Regular busting, hopefully

"Peace of cake, right Duke?" Shin asked his partner nonchalantly.
"I'll take care of those Larks, let's go Pianissimo-san, Myun-chan!" Red exclaimed cheerfully as she dashed towards the viruses.
"Argh, wait, you need some attack plan with that!" Shin fumbled distractedly as he sent his navi some chips. As the red-caped wonder dashed at the Larks, her right arm transformed into a blue saber with yellow sparks of electricity swirling around it. Myun followed close behind, waiting to lend her power to her master.
"Sound off!" Red yelled as she suddenly disappeared behind the Lark viruses, her sword arm held across her body. A playful glint of glee sparked in the crimson crusader's eyes as she swung her sword down upon the viruses, once, twice, tracing an afterimage of her slashing path in the space where she attacked the viruses.
Red jumped back a bit and held her left hand out towards the Larks, and charged a brilliant ball of electrical energy in it. Myun responded immediately and sent her master a bit of her energy to enable the attack to become more destructive. Red grinned at the moment of her attack, glancing at Pianissimo with delight in her eyes, seeming to truly enjoy the battle they were in. The wind navi let out a battle cry, yelling, "NOTHING CRUSHES US!" as she sent the purple stream of crackling lightning bolts at the LArk viruses, attempting to eliminate anything that was left of the virus group. Myun hesitantly watched the viruses they were up against, readying to avoid any oncoming attack. Her master seemed to treat the viruses with equal wariness and gathered wind around her feet that would allow her to attempt a evasionary tactic to an attack from the foe the group was facing.
"Isn't this fun Pianissimo-san?" Red asked her busting partner cheerfully as she kept her eyes on the viruses so she could see what she needed to avoid.

Turn Summary
1. Areagrab behind Larks
2. Elecsword to LarkA,B,C [80 Elec DMGx2 =160 Elec DMG]
3. Elecsword to LarkB,C,D [80 Elec DMGx2= 160 Elec DMG]
4. Break Elecreel1 to any Larks left [100 Elec DMG x2 = 200 Elec DMG]
*Gust: Dodge

Myun's Actions
*Add Break to Elecreel1
1. Dodge
"Yeah, I'd say so," Duke said in response to Shin, sending a few chips. He paused for a moment after sending all three of his aqua chips, then added an areagrab to the mix. "Take the fire things. You should be able to waste them easily."

"You don't need to say that again," Pianissimo said in a dark voice, contrasting sharply with Red's overly cheery one. He activated the first one and three needles formed between the fingers of his right hand. He brought that hand up to his face, eyes narrowing at the first of the Volgears. Without so much as a warning, Pianissimo sprang upward from that position and hurled the needles down at the first Volgear, each of them leaving a trail of bubbles in their wake. Pianissimo landed only a few feet ahead of where he had started and activated the bubbler. As he returned to a kneeling position, he raised his right arm, which had now become something reminiscent of the end of a fire hose. "I'm never did understand how bubbles end up killing stuff, but die by them anyway," he muttered, rolling his eyes under his helmet, before letting loose a short but concentrated burst of them.

"Pianissimo, you could probably kill someone by glaring at them. Don't argue about a few bubbles," Duke said over the com link.

"Last I tried, that didn't work," Pianissimo shot back, though he smirked nonetheless. That would certainly make his battles much easier. He drew his katana and held it about a foot in front of him at a slight angle. Taking a step back, Pianissimo put his other hand only a couple inches from the end of the blade. A single bubble sprang from the point where he placed his hand, which was quickly accompanied by many more as he slid his hand down towards the hilt in a movement fast enough that someone who couldn't see the blade would have thought he were clapping his hands together. An aura of water started swirling around the blade as he removed his hand. Then, without warning, Pianissimo vanished, leaving a small puddle under where the aquasword was seconds before.

A barely audible dripping noise was the only warning before Pianissimo lashed out at the group of Volgears from behind. He landed behind the group after doing so, then flipped over and delivered another strike from the front. No sooner had he finished drawing the wide arc of watery death across the virus group that he jumped backward and came to a sliding stop, crouching and planting one hand on the ground while holding the sword in the air behind him with the other.
__________________________________________________

1. Aquaneedle1 VolgearA - 20x3x2 (aqua)
2. Bubbler1 VolgearB, spread to VolgearC - 50x2 (aqua)
3. Areagrab to behind Volgears
4. Aquasword Volgears C, D - 80x2 each (aqua) (accuracy boost from areagrab)
5. Aquasword Volgears B-D - 80x2 each (aqua) (accuracy boost from Red Eyes)
Ability: Swordplay: Dodge
It... that... but...
Aw, forget it. Soon, this gets a lot harder. REAL soon.

