Marine Science

SciLab Area...it had been a while. SplashMan arrived on the scene in his typical beam of light. "When was the last time we were here? That time we busted with Binary?"

"Yeah. I don't remember anything that's here...aside from CanoGuard and WindBox. And that's not really a big help."

"Well, we'll work it out! By the way..." The Navi suddenly stopped as he heard a squishing noise coming from his back. "Huh?" He could see something on his left cannon with the corner of his eye...something green. "Hey, Blub! What are you doing there?"

The sponge happily leaped off, and bounced in place where he landed.

"Well, that answers that question..." SplashMan took a few steps forward, before motioning towards his SP. "Come on, Blub! We've got battling to do!" Fortunately, he was more than happy to comply, hopping behind the Navi as he started his search for viruses.

(searching for Battle #1)
Two Magtect lie in front of the Aqua navi, darting back and forth, making it difficult to get past. Beyond the pair sits a chubby Miner virus, smiling and holding some kind of weird disc. For the moment, though, it remaining unmoving.

MagtectA: 90
MagtectB: 90
Miner: 100

Terrain: 100% Normal

Splashman: 240
Blub: 40

Battle 1 Start!
...Wow. Compared to the battles he had been fighting in his mission, this looked like an absolute piece of cake. Just had to make sure Blub didn't get in the way of those magnets...

With his usual squishing noises, the Support Program bounced behind the Navi, peeking out from behind his legs with a frightened look in his eyes. Looked like he agreed. "Don't worry, Blub! I'll beat these guys really quick, and then you'll be safe!"

"Yep, and that'll be easy, so long as we focus!" Let's see...MagTect were Elec element, so that'd mean Wood would wipe them clean from the Net. And for just such a situation..."First, we're focusing on the MagTect!" The chip of choice for this would be..."Battlechip, Boomerang! Slot in!"

The Navi's right hand disappeared, and in its place formed some sort of boomerang dispenser, which, naturally, dispensed a boomerang into throwing position. From there, it was a matter of figuring out the magnetic fly virus's movements, and waiting for the right chance.....there! SplashMan tossed the wooden weapon forward, which traveled along in a reverse L-shape pattern, and if he was right, right through the paths of the MagTect while MagTect were occupying them.

As for the disc-wielding virus...he wanted to keep his distance. Something about that disc left him...unsettled, and he didn't want to find out he was right the hard way. "Okay, so...I'm going to stay over here and..."

"You're staying over there? Well, okay then!" Sabrina wanted those viruses gone ASAP. Having him run over to attack would take a few moments. Having him shoot them with some sort of long range weapon would be quicker. But, it'd be faster if the attack was there to begin with..."Just stay there and let me handle it!" Her decision on the matter...a chip featuring a Gaia virus. "Battlechip, BigHammer! Slot in!"

A purple, hammered virus suddenly appeared in front of the Miner, a large hammer held high above its head. And with a single stroke, it lowered the boom with a 'BOOM!', utterly decimating whatever was in that hammer's path...even the air probably felt the wallop. But now, the ever important question...'did we get them all?' Deciding not to take any risks, he picked Blub up, and prepared for evasive maneuvers. Evasive maneuvers with priority on protecting his sponge, to be specific. Even if it meant he'd take a hit himself.

[Order of Turn:
SplashMan
1-Boomerang1 chip attack on MagTectA and MagTectB (60, Wood)
2-BigHammer1 chip attack on Miner (160, Break)
3-Pick up Blub
4-Dodge
5-Dodge

Blub
1-Move behind SplashMan]
Splashman starts off with a boomerrang, chucking it at the two enemies in front. The weapon spins forward, cutting through the first magtect, then turning off to the side to strike the other virus as well. He then using a Bighammer, which crushes the Miner, finishing off the enemy ranks.

MagtectA: DELETED!
MagtectB: DELETED!
Miner: DELETED!

Terrain: 100% Normal

Splashman: 240
Blub: 40

Rewards: 415z, 9 Bugfrags
(OOC: ARGH NO BUGFRAGS RAG-oh never mind)

Like he thought, piece of cake. SplashMan dashed over towards the reward data, Blub still in tow, and accessed the data. ...Darn, no chips. Admittedly, he was sorta curious about what kind of chip that weird disc wielding virus had, but oh well..."Cash transferred, Sabrina!"

