SINNBAD's Trials

Chapter 1 - Meep?

A flash, a thunderclap, and a beam of lightning struck ACDC's Netscape. A portal from the other side had formed for a few moments, a swirling vortex of energy, allowing access to this digital world. A dark gray navi, covered from head to toe in pale-white plated armor, stepped through. Heavy boots clanked on the artificial floor as the navi walked. Its body was in the shadow of the doorway's light, obscuring its features. The navi raised its right arm up across its chest, slightly away from its body, and looked down at its forearm as the navi cleared the portal.

Where one would see skin or a sleeve, a large cylinder stood surrounding the navi's forearm. Its right arm was where its Buster slept. The navi's right hand flexed a little. A window formed on top of the navi's weapon, allowing the navi to look at whatever was displayed on the view-screen. In this case it was the navi's operator.

"The plug-in was a success."

A male voice said as the portal closed behind the navi. The display showed a ponytail wearing white male in his mid-twenties, wearing a basic white shirt. His lower half was not visible, but it was assumed he was wearing pants of some sort. His hair was a dirty blond color. He had light stubble growing across his face, but was otherwise kempt. He did not wear anything over his eyes, like glasses or the like. His eyes were a blue-gray color, reminiscent of pools of water in an underground spring with the sun hitting it at just the right angle to make it glow. His backdrop was that of an apartment room.

"We haven't tested your voice-synthesizer yet. State your name."

Since the portal was closed, the navi was no longer bathed in its shadow. The navi's features became more apparent at that point. The navi was a male. That much could be gleaned from the overall shape of the navi. His face was covered on top by what looked like a rounded knight's helmet with his mouth and nose covered by a nondescript mouth guard. The only part of his face that was visible was his eyes and the skin across the middle of his face where his eyes were located. The skin was white like his operators, slightly more tanned than the paleness of his armor. His eyes were a dark gray, as if they were fogged over with rain clouds.

"S-... Self-commanded... In-... Intercommunication Network Navigator... Battle App-... Application Dilettante... Codename S-... SINNBAD."

The navi stuttered out. Every now and then as he spoke his voice looped to a lower or higher pitch. However, it seemed that his voice was taking on a mostly medium baritone. The operator tapped a little on his PET as SINNBAD tried to talk for the first time, every few keystrokes managed to correct an anomaly or balance the navi's linguistics program. Finally the operator was convinced it was a success. He turned his attention back to his navi.

"Good. It looks like there is one more calibration to make SINN. State your operator's name."

"D-Destin Obscura."

The navi choked out with little trouble. It seemed that his voice was almost 100% stabilized with those last modifications. Destin nodded to his PET. SINN should have no problem communicating now. Destin now turned his attention back to the task at hand. He pulled up SINN's diagnostic subroutine and had it run a full diagnostic, which only surprisingly needed a minute or so due to the advances made in PET and Navi technology. Destin thought of this pleasantly.

"Ok... Looks good. Your systems seem to all check out. There is a little bit of an anomaly in your Signature Program file, but it doesn't seem too serious. So let us do a little virus busting to work out the kinks."

Destin stated as SINNBAD nodded in recognition and gave a sort of soldier-like salute before he marched forward into the unknown.

[Requesting Battle 1.]

SINNBAD didn't take too long to find some viruses to prove his mettle, as three Bunny viruses leapt out on their spring-loaded bodies. They seemed to be happily hopping along without a care, until, that is, they saw the intruder. At the sight of the Navi, the Bunny began to form a line to begin their attack.

BunnyA: 50HP
BunnyB: 50HP
BunnyC: 50HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

SINNBAD: 150HP

-BATTLE ONE, FIGHT!!-

BING.

Came a chirp from Destin's PET as SINN's Signature Program went green. It looked like the problem had corrected itself. And none too soon, as some virii were spotted. Upon noticing the bunnies, SINN took on a defensive stance. His body stooped a bit, knees bending under the weight of his armor, and his right hand retracted into his Buster.

"Ok. We are going all out on the first run to test your limits."

Destin said as he slotted two battlechips into his PET, one at a time. The first one altered the aperture of SINN's Buster. The cannon attached to the navi's arm morphed into a two headed beast. It was hunting season for SINN, as his double-barreled shotgun spent little time before discharging a buckshot of whitish-gray bolts at the clumped Bunny viruses. The cone of energy slugs buzzed across the intervening distance between the two sides like a swarm of angry bees intent on stinging.

