Shutting out other thoughts in the moment, Terra's immediate action saw her shooting away beneath the behemoth beast, through the tracking mud, to tear her dazed support program free from the curling plants and bear her up and away. The heavy weight of Merridite's presence pulled at them both, but Terra was resolute and surged beneath it. From either side, two massive battering rams of stone swung down beneath the main bulk of the beast's body; Terra was too focused to avoid them, and each crashed into her, one after the other. One made her movement veer unsteadily to the left, them the other thrust her back to the right, her barrier collapsing after the second blow, but as she reclaimed her treasure and passed from out of its shadow, the entirety of its incredible side crashed down into the mud, as though to crush them both.
The beast fell like a landslide of hammering rocks, sinking into the mud with a splatter, and everywhere sent a ripple through the ground. Terra stumbled, just out of her rapid movement, but caught her footing in time to see the expanse of mud replaced with a broad, thick mass newly growing grass. The various pieces of the beast were already beginning to lift up again, coming back together to form a more coherent creature once more, but Terra took the opportunity to release a lancing line of raw energy back at it while it we reassembling. The blast struck, shooting through and upwards into the air beyond, but where the attack passed through the beast, it simply seemed to diffuse into it and fade away. The vines growing through its stone grew and the moss thrived; she didn't think it had been actually healed by the assault, but it certainly hadn't been hurt.
Next, She tried something new, and as the beast turned it head around and reconfigured each of its limbs to the point that it was facing her again, her next attack saw a series of vines casting up and around, attempting to restrain. Binding down a beast of this size and magnitude wouldn't have been easy to accomplish on the best of days, and using plant life to do it didn't seem like the most effective method, but at the same time, Marridite didn't move in any way to throw the vines off or struggle free; they wrapped and latched on, as surely as they could. It was hard to say how restrained it really was; there was no real measure of how strong it was, and the vines looked uncomfortably thin compared to the beast's size. A series of heavy thumps shook the ground a moment later, followed by a familiar rumbling as the beast planted each of its limbs firmly and roared again, the low sound resounding through the hills.
More spikes and columns of stone began to erupt all over the field. A column exploded from the earth just to Terra's right, before, a moment later, another jutted up from the left, a sharp spike of black stone at a low angle. Focused on shielding Carbide from more assaults, Terra was left to bear the impact of the jagged spine piercing into her. Despite Carbide's help with a fresh casing, the stone spike punctured in, ramming into Terra's body somewhere just below her navel and driving through with enough force to slam her bodily into, and through, the tall column that had just risen on the other side. The tip of the spine broke off as it punched her form through the other mass of rock, leaving the terraformer to drop to the ground. The tip of the spike was still buried in her, thick enough to protrude from both side; it seemed to be taking a few extra seconds to dissolve into data, as one would normally hope. Despite being skewered, she was still alive, at least, and Carbide hadn't suffered from the sudden bursting of stone columns and spikes.
Terra's final assault for now served at least in part as a distraction from their difficulties. She would have guessed by now that the dragon wasn't able to hurt the massive Cybeast, but as it coursed back and forth harassing the creature and striking it, Marridite paused. Its slow motions regarded the dragon, then turned back to the pair below. The brilliant green gemstones seemed to focus on Terra in particular, before the beast rose up, straining against its binding vines, then slammed down again, for-most limbs slamming down atop both her and Carbide, and crushing both of them into the soft grass and giving earth beneath. As the ground rumbled beneath its strikes, the remaining vines lifted out of the soil and continued to coil around the beast's body and limbs, swiftly becoming just another part of the creature and no longer restraining it. Around Terra and Carbide, the crushed grass gave off the scent of sap, but was just as quickly regrowing and spreading outwards. The huge creature didn't attack quickly, and Terra, even in her battered state, knew that she was faster than it, even with the aura of timeless stillness that covered everything... but for all of its sedate pace, its size compensated for that, and it moved with a deliberateness that that was proving quite adept at finding its marks... and when it did connect, the power behind each blow was staggering. Terra had to be wondering how long she could keep this up; the land was on her side, perhaps... but it was on it's side as well, and to an arguable extent moreso.
-=Master of the Garden=-
Marridite: 3100Hp [Grass]
-=Lady of the Land=-
Terra.Exe: 1Hp[Grass][Slow3][EarthShaker]
Carbide.SP: 31Hp [Grass][Slow2][EarthShaker]
-=Hidden Glade=-
35% Moss [The outer area]
30% Normal [15 pillars and spines]
35% Grass [Directly under and around Marridite and Terra]
-=Risen Rocks=-
StoneSpire x 15: 15Hp [Scattered]
Each spire is about two body-heights long or tall, and emerges from the ground at various upward angles. About half of them are sharp spines of stone, the others are flat topped with enough space for a navi to stand on, possibly two at a squeeze, and count as normal terrain.
EarthShaker: The ground shakes and tremors as Marridite moves. Being in contact with the ground near this unsteadying effect decreases base evasion by one rank, independently of any other effects.
In Her Element
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While she watched the beast acclimatize itself to her attempt to bind it, Terra could feel herself losing her stance. However, rather than feeling like she was injured, Terra felt something different entirely. Her body felt like it was buried under six feet of soil, even though she could plainly see that it wasn't the case. Her consciousness was getting difficult to maintain as well, as her mental processes were affected by the slowdown, and Marridite's "thought streams" were beginning to overpower her. While her senses were working fully, she wasn't able to process it; even the pain of the spire that had suddenly stabbed into her lower abdomen simply jolted her body slightly without any reaction from her.
Suddenly, she felt her arm move, though not of its own accord. It took her a little while to realize that it was someone shaking it, and there was a voice along with it. A voice that she could recognize to be familiar, but not parse. The arm that had been shaken about then suddenly stopped, before she felt a large weight being hefted onto it. Her fingers closed in instinctively on what she had in her hand, gripping onto it tightly.
Then, around her, a radiant green light surrounded her, and infused her with energy.
All at once, her senses returned to her like a crashing freight train, and she stumbled in her stance, crying out in pain. "Hey, Terra, can you hear me now?" a voice said, which she recognized at once to be Scarlet's.
"Yes," Terra responded, as she looked around her to regain her bearings. Around her, a two-layered green honeycomb-patterned barrier enveloped her, one of which depicted a small leaf symbol all over it. In front of her, Carbide stood with one of her tower shields propped high. Carbide's other shield, which would usually be on her other hand, seemed to be on her own hand instead--most likely the thing that she had gripped unconsciously before. Carbide turned around with a roguish grin on her face.
"Yo, Terra, you awake now? Jeez, I didn't know you could pass out standing up like that. Naturally, I fixed things up. You can thank me later!" said Carbide.
Flexing her limbs, Terra could feel herself reinvigorated. Of course, with the situation she was in, she quickly proceeded to reposition herself, with Carbide following suit, jumping after her to match her movements. Terra realized that the doubled barrier that enveloped her was, in fact, two separate barriers, one of them being on Carbide. As she did so, Scarlet chimed in.
"Carbide's just spinning up some hogwash, I'm the one who forcefully flushed your systems out--it seemed like you were running more slowly than usual for some reason. Seems to have worked to some degree, though. You can move properly now, right?" the operator said.
"Hey! I saw what was wrong and called for your help!" retorted Carbide in turn.
"... Yes, thank you both. Scarlet, let's continue," said Terra.
"Got it, hang on," said Scarlet, her fingers deftly selecting two chips to be sent to Terra. In the network, the Navi felt the battlechips' power responding almost instantly, and she reacted as such. Raising her palm upwards, she activated the first of two, manifesting a cluster of loose gravel in the air and morphing them into tiny spires. The little rocky needles then flew forward, right before Terra threw her arm backwards. The earth that materialized afterwards came in much larger chunks, and looked much more black in color. It clustered into the rough shape of a black sphere, which she hurled forward, aiming to land the enormous object somewhere under the massive beast.
[font=Courier]// Summary - Grass: Regen 5/Action
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Armor: 20 HP Planar Casing @ Self (Grass: Wood, Sturdy Defense)
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Barrier: 20 HP Planar Barrier @ Carbide (Grass: Wood, Sturdy Defense)
[Ca.*] Sig: Terraskill: Reflex Armor: 20 HP Casing @ Self (Sturdy Defense)
[Te.1] Chip:
LeafShieldProtection: Next non-fire attack, heal for half damage
Accuracy: S
Description: Leafy barrier deflects next attack and heals, destroyed by fire.
Duration: Until destroyed or hit.
Element: Wood
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: C: Protects: One Non-Fire attack + Recover 50% damage + Status (Acc: S) @ Self
[Ca.1] Sig: Terraforce: Knight of Nature: 3(+1)-Hit Shield @ Terra + 3-Hit Planar Shield @ Self (Grass: Wood, Reinforce)
[Te.2] Sig: Terraforce: Blessing of Nature: Status Cure @ Self (Slow3)
[Ca.2] Act: Defend: Redirect attack to self @ Terra
[Te.3] Act: Avoid incoming attack: Dodge
[Te.4] Chip:
Drain1Damage: Drain 50
Accuracy: C
Description: Summons a cloud of Skeeter viruses, and sends them flying at one enemy. They surround the target, proceed to drain HP from it, and send the stolen energy back to their summoner before vanishing. This attack has a slow travel speed.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D: Drain 50 (Acc: C) @ Marridite
[Te.5] Chip:
BlackBomb1HP: 50
Properties: Heavy, StoneBody
Object Damage: 10 + Impact + Break
Damage Method: Throw, Telekinesis
Attack Damage: 120 Fire + Blast 4
Accuracy: S
Description: Throws a bomb that detonates if hit with fire, damaging a large area. Rare
Duration: Until hit with fire, destroyed, or end of battle
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: C: 50HP Heavy StoneBody Object: (120 + Blast4 + Self-Destruct): On-Hit-Fire (Acc: S) @ Behind Marridite
Suddenly, she felt her arm move, though not of its own accord. It took her a little while to realize that it was someone shaking it, and there was a voice along with it. A voice that she could recognize to be familiar, but not parse. The arm that had been shaken about then suddenly stopped, before she felt a large weight being hefted onto it. Her fingers closed in instinctively on what she had in her hand, gripping onto it tightly.
Then, around her, a radiant green light surrounded her, and infused her with energy.
