Melee and Mieli's Romp Through Netopia

"Huh... A princess outfit. No, I don't think that's quite my speed, actually. When I said 'dress up like a girl' I didn't mean I wanted you to be all dolled up and covering up that body. What I'd actually rather see is a little more-" he started, rubbing his chin, before some loud noise from his operator cut off his train of thought. "Scuse me a sec."

"Tact, MeleeMan! Tact!" Rania hissed over the microphone. "You don't have to be so rude!"

"I'm not being rude at all," MeleeMan replied in a matter-of-fact way, walking on with a broad-shouldered swagger. "I'm actually giving her a compliment, telling her I like her body enough that I think she should-" Again he was cut off by Rania's voice. "Well, nevermind that, Mieli. I never said it before, but my name is MeleeMan. I want you to show me what the hell we're supposed to be doing out here.

((Waiting on Asator for mission))

"Yes, I'm sure you would like that," Mieli answered, rolling her eyes. "Just like I'd like to see you wearing a dunce cap, but we can't have everything, can we?

"Meleeman, is it? Well, it seems you already know my name, so I won't insult your intelligence further by telling you again, goodness knows you're probably insecure about that." She giggled, knowing this to be false but wanting to see his reaction anyway.

Before Meleeman could respond, however, both navis caught sight of a single virus wearing an oversized top hat, running away from their general area.

"I am insecure about nothing," MeleeMan answered with a frown, as if not comprehending being insulted rather than simply shrugging it off. "And if you really want to, I'd be perfectly happy to trade off my helmet for some silly hat if it meant seeing more of your body. I mean, anything I possibly lack in brains, I make up for three fold with my," he paused, appealing to her by flexing his tremendous biceps, "perfect, manly body. My mere silhouette is certain to make women swoon and fall into fever."

"That doesn't happen," Rania snapped back. MeleeMan acted like he hadn't even noticed her speak. "Anyways, that was a virus running off. You saw it, right?"

His jaw twitched for a moment. He'd missed it entirely. "Of course I saw it, but what do we want with it? And just which direction did it head off in anyway?"

Rania answered him unenthusiastically. "Anyways, I haven't heard her mention anything else yet. Maybe that virus is... I doubt that virus is the reason you're out here... It seemed to be running from you, didn't it?"

"Yeah, like a damned chicken with its head cut off," MeleeMan answered, suddenly angry at a virus he hadn't yet even seen. "Let's go beat the velvet lining out of that guy's hat." He started a few steps in that direction, then suddenly stopped, turning his head around with his mouth hidden by his massive, upturned collar. "Is that the thing we're looking for?"

"Swoon and fall into fever? Funny, I don't seem to have done that yet. Is there a certain amount of time it takes?" Mieli taunted, looking in the direction the virus had went.

"No, that's not what I was looking for," she responded after a minute of listening to Meleeman and his netop argue, then the former try to charge blindly ahead. "But it may be in our best interest to follow it anyway. Viruses don't run away from navis without cause, it was likely moving toward something."

She shrugged, following Meleeman. "But since you're so eager," she added, "why don't you lead the way?"

"Fair enough. It's a man's duty to lead the way," MeleeMan smirked in response, crossing his heavy arms across his chest and turning to head off in the direction Rania had pointed out. He could still vaguely see a shape on the horizon; hopefully, that was the virus that had run past them. His vision had never been amazing, but he guessed that was it.

He put his arms back down to his sides, walking onward with his masculine swagger.

Through some strange twist of luck, the shape Meleeman saw was the virus Rania had noticed earlier. It turned around as they got close enough to see it clearly, then kept moving, acting as though the two navis weren't worth its time.

"How rude," Mieli muttered, obviously getting that impression as well.

In the distance, however, they could see what it was running toward. A large building stood up ahead, simple in design with a symbol above the entrance that was impossible to distinguish from so far away. Several other native viruses were gathered in front of the entrance. What they were doing, however, they were unable to tell.

"What the hell do all of those viruses want with that building?" MeleeMan mused, stroking his chin with one of his large, gloved hands as he tried to make the connection. "Maybe it's some structure they're planning to break down or infect? Don't they do that kind of thing?"

"Well, they're being fairly passive if that's their intention. I'd imagine it's something else. If Mieli allows, head there to find out," Rania instructed him.

