Learning the Ropes

"Whaaugh!" ClampMan yelped and nearly fell backwards once the light fog and mist of his arctic assault, revealing the uncomfortably close, yet thoroughly frozen Spikey viruses. A few seconds later, ClampMan peered through the gap in his claw (which he had placed in front of himself like a shield), since nothing else seemed to happen. He leered at the closest frozen Spikey, and warily tapped its nose with his claw. It made a crystalline *clink*, and ClampMan briefly recoiled, but that's all that happened. That awful chip appeared to have frozen them solid!

His eyes glanced amongst the frozen pack, then he raised his carapace up with the help of his multitude of legs, and peered over to where the Metools had been. All he saw was rubble... In that sudden moment of ice and electricity, he'd ended the battle as quickly as it started? After finally making the realization, ClampMan couldn't help but raise his claws victoriously, though his silence and lack of expression denoted his slightly stunned surprise at the outcome. ["That was... somethin',"] Jack commented; he sounded equally flabbergasted, but Danny appeared much more excited. ["Wow, that was awesome, ClampMan! I've never seen someone freeze a virus solid before!"]

ClampMan lowered his claws and tried to maneuver past the Spikeys to get to the rewards strewn about the alleyway. Danny's comment gave the Navi's ego a bit of steam, and ClampMan appeared to enjoy it. "Heh, nothin' too it!" he boasted before tapping the flank of one of the other frozen Spikeys with his smaller left claw, but the reach caused him to slip. His legs skittered over the frozen floor in a vain attempt to gain grip, and he clattered to the floor with a thud. ["Pffhaha, can't find yer land legs, Mr. Bubbles?"] Jack guffawed. ClampMan composed himself and slowly got to his feet before he carefully scuttled on to solid ground, grumbling and bubbling as he went.

After obtaining the rewards, he guessed there weren't many other choices for where to go, so he continued on.

((Ready for Battle #5))

The alleyway led out to what looked like an abandoned construction site. The skeletal frame of what looked to be a medium-sized building in the middle of construction stood in a dirty lot. The ground was littered with small tools and smaller assorted nuts and bolts. An upturned rusty toolbox leaning against a half-finished concrete pillar greeted him at the entrance of the construction site as ClampMan made his way into the area. It didn't take him long to find signs of life, though how much "life" there was could be debatable.

Sitting on a metal railing with their head morosely cast down towards the ground was a Navi in a dark grey bodysuit, swaddled in a large, tattered reddish-brown cloak. Their face was obscured mostly by a streamlined black helmet that resembled a biker's, with a red visor obscuring their eyes. Underneath the cloak, he could see a dull black chestplate as well, with a small emblem on it, depicting a black swirl behind a sword on a red background. Hearing ClampMan's approach, the Navi lifted their head up, and a scowl could be seen on the only part of their face that was visible.

"Tsk, just my luck for someone to show up, huh," the Navi said, in a voice that sounded like an intensely tired man.

The Navi then hopped off from the railing, dusting off his bodysuit slightly as the cloak around him began to flap around. Oddly enough, ClampMan would be unable to detect any kind of wind in the area. The Navi drew a deep sigh, and readied a fighting stance, putting up his dukes in front of his face. "Alright, let's get it over with, hit me with all you've got. I'm not gonna be afraid of anything anymore," he said.

-- Impromptu Inspector --
ClampMan.EXE: 80 HP

-- Mysterious Morose Man --
???: 100 HP

-- Overseeing Obstacles --
Concrete Pillar A: 100 HP (StoneBody, anchored, northwest)
Concrete Pillar B: 100 HP (StoneBody, anchored, northeast)
Concrete Pillar C: 100 HP (StoneBody, anchored, southwest)
Concrete Pillar D: 100 HP (StoneBody, anchored, southeast)

-- Abandoned Area --
100% Normal

• No effects.

-- Battle 5, Ready? Start!! --

((Turn Splice))

ClampMan's eyes glanced from side to side as he walked (sideways) down the alleyway, and briefly paused as he happened upon the construction site. Everything looked disused and unfinished, which naturally irked the maintenance-minded Navi. "Jeez, leavin' stuff out and projects unfinished like this?" ClampMan burbled to himself as he approached the upturned toolbox, and started to pick up some of the tools with his smaller left claw. He flipped his large right claw so it faced parallel to the ground like a makeshift tray for him to place the tools and bolts he picked up. ["What are ya doing, ClampMan?"] Danny asked, curious why the Navi would start picking up a mess; Danny never really liked cleaning up his own room, and ClampMan didn't even make this mess. "Ya don't just leave your tools layin' arou-" ClampMan started to explain, then froze as he heard someone else speak.