All at once, her senses returned to her like a crashing freight train, and she stumbled in her stance, crying out in pain. "Hey, Terra, can you hear me now?" a voice said, which she recognized at once to be Scarlet's.
"Yes," Terra responded, as she looked around her to regain her bearings. Around her, a two-layered green honeycomb-patterned barrier enveloped her, one of which depicted a small leaf symbol all over it. In front of her, Carbide stood with one of her tower shields propped high. Carbide's other shield, which would usually be on her other hand, seemed to be on her own hand instead--most likely the thing that she had gripped unconsciously before. Carbide turned around with a roguish grin on her face.
"Yo, Terra, you awake now? Jeez, I didn't know you could pass out standing up like that. Naturally, I fixed things up. You can thank me later!" said Carbide.
Flexing her limbs, Terra could feel herself reinvigorated. Of course, with the situation she was in, she quickly proceeded to reposition herself, with Carbide following suit, jumping after her to match her movements. Terra realized that the doubled barrier that enveloped her was, in fact, two separate barriers, one of them being on Carbide. As she did so, Scarlet chimed in.
"Carbide's just spinning up some hogwash, I'm the one who forcefully flushed your systems out--it seemed like you were running more slowly than usual for some reason. Seems to have worked to some degree, though. You can move properly now, right?" the operator said.
"Hey! I saw what was wrong and called for your help!" retorted Carbide in turn.
"... Yes, thank you both. Scarlet, let's continue," said Terra.
"Got it, hang on," said Scarlet, her fingers deftly selecting two chips to be sent to Terra. In the network, the Navi felt the battlechips' power responding almost instantly, and she reacted as such. Raising her palm upwards, she activated the first of two, manifesting a cluster of loose gravel in the air and morphing them into tiny spires. The little rocky needles then flew forward, right before Terra threw her arm backwards. The earth that materialized afterwards came in much larger chunks, and looked much more black in color. It clustered into the rough shape of a black sphere, which she hurled forward, aiming to land the enormous object somewhere under the massive beast.
[font=Courier]// Summary - Grass: Regen 5/Action
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Armor: 20 HP Planar Casing @ Self (Grass: Wood, Sturdy Defense)
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Barrier: 20 HP Planar Barrier @ Carbide (Grass: Wood, Sturdy Defense)
[Ca.*] Sig: Terraskill: Reflex Armor: 20 HP Casing @ Self (Sturdy Defense)
[Te.1] Chip:
LeafShieldProtection: Next non-fire attack, heal for half damageAccuracy: S
Description: Leafy barrier deflects next attack and heals, destroyed by fire.
Duration: Until destroyed or hit.
Element: Wood
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: C: Protects: One Non-Fire attack + Recover 50% damage + Status (Acc: S) @ Self
[Ca.1] Sig: Terraforce: Knight of Nature: 3(+1)-Hit Shield @ Terra + 3-Hit Planar Shield @ Self (Grass: Wood, Reinforce)
[Te.2] Sig: Terraforce: Blessing of Nature: Status Cure @ Self (Slow3)
[Ca.2] Act: Defend: Redirect attack to self @ Terra
[Te.3] Act: Avoid incoming attack: Dodge
[Te.4] Chip:
Drain1Damage: Drain 50Accuracy: C
Description: Summons a cloud of Skeeter viruses, and sends them flying at one enemy. They surround the target, proceed to drain HP from it, and send the stolen energy back to their summoner before vanishing. This attack has a slow travel speed.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D: Drain 50 (Acc: C) @ Marridite
[Te.5] Chip:
BlackBomb1HP: 50Properties: Heavy, StoneBody
Object Damage: 10 + Impact + Break
Damage Method: Throw, Telekinesis
Attack Damage: 120 Fire + Blast 4
Accuracy: S
Description: Throws a bomb that detonates if hit with fire, damaging a large area. Rare
Duration: Until hit with fire, destroyed, or end of battle
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: C: 50HP Heavy StoneBody Object: (120 + Blast4 + Self-Destruct): On-Hit-Fire (Acc: S) @ Behind Marridite
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By the time Terra had shaken off her overloaded thoughts, Carbide had already provided both of them with a fresh assortment of protections from the beast's slow, yet steady and heavy assaults. The rumbling in the ground around them, with every shift of its body, still made keeping their footing harder than it ought to have been, and the creeping feeling of timeless slowness pervaded still; clearing out her processes alleviated some of it, certainly, but the source wasn't going away. The large emerald eyes looked down at the pair as they regrouped and Terra could feel the press of its awareness heavy on her once more.
The urge to preserve that which grew; unexpected in small saplings and stems of life. Its struggle to survive made Marridite... happy wasn't the right word, but something like it. There was a deeper sense, that there was something satisfying about this tiny being's refusal to give up. Yet also the attachment. Strange the bonding between this sapling and this seed. Such energy spent on sheltering, from seedling to seed, from seed to seedling. The thoughts became images again, of one plant growing upon the side of a tree, before the tree fell and the smaller plant was torn apart in the motion. Stronger growing entwined, perhaps, but troublesome too. The beast's massive head turned, even while Terra and Carbide completed more defences. Now the eyes seemed to focus squarely on Carbide, though the pressure of its ponderous thoughts continued to blanket Terra's mind. What, it queried, when one was torn from the other? Sensations of deep stone, layered from different rocks, exposed to the elements over countless years, and then, gradually, eroded; in her mind, the sensation was focused one one layer of the strata, sturdy and strong, impervious to the grinding winds and gnawing waters, yet supported by softer stone, which shrank and thinned, then eventually crumbled, sending the greater stone crashing down. Dependency grew strength, but also flaws. As the thoughts rolled across Terra's awareness, one of the beast's massive bludgeoning limbs sailed down again.
It was aimed at Terra, primarily, and might well have caught her distracted, but Carbide put herself in front, shield raised against the mammoth pile-driver of stone. The size difference defied belief, and once more, the small SP's feet sank half a foot into the soft earth as she took the blow. The impact left her numb and shaken again, but she still stood and the natural energies of her shield absorbed the punishment without weakening. Protected in weakness, the sense of awareness rumbled, and yet...
A fresh grinding bellow rose from the creature and more lances of solid stone began to burst from the ground. Terra managed to dodge aside from the one that erupted beneath her feet, but Carbide was not so quick, still recovering from the first shuddering blow. The spire that lifted Carbide back out of the earth and threw her into the air was sharp and pointed, and would have dealt the small girl a serious damage if not for her protective barrier. Unfortunately, as she landed, tumbling roughly onto the flat top of the spire that had appeared alongside, her elemental defences gave out, leaving her with just her protective armour. All around them, more flat and pointed spars of hard stone lanced the clearing, and around the edges of the field, several of them served as the focal point for fresh expanses of damp moss. Terra had just avoided the spire aimed for her neatly and countered with an attempt to drain some vitality back from the beast but as the tiny needles of rock struck they simply began to drift and join with the rest of the creature. None returned to Terra and she could only assume the attack had failed.
Marridite wasn't watching this and Terra didn't need the overbearing pressure of its presence to see that it was still focused entirely on the figure of Carbide, on her feet but exposed on one of the rock spires for now. The beast seemed to topple forwards, resting more limb-like extensions on the ground, but even as it did, two thick, vine-wrapped boulders swung over and around. Carbide had precious little time to respond to these, and try as she might to brace herself, the first pummelled down hard, crushing her against the pillar and cracking it. Her armour couldn't endure the hammer-blow and as the rock broke beneath her, Carbide likely felt parts of her own body breaking as well. The rock went soft as she was slammed into the ground, becoming giving, embracing soil even as warnings told the small SP that she was pressed to her final stand. A moment later, a second impact from somewhere above on top of the weight already crushing her, ended her participation in this battle.
Terra witnessed the first blow strike down and shatter the stone pillar with her SP on it, saw the sudden pooling of soil from where the boulder had crushed into the ground and felt the shock wave of the slam as it rippled out and unsteadied her footing further. She lost sight of Carbide again in the process, somewhere beneath the massive vine-encircled boulder, but saw the second slab of stone crash down on top of the first, driving it even further into the soil. The earthen ground sprung up into a wild growth of fresh grass as the dust settled and a long moment of stillness followed.
The limbs drew back again, dragging out of the grass and soil and taking clumps of earth with it, but even as they lifted back into the creature, there was no sign of Carbide anywhere. For a fraught few moments, her signal and location were uncertain, lost amidst the devouring and regenerating net space they were in, and there was no sign even on the real-world side of the battle, but after several tense and possibly panicked moments the SP arrived safely in her PET.
Amongst all of this, Terra's other subtle attack was prepared, and there didn't seem to be any notice from the behemoth creature above her that it had seen or understood the other thing that she'd done. Right now, it was mostly... curious. Calm and curious, to see how she reacted to what it had done.
-=Master of the Garden=-
Marridite: 3100Hp [Grass]
-=Lady of the Land=-
Terra.Exe: 26Hp [Grass][Slow2][EarthShaker][20Hp Planar (Wood) Casing][LeafShield Barrier][4-Hit Shield]
Carbide.SP: EJO
-=Hidden Glade=-
45% Moss [The outer area]
20% Normal [23 pillars and spines]
35% Grass [Directly under and around Marridite and Terra]
-=Risen Rocks=-
StoneSpire x 23: 15Hp [Scattered]
Each spire is about two body-heights long or tall, and emerges from the ground at various upward angles. About half of them are sharp spines of stone, the others are flat topped with enough space for a navi to stand on, possibly two at a squeeze, and count as normal terrain.
BlackBomb: 50hp [Heavy][StoneBody][Grass][Under/Behind Marridite]
EarthShaker: The ground shakes and tremors as Marridite moves. Being in contact with the ground near this unsteadying effect decreases base evasion by one rank, independently of any other effects.