Most likely this attack would cause the bunnies to break and make a run for it, if any survived. As such SINN kept a firm eye on their actions and took aim at the least wounded of the survivors. What looked like a baseball appeared in his hand as he watched. When the timing was right, turning sideways like a pitcher, his arm sped forward and he threw his second battlechip weapon at the bunnies. Then watched the result.

As it sailed through the air, it unfolded like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon, until what was left was a flapping piece of origami in the shape of a stylized angel/Easter Island statue. With speed that seemed unnatural, it flew until it was over the bunny virus. The thing chased the bunny until it was sure that it could hit, then transformed. It grew many times its own size into a huge stone weight, that must have weighed a ton or more, and fell. The bunny would most likely meet a gruesome, crushing death under this strange creature.

Summary
1: Shotgun [Battlechip]: 50 Null Damage + Spread1 to Bunny A and B.
2: Take Aim at Bunny C.
3: Quake1 [Battlechip]: 100 Null Damage + Impact to Bunny C.

Bad idea to form a line, as SINN's shotgun blasted through the first two Bunny without much trouble. Then, SINN threw a large Quake virus towards the remaining Bunny, but the little frisky thing managed to run away before the gigantic weight could drop its load. The Bunny then fired a shot towards SINN, who was a bit too focused on his assault to see it coming.

BunnyA: DELETED
BunnyB: DELETED
BunnyC: 50HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

SINNBAD: 130HP [Stun! -1 Action]

The all too familiar feeling of electricity flowing through the body came back, as electricity flowed through SINN's body. The armor amplified the current, making the little hairs of his skin stand up on end. His muscles seized up for a moment, pausing his actions like a video game. As he recovered from the stun enough time passed by that he would have to do less before the virus attacked again. His Buster awkwardly skipped about as he tried to aim its point at the Bunny virus.

His weapon fired two rounds at the target. The Buster gave off a few sparks as it fired, and a noise similar to that of the Cannon Battlechip, if not as loud. Tiny white cartridges materialized out of the side of SINN's weapon as he shot at the bunny, clanking upon the digitized ground, dissipating after a few bounces. The whitish-gray slugs of Null energy rocketed across the battlefield, intent on proliferating the bunny with fist size holes. SINN was not much for dodging, hopefully that didn't bite him in the ass later.

Summary
1: Stun.
2: Shot1 [Signature]: 30 Null Damage [Shot Type] to BunnyC.
3: Shot2 [Signature]: 30 Null Damage [Shot Type] to BunnyC.

Signature Cool Downs:
1: Shot1: 1 Turn.
2: Shot2: 1 Turn.

In SINN's stunned state, it was easy for the Bunny to leisurely hop up to the Navi and prepare to attack. Unable to move, he watched as the Bunny charged up its ears and drew them back to hit SINN like they were stun batons. Just as it seemed he'd be getting another shock, the stun wore off and he frantically jabbed his buster into the Bunny's face. Two powerful shots ended the virus a second before it attacked.

That was a little too close for comfort.

BunnyA: DELETED
BunnyB: DELETED
BunnyC: DELETED

Terrain: 100% Normal

Battle 1 Complete!

SINNBAD: 130HP

Rewards: 400z

SINNBAD shook himself a little. Tiny sparks occasionally flared up as the aftereffects of virus' shock wore down. SINN readjusted his armor and helmet. He pulled his gauntlets and his boots tight. He even went so far as to dust himself off. There was not much in the way of dirt, just some darkened spots on his plated chest where he was struck.

"Note to self, keep on your toes... When you are ready SINN, head out."

Destin commented to SINN and himself for future reference. SINN gave a nod of his head in recognition. Being electrocuted to the point of helplessness was not something he wished to deal with again. Thankfully his injuries were minor and he could continue to battle. SINN stretched a little and then squared his undefined jaw, marching forward to his next challenge. Destin wondered if one of the three bunnies they just deleted was the one they saved from the last bust they did.

[Requesting Battle 2.]

