Posts made by Rogan

As she walked, Lyntael let her senses spread out to feel the gentle motions of breezes and winds moving far out in every direction. Her eyes drifted mostly closed as she relaxed into the sensation and a quiet tune found a soft hum on her lips that flowed with the different curls and eddies of the air. Her body swayed in time and her steps began to pick out delicate skips and hops as the rhythm of it spoke to her. High up on the cliff, she felt closer to natural winds, as much as the rational part of her mind knew that didn't make much sense.

It was strange in its way though... Her thoughts turned the question over. There was no sense remaining now of the furious lighting and torrential storms that had converged on the site of her earlier conflicts; if they were even remotely any part of what was considered natural on these networks, there would still be traces in the air of their passing... but instead, nothing.

She continued along the raised cliff, a gentle twisting and turning dance guiding her steps to a tune that she could feel, rather than hear. Try as she might, it was hard to deny that it had to have been her own doing, somehow... but how, and why? When had it started?

Her musings were interrupted at a sound ahead of her, and the sudden attention of several viruses scattered about the area ahead of her. Her skipping steps halted as she took stock of the group between her and the path she was following. Across her body, a faint sheen passed over her new suit with a shiver and a ripple of sensation that made her fingers and toes clench for a moment. It seemed to have responded to her own awareness of the potential danger, but the sensation was... not an appropriate one to focus on in what might become a combat situation.

She did her best to set it aside opened her palms low to either side. Some of them looked like wild viruses that might just attack as soon as ignore her, and they didn't seem the sort of actually reason with, but some of the others seemed more alert and aware, possibly. She took a step forward and to the side slightly, moving slowly.

“Hey... Easy... I'm just passing through.” Her eye lingered on the Shellnerd for an extra second, but... She knew she was supposed to be here hunting this virus specifically because of some upsurge and overpopulation, but it was hard to turn that very legitimate and important community service into reality against individual critters that weren't being a threat. The destructive and violent ones, she could deal with... and if she found the source of the problem, that might count for something too... but she just didn't feel right going after one if it didn't pick a fight first.

As she took another cautious step, Lyntael reached out tentatively to the flow of the breeze around her, ready to pull it in to a deflecting spiral of wind if any of them did decide to attack her, but she held off on making any visible sign of readiness – she'd just have to hope she was quick enough if they were violent. The gentle pulse of her charge matched her heartbeat, calm for now but beginning to build in response to the situation. She took another step beginning to move around the mud pool to the cliff-side of it.

“See? No danger here.” The calculating part of her mind still assessed the viruses in terms of how dangerous they might be to her, if they forced a fight; she'd encountered violent members of most of their species' before, these ones seemed more weathered and powerful than others she'd seen... even the mosquito swarm looked like they could more than just nip if they had a mind to. Her eye drifted to the vacantly happy mudfeesh, and she guided her cautious steps to put a little more distance between them.

“As fun as it looks, I think I've had enough mud for today, little guy... none for me thanks!” She raised her hands with a smirk and small wink for the virus unsure whether it could understand her or not, and gently continued her edging around the pool towards the other side of the area. Despite her relaxed body posture, Lyntael herself was ready to throw herself out of the way or take cover behind whichever broken piece of ruin was closest, if she had to, but for now she did her best to avoid any sudden moves.

Summary

L*) Turbulence (Auto-deflect on shot or lobbed attack)
L*) Gust (Knock Back effects are Double Strength, and attacks with them gain Wind type)
L*) First Armour (20Hp Casing)
L1) Dodge (showing relaxed stance and non-threatening body language)
L2) Buster Charge
L3) Feint (Being moving forward slowly, to the cliff-ward side of the pond)
L4) Dodge (Ready to dart away or behind cover if something has a go at her)
L*) Fast Armour: 20Hp Casing Refresh
L5) –
L6) – No other actions for now

Cooldowns and Overcharge

(None Yet)

Overcharge: Begin: +0, No Charge Actions, End: +0

Flattery and compliments – especially phrased towards beauty, rather than cuteness – were not something she was really used to, and Lyntael let herself smile as she averted her eyes and shrugged. The realisation itself was perhaps worth thinking about, but it was somethings she could set aside for later... as far as it went, she wasn't entirely sure how she felt being looked closely at and complimented when she was wearing a suit that was desperately thin and detailed every curve, contour and groove of her body. The idea of actually modelling the material commercially was probably a non-starter, if Rogan had anything to say, but the first thought that came to her beyond that was that she'd definitely want to be wearing proper undergarments underneath it, next time, if there was a next time... But... a subtle thought wormed its way through her mind underneath everything else... as long as no-one else was around, being dressed securely but feeling nearly naked and distinctly, deliberately sexy was... kind of fun, kind of nice. A little exciting. She let the thought run its course as she waved to the other navi, and listened to Rogan reassuring that they'd make sure the suit got back to them in due course.

By the time the others had gone, Lyntael took an extra moment or two to look around and get her bearings again properly. Unconscious sensation made her realised she was absently running her fingers down her sides and over her hips... and instinctively thinking about what the contact might feel like in other places. She made herself stop before Rogan felt the need to pass comment.

“Alright. Which way for finding the source of these dangerous viruses?” There was a drawn out pause that she felt over the line – not the silence of Rogan checking details, but the more pronounced sensation of him hesitating more actively.

“It's fine, Rogan. Look, I'm dressed and decent now, I'm okay.”
“Lyntael, I'm really not sure I would call that...” He trailed off, and she heard a soft sigh. “Okay. According to the location we were pointed towards earlier, you just need to keep heading in the direction you're facing for now. Either path should be fine, but I suspect you'll need to make your way back towards the shoreline eventually.” The urge to run her hands over the material again was hard to put out of her head. Perhaps it was because she felt practically bare, but still couldn't really feel the movement of the air or the wind on her skin properly. She looked out over the water, turning her face towards the sea breeze; it was stronger up on the cliffs.

“I think I'll stay up here for a bit, take in the view a little more as I go. Even if these are the rogues, the weather is nice, for now. It smells like rain, but it feels like summer.” She began to walks along the upper path at a relaxed pace, strolling slowly and making small skipping jumps from one raised rock to the next as the mood took her. Rogan's voice followed her with a touch of dry humour.

“I'm not sure if you were paying attention, Lyntael, but I suspect that might actually have something to do with you. As far as I'm aware, even the more deprecated sections of the network aren't quite that prone to sudden dramatically timed storms.” His comment was droll, but it made Lyntael frown for a moment and glance towards the sky. She hadn't really thought about it at the time... or any time it happened, now that she focused on remembering. As she lined up the memories though, sure enough – the storms had come and gone as she grew more worked up in the middle of fights, or dangers, even when the weather wasn't supposed to be that way. That was... not something navigators were meant to be able to affect, she was fairly sure. Wind and breezes were one thing, and she could feel the motion of the air all around her, far out almost as far as she could see, if she concentrated... but the rain and the storms, that was something different.

“I don't know, Rogan. It just... seems to happen.”
“As with many of your mysteries, Lyntael.” He didn't sound bothered, or concerned, really... a part of her suspected that others, people more knowledgeable about the net world, might be. She just nodded and pressed onward.

((Ready for Battle 11))

As much as she was more or less prepared to continue on her own way, the last offer from the other navi's operator was enough to make her pause and glance back towards the new display presented. A soft, thoughtful frown brushed her features as she listened to the explanation and let her eyes take in the peculiar suit with a costume-designer's eye. It looked simple enough, and very thin, though she had to suppose that when it came to designs for material, her habit of following normal physical constraints was just that, really, and the thinness of this material didn't need to be any limitation on its other capabilities. She bit her lip softly as her feet carried her back to the mannequin and her spare hand lifted one of the sleeves, passing the material between her fingers. The inner side almost reminded her of the gel that covered her when her cross with Eternalis and Aurora was active; soft, slippery and hugging, almost like it should be wet or slimy, but it wasn't. It would glide over skin and cling firm to it, yet without undue friction on contact.

At first she caught herself about to voice the idea that she simply couldn't take this, with a half a dozen small explanations about how foreign clothing didn't play well with her crosses, and how she wouldn't be able to preserve it properly going home, either, and... but she closed her mouth again and bit the polite modesty back before giving any of it voice; there was politeness, and there was silly, and she was standing here in nothing but her knickers. Take the clothes.

“It's a fascinating material. I'll... I'll try it on. One minute...” She began slipping it off the mannequin with careful movements, putting her back to the other navi so she could use both hands more freely.

“A moment, Lyntael...” Rogan's voice was cool and serious again; she was actually a little surprised he hadn't objected outright to the idea of her taking on material data from an unknown source, but he was clearly put out by her on-going wardrobe malfunctions, so maybe he was letting himself make a concession or two. A small smirk touched her lip at the thought.

“Alright, it's clean. I hope your new friend does not mind, but they certainly won't be receiving any ongoing biometric data or feedback on you from this gift. I've quarantined and sterilised it for external links and trackers.” The other navi's operator had seemed to mention wanting to find someone to test it for them, and she guessed that having data from such a test probably mattered to them, but there was not going to be any arguing with Rogan on this matter. Instead, she glanced over her shoulder with a quick, apologetic smile.

“I... I can't have that kind of stuff, sorry, but I could send you a message later, let you know how it performed, if you want?” She only spared them a moment for the glance, then turned her focus back towards actually trying on the outfit. It seemed designed to be worn against the skin directly, and after an extra moment or two hesitation, and a second glance back over her shoulder to make sure no-one was peeking, she quickly stripped off her remaining undergarment and folded the scrap of cloth up in one hand before stepping into the suit and pulling it up past her hips. A few tugs and quick adjustments later and she was settling it over her shoulders and pulling the back zipper all the way up.

It really was... very snug. Lyntael felt a soft blush creep across her cheeks as she shifted in the new outfit, her hips unconsciously rolling side to side as she moved from one foot to the other and got used to the press of the material against her body, and the way the silky material really did press in and hug 'everywhere'. Maybe she should have left her panties on after all. Oh well. They weren't wrong about it feeling like she was barely wearing anything at all, either... only the lack of feeling the wind on her skin, and the press of the outfit in certain more sensitive places, were any clues that she was dressed at all, at least as far as physical sensation went. She shifted again, still not quite at home with how much detail and definition the suit traced her figure with. Somehow she felt almost more indecent dressed like this, than she had a minute ago.

She distracted herself by raising the arm that bore the small series of adjustment dials and beginning to fiddle with them, watching the change in hue and tone against her forearm as she tweaked the suit from its default black through towards a softer, more pastel pale yellow. At one point, Rogan cleared his throat and Lyntael blinked; she realised she was seeing the soft hairs on her forearm as she adjusted the colour, and had let it slide all the way through to near transparency in her quest for the right pastel shade. A hot blush plagued her as she pulled the dial back to something safer and cleared her own throat as though nothing untoward had occurred, confirming her selection and locking it to let the controls fade away.

“Ah... right, okay... Umm... I think that's all taken care of? How do I look?” She grinned and glanced down at herself, doing a quick turn about to let others look properly at last. Her own downward glance reminded her again of just how much detail the skin-tight outfit preserved. She was fully covered and somehow felt more naked than before. The part of her that secretly craved more femininity that she had to offer internally bemoaned how slight her hips, behind and chest were, and how the extreme hugging of contours and curves mostly only emphasised how reserved those curves and grooves were. The rest of her fought off the instinct to blush instead.

