The System

[Linkachu]

"Pleased to meet you, Fayth. Fairy - err... Wray - said he saw potential in you, and I trust his judgment with my life. Welcome to the team," Linkachu smiled in reply. The mouse turned to admire the horses as well (they were magnificent beasts indeed) but was quickly taken by the girl's next question.

"The city, for the moment, is blocked off to all players but a select few - one of them being Wray himself. The rest of us have been asked to patrol parts of the System for anomalies, preferably areas that we're familiar with. It's hard to say exactly what we'll run into out there, so it's nice knowing your surroundings, eh? Where you decide to hunt is your own business, but be careful. The Vault has now been decimated, leaving the MCP once again free to infect programs throughout the System. Not only that... the Elite Programs have all been unleashed." Linkachu shuddered at the thought. Who knew how much destruction both they and the MCP had already caused?

"Where ever you end up, Fayth, remember that you have comrades ready to back you up if need be. Don't try to be a hero. It'll only end up getting you killed," the mouse added coolly. A lot of people she'd come to see as 'friends' had been killed, or worse... infected ... during the last MCP attack, and that was not something she ever wanted to see happen again. She wasn't quite sure just how tough Fayth was, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The mouse already had enough to worry about with Wray's reckless actions...

"Take care of yourself out there, and let me know what you find. Any new information will help us know exactly the extent of what we're up against this time."

OOC: Short, I know, but I just wanted to give Rosie something to work with. I'll get on with Linkachu's plot next post =)

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Wray stood on the tallest building left standing in the city. His face was not a happy one. His jaws were set and his eyes steely. Pyro was stood opposite him, looking grim. Obviously, neither of them were there for tea and biscuits.
"Why?" Wray asked, his voice oddly quiet.
"Why what?" Pyro replied, his voice automatically defensive.
"Why now? Why release it? Why start in the city, why not somewhere else?" Wray demanded. "You were working with them for a while, don't pretend you weren't."
"I know, Wray. The city was the home to the vaults, and they contained the most dangerous programs, heavily guarded. It can just take control of them now. Why else would someone just destroy the building, but nothing else?" Pyro replied, sounding fakely unconcerned.
"What about the other questions?" Wray demanded, his voice harsh.
"I don't know, Wray! God dammit, if I did don't you think I'd tell you? I don't know anything and my group..." Pyro stopped speaking suddenly.
"Your group? What? Who else are you working with?" Wray questioned quickly. Pyro didn't reply. "Dammit, answer me!"

When Pyro didn't answer, Wray threw out both of his hands, summoning both of his swords, the air around him crackling with electricity. Pyro'd arms moved faster than eyes could follow, drawiung both of his daggers, his hands on fire with visible white flames. The two stared at each other, glared at each other.
"It's almost touching," a voice came from above. Wray's head snapped up and to the source of the sound, and he saw him. Roran, hovering way above. "Two friends, fighting over a silly computer program. Touching, but so terribly pathetic."
"Shut up!" Wray roared, springing from his position and shooting directly up at Roran. Roran chuckled, a dark chuckle, and gestured casually. A series of blue fireballs formed around him, and rained down at Wray. Wray flipped in the air, weaving his swords around him, slicing through every single fireball as it approached. Roran smirked, and gestured again, releasing a series of chains that shot down and twirled around Wray. Wray dismissed his swords, and spun around the first chain, and then landed on the next that shot at him, kicking off it. Above him, the chains were forming an intricate net. He grabbed one that was hovering right above him and spun around it, launching himself even higher. He landed on the next, ran up a small section of it, and kicked off, aimed for Roran again, swords re-conjured.

Roran laughed once more. As soon as Wray got close enough, his hand snapped out, and grabbed Wray's face, gripping tightly, ignoring Wray's struggling. He gave a sadistic smirk, and red coding, like tentacles, started flowing out of his sleeve. It wrapped itself around Wray's head and sunk in, causing the boy's body to go limp. Wray dropped his swords, and ceased his attempts to escape.

Suddenly, a white hot dagger shot at the pair of them and stabbed into Roran's arm, the arm that was holding Wray. Roran released the apparently unconscious teenagers, clutching the dagger that was currently embedded in a number of veins and the muscle. Pyro, who was in the air by releasing powerful jets of fire from his shoes, shot down, chasing Wray. He caught his ally, and retreated back to the rooftop, laying the boy down. There was no trace of the coding, nor any damage to the boy as far as he could see. Pyro gave a relieved sigh, then looked back up at Roran. He saw the dagger shooting back towards him. Automatically, he raised his own dagger to block at just the right angle, causing the dagger to rise into the air, then fall harmlessly into Pyro's open hand.

"I'm just that good," Pyro said, rising up to Roran's level. He hovered and looked at his opponent. No matter what, Pyro had been trained efficiently. Even Wray couldn't beat him, he could render Sem's and Linkachu's elemental powers useless through his sheer skill, and Arvensis's armour meant very little, other than a wall between him and the human inside. That was how he was trained. Perfectly. Of course, just because he had been trained perfectly, that didn't mean he was the perfect fighter. However, he tried.
"Good? Please, I could do that with my eyes closed," Roran replied. That was when Pyro noticed something about Roran's voice. It didn't sound as human as it should, it sounded like... a cyborg, maybe? Something mechanical, but with more tone and pitch. What was happening to Roran as he absorbed more of the MCP?

"We'll just see about that," Pyro said, suddenly lifting a leg up and pointing the sole of his foot at Roran, increasing the flames that were being shot there, to invisible white fire. Roran threw up his hands and blocked the flames, making them cut off to either side. Pyro, however, had other plans. He shot in, got under Roran's guard and uppercutted him, knocking him back. Roran flipped in the air, and slowed down, suddenly releasing a sheet of lightning at Pyro. Pyro threw up a shield of fire that the lightning hit, but then shot through the flames, flipped and brought the heel of his foot crashing down on to Roran's head. Roran, however, caught Pyro's foot and spun the boy round, throwing him away. Pyro twirled in the air and controlled his flight, suddenly shooting right at Roran, wrapping himself in fire and spinning, a giant firey drill. Roran threw up his arms in a cross, and Pyro crashed right into him, forcing him back through the air. The firey warrior suddenly flipped, and kicked off of Roran's arms, moving back a fair distance.

"You're tough, I'll give you that. But not much of that is real skill, is it?" Pyro commented. "You're just a power whore, aren't you? Steal as much power as possible, and it makes up for the skill? Git. I worked hard to get my rank! And I'll be DAMNED before I let someone as pathetic as you destroy what I work so hard to defend!"

"You talk too much," Wray's voice came.

Before Pyro could make another move, a red lightning bolt came out of nowhere and threw Roran from the skies. Pyro instinctively looked down at Wray, and there the boy was, on his feet and fully conscious. However, somethign was not right. He had changed in that short time Pyro and Roran had been fighting. His hair was no longer that colour it had been, it was a solid blood red colour. His top, no longer blue. It was red, fading into black down the sleeves. His pants and shoes, both changed to the darkest black imaginable. But his eyes were the worrying part. Even from so high up, Pyro could see it. Pure red. Not red with coding. They had just turned completely red. No iris, no pupils. Just red. Wray shot up to meet Pyro, but Pyro immediately backed off cautiously. That MCP coding had done more to the boy than he had initially thought.

Roran shot up to the pair of them. He glanced at Wray, then gave a satisfied smirk and logged out. Pyro didn't like that satisfied look. Not one bit. With another glance to Wray, he logged out, re-logging elsewhere.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Techrunner Border Outpost Zeta, 1200 hours.

