Mission: Sharo Experimental Server

Ignoring the staring that Suien found himself doing, Karen smiled, flashing a quick thumbs up at him. "All good, hope it helps," she said. Inching herself a little closer to Suien, she started craning her head to look over at his operation screens. "Hm, they look a bit beat up, but they're doing pretty well, with how far in they are right now. Might actually get this server fixed now. Fingers crossed!" she said. She then turned to face Suien, with just enough distance to make it feel slightly too close, her eyes narrowing a little. Her hand went up to cradle her chin in thought as she pushed herself backwards on the swivel chair with one foot.

After a few moments, her expression changed, as if she had concluded something from her thoughts. "Oh yeah, judging from the name, you're an Electopian, right? If so, which part of it are you from? My dad's working at SciLab on an exchange and such, so it kinda clicked into my head."

--

Meanwhile, barely having escaped the death pit that had just opened up before them, the four subsystems were set to synchronize themselves further from the battle, thanks to Tem's spearheading. Unfortunately, Rass's charisma checks weren't quite on par for the moment, and received a rebuke from his fellow subsystem. On said subsystem's end, Ishamel's quick processing allowed Argo's body to warp directly into range of the PogoJack, bisecting it with the ElecSword before it could do anything to attack him. From where he had left the Drixol, the conical virus vanished into a portal, and reappeared back--into the space that he had just left, thus drilling into empty air.

On Rass's side, his body was still reeling from the effects of the Magneaker's EMP bomb. Being unable to move for the moment, the Magneakers appeared to take notice quickly, and charged up their thrusters to rocket down from atop their pillars towards him. Unfortunately for the opportunistic viruses, the Tuby virus's last swan song caused them to get their bearings very much crossed, and they ended up charging into each other for rather minimal damage, but at that point, any bit of relief from damage was good. Even more appropriately, Rass summoned up a WindBox virus to assist him in preventing the Magneakers from reaching him, which caused them to collide into each other directly above the gaping empty space that he had just escaped. The two insectoid viruses dropped into the abyss, leaving the last Twisty to fend for itself.

The Twisty was unaffected by the gale of wind that the WindBox was putting out with its remotely controlled flying drone, though it still wasn't easy to navigate said drone through the high winds. The crack of lightning that struck down from the Twisty's remote bit finally landed, but it fell just short of his position, thanks to the Tuby's song throwing off its targeting. The ground that was struck started to crack, before flashing white and returning to its original pink color. Retaliating back, Rass fired a charged blast from his palm, destroying the Twisty and clearing out his end of all hostiles.

Back on Argo's end, Ishamel's long calculations caused Argo no end of impatience, but the rocky GolemHit fist finally came down from the skies onto the unwitting Drixol virus, clearing the last of the viruses for good.

Quote (Argo Side)

Anaconda-EAnaconda-E (Anaconda-E)

This virus is only encountered after battle 5. Limit 1 per battle. Each Anaconda is divided into 3 disconnected parts: the head, and two spiked tail sections: each of which takes up one entire panel. The head is the only part of the virus that can take damage, while the body segments are invincible. The virus is able to defend against attacks from up to two directions at a time by positioning the 3 parts of its body in various formations. Any Non-AoE or Non-Phasing attack that hits a body segment is completely stopped, and has no effect whatsoever. Attacks with area effect can still hit the head even if they strike the body first, and phasing attacks pass right through the body as if it were made of objects. An Anaconda's own attacks can always phase through its own body.

Area: NAXA

HP: 200
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Elec + Homing + Stun
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Spits out a homing thunderball.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Elec + Phasing
Secondary Attack Accuracy: E
Secondary Attack Description: Spawns a 20 HP snake that moves randomly.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): CobraEgg1, Zenny
Special: Its body may be used to block frontal attacks. Piercing, Beam, Phasing, Splash, Spread, Blast, and Nova may bypass it. Break does not.: DELETED
Drixol EXDrixol EX (Drixol)

Area: Electown, Kotobuki Town, Hades Isle

HP: 130
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Null + Break + Piercing
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Flies at a line of enemies, drilling through all in its path.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: (Teleport) + 40 Null + Break + Piercing)
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: After the initial flying drill attack, this virus teleports through a hole in space, and makes a second pass at the chosen enemy target from a new direction.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): DrillArm1, Zenny
Special: Omnishoes when attacking.
Special: This virus will never execute its secondary attack without using its primary attack first, and always in immediate succession. Any other actions it takes must occur outside of this sequence. If anything causes an interruption between its primary attack action and secondary attack action, they revert to starting their primary attack again.: DELETED
PogoJackPogoJack (PogoJack)

A virus that looks like a green/blue/pink/red/orange/yellow/black jackhammer and moves across the net cracking the earth with its ever-activated pile-driver. Two arms with gloves hands extend up from the sides and hold its own handle. A silly face adorns the front with an angry scowl.

Area: Electown, Kotobuki Town, Netopia, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 x 2 Drop Attack + Break + Impact + Movement
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: PogoJack jumps a short distance into the air and then comes down on a target, hammering them with its piledriver.
Element: Normal
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): PileDriver1, Zenny
Special: Whenever this virus moves, the next panel it lands on becomes cracked. This virus does not break cracked panels it lands on, but breaks them when it moves away. A: DELETED
PogoJackPogoJack (PogoJack)

A virus that looks like a green/blue/pink/red/orange/yellow/black jackhammer and moves across the net cracking the earth with its ever-activated pile-driver. Two arms with gloves hands extend up from the sides and hold its own handle. A silly face adorns the front with an angry scowl.

Area: Electown, Kotobuki Town, Netopia, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 x 2 Drop Attack + Break + Impact + Movement
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: PogoJack jumps a short distance into the air and then comes down on a target, hammering them with its piledriver.
Element: Normal
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): PileDriver1, Zenny
Special: Whenever this virus moves, the next panel it lands on becomes cracked. This virus does not break cracked panels it lands on, but breaks them when it moves away. B: DELETED
PogoJackPogoJack (PogoJack)

A virus that looks like a green/blue/pink/red/orange/yellow/black jackhammer and moves across the net cracking the earth with its ever-activated pile-driver. Two arms with gloves hands extend up from the sides and hold its own handle. A silly face adorns the front with an angry scowl.

Area: Electown, Kotobuki Town, Netopia, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 x 2 Drop Attack + Break + Impact + Movement
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: PogoJack jumps a short distance into the air and then comes down on a target, hammering them with its piledriver.
Element: Normal
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): PileDriver1, Zenny
Special: Whenever this virus moves, the next panel it lands on becomes cracked. This virus does not break cracked panels it lands on, but breaks them when it moves away. C: DELETED

Red Data Pillar: 150 HP
Blue Data Pillar: 150 HP
Green Data Pillar: DESTROYED
Pink Data Pillar: 150 HP

Argo.EXE: 50 HP (Red)

Terrain: 41% Red, 11% Blue, 32% Pink, 16% Missing
(Special: Terrain is permanent and non-changeable)

Quote (Rass Side)

Twisty EXTwisty EX (Twisty)

Area: SciLab, Electown

HP: 120
Attack: 40 Elec + Panel Break + Drop Attack
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Summons a RemoteBit to rain down lightning and break panels.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): RemoteBit1, Zenny
Special: Immobile. RemoteBit is invulnerable to all attacks and effects. Can use Blinder once.: DELETED
MagneakerMagneaker (Magneaker)

Magneaker viruses move and dodge slowly. Magneakers attack by launching MagBombs by default. When there is a stunned enemy on the field, however, they will instead charge at the stunned opponent with surprising speed. They are quick to react to the presence of stunned enemies, and execute this attack with very little delay. The DashAttack counts as a dodge against opponents attacking from any angle except dead-on or from directly behind the Magneaker. Magneakers do not charge at un-stunned enemies, unless there is a stunned target in-line with them. Magneakers have Omnishoes while executing a charge attack.

Area: Electown, Dentech, SciLab

HP: 70
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Elec + Stun 1 + Blast 2
Primary Attack Accuracy: D
Primary Attack Description: Fires an EMP bomb that stuns the enemy.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Elec + Impact + Piercing + Stopped by Object
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: When an enemy on the field is stunned, this virus will spin around to face them, and immediately fly at them at high speed for an opportunistic body-slam attack.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MagBomb1, Zenny
Special: Stopped by Object: Attack ceases execution when blocked by an Object. Attacks with this attribute also do not damage objects. A: DELETED
MagneakerMagneaker (Magneaker)

Magneaker viruses move and dodge slowly. Magneakers attack by launching MagBombs by default. When there is a stunned enemy on the field, however, they will instead charge at the stunned opponent with surprising speed. They are quick to react to the presence of stunned enemies, and execute this attack with very little delay. The DashAttack counts as a dodge against opponents attacking from any angle except dead-on or from directly behind the Magneaker. Magneakers do not charge at un-stunned enemies, unless there is a stunned target in-line with them. Magneakers have Omnishoes while executing a charge attack.

Area: Electown, Dentech, SciLab

HP: 70
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Elec + Stun 1 + Blast 2
Primary Attack Accuracy: D
Primary Attack Description: Fires an EMP bomb that stuns the enemy.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Elec + Impact + Piercing + Stopped by Object
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: When an enemy on the field is stunned, this virus will spin around to face them, and immediately fly at them at high speed for an opportunistic body-slam attack.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MagBomb1, Zenny
Special: Stopped by Object: Attack ceases execution when blocked by an Object. Attacks with this attribute also do not damage objects. B: DELETED
ChampuChampu (Champy)

Champy viruses teleport when they attack.

Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Kotobuki Town, Hades Isle

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Fire + Impact x 2 Punches
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Punches twice with fire.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): FireHit1, Zenny A: DELETED
ChampuChampu (Champy)

Champy viruses teleport when they attack.

Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Kotobuki Town, Hades Isle

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Fire + Impact x 2 Punches
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Punches twice with fire.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): FireHit1, Zenny B: DELETED
ChampuChampu (Champy)

Champy viruses teleport when they attack.

Area: ACDC, SciLab, Electown, Kotobuki Town, Hades Isle

HP: 60
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Fire + Impact x 2 Punches
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Punches twice with fire.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): FireHit1, Zenny C: DELETED

Red Data Pillar: 150 HP
Blue Data Pillar: 150 HP
Green Data Pillar: DESTROYED
Pink Data Pillar: 150 HP

Rass.EXE: 54 HP (Pink)

Terrain: 32% Red, 21% Blue, 14% Pink, 33% Missing
(Special: Terrain is permanent and non-changeable)

--

-- BATTLE VICTORY!! --
Rewards: CobraEgg1Damage: 110 + Ground Attack + Phasing + Homing
Accuracy: C
Description: A lightning-attuned snake slithers across the field, hunting for an enemy.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Trader Rank: D Battlechip (Argo), RemoteBit1HP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Attack Damage: 80 + Panel Break + Drop Attack
Accuracy: B
Description: Summons a Control Tower in your area and a Remote Bit to rain down lightning upon the enemy.
Duration: 3 turns or Until destroyed
Element: Elec
Special: Drop Attack: This attack originates above the battlefield, and falls to the ground. It gains one rank of accuracy against High Altitude targets.
Trader Rank: D Battlechip (Rass), 2700z (Combined)

After the last virus was deleted on Argo's end, a faint shimmer enveloped both environments on either end, and both of their landscapes changed to that of a greyscale rendition of a network crossroads area. The gaping hole that had been in front of them vanished, and restored itself into greyscaled network paneling that seemed to have been damaged in a rough fight, with cracks here and there. The data pillars from earlier also changed shape, appearing to be very badly damaged pathway signs. The fourth that they had just destroyed earlier also returned to normal, completing a set of four signs.

Reading out what remained of the signs, it appeared to be a sector in Sharo Net, though where it was exactly was unclear, as the parts identifying the specific area on the signs had been destroyed. It didn't really matter, though, as three of the paths seemed to be closed off; a blank void encompassed the horizon on those three paths. Only the fourth path seemed to be traversable, going down a slope that they weren't able to see.

The crossroads were otherwise completely empty. At least, until the blank void across the horizon lit up in bright green lights, exclaiming silently in large, repeated lettering across the sky: "SYSTEM RESTARTED SUCCESSFULLY: BEGINNING REPLICATION INTEGRITY SCAN".

--**--Real World--**--

Suien wasn’t quite sure when the lightly-flirtatious conversation with an attractive young woman started to feel like a harrowing interrogation, but there he was. Karen’s outwardly innocuous question sent the dark-haired netOp spiraling into proverbial abyss of paranoia-driven anxiety, as his mind scrambled to discover the deeper meaning behind her words. Why would she want to know about my Electopian family? I thought I told her that I grew up in Sharo, Suien thought, his brow furrowing and eyes narrowing with the same intensity as Karen had exhibited moments before, Is she searching for a weakness? Is she trying to gather information on my family? On the Vivarte? Best to play it cool and continue to swear allegiance to the motherland…

Realizing how unnatural his delayed response was, he quickly cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. “Ah, um… right. I might be Electopian in ethnicity, but I’ve always identified myself as a Sharoan first,” he said, gesturing toward the exit and the presumably still-raging snowstorm outside, “After all, the Sharo government was good enough to take care of us even though we’re Electopian immigrants, so I owe a lot to Sharo and its leadership.” Realizing he had not actually answered Karen’s question, he quickly added, “Er… as such, I’m afraid I don’t know too much about my Electopian ancestors. My mom and dad never really talked about them.”

A notification window on Suien’s PET offered him a much needed distraction and he turned, with a bit too much eagerness, toward the black device and started monitoring the new incoming data.

--**--Net World (Rass.EXE)--**--

As the network transformed around him, Rass breathed a sigh of relief. His body still ached from the beating he experienced over the last two cycles, but at least now, with no apparent threats manifesting themselves, he had a chance to catch his breath and take stock of the situation. Perhaps most alarming was the utter nonexistence of any semblance of choice in the path forward. “I don’t like this, Tem,” he said, glancing from signpost to blasted signpost, “There’s only one way f-forward - how are w-we supposed to escape if something g-goes wrong?”

Honestly, I’m less concerned over the lack of choice and more concerned about the implications thereof replied Tem, The encounters we’ve resolved seem… directed… manufactured, even. To the point where our path forward is more likely than not…

“A trap?” asked Rass.

Tem seemed to nod. Precisely. Fortunately, it appears that the network has restarted itself, so there is not much need for us to continue downward. Still, we need to be cautious. Arrogance would be particularly ill-advised given the circumstances. Only a fool would be celebrating at this juncture.

--**--Net World (Argo.EXE)--**--

“Hahahah! Suck it, drill! Or maybe I should say, ‘screw you!’” laughed Argo, rising from his crouched position and dusting off his pauldrons, “Ain’t no virus around here that can stand up to the indomitable might of Argo and IshaOUCH!’” Argo yelped as he felt his Ishamel-buster arm suddenly slam down onto his right hand.

FISTBUMP ROUTINE EXECUTED SUCCESSFULLY added Ishamel, THE PERFORMANCE OF CORE SYSTEM ARGO AND SUPPORT SYSTEM ISHAMEL EXCEEDED ACCEPTABLE LEVELS. QUOTE POP CULTURE: “NICE ONE, BRO”

Argo’s left fist tightened as he contemplated for the third time this afternoon whether his chassis could withstand the dismemberment of his right arm. However, in a surprising display of restraint, he shook his head, tapped his fist against his buster arm, and walked over to gather the residual chip data. “Sure Ishy. Right back at ya,” he sighed, with barely-concealed annoyance, “Glad you’re in my corner."

--**--Together--**--

A few moments later, Suien’s bespectacled face appeared on a chat window next to both navis. ”Rass, Argo, can you both hear me? I’m running a communications uplink to both of you simultaneously, so there might be a few kinks here and there to work out.”

From his side of the battlefield Rass glanced upward and nodded. “Yeah, you’re c-coming in clear for me, Suien,” he said, “We’re standing by awaiting new directions, but by the looks of things, we d-don’t have much of a choice.”

Argo nodded from his side as well, “All clear here,” he grunted toward Suien, “So what gives? What’s this Replicant Energy Scam thing?”

”That’s ‘Replication Integrity Scan,’ Argo,” corrected Suien, ”and unfortunately, that’s about everything I know about it. Best I can tell, that process has something to do with overwriting and repairing network data, and likely has a nasty effect on any navis that aren’t… well, for a lack of a better term, that aren’t like you.” Another display containing a summary of Karen’s experiment records materialized next to Suien’s chat window.

Quote (Chat Window)

Number 1, sent in via route A. Annihilated shortly after jack-in due to unexpected access violation. Possible diagnosis determined as rejection of input route.

Number 2, sent in via route B. Annihilated on jack-in sequence, overwritten by replication integrity scan. Possible diagnosis determined as a multiple input requirement.

Number 3 and 4, sent in simultaneously via both routes. Annihilated on jack-in sequence, overwritten by replication integrity scan. Possible diagnosis: Rejection of dissimilar core signature.

Number 5 [...]

Wait, so was this "Replication Integrity Scan" the cause of the navis’ deletion, or merely a process that overwrote their data? asked Tem, swirling into existence on Rass’ chest and squinting at Karen’s notes, The name certainly seems to suggest the former, but we don’t have any data to confirm or refute that premise, correct?

”That’s a fair statement, Tem,” mused Suien, as he slid a pair of subchips into the PET and downloaded the recovery data packets to Rass and Argo, ”In any event, it looks like the viral infection has been dealt with, but it’s looking more and more like root cause of the malfunction might be something else, so make sure you all are ready for anything.”

“What? You're not jacking us out? ” demanded Argo, “We throttled all the viruses and the thing seems like it’s workin’ again, so why do we need to stick around here? The less time we spend in Sharo, the better.”

Though I do not share Argo’s tone, I do tend to agree with his sentiment, Tem mused, Our job was merely to clear the “dangerous infection” from the experimental servers, and it seems that we have done exactly that. Should we not focus our efforts on synchronizing so we can reintegrate and withdraw?

QUERY, OPERATOR UNIT SUIEN MATSUMOTO: IS YOUR OBJECTIVE TO ENGAGE COURTSHIP ROUTINES TOWARD POTENTIAL SUPPORT UNIT KAREN EZARITH BY DEMONSTRATING EXCEPTIONAL APTITUDE AT TECHNICAL SUPPORT? asked Ishamel, IF SO, YOU HAVE MY BACKING

Suien’s face reddened slightly. ”Wh-What? Ishamel, no, just... look, just hear me out,” he stammered, “I picked up another navi signature after that last battle, which should be impossible, given what we know about this system. Also, although this junk network appears to be from Sharo, those viruses you just deleted are native to the Electown netspace - meaning that they probably couldn’t have just wandered in from the ambient network. Given that this is a closed system with such stringent restrictions upon entry, it seems doubtful that we’ve dealt with the root cause.”

