Moderator

As she moved without a lost beat from the flick she took, the creature continued to move slowly as it attempted to try and keep up, her hand grasping firmly against a fiarly simple blade handle, a small crossguard to help balance the blade that curved downwards to act like a proper handguard. (Equipped LongSwordDamage: 100 + Slashing + Long Attack
Accuracy: B
Description: Creates a sword made of solidified energy, with an elongated blade perfect for extra long slashes. Can hit up to 2 targets per slash with good RP.
Duration: Until Overridden/Broken. Breaks automatically after 3 swings.
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C, full uses)

The creature's eyes glowing ominously in turn as a blast of energy was shot towards the sides, both beams honing in on Lyntael's signature, as she continued around, both managing to miss her as she weaved through them without a missed beat, though the two lasers seemed to be making 90-degree turns and such, attempting to come back around for Lyntael sooner rather than later.

All the while as she reformed her barrier and mud slicked down her new suit, another layer to prevent damage, but as she did and let loose another attack upon the beast, another blast of wind and energy flooding forth to blast the beast's core with as much force as she could muster, even if the hands tried to block the attack yet again, it was unfortunately in vain as it cut through the last of one of the digits and past it's palm into the core. A frustrated roar from the monstrosity would all but confirm to Lyntael that it had connected (50) as one hand fell to the ground with a twitch, it's connection severed for the moment, as the orb did all in it's power to try and stay connected.

Unfortunately for Lyntael, the beast's head had enough and rammed itself at her. Sending the navi flying back a bit, taking a bite out of her barrier's strength (50) as her shot would go slightly wide in turn, missing the orb, but catching the other hand, and causing it's digitless form to go to the ground for the moment, tendril snapping in turn. The face would flash anger at the dancer in turn, leading to it letting out another roar as it tried to move against the dancing navi.

But, with sword in hand, she would rush forward as she recovered from trhe knockback, barely avoiding a second hit from the head and, with a little luck, managing to clip the core with another hit, leading to the creature's core quivering in pain (100) and with her last attack managing to chip a small chunk of the core off (50), causing the core to let loose a blast of compressed air, sending the navi back quite a ways to keep the navi at bay for the moment.

Of course, this was when tendrils began to slither back to the palms, reconnecting and, with it, the crteature beginning to swing back around entirely...sans it's "head", which seemed a bit stuck in the mud at the moment. Either way, the new tendrils looked just a smidge weaker than before, leading to the beast to...well...sweat a little as a new digit for each hand to reform...almost as if giving Lyntael the finger. Suffice it to say if the beast was intelligent or not, it sure had some sass to it.

-- Viruses --
Abominavi: Legion (All on Mud, to Lyntael's North, all close enough for Melee, constantly turning to meet with Lyntael)
Head: ??? HP (Middle of the creature's form, between the two arms...or would be if it wasn't stuck in the mud for an action)
Left Arm: ??? HP (1 digit remain) (Detatched once)
Right Arm: ??? HP (1 digit remain) (Detatched once)
Core: 670 HP (Pulsating brightly, behind it's arms)

-- Navis --
Lyntael.EXE: 335 HP (Mud) (ElecBarrier30)(Casing20) (Equipped: LongSwordDamage: 100 + Slashing + Long Attack
Accuracy: B
Description: Creates a sword made of solidified energy, with an elongated blade perfect for extra long slashes. Can hit up to 2 targets per slash with good RP.
Duration: Until Overridden/Broken. Breaks automatically after 3 swings.
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C, 2 uses left) (Slow2)(Off-Target) (Homing: Eye Lasers, due to attack again next turn)

-- Terrain --
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.

60%
Sand

• -20% Evasion and reduced movement speed to all.
• Can Burrow as standard action, incurable Blind1 until turn after exiting Burrow.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage + Blind1, change terrain hit to Normal, trigger Sandstorm for 3 turns: Lose 5 HP/action, Blind1, Fire attacks gain Slashing.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Glass.
• Terrain changes between Sand and QuickSand do not inflict damage upon burrowed entities, nor do they eject burrowed entities to the surface.
• PanelShot: Blind1.

20% (Strewn about, mixed in with the mud, but still usable to Wind types)
Sea

• Fire Elementals lose 10 HP/action standing, 20 HP/action submerged. Other Non-Aqua Elementals lose 5 HP/action submerged. Nullified for Aqua Elementals.
• Ice attacks: 50% Freeze1 chance, Changes terrain hit to Ice.
• 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.

20% (Small puddles that are being absorbed by the mud)

Lyntael braced, gritting her teeth as one of the lashing limbs managed to catch her before she could duck away. As much as her barrier robbed the attack of most of its power, the impact of it against her raised arms still drove her back a few feet through the mud before she managed to keep moving. Not something she wanted to take another hit form, that was for sure. Her eyes scanned the field as she continued to weave around her target, light steps splashing across the surface of the muddy sludge to keep ahead of its mercifully slow turning circle.

