IntSys

Emmanuel instinctively reached to protect Nicaea from further attacks, but it seemed that Ember's attack had worked. He gave his A-Comm a quick look, and stood up firmly. The situation was perfect - the weakened Gyarados was within KO range! "It's time for us to fight back, Nicaea!" The boy pointed toward the wounded Gyarados, and declared his attack. "Acid!" Nicaea then broke into a sprint and hurled a barrage of acidic bubbles at the target, finally getting to attack for the first time in the battle. Action: Nicaea uses Acid (9082 SpA Value) on Gyarados #4.

Hey, have you heard of this magical thing called a White Terror? It's the same thing without the religious element.

Vepr-12 stumbled as she jolted upwards from getting ejected from the Neoshadow's grasps, and fell on her fours. She was just having the time of her life getting up close and personal with the Neoshadow, spilling rounds like a preschool kid torturing her doll, and laughing as if that kid was smashing a piñata. The feeling was absolutely euphoric, launching a feedback loop in her mindmap. Standing upright again, she felt a wave of emptiness as the high dissipated. "Good grief," the T-doll trudged her steps in the shadowy puddle. Maybe if there were another person to share the joy of killing with, the high could've lasted longer. Darn, she was missing her comrades already. Quietly, she left for the ship.

Henrietta || Kaagan Nexus The male priest's eyebrows twitched. "I-Is that so," slamming his hands together before his chest, he matched Henrietta's smile with one of his own, arguably just as forced. "Okay then. Follow me. For your own good, I hope you're aware of the customs here." With an offhanded remark, he paced to the right side of the church and knocked the door exactly four times. "Father Fidelis, a Sister has come from faraway lands to talk with you." A deeper voice came from behind the door. "She may come in." With that, he quickly paced away from Henrietta. The room the head priest resided in was fairly small. Bookshelves were situated in the back, with his desk at the front. As for the head priest himself, even though he was in his robes, he still gave off the feeling of a retired soldier. Perhaps it was because of that scar on his left cheek. He put down the book in his hands and waited for Henrietta to speak. Julianne || Kaagan Nexus "The fucker cheated!" A soldier slammed the repair furnace he was using with one hand. He had the other hand inside the furnace. "Yeah, yeah. They're not hearing your excuses, buddy." Another soldier spoke up, he was sitting next to the wounded one. He seemed to be just accompanying a friend, as he didn't seem to be visibly damaged. "I swear to God, he snared me! It's, it's like treants! Like how they'd fuck with you in the forest by tripping you, he did the same shit in the ring! And bio-augs are banned in the club!" "Woah now, hothead. The floor was made of planks. Even if he wanted to cheat, you can't make a seed sprout on a plank." "Yeah but have you considered how there's soil beneath the planks? He probably pulled up a plank or two during maintenance day and planted seeds in there!" "Right, right. If you're so sure, how about you show it to them? You have the bio-aug, too." "The asshole would just say that someone else put it there, it wouldn't work!" "... Then... You'll just have to get good. Seriously, you can't keep falling for Teras-tier tricks." A sigh followed. The wounded soldier stood up, having finished his repairs. The two then took the stairs and left the Foundry. Nemesis & Eleanor || Kaagan Hunting Guild The merchant pointed to Eleanor - more specifically, her sword. "Something like the madam's chainsaw over there. Just cut them by the trunk, and they won't be able to fight back anymore. This also works when they're overgrown, to some extent. Though... This isn't how the Monolith's soldiers do it. They got their bio-augs from those treants, and they'd use the power to make them wither. It takes virtually no skill, and I hate it!" He thumped against the table before him, perhaps angered about the degrading value of huntsmanship. With a sigh, he continued, "if you're planning on using that accursed bio-aug this town's known for, though, just stay away from an overgrown treant... or you'll never leave the forest." "In any case! Since you're just traveling, you should try getting around their territories if possible. Cutting into a treant really wears down a normal sword fast. Chainsaws should fare better, but still. I wouldn't want to ruin a good sword."

Emmanuel stumbled as the Gyarados began to rush toward him and Nicaea. For some reasons, it looked much, much scarier up close. He was just about to recall Nicaea to protect her from harm as the Gyarados neared, but then Ember charged against it from the side in an attempt to break its assault. "Th-Thanks!" Emmanuel shouted, readjusting his position. "Now send that jerk back to sleep!" As if angered, Nicaea hissed at the Gyarados attacking her and hurled another cloud of Sleep Powder in return. Action: Nicaea uses Sleep Powder (75% Accuracy) on Gyarados #2.