And none too soon. That was one pathetic zenny total. Seriously, she probably couldn't even order room service back at the inn with that. "Cash received, SplashMan! Now let's keep going!"

"I'm on it!" Woo, back to pointless busting. ...Or was it? ...Eh, aside from getting cash and possibly chips, it was pretty much just killing time, probably. "Let's go, Blub!" Not that he needed to say that, since he was already carrying him. And so, he merrily walked further into the Net, ready to crush/drown/otherwise obliterate more enemy viruses.

(searching for Battle #2)
((Actually, you received 15 BugFrags))

SplashMan encountered YET another virus group. However, this one was a bit strange. There stood the Swordy group that looked like any other Swordy, but they had a peculiar sword that was emitting raw electricity! If that was bad enough, they were supported by Gunners behind!

Swordy-E A: 80 HP
Swordy-E B: 80 HP
Swordy-E C: 80 HP
GunnerA: 60 HP
GunnerB: 60 HP
GunnerC: 60 HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

SplashMan: 240 HP
Blub: 40 HP

-BATTLE TWO, START!-
(More BugFrags? WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)

Another piece of cake. Just some Swordy and some turret looking viruses. ...Wait a minute, there was something weird about those Swordy..."Um, Sabrina? Are those Swordy's swords made of electricity like I think they are...?"

"Looks like it...I didn't even know Swordy could be Elec! I only knew about Fire and Aqua ones..." Okay, just stay calm. No need to panic, since they were still pretty easy. Even if they did have electrical swords. "All right, first, let's work on the Swordys. And you can do that yourself. Flood Cannon!"

Woo, a chance to use one of his own attacks for a change. SplashMan lowered his cannons all the way down to a nearly horizontal angle, and unleashed a large orb of water from each one. They sailed through the air for a couple of moments, before hitting the ground and exploding, causing water to spread throughout the area, and eventually pooling where it had landed.

No time to let up, though. Not with those Gunners hanging around. Fortunately, they were even easier to take down than the knight viruses. "Now for the others!" Sabrina slammed in a chip featuring a Lark virus...a very, very well-worn chip. "Battlechip, WideShot! Slot in!"

The Navi's hand faded, and a very familiar wide mouthed water gun formed in its place. From there, it was a simple matter of aiming it at its intended targets, which was made easy by the fact said intended targets didn't appear to be capable of movement. Once he had it all figured out...whoosh! A wide stream of water jetted forward, and appearing to head straight for the trio of machine gun wielders. "Okay, that should do it!"

Maybe, but those electrical Swordy still bothered her...she'd feel better if he had something to counter with if that Flood Cannon missed anything. "It should, but just in case..." Now to counter any remaining Swordy...with remaining Swordy data! "Battlechip, AquaSword! Slot in!"

WideShot's gun quickly gave way for a water-based sword, which was quickly prepared to counter any other sword-based threats. Granted, using a sword made of water against a sword made of electricity didn't seem like the smartest idea in the history of virus busting, but as long as he was quick enough with it, hopefully that wouldn't be an issue...

And the entire time, Blub remained hidden behind the Navi's legs, more than a little frightened by those electric swords...

[Order of Turn:
SplashMan:
1-Flood Cannon sig attack on Swordy-E group (80, Aqua, Blast 2, creates medium sea terrain)
2-WideShot1 chip attack on GunnerA, GunnerB, and GunnerC (60+10, Aqua)
3-AquaSword chip attack on any Swordy-E that tries to go in for an attack (80+10, Aqua, Slashing)
4-AquaSword chip attack on any Swordy-E that tries to go in for an attack (80+10, Aqua, Slashing)
5-AquaSword chip attack on any Swordy-E that tries to go in for an attack (80+10, Aqua, Slashing)

Blub:
1-Hide behind SplashMan]
The initial attack caused a gigantic explosion of waters that violently swept anything that was in its way, but in the end, it only got a single Swordy and a Gunner (for some reason). Despite the little success the attack was, that didn't belittle the navi from attacking the gunner, which wiped all of them out.

