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Post by Genesis on Jul 10, 2017 11:42:49 GMT -8
*Of the many things the Onyx Overlord didn't expect, the first was his opponent's tenacity. That was something he would at least work around. What he honestly hadn't expected was for his opponent to take his attacks. And for the first time in years his eyes widened in surprise at the actions of his current adversary. From the state of the canine's body and the fact that he was still going, and willing to stand up to his own attacks as opposed to countless others who would make it their life's purpose to evade them... it caught him by surprise. It let him observe his opponent now instead of treating them as a paperweight, noticing the corrupted data spilling out. Reminded him of Dr.Psyche, who thought hitting him with the bubonic plague was a nice idea. Genesis personally hadn't been a fan. He also walked it off to the surprise of everyone. The pull of the negative data, however, did cause Genesis to halt and still not move.*
"Kuh?!"
*His hand went to his chest, the scar there pulsing. He could feel another tug in his arm then, but he knew what that one was as well. Calling it negative data would be an understatement, same as the scar that still persisted on his chest. And that was when the claw slammed into his abdomen and the left hook closely followed and slammed square into his face, causing even Genesis to skid back on his feet. But he stopped himself with his sword, eyes looking back at K-414 with a glare now. But despite this glare, there was a grin plastered on his face now instead.*
"What more can I do?"
*There was an undertone with his voice, like something had been triggered by the K-Unit with the Onyx Overlord. The makeshift sword he used wouldn't do him any good, that would just prolong things. So the sword was tossed at the Animus Unit blade first at his chest, black data pooling from his arm as something else formed. A much larger sword, not one made of energy either. If one were searching for power, they would notice a sharp spike in his as this sword was pulled forth. Fate was in his hand now, the cords coiling around his hand. And then his attack would begin as his eyes flashed, the very ground beneath K-414 shooting up like spears to impale him as many times as possible if he didn't move.*
"Fine... I'll grind you to dust!"
*The aggression in his voice along with the mysterious tone shift were more than evident now. Fate shone as light swallowed the area as he faded within it, black feathers left behind where he had started to be seen as the light faded. Genesis had jumped upward this time, a hail of shots unleashed by Genesis and Fate alike to hinder the target, leaving them open to the true offensive. And then he swung Fate, unleashing a literal tornado of raw energy down upon the K-Unit as five slammed down into him before Genesis tore clean through them with his sword strike that followed at K-414 as he reached the ground again.*
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Post by Kman on Jul 10, 2017 21:13:33 GMT -8
K-414 didn't even notice Genesis reach for the scar. He didn't see it or care that it was there as his body pulled that energy from around him. The negative energy of the world around him strengthened him, even as the dangerous things that he kept locked inside of him were spilling out due to the numerous wounds that he'd received. But he had now tasted Genesis' power. He knew what it was formulated of. His body adapted already, the flesh forming a resilience to it that he didn't have before. It would help him assuredly in the remainder of the combat.
Genesis repeated the question, and that was something that K-414 felt both exciting as well as antagonizing. If the man was going to unleash what he held against K-414, then the beast wanted him to do so. This was the power that the K-unit sought. He wanted to know what strength was, and how to best deal with it. He needed to tear it apart, limb-from-limb and leave himself the victor. Only the strongest of fighters were the alpha and of the K-line, he was near the top. And he would show this Genesis that strength.
The blade that was hurled forward, K-414 caught on his left forearm, the remnants of the data armor still there. The blade still pierced through his flesh cleanly, but it was barely enough for the wolven navi to care as he tore it free, casting the remnants of it to the side. His body had tasted that type of damage once before, and he wasn't going to be harmed by it. However, as the other drew out another blade, K-414 could tell that there was something different about this. He didn't know what it was, but the fur on his body stood on end. Partially from excitement, but partially from fear.
The ground itself shot up around him then, impaling the wolf beast several times before he unleashed a roar of energy and power, slamming his claw into the ground, sending out a wide shockwave that rumbled the ground around him even as Genesis leapt upward. The shockwave would likely do some damage to Serix if she didn't guard against it, and behind him, the wall itself sustained serious damage from the sheer force of the singular attack, and no doubt there may have been some injuries or even casualties from the beast's strike. As Genesis then unleashed a tracer swarm of bursts down at him, K-414 howled, and with that, a cone of raw energy exuded from his maw as his claws anchored himself to the ground, aimed at Genesis and the weapon he held, the thing that K-414 felt that strange emotion of fear from.
He snapped his jaws closed as the torrent of energy came toward him, the attacks slamming into him, stripping his hide even as he saw Genesis start to move. He removed the limiters on his regeneration for the briefest second, and his body stitched itself mostly back together, though there were still some gaping holes as the Onyx Overlord came down toward him. The man's right arm was pulled back over his body, and K-414 could tell the angle of the attack that was going to come in. He coiled his body like a spring, the ground beneath his legs cracking as he dug in, before launching his arms up at the black swordsman.
His left was aimed to catch Genesis' wrist, to slow the momentum, and the other moved to the base of the blade, trying to stop it. However, his plan failed as even with the force behind his own attack, the blade bit cleanly through his thumb and sank itself a good distance into his left shoulder. "YOU'RE MINE!" he roared then, unleashing another roaring howl of raw energy upon Genesis point-blank, even as his fangs moved to try and tear out the swordsman's throat.
