Wrapping Up Practice

With everything seeming to go from bad to worse, the odd pair of navis continued to have a philosophical difference of opinion over correct combat etiquette when conducting a fight on tiny magnetic raft on a rushing river of lava. Who'd have guessed? Even so, Martia kicked things off with a rapid succession of blows against the two hovering platforms that were closest alongside their raft. The two HardHeads clammed up quickly as she attacked, even though the strikes weren't aimed at them directly. Instead, her projected punches struck the needle platforms below. the first hit did send the platform spinning backwards partially, but Needlers were possessed of notoriously stable flight control, and it remained level despite being pushed away.

The HardHead on top of it, went too, though whether it was because it was affixed, or simply from the needler's superior handling wasn't revealed until Martia turned and unleashed her remaining two strikes on the opposite platform. This one was hit by two blows in quick succession and even it's stability control couldn't keep up. The platform spun backwards and upended, flipping over and giving the HardHead on top an unceremonious dunk in the lava. Badly damaged as the platform was, however, if righted itself again after a few moments, pulling a dripping turret virus back out of the lava again, seemingly only very slightly worse for wear from its brief dunk. It did appear, though, that the mounted viruses were solidly affixed to the platforms in some way. On the bright side, in their current setting that probably meant that bringing the two needle platforms down in the lava would likely end the thread from the HardHeds as well.

While this exchange took place, Scourge defended herself with one of her more recent acquisitions, just in time for the first of the maddened fighter planes to peel around and make a run on their raft, cackling madly the whole while. A spray of wildly aimed machine gun shots pelted the magnets around scourge primarily as it raked the platform, and while several of them pinged her, none of them seemed to have any effect at all through her hardened defences. Adding insult to inability-to-injure, Scourge directed a weakening pulse of her own back at the plane, which quickly realised that most of its offensive options had been rendered useless.

The other plane strafed across the platform from a different direction, arcing high so it could drop a line of bombs that whistled as they fell. The first two splashed down into the lava without hitting anything, but the third landed squarely on the raft and exploded. Once again, Scourge shrugged it off without feeling the blast, but Martia couldn't avoid some minor burns (-10). Undaunted, she enacted the first stage of her efforts to secure the mets on the other boat, by way of expanding their magnet platform and extending it across the lava towards them. The spinning of the raft itself, and the frequent pillars rushing by made this a difficult operation, but no-one had told the dragon to rush, so it did as Martia asked as best it could. The part that emerged was less a straight line and more an elongated hook, and at one point the extension struck a pillar and sent the raft spinning back the other way erratically — Martia and scourge would both struggle to keep their feet for a few seconds, though thankfully nothing else was harassing them at that exact moment, and even if they lost balance, the magnetic tiles would keep them on board safely.

The two needlers had managed to recover themselves by this point, and twisted to aim their primary weapons at Scourge and Martia respectively, peppering the platform with tiny wooden fletchets. Scourge bathed in the minor pinpricks, unaffected, while Martia had to deal with an assortment of tiny cuts and scrapes (-12). Something about the attack also seemed to normalise the panels beneath each of their feet, dulling the magnetic pull. They'd be able to move more reliably off the panels, but by the same token, if they wanted tiles that could reliably save them from getting thrown off the platform, they might want to move to a new magnet space.

With a little bit of foresight, the Dragon, still busy performing its task, also made sure to connect the bridge to the wooden boat by one panel, just so that further pillar strikes wouldn't disconnect them. It then raced back, and perhaps because it had been denied a snack before now, diverted slightly to devour the needle platform that was hovering over the near section of the bridge. It didn't manage to eat the HardHead as well, which fell to the magnet panels below, though it landed on its side. Back at the raft, there wasn't enough energy to expand it much further, but the dragon did manage to neaten the ring and fix the hole in the centre, as well as the two normal patches, before disappearing.

Having weathered the storm of her own troubles through this, Martia remained the philanthropist, at least as long as they looked cute. She began to pass out defences to the mets on the far boat, who seemed rather surprised by everything that was happening around them. Martia wouldn't have time to see immediately how her gifts were received, though, as the leading Megalian drew close enough to launch its aura-bearing head at their platform. It didn't manage to hit Martia, though she still needed to be wary of it, but Scourge took the brunt of the attack, perhaps over-confident in the strength of her protection. This one actually managed to do damage to her, though it was greatly reduced even so (-20). Scourge countered with some quick attacks of her own, and while the first missed the second connected after the head withdrew to its base. The aura crumpled instantly, and beneath it, the lava erupted in a gout of hissing steam as it interacted with the chip's damage.

More than just crippled, the virus was completely obliterated by the attack, but another consequence revealed itself as the steam cleared, in the form of a solid spire of flash-cooled stone directly in the raft's path. They hit it a moment later and the entire platform heaved with a thump that tilted it, the bridge and the connected boat, badly.

Over by the wooden boat, which was well and truly burning up by this point, the three smaller viruses weren't quite sure what was going on exactly, but it seemed as though the fates of divine intervention were suddenly on their side for once; not only had a huge dragon made a bridge to their targets for them, but now mystical defences had rained down on them, giving all of them even more protection. The time to strike was surely now! The lead metool hurled its pickaxe across the gap between them, only for it to go flying away into the darkness as it failed to compensate for the speed they were moving at. Unperturbed, it hopped down and began dashing across the bridge, reforming its pickaxe as it went. The other two popped out of their helmets and launched a pair of small bullets across the gap, aimed at Martia and Scourge respectively, but they, too, missed badly. they followed after, stepping onto the magnets one after the other, and promptly becoming stuck to the spot.

It was at this moment that the raft hit the rock, and the heaving tilt caused the toppled HardHead to slide off the bridge and into the lava. The leader of the met trio teetered and wavered on the bridge, flailing and almost falling in before it managed to hook its pickaxe over the upraised edge of the panel. It was about halfway across, and it paused until the ride was stable again. Behind them, the remains of the charred wooden boat crumbled and sank beneath the boiling magma.

-=River Raiders=-
FighterBomber V1FighterBomber V1 (FighterBomber)

FighterBombers are a combination of FighterPlane, Ratty, and Kabutank viruses. They appear to be a miniature model of an A-10 fighter-bomber that has had the tips of the wings replaced with large ducted fans that it uses to stay airborne with. There are two smaller ducted fans on the tops of the rear wings as well. This virus moves about using thrust from two small jet engines mounted on the upper side of the craft's rear wings. The crazed viral pilot of the FighterPlane virus is present here as well, although the pilot now wears a modern visored fighter pilot's helmet and oxygen mask.

Area: All

HP: 290
Element: Null

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null + Spreadfire x 9 shots
Primary Attack Accuracy: D
Primary Attack Description: Strafes the enemy with autocannon fire.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Blast2 x 4 Bombs
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a rack of bombs on a line of targets. The bombs target panels, not enemies. Each bomb must be dropped on a new panel, as the attack is executed while moving only.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Seeking + Homing + Ground Attack + Blast 3
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Drops a ground torpedo to seek out and destroy targets.

Special: OmniShoes
Special: Cornered Panic: When HP drops below half, this virus gains permanent Haste.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): AirRaid1, DoubleBomb, SeekerBomb1, Ratton1, FastGauge, Zenny.
A: 290 Hp [Over lava, to the right, keeping pace with the raft][Debuff 20 (all, permanent unless overwritten)]
FighterBomber V1FighterBomber V1 (FighterBomber)

FighterBombers are a combination of FighterPlane, Ratty, and Kabutank viruses. They appear to be a miniature model of an A-10 fighter-bomber that has had the tips of the wings replaced with large ducted fans that it uses to stay airborne with. There are two smaller ducted fans on the tops of the rear wings as well. This virus moves about using thrust from two small jet engines mounted on the upper side of the craft's rear wings. The crazed viral pilot of the FighterPlane virus is present here as well, although the pilot now wears a modern visored fighter pilot's helmet and oxygen mask.

Area: All

HP: 290
Element: Null

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null + Spreadfire x 9 shots
Primary Attack Accuracy: D
Primary Attack Description: Strafes the enemy with autocannon fire.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Blast2 x 4 Bombs
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a rack of bombs on a line of targets. The bombs target panels, not enemies. Each bomb must be dropped on a new panel, as the attack is executed while moving only.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Seeking + Homing + Ground Attack + Blast 3
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Drops a ground torpedo to seek out and destroy targets.

Special: OmniShoes
Special: Cornered Panic: When HP drops below half, this virus gains permanent Haste.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): AirRaid1, DoubleBomb, SeekerBomb1, Ratton1, FastGauge, Zenny.
B: 290 Hp [Over lava, slightly behind and to the left, keeping pace with the raft]

NeedlerNeedler (Needler)

Needlers only attack forward, left and right. They cannot attack targets above and below their position, nor can they shoot backwards. Needlers do not move (aside from aiming) aside from their secondary attack, though they will use it to reposition themselves if they find it necessary.

Area: Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town

HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null x 2 Shots x 3 Targets
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires needles in 3 directions.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Movement + Impact + Knockback / 5 Null x 3 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C / A
Secondary Attack Description: Rams forward with surprising speed, then fires a burst of needles while the enemy is still startled.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 2 Wood x 8 Shots
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Shoots a storm of wooden needles at a single enemy.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Needler1, NeedleCannon1 (Rare), Zenny
A: DELETED
NeedlerNeedler (Needler)

Needlers only attack forward, left and right. They cannot attack targets above and below their position, nor can they shoot backwards. Needlers do not move (aside from aiming) aside from their secondary attack, though they will use it to reposition themselves if they find it necessary.

Area: Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town

HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null x 2 Shots x 3 Targets
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires needles in 3 directions.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Movement + Impact + Knockback / 5 Null x 3 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C / A
Secondary Attack Description: Rams forward with surprising speed, then fires a burst of needles while the enemy is still startled.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 2 Wood x 8 Shots
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Shoots a storm of wooden needles at a single enemy.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Needler1, NeedleCannon1 (Rare), Zenny
B: 10 Hp [Lava][Next to the raft, right]
HardheadHardhead (HardHead)

HardHeads alternate actions between attacking and guarding. These are the only actions HardHeads may perform, and the first action of every battle is always guarding. Hardheads will not break from this pattern unless forced to by status effects. HardHeads cannot be lifted or thrown, even with Rageclaw.

Area: Electown, Kotobuki Town, Dentech

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Null + Break + Panel Break
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Fires Cannonball. Breaking. Breaks Panels.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Wrecker, Zenny
Special: Immobile.
- Iron Body when not attacking.
A: LAVA BATH
HardheadHardhead (HardHead)

HardHeads alternate actions between attacking and guarding. These are the only actions HardHeads may perform, and the first action of every battle is always guarding. Hardheads will not break from this pattern unless forced to by status effects. HardHeads cannot be lifted or thrown, even with Rageclaw.

Area: Electown, Kotobuki Town, Dentech

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Null + Break + Panel Break
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Fires Cannonball. Breaking. Breaks Panels.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Wrecker, Zenny
Special: Immobile.
- Iron Body when not attacking.
B: 60 Hp [On NeedlerB][Defending]

Megalian-FMegalian-F (Megalian-F)

All Megalian-F viruses are equipped with Omnishoes, and fight from the air. This virus type will spend an Action Dodging, and then Attack the following Action. If there are more than one Megalian (family does not matter) the viruses will work together, alternating their attack Actions or attacking as a group (mod's discretion). When attacking, both the head and the base can be damaged separately (if the Aura protecting the base has been destroyed).

Area: Netfrica, Hades Isle

HP: 130
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Fire + Break + Piercing + Group attack.
Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches its head at the enemy. Accuracy decreases with each hit.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): AuraHead1, Barrier, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes: capable of free flight.
- Dodges every other Action. Attacks when not dodging.
- Has a 10HP Fire Aura (Pierced and destroyed by Aqua attacks).
- Can be attacked while head is extended.
: DELETED

MetoolMetool (Metool)

Metools not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Piercing + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Whacks ground with pickaxe, sending forth a shockwave.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Throws a mattock at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Guard1, ShockWave, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
: 40 Hp [Magnet][10hp Barrier][Halfway across bridge section]
NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.
A: 40 Hp [Magnet][1-Hit CurseShield][End of the hook]
NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.
B: 40 Hp [Magnet][1-Hit BubbleWrap (2 turns left)][Beside NeoMetoolA]

-=Raft Riders=-
Martia: 196Hp [Magnet][On the Magnet Raft]
Scourge: 150Hp [Magnet][On the Magnet Raft][DR20 (1 turn left)][Status Guard] -20

-=Rough Recourse=-
40% Magnet [Martia and Scourge's raft — circular with long, wavy hook shape protruding from one side.
55% Lava [So Much Lava]
5% Normal [Spire of rock, behind now and disappearing quickly]

Forrest of Pillars: stone pillars pass by swiftly as the battle flows down the lava river. All ranged attacks (ally and enemy) have a very small chance to strike a pillar on their way to the intended target

Out of Control: the magnet raft that Scourge and Martia are on is spinning around more erratically now, as its long protrusion strikes of pillars and twists the platform back and forth. Aiming at distant targets would be hard, now.