SplashMan drew his AquaSword and the waited for the Swordys to attack. There was a short moment of silence before the viruses began their attack! The navi quickly swung his sword where the virus was coming in, but failed to realized that the viruses had the power to teleport short distances to gain advantages. The electric sword struck on the navi's back, sending a horribly painful shock all over the place. The second Swordy also took the chance and swung the sword down.

It was excruciating, but the navi bit his lips and deleted both of them in a single swing! The cleaved body fell to the ground and formed into the loot of the battle.

Swordy-E A: DELETED
Swordy-E B: DELETED
Swordy-E C: DELETED
GunnerA: DELETED
GunnerB: DELETED
GunnerC: DELETED

Terrain: 75% Normal, 25% Sea

SplashMan: 160 HP
Blub: 40 HP

-BATTLE WON!-
700z + 21 BugFrags
Another flawless victory...if you could call getting sliced up by electrical swords flawless. Also, the area below his eyes was hurting for some reason, like he had been bitten there...phantom lip, maybe? At any rate, he needed to access the data in front of him, so...wait, what was this? "Ahh! There's something other than cash in here!"

"So, we got chip data? Neat! What is it?"

"No, it's not chip data, either...it sorta looks like...small pieces of the viruses I just deleted!" While puzzled, Blub seemed to be shaking happily as he moved towards the data in question. "Huh? What is it? Do you know what those things are for?"

"Hmm...well, they never showed up until we got him. Maybe they have something to do with Support Programs?"

"When you put it that way, that's probably it..." SplashMan finally got around to transferring all of the data over to his operator's PET, though still a bit confused about exactly what he had just sent over. "Well, I'm still good for more virus busting, even if I did get zapped. Shall I?"

Before answering, Sabrina watched as her zenny total rose...and as some new counter labeled 'BugFrags' increased. "Uh, sure, go ahead. By the way, apparently the PET recognized those things you sent over with the cash, and called them BugFrags. It even gave them their own counter thing, so whatever they are, it's probably not going to hurt anything."

"Hmm..." He looked down at the sponge for a moment, and tried to think of what they could possibly be for...but came up with nothing. Absolutely nothing. Oh well, might as well move along while he was thinking. "Come on, Blub! Let's keep going!" And thus, the watery duo ventured deeper into the Net...

(searching for Battle #3)
As SplashMan and Blub was walking along, the ground started to rumble in a low hum, growing louder and louder every second. The navi looked to see what was going on, only to find a small group of tanks rolling straight towards him! They abruptly stopped and adjusted their cannons towards the navi, and began firing! Strangely, what they fired wasn't their standard ammo, but Billy viruses?

CatackA: 120 HP
CatackB: 120 HP
CatackC: 120 HP
BillyA: 50 HP
BillyB: 50 HP
BillyC: 50 HP
BillyD: 50 HP
BillyE: 50 HP

Terrain: 100% Normal

SplashMan: 160 HP
Blub: 40 HP

-BATTLE THREE, START!-
Well, this was potentially annoying...he just hoped those Catacks couldn't shoot out any more viruses. SplsahMan bent his knees a little, in order to assume his usual busting position. Now, how were they going to do this? WideShot? AreaGrab and AquaSword? Maybe DashAttack for the Billy? Or maybe they'd try some of the heavy hitters on the Catack, like BigHammer...

On the other side of the PET screen, Sabrina was pondering doing other things. After all, they DID use some chips a lot more than the others, and they shouldn't get too out of practice with anything...shouldn't they? "...All right, let's get started. And let's work on the Billy first, then move over to the Catack!" Now, what chips should they practice with? Hmm...well, might as well start with the basics, and work towards the weirder stuff. So, first up, a chip with a Shrimpy virus. "Battlechip, Bubbler! Slot in!"

The Aqua Navi's arm was already extended forward in anticipation of impending chip data...however, a hose nozzle shape wasn't quite what he had in mind. "Bubbler? ...Okay, I guess you're saving the regular stuff for later!" Still oblivious of his operator's plans, he adjusted his aim so that it was pointing towards one of the electrical virus, and launched a bubble blast, capable of spreading its explosion to hit an additional target. A simple enough attack to understand. "Let's keep going!"

Okay, what else...maybe something a little less watery? Yep, that'd work...and while it wasn't exactly their least used chip, she had a certain one in mind. "Next up...Battlechip, TwinFang! Slot in!"

