In Her Element

With her offer to play looking like it hit net, Terra beamed happily. She caught the ball in her glove, making sure to do so in full view of the fish, then balled up her fist. With her best party conjurer flair, she held her other hand over her closed fist and sprinkled some imaginary magic dust onto it. Then, she opened her hand to reveal that three clay balls had appeared instead of one! She floated them about in her palm for a few moments before tossing them lightly towards each of the mudfish. The clay balls were airborne a bit longer than would be natural, thanks to Terra manipulating them, so that the mudfish had a better chance at catching them.

"Nnnnh..."

Back in the cliff recess, Carbide slowly roused herself awake, having felt the drop in temperature from the lack of Terra's warm bosom. "Terra...? Where'd ya go?" she murmured, rubbing imaginary sleep gunk out of her eyes. Looking out from the alcove she had been placed in, it didn't take long for her to find the geomancer Navi playing around with what looked like a trio of viruses. Carbide's face screwed up in confusion. "I guess not all of them are out to kill," she said to herself, reclining back. Though it wasn't exactly a plush bed, she liked staying a bit drier than Terra was.

Besides, she could act like a guard post or something. It shouldn't be too hard to project a shield at Terra's feet from the distance she was at. Surveying the area, she found the Mushy duo first, waving their oversized heads around in the rain. Carbide found herself mesmerized by their odd dance for a couple of seconds before shaking her head to clear it. "C'mon, Carbide, focus," she told herself. They didn't look very threatening, at least for the moment. She searched around the area a bit more, and managed to spot the Shellgeek perched at the far end of the riverbank, clammed up within its protective shell.

Immediately, she attempted to make herself scarcer within her hideout. Did it see me yet? she thought. At the moment, it appeared to be looking at Terra with a small arrowhead poking out of its shell. It's pretty far away. If it launches that arrow, I can still have a little window of time to throw up the shield before it reaches her. Ever vigilant, Carbide placed her hand onto the ground, causing it to hum faintly against her fingers as she kept watch.
Attention shifted from the playing mudfeesh, to Terra herself again as her game continued. The trio of muddy viruses watched on, then made pleased cooing sounds as she revealed her trick, waving their fins and splatting mud in every direction. Each one, albeit a bit clumsily, managed to grab a hold to the small orbs she sent their way, toying with them independently for a few moments, before looking back towards the magician. They seemed to be fully sold on her friendliness now, and the three of them wriggled over to swarm around her, playful, yet still managing to get a goodly amount of mud over just about any part of her they managed to slide or rub against. It was something like the feeling of having a bunch of enthusiastic puppies around one's feet... except they were slimy and covered in mud, and were quickly getting Terra into a similar condition.

Elsewhere, seemingly between blinks and side-glances, the mushies had crept closer and closer to Carbide, never quite coming closer while she was looking, but obviously doing so now at any opportunity. Eventually, the pair were right beside the small SP, still bobbing and waving amiably, though now they reached out their tiny arms towards her. They hesitated any time they thought she might be looking their way, but any time her gaze wandered elsewhere, they tried again. Sooner or later, one of them managed to achieve its goal, and Carbide would feel the unmistakable sensation of being tickled mercilessly from behind. Apparently even viruses thought that she was just too cute to leave alone.

For its part, The Shellgeek continued to hide for now. The longer that nothing happened to directly assault it, though, the more curious it grew. the occasional stolen peeks became slightly more cautious, longer glances, the crack in the shell opening a bit wider now and then as it looked out at what was going on. It had been trying to fish for something before, with its spear, but had forgotten that idea now as it tried to work out what this navi and her SP were up to.

-=Playing in the Rain=-

MudFeeshA: 60Hp [Mud][At Terra's feet][Appeased!]
MudFeeshB: 60Hp [Mud][At Terra's feet][Appeased!]
MudFeeshC: 60Hp [Mud][At Terra's feet][Appeased!]

MushyA: 80Hp [Grass][Next to Carbide][Tickle the cutie!]
MushyB: 80Hp [Grass][Next to Carbide][Tickle the cutie!]

ShellGeek: 100Hp [Water][Far bank to Terra, roughly opposite her.][Peeking][Cautiously Curious]

-=Soaked to the Skin=-

Terra.Exe: 170 HP [Grass][Party Magician?!]
Carbide.SP: 70 HP [Soil][Tickle-Attack!!]

-=Riverbank Respite=-

45% Grass [Terrain that is not the River]
30% Water [The river — runs in a winding courser directly across Terra's current path]
10% Soil [Several patches along the riverbank, especially at the edge of the muddy bit]
15% Mud [Small catchment area in a bend of the river]

((Terra has been on grass this whole time and I've not healed her. My apologies. It's been at least two full turns on grass, though, so consider her fully healed at this point))
With her sight locked onto the Shellgeek across the river, Carbide didn't get to see the Mushy approaching her until it was too late. The mushroom viruses used the cover of the rain in order to seemingly apparate next to her. Seeing the towering Mushy above her all of a sudden, Carbide gasped. "What the--" she managed to blurt out, before they engulfed her and started their assault.

Meanwhile, Terra was having a lovely time accompanying her new school of flopping mudfish, though she was having a hard time keeping them off of her long legs. Of course, having just demonstrated her experience of manipulating it, she wasn't all too perturbed about being covered in mud. Kneeling down into the pile of enthusiastic friends she had just made, she motioned to pick one of them up off the ground. Though considering how slimy they were, it would be a bit of a tall task, unless the one being picked up could stay still long enough for her to do so.

"Hahahaha! Stop! Stop! Hahahaha! Terra! Scarlet! Somebody help! Ahhh! Hahaha!"

Carbide was currently having about as much success as Terra at finding new viral friends, though it was debatable whether Carbide wanted this level of physical interaction. Somehow, the stumpy-looking Mushy viruses sprouted tiny arms and started to surround her with tickles. Unfortunately, from all the noise that the rain was making, as well as the Mudfeesh near Terra, her Navi couldn't hear her pleas for aid. The SP cried in mirth as she attempted to roll into the rain, away from the two overly friendly mushroom viruses.

In her hotel room, Scarlet watched the scene Carbide was involved in, with a cursory glance at a stats screen slightly off to the side. "Well, it doesn't seem like it's an attack pattern," she mused, watching the SP's HP count stay at a full bar, and no real adverse effects showing up beside it. Though she did wonder how the Mushy viruses ended up adapting the "attack", she simply resorted to readying up a few battlechips in queue, in case either of the two needed them.
As she might have suspected in advance, trying to pick up any of the enthusiastic MudFeesh was more or less an effort in futility, or at least, holding onto one for long was. They were wriggling about in erratic glee, besides being slippery and slimy, and even when she did manage to get her hands on one it never stopped wriggling happily and flicking mud about the place, soon escaping her grasp and slithering back to the ground. That said none of them seemed averse to being picked up, and were even quite happy about it; it was just that that joy came with even more wriggling and flailing. At the very least, though, they seemed ecstatic to be getting so much attention now.

Close by, Carbide was receiving no help or sympathy for her.... plight? From anyone, and it was left to the SP herself to try and escape the tickles of her suitors. They were making amused sounds that came close to giggling while they made her squirm, delighting in the effect. Efforts to get away from them carried her out of her sheltered nook and into the rain, and then, in a tumble, took all three of them into collision range of Terra and her MudFeesh. No-one was hurt in the spill, but the mushies froze, hands going still from their full tickle mode on Carbide's middle, back and shoulders. During the melee, there had probably several occasions of inopportune movements and squirming turning tickles into far less PG touches, but fortunately none of their hands were in any such places right now. They had stilled, though, a bit like they'd been caught misbehaving, and stared up at Terra instead. The Mudfeesh had paused as well, startled by this sudden development, and were looking back towards the two mushrooms, and their tickle-toy, in confusion.

The silent moment lasted a few seconds, but in the short amount of time that left either the navi or her SP to break the surprised moment, another development made itself suddenly known to the assembled group. The ShellGeek had reached the the conclusion that there was probably no danger here much slower and roe cautiously than the other viruses, but now that it had the strange situation had gotten the better of it. It aimed carefully, and launched a star-tipped arrow in a trajectory to travel over the group's collective heads. the arrow emerged just in front of the virus and hung there, until the Shellgeek clamped its shell down on the end. This seemed to be the trigger for the projectile to shoot across the river at high speed, taking the virus with it as it went. Still, as much as it used the skill to shunt allies around at tie,s it seemed as though the ShellGeek itself wasn't very used to travelling by StarArrow; it released its grip at what it judged to be the right time, but came tumbling in with very little control, ending up face down in the mud between Terra and Carbide and even as it slowly righted itself it looked very disoriented by what it had just attempted.