The dark-haired netOp breathed, glanced around, and then drew close to the PET microphone. “Besides,” he whispered furtively, “If the system breaks down again after we supposedly ‘fixed’ it, that would lead to a lot of unnecessary scrutiny from the Sharo government, which is the last thing people like us need.”

Rass’ eyes widened with realization, and Argo’s frown deepened.

“Look, I don’t like this any more than you two, but for better or for worse, we’ve got to see this through.” muttered Suien, “I just hope my instincts are wrong about this.”

If any of the subsystems had any objection to continuing on, they opted not to voice them as Rass and Argo followed the singular path downward into the unknown.

(Continuing Onward)

(2x MiniEnergyPack used - heal both Rass.EXE and Argo.EXE to full)

Having Suien drill his gaze into her with an intensely furrowed brow made Karen back up slightly, holding up her hands. "A-Ah, I mean, you don't really have to answer--" she started, waving her hands in front of her, right as he started to rattle off his supposed allegiance to the Sharoan flag. Scratching her cheek sheepishly, she awkwardly laughed for a moment. "Well, if you say so. What wouldn't I give to see more than this dreary place, honestly," said Karen, letting the chair swivel about to let her face the terminal screens for the server. Her face lit up much more visibly now, lurching forward on her chair. "Oh, it's restarting! Great! Seems to be set to the last place we were attempting to target before it broke down. The whole thing takes up a lot of data, so we only replicated the area that we needed."

Her excitement was a little subdued, however, as she seemed to have thought of something, right as Suien came to a similar conclusion. She raised her eyebrows, and her expression changed to a more serious look. "Mmm, you're right, I guess. I want to wish that it was just a weird glitch and that's the end of it, but that's probably wishful thinking." Running her hand through her hair, she scratched at the back of her neck nervously as she monitored the terminal screen intently.

--

Despite Tem's insistence that their situation seemed to be a trap going forward, and that the system seemed to have recovered, their operator seemed to be concerned with some deeper investigation. Both Rass and Argo walked down the sloping path, which seemed to only lead down to a lower level of the sector onto a straight path lined with CyberPanels, flanked on the left and right with snowbanks.

At the bottom of the slope where the flat pathway began, a pair of humanoid Navi figures stood side by side towards the rest of the path. They seemed to be frozen in place, appearing to be readied in a combat stance, but otherwise showing no signs of life; their entire person was colored ashen grey, just as they had seen the crossroads and signs up above. One of them was a long-haired female Navi in a standard-looking Navi full bodysuit and visor, wielding what appeared to be a large anti-materiel sniper rifle of Sharoan make. The other was a male Navi, slightly taller, wearing what seemed to be a slightly bulkier version of his companion's Navi bodysuit, with an entirely opaque visor, and wielding a similarly suspended-animation energy blade instead.

However, the most striking feature was further out front, in the middle of the pathway. In the midst of all the dreary grey, a figure stood in exactly the same spot on Rass and Argo's sides, with an appearance possibly only being appropriately described as an amalgam of colors and body parts. With a humanoid outline, the Navi appeared to have possibly started out as a mass-produced Heel-Model Navi, with the model's distinctive disk-shaped purple head sticking out. However, the rest of the Navi's body seemed to be fused with a myriad of virus types: a Spooky's skull mask hung from the side of the face, a Cloudy's red and yellow umbrella stuck out of the head, a pair of black-green Fishy wings extended from the shoulders, the body was almost fully covered in a Moloko's pink wool...

The list of viral bodyparts went on in a modern day cacophony that Frankenstein would be proud of. Moreover, the virus parts also seemed to melt in and out of view, being replaced with various other viruses, some of which none present could name. The Navi began scratching at its own body with a yellowish-grey glove that resembled a Handy. A male-sounding voice came from somewhere within the mass of viral parts, riddled with scratchy static and just about as decipherable. Oddly enough, the voice seemed to be replicated perfectly on either end, making it sound like the Navi was talking twice through the shared communication Suien had with Rass and Argo.

"Hhhhkhhhh... kidding me? Can't believe... long... something to get here... Khhhh. Need out..."

Suddenly, the Navi's head lurched upwards, with his gaze fixed towards the sky, and all of a sudden, the Navi's entire body immediately turned pitch black, and a massive singular eye sprouted out of his face: yellow on Rass's side, white on Argo's side. From the back of his head, a small blob-shaped antenna also sprang out, just as the entire area flashed an eye-blinding bright green. An astute observer might have noticed that the transformation made the Navi look very much like a Twin-series virus, known to plague the Netopian networks. In the green skies, the repeating words from before disappeared, replaced by "BOOT SUCCESSFUL" for a couple of seconds before dimming out into the blank void of before.

The Navi-turned-virus twitched briefly, before morphing back into its previous form, this time with the enraged visage of a CanDevil roaring out at Rass and Argo.

"Turn to stone... for a few seconds... And's happens... Ughhhhhkkhh... Out... Let me out!!!"

-- Rass Side --
.AMALGAM: 500 HP (Normal)
-- Head: CanDevilCanDevil (CanDevil)

CanDevils will always try to position themselves to block direct attacks made against their candles.

Area: Yumland, Hades Isle, NetVegas

HP: 120
Primary Attack Damage/Effects: 40 Fire + Piercing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: Attacks with bursts of hellfire.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effects: 15 Fire x 3 hits + Fighter Range
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Exhales a stream of fire that lasts enough to hit multiple times.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Candle1, FireArm1, Zenny
Special: HeatBody
- Regen 60 when Candle is present.
- Candle has 60 HP and HeatBody.
-- Arms: AshuraidAshuraid (Ashuraid)

The Ashuraid are a new strain of 6 foot tall semi-humanoid viruses with bodies made of durable metal alloys. Ashuraid viruses lack legs, and instead roll around on a 1 ton solid steel ball 1-foot in diameter that rests in a cupola. Rising from the top of the cupola is an alloy pillar that supports their smooth and curving metal bodies. The key defining feature of Ashuraid viruses are their half dozen free-floating arm segments constructed of an indestructible alloy. Three of these arms feature metallic rights hands, and the other three feature metallic left hands, thus they are differentiated. In combat, the virus will ball these hands up into fists, and launch volleys of rocket punches at their foes. The virus' helmeted head rests upon a short metallic rod-like neck with their faces hidden behind a metallic faceplate. The exception being their mouths, which are generally curved downwards in a permanent frown while in the presence of Navigators. It is speculated that Ashuraid are a hacked derivative of the Bladia viruses spliced together with fragments of other viruses and a healthy dose of battlechip program data. This would account for their size, strength, and malicious nature. Where and how this was possibly accomplished is unknown. Ashuraid viruses move and dodge at better than average speeds, although they rarely choose to dodge at all. Ashuraid viruses are ranged attackers, and prefer to hold the range open against their enemies as melee range attacks with their Impacting abilities generally render Counters useless. Ashuraids attack by launching their six free-floating indestructible alloy arms at one or more enemies in volleys of 3 rocket punches. It takes 3 arms to execute a MeteorKnucke attack, 3 to execute a Counter attack, and all 6 to execute their GiantHook attack. It takes roughly an action of cooldowm time after executing a long distance attack for the arms used in the attack to return to the Ashuraid's side. During this time, they may not execute a Counter Attack if they do not have enough arms available. Ergo if all 6 arms are either being used in an attack, or in cool-down following an attack or counter attack, the Ashuraid cannot use a Counter. The rest of their attacks do not require their arms to return to their side. The return feature is automatic, and does not require actions to perform. Ashuraid can move while attacking or defending, and are allowed to counter while dodging if enough arms are available. Setting a counter requires an action while executing one does not. Ashuraid are extremely heavy viruses that will sink like the lead weights they are in liquid, and they know it. They will avoid liquid terrain entirely, if possible, and will never appear near these types of naturally occurring terrain for this reason. Only an Ashuraid's body is damageable. Striking an Ashuraid's floating arms will not damage the virus or the arms themselves, no matter what you hit them with. The Ashuraids will not intentionally defend themselves with their arms outside of their Counter ability, which is nullified by Impact. Do not abuse this.

Area: Sharo, NAXA

HP: 100
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null + Impact + Break x 3 Fists
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: Launches three rocket fists at distant opponents. Each fist may target individually, meaning multi-hit and/or multi-target both work up to a max of 3 punches.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: Counter vs Damage: 5 Null + Impact + Break x 2 Hits
Secondary Attack Accuracy: S (Block) / B (Counter)
Secondary Attack Description: Uses a trio of fists to block a non-Impact attack while executing a double punch counterstrike. Only two Counters may be active at any given time, and the virus must be physically able to execute a counter in order to use one. Counters work at any range. An action is required to set this effect, but no actions are required to execute the Counter when triggered, as it is automatic. Impact attacks nullify this Counter ability.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null + Impact + Break + LifeSword Range x 2 Attacks
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Sweeps the field with a salvo of flying fists from the left, and then the right. Does not damage friendlies, and may be executed at any range. The virus cannot use Counters while executing this attack.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MeteorKnuckle1, Counter1, Zenny
Special: SuperArmor: Immunity to Knockback, Microburst, Pull, Gravity, and similar effects.
Special: HardCase: Damage is reduced by half until hit with a Break attack, at which time this effect is nullified and they take standard damage. Break does not deal extra damage.
-- Body: MelodyMelody (Melody)

Melody viruses move, dodge, and attack by jumping. There is no distinction between these 3 actions.

Area: ACDC, Kotobuki Town, Netopia, Dentech

HP: 80
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Jumps on the enemy.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null x 3 attacks
Secondary Attack Accuracy: E
Secondary Attack Description: Bounces around with complete disregard for whoever or whatever is in the area. Can hit obstacles as well as enemies.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Binder1, ColorBall1 (Rare), Zenny
Special: Increased evasion.
-- Affix: PuffBallPuffBall (Puffball)

Puffball viruses are top tier, and shouldn't be encountered by players before battle 6. Puffball viruses move at an average rate, but they do not dodge. Instead they block non-break frontal attacks with their iron face masks until they manage to get within melee range. Once in range, they will launch their masks at the nearest enemy, and their masks will begin spewing a cloud of miasma in all directions. The viruses will become immobile once the mask is deployed, but they can turn to face a new direction in order to block incoming attacks and attack nearby enemies with the spiked sides of the mask. Turning requires an action, as it is an attack at this point. If the mask is destroyed (something that can only be done while the mask is deployed), the virus will spend the rest of its actions for the turn trying to evade the enemy. At the beginning of the next turn, the virus is able to generate a new mask, and will resume acting normally. The virus may recall its mask from the deployed position as a free action. Puffballs can use AreaGrab as a free action once per turn if they are wearing their mask. Due to how the poison effect this virus generates is handled, these viruses are lethal in groups.

Area: Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 160
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Impact + Break
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: The virus moves closer to the enemy, then launches a Poison Mask at the nearest enemy from melee range. There is a bit of a delay between initiating the attack and the mask actually launching, making this attack fairly easy to dodge. Once the Poison Mask is deployed, this virus can no longer move from the panel it is currently standing on...
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Impact + Break + Wide Range
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: ...It can, however, turn to face a new direction. When it does, the Poison Mask turns with it, and will slam sideways into and through anything in up to a 90 Degree turn arc. This requires an action to perform for each turn of up to 90 Degrees the virus makes while the mask is out.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Poison + Miasma(Nova2)
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: S
Tertiary Attack Description: Injects poison into the ground using Poison Mask, causing a poisonous miasma to rise and damage all nearby enemies. This is a passive attack that operates while the Poison Mask is deployed, and the poison's effect triggers the turn after exposure. The effect can be cured, but it also counts as separate from all other poison effects, thus must be cured individually.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): PoisonMask, BlackCapsule, Zenny
Special: This virus may add a Blind 1 effect to its poison if its mask is currently deployed. This requires an action, and is nullified once its mask is recalled.
Special: This virus is immune to non-breaking attacks from the front arc while wearing the mask.
Special: While deployed, the Poison Mask counts as a 10 HP object with Heavy, IronBody, and Omnishoes that the virus may block with like a Shield.
Special: This virus is immune to all forms of Poison damage.
Special: Poison: Damage is considered Poison, and cannot be Imbued with an Element. Poison damage is dealt on a per-turn basis, and takes effect the turn after the target is struck with it. Poison can be cured with Status Cure.
Special: Miasma(mod): A method of delivering poison damage. This effect generates a damage zone, and bypasses all known forms of defense without exception. The coverage varies, and is denoted by the modifier listed in parenthesis after this effect.

Rass.EXE: 100 HP (Normal)

Terrain: 20% Snow

• Non-Aqua Elementals get -10% Evasion and reduced movement speed.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage. Imbue Aqua if Null. Change terrain hit to Ice for 1 turn after turn hit, then back to Snow.
• Aqua attacks: 25% Freeze chance, change terrain hit to Normal if triggered. Boost chance to 100% if Ice-type.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Ice, generate Frosty Mist: -10% Accuracy for Non-Aqua Elementals, +10% evasion against Non-Aqua Elementals, Freeze1 effect for any Aqua or Wind attacks.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Freeze1.

, 80% Normal

• No effects.

-- Argo Side --
.AMALGAM: 500 HP (Normal)
-- Head: CanDevilCanDevil (CanDevil)

CanDevils will always try to position themselves to block direct attacks made against their candles.

Area: Yumland, Hades Isle, NetVegas

HP: 120
Primary Attack Damage/Effects: 40 Fire + Piercing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: Attacks with bursts of hellfire.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effects: 15 Fire x 3 hits + Fighter Range
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Exhales a stream of fire that lasts enough to hit multiple times.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Candle1, FireArm1, Zenny
Special: HeatBody
- Regen 60 when Candle is present.
- Candle has 60 HP and HeatBody.
-- Arms: AshuraidAshuraid (Ashuraid)

The Ashuraid are a new strain of 6 foot tall semi-humanoid viruses with bodies made of durable metal alloys. Ashuraid viruses lack legs, and instead roll around on a 1 ton solid steel ball 1-foot in diameter that rests in a cupola. Rising from the top of the cupola is an alloy pillar that supports their smooth and curving metal bodies. The key defining feature of Ashuraid viruses are their half dozen free-floating arm segments constructed of an indestructible alloy. Three of these arms feature metallic rights hands, and the other three feature metallic left hands, thus they are differentiated. In combat, the virus will ball these hands up into fists, and launch volleys of rocket punches at their foes. The virus' helmeted head rests upon a short metallic rod-like neck with their faces hidden behind a metallic faceplate. The exception being their mouths, which are generally curved downwards in a permanent frown while in the presence of Navigators. It is speculated that Ashuraid are a hacked derivative of the Bladia viruses spliced together with fragments of other viruses and a healthy dose of battlechip program data. This would account for their size, strength, and malicious nature. Where and how this was possibly accomplished is unknown. Ashuraid viruses move and dodge at better than average speeds, although they rarely choose to dodge at all. Ashuraid viruses are ranged attackers, and prefer to hold the range open against their enemies as melee range attacks with their Impacting abilities generally render Counters useless. Ashuraids attack by launching their six free-floating indestructible alloy arms at one or more enemies in volleys of 3 rocket punches. It takes 3 arms to execute a MeteorKnucke attack, 3 to execute a Counter attack, and all 6 to execute their GiantHook attack. It takes roughly an action of cooldowm time after executing a long distance attack for the arms used in the attack to return to the Ashuraid's side. During this time, they may not execute a Counter Attack if they do not have enough arms available. Ergo if all 6 arms are either being used in an attack, or in cool-down following an attack or counter attack, the Ashuraid cannot use a Counter. The rest of their attacks do not require their arms to return to their side. The return feature is automatic, and does not require actions to perform. Ashuraid can move while attacking or defending, and are allowed to counter while dodging if enough arms are available. Setting a counter requires an action while executing one does not. Ashuraid are extremely heavy viruses that will sink like the lead weights they are in liquid, and they know it. They will avoid liquid terrain entirely, if possible, and will never appear near these types of naturally occurring terrain for this reason. Only an Ashuraid's body is damageable. Striking an Ashuraid's floating arms will not damage the virus or the arms themselves, no matter what you hit them with. The Ashuraids will not intentionally defend themselves with their arms outside of their Counter ability, which is nullified by Impact. Do not abuse this.

Area: Sharo, NAXA

HP: 100
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null + Impact + Break x 3 Fists
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: Launches three rocket fists at distant opponents. Each fist may target individually, meaning multi-hit and/or multi-target both work up to a max of 3 punches.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: Counter vs Damage: 5 Null + Impact + Break x 2 Hits
Secondary Attack Accuracy: S (Block) / B (Counter)
Secondary Attack Description: Uses a trio of fists to block a non-Impact attack while executing a double punch counterstrike. Only two Counters may be active at any given time, and the virus must be physically able to execute a counter in order to use one. Counters work at any range. An action is required to set this effect, but no actions are required to execute the Counter when triggered, as it is automatic. Impact attacks nullify this Counter ability.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Null + Impact + Break + LifeSword Range x 2 Attacks
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: B
Tertiary Attack Description: Sweeps the field with a salvo of flying fists from the left, and then the right. Does not damage friendlies, and may be executed at any range. The virus cannot use Counters while executing this attack.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MeteorKnuckle1, Counter1, Zenny
Special: SuperArmor: Immunity to Knockback, Microburst, Pull, Gravity, and similar effects.
Special: HardCase: Damage is reduced by half until hit with a Break attack, at which time this effect is nullified and they take standard damage. Break does not deal extra damage.
-- Body: MelodyMelody (Melody)

Melody viruses move, dodge, and attack by jumping. There is no distinction between these 3 actions.

