Sweet Coding.

A column of crimson light crashed down onto the Netopia Network, connecting from SciLabs through Internet City, Red appeared, her cape fluttering around before it settled at her feet.

"Hee Hee! Now to wait for Binary-san!" the red-caped wonder giggled, playing hopscotch with the floor panels.


((Blargh, Jack-in))
A long, twisting tentacle of the infamous gel stretched down from the sky, plunging into the ground a ways away from Red's hopscotch zone. The pile of gel eventually became Navi-sized, and black digits rained from the sky into the gel body. A second later, Binary was standing(?) in Netopia Net, his optics taking in the surroundings.

He spotted Red and shifted over to her. "Time elapsed since previous encounter with Red_Riding_Hood.EXE: Unknown!" he monotoned, his words as usual making almost absolutely no sense.

"Err, he means that it's been a while since he's last seen you, Red," Chris translated. "So, without further adieu, let us cleanse this Netscape with our powers of high-grade cleansing powder!" he said.

<(BATTLE 1, LAWL.)>
<(In the name of sweet coding, bump!)>
Virus Attack

A pair of scarecrows greet Binary and Red as they enters the net. They are accompanied by a trio of common mets.

MetoolA: 40
MetoolB: 40
MetoolC: 40
ScarecrowA: 100
ScarecrowB: 100

Binary: 160
Red: 190

Terrain: 100% Normal

Battle One Begin
As the viruses approached, or as the navis approached the viruses, rather, seeing as Scarecrows are usually immobile, Red kept two things in mind.

Quote ()

1) Scarecrows are electric.

2) Scarecrows are healed by said electricity.


"Alrighty, Binary-san! I'll take down the Scarecrows, you handle the rest okay!" Red cheered on her ally, waving happily.

"Show me your moves!" Shin commented, sending down three chips.

"FALCON PAAANCH!" the crimson crusader yelled, withdrawing a boomerang from her picnic basket and throwing it ferociously at the Scarecrows. The wooden implement whizzed dangerously through the air, spinning with malice directed at targeted viruses, threatening to slice them cleanly in half.

Myun the support unit descended at this point, bouncing around wistfully, watching the enemy for any sign of movement so she could dodge out of the way.

"One more for the audience! Here's to a happy anniversary!" the red-caped wonder shouted nonsensically, disappearing in a flash, and then phasing in behind the Scarecrows.

"Here, here!" the self-proclaimed Ace Netbattler cheered along, handing Chris another scoop of frozen yogurt and taking another for himself.

"Encore! Encore!" the wind navi giggled, whipping out a large wooden log from her picnic basket and sent it bowling over toward the Scarecrows.

"STRIKE!" Shin whooped, even though it probably wasn't true, as he spooned in some more yogurt to his mouth.

"Uh, are you guys okay?" Myun inquired, eyebrow raised at the duo's antics.

"Perfectly cheery little lass. Spot of tea Mr. Lemrock?" Shin replied, in a British Accent, sunglasses replaced with a monocle, a top hat over his head, offering a cup of tea to his scientist buddy.

"Jolly good, Myun. I daresay we must be having some fine weather to-day," Red commented, the wind swirling around her feet, ready to push her out of the way of imminent danger.

"I guess it's fine..." Myun mused at her owners' quizzical behavior.

Turn Summary:
1. Cheer Binary
2. Boomerang1 to ScarecrowA, B [60 Wood DMG x2(elemental Weakness) = 120 DMG]
3. Summon Myun
4. Areagrab behind ScarecrowA,B [Dodge, +Accuracy]
5. Ringlog1 to ScarecrowA,B [50 Wood DMG x2 (Elemental Weakness) =100 DMG]
*Gust: Dodge

Myun's Actions:
1. Dodge
(())
((After this battle))
Binary overlooked the small crowd and scanned their numbers. 3 Metools; easily taken care of, and two Scarecrows. Binary distinctly remembered the trouble that the lone one summoned by Evinn had caused for him; the ElecReels had been absolutely useless on them. What could he do....

Quote (Red_Riding_Hood.EXE)

"Alrighty, Binary-san! I'll take down the Scarecrows, you handle the rest okay!"


