Ship and Pyre

(Coord.dat used)

Ship appeared on the net in a beam designed to mimic a spray of blue ocean water (used once but only once in an advertisement). As she hit the floor, the relatively massive form of her boat arose from the water, rocking a bit as it readjusted to its center of gravity. Once it settled, Ship took a look around herself... this would be only the second time she had visited an actual Net.
Ship had set sail upon the Dentech network, and other than the occasional data file zipping by, it seemed rather plain. However, she quickly noticed several objects in the distance, and upon closer inspection seemed to be collection of seemingly randomly-placed tombstones and statues. Though the area was lacking fog, dimmed lights, and a spooky soundtrack, it seems Ship was near a graveyard.

There was one particular tombstone that stood out to her, not because of it's inherent creepyness, but because of the figure sitting atop of the 7' tall stone monument. The figure was facing away from Ship, and the figure's features were difficult to point out. The figure had shoulder blade-length blond hair, which wavily rested on the figure's pale blue and magenta robes. The figure's clothing almost appeared to be weightless, since it was off to the side and waved slowly as if trapped by a lazily passing breeze. One of the figure's sleeve-covered arms reached down and secured the silver end cap of a long spear that extended towards the ground. The spear's shaft was a reddish brown, while the spearhead that partially pierced the ground below as a polished silver.

The figure didn't seem to notice Ship's arrival, and continued to sit atop the tombstone.
Ship came across the figure in the graveyard. While Lyn's defense instincts were automatically keyed up by the tombstones, Ship wasn't even really familiar with what they were. As usual, the info was somewhere far back in her memory in a file she'd never had to access at her work. As such, she floated into the foreboding territory relatively unfazed. "Is that who we're supposed to be looking for?" Ship whispered, attempting a stealthy approach in spite of her huge size.

"Probably, yeah," Lyn muttered, still cool but no longer casual. "Best thing to do might be to go ahead and call out. Most likely it's the right chick, if not... eh, she'll be an enemy like DarkSuckerZero was." Lyn lit her pipe and clenched it in her teeth as she continued. "If she is, we'll just fight her. No guarantees, but then again, where are there?"

Ship nodded before removing her hands from her steering wheel and coasting to a stop. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she called out to the mysterious figure. "Pyre? Is that you?"
The somewhat spooky ambiance of the area clearly had no effect on the sheltered little Navi, and she proceeded to call out to the figure. The robed figure sitting on the tombstone turned her head towards Ship. Ship was close enough to see the figure's face, the left side of her face was completely obscured by her slightly wavy blond hair, but the right side revealed the figure's somewhat pale, fair skin. She could also see a single green eye look back at her, framed by long eyelashes.

Ship could only see the figure for a brief moment, because as soon as their eyes met, the figure faded away as if she was made entirely of mist. Almost immediately after the figure disappeared, Ship heard a voice behind her.

Why hello there, little one.

Though the voice was rather abrupt, it had a calm, upbeat tone.
With or without knowledge of tombstones, Ship could appreciate the phantasmal qualities of the Navi's disappearing act. Ship had only a few seconds to look around in a futile effort to find where the woman she'd presumed to be Pyre had disappeared to. When the disembodied voice rang out behind her, Ship gave a nervous jump and yelp before quickly turning in her smokestack, her ship rotating slowly beneath her to conform to her body's movement. "I-I'm Ship! You're Pyre?"

"She responded to the name, so it's a safe guess," Lyn scoffed, understandably less affected on her end of the PET. "We can't tell if she's teasing with you or actually a potential threat, so stay on your guard."
Ship turned to the sound of the voice, and for a moment there didn't seem to be anything behind her either. However, just after Ship's slightly nervous response, the air in front of her seemed to become distorted, as if it was made of a moving cloth. It was then made clear as the distorted air literally became cloth, as she eventually saw Pyre's hands slip a hood off her own head as the rest of her robes came into view. It was then that she was able to take a good look at the Navi before her. Pyre's pale blue and magenta robes were wrapped somewhat loosely around her body, and were secured to her waist by a woven leather belt with her Navi symbol as the buckle. Her somewhat ample chest made the robes appear a little tighter, but from her waist down the cloth of her robes hung loose and waved lazily in the air.

Yes, my name is Pyre.EXE. Nice to meet you, Ship!

