Welcome to New Vegas

The two and SP descended into the building, coming into a hallway with locked doors. Daisy followed Gazetteman as he checked them all. Virgil was watching things from his PET screen, and began to think a bit once Gazette mention something about can't run down the hallway without them hearing...

"...Do we have any proof that she was even standing in the doorway? There could have been some kind of speaker there that we managed to overlook, and there could have been a camera on the roof that could have let her know we were there..."

And then, one of the doors exploded.

Luckily Daisy managed to have one of her shields up when it happened, so she wasn't damaged by it. It also seemed like Gazetteman and his little friend didn't get harmed by it either. But what she saw past the doors, shocked her a bit. A strange navi was in there, laughing while his neck was apparently broken.

"Wow, he is somehow managing to make me seem like a pansy with that neck of his." Virgil said.

"Wait, no! I didn't come here to take anyone's place!" Daisy said, before hearing the creaking behind her. She turned to look and saw that all the doors had opened, with navis coming out of the doorways and heading towards them.

"Gazetteman, take care of the laughing fellow! I'll deal with the new comers." Daisy said, blood sprouting from her body. The red liquid flowed over Daisy's body, and shaped itself into plate armor of some sorts. While the armor was being formed, two puddles of blood seeped from Daisy's feet and traveled across the floor to Gazetteman. One of the puddles went up the navi's body to his arm, and formed into a shield that latched itself there. The other puddle just surrounded the navi, and expanded upwards to form a bubble around him. With holes in it so the navi could see out of it.

"Hallway looks small enough that the first two chips I'm sending you should work great." Virgil said, 4 chips in hand. The scarred man quickly slotted them in one by one. "And the last two should work well as cleanup." Virgil added.

Daisy received the chip data, and the blood formed armor on her right arm changed it shape. That part of the armor transformed into a long cylinder that extended from just past the elbow, to a foot past Daisy's hand. Her hand started to bleed inside the cylinder, and formed into a ball that rested just in front of her fingers. Daisy pointed the cannon towards the zombies, turning her body to be facing perpendicular to the cannon.

"Alright, take this!" Daisy said, as he cannon let out a near deafening roar. The blood born projectile collided with the ground, and exploded. But Daisy's onslaught of chips wasn't complete, as she adsorbed the cannon back into her arm, only for a small yellow ball to materialize in her hand. Daisy gave the ball a toss towards where one of the back navis was. When the ball hit the ground, electricity busted from it, engulfing a nice chunk of the hallway.

"Now, to take care of the survivors." Daisy said, bring her hand up to the front of her face. The tips of her bloody gauntlet resided, revealing her fingers. Then, a small flame appeared, and began to dance from finger to finger. She pointed her hand at the navis, and the flame intensified and flew towards one of the navis. Daisy quickly raised her left arm, and pointed it down the hallway. The navi released a wave of blood from her gauntlet, with the intent to take out any of the remaining moaning beings...



((Passive: Shield on Gazetteman
Passive: 20 hp Barrier on Gazetteman
1: Grand Blood Guard: Shadow + self slow
2: Tankcannon1 Moaning Navi B's position: 80 + Blast 2, Accuacy C
3: Magbomb2 Moaning Navi D's position: 60 Elec+ Stun1+ Blast2
4: Heat-V Navi A: 70 fire + Spread 2 remaining moaning navis
5: Wideshot1 remaining moaning navis: 75 aqua + wideattack))
GazetteMan nodded to Daisy and pushed past her toward the laughing Navi. He raised his lead pipe, prepared to smash the strange Navi's head in. He swiped down with the pipe, but the Navi was quicker than it looked and dodged to the side, head flapping uselessly. His second swipe missed its mark as the Navi moved, landing a glancing blow to its shoulder (40). The Navi retaliated with a devastating backhand that, luckily for GazetteMan, was absorbed by Daisy's shield before it shattered.

The laughing Navi cursed as GazetteMan avoided its attack and barely managed to avoid a third swipe of the reporter's pipe. It screamed in rage, its voice rising in decibel until it was ear splitting. Daisy's barrier protected GazetteMan, but the shriek disoriented Choppa (20, Stun).

Daisy began to give the moaning Navi a taste of the hell that awaited them when they were finally deleted. She protected herself with a thick layer of blood and began launching explosives every which way. The cluttered hallway provided the moaning Navi no real room to maneuver. One of the Navi managed to shuffle back into its room, but the other two were blasted by the TankCannon. The MagBomb had a similar effect, frying two of the three Navi and leaving one in a convulsing pile on the floor. The Heat-V and WideShot mopped up another two of the Navi and left the remaining two injured. All in all, Daisy's onslaught had left three of the Navi lying on the floor, momentarily incapacitated, and two others wounded.

