The Bond

The two bats above her had shaken out of their confusion and amity was eager to try another new chip in an effort to get herself closer to them. A more experienced buster might have scolded the duo that her ranged attacks were more than sufficient for targeting high fliers, but that was boring, when you had the option of rocket shoes!

The two bats had righted themselves and now swooped as though to descend upon her, only to have the cheerful and only slightly out of control navi shoot up past them in a blur of speed. One bat was doused in a blob of cleansing gel before it could respond. The other tried to turn around and shriek at her, but Amity was moving too quickly for it to aim well. She stabilised long enough to take her cannon shot, with the tables reversed, only to see her mushroom ally gleefully sporing the one that remained, now that it had come low enough. The cloud wasn't enough to finish it off, but amity's own shot a moment later certainly was.

As her boots gave out and gravity politely tapped amity on the shoulder, she at least had the satisfaction of knowing that the immediate threats were taken care. Once she had a moment to look around, she'd also notice that the spout of escaping bats had mostly dwindled away now, with only a few slow stragglers flapping free and racing off into the network. The beeping of the latent mines also faded away as they fell inert, leaving Amity free to gather her spoils and possibly retrieve the green crystal that had managed to survive the encounter.

-=Pouring Upwards=-
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack. A: SHROOMED
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack. B: CLEANSED
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack. C: CLEANSED
PulseBatPulseBat (PulseBat)

Area: ACDC, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Sharo, NetVegas

HP: 80
Attack Damage/Effect: 30 + Seeking
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Uses a sonic screech to damage its opponents.
Secondary Attack Effect: EchoLocation
Secondary Attack Description: Launches a sonic pulse to reveal hidden or illusory targets.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Pulsar1, EchoLocation, Zenny.
Special: Airshoes. If PulseBat hits an object, its attack spreads to up to 8 other targets at half damage while dealing full damage to that object. Every other turn, this virus enters High Altitude (dropdown) status and does not attack. D: CLEANSED
MinerMiner (Miner)

Area: SciLab, Hades Isle

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: 50 Null + Ground (Trap)
Attack Accuracy: -- (See Description)
Attack Description: The virus dispenses a stack of mines, sinks into the ground, and randomly places them within various panels all across the field. Every time a stack of mines is placed, it covers 5% of the field. When stepped upon, they explode, and 5% of the field is freed up again.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Mine1, Zenny
Special: Immobile
- This virus may dodge by ducking an attack while placing a mine.
- Trap [Movement Triggered]: Whenever a Player Navi or allied character Dodges or Moves, there is a chance they will trigger the mines. Mods will roll 1d20 for every move action made by allied characters. A roll of 1 is always a hit, with the threat range increased by 1 for every 5% of the field covered in mines. The max coverage of the field is 90%. Characters with Omnishoes who are flying at High Altitude can ignore this effect entirely.
- Panel Breaking can destroy mines.: CLEANSED
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. A: CLEANSED
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. B: CLEANSED

-=In the Wreckage=-
Amity.Exe: 150Hp [Normal]

Musy: 80Hp [Normal][Expired]

-=Battle 4, Victory!=-
Spoils: 900z, Pulsar1Damage: 70 + Object Triggered Blast 2
Accuracy: A (Primary) / B (Blast)
Description: Fires a sound wave. If it hits an object, its range is amplified, hitting anything near that object in a blast of noise.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Object Triggered Blast: Blast effect that only works if the attack hits an Object, such as a RockCube.
Trader Rank: D

Open GMD?

In the same manner that she’d entered the network, Amity forward-flipped through the air at an alarming rate and smashed into the ground hard, causing a small dustcloud to disperse in her wake. She’d at least been able to correct her course and land on her feet, but the whole situation had sent her andrenaline sky-high, a fitting term given that she too had been sky-high only moments ago.

With the bats clearing off to wherever they pleased, the field was clean once again of rogue viruses. Amity was ready to celebrate the victory, but not before she gave commendation to her battle ally. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Amity began to approach the Mushy, but another glimmer caught her attention. It hadn’t been important in the heat of the moment, but curiosity could now be addressed. Taking a few steps to the left to step around the western grandstand rubble, Amity found herself face-for-face with an unusual object.

“Eric, what is this?” she asked.

Eric peered at the screen. When he saw the green crystal, he yelped. “Wait, was that there the whole time?” he responded.

“Maybe? I didn’t think too much of it,” she admitted. “What is it?”

“It’s a mystery data module. It’s a common one, mind you, but you should always be on the lookout for those,” Eric advised. “They can really be useful; they’re kinda like rogue data packets that absorb loose information and make it tangible again.”

“So... what do I do with it?” she probed further.

“Try to open it,” he confirmed. “The digimotes normally tap it three times on the top.”

Amity took a step closer and tapped the top peak of the crystal three times as instructed. In response, it began to glow and spin faster.

“Eric...?”

{{{Open GMD}}}

After spinning and glinting int he light for a few moment,s the crystal finished unpacking itself and opened up, revealing a set of chip data for Amity to claim.

GMD: FurnaceZoneEffect: Large Furnace Terrain Change
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a large zone of Furnace Terrain, centered on you.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: D

The crystal opened up to reveal a battlechip data packet. Unsure what to make of it, Amity cautiously grabbed hold of the orb. "Umm, I guess I'll send this to you..." she reported to her operator as the data entered into her core and out of the network.

The data was received into her PET and identified as a FurnaceZone battlechip. Eric inserted a blank chip into the reader to finish the transfer and complete the process. "FurnaceZone. I don't know that one either."

Amity had expected as much, but given their current experience in using unknown battlechips, she was slightly confident that no matter what it did, they could make it work to their advantage. If that's what a GMD did, she'd happily seek them out whenever she could.

As she glanced back at her spawned ally, Amity noticed that the network had already began to heal, and the cracked region around the hole had begun to return to normal. The hole itself had shrunk slightly, but was still wide enough to fit ten or so navis at the same time. In any event, the cracked zone was now safe enough to walk across without risking a breakthrough. A lack of beeping was also nice as well.

She knelt down in front of the Mushy and stared directly into its eyes. "Thank you very much for helping me out of a tight spot," she commended. "I'm sorry if me throwing you hurt you."

The Mushy stared back at her, but what it did next caught Amity by surprise. She had thought she'd been staring into its eyes the entire time, but without warning the pattern designed to look like eyes lifted up, as the illusionary eyelids lifted and revealed its true eyes. They smiled widely, in the same way that the Metool-yet-to-be-named-Meep had done.

Amity chuckled as she realised... it had her eyes. The same larger-than-normal blue eyes.

The Mushy gave her a gentle nod, and then began to shine brightly. This steadily increased until it was nothing more than a white ball of light, and in the same manner it had entered the world, it disappeared into the core on her chest. Amity placed her hand on her emblem as it faded back to the normal violet, cyan and white design. There was no denying it; she hadn't been battling with an ally, but with an extension of herself. Knowing she could do that again if needed added to her smile.

As she picked up the remaining fragments of useable data, she encountered another battlechip fragment. "Hey, I've got another one," she advised. "Sending it through as well."

Eric placed yet another blank chip into the reader, and this time it spat out a Pulsar1 battlechip. "Looks like you'll be able to do that screeching attack now as well," he replied.

With that business now out of the way, Amity's attention returned to the task at hand. She certainly hadn't engaged in that battle for fun, but as she once again gazed around the field, there was no indication that Crony was anywhere nearby. Amity wasn't concerned any more that he'd be in danger, given they'd been able to handle themselves in the fray that followed the explosion, but Amity still wasn't convinced he had left.

"That sister of yours, do you think she extracted Crony before everything went bad?" she asked Eric.

Eric shrugged his shoulders in response. "I don't know, to be honest." He glanced over at the closed door, and could still hear Stacey half-questioning, half-yelling at whoever was at the other end of the call. "I don't know if I want to interrupt that call either. Sounds important."

Amity was about to retort that comment, but a sudden piercing squeal caused her to jump in alarm. Her antenna immediately taking their position at full mast, Amity desperately scanned the area to work out where it had come from, but there was nothing in sight.

"Did you hear that?" Amity asked anxiously. "That wasn't just in my head, right?"

"No, I heard that too," Eric admitted. "I can extract you now, just hold still for a second."

Amity was a little apprehensive about leaving without finding Crony first, but there was something about that squeal that didn't sound inviting at all. "Okay then. If he's still nearby, I guess Crony's on his own."

"Heh," came a familiar voice from behind her.

Amity whirled around, expecting to see the bulkish navi staring at her with the same emotionless expression, but upon turning around, there was nothing to be seen. Another visual orbit around the arena, and Amity was certain she was on her own. But where did that sound from?

"Did you hear that?" Amity asked again.

"Hear what?" Eric replied.

Before Amity could elaborate further, another piercing squeal sent chills down Amity's spine. This time, her antenna were able to isolate the direction and confirmed the sound had come from the newly created hole.

"It's coming from down there," she confirmed. As she tiptoed to the edge, she peered over the edge to the hole that seemed to drop down some distance.

"Don't get too close," Eric warned.