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Post by Genesis on Jul 10, 2017 21:34:17 GMT -8
*Even as the blade sunk into K-414, the grin plastered on his face hadn't faded at all. Instead the coils around his hand released themselves as he changed his grip on the sword, his left arm moving up in an attempt to meet the wolf's mouth. His plan had been to slam it shut, but the energy forced even his arm back as the fangs kept on their way. But from the armor around his neck did chains launch forth, seeking the upper and lower maw of K-414 and rather than shutting them, aimed to pull them even further apart in an attempt to tear open his head or at the very least separate one half from the other. And then the onyx blade he held adapted a crimson aura as the properties of the weapon changed, starting to push down with his arm as his goal was to take the left side from the wolf now. In his left hand however, formed a gun that had a different data signature than himself as well. It wasn't a weapon that was owned or powered by him, instead aiming the white and silver magnum at the open mouth of the K-Unit.*
*And without hesitation he pulled the trigger several times, unleashing a devastating burst of plasma with each shot. He lifted his foot then, kicking off of the opponent instead as the chains unfurled themselves then. He wasn't sure yet if he took his left half, tore his opponent's head apart, blew it to pieces, or what yet. But he wasn't done yet either. The crimson aura that coated the sword turned magenta instead, and Serix would feel a cold chill then. A very familiar chill too, as a purple fog and mist seemed to roll off of Fate then. The Black Diamond on the sword unleashed a pulse, and then a second and a third. And then he pointed the sword skyward, the mist swirling to the tip of the blade as a ball. And then he swung down and thrust the blade forward, unleashing the pooling mist as a gaping nightmarish face of darkness. The sheer force of it being launched outright deleted several of those who were being evacuated without even coming near them as the puppeteer's might that was forced upon Genesis some time ago was unleashed without hesitation.*
*It tore the ground asunder and the walls behind K-414 were creaking even as it streaked toward them. And even then the aura around the sword was beginning to shift again, gaining a hue of white to compliment the magenta that now surrounded it as well. His purple eyes having streaks of orange and green coursing through them with the grin he still held. Because he was already planning to unleash an even more terrifying blow with Fate in the moments to come, pulling back into a stance as both of his hands gripped the hilt of his partner. It was raised to eye level, almost sneering now rather than grinning.*
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Post by Gaia on Jul 12, 2017 9:45:24 GMT -8
PlagueMan.ERR
The main collective halted, floating in the skies as little more than a multi-colored cloud of noxious hues and shifting masses. This high up, their glitched masses only had the sky aesthetic code to mess with, and they were keeping themselves held together enough to avoid anything incredibly strange. A few green clouds and random balls of metal appearing in the sky shouldn't bother the pedestrians too much. It wasn't like they were worried about them, anyways; the data returning from their collective, spread out all across the Net, was what concerned them.
Trouble was brewing at the Electopian and Netopian borders. In fact, it was already well brewed by the time it caught their attention, from what they could tell. The areas that really called their attention, though, was where a particular wolf was released for time to play. As they focused on the members in that particular area, the scene rolled out across their connected sensory pathways.
Smoke rolled up from a collapsing wall behind the battered and bruised K-Unit that they recognized all too well. Corrupted data spewed from his every wound, which was a strange sight for PlagueMan's collective to witness. They were under the impression that the Navi was nigh indestructible - it appears that his adversary, whoever it may be, was a powerful being all on their own.
PlagueMan wanted to go in. They had a direct pathway; the corrupted data spewing across the battlefield, and their own collective within not only the K-Unit but the very fiber of the Net around them . . . it would be easy to follow the broken pathways in their own unique way. To them, the broken pathways, riddled with corrupted data, was less of a dangerous and surely lethal area and more of a quick and uninterrupted method of travel.
The question, however, was how welcomed to the K-Unit would they be?
After thinking on the question for a moment longer, they came to the simple conclusion that they didn't care. Whether or not the wolf wanted to admit it, he was in need of assistance. They could tell; the collective members within him were all screaming from the effort of keeping themselves together, amidst his rapidly deteriorating data.
Open a pathway, and make room. This is the alpha collective. We're on the way.
A field of static and an error message blipped into existence above the cloud of noxious hues, warning that a broken Pathway is attempting to be followed. Ignoring the warning, the collective poured into the field of red code, the field of static closing behind them.
They didn't arrive as an amorphous blob scrambling about on the floor, as they usually did. Instead, they took a more direct route, wanting to skip the collecting process. Following the broken pathway to the most direct member of their collective, the first bits of their bugged mass began to pour out of the very wounds dotting K-414's body. The corrupted information that he seemed to seep out poured out in rivulets, gaining color and and substance as the information within bent to their collective's will.
Suddenly, they jut their newly formed hand from the hole in K-414's chest, grasping hold of the opposing Navi's arm, even as he took his stance with his sword. Their collective gripped fast, the glitched data pouring over their hand and onto the onyx overlord as more and more of their body took form, using him as leverage to pull their body out of the small broken pathway they generated within the K-Unit, their head coming out second, their glowing eyes shifting in different shades of vermilion, noxious green and lethal purple.
