Welcome to the Urban Jungle

It was a good thing that style and grace were not actually prerequisites for sticking a landing, or else HunterWoman would have had an uncomfortable tumble back to ground ahead of her. As it was, though, the hedges bent and gave, both as she jumped off, and as she scrambled a landing onthe other side, but ultimately her determination won out and she managed to get moving agian before the section she was on could complain too much.

The homing ball of crackling energy continued to track her, but from her new vantage point, HunterWoman could get a better bead on her target. The shot she took mostly savaged the hedge between herself and the Mimic, but the arrow retained enough force, barely, to punch on through and score a glancing blow on the virus as well. There came a slightly uncomfortable, crystalline sound of anger from the centre of the maze.

The sound of conflict caused various reactions from the metools scattered about the maze. though she couldn't see it, the one behind her started and ducked under its helmet, while across the other side, the pair that were sticking together ventured out towards the sound cautiously. To the north, the one near the entrance wandered down a dead end, determined that it was, indeed, dead, then began heading back.


-=The Lost Party =-

MetoolA: 40hp [Normal][Lost!][Guarding]
MetoolB: 40hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolC]
MetoolC: 40Hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolB]
MetoolD: 40Hp [Normal][Lost!]

-=Master of the Maze=-

Green Mimic: 150hp [Normal][Centre of the maze]

-=Opener of the Data=-

HunterWoman: 150Hp [Grass][Hedge-top][Glitch-Ball Homing! - From behind, next turn]

-=Suddenly Hedge-Maze!=-

60% Normal [The floor of the maze is all normal terrain]
40% Grass [Climbing or standing on the maze walls will count as grass terrain]

Notes: the hedge walls can be climbed onto or over with an action and decent RP, or pushed through with 2 actions. Slashing attacks directed at a section of the wall will deal double damage to hedges.

-=The Maze Itself=-

The maze is comprised of many hedge sections, each roughly a couple of panels across, such that removing one would make a clean 'branch', just like any other turning or side passage. Each hedge has 80hp, takes double damage from slashing attacks, and counts as wood element.

Undamaged Hedge Sections: 80Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak] (each)
Damaged Hedge: 30Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak]

HunterWoman nodded approvingly as she heard the displeasure of the Mimic, but immediately follwed up by putting up her crossbow for the moment. "Yep, this just isn't gonna work! Gotta get closer!"

"That's fine, but be careful. I'm not entirely sure what else that thing is capable of."

"Oh please, it's not like it'll grow massive tentacles and start poking me with them in places!...Although-"

"Just keep an eye out, is all I'm saying."

"Roger, Diana! ...That'd be a really weird name, don't you think?" Once more, the huntress Navi reared back like before, and leapt across the massive chasm of several feet to the next hedge wall. She did try to aim slightly to the right, to avoid standing on something that might no longer lack the structural integrity to support her weight. Or, as her mind probably put it to her, 'don't jump left unless you want to fall right down on your butt!'. But now, all she needed to do was look down, and there was the Mimic, in all of its shiny glory. "Hey there! Sorry, but I really need to crack open your shininess for the also shiny stuff inside! That's just how it works! ...Ooh, I just got a really cool idea! Diana, send me that, uh...RollingLog thingy! Yeah, that's what it's called."

"...I'm actually a little surprised you got the name right, to be honest..." But either way, she had no reason to deny the request. "Well, here. BattleChip, RollingLog! Slot in!"

As the chip data started to transfer, HunterWoman jumped high again, though this time she got very little horizontal distance. At the peak of her jump, a log several feet long in length appeared in front of her, which she grabbed with gusto and raised above her head. Now she just needed to wait for gravity to send her downward, like so...and as she neared the green crystal, swung down with all her might. But whether it connected Mimic or ground, the blow would prove so powerful that the log would snap in two. But she remembered the super awesome special effect, and with some special unseeable Navi command, caused the broken piece of wood in her hands to reform into a complete log. With a big smile at her target, she swung it like a baseball bat, and show parts of it other than the top part some love. "Home run!"

"Um, I'm no baseball expert, but don't you have to hit the ball a really long way for it to be a home run?"

"Details! ...Aww, my bat's broken!" Upon seeing that her weapon of choice for the moment was broken again (and if she'd managed to miss, she'd raise an eyebrow at pondering how that even happened), she casually tossed it to the side, since it wouldn't be much help like that. ...Well, maybe she could stab something with it, but why use a broken log when she had a perfectly usable knife for that?

