Ship Sets Sail

Lyn and Ship managed to patch things up on the fly, and soon the duo were ready to fight again. The viruses seemed ready as well, and one of the Bunny viruses hopped forward before whipping its ears at Ship and producing another ring of electricity. The ring once again flew at Ship, who strafed around it with ease. The viruses now realized they were in trouble as a bundle of logs tumbled at them. However, when your only method of escape is hopping, doing so gets a bit difficult. All three enemies scrambled to get away at once, and only ended up struggling to get around each other as the logs rolled over them and left nothing behind.

BunnyA: DELETED
BunnyB: DELETED
Spikey: DELETED

Terrain: 100% Normal

Battle 3 Complete!

Ship: 100HP GET: 350z
Lyn watched the last virus blink into extinction as the log rolled over its body, puffing on her pipe contemplatively. Another perfect run, it seemed. She let out a small grunt of approval, crossing her arms across her chest and allowing a nod.

"It was great again, right?" Ship responded, easily slipping back into her starry-eyed hunt for approval. "How was everything?"

"Good," Lyn pronounced clearly with an effort and a sour tone. "You did good."

"Right, but I mean," Ship began, nudging her fingers together shyly, "I mean, we were discussing strategy as Navi and Operator so I thought that maybe you can break down the motions and explain the finer points of the-"

"F*ck you!" Lyn shouted in the middle of the park, tilting her hat down on her head and baring her teeth. "It's supposed to be a compliment, arrite? Don't push your luck!"

"You're the boss," Ship replied with a complacent smile, returning to scouring the Net for viruses and bobbing along in a good mood.

(Battle 4)
Ship's good mood lasted for a whole two minutes before she came across her next foes. Two thin white viruses floated ominously in front of her. High above them a purple bat cried out and began to descend. Lastly the cavalry arrived: two dull looking Beetanks. It would be a minute before the PulseBat could really do anything, but the rest of the viruses were ready to go. Ship heard a clanking sound as the tanks prepared to fire.

PowieA: 60HP
PowieB: 60HP
PulseBat: 80HP (High Altitude)
BeetankA: 50HP
BeetankB: 50HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

Ship: 100HP

Battle 4 Start!
Ship and Lyn hadn't been openly conversing, but the Navi was still satisfied with the less oppressive atmosphere as Lyn had switched to simply seeming disinterested instead of actively cold-shouldering her Navi. Ship could tell that Lyn had tensed again, though, the viruses came into view. "Hey, Lyn," the Navi piped up. "Sorry to bother you, but it seems-"

"Yeah, I see 'em," Lyn interrupted, speaking evenly as she reached into her folder to draw out chips. "There's small fries all over the ground, but did you notice that one up above?"

Ship directed her attention to the bat in the air. "Oh, right, I see it. I admit I'd missed it before..."

"That bastard's an ELEC virus," Lyn said as she slotted in the Shotgun chip. "You haven't taken any hits yet in the Net, but with this bunch of viruses here, things could get serious. I don't want your first experience of pain to be one of those things screaming in your face, cause trust me: that sh*t'll hurt. It looks like it's going to have some setup time, though, so we're going to wait for it to come to us. Go ahead and take out the threats on the ground before then. I've given you a shotgun for the tanks, and your bank wave can go ahead and start whittling down the others. Keep on edge and watch out for their incoming attacks?"

"You're concerned about the electric virus?" Ship said, receiving the shotgun data over her right arm as she talked. "So that means you really do care what happens to me, right?"

"Hmph," Lyn said, smirking and shutting her eyes. "It's just that I won't have any Navi I'm training getting their *ss-kicked the first time they meet an off-element virus." Lyn took another draw of her pipe.

Ship considered for a moment, then suddenly giggled. "But those bunnies were electric, too, right? You really do care what happens! Trying to act all cool-"

Lyn gagged on the draw she'd been taking momentarily, letting out an unhealthy wheeze and drawing back as her eyes watered. "F-F*ck off and get to the fighting!"

The Navi did as she was bid, still boasting her confidence supplied by having as-of-yet not been exposed to pain in her cruise of the Net. The Navi began a coasting motion that gradually picked up speed as she circled the viruses. She took careful aim with her shotgun, trying to align the round bodies of the waddling tanks in her sights. They'd already begun to ready their shots, but she didn't want them to have a chance to attack. She let the shotgun fire, making sure to steady it with her hand this time recalling the recoil last time she'd used it. She turned the boat suddenly and drew it to a stop, dipping the front to raise a wave that went toward the viruses.

