Familiar Ground

"Senseless, aren't they," Rachna said, raising her staff and giving it a twirl in her hand. Really, even viruses had to have better things to do than ruin some poor oblivious sap's gardens.

Ellen chanced a glance at the PET screen as she sent her navi chip data, then asked, "Since when did viruses destroy environments like that?"

"Since always. They're viruses. They attack data, whether it be navis or someone's carefully kept garden. It's what they do. You might want to get back to work, you're obviously not paying enough attention in school." She dug along the edge of a patch of flowers with her staff, then shouted at the viruses.

"Not impressed! I can do that too!" With that she magically lifted the flower bushes into the air, complete with roots and whatever dirt got caught in with them. It left a surprisingly deep pit in the process, but Rachna didn't care. Rather than simply destroying a sizable chunk of garden, she launched it at the nearest of the sword-wielding viruses.

A second entity then rose up from the pit left behind by the torn-up flower bushes. At Rachna's command, the figure cloaked in shadows and wielding a machete emerged from the pit. The Blackmare flew toward the Fishy viruses, cutting in a wide arc to hit each of them. Possibly. Really, Rachna didn't expect them all to stay grouped together, but it was worth trying.

As the shadowy figure vanished, the winds shifted around Rachna. She moved to the left to evade any incoming attacks, using the wind to push her farther along.
___

1. PanelShot: 100(+5 Wood) to Zemon A, +5% Broken terrain
2. SummonBlack2: 200+Wide+Slashing to Fishy group
*Gust: Knockback enhance:
3. Dodge
Chucking a piece of earth at one of the Zemon, Rachna successfully deleted one of them while a Blackmare that rose from the spot executed two of the Fishy. The Zemon launched a counterattack and threw around a few slashes of its sword, while the Fishy and a Megalian both launched their heads at her. Fortunately, they seemed to be distracted by the Blackmare's sudden appearance, and their attacks were less than accurate.

-- ENEMIES --
Fishy A: DELETED
Fishy B: 90 HP [Flying/Grass]
Fishy C: DELETED
Zemon A: DELETED
Zemon B: 100 HP [Normal]
Megalian-W A: 130 HP {10 HP WoodAura} [Flying/Grass]
Megalian-W B: 130 HP {10 HP WoodAura} [Flying/Sea]

-- OBJECTS --
Stone Fountain: 200 HP [StoneBody]

-- NAVIGATOR --
Rachna.EXE: 100 HP [Grass]

-- TERRAIN --
20% Sea [Fountain]
10% Normal [Walkway around fountain]
65% Grass, 5% Broken [Everywhere else]
"Look at that! You're useless! You're all useless!" Rachna shouted. She plopped her hand on the ground for a half second, then started backing away. "Can't even hit a weak little navi, how do you expect to properly mess up a guy's flowers?" She laughed, but kept herself under control enough to keep an eye on the viruses. Didn't want to get too distracted before-ahh, there it was. More chips, along with more grumbling from Ellen. Any minute she would be saying to keep it down.

"I can still hear you, you know. Do you really have to be so loud?" Right on cue.

Rachna, however, was not in the mood for answering. She was too busy making a bomb in her hands. And then tossing it to land between the floating heads. Both of those things occupied her enough that she could not speak to Ellen. But she did not care, because there would be plenty of time to be even louder in a response once Ellen thought she had shut her up.

From the point she had touched the ground, another on-the-spot creation arose. The goblin's treasure, the best thing she had gotten out of that encounter with the troll and his octopus girlfriend, especially since she hadn't gotten to beat him up. It was...it was a large floating eyeball. But it was a large floating eyeball that shot laser beams, and that was the important part. As she put on the finishing touches she guided it to point toward the sword-wielding virus that she had neglected to kill before. Sure it seemed foolish, with so many video games in the past featuring sword-wielding heroes and bosses with giant eyeballs as a weak point, but most of those bosses didn't shoot lasers from their eyes.