-=Playing in the Rain=-

MudFeeshA: 60Hp [Mud][At Terra's feet][Friendly!][Also slightly startled and confused now]
MudFeeshB: 60Hp [Mud][At Terra's feet][Friendly!][Also slightly startled and confused now]
MudFeeshC: 60Hp [Mud][At Terra's feet][Friendly!][Also slightly startled and confused now]

MushyA: 80Hp [Grass][Next to Carbide][Friendly!][Caught Red-Handed!]
MushyB: 80Hp [Grass][Next to Carbide][Friendly!][Caught Red-Handed!]

ShellGeek: 100Hp [Mud][Next to Terra][Sheepish][Disoriented]

-=Soaked to the Skin=-

Terra.Exe: 170 HP [Mud][Highly Entertaining!]
Carbide.SP: 70 HP [Mud][On her back][Next to Terra]

-=Riverbank Respite=-

40% Grass [Terrain that is not the River... Or mud]
30% Water [The river — runs in a winding courser directly across Terra's current path]
5% Soil [Several patches along the riverbank, especially at the edge of the muddy bit]
25% Mud [Small catchment area in a bend of the river, and then some]

Everything happened at once, much too quickly for anyone to process. Carbide had managed to tumble away from her torturors' tickle time, taking them with her. They crashed right into Terra's behind, who was caught off guard, and faceplanted directly into the mud on top of a mudfish! Fortunately, it was most likely slippery enough to either have slipped away beforehand or just popped out afterwards. Either way, everyone involved had a generous mud bath, and not really in the relaxing spa kind of way. This was exacerbated by the sudden dynamic entry of the Shellgeek virus, which cannonballed into the mud pool without any real invitation.

"Oh my God, are you two okay?" said Scarlet, though she dearly wanted to laugh at the entire thing. Terra first responded by pulling her face out from the mud pool. She dipped her fingers into the mud, and using her earth manipulation, peeled it off of her face in a single move. Blinking a few times, she looked around at the rather unlikely gathering, from the guilty-looking Mushy, to the happy-go-lucky Mudfeesh, and finally towards the lopsided Shellgeek in the mud. Then, she started to laugh.

Carbide didn't seem so amused, though, and got up immediately to Terra's side, hugging her by the waist. "I'm warning you! I've got big friends and I'm not afraid!" she said, trying to look at least a little angry, specifically to her two previous fungal assaulters. Her threat wasn't very convincing, though, given that Terra was currently laughing her heart out.

The Navi then wiped her mirthful tears, and looked down at Carbide. Terra playfully rustled the SP's hair with a mud-caked hand, much to the her dismay. "Hey, what the-- No!" said Carbide, whipping her head about in protest and flinging mud everywhere. By this time, Terra's laughing had subsided a little, and she diverted her hand towards the Shellgeek instead, attempting to pat its shell with her muddy hand now instead.

"... I think we're fine now, Scarlet. But I think Carbide wants to wash off all this mud now," said Terra, looking at the entire group. Then, she stood up straight, bringing the SP attached at her waist with her, and waited to see if any of the viruses had anything to say about it.
Terra's laughter seemed to be just the trigger needed to break the uncertain tension of the unexpected pile-up. The MudFeesh relaxed and went back to playing around Terra's feet happily; being landed on, as expected, hadn't actually fazed the excessively slippery virus at all. The Mushies also relaxed again, now that they didn't seem about to get a scolding from Terra. Instead, they looked up to Carbide as she clung onto her navi and reached out their hands, making small tickle gestures towards her, thought there was something of an apologetic look in their upturned eyes. One tilted its cap as it looked at the SP. They hadn't meant to frighten her, it seemed, and were apparently a little taken aback at the discovery that their actions had actually been upsetting to the small girl.

For its part, the ShellGeek seemed happy that its less than graceful entry hadn't upset anyone or caused any problems. Unlike the others, it seemed to actually understand the speech of Terra and Carbide, and at the suggestion that they wanted a bath, it clamped onto the tailing end of Terra's long pony-tail and gave it a small tug to get her attention. Once she was looking, it turned beck to the river, then created another hanging StarArrow in front of itself. this time when it clamped onto the end, the virus was carried swiftly back into the river with a splash, where it emerged facing Terra and her friends. As much as the river current seemed to be moving quickly, the ShellGeek didn't seem to have any trouble staying in place where it was within the currents. Easily amused, the three MudFeesh waved their fins and tried, unsuccessfully, to clap them. They did manage to fling more mud everywhere though. After a short moment, they each turned back to Terra, and carefully returned the small balls she'd given them to play with. If Terra was paying attention, though, she'd realise that they weren't made of mud and earth any more; instead, they'd turned into small packets of convertible zenny. Leaving her with this discovery, the trio splashed happily back into the water and were quickly washed down river.

Whether Carbide had accepted the innocent and good intentions of the mushroom viruses, they also seemed to decide that it was time to move on. In a series of small teleports, they returned to their original positions near the base of the waterfall, then seemed to fade and shrink. After a moment there was nothing visible left, save a few patches of rather mundane, non-virus-looking mushrooms growing along the riverbank under the waterfall's spray. Small sparkles remained where they had been hovering near Carbide, more tokens left behind, perhaps by way of apology in this case.

A moment after watching this, the ShellGeek also closed up and disappeared under the surface of the water. this left Terra and her SP alone again on the edge of the river. Without the influence of the three mudfeesh messing it up, the small water catchment nearest them had quickly run clear again and was now small circular pool that the water from the river flowed into, circled and escaped from again at a slower pace than the flow of the river itself, and was probably deep enough for a quick rinse off if either of them felt they needed it. During their encounter, the rain had faded to a very delicate mist, drifting more than falling now.


-=Playing in the Rain=-

MudFeeshA: BEFRIENDED
MudFeeshB: BEFRIENDED
MudFeeshC: BEFRIENDED
MushyA: BEFRIENDED
MushyB: BEFRIENDED
ShellGeek: BEFRIENDED

-=Soaked to the Skin=-

Terra.Exe: 170 HP [Mud]
Carbide.SP: 70 HP [Mud]

-=Riverbank Respite=-

40% Grass [Terrain that is not the River]
40% Water [The river — runs in a winding courser directly across Terra's current path]
15% Soil [Several patches along the riverbank]
5% Mud [Basically just the patch where Terra and Carbide are now.]

-=Battle 4, Victory!=-

Spoils: 1320z, 22 BugFrags.

With all the viruses making an exit, Terra waved goodbye to them with a wide smile on her face. Carbide continued to clutch Terra's waist, though slightly less tightly, as she made sure all of them made their exit. Slowly, the area returned to its original untainted condition, and the rain turned into a fine mist. It was a nice change of pace from the flame-charged battles before their little friendly outing. Looking around, she saw the few packets of data the viruses had left behind slowly dissolve into the air, as they transferred over to the PET.

"I've never heard you laugh that hard, Terra. Glad to see you're opening up a little," commented Scarlet, opening up a communication link screen. Terra was responseless for a little while, except that she turned her gaze away from the screen. If anyone paid attention, they would notice a slight flush on her cheeks.

Terra then turned her eyes towards Carbide, who was about as covered in mud as she was, then back to the river catchment area. Terra shifted her foot slightly to get a read on it, and surmised that it was decently deep enough for them to have a quick dip. Reaching down towards her diminuitive partner, she brushed off a bit of mud off of Carbide's shoulder, and drew the SP closer, unintentionally covering her face with even more mud in the process.

"What, hey, come on, knock it off," said Carbide, pushing Terra's arm off, mistakenly thinking that Terra intended to dirty her once again with her attempted display of affection. Her Navi merely chuckled, and started to walk towards the little pool area.

"... All right, come on, Carbide, let's go wash up," said Terra, gesturing towards her destination.
"Ugh, fine, I-- hold on, what? We're not going off yet?" asked Carbide, confused.
"Didn't I say something to that effect earlier?" replied Terra, turning her head back with a questioning look on her face. Meanwhile, she had bent over to unlace and remove her boots. Though they appeared tightly secured with an excessive amount of leather straps, it seemed to be a trivial effort for Terra to deftly remove them. Soon she was barefoot, and started to unclasp her tight brown shorts. Carbide's eyes went into saucers, and she immediately waved her hands about wildly.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa hold on hold on!" she yelled, her face going completely red. "Isn't this a public net?! How much are you stripping down to?!"

