Familiar Ground

Of course, if Rachna was to be going somewhere without being able to bother Ellen in the meantime, there was no other choice. She had been to nearly other net in her time, but Yumland's jungles were by far the most familiar to her. On the downside, they also reminded her of just what she had gotten away from, but a little bit of nostalgia didn't hurt. Not to mention, returning here when Ellen wasn't going to be paying much attention meant that she wasn't likely to be forced to explain how she knew it so well.

She arrived through the portal in her usual mage wrap, conjuring a pair of jutti to complement it, as well as a vine-covered staff. The forest ahead of her looked like it would be quite the task to navigate, not to mention full of viruses and other dangers. And yet, at the same time, it felt inviting to Rachna, as though welcoming her home.

Smiling faintly, Rachna started off into it.

((Finally a new thread. Battle 1 go))
((Bump3))
Rachna traversed the the jungles of the Yumland Network only to have a Kunai thrown straight across her neck, which would've normally sliced her throat in half had she not stopped an instant beforehand.

It seemed the assailant was hiding in the tall grass to her right. She was about to go after it when a lobbed bomb arced over her and impacted the ground behind her! She could see two Beetanks coming from the front. Sighing, the wood magi prepared for battle.

-ENEMIES-
BeetankA: 80 HP (Soil)
BeetankB: 80 HP (Soil)
Genin: 60 HP (Tall Grass)

-TERRAIN-
60% Tall Grass (To the sides)
40% Soil (Main Road)

-NAVI-
Rachna.EXE: 100 HP (Soil)

-BATTLE 1-
-ROUTINE, SET-
-EXECUTE-
Rachna hated to admit it, but she had never been much of a fighter. Even in the early days, direct combat was something that she left to the more experienced. That wasn't to say that she was incompetent by any means. She had enough fighting instinct to know that a virus was about to attack her from the grass, and to stop just short of its kunai's path. On the other hand, she didn't seem to notice the spherical tank viruses on the path ahead until one of them launched a bomb that flew past and exploded behind her.

And they always wanted to attack her. Though she had a better insight into viruses' motivations and strategies now, that wasn't going to stop them from wanting to attack her. She let out a sigh, seeing little other option but to fight them off.

She tapped the ground with her staff, judging its strength. It held firm enough, but that was little worry to her. In fact, all she needed to know was that it wouldn't fall apart instantly. With that in mind, and freshly uploaded chips at her disposal, she burned a square of light into the ground, and ripped up the section of the path within this square, allowing it to hurtle toward the knife-wielding virus in the grass.

She stepped backward lightly, lazily tossing a small, conjured rock toward the tanks, hoping to bait them forward.

It wasn't that she had a problem with fighting, either. She just preferred to leave it to others when she could.

So she did.

Out of the hole left from the ripped up section of the path rose an armed figure, veiled in shadow. It rushed forward as soon as it cleared the hole, bringing its scimitar to bear and slashing at both of the Beetanks at once.
___

1. Panelshot: 100+5 (+Wood from Soil terrain) to Genin
2. Dodge
*Sundry: 5 to BeetankA
3. SummonBlack2: 200+Wide to Beetanks
((bump))
Sending a panel, a rock and a lackey to do her dirty work, Rachna watched as the hurled panel flew through the air and straight through where the Genin... used to be. It managed to swiftly move out of the panel's path, still remaining somewhat concealed in the grass.

The rock, however, hit its target and prompted a counterattack. Said counterattack was deftly sidestepped by Rachna as the armed figure practically teleported to the tanks and ended them with a single slash.

-ENEMIES-
BeetankA: DELETED
BeetankB: DELETED
Genin: 60 HP (Tall Grass)

-TERRAIN-
60% Tall Grass (To the sides)
39% Soil (Main Road)
1% Broken (Main Road)

-NAVI-
Rachna.EXE: 100 HP (Soil)
But then there came the problem of some things just not wanting to go down. Naturally from the perspective of a virus there was no reason to lay down and die, but from Rachna's view when the outcome of the battle was hardly up in the air, it was just a pointless waste of a perfectly good ripped up panel.