[Order of Turn:
1-Hop to the next bush, then drop down next to Mimic (Movement)
2-RollingLog1 chip attack on Mimic (50+5, Wood, C, Wide Attack(2))
3-RollingLog1 chip attack on Mimic (50+5, Wood, C, Wide Attack(2))]

With her inner monologue acting in tandem with her outer monologue, HunterWoman made another pounce across the hedges as the homing ball closed in on her. Her leap and quick duck down almost got her clear of the tracking sphere of energy, but it managed to clip her just as she dropped off the side of the hedge, sending a jolt through her system along with a jittery thread of corrupt code. All in all this made her landing on the inside of the central square less than graceful, but that didn't slow the huntress down.

in fact... it really rather seemed to have the opposite effect. Everything else seemed to be slowing down. The moments stretched out as her senses prickled into heightened awareness. Was everything really moving slowly, or had the navi just found herself sped up?

Didn't matter. What mattered was the mimic in front of her, and the over-eager navi was quick to ready a beat-stick of commendable proportions. the Mimic, however had let out another low, deep chuckle as she tumbled into its enclosure, and by the time HunterWoman had picked herself up and was swinging her log, the crack in the crystal had opened further, and a brilliant beam of thick, raw energy blasted out of it with a crystalline tone. It was so beautiful, and with her heightened senses, HunterWoman could easily see the matrix of particle energy that made up the beam in a spiralling reticulation that bordered on fascinatingly kaleidoscopic. Alas, none of this information helped her in getting out of the way, and the beam was coming right at her chest.

Her first log shattered into fragments before the beam, unable to reach its target, and HunterWoman herself felt the brunt of the energy pulse rip clean through her as well. Far off, the little metool several hedges behind HunterWoman heard the noise and peeked up from under its helmet just in time to see a burst of green energy erupt from the hedge in front of it, rending leaves and twigs as it went. The little guy let out a garbled sound that was something between shock and panic before the beam blasted through it and shredding its way out the far side of the hedge maze. When the beam had passed, the little metool was still spinning about on one foot, then collapsed down, smoking gently and panting.

Fortunately, back at the centre of the maze, HunterWoman had more up her sleeve than just one long, and retaliated with a second swing. This one connected solidly, to the satisfying sound of crunching crystal. Other sounds of scurrying could be heard as the sounds of conflict spurring the other metools to do... whatever they were doing... a bit faster.

In the wake of the beam attack, the hedge section behind HunterWoman collapsed in completely in one place, an looked about ready to go elsewise. Each of the hedges in a direct line behind had also had much of their foliage stripped away and looked decidedly delicate.


-=The Lost Party =-

MetoolA: 10hp [Normal][Lost!][Cowering]
MetoolB: 40hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolC]
MetoolC: 40Hp [Normal][Lost! but with MetoolB]
MetoolD: 40Hp [Normal][Lost!]

-=Master of the Maze=-

Green Mimic: 95hp [Normal][Centre of the maze]

-=Opener of the Data=-

HunterWoman: 105Hp [Normal][Glitch: Over-Caffeinated (3 turns left)]

-=Suddenly Hedge-Maze!=-

60% Normal [The floor of the maze is all normal terrain]
40% Grass [Climbing or standing on the maze walls will count as grass terrain]

Notes: the hedge walls can be climbed onto or over with an action and decent RP, or pushed through with 2 actions. Slashing attacks directed at a section of the wall will deal double damage to hedges.

-=The Maze Itself=-

The maze is comprised of many hedge sections, each roughly a couple of panels across, such that removing one would make a clean 'branch', just like any other turning or side passage. Each hedge has 80hp, takes double damage from slashing attacks, and counts as wood element.

Undamaged Hedge Sections: 80Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak] (each)
Damaged HedgeA-E: 20Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak] (Each)
Destroyed Segment: DELETED




Over-Caffeinated: Over-hyped and hyper twitchy, all the victim's senses are on high alert. As a result, they can take one additional action per turn, over their usual action limit. After three turns of this the glitch will burn out and the victim will crash down, forfeiting an action each turn instead, for two turns. The glitch can be cured with status cure before the crash, preventing it, however the crash effect acts like a nerf, and cannot be cured except by time out, or when combat ends.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the hyper HunterWoman didn't notice much different at first, aside from the fact the beam didn't seem to move quite as fast as she would've thought a beam would. But once things settled down for a moment, something seemed weird. She looked back, and noticed the hedge come apart from the force of the attack, but...it definitely wasn't adhering to gravity rules and stuff. And even in the Net, that was a little strange. "HeyDianawhatsgoingon?"

