Eternalis's fears were confirmed as he saw the drawn out response to his outwardly cheerful question, and Lyntael began to expand on what had happened since they last met. From what they had already gotten out of meeting the operator in question, there was no doubt that he was investigating some people that would have no qualms taking drastic steps to keep things under wraps. Knowledge on NetNavi weaponry research was something the Ezarith facility was well-equipped in, and there had been no shortage of incidents in the past where she had been entrusted with prototypes to test out. Still, she knew Reverus, and he had kept live tests out of the equation--until they were to be "field-tested".

Eventually, as Lyntael went on, at the mention of Sharo itself, Aurora shifted in her posture slightly. From the angle she was at, Lyntael wasn't in her line of sight, but she turned her face away from the sound of her voice nonetheless. It was true that she was no longer a part of those kinds of operations, but the more frustrated and angry Lyntael's tone got, the more her inner voice reminded her of memories she had, of those that crossed Sharo's path.

Eternalis's gaze switched between the two girls. Lyntael relaying her fears and thoughts externally, and Aurora to him, unconsciously. It was a maelstrom of emotion that he was caught in the middle of. Before he knew it, Lyntael had stopped talking, and the sound of crackling sparks resulting from her agitated motions had paused. She was stopped in the middle of the area, taking stock of Aurora's condition. By all accounts, Aurora's physical condition had recovered mostly, but as she saw Lyntael bearing down on her, she felt a lump in her throat.

"I-- Well..." her voice cracked. She made eye contact, and her fists unconsciously clenched. "That is-- I'm-- I'm fine to, but..."

Her stretched out stutters were interrupted by someone walking up to Lyntael from behind, and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Lyntael, I'm sorry, but... let's sit back down for a bit. Okay?" said Eternalis, a complicated expression over his simple-looking monster-like face. "I know you think you can handle yourself, but... if you go out looking for blood like you are now, I don't want to see you hurting yourself--or us--being too reckless."

He paused for a moment, looking over at Aurora. The latter nodded, and he turned back to Lyntael, offering a hand to her, which he would take to pull her back down to sit if she accepted.

As Aurora made her condition known, Eternalis went from completely wound up in worry to nearly falling down in relief. While the girls were taking their places on Sparky's fur, however, he made do with simply sitting where he was while listening to Lyntael expand on what Aurora had tried to do from her end. "Guess trying to help pick up some of the charge is a bad idea, then..." he murmured, looking over to Aurora. There didn't seem to be any lasting external effects, at least, but that might be due to the different form she had taken.

"Yeah, it's a good thing I didn't conduct any more than I did. I don't think I'm physically melting, but my legs sure feel real tingly right about now," joked Aurora, running her hands down her thighs. Small sparks of static crackled between her fingers as she did so, though the little jolt now couldn't compare to what she had just gone through not a minute ago. Her eyes went over to Lyntael, who had taken to resting her head on her shoulder. Aurora then pulled her hand away, waving it about to dispel any errant charge, before giving her a rough tousle on her hair. "You've been handling all that current yourself, dummy! I can't even do nearly that much! Way too strong for your own good!"

Meanwhile, Eternalis watched the two girls rest and recuperate. He shifted his sitting about, resting his arm on his knee, just as Lyntael informed them about something else. It was good news, for once! Yet somehow, it felt like the kind that was given before the bad variety came after. Lyntael still smiled before them, but there was a hint of worry still in her expression. If the news was so good, why had it taken her this long to tell them? He read the mental currents between him and Aurora--nothing from her end. She was still recovering from her ordeal, most likely. Still, he prayed that there was nothing more to it and it was overthinking.

"Oh, that's great news! Did anything happen that made him change his mind?"

When Lyntael started to show signs of movement, Eternalis drew backwards slightly, stopping the flow of healing, and the glow from the emblem on his back grew dim again. He noticed Lyntael fiddling with her gauntlets idly again. The pulsing glow that normally ran down its length in lines was very dim, he saw, but they began to move once more. Sparky started to sniff at Lyntael, but was interrupted by Lyntael sitting up, and the beastly-sized pup gave her a small lick to greet her.

"Come on, boy, give her some room," said Eternalis, to which Sparky obediently stepped backwards as well, resting his head on his paws, waiting while Lyntael got her bearings.

