NS Mission: Special Armor Tests

"DragonierMan, try to get a hold of yourself! We can't do this without you!" Arch begged, watching their new recruit fall into a state of rage, pitiable yet awe-inspiring. She didn't know his history, but as she thought about his circumstances, she began to understand what could cause him to break out into such fury.

Dee didn't understand it nearly as well as Arch, but still got the message that now would be a good time to help him out. The armor of the two gave off a brighter glow, indicating the intensity.

BanditMan silently clenched his teeth, realizing that the arrow that had hit him knocked out his ability to release six simultaneous shots. Under the cover of invisibility, he plotted an escape.

Arch readied two more arrows, unwilling to let him go so easily. With a loud twang, the projectiles left her bow one after another and homed in on his position. Annoyingly, each of the two vanished. "Hard to believe my hat's got dis kinda storage space een it, eh?" the man taunted, retreating into the distance.

The golden-armored general was relentless in her assault, bringing two golden bombs into her hands and slinging them through her arch. The bombs sought out her opponent; both landed with a great explosion. BanditMan made no audible sounds of injury, but the way that the bombs had exploded, rather than simply vanishing, was at least a little reassuring.

Dee used the tracking on her own weapons, releasing another hail of ice arrows. Some hit, but it was very difficult to get a peg on her enemy without being able to see him. "Come back here, you slinky bandit!"

Regardless of their wishes, BanditMan was making his escape. Yasu, who earlier had sounded so close, was nowhere in sight. The bandit showed no signs of reappearing, regardless. The ground rumbled, almost like something was moving underneath it. Perhaps Yasu's wood orientation gave her some sort of burrowing ability? Something was definitely under them.

"Lemme give joo some advice, man. And dis is comin' from e'sperience, straight from de heart. You prob'ly have lotsa reasons to be angry, but so do I. When life makes me angry, what I do iz I sleep it off. I remind myself've all de reasons I got not to be angry. I've got a good horse and I work with some good peoples. And joo? Joo got all dese women willin' to put der time into trainin' you like dis! I'm de sentimental type and stuff, so I don't like to see people get bent up o'fer sometin' like dis," the bandit's voice advised DragonierMan from far in the distance.

"Ho ho ho! We have a bleeding heart bandit, giving sage advice as he stumbles off with stolen breast covers! What a story," Dee chortled.

"I'm speakin' serious right now, chica. Dis guy's in some danger. When joo got nuttin' left but hate for erryone, nobody's excluded; joo start hatin' joo friends and family. Dat's what creates rogues, and nobody gonna profit offa dat. I'm not gonna try to take your armor any more, I'm outta here. Just t'ink about it," the bandit finished up. A loud noise and flash indicated he'd EJO'd out of the network. The two unlinked breastplates thudded upon the ground, apparently released from his pockets.

"You can take that or leave it as you wish, Recruit. He's obviously full of it. I'm the type of person that dislikes anyone taking anything too seriously, but on the other hand, Yasu's full of rage and what not and she's... probably stronger than me anyways," Dee informed DragonierMan, dispelling her clone as she talked.

Arch shook her head, then crossed her hands behind her back. "It'd be presumptuous of us to try to advise you on the subject. We'll be here to help in any way we can, though, if you need us. The Shogun's army may be small as a faction, but we're also close. You can entrust your worries to anyone, from the humblest soldier to the highest general," she explained, taking a bit from what she'd heard back during her initiation. Even still, it could easily occur to DragonierMan that he'd still yet to see their shogun...

At any rate, the breastplates were lying a fair distance away in the grass. Yasu hadn't gotten back yet (was she underground, thinking that the battle hadn't ended yet?).

