As quickly as he'd set off, CentaurusMan came to a sudden, skittering halt. A crossroads! The first real choice in their quest thus far. He'd have to consider their options carefully. The shopping center looked promising, but the park spoke to him a bit more. Maybe that was just his Wood typing, though. Maybe it was better to consult Lady Goldman on this for once.

"Your thoughts, m'lady? Where shall our journey take us now?" He asked, anticipation practically dripping from his voice.

"The shopping district looks promising." She spoke quickly and tersely, critical of any possible decisions made. "I know you like the park, but I think we've got a better chance of running into Elec viruses this way. Better to have that advantage than not, right?"

He nodded once, slowly. He didn't quite agree with her assessment, but there was no point in arguing this. Especially not with the knowledge that she could jack him out and end this whole escapade right then and there. He turned, the back of his hoof scraping hard against the panels, and took a left into the shopping district.

"Forsooth!" He cheered, punching the air with his shield arm as the remaining two viruses dissolved into meaningless packets of code. The reward this time around wasn't quite as generous, but that was more Lady Goldman's concern than his own. Zenny had never been the object of this jounrey in the first place. Nay, a true knight searched not for gold, but for glory, and so far he had found it in spades.

CentaurusMan, coincidentally, had a much looser definition of "glory" than most people.

"You've really been holdin' that one in, huh?" Zoe droned, right on cue, obviously a little displeased at their meager handful of Zenny. Frankly, she had every right to be, but CentaurusMan still found her attitude towards the proceedings vaguely disappointing. Not that their lack of shared enthusiasm had been an issue before, but it still managed to tug on the nerves some. Or it would, if he had nerves to tug.

"Err, perhaps. Just a little." He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "But 'tis not wholly unjustified! For the second time, we're blessed with victory! Mayhaps we can continue our fruitful ventures?" He was practically pleading at this point.

Another concerned little noise from Zoe's end of things. "I don't know. We made a pretty decent amount of cash so far. I mean, it's enough for food. I think you should go ahead and jack ou-" She didn't even get to finish her sentence before CentaurusMan gazed up at her with a look that would make a puppy green with envy. He didn't have the pride for it most of the time, but the guy really knew how to beg. She thought he might actually start crying if they waited too long. She groaned. "Alright, fine. One more bust, then we're out. I want that paper done today, yeah?"

"Yeah indeed, m'lady! Now, to arms! The game is afoot!" So he strode, or trotted as the case may be, across the broken battlefield, a renewed spring in his step. The plan of action didn't suit him too well, but if it meant another battle then he was all for it.

[Requesting battle 3!]

CentaurusMan shucked his shoulders and placed a hand over where his mouth presumably would be were he not wearing the helmet. It was really all he could do to keep from bursting into laughter. Was this a battle or a simple comedy of errors? Either way, now was not the time for japes. Nay, now was the time to strike! The enemy, off balance and foolish, wouldn't see it coming.

He thrust his arm out and summoned a shield for the second time, though it was more for reassurance than anything else. He likely wouldn't be needing it soon. With a flick of the wrist, he dismissed the Raging Claw in a cloud of pixels, thrusting the resulting lance arm up into the air.

"M'lady! A piercing armament, thank you kindly!" He bellowed. The viruses could probably hear him, and if they understood him or not didn't matter. Not to him, at least.

"Huh? Yeah, uh, alright." She blurted, a little startled. CT wasn't usually so demanding when it came to chips. Maybe it was starting to get to his head a little, and not for the first time so far Zoe considered pulling the plug.

Still, she did as she was told. The lance disappeared, and in its place was that same enormous, barrel-shaped crossbow that had been the Cannon chip. This time, though, the bolt was longer, slimmer, with bright red fletching and a simple, streamlined point for a head. Without missing a beat, he leveled the contraption at the remaining two viruses and loosed an arrow, hoping to snag the both of them with one shot.

=TURN SPLICE!=
Fight Log 3: Virus Eater -

1.1Hit shield up
2. Shotgun (50 Null, Spread 1, A Accuracy) @ Fishy and MetoolC

Despite not hitting all of his intended targets, CentaurusMan didn't see it as a failure. No, they were fighting back now, defending themselves! Though meek in comparison to himself they were, at least, worthier opponents than the last. Absolute victory was satisfying and all, but he'd nearly forgotten the sheer thrill of a real fight. Still, better to stay on his toes, or lack thereof, than let his opponents get the better of him. Which, considering the current situation, was exactly what was happening. He'd lost sight of the Fishy, but the Metool was still a priority. Lady Goldman had said so! What she was saying now, though, was a little different.

