Where are you? PART 3

Capuchin had hopped through the portal from Netfrica Net, hoping that she would catch up to the experiment that she was ordered to find. Seeing the strange Navi herself, she began to wonder about things even more. With one quick materialization, the monkey navi entered a brand new Net area. Bright lights everywhere along with many sounds and music as casinos littered the whole place...she was in Net Vegas.

"Wh-what a str-strange place to go..." Aida said, "I me-ean...woul-ldn't want to remain hidden? Th-this place is al-always cr-crowded as I hear..."

"We aren't the experiment." Capuchin corrected as she looked at the surroundings, "We don't know if it went into hiding...it could want something else entirley..." The image of the navi was burned into her memory and kept replaying for her. "Poor guy...it must suck to be that way..."

"S-Second thoughts?" Aida asked her companion, "Y-you changed from what you pr-previously wanted to do..."

Capuchin gave a shrug as she began to stroll across the area, "I don't know...but the guy's reaction when he saw me...then when I finally got the full view...that navi looked like it wasn't here for fun..." She gave a deep breath at the thought of this all. "Well, I'll figure it out when we find the target. I just wanna get some answers."
The monstrous navi is seen disappearing into a crowd nearby. It seems like it was hoping to blend in and shake Capuchin off. Given the variety of the crowd, everything from civilian navis to drunk wrestlers, it probably would have succeeded as well.

If not for the fact that someone suddenly screamed from the far side about five minutes after the navi disappeared. It sure managed to get through quickly.
Capuchin quickly picked up the sound of the cry and turned her head into that direction. "I bet that's our cue" Capuchin cheeped as she dashed towards the scream. She quickly darted through the navis attempting to use her acrobatic moves to keep herself from getting stuck in a crowd of some of the most strange navis. "This guy almost melded in." The monkey navi snickered to herself looking at everyone.
With some difficulty, Capuchin pushes through the crowd of navis and makes it to the source of the scream. The source was a navi with a relatively human appearance, including a belt with a holster for what had to be thousands of poker chips, a deck of cards, and a case for several dice. From a glance, one would suspect that the navi's face was completely incapable of displaying emotion.

Or perhaps that was the fact that he was still maintaining a poker face with a massive hole in his stomach.

Looking up, Capuchin could see her target glance back for a split second, but no one else in the crowd seemed to be paying the slightest bit of attention to either it OR the potentially mortally injured navi in front of her.
"Dammit!" Capuchin growled lowly as she was faced with two options as she saw the injured navi and then the experiment getting away. "It's like the flip of a coin...and choosing one I'll regret not doing the other later..."

"W-we have t-to decide..." Aida stuttered, "Do you want to leave a navi un-unatt-ttended...or do you w-want to le-eave the opponent..."

"??...Your letting me decide?" Capuchin asked a bit surprised by this.

"Wh-why not? It's u-up to you..."

Capuchin stared at the navi's injury for a moment, letting it remind her of the day she too received a gaping hole in her body...then a second one. It was something that was incredibly painful for her...but she always had an ally around each time to help her through it and let her survive. "CH." Was all she said as she crouched to the navi. "Hey, you! Can you stand? Do you know where's theres a medical facility I can bring you to?"
The navi coughed, then tried to stand. He made a valiant effort to do so, but ultimately failed and laid back down again. "No," he gasped, looking to the side. A portal to a private server opened up, flashing violently to indicate it had been forced. Into it vanished the navi that Capuchin had been chasing.

"Shit..." the wounded gambler mumbled. "My netop's going to kill me..."
Capuchin gave a grunt as she decided to help the poor navi out. She swung his arm over her neck and let him put his weight onto her as she helped him across the area. "Your Netop is going to kill you?" She asked, "For what? That guy ALMOST killed you. What can your netop possibly do?" Her eyes stared at the forced portal with hesitation in them. The enemy did go inside...but what about this guy?

"Is that your homepage?" The monkey navi asked as she made her way slowly towards it, she already was prepared to summon her pole in her free hand. She didn't like how this would be, but this guy definitely needed help PRONTO.
"It is," the navi gasped. "And...you don't want to know..."