VolgearA: DELETED
VolgearB: DELETED
VolgearC: DELETED
VolgearD: DELETED
LarkA: DELETED
LarkB: DELETED
LarkC: DELETED
LarkD: DELETED

Pianissimo: 160
Red: 170
Myun: 60

-Victory!-
Prizes:
Red: Wideshot1, 300z 12 Bugfrags
Pianissimo: Flameline1, 300z
"Alright! Perfect victory once again!" Red cheered, making a victory sign with her fingers. Myun attempted the same pose, but you couldn't see her fingers under her boxing gloves. D:
"Shall we continue on, Pianissimo-san?" Red asked her partner gleefully and politely at the same time.

((Battle 4 when LHH wants it))
Pianissimo stood back up, sheathing his katana once again. "I swear, I could be back in Yumland Net for how pathetic this is," he muttered, turning to Red. "Then again, the last group we fought there put up SOME resistance, at least. Maybe it'll be the same here."

((Battle 4))
PATHETIC?!
Oh, it is ON now.

ChampuA: 60 HP
ChampuB: 60 HP
ChampuC: 60 HP
DBLCUBEA: 100 HP
DBLCUBEB: 100 HP
DBLCUBEC: 100 HP
ElecogreA: 120 HP
ElecogreB: 120 HP
ElecogreC: 120 HP
ElecogreD: 120 HP
ElecogreE: 120 HP
StarfishA: 60 HP
StarfishB: 60 HP
StarfishC: 60 HP
StarfishD: 60 HP
StarfishE: 60 HP
StarfishF: 60 HP
WindboxA: 100 HP
WindboxB: 100 HP

Pianissimo: 160
Red: 170
Myun: 60

-MESS! WITH! ME! BATTLE 4! FIGHT!-
((Since I was technically already in this battle when the sig system changed, it's based on the old version, not that there's much difference. Also, the glitching is just my way of introducing the sig changes come the end of the battle.))

"Seems I was right," Pianissimo said, looking at the viruses. "Send the widesword. I think I'll start with that." Duke wordlessly sent the widesword chip while Pianissimo surveyed the viruses. Hm...two windboxes...those will have to go first Pianissimo thought. "On second thought, send the areagrab as well," he added. Three fireboxer things, three giant cubes, five of those weird electric heads...I can probably take the Champus and Doublecubes out without much difficulty. If Divinity were here, she'd probably send two boomerangs at the ElecOgres without a second thought. Guess I'll have to make do without that possibility, though. We've got those starfish things to worry about too, though I'm sure Red will just zap them like she has everything else. For now, I guess I'll just focus on taking out everything I can. "Okay, final request. Add the boomerang chip we just got in with everything else."

"Everything's sent," Duke said, pressing a button on the PET. Hm? The PET's holoprojecter had blipped for a second when he pressed the button, but it was back to normal now. "Well that was odd."

"Something wrong, Duke?" Pianissimo asked, letting the chip data enter his systems. Areagrab first, since the windboxes need to go. And...looks like I'll have to silence things. Did I ever tell Red about that technique? Oh well, I'll do it now.

"Everything's fine, the projector just blipped is all."

"if you say so," Pianissimo said, turning to face Red. "By the way, if you have anything you absolutely must say, I suggest you do it now. Because in a minute or two, you won't be able to." Pianissimo slowly drew his katana, waiting for Red to say...whatever, then turned to face the virus mob. "Time's up. Sound off." Pianissimo's sword arced through the air in front of him as he slashed, leaving a trail of black for a moment. A loud crack was heard, seeming to come from all around. The crack was followed by a rushing sound as though something was being sucked out of the air. Then...nothing. Everything was silent, just as usual. Well, except for the sharp pain in the arm. Ow, did I pull something? Pianissimo thought as he activated the areagrab chip.