The first of the moaning Navi took a swipe at Daisy with its fist, but its grasping hand passed right through the layer of blood with no resistance. The second Navi had better luck. It shambled toward Daisy and took a large bite out of her shoulder (50 Slashing DMG, Confusion). Choppa fired off a laser beam that dropped a fourth Navi and finished up with a healing spray that took some of the sting from the Navi's bite (+30hp).

However, there was something wrong with Daisy. She started to become dizzy and her vision blurred. The various Navi before her began to shift and change, their bodies warping. The hallway warped as well, twisting in on itself while flashes of color splashed against the walls. Whatever was wrong with her, it would be difficult to fight effectively.

Laughing Navi: 210hp
Moaning NaviA: 30hp
Moaning NaviB: 1 (???)
Moaning NaviC: 1 (???)
Moaning NaviD: 1 (???)
Moaning NaviE: 1 (???)

Daisy: 155hp [Confused!]
GazetteMan: 200hp
Choppa: 80hp [Stun! -1 Action]

Terrain: 100% Hallway (Normal, cannot enter high altitude)
"What in the?" Daisy said in surprise, as one of the navis managed to bite her. Chopper did heal her a bit, but he couldn't fully heal her. Her surroundings started to get, weird. The bodies morphed or something, the walls were moving and changing colors. From the looks of things she couldn't fight effectively... but rather then move around, she decided to try and stand still. She did see that the navis' went down, and if she could just remember their approximate position... Maybe, just maybe she could crack their heads.

"Gazette, don't get in front of me right now." Catherine said, telling her partner where not to be. She wanted to make sure that she wouldn't hit Gazetteman with these attacks.

Daisy tried to stedy herself, and tried her best to ignore all that was transpiring around her. She then focused her mind, trying to remember where the navis were before all the craziness started. Hoping that she remembered correctly, and that the changes to her surroundings don't cause her too many problems, Catherine bleed out of her hand, the blood forming the shape of a brick, and she let it flying at what she assumed was the head of one of the other downed navis. She repeated this action three more times, each one aimed at a different navi.

Daisy then began to move around, trying her best to avoid whatever attack was most likely heading towards her. She didn't try to make any of her defenses, for fear that she might screw them up.


((1Bustershot Moaning NaviB: 30 aqua
2Bustershot Moaning NaviC: 30 aqua
freeBustershot Moaning NaviD: 30 aqua
3Bustershot Moaning NaviE: 30 aqua
4 Dodge
5 Dodge))
Daisy did her best to overcome the nausea overcoming her senses. She formed her buster and took potshots at the downed Navi, hoping that she would be able to remember their exact locations and hit her marks. Unfortunately, the swirling mass of colors that blanketed her vision only allowed her to hit one of the Navi's in the head, her other shots going wide or hitting non-vital locations.

Choppa took the initiative to aid Daisy. The miniature SP fired a laser bolt that burned a hole in the skull of one of the Navi. It also gunned down the remaining standing Navi, but the aftereffects of the Laughing Navi's scream didn't allow Choppa to finish the downed Navi off.

Speaking of the Laughing Navi, he continued his battle against GazetteMan. He swiped his claws at GazetteMan, knocking the Navi flat on his back (50 + Knockback). GazetteMan hit the ground hand, the air rushing from his lungs, but he somehow managed to roll aside as the Laughing Navi leapt toward him. GazetteMan smashed his pipe against the Navi's jaw in a desperate two-handed slam (70, impact). GazetteMan tried to attack again, but the Navi dodged back toward the shattered doorway. GazetteMan pursued, delivering another smack (40). The Laughing Navi broke into a fit of uncontrollable giggling while backing away from GazetteMan.

"Nonononono...I won't allow it. It won't happen. Ahahaha...hahaha...heehawed..." the Laughing Navi began to choke.

The Navi doubled over, clutching his stomach. He glared at the three invaders, the three people determined to steal away his precious love. The thought made him sick. Bile rose in his throat and he released it in a stream. The small hallway made it difficult to dodge, but Daisy managed to avoid the projectile vomit. GazetteMan and Choppa weren't as lucky and were coated in the burning substance (70).

The moaning sound kicked up another notch. The Navi that Daisy had floored previously began to push themselves to their feet, ready to attack once more. Luckily, Daisy's vision began to clear. It would seem that whatever had infected her was gone...

