Another Introduction to Counterinfectualism

Upon being ordered to actually do something, Bhikkhuni eagerly ran forward and pressed her staff to the ground, covering the battlefield in appropriate colors like green and brown. The grass sprang up under the Navis while the soil appeared under the viruses. Capitalizing on the situation, Exorcist quickly tossed a burning talisman at the shield viruses that exploded violently on contact. The blast managed to spread in a wide radius, hitting the viruses behind the shields for full damage. The RollingLogs that followed barreled toward the Magneakers and crushed them thoroughly before the viruses could even attack. Soon after, a MiniBomb sailed through the air courtesy of Nitro. The bomb impacted on the IronShield's fortified front and exploded, catching the weakened Swordy viruses yet again and finishing them off. The bomb also managed to penetrate the viruses' shields, leaving them damaged significantly. Nitro's Heatshot also made contact, but failed to damage the viruses behind their shields.

Facing this absolute barrage of attacks, the IronShields wisely decided to remain under cover while their adversaries remained wary of attack.

Swordy-W A: DELETED
Swordy-W B: DELETED
Swordy-W C: DELETED
IronShieldA: 60HP (Shield raised) (Soil)
IronShieldB: 70HP (Shield raised) (Soil)
IronShieldC: 60HP (Shield raised) (Soil)
MagneakerA: DELETED
MagneakerB: DELETED

Terrain:
40% Grass (Navis' area)
35% Soil (Viruses' area)
25% Normal (Everywhere else)

Allies:
Nitro.EXE: 160 HP (Grass)
Exorcist.EXE: 120 HP (Grass)
TNT.SP: 55 HP (Grass)
Bhikkhuni.SP: 40 HP (Grass)
Mary.SP: 40 HP (Grass)
"It's super effective!" Exorcist gasped, happy that their attacks had worked to such great effect. The ironshields were still standing, but then again, they were carrying big shields. Surviving was sort of their whole point.

"Now you understand the power of Buddhism, right?" Bhikkhuni asked, keeping her chest puffed out and casting a cool glance towards her busting partners.

Exorcist laughed nervously and pressed her fingers together. "Now now, Bhikkhuni, shouldn't you render a victory or two to Counterinfectualism?" she asked sheepishly. "At any rate, let's try to finish them off. Burt, if you would, please send me the cornshot once again. That should be a good tool to pick off most of the remaining opponents."

"Sure thing, my delicious disciple," Burt replied, slotting through the chip quickly.

Receiving the data with an awkward smile, she turned back to the enemies and prepared another handful of talismans. She charged them up with chi, then quickly released them upon the winds towards her enemies. The wind would continue to guide them around, hopefully striking multiple foes.

"Hrm. If there's wind to let those flutter around, why is there not enough to let me see an upskirt? Laaaame," Burt groaned, leaning back into his seat.

As they watched the talismans float off, Exorcist and her SPs remained prepared to dodge enemy attacks.

Exorcist
1) Cornshot2 @ Ironshield A [70 wood shot, A accuracy + trick shot spread]
2) Dodge
3) Dodge
4) Dodge

Bhikkhuni
1) Dodge
2) Dodge

Mary
1) Dodge
2) Dodge
"Heh, this is turning out a lot easier than expected," Nitro said, seeing how effectively his bomb had managed to bypass the Ironshield's defenses.

"Don't get too cocky now, Nitro," Chris said. "Sooner or later, we'll have to start using our A game."

"You're probably right," Nitro said. "But for now, let's just take it easy. Send me the Crossbomb, we should be able to finish these guys off in no time."

Chris sent his partner the requested chip, and Nitro repeated his earlier actions, tossing the Crossbomb toward the shielded viruses. This time, however, he supplemented this attack with one from his personal arsenal; he lobbed the Molotov Cocktail at the centermost virus. Their shields wouldn't do much good against molten terrain, and Nitro figured that the red hot lava would pick off any survivors of his and Exorsist's barrage.

Chris, meanwhile, decided to attempt to strike up a conversation with Burt.

"So, you teach here, right?" Chris said. "What are the facilities like here, what really sets your school apart? I might as well ask, because my parents'd probably be pretty steamed if I came out here just to bust."


Summary:
N1: Crossbomb at IronshieldB (+A&C) (50dmg + Blast4 + Break)(Mass Destruction activated)(Smash activated)
N2: Molotov Cocktail at IronshieldB (50Fire + Large Area Lava Zone Terrain Change)(3TCD)
N3: Dodge
N4: Dodge
T1: Dodge

Cooldowns:
Molotov Cocktail: UTT
Fearing an attack, one of the IronShields raised its barrier to scope out its adversaries. This turned out to be the last thing it would do as several talismans buried themselves in its vulnerable sections. The attack bounced and headed for another virus as Nitro chucked a pair of explosives at them. When the smoke cleared, there was lots of lava and nothing else.