The urge to preserve that which grew; unexpected in small saplings and stems of life. Its struggle to survive made Marridite... happy wasn't the right word, but something like it. There was a deeper sense, that there was something satisfying about this tiny being's refusal to give up. Yet also the attachment. Strange the bonding between this sapling and this seed. Such energy spent on sheltering, from seedling to seed, from seed to seedling. The thoughts became images again, of one plant growing upon the side of a tree, before the tree fell and the smaller plant was torn apart in the motion. Stronger growing entwined, perhaps, but troublesome too. The beast's massive head turned, even while Terra and Carbide completed more defences. Now the eyes seemed to focus squarely on Carbide, though the pressure of its ponderous thoughts continued to blanket Terra's mind. What, it queried, when one was torn from the other? Sensations of deep stone, layered from different rocks, exposed to the elements over countless years, and then, gradually, eroded; in her mind, the sensation was focused one one layer of the strata, sturdy and strong, impervious to the grinding winds and gnawing waters, yet supported by softer stone, which shrank and thinned, then eventually crumbled, sending the greater stone crashing down. Dependency grew strength, but also flaws. As the thoughts rolled across Terra's awareness, one of the beast's massive bludgeoning limbs sailed down again.
It was aimed at Terra, primarily, and might well have caught her distracted, but Carbide put herself in front, shield raised against the mammoth pile-driver of stone. The size difference defied belief, and once more, the small SP's feet sank half a foot into the soft earth as she took the blow. The impact left her numb and shaken again, but she still stood and the natural energies of her shield absorbed the punishment without weakening. Protected in weakness, the sense of awareness rumbled, and yet...
A fresh grinding bellow rose from the creature and more lances of solid stone began to burst from the ground. Terra managed to dodge aside from the one that erupted beneath her feet, but Carbide was not so quick, still recovering from the first shuddering blow. The spire that lifted Carbide back out of the earth and threw her into the air was sharp and pointed, and would have dealt the small girl a serious damage if not for her protective barrier. Unfortunately, as she landed, tumbling roughly onto the flat top of the spire that had appeared alongside, her elemental defences gave out, leaving her with just her protective armour. All around them, more flat and pointed spars of hard stone lanced the clearing, and around the edges of the field, several of them served as the focal point for fresh expanses of damp moss. Terra had just avoided the spire aimed for her neatly and countered with an attempt to drain some vitality back from the beast but as the tiny needles of rock struck they simply began to drift and join with the rest of the creature. None returned to Terra and she could only assume the attack had failed.
Marridite wasn't watching this and Terra didn't need the overbearing pressure of its presence to see that it was still focused entirely on the figure of Carbide, on her feet but exposed on one of the rock spires for now. The beast seemed to topple forwards, resting more limb-like extensions on the ground, but even as it did, two thick, vine-wrapped boulders swung over and around. Carbide had precious little time to respond to these, and try as she might to brace herself, the first pummelled down hard, crushing her against the pillar and cracking it. Her armour couldn't endure the hammer-blow and as the rock broke beneath her, Carbide likely felt parts of her own body breaking as well. The rock went soft as she was slammed into the ground, becoming giving, embracing soil even as warnings told the small SP that she was pressed to her final stand. A moment later, a second impact from somewhere above on top of the weight already crushing her, ended her participation in this battle.
Terra witnessed the first blow strike down and shatter the stone pillar with her SP on it, saw the sudden pooling of soil from where the boulder had crushed into the ground and felt the shock wave of the slam as it rippled out and unsteadied her footing further. She lost sight of Carbide again in the process, somewhere beneath the massive vine-encircled boulder, but saw the second slab of stone crash down on top of the first, driving it even further into the soil. The earthen ground sprung up into a wild growth of fresh grass as the dust settled and a long moment of stillness followed.
The limbs drew back again, dragging out of the grass and soil and taking clumps of earth with it, but even as they lifted back into the creature, there was no sign of Carbide anywhere. For a fraught few moments, her signal and location were uncertain, lost amidst the devouring and regenerating net space they were in, and there was no sign even on the real-world side of the battle, but after several tense and possibly panicked moments the SP arrived safely in her PET.
Amongst all of this, Terra's other subtle attack was prepared, and there didn't seem to be any notice from the behemoth creature above her that it had seen or understood the other thing that she'd done. Right now, it was mostly... curious. Calm and curious, to see how she reacted to what it had done.
-=Master of the Garden=-
Marridite: 3100Hp [Grass]
-=Lady of the Land=-
Terra.Exe: 26Hp [Grass][Slow2][EarthShaker][20Hp Planar (Wood) Casing][LeafShield Barrier][4-Hit Shield]
Carbide.SP: EJO
-=Hidden Glade=-
45% Moss [The outer area]
20% Normal [23 pillars and spines]
35% Grass [Directly under and around Marridite and Terra]
-=Risen Rocks=-
StoneSpire x 23: 15Hp [Scattered]
Each spire is about two body-heights long or tall, and emerges from the ground at various upward angles. About half of them are sharp spines of stone, the others are flat topped with enough space for a navi to stand on, possibly two at a squeeze, and count as normal terrain.
BlackBomb: 50hp [Heavy][StoneBody][Grass][Under/Behind Marridite]
EarthShaker: The ground shakes and tremors as Marridite moves. Being in contact with the ground near this unsteadying effect decreases base evasion by one rank, independently of any other effects.
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As Terra was launching her own attacks, she was still actively fighting off the overwhelming mental presence from Marridite, and as such, was able to parse a few of its intents. While it took time to form anything resembling coherent thoughts, she was still able to understand the last thing in its thought stream--and her eyes went wide. As the hammer of one of Marridite's limbs came rumbling down once again, she could only watch as Carbide caught the attack with her tower shield, resisting the colossal swing with her impossibly smaller body.
"Uraaaahhhh!!!"
Dread overtook Terra as Carbide's body sank into the earth in front of her, yet the little girl resisted, roaring valiantly amidst the deafening rumbles. Beneath her feet, she could feel the immense energy of the network's earth behind the girl's enormous shield, lending an invisible hand against the beast's attacks--turning the little one into an impenetrable fortress. Suddenly, Terra sensed a familiar rumbling under her feet, and she instinctively moved out of the way. Mid-leap, she realized that Carbide was still in front of her, and the hardened spire stabbed into the girl from the rear. Her breath was taken away even as the barrier took the brunt of the impact, sending her flying into the air. As she flew, the mossy shield she had been carrying crumbled into nothingness, leaving the girl with nothing but her tiny body.
Terra's body was still moving almost by itself, launching the Drain attack as she avoided another set of earthen lances--the system refresh really did have a bit of an effect on her agility, she noted--but her eyes were all on Carbide. As she finished her last attack, Terra was about to head straight forward, in an attempt to save the very person trying to sacrifice herself for her. Try as she might, however, the slow crawl of her own limbs made her cry out internally, as she watched Marridite's body slam down on the girl's body.
"Carbide!!" the green-clad Navi called out, as uselessly as she thought it was--before Marridite, almost as easily as flicking away a fly, finally pressed down the remaining little distance it had between it and the ground.
A brief silence took over the area once again, right before a second strike drove Marridite's limb further into the ground, as if to cement the 'burial' that had just occurred. As the long, unnerving quietness followed, the spectators of the battle watched with widened eyes and slackened jaws. The one with a front-row seat to the action became something like a statue, unmoving for the long period before Marridite moved again. As she witnessed the empty space underneath the limb that had just lifted itself back up, something inside Terra flipped its switch for the second time that day.
Her skin started to 'crack' with fracture lines snaking all over her body. Beneath the cracks, a pulsing reddish-orange light shone through, and the fractures began spreading out in tiny little capillaries, emulating what looked like a network of blood vessels all over Terra. The bluish-green color of her eyes quickly gave way to the same glow as the barrier around her began changing as well, shifting from its original green color to an odd turbulent mix of red and green, as if each color was vying to take over the entire barrier. Terra then rose to full height, her sights now locked onto Marridite's own emerald 'eyes'.
--Then, a voice came through the still-active audio link.
However, it wasn't Scarlet's, nor was it Terra's.
"Go get 'em, Terra! Right in the kisser!"
"..." "..."
Undoubtedly, the squeaky voice belonged to the just-defeated Carbide, and the source was confirmed as the audio link expanded itself into a video feed, with Carbide's image in half of it, and Scarlet and Luke in the other half. "Hey, Terra! If you lose after this I'll get really mad, okay?!" continued Carbide. Terra glanced to the side towards the feed, seeing Carbide's cheeks puffing up as she pressed her face against the screen; it looked like her Support had returned safely to the PET, judging from the background that she could see.
Slowly, the 'transformation' that Terra had been undergoing began undoing itself, with all of her features returning to as it was before. As the last bit of her barrier turned back to green, she nodded, with a small smile on her face. "... Understood. I'll do my best," said Terra. In the video feed, Carbide's face beamed with a satisfied grin, before the feed cut itself out, leaving only her operator(s?) visible.
"Aww, I thought I was gonna see some cool 'rage mode' transformation or something there," commented Luke.
Beside the man, Scarlet rolled her eyes with a small sigh at her partner's quip. "Ready for some chips, Terra?" she asked.
".. Mm," she muttered, turning her attention back to Marridite, feeling herself reinforced with her operator's supporting battlechips in mere moments. Her feet pushed back into the grass under her feet as she established her stance, and initiated her attack. A streak of light raced down her legs into the ground, triggering a cascade of effects. Far out towards Marridite's other side, below its undercarriage, a clump of black rock stood dormant as the ground beneath it began to light up with a gleaming red. Before long, a pillar of flame burst out from underneath it, igniting the explosive payload inside the black rock, as well as rocketing up towards Marridite itself.
Around Terra, the results were similarly as pronounced: the ground around her began to rapidly turn itself into molten earth, swallowing up the grass that had been there moments ago. The transformation of the earth was as violent as it was before, with the suddenly-spawned cauldron of magma beginning to belch out molten rock rapidly in all directions. In front of Terra, a swirl of magma also began forming, before it explosively ejected itself skyward towards Marridite's enormous body. Terra herself, was, as usual, excluded from the natural pyrotechnics, though the armor under her suit was still reforming itself as usual, fueling itself from the lava she had spawned.