She reached out, one hand grasping the exposed hilt of the standing blade as she passed it by. The weapon came with her as her steps carried her past it, and she could feel the foreign code that constructed it in her hand. Some of the weapons here looked older, like they'd been discarded here for a while, but several of them definitely looked far more recent. She hoped again that the shouts he'd heard before were navis that had gotten out safely, or at least managed to hide themselves for the moment.

Her charge crackled beneath her skin, eager to release, but Lyntael kept her focus and drew the energy through her body with a firm control that kept it from lashing out. As she concentrated, the beat of her heart became the pulse of her charge and a shell of dense energy expanded from within her into the familiar protective field of her barrier. It stabilised at the edge of her strikers, balancing the power in her body evenly before fading from sight. A few sparks remained crackling in her right hand as she held the blade and Lyntael turned a distracted thought towards reconfiguring the data it was made from to something she could use more easily. It only took a second for the blade to convert itself to a long, thin edge of pure energy that extended beneath her now open palm to end at a stabilising ring of light that circled her right wrist striker. Much better. Her hand trailed back behind her, held low and to the side, ready to strike when the moment presented itself.

Circling winds kicked up the mud and sent small splatters of it in every direction as she repositioned; in a brief moment, Lyntael was glad of the strange new outfit she'd been given, and the protection it was affording her from another mess. As her small form coasted in a tight circle around the creature, she bent low as her eyes picked out a rock raised up in the mud high enough for her to get a proper grip on. She grabbed on with her left hand and twisted the rest of her body to let the momentum whip her around the sudden anchor point. She pulled the wind currents with her into a supporting rush that helped pivot her circle inward and swing her straight towards her target at a sharp angle. Lighting crackled across her skin as she led with first one low sweeping kick, then another. Her charge rushed, drawing in towards her chest to unify then down towards each of her strikers in turn, but Lyntael grit her teeth, fighting to keep the expend of energy stable and controlled. As her body speared towards the monster, each kick was aimed towards the glowing core of the entity, but as electricity flared from each strike, arcs of branching lightning split away from each kick to lance towards each of the protecting arms as well.

The feeling of drain didn't last long as Lyntael landed in the mud again, feet sliding as her momentum carried her beneath the floating forms of the entity and past it to the other side. She could feel her charge cycling up and refilling her body faster and more furious than before and part of it seemed to send a rippling sheen across her new body suit, reinforcing it. As she drew a fresh breath, Lyntael let the end of her movement compact down into a tight crouch before pushing hard off her bent knee and springing back up in a leap that spiralled her body in the same direction her momentum was already spinning her. As she rose and turned towards the creature, her right hand whipped across her body, arm extended with the glowing edge of the reclaimed blade scything through the air with her main focus on removing the arms it kept shielding its core with. She had no idea how long the blade would hold out, but for now it was a tool she could use without over-exerting her own charge.

The leaping twist took the last of her momentum and as she landed beneath the creature's core half-turned from it her legs bent again, gathering into a driving jump that led with her left fist this time. Power flowed, harsher than before as the freshly generated charge flooded her, drew in then burst upwards through her leading striker into a flaring lightning bolt that bore up into the darkening clouds above, and hopefully might blast the core of the creature back away from her a little to let her reassess its reaction as she landed in the mud again.

Her balance faltered in he mud for an extra moment before she could steady herself. The feeling of drain after the third release in a row dragged at her and sent a momentary numbness through her limbs, followed by a tingling prickle as she recovered. Her charge cycled up again, rebuilding in response to the series of rapid expenditures but she took a breath, held it, and tried to focus the sensation as she let it out again. Still a lot to do; she had to pace herself.

Summary

L*) Turbulence (Auto-deflect on shot or lobbed attack)
L*) Gust (Knockback effects are Double Strength, and attacks with them gain Wind type)
L1) Movement (Continue circling the creature to hopefully slow down is ability to track with her, grab the upright blade as she circles past it.)
L2) My Heart Falters, yet beats anew: (Buster Charge, 80Hp Elec Barrier) (Off-Target (1 Rank, 1 Round)), 3CD (Overcharge -3)
L3) My Thoughts Collected, no more to hide: (Take Aim, ShotBase(50)Elec, Acc: A, Spread2, Impact, Knockback (Wind Type)) (Self-Slow (1 Rank, 1 Round)), 3CD (Overcharge +4) (Towards Core, Spread V-forward to both arms)
L4) My Fear Rejected, with hopeful stride: (Take Aim, ShotBase(50)Elec, Acc: A, Spread2, Break, Knockback (Wind Type)) (Self-Slow (1 Rank, 1 Round)), 3CD (Overcharge +4) (Towards Core, Spread V-forward to both arms)
L*) Fast Armour: 20Hp Casing Refresh
L5) Reclaimed LongSword: (Details unknown; aimed horizontally at the two arms if they are still active, or just the core if they're down (I figure she's committing to a horizontal slash, so head isn't really an option)
L6) My torment Rebels, I will not break: (ShotBase(50)Elec, Acc A, Break, Impact, Slashing, Knockback) (Charge-Burner), 3CD (Overcharge +3)