BanditMan: FLED
Valentine: EJO'D

???: ??? HP (underground nearby)

Arch: 200 HP (Normal) (Barrier 5)
Dee: 100 HP (Normal) (Barrier 12)
DragonierMan: 150 HP (Normal) (Barrier 25) (Casing 25) (Strengthen 30)
Arc Guider Raiment: 40 HP

Terrain: 65% Soil (surrounding clearing of normal), 5% Grass, 30% Normal

SYNCHRONIZATION:
Dee: 75% (Barrier 25) (Strengthen 15) (Effectiveness halved)
Arch: 67% (Regen 25) (Barrier 5) (Strengthen 5)
Yasu: 5%

((Breastplates lying five movements away in grass))
DragonierMan collapsed on the ground in a flaming wreck, flailing about pitifully. His screams of agony and rage soon became little more than wounded mewling. After a few minutes of this he lay as a smoking corpse on the ground, twitching. Most of his armored leggings lay as ash about him, leaving him with enough scorched cloth to count in moderation, though he was still covered by dark plated scales. Burned holes ran throughout what remained of his wool-cloth pants, jagged scales coming out of the holes, as silver-gray liquid leaked from his nose and mouth and pooled on the ground around him.

His voice returned to him, groaning softly in the dirt, as he slowly dragged one of his arms out in front of him, grasping at the soft earth with clawed hands. His fingernails also bled the silver-gray liquid. He was a mess as he tried to pull his head up. "Uugh." He groaned as he continued to glow with dim embers and an inner light.

Suddenly, a vid-window popped up next to Arch. There was a bit of static before a man popped into view, profiled from the waist up. He was a Caucasian skinned Netopian. His hair was a dirty blond color, grown long, and fashioned into a ponytail tied with white string. His eyes were a blue-gray color, and he had a light scruffy stubble on his face. He also wore a plain white tee-shirt over a lightly-muscled, notably average, frame.

"My navi has been through some harrowing times. And he has gotten... what's the word? Sick? Infected? No. No, that doesn't seem to describe it." DragonierMan's operator began as he rubbed his chin. "My skills at understanding what is going on with the programming are still in its infant stages. But as far as I can tell, when viruses damage him, they leave behind the poison of their data inside him. Venom, disease, and all that... Although, I don't believe any of this is supposed to happen. I would think there would be some way of preventing the corruption of a navi... What with all the supposed research and stuff going on... But my knowledge of this is, as I've said, mediocre at best." He said with the occasional pause to think.

The operator sighed as DragonierMan twitched and moaned on the ground. "Oh!" The man said as he brought his palm up to smack himself on his forehead. "I forgot to introduce myself. This is the first time you have met me after all... I am Destin Obscura." He smiled, and then frowned. "I don't suppose you have encountered this... vulnerability before? My efforts at stabilizing him after each bout have only been good enough for a temporary ease of symptoms." Destin sat back in his chair. "He also seems to take on errant data from his surroundings as a power source. Although again, it might be because he is corrupted as much as he is."

DragonierMan now felt only dull pain running throughout his body. His whole body ached, even though there was no apparent damage. And his head swum as if a construction crew just ran a jackhammer through his skull. He had managed to tip himself over onto his back. The Netfrica sun baked his scaled skin. He was like a lizard lying on a rock sunbathing, absorbing the heat emitted. His eyes were closed as he couldn't find the strength to shield his eyes from the harsh light.

Summary
Actions:
1-5: Conversation.
* Empowering Flourish [Signature]: One instance of Strengthen 25.

Other Effects:
1: FloatShoes [NaviCust]: Ignores effects from panels except broken/missing.
2: ShadowShoes [NaviCust]: Allows the Navi to move across fragile panels, such as Cracked and Glass, without breaking them.
3: Empowering Flourish [Signature]: Strengthen 55 remaining.
4: Bestial Bulwark [Signature]: 25 HP Barrier remaining.
5: Dragon Scales [Signature]: 25 HP Casing remaining.
Arch gasped as DragonierMan fell to the ground and further panicked as black ooze began to pour out from his body like blood. "Oh gosh, I thought he was just using an attack! That fire that came out really injured him! Or- or otherwise was a reaction to something hurting him, I-I-!"

"Simmer down, Archie! I'll use some restorative magic to make sure he's okay," Dee responded, although she was just as surprised as her friend that DragonierMan was in so grave a state. The sorceress continued covering her massive breasts with one arm while placing her free hand on DragonierMan's chest. She gulped as she looked down at his lower body, noticing that much of his body was now exposed, although not nearly as much so as her own. She briefly remembered her mission from earlier.

She noticed that Arch had averted her eyes, apparently finding looking at both of the exposed figures a little much. Dee's eyes sparkled as she tried to look closer to examine what she had been earlier...