-=Objects=-
Metool Boat: SUNK

Assorted Columns: ??Hp [StoneBody][Anchored][Moving by quickly, all around]
Being attacked from all sides, Scourge was rather surprised as she saw that most of the attacks didn't seem to do much against her. While each attack landed and slid off from her newfound strength, she began to laugh, and the laughter intensified with each deflected attack. Watching Martia summon a dragon to her side, Scourge raised an eyebrow with interest. Surely such a powerful weapon would be put to better use dealing with the more powerful fighter jets that were currently flanking them? What she said later scrunched up her face further, as Martia began to give the viruses a veritable pile of defenses to turn them into "armored decoys". Of course, she was then rather busy with dealing with the Megalian then, but while she was successful in doing so, it caused the makeshift raft to hit the spire of flash-cooled rock from her attack.

"Crap!" she yelled, as the raft tilted dangerously. This was exacerbated by the Metools that were apparently attacking them now, after being bolstered by magical armaments that had popped out of nowhere. "Armored decoys my ass, they're attacking us now! Sofia, I need some fir--" she started, before she received a battlechip in her processes. Her face was the picture of confusion as her operator appeared in a side window, grinning with an almost unbearable level of self-satisfaction. And another, just for good measure.

"Way ahead of you!" said Sofia, beaming with pride.

Scourge tried to suppress her grin, but it was a bit of a struggle trying to stay upright. Even with the attractive effects of the magnetic panels of the raft, it was beginning to spin pretty hard, thanks to the addition of a hook-shaped rudder thing from Martia's PotDragon attack. If she hadn't also been contributing to the busting, Scourge would've thought that she was being sabotaged somehow by her partner's fumbles. Shaking her head, she tried to focus on the battle at hand. First order of business was to deal with the ingrates that Martia had called up onto their raft. Her gaze locked onto the yellow-hatted viruses and began to intensely focus on the trio. Scourge's eyes began to turn into a deep crimson, as the ground beneath their feet then began to dim quietly. One moment later, the ground then erupted into a pillar of fire.

Turning towards her right, she saw that one of the fighters had been successfully disabled, with smoke rising from some of its armaments. One of the Needler and HardHead pairs had also been successfully dunked from Martia's efforts, so she had to give her props for that. Her attention then shifted towards the remaining fighter jet, and she looked at the glowing blue bandage in her hand. With how far away the plane was, the most she could do was to either hope the plane flew over them, or simply use the knife as a projectile. Of course, if she waited for it to fly overhead, there wasn't even a guarantee that she would be able to reach it. The choice was rather easy, but the execution was slightly less so. The boat was tilting and spinning every which way as she tried to line up the shot, before tossing the knife out towards the side of the raft.

However, she wasn't quite done yet, as her hand was still pointed out towards the plane. The tip of her bandaged finger began to light up with a dim purple fire, and the shriek of a feral bird sounded. Scourge then fired a huge burst of fire, which morphed into the shape of a large bird as it hurtled towards the plane.

// Summary
[Sc.1] Chip: BurnSquare1Damage: 60 + Blast 2 + Ground Attack
Accuracy: B
Description: Creates a small, square shaped explosion of will-o-wisps that erupt from the ground, scorching the very soul of whatever is occupying that space.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: D
: 60 + Blast 2 + Ground Attack + Group Attack (Acc: B) @ Metool, NeoMetoolA/B
[Sc.2] Act: Line up shot (Take Aim)
[Sc.3] Chip: Throw AquaKnifeDamage: 60 + Slashing
Accuracy: B
Description: Creates a sword imbued with water energy, with a blade comparible to a large knife. Hits one target per slash.
Duration: Until Overridden/Broken. Breaks automatically after 6 swings.
Element: Aqua
Trader Rank: D
: 60 + Slashing (Acc: B) @ FighterBomber V1B (Buff +16, Use 3/6, Lava: +100%)
[Sc.4] Chip: PhoenixShot1Damage: 70 + Wide Attack
Accuracy: A
Description: Fires a wide wave of fire resembling a phoenix that can hit up to three enemies, depending on circumstances.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Special: Wide Attack: This attack hits a line of targets perpendicular to the direction the attack is launched in. Unless otherwise specified, a wide attack can hit up to 3 targets, max. Once a target is hit, the attack ends, thus all targets must be hit at roughly the same time.
Trader Rank: D
: 70 + Wide Attack (Acc: A) @ FighterBomber V1B
"..." ...Really? She went through the effort to save them, gave them defenses...and they still attacked them. Martia clenched her fists, visibly shaking as she glared at the Mettaur that were enough of jerks that they took her hand of friendship, and tried to break it. "...That does it. Now I'm pissed!" Needless to say, her guests weren't going to stay very long.

"Whoa, yeah you are! Seriously, you might wanna calm down a little..."

It didn't look like it, but the operator's words did reach her Navi. But it was hard to tell when the area around the latter's hands began to distort from heat. She cupped her hands, and thrust her palms forward, sending out a wave of energy. It looked strange, though; it didn't look as though it were fire, yet it gave off a glow that made it appear extremely hot...enough so that it seemed like if that wave hit anything, it'd melt it into goop. "All right, now for them!" She angrily pointed at the lead Mettaur; she was going to enjoy tearing them apart.

"Noooooope. If you do that, you'll be controlled by your emotions too much. You're not touching them right now."

"Seriously?! They're total ingrates!"

"Well yeah, I'm seeing the same fight you are, but you're going to calm down before you lay a finger on them. ...I guess that means we can still attack them, though." Some chips didn't need Martia to even move, after all. "This'll have to do for now. BattleChip, Binder! Slot in!"

Ironically, virus would be fought by virus, as a Melody formed in front of the martial artist Navi. She aimed her finger at the apparent leader of the Mettaur, the one with an energy barrier around it...and then, the summoned former foe happily bounced towards it, to try and crash down and squash it, like a character from an old video game. But after that, its ability to process commands would be gone, too caught up in bouncing around like a madman...er, mad music note. But as long as it worked on decreasing the ungrateful enemies' population, she wouldn't care much about what it did.

"Now, we've got those hugeass planes to worry about. But, they're as vulnerable to stuff falling down as anything else, right? Right! So...BattleChip, GolemHit! Slot in!"

An aura, thankfully not at all heated, formed around Martia's hand. She reared back...and punched the raft ground in front of her. That wouldn't seem like much, but high above, a fist shaped stone formed on the ceiling, and began to drop down. If her aim was true, the FighterBomber would learn a hazard of underground warfare; cave-ins. It'd also hit a small nearby area as well, but as far as she could tell, there wasn't anything else over there, at least nothing worth worrying about.

With that, she refocused on the situation as a whole. Not directly dealing with the Mettaur had indeed calmed her a bit, though she still very much wanted to see them disintegrate into nothingness. But, it was no good if she got blasted due to focusing too much on them...she could concentrate on any survivors in a little bit. For now, she should worry more about her own well-being. Scourge's wrappings seemed pretty sturdy, so no need to be concerned about her.

[Order of Turn:
1-Melting Flame sig attack on NeedlerB (20, Fire, Break, Disarm)
2- Binder1Damage: 60 x 4 possible hits.
Accuracy: D
Description: Summons a Melody virus to stomp on random enemies. After the first target is attacked, the virus will bounce around the field randomly, possibly hitting other enemies or the same enemy again, up to 4 times total.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Though the user has no control over the virus beyond the first attack, this chip cannot harm the user.
Trader Rank: D
on Metool
3- GolemHit1Damage: 140 + Break + Panel Crack + Wide Attack
Accuracy: C
Description: A fist of stone falls from the sky to smash an enemy, and create a shock wave that hits two nearby enemies. The area affected by the fist becomes Cracked terrain.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D
on FighterBomberA
4-Dodge
5-Dodge]
As shocked and offended as Martia was at having her kindness turned back on her, Scourge was quicker off the mark for dealing with the opportunistic river raiders. Before any of the viruses could do much more than step onto the holding magnet panels, she roasted the two ranged shooters with a column of fire. The first one found its nifty new shield availing it not as the fire from below scorched it from the network, though the second NeoMet was saved by its nifty BubbleWrap. Further ahead, in the middle of the bridge, the leader Metool squeaked and retreated beneath its helmet, as much as that wouldn't have saved it from the fire, if it had been in range.

Martia, meanwhile, was busy turning her attention tot he remaining Needler and HardHead pair, finishing what she began with a scorching technique that melted the flying platform before it could clear out, and dropping the HardHead unceremoniously into the lava, where it swiftly sank and disappeared from sight. Having blown off a suitable amount of steam for now, she opted to leave the ungrateful metools to the mercies of her every-jovial binder note. Not the most accurate companion in the world, it made up for its poor guidance with an extra helping of enthusiasm, and managed to land properly on the NeoMetool that remained, and the leader who had been its first target, once each before vanishing. The NeoMet was resoundingly squashed, but the original metool was less hindered, hiding beneath its helmet — although the note did crush the small protective barrier it had been bestowed with earlier.

The fighter that Scourge had disabled had curved around for another pass, this time aiming its machine guns at Martia; despite hitting her several times, though, the shots that connected failed to have any impact at all. Chittering in fury, the pilot realised now that it wasn't Scourge's defences, but rather its own weapons that were compromised. It peeled wide to try something heavier, arcing and twisting in the air as it turned to align itself with the other bomber. They both came in from either side this time, dropping long range torpedos into the lava which scythed visible ridges through the molten liquid on their way to the platform as they closed in on it from behind on either side.

In something of an anti-climax, the pair of submerged missiles both missed the raft, apparently making something of a similar miscalculation of its movement speed. they lanced forward on the left and right of the raft, crossing over each other, before beginning to turn back and come around for another attempt. The two navis retaliated in kind, with counter-strokes of their own devising; Martia stuck the plane that was already suffering from weapons failure with a very large first from above as it manoeuvred for its next attack; the blow struck hard enough to make the plane dip and wobble erratically, and through an odd quirk of the net, created a crazed patch of cracked rock where it hammered down into the lava below. The patch sped away into the distance behind them quickly and was soon out of sight, but it was still interesting to see while it lasted.

Scourge, focused on the other one, took careful aim and made what was, in reality, an exceptionally difficult shot; by all accounts it was something of a hundred-to-one shot, considering all the other factors seeking to throw off her aim, but even so, the knife caught the retreating plane in one of its engine rotors as it dipped close to the lava, and caused another spire of flash-cooled rock to burst up and shear through a portion of the plane's wing in the process. Smoke billowed from the damaged side and it twisted over in the air several times, beginning to lose control. for a moment, it looked as though it might spiral out altogether and crash, but as the pilot struggled to control its plane, Scourge's furious phoenix blast scorched across the intervening space and struck it again — this time rending a portion of the other wing. Ironically, the excess damage seemed to have restored the fighter's balance and it evened up, pouring smoke and sparks from all sides but still flying all the same. Its flight stuttered and jerked now, much more erratic and unpredictable as it turned its machine guns back on Scourge from long range. Just as the first plane had discovered, though, her hardened bandages prevented any of the minor tracers from harming her, though it seemed the protection had about runs its course, as the damage reducing effects wore off moments later.

-=River Raiders=-
FighterBomber V1FighterBomber V1 (FighterBomber)

FighterBombers are a combination of FighterPlane, Ratty, and Kabutank viruses. They appear to be a miniature model of an A-10 fighter-bomber that has had the tips of the wings replaced with large ducted fans that it uses to stay airborne with. There are two smaller ducted fans on the tops of the rear wings as well. This virus moves about using thrust from two small jet engines mounted on the upper side of the craft's rear wings. The crazed viral pilot of the FighterPlane virus is present here as well, although the pilot now wears a modern visored fighter pilot's helmet and oxygen mask.