Cooldowns and Overcharge

A Burning Ache, for laughter recalled (3TCD)
My Fear Swells, but I hold tight (2TCD)
My Faith Can Heal, with time for laughter (2TCD)
My Heart Falters, yet beats anew (3TCD)
My Thoughts Collected, no more to hide (3TCD)
My Fear Rejected, with hopeful stride (3TCD)
My Torment Rebels, I will not break (3TCD)

Overcharge: Begin: +0, My Heart Falters (-3), My Thoughts Collected (+4), My Fear Rejected (+4), My Torment Rebels (+3), End: +11

No response escaped the Legion as she prepared herself for the fight to come, the creature's face turning to a neutral expression before long. The fingers "flexing" for lack of a better word as the cubed bricks of slime would begin moving towards the navi, giant digits contorting and moving unnaturally as it attempted to flick at the dancer, kicking up mud and connecting as her barrier went up, shattering it into pieces and sending her skidding back slightly as her counter lit up in turn, leading the creature's other arm to cover the core with it's massive palm and take the hit as a singular digit swiftly disentigrated upon the hit, along on the other arm. The head seemingly unaffected by the shock, but it had connected all the same, an eye drooping slightly at the damage sustained.

The creature almost seemed amused at this, as if it was getting an actual fight for once. The creature was slow, but it sped up as it reached it's target, attempting to slam it's palm down upon the navi, but the dancer managed to speed out from underneath the shadow, sending another round of electric shocks, nailing both the core and arms, another digit falling away from each, but the core pulsing a brighter purple in turn at the damage dealt to it and a grumble from the creature itself. It's face contorting a little in pain as she continued to move, the head running straight down towards her in an attempt to crush her again, displacing mud in the area again before pulling back, having missed as the dancer sped along the outside of it, the creature attempting to keep up with her speed as another irritating shock hit it, missing one of the arms this time as it couldn't keep up on Lyn's movements all around it.

All the while, there were several weapons that Lyn spotted in all the chaos, including a few big old blue cannons, a longsword that somehow was standing upright in all the muck surrounding it and, as she was moving, a chipped widesword was coming up in her path she could easily grab on the way. All the while, the creature's "body" was fairly cut and dry, three tendrils connected to the limbs, though maybe with enough effort she could disrupt them and cut them away. But it was hard to get a proper idea of what all they could do should she touch them in turn should her efforts against them prove fruitless or outright miss them.

-- Viruses --
Abominavi: Legion (All on Mud, to Lyntael's North, all close enough for Melee, constantly turning to meet with Lyntael)
Head: ??? HP (Middle of the creature's form, between the two arms)
Left Arm: ??? HP (1 digit remain)
Right Arm: ??? HP (2 digits remain)
Core: 870 HP (Pulsating brightly, behind it's arms)

-- Navis --
Lyntael.EXE: 335 HP (Mud) (Casing20) (Slow)(Off-Target)

-- Terrain --
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.

60%
Sand

• -20% Evasion and reduced movement speed to all.
• Can Burrow as standard action, incurable Blind1 until turn after exiting Burrow.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage + Blind1, change terrain hit to Normal, trigger Sandstorm for 3 turns: Lose 5 HP/action, Blind1, Fire attacks gain Slashing.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Glass.
• Terrain changes between Sand and QuickSand do not inflict damage upon burrowed entities, nor do they eject burrowed entities to the surface.
• PanelShot: Blind1.

20% (Strewn about, mixed in with the mud, but still usable to Wind types)
Sea

• Fire Elementals lose 10 HP/action standing, 20 HP/action submerged. Other Non-Aqua Elementals lose 5 HP/action submerged. Nullified for Aqua Elementals.
• Ice attacks: 50% Freeze1 chance, Changes terrain hit to Ice.
• 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.

20% (Small puddles that are being absorbed by the mud)

At the sound of shouts – navigator shouts – Lyntael's attention snapped forward and her breath caught. Without thinking, she darted forward, one foot kicking off a solid rock and launching her swiftly on over the mud as a curling tailwind lengthened her stride and raced her towards the sounds.

As the scene came into view between the landscape, her eyes locked first to the floating skull shape, and then briefly all around; fallen weapons, churned ground, but no sign of any other navis. The creature began to take note of her, more pieces of its form rising from the mud, and Lyntael skidded to a brief halt a short way from it. Her heart beat had spiked up sharply in her chest and her charge hummed in adrenalin-spurred instinct as she grit her teeth, trying to assess.