The sorceress was again interrupted as a monitor popped open next to her, revealing DragonierMan's operator. Startled, she rose up from her kneeling position and nearly released her grip on her own chest. "No, er, I've never seen a disease that causes a navi to explode into flames, leak black goo, break out in scales, or any combination of the three," she answered somewhat sarcastically.

"Rest assured, however, that the Neo-Shogun Army is devoted to the individual ambitions of its officers as well! We'll do what we can with our resources available to see if there is a cure," Arch interjected, covering for Dee's rudeness. She tried summoning to mind any immediately useful information, but she was already feeling somewhat bashful, now that she knew someone else was watching her. "Let's see, um... There was that one doctor, but she's in the NetMafia... There's another renowned taxidermist, b-but that doesn't seem right... um..."

Dee took the time to go over and attempt to retrieve her breastplates. However, just as she did, the earth rumbled once more. A grotesque, rubbery yellow face, almost like a monster mask, popped up from nearby where the armor had fallen. "Keh heh heh... I came just to take some snapshots; lewd footage to damage the reputation of your little army," the navi chortled. He then grabbed the two plates up in his toothless mouth.

"Ugh, disgusting! What the hell are you? Wait, that doesn't matter. Just drop those!" Dee cried, feeling irritated that another thief had emerged.

"You can't follow me," the navi laughed, flapping the strange, pink, wing-like extensions growing from his head. "See you in the funny papers."

Dee swiped out for the creature, collapsing onto her chest while reaching out both arms. The creature had vanished before she could get a hold of it, however. The burrowing went away quickly, indicating that the navi... creature... whatever it had been had escaped. "Aaaagh, bastard! That's really annoying..." Dee groaned, crossing both arms back across her top.

As the sorceress complained, Yasu reappeared like a ninja, popping into vision next to Arch. "Report! How went the training? Our recruit appears to be in a dire state," the first general inquired, apparently unaware of anything that had happened. "I heard someone imitating my voice and assumed it to be... that sorceress." Yasu's usual dislike of Dee was evident in her voice.

"Well, we ran into trouble... The Mafia was observing us. We chased one of them off, but they managed to run off with some of our armor," Arch explained.

"Do not fret; even if they gain one piece, we still have the lion's portion. Furthermore, the fact that we were able to fight against them without being completely overwhelmed is encouraging in itself," the green general replied, apparently meaning "it's encouraging that you three did as well as you did without my help."

"We also learned more about our friend here. His operator speaks a bit less cryptically than the navi himself. The man, Destin Obscura, says that his navi is ill... infected with something that absorbs data from his surroundings. I'm not sure if it's a source of power, but it seems to have caused him great pain in the previous battle and even led to his own immolation. I think it would be for the best if we devoted some resources to finding a cure."

"Indeed. We will put it on our list of priorities. For now, however," she continued, turning to the screen where Destin still hovered. Her eyes showed the usual contempt that she reserved for all of his gender. "I think that we should discuss your navi's reward. Shall we furnish you and your navi with membership to the Neo-Shogun's empire right away and allow him to jack out? We would, of course, send a follow-up e-mail."

The Neo-Shogun sorceress had finally made her way back over; she placed one hand on her hips while keeping the other at her breasts. "I hate to cut the guy off cold-turkey, though. He did a lot for us. I feel like we should wake him back up first; you know, make sure he's alright and satisfied," Dee suggested, feeling a little discontent that she'd never gotten to size DragonierMan up.

"Nonsense! His condition clearly suggests that he should withdraw to recuperate in the safety of his PET," Yasu complained, both angry that Dee defied her and hesitant to wake him back up so that Dee could further have her way. "Well, the decision ultimately lies with you, Obscura. You can feel free to pull your navi out now, or we will be happy to wake him up and... see how he feels," she murmured. "The mail will come regardless, I assure you."