Pyre was floating several feet off the ground, so she was standing at the same height as Ship. She had a friendly smile on her face, but half of it was obscured by the bangs of her hair, just like the rest of the left side of her face. Her right eye was a deep emerald color with just a ring or two of bright green. She looked directly at Ship's face as she spoke.

I must say, you look adorable in that outfit! I haven't seen a Navi as cute as you in a while.

[Well, now we know we don't have to verify this Navi's identity. Her name couldn't be more literal.]

A pop-up window opened next to Pyre, and showed a video feed of her Operator. She appeared to be in her mid to late-20s, and had almond-brown hair tied in a conservative ponytail. Her eyes were almost gray, but had a hint of blue. Her skin wasn't much darker than her Navi's but she had just a few faint freckles on her cheeks. She may have tried to conceal them with makeup, but it didn't appear she was wearing much at all, not as if she needed it anyway. There wasn't much seen below her neck, but she appeared to be wearing a dark collared shirt, and some sort of white garment over top of it.

Pyre looked back to her operator as she put one of her hands on her waist.
That wasn't exactly the best introduction, Joanna... This is my Operator, Joanna Grímsson.

Her operator acknowledged the Navi's statement about her lack of formality, and politely introduced herself.
[My apologies, I'm Joanna. It's a pleasure.]
Ship continued to stare somewhat blankly even following Pyre's introduction, but finally managed to shake off her willies upon receiving what she took to be a good-natured fashion compliment. "Why, thank you! You might have seen me on TV, actually, I'm-"

Lyn's face blipped into view beside her Navi, calling out in interruption. "Oi! Never mind your introduction. We're just here to do work, remember? The temporary employees don't have a lotta need to rub elbows with the bosses, all right?"

"Oh, Lyn," Ship chided, raising a hand to her cheek. "It's fine if we talk a little bit, right? Besides, I want to get to know Pyre! Don't you think she's pretty?"

"Yeah, she looks pretty, all right... pretty f*cked up," Lyn muttered, tapering off in the end as she puffed her pipe. "And you're Joanna, right?" Lyn turned her attention to the other operator's face that had appeared. "I'm Lyn, the one who took your mission. As long as we're cutting the mustard before our business, you're with the police, huh?" Lyn tilted her head back a bit and didn't bother to remove the pipe from her mouth as she talked. "We going to be working directly with police business, or is this a personal request?"
Pyre continued to smile at the ship-born Navi before her attention shifted Lyn's pop up window. Pyre noted the brashness of the cute Navi's Operator, but it kind of reminded her of her own Operator when she was younger. She was about to introduce herself to Lyn, before she was abruptly cut off by her response. She originally smiled as the response seemed to be a compliment, but she managed to keep her smile as Lyn's statement became a rather disgusting insult.

Pyre seemed to take the verbal jab in stride, and Joanna showed no physical reaction, but it definitely did not start their meeting on the right foot. Joanna had taken a good look at the Operator, and started to make different hypothesis in her mind.

{Hm, so this is her operator. Not exactly what I expected. Age: late teens, likely high school age, though she probably doesn't bother with school. Odd choice of clothing and tattoo...}

Joanna's thoughts were interrupted by Lyn's question.
{Obviously not in good terms with police.}
[I just happen to work [i]with[/i] the police, call it a family business. And this is a personal request. It has been a while since Pyre and I have done some serious virus busting, and Pyre insists busting with a partner would be most effective for getting back in shape. I may not get paid much, but you and your Navi will be well rewarded if you care to stick around.]


She went back to her visual deconstruction of Ship's NetOp in her mind.
{...could possibly be gang logos, or she may just have some sort of relationship with maritime life. Probably family involvement, since that may explain the old sailing hat, maybe from her father or even grandfather. She seems to have a near perfect negative personality of her Navi, though one of them may just be putting up a front.}

Pyre instantly recognized Joanna's tone as she responded to Lyn. After literally watching her grow up over the years, she knew exactly when her operator finds a particular interest in someone. Her job with deconstructing and understanding crime scenes, and corpses in particular, has sharpened her skills in deductive observation, and her hunger for understanding the unknown only made her that much better in her profession. Though they were on vacation, Lyn just became her newest "case."