Back in the real world, Duke WISHED Pianissimo had pulled something. The holoprojector's image had become heavily distorted. It started as soon as the crack from Enjoy the Silence was heard and was getting worse with every passing second. Suddenly, just as Pianissimo reappeared right behind the pair of windboxes, the entire image became static and the message: ERROR 1A17F-UX appeared on the PET screen. "Oh, now I KNOW that's not good," Duke said, having never seen such an error before. "Shin, can I look on your PET screen for a moment?" he asked, indicating how his had just died. He knew better than to try and contact Pianissimo, since he had just silenced everything, so this was all he could do for now.

Meanwhile, in the net, Pianissimo ran his hand along the blade of his katana in a fluid sweeping motion. It became encompassed in a blue light which had a bit more breadth than the blade itself. However, it also didn't seem stable. An edge of the blue aura was already starting to dissolve. That's not right. That's not right at all, Pianissimo thought, but it didn't change the fact that it was happening. He would have to make this quick. He slashed at the back of the windboxes without a second thought, then sprinted towards the other end of the virus group. Pianissimo slashed at the trio of cubes just as he reached them, causing more chip data to flake off the sword. The center of the blue blade had broken down so much that the visual data for it had been replaced by a string of machine code. Not wanting to waste any more time, Pianissimo nearly vanished in a blur of blackness and came to a stop behind the Champu trio, drawing the sword back and preparing to strike.

Just as he came to a stop to deliver the third slash, the widesword data broke down completely, exploding in all directions in a burst of numeric code and blue shards, leaving Pianissimo's katana just as black as it was before. What the hell was that? he thought, activating the boomerang chip as well. The new acquisition was glitched as well, the curve in the middle of it appearing as a broken JPEG. Okay, that's it, Pianissimo said as he took aim and threw the boomerang at the closest three ElecOgres, the spinning broken image having a rather dizzying effect. When the silence effect lifts, Duke better have a DAMN good explanation for this.

Suddenly, what felt like an electric shock shot through Pianissimo's body. He kneeled down and clutched his right arm halfway up with his left hand, as it had become completely numb. Whether from a random glitch or a corrupted battlechip, upgrade, or whatever else, something had gone seriously wrong.
________________________________________________

1. Enjoy the Silence (+30 to chip attacks)
2. Areagrab behind Windboxes
3. Widesword Windboxes - 80+30 = 110 each
4. Widesword DBLCubes - 80+30 = 110 each
*Swordplay: free dodge after two melee attacks
5. Boomerang ElecOgres A-C - (60+30)x2=180 each, wood
"That Starfish group looks ripe for the taking," Red commented, licking her lips as she got ready to move.
"Alright then, bring them some hell to deal with!" Shin ordered as he sent his navi some chips.
"Yes sir!" Red replied as she teleported into the middle of the Starfish group and spread her arms out while yelling, "ICEZONE!" forming a massive sheen of ice on the terrain around her.
The red-caped wonder boosted herself into the air with a gust of wind and charged a massive amount of electrical energy in her right hand and held out her left in front of her.
"Myun! Now!" Shin commanded. The support unit nodded as she concentrated some of her energy into a pink orb and threw it at her master. The crimson crusader caught the ball in her left hand and circled her arms around her body and up to an apex over her had, fusing the energies together and then sending them downward in a giant bolt of electricity while yelling, "THUNDERSTORM!" as the lightning crackled down towards the viruses and the ice, attempting to decimate most of them at once.
The wind navi swiftly landed onto the ground and slid along the remaining ice in hopes of avoiding any oncoming attacks. Her support unit rushed to the red-caped wonder's side, arms in a cross formation in front of her in an attempt to protect Red from an attack.

Turn Summary
1. Areagrab into the middle of the Starfish
2. IceZone [Create a large area of ice centered on Red]
*Gust: Propel Red into the air
3*. Break Elecreel1 to Starfish group [80 Elec Break DMG x2 (Elemental Weakness) x2 (Ice boost) = 320 Elec DMG to each virus hit in chain reaction]
4. Dodge

Myun's Actions
*Add Break to Elecreel1
1. Defend Red [Blocks damage for an attack on Red and halves damage]
((Bump))
(Eh, right. Sorry I didn't get to this sooner.)

Red takes care of quite a few Starfish, while Pianissimo enjoys the silence and tears through all of his sword targets, save a single DBLCUBE. Unbeknowest to Red, a Starfish had fired a bubble at her in retaliation, but her valiant Support Unit Myun takes the hit for her! What loyalty!
And Pianissimo hits three of the Elecogres with his boomerang, after dodging a Champu strike.