Two Metools and a Champu blocked SINNBAD's path. It looks like there's a Shrubby behind the Champu too. Well whatever, it's a simple fight regardless.

MetoolA: 40 HP
MetoolB: 40 HP
Champu: 60 HP
Shrubby: 50 HP [behind Champu]

Terrain: 100% Normal

SINNBAD: 130HP

[Battle 2 - Begin!]

SINN stopped as he was confronted by the second group of viruses. This group was a little more diverse than the first one, including three types of virii. All three types were encountered in the last bust SINN had with Blitz, so SINN had yet to meet anything new on his trek. As such, there were no surprises to the battle. The only thing that was different is that SINN had been upgraded.

"Guard1 Battlechip Download."

Destin said as he slotted in their only defensive chip. An opaque golden barrier formed up around SINNBAD. But that was not to be his only defense, as SINN decided to run. He took up a play from his last major battle and circle-strafed around the battlefield in a clockwise direction, watching the viruses for signs of attack. Hopefully he would be quick enough to dodge any potential attack made by the virii. If he wasn't, well, that was what the Guard1 was for.

"Shotgun Battlechip Download."

Cried the operator again as he determined to take out two enemies with one shot. SINN picked his targets as the two Metools, the weakest and most easily deletable of the four. He fired a barrage of slugs into the two helmeted virii as he circled, attempting to catch them unawares at an angle. White casings trailed in his wake as SINN ran, emptying his clip in a matter of moments. SINN just hoped they would not duck into their impervious shells and deny him his victory. Thinking his attack was successful, he turned his attention to the remaining two virii.

The air around SINN crackled. Tiny plumes of smoke popped and sizzled around the navi as he moved. SINN stretched his right arm out, his hand reappearing to point his index finger at the Champu. Minuscule pangs of electricity drew from the immaterial, sparking around his extended fingertip. The crackling energy built until it was clearly visible, a swirling orb of electrostatic current. SINN waited for the Champu to try to take a swing at him. When it did the slightly invisible bullet would fire from the battle navi's finger. If it struck the Champu, the blast of voltage would probably screw around with the viruses' movement, causing it to be pushed away. For without being in melee range, the Champu would be relatively harmless.

Summary
1: Guard1 [Battlechip]: (1 Hit Shield) + (Reflect up to 60 + Piercing + Line Attack).
2: Run/Dodge around battlefield in clockwise circle/strafe around group of virii.
3: Shotgun [Battlechip]: 50 Null Damage + Spread1 to Metool A and B.
*Repulse [Signature]: Knockback to Champu if it teleports up and tries to attack.

Signature Cool Downs:
*Repulse: Passive.

SINN threw up a shield to protect himself from the oncoming viruses before taking off around the battlefield. Despite moving quickly, about halfway to his destination the Navi's Guard broke and revealed the Champu being hit with its own attack. It backed off as SINN stopped and aimed a Shotgun blast at the Metools. The slow and uncoordinated viruses were easily deleted as the burst enveloped them.

As he turned back to the Champu he found it already winding up for a punch, so SINN reacted by blasting it back past the Shrubby it had started near. Another attack successfully countered. His final trial came when the Shrubby sped to the Champu's side and launched a giant log at him. The Navi dashed towards it and vaulted over it, landing safely on the other side near the last two viruses.

MetoolA: DELETED
MetoolB: DELETED
Champu: 50 HP
Shrubby: 50 HP [Beside Champu]

Terrain: 100% Normal

SINNBAD: 130HP

SINN landed right by the two virii and exhaled. It was a lot of work keeping abreast of several different targets while running and dodging the whole time. The first two Metool viruses were quickly subdued by gunfire, giving SINN the breath and time he needed to deal with the last two virii. Now that there were only two remaining, he could finish them off in one go. He would tap into his new powers to deal the finishing blow.

SINN threw his arms out wide to his sides, palms outstretched. The very air coalesced into ribbons of code that snaked out of the ether and wove themselves around the navi's form. SINN grasped the datum firmly with his hands. His fingers glowed like a beacon as the strings were absorbed into his body. His right hand retracted once more as he pointed the cannon at the last two viruses. He fired one shot at each. The blasts, enhanced by the code that wormed around each white-gray energy slug, didn't have much distance to travel before they would impact against their targets.