...TwinFang? A large tooth formed on each side of SplashMan's arm, which he stopped and gazed upon it momentarily. However, it was still a pretty good chip to delete Billy viruses with, so with a shrug he positioned it towards two more of them, and let the enamelled spikes fly their way. "Okay, ready for the big stuff now!" With just the Catack and one Billy that hadn't been targeted yet, she had to send over one of the more frequently used chips now...didn't she?

Nah, not this time. In fact, Sabrina decided that it was as good a time as any to try out something new. That chip they got from the BlarghShark yesterday...what was it called again? AquaWhirl? Now was a perfect time to test it out. "No need for the big stuff yet...here! Battlechip, AquaWhirl! Slot in!"

A watery twister suddenly appeared in front of the Navi, and remained there, waiting for him to trigger it. After taking a moment to channel some extra water energy in it, he slammed his palms into it, launching the vortex towards the last unattacked Billy. ...Hmm? For some reason, the ground he was standing on seemed a bit wet...a look down showed the reason for that; it was now covered in water. But why? He wasn't leaking anywhere, and it didn't seem to be a normal effect of the chip..."Um, Sabrina? Do you have any idea why I'm standing on a sea panel all of a sudden?"

Hmm...actually, she did have an idea, but..."Yeah, I think I know. But we don't have time to waste, so I'll tell you later!" Now, they did need to use something strong on those Catack, to at the very least severely weaken them. So, what was something they didn't use too much that could still put the hurt on...aha! "Okay, so, let's work on those Catack! Battlechip, Yo-Yo! Slot in!"

Something vaguely resembling a crustacean claw took shape on SplashMan's hand, which quickly opened up to expose...some sort of blade. After the standard aiming procedure, the blade was shot forward, revealing in the process what looked like a buzzsaw on a string, and proceeded to slice up the air en route to the tank viruses. A few moments later, it returned to its sender, fitting nicely into the 'claw'. And now, the final strike!

...Or not. "Now, let's get some defense up! Battlechip, IronShield! Slot in!"

A large metal shield formed a couple of steps in front of the Aqua Navi, who stopped and made sure that metal shield wasn't touching the water, in case any Billy had made it through the assault. There was a far more obvious question on his mind, but he decided to wait, just in case it wound up causing some sort of argument.

...Splash!

The Navi turned around upon hearing his namesake, only to see nothing...which was, in fact, odd. A look showed why, however, as none other than Blub appeared to be beneath the surface. Looked like he was trying to do his own defense action...

[Order of Turn:
SplashMan:
1-Bubbler chip attack on BillyD (50+10, Aqua, Splash 1) (Aqua Boost)
2-TwinFang1 chip attack on BillyB and BillyC (70)
3-AquaWhirl1 chip attack on BillyA (70+10, Aqua, creates sea terrain if it hits, repeatedly attacks random enemies) (Aqua Boost) (Terraform; uses AquaWhirl's element to create a sea panel beneath SplashMan)
4-Yo-Yo1 chip attack on CatackA (40x2, Slashing), CatackB (40x2, Slashing), and CatackC (40x3, Slashing) (40 HP pseudo-object, blocks frontal projectiles)
5-IronShield1 chip (2-hit shield)

Blub:
1-Submerge into the Sea panel created by Terraform]
Having spawned directly in front of the Catacks, the Billys formed a kind of viral meatshield in front of them. Fortunately, Splashman's Bubbler was the perfect tool for penetrating that defence and deleted one Billy virus while corroding the tank behind it. Splashman's TwinFang was almost as effective, taking out two of the Billys at once. With the front line falling apart, the viruses began launching a counter attack. Tapping their electrified spikes together, the remaining two Billys summoned glowing balls of thunder that rolled towards Splashman and Blub. Fortunately, they were extremely slow and Splashman was able to launch a cyclone of water at one of viruses. The Aquawhirl slammed into the Billy and deleted it, leaving behind a deceptively deep puddle of water in its wake.

Splashman readied his Yo-yo chip but failed to notice that the Billy's thunderball had reached him. Focussed with his attack, the orb steadily rolled onto the lone sea panel that he had just created and touched down at the edge of the liquid. The concentrated ball of electricity ravaged through the water and all throughout Splashman's systems in an instant. Under the optimal conditions, the deceptively weak virus scored a powerful hit against the navi. His Yo-Yo went haywire, flying forward and dissipating the other Billy's thunderball before slicing apart a single Catack.

