Nitro's Break

Nitro appeared in a flash of green light. Taking a quick look around, he found himself in an area nearly identical to the one Chris had just entered. "Hmm..." Nitro remarked. "Not to shabby," He looked down at himself, and noticed that he was still in his normal armour. "Though I don't think I'm correctly dressed for this."
"Oh, one moment," Chris said. He reached over to his PET, pressed a few buttons, and Nitro found himself in a completely different outfit.
"Hey, not bad!" Nitro said, looking himself over. "The tattoo's a nice touch, you could've made me a bit more tan but otherwise, I like it! At least you didn't make me wear a bikini or something."
"Hehe, yeah..." Chris trailed off.
"... You didn't."
"I did."
"Seriously? Why would you even think of that?" Nitro said, irritated.
"Look at it this way, you could get into the women's section if you really wanted to," Chris said.
"...I could, couldn't I?" Nitro considered. "...Nah, not today." Nitro walked over to the waiting pool of relaxing water, and lowered himself in.
"Ahh..." Nitro sighed.
"Drink it in, buddy," Chris said, from his own relaxing slice of heaven. "We've earned this."
"We certainly have," Nitro yawned. "We certainly have." Nitro let himself soak in the spring for what seemed like hours, letting his worries flow out of his body and into the water."
Nitro sat back and relaxed in the warm water, steam rising up to open his pores and cleanse his body and soul. The healing properties of the onsen were slowly restoring his vitality, soothing away the aches and pains of countless encounters with viruses and opposing Navi. Yes, he was getting a well deserved bit of relaxation. Now, the question is, how long will this last?

Something moved beneath the water a few yards from the resting Navi. A long, lithe form cut through the warm water like a blade moving through silk. Whatever the entity was, it was quickly moving closer to Nitro. Was it benign or malicious? Would it strike out at the inattentive Navi? What would Nitro do in response?

((Hello! This is basically just an impromptu mission. You can accept or not. Basically, since there aren't really supposed to be viruses in the Onsen, I set this up. Of course, you might have something else in mind, I dunno. Just let me know if you want to participate.))
Nitro began to sense something was amiss, so he slowly opened his eyes and took a look around. He peered over the top of his sunglasses, and he thought he saw a dark shape moving in the water. Nitro suddenly became alert, and he scrambled out of the water, turning around on the stone floor beneath him. His hand quickly changed into his buster, and he pointed it at the pool of water. He stood, shivering from the sudden exposure to the air and dripping onto the floor, waiting for whatever was in the water to surface.

((Mission Accepted))
Nitro scrambled out of the water and readied his buster, weapon trained toward whatever was lurking beneath the water. The entity dived deep, its form vanishing amidst the steam. Silence permeated the onsen as Nitro awaited what was to come. Seconds passed and nothing stirred within the depths of the pool.

The water exploded violently as a monstrous form erupted from beneath its surface. The creature crashed into Nitro before the Navi could respond, pinning his buster to the floor. The creature opened its jaws wide, razor sharp fangs glistening, as it drew closer to Nitro's throat...And began to lick his cheek with a warm, leathery tongue. The creature barked out a high pitched, playful yip and licked Nitro's face once more before waddling off the Navi and crouching on floor.

The creature was about four feet tall when standing on its hind legs. It was reptilian in nature, with cobalt blue scales that covered it from head to toe. Its head resembled that of a large lizard, with two small horns emerging from the top of its head and a short, leathery frill that swept back from the back of its skull to the tip of its three foot long tail. Its body was short and squat with a round tummy. The creature's forelimbs were short and thin, ending in a paw with three minuscule claws. Its hind legs were much larger, capable of supporting the creature's weight, and ended in two clawed toes with a third claw emerging from its heel. A pair of small, leathery wings sprouted from its back, though they were obviously not large enough to allow the creature to fly.

All in all, what looked to be a baby dragon had emerged from beneath the waters of the onsen.