Area: All

HP: 290
Element: Null

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null + Spreadfire x 9 shots
Primary Attack Accuracy: D
Primary Attack Description: Strafes the enemy with autocannon fire.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Blast2 x 4 Bombs
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a rack of bombs on a line of targets. The bombs target panels, not enemies. Each bomb must be dropped on a new panel, as the attack is executed while moving only.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Seeking + Homing + Ground Attack + Blast 3
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Drops a ground torpedo to seek out and destroy targets.

Special: OmniShoes
Special: Cornered Panic: When HP drops below half, this virus gains permanent Haste.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): AirRaid1, DoubleBomb, SeekerBomb1, Ratton1, FastGauge, Zenny.
A: 145 Hp [Over lava, to the left, keeping pace with the raft][Debuff 20 (all, permanent unless overwritten)]
FighterBomber V1FighterBomber V1 (FighterBomber)

FighterBombers are a combination of FighterPlane, Ratty, and Kabutank viruses. They appear to be a miniature model of an A-10 fighter-bomber that has had the tips of the wings replaced with large ducted fans that it uses to stay airborne with. There are two smaller ducted fans on the tops of the rear wings as well. This virus moves about using thrust from two small jet engines mounted on the upper side of the craft's rear wings. The crazed viral pilot of the FighterPlane virus is present here as well, although the pilot now wears a modern visored fighter pilot's helmet and oxygen mask.

Area: All

HP: 290
Element: Null

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null + Spreadfire x 9 shots
Primary Attack Accuracy: D
Primary Attack Description: Strafes the enemy with autocannon fire.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Blast2 x 4 Bombs
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a rack of bombs on a line of targets. The bombs target panels, not enemies. Each bomb must be dropped on a new panel, as the attack is executed while moving only.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Seeking + Homing + Ground Attack + Blast 3
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Drops a ground torpedo to seek out and destroy targets.

Special: OmniShoes
Special: Cornered Panic: When HP drops below half, this virus gains permanent Haste.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): AirRaid1, DoubleBomb, SeekerBomb1, Ratton1, FastGauge, Zenny.
B: 68 Hp [Over lava, to the right, keeping pace with the raft][Haste]

NeedlerNeedler (Needler)

Needlers only attack forward, left and right. They cannot attack targets above and below their position, nor can they shoot backwards. Needlers do not move (aside from aiming) aside from their secondary attack, though they will use it to reposition themselves if they find it necessary.

Area: Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town

HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null x 2 Shots x 3 Targets
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires needles in 3 directions.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Movement + Impact + Knockback / 5 Null x 3 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C / A
Secondary Attack Description: Rams forward with surprising speed, then fires a burst of needles while the enemy is still startled.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 2 Wood x 8 Shots
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Shoots a storm of wooden needles at a single enemy.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Needler1, NeedleCannon1 (Rare), Zenny
A: DELETED
NeedlerNeedler (Needler)

Needlers only attack forward, left and right. They cannot attack targets above and below their position, nor can they shoot backwards. Needlers do not move (aside from aiming) aside from their secondary attack, though they will use it to reposition themselves if they find it necessary.

Area: Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town

HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null x 2 Shots x 3 Targets
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires needles in 3 directions.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Movement + Impact + Knockback / 5 Null x 3 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C / A
Secondary Attack Description: Rams forward with surprising speed, then fires a burst of needles while the enemy is still startled.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 2 Wood x 8 Shots
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Shoots a storm of wooden needles at a single enemy.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Needler1, NeedleCannon1 (Rare), Zenny
B: DELETED
HardheadHardhead (HardHead)

HardHeads alternate actions between attacking and guarding. These are the only actions HardHeads may perform, and the first action of every battle is always guarding. Hardheads will not break from this pattern unless forced to by status effects. HardHeads cannot be lifted or thrown, even with Rageclaw.

Area: Electown, Kotobuki Town, Dentech

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Null + Break + Panel Break
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Fires Cannonball. Breaking. Breaks Panels.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Wrecker, Zenny
Special: Immobile.
- Iron Body when not attacking.
A: LAVA BATH
HardheadHardhead (HardHead)

HardHeads alternate actions between attacking and guarding. These are the only actions HardHeads may perform, and the first action of every battle is always guarding. Hardheads will not break from this pattern unless forced to by status effects. HardHeads cannot be lifted or thrown, even with Rageclaw.

Area: Electown, Kotobuki Town, Dentech

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Null + Break + Panel Break
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Fires Cannonball. Breaking. Breaks Panels.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Wrecker, Zenny
Special: Immobile.
- Iron Body when not attacking.
B: LAVA BATH

Megalian-FMegalian-F (Megalian-F)

All Megalian-F viruses are equipped with Omnishoes, and fight from the air. This virus type will spend an Action Dodging, and then Attack the following Action. If there are more than one Megalian (family does not matter) the viruses will work together, alternating their attack Actions or attacking as a group (mod's discretion). When attacking, both the head and the base can be damaged separately (if the Aura protecting the base has been destroyed).

Area: Netfrica, Hades Isle

HP: 130
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Fire + Break + Piercing + Group attack.
Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches its head at the enemy. Accuracy decreases with each hit.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): AuraHead1, Barrier, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes: capable of free flight.
- Dodges every other Action. Attacks when not dodging.
- Has a 10HP Fire Aura (Pierced and destroyed by Aqua attacks).
- Can be attacked while head is extended.
: DELETED

MetoolMetool (Metool)

Metools not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Piercing + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Whacks ground with pickaxe, sending forth a shockwave.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Throws a mattock at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Guard1, ShockWave, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
: 40 Hp [Magnet][Barrier Broken!][Halfway across bridge section][Guarding]
NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.
A: DELETED
NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.
B: DELETED

-=Raft Riders=-
Martia: 196Hp [Magnet][On the Magnet Raft][Torpedo homing]
Scourge: 150Hp [Magnet][On the Magnet Raft][Torpedo homing]

-=Rough Recourse=-
40% Magnet [Martia and Scourge's raft — circular with long, wavy hook shape protruding from one side.
55% Lava [So Much Lava]
5% Normal [Different spire of rock, behind and to one side, disappearing]

Forrest of Pillars: stone pillars pass by swiftly as the battle flows down the lava river. All ranged attacks (ally and enemy) have a very small chance to strike a pillar on their way to the intended target

Out of Control: the magnet raft that Scourge and Martia are on is spinning around more erratically now, as its long protrusion strikes of pillars and twists the platform back and forth. Aiming at distant targets would be hard, now.

-=Objects=-
Metool Boat: SUNK

Assorted Columns: ??Hp [StoneBody][Anchored][Moving by quickly, all around]

"Heheheh, all right! We've almost gotten all of them! Let's get this done!" cheered Scourge, as she pumped her fists into the air. The bandages about her body seemed to take on a life of their own, flaring about with energy as well, with very little regard for the Navi's modesty. Fortunately, it didn't last too long, as the bindings began to wrap around her again, now visibly quite a bit thicker to absorb any blows that came her way. However, that wasn't the sole extent of the transformation, as her left arm once again began to morph wildly into a gigantic mouth, as it did before. Surprised, she looked up at the ceiling with a furrowed brow, where she assumed Sofia was watching through a video feed.

Sure enough, the operator responded seconds later. "I, uh, I think I got the hang of this operating thing now! Still kind of confusing, though... Um, what other attacks did you want, Scourge?"

At the unexpected offer, Scourge's eyes widened slightly, taken aback by the sudden increase in competence. "Yeah, uh, I dunno, just pick whichever one you think is gonna hurt the most, I guess. We've only got one real threat left," she said.

"Okay! Hang on..." Sofia said, as she fished out two of the more reliable things in their ragtag collection of attacks. "You used this before, right? I think."

As soon as the chip uploaded, a ball of lightning emerged in front of Scourge, though she was still directing her vision upwards (at nothing in particular), and she was thus oblivious to its presence at first. However, as soon as it started growing in size, she turned towards it, and the lightning arced off to the side by itself towards the weaker fighter plane virus. "Wha-- Oh," started Scourge, only to realize that she had fired off her first attack rather prematurely. Well, if she pretended it never happened, then nobody could fault her for it, so she simply moved on to the next attack that Sofia had sent her. Activating the chip, a green ball of light started to gather in her hand, which she recognized as the CornShot chip data. "Doesn't look much like corn at all, though," she muttered to herself, as she focused on the plane which her earlier attack had fired off towards.

Drawing her breath, Scourge then released the ball of light towards it, adding a bit more power to it with a spin in her toss. However, her aim wasn't quite towards the plane itself. Instead, she directed it towards a part of their makeshift raft, in order to confuse its intended target as to where the attack was heading. While the plane might see a flunked attack, in reality, the ball would ideally then ricochet off of the floor towards the closest available target, the fighter plane itself.

// Summary
[Sc.1] Sig: Reinforced Linens: 40HP Casing @ Self
[Sc.2] Chip: CurseShield1Damage: (1 Hit Shield) + (Counter(160): On-Hit)
Accuracy: A
Description: Blocks one attack, teleports to face the attacker, and then charges the target to deliver a crushing bite attack. Break attacks will pierce the defense, but only Impact will stop the Dominerd's Counter.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: D
: (1 Hit Shield) + (Counter(160): On-Hit) (Acc: A) @ Self, pointed towards FighterBomber V1A
[Sc.3] Chip: Synapse1Damage: 80 + Piercing + Chain 2
Accuracy: B
Description: Produces a powerful ray through sheer force of thought, which arcs towards nearby enemies when it hits a target.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Special: Chain 2: This attack, upon striking a target, may change directions towards a new target. This may be done up to 2 times in one attack.
Trader Rank: D
: 80 + Piercing + Chain 2 (Acc: B) @ FighterBomber V1B
[Sc.4] Chip: CornShot1Damage: 50 + Trick-Shot Spread 1
Accuracy: A / A
Description: Fires a smart-bomb tipped bullet that explodes and fires a second shot that auto-targets the nearest enemy.
Duration: Once
Element: Wood
Special: Trick Shot Spread: Automatically aims and spreads damage at one enemy nearest the point of impact. Can shoot around corners and bank off walls, floors, etc.
Trader Rank: D
: 50 + Trick-Shot Spread 1 (Acc: A / A) @ Magnet Floor, FighterBomber V1B (Buff +16)
"Sweet, just as planned! I think this fight is-ack!" Martia turned to her busting partner just in time to see her bandages...well, not doing a very good job of covering her up. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as they quickly returned to normal. Phew, she was pretty sure she nearly saw Scourge's...well, anyway, it wasn't a concern anymore. "Just a few left...but there's still those planes out there, so we're not totally out of the woods just yet!...Metaphorically speaking."

"Gee, wouldn't have guessed you weren't being literal, when you're surrounded by lava and stalactites. And yeah, I remember what stalactites are. Suck it, science class!"

"Actually, those are what hang from the ceiling. These would be more along the lines of stalagmites."

"...You sure about that?"

"Yeah, pretty sure."

"...Well, damn!" Almost. She ALMOST looked smart there. "Let's just wrap this up already. Now where is it...there. BattleChip, Avalanche! Slot in!"

The fighter Navi looked over at the FighterBombers, albeit not really doing anything. But the chip data reacted to her sight, and formed as three piles of snow, one above each metavirus...and one just sorta hanging out between the two, with no real target. After a blink, each one unceremoniously succumbed to gravity and fell down, with any luck right on the planes. The Navi folded her arms across her chest afterward, seemingly discontent with the lack of hitting things on her own.

"Actually, we shouldn't lose sight of CLOSER problems." Her big issue was actually more who was getting hit, not who was doing the hitting. "Get me GutsPunch, Leslie. Pronto!"

"But it's hiding, so its helmet will block all the damag...oh. OH. Gotcha! BattleChip, GutsPunch! Slot in!" Yeah, now that she realized what her Navi was up to, that was more than arrangable.

This time, it was Martia's right foot that got the treatment, her boot turning large and yellow, with a black sole. She walked over to the Mettaur, and planted her heel...right next to it. She moved her foot back a bit..."Fore!" ...And smacked it with the side of her foot. Whether it had come out of hiding or not, she didn't care in the least. Even if it was hiding, she was fairly confident that she could still knock it into the lava. Ironic, considering at first she'd tried to save it from that fate...but that was before it decided to be an ingrate. "Ungrateful jerk! That's called karma!"

"Oh, right! Before everything's over, you could use a tune up. Here! BattleChip, Recover80! Slot in!"

Martia experienced a moment of pink overload, as her entire body glowed pink, and her injuries rewritten to be non-injuries. "Huh, I'd almost totally forgotten I was hurt. Thanks!"

"Way to not be totally aware of your situation."