We're just looking for some busting partners. I'm a little rusty, but I can still hold my own. Interested?
Lyn couldn't tell what Joanna was thinking, but she could tell she when was being scrutinized. Lyn had had enough of that for a lifetime with her new Navi, and she'd be damned if she was going to let this pale chick have a go at it as well. Lyn barely knew who Sigmund Freud was and lately she'd still wanted to kick his *ss.

At the same time, though, what Joanna had proposed intrigued her. In the end, wasn't this just another form of paid Navi training she was being offered? Lyn's cocky switch flipped on. "Well now, help whipping your Navi into shape? Why, it just so happens I'm a Navi trainer by profession. You're lucky to happen to get someone with that experience-"

"Hey, hey! Lyn!" Ship scolded her operator. "Who's the one doing too much talking aside from the mission now? Joanna didn't hire you because you're a Navi trainer, and don't you think there are a couple of problems with seeing this job from that angle in the first place?"

Lyn had to bite down on her pipe to stop herself from chewing out her Navi and making her position worse. Ship had a point... Saying that you were "rusty" implied some previous degree of combat experience. The fact of the matter was that no matter how much potential she'd shown, Ship was still as green as it got. The chances for Lyn to show her operating prowess off and dangle it over Joanna's head when her Navi could barely throw a punch would be few and far between. "Tch! Whatever. You two seem to be doing fine enough, so I'll just manage things on my end." Lyn focused her newly-returned cool glare on Joanna. "There shouldn't be any complications with that proposal. We'll tag along and I'll help coordinate the operations." With that, Lyn's screen blipped out again. Once invisible, Lyn grumbled and bit her pipe some more as she anticipated being dead weight in the team.

"I'm sorry about her," Ship apologized, turning back to her new fast friends again. "To tell the truth, I was having a kind of hard time busting by myself earlier. I'd love the chance to work together with a partner."
((+3FXP for Ship))

[A Navi trainer? Well then, I guess we'll learn some new battle-related material today.]

Ooh, it's been a while since I've met a Navi trainer. You're probably the youngest one I've seen.

Lyn was cut off by her Navi this time, and eventually closed communication as the pop up window folded down and disappeared. Joanna smiled calmly as Lyn accepted the mission, and nodded towards Pyre before she closed her own window. Pyre turned back to Ship as she told her of her difficulty busting earlier and desire for a partner.

Well then, we'll just have to get better together!

She flipped her spear before she pointed it past the field of tombstones ahead.

I was watching a few viruses over there, how about we start by dealing with them first?

Though they were hard to see at first, Ship could pick out quite a few small viruses, who started to advance closer and enter the "graveyard." Several Bunnys hopped amongst the tombstones while one of the Metools accompanying them curiously chipped away at one of the tombstones with a pickaxe. She also picked out a pair of Armadills, who slowly walked amongst the stone funeral markers.


Viruses Identified

--Interspersed amongst the tombstones--
BunnyA: 50HP
BunnyB: 50HP
MetoolA: 40HP
MetoolB: 40HP
ArmadillA: 100HP
ArmadillB: 100HP

Tombstone x8: 5HP each

Terrain: 100% Normal

Ship.EXE: 100HP
Pyre.EXE: 150HP

-(Battle #1: A ship, a ghost, and viruses walk into a graveyard... Ready, Fight!)-
"Watching viruses waiting for us to show up, huh?" Lyn complained over her private line with Ship. Lyn took her pipe out of her teeth so she could click them. "Sounds like they're working real damn hard to shake off that rust..."

"Oh, don't be petty," Ship pleaded with her operator. "Can't you just give them a chance like you did with me?"

"Uh, if you'll recall, I didn't exactly give you a chance by choice," Lyn reminded her, cleaning out her ear in one of her trademarked I-Don't-Care gestures. "And it's not like I'm not working with them, right? Just don't expect me to like it."

"Hmph," Ship responded, crossing her arms in disapproval.

"Anyways, what matters is that here we have a great field to test out some of the new chips we earned in our previous outing. I'm about to upload something called a Pulsar," Lyn told her Navi, reaching into her folder. "Instead of firing it at the viruses themselves, try aiming it at one of the gravestones in the center of a group. The sonic blast will reverberate around and-"

"No! I won't attack a gravestone," Ship interrupted.

"... Excuse me?" Lyn responded, giving her Navi an exasperated look. "Look, if you're scared, these things look fairly harmless. Pyre was just sitting around having a picnic with them before you showed up, so I don't think destroying them will be dangerous."