"That might not... *hack*... might not hit 'em if they jump, but we gotta do everything we can... to even it out for when we take that bat..." Lyn cut her sentence, hitting herself above her chest again to try and clear her throat.

Summary:
Shotgun to BeetankA and BeetankB [50, Splash]
Dodge
Bank Wave to PowieA and PowieB [40 AQUA, Spread]

The Beetanks shuffled side to side trying to get a shot only to be ironically deleted when they had managed to line themselves up perfectly. One of the Powies leapt up to try and get the drop on Ship but she yawed to the side and avoided being crushed by the one ton virus. Her counterattack splashed out and struck both Powies with a light wave before the Pulsebat dropped down and got into an attack position.

PowieA: 20HP
PowieB: 20HP
PulseBat: 80HP
BeetankA: DELETED
BeetankB: DELETED

Terrain: 100% Normal

Ship: 100HP
"Now!" Lyn shouted suddenly. "Ringlog in, get it!"

Ship was still coasting to a stop and flinched a bit from the sudden yelling. "Ah, what? Is there..." Without the time to bring up the chip with her custom graphic interface and integrate it into her design, the log materialized in all its weight in her hands and caused her to lean shakily in her pipe. "Ah!" The Navi scrambled and ended up hugging the log propped against the rim, and clearly in no position to launch into action with it.

"Oi, the bat, remember?" Lyn spat to the side and clenched her teeth. She wasn't really angry, though. For Lyn, this was the run of the mill in Navi training. No matter how much of a prodigy the Navi was (and she had come to think Ship may very well be one), a rookie is a rookie when it comes to thinking on their feet. "Use that log on it, quick, before the little sh*t goes up again!"

"Right ma'am, er, Lyn! Uff!" Ship grunted as she threw the log with a dramatic heave, spreading her arms and kicking up a leg as if she had gained some running distance prior.

The log flew gracelessly through the air, and Lyn was quite aware it was a stretch to get the thing airborne in the first place. She took a few agitated puffs, sparing the panting girl a glance before fishing for chips again. "That was a hoot."

"Uh..." Ship wiped her brow, not sure of how to respond. Picking up that her operator was clearly expecting her to do something, however, she tried to put her mind into overtime. "Oh, right!" Ship, cheering up again. "The next step is dodging, right, Lyn?"

"No," Lyn spat, chuckling a bit and grinning good-naturedly despite the obvious blow the smallest rejection dealt her Navi. "Wait. But be careful." The operator picked up speed in her talking, realizing this was a tactic that had to be done quickly. "All right, those Powies are kind of hard to grab. I'm sending you the Rageclaw, but don't go to them. Keep your eye on em, wait for a drop, dodge the falling one and chuck it. The other won't be able to get out of the way of a mass like that coming at em."

"I'll do my best..." Ship had seen the Powies drop already and was none-too-keen on hanging around just waiting for one to fall, but she wasn't going to mess up an order like this.

"It's a pretty advanced tactic that'll require some timing. If you can pull this one off, I'll be impressed," Lyn commented while cleaning her ear.

Impressed? "Yes, ma'am, don't worry!" Ship gushed. "There's no way they'll get by my-"

"Concentrate!" Lyn barked. At the last moment, Lyn wondered if she shouldn't be worried about that PulseBat they had just assumed was finished...

Summary:
Ringlog to PulseBat [50 WOOD]
Dodge (focused on Powies)
RageClaw (the Powie that comes) to (the other) [20 and 20]

(P.S. I dunno if that last point is going to work, but I couldn't think of how else to do it. If it doesn't, don't bother warning me to change it, just do what you want with it... unless you see it as seriously wrong or something, in which case please tell me if I'm going to lose like all my health or something.)
A log-throw started off the next round as the viruses readied themselves to attack. The Pulsebat opened its maw to attack as it screeched, no, wailed loudly in Ship's direction, which she didn't foresee, getting hit by the sonic blast. (30) The bat then got hit by the log Ship threw before launching off into the sky. Then, the Powies flew up on top of Ship, just in time for one of them to be grabbed and hurled into the other. Unfortunately, the other managed to avoid its heavy ally and slammed down on Ship, which she easily dodged.