As they pulled their leg free from the mass of corroded data that their body was still forming from, their lead coat simply generated itself, wrapping around their body as it finalized its constitution. They stood, ten feet tall from the amassed bugged data in their form, towering over both combatants, and, with their hand still gripped on the Onyx Overlord, the collective exerted all of their force to push him back, the colors on their face shifting as the fluid metal coating them shifted to the rippling members underneath.
The last of their form broke away from the wounds coating K-414. Copious amounts of bugged data still coated the border's floor beneath them, eating away at the Network as it wished, distorting color, shape and purpose, before PlagueMan mastered the data on the floor. With a rush, it went in reverse, the bugged data rushing back into the wounds coating K-414's body.
As the static and distorted code rushed back into his form, K-414's body seemed to repair itself at a faster rate, the members of PlagueMan's own collective within the mass that rushed back in copying data within the host's mass to repair and reconstitute into an even stronger form. Despite it all being a gigantic collective of glitched data that was pouring back into K-414, he wouldn't feel agony or distress as it ate away at his data, but, rather, he'd feel strength and power as it replicated and perfectly adapted to his own, and even made it stronger.
"Allow us to put aside our differences . . . and we'll assist you in bringing him down."
It was all they had to say, as they locked eyes with the Onyx Overlord. They had nothing to say to the criminal attempting to cross the border, and simply shifted their collective about in preparation for the battle to come.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2017 11:22:47 GMT -8
As the last of the NIA operatives exited the area, Serix turned back to look at the battle.
"That isn't good."
She raced over to Genesis's side, and shouted at both K-414 and the newcomer.
"Wait! He has agreed to help us with Ruin! Can't you idiots see the bigger picture?! We have a way to take out Ruin! Are you really going to stand here and throw away a potential ally?! Think before you act!"
Serix was absolutely livid at this point, with little veins popping up along her hairline, and her face a bloody shade of red.
"Are you men all alike?! Always thinking with your fists instead of your heads?! You're all a bunch of muscle-bound idiots!! I mean really! Is a little cooperation too much to ask?!"
Flames burst from her body with every syllable. This was definitely not a good day for her. She felt like an underpaid babysitter at this point.
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Post by Kman on Jul 13, 2017 21:45:08 GMT -8
As K-414's jaw lunged forward, the chains wrapped themselves around the beast's maw. This wasn't something that the monster had expected, the chains able to open his jaw a good bit, forcing his attack to fall apart as he couldn't muster the strength to close them on Genesis' throat. Thankfully, his jaws were strong enough to keep the chains from simply tearing his head in half...but at the expense of the blade tearing through the left part of him. The way that its property was changing was...difficult for K-414 to react to. His body adjusted to an attack, learned it, and then could pull it apart, restructuring it into his own code...but this was something different altogether.
As it had before, the sword struck fear into the heart of a beast where terror had no place existing.
A roar of pain through fangs still gnashing at chains echoed out as his limb became separated from the rest of him, the creature stumbling backward, only for several bolts of energy from a handgun pierced through his throat. The chains released him, and the K-unit collapsed onto the ground in a heap. He was not deleted- his data remained, but his gaze was looking skyward, staring at the data above. Were those clouds...green? Had that impacted his sensory data? Before he could consider it, the world around him erupted into errors and warnings, the beast having to cause his own regeneration to kick into a dangerous level of overdrive to even still be considered 'alive' by any stretch as he crashed back to the ground. Whatever Genesis had just hit him with had been...otherworldly.
But he was not deleted. Not yet.
Even before PlagueMan had arrived, K-414 was already moving to stand. His movements were slow as his digital body struggled to respond to the commands that were being issued to him back at the headquarters. The Animus Syndicate were watching his every move as he slowly stood, a hole extending from the back of his throat through the back of his skull, and his left arm lay useless on the ground, beginning to disintegrate into nothing but data. This was a twisted version of Beowulf and Grendel, though K-414 had no intention of leaving. "You are the strongest thing I have ever fought, Genesis of Bellum Inc.," he announced, taking a step forward, despite his injuries. Once more, much as it had against PlagueMan, K-414's data had integrated with the damage that he had taken from Genesis, reading and breaking apart the bits that were contained there, funneling that information into his own memory banks. Granted, he had no idea about what Bellum Inc. even was...but he knew that it existed. "But I will not die here...you canno-" K-414 spoke, before his body simply froze for a moment in place...before things began to ooze out of him, more than the damage that he had already taken.
The ruptured data began to slowly take form into something that K-414 recognized, and a low growl began to build in the back of his throat as he saw the form of PlagueMan. He was backed into a corner, now. Even if this particular K-414 unit hadn't been the one to fight against PlagueMan (that one was still lost in the Net, somewhere), the data of that fight, at least up until they'd fallen through the floor of Element City, was still in the beast's data banks. He was back for revenge, and K-414 was already losing against Genesis.
Until the broken data leaking from him reversed, beginning to filter back into him. His arm still lay unattached, but as the recovery began to pick up speed, a shoulder began to appear as his data started to recover itself. He could only accelerate his recovery once more...any more than that and his data would go haywire. "Fine," the beast growled. The enemy of my enemy was a friend, it seemed.
With portions of the wall destroyed already, K-414 let out a bellow then, his claws beginning to glitch in their movements, like a series of miniature lag spikes from the glitched data of PlagueMan now integrating with his own. "I WANT TO SEE YOUR STRENGTH, GENESIS," the beast howled, even as the amount of data appearing in his hand was almost...anomalous. It was as if the data and energy that he was holding in his right, and only useable claw, was far and above what should be possible. Not just from a Navi strength standpoint, but from the standpoint of the way data was thought to work.