Laughing Navi: 100hp
Moaning NaviA: 1hp (???)
Moaning NaviB: 10hp
Moaning NaviC: DELETED?
Moaning NaviD: DELETED?
Moaning NaviE: 10hp

Daisy: 155hp
GazetteMan: 80hp
Choppa: 10hp

Terrain: 100% Hallway (Normal, cannot enter high altitude)
Daisy's sight began to clear up, the room stopping it's color shenanigans. From the looks of things it seems like she only managed to finish one or two of them off, the others standing back up and the last one on the ground. Somehow Daisy managed to not get hit, but it seems like her allies weren't as lucky. She looked at the navi that she had been ignoring before, and decided that she would help Gazette finish him off. "Virgil, the markcannons please~" Daisy said to her netop, who replied via slotting in the chips that his navi requested.

Blood flowed from Daisy's arms, and it traveled down it to her hands. The liquid then shaped itself to form a cylinder shape on both arms that extended from just below the elbow down past the navi's hand. First Daisy pointed her right arm at the navi. Because this was the Markcannon1 chip, Daisy knew that she had a much better chance of hitting the navi then with just her buster. Then, with a thought, a blast of blood fired from the barrel, the cylinder retreating back into Daisy's body as the blood born attack flew trough the air. Quickly, the navi returned her hand to her side, and pointed her other arm at the chronically laughing navi. This time, she made sure to aim right for the navi's face instead of just the navi itself. Daisy then fired the weapon, a blob of hardened blood flying right towards the navi. With luck Daisy's aim this whole time was true, and the navi's head would be damaged enough to keep him down for good.

Daisy turned back towards the navis she first focused on. She looked at them, and snapped her fingers and bleed from her body. The navi formed six objects of various sizes and shapes, and snapped her fingers once more. The objects flew at the navis one by one, with the first three aiming for their own targets. The last three, Daisy just aimed at whatever moaning navis survived the assault.

1 MarkCannon1 Laughing navi: 70+seeking+take aim
2 MarkCannon1 Laughing navi's face: 70+seeking+take aim
3 Blood :Bustershot Navi A, B, and E: 30 aqua
4 Bustershot survivers: 30 aqua
5 Bustershot survivers: 30 aqua
Free Bustershot survivers: 30 aqua
Daisy turned to aid GazetteMan in battle, firing off two highly accurate blasts of blood. Luckily for her, the laughing Navi was so enraged that he didn't even bother to try and dodge. He rushed toward GazetteMan, intent on ripping his competition apart, only to be knocked back by the quick series of MarkCannon shots. He fell to the floor, momentarily stunned.

Daisy then turned her attention on the remaining moaning Navi. With her vision cleared, Daisy was much more accurate with her buster shots, crushing heads and dropping Navi with the help of GazetteMan. Meanwhile, Choppa managed to repair itself and GazetteMan slightly (+30hp to each). The group of moaning Navi were all silenced and Daisy used her remaining buster shots to make sure the laughing Navi stayed down for the count.

"Phew," GazetteMan panted. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. And that bite of yours looks pretty bad."

The wound on Daisy's shoulder was red and raw, crimson lines reaching out across her body from the bite marks. She was no longer disoriented, but whatever venom was lurking within the Navi's bite was still within her. Who knows what long term effects it would have on her systems.

"Look," GazetteMan said. "Maybe we should retreat for now. We know the source is in this building. We can call on the NetPolice to tighten the quarantine. They information we've gathered should be more than enough to ensure success and I'll vouch for you so don't worry about not getting whatever reward they promised you. We'll head back out and destroy the satellite dish on our way out. Maybe drop it from the roof and take out a few of those bastards gathering below us. Once we're out of the infected zone, we can get you treated for whatever that thing did to you. How about it?"

Laughing Navi: DELETED?
Moaning NaviA: DELETED?
Moaning NaviB: DELETED?
Moaning NaviC: DELETED?
Moaning NaviD: DELETED?
Moaning NaviE: DELETED?

Daisy: 155hp
GazetteMan: 110hp
Choppa: 40hp

Terrain: 100% Hallway (Normal, cannot enter high altitude)

Rewards: Drain1, 300z
They managed to take out their foes, and Daisy looked around. It seems like Choppa healed itself and it's master, and Gazetteman mentioned something about her would. She looked at it, then back at Gazetteman. "Honestly, given how my netop acts, he would probably just walk this wound off... or something. So... I should be fine. Thanks for worrying about me though." Daisy respond, before Gazetteman suggested they retreated. "If you want to head back that's fine, but I won't really feel confitable unless I actually find the source and try to take it out. And besides, if it looks like I'm in trouble, I can probably just try to escape or something." Daisy told Gazetteman, before heading to continue searching the building.
"No, I can't let you finish this alone." GazetteMan answered. "If you want to continue, we'll see this through together. However, we should probably heal up first. I brought a few subchips that'll help."