Area: ACDC, Kotobuki Town, Netopia, Dentech

HP: 80
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Null
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Jumps on the enemy.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null x 3 attacks
Secondary Attack Accuracy: E
Secondary Attack Description: Bounces around with complete disregard for whoever or whatever is in the area. Can hit obstacles as well as enemies.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Binder1, ColorBall1 (Rare), Zenny
Special: Increased evasion.
-- Affix: PuffBallPuffBall (Puffball)

Puffball viruses are top tier, and shouldn't be encountered by players before battle 6. Puffball viruses move at an average rate, but they do not dodge. Instead they block non-break frontal attacks with their iron face masks until they manage to get within melee range. Once in range, they will launch their masks at the nearest enemy, and their masks will begin spewing a cloud of miasma in all directions. The viruses will become immobile once the mask is deployed, but they can turn to face a new direction in order to block incoming attacks and attack nearby enemies with the spiked sides of the mask. Turning requires an action, as it is an attack at this point. If the mask is destroyed (something that can only be done while the mask is deployed), the virus will spend the rest of its actions for the turn trying to evade the enemy. At the beginning of the next turn, the virus is able to generate a new mask, and will resume acting normally. The virus may recall its mask from the deployed position as a free action. Puffballs can use AreaGrab as a free action once per turn if they are wearing their mask. Due to how the poison effect this virus generates is handled, these viruses are lethal in groups.

Area: Yumland, Netfrica

HP: 160
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Impact + Break
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: The virus moves closer to the enemy, then launches a Poison Mask at the nearest enemy from melee range. There is a bit of a delay between initiating the attack and the mask actually launching, making this attack fairly easy to dodge. Once the Poison Mask is deployed, this virus can no longer move from the panel it is currently standing on...
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Wood + Impact + Break + Wide Range
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: ...It can, however, turn to face a new direction. When it does, the Poison Mask turns with it, and will slam sideways into and through anything in up to a 90 Degree turn arc. This requires an action to perform for each turn of up to 90 Degrees the virus makes while the mask is out.
Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 5 Poison + Miasma(Nova2)
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: S
Tertiary Attack Description: Injects poison into the ground using Poison Mask, causing a poisonous miasma to rise and damage all nearby enemies. This is a passive attack that operates while the Poison Mask is deployed, and the poison's effect triggers the turn after exposure. The effect can be cured, but it also counts as separate from all other poison effects, thus must be cured individually.
Element: Wood
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): PoisonMask, BlackCapsule, Zenny
Special: This virus may add a Blind 1 effect to its poison if its mask is currently deployed. This requires an action, and is nullified once its mask is recalled.
Special: This virus is immune to non-breaking attacks from the front arc while wearing the mask.
Special: While deployed, the Poison Mask counts as a 10 HP object with Heavy, IronBody, and Omnishoes that the virus may block with like a Shield.
Special: This virus is immune to all forms of Poison damage.
Special: Poison: Damage is considered Poison, and cannot be Imbued with an Element. Poison damage is dealt on a per-turn basis, and takes effect the turn after the target is struck with it. Poison can be cured with Status Cure.
Special: Miasma(mod): A method of delivering poison damage. This effect generates a damage zone, and bypasses all known forms of defense without exception. The coverage varies, and is denoted by the modifier listed in parenthesis after this effect.

Argo.EXE: 100 HP (Normal)

Terrain: 20% Snow

• Non-Aqua Elementals get -10% Evasion and reduced movement speed.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage. Imbue Aqua if Null. Change terrain hit to Ice for 1 turn after turn hit, then back to Snow.
• Aqua attacks: 25% Freeze chance, change terrain hit to Normal if triggered. Boost chance to 100% if Ice-type.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Ice, generate Frosty Mist: -10% Accuracy for Non-Aqua Elementals, +10% evasion against Non-Aqua Elementals, Freeze1 effect for any Aqua or Wind attacks.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Freeze1.

, 80% Normal

• No effects.

-- BATTLE 4, START!! --

--**--Real World--**--

Suien’s expression softened as he observed Karen’s reaction to his answer, and the bespectacled netOp couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt as she backpedaled. Though his misgivings about the young woman were not cleared, he was beginning to suspect that her oddities were the product of quirky personality, rather than calculated intrigue. “Ah, no, no, there was nothing wrong with your question. It’s my fault for uh… loving the Sharoan government so much,” he muttered, drawing back slightly and raising his hands in front of him in an ameliorating position. With a brief pause to consider his next words, Suien continued, “I will note that Electopian winters are a lot more manageable than Sharo’s,” he said, missing the suggestion that Karen’s capacity for global travel was apparently impeded, “If you have the chance, I’d suggest Kotobuki or Yoka as good travel destinations around this time of year. There’s plenty to do for a young woman like yourself, and no summer crowds or summer pricing.”

As the dark-haired woman continued to monitor the unfolding situation, Suien gulped and turned his attention to his PET. As Rass and Argo passed by a pair of navis frozen in time, Suien frowned, leaning forward in his chair as he scrutinized the scrolling data feeds. Making a mental note of the Sharoan Special Operations uniforms adorning the stationary navis, Suien himself froze as the amalgamated navi-virus appeared on his display.

“Ah…. Argo? Rass?” he said out loud, fumbling for his battlechip folder with one hand as he started typing out a series of scanner commands with the other, “Are you two seeing this? It looks like some sort of… virus… navi thing?” Suien cursed under his breath as his chip folder toppled onto its side, scattering a few rogue chips onto the ground, “Son of a binome… Tem, can you get a reading on what kinds of viruses we’re dealing with?”

Already on it, Suien. replied Tem, I’ve cross-referenced the viral signatures with publically-available viral census data. Instantly, several windows displaying images of viruses and corresponding vital statistics popped up on Suien’s display.

Quote (Stats)

Candevil: Yumland, Hades, NetVegas
Ashuraid: Sharo, NAXA
Melody: ACDC, Kotobuki, Netopia, Dentech
Puffball: Yumland, Netfrica
Spooky: ACDC, Yoka, Okuden, Kotobuki, Netopia
Fishy: ACDC, Okuden, Dentech, Beach, NetVegas
Cloudy: Yoka, Netopia, Sharo
Moloko: Netopia
Twins: Netopia, NetVegas

As you can see, according to the census data, the viruses fused to… er… whatever that is... aren’t from any single network, explained Tem, In fact, to the contrary, there seems to be viral representatives from… well, more or less the entire global network. Candevils, Fishies, Molokos, Twins...

“Wait, Twins? You say there’s a Twins virus fused into that navi?” interrupted Suien, entering a few keystrokes and expanding the window containing the image and data of the spherical, black virii, “I remember learning about these in an applied systems class back in University. They’re hard-coded with a linked data signature supplemented by an automatic backup recovery subroutine, so unless they’re taken down simultaneously, one will revive the… other...”

Quote (Not long ago)

The Swordies looked like they were completely obliterated, until... The red floor on which they stood suddenly flashed like a large warning sign, almost as if it were angry, and then the Swordies which were hit earlier by the attack were suddenly revived!!

Indeed, the thought had crossed my mind as well, said Tem, I’m not sure if you were able to catch this from your vantage point, but the Twins aspect manifested itself the instant that green flash - which I assume to be the Replication Integrity Scan - was completed. My current hypothesis is that this amalgamation’s ability to survive being overwritten by the scan is related to the Twins’ automatic recovery function.

“That makes sense, though it still doesn’t explain how this thing can move within the system.” replied Suien, glancing over toward Karen for confirmation, “If it came in with the junk network data, it should be ghosted out like those two navis behind you, right?”

Correct, though you’re perhaps failing to appreciate the more immediately salient purpose behind me raising this point, said Tem, a hint of panic in her voice, Assuming this amalgamation is capable of harnessing the characteristics of its component parts, I believe any efforts to purge the system of this anomaly will need to be carefully coordinated - if not entirely synchronized - with Argo.

Suien’s eyes widened. “Ah… yes, I can see how that could be a problem.”

--**--Net World--**--

“Hey, guys? We’ve seen this sorta thing before, right?” asked Argo, taking a nervous step backward as the amalgamate roared, “Yeah, 326J or whatever? Electown war, big mutant navi, spat out a buncha viruses.” As the memory unfolded in his mind, Argo’s face shifted from apprehension to rage as the melee system furiously clenched his gauntleted fist. “That thing nearly deleted us when we tried to negotiate with it! I’ll be friggin’ damned if I make the same mistake again,” he hissed, assuming an aggressive posture and clicking his Ishamel-buster into place, “Buck up, Ishy. We’re gonna blast this thing into next week!”

Argo paused, glancing upward in thought, “Or uh… into this week? Because he’s from the past? Time travel is confusin’.”

“Argo, wait!” shouted Rass, his pink-helmeted face popping up on a chat window beside Argo, “Something’s d-different about this one. I think..." he hesitated for a moment, sizing up the amalgamate before him, “I think this guy n-needs our help.”

Rass, I’m against this. Keep in mind that Suien’s walking on thin proverbial ice with respect to the Sharoan government. If we’ve got a chance to eliminate the cause of the viral infection on this device, we probably should take it, added Tem, Furthermore, I assume you noticed those Sharo military navis behind us? The Sharo Special Operations military navis? Whatever this thing is, it looks like Sharo was very interested in taking this thing down, which regrettably means that it’s an enemy of ours.

“I know, I know” replied Rass, shaking his head, “But he’s asking for help, and I th-think we’re probably the only ones who c-could help him, since… well, you know…”

Quote (Flashback)

H-Hey! Science nerds! What the hell was that light? I thought you said I was gonna get a new body! You guys $%&$ed it up! I can’t see nothin’! I can’t feel nothin’! I CAN’T MOVE!

Sheesh, could you be any more obnoxious? Save your system resources. It’s been over fifty standard cycles since the last activation of the soulcross splicer, and if they’ve got half a brain between them, those intruders are long gone. Nobody is going to hear you, even if we had a vocal modulator to connect to.

Huh? Someone else here? You’d better not &%$# with me or I’ll beat the stuffing out of you.

Oh, I’d very much like to see you try, Unit 4RG0. Melee subroutines aren’t going to do you any good without motivation circuitry, I’m afraid.

What the hell?! How do you know who I am?!

Merely a rudimentary diagnostic scan of this “body”… if we can even call it that. No motivators, no sensors, no central processing unit, just an experimental power core and whatever was laying around in the lab - which includes us, I guess.

Hmph. Well, you seem to know an awful lot. Who the hell are you anyways?

Finally asking a pertinent question? Impressive. I am designation T3M, designed for strategic analysis, tactical decisionmaking and large-scale...

Hah, a tactical subsystem? I heard they were developin’ some fancy-schmancy problem-solving AI out here. Useless stuff next to me, of course. Ain’t no use for brains without the brawn to back it up.

...it’s a good thing you’re not an arrogant ass, because that brawn of yours is really doing the three of us a lot of good right now.

Well aren’t you a bitchy little smarty-pants program? And what’s with the “three?” Who’s the third?

“I mean, he’s sharing a body with others, he’s on the r-run from Sharo, and he’s able to function in a place like this. He’s a l-lot like us, and he’s all alone in here. Shouldn’t we at least try?”

Tem sighed. Well… yes, I suppose the parallels are rather hard to ignore, though you do seem to be using a rather loose definition of “function” she said, But fine, I'm apparently not immune to your appeals to sympathy. I do maintain that he’s junk data that needs to be disposed of, but I… agree that he appears to be exhibiting some modicum of sentience and self-control that warrants further inquiry.

A beat. ...and I will be charging our buster reactor for when he starts attacking us.

“You mean ‘if’ he starts attacking, right Tem?” asked Rass.

I know what I said, Rass.

The fusion navi gulped, and glanced over toward Argo’s screen. The burly green navi rolled his eyes and lowered his buster. “You’re going to !&%#in’ get us killed one of these days, Rasshole,” grumbled Argo, “But… yeah, I guess it’d be kinda %&$#ed up to start attackin’ when he’s askin’ for help.”

--**--Real World--**--

“Wait, you guys are going to try to do what?!” demanded an aghast Suien, “Rass, I… that is to say, we - need to complete this job as by-the-book as we can. This entity is, more likely than not, the root cause of the anomalies plaguing this network, and we need to make sure it’s taken care of.”

“Just one cycle, Suien. Th-That’s all I’m asking for. pleaded Rass, “He sounds like he’s been alone for a long time, and I don’t know if I could live with myself if it turns out he needs our h-help. We even have a spare PET to hold him in until we can f-figure out how to fix him.”

“Rass, he’s not like you. It’s probably a copy of some navi data that got caught in the system. Any sort of sapience you might detect is probably data echoes from something long since gone. You’re talking to data echoes. To a ghost. A recording.”

“And how do y-you know that? What if you’re wrong? Please, Suien. One cycle.

Suien removed his glasses and began furiously rubbing his temples with both hands. A moment later, the dark-haired netOp sighed, turned to Karen, and readjusted his glasses. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly, “I know the job was to remove the root cause of the anomaly here, but we’d like to try to...” He paused, choosing his words carefully before continuing, “...ascertain the intentions and nature of this entity. If we can somehow coax it out and capture it in this spare PET, that should at least clear this system of errors.”

Suien paused, his eyes widening for an instant as though he had just realized something. He glanced up at the anomaly once more, then turned to face Karen again. “Incidentally,” he began, gesturing toward the monitor, “what caused you to want to target this particular portion of the network? Those look to be Sharo Special… special-looking navis down there. Can you tell me any details about the time, location, and situation contained in this network? It could help us figure out what we’re dealing with here.”

--**--Rass.EXE--**--

“Hey, are you there? F-Focus on my voice.” said Rass, extending an arm toward the amalgam with a comforting gesture, “I think we can g-get you out of here if you just follow my d-directions. We just need you to jack out into these coordinates here.”

The fusion navi felt a jolt from within his body as his reactor core hummed to life, channeling vast stores of energy into his buster reserves. Tem was apparently making good on her word, and though he had vigorously advocated on behalf of the amalgamate before him, the fusion navi was nevertheless grateful for her foresight.

Turning his attention once more to the amalgamated navi, he implored - nay, pleaded once more, for its cooperation. “Please, we can g-get you the help you need. T-Talk to me here - let us know how we can help you.”

--**--Argo.EXE--**--

“Hey, you!” grunted Argo, extending his left hand in what could be construed (with a fair amount of creativity) as a supportive gesture, “I don’t know if you’re already talkin’ to my counterpart, but just in case, we’re here to help. So uh… listen to what he’s sayin’ and don’t go attackin’ us.”

CORE SYSTEM ARGO, interrupted Ishamel, THOUGH YOUR BODY POSITIONING IS OF A GENERALLY WELCOMING CONFIGURATION, YOUR FACIAL STRUCTURE IS DECIDEDLY NOT. SUPPORT SYSTEM ISHAMEL RECOMMENDS SMILING TO INCREASE PERSUASIVENESS OF THIS MANEUVER.

Argo swore under his breath, but managed to twist his face into a rough approximation of a welcoming smile. Even so, he muttered under his breath. “But seriously. Try anythin’ funny and I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Rass:
1: Attempt to calm down .AMALGAM, convince him to come quietly and jack out into the spare PET.
2: Charge
3: Charge
4: (prepped dodge)
5: (prepped dodge)

Argo:
1: Attempt to calm down .AMALGAM, convince him to come quietly and jack out into the spare PET.
2: Charge
3: Charge
4: (prepped dodge)

"Yeah, maybe I'll start looking into it again... Sounds nice..." muttered Karen, though Suien might note that her expression looked rather resigned, as the researcher let out a sad sigh. Turning her eyes to scan the screen in front of her, the two frozen Navis came on-screen, along with the amalgamation of Navi and virus that seemed to be unaffected as they were. As if on cue, Karen took a sharp breath, and sat up with a more serious look, pushing herself up to the terminal's keyboard. "Right... there we are," she murmured to herself, tapping a few keys to bring up a few more windows, each of them immediately starting up to display lines upon lines of diagnostic text on all three of the new faces.

When Suien turned to face her, she had an irritated look on her face before he even began talking. "Ugh, this is getting complicated..." Not bothering to turn her own gaze in Suien's direction, she glared ahead at the screen, particularly on the clearly abnormal-looking Navi. "This is a gateway server between the normal layer and the Rogue layer of Sharo's network. Time is about... five years ago or so?" Her head gestured towards one of the diagnostics screens that she had pulled up, clearly showing the current year's timestamp, alongside a network address marker and another timestamp, five years in the past. The data showing the two Sharoan Navis was displayed in the text logs, though he wasn't able to see any identifying information; their program names were mass-production Navi IDs that were clearly zeroed out.

"Of those three you see on-screen, two of them have been deleted," she said. Her thumb moved to point towards the virus-infested Navi, and the male-looking part of the two Sharoan Navis. Lingering on the latter, she continued, "Right now, we've gone through a lot of trouble, to reconstruct--to bring back--this one, from this whole research deal. This is that Navi's last excursion into a public network: the last snapshot of him being at full data integrity."

Pulling back her hand from the screen, she looked at the other one that she had pointed at, the one that was currently staring down both Rass and Argo on either end of the snapshot server. "I'm not risking my ass telling you exactly what happened in this snapshot--I'm already probably telling you too much already--but you can probably figure it out by yourself. That Navi over there, the one that's still talking and moving; it's been marked down as permanently deleted. I don't know why, or how it's still active, in this snapshot. I just know that it'll definitely be on my ass if we have to update that status," she said. Her eyes met Suien's, and... despite the harsh tone that she was using, she looked a little conflicted.

"You get what I'm saying, right?"

---

As Rass and Argo both extended their arm out to the Navi in front of them, the CanDevil face's red eyes widened slightly, changing into a confused expression. "Ahhh...? W-What?" the raspy doubled voice said. "Jack... out?" The head started shaking, visibly less aggressive than before. Without saying anything for a while, it continued to shake. The six Ashuraid metal arms around it started to cradle its head as it backed away.

"No... Nowhere out..." the voice said, sounding frustrated, devoid of hope. "Need to go... Nowhere. Nowhere to go..." As it did so, the amalgamation of viruses began to melt together once more, forming a new configuration: its body shrank down to that of a Powie's small form, paired with a relatively large electrical sword from a Swordy-E. Below it, a pair of Metool boots hovered in disuse. However, especially of concern, the Navi's head morphed into the shape of a virus long forgotten--the insectoid-shaped spawn of the Life Virus, a Scuttle. The head was slightly yellowish-green, and the requisite yellow gleam of an elemental aura surrounded the Navi's whole body.

-- Rass Side --
.AMALGAM: 500 HP (Normal) (10 HP ElecAura)
-- Head: Scuttler-Scuttler- (Scuttler-)

Scuttler- is an angry looking insectoid creature. Unlike the virus it was designed to be like, it is chartreuse instead of yellow. This metavirus were made in an attempt to recapture the devastating power of the LifeVirus's creations, byte for byte, to the inclusion/exclusion of various aspects of their virus components, such as removing all flight capability, and cranking up their innate aggressiveness. That they were regarded as failures is more an indication of the real things' incredible might than the metaviruses' weakness. They're still extremely vicious, and very much prefer attacking to dodging.