Still keeping the tools in/on his claws, he pivoted in place to point himself towards the source of the noise. His simplistic eyes locked on the helmeted Navi as soon as he came into view, and he couldn't help but click his claws as nervousness started to set in. However, he didn't immediately rear up and wave his claws like usual; even when faced with a possible foe, he didn't let the tools and hardware clatter to the floor.

ClampMan didn't look like he was as down for a fight as the cloaked Navi, and called out to him. "Hang on, is this your mess? If so, you've got some nerve leavin' tools and hardware in such disrepair!" the crustacean-inspired Navi declared, apparently steamed up enough to cause bubbles to form and float up and away from his mouth. Meanwhile, Danny looked down at their chip pile, and moved the BubbleWrap2Protection: 2-hit Aqua element barrier, per turn, for 3 turns
Accuracy: S
Description: Encases the user in a protective bubble, which can take two hits before bursting. The bubble reforms at the beginning of each turn. Elec attacks completely destroy the bubble and damage the user.
Duration: Until end of battle, hit with an Elec attack, or overridden.
Element: Aqua
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Special: If an Elec element attack hits BubbleWrap, it is destroyed, and will no longer regenerate. The user will also take full damage from the attack.
Special: The bubble regeneration stops after 3 turns. An existing bubble will remain in place until broken, however.
Trader Rank: C chip towards Jack, and whispered ["Just in case..."] before he looked back down at the PET, enthralled to see what would happen next.

Jack uploaded the chip, which would've given HangMan a quick notification. He was still focused on what the Navi had to say, but the chip upload convinced him to start carefully putting the few tools and hardware on his claw back on the ground, but this time in orderly rows. If the Navi moved to attack, HangMan would've activated the chip, and summoned a large bubble around his body to hopefully stave off an attack or two.

"Wha--huh? No, I just got here, what do I care about some damn tools?!" the Navi balked, seemingly rooted in place as he watched ClampMan put down the tools that had been strewn about earlier. For some reason, now that ClampMan was in front of him, the crab-shaped Navi could see that the cloaked one was actually shaking in place, and he could barely hear him muttering incomprehensible to himself. However, he didn't throw out any attacks, and simply stood in place. Eventually, the Navi stepped forward and yelled out angrily. "H-Hey! You're not going to attack?!" he bellowed out, raising his buster arm and firing out a shot.

However, just as ClampMan reflexively activated the BubbleWrap's barrier in readiness, it seemed like the buster shot had been fired nowhere near him, and the Navi's shaking was a lot more visible now. The Navi's feet started to shuffle backwards slightly, his boots scraping against the dirt unsteadily.

-- Impromptu Inspector --
ClampMan.EXE: 80 HP (Strengthen 20) ( BubbleWrap2Protection: 2-hit Aqua element barrier, per turn, for 3 turns
Accuracy: S
Description: Encases the user in a protective bubble, which can take two hits before bursting. The bubble reforms at the beginning of each turn. Elec attacks completely destroy the bubble and damage the user.
Duration: Until end of battle, hit with an Elec attack, or overridden.
Element: Aqua
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Special: If an Elec element attack hits BubbleWrap, it is destroyed, and will no longer regenerate. The user will also take full damage from the attack.
Special: The bubble regeneration stops after 3 turns. An existing bubble will remain in place until broken, however.
Trader Rank: C: 2/2 hits, 2/3 turns) (2 actions remaining)

-- Mysterious Morose Man --
???: 100 HP (2 actions remaining)

-- Overseeing Obstacles --
Concrete Pillar A: 100 HP (StoneBody, anchored, northwest)
Concrete Pillar B: 100 HP (StoneBody, anchored, northeast)
Concrete Pillar C: 100 HP (StoneBody, anchored, southwest)
Concrete Pillar D: 100 HP (StoneBody, anchored, southeast)

-- Abandoned Area --
100% Normal

• No effects.

ClampMan recoiled as the shot rang out, the crustacean Navi brought his claws up to shield his face along with the protective bubble that ballooned out and around him. However, he didn't hear the familiar sproingy percussive tone of something impacting the bubble, nor the pain of projectiles hitting his carapace. ClampMan opened his eyes, then peered through the gap in his large right claw. The Navi was still there, but he looked to be more focused on shaking and falling back than pressing the attack.