Black clouds were brewing in the distance and a small dust storm swept across the region. Tumbleweed, or an equivalent thereof, rolled by. A few thunder antelopes were grazing peacefully. An Ankyleo was stalking its prey in the distance. All that was audible was the wind, and the silent hum of the huge fans inside the ventilation ducts.

Which suited the sentry just fine - he appreciated the silence. He was a human-model, garbed in a standard-issue techrunner uniform, with wild, frazzled red hair and a goatee, and his shift was about to be over after four hours of watching.

He sighed, scratching an imaginary itch on his right shoulder, when suddenly a movement caught his eye. He paused, squinting, rubbing his eyes for a moment, to make sure that it wasn't just his imagination. Yes, there was something moving on the horizon. Emitting a mild expletive, he reached for his magnification goggles and twiddled with a round level on his left temple. The lenses extended forward, and a green light clicked into action within them as digital enhancement and auto-focus kicked in. Whatever it was that he saw resembled a small, vaguely anthropomorphic bird and moved in swift, choppy motions like a bird. The creature froze, its already large, pale luminous eyes flashing a couple of times, before it darted away.

"What in the world..." the Sentry muttered.

A second later, a bolt of energy fired from a distance left a sizable hole in his chest. Several seconds later, the outpost was swept in a sea of red.

Something very large and very avian swooped over the area. The first stone has been toppled.

Techrunner Outpost Exa, primary briefing room, 1230 hours.

"Are you certain, Morgan?"
"Yes. All contact with Border Outpost Zeta has been lost twenty-five minutes ago." said the voice on teh comm system "We've lost Gamma and Epsilon within a span of ten minutes afterwards. The attacks seem to be coordinated against strategic border outposts. Reports are scattered, at best, but it seems that the attackers are giving off a red aura, and a few other posts seem to have sighted a large avian program flying in the vicinity. Coding conformation Blue."
"Shit. An Elite." Yarrow muttered. "Keep monitoring the attacks. If the present pattern continues, issue a clan-wide warning. Evacuate everyone to the Citadel, and prepare for worst. I... need to check on something. Yarrow Out."

The leader sighed wearily. That was all she needed.

Techrunner Outpost Exa, guest quarters, 1235 hours.

Something was going wrong. He could feel it. The MCP was on the move - he picked up a few of the transmissions going on. Some of the channels haven't been scrambled since even before he left, and if no one was going to tell him what was going on, he had to find out somehow. There was talk of a few border outpost already overrun, but no order that could suggest any secret weapon of any sort.

A chirp from the door interrupted his reverie. And another. And another.

And then the door burst open. A manual override? Who would...

His eye widened. It was the scout pilot. And yet... it wasn't. Something was horrendously -off- about the short, female human-model. She was still dressed in her scout pilot plug-suit, but its color wasn't exactly right. It seemed to be off, somehow, slightly... rippling.

"Knock knock." she said, glaring at him - the same predatory grin from earlier. But now there was something behind it.

It came like a whiplash - a carefully aimed tendril of data. RED data. Aimed directly for the core. The tendril wrapped around him, constricting his movements. He glared as the coding seemed to burn grooves on the green biometal of his armor, as the tip of the tendril - a needle-like appendage attached to it - attacked his chestplate, attempting to find a weak spot.

"I've been watching you." she said - in a voice that was DEFINITELY not human. And as she talked, the strange texture of her armor coated her entire figure - It was definitely the MCP, and the former scout pilot was infested to the core.

"I've been watching you for a long time now. Ever since my unfortunate defeat. Your armor seems like it would be very, VERY useful for my purpose... And lucky me. Assimilating it would also put you out of the equation when I crush these Techrunners like the insects they are. They've evaded me for far too long. I have found a creature, however, that will allow me to topple even their most mighty citadel. And with you out of the way, they have no real way to stop me..."

The Tendril pierced the chestplate, and the needle expanded, forcing the protective covering of SEED Omega's core open, exposing the azure crystal within.

"Say goodbye, Arvensis."

The central needle plunged into the crystal, piercing its surface. Red digits swirled within the crystalline material.

And then, the creature that was once the pilot screamed. The core burst into pure white light, blue energy flowing across the entire armor, sealing every single bit of red coding within a scan matrix, expelling the foreign data from within the armor, the broken chunk of chestplate that was once the core's protective covering detaching, biologically, and forming a sphere around the scan matrix... which was then expelled, forcefully, towards the other side of the room. Through the former pilot. The creature's scream rose in pitch to an ultra-sonic level - and then, it was no more. The pilot dissolved into a cloud of red particles, and vanished.

Then the sirens began wailing as the lights turned red. The door burst open again, and in rushed Yarrow.

"Deities... What the hell happened to you?" She gasped, rushing over to his side "Well, never mind that, we've got to move - I've just recieved the word - we're their next target!"

"Whose?" Arvensis asked

"The MCP has amassed an army. They overrun the border outposts and are moving here! I issued a clan-wide warning. We're evacuating through the underpass..."

From the outside, the energy bolts already started firing. Automatic defense systems already flared into action. The sound of weapon-fire and klaxons filled the air.

"I'll tell you on the way, we gotta move!"

The corridor was full of people, heading quickly in the direction of an emergency teleporter which would self-destruct the moment Yarrow gave the order. The two of them joined the rush, ushering the last remaining inhabitants of the outpost towards the teleporter. And when all were accounted for, Yarrow and Arvensis stepped in themselves, and vanished in a swirl of light.

The wall tore open and in burst the first wave of attackers - humanoid scorpion-like programs, red digits swarming around their forms, their stingers equipped with deadly ray weapons. As the metal tore open and gave way, all the frustrated programs saw was the teleporter self destruct in a blaze of light.

Underpass, 1245 hours.

The capsules zoomed by silently through the reinforced glass tubes. Deep underneath the Barrens was a wide network of such underpasses, criss-crossing, connecting every single major Techrunner outpost. There was no sign of ground or rock walls. Layers upon layers of metal, light, and glass coated the walls, service tunnels running side by side with the underpasses, powering them up. green lights - almost fluid-looking - illuminated the area, emanating some kind of a protective energy field. And every once in a while, a pylon of metal and green tubes rose up to the surface - support pillars, perhaps, though Arvensis could not be too sure.

One capsule carried the last few who escaped from Outpost Exa. Yarrow glanced sideways, gazing at Arvensis quietly, watching his damaged biomechanical armor slowly repair itself, re-growing and re-arranging, restoring its injuries.

"I guess I owe you an apology." she said softly, at last, looking down. "We never expected to be overwhelmed like this..."
"You had no way of knowing what the MCP is truly capable of nowadays." Arvensis replied, nodding at her silently. "Is this underpass safe?"
"Until all else falls. It's a relatively new development. It's part of something more intricate - something that might be our only chance out of this situation... I suppose I'll have to show you when we reach the Citadel."
"You're taking us to Rotaru?" Arvensis' eyes widened.
"Yes, Rotaru. The Heart of the Barrens itself. It is where we shall make our stand. From what I heard, all of the clans are gathering in Rotaru now - and arming themselves. The infected programs that are attacking seem to be under the leadership of an elite program."
"I recieved a message about the Elites being posessed. I just didn't expect one here so soon."
"I don't think any of us did, Arv. But if we have to fight an Elite... We will."
"And I will fight by your side, Yarrow." Arvensis nodded "For the barrens."
"Just like the good ol' days, huh?" The feline grinned a little.
"Yes." he said, smiling. "Just like the good old days."