"Hey! At least I'd still be okay, even if you hadn't done that!" Her arms were folded across her chest once more, this time staring more intently at any enemy that hadn't yet been scattered into miscellaneous data. Whatever they tried, she was now ready to avoid it.

[Order of Turn:
1- Avalanche1Damage: 50 x 3 Targets + Drop Attack + Freeze 10%
Accuracy: C
Description: The navi slams their fists together to make a loud noise. A shower of snow drops down on up to 3 targets. There's normally a 10% chance of freezing a target on-hit, but a guarantee if the target is on Snow Terrain.
Duration: Once
Element: Aqua
Special: Ice Type: This chip counts as Ice Type for the purposes of potentially freezing targets on Aqua Element Terrain or environments, as applicable.
Special: Drop Attack: This attack originates above the battlefield, and falls to the ground. It gains one rank of accuracy against High Altitude targets.
Trader Rank: D
on FighterBomberA and FighterBomberB
2-Take aim on Metool (accuracy boost)
3- GutsPunchDamage: 70 + Impact + Knockback
Accuracy: A
Description: Creates a large fist for the user to punch with. Anything it hits is knocked back a sizable distance, even objects.
Duration: Until Overridden/Broken. Breaks automatically after 6 swings.
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D
on Metool (+1 accuracy rank)
4- Recover80Recovery: 80 HP
Accuracy: S
Description: Heals 80 HP.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C
on Martia
5-Dodge]
With the uneven spinning of the raft jostling its passengers back and forth, long rudder-like hook rattling and crashing against pillars and changing the speed and direction every few seconds, it was increasingly difficult for either of the two beleaguered navis to make clean eyes on the remaining fighter planes. Scourge reinforced her defences while Martia did her best to bring down the house while their two mobile foes were still out over the lava. It was a good choice for her to make, in the circumstance, because even as inaccurate as the falling chunks of snow generally were, they were at least unhindered by the spinning of the raft. the more damaged of the two planes twisted and swooped erratically out of the way, seemingly by chance, but the more stable of the two bombers took a nasty blow as the impact drove it close to the lave, and the resultant spire of flash-frozen rock rent a deep tear in its chassis. Something must have been torn open internally, because the two began to hear a constant string of insane-sounding radio chatter emanating from the fighter as it righted itself.

It was about at the moment that the two torpedoes launched towards their raft earlier finished their return arc. Scourge was readying her shield, but the submerged projectiles were angling to strike up from the underside of the raft, and for these particular weapons, it wasn't going to avail her. fortunate then, that the torpedo sent out by the second fighter missed its return run as well, while the blast from the first one struck the raft to absolutely no effect; Scourge's earlier disruption of its weapons seemed to have done a number on the plane and even its heaviest bombs were failing to cause a mark.

Amidst the rushing of the wind as the raft sped onwards and downwards across the sea of magma, the viral chatter over the compromised fighter's radio cleared up briefly, just long enough for Scourge and Martia to hear worried phrases being sent by the deranged pilot. Something to the effect that it was badly damaged, that all of its weapons were compromised, that it was utterly unable to harm or hinder any of the targets whatsoever in its current condition... and perhaps more interestingly, that it was pulling out because of these factors. The radio returned to insane jibbering and laughter a moment later, but it did seem to be peeling off, albeit in an uneven and erratic fashion.

While Martia set her sights on the remaining metool, Scourge unleashed a blistering bolt of synaptic energy towards the fighter that wasn't running away; it had begun to cross over their raft at pace now, dropping bombs in a line, though this time, in its badly damaged and sputtering state, it seemed to be dumping the vast majority of its internal cargo, to decrease weight, and only a few of the falling objects were actually explosives. None of the things that actually exploded as they fell managed to do so anywhere near the raft, but between its fast, unpredictable movement and Scourge's difficulty aiming the shot, the bolt of energy missed its mark as well. Martia, at least, was on mark; the remaining metool peeked up from under its helmet just in time to see the angry martial-artist bearing down on it, squeaked in terror, and ducked back under its hat, but this wasn't about to save it as the force of Martia's punch launched the little virus off the magnet panels and away into the boiling rock beyond.

With the current battle almost done with Martia took a short time out to restore her injuries, while Scourge took another go at the fighter she'd missed with her electrical bolt, making an impressive trick shot off the panels and sending the smart-round pinging away into the forest of columns. It shot passed the damage plane, and for a moment looked like it had missed, but a moment later the projectile came screaming back out of the darkness to dear brutally through the main body of the fighter with an explosion and he sound of tearing metal. The plane spun downwards and crashed headlong into a pillar, destroying it in a gout of smoke and flame, while chunk of rock rained down into the lava all around.

the fleeing bomber streaked ahead ofthe raft ,trying to make distance now while smoke billowed from its damaged engines. The rushing lava had begun to take on a slight curve as it went, and the columns thinned more and more. The slope grew steeper, and at last, the two raft-goers would be able to see what looked like a great, swirling sink-hole directly ahead, which the rapids were drawing them towards. With a rough lurch, their raft stopped, a splash of magma washing over the tiles before diverting around it again; the extended hook shape had caught around one of the final stone pillars, holding fast now as the rush of lava dragged at their life-boat. the vortex before them was black in the centre, with little to tell what waited below, but as they watched a long, thing snake of what looked like liquid rock lashed up from the void and wrapped around the fleeing fighter plane with a crunch, dragging it downwards and out of sight. Something was rising in the centre of the whirlpool, and the girls had only a short while to decide what they wanted to do about it from their difficult position. The last battle was over, that was for certain, but the next didn't seem like it was going to wait around all day. More feelers began reaching up out of the blackness at the centre of the drain.

-=River Raiders=-
FighterBomber V1FighterBomber V1 (FighterBomber)

FighterBombers are a combination of FighterPlane, Ratty, and Kabutank viruses. They appear to be a miniature model of an A-10 fighter-bomber that has had the tips of the wings replaced with large ducted fans that it uses to stay airborne with. There are two smaller ducted fans on the tops of the rear wings as well. This virus moves about using thrust from two small jet engines mounted on the upper side of the craft's rear wings. The crazed viral pilot of the FighterPlane virus is present here as well, although the pilot now wears a modern visored fighter pilot's helmet and oxygen mask.

Area: All

HP: 290
Element: Null

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null + Spreadfire x 9 shots
Primary Attack Accuracy: D
Primary Attack Description: Strafes the enemy with autocannon fire.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Blast2 x 4 Bombs
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a rack of bombs on a line of targets. The bombs target panels, not enemies. Each bomb must be dropped on a new panel, as the attack is executed while moving only.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Seeking + Homing + Ground Attack + Blast 3
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Drops a ground torpedo to seek out and destroy targets.

Special: OmniShoes
Special: Cornered Panic: When HP drops below half, this virus gains permanent Haste.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): AirRaid1, DoubleBomb, SeekerBomb1, Ratton1, FastGauge, Zenny.
A: CRUNCH
FighterBomber V1FighterBomber V1 (FighterBomber)

FighterBombers are a combination of FighterPlane, Ratty, and Kabutank viruses. They appear to be a miniature model of an A-10 fighter-bomber that has had the tips of the wings replaced with large ducted fans that it uses to stay airborne with. There are two smaller ducted fans on the tops of the rear wings as well. This virus moves about using thrust from two small jet engines mounted on the upper side of the craft's rear wings. The crazed viral pilot of the FighterPlane virus is present here as well, although the pilot now wears a modern visored fighter pilot's helmet and oxygen mask.

Area: All

HP: 290
Element: Null

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null + Spreadfire x 9 shots
Primary Attack Accuracy: D
Primary Attack Description: Strafes the enemy with autocannon fire.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Blast2 x 4 Bombs
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a rack of bombs on a line of targets. The bombs target panels, not enemies. Each bomb must be dropped on a new panel, as the attack is executed while moving only.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Seeking + Homing + Ground Attack + Blast 3
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Drops a ground torpedo to seek out and destroy targets.

Special: OmniShoes
Special: Cornered Panic: When HP drops below half, this virus gains permanent Haste.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): AirRaid1, DoubleBomb, SeekerBomb1, Ratton1, FastGauge, Zenny.
B: BOOM
NeedlerNeedler (Needler)

Needlers only attack forward, left and right. They cannot attack targets above and below their position, nor can they shoot backwards. Needlers do not move (aside from aiming) aside from their secondary attack, though they will use it to reposition themselves if they find it necessary.

Area: Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town

HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null x 2 Shots x 3 Targets
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires needles in 3 directions.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Movement + Impact + Knockback / 5 Null x 3 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C / A
Secondary Attack Description: Rams forward with surprising speed, then fires a burst of needles while the enemy is still startled.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 2 Wood x 8 Shots
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Shoots a storm of wooden needles at a single enemy.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Needler1, NeedleCannon1 (Rare), Zenny
A: DELETED
NeedlerNeedler (Needler)

Needlers only attack forward, left and right. They cannot attack targets above and below their position, nor can they shoot backwards. Needlers do not move (aside from aiming) aside from their secondary attack, though they will use it to reposition themselves if they find it necessary.

Area: Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town

HP: 90
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null x 2 Shots x 3 Targets
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Fires needles in 3 directions.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Movement + Impact + Knockback / 5 Null x 3 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C / A
Secondary Attack Description: Rams forward with surprising speed, then fires a burst of needles while the enemy is still startled.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 2 Wood x 8 Shots
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Shoots a storm of wooden needles at a single enemy.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Needler1, NeedleCannon1 (Rare), Zenny
B: DELETED
HardheadHardhead (HardHead)

HardHeads alternate actions between attacking and guarding. These are the only actions HardHeads may perform, and the first action of every battle is always guarding. Hardheads will not break from this pattern unless forced to by status effects. HardHeads cannot be lifted or thrown, even with Rageclaw.

Area: Electown, Kotobuki Town, Dentech

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Null + Break + Panel Break
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Fires Cannonball. Breaking. Breaks Panels.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Wrecker, Zenny
Special: Immobile.
- Iron Body when not attacking.
A: LAVA BATH
HardheadHardhead (HardHead)

HardHeads alternate actions between attacking and guarding. These are the only actions HardHeads may perform, and the first action of every battle is always guarding. Hardheads will not break from this pattern unless forced to by status effects. HardHeads cannot be lifted or thrown, even with Rageclaw.

Area: Electown, Kotobuki Town, Dentech

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Null + Break + Panel Break
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Fires Cannonball. Breaking. Breaks Panels.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Wrecker, Zenny
Special: Immobile.
- Iron Body when not attacking.
B: LAVA BATH
Megalian-FMegalian-F (Megalian-F)

All Megalian-F viruses are equipped with Omnishoes, and fight from the air. This virus type will spend an Action Dodging, and then Attack the following Action. If there are more than one Megalian (family does not matter) the viruses will work together, alternating their attack Actions or attacking as a group (mod's discretion). When attacking, both the head and the base can be damaged separately (if the Aura protecting the base has been destroyed).

Area: Netfrica, Hades Isle

HP: 130
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Fire + Break + Piercing + Group attack.
Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches its head at the enemy. Accuracy decreases with each hit.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): AuraHead1, Barrier, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes: capable of free flight.
- Dodges every other Action. Attacks when not dodging.
- Has a 10HP Fire Aura (Pierced and destroyed by Aqua attacks).
- Can be attacked while head is extended.
: DELETED

MetoolMetool (Metool)

Metools not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Piercing + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Whacks ground with pickaxe, sending forth a shockwave.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Throws a mattock at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Guard1, ShockWave, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
: PUNTED
NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.
A: DELETED
NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.
B: DELETED

-=Raft Riders=-
Martia: 250Hp [Magnet][On the Magnet Raft]
Scourge: 150Hp [Magnet][On the Magnet Raft]

-=Rough Recourse=-
40% Magnet [Martia and Scourge's raft — circular with long, wavy hook shape protruding from one side. Currently hooked onto a pillar in the lava flow]
55% Lava [So Much Lava]
5% Normal [one spot on the raft where the cornshot hit it]

-=Battle 4, Victory!=-

Spoils:
Martia gets: 1500z, AirRaid1HP: 100
Properties: Normal, Omnishoes, Mobile
Object Damage: 50 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Gun Attack Damage: 10 x 10 Shots
Accuracy: A
Description: Summons a fighter plane to strafe your enemies.
Duration: 3 turns or Until destroyed
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D
, 29 BugFrags
Scourge Gets: 1500z, FastGaugeEffect: Haste
Accuracy: S
Description: Dodge rate up 10% for 3 turns for one ally.
Duration: 3 turns
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C
, 29 BugFrags

Both get: 5 Mutual FXP, plus and additional 2 for interactions
As if matters in their present situation could get any more ridiculous than they currently were, it was about in this moment, with lava rushing to either side of them, towards a swirling vortex of as ink-hole into a black void below, with strange magma-tentacles curling their way up, all while Scourge and Martia were standing precariously on a platform of magnet panels that rocked and swaying in a flow, held back from the brink only by virtue of being hooked around one of the final stone pillars before all supports ended.... that the pair began to hear a soft, high-pitched humming sound.