PowieA: 20HP
PowieB: DELETED
PulseBat: 30HP (High Altitude)
BeetankA: DELETED
BeetankB: DELETED

Terrain: 100% Normal

Ship: 70HP (RageClaw 5/6)
No sooner had the thought of the Pulsebat crossed Lyn's mind before its screech reverberated through her ears. Ship let out a feminine wail as Lyn clenched her teeth. "The f*ck?" Lyn shouted. "How did it survive?"

With no time to answer, Ship maneuvered to throw the Powie. Seeing as she was still shaken from the first pain she'd ever felt on the net, however, her aim was understandably a bit off. Ship let out a sigh as the heavy mass shattered on the floor of the net and clenched her bear-clawed fist. "Lyn, it looks like the bat wasn't dead..."

"What the hell?" Lyn cried. "But it's an elec virus! There's no way the log shouldn't have-"

"Are you sure it's an elec virus?" Ship interjected, causing her operator to pause. "W-well, either way," the Navi began with a sunny disposition. "I'm still all fine! I'm still running at 70%, so why don't you-"

The sound of a large metallic thud interrupted Ship. She could see on the two-way display that the PET was being jostled in a clenched fist as the operator performed some apparently exasperating action and the thuds continued. After a second of this and seeing Lyn's hat fall to the ground, Ship called out to the operator.

"F*cking stupid worst mistake of my life damn this half-cocked worthless..." Lyn continued to ramble on like this as she repeatedly slammed her head into a lamppost near her in the park, to the horror of the nearby parkgoers. "I'm supposed to be a Navi coach! How worthless am I if I can't even tell a virus's type?! I'm a total failure!!"

"D-don't worry about it, Lyn, I'm still all right!" Ship shouted, unsure if her operator was listening. To her dismay, the sound of the pounding resumed. "I'm all right... I mean, uh, you tried your best... It's the thought that counts...?" Ship babbled, trying to get her operator's attention. As she saw a substance drip by the display that she alarmingly identified as blood, she cried out, "Lyn, there are still viruses! You need to operate!"

Slowly, Lyn rose the PET to head-level again to communicate. Ship saw a bloody bruise on her forehead from where she must have been pounding, but all things considered she was astounded it wasn't an open gash from the sounds she'd heard. Her operator's face, however, was still a portrait of misery.

"You really take virus-busting seriously?" Ship asked, giving her operator a sympathetic smile.

Lyn slowly nodded her head as she absently felt into her folder for a chip. "Cannon," she muttered. "Use it on your left... snipe the bat." She then huddled down next to the bloodstained lamppost and muttered to herself some more.

"D-don't worry about me..." Ship told her operator, although she seriously doubted she had anything to do with what had just taken place. Any any case, Lyn clearly... had enough to worry about without her Navi included. Ship quickly took aim with the cannon that had materialized on her arm, spotting the bat that had given her her first taste of pain. Another Navi might have thought of revenge, but Ship's mind was still focused squarely on pleasing her operator as she fired the bulky weapon. Ejecting it for her regular arm in favor of good movement, she began poising herself to deal with the Powie in the same manner she had before. She kept a careful eye on the virus as she waited with her Rageclaw. Well, she figured, for a thing like that, there's probably not much it can do but just try and fall on me, right...?

Summary:
Cannon to PulseBat [40 + knockback]
Dodge (focused on PowieA)
RageClaw Powie A [40]
After much pole bashing and head injury, the team finally got their groove together and...

...blew up one bat. It seemed kind of anticlimactic after the head slamming, but it worked.

The powie bounced around in it's floppy form while Ship maneuvered her hull around and started swiping at it with her Rageclaw. Surprisingly, it actually got hit.

Looks like that's over with.

PowieA: DELETED
PowieB: DELETED
PulseBat: DELETED
BeetankA: DELETED
BeetankB: DELETED

Terrain: 100% Normal

Ship: 70HP

-VICTORY-
Get: 400z, Pulsar1
With the Pulsebat down and the Powie suddenly looking a lot less troublesome, Ship made quick work of it so she could turn her attention back to her operator. "Are you all right, Lyn?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lyn said, straightening her hat back on her head and returning her pipe to her teeth. She chuckled a bit and turned the display to show her Navi the pole... it was pretty seriously dented. "My old man always said I was hard-headed, so this is nothing to me."