That being a brief, sharply uttered "Behind you!", like she was barking straight into his ear. He jolted a little, startled, and made an about face for the second time now, coming face to face with his new over-eager foe. Partly out of shock, and partly out of instinct, he swung his lance down in a hammering motion. Thankfully, Zoe had the reflexes and the forethought to transfer him something a little more damaging than a sharp bop on the head. Mid-swing, CT's lance arm blurred out of focus, component data realigning itself into new and novel patterns, and he found himself grateful to find the steely claws of a Raging Claw coming down on the Fishy's head. With a twist of his arm, he took the momentum of the swing, whether it had hit or not, and eased smoothly into a second strike, this time swiping at the thing from the side as he aimed to rake the claws across its scales. Then he swung again, arcing the gauntlet in a forceful backhand and extending the claws fully.

With the reflexes of an over-caffeinated goat, he hopped back, aiming to avoid any retribution from the Fishy or the surviving Met. He'd been out of the game for some time, but not long enough to be called rusty. He still hade some of the old skills in him, etched deep in his code base.

Fight Log part Due-
1. RagingClaw1 (40 Null, Slashing, A Accuracy*) @ Fishy
2. RagingClaw1 (40 Null, Slashing, A Accuracy*) @ Fishy
3. RagingClaw1 (40 Null, Slashing, A Accuracy*) @ Fishy
4. Swordplay (Free dodge)

*with Sword Mastery passive

CentaurusMan cocked his head to the side, like a curious puppy. This was more than a little strange, even by his admittedly stringent standards for strangeness. Had they been looking for him? Perhaps they were like him, warriors in search of a challenge befitting their skills. Probably not, because they were viruses, but for the sake of his ego that was what was happening. Well, if it was a battle they wanted, then they'd have it! He made a gesture with his free hand, mimicking the Met's motion of bravado, then fell back into a combat stance, crouched ever so slightly, hand on his lance, careful to keep his hooves away from the cracked and worn tilework. Didn't want to risk an accident.

"Ooookay then." Said Zoe, finally breaking the silence. "Looks like this isn't gonna be quite as easy as the last one. Try and make those Mets your priority for now. Stick to group attacks, and keep your shield up. The fish comes later. Got it?"

CentaurusMan nodded and gave a stiff salute in a vaguely upward direction. He was pretty sure that's where Zoe was, topographically. He was never sure how she saw these things play out. She'd once explained it to him as like watching a game of chess, but the analogy had flown right over his head. He'd always preferred checkers, anyway."Understood, Lady Goldman! We'll have these brutes done and gone in a hurry, you and I!"

"Good. Got a rolling log for you on the way, try and get 'em two by two."

He nodded again, more enthusiastically this time, and extended his right arm, hooking it like he was holding a heavy shield. In a rushing blur of pixels and fragmented data, there it was, a great silver kite shield, rimmed with green around the edges and embossed the Navi's own emblem, a horse's head viewed in profile. It glinted in the artificial sunlight, but he knew it wasn't nearly as hardy as it looked. Just one hit and it would shatter like glass. It was more insurance than defense for him.

Then, he about-faced, turning his back to the viruses, and made that sudden kicking motion again, backwards this time, like a horse bucking at something that had irritated it. Like clockwork, the log appeared mid-swing, taking the hit and tumbling, faster this time, towards a pair of Mets. Then he spun, like an ill-trained ballerina, and booted a second time, aiming to catch a third virus with the second sudden log. Once finished, he twirled again, now back to facing his foes, his stance now more defensive. Legs wide, shield up, low to the ground, lance poking out just behind his fortification.

Battle Log-
1. 1Hit shield on
2. RollingLog1 (50 Wood, Ground Attack, Wide Attack(2), Double Attack, C accuracy) @ MetoolA, MetoolB
3. RollingLog1 (50 Wood, Ground Attack, Wide Attack(2), Double Attack, C accuracy) @ MetoolB, MetoolC

"Huh."

That was all CentaurusMan got out of Zoe for some time, that awkward few moments of half-silence filled with vague shuffling sounds from the opther end of the PET link, presumably indicating Zoe taking the time to actually look this one up. He certainly hadn't seen a chip like this before, much less used one. It had it uses, he hoped, but it didn't bother him much. Treasure was treasure, after all. As long as you had it, it didn't matter much what you did with it. Chips were, to him, a measure of status rather than prowess, a display of victories past and, hopefully, future.

