Mystic Mansion

While at first he understood the commotion over the piano less than anyone in a party that included Jocelyn, once Sleuth explained everything, the confusion in the Mr. Prog's eye vanished. "Oh, I see! That makes sense. ...Wait a sec!" He jumped into the air, as his memory accomplished the rare feat of actually recalling something important. "Sometimes, as I'd return from an errand, I heard him playing something. At first I thought it was just him trying to play...terribly...but it was always the same thing. And then...there was some sort of earthquake or something. Not a big one, it was just enough of one to notice...then, a minute or two later, it'd happen again, and then it'd be completely silent. I don't remember exactly what he played...I'd know it if I heard it, though." With that, he floated over to the desk, to do some searching.

The detective's search of the piano was exactly as fruitful as she expected. That is, she found nothing other than a piano. It was definitely in working order, though. If she wanted to play anything, she easily could.

Mr. Prog, however, had better luck, as he opened the drawer, and pulled something out a moment later. "I found something! It's not sheet music or anything, but it's on a big scrap of paper and it makes no sense, so it has to be a clue!" He hovered over to Sleuth, and handed it over.

"the SOGGy COrD ShOulD nOt be WOKen or SKeWereD"

"I'm starting to get excited about this...you've almost got this solved! Just figure this one out, and you might solve the whole mystery!" The expression was the same as always, but the program looked...happier than he had been the entire time, somehow.

FearScope: 0/100
- Who has time to be afraid when there's a mystery about to be solved?
"Oh ho! That is quite an important clue and, if only I'd know the questions to ask, we could have had a lot more focus in this search!" Sleuth responded to Mr. Prog, sharing his enthusiasm. Said enthusiasm was nearly killed as she discovered that the piano was entirely devoid of the final clue that she needed, one that would hopefully help her arrange the notes she'd deciphered. "Drat and double drat!" she exclaimed like a cartoon villain, barely fighting the urge to slam the piano keys with her fists. That would have relieved some stress and added some dramatic tension to the scene, but it would also probably have made Mr. Prog give her the stink-eye again, as much as he was able. Fortunately, Mr. Prog returned with some much better news: a unique clue that seemed critical in unraveling the fabric of the curtain that concealed the late master's mystery. "Do ho ho ho ho! This is it, my good man! The critical clue that will help us arrange the solfege into a meaningful combination!" she announced.

"How are you so certain?" Jocelyn asked, not understanding the train of thought. "I have to say, it seems even more confusing than any of the clues we've received so far. After all... it is longer and the words have no apparent meaning, unless there's a soggy cord somewhere that we need to avoid."

"Nonsense, my dear girl! The master placed the final clue in this room, reasoning that it would be the last searched by any good purveyor of the mystery genre. We can reason that it provides a clue to arrangement due to its length as well, especially since no solfege notes immediately come to mind and we've searched nearly everything in the mansion... Unfortunately, this clue holds another mystery still. We can see that a few letters are singled out as capitals," she reasoned, sitting on the master's bed as she wrote down her thoughts. The picture of a busty, towel-clad woman sitting down upon a bed for several could be erotic, and she might have pointed out that much, if her thoughts were not occupied. "S, O, G, C, D, W, and K. Those are the letters, specifically, which are specifically capitalized each time they appear. Now, what useful clue can we derive from that number of letters?"

"Well, the master clearly liked the number seven. It's both the number of solfege notes and the number of letter varieties that are distinctly capitalized," Jocelyn noted.

"Why, yes! But not because he fancied the number. It's a cipher!" she announced, raising one finger to add emphasis to her point. "The two sets are related to one another and one will help us devise the arrangement of the other, I wager."

"There's a problem, though... S, O, W, and K aren't keys on a piano. How are you going to input them?" Jocelyn asked, desperately attempting to follow the logic but failing.

"No, it's... how should I put it... a cipher of multiple steps. The clues we've picked up reveal not just solfege to be input upon the keyboard, but also, I believe something there must lend us which letter represents each as well. Understanding that relationship will be the most difficult part of finishing this riddle. To understand, we must first plot a course of logic and follow it through, perhaps to the desired conclusion, perhaps not. But nothing will be accomplished until I come up with a theory to begin with..." she murmured, pressing her gloved fist to her lower lip thoughtfully. In no time at all, she clapped her hands together and smiled. "I've got it! One theory is that the letters in the latest clue respond to the locations in which we discovered each clue. It's important to keep in mind that the order in which we found each clue cannot be the answer we seek... after all, we could have searched any room in any order. Furthermore, the number of clues are greater than seven, so some clues may respond to either the same solfege piece as another or to no piece at all. Oh, but I can expound upon my theory no longer! I must attempt a proof!" With that, the detective, grinning ear to ear, began writing her thoughts down upon the miniature screen...

Quote ()

Teeth: ? = ?(Foyer)
Deer: Do = C (Coat Room / Closet)
Beam: Re = D (Dining Room)
U2U: Mi = K (Kitchen)
Very: So = S? (Side room)
Green and gray splotches: Ti = O (Observatory)
Father of a baby (50%): Re = ? (Billiards Room)
Not quite Far: Fa = W (Wash Room)
The, Whazzapian: La = G (Guest Bedroom)

No clue located in wine cellar or library.

S O G G C O D S O D O W O S K S K W D
So Ti La La Do Ti Re So Ti Re Ti Fa Ti So Mi So Mi Fa Re

G>B>A>A>C>B>D>G>B>D>B>F>B>G>E>G>E>W>D


"First, the clues become solfege and cipher letters! Next, the latest clue is deciphered based on the order of those letters. Finally..." Sleuth explained, now scampering over to the piano and cracking her knuckles. At this point, it would probably be most efficient to ask Mr. Prog to search another spot while she continued, but her mind was only on solving the mystery and not on other goodies. "Finally, I input upon the keyboard the keys that correspond to each of those solfege! Thus, I play..."