ChampuA: 60 HP
ChampuB: 60 HP
ChampuC: 60 HP
DBLCUBEA: DELETED
DBLCUBEB: DELETED
DBLCUBEC: 100 HP
ElecogreA: DELETED
ElecogreB: DELETED
ElecogreC: DELETED
ElecogreD: 120 HP
ElecogreE: 120 HP
StarfishA: DELETED
StarfishB: DELETED
StarfishC: DELETED
StarfishD: DELETED
StarfishE: DELETED
StarfishF: 60 HP
WindboxA: DELETED
WindboxB: DELETED

Pianissimo: 160
Red: 170
Myun: 50 <In a Bubble! -1 action!>
*KSSSSSH* "Pianissimo, are you okay in there?" Duke said as soon as the silence effect lifted, watching the battle through Shin's pet. His navi was currently kneeling on the ground, clutching his right arm. He glanced back at his own PET screen to see a stream of error messages steadily flow across the screen.

"I'm....fine," Pianissimo gasped, but as soon as he did so his right shoulder sparked and half exploded in a shower of blue data. Pianissimo didn't scream, which was surprising considering how much that probably hurt. The half-broken-JPEG boomerang lay shattered at his feet, his katana itself was occasionally blinking out of existence, and the scanner system in his helmet was not only malfunctioning, but starting to impair his vision. He picked up the katana in his left hand and fought with it for a few seconds before forcing it back into its sheath. Standing up, he contacted Duke again. "Okay, scratch that," he said, managing to talk coherently again. "My right arm's useless...again...and battlechip capabilities are fading. Also, my scanner systems have failed completely. What's the situation looking like on your end?"

"Well let's see," Duke said, checking the PET screen again. "As far as you can tell, your assessment is pretty much correct. The holoprojecter has died and I'm getting a new error message every two second. So far I've noticed about twelve dealing with battlechip usage, twenty-three...no, twenty-four dealing with your attack programs. Those twenty-four only account for stuff that doesn't prevent you from using them, however. Shadow Slay and Red Eyes are corrupted beyond my ability to repair you...not while you're still in the middle of a battle at least. As far as that goes, the recall module is also corrupted, so I can't jack you out." Though he knew Pianissimo would be unable to see it, a solemn expression came to Duke's face. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to finish that battle before I can do anything."

"I'll manage," Pianissimo said, surveying what was left. He could take down both remaining ElecOgres and the DBLCube that survived if nothing else happened. The rest he would have to leave to Red and hope for the best. "Send me one of the other sword chips. I'm assuming that's all that's wrong for now, right?"

"KSSHActually, no," Duke said. The static and Duke's statement together caused Pianissimo to wince visibly. "The PET just rejected the normal sword and aquasword, so you're going to have to make do with RageClaw. Also, I just got another several error messages. Getting back to you on your arm, the connection between it and your core has been severed completely and there's a ton of external damage in your shoulder. Also, I just got a message about a corrupted definitions file and a few mental glitches, so if you start saying stuff that doesn't sound right at all, that's probably why." All Duke could do until the battle was over was continue operating and hope for the best, so he sent the RageClaw and started reading through the error messages again, looking for a source of the problem.

"Hey. Red," Pianissimo said, turning to his partner. His voice was distorting slightly, though it was subtle enough that it gave the impression that Pianissimo was just the slightest bit out of it. "Haven't you always wanted to play baseball? Why don't we play right now." He activated the rageclaw on his left hand and thrust it at the nearest ElecOgre, trying to impale it on his newly grown claws. "I'm not a very good left handed pitcher, but I think we'll manage. We can even use this rocket hippo as a ball. I'll throw it to you, you hit it. I'm sure you've got something you can use as a bat in that bag of yours." Unwittingly calling the ElecOgre a rocket hippo and Red's basket a bag, Pianissimo took a few steps back and signaled to Red before throwing the virus in her direction. "We can do it with this rocket hippo as well if we lose that one," he added, but at the very moment he tried to impale the second remaining ElecOgre, all hell broke loose.