“Let us hope that you don't encounter any cold breezes...” Rogan's voice sounded flatly unimpressed, though she'd come to think of his nonplussed remarks as compliments in their own right, at least after a fashion – he was only put out because his attention was being drawn to her femininity, and he wasn't comfortable with thinking of her that way... so... it was sort of a compliment, in that sense, wasn't it? She tried to think of it as such. Without thinking about what she was doing, Lyntael reached up to rub briefly at the left side of her chest just to make sure nothing was standing up or sticking out and she heard Rogan cough with a briefly mortified sound.

“If you're done, Lyntael, perhaps you should get moving again, if you're determined to continue.” She nodded, then looked towards BeastKnight once more.

“Thank you, for this. I'll look after it as best I can, I promise.” She grinned, bowing her head in gratitude to the other navi and his operator, then stepped back again and gave him a short wave before getting ready to continue her search.

As the other navi groaned and began to rouse himself and recover, Lyntael felt some of her tension relax and she focused on breathing deeply and letting her heart slow to a more reasonable pace. Her body continued to spark faintly in rhythmic pulses and she just watched from her kneeling position for a few extra moments while he sorted himself out.

At his first proper comment, Lyntael looked down at herself with a small start and immediately lifted one arm across her chest. She felt a flush of pink hit her cheeks and her gaze slid away to one side in momentary embarrassment. Covering herself barely made any sense at this point, all things considered, but the principle of the matter was still important, or so her immediate thoughts insisted now that the violence and tension were passed.

“Ah... yeah, um... It's not your fault, I'm sorry, I should have... I thought I had myself better under control than that, really. I can't go lashing out whenever something reminds me of... um... reminds me of other things.” She wasn't about to dive into everything that had happened with a stranger, as much as a part of her did feel like she owed him an explanation for her sudden assault. I'm okay now, I promise... Ah, a little sparky. Maybe keep a little distance.... but I'm okay. I'm glad you're alright.” After a moment, she took a longer breath, lifting her face towards the sky and the still lingering breezes, then sighed and rose smoothly to her feet in a graceful motion. She wanted to stretch out a bit and just loosen up again, but for now keeping one hand across her chest was more important. She glanced down at herself again briefly and offered the other navi a rueful grin.

“The clothing wasn't your fault either... you weren't to know. I know none of this is really a danger for most navis, especially not navis with proper combat systems and all of that... It's all visual overrides, and protection values, and getting to stay right a their best and strongest right until they're down...” She shrugged softly and began to pace, stretching out the parts of her body she could while still keeping herself as close to decent as she could manage. “I'm... I'm not like that. Wasn't made for fighting... My defences, near as I can tell... they're all just instinct, not anything that anyone ever designed or wrote or intended. I've learned to control them, mostly, but...” She shrugged and shook her head. Explaining something that she barely understood herself probably wasn't going to go anywhere meaningful.

“Are you going to be okay?” She glanced back over her shoulder towards the other navi, eyebrows arching with a soft expression. Her efforts to warm down and stretch out had become an unconscious series of graceful motions that seemed to move to their own unheard rhythm, stretching and flexing in ways that would be quite easy to appreciate, save for the arm around her chest. Unconsciously, she changed arms part way through her movements, working out the other arm instead while still keeping herself covered. She spared glances towards him whenever her movements allowed, trying to remain polite as she kept speaking.

“I'm supposed to be taking care of a virus issue in the area – a hostile upsurge, apparently... and I...” she paused with her back to BeastKnight, letting both her arms down so that she could examine the cut down her body more carefully. It didn't really seem that bad, truthfully – it stung, but it was barely skin deep and she'd felt far worse pain many times. “I'm going to keep on, and get to the bottom of it, I think.”

“No you will not, Lyntael. I don't care what follies of ill fortune seem to insist on doing this to you, but you are indecent. We're stopping.” Rogan's voice cut in with a weight of exasperation, but Lyntael paused in her steps, folding both of her arms across her chest how as she frowned.

“I'm okay, Rogan. And I really don't think that anyone we're going to be facing soon is going to stop and wait politely if my clothes gets ripped again.” The unspoken words – that actively cutting them off, purely for the torment of it, had been at least one navi's game of choice – drifted across the line in the silence that followed. Lyntael shook her head. “It's just another kind of training. I need to be ready.” It wasn't fair, she knew that, and she felt as though she could practically feel Rogan's indignant frustration at her making arguments like that. She did feel bad, pushing that particular button just to get her way.

“Look, if you've worked out how to fix the problem without pulling me out, then I'd love that, but you know I'm going to have to start over finding this trail again if I stop here. It will be fine, Rogan, I'm sure it will be.” A frustrated sigh was the only immediate answer and she turned her focus back to the other navi. She shifted her arms until she was covering what passed for her breasts with one arm again and glanced at her other hand carefully before extending it towards him.

“Thank you for being kind. And, um, sorry for getting carried away. It was nice meeting you.” Her charge had calmed enough now that, if he shook her hand the most he would feel would be a warmth and a gentle hum of latent charge. She offered him an encouraging grin before getting ready to continue on the trail again. Other navis were rare in this lower network, surely the chances of her running into anyone else was extremely slim at this point.

The leftward path that led to the more traditional section of the onsen presented a small landing before the branching stairs descended to the three main pools – beyond, Amy could get a partial glimpse of the relaxation areas beyond, but a haze of steam obscured most of what could be see from here, and even that was mostly blocked by low semi-circular walls that offered pockets of privacy and seclusion throughout the area, with slightly taller divides further marking off the three primary divisions. Between the landing and the pools, however, the party could see that each stairway passed down through neat enclosed rooms made of similar natural materials to the rest of the onsen's decor. Their guide hesitated, a flustered, fraught expression warring on her features.

Ah... I do apologise, ma'am, truly but, ah... Our Traditional Onsen is further divided into sections, you see.” She gestured with a hurried hand to each of the stairs in turn. “For those presenting masculine forms, feminine forms, and the largest area, mixed and open to all. The situation is in—” As she pointed towards the mixed onsen, shouting and clamour could be heard coming from that direction and the caretaker winced. “O-only, ma'am, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to fully disrobe before passing beyond the change area. I must insist that all obey the rules of the Onsen, please, ma'am, I'm sorry, it's my job.” As the sounds of disquiet rose, the caretaker looked pleading to Amy with an apologetic bow of her head, then glanced nervously towards Sakura.

“If you or the young miss aren't comfortable with her going down there as well, I can keep the little one safe here for you, I promise, only... please hurry, before it gets any more out of hand!”

Despite the flustered caretaker's insistence, Amy probably still had some options here – there seemed to be little that would actually stop her from simply barging in, regardless of the rules of conduct, especially since the caretaker had mentioned more than once that none of the staff or clients were navis suited for conflict... though at the same time, if the situation was already in need of diffusing, it might not be a good start to rush in breaking rules – potentially even breaking more rules than any viruses present, considering that most weren't really the clothing-wearing types to begin with.

Regardless of how Amy decided to proceed, if she did, she'd find the enclosed change area to be small and mostly perfunctory – smooth tiles, and a small handful of digital storage lockers, though not very many; it was probably safe to presume that most navis generally didn't have any need for physical storage for their clothes, after all. The normal fixtures of a traditional onsen pre-bathing area were all present for Amy to avail herself of if she felt so inclined before passing through to the main spring beyond.

Beyond, the steam was a drifting mist, though nowhere near dense enough to properly hide in or even obscure vision, and it would have been a soothing atmosphere is not for the increasing sounds of shouting and panic ahead.

The mixed traditional onsen was comprised of a wide central pool that started shallow at the edge of the tiles, but swiftly became deeper towards the centre, to allow for programs of different heights to find comfortable places to sit and relax. A handful of narrower channels – perhaps a half dozen – fanned out in slightly curving arcs from the main pool, set at regular intervals. Each curved away towards more secluded and private bathing pools, that each in turn were ringed by low curved walls about two feet high, providing some small additional cover from the main pool.

Taller walls, each about six feet high, separated this area from the other two traditional pools, to either side, but there were enough problems to worry about here and now. The Onsen was, if not packed, nevertheless moderately busy. At first glance, Amy wold be able to see more than a dozen other programs of various shapes, sizes and body-types about the spring; here there were several that clearly didn't have anything approaching a humanoid design, but net norms being what they were, most were some variation on human-like, a mix of masculine and feminine forms. Like it or not, this was something Amy had no trouble perceiving, since, at the moment, very few of the navis present were taking the situation sitting down.

Towards the back centre of the area, a section of the pool seemed to house something of a control system, where fresh water flowed in and a console for adjusting small elements of the temperature or atmosphere. There were probably proper controls for actually running the Onsen elsewhere – these ones looked to be just the simpler ones that public clients could access with limited freedom. The problem here was that the steam and mist around the controls was not only particularly dense, but particularly agitated as well. Within the clouds, Amy cold just make out the two shapes, shifting and moving with deliberate life, even though they were just denser patches of steam. Hints of curious and excited expression occasionally showed through in the condensed mist shapes as they curled and drifted around the controls and the water inlet, seemingly revelling in the heat of it and gradually making it hotter and hotter.

Around them, a handful of other navis were standing on the edge of the tiles, out of the water, muttering and talking to each other with a sound of frustration while they tried to get close to the controls, with no luck – they seemed hesitant to get close to the seemingly animate wisps of steam, who in turn turned to face them with warning hisses any time any navi attempted to reach the controls. The two most eager to act, amongst the small crowd of navis clustered about, were a blocky navi with a body that looked more like a centaur made of cinder bricks; four thick limbs and large, blunt feet. Their upper body became more serpentine and narrow - a single flexible, extension with a compact head that clustered most of the features of normal face all into a single narrow cone point. The upper body also had two snake-like arms that were long and had no obvious joints in them, more resembling tendrils or tentacles. They continuously tried to reposition to somewhere where one of their arms might reach a control unnoticed by the steam-beings, in between making side comments to a second navi who was trying to act as flank to their efforts on the other side. She was more humanoid, designed to be what some might call unfairly eye-catching and attractive with a slender and lithe build, with just the ideal average amount of curve and roundness is all of the traditionally desirable locations. Her skin was a dark hazel colour, with hair that was a bright, vibrant blue falling about her neck and shoulders – though the grooming lower down her body showed that this wasn't her natural hair colour.

A short way off, to one side, more of the clients were having a different issue – potentially less dangerous, but with no less shouting about it. One of the side channels appeared to be thick with dark, bubbling mud. It filled the side pool it came from and was slowly spreading out in a widening fan across the central pool as well. Standing near the contaminated pool, three navis were debating with each other; one stood at about six feet, with a toned form, a somewhat etched and well defined chest and light olive skin tone was coated in thick brown mud up to his waist, and had clearly at some point put a very muddy hand to his face, and run it through his otherwise rich black hair. He was in the middle of making an exasperated gesture towards the muddy pool while talking to the second male navi. This one was about five foot tall and also covered in mud to the same height, though this meant it nearly reached his chest. Where he wasn't coated in mud, he bore an orange pattern of diamond-shaped scales. Spined ridges ran down his back and became a thin, sinuous tail that was presently coiled comfortingly around the waist third navi standing between them, who, rather than argue was simply looking on at the mess with an expression of deep disappointment. She stood only about four foot tall, with a very curving and bountiful feminine figure, marred by the mud coating that went all the way up to the top of her rather ample-for-her-size bosom.