Swordy-W A: DELETED
Swordy-W B: DELETED
Swordy-W C: DELETED
IronShieldA: DELETED
IronShieldB: DELETED
IronShieldC: DELETED
MagneakerA: DELETED
MagneakerB: DELETED

Terrain:
40% Grass (Navis' area)
35% Lava (Viruses' area)
25% Normal (Everywhere else)

TEAM BATTLE 2 COMPLETE!

Allies:
Nitro.EXE: 160 HP (Grass)
Exorcist.EXE: 120 HP (Grass)
TNT.SP: 55 HP (Grass)
Bhikkhuni.SP: 40 HP (Grass)
Mary.SP: 40 HP (Grass)

Rewards:
Nitro: 970z, 38 BugFrags, 2 FXP
Bhikkhuni Exorcist: BambooKnife, 840z, 38 BugFrags, 2 FXP
"There we go! Counterinfectualism's easy if you have companions," Exorcist giggled, pressing her hands together excitedly. Her happiness was actually quite genuine; for one who sees virus busting as their life's work, the expedient death of viruses could be surprisingly invigorating.

Meanwhile, Burt collected the spoils and looked to Chris, feeling only half-interested. "What's that? Oh, uh... what, like the school's selling points? I can only tell you what's on the brochure really," he yawned, failing to cover his mouth as he crossed both arms behind his head. "Our students get access to our gym during enrollment, we offer a wide variety of courses, sorta like pioneers when it comes to net-based courses. Honestly, the only thing I pay a lot of attention to is our programs related to religion... and what I have to because other teachers tell me I do."

Burt certainly wasn't the right person to ask about this, it seemed. "But hey, this college is in a good area, riiight? It's full of pretty girls, 1st years up to seniors! If it weren't for teacher codes of conduct, I'd probably shmooze in on one," he laughed, although those codes weren't really stopping him so much as the lack of either an attractive personality or good hygiene. "I mean, why wouldn't you want to go here? It's a swell place."

In the mean time, Exorcist reflected over the past two battles. The experience had been fairly carefree, especially in comparison to the past two mission scenarios she'd endured. "Mmm... You know, I haven't mentioned this yet, but the Counterinfectualist teachings also relate an enemy's power to the evil that formed him. Several evil spirits sometimes conglomerate to form greater evils. The Undernet, for instance, is something like a hub for all of these spirits to gather. I just thought I'd explain, in case you were thinking, 'Boy, Counterinfectualists sure have it easy, doing this all day.'"

"Wait, what? The Undernet? Don't even talk about going into that place! I dunno about spirits, but there's definitely some evil stuff in there that you don't want to mess with!" Bhikkhuni exclaimed, shaking in such a way as to cause an annoying clatter from her shakujo.

With a smile, Mary dismissed the issue. "Don't worry, I'm sure that Counterinfectualism's star pupil is wise enough to avoid such a dangerous area until she's well prepared for it," she dismissed her fellow SP. "You two would do well to remember the threat that area poses as well. Facing it one day may be necessary, but there's plenty of time to ready yourself."

"Very true! Let's press on with these future goals in mind," Exorcist finished, feeling very seriously in tune with her religion despite her silly outfit. With that, the group pressed on further into the net.

((Ready for battle 3))
It was hard for Chris not to grin at Burt's comment about the student body's student bodies. "Heh, well, that does sound mighty tempting," Chris said. "Plus, I don't think I know of any schools that have such a good reputation." This was true; Chris didn't know anything about any other schools. "Eh, I'll probably grab a brochure on my way out of here."

Nitro, meanwhile, had decided to scoop up their share of the spoils. His interest was piqued as the conversation turned to the Undernet. "You know, I've always wanted to take a crack at the Undernet," he said.

"I don't think we're quite strong enough to attempt something like that," Tina said. "As Bhikkhuni said, there are definitely some evil things lurking down there."

"Yeah, but think of all the rare chips and data just sitting down there, waiting for some Navi to scoop it up," Nitro said. "It's definitely one of those risk vs. reward scenarios. If we want to be the best there is, we'll have to take it on sooner or later." Nitro took a look around. "But that's a long way away," he admitted. He gave out a sigh. "Oh well, let's try and find some more viruses. All this talk is starting to get boring."

[Ready for Battle 3]
Once the Navis and SPs finished talking, they continued on through the university network. Soon, they came across a dilapidated resting area covered with glass panels over a very large space. Some of the panels had been smashed, but the remaining glass looked sound enough. Further on near the center of the court, a cluster of viruses were investigating the abandoned area. They noticed the Navis and SPs approaching from afar and dropped their admiration of the glass panels to focus their attention on Nitro and Exorcist.