The creature stared at Nitro intently, golden eyes seeming to glow. It yawned widely, revealing a row of tiny, pointed teeth and a long, forked tongue. It yipped again at Nitro and then sat down and stared at the Navi.
Nitro stayed still for a moment, attempting to proccess just what had happened. He changed his buster back into a hand, and pushed himself off the floor and rose into a sitting position, looking at the creature. He then decided to contact his operator.
"Uhh... Chris?" Nitro said.
There was a moment of silence, during which Nitro didn't take his eyes off the small creature. Finally, his operator responded.
"Ugh, what is it Nitro?" Chris said, with a tired annoyance in his voice. "I'm trying to relax over here."
"I'm not entirely sure, but I think I might've just made a new animal friend." Nitro said, still watching the creature.
"... Hold on, I'll take a look," Chris said, climbing out of the Onsen's water. He dried himself off with a nearby towel, then grabbed his PET. "Alright, now what exactly happened?"
"I was just sitting in the water," Nitro explained. "And suddenly, I see something moving around in the water. I get out and get ready to shoot whatever it is, and this, I don't know, dragon jumps on me and starts licking my face." Nitro walked over to the baby dragon, and crouched down to its level. He reached out to it, and started scratching it behind its horn. "What do you think?"
Chris thought for a moment. "Well..." He said. "I don't think its a virus, there aren't supposed to be any in the Onsen... Maybe it's a support program, and someone forgot it here."
"Well whatever it is," Nitro replied, now scratching under the dragon's chin. "It seems friendly, at least for the moment." He began talking to the dragon, in the same manner that someone might affectionately talk to a dog. "Where'd you come from, huh? What happened to you?"
The dragon yipped again, small sparks of electricity igniting along its tongue. It stared at Nitro for a few moments more before stretching its wings and turning to waddle off toward the exit. Its powerful hind legs propelled its fat little body toward a hallway that lead away from the bath Nitro was in. It paused for a second and looked back at Nitro, practically asking the Navi to follow. Then it dropped down into a low crouch and began to sneak down the hall and into a different part of the onsen. The sign above the pathway that the dragon entered listed it as the women's bath.
Nitro straightened up as the little dragon waddled away, heading down the hall. "It'd probably be a good idea to keep our eye on it, huh?" Nitro said to his operator.
"Yeah, why don't you follow it down the hall? It looks like it want's you to follow it, anyway."
Nitro started walking briskly toward the dragon, and stopped when he saw it crouch down and sneak along into the women's bath. "Wait, why is it going down there?"
"I don't know, but you should probably keep up." Chris replied.
"I can't go in there, it's the women's bath!"
"Is there anyone nearby?"
"No, why do you-" Nitro was cut off as he began to shine brightly, his form changing to a more feminine shape. When the light died down, Nitro once again found himself as a woman, this time in a dark green bikini. "... I wonder about you sometimes, Chris."
"Whatever, just keep following that dragon. You should be able to get into the women's bath without much hassle now."
Groaning slightly, Nitro took off down the hall, after the squat little dragon.
Nitro, now clad in a two piece swimsuit complete with a more feminine physique, wandered into the women's bath just in time to see the young blue dragon slither behind a stereo speaker designed to look like a boulder. Looking around, Nitro could see the layout of the women's bath from his position just inside the hallway. The bath was set up like a natural grotto with a large, open air hot spring complete with smooth stones and a variety of plant life. Steam lay over the warm water like a blanket. The steam also served to hide the dragon as it crawled from behind the boulder and into a screen of plant life. From his vantage point, Nitro could also see that the bath was occupied, by several individuals in fact.

The first Navi was a young girl, perhaps no more than seven or eight. She had long white hair in a single braid that reached to the small of her back. She was dressed in a jet black one piece with a lacy white fringe around the waist. She was sitting on one of the rocks and letting her feet kick idly in the water. She was busy playing with a what looked to be an incredibly ugly stuffed animal. Perhaps it was some form of gargoyle toy?

The second Navi was dressed in a green one piece that tied in the front. The sides of the swimsuit were cut out to reveal the Navi's sides and the tops of her hips. She had auburn hair worn in pigtails adorned with enameled leaves. Her lips were painted a forest green that matched her eyes. As Nitro watched, she slipped into the water a few feet from where the dragon lurked in the bushes.

