NEW NAVI?! WUT?!

Suddenly... Shuffle appeared on the 'net. He didn't arrive in any flashy beams of light, nor portals nor other visible means; he was just... there.

And he was looking for a fight.

"Come on, BOB, learn to have some fun once in a while. We've finally got a break from that casino work, so we should use it!" Shuffle said, wildly gesturing with his arms.

"If that is what you wish, sir." BOB replied, an image of the robotic operator appearing next to Shuffle and keeping pace with him. "I do not see why we had to use this particular network, however."

"Well... we're just starting out. And while I might be totally awesome, you're kinda new at this, being a robot and all." Shuffle explained, smirking.

"I have approximately 200 books worth of Netbattling strategies in my head, sir. I'd thank you to remember that." BOB stopped walking all of a sudden, and the image disappeared, replaced instead by his voice in Shuffle's head. "It would appear there are some roguish types ahead. Prepare yourself, sir!"

((Roguish types = Viruses, FYI. Also, battle pleeaaaase.))
Virus Attack!

CanondumbA: 50 HP
CanondumbB: 50 HP
CanondumbC: 50 HP

Shuffle.exe: 140 HP

-IT'S TIME TO D-D-D-D-DUEL!-
-BATTLE 1!-
-HAJIME!-
[Numbercard rolls this turn: Suit = Club, Number = 5]

"Canondumb?! OH NO!" Shuffle mock-panicked, holding his hands to his cheeks. "They're surely smart and/or mobile! What a threatening trio of viruses!" Shuffle dropped his hands to his sides and chuckled. "Alright, let's open this up with a numbercard!"

Shuffle pulled out his trusty mini-deck of number cards and began to shuffle it, eventually pulling out the 5 of Clubs. "Hm. The 5 of Clubs, eh...? Alright then! Come on out!" Shuffle tossed the card outward, and it burst into a cloud of smoke which eventually dissipated, revealing a busty, shapely woman with pale white skin and long, waist-length brown hair clad entirely in a black jumpsuit, with the number 5 above her head. She looked the viruses over. "So... these are the enemies, eh?" She cracked her knuckles. "Not a problem." The woman, Shuffle's 5 of Clubs, burst forward and thrust her fist out at the nearest Canondumb, quickly opening up into a small combo of punches and kicks before she disappeared.

Shuffle smirked. "Always a firecracker. Hey BOB, mind sending me some firepower down here?" Shuffle inquired, cracking his neck. The following Cannon and Shotgun that downloaded onto his left and right arms respectively did little to impress him. "A Cannon and a Shotgun? Is that all we have?"

"...Yes. We also have a Rageclaw, but I'd like to save that for later, sir." BOB replied.

"Ergh. Oh well, I suppose we can hope these guys drop some more firepower..." Shuffle began to circle the Canondumbs, dodging and weaving from side to side. He opened up with the Cannon first, and the ball of light that resulted from the shot careened straight towards the Cannondumb that 5 had attacked earlier. Shuffle wasted little time with that attack, however, and once the chip had disengaged from his left arm, he raised his right and aimed at the Canondumbs as he circled, waiting... waiting for him to get a good angle to shoot both... Now!

Shuffle fired off the shotgun, and the powerful burst that resulted threw him away from the Canondumbs, knocking him on his arse in the process.

1: Numbercard
---Attack (15, Break) @ Canondumb A
---Attack (15, Break) @ Canondumb A
2: Cannon (40) @ Canondumb A
3: Shotgun (50) @ Canondumb B/C
Looks like Shuffle was wrong about them being mobile, at all. The wimps just stood there and took the attacks![/sarcasm]
So yeah, owned.