It came from above, and sounded vaguely like a woman humming the danger theme to some ancient action spy movie to herself. A figure zipped down from the darkness above them, clad all in black fabrics that completely concealed her form, except for the eyes, and a pair of long rabbit ears. Oh, and a goofy christmas hat in white felt, with three bells and a red pom-pom on the end... and an overly conspicuous white bunny tail... the not-exactly-ninja was about three feet tall and suspended on a slender wire cable as she dropped towards them, coming to a halt just above their precarious platform. She reached the crescendo of her dramatic humming just as the cable stopped her descent.

"Some of you guys are super hard to find, you know... What even is this place?" Her voice was chirpy and bright, and about what one might expect from her small stature. "Oh well, season's greetings! Enjoy!" Reaching into a small pocket at her waist, she produced a tiny green crystal that, when she threw it down to the platform, resolved into a full-sized mystery data, followed by a secondary object that stuck to the side of it and performed a quick untrap check. "Good luck with your... lava.. tentacle.. thing. whatever that is...." She twisted on the cable to watch the rising mass of tendrils curl upwards, shuddered visibly, then began to swiftly zip back up her safety cable and disappear from sight. Left behind, the data was quick to open up and reward the two adventurers with fresh gifts for their future battles.

Scourge Get: MachineGun1Damage: (30 x 9 Shots) + Spray Fire
Accuracy: D
Description: Creates a machine gun that fires 9 shots at a single enemy. While inaccurate, its missed shots are capable of hitting others.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Spray Fire: If a shot from this attack misses its primary target, it has a chance to hit something near the enemy instead of completely missing. Good RP increases the chance of triggering this effect.
Trader Rank: D

Martia Get: NumberBall1Damage: ?? x 3 Targets
Accuracy: C
Description: Player rolls out three balls towards the enemies, each one with an attack power equal to the players last two HP digits when they were launched (I.E. 1940HP = 40dmg balls)
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D
"Yeah! Suck it!" cheered Scourge, as she landed the final shot on one of the last enemies on the field in a blaze of fire and smoke. "Whoo! You got it!" Her operator wasn't one to be left out of the festivities either, whooping with her fist in the air in celebration. With the rush of victory flowing through them, neither of them had really noticed the changes in their surroundings. Without really caring much to watch for the last fleeing plane, she turned towards Martia, who had so kindly smacked away one of the Metools off of their "raft". Which kind of didn't look very much like a raft at the moment, thanks to her dragon summoning shenanigans.

"Good job, Marti-- Whoa, whoa!" said Scourge, before she was rudely interrupted by the jerking platform being caught on one of the pillars. Luckily, it was a lot easier to keep her footing steady on the magnetized panels, though it still gave her quite a jolt. Instinctively, her eyes went to where the raft had been going. If there had been color to drain from her face, it would have done so, as her eyes met with a swirling black vortex. Her pupils dilated visibly as a tendril of liquid rock pulled the plane into the whirlpool, swallowing it up easily within its burning depths.

At that moment, the rabbit-ish person, clad in complete black, chose to make her unexpected entrance. Further afterwards, as the mystery data crystal clattered onto the platform and decrypted itself, the situation continued to muddle up Scourge even more, into a mix of confusion and fear. However, it didn't quite occur to her, or her operator, to retract from the encounter; the idea had slipped from their minds thanks to the shock of the event-- and in the back of their minds, a hidden desire to see what was going to be revealed from the depths of the vortex.

[Z > 4495, BF > 50, F > 18.]
[Battle 5 - Ready!]
[Scourge.EXE: 150 HP.]
"And THAT...is why you don't mess with me!" Martia puffed out her chest as the Mettaur went sailing into the boiling lava below. "I still can't believe they didn't even hesitate to attack us after I rescued them..."

"Can't save them all, I guess. Some are just evil no matter what you do. That's true of more than viruses, too..."

"Yeah...that's kinda sad, if you ask me." She unceremoniously snagged her portion of the reward data, and transferred it over. "At least that's over...grk!" Before she could address her partner in busting, the hook brought their raft to a screeching halt...though thanks to the magnet panel, it was more a surprise than something actually dangerous. "Well, that's just great. Guess we'll need to snap off the hook to proced...Scourge? What are you-" The martial artist cut herself off as she noticed the void, and the tentacle from it dragging in the plane. "...Oh gods, NOW what's going on?!"

As if on cue, a bunny girl descended upon them, presented the pair with mystery data, then returned from whence she came before they could even thank her. "...Well, maybe we'll get more stuff from what we're about to fight." She knew the drill well enough that she knew the vortex was, directly or indirectly, going to be their next challenge. Sure enough, opening it yielded a new chip, which got sent over. But Martia's focus was elsewhere, as she gazed upon their inevitable foe.

(Ready for Battle #5)
With their precarious raft held at a stop amidst the flowing current, only a short distance from the circling vortex of funnelling lava, Scourge and Martia took a moment to ready themselves for whatever it was that was inevitably rising from the depths to greet them.

It started with a tendril or two made of liquid magma, but as more and more poked up from the centre of the sink hole, a shape within began to rise. It was hard to see at first, but before long they could both make out a writhing mass of semi-liquid lava tentacles forming a huge, amorphous blob in the middle of the pool. There were no discernible facial features or anything else that might lead to the hope that it was friendly, just more and more tentacles rising from the lava. A veritable wall of swaying, reaching, curling limbs had lifted up between the navis and the centre of the mass, but as it pulsed and wriggled, there was the sense that it was drawing inwards, too, and hastening the flow of lava; if either of them fell in now, getting back out would be problematic, and if the arm of their life boat snapped, they'd risk being quickly sucked into the centre of the mass.

Some might consider the prospect of a many tentacled creature to be potentially interesting.. but likely not when it was entirely made of lava. As much as the mass of the creature seemed to be in the centre of the vortex, it looked as though its reach was dangerously long; all around them, several burning limbs began to rise from the lava as well, writhing and swaying back and forth right up at the edge of their platform.

Just when they might be assuming this was the worst of it... a drip of something inky and black fell to the moving lava with a hiss, and then another. Looking up into the dark, all-consuming blackness above them, a similar shape moved and began to descend gradually, like an over-sized water-drop on the ceiling. There was no telling how large it was, or what it was connected to; there was no visible roof to where they were, and the shape simply appeared from the gloom. Oily colours played across the surface of the black mass, but much like the creature mirrored below it, it was supported by an uncomfortable number of tentacles and tendrils, these ones dark and black, like they were made of shadow. It sounded... wet...

Just like the creature below, the creature above began to reach for them, sending numerous tentacles to reach down towards their raft, and to emerge from the shadows on either side. As well as their many various minor tendrils and tentacles, both massive creatures seemed to sport four primary tentacles, two of which were waving forward offensively, and two of which hung back, covering their bodies as though defending. This was a tight spot, and no mistake.

-=Shadow and Flame=-

MagmaMass.dmp: 300Hp [2-hit shield][Equipped: Writhing Mass][More than 2 Movements away]
ShadowMass.dmp: 300Hp [2-hit shield][Equipped: Roiling Mass][More than 2 Movements away]

Mini Magma Flail: 5Hp [Edge of raft, left side]
Minor Magma Flail 10Hp [Edge of raft, front left]
Mini Shadow Whip 5Hp [Edge of raft, right side]
Minor Shadow Whip 10hp [Edge of raft, front right]

-=Bandage and Battle=-

Martia: 250Hp [Magnet][On the Magnet Raft]
Scourge: 150Hp [Magnet][On the Magnet Raft]

-=Objects and associated tentacles=-

Wall of Dark Limbs: 35Hp [15Hp Barrier][Curved over ShadowMass]
Wall of Burning Limbs: 35Hp [15Hp Barrier][Encircling MagmaMass]

Writhing Mass: 15Hp [15Hp Casing][Equipped over MagmaMass]
Roiling Mass: 15Hp [15Hp Casing][Equipped over ShadowMass]

-=Lava Flow=-

20% Magnet [Martia and Scourge's raft — circular with long, wavy hook shape protruding from one side. Currently hooked onto a pillar in the lava flow]
70% Lava [So Much Lava]
10% Missing [Centre of the vortex, where MagmaMass resides]
Plus one single panel of Normal, on the raft, where the CornShot from last battle hit, small enough to not register a proper percentage on a larger battlefield, but not forgotten.

Terrain is a fast-flowing lava river, moving towards a swirling central vortex, and thus on an inward incline. Terrain changes applied to the lava will take effect briefly, but will most likely be washed away shortly afterwards as the lava flows. Targets swimming in the lava will be pulled towards the centre by one movement at the end of the round. Being eaten by the MagmaMass, in this instance, equates to falling into the missing section, and all regular consequences that that entails.

-=Battle 5, Start!=-
"Holy shiiiiiiiit!"

As the tentacled monsters in front of them flailed their monstrous limbs about, Scourge's vulgar exclamation played from of her operator's PET at a disturbingly ear-piercing pitch. Sofia instinctively covered her ears within the first few moments, but even then they were ringing for a little while. "S-Scourge? Are you gonna be okay?" ventured Sofia, though she wasn't exactly convinced the appendage-wielding mass of molten rock was a good sign.

"The hell do you think I'm gonna be okay?! I like fighting things but anyone can see this is kind of too much, isn't it?!" complained Scourge, as she tried to stay her ground on the raft, which was slowly being drawn towards the monster. Instinctively, the wrappings around her body began to twist about in a complex formation, rebinding about her vulnerable spots to protect her from the usual attacks.

"H-Hang on, I'll send you some stuff in!" said Sofia, as she sent in the usual first chip, as well as one of the last chips that had been ejected from the PET's chip slot earlier on.

In the middle of her panicking, Scourge heard the click of the chip data being sent down at the back of her mind, and forced herself to calm down slightly. Looking down at her arm, the bundles of bandages around it extended more and more, until her arm was almost entirely encased in a cocoon of off-grey. Her eye glared towards the massive wall of fiery tendrils, and a brief red gleam escaped from her eye. "All right, all right, chill. Let's do this," she breathed to herself, at the same time turning towards her partner.

"Martia! I'm going to try to focus on the one that's trying to suck us in! Give me a hand!" she yelled. Then, activating the battlechip within her processes, the thick bindings that wound around her arm shuffled open, revealing a set of nine barrels extruding outwards. The barrels whirred to life before firing a powerful salvo of energy bullets, forcing Scourge's knees to buckle under the wild recoil. "W-Whaaaaaa!" she yelled, struggling to keep her footing as the bullets flew, mostly towards the wall of tentacles, but some of them also being directed towards the ones that were around their raft.

// Summary
[Sc.1] Sig: Reinforced Linens: 40HP Casing @ Self
[Sc.2] Chip: Aqua+20Status: Aqua Element UP 20, Stackable
Accuracy: S
Description: Adds 20 Damage to all hits of an Aqua Element attack chip, before any external environment-related or target-related damage modifiers apply.
Duration: Once
Element: Aqua
Trader Rank: D
: Aqua Element UP 20, Stackable (Acc: S) @ MagmaMass (Debuff: 20)
[Sc.3] Chip: MachineGun1Damage: (30 x 9 Shots) + Spray Fire
Accuracy: D
Description: Creates a machine gun that fires 9 shots at a single enemy. While inaccurate, its missed shots are capable of hitting others.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Spray Fire: If a shot from this attack misses its primary target, it has a chance to hit something near the enemy instead of completely missing. Good RP increases the chance of triggering this effect.
Trader Rank: D
: (30 x 9 Shots) + Spray Fire (Acc: D) @ MagmaMass/Any objects in the way
[Sc.4] Act: Buster Shot: Null 10 @ Minor Magma Flail
[Sc.*] Act: Buff @ Mini Magma Flail (Debuff: 16)
Despite thinking she was prepared for anything, Martia visibly flinched as tentacles rose up from the sea of magma. And then again as a similar yet less lava based entity dropped from above. The internet established a long history that pretty girls going up against any sort of mass of tentacles ended...poorly, to say the least. That, combined with her recent history...needless to say, she didn't want to get near them.