Summary
1: Codestring Augment [Signature]: Two instances of Strengthen 20.
2: Shot1 [Signature]: (30 + 20) 50 Null Damage [Shot Type] to Champu.
3: Shot2 [Signature]: (30 + 20) 50 Null Damage [Shot Type] to Shrubby.

Signature Cool Downs:
1: Codestring Augment: 1 Turn.
2: Shot1: 1 Turn.
3: Shot2: 1 Turn.

((Just a note, I've been informed that Champu attacks count as Impact and as such they don't get reflected, just blocked. I won't reverse it though, since that will leave you with one 10HP virus.))

With the Champu disoriented thanks to being blocked and subsequently repelled, SINN hitting it with one of his shots was easy. The second shot pegged the unconcealed Shrubby square in the face and tore through it, deleting it.

MetoolA: DELETED
MetoolB: DELETED
Champu: DELETED
Shrubby: DELETED

Terrain: 100% Normal

Battle 2 Complete!

SINNBAD: 130HP

Rewards: FireHit1, 250z

((So Impact is immune to Guard1, beyond the blocking? Where is that listed? I thought only Break counted against Guard1, as it is a shield. Or is it a barrier?
EDIT: PaladinGC says it is not a counter and therefore unaffected by Impact.))

SINNBAD dusted himself off once more. Taking time to check all of his equipment and retrieve the dropped money and item. The item SINN picked off the ground looked like another battlechip. Which upon further scrutiny, it was. The data was uploaded to Destin's PET.

"Good, another battlechip. I was hoping for one from the last fight, but this is a good enough time as any. I'll prep a blank for imprinting.

Destin said as he opened a drawer in his desk. It contained a number of blank battechips stacked up in neat piles. He slotted in a blank and pressed the confirm button when the PET asked him if it was ok to download the chip file. A little status bar came up and started to fill slowly. Destin minimized the window and spoke to SINN.

"When you are ready SINN, continue to the next skirmish.

SINNBAD nodded as his right hand reappeared. He adjusted the glove on that hand before setting off to his next task. He hiked forward with grim determination. His boots clanked on the digital landscape as he moved. Kicking up little clouds of dust and deep footfalls in the dirt.

[Requesting Battle 3.]

Two Kabutanks backed up by a small squad of Spookies approached SINNBADD with very obvious hostile intent. The viruses arced up their twin barrels and prepared to fire.

KabutankA: 80 HP
KabutankB: 80 HP
SpookyA: 30 HP
SpookyB: 30 HP
SpookyC: 30 HP
SpookyD: 30 HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

SINNBAD: 130HP

[Battle 3 - Begin!]

SINNBAD took off almost immediately upon seeing the tank viruses aim at him. He had never encountered their ilk before, but they looked deadly. His body once more showed that the armor he was wearing wasn't as heavy as it seemed. He weaved from side to side like a snake as he attempted to close the distance between himself and the viruses. Hopefully, a fast approaching, nimble target would make it hard to aim large cannons at him effectively. As SINN got closer, Destin slotted in their defensive chip.

"Guard1 Battlechip Download."

A semi-opaque, golden tower shield appeared in SINN's left hand. He held it in front of him like a ram as he sped forward. It should absorb some of the flak he was guaranteed to take rushing toward the line like this. He brought his Buster to lean across the right side of the Guard1, pointing at the virii armored core. Destin slotted in another chip.

"Shotgun Battlechip Download."

White casings flew from SINN's Buster as he bled through a clip of Null slugs. The shots rang out as they sped across the battlefield into the enemy armor. He left a slowly dissipating serpentine trail of empty shells behind him as he ran. Most likely he was being fired at by the tanks at this time. Explosions probably tracing him as he gunned forward, hopefully missing him or impacting on his shield. The scene that was playing out was like those in action movies. The hero assaulting a line of heavily armed Mooks, guns blazing. Manly.

Summary
1: Run/Dodge toward the virii line.
2: Guard1 [Battlechip]: (1 Hit Shield) + (Reflect up to 60 + Piercing + Line Attack).
3: Shotgun [Battlechip]: 50 Null Damage + Spread1 to Kabutank A and B.