CanondumbA: CARD'D
CanondumbB: BLASTED!
CanondumbC: SHRAPNEL'D

Shuffle.exe: 140 HP

-VICTORY!-
Get: 300z
Shuffle looked at the money that lay on the ground before him, and gave off a 'tsk'. "I suppose Lady Luck wasn't on our side this time. Oh well, money's always something we could use more of, even if I would like some more firepower." Shuffle touched the Zenny and it instantly disappeared, uploaded to BOB's systems. "Well then... let's see what else we can find."
He finds...
MORE VIRUSES! What a surprise!

ShrubbyA: 50 HP
ShrubbyB: 50 HP
ShrubbyC: 50 HP
Spikey: 90 HP

Shuffle.exe: 140 HP

-THIS HAND OF MINE-<shot>-
-BATTLE 2!-
-HAJIME!-
[Numbercard rolls this turn: Suit: 3(Spade), Number: 4]

"Heh. Four viruses this time, is it...?" Shuffle grabbed his right shoulder with his left arm, and flailed his right arm in a circle, popping it. He repeated the process with his left arm, and then let out a deep sigh. "Well! I'll have to make sure I don't disappoint them!"

Shuffle pulled his deck of numbercards out of seemingly nowhere and began to shuffle. He eventually finished, and pulled out the four of Spades with a flourish. He looked at the card and grinned. "Well, not one of my better cards... but at least it's better than the damn two!" He lightly tossed the card outward where it burst into a cloud of smoke, which then cleared, revealing a four-armed man, each arm carrying a sword with a spade-shaped tip.

The same all-black motif also followed with this card; but rather than a form-fitting suit like the Clubs had, this particular card wore a black shirt with four long sleeves and a pair of field hakama. His feet were seemingly nonexistent. His hair was brown, and styled spiky. His face was drawn into a cold frowning glare, and his eyes seemingly had no irises. Upon closer inspection, however, one would notice that he does indeed have irises: they're merely black.

Four turned to face Shuffle, and spoke. "I live to serve. What would you have me do?"

Shuffle pointed at the Spikey. "Attack it."

"As you wish." Four needed no further instruction: the moment Shuffle gave the order, he was already on his way towards the Spikey, his dashes and hops pushing him forward. He skidded to a halt just short of impact, and brought down each of his four swords thrice on the space the Spikey occupied, then repeated the process, striking again, and again, and again. Finally, he backflipped away from the Spikey, and disappeared in midair.

Shuffle's arms had, again, turned into a Cannon and a Shotgun. He sighed, then dashed at the group of viruses ahead of him. He dodged and weaved his way through the crowd, then jumped high into the air, firing off the Cannon at the Spikey. When he landed, he then quickly circled the Shrubbies, looking for a good angle to catch two of them at. When he found it, he quickly stopped and fired the Shotgun at them, and the force of the shot sent him tumbling to the ground.

1: Numbercard
---Attack (12 @ Spikey, Sword)
---Attack (12 @ Spikey, Sword)
2: Cannon (40 @ Spikey)
3: Shotgun (50 @ Shrubby A/B)
The four of spades did it's thing, and started to hack and slash at the Spikey. Shuffle managed to hit the Spikey with his cannon, and took out two of the bushes with his shotgun. The recoil that send him into the ground caused the log the third bush shot to bounce over him instead of right into his face.The Spikey fired it's ball of flames at Shuffle and managed to hit him in the foot.

ShrubbyA: Leaves
ShrubbyB: Wood chips
ShrubbyC: 50HP
Spikey: 20 HP

Shuffle.exe: 120
[Numbercard rolls this turn: Suit: 4(Heart), Number: 10]

Shuffle pulled himself from the ground quickly and looked behind him; that log had come far too close for comfort. He turned around... just in time to realize his foot was on fire. He quickly beat the small fire out with his gloved hands, and then glared at the Spikey responsible.

"Set me on fire... eh? Well then, let's hope I can pull out a firecracker!" Shuffle pulled out his trusty deck of Number cards and shuffled them, eventually drawing the 10 of Hearts. "The ten of hearts?! I haven't seen her in a while, but she's not exactly what I need right now. Ah well." Shuffle tossed the card outward, where it then landed on the ground, and continued with his business. "BOB! Send me our last battlechip!"

