Fire and Politics

Damascus silently made her way towards her earlier listed position, paying little attention to PolicyMan's words. She appreciated a charismatic leader, but the plight of unoperated navis and the chaotic state of the net meant little to her. More chaos meant more fighting, right? She wouldn't come out and say it, but she'd prefer things stay violent if possible. Still, all of these thoughts were very backseat to her driving motivation of serving as a blade.

Her master was similarly uninterested in politics, but his interest was piqued as he learned that PolicyMan was once an unoperated navi who lived in the rough parts of the net. It was pretty simple to put two and two together and realize that you didn't survive such situations without being an adept fighter. He rubbed his chin slowly, trying to picture the politician brawling.

Furthermore, that Shay girl was hot for PolicyMan, and in MeleeMan's mind at least, the worthwhile women didn't like unmanly men. There must be some hidden element of manliness to the guy.

MeleeMan didn't have the same sort of worries as Damascus did. He'd have thought she was a little naive for worrying about the fight running out; to him, violence was pretty much immortal. People would keep on having beefs no matter what PolicyMan did, and when the beefs broke out, he'd be there to lay the smack down.

With these thoughts in his head, MeleeMan calmly surveyed the crowd for anyone looking ballsy enough to take a shot at the speaker. Damascus did the same.

"I see," Djinni murmured to herself as she focused on the speech of PolicyMan. With the rampant behavior of the press earlier, the HeelNavis constantly mocking others and not caring about anything and generally rude construction workers, Djinni would not have been surprised if PolicyMan's true goal was to promote the NetMafia. It could have been an undercover job. Or maybe she had just seen too many movies. Regardless, everything seemed to be going well and her charisma was obviously no match against PolicyMan's. She had wanted to become an actress, an idol and a singer, but even Djinni had doubts whether she could captivate a crowd like that.

"So what do you think?" sounded Szand's voice, as he came walking towards her with his hands in his pockets. He stopped next to her and then turned towards the stage to focus on the speech. "You're bored, aren't you..."

"There are certaintly a lot of people and he seems like a well known and important Navi. But if he's really being targetted, they are taking their time," Djinni commented, then looked down at the HeelNavis she had been bickering with and noticed they were absorbed into the speech too.

"It might already be too late for them," Szand said, glancing at Fhyre who was just patrolling as before with her hands crossed across her back. It looked boring. "This guy," he continued as his eyes returned to focus on PolicyMan, "If he can control the people as he wants, they might even fight for him to battle whatever is wrong in this world. Combined strength, huh. As long as nobody walks in front of us and gets in the way."

"I'm going to see how MeleeMan is holding up," Djinni said and signalled at Na'im to slot in a chip. "Give me the candle chip, Na'im," she said and once she got it, she held Szand's hand for a short moment and transmitted it. "In case we come across trouble." She then turned away and headed for MeleeMan.

Once she reached MeleeMan, she stopped next to him and began talking to him. "How are you holding up?" Djinni asked, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes, "It's a good thing he's here to talk to these people and it might be important, but I wish someone would attack him already. In the end I feel more at ease when I'm in motion, instead of standing as bodyguard. What do you think of his message to the people, MeleeMan?"

The speech continued on, and after several minutes, one would notice PolicyMan started to reiterate his main points; he was effectively wrapping the speech up.
Please keep these issues in your minds as you leave here today, and don't forget our dedication towards the betterment of our electronic world. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all. Have a great day!

The crowd erupted in applause as every single program stood from their seats, some actually standing on top of their chairs to get a better view of PolicyMan as he smiled and waved in response to their almost overwhelming cheering. Cameras flashed and sounded off as hundreds of pictures were being snapped simultaneously. He continued to wave and smile appreciatively while Shay quietly approached the podium. His eyes remained on the crowd as she whispered something into his ear. He looked down at her and nodded, before he stepped out from behind the podium, and took the small mic with him in his hand.

He took a few steps out before eventually standing nearly in front of the podium, and the crowd started to quiet down in response. In a few seconds, the crowd became silent, with the occasional clap or whistle.
Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate this! I still have a bit of time left here, so I would like to invite you all to ask any questions you may have. I'd like to better your understanding of what we'd like to do, so please feel free to speak up!

Almost immediately, the sparkling flash of cameras returned with a vengeance, and several programs moved away from their seats towards the stage, calling out PolicyMan's name and raising their hands in an attempt to get his attention. Many of the others started to follow suit, and started to almost rush the stage in one massive group. IcicleMan emerged from behind one of the curtains, and Djinni/MeleeMan could plainly see the normally calm and collected Navi was very seriously, almost hurriedly, scanning the audience and appeared to be on edge. ThermalMan started to clomp out from behind the stage, and tried to advance on the incoming crowd, and tried to act as a barrier to keep the bystanders from getting up on the stage.

Back at the press booth, the progs instantly started to chatter amongst themselves, mentioning they needed to put someone up there immediately, to field questions for the network and make sure their recordings are completely clear, catching the voices of those asking the questions as well as PolicyMan's. One prog was quickly volunteered as their field reporter, and was tossed a small camera and a rather advanced microphone before the prog literally jumped off the scaffolding and made a beeline towards the stage, and tried to weave through the other programs ahead of him to get a front-row spot.

Though almost drowned out by the noise from the crowd, PolicyMan's voice could be barely heard over the loudspeakers, requesting the crowd to be calm, and reassured that he'd try to get everyone's questions, so there was no need for this mad rush. Shay was still standing next to the Navi, and also appeared to be a bit nervous. Even though all eyes were on him, she couldn't help but feel a bit of stage fright from all of those programs getting crammed up towards the front of the stage.