That was hardly enough to sate Vepr-12's bloodlust. She stomped the ground one more time, and turned to the Maroon Dirge with a glare as if she were looking at a pile of leftovers blocking an alleyway. Frenzy (Flaw): Every four damaging attacks Vepr-12 use (including counters) will cause her to get reckless and send her into a momentary Frenzy for two turns, during which attacks against her will have their base damage increased by 20%. Every four damaging attacks made during a Frenzy will further increase the duration by one turn. The count is reset once the status is cured or has run out. [Frenzy Count: 3/4, extend duration by one turn if count hits 4.] [Passive] Critical Cover: Every turn, Vepr-12 will cover the first ally who has equal or less than half of their maximum HP and is about to take damage from an enemy, redirecting the damage to herself with +4 General DR. She will then cover that ally for the rest of the turn. - Base: Redirects all damage from the first ally who has <= 50% MHP and is about to take damage from an enemy until the turn ends. - Level 2: +2 General DR when taking damage for an ally. (No DR boost if the attack goes for Vepr-12 directly) - Level 3: +4 General DR when taking damage for an ally instead. (No DR boost if the attack goes for Vepr-12 directly) [Perk] SG - Valkyrie of Belgrade: Counter with ASST-Bound Molot Vepr-12 (2d6+7+0 high velocity damage, lower target's damage by 20% for one turn). Action 1: Vepr-12 uses Survival Instincts, increasing DR by 8 for one turn. Action 2: Vepr-12 fires slugs from her shotgun, dealing 2d6+7+0 high velocity damage to the Taskmaster and lowering its damage by 20% for one turn.

Astra vs. Supernova Defying all expectations, Astra revealed the final trick up in his sleeves. Just when one thinks they've accounted for every possibility, their opponent shatters the calculated construct inside their brain, and sends them in awe. That's the beauty of fighting; never will there be a truly predictable fight, even with all the information one could get his hands on. The uppercut burrowed into a fading afterimage, catching Supernova by complete surprise. Simultaneously, Astra had reappeared behind Supernova, with his hands clipped into the back of his mech. And then, it was inertia, sending the two spinning in place. With the jets offline, Supernova couldn't apply a counterforce to negate the spin, and he would lose much of his ability to negate a fall. All that was left was for his opponent to overcome the sheer heat of his mech. But... Would it be enough? The cracking and popping sounds of his opponent melting signaled the grand finale. A crisp snap, and the two broke apart. The star plummeted to the ground, leaving cosmic debris in its wake. Supernova had to break his fall with a traditional method, spreading his limbs to maximize drag, before meeting the ground with a fist to break even. Of course, it was easier said than done. His own speed was used against him, after all. What was left in the end was a magnificent crater, with him standing on a leg and an arm, the other leg limped against the floor. He looked up into the sky, seeing the scattered remains of his opponent falling one by one. A breathtaking meteor shower, from a man who had, truly, given his all. He thought about answering, but it didn't really matter. Surely, Astra had already known that, he had fun as well. The battle was over, and the underlying drama around the battle was going to take over soon. But before all that... He crawled a few steps forward, sat down, and prepared to catch the body that fell out of the mech. Fun... Tai gave the unconscious body in his arms another look. Not agony, but rather satisfaction. If only, he had been able to send the message to all the other competitors back then in their respective battles. Perhaps, things would've been different. He turned his eyes up to the clear skies above again. Hopefully, the Gods watching could feel something too.