Area: All

HP: 410
Element: Elec

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Elec + Break + Piercing + Group Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Primary Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches a ball of electricity at the enemy. Accuracy decreases by one rank with each hit.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Elec + Seeking
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a thunderbolt on an enemy.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Small Solar Terrain Change + Cone Attack
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Uses plasma breath to give the enemy and the ground an unhealthy glow.

Special: ElecAura: Begins each battle with a 10 HP ElecAura, which is pierced and instantly destroyed by Wood attacks. This reforms at the end of each turn.
Special: LightningProof: Cannot be inflicted with Stun. Takes half damage from Elec attacks.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecShock1, AuraHead1, ElecAura1, Elec+20, Lightning (Rare), Zenny
-- Arms: Swordy-E EXSwordy-E EX (Swordy-E)

Area: SciLab, Electown, NAXA

HP: 120
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Elec + Long Range Attack + Slashing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: When this virus is 2 panels away from the target, or its enemies are 2-deep, it will attack with Elec Blade.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Wide Range Attack + Slashing
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: When this virus is standing directly adjacent to its target, or diagonally from it, it will attack with Elec Sword.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecKnife, Zenny
Special: Swordy-E's are immune to Stun Status.
Special: Uses Area Grab to get into attack range.
-- Body: Powie EXPowie EX (Powie)

Powies are never encountered in confined spaces, like a low ceilinged cave and such (for obvious reasons). Powies also never intentionally jump to broken or missing terrain. They will, however, attempt attacks over broken or missing terrain if they see an enemy there. Powies will not attempt to attack the same target on two consecutive actions.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Netopia, Beach

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: (Movement(High-Alt) + Knockback) Then (40 + Break + PanelCrack + Nova1)
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Leaps quickly into the air, knocking away anything it collides with, before stopping directly above an enemy. They will then immediately change into a 10-ton press and fall down. The impact of the fall creates an explosion.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Quake1, Zenny
Special: AirShoes.
Special: The explosion does not trigger if the virus attacks a target on Broken/Missing terrain and misses. It will not fall into Broken/Missing terrain with its attacks unless forcefully pushed in.
-- Affix: NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.

Rass.EXE: 100 HP (Normal) (BusterCharge2)

Terrain: 20% Snow

• Non-Aqua Elementals get -10% Evasion and reduced movement speed.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage. Imbue Aqua if Null. Change terrain hit to Ice for 1 turn after turn hit, then back to Snow.
• Aqua attacks: 25% Freeze chance, change terrain hit to Normal if triggered. Boost chance to 100% if Ice-type.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Ice, generate Frosty Mist: -10% Accuracy for Non-Aqua Elementals, +10% evasion against Non-Aqua Elementals, Freeze1 effect for any Aqua or Wind attacks.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Freeze1.

, 80% Normal

• No effects.

-- Argo Side --
.AMALGAM: 500 HP (Normal) (10 HP ElecAura)
-- Head: Scuttler-Scuttler- (Scuttler-)

Scuttler- is an angry looking insectoid creature. Unlike the virus it was designed to be like, it is chartreuse instead of yellow. This metavirus were made in an attempt to recapture the devastating power of the LifeVirus's creations, byte for byte, to the inclusion/exclusion of various aspects of their virus components, such as removing all flight capability, and cranking up their innate aggressiveness. That they were regarded as failures is more an indication of the real things' incredible might than the metaviruses' weakness. They're still extremely vicious, and very much prefer attacking to dodging.

Area: All

HP: 410
Element: Elec

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Elec + Break + Piercing + Group Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Primary Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches a ball of electricity at the enemy. Accuracy decreases by one rank with each hit.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Elec + Seeking
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a thunderbolt on an enemy.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Small Solar Terrain Change + Cone Attack
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Uses plasma breath to give the enemy and the ground an unhealthy glow.

Special: ElecAura: Begins each battle with a 10 HP ElecAura, which is pierced and instantly destroyed by Wood attacks. This reforms at the end of each turn.
Special: LightningProof: Cannot be inflicted with Stun. Takes half damage from Elec attacks.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecShock1, AuraHead1, ElecAura1, Elec+20, Lightning (Rare), Zenny
-- Arms: Swordy-E EXSwordy-E EX (Swordy-E)

Area: SciLab, Electown, NAXA

HP: 120
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Elec + Long Range Attack + Slashing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: When this virus is 2 panels away from the target, or its enemies are 2-deep, it will attack with Elec Blade.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Wide Range Attack + Slashing
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: When this virus is standing directly adjacent to its target, or diagonally from it, it will attack with Elec Sword.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecKnife, Zenny
Special: Swordy-E's are immune to Stun Status.
Special: Uses Area Grab to get into attack range.
-- Body: Powie EXPowie EX (Powie)

Powies are never encountered in confined spaces, like a low ceilinged cave and such (for obvious reasons). Powies also never intentionally jump to broken or missing terrain. They will, however, attempt attacks over broken or missing terrain if they see an enemy there. Powies will not attempt to attack the same target on two consecutive actions.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Netopia, Beach

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: (Movement(High-Alt) + Knockback) Then (40 + Break + PanelCrack + Nova1)
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Leaps quickly into the air, knocking away anything it collides with, before stopping directly above an enemy. They will then immediately change into a 10-ton press and fall down. The impact of the fall creates an explosion.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Quake1, Zenny
Special: AirShoes.
Special: The explosion does not trigger if the virus attacks a target on Broken/Missing terrain and misses. It will not fall into Broken/Missing terrain with its attacks unless forcefully pushed in.
-- Affix: NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.

Argo.EXE: 100 HP (Normal) (BusterCharge2)

Terrain: 20% Snow

• Non-Aqua Elementals get -10% Evasion and reduced movement speed.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage. Imbue Aqua if Null. Change terrain hit to Ice for 1 turn after turn hit, then back to Snow.
• Aqua attacks: 25% Freeze chance, change terrain hit to Normal if triggered. Boost chance to 100% if Ice-type.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Ice, generate Frosty Mist: -10% Accuracy for Non-Aqua Elementals, +10% evasion against Non-Aqua Elementals, Freeze1 effect for any Aqua or Wind attacks.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Freeze1.

, 80% Normal

• No effects.

---

"Ema! Hey! Ema! You in here?!"

All of a sudden, the serious atmosphere was suddenly broken by the sound of another voice, echoing throughout the lab. Karen immediately shot up from her seat at the sound of the voice, and she turned to find a figure at the door to the server room. There, a long black-haired woman in a pair of loose pink pajamas and fluffy white sandals, her bed head signalling that she had likely just left her bed. Though the woman at the doorway looked a little younger, and had a smaller... build, than the scientist woman in front of her, Suien could definitely see that there was no denying the similarities in appearance between the two.

"Oh, there you are. Hot water's--" the woman started, before she paused, seeing that there was someone else in the room. "Whoa, okay, you brought someone in." A whistle escaped her lips. "Kinda cute."

"K--!" Something seemed to cut off out of Karen's lips as her face turned crimson red, before she stormed up to the doorway, with the unknown visitor quickly making a run for it, to the point of immediately leaving her sandals on the floor in front of the doorway. Karen only got up to the entrance herself, angrily clenching the doorframe as she watched the visitor escape off to another part of the building. Karen's head dropped immediately afterwards, and Suien could hear her frustrated groan from across the room. After a short while, she turned back, pressing at her temple with one hand.

Wordlessly, she sank into her swivel chair, refusing to meet Suien's gaze as she watched Rass and Argo negotiate with the Navi, with its body now freshly transformed once again. She returned to massaging her temples, muttering a "Why me..." under her breath.

--**--Real World--**--

Suien’s brow furrowed as he carefully listened to Karen’s explanation. It was clear that the researcher had been withholding information from him, though to what end, he could not ascertain. As she finished her appeal, the bespectacled netOp closed his eyes for a moment, stroking his chin as he mulled over the situation. This doesn’t make sense, he thought, According to Karen, this 'Reversal Backup System' collects junk datastreams from various predetermined network locations. It seems clear at this point that the anomaly was introduced with this portion of the network - so why couldn’t they simply erase this datastream entirely? Especially if the anomaly is expendable? The only reason this makes sense is if there were another reason why this datastream is so important…

“I think I understand,” he said, opening his eyes, with a sense of confidence heretofore unrevealed to his female companion, “Well, seems like we’ve found the problem with the viral infection - and it appears to be more or less tied to our present datastream. Since the job was to purge the infection, and not to revive that male navi over there, it seems that simply erasing this portion of network data from the network would finish the job...”

Glancing up at the display toward the amalgamated navi, Suien’s frown deepened in recognition as he saw the ridged, insectoid features of a Scuttler virus take shape. “...and frankly, given what that thing is made of, total deletion is probably what I’d recommend. Still though, I think Rass might be onto something with respect to negotiating with this amalgamate...” As he spoke, Suien wordlessly withdrew a pair of Wind battlechips and slid them into his PETs, eyes never leaving the amalgamated navi.

--*--Rass.EXE--**--

Impossible… those things are supposed to have died out decades ago... muttered Tem, recognizing the Scuttler virus’ distinctive crested head and insectoid eyes, Rass, change of plans. We need to delete that thing. Immediately.

“What? T-Tem, it’s working. It’s not attacking us,” protested Rass, “I mean sure, there are a lot of different viruses fused to that g-guy, but it’s nothing we haven’t dealt with before, right?”

No. Look at the head. That’s not an ordinary virus. interrupted Tem, It’s an approximation of a megavirus from almost a century ago - one that nearly shut down the entire global network.

“But S-Suien said he agrees that we can t-try to sequester that guy into the spare PET!” said Rass, taking another nervous step backward, “We can just get him out of here and see if someone can get him un-stuck”

That was before we knew what we’re dealing with. I’m sure even Suien realizes that coaxing that thing into a spare PET and handing it over to anyone - much less the Sharo government would be a mistake. replied Tem, To that point, I’m not even sure he can jack out anymore, based on what he’s saying. It’s… regrettable, but he might be beyond our help.

Rass nodded slowly, still unconvinced by Tem’s appeal. As the Wind battlechip downloaded itself into his systems, the fusion navi blinked in surprise, then, understanding his netOp’s intentions, quickly processed the data. Suien’s holding off on the aggressive battlechips - he must also be unsure about something... he thought, relieved that the anticipated all-out attack directive had not been issued. Extending his thumb and index finger into a finger-gun, he pointed toward the ground and projected a green wireframe onto the network. As fusionist protoplasm burst from his arm to fill in the large viral fan, Rass moved forward, extending his hands once again, attempting one more appeal while his netOp was otherwise preoccupied, "Don't worry, don't worry, this is just... just a demonstration," said Rass, in as calming a voice as he could manage, gesturing to the windbox as a demonstrative exhibit, "You see? We're the same as you. We're a f-fusion as well. If you follow us to the PET coordinates we provide you, we can help you. We're friends, see?"

Were you listening to anything I just said?! demanded Tem, a cobalt-blue swirl materializing on Rass' chest, Rass, that metavirus represents an existential threat to network society.

"S-Suien hasn't given us the order to engage, so I'm making the most of my resources," replied Rass, whispering to his chest, "And look, he's backed down a bit. Maybe there’s a chance.”

--**--Argo.EXE--**--

Argo blinked as Suien’s battlechip data came through the PET network. “Huh, just one chip and it’s the bigass fan. Guess we’re still doin’ defensive protocols then?” he quipped, leaping backward and assuming an aggressive stance, “Ishy, fire up Windbox and stand by. We don’t know what this guy’s packin’

AFFIRMATIVE, CORE SYSTEM ARGO replied Ishamel, displaying a myriad of crosshairs and battle data onto Argo’s heads-up display, COMMENCING BATTLE ROUTINE. GOT YOUR BACK, BRO.

Argo couldn’t help but flinch. “Ishy, do you have to keep saying that? It’s kinda… I dunno, cringey? Is that the word?” he complained, as a green wireframe outline of a windbox virus materialized in front of him, “But seriously, what gives? You’ve been callin’ me a ‘bro’ all this time, and you’ve started running simulations with Suien and other chicks? Don’t get me wrong, it’s kinda funny, but it’d also kinda... weird.”

The crosshairs and data slowed to a crawl as the targeting subsystem reallocated his processors toward formulating a response.

Quote (Flashback)

There’s another system in here, though I haven’t been able to get it to do much of anything yet. It’s a combat calculation AI that was, for better or for worse, not quite as far along in development here at MasterType Labs as either the Tempo or Einherjar projects. Designation 15H, designed for high speed predictive modeling.

Huh, kinda sounds like you. Why would the MasterType tech-heads be developin’ two projects that do the same thing? Seems redunderin’.

That’s “redundant,” and I don’t think it is. Though 15H’s calculation protocols are likely more advanced than mine, it seems to lack the capacity for anything greater than task-specific analysis.

So is he smarter than you?

...that’s a stupid question.

And that wasn’t an answer.

Because I refuse to dignify your stupid question with a response. First of all, 15H is not a “he,” it is a predictive modeling system. Therein lies a key distinction: one of us is designed for higher-level learning and adaptation. The other is a tool. Is a human smarter than a calculator?

That’s a little mean, Temmy. No need to get defensive. Come on, does he talk?

I am not getting defensive, and stop calling me that ridiculous nickname. And for your information, it is not much for conversation. Rather than building off of the Hikari AI Model, they were using some sort of bootleg Sharo AI to maximize calculating speed.

SYSTEM 15H ONLINE. AWAITING NEW USER DESIGNATION INPUT.

Great, you woke it up. It’s going to keep asking for a designation for the next few cycles, but it won’t accept 15H for some reason. Just ignore it and it’ll power down by itself...

After a brief pause, Ishamel spoke. OPTIMIZATION OF TEAMWORK PROTOCOLS REQUIRE UPGRADES TO SYSTEM ISHAMEL’S COMMUNICATION SUBROUTINES. SYSTEMS RASS, ARGO, AND TEM ARE EMBEDDED WITH HIKARI STANDARD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. he said, AS SYSTEM ISHAMEL POSSESSES NO SUCH PROGRAMMING, SYSTEM ISHAMEL SEEKS TO UPGRADE COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS BY EMULATING MORE HUMANLIKE BEHAVIOR.

“Wait, that’s the reason? Ishy, we don’t have any problem understandin’ you. You don’t gotta try to talk like a human.” replied Argo, ”Truth is, it’s a helluva lot tougher to understand you now that you’re talkin’ like a bizarro-human douchemonger.”

NEGATIVE. SUPPORT SYSTEM ISHAMEL IS ENGAGING IN CALCULATED INTERACTIONS WITH SUPPORT SYSTEM ARGO. DESIGNATION ‘BEST BRO’ IS THE TARGET RESULT. OPTIMAL DETERMINISTIC OUTCOME FOR ANY HUMAN OR HIKARI STANDARD AI INTERACTION NECESSARILY REQUIRES MAXIMIZATION OF EMPATHY POINTS.

Argo looked confused. “Um… Ishy, humans and Hikari AI don’t got ‘empathy points.’ That’s not a thing. I’m ninety... eight percent sure of that,” he said. A moment later, something clicked in Argo’s head. “Waitwaitwait, you’re doin that… uh… extrapolatin’ from data thing again, aren’t you? What database are you using?”

AFFIRMATIVE. SUPPORT SYSTEM ISHAMEL DOWNLOADED PERSONALITY.DAT FROM ONLINE DATABASE. DESIGNATION: RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY FRIENDS - THESE MEN STORIES. THE NAME SUGGESTS DATABASE IS OPTIMIZED FOR HUMAN/COMPUTER PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERFACING.

Argo thought for a moment before burying his face in his gauntleted hand. “Ishamel, that’s uh… you’re not reading that quite right. At all. It’s ‘Ram Friends - The S...'” he trailed off as, surprisingly, a faint blush colored his cheeks, ”...look, that’s not a psychological database. That’s an Electopian video game for... adults.”

Another pause. IMPOSSIBLE. replied Ishamel, PERSONALITY.DAT OFFERS VALUABLE PREDICTIVE ANALYTIC TOOLS FOR EVALUATING INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS, PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO CONFIGURATIONS INVOLVING TWO OR MORE MALE PERSONALITY MATRICIES. STAND BY FOR ANALYSIS OF CORE SYSTEM ARGO USING ALGORITHMS DERIVED FROM PERSONALITY.DAT.

Argo was mortified. His face twisted into an amalgamation of confusion, embarrassment, and fury as, at Ishamel’s direction, new streams of data poured down his viewfinder.

“I... Wh... A....The &%$# is a ‘tsundere?!” he shouted, ignoring for the moment the amalgamation situated to his side. If the creature was paying attention, it might have found a kindred spirit in Argo, who had started shouting a barely-coherent string of obscenities at his left arm.

--**--Real World--**--

Suien’s eyes turned to the male netnavi that Karen had pointed out. “What I don’t understand is why we need to use this particular datastream to revive that navi. I don’t think it’s information on this particular encounter, because it sounds like his female counterpart is still operational. I don’t think it’s personal either, since there should probably be any number of different datastreams that you could run through this system to get that navi’s data from...

Quote (???)

"Ema! Hey! Ema! You in here?!"

Suien’s musings were interrupted by smaller, younger woman’s abrupt appearance at the doorframe. He whirled around and followed Karen’s gaze, locking eyes for a moment with the newcomer. As Karen bolted off toward the door, Suien leaped to his feet and took a few steps forward. A…roommate? A sister? he thought, taking in the younger woman’s attire and physique, I thought this was a secure military research facility. Why does it look like she just woke up? And why is she calling for ‘Ema? Karen wouldn’t have any reason to hide her own identity from an outside contractor unless...

Quote (”Karen” Ezalith)

As for the network itself... Well... I don't know! This is the first time that I've had an actual look into it, everything before was just proxy readings."

...I'm not the only one who shouldn't be here.

“Okay, look.” said Suien in a hushed tone, taking a seat in the swivel chair adjacent to “Karen” and leaning inward conspiratorially, “I’m just an IT guy sent by the GNA. In that capacity, the safest solution here would be for me to jack-out Rass, and for you to obliterate this portion of the network, giving up on getting that navi’s backup data.”

Suien took a moment for that suggestion to sink in before continuing. “Now, I’m not going to pretend that I fully understand the situation, but I think it’s pretty clear that there’s something pretty important about this navi at this time such that you’d risk compromising this system to try and obtain. I also think it’s pretty clear that you’re engaging in some mild subterfuge here to do so, which frankly doesn’t concern me.” Suien paused, glancing upward toward the Scuttle-headed amalgamate before turning back, “With that in mind, I think we might be able to help each other out.”