"No, that's not it," Ship replied. "I didn't know what they were, so I looked them up earlier. These are used to mark the resting places of the dead, right? Destroying them would be completely disrespectful. It's a sacrilege!"

Lyn gaped at her Navi a bit longer before her frustration rose. "Look, why the hell would there be an isolated graveyard in the middle of the Net, where Navis, on the rare occasion they do die, don't leave bodies?! Somebody obviously made them, and either it was someone who already left or, I dunno, the freakin' ghost-white lady whose name is a funeral reference!" Lyn could see she'd somehow actually upset Ship with this comment, and the operator really didn't want another headache to deal with. "All right, look at it this way. What if she made those gravestones to help us? Act as barriers or obstacles to the viruses? What if they help with her strategies? I'm sure she won't mind if we use one of them to help in the fight."

"... I guess you're right, Lyn," Ship responded reluctantly, "I do want to be useful."

"All right, great," Lyn said, smiling a bit in spite of herself. "I'm also sending a shotgun. Use that and then some defensive dodging. Don't rely too much on those tombstones for cover, because they don't look too durable and you're up against some enemies that can really hurt you."

"Thanks..." Ship was glad to see Lyn showing a bit more affection, even if that only went as far as showing how she could handle battle. At the same time, though, the pain of DarkSpiritZero's attacks that had almost deleted her were still fresh in the Navi's mind. Clearly she was dealing with some slightly tougher opponents here, so she was feeling a bit tightly strung. Ship's eyes strayed back to her quirky ally, though... perhaps with Pyre here to help, she'd have an easier time. The Navi certainly looked imposing enough. "I'll be counting on your help," Ship told Pyre with genuine enthusiasm. "Ah, and please wait for me to make the first shot. Apparently, um, there will be a blast area, and I don't want you getting caught."

With her warning given, Ship's wheel vanished into air from the bottom up. It was replaced by a pull chain hanging just above her head in thin air, which her hand had already begun to move for. The general-purpose lamp on the front of Ship's boat had transformed into a foghorn. With a yank of the chain, that foghorn gave a booming cry which rushed forward for a tombstone of Ship's choosing. She'd picked some towards the largest viruses by instinct, but she hoped the sound waves might be able to reach others as well.

With that portion of her strategy over, she began attempting to circle the battlefield as she readied the shotgun on her right arm. She steered with her left hand on the wheel, which had once again appeared to replace the chain. She felt that her large size would be a regrettable inconvenience in the midst of (what she was now assuming were her ally's) gravestones, so she tried to stay out of the midst of them if at all possible. Circling the yard, she tried to get a clear shot on one of the bunnies... it would be a lot like actual hunting, because patience with a clear shot was the name of the game. When she thought she had it, she let the gun fire.

Pulsar to Tombstone near Armadillos? [70 + Splash to 8 if connect with object]
Dodge
Shotgun to BunnyA [50 + Splash to BunnyB]
Pyre followed Ship's advice and stood back as the aqua Navi gave a sharp foghorn blast. The concussive soundwave hit a gravestone right on the mark and caused it to explode with stone and a damaging sound wave. Both Armadills were injured by the attack,(35) while both of the Metools and a single Bunny took serious damage (35). Pyre whistled and clapped her hands a few times in acknowledgment of Ship's surprising firepower. As Ship moved amongst the tombstones, one crumbled near her from an electrified ring fired from the uninjured Bunny. The two metools cowered beneath their helmets and the two Armadills started to line up on Pyre.

Good attack, Ship! Hard to believe you had trouble last time.

Pyre flipped her spear in her hand as the golden markings along the staff and blade started to glow brighter. The tip of the blade ignited into a ball of flame, and as she whipped the staff towards the Armadill in front of her, the fireball flew away from the blade, but appeared to be tethered to it and mimicked the movements of the spear. It swiped across the Armadill's face(60) before Pyre quickly swung the spear downwards as the fireball followed and smashed down on the Armadill with a finishing blow.(60)

Ship found a better position to fire, and her shotgun managed to find its mark and deleted the aggressive Bunny.(50) Some of shrapnel hit the tombstone, but the second Bunny was just too injured to endure the blast and was deleted as well.(25) Pyre lined up the second Armadill, and raised her left hand as a cannon materialized over it. The Armadill continued to move into a good position to attack Ship, and placed a tombstone between itself and Pyre. However, she didn't hesitate and fired anyway. The cannon round hurtled towards the tombstone, but instead of blasting it to smithereens, it simply passed through as if it wasn't there... The Armadill didn't even know what hit it as it was forcibly driven to the side,(40) but it's armored hide kept it moving.