Two more Navi were conversing with each other while sitting waist deep in the water. Both Navi wore two piece swimsuits, one gold and the other a shiny black. The two seemed to be discussing something important, through their voices didn't carry far.

The dragon didn't bother to seek out Nitro anymore, its golden eyes alight with a strange hunger as it glanced from one scantly clad female to the next. What was it doing in the women's bath and how was Nitro going to proceed?
Nitro stood in the hallway for a moment, evaluating the current situation. He moved his sunglasses up onto his head, to make it easier to see through the steam. Sure enough, he found the little dragon hiding in the bushes, just a few feet away from one of the patrons. Looking around, he saw that none of the girls in the spring had seen the little beast, or had taken any notice of him. He took a step back, and began talking to his operator.
"I can see the dragon," he said. "But there's a whole bunch of girls in here already. What should I do?"
"For now, just act casual," Chris replied. "Just go get into the water, and keep your eye on that dragon. Be discrete about it, though. I'm not sure how they'd react to that thing being in here."
"Alright," Nitro said. He took a deep breath, and slid his sunglasses back down over his eyes. "Here I go."
Nitro stepped out of the hallway and into the bathing area. Taking a look around, he found an open spot along the side that had a clear view of the bushes where the dragon was lurking. He walked around the pool, and slid in. watching the bush out of the corner of his eye.
Nitro slipped into the warm water, keeping his eyes on the lurking dragon. The dragon had noticed Nitro moving toward the water, but didn't seem to recognized the Navi. Still, the dragon's golden eyes were staring intently at Nitro, gaze locked at a point about a foot below Nitro's eyes. As Nitro watched, the dragon's stare turned dreamy and its lips curled up into what could have been a smile.

Meanwhile, the Navi in the green one-piece waded over toward Nitro. She glanced at his female body appraisingly, a slow, lazy smile spreading across her lips. She winked at Nitro in what was obviously some form of signal before she began to speak.

"Hey there, honey. I don't think I've ever seen you around these parts. And I know I couldn't forget someone as cute as you. I was just about to order something, so why don't you come join me and we'll share a drink or two?"

The dragon seemed to have overheard the conversation and its interest was piqued. Its golden eyes flashed from Nitro to the green-clad Navi and back, its smile growing wider in anticipation.

Meanwhile, the young Navi continued to play with her ugly doll and the other two continued their conversation, though it seemed to be growing more heated as their voices began to rise. Nitro could make out something about the NetPolice and the Mafia, along with other such words like deletion and imprisonment and Yumland Water Torture.

It seems that Nitro's dawdling had gotten him in a predicament. How would he respond?
Keeping his eyes on the dragon, Nitro noticed that it had focused it's attention back to him. Something seemed off, though. "Do you think it recognizes me?" Nitro whispered to Chris.
"I don't know..." Chris replied. "But something tells me that who you are isn't that much of a concern to him."
"What do you-" Nitro noticed the change in the dragon's expression. He looked down at himself, and noticed what exactly the dragon was focused on. "Ugh," Nitro said under his breath, slipping down a little into the water, hiding his "equipment". "Did you have to make this thing so revealing?"
"Shh..." Chris warned, dancing around his Navi's question. "It looks like you've got company."
Nitro looked up, and saw the green-clad Navi making her way over to him. His initial thought was oh god, she knows I'm a guy, what am I gonna do? But the Navi's proposal put much more alarming thoughts into his head. He could hear his operator laughing his head off over the microphone, but tried to ignore it as his mind began racing for ideas on how to get out of this tight spot.
Okay, so, what resources do I have available? There's the little girl, not sure how she could help. There's those two women over there, but they seem to be in the middle of something, and from the sound of it, interupting them would probably be a bad idea. Then there's the dragon- He glanced over the lurking beast, and saw it's smile grow wider and wider. Oh hell no, Nitro thought. I'm not putting on a show for you. A plan suddenly came to him. He focused his attention back to the Navi before him. He lifted up his shades, uncovering his eyes. "Sorry, my glasses were getting kind of fogged up, couldn't see you. Anyway, that sounds like..." Nitro looked over towards the bush, as obviously as possible, and put on a shocked expression. He then sat bolt upright, flung his finger at the dragon's hiding spot, and shouted "Oh goodness, what's that thing in the bushes?!"
The dragon's golden eyes grew to saucers as Nitro alerted the rest of the Navis to its existence. It looked around quickly, trying to find a means to escape undetected, but it had slithered too close to the water to back away now. It tried to shrink in on itself instead, doing its best to keep its entire body hidden by the bushes.