// Summary - Grass: Regen 5/Action
[Te.1] Chip:
FlameLine2Damage: 120 + Ground Attack + Wide Attack
Accuracy: B
Description: A wall of fire erupts from the ground, burning up to 3 targets.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: C: 120 + Ground Attack + Wide Attack (Acc: B) @ BlackBomb + Marridite (Element Advantage: Fire+120)
[Te.2] Sig: Terraform: Violent Magma: Large Lava Terrain Change @ Self (Preserver)
[Te.3] Chip:
RedWave1Damage: 50 + Ground Attack + To-All-Clause (Others) + Lava Terrain Boost 50
Accuracy: B
Description: Creates a wave of lava to burn everything and everyone other than the user, even their allies. Can be jumped over, but requires perfect timing. More effective if there is lava in the vicinity to fuel it.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: D: 50 + Ground Attack + To-All-Clause (Others) + Lava Terrain Boost 50 (Acc: B) (Lava Terrain Boost: Fire+50, Element Advantage: Fire+100)
[Te.4] Chip:
LavaCannon1Damage: 90 + Lava Panel Boost(+40)
Accuracy: B
Description: Fires a blast of magma from a cannon. If the user is standing on Lava terrain at the time of use, this chip's power is boosted by 40.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: D: 90 + Lava Panel Boost(+40) (Acc: B) @ Marridite (Lava Terrain Boost: Fire+40, Element Advantage: Fire+130)
[Te.5] Chip: RedWave1Damage: 50 + Ground Attack + To-All-Clause (Others) + Lava Terrain Boost 50
Accuracy: B
Description: Creates a wave of lava to burn everything and everyone other than the user, even their allies. Can be jumped over, but requires perfect timing. More effective if there is lava in the vicinity to fuel it.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: D: 50 + Ground Attack + To-All-Clause (Others) + Lava Terrain Boost 50 (Acc: B) (Lava Terrain Boost: Fire+50, Element Advantage: Fire+100)
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Armor: 20 HP Planar Casing @ Self (Lava: Fire)
"Uraaaahhhh!!!"
Dread overtook Terra as Carbide's body sank into the earth in front of her, yet the little girl resisted, roaring valiantly amidst the deafening rumbles. Beneath her feet, she could feel the immense energy of the network's earth behind the girl's enormous shield, lending an invisible hand against the beast's attacks--turning the little one into an impenetrable fortress. Suddenly, Terra sensed a familiar rumbling under her feet, and she instinctively moved out of the way. Mid-leap, she realized that Carbide was still in front of her, and the hardened spire stabbed into the girl from the rear. Her breath was taken away even as the barrier took the brunt of the impact, sending her flying into the air. As she flew, the mossy shield she had been carrying crumbled into nothingness, leaving the girl with nothing but her tiny body.
Terra's body was still moving almost by itself, launching the Drain attack as she avoided another set of earthen lances--the system refresh really did have a bit of an effect on her agility, she noted--but her eyes were all on Carbide. As she finished her last attack, Terra was about to head straight forward, in an attempt to save the very person trying to sacrifice herself for her. Try as she might, however, the slow crawl of her own limbs made her cry out internally, as she watched Marridite's body slam down on the girl's body.
"Carbide!!" the green-clad Navi called out, as uselessly as she thought it was--before Marridite, almost as easily as flicking away a fly, finally pressed down the remaining little distance it had between it and the ground.
A brief silence took over the area once again, right before a second strike drove Marridite's limb further into the ground, as if to cement the 'burial' that had just occurred. As the long, unnerving quietness followed, the spectators of the battle watched with widened eyes and slackened jaws. The one with a front-row seat to the action became something like a statue, unmoving for the long period before Marridite moved again. As she witnessed the empty space underneath the limb that had just lifted itself back up, something inside Terra flipped its switch for the second time that day.
Her skin started to 'crack' with fracture lines snaking all over her body. Beneath the cracks, a pulsing reddish-orange light shone through, and the fractures began spreading out in tiny little capillaries, emulating what looked like a network of blood vessels all over Terra. The bluish-green color of her eyes quickly gave way to the same glow as the barrier around her began changing as well, shifting from its original green color to an odd turbulent mix of red and green, as if each color was vying to take over the entire barrier. Terra then rose to full height, her sights now locked onto Marridite's own emerald 'eyes'.
--Then, a voice came through the still-active audio link.
However, it wasn't Scarlet's, nor was it Terra's.
"Go get 'em, Terra! Right in the kisser!"
"..." "..."
Undoubtedly, the squeaky voice belonged to the just-defeated Carbide, and the source was confirmed as the audio link expanded itself into a video feed, with Carbide's image in half of it, and Scarlet and Luke in the other half. "Hey, Terra! If you lose after this I'll get really mad, okay?!" continued Carbide. Terra glanced to the side towards the feed, seeing Carbide's cheeks puffing up as she pressed her face against the screen; it looked like her Support had returned safely to the PET, judging from the background that she could see.
Slowly, the 'transformation' that Terra had been undergoing began undoing itself, with all of her features returning to as it was before. As the last bit of her barrier turned back to green, she nodded, with a small smile on her face. "... Understood. I'll do my best," said Terra. In the video feed, Carbide's face beamed with a satisfied grin, before the feed cut itself out, leaving only her operator(s?) visible.
"Aww, I thought I was gonna see some cool 'rage mode' transformation or something there," commented Luke.
Beside the man, Scarlet rolled her eyes with a small sigh at her partner's quip. "Ready for some chips, Terra?" she asked.
".. Mm," she muttered, turning her attention back to Marridite, feeling herself reinforced with her operator's supporting battlechips in mere moments. Her feet pushed back into the grass under her feet as she established her stance, and initiated her attack. A streak of light raced down her legs into the ground, triggering a cascade of effects. Far out towards Marridite's other side, below its undercarriage, a clump of black rock stood dormant as the ground beneath it began to light up with a gleaming red. Before long, a pillar of flame burst out from underneath it, igniting the explosive payload inside the black rock, as well as rocketing up towards Marridite itself.
Around Terra, the results were similarly as pronounced: the ground around her began to rapidly turn itself into molten earth, swallowing up the grass that had been there moments ago. The transformation of the earth was as violent as it was before, with the suddenly-spawned cauldron of magma beginning to belch out molten rock rapidly in all directions. In front of Terra, a swirl of magma also began forming, before it explosively ejected itself skyward towards Marridite's enormous body. Terra herself, was, as usual, excluded from the natural pyrotechnics, though the armor under her suit was still reforming itself as usual, fueling itself from the lava she had spawned.
// Summary - Grass: Regen 5/Action
[Te.1] Chip:
FlameLine2Damage: 120 + Ground Attack + Wide AttackAccuracy: B
Description: A wall of fire erupts from the ground, burning up to 3 targets.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: C: 120 + Ground Attack + Wide Attack (Acc: B) @ BlackBomb + Marridite (Element Advantage: Fire+120)
[Te.2] Sig: Terraform: Violent Magma: Large Lava Terrain Change @ Self (Preserver)
[Te.3] Chip:
RedWave1Damage: 50 + Ground Attack + To-All-Clause (Others) + Lava Terrain Boost 50Accuracy: B
Description: Creates a wave of lava to burn everything and everyone other than the user, even their allies. Can be jumped over, but requires perfect timing. More effective if there is lava in the vicinity to fuel it.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: D: 50 + Ground Attack + To-All-Clause (Others) + Lava Terrain Boost 50 (Acc: B) (Lava Terrain Boost: Fire+50, Element Advantage: Fire+100)
[Te.4] Chip:
LavaCannon1Damage: 90 + Lava Panel Boost(+40)Accuracy: B
Description: Fires a blast of magma from a cannon. If the user is standing on Lava terrain at the time of use, this chip's power is boosted by 40.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: D: 90 + Lava Panel Boost(+40) (Acc: B) @ Marridite (Lava Terrain Boost: Fire+40, Element Advantage: Fire+130)
[Te.5] Chip:
RedWave1Damage: 50 + Ground Attack + To-All-Clause (Others) + Lava Terrain Boost 50Accuracy: B
Description: Creates a wave of lava to burn everything and everyone other than the user, even their allies. Can be jumped over, but requires perfect timing. More effective if there is lava in the vicinity to fuel it.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: D: 50 + Ground Attack + To-All-Clause (Others) + Lava Terrain Boost 50 (Acc: B) (Lava Terrain Boost: Fire+50, Element Advantage: Fire+100)
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Armor: 20 HP Planar Casing @ Self (Lava: Fire)
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The presence was expectant in the moments after the beast had dispatched her too-adorable-for-such-violence SP, and as the wrathful-seeming transformation started to creep over Terra, it watched. Carbide's ultimate survival calmed her down, however, and she regained a measure of composure before opening up the throttles of her arsenal and beginning to vent the more fiery side of her nature at the massive elemental shape.
Still focused on Terra, it would be easy to suppose that Marridite wasn't aware of the hidden payload in the earth below it... but it would also be odd to think that it wasn't. The question, if Terra wondered it, was answered in her mind just as she struck; not truly a sense of satisfaction, but the contentment of something understood, or a deeper knowledge of something. Even so, Terra might experience some satisfaction of her own, as the beast had not anticipated quite so fierce or fiery an offence as she mounted in the first moments of her assault. The sense of calm weighing down her mind... flinched. Just slightly, but in a very unexpected manner.
Externally, the reaction was much more pronounced. The explosion of fire burned upwards, scorching the beast's underside as well as detonating her other surprise; the force of this explosion cleared much of the area of the smaller stone spire, and the entire form of the massive beast lurched up and to one side, its balance shifting in response. Stone chunks flew and rained down over the clearing and the scent of burning leaf-litter filled the air as the booming roar of the bomb was matched by a similar grinding bellow of stone crushing against stone. Less fortunate for Terra, was that by whatever quirk of small movements, she seemed to have misjudged the sheer reach of her explosive charge; the edges of the blast buffeted against her, scorching through the outermost layer of her defence before she managed to shield herself from the detonation.
Images filled Terra's mind; forests ablaze and sending plumes of smoke into the sky; grinding plates of rock warping and melting under friction spread across a continent; heat and magma in the depths, warming the soil that in turn warmed seeds that grew into threes that burned as the ground erupted and cast choking fire and smoke through the woods which quickened other seeds and saw them spring to new life in the wake of burning and... the pressure grew as the cycle of burning thoughts and images rolled over Terra. This wasn't an emotion, or even anything like the vaguely formed proto-emotional sensations from before, so much as a rush of pure primal being. It was hard to say whether she had hurt the beast — or even if the concept of hurt truly applied to it, but the attack had had an immediate impact, that much she could be sure of. It was responding, in some way, to what she had done, but how, exactly was a mystery.