"Yeah, don't look like we're gonna get much mileage out of this one. Still, pretty decent loot so far. I think we might actually be able to eat out for once." Though 'we' implied that CentaurusMan would be doing any eating whatsoever, which was a little hard when the helmet was practically glued to his neck. "Let's keep pushing this thing. Don't see why we need to stop now."

CT gave an enthusiastic nod and raised his lance high. "Very well, then! Onward! To battle!" With that, he started off, half-marching and half-trotting, in a sort of general virus-ward direction. It's not like they were hard to find or anything. You couldn't swing a dead pixel out here on the Net without hitting a virus of some color.

[Ready for battle 2!]

It actually took a couple seconds for CentaurusMan to process his victory, staring dumbfounded at the space where the viruses used to be before riasing both arms above his head in triumph, the shattered remains of the shield scattered at his hooves. Victory at last! And to the victor, as they said, went the spoils. It was a meager haul, all things considered, a handful of Zenny and a single tool of subterfuge, but still. Greater treasures would be within sight soon enough!

"Marvelous!" He bellowed, starting to pace across the former battlefield. "A consumate victory indeed! At this rate, my lady, we won't need this training ground for much longer."

Another one of those noises from Zoe's end of things, occupying that vague sonic landscape between a groan and a grumble. "You did great, CT, but don't let it get to your head okay? "

"Of course not!" He thumped a fist on his breastplate. "Pride goeth before the fall and all that. Now, shall we continue onwards?" He wanted he to say yes. He really, really wanted her to say yes.

"Eh, sure. We've got the time for it. Just go ahead and crack open that mystery data before we move on, alright?" Oh yes. That. He'd been practically ignoring it the whole fight, too wrapped up in the spectacle of it all to pay the hovering green crystal any attention. Well, better late than never. CentaurusMan cantered over, mounting one leg on the bench, and held a hand above the thing, letting invisible strings of data snake downwards and untangle what sweet, juicy mysteries lay underneath the layers of garbled code and junk data. The possibility of traps didn't even enter into his mind. More treasure was always a good thing, right?

Right.

[Openin' up that Mystery Data]

One down, three to go. CentarusMan grinned with satisfaction under his helmet. Another enemy felled, another portent of battles to come. Surely, this was to be the first of many victories! Still, it seemed a little... hollow. It had fallen so easily, and without a fight. Some "training" this was. Better to get this over quickly and move on to something more challenging.

"Lady Goldman, I believe we're at an advantage! Mayhap we should take a more offensive stance and banish these ruffians on the spot?" He called, practically hollering, from his position behind his trusty shield.

Zoe made a small noise of concern. "Yeah, you like like you're handling yourself. Couple new chips on the way ASAP." It always bugged him a little that she never specified which chips in particular that she was sending, but it mattered not. One trait of a true hero was adaptability, and he had it in spades.

Right on queue, the lance disappeared yet again, changing shape into an utterly massive crossbow, at least the size of one of the viruses if not larger, the bolt primed and ready. Without missing a beat, he took aim and fired, a sharp twang echoing out across the park. Whether or not he hit, the bow then fizzled out of existence, and CentaurusMan brought himself back up to his full height, shield still gripped tight.

By the time the second chip took effect, he was already in motion, pantomiming an exaggerated kick with his right leg. Even after having done this so many times before, he still found himself startled when he met resistance, a rotting old log that had appeared in the path of his hoof. Still, the kick connected, leaving a hoof-shaped imprint on the log's surface, and sent it rolling across the ground at ever-increasing speeds towards the Spookys.

Fight Log Part Dos-
1: Cannon (60 Null, Knockback, A accuracy) @ SpookyA
2: RollingLog1 (50 Wood, Ground Attack, Wide Attack(2), Double Attack, C accuracy) @SpookyC and SpookyD
3: RollingLog1 (50 Wood, Ground Attack, Wide Attack(2), Double Attack, C accuracy) @SpookyC and SpookyD

Considering the general state of the place, he was almost a little surprised coming across them. Not too surprised though. They were viruses, getting into everywhere and everything was what they were for. With a clatter of armor and hooves on stone, CentaurusMan fell into his own idiosyncratic version of a combat stance, crouching forward slightly, legs apart, right hand steadying the shaft of his lance. He was starting to feel relieved already.