Terra's hands halted on her knees, where her shorts were now pulled down to. "That is a good question. I was going to strip down everything, but I believe I will only need to remove everything down to my Navi suit leotard, as it's skintight enough," she noted nonchalantly, continuing to pull down and step out from her shorts, as Carbide sighed. Terra had almost finished unwinding the bandages on her arms before Carbide realized what she had just done, and smacked herself on the forehead.

However, when she had sufficiently grinded her palm into her face and looked up, Terra was nowhere to be seen. "Huh? Terra? Where'd you go?" Carbide looked around in a panic before suddenly feeling someone grab her shoulders from behind. She jumped and looked behind her to find that Terra had snuck up on her. "Oh, don't scare me like that, Terra," she sighed. Terra chuckled slightly before quickly slipping off the shoulder straps of Carbide's tank top. Carbide froze and immediately hugged herself to keep the top from falling off.

"W-W-Wait, why are you stripping me?!"
Terra tilted her head. "So that I can clean you? Your clothes aren't skintight, so it would be logical to take everything off," she explained flatly, moving down to unclasp Carbide's shorts instead. The SP desperately tried to cross her legs, but all that she did was cause Terra to move further down to undo the straps on her boots.
"No! C'mon, let me do it myself! Terraaaaaa!" cried Carbide, though her efforts to stay dressed were in vain, as Terra expertly removed every bit of clothing off of her SP.

Soon, Carbide was knee-deep in the little catchment pool, completely bare, with her back turned towards her Navi. "Oh man, it's cold!" said Carbide, hugging herself in a shiver as she sat down to cover herself a little better. Terra, on the other hand, was holding down Carbide's dirty clothes in another small corner of the pool. She caused the water to swirl about the clothes quickly, creating her own self-propelled washing machine.

Terra then turned back towards Carbide, and started to gather up a thin layer of wet clay in her palm. Unlike the earlier mud they had gotten dirty in, though, the wet clay she had gathered looked almost white, as she approached Carbide with it. "So, wait, what exactly are you going to clean me with? I don't think there's any soap around here," the SP said, somewhat apprehensively, as she looked back at Terra. By then, the Navi had already finished preparing the clay in her hand, and it wasn't visible at all.

"... Just try to stay still," said Terra, as she began to smear the wet clay all over Carbide's back.
"Whoa!" Carbide shivered slightly at the contact, before she realized that it really wasn't too bad. Easing backwards into Terra, she let out a tiny moan. "Ooooh, that actually feels pretty good."
"... Glad to hear it," Terra smiled, working the wet clay into the skin lightly with a bit of knuckle work.

The scene felt quite peaceful, with the light drizzle and waterfall in the distance providing a soothing background noise. Unfortunately, they would likely be interrupted sooner than they thought...

[Battle 5 - Ready?]
[Terra.EXE: 170HP; Carbide.SP: 70HP]
Though the water may have felt a bit chilly at first, the soft rain and the general comfortable atmosphere meant that it wasn't outright cold, and it would only take the somewhat flustered Carbide a few moments to grow used to it, and enjoy her nutrient-rich scrub.

Alas, the cute moment wasn't going to last forever, and at what was probably a very bad time indeed, a sudden flash of red and blue lights bathed the area, accompanied by a loud siren. There was only a second to notice this before a white hover scooter with blue checkered decals and a national park badge on the front, crested the tree tops and turned in the clearing. It landed long enough to let the occupant dismount, before disappearing in a small bolt of light.

The rider was... interesting. Mostly, because it was a very large, very brown, shaggy bear; every bit the normal everyday bear, in fact, that one really had to wonder how he had actually driven a motorised flying scooter in the first place, or fit on it at all. The only feature that marked it out as anything beyond a regular bear, now that the police scooter was gone, was the jaunty park-ranger hat secured firmly to the top of his head. Oh, that and the fact that he was shouting at the two of them.

"Caught you at last!" He remained on all fours on the far side of the river, but the voice was a deep, grizzled roar loud enough to carry easily. He seemed to place frequent emphasis on important words as he spoke, but so many of them were, apparently, important enough to warrant this that it just ebgan to sound like he was emphasising everything. "Wanton Destruction of Protected Forests! Arson! Unauthorised Burning off! No Respect for the Ecology of the Woods! You two are... um..." It was at this point that the bear seemed to notice that the two women were, in fact, bathing, and that Carbide in particular was in a distressing state of undress, and the realisation seemed to derail him for a moment.

"Umm... Ah... I'm going to add indecent exposure to your charges! This is a public net space! You two are coming back to the office with me right now, where you can pay for your crimes!" With another far more bestial bear roar, he swiftly lumbered across the river towards them, splashing as he crossed in a rush... giving them time to explain, or even to get dressed again, it seemed, were not on his priority list right now. "Now Stand Still and be Subdued!!"


-=Trying To Prevent Forest Fires=-

OnlyBear.Exe: 360Hp [20Hp Casing][Water][???]

-=Accused Fire-Bugs=-

Terra.Exe: 170 HP [Water][Distractingly Dressed Down]
Carbide.SP: 70 HP [Water][Disasterously Dressed Down]

-=Riverbank Interruption=-

40% Grass [Terrain that is not the River]
40% Water [The river — runs in a winding courser directly across Terra's current path]
20% Soil [Several patches along the riverbank]

-=Battle 5, Start!=-

???: The exact attributes of this foe are unknown to begin with, but things learned will be added as discovered. You can also take dedicated actions in an effort to learn more details about this target.
'Dressed Down': These statuses are purely cosmetic for Terra and Carbide of course, and won't interfere with any actions unless you choose to let them... but they may have subtle in-combat effects.
"W-What's going on?!"

Of course, they had to be interrupted by someone. The angry red and blue lights were a stark contrast to the soft natural colors that had dominated the area a few seconds ago. Then, a hover scooter suddenly blew clean through the trees, transporting a very angry-looking brown bear into the area before disappearing as quickly as it came. The strange-looking animal's appearance was only made stranger by the park ranger hat perched on top of its fuzzy dome. The interruption elicited a varied reaction from each of the girls. Scarlet looked slightly confused, but concerned. Terra looked absolutely disinterested, as she glanced up once, and returned to her duties on Carbide, as an exterminator of dirt and grime. Carbide, meanwhile, was desperately trying to cover herself up. "W-W-We didn't do anything!" said Carbide in a panic, trying to hide her (rather lacking) body with her arms.

"Oh, looks like you're in a bit of trouble, Terra. I'll send you some things over," said Scarlet, rolling over lazily as she tapped a couple of icons on her floating screen. She was rather interested in the bear; it was not often that one would see a Hikari-AI based program without it being altered from any real life references in some way. In this case, the hat on the bear's head seemed worthy of attention. "Oh, and keep an eye on his hat, Terra, might be something we don't know about it."

"... Thank you, Scarlet," said Terra, as she started to work on Carbide's short hair, running it through her fingers carefully. With a twirl of her index finger, a quiet hum heralded the usual glow of Terra's automatic defense barrier, this time colored a lovely blue as it took on the properties of the river around them. As she played with Carbide's hair, three sinkholes discreetly materialized under the river's rushing surface. Then, some strange-looking moss began to rapidly grow around the sinkholes, completing the trap. Though it would soon wash up down the river, it would serve its purpose quite well if the bear happened to tread on top of it, which would be to engulf the aggressor in its sticky embrace. Judging from the bear's straight beeline charge towards them, she expected it to happen quite soon.

Meanwhile, Carbide didn't seem to appreciate her Navi's efforts, as she couldn't exactly see them taking place. "Terra! Do something!" she yelled, as she brought up a rocky shield in front of her from the riverbed's earth, likely in an attempt to hide herself a bit more. In her panic, though, the size of the shield didn't seem to be very large, though it was perfectly capable of blocking something. In response, Terra only firmly put one hand on the SP's shoulder, and hushed her down as she pointed towards the intruder.

As Carbide turned, she saw a large host of mossy tentacles rise up from the riverbed, and immediately lash out towards the charging bear, intending to restrain it. Terra continued her cleaning session, seemingly without a care, as she started scrubbing down Carbide's toned arms. Trying to look as innocent as possible, as if she had nothing to do with the various traps that had just sprung around both of them, she even started to hum a little, as she intently observed their enemy, trying to determine if it had any tricks up its nonexistent sleeves.