Terra's next move was to capitalise as best she could, converting the land around her and beneath the beast into something she could work with. Even so, she felt resistance. The change didn't spread as far as she meant it to, and getting it even as far as she did was a fight. The ground rippled and heaved, stilled into lava, then rippled again, threatening to change back almost immediately. Her will held long enough to draw the energy she needed and release her next attack, but even as she sent the wave rolling out, Marridite was responding. A thick, broad wall lifted up from the lava in front of Terra, molten rock sliding off a mass of peaty, cool earth that steamed. It came with a burst of dust and spores and the scent of fungal plants and in the cloud, Terra's vision blurred and darkened while her senses began to grow increasingly scrambled. A pulse hit her as the wall finished rising and Terra found herself thrown back and off her feet, sliding across the uneven surface of the lava.
By the time she regained her senses, she managed to look towards the massive being clearly enough to see that her wave had been parted partially, and the rest of it had only managed to lap against temporary shell of force surrounding the beast's limbs. The ground shuddered again and as she wave faded, she could see that the lava had cooled and cracked, then broken into warm, slightly steaming soil. Marridite lowered down, folding into a single rocky mass in front of her, its emerald eyes hidden briefly beneath a crossing mass of stones and vines, and, likely to her chagrin, she could see the same hardening from earlier beginning to take place again. The beast was bracing itself against her assaults, rather than continuing to attack. A brush of its mind on hers revealed the sense of timeless calm again, ready to see more of what she could bring against it in her wrath.
She tried anyway, blasting the now immobile behemoth with a potent magma round, and then another wide-spreading wave of fire, but each struck and washed by, chipping away at the hardened outer stone but little more. As she watched, the large chunks or rock and wood that had been torn away by her surprise attack were being rapidly replaced by other pieces or rock, stone and earth, or by freshly growing vines and moss; it was regenerating again. The soil shifted even as she attacked with her other weapons, gaining a green tinge as damp, vibrant moss began to sprout ad spread from the soil, rapidly covering the area again, almost as though it had never been disturbed.
-=Master of the Garden=-
Marridite: 2740Hp [Moss][4-hit shield][90hp casing][Regen(30): Per Action, 7/9 Actions]
-=Lady of the Land=-
Terra.Exe: 41Hp [Moss][Blind(2)][Confuse(2)][Slow1][EarthShaker][20Hp Planar (Wood) Casing][3-Hit Shield]
-=Hidden Glade=-
100% Moss [Most of the area — just a little more uneven than when this started]
-=Risen Rocks=-
StoneSpires: MELTED!
Each spireis was about two body-heights long or tall, and emerges from the ground at various upward angles. About half of them are sharp spines of stone, the others are flat topped with enough space for a navi to stand on, possibly two at a squeeze, and count as normal terrain.
BlackBomb: DETONATED!
EarthenWall: MELTED!
EarthShaker: The ground shakes and tremors as Marridite moves. Being in contact with the ground near this unsteadying effect decreases base evasion by one rank, independently of any other effects.
Still focused on Terra, it would be easy to suppose that Marridite wasn't aware of the hidden payload in the earth below it... but it would also be odd to think that it wasn't. The question, if Terra wondered it, was answered in her mind just as she struck; not truly a sense of satisfaction, but the contentment of something understood, or a deeper knowledge of something. Even so, Terra might experience some satisfaction of her own, as the beast had not anticipated quite so fierce or fiery an offence as she mounted in the first moments of her assault. The sense of calm weighing down her mind... flinched. Just slightly, but in a very unexpected manner.
Externally, the reaction was much more pronounced. The explosion of fire burned upwards, scorching the beast's underside as well as detonating her other surprise; the force of this explosion cleared much of the area of the smaller stone spire, and the entire form of the massive beast lurched up and to one side, its balance shifting in response. Stone chunks flew and rained down over the clearing and the scent of burning leaf-litter filled the air as the booming roar of the bomb was matched by a similar grinding bellow of stone crushing against stone. Less fortunate for Terra, was that by whatever quirk of small movements, she seemed to have misjudged the sheer reach of her explosive charge; the edges of the blast buffeted against her, scorching through the outermost layer of her defence before she managed to shield herself from the detonation.
Images filled Terra's mind; forests ablaze and sending plumes of smoke into the sky; grinding plates of rock warping and melting under friction spread across a continent; heat and magma in the depths, warming the soil that in turn warmed seeds that grew into threes that burned as the ground erupted and cast choking fire and smoke through the woods which quickened other seeds and saw them spring to new life in the wake of burning and... the pressure grew as the cycle of burning thoughts and images rolled over Terra. This wasn't an emotion, or even anything like the vaguely formed proto-emotional sensations from before, so much as a rush of pure primal being. It was hard to say whether she had hurt the beast — or even if the concept of hurt truly applied to it, but the attack had had an immediate impact, that much she could be sure of. It was responding, in some way, to what she had done, but how, exactly was a mystery.
Terra's next move was to capitalise as best she could, converting the land around her and beneath the beast into something she could work with. Even so, she felt resistance. The change didn't spread as far as she meant it to, and getting it even as far as she did was a fight. The ground rippled and heaved, stilled into lava, then rippled again, threatening to change back almost immediately. Her will held long enough to draw the energy she needed and release her next attack, but even as she sent the wave rolling out, Marridite was responding. A thick, broad wall lifted up from the lava in front of Terra, molten rock sliding off a mass of peaty, cool earth that steamed. It came with a burst of dust and spores and the scent of fungal plants and in the cloud, Terra's vision blurred and darkened while her senses began to grow increasingly scrambled. A pulse hit her as the wall finished rising and Terra found herself thrown back and off her feet, sliding across the uneven surface of the lava.
By the time she regained her senses, she managed to look towards the massive being clearly enough to see that her wave had been parted partially, and the rest of it had only managed to lap against temporary shell of force surrounding the beast's limbs. The ground shuddered again and as she wave faded, she could see that the lava had cooled and cracked, then broken into warm, slightly steaming soil. Marridite lowered down, folding into a single rocky mass in front of her, its emerald eyes hidden briefly beneath a crossing mass of stones and vines, and, likely to her chagrin, she could see the same hardening from earlier beginning to take place again. The beast was bracing itself against her assaults, rather than continuing to attack. A brush of its mind on hers revealed the sense of timeless calm again, ready to see more of what she could bring against it in her wrath.
She tried anyway, blasting the now immobile behemoth with a potent magma round, and then another wide-spreading wave of fire, but each struck and washed by, chipping away at the hardened outer stone but little more. As she watched, the large chunks or rock and wood that had been torn away by her surprise attack were being rapidly replaced by other pieces or rock, stone and earth, or by freshly growing vines and moss; it was regenerating again. The soil shifted even as she attacked with her other weapons, gaining a green tinge as damp, vibrant moss began to sprout ad spread from the soil, rapidly covering the area again, almost as though it had never been disturbed.
-=Master of the Garden=-
Marridite: 2740Hp [Moss][4-hit shield][90hp casing][Regen(30): Per Action, 7/9 Actions]
-=Lady of the Land=-
Terra.Exe: 41Hp [Moss][Blind(2)][Confuse(2)][Slow1][EarthShaker][20Hp Planar (Wood) Casing][3-Hit Shield]
-=Hidden Glade=-
100% Moss [Most of the area — just a little more uneven than when this started]
-=Risen Rocks=-
StoneSpires: MELTED!
Each spire
BlackBomb: DETONATED!
EarthenWall: MELTED!
EarthShaker: The ground shakes and tremors as Marridite moves. Being in contact with the ground near this unsteadying effect decreases base evasion by one rank, independently of any other effects.
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The heavy pyrotechnics began to land one by one and Terra's mind began to sharpen as she focused on her consciousness within the sea of turbulent images of Marridite's mindstream. Without Carbide around to split her awareness, she was able to focus more on her sense of self, isolating herself in order to withstand the brunt of the mental 'attack'. Of course, that came at a cost--her connection to the earth didn't feel quite as strong now, as the enemy trying to assault her was essentially one and the same with it; her terrain shifts didn't feel like they came as naturally. Instead, she was able to keep a clear head as she kept her sights forward and her attacks coming.
Suddenly, the cloud of spores burst up, and she could feel her external senses either fading or going haywire--and with how she was isolating her mental space, that wasn't a great position to find herself in. At the very least, however, she could probably clear her head if she refreshed her systems once again. Closing her eyes as she did so, the clear voice of her operator came in from the back of her head.
"Looks like it's got some directional defenses up, Terra. SandWorm good enough for you?" said Scarlet.
"Appreciated," replied Terra almost immediately.
"Whoa, quick answer. Alright, coming up," said Scarlet. Meanwhile, Terra began allowing a small connection to the earth for her defenses to go back up, along with some rudimentary positional data on any attacks coming her way. With how huge Marridite was, it wasn't too difficult to gauge where exactly the attacks were coming from, it was just getting the timing right, as well as avoiding properly in the first place with all the tremors. The chip data came into her systems quickly enough, and she started another instance of her system refresh.
Then, her eyes shot open, now provided with the full gamut of her visual capabilities once again. Her feet felt the effects of the time-slow yet again, but she still forced herself to move, before kicking pointedly at her feet, sending a powerful signal into the ground towards Marridite. The shockwave from her kick tunneled through the tremors radiating from Marridite, silently snaking its way through Marridite's undercarriage. Then, it suddenly burst up from behind it in the form of a huge earthen spear, shooting up at the massive beast in such a shape that would pierce through softer defenses. Terra then immediately closed up the connection after siphoning the exact amount of energy to refresh her defenses, replenishing the under-armor hidden under her suit.
// Summary - Moss: Regen 5/Action
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Barrier: 20 HP Planar Barrier (Moss: Wood)
[Te.1] Sig: Terraskill: Blessing of Nature: Status Cure (Confuse2)
[Te.2] Act: Avoid incoming attacks: Dodge
[Te.3] Sig: Terraskill: Blessing of Nature: Status Cure (Blind2)
[Te.4] Act: Avoid incoming attacks: Dodge
[Te.5] Chip:
SandWorm1Damage: 80 + Impact + Ground Attack + LineAttack3 + Back-Stab + Sand Boost
Accuracy: B
Description: Summons a SnakeArm virus to slam into the backs of enemies from underground. After leaping in an arc to attack, it burrows back into the ground and vanishes.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Sand Boost: +50 Attack Damage against targets on Sand.
Special: Back-Stab: Renders Dodges half as effective against this attack only.