They said nothing from then on, holding each other's hands for a second, and smiling quietly.

The capsule hurtled on through the underpass, making its way towards the largest, most central Techrunner colony - the citadel known as Rotaru, the Heart of the Barrens. Soon, a battle was to take place. A battle that will determine the fate of the Techrunners, long before they were prepared.

Techrunner Outpost Exa, guest quarters, 1255 hours.

In the chaos that ensued while the army of MCP-infected programs razed the outpost, the round sphere of green bio-metal that remained behind - evidence of the MCP's failed attack on SEED Omega - was all but forgotten. SEED Omega certainly knew how to protect itself - it was designed that way after all. Any foreign coding that was forced into the program was surrounded by an inverted scan matrix and ejected out in a segment of biomechanical armor casing, which was then supposed to break apart and dissolve.

However, the creators of SEED Omega never expected something like the MCP. But even though SEED Omega itself remained unharmed and uninfected, something was happening that wasn't in the handbooks. The MCP has momentarily touched with SEED Omega - sparking a reaction that transformed the MCP coding within the scan matrix, creating something new and terrifying. The blue rivulets of energy that ran within the sphere, just underneath the surface, slowly changed their color into red, as the biometal developed a black, corroded hue... And the sphere began pulsating slowly, red veins of energy flowing along its black surface. tendrils of black, fleshy biometal slowly started growing around and into the walls. red energy flowed, vein-like, all over. Coding pulsed within as something red, crystalline, and spherical was forming just underneath the biometal's surface.

And metaphorically, it has just begun to tick.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

"What's the verdict, then?" Pyro said into his communicator, apparently oblivious to the thunderstorm around him. The rain pounded down on him, soaking him to the core, but he didn't seem to notice. Or care.
"From the sounds of it, he's been infected. I'm not sure to what level, you said he sounded normal?" A female voice replied.
"As normal as someone can. I dunno, I didn't stick around, but he seemed more confident... no, arrogant," Pryo explained. "And he's had a major power boost. He knocked Roran out of the sky with just one lightning bolt. I don't understand it, is that what the MCP coding does?"
"No, it possesses... unless..." The female said.
"Unless what?"
"I... I don't..."
"Unless WHAT, Melody?!" Pyro snapped. As if on cue, thunder clapped and lightning shot down near him.
"Pyro, calm down. No names. The MCP might have a plan for Wray, and he needs to be infected for it," the female named Melody replied.
"Can't you do something? It's dangerous if the coding multiplies in his body. Or if he infects something else," Pyro said urgently.
"We're trying our hardest, but his template might have to be editted."
"Keep me informed. What about the elite in the area?" Pyro changed the conversation swiftly, back to business.
"We're not sure entirely, we think it might be Lizard. It keeps moving though."

Pyro closed the link and shifted his attention to his surroundings. It was raining very heavily, unbelievably so. Though it was probably only midday, it looked more like it was night time, the clouds were so dark. Thunder and lightning crashed to earth frequently. The waves licked at the jagged rocks that jutted just above the surface of the water, washing anything that was on them off, except for Pyro. There was a great abundance of these rocks. The elite could be hiding anywhere, if it could latch on to the sides of the rocks. Pyro glanced around him, then opened his com-link briefly.
"Alright, send me the White Sword Alpha," he said, closing the link immediately afterwards. The air just in front of him suddenly started glowing, a perfect cube appearing and expanding. Pyro reached into the cube and grasped something cylindral. The cube vanished, and Pyro was stood holding a white sword. It was roughly an isoceles triangle blade, a very thin blade that looked more like a rapier, but as there was no guard, the base of the blade and indented slightly and the hilt extended from there. Half way along the blade, there was a single purple-blue gem that seemed to move. Pyro swung the sword and fixed it to his back.

"Alright beastie, come on out," Pyro said, running and jmping from the rock he was stood on to the next, kicking off the side of that to the next rock and running along that rock to jump to the next. He glanced around him again, then kicked from this rock to the next. As soon as he landed, he shot directly into the air to look around for the Elite program. However, something wrapped around his leg and yanked him out of the sky, slamming him into a neighbouring rock. Whatever had grabbed his leg let go. Pyro rolled over, groaning as he pulled himself to his feet.
"Ughh... found ya," he said, stretching. Sure enough, Lizard stood on the next rock over. It stood at seven foot tall, looking rather like a raptor. It had colourful back spines and a similar head crest, its tail lined with silver spikes. In one of its hands was a black sword that looked similar to the White Sword Alpha. Pyro grabbed his sword and took a cautious step back, waiting for Lizard's first move.

The elite program shot at Pyro, thrusting the sword forwards. Pyro jumped backwards, slashing vertically with his sword, sending a wave of fire down at Lizard, but the elite program spun and smashed the flames with its tail. Pyro landed, then shot forward, spinning into a horizontal slash. Lizard back-hand slashed, meeting Pyro's attack. The swords clashed sending out a small flash. Pyro jumped and drop-kicked Lizard, sending the elite skidding back, but it quickly ran forwards again. Pyro immediately got on to his hands and helicoptor kicked Lizard, knocking it back again before flipping to his feet, ready for the next round. All he'd managed to do so far was keep Lizard at bay, rather than do actual damage. Pyro jumped from his position, glancing around him for some sturdier ground. Other than rocks, there was very little. He landed on another rock, but as he landed, something felt very wrong. The rock was shaking, and not just because of thunder or lightning or rain.

Pyro shot directly up, and just in time. What looked like a heavily armoured luxury cruiseliner-submarine cross rose from the water right below the duelling combatants, completely eradicating any standing areas. Pyro landed on the deck of the ship-thing, surveying it briefly. It looked almost exactly like a cruiseliner should, only everything was reinforced metal rather than whatever cruiseliners should look like, but it was obviously capable of underwater travel. Additionally, it had a number of poles jutting out of it, possibly giant aerials. Pyro was trying to think of why this thing had arrived, but his answer came very quickly.
"Finally found you, Pyro. Do tell, how is dear old Melody doing?" Ain said, slowly descending in front of Pyro. Pyro gripped his sword tightly, his knuckles going white.
"Ain. I should have known you'd be involved in all of this," Pyro said coldly. "What is it this time? Destruction? Domination? Or just to boost your already overwhelming ego?"
"Haha, you flatter me," Ain laughed.
"You aren't worth flattering, you miserable little worm," Pryo snapped. His eyes were ablaze, almost literally.
"You haven't changed, Pyro. Always more concerned about your allies. Worry about yourself for once," Ain said. "Because that's all you have right now. No back up for you here. No Melody to come save your sorry ass."
"I don't need saving, especially not from you!" Pyro shouted, shooting at Ain. He spun in the air and brought his heel smashing into the side of Ain's head, knocking the cloaked individual to the side. Ain did not fall, rather staggered until he regained balance.
"You son of a bitch," Ain snarled, throwing out either hand. In his right hand, a small metal pole dropped from his sleeve. He pushed a button and it extended to the length of a sword. In his other hand, a ball of condensed lightning formed. He threw the lightning at Pyro, a single beam of the energy. Pyro dropped down, ducking beneath the attack, then firing a wave of fire back at Ain. Ain spun on the spot, pointing his palm at the fire. It immediately responded to his gesture, and he spun, bringing the fire around himself and throwing it back at Pyro, who ducked under the attack again. Pyro shot at Ain, but something powerful and slightly damp smacked him in his shoulder, forcing him to the side. Pyro cartwheeled back to his feet to see Lizard latched on to the side of the hull. He gritted his teeth and glared at the pair of them.