The battlefield now has much less obstacles, but bits of stone littered the ground, and could be trouble to traverse.


--Interspersed amongst the tombstones--
BunnyA: DELETED
BunnyB: DELETED
MetoolA: 5HP [Under Helmet]
MetoolB: 5HP [Under Helmet]
ArmadillA: Deleted
ArmadillB: 25HP [Preparing to attack Ship.EXE]

Tombstone x3: 5HP each

Terrain: 95% Normal, 5% Rubble

Ship.EXE: 100HP
Pyre.EXE: 150HP
Lyn whistled, surveying the results of the pair's work. "Not bad so far. You're lucky you're not on pasty-face's bad side, though. I can already tell she has a little bit more of a one-on-one arsenal than we do. She tore that armadillo apart, and it's no wimp."

"Ah, I didn't see it," Ship confessed, as she'd been caught up in her own attacking. "But the way I see it, I had the wrong idea before. It seems like Navis normally work together to bust viruses rather than fight against each other, right? I should see Pyre's abilities as a good thing."

"Well, that's not always the case," Lyn told Ship, reaching into her folder for another set of chips. "There are plenty of Navis out there who are prowling around spoiling for fights and plenty of operators happy to let them do so. They'll fight you as soon as they see you."

"Ahahaha, I see," Ship said with a nervous laugh. Don't I know an operator like that...?

"Now for chips... we could... wait a sec." Lyn's focus on the screen sharpened. "That Armadillo's going to charge you."

"What?!" Ship hadn't noticed it, but the armored shell of the creature was clearly geared up and coming right for her. "Can you send the Guard?"

"No good, it probably won't slow that thing down." The tension was rising in Lyn's voice. "Don't panic, just focus on it and get the hell out of the way. Now!"

Ship began trying to circle the Armadillo as best she could, but it was difficult moving over the rocks. Her mind raced with possibilities to try and protect herself, but nothing would come to her that would do the job in time. She didn't know if Pyre would be able to come to her rescue, either.

"Just keep moving. I'll send you a chip, and when you get clear give it a shot. But only when you get clear! I don't know how much damage that guy does and I'm fine with not finding out. It looks like a f*cking wrecking ball. Don't worry about the hard hats, Pyre ought to be able to take them out at her leisure if they pipe up." Realizing that this was probably something she could help with directly, she brought her screen up beside Ship as she moved. "Oi, Joanna, don't let those Metools make a move, got it?"

Ship knew she was having a rough go over the rubble and tried to steer clear of it as best she could. She could constantly feel herself running over rough patches, however, where the ground didn't form simulated water as her programming told it to and her ship bumped violently, sending her careening around in her stack. She continued this way long enough until she felt like she'd gotten out of the warpath. Equipping the bulky cannon onto her arm, she turned her small body in a quick pivot to face where she imagined the Armadillo would be following its charge. When she thought she had a lock, she took the shot.


Tuning the screen back out, Lyn bit her pipe thoughtfully, gradually growing irritated with herself. "What the hell am I getting worked up for? This fight's as low-stakes as it gets..."

Summary:
Dodge
Dodge
Cannon to ArmadillB [40 + knockback]
Lyn's prediction was right on the money as the Armadill tucked its head down towards its belly as it started to roll towards Ship. She took evasive action as the virus started to gain speed. The virus was unable to see its target as it rolled, and Ship managed to narrowly avoid the virus as it barreled by. It actually touched some of the digital "wake" trailing directly behind Ship and splashed it over her stern as it went by. The Armadill kept rolling before it eventually unfolded and started to turn back towards Ship.

As her Navi prepared a counter-attack, Lyn called out to Joanna. A small window popped up next to Pyre's head, and revealed Joanna, who had a slight smile on her face.

[Way ahead of you.]

Pyre started to chuckle as she pulled the hood of her robes over her head. As soon as she did so, she started to bleed into the background until she was completely out of sight. Her excited chuckling could still be heard clear as a bell, but she couldn't be seen at all. She approached the two hiding Metools and waited silently as they started to peek out from under their helmets. Then suddenly one of them was vertically cut in half (40), and the other sliced clean down the middle (40) before they both disappeared into data fragments.