Trader Rank: D: 80 + Impact + Ground Attack + LineAttack3 + Back-Stab + Sand Boost (Acc: B) (Impact: Null+80 vs. Barrier)
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Armor: 20 HP Planar Casing @ Self (Moss: Wood)
Suddenly, the cloud of spores burst up, and she could feel her external senses either fading or going haywire--and with how she was isolating her mental space, that wasn't a great position to find herself in. At the very least, however, she could probably clear her head if she refreshed her systems once again. Closing her eyes as she did so, the clear voice of her operator came in from the back of her head.
"Looks like it's got some directional defenses up, Terra. SandWorm good enough for you?" said Scarlet.
"Appreciated," replied Terra almost immediately.
"Whoa, quick answer. Alright, coming up," said Scarlet. Meanwhile, Terra began allowing a small connection to the earth for her defenses to go back up, along with some rudimentary positional data on any attacks coming her way. With how huge Marridite was, it wasn't too difficult to gauge where exactly the attacks were coming from, it was just getting the timing right, as well as avoiding properly in the first place with all the tremors. The chip data came into her systems quickly enough, and she started another instance of her system refresh.
Then, her eyes shot open, now provided with the full gamut of her visual capabilities once again. Her feet felt the effects of the time-slow yet again, but she still forced herself to move, before kicking pointedly at her feet, sending a powerful signal into the ground towards Marridite. The shockwave from her kick tunneled through the tremors radiating from Marridite, silently snaking its way through Marridite's undercarriage. Then, it suddenly burst up from behind it in the form of a huge earthen spear, shooting up at the massive beast in such a shape that would pierce through softer defenses. Terra then immediately closed up the connection after siphoning the exact amount of energy to refresh her defenses, replenishing the under-armor hidden under her suit.
// Summary - Moss: Regen 5/Action
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Barrier: 20 HP Planar Barrier (Moss: Wood)
[Te.1] Sig: Terraskill: Blessing of Nature: Status Cure (Confuse2)
[Te.2] Act: Avoid incoming attacks: Dodge
[Te.3] Sig: Terraskill: Blessing of Nature: Status Cure (Blind2)
[Te.4] Act: Avoid incoming attacks: Dodge
[Te.5] Chip:
SandWorm1Damage: 80 + Impact + Ground Attack + LineAttack3 + Back-Stab + Sand BoostAccuracy: B
Description: Summons a SnakeArm virus to slam into the backs of enemies from underground. After leaping in an arc to attack, it burrows back into the ground and vanishes.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Sand Boost: +50 Attack Damage against targets on Sand.
Special: Back-Stab: Renders Dodges half as effective against this attack only.
Trader Rank: D: 80 + Impact + Ground Attack + LineAttack3 + Back-Stab + Sand Boost (Acc: B) (Impact: Null+80 vs. Barrier)
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Armor: 20 HP Planar Casing @ Self (Moss: Wood)
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Reeling from the ill-effects of the beast's counter-offence Terra righted herself and focused on clearing her senses once more. Marridite hadn't moved from its lowered, folded-up position, watching her, but as her vision cleared and her confusion faded, the now-familiar tremor through the ground spurred her to dodge to one side. Unfortunately, between her clearing senses and the unstable shaking of the ground, her body just didn't seem to respond quickly enough, and, almost like moving through thick treacle, her side-step drifted while the eruption of fresh stone pillars burst up and overtook her efforts, cracking into her with enough force to fling her form up into the air again.
The pressure of the beast's mind had receded once more; still large in Terra's awareness, but not rolling over her or drowning her any more. The sense of waiting, and watching was what pervaded the clearing as she landed roughly on the flat, hard spire of stone and felt her defences flicker out again. She had seen a couple of cases so far where the lances of rock seemed to have served as focal points for more natural terrain spreading across the clearing, but as the battle progressed, the beast seemed to be keeping most of the structures that attacked her deliberately smooth and unyielding; however slow and ponderous its thoughts seemed to be, there was an understanding of her abilities in its actions, or so it seemed.
The huge body in front of her snake lower into the ground, before the various boulders and branches that comprised it tumbled apart. The main head, where the eyes were had sank behind the thick bole of a tree trunk and out of sight, and now what Terra could see resembled little more than a collection of rubble and plant matter. Only a moment later, another rumble in the ground gave rise to the beast, fully formed from other similar materials, rising from the earth behind her, with two limbs sweeping across from either side in an effort to swat her. One she managed to avoid, but only well enough that the second slammed in against her shield and drove her down against the stone pillars she was on.
Still focused, Terra was no stranger to this kind of play, either, and even as the primal being beat on her shield, a stealthy attack of her own found a less-shielded angle on the beast and struck hard. It sheared through the outer shell of protective plant and rock, and into what she had to presume was the body of her foe. Marridite, in the process of brining a third limb down on her to strike again, flinched forward just enough that the hammering bludgeon grazed by just over and behind her head to slam into the earth behind her and throw a scattering of soil and moss about the impact point.
The sense was still that it was curious to see what she could do, but for all of that impression about the clearing, the creature didn't appear to be letting up its steady, methodical attacks either, and as long as it kept stranding her on these earth-bone spears of solid rock, Terra herself was having a hard time keeping her main defences on line... By now, the terraformer might be developing the uncomfortable impression that this beast was only using a portion of its capabilities against her; probing and pushing, goading and stressing her, when there was the unnerving possibility that it could do far more if it needed to. On the bright side, the creature's curiosity was beginning to be coloured with another thread or satisfaction, building gradually as she fought and it watched her.
-=Master of the Garden=-
Marridite: 2800Hp [Moss][4-hit shield][Regen(30): Per Action, 4/9 Actions]
-=Lady of the Land=-
Terra.Exe: 51Hp [Normal][Slow2][EarthShaker][1-Hit Shield]
-=Hidden Glade=-
80% Moss [Most of the area — just a little more uneven than when this started]
20% Normal [Pillars and spines of hard stone, stabbing up from the ground]
-=Risen Rocks=-
StoneSpires: 15hp x 8 Spires, Scattered
Each spire is about two body-heights long or tall, and emerges from the ground at various upward angles. About half of them are sharp spines of stone, the others are flat topped with enough space for a navi to stand on, possibly two at a squeeze, and count as normal terrain.
EarthShaker: The ground shakes and tremors as Marridite moves. Being in contact with the ground near this unsteadying effect decreases base evasion by one rank, independently of any other effects.
The pressure of the beast's mind had receded once more; still large in Terra's awareness, but not rolling over her or drowning her any more. The sense of waiting, and watching was what pervaded the clearing as she landed roughly on the flat, hard spire of stone and felt her defences flicker out again. She had seen a couple of cases so far where the lances of rock seemed to have served as focal points for more natural terrain spreading across the clearing, but as the battle progressed, the beast seemed to be keeping most of the structures that attacked her deliberately smooth and unyielding; however slow and ponderous its thoughts seemed to be, there was an understanding of her abilities in its actions, or so it seemed.
The huge body in front of her snake lower into the ground, before the various boulders and branches that comprised it tumbled apart. The main head, where the eyes were had sank behind the thick bole of a tree trunk and out of sight, and now what Terra could see resembled little more than a collection of rubble and plant matter. Only a moment later, another rumble in the ground gave rise to the beast, fully formed from other similar materials, rising from the earth behind her, with two limbs sweeping across from either side in an effort to swat her. One she managed to avoid, but only well enough that the second slammed in against her shield and drove her down against the stone pillars she was on.
Still focused, Terra was no stranger to this kind of play, either, and even as the primal being beat on her shield, a stealthy attack of her own found a less-shielded angle on the beast and struck hard. It sheared through the outer shell of protective plant and rock, and into what she had to presume was the body of her foe. Marridite, in the process of brining a third limb down on her to strike again, flinched forward just enough that the hammering bludgeon grazed by just over and behind her head to slam into the earth behind her and throw a scattering of soil and moss about the impact point.
The sense was still that it was curious to see what she could do, but for all of that impression about the clearing, the creature didn't appear to be letting up its steady, methodical attacks either, and as long as it kept stranding her on these earth-bone spears of solid rock, Terra herself was having a hard time keeping her main defences on line... By now, the terraformer might be developing the uncomfortable impression that this beast was only using a portion of its capabilities against her; probing and pushing, goading and stressing her, when there was the unnerving possibility that it could do far more if it needed to. On the bright side, the creature's curiosity was beginning to be coloured with another thread or satisfaction, building gradually as she fought and it watched her.
-=Master of the Garden=-
Marridite: 2800Hp [Moss][4-hit shield][Regen(30): Per Action, 4/9 Actions]
-=Lady of the Land=-
Terra.Exe: 51Hp [Normal][Slow2][EarthShaker][1-Hit Shield]
-=Hidden Glade=-
80% Moss [Most of the area — just a little more uneven than when this started]
20% Normal [Pillars and spines of hard stone, stabbing up from the ground]
-=Risen Rocks=-
StoneSpires: 15hp x 8 Spires, Scattered
Each spire is about two body-heights long or tall, and emerges from the ground at various upward angles. About half of them are sharp spines of stone, the others are flat topped with enough space for a navi to stand on, possibly two at a squeeze, and count as normal terrain.
EarthShaker: The ground shakes and tremors as Marridite moves. Being in contact with the ground near this unsteadying effect decreases base evasion by one rank, independently of any other effects.
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The looming threat of the enormous beast hovered over Terra, as she struggled to keep herself upright amidst the shaking earth beneath her feet and the mental 'attack' from Marridite's thought stream. Through half-lidded eyes, she wearily looked up at her adversary, and restored her earthly senses briefly. While Marridite's consciousness assaulted her, she took the time to wade through it to perceive her enemy's current condition, and it made her heart drop. She could feel the stone plates on Marridite's outermost body shifting about actively, almost unaffected by her earlier attacks, which would intercept any of her attempted attacks. Even if she got past those defenses, she could sense the overwhelming layers of pure data integrity that she would need to punch through to even remotely injure it slightly, with each of those layers rapidly restoring themselves.
However, she also noticed something odd--her earthly senses no longer extended themselves out from her feet. Instead, they now radiated outwards from her body, as if the air itself was infused with the ground's high-speed circuitry. Thus, the nature of how Marridite's consciousness attack worked--Marridite itself was merely substituting itself as the network's will and absorbing everything into the network itself as a single entity.