Binary would've smiled had be had a face. Count on Red to spring to the challenge; now all he had to do was wipe out a few common Mets. Though, he was posed with the same question as before: what could he do....

Binary was interrupted once again, this time by his rejoicing Operator, who had somehow conjured a top hat and monocle to match the man beside him's own copies, and was alternating between sipping a teacup full of Earl Grey and taking scoops out of a bowlful of frozen yogurt while making truely horrific run-on sentences. "Okey-day then, Boinary, heea's wot weea gooing to doo noo, wot wot," Chris said in a ridulously overdone British accent. "Oi'm gooing too send yoo soom tootally raandom chips, an' yoor goona goo aip sheet oon 'em, eh? Eh?" Binary couldn't pick up a few of Chris' words due to the sheer amount of Britishness he'd heaped on, but he'd understood, "random chips," and, "ape shit," which he'd quickly learned over the years was attack without yeild and don't really care about what you hit. "Chance of 1-round deletion: 100%!" Binary said.

"Oh roight, an' before Oi fo'get, yoor gooin into 1001, 'cause yoor fa' too bland like yoo aah noo, eh?" Chris added, hitting a few keys on his holographic screen. In a flashy, unexpected transformation sequence, Binary's form shifted and blotched with random colour until he became a eight-foot tall behemoth, with purple skin, six arms, floating another foot off the ground, and 1001 bright gold eyes looking out with wild-eyed shock.

"Warn me the next time you do that, if you would," 1001 boomed, his deep bass rolling off in a strange, Arabian-esque accent. He didn't hear a verbal reply, but instead felt 4 chips transferred into his systems. "May as well," he muttered to himself, springing into action.

He uploaded the first chip: a Shockwave. 1001 smiled and made a mental picture of a giant purple Met with six pickaxes brutally shaughtering many normal Mets with hyped-up shockwaves. It wouldn't be that far from the truth, he decided, as he clasped one set of hands together. He then clasped his second set, and his third set on top of the first ball until he held a great ball of knuckly flesh above his head. With a roar, 1001 brought his entire body downwards, crashing his arms down to the ground and denting the panel beneath the impact point. The panels directly in front of the one 1001 had pounded started rippling as some invisible force blew across them. The line, coincidentially, was on a beeline with as many of the three Mets as 1001 could have hit with as little time to prepare as he'd had.

1001 overlooked his next chip: it was one he'd never seen before; a Vulcan2. Shrugging, the great Djinn prepared the chip, and closed all 1001 of his eyes save for a single eye directly in the center of his right palm. The eye changed from it's normal gold state to a shining silver, the colour of metal. Holding his right arm with his left for steadiness, 1001 let loose a flurry of glowing bolts of energy from his eye, shooting into the rippled air that the Shockwave had had a part in. It was a bit hard to aim in, but what kind of three Mets could survive the combined efforts of 4 chips?

The next chip was quickly determined to be another new one; a Thunder chip. After some confusion, 1001 brought his hand up again, this time with the same eye a blinding yellow. The eye brought fruit in the form of a large ball of electricity, just sitting unmoving in the palm of his hand. Drawing in a large breath, 1001 held out his palm and blew, sending the Thunderball slowly floating towards the Met group, just to make sure that nothing remained.

As far as he could see, nothing as about to get back up. The massive purple Djinn Navi turned his head to Red. He said nothing for a while, but eventually broke into a wide grin and ducked down to roughly match Red's diminutive height. "We made short work of that, ehh? Here's to a job well done," he rumbled, holding out a palm in a gesture for high-fiving.

*Streamlined... (Add +1 Accuracy to Shockwave)

1. Streamlined Shockwave to Mets (40, Ground attack, Group attack, +1 Accuracy)

2. Vulcan2 to any one Met left (5x10)

3. Thunder to any of Met Group left (40, Homing)
((Cheap post to move this along, sorry guys))

Through short, concentrated bursts of madness, as well as perhaps a boomerang and giant rolling log, Red easily ends the two scarecrows. The mets follow close behind, victims of severe overkill on Binary's part.