"Ain, you filthy coward," Pyro snapped. "Are you afraid to face me alone?! You stupid bastard!" Pyro shot at Ain and tried to drill-kick him. Ain brought his staff swinging at Pyro, meeting his feet and stopping the attack. Pyro kicked off the pole, over Ain and kicked at Lizard, hitting the elite program's shoulder. He kicked off that, landed in front of Lizard, and threw all his strength into a powerful uppercut, that send Lizard staggering backwards, over the railings and off the ship. Pyro turned to face Ain, then immediately ducked, dodging a swipe from Ain, and kicked his opponent's feet from underneath him. While Ain was on the floor, Pyro pointed the tip of his sword at Ain's throat.
"I could make you pay for everything you've done to her. Everything you've done to me," Pyro said coldly, his eyes steely. Ain gave a cruel, short laugh.
"No you can't. You don't have the guts to," Ain mocked. "Besides, I'm not about to let you, am I?"

Suddenly, Ain released a burst of energy, throwing Pyro backwards. Pyro flipped in the air, and took the ascent, landing on one of those aeriels, taking a moment to get used to the rocking of the ship in the storm. However, he was thrown off balance when he narrowly dodged a swipe from Lizard's tail. He regained his balance, then threw up a guard as Lizard swiped with his sword. Pyro flipped over Lizard so he was standing on a horizontal bar, and lunged with his sword. Lizard swung his sword below him, bringing Pyro's blade to the side then round. Pyro hopped back, and brought his sword swinging down, only to be blocked by Lizard again. Lizard threw Pyro's sword away, then stabbed, but Pyro immediately sidestepped, dodging the attack. Lizard spun round, smacking Pyro with his tail and knocking from his the aerial painfully. Pyro flipped in the air, trying to ignore the pain in his side and landed, staggering slightly. He touched his side, and sure enough felt a bit of blood.

"Take White Sword Alpha back, send White Sword Gamma," Pyro said into his mouthpiece. Instantly, the sword in his hand started glowing, and was replaced by a similar looking sword. It had the same blade, only it was much wider, and the base of the blade extended to either side of the hilt. Pyro gripped the sword. It was heavier, but much sharper and harder to defend against. He looked to his side, and saw Ain right in front of him. He gave a demonic smirk, and charged Ain. The older fighter threw out both of his hands, releasing a wave of fire. Pyro shifted his grip on the sword, and pointed the flat of the blade directly in front of him. The flames hit the sword and split off to either side as Pyro continued his charge.
"Don't you dare say I don't have the guts to kill you," Pyro snapped as he ran. "After everything you've done to us, you should be thankful we didn't track you down and destroy you!"
"Ha, please, spare me," Ain mocked. "I'm far stronger now than I was back then. You can't hurt me."
"We'll just see about that!" Pyro roared, spinning out of his charge and bringing his sword smashing round at Ain. Ain threw up his staff in an attempt to block, but the sheer power in the attack broke through the guard and threw Ain to the side. Ain rolled back to his feet, suddenly breathless.
"Damn... Underestimated you... It wont happen again," Ain said, spinning and bringing the staff swinging around. Pyro threw up his sword, blocking the attack, the metals scraping and sending off sparks. Pyro broke out of the stalemate and swung upwards, above his head, knocking a falling Lizard away from him.

"NOT NOW!" He yelled, throwing out his palm at the Elite. Immediately, it was trapped in an invisible cage of infinitely hot flames. However, being an Elite program, the heat didn't bother it, but it could not easily break free.
"Pyro, you seem to forget..." Ain said, pointing his palm at the cage. "I can control any kind of energy you'd like to name."

The cage vanished. Lizard shot from its position and brough its sword swinging at Pyro. Pyro jumped up and kicked off of the Elite program's head, shooting into the sky. He threw the sword up, quickly telling someone to take it out of the System, and drew both of his daggers, attaching them together by the base of the hilts. The guards slid down the daggers, making it a one-handed weapon with two longer blade. He then pointed his palm down at Lizard, shooting a concentrated jet of flames at the elite. Ain gestured at the flames, drawing them away from Lizard, but Pyro manipulated the direction, so when the flames bent, they bent in the direction of Ain, rather than back to Pyro. Ain raised his staff and started spinning it quickly in his hand, cutting the flames in two. Pyro landed and ran at Lizard, flipping over the elite program.

"Scan: Elite Program: Lizard. Weakpoint," Pyro said into his mouthpiece. He slapped his hand on the backspines, and a small symbol appeared. From the symbol, ropes of fire extended, binding Lizard temporarily. Pyro turned his attention back to Ain, but was smacked in the face by the staff. He staggered to the side, but quickly regained his balance. When Ain tried to rid Lizard of the fire ropes, Pyro grabbed Ain by the hair, and held his daggers to Ain's throat.
"Don't say I don't have the guts," Pyro whispered in Ain's ear, pressing the blade to Ain's throat threateningly.
"You've forgotten one minor detail," Ain whispered back. And with that, he logged out.

"YOU FUCKING COWARD!" Pyro roared at the top of his voice. The last of Ain he heard was a cocky, taunting laugh. Pyro was fuming. However, he stopped everything, including breathing, when the scan results came back.
"I'm sick of dealing with you now," Pyro said, walking up to Lizard. "Operator, I'm damn well abusing this and using a deletion code."

Pyro's twin-dagger started glowing white as he approached Lizard. The teenager brought the blades up to Lizard's back and stabbed in. However, what he expected to happen didn't, and what he didn't expect to happen did. Rather than the elite program being destroyed, the fire ropes snapped and freed Lizard, that spun and punched Pyro in the stomach with a scaly fist. Pyro was thrown backwards by the attack and slided into the railings. Quickly, he staggered to his feet. This fight was really taking its toll on him. He raised his twin-dagger, and waited for Lizard to make a next move. The reptilian program jumped up and flipped, bringing its tail swinging down at Pyro. Pyro dived to the side, Lizard instead denting the hull of the ship. Pyro threw his dagger at the program, the blade sticking into the side of its head. Lizard let out a shrill cry of pain and tried to dislodge the blade, instead managing to get it more stuck.

"The scan was wrong... It's weakspot is its head!" Pyro realised. He ran at Lizard, jumped and landed on the dagger, forcing it right through the elite program's head. No blood came out, of course - it was only a program. However, Lizard howled again, staggering forwards, collapsing on to the railings. Pyro took his dagger up again. Lizard had been incapacitated, but not deleted.
"Thoughts?"
"Just sever the head. That should do it," Melody replied. "Sending a better sword, if you don't mind."

The White Sword Gamma appeared in the air in front of Pyro. Pyro accepted the blade, and positioned himself next to Lizard. With one strick, the elite program started to fizzle out of existence.
"Logging out. I have one hell of a report, though," Pyro said, fading from the System.

 

[Sem]

The Elite Program was standing on the shore, about 200 meters from where Sem was out on the water. Sem stood firm on his little island of ice, and his arms were out in front of him, ready to perform any action necessary. The rain still poured; its tip-tapping on the ice and the water was very loud, even through the sound of crashing waves as it ravaged the sea, the shore, and even farther inland.