Lyn's incredibly stale pun was lost on Ship as her mind tried to run through what the repairs to that pole would probably cost... she could already see her operator getting cranky over her mentioning it, though, so she decided to leave that up to Lyn. After all, she thought to herself, she doesn't seem the type who'd be overly concerned with the authorities... "S-so, how about it? Are we ready to call it a-" Ship was once again in awe of how quickly her operator's mood could cloud over as a scowl began to appear across her previously grinning face. "... Uh... a win, and continue on our quest of, er... virus busting?"

"Now you're talking," Lyn said, leaning back against the pole and smoking as the various parkgoers did their best to create as much distance between themselves and the vandalizing hooligan that had taken over their quiet retreat.

[Battle 5]
The plain landscape of ACDC Net was blemished by the appearance of a strange navi screaming incoherent gibberish. He was clad in black chestplate and wore a crude brown scarf that flapped around as if it had a life of its own. Curious, Ship moved in to investigate.

"NO! YOU'RE JUST A CRAPPY NETOP!" he barked at the heavens, "WE CAN ONLY WIN AGAINST VIRUSES BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO ANYTHING ELSE!"

The navi sat down and crossed his arms, pouting at the top of his lungs, "...NO, I'M NOT WEAK! YOU JUST CAN'T GIVE ME THE RIGHT CHIPS, JORDAN! NOT THAT WE GET ANY BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BUST! I JUST WANT A GOOD CHIP! ONE GOOD CHIP! I'M HATE USING THIS STUPID, STUPID RAGECLAW ALL THE TIME! AND MY NEGATIVE CRUSH ZONE ENDER WOULDN'T EVEN HIT THE FLOOR IF IT WASN'T FOR GRAVITY! WHAT KIND OF CRAPPY PROGRAMMER ARE YOU?"

He noticed Ship's approach and sighed, "OH LOOK! ANOTHER FIGHT I HAVE TO LOSE BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO GET ME KILLED! AGAIN! MAYBE I'LL GET LUCKY THIS TIME AND KEEP MY ARMS AND LEGS WHEN I DIE!"

There was a brief pause.

"...WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'DON'T FIGHT?'" he asked, shaking his head vigorously, "NOW YOU'RE JUST BEING CRAZY, YOU CRAZY PERSON! WHATEVER! LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH! MAYBE WE'LL ONLY LOSE HALF OF OUR ZENNY! GOD, I HATE THIS SO MUCH!"

He pointed a finger out at Ship, "DARKSPIRITZERO IS GOING TO... He's gonna... Strongest... Ugh..."

His tenacity seemed to die down near the end of his rant. He was still readying his buster to attack but in a very lethargic fashion.

DarkSpiritZero.EXE: 100 HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

Ship.EXE: 70 HP

[Battle 5 - Begin!]
Ship watched the strange scarfed Navi before her with guarded curiosity. Seeing as the figure was obviously talking and expecting an answer, Ship began to greet him as she realized he had taken notice of her. She was cut-off by another rambling string of whining partway through her "Hello," however, and began to put two and two together. "I'm assuming that's another Navi... no virus tricks or anything."

"If you want to call a piece of sh*t like that a Navi, sure," Lyn said, looking at the yelping creature Ship had managed to cross by coincidence.

"Why is he shouting at his operator like that, though, do you think?" Ship asked.

Lyn wasn't really concerned with the question, but rather with listening to what the Navi was saying. Lyn was listening well, and she didn't like what she heard. Having trained a fair share of Navis by now, she found herself cracking her knuckles almost on reflex to the stream of concentrated uselessness coming from the speakers on her PET.

Yes, this was a whiner.

So often Lyn had been forced to take what she considered a passive-aggressive approach to whiners, tormenting them with horrible tasks no Navi could be expected to perform and verbally abusing them until they broke and either shaped up or shipped out. Many times she found herself cursing at the sad truth that if someone paid her to train their Navi, they probably wanted their Combat-Certified By Lyn's Training School pipsqueak back in one piece. The situation Lyn was now presented with, however, was a unique opportunity: the Operator had her own Navi, and could direct it to inflict pain to the point of an EJO to take the sadsack's pathetic ego and wring the snottiness out of it.