"Well, glad you're okay, at least." Eternalis looked around, down the tunnel through which they had escaped. Nothing was following them, but he hadn't quite judged how far they had gone. He recalled the path that the strange creature had taken, at a different angle from their escape tunnel, and tried to hazard a guess at the general direction.

"The thing that made that crater should've gone about that way, I suppose." Out of the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Lyntael's hands, which had been carefully pulled out of the gauntlets. As soon as they were removed, the glowing lines going down them dimmed once more. Trying not to let the worry show on his expression, he turned back properly to face Lyntael. "Well, she says she's fine, she just needs some time to catch her breath."

Lyntael's explanation of her "burnout" seemed to sail over his head, his eyes kept wandering to the gauntlets that were now cradled in Lyntael's hands. There was an acute awareness of how much he had gotten used to sharing his mental space, and now there was a sense of something missing. Before he realized it, Lyntael was reaching towards Sparky, who was all too happy to receive snuggles from the recovered girl, tail wagging hard with licks generously offered.

At that moment, Lyntael would feel the weight in her hands vanish, and a mote of light would appear next to her, landing firmly on Sparky's fluffy underside. Aurora's form solidified shortly after, and Sparky wasted no time in giving the girl a happy lick. She tiredly laughed, wriggling away slightly from the pup's affections to little use.

"Aurora! Are you okay?" said Eternalis, getting up to his feet quickly.

"Ahaha, hey, don't look so worried, you two" said Aurora with a smile, waving her hand about. However, she didn't seem to do much more than that, choosing to continue to lie in Sparky's bed of fur. "I... think I bit off a bit more than I could handle, though. Let me just sit here for now, okay?"

[LynFXP > 414] (Recalculated from scratch.)
[Z: 60595 > 64345]
[BF: 895 > 952]

Even though Sparky's speed was almost second to none, time felt slowed down as Eternalis spurred him onwards to safety. The shots fired at them from the back didn't even register to him, as fast as they were going, until light came at the end of the passageway, opening up to another clearing, this time looking like it would be clear of uninvited guests. "Up ahead there, boy," said Eternalis, and his ride smoothly came to an end, circling around the plateau a couple of times to slow down before fully stopping.

"Alright... seems safe here, at least," he said, looking around. "Rest up, Sparky."

On command, their enlarged canine companion knelt down, allowing Eternalis to dismount with Lyntael and Aurora in tow, the latter still attached as the former's equipment. After allowing Lyntael to lie on the ground, Eternalis hesitated to inspect her, and eventually settled with simply sitting next to her. The girl looked quite worn out, but there was no more static running across her skin as there was before. The latter's condition was more opaque, as there was no external indicator of any damage. The undercurrent from their mental link was silent, but there was a lingering bit of activity, little murmurs of thoughts as if he was simply watching her sleep.

"I hope they're gonna be okay... I'll check on Aurora," said Harke.

"Alright, I'll try to heal them up," he said. Holding his hands over Lyntael's body, a cool blue glow wrapped around her, working his restorative functions as best as he could. But there were no clear wounds or anything that he could patch up, so it was simply to settle his running mind. The silence was palpable as he could hear Harke's keyboard typing from their communication link.

"Seems like Aurora's signals are nominal, just that her core electrical-handling routine got seriously overworked. She'll probably wake up soon."

Then, a response from the recesses of his mind. It was weak, but it was there, saying that it hurt, and that it hurt a lot more than she thought it would. His side came through with feelings of relief, and a little bit of worried anger. Some bit of quiet followed, before a sense of amusement came back to him, and a feeling of warmth. Let her rest for a bit, she replied, and tend to their friend. Eternalis's healing had not stopped, of course. Unbeknownst to him, and everyone else, the Navi emblem in his back began to glow...

"Aurora? Hey, Aurora!" yelled Eternalis. Whatever was coming through their mental link was devolving into a slurry of thoughts, and an intensifying haze of static. "Let's go, Sparky! Paws on the ground, size up!" he called out, tapping his heel onto the board. The pup's head barked in excitement immediately, and the board's thrusters whined in readiness. In the blink of an eye, the two vanished in a trail of light, leaving a brief afterimage of them as they moved too fast for the eye to catch. The trail zoomed down to the ground like a meteorite, but swerved right as it hit the ground, with Eternalis appearing from it in a rapid dismount.