// Summary
[Ca.1] RP: Try to cover self as much as possible
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Barrier 1, on self // 20 HP Planar Barrier (Aqua/Water)
[Te.1] Chip: WhiteWeb1, on OnlyBear // Wood 40(+10), Target3, Snare1, Acc C
[Ca.*] Sig: Terraskill: Reflex Guard 1, on self, pointed forward // 1(+1) Hit Shield (Reinforced)
[Te.2] Chip: Rope1, on OnlyBear // Wood 50(+15), Hold3, Ground Attack, Acc A
[Te.3] RP: Stand still and be subdued
[Te.4] RP: Continue to clean Carbide as provocation/distraction, attempt to deduce OnlyBear's attributes
While the bear charged, Terra remained remarkably relaxed, to all appearances, as she continued trying to wash her SP. Carbide in turn was more interested in preserving what remained of her decency, than getting cleaned, and raised her shield as much as a modesty guard as an actual defence. The calm disregard was cover for a closer examination, though and what Terra's sharp senses and elemental affinities might help her deduce was that, like herself, her target was quite clearly of the wood element. The park hat was well fit and snug on the bear's head, and looked to be well kept. It was made of good quality oiled leather, with a broad brim and a conical top. "OnlyBear" is printed in black lettering across the front of the hat, with 'Can Prevent Wildfires!' picked out in much smaller text underneath it. Other than that, however, there was nothing particularly special about the charming accessory. Terra would be able to tell that it didn't appear to contain any special coding to make it act in any strange ways.

Just before the lumbering beast reached the dangerously exposed pair, a mass of vines and oher grabbing plants sprung from the water, wrapping swiftly around his limbs and arresting his forward movement. They ate through his protectively thick, shaggy coat as they did so, but were repulsed as the fur grew rapidly back into place. A second wave of binding cords followed swiftly after, though, adding to the first and shearing right back through the defence to lock his struggles down fiercely.

Mere inches from the duo, OnlyBear roared as he thrashed and struggled against the bindings, flailing his paws against. This close it was very loud indeed, and every bit as intimidating as one might normally find a real grizzly that close to their faces. One of his attempts at striking them with his claws connected with Carbide's shield and connected to it as she was, the small SP would feel herself pulled forward sharply out of Terra's grip to tumble at the restrained bear's feet. Rearing up to strike again, however, he looked down at her sprawled form and faltered, turning his head away again for a moment, and settled for landing the full weight of his strength on the remains of her earthen shield instead.

Still restrained badly and unable to move, Their would-be park ranger continued to thrash against his bonds and splashing in water that was deep enough to hinder him further. Frustrated at the end, he slammed both forepaws into the water hard, with a bellow that sounded like a grizzled and deep cry of "Enough!!"

Rapidly, a broad swath of flowing grass spread out from his paws, converting the entire breadth of the river and their small catchment pool in the process, and leaving him standing on properly solid ground again. That said, it hadn't actually disrupted the vines clinging to him or holding him down, but it looked as though, with proper purchase under his feet, they wouldn't hold for long now.

The change of terrain hadn't carried all the way to the waterfall, however, and it was still pouring its river down onto what was really supposed to be a proper water course, which now was not one. This was creating a rapidly spreading pool at the base of the falls, water creeping outwards in every direction. the last of the misty rain was coming to a halt now, and a light wind was beginning to rise between the trees; those with more skin exposed would begin to feel it more keenly than others before long.


-=Trying To Prevent Forest Fires=-

OnlyBear.Exe: 360Hp [Casing Destroyed!][Grass][Hold3][Snare1][???]

-=Accused Fire-Bugs=-

Terra.Exe: 170 HP [Grass][Planar Barrier (20hp): Grass/Wood][Distractingly Dressed Down]
Carbide.SP: 70 HP [Grass][Shield Broken][On her back.. again...][Disastrously Dressed Down]

-=Riverbank Interruption=-

70% Grass [Terrain that is not the River... and much of it that was]
30% Water [What's left of the river — the waterfall at one end is forming a spreading, circular pool]

-=Things Learned=-

Element: [Wood]
Has [Fast Armour]: 20Hp Casing, regenerates once each turn.
Has [Pull] as a buster upgrade.
The Hat is nice, but does nothing.
OnlyBear is, apparently, easily flustered by compromised modesty.

???: The exact attributes of this foe are unknown to begin with, but things learned will be added as discovered. You can also take dedicated actions in an effort to learn more details about this target.
'Dressed Down': These statuses are purely cosmetic for Terra and Carbide of course, and won't interfere with any actions unless you choose to let them... but they may have subtle in-combat effects.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

Carbide's terrified scream could be heard piercing through the forest as she was pulled in by the bear's claws. She struggled to push herself backwards through the water, but was interrupted when another one of the bear's swipes crashed through her shield, shattering it into pieces that went in all directions. She tried to cover herself slightly more by twisting her legs about and using one arm to wrap around her chest, before the bear slammed its paws onto the ground, and abruptly transformed the water underneath her into grassy plain.

The sudden change surprised her, causing her to dig her heel into the loamy earth underneath. Another shield, made out of brown rock, sprang forth to protect her, though it was somewhat awkwardly attached to her foot. This shield looked slightly different than her previous shields, however, as it contained small recesses here and there throughout the normally uniform front surface. In reality, the shield was designed to intentionally deform itself to reflect part of any force inflicted on it, though whether that was intentional on Carbide's part was questionable. In addition, there was a small recessed barrel through its middle, where a green light began to grow, before letting out a brilliant green beam towards Carbide's grizzly assailant.

"... Scarlet?"

"Right behind you, Terra."

Suddenly, Carbide felt herself being yanked backwards by the shoulder onto her back, and a soft green light enveloping her. Looking upwards, she saw a grim-looking Terra, standing up tall in defiance at the bear. The green-haired Navi had finished her initial examination. Terra extended her foot, and traced out an arc within the grassy soil. Then, she stomped onto the soil, causing it to melt and deform underneath her bare sole. Before long, a swath of boiling lava spewed forth from beneath her heel, flowing towards her back. As Scarlet slotted in two of her chips, two large blobs of lava flew up from the molten ground, revolving quickly about Terra's body. The small patch of lava beneath her feet slowly cooled down as they did so.

The glowing red orbs were reflected in Terra's serious-looking eyes as she stared down the struggling bear and extended her arms out towards the orbs. Then, she twirled around, bringing the orbs with her hands like a graceful dancer. Then, with a small flick of her wrists, she flung the lava orbs forward to give the bear a truly nasty retaliation.

// Summary
[Ca.*] Sig: Terraskill: Reflex Guard 1, on self, pointed forward // 1(+1) Hit Shield (Reinforce + Shield Bash)
[Ca.1] Chip: ElementalRage1, on OnlyBear // Wood 60, Line3, Terrain-Element(Grass), Acc A

[Te.1] Move: Reach out and pull Carbide back in
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Barrier 1, on Carbide // 20 HP Planar Barrier (Grass/Wood)
[Te.2] Sig: Terraform: Violent Magma, around self, expanding backwards // Large Lava Terrain Change
[Te.3] Chip: ElementalRage2, on OnlyBear // Fire 90, Line3, Terrain-Element(Lava), Acc A (+300% Grass/Wood/Rope1)
[Te.4] Chip: MarkCannon2, on OnlyBear // Geomancer(Lava -10%), Fire 100, Seeking, Lock-On, Acc A (+100% Wood) (Planar Disable)
Having a screaming, naked girl-child in an active combat zone was clearly upsetting Terra's ursine opponent, even tied up and vined down as he was, and his efforts to free himself from the restraining cords was hindered by obvious attempts not to look directly at Carbide, while still attempting to keep an eye on Terra. His thick, shaggy coat of fur was rapidly growing back through between the tendrils, but his avoidant behaviour towards the smaller SP proved a mistake; he was blind-sided by her attack, which scoured away the outer layer of his defences again.

A moment later, Terra set her own plans in motion, creating a back-spreading lava field beneath her feet as her barrier shifted element to match. This, though, sparked something of a sharp gleam in the bear's eye. He stopped fighting his bonds and slammed one paw in to the ground, lowering his shoulder.

"Fire-bug!! No you don't!!" A distinctly mechanical cannon muzzle emerged from just over his shoulder — something, presumable, most bears didn't normally have — which fired a broad spray of surprisingly powerful water at the origin point of the fire-aligned terrain. This did happen to be right under Terra's feet, and all three of them were exposed to the forceful blast of water.