"Mr. DarkSpiritZero!" Ship called out. Lyn found herself impressed with her Navi's ability to say such a ridiculous name without breaking out laughing. "Are you challenging me to a Netbattle?"

"There's no 'challenging' to it," Lyn said, already fishing out her chip. "This bastard's already got his gun pointed. Get moving, or even a chump like him'll start wailing on you."

"Right," Ship responded, turning sideways and beginning her strafing glide across the surface of the net with the front turned forward to pick up speed. She wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of facing this frustrated opponent for no good reason, but she understood what her operator was saying. "So, what chips should I expect?"

"Not 'chips,' 'chip.'" Lyn responded, drawing the Rageclaw chip from her folder and slotting it in for her Navi. "One Rageclaw. You'll use that, your signature move, and your buster if it comes to that. We're going to show this little sh*t that a NetNavis skill is about more than the chips he has available to him."

"Okay." Ship was sure she didn't have to remind Lyn that she was already at a disadvantage, having taken a considerable hit in their last battle. Despite DarkSpiritZero's raging about losing battles, at the moment he looked perfectly healthy. Ship would have to hope that Lyn's good sense in judging Navis (which Ship had put her faith in as what would get her accepted as a personal Navi) extended to opponents too. "And that means I'll have to get close, where I know he has a Rageclaw waiting, too..." Ship let out a sigh, but didn't back down.

Her strafing had hopefully taken her in an arc towards the opponent, and she kept building up steam. She didn't have much at her disposal, but she'd use what she had. Her surprisingly sharp mind for battle had already begun considering how she should compound upon her signature attack as a useful weapon. To make this work, however, would require some tricky maneuvering...

Ship had an idea of the technique she would need to use, but going about held the anticipation found in a child first attempting a head-over-heels roll. Nonetheless, there was no time to experiment. Ship had thought about asking her operator about it while they were still searching the Net after their last battle, but frankly couldn't bring herself to ask permission for such a ridiculous request. "Nothing ventured-" Ship began...

... before seeing the surface of the net rapidly approaching her face. It felt like a tremendous weight was pushing her forward and down, and the shadow rapidly rising behind her reinforced this impression. When it seemed like her nose was going to collide with the floor, however, she found herself splashing through it like water. For a brief moment, Ship's vision was entirely blackness, but it quickly cleared up again as she found her body whirling from the floor behind her as the tube of her smokestack rose from the ground like a log shooting up from a lake.

"... F*cking crazy..." Lyn said, briefly stunned. She took her pipe from her lips and played with it absently in her right hand. "A ship somersaulting, huh? You really see everything on the net nowadays..."

What Lyn had seen was Ship's form impossibly dip forward into the net floor, the previously unseen bottom of it rising from behind. The Navi accomplished a full 360 flip before returning to the upright position, sending the wave of water she must have intended toward DarkSpiritZero. In spite of her ridiculous stunt, however, Ship wasn't slowing down. Her plan was to use the wave as cover to approach. DarkSpiritZero would have to dodge to some side, Ship thought, and when he did she would be waiting for him. She held her claw at the ready and dipped her bow into the false water she created, trying to level her height to engage her foe properly.

"She seems to fight along the ground," Lyn noted, fooling around in her Navi's status screens while Ship led the charge. "I'll do her a little favor this time, I guess..." Lyn activated one of Ship's innate abilities from within the console. The operator would remember to let her Navi know about this feature when the battle was finished...

Summary:
Dodge
Bank Wave to DarkSpiritZero [40 AQUA, Spread]
RageClaw to DarkSpiritZero [40, Anchor]
*Anchor (subtype ability)
The mysterious black navi's buster charged as he continued to aim it nonchalantly. Instead of drawing in beams of light, the weapon looked almost inverted, drawing in shadowy streaks instead. The dark swirling energy converged into a ball at the gun's tip before reaching a completed form.

"Negative Crush Zone Ender..." He added lazily right before firing.

The sphere slipped past Ship as she yawed past it leaving DarkSpiritZero even more depressed, if such a thing was possible.

"It missed. WHAT A SURPRISE!" He shouted furiously, "DOES EVERYONE I FIGHT HAVE TO HAVE MAGICAL NO DAMAGE THINGS WHERE I CAN'T HIT THEM?"

Ship's Bank Wave coursed up and was about to crash into the navi but he was quick to materialize a blue shield to protect himself.