At that moment, the viruses were landing all about, along with even more debris. Lyntael's instinctual discharge surged through her extremities. "Whoa, shit!" exclaimed Eternalis, taking all of his reflexes to try to move out of its way. An empty cry from his friend's lips, and he threw himself out to catch her before she hit the ground. Wayward static coursed through his hands as he made contact, but he held fast through the jolt. There were more pressing matters.

"Lyntael! Aurora!" he called out again.

Debris raining all about, one splashed into the lava, the splashback threatening to engulf the two. Suddenly, a sudden gust burst out in front of them, blasting the lava away in a show of force. Sparky's larger form shaded them, standing proud between the Navis and the newly-arrived viruses. "C'mon, let's get you two outta here," he said, hefting Lyntael as she struggled to remove Aurora's gauntlet form from her hands. Eternalis tried to restrain her from doing so, but it seems like there was no need; Lyntael was so weak she could barely muster any actual resistance.

This made it easier to help her onto Sparky's back. Right on cue, a boulder raining from above crashed down onto a nearby hill, revealing what seemed like an exit. "We'll go through that way, Sparky," he instructed. There was no affirmative bark from Sparky this time around, only the hound lowering his body to spring into action the moment they were ready, which wasn't too long after. Eternalis hopped on, holding tightly onto Lyntael's limply reacting figure, and gave the signal. "Go!" he called out, and Sparky's legs bounded forward as fast as he could carry them.

-- Eternalis: 1 action @ Sparky
[S1] Movement: Next to Lyntael (Overclock+High Gear: Evasion=60%)
[S*] GMO Change: Bloodhound
[E1] Help Lyntael to her feet

[S2] Equip: Lyntael
[E2] Mount onto Sparky

[E3-5] Escape!

Despite her now non-humanoid form, Aurora felt as if her chest was tightening. The viruses around them were disappearing, sure, but Lyntael wasn't going to hold up. There was something about this time that was different from their previous excursions now, she felt it in her heart of hearts. If the buildup she was sensing from Lyntael's body was going to go any higher, she felt it would not go well. "Lyntael, we've got to leave!" she shouted out.

Lyntael was saying something now--an improvement from before, but her condition still wasn't improving. It didn't look like she would be able to do much about the retained charge by expending it for her, but perhaps it would be better to store some of the wayward electrical potential inside of her instead. But to do so would simply be a stopgap measure. Aurora felt the only recourse now would be to pull out before the load inside of her would erupt, and recuperate somewhere where her internal core would stop its activity.

As she held in some of the charge that Lyntael was suffering from, Aurora felt her thoughts fill with indistinct pins and needles, evidence of the erratic energy that was running amok inside Lyntael. Then, from her mental link, a tick of concern. Amidst the mental static, she made out that the viruses that were coming in weren't letting up. She managed to return the thought, that they could clear out the remaining viruses, and he could swoop down to make a break for it, to let Sparky take their friend to safety--but they needed to wait for her signal. A short moment, in which they could come in without risking too much friendly fire from Lyntael's discharges.

"Gonna need some crowd control, Harke," said Eternalis. "These viruses keep on coming in with those boulders. We'll try to make a break for it. Some offense to thin them out, too."

"Got it, I'll send in the Timpani, and some AoE," replied Harke.

With the communication relayed, the empty space in the four corners of the field below glowed briefly, before a blob of blue rose from the ground, swirling into the shape of a Timpani virus. Its trumpet mouth sucked in the hot air before a deep, bassy tone that echoed throughout the artificial gorge that they were in. Aurora flinched slightly, but for the moment, she had to deal with the situation at hand. Lyntael was already directing some of her offense towards the newly-arrived blue bird, and in time with Harke's battlechip assistance. There was nowhere near enough output, she sensed through the crackling voltage racking her senses. A snap decision made, she let loose the DollThunder chip unto the BluePhoenix as well, but she only felt the energy inside Lyntael grow ever wilder.