If all the errors that had happened so far were enough to make a novice operator or any normal one faint, what happened next probably would have killed them. The RageClaw data on Pianissimo's hand shattered before he could touch the other ElecOgre and his left hand itself started breaking down. It seemed like it was unraveling, the "threads" coming off turning into strings of alphanumeric code as they separated from the rest of Pianissimo's body. Duke's eyes widened as he watched this spectacle, then swiveled back to his own PET as he heard a warning buzzer coming from it. the words FATAL SYSTEM ERROR plastered themselves across the screen as Duke tried to figure out what had happened this time. "Full buster and folder crash, graphics module failing? Pianissimo! If you can hear me, try activating either DivineCross or a GMO file! That may temporarily fix the problem!"

"Okay," Pianissimo said, trying to focus the DivineCross data into his core system. "I think I can do that. Just let mE ActIvAtE thE crOss AndaaaAAARGH!" Pianissimo had tried to activate the cross, just as he said. His body was hit by the same orange beam of light and turned completely white. Wings appeared on his back, shields on his arms and legs, and a halo above his head. This, however, was when he finally screamed. The cross data shattered into another stream of dispersing data, leaving Pianissimo in his normal form, just as before. "OkAy, thAt fAIlEd. TrYIng A GMOAARGH!!" Pianissimo screamed again, his voice heavily distorted as pieces of his body started replacing themselves with glitched graphics. This process continued for about five seconds before his entire body exploded in strings of alphanumeric code and shards of black and blood red data. Duke nearly fainted himself as he saw what had happened. The graphics module had crashed completely, leaving Pianissimo's appearance in ruins. What was left was a black, nondescript blob that took roughly a humanoid shape. A bright red light glowed from within, giving the blob the illusion of being covered in blood. Though it took a somewhat human appearance, there was nothing where the right arm should have been and the left "arm" had elongated as though it were holding a blade. "Pianissimo! Can you still hear me!" Duke said, the shock of what had just happened evident in his voice.

"I can still hear you, Duke. I'm still alive...for now..." Pianissimo said, his voice now much more distorted than before. "I'll finish this...just try to find a way to fix....everything........" The navi core that was Pianissimo 'turned' to 'face' the remaining ElecOgre...and promptly shrunk into nothing. Duke gripped the PET tightly and shook it for a second before he remembered that two of Pianissimo's attack programs were still operational. The blob appeared behind not the ElecOgre, but the last DBLCube and thrust its elongated 'arm' at it, managing to get another attack off before another error broke the humanoid form it was maintaining. Now nothing more than a floating amorphous mass of black and red energy, 'Pianissimo' shot through the air and passed right next to the ElecOgre, forming a bladepoint once again as it approached. Stopping a few feet away, 'Pianissimo' sunk to the ground. "Red.......finish...it......."
________________________________________________________

1. RageClaw ElecOgreD towards Red - 40, preparation for baseball combo attack
2. Dodge / attempt and fail to activate DivineCross (does not count as using it)
3. C&D Prep/dodge
4. Cloak and Dagger DBLCubeC - 100
5. Silencer ElecOgreE - 135

....wow....

Quote (Pianissimo)

"Hey.  Red," Pianissimo said, turning to his partner.  His voice was distorting slightly, though it was subtle enough that it gave the impression that Pianissimo was just the slightest bit out of it.  "Haven't you always wanted to play baseball?  Why don't we play right now."  He activated the rageclaw on his left hand and thrust it at the nearest ElecOgre, trying to impale it on his newly grown claws.  "I'm not a very good left handed pitcher, but I think we'll manage.  We can even use this rocket hippo as a ball.  I'll throw it to you, you hit it.  I'm sure you've got something you can use as a bat in that bag of yours."  Unwittingly calling the ElecOgre a rocket hippo and Red's basket a bag, Pianissimo took a few steps back and signaled to Red before throwing the virus in her direction.  "We can do it with this rocket hippo as well if we lose that one," he added, but at the very moment he tried to impale the second remaining ElecOgre, all hell broke loose.