Splashman had just enough control over his systems to load one final chip before succumbing to the paralytic effects of the thunder. A thick shield formed in front of the navi while Blub dove into the water, now cleansed of the rampant electricity.

CatackA: DELETED
CatackB: 120 HP
CatackC: 60 HP
BillyA: DELETED
BillyB: DELETED
BillyC: DELETED
BillyD: DELETED
BillyE: 50 HP

Terrain: 90% Normal, 10% Sea
Aquawhirl: Active [80 damage]

SplashMan: 100 HP [2-hit shield] [stun -1 action]
Blub: 40 HP
Ugh...how did he let himself get hit by something as obvious as Thunder...? Once the IronShield was up, he bent down on one knee, struggling to so much as maintain that position as electricity coursed through his body.

And then, suddenly, he felt it. Like he was getting hit in the back by a drinking fountain. But it was strange...it felt like it was spreading all over his body. And as it did so, he began to feel much more limber, as though he had never been hit at all by the ball of electricity. "Huh? That's weird, I don't feel stunned anymore..."

From her viewpoint, Sabrina managed to notice something concerning that. Something her Navi hadn't bothered to check. "I think I know how...look behind you."

The aquatic fighter stood up, and looked over his shoulder...allowing him to see the source of the water. A small spray was coming from that mysterious sea panel..."Ah! Blub must have some kind of healing power! Kinda a weird power for a sponge, but I'm not complaining..." Okay, now he was feeling fine...or at least as fine as he could, considering he was at less than 50% HP. "All right, let's finish these guys quick, before they can get anything else in!"

"Right! But first..." That HP needed to be fixed, and fast. If only there was some kind of chip that could magically increase a Navi's HP by a significant margin..."Battlechip, Recover120! Slot in!"

SplashMan's body glowed for a moment, as more healing energy was infused into it, and restored most of his electrically induced injuries to normal. "Almost all better! Now I can totally focus on those viruses!" And now the question remained...how was he going to do that?

With more conventional stuff, if Sabrina had anything to say about it. And as operator, she did. "First, let's pick off the weaker ones! Battlechip, MarkCannon! Double slot in!" Come to think of it, had they really used MarkCannon lately, either? ...Well, whatever...

The green and gray cannon replaced the Navi's right hand and forearm, as he moved out from behind his shield to get it out of the way. As he straightened his arm to put it in a more fire-ready position, crosshairs formed on the ground, which began to scan the area for potential targets. After a few moments, it suddenly stopped traversing in the area of the remaining Billy, and the cannon auto-positioned itself and fired a single blast towards it. However, as it still had chip data remaining, it resumed its sweep for enemies, and soon settled on the weaker of the two remaining Catack. Another auto-aim later, another cannon shot had been released towards the tank virus.

Of course, there was still the matter of that other one...but even he could handle that much on his own. SplashMan let his cannons down to shoulder level, and performed the simple, yet elegant, act of blasting the tar out of the other Catack with a powerful water spray that would make even fire hoses jealous. Easy and powerful...couldn't ask for much else in an attack. ...Well, actually, he could, but...anyway, for now, he needed to worry about in case he missed anything. So, he raced back behind the IronShield, and stood behind it until he knew there wasn't anything on the other side.

[Order of Turn:
Blub:
1-Paramedic on SplashMan (0, Recovery, heals Stun)

SplashMan:
1-Recover120 chip on SplashMan (120, Recovery)
2-MarkCannon1 chip attack on BillyE (70, Lock-On)
3-MarkCannon1 chip attack on CatackC (70, Lock-On)
4-Water Splash sig attack on CatackB (160, Aqua)
5-Hide behind IronShield]
As soon as Blub cured SplashMan from his Stun, cured himself from the wounds from this and previous battles. The viruses began to fire their attacks, but most of them was simply blocked by the Ironshield and the thunder slowly crawled. The navi began his fierce attacks one by one, swiftly deleting the viruses in a blink of an eye!