MeleeMan turned over to Djinni nonchalantly, trying to hide the fact that he'd mostly been staring at her to pass the time since PolicyMan started talking. "Well, it's a message for the people, alright. I don't know crap about any of that stuff, really," he sighed. "I guess it's important for everyone to be taken care of; whatever happens, I've got job security. There'll be fights no matter who tries to do what." Crossing his arms, he thought harder over the question. He hadn't really answered what she'd wanted, just given her the fragments of thought that he'd been pondering over earlier. "Well, if you need something to fight for, a net with decent and equal security for everyone isn't such a bad thing."

"But yeah, I guess I don't want to stand around listening much either," he grumbled, staring at the crowd as it started to move and sort of wishing someone would try to jump out and bean PolicyMan so that he could fly at them with a Berserk Blitz.

It quickly became apparent that the "movement" of the crowd was more of a stampede. He realized there'd probably be a place for him to help out up there. Rania realized this too, but gave him a few words of caution: "Try to keep your mouth shut while you do this, okay?"

"It's gonna be hard to get my message across without talking, but if you WANT me to punch them, then I guess-"

"No, no," she groaned. "Just keep them down from the stage and separate anyone in conflict."

"Yeah," MeleeMan acknowledged; he'd understood all along, of course, but he was really hoping she'd slip up and say something that'd end the conversation in favor of punching them all. Unlike the little prog, who had to scurry between the crowd members to get up to the front, MeleeMan had the advantage of being huge and ideally designed for shoving his way through the crowd. With a stoic frown, he muscled his way near to the front to act as a stopgap for anyone hoping to get too close to the stage in an effort to field their own question.

Damascus, in the mean time, stayed in her position. She figured that with MeleeMan at the front of the crowd, there'd be no need to worry about a frontal assault. On the other hand, someone might try something sneaky from the back... or could even enter from some other direction. Nothing really said the supposed attackers had to be part of the crowd attending.

MeleeMan
1) Muscle through crowd to front

Djinni looked at MeleeMan's broad back as he left to wrestle into the crowd, thinking over the words he said. "It's a good thing he's an ally," she said to herself, "I think I could start to like him." There was the option of just sitting back and letting MeleeMan handle this, but she had her duty to work too.

Thinking on how to handle this situation, she considered her muscle strength inferior to MeleeMan but she had a skill he did not have. "Na'im, I'm gonna help PolicyMan from the sky," she said, while snapping her fingers once. Fire collected below the soles of Djinni's shoes and brought her into the air, hovering for the time being.

"I'm not sure if this will work," Na'im told Djinni as he looked over his PET, a chip between two fingers, "But I think it should be fine." He slotted in the chip and the data of the Pulsar1 was sent to Djinni.

After kicking off against the floor and expanding the flames coming from her shoes, Djinni was now flying above the crowd of people and could clearly see MeleeMan going straight for PolicyMan. It was hard to miss the muscled Navi. Djinni's audio receivers lit up for a short moment, indicating the completion of the chip loading process. "But..." she began to speak to herself, "I don't have my cape."

Normally Djinni would've pulled her weaponry right out of the inside of her cape, being virtually an open space only meant for her. But her current jacket was simply too small for such a feature to be installed into it. "Na'im, hey..." she began to speak, her eyes turned to Na'im, "How do I summon with this getup?"

Na'im didn't answer directly, but he simply knocked onto his chest twice with a closed hand. He was still around Rania so he decided against answering directly, but figured Djinni wasn't dumb enough to understand this.

Ceremoniously Djinni raised a hand into the air and sighed. She knew what Na'im's message was. Her jacket was too small for bringing forth equipment, but she had something else that was big. She brought her raised hand to her breasts and dug into her cleavage, then pulled out a dark red megaphone. There were advantages to having cleavage at the top instead of the bottom after all. She was, however, still not happy with this decision. What if an actual fight started? Would she have to retrieve even more weapons from between her breasts? She sighed again and brought the Pulsar megaphone to her mouth.

"Please remain calm and cease this impatient behavior! Everyone will get a chance to ask their questions, so remain in your seats and we will get to all of you!" Djinni said through the megaphone, her voice strongly amplified because of it, "If you do not do as we say and proceed with suffocating PolicyMan as you are now we will commence to use physical force in order to maintain the peace in this event. Consider yourselves warned! Remember that we are here for you, so we will not skip anyone and everyone will get their turn to ask their question to PolicyMan." Djinni hoped that this was enough to make them realize what they were doing right now and back off. In the back of her head she had preferred to just set fire to most and then douse it once they had learned their lessons, but they had already caused unnecessary problems with the people of the press earlier.

Trying to get the crowd under control, MeleeMan started to force his way through the crowd. Most of the programs that stood in his way turned back in annoyance, but their expressions quickly changed and tried to step away from the rather intimidating Navi. Instead of trying to force her way to the front like her melee-themed companion, Djinni utilized one of her abilities and took to the sky above the crowd. The crowd did not take notice; they were too focused on PolicyMan. However, Djinni's voice, amplified by the megaphone, drew attention to her. Nearly all eyes were on the flying Navi as she addressed the crowd. ThermalMan utilized this chance to take several steps towards the center of the stage, and spread both of his massive arms apart before starting to make his slow march forward and push the crowds back.

PolicyMan's eyes were also fixed on Djinni, and made him realize the mistake he made. He tried to rectify the situation and spoke to the crowd as well.
Yes, please move back to your seats! It'll be much easier to get to all of yo-

*POP*

Both Djinni and MeleeMan were able to hear a loud sound from within the crowd, and a slight flash. Was it a blown camera bulb program? Was someone getting trampled? Their questions were answered as PolicyMan looked down at his chest, down at the small black disk now firmly affixed to his chest. A single red light lit up in the center of the disk, and PolicyMan snapped completely upright and twitched, as if suffering a massive motor program glitch. IcicleMan started to glide forward towards PolicyMan as he saw him bolt upright, but several glowing ribbons of data sprouted up from the stage and rooted the Navi in place.

IcicleMan could only reach out with one of his spike-like arms, but he could very plainly see a green and brown NormalNavi spring up from the crowd, evading ThermalMan's arm as he tried to swat the Navi out of the air. Just as PolicyMan went limp, the NormalNavi grabbed him and started to bolt towards the side of the stage.

Just as the green and brown Navi grabbed PolicyMan, a half-dozen purple beams crashed down around the stage and seating areas, fading to reveal the HeelNavis that had just arrived. Some announced their arrival by raising their weapons into the air and firing wildly, causing many of the members of the crowd to hit the ground, and others immediately logged out, fearing a battle would break out. Why didn't PolicyMan log out as well? Was his NetOp paying attention?

IcicleMan was still firmly rooted to the stage, but he certainly wasn't out of the battle. Though he couldn't take down the Navi for fear of hitting PolicyMan, he swiped his arm towards the pair, causing a very tall, wide wall of ice to nearly instantly rise in front of them to block the Navi's escape. The Navi appeared to be stopped in his tracks, but Shay moved out next to IcicleMan, cannon in hand. She appeared to have panic in her eyes, and in an act of desperation, fired the cannon towards the Navi. He didn't even flinch as the shot went wide, and flew past him before punching a wide hole in the wall of ice ahead. With a simple side step and an arcing, bridge-like root structure through the freshly-made exit, the Navi pulled PolicyMan along and started to bolt off.

Shay watched with a horrified look on her face as she realized what she had done, her cannon arm hung down at her side as her glasses appeared to be sliding off her nose.
No...

IcicleMan pointed his arm down at his lower body, and fired several razor-sharp icicles at the bonds which restrained him, and was relieved to see them ripped to shreds and freeing him. ThermalMan's eyes were locked on PolicyMan, and he lurched forward to pursue, but he was quickly hit square in the chest by a cannon blast from one of the HeelNavis. It looks like they didn't want anyone trying to escape, let alone chase PolicyMan and his abductor.

The group was quickly put in a very chaotic, dangerous situation. The VIP was quickly leaving the area, but there were 6 heavily-armed HeelNavis surrounding the stage and blocking our heroes' paths. After hearing several other small blasts from what sounded like a Vulcan, and the tell-tale beeping noise of EJO programs being activated, it looked like the HeelNavis weren't above attacking the crowd either. However, amongst the screams and yelling of the crowd in the chaos, the two HeelNavis that were in the crowd the whole time appeared to be very agitated, and it looked as if they were arming themselves as they yelled at the HeelNavis that surrounded them. What should they do?



--KIDNAPPING OF VIP IN PROGRESS-- --COURSE OF ACTION REQUIRED--

----------Mafia Assault Group--------
Green/Brown Navi: 550HP [Fleeing with PolicyMan]
PolicyMan.EXE: 100HP [Stunned] [Seemingly unable to Log Out]
HeelNaviA: 200HP [Vulcan1]
HeelNaviB: 200HP [Sword]
HeelNaviC: 200HP [Bubbler]
HeelNaviD: 200HP [Hi-Cannon]
HeelNaviE: 200HP [ZapRing1]
HeelNaviF: 200HP [AquaKnife]

----------NetPolice----------
MeleeMan.EXE: 420HP
Damascus.SP: 60HP

Djinni.EXE: 180HP
Fhyre.SP: 70HP
Szand.SP: 80HP

ThermalMan.EXE: 270HP
IcicleMan.EXE: 500HP


----------Civilians----------
Shay.SP: 40HP
HeelNavi1: 100HP [Cannon]
HeelNavi2: 100HP [Weapon Loading...]
Misc. Civilians: Varied HP [Under Attack]

"Aaaah, dammit. Looks like things have started," MeleeMan muttered, watching PolicyMan fall like a stack of stones, only to be immediately picked up and toted away. Even though he sounded upset, he was secretly pleased that he was finally going to get to take part in some action. He mentally cursed the incompetence of Shay and started to map a route to cut off the fleeing navi with his areagrab. No room in his plans was spared for IcicleMan or ThermalMan; they were big boys who would take care of themselves, if the NetPolice was worth its salt. On the other hand, he thought it'd be a good idea to coordinate with Djinni, at least a little.

"See those baddies? I want a shot at all of them, but I also want you to burn them all so bad I don't get a chance at it. Just leave me some charred fossils to bust apart with my hands and I'll be okay," he smirked. "In the mean time, I'm going to take care of that speedy one man-to-man. That guy's got balls if he thinks he's going to get out of here without fighting me... Or I guess, no... He doesn't have balls because he's not fighting me. Whatever. Damascus, you stay here and help her."

"Certainly. I relish the opportunity to finally taste the blood of powerful opponents," Damascus replied, giving a brief devilish smile and lowering her eyebrows. She hadn't gotten to let loose in sword form since she joined up with MeleeMan and was happy to see that situation was about to be rectified.

MeleeMan started a charge at the navis on stage, then immediately released a stream of smoke from his gauntlets. A blaze of fire shot out behind it, engulfing him in a rocket leap that carried him to his target: the captor fleeing the scene. "You picked the wrong officer to kidnap; you know that, right? If you don't yet, you're about to," he smirked, reaching out for the kidnapper with one gauntlet, which still trailed smoke from his jump moments ago.

While bracing his body, MeleeMan grimaced and sent a signal to Rania for chips by motioning with two fingers. Nodding as she tried to understand the sudden change in situation, his operator slotted him in pair of his favorite firehit chips. Clenching his teeth, MeleeMan released more fire from his gauntlets until the metal began to glow red hot. "Let's hope whatever Mafia cell you come from has a good dental plan," he grunted, releasing his fist forward like a jackhammer.

The fist retracted back after the first thrust, then slammed forward again; relentlessly, it came back yet again, then sought out another devastating hit. There could be no greater satisfaction for MeleeMan then ramming his fist into the relenting flesh or not-quite-sturdy-enough armor of his foes. At the same time, his practiced punches flew with the accuracy of a martial-arts master; hopefully that would be enough to avoid pummeling the enemy navi's captive to death. The last thing he wanted on his NP resume was destroys protection objectives with repeated reckless punches.

In the mean time, Damascus flew straight into her role as Djinni's aid, charging forward like a speeding ninja. It'd be more dramatic if she had her usual banded cape to flail around her, but as was, the rapid bouncing of her jacket's chest was a pretty entertaining and eye-catching substitute. As she approached her targets, Damascus suddenly transformed in a flash of metal; her body turned first into steel, then into a long-bladed nodachi.

The nodachi was known as a sword for slaying horses due to its length. While moving freely on its own, it could also make a serviceable way to cut down three navis, if they were aligned properly. The nodachi spun through the air like a shuriken, then re-emerged on the other side of the navis and formed back into its previous shape. Damascus' body remained metal, even after reverting, to protect her from supposed counterattacks.

As she reappeared, she glared into the eyes of the third navi, as if daring him to try something.

MeleeMan
1) Areagrab in front of Green/Brown Navi to cut off escape [Teleport (Accuracy UP + Dodge)]
*) Melee subtype Bash [+impact to next action]
2) Soul Fist: Iron Grip @ Green/Brown Navi [20 damage melee, A+ boosted accuracy, + hold + impact + self hardbody (1 turn)]
3) Firehit1 @ Green/Brown Navi [85 fire melee, A++ boosted accuracy + impact]
4) Firehit1 double attack @ Green/Brown Navi [85 fire melee, A++ boosted accuracy + impact]
*) Survivor's Code: Red Rage [30 strengthen to next action]
5) Firehit1 @ Green/Brown Navi [115 fire melee, A++ boosted accuracy + impact]

Damascus
1) Steel Skin activate [Ironbody (1 turn)]
2) Stepsword @ HeelNaviD/E/F [120 damage melee, S accuracy for B, A accuracy for others + slashing + wide attack + teleport]
*) Variable subtype Debuff @ HeelNaviF [20 (buff) debuff]

It all happened in a flash, one that was too fast for Djinni to react immediately. "Wait," she stammered as she held her hands out at the crowd, "Don't panic." She had already put her microphone away, thinking she wouldn't need it after speaking to the crowd. She heard MeleeMan's voice from the crowd and looked down to see him. "I'll take care of them, don't worry. We'll have your back and take on these guys," Djinni replied to him before MeleeMan directed his attention to Damascus. "I think..." she muttered, knowing he wouldn't pay attention to her voice at this point.

Djinni wanted to join the public safety department since she wanted to help and protect innocent Navis, but as she looked around herself to see the chaos 6 mere enemies had caused she was not sure of her task. "Beating them shouldn't be hard," she thought, but if only that was the only thing she had to think of. "I have to keep them safe too..." her second thought was and directed her attention to Fhyre and Szand.

"Fhyre, Szand, this time it's serious!" she shouted at her two companions, "I want the two of you to keep the people safe! Any mistake and I'll cut back on your Bugfrags!" It was the only thing she could think of to make the two SPs do their utmost best, although it was met with a raised eyebrow and frown from Szand. Fhyre, on the other hand, was designed to protect so she was already prepared for any danger.

"I've got it, boss," Szand said and looked at Fhyre, "I suppose it's time for us to get out of these clothes." And before Szand could disengage his GMO, he noticed a blush across Fhyre's bandaged face and immediately stepped in. "Stupid, don't take it the wrong way! I meant our GMOs! Just get back to your combat form, idiot!" he shouted at Fhyre, disengaging his own GMO. Fhyre shortly followed by doing the same, although her flame seemed brighter than before.

Na'im had just remained quiet, noticing Rania had given MeleeMan the AreaGrab chip and looked at his own chips. It was practically impossible in their current situation to defend this mass of people, Djinni simply didn't have the tools for this. "Djinni," Na'im said, knowing that there were other options, "I'm sending you chips. I'll let you use your instinct. Remember that you have to protect."

The chips were a Kunai and an upgraded Firehit, chips Djinni was familiar with, and she nodded. She raised her hands to the height of her head and snapped her fingers, followed by dropping herself to the ground. The truth, however, was that a body double of Djinni had gone to the ground while Djinni herself had turned invisible and was still airborn. "Remain calm!" Djinni shouted, her decoy lipsyncing it perfectly, "We have the situation under control." The decoy turned its head towards the two HeelNavis had issues with before and pointed at them. "You two! I'll allow you to cooperate with us, but don't get cocky!" Djinni shouted through the decoy. And then began the attacks.

Both the decoy and Djinni, albeit invisible, reached into their cleavage and pulled our three sharp kunai and focused on the three outer enemies. While the decoy's kunai were obviously fake, Djinni's kunai weren't and she tossed them at the enemies while trying to hit their weaponry out of their hands. "That should keep them busy for the time being," Djinni thought and slammed her fists together to bring forth a spark of flame, the decoy mimicing these motions.

Szand and Fhyre, both in their regular forms, had taken point near the innocent Navis and were prepared to throw their life away if necessary. "Fhyre," Szand said, noticing Djinni's attack, "Get the targets." Fhyre simply nodded her core up and down, grabbed hold of the ground and tossed herself into the direction of the Navis Djinni had targeted. While she was on her way, Szand had raised a hand and petrified the sand it was made of. "Everyone!" Szand shouted, "Get behind me so I can protect you!"

Fhyre's mission was simple. She had to see if she could grab any of the weapons of the HeelNavis. Whether they had fallen out of their hands, tossed away or anything else. With her three hands this was impossible to be a hard task, unless they were still in the hands of the Navis. Aside from this mission, she would protect any of the Navis further away from Szand. In her monkey-style run towards the weaponed HeelNavis, she slammed her fist onto the ground which caused a fire to jet out of the ground at Szand. The flame went straight for the shielded hand of Szand, increasing its strength up a notch.

With their flames charged, Djinni and the decoy turned towards the enemies Damascus had picked and executed their attacks. Two strong punches pierced the air, one shooting imaginary flames while the other had the real deal. Once the attacks had been launched, Djinni paid attention to where MeleeMan had run off to while the decoy attempted to guard whichever Navi was nearby.

There was no need for communication with Damascus or MeleeMan. They both had the eyes of warriors and experience. "Remember that you are never alone," Djinni shouted from her position in the air, "Even with these odds against us, have faith in us!"

Without hesitation, MeleeMan rocketed into the thick of it before clamping his hand over RootMan's shoulder like a vice, and proceeded to go ape on him. Though his first punch went wide and only barely grazed the navi's face, the other two hit him straight on as he tried to retaliate with a Hi-Cannon. Even though MeleeMan was hit point blank, he seemed to shrug it off, his body steeled for the assault.

Damascus leaped into the battle as well, leading in with a warping slash with her body, catching two HeelNavis in the process. She would have gotten the third, but they were simply too far apart for her to catch. The other HeelNavis quickly saw the battle was starting to turn away from their favor, and tried to react. The sword-wielding HeelNavi gave chase and slashed at MeleeMan's back, but it seemed to be less effective as the blade clanged off his back.

IcicleMan, not to be outdone, leaped into the air before his entire lower body bulked in size, creating a very large, sinister-looking icicle spike before he dropped down directly on top of a HeelNavi near MeleeMan. Though partially hidden by the spray of ice that followed the dropping assault, IcicleMan very quickly followed up with an airshot to the HeelNavi's chest, hurling the navi towards a group of vacant chairs. As the HeelNavi hit one with a loud *CRACK*, his EJO function activated, and he disappeared. Spinning around, his spike-like arm sprouted another spine before the tips of his arms fired off like a cannon towards the pair of HeelNavis Damascus attacked. He fired to salvos of ice needles, with only one of the 4 total missing, and leaving one EJOd while the other was severely hurt.

ThermalMan also kicked it into high gear, blasting the bubbler-wielding HeelNavi with a LavaCannon round that surged forth from his buster-turned hand. He saw a small black sliver of metal dive into the resulting fireball, and the HeelNavi's bubbler tumbled away, still smoking slightly from the blast. Fhyre quickly descended on the discarded weapon and scooped it up. She silently tossed the cannon from hand to hand slightly, it was still quite hot from the explosion, before it cooled down enough for her to hold comfortably.

Djinni's other kunai hit their mark, disabling one of the HeelNavi's vulcans, but the other simply embedded in the HeelNavi swinging away at MeleeMan. Following up from his LavaCannon, ThermalMan opened his left hand, his fingers spewing flame as he threw a surprisingly fast left jab, which tossed the flames like a fiery missile. The flames engulfed the HeelNavi, causing his UnderShirt program to activate and manage to keep him functional. However, it proved to be futile as yet another fireball descended from above and EJO'd the Navi, thrown by the invisible Djinni.

In the chaos, the HeelNavis didn't even notice the flying, invisible Navi. They simply assumed her shadow decoy was the real deal, and one thought he had deleted her with a single shot from his Hi-Cannon. However, his assumption was proved inaccurate as he too was felled to an airborne, flaming fist. ThermalMan and Szand had a similar plan, moving into the crowd and steeling themselves as they acted like shields for the confused, scared civilians. ThermalMan stood next to Szand, creating an even bigger wall for the crowd to hide behind. A single cannon shot pinged off Szand's shield, but it held strong as the pair of HeelNavis that once harangued Szand's mistress retaliated against the Navi, striking him with a cannon of their own, and reflecting his counterattack back with a Guard shield.


----------Mafia Assault Group--------
Green/Brown Navi: 110HP [Fleeing with PolicyMan] [hold]
PolicyMan.EXE: 100HP [Stunned] [Seemingly unable to Log Out]
HeelNaviA: 120HP [Vulcan1 disabled] [Cannon]
HeelNaviB: 170HP [Sword] [Attacking MeleeMan]
HeelNaviC: EJO
HeelNaviD: EJO
HeelNaviE: EJO
HeelNaviF: EJO

----------NetPolice----------
MeleeMan.EXE: 355HP
Damascus.SP: 60HP

Djinni.EXE: 180HP [Invisibility Deactivating] [Decoy Destroyed]
Fhyre.SP: 70HP [Bubbler]
Szand.SP: 80HP [2-hit shield]

ThermalMan.EXE: 270HP [StoneBody]
IcicleMan.EXE: 450HP

----------Civilians----------
Shay.SP: 40HP
HeelNavi1: 100HP [Cannon]
HeelNavi2: 100HP [Guard1 expended]
Misc. Civilians: Varied HP [Under Attack]

MeleeMan guffawed heartily, feeling in his element as he dished out punishment and broke blades with just the muscles of his back. His fiery eyes, unhidden by their usual visor, shone brightly as his already cocky smile widened into a grin of bestial pleasure. "I'll hand it to you, that took some guts," he laughed, looking over his shoulder towards the foe that had broken a blade against his flesh. "You ruined my suit, though."

In a show of bravado, MeleeMan flexed both arms and roared; the cut in the back of his suit expanded until the whole jacket ripped in two. With a quick motion, he shrugged both torn halves off and loosened his tie. "Actually, thanks for that too. It was a little stuffy," the big navi joked. "I'll let my partner and her associates clean you up. I've got a criminal to punch some more."

Once again igniting his leg's boosters, MeleeMan disappeared in a burst of fire, then reappeared in front of his target with a surge of billowing smoke. "What's the hurry, huh? You gonna leave all your guys?" he taunted his enemy, raising his fists readily. Each fist began to glow red hot, just as they had been moments before; the heat he generated was unrelenting. "Why don't you go ahead and drop the VIP? They might dock my pay if I get your blood all over his suit."

Despite his words, MeleeMan wasn't waiting around to see if RootMan would do as he asked. With furious speed and surprising accuracy, MeleeMan swung his fists in an alternating pattern, trying to avoid PolicyMan's body while battering that of his opponent. He gritted his teeth and hunched forward, sticking his center of gravity towards the ground while unloading with all of the strength of his meaty arms.

Damascus, in the mean time, wasn't doing so much. "How embarrassing... I'd only just begun to taste their blood, yet already I must rest," she sighed, crossing her arms across the breast of her suit. "That genie has more power than I'd given her credit for... our other allies too. The smell of the enemy's spilling data is still strong in the air. This is what a battlefield should be like," she muttered to herself with an eerie smile.

"Hey, um... Keep your guard up, okay? I know you're busy with your monologue or whatever, but..." Rania interjected. She still had a difficult time dealing with the creepy attitude of her grandfather's former navi.

Nodding, Damascus prepared to move out of the way of enemy attacks; her ability to transform into various weapons could be handy for that purpose. MeleeMan, in the mean time, put no thought into his own defense. The giant navi only continued to hammer away with his ceaseless punches; his tie and cuffs shook like paper in the wind from the sheer momentum of his attacks. Damascus turned her eyes up towards Djinni; her face still held her spooky smirk. "Let's see more of it... that burning ability of yours," she encouraged her ally in a quiet whisper.

MeleeMan:

1) Areagrab in front of Green/Brown Navi to cut off escape [Teleport (Accuracy UP + Dodge)]
2) Firehit1 @ Green/Brown Navi [85 fire melee, A++ boosted accuracy + impact]
3) Firehit1 double attack @ Green/Brown Navi [85 fire melee, A++ boosted accuracy + impact]
4) Firehit1 @ Green/Brown Navi [85 fire melee, A++ boosted accuracy + impact]
*) Survivor's Code: Red Rage [30 strengthen to next action]
5) Firehit1 double attack @ Green/Brown Navi [115 fire melee, A++ boosted accuracy + impact]

Damascus:

1) Dodge
2) Dodge
*) Variable subtype Buff @ Djinni [20 buff]

It looked like MeleeMan had things under control, judging from the flames she could see in the distance. But as Djinni was about to enter the fight, she felt an ice cold chill go up her spine and immediately looked around with a scared expression. Eventually she noticed that Damascus was glaring at her and heard the whisper. "She is really scary," Djinni thought as she simply returned the stare, then tilted her head and grinned, "But that's simply her." The expression on her face relaxed to a smile and she whispered back, "You haven't seen anything yet."

With those words Djinni kicked off against the air and crossed her arms, letting herself fall towards one of the HeelNavis. Her image vanished from sight as she fell, a trail of warmth going as she teleported through space. Twice was the slash of a sharp weapon heard, which was shortly followed by Djinni's return to vision. And Djinni too.
Now standing behind the HeelNavi she had attempted to attack were two Djinnis side by side, each holding a shotgun in their hand. "No last wishes," they said at the same time and fired their weapons at the HeelNavi at point blank. Once the attacks had been executed both Djinnis turned to look at each other, smiled and then slid the shotgun in between her breasts from where it came from.

Back amongst the people, Szand had been looking at the HeelNavi not attacked by Djinni and gestured Fhyre towards him. "Grab hold of me," he whispered to her once she was close enough, which was met by one of Fhyre's three hands grabbing his entire core. While Fhyre dug her fingers into the ground for stability, Szand floated with speed at the HeelNavi.

"Hey fool!" he shouted at the target in order to get his attention, keeping his shield raised to catch any attack. Once he had reached his destination he slammed his empty hand onto the ground by the HeelNavi's feet to generate a field of sand. Once he raised the hand, he simply gestured a thumbs up towards Fhyre which immediately pulled him back towards her.

"I'm sending you 'that' chip, Djinni," Na'im said while keeping the Sandworm chip behind his fingers. But he could not take any chances and took another chip and slotted both into the PET.

Maybe it was because of Damascus' encouragement, but Djinni was hardly fazed by the chip suggestion of Na'im. She felt stronger than before and both Djinnis raised their hands into the air. Just as the megaphone and kunai, the worm popped out of Djinni's cleavage and throbbed with invigoration. Both Djinnis slammed their raised hand against the worm to take it out and immediately tossed it against the ground. The two worms dug themselves into the ground on impact, yet only one emerged from the ground behind the targetted HeelNavi. Mouth wide open, the worm did a jump for the HeelNavi.

But it was not over yet, as both Djinnis reached into their cleavage in order to reveal a bomb which made her breasts seem even bigger in comparison. Crossing paths, Djinni and her decoy changed their location while tossing the bomb in between them so the decoy's bomb and the real bomb would interlap in the air. With a spin and a turn, both Djinnis kicked the bomb through the air.

((+23 FXP for non-battle interaction between MeleeMan/Djinni, +6 FXP for non-battle interaction with IcycleMan/ThermalMan, and +2 FXP for non-battle interaction between Damascus/ThermalMan))

MeleeMan pressed his attack, boosting to the other side of the Green/Brown Navi just as a massive wooden spike surged up from the ground like a living pillar. However, MeleeMan was quite far from it, and wailed on the Navi's face with immolating fists. The Navi couldn't even curse MeleeMan before disappearing, his EJO function sparing him from deletion, and left PolicyMan sprawled out on the ground, still stunned.

Djinni and her SPs continued to engage the HeelNavis, a 1-2 melee/point blank shotgun combo left the enemy barely functioning thanks to his undershirt, but a single sharp sliver of ice through the HeelNavi's back caused him to finally EJO. The other Navi was in the process of being nommed by a sandworm as the ground beneath him erupted with a spray of sand and steam, right at the end of a line of furnace panels stemming from ThermalMan's hands, which were planted firmly into the ground. With that, the field was cleared of all enemies, and the battlefield finally went silent. The two HeelNavis in the crowd looked around before giving relieved sighs and slumping to the ground in exhaustion.

Still on the stage, Nell was watching the battle unfold, slightly cowering near the curtains. She looked pretty shaken up, and it seemed that lone cannon was the extent of her combat abilities.


Victory!
----------Mafia Assault Group--------
Green/Brown Navi: EJO
PolicyMan.EXE: 100HP [Stunned] [Seemingly unable to Log Out]
HeelNaviA: EJO
HeelNaviB: EJO
HeelNaviC: EJO
HeelNaviD: EJO
HeelNaviE: EJO
HeelNaviF: EJO

----------NetPolice----------
MeleeMan.EXE: 355HP Rewards: 500z, WoodTower2, 3FXP [All], +1 FXP w/Djinni for buffing, 44 bugfrags
Damascus.SP: 60HP

Djinni.EXE: 180HP Rewards: 1500z, 3FXP [All], +1 FXP w/MeleeMan for buff, 44 bugfrags
Fhyre.SP: 70HP [Bubbler]
Szand.SP: 80HP [2-hit shield] [30 Strengthen]

ThermalMan.EXE: 270HP
IcicleMan.EXE: 450HP

----------Civilians----------
Shay.SP: 40HP
HeelNavi1: 100HP
HeelNavi2: 100HP
Misc. Civilians: Varied HP

"Hahaha!" MeleeMan guffawed, giving a rare, genuine laugh. Confidently, he flexed both arms in the air, ignoring the VIP's unfortunate drop to the net floor. "Ended just like I knew it would! Seems like I'm pretty cut out for this business," he applauded himself. Turning around, he reminded himself that Djinni and the others had taken out like six armed Mafia guys themselves. "Oh, yeah. I guess she did pretty well too," he remarked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"A taste of blood was more than I'm used to, but it still ended so quickly," Damascus sighed, wishing there were more remnants to wipe up.

Effortlessly, MeleeMan reached down and scooped PolicyMan up. A generous person would probably have held him with both arms, but that was a little fruity, MeleeMan thought; instead, he opted to simply sling their VIP over one shoulders and carry him back over to Shay. "Hey, what are you so worked up about?" he asked her, raising one thick eyebrow. "Everything ended fine. Better than fine. Hell, I was awesome," he remarked, still not smiling and apparently meaning everything he said very seriously. "In the heat of battle, people make mistakes. That's what you did. Only way to not make them is to get comfortable in battle, like I am."

Setting the VIP down, MeleeMan's next course of action should probably have been to get in touch with IcicleMan and figure out what they had left to do. Instead, he moved over to where Djinni was floating, signalling for her to come down by swiping his hand. "All that fire and crap was yours, right?" he called out, still frowning critically. "I'll give you this: if you're gonna fly around and shoot things at people, that's gotta be thing to shoot at em. If the two of us weren't the expert fighters we were, this whole set would be on fire now," he chuckled, switching briefly to a smug smile and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Good job, you two," Djinni said as she approached the two HeelNavis who she had trouble with earlier, "To fight these guys we have to cooperate. I'm glad you two helped protecting the people." She smiled at them and made a short bow before turning towards her SP companions and talking to them after walking towards them. "You two as well. Good job on protecting the people," she said which was met with Fhyre jumping at Djinni. Fhyre's three 'arms' wrapped around Djinni in a hug while Djinni simply patted Fhyre's core. "With this prestation there's no way we won't enter the NetPolice now," Djinni reassured to Fhyre.

Having his hands crossed, Szand just glanced at the two and maintained his annoyed look. "So now you can protect people with 'my' power," he commented, "Good luck, cow." The last word was accompanied by Fhyre rubbing her core against Djinni's chest. Deciding to let the two alone, Szand floated towards Damascus and looked up at her. "You made a pretty strong attack back there. Good to have you on our side." He didn't have anything else to say as he still wasn't sure on what Damascus was thinking, not wanting to get on her bad side.

Djinni managed to wrestle out of Fhyre's grip as MeleeMan approached them and beckoned her over. With Fhyre following her, Djinni floated over towards MeleeMan and listened to him while thinking about what she knew of MeleeMan. He was definitely crude and enjoyed to fight, but with his participance in this mission she knew he was on the side of 'good'. Maybe she should use the male Navi's tone while talking to him in order to become friends. "Well, I had to shoot," Djinni said with a smile on her face, "Because if I had used my fists you would've faded into the background." She crossed her arms below her breasts, pushing them up slightly, and just continued to look at MeleeMan. But there was more, wasn't there?

Ripping her attention away from MeleeMan, she looked around in order to find IcicleMan which she promptly found and walked towards. "The enemies have been defeated and PolicyMan has been returned by MeleeMan, sir," Djinni said, debating whether she should have said she was the one to retrieve PolicyMan. But even she figured that IcicleMan wasn't completely blind.

As MeleeMan, Djinni, and their associated SPs relished their victory, IcicleMan made a beeline towards the fallen PolicyMan. He paused just briefly before he popped the small object from the Navi's chest, and somehow "held" onto it as he inspected the object. He raised his arm slightly, saying File for evidence, before it fragmented in his hands and was downloaded to a server under NP control.