"I'm trying to hold some part of it in myself, but we've got to leave!" she called out. Somewhere nearby, she saw a jet of water burst from underneath a nearby virus... or whatever it was, across the field from them. It looked vaguely greyish, but that's all she was able to make out. From the pulsing lights that went down her gauntlet form, current began leaking out indiscriminately, though she managed to direct them towards another part of the battlefield that seemed to have something on it. Whatever it was, it couldn't be friendly, as the only allies they had now were still up in the air.

There was something she had to do--what was it? In between the lightning storm that Lyntael was producing, and the Timpani's cacophony, and the uncontrollable static she was holding in, unawares, her mental process began to slip.

-- (Eternalis: 3 actions @ Aurora)

[E1] TimpaniHP: 50
Properties: Heavy
Object Damage: 50 + Impact
Damage Method: Throw, Telekinesis
Status Effect: Hold + To-All-Clause(Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Stops all enemies from moving with a powerful sonic wave.
Duration: 1 turn or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C: 50HP Heavy Object, 1-Turn: Hold + To-All-Enemy (Acc: S) @ Northern Quadrant
[A1] Take Aim
[S1] Dodge (High Gear: Evasion+10%)

[E2] Take Aim
[A2] (All for One) DollThunder1Damage: 80 + Line-Attack5
Accuracy: B
Description: Fires a powerful bolt of lightning that pierces through objects and enemies alike.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Trader Rank: D: 80 + Line-Attack5 (Acc: B) @ BluePhoenix (+15 Element, +100% Metal, Take Aim: Acc+)
[S2] Dodge (High Gear: Evasion+10%)

[E3] WaterLine2Damage: 130 + Ground Attack + Wide Attack
Accuracy: B
Description: A wall of water gushes from the ground, drowning up to 3 targets.
Duration: Once
Element: Aqua
Trader Rank: C: 130 + Ground Attack + Wide Attack (Acc: B) @ Swordy-N2 (+15 Element, Take Aim: Acc+)
[A3] Attack @ Blazer2: 50 Elec

[A4] Attack @ Blazer2: 50 Elec
[A5] Attack @ Blazer2: 50 Elec

With his vantage point, Eternalis was able to track the escape of the viral amalgamate, though with the approaching viruses around Aurora and Lyntael, he figured it would be best not to pursue by himself. "Guess we can deal with whatever that thing is later; seems to be leaving a pretty obvious trail to follow anyway," he mused by himself, though he was also interrupted by a brief salvo of gunfire coming from below. Absorbing a few bullets in the meantime was all in a day's work for him, though, with his slime body rippling in place where the bullets penetrated through.

While his body began to repair itself, Eternalis reported swiftly on the situation from above, only to receive a pained emotion in response, though it was soon followed up by Aurora's end reaffirming that she was okay. Trying to act as Lyntael's assistant directly was more taxing than she had anticipated, and Lyntael herself wasn't even talking back to her now, which didn't seem like a good sign. Eternalis's worrying cropped up, but Aurora rebuffed him with another affirmation that he should stay where he was, and provide aerial support for the moment.

"Everything good?" Harke's voice chimed in. "Looking at her status, Aurora seems to be trying to do a lot on her own."

"Seems like it's still fine... but I'll keep an eye out. Pass us a couple more chips while I keep watch, could you?" he requested, to which Harke replied with a pair of Battlechips. The closest one that he could see might be a threat was the PulseBat, perched atop one of the fallen metal boulders. He extended his hand out before him, and a chunk of his hand swirled about and split off into a blob that floated about above his palm. The separated blob shifted colors into a more yellowish tint, crackling with energy, before hurtling down towards the bat virus.

"Lyntael! I'll try to hold off a bit of the charge from going back into your body!" Aurora's efforts on the ground was trying to direct the chaotic spray of energy from Lyntael's haywire systems from feeding back into her own body. It was all she could do to do it once, but it was worth trying again. The Battlechip data from Harke came in, but she held it off momentarily. It had to be something different. Perhaps she could discharge the excess through her own innate strength.

One strike towards the CannonGuard turret. Seeing this, Aurora released some of her own charge towards the nearby PulseBat, but it didn't quite work--the attack only took from her own charge, and not much from Lyntael's run-off. Another attempt, this time trying to line up her discharge with Lyntael's self-accumulating charge--she aimed towards one of the chunks of iron that had broken off instead, perhaps something more grounded would work. No dice there either, but at least it was ruled out again.