A somewhat harsh voice echoed from nearby. As it spoke, it took several seconds before Capuchin could realize that it was in fact the navi's netop speaking.

"Holy crap...what happened to you? And...OH GOD, what the hell is that thing on the homepage?"

The navi struggled to shake his head. "As if I know...it put a hole in my stomach and ran in there."

No words followed, though from the sigh and slap of hand against flesh, it was fairly apparent that the operator had facepalmed.

"It hit something here, too, so I can't jack you out." He finally said, before his focus shifted. "You, monkey girl, do you have a recovery chip or something you can use on Gambler here?"
"W-we don't h-have any chips like th-that C-Capuchin..." Aida said sadly, "A-and if he can't jack out..."

"Then I have to stuff him in there..." The monkey navi sighed as she shifted a bit more so he was easier to move. "Look, your navi is a bit immobile at the moment, and I have no chip to jack him out..." Capuchin began, "But he won't last long if I bring him in there, and nor will I." She moved ever so close to the portal but briefly halted to the left side. Her grip on the navi loosened and she gently placed him against a wall. The monkey navi then walked back towards the dangerous portal, knowing she may meet her fate inside, or perhaps something far worse. "I'll try and defeat the guy in there." She announced loudly, "I don't know if I can beat him, but at least its better than nothing." Her feet slowly moved towards it.

"I-I'm ready t-too." Aida announced to her navi wich gave a grin in agreement.

One last second remained as the first boot entered through, and Capuchin used it to give a final thumbs up for luck...then...she was gone...entering inside the foreign area...and to her opponent.
Gambler tried to protest as Capuchin moved toward the portal, but no coherent words came out.

As the monkey navi entered, the portal distorted several times, appearing as though it would collapse before she made it to her destination. In the end, however, she made it...

...and gazed out on a scene she likely didn't expect.

The light of the now mostly empty homepage was almost completely gone, casting all but the area around the jack-out and net portals into darkness. The one that had been torn into the server collapsed and went out behind Capuchin, leaving even more of the area blackened.

None of the programs that usually operated on homepages could be seen, and only two sounds met her ears. One, of several broken objects crackling as sparks flew from them. The other, of a familiar navi in a corner...

...sobbing?
Capuchin stared at the navi with confusion written all over her face. This guy was hard to read. He tended to rip apart opponents till they were nothing more than tattered remains of once viruses and navis, yet on the other hand, it also at times acted timid and frightened...and now it looked so sad and in pain.

"B-be careful..." Aida whispered as a warning, knowing quite well what her Navi wanted to do. Yet she would let her go through with her plan, if not, it would probably eat away at the poor monkey later on.

"Hey..." Capuchin softly said towards the navi in the corner, she prepared herself for a strike at any moment. She felt tense around her opponent. It was like a wrecking machine that would easily snap her in half. "You upset?" She asked as she took a step over to it, still keeping a loose stance in case of a needed dodge was in order.
"So much...so much death...why..." the navi sobbed, not looking at Capuchin. "What's going on..."

"What did I do..."

It looked up at Capuchin, as though just noticing she was there. Its glowing red eyes seemed to glaze over as it stared, almost longing for her to help somehow. Then, suddenly, the body's actions changed completely. The massive claw swung behind it, ripping through a section of the homepage. Sparks flew from...whatever it had cut, and all light from the portals went out. The only light remaining now came from the occasional spark flying from several places around the barren room, and from the horrendous, still sobbing creature in front of her. All the veins in its insectoid right arm now glowed brilliant, ever-shifting neon hues.

A battery light started blinking on Aida's PET, and the reality of the situation hit home. The homepage had been completely separated from the network AND the computer it was linked to. Jacking-out would be near impossible, but merely keeping Capuchin there was now putting a tremendous strain on the PET's battery. The icon indicating the ability to communicate had dimmed and ben X-ed out. Though she could still send chips, they would be unable to communicate.