With the eye sensor set up, Rachna called upon the wind that she had so relentlessly been using in this network, and guided it to push one of the floating heads toward the beam. She then focused it underneath herself. She jumped, and the wind propelled her skyward, away from the battle. "Catch me if you can, and don't forget to fasten your restraints before riding the updraft!" she called down at the viruses. "And by the way, yes Ellen, I do really have to be so loud!"
___

1. LilBomb: 50+Blast2 to Megalians
2. Sensor1: 100HP Object, pointed toward ZemonB
*Gust: Knock Megalian-W B into Sensor beam
3. Airstep dodge: go go high altitude

*Sensor1: 100+Elec+Beam+Stun to anything in its path
((Bump))
((Bump2))
A bomb in her hands was lobbed towards the Megalians, though only one of them received the brunt of its explosion, tearing through its aura. Rachna then placed a Sensor down, which zapped a Megalian down, but the Zemon it was originally pointed towards was leapt out of the way. The Fishy and Zemon dashed towards her to attack, and the latter landed a couple of hits on her before she could leap away. (10) (10) A Megalian also took the opportunity to bash her with its massive head, dealing even more damage to her. (40)

-- ENEMIES --
Fishy A: DELETED
Fishy B: 90 HP [Flying/Grass]
Fishy C: DELETED
Zemon A: DELETED
Zemon B: 100 HP [Grass]
Megalian-W A: 130 HP {10 HP WoodAura} [Flying/Grass]
Megalian-W B: 30 HP [Flying/Sea]

-- OBJECTS --
Stone Fountain: 200 HP [StoneBody]

-- NAVIGATOR --
Rachna.EXE: 40 HP [Grass/High Altitude]

-- TERRAIN --
20% Sea [Fountain]
10% Normal [Walkway around fountain]
65% Grass, 5% Broken [Everywhere else]
"You got hurt after taunting them again. You really should get that checked out," Ellen remarked dully, sending a few more chips. Hopefully this batch would leave her better defended...or at least convince her to not act out quite as much.

"Ahh, what's life without a bit of danger," Rachna said, completely disregarding the damage she had taken. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Despite several heartbeats passing though, she seemed to have gotten tired of shouting for the moment because she chose not to continue. Of course part of that had to do with focusing on landing.

As soon as she touched down, she conjured another large weapon near the eyeball sensor: a needle gun. Maybe it could take some of the hits for her for awhile, while it was dishing some out at the same time. She set up shop behind it for the moment, setting to work on conjuring a bamboo grove to go with her other virus killing machines. This one she wasn't planning on sticking around long though, just long enough to rise up next to the wannabe samurai virus and stick it with a bamboo spear. Oh, and one of the flying heads with it.

Once she released the bamboo grove, she sprung out of her hiding place and took evasive action to avoid any heads trying to smash her to bits still. And while thinking of heads, she conjured a gust of wind to blow the head she had missed earlier about, and attempt to knock it in line with her Sensor.
____

*Land
1. Needler1: 60 HP Object, 30 to three targets each turn
*Needler: 30 Null to Megalian-W A, Megalian-W B, and Zemon B
2. SideBamboo1: 80(+5) Wood to Zemon B, Megalian-W A
3. Dodge
*Gust: Knockback Megalian-W A into Sensor beam
Summoning a large needle gun on the ground, Rachna got to work on her enemies, conjuring up a bamboo grove next to stab a few of her enemies while the Needler worked its magic. The bamboo spear nullified one Megalian's aura, and the Needler chucked a bunch of needles at everything. However, it didn't seem to be very accurate for its first run of needles, and only managed to delete one of the Megalians. It didn't seem like one for retaliation, lounging around afterwards, but its teammates were. The Fishy and Zemon both lashed out at her, but she managed to fend them off with some evasive action for the moment. The grass beneath her feet healed her for some amount. (+15)

-- ENEMIES --
Fishy A: DELETED
Fishy B: 90 HP [Flying/Grass]
Fishy C: DELETED
Zemon A: DELETED
Zemon B: 100 HP [Grass]
Megalian-W A: 130 HP [Flying/Grass]
Megalian-W B: DELETED

-- OBJECTS --
Stone Fountain: 200 HP [StoneBody]
Needler1: 60 HP

-- NAVIGATOR --
Rachna.EXE: 55 HP [Grass]

-- TERRAIN --
20% Sea [Fountain]
10% Normal [Walkway around fountain]
65% Grass, 5% Broken [Everywhere else]
Ellen gave a heavy sigh, heavy enough that Rachna could actually hear it clearly as opposed to having to infer that it was there. "Look, you're just wasting chips now. Do you feel like being a little more careful for once?"