The claw was slammed down into the ground then, and a wave of power that would make even Genesis proud washed out from him, decimating the landscape around him as the rush of off-yellow power made a beeline for the Onyx Overlord, and Serix too if she didn't move quickly enough. "SHOW IT TO ME!" he roared as the very stability of the Net began to shudder around him.
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Post by Genesis on Jul 13, 2017 22:21:39 GMT -8
*That sorry state that the wolf was in was fitting. But he was merciful... he would end this swiftly in his next blow. If the navi could withstand this much, far be it from him to hold back and not do what he first set out to do. The only thing that had stopped that increasing flare of strength that Genesis was about to unleash hadn't been Serix coming over to mention that this all could have been avoided... it was the words that the wolf uttered from his mouth first. And it was the first time that his crazed expressions had changed, his eyes widening in shock instead.*
"...What did you just say?"
*His voice denoted his shock all too well, as well as an amount of maliciousness never before heard from him. Even in his crusade to destroy the Armored Destroyer, someone who he had an immense grudge against... nothing had ever earned his ire more than what K-414 had just mentioned. Knowledge that he presumed lost to all the world around him. He was so infuriated at it that he hadn't noticed the hand that jutted out of K-414 until it already touched him, being pushed back as a result and sliding on his feet, chains shooting out from his back to stop his backward advance. But the shocked glare in his eyes hadn't quite faded, his mind all over the place. What... what in the world was this wolf? It wasn't like it was something he hadn't fought before. It was durable, ferocious, and could recover most of its wounds. It adapted to its opponent, as did he, and as a result was even more resilent in a fight. And yet twice now had it done things that no one else had... his left hand going to his chest. His eyes were returning to normal, his sense of self steadily being shocked back to reality. This was... he had to investigate this later. He had already committed at this point.*
"...Tch! Step off, Serix! I'm ending this, now!"
*It was nothing personal before, but now it had to be. And he would restrain nothing any longer. As the K-Unit demanded of him and practically forced of him, he would utilize his utmost to destroy him. Especially with the amount of power that was surging from that one arm of his. It was incredibly impressive how much power that alone held compared to all that had come before it. His cloak morphed as it becomes a crimson cape, part of it wrapped around the collar of his armor before pushing back, resembling demonic wings as his armor gained a crimson glow. Spikes appeared on several parts of his armor, the knees of both legs, the elbow of both gauntlets, and at both of his shoulders as a mask covered his mouth, violet eyes glimmering with unadultered power. The pale white aura that the sword gained had scarlet mix with it, the very symbols of the sword appearing on the chest of his armor as well. The cords of the Black Diamond laced about each finger, the crest of it on both hands now, the fusion of the two modes complete.*
"Just as you wish, you'll see my strength. And with that strength... I'LL CLAIM YOUR LIFE!"
*He re-took his stance, summoning up a dark aura around his body before he rushes forward toward the encroaching wave, swinging his sword at what appeared to be once. But what was unleashed was far more than a singular blow. It was an otherworldly blow, multiplying countless times and tearing off in a swirl of black, white, blue, and red. It grew and expanded, streaking out to even the width of the very border that was being defended as it met the off-yellow wave head on. And what was once shaky stability for the net they were on quickly and greatly worsened. Quakes ravaged the area, glitches and changes ever rampant all around them. The sword that he wielded was changing everything around them, influencing glitches, data, and the very world itself that encompassed them all right now. He could worry about answers and delve into that darkness after he finished deleting this one and everything behind him and the partner that joined his side of the fight.*
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Post by Gaia on Jul 14, 2017 11:11:47 GMT -8
PlagueMan.ERR
They detected roiling power, as the entire Net seemed to shift to the opposition's will. A single, logic defying strike created a torrent of power that surged forward, threatening the entire border. It was impossible, beautiful and terrifying, all at once.
Usually, when fighting a Navi, worrying about control of their own mass wasn't a problem. Bugged data was incomprehensible and unpredictable, making it difficult for others to get a lock on their data stream. This Navi, though, with his single slash, bent the entirety of the data in the area to his will - glitched, functional and otherwise. The static pulsating through the roiling cloud ripped up the Net as it surged forward, the potential of their own awesome power surging towards them . . .
They could do that, if they wanted to. Allowing their bug data to roll free, they could bend the Net to their will . . . destroy what they desired, change what they didn't like, manipulate through control of the bugged data that made them who they were. The desire pumped through them, to infect, spread and destroy.
PlagueMan were better than their primal instincts, though. Their will was paramount over their instinct, and they designated their own purpose. Protect, Thrive, Survive.
Their whole form surged, rippling from top to bottom, as they exerted their control over the bugged data within themselves and K-414. When coercing anomalous data from without their collective, things could sometimes get a bit iffy - the Alpha had the most control over the bugged data, but, he usually stayed dormant. Usually, they could coerce enough bugged information into their body to adapt as necessary.
As far as manipulating the bugged data once it became a part of their collective, though . . . there was no question. The whole of the collective had near full control over themselves.