“Lyntael, it's reading here as another one of those... abominations that Eurayle was contending with.” Rogan's voice sounded cold and unamused. “I wonder if this is truly the source of the viral issues, or if she took the opportunity to point us at another of her problems instead...”

“Doesn't matter.” Lyntael drew herself up and ready, pulling in the tailwind that had come with her to form a protective shell as her inner charge began to suffuse her skin and send glowing light caustics across her body. As the charge flooded her skin, the same pulse expanded outward into a familiar shell of energy that stabilised as it passed her strikers then faded from sight. If it was another one, like the one she'd had to fight before, it was probably in pain as well, and confronting it was the right thing to do, no matter how she'd ended up here. Louder than her soft response to Rogan, she called out.

“I'm here to help, if anyone can hear me!” She doubted the creature itself would respond, but she definitely heard the shouts of other navis before. Hopefully they they made it out alright, if they weren't here any more. Lyntael tried to keep her steps light as she circled cautiously, making small darting steps and jumps as she traversed the mud and remained wary of what the creature was going to do.

“If there's any part of you in there that can be calm; any part of you that doesn't want to fight, please... we can find someone to help you.” she kept her guard up as she called to it, and her body was primed to retaliate if it managed to strike her, but she held off on attacking in full, at least for the moment.

“Lyntael, you know that won't have any effect on a program like this.” Rogan wasn't scolding her, or really chastising her with his words; she knew he felt compelled to speak them, just as much as he knew she would do as she had to regardless. He sounded serious and patient, and Lyntael nodded in turn.

“I know... I know, but I have to try; I could be wrong. It matters.” She murmured her response and listened to the soft sigh that followed.
“I know it does, Lyntael. Just be careful... this looks very dangerous.”

With his warning given, Rogan relented into silence as Lyntael moved around the creature, doing her best to avoid and evade any hostilities while she sought to learn what kind of threat it posed. The central core looked like a more obvious target, but she doubted whoever had performed the horrible experiments to create creatures like this would have left it exposed and undefended. Her eyes darted to the scattered weapons lying about the muddy area. They seemed like disarmed or disconnected chip data, maybe something the other navis had been trying to use. If blocking or breaking chips was a part of the creature's method, at least she'd be safe from that...



Summary

L*) Turbulence (Auto-deflect on shot or lobbed attack)
L*) Gust (Knockback effects are Double Strength, and attacks with them gain Wind type)
L*) First Armour: (20Hp Casing)
L1) A Burning Ache, for laughter recalled (Buster Charge, 40Hp Barrier, SupportBase(20), Counter(On Hit): (20Elec Nova2, Knockback)), 15Hp Sacrifice, Off-Target (1 Rank, 1 Round), 4CD (Overcharge -1)
L2) My Fear Swells, but I hold tight (Dodge, 20Elec Nova2, Knockback), Charge-Burner, 3CD (Overcharge +1)
L3) My Faith Can Heal, with time for laughter (Buster Charge, Feint, Movement, 10Elec Nova2, Knockback), Self-Slow (1 Rank, 1 round), 3CD (Overcharge -2)
L*) Fast Armour: 20Hp Casing Refresh
L4) Dodge (with the movement above, circling the creature, trying to get a good look at all of it, and the surrounding battlefield)
L5) Dodge (Assess the battlefield weapons; do they look like they've been here long; are some more recently discarded than others?)
L6) Dodge (Assess the creature; try to learn what she can about how it moves, and what dangers it poses)

Cooldowns and Overcharge

A Burning Ache, for laughter recalled
My Fear Swells, but I hold tight
My Faith Can Heal, with time for laughter

Overcharge: Begin: +0, A Burning Ache (-1), My Fear Swells (+1), My Faith Can Heal (-2), End: +0

Sometime after the two's chat and Lyntael continued onwards, several loud screams would sound out over the quiet waves of the sea waves rolling in and out. Moving forward towards the screams, a swamp at best with various bits and dealings from the sea strewn about in semi-dried up mud on the surface, clear signs of sand having mixed in throughout to create more "stable" footing, there were various HighCannons, WideSwords and other such weapons strewn about the area...and nobody around to wield them...a few steps more and the perpetrator would rise out of the swamp slowly. A fuzzy grey-purple skull caked in mud, rivulets of the thick brown substance sliding down as a pair of crimson red dots came to life like flickering lights.

Rising out of the mud after was a pair of towering above Lyntael's body, the same thick mud sliding down, grey-purple bones visibly flickering behind thin parts of the sludge that clung to it, a trio of rectangular fingers filling out the bottoms of each like giant hands as the head began to rise up even further above the dancer. Whilst this happened, a grey and purple core would float up between the two towering arms. flickering malevolently despite the light above, the creature letting out what sounded like a deep, unnerving chuckle as it's face curved upwards in a grin, muddy broken teeth in it's maw, as strands of energy would connect to the three parts to it like a puppeteer's core and strings.