MetoolA: deleted
MetoolB: deleted
MetoolC: deleted
ScarecrowA: deleted
ScarecrowB: deleted

Binary: 160
Red: 190

Hey, you win!
GET:
Red: 250z, 4 BugFrags
Binary: 350z

FXP: Each get 1 static, +1 not static
((WHERE THE HELL ARE MY BUGFRAGS? D:<))

"Alright Binary-san! We rock!" Red whooped, attempting to give her partner a hi-five. Apparently, the insanity from before had worn off.

"Yeah, couldn't have won without your help, Chris, Binary," Shin applauded his colleague, secretly noting to himself that he probably COULD have done it without their help, but hey, it's the thought that counts. "More yogurt?" the self-proclaimed ace netbattler offered.

((BATTLE TWOOOOOOOOOOOOO, when Phoenix Posts.))
1001 smiled, and slapped his massive palm against Red's. "Good fighting, Red," the Djinn said. "This truely beats busting viruses solo; the deed may still be honorable, but there's nobody to share the fun and the spoils with," he added.

"Binary," Chris suddenly stated, his face actually serious for once. "Stay on guard, something's telling me we're in for something big."

"Chris, where are you getting this from?" 1001 asked.

At this, Chris broke into a smile and answered, "The yogurt," letting Shin top off his bowl. "Here's to Shin and his yogurt," he cheered.

<(Battle 2, Asator. Hit us.)>
((Right, sorry, bugfrags given.))

Something big...

...never came.

For several minutes, Red and Binary stood, waiting for something to happen. For most of that, the wind was the only sound, suggesting that they were waiting for nothing. No viruses even came within their field of vision, much less tried to attack them.

Then, suddenly, another sound broke through. "Help me..." a faint voice spoke into the minds of the two navis.

The Netopian net didn't look any different from before. No random navis in pain, no mysterious houses, just a forest in the net off to the right. But that had been there before...

...hadn't it?
"Huh?" Red started, confused, looking around, but there was nothing to really indicate what had sent the message?

"What's wrong Red?" Shin questioned, obviously not being able to hear the faint voice from earlier as he took a spoonful of yogurt.

"I think I just heard someone say Help me, and... WHOA! Where'd this forest come from?" the red-caped wonder wondered, noticing the forest.

"Wanna check it out?" Shin suggested to Chris, grinning, but in his head, slightly concerned.

"I-is it really ok? It looks creepy?" the crimson crusader shuddered, clinging tight to 1001.

"Well, stick close to your buddy and you won't get lost," Shin advised, as Myun hopped up, holding Red's other hand.

"Do not worry, there are five of us here, so we are safe," Myun said in an attempt to comfort her mistress.

"Thanks Myun. So, shall we go?" Red inquired to Binary, ready to follow "him" to the forest.

((INTO THE WOODS~! INTO THE WOODS~!))
1001 furiously rubbed his many eyes, trying to figure out what had just happened. One second there had been nothing, then he'd blinked, and then ... the forest had just been there. "You may have been right, Chris. And even if I can't hear it, the voice in my head probably confirms it," the Navi rumbled.

"Wait, since when did you have a voice in your head too?" Chris asked, utterly confused.

"Since about ten seconds ago. I have no idea what it was, but it was very faint and all it said was 'Help me'," 1001 explained. "Shall we investigate?" he asked, then felt a pressure on one of his hands. He opened a few eyes to see what it was, and was surprised to see Red clinging to his hand.

"Well, I always did love a good adventure," Chris agreed to Shin's idea, but he was having some second thoughts in his head.

1001 bent far down until he matched Red's diminutive height again. "Red, you know that between the two of us, you're the stronger," 1001 said softly, his voice a low rumble. "We'll have to rely on each other to get through ... whatever lies within the forest. Stick close to me," he explained, and floated off into the woods, making sure he was going at a steady enough pace for Red's little legs to handle. Every single one of his eyes were open and glowing, making him their lantern.

<(Into the forest we goooooooo~!)>
As the two navis enter the forest, they realize that, by all appearances, it had been there the whole time. There was no indication that it had randomly grown, dropped in, been coded into the environment, or...