CatackA: DELETED
CatackB: DELETED
CatackC: DELETED
BillyA: DELETED
BillyB: DELETED
BillyC: DELETED
BillyD: DELETED
BillyE: DELETED

Terrain: 90% Normal, 10% Sea
Aquawhirl: Active [80 damage]

SplashMan: 220 HP [Shield Destroyed]
Blub: 40 HP

-BATTLE WON!-
700z + 33 BugFrags + [TankCannon1] Battlechip

TankCannon1 -
Damage: 80 / 80 + Blast2
Accuracy: A / C
Description: A cannon that can be set to single shot or wide area blast.
Duration: Once
Element: None
Phew, that couldn't have gone more smoothly if they planned it. SplashMan walked over towards the remaining data, his head nearly spinning at everything inside it. "There's a lot of stuff in here...cash, those BugFrag things, and even chip data! The data signature matches...TankCannon! I'll send it all over!"

Zenny total, BugFrag total, chip total...all three rose as Sabrina's PET obtained and stored them, then displayed a chip picture featuring a Catack virus. "Sweet! Oh, right...how's Blub doing?" As she spoke, a TankCannon chip popped out of the electronic device, which got swapped into the folder for a Quake.

The Navi turned around and looked in the water, to find his sponge still hiding in there. "Hey, you can come out now! They're all gone!" Before he could even blink, the SP leapt out of the water, right into his arms, and started rubbing against his chest. "I'm glad you're okay, too!"

"And Blub's fine. Awesome. Let's keep going...maybe one or two more battles, then we'll head somewhere else!"

"Roger that!" Setting his pet sponge down, SplashMan took a few steps forward...before stopping in his tracks, causing the SP to bounce right into the back of his leg. "I just thought of something..."

"What's that?"

"Well, Blub's used to me like this...but what about SplashLady? I think he should get used to both forms..."

"Hmm...well, I guess you're right. But, why can't we wait? I mean, maybe we should wait for next time..."

"I guess so...it'd be kinda weird to change mid-busting, anyway!" And that decided that. The Navi strolled further into the net, with his sponge right behind him.

(searching for Battle #4)
As Splashman keeps wondering the nets in search of viruses. He soon finds viruses, new and old, in a cluster of sorts. Swordies with a much brighter yellow coloring than the plain Metallic Grey of normal swordies, holding swords crackling with electricity, and several cubes just rolling around on the ground, changing between blue and red. Seems as though Splashman could manage a preemptive strike against the oblivious virus group. The swordies were practicing their dance moves and holding their swords like mics...very strange...even for viruses. Considering the field is made of metal panels.

Swordy-EA: 80
Swordy-EB: 80
Swordy-EC: 80
Swordy-ED: 80
Swordy-EE: 80
DBLCUBEA: 100
DBLCUBEB: 100
DBLCUBEC: 100
DBLCUBED: 100
DBLCUBEE: 100

SplashMan: 220 HP (First attack has +1 accuracy rank for Preemptive attack so RP well)
Blub: 40 HP

Terrain: Metal: 100%

Battle 4-SHOW ME YOUR MOVES! BEGIN!
Ugh, more of those yellow Swordy. And he was pretty sure he'd seen those other viruses before, but he couldn't really remember what they were called. And they hadn't noticed him yet...he should probably keep his voice down. "Sabrina, we need to attack quick, while they haven't seen me yet!"

Oi, nothing like having next to no time to get ready for a battle. Seriously, that was what? Maybe a minute? "Hang on, let's see what you found...ouch. I think I can safely say we should worry about the Swordy first. In fact, forget the cube things. Just focus on the Swordy!" Let's see...what were some good ways to take out Elec-element Swordy? The usual AquaSword was too risky, DashAttack was risky AND left Blub alone to fend for himself, which was a very ill-advised move, and WideShot couldn't do it in one hit...well, there was Boomerang, but that wouldn't do it by itself. Needed something else...oh, right. The obvious, watery way. "First, let's just outpower them. Battlechip, WaterLine! Slot in!"

SplashMan extended his arm, as a RainGear virus formed over his hand. After performing the neccessary accuracy-based precautions, he allowed it to open its mouth. Almost immediately, water began to form beneath several panels around the area of the SwordyE, taking a few moments to silently yet dangerously build pressure. And then...the boom was lowered. Or in this case, raised, as three geysers erupted from their floor prison, as if the ground suddenly no longer existed to constrain it. It was definitely enough to eliminate a knight virus or three if it connected, but he couldn't sit back and wait to see if it was doing its job. "Well, I think they know I'm here now..."