"Screw that," he laughed, heading in that direction to check it out himself.

((Bump))

"Well, you're certainly eager," Mieli commented, slowly following after Meleeman. The symbol above the entrance was revealed, as they drew closer, to be a clock face. The hands were frozen at noon...or possibly midnight. Other than that, it looked like an ordinary stone building with no door covering the entrance.

As they approached, a few of the viruses skittered into the doorway. Seconds later, however, they were thrown back out the entrance and sent tumbling. The other viruses exclaimed something in their own language. A swordy moved forward and poked the gap with its weapon, but nothing happened. It tried to enter...but got thrown out as well.

None of the viruses seemed to have noticed them yet.

____


---Enemies---
Ahead (1 move from melee range unless otherwise specified):
SwordyA: 60 HP (Confused) (On Holy Panel) (2 moves ahead)
SwordyB: 60 HP
SwordyC: 60 HP
BigHatA: 100 HP (Confused)
BigHatB: 100 HP (Confused)
BighatC: 100 HP
BigHatD: 100 HP

Ahead and to left (2 moves from melee range):
BasherA: 120 HP
BasherB: 120 HP
BeetankEX: 90 HP

Ahead and to right (2 moves from melee range):
SpookyEXA: 50 HP (Confused)
SpookyEXB: 50 HP
YortEX: 120 HP


---Allies---
Meleeman: 300 HP
Mieli: 160 HP

---Terrain---
Normal: 95%
Holy: 5% (in front of entrance)

---Locations---
Building:
-Entrance 2 moves ahead: ???
-Outer wall 2 moves ahead (entrance not included): Large wall.


Combat has not yet begun.

"Uh... Damn... There's a lot of them," MeleeMan muttered quietly, rubbing his chin with one of his large hands irritably. "It sure didn't seem like this many from far off..."

"Shh!" Rania hushed her navi, placing one finger over her lips and using a quick hand motion, rising from high to low, to show him to keep his voice down. "You've got the element of surprise right now, so don't spoil it by talking too much. I need you to be silent while I give you a strategy to use here. You might not be able to see it clearly, but the enemies extend even past all of those sword viruses that you can see immediately in front of you."

MeleeMan tried standing up taller, but couldn't see any farther. "What all are they?" he whispered through clenched teeth.

"There's some large viruses that look something like cannons and other various enemies, but they're all pretty powerful looking. Still, they're too far for you to get at them with your fists, so if you started planning to just rush past the small fries when you heard that, go ahead and forget it," Rania told her navi.

"You mean you think I can't hit them?" MeleeMan asked quietly, interpreting the statement as a challenge. "Is that what you're saying?"

"No, not that you can't hit them, but that it would be unwise. First try to focus on the sword viruses and clear that wall, then you can-" Rania replied, but was cut off once again.

MeleeMan gave a small tsk tsk, remembering to keep quiet. "Hesitation is for the weak, Rania. If those guys are the threat, then they're the ones I'm taking out, end of story. Gimme the rockcube, the tankcannon, and a couple of firehits for those other chumps once I'm done."

Rania shook her head irritably, then slotted in the chips. Arguing with him would make him louder, which would definitely alarm the viruses and reveal his position. It was probably best just to trust him on this.

"Alright, Mieli, you can use this rock to hide behind while I use it to elevate my position," MeleeMan whispered, not actually particularly caring whether she heard him or not. The comment was really just for his own ego more than for an actual strategy. "Just keep quiet and don't shake the rock." MeleeMan summoned the rock in as covert and shadowy a place as he could find, then reached up with his strong, thick arms, hooking his hands over the top of the cube's surface. The metal fingers of his gloves dug into the cube as he got proper traction, then hoisted himself up on top, thanking himself for his height. "Great, this thing should be able to support me," he thought confidently, trying to position himself as expertly as he could upon the flat upper face of the block.

"That thing's got to have a recoil like getting hit by a rhino. You'd better kneel down to fire it so that at least you might fall on your bottom," Rania sighed, still not putting much faith in the success of the idea.