Amity laughed. "The last place I want to go is down there."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than an unknown force sharply pushed her from behind. With nothing to push back on, the momentum caused Amity to take a step forward into the void against her will. Her right foot met nothing but air as she quickly tried to pirouette on left foot, attempting to gain precious sideways momentum so she could grab a hold of the ledge and propel herself back up. The move was partially successful, leaving her grappling the edge by only her right hand. As she quickly tried to reach to the edge with her left hand as well, another unknown force crushed her right hand, causing it to recoil in pain.

That same action caused her to release the edge involuntarily and begin descending into the hole.

"AMITY!" Eric cried. He tried to engage the remote log-out feature, but was thrown an error in response. "I'm sorry, I should have logged you out sooner!"

"It's okay!" she yelled as she grabbed the bottom of the dress and angled it out slightly to form a chute. The falling velocity that was creating an updraft took it and threw the girl against the wall. Expecting this, Amity's gravity pads had been prepared, and while she couldn't grip the wall, the stabilisers could at least allow her to slide down the wall to slow down her descent. "Phew, that was a close one," she gasped. "You won't be able to extract me like this though."

It was true; the angular velocity was making it impossible to initiate a remote log-out. As Eric continued to stare at his teammate, the same squeal from earlier echoed through the PET's speakers, but this time a lot louder.

"Well, I guess we'll find out what was making that noise, right?" Amity joked, clearly not interested in learning the answer. After a minute's worth of sliding, Amity could see that the hole was about to breach into a cabin, which had likely been the home of the bats that had swarmed into the upper layer. "Battle routine, set!" she cried as she cleared the last section of the wall and jumped into the void, her stabilisers handling the rest as she headed towards the ground. "I don't want to die, Eric!"

"'Battle... routine'?" Eric wondered out loud.

----------

Battle #4 Complete!

Rewards:
Zenny: +900 (1320 >>> 2220)
New Battlechip: Pulsar1Damage: 70 + Object Triggered Blast 2
Accuracy: A (Primary) / B (Blast)
Description: Fires a sound wave. If it hits an object, its range is amplified, hitting anything near that object in a blast of noise.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: Object Triggered Blast: Blast effect that only works if the attack hits an Object, such as a RockCube.
Trader Rank: D
Battlechips: 9 >>> 10

Level Up! Battlechips x5 (10 chips)
Amity.EXE: Level 1 >>> 2

GMD opened successfully!
New Battlechip: FurnaceZoneEffect: Large Furnace Terrain Change
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a large zone of Furnace Terrain, centered on you.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: D
Battlechips: 10 >>> 11

Party:
Amity.EXE: 150 / 150 HP

{{{Battle routine set, indeed! First time I've/Amity's made it this far in a network! Battle #5, showdown!}}}

The rough chute of stone and rock rushed by while Amity tried to regain control of her decent, shuddering sensations and jolts rumbling through her from different direction, followed by a brief moment of stillness as she jumped from the edge of the passage towards the cavern floor below. There were a few seconds of silence as she landed, but they didn't last for long.

All around, a dark underground expanse stretched out, lumpy uneven floor broken by dozens of reaching stalagmites which made unnerving toothy displays with their partners on the ceiling. In some places the stalactites reached all the way down, forming bridged connections to the cave floor; the place had been here a long, long while. The air was cool and damp, and there was a thick stagnation to it, with no breeze or movement of wind at all.

A screech echoed through the cave; dangerously close now, and followed by a growing rumble of tremoring earth. In the cavern, it might have been the same sound she had been hearing before, or it might be something different; it was hard to tell, now that she was in a position to hear it more clearly.

Something moved in the dark, far off; something very large. The shape surged forward, coming into view at first as a massive sharp-toothed mouth, easily twice Amity's size. It twisted and turned, rushing forward, and amity could see it was the head of some massively long worm-like creature, thick grey ridges dividing its body. It had a mass of tiny legs that powered it, but it seemed to slink and writhe just as much as it moved the supporting limbs, like it wasn't really using them fully. Row upon row of small bat-like wings protruded from each of the segments of its form, flapping in random, twitchy motions. Aside from those details, however, the creature was unsettling and alien in its lack of features; no face, save the massive snapping, grinding maw that made up the head of its long, solid body. It barrelled through chunks of rock, biting whatever got in its path, and paused some distance from Amity, lifting up its head to open its jaw and emit another piercing shriek of noise that threatened to overwhelm her senses. The cave rumbled in response.

The creature crashed down again, its head pointing more directly towards amity and it began to surge in her direction.

-=Deep-Dweller=-
Klez.v64.832.screamer: 300Hp [Normal][Casing (10Hp)][A little over 1 movement away]

-=Drop-in Damsel=-
Amity.Exe: 150Hp [Normal]

-=Dark Domain=-
100% Normal

• No effects.

-=Destructible Defences=-
Stalagmites: 20Hp Each, can provide some measure of cover. In most cases, one will never be more than a dodge or feint action away.

-=Battle 5, Start!=-

Falling to the ground with little elegance, Amity barely managed to stick a decent landing in a dark cavern, almost impacting a rise from the ground as she did so. Generating some cleansing gel into her hand without delay, her eyes danced around the room, searching for a threat, but finding only darkness greeting her eyes.

"So far so good..." she whispered.

As her eyes began to adjust, she felt vibrations in the ground beneath her. Her vision began to identify weird shapes rising both out of the ground and from the ceiling, but explanation time would have to wait; a loud screech echoed from deeper in the cave, prompting her to face the source.

"Uh, that sounds disturbingly familiar..." Eric groaned.

Amity wasn't so sure about that. This particular roar was deeper, and lacked a distinct femininity she thought she'd heard in the noises earlier. Those squeals from earlier sounded more like a desperate scream, whereas this was more of a warning cry... or possibly a challenge?

"No... I don't think wha-" she began to respond, only to be cut off by a giant crashing noise and a monstrous mouth coming into view. The beast attached to the mouth was an oddity, that much was certain, but given its appearance in many ways beared similarities to the bats they'd just fought, it was entirely possible that it had been in charge of them, or the very least one of their companions.

As it snapped and writhed forward, Amity moved her arm to position. "I figure we fire a warning shot back," she reported. "It's only one virus. We don't have to worry about the 'strength in numbers' problem this time, right?"

Eric nodded. "I agree."

Amity hesitated a moment to size up her shot, but as it got closer, she began to realise a miscalculation on her part.

"Eric."

"Yeah."

"It's big."

"Yeah."

"Like... really big."

"Yeah."

"It looks like a giant worm that ate some PulseBats. A LOT of PulseBats."

"Yeah."

"...A batworm, maybe?"

Her scanners were not providing any detailed information on the entity itself, only that its combined hitpoints were greater than her own. That it was an unknown creature was a concern in itself, that it wasn't part of the common database. Having more stamina than her too was not comforting in the slightest.

As if it was taking offense to her prior comment, the... batworm, for lack of a better term... made a showy display of strength as it approached her area. As it destroyed some of the pillars holding the cavern up like they were made of nothing, it let out another seizure-inducing screech, baring its teeth at our female friend, and began to charge forward.

Upon discovering the batworm was over twice her size, Amity realised her mistake. "Oh to HELL WITH THIS!" she cried as she blasted the cleansing gel at the batworm, no longer concerned with the effect. As fast as her body would allow, she turned around and began to run.

"...What battlechips did you want?" Eric asked, not sure what to do.

"NONE OF THEM!" she yelled between breaths. "I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS!"

As expected, her dress hems had begun to glow upon detecting her fear, which also gave her the dual benefit of providing a faint light to help navigate the darkness. As she weaved between the rises and falls in the floor and ceiling, Amity's only concern was getting as much distance between herself and the new creature as possible. Once she had a safety net, only then would she happily consider their next move, be it defensive or offensive.

----------

Actions:
[1] Calming Spray [40 DMG, Aqua] >>> Batworm (yes, I'm calling it that; sorry Klez)
[2] Movement >>> Create distance between Amity and Batworm
[3] Movement >>> Create distance between Amity and Batworm
-----
[P] THAW [6(+1) HEAL] >>> Amity [??? >>> ??? / 150 HP]

Sigs:
Calming Spray [Used; 0/1 TCD; Recharging]

Party:
Amity.EXE: 150 / 150 HP

As the subterranean worm-thing crawled and undulated its way closer, Amity swiftly grew to understand the magnitude of different between it and herself. Running seemed like a good option at first. A swift retreat through the dark cave system, dodging rocky protrusions as she went and blasting a glob of her cleansing gel back at it as she went didn't seem to diminish the unsettling sound of its many hundreds of legs scratching on the rock, or the hundreds of wings flapping aimlessly behind her. A glance back showed her that her gel had hit, splattering across its segmented hide, and wearing through some of its external armouring, but it also showed her that the creature had given chase.

It surged after her, snaking around the taller spikes of stone and cavern columns, and crashing through or over the smaller ones. It wasn't just chasing, however; it was gaining on her. Try as she might to get away, the thing seemed to know the tunnels better than Amity did, and it was also faster than her, now that it had decided to pursue. The rumbling behind her got closer and closer; the flutter and flap of leathery wings seemed like it was all around in her ears, along with the skitter and scratch of clambering legs.