"The Rageclaw, sir?" Came the reply.

"Yes, the Rageclaw. Send it!" Shuffle snapped, annoyed. When his gloved hand morphed into a bear claw moments later, he looked less than impressed. "Bah! First thing we're doing after this run is buying some more battlechips!" Shuffle ran towards the Spikey and hopped over it, grabbing it by it's tail as he landed.

Shuffle swung the Spikey around him, faster, and faster, until the resulting phenomenon made him look like some sort of odd top. He watched and waited for just the right moment... and then let go, sending the Spikey flying at the last remaining Shrubby.

Shuffle ran at the Spikey as soon as it was on it's way, and hopped over and past it and the Shrubby. He spun on his heel when he landed, and thrust out the Rageclaw at the Shrubby-- with any luck, the combined attacks would kill both the Spikey and the Shrubby.

Shuffle felt a hand on his shoulder, and slowly turned his head to look into the angered eyes of the 10 of Hearts. "Forgetting something...?" 10 said, glaring at him.

Beads of sweat began to collect on his face. "Uh... no! I'm not forgetting! I was just... killing those viruses first!" Shuffle quickly replied, holding up his hands defensively. 10 seemed to calm down at this, though she still eyed him with a glare.

The 10 of hearts-- Shuffle took a moment to look her over before continuing that dazzling conversation with her. The heart number cards were natural-born nurses; the lot of them had no way to fight whatsoever, and the nurse uniform that all of them wore reflected this. 10's upper-left chest was adorned with 10 hearts in a line, a sign of her position as well as her number. She wore a nurse cap on her head, which had a small heart where the red cross would typically be, and the short skirt and stockings she wore were a bright white. She also wore stiletto heels-- something that 10 in particular was known to whine about the uncomfortableness of. The short blond hair and blue eyes that highlighted her face could be used two ways; either as a means to charm men, or as a means to frighten them. The 2 of the Heart suit came to Shuffle's mind-- that poor boy was always being bossed around and picked on by 10 for being 'almost completely useless'. Shuffle had to admit it was true, seeing as how the boy's healing capabilities were next to nonexistent.

Shuffle pulled himself from his thoughts and looked back to where 10 was to continue talking to her-- only to find that she was gone and his wounds had been repaired.

1: Numbercard
---Heal (+20 @ Shuffle)
---Heal (+20 @ Shuffle)
2: Rageclaw (@ Spikey, throw at Shrubby. 20 to both from impact.)
3: Rageclaw (40 @ Shrubby)
In an amazing display of claw usage, the last two viruses were taken out.


ShrubbyA: Leaves
ShrubbyB: Wood chips
ShrubbyC: Bedding
Spikey: Became one with Nature

Shuffle.exe: 140


Reward: 225 Zenny + Heatshot
Shuffle touched the Chip data and Zenny that had fallen on the ground, and it disappeared, uploaded to BOB.

"Finally! Some firepower! Let's continue, then!" Shuffle smiled and ran off, furthering himself along his path inward.
Virus Attack!

BandcoonA: 50 HP
BandcoonB: 50 HP
MetoolA: 40 HP
MetoolB: 40 HP
BunnyA: 50 HP
BunnyB: 50 HP

Shuffle.exe: 140 HP

-blargle-
-BATTLE 3-
-FIGHT!-
[Numbercard shiz this turn: 2... of Hearts. ARGH.]

"Tonight... I'm gonna have myself... a real good time... I feel aliiihiiihiiihiiiiiive! And the world... I'll turn it inside out, yeah... I'm floating around in ecstasy..." Shuffle was... singing?! Either he liked that chip more than BOB thought he had, or he was planning something. Shuffle pulled out his number card deck and twirled it on one hand, still whistling the tune. He shuffled it once, thoroughly, and then threw one half into the air, and then caught it with the second half, effectively splicing the two together. He drew a card.