Weather it was mimicry that brought Lyntael here or the beast devouring other navis in the area was unsure, and it was likely she'd not get an answer from the beast itself...but, despite all that, Rogan's PET flashed a name on the screen...ABOMINAVI: LEGION. Hidden identifiers for each of it's separate parts, but the core's integrity, the pulsating evil thing, was visible on Rogan's screen. All while the weaponry began to sink down into the mud like rocks.

-- Viruses --
Abominavi: Legion (All on Mud, to Lyntael's North, all close enough for Melee)
Head: ??? HP (Middle of the creature's form, between the two arms)
Left Arm: ??? HP (On Lyn's Left)
Right Arm: ??? HP
Core: 900 HP

-- Navis --
Lyntael.EXE: 350 HP (Mud)

-- Terrain --
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.

60%
Sand

• -20% Evasion and reduced movement speed to all.
• Can Burrow as standard action, incurable Blind1 until turn after exiting Burrow.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage + Blind1, change terrain hit to Normal, trigger Sandstorm for 3 turns: Lose 5 HP/action, Blind1, Fire attacks gain Slashing.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Glass.
• Terrain changes between Sand and QuickSand do not inflict damage upon burrowed entities, nor do they eject burrowed entities to the surface.
• PanelShot: Blind1.

20% (Strewn about, mixed in with the mud, but still usable to Wind types)
Sea

• Fire Elementals lose 10 HP/action standing, 20 HP/action submerged. Other Non-Aqua Elementals lose 5 HP/action submerged. Nullified for Aqua Elementals.
• Ice attacks: 50% Freeze1 chance, Changes terrain hit to Ice.
• 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.

20% (Small puddles that are being absorbed by the mud)

BATTLE 15!

BATTLE ROUTINE. SET. EXECUTE.

As she caught her breath, Lyntael wobbled slightly, steadying her footing on the unstable ground and panting hard. The rushing swell of her charge replenishing itself made her wince and grit her teeth but she held it back and began forcing herself to cool down again, gradual small pulses of sparks crackling and rolling from her skin as the bursting need to expend again gradually calmed. Around her, the remaining other viruses had indeed decided to leave her alone, with the defeat of the violent bird of prey and Lyntael swallowed, watching its metallic parts breaking down rapidly. She probably could have run, instead of destroying it... probably, though it had been fast... but who else would it have preyed on if she hadn't stood her ground? It didn't feel good, but... maybe that was how it should be. She didn't want it to feel good.

“You know, Lyntael...” A dry and wryly amused Rogan spoke up, his voice emanating from just behind her as it usually did. “I suspect you'd have a very hard time convincing anyone that you 'weren't made for fighting' these days.” She heard him give a soft laugh at the comment, but there was a weight behind it that he was hiding as well, and she nodded slowly. With one hand she reached out, gathering the fragmented data and letting it coalesce into faint green strings that curled around her wrist and arm before trailing away.

“Maybe... But I wasn't, Rogan. You know that. I wasn't made for this, but I've learned, and I've grown...” She drew a deeper breath, letting the last of her sparks scatter and fade as her heart rate returned to a resting pace. “No matter what else has happened, I've always wanted to be what you... Hm...” She paused, drifting to silence for a moment as her thoughts corrected themselves and her footsteps began to gradually push her forward again, across the mud and muck and towards her destination. “Not... Not to be what you want, Rogan... we've argued enough about that... but to be able to do what you need me to do. There's a difference there that I think I didn't quite understand, in the early days.” She glanced out towards the sea, then forward again as she heard Rogan sigh.

“If I may confess, Lyntael... I suspect that what I thought I wanted of you, and what you wanted to be, were very distinctly different things.” He was quiet for another moment, but Lyntael let the silence hold until he continued. “They might still be, now, if I'm honest...” She heard him draw a breath, hesitating across the connection. “Lyntael, I...” He breathed out again with a short sigh. “Later. You should be almost there...”

As she pushed forward, looking around for further signs of whatever it was that Eurayle had pointed them towards, Lyntael didn't press Rogan to continue. There were plenty of things they probably needed to talk about before it was time for the next mission, and several things besides that she... wasn't really letting herself process with until after she was back home and could unpack it more. Her body was aching by this point, and as much as Rogan had reported that her vitals were stable, according to the PET and its readings of her, she felt exhausted and worn down from the day's training. If they could just take care of whatever the threat was here, that would be enough... she needed tea and a shower, and ideally a bathroom, and was very much ready for this outing to be completed.

((Ready for Battle 15))

Quickening pulse and instinctually bringing her defenses up to protect against the massive bird before her, the navi was beset upon without a second to think, the Swirly moving in without a second thought and attempting to catch her up in it's vortex of a body, the navi stepping just back enough to avoid it's boomerang path. Whilst the virus had missed, the Tinhawk would take it's chance to strike, bringing it's massive wings back and with a few mighty flaps would create a sharp tonado, feathers caught in the vortex as it sent it down at the navi, only for her own blustery winds to manage to buffet it's own winds back to sender, if off-course just enough to miss the bird entirely.