Movement on her right gave Amity a glimpse of the massive worm, more or less drawing level with her and beginning to overtake. Its body height and thickness might be about two of her, and its head was all mouth, but just as intimidating was its length and bulk, snaking and curving backwards the way they had both come, to a blunt-ended tail in the distance nearly back where she had originally landed.

Something squeaked and shrieked much closer than where the worm was coursing past her. something small. One of the little bat wings on the thing had exuded itself into an approximation of a whole bat-like creature, though it seem malformed and only partially accurate. It had flapped and flailed its way, bouncing of the ground, across the distance between them making eager squeaking noises the whole way, and now latched onto Amity's shoulder and forearm with broad, mostly-gummy jaws. Two fangs on the top and bottom of its jaw seemed to act more like anchoring hooks than teeth, though she still felt a small amount of pain as it tried to gum her vigorously; her dress patched up the damage right away.

Ahead, the worm curved around across her path, its segmented grey hid filling her vision for a moment as it turned on her, its massive toothy maw presenting in her direction. It didn't seem to have any eyes or any face at all, save the massive mouth, but it still seemed able to see her, somehow.

-=Deep-Dweller=-
Klez.v64.832.screamer: 300Hp [Normal][In front of and partially encircling Amity]

Attch (Your Winnings!): 30Hp [Light][Equipped: Amity (passive 5 damage to attached target)]

-=Drop-in Damsel=-
Amity.Exe: 150Hp [Normal][Equipped: Attachment A]

-=Dark Domain=-
100% Normal

• No effects.

-=Destructible Defences=-
Stalagmites: 20Hp Each, can provide some measure of cover. In most cases, one will never be more than a dodge or feint action away.

Amity began to play a rather disturbing game of "get-this-winged-thing-off-me", which consisted of her twirling in place whilst trying to get a proper hold of the miniature bat-like creature. The only problem was that, like anything latched to your shoulder, it's hard to get leverage with only one arm having a decent prying force.

"ERIC! GET THIS THING OFF ME!" Amity screamed. All facades were down; she was at the absolute limit of weird experiences for today.

Eric was in a bind. Nothing in his repertoire of chips were going to be of use; the angles for using cannons and shotguns were all wrong. Nothing could reach behind her and pry the creature off without injuring her in the process.

...Well, almost nothing.

"I'm sending you the RageClaw! Load it into your left arm, it's the only way!" he assured her as he began loading it in.

"NOOOOOO!" she screeched hysterically, falling to her knees and hands. The stress of the day had finally broken her. A game of football that ended in virus deletion. Being struck by the slime of a Spooky, the head of a Cacty, the blade of a Swordy, and the shrill screech of a PulseBat. Enduring a multi-storey fall due to an unknown assailant, and finally, her likely demise at the... the...

It was this thought that made the poor girl start laughing uncontrollably.

"Amity! Please, get up!" Eric begged.

"It doesn't even HAVE hands!" Amity laughed/sobbed in a self-pitying manner, completely ignoring Eric. "I'm going to die at the LACK OF HANDS of a batworm!"

Her tears moistened the ground below her. She hadn't asked for any of this. An operator that didn't know how to look after her. His sister who seemed more interested in her agenda than her brother. A babysitter who abandoned her to this fate. It was the risk she'd taken for the chance at a new life.

As she looked up from the ground to the gigantic mouth, all she wanted was a quick death.

"I... I can't... I can't do this..." she whispered to herself.

{{{THAT’S ENOUGH!}}}

That voice again. Amity didn't even look around this time. She knew from her surroundings that it couldn't possibly be someone following her, not down here in this cabin after everything that had happened. So the only other answer was that it was a delusion of her own mind. In that event, she could ignore it; it wasn't important.

{{{GET UP! NOW!!}}}

{{{I... can't... do it!}}}

Amity's eyes snapped wide open, her sobbing halted. That voice wasn't an unknown. That was her own. But she hadn't spoken a word, internally or otherwise. What... what was happening to her...?

{{{I don't CARE what you think, young lady! GET. UP. NOW!}}}

{{{What's the... what's the point?}}}

{{{'What's the point'?! Who's that talking to me?! Amy, or Amity?!}}}

'Amy'. That name again. This mental exchange had her locked in place. She was oblivious to the panic that was setting into Eric, but for that moment in time, nothing else mattered. This woman... was talking to her, but not to her.

{{{Young lady, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times! You always act like the world is coming down on you! But the only person who controls your fate is YOU!}}}

{{{There's no way! I... I'm not strong enough!}}}

{{{Hogwash! What have I taught you?!}}}

{{{That doesn't appl-}}}

{{{WHAT. HAVE. I. TAUGHT YOU?!}}}

A pause.

{{{Breathe..... think..... act.....}}}

{{{I don't EVER want to hear 'what's the point' ever again! That's quitter talk! You are stronger than you think!}}}

You are stronger than you think... Those words broke through the confusion, pain and despair, as she wiped the tears away from her eyes and got back to her feet.

You are stronger than you think... She took her stand in front of the giant worm again, which had now partially surrounded her and was facing her from the same direction she'd tried to run to.

"You are stronger than you think," she repeated once more, this time out loud. "Breathe. Think. Act."

Eric was now thoroughly confused. Only a spectator from the outside, once again he'd witnessed a barrage of conflicting emotions emanate from his new partner in a very short period of time. His lack of social skills left him speechless, unable to figure out what to say next or how to act.

Breathe in. Her eyes closed. Breathe out. Her eyes opened.

The giant creature in front of her was bigger, faster, and clearly more nimble than she was, despite its looks. While she may be able to hold her own in a one-on-one battle if they pulled off a few lucky shots like last time, only upon stopping to reflect on its actions did Amity realise that maybe more was going on than meets the eye. For starters, if the creature was intent on killing her, it could have consumed her on its march through the cavern. Instead, it went around her, to block off her retreat. So maybe it wasn't trying to be her enemy...

But how then do you explain the mutant bat on her shoulder? Well, it was possible that due to her first reflex of firing cleansing gel, she'd been identified as hostile too, and the bat was a like-for-like response, a small impedence for a small impedence.

"Send the RageClaw," Amity commanded, not at all happy with the need for it, but lacking any other choice she'd have to deal with its irksome nature.

As the RageClaw took shape on her left arm (with the sleeve drawn to avoid any further material damage) Amity took stock of her surroundings. What she was about to do could be considered suicidal, but she had to take the chance; after all, she was supposed to be a peacekeeper.

Using the newly formed RageClaw, she used its hook to smack the back of her shoulder and arm in an attempt to get the deformed creature off her. "Alright, I get it!" she yelled towards the open mouth. "I get it, I get it; I started this, and that’s my fault! But we don't have to fight! If you need something from me, we can talk!" Her eyes glanced to the rocks to her side, made visible from the glow of her dress; if it charged forward again, the mound may provide partial cover, but she wasn't completely confident of that outcome...

----------

Actions:
[1] [Disruptor] RageClaw [40 DMG, Slashing] >>> AttachmentA
[2] Attempt to reason with Batworm
[3] (If unsuccessful) Dodge/Feint to nearby Stalagmite for cover (if that even helps)
-----
[P] THAW [6 {+1} HEAL] >>> Amity [??? >>> ??? / 150 HP]

Sigs:
Calming Spray [+1 CD; 1/1 TCD; Recharged!]

Party:
Amity.EXE [150 / 150 HP] [Equipped: RageClaw - 5/6 Uses Remaining]



(((OOC: If it helps, a ‘SRVR’ (Successful Rogue Virus Return, pronounced ‘server’, which will come out in later RP) separates the outer virus layer from its inner core, and sends the core back to its source. For normal viruses, that would be their spawn network, which is normally far away from where the virus has run to. For this winged thing (assuming I did clip it off) one could argue that Klez is its spawn point, so theoretically the inner core would simply reattach itself to Klez and start generating an outer shell again... up to you, I don’t know its nature or intentions yet. :/ ))) has

((It's interesting that you say that, because what you'll see in the post below was my plan from the outset, if the conditions were met ^.^))

In the dark, pursued and assaulted, harassed by horrible abominations of monsters, Amity struggled to bear up under the pressure of what had to seem like an unfair test by this point. As the weight of it all piled up and overwhelmed the navi briefly, the slithering, flapping skitter of the massive worm continued to curl around her, encircling her completely with its massive body. The conflicting curls of breeze caused by the many conflicting wings all around her blew her dress this way and that, its soft glow being the only point of light in the oppressive underground.

Though it seemed bad for the unready navigator, some core of strength remained deep down, and as the huge, toothy maw of the beast loomed over her, Amity found it when the need was greatest, and stood.

Her calmer gaze showed the beast above her; it had encircled her completely, cutting off an easy escape, but she still had some space to move, at least a little; its only real weapon seemed to by its huge mouth, and there was a chance that it wanted to be sure before committing to a lunge, maybe. As she thrust the chewing bat-thing off her shoulder the rageclaw's blades lifted it free and cast it aside. It squeaked once more but couldn't resist the removal. As the claws cut through it, its form began to break down but stopped part way, before a sudden explosion of data chunks scattered about the cave as it detonated violently. By luck, Amity escaped any of the flying data shrapnel, but rather than a creature core, what was left behind was a single thin wist of blue energy that swirled in the air and then zipped back to sink into the worm creature's back.