CatackA: 120HP (Glass)
CatackB: 120HP (Glass)
HoneyBomberA: 110HP (Glass)
HoneyBomberB: 110HP (Glass)
HoneyBomberC: 110HP (Glass)
FishyA: 90HP (Glass)
FishyB: 90HP (Glass)
PiranhaA: 60HP (Glass)
PiranhaB: 60HP (Glass)

Terrain:
80% Glass (center area)
10% Broken (center of Glass)
10% Normal (border of Glass)

Allies:
Nitro.EXE: 160 HP (Glass, near edge)
Exorcist.EXE: 120 HP (Glass, near edge)
TNT.SP: 55 HP (Glass, near edge)
Bhikkhuni.SP: 40 HP (Glass, near edge)
Mary.SP: 40 HP (Glass, near edge)

TEAM BATTLE 3 START!
"Blech! This battlefield looks pretty junky," Bhikkhuni pointed out as the group stumbled upon more viruses. "How about I spruce it up with THE POWER OF BUDDHISM?" she offered, raising her shakujo into the air and waving it back and forth.

"Is the power of Buddhism really something that you summon to make plants grow? I don't know that I'd ever heard of that before," Exorcist asked, tilting her head. "At any rate, it ought to be helpful. Burt, send me some boomerangs and a yo-yo if you would. We'll do a lot of damage in a quick attack!"

"Oh, right. Brochures are a good idea. They always pick the prettiest girls to go on those and there's good diversity too. They care about that kind of stuff," Burt laughed in response to Chris as he slotted through the chips. "Hey, you know, what's a kid like you care about in a school anyways? You busy in any kind of special organizations?" the teacher asked, raising his eyebrows. Ordinarily, he wouldn't give even half a damn, but he was happy to see that Chris at least had a little interest in girls to relate the two.

Focusing on the battle, Exorcist quickly folded two sheets of paper, marked each properly with her calligraphy, then pressed them into the index and middle finger of her right and left hands. "Here goes!" she cried out, slinging the two large, folded paper talismans towards her enemies. The talismans spun rapidly as they approached their targets in wide arcs.

Next, Exorcist created a candle and another bunch of talismans. She knelt down, very carefully stopping to make sure her short skirt wasn't revealing anything she wouldn't want to, then held the talismans into a wheel. Knitting her eyebrows and steadying her hand, Exorcist held the circle of paper into the flame, then quickly stood and flung it towards the hovering bird viruses.

"My, that's quite an elaborate set-up you seem to have, Exorcist," Mary called out to her master. Bhikkhuni and she had little to do besides focusing on their own safety, so they were staying out of the way.

"Oh, hehe... Not really, it's all getting kind of routine now," she laughed in response, then turned to see what her ally was getting up to. "Sorry if all of this terraforming's kind of confusing!"

Exorcist
*) Let Bhikkhuni use Nirvana Ground Wave
1) Boomerang1 @ Catack group [70 wood + Group Attack (Arc), B accuracy]
2) Boomerang1 @ HoneyBomber group [70 wood + Group Attack (Arc), B accuracy]
3) Pious Candle [Folder Resistance + Imbue Fire to next attack, 2 TCD]
4) Yo-Yo1 to Fishy group [40 x 2-3 + Slashing Fire, C accuracy, frontal shield, dodge success down]

Bhikkhuni
1) Nirvana Ground Wave [Large area grass around center+ large area soil centered under HoneyBombers]
2) Dodge

Mary
1) Dodge
2) Dodge
"Special organizations?" Chris repeated. He hadn't really expected the situation to arise, but he suddenly remembered the questionable organization he, Nitro, and Tina were a part of. He didn't know if he could trust Burt with that sort of information, so he figured he'd try to figure out if he was sided with anyone before he disclosed that tidbit of information. If he was lucky, he might even be able to gain a new ally for the Mafia. "Not really, just a part time job, with some busting on the side for money, and I do a bit of recreational coding. I'm head of my school's Gaming Club too." Chris said this last part with a hint of pride. "People don't seem to like me very much for that, though. They think it's "unfair" that I turn the people that only play the latest over-advertised shooter or guitar game away."
Chris thought for a moment, then figured out how he might be able to subtley figure out whether Burt was trustworthy or not. "Hey, I'm doing a paper for my... World Studies class, and I figured I might as well ask you; where do you stand on the whole NetPolice/NetMafia scenario?"

As Chris did his detective work, Nitro and Tina were focused on the new viruses that they had happened upon. "Well, looks like things are finally starting to get interesting here," Nitro said. He watched as Bhikkhuni transformed the terrain into a healthy patch of grass, then set to work on a plan of attack. He motioned for Tina to come over, and as Exorsist assaulted the viruses, he, Tina, and Chris began strategizing. As Exorsist wrapped up her attack, Nitro and Tina simultaniously clapped and shouted "Break!", as if they were a football team. The similarities didn't stop there, as Tina crouched, and Nitro took position behind her.
Chris slotted in a few chips, and Nitro transfered it to Tina. She almost immediately charged forward and attempted to ram into the viruses with ther shoulder. Nitro then recieved a Sword, and he charged forward in Tina's wake. He attempted to slash the Piranhas as he returned to Tina's side.