This would cause ire in the eyes of the bird above her, but with her sparks, a small shock would begin to crawl up the feathered fiend's leg, causing a small amount of discomfort in the creature, as well as the Swirly that had nearly hit her a moment ago (10, 20!) leading towards her sending another out, managing to hit the two again as she continued to gather charge inside her (10, 20!). The Shellnerd continued to hold steady in it's shell as the Genin looked onwards, it's moveset entirely set to counter attacks against it, not others, since it was unable to find any sort of terrain to hide behind. But that didn't stop the Tinhawk from attacking again, talons quick to smash against the soft mud underfoot, and getting a bunch of it on Lyntael's borrowed suit, whilst it struk furiously against the navi, she was more than ready to avoid, bobbing and weaving through the attacks like droplets of rain in a thunderstorm. As, again, she shocked the bird whilst the Swirly would lunge in again like a boomerang, only to both get a nasty shock twice over and, additionally, missing it's attack entirely from the shock of it all (20, 40!/10, 20!).

All this time having been spent preparing her attack, her body was ready to unleash it's attack and, with it, the Tinhawk would immediately swoop down obliviously against the navi, talons outstretched, but while it had been unnoticed, the Shellnerd made a gambit with it's attack as Lyntael moved to strike in turn finally, the shelled virus would shoot out a star of energy and aimed it right at the massive virus in front of it as it moved in for attack...despite the travel time, it was all but sure to hit the tinhawk at the end of it...if Lyntael had been slower on the draw that is. She had calculated it right. She hit the Tinhawk square on the chest with her built up power. Thunder roared out, and with it, the Hawk would be little more than dispersed data when vision returned. Nothing left of the Tinhawk...and scared faces on the trio of remaining viruses. The Genin would quickly pick up the Shellnerd without a second thought...and all three would flee the battle...and upon a cursory glance...a single talon would survive the Tinhawk's vaporization...

-- Viruses --
SwirlySwirly (Whirly)

Area: Yoka, Beach, Sharo

HP: 140
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Aqua x 3 targets
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Tries to spin into you along a boomerang shaped path.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): AquaWhirl2, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes. Cannot fly into high altitude.: 40 HP (Sea) (Behind the shadow of the TinHawk)
TinHawk V4TinHawk V4 (TinHawk)

TinHawk is a combination of the Fishy, Genin, and Typhoon viruses. It appears to be a large, dark brown bird, with razor sharp wings and short but thick legs and feet. As one might expect, it prefers to attack by swooping in and overwhelming foes with its size, repeatedly tearing foes with its claws, and by creating mighty gusts of wind with its wings. But it does have yet another trick for the unwary...

Area: All

HP: 580
Element: Null

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 60 Null + Impact + Piercing + Line Attack(5)
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Swoops down and through a straight path.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: (25 Null x 3 Hits) + Homing + NorthWind + Wind Type
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Creates a small whirlwind that hunts down its target. Blows away barriers and auras on contact.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null x 9 hits + Slashing
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Flies down to a target, and repeatedly claws the foe with its powerful talons.

Special: OmniShoes
Special: SuperArmor: Immunity to Knockback, Microburst, Pull, Gravity, and similar effects.
Special: Once per turn, this virus can counter a BattleChip with a ranged version of its Tertiary Attack as a free action.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): DashAttack2, Kunai2, Hurricane, HawkCut2, NorthWind, Zenny: DELETED
Genin2Genin2 (Genin)

Area: Beach, Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 140
Attack: 70 Null + Slashing + Group Attack (MoonBlade) / 10 Null + Slashing x 7 Attacks x 2 Targets (Kunai)
Attack Accuracy: B / B
Attack Description: Counter attacks with either a spinning cut or a volley of Kunai.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Kunai2, MoonBlade2, Zenny
Special: This virus does not initiate attacks on it's own.
- Seeks cover behind objects when not attacking.
- If no objects are present, this viruses evasion is enhanced.
- Counters Battlechip use with Kunai once per turn.
- Counters Buster use with MoonBlade once per turn.
- Counters Sig Attack use with either Kunai, or Moonblade once per turn.: 140 HP (Mud) (To the North-West, roughly within a movement's worth of distance)
Shellnerd EXShellnerd EX (ShellGeek)

Shellgeeks alternate actions between attacking and guarding. These are the only actions Shellgeeks may perform, and the first action of every battle is always guarding. Shellgeeks will not break from this pattern unless forced to by status effects. The secondary attack of Shellgeeks can be used to grant an ally of this virus a free movement, or even to knock an ally out of the path of an oncoming attack.