From Capuchin's end, the line to the PET suddenly filled with eerie static. Or rather, normal static mixed with a dull tone, seeming much creepier merely due to the situation. There was no way out, she was working on limited time, she could no longer communicate directly with Aida, and the...sobbing monster navi...was now looking to kill her.

___


Experiment Navi: 750 HP (Standing On Normal)

Capuchin.EXE: 140 HP (Standing on Metal) (Accuracy -20%) (Verbal communication with NetOp lost)


Terrain: 40% Normal, 40% Metal (In a rather shoddy checkerboard pattern)
10% Lava (Single puddle off about ten feet to the side.)
10% Magnet (Directly behind Experiment Navi)

Objects: Rubble x10: 5 HP each (Scattered randomly)

Special:
-Darkness (Accuracy down)
-Area Offline (Strain on PET battery: 10 Turns Remaining)
"?!" Capuchin's head immediatley searched the room for any source of light, yet it had quickly become pitch black here. "This can't be good...hey Aida can y........Aida?..." The contact line to Aida seemed to have failed any contact, only letting the sound of static ring in Capuchin's ears. The monkey navi froze stiff as she suddenly noticed how horrid her situation had gotten. There was no contact from her netop, no lighting, and her opponent was a ravaging glowing experiment that even upset, wanted to tear off Capuchin's limbs. "...not good..." She said under her breath as she went into a fighting stance. She at least would have to try to defeat this thing, there was no way out of here anyway, better to die fighting than just letting it get her.

Though a bit of fourtune seemed to shine on her as her left hand formed into a firesword letting the ember of its blade glow a bit, shedding some light on this situation. While her right hand formed into a wonderful light and breezy airsword.

Even without sound or sight from her Netop, Aida would always be there for Capuchin. It was hope that Aida clung to and trust she had for her navi to get through this. As long as they trusted in each other, perhaps they could still vanquish this guy. Aida also had given her two of the most powerful chips they possessed.

"Alright...there's no more being nice." She said to herself as she dashed towards the glowing eyes and veins. "This guy has done enough damage as it is. Time to put him out of his misery." Her pace around him went into a curved pattern as it slowly moved slightly every step to the left. Even though it looked obviously that she was going to strike to the left, she changed her position. As soon as she made it right beside her oppoenent, Capuchin made a quick abrupt halt that sent her body launching in the air...in the right direction...and above the enemie's hulking body. As she soared through the air in those moment's, Capuchin made a slash with both swords at the top of its back, letting them pass eachother. The arms touched the opposing shoulders delicately as the monkey's feet curled in and prepared for a landing. Since unable to use her arms, Capuchin did the next best thing, a tuck and roll which let her roll a few feet away, giving her time to arise back to her feet. Though she wasn't though yet, she did a straight dart towards the glowing essence of the experiment and swung both blades straight at its face...if that was its face...

Summary
1. dodge
2. airsword 100 (in the air :P)
3. firesword 80
4. airsword 100
5. firesword 80
Capuchin flipped over the experiment, slashing at is back as she came down. Her opponent took both of the blows, letting the blades rip through flesh and scales as they passed through. The moment the blades hit, however, a yelp escaped the navi's mouth, followed by a soft whimper. As she turned around and charged back towards it, however, it turned to face her head on.

"...No..."

Right as Capuchin approached it, the monstrous navi stepped to the side, avoiding both blades. Further, as she reached that point she found herself slowing down, then speeding up again as she passed.

"...pain..."

A flash of neon light streaked past Capuchin's face, and a searing pain ripped across her back, spinning her around and sending her to the ground.

"It hurts...why?"

As she looked up at the massive navi, and more specifically the claw that had just slashed her, it took a moment to realize the whispered, painful phrases were in fact coming from her attacker. She didn't have time to think of the implications of this, however, as its claw came thrusting down at her again, catching her across the chest and sending a wave of energy through her arms that shattered both the swords she had wielded.