Red nodded, grimacing as she took in the sight of her partner's disfigured form. She looked imploringly at her operator.
"Right, a bat..." Shin muttered as he flipped through his folder. "Right, Sword! Slot-in!"
"Thanks!" Red replied as she drew out a... well... red metal baseball bat. It certainly wasn't a sword, but it looked like it would do the trick. The crimson crusader took her position, held the bat aloft, stepped forward, and as the ElecOgre presumably was sent towards her, she swung. And with all her might, the red-caped wonder swung her bat as hard as she could at the incoming target, praying that it actually came, and that her blow actually hit.
After Pianissimo's attacks on the remaining viruses he spoke in his blob-like form,

Quote (Pianissimo)

"Red.......finish...it......."
Teary-eyed at her companion's pitiful state, Red nodded, turning her attention to the viruses that were left.
"My companion's feelings are etched into my body, prepare to be vanquished!" Red cried as her operator sent her two chips.
Water suddenly formed around Red's right hand. The navi, taking no surprise at the instant formation, sniffed and spread her hand across her body in a wide arc, tracing a path through the air in front of her. A wave of water was formed, and it soon gushed forth at full speed towards the Champu viruses, attempting to drown them in the waves of sorrow and emotion that pervaded in Red's attack.
There was one more to take care of, Myun could only sit and watch her master's work, so she was of no help at the moment. Red aimed her right hand at the Starfish virus that remained after her previous Thunderstorm attack. The wind navi concentrated large amounts of electrical energy into the palm of her hand, and made it fire forth, crackling, roaring, sizzling through the air as it sped towards the Aqua virus, hoping to delete it once and for all.
Red sighed as she slid over the ice towards Pianissimo, in an attempt to dodge attacks at the same time. She put her hand on the blob's shoulder and comfortingly said,
"You know, at least you're still alive." the wind navi said, the wind gathering beneath her feet in case she needed to move.

Turn Summary
1. BASEBALL BAT [Sword] ELECOGRED [80 DMG]
2. Wideshot1 to ChampuA,B,C [60 Aqua DMGx2 = 120 Aqua DMG]
3. Magbolt1 to StarfishF [90 Elec DMGx2 = 180 Elec DMG]
4. Dodge
*Gust: Dodge

Myun:
1. BUBBLE TRAPPED LOL
((I hereby bump so I may sooner undo my navi's ruination...or something.))
...IT STILL DIDN'T WORK?
;~;
Tearing through these viruses are making their family and friends VEWY VEWY SAD, YOU KNOW.

ChampuA: DELETED
ChampuB: DELETED
ChampuC: DELETED
DBLCUBEA: DELETED
DBLCUBEB: DELETED
DBLCUBEC: DELETED
ElecogreA: DELETED
ElecogreB: DELETED
ElecogreC: DELETED
ElecogreD: DELETED
ElecogreE: DELETED
StarfishA: DELETED
StarfishB: DELETED
StarfishC: DELETED
StarfishD: DELETED
StarfishE: DELETED
StarfishF: DELETED
WindboxA: DELETED
WindboxB: DELETED

Pianissimo: 160
Red: 170
Myun: 50

-Victory!-
Prizes:
Red: Bubblestar1, 600z , 29 Bugfrags (OMGWTF?!)
Pianissimo: Elecreel1, 650z

Edit: Bah. FXP. 4 points from the viruses, and Red and Pianissimo's good communication nets them 2 extra points! Yaaaaay!
"Pianissimo...are you still with us?" Duke said, turning back to the screen of the laptop.

"Barely," what was left of Pianissimo said, struggling just to hold himself together.

"Okay, I think I can do this. I'll have to connect the PET directly to my computer, then..." Duke pulled out a cord on the back of the PET that was rarely used in the current models and plugged it into the back of the laptop. Two minutes passed while Duke typed in commands and sifted through the innumerable errors. "Yes! I've found the problem," he said eventually, opening up the back of the PET. "The Process Upgrades have been horrendously corrupted. If I just remove them, I may be able to fix this."

The connection died, leaving Pianissimo alone with Red on the net. Another minute passed, then Pianissimo's blob-like appearance began warping as though it were a hologram experimenting static problems. Suddenly, Pianissimo resumed his normal appearance. He was kneeling on the ground, clutching his now fully intact right arm with his left hand, his katana sitting a few feet away.

"Well, I've got some good news and some bad news," came Duke's voice almost as soon as Pianissimo started feeling normal again. "The good news is that I've managed to fix most of the corrupted systems."

"How?" Pianissimo asked, amazed that he was still alive.

"Well, once I removed the corrupt upgrades, I was able to fix everything else from my computer. Anyway, bad news. The Process Upgrades are beyond repair. I'll have to get replacements. It's a good thing we're still in SciLab."

"Joy," Pianissimo muttered, standing back up and flexing his right arm. He walked over to pick up the katana, glancing back at Red for a moment as he did so.