"Wow, that was fast." He could almost hear Zoe trying to compose herself on the other end of the PET. "Okay, these guys're tricky, so don't bother lining up a shot yet. Just hit hard and fast, then fall back for defense." CT just nodded. He didn't quite agree to Lady Goldman's choice of tactics some of the time, but she had a good head on her shoulders when it came to matters of war. Also she was his Operator, so he didn't have much choice in the matter either way.

"Chip data's on its way. Get ready." As soon as the words reached him, it was already underway, the laser lance disappearing in a blur of pixels to be replaced by a massive gauntlet forged in a rough imitation of a beast's claw. A wise choice. He could work with this.

Darting towards the bench nearest to him, he reached out and gripped it with his claw hand. He spun, briefly, like an Olympic hammer thrower, letting the weight of the bench and his own momentum carry him, then suddenly let go, sending the whole thing flying towards one of the Spookys. Whether it hit or not, CentaurusMan quickly buckled down, bringing himself into a more defensive stance and letting the Shield alterations do their work, the air around him now suffused with a faint hum.

Of course, far be it from him to resist the opportunity for a quick potshot. Dismissing the claw and leveling his lance, CT squezed off a quick burst of ruby right energy at the Spooky that he'd previously hucked the bench at. It payed to focus on a target at a time, even if they all looked the same.


Fight Log-
1. RageClaw1 tossing Bench A (B Accuracy, 20 Null, Impacting) @ Spooky B
2. Shield NaviCust
3. Buster shot (A accuracy, 10 Null) @Spooky B

"Lady Goldman?"

The women's dorms at DTU were, in a word, cramped. If Zoe had her thesaurus on her, she also would've gone with "incommodious", "circumscribed", and "very small". But she didn't, so she didn't. She liked to consider herself a clean, organised person, but the precious economy of space had made her resort to piling important books and documents and whatever else into out of the way nooks and crannies. This, along with her roommate Wanda's own infrequent messes, served to only further exaggerate the claustrophobic atmosphere. Still, it was her space, and at least she wasn't wanting for living arrangements. She liked it this way. It'd almost feel like a betrayal clearing out all this junk.

"Lady Goldman, please."

After a few moments of silence, Zoe finally managed to peel her eyes away from her laptop, on which rested an assignment for Basic Net Theory, already half done. It wasn't due until next week, but Zoe always liked to get a head start on things. That kind of attitude was also what lead her to ignoring her Navi's usual pleas for action. She knew he got all antsy without something to apply himself to, but that didn't mean she had to bend over backwards every time CT needed to bust some heads. She had, by her own admission, way too much stuff going on for that. This time, though. This time would be one of those rare instances where she folded. You keep an active Navi all cooped up like that for awhile and you start to feel guilty, like you're neglecting a puppy. That was what CentaurusMan was, really, a big, dumb, armored puppy.

She reached over, groping half-blind in the artificial dusk of the window blinds, and dragged her PET over from the far corner of her desk. Squinting, she brought the screen up to eye-level, leaving her face to face with the T-shaped visor of CT's helm.

"What is it, what's the problem?" Mostly, she was asking for his sake. She already knew what the problem was.

"As much as I'm loathe to interrupt your studies, m'lady," If he noticed Zoe's brief, involuntary grimace, he was too polite to say anything. "I wonder if we might be able to embark on a virus hunt this eve? It's been many a moon since our last, and our coffers have run quite dry, no? He was right on that count. She could barely scrape together enough Zenny for dinner, let alone clothes or new chips or whatever it was they needed now.

"Iunno. I'm getting pretty involved in this paper here. I can't just break out of my groove now." Of course, just because she agreed didn't mean she couldn't tease him about it some.

"Lady Goldman, please reconsider! I-"

"Yeah yeah. I was just messing, you big lug. We'll go ahead and jack in in a sec. Just gotta save this thing and we're off, okay?"

"Very well! You shan't regret this, I promise you as much!" If it weren't for the helmet, Zoe could've sworn he was blushing.

Zoe saved what progress she'd made and closed the document, then readied her PET.

"A moment, my lady!"

"Huh?" She paused, PET halfway towards the port.

"Don't you feel we're missing something of import?"

"That being...?"

"You know full well!"

Zoe sighed exaggeratedly, but still she smiled. "Alright, fine. But just this once."

She rised the device above her head and struck as dramatic a pose she could without standing up.

"Jack in! CentaurusMan, execute!"

[To ACDC Net]