"Huh? Could you try saying that a little slower than a million words a minute?"

The Navi tilted her head, confused at why her operator was suddenly acting like she was in slow motion. ...Come to think of it, she was kinda shaky right now. Hmm. Very odd. "WellwhateverIvegotaMimictofinishoff!"

"Why are you even shaking like that, anyway...Wait a sec. Maybe that's an effect of one of the Mimic's attacks? It makes the target, uh, act like they've had 50 cups of coffee? And since you're not exactly a low key Navi to begin with..."

"Quittakingalldaytogoblahblahblahandgimmesomethingtokillthisguywithhesdefinitelynotzoomaterial!"

"I doubt you'd even be able to get anything useful from cutting it up, either..." Well, with that degree of jitters, anything long range was right now. Luckily, she was standing next to the target anyway. "Here, get rid of some of that nervous energy. BattleChip, RageClaw! Slot in!"

"YayRageClawnowIcanfinallyripthisguyanewoneandgetsomethingcoolforitactuallyIwonderifheevenhastheonetobeginwithsincehesnotbasedonanorganiccreatureohwellguesshelldefinitelyhaveonewhenImdonewithhim!" Somehow, HunterWoman managed to squeeze in all that in the time it took for the bear claws to form over her hands. But in an even bigger mystery, her attacks proved as fast as her mouth, as she unleashed a flurry of slashes that even someone eagle eyed like her operator couldn't quite follow. "Yahtakethisandthisandacoupleoftheseandsomemoreandevenmoreandwaywaywaywaywaymorelikethisandthisandthisandespeciallythis!"

"Note to self: never allow Hunter to consume caffeine."

"DidyousaysomethingDianaIwastoobusyslicingupMimicguyhereIguessnotifyourenotsayinganythingnowehwhatevsImgonnakeeprippingitapartnowitssuperfun!" If nothing else, the huntress, in fact, enjoyed her job, even when it meant shredding evil data crystals with a pair of bear gloves. Actually, that probably just made it even better for her. "Yeaaaaaahgetsomeofthisandthisandthiiiiiis!" ...Definitely made it even better for her.

[Order of Turn:
1-RageClaw1 chip attack on Mimic (40, B, Slashing)
2-RageClaw1 chip attack on Mimic (40, B, Slashing)
3-RageClaw1 chip attack on Mimic (40, B, Slashing)
C-RageClaw1 chip attack on Mimic (40, B, Slashing)]

With her processes amped up and the jitters encroaching, HunterWoman sought to make short, brutal work of the target in front of her. It was hard to follow exactly what went on in the flurry of movement, but her first swing definitely struck crystal. There was a cracking, screeching sound following it and a bubble of energy pulsed out from around the Mimic as though to ward off further blows. The barrier was swiftly shredded by the navi's next swipe without slowing down, though between the hyper-active caffeine high and the slight distortion from breaking its defence, her third slash whisked through the air without connecting. The fourth slash crunched in on the other side of the Mimic, and it spun in place, reeling backwards as shards of crystalline glass broke free in numerous places.

The green swirl of energy surrounding it seemed to be dissipating into the air the more it was damaged, and it seemed as though it didn't have too much left in the tank now. There was a crackle of energy inside as, between the damaged sections of crystal, it looked to be preparing another bundle of glitchy data for her, but with her accelerated reflexes, it was almost certain that HunterWoman would be able to finish it off before it could.

Just behind her, something else was going on. Two of the lost metools had ambled into view at her back and looked towards the navi and her adversary. One of them readied its pickaxe, but then hesitated. It turned to is companion and the two exchanged brief viral sounds that probably counted as conversation. They both looked back to the scene: one navi, a hyper-active whirlwind of slashing destruction, fighting a mimic of dark and sinister designs, capable of shooting laser beams from its face. They held another quick conversation with one another.

Maybe getting lost was just fate, after all. Maybe missing their appointment with the new navi was really okay, in the end? She seemed fine. They didn't really need to interfere, did they? Their survival oriented chatter was interrupted by a more decisive 'Meep!' from the other side of the hedge. They looked around to peer through the gaps in the badly damaged section of wall, to see another metool waving at them with its pickaxe on the other side. It 'Meep'ed again, then turned and pointed down the line of damaged hedges to where the fourth metool was still cowering, terrified, in its damaged helmet. The one in the middle offered what sounded like a series of more authoritative instructions the other other two. They seemed uncertain, and it repeated the sounds again. Satisfied, it turned and began calling out to the hurt metool, which peeked up from its helm briefly, gave a shaky nod, then hunkered down again tightly. The de facto leader of the group shuffled back out of the way, then gave a nod through the hedge to the other two. It wasn't entirely clear what they were planning, but it didn't seem to involve HunterWoman for now.