"Hm?" The green clad Navi asked. "What are you talking about?"

She turned to gaze at the bushes, trying to spot the object of Nitro's exclamation. The other Navi in the onsen where staring as well, even the two who had been arguing moments before. The dragon crouched lower.

"I don't see...No, wait. What is that?" The Navi asked as she moved closer to the bushes. "It is a...PEEPING TOM!"

The dragon bolted from the bushes as the onsen erupted into a series of shrieks and shouts. The creature pushed itself onto its hind legs and waddled away from the bushes and toward a second exit.

"Arra?" the Navi in the gold bikini stared at the dragon in recognition.

The Navi pushed herself out of the water to follow the dragon. She glanced back at the other Navi in the onsen, hesitating for a moment, and then proceeded to hurry down the hallway.

"So, the bitch had a spy," said a voice from a few feet behind Nitro. "Geist, follow her and find out what she knows. Be as violent as you like."

The speaker was, shockingly enough considering the language used, the young Navi in the black one-piece. She stared down the hallway toward the departing Navi and the perverted dragon. Her eyes were smooth black stones with a glassy, reflective surface. She turned these eyes toward Nitro and her child's face broke into a slight smile.

"Baum," the young Navi said. "Be sure to entertain our guest here."

The black bikini Navi scrambled out of the water to follow the gold Navi and the dragon down the hallway. Evidently she was the one called Geist. The green one-piece Navi, Baum by default, moved closer to Nitro, running a hand along the Navi's shoulder.

"It'll be my pleasure, Kasperle." Baum said to the young Navi before turning back to Nitro. "Looks like we'll be able to enjoy each other's time after all, pumpkin. Aren't you just a lucky girl?"
Nitro watched in amazement at what was transpiring. A lot of things were being processed, but the one thing that everything added up to was that this was a situation that he definitely did not want to be a part of. He was so busy focusing on this though, that he was surprised by the green suited navi stroking his shoulder. He gave a start, then quickly turned to face Baum. "Oh uh, yeah!" Nitro said nervously. "That's really- huh, what's that?" Nitro held up his hand to his ear, pretending to hear his operator giving a non-existant command.
Chris, however, had not quite clued into this. "Huh? I didn't say any-"
"Oh, really? So soon? Well, I guess if they need our help..." Nitro turned back to Baum.
"Oh, I'm sorry, uh, Baum, was it? I have to get going," Nitro said, climbing out of the tub. "I have a mission that I need to report in for, they really need my help. It was nice meeting you, and I hope you all get that, uh, spy problem sorted out. If we ever bump into each other again, remember that my name's Nitro. So long!" During his long goodbye, Nitro was slowly backing up towards the hallway he had originally entered from. Hopefully, these Navis wouldn't give him any trouble as he made his hasty retreat.
"Mission...?" Kasperle said softly. "Perhaps you are a third fly on the wall?"

The small Navi stared intently at Nitro, obsidian eyes seeming to shine in the light. She glanced down at the stuffed animal in her hands, a small smile spreading across her lips. She glanced up as Nitro attempted to make his escape.

"Leaving so soon? Why don't you stay and we'll have a little play date? Baum, offer this Nitro a seat."

Baum nodded, her smile growing wider. She raised a hand toward a pair of bushes, beckoning the foliage toward her. The bushes responded to her gesture, vines rising up and beginning to slither through the water toward Baum and Nitro.

Nitro began to move out of the water and toward the hallway. Baum shook her head, making a soft tsking sound. Obviously she didn't want Nitro to escape. She gestured to another bush which promptly sprouted razor sharp thorns. A branch covered in thorns shot toward Nitro, barely missing the backpedaling Navi and impaling the a few inches away.