...Or Scourge, as her sudden exclamation made the martial artist jump a foot into the air. "Yikes!...Scourge, I know it's terrifying and all, but geez..." She shook her head, the ear closer to the zombie ringing from the sheer volume of the shriek. "But we can't get shaken up just because they're weird and made of lava...and capable of turning this trip into a bad hentai!"

"Don't worry, Martia. We're not letting you get violated like that!" Oh hey, that was a perfect segue into her first chip. Neat. "This'll protect all your orifices! BattleChip, BubbleWrap! Slot in!"

While the sight of a bubble surrounding her was usually reassuring, the protection it gave here felt different...like she could actually loosen up a little, and not have to worry about watching every angle for incoming tentacles. "Thanks...you honestly don't know how much better I feel with this around me."

"No prob. But, I dunno what to do next. Where do we even start?"

"Hmm. I have an idea on that. Can you send over that dragon?"

"Yeah, but...oh, I get it. Gotcha. BattleChip, ElecDragon! Slot in!"

A pot materialized at the edge of the raft, and immediately flopped over to its side. A ThunderDragon flew out from it, and began quickly circling the makeshift boat. The tentacles would not deter it; as it drew near, the Elec elemental seemed to actually go out of its away to make sure they were in its path, even if that meant altering said path a bit. Beyond that, it was mostly about enlarging the area they had to work with, before it reached its quota of magnetizing the area beneath it wherever it went, and vanished.

"Okay, so I got this idea. You know the saying 'fight fire with fire'? Let's find out if that actually works!" After all, in the internet, you could literally be made of fire and still take as much damage from it as anyone else. "BattleChip, FireHit! Slot in!"

While Martia's extremities became cloaked in flame, the rest of her didn't seem overly pleased. "You know, I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to be taken literally..." But, since she already sent the chip data over..."I guess it won't hurt to see, though." Besides, now she could test something out. She took a deep breath, focusing on a couple of tentacle collections off in the distance. She then reared back, and performed a hook punch. The fire over her fist rocketed forward, unfazed by the concept of the fact there was a great deal of distance between the puncher and the punchee, and arced over to smack the protected extremity...but curiously, that wasn't the end of the attack. It kept going, trying to smack the other mass protecting the being of magma. Regardless of whether it fully succeeded, the martial artist silently nodded to herself, seeing that her idea had worked. It probably wouldn't work on all that many chips, but on ones that were only meant to hit one enemy, she could probably put her technique to the test and get it to hit an extra target.

Speaking of hit, she didn't want that to happen to her, especially not by a foe like...well, like THAT. Sure, she was being somewhat constrained by the Magnet terrain under her feet, but she wasn't about to let that stop her from avoiding unspeakable horrors.

[Order of Turn:
1- BubbleWrap1Protection: 1-hit Aqua element barrier, per turn, for 3 turns
Accuracy: S
Description: Encases the user in a protective bubble, which can take a single hit before bursting. The bubble reforms at the beginning of each turn. Elec attacks completely destroy the bubble and damage the user.
Duration: Until end of battle, hit with an Elec attack, or overridden.
Element: Aqua
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Special: If an Elec element attack hits BubbleWrap, it is destroyed, and will no longer regenerate. The user will also take full damage from the attack.
Special: The bubble regeneration stops after 3 turns. An existing bubble will remain in place until broken, however.
Trader Rank: D
on Martia
2- ElecDragon1Damage: 100 + Ground Attack + Medium Area Magnet Terrain Change + Terrain Changer
Accuracy: C
Description: Summons a ThunderDragon that attacks enemies as it glides across the ground. Changes terrain to Magnet as it passes.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Special: Terrain Changer: Ceases attacking when the Terrain Change effect is completed (once 25% of the terrain is changed).
Trader Rank: D
on Mini Magma Flail, Minor Magma Flail, Mini Shadow Whip, and Minor Shadow Whip
3- FireHit1Damage: 60 + Impact + Double Attack
Accuracy: A
Description: Throws a blazing punch from a distance, Hadoken style.
Duration: Up to 2 uses before the end of the turn
Element: Fire
Special: Double Attack: After spending an action to attack with this chip, you may choose to spend a second action and attack with it again before the end of the turn.
Trader Rank: D
on Wall of Burning Limbs and Writhing Mass (Roundhouse applied) (+1 accuracy rank, Melee Mastery)
4- FireHit1Damage: 60 + Impact + Double Attack
Accuracy: A
Description: Throws a blazing punch from a distance, Hadoken style.
Duration: Up to 2 uses before the end of the turn
Element: Fire
Special: Double Attack: After spending an action to attack with this chip, you may choose to spend a second action and attack with it again before the end of the turn.
Trader Rank: D
on Writhing Mass (+1 accuracy rank, Melee Mastery)
5-Dodge]
Surrounded on all sides by an assortment of molten and slimy tendrils and tentacles, Martia and scourge had their work cut out for them, with potentially a little more than life and limb on the line. the first step, obviously, was to ensure that their important regions were more thoroughly protected from assault, but even as they each readied a protective measure, more of the wriggling limbs emerged from the lava, and trailed down from the mass far overhead. The occasional drip of liquid fell to the molten rock below with a hiss of steam.

Two particularly thick limbs seemed to emerge behind the other ones, one of lava, and one of dark, shadowy fluid, each pulsing slightly, but there wasn't a lot of time to examine them — the horde of smaller limbs began to whips and poke at the two navis in rapid succession, assailing them with small slaps, prods and strikes from all directions. Not all of them managed to connect; one hit scourge without managing to cause any damage to her bandages, after being debuffed a moment earlier, while another slapped harmlessly off Martia's freshly applied BubbleWrap shell — the magnet panels might be great for helping to keep them on the raft, but they were making outright dodging the incoming assortment of minor attacks very difficult. Despite their best efforts, several of the tendrils manages to hit each of them; there was no denying that the shadowy ones felt wet and slimy, as much as the molten ones burned.

Scourge had just the thing to take the punch out of their primary foe, weakening the creature at the centre of the magma mass while Martia, having had enough of the burgeoning mass of small fry, took action to both enlarge and stabilise their raft, and to clean them all out,. Her dragon raced around in a widening loop, tearing through the tendrils that were clustered around the edges of the raft, and though it didn't quite manage to strike them all, something worrisome began to happen from the moment it struck the first one. The tentacle exploded, violently, sending gobs of lava in every direction. Each tentacle that was destroyed began to detonate in the same way, causing a chain reaction amongst the feelers that quickly spread through, destroying any of the ones the dragon itself had missed.

Unfortunately, Martia and Scourge were not exempt from the rapid series of blasts, and both of them were showered liberally in tiny chunks of magma and slimy ooze. They didn't really hurt very much, in truth, but if that was the price of destroying the smaller tendrils, it might begin to build up over time. If seemed as though, the larger the tentacle, the more damage it was capable of inflicting when it exploded — the thicker ones had detonated with the most force by far.

In the aftermath of the chain of exploding tentacles, a thinner, more sinister snake of magma curled up over the edge of the newly extended raft, and wrapped itself quickly in a brief hug right around Scourge's middle. It didn't have enough presence to tug or pull her at all, and it slithered away again almost immediately, but it left a lingering burning sensation that scalded away, even underneath her bandages... In Scourge's case, it might not actually hurt her, per se, but the sensation remained, and it was clearly causing damage with every shift of her body.

The bandaged navi's retaliation came swift and wild, in the form of a salvo of heavy machine gun rounds. It wasn't a terribly accurate spray of fire, but the magma mass was large, and not hard to hit — in many cases, where her shots missed the central mass that she aimed it, they struck the wall of limbs before it instead, tearing through the creature's defences bit by bit. Martia followed up with an arcing, overhead strike, slamming the shockwave of her firehit down across both the creature, and its wall of defending limbs this strike finished up what Scourge had started, and blasted the remaining tentacles back down into the lava, leaving the core of the creature exposed for the moment; it was simply a mass of liquid magma, beneath, with no visible features, but all the same it reacted quickly, sweeping the platform with a thick, broad tentacle that sought to bat Martia away into the lava. The swipe was clearly aimed for Martia herself, and the martial-artist was flung back and to the side by the blow, coming dangerously close to a drunk in the fast-flowing river. Thanks to Scourge's earlier tactic, the strike itself barely hurt her at all, but the threat of a lava bath wasn't something to be discounted. Amidst the distraction, one of the main arms from the dark mass overhead snaked down and tried to curl around Scourge, but it couldn't quite get a hold of her the way it seemed to want to, and withdrew again after a moment, retreating into the dark shape as it lurked.

Martia had another strike left in her, as she recovered from the throw that had knocked her to the very edge of the raft, and she hammered this one home, right into the core of the lava monster. It flailed again, from the other side this time, and managed to strike Scourge, throwing her back and out onto the stem of the raft, connecting it to their pillar. The blow, still weak thanks to her debuffing, was still enough to crush the last of her hardened bandages. Scourge shot it in return, just because. The shadow mass picked its moment, and reached down with its other reaching limb, this time snaring Martia in its coils as she delivered the heavier blow. the tentacle wrapping about her mid-section was damp, slick, slimy and generally gross — and since it hand't received the same treatment from scourge, it also had an uncomfortable amount of crushing strength to it as it lifted her up into the air above the raft, trying to pull her towards itself. The situation might seem a bit dire for Martia, but with any luck her BubbleWrap would be reforming any moment, and that might help her wriggle free.


-=Shadow and Flame=-

MagmaMass.dmp: 230Hp [Shields Broken][Writhing Mass Destroyed][Debuff: -20 All][More than 2 Movements away]
ShadowMass.dmp: 300Hp [2-hit shield][15Hp Casing][15Hp Barrier][Equipped: Roiling Mass][More than 2 Movements away]

-=Bandage and Battle=-

Martia: 196Hp [Over Magnet][Being pulled up by Shadow Tentacle][BubbleWrap (2 Turns)]
Scourge: 150Hp [Magnet][On the Magnet Raft][Lingering Sear: 5Fire, per action, 4 Actions remaining][Casing Destroyed]

-=Objects and associated tentacles=-

Wall of Dark Limbs: 35Hp [15Hp Barrier][Curved over ShadowMass]
Wall of Burning Limbs: DELETED

Writhing Mass: DELETED
Roiling Mass: 15Hp [15Hp Casing][Equipped over ShadowMass]

Mini Magma Flail: DELETED
Minor Magma Flail: DELETED
Mini Shadow Whip: DELETED
Minor Shadow Whip: DELETED
Mini Magma Flail 2: DELETED
Mini Shadow Whip 2: DELETED
Minor Magma Flail 2: DELETED
Minor Shadow Whip 2: DELETED
Thick Magma Tentacle: DELETED
Thick Shadow Tendril: DELETED

-=Lava Flow=-

30% Magnet [Martia and Scourge's raft - More stable and larger now, more firmly secured to its pillar anchorage]
60% Lava [So Much Lava]
10% Missing [Centre of the vortex, where MagmaMass resides]

Terrain is a fast-flowing lava river, moving towards a swirling central vortex, and thus on an inward incline. Terrain changes applied to the lava will take effect briefly, but will most likely be washed away shortly afterwards as the lava flows. Targets swimming in the lava will be pulled towards the centre by one movement at the end of the round. Being eaten by the MagmaMass, in this instance, equates to falling into the missing section, and all regular consequences that that entails.

"Mmmh... That kind of burnt a little."

As her nine-barreled machinegun mimicry made out of wraps wound down, Scourge grunted, lowering it down for the moment. She could smell her midsection burning, but the lack of pain meant that her earlier comment was more of an observation than a reaction. The combined efforts of Martia's attacks and her own had wiped out a fair bit of the tentacled terrors that had just recently been hellbent on getting their dirty cups on them. Unfortunately, the main body of the tentacles still remained. Worse still, it seemed to have taken a liking to her partner and wrapped one of its appendages around her! Looking down at the weapon in her hands, Scourge clicked her tongue.

"Dammit, I'm out of ammo... Hey, Sofia, gimme whatever else we've got! I'm still good to shoot!"

"Ah, um, hang on!" said Sofia, as she scraped through her folder. The Shotgun and CornShot seemed like a shoe-in, but she felt that something of this magnitude needed something more. Her eyes shone as she picked up a chip that displayed a massive bomb, the number advertised on its front being an impressive 120.

"Okay, I got you a big one!" said Sofia, as she sent in the chips that she decided on.

"Well, let's see how it fits, then!"