Scarlet saw its effects on her PET as well, noting a strange difficulty in locking onto Terra's data signature on her screen where it would very briefly go out of focus for a moment, before redisplaying Terra's vitals normally. "I'm seeing a lot of interference on my end, Terra, I'm pulling you out as soon as I see it go bad, alright?" she said. She didn't want to lose Terra to the Low-Level Area, but she figured it wasn't quite time yet to retreat. Something told her that Terra wasn't quite done yet.
"... Yes. Please send me the AirStorm and the Shake," came Terra's reply clearly through the PET's speakers.
"Right," responded Scarlet. The chips found their way into Terra's control once more, and she gritted her teeth before isolating her senses once again. Relying on her actual eyes and ears was strange, but she was getting somewhat used to it. Spreading out her arms, she activated the AirStorm, causing a few spirals of air to appear, howling violently as they picked up speed. She then threw her hands forward, launching the spirals towards Marridite's front side. Still, she knew that a frontal assault didn't work the first time around, and neither did a rear flank, or a grounded attack. The attack was merely to wear down Marridite's defenses slightly.
The only path left was up.
All at once, she released her isolation and allowed herself to meld with the network. This time, the path she traversed wasn't parallel to the ground, but instead straight up, high into the air. She barely managed to ride it all the way up before she rematerialized, nearly losing herself to Marridite's torrent of consciousness. High in the air, her arms were raised above her head with a gigantic black lump of earth, hardened into the form of a stake. Her hands were thrown down, and the black stake launched itself downwards, headed straight for Marridite's upper half. She allowed herself to then fall down towards the same spot, taking that moment to reinforce herself back to fighting condition.
// Summary
[Te.1] Chip:
AirStorm1Damage: 50 x3 shots + Variable Targeting
Accuracy: B
Description: Pulls three enemies towards user, than fires three tornadoes at them, may be divided however user wants.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Variable Targeting: Allows the user to select a target for each individual hit of an attack. This means they may strike the same target multiple times, multiple different targets, or a mix of the two as they wish.
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Special: Pull: Brings a target one movement space closer to the source. Use of this effect on anchored objects may move the user instead of the target.
Trader Rank: D: 50 x3 shots + Pull + Variable Targeting + Wind Type (Acc: B) @ Marridite
[Te.2] Sig: Terraskill: Spirit of Nature: Teleport @ Above Marridite, High Alt (Slow: BaseEva=55%)
[Te.3] Chip:
Shake1Damage: 90 + Wide Attack + Break
Accuracy: C
Description: Throws a dumbbell that slides through enemy lines for two turns. Can hit up to three enemies twice, second time having a 50% chance of hitting.
Duration: Two turns
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D: 90 + Wide Attack + Break (Acc: C) @ Marridite (Teleport: Acc+)
[Te.4] Act: Avoid incoming attacks: Dodge
[Te.5] Sig: Terraskill: Savior of Nature: Heal 60 @ Self
However, she also noticed something odd--her earthly senses no longer extended themselves out from her feet. Instead, they now radiated outwards from her body, as if the air itself was infused with the ground's high-speed circuitry. Thus, the nature of how Marridite's consciousness attack worked--Marridite itself was merely substituting itself as the network's will and absorbing everything into the network itself as a single entity.
Scarlet saw its effects on her PET as well, noting a strange difficulty in locking onto Terra's data signature on her screen where it would very briefly go out of focus for a moment, before redisplaying Terra's vitals normally. "I'm seeing a lot of interference on my end, Terra, I'm pulling you out as soon as I see it go bad, alright?" she said. She didn't want to lose Terra to the Low-Level Area, but she figured it wasn't quite time yet to retreat. Something told her that Terra wasn't quite done yet.
"... Yes. Please send me the AirStorm and the Shake," came Terra's reply clearly through the PET's speakers.
"Right," responded Scarlet. The chips found their way into Terra's control once more, and she gritted her teeth before isolating her senses once again. Relying on her actual eyes and ears was strange, but she was getting somewhat used to it. Spreading out her arms, she activated the AirStorm, causing a few spirals of air to appear, howling violently as they picked up speed. She then threw her hands forward, launching the spirals towards Marridite's front side. Still, she knew that a frontal assault didn't work the first time around, and neither did a rear flank, or a grounded attack. The attack was merely to wear down Marridite's defenses slightly.
The only path left was up.
All at once, she released her isolation and allowed herself to meld with the network. This time, the path she traversed wasn't parallel to the ground, but instead straight up, high into the air. She barely managed to ride it all the way up before she rematerialized, nearly losing herself to Marridite's torrent of consciousness. High in the air, her arms were raised above her head with a gigantic black lump of earth, hardened into the form of a stake. Her hands were thrown down, and the black stake launched itself downwards, headed straight for Marridite's upper half. She allowed herself to then fall down towards the same spot, taking that moment to reinforce herself back to fighting condition.
// Summary
[Te.1] Chip:
AirStorm1Damage: 50 x3 shots + Variable TargetingAccuracy: B
Description: Pulls three enemies towards user, than fires three tornadoes at them, may be divided however user wants.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Variable Targeting: Allows the user to select a target for each individual hit of an attack. This means they may strike the same target multiple times, multiple different targets, or a mix of the two as they wish.
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Special: Pull: Brings a target one movement space closer to the source. Use of this effect on anchored objects may move the user instead of the target.
Trader Rank: D: 50 x3 shots + Pull + Variable Targeting + Wind Type (Acc: B) @ Marridite
[Te.2] Sig: Terraskill: Spirit of Nature: Teleport @ Above Marridite, High Alt (Slow: BaseEva=55%)
[Te.3] Chip:
Shake1Damage: 90 + Wide Attack + BreakAccuracy: C
Description: Throws a dumbbell that slides through enemy lines for two turns. Can hit up to three enemies twice, second time having a 50% chance of hitting.
Duration: Two turns
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D: 90 + Wide Attack + Break (Acc: C) @ Marridite (Teleport: Acc+)
[Te.4] Act: Avoid incoming attacks: Dodge
[Te.5] Sig: Terraskill: Savior of Nature: Heal 60 @ Self
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The realisation that her strongest assault had only made a small impression in the primordial entity's overall integrity, and that even that was being steadily regenerated, may have been a difficult conclusion to swallow for Terra as she scanned the beast as best she could. She could hurt it, certainly, but the amount of effort it took her just to wear the creature down even a little was almost the limit of her strength, and she couldn't really keep it up alone. The sense of its mind, across the clearing from her, felt like it was growing in a sense of satisfaction, but it also seemed to want ... no, want wasn't really the right word, she'd realise; expect more, was probably closer. A sapling of green potential, but yet slender and frail. It could grow to become more, in time. Or it could degrade and be a part of another seedling that drew sustenance from it, joining with the earth and the land, itself a part of the endless passage of change that itself was constant and unchanging in its — The rolling 'thoughts' continued to wash over her, but as Terra kept her mind and thoughts separate from it, a change of tack became her new plan.
A fierce series of whirlwinds obscured the lower seconds of the beast from her as she attacked again, chipping off sections of stone and wood that it didn't appear to notice; the sense of the thoughts carried the impression that the sapling needed to be stronger than this, if it was to survive and grow more strongly still by the strength of its own roots. The gales passed by, their work done, but they'd also served as the distraction Terra intended. Just as she felt the ground begin to rumble again, the massive beast bracing itself and braying into the clearing to drive more earthen spines up from the ground, Terra herself vanished, merging for a moment with the network to transport herself to a much more unexpected location. The transport itself was... taxing. This close to Marridite, it became a dangerous question of whether Terra would even emerge on the far side of her planned teleport at all, but her sense of self endured within the torrent of absolute being long enough to drag herself back to her own, tiny, isolated speck of a body once more. The effect was disorienting, and it was made more-so by her reappearance high above the battlefield.
This high up, however... her thoughts were suddenly clear. When she emerged from the teleport, the overwhelming presence and the strange slowness of existence and ancient timelessness of the battle fell away from her for the first time since the contest had started. Away from the ground completely, its instability didn't matter, and while she could still feel Marridite's presence in her senses, like a blinding mass of natural energy, its thoughts were no more pressing upon her than before the fight had begun.
Down below her, the field continued to fill with solid stone spires, but she was aware of the mass of the beast turning upwards now, the large emeralds of its eyes rising to find her, up above. Terra was acting quickly and as the beast drew back one of its limbs she formed her own attack and drove it downwards. The beast's arm arced upwards at the same time, and the majority of the limb came free, a massive bludgeon of stone and vines easily five times her own size sailing up to meet her. The two attacks passed each other in the air. Terra had just enough time to see her powerful spike ram down through and into the middle of the beast below her, before the rock, easily the size of a small truck, collided with her mid air. She did her best to twist away from it, but aerial manoeuvres weren't Terra's strong suit and the size of the thing she had to avoid brought her efforts to naught. Every sense became a blinding flash of pain and ringing, and the increasing rush of air warned of her now uncontrolled fall back towards the ground. In the back of her mind, she felt the warning signal of her undershirt absorbing the remaining damage from the assault; her shield had done nothing to protect her from the terrible blow either, it seemed.
Through the dancing spots of her vision, Terra could see the ground below rushing up; even more stone spines, all bearing sharp points now, had erupted from the ground, and the gaps back to safe moss seemed precious few, except around Marridite itself. Her stone spike was still lodged aggressively in its body, resisting the beast's efforts to absorb it for now, but Terra had more problems. She made efforts to heal herself, and restore her body, but even as she did, two of thick, intertwined viney portions of the beast whipped up towards her. Almost like swatting a fly, these two grabbed at her body from either side, ensnaring her limbs and accelerating her decent even faster. A second later, she felt the terrible internal cracks of her body being slammed into the ground with the same brutal force that came behind everything the massive beast did. Her undershirt whined at her again, but it was probably hard to pay attention to amidst everything else.
Her body was stunned, restrained and broken; there was a sense of the vines dragging her to her feet, and if she managed to open her eyes, the vision of another of the entity's huge limbs arcing in ponderously towards her spelled an unavoidable certainty this time.
The slowness had returned, but more than that, everything stopped. The clearing went still, silent, without even a creak or a whisper. Terra could feel stone pressing lightly against her forehead, but in that moment, time seemed like it had completely stopped. Something was interfering with her connection; Scarlet could see, in sketchy patches but nothing seemed to be responding, while Terra wavered on the brink. It looked, on her screen, like the image had frozen, just as the elemental had struck.