GazetteMan produced a trio of plastic bags containing a reddish liquid from within a pocket of his trench coat. He squeezed the contents of one bag into what looked to be a fuel tank located on Choppa's back before ripping open a second bag and drinking the liquid down. He opened the third and poured it into a clean rag that he also pulled from a pocket. He placed the pocket on Daisy's shoulder, directly over the wound. The liquid seemed to cool the wound and restored some of Daisy's vitality.

"There," GazetteMan said. "Let's get going. We should finish this as soon as we can."

The trio headed further into the building, stepping over the fallen Navi that littered the floor. They entered the doorway the laughing Navi had been guarding and found a second set of stairs. GazetteMan lead Daisy down the stairs, wandering down a steep spiral that lead out into what seemed to be an abandoned ballroom. Tables and chairs had been cleared away from the center of the room and pushed against the walls. Two sets of double doors lead out of the room, but they were closed and seemed to be barred shut.

"Huh," GazetteMan muttered. "This is weird."

The room was a complete square and quite spacious. It could no doubt accommodate a large number of Navi; which was probably not a good thing considering the hordes of crazed Navi lurking on the bottom floor of the building. Thankfully, the room seemed to be empty.

"I wonder where to go from here," GazetteMan asked aloud.

"That depends on where you want to go, honey." It was the same voice from before and, once again, its owner was no where to be seen. "Each of those doors leads down to my little pets. Feel free to wander down if you feel like providing them with a fresh meal. If you want to meet me, then by all means stay. I have cleared the dance floor after all."

A shadowy form arose from the center of the empty room, welling up from nothingness. The figure was cloaked in darkness, but oddly feminine. It stood there and seemed to be observing Daisy and her companions.

"Since I have prepared the stage, shall we dance? Pick your poison: the waltz, the foxtrot, the samba? Or perhaps you have a taste for the forbidden? Shall we tango? Man, woman...Machine. It doesn't matter. Love and lust no know bounds. After all, we decide what is natural and what is obscene. And it has been so long since I've had a proper playmate. My current favorite is getting a tad boorish."

The figure laughed as though something funny had just occurred to her. It seemed to Daisy that the figure had held up a hand to hide her mouth as she laughed. Of course, since both the hand and the mouth were made of shadow, it was hard to tell.

"Oh that should be interesting. Would you like to meet him? My current love? Yes, come troll. Mistress Striga commands it."

A second blob of shadow appeared on the floor, growing larger and thicker. The new form grew so large that the shadows began to stretch then, falling away to reveal what lay beneath. Standing next to the feminine shadow was a hulking beast. The creature was gigantic, at least ten feet tall and no doubt five feet wide. Its legs were short in comparison to its arms and it rested its knuckles on the floor. It was heavily muscled, each cord of muscle wrapping along its arm was as thick as Daisy's wrist. It's face was ugly and brutish with a flat, wide nose and a large mouth lined with fangs. Its eyes were small crimson beads that glared from Daisy to GazetteMan and Choppa. The creature was mostly dark green, fading to brown along its arms and hands and gray along its back. Its hands and feet seemed to be covered flaking skin, like fractured bark on a tree. Its gray back was like stone, hard and rough, and patches of thick, short green hairs ran from its head to its back.

"Mmmmm..." the female shadow moaned. "Isn't he the essence of manliness? Do you think you can take his place at my side? Let's find out if you are worth my attention..."

Striga: 300hp [Shadow?]
Trollkin: 100hp

Daisy: 175hp
GazetteMan: 160hp
Choppa: 90hp

Terrain: 100% Normal
Daisy thanked Gazette for the subchip, and they contenueled on in their searching. They came across a large ballroom, abandoned and with everything pushed to the walls. Gazetteman asked where they should head to next, but before Daisy could respond someone else responded. At first Daisy didn't see anyone else who could have said that, but then a figure appeared in the middle of the room, out of the nothingness that was there. The figure then talked about... dancing? And then something about love and lust or something. 'Kinky...' Virgil responded, with only Daisy hearing this.

Daisy just looked at her, keeping quiet at this moment. The figure then summoned what she refured to as "her current love", and out from a shadow that formed on the floor came something Daisy found rather... ugly. With it's large size and brutish looks, combined with Daisy's opinion on it... She doesn't she how that is 'Manly' as the shadow put it.