G B A A C B D G B D B F B G E G E W D

Sleuth was an accomplished piano player, but playing a nice piece wasn't what she was here for. As a result, she quickly and methodically entered each key, not to form any kind of decent song, but to try to follow the clues she'd received. She bit her lip clasped both hands at the side of the piano, and waited to see if the building began to shake at its foundation.
The Mr. Prog nodded as he saw Sleuth's theory pop up on the screen. "That makes sense. By all means, test it."

Upon being played, it would become clear the song was less of a 'song', and more a 'random assortment of notes'. It would be amazing if anyone played that unintentionally. Shortly afterward...nothing happened. "Oh...I thought for sure you were right. Could we be missing something? ...Whoa!" Naturally, as soon as the subject was brought up, the entire room started to shake...and probably every other room.

Afterward, the program looked around. If the detective Navi did the same, she would find...absolutely nothing. "I guess that was it after all. Though, I heard something during the shaking. Let me go check something." He floated off for a moment, but Sleuth wasn't alone for long, as he burst through the door. "C-C-Come quickly! The observatory...the observatory...!" He practically shoved her out the door, and the two were off...

Upon entering from the hallway, the observatory looked mostly the same...aside from a staircase that had suddenly appeared between the two doors. "I never knew that was there! Oh, I wonder what could be down there...something he wanted to hide from everyone. Even his faithful caretaker program..." That last part had a twinge of sadness, perhaps not unexpectedly.

When initially her piano playing came up short, Sleuth dropped her chin down towards her chest and sighed, fighting the urge to play a little show tune to lighten the mood. "Well, never fear. It's a detective's duty to investigate every train of thought and possible solution, even if it the path does not bear fruit. We can always-" Before she could finish that thought, the mansion began to react. The reaction was not timely, but for her, it was quite welcome. She bolted upright and to her feet, steadying herself with one hand on the piano. Before she could make it to the door, however, Mr. Prog had run out into the hall and also returned. "My dear man! Calm yourself, I can barely interpret your speech," she laughed, although she was in similarly excited spirits.

Sleuth would probably have a predictable joke about being pushed from behind by Mr. Prog, if her attention was not so focused on reaching the observatory. She gasped as she came upon the staircase leading downward; all kinds of possible discoveries popped into her head, from wealth, to intrigue, to dirty things. Before she could descend the staircase, however, she had some words of her own. She knelt by Mr. Prog and placed one hand gently upon its head. "Do not despair, old chum. I believe that the late master's fondness of you is probably exactly why he hid this secret from you! From the clues he left and the mystery we've unraveled, it is now abundantly clear to me that your master was an adept in the genre, one who finds a riveting riddle just as exciting as I do. By sparing you the details of that riddle, he created a situation wherein you could take part in the thrill of discovery, the jolly good times had along the way! The sweetness that comes at the end of a good puzzle, you understand? He wanted you to enjoy all of that," she explained with a warm smile on her face. Was all of that correct? Hard to say. "It's a detective's duty to theorize, however," Sleuth recalled.

With that now completed, she skipped up to her feet and began rubbing her hands, bouncing up and down on her toes. "What do you suppose is inside, hmmmm?! A cavern full of capes, cowels, weapons, and luxurious automobiles? The net's largest collection of printed pornography? Miss Mata, who was separated from us earlier? Well... that's highly unlikely, as she would have simply jacked out. But it could be!" she chuckled. While she was thus occupied hopping around, the detective failed to notice her towel snag on one of the ear-prods of the Prog she'd just been consoling, causing it to come unlooped from her body and fall like a curtain over his face, blocking everything from sight. "I'm going on ahead!" she cheered, heading down the staircase barefooted and moving as quickly as she could.
"I hope you're right..." He wasn't entirely convinced to her reasoning, but Mr. Prog did seem to cheer up a little at Sleuth's assessment. The lack of towel did nothing to stop the Navi, but the program took a moment to neatly fold it up before following suit. It was probably only sheer force of habit that stopped him from dashing in with her.

The trek down the stairs would prove mostly uneventful. There were lights here and there, but it was mostly dim...aside from the end. There was also a short hallway around where the first floor would be. Given where the staircase had started, it was most likely tucked in between the library and side room.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs...well, Sleuth wouldn't be disappointed if she wanted something totally unlike the rest of the mansion. In additon to being one of the largest rooms, it looked like it belonged in a mad scientist's castle, or...well, a haunted mansion. High tech machines littered the room, silently blinking their lights on and off. There was a big empty spot in the middle, for whatever reason.

But along the wall the detective would be looking right at had the most interesting sight of all...a very much alive HeelNavi messing with some sort of control panel. He stopped not long after she arrived, though. "...So, an intruder did come. I guess that Mr. Prog found someone to crack the code, after all..."

"Phew...that staircase was...longer than I thought it'd be..." Somehow, the program managed to be winded for a moment, despite floating the entire way down. "...Hey! It's you!"

"Yes, it is I. The one man this mansion's former owner could call his sworn rival! And I bet you're wondering why I'm here, and what I'm doing, correct?"

"Yes, I am! Very much so!"