Another of the wings began to extrude itself from the creature, as she started trying to address the worm, and another malformed bat-like entity launched itself in her direction. This one fluttered across and latched around amity's midsection, trying to gnaw on her with its mostly gummy mouth. Once more, her dress was able to undo what little harm it manage. As she tried to reason with the strange viral creature, it swayed slightly, lining its jaws up with her; she could hear it breathing, and a dull moan that seemed to emanate from within its jaws somewhere. It didn't seem to be listening to her pleas, unfortunately, but something else caught Amity's eye as she spoke. Part way down the creature's back, a faint glow of light sprouted in the form of another wing, like the others but giving off a light very much like the cleansed cores she had sent off at other times. If started to pull itself out until the upper jaws of the pseudo-creature could be seen, happily gumming on the worm's hide. It didn't seem to notice.

After a moment, it inhaled a long, rasping breath that rattled through the cavern then leaned down in front of Amity's face, still swaying slightly. Suddenly, in a sharp motion to quick to follow, its jaws snapped wide open, teeth pulling apart to reveal not a tongue or throat, but a mass vaguely humanoid shapes, dark and writhing with distended fingers clasped against distorted faces, eyes bulging and mouths agape in a soul-rattling, ear-piercing shriek of discordant cries. The jaws snapped shut again a second later, but the scream echoed, assaulting the navi with a disorienting stun. As she reeled, the worm lunged at her suddenly, this time snapping with its teeth, but by whatever grace remained to her, amity was able to duck to the side, still within its thick coil but around one spike of rock and away as its bite slammed into the ground where she had been standing. It reeled back again, shaking its head from where it had impacted with the rocky ground.


-=Deep-Dweller=-
Klez.v64.832.screamer: 295Hp [Normal][Casing (10Hp)][In front Amity, its body encircling her rough vicinity][RST: 5 passive disruption per stack (1)]

Attch (Nigerean Prince Needs Your Help!): 25Hp [Light][Stunned!(1)][Equipped: Amity (passive 5 damage to attached target)]
Attch (Your Winnings!): RTS?

-=Drop-in Damsel=-
Amity.Exe: 147Hp [Normal][RageClaw (5/6)][Equipped: Attachment B][Stunned! (1)]

-=Dark Domain=-
100% Normal

• No effects.

-=Destructible Defences=-
Stalagmites: 20Hp Each, can provide some measure of cover. In most cases, one will never be more than a dodge or feint action away.

It was only a brief glimpse, but that short moment almost went for an eternity in Amity's mind. Her eyes glanced from one petrified face to another. A seemingly unending wall of entities, all frozen in place by a multitude of horrific limbs, holding them in position against their will. Like prisoners.

Her eyes locked onto one in particular; a small female navi, easily programmed to look like a 4 year old, in a muted pink dress with a ridiculously oversized bowtie ribbon on its head. Compared to the other creatures, its hue was significantly brighter than the rest of its surroundings.

Did this indicate it had only just been captured...? Was it possible it was her squeals that had led to Amity coming down here...?

This hideous display was interrupted by a soul-crushing roar, stripping Amity of all her senses and causing her to stumble towards her makeshift cover in a disoriented manner. Thankfully her legs were still able to understand the thought she had sent to them, as she only narrowly missed the mammoth of a mouth coming down upon the ground where she had been standing. Her combined disorientation and the shockwave from the head hitting the ground caused her to stumble and trip; not to her injury, but just enough to knock the wind out of her.

That fear from earlier was quickly returning. Her original assessment had been correct; it was indeed hostile, and had to be erased. But what of its prisoners? If she completed a SRVR of the batworm itself, would its prisoners be released to their normal state, or were they too far gone to be saved?

No. Surely all, if not some of the entities could still be saved. She may still have time to at least save one or more of her kind before their code was fused to... whatever this thing truly was.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Her eyes opened again, with the ringing of the roam now free from her ears.

The batworm had certainly done everything in its power to cut off most paths for retreat. In line with this, it was definitely safe to assume that it wanted to capture her inside its prison-like interior as well; something she simply couldn't allow, not as long as she still had the power to fight.

She'd been reckless in attempting peace-talks whilst being outgunned. It was just like the battle with the PulseBats; she should've been on the defensive at least until she was on an equal playing field. "I'm sorry Eric, I shouldn't have let myself get trapped," she admitted to her partner. "That was stupid of me. But if I'm going to beat this thing, I need you to do exactly as I say, as I say it. Understood?"

Eric was still shaken from the events of the minutes gone by, and the roar certainly hadn't helped to calm his nerves. "I... I'll... do my best..." he stammered.

His tone of voice was the same manner she'd heard in her own voice during... whatever she'd just heard in the conversation between herself and this still-unknown-woman.

Amity needed Eric to be ready for split-second orders. The words in her head were what he needed to hear, and although she didn't fully believe in them herself in relation to him, their strength may just be enough to pull him into line. As she swung her RageClaw at the newest addition to her body in an attempt to remove it as well, she raised her voice to match the same weightiness that she'd just been lectured in."That's quitter talk!" she retorted.

"...What?" Eric mumbled in response.

"That... is... quitter talk!" she repeated, enunciating the words for effect. "You are stronger than you think, Eric! Prove it!"

Whether the speech would have an effect or not would have to wait. The only thing that mattered right now is that she used what little space she had around her to avoid the next inevitable piledriver that was undoubtedly coming her way, courtesy of the 'batworm'. The glowing dress had been a miracle worker, but even it wasn't capable of keeping her out of harm's way if the worm made a feast of her.

----------

Actions:
[1] [---STUNNED---]
[2] [Disruptor] RageClaw [40 DMG, Slashing] >>> AttachmentB
[3] Dodge/Feint by any means necessary to avoid becoming dinner
-----
[P] THAW [6 {+1} HEAL] >>> Amity [??? >>> ??? / 150 HP]

Sigs:
None in cooldown

Party:
Amity.EXE: 147 / 150 HP [Equipped: RageClaw - 4/6 Uses Remaining]

Even though the brief moment of a horrific vision was gone, the impression of it lingered for several seconds, for Amity, and while she processed what she'd seen, another attachment bat pulled itself free and flapped towards her. This one wobbled in the air, clipped a hanging stalactite and tumbled to the ground a short distance off to her left, failing to make contact. It seemed more or less unable to move itself beyond the initial launch, however, and remained flapping and fluttering on the ground, ineffective.

Amity, meanwhile, shored up her own resolve, spoke firmly to her operator, and removed the bat still clinging to her body before it could attempt to chew on her any more. As before, her swipe pulled it away and disrupted its physical body, and as before the pseudo-entity suddenly detonated in a violent explosion of data chunks. This time neither Amity nor the worm itself seemed to manage to shield themselves from the scattering of shrapnel, though the worm's thick, rubbery carapace had regenerated its outer shell in time to weather it, and Amity's own dress continued to work to patch up the scratches she took.

As before, too, a tiny wisp of blue light energy remained, which whipped away back towards the monstrosity before her and sunk into his body. A second lightly glowing bat pulled itself up out of its form and joined the other in gnawing on its progenitor, slowly beginning to spread a stain of that same cleansing light into the thick hide around it.

The great beast itself still didn't seem to notice what was happening on its back; it shifted, its blind focus tracking Amity in the dark. It twisted about, circling as it attempted to follow her about the stalagmites within the rough circle of its body, then lunged, fast and sudden. Its mouth opened just enough to part the row of sharp teeth before snapping viciously on the stalagmite that amity ducked behind at the last moment. And explosion of forceful energy spread out from the bite like a small schock-wave, but the young navi managed to duck and cover herself from the fallout. Oddly enough, the worm itself wasn't spared from the blast wave of its biting attack, and small stone shards pitted its head area. Perhaps it normally relied on the regenerating layer to protect it from such things?

A dissatisfied hiss escaped its mouth as it drew back again, shaking its head and swaying. Its body writhed and it coiled about itself shifting away partially and turning back again, as though it was trying to get a fresh perspective on the creature it had missed twice now.

-=Deep-Dweller=-
Klez.v64.832.screamer: 265Hp [Normal][Behind Amity, its body encircling her rough vicinity][RTS: 5 passive disruption per stack (2)]

Attch (Singles in your Area!): 30Hp [Normal; flapping on the ground a short distance away]
Attch (Nigerean Prince Needs Your Help!): RTS
Attch (Your Winnings!): RTS

-=Drop-in Damsel=-
Amity.Exe: 142Hp [Normal][RageClaw (4/6)]

-=Dark Domain=-
100% Normal

• No effects.

-=Destructible Defences=-
Stalagmites: 20Hp Each, can provide some measure of cover. In most cases, one will never be more than a dodge or feint action away.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Another narrow miss as the batworm's lunge caused it to impact the stalagmite she'd been hiding behind. This method of evasion had worked twice now, but Amity doubted it was likely to have the same effect a third time.