"Yeap, she is into really kinky stuff." Virgil said, taking a chip from his folder and slotting it in.

Daisy created her defenses, a shield forming on her arm and a bubble of blood surrounding her. Her netop slotted in the buster up chip, and Daisy used it to make her buster's attack rating higher. She should be able to take care of the troll by herself, and with Gazette's help should do fine against the shadowy woman. But the problem is, there is no guarantee that taking her out will completely make all the navis normal again. So rather then trying to take her out along with the troll, Daisy decided to attack only the troll. If only to try and question her after 'proving' herself to the shadow.

"Alright, I'll prove myself. But I have some questions for you afterward miss." Daisy said, eying the troll trough her bubble of blood. Ripples began to form on the barrier in three locations, and after a few seconds Daisy snapped her fingers. Then from the locations, crimson daggers formed and shot out of the navi's defenses. Theoretically this should be enough to take the brute out, but with all of her previous encounters with navis on this mission, it probably won't finish him for good.

Blood gathered on Daisy's hand, and shaped itself into a medieval gauntlet of sorts. Gripping the hand into a fist, she made her way to the troll. She swung her bloodied fist the navi, willing more bloods to appear on her other hand. The blood around her other hand wrapped around her fingers to form a shape akin to brass knuckles, and she swung that arm at the beast as well. Once her two strikes were over, she brought her hands together, and her bloodied weapons melted and combined in her hands, with fresh blood coming from her palms to increase the volume. The blood shaped itself into an enlongated tube, with a heavy weight at the end of it. Daisy brought this hammer like weapon over her head, and tried to bring it down upon her foe's head. Of course Daisy wasn't going to just be offensive. If a strike was coming towards her and she noticed it, she would try her best to get out of the way of it. She didn't exactly wanted a repeat of the time she got bitten, expectally since getting smacked by that thing would probably do more damage then that bite caused.

((Passive: Shield on self
Passive: 30 hp Barrier on self
1 Buster up: +1 attack
2 Blood strikes: 3 bustershots on Trollkin: 40 aqua
3 bustershot Trollkin: 40 aqua
4 bustershot Trollkin: 40 aqua
Free bustershot Trollkin: 40 aqua
5 Dodge))
Daisy began her assault, firing of a trio of buster strikes at the massive Trollkin. The creature raised its arms to cover its chest and face. The bark-like skin was as hard as steel, absorbing the force of Daisy's strikes though blood splatters coated its arms. The troll roared, swiping its arms out in a wide arc. The blood flew from its arms with surprising force, smashing against Daisy's shield and shattering it.

Daisy went in with fists flying, trying to use melee force where her ranged blood barrage had failed. The troll managed to catch her first punch in one massive palm. It lifted Daisy from the floor, intent on ripping her in half. The Navi managed a second punch, a quick jab to the face that caused the troll to drop her. Daisy then dropped a hammer on the troll's head, causing the monster to drop to its knees. Enraged, the troll slam its hand down on Daisy, unconcerned by the blood barrier that still protected her. The massive fist smashed through Daisy's barrier, the force of the blow knocking her to the floor.

"Hm," the shadow murmured. "I don't think you'll be asking any questions at this rate, baby. I don't think you are taking this seriously," she seemed to be pouting. "Maybe I should just bring the rest of my pets up so they can play too."

The shadow wandered over to Trollkin and laid a hand on its massive side. The troll seemed to shudder at the touch and tendrils of darkness spread from the living shadow to crawl along the troll's flesh. The shadows crawled into the troll's wounds, sealing them shut (+50hp). The troll pushed itself back to its feet, almost as good as new.

"Damn it," GazetteMan muttered. "This is pointless if she can just heal it again and again. We'll need either take it out before she can heal it or else take her out first."

He put words to action, charging forward with his lead pipe held high. He swiped down at the shadowy figure, but it seemed to flow away from the strike. It avoided a second attack as well, lead pipe failing to strike home.

"No no no," the shadow said. "This simply won't do."

"What is this?" GazetteMan cursed. "It must be some form of defense in place."

Striga: 300hp [Shadow]
Trollkin: 70hp

Daisy: 125hp
GazetteMan: 160hp
Choppa: 90hp

Terrain: 100% Normal
"Healed your 'love' because you were afraid he would have lost? You sure we shouldn't think about asking just yet?" Virgil said so all could hear. The man grabbed two chips from his folder and slotted them into the PET. "Infact, all you did was just delay the inevitable." Daisy said, getting up from the troll's attack. She recreated both her shield and barrier, even though the barrier didn't help much against the troll's mighty fist. Daisy received the data of the first chip, the Drillarm2, and processed it.