"...Yeah." Well, unless they had the incredible fortune of fighting both blind AND deaf viruses. And considering their singing and dance moves, that was entirely possible. "Well, let's keep going!" Time for a little table turning type advantage. "Battlechip, Boomerang! Slot in!"

The water pseudo-virus faded from the Navi's hand, and quickly replaced with a boomerang that appeared to be held via some kind of clothespin-like apparatus. He reared back, preparing to throw it, and then let it fly forward with all his might as it flew forward, directly towards a Swordy that seemed to be in its projectory...and right past it. Though from where he was looking at it, it might've actually gone through it, instead...either way, it made a U turn, heading over to the last untargeted sword wielding virus, and performed a possible attack of deletion before fading, its work complete. "All Swordy attacked!"

Too bad that didn't always mean 'All Swordy deleted!'. And they definitely weren't taking any chances with those things. "Yeah, well, we're attacking them all again!" Time to put that brand new chip to use..."Battlechip, TankCannon! Slot in! And go with the spread option!"

Once more, SplashMan's arm weapon faded. This time, however, the rest of his arm also vanished, in order to make room for a gigantic black cannon. Considering its virus source, that was actually sort of ironic, but whatever. He set the cannon from 'Single Target' to 'Wide Blast', quickly took aim at the area the Swordy were in, and...BOOM. A single, powerful shot exploded all around the area, capable of mopping up viruses as necessary. Unless they did a certain thing...

He needed a close-up to counter them. And while AquaSword proved to be a little iffy with that last time, they had a second option, one that hopefully would serve them better. "Okay, if anything gets close, let 'em have it with this! Battlechip, ColdPunch! Slot in!"

The Aqua battler regained part his arm, as his hand and forearm became an icy blue fist. Now, to play the waiting game, and give any Swordy that came near him or his SP a complementary chilled knuckle sandwich. He reared back slightly, to give his punch a little more power...which is when he noticed it. The ground he was standing on felt a bit...softer. A quick glance down showed why: the ground had somehow become grassy. "What the? I'm pretty sure everything was metal just a minute ago..." It was like the sea terrain from the previous battle...maybe he was triggering it somehow? Or maybe Blub was doing it, since it never happened until he brought him along. ...Ahh, he couldn't stop and think about it now. Clearing his mind of any unnecessary thoughts, he waited for the inevitable counterattack. Though, he had the feeling he was completely forgetting something, even though he was pretty focused when he attacked the SwordyE...

[Order of Turn:
SplashMan:
1-WaterLine1 chip attack on SwordyEA, SwordyEB, and SwordyEC (80+10, Aqua) (Aqua Boost) (Preemptive attack)
2-Boomerang1 chip attack on SwordyED and SwordyEE (60, Wood) (Terraform used; creates Grass terrain beneath SplashMan and whatever Boomerang hits)
3-TankCannon1 chip attack on SwordyE group (80, Blast 2, accuracy reduced to C)
4-ColdPunch chip attack on any SwordyE that AreaGrabs close to SplashMan and/or Blub (70+20, Aqua, Impact) (Single Target Aqua Boost)
5-ColdPunch chip attack on any SwordyE that AreaGrabs close to SplashMan and/or Blub (70+20, Aqua, Impact) (Single Target Aqua Boost)

Blub:
1-Dodge (only if necessary)]
Caught off guard, two of the Swordys were wiped out from behind with a wave of water. The other three turned to face their aggressor and charged him with swords held high. Two were cleaved apart by a Boomerang that continued past them and deleted a DBLCUBE in the process, leaving only one Swordy left. Splashman readied his TankCannon to finish off the last one but missed and struck another DBLCUBE behind his intended target. The Swordy warped into range and attacked, which turned out to be just within Splashman's range as well. The exchange of blows favoured the Splashman as he finished off the last Swordy with a devastating Coldpunch.

One DBLCUBE fired beams of red energy that Blub barely avoided but Splashman did not. The amplified damage coursed throughout him but he survived. Another DBLCUBE sprayed the area with a blue wave that seemed to repair some of the damage done to its ally.