Summary:
(Wait for Exorsist to finish)
N1: Transfer DashAttack to TNT
T1: DashAttack at Catack group and Fishy group (90Dmg + Impact + LineAttack(5)
N2: Follow TNT (Movement)
N3: Sword at PiranhaA (80Dmg + Slashing)
N4: Sword at PiranhaB (80Dmg + Slashing)
Letting Bhikkhuni spruce up the battlefield a bit, Exorcist started up the battle by having two talismans slice through the opposition, having positive results all around. Then, she set up a candle to make a burning one, then proceeded to throw that in too. It didn't really have much of an effect, sadly, as the Fishy proceeded to move out of the way. In any case, the Catacks started to roll forward, then blasted a good area with their cannons. They didn't hit many things, except Tina, who had managed to dash into one of the explosions. (20) Speaking of which, the SP managed to dash past... quite a few of the enemies, only managing to hit one Fishy to delete it. Nitro didn't have much success in pegging the Piranhas either; rather, they shot at him with quite a fair bit of accuracy. (5x4x2Aqua) The remaining Fishy dashed at Exorcist's SPs, but were foiled by the group's fast footwork.

CatackA: 50HP (Grass)
CatackB: 50HP (Grass)
HoneyBomberA: 110HP (Soil)
HoneyBomberB: DELETED
HoneyBomberC: DELETED
FishyA: DELETED
FishyB: 10HP (Grass)
PiranhaA: 60HP (Grass)
PiranhaB: 60HP (Grass)

Terrain:
50% Grass (Around middle)
50% Soil (Middle)

Allies:
Nitro.EXE: 120 HP (Grass, near edge)
Exorcist.EXE: 120 HP (Grass, near edge)
TNT.SP: 35 HP (Grass, near edge)
Bhikkhuni.SP: 40 HP (Grass, near edge)
Mary.SP: 40 HP (Grass, near edge)
((Sorry that took so long, I just knocked down my first final exam))

"Oh no, Nitro and Tina are both hit!" Exorcist called out. Nodding in acknowledgment, Mary reached into the belt at her hips and brought up a vial of clear water.

"This is holy water! Let it revitalize you!" Mary called out. She listened for the subtle sounds of Nitro's feet moving across the grass, then uncorked the bottle and threw the bottle through the air, covering Nitro in its contents. While it might be sort of annoying to be baptized mid-battle and it would probably not sit well with a fire-based navi to be covered with water, the baptism would have a healing effect. Once she was done, she decided to devote the rest of her energy to avoiding enemy attacks.

Bhikkhuni was just happy she still hadn't been hit. "The power of Buddhism doesn't end there. Behold! BUDDHIST BLAAAAST!" she cried out, pointing her shakujo at the remaining Fishy and circling its tip, creating a low ringing. A green beam shot out towards the virus... A tiny, weak, relatively insignificant looking beam.

Exorcist watched, keeping her hand pressed over her mouth with a blank expression. "That was... Was that the Buddhist Blast?" she asked, not seeming to understand.

"Sh-Shut up! I just got the motion wrong, that's it!" Bhikkhuni bawled, nursing her pride as she ran around to evade enemy attacks.

The navi returned her focus to the battle, creating a talisman and looking at the two Piranhas. She realized it had been somewhat callous of her to leave two aqua related viruses to her fire-elemental ally's attacks. To make up for it, she resolutely lit ablaze her talisman and focused her gaze on the enemies. "Begone, evil creatures!" she called out, releasing a fiery projectile towards her opponents.

Her next priority was the HoneyBomber. She'd fought them before and didn't want to risk one getting hit by a stray explosion; in her previous battles, she'd learned they were troublesome unless finished in one blow. Channeling chi into her swordhands, she formed a glowing green blade like a sheath over her two outstretched fingers and closed in, moving quickly across the grass and soil.

Wasting no words, she thrust her hand quickly towards the hive, then rotated her hand at her wrist and brought it across in another quick slash. She accompanied that movement with a flourish that would hopefully put her out of the way of enemy attacks.

In the mean time, Burt stroked his chin and thought about what Chris had told him. "Gaming club, huh? Well, there are types of games I like! Have you tried that one with the 3D-" he started to ask, then realized that he was getting off track. Chris had asked him something else already and he'd yet to answer. "Oh, Netpolice and Netmafia? Well, Counterinfectualism doesn't take stances towards government regulation or anything lame like that. To a Counterinfectualist like myself, whoever could provide me the greatest aid in ridding the net of infections would be the one that I supported," he explained.

"If I had to pick one, I'd take the Mafia. They don't have all the troublesome moral codes that the NP does, do they? Those types of things would really weigh me down," he sighed. "It's kinda weird, isn't it? I mean, that people can openly become mafioso now. I guess it's just a lifestyle thing. Besides that, I hear they're both stacked in hot girls, but the mafia's chock full of em, riiight? Do you know about any spicy mafia girls?" he asked, elbowing Chris and fully expecting the student to have an interest in digital women just like he himself did.