Within the side pool, Amy could catch occasional glimpses of two fish-like viruses that seemed to be very happy to enjoy the mud they were making, and were merely amused by other navis' failed attempts to grab or wrangle them out of the spring. All around these two groups, other navis watched on, or called for something to be done in a growing chorus of irritation. Beyond them, there were still quite a few others who were doing their best not to be a part of this whole situation and just keep to themselves in various other places about the spring.

-=Not The Usual Clients=-
MudfeeshMudfeesh (Mudfeesh)

This virus looks like a sausage shaped fish with a brown underbelly, a blue/green/red/black back (depending on the version) with a wavy dorsal fin, a mouth that constantly gasps for air, beady little eyes and a large flat tail that it uses to propel itself. It moves by flopping around very erratically, granting the family a passive dodge effect.

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Wood + Impact + Slow
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: It leaps at its target, attempting to slam into it with its slimy belly.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MudFlop1, Zenny
Special: One passive dodge per turn.
-Creates mud terrain where it moves. A: 60Hp [Mud][South-Western Pool]
MudfeeshMudfeesh (Mudfeesh)

This virus looks like a sausage shaped fish with a brown underbelly, a blue/green/red/black back (depending on the version) with a wavy dorsal fin, a mouth that constantly gasps for air, beady little eyes and a large flat tail that it uses to propel itself. It moves by flopping around very erratically, granting the family a passive dodge effect.

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Wood + Impact + Slow
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: It leaps at its target, attempting to slam into it with its slimy belly.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MudFlop1, Zenny
Special: One passive dodge per turn.
-Creates mud terrain where it moves. B: 60Hp [Mud][South-Western Pool]
MistyMisty (Misty)

Misty are essentially blobs of scalding hot steam, with no true form. They use this to their advantage, employing as many ways to cover their victims as the imagination can dream up...and maybe more. Though they are Aqua type viruses, their bodies are so hot they can burn virtually anything just by touching it.

Area: Yoka

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Aqua + Impact + Burn(5)
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Attempts to touch and scald an enemy in any one of a myriad of ways.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MistConvergence1, Zenny
Special: MistBody: Immune to Aqua attacks. If anyone besides another Misty touches this virus without some form of protection (active chip attack, shield, etc.), they are inflicted with Burn(5) status.
Special: Burn(5): Deals 5 Fire damage per action to the victim starting the turn after this attack hits. This effect stacks with other timed damage effects, including other Burn effects. Can be cured with Status Cure. A: 100Hp [Normal][Southern central section]
MistyMisty (Misty)

Misty are essentially blobs of scalding hot steam, with no true form. They use this to their advantage, employing as many ways to cover their victims as the imagination can dream up...and maybe more. Though they are Aqua type viruses, their bodies are so hot they can burn virtually anything just by touching it.

Area: Yoka

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Aqua + Impact + Burn(5)
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Attempts to touch and scald an enemy in any one of a myriad of ways.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MistConvergence1, Zenny
Special: MistBody: Immune to Aqua attacks. If anyone besides another Misty touches this virus without some form of protection (active chip attack, shield, etc.), they are inflicted with Burn(5) status.
Special: Burn(5): Deals 5 Fire damage per action to the victim starting the turn after this attack hits. This effect stacks with other timed damage effects, including other Burn effects. Can be cured with Status Cure. B: 100Hp [Onsen][Southern central section]

-=Not Her Usual Problem=-
Amity.EXE: 230Hp [Normal][Northern end of the are, near the entrance to the spring]
Liliana.SP: 80Hp [Equipped to Amity]

-=Not Sure What's Going On=-
Centaur-Brick Navi: [Normal][Near the southern controls]
Unfairly Attractive Navi: [Onsen][Near the southern controls]
Handsome Muddy Navi: [Normal][Near the Muddy side-pool]
Short Muddy Navi: [Normal][Near the Muddy side-pool]
Scaled Muddy Navi: [Normal][Near the Muddy side-pool]

Other Navis: ??? [Varies][There are numerous other navis present – feel free to define your own NPCs to talk to if you'd like to!]

-=Terrain=-
60% Onsen

• Aqua Elementals gain 3 HP/action partially or fully submerged, Non-Aqua Elementals only when partially submerged.
• If any Sea Terrain exists in an adjacent panel, Onsen panels will change to Sea Terrain, except in Yoka (Sea will convert to Onsen).
• Terrain changes between Sea and Onsen do not inflict damage upon submerged entities, nor do they eject submerged entities to the surface.
• Elec attacks: +100% Source Damage.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Blast1 Blind.

[Large central pool, about four feet deep at the centre, but shallow around the edges. Five out of six side pools spaced equidistant around the central pool, connected by water channels broad enough for a single navi to wade/swim through]
30% Normal

• No effects.

[Anywhere not in the water is smooth, slightly slick tiled flooring]
10% Mud

• Non-Wood Elementals get -10% Evasion penalty and reduced movement speed, 25% (+/-25% RP) chance to fall or get stuck (1 action to get free).
• Automatically triggers Aqua Boost for appropriate chip attacks.
• Wood attacks: Change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood + Slow1.

[South-Western of the six side pools, including the channel that connects it and a small spreading semi-circle of mud at the edge of the main pool where it emerges]

Layout: Area is a broad central pool, surrounded by six smaller pools, spaced evenly around the main one. Each side pool is connected by a water channel that a navi could wade or swim though if they wanted. At the far south side, a public access control system for adjusting minor elements of the Onsen is set at the edge of the pool. Each small pool has a low wall half encircling it, to screen it slightly from the central pool. These walls are low, only a couple of feet high; they'll hide a person sitting in the pool, but not someone who stands up, or who stands or sits on the tiles out of the water. A six foot wall to the west separates the mixed traditional onsen from the feminine traditional onsen, while a similar wall on to the east separates it from the masculine traditional onsen. Sounds of surprise and curiosity are also drifting over these walls as others hear the sounds of a ruckus.

-=Objects=-
Onsen Control Unit: 80Hp [Southern central area, at the edge of the main pool]

-=Encounter 2, Resolve!=-

I can see what you're going for with this. The operator element is a bit messy, with the double conversion maths, but I think I understand why you're wanting to do it that way. One thing worth noting is that if you are involving the operators in real time, then, for all formal purposes, they will *NEED* to spend one of their actions to do the operator-side chip slotting, for each chip your navi wants to use... so if they are having to defend themselves, they may have far less time to handle chip support for the navi.

(...and if you are maybe thinking that this element seem to line up all to perfectly with certain elements that are coming to the fore with my own characters, the coincidence and convenience of this is not lost on me either... If you're putting this into the world then I *may* also want to utilise it at some point ^.^ )

I can run this for you when you're ready.

She could feel the wind howling, and the rain clouds overhead; a sudden tempest that had whipped up in answer to the storm in her breast, somehow. Even so, the weather all around paled into faded ephemera against the straining, pulsing beat of her charge and the way it filled her. The net was mutable, barely as real as a canvas for paint, reflecting what was truly real, here and now. The moment crystallised in Lyntael's senses and she grabbed onto it, wrenching control of her rampant charge back from herself and holding it tight. It was hers to control, as much as the winds and the rains, and it would listen. This was not the time or the place, not this time.

In the centre of the battlefield, with another violent static reverb, the young girl's form reappeared in a flash of light. Compared to the overcast, stormy half-light all around them, her body glowed, skin alive with a light that suffused her. She was standing, stance straight and broad with her hands down to either side, palms open and outward while lightning flared and crackled in excess from each of her strikers and her eyes, turned skyward, wept fanning sprays of arcing electricity. Blood sizzled and hissed as sparks filled and danced outward from the open cut down the length of her torso. The fact that she had only a very rain-soaked pair of underpants to even partially preserve some element of decency somewhat detracted from the image.. or possibly added to it, if one was so inclined. Lyntael wasn't really aware of that, so much. She drew a breath and the storm seemed to breath in with her. Then she breathed out, clenching her fists closed and squeezing her eyes shut until the glow faded from her and the wild arcs of lightning shrank, then stopped.

Overhead, the storm rumbled again, but it was the grumble of something settling as the winds grew less wild and the rain rapidly slowed. Lyntael panted a few more quick breaths, staggering a half step as she hugged herself and fought to hold in the weight of charge that wanted out. She could see the other navi, between stinging blinks; she'd gone too far, hurt him. She had to do something, help, but her body wasn't safe... she grit her teeth and stumbled across to her downed opponent, letting herself slump to her knees a few feet from him, leaving him a safe distance away from any errant sparks while her body pulsed with regular beats that shed ripples of excess sparks.

“I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I shouldn't have let it get that bad... I'm sorry... Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay.” She glanced upwards at the clouds above again.

“Rogan? Rogan is he alright? Can you do anything? I can't... I can't touch anything, not right now... I'll just hurt him more...” She was still aware of the stinging pain down her front, but it was ignorable now that she had herself under control... mostly. The unpleasant memories still lingered, pushing themselves forward for attention, and she could still distantly feel the intrusive way they'd fuelled her instincts and actions in that angry, terrified moment. Wasn't she supposed to be more controlled than that now? Was she meant to be better? She looked on, panting for breath as helpless guilt warred across her worried expression.

“He is stable, as far as I can see, Lyntael... but likely very close to the point where his PET connection will intercede. I'd advise you not get any closer. You are hurt, Lyntael. I think this experiment is done for today. I really don't think you should continue... like that.” There was something else in his words as he spoke, but she brushed them aside, watching the other navi for signs of recovery as she forced her own body to calm down slowly.

“I'm... I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have agreed to this... I thought I had this more under control... I'm sorry.” She had to swallow between heaving breaths and the words made her throat feel hoarse; her heart still hadn't slowed and the hammer of it in her chest wasn't helping.

((Just sent you a quick chat note - I'll grab your mod as soon as I've got a moment, but just sent you a quick query about your goal here; given your prose above I just wanted to get a guide on what you're aiming for so I can set up appropriately ^.^))

As they fought, Lyntael assessed her opponent. She didn't know what was in the shot he'd given himself, but strength seemed to be his forte, and she was fairly sure she had the edge on him in plain speed and agility. She moved with the fight, trading words with him as she looked for openings, but all it took was a moment of misjudgement, and a moment of the knight moving quicker than she anticipated. Despite their mutual reassurances as they battled, the blow that finally landed against Lyntael tore a cry of sudden pain from the girl. There was no stoic warrior's discipline here; as the blade stroke cut down and through, Lyntael heard her own scream accompanying the searing white line of sudden pain.

There was more that happened, in the sudden moment; BeastKnight might notice the strangeness of her defences, and the way they stopped – or in this case only reduced – the damaging force of the weapon, but not its physical presence from passing through to slam and cut her. The blade tore down from collarbone to hip as Lyntael tried, too slow, to twist away from the strike – it sheared through the remaining catches on her vest and dragged the ruined fabric with it as the blade stroke fell away from her.

Though she hadn't seemed to notice the sudden expose and loss of decency herself, recovering from the staggering strike as one hand leap up to press the lightly bleeding cut as red stain ran down from the wound, another voice, hitherto unheard, cut across the rain-swept battlefield.

“Lyntael! That's enough!!” Rogan's voice was sharp in this moment, but Lyntael only barely heard it at the edge of her senses. Lighting flared from her injury, flickering and fanning out as she staggered back around into a lower combat stance. The storm of energy inside her strained, howled to release; to respond to the pain with a violent fury that rose as a growl in her throat. She could feel the rain on her back; bare skin; pain of sliced flesh stinging. It was always the same. Never again.