In a flash the shark was in the water quickly making his way to his enemy. The water did not slow his movements at all, just the opposite perhaps. Sem lifted his arms, resulting in bigger waves, quickly making their way to the beach. The program tore through them, but not without being thrust back by the sheer force of the water. Still he kept a steady pace and his progress continued.

The beast returned Sem's favor, sending huge waves back at him. Sem stuck his hand in the water, and the water around them began to freeze. The freezing process was quick and it stopped the waves in their tracks. The Elite was stuck in the ice as well, not that it would help. Escaping would come easy for him. The ice around him cracked and broke apart, setting him free. Both combatants were now on a hard surface. There were many dips and rises, due to the nature of the ocean, and the large waves were frozen in time were at the center, towering over all else.

Sem made his way to the top of one of the waves, to locate the program. But the shark could not be seen, it was all too late when Sem realized that the enemy was right under him. The surface Sem was on collapsed and he fell with the debris. Upon getting up he felt a powerful arm punch him in the gut, he was sent spiraling a few meters back. He got up as fast as he could, hoping to avoid a follow-up to the last attack. He was only narrowly able to avoid a kick.

Sem leapt back and thrust his arms upwards, huge spires of ice protruded from the ground. With any luck the program would be impaled right then and there. It was to no avail though, and the beast continued his pursuit. Sem kept producing the large icicles while avoiding the attacks; they were certainly hindering the Elite's movement, which was good. An icicle appeared by one of the program's feet, causing it to step back abruptly and lose balance. Sem slammed his fist onto the surface and the ice under the shark melted away, causing it to fall into the water below.

Sem closed the opening and created a powerful current to sweep the Elite Program away and hold him there. Not to drown him, no, drowning wouldn't work, but to hold him there and disorient him. It would have to work fast though, before the Elite could break through the current, which it would inevitably ended up doing, and which it did, but faster than what Sem had hoped for. The creature broke through the ice with not much effort and landed back on the battle field.

The two fighters stared at each other as the seconds rolled by. The water-based program growled in an intimidating manner before running off this the left, hiding among the frozen waves and debris. Sem kept completely still to keep track of the beat's movements but its movements were so silent that it was useless. He still kept a weary eye on the surroundings however.

Movement? Where? A chunk of ice shifted mere meters away. Then another in a different location… then nothing. Only the sound of pounding rain, sculpting the icy platform.

"Where is it?..."

The ice under Sem shifted and cracked. Sem had only enough time to gasp before the ground underneath him gave way and exploded, he was met with a giant fist and his vision went black for a moment. The pain was unbearable and it sent pangs all over Sem's body.

Sem landed with a painful thud into the field, fracturing the ice in the small impact radius. Oii, that hurt. The weakened Sem stood up, knees shaking a bit, only to be met by another fist, then another, and then another. Pretty soon Sem was up against one of the waves being pummeled and kicked.

The Elite Programs were relentless; they did their job well, unfortunately for Sem.

A strong knee dug into Sem's gut. The wind was instantly knocked out of him and he gasped for air. He coughed up some blood, and felt some blood gurgling in his throat as he wheezed.

"Can't let it get the best of me…" Sem cringed. "Or else I'll be infected as well."

One headbutt from the beastie sent Sem through the wave, shards of ice rained everywhere. He landed on his back, still gasping for breathe that was taking forever to return to him. Finally opening his eyes, he was met with more pain. The digital shark had come down on Sem with a powerful dropkick, sending Sem through the ice and into the water below the platform.

The two beings struggled under the water, wrestling each other for control. They fought for what seemed like hours in the inky blackness of the water; only the sound of rain hitting the surface was heard.

Sem was forced farther down, but it allowed him the time to summon up a current to push the rogue program up to the surface. And he floated there for a moment, still as a statue, the water around him settling, until he opened his eyes again. The currents wrapped themselves around Sem, and the water churned and roared. The newly strengthened water elemental shot upwards, spiraling, to the surface and beyond it. He was meters above the scarred battlefield. He curled his legs in, and kicked off the water, bending it to send him flying. The clouds were getting closer and closer as Sem rocketed up through the rain and hail. In a matter of seconds he had reached the peak of his jump, the weather elements held him in place while he gathered energy.

The view from where he hovered was amazing, and he could see the city in the distance and even the beginnings of the Barrens even farther away. Sem looked at the land he knew as The System as energy flowed through him. The water around him froze and evaporated in alternating patterns, rain water gather above him, and a very large amount at that.

Sem looked beneath him, the icy battlefield was still there, and so was the Elite Program, waiting for Sem's return. Well. Ready or not, here he comes. He flipped around and kicked off the water above him while it pushed against him and he was sent back down faster than when he was sent up. The sheer velocity was alarming. The veil of liquid surrounding him was constantly evaporating due to the heat, and it kept replenishing itself. It was Sem's only defense against combusting and landing in a smoking heap.

The sea was getting closer, more details came into view. Closer… closer. Sem flipped back, so now he was descending feet-first. The Shark snarled and raced to the position where its opponent was sure to land. Sem was traveling way faster than the program however. In the final milliseconds all sound ceased to be heard and time slowed, the only thing audible was Sem's own heartbeat. As soon as Sem's left foot touched the ice all went back to normal.

A shockwave was sent out in all directions; the shark was caught with it and sent flying backwards into a frozen wave. Any frozen water within a five meter radius of Sem was utterly decimated and the rest of the platform began to moan and break apart. The splash was enormous as Sem broke through the ice and into the water. The ocean resonated and growled, shaking a large area of land as well, from where it could be felt who knew. Water began to rotate and routes of the various currents shifted to Sem's will. It was like watching ice being stirred in a glass of water with a straw, only it was much bigger and you were the center of it all. A circular mass of spinning water rose above Sem, or rather, he was descending into it. Sem leaped out and onto the fringe of his creation and observed. He'd done it, a maelstrom, an intimidating force of nature indeed.

(OOC: I totally did NOT steal that from Pirates 3. >)

It took a lot of effort, but this is where he would do or die. Sem stood on the edge, waiting for the program, which finally entered the whirlpool. It stood opposite of Sem, and as if the two had rehearsed it they entered the maelstrom at the same time, going in from their right. Now they were still opposite but spinning as well. For the first time in the battle the elite program used its elemental abilities. Large, vertical, razor thin slices of water raced across the water at Sem. He stood comfortably on the water and bent his knees, he side-stepped and hit their flat side, deforming them into mere splashes. Sem returned the favor only this time the water traveled horizontal. The water Elite but his arms up in an x-like fashion, shielding himself from Sem's attack.

The elite began running with the water at Sem, who turned to face his enemy. Sem summoned blocks of ice to deter the sharks course, but it tore through them. When he was mere feet away Sem summoned one last one, the elite broke through and the iceberg crumbled, sending ice everywhere and blocking each combatant from view. Sem shot a hot plume of steam through the snow-cloud nonetheless, and heard the shark yell in response, Sem had burned an area on its chest. Sem smirked a bit, but a fist came through the now dissolving cloud and hit him square in the jaw. Sem flew back and under the water.

The elemental surfaced as quickly as he could and jumped out, standing back on the water. The program had come up to Sem at a fast pace, and kneed him as it passed by. It then kicked Sem in the back, just to get another attack in before it had to wait for the next revolution. Sem double over in pain, but managed to gather himself and decided not to wait, he leaped across the gap and round-house kicked the shark, who then slapped Sem with its tail. The two continued exchanging blows and hits, until the shark grabbed Sem by the throat, Sem grabbed at the large hand with his own, struggling to get free. The shark gave a malevolent chuckle and threw Sem back across the gap.