"Ha. Don't you know my rules of physics? A MeleeMan in place stays in place. I'm immovable like a mountain," he smirked, trying to get the Beetank viruses amidst the Bashers lined up in his tankcannon's scope. He did indeed kneel down, trying to give himself as much traction as he could manage, then fired off the rifle into the enemy ranks. MeleeMan might have stayed atop the rock (he was certainly trying to), might have not. But regardless, he knew that anything that was brave enough to fight him now that he knew that he was there was an enemy worthy of facing off against his mighty fists. If worse came to worse and there was just too many to handle...

"If I can't back onto my feet then I'll just have to roll," he told himself, his jaw working quickly back and forth. "I sure hope that girl's got plans of her own," he thought, then corrected himself, realizing he'd told her to stay behind the rock earlier. "Shoot."

1) Place Rockcube
2) Tankcannon 1 to BeetankEX, BasherA, BasherB [120]
3) Firehit1 to enemies that approach [75]
4) Firehit1 to enemies that approach [75]
5) Roll to dodge

Mieli was torn between amusement and annoyance as she listened to Meleeman. They hadn't even proved to be ready to attack them and still he wanted to charge into battle. "You must be..." she started, only to stop in surprise as the headstrong brawler planted a rockcube in front of her and climbed on top of it.

Or tried to, anyway, but failed to do more than hoist himself a couple feet, then fall back to the ground. Mieli giggled. The gem set into her tiara glistened slightly as she raised a hand. "I'll be taking that," she said.

Meanwhile, Meleeman put his own theory to the test, firing off the massive tank cannon while trying not to be blown over by the recoil. Amazingly, he succeeded, and with that managed to reduce both bashers and the beetank to soot stains on the walls of the building.

This proved, however, to be a mistake.

As soon as the cannon went off, every one of the other viruses in the area spun around. The confusion of the ones that had been hurled bodily out of the building was starting to wear off, and looks of recognition spread across the faces of the viruses that had them. The ones that were trying to force their way in stopped, including the had-been-confused Swordy, which now drew a blade. The nearest of the hat-wearing viruses pulled a glowing orb out from...under its hat, then chucked it onto the ground next to Mieli.

"Now you've done it," she signed, still half amused. She closed her eyes, pointing her hand at the rockcube. The chunk of stone rose slowly into the air in front of her, hovering above where it had been sitting, just high enough to block attacks which never came. The other two Swordy viruses did attack, though they seemed more interested in gliding up to get punched in the face by Meleeman. Which they did valiantly and in turn were burnt. The third seemed to recognize its advantage in staying right in front of the entrance, however, and stayed put. Mieli's plan for the rockcube became apparent, however, when she chucked it and the flashbomb directly at the final Swordy.

The cube broke against the sword wielder, shattering its armor and deleting the virus in the process. The bomb, meanwhile, went straight into the entrance and was, predictably, flung out. Unlike the viruses, however, it was flung clear over the battlefield and harmlessly into the distance. Satisfied, Mieli dodged quickly as a bladed yo-yo from the flying virus to their right came her way and toward Meleeman, who also rolled out of the way, and positioned herself where the swordy had been.

Though the other hatted viruses seemed content to sit there, the two masked ones that had flanked the Yort teleported to each of the navis, hitting each with...tongue slaps...before returning to their original locations.

____


---Enemies---
Ahead (1 move from melee range unless otherwise specified):
SwordyA: Deleted
SwordyB: Deleted
SwordyC: Deleted
BigHatA: 100 HP
BigHatB: 100 HP
BighatC: 100 HP
BigHatD: 100 HP

Ahead and to left (2 moves from melee range):
BasherA: Deleted
BasherB: Deleted
BeetankEX: Deleted

Ahead and to right (2 moves from melee range):
SpookyEXA: 50 HP
SpookyEXB: 50 HP
YortEX: 120 HP


---Allies---
Meleeman: 270 HP
Mieli: 145 HP (On Holy Panel) (2 moves ahead)

---Terrain---
Normal: 95%
Holy: 5% (in front of entrance)

---Objects---
RockCube: Destroyed
FlashBomb: somewhere out there

---Locations---
Building:
-Entrance 2 moves ahead: ???
-Outer wall 2 moves ahead (entrance not included): Large wall.


Combat has been forcibly begun courtesy of Meleeman

MeleeMan attempted to pound his fist into his rockcube, angered by having his attempt to mount it foiled by his inability to quickly get a grip, only to find it missing entirely and stumble over disorientedly. "What? She used my cube?" he growled through his teeth to Rania.