Exorcist
1) Heatshot1 @ Piranha group [40 fire shot, A accuracy + spread 1]
2) Movement toward HoneyBomber
3) Woodknife @ HoneyBomberA [60 wood melee, B accuracy + slashing]
4) Woodknife @ HoneyBomberA [60 wood melee, B accuracy + slashing]
*) Sword Subtype: Swordplay [Dodge]

Bhikkhuni
1) Regular Attack @ FishyB [10 damage shot attack]
2) Dodge

Mary
1) Baptism of Faith @ Nitro [60 heal, 2 TCD]
2) Dodge
Nitro felt the sting of the Piranhas' attacks, but he shrugged it off without much concern. "Nasty little buggers," Nitro said, moving on the spot as he tried to locate them. "I can deal with them easily eno-" He stopped as he was suddenly drenched in cold water, leaping in surprise. "Jeez!" Nitro shouted. His head whipped around as he looked for the source of the soaking. His eyes fell onto Mary, and he gave a small smile. "Uhh, thanks, Mary," Nitro said, feeling the holy water sooth the spots where the Piranhas had struck him. "Just be sure to give me a bit of warning before you go and do that in the future."

As this went on, Tina gave a short chuckle, despite her injuries from the Katanks. "Nitro!" She called over to him. He looked over to his SP, and she continued. "I think it's time we used that new attack."

"Right!" Nitro said. He gave a short look around, deciding on a suitable target. "Okay... there!" He said, pointing to the Honeybomber. "Let's get that one!"

"Alright," She said. At these words, a large, green and red cylinder appeared in front of her. Nitro quickly ran over and lept into it. Grabbing on to a pair of protrusions sticking out of the cylinder, she hefted the hulking device onto her shoulder, and, with some effort, she turned to face the Honeybomber. "Are you ready, Nitro?" She asked her partner.

"Fire at will!" Came Nitro's voice from within the giant weapon. Tina squeezed the trigger. A large eruption of flame and smoke spewed from the back and quickly encircled the SP, while the Navi soared out of the front at blinding speed. It was hard for Nitro to tell where he was going, but he eventually hit something solid. He fell to the ground, and quickly collected himself, clutching his head.


Summary:
N*: Recieve Baptism of Faith from Mary
N1+T1: Green Missle (Nitro: 80DMG+Microburst at HoneyBomberA, 3TCD)(TNT: 25Fire+Nova2 (X2 Terrain Bonus) at Kabutank Group, 2TCD)
-TURN SPLICE-

Cooldowns:
Green Missle: N:UTT, T:UTT
Starting off with some support, Mary skillfully aided her flaming ally by pouring water all over him. It still managed to help fortunately, and in seconds Nitro was functioning in peak condition. Meanwhile, Exorcist watched somewhat underwhelmed as Bhikkhuni shot a thin green beam at the weakened Fishy and deleted it. Somehow.

Next, Exorcist sent a flaming talisman at the viruses that injured her partner and incinerated both in conjunction with the grass terrain. She followed it up by charging at the last HoneyBomber with an earthy knife, landing her first strike before dodging out of the way due to the virus's immediate application of angry bees in her direction. She managed to avoid them as Nitro came flying through and smacked into the HoneyBomber, deleting it while more flames seared the Catacks to deletion thanks to the grass terrain once again.

CatackA: DELETED
CatackB: DELETED
HoneyBomberA: DELETED
HoneyBomberB: DELETED
HoneyBomberC: DELETED
FishyA: DELETED
FishyB: DELETED
PiranhaA: DELETED
PiranhaB: DELETED

Terrain:
45% Grass (Around middle)
50% Soil (Middle)
5% Soil (Burn'd)

TEAM BATTLE 3 COMPLETE!

Allies:
Nitro.EXE: 160 HP (Grass, near edge)
Exorcist.EXE: 120 HP (Grass, near edge)
TNT.SP: 35 HP (Grass, near edge)
Bhikkhuni.SP: 40 HP (Grass, near edge)
Mary.SP: 40 HP (Grass, near edge)

Rewards:
Exorcist: DashAttack, 960z, 46 BugFrags, 3 FXP
Nitro: 1080z, 46 BugFrags, 3 FXP
Nitro gave his head a shake as he recovered from his earlier attack. Still somewhat dizzy, he looked around the battlefield, seeing his friends but none of the viruses. "Did we win?" He asked, with a slight slur. Tina gave a small smile as she watched Nitro in his disoriented stupor.

"I think we'll reserve that attack for more pressing occasions," Tina said. "Using it repeatedley without breaks might give you a slight case of severe head trauma."

"I can live with that," Nitro said, giving his head one last shake. He turned to his other partners as Tina collected their share of the spoils. "Thanks for the help," Nitro said. "You all have got some serious talent when it comes to busting." He shrugged. "I guess that should be expected when you're part of a religion revolving around it. Have you ever considered checking out that recruitment kiosk in the Square?"