Just as this registers, the scene around them begins to warp. The lush environment, complete with dense growth on the ground as well as the towering trees, distorts before their eyes.

Seconds later, the forest reconstitutes itself, looking completely different from before. The ferns, vines, bushes, and other undergrowth were replaced with menacing thorny patches and weeds, waiting to trip up anyone passing through. The trees, still as dense as before, now appeared...well, dead. The light of the net had gone out as well, replaced with a cloudy night sky.

More than that, the path leading back into the regular net was gone, with the forest extending as far as the eye could see in all directions.
"Just what sort of sorcery is this?" 1001 boomed, his voice lost amongst the now-dead trees. The underbrush was gone, replaced by truly nasty-looking thornbushes and weeds of all kinds; 1001 was lucky he could float above such things. The Net's light had all but gone, replaced by a dark night sky; his eye's lights were the only light available to the two of them now. He hoped desperately that it would be enough to guide him and Red.

"Chris. Any idea what's going on here?" the Navi asked.

"Nothing. There's no way in hell I can decode the data of the entire area on such short notice," Chris replied, lines of code running across his screen.

1001 made to turn back, but there was no path left. "Which way, Red?" he asked.
Red let out frightened squeak as the environment changed to match something like a cursed forest. She shifted her eyes side to side, but knew it was no use. The crimson crusader widened her eyes as something furry rubbed against her leg. It was Myun, trying to comfort her.

Determined, the red-caped wonder clenched her teeth, narrowed her eyes, and tightened her grip on 1001's arm.

"We go forward."

((INTO THE WOODS TO SAVE THE KINGDOM))
The path continues ahead of both navis, however, so they decide to take it. Barely a minute in, however, the path splits. There is light coming from the left fork, but it is also more overgrown with thornbushes.

From the right path, the clearer of the two (in the immediate area at least), there is nothing but darkness, with no end in sight.

((Go left? Go right?))
"When faced with two seemingly horrible choices, you must pick the lesser of two evils," Red mused, trembling as she shifted her head left to right, pondering upon which path they should take.

"Tread carefully through the thorns, Binary-san," the red-caped wonder decided, pointing to the left, starting to go that direction. "We're going lef-" she started, but Shin interrupted her by popping up in his holoscreen.

"We're going right, guys. Light in the middle of the forest leads to clear answer, the darkness will surely take us to the source of this," Shin suggested bravely.

"A-a-are you crazy! The light path is-" Red started, panicking, before her netop interrupted her again.

"Taking the easy way out won't help anyone become stronger," the self-proclaimed Ace Netbattler concluded. "Light up the darkness by heading into it."

"O-ok-ka-ay..." the crimson crusader stuttered, stumbling toward the right.

((INTO THE WOODS, TO THE RIGHT, TO FIND THE SOURCE OF DARKNESS))
"Problems are made to solve. To take the seemingly easier route is to run away from the problem. To press onward and never look back directly through the center is to nip the problem while it's still a bud," 1001 scripted in his deep bass.

"The darkness cannot be natural, nor can the light," Chris continued from 1001's speech. "But while light helped mankind evolve into what we are now, darkness was always right there beneath us, threatening to plunge us into it's inky, infinite depths. One wrong choice and we could've fallen forever."

He lit up in a grin. "But when the darkness openly presents itself to us, deep within it lies an opening. An opening to destroy it and prevent it from ever happening again," he finished. "Binary, you're the torch. Light the way."

Binary's brightly shining eyes did their best to light up the pathway. He thought for a second, then gently squeezed Red's hand twice to indicate he was still there and continued on a bit ahead of her, being her torch.

<(The right way is truly the right way to go, yes it is.)>
Amidst inspiring speeches, the two navis go the right way. The forest grows even denser around them, but still none of the plantlife seems to still hold the 'life' quality.

The silence is only broken by their own footsteps for awhile before the path splits again. Down the right path, only for a split second, they here something that sounds like a low howl. The opposite path, in the meantime, is remarkably silent. However, one could have sworn that there was something waiting down that path, just beyond visibility.

((Possible directions: Left, Right, Backtrack. Turn count: 1))