"As though I'm foolish enough to give such information to you!" The HeelNavi pressed a button on his control panel. "Besides, telling those who are about to die is a waste of time...!" A metal wall crashed down a few steps up from the bottom of the staircase, blocking off all access out of the room. One really had to wonder why he didn't do that before he had company. "Now, prepare yourself...for the strongest virus of all! Come forth, LifeVirus!" Another button was pressed, causing the center of the room to glow...

A giant, green monstrosity quickly formed in the glowing area, and shook the entire room with a mighty roar, creating a purple glow around itself. "Excellent, it worked even better than I had hoped! Go, LifeVirus! Destroy these pests, so that I...whoa!" The generic Navi turned around, finally noticing the mind that had solved the mansion's greatest riddle...and various points south. "On second thought, I have a better idea. Just get rid of the Mr. Prog. Subdue the Navi!" Another roar presumably signaled its acknowledgement...or maybe it just felt like it. It was really hard to tell at this point.



KEY:
Light Gray (square): Sleuth
Light Green: Mr. Prog
Black: Stairs
Dark Gray: Various machines
Dark Green: LifeVirus
Purple: HeelNavi
Light Gray (line): Control panel

---THE FINAL BOSS---
LifeVirus: 4000 HP (200 HP Aura)

---THE PUZZLE SOLVERS---
Sleuth.EXE: 150 HP
Mr. Prog: 100 HP

---THE MAN BEHIND THE VIRUS---
HeelNavi: 300 HP

- BATTLE 1/1
- PROBABLY THE ONLY BATTLE SLEUTH WILL EVER BE IN
- GO
"Well, it's certainly a bit drafty down here! I wonder why I didn't notice the draft when I was in the cellar earlier? If only I could envision the layout of the mansion in my head! But goodness, now is hardly the time to worry about insignificant whistling winds," Sleuth giggled as she pranced merrily down the stairs. "It's rather poorly lit as well," she remarked more quietly, starting to walk a bit more carefully now and remembering the ghost rats from earlier. The last thing she wanted to do was step on vermin. After all, Mr. Prog couldn't have devoted himself to cleaning this area, seeing as he didn't know about it until today. "And me without my shoes," she joked, although she had to admit, the floor was a bit cold on her bare feet.

Soon, the time for joking came to an end. If there was anything Sleuth had expected to find in the basement of the late master's mansion, it was a hidden laboratory. Well, next to a living heelnavi, of course. "Wha-!" she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "This eerie, abandoned mansion is less abandoned than I figured!" she exclaimed. "If I'd known, well, I wouldn't have scurried in dressed as I am! I would have worn something mooooore.... well, something more, period!" At this point, deprived of her towel, the only garments Sleuth had to clothe herself were her characteristic brown, leather gloves and her undergarments: immodest, bikini-style underwear with a strapless top and thong back on the bottom. The scant clothing was light yellow-brown in color and dappled with black spots, like a leopard's pelt, giving her a look that was somewhere between a sexy woman of experience and a cougar that's trying too hard. Both pieces had been hidden beneath her towel before she accidentally dropped it.

Jocelyn stared for a moment, now that Sleuth was in the light, then pouted. "Excuse me, but did you not say that one should wear brown all save for one's underpants? Those are clearly brownish," the operator protested. "Are you trying to confuse me again? That's unkind of you..."

"Never anything of the sort! These are yellow, however! Yellow, my dear," the navi laughed, before remembering that she had something far more important to deal with. "Right, right. Back to business. Yes, you were ill prepared to face the masterful mind of an experienced mystery solver such as myself!" the detective guffawed, placing her hands on her hips and laughing heartily. Modesty was not one of Sleuth's specialties. "Although, I hardly imagine you left all of those clues to lead me down here... I believe I heard Mr. Prog say that the master had hidden them. If that's the case, how did you get down here yourself? I'd be quite interested to hear the story... It is inconceivable to imagine that you deciphered the puzzle yourself and then simply replaced all of the master's clues for me to find myself." Splitting hairs was a specialty of Sleuth's.

The Heelnavi had far more important things to do than listen to that prattle, however. The house-breaker explained his identity, after Mr. Prog made his entrance. "The rival! Oooh, I hope you have time to sit and chat! I have a lot of questions that I believe you may be uniquely qualified to answer!" the detective cooed, clasping her hands together with fire in her eyes. However, shortly after seemingly offering answers, he shifted the topic to the more obvious matter of ejecting the new, unwanted guests, using... a LifeVirus, of all things. "Ah... Well... And me without my shoes," Sleuth joked again, an awkward smile peaking at her cheeks. She summoned her lens-headed cane, but that was rarely something worthy to be used as a weapon in ordinary battles, let alone a battle against a legendary, nigh-unstoppable virus. "Biscuits!" she exclaimed, clenching her fingers tightly around the shaft of her makeshift weapon.

Sleuth was the type to never stop thinking, of course; the gears in her mind were constantly spinning, positing new theories at lightning's speed while ignoring distractions like "common sense" and "decency." "Just a moment. Every other creature I have encountered hitherto this point has been ethereal, an intangible figure meant only to frighten and not to harm. Could it be that this LifeVirus is a similar creation: an intangible monster meant to frighten me out of the net and away from the mystery? But if that was the case, is it not strange that he would bother commanding it to subdue me? It is also strange that he would shut the door behind me, if he is indeed trying to scare me away from this," she thought to herself, her eyes darting this way and that for clues. "With all of this machinery in place and no other obvious purpose, I must surmise that the technology is what has created this LifeVirus, if not the ghosts I have encountered throughout the mansion. The only question is whether they are merely projecting holograms or whether this LifeVirus has literally been summoned by them... competing against the real deal might be a little beyond the limited war chest that Jocelyn has collected for me."