Meanwhile, Chris continued his conversation with Burt. "Yeah, I know what you mean about the moral codes. Like, I know the NP mean well by what they do, but it can really put a damper on a guy's ambitions. I'm more of a Mafia man myself." He considered Burt's next question, unsurprisingly going back to the subject of girls. "Yeah, I guess you could say that," Chris said. "Nitro and I have worked with some definite hotties. But there's some crazy ones out there too. Word of advice; if you ever run into anyone saying their from the ROT, stay away from them. They've got this crazy plan to weed out all the "weak" Navis from the Net and leave only the "strong", I.E. the people that are as nuts as they are. Plus I'm pretty sure they're all really into bondage and S&M and all that kinky stuff. At least the ones I've met gave that impression." Chris looked at his PET and saw the rewards pile in. "Not a bad haul..." He then took a look at the Bugfrags they had collected. "Hey, guys, hold on a second," he said to Nitro and Tina. "I want to try something here." He then began sifting through the bits of data, as Nitro and Tina waited.

Nitro and Tina stood in the Net waiting for their operator to finish whatever it was he was doing. Suddenly, Tina felt a rush of strength run through her, which slowly disappated, but left her feeling more powerful than before. "There," Chris said. "Now you should be able to move a bit faster, Tina. Your attacks should pack a little more punch as well."

"That's great!" Tina said. "Now we can bust much more efficiently! Come on, Nitro, we have viruses to take care of!" Tina walked off with a sense of vigor, as Nitro simply watched.

"Wow, she seems to be in a good mood," he said. He then began following his partner, ready for their next challenge.

[Ready for Battle 4]
"That's not a bad idea at all, Nitro!" Exorcist responded, excited about the idea of advertising at the recruitment kiosk. "I'd love to hold information sessions at the kiosk and allow people to join the cause of Counterinfectualism. They won't let just anyone promote their organizations there, though. We'd need more clout or at least reputation first, I'd imagine," she muttered, pressing her hands together thoughtfully at her lap.

Mary and Bhikkhuni walked along at her side as the group progressed further into the net. "They share such a nice relationship," Mary smiled, pressing one hand to her cheek thoughtfully as she regarded Nitro and TNT's supposed affection for each other.

The other SP raised her eyebrow. "Sorta like 'bad friends,' right? Like a girl and a guy that act up towards each other but actually like each other? Hmmmm, I guess they are sort of like that," she responded in a whisper, nodding her head astutely. The two SPs sort of looked like gossiping old ladies, pressing their hands up to their mouths and whispering back and forth.

Burt's interest was peaked, now that his two favorite subjects were involved: women and matters of the net. Combining the two created exponential amounts of intrigue for him. "The mafia's full of hot, crazy women? I see, I see! I always sort of imagined it'd be like that," he replied with an enthusiastic nod, sitting upright and keeping one fist to his chin in a serious expression. "I never heard about that RoT thing, but they sound like they're probably corrupted with spiritual possession. I'll have to remind myself to give them a good exorcising if Exorcist ever runs across them."

He pushed his glasses up upon his nose, as if in deep thought. "So wait, from what you just said... you're actually part of the Mafia then?" he asked in a low voice, keeping a surprisingly composed expression.

((Ready for battle 4))
The group of five continued through the net at a decent pace while their operators carried on a conversation in the real world. Not long after, the Navis sighted a strange phenomenon: a large gray orb with planet-like features was being orbited by numerous bits of junk... and several Metools. The viruses were being pulled around on the ground, sliding in a circle while remaining faced in the same direction. There wasn't much time to wonder how this was possible, however, because a number of other viruses also lay ahead.

BigBang: 120 HP
MetoolA: 40 HP (Circling BigBang)
MetoolB: 40 HP (Circling BigBang)
MetoolC: 40 HP (Circling BigBang)
MetoolD: 40 HP (Circling BigBang)
ZemonA: 100 HP
ZemonB: 100 HP
ZemonC: 100 HP
MelodyA: 80 HP
MelodyB: 80 HP
MelodyC: 80HP

Terrain:
100% Normal

Allies:
Nitro.EXE: 160 HP
Exorcist.EXE: 120 HP
TNT.SP: 35 HP
Bhikkhuni.SP: 40 HP
Mary.SP: 40 HP

TEAM BATTLE 4 START!
Nitro stopped as the spectacle came into view. As he watched the Metools skid around on the ground beneath the floating orb, he wore a bewildered expression.

"What the... exactly what is going on?" Nitro said, scratching his head.

"It would appear that the planet-like object is creating some sort of artificial gravity field around it," Tina observed. "I would likely be in our best interests to destroy it first, as it might be able to redirect our attacks."

"Makes sense," Nitro agreed. "We should probably stick to guns, too. It could probably screw with something like a bomb or boomerang." He turned to Exorcist. "Hey, what do you have in the way of firearms?"