“Don't touch me!” The shout came, unbidden, as she dug her toes in for a moment and leap forward, closing the distance towards her attacker in flash of light. She was there, leading fist flaring with barely controlled lightning force towards him, almost without seeming to cross the intervening space, and as she struck her whole form blurred and flickered with electricity. Lyntael felt the energy flow, let it release and welcomed the rush of power surging through her as it exploded. For a moment, sensation of pain lost to the euphoria of release and she embraced the drain of her expend demanding more charge, faster, harsher.

As the lightning danced across her skin, her body seemed, for a moment, to become nothing but the lightning itself and then she was gone from sight, or nearly enough. Just a rush of sparks striking in a flurry around her target, barely there except to strike, again and again, for a different direction each time.

Lyntael could feel the power surging as she moved, her mind a flood of static barely registering proper thought or sense. It seared at her as she guided her limbs, unseen, in a dance of blows that might have been artful and graceful, if they weren't so fast. A thread of urgent thought fought against the tide to shout that she was going too far; the thought wasn't clearer than that, against the more desperate reaction against the pain; her bare skin; and before her, again, a male with a knife. She let the power flow again in another surging release towards her opponent, the weight of her charge searing through her limbs, to her chest, then out to explode in another violent burst of lightning, delivered point blank. The drain hit her for a moment, and through the brief sense of dulling and emptiness that followed, Rogan's voice.

“Lyntael, Stop! You are not There. That is not Him. Calm down and breath, Lyntael!” The words barely made it to her through the roar of static as her charge cycled up to fill the emptiness again. The blade was gone, said a struggling thought in her mind; she'd destroyed it already. Her form was still an invisible blur of living lighting, but she pushed through it to try to find reality again, passing back and away from her opponent towards the centre of the battlefield again. Her eyes were burning, static overflow falling in cascades from them, and her body hurt as her charge burned at her. Around the edges of their arena, lightning struck and crashed in erratic bolts while the circling winds spiralled into a violent gale. Some part of her knew that she'd have burned out long ago holding this much charge, even a couple of weeks ago. It was still threatening to overwhelm her, but her cut-out hadn't taken hold yet, and the girl grit her teeth trying to hold it together.

Summary

L1) Action Precluded: Buster Charge
L2) Half-charge Strike (300Elec, Disarm, A) (Overcharge +4)
L3) My Vision Alters, yet I see through (Buster Charge, Dodge, Invisibility (1 Round)), Off-Target (1 Rank, 1 Round), 3CD (Overcharge -2)
L*) Fast Armour: 10Hp Casing Refresh, if it's broken
L4) My Pain is Real, it lingers after (Counter (On Hit): (10Elec Nova2, Knockback, Time Delay (Start of next turn): Counter (On Hit): (10Elec Nova2, Knockback))), 15Hp Sacrifice, 2CD (Overcharge +1 per Counter Triggered)
L5) Basic Buster Strike (30Null, Disarm x 5 Hits, A)
L6) Half-Charge Strike (300Elec, Disarm, A) (Overcharge +4)

Cooldowns and Overcharge
My Pain is Real; it lingers after (2TCD)
My Fear Swells, but I hold tight (1TCD)
My Vision Alters, yet I see through (3TCD)
My Soul Screams, and yet I fight (2TCD)
My Faith Can Heal, with time for laughter (1TCD)
My Torment Rebels; I will not break (Cooling)
My Heart Falters, yet beats anew (Cooling)

My Fear Rejected, with hopeful stride (1TCD)

My Anger Directed, 'gianst violent threat (1TCD)
As I Look to the Sky, and my wounds bleed wet (3TCD)
A Manifest Spirit, and eyes that dance (1TCD)

A Scarred Soul, with love to give (2TCD)


Overcharge: Begin: +12, Half-Charge Strike (+4), My Vision Alters (-2), My Pain is Real (+1 if triggered), Half-Charge Strike (+4), End: +18/+19

Nerf Tracker
This Round: Self-Slow (2), Off-Target (None)
Next Round: Self-Slow (None), Off-Target (1)

Despite Lily's own trepidation, Amy's luck seemed to be in, at lest today. Activating the crystal resulted only in a fairly standard data unpacking process as the panels of the crystal folded away and in on themselves to reveal a small bundle of credit sticks once set aside and long since forgotten. All together, the totals on the sticks added up to a neat 2500 zenny, with no other traps or tricks this time.

GMD: 2500z

((I initially didn't give you the onsen effect, since it requires partial submerge, but in retrospect I think I was being overly picky – the intention is likely just that being on the tile gives you the basic effect, after all. Rectified the discrepancies as of this post))

Across from Amy and Lily, the Scuttle twitched and stamped its various limbs in erratic, uncoordinated frustration, unable for a brief moment to act properly. It gave the navi and her companion enough of a moment to sort out the vulnerable mystery data and secure it for the time being.

Nearby, though it continued to burn, the sword-wielding virus swung its weapon again trying to strike at what it seemed to view as the threat to the Scuttle virus. Its attack was slow and clumsy, however, missing everything of note while May took an extra moment to heal and protect Lily's more vulnerable situation.

The respite didn't last long, however; the Scuttle itself shook off the stun with a small cascade of lingering sparks before its whole body drew back then exhaled long and low, blasting a cone of frigid ice and mist across the group. Amy had just enough to item duck away from the blast of freezing air and though Lily was clipped by it in the process her new defence was able to absorb the damage of the attack, leaving her unharmed. Unconsidered in the crossfire, however, the Monosword virus caught a blast of ice to the back; whatever enforced loyalty the powerful and enraged Meta seemed to hold over the other virus, it clearly was not a two-way consideration.

While the ground beneath them was encrusted in a layer of rime and frost, Amy re-positioned to give her companion space to work. Liliana's ionised wave of force rippled towards her target; the Monosword glanced towards the beating wings, seemingly just in time to warp itself to a braced position between them and the scuttle, trying to intercept the blow... but the wave tore right past it, unstopped as it first ripped across the Scuttle's outer aura and then traced a mass of crazed cracks and spidering fractures across its form.

The scuttle screeched and flailed, its upper body thrashing wildly and its limbs stuttered and splashed in the momentarily electrified water. There was no peace within, for the strange viral composite, however; it roared and spat to the last breath as the shell of its body broke apart and dispersed. There was no becalmed or peaceful soul beneath this creature – only more unending rage and destructive wrath. What remained in hazy ephemeral form only loosely held itself in a far distant echo of the shape of the life virus of legend, dashing, clawed arms outstretched towards Amy, its roars now reduced to a stretched out spectral gasp. Its form crashed through her, but this contact proved to be more than the wispy remnants could withstand and Amy found herself briefly encircled by a shell of resilient energy that lingered only a moment before the last wisps of light faded and dissipated into the air.

Amy was free to look around for a moment, her new chip ready for any further targets, bomb in hand, but as the Scuttle had broken apart, the Monosword virus ha faltered as well, recovered its senses for a moment, and then promptly fled the battlefield in a flash of light. Off to one side, a shape that might or might not be a large Teddy in a floating inner tube had produced a comically large newspaper which it was now attempting, poorly, to casually hide behind and avoid attention. The fight seemed to be over, at least – though she still took the final moments to make use of the gels already prepared for use and restore the rest of her vitality.

-=Viruses=-
Scuttle-Scuttle- (Scuttle-)

Scuttle- is an angry looking insectoid creature. Unlike the virus it was designed to be like, it is sky blue instead of blue. This metavirus were made in an attempt to recapture the devastating power of the LifeVirus's creations, byte for byte, to the inclusion/exclusion of various aspects of their virus components, such as removing all flight capability, and cranking up their innate aggressiveness. That they were regarded as failures is more an indication of the real things' incredible might than the metaviruses' weakness. They're still extremely vicious, and very much prefer attacking to dodging.

Area: All

HP: 410
Element: Aqua

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Aqua + Break + Piercing + Group Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Primary Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches a hardened bubble at the enemy. Accuracy decreases by one rank with each hit.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Aqua + Knockback + Ground Attack
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Creates a wave of ice water that crashes into an enemy.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Aqua + Small Ice Terrain Change + Cone Attack
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Uses freezing cold breath to coat the enemy and the ground in ice.

Special: AquaAura: Begins each battle with a 10 HP AquaAura, which is pierced and instantly destroyed by Elec attacks. This reforms at the end of each turn.
Special: WaterProof: Cannot be inflicted with Freeze. Takes half damage from Aqua attacks.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Blizzard1, AuraHead1, AquaAura1, Aqua+20, AquaLine (Rare), Zenny: CLEANSED (?)
MonoSwordMonoSword (MonoSword)

MonoSword are distant cousins of Swordy, but have evolved further in an attempt become more a threat. They attack by teleporting in front of their target, and slashing with their namesake before returning to their original position. Their blades are sturdier than most, and can cut through things regular ones cannot, such as shields. Their bulky armor also gives them above average stamina, but it weighs them down to the point where they do not move or dodge, aside from attacking. Despite it lacking any sort of defense that would bestow such a weakness, they ironically take additional damage from Break attribute attacks.

Area: Netopia, Yoka, Hades Isle

HP: 120
Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Break + Slashing + Wide Attack
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Delivers an armor cutting slash.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): BreakKnife, Zenny
Special: Break Weakness: Attacks with the Break attribute deal +100% Source damage to this virus, as though hitting an elemental weakness.
Special: Moves by teleporting. This is not treated as a formal Teleport, and does not confer any bonuses.: FLED
TeddyTeddy (Teddy)

Area: ACDC, Yoka, Okuden Valley, Yumland

HP: 100
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 + Slashing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: Tears at an enemy with its claws.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 + Impact x 2 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Picks up and throws one enemy at another.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: (Varies) + Impact
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Picks up and throws an object at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RageClaw1, Zenny
Special: Will only use its secondary attack if there is more than one enemy. Will only use its tertiary attack if there is an object capable of being thrown.: NOT MY CIRCUS, NOT MY MONKEYS

-=Navis=-
Amity.EXE: 230Hp [Onsen (South-West Onsen Pool)]
Liliana.SP: 80Hp [Equipped to Amity]

-=Objects=-
GMD: 15Hp [Carried by Amy]

-=Battle 1, Victory!=-
Spoils: 750z, 15BugFrags, AquaAura1Protection: Any Non-Elec attack lower than 40 HP
Accuracy: S
Description: Negates any Non-Elec attack less than 40HP
Duration: Three turns, or until destroyed
Element: Aqua
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: C

Open GMD?

((Welcome back, and sorry for the delay. Life's been full lately))

Amy and Lili didn't have too long to assess the dangers of the situation; the invading metavirus was, whatever other information Eric was able to dig up, unnaturally aggressive. The pair had barely gotten their bearings before the many-legged creation leap back from the coal onto one of the onsen pools and launched a high-pressure ball of fluid in their direction with a wet screech of fury.

There was no time to dodge the attack, fast and violent as it was, but the buffeting turbulence around Amy was enough to deflect the ball and sent it flying up and away to one side where it exploded in a shower of fresh water. Despite being water itself, there was little doubt that being hit by such a projectile would be bad news for just about anyone.

Threat narrowly avoided, Amy turned her attention to removing the more powerful virus' minion helpers, but as she spun to send her first fiery attack towards the Monosword virus, it seemed to assume she would be focusing on its boss – it warped to appear before her, putting itself between Amy and the scuttle, and inadvertently causing her first attack to miss. Her second spin, however, released a fire blast that connected point blank with the sword virus, weakening it substantially.