Ship took aim with her cannon and fired, which was slightly off center, but it left a nice long gash down the Armadill's side, and it succumbed to deletion (40). Pyre started to come back into view as she lifted the hood off her head before she turned back to Ship and smiled.


Victory!

--Interspersed amongst the tombstones--
BunnyA: DELETED
BunnyB: DELETED
MetoolA: DELETED
MetoolB: DELETED
ArmadillA: DELETED
ArmadillB: DELETED

Tombstone x3: 5HP each

Terrain: 95% Normal, 5% Rubble

Ship.EXE: 100HP
--Rewards: 100z, Zapring1, 2FXP (+1 bonus FXP for coordinating attacks)
Pyre.EXE: 150HP
--Rewards: 400z, 2FXP
"Bah, barely a close scrape," Lyn commented. "Looks like you were freaking out over nothing."

"Well, it was close enough for me," Ship replied, trying to head to an area comfortably free of rubble. "Anyways, it looks like Pyre took care of the rest. She's impressive isn't she?"

"Tch!" Lyn responded with a click of her teeth, removing her pipe to do so. "She's one of those damn disappearing Navis. Those kind just have to focus on popping in and out and backstabbing like f*ckin' cowards. There's nothing impressive about that!"

"Lyn, how can you say that?" Ship gasped, obviously taking offense. "Those powers are her abilities just like we have ours. Besides, she was able to help us without breaking a sweat while I was panicking. I think Pyre has at least as much ability as the two of us do. And Lyn-"

"All right, she's the next Champion Red, what the hell else?"

"Your screen is on, Lyn..." Ship pointed to where her screen was still floating, allowing Joanna and Pyre to freely listen in if they wanted.

"Urk..." Lyn started briefly before jamming the pipe back in her mouth. "Well, maybe I wanted them to hear! That's right, you two. It'll take more than your pansy-*ss Houdini tricks to impress me."

"Aaah, don't mind her," Ship interjected, moving over to Pyre. "I'm so impressed! You're able to fight with no trouble at all. I hope when I get some experience I'll be able to fight as calmly as you, too!"

"Real easy to fight calmly when you can disappear into thin air," Lyn muttered, re-lighting her pipe.
Pyre only chuckled as Lyn barrated her combat style. She started to get used to Lyn's particular temperament. She didn't appreciate being called a coward, but she understood how she could have thought that; it wasn't exactly a straightforward combat style. Joanna was slightly less amused.

[Hmph.]

Ship's voice was a welcome change, and Pyre smiled sweetly at the compliment.

Well, it helps when you've been around as long as I have. It's a little embarrassing to say, but I'm a bit older than I look.

She started to blush as she smiled sheepishly; her pale blond hair still covering half of her face. Her focus shifted back to the previous battle, and rested her spear against her shoulder.

You did great out there anyway, Ship! That pulsar attack was quite impressive, I didn't expect you to immediately take advantage of the objects around the field. Oh, and don't worry about the tombstones, I can make plenty more whenever I want!

She chuckled quietly as she pushed a small bit of what used to be a tombstone with the bottom of her spear.

Your ship is quite agile for it's size. It's not everyday that one sees a Navi operating a vehicle-type program. Is that a summon program, or even a Support Program?
Happy to let the Navis chat with each other, Lyn shot Joanna one last glare and closed her screen.

"Ah, to be honest, I'm a bit older than I look, too... well, that is, I'm not older than I look in terms of human age, but my mentality is programmed past my age...? I've been around for longer than my battle experience suggests," Ship confessed. "And thank you for the compliment, but that has to go to Lyn," the Navi told Pyre, trying to give Lyn some credit to smooth over the wrinkles the operator had created. "As the operator, she's the one who provides all of the strategy to go with the chips I'm given. There's not really that much strategy on my part. I didn't see you use any chips... are those all your own abilites, or are they all disguised in design?"

"Most likely its just image modifications like we do sometimes," Lyn commented dryly on her end of the private line with Ship. "Pyre doesn't seem as wussy as you, but I doubt she'd be looking for our help if she had so much money put into her systems that she pulled all that sh*t off with internal applications."

