking viruses that Pianissimo had never seen before. Pianissimo turned back to Divinity. "Looks like an invasion force to me. Probably here to lay siege. We could probably go out and meet them before they get here, but..." He tapped each swordy image on the window in turn. "Twelve of them, plus their commander and four others. I doubt we'd survive a direct confrontation." Pianissimo looked back at the screen. The viruses had stopped. Suddenly he heard loud slamming around him, and he looked to see the castle gates slam shut and various siege weapons appear all around him. "Well...that solves the problem of how we fight without going directly to them.
The commander signaled, and the viruses charged forward. "I'll be fine for cover, don't worry," Pianissimo said before making a break for the nearest non-spire tower. He threw the door open and started up the spiral staircase inside, meanwhile turning the com link back on. "Duke, I'm going to need your help with this. I know nothing about this form of combat."
In the real world, Rigel smirked. "Wow, you need me for something other than sending chips for once. That's a first."
"The smart remarks aren't necessary. Do you know anything about defending castles?"
"Well, I can help you operate the siege weapons, if nothing else. Like that ballista you almost tripped over."
Pianissimo was at the top, and had indeed almost tripped over the back of the slider of one of a few ballistas pointed in between the battlements. Several long ballista bolts were propped against the walls. Pianissimo picked one up. "Looks a bit like a lance. So what do I do? Do I load this thing as it is, or will I have to add chip data for it to work?"
"Should work either way, but chip data wouldn't hurt. Try this." Rigel sent a heatshot. Rather than forming a flame gun on Pianissimo's arm, however, it created a torch, as well as engulfing the head of the bolt Pianissimo was holding in flammable goo. Pianissimo set the bolt on the slider, resting the butt of the bolt against the claw. Once it was secure, he pulled back on the claw, but nothing happened.
"You'll have to twist the winches on the back," Rigel pointed out, a hologram appearing next to Pianissimo. The hologram indicated the metal crank-looking pieces on the back.
"Right. Can't make this simple, can they?" Pianissimo sighed, grabbing the winches and twisting them. The claw slowly moved back on the slider as he did this.
"If it was designed so you could just pull it back, I doubt even that crazy brawler guy we fought alongside in Sharo during that wild goose chase could pull it all the way back. Simplicity isn't the problem."
Pianissimo finally managed to crank the claw all the way back. "Now what?"
"Now you have to aim it. You'll get your maximum distance with about forty-five degrees, but you might want to go a bit shorter than that, since they enemy is moving and you want to lead them a bit."
"Why forty-five?" Pianissimo asked, trying to adjust the angle.
"At forty-five degrees, vertical and horizontal velocities will be equal. If you offset the two, you lose distance. Any higher and you lose horizontal velocity. Any lower and you lose vertical velocity, which means less flight time. And no, the increase in the other component doesn't offset the loss. Don't even ask. Anyway, your maximum range is about a kilometer, but like I said you're going to-"
"One more question. Are you sure you used to be a Computer Science teacher? Only that sounded an awful lot like a Physics lecture."
The hologram was noticeably impatient now. "Just because I don't teach it doesn't mean I don't know anything about the damn subject. Back to what I was saying, your maximum range is about a kilometer, maybe more, but you're going to want to go less than that for reasons I already said. Also because you'll lose accuracy with too much distance. Now can we start firing before these guys get too close?"
"Sorry," Pianissimo said, finally figuring out how to adjust the angle. He set it slightly lower than forty-five degrees, then cranked it lower still, hoping to adjust for the moving target. "Okay, now to light the flammable goo...stuff," he muttered, grabbing the torch once again and holding the flame against the bolt head. The goo immediately burst into flames. Pianissimo stepped away, trying to figure out how to actually fire the thing, before spotting a lever connected to the claw, or at least something holding the claw in one place. Pianissimo gave a mighty groan as he pushed the lever, which would barely budge at first, but then almost fell over. A loud CRACK was heard as the claw and bowstring shot forward, and the flaming projectile went flying forward and over the castle walls. Hoping like hell that he didn't hit Divinity, he looked back at the ballista. Half of the entire frame was vibrating like crazy. He would have to wait a bit before firing another shot.
"Using that thing again will have to wait," Pianissimo told Rigel.
"Well, try not to give our bullet and mountain soldiers a chance to get a shot in on you, at least," Rigel answered, the hologram wandering back down the staircase until he was completely below the level of the rooftop. "Down here." Pianissimo nodded and walked down the staircase as well until he could no longer see over the top. "I'll use this to see them for now," he said, pulling out the window he suspected was a live feed from something in the crystal sphere atop the spire.
_________________________________________________
1: Set Ballista
2: Load Heatshot into Ballista
3: Fire Ballista @ SwordyEX
4. Dodge
last edited by
The environment fades from view, leaving only the two participants and the Administrator standing in the dull, lifeless gloom.
"Thank you for participating in the Planeswalker Field Test. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the test has been canceled. Here is your reward as promised."
--- Rewards ---
Pianissimo:
- Bubbler
- HeatShot
- FireBurner1
- Panel Return (Rare Chip)
Divinity:
- Bubbler
- HeatShot
- FireBurner1
- Sand Zone (Rare Chip)
"Thank you for participating in the Planeswalker Field Test. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the test has been canceled. Here is your reward as promised."
--- Rewards ---
Pianissimo:
- Bubbler
- HeatShot
- FireBurner1
- Panel Return (Rare Chip)
Divinity:
- Bubbler
- HeatShot
- FireBurner1
- Sand Zone (Rare Chip)
last edited by
"It's over already? Pity," said Pianissimo, floating back to ground level as the terrain vanished. "Divinity," he said to his ally, walking over. "Unless our operators decide to team up again before then, I'll see you in that huge mission Duke set up. I don't know what possessed him to do that, but it looks interesting."
Pianissimo's body became completely shrouded in darkness as he took the chips the admin had given him. The eyepieces of his helmet darkened as well, and he slowly dissolved into the shadow as he was jacked out.
Pianissimo's body became completely shrouded in darkness as he took the chips the admin had given him. The eyepieces of his helmet darkened as well, and he slowly dissolved into the shadow as he was jacked out.
last edited by
Divinity blinked a few seconds as the surroundings disappeared before her eyes. "What the..." she muttered and saw her shield fall on the ground lifelessly as the battle programming was turned off. She ran out to her shield and picked it up before turning towards the Admin Navi. "I guess it can't be helped," she said while lifting her hands. Holding her hand out besides her, she created a small window that showed Area's face in it. At the same time, she turned to Pianissimo so she could talk to him while Area talked to the Admin Navi.
"If you need us for further testing of various things, here is my e-mail address," Area said as a window appeared below it saying "AreaDD@chipshop.net" in bright red colors. "I must say it was an interesting test and I was happy that I was able to participate in it. I hope something like this will come around again some time."
"It was fun fighting with you, Pianissimo. I doubt this will be our final meeting," Divinity said with a smile on her face and executed the jacking out procedure. Extending her wings entirely, she started to fly upwards for a light in the sky.
Eventually Area and Divinity's presence disappeared from the Netscape only to return to the normal world.
"If you need us for further testing of various things, here is my e-mail address," Area said as a window appeared below it saying "AreaDD@chipshop.net" in bright red colors. "I must say it was an interesting test and I was happy that I was able to participate in it. I hope something like this will come around again some time."
"It was fun fighting with you, Pianissimo. I doubt this will be our final meeting," Divinity said with a smile on her face and executed the jacking out procedure. Extending her wings entirely, she started to fly upwards for a light in the sky.
Eventually Area and Divinity's presence disappeared from the Netscape only to return to the normal world.