His grin died about then. "The 2... of Hearts. My most useless card. Greeeeaaaat." Shuffle facepalmed, for just a moment, and then gazed at the card in his hand. He sighed. "I guess it's better than NOTHING!" He haphazardly tossed the card outward...

And a feminine teenage boy, with brown, spiky hair dressed in a FEMALE nurse's uniform appeared, frantically trying to tug the miniskirt down lower. His appearance was actually similar to Shuffle's, if you dressed the two in the same uniform, but with one huge difference-- Shuffle didn't look like a girl. 2 only stopped tugging on the miniskirt when Shuffle loudly cleared his throat, causing the boy to turn towards Shuffle, bowing and muttering a stream of 'sorry's.

Shuffle sighed. "So, 2, how's 10 been?" he said, placing a hand on the card's shoulder.

"She... she's been fine. Yeah. She's been good." 2 said, nervously scratching the back of his head with his right hand.

"That's not what I mean, 2. How has she been treating you?" Shuffle replied, pulling the card's gaze to his own.

"...Mean, as usual..." 2 sighed, looking down.

"You haven't gotten the replacement uniforms?"

"Well, I did, but she just took them again... including the one I was wearing..."

Shuffle grimaced at that comment, images that he did not want to see flooding his head. "...Tell her that if she... Um... tell her that if she doesn't stop, I'll replace her, mmkay? It's a simple matter of finding another card and slipping it in my deck."

2's eyes went wide. "You're... you're not really gonna replace her, are you?"

"Her?" Shuffle snorted. "Of course not. But it usually scares her into behaving for long enough anyway." Shuffle turned away from the card, and spoke to BOB. "Hey, BOB, send me some chips. My card shuffling kinda flopped out on me."

BOB's voice echoed in Shuffle's head. "As you wish, sir."

Shuffle's left arm transformed into an odd, blazing red buster, and his right transformed into the by-now familiar form of the Shotgun. He turned towards the viruses, and his brow furrowed, his mouth drawn into a scowl.

And then he charged, opening up on the viruses first with the shotgun, the loud, scattershot blast barreling through the air. The Heatshot that had downloaded onto his left arm was used next, fired at one of the Metools, leaving only the burning smell of Ozone in it's wake.

1: Numbercard
---Heal (+4 @ Shuffle)
---Heal (+4 @ Shuffle)
2: Shotgun (50 @ Bandcoon A/B)
3: Heatshot (40 @ Metool A, Fire)
BLASTED, SCORCHED, Er... healed?
Well anyway, Shuffle managed to take out the BANDCOONS and the Metools, which, for some reason, were in perfect position for being shrapnel'd. The Bunnies attacked, one mising due to bad aim, and one hitting, yet the damage is kind of healed, no?

BandcoonA: BLASTED
BandcoonB: SHRAPNEL'D
MetoolA: BURNT
MetoolB: BACKFIRED
BunnyA: 50 HP
BunnyB: 50 HP

Shuffle.exe: 128 HP
[Numbercard: 7, Diamond.]

Shuffle grumbled, recoiling from the electrically charged ring the Bunny had fired. It still stung a bit... at least, until the weak healing energies from Two kicked in.

Shuffle rolled his head in a semicircle, popping it more than once, and let out a breath. His arms tensed as he reached for his greatest weapon...

...And he pulled out lucky number 7. "Hm. The 7 of diamonds." he mused, scratching his chin. "Not bad..." He tossed the card outward, where it burst in a convenient lens flare that was obviously photoshopped in later, revealing...

...

...

...Alright, who let the nerd onto the set?

A brown-haired girl, dressed in a somewhat oversized, button-down shirt, a pair green and brown, plaid sweatpants, wearing a pair of grossly oversized glasses, with her shoulder-length hair done up in a pair of small pigtails. She also wore a pair of white tennis shoes, and a small, brown wristwatch. She held a small ring-binder in her hands, which she clutched over her chest defensively. She noticed Shuffle and hid her face behind her ring-binder, just barely peeking above it with her eyes. Shuffle sighed.