SYNCHRONIZATION:
Dee: 75% (Barrier 25) (Strengthen 15) (Effectiveness halved)
Arch: 70% (Regen 25) (Barrier 5) (Strengthen 5)
Yasu: 7%

--BATTLE COMPLETE--
DragonierMan gets: 1200 zenny
Destin seemed unfazed by the relative skinfest of the generals. Though he did find their human-like natures of modesty interesting. During the majority of the conversation though he had his head buried in his PET. So some of the finer points of the conversation, like what happened with the burrower, was lost on him. "According to my readings, he seems to have stabilized for now." He said finally as his head came up. "I have some things to do now, so I leave him in your hands." And just like that, the vid-window disappeared.

DragonierMan was still conscious, just incredibly tired from burning up like he did. The scales receded into his skin, leaving him a bright pink, and the air around him returned to normal, no longer wavering from his heat. His vest lay discarded by his armor, and his metal bracers lay in gooey puddles around him, having melted off his arms, leaving his upper torso bare. The chiseled abs slowly moving up and down as he labored in breath. His pants were in tatters, and his boots were also in shambles. The armored greaves and metal toes had sloughed off the leather shoes underneath, leaving blackened remains. The talons of the navi's feet were quite visible poking out of the ruined leather. By the amount of skin, he had nothing on under his pants, or it had burned off like the rest of his clothes. His eyes were still closed.
DragonierMan's operator disappeared, leaving the three NS generals looking down at the navi's body, which showed heavy movements just from his breathing. It looked as though he could be asleep, but they weren't sure. "Very well, Dee. Arch and I will take the armors back to base while you check up on DragonierMan. Remember that your clothes are lying in the grass right over there. It'd be helpful if you'd give us the lower piece of your armor now so that we can leave," Yasu explained to the gradient-haired general.

Dee sighed, then moved over into the grass. Squatting, she pulled off the tiny remnants of her armor and then quickly dressed back into her usual undergarment: a sleek, dark blue bikini. While a little tight, it was more modest than her armor had been, at least; the strapless top and high-rise bottom still showed off her shapely body in a pleasing way. She grabbed up her dress as well, then moved over to stare at their potentially sleeping recruit.

Yasu took back the codpiece that DragonierMan had chosen to wear as an eyepatch, keeping his head safe by placing one palm on the back, then resting it gently back down onto the net's floor. "We'll meet up with you later. Don't dawdle too long; we need to report our test results along with the performance of our new recruit," the first general beckoned. With a cheesy, half-hearted salute, Dee saw the green and gold generals off.

Sighing, Dee fanned herself and sat down next to DragonierMan. "I guess this worked out, but now what should I do? The guy still seems to be down for the count... and with his body like it is, I'd hate to do anything that might aggravate his condition. It's boring, but maybe I ought to just leave," she muttered to herself.

As her curiosity continued to eat at her, she moved forward on her hands and knees to look at the recovering navi's body again. She watched a bead of sweat move from his abs to his lower body, then gulped as her eyes moved down to that area once again. Slyly, she looked both ways, then made her way with cat-like motions over DragonierMan's body, resting above him with her stomach just above his face. She looked down at his groin, her eyes still gleaming with curiosity.

She slowly allowed her hands to move across the ground, closer and closer...

Something leaped across the plains, smacking into her head as it did so. The creature was probably some Netfrican virus, moving quickly by itself to rejoin a pack. Regardless, Dee's face was driven into the grass, landing between the navi's legs and connecting with the net floor. Her breasts pressed alarmingly up against his groin while her legs struggled to keep position; her lower body moved against him slightly as well, putting the private area between her legs just a breath away from his supposedly sleeping face.

Dee swore, thinking that perhaps Arch had come and sat on her again. After dispelling that thought, she realized where she was and panicked, sitting upright immediately. Her ass collided with his face, grinding its contours into him. Yelping again, she scampered off on all fours, then recovered with a quick laugh. "Hohoho! That was just a little service from one of the Shogun's final generals, free of charge! Count yourself fortunate, rookie!" she threw out, just in case he was still awake.

With that, she jacked out as well, leaving DragonierMan basking in the heat of Netfrica.

Hopefully, one of the three generals would report his success and make sure that he got that e-mail they mentioned.

((+22 Dee FXP, +20 Yasu FXP, +15 Arch FXP))
DragonierMan smiled, as he and his gear dissipated into a column of light.

[DragonierMan LOGGED OUT.]