"WHO HAS MAGICAL NO DAMAGE THINGS NOW!? HUH?" He cried out as the water crashed harmlessly off his defenses, washing past him.

The diversionary tactic had worked and while he was focussed with blocking off the initial attack, Ship had already worked her way into range with her Rageclaw, dipping down as not to reveal her massive incoming bulk to the opponent.

"WAIT! WHAT!?" DarkSpiritZero yelped as he realized what was going on and attempted to move out of the way. Ship had drawn in too close and her talons raked across the navi's unguarded side just as he was beginning to leap. He landed with his heels sinking just below the terrain as if he had been infected by a fraction of Ship's inherent diving qualities.

"WHAT THE HELL! I DODGED! DIDN'T YOU SEE ME DODGE!? DOESN'T THAT MEAN ANYTHING ANYMORE? THIS IS SO UNFAIR!" He complained, clutching the side of his damaged arm before noticing his feet dipping further down, "AND WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? RAGECLAWS DON'T DO THAT!"

He lifted one foot high up off the ground and was forced to drop it as if it weighed more than he could physically support. He lifted his other foot and found the same situation applied.

"YOU FREAKING CHEATER! WHAT THE HELL! WHAT THE HELL! WHAT THE HELL!" he continued to bellow out incessantly.

DarkSpiritZero.EXE: 60 HP [anchored]

Terrain: 100% Normal

Ship.EXE: 70 HP
Ship felt her claw tearing through DarkSpiritZero and began to feel a bit of the adrenaline from her first NetBattle. She was recalling DarkSpiritZero's "Negative Crush Zone Ender" in some back corner of her mind, and realized that she had probably been very fortunate to successfully dodge it. Battles between Netnavis were indeed a quite different thing from virus busting...

"Ship, I activated your native 'anchor' ability on that last attack," Lyn told her Navi. The operator had taken her pipe out of her mouth to allow her to speak as fast as she'd need to here. While she held it and her PET with one hand, she left her other free for operating the device. "Ground subtypes as you appear to be can use that to root other guys to the ground, which means he can't get airborne to avoid your melee." Lyn had no idea if DarkSpiritZero actually had any such capability, but better safe than sorry. Besides, she was intending to fully dominate him, and that meant pulling out all the stops to show him what a Navi's natural talents could do. "You can handle that yourself if you know about it right? Put that on your first Rageclaw slash this turn, and aim to finish him off!"

Ship nodded, taking in the information even while raising her claw for another slash. Right now, DarkSpiritZero didn't have any distance advantage. As she searched through her directories for the Anchor function, she couldn't help but think how strange it was that she was here suddenly trying to shred another Navi to pieces with her claw. In her line of work she'd seen the Navis of other people in the business and interacted with them on friendly terms regularly. Now, her first meeting with another under Lyn's operation and here she was going at him tooth and nail.

It doesn't matter what I have to do, though, Ship thought to herself. I'm going to do what it takes to become her Navi.

Ship didn't bother to consider what future implications that might have. Instead, having found her Anchor ability, she flexed her imbued Rageclaw and swooped in for her next slash. As she brought the first in a quick arc through the air (and with any luck, her opponent's body), she was already thinking about how to manage the return slash. With two claws, she would be able to bring the other in immediately, but she didn't have that luxury. Instead, she opted to turn sideways slightly, now causing the rail of the ship to dip almost to the water as she leaned sideways. She drew back the Rageclaw and thrust it forward in a snapping jab twice. Ship wasn't quite sure if that would have as much power, but she was hoping that after dealing with the first slash he'd be out of steam for the following assault.


Summary:
RageClaw to DarkSpiritZero [40, Anchor]
RageClaw to DarkSpiritZero [40]
RageClaw to DarkSpiritZero [40]
*Anchor (subtype ability)
DarkSpiritZero tried to scramble away but couldn't escape the second swipe from Ship's Rageclaw, partially due to the fact that he was still bewildered by the anchor ability. He staggered backwards and fell on his behind as Ship closed in with another swing.

Flailing his arms in front of his face, the navi cried out, "JORDAN! SEND ME A GUARD NOW!"

A large yellow shield projected itself from one of his arms as Ship swatted down. The hardened metallic claws rang against the shield and produced a repulsive force that momentarily stalled Ship long enough for DarkSpiritZero to crawl away.