The lava beneath Terra burst upwards with explosive vaporisation, scouring through her fire-element defence ad scalding her body a little as well. Miraculously, Carbide, perhaps the most at risk of major burns from this incident, managed to avoid getting splashed or scalded by the super-heated steam, but OnlyBear himself wasn't so lucky — it struck him every bit as liberally as it had caught Terra.

With a growl, the bear shuddered and rolled his shoulders, and an odd rippling aura passed over him, causing all the bonds restraining him to fall suddenly away. He shook himself off, then lumbered up to his hind legs again in a freshly impressive display. It was ruined by his glimpse downwards, followed by what looked like a much more human gesture of instinctively covering his eyes with one paw, and leading to him dropping back down to the ground again. Unfortunately for Terra, this also led to her latest attack missing him by a narrow margin — the elemental rage hadn't picked up any extra elements, unfortunately, since the panels she was standing on had reverted to normal after the water burst, but it still would have been nice to connect. Oh well.

That next thing that happened was that the bear lumbered forward, attempting to muscle his way between Carbide and Terra with sheer bulk. Part of the action involved him swiping gently at Carbide to pull her past him and out of the way, so he could focus on Terra, and keep his back to the naked child. Her shield crumpled again, though the reflect damage from her defence zinged him smartly in the back of the head. The bear just growled and and tried to ignore it, but the jolt caused his swat at Terra to miss the navi.

Terra had an answer of her own to this, delivered at point-blank range. Unfortunately, she couldn't imbue it with her element of choice, and her geomancy failed her here — the remaining lava terrain was just not close enough — but even without it, the cannon still did some real damage, leading the bear to stagger to the side slightly and roar as much with pain as rage.


-=Trying To Prevent Forest Fires=-

OnlyBear.Exe: 222Hp [Casing Destroyed!][Normal][Standing between Terra and Carbide, with his back deliberately to Carbide][???]

-=Accused Fire-Bugs=-

Terra.Exe: 160 HP [Normal][Distractingly Dressed Down]
Carbide.SP: 70 HP [Normal][Disastrously Dressed Down]

-=Riverbank Interruption=-

30% Grass [Terrain that is not the River... and much of it that was]
20% Lava [Area directly behind Terra]
35% Water [What's left of the river — the waterfall at one end is forming a spreading, circular pool]
15% Normal [Blast circle around Terra, where the aqua attack normalised the lava]

-=Things Learned=-

Element: [Wood]
Has [Fast Armour]: 20Hp Casing, regenerates once each turn.
Has [Pull] as a buster upgrade.
Counters (with a set Trap condition) creation of fire-aligned terrain, or fire damage the ground or objects, with a blast of water.
Can Cure own Status Ailments.
The Hat is nice, but does nothing.
OnlyBear is, apparently, easily flustered by compromised modesty.


???: The exact attributes of this foe are unknown to begin with, but things learned will be added as discovered. You can also take dedicated actions in an effort to learn more details about this target.
'Dressed Down': These statuses are purely cosmetic for Terra and Carbide of course, and won't interfere with any actions unless you choose to let them... but they may have subtle in-combat effects.

"Terra!" Carbide called out, as she was pushed aside by the giant bear. The diminuitive SP was still trying to cover herself up, so she couldn't exactly hop over and help out without exposing herself. She immediately slammed down her palm onto the cooled ground, causing a tall slab of rock to rise up in front of Terra. The Navi yanked the shield out of the ground with a nod, and sized up the enormous opponent before her. For now, her earlier MarkCannon had caused it to stagger slightly, giving her a bit of room to communicate. Thankfully, it seemed to not want to hurt Carbide, though whether that was out of sheer embarrassment, plain consideration, or whatever else, she couldn't really tell at the moment. All she knew was that she had to defend herself.

"So it reacts pretty immediately to fire," said Scarlet.

"... Mm."

"We'll just have to use something other than fire, then," the operator chuckled, sending in the strongest chip in her folder with a tap of her screen. The PET beeped in confirmation as Terra widened her stance, her bare feet planting themselves firmly on the white paneling. However, they didn't stay white for very long, as they began to harden and gleam with a greyish shine, spreading outwards from her position. With the change she had initiated on the ground, the usual shine that usually surrounded her started to re-materialize, this time a faint yellow to match the electrical properties of the metal panels under her feet.

The metal crackled under her feet with yellow sparks, traveling up her legs and down her left arm. The electricity gathered into her hand as she drew back her hand, rapidly growing in intensity as it went from small sparks to threateningly large arcs. Then, she swept her hand out in an slash, sending a huge bolt of lightning towards the bear in front of her. The lightning crackled through the air, but stopped short of traveling through to Carbide, instead opting to arc down to the ground. If the bear had any chance of moving out of the way, it would arc back out of the ground once before dissipating. Not long after, a cool sensation washed over her as a Recover chip patched up the slight scalding she had received earlier.

Meanwhile, Carbide was watching the spectacle, before she realized she was still without any clothes. Her head darted back and forth, trying to find the swirl of water she had put them in earlier. Then again, most of the water had been shifted into a lawn earlier, so she was slightly baffled as to where to look. Glancing back towards Terra, she saw the lava stream behind her, and her expression turned pale as she started to look around even more frantically. "Please don't be in there please don't be in there," she mumbled to herself.

// Summary
[Ca.*] Sig: Terraskill: Reflex Guard 1, on Terra // 1(+1) Hit Shield (Reinforce)
[Te.1] Act: Take Aim
[Te.2] Sig: Terraform: Tough Steel, around self, radiating outwards // Large Metal Terrain Change
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Barrier 1, on self // 20 HP Planar Barrier (Metal/Elec)
[Te.3] Chip: RemotePlug3, on OnlyBear // Elec 140, Homing, Phasing, Acc C+ (+100% Metal)

[Te.4] Chip: Recover30, on self // Recover 30HP, Acc S
[Ca.1] RP: Try to find clothes again
With the bear keeping his eyes deliberately away from Carbide's compromised state, the small SP was able to freely support her navi with defences without drawing any extra ire from the strangely polite creature. It came just in time, too, as no sooner had Terra claimed the offered shield than a heavy blow from the acting park ranger shuddered it fiercely. The beast's claws griped the edge as he struck, and Terra was pulled to him, getting a face full of surprisingly warm, fuzzy bear fur. Dressed in only her undersuit, Terra wasn't causing nearly as much discomfort to the great bear as Carbide was, but he still backed off by a step quickly once he felt her body press against his chest.

This slight readjustment saw him drop back to all fours again, but it also let him get a good look at what Terra herself was doing. His head darted to the sides as she altered the ground again, and he stamped one paw in obvious frustration at her. It made a metallic sound as it struck the newly placed metal. The wind up she took for making her next strike count gave him plenty of opportunity to prepare for it, but rather than trying to interrupt what she was doing, the grumpy grizzle spread his paws wider, lowered his head and braced up his shoulders towards her, rumbling deep in his chest.

The epic confrontation was slightly spoiled by the way the electrical current acted with a life of its own, darting in an erratic bolt that passed to the bears side and sunk into the metal plating. Lucky for Terra, the current was still charged and locked on, and soon it would come back for another go. While it grounded itself, OnlyBear peeked up and then shook himself out, apparently disregarding the attack.

"You will Stop! You will Not Desecrate this Forest any More!!" This came out along with a more bestial bellow, and was accompanied by a repeat of the way he had slammed both paws to the ground previously. As before, the terrain re-wrote itself once more, returning to a wide spreading ring of grass again — only a tiny crescent of the metal that Terra had made remained, at the extreme edge of where it had formed behind her. The terrain in this part of the network was getting a real work-out today. Along with the change, Terra's own barrier shifted its alignment again, from electrical back to wood, but if nothing else, she could also enjoy the benefit of the grass beneath her feet just as much as her opponent could... though it proved unnecessary as she received a quick top-off heal from her operator anyway.

Somewhere behind and to the side, the spreading pool of water from the interrupted river reached some of the remaining lava panels, and they began to hiss and sizzle, creating a thin line of dark obsidian stone between them. OnlyBear was not distracted; he reared and brought both paws crashing down on Terra again in a slam that felt like it had enough force to drive her to the ground. fortunately, her shield held up to this blow, too, and even though it gave way ultimately, leaving the geomancer knocked down with her target poised over her, she was nevertheless spared any actual hurt from it.