The roiling cloud of static bent slightly forward at PlagueMan's own exertion of mastery over the bugged data, pulling bytes out of the air as the blow ripped them up and threatened to rip its data apart. Before it could be added to the roiling mass of data, they picked up the spar pieces. Suddenly, the space around both them and their lupine host flickered, and caved into little more than a line of static and rogue information. The line of raw power smashed into the line of glitched space before the Net corrected itself, roiling around the condensed space.
Within, PlagueMan's form rippled and contorted at the exertion of power, small pieces of the roiling torrent outside slipping through the glitched space and searing against their form. With each small wisp that licked against them, their form sizzled and screeched, reverberating with effort. K-414, still behind them, was safely tucked away in the little pocket of glitched space, all too familiar to the both of them. Blank blue space with strands of rogue code floated around them, only, this time, they were actually still standing on a floor, rather than falling through the empty Net.
When the Net corrected itself, the space that had been condensed was empty - including the space where the border had once stood. A small sliver of condensed space remained, and quickly corrected itself right after - the border reappeared, stretching back out from empty space like a xylophone. PlagueMan and K-414, on the other hand . . . they were standing, safely behind Genesis.
They had the power to move them, and protect the border. A few of the wisps of power that surged through their condensed pocket smashed a horrific looking gauge here and there, but, for their pride, it was still standing.
Unfortunately, so was Genesis. Their form rippled and contorted, even still, exhausted. They were much, much smaller than before, having exerted a large amount of power to do what they did. Within a few seconds, their form reforged itself, looking slightly more healthy than before, but, still not feeling anywhere near fully formed. They lost a lot of their collective just then, both from the glitch and the strikes against them.
They turned to glance at K-414. "In the time we took to glitch us out of the Net, we also took the liberty of loading you up with a few glitches. We know what you're capable of . . . Poisons, Burns, Soaks and a little extra Berzerk ferocity should do you kindly." Across their own body, the remnants of fires and patches of water were visibly being pulled deeper into the collective, and power surged throughout the collective members within K-414's own body. As the hivemind's form was degraded within the alpha collective, the members within a host strengthened themselves to ensure survival.
A host was usually the one kind to its guests. In this case, they were the ones bearing gifts . . . at their own expense.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2017 11:49:40 GMT -8
In her anger, Serix herself sprouted wings of flame, taking off into the sky.
"Make it quick, Genesis. We still have work to do. I will cross over to Electopia, in order to ensure that the target does not escape."
And so, Serix flew through the wall, injecting some of her code into it to keep it stable until Gen made the decision to pass through.
[Serix LC: Electopian Border]
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Post by Gaia on Jul 20, 2017 6:49:14 GMT -8
Vanguard.EXE
"Sir, are you completely sure about this? Our interaction may cause serious repercussions. What if they target the business?!"
He huffed, hoisting himself up on his lone pillar of stone. The perks of owning a corporation focused on Net Expansion and Navi Production meant that he could erect structures just about anywhere in no time at all, and, for this situation, he needed a little standing stone. Raised thirty feet into the air, he had a perfect view over the battlefield of his target.
"How many times must I remind you, Daniel, of whom out of the two of us is in charge? You're not my NetOp, and neither is anyone else in that room. You're my employees. Your advice, while usually appreciated, is unnecessary at the time - I'm going to take down the target, and my decision is final. Do I make myself clear?"
On the other end, through his connection to the building in the Real World, Vanguard heard uneasy rustling and mumbles from the room full of his advisers. Business advisers, mind. His normal crew of Net Associates had been asked to step out for a small business meeting to be held, and, try as he might to connect with the people he wanted to talk with, his business advisers were keen on deterring him.
Vanguard turned his attention back to the skirmish at the border, reticles appearing in his visage and darting over the Navis present. Analyzing their data stream and cross referencing it with data banks at Siega Corp, his visor displayed streams of information on each target. The longer he focused on a single Navi, the more focused the reticle became, as his core functions scanned their data stream for its directional flow. For the blob, his reticle focused at some point within the Navi, rather than outside. For the Wolf, his reticle focused at his left side, still heavily damaged and only barely being held together - interesting, how he had no discernible weak points on his undamaged side.
For the big brute with the sword, his reticle homed in on some point at his chest, where a scar ran across his breast. The border, by nature of being in his line of sight, had small little reticles lined up all over its surface, from what appeared to be natural structural integrity failures as well as weak points smashed into it by the wear and tear of the fight thus far.
He'd been watching the fight progress for quite a while. As far as the individual Navis were concerned, they were each strong and capable, in their own right. The man that the two seemed to fight against was incredibly powerful, and gave off an intense data stream to show for it. His signature wasn't that of a Darkloid, which meant that he was a force of worry even without that dark power.
Vanguard wasn't here for him, though.
"Sir, the extra pay was to help them remove the Navi trying to tear down the border. Do you recall that detail?"
He decided not to deign that with a response. His human employees knew very well how he felt about this situation, and he couldn't care less about whether or not someone paid him for what he was about to do. This thing had been a long standing problem that only spelled troubles for the world, and did more harm than good. With the perfect opportunity to right yet another wrong made by the inferior humans . . .
Vanguard crushed the Dark Chip in his hand, and its power ran over him. He felt its darkness push into the deep confines of his soul . . . only to be purged, the dark energy forced outwards. The flames on his hands intensified as the dark energy came back out as fuel for their ferocity, and, suddenly, his blazing hand transformed into a simple, black chrome cannon.