This was proving to be very difficult still. Sem was almost at his limit. The two continued volleying elemental attacks at each other while the rotating current brought them closer and closer together. The roar of the waters grew louder until it was deafening. From the center of the maelstrom a bone-chilling, half wailing, half suction sound could be heard, threatening to consume them both and forever bind them in the watery hell within its dark depths.

The two grew so close that hand to hand combat was once again possible and the two again did so as they revolved around at an alarming rate. The Elite program was finally showing signs of fatigue, and Sem was already there. He prepared one final kick and lunged: what a mistake. The shark grabbed the leg and began spinning Sem around until forcing him back down onto the opposite end. Sem's throat was in its raspy grasp once again, the scales dug into the skin on his neck.

"N-no…" Sem managed, as he gritted his teeth, eyes tightly shut. "I'm NOT done yet."

Watery tentacles rose around him, ready to defend Sem. They latched onto the monster and released its hold on Sem. He then assumed control of the water-vines, using them as extensions of his limbs. They latched onto the beast's arms and legs, tail as well and then froze. It took a lot of water to keep the beast's sheer power from shattering his binds. The bases of the tentacles attached themselves to Sem's back. (OOC: Doc Ock style, yo.) He was now free to punch and kick the program all he pleased. He beat and pounded on the shark slowly taking down the shark's stamina.

Sem finally melted the beast's binds and threw the infected program upward, as hard as he could. Little did Sem know that the shark would have summoned up some H2O and freeze it, allowing it to kick off it. It came down on Sem like a torpedo, headfirst, knocking Sem down into the very center of the whirlpool. He just couldn't get an edge! What could he do? What was there left to try?

His thoughts were everywhere, going through all his memories of trainings and fights.

Well… he still had left to try that. He had nothing left to lose; it was worth it, though he had not used it all that much, if he failed he would be done for.

Sem leapt from out of the center and back onto his position, but only to be grabbed again by the program. He did not struggle however, but tried to feel the presence of the water near him. Not the ocean though, and not the rain, but the water inside the shark's body. He found it and focused on it; he felt it move through the elite's body, providing energy to all its digital cells. This technique was something Sem had only recently conceived, but if it worked, it would add so much potential to his abilities.

The shark had no idea what Sem was doing has he hung there, almost limp in its hand. Had he given up? Perhaps that's what it thought, but no. Sem opened his eyes and the grip on his neck loosened until it fell away completely. The shark snarled in anger and bared its razor sharp teeth. It had not let go on its own accord, it was Sem's doing.

"Didn't expect this, did you? Well neither did I, but here it goes." Sem said, dryly, tiredly, but also ready. With a simple gesture of his hand the water around them stopped, and the sheets of rain ceased falling. As if he had stopped the flow of time, and with the lowering of his hand the maelstrom began to deform back into what it previously was, normal ocean.

The fighters were now on the same level as the water, the shore could once again be seen not too far away. And with all his might Sem threw his right arm at the shore, and the Elite Program went flying. Sem ran after it and watched as it landed on the beach in an eruption of sand. The beach was severely scarred by the churning water and the rain; trees had been downed as well.

Sem walked up to the creature struggling to stand in the crater. He held out his hand again, bringing the beast's body to his will. Sem began running along the shore back towards the large, jagged rocks where it all began. As he ran he thrust his arm downward, forcing his puppet to hit the sand and be dragged along. He brought his arm forward as they neared the rocks. The shark crashed into them, some of the large stones and boulders broke apart. Another arm thrust up sent the mangled beast high up into the air. Once it was at the highest point Sem swung his hand down onto the sand. And so, the Water-based Elite Program came down as well.

The rocks cracked and crumbled around the elite, the impact utterly destroyed most of them. Sem cautiously walked over to where the program landed and was relieved to see that it was dissolving away and fading into red MCP coding. Sem grabbed his weapons and spoke into his ear piece.

"Sem reporting, Water Elite has been taken down," he sighed and turned it off, not waiting for a response. And with that he logged out.

OOC: Yeah, sorry for the novel ^^; But at least its done.

 

[Sami]

Enter Location...Access Granted.
Loading...
Entering Character Data...
Welcome, Digit, to The System...
Digitising...

"Oh...yay." A light voice, full of sarcasim and wit was nothing more than a murmur of noise against the sound of the wailing winds and whirling substance in the air. This substance was moisture in the air, so cold it had been crystalized, snow. Whipping about in nearly blizzard like conditions, a hand came up to hair that matched the white veil of nature that surrounded the new body within the Artic Region of The System. The land seem deserted, nothing but a rockface to the west, snow fields as far as the eye could see to the north and east, sky above, and a forest, covered with white frosting to the south. The hand was small, with even smaller fingers as they ran themselves through the color-less hair, brushing off a layer that had already gathered atop what seemed to be a small child's head before dissappearing behind a brown cloak, which flipped and flailed helplessly in the harsh winter winds.

Standing at no more than perphaps 3'6", with the appearance of a five year old, Digit look anything but innocent. Her hair was long, but cut at different lengths, like a rather long feather-effect, stopping just before the back of her kneecaps, pulled back into a ponytail to keep out of the way. At the ends of her hair the color went from stark-white to a rather lovely shade of blue. Small devices covered her ears as a visor, a translucent deep blue in color, went from one earpiece to the other, blocking the child-like characters eyes from view. Across this screen, pure data was flashing, blinking, and running along the visor in a brighter, nearly white shade of blue, acting like a screen as she surveyed her surroundings. For now, in this area, she wore a brown cloak over herself for some protection against the harsh winds.

"Hmm...not bad, at least I have something to work with." The voice was muffled once again by the surround sound that nature so humbly provided. Squinting behind the visor, a sigh escaped parted lips as she lifted her arms, revealing them from underneath the cloak. Each arm was coverd in a elasticky, almost spandex like material, but a lighter blue pattern ran down her arms, resembling circuits in a way ((I'll get a picture up...someday.)) As her eyes moved back and forth, her fingers were moving in a typing fashion, it almost seem as though her actions were merely random and fruitless. After a moment, the circuitry up her arms began to give a glow, a tree just a few meters to her south, dissappeared in a data stream, unraveling like a sweater sleeve when someone finds just the right thread and keeps pulling. The stream flowed through the air as it started to reform itself in front of Digit, first become a wire-like frame of nothing but data before it began to develop a 'skin' to cover it's data-composed skeletal structure. The figure soon became reconizable as a wolf, it's eyes blue in color, with data visibly running within it's eyes. Certain parts of this canine, was the very same circuit patter that ran along Digit's arms.

"You're now my eyes. Let's go." Arms dissappeared back within the brown cloak as the child figure began walking, the Data Wolf traveling ahead of the girl as they started towards the forest. After a few minutes of uneventful traveling, the wolf stopped in its tracks with no word from Digit, looking eastwards, it's ears perked as the circuits that ran along it's body gave a glow, it's virtual lip curling. Eyes flicking in the same direction, Digit brought her hands forward in a typing motion, a rock that jutted out of the ground not to far away started dissappearing in a ribbon like fashion as it started to form its wire frame become shaping out to become a whip, with the circuit, which seemed to be a signature thing amongst Digit's creations, forming. Grasping the handle, the rest of the whip lopped and fell to the ground as she took a step back. In the wrong direction.