Off to the side slightly, the Teddy had spend the first few hectic seconds of the combat... rummaging in its fur. It pulled out a bright pink inner tube and inflated it with a single deep breath – though it seemed to be trying to do so... quietly? What followed next, in the side-lined onsen pool, was an almost comical effort of the large bear attempting to board its pool ring as stealthily as possible, but without any measure of grace. It slipped, half dunking itself in the water, and almost lost grip on the pool toy, pulled it back partially under itself, nearly overbalanced in the other direction, and eventually managed to get itself situated into something of a stable sitting position, all accompanied by a great deal of splashing and rubbery squeaks. The bear glanced about, shoulders hunched, seemingly hoping that no-one was paying attention to it.

Meanwhile, where the actual battle was taking place, Lily released her first ionised wave of energy towards the real foe, shooting past the blocking Monosword to connect with the larger metavirus directly. The watery field around the virus immediately dissipated, while electric shocks seemed to course over its form and arc between the water and its already highly conductive body. It roared, screeching with fury and pain as its body shuddered and spasmed, legs stamping and splashing in erratic movements.

It reared up on its hind-most legs for a moment then slammed its whole body down, sending a crashing wave of water back towards the perceived attacker but the sparks still danced across its form and its assault thundered wide of Amy and Lily. The creature didn't hesitate or slow however, repeating the motion with wrathful, violent sounds. The second wave was better aimed but Amy was able to dart away from I in time as she repositioned herself off the burning coals and onto the surface of the soothing onsen. The wonders of net physics in the area let her stand comfortably on the surface of the pool, at least while battle was pitched, but she could sense it would be easy enough to let herself sink into the warming liquid and start benefiting from its regenerative properties if she wanted.

For now, though, the pair prepared a multi-pronged assault on their main target, hoping to score another telling hit quickly, before the massive virus could respond further. As they launched their attacks, however, the Monosword that remained near them swung with its blade. The strike was more aimed at the flickering wings that the Monosword seemed to identify as the source of the painful electricity, and though its blade missed Amy herself, Liliana took a grazing blow just as she released her second ion wave. It was enough to throw her aim off, but fortunately, Amy's two attacks both found their mark. While the heavy cannon shot made its mark on the virus, it was the electrified zap ring that really did a number on the violent virus. Another series of infuriated, pained roars came from the creation as it jerked and flailed in place, wracked with stunning electricity.

A soft splashing sound off to one side marked the efforts of the Teddy, pay tips just barely in the water, trying to quietly scoot itself to the far edge of its onsenpool, as far away from the conflict as it could get without drawing attention to itself. Meanwhile, Amy was becoming keenly aware of the uncomfortable burns on her feet from a moment too long spent on the coals; the onsen was soothing, but they still stung. If it was any consolation, the damaged Scuttle seemed to be suffering a similar experience – though this likely wasn't improving its mood.

-=Viruses=-
Scuttle-Scuttle- (Scuttle-)

Scuttle- is an angry looking insectoid creature. Unlike the virus it was designed to be like, it is sky blue instead of blue. This metavirus were made in an attempt to recapture the devastating power of the LifeVirus's creations, byte for byte, to the inclusion/exclusion of various aspects of their virus components, such as removing all flight capability, and cranking up their innate aggressiveness. That they were regarded as failures is more an indication of the real things' incredible might than the metaviruses' weakness. They're still extremely vicious, and very much prefer attacking to dodging.

Area: All

HP: 410
Element: Aqua

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Aqua + Break + Piercing + Group Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Primary Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches a hardened bubble at the enemy. Accuracy decreases by one rank with each hit.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Aqua + Knockback + Ground Attack
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Creates a wave of ice water that crashes into an enemy.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Aqua + Small Ice Terrain Change + Cone Attack
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Uses freezing cold breath to coat the enemy and the ground in ice.

Special: AquaAura: Begins each battle with a 10 HP AquaAura, which is pierced and instantly destroyed by Elec attacks. This reforms at the end of each turn.
Special: WaterProof: Cannot be inflicted with Freeze. Takes half damage from Aqua attacks.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Blizzard1, AuraHead1, AquaAura1, Aqua+20, AquaLine (Rare), Zenny: 140Hp [Onsen (South-East Onsen Pool)][Stun: 1 Action][Burn: -5Hp per action, 1 round][AquaAura: 10Hp][Waterpoof; Halves water damage taken, immune to freeze]
MonoSwordMonoSword (MonoSword)

MonoSword are distant cousins of Swordy, but have evolved further in an attempt become more a threat. They attack by teleporting in front of their target, and slashing with their namesake before returning to their original position. Their blades are sturdier than most, and can cut through things regular ones cannot, such as shields. Their bulky armor also gives them above average stamina, but it weighs them down to the point where they do not move or dodge, aside from attacking. Despite it lacking any sort of defense that would bestow such a weakness, they ironically take additional damage from Break attribute attacks.

Area: Netopia, Yoka, Hades Isle

HP: 120
Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null + Break + Slashing + Wide Attack
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Delivers an armor cutting slash.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): BreakKnife, Zenny
Special: Break Weakness: Attacks with the Break attribute deal +100% Source damage to this virus, as though hitting an elemental weakness.
Special: Moves by teleporting. This is not treated as a formal Teleport, and does not confer any bonuses.: 60Hp [Normal (Just beside Amy)][Burn: -5Hp per action, 1 round]
TeddyTeddy (Teddy)

Area: ACDC, Yoka, Okuden Valley, Yumland

HP: 100
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 + Slashing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: Tears at an enemy with its claws.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 + Impact x 2 targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Picks up and throws one enemy at another.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: (Varies) + Impact
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Picks up and throws an object at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RageClaw1, Zenny
Special: Will only use its secondary attack if there is more than one enemy. Will only use its tertiary attack if there is an object capable of being thrown.: 100Hp [Onsen (back of the North Onsen pool)][Equipped: Pool Ring (30Hp, Light), Towel (20Hp), Sunglasses (10Hp)]

-=Navis=-
Amity.EXE: 200Hp [Onsen (South-West Onsen Pool)][Burn: -5Hp per action, 1 round]
Liliana.SP: 60Hp [Equipped to Amity]

-=Terrain=- (A medium sized battlefield, one movement is sufficent to make it to one end from the other, a fient will suffice to make it to make it to one side from the center, roughly)
55% Coal

• Fire Elementals gain +20 Strengthen/turn, but must be allocated to Fire Element attacks only. Any Coal Strengthen vanishes after moving off of it.
• Non-Fire Elementals get Burn (5 Fire/action for 1 turn or until cured) the turn after they come into contact with Coal Terrain.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Soil.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to to Lava.
• PanelShot: Imbue Fire.

(Middle of the terrain that spread out to surround the others)
30% Normal

• No effects.

(Spread out in three small islands in a V shaped pattern, one the north-west, one to north-east, one to the middle-south)
15% Onsen

• Aqua Elementals gain 3 HP/action partially or fully submerged, Non-Aqua Elementals only when partially submerged.
• If any Sea Terrain exists in an adjacent panel, Onsen panels will change to Sea Terrain, except in Yoka (Sea will convert to Onsen).
• Terrain changes between Sea and Onsen do not inflict damage upon submerged entities, nor do they eject submerged entities to the surface.
• Elec attacks: +100% Source Damage.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Blast1 Blind.

(Three small pools that connect to each other in the south-east, south-west and middle-north, one action is needed to move between the pools when submerged, each pool connects to one another via a series of tubes shaped like a triangle, able to make it to any pool from any other)

-=Objects=-
GMD: 15Hp [Normal (Just in front of the south-east Onsen – careful, it's kinda in the middle of everything]

-=Battle mode: Elite=-
- Kill the Metavirus (Scuttle-) to win!
- Bugfrags rewarded regardless of other viruses deleted, but deleting them will render their chips as potential battle rewards!

Across from her opponent, Lyntael exhaled as the swell of power pressed at her, bridling against her restraint. It was coursing through her limbs and making her strikers buzz and hum with bright glows of eager electricity. Across her body, light caustics danced beneath her skin in rapid patterns, occasionally breaking the surface to arc in small snaps and crackles. She breathed in again. Slow down.

She resumed her light stance and raised her hands again as her opponent spoke to give her space, but as much as she appreciated the gesture, a test was only a test if it was fair. She grit her teeth, somewhere between a grin for him, and a snarl against the burning in her muscles for herself.

“The people who really want to... hurt me... they aren't going to politely wait for me to be ready. And... and if I overload myself in a fight with someone like... like him... well, I...” She closed her eyes, pushing the memory aside. “I know how that ends, and it's not good. I need to be ready.” Lyntael focused and honed her mind against the burning pain beginning to building up as she held her charge without releasing it. Above, the gathering grey clouds rumbled again and spatters of rain began to fall. She glanced up as the first droplets hissed against her electrified skin. Smaller pains were inconsequential, beside preventing the ones that really mattered. Never again.

As she stabilised for a moment, the feeling of static and ozone in the air became a brief reverberating hum that might tingle across the senses of anyone close by – if he were susceptible to it, it might even becalm her challenger for an extra moment or two... or of course, he might just be the kind to wait patiently for combatants to exercise their power-up sequences, if that was his preferred trope. The thought didn't occur to Lyntael herself.

Above lightning cracked in the clouds, and then the storm broke from spattering rain into an increasing downpour. Around Lyntael, the whipping winds circled up again, blustering as they ruffled her vest and she turned her face towards the rain with a calmer breath, her body glowing softly in the centre of the tempest and steadfast to any opportunistic offence the knight took in the moment.

The weight of charge burning in her still had her hands and feet feeling fuzzy and more sluggish than they should, but she exhaled again and returned her gaze to focusing on her opponent and another stabilising pulse of electricity rolled off her form and danced across the gathering puddles of rain water that formed all around.

“I wasn't made to be a fighter... and I never wanted to be one.” She darted towards BeastKnight now, looking for an opening as her charge looked for an excuse to release and she held the majority of it in check. “But I think, even if I have to now... That's okay.” When she caught what looked like a moment to strike, she led with one fist in a sharp driving motion, but rolled it into a feint at the last moment, dropping her shoulder and letting the rest of her body spin into easy momentum until she could bring her opposite heel down over the top in a helm-breaking strike that flared with lighting.

The burst of light blinded briefly as arcs from it spread out and away from the point where her charge released, seeking other targets to ground themselves on. As Lyntael finished the rolling motion and and came upright again. It was only a small release, compared to the weight building in her now, but even so, there was a relief and even a mild ecstasy to the sensation of letting the power flow, just for a moment. Her guard came up as she straightened, watching her opponent through the now pouring rain while brief flashes above lit the sky and the wind rushed in a broad circle around their arena.

“It's fine, I think... because it's me choosing. I wasn't made for this, I was never intended to be a combat navi... but I can still choose my path, and if I can learn to handle this...” her breathing was more laboured now, she noticed; each small expenditure met with a fresh surge of energy cycling up from the core of her being and leaving her breathless. “...can learn to protect the ones who matter to me, as much as I can... then that's what I want to do.” She managed a brief grin while water tried to weigh down her hair across her eyes and its own sparking dance of sparks pushed back. Her eyes were starting to sting too, she could feel it at the edges. “So please... don't hold back... Hahh... because in a few seconds I'm not sure I'll be able to.”