Daisy's blood hammer melted back into an ooze,and it moved to cover most of her forearm and hand. Daisy reeled her bloodied arm back to prepare to strike the troll, the blob of blood on her hand expanding more and more. Once it got large enough, the blood shaped itself into a large drill, Daisy's hand and half her forearm being encased in the weapon. The drill began to spin rapidly, and Daisy charged at her foe with the intent of thrusting it into it's gut with all her might.

Daisy wanted to make sure that the Troll ended up dead, and activated the second chip that her netop sent. Most of the drill liquified, and Daisy mentally molded the blood into a new shape. Her arm was still encased in a shell of blood, but at the end protruded a long and sharp blade. The substance that the weapon was made of changed in a matter of seconds, the red blood turning into some kind of green sap. The weapon hardened, and Daisy swinging her sword wildly at the troll, the blade making long archs that could end up hitting other navis close by. She didn't care that much if Striga ended up getting caught up in her attacks. Hell if she was close enough for her sword to hit her along with the troll, she probably deserved it. And if 'accidentally' hitting Striga caused her to retaliate against Daisy and Gazetteman... Then Daisy should be able to subdue her and then get the answers that she needs, or her and Gazette end up having to delete her and hope that solved everything. And if Gazetteman saw her swinging the sword around like she had been, then hopefully he would keep away from her until she stopped swinging it.

Eventually Daisy stopped swinging her weapon, and the sap turned back into Daisy's crimson blood. The navi retracted the blood that formed her weapons, and looked at both the troll and its master. Just in the off chance that her defenses were taken down and she didn't notice, and if an attack was heading her way, she tried to get out of the way.



((Passive: shield on self
Passive: 30HP barrier on self
1 Drillarm2 Troll: 70 + Break+ Knockback + Long Attack: B
2 Bamboosword Troll + Striga: 80 wood +slashing + wideattack: B
3 Bamboosword Troll+ Striga: 80 wood +slashing + wideattack: B
4 Bamboosword Troll+ Striga: 80 wood +slashing + wideattack: B
5 dodge
"Hardly," Striga scoffed. "Though I do suppose I should help out just a wee bit. After all, you have quite the numbers advantage. I've never been fond of sharing, but I have no qualms about getting down and dirty."

The ground beneath Daisy and her companions began to shift, growing soft and pliable. The floor beneath them began to rot, decaying and turning to mush. The decay spread up the walls, a wave of corruption that transformed the majority of the ballroom into fetid mud. It would be difficult to avoid incoming attacks if their feet were constantly sinking into the floor.

Daisy charged forward, forming a bloody spike over her hand. She intended to use the weapon to impale the troll, the spike rotating rapidly to give it enhanced penetrating power. However, she still met with unexpected resistance as the troll caught the spinning drill in one massive palm. Smoke rose from the troll's clenched fingers from the friction of the rotating weapon, but the troll's grip halted its course. The creature smiled evilly, revealing its razor teeth.

Striga laughed daintily at the sight and waved her hand toward Daisy and her companions. A wave of purple mist washed over them, sapping their strength. Daisy's shield and barrier protected her from the strange mist, but GazetteMan and Choppa doubled over in pain (2x10). The mist seemed to be a signal of sorts and the troll followed through with a devastating punch that sent Daisy flying backward and into the dripping wall.

"Did you think I wouldn't lend a hand?" Striga asked. "Why sit and wait when I can even the odds a bit?"

Choppa immediately went to work on Daisy, firing off a healing spray that restored some of her health (30). The miniature SP also fired off a beam of energy that set Trollkin aflame. The beast's low growl turned into a fierce roar and it charged down on Choppa. GazetteMan intervened with a swipe of his pipe, but the creature seemed to shrug off the blow. It as seconds away from smashing the SP when Daisy stepped up to the plate. A swing of her sword separated the beast's head from its neck.

The battle may have been won, but the troll was still on the move. Even headless it managed to smash GazetteMan against the wall. Daisy struck again, her sword passing cleanly through the creature and coming close to striking Striga as well. The troll went down this time and didn't rise.

Striga growled as her pet was defeated and fired a blast of dark energy toward Choppa, finishing what the troll had begun. The small helicopter drone was smashed into the mud, circuits deactivating. It vanished in a flash of light, presumably back to GazetteMan's Pet.