___


Experiment Navi: 570 HP (Standing On Normal)

Capuchin.EXE: 100 HP (Laying on Metal) (Accuracy -20%) (Verbal communication with NetOp lost) (Laying on the ground)


Terrain: 40% Normal, 40% Metal (In a rather shoddy checkerboard pattern)
10% Lava (Single puddle off about ten feet to the side.)
10% Magnet (Directly behind Experiment Navi)

Objects: Rubble x10: 5 HP each (Scattered randomly)

Special:
-Darkness (Accuracy down)
-Area Offline (Strain on PET battery: 9 Turns Remaining)
Capuchin could feel the burning pain tearing at her back as she spun around and around, unable to keep her balance. She was unable to tell what was up or down at the moment, only the feeling seemed to fill her as her body collided with the ground. "That voice..." She suddenly was able to say as she attempted to quickly get back up though the claw had struck her again across her chest and had shattered her two weapons that her netop gave to her. The plating on her arms seemed to loosen as well and her worries began to grow. The stitched that held her arms into place were beginning to show between the metal, only a matter of time till they would be damaged and her arms would fall off. She was running out of time and the whole situation frightened her. The experiment she was facing seemed powerful and frightening, its strength was strong enough to dismantle viruses and areas.........yet as much as this navi frightened her, it also seemed miserable and sad.

She managed to slowly arise once more, yet no chip greeted her this time, she would need to consider this as opportunity or as time that would just waste on the PET Battery, the lifeline to safety. Her eyes faced the pitch black darkness once more, resting on the only source of lighting she had, the neon glow oozing from the navi.

'...pain.......it hurts.....why?' the words of it lingered into Capuchin's mind.

"Do you understand pain?" She asked calmly to it, "Have you felt pain like that or worse?" Capuchin's left hand softly gripped her chest to where she had been stabbed by her hated enemy...twice. "I bet you have felt worse than that...alot....and probably more than I can understand..." Her stance remained loose but yet not threatening. She made sure that her movements would not threaten or make the experiment panic. She needed to talk to it, at least find out some things from it.

"If you felt pain like that before...have you ever felt OTHER pain?" Capuchin asked, "Misery, frightened, lonely, sadness...you know...pain that cannot be delivered from viruses or battle chips...the pain from your heart." Her face had no sense of fury in them during this time. Even when chasing it, it seemed to be frightened and sorrowful for what it did, "Because...from what I see...I think you've felt tremendous pain like that as well...it must have been horrible..." She slowly held her hands next to her head showing the palms to her opponent. "I'm sorry that I hurt you as well...I won't hurt you again if you want to talk...see?...no weapons..."

Summary:

1. dodge
2. dodge
3. dodge
4. dodge
5. dodge
The creature turned one saddened eye towards Capuchin. The other, meanwhile, remained emotionless, wide, and glowing with power. A soft whisper escaped. "Stop it...no...I don't..." Given a close look, there was little, if no intelligence behind the eyes of the beast. Despite the monkey navi's assurance that it would not attack, the experiment lashed out again, to no effect as Capuchin dodged.

"Why does it hurt? What have I..."

There no longer seemed to be any coherence behind the experiment's speech, but merely a repeating pattern, as though unable to do anything but relive something horrible while its body killed everything near.

As if there was no mind left to control it at all...

"It hurts..."

The experiment slashed at Capuchin again, who dodged with relative ease, only to land on the other side of it from where she started. Her movements suddenly felt somewhat slowed.

The static that had filled Capuchin's ears when the communication was cut now started to spike at irregular intervals.

___


Experiment Navi: 570 HP (Standing On Normal)

Capuchin.EXE: 100 HP (Standing on Magnet, -1 action) (Accuracy -20%) (Verbal communication with NetOp lost)

Terrain: 40% Normal, 40% Metal (In a rather shoddy checkerboard pattern)
10% Lava (Single puddle off about ten feet to the side.)
10% Magnet (Directly behind Experiment Navi)

Objects: Rubble x10: 5 HP each (Scattered randomly)

Special:
-Darkness (Accuracy down)
-Area Offline (Strain on PET battery: 8 Turns Remaining)
"Shoot..." Capuchin growled lowly as she stared at the inky darkness where shades of glowing marks on her opponent lingered. She felt sorry for this navi...all the suffering and pain that he went through...yet he inflicted horrid things on his opponents. Though his words were like that of a broken record, always the same, continuing in a pattern again and again. "Is your mind really gone?" Capuchin asked herself as she went into fighting stance. She had finally decided on what to do, she would have to defeat this navi with her fists.