Area: Yoka, Sharo, Beach, Okuden Valley

HP: 160
Primary Attack Damage/Effects: 25 Null x 2 Spears
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: Fires two spears at one target.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effects: 50 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Fires a star tipped arrow. Can be used on an ally to move them. Causes no damage to allies.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): TripleNeedle, StarArrow2 (Rare), Zenny
Special: Attacks every other action. IronBody when not attacking.: 160 HP (Mud) (Towards the Eastern area of the field, but still within feint distance)

-- Navis --
Lyntael.EXE: 350 HP (Mud) (Roughly in the center of the area, more towards the south) (Casing20)(Barrier40)(Counter:20Elec Nova2 knockback) (off-target2)(Self-slow2)

-- Terrain --
45% Sea

• Fire Elementals lose 10 HP/action standing, 20 HP/action submerged. Other Non-Aqua Elementals lose 5 HP/action submerged. Nullified for Aqua Elementals.
• Ice attacks: 50% Freeze1 chance, Changes terrain hit to Ice.
• 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.

(Smaller patches scattered about, with a much larger area in the North)
55% 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.

(Roughly the rest of the area, bleeding into the sea)

BATTLE VICTORY
14,400z, 15bugfrags, HawkCut2Damage: 40 + Consecutive Strike + Slashing x 3 hits
Accuracy: B
Description: Performs a flashy 3-hit sword strike. Gets stronger with each hit, but it's very easy for the timing to be thrown off and fail.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Consecutive Strike: This attack's power increases by 10 with each consecutive successful hit. This stacks with other HawkCut series chips, including DeltaRayEdge. This chip immediately ends upon missing, and the power boost is reset to 0.
Trader Rank: C

As she focused on the map, eyes closed, Seafoam felt almost like she could hear the roll and crash of waves, and the scent of salty brine. The ground seemed to lurch underneath for for a moment, and as her eyes snapped open to catch her balance, the inquisitive navi found herself on what looked like the deck of a small raft, crudely cobbled together with a shallow keel and low guard rails all around. Tall waves dwarfed the tiny raft, lifting and dropping it again while a black storm rumbled and cracked overhead. Huddled in the centre of the raft, a familiar-looking trio of metools hid under their helmets, bopped around like beans in a basket while the storm battered at them. Far off, a rocky cliffside was just visible off the bow of the raft and its single-mast sail was straining in the storm winds as it tugged the tiny craft gradually towards the land.

Shapes moved in between the dark waves, and the raft seemed to be taking on water; one of the trio had begun attempting to bail water, while another fought to keep the sail straight, but they each ended up ducking for cover beneath their helmets again any time the raft lurched badly. It seemed like it might make land, just... or it might not, and that was without dealing with whatever danger lurked in the waters.

For a moment or two, Seafoam was aware of the sense of this being some kind of memory or vision, but then the sense faded and the world around her began to feel and seem real in every way that mattered... though it didn't seem as though the trio of metools cold see her or were aware of her presence in their unfolding story. The question was, what seemed more important for Seafoam to do in this moment?

A quick check failed to reveal any extra features on the badge Prose had given him, unfortunately. It was convincing enough visually, and it would probably get him past and staff or security doors that needed an ID scan, but there didn't appear to be any higher order functions to the tag... it seemed like Delta might be on his own for now.

His shouts caught the attention of the playing navigators who each looked around in confusion for a moment, before beginning to make a hasty retreat towards the sand while Delta approached the shape below the waters. The reaching tentacles lunged upward but their ambush was spoiled; most of the grabbing tendrils missed their marks and the one that managed to catch at a navi's ankle only held for a moment before she slipped free with a shriek of panic and swiftly rushed to join her friends. Frustrated, however, the dark shaped turned its attention to the noisy navi interrupting its schemes. At least it seemed like Delta had something of a clear space to operate in for the moment.

-=Beach Invaders=-
JellyJelly (Jelly)

Jelly are floating, jellyfish-like viruses, that seem to simply float nonchalantly, yet are deceptively difficult to combat. Fortunately, their rarity ensures they they never appear before a Battle 6, and there are never more than 2 in a single battle. While their horizontal movement is terrible at best, they can easily adjust their altitude as needed. By default, however, they tend to hover a couple of feet above the ground. The exception to this is when they attack. Jelly attack by launching large waves of water at enemies The attack cycle of Jelly is 2 actions long. It requires one action to charge before firing. If they are stunned or otherwise temporarily disabled, they resume their attack cycle where it was halted once the stun wears off. When they attack, they drop to the ground in order to pump out as much liquid as possible. This allows them to harness the power of certain kinds of terrain to boost their attacks, but it also makes them immobile and vulnerable to ground-based attacks for the duration.