Feeling slightly more emboldened thanks to the protective bubble, ClampMan yelled out to the Navi in protest. "What are ya shootin' at me for!?!" Jack and Danny continued to watch and listen; from Jack's experience with ClampMan, his tone suggested the Navi wasn't just complaining, he was actually getting angry. The growing "beard" of bubbles foaming from the Navi's mouth was also a good indication, and the muted rumbling and bubbling of the water in his carapace indicated his internal pressure was rising rapidly.

ClampMan was no expert in reading body language, but the fact the program was shuffling back while shaking was enough to clue him in to the program's apparent fear or hesitation. He was also quite steamed up by the program's aggression; up to this point, he'd never met a Navi that actually shot at him, and had never even heard of the concept of NetBattling, so the idea of two Navis fighting was foreign to him. "Don't just go wavin' a gun around! You could hurt someone, ya idjit!" he boiled, spitting bubbles into the air from his split trapezoid-shaped mouth as he spoke.


"Now if you're not gonna help clean this mess up, then scram!" he demanded with a wave of his large claw, punctuated by a loud clunk as he snapped his claw shut in defiance. Meanwhile, the pressure in his body continued to climb, nearly to the point of requiring the use of the vent ports in his claws and around his carapace. He continued to glare angrily at the Navi from the relative safety of his bubble, not really sure what the program would do next.

The Navi was slightly dumbstruck as ClampMan retaliated at him, not with a counterattack, but with an angry rebuke. The bubbling reactions from the crab-like Navi only served to give him further jitters, before a further rebuke caused him to sputter out an attempt at a reply. "I'm, I'm just defending myself!" the Navi said, raising the gun at level with the frothing crab's face. His attempt at re-introducing the threat to the conversation somewhat backfired, as the tattered cape fluttering about his person suddenly flung upwards, obscuring his entire face and causing him to scramble about to get it out of his face. All in all, it was more of a comical display than anything remotely threatening-looking. As he managed to get his self-aware cape under control, he was further intimidated by ClampMan's claw display, finally waving around his hands in a panic. "All right, all right, I give! I give!" he yelled out, stepping back a bit to distance himself further from the enormous claw.

Calming himself down, he exhaled with all the weight of a tired man, as his cape's billowing died down, covering his body once again. "Sorry, just... going through some stuff," the Navi said, rubbing the back of his helmet. The Navi looked around the area, clasping his hands in front of him. "Er, did you come to clean this place up for its owner or something? Sorry, I really did just get here from just wandering around," he said hesitantly.

ClampMan reflexively brought his larger claw across his body in response to the gun pointed at him, though his bubble defense was still active. "From what?? You're the one shootin' at folks!" the crustacean Navi snapped back as his temper continued to boil almost as much as the water in his carapace tank. Danny and Jack continued to watch, wondering if a battle would actually break out, but didn't want to urge ClampMan to physically attack the other Navi.

Thankfully said Navi's wardrobe malfunction was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, spurring his surrender. ClampMan still appeared irate, but the rumbling boil in his carapace started to simmer down. ClampMan further responded to the Navi's surrender with a huff, which spat a stream of bubbles and vented a significant amount of pressure from his body. His protective bubble popped with an unceremonious *blip!*, and his eyes finally looked somewhere other than the Navi; the tools that he left on the ground in neat rows, then the upturned toolbox.

He seemed to mull something over as the other Navi spoke, then made his way towards the toolbox. "No, just wanderin' around just like you. I just can't stand the sight of unfinished work, just gets me steamed!" ClampMan replied before he attempted to pick up the toolbox and set it back upright without recklessly spilling any remaining hardware inside.

As he did so, he briefly paused and peered towards the Navi. "If you wanna make yourself useful, grab any hardware you can find and bring 'em here. Dunno if anyone's comin' back, but at least their tools should be in their proper place if they do," he called out, then got back to work. He tried to look inside to see what else was in there, and examine if it had a lid, drawers, or other compartments so he could figure out what tools went where.

"O-Oh, er, alright," said the Navi, looking rather meek now as he got to work, searching and gathering for things to be cleaned up. ClampMan's wave of his large claw earlier had thrown out all of the assorted bits and pieces that he had picked up, but the Navi seemed to have no trouble at all picking them back up. Tying his tattered cape up into a little pouch, he began to drop them into it as he began cleaning up.