The Data creature suddenly whipped around in a full about-face in sync with Digit's head as a tree was thrust aside directly behind Digit, a large claw as white as the region shot forward, reaching for Digit at a steep, downward angle. Turning on her heel, her took a leap backward, though it was slowed due to the soft, powdery snow underneath her feet as she was taken by surprise. Snow dusted everywhere in a small, cherrybomb sized explosion as the monstrously sized claw made impact with the soft snow. Using a little fancy-foot work to retain her balance and keep from falling, she took two more hops backwards away from the creature, no the Elite Program that stood before her. A chill ran up her spine...not yet out of fear, but because within the claws of the great Beast before her, was her cloak. Way to close for comfort. Leaping before her, Digit's Data beast gave a menacing growl, despite the obvious height difference.

This Elite stood at about 8'3" and had an extremely large build. It's snout was large and stocky, teeth revealed as it gave what was beyond a growl, surpassing even a roar. With a coat as white as snow, with only a few shades of gray, the Artic Bear Elite gave yet another warcry, taking a swing at the Data duo, both Digit and the wolf leaping to opposite sides. To any bystanders, it looked as though a Lollipop Kid and Toto were about to take on Shaq.

Digit made a veer away from the Elite as her small puppet started to run circles around the Elite, the girl looking the Elite over as her fingers were making fast work of the the air, data ribbons beginning to deplete their surrounding land and form a wire-framed creature, roughly a size equal to the Elite Program. With her cloak gone, the rest of her apparal was revealed. The arms covered in the blue material with the circuits rand up to only about her shoulders, where a tee-sleeved overshirt covered her midriff, black in color. A small blue skirt was her current lower body wear, but black spandex leggings that ran into white 'Ugg' boots aided in making it easier to move freely. Three-quarters through making her new Data drone, a mechanical 'yelp' could be heard as her first Data Creature flew by her, hitting a tree and dissolving in a flurry of ribbons made up of data before fuzzing and flickering out of this plan of exsistance. A bead of sweat rolled down Digit's face as her eyes flicked to the Elite, who was making his way towards the girl...he wasn't very fast, but boy oh boy, was he a tank!

Grimacing as a large set of Elite claws flew her way, once again at an awkward downwards angle, Digit moved her arms into a defensive 'X' shape. As the Artic made impact with the ground, it had almost seemed like he had missed, until you realize what an impact it was, a wave, almost like a tidal wave of snow, easily blew the petite girl backwards, which wasn't good, considering how crowded the forest was, Digit's backside meeting the bark of a tree square on, snow falling off the branches as she gritted her teeth. As the Great Bear lifted its head, it's lips started to lift in a sinister snarl of a grin, but a fist came from the side to meet its maw, taking the unsuspecting Elite for a small loop, sending it staggering. A menacing roar came from this newfound contender, Digit's newest Data defender, yet another Canine-like creature, but far from resembling any known to man. Standing up straight, Digit looked to the bear and cracked her data whip. "Sick 'em, Toto!" A sly smirk came upon the childs face as she made a dart for the backside of the bear, she wasn't keen on Physical strength, she'd leave that to her puppy. Though it seemed she had made it too short, the Canine being half a foot shorter than the Elite as the two had now locked their arms in a strength test.

She had to hurry, she couldn't keep a Data program of this magnitude out for long, the data she had used to create wouldn't hold, like putting to much air in a balloon. As the Elite shifted it's weight, it gave a good shove, knocking the Data lycan off his balance. Lifting a great paw in the air, Digit could've sworn she saw an opportunity. Maybe she needed glasses, because she was wrong. Cracking the whip beforehand, she shot it out and upwards, wrapping it around the Elite's lifted paw, unfortunately, her tug was cancelled out and overpower as the Elite's paw continued it's course, sending the girl flying and the Lycan howling as it's arm was taken off in a frenzy of broken Data ribbons. "Shit....." Digit muttered as she picked herself up off the ground once more and looked to her loyal Lupine, who was still exchanging blows with the Elite, though he was slowly fading away, losing.

"Wait...isn't this?" It can't be..." Digit muttered as she extracted another nearby tree and re-used the Data from her failed whip to re-create weapon, a bowstaff, made up of a strange metallic material, with, of course, the lightest blue circuits running up it. Wasn't the Elite Programs supposed to be meant for protecting the program? Oh yeah, well, she was a hacker. But...it seemed a little too...feral to be doing this on orders.

Digit took a little to long in her thinking process, for another howl of pain came from her Data beast as it faded away into nothing-ness. Taking a few steps backwards, Digit felt her heel come up against the rock wall she had seen earlier. Oh jolly fun, what a mess she had gotten herself into now.

((I hope this is okay as a Part 1 to her battle with the Artic Elite. ^^; Part 2 will come when I'm not supposed to be sleeping. If one of the other characters wishes to secretly show up and watch or something, go right ahead.))

 

[Yoshimitsu]

OOC- REVIVE!

BIC-

"So, what? You're telling me an elite was based on something roughly humanoid?" Pyro asked. "I'm so disappointed..."
"Quit complaining, Pyro. Besides, we have reports on this elite. Multi-limbed, apparently. It sounds dangerous, so be careful," Melody replied.
"Yeah, whatever. Fighting off Ain and that Lizard was bad enough. Nothing can get much worse than that," Pyro said dismissively. He shrugged, and looked up. In front of him was an enormous castle. It was still in good condition, just a little worn, some sections slightly damaged, like the left guard tower. It was a solid grey colour, aside from the ebony doors. Pyro placed his hand on one of the twin doors, and it glided open easily, silently. Pyro raised an eyebrow to this, but shrugged and stepped inside, stepping through the entrance hall and along the main corridor. He opened a channel to HQ.

"Someone send me two copies of White Sword Alpha," he said.
"Two Alphas? Why?" Melody enquired.
"I dunno, I just have a feeling I'll need them. Deus Ex Machina and all that jazz," Pyro said, smirking.
"Pyro, you're whole existence is based around Deus Ex Machinas," Melody replied.
"I'd prefer 'dumb luck', actually," Pyro said, grinning broadly. His footsteps echoed around the corridor. Any stealth he did have, he didn't have any more. Taking this into account, his hands rested on the two materialising sword hilts, one at his shoulder, the other at his waist. His daggers rested at his waist also, just in case. He continued, softening his footsteps as he went. Around him, he could feel something watching him. He shifted his grip slightly and turned the next corner.

"Main hall... Any info on the whereabouts?" Pyro asked. There was silence. He stopped moving and upped the volume on his earpiece. He could hear typing, then that familiar connecting sound. "Damn, she knows there's an uplink delay right now... Looks like I'm alone, at least for a bit."

The hall was massive. It was easily bigger than a football stadium, and littered with pillars. The pillars were dotted about, yet amazingly organised, every few meters there was a pillar, some of them connected by walls. There was enough room between the pillars to do a complicated dance routine comfortably, and still with plenty of room to spare. Pyro stepped in cautiously. He could practically smell the elite program. It was around somewhere, in this room. It had probably followed him somehow. He turned as he walked, looking around for any sign of the program. Suddenly, he heard something that sounded like a cloak rustling somewhere above him. His head snapped up and his eyes darted around, looking for the source of the sound, but he couldn't see anything. He stepped again, turning slightly. He heard the noise again. His eyes snapped in its direction, and he caught a red piece of material vanishing into a shadow.