Area: Beach

HP: 220
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Aqua + Ground Attack + Wide Attack + Sea Terrain Boost 20 + 1 action charge
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: It charges itself with innate elemental energy, then launches a hard-to-avoid wall of water at enemies. The attack is stronger if performed over Sea terrain.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Wave1 (Rare), Zenny
Special: OmniShoes
Special: This virus can move forward, backward, or to the side, but it does this so slowly that it cannot evade attacks this way.
Special: This virus can move up and down at high speed in order to avoid attacks while charging. While they can float fairly high, they cannot achieve High Altitude status.
Special: This virus is anchored and cannot move when attacking.??: 220Hp [Sea][Submerged; near the bottom, about a movement deep]
StarfishStarfish (Starfish)

Area: Yoka, Beach

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Aqua + Bubble Trap + 3 targets
Attack Accuracy: D
Attack Description: Launches three slow moving bubbles that trap the targets in a bubble prison, immobilizing them. These bubbles act as 10 HP objects, and can be shot before they make contact to pop them. Conversely, the virus can block incoming attacks with them.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): BubbleStar1, Zenny
Special: Bubble Trap: Any target hit with this virus' attack will be instantly trapped in a 10 HP Aqua Element Bubble that can only be popped from the outside. Targets trapped within these bubbles will take 100% more damage from Elec element attacks. The Bubbles will expire at the end of the turn, or when hit.
Special: This attack can hit the same target multiple times (up to 3), or attack 3 separate targets.
Special: Targets trapped in Bubbles are easier to move with Wind Effects, Knockback, and Microburst than normal.: 60Hp [Sea][Submerged; on the bottom, about a movement deep]
SlimeySlimey (Slimey)

Slimey viruses were produced to be sources of major traffic lag. While a Slimey virus is on the battlefield, all Navis and SPs suffer from a passive Slow-like effect that imposes a -10% Evasion AND Movement Speed penalty. This effect is not a status ailment, and cannot be cured. This effect does not stack with itself if more than one Slimey is on the field at once. As this does not count as a true Slow effect, up to two instances of Slow may stack on top of this effect for a total penalty of -30% Evasion/Movement Speed. This effect expires when all Slimey viruses on the field are deleted or flee. Slimey viruses are very slow to move and dodge, but every move they make that is not a dodge counts as an attack. Slimeys deal damage by touching an opponent, thus touching a Slimey directly results in damage to any non-Slimey the virus considers hostile.

Area: Sharo, NetVegas, Beach

HP: 90
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Aqua + Slow
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Body slams its foes. Any foes hit are slowed the following turn. Must be within melee range to attack a foe.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MetaGel1, Zenny
Special: While this enemy is on the field, dodge effectiveness is reduced by 1 Rank.: 90Hp [Sea][Submerged; on the bottom, about a movement deep]

-=Beach Inspector=-
Delta.Exe: 200Hp [Sea]

-=Beach Resort=-
70% Sea

• Fire Elementals lose 10 HP/action standing, 20 HP/action submerged. Other Non-Aqua Elementals lose 5 HP/action submerged. Nullified for Aqua Elementals.
• Ice attacks: 50% Freeze1 chance, Changes terrain hit to Ice.
• 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.

Most of the area
10% Normal

• No effects.

Outer perimeter, a floating walkway between the resort waters and the rest of the ocean
20% Sand

• -20% Evasion and reduced movement speed to all.
• Can Burrow as standard action, incurable Blind1 until turn after exiting Burrow.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage + Blind1, change terrain hit to Normal, trigger Sandstorm for 3 turns: Lose 5 HP/action, Blind1, Fire attacks gain Slashing.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Glass.
• Terrain changes between Sand and QuickSand do not inflict damage upon burrowed entities, nor do they eject burrowed entities to the surface.
• PanelShot: Blind1.

The distant shore, about two movements away.

-=Beach Battle, Start!=-

Delta's initial patrol along the main beachfront seemed peaceful and safe, for the most part. Beach-going navis didn't pay him much heed and everything seemed calm for now. The early-morning resort guests were now just beginning to be joined by the more relaxed starters and navis of all types were dotted about sunbathing, playing in the sand, swimming or surfing.

An outer ring encompassed a large body of the sea directly off the beach, with a floating walkway ringing the outside. This seemed like it might effectively e the resort boundary, on the seaward side of things and marked the limit for where swimmers could expect to be safe from the normal perils of beach net. As delta made a trip along the gently bobbing perimeter path, the sea inside the boundary appeared clear of any mysterious anomalies, until he reached a point about two thirds of the way around his sweep.

A dark shape moved slowly, blending in with the sandy sea floor at the very bottom of the water - a large shape that was easy to miss at a glance. Upon closer inspection, Delta could make out that the creature, whatever it was, was hard to spot because it was largely transparent as it edged along the sandy bottom, but once he had seen it, Delta began to pick out what looked like a mass of thinner, longer tendrils and tentacles reaching forward and upwards, every so slowly and carefully, towards a group of navis playing games in the water, splashing each other and seemingly unaware of what approached from below.