Meanwhile, on his own side, ClampMan attempted to pick up the overturned toolbox nearby. He managed to get it upright, though he couldn't prevent the tools from spilling out. However, judging from how the tools inside spread out, it seemed to suggest that there was no particular arrangement to the box's contents, and that it was little more than a varied assortment of tools thrown in haphazardly. The rusted toolbox was a faded shade of red, and was a two-tiered box. The tools that spilled out looked like a few wrenches, screwdrivers, and assorted drill bits and metal picks. Underneath its lid, he could make out a very dirty label that read "Property of LockMan".

However, interestingly enough, some of the tools that had come out of the box, such as a few of the wrenches, also had the name "HexMan" written on them, though he saw no accompanying toolbox that they might belong to. Nearby, he would also be able to see a portable drill that seemed long abandoned, its cracked plastic carapace displaying a testament to its age. The Navi then appeared in front of him to pick it up. "Ugh, it's kind of heavy," he said, hefting it up in his hands.

He then approached ClampMan, with the pouch slung over his arm. "I've picked up everything in here--um, what's your name? Mine's, uh..." the Navi hesitated for a moment, his pursed lips being the only discernable part of his expression, "Zero. Just... Zero."

"Hrm," ClampMan mumbled to himself as he read the toolbox's label. He started to wonder who this "LockMan" was, and why he'd leave what looked to be a perfectly good, albeit old, set of tools behind. The discovery of several additional tools with the name "HexMan" made him even more curious, but at the moment he was more concerned on how to organize them. Should he put HexMan's tools in a seperate drawer? Leave them in an organized pile on the ground next to the box? Take them with him?

The crustacean Navi mulled it over for a moment, and contemplatively scratched where his "chin" would be with his left claw. His eyes occasionally glanced towards the other Navi; though it appeared he wasn't scheming to start a fight again, ClampMan felt he couldn't be too careful. ["So um... you're on clean-up duty, Mr. Bubbles?"] Jack asked, finally breaking the relative silence back in the living room. "Beats wanderin' around or gettin' in a fight, Cap'n," ClampMan defended himself and spat a couple bubbles from his mouth. ["Well alright then, just don't dawdle too long..."] Jack replied, though he wasn't entirely sure what to do next. The twin slats that made up his mouth moved slightly and independently of eachother, in his own unique way of showing slight contemplation with a tinge of frustration. "Aye aye..."

He decided to relegate a section of the toolbox for HexMan's tools, and continued to attempt putting everything in a logical place when the other Navi approached with his collected tools. "Name's ClampMan," he responded to the Navi's question, punctuated by a soft clack of his right claw snapping shut. "So, 'Zero,' what's with leaving introductions for after the gunfight? I'm not a virus or nothin; do Navis go around attackin' folks?" ClampMan asked, in a notibly more conversational and less frustrated tone. His question seemed genuine, giving off the impression he was quite new to the net.

In response to ClampMan's question, Zero's mouth seemed to open up slightly, as if he was trying to say something, but was hesitating. Then, his lips pursed together, as if he thought better of it, before starting to talk again. "... Um, I've just... been attacked a lot recently--" he started, before catching himself, and shaking his head-- "no, that's not right. I was the one attacking people. My operator told me I had to do that to get stronger... but I lost every time." The Navi crouched down to place what he had gathered up into the toolbox. While it was a bit messily done from ClampMan's attempts at organization, Zero seemed to manage to find room, and tucked everything in neatly into its place.

However, the Navi continued to simply squat in front of the toolbox, looking straight into it as if it would start talking back to him as well. "Eventually, I just ended up getting frustrated, and... I don't really know what to do now," he said. Turning up towards ClampMan, he flashed a slightly sheepish grin. "I'm just... uh, taking a little walk away from the PET. While my operator isn't paying attention. If you get what I mean," he said. "I'm not really sure how to get stronger. I want to be useful to my operator, but... it's kind of hard when he just yells back at me whenever I do anything wrong."

Zero's grin turned into a slightly open mouth, as if he was catching himself on something. "Er, sorry, kind of rambled on there. I think that's all of the tools around here," he said, standing back up and brushing off some dirt from his tattered cape before putting it back on carefully. "You going to keep cleaning up here? I think it's about time I went back."