-=The Lost Party =-

MetoolA: 10hp [Normal][Sorta Found!][Guarding]
MetoolB: 40hp [Normal][Found! With MetoolC]
MetoolC: 40Hp [Normal][Found! With MetoolB]
MetoolD: 40Hp [Normal][Found!]

-=Master of the Maze=-

Green Mimic: 15hp [Normal][Centre of the maze]

-=Opener of the Data=-

HunterWoman: 105Hp [Normal][Glitch: Over-Caffeinated (2 turns left)][RegeClaw 2/6]

-=Suddenly Hedge-Maze!=-

60% Normal [The floor of the maze is all normal terrain]
40% Grass [Climbing or standing on the maze walls will count as grass terrain]

Notes: the hedge walls can be climbed onto or over with an action and decent RP, or pushed through with 2 actions. Slashing attacks directed at a section of the wall will deal double damage to hedges.

-=The Maze Itself=-

The maze is comprised of many hedge sections, each roughly a couple of panels across, such that removing one would make a clean 'branch', just like any other turning or side passage. Each hedge has 80hp, takes double damage from slashing attacks, and counts as wood element.

Undamaged Hedge Sections: 80Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak] (each)
Damaged HedgeA-E: 20Hp [Wood][Slashing-Weak] (Each)
Destroyed Segment: DELETED

"Nononononononononono!!!" HunterWoman decidedly was not a fan of the Mimic continuing to live, slumping slightly at the very fact it still existed. "NowImupset!" She let the RageClaw glove on her right hand fade, so she could reach down and grab the hunting knife on her boot. She gave it a twirl, then pointed it at the current bane of her existence. "IwasgonnaletyoufadeintonothingnessbutnoooooooyouhadtobefancyandputupthatbarriersonowImgonnaturnyouintoa..." There was a notable pause as she completely failed to figure out what she could potentially craft from the parts of a Mimic. "...Wellitllbesomethingyoureallydontwannabelikeatoiletorayieldsignnoonelikesyieldsignsright!"

Luckily, she knew enough to save the final decision for after she actually managed to snag whatever it was Mimics could give her. The huntress lunged forward, to give the virus one good poke...hopefully the poke that would finally end it. And if it did, then the fun part of gathering the useful parts would begin! And then she could point and laugh as the non-useful parts left! AND she'd be able to get her Mystery Data on without fear! Triple win! ...She had the feeling she was forgetting something mildly important, though...but eh, it could wait until after she was done with this.

[Order of Turn:
1-Carving Knife sig attack on Mimic (40, Slashing)
---TURN SPLICE---

As it turned out, a defiant attempt to continue living was not the path to getting into HunterWoman's good books. This wasn't particularly good news for the mimic as with her amped up speed, even her slight pause for disappointment didn't give it enough time to make its attack before her hunting knife darted in and finished the job. The stab depleted the last of is resilience and something in the tricky virus' core ruptured. with a last series of crystal cracks, the trickster dropped the short distance to the ground, green smoke fading away as its carcass toppled. Oddly, it left behind something of an after image; the ethereal image of a far more genuine GMD floating where it had been. Once her frenzy cooled and HunterWoman got around to accessing this one, it would finally reveal its long hoarded contents to her, in the form of a neat 1250 zenny.

Behind this final altercation, the small party of misappropriated mets were busy rushing to reunite themselves. Following the orders of the one in the middle, the two nearest HunterWoman swung their picks at the damaged hedge, sending out a long pair of shockwaves that tore down the remaining obstacles between themselves and their injured brother. Hunkered down safely, the attack waves washed over its helmet safely, before the trio rushed through the gap to meet up with him. the three unhurt mets formed a defensive line in front of the injured one, with the two followers checking to see that he was okay, while the apparent leader of the group turned to watch HunterWoman cautiously. It had its pick-axe out, but seemed to be holding it out to the side in a posture that looked more like it was covering the others, than actively being hostile. Mostly the group was just wary and cautious now that they were reunited.