As soon as Scourge responded to her operator, her purple skin took on a glossy shine, and her bandages began to revolve and rewrap about her arms. It seemed like she using that one defensive chip again, which would easily deflect most forms of attack. The grin on her face widened as her weapon also transformed into something to fit the rest of the chips input. The faded cloth quickly took on the form of a single large grey arm-cannon, its barrel pointed directly at the red monstrosity instead of the black one she had been targeting earlier.

"Alright! Hang on, Martia!" she yelled, as she began firing once more. Solid buckshot burst out of the barrel towards her target as she tried to keep it steady, as even though the weapon itself was made of her own bandages, the recoil still proved to be as jarring as before. Twice she shot before the cannon stopped firing, and made some kind of click.

"Eh, huh? What kind of ammo did you--" she blurted out, before the cannon swelled up to an enormous size, and belched out a huge black ball. Unfortunately, it seemed to be a bit heavy and couldn't get much airtime towards the inky black tentacle monster, and as a result, seemed to sail out towards the lava monster instead. Scourge watched what she assumed to be a particularly heavy cannonball fly through the air, unaware that on the other side of the ball, a short fuse wire stayed unlit.

// Summary
[Sc.*] Act: Buff @ ShadowMass (Debuff: 16)
[Sc.1] Chip: UnderGuard1Protection: Damage Reduction 20
Accuracy: S
Description: Reduces the damage of all non-Impact attacks taken by 20. Impact ignores the effect and deals double damage.
Duration: 2 turns
Element: Null
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: D
: Damage Reduction 20 + Status 2-Turn (Acc: S)
[Sc.2] Chip: ShotgunDamage: 50 + Spread 1
Accuracy: A
Description: A gun whose shot penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: E
: 50 + Spread 1 (Acc: A) @ DarkLimb Wall/Roiling Mass
[Sc.3] Chip: CornShot1Damage: 50 + Trick-Shot Spread 1
Accuracy: A / A
Description: Fires a smart-bomb tipped bullet that explodes and fires a second shot that auto-targets the nearest enemy.
Duration: Once
Element: Wood
Special: Trick Shot Spread: Automatically aims and spreads damage at one enemy nearest the point of impact. Can shoot around corners and bank off walls, floors, etc.
Trader Rank: D
: 50 + Trick-Shot Spread 1 (Acc: A / A) @ DarkLimb Wall/Roiling Mass
[Sc.4] 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) @ Lava next to MagmaMass
Despite nearly getting pushed into a nice, hot lava bath, the most alarming part of recent developments for Martia was getting grabbed by a tentacle, and hauled upwards. There were any number of reasons a young lady would be concerned about this, but the slime managed to make her makeshift bindings slippery, and easier to escape from than would be expected. Yet, she resolved to wait a moment, as her new friend started firing things at the offending limbs. As they started to approach the tentacle, her BubbleWrap reformed, giving her even more slidability, and she simply popped out of the tentacle. "Leslie! MeteorKnuckle, now!"

...What a coincidence. If she hadn't slid out, that was the exact thing she was going to send over as a tentacle lockpick. "Already on it! BattleChip, MeteorKnuckle! Slot in!"

Thanks to how she had escaped, Martia's body was angled such that her back was to the floor, but tilted backwards. Thus, it was her feet that began to glow with a holy energy, despite the name of the incoming chip data. She rapidly started to kick the air, causing three boot-shaped projectiles to shoot out, and smack the offending tentacle mass for trying to give her nightmares for the next week...she had enough fuel for those the last few days to last her a lifetime. As she approached the ground, she simply flipped, allowing her to land gracefully on her feet. But as soon as she knew she was on solid ground, she took a good look at her midsection...it was still sore, but thanks to the slime making her outfit stick to it, it basically looked like her belly had body paint, showing off her slender, but well-toned abdomen. At least it hadn't grabbed her a bit higher..."Ow...for something that doesn't even have bones, that had some force behind it..."

"Nothing's broken or anything?"

"I'm okay. Just a little unnerved. That was almost really, really terrifying..."

"Yeah, my last encounter with tentacles didn't go so hot either, so I hear you on this one...but we need to focus, before they can try that again!"

"Yeah, you're right. ...Any ideas on what to do now? I'm not really sure how to proceed, here..."

"Well, I've got an idea. Remember that chip you got from that Mystery Data? If it does what it says it does, now's the perfect chance! Teach those bastards to think before they grab women like that! BattleChip, NumberBall! Slot in!"

A faint green aura surrounded Martia's body, though it was a bit stronger around her hands. However, it quickly intensified, until it nearly rendered the bubble around her invisible. "Number...Ball? ...Hmm, I see. Let's see, if I cup my hands in front of me, raise them towards that stupid tentacle mass...yah!!" Three ki balls shot out, one after the other, feeding on her current strength level. Clearly, they enjoyed her spirit's current taste, as each one was packed with destructive might. If even one managed to land a direct hit, the mass would feel it. "That felt weird...I think I'll stick with preferring punches and kicks."

"Fair enough...here, this should help you out with not taking more damage." It'd also help with dealing out damage, if it was called upon. Win-win. "BattleChip, CurseShield! Slot in!"

A Dominerd appeared between the martial artist Navi and the bubble wall, eyeing everything before it with severe disdain. If the bubble burst, and anything tried something funny...CHOMP. To say they would regret it would be putting it mildly. Sadly, if they all randomly ignored her, it would simply remain, doing nothing but glare in hatred. And Martia would definitely be trying to do so, as after that last run-in, she really wanted to do her best to avoid further grabs.

[Order of Turn:
0a-Escape shadowy tentacle (context sensitive action)
1- MeteorKnuckle1Damage: 30 + Impact + Break + Knockback + Variable Targeting x 3 Fists
Accuracy: B
Description: Launches a triple rocket punch. Each fist targets separately.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
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.
Trader Rank: D
chip attack on ShadowMass (+1 accuracy rank, Melee Mastery)
2- NumberBall1Damage: ?? x 3 Targets
Accuracy: C
Description: Player rolls out three balls towards the enemies, each one with an attack power equal to the players last two HP digits when they were launched (I.E. 1940HP = 40dmg balls)
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D
chip attack on ShadowMass
3- CurseShield1Damage: (1 Hit Shield) + (Counter(160): On-Hit)
Accuracy: A
Description: Blocks one attack, teleports to face the attacker, and then charges the target to deliver a crushing bite attack. Break attacks will pierce the defense, but only Impact will stop the Dominerd's Counter.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: D
chip on Martia
4-Dodge
5-Dodge]
Before the shadowy tentacle mass above their raft could manage anything nefarious, Martia managed to slip free of her captivity and drop back towards the relative safety of the raft, but not before sending a trio of tentacle-shredding energy kicks back up towards it. As she landed, more tendrils were already beginning to surround the raft, with fresh ones slithering up from the lava, and new shadowy ones reaching down all around them both.

More twisting snakes of darkness had coiled over the main body of the shape above while Martia fell, but her attack tore through the veritable mountain of appendages with brutal efficiency, rending away the limbs and causing them to rain down on their raft and into the lava with hisses and sizzles. The leading, covering wall of tendrils was torn away, as was the outer shell of finer, more covering ones lain against the mass's main body. She hadn't quite managed to expose the creature's dark core yet, her last kick threw aside the two largest, thickest tentacles covering its body, and there wasn't much else between them and what they had to hope was its truly vulnerable parts. An echoing, distorted sounded belted out from above as Martia tore into the creature's protections, and one of its other tentacles, a particularly large, thick black one lashed down at the raft, sweeping until it wrapped about Scourge and crushing hard as it tried to pull her up into the air. As the thick limb wrapped around her waist and hips, tugging upwards fiercely, the force of its grip would probably have been brutal indeed — despite Scourge's protective measures, and the way her glare had messed with it, too, it still managed to crush her hard enough to deal damage. Fortunately, it didn't manage to lift her, as the magnetic panels held the bandage-wrapped navi in place, and after a moment the long tentacle gave up and retreated.

In the centre of the lava vortex, the lava creature had pulled back slightly, coiling and reforming more protective tentacles over its core and between the girls and itself. They might be relieved that it wasn't attacking them directly, but it seemed as though, as long as it wasn't attacking, it was digging itself in and building up ever more lines and rows of waving, reaching tentacles.

Scourge began a volley of her own against the shadow creature, but the unpleasant squeezing from before left her aim off at first, and her shotgun blast went off into the darkness without really making a dent. Almost spitefully, two of the small tendrils that had just snaked close to the raft took small, lashing pot shots at the pair. The one aiming for Scourge missed, though the one that had a go at Martia managed to pop her bubble again with a flick. the Shadow creature might have been trying to use the minor attacks as a distraction, while it snaked a thin, dexterous feeler down through the shadows and tried to slip it about Martia again, but whatever the reason, it didn't manage to actually encircle her before the martial-artist noticed it, and the tendril retreated quickly as soon as it was caught.

Scourge took a second shot, this one aimed far better, and it connected with the mass of shadowy darkness, blasting away the last remains of covering limbs. The ricochet went wild, but what lay exposed underneath glistened wetly in the dark, in hues of blue and purple, and it pulsed. Following up, Martia had just the thing to send at the exposed body, blasting it with a triplicate shot of oddly empowered balls. They spiralled madly on the way up, and only one of them connected with it solidly, but when it did, the viral mass sent a second, louder, scream bellowing over the cavern, and it wobbled in place while it reeled from the hit.

In the moment of opportunity this presented, Scourge had one last shot to make, which she sent sailing off towards the magma creature. There was a faint 'Tsst—" as the bomb hit the lava, and then an echoing boom that send shock waves back towards them and made the raft rock slightly as the rapid flow of lava was temporarily diverted. Unfortunately for the girls, the Magma creature had been given enough to to reform at least some of its protective feelers and tentacles, and while the blast stripped away many of them, it the majority of the blasted was dampened and absorbed by the new limbs, which it forced back down into the lava without causing much harm to the creature itself.

Despite how it looked, it seemed that there was at least a limit on how quickly either of the two viral build-ups could reform themselves, and it was probably a safe bet that, despite working together, sort of, the two probably couldn't, or wouldn't defend each other deliberately — giving them time to recover, however, was just asking to be overwhelmed. Already, the shadow one had brought its defence tentacles back up, and its other, smaller ones wouldn't be far behind.

-=Shadow and Flame=-

MagmaMass.dmp: 230Hp [1-Hit Shield][Equipped: Writhing Mass][Debuff: -20 All][More than 2 Movements away]
ShadowMass.dmp: 204Hp [2-Hit Shield][More than 2 Movements away]

-=Bandage and Battle=-

Martia: 196Hp [Magnet][1-Hit CurseShield][BubbleWrap (1 Turn)][Status Guard]
Scourge: 116Hp [Magnet][DR: 20 (1 Turn)][Status Guard]

-=Objects and associated tentacles=-

Wall of Dark Limbs: DELETED
Wall of Burning Limbs: 35Hp [Barrier Broken!][Encircling MagmaMass]

Roiling Mass: DELETED
Writhing Mass: 15Hp [15Hp Casing][Equipped over MagmaMass]

Mini Magma Flail: 5Hp [Left edge of raft]
Mini Shadow Whip: 5Hp [Right edge of raft]
Thick Magma Tentacle: 28Hp [Front left edge of raft]
Thick Shadow Tendril: 28Hp [Front right edge of raft]

-=Lava Flow=-

30% Magnet [Martia and Scourge's raft - More stable and larger now, more firmly secured to its pillar anchorage]
60% Lava [So Much Lava]
10% Missing [Centre of the vortex, where MagmaMass resides]
"Ugh, that didn't seem to do much..." muttered Scourge, as the enormous cannon-arm whipped about and returned to her body, with the excess cloth re-wrapping itself around her in a tight squeeze. The tentacle from earlier had done a bit of damage to her, but nothing she couldn't survive. At the very least, she didn't get pulled up like Martia had been. Even better, they did manage to land some serious hurt on the black mass of tentacles overhead. With the shadowy mass now devoid of most of its tentacled cover, it seemed a lot more ripe for abuse. Besides that, the lava tentacles seemed to be still quite well-fortified at the moment. Still, it was quite some distance above them, and she didn't quite have enough means to get off of the heavily magnetized raft that they were on. Something inside of her was boiling up, and her body began to twitch in impatience. The magnetized floor tugged back at her, only serving to fuel her antsy mood even further.

Then, her expression tightened up, as something occurred to her.

"Sofia! Send me the Totem! I've got an idea!"