The genin was using the tall grass to conceal his movements, so that would have to be the first thing dealt with. With this in mind, Rachna reached out with her power and pulled, creating a gust of wind to drag the virus toward her.

As the wind subsided, she focused magical energy into her staff, drawing both from her own power and the soil beneath her feet. The engravings along the shaft glowed with a soft emerald light as the energy reached a peak. Once they did, Rachna drove the tip of the staff into the ground, sending a wave of elemental energy toward the Genin. Vines and small seedlings sprouted along the path of the wave, growing rapidly at the crest and then dissolving back into nothing as it passed by.

Though it was only a small piece of the past that rose up and vanished as soon as it had come, it felt like old times. The jungle around her then served to keep the memory fresh.
___

*Gust: Pull Genin toward Rachna
1. ElementalRage1: 60(+5)+Line+Wood to Genin
-...
((Bump2))
Rachna took the virus by surprise, pulling it out of the grass with a gust of wind, before blasting it with elemental energy, destroying it entirely.

Hooray.

-ENEMIES-
BeetankA: DELETED
BeetankB: DELETED
Genin: DELETED

-TERRAIN-
60% Tall Grass (To the sides)
39% Soil (Main Road)
1% Broken (Main Road)

-NAVI-
Rachna.EXE: 100 HP (Soil)

-VICTORY-
Get: LilBomb, 400z
And just like that, it was down. The last of the momentary plantlife that had sprung up in the wake of the elemental energy blast faded away, leaving only the jungle around Rachna.

Well, nothing to do but continue into it.

Hooray.

((Battle 2))
((Bump))
As Rachna stepped into a clearing about fifty feet forward she stopped abruptly, watching a thin projectile fly by in front of her. The source of the attack was fairly obvious; a pair of Needlers were occupying the clearing along with two lazy looking fish viruses. One Needler launched another volley, which Rachna avoided with a quick step. It was hard to tell whether the fish viruses were hostile, but they did seem to be inching toward her.

Probably better to err on the side of caution.

MudFeeshA: 60 HP (Mud)
MudFeeshB: 60 HP (Mud)
NeedlerA: 70 HP (Grass)
NeedlerB: 70 HP (Grass)

Terrain:
90% Grass
10% Mud (Around fish viruses)

Rachna.EXE: 100 HP (Grass)

BATTLE 2 START!
Were those...fish? Rachna had never seen any viruses like them before. Fish-themed viruses weren't exactly unheard of, but in her time she had never known of the existence of lazy fish viruses that just wallowed in mud puddles. Usually they were at least shooting arrows out of their mouths or something.

Well, no matter.

She charged her staff with magical energies again, pulling it from the grass in the clearing. The crystal set into her staff lit up with a soft light as the charge reached a peak. When it did, she slammed the end of the staff back into the ground, sending a wave of elemental energy toward the fish. Vines, saplings, and taller patches of grass erupted along the trail of the wave, fading back into the steady field of grass of the clearing as it passed. The wave itself, meanwhile, passed through the clearing until it reached and cut through the mud pit.

Mud pits were a fairly new development as well, now that she thought of it. They were certainly present in the more detailed sections of the net in older days, but not so well defined. Maybe the fish were just another upgrade of sorts?

Nah, that was just silly.

As the elemental wave subsided, Rachna dug her staff deeper into the ground, sending another burst of energy through it. This time, instead of causing a wood-powered wave, it ripped a section of it out of the ground. Rachna levitated the chunk of grass terrain into the air, and sent it flying toward one of the Needlers.