Out of options, Aurora took the chip data that she had been entrusted with from Harke, and lined it up with another of Lyntael's breathless discharges. Come on, she prayed. This time, she was able to pull some of Lyntael's pent-up charge to augment the attack the latter was doing, and the burst of lightning that was arcing back into Lyntael's body was captured, and shot out with greater force. It was frustrating that she was only able to effectively assist with this runaway charge with Battlechip assistance, but it was a step in the right direction. More important was that Lyntael hadn't been responding to her much at all... They needed the viruses out of the picture, and fast, before it got out of hand.

-- (Eternalis: 3 actions @ Aurora)

[E1] Take Aim
[A1] Attack @ PulseBat2: 50 Elec (+100% Metal)
[S1] Dodge (High Gear: Evasion+10%)

[E2] Arrow2Damage: 130 + Homing
Accuracy: B
Description: Summons an Elewasp virus, and sends it flying at an enemy. The Elewasp is tenacious, and will hunt down its prey. It vanishes after stinging it's target, or after two turns.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Trader Rank: C: 130 + Homing (Acc: B) @ PulseBat2 (+100% Metal)
[A2] Attack @ PulseBat2: 50 Elec (+100% Metal)
[S2] Dodge (High Gear: Evasion+10%)

[E3] No action
[A3] Attack @ Boulder B: 50 Elec (+100% Metal)

[A4] Take Aim
[A5] (All for One) ElecReel2Damage: 100 + Spread 3 (Side + Behind)
Accuracy: B
Description: A small bolt of lightning that spreads sideways and behind the target upon impact.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Trader Rank: C: 100 + Spread 3 (Side + Behind) (Acc: B) @ NeoMetool2/PulseBat2/Shooter (+15 Element, +100% Metal, Take Aim: Acc+)

[LynFXP: 362 > 376]

"I've never seen any camera like that, either. Might be really old," said Aurora, though how she was able to even see the little prize wasn't immediately obvious. On the other end, turning around the camera in his hands, Eternalis inspected the item once more, his thoughts interspersed by mental instructions of which part to inspect next. Nothing too much of interest... except for a tiny hatch on its underside. Clicking the part open with a press, he found a small roll of film inside, and closed it back up, just in time for Lyntael to stumble on an enormous felt toy that looked like a recreation of a Scuttle virus, except less dangerous and more cuddly.

"Oh, that's pretty cute," he commented. "Odd that they'd be making these virus plushes when we're supposed to be deleting them when we find them."

His comment was punctuated by the introduction of a deep growl, and his head snapped up to attention, to be greeted by an enormous bipedal virus amalgamate. "What on earth--" he managed to blurt out, before it fled away, leaving behind a crack of lava that flooded the area. He scrambled backwards from the expanding lava flow in surprise, only to find himself separated from the girls. Viruses then began to pop up, fly in, and land from various areas of the field. The sound of approaching viruses did not die down with the first four; he could hear more on the outskirts.

"Lyn, careful!" said Aurora. Her partner's beat flowed through her; Aurora could sense the tension in Lyntael's electrical current. Curiously, Lyntael seemed to have a quicker grasp of the situation, almost excited for the fight. There was no time for psychoanalysis at the moment, however, and she replied promptly. "I'm here with you."

...

Staring down the Shooter, Eternalis made a snap decision. "Sparky, on me!" he called, prompting the pup to bark in affirmation, transforming into his carrier board form, and Eternalis to jump onto him. "Harke, I'm counting on you for chips!" he continued.

"On it, I'm sending in MediumCloud and ClusterShot," reported Harke. "Try to get a high point of view."

"That's the plan," replied Eternalis, as he eyed down the two Fire-type viruses on the field. As soon as the chip data was sent down, he took control and sent it down across the lava gap, quickly enough so he could have a chance at taking the Spikey and Swordy off guard. He then stepped back on his Sparky-board, and the microthrusters roared to life, sending him soaring upwards into the sky, trying to scope out where their earlier visitor had gone, along with any further viruses that might also be crashing their party.