Summary

L1) Action Precluded: Buster Charge
L2) A Scarred Soul, with love to give (Damage Reduction (10, 1 Round), 40Hp Casing, Stun (1 Action)), Self-Slow (1 Rank, 1 Round), 3CD (Overcharge -2)
L3) As I Look to the Sky, and my wounds bleed wet (Stage Chance (Sea; aesthetic as torrential rain), 10Elec Nova4, Knockback), 15Hp Sacrifice, Recovery Time (1 Action), 4CD (Overcharge -4)
L4) Action Precluded: Recovery Time
L5) My Soul Screams, and yet I fight (ShotBase(50)Elec Nova2, Knockback), Charge-Burner, 3CD (Overcharge +2)
L6) My Thoughts Collected, no more to hide (Take Aim, ShotBase(50)Elec Spread2, Impact, Knockback), Self-Slow (1 Rank, 1 Round), 3CD (Overcharge +4)
L*) Fast Armour: 10Hp Casing Refresh, if it's broken

Cooldowns and Overcharge
My Pain is Real; it lingers after (Cooling)
My Fear Swells, but I hold tight (2TCD)
My Soul Screams, and yet I fight (3TCD)
My Faith Can Heal, with time for laughter (2TCD)
My Torment Rebels; I will not break (1TCD)
My Heart Falters, yet beats anew (1TCD)
My Fear Rejected, with hopeful stride (2TCD)
My Anger Directed, 'gianst violent threat (2TCD)
As I Look to the Sky, and my wounds bleed wet (4TCD)
A Manifest Spirit, and eyes that dance (2TCD)
A Scarred Soul, with love to give (3TCD)

Overcharge: Begin: +12, A Scarred Soul (-2), As I Look to the Sky (-4), My soul Scream (+2), My Thoughts Collected (+4), End: +12

As the buffeting winds deflected some of his efforts, and Lyntael ducked and wove around others, BeastKnight might notice that the one clean strike that did strike the girl's barrier actually seemed to pass right through the energy field, the shockwave lighting it up only briefly before breaking against her exposed skin and drawing a brief wince from her as her body responded and retaliated with sparks. If he or his operator were studying her vitals, however, they'd show that the barrier had indeed 'stopped' the blow, or at least removed the code-damaging capacity from the effect as it passed through. Certainly not a 'standard' manifestation.

Lyntael herself had kept her guard up as they spoke between exchanges. A small, distantly mirthless smile brushed her lips as she began to close in again, shifting from one balance point to another with a deceptively fluid grace while the glow of lightning energy increased its dancing patterns under her skin. “Sorry... I've had more than a few men say they wanted... ah, their meaning... intentions... were less friendly than yours. Sometimes I think it would be easier if I looked more... more like you, you know?”

Sparks pealed from her body in another balancing wave of static as she circled in close and attempted a quick motion to slide around towards his back angle. As the the cascade washed outwards the winds circling erratically about the arena whistled down around her again, reforming their protective shell while attempting to thrust the other fighter away from her if he remained close.

“I think, a few months ago, I wouldn't really have been able to understand fighting for fun... I'd have been terrified.” However her opponent moved, Lyntael darted with him, staying tight in on his melee, almost close enough to make directing his weapon at her difficult. Another burst of stabilising electricity rolled off her form, accompanied by the sharp scent of ozone. “A few weeks ago... I'd have gone at you all force and fury, without even stopping to ask... or think... or care...” With a sudden twist and inversion of her flow of motion, Lyntael twirled back the other way, weaving to avoid any offence from her opponent as she ducked low then darted out of his space again. She slid to her knees and let the momentum turn her body back around until she came up to on foot and one knee a short distance from him. “Now...” Her charge swelled to bursting in her and Lyntael embraced it, feeling the burn of it as the energy scorched through her muscles, drawing in from each of her strikers, massing at her chest and then out again as she lifted both hands, wrists together towards him. A brilliant flare of bright lightning arced from her, lighting up the battlefield enough to briefly blind as it crossed the space in a blasting line with enough force to tear through most anything in its path and throw backwards with force anything unfortunate enough to be stuck by its hammering, repeated bolts.

Lyntael felt the hollow drained feeling fill the sudden void, dragging at her like inky darkness until the next pulse of her charge thundered, spiralling back upwards with renewed vigour. She panted a breath as the light returned to normal from the blast.

“Now... Now I'm really not sure how I feel... But... But I'm glad for the chance to work it out. I'm lucky for that.” Still on one knee, Lyntael took a moment to breath, feeling her charge flood back and fill her while she caught her breath and watched her opponent. At the first sign of aggression from him, however, she rolled to the right into a smooth side tumble away from the attack. As her left foot came to ground again, she rose, kicking off the ground and upwards into a sudden rising axe kick that lifted her whole body with it. The renewed charge flooding her flared and sparked as it rushed from her strikers to her chest then flared out from her leading leg in another arc of thundering lightning. The streaking trail of force was aimed primarily at BeastKnight himself, but it splintered and forked at the point of impact, branching into new paths that stood a chance to strike his sword, or any other tools he might have brought to bear.

The motion left Lyntael turning in the air to complete the rest of the flip and land on the balls of her feet again, hands raised in a ready stance. The emptiness lasted only a moment before the charge roared back and Lyntael felt the beginnings of pain burning in her limbs. She had to slow down a bit. This was always where she went wrong, wasn't it? Too much too soon. Outwardly, she was breathing only a little harder, barely an exerted pant at all, but the static snapped and crackled in her hair, and dancing light caustics flickered under skin, alive with electricity that was already filling her again, eager to release. Above, the passing breezes had become stronger winds that brought clouds rolling in more rapidly than they ought to be travelling, darkening into stormy-looking masses as they came. Lyntael looked towards her opponent as she shifted back and forth on her toes.

“Hey, um... I'm okay for now, but... I can lose control of this, sometimes. I really ah... don't want to actually hurt anyone, so... you know... if it gets away from me, maybe just... back off until I recover? Sorry. I'm okay.... Come on... what other tricks have you got?” She managed grin for him as her charge pressed on her, swelling and building towards its limit again. Above, the clouds rumbled.

Summary

L*) Turbulence Refreshed (Auto-deflect on shot or lobbed attack)
L1) My Faith Can Heal, with time for laughter (Buster Charge, Feint, Movement, 10Elec Nova2, Knockback, Self-Slow (1 Rank, 1 round)), 3CD (Overcharge -2) (Close and begin to circle)
L2) A Manifest Spirit, and eyes that dance (10Elec Nova2, Take Aim, Dodge, Movement, Off-Target (1 Rank, 1 Round)), 3CD (Overcharge -1)
L3) My Anger Directed, 'gianst violent threat (ShotBase(50)Elec Break, Impact, Slashing, Knockback, Buster Shot (30null, Disarm x 5 hits), Off-Target (1 Rank, 1 Round)), 3CD (Overcharge +6)
L*) Fast Armour: 10Hp Casing Refresh
L4) My Fear Swells, but I hold tight (Dodge, 20Elec Nova2, Knockback, Charge-Burner), 3CD (Overcharge +1)
L5) My Fear Rejected, with hopeful stride (Take Aim, ShotBase(50)Elec Spread2, Break, Knockback, Self-Slow (1 Rank, 1 Round)), 3CD (Overcharge +4) (To BK first, spread to sword/other objects)
L6) Buster Charge

Cooldowns and Overcharge
My Pain is Real; it lingers after (1TCD)
My Fear Swells, but I hold tight (3TCD)
My Faith Can Heal, with time for laughter (3TCD)
My Torment Rebels; I will not break (2TCD)
My Heart Falters, yet beats anew (2TCD)
My Fear Rejected, with hopeful stride (3TCD)
My Anger Directed, 'gianst violent threat (3TCD)
A Manifest Spirit, and eyes that dance (3TCD)

Overcharge: Begin: +3, My Pain is Real (+1 per counter triggered), My Faith Can Heal (-2), A Manifest Spirit (-1), My Anger Directed (+6), My Fear Swells (+1), My Fear Rejected (+4), End: +12

Lyntael nodded her assent as the other navi prepared a more controlled space, and as she finished a few her stretch movements – more fluid and graceful than your average stretches, but still discernibly a brief warm up motion. As she settled into a loose combat stance, light and high on the balls of her feet while curling winds danced about her and ruffled at the torn clasp of her vest, Lyntael listened to her soon to be opponent and something he said made her expression grow sorrowful for a moment. Someone else who struggled with a person in their life who was less present than they ought to be. She had to stick to their usual cover, but she still wanted to say something.

“Hey... It's, it's alright. I mean, it's not as though I've got anyone using chips or 'operating me' either, you know? We make do, right?” She smiled for him again; with the masking in place, surface level scans and reads would make her show up like a fairly standard netnavi, and give no signs of Rogan's operation link. She wasn't... technically deceiving him, just commiserating something it seemed like they both understood.

They squared off, read to engage at that point, and Lyntael let her attention focus more clearly on the motions and styles of her opponent. Her heart picked up pace with the rush of conflict and her charge thrummed in her chest ready and rising. As she watched and prepared herself to respond to whatever the other navi tried, faint lines of light started to flicker across her skin, along with small snaps of sound as sparks jumped in her hair. Any blow the knight did land was likely to be met with a retributive burst of sparks and a blast of wind enough to throw him back again, away from her.

She circled slightly, hands up in a ready stance but light on her toes regardless. In her chest the thrum of her charge pulsed and she stabilised it, pushing the familiar shell static energy out from her body in an expanding ward that drew energy from her strikers as it passed over them and formed her barrier briefly before fading from sight.

“So... I'm Lyntael, but you've got me at a disadvantage... What should I call you?” She spoke up, friendly between any sudden motions of avoidance or defence she needed to take. Silent in her ear, Rogan's voice murmured at her.

“I don't approve of this Lyntael. The navi reads as 'BeastKnight', and by the look of this is sporting an... alarming degree of write protection.” Lyntael didn't respond, focused instead on her opponent. Somewhere in her mind, the distinction between what a person was digitally designated as and what they wanted to be called felt like it was becoming an important difference to her.

She shifted swiftly, to one side then the other, darting in close and around the warrior and making a pair of quick testing jabs at his side and mid-section before sweeping low with one foot. The movement inscribed an arc across the ground, a test for either the other navi's speed, or his balance, before she sprang up, uncoiling from her other leg and letting the trailing wind lift and twist her form in a continuation of the momentum from the low kick until the same foot swept around a second time. This time the kick was aimed at the foible of the blade, trying to push it back against the weak point in his grip. Just as the kick reached the contact point of her strike, a flare of wind spiralled around her and her body spun, arcing her other leg up and around so it could attempt to strike the blade's forte on the other side and amplify the force that could possibly be enough to tear the blade from his hands and send it spinning dangerously through the air and away.

The movement was fluid and graceful but, lacking the protection of her skirt, not exactly modest for the degree of up-close and wide open view it might give the knight of her not-completely-dry, and thus not-completely-opaque underwear; Lyntael wasn't thinking about this in the moment, and of course, any chivalrous knight focused on the combat at hand probably wasn't going to be distracted by the sight either, right?

As she came down, Lyntael stayed low in her landing crouch and took a half step around to face him again before striking inward to capitalise on the moment and test his other defences. She rose from the crouch leading with her left palm into a driving strike aimed at his midsection and lightning coursed through her as she embraced the flow of her charge. The energy drew in from each of her strikers, massed in her chest and flooded out through her leading hand into a blast of force that had enough power to rend and shatter through any defences, if the knight was still sticking around to take the blow. The breeze that had been surrounding the smaller girl rushed in along with the expenditure of energy, assailing and battering the other navi with enough power to drive him back and away from her across the arena.