Julianne looted the cabins while she was still at it. A handsome number of checks were collected from the bullet-torn corpses of the birdhead goons, possibly being the money they got from "collecting donations." Certainly more than enough, though. Julianne & Henrietta || Kaagan Nexus As Julianne took her time appraising the lost jewelry, Henrietta was already on her way to challenge the local church. The priests were first surprised by the new face barging into the church, and then were surprised by the fact that it was a Bramadist sister. It could only mean one thing... A male priest stepped forward to greet Henrietta, but her inquisitive attitude quickly shut him down. He was not to be intimidated by this little girl acting tough, though, and so he affirmed his stance. "Is there a problem, sister?" The other townspeople were still mingling among themselves, not yet noticing the scene. -- As for Julianne, should she get around the church part, she'd find a fairly chill Foundry. Soldiers chatting while mending wounds. There weren't a lot of people in there, so one could assume that these were people who got roughed up in a fight club, or as they say, "I fell down some stairs." Nemesis & Eleanor || Kaagan Hunting Guild Marketplace Nemesis' presence wasn't greeted with animosity by the merchants and the blacksmiths working around the Guild. According to them, travelers tend to have far more class compared to the soldiers, and actually have an eye for their finest wares. This of course was segued into them trying to sell those wares. That aside, they were more than happy to chat while they introduced their best items, though it was awkward enough with Nemesis not being the friendliest man around the block. And that's where Eleanor came in, offering everyone a warm platform to talk over. A merchant shared his story. He was a retired hunter, using that expertise in the firearm trade. "Since you're all headed for Kaagan, let me tell you a story. A few years ago, there was this new guy in the barracks. He came over to me and told me right in the face, 'If those treants in Chloropylae are so scary, why don't we just burn the whole forest down?' That idiot stormed out of my shop after not finding any incendiary rounds, but he didn't give up there. Somehow, perhaps he found an equally stupid guy, he got his hands on a flamethrower. And then he sneaked into that forest and tried to set it on fire. And oh boy, the treants got so much fuel that they grew to the size of buildings that day. The passage was completely impassable for weeks, and the officials found his body after finally putting down the overgrown Teras. And of course us hardworking citizens have to take on all the losses that came from a clogged passage. Stupidity really helps nobody!" Meanwhile, an engineer examined Eleanor's claymore for her, repeatedly commending its craftsmanship. There were a few slightly dulled teeth but it would hardly affect its performance. He still offered to sharpen the teeth for a fairly low price, regardless.

Seeing reinforcements arriving brought about a sigh of relief from Emmanuel's mouth. Cathode had just managed to capture one of the Gyarados, too. "Good job, everyone!" He cheered on. While Suzie took a beating, the other cadets had managed to distract the Gyarados successfully, relieving the pressure on the rock snake. However, one of the Gyarados was trying to run away again, and he couldn't have that happening. If it went into the water again, it might grow even stronger. "Don't let that one get away, Sleep Powder!" After missing the last one, Nicaea was quick to pick up the pace again, eager to prove something. The wind carried the greenish spores toward the Gyarados trying to run away. Action: Nicaea uses Sleep Powder (75% Accuracy) on Gyarados #5.

First time being here. An idea struck me while I was wandering in and out of the forums, and so I got to work. Feedback is appreciated though it's not my primary objective here. I just wanted to write something to break a block, and I guess to share it with people too. (433 Words)

"Keep it up, and we'll be able to subdue them all soon!" Emmanuel cheered on. "Nicaea, another one!" At his command, the plantoid worked up its body to release another burst of sleep-inducing spores at one of the newly-arrived Gyarados. In meantime, Emmanuel took out an Aether Ball and got ready for capture. The Gyarados could wake up any moment now and he could not afford to waste any time. Steady... Steady... And go! Action: Nicaea uses Sleep Powder (75% Accuracy) on Gyarados #5. Emmanuel throws an Aether Ball at Gyarados #2, going for a swift capture!

Astra vs. Supernova That's the spirit. The energy shield flared up again, reaching its prime in just an instant. Just as quickly, Supernova dived down and around his opponent, getting past his guard. Intense heat rubbed against his opponent's armor on the way down, not letting go for a split second. This would be the decisive blow... And he needed to create as little torque as possible to prevent what had happened last time. His eyes were set on the sphere behind the wrecked, smoke-spewing jetpack. The mech's core. And finally, he jolted back upwards, meeting the core with a high speed right uppercut. Even at the very end, he still believed that his opponent could fight back. Not out of paranoia over losing, but out of the mutual respect between pilots.

"Tch... Calm down!" Emmanuel gasped at the increasing number of Gyarados. He wasn't exactly out of options, though. "Send that Gyarados to sleep - Sleep Powder!" With some preparation, Nicaea pumped out a screen of light green powder before the Gyarados trying to flee past them, hoping to knock it back into slumber. He was really counting on reinforcements. There would otherwise be no way for them to keep all the Gyarados at bay. Action: Nicaea uses Sleep Powder (75% Accuracy) on Gyarados #2, intercepting its fleeing attempt.

Astra vs. Supernova Somewhere between the clash, Tai's emotions had spilled over to his opponent. Somehow, the total stranger he was facing in the ring felt far more close to his heart than Cardinal or Tejfidh. Perhaps, that was because, only in the ring can he be Supernova. "Thank you." Cardinal's plight and Tai's responsibility, or even saving the world... They were all ultimately meaningless. For "Tai" could not exist without "Supernova." That man inside the mech over there must have felt the same. Surely, he must be a man with dreams too. Yet there he was, offering to give up his position so that Tai could retain his. Or perhaps, something was stopping that man from doing the same. He clenched his fists. "But don't give up yet. You saved me, and I'll save you as well." The wind began to blow on Astra again.