With the troll gone, Daisy turned her focus on Striga, her sword managing to get a hit on the shadowy Navi. The shadows began to melt away, revealing the Navi beneath. GazetteMan saw his opening and rushed forward. He raised his hand, a flash of light going off that momentarily stunned Striga. He followed the attack up with an overhead smash with his lead pipe. The pipe smashed against Striga's shoulder, sending the Navi reeling backward. Striga responded with another wave of dark energy, this time bathing both Daisy and GazetteMan in the shadowy light.

With the shadows gone, Daisy could see Striga clearly now. She was dressed rather plainly in a jet black dress that hang to her knees. The hem of the dress was lined with silver runic markings and the sleeves were cut short. She wore lace stockings on her legs and black stilettos. One arm was bare, revealing unnaturally pale skin, while the other was clad in a black silk glove that ran up her arm to just past her elbow. Her hair was a dark red and worn in twin tails. Her eyes were a bright blue and her features were beautiful if delicate.

"Hm," Striga mused. "Maybe you are worth my time after all. Shall we finish this dance?"

Striga: 180hp (Normal)
Trollkin: Defeated

Daisy: 45hp (Mud)
GazetteMan: 60hp (Mud)
Choppa: EJO

Terrain: 25% Normal, 75% Mud centered around GazetteMan
They managed to take out the troll, but not without casualties. Choopa was taken out, but since he vanished it seemed like whatever was effecting everything wasn't effecting him... so most likely the guy was back in his PET. Striga was helping her love, attacking the group and changing the ground beneath them. After all the attacks, Daisy definitely wasn't in the best shape, and it seems to be holding true for Gazette. Atleast Daisy managed to take care of her foe's shadow, even though she had to assault her directly to get it off... and was met with a blast of darkness for doing that.

Striga then offered to end the dance, which confused Daisy a little because they weren't dancing. But she did confess to playing dirty, so maybe this was some kind of trick to get Daisy to lower her guard, and take her out easily. And if it wasn't a trick, and Daisy tired to get answers from Striga, then it would most likely be false information... So they should probably take her out and see what happens.

"Yes... lets." Daisy said, her barrier and shield refreshing. The navi bleed out of her arms and legs, and fashioned itself a suit of armor that covered her whole armor. Her netop slotted in four chips, and Daisy was planning on using them all to finish Striga off.

First, Daisy used the Drain1 chip, and a flock or something of strange creatures appeared in front of Daisy. They were round and plump, with bat like wings and a long needle on the front of them. The creatures flew out towards Striga, somewhat slowly due to their plumpness causing them to waste more effect on moving and staying in the air. But if and when they catch their prey, they will ram their needles into it, and suck out whatever data goodness was in it.

The Heat-V and Tankcannon1 was downloaded, and an opened cylinder of blood formed around Daisy's hand. Daisy pointed it at Strige, and fired a blast of flames at her foe. Daisy aimed her weapon back towards Striga, grabbing it with her free hand. A small orb of blood formed in the barrel, and shot out at Daisy's mental command. The orb flew trough the air at an alarming speed, releasing a shockwave that pushed Daisy back as it left the barrel.

Daisy downloaded the next chip, the Aquaneedle, and that cylinder of blood dissolved into three long needles that she grabbed. She brought her hand to her side, her arm bent and hip turned as to prepare to throw something. Looking Striga in the air, Daisy threw the needles at Striga, hoping that most of them would hit their mark.



1Grand Blood Armor: Shadow self
2 Drain1 Striga: 50 drain
3 Heat-V: 70 fire
4 Tankcannon1: 80 damage
5 AquaNeedle1: 3 hits of 35 aqua
Daisy summoned her swarm of insects, the mosquito like bugs homing in on Striga. The insects bit into the woman, draining her data and replenishing Daisy's vitality. Striga didn't seem to mind though and responded by crafting thin strands of shadow that shot toward GazetteMan. The Navi attempted to dodge, but his feet slipped in the mud and he fell forward. The shadow thread wrapped around him and he cried out in pain. The threads seemed to have a similar effect to the mosquitoes and Striga stole GazetteMan's health to replenish her own.

Daisy fired off a blast of flames, but Striga raised a wall of shadows that absorbed the inferno. The shield was still up and would no doubt deflect the tank cannon shot as well, but GazetteMan threw a pipe in Striga's plans. The lead pipe smashed against the shadows, dispersing them though its momentum was halted by the wall of darkness. Daisy fired her tank cannon, hoping to take advantage of GazetteMan's efforts. However, Striga dodged away from the bloody projectile.