-=The Lost Party =-

MetoolA: 10hp [Normal][Found!][Huddling]
MetoolB: 40hp [Normal][Found!][Checking on MetA]
MetoolC: 40Hp [Normal][Found!][Checking on MetA]
MetoolLeader: 40Hp [Normal][Found!][Covering the others and watching hunter cautiously]

-=Master of the Maze=-

Green Mimic: DELETED

-=Opener of the Data=-

HunterWoman: 105Hp [Normal][Glitch: Over-Caffeinated (1 turns left) (feel free to run this off as you wish, since combat is concluded)]



-=Battle 2, Concluded!=-

GMD Spoils: 1250z

Despite waiting so long for the contents of the mystery data, HunterWoman proved more interested in the remains of the Mimic. In the blink of an eye's blink of an eye (as opposed to the normal blink of an eye), she managed to cut its exterior green shell into eight equal pieces, summoned her box, and set them inside. "Hmm...you know, I'm getting an idea about what I can do with that Mimic stuff!...Whoa!!" She suddenly stopped and looked around. "All that crazy slow-mo stuff's gone! Neat!"

"I'm pretty sure it was less everything being in slow-motion, and more you being in fast-motion..."

"Same dif!" Speaking of which, there was BRAND NEW SHININESS in front of her. "Um...if I've killed the Mimic, this should be totally safe, right? There's no Mimic inside a Mimic stuff going on, right?"

"If there is, I'm jacking you out the instant it shows up."

"Yeah, that'd be kinda...sucky for me. But I'm opening it!" Sadly, she didn't try to cut it open, and just gently touched it with her finger. Much to her joy, she wasn't suddenly surrounded by even higher bushes, and instead just got some money. "Sweet! Now I'm less 'totally broke' and more 'really poor'!"

"Hey, I'm sure we can use it for...something. It's not pocket change."

"Well, Miss 'I lucked out and ended up becoming an assistant to a famous TV personality'-"

"If you're going to say what I think you are, stop. Now."

HunterWoman took a moment to look at her operator, who was giving her a very, very cold gaze. "O-Okay...I wasn't being really serious, you know..."

"And that's why I'm making sure you don't press my buttons."

"Sorry...eh?" Some motion caught the Navi's eye, and a turn around revealed that it was the Mettaur from before. "Oh hey, it's you guys! I totally forgot all about you! ...There were four of you to begin with, right? So that Mimic didn't delete anyone? Great!" She raised her arms in victory, but noticed that she still had her rather large knife in her hand. Probably not a good idea to be waving around weapons when you're trying to sweet talk things that can inflict hurtiness. Back to her boot's side it went! "Say, can I run something by you guys? You're not blindly attacking me, so you might be good candidates for the zoo! You don't have to worry about Mimics, or Navis, or anything! Actually, the Navis there would just bring you food and stuff, and make sure you're happy! Also stuff you can break with your pickaxes! Or not, if you aren't into that thing. But yeah, it's pretty spiffy! The one downside is that they'll remove your damage coding, so if you like actual fighting, you wouldn't be able to do that. But if you don't, and you're tired of worrying about surviving, it's the place to be! ...Any takers? I won't twist your ar-uh, foot about it, though. If you don't want to, I'll leave you guys alone." But for the moment, she'd await an answer. Hey, it was part of her job to expand the zoo's selection, even among the same virus type.

While the effects of the glitch wore off and HunterWoman returned to sane levels of speed and awareness, the two Mets behind their leader flinched at her victoriously upraised knife. The leader, interestingly, did not, but kept watching her on-guard until she sheathed the blade. By the time she'd made her offer, the post caffeine crash effect would be beginning to settle in, at least for a short while, but the small cluster of little viruses didn't appear to notice.

After a few moments, the leader of the group shook its head slowly, looking up to HunterWoman, but a quiet 'Meep' from behind brought its attention around. The other two chittered something in indistinguishable viral speech, one after the other, and the leader shook again, answering them in kind. It paused, looking to the injured metool at the back, then started chattering quietly to them again. Every few moments, it paused, drawing small nods from each of them. A perceptive navi might correctly guess that the leader had actually been the only one to properly understand HunterWoman's offer, and he was now explaining it to the others.

When all said and done, he looked back towards Hunter with a worn expression, at least as much as a metool could manage, then stepped aside in case she wanted to approach. The injured metool came forward towards her, and was joined by one of the other two. These two seemed willing to accept the offer. The third looked between the leader, HunterWoman, and its own pickaxe. It seemed the most torn, but at length waved the weapon slightly and shook its head, stepping back from her. The leader chattered something to it briefly, causing it to nod once, then immediately run towards the freshly opened gap in the hedge maze and head away into the long grass beyond. It had enough surety in its departure that it seemed to definitely be heading somewhere, rather than just running away.