"Shotgun!" she commanded as she lined up the new batlike creature with her right arm. The left arm would have been a better angle, but the RageClaw was still occupying that zone so she'd have to make do with what she had. Either way, she didn't need another new temporary friend.

Can't waste my shots, I need these to count. she thought to herself. Looking at her own miniature prison of sorts, she knew she was running out of ideas and defenses. Just as she was learning the tactics of her enemy, no doubt it was getting to know her moves too, and it still had the spacial advantage. Left, right, it didn't matter. It was getting faster.

As her arm took the shape of the bluish-silver barrel, a grin crossed Amity's face.

No. Wait. WAAAIT.

She was a fool. How could she have not realised? It was true, the worm had her surrounded, which was limiting her options for retreat. But by that same line of reasoning, it too was defenseless; a wall of unprotected weak points surrounded her now. Sure, it had a regenerating layer of armour, but she didn't need to focus on its head, when its entire body was only mere steps away. She'd pummel it from every direction possible, and hopefully that, combined with just a little more fancy maneouvring, would end this standoff.

Amity had precious seconds to make her move while the batworm regained its composure. Blasting her bullets towards the new deformity almost guaranteed a secondary contact with the worm's upper midsection. Unleashing her blue-tainted silver fury, she dismissed the gun from her arm as she yelled "Pulsar!" to Eric and turned in place to the other side, keeping the raging head still in her sight. As the sonic speaker took the place of the furnace, that too was quickly ejected with force, as an almost invisible array of matter-distorting airwaves flew towards another part of its midsection. She almost felt sorry for it, knowing what that attack felt like on contact, but it had taken unwilling prisoners so mercy was not an option.

Amity could feel the rumbling of the cave; was she too late?

"SkyShoes!" she almost barked out. Only a couple of seconds passed before she felt the initial thrust from her boots. She still didn't know how to properly control the trajectory, and unlike last time, there was a roof relatively close by, so there was no way that she'd be able to take to full flight, but that wasn't her intention anyway.

The boots once again washed out the cyan dress glow as she launched towards the ceiling, but in a more balanced manner this time. Practice really does make perfect, apparently, as she attempted to make contact with the roof. Let it try to strike me up here, it'll have to launch itself into the air first, she thought to herself. Based on its size, it certainly looked like it had the muscular build to do so, but would it do that? Or would it instead unleash an attack she hadn't seen yet?

----------

Actions:
[1] [Disruptor] Shotgun [50 DMG + Spread1] >>> AttachmentC ~> Batworm
[2] [Disruptor] Pulsar1 [70 DMG] >>> Batworm
[3] [Disruptor] SkyShoes (use to dodge/launch into the air - cabin not tall enough to enter High Altitude)
-----
[P] THAW [6 {+1} HEAL] >>> Amity [142 >>> 149 / 150 HP]

Sigs:
None in cooldown

Party:
Amity.EXE: 149 / 150 HP [(Semi)-High Altitude, returning to ground next turn] [Equipped: RageClaw - 4/6 Uses Remaining]



(((OOC: Not sure I can do that with the SkyShoes. Thinking outside the box. Wait and see...)))

(((EDIT: Corrected RP to match actions taken.)))

In a seemingly consistent and unending stream, another of the wings pulled away from the massive worm, separating itself into yet another bat-like creature that fluttered across the gap and managed to latch itself onto one of amity's thighs. It started to chew, but as before her own self-repairing garments negated the small amount of damage and continued to patch her up a little further as well.

Running low on ways to surprise or counter her all-encircling foe, Amity swiftly dealt with the stranded attachment, and was fortunate that the data shrapnel of its violent detonation didn't spread far enough to do her any harm. The slim blue wisp of energy joined the others along the worm's back, a small collection of cleansed partial-beings working at spreading the same pacifying blue across the beast, bit by bit. The scattering of her shot did indeed impact with the thick hide of the worm beyond, as amity had hoped for, though the damage wasn't significant at first; it seemed to have regenerated its outer armour in time to catch it.

As she turned to capitalise on the moment of exposure, the worm lunged inwards again, attempting to bite down on the navi in its coils once and for all. Amity didn't manage to get clear this time and she felt the sudden, searing sensation to dozens of thin, sharp teeth clamping over her mid-section, hip and lower body. The worm didn't seem to care that it was biting down on one of its own attachments at the same time, more interested in finally devouring its prey, but through the moment of piercing pain Amity fired her pulsar, battering the body of the worm with a disruptive sonic wave that made many of the stalagmites around the impact zone crumble and shatter as well. The teeth pulled out suddenly, releasing its hold on her as the worm reared back, thrashing and opening its mouth towards the roof of the cave in another spine-chilling shriek that made the cavern rumble.

Amity was able to block the worst of the sound out this time, keeping her focus somehow, and as the worm righted itself and lunged violently back towards her in wrath this time, the faintly glowing navigator launched herself upwards, taking unexpected refuge amongst the stalactites of the cave's ceiling. The cave rumbled again and small flecks of rocks fell as the worm's reaching maw crashed hard into the ground where amity had been a moment ago. The boost from her footwear stopped a movement later, and she would be forced to drop down to the ground again unless she grabbed something quickly.

-=Deep-Dweller=-
Klez.v64.832.screamer: 180Hp [Normal][Below Amity, its body encircling her rough vicinity][RTS: 5 passive disruption per stack (3)]

Attch (Bargain Pharmaceuticals Online!): 10Hp [Equipped to Amity (passive 5 damage)]
Attch (Singles in your Area!): RTS
Attch (Nigerean Prince Needs Your Help!): RTS
Attch (Your Winnings!): RTS

-=Drop-in Damsel=-
Amity.Exe: 124Hp [Normal][Near ceiling][RageClaw (4/6)]

-=Dark Domain=-
100% Normal

• No effects.

-=Destructible Defences=-
Stalagmites: 20Hp Each, can provide some measure of cover. In most cases, one will never be more than a dodge or feint action away.

That DEFINITELY didn't go as planned, Amity groaned as she gripped her chest with her right arm. Those teeth were definitely not for show. Can't lose my cool, gotta stay focused.

She looked down at the monster waiting down below. Running from it hadn't worked; the worm was faster. Negotiating didn't work; the only result from that action was a revealing of the fate that potentially awaited her. Fighting didn't work either; it kept shielding itself with a never-ending regenerative shield that seemed to recharge at the most inopportune moments. And if that wasn't enough, "these DAMN HALF-BATS KEEP GRABBING ME LIKE I'M FOOD!" she finished her thoughts out loud, turning her eyes to yet another deformity that this time was trying to chow down on her leg. "IT'S NOT A DRUMSTICK!" she screamed at it.

As expected, the boosters on her feet were almost depleted and showing signs that they were about to give out. Amity was running out of time, options, and patience. It was the better end of the emotion spectrum to be in, given her unusual aptitude today at swinging between extremes, but what else was there to try? It seemed to predict every move she made or counteract it with a show of force AND speed; it didn't seem to want to rest until she was its next meal.

Wait.

Wait.

What if...

No.

That's dumb.

Insane.

It would NEVER work.

But already her hands were moving in line with the thought. Using the RageClaw as a grappling claw, Amity used its sharp edge to lock onto one of the stalactites on the roof and thrust herself forward. Not out of harm's way, mind you, so that she would land outside the makeshift prison that the Batworm had made. No, she'd positioned herself directly above its mouth.

The boosters gave one final glow of light before dissipating completely. Once again a registered member of gravity, it took hold of its newest supplicant and started dragging her back down to ground. Too late to consider any other path now; this was happening and couldn't happen any other way.

Using her movement downward as a barrier of sorts, Amity quickly connected the RageClaw to her newest symbiote in an attempt to neutralise it. Every other batlike creature had exploded shortly after defeat, but with the trajectory she was following, gravity would surely push it aside and spare her from any imminent explosion. That was the theory, anyway.

With a terrified look on her face, Amity requested her only hope from Eric. "Guard!" she cried out, fully aware that the shield itself was still not big enough to protect her from an open mouth. Oddly enough, as she fell, a familiar blue mist escaped from the underside of the dress as she fell; combined with the dress' blue glow, it almost sparkled like glitter in the otherwise dark and dank cave. If she hadn't been contemplating her immediate future, she may have appreciated its beauty.

The Guard shield quickly appeared on her right arm as she drew closer and closer to either a chance for a surprise attack, or her untimely end. Her eyes closed in dread as she braced her weight behind the dome to protect her limbs. I can't beat it from the outside. That... only leaves... one option...

"Eric! Pleeease be ready!" she pleaded...

----------

Actions:
[1] Propel self along ceiling using RageClaw to move above Batworm mouth [-1 durability]
[2] [Disruptor] RageClaw [40 DMG, Slashing] >>> AttachmentD
[3] [Disruptor] Guard1 [<=60 DMG Reflecting 1 Non-Break Attack, Line1] [Equipped]
-----
[P] THAW [6 {+1} HEAL] >>> Amity [124 >>> 131 / 150 HP]

Sigs:
None in cooldown

Party:
Amity.EXE: 131 / 150 HP [Equipped: RageClaw - 2/6 Uses Remaining | Guard1]

Boosters failing and low on options, Amity latched on and manoeuvred through the rocky spikes near the cavern's ceiling while the massive monstrosity angled its maw up towards her from below. It was leaning back slightly, gathering itself and as she saw its thicker hid covering regenerating again, and another attachment bat pulling itself free, Amity sought a plan that would work.