"Oh, this?" Ship replied to Pyre's question, mostly ignoring Lyn for the moment. She turned the ship back and forth with casual swipes at her wheel, modelling it as one might a new outfit. Ship paused thoughtfully for a moment... she hadn't thought she'd have to discuss this much, assuming everyone had seen her commercials. Could there be some reason nobody had seen them? "Well, the truth is this is actually a part of my basic design. It's less like an object and more like an actual part of my body. Hitting the ship really hurts just as much as hitting me, so..."

Lyn's irritated face popped in again beside her Navi. "Just so we're straight, I didn't design her, okay? I'd know better than to make a Navi that was such a huge f*ckin' target that fighting her's like lettin' the enemy play Battleship."
Pyre listened quietly as Ship spoke, while Joanna noticed the glare sent towards her by Lyn. She didn't react at all, since attempting to call her out would just cause more aggression from the clearly hot-headed operator. Pyre responded to the question of her attacks.

Oh, those are just regular chips. Joanna and I made some minor changes to their appearances, is all. My actual abilities are more 'Houdini tricks' than offensive attacks

Pyre made finger-quotes as she referred to Lyn's opinion of her combat strategy. She then placed a finger to her mouth as she watched Ship show off her... ship, and explained how it was actually a part of her body in some respects. Her emerald green right eye opened a little wider as she looked over Ship's "vessel" with a genuine interest. She paused only momentarily at Lyn's statement and waited for her to finish before she gave her opinion.

I can't say I've met very many Navis with your kind of design, especially not ones as adorable as you! That and your personality combined with your operator... what a peculiar pair.

Joanna raised an eyebrow at Pyre's last statement.

{'Peculiar'? Haven't heard that description in a while... I have to admit, those two are quite the interesting pair. I guess Pyre now has a new pair of friends.}

She then remembered Lyn's boasting about being a Navi trainer, and then the recent statement on how she didn't make Ship's design. Maybe Ship was this delinquent's newest charge?
[So, Miss Clarke, or shall I call you Lyn? I'm guessing Ship is your newest pupil? How many others have you taught before her?]
While Ship blushed some more at the compliments and continued chatting with Pyre, Lyn addressed the operator's question. "'Miss Clarke' is just fine," Lyn told Joanna, not really caring but happy to opt for the professionally distant choice all the same. "Ship's not really the same as a typical pupil... I guess you could say there's some special circumstances." Needless to say, Lyn didn't care to divulge more on the topic than she had to, so rather than elaborating she simply shifted the pipe in her mouth thoughtfully before continuing. How many had she taught before? Truth be told, she hadn't bothered to count. "How many have I taught before? Too many to count," Lyn answered easily.

"Actually," Ship began without realizing that Lyn had intentionally omitted it, "Lyn's keeping me for a month on a trial basis-"

"Trials, right!" Lyn interjected angrily. "I'm giving her TRIALS to test her abilities. On that note, you said you noticed those viruses earlier and now we took care of them. You got more work to do or are we just going to sit here and shoot the breeze for a couple hours?"

(requesting battle 2)
((+3 FXP to Ship))

[True. Pyre, let's move on and find some more viruses.]

Pyre looked over at the polished silver blade of her spear, and saw her reflection start to vibrate slightly as the metal cap on the bottom of her spear started to vibrate with a buzzing noise on the ground.

I don't think we'll have to look far.

She turned around and saw several viruses in the distance, and they were slowly making their way towards the group. A pair of Catanks were flanked by Bunny viruses, and two large dome-shaped objects appeared to be following the tanks. They started to hear a dull scraping sound as the ground started to shake more and more. As they got closer, Pyre's eye widened as she gripped her spear.

Those are definitely Hardhead viruses. But... how are they moving?

The viral group continued their slow approach, but the Bunnys started to hop quickly towards the pair of Navis.


Viruses Identified

--Approaching quickly--
BunnyA: 50HP
BunnyB: 50HP

--Slightly further behind--
CatankA: 120HP [Advancing]
HardheadA: 60HP [Mobile?] [Ironbody]

CatankB: 120HP [Advancing]
HardheadB: 60HP [Mobile?] [Ironbody]

Terrain: 100% Normal

Ship.EXE: 100HP
Pyre.EXE: 150HP

-(Battle #2: Moving the immobile! Ready, Fight!)-