"Hey, seven, I've got a Laser Gatling and a pair of thermal goggles with your name on 'em!" Shuffle held up the aforementioned pieces of equipment which, surprisingly, actually had the word 'Seven' imprinted on them in various places. Seven quickly dismissed or dispelled her ring-binder-- Shuffle didn't know which, and he didn't care-- and strode over to where Shuffle was, her brown eyes determined as she reached out for the alluring pieces of tech...

...Only for Shuffle to pull them out of the way at the last moment. "Ah ah ah, taking the stuff without so much as a kiss?" Shuffle chucked at the girl's immediate blush as she shrank back, on the verge of resummoning that ring-binder of hers...

Shuffle held her equipment out once more, and shook his head, smirking. The seven of diamonds was one of the few cards that truly intrigued him... ah well. Shuffle felt the heavy, bulky form of the laser gatling being lifted from his hands, followed by the relatively light pair of thermal goggles, and let his hands drop to his sides. He made a show of lifting his head to look at Seven when he heard the whirr of the gatling beginning it's rotations, and then immediately jumped to the side as bursts of laser fire scorched through the air where he stood seconds earlier, heading towards one of the Bunnies.

Seven slowly strode forward past Shuffle, grinning like a maniac as round after round sped through the air towards the Bunny, not a care in the world- "OY! SEVEN!" She suddenly spun towards Shuffle, who found it in his immediate interest to hit the deck as shots whizzed by overhead. He sent the trigger-happy card away with a snap of his fingers, and stood, shaking his head. "I have got to get that girl some psychotherapy. Either that or a recoding."

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance, sir...?" Bob said, his voice surely the EPITOME of excitement despite the fact that he always sounded the same. Nevertheless, Shuffle found himself with his last two chips-- the Cannon and the Rageclaw-- now within his systems.

Shuffle grinned, a passive smile melded with something a bit more sinister, and thrust his arm out towards the bunnies, fist lightly curled. Energy gathered within his arm, and he chuckled, just a bit, before clenching his fist tightly, sending a blast of energy outward that made his arm recoil.

Shuffle shook his arm to clear it of the energy, little sparks and glimmers flying upwards to dissolve into nothing... until his arm twisted into something far more sinister than before, bloodied fur springing into being around a massive set of claws. Shuffle gave his arm a few swipes to test it out, and then burst into a full on run towards the pair of bunnies.

As he began to grow near with his approach, Shuffle spread his claws outwards, putting them in the perfect position to pierce...

...the Bunny! Shuffle's arm snapped out when he drew close to one of the creatures, and with a guttural near-roar of power, he hefted it into the air and hurled it at it's partner, his breath heavy as he watched intently for the results.

1: Numbercard
---Attack @ Bunny A (21, Seeking)
---Attack @ Bunny A (21, Seeking)
2: Cannon @ Bunny B (40)
3: Rageclaw at Bunny B, throw at Bunny A (20 to both)
Well... 7 fired her shots... and Shuffle's cannon did hit. And the poor bunnies... poor little things...

Reward: 400 zenny
Shuffle walked straight over and past the zenny on the ground, which uploaded itself to BOB as he passed. He was still in fighting condition... It wouldn't hurt to continue. After all, the longer he stayed, the more money they got...

((Battle 4))
((Modlock engage))
Shuffle finds more viruses. They seem to be hiding something, but probably aren't. After all, they're just viruses.

CanodumbA: 50 HP
CanodumbB: 50 HP
CanodumbC: 50 HP
SpikeyA: 90 HP
SpikeyB: 90 HP
SpookyA: 50 HP
SpookyB: 50 HP
SpookyC: 50 HP

Shuffle.exe: 128 HP

BATTLE 4! GO!