Before she had much more time to plan, however, several things happened all at once. The bat that was sent flying up towards her missed, latching onto one of the stalactites near her instead, chewing through it, and beginning to fall back again. As it did, Amity tore the other feeder from her body, casting it off. She began to drop towards the mouth of the beast below, but the attachment near her had dropped hard as she struck it, and neither she, nor the head of her foe were quite clear of the data burst that accompanied its detonation. Luck was with Amity, and none of the exploding data chunks hit her; the same could not be said for the newer bat-attachment, or the worm itself; its outer hide layer was scoured back again in moments.

As Amity dropped, her shield was ready. The worm lunged up towards her in a snapping bite, catching both the navigator, and the falling bat creature alongside her in its toothy grip. Perhaps as she'd planned, or perhaps by chance, the shield caught like a brace as the jaws attempted to clamp around her. It buckled and cracked, but not before it returned a bolt of blue disruptive energy directly down the worm's gullet. In the slowed moment, the other bat-like creature had been tumbled past her into the worm-beast's mouth, before it, too was caught by the piercing line of light before it could be devoured. As with those before it, this bat exploded violently as well; in the tight space, neither Amity nor the giant worm had any real hope of avoiding the shrapnel, but the combination of the laser and this extra burst of force threw the monster backwards, its head rearing upwards and falling away in shock and recoil as Amity herself dropped to the ground.

A crash shook the cave; the creature had fallen back on itself, striking the ground roughly before it rolled over, legs waving and wings flapping haphazardly as it picked itself up again. Two fresh wisps of blue had returned to it, and now five small glowing bat gnawed on its back, spreading their cleansing light through the creature. It seemed to be aware of them now, and began to twist on itself, as though trying to shake them off. The spreading patch of blue was seeping through its body, taking up a large portion along its length now; little by little, the trojan cleansers were working away. Small hisses and growls came from the worm as it thrashed around, before it turned its focus back on amity; what small amount of plotting and reason it might have had before was now lost in a palpable sense of pained and hungry rage that seemed to emanate from the monstrosity.

-=Deep-Dweller=-
Klez.v64.832.screamer: 120Hp [Normal][In front/above amity][RTS: 5 passive disruption per stack (5)]

Attch (Warning: Your Blizzy Accnt is Compromised!): RTS
Attch (Bargain Pharmaceuticals Online!): RTS
Attch (Singles in your Area!): RTS
Attch (Nigerean Prince Needs Your Help!): RTS
Attch (Your Winnings!): RTS

-=Drop-in Damsel=-
Amity.Exe: 116Hp [Normal][Ground near worm][RageClaw (2/6)]

-=Dark Domain=-
100% Normal

• No effects.

-=Destructible Defences=-
Stalagmites: 20Hp Each, can provide some measure of cover. In most cases, one will never be more than a dodge or feint action away.

Once again, things hadn't gone according to plan. Amity's intention to sabotage the creature from inside, whilst having its own inherent risks, had been thwarted by its jaws catching her shield before she could enter its insides. That wasn't to say that the events the followed weren't exactly unwelcomed, even if she didn't come out of the attack completely unscathed, but Amity once again was left scratching her head as she landed on the ground.

What she didn't expect was the Batworm to start going beserk as it rolled around in the cave. It had been mostly composed up until now, unlike herself who had been on the backfoot since its entrance. As it twisted around and around, Amity noticed three things.

Firstly, the mini-bats she'd been swatting hadn't logged out of the network. Instead, it looked as if they'd somehow managed to rejoin their master's outer layer, but instead of becoming their original beings, they were using its own hitpoints to regenerate their bodies. In her head, it sort of made sense that to regenerate their outer core that they'd need to extract that energy from somewhere, but she didn't think it would come at the cost of another living creature. After all, the inner cores would normally return to a network spawning station, where most viral fragments began their life. Had any other viruses she'd dispatched in this manner done the same thing?

Secondly, she realised that although she'd originally thought her attack runs had been inadequate, viral fissures were becoming faintly visible on its outer layer. Though not exactly sure what methods had achieved this outcome, if its coding had already begun degredation of this nature, its hitpoints must have dropped over 50%. A quick scan of its core coding confirmed this to be true.

Which brought her to the final thought; as the worm tried to pick off its newest additions, she saw an opportunity. It had rolled just far away enough that she had the element of surprise should she lunge first. And by this time, Amity was sick of running, even if it was the sensible option.

Well, I never got the chance to use this in testing school, but desperate times... she thought to herself. It was the biggest risk she'd taken all day so far, because failure left her immensely vulnerable, even more so than falling into its mouth, but an excited shiver pulsed through her body at the thought. Even if it did fail, it would be a fun first regardless.

She dismissed the RageClaw from her left arm to free up its next component. It had proven invaluable in this battle and whilst Amity couldn't argue it had been a vital role in her survival thus far, she was still ecstatic to have it leave her body. "Shockwave and Cannon! Things are going to get a bit weird!" she chuckled as she started generating her favourite gel in her right arm.

The battlechips took their expected formations; the Cannon transmutating onto her left arm with the barrel sticking out ever so slightly, and the glow from her boots indicated the Shockwave too was ready to be unleashed. What changed in this particular setup from normal, however, was the white hems on both the arms and skirt began to intermittently flash; and Amity's smile couldn't have been wider. She'd failed easier battle tactics at the training facility as they only allowed a limited number of battlechips for testing purposes, so she'd never been allowed the opportunity to practise a battle routine. But she'd seen one of her comrades pull it off with amazing success, and while it was true Amity's disruptors would change the result somewhat, she'd always wanted a chance to do it herself.

"Battle routine, SET!" she yelled as she locked eyes onto the worm, swinging her arms forward in preparation of what was to follow. "Ground! Gun! Gel! ROLLIIIIIIIIIING SPLAAAAASH!!!"

As overdramatised as her unnecessary exclamation was, as she finished enunciating her last word all hell broke loose from her position. The Shockwave launched first as she stomped on the ground and caused the blue-tinted groundblazer to burst forth towards its target. Without a breath, the Cannon was fired next, quickly trying to keep up the pace with its slower-but-still-fired-first partner as it left a blue-tinted cloud in its wake. Not to be left out, the cleansing gel too was fired at maximum velocity to the same path. This 1-2-3 attack pattern tore across the arena in a blaze of white, yellow and blue, as our purple-haired friend buckled under the stress of such a move and fell to her knees, still a solitary source of light in the cavern.

----------

Actions:
[1-3] BATTLE ROUTINE ENGAGED: Ground~>Gun~>Gel = Rolling Splash >>> Batworm
~> [Disruptor] Shockwave [40 DMG, Line, Ground]
~> [Disruptor] Cannon [60 DMG, Knockback]
~> Calming Spray [40 DMG, Aqua]
-----
[P] THAW [6 {+1} HEAL] >>> Amity [116 >>> 123 / 150 HP]

Sigs:
Calming Spray [Used; 0/1 TCD; Recharging]

Party:
Amity.EXE: 123 / 150 HP

While the massive viral creature writhed and thrashed, trying to rid itself of the small line of glowing bats spreading Amity's own disruptive energy through its body, Amity took a moment to analyse her opponent and try to work out what state the battle was in. Upon realising that she hadn't been doing as poorly as she thought, the young navi opted to try something more risky and offensive, casting aside concern for her own defence as she prepared herself to attempt a stylish attack run.

As she received and prepared the chips she needed, another of the mutated bats pulled itself free of the worm and winged over to her, latching onto the top of her head like an altogether unfitting hat. The light gnawing sensation was only uncomfortable, and not really painful; it wasn't enough to distract Amity from her plans.

While she prepared, the worm rolled over, pulling itself upright again and latching its many hundreds of tiny legs onto stone and rock to right itself while it multitude of uneven wings fluttered and flapped against each other. Its head flailed around but seemed to settle at last on amity as the source of its distress. The sheen to its rubbery hide returned as it reared, then lunged towards her, jaw snapping in a swift bite. The attack closed on Amity's upper body, once again exposing her to the razor sharp, narrow teeth that filled its jaw, and she briefly felt a multitude of semi-formed hands pawing at her from within its mouth, before a sudden blast of energy above her exploded with concussive force.

A moment later, the cave came back into view as the creature reeled back again. The attachment on her head was gone, scatterings of data shrapnel scattering everywhere; it must have exploded in the creature's mouth. Unlike the previous instances that Amity herself had dispatched, there was no blue wisp of energy remaining to return to the beast, and no new addition to the line of softly glowing attachments on it, but Amity had more important things to focus on.

In the moment of recoil, the right moment to attack came and Amity attempted her combination attack with a shout and a good deal of flair. To her credit, it mostly worked out; the timed combo assault blasted towards the exposed midsection of the beast, and while it didn't seem like all of the attacks hit cleanly, certainly most of them did, and the creature was thrown back further, rolling over on itself as its tiny legs clawed at the rocks around it for support.