...

Aurora felt Lyntael's body suddenly light up to life, and it was all she could do to withstand the strain she suddenly felt. It was unstable, very much so, but it hadn't gone out of control yet. The flood of energy made it feel like hairs standing on end. Lyntael moved, and she along with her. Without being fully integrated into Lyntael's system, Aurora wrestled with the unfamiliar energy distribution, right as she received some battlechip data from Harke. The data's energy flowed through her fingered form, supplying it with more capacity, extra circuitry.

"Okay!" she called out. Lyntael's strike went out, and simultaneously, Aurora danced with it, following up the crackling energy strike with a surge of multiple lightning jolts, which followed the initial attack and spread out in two directions. The second strike came immediately after the spin, and Aurora felt her systems overwhelmed, unable to respond to the larger surge. It almost stole her consciousness for a brief moment, before she received a mental tick from her other partner, higher in the sky.

She pulled herself together, but soon, she felt Lyntael's energy levels draining, and she internally kicked herself; the lapse in her assistance might have let the voltage fall down too quickly. Still, she saw that Lyntael was in no immediate danger - whether by instinct or intentionally, there was already a reactive barrier up in place. Shouldn't hurt to reinforce that herself, she thought, as she activated her own defensive module, but only on herself. She also took the cue from Eternalis to access his healing reserves, and funneled it into Lyntael, if only to numb out the pain somewhat.

"Heh, this is a little different in the co-pilot seat!" she said.

-- (Eternalis: 2 actions @ Aurora, 1 action @ Sparky)

[A1] Equip @ Lyntael
[E1] Take Aim
[S1] Equip @ Eternalis

[A2] (All for One) ClusterShot2Damage: 10 x 8 Shots + Variable Targeting
Accuracy: B
Description: Launches a volley of eight plasma spheres at targets designated by the user.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Special: Variable Targeting: Allows the user to select a target for each individual hit of an attack. This means they may strike the same target multiple times, multiple different targets, or a mix of the two as they wish.
Trader Rank: C: 10 x 8 Shots + Variable Targeting (Acc: B) @ Nailer (3x), Spikey2 (3x), Swordy-F2 (2x) (+15 Element)
[S2] Move into High Alt (Overclock/High Gear: Evasion=50%+10%)
[E2] MediumCloudDamage: 90 + Wide Attack + Drop Attack
Accuracy: C
Description: Cloud moves up and down three enemies, raining on them for two turns. Enemies can move out from under it if possible.
Duration: Two turns
Element: Aqua
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: C: 90 + Wide Attack + Drop Attack + 2-Turn (Acc: C) @ Spikey2, Swordy-F2 (+15 Element, 100% vs Fire, Take Aim: Acc+) (Turn 1/2)

[A3] Extraction Module @ Self: 20HP Barrier + 20HP Casing + 1-Hit Shield
[E3] Influx Aegis @ Self (Stage 1: Support Base x2 (40), Stage 2: Delay (3 Actions): Support Base x2 (40), Stage 3: Delay (6 Actions): Support Base x2 (40))
[S3] Dodge (High Gear: Evasion+10%)

[A4] (Unify: Eternalis) Influx Aegis @ Lyntael (Stage 1: Support Base x2 (40), Stage 2: Delay (3 Actions): Support Base x2 (40), Stage 3: Delay (6 Actions): Support Base x2 (40))

Watching Lyntael disappear around the corner, Eternalis stopped for a moment. Inwardly, he readied himself for another explosive reminder of how dilapidated the theme park around them was, as the game booth began to lose its decorative elements in a cascade of shorted-out reactions. He wandered over to the back of the booth where Lyntael was, somewhat concerned, but all he found was Lyntael ducking her head in front of a blank doorframe. "So they built in a developer backdoor, in a pretty literal sense," commented Harke with a chuckle, while Eternalis tilted his head and crossed his arms.

It was then followed by a drastic change in outfit, manifesting quite like Eternalis's own Soul Crosses. Despite her clear differences in base systems, she was still able to utilize the curious transformation ability. Suddenly, a series of blows against the door, and Eternalis drew a step back in reaction. He could hear the sound of a sharp intake of breath, that didn't seem to be Lyntael's. It took a while before Aurora responded to her wearer's worried question, but she eventually did.