He locked onto his target. With his expertise, the weakest point was locked onto, and it was a weak point few would think about - by injecting their code into the border, whoever had just fled the scene entered a strand of data that ran at a different pace than the rest of the border. While it would stabilize it from direct strikes, if aimed at just right, his single cannon shot could disrupt the flow of both the border and the other Navi's data stream.
His reticle focused deeper, and his vision zoomed in on the spot. Just like most of the rest of the border, the surface where she flew through was still damaged. The flow of the border's data, while still strong, was disrupted slightly as it passed that point; disrupted moreso by the foreign data in its stream. She could've never guessed that she'd be helping him.
The reticles shifted from green to red in his sight. He hoisted his cannon, resting one elbow on the ground beneath him, and used the other arm to brace the underside of his weapon. He'd confirmed the directional flow of both data streams, and found the perfect point to strike through them both. The data, constantly flowing, traveled quickly throughout the border. Timing was of the essence to strike it at just the perfect moment . . .
Ready.
Aim.
Fire.
With a slight kick back, the focused strike of raw dark power surged out of his cannon, the blast of energy only intensified by his own systems purging the dark power it attempted to force on him. The strike, powerful on its own, was guided by his targeting systems and made even more lethal to data flows by the focused dark power. His strength wasn't in raw power - it was in the ability to target just the right spot.
The laser from the cannon smashed into the border - his moment of truth. As it came into contact with the border, a natural defense mechanism, it smashed into the weak point, at the perfect angle to disrupt the directional flow of the data. Its structural integrity, already at risk, gave way to the targeted blast, aimed by a trained eye to take down any target without fail from a single weak point. As it seemed to pass through the defenses without worry, Vanguard watched as it blasted through the data stream, the cannon shot tearing through the data like cotton candy.
Then, it met the second stream of data within the first - with not one, but two weak points in the same location to target, the border was far from fortified by the other Navi's attempts. Without mercy, the cannon fire ripped through the piece of data, and, clean as a blade strike, a sizable hole was left in the Netopian border.
With that single line of data disrupted at that perfect moment, the disrupted stream of codes would continue to fly through the border, and, as he watched, the border cracked and caved as the compromised data attempted to find its way through it. Just like any other Navi or structure, a single, well placed shot, and the border was practically falling apart all on its own.
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Post by Kman on Jul 20, 2017 10:14:37 GMT -8
The eruption of energy from K-414's onslaught had been lost in whatever his opponent had done. It surpassed the strength of what he could deliver and had overwhelmed him, threatening to simply tear his entire livelihood apart. He had heard Richard calling through the connection, to get him to move, to get out of the way, and to survive.
But K-414 was not one who would shirk away from something like this. This sort of overwhelming power is exactly what he was looking for. He had no wish for deletion, of course, but he, as a simple tool, did not get to feel. He was not programmed to feel things. Joy, sadness, confusion, none of those registered. Even the anger was simply a fabrication of a personality matrix, allowed in minor bursts to allow him to grow more certain of his calling, of his path.
But that was the only reason that the lupine navi felt that singular emotion, as strong as he did. It was the only one. He embraced it, turned himself over to it, let it suffuse his entire soul because the Animus Syndicate did not allow for he and his bretheren to feel anything else. It was saddening, in a way, but at the same time, K-414 wasn't allowed to question it. Or to feel sadness regarding it. It was a loss that he didn't, and couldn't, feel.
There was, however, another emotion, sensation, that K-414 could feel, and could endure. And that was pain. He had been programmed with it to be able to determine exactly what was dangerous and what he should avoid. However, that had simply turned into the opposite, for the beast. He enjoyed the touch of agony as it came forward, rushing over his entire body and leaving him breathless with the agony. It was something that he knew he shouldn't be so enthralled with but he could not help it. Pain and anger were the only things that he had available to him at any given point.
Even now, however, the incoming attack was making K-414 almost a bit nervous. Or it would have, if he could feel such a thing. Instead it was simply the same thing that he had been feeling all of this time- his data telling him that the sword wielded by Genesis was no trifling matter and that he would need to ensure that it was dealt with. The problem, of course, then became his sudden ally. PlagueMan moved before him, subverting data, breaking apart the very fabric of reality around them and then rebuilding it, putting the attack from Genesis into...something else. Probably rolling through elsewhere on the Net that would suddenly see unbridled levels of destruction.
All so the border could survive.
The beast gave a small growling sound at PlagueMan, the figure having denied him his ability to taste pain in its fullest extent. K had a few of these things already that the creature had mentioned from when Genesis had spilled his data all over the Net- those glitches reinfesting themselves into K-414's body as he quarantined them once again. But now, he had full use of everything that rushed through his body. He could feel the cancer pulsing through him, held captive by his own data. A manic grin split out over his features then as once more, the roaring energy of his body came to light, the very fabric of the net distorting around his claws as the energy was channeled.
And then, a small beam of light pierced through the darkness.
Moments later, a rush of explosions rippled off from the border as large portions of the data were destroyed, and the beast's gaze flickered out over to where it had come from. He couldn't see, could tell, couldn't even begin to know what had happened.