"Is that creature strong?" Jocelyn asked, tilting her head and revealing herself to be the only operator alive who would fail to recognize that fact immediately, with or without a class in net history.

"Could be," Sleuth responded, which was true; it was either very strong, being a LifeVirus, or in possession of no strength at all, being a hologram. Still, the simple answer was that whether it was or was not a hologram, there was no point in attacking it. If it was a ghost, it would simply distract her from the HeelNavi she needed to face down, and if it wasn't, well... nothing in her arsenal was going to do much about it, unless it happened to fancy large breasts enough to be persuaded to peace by them. She briefly entertained the idea of summoning a BoyBomb and holding the rival navi hostage using it, but that idea was too dangerous to herself, not to mention Mr. Prog, to seriously consider. The only logical course of action was to try to subdue the HeelNavi (not delete him, she needed answers) and figure out which of the mechanical pieces was controlling the LifeVirus. One piece spoke to her: the control panel that adorned the wall behind the HeelNavi.

"Mr. Prog! Ordinarily I'd do the chivalrous thing and suggest you hide, of course, but that's not going to be any good here, since there's really nowhere at all to take shelter. I'd recommend, therefore, that we split up! You distract the LifeVirus by moving around it clockwise while I circle it counterclockwise! Once we reach the back, we'll strike together!" she announced, loudly enough for their adversary to hear. In reality, she had no intention of attacking the LifeVirus, but a bit of misinformation tactfully given to their enemy wouldn't hurt. Her goal in circling around wasn't the area of attack, but rather, to reach the HeelNavi and, more importantly, the control panel. With that in mind, she began racing towards the HeelNavi's location, quite quickly taking her eyes off of the LifeVirus and fixing them onto her opponent. Once she felt she'd got close enough, she'd investigate the panel, but she'd need to defend herself. Luckily, Jocelyn was on top of things enough to know that a Guard would make sense here; Sleuth would use that to shield herself from an attack (hopefully not multiple, or she'd be in trouble) by placing it between herself and the HeelNavi while she approached. She'd have to drop her cane to use it, of course, but her cane was digi-magical and could be resummoned if needed. The defense wasn't perfect, though; her new Guard wouldn't do that much good after she closed in. He'd be able to maneuver around it at that point.

"Come now, Mr. HeelNavi Rival, Sirrah! We have nothing to gain from something so crass as a battle, here, at the crux of our mystery," Sleuth taunted her adversary. "We're civil creatures! There are so many other, more effective ways for gentle navis to communicate than with guns or swords!"

"Or large viruses," Jocelyn added, nodding along. "I'd recommend the two of you talk it out."

"Right! Let's talk it out!" the detective agreed, although she wasn't committed to the idea of a friendly pow-wow just yet. Of course, she'd keep talking regardless, whatever else might be happening. Keeping in mind the HeelNavi's position, Sleuth recognized there was every possibility that he was going to try to sabotage her attempts to reach the panel and that merely trying to fake him out with Mr. Prog's help wasn't going to be enough. Unfortunately, between closing in, preparing to guard, and also preparing to investigate the control panel, she had scant ability to distract the enemy navi. He was most likely to be looking at her anyways, after all. She resolved that if it came down to it, she thought she knew a pretty good way to handle getting past him. "You want to talk it out, don't you? Of course you do! Or... how about we hug it out!? Catch me!" she called to the HeelNavi, arch rival of the late master. She took in a deep breath then, once she was close enough, discarded her shield to one side and made a jump for her enemy. She didn't want to rely on him actually catching her, so instead, she spread her legs and attempted to latch them onto his sides. If she got them on, she'd spin herself around his waist so that she'd be lined up with the control panel nicely, looking like a professional wrestler going for a tricky maneuver. If that was locked in, she'd leverage her back by placing her hands against the wall in a position that would turn out to look pretty dirty, if it worked, and tilt her head back to examine the panel (albeit upside down). Hopefully, she'd prove a quick study of technology and determine if there was any way to shut the virus off.

1) Approach Control Panel
2) Raise Guard1 [1 hit shield + reflect up to 60 damage on hit with piercing line attack, S accuracy]
3) Throw Guard1 aside after closing in, attempt to jump upon HeelNavi and examine panel
The HeelNavi laughed at Sleuth's question, having imagined what a hassle it must've been, finding the hidden lab the hard way. "Ha! You wanna know how I did it? Easy! Espionage! What kind of rival doesn't spy on his biggest adversary? I knew about the hidden area within a week!"

"Well, the late master of the house, for one, didn't spy on you. I highly doubt-"

"Oh, your naivite is adorable. But, I really don't have the time to introduce you to harsh reality. LifeVirus, CHARGE!" And so it did...a pink ball of energy formed in front of it, and started to glow brighter and brighter. Whatever that meant.

Meanwhile, the detective Navi made her battle plans, though they did little more than befuddle the Mr. Prog. "H-Hang on! I'm no fighter! I'm not one of those ninja Mr. Prog from End City, or anything!" But, too late. She was off, leaving the program to stare down a very large, very angry enemy. Whether it was real or not didn't really matter...it was terrifying either way. "H-H-HELP!!!"

The scantily clad Navi still enacted her plan, heading over to the HeelNavi...who looked unimpressed at her pleas. "How naive do you think I am? Seriously, you've got a Guard up. LifeVirus, attack this dumb broad!" As soon as the maybe-hologram's energy ball reached its maximum size, Sleuth tossed her shield aside, which rolled a considerable ways, ending up near the Mr. Prog. Upon seeing a very large energy blade extend from the orb, the program made a beeline for the sweet, sweet protection. "Oh, shoooot!" The blade dropped to the left side of the virus, and made a gigantic, 180 degree horizontal slash...but Sleuth was too high in the air to be hit, and the HeelNavi was just beyond its reach. It did hit Mr. Prog, but he had Sleuth's Guard, so he was fine...