No sooner than she had asked for it did the ground beneath her start to rumble, and a cylinder of wood spun up from under her feet, sending her into the air. "Gotcha covered!" Scourge's operator said, flashing a thumbs-up to nobody in particular. The magnetic pull that had been tugging at Scourge's feet quickly dissipated, allowing her to stretch her limbs. A wide smile ran across her face as she eyed the nearly defenseless murky black pile of tendrils, and a surge of adrenaline coursed through her undead limbs. "Martia! Change of plans! I'm going for broke! Back me up!" she yelled, though she didn't really care to wait for the response.

Crouching down on the Totem's top head, she bellowed out an ear-splitting warcry as she leapt towards one of the tentacles, intending to either use it as a springboard towards the main body, or simply commandeer it with her bare hands. Either way, it was a rather big gamble, but at that point, her adrenaline-fueled yell had purged all hesitation from her mind, and she was only concerned with one thing, and that was moving forward.

// Summary
[Sc.1] Sig: Reinforced Linens: 40HP Casing @ Self
[Sc.*] Act: Buff @ ShadowMass (Debuff: 16)
[Sc.2] Chip: Totem1HP: 100
Properties: Anchored, Element Shift
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Attack Damage: 100 Fire + Line Attack (3) / Healing 50
Accuracy: A / S
Description: Summons a Totem to breath fire and heal you. Attacks once per turn, and switches faces when hit.
Duration: 3 turns, or until destroyed.
Element: Fire / Wood
Special: Element Shift: This Object alternates between Fire element when Attacking and Wood element when Healing.
Trader Rank: D
: 100HP Anchored Element-Shift Object, 3-Turn: 100 + Line Attack (3) / Recover 50 (Acc: A / S) @ Under self, pointed at ShadowMass
[Sc.3] Act: Vault over to Thick Shadow Tendril: Movement
[Sc.4] Act: Leap towards ShadowMass: Movement
"...Tch." For how much of an opening she'd gotten, Martia really didn't feel like she'd truly capitalized on it. Sure, she managed to do some damage, but she could've done better. Or at least, she felt like she could've done better. "Darn it...I know I could've done a better job."

"Well-"

"I know, I know. What's done is done, and I can't go back and change it. But that doesn't change how I feel." She flinched as she realized that the tentacle mass was already reestablishing its defenses, but took a glance over at Scourge instead of poring it over for possible openings. "Any ideas?...What the-?!" Some sort of totem pole formed beneath the other Navi, springing her upward. Wait, what'd she say? Back her up? "Understood! Leslie!"

"Workin' on it!" Hmm...two hits to bring down its defensive tentacles? They didn't have any chips that could do that at once, at least none that didn't require being near the giant mass of tentacles, but there were still other ways to lighten her Navi's burden. "BattleChip, FireHit! Slot in!"

In a slight change from her usual, the flames surrounding the martial artist Navi's fists took on more of a boxing glove shape. Luckily, her busting partner wasn't blocking her line of sight of her target, so there was no need to wait. Just look up, ready herself, and...jab! Her left arm came forward in an upward punch, releasing a fist-shaped fireball that rocketed towards the dark, tentacle-y foe. But that wasn't all. Uppercut! She quickly followed it up with, naturally, an uppercut, sending a second glove of fire up at the literally spineless enemy. ...Probably. Tentacles were mostly an invertibrate thing, right?

As Martia launched her second attack, she had unknowingly slightly raised her feet, as though it was pulling her with it. The magnetic floor denied that from actually happening, but in that instant, it, combined with Scourge's earlier stunt, gave her operator an idea. "Martia! Get ready to jump!"

"Huh?"

"BattleChip, FootStomp! Slot in!"

Martia's legs became internally reinforced, and she knew she was about to join up with Scourge. She took one good look at her target, and jumped. Normally, this would have been less than effective, with the magnetic terrain beneath her preventing her from launching herself that far. Yet, FootStomp's trademark effect was more than enough to free her from the electrical bindings, and sent her rocketing skyward, even moreso than the Totem. She flew further and further upward, until she neared the foe, which she could only hope at this point wasn't shielded anymore, and as she approached it, flipped around to deliver a devastating upward jump kick.

And yet, she still wasn't done. Almost without thinking, as soon as her kick was complete, she quickly spun around, and grabbed the shadowy mass by a tentacle, delivering a crushing, sambo inspired grip. It was really more intended for something with joints, but that kind of force would hurt just as badly. Either way, she wasn't going to abandon her new friend by returning to the raft. Instead, she'd stay up, and together they could soon work on finishing this fiend off. Even if she was now in prime range for tentacle based horrors. ...Yeah, now she was starting to regret this...

[Order of Turn:
1- FireHit1Damage: 60 + Impact + Double Attack
Accuracy: A
Description: Throws a blazing punch from a distance, Hadoken style.
Duration: Up to 2 uses before the end of the turn
Element: Fire
Special: Double Attack: After spending an action to attack with this chip, you may choose to spend a second action and attack with it again before the end of the turn.
Trader Rank: D
chip attack on ShadowMass (Melee Mastery)
2- FireHit1Damage: 60 + Impact + Double Attack
Accuracy: A
Description: Throws a blazing punch from a distance, Hadoken style.
Duration: Up to 2 uses before the end of the turn
Element: Fire
Special: Double Attack: After spending an action to attack with this chip, you may choose to spend a second action and attack with it again before the end of the turn.
Trader Rank: D
chip attack on ShadowMass (Melee Mastery)
3- FootStompDamage: 180 + Impact
Accuracy: D
Description: The user jumps into the air, acquiring High Altitude status for one action. Then, on the next action, they land on an enemy. Rare
Duration: Two actions
Element: Null
Special: Attacking with this chip counts as a dodge, and quite a lot of movement.
Trader Rank: B
chip attack on ShadowMass (jumping portion)
4- FootStompDamage: 180 + Impact
Accuracy: D
Description: The user jumps into the air, acquiring High Altitude status for one action. Then, on the next action, they land on an enemy. Rare
Duration: Two actions
Element: Null
Special: Attacking with this chip counts as a dodge, and quite a lot of movement.
Trader Rank: B
chip attack on ShadowMass (attacking portion) (Melee Mastery)
5-Submission Grapple sig attack on ShadowMass (40, Pull, Hold)]
Realising the dangers that having both targets alive meant, the busting due focused their attention upwards and began making a concerted effort to knock the slimy foe out of the fight, and hopefully halve their problems. While scourge refreshed her bandages and sent another weakening glare towards the core of the shadowy blob, Martia opened a fresh offence with the first of her flaming punches. It streaked up and connected with a sharp hiss of steam, throwing aside one of the thick, guarding tentacles with ease.

While she was winding up for the second jab, though, the tendrils all around them on the raft continued to creep upwards and inwards towards them; as ever more snaked up from the lava and dangled down from above, they whipped and swiped at the pair. Three managed to hit Scourge, or splash her with a thick, viscous ooze, though they didn't do more than soften up some of her protective bindings. Martia lucked out, nearby, and the tendrils that took swipes at her failed to connect at all.

Having enough of being alternately seared and fondled, Scourge set down her totem and began eyeing up the thicker tentacles for getting closer and more personal. The initial jet of flame, however, streaked up past her even faster than the navi could climb, and lanced through to blast the other tentacle protecting their target away.

Martia's second punch flew through the gap created, impacting hard with the core of the creature before it could raise any new defences, though as she released it, a grasping curled of magma sought to wrap around her. It hit her bubble, which popped, sending a shower of mist over the tentacle that had been reaching for her, and it recoiled as the fluid hissed and steamed, ducking back into the magma quickly.

Seeing its chance, the shadow mass struck down quickly this time, reaching with desperate haste for Martia with a tentacle that glowed faintly and seemed to drink in everything around it; a good guess might have assumed that it was poised to suck the life right out of her to restore itself, but either way, Martia was a step ahead. A very big step, as it turned out, and she shot upwards with a fantastic jump that caused the draining feeler to miss her completely.

She overtook Scourge just as the pair of them, by separate means, climbed into the darkness above for a more intimate meeting with the shadow creature. As they closed, a fresh nest of quickly reforming tentacles tried to close over the core and stop them, but they both made it inside the covering dome before it sealed. A moment to consider these actions might have lead to regrets, but they didn't have a great many moments to spare.

down below, the lava monster roared furiously, letting out a bellow that resounded through the deep cavern. It sounded mad that its food had been stolen, somehow, with none left behind as scourge and Martia both disappeared from sight behind the shadow tentacles above.

Inside the sealed mass, more of the smaller tentacles reached out to both of them, sealed inside the inner space between the wall of shadowy feelers and the creature itself, but they didn't manage to cause any harm. Instead, several off them tried to wrap around whatever body part they could touch, curling and sliding in a layer of the same thick, slippery substance they had been flicking around already. A thick coating of the fluid raced over the surface of the mass, courtesy of the reforming outer wall, but it wasn't enough to slow down Martia's kick as her accelerated jump reached its peak. Her foot slammed into the core with an impressively overwhelming force, and the entire structure of dark tendrils all a round them shuddered. It rippled and convulsed, and the individual tentacles curling upwards around their thighs and arms squeezed in reflex while the conglomerate struggled to hold itself together.

An impact shuddered the mass, then another, and the light from the glow of lava returned as two thick tentacles of lava hammed against the limb barrier and tore it open roughly. the shadow mass gave one final, wet sigh, then collapsed into a horde of smaller, independently grasping tendrils with no real semblance of unity or direction. Each one grasped and clung, curled around any part of any navi they could reach, but without any direction; the two found themselves well held, and tugged in a variety of directions by different grasping feelers that all wanted to pull on them. Several of them were finding their ways into Scourge's bandages and under Martia's clothes, spreading slippery goo wherever they went, but they didn't seem to be any risk of actually causing harm any more... er... depending on your definition. The shadowy tendrils that had previously attacked them, at least, all swayed listlessly and didn't seem inclined to act any more.

Down below, the magma mass had worked itself into a fury, moreso than before, and seemed intent upon tearing the girls free of their slippery suitors and taking them for itself. If they stayed where they were, there was a good chance that the monster below would try to tear them down, and an equally good chance that the now disassociated shadow tendrils would continue to get familiar with the two... But the vantage point gave them a clear sight of the mass of lava itself, without being covered by the wall of limbs that made an obstruction between it and the raft. If they managed to return to the raft, on the other hand, there were still a moderate mass of varied tentacles down there, at least some of which still seemed eager to attack them, and they'd need to contend with the wall as well... but they'd be away from the exploring feelers of their present situation.


-=Shadow and Flame=-

MagmaMass.dmp: 230Hp [2-Hit Shield][Equipped: Writhing Mass][Debuff: -20 All][More than 2 Movements away]
ShadowMass.dmp: DELETED

-=Bandage and Battle=-

Martia: 196Hp [High Altitude][Grappled][1-Hit CurseShield][Status Guard]
Scourge: 116Hp [High altitude][Grappled][15Hp Casing]

-=Objects and associated tentacles=-

Wall of Dark Limbs: DELETED
Wall of Burning Limbs: 35Hp [15Hp Barrier][Encircling MagmaMass]

Roiling Mass: DELETED
Writhing Mass: 15Hp [15Hp Casing][Equipped over MagmaMass]

Mini Magma Flail A: 5Hp [Left edge of raft]
Mini Shadow Whip A: 5Hp [Right edge of raft][Inactive][Self-Destruct Left Engaged]
Mini Magma Flail B: 5Hp [Near Wall of Burning Limbs]
Mini Shadow Whip B: 5Hp [Near Scourge's Foot][Inactive][Self-Destruct Left Engaged]
Minor Magma Flail: 10Hp [Front edge of raft]
Minor Shadow Whip: 10Hp [Next to Martia's head][Inactive][Self-Destruct Left Engaged]
Thick Magma Tentacle A: 28Hp [Front left edge of raft]
Thick Shadow Tendril A: 28Hp [Front right edge of raft][Inactive][Self-Destruct Left Engaged]
Thick Magma Tentacle B: 28Hp [Near the middle of the raft]
Thick Shadow Tendril B: 28Hp [Near the middle of the raft][Inactive][Self-Destruct Left Engaged]

Grasping Remnants (20): 5Hp Each [High Altitude]['Holding' Scourge and Martia][Clustered Group: Attacks that normally only hit one target can destroy as many tendrils as their damage allows, in increments of 5]

-=Lava Flow=-

30% Magnet [Martia and Scourge's raft - More stable and larger now, more firmly secured to its pillar anchorage]
60% Lava [So Much Lava]
10% Missing [Centre of the vortex, where MagmaMass resides]