===
"Status report," Richard spoke calmly, despite the fact that he was grinding his teeth together. There weren't enough K-units online to come and combat this threat. K-414 was the only operational unit they had that was worth using in this sort of scenario and had presumed it to be a singular navi. But data records indicated that there were others.
"There's another Navi. Far off. Initial scans suspect Vanguard.exe."
Vanguard. Richard exhaled. The Navi excelled in destructive power, though it was pin-point, unlike the widespread decimation that Genesis could instill. The records began to pop up and followed by feeds of the navi, still perched with his Dark Cannon arm outstretched. He exhaled slowly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We don't have anyone to send, do we?"
"K-216 and K-358 are elsewhere. And K-216 is still under probation."
"Try to get 358 over there to interfere with Vanguard."
"Understood. Will contact his team."
"K-414, continue your assault on Genesis."
===
With the energy pulsing around him now, K-414 reared back and unleashed something that was similar to Genesis' own, but still not in the same leagues. It lacked the colors, the excitement, and the imposing visage. But all the same, a wreath of scintillating white energy rushed forth from the beast, toward the swordsman. K-414 had tasted Genesis' data, and had a lock onto it. The rush of energy, should Genesis avoid, would not decimate the wall, at least not at this distance. It was homing in on the Onyx Overlord, even as K-414 himself once more began to draw all anomalous data, including Genesis's scar, and possibly PlagueMan himself, into his own body as he roared, eyes blazing like flames in the darkness.
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Post by Genesis on Jul 20, 2017 18:02:45 GMT -8
"Quick as I'm able, Serix."
*Despite the failure of his attack, there was a smile on Genesis' face. Because they had shown all of their cards that mattered to him. The tricks that they could do were interesting, but nothing all that surprising now that he was back in control. He had conditioned over many occasions and years on how to deal with glitched data and how to crush collectives like this one. They all had the same basic operations and simply tried to apply them differently, but in the end they could be dealt with in the same manner as monsters like Nero had been.*
"You really should have just stayed out of this, 'hero'. Especially if that's all you can do with spatial manipulation."
*Genesis was all too familiar with that as well. Not simply because of his battles with Epoch, Turbine, and Eon, and even not because of his own known abilities. But because Spatial was something that he used for a very long time himself, and lingered in all he did to this day. But then the shot hit the border, not changing his expression still. A single well-placed strike could have the same effectiveness as a tactical warhead, so this was no different. In that event, it was about time he started to wrap this up then. And then, despite the amount of force that had been used, the same power was surging from him again... a sign he was going to swing just as hard as he just had done that PlagueMan had 'avoided' for them.*
*So he started to turn and began to strike again as well. But before PlagueMan's own control could be utilized he found that his position had shifted. The collective found himself moved inbetween the incoming blow that K-414 and Genesis had both just launched at each other in the middle of the crossfire. In fact, K-414's attack had even been sped up by the Onyx Overlord himself as he manipulated it as well to increase the odds of success for his goal. He would deal with the rest of the Border later, so for now his goal was just to deal with the ones who would try and defend it. Which meant if the collective barely saved himself and the wall before, he not only wouldn't be able to stop the newcomer, but would likely not be able to save himself from both of the attacks. And even if he did, his blow would still overwhelm the one that K-414 had just unleashed and do what would have happened the first time. And should the collective simply be unable to save himself at all? ...Then it would simply allow both of his targets to crumble now.*
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Post by Gaia on Jul 20, 2017 21:06:48 GMT -8
PlagueMan.ERR
Suddenly, there data was not their own, and their freedom was defiled. The suddenly crumbling border became insignificant as their own glitched data's power was forced upon them, and, against their own will, feeling their power exert without their command, PlagueMan found themselves in the midst of two roiling storms about to collide.
They had but seconds to respond. Every member of the collective surveyed the scene, and, in their brief moments of celerity, the lead coating around their form liquefied and sank into the depths of their collective. With all eyes on all sides available, PlagueMan's perception slowed, and their entire collective suddenly knew of the only answer.
The Alpha had to survive.
A burst of red energy pervaded the collective, the very depths of their form lighting up in red, as the Alpha woke up within. A red pathway collected the members of the collective, scattered across the Network, and lines darted to many points within K-414 and even formed connections with points of data within the roiling storms colliding towards them. Not by any need, but, simply being active caused this connection to other bugged data.
The collective caved, and, suddenly, the red glow within the collective seeped inward, until it vanished. PlagueMan himself was sucked away into a field of broken pathways. To the outside, the incredibly diminished collective, much smaller than before, shambled for but a second before gathering itself back up . . . only to be ripped apart by the roiling waves.
The connected red lines of data arced upward, focusing on a small, condensed sphere of red, error filled code. PlagueMan's form spiraled, idly, and, as its red glow diminished, so too did the red connecting points. Slowly but surely, small blots of color appeared around the single sphere, until something vaguely resembling a small, proper collective was formed, just above the battlefield.
They had never felt their data, their will so defiled, before. The whole of the collective, even the newest members, knew of what just happened. They all ultimately answered to the Alpha, deep within, but . . . the Alpha was simply the force binding them together. They were all of one accord, even without the Alpha's interference.
That the Navi below could just wrench at them at a whim, and destroy their own sacred free will as a collective whole . . . it rattled them.
The border was already destroyed. That roiling field . . . they barely escaped that catastrophe. It was better that they tried, and lived to fight another day. With a small surge of power, the mini-collective vanished into a field of static.