The Kabutank bombs exploded behind SINNBAD as he rushed into the group of viruses with a Guard in hand. A well aimed Shotgun blast struck both of his targets dead on but failed to delete either of them. One Spooky warped forward to attack but was whiplashed by its own tongue. Another seemed to use a recovery ability on one of the damaged tanks, repairing some of the damage that had been done.



KabutankA: 30 HP
KabutankB: 60 HP
SpookyA: 30 HP
SpookyB: 20 HP
SpookyC: 30 HP
SpookyD: 30 HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

SINNBAD: 130HP

Destin was confounded. He was unaware that the ghost virii had Recovery abilities. They were just like those lamp-posts he dealt with earlier in the week, except that they probably wouldn't heal SINN. He would have to make a note in the future to finish a job in order to prevent such healing, if he encountered these virii again. Thankfully, he was rewarded in the last fight with the means to finish off the tanks.

"Get in-between the tanks. Let's test out this new chip. Firehit1 Download."

Destin said as he slotted in the Firehit1 battlechip. SINNBAD ran to get between the two tank virii. His fists erupted in flames as he reached the intended midpoint. He glanced from side to side in order to judge the distance, he was almost point blank. He then threw both his arms out to his sides, like he was drawing in data. Except instead of drawing in data, his fists shot off their fireballs simultaneously. Heated jets blazed away from him in two directions, each aiming for a armored virus. Hopefully, the tanks would burn to cinders with this move.

"Now get moving!"

Destin called out again. SINNBAD didn't hesitate as he pushed off the ground into a roll before straightening up into a zigzagging dash, using the momentum he gained from the tumble to carry him forward. SINN ran away from the potentially torched and twisted metal piles of his enemies, using them initially for cover as he broke to the East. His feet light with each step as he attempted to evade the scary, licking, healing ghosts. Hopefully, their teleporting powers wouldn't ruin this plan and that he would have enough warning to dodge out of the way of a tongue or two. Sustaining any more damage could potentially end up causing Destin to use one of his two reserve health sub-chips. And with battles to come, that was somewhat unacceptable.

Summary
1-2: Firehit1 [Battlechip]: 60 Fire Damage + Impact + Double Attack to Kabutank A and B.
3: Run/Dodge the Spooky ghosts!

SINN used his flaming fists to smash through two viruses, then went into a momentum-charged sprint, trying his best to avoid the attacks of the ghost viruses. One flew up and licked at him, but he managed to outrun it. Unfortunately, he ran straight into another one, which attack him by unrolling its long pink tongue and slapping him across the face with an effect like a taut whip.

KabutankA: DELETED
KabutankB: DELETED
SpookyA: 30 HP
SpookyB: 20 HP
SpookyC: 30 HP
SpookyD: 30 HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

SINNBAD: 120HP

SINNBAD was struck by the long pink tongue of a Spooky. This caused him to flinch quite violently as he was essentially stung by a whip. His forward momentum, with the added sting of the ghost's tongue, changed his direction and sent him cartwheeling to the side. He fell prone in the dust of ACDC's Netscape and rolled. Like some sort of soldier he managed to regain his own momentum and managed to roll into a crouch.

His right hand disappeared again as he brought his Buster up to fire. He aimed at the first uninjured ghost virus and took a shot. Then he stood up and took another shot, this time at a different Spooky. Then he was moving again. The white-gray bolts scorched across space as it went, intent on driving holes through the semi-transparent apparitions. But SINN didn't even look at the result as he concentrated on keeping himself from being hit again.

Summary
1: Shot1 [Signature]: 30 Null Damage [Shot Type] to SpookyC.
2: Shot2 [Signature]: 30 Null Damage [Shot Type] to SpookyD.
3: Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me! I'm the SINNBAD man.

Signature Cool Downs:
1: Shot1: 1 Turn.
2: Shot2: 1 Turn.

SINNBAD shot a few ghosts like a trigger-happy psycho in a shooting range, deleting a couple of the nasty apparitions quite easily. The remaining Spooky warped up to him and extended their dastardly tongues, but his quick dodging made sure the attacks didn't connect.

KabutankA: DELETED
KabutankB: DELETED
SpookyA: 30 HP
SpookyB: 20 HP
SpookyC: DELETED
SpookyD: DELETED

Terrain: 100% Normal

SINNBAD: 120HP