"I've got you now..." Pyro said, making a gun shape with his hand. He aimed at where he had just seen the cloak, and fired a single bullet of flames in its direction. It exploded when it hit the ceiling, casting all the area around in light. He saw the elite program briefly. It was clad in red cloaks, with a white mask on. A white mask, with two red lines, one going over either blank, staring eye.
"Oh they did not. How totally unoriginal," Pyro said, aiming at the elite program and shooting again. The flames split to the side, and the elite program fell to the ground in front of Pyro, crouched. The elite program stood up, towering over Pyro, at least ten foot tall and very bulky. It wore red cloaks and cloth on its torso, covering it slightly yet not that much, so that it could easily use its arms. Its legs were wrapped in tied black pants, the bottoms of which were held by metal shin-guards. Its skin was a pale grey-blue colour, the eyes that were now moving, a crimson. Pyro rolled his eyes.

"Scan. Let me guess, Gilgamesh?" Pyro said, rolling his eyes again.
"Scan complete. Subject: Gilgamesh. Multi-armed Elite Program, human based. Avoid engaging," the scan said. Pyro nodded. Gilgamesh pulled out two swords, holding them with two of his four arms. Pyro nodded, and drew one of the White Swords, readying himself for battle. Gilgamesh shot forward, spinning and slashing at Pyro, but Pyro jumped up over the attack and kicked his legs out, doing the splits in mid air and smacking Gilgamesh in the shoulder, making it take a step back. Pyro ducked under the elite's swords and launched a powerful uppercut at the program, knocking its head back but doing little to the program itself. Pyro kicked off of its chest and landed a good few meters away.
"Okay, Lizard couldn't take these attacks as well as this one can... Scan all information on Gilgamesh. This means initial concept, creation, inspiration, programming. Everything," Pyro said quickly. Gilgamesh lunged at Pyro, bringing a massive sword swinging down at him. Pyro ducked to the side, then stepped on to the blade and went to jump at Gilgamesh's head, but Gilgamesh brought his other sword smashing down. Pyro threw up his sword, meeting it halfway and defending himself. Pyro moved one hand, making the gun shape with his fingers again, and shot another fire bullet in Gilgamesh's face. Gilgamesh staggered back, then spun and slashed at Pyro. Pyro held his sword in defense, but Gilgamesh pushed through Pyro's guard and threw the teenager to the side. Pyro skidded to a halt, but gathered himself and stood up again.

"Well this isn't going as well as I thought it would," Pyro said, twirling the sword in his hand. He shot forward, spun and brought his sword smashing down at Gilgamesh, but the Elite program hopped backwards. Pyro used his momentum to carry on forwards, flipping and bringing his sword swinging down at Gilgamesh again. Gilgamesh met the attack with a vertical upper-slash at Pyro, knocking the boy higher into the air. Pyro flipped in the air and streamlined himself, getting higher into the air. He twisted and turned in the air and super-heated his fingertips, jabbing them into a pillar and latching on to it. Gilgamesh bent his knees and sprung directly up at Pyro. Pyro kicked off of the pillar and flipped, falling at Gilgamesh fast. As he descended, he wrapped himself in flames and spun, turning into a swirling fireball. The two collided in the air, the flames exploding around them, swords clashed, both defying gravity.
"Scanner, Gilgamesh is the strongest of the elites, isn't it?" Pyro said, sending a surge of fire down at Gilgamesh. He pushed himself out of the stalemate, twisted in the air and kicked off of Gilgamesh's shoulder, launching himself higher into the air.
"Affirmative. Gilgamesh was under special protection and only used in the worst of situations," the mechanical voice replied.
"Great. Did you finish that scan from earlier?"
"Negative. Scan is at sixty-four percent."
"Good. Hurry up," Pyro said and he found the ceiling. He latched on to the ceiling for a moment, then kicked off and shot down at Gilgamesh, wrapping himself in white flames, burning hotter than the hottest volcano. He shot at Gilgamesh, who was drawing his third and fourth swords. In his descent, Pyro unsheathed his second White Sword and prepared for the collision...

...when the flames around him vanished and a narrow, solid object smacked into his side, throwing him vastly off course and flying through the air, into a pillar. The pillar lost a chunk of stone where Pyro had smashed into it. The warrior shook his head groggily and looked for what had hit him. Ahead, he saw the familiar figure of Ain, seeming to hover, holding that staff. Pyro ground his teeth as he pulled himself from the pillar and slid down the side.
"Are you still too much of a spineless coward to fight me one on one?" Pyro mocked, tightening his grip on his two swords.
"Hardly. We have more important plans, however. We underestimated you last time. Never again," Ain said. Gilgamesh stepped in front of Ain and shot at Pyro, his four swords weaving through the air like an intricate dance. Pyro reacted immediately, moving his two swords in short, strong slashes, meeting all of Gilgamesh's attacks with his own. Pyro shot up suddenly, out of Gilgamesh's range and landed on its shoulder. He kicked off of the shoulder and shot at Ain, both swords suddenly aflame. Ain spun his staff around him and prepared his defense. As soon as he was close enough, Pyro slashed with one of the swords. Ain easily defended, broke through the attack and hit Pyro's side with the staff. Pyro bore the attack and landed on his feet, attacking again. With every slash that Pryo unleashed, Ain guarded magnificently. Pyro flipped over Ain and brought both swords slashing from opposite directions. Ain, without turning around, brought his staff sweeping up, catching the bottom of Pyro's head and throwing him backwards. Pyro skidded to a halt, but jumped to his feet.

"You've improved," Pyro commented.
"You haven't. Ready for another round?" Ain mocked.
"I didn't think we'd finished the last," Pyro smirked. Suddenly, something around Pyro didn't feel right. Something... the air was different. Something was there that shouldn't be. Pyro looked around. Shapes were moving from behind pillars. Some obvious shapes, others were more like blobs. Programs. An army of them. And Pyro had to face them alone.
"No way. You called in reinforcements - am I that much of a threat? Please, don't boost my ego any more. If it got much bigger, I'd start acting like you," Pyro said, sliding his swords back into their holders. In his ear, he heard a familiar voice. Melody had got the connection back up.

"Pyro, we've just got you back on the moniter," Melody replied. "The whole place is crawling with programs. Cannon fodder and some tougher programs. Remember Chimera and Gigas? Well, they have a ton of them and all."
"Welcome to two minutes ago," Pyro replied. "Do I get reinforcements or do I have to wipe them out all on my own?"
"Reinforcements, naturally. We're sending in the other agents, and you're getting an upgrade. I'll be there in five minutes," Melody said, choosing to ignore Pyro's sass.
"Ain's here, so be careful," Pyro said.
"As always. Hold out for a few minutes, I'll send you some new weapons until then," Melody said, closing the link. Pyro stretched his hands out to either side, and in a flash of flames, two chakram appeared. Spiked chakram with hands in the middle, and a vein of fire running around them.

"What, you think some new weapons will help you?" Ain mocked. Pyro spun on the spot, sweeping his new weapons round. He threw them both, cutting through dozens of weaker programs and reducing them to coding, before the chakrams returned to him. He looked at Ain and shrugged, grinning broadly.
"What do you think?" He said, dismissing them and pulling out his daggers. He ran at Ain, ducking under a slash from Gilgamesh and jumped, roundhouse kicking Ain and throwing him to the side. Before Ain even had a chance to recover, Pyro was attacking again, a series of kicks that looked more like a dance, each blow hitting like a sledgehammer. Ain exploded, sending a rush of flames blasting out in all directions. Pyro skidded back.

"I'm not going to lose to a pathetic little agent like you!" Ain snapped.