"Damn," Baum murmured. "I missed."

Kasperle sighed.

"Do I have to do everything myself?" The Navi asked no one in particular. "Bring her back to me, my pet."

The girl sat her stuffed animal upon the rock and whispered into the creature's ear. The creature began to move of its own accord, flapping its wings and lifting into the air. It let out a shrill shriek and sailed through the air toward Nitro.
Nitro looked over his shoulder and looked at the damage left behind by Baum's vines. "Okay," Nitro muttered. "This is starting to look pretty bad. Chris, get me out of this swimsuit, I just might need to fight my way out of here, and I'd rather do it wearing more than a couple pieces of fabric."

"Alright," Chris replied. "I'm going to put Demogirl on. Revealing that your a guy would probably just make matters worse."

"Whatever, just do it-" Nitro was interrupted by an ear-splitting shriek. He looked up just in time to see Kasperle's toy hurtling towards him. Nitro dove out of the way, and turned back towards the two Navis.

"Look," Nitro said, brushing his hair out of his face. "I just came here to try and relax for just a moment. I didn't ask to get tangled up in this, whatever's going on here." Nitro began to shine brightly, and his revealing swim attire was replaced by his standard battle gear. "I don't want any trouble, but if you aren't going to let me leave peacefully, I'm going to have no second thoughts about blowing you out of my way." Nitro's hand changed to form his buster, and he pointed it at the pair of Navis. "So, what's it going to be?"

[Demogirl.GMO Activated]
"Ah, yes of course," Kasperle sneered as Nitro gave explained his situation. "You just happened to arrive here at the exact moment we locate an undercover operative in our midst. And, you just happen to point out the operative's backup, providing a convenient distraction a mere five minutes before we were in position to prevent her escape. No, I'm absolutely sure that you are here on mere coincidence."

The girl's gargoyle crashed into the ceiling, locking its claws into the ceiling to hold it in place. It stared down at Nitro with menace in its crimson eyes. It was crouched, ready to spring off at Nitro, as it flapped its wings.

"No," Kasperle spoke softly. "I believe that you are in league with that girl and that would make you another operative. I hate undercover agents in my squad. So, Mr. Undercover NetPolice Scum, I am afraid that you are going to have to pay for my displeasure."
"Wait, Netpolice?" Nitro said, lowering his buster. "You think I'm... oh, no no no no no. You're mistaken. Chris, get rid of the GMO."

"Are you sure?" Chris replied. "Well, either way, I guess they know about it, seeing as you explicitley mentioned it." Nitro once again shone brightly, and he was back to his normal, male self.

"Okay, I am not a member of the Netpolice." Nitro said, keeping a somewhat unfitting conversational tone. "I'm a new member of the Teksqp family, I was the one that took down Titanium Cog. Ask OldMan, he'll tell you about that." Nitro paused for a moment. "Now, the circumstances surrounding my being here do seem a little suspicious, but I can give a good explanation. See, that dragon, or whatever it was, was in the Men's bath. It came in here, so I decided it would be a good idea to follow it. Changing into a girl seemed the best way to get in, seeing as guys generally aren't allowed in here. So anyway, I came in to keep my eye on that thing, but Baum here-" Nitro motioned towards the green clad Navi. "-kind of put me in an awkward situation when she came over, so I thought I'd point out the dragon as a distraction so I could kind of sneak away. In hindsight, this probably wasn't the most intelligent thing I've ever done, but, you can be sure that I am NOT a spy." Nitro stopped to catch his breath after his long-winded aliby, when he remembered something that Kasperle had said.
"Wait, did you say "Mr."? How did you know I was a guy?"

[No GMO currently active]

"Hm," Kasperle paused. "An interesting ploy, though not an intelligent one if you are lying. I can verify your claim quickly enough and Kevlarman takes it personally when someone invokes the name of his family."

The girl paused, thinking through her options. If Nitro was a member of Teksqp, she would have to deal with those lunatics. If Nitro was lying, perhaps she could gain favor with some of the major Mafia players by handing him over. Either way, she lost if she simply deleted the Navi her and now.