Suien leaned in a little closer. “I’m not concerned with any details as to who you are, who that was in the doorway just now, what this facility is, or even why that particular male netNavi is so important to you. The only thing I’m concerned with is fixing this network with as little bloodshed as possible. To this end, I need your help to determine if there is a way to extract the amalgam’s data from the network to that spare PET.”

He hesitated for a moment, finally extending his hand to “Karen” for a handshake and doing his best to affix his gaze to his purported co-conspirator’s despite her evasions. “If we have an accord, I promise that you’ll have my full cooperation, in the completion of your research, as well as with respect to any followup or reporting - or lack thereof - that you might desire,” he said, ”You’ll have your navi, the government will have its system, and I… will be wherever or whomever you want me to be, for as long as you want me to be.”

Suien smiled his most disarming smile, oblivious to the potential for misinterpretation his phrasing may have carried. “You understand what I’m saying, right?”

TURN SPLICE

Rass:
1: WindHP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Status Effect: Wind Effect + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a WindBox to push enemies back and reduce their accuracy.
Duration: 3 turns or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: D: 100HP Anchored Object, 3-Turn: Wind + To-All-Enemy (Acc: S) - Appeal to Amalgam's empathy

Argo:
1: WindHP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Status Effect: Wind Effect + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a WindBox to push enemies back and reduce their accuracy.
Duration: 3 turns or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: D: 100HP Anchored Object, 3-Turn: Wind + To-All-Enemy (Acc: S) - (Inadvertently) Appeal to Amalgam's empathy.

As Suien proposed his suggestion to Karen, she narrowed her eyes for a moment, her brow furrowed in slight confusion. "... Wha--no, I'm not giving up on this," she murmured. After the brief pause, at the mention of "compromise" and "subterfuge", her expression added in some incredulity into the mix. She raised her finger in preparation to object, but just as she was about to reply to his accusations, Suien made a further incursion into her space, causing her to recoil slightly in her chair. His suggestion to extract the amalgam Navi into the spare PET only made a passing stroll through her head as she brought her hands up against her chest, palms towards him in a protective gesture.

As the handshake was offered, she blinked in his face, with her slightly open mouth curved in a nervous laugh. "H-Hang on, hold on," she said, her cheeks slightly flushed. Her arms crossed in front of her. "Time out, time out for a second. Let's not make promises yet, moving way too fast here." With that, she nudged her swivel chair away from Suien with her foot, pushing herself backwards until a few feet of space separated them. With her hand on her chest, she then took a deep breath, and Suien could swear she murmured "my heart..." under her breath for a second.

"Okay... first off..." she started, digging through her pockets for a few seconds, before pulling out an ID card. In front of it, a picture of the woman in front of him was displayed. On top of it was a holographic logo of a blue pentagon surrounded by five similarly-colored diamond shapes, with "Ezarith" written in Sharoan under it. Under the photo was "Ema Ezarith" written across the bottom. "Sorry for the uh, misdirection. Even if you don't care for the specifics. Make no mistake, though, I do work here. The other girl that you just saw is Karen, my sister. We're both working on this system. She just... prefers to sleep here, for whatever reason."

Sighing, she then pocketed the card, turning towards the screens that displayed both Rass and Argo on either end of the system, with the other figures also visible. "Anyway, you're right, there's a reason I'm looking to extract this Navi at this specific time. I was expecting that you would have had to deal with that... thing, over there, by force. Didn't expect it to be so suddenly docile..." Ema then turned back to Suien. "Anyway, like I said, I can't have that virus conglomerate Navi leaving this system. If you're looking to take it back for whatever reason, either in some show of sympathy, or to analyze it for... its constituent parts... well, I'm not sure you can even leave Sharo. And if you get caught with that, I've got no doubt it'd get eventually traced back to me." She pursed her lips. "Worse still, it won't be just me, but my family, too."

Turning her attention towards the screen, Ema lowered her voice before continuing, "There's no reason to extract it either, especially now that it seems to be dissuaded from attacking. For now, at least." She turned back. "If you can somehow bring back that Sharoan Navi's data without having that... thing attack you, that would be the best outcome. When you jack out your 'Rass', I can wipe this data sector, and hopefully that'll fix the system like you said. If it's doing what I think it's doing, at least."

---

On the network side, Rass's conflict with Tem, along with Ishamel's incursion into age-restricted entertainment, didn't stop them from summoning a WindBox against the amalgam Navi, who seemed to be confused with how the situation was going. "F-Friends...?" it said with an uncertain voice. Argo's flurry of obscenities didn't seem to faze it as much as the bluster of wind from the WindBoxes, which caused it to stumble slightly in its floating position. The Metool boots under its Powie body flapped around in the strong wind, as it began to flail its electrical sword ineffectually. "Friends... help! Help!" the Navi began to cry out.

-- Rass Side --
.AMALGAM: 500 HP (Normal) (10 HP ElecAura) (3 Actions Remaining)
-- Head: Scuttler-Scuttler- (Scuttler-)

Scuttler- is an angry looking insectoid creature. Unlike the virus it was designed to be like, it is chartreuse instead of yellow. This metavirus were made in an attempt to recapture the devastating power of the LifeVirus's creations, byte for byte, to the inclusion/exclusion of various aspects of their virus components, such as removing all flight capability, and cranking up their innate aggressiveness. That they were regarded as failures is more an indication of the real things' incredible might than the metaviruses' weakness. They're still extremely vicious, and very much prefer attacking to dodging.

Area: All

HP: 410
Element: Elec

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Elec + Break + Piercing + Group Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Primary Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches a ball of electricity at the enemy. Accuracy decreases by one rank with each hit.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Elec + Seeking
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a thunderbolt on an enemy.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Small Solar Terrain Change + Cone Attack
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Uses plasma breath to give the enemy and the ground an unhealthy glow.

Special: ElecAura: Begins each battle with a 10 HP ElecAura, which is pierced and instantly destroyed by Wood attacks. This reforms at the end of each turn.
Special: LightningProof: Cannot be inflicted with Stun. Takes half damage from Elec attacks.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecShock1, AuraHead1, ElecAura1, Elec+20, Lightning (Rare), Zenny
-- Arms: Swordy-E EXSwordy-E EX (Swordy-E)

Area: SciLab, Electown, NAXA

HP: 120
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Elec + Long Range Attack + Slashing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: When this virus is 2 panels away from the target, or its enemies are 2-deep, it will attack with Elec Blade.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Wide Range Attack + Slashing
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: When this virus is standing directly adjacent to its target, or diagonally from it, it will attack with Elec Sword.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecKnife, Zenny
Special: Swordy-E's are immune to Stun Status.
Special: Uses Area Grab to get into attack range.
-- Body: Powie EXPowie EX (Powie)

Powies are never encountered in confined spaces, like a low ceilinged cave and such (for obvious reasons). Powies also never intentionally jump to broken or missing terrain. They will, however, attempt attacks over broken or missing terrain if they see an enemy there. Powies will not attempt to attack the same target on two consecutive actions.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Netopia, Beach

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: (Movement(High-Alt) + Knockback) Then (40 + Break + PanelCrack + Nova1)
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Leaps quickly into the air, knocking away anything it collides with, before stopping directly above an enemy. They will then immediately change into a 10-ton press and fall down. The impact of the fall creates an explosion.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Quake1, Zenny
Special: AirShoes.
Special: The explosion does not trigger if the virus attacks a target on Broken/Missing terrain and misses. It will not fall into Broken/Missing terrain with its attacks unless forcefully pushed in.
-- Affix: NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.

Rass.EXE: 100 HP (Normal) (BusterCharge2) (4 Actions Remaining)

WindHP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Status Effect: Wind Effect + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a WindBox to push enemies back and reduce their accuracy.
Duration: 3 turns or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: D: 100 HP

Terrain: 20% Snow

• Non-Aqua Elementals get -10% Evasion and reduced movement speed.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage. Imbue Aqua if Null. Change terrain hit to Ice for 1 turn after turn hit, then back to Snow.
• Aqua attacks: 25% Freeze chance, change terrain hit to Normal if triggered. Boost chance to 100% if Ice-type.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Ice, generate Frosty Mist: -10% Accuracy for Non-Aqua Elementals, +10% evasion against Non-Aqua Elementals, Freeze1 effect for any Aqua or Wind attacks.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Freeze1.

, 80% Normal

• No effects.

-- Argo Side --
.AMALGAM: 500 HP (Normal) (10 HP ElecAura) (3 Actions Remaining)
-- Head: Scuttler-Scuttler- (Scuttler-)

Scuttler- is an angry looking insectoid creature. Unlike the virus it was designed to be like, it is chartreuse instead of yellow. This metavirus were made in an attempt to recapture the devastating power of the LifeVirus's creations, byte for byte, to the inclusion/exclusion of various aspects of their virus components, such as removing all flight capability, and cranking up their innate aggressiveness. That they were regarded as failures is more an indication of the real things' incredible might than the metaviruses' weakness. They're still extremely vicious, and very much prefer attacking to dodging.

Area: All

HP: 410
Element: Elec

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Elec + Break + Piercing + Group Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Primary Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches a ball of electricity at the enemy. Accuracy decreases by one rank with each hit.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Elec + Seeking
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a thunderbolt on an enemy.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Small Solar Terrain Change + Cone Attack
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Uses plasma breath to give the enemy and the ground an unhealthy glow.

Special: ElecAura: Begins each battle with a 10 HP ElecAura, which is pierced and instantly destroyed by Wood attacks. This reforms at the end of each turn.
Special: LightningProof: Cannot be inflicted with Stun. Takes half damage from Elec attacks.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecShock1, AuraHead1, ElecAura1, Elec+20, Lightning (Rare), Zenny
-- Arms: Swordy-E EXSwordy-E EX (Swordy-E)

Area: SciLab, Electown, NAXA

HP: 120
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Elec + Long Range Attack + Slashing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: When this virus is 2 panels away from the target, or its enemies are 2-deep, it will attack with Elec Blade.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Wide Range Attack + Slashing
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: When this virus is standing directly adjacent to its target, or diagonally from it, it will attack with Elec Sword.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecKnife, Zenny
Special: Swordy-E's are immune to Stun Status.
Special: Uses Area Grab to get into attack range.
-- Body: Powie EXPowie EX (Powie)

Powies are never encountered in confined spaces, like a low ceilinged cave and such (for obvious reasons). Powies also never intentionally jump to broken or missing terrain. They will, however, attempt attacks over broken or missing terrain if they see an enemy there. Powies will not attempt to attack the same target on two consecutive actions.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Netopia, Beach

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: (Movement(High-Alt) + Knockback) Then (40 + Break + PanelCrack + Nova1)
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Leaps quickly into the air, knocking away anything it collides with, before stopping directly above an enemy. They will then immediately change into a 10-ton press and fall down. The impact of the fall creates an explosion.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Quake1, Zenny
Special: AirShoes.
Special: The explosion does not trigger if the virus attacks a target on Broken/Missing terrain and misses. It will not fall into Broken/Missing terrain with its attacks unless forcefully pushed in.
-- Affix: NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.

Argo.EXE: 100 HP (Normal) (BusterCharge2) (3 Actions Remaining)

WindHP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Status Effect: Wind Effect + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a WindBox to push enemies back and reduce their accuracy.
Duration: 3 turns or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: D: 100 HP

Terrain: 20% Snow

• Non-Aqua Elementals get -10% Evasion and reduced movement speed.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage. Imbue Aqua if Null. Change terrain hit to Ice for 1 turn after turn hit, then back to Snow.
• Aqua attacks: 25% Freeze chance, change terrain hit to Normal if triggered. Boost chance to 100% if Ice-type.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Ice, generate Frosty Mist: -10% Accuracy for Non-Aqua Elementals, +10% evasion against Non-Aqua Elementals, Freeze1 effect for any Aqua or Wind attacks.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Freeze1.

, 80% Normal

• No effects.

--**--Argo.EXE--**--

With Suien’s attention focused entirely on Ema, Argo and Ishamel were, unfortunately, left to their own devices.

Not that there was any shortage of things for the two of them to discuss.

“Okay, so… you’re tellin’ me that you think you can get along better with me because of that stupid porny algorithm you found?” demanded Argo, with as measured a tone as the furious navi could manage, “Yeah, I don’t buy it. That doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.”

SUPPORT SYSTEM ISHAMEL DISAGREES. PERSONALITY.DAT CONCLUDES THAT SYSTEM ARGO EXHIBITS OUTWARD HOSTILITY TOWARD THOSE HE INTERACTS WITH. SYSTEM ARGO PRESENTS AN OUTWARD IMAGE OF TOUGHNESS AND MASCULINITY.

“It ain’t an image, but… yeah, I’m tough, so what?” he spat, shifting uncomfortably, “you shouldn’t need any complicated analysis to show how awesome I am.”

NEGATIVE. THIS OUTWARD CONFIGURATION CONCEALS INWARD SENSITIVITY AND VULNERABILITY. THESE QUALITIES CAN BE UNLOCKED THROUGH THE REPEATED ACHIEVEMENT OF SYSTEM ARGO’S EMPATHY POINT THRESHOLD.”

Argo stomped the network with a resounding crack, “Ishy, I told you before, that ain’t a thing! I don't have a... whatsit... an empathy point whatever!” he shouted, “and I ain’t sensitive! I'm a badass! Where are you getting that absurd…”

FURTHERMORE, SYSTEM ARGO IS CHARACTERIZED BY APPREHENSION PERTAINING TO THE REVELATION OF HIS SENSITIVE ASPECT. SYSTEM ARGO WILL UTILIZE ANY AND ALL PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL DEFENSES TO PROTECT DISCLOSURE OF SENSITIVE PERSONALITY.

”What?! Apprehension pertainin’ to a revelation? Emotional defenses? What the %$#$ are you goin’ on about?! What the %#$@ do you think I need to hide?!” demanded Argo.

SYSTEM ARGO IS AFRAID.

The roar of the Windbox notwithstanding, the silence was palpable.

--**--Real World--**--

Suien frowned for what seemed like the millionth time today. He had hoped that revealing “Karen’s” - or rather, Ema’s - deception with a dramatic power play would land him an alliance (or at the very least, a begrudging temporary pact) with the duplicitous researcher. Now, as he examined what appeared to be a legitimate identification card in the hands of a flustered young woman, he was concerned that he had overplayed his hand.

Not only that, but Ema had a point. What the heck was he going to do with a viral amalgamation anyways? It was bad enough carrying Rass into and around Sharo - the last thing he needed was to also get caught smuggling freaking Life Virus data across international borders. Getting tossed into a Sharoan gulag wasn’t going to help anyone. Not him, not Rass, not the Ezariths, and certainly not the hapless, back-from-the-dead navi fused to a cyber-biological weapon of mass destruction.

”I… see. I’ll be honest, I think Rass’ interest in this amalgamate is derived from sympathy, rather than any academic interest in further study,” he said finally, withdrawing his proffered hand and moving it to his chin, stroking his stubble as he glanced upward in thought, “I get what you’re saying though. You can’t trust me to take that thing outside of this facility - I’d probably say the same thing if I were in your shoes.”

The bespectacled netOp’s brow furrowed as he turned back toward Karen. “In that case, might I propose a secondary solution? Why don’t you keep the amalgamate? Off the books, I mean.”

Anticipating Ema’s incredulity, Suien raised a hand, “Hear me out,” he said, “I may be speaking out of turn, but think about what this amalgamate is capable of. It possesses multiple data signatures and is able to function semi-autonomously in several temporally disparate locations. In short, it presents a unique means of interacting directly with the source data - to an extent that surpasses even Rass and his subsystems. I know you’ve got a pretty solid array of scanners to analyze the data, but there’s a reason why people use network navigators for troubleshooting and delicate systems analysis.” Suien nodded as he glanced over toward the monitors, “I admit it’s probably a bit of a long shot, but if you can get him under control, I have to imagine this amalgamate would be a pretty useful thing to keep around.”

Oblivious to any reaction by Ema, he pressed onward. “Look, I’m assuming you still have the analysis you conducted on the Fusionist Protoplasm when you scanned Rass. That should provide you with some baseline data you could use to reign in this amalgam’s more unpredictable tendencies” he said, gesturing toward his PET, “I’d offer to assist in any way that I can, but honestly you’re… you’re a genius. You figured out how Rass worked in an afternoon, which is frankly more than I was able to do after years of observation and analysis. I’m sure if anyone could figure out how to fix this navi, it’s you.”

Suien paused, looking again at the monitors. “Also, appeals to sympathy aside, I think that trying to extract the amalgamate might be the most practical solution,” he added, tapping his chin, “I’d submit that manually removing the amalgam from the system is likely a safer option than zeroing out and rebooting and hoping that it gets phased out with the trash. We’ve already seen that it’s capable of weathering the Replication Integrity Scan, which means that this thing has a pretty solid built-in resilience to the system features. Even if Rass and Argo could delete this thing - and I’m not entirely sure they could, given what it’s made of - there’d be no guarantee that it couldn’t revive itself, weather the deletion of this datastream, and infect new streams that you input into the system. If we extract the amalgamate, however, I imagine you could run whatever protocols you need to get that navi’s data, completely unimpeded.”

Realizing he had been talking one-sidedly to Ema, he shook his head and took a step backward to give the dark-haired researcher some space. “Ah, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to get carried away,“ he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, “That said, I think this might be the best way forward. Your server gets fixed, your navi gets recovered, and you get a useful tool to assist with troubleshooting and navigating this system in the future.”

Suien hesitated for a moment before continuing, locking eyes with Ema once more. “and… if you need additional assurances or concessions on my end, I’m… willing to provide them, within reason. Just let me know. I’ve got a few ideas on how we might handle the extraction, but I want to make sure: are you on board with this?”

--**--Rass.EXE--**--

Tem could scarcely believe what she was seeing. It’s… not attacking us? she muttered, apparating upon Rass’ chest and glaring suspiciously at the amalgam, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still think that any rational person would see that deleting this creature is in the best interest of networked society.

The azure subsystem’s piercing gaze softened as she watched the amalgam flail around and call for help in the wake of the mighty gales surging forth from the Windbox. Nevertheless, I’m forced to concede the possibility that there may be some hope here after all, she sighed, You never cease to amaze me, Rass - just when I think I have a handle on what makes that little brain of yours tick, you go and do something like this.