Lyntael skipped back an extra step, returning to her ready stance as the brief feeling of emptiness washed over her and passed. As her charge pulsed and answered, beginning to cycle up faster, the sparks in her hair began to snap more visibly and far above the clear skies of the network began to fill with rolling grey clouds massing from every direction.

“So you said, you're testing a 'build'...” She called out, only a small amount of exertion on her breath so far. “What's it about? Is fighting sort of a hobby for you? I guess I'm sort of doing the same, kind of... Working out who I am... what I'm like, you know?” She didn't let her focus falter from watching the other navi's movements, but there was no need to be unfriendly.

Summary
L*) Friendly Match: assume that if, at any point, any of Lyntael's offence would reduce her opponent to their undershirt, or other surrender point, the remainder of her actions are curtailed immediately

L*) First Armour: 10Hp Casing (Clothing Reinforce)
L*) Turbulence (Auto-deflect on shot or lobbed attack)
L1) My Pain is Real; it lingers after (Counter (On Hit): (10Elec Nova2, Knockback, Time Delay (Start of next turn): Counter (On Hit): (10Elec Nova2, Knockback))), 15Hp Sacrifice, (Overcharge +1 per Counter Triggered)
L2) My Heart Falters, yet beats anew (Buster Charge, 80Hp Elec Barrier) Off-Target (1 Rank, 1 Round) (Overcharge -3)
L3) Dodge
L*) Fast Armour: 10Hp Casing Refresh
L4) Basic Buster Strike ((30null, Disarm) x 5 hits, A) (Testing his mobility and balance, and his grip on the sword)
L5) Dodge
L6) My torment Rebels; I will not break (ShotBase(50)Elec, Break, Impact, Slashing, Knockback, A) Charge-Burner, (Overcharge +3)

Cooldowns and Overcharge
My Pain is Real; it lingers after (2TCD)
My Heart Falters, yet beats anew (3TCD)
My Torment Rebels; I will not break (3TCD)

Overcharge: Begin: +0, My Pain is Real (+1 per counter triggered), My heart Falters (-3), My Torment Rebels (+3), End: +3

A couple of short minutes passed in silence as Lyntael pushed forward, but despite the most recent conversation behind them it wasn't an awkward or uncomfortable one and she found herself relaxing and letting her senses spread out into the gentle breeze as she strolled. Even so, the peace didn't last too long before Rogan's voice spoke up again and she opened her eyes.

“Looks like you've got another incoming, Lyntael. One signal, navigator signature.” He still sounded calm, but underneath it Lyntael could detect the immediate caution and alertness in his voice. Briefly, she wondered what it said about her that her own immediate reaction to the approach of an unknown navigator was of wariness now. She looking towards the new sound as it approached from the ridge-line above and turned, skipping away an extra step or two on instinct as the newcomer made a dramatic entrance onto the sand behind her.

Her body had fallen into a loose combat stance as she repositioned, light on her toes and keeping her profile slim and she forced herself to relax again. She the navi began to speak, however, Lyntael found herself growing increasingly conscious of the fact that the top clasp on her vest was till broken, and her lower body was covered not in proper swimwear, but normal underwear that was only mostly dried out. Rogan had gone silent as the navi had arrived and, almost without thinking, Lyntael had slipped her normal masking into place so that any surface scan would cause her to show up as a generic normal navi. Something he said made her tilt her head slightly, niggling quietly in the back of her mind.

“Hi... Ah, just... Just Lyntael, is fine, please.” Something about hearing him enunciate her... extension... just felt strange to her. She shook her head, brushing the feeling away and stepped forward close enough to extend a hand and give the other navi a chance to introduce himself as well, if he felt like being polite. After another moment, she jumped back to the other things he'd said. “But, anyway... I don't work for Eurayle, or anything like that. I only just met her today, a little while ago. We had a misunderstanding, and I helped her out with a problem, but that's all.” She assessed the other navi as best she could while she took in the rest of what he'd had to say introducing himself. A navi that liked to fight for fun and challenge, she guessed, definitely leaning into the full warrior aesthetic, and the talking about a 'new build' filled out the picture a bit more. She glanced out to the sea and shifted her stance, rubbing at one shoulder and upper arm with her other hand.

“I'm not really a fighter, honestly... I can defend myself, and, you know, keep myself safe when I have to, but I mostly prefer not to.” She winced with an apologetic smile. “I kind of struggle with pain more than most navis, and I'm supposed to be out seeking bounties at the moment. We can have a bit of a spar if you'd like, but I'll probably tap out if I start to get too badly hurt... I need to keep going for a while today, I think.” She tactically avoided answering any questions about Rogan; hopefully the navi wouldn't notice – after all, he'd mentioned his own operator, but they hadn't introduced themselves or spoken up either. She offered him a renewed grin and a small shrug.

“If you'd like to give it a try, though, are you fine to have a match here, or did you want to find somewhere more solid?” She rolled her shoulders and stretched as faint curls of the breeze twisted in and circled about her for an extra moment.

The tentative attempt at a handshake turned into a more enthusiastic tackle hug with barely enough time to half articulate a sound of surprise before the slimey was all over her.
“Ah- hey! Easy, just ah—” her half-formed protests cut into startled silence for a moment as she tried to deal with the eager creature. The sensation of its body wasn't uncomfortable – quite the opposite, in fact, and she could feel it covering her thoroughly underneath her vest as well as just on top of it. She tried to wrangle the virus gently as a hot blush spread across her features.

“Okay, if you just- hang on...” She shifted until she could move its massaging touch away from places she felt that she ought not to let it be groping, eventually lying on her front against the sand so that it could enjoy the rest of its adventure more appropriately. The sensation was kind of nice, she had to admit, when it wasn't somewhere that she was still determined to tell herself the virus didn't understand the significance of. By the time the creature relented and drew back again, there was no doubt that her vest was well and truly slimed, though for a wonder the slime that lingered on her own skin fragmented away swiftly as she felt the flow of data between her surroundings and her connection back to Rogan.

It was a few minutes of rest later, eyes closed and hands under her head as she relaxed on the sand, that Lyntael let out another long yawn without bothering to hide it this time and shifted to pull her vest the rest of the way off her body and lie it out on the sand beside her, just to let the sun take care of the remaining damp patches. She cast another glance up and down the beach, just to make sure she was clear of other navis, then lay back again.

“Rogan...?”
“Hmm? Yes, Lyntael?” His response sounded distracted, though she guessed he was busying himself with more planning.
“So... Lance, and... and Vigilance. When it comes down to it, we're trying to stop what they're doing, with this whole cloak and dagger corporation thing... but, Lance seems to think this is really personal. He knows who you are, and you... just because it was you, it made him change what he was doing. What happened... back north, Rogan?” It was a topic that had always lingered on the periphery, off-limits in a way that didn't need to be stated, and any time she'd hazarded questions that came close to the topic, Rogan's answers had made it clear that he wasn't going to talk about it any further than a one sentence response. There was quiet on the line, and then a quiet sigh.

“Until recently, I did not know who Lance was. I still don't really know him, beyond what my digging has revealed...” There was another pause, and Lyntael waited it out. “But I know his type, and I think I know how he fits into... the past.” Lyntael shook off another yawn and sat up on the sand, refocusing herself so she could pay attention; this wasn't the time to be drowsy or inattentive. Rogan continued a moment later.

“Eric and I came from... a large clan, far up in northern Netopia. They're the kind to put a lot of stock in blood and duty and the ties that bind, so to speak. The sort of family where being a member of that family came a long way before being an individual, and your duty to your clan came well ahead of your personal wants. There were responsibilities, and expectations...” she heard Rogan draw a long breath in, and let it out again slowly. “Expectations and a certain ruthlessness that wasn't afraid to cut and break and reshape pieces that didn't fit into the holes made for them, until they did.” Unconsciously, Lyntael nodded, and one of her hands lifted to rub in a nervous way at the place where her emblem had once rested. She'd suspected something a bit like that, given the way Rogan felt about the concept of 'family'. On the other end of the connection, there was enough of a pause for a dry, mirthless laugh.

“Eric and I... did not fit into the holes made for us.” The silence returned, and Lyntael could sense Rogan debating with himself, or possibly searching for words. “Lyntael would you please put your top back on?” The girl blinked, startled by the sudden tone of exasperation in Rogan's voice.

“O-Oh, um, right... sorry...” She quickly fumbled the garment, shaking out errant sand and slipping it over her shoulders so she could begin refastening the catches that weren't damaged.

“Anyway... we couldn't stay, couldn't bear to throw the majority of our lives into being what they wanted. Our clan had power and some level of influence, but they weren't, ah... well, they weren't the common mental image people have of north Netopian clans championing freedom from tyranny and individual courage. They were much more focused on clan duty and clan honour.”

“Why... why didn't you just leave? I mean... I'm guessing you did, but, surely that's not such a bad thing?” She knew she was pushing her luck, but if Rogan was in a mood to talk, she wanted to get as much as she could. She heard another tired exhale across the line.

“Unfortunately, Lyntael, such matters are rarely that simple. It...” his voice trailed to silence and remained quiet. It was several very drawn out seconds before he started again. “It's not something I like to think about, Lyntael, and especially not something to talk about in a public setting.”

“Right...” She didn't manage to keep the disappointment out of her voice, though she held back the sight that threatened to escape with her acknowledgement.
“Later, Lyntael. I mean that; this is something you should know now, just... not here, not now.” It wasn't his usual deflection, even if he was sill putting it off. Something in his tone was more earnest and she nodded silently before answering.

“Okay, alright... I should... probably keep moving then. I'm not exactly going to work out anything more about myself by lying on the beach.” She stood, brushing off her body and dusting away the clinging sand before giving a small wave to any of the other viruses that had lingered around while she took her break, then set out further towards her destination.

((Ready for Battle 10))

Ahead of her, the strange cactus worm continued to dance and jig, the long line of its many bodies shuffling along in arching twists and turns as it swayed to the thrumming beat of the music. The air felt alive with sound and it almost seemed to sparkle and shimmer, like a party at a disco. Everywhere, all around, motes and streams of bright colours seemed to mingle and scatter through the air in a joyful haze. As the head of the worm grinned back at her, and Seafoam approached unheeding of her operator's warning, its eyes swirled bright and wild in a spiral of rainbow hues and Seafoam could feel the fun and playful nature of the creature flooding out to her; the very thought of bringing violence to this situation seemed to drift further and further from her mind.

Looking on, Coral might notice that her navi's steps seemed to grow more sluggish, as her body began to sway more to the rhythm of the music, but settled on the heavy lower beat that made her seem to move slower just to stay in time with it. On her PET, coral would be able to see an unusual debuff afflicting her navi, beyond the slowing effect; something that would sap the damage of her offence chips at the very least.

For Seafoam, drawing closer to the dance party, the shimmering multi-hued sparkle in the air resolved into clarity and she began to realise that what was ahead of her wasn't just a single virus; they were costumes! A collection of various humanoid navigators danced and partied to the music, dressed up in ribbons and streamers and bells as they partied the music. Indeed, the ribbons, bells and various jewellery was very nearly all many of the dancers were wearing; nothing indecent, perhaps, but this rave was pushing a line, an everyone seemed to be having a great time of it.