[PlaugeMan IC => ???]
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Post by Gaia on Jul 21, 2017 11:29:30 GMT -8
Vanguard.EXE
A query sent for and returned information, back at Siega Corp, and Vanguard instantly knew that someone was already searching for the perpetrator of the now collapsing border, the pinpoint hole causing the whole thing to collapse like a dam.
"Sir, we've been informed that a data pool has been requested, with searches referencing your information."
He sighed, hoisting himself up to stand on his little monument. Connected as he was to the servers of his own company, he already knew the news. Hearing one of his employees repeat the information back to him was more for case of record than anything, and, frankly, never made him feel more confident about the people in his facility.
There was a reason he personally ensured that they had no control over his data pool. Confident as he was, he would be controlled by no one. Still, seeing as someone else was searching for his information, that means that he did attract some attention.
He focused back on the remaining combatants, his vision scoping in naturally to survey them. Only a lupine Navi and the man with the sword remained. He paced his vision back out, and simply watched for a second as the border continued to fall apart at the seams. The fact that it was already weakened by the raging battle to protect it helped a lot. The walls had been clogging up too much business for him to not try and tear them down.
Besides, it wasn't like a separated world was doing wonders for anyone else. All it did was cause more trouble, and prevent people from responding to that trouble quickly enough. Vanguard had no qualms with the rest of the people at the border, and had no reason to remain here, now that his work was done. If that search query meant that someone was considering the best way to apprehend him, then, well, he had no intentions of hanging around and waiting for that to happen.
He turned, preparing to exit the Network and return to Siega Corp's servers. As he thought about it, though, he turned to look back at the border. He knew how he felt about the darkness in his being . . . if someone else were to say what he had just done, they would definitely say it was an act of evil. To him, though, it was something done for the purpose of the greater good.
An act of good shouldn't cause him to run away. Vanguard sat, crossing his legs underneath him, and waited for the border skirmish to come to an end. Whatever happened, he would be here, and he would be willing to take whatever punishment was met.
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Post by Kman on Jul 23, 2017 20:26:40 GMT -8
Richard glared at the screen for a moment, before his gaze flickered over to his subordinate. "Have you gotten anything back from K-358's team?" he snapped, obviously frustrated that his precious Navi wasn't able to outshine Genesis. That was to be expected, after all, with how powerful the navi supposedly was. But he had hoped that K-414's Regenerative powers would be able to keep him in the fight a bit longer.
"No. No one's answering over there. I don't know what the issue is."
Richard gave a small curse, moving a hand over his mouth. "We can't afford to send anyone else out there. We need to keep K-414 from deletion as long as possible."
"Understood."
The man exhaled, turning his gaze back to the screen, watching everything as it transpired before him.
===
K-414 wasn't aware that PlagueMan had moved into the line of the attack, nor was he aware that it hadn't been his own doing, but Genesis manipulating the powers that were around them to shift the other Navi directly into the line of fire was not something that he had expected. Granted, K-414 also didn't much care. PlagueMan was an anomaly that required deletion- but Genesis was the current target simply due to the fact that those were his current orders. If PlagueMan would ally himself against Genesis, all the better- it just weakened the collective for a future deletion.
At least, those were K-414's thoughts on the matter, not realizing that the very Collective that he was planning to delete later had been shifted into the crossfire between himself and Genesis. The beast was giving a roar of unrepetant rage, causing the entire Net around them to shudder at its ferocity and anger. He was unleashing everything that he had at this warrior known as the Onyx Overlord, but no matter what, the other seemed to have the edge in most things. It was a difficult fight, and K-414 had not been more excited for a battle in a good long time. But he knew that this was going to soon come to an end.
K-414 was losing this battle.
The rush of excitement from the pain roared through him as the auroraic attack from Genesis came forward, like an unending wave of decimation. Despite the raw power that his body was generating, he was also pushing himself far to his limit. His body had already reached its maximum regeneration potential and pushing it anymore would start to cause some serious anomalies within him, and those were things that would also infect Richard's computer. It had happened once during training exercises and was then expressly forbidden on his protocols.
Oncoming with the force of a real world nuclear warhead, or perhaps several, the attack fell upon K-414 with an endless abandon. His fist, which had been leading the charge, simply began to disintegrate. Not even that was an applicable word for the fact in this case, as 'vanish' might be closer. It was like reaching into an unending hole, and the further he reached his own body into it, it simply continued to vanish. No pieces, particles, or motes were left behind- it was simply gone.
Vanished into the light.
The rest of the beast soon followed, as K-414 didn't shirk from Genesis' attack. He fully embraced it, even as it not only deleted him, but eradicated him. Erased him.
But even still, with the beast gone in the wake of Genesis' attack, the roar resounded across the wall that was now falling apart, as if the beast himself were living on from beyond, showing his disdain and anger from the void of nothingness that he had been relegated to.
K-414.exe deleted.
===
Richard sat back in his chair, pulling his glasses off and setting them on the desk. "Damnit," he exhaled softly. K-414 wasn't enough yet. They needed more combat data. He was getting close to becoming invulnerable but he wasn't yet there. Not quite. "Tell the higher ups the situation. Forward the data log," he said quietly, earning a small chorus of acquiesence from his inferiors.
Damnit.
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