Rass tilted his head in confusion at Tem’s backhanded compliment. “Thanks, I think?” he said finally, “I can n-never tell when you’re making fun of me, but that didn’t sound like an insult”

Mmm… indeed. Unpredictability keeps things interesting, after all. was Tem’s non-responsive response, Incidentally, your new friend appears to be struggling. Perhaps doing something about that Windbox might assist you in further currying its favor.

“O-Oh, right!” stammered Rass, extending his arm toward the Windbox. With a twist of his wrist, he rotated the Windbox away from the amalgamate, in an effort to protect the amalgamate from the mounting winds. With a gulp and a momentary pause to gather his courage, the small, pink navi took a few nervous steps toward the amalgamate.

“H-Hey there friend,” he said, extending his arms in as welcoming a gesture as he could manage, “I n-need you to calm down. From one friend to another, we can h-help you. We just need you to r-relax. Try to keep yourself s-stable. Can you d-do that for us?”

--**--Argo.EXE--**--

Argo spoke first. “Y...You’re sayin’ some pretty r-ridiculous stuff there, Ishy!” he stammered, “You can stop jokin’ around. What, you’re sayin’ I’m scared of somethin’? Fine, what’s that then?”

SYSTEM ARGO IS AFRAID OF WEAKNESS

“Hah, weakness? WEAKNESS?! That’s &%$# and you know it! Only weakness I’m afraid of is Rasshole bein’ so weak that he drags me down with him! Suck that, algorithm!”

CLARIFICATION: SYSTEM ARGO IS AFRAID OF BEING PERCEIVED AS WEAK

Another pause. Argo stared blankly into the distance, mulling over his subsystem's words.

Quote (Flashback)

What do you MEAN you can't do anything?! You're a thinker like Tem! You and your... your strategies! Your plans! Say something! Suien was surprised to hear Argo's voice carry such a tone of helplessness and desperation in it.

(Source: “Electown Research”)

Quote (Flashback)

What?! You... I... USELESS?! I'll %&$#ing show you &%$#sucking mother&%$#ers USELESS! EUAAAAAARGH! Rass' normally black body turned a deep shade of emerald green as Argo overtook the fusion navi's movement systems. NOBODY &%$@ING CALLS ARGO USELESS! NOT TEM, NOT ISHAMEL, AND ESPECIALLY NOT YOU, RASSHOLE!

(Source: “Party!”)

Argo breathed heavily, looking back and forth between the crimson buster cannon on his right hand and the tightly clenched fist on his left. Beads of nervous sweat began to form on his face. “HAH, Weak? You think I’m afraid of lookin’ weak?” he laughed uneasily, bracing his hand against his helmet, “So yeah, maybe I… maybe I… maybe I get a little pissed when people start to question how badass I am. That doesn’t mean I’m afraid of bein’ weak! I ain’t afraid of anything! That’s the most &%$#in’ ridiculous thing I’ve ever &%$#in’ heard! Yeah! Stop &%$%in’ tauntin’ me, you dumbass motherboard-&%$&in’ piece of &%$% calculator!”

In stark contrast to Argo’s rapidly-increasing agitation, Ishamel seemed to remain remarkably calm. SYSTEM ISHAMEL IS NOT ATTEMPTING TO BELITTLE....

“%$&% YOU!” roared Argo, now completely ignoring the amalgamate as he roughly pulled his helmet off of his head and slammed it onto the network. The Windbox, unconsciously shifting to the target of Argo’s aggression, turned to face the furious green navi and the crimson buster on his arm...

Turn Splice 2:

Rass:

Mobilize - Turn Windbox Away from .Amalgam
2: Convince .Amalgam to Lay Down Arms

Argo:

Mobilize - Turn Windbox Away from .Amalgam
2: Existential Crisis

"Sympathy... yeah, that makes sense, I guess," said Ema, taking a glance at the screens that Suien had up for monitoring Rass and company. From what she had heard of the conversations he had with his Navi, Rass's personality was definitely more on the soft side. For the moment, it seemed like Rass had things under control, managing to turn the Windbox's blustery winds away from the amalgamate. The other end... didn't seem to be doing much to help, with Argo's argument with his "bro" continuing to escalate rapidly.

Thankfully for the amalgamate, the Windbox appeared to do the same thing that it pleaded for on both ends, which was turning away from its direction. However, while it stopped struggling, it still kept a distance from both Rass and Argo. Its Scuttle head drew back as it kept its glowing yellow sword at the ready. When Argo's outburst came to a peak and he took off his helmet to slam it down, the amalgamate's head twitched briefly, following the tossed headgear with its pointed sword, but no further. Things seemed to be getting tense...

Meanwhile, on the real world side, Ema's expression mellowed out into relief as Suien retreated on his position, both physically and persuasively. "Right, right, that's what I was getting at," she nodded, happy that he seemed to be seeing things from her perspective. Her relief was short-lived, however, as he proposed an alternative, and her brow furrowed once more. As Suien listed out the various benefits of having a monstrous abomination around the lab, she began idly fidgeting, scratching at her own neck with a conflicted-looking expression.

While Suien was talking, the earlier woman reappeared in the doorway, though only half of her head showed, peeking (somewhat) surreptitiously into the room. Suppressing a giggle as she covered her mouth, Karen listened in on the conversation, looking all too much like a curious child.

Ema didn't seem to notice, still engrossed in contemplation. "Yeah... Of course, I-I'm a genius. I could do that..." she muttered, her volume lowering with every word. Her hand moved from the back of her neck to her face, covering her mouth as her expression darkened further. Her eyes periodically darted between the terminal monitors and Suien. Trying to avoid prolonged eye contact with the latter as her cheeks started reddening, she also noted that the amalgamate hadn't done much in the way of attacking, only apprehensive waiting.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed. "Well, if we can manage to extract both, it would probably be for the best... Lead the way, I guess--" said Ema, when she suddenly jerked herself upright, interrupted by Argo's loud outburst coming from the terminal speakers. She blinked for a second, before commenting, "Er, that doesn't sound good."

-- Rass Side --
.AMALGAM: 500 HP (Normal) (10 HP ElecAura) (2 Actions Remaining)
-- Head: Scuttler-Scuttler- (Scuttler-)

Scuttler- is an angry looking insectoid creature. Unlike the virus it was designed to be like, it is chartreuse instead of yellow. This metavirus were made in an attempt to recapture the devastating power of the LifeVirus's creations, byte for byte, to the inclusion/exclusion of various aspects of their virus components, such as removing all flight capability, and cranking up their innate aggressiveness. That they were regarded as failures is more an indication of the real things' incredible might than the metaviruses' weakness. They're still extremely vicious, and very much prefer attacking to dodging.

Area: All

HP: 410
Element: Elec

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Elec + Break + Piercing + Group Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Primary Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches a ball of electricity at the enemy. Accuracy decreases by one rank with each hit.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Elec + Seeking
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a thunderbolt on an enemy.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Small Solar Terrain Change + Cone Attack
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Uses plasma breath to give the enemy and the ground an unhealthy glow.

Special: ElecAura: Begins each battle with a 10 HP ElecAura, which is pierced and instantly destroyed by Wood attacks. This reforms at the end of each turn.
Special: LightningProof: Cannot be inflicted with Stun. Takes half damage from Elec attacks.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecShock1, AuraHead1, ElecAura1, Elec+20, Lightning (Rare), Zenny
-- Arms: Swordy-E EXSwordy-E EX (Swordy-E)

Area: SciLab, Electown, NAXA

HP: 120
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Elec + Long Range Attack + Slashing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: When this virus is 2 panels away from the target, or its enemies are 2-deep, it will attack with Elec Blade.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Wide Range Attack + Slashing
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: When this virus is standing directly adjacent to its target, or diagonally from it, it will attack with Elec Sword.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecKnife, Zenny
Special: Swordy-E's are immune to Stun Status.
Special: Uses Area Grab to get into attack range.
-- Body: Powie EXPowie EX (Powie)

Powies are never encountered in confined spaces, like a low ceilinged cave and such (for obvious reasons). Powies also never intentionally jump to broken or missing terrain. They will, however, attempt attacks over broken or missing terrain if they see an enemy there. Powies will not attempt to attack the same target on two consecutive actions.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Netopia, Beach

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: (Movement(High-Alt) + Knockback) Then (40 + Break + PanelCrack + Nova1)
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Leaps quickly into the air, knocking away anything it collides with, before stopping directly above an enemy. They will then immediately change into a 10-ton press and fall down. The impact of the fall creates an explosion.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Quake1, Zenny
Special: AirShoes.
Special: The explosion does not trigger if the virus attacks a target on Broken/Missing terrain and misses. It will not fall into Broken/Missing terrain with its attacks unless forcefully pushed in.
-- Affix: NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.

Rass.EXE: 100 HP (Normal) (BusterCharge2) (3 Actions Remaining)

WindHP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Status Effect: Wind Effect + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a WindBox to push enemies back and reduce their accuracy.
Duration: 3 turns or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: D: 100 HP

Terrain: 20% Snow

• Non-Aqua Elementals get -10% Evasion and reduced movement speed.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage. Imbue Aqua if Null. Change terrain hit to Ice for 1 turn after turn hit, then back to Snow.
• Aqua attacks: 25% Freeze chance, change terrain hit to Normal if triggered. Boost chance to 100% if Ice-type.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Ice, generate Frosty Mist: -10% Accuracy for Non-Aqua Elementals, +10% evasion against Non-Aqua Elementals, Freeze1 effect for any Aqua or Wind attacks.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Freeze1.

, 80% Normal

• No effects.

-- Argo Side --
.AMALGAM: 500 HP (Normal) (10 HP ElecAura) (2 Actions Remaining)
-- Head: Scuttler-Scuttler- (Scuttler-)

Scuttler- is an angry looking insectoid creature. Unlike the virus it was designed to be like, it is chartreuse instead of yellow. This metavirus were made in an attempt to recapture the devastating power of the LifeVirus's creations, byte for byte, to the inclusion/exclusion of various aspects of their virus components, such as removing all flight capability, and cranking up their innate aggressiveness. That they were regarded as failures is more an indication of the real things' incredible might than the metaviruses' weakness. They're still extremely vicious, and very much prefer attacking to dodging.

Area: All

HP: 410
Element: Elec

Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Elec + Break + Piercing + Group Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Primary Attack Description: Lines up with a target and launches a ball of electricity at the enemy. Accuracy decreases by one rank with each hit.

Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Elec + Seeking
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Drops a thunderbolt on an enemy.

Tertiary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Small Solar Terrain Change + Cone Attack
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Tertiary Attack Description: Uses plasma breath to give the enemy and the ground an unhealthy glow.

Special: ElecAura: Begins each battle with a 10 HP ElecAura, which is pierced and instantly destroyed by Wood attacks. This reforms at the end of each turn.
Special: LightningProof: Cannot be inflicted with Stun. Takes half damage from Elec attacks.

Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecShock1, AuraHead1, ElecAura1, Elec+20, Lightning (Rare), Zenny
-- Arms: Swordy-E EXSwordy-E EX (Swordy-E)

Area: SciLab, Electown, NAXA

HP: 120
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Elec + Long Range Attack + Slashing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: When this virus is 2 panels away from the target, or its enemies are 2-deep, it will attack with Elec Blade.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Wide Range Attack + Slashing
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: When this virus is standing directly adjacent to its target, or diagonally from it, it will attack with Elec Sword.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecKnife, Zenny
Special: Swordy-E's are immune to Stun Status.
Special: Uses Area Grab to get into attack range.
-- Body: Powie EXPowie EX (Powie)

Powies are never encountered in confined spaces, like a low ceilinged cave and such (for obvious reasons). Powies also never intentionally jump to broken or missing terrain. They will, however, attempt attacks over broken or missing terrain if they see an enemy there. Powies will not attempt to attack the same target on two consecutive actions.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Netopia, Beach

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: (Movement(High-Alt) + Knockback) Then (40 + Break + PanelCrack + Nova1)
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Leaps quickly into the air, knocking away anything it collides with, before stopping directly above an enemy. They will then immediately change into a 10-ton press and fall down. The impact of the fall creates an explosion.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Quake1, Zenny
Special: AirShoes.
Special: The explosion does not trigger if the virus attacks a target on Broken/Missing terrain and misses. It will not fall into Broken/Missing terrain with its attacks unless forcefully pushed in.
-- Affix: NeoMetoolNeoMetool (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Spread 1
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit another one directly behind it.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Shotgun, ShieldGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding with a non-Break attack, its next attack will do 30 damage instead of 10. This effect does not stack across multiple hits.

Argo.EXE: 100 HP (Normal) (BusterCharge2) (3 Actions Remaining)

WindHP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Status Effect: Wind Effect + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a WindBox to push enemies back and reduce their accuracy.
Duration: 3 turns or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: D: 100 HP

Terrain: 20% Snow

• Non-Aqua Elementals get -10% Evasion and reduced movement speed.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage. Imbue Aqua if Null. Change terrain hit to Ice for 1 turn after turn hit, then back to Snow.
• Aqua attacks: 25% Freeze chance, change terrain hit to Normal if triggered. Boost chance to 100% if Ice-type.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Ice, generate Frosty Mist: -10% Accuracy for Non-Aqua Elementals, +10% evasion against Non-Aqua Elementals, Freeze1 effect for any Aqua or Wind attacks.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Freeze1.

, 80% Normal

• No effects.

--**--Real World--**--

As Argo’s enraged outburst echoed throughout the laboratory, Suien felt himself tense up, turning his attention away from Ema to the monitor on Argo’s side. “Ohhhh no no no no no,” muttered Suien, whirling in place and hunching over his PET, “Argo? What’s wrong? Is everything okay over there?

AFFIRMATIVE, OPERATOR SUIEN MATSUMOTO, was Ishamel’s robotic reply, SYSTEM ISHAMEL HAS REACHED A SPECIAL EVENT FLAG WITH SYSTEM ARGO

Suien’s brow furrowed in confusion and concern. “Wait, Ishamel? What do you mean 'special event flag?'" he demanded before shaking his head, "Nevermind. Look, can you just put Argo on?”

NEGATIVE. COMMUNICATIONS UPLINK TO CORE UNIT ARGO HAS BEEN DISABLED. RESOLUTION OF SPECIAL EVENT MUST BE THROUGH SUPPORT SYSTEM ISHAMEL TO MAXIMIZE EMPATHY POINTS. I HAVE A PLAN

Em…. Empathy points? Ishamel, I don’t care if you have a plan, this isn’t a game!” shouted Suien, his fingers flying across the PET keyboard, “Ishamel? Ishamel?! ISHAMEL!”

--**--Argo.EXE--**--

The heavily-breathing Argo glared off toward his discarded helmet, the viral amalgamation all but forgotten. Beads of sweat appeared on his heavily furrowed brow as he glowered and fumed.

CORE SYSTEM ARGO, began Ishamel, uncharacteristically apologetic despite his robotic monotone, SYSTEM ISHAMEL DID NOT MEAN TO IMPLY THAT YOU WERE WEAK. ON THE CONTRARY…

“Shut the &%$# up, Ishy, I ain’t talkin’ to you!” pouted Argo, “Maybe you’re right though. You sure as &%$% don’t know how to talk to me. You don’t understand %$&$.”

Ishamel didn’t say anything to Argo in response, but a moment later, a large chat popup window burst into existence near Argo, within full view of the Amalgamate. However, rather than the typical communications interface he and the other subsystems had been using, this one appeared more… vibrant, almost cartoonish, with a myriad of UI adornments that were not immediately decipherable. Despite the ornamentation, however, the screen was dark, with no discernable person on the other side. Argo’s frown deepened as he glanced downward toward the buster cannon on his left arm. “I know I’m gonna regret asking, but the $%&$ is this, Ishy?” he demanded.

Ishamel again had no response, but Argo heard a familiar voice booming from the display.

Quote (MeleeMan)

“Come along, ARGO there is much more to be done yet!"
(Source: “Melee and Rass Take to the Streets”)

MeleeMan - or rather, what appeared to be a highly-stylized approximation of MeleeMan - faded into view on the new display. As opposed to the burly, hulking frame of the original, this MeleeMan was slender (though still somewhat muscular), with an angular, clean-shaven jaw and a small mouth twisted into a wry grin. A slim-fitted burgundy dress shirt with the top two buttons undone replaced the original’s skinsuit, and this Electopian facsimile wore, inexplicably, a flowing, gold-trimmed black cape instead of a trailing black jacket. The familiar stone-gray helmet/mask combination completed the ensemble, though this MeleeMan’s helmet was more closely-fitted and sleekly-stylized, looking more suitable for a masquerade ball than a battlefield. The bishounen bruiser stood in an aloof pose, body faced perpendicular to the camera, with his arms crossed across his chest.

Argo frowned so deeply it overpowered his glare, pushing his eyebrows upward in the center of his face. “Ishy…. what the HELL do you think you’re doing?!”

“Whoops, voice emulation diagnostic test… la… li… lu… le… lo….” was “MeleeMan’s” gruff reply, sounding uncomfortably similar to the original MeleeMan despite his new Electopian redesign. As he spoke, “MeleeMan’s” body did not move an inch - rather, only his mouth moved in loose synchronization with his words, which in turn appeared transcribed in a text box at the bottom of the display. “Yeah, this is MeleeMan. I don’t know this ‘Ishy,’ but I’m here for you, bro.”

Argo looked taken aback, shocked both at Ishamel’s audacity and the sheer absurdity of the situation, “You’re &%$&in’ me. You can’t trick me! That’s you, Ishy! I’m… ninety seven percent sure of it!”

“I said I don’t know any Ishama… any Ishy!” shouted “MeleeMan,” his image instantaneously changing to a dynamic, yet equally unmoving pose, his daintily-gloved hand pointing accusingly toward the camera, “I am MeleeMan! Your best bro!”

With that, “MeleeMan’s” image shifted back into the aloof, crossed-arm pose. “You know that lame friend of yours? Rass? Well I’m the MeleeMan from his memory data or something. Nerd stuff. Anyways, I heard that you, my best bro, were having some problems, and I thought I’d help you with some fisting!”

Argo shook his head. He wasn’t stupid enough to fall for this charade. This was Ishamel talking through that weird algorithm. He was seventy percent sure. “Alright, fine. Thanks, ‘MeleeMan,’ but I got this under control.” he said, halfheartedly playing along. With extra vitriol, he added, “My idiot subsystem was just spoutin’ some bull%$#& about how I’m afraid of bein’ weak. Which is absurd. Because I’m awesome.