"Yeah, no problem here, but I can definitely say it's a new experience, trying to get comfortable with another partner," said Aurora. "The way your hands move and feel is pretty different. It's more delicate, so I find myself holding back a bit more. Eternalis doesn't have electrical currents flowing through his, for one!" Though she mentioned the electrical flow, Aurora felt herself wondering how the flow of energy felt more streamlined, less chaotic, compared to when she felt it beforehand. The Soul Cross may be beneficial in assisting with her inner fluctuations, her other half reasoned.

As the cross disengaged, Aurora felt the erratic flow return, more or less lending credence to Eternalis's thoughts. Eternalis bent to peek into the tiny room behind the booth, seeing the rows of data orbs stacked up in the room. "Well, I hope they don't mind us looking through abandoned stock," he said, picking up one of the green lights and watching it coalesce in his hand, into a squeaky Mr. Prog squeezable toy. In his other arm, Sparky barked excitedly, reaching out for it rapidly. "Hahaha! Here, you can have this one, Sparky," he said, much to the pup's delight, as the squeaky green figure instantly became a chew toy.

Aurora, meanwhile, sounded a bit more unsure. "Hmmm... I don't know what they have, so I can't really say what I'd want," her voice said. "Oh! How about you two pick something out for me that you think I would like? Then I can see who got the better one. It'll be like a little fun challenge, you know?"

"Oh, sure," said Eternalis. Taking another light, it transformed into a small blue cylindrical container with a large "E" printed on the side. When he moved it about, he could hear some liquid sloshing about inside. "Mmm... I don't know what this is, but probably not this one. I'm curious to find out what it is, though, I'll take it myself," he said. Sifting through the other orbs, he found a few more toys of various Net-shows, some strange knick-knacks that looked like cast-off souvenirs, and even more of the earlier cylindrical tanks with varying other letters on them, though not one that he felt was suitable.

Finally, he came across one that seemed a little different from the others, and the prize unfurled into an angular-looking black device with a cylindrical lens protruding out the side, with a small slot at the bottom and a tiny button on the top. "What's this thing?" he said. Without thinking, his hand pressed on the button, and the device made a small click. Shortly after, a little piece of paper ejected itself from the slot.

"Oh, it's a kind of camera? That's interesting, I've never seen one that worked like this. Let's go with this one, then," he said.

[Battle 3 - Can go for now!]

As Lyntael was exploring with the new glove she was bestowed with, the sense of an external presence in her mind lingered, though she would feel it trying to communicate a kind of affirmation when she asked whether Aurora could hear her. She would be able to feel the foreign "electrical circuit" attached to her own, pulsing with its own activity, but still synchronizing with hers as much as it could. Unlike the experience with Eternalis of intermingling memories and sensations, it was merely as if something was following her at a distance.

"Right, there's no sense in communicating like this. I'll just project my voice so we can hear each other better," a familiar voice said, coming from her gauntlet. The blue lines lit up with each word, indicating that it was indeed Aurora. "It's not too heavy, right? You're a fair bit smaller than Eternalis, so I adjusted my size so it would be a better fit."

As Lyntael recalled her experience with DragonierMan's assistants, Sparky proceeded to "play" with the shooting game, where the pup's shots were mostly duds. After all, despite his agility, he wasn't quite trained to be able to hit any targets. When Lyntael waved to him, Sparky barked in excitement, proud of his clear display of prowess at the game, which was deteriorating at an accelerating rate. The sparks and the burst of sudden errors gave him a start, however, and Eternalis extracted his pet from the blue busters.

"Well, it's hard to change into anything more amazing when you're already this much to begin with," teased Aurora with a giggle.

Eternalis walked over with Sparky in his arms, and craned his head over to another part of the park. "Let's try to find something else to mess around with. The last attraction we were at fell down over our heads, so I'd rather not commit to being near this thing if it explodes on us," he said, leading the way towards what looked like the central area of the amusement park.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go, then, Lyntael, carry me!" said Aurora. After a brief pause, she added, "Oh, don't mind being a little rough if you need to be. It'd be strange if a piece of equipment could recoil from being knocked around a little, wouldn't you say?"