It wasn't down, unfortunately, though most of its body was a mass of unstable fissures and bluish patches that seemed only partially solid. It dragged itself up, undulating forward before rearing up to a more full height that saw its head cresting amongst the stalactites at the caves ceiling. Wobbling and shaky, it looked down at Amity, and its jaws snapped open wide again, exposing her to the soul-shaking screech of shrieking voices and faces inside its gullet. The sound and sight was enough to disorient the navi for a moment and then a rush of movement drew her focus back again as the beast crashed down at her with its full body weight, heedless of the ground or anything else.

With no time to dodge away, the full force and weight of the creature crashed into her, teeth clamping shut around her as it ploughed bodily into the cave floor and dug a deep groove out of it. For a few seconds there was nothing but movement, pain and the sound of crashing rock and dirt, covered over by the dull, sonorous tone of her emergency undershirt program activating... Then stillness, and the soft glowing sensation of her dress beginning the process of repair.

Nothing moved for several seconds, until the silence was broken by distant sounds of errant rocks falling. The flutter of wings had stopped, as had the shriek of voices. There was still the pressure of being pinned in its mouth, but slowly a diffuse light spread further and further through the physical mass trapping her as the now still creatures main body began to gradually break down.

-=Deep-Dweller=-
Klez.v64.832.screamer: CLEANSED

Attch (Claim your Free Gift-Card Now!): DELETED
Attch (Warning: Your Blizzy Accnt is Compromised!): RTS
Attch (Bargain Pharmaceuticals Online!): RTS
Attch (Singles in your Area!): RTS
Attch (Nigerean Prince Needs Your Help!): RTS
Attch (Your Winnings!): RTS

-=Drop-in Damsel=-
Amity.Exe: 7Hp [Stunned(1)][Sorta grappled, but the body is breaking apart, so not for long anyway]

-=Battle 5, Victory!=-
Spoils: 1000z, RollArrow1Damage: 40 + Chip Break
Accuracy: B
Description: Launches an arrow tipped with a pink heart. If a virus is hit, they lose the ability to attack once. If a Navi is hit, they lose their first selected chip for that turn.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D

[WARNING.] [WARNING.] [WARNING.]

Eric was in a state of panic. Amity's hitpoints were at a critically low level, but despite his attempts to reach out to her, she remained stationary whilst pinned by the batworm's jaw. In a desperate attempt to heal her, he tried to send her the Recovery battlechip, but an unknown error was preventing its transmission into the internet.

The batworm's gigantic body was in fact beginning to crumble apart; it had taken too much damage from Amity's repulsors, and combined with the passive draining of its would-be assistants, its body had reached unsustainable levels of degredation, forcing the inner core's separation from its outer chassis. While this was not any different to the foes she had been battling up until now, the sheer size of the outer casing meant that instead of simply dissemanating into the network in a quiet manner, the coding seemed to almost cast off into the air as a cloud of bluish dust, creating a almost eerie-like fog in the cave. The glow from both the oversized inner core and its five smaller partners only added further to this, adding a twilightish glow that reflected off all that was in the area.

As the batworm's mouth broke down, it no longer had the structural integrity to support the creature it was gripping. Slipping through the now-delicate flesh, Amity dropped a short distance to the ground. The sudden stop from the small fall was enough to jolt her awake. Lying on her back, she groaned as she remained in place; she was in no position to get up just yet.

Her eyes tracked the only movements in the cave; as the six cores hovered above her, she noticed that several more small inner cores began to levitate from the nearby area and move closer to the larger one. It made sense, really; if it was their spawn-in signature, even if its outer layer was destroyed, they would naturally gravitate towards the inner core. But the sheer number of cores exiting the decomposing code worried Amity; there was easily 40 or so now joining onto the 'mother-core', for lack of a better term.

Amity finally had the strength to get back to her feet, slipping twice as she tried to get both a foothold and a handle on her surroundings so she could rise up. The collapse of the creature had definitely made a mess of the cave, with crushed rock masses filling the area, not to mention the large crater the batworm had created by attempting to squash her as it tried to finish her off.

It was that thought that reminder her of all the trapped prisoners inside its inner mouth. Her lack of energy prevented any kind of urgent movement, but her eyes quickly scanned the area for signs of survivors. She caught sight of a leg sticking out from under a pile of stones only a few steps away. She gingerly hobbled across to it and tried to move the rocks off its chest. As she threw each rock aside she noticed that the hue of its body was heavily drained, to the point that it was almost nothing more than black and white with a few hints of brown.

It wasn't until the last rock was removed that was covering its head that Amity gasped, stifling a small scream. It wasn't just the hue that had been altered; its eyes, fully opened wide and staring out in the world, were pitch black. Soulless and dead. Amity's body became stiff at the sight, her breathing restricted as she began to feel shock.

...How? How is this possible...?

If the navi had been deleted, its body should have broken down back to basic data, or at the very least data fragments. This was a whole creature. How was this possible...?

Amity was still in no shape to be traversing such an uneven ground, but ignoring her agonising pain and torn outer garments she stumbled across the ground to another body that had landed facedown. It too was mostly monochrome in appearance, but this one had tinges of red instead of brown. As Amity turned over the navi's body, the same black eyes awaited her. It was the same picture for three more bodies only a few small steps away; a train-like creature, a lady-like navi, and a dog-like creature. All with monochrome hues and soulless black eyes.

It was only when Amity sat down on a pile of rocks across from the lady that she noticed a small foot sticking out from under a stalacmite nearby. This one had a distinct hue brighter than the bodies she'd just seen. As she pulled the leg out from under the gap, she came face-to-face with the pink litte miss from earlier. Unlike the rest of her party, she still had a vibrant shade to her skin, and no gray shades on her clothing, but her eyes were shut and she wasn't moving.

As Amity let go of the young one's leg, she noticed her own hand was shaking uncontrollably. It wasn't just her hand though; it was her whole body tremoring back and forth, she just hadn't noticed through the emotional and physical pain caused by the scene around her. Was... was this normal? Was this something she would have to get used to?

"Amity!" Eric's voice finally rang through her ears.

"Here," she replied in a defeated and flat manner, as if she was answering a roll call.

"Thank goodness!" Eric couldn't hide the distress on his face. "I couldn't reach you! Are you okay???"

"Yeah, well, I'm still here," she mumbed in response.

"I've got a lock on your position, so send your jack-out signal and I'll get you out of there!" he urged.

"Whatever. Sending sign-ARGH!"

Amity was spooked by an unexpected sensation on her right arm. Her head spun around to find the young female grabbing it as it tried to get back onto its feet. Amity's automatic recoil of fear alarmed the poor girl, as she quickly released her grip and took a few steps back from Amity in response. The little girl in a frilly pink and white dress stared at Amity, and Amity stared right back, unsure what to make of the situation. Rather unexpectedly, the girl suddenly dashed forward, her eyes wide open. Amity didn't have the strength to have a response ready, but thankfully didn't need to as it ran past her and towards the lady-like navi still lying on the ground. The girl threw herself onto its chest and started pushing its shoulders with both hands in a desperate attempt for attention.

A tear fell from Amity's eye. While she didn't have any concrete proof, it wasn't a far leap to assume, based on the similar design of the lady's dress and the little miss' dress, that the two knew each other. As it continued to try and get some sort of response, its child-like noises began to become higher pitched and desperate. It didn't seem to understand that, no matter how hard it pressed, that the navi was never going to respond.

The lone tear on the ground below Amity suddenly had company as she sat there, unable to offer any assistance.

A low moaning sound caught Amity's attention as she turned her head to face the source. The mother-core had gathered together all the mini floating cores and was now one solid creature. A terrifying thought ran through Amity's mind; what if the mother-core could respawn another outer layer using the energy of the mini-cores, in the same way they'd tried to come back using its own energy?

Fragments of rock showered from the ceiling just above the newly-formed coalescence, causing several of the smaller cores to explode in the same manner they had before. Amity was taken aback by the sudden entrance of a yet-unknown third party, but she knew the sound of that weapon. She'd fired it a few times today, and no doubt it was one of the favourite weapons of choice of another colleague of hers.

As Crony stepped into view and took another shot at the coalescence, it hovered backward to avoid the Shotgun, not escaping its blast completely and still losing a few cores in the process. It clearly got the hint, as it took the opportunity to disappear further into the tunnel before Crony could reload.

As the group flew away, Amity got back up on her feet again. Crony was teleporting after it, Shotgun still firing as he went. Amity still didn't like him, but there was no denying the smallest of smiles that crept onto her face as he pursued her former foe. It was only as the cave became almost completely dark that Amity suddenly felt something grab her from behind. She whirled around to face it with as much energy as she could muster, but whatever it was had an almost vice-like grip on her. Her arms swept behind her to grab at the unknown creature, but within seconds Amity recognised both the shape and form.

'Little Miss' was now stuck to her back. Based on the uncontrollable shivers, it was safe to assume the sudden darkness had scared the poor girl. Amity decided there and then that she couldn't leave this poor girl to defend herself. Amity's mind raced back to her meeting with 'Meep' and how she'd let him go, knowing full well the fate that might await him. Not this time.