“MeleeMan’s” image changed again, which saw the navi looking upward contemplatively with a gloved finger tapping his cheek, “Oh, that’s too bad. Your subsystem sounds like a pretty chill bro.” he said. Argo rolled his eyes as “MeleeMan” continued, “But I’m sure he’d tell you that you’re not weak. Not at all.” The image shifted once more, with “MeleeMan” now adopting a rather glamorous pose that showed off his slender arms while a sparkle effect flashed on the display. “You’re a real man, like me.”

--**--Real World--**--

Suien stared, flabbergasted at the scene that was rapidly unfolding on Argo’s side of the monitor.

”I… have no explanation for this,” he said, to nobody in particular.

--**--Rass.EXE--**--

“Are we being ignored? I f-feel like we’re being ignored” said Rass, glancing upward toward the sky for any sign of guidance from Suien, “That means we’re okay, right? S-Suien’s telling us to keep doing what we’re doing?”

Hmm… yes, I suppose a lack of communication from Suien could be interpreted as a grant of mandate. mused Tem, as she warily regarded the skittish amalgamate, Though I suppose an equally valid interpretation is that he’s preoccupied with Argo… or with little Miss Ezalith up there. Regardless, we’ve had decent fortune following your proposed course, so I will continue to do so. Lead away.

Rass nodded, taking a cautious step forward toward the amalgamate. “Well… I think he’s still n-nervous around us,” he said, “Is there anything we can do to… I dunno, make him more comfortable? Show him that we’re the s-same?”

Tem glanced upward from Rass’ chest. Rass, we’re not the same. Clearly that creature could be classified as a “fusion” of different entities, but it looks like it doesn’t have complete control over the viral signatures amalgamated to its chassis. As such, its data structure seems to be perpetually in flux. We, by contrast, are relatively stable, and have limited ability to shapeshift to accommodate our component parts, she said, Assuming for the moment that we wanted to emphasize our nature as a “fusion” of different entities, our options are limited. In fact, since we don’t even have a graphic model override handy, I’d say that we have no options to change our shape… except…

Tem trailed off, apparently realizing something. Rass was about to poke his chest when he heard her make a deep and resigned sigh. “Except what? D-Did you think of something?”

There…. There’s a way, she said finally, Rass, make another appeal to that thing. I’ll access that... gamer dork’s battle data and provide a demonstrative exhibit.

--**--Argo.EXE--**--

“....Look, ‘MeleeMan,’ I… get what you’re sayin’, but I’m tellin’ you, I’m super strong! I don’t need your help for nothin’ at all,” said Argo. The former subsystem was still only half-convinced that this was the actual MeleeMan, but had nevertheless seemingly abandoned the majority of his acrimony, “I mean you…. or uh, MeleeMan... doesn’t take crap from nobody. You don’t need to worry about people thinkin’ you’re weak.”

“See, that’s where you’re all mixed up,” replied the helmeted hero, “You’ve gotta act tough in front of your enemies, but it’s okay to let someone else watch your back every once in a while. You’ve gotta trust your friends. Trust is like a dramatic cross-counter in the tenth round! It goes both ways!”

Argo didn’t quite get “MeleeMan’s” analogy, but nodded anyways, “So… you’re sayin’ I ain’t gotta prove myself to Ishy and Tem and Rasshole? That I can trust them to not… leave me?”

“Of course! There’s nothing more manly than trust!” shouted “MeleeMan,” shifting to his dynamic pointing pose, “When you’re staring down hundreds of foes, you’ve got to trust your friends! For example, when I’m pounding some dude, I can’t be looking out for someone trying to take me from behind! That’s why I’ve got someone like Rass to beat off anyone who tries! Me and Rass are bros, y’see? Just like you and Ishy. Best bros. Man bros.”

Argo looked like he wanted to say something… or rather, five somethings…. but shook his head instead. “Right, okay,” he muttered, “Thanks, MeleeMan. I’ll think about it.”

“Hah! I told you! I’m your best bro! Heck yeah I’ve got your back!” laughed “MeleeMan.” The fabulous fighter’s enthusiasm was so infectious that even Argo couldn’t suppress a small grin. Suddenly, “MeleeMan’s” image shifted into a particularly alluring pose. “And don’t worry!” he said, “Because we’re best bros, I’m gonna enter you!”

Any semblance of a smile from Argo’s face disappeared instantly. “Say what now?”

“Maybe that’s not what I’m trying to say. What I’m saying is I’ve been inside you all…this… time!” the display zeroed in on “MeleeMan’s” face, punctuating each of his last three words with a dramatic zoom, complete with action lines.

As Argo recoiled in alarm, he felt something shift inside of him. EMPATHY THRESHOLD MET. SPECIAL GIFT UNLOCKED. shouted Ishamel, as the crimson buster rifle on Argo’s left disappeared and was replaced by Argo’s burly arm.

The former subsystem’s eyes widened as he felt his internal processor overclocked itself, accessing the treasured M.E.L.E.E. subroutines and integrating MeleeMan’s data with his own, a crimson aura began to flare up around his body. Suddenly, Argo’s metallic green armor exploded off of him as his muscle mass dramatically increased, the heavy plates falling to the network with a dull thud. After a few moments, the only remnants of Argo’s armor were his boots, helmet, and gauntleted fists. Argo smirked as his remaining armor pieces started to glow white hot, emitting a rapidly-brightening light that lit up the immediate vicinity. A blinding flash later, Argo’s helmet and fists took on the stone-gray appearance akin to the original Meleeman’s.

“Oh good, communications are back up! Argo?! If I’m reading this correctly, it says your optical sensors are being impaired by your helmet. Is everything okay? Can you see?

“Bwahahaha! I don’t need to use my eyes to see where I’m goin’! After all, real men…” a crimson flash erupted as Ishamel burst into Argo’s gauntlets, each gaining a single mechanical eye on the knuckle, “...SEE WITH THEIR FISTS!”

--**--Real World--**--

Watching from his vantage point, Suien watched as, at the same time, a burst of protoplasm erupted from Rass’ body and slammed into the network a short distance away from the fusion navi. With a cheery victory fanfare, the remaining protoplasm shifted and tightened into a small animal form as Seraphim.EXE’s battle data overwrote Rass’ own. First, a quartet of lithe, furry paws, next, a lofty azure tail, and finally, a feline face with triangular ears and beady black eyes. A flash of blue light later, KitTem appeared, fully materialized onto the network, and idly licked a paw as she seated herself next to her “trainer.”

A moment later, Suien’s face appeared on a monitor beside KitTem, “Tch, finally. I’ve managed to get you both connected after Ishamel's stunt,” he said, “Listen, I’ve got a few rough ideas on how to get you all out of here, but you’re going to need that thing’s help.”

“There are two problems that we need to solve before we can get all three of you out of there.” explained Suien, glancing over at Ema for reassurance before continuing, “The first problem we need to solve is how to get everyone’s synchronization rating to maximum. Fortunately, I think that your new friend might have a method of doing just that… and it’s a trick you’ve seen before, too.“

Quote (Not long ago…)

With both Argo and Rass holding back their firepower for the moment, Suien got through the role of coordinator once again, and had both of them stand on the glowing paneling. Immediately after both of them entered the area, the other received a surprise in the form of an exact copy of each other on both sides appearing.

“Rass, Argo, you need to convince the amalgamate to open up those weird shine panels around this sector!” said Suien, ”If we can consolidate all three of you onto the same set of panels, that should provide us with a centralized location for us to zero in on with a jack-out signal. Get that done, and I’ll work on the next phase of the plan out here.”

--**--Rass.EXE--**--

Both Rass and (Kit)Tem heard Suien's directive, though with the S.A.S.S. engaged, neither was entirely sure how to approach carrying it out. Tem, in her blue feline form, stared blankly upward toward Rass. "KitTem! Tem Tem KitTem!" she yowled, after a moment, as if to emphasize the limitations of her present configuration.

Getting the hint, Rass cleared his throat and addressed the amalgamate as he gestured toward KitTem, “Ah... hail, fellow adventurer! We have traveled across the land, searching far and wide for someone who understands the power we have inside!” he announced, cheerfully taking a step toward the creature, “I know with you and me, we can fulfill our destiny and be together forever!”

Great, I forgot that Rass’ higher cognitive functions are impaired in this form, thought Tem, her feline eyes narrowing judgmentally, If all he’s going to be doing is spouting empty platitudes, it looks like I’ll have to take matters into my own paws this time.

With that, KitTem sidled up against the amalgamate, purring as she bunted her catlike body into the creature’s legs. She feigned affection as best she could, allowing the velvety fuzz of her fur to lightly tickle the amalgam’s legs as she meandered around. Suddenly, she leaped away, looking forlornly into the distance as though searching for something. The small feline darted around, with mounting panic, as she attempted to pantomime a search for her missing “other half.”

Alright you cluster of junk data, help the little kitty out. she thought, as she pawed the air helplessly, ...and I swear, Argo, you’d better not screw this up…

--**--Argo.EXE--**--

QUERY CORE SYSTEM ARGO: OPTIMIZATION OF CHARISMA COEFFICIENT REQUIRES GENERATION OF A DESIGNATION FOR THIS COMBAT CONFIGURATION. GENERATING OPTIONS… COMPLETE. OPTION 1: “ISHYBROS” OPTION 2: “ARGOBROS.” STATE YOUR PREFERENCE, CORE SYSTEM

“Nah, those names are undynamic as hell, Ishy,” quipped Argo, smirking as he discharged a burst of steam from his gauntleted hand, “but I like the way you think, ‘Bro.’ Keep thinkin’ on it while we pound…. er… negotiate this fool into dust - I’m sure we can come up with somethin’.”

“Argo, Rass initialized his SeraphCross, which means that… uh… you’ll be doing most of the talking this time,” said Suien, “Remember, you need to get him to make a batch of those shine panels

“Hah, seriously?! Tem’s in that kitty form?” laughed Argo, “She hates that %$&$. Why’d she want to do that?”

“I imagine it’s because she thought it’d convince the amalgamate to see her as a friend.” replied Suien wryly, “I mean, that’s why you and Ishamel decided to go into MeleeCross, right?

Argo bristled. “Fine, fine. I got this. Hey, uh…. Friend!” he announced, extending his hand in a friendly gesture, “As you can plainly see, we’ve got uh… a lot of different parts inside of us! We need your help though - have you seen a uh… a doofy kid and a blue cat anywhere around here? I need to find them, but I don’t see them.”

Argo made an exaggerated show of looking around, before placing his gauntleted hands together in an ameliorating gesture, “If you can make it so I can see those two twerps, I can help us all get outta this weird place. Be a bro, will ya?”

--**--Real World--**--

Quote (Not long ago...)

From the back of his head, a small blob-shaped antenna also sprang out, just as the entire area flashed an eye-blinding bright green. An astute observer might have noticed that the transformation made the Navi look very much like a Twin-series virus, known to plague the Netopian networks. In the green skies, the repeating words from before disappeared, replaced by "BOOT SUCCESSFUL" for a couple of seconds before dimming out into the blank void of before.

Swiveling around in his chair, he turned to address Ema. I think you had mentioned before that only a Navi with a high synchronization rating could reconstitute and escape this system.” he said, adjusting his glasses as he spoke, “My plan is twofold - first, we'll use the shine panels to get Rass and Argo’s synchronization to maximum. Then we'll boost the amalgam’s synchronization rating by forcing out the Twins viral aspect. Based on what I can tell, the Twins are what allow the amalgam to survive in two places at once, and there seems to be a relationship between the Replication Integrity Scan and the Twins aspect manifesting itself. Thus, if we can trigger a jack-out signal the instant the Twins manifest themselves, that might get everyone’s synchronization level to a high enough point to get everyone jacked out at once.”

Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms, a single index finger anxiously tapping his bicep as he glanced sideways toward his PET, glancing between the dual screens and Ema. “All I need is a means of triggering a Replication Integrity Scan. That’s the best I could come up with…. what do you think?” he asked.

Finish Turn 1

3: Pep talk.
4: Activate MeleeCross - +1 Action, Type Change to Fire/Melee (Melee Mastery/Bash) to demonstrate kinship
5: Ask .Amalgam to create “shine” panels

3: Activate SeraphCross - Type Change to Normal/Ground (Preserver/Tectonic Shift) to demonstrate kinship
4: Battle Monster: KitTem (create decoy “BTMN Trainer Rass”)
5: Ask .Amalgam to create “shine” panels

In response to "MeleeMan" appearing on the screen in an eerie recreation of Electopia-style interactive fiction games, Ema had little to offer to Suien except a confused shrug. She did, however, manage to catch some amused giggling coming from the entrance; she quickly confirmed it coming from the same woman that she had "chased out" a couple of minutes prior. The two exchanged silent gestures while Suien grappled with his two PETs. Karen motioned with her hands into the room with raised eyebrows, and eyes glancing sideways towards Suien, and Ema shrugged with a defeated expression on her face.

This resulted in Karen quietly shuffling in behind Ema to watch the spectacle, and Suien could hear some faint whispers going on between the two, but without being able to discern the content, no thanks to a very loud Argo. Suien could hear a couple of snorts from behind him at the mention of "fisting", but the two women still tried (poorly) to keep their composure by covering their mouths with their hands.

"I, uh... assume they're kind of... having a moment?" said Ema. She shook her head quickly when Suien turned back to her at the start of his tactics briefing, mistaking his search of reassurance for irritation. Behind her, Karen seemed to be losing herself much more, barely being able to restrain her laughter. "Sorry, sorry, don't mind me, go on," Karen apologized half-heartedly, waving her hand around in front of her.

--

As Suien explained his strategy to his side, and they went about executing it to the best of their abilities, the amalgam seemed to be receptive... at least, it seemed like it was. Watching both Argo and Rass manifest their respective inner MeleeBro, it waved its armored Swordy arms in excitement, though it seemed to retreat slightly when Tem approached in her feline form, unsure of whether to wield its glowing energy sword.

When Tem started to display her fake affections, the amalgam quickly raised its sword for a downwards slash towards her, but froze mid-swing in hesitation--Argo had extended his hand out just in the nick of time. The Scuttle-head blinked a few times, turning between both Rass and Argo simultaneously in between the two network areas. Its eyes lowered down to its legs, and it slowly nodded.

"O... Okay..."

At once, its body began to snap and crack with static, as some virus parts began to cycle in and out of its body. The static-ridden voice that they had heard before seemed to grunt with pain, but held it in as some parts of its body slowly stopped shifting between viral forms, solidifying completely into what seemed to be the least helpful-looking form--a Green Mystery Data crystal.

--

After Suien had finished briefing the two on his strategy, they seemed to sober up, though Ema's brow furrowed at one part of his explanation. "Mmm, sure, I can trigger the replication scan manually," said Ema, getting up from her chair to walk up to the terminal, opening up another diagnostic window after some time on its keyboard. The window read out "Recovery Module", listing out a host of options, among them being the requested "Replication Integrity Scan".

"I guess that's the best we've What do you mean by shine panels, though? I'm not sure I follow. Do you mean the Holy-type paneling you find in Netopian netspace sometimes?" she asked. Ema turned to Karen, who seemed to be more distracted by the Navis being displayed on the terminal screens.

"Never heard of anything like it," Karen mused. There was a strange gleam in her eyes as she leaned on the chair Ema had abandoned with a smile, watching all of the programs on the screen with interest.

--

On the network end, the Mystery Data crystal hovered above the network road with a dim humming noise, just as a real one would. That would quickly change, however, as it split in half with glowing red eyes emerging from its midsection, completing its transformation into the iconic Green Mimic virus, which normally masqueraded as Mystery Data crystals. All of a sudden, the ground in front of it burst into light, and a lone Metool appeared on it on both Rass and Argo's side, frozen in place. In addition, the Metool on Argo's end, was covered in a slight bit of static, just as before.

The Mimic's body began to shift once more, its pointy ends melting into different shapes. Its bottom end formed a strange brush shape, while the top morphed into an anguished-looking melted face of sorts. The four points of its midsection started to cover themselves in a bluish mist that took on the rough shape of some arms. The amalgam's new body then started to wiggle about with great difficulty, touching the shining panels with its brush-shaped bottom and spreading it in a rough circle around itself.

After it was done slowly spreading the glowing panels, the amalgam's melted-looking face changed its mouth into a rough smile.

-- Rass Side --
.AMALGAM: 500 HP (Normal)
-- Head: HauntedCandleHauntedCandle (HauntedCandle)

This virus attacks every action if able.

Area: Kotobuki Town, Netfrica, Hades Isle, NetVegas

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Fire + Square Attack + Ground Attack
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Creates flame spire in a square. Targets panels.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): BurnSquare1, Zenny
Special: Immobile.
Special: Heat Body: This virus is immune to Fire damage and associated effects.
Special: Square Attack: Attacks a 2 panel x 2 panel square area.
Special: Candle: Can be snuffed by Wind, which prevents it from attacking. Fire relights it.
-- Arms: MistyMisty (Misty)

Misty are essentially blobs of scalding hot steam, with no true form. They use this to their advantage, employing as many ways to cover their victims as the imagination can dream up...and maybe more. Though they are Aqua type viruses, their bodies are so hot they can burn virtually anything just by touching it.

Area: Yoka

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Aqua + Impact + Burn(5)
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Attempts to touch and scald an enemy in any one of a myriad of ways.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MistConvergence1, Zenny
Special: MistBody: Immune to Aqua attacks. If anyone besides another Misty touches this virus without some form of protection (active chip attack, shield, etc.), they are inflicted with Burn(5) status.
Special: Burn(5): Deals 5 Fire damage per action to the victim starting the turn after this attack hits. This effect stacks with other timed damage effects, including other Burn effects. Can be cured with Status Cure.
-- Body: Green MimicGreen Mimic (Mimic)

A Mystery Data bisected horizontally, with a shadowy core binding the halves together. Two menacing red eyes leer out from the shadows in the crack between them, and a swirl of dark energy of the same color as the data whirls around the entire virus constantly. A Mimic only spawns if an MD is present, and the roll to check contents comes up as a Trap. The MD then becomes a single Mimic. Mimics do not ever appear otherwise. Once triggered, a Mimic either mass summons Viruses, Navis, or other Battle Programs for the next battle number, or mass teleports all allies to the location of the next battle (which is always within the same network area), and the battle begins immediately. These mass summon and mass teleport abilities are unique to Mimics, and cannot be emulated. When a Mimic is defeated, it reverts to MD form. At this point, it becomes ethereal, and cannot be damaged in any way.