"Mmm..." Rachna pretended to think it over as her needle gun launched another salvo of, well, needles, at the remaining viruses. This time Ellen had apparently decided not to wait, as she sent another series of chips to bring her out of it. "You know, you're not really helping your case when everything you send makes me want to keep being reckless," she teased.

"I'm running out of options here!" Ellen protested.

"No you're not. But I'll forgive you this time," Rachna said, winking at nothing in particular. She started strafing around the remaining viruses, trying to line them all up while not leaving the garden she was currently standing in. She hadn't been particularly concerned with retaliating for the wanton destruction of the garden's plantlife before, but as she moved through it an idea occurred to her. One that she missed being able to do more often.

Ellen's continued fussing only encouraged her, trying to make her all nostalgic. "How did you even survive before running into me, anyway? We both know you're not all that tough on your own."

"Sometimes I am," Rachna said evasively. "I travel light." She conjured a rather sizable lump of dirt in her hand and flung it at the Zemon, then dug her staff into the ground beneath her. It immediately sank several inches into the soil of its own accord, while the the crystalline head began glowing, first white, then green.

"What, do you just regularly throw away all your upgrades like some video game series or something?"

"Hush for a moment, I need to concentrate," Rachna said, cutting her off. In truth, needing to concentrate only lasted a couple seconds before flowering vines sprung from the ground around her staff, then surged forward in a wave across the garden, leaving dense flower patches on everything they touched including, if she managed to hit them, the remaining viruses. A burst of raw magic followed the surge, leaving rose petals hanging in the air around the affected area. Even after the spell faded out, the petals continued to hang, as though floating on the surface of the pond, until Rachna disturbed the waters by lunging forward into the affected space.

As she ripped her staff back out of the ground, a bamboo spike materialized on the tip. Rachna twirled the now weaponized magical implement around in her hand, then thrust the bamboo tip forward, at the Megalian in front of her. The thrust was accompanied by a second burst of raw magic that would send the virus, or what was left of it, flying the moment that it hit. The petals in the air she had cut through were forced outward in all directions, tumbling wildly as the finally drifted to the ground.

"You know..." Ellen said, reaching for something else to say, "I never took you for a flower girl."

"I'm an everything girl, love," Rachna answered, tossing her operator another wink.
___

*Needler: 30 Null to Fishy, Zemon, and Megalian-W
1. Movement: Strafe to line up remaining viruses.
*Sundry: passive 5 Null to Zemon
2. ElementalRage1: 60(+5 Wood)+Line Attack to Fishy, Zemon, and Megalian-W
*Gust: Add knockback to:
3. BambooKnife: 60(+5) to Megalian-W
The Needler went on and on with its needles, steadily stabbing some stragglers, while Rachna pulled up some dirt to throw at the Zemon's face. It wasn't happy, teleporting up to Rachna and giving her some tough love. (10x2) She obliterated it as well as the Fishy nearby with a burst of raw magic. The Megalian nearby then set itself for retaliation, though it was denied its attack by a sharp comeback, courtesy of Rachna's staff. The grass beneath her feet recovered some of her wounds, but not much. (+15)

-- ENEMIES --
Fishy A: DELETED
Fishy B: DELETED
Fishy C: DELETED
Zemon A: DELETED
Zemon B: DELETED
Megalian-W A: DELETED
Megalian-W B: DELETED

-- OBJECTS --
Stone Fountain: 200 HP [StoneBody]
Needler1: 60 HP

-- NAVIGATOR --
Rachna.EXE: 60 HP [Grass]

-- TERRAIN --
20% Sea [Fountain]
10% Normal [Walkway around fountain]
65% Grass, 5% Broken [Everywhere else]

-- BATTLE 06, VICTORY!! --

-- REWARDS --

[DashAttack] Battlechip, 1200z
"Hope whoever owns this place doesn't mind that I left him a few extra flowers," Rachna said, tapping the ground with her staff again. "Or...that these guys did a good job wrecking it, I guess. Anyway, Ellen, you want me to keep going in here?"

"Honestly, I think you're causing me more trouble being reckless in there than you would be doing...whatever else," Ellen said. "Just come on back."

"Aww," Rachna pouted. "Well, whatever. I'll come back. But after you're done I want you to buy me something. Since you have a problem with my traveling habits."

"What do you-" Ellen started. Then it hit her. "I'm a college student. I'm poor. You know that."

"Just used some of what I picked up in here."

Ellen sighed. "Fine," she said, jacking Rachna out.

((End thread.))