"HAHA! IN YOUR FACE!" he laughed victoriously even while injured and limping away pathetically, "I LURED YOU INTO MY TRAP AND YOU TOTALLY FELL FOR IT! I CAN WIN! I'M GOING TO WIN! NO ONE CAN BEAT THE STRONGEST NETBATTLER IN THE NET WORLD! IT'S TIME FOR DARK MODE!"

A small window popped up behind DarkSpiritZero's head and began to play some music, almost like a theme song. It seemed to reinvigorate him though it was probably just psychological.

Managing to get back up on his feet, he shouted, "SLOT-IN A SHOTGUN, JORDAN!"

He raised his buster arm at Ship while the music blared in the background. He was clearly prepared to fire, but nothing happened. Ship heard some empty clicks and charged in anyways with yet another rake of her talons.

DarkSpiritZero was beyond frustrated and pressed his free hand to his ear as if it would amplify the sound of his voice somehow, "...WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANT TO SHOP FOR CYBER COOKIES? THERE'S NO-"

Ship's attack connected and knocked him down again. He was in critical health and numerous gashes from her attacks were causing him to bleed out. If it wasn't for his Undershirt program, he would have EJO'd by now but this was different from a virus battle.

Still possessing enough energy to aim his weapon, DarkSpiritZero's chip request finally came through and loaded his buster with a powerful piercing round.

He chuckled with a cough, data steaming from the side of his mouth, "HAH! HOPEFULLY YOU'LL GET SHOT AND YOU'LL HOPEFULLY LOSE! HOPEFULLY I'LL GET A LOT OF ZENNY FROM THIS FIGHT AND MAYBE EVEN A CHIP!"

He fired the single shot, piercing Ship right through the chest. She would have been EJO'd as well, but once again the Undershirt program prevented that potential tragedy. Both navis were now at the end of their respective ropes and it was sudden death.

DarkSpiritZero.EXE: 1 HP [anchored]

Terrain: 100% Normal

Ship.EXE: 1 HP [Rageclaw: 2/6 uses]
Ship felt the recoil from her opponent's guard and a thud rang through her head, but as soon as she could shake her head to clear it she had her fuzzy sights back on him. Gritting her teeth, she went in for another slash in spite of her foe's raised weapon. She was breathing a bit heavily now, the smoke in her second stack coming out in erratic puffs to match. With DarkSpiritZero's second shot, however, she let out a shriek of pain and reeled back against her pipe. She tried to steady herself by grabbing the wheel still suspended in front of her, but leaning on it simply made it spin wildly, causing her ship to rotate in place as she hunched over. Data fragments dropped out of the wound in her chest, and Lyn could tell from the look on her Navi's face that this sort of pain was most likely something Ship had never experienced before. Her wide eyes and dilated pupils showed her fear, while her shuddering lips conveyed her attempts to get that fear under control. "Lyn-" the Navi began, breaking for a moment with something that sounded between a cough and a whine.

Lyn took note of these things and her first reaction was annoyance. She'd trained plenty of runt Navis that had gotten themselves to within an inch of an EJO before, but rarely did they show this level of undisguised pain. It dawned on her quickly, though, that if people had come to her with their Navis to train it was quite likely they were newly created and the one thing their life up till now had shown them was pain. Ship had taken a grand total of 3 or 4 attacks so far, and evidently had been around with no experience in combat prior to meeting Lyn. "We've made a mistake," Lyn muttered, now biting on her pipe and muttering out of one side of her mouth. "I assumed this guy had just a Rageclaw, maybe even just a standard starter's chips, but he's obviously got access to defensive chips too. It doesn't mean he's not a loser, but I underestimated him."

"Dark-" Ship began to interject, but as she coughed Lyn picked back up in the interest of time.

"We're going to pull out the stops," Lyn said, drawing her chips. "I'll slot you in the Machinegun... I don't think anyone could miss with-"

"No!" Ship shouted. She had turned so that the back of her ship was toward DarkSpiritZero, and had already begun picking up speed away from him. "We'll win... I'll do it myself!"

"I was wrong, okay?!" Lyn shouted, the pipe loosening in her lip. "My bad, whatever, but I've got my pride. I'm not letting my Navi get defeated on her first time out because I got cocky and underestimated the opponent!"