Chris meanwhile, was currently engaged in talking with Burt. At his question regarding the Mafia, Chris took a quick look around, to make sure nobody was watching. He then leaned in slightly to Burt, and answered in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, I am, actually," Chris said. "Nitro, Tina, and I are all part of the Teksqp. Don't tell anybody, though. Some people might like to advertise it to everybody, but it's something I'd like to keep private. The NetPolice don't take too kindly to large-scale property damage and the like." Chris leaned back back and continued in a more conversational tone. "It's pretty lucritive, though, plus they've got this private shop that I've been meaning to check out-"

"Hey, Chris, can we get some chips here?" Nitro interrupted.

"Oh, right, sorry," Chris said. He scanned through his chips, and sent Nitro a quartet of chips; a Cannon, a Pulsar, and two Guards. Nitro recieved the Cannon first, the firearm materialising on his arm. He aimed at the floating rock, and fired, sending the slavo flying. The weapon then changed into one resembling a speaker, and he fired it as well, the soundwave chasing down the Cannon shot. Finally, he recieved the two shields. He passed one of them to his Support Program, who caught it in her hand. They both held the Guards in front of their respective selves, and stood anticipating any incoming attacks.


Summary:
N1: Cannon at BigBang (40dmg + Knockback)
N2: Pulsar1 at BigBang (70dmg + Object Triggered Blast3)(Mass Destruction activated)
N3: Give Guard1 to TNT
N4: Guard1 defending Nitro
T1: Guard1 defending TNT
T2: Dodge
The disciples of Counterinfectualism regarded the strange, orbiting virus grouping warily, each trying to decide what would be best safely destroying it. "Don't worry! I know exactly what to do-!" Bhikkhuni started, but Exorcist hushed her by placing one hand on her shoulder.

Exorcist turned to her ally, finding that his words certainly bore keeping in mind. "You're right; that could be highly dangerous. Luckily, a good Counterinfectualist keeps a large array of weapons on hand at any time! We'll take care of this with our handy talismans," she assured her ally with a smile. Realizing that he might easily see talismans as something thrown, she shook her head and explained herself. "I-I know it looks like I throw them, but the speed with which they're propelled makes them bullets, more or less!"

"Great, you should try out for the major leagues," Bhikkhuni grunted, annoyed that she'd been cut off. "Hey! Watch this other cool technique I know. I can stop those dumb blobby ones from jumping by using this shakujo of mine!" she exclaimed, pressing the butt of her staff against the ground and shaking its head wildly. Besides producing an annoying jangling, it also caused a beam of light to shoot into the sky, then come down over the head of the enemy Melody. The beam didn't carry any damaging properties, but did draw the enemy inexplicably to the ground.

Continuing from there, Bhikkhuni released another Nirvana Ground Wave technique, covering the net floor in soil and foliage. "Ah, it feels good to do the work of Buddhism~" Bhikkhuni chuckled, then picked up her shakujo in both hands and prepared for classic evasion.

Exorcist nodded and smiled, then brought her arms up from the sides with fresh talismans. "Now let's accomplish the work of Counterinfectualism!" she cheered. Her hands were entirely full of talismans, so when she wanted to summon her candle, the only place for it was her mouth. She held it cutely outward so that it looked almost like a drippy Popsicle (except somehow on fire).

She lightened her load quickly, unleashing a storm of pre-written talismans towards her foes. The talismans would be guided by the winds of righteousness and hopefully pick off a few targets on her way. Still holding one talisman in her hand, she quickly scribbled ink across its surface and then lit it ablaze by holding it up to the candle in her mouth, amusingly making it look as though she was lighting a cigarette. She then flicked the talisman towards the sword-carrying viruses in the back and promptly spat out her candle onto the net floor. "Eeew," she cringed, trying to get the wax taste out of her mouth.

Although her eyes were closed, Mary's face was turned towards Exorcist as she watched a trace of wax left at Exorcist's mouth. An enigmatic, curving smile came across her lips and she pressed one hand to the side of her face. As if catching herself in the act of something wrong, she shook her head and said a few quick prayers, then composed herself to talk to TNT. "Excuse me. I think that this might help you recover from some of the injuries of the previous battle," she offered with a smile, handing TNT a small vial of holy water. "Just sprinkle it lightly over your injuries."

The last thing left for Exorcist and Mary to do was watch and wait, hoping to anticipate and evade enemy attacks.

"Woah, even kids are in the mafia now? That's crazy," Burt mused to himself, fingering his chin thoughtfully. "Hey, if a kid is in there, a religion professor could be too, couldn't he? Yeah, sure... And money and crazy women? Those things sound good! Although I'm not sure that I wanna get into Teksqp. Can't have my lovely disciples hanging around too many dangerous things like explosives," he muttered, as if viruses were somehow not dangerous things.