...However, it did trigger the Guard's counter. And it just so happened that Mr. Prog was facing the Navis when the energy sword was swung. The ray shot forth at incredible speed, penetrating both Sleuth (10) and the HeelNavi...and hitting the control panel. It wasn't a very powerful counterattack, though; at max, it was no worse than getting hit by an actual Mettaur's shock wave attack. But the panel proved to be surprisingly delicate, and was rendered inoperable junk by it.

The HeelNavi had managed to catch the scantily clad detective, in a manner that resulted in his face being completely buried in her breasts. At first he made no movements, clearly enjoying this particular break. The Guard's retaliation, however, snapped him out of it, and he dropped her like a hot potato. "That was a really weak counterattack...ugh, don't tell me I need to crank up the juice even more! Well, whatever. It may need enough electricity to power an entire neighborhood, but it'll practically be the real-NO!" He turned around, only to see the ruins of his control panel. "You fool!!!"

A dinging noise could be heard around the room, followed by a computerized woman's voice. "OPERATION PANEL HAS BEEN COMPROMISED. INITIATING SAFETY PROTOCOL."

"No! Not the safety protocol!" In the blink of an eye, the LifeVirus vanished without a trace, and a moment later, the metal wall did as well. "ALL OPERATIONS PERTAINING TO PROJECT VIRAL DREAM HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED. PERMISSIONS TO ACCESS THE REMAINDER OF THE MANSION RESET TO 'ALL'. ACTIVATING POWER SAVE MODE."

"No...NO!!!" Needless to say, the HeelNavi was slightly incredulous at this development. "All that work...ruined by that stupid Prog, and some floozy he hired...bah, I can mope another time. The two of you, be warned! Once I regroup, I'm coming after you next!" He pointed angrily at Sleuth, then...stood there, doing nothing. After a few moments, even the generic Navi seemed confused by this. "...Er...what gives? Why aren't I...wait, don't tell me...that stupid computer didn't lift the no jack out barrier, did it?! Bah!" He raised his fists, and scowled at the other Navi. "That's fine. I just have to get past a pair of pests, and I'm home free!"

---THE FINAL BOSS---
LifeVirus: VANISHED

---THE PUZZLE SOLVERS---
Sleuth.EXE: 140 HP
Mr. Prog: 100 HP

---THE MAN BEHIND THE VIRUS---
HeelNavi: 290 HP
"I don't believe you're naive, but then, I also don't believe that you're empathetic or competent to warrant proper negotiations! A shield is the right sort of tool to take into a conversation with a lout like you!" Sleuth laughed in response to the HeelNavi's criticism. That said, she was both surprised and alarmed to hear that he was ordering the LifeVirus to attack. Was it real after all? She'd say sorry to Mr. Prog but, well, it's not like he'd have been any better off standing still and there was nowhere to hide in this room. "Well, I suppose I could have given him my guard chip. Whoops! The mistakes of our youth," she thought to herself, saying a silent, guilt-ridden, and godless prayer for Mr. Prog. She assumed she'd be okay, as there was no way the LifeVirus was going to attack her once she got within close proximity of its master, unless he had little control over the beast. Although she'd never intended it, the little fellow managed to survive the LifeVirus' attack using the shield she'd set aside. "Excell-!" she began to cheer, but there was not even a split second in which to claim that she'd meant for that to happen all along; a beam came ripping out of the struck defense and blasted both herself and the control panel she'd been hoping to interact with. "Uff!" she grunted, actually moreso from being dropped on her back than from the mettool's attack hitting, which elicited more-so the hissing noise accompanying a sharp, stinging pain.

The relative wimpiness of the creature's attack had raised a number of questions, but the HeelNavi's exclamation started to shed some light on the true nature of the LiveVirus she was fighting (though not the ghosts inhabiting the mansion). "Hey, cut it out with the 'dumb' and 'fool!' I may start to actually become offended!" the detective scolded her opponent in jest, pushing back up to seated position as she did. It wasn't good, facing him with her back against the wall like this, especially now knowing that his creature was capable of actual attacks. That revelation soon became a non-issue, as the LifeVirus disappeared, along with the wall barring escape from the room. "Oh no indeed!" Sleuth laughed, feeling victorious, as though she'd planned to take out the panel all along. When he mentioned a jack-out barrier, however, things became more serious; navis beaten to lifeless states in the vicinity of jackout barriers had a tendency to become permanently deleted, after all. "Irresponsible! What if I'd shot you right away, hm?! I'd never get my answers to this mystery, not to mention the harm to yourself! The use of jack-out barriers is a deplorable thing, even if great from a dramatic tension standpoint in any mystery of the net!" she decried her opponent. Of course, even now, her operator was engaged in ridiculousness, licking some unrecognizable hobo's hand instead of properly operating her. "Jocelyn, this is urgent. I need chips! Quickly!"

"Right away! I thought you said earlier that you had it under control. I apologize," Jocelyn responded, slotting in chips with haphazard speed. After all, two lives were at stake: the life of her navi, caught in a serious struggle with an unknown HeelNavi, and that of the mall stir-fry bandit, who was undoubtedly in life-threatening pain from his self-inflicted burn injuries.