While this was going on Carbide had been free to seek out her misplaced clothing, but the frequent shifts in the ground had sent ripples going in various directions; liquid, then solid, then lava, then grass, metal and grass again, things had gotten very haphazard. It seemed like luck was not as much with the little SP as much as she might have hoped, however — most of the lava terrain was gone now, replaced by other, safer forms, but she would be able to identify, in her frantic searching, what was clearly her top, just a little bit off to Terra's side, with what looked like one strap completely burned off, and further destruction to the band on the same side. She'd be able to wear it, but the support on the left side wouldn't be great, and there was a chance that the remaining portion of the band at the side could go at any time. More troublesome than this was the other garment she'd be able to locate nearby; one boot intact, one boot with two thirds of the top portion burned away (though the body and sole of the footwear was still good, so no real problems there), and what appeared to be her belt buckle, attached to a very sorry strip that was only a small portion of the belt.

Still attached to the strip of belt, one fabric loop that joined the remnants of a band, barely more than a belt itself. It did go all the way around, including the front button and zipper, but aside from the sip itself, the fabric only made it about an inch below the belt before ending in burned tatters. On the left side, the fabric remained intact enough to become what was most likely the left leg of her pants, but only on the outside at first; it didn't form a fully enclosed tube until below the knee. On the whole, the lower garment could also be worn, but it would fail to cover the essential places except from a very direct frontal view and standing very still, and even then, only by virtue of the hanging zipper. That was all she would find; if she had had any particularly favourite underwear on beneath the pants, they were no-where to be found, and the singed and burned edges of the rest probably told the story.


-=Trying To Prevent Forest Fires=-

OnlyBear.Exe: 227Hp [20Hp Casing][Grass][Standing over Terra][???] [Remote Plug Homing!]

-=Accused Fire-Bugs=-

Terra.Exe: 170 HP [Grass][Shield Broken!][20Hp Planar Barrier (Wood)][Distractingly Dressed Down]
Carbide.SP: 70 HP [Normal][Disastrously Dressed Down]

-=Riverbank Interruption=-

40% Grass [Terrain that is not the River... and much of it that was]
10% Lava [Slim crescent furthest from Terra to the rear]
10% Metal [Slim crescent between the lava and the grass, behind Terra]
40% Water [What's left of the river — the waterfall at one end is forming a spreading, circular pool]


-=Things Learned=-

Element: [Wood]
Has [Fast Armour]: 20Hp Casing, regenerates once each turn.
Has [Pull] as a buster upgrade.
Counters creation of fire-aligned terrain, or fire damage the ground or objects, with a blast of water.
Can Cure own Status Ailments.
Can use Brace.
The Hat is nice, but does nothing.
OnlyBear is, apparently, easily flustered by compromised modesty.


???: The exact attributes of this foe are unknown to begin with, but things learned will be added as discovered. You can also take dedicated actions in an effort to learn more details about this target.
'Dressed Down': These statuses are purely cosmetic for Terra and Carbide of course, and won't interfere with any actions unless you choose to let them... but they may have subtle in-combat effects.


Terra clicked her tongue as she watched the bolt of electricity she released went straight into the ground. However, as the bear returned the ground beneath its feet to metal, she could still feel the bolt coursing through the soil, and the energy she had just released would loop around before discharging into the air. All she had to do was lure the bear into its path, and she would be set. At that time, however, the bear's paws smashed through her shield and brought her on her back. The glow of the green aura around her glassed over the brown visage of her aggressor.

"I've seen enough of this already. Try to finish this up, Terra," said Scarlet, as she lazily sent her Navi another chip.

Terra nodded almost imperceptibly, as the chip went through her processes. Her eyes were still focused on the bear's rather enthusiastic-looking mug. She had brushed up against it a little while ago, and while she couldn't really understand why the bear had drawn itself away from her, she still noticed the act itself. However, with the bolt already moving from under her, she had to act fast. Looking downwards, she ascertained the angle of her attack to line up with the bear's rather overbearing pose. Then, drawing her knee up slightly, she thrust her heel sharply into the soft ground.

On Terra's cue, a huge wooden tree trunk erupted out of the ground, powered by the Shake battlechip Terra's operator had just sent her. The elemental power draw she took from the ground caused the grass under her back to fade out into the network's default cream white coloring. The angle that the tree grew out was intended was such that it would be aimed straight for the bear's rear end, hopefully pushing the bear off of her in one fell swoop.

Of course, it wouldn't be very prudent of her to be without a contingency plan, as Terra had already dug her elbows into the white paneling beneath her. This caused a chasm to open up beneath her, which she let herself fall into, in order to escape any retaliation from the bear. The bolt should have been resurfacing by then, as well, so it would be a perfectly synchronized move. As she reached the bottom, Terra then clapped her hands together, sealing herself within the ground.

With her self-made live burial ritual complete, Terra closed her eyes, enjoying the brief moment of silence, though to her senses, the earth was still very much alive. Her terraforming mischief had changed the sounds of the soil around her into an odd, yet harmonious mix. She then opened her eyes again. There was, of course, no intent of her staying underground for very long; she wasn't ready to be declared six feet under just yet. With that, she rested her hands on the earth around her, ready to escape.

Back on the surface, Carbide had found the remnants of her clothing, crawling over to it as surreptitiously as she could. Lifting it up, she found that it would be nowhere near enough to cover the loss of her modesty. Even her underwear never survived the onslaught, as she couldn't even find a single trace of it left. "I'll never be able to marry now," she groaned, mostly to herself, as she held her half-destroyed top to her meagre chest. Carbide noticed that the two juggernauts beside her were still duking it out, and raised her shield from the ground. Partly to try, once again, to protect what little she could cover, and partly to shield herself from any stray debris. She hadn't yet noticed Terra's absence as she raised a sizable chunk of rock into the air.

"This is all your fault, you big stinker!" she cried out, as she launched the rock towards the bear. However, just as she did so, another thing ejected itself out of the ground at high speed, bringing up a fair amount of soil with it out of a hole like a buried cannon. "What the hell?!" cursed Carbide, stumbling backwards. She would notice the launched thing then corkscrew into a landing onto the ground, revealing itself as Terra, who quickly got to her bare feet as she re-initialized the green protective aura around her.

"W-What the hell was that?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Carbide screamed.

"... Sorry."

// Summary
[Te.1] Act: Take Aim // Accuracy Up on 1 Attack
[Te.2] Chip: Shake1, on OnlyBear // Geomancer(Grass -10%, under OnlyBear), Wood 90, Wide Attack, Break, 2-Turn (-50% Acc), Acc C+
[Te.3] Act: Sink into terrain // Burrow

[Ca.*] Sig: Terraskill: Reflex Guard 1, on self // 1(+1) Hit Shield (Reinforce)
[Ca.1] Act: Throw large chunk of rock at OnlyBear // Standard Attack, 15 Null

[Te.4] Act: Resurface on Grass terrain // Dodge
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Barrier 1, on self // 20 HP Planar Barrier (Grass/Wood)
Poised above Terra, the rather old-school park ranger seemed momentarily at a loss for exactly what to do with her, now that she was pinned down somewhat. His hesitation, however, proved a dangerous mistake as the previously erratic arc of electricity sprung up from the ground while his back was to it, diving directly into the bear's large, shaggy rump. It was almost comical the way he reared up and away from Terra this time, paws reaching back towards his rear as he let out a bellow that was more human-sounding than his previous roars.

A moment later, the grass beneath him retreated just before Terra's massive trunk erupted from the ground. she'd originally aimed for his behind, but the shock of the bolt had made her target rear up and jump slightly, so it shot up all the way, grazing his front and chest before slamming with a satisfying amount of force into his chin. This second blow sent him reeling, dizzy, and he spun around once growling with pain and shock. As he reeled about, the second strike missed him, but he didn't seem to notice, dragging paws to his head now instead as he tried to steady himself. By the time the bear had righted himself and looked less unstable, Terra was gone. There was time for one muzzy-sounding exclamation of confusion from OnlyBear and a brief turn about as he looked for the vanished hooligan, but his eyes only fell, instead, on poor exposed Carbide, huddling behind her shield. He backed off a step, covering his face from her and groaning, so he didn't see Terra pop up again, ready to finish the battle.