Swordy-EA: DELETED
Swordy-EB: DELETED
Swordy-EC: DELETED
Swordy-ED: DELETED
Swordy-EE: DELETED
DBLCUBEA: 100 [red]
DBLCUBEB: DELETED
DBLCUBEC: 100 [red]
DBLCUBED: 100 [blue]
DBLCUBEE: 30 [red]

SplashMan: 180 HP [Coldpunch: 4 uses]
Blub: 40 HP

Terrain: 80% Metal, 20% Grass (Under Splashman + 3 random panels)
All Swordy, out! And so was one of those cubes...? "Hey, the Boomerang hit one of the cube things! Does that mean...it's Elec element? I mean, that beam hurt worse than I thought it would, too..."

"Well, there's now way it could've been deleted if it wasn't. Now, what do you say we do that to the others?" They looked pretty hard to bring down, but they had a few ways to deal with that..."First, you can sit back and watch! Battlechip, BigHammer! Slot in!"

Following his operator's advice, SplashMan stood in place, and watched as a Gaia virus formed in front of one of the DBLCube, raised its hammer, changed color from iron gray to armor purple, and brought its weapon down in front of it, which would be right on the DBLCube if the chip did its job properly. That was definitely one chip he never, EVER wanted to get hit by...

"All right, let's not give them any more time to use those beams!" The instant the Gaia disappeared, Sabrina slammed another chip into her PET. "Battlechip, IceWave! Slot in!"

An icy sphere took shape in the Navi's hand, which he gently tossed in front of him, causing it to transform into what appeared to be a snowflake crystal. It softly snaked forward, traveling towards another cubic virus, and finally engaging it in a battle of three dimensional shapes with an icy blast. And hopefully that was a battle that was over as soon as it began. However, instead of waiting to get the results for IceWave, SplashMan lowered his back cannons all the way down to his shoulders. A few moments later, a gigantic water blast gushed out of them, towards yet another DBLCube. The simple yet incredibly painful attack itself.

And then there was the matter of that weakened one. That shouldn't be too hard. "And for that last one...Battlechip, Bubbler! Slot in!"

Once more, he found himself out a right hand, and with a weapon in its place, this time in the form of a Bubbler's hose nozzle. He simply needed to point it towards the DBLCube, trigger the internal firing mechanism, and let the explosive bubble shot fly towards it...which is just what he did. At least he thought that's what he did. And just in case it or anything else was still around...well, he had two feet, and he knew how to use them. They didn't always cooperate, but he did, in fact, know how to dodge attacks as necessary.

During all this, Blub had never once taken his eyes off SplashMan. And as he got ready to evade anything that might get beamed over their way, so did the sponge. He didn't have feet, or any idea what was going on, but he had the instinct that following his Navi's head would be a very good idea...

[Order of Turn:
SplashMan:
1-BigHammer1 chip attack on DBLCubeA (160, Break)
2-IceWave1 chip attack on DBLCubeC (80+20, Aqua) (Single Target Aqua Boost)
3-Water Splash sig attack on DBLCubeD (160, Aqua)
4-Bubbler chip attack on DBLCubeE (50+10, Aqua, Splash 1) (Aqua Boost)
5-Dodge (if necessary)

Blub:
1-Dodge with SplashMan (if necessary)]
One DBLCUBE fell to the BigHammer and another to the IceWave. The remaining viruses began charging to launch another attack as Splashman deleted another with his Water Splash. Just before the final DBLCUBE was destroyed, it fired another beam that cut across the field and struck Splashman again but was stopped by a Bubbler before it reached Blub.

And with that, all the viruses were deleted.

Swordy-EA: DELETED
Swordy-EB: DELETED
Swordy-EC: DELETED
Swordy-ED: DELETED
Swordy-EE: DELETED
DBLCUBEA: DELETED
DBLCUBEB: DELETED
DBLCUBEC: DELETED
DBLCUBED: DELETED
DBLCUBEE: DELETED

SplashMan: 140 HP
Blub: 40 HP

Terrain: 80% Metal, 20% Grass (Under Splashman + 3 random panels)

[Battle 4 - Victory!]

Get: 1019z + 45 Bugfrags