Terra felt the almost delicate pressure of stone against her forehead move away, and the vines holding her body released, allowing her to slump. Marridite drew back, settling its bludgeoning limbs more passively onto the ground once more. It felt... content. This was good; it was satisfied. the sapling would grow, and in time, it would return. There was a sense of dandelions in the wind, and of ancient trees, covered in flowers. It was of lines of mushrooms stretching for miles through light-less caves and of... the images didn't make a lot of sense, but one partial thought suggested in her mind that something had been passed forward, and in time the sapling would grow strong. Injured as she was, Terra felt something different within her as well, though it was likely she wasn't in a state to appreciate it much right now.
Marridite was still partially damaged as well, but as she watched it, the beast seemed to exhale, then inhale again. From all around the clearing, earth and rock broke away and drew in. All of the stone and rock spires and platforms crumbled as they were broken apart and flowed in to the creature, joining with it to become a part of the great beast. She watched as, within a moment, what damage she had managed to inflict was repaired by the newly absorbed materials. Terra felt like part of the effect tugged at her as well, but then something slipped in between; a sense of Marridite's own awareness shielding her from the vigorous consumption or the earth and stone around her.
When it was finished, the clearing was flat again, returned almost exactly to the untouched, verdant appearance it had borne before hey started, and Marridite settled back and down. The sense of its thoughts was beginning to space out further; they were becoming thoughts of waiting, and of watching, and or rest. The large emerald eyes continued to observe her as it settled, but there was an impression that it was content for her to depart when she had rested, or sooner if she wished. the sense of frozen time faded to a simple, more natural calm stillness, and Scarlet found the connection clearing up, just a little bit; it had never been too strong in this deep hidden clearing, but now it was about as solid as it had been when they arrived.
-=Master of the Garden=-
Marridite: 3100Hp [Moss][Content]
-=Lady of the Land=-
Terra.Exe: 1Hp [Moss]
-=Hidden Glade=-
100% Moss
-=Risen Rocks=-
StoneSpires: Consumed
-=Battle 20, Concluded!=-
Acquired:
Rogue Net Access
Marr~.PSF Memento
A fierce series of whirlwinds obscured the lower seconds of the beast from her as she attacked again, chipping off sections of stone and wood that it didn't appear to notice; the sense of the thoughts carried the impression that the sapling needed to be stronger than this, if it was to survive and grow more strongly still by the strength of its own roots. The gales passed by, their work done, but they'd also served as the distraction Terra intended. Just as she felt the ground begin to rumble again, the massive beast bracing itself and braying into the clearing to drive more earthen spines up from the ground, Terra herself vanished, merging for a moment with the network to transport herself to a much more unexpected location. The transport itself was... taxing. This close to Marridite, it became a dangerous question of whether Terra would even emerge on the far side of her planned teleport at all, but her sense of self endured within the torrent of absolute being long enough to drag herself back to her own, tiny, isolated speck of a body once more. The effect was disorienting, and it was made more-so by her reappearance high above the battlefield.
This high up, however... her thoughts were suddenly clear. When she emerged from the teleport, the overwhelming presence and the strange slowness of existence and ancient timelessness of the battle fell away from her for the first time since the contest had started. Away from the ground completely, its instability didn't matter, and while she could still feel Marridite's presence in her senses, like a blinding mass of natural energy, its thoughts were no more pressing upon her than before the fight had begun.
Down below her, the field continued to fill with solid stone spires, but she was aware of the mass of the beast turning upwards now, the large emeralds of its eyes rising to find her, up above. Terra was acting quickly and as the beast drew back one of its limbs she formed her own attack and drove it downwards. The beast's arm arced upwards at the same time, and the majority of the limb came free, a massive bludgeon of stone and vines easily five times her own size sailing up to meet her. The two attacks passed each other in the air. Terra had just enough time to see her powerful spike ram down through and into the middle of the beast below her, before the rock, easily the size of a small truck, collided with her mid air. She did her best to twist away from it, but aerial manoeuvres weren't Terra's strong suit and the size of the thing she had to avoid brought her efforts to naught. Every sense became a blinding flash of pain and ringing, and the increasing rush of air warned of her now uncontrolled fall back towards the ground. In the back of her mind, she felt the warning signal of her undershirt absorbing the remaining damage from the assault; her shield had done nothing to protect her from the terrible blow either, it seemed.
Through the dancing spots of her vision, Terra could see the ground below rushing up; even more stone spines, all bearing sharp points now, had erupted from the ground, and the gaps back to safe moss seemed precious few, except around Marridite itself. Her stone spike was still lodged aggressively in its body, resisting the beast's efforts to absorb it for now, but Terra had more problems. She made efforts to heal herself, and restore her body, but even as she did, two of thick, intertwined viney portions of the beast whipped up towards her. Almost like swatting a fly, these two grabbed at her body from either side, ensnaring her limbs and accelerating her decent even faster. A second later, she felt the terrible internal cracks of her body being slammed into the ground with the same brutal force that came behind everything the massive beast did. Her undershirt whined at her again, but it was probably hard to pay attention to amidst everything else.
Her body was stunned, restrained and broken; there was a sense of the vines dragging her to her feet, and if she managed to open her eyes, the vision of another of the entity's huge limbs arcing in ponderously towards her spelled an unavoidable certainty this time.
The slowness had returned, but more than that, everything stopped. The clearing went still, silent, without even a creak or a whisper. Terra could feel stone pressing lightly against her forehead, but in that moment, time seemed like it had completely stopped. Something was interfering with her connection; Scarlet could see, in sketchy patches but nothing seemed to be responding, while Terra wavered on the brink. It looked, on her screen, like the image had frozen, just as the elemental had struck.
Terra felt the almost delicate pressure of stone against her forehead move away, and the vines holding her body released, allowing her to slump. Marridite drew back, settling its bludgeoning limbs more passively onto the ground once more. It felt... content. This was good; it was satisfied. the sapling would grow, and in time, it would return. There was a sense of dandelions in the wind, and of ancient trees, covered in flowers. It was of lines of mushrooms stretching for miles through light-less caves and of... the images didn't make a lot of sense, but one partial thought suggested in her mind that something had been passed forward, and in time the sapling would grow strong. Injured as she was, Terra felt something different within her as well, though it was likely she wasn't in a state to appreciate it much right now.
Marridite was still partially damaged as well, but as she watched it, the beast seemed to exhale, then inhale again. From all around the clearing, earth and rock broke away and drew in. All of the stone and rock spires and platforms crumbled as they were broken apart and flowed in to the creature, joining with it to become a part of the great beast. She watched as, within a moment, what damage she had managed to inflict was repaired by the newly absorbed materials. Terra felt like part of the effect tugged at her as well, but then something slipped in between; a sense of Marridite's own awareness shielding her from the vigorous consumption or the earth and stone around her.
When it was finished, the clearing was flat again, returned almost exactly to the untouched, verdant appearance it had borne before hey started, and Marridite settled back and down. The sense of its thoughts was beginning to space out further; they were becoming thoughts of waiting, and of watching, and or rest. The large emerald eyes continued to observe her as it settled, but there was an impression that it was content for her to depart when she had rested, or sooner if she wished. the sense of frozen time faded to a simple, more natural calm stillness, and Scarlet found the connection clearing up, just a little bit; it had never been too strong in this deep hidden clearing, but now it was about as solid as it had been when they arrived.
-=Master of the Garden=-
Marridite: 3100Hp [Moss][Content]
-=Lady of the Land=-
Terra.Exe: 1Hp [Moss]
-=Hidden Glade=-
100% Moss
-=Risen Rocks=-
StoneSpires: Consumed
-=Battle 20, Concluded!=-
Acquired:
Rogue Net Access
Marr~.PSF Memento
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With her breath taken away from her in one fell swoop, Terra's vision blacked out when the vines took hold of her, and slammed her into the ground. Her body was flooded with numerous pain signals, and she felt a distinct sense of heat in the back of her throat. As much as she willed herself to move, this time around, there was no fighting it--she was well and truly incapacitated. While the vines pulled her up, she managed to pry her eyes open through gritted teeth. Through her blurred vision, she was only able to see the faint background growing darker by the moment, signifying the incoming final hit.
Scarlet watched the fight almost conclude with a sense of resignation, though with how the fight turned out, she was surprised that Terra had lasted as long as she did. Idly doing some housekeeping with her screens, she kept the screen in her periphery while Luke continued to watch it intently. Silence took over for a moment, before she realized that something was off. "... Is it just me or did the screen freeze?" said Luke.
... However, the impact never came, and all she felt was a light tap on her forehead, before being allowed to collapse onto the ground as the vines lowered her down. The suffocating mental attacks from before let up all at once, and she felt as if she was being welcomed into a garden of bliss. Something surged to life within Terra afterwards, giving her enough energy to pull herself up off the ground, sitting up to see Marridite repair itself in a flash, while excluding her from being drawn into it as well.
Terra looked up into the beast's glittering emeralds, and adjusted her pose into a kneeling position, lowering her head silently as she did so. Immediately afterwards, she lost consciousness, and a beam of light forcefully pulled her out of the network, leaving the secret garden to its owner once more.
[Final Jack Out.]
[>> Second Home - Yoka.]
Scarlet watched the fight almost conclude with a sense of resignation, though with how the fight turned out, she was surprised that Terra had lasted as long as she did. Idly doing some housekeeping with her screens, she kept the screen in her periphery while Luke continued to watch it intently. Silence took over for a moment, before she realized that something was off. "... Is it just me or did the screen freeze?" said Luke.
... However, the impact never came, and all she felt was a light tap on her forehead, before being allowed to collapse onto the ground as the vines lowered her down. The suffocating mental attacks from before let up all at once, and she felt as if she was being welcomed into a garden of bliss. Something surged to life within Terra afterwards, giving her enough energy to pull herself up off the ground, sitting up to see Marridite repair itself in a flash, while excluding her from being drawn into it as well.
Terra looked up into the beast's glittering emeralds, and adjusted her pose into a kneeling position, lowering her head silently as she did so. Immediately afterwards, she lost consciousness, and a beam of light forcefully pulled her out of the network, leaving the secret garden to its owner once more.
[Final Jack Out.]
[>> Second Home - Yoka.]