Son of the Beach

And that was that. Ignoring the vase after noticing the Bandcoon had snatched completely useless data, SplashMan began the process of transferring all the leftover data. "Phew, that wasn't as tough as I thought it'd be!...Huh? Hey, chip data! Looks like the last Popper left it, since it matches the data signature. Can't really tell what it is beyond that, though..."

Hooray, more money-wait, did he say new chip? A picture of a chip Sabrina had never seen before appeared on her PET, which was soon transferred to a blank chip. Good thing she always kept plenty on-hand. "The chip's called WoodTower2. It's like AquaTower, but instead of geysers, wood spikes rise up to attack enemies. You know, like how it was trying to attack you!"

"Oh. Well, if it's like AquaTower, it's a total pain to hit things with it..."

"Yeah, but it's pretty strong, and if we're lucky, it can take out a bunch of Elec viruses in one shot. I'm putting it in!"

"I guess. Just don't ditch anything I really like, okay?"

"Gotcha!"

WoodTower2...hopefully it'd work out better than AquaTower for him. Which, admittedly, wouldn't be overly hard. Steeling himself for what was to come, the aquatic Navi journeyed even further into the cyberworld. He wasn't done clearing things out, after all.

(Searching for Battle #4)
And of course, the aquatic Navi did venture further out into the Rogue Network, looking for things to clean out. He walked further inland from the beach area, and got onto more grassy areas. Upon the greenery, he found two pairs of viruses; Elmperors and Mushrooms were frolicking about. As he went to engage them, however, he noticed something else: a couple of SnakeArms had also flanked him from the back!

-- ENEMIES --
Elmperor2 A: 180 HP (Grass)
Elmperor2 B: 180 HP (Grass)
Mashy A: 140 HP (Grass)
Mashy B: 140 HP (Grass)
SnakeArm2 A: 200 HP (Sand)
SnakeArm2 B: 200 HP (Sand)

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashMan.EXE: 520 HP (Sand)

-- TERRAIN --
60% Grass
40% Sand

-- ROGUE BATTLE 04, READY? START!! --
And there. ...For a beach, there sure weren't that many Aqua viruses around. Then again, it seemed like the farther he went in, the further inland he walked, so it did sort of made sense on further inspection. Of course, this wasn't very important when there were hostile viruses around. "Here's the next batch! ...Any ideas how we're handling this?"

"First off, we're getting of those SnakeArms before they start causing trouble! Of course, they're on sand, so we can just do what we did last battle...but since they're a lot more mobile than Dynamites, let's speed you up!" Which meant a chip whose picture defied all logic was going in. Seriously, what was that supposed to represent. Maybe if she squinted real hard, she could make out someone going so fast they started blurring, but that was one serious stretch. At least the weird Navi guy on the other chip made sense, since it showed him with the weapon equipped..."BattleChip, AreaGrab! BattleChip, WindRacket! Double slot in!"

After performing a disappearing act he was highly familiar with, SplashMan swiped some occupiable space near the sandworm viruses, now with some sort of non-mechanical fan on his arm. With as much might as he could muster, he swung the deceptively strong weapon, stirring up nearby sand to strike what was in front of him, alongside the powerful short range wind that was normally created by the attack. With that, he turned to the mushrooms and magic lamps, sