Another Introduction to Counterinfectualism

Nitro, consumed with rage, unleashed hell upon Cerberus. A barrage of glowing explosives flew through the air, falling all around the armored Navi before exploding. Cerberus was caught in the blast, his body ripped apart until nothing was left. When the smoke cleared, Cerberus was no more.

Nitro tossed a healing grenade toward TNT, restoring her lost vitality. It looked like things were over. The companions had prevailed.

Arrows crafted from shadow sailed toward TNT. The program managed to dodge the first two attacks, but the third pierced through her leg and pinned her in place. Cerberus appeared behind her, a massive obsidian sword in hand. He slashed down, cleaving TNT in twain. Cerberus had somehow dodged Nitro's barrage, leaving a decoy to take the brunt of the attack.

Cerberus attacked a second time, the massive sword smashing through Nitro's defenses and sending the Navi crashing against the rock wall. Nitro, critically injured, slid into the lava once more. Exorcist hurled a bone through the air, aiming straight for Cerberus' skull. The armored Navi managed to dodge and charged toward his remaining opponent.

Exorcist met his head on, katana held tightly within her grasp. She managed to dodge the massive sword and delivered two quick strikes of her own. Her blade bit deep into Cerberus' armor, drawing twin crimson lines. Cerberus unleashed a low growl from between clinched teeth. He blocked Exorcist's next slash with his sword and countered with a devastating jab. The girl was sent flying through the air to land just inches from the lava.

"Ha..." Cerberus panted. "It is done. You are no match for me. No one is. I shall slay him...Slay them all."

A low whistle signaled the returning bone as it finished its curving route around the chamber. Cerberus had no time to dodge as the ivory bone smashed against his skull. He dropped to his knees, dazed and drained.

"No...How can this be? Damn it. DAMN IT ALL!"

Flames erupted from beneath the Navi, a jet black inferno that washed over his armor. The Navi vanished with the flames, leaving his two opponents alone.

The sacks hanging from the ceiling swayed slightly before falling to the platform below. Without Cerberus, the black tar was degrading quickly. Inside each sack was a Navi now freed from their capture.

"Thank you," one of the Navi coughed out. "Thank you so much."

A loud crack echoed through the room. Cerberus' throne began to splinter apart before collapsing in on itself. Inside the throne was a cache of zenny and battlechips.


Cerberus.Exe: Defeated

Nitro.EXE: 1 HP
Exorcist.EXE: 3 HP
TNT.SP: DELETED!
Bhikkhuni.SP: DELETED!
Mary.SP: DELETED!

Terrain: 30% Solar, 30% Cracked with 40% Lava surrounding

Objects:
Throne: Smashed

Victory!

Rewards:
Nitro - Lava Ball, 600z
Exorcist - Firesword, 300z

FXP - 5

((There was no jack-out barrier, by the way))

Nitro was simmering with rage as he pulled himself out of the lava and back onto the platform. Not only did Cerberus humiliate him by leaving the decoy to take his attack, but he ended up defeating TNT in the process. Cerberus was already gone by the time he got to his feet, and he saw the throne crumble, revealing the loot. He walked over to the crumbled throne, stepping around the various Navis that had fallen from the cieling. He picked up the spoils, then walked back over to Exorcist, handing over her share of the spoils.

Nitro looked at all the Navis laying about. "What should we do about these guys?" He asked, to nobody in particular. "You think they'll be alright by themselves?"

"I dunno," Chris replied, watching Tina return to the PET, not looking like she was in the best shape. "But I don't think we should be sticking around much longer. You guys need a chance to recover, and I'm sure Burt's group does as well."

"Alright, I'm feeling like hell anyway," Nitro said. He looked around at his surroundings, and added quickly "No pun intended." He turned to Exorcist, and gave a small smile. "Alright so I think we've done enough damage around here. Thanks for teaching us about Counterinfectualism and stuff. I don't think I'm ready to make any commitments to it just yet, but know that you've all got a friend in me, Chris, and TNT." Nitro took a few steps backward, and waved. "Hope to see you all again sometime!"

With that, Nitro disappeared in a flash of green light.

-NITRO JACK-OUT-

Exorcist felt much less tense now that the battle had finally concluded and the captured navis seemed to be alive. The last loose end was whether or not Bhikkhuni and Mary were okay...

Her fears were alleviated as Burt gave a sigh of relief, which was more like the long exhalation of a held breath. "Pheeeew! Letting two borrowed navis die in the name of Counterinfectualism while in weakened SP forms might have been a little more than our religion could handle at the moment, Exorcist," he panted, unintentionally sounding as though he was placing the blame on his navi.

The navi wasn't terribly upset; after all, they'd helped a lot of people and possibly weakened the demon that was, or otherwise was controlling, Cerberus. What more could a Counterinfectualist ask for? As she thought to Nitro's parting words, she covered her bra self-consciously and blushed. In the heat of battle, she hadn't given a thought to her appearance.

Even if the navi hadn't committed to her religion, gathering friends might be just as important. She could use all of the allies she could get; after all, most navis contributed to Counterinfectualism without even realizing it.

"Alright, let's get you out of there! I've come to a decision that we're going to need to talk about in depth," Burt informed his navi. Exorcist was confused, wondering whether it would be something annoying like "after this battle, I've concluded that fighting is too dangerous and I want all of you to stay out of it." Still, she nodded and left the net.

((Jacking out))