Before the other could fire again, she braced her staff in front of her, conjuring a shield to span its length.
___

1. ElementalRage1: 60(+5)+Line+Wood to both MudFeesh
2. PanelShot1: 100(+5)+Wood to NeedlerA
3. Shield NCP
A wave of earthen rage brought itself towards the muddy fish, deleting one in an instant. The other managed to leap out of the way easily, flopping its way towards Rachna. By then, she had also taken out one of the Needlers with a Panel Shot. This caused both of the viruses to retaliate pretty hard. Luckily, Rachna put up a good fight, using her staff to conjure up a temporary shield. It absorbed one of the Needler's shots, but the other stabbed itself into her side. (5) The Mudfeesh's flopping was kind of funny, but didn't really do anything as Rachna merely watched it go around her harmlessly, spreading mud everywhere.

MudFeeshA: DELETED
MudFeeshB: 60 HP (Mud)
NeedlerA: DELETED
NeedlerB: 70 HP (Grass)

Terrain:
85% Grass
15% Mud (Around fish viruses)

Rachna.EXE: 100 HP (Grass)
So far, the mud fish virus wasn't particularly effective at actually doing anything, either. It had spread a bit more mud around, but otherwise didn't even come close to hitting her. It was like the fish didn't even fully realize that she was there, or that she was attacking them. The needler was still of more concern.

Oh wait, no it wasn't.

Rachna pulled the wildly flopping fish toward her with a burst of wind. As the wind subsided, she materialized a gauntlet on her hand, with steel talons extending from the wrist. With this, she thrust her hand toward the fish and flung it in the direction of the needler, hoping to impale it on the talons and toss it.

From what she could tell, the fish itself wasn't particularly good at causing direct damage, and instead worked by altering the environment by means of splashing mud everywhere. While not particularly effective at hurting things, it could still damage important systems, or cause problems for navis. Or, for that matter, other viruses.

For instance, a virus stuck and coated in mud would have a hard time avoiding a bomb.

Rachna conjured a hand grenade in her hand as the LilBomb data she had recently acquired activated. She tossed it to herself once, then pulled the pin and chucked it at the needler virus. Once the grenade left her hand, she braced herself and materialized another shield, just in case.
___

*Gust: Pull MudFeesh toward self
1. Rageclaw MudFeesh into Needler: 20 each
2. LilBomb Needler and MudFeesh: 50+Blast2
3. Shield NCP
Rachna was successful at grabbing the MudFeesh with her Rageclaw. thanks to her control over the winds. and managed to throw it straight against the Needler, despite its slippery skin. However, even though the two viruses was slammed against one another, it didn't make them an easy target for the Lilbomb as both of them was able to escape the explosion.

The Needler retaliated by driving straight up to Rachna and firing two needles at the navi, but one missed while the other simply crashed against the shield...

MudFeeshA: DELETED
MudFeeshB: 40 HP (Mud)
NeedlerA: DELETED
NeedlerB: 50 HP (Grass)

Terrain:
80% Grass
20% Mud

Rachna.EXE: 100 HP (Grass) [Rageclaw: 5/6] [Shield BROKEN]
How did that thing miss at such a close range? Not that Rachna minded not taking the hit, but there was just something wrong with a virus missing at such a close range.

Of course, she wasn't going to sit there and be dumbfounded by that. The moment the remains of her shield fell away, Rachna closed the rest of the distance between herself and the Needler, striking with her Rageclaw to impale it like she did the fish before. Instead of tossing it back at the fish, however, she swung her arm to fling it straight up, then dismissed the clawed gauntlet.

In its place, she conjured a massive hand cannon. Tracking the needler's path, she aimed into the air and fired, hoping to send it even further skyward. But just in case it found its way back down or fired a shot from midair, she activated another shield, this time conjuring it as a large and especially durable umbrella.

Holding the shieldbrella in one hand, she held out the other and materalized a shotgun in it. She twirled it in her hand before pointing it at the fish and pulling the trigger.

Somewhere between the umbrella and the shotgun, Ellen happened to look at the monitor of her PET, noticing her navi's actions. "Rachna, what are you doing?" she asked.