Making her way to her feet, the navi detective stood and summoned her cane again to her gloved hands. "Mr. Prog, make your way back upstairs! I will handle this ruffian and call you back down once he is subdued. Sleuth always gets her man, one way or another. I've tried letting him between my thighs, so we're going to have to do it the other way," she announced, pointing her cane threateningly and posing in a way that would have been heroic if she was wearing anything besides her gloves and sexually promiscuous underwear. "You'll see that I'm more than just a pair of breasts!"

"Breasts? I believe he said 'pests,'" Jocelyn interrupted, wiping at her wet pajama shirt with one of her silk gloves. "Referring to you and Mr. Prog, that is."

"Oh, right," Sleuth coughed, then began her fight in earnest. "Underestimating me will end badly for you," she smirked, although she might easily be underestimating the HeelNavi herself. Her first action was to raise her cane and prepare for an attack from her opponent. Most competitors would want the first strike in any battle; if she could bait his out and punish him for it with a stiff whack of her cane, she'd have a psychological advantage to begin the bout. Once she got her result from that maneuver, whether it worked out perfectly or not so much, she'd dismiss her cane and bring out her pistol, clenching the fingers of her right hand around its grip. Ordinarily, she kept it inside her coat, but it didn't really have to be there; like her cane, it was something she could bring out from anywhere. She aimed it carefully at her opponent, then released one shot with a deafening blast, made worse by the enclosed space. There was no time for hesitation and thus, she fired another round, aiming shy of his vitals (although, she suspected he wasn't crafted such that he had 'vitals' in the same places a human might regardless).

At this point, Sleuth would keep a tight hold of her gun. Without her shield or her cane, she was a sitting duck if he had a counterattack planned... but hopefully, the overwhelming force of her newly tested weapon would give him pause straight away. "If you yield, I needn't fire again! If you do not, however, I will dispatch you with no regrets. I want answers, but not so badly that I plan to forfeit my life and the rest of my stellar career as a mystery-solver to get them!" she warned the HeelNavi, keeping her gun aimed at chest level. "Therefore, if I must take your life, I will. You would not be the first I've deleted, nor the most sorely missed."

*) Cursor subtype Snipe to next attack [Add seeking]
1) Elementary Counterattack [Set Trap (20 damage melee, B accuracy + seeking & dodge, triggers on attack aimed at Sleuth), 2 TCD]
2) CircleGun1 use #1 @ HeelNavi [100 damage shot, A+ boosted accuracy + seeking]
3) CircleGun1 use #2 @ HeelNavi [100 damage shot, A+ boosted accuracy + seeking]
"Of course I had defenses! But they went kablooey with the control panel! And now, for that, you're gonna get it! YAAAHHH!!!" The HeelNavi started to rush the scantily clad Sleuth, who prepared herself for an incoming attack...except instead of actually trying to harm her, he ran right past her. "And by it, I mean the slip. Mwahahahaha!" Unfortunately for him, the detective Navi had some surprising firepower, and landed two shot square in the back. "Ow! OW!"

The surprise of the damage he'd just taken caused him to stumble right into Mr. Prog, who had been so surprised by the chain of events that he hadn't been able to follow Sleuth's orders. Fortunately, the angles were precisely such that he was in no danger of being CircleGun'd.

"Oof!"

"Oof!"

"Ugh...what was that?! A CircleGun? All right, just to be sure, let's do the math...that does 100 a pop, I've got 90 HP, and you've got two shots...yeah, I'm not risking getting killed over this." He rolled over such that he was lying face up. "Whatever, I'm done. I won't resist any further. If you've got any questions, I'll answer 'em. I mean, at least this way you know how genius my plan was."
The heelnavi, to Sleuth's surprise, had no intention of fighting it out against her. She sort of figured he would, given his badmouthing, her preconceptions of heelnavis as enemies who fought to conclusions no matter how one-sidedly they were being beaten, and so on. Then again, with how ill-prepared she'd come into the fight and how small her folder was, it would certainly be a surprise to anyone, unacquainted or otherwise, to discover that she had a CircleGun in it. "Ha... Yes, it's quite impressive, isn't it? I got this one as a gift from a friend of the queen during a particularly harrowing mission," she lied, smirking in a self-satisfied way that would surely deliver the sting of annoyance as potently as her gun had given the sting of physical pain. "Nah, I'm messing with you. I got it from a random chip giveaway!" she guffawed, turning the barrel upward to signify that she didn't intend to shoot him again. Her eyes shimmered with excitement as the heelnavi explained his intention to, well, explain himself. "I've got goosebumps!"

"Me too... Perhaps I should have splurged on some pants after all, or chosen a less expensive shirt with Rodney's money," Jocelyn spoke from somewhere nearby the PET.

"I'd tend to agree with you," Sleuth responded. "Now..." still holding the gun, she moved closer to her quarry and placed both hands on her hips, bending over him so that he got a pleasant view of her boobs that didn't seem much befitting a position of being punished. "I'm going to present each of my questions to you and you're going to present me with many, many answers! Spare no detail, for I assure you, as one who talks endlessly herself, I will not suffer brevity or withheld information on account of politeness," the detective chuckled, a dark shadow cast over her otherwise bright eyes. "The only difficult part is deciding which question I want to ask first! Oh, dearie me, I'm so giddy! So... First..."