Astra vs. Supernova The star blazed for a brief moment before it slowed to a halt before Astra. The energy shield persisted, glowing as brightly as it had before, but the finishing intent had gone away with the wind. The man inside the machine had plead for him to stop, amidst the climax of the battle. Supernova was known for not just his unusual approach to the competitive scene but also his remarkable sportsmanship - something that was worth defying authority over, and so he accepted his opponent's request. "What?" Unintentionally, his fired-up blood charged his words, making them sound more interrogative than they really were. Both men were within an arm's reach from each other, yet they paused for a moment, letting the passion precipitate.

A wave of frenzy washed up Vepr-12's body, and she twitched slightly. "Haa... Shield-man, I'll grind your blood beneath my feet!" With a loud stomp, the trigger-happy robot began to fire madly at a battered Taskmaster. Frenzy (Flaw): Every four damaging attacks Vepr-12 use (including counters) will cause her to get reckless and send her into a momentary Frenzy for two turns, during which attacks against her will have their base damage increased by 20%. Every four damaging attacks made during a Frenzy will further increase the duration by one turn. The count is reset once the status is cured or has run out. [Frenzy Count: 1/4, extend duration by one turn if count hits 4.] [Perk] SG - Valkyrie of Belgrade: Counter with ASST-Bound Molot Vepr-12 (2d6+7+0 high velocity damage, lower target's damage by 20% for one turn). Action 1: Vepr-12 uses Survival Instincts, increasing DR by 8 for one turn. Action 2: Vepr-12 fires slugs from her shotgun, dealing 2d6+7+0 high velocity damage to the Taskmaster and lowering its damage by 20% for one turn.

"Cathode, I know that those Gyarados may look scary, but I believe Suzie can take them on! I've read material on these things before... Low-leveled ones don't have Water-type moves!" Emmanuel shouted as if the words would intimidate the serpents lurking in the waters. "Nicaea, Acid, again!" His plantoid friend was more than willing to show the Magikarp their place. Action: Nicaea uses Acid (8721 SpA Value) on Magikarp #6, #7, #8.

Bellos scratched down a piece of the blood with his katana as he answered. "Frankly, I have no idea. Her fighting style reminded me of an assassin I've hired before, though she's not quite on the same level." The blade was raised to the level of his eyes. "She's a nobody. And it should stay that way. That aside, we're not going to be stopping anytime soon. The Monolith's not going to be able to react in time... And if it comes down to it, I'm sure you wouldn't mind taking his head, right?" The train began to slow as it passed through the fortified walls of Kaagan. "Let's make this quick. We'll rendezvous in an hour at the East Gate. In meantime, get yourselves fixed up. If all goes well, we'll only have to butcher a few Teras to get through Chloropylae." -- Everyone || Frontier Town Kaagan || Midday Had you arrived thirty years earlier, you would've seen a prosperous market town where merchants from all around Gaea negotiate deals and celebrate successes over a hearty feast. But now, Kaagan is a military stronghold where soldiers outnumber civilians two-to-one, an inevitable outcome considering the strategic importance of the town; it sits before the only safe passage between the two neighboring regions. The town's service sector transitioned smoothly, but the merchants of the past can no longer be found aside from a select few who cling to those days. The main attraction of Kaagan is the various clubs that line the streets. Clubs host a variety of entertainment such as gambling, dueling - for Manavi and for trained Teras, underground prostitution, and more. For the more prestigious tourists, Kaagan is likely just a rest stop for their journey to Kaleiga and beyond, where they'd wait for the next round of military escorts through the pass. -- The train slowed to a stop at the town's train station. The first-class passengers were the first to disembark, and they were very much in a hurry to considering how one of the carriages blew up amidst an actual gunfight. -- Locations of Interest (including but not limited to) Kaagan Nexus (Foundry / Church) Kaagan Hunting Guild

Emmanuel considered the situation. If they could hold out against the swarm summoned by Alpha, the island's residents would have more time to evacuate. And besides, they weren't planning on abandoning the island to begin with. "Sounds good to me!" With Nicaea in one arm, Emmanuel climbed up Suzie with Cathode's help. He passed one more message to Ray. "The swarm is still controllable, Ray! They're not going to be overrunning the island anytime soon with us here, but we'd still appreciate it if you could get some reinforcement to suppress the Magikarp from all around the island. It'd buy us more time to evacuate the civilians!"