A wave of purple mist washed over Daisy and GazetteMan. The female Navi's shadowy form protected her, but GazetteMan was dropped to critical health. He managed to heal himself, though it would only be a temporary solution. Daisy launched her needles of blood, two of the three needles stabbing deep into Striga's side. Striga cursed and sliced her gloved hand through the air, sending a series of cutting blades of darkness toward Daisy. The blades slashed their way though the shadows and left Daisy wounded.

"Enough of this," Striga murmured. "I grow tired of our game and my time here grows short. I have done what my master has requested of me. 'Sow the seeds of chaos and prepare the path for the ascension'. We'll meet again, preferably when we'll have more time to play."

Striga raised her gloved hand, an orb of darkness forming within her grasp. The orb grew larger, encompassing her entire hand. Scarlet streaks of energy spread out from the darkness like bolts of blood red lightning. The orb rose into the air and hovered, growing larger with each passing moment.

"I think I shall leave you with this. It is a gift that my lord has bestowed upon me. Don't worry though. I'm going to hold myself back a bit. My master wishes witnesses left to tell of his power. Let chaos reign."

Striga vanished into the shadows. Without Striga, the orb fell to the ground. As it struck, a wave of darkness pulsed outward to engulf the room. The wave hit Daisy and she could feel her data being torn from her. Chairs and tables were dragged across the floor toward the orb. As it touched the darkness, the furniture was ripped to shreds and consumed. Daisy and GazetteMan fell to their knees, the very floor beneath them being drawn toward the pulsating orb.

Daisy felt like her health was draining away and somehow knew that if she touched the orb she would be destroyed. She was drawn closer and closer, moving within inches of the black sphere. She was about to make contact when, mercifully, the orb vanished. She and GazetteMan were safe for the moment, though the room was in shambles.

Striga: Escaped?
Trollkin: Defeated

Daisy: 1hp
GazetteMan: 1hp
Choppa: EJO

Terrain: 25% Normal, 75% Mud centered around GazetteMan

Victory!

Rewards: 400z, Counter1
You have got to be kidding me. Virgil thought, after everything was over. If Striga had used that orb thing at the beginning, there would have been no chance of victory for Daisy and Gazette... And she said something about having a master... And that this was only to pave the way to something that sounded big...

"Hey, Gazette... unless you got more of those healing subchips, I think this is as far as we can go..." Daisy said, still on the floor. "...Hey, maybe because she is gone now... whatever is making the navis unable to jackout is gone aswell..." Daisy said, turning her head and upper body towards Gazette. "Can you check with your partner's netop, to see if his navi can finally jack out or anything like that? If not, then chances are we will have to leave the rest to the NP."
"No," GazetteMan panted. "I'm out. My NetOp can probably go get some more, but it'll take time that I doubt we have."

The Navi climbed to his feet and brushed off his coat. It was covered in mud and various bits of random data. He glanced around him, as though looking for Choppa, but then remembered the support program's fate.

"Hm, it seems like Choppa was able to return to the PET. That's a good sign." He paused for a moment, listening to a voice Daisy couldn't hear. "Hm, my NetOp is having trouble contacting my partner's operator. There is no confirmation at this point. I think we see return to the rooftop. We should be able to observe any change in the mass of Navi below. At the very least, we should be able to escape into the air if the lock is still in effect."

The Navi waved Daisy to follow and headed back up the stairs. He had to pull himself up the first few feet, the bottom stairs having turned into a decaying mush. The hallways were empty, no infected Navi littering the floor. They made their way up to a similarly empty rooftop.

As Daisy and GazetteMan emerged onto the roof, the building began to shake. Shafts of light shot up into the air, thousands of dazzling pillars reaching toward the heavens. The area around the building was surrounded in a blazing light. In seconds, it was over. GazetteMan wandered over to the side of the building and glanced toward the earth. There was no sign of the infected Navi.

"They...They all jacked out?" he asked aloud. "I guess we did it, Daisy." He paused. "Yeah, my NetOp has gotten in contact with my partner. He's returned to his PET and is recovering. It looks like that witch was the cause."

GazetteMan walked over to Daisy and held out his hand to shake.

"We make a good team, don't we? Thanks for the help. I'll make sure to put in a good word for you. Maybe we'll meet again, alright?"

((GazetteMan FXP: +10))
Daisy got up from her knees and followed Gazette back to the roof. She saw all the navis jacking out, and heard from Gazetteman that his partner was able to make it to his PET safely.

"Yea, we did." Catherine responded, shaking Gazetteman's hand. "And yea, I hope we meet again as well. Later." Daisy said, before logging off the network.