Sleuth leaned back up to her full height, pressing the index finger of her free left hand up to her lip in a thoughtful expression. "Oh, yes. First topic of all, since this is important to my cause for coming here in the first place: did you cause the ghost viruses to inhabit this mansion? Whether you did or didn't, do you know whether it is possible to remove them? And if so, how?" she inquired, gesturing with her gun in spite of herself. The remembrance of the troublesome ghosts had soured her mood ever so slightly. "Second topic! The late master of the house. Did you have anything to do with his deletion facing viruses out on the net? This isn't strictly in the scope of my investigation, but I feel it my duty to my employer to learn if you had anything to do with that unfortunate turn of events. Alright... Third... This replicated LifeVirus. Did the late master create this technology himself, or did you simply find the tools inside his house? If he did create it himself, what did he plan on using it for? Don't bother telling me what you were using it for, though... I think your ambitions are easy enough to guess," she laughed, shrugging her shoulders in a belittling manner. "Fourth! Why were you at odds with the late master in the first place? It must have been something bitter, for you to go through with the espionage, endangering the Mr. Prog he left behind, and so forth. Then again, it may have all been a matter of cash. I'd simply like to know!"

"Oh, I want to try asking one! Fifth..." Jocelyn interjected, speaking again from somewhere in the distance. The HeelNavi couldn't hear her, though. "Do HeelNavis find it a point of personal pride to dress in dark colors like purple and black, or is it like a uniform?"

"I imagine it's so they don't stand out when committing shady crimes," Sleuth scoffed. "Or look 'badass.' Either one. Regardless, I'm dismissing that question." Having resolved that line of questioning, Sleuth squatted to get closer to eye-level with the navi, now nearly straddling his legs but still keeping a deceptively tight grip onto the grip of her pistol. "Hm... I'm running out of worthwhile questions to ask. Beyond that, just explain any fine details of your purpose here that you think might be relevant. Oh! Wait, one more question..." She hooked the fingers of her left hand into one strap of her bra and adjusted it slightly, causing its over-sized load to jiggle. "Is this brown or yellow? Clearly, it's more yellow than it is brown, right?" the detective navi asked, returning an incredulous grin. "The poor girl's color-blind as well as daft!"
The HeelNavi looked up right as Sleuth bent over, and would've let out a smile if he wasn't in pain from CircleGun shots...and had a mouth. "Yeah, yeah...stay like that and I'll answer whatever you want." All things considered, it could've been much worse for him.

...Like if she stood up. That put a damper on his spirits. "Ha...virus ghosts. Of course that was me! It's so easy, I imagine even you could understand it! Take virus image data, program some basic reactions into them to make them seem real, set their tangibility to 0, and bam! Your so-called virus ghosts! But destroying the control panel destroyed them...not that it's hard to re-make them, but it took hours to program them all! "

"Two and three I can answer at the same time. No, I wasn't responsible for him getting deleted...but as soon as I heard what happened, I got an idea. By using this secret area that only he knew about, I could enact some sinister plan, and all would believe that he was the one responsible for it! Whenever the caretaker Prog would leave to do something, I'd sneak some tech into the mansion. As you saw, I decided to take a crack at using that technology for the 'ghosts' to make a LifeVirus. And even though it was kinda pathetic, it's definitely possible. Heh heh heh...another week or so, and I might've had something on par with the real thing!"

"And you wanna know why we were at odds? Guy was a massive jerk, that's why! Belittling my research, mocking my appearance...what's wrong with being a HeelNavi, anyway?! Bah, total jerk, he was!"

The last part made the Mr. Prog tilt his head a little at the HeelNavi. "Wait, when did he belittle your research? I don't recall him ever belittling anyone's research..."

"What're you talking about? NervousMan's totally known for thinking his research is better than anything!"

"Um...I don't know how to break this to you, but...the former master of the house was just a NormalNavi. No one named NervousMan's ever even stepped in this house. Though, I remember a Navi of that name having a laboratory not too far from here, until it was destroyed when an army of Shadow viruses wrecked it. And I also recall that Navi surviving the ordeal."

"So let me get this straight...this isn't NervousMan's place? And he's actually still alive?!"

"It is not. And as far as I know, he is."

"...Well, now I just feel stupid on so many levels. So, so many levels..." Fortunately for him, he immediately felt something else entirely as he noticed Sleuth adjusting her bra. He gave it a good look, then crossed his arms and nodded. "Oh, it's totally goldenrod."
"Ah, so the ghosts are indeed creatures of your own creation. That's good to learn... If they were unrelated, then this would be a truly convoluted case," Sleuth laughed as the heelnavi began spilling the beans. "Well then, Mr. Prog, if you simply avoid repairing that panel, it sounds like your days of cleaning up around haunted ghosts are over. Think about it! You could finally give that telescope a nice wipe-down. Isn't that neat?" It was hard to tell whether she was making a joke at his expense or genuinely assuming that he'd appreciate being able to clean up the observatory telescope again. The HeelNavi continued talking, explaining that the technology was all his own. This made her curious as to what this little area was originally used for, but she figured the answers she was already receiving were more important, so she let him continue talking. "Yeah, well, let's cut it down a bit on the evil virus generation in the future, okay? I can't be around to nanny you all the time and I don't want to hear about any LifeViruses rampaging around the net just because I'm not around to keep you in check."

The final answer may have come as the biggest surprise of all. The guy who populated a dead navi's house with tons of virus ghosts and used them as a cover for his evil virus generation program was calling someone else a jerk? Sleuth squinted and listened hard to the HeelNavi's explanation, while trying to puzzle it out herself. "NervousMan? The late master had a name that I never learned?" the detective asked, looking incredulous. Thankfully, it turned out there was a good reason she was confused; Mr. Prog was just as much so, and quickly set the situation straight by explaining that NervousMan had a different laboratory in a nearby location. "Alright, well, that all makes this feel a trifle ridiculous. But who cares! We got to the bottom of it together, Mr. Prog! This mystery will be well documented in my memoirs in the very near future, I assure you!" She chuckled again and crossed her arms, now easing up with the gun. "Don't worry, if I encounter NervousMan somewhere around the net I'll remind him that he's supposed to be dead and/or blamed for the generation of an artificial LifeVirus," Sleuth joked.