At that moment though, before the earth-conscious navi could send him packing, an angrily thrown clod of earth beaned him squarely on the top of the head. It wasn't a very strong hit; almost menial compared to the blows that had been struck so far, but it was very much the final stray. He straightened up, eyes going wide as the chunk of earth crowned him, then his arms dropped, and he tumbled forward with a crash, sprawling out on the ground and gone to the world. Victory, Carbide!

A few moments after this exchange, a soft beeping sound began to repeat from somewhere in the large bear's fur, then the overly small hover scooter that he had arrived on beamed back in next to the unconscious creature. A pair of automated arms emerged from the console, scooped him up and draped him over the bike, before it lifted off and trundled away back through the trees. Somewhere in the process of being loaded, though, a pouch dropped out of his fur without being noticed, and it would be there for Terra or Carbide to collect once bear and scooter were gone. If they peeked inside, they would find zenny and a chip, as well as a small transfer stick-on badge reading 'Only You Can Prevent Wild-fires!' over the image of several trees.

-=Trying To Prevent Forest Fires=-

OnlyBear.Exe: UNCONSIOUSNESS!!

-=Accused Fire-Bugs=-

Terra.Exe: 170 HP[sort of barely decent]
Carbide.SP: 70 HP[really rather not]

-=Riverbank Interruption=-

30% Grass [Terrain that is not the River... and much of it that was]
10% Lava [Slim crescent furthest from Terra to the rear]
10% Metal [Slim crescent between the lava and the grass, behind Terra]
40% Water [What's left of the river — the waterfall at one end is forming a spreading, circular pool]
10% Normal [Section consumed by Geomancer]

-=Battle 5, Victory!=-

Rewards: 1500z, Anti-Fire, 25 BugFrags, Stick-on Badge

Quote (Anti-Fire)


Damage: Trap((Negate Attack) Then (200)): Damaging Fire Element Attack
Accuracy: A
Description: Negates one Fire-element attack and counters with a Fire blast.
Duration: One Attack
Element: Fire
Special: (Trap(Effect): Trigger): Trap effects are sprung when Trigger conditions are met. Traps do not trigger and cannot be triggered by other Traps. Traps are negated on contact by the Nullify effect, and do not trigger against attacks that include the Nullify effect. Traps do not trigger against Allies. Only one Trap may be set by an individual at a time, and setting a second will overwrite the first regardless of type. Traps remain in place until triggered, overwritten, or destroyed.
"... Huh?"

Carbide sat and stared at the giant bear, slumped over after Carbide's successful hit with the chunk of rock. Some beeping noises started to emit from the bear, causing both Terra and Carbide to tense up. However, after the hover scooter picked up their unwelcome guest and left, both of them sighed in relief. "Good job, you two," said Scarlet, to Terra's smile, and Carbide's grin.

Meanwhile, the pouch that dropped off of the bear rolled off near Carbide. "Oh, what's this?" she said, rummaging through the contents. Terra reached out to stop her, though it didn't really matter, as there didn't appear to be anything hostile inside. On the contrary, Carbide seemed quite ecstatic as she pulled out a small badge depicting some trees, with the words "Only You Can Prevent Wild-Fires!".

"Check it out! Score one for team Carbide! Woo!" cheered Carbide, holding up the badge to the roaring cheer of crickets-- somewhat literally, as the quiet background chatter of the forest came back to life, after the battle died down. The wind started to pick up, forcing Carbide to remember her state of dress, which was mostly a bit of mud from earlier, and a whole lot of dirt. Suddenly, a low wall of earth rose up from the ground around her, keeping herself somewhat covered.

It was a bit futile, however, as her response to it was to jump up in surprise, negating any decency the wall had granted her. She looked around in a panic, before realizing that it had been Terra that raised the wall. The Navi was slightly turned away, scratching her cheek, as she brought up a small holographic display in front of her, tapping on it as she saw Scarlet usually do. The operator shifted her display to look at what her Navi was doing, and saw "Graphical Model Override" written on the display that Terra had.

"... Sorry for that, Carbide. I'll have your outfit restored soon," said Terra, just as the display disappeared.
"Restored? What's that mea--" said Carbide, before being interrupted by a flash of light that enveloped both of the girls.

When the light receded, their clothes had been restored, though not without some modifications. On Terra, a new hair tie with a leaf motif appeared, and the bandages around her arms had given way to a rough-looking grey rock casing. Her gloves received slightly more padding, with a circular emblem replacing the old metal plate, and her boots had simplified themselves into a much more streamlined-looking strapless design. Overall, it didn't really look like she had changed much.

Carbide, meanwhile, had a few more modifications. The most striking change was that most of the clothing covering her from the thigh down was gone; she had only a pair of short shorts now, and was entirely barefooted. The rock protrusions about her head were also mostly voided and replaced by two cheek plates. "Wow, my legs feel so much lighter now! It's like I can almost float!" said Carbide, as she leapt up from Terra's makeshift bunker, and started bounding around in her new outfit. As she bounced around, Terra started to work on restoring the damage she had done to the area as best as she could, converting much of the terrain back to earthen soil. She also stole a few glances at Carbide's figure as she did so. True enough, just as her SP had said earlier, Terra could see Carbide's feet merely glide over the ground. It must have been a side effect of being in battle so frequently; she wouldn't have to think much about how her constant terrain shifts would affect Carbide after this.

Another modification was that Carbide's crop top stuck out about half an inch further, but Terra didn't really think she needed to know that.

"Woo! I feel like I could run a mile! C'mon, Terra!" said Carbide, as she bounded off.

Meanwhile, Terra finished up her restoration and started to head off to catch up to her SP, when Scarlet chimed in on a private voice link. "Um, Terra, isn't it a bit skimpy?" she commented quietly. Terra's response was only to giggle slightly as she started a light jog, going further into the Okuden network.

[Battle 6 - Ready.]
[Terra.EXE: 170 HP / Carbide.SP: 70 HP]
With the frantic nature of the last battle cooled, and their outfits restored and renewed, Terra and her SP were ready to set out deeper into exploring the Okuden net. The gentle mist of rain had all but stopped now, though the air still felt fresh, cool and slightly damp. The breeze had an edge to it, too, but it was more bracing and fresh than actively cold. The rest of the area had calmed down too, with the background sounds of woodland life returning and the quiet rush tot he nearby waterfall, gradually reasserting its river current after Terra had repaired most of the damage to the area.

When they moved on eventually, the trees thinned slowly to one side, giving the girls a view of a mountainside to their right, stark with blue and grey rock, run through with narrow-looking paths covered in the dark green of low-growing cliff grasses. The upper parts of the mountain were still shrouded in a damp fog, and chances were it was raining further up within the clouds... or at least rendering everything within that thoroughly soaking state that comes only from misty mountain climbing. There were no immediately obvious paths towards the mountain that wouldn't involved cutting through the forest directly, but as they moved along the open space they were in circled gradually around the raised area until the trees on that side had given way altogether to low hills pushed up against the base of the mountain.

The pleasant walk would be interrupted, however, by the sound of a terribly loud blast and a faint rumble in the earth. Another followed it a few moments later, and a flight of small woodland birds took flight a short way ahead of them, winging away in panic. The other natural sounds quieted as well, but if Terra and Carbide investigated, they'd find something less aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

From the rise of one of the small hills near the base of the mountain, they'd be able to see a collection of viruses busily working at a freshly exposed side of the mountain, blasted and broken now with rubble all around. Nearest the blast zone, three shovel-wielding moles surveyed, looking for something amidst the blasted rocks. A short way behind them, closer to Terra, two Handies flexed their fingers patiently — presumably the blasts had been from their explosives, it was safe to bet. Hovering just off to the other side, near the blast zone without being on top of it, a pair of needler viruses held position. they each had a small cradle slung beneath them, as well as a sturdier lock-box resting on their flat tops. The cradles seemed to have a couple of purple-hued rock fragments in them that glinted and shone intermittently. In the middle of their work, none of the viruses present seemed to have noticed Terra right away, but it likely wouldn't stay that way for long. She had a moment to decide how to proceed, or to get the jump on them if she was so inclined.


-=Mining Without a Permit=-

MomograA: 60Hp [Normal][Near Blast Zone]
MomograB: 60Hp [Normal][Near Blast Zone]
MomograC: 60Hp [Normal][Near Blast Zone]
HandyA: 80Hp [Soil][Near the bottom of the left hill]
HandyB: 80Hp [Grass][On the left hill]
NeedlerA: 70Hp [Grass][Closest to Terra, on the right.]
NeedlerB: 70Hp [Grass][Closest to Terra, on the right.]