((No battle yet I think, but I didn't particularly want to jack out right before a battle five AGAIN.))
"Looks like we need some fixing too," Shin commented, his screen blipping out.
"Right... I'll stay here for the bit," Red replied.

((No battle yet))
A minute later, Pianissimo was leaning against a nearby pillar with a window open (via the menu that includes his chip selection) watching Duke's progress through the various messages that popped up on it. Most of them were error messages, though they were fixed soon after they appeared. Duke didn't say anything as he worked, though as long as shit didn't hit the fan again, so to speak, that was okay. Time passed, with the error messages becoming fewer and farther between as it went.

"So..." Pianissimo said after a full minute had gone by with nothing else going wrong. "Want to bet whether or not he's finally fixed everything?"

Almost as soon as he said this, another message popped up. Pianissimo rolled his eyes as, seconds later, it was gone as well.

Two more minutes passed. "Okay, seriously. If you ask me, either something really bad is about to happen or he's finally fixed everything," Pianissimo said just as the com link came back to life. "Okay, I think we're back in business," Duke said.

"Excellent," Pianissimo said. "I thought you had already fixed everything, though."

"Almost everything. I was trying to piece your old attack programs together with the new system they made. It...wasn't all that pleasant," Duke said, shaking his head. "Okay, here's the deal. I managed to salvage your three main attack programs with only slight changes to each of them. Two of them are actually the slightest bit better now. However, the Red Eyes targeting program and your Shadow Slay attack were corrupted beyond repair. I did, however, manage to splice together the two as well as some other corrupted data and make that into a new program. Try it out next battle, I think you'll like it."

Pianissimo rolled his eyes and pushed himself back off the pillar. "Ready whenever you are," he said to Red.
"Back," Shin said as his face blipped up.
"Right, we're ready now," Red said to her partner.
"Let's crush things," Myun stated as she punched forward.

((Battle 5 please))
Suddenly, in the distance, a group of figures seem to be making their way toward you. Initially, all that can be seen is an abundance of white, and a single red object. As they approach, the details become clear: floating cloaks, wisps appearantly burning beneath them, and skull-like masks where one would expect a face.

These are....Sppokies? But they're not native to this area? Well, whatever they are, they sure look like Spookies, despite their color differences, being white or red instead of black. Upon further inspection, one might notice that they seem to have no eyes, but rather dark voids, another trait uncommon in Spookies.

At first, they seem to ignore you, but upon a quick second glance, they seem to spot something and sneer. Something about Pianissimo's appearance is likely the cause, as they seem to be focusing their attention to him. The red 'Spooky' cries out in a indeterminate language, and the others rush into battling range...

BATTLE 5!

White 'Spooky'A = 50
White 'Spooky'B = 50
White 'Spooky'C = 50
White 'Spooky'D = 50
White 'Spooky'E = 50
White 'Spooky'F = 50

Red 'Spooky' (surrounded by the rest) = 150

Pianissimo: 160
Red: 170
Myun: 50

(Their positions are about this, and imagine a good five feet between them, k?

\\\A\\\
B\\\C
\\\R\\\
D\\\E
\\\F\\\

Got it?)

START!
"Oh look," Pianissimo said sarcastically as he saw the Spooky viruses approach and take a battle formation. "What do we have here but a group of KKK wannabe viruses." The eyepieces of his helmet shone a brilliant red as he turned to address them directly. "What are you going to do? Lynch my with my scarf?"

Pianissimo stood there for a moment as though waiting for a response before placing a hand on the front of his helmet. "You know, I don't support racism in the slightest, so I'm probably going to kill you guys anyway. But before I do, there's something you should probably know." He slowly lifted the helmet from his head and shook some stray hair out of his eyes as he revealed his true appearance to the KKK Spookys.

Even Duke was surprised to see this. Aside from the one time he had used DivineCross, Pianissimo had never exposed his face, whether by removing his helmet or otherwise. His face looked the same, aside from the fact that his dark red eyes were now visible and his shoulder-length pale green hair was left wild and rather messy.

"So, now that you've seen that, I'll give you a quick head start," Pianissimo said, holding the helmet in one hand, ready to place it back on his head. "If you guys leave right now, I'll consider not killing you anyway."

Pianissimo drew his katana with his other hand to emphasize the fact that he wasn't kidding.