"I'm just glad it's all resolved. Honestly, I'm having a few problems I'd like your help with, if you can give me your attention," Jocelyn requested from somewhere nearby, sounding like she was struggling physically with something or someone.

"Yes, and I feel as though my job may be in jeopardy if I don't handle that immediately. So, Mr. Prog, have I fulfilled all of your expectations for the mission? Is there any extra service I may provide before I get on my way? Don't forget to call the authorities regarding our friend here and his unfortunately misplaced grudge of pride. Oh, and of course, I do hope you'll consider me for any future purposes that may call for a detective. For instance, if someone tries decides to harbor a giant alien program or an ancient cybeast in your basement, I'll sniff them out like I did this one," she offered, presenting a business card that was totally at odds with her current appearance. Speaking of which... "Ha! Goldenrod. That's not brown, my dear!"

"Well, no arguments there!" Jocelyn giggled from nearby. Then again, Sleuth half expected that she would have gotten the same response if she'd told Jocelyn that the HeelNavi said her undergarments were pink, blue, or rainbow colors.
"Yeah, it'll be really nice to not worry about things coming out of everywhere for a change." The Mr. Prog looked happier than usual as he said that...if Sleuth thought he'd appreciate the lack of scares, she was right. "But first, I think I'll clean this area out. Maybe set up a new entrance, and use it for storage..."

"..." The HeelNavi remained silent, not even moving. His eyes were fixed on Sleuth...though whether he was now harboring a new grudge or just enjoying the view was hard to tell. HeelNavis were weird like that.

"Anyway, I sent an e-mail to the NetPolice. One of their officers should be showing up pretty soon." The program accepted the card, though he didn't stop to read it. Possibly because it was hard for his arms to put the card in comfortable reading range. "Thank you...without your help, things might've turned out much, much worse...I know who I'll call in the future if I need another mystery solved! But for now, I think it's okay if you leave. I don't have anything else that needs solving. ...Oh, there's a Navi at the door. Must be the NetPolice here to pick him up. I'll just send him or her a message telling them how to get here...done. Oh, the jack out barrier's still intact, isn't it...hey, HeelNavi. How far does she need to go before she can jack out?"

"Uh...I forget. When she hits ground level...maybe? Might wanna head back to the observatory, to be sure." By now, the HeelNavi had his arms behind his head, completely relaxed. If he tried doing anything now, it'd probably be a genuine shock to everybody.
Sleuth smiled and nodded along with Mr. Prog, but her eyes were still on the Heel Navi, as was the barrel of her gun pointed at him. "Very good, Mr. Prog. I'll be happy to help you with future mysteries, of course; think of me as the mansion's go-to detective and refer my services to your next employer, if you intend on entering new employ," she suggested, now half-closing her eyes so that her eyelashes nearly hid them, while she continued to watch the culprit in her latest crime. The Net Police were here, the mystery was solved... and yet even now, she couldn't help but be suspicious. Mr. Prog had contacted the Net Police himself, so there was no doubt that the person at the door was really one of them. They wouldn't have bothered to make themselves known at the door if they were here to help the Heel Navi she'd captured, after all. Still, she couldn't help but wonder about that jackout range. If she left, it seemed as though it would be quite simple for him to simply run past Mr. Prog as he'd tried to evade her earlier, then jack out before the officer made it inside. "Really, it only makes sense... Surely he doesn't WANT to be arrested, if he can help it," she figured. "And if he escapes... I imagine it's probably rather easy to evade the law as a heelnavi, if one is so inclined. The escape seems so simple he'd be a ninny not to go for it!"

It would be easy enough to just wait for the officer to arrive and then leave once the Heel Navi was subdued for good, but there were two problems with her still being around when the officer showed up. First of all, she and the Net Police didn't usually see eye to eye and were generally adversarial even when their goals aligned. More importantly, however, she was completely undressed and Jocelyn was not paying any attention to redress her. As much as she didn't care what policemen thought of her, she didn't exactly think she ought to be caught like this. Instead, she'd need to come up with an alternative plan. After a moment's thought, the detective handed over her pistol to Mr. Prog, placing it in his "hand" that was the rabbit-ear like apparatus he could apparently somehow use to hold things. "Be sure that our friend doesn't run out on us before the brass come to collect their man, hm?" she encouraged him, then patted him gently upon the head. "Cheers, sirrah!"

Finally, she could leave in fairly good conscience. Turning her mostly bare bottom to the two, she proceeded back up the stairs and jacked out immediately upon reaching the top of the staircase, hopefully before any NetPolice got a look at her... otherwise, the explanation was going to get pretty complicated for Mr. Prog.

((Jacking out))
"Thanks, I'll do that." It wasn't really clear whether the Mr. Prog was talking about making her the official detective of Mystic Mansion, or if he was just referring to the gun. He fumbled with the latter a bit, but eventually had it held tightly and pointed at the HeelNavi.

Speaking of which, he looked over at Sleuth, without leaving his currently reclined position. Then at the gun wielding progam...and back to the detective. "Is the gun really necessary? ...Meh, whatever floats your boat, sweet cheeks." Based on the direction he was looking in, it was pretty clear he wasn't thinking of the cheeks on her face...

"Thank you for everything! Take care!" With those words at her back, Sleuth made her way back up. Fortunately, she got out before the NetPolice Navi reached the observatory, though as she left, she could making out mumblings along the lines of 'accursed door knob' and 'if I only had hands'...