-=Showing Off Their New Kit=-

Terra.Exe: 170 HP [Grass][May choose to start at the top of either hill, or at the base of the near side, as you please]
Carbide.SP: 70 HP [Grass][May choose to start at the top of either hill, or at the base of the near side, as you please]

-=Good Home For A Hermit?=-

60% Grass [Most of the area]
20% Normal [Rock ground at the bast of the mountain]
5% Coal [Centre of the blasted section]
15% Soil [Transitional patches between the grass and the stone]

Terrain is an area that begins flat, but has two low hills in the middle. The hills block line of sight with the blast zone, and will also provide direct cover in the same sense. The distance is such that climbing a hill, either to the top or over it and down the other side, will generally take a full movement. There is a sheer cliff wall at the far end of the battle zone — it could probably be climbed, but probably not in the middle of a fight. The blasted area has created a lot of rubble, and a deep divot in the cliff.

-=Due For An Audit=-

LockboxA: 100Hp [On Needler A][Heavy]
LockboxB: 100Hp [On Needler B][Heavy]

CradleA: 20Hp [Under Needler A][Light]
CradleB: 20Hp [Under Needler B][Light]

-=Battle 6, Start!=-

As her companions wandered further into the Okuden network, Scarlet began to daydream. With the mountain range near Okuden showing up on the screen before her, she was starting to seriously think about impulse buying some camping equipment and hiking out there herself. Maybe even drag Luke along so she wouldn't have to carry everything herself. She opened up a multiple voice link to the two of them. "Mm, Terra, Carbide? Can I ask you two a question?" said Scarlet.

"... What is it?"
"Yeah?"

"How would you describe the sounds of the earth? I know I installed that module into Terra, and Carbide inherited it from you, but I'm curious as to what it actually feels like," the operator said.

Almost immediately, Carbide leapt up from behind Terra, and piped up. "Oh, is that what all the noise is? It's all a bunch of gibberish to me so I don't really pay much attention to it. Is it actually saying anything, Terra?"

In response, Terra looked off into the distance, watching the trees merge into forests, up into hills, and becoming mountains. From there, the misty skies. She then closed her eyes, and felt the crisp earth from underneath her feet as she walked. Though her boots looked rather thick, she had little to no problems in feeling the texture of the ground. The vibrations that echoed through the ground went through the edges of her soles. She had never really tried to put the feeling into words. At that point, she could read the snaking routes of all of the roots of the trees around her, the spread of the grass slowly rustling under a faint breeze, the simulated signals of wildlife teeming throughout the area, and the residual extreme heat dissipating off of a nearby charred crater.

"...?"

Before Terra could speak up, they were racked by two consecutive explosions, and saw a small flock of birds fleeing from in front of them. Though it calmed down relatively quickly, the loud interruption caused the surrounding area to quiet down as well, creating an eerily silent atmosphere. "W-What was that?!" said Carbide, as she steadied herself from the shaking. Terra had already run up and investigated the area, lowering her presence to a low crouch. The smoking crater was surrounded by a small cluster of viruses, presumably mining some of the rocks inside of the little cliff with the mole viruses. Carbide had also already joined her as well, leaping up to her side.

"Doesn't look like they noticed us yet," said Carbide, sounding unusually serious, though there was a hint of excitement at the end. She had already raised her shield in response; the spires lining her arms protruding outwards and expanding into a large rocky cover for them to hide behind. The SP had also moved slightly forward to cover Terra's front, and turned around to look at her Navi to gauge her reaction. Terra only raised her eyebrow in questioning, and Carbide grinned in return. "Ehehe, I just thought I'd thank you for the new outfit," she said, turning back to the viruses. Terra smiled back in return. Looking back, it was done in a bit of a lull, while sitting idle in her PET, so she didn't really expect much out of it, much less having to use it so soon. She thought about her operator's comment earlier, and glanced forward.

All things considered, she did a good job on that butt.

With that order of business settled, she turned back towards the viruses. Briefly creasing her forehead, she then placed her hand on the ground. The palm of her glove glowed a deep red, before the earth beneath them started to melt and warp. Afterwards, she was about to speak, before she felt her chip processes accept something from her operator's PET. Then, a small visual showed up beside her, displaying Scarlet's mischievous-looking face, almost mirroring Carbide's.

"It's almost too good not to use, so I sent it in advance. You two have fun," chimed in Scarlet, before the visual disappeared.

Terra chuckled to herself, as the lava under her feet started to spread out. Small red lines snaked out from the expanding pool of hot molten rock. One of them passed underneath Carbide's feet, and surrounded the petite girl in a translucent red sphere. The others swiftly snuck over to where all the viruses were, branching out like the complex root system of a tree. Eventually, her setup was complete, and an entire labyrinth of red lines spread throughout the whole area. The trigger was pulled, and an eruption lit up the sector with flame.

// Summary
[Ca.*] Sig: Terraskill: Reflex Guard 1, on self // 1(+1) Hit Shield (Reinforce)
[Ca.1] Act: Defend Terra // Take one attack aimed at Terra
[Te.1] Sig: Terraform: Violent Magma, around self // Large Lava Terrain Change
[Te.*] Sig: Terraskill: Earthen Barrier 1, on Carbide // 20 HP Planar Barrier (Lava/Fire)
[Te.2] Chip: RedWave1, to all // Fire 50(+50 Lava), To-All-Ground, Acc A (+100% Grass)
// TURN SPLICE: Terra (2/4), Carbide (0/1)
Creeping up on the viral miners, Terra and Carbide would notice that the main thing they seemed to be mining were the odd purple chunks. While Carbide subtly set up some defences and Terra prepped her surprise attack, the two needlers moved slightly so they could land and give access to their cradles to the other viruses, ready to be further loaded up.

When one of the hilltops turned to lava, of course, they all noticed that something was up. the two needlers began to take off again, though it was never a terribly fast process, and less so with their current cargo loads. One handy dropped into a portal out of sight, and then Terra struck.

The three momogras, looking around to see what was happening, all ducked under the ground the moment she unleashed her attack. The explosive energy burst through the ground even as they each dove deep and tunnelled towards her. Most irksomely, only one of them got caught up in the fiery explosion, although the other two popped back up again in their original positions after the wave passed; they hadn't been able to make it to Terra without encountering lava, and had been forced to give up their desire for immediate retaliation.

The second Handy was also caught in the blaze before it could do anything, and though one of the needlers managed to get off the ground and away from the fire, the second wasn't as quick. Its lockbox fell to the ground and the purple frocks from its cradle scattered everywhere as it broke down.

On the hill across from Terra, the first handy, oblivious to the destruction it had just avoided, rose from its portal and placed a large, ominous-looking bomb with a bright red 'X' on the front, between itself and the navi responsible.



-=Mining Without a Permit=-

MomograA: 60Hp [Normal][Near Blast Zone]
MomograB: DELETED
MomograC: 60Hp [Normal][Near Blast Zone]
HandyA: 80Hp [Grass][Top of opposite hill, behind DudBomb]
HandyB: DELETED
NeedlerA: 70Hp [Soil][Closest to Terra, on the right.]
NeedlerB: DELETED

-=Showing Off Their New Kit=-

Terra.Exe: 170 HP [Lava][The top left Hill... em... mini volcano?]
Carbide.SP: 70 HP [Lava][With Terra][2-hit Shield][Barrier Broken!]

-=Good Home For A Hermit?=-

20% Grass [Right Hill]
20% Normal [Rock ground at the bast of the mountain]
5% Coal [Centre of the blasted section]
10% Soil [Transitional patches between the grass and the stone]
45% Lava [Left Hill in its entirety]

Terrain is an area that begins flat, but has two low hills in the middle. The hills block line of sight with the blast zone, and will also provide direct cover in the same sense. The distance is such that climbing a hill, either to the top or over it and down the other side, will generally take a full movement. There is a sheer cliff wall at the far end of the battle zone — it could probably be climbed, but probably not in the middle of a fight. The blasted area has created a lot of rubble, and a deep divot in the cliff.

-=Due For An Audit=-

LockboxA: 100Hp [On Needler A][Heavy]
LockboxB: 100Hp [Soil][Near Blast Zone[Heavy]

CradleA: 20Hp [Under Needler A][Light]
CradleB: Spilled everywhere, near blast zone.

DudBomb: 1Hp [Right Hill, between Terra and HandyA]

-=Terra Has 2 Actions Remaining=-