"You said it yourself, right?" Ship said as she continued speeding away from her opponent. "We have to teach him a lesson!"

Lyn had to admit, she couldn't overlook the Navi's most recent actions... clearly, he hadn't learned anything so far. If she was to bust out a higher power chip, DarkSpiritZero would just be whining about that to the next Lyn and Ship he encountered... "But that doesn't matter now, okay? You've got to-"

Ship was looking over her shoulder at DarkSpiritZero now, her vision unobstructed because her smoke cloud was now an irregular, thin sliver. Lyn's voice tapered off, but it didn't matter: there wasn't time to change Ship's plans in any case. The Navi clenched her wheel tightly as she swiveled in the pipe to face her foe. "Go and learn some manners, you...!" she cried, jerking down sharply and causing the boat to dip and send a sudden, insignificant-looking splash at DarkSpiritZero.

Lyn was mostly too tense from the battle and shaken by her Navi's defiance and conviction to think, but she did have two things going through her head: What happens if I win? and What happens if I lose?

Summary:
Dodge (away)
Dodge (away)
Buster Shot (2x2x2=8)
In stark contrast to Ship's defensive strafing and yawing to avoid attacks, DarkSpiritZero had apparently opted to go all out and rain buster shots everywhere to finish his opponent off. He laughed maniacally as the gun on his arm peppered the field with weak black bolts of energy, each with just enough strength to send Ship offline.

"DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!" He cried, the single word seemingly occupying his entire vocabulary.

A single well placed counterattack struck him square in the chest, piercing through past his back and stopping his reign of terror. He stared down at his emblem wondering why his buster was no longer functioning before it dawned on him.

"N-NO! I WAS SO CLOSE THIS TI-" He sputtered out before he was forced off the network. His defeat was made all the more real for Ship and Lyn seeing a few zenny and some battlechip data lying dormant on the field where DarkSpiritZero had been standing only seconds ago. At the base of Ship's bow, a smoking burn mark was seared in the ground. Had she been a fraction of a second slower, it would have easily been her defeat instead.

DarkSpiritZero.EXE: EJO

Terrain: 100% Normal

Ship.EXE: 1 HP [Rageclaw: 2/6 uses]

[Battle 5 - Victory!]

Get: 625z + Cannon
Ship's eyes fell to where the final shot was headed. As a human might flinch from a ball thrown at them, she recoiled slightly in her pipe, pressing her hands against its smooth surface as if she could make her boat back up this way.

In the end, though, the shot hit the floor of the net just in front of her boat, and only after she'd coasted to a stop to take her aim. If DarkSpiritZero had fired a bit more carefully, would she be the loser now? She pondered it as she raised a hand to her still-racing heart. "Lyn... I did it!" A smile broke through the exhaustion that her face exhibited, and she let out a small sigh of relief.

"I can't believe it," Lyn said with undisguised amazement, holding her pipe now and still glaring intensely at the screen. "If you'd have asked me, I'd have said you were f*cked for sure."

"Ahee," Ship giggled, cutting it short to let out another sigh. "My God, though, Lyn... I don't think I've ever done something so exhausting before... I know I've never done something no dangerous. Do you have your Navis do this sort of thing often?"

"Oh, all the time," Lyn replied, half-joking and giving a shrug. "My personal Navi will need to be able to eat guys like that for breakfast."

"Ah..." Ship, catching the jovial nature of her reply, relaxed a bit. "Oh, my, though... when he entered Dark Mode, I thought we were done for..."

"Huh?" Lyn replied dryly, returning her pipe to her mouth. "Dark mode?"

"Right, you heard him." Ship answered with seriousness. "The power of a Navi in Dark Mode was horrifying... When he said he was activating it, I almost lost hope. So many shots coming at once... do all Navis have that kind of ability?"

Lyn continued staring at her Navi for a few seconds before first cracking a smile and breaking into a teary guffaw. "Buh... no, only losers like him resort to Dark Mode," the operator said, returning the pipe to her mouth to hold her free hand to her side. "But with my training, Dark Mode won't be giving you any trouble in the future!"

Ship failed to catch her operator joking here, but responded with an immediate look of glee in hearing Lyn say she'd be trained. With DarkSpiritZero narrowly defeated, the two claimed their prize and Ship beamed out of the Net, the synthetic water beneath her vanishing as well.

[Jacking Out]