"Yes. She used it a lot better than you would have, really, even if you had managed to get on top of it," Rania replied, holding back a chuckle. It had honestly been pretty hilarious to watch him try to scramble on top of it with his long arms and legs only to fall back to the ground. She decided, however, that it would probably be best to avoid laughing, as that would only stimulate his anger further.

"Damn! No girl is going to show me up in a fight like this!" MeleeMan roared. He tried to focus his ordinarily violent thoughts... with an utter lack of success. It wasn't in his capacity to try to think up something manly enough; he knew it would work better just to do it and not think about it at all. "You know what, Rania? Just send me the magbolt this time. We're going to show that little kiddy toy in the back there what it means to be a man."

Rania scratched her head for a moment, confused. "What, really? He's pretty far in the back. Even your magbolt won't be able to draw him closer to fight you, and it'll be hard to get back there to hit it with him yourself..." she told him, reluctantly slotting in the chip. "You sure that's all you want?"

"Yeah, that's all I want," he answered with a grin. Swaggering forward in a manly way, he looked down at Mieli, giving her his most confident smile. It was handsome at one moment, then sneering and chauvinistic the next. "Watch the way a man does it," he laughed, bracing up his body. First, he readied his magbolt weapon onto one hand, windmilling his arm briefly to loosen up the joint. He glared forward, waiting for the attack to come at him. "If it goes for Mieli, just as well. There's enough distance for me to intercept it," he thought, his upper lip curling into a sneer. "Pitch it to me."

Once the weapon came to him, MeleeMan certainly didn't plan to just give it back. His plan targeted the rest of those hat-wearing viruses. Taking them out with his fists would be manly and was quite a tempting prospect, but it lacked the flair he was looking for. Instead, MeleeMan planned to try to snatch the disk as it came to him, catching it strongly with his magnetic arm, then, after getting both hands securely around, he would hurl the discus powerfully into the enemy ranks. It was simple, Spartan, and bold in its manliness. It struck a good cord with him and he felt a not-at-all fleeting feeling of self-pride.

All of this didn't allow for much other mobility on his part, but he was prepared to do his best after he managed to get that disc and use it to the satisfaction of his whims.

"Pitch it."

1) Prepare magbolt to catch disc of Yo-Yo
2) Brace self for impact
3) If Yo-Yo attacks Mieli instead, move in front
4) If disk is caught, throw into Bighat crowd
5) Dodge with remaining energy

Surprisingly, the yo-yo wielding virus shot its weapon forward, directly at Meleeman. Even more surprisingly, when the fist fighter attempted to counter by catching it with a magnet...he succeeded. The weapon stuck to the magnet and stopped spinning, but the extra forward momentum kept it rolling forward until one of the blades dug into Meleeman's shoulder, then stopped completely.

Mieli shrugged, still amused. "Well, watching you hurt yourself is quite entertaining," she said.

As if to shut her up, Meleeman turned and threw the spinning blade into the group of hatted viruses, where it bowled two of them over and landed uselessly against the wall behind them. Meanwhile, the virus it originated from was disrupted by the catch-and-throw tactic and had fallen out of the air, skidding across the ground. Both of the spooky viruses teleported out of its path, but...didn't really do anything.

One of the hit BigHats tossed another yellow orb onto the ground between Meleeman and Mieli. The other prepared to do so as well, before being hit from behind by the same yo-yo as it retracted back into the Yort's body.

"Well, that was a pretty good show," Mieli said, mocking an applauding motion. She closed her eyes again, and seconds later several cuts appeared on the more badly damaged hat virus out of nowhere, finishing it off. She then folded her arms again and leaned against the doorway, trying not to actually fall in. "Oh, by the way," she added, "Maybe this'll help you out a little." An hourglass flashed into existence and began floating over Meleeman's head.

One of the Spookys, which had now taken up residence behind Meleeman, decided to attack him after all, but Meleeman managed to dodge it.