This turned out somewhat rewarding to the monkey as her right hand formed into a cannon equipped with a twinfang, and her left hand now possessed two energybombs. Aida must've timed how long the swords lasted and waited till now to give in to more chips. Poor Aida must be incredibly worried by now and awaiting for Capuchin's return. Yet Aida always had faith in her little monkey navi, and to continue to give her chips at an appropriate time meant that she still had hope that Capuchin would make it back soon.

"I wont let you down Aida..." The monkey softly said as she thought about what she could use during this time. She would need to think wisely. Couldn't be that hard right...Capuchin once wasn't Aida's navi at all. She used to be on her own...fighting viruses with fists and stealing others earnings. She always had experience without a netop...though she did enjoy being with Aida more than on her own...but she wasn't really alone was she. Aida was still there, giving her support and chips from the other side. Capuchin would have to think how Aida does, she couldn't be reckless and such while being scolded for not being cautious. Staring at the inky blackness once more, she thought of an idea.

A smirk pierced her face as she took a leap backwards, spinning her body athleticly, as she threw out one energybomb letting it land towards the experiment's left. Her fingers then released the second one which soared in the air and shot to the ground at the right side of the opponent.

Her idea was fairly simple. Her opponent seemed almost well hidden in the dark (Aside for his/her glowing markings). Capuchin needed to brighten the area and keep the enemy still, at least for a moment, and what better way than two explosions from both sides.

"Take this!" Capuchin hollered as her feet planted firmly on the ground and launched out both shots of the twinfang straight towards the enemy who should be now illuminated well by the explosions and perhaps even been caught by one of the bombs. That would have been a nice added bonus.

"If only Aida saw that." Capuchin snickered to herself, "She'd be all silent and surprised. I'm good at thinking out things if I want to..." Though the next thought came to mind that made her face give an expression like she ate something awful, "...she'd probably straight after, ask me why I never do this any other time."

Summary:
1.leapback (Dodge)
2.energybomb (40x3) Experiment's left side
3.energybomb (40x3) Experiment's right side
4. twinfang (70x2)

(FINISHED!)
The creature snarled as it swung it's clawed arm at Capuchin again, only to miss as she jumped off the magnetic surface she had landed on and back to normal ground. She flung two energybombs at the navi while in midflight, which exploded on either side of it. The experiment was caught in both explosions and illuminated in the accompanying flash of light.

For those brief seconds, however, the rest of the immediate area of the homepage was visible as well.

At least two corpses of generic Mr. Progs lay nearby, mutilated and disfigured almost beyond recognition. Blood data and a strange fluid that looked almost like gasoline filled the cracks between panels. Wires that had been sparking madly until the homepage went offline hung dangerously overhead, still occasionally emitting the odd spark. As if to add onto this, a mist had fallen over the area since the lights went out, which in those brief seconds seemed to twist itself into horrifying, indescribable images.

The experiment seemed to be affected by this as well, spinning around and looking wildly, even as the lights faded. As one of the two massive fang shots hit it, it let out an insectoid shriek and charged at Capuchin, this time not missing as its claws ripped at her stomach.
___

Experiment Navi: 260 HP (Standing On Magnet, unaffected?)

Capuchin.EXE: 80 HP (Standing on Normal) (Accuracy -30%) (Verbal communication with NetOp lost)

Terrain: 40% Normal, 40% Metal (In a rather shoddy checkerboard pattern)
10% Lava (Single puddle off about ten feet to the side.)
10% Magnet (Directly behind Experiment Navi)

Objects: Rubble x10: 5 HP each (Scattered randomly)