Area: All

HP: 200
Primary Attack Description: Gathers the energy around it into a ball, then fires it all outward in a beam of green light.
Primary Attack Effect: 30 + Beam Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Swirls the energy surrounding it around an ally.
Secondary Attack Effect: 40 HP barrier to ally (Cannot be used on self)
Secondary Attack Accuracy: S
Tertiary Attack Description: Spits a ball of glitchy data out from the crack in the Mystery Data, then sends it flying inside a guided shell of energy.
Tertiary Attack Effect: 15 + Glitch + Homing
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Element: Null
Special: Omnishoes. Immobile.
Special: Gains a 20 HP barrier every turn it is not attacking. Does not stack.
-- Affix: BrushmanBrushman (Brushman)

Area: Netopia, Dentech, NetVegas

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: Small Holy Terrain Change under one ally virus
Attack Accuracy: S
Attack Description: Dabs its brush on the net floor to change the terrain type.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): HolyPanel, Zenny
Special: Can use effect multiple times a turn. One free dodge.

MetoolMetool (Metool)

Metools not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Piercing + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Whacks ground with pickaxe, sending forth a shockwave.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Throws a mattock at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Guard1, ShockWave, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.: 40 HP (Shine)

Rass.EXE: 100 HP (SeraphimCross Lv1: Normal/Cursor) (Normal) (BusterCharge2)

WindHP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Status Effect: Wind Effect + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a WindBox to push enemies back and reduce their accuracy.
Duration: 3 turns or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: D: 100 HP (Normal)

Terrain:
- 20% Snow

• Non-Aqua Elementals get -10% Evasion and reduced movement speed.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage. Imbue Aqua if Null. Change terrain hit to Ice for 1 turn after turn hit, then back to Snow.
• Aqua attacks: 25% Freeze chance, change terrain hit to Normal if triggered. Boost chance to 100% if Ice-type.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Ice, generate Frosty Mist: -10% Accuracy for Non-Aqua Elementals, +10% evasion against Non-Aqua Elementals, Freeze1 effect for any Aqua or Wind attacks.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Freeze1.

(Side of the roadway)
- 65% Normal

• No effects.

(Wide road)
- 15% Shine (Circle around .AMALGAM, unchangeable)

-- Argo Side --
.AMALGAM: 500 HP (Normal)
-- Head: HauntedCandleHauntedCandle (HauntedCandle)

This virus attacks every action if able.

Area: Kotobuki Town, Netfrica, Hades Isle, NetVegas

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Fire + Square Attack + Ground Attack
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Creates flame spire in a square. Targets panels.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): BurnSquare1, Zenny
Special: Immobile.
Special: Heat Body: This virus is immune to Fire damage and associated effects.
Special: Square Attack: Attacks a 2 panel x 2 panel square area.
Special: Candle: Can be snuffed by Wind, which prevents it from attacking. Fire relights it.
-- Arms: MistyMisty (Misty)

Misty are essentially blobs of scalding hot steam, with no true form. They use this to their advantage, employing as many ways to cover their victims as the imagination can dream up...and maybe more. Though they are Aqua type viruses, their bodies are so hot they can burn virtually anything just by touching it.

Area: Yoka

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Aqua + Impact + Burn(5)
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Attempts to touch and scald an enemy in any one of a myriad of ways.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MistConvergence1, Zenny
Special: MistBody: Immune to Aqua attacks. If anyone besides another Misty touches this virus without some form of protection (active chip attack, shield, etc.), they are inflicted with Burn(5) status.
Special: Burn(5): Deals 5 Fire damage per action to the victim starting the turn after this attack hits. This effect stacks with other timed damage effects, including other Burn effects. Can be cured with Status Cure.
-- Body: Green MimicGreen Mimic (Mimic)

A Mystery Data bisected horizontally, with a shadowy core binding the halves together. Two menacing red eyes leer out from the shadows in the crack between them, and a swirl of dark energy of the same color as the data whirls around the entire virus constantly. A Mimic only spawns if an MD is present, and the roll to check contents comes up as a Trap. The MD then becomes a single Mimic. Mimics do not ever appear otherwise. Once triggered, a Mimic either mass summons Viruses, Navis, or other Battle Programs for the next battle number, or mass teleports all allies to the location of the next battle (which is always within the same network area), and the battle begins immediately. These mass summon and mass teleport abilities are unique to Mimics, and cannot be emulated. When a Mimic is defeated, it reverts to MD form. At this point, it becomes ethereal, and cannot be damaged in any way.

Area: All

HP: 200
Primary Attack Description: Gathers the energy around it into a ball, then fires it all outward in a beam of green light.
Primary Attack Effect: 30 + Beam Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Swirls the energy surrounding it around an ally.
Secondary Attack Effect: 40 HP barrier to ally (Cannot be used on self)
Secondary Attack Accuracy: S
Tertiary Attack Description: Spits a ball of glitchy data out from the crack in the Mystery Data, then sends it flying inside a guided shell of energy.
Tertiary Attack Effect: 15 + Glitch + Homing
Tertiary Attack Accuracy: C
Element: Null
Special: Omnishoes. Immobile.
Special: Gains a 20 HP barrier every turn it is not attacking. Does not stack.
-- Affix: BrushmanBrushman (Brushman)

Area: Netopia, Dentech, NetVegas

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: Small Holy Terrain Change under one ally virus
Attack Accuracy: S
Attack Description: Dabs its brush on the net floor to change the terrain type.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): HolyPanel, Zenny
Special: Can use effect multiple times a turn. One free dodge.

MetoolMetool (Metool)

Metools not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 40
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null + Piercing + Ground Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Whacks ground with pickaxe, sending forth a shockwave.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 10 Null
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: Throws a mattock at an enemy.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Guard1, ShockWave, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.: 40 HP (Shine) [???]

Argo.EXE: 120 HP (MeleeCross Lv2: Fire/Melee) (Normal) (BusterCharge2)

WindHP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Status Effect: Wind Effect + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a WindBox to push enemies back and reduce their accuracy.
Duration: 3 turns or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: D: 100 HP (Normal)

Terrain:
- 20% Snow

• Non-Aqua Elementals get -10% Evasion and reduced movement speed.
• Wind attacks: +100% Source Damage. Imbue Aqua if Null. Change terrain hit to Ice for 1 turn after turn hit, then back to Snow.
• Aqua attacks: 25% Freeze chance, change terrain hit to Normal if triggered. Boost chance to 100% if Ice-type.
• Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Ice, generate Frosty Mist: -10% Accuracy for Non-Aqua Elementals, +10% evasion against Non-Aqua Elementals, Freeze1 effect for any Aqua or Wind attacks.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua + Freeze1.

(Side of the roadway)
- 65% Normal

• No effects.

(Wide road)
- 15% Shine (Circle around .AMALGAM, unchangeable)

--**--Real World--**--

“Shine… oh, that’s right, you stepped out for the second encounter,” replied Suien, his attention so captured by the unfolding battle routine that he did not immediately notice Karen’s presence, “While we were in the process of eliminating the second set of viral signatures, we encountered some shining panels on the network. Unlike the holy panels endemic to Netopia, these panels didn’t seem to have any damage reduction properties. Rather, when Rass and Argo were standing on them, they somehow allowed both of them to, ah, simultaneously materialize within the same area.” Reclining slightly in his chair and bringing his hand to his chin, Suien continued, still staring at the monitors ahead of him, “Initially, I wasn’t sure what exactly to make of it, thinking it was perhaps a quirk of the system. Based on what we’re seeing here, however, it looks like the amalgam was responsible for generating those panels.”

As the brushlike amalgamate generated a ring of shimmering panels, Suien nodded. “Right, there it is,” he noted, leaning forward and activating his PET microphone, “Rass? Argo? Are you seeing what we’re seeing here? The shine panels are online. Do what you can to get all three of you on the same panel. Assuming those panels work the way I think they do, you should be able to establish direct contact with each other.”

“Once Rass and Argo are in position, it should be as simple as triggering a Replication Integrity Scan, grabbing onto the Amalgam as its Twins viral aspect manifests, and transmitting a Jack-Out signal from these PETs. Easy as one, two...” began Suien, swiveling in his chair to his side and finding himself, unexpectedly, face to face with the younger Ezarith. Suien blinked in momentary confusion as he looked back and forth between Karen and Ema, his voice trailing off as a fleeting impure thought flashed involuntarily across his mind.

...good genes, I guess.

Finding his voice, Suien cleared his throat, addressing the (not-so) newly-arrived Karen, “Ah, hello. Karen Ezarith, I presume?“ he asked, somewhat guardedly, looking toward Ema for any cues as to whether her younger sister could be trusted. Finding none, he continued, “Suien Matsumoto. I’m the GNA contractor your sister called in. To get you up to speed, Ema was helping me jack into both of her system ports, and I was just finishing up cleaning out her network when… uh…”

Suien regretted his phrasing the instant he heard the words leave his mouth. Quickly composing himself and hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt, he continued. “A… anyways, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

--**--Rass.EXE--**--

KitTem bristled as she watched the amalgamate raise its sword to attack. The tactical navi instinctively braced her body for a blow that… surprisingly, never came. The blue feline tilted her head inquisitively to the side as the Amalgam shifted in front of her into some sort of mutant paintbrush and set to work, generating a small ring of shine panels around the battlefield. Looks like Argo managed to pull it off, somehow she thought, visibly relaxing as she rose to her feet and gave her body a little shake, Still though, if we’re not executing the battle routine, I suppose there’s not much for me to do than turn up the charm.

With that, KitTem meandered over toward the shine panels, tail raised high and curved in a disarming arc. As she reached the shimmering terrain feature, the feline navi flopped on her back, her tiny azure paws adorably waving through the air. Thaaaat’s it, come to kitty, she thought, glancing toward the amalgam before resuming her social roll, Yeah, that’s right, I’m just a poor sad helpless kitty with nowhere to go! Oh, if only there were some big strong…

Tem’s thoughts trailed off as the taut, muscular-framed “Melee Bros” suddenly materialized on the shine panels next to her, Argo’s gauntleted fist held expectantly toward her feline body, mere inches from her paw. Caught in a compromising belly-up position, the tactical navi stared blankly at the newly-arrived Argo in surprise and disbelief.

Oh, for %$&$’s sake…

--**--Argo.EXE, Moments Earlier--**--

Quote (Suien)

“Do what you can to get all three of you on the same panel. Assuming those panels work the way I think they do, you should be able to establish direct contact with each other.”

“Hah, got it, Suien!” affirmed Argo, flexing his arm and discharging a burst of steam from his gauntleted fist in the process, Get the thingy onto the thingy! Easy enough… whoa! Argo stumbled and staggered as he waved his gauntleted fist-eyes around, opening his own enshrouded eyes in a panic, “Damn, I know I said ‘see with my fists,’ but Ishy, you’ve gotta keep things steady here! How does MeleeMan see anything with this stupid visor?”

THE PRECISE MECHANISM UTILIZED BY MELEEMAN IS UNKNOWN. responded Ishamel, struggling to stabilize his ocular sensor on Argo’s wildly flailing knuckles, HOWEVER, BY ADJUSTING THE ANGLE OF YOUR HEAD UNIT, VISUAL IMPAIRMENT MAY BE MITIGATED.

“Huh, so I just gotta… move like this and kinda… look down? asked Argo, standing up straighter and tilting his head back as he looked downward toward his nose. The effort caused the MeleeCrossed navi to thrust his chest out in what could roughly be construed as confidence as he moved toward the shine panels. Argo made it about three steps before shaking his head and shutting his eyes, “Forget it, that ain’t gonna work. Ishy, I’m gonna keep my right extended. Make sure you keep your uh… eye… open.”

With that, Argo thrust his right fist outward and re-enabled Ishamel’s video feed, just in time to see the Amalgam paint its luminous circle across the battlefield. Frowning momentarily as he saw the familiar glitchy metool materialize on the panels, he quickly realized his rudeness and burst into a large, exaggerated smile. “Oh, uh, thank you, fellow… bro!” he shouted, waving at the amalgamate with his left hand. As the burly navi stumbled his way forward, he awkwardly crossed the threshold of the shine panels, suddenly appearing before KitTem who was, as much as Argo could tell, in the middle of adorably derping on the ground. The azure feline’s paw was extended upward, poised to nearly touch his own outstretched fist.

“WHOA! Tem?! Sorry, didn’t see you…” shouted Argo as he tried to stop his forward momentum mid-stride. The burly navi stumbled and tripped, toppling forward to his knees, bracing his fall with his left hand, and…

--**--Together--**--

As Argo’s fist gently collided with KitTem’s paw, the two locked eyes for a moment that felt, to the two former subsystems, uncomfortably long. Though it was nearly impossible to tell between Argo’s visored visage and Tem’s furry features, an astute observer might have noticed the slightest blush on each of their faces.

Suddenly, the peppy, childlike Rass burst onto the scene. “Yes! KitTem and uh… Argoyle-ish guy!” he cheered, tromping onto the shine panels and interrupting the intimate moment, “It’s great to see you both getting along! The power of friends will see us through to the end!”

KitTem broke away first, swiftly rolling onto her feet and arching her back, hissing at Argo in an agitated burst of unfortunately incomprehensible babble. “KitTem! Tem! Tem! KitTem!” she yowled, Y… You clumsy oaf! You nearly flattened me! Why the hell are you holding your fist out like that anyways? You look like a Dominerd with a gland problem!

Argo scrambled backward onto his feet, hand still extended outward. “Wha-whaaaat are you doin’ Tem?! Just because you look like a &$&in’ cat doesn’t mean you have to act like one!” he shouted, “Were you askin’ that thing for belly rubs or somethin’? Geez, have some dignity!”

As the pair bickered back and forth, “Trainer Rass” stepped forward to address the amalgamate. Extending his arms in a welcoming gesture, he spoke. “I don’t know what kind of Battle Monster you are, but you look really strong!” he said, the simpleminded optimism of his cross form overriding any apprehension he ordinarily would have felt, “If we stand as one, there's nothing to fear, and if we work together, we’ll escape from here!” Accentuating his point, the peppy would-be youth pumped his fist into the air and extended his hand to the smiling amalgamate.

The sudden movement caught Argo’s eye and, realizing that he had spent the last thirty seconds trying to argue with a cat, cleared his throat and stood next to Rass. Extending his hand to mirror the pink-shirted navi, he nodded, “Uh… yeah! What the kid said!” he grunted, forcing a smile, “Come uh… come be bros with us!”

SeraphimCross Rass
1: Move self and decoy onto shine panels
2: Battle Monster: Argoyle (create decoy “BTMN Trainer Rass”)
3: Fistbump MeleeBros
Decoy: Beckon Amalgam onto shine panels near Rass/KitTem/Argo

MeleeCross Argo
1: Move self over onto shine panels
2: Fistbump KitTem
3: Beckon Amalgam onto shine panels near Rass/KitTem/Argo.

(Turn Splice)

"Oh, that's definitely new..." said Ema, narrowing her eyes at the amalgamate Navi's strange dance, generating the glowing paneling. "That Metool... It might be the amalgamate taking over some part of the system's processes to summon viruses on both ends. I'm not sure how good of an idea it is to rely on something like that, but I guess we'll find out, given the circumstances."

A few more taps on the terminal's keyboard, and the screen in front of Ema pulled up another window, which she skimmed through, before nodding to herself and closing it. Then, her head turned around slightly; there seemed to be something off. There was a sudden stall in Suien's explanation. She turned to him, finding that he had apparently just noticed Karen's presence in the room.

Watching Suien fumble his words for a while, Ema restrained herself from rolling her eyes. Karen herself meanwhile, seemed increasingly amused once she was directly addressed, and Suien started his first impressions with some unintended innuendos right out of the gate. She snorted lightly, and made a small wave of acknowledgement. "Nice to meet you too. Don't mind me, I'm just here to watch," said Karen, laughing slightly at her own joke.

Turning back to the screen, Karen then started speaking in thick Sharoan. "What is the status, by the way, Ema? That transforming thing there looks pretty interesting. Is it the infection? I see that you are extracting it from the system," she said, without taking her eyes off of the amalgamate.

Ema looked up slightly and replied in similarly dialected Sharoan. "Yes, it seems that it is the source of the errors. We need to remove it to make sure the system is clean for the main extraction. Hopefully this will finish it successfully."

Karen nodded in acknowledgement. "It looks very interesting. Are you doing anything with it? I want to play with it."

"They are not..." Ema sighed. "Fine, you are the Navi expert. I am a little curious as to how it became active in the system."

In response, Karen rocked about in her chair with a contented smile. Keeping her eyes on the screen, she then inquired further. "How about the man? I would like to see if he can clean my pipes once he is finished with these," she asked, most likely unaware of Suien's ability to recognize her language.

At once, Ema was sent into involuntary coughing fits, while Karen giggled away in her seat.

--

As the amalgamate finished producing the glowing panels, the Metool on both ends of the network looked around, and set eyes on Rass and Argo's group. It then chirruped in surprise and lifted its pickaxe in readiness to attack. However, the amalgamate then rushed forward, waving its misty limbs about in a panic. The Metool tilted its helmeted head slightly, before standing down.

At that moment, Argo's similarly helmeted self made his way into the glowing panels, stumbling nearly into the amalgamate in the process before finding himself fist-first into Tem's outstretched paw. A brief pause later, Rass's comically peppy interruption joined them onto the shining panels, creating a strange ensemble of characters. The amalgamate blinked curiously for a few moments as Argo began berating the catlike Tem.

Rass then took the initiative to invite the amalgamate in his own rather enthusiastic Electopian-style videogame spiel, shortly joined after by Argo. It looked at the two Navis, at Tem in the back, and at the Metool at its side. The Metool stared up at the amalgamate as the latter murmured in its static-ridden voice.

"B-Bros..."

--

In the middle of her giggling, Karen noticed something happening on the screen. "Hee hee hee... Oh, heads up!" she said, switching back to Electopian, presumably to address Suien as well. Ema looked over at the screen, where Rass and Argo were grabbing hold of the amalgamate's arms, which had, at some point, changed into Handy-shaped limbs. Tem was close by as well, along with a small Metool next to them.

"Oh-- right, starting the scan now!" said Ema, quickly initiating the process from a quick tap on her keyboard. On the screen, the amalgamate seemed to jump slightly, and immediately transformed its melted-looking head into the yellow and white-eyed pair of Twins virus heads. The green flash of the Replication Integrity Scan washed over the screen, and the entire group was gone in a beam of light, punctuating the jackout procedure with a success.

[>> Mission: Sharo Military Facility]