___


--Enemies---
Ahead (1 move from melee range unless otherwise specified):
SwordyA: Deleted
SwordyB: Deleted
SwordyC: Deleted
BigHatA: 70 HP
BigHatB: Deleted
BighatC: 100 HP
BigHatD: 100 HP

Ahead and to left (2 moves from melee range):
BasherA: Deleted
BasherB: Deleted
BeetankEX: Deleted

No longer just ahead and to right:
SpookyEXA: 50 HP (2 moves ahead, 2 move to right)
SpookyEXB: 50 HP (1 move behind)
YortEX: 100 HP (On Ground) (1 move to right)


---Allies---
Meleeman: 240 HP (+1 Action)
Mieli: 145 HP (On Holy Panel) (2 moves ahead)

---Terrain---
Normal: 95%
Holy: 5% (in front of entrance)

---Objects---
RockCube: Destroyed
FlashBomb: somewhere out there
FlashBomb2: 20 HP (1 move ahead)

---Locations---
Building:
-Entrance 2 moves ahead: ???
-Outer wall 2 moves ahead (entrance not included): Large wall.

"That is the way a man does it," MeleeMan grinned confidently, turning to Mieli, crossing his arms, and trying to, as covertly as he could, move one hand beneath his coat to rub the injured spot near his shoulder. His grin momentarily flickered into a wince, but he recovered quickly. "A man absorbs such an attack as though it were nothing."

Rania shook her head, sighing and opening up one of the HUD screens to reveal MeleeMan's remaining vitality. "You just took a lot of really unnecessary damage. Even if you have a lot of health, it's stupid to waste it like that just to show off, isn't it?" she asked him, tapping her finger against the HUD, forgetting that he couldn't see it himself.

"Hmph. It's not about showing off, it's about doing what comes naturally. Anyways, Mieli's given me this strange thing over my head, but I feel a little faster. I'm not going to be ambitious this time around. Give me the firesword and I'll go to work. Fun's fun, but I'm just ready for these guys to take the dive at this point," he grumbled, glaring at the spooky hovering behind him. "Those guys move around a lot, so I've got to be precise to hit them."

"Then wouldn't a markcannon make more sense?" Rania asked him, tapping her fingers against her arms, which she'd crossed moodily upon the table. MeleeMan, of course, simply ignored that comment.

Swinging the firesword through the air as it appeared upon his gauntlet, creating a wide arc of lingering flames, MeleeMan smiled back at her. "Don't be stupid. A sword can be just as precise as some lame cannon. It's all in the wrist with a thing like this," he laughed, swiping it once across the air to show the speed, then giving a quick jab.

"First off, you guys," he smirked, moving for the remaining of the hat-wearing viruses. Running forward with his shoulder outward, gearing back his arm for power, he swung the blade in a wide horizontal arc, then, for good measure, wrapped it up with another strike. Not stopping, he braced himself like a footballer, performed a U-turn, then dashed right for the yo-yo virus. "This is overdue!" he growled, thrusting the sword down toward its position, then lifting and jamming it back down again. "Hopefully the only things left to worry about will be those annoying as hell ghosts, but heh, they'd have to be a couple of morons to stick around after this," he smirked, mentally appraising the enemy's remaining fighting strength.

1) Rush for Bighats
2) Firesword BighatA, Bighat C, Bighat D [90]
3) Firesword BighatA, Bighat C, Bighat D [90]
4) Move for YortEX
5) Firesword Yort EX [90]
+1) Firesword YortEX [90]

"I have to agree, it's kinda stupid to absorb damage to show off," Mieli commented, echoing Rania's sentiments. "It's quite an amusing show, though. Kinda like watching a slinky fall down a staircase." She winked and continued leaning against the door frame, letting Meleeman take down more of the viruses.

Which, amazingly, he managed to do with relative ease. The grounded Yort tried to retaliate as Meleeman approached after finishing off the hats, but its attack went wide as ir was burned by two slashes, despite only the tip connecting. One of the ghost viruses teleported in front of Meleeman during the last strike, missing and being caught in the swing.

The other, meanwhile, found itself impaled on a sword that had come flying through the aid from Mieli's position. She shrugged, having not moved her arms from their positions folded across her chest.

The flashbomb flashed several times before being impaled and destroyed as the weapon returned to Mieli and dissipated.