The press of bodies swayed past her in a cheering and dancing congo line, and one of the navis in the line reached out towards her; this was surely the most attractive navi that Seafoam could recall laying eyes on, and they were smiling as they pulled her into the dance line. It was hard not to dance along, as the dancing bodies surrounded her; she could feel them move to the rhythm like a single entity, and she just had to move along, though with so many people, there was a certain amount of unfortunate jostling here and there – a couple of errant elbows and knees collided sharply every now and then, but it wasn't really a big deal, not when there was a party to have.

On the outside, Coral saw her navi drift toward the virus and move up against its wiggling form, almost like she'd been compelled to draw closer to it. It coiled partially around her and, amidst its shifting and swaying, battered at her seemingly oblivious navi with multiple segments of its cactus body. Further back, the trio of metools seemed equally entranced by the strange aura of lights and colours that accompanied the music, but seemed to be more or less ignored by the virus itself.

-=Delirious DJ =-
CactoCongo.Worm: 300Hp [Such Dancing!][1-Hit Party Hat (Worn on Head)][Strengthen: 20][Normal]

-=In The Spotlight =-
Seafoam.Exe: 95Hp [Normal][Slow1 (1 turn)][Hallucinating Illusion: It's a dance party! (1 Turn)][Glitch: Toe-Tapping (2 turns, or until removed)]

-=Back-up Dancers?=-
Map-Wielding 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.: 40Hp [Normal] [Just behind Seafoam]
Sculptor 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.: 40Hp [Grass] [Behind and left of Map Metool]
Nervous 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.: 40Hp [Grass] [Behind and right of Map Metool]

-=Not Meant To Be a Mosh-Pit =-
60% Normal

• No effects.

40% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

Valley area starts grassy and become rocky (normal) towards the virus' end; terrain is mostly even, but the valley is moderately narrow.

-=Glitch Record=-

Toe-Tapping: Balance Glitch (2 rounds, or until removed with status cure or other similar effects). The target can't help but respond to a beat that they can hear, tapping, bouncing or otherwise jigging to it. The sense of rhythm helps them dodge more effectively, at least if they dodge to the beat, but ti also hinders their ability to take proper shots and strikes when they need to, rather than hesitating for the right 'rhythm' Dodges are increased by one rank when roleplayed as being made on beat, while attacks accuracy suffers a 1 rank penalty.

((Sorry for the delay! The prose of your post seemed to pretty firmly direct the attack towards the Mushy, so I assumed that was what you intended and the summary denoting the Momo instead was a typo. Sorry if I've misinterpreted))

With his senses properly clear Delta was ready when the indiscriminately spore-clouding mushroom warped close to him again; it seemed single-minded in its malice, uncaring about the friendly fire it had been dishing out as it tried to attack him, but as Delta dodged back and away before the cloud could could reach him, and retaliated with a scorching fist of fire, it turned out that, like many aggressive bullies, the mushy was not at all able to take the level of heat it had been pushing; all it took was the one solid strike from Delta's burning attack to obliterate the mushroom virus in an amplified inferno while the grass beneath it burned up and added to the blaze.

When the fire died down, Delta could still see the remaining momogra peeking up from the edge of its burrow, but after another moment it seemed to glance around the field and decide that this wasn't a battlefield it wanted to continue inhabiting. With a small squeak, it didn't push its luck any further and burrowed down again, out of sight and away.

This left Delta alone on the field, and the final victor of the fight.

-=Viruses=-
SkeeterSkeeter (Skeeter)

Area: Yoka, Okuden Valley, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 30
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Drain (Null)
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: A swarm of Skeeters flies at the target. They will drain HP if they connect.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Drain1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes: DELETED (By friendly mushroom fire, no less)
MomograMomogra (Momogra)

Momogras move by tunneling through the ground. They poke their heads up just far enough from time to time to see where the enemy is, but they are still protected from most forms of attack. Drop attacks, Bomb attacks (which fall out of the air after being thrown), and Ground attacks damage them in this state. Other attacks executed from a high angle/altitude also work. All movements performed by a Momogra are considered a dodge, as they occur underground, and out of sight. Momogras only attack in response to having an attack launched in their direction, and only if they have an action remaining for that turn. Momogras attack by instantly tunneling to the panel behind the enemy, popping out of the ground, and striking with a shovel. A Momogra is completely vulnerable to any form of attack during its own atack, and until it moves again following that attack. The movement prior to the attack does not require an action, but movement afterwards does. The attack cannot execute if the panel behind the target is a liquid terrain type, Metal, Broken, or Missing. The attack also will not execute if there is something currently occupying the panel they would be attacking from. If the attack cannot execute, the Momogra will not move. In the case of Glass and Cracked terrain, the Momogras will still attempt to attack, but suffer the consequences of doing do as those panels will break and damage the Momogra, also causing the attack to fail. Momogra get 1 free movement per turn at the start of the turn before their first action.

Area: Okuden Valley, Hades Isle, NetVegas

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Null + Backstab
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Hits enemy with shovel.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Mole1, Zenny
Special: Always attacks if it is targeted, though it can attack otherwise. Only overhead-striking attacks can hit these viruses while they are not attacking (bombs, etc.): FLED
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: DELETED (By callously unfriendly mushroom fire...)
MushyMushy (Mushy)

Mushies only appear in battle if 15% or more of the terrain is Grass. Mushies can only move across Grass, Mud, and Soil terrain types. If, for any reason, none of these terrain types exist on the field, these viruses will be unable to move until the end of the turn. Mushies will then attempt to change the terrain to Grass, or flee if they cannot. Mushies move by teleporting.

Area: Okuden Valley, Dentech, Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: (Teleport) then (15 Wood + Confusion + Nova2)
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Teleports close to an enemy, and releases a cloud of spores in all directions. When attacking, the space it teleports to does not have to be on Grass, but the panel it teleports from and returns to after the attack must be Grass.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Spice1, BadSpice1, Zenny
Special: This virus may only move on Wood Element panels.
Special: When no Grass terrain exists on the field, this virus may throw a Grass Seed once as a Standard Action.
Special: If no Grass terrain exists, and this virus has already used Grass Seed, it will flee the battle.: DELETED

-=Navis=-
Delta.EXE: 170Hp (In the eastern area of the field) (Grass)

-=Terrain=- (Terrain is a checkerboard pattern, 50/50 shot of being on one or the other unless specified by a movement, feint or dodge within reasonable distance)
55% Soil

• Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
• Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

45% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

-=Battle 4, Victory!=-
Spoils: 600z, 12 BugFrags, Spice1Damage: 80 + Confusion + Ground Attack + To-All (Others) (Grass)
Accuracy: A
Description: Hazardous powder rolls over all grass terrain on the battlefield. Damages and confuses anyone on contact, except the user. This includes allies.
Duration: Once
Element: Wood
Special: Only affects targets on Grass Terrain, excluding the User.
Trader Rank: D, Skeeter Bounty +1

Carefully making her way back to ground level with her entourage, Seafoam set out towards the distant radio towers and greener terrain with renewed certainty in her path. It took a little while to make sure her wards were all accounted for and following safely, after the strange dimension-stretching upper-works of the theatre space, but soon enough the small party was moving forward again.

The mets following her chattered away with enthusiastic and curious sounds as they took in the sights; they glanced at each of the radio towers that the group moved past or came close to, almost as though they were listening to something that Seafoam herself couldn't quite hear, but eventually she began to pick up the background sound of different radio communications zipping back and forth; odd scraps of conversations leaking out on poorly secured channels, the occasional public broadcast program and other snippets of day to day listening.

The green hills covered with various natural vegetation began to grow more uneven as Seafoam approached her destination, and she found herself leading the small party down into what was becoming a deep valley, with high craggy hills reaching up on either side as the ground rolled gently downward. The radio towers continued as well, growing more frequent as they poked out between the plants and trees, and in some cases even jutted out of the rocky walls of the valley at irregular angles.

It was subtle at first, but Seafoam began to hear music, filtering out from the towers underneath their other signals. It was easy to miss at first, but the deeper into the valley she pressed, the clearer the sound became. It was on every channel, and underneath every signal now, gradually growing louder until it was the primary sound she was hearing, and the other information was swiftly being drowned out and lost. The music itself was strange and had steady beat to it; it was vaguely folksy, and a little bit rhythmic and hypnotic, but in a fun kind of way. It was just the kind of music that was prone to set one's foot tapping unconsciously, to to make a person sway to it gently without thinking. Behind her, the trio of metools following her had fallen into a rhythm step that matched the music, their pickaxes swaying back and forth in the air to the beat and their helmets nodding as they seemed to vibe along to the beat. Soon the beat of the music seemed to thrum through the air, and the sense that she was approaching the source grew clearer to Seafoam's senses.

A short way ahead of her, a tall cacty came into view... at least maybe it was a cacty? It bobbed and swayed to the music, and as it moved it began to look more like an entire line of similar cacty, all pressed together, swaying and grooving as it snaked back and forth across the increasingly cramped confines of the valley. Each cactus body was five segments high, instead of the normal three of a regular virus, and most of the heads seemed to be fake – just slightly different looking body segments. The virus as a whole – as it seemed like it must surely be – only seemed to have one 'proper' head; it had wide, dizzy eyes that spun with a kaleidoscope of swirling colours above an uncharacteristically manic grin. It was wearing a large party hat, complete with streamers, ear pieces and even a pair of little sparklers sticking up at jaunty angles. The head seemed to spend most of its time on the lead body but as the congo line of cacti swayed and danced, the head also seemed to bounce around, switching places with the other false head segments at random.

The party hat wasn't the only piece of festive gear the virus seemed to be wearing; each cactus body had a selection of bells attached to the lowest segment, which all jingled at regular rhythmic times with the rest of the music. About halfway up, they each bore a pair of long cloth kerchief, seemingly held on by virtue of being pinned through a spike on each side of the cactus, and these also danced and swished in time with the swaying movement of the cactus line. The air felt vaguely thick and a little cloying as Seafoam drew closer; there was the faint hint of a pleasant perfume, mixed with warmth and moisture in the air. The main head bounced back to switch places with a body somewhere in the middle and turned its crazy-eyes grin towards the approaching navigator, head tilting back and forth with the music as though inviting her to come dance with it. The music pulsed and swelled, thrumming through the air now; behind her, her met followers seemed mesmerised by the sound; it reverberated from the surrounding towers, and whatever other signals were supposed to be transmitting right now were clearly being blocked and congested by the virus' presence. More pressingly for Seafoam, the dancing and shifting of the virus had led it to a point of blocking up and congesting her entire path froward towards the transition point. Something needed to be done, it would seem.


-=Delirious DJ =-
CactoCongo.Worm: 300Hp [Dancing!][1-Hit Party Hat (Worn on Head)][Normal]

-=In The Spotlight =-
Seafoam.Exe: 110Hp [Grass]

-=Back-up Dancers?=-
Map-Wielding 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.: 40Hp [Normal] [Just behind Seafoam]
Sculptor 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.: 40Hp [Grass] [Behind and left of Map Metool]
Nervous 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.: 40Hp [Grass] [Behind and right of Map Metool]

-=Not Mean To Be a Mosh-Pit =-
60% Normal

• No effects.

40% Grass

• Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
• Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
• PanelShot: Imbue Wood.

Valley area starts grassy and become rocky (normal) towards the virus' end; terrain is mostly even, but the valley is moderately narrow.

-=Battle 5, Start!=-