Exorcist
*) Let Bhikkhuni use Nirvana Ground Wave
1) Cornshot2 @ MelodyA and others [70 wood shot, A accuracy + trick shot spread]
2) Pious Candle [Folder Resistance, Imbue Fire to next attack]
3) Spreader2 @ ZemonB and large area around [60 fire shot, A accuracy + spread 9]
4) Dodge

Bhikkhuni
*) Ground Subtype: Anchor @ MelodyA
1) Nirvana Ground Wave [Large area grass under allies + large area soil under enemies]
2) Dodge

Mary
*) Recovery Subtype: IV @ TNT
1) Dodge
2) Dodge
Nitro kicked things off with a bang aimed, conveniently enough, at the BigBang. However, the planetoid virus had other plans, using its gravitational force to pull an unlucky Metool into the path of the cannon. The Metool almost twisted enough to deflect the shot with its helmet, but it wasn't quite fast enough as the cannon blast smashed into its underside. Nitro's second volley had better luck, the sound waves reverberating against the rocky surface of the BigBang and causing pieces of it to break off and enter its orbit. The Navi then followed up by producing two shields, one for himself and one for his injured Support Program.

Mary followed suit, offering a vial of holy water to TNT with a friendly smile. The liquid would go well toward healing the SP's injuries. Meanwhile, Bhikkhuni grounded one of the viruses before proceeding to warp the terrain around both groups, creating a large patch of grass beneath her feet and a field of tilled soil beneath the viruses.

Exorcist continued the assault, firing off first a homing talisman that smashed into the grounded Melody before branching off to strike the closest virus, another Melody. Exorcist then hurled a flaming talisman toward one of the swordsman viruses. The talisman struck and erupted in a wave of flames, bathing a large portion of the battlefield in an inferno.

One of the Zemon, unhurt by the flames, materialized behind Exorcist. The virus lashed out with a combination of attacks. Exorcist managed to dodge the first slash, but the second left a shallow gash that was quickly repaired by the field of grass. The lone Melody took a leap toward Nitro, intent on crushing the trigger happy Navi; however, Nitro's shield repelled the virus and sent it tumbling into oblivion. A second Zemon charged forward to attack. It slashed at Mary, though the SP nimbly dodged the first thrust. A second slash was also dodged, though Exorcist and Bhikkhuni weren't so lucky and were caught by the wide arc of the swing. Luckily, the Navi and her SP were standing on the grass long enough to absorb more of its healing energy.

The final Zemon attacked TNT. The SP's shield repelled the first strike, sending the sword back into the virus. TNT and Nitro were both able to dodge away from the virus' wide, horizontal slash. The remaining Metool slammed its pickaxe into the ground, sending out a shockwave that caused Nitro to fall to his knees.

BigBang: 50 HP
MetoolA: DELETED!
MetoolB: 40 HP (Circling BigBang)
MetoolC: DELETED!
MetoolD: DELETED!
ZemonA: 40 HP
ZemonB: 30 HP
ZemonC: 100 HP
MelodyA: DELETED!
MelodyB: DELETED!
MelodyC: DELETED!

Terrain:
20% Normal, 40% Grass around Navi, 40% Soil under viruses

Allies:
Nitro.EXE: 150 HP
Exorcist.EXE: 120 HP
TNT.SP: 45 HP
Bhikkhuni.SP: 40 HP
Mary.SP: 40 HP
"Ugh, stupid Mets," Nitro said as he picked himself back up. He glared at the virus currently circling the floating rock. He then looked up at the rock itself. "Chris, send a few more chips my way," he said. "We're not quite through here."

"Roger that," Chris said, slotting in a couple of chips. The first one Nitro recieved was a Shotgun, which was fired at the BigBang almost as soon as it materialised. Following this was one of Nitro's standard tools of destruction: the Minibomb. He hurled it towards the Metool, which would hopefully be less mobile, assuming the BigBang was destroyed by his Shotgun blast.

Tina, meanwhile, accepted the vial from Mary, and sprinkled it over her wounds. Almost as soon as the divine liquid touched her injuries, a soothing warmth spread over them, and they began healing before her eyes. "Thank you, Mary," she said with a polite nod. "I wish there was someway I could return the favor." She turned to look at the remaining viruses. "I suppose helping to dispatch these will have to suffice for now." Tina whipped up her buster, and took aim at the three Zemons still remaining on the battlefield. With careful efficiency, she fired three explosives, each one headed for each virus. "It may not be much," Tina said as she executed her attack. "But it should make deleting them that much easier."

Chris, meanwhile, discussed the advantages to joining the NetMafia with Burt. "Yeah, I mean, there's a lot to gain from joining. You can meet a lot of people and spread the word about Counterinfectualism a lot more easily, plus, like I've already said, the money's good, so you could put that towards better chips and the like, and bust a lot more effectively. Plus, the girls. Never forget about the girls."


Summary:
N1: Shotgun at BigBang (50dmg + Spread2)(Mass Destruction activated)
N2: Minibomb at Metool (60dmg + Blast2)(Mass Destruction activated)
N3: (Dodge)
N4: (Dodge)
T1: Regular Attack at ZemonA (20dmg)
T2: Regular Attack at ZemonB (20dmg)
T*: Ability: Gatling Attack: Regular Attack at ZemonC (20dmg)