But how to save her without detection...?

Once again, automated systems reading her thoughts decided to lend a hand. The back of her dress shimmered for a split second as it wove itself around the girl's arms and body. Amity herself shivered for a second as the girl's arms, torso and legs came into contact with her gel-reinforced upper chest and lower back. Oddly enough, the only thing sticking out from the dress itself now was the girl's head, propped out from the seam lined down Amity's back. Almost as if it was in expectation of this, Amity's hair changed composition and reshaped itself around the head and body so the otherwise unsightly bulge was now integrated into her otherwise-normally-long-flowing head of hair. From the outside, nobody would know a tiny girl was wrapped around our purple-haired navi. Little Miss yelped in surprise of the change, but rather than let go, her grip only tightened harder.

"Whatever you do, don't move and be quiet," she whispered as a warning. It was aptly timed too, for Crony was back only a few seconds later.

"Why didn't you help me finish it off?" Crony demanded.

Amity was speechless. Did he honestly think she was in any position to give chase?

Before she could reply, a sound of rocks moving behind Crony brought his Shotgun whirling around to face the source, but a moment later he dismissed the barrel and thrust his arm into the same pile of rocks. As he pulled back, a brown navi rose from the rubble, and grabbed a hold of Crony's arm as he tried to find footing stable enough to stand on.

"Get over here and hold him!" Crony ordered. "There's more survivors that need help!"

As Amity walked across and held the brown navi's back, she could faintly hear more noises coming about.

"Ladies! Lights!" Crony yelled as he tapped the emblem on his chest while walking towards another moving pile. A second later three glowing orbs appeared above him. The chamber was lit up by their appearance as each one emanated a corresponding colour of red, yellow and green. Each of the glowing orbs had small arms and legs, which didn't look to serve any real purpose other than to make them look less intimidating, given their harsh expressions. Amity couldn't help but feel their personalities probably matched their master, but upon recognising the middle one, it became obvious to her that the 'bulb' she'd been ordered to follow from the beginning was his own partner. She'd address that later.

As Amity watched more navis getting to their feet she noticed a fragment of data that hadn't disappeared with the batworm's disintegrating outer layer. It looked to be usable so she reached out to pick it up, wincing as she did so. ”I think this is battlechip data,” she advised as it entered her data stream.

The thought was correct, but as a new battlechip sequence was imprinted onto the blank chip Eric inserted into the PET, it returned another unknown name. It wasn't important so Eric simply put it into his folder; another problem for another time.

Amity watched his hesitance and confusion from an on-screen monitor. A thought had been burning in the back of her mind, and she couldn't hold it in any more.

"Eric? Can I ask you something?"

"What's wrong?" Eric replied, still a little nervous about her current state.

Amity bit her lip as she began to feel a twinge of guilt at what she was about to say. "Why are you doing this?"

Eric's voice quivered in his response. "Doing... what?"

"This. Virus busting." Amity knew she had no choice in the matter; she'd been created with opposing functions, but she still had to try and make both incentives work, even if it did cause an internal conflict inside her. But Eric, he could be anything he wanted to be. "Clearly this is not something you're good at, and I don't get the impression you want to be either. So why bother?"

Eric looked away from the PET screen. "I don't have a choice," he finally responded.

"How can you not have a choice?" Amity pressed. "You're human. You're not limited by programming."

"That's not what I meant," he mumbled in response. "If I don't try, who will?"

"Try what?" Amity questioned. Silence. "Eric? Try what?" she repeated.

"It doesn't matter," Eric mumbled again. "They all go back in the end, so everybody wins. I go back to being alone, and their fate remains unchanged. If it was meant to be, it would feel normal..."

"What does that even mean?" Amity questioned in a confused manner. But this time, Eric didn't respond.

"Th... thank you," the brown navi in front of her managed to speak. "Are... you the one who saved us?" it asked.

While it was true that she was the reason he was now free, it wasn't because she'd purposefully gone out of her way to do so. She felt she didn't deserve that kind of attention, and certainly didn't want it either. "No, I didn't," she flatly replied. "It's true my actions led to your release, but that doesn't mean I saved you. I just didn't want to share your fate." The words were harsh, but she'd had enough of this day and wanted to get back to the safety of her PET. Being polite to strangers was the last thing on her mind; Stacey and Crony had sucked up all of her tolerance for others, and Eric had not been much help either.

"Is that any way to speak to someone in his position?"

Amity recognised that voice. It had been a long day, but the tone, words, and manner lit a fire inside Amity's mind. She'd held back her hostility towards his sister up until now. Not any more.

"How DARE you tell me how to speak to someone?! I don't recall seeing your ridiculous navi trying to help me defeat that stupid batworm now, did I?!" she replied in a rather curt manner.

"That was a grade 1.0.5 Klez.v64.832.scr-" Crony began, but was cut off.

"DO I LOOK LIKE I GIVE A DAMN ABOUT WHAT IT'S CALLED?!" Amity screamed angrily. "WHY DID YOU SIT IN THE SHADOWS AND LET ME DEAL WITH IT ON MY OWN?!"

"You best watch that tone before I have to do something about it," Crony warned.

"DON'T YOU NEED TO CHECK WITH YOUR MASTER FIRST BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING?!" Amity screamed again in sarcasm. "ERIC, GET ME OUT OF HERE, I'M DONE!"

Eric had the lock-on signal, but Stacey's lightning-fast reflexes allowed her to snatch the PET out of his hand before he could finish the retrieval routine. She'd snuck out of her room some time ago and had waited for the right moment to rejoin the party. This definitely seemed like the right moment to her as she reappeared from behind the couch. As Eric got up to contest her actions, she threw up her hand in a HALT fashion, stopping Eric in his tracks. He knew what it meant to disobey that order.

"Now you listen here and you listen good," Stacey growled in a fierce undertone. "You are only here because I allowed you to enter into this household. The chain of command in this house falls to me first, Crony second, and Eric third. If you THINK you can come in here and undermine what I have spent YEARS trying to maintain, I won't just send you packing. I'll hit the 'Deconstruct' button myself." Stacey let that thought simmer for a moment before continuing. "Do I make myself clear?"

Amity's equally fierce gaze matched Stacey's as she clenched her teeth and fists. She'd been challenged. There was no way she was going to let it go unanswered. "Well well, you're a fighter," she responded sarcastically with an equal amount of fierce undertone to match. "Pity you didn't feel like passing on some of that training to your brother. I thought he'd been a failure, but truthfully, any failure on his part is clearly a failure of your own as well, isn't it? Crony can hold his own without you, and yet he chooses not to, true?" Amity struggled to keep her tone of voice elevated as she committed her potentially fatal final thought to words. "So who's the failure? Eric... or you? I don't see why I'm being threatened when I did all the work. Where were YOU ALL THIS TIME?!"

Stacey had already had another speech prepared as a counter-argument for the expected 'that's not fair' response. She hadn't sparred with someone equally as opinionated as herself in a long time; not only that, Amity had fought dirty, throwing a cheap blow at her relationship between her brother and herself that had caught her off-guard and unaware. The words she'd prepared quickly vanished into meaningless as she realised she didn't have the right response to defend herself without making herself look weak.

Amity, on the other hand, was done with talking. The opportunity to speak without restriction had alleviated some of her frustration and she was feeling just a little better mentally as a result. Physically, however, was another matter. As officers were appearing onsite to help deal with survivors, responding to Crony's call to action, Amity's legs buckled as she hit the ground knees-first. Litte Miss was still safe on her back, but Amity on the other hand needed some desperate respite from the day's events.

Meanwhile, Eric approached Stacey very delicately and gently reached out for the PET. Stacey didn't resist this time, and allowed him to take it back. He tapped the final protocol menu to establish the connection. "You're good to come back now, Amity," he confirmed as he sighed a breath of relief.

Amity. The pathetic navi that couldn't pass the training programs. Amity. The pathetic navi that couldn't get attention or admiration from her peers. Amity. The one who'd been given to this newbie as an offhanded gesture. No. She was not Amity. Amity was weak, incapable and alone. But she... she was someone else.

I don't know who you are, but you're right. Amy IS stronger than she thinks.

A beam of light arced from her emblem as the jack-out protocol took effect. As she began to disassemble for transmission, she was ecstatic to see the data stream also pick apart her new attachment. The PET was going to be a little cramped, but for now it would have to suffice until she could figure out what to do about her. With a renewed happiness Amity dismissed the ACDC Network, making an inappropriate gesture with her face to Crony as he watched her disappear.

"Amy, logging out!" she cried out as she disappeared into the slipstream. The only remaining sign that she'd been there was the wave of blue mist that was left in her wake.

----------

Battle #5 Complete!

Rewards:
Zenny: +1000 (2220 >>> 3220)
New Battlechip: RollArrow1Damage: 40 + Chip Break
Accuracy: B
Description: Launches an arrow tipped with a pink heart. If a virus is hit, they lose the ability to attack once. If a Navi is hit, they lose their first selected chip for that turn.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: D
Battlechips: 11 >>> 12

{>>> To ACDC Town: Repetition for Emphasis >>>}