Special:
-Darkness (Accuracy down)
-Mist (Accuracy down slightly, ???)
-Area Offline (Strain on PET battery: 8 Turns Remaining)
Capuchin clentched onto her torso holding in any data that was seeping out. This navi was the second opponent to have ever peicerced her body. Drakkas had done this twice already...but she wouldn't count out this experiment to do another attack like that again. "I have to figure something out..." She said to herself as she suddenly felt her left arm form. It quickly transformed its appearence into a cannon wich was equipped with a heatshot and then a guard came into place. It would seem Aida was still sending her chips. She only looked at it for a brief moment then to her surroundings. She would have to think wisely on how to use it...yet the light had shown an all new horror into this situation. The horrid remains of what used to be Mr. Progs and their data and oil seeping all over the floor and in the cracks...yet to make things worse, an electric wire seemed to be awful close to a danger that this was. All she could think about was what would happen to her if the whole place burned into flames.......BINGO!

"That's it!" The monkey navi said to herself as she made her red pole appear in her hands. Her feet made a quick dash backwards along with a few flips to have some distance from the hulking Experiment. "I'll take you out now!"

Capuchin's right arm gripped firmly onto the stick and jammed it into the ground beneath her, letting her pole strike move her to a higher distance. Her legs and free hand kept clenching it as she stared at the dimm form of the sparking wires. "Just one shot..." She said aloud, "Just one shot should do it..." Her eye glowed with adrenalin as it gazed upon her locked target. She was going to let a surge of electricity set the stage aflame. The Experiment would easily be egnighted by this idea...yet the pole strike wasn't going to last long, so she'd need to use that guard of hers afterward to protect her for a bit...it was insane yes...but it could actually proove effective and perhaps spread more light onto those strange forms in the mist...those were beginning to worry her as well.

Keeping her cannon hand steady as best as she could, she shot the round of the heat shot straight at the wires. It should send a wave of electricity...that or set the place aflame itself. Preparing for what was to come next, she prepped the guard.

Summary:

1. distance (dodge)
2. polestrike on ground (Up up and away!)
3. heatshot (40) sparking wires
4. guard
5. dodge
The experiment lunged for another strike, but missed as Capuchin backflipped away, distancing herself from it. The experiment lumbered forward, attempting to close the distance. As it did so, however, Capuchin polevaulted into the air.

What she hadn't counted on, however, was the sheer volume of the wires hanging overhead. For a brief moment, she became tangled in them, before releasing a burst of flames at some of the sparking ones. The heatshot melted through the insulation and superheated the wires themselves. Though this didn't affect the sparking, it sent an intense burst of heat through the wires the monkey navi had become entangled in, searing her skin as she tumbled out of the wires.

Her plan still came to fruition, however, as the splash from the fiery round ignited the oil spilled on the ground. Flames immediately spread through the spaces between the tiles, then much of it onto the tiles themselves. The experiment was caught in the inferno, just as planned.

The problem was, as Capuchin fell to the ground and activated her guard, she was as well.

Apart from being burned by her own blaze, her opponent came barreling through the flames, still screaming for the pain to stop as it slashed through the guard. Its entire body had lit on fire, beginning to burn away what humanoid flesh was remaining on the left half of its body. It slashed with the other arm, ripping through the already half-melted guard, but not without consequence.

Meanwhile, the smoke from the massive fire mixed with the mist she had seen earlier, though the effect was unchanged. Beneath however, she could see the floor beneath her breaking away in the smallest of pieces, the particles disintegrating into the air.

___


Experiment Navi: 160 HP (Standing On Metal) (On fire)

Capuchin.EXE: 40 HP (Standing on Normal) (Accuracy -0% for close range, -80% for distance) (Verbal communication with NetOp lost)

Terrain: 40% Normal, 40% Metal (In a rather shoddy checkerboard pattern)
10% Lava (Single puddle behind and off to the side of Experiment Navi.)
10% Magnet (1 move behind Experiment Navi)

Objects:
-Rubble x7: 5 HP each (Scattered randomly)
-Wires: 60 HP (Overhead, superheated)

Special:
-Darkness (Accuracy down, currently nulled by fire)
-Mist (Accuracy down slightly, illusion, ???)
-FIRE! (30 fire damage to all non-fire navis, 1 turn remaining)
-Area Offline (Strain on PET battery: 7 Turns Remaining)