"Interesting," she paused again. "Baum, please verify our guest's story."

"Do I have to?" Baum looked quite disappointed to find out that Nitro was a man. "I think we should delete him on principle for sneaking into the women's bath and getting a girl's hopes up with that outfit."

"Do it, Baum."

"Fine."

A flower burst forth from the ground and grew until its red streaked petals reached Baum's shoulder. Nitro could possibly recognize the flower as a tulip if he tried hard enough. Baum whispered a few words into the flower and then pressed her ear toward it, awaiting a response.

Meanwhile....EXPLOSIONS!

The wall of the women's bath bowed outward and caved in on itself. Dust rose to mingle with the steam as the wall collapsed. The Navi with the black bikini flew through the rubble at a frantic pace, her body seeming to phase through anything in her path. A volley of golden missiles followed the Navi, two phasing through her while the other three decimated a rocky outcrop.

A stern feminine voice with an accent that Nitro couldn't quite place shouted out from the new opening.

"Kasperle.Exe, Baum.Exe and Geist.Exe! You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism against members of the NetPolice and the citizens of Yoka. You are surrounded. All jack-out attempts from within the hot springs are currently being jammed. Deactivate all combat routines and give yourselves up peacefully!"

"Damn it all to hell," Kasperle muttered.

[Jack-Out Barrier in Effect]
Nitro's head whipped around at the sound of explosions. He instinctively dove forward as the rockets came flying into the room. Watching one fly over his head, he couldn't help but admire the missle's sleek, elegant design. "Jeez," he muttered. "I'll have to swap notes or something with whoever that came from."
"Focus, Nitro," Chris chimed in. "They've got a jack-out barrier in place, we just might have to fight our way out of this."
"What? Are you serious?" Nitro heard Kasperle curse a short distance away. "My sentiments exactly," he agreed. "Some day of relaxation this is turning out to be." Nitro got up, and held his buster at the ready. "Now, usually I try not to get in the middle of fights I know nothing about." Nitro said to the deceptively small navi. "But as long as that barrier's in place, I'm stuck here, and I don't really enjoy the thought of fighting these jerks alone. Either way, I'm fighting, but I could definitely use a hand. So, are in this one together, or are you just going to turn yourselves in?"
"While I appreciate your desire to throw your life away," Kasperle said with a smile. "Luckily, we have other options."

The little girl wasted no time, directing her minion to aid Geist in repelling the NetPolice while Baum worked on finding a way out. The green clad Navi ran toward the wall and placed her hands against the stone. Vines emerged from beneath her fingers, penetrating the wall and seeking a weakness in the barrier. She turned to Kasperle.

"This wall rests against the barrier. We can break through from here without moving past the cops. It'll be a few moments before my babies can drill through."

"Alright," Kasperle nodded and turned to Geist. "Hold them off. We need to buy time for Baum to open our path. Keep that bitch out of this room at all costs."

"I'll take that as a no," the voice from the other room spoke again. "Fine by me!"

Geist stood in front of the smashed wall, raising her arms above her head. Concrete began to rise up from the ground and began to fill in the whole. Two NetPolice officers leaped through the hole before Geist could repair it completely. One of the NetPolice officers took a potshot at Kasperle, the buster shot barely missing the little girl, while the other deployed some sort of flying machine that hovered over the ground. The machine fired a red beam of light that struck Nitro, but didn't seem to do anything in particular.

"Careful," Kasperle said as she directed her gargoyle to attack. "Geist can't defend herself while she's holding the wall. If she gets taken out, we're done for. We need to hold the wall until Baum gets us out." She paused as she noticed the beam. "Damn, that's a tracer. If that thing gets a lock on you, the cops will be able to track you through the Net."

NetPoliceA: 150
NetPoliceB: 200
TracerBot: 50 [Scanning Nitro: 1 turn until lock]

Geist: 150 [Immobilized]
Baum: 100 [Busy - 3 turns]
Kasperle: 200
Gargoyle: 100 [Flying]

Nitro: 140

Terrain: 70% onsen, 30% normal surrounding onsen

Battle for the Wall!