"This turn will be it, Cathode! Get ready for capture!" Emmanuel lunged forward and picked up Nicaea in a snap, placing her in his embrace and pointing the top of the head outwards. "Those Magikarp aren't going to be hurting you today. Nicaea, use Acid!" With a confident cry, Nicaea spewed out a splurge of acid, and with Emmanuel taking the aim, it struck the four Magikarp which were about to slam into her! Action: [Technician Lv. 1 - Act regardless of turn order once per battle] Nicaea uses Acid on Magikarp #1, #2, #4, #5! (8542 SpA Value)

Astra vs. Supernova Tai faced his opponent again from above. Without the jetpack, Astra's aerial movement became clumsy. Even rotating took effort, let alone horizontal movement. The only path he could go now was down, letting gravity pull him to the surface. He needed to take advantage of his opponent's predicament. He noticed his opponent trying to gun him down again, but half of the already-weak machine guns were already melted away, and the gravity and the fog between them all made the bullets even less potent they already were. At that moment, the bullets were merely a defensive screen that would force him to sustain damage as he neared his opponent. The star rose high up over Astra's legs. It radiated a blinding halo that seemed to rival the sun above. The form of its core jittered as it phased from red to orange, and then yellow, and finally a bluish white. The boy from 14 years ago raised his right hand high above the mech figure on the rubber floor. The middle finger was the head, and the other four were the limbs. The palm was the body, and his creativity was the fire. His mouth wheezed as if to emulate the sound of a flaming star. "Take this! My signature attack, "NOVA STRIKE!" Finally, the star crashed upon Astra. At a breakneck speed, Tai... No, Supernova, dived down, burning brighter than ever. The fog along the way was first twisted, then distorted, and finally torched away by Supernova's sheer speed and temperature, clearing up the skies nearby. He very well had the ability to stall, especially with Astra's vertical capabilities stripped away, but right now, he wasn't that man bound by the obligation to assist a higher power. He was Supernova, his dream. And so the match shall not end with a utilitarian's draw. It shall be a hot-blooded ending that would send the entire crowd into a frenzy. There was nowhere for his opponent to run. Or rather, his opponent had lost the ability to run. The fist was on the course for Astra's center at a speed even greater than the speed Supernova used to escape from his grasps.

Astra vs. Supernova Smoke and flames enveloped the two in an instant. The energy was largely absorbed by the heat shield and armor, but Tai could still very well feel the recoil of the explosion as the air was compressed. His opponent remained perfectly still in his center, revolving in place and striking back with what almost looked like flailing arms but were in fact an calculated attempt at catching him off guard. Smokescreen and the sheer speed of the attack made it impossible to intercept. The hands burrowed through the flames circulating all over Tai's mech, and grabbed hold of his right knee tightly with all the force carried by inertia. The other free hand prepared to aim down and pepper his other knee using small machine guns as soon as his opponent had a hold on him. Without hesitation, the jets bellowed, and Tai pressed through almost immediately, tearing down the arm that got a hold on his leg with a point-blank right hook, and escaping from his opponent's grasps at high speeds, not giving his opponent a split second to aim properly. Tai shrugged off the notification that indicated a severed connection in his right knee, and prepared for another U-turn. That must have been either his opponent's signature or ability, with the momentum-cancelling body being the other. The sun had risen, and the fog of war was slowly dissipating before the heat. (6 Melee Instant Disengagement Used)

Vepr-12 took a mental note of the two bells' strategy - alternating between hot and cold to deal damage. She inched toward Akihiro, and put up her guard. Taking a hot one for him was going to hurt, but she was no stranger to the eye-for-an-eye thinking that humans use. "Come on!" She shouted, with a leg in the front and another in the back. Her fingers pressed against the trigger intimately. The itch had to be scratched. [Perk] SG - Valkyrie of Belgrade: Counter with ASST-Bound Molot Vepr-12 (2d6+7+0 high velocity damage, lower target's damage by 20% for one turn). Action 1: Vepr-12 uses Survival Instincts, increasing DR by 8 for one turn. Action 2: Vepr-12 fires slugs from her shotgun, dealing 2d6+7+0 high velocity damage to the Maroon Dirge and lowering its damage by 20% for one turn. Loadout