___


--Enemies---
Ahead (1 move from melee range unless otherwise specified):
SwordyA: Deleted
SwordyB: Deleted
SwordyC: Deleted
BigHatA: Deleted
BigHatB: Deleted
BighatC: Deleted
BigHatD: Deleted

Ahead and to left (2 moves from melee range):
BasherA: Deleted
BasherB: Deleted
BeetankEX: Deleted

No longer just ahead and to right:
SpookyEXA: Deleted
SpookyEXB: Deleted
YortEX: Deleted


---Allies---
Meleeman: 240 HP
Mieli: 145 HP (On Holy Panel) (2 moves ahead and 1 to the left)

---Terrain---
Normal: 95%
Holy: 5% (in front of entrance)

---Objects---
RockCube: Destroyed
FlashBomb: somewhere out there
FlashBomb2: Destroyed

---Locations---
Building:
-Entrance 2 moves ahead and 1 to the left: ???
-Outer wall 2 moves ahead (entrance not included): Large wall.

VICTORY!
GET: 1200z, Yo-Yo1

"Damn. Finally. Stupid viruses," MeleeMan sighed, releasing his firesword. "C'mon, Mieli, let's head on inside. I'm going to die if I don't figure out what this mission is all about sometime soon. Why are you holding out? Just tell me already," he grunted, crossing his arms across his chest.

Still, it had been a fairly pleasant surprise to find out she could fight. Pleasant cause he hated having dead weight around. Actually, kinda unpleasant, because he'd be forced to take back his initial impression of her. He wasn't quite sure yet whether that made the whole realization good or bad. He'd think it over.

"Keep your guard up, MeleeMan. There's likely to be something else big in here if all of those viruses were trying to get in," Rania pointed out, watching her screen eagerly.

"Ha! It's probably just some data archive or something. Viruses don't gravitate towards large enemies, right?" MeleeMan guffawed.

Rania shook her head in response, crossing her own arms. "Actually, remember those cybeasts? They seemed to be attracting viruses." MeleeMan mostly ignored her, keeping on towards the entrance. "There's uh... not still some kinda barrier, is there?" he asked, knocking his fist twice at the area of the door to see if it would repel him.

Mieli flicked her hand into the doorway, only to have it pushed out. "Looks like it," she said, leaning into the doorway. Her body stopped, was pushed out slightly, then repeated the process until it came to rest. "It's elastic," she observed.

"Though to answer your question, I was drawn here," she said. "Mostly out of curiosity. The knowledgeable always seek more knowledge and all that, and this thing has to have something in it, what with the cleverly designed barrier." She tapped the elastic barrier with one hand, sighing. "You're here because venturing alone into unknown territory is a stupid idea, especially for someone with limited battle capabilities." Though the response made sense, it still gave the impression she was leaving something out.

"Well yeah, I guess that's a good reason to be out here," MeleeMan nodded in agreement. "But still, this barrier's 'elastic,' so it repels any attempt to just break through it regularly. How are you planning to get inside?"

Rania shook her head. "I think she might be hoping we'll come up with something ourselves. Well, if a material is elastic, it's silly to try to break it with ordinary force applied directly forward. You'd do far better to cut it with something if you think you can."

"Huh? I don't see how the hell you think that would work. What do you say?" he asked Mieli, turning his head and raising one eyebrow.

"It's an energy barrier," Mieli said, almost exasperated as she tapped it again. "What good will trying to cut an energy barrier do?"

"No," she said, turning around and bracing both hands on the doorway to peer inside. "It's specifically designed to only be dispelled from the inside, most likely." She moved one hand to slowly depress it against the barrier. She closed her eyes, for a second. A rockcube traced itself into existence just on the other side. Still, when she pulled away, she appeared frustrated. "It's no use," she said, shaking her head. "As long as they're summoned, I can get things inside. But something's blocking my telekinesis, so I can't do anything with them."

She moved away, revealing the interior of the building. It seemed empty at first, save for the rockcube and a protrusion on the opposite wall. The rockcube itself was almost directly against the barrier, close enough that they could almost touch it.

"Hey, my sword works just fine on most barriers," MeleeMan responded irritably. Realizing that Rania had said it originally and that he had inadvertently defended her viewpoint, he frowned, but remained otherwise stationary. "But really, can you transport people with your ability to? Because if you can, just pop me in there and I'll do whatever you need done by myself," he told her, crossing his arms impatiently.

Rania had her doubts as to Mieli's capability to do something like that, so she squinted hard, trying to get a better look at the inside of the building. She then slapped herself on the forehead again, remembering her zoom in feature and tried to get a look at what the protrusion at the opposite wall might be.