Rachna shrugged. "Having fun, like you told me to," she answered.
___

1. Rageclaw Needler into the air: 20
*Gust: Add additional knockback to:
2. Cannon Needler: 40+Knockback
*Shield NCP: Held as umbrella
3. Shotgun MudFeesh: 50+spread1
Rachna slung the hapless Needler into the air and buried a slug in it. The gory fragments of the virus's essential programming splattered and bounced off her umbrella. She swung around and gunned down the Mudfeesh with nary a problem.

MudFeeshA: DELETED
MudFeeshB: DELETED
NeedlerA: DELETED
NeedlerB: DELETED

Terrain:
80% Grass
20% Mud

Rachna.EXE: 100 HP (Grass) [1-hit shield]

--ALL CLEAR!--

Rewards: Needler1, 600z
HP: 60
Properties: FloatShoes, Mobile
Object Damage: 60 Null + Impact + Break
Damage Method: Ramming attack, Telekinesis, Throw
Attack Damage: 30 Null x 3 Targets
Accuracy: A
Description: Summons a hovering gun platform that attacks up to 3 separate targets each turn with it's trio of double spike guns.
Duration: Until destroyed.
Element: Null
Special: RP quality does not boost or reduce this chip's accuracy. - This chip's accuracy cannot be boosted or reduced by any means. - This object can dodge once instead of attacking. - This object may ram a target, but is instantly destroyed in exchange.
"And launching a virus into orbit and letting the pieces rain down onto an umbrella shield doesn't strike you as an odd way to have fun? Not to mention a little disturbing?"

Rachna shrugged. "It's not like you don't have me killing viruses all the time," she said. "Besides, you know how it is. You get old, you have random urges, and you have the chance to satisfy them without getting in trouble so you take it. Like when I was making out with myself earlier. Same thing." She added in a whisper [size0]"Besides, I was quite good..."[/size]

Surprisingly to Rachna, Ellen latched onto something else in her next question. "Old? I was under the impression that you were only a few years old."

"Nnnnope!" Rachna said cheerfully.

"Just how old are you, then?"

"I forgot," Rachna said. She put a finger to her mouth and looked skyward, pondering. "But let's say...if I was a human, I'd probably be a few years dead by now, at least."

Ellen stared at the PET wide-eyed and open-mouthed for several seconds before regaining her composure. "And it didn't occur to you to tell me this when you invaded my PET and said 'I'm your navi now'?"

"Your PET was empty. I'd hardly call it invading. Besides, you never asked."

"Yes I did!"

Rachna laughed, waving Ellen off. "Well, now you know, so it doesn't matter."

"Just what did you do all that time, anyway? Did you just force yourself into the service of people like me? Or am I just special?"

"You're special," Rachna said, winking. "As for the rest of what I was doing, that's a very long and interesting story. Let's see...once upon a time...no. The end~" Rachna heard one of Ellen's signature irritated grumbles from the other end, and smirked. Another job well done, for her. "I suppose I can give you parts of it, though. As a reward for putting up with me the last few months."

"Effing finally," Ellen answered, earning another smirk from Rachna.

The navi continued down the path through the jungle, careful to avoid the mud left behind from the last battle as she walked. She was already nostalgia tripping just walking through the jungle, so story time wasn't likely to be too much of a stretch. Besides, nowhere did she say she would do it in a way that didn't still manage to annoy her.

"My legend starts in the first year of the current Net."

((Battle 3))
Story time? Story time!

A bunch of viruses came sweeping through the jungle pretty much out of nowhere. If there was going to be story time, they wanted in on it, too.

Well, it was more like they wanted to brutally murder her, but close enough.

Terrain: 65% Grass, 25% Poison, 10% Soil

BoomerA: 60 HP (Soil)
BoomerB: 60 HP (Grass)
SpidyA: 80 HP (Grass)
SpidyB: 80 HP (Grass)
Teddy: 100 HP (Soil)
Honeybomber: 100 HP (Grass)

Rachna.EXE: 100 HP (Grass) [1-hit shield]

--HERE WE GO!--
--ROUND 3, FIGHT!--