Meanwhile, the leader met stayed around to watch Hunter organise the transfers for the other two and ensure everything went like it was supposed to. When they were gone, it turned attention back towards her.
"Meep!" It started, then continued in a short chatter of garbled sound. That wasn't going to work, of course, and he stopped. Then, after some concentration, brought up a very small text box in the air above its helmet. At first it too filled with garbled, viral symbols, but he waved his pickaxe through them in frustration, trying to focus more clearly. After a little bit of trail and effort, the symbols resolved into two legible words: 'learning', and beneath it 'protecting'. This seemed about the limit of how well the little guy could make himself understood, but apparently that was enough to satisfy him for now. He slung his pickaxe back into a more relaxed position, then pressed a small token forward across the space between them with one foot. That done, the metool bowed its head to her briefly, took a step back, then tuned and wandered away into the grass, heading in a different direction to the one he'd sent off earlier.

Left alone, if she examined the token, HunterWoman would find that it was a small metal coin bearing a picture of a metool waving its pickaxe on one side, and another one guarding under its helmet on the other. Upon touching the token, a series of data would flow from it to her, feeling a bit odd, but nevertheless resolving into a small amount of zenny, and the correct data to constitute a battle chip. The token itself remained in her hand, even after the data transfer had completed, and there would be nothing to stop the huntress from keeping it as a memento if she wished.

-=Negotiations Complete!=-

HunterWoman receives: 250z, Guard1

Quote (Guard1)

Effect: (1 Hit Shield) + (Reflect(up to 60 + Piercing + Line Attack): On Hit)
Accuracy: S
Description: Generates a 1-Hit Shield upon activation. When this shield blocks one hit from a non-Break attack, it responds with a hyper-fast damage ray.
Duration: Until broken or overridden.
Element: Null
Special: Negated by Break. Ignores Impact.
Special: Reflect: Damage returned is equal to the damage of the attack blocked or the damage cap listed, whichever comes first. Reflect is not subject to negation by Impact.
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.

HunterWoman smiled and nodded as two of the Mettaur approached her. Honestly, she really hadn't been sure if any were going to agree. "Great! I'll open up the link now, like this...and this...and there! Be nice to the Navis when you get there, they won't hurt you!" ...She suddenly wished there was a fly virus, just so she could say they wouldn't hurt a fly. It was totally true, too. But she'd have to settle for the transferral of two viruses for now. The zoo already had some Mettaur, but she was sure they wouldn't complain with a couple more. After all, it was really as much a virus preserve as an actual zoo.

As one of the others left, and the apparent leader started to 'talk to her', she couldn't really do much other than tilt her head and wonder what it was saying. With some difficulty, it managed to produce two words to her. Learning and protecting? Hmm. "I can't say I totally get what you mean, but those are both super important to the zoo. I know the Navi that created it...he's big on creating an understanding between Navis and viruses. Learning...he wants Navis to learn that viruses are more than just hunks of data you beat up for money and chips. Protecting...he wants to protect those that share his vision, virus or Navi."

"That...was surprisingly deep for you. What brought that on?"

"Hey! What's wrong with me being serious for a moment?" She frowned at Diana for a moment, then returned to find she was being offered something. "Huh? For me? Thank you!" She reached out and grabbed it, ending up getting some of that previously mentioned money and chips. "Whoa! For a second there, every part of me was all tingly! Can we do it again?"

"And there goes serious HunterWoman..."

"Just kidding! ...I mean, if I was tingly like that for too long, stuff would happen that you really shouldn't do in a place where everyone can see you! Not that I care too much, but what if some sweet old lady Navi came by while that was happening? It'd give her a heart attack!"

"So, so gone..."

With her observations of physical sensations complete, she noted that the Mettaur was taking its leave. Even though it couldn't see her, she waved at it. "Bye! Hope I see you again!" ...And now she was alone, aside from her operator. "...I dunno if it's that glitch, the whole 'this Mimic won't die' thing, or what, but I'm kinda drained now. Is it all right if I jack out?"

"We got three viruses for the zoo, two chips, a little spending cash...that's really good for just two battles. Far as I'm concerned, you can take the rest of the day off if you want."

"Eh, I'll take a break, then we'll see!" With that, she exited in standard fare, via a green beam of light.

(JACKING OUT; TO ACDC)