Shay was close behind IcicleMan and tried to lift PolicyMan up as his motor functions started to return. He looked around and started to stand up himself, though the act was slightly wobbly.
Wha... what happened?

IcicleMan helped the Navi onto his feet, with Shay on his other side.
Unfortunately the NetMafia made their move, and attempted to kidnap you using a device that somehow disabled nearly all of your functions. However, the newest members of the NetPolice managed to halt their escape and neutralize the other Mafia navis that attacked.

ThermalMan slightly canted his head to the side in response to IcicleMan.
Really? You mean it?

IcicleMan turned around towards ThermalMan with a very rare grin on his face. As he mentioned the group, he turned and gestured towards them, giving everyone due honors.
Considering Djinni, her SPs, Damascus, and yourself selflessly put yourselves in harm's way to protect civilians under fire, and MeleeMan stopped PolicyMan's kidnapping single-handedly; I have no doubt the brass will accept your applications.

PolicyMan seemed overjoyed at the news, and was about to give them all very hearty handshakes, but his body shuddered as the amount of fatigue applied to him through the device seemed to take effect all at once. He staggered a bit, still held up by Shay, though his smile continued to beam at the group.
If you... all are getting this kind of acclaim from Officer IcicleMan, I would be more than happy to throw my recommendation in as well. Well... once I rest a bit, haha...

ThermalMan pumped his fist in celebration, this was the break he was looking for, ever since getting let go by the heating company that hired him since his creation, he was looking for something to do. Maybe the NetPolice would be steady enough to keep him busy, therefore happy.

Though I'd love to stay and help you all celebrate, I think I need to recoup a bit. Oh, will you need me for any statements or anything?
PolicyMan looked over at IcicleMan, still partially supported by the unsurprisingly quiet Shay.

Sir, I won't bother you with questions as of right now, get some rest and we'll set up a time to file a full report. I would prefer it be soon though, I have several questions to ask you.
I see, I'll clear... up my schedule tomorrow and will meet you whenever you'd like.
I appreciate it.

PolicyMan laughed as he held Shay with one arm.
Haha, not as much as us. We owe you one!

Shay blushed as she turned her head the other direction, facing back behind PolicyMan, almost like a shy child. As the pair started to log out, though unseen by the others, Shay's slightly flushed face changed expression from a faint smile to an incredibly bitter glare...

With the VIPs successfully logged out, IcicleMan turned to the group.
I'll be asking for a forensics team to come in and try to understand how this attack played out, and possibly find out who was directing this assault. I would have liked to question RootMan personally, but we can't get everything. You six are dismissed. And you two...

IcicleMan's eyes moved over to the right, where the pair of HeelNavis were in the process of slinking away. They stopped and turned groggily, fearing the worst.
I appreciate what you two have done, and it will not go unnoticed. If you ever want to wear the badge, come talk to me and I'll see what I can do.

The pair looked at eachother before turning back to IcicleMan and nodding sheepishly before resuming their retreat. They weren't so much ashamed of the chivalrous act they made as they were fearful of the very powerful programs that squashed a Mafia assault in what seemed to be the blink of an eye.

"Yes, I'm happy to be on your side. On the other hand, blood tastes pretty much the same whether it's from a friend or a foe," she responded, giving Szand another rare smile that just came off as incredibly unnerving. "Your techniques are useful, however. With that being the case, you're more to me than another frame to draw blood from. You ought to be pleased," she finished, regaining her frown and heading back towards MeleeMan.

MeleeMan, in the mean time, was trying to decide what to make of Djinni's words. "Uh, yeah, I guess I'll admit: if it was you swinging your upper body to punch things versus me, I'd probably be looking at you too," he replied, unable to avoid staring at her chest again as it rose impressively with the additional foundation of her arms. "Anyways, we're Justice navis now, so be sure to put those to a good use. Er, your fists, that is," he finished, shaking his head to try to free his eyes from the hypnotizing sight of her boobs.

"Master, are you finished? I was thinking we might leave. The smell of blood has begun to fade from this place; it has lost its allure," Damascus asked MeleeMan, alarming him as she slipped up behind him.

"Dammit, woman, I almost impaled myself on you," the navi shuddered, stepping away from her. "If anyone's impaling anyone around here, it's gonna be... you know what, nevermind. I think this getup's cutting off the circulation to my brain," he grumbled, forgetting that he wasn't wearing his jacket and his tie was even loosened. "It was good working with you though, Djinni; I mean that. You too, two guys." MeleeMan crossed his arms, giving a nod to IcicleMan and ThermalMan while ignoring the HeelNavis. "I guess guys that fight like you all will be okay to work with."

"A happy ending, huh, MeleeMan?" Rania finished with a grin, happy that her navi had completed his task with only minimal screw-ups.

"Yeah, guess so," he snuffed, smirking and closing his eyes. "And you, politician; tell whatsherface to toughen up. She didn't seem to have heard me earlier," he repeated, as if the sentiment had great importance. With that, he and his SP disappeared in a burst of flames.

((Moving to Recruitment Kiosk))

Djinni continued to look at MeleeMan as they stood across each other, until he turned away from her. She and Fhyre looked at MeleeMan's and Damascus' antics until they vanished from the network. "Well, that was quite an adventure," Djinni mentioned once they had left.

"Adventure?" Szand said as he floated over to his mistress, "If adventure is confined to one area, then sure. Have it your way. But really... We should just get out now. We're done." He pointed upwards and floated to Djinni's side, then turned his core to look at where he had been talking with Damascus. "...What a freak," he commented, then nodded at Djinni.

She nodded back and grabbed Fhyre's hand who had been besides her all this time. Djinni then grabbed Szand's hand and threw both of them at the same time into the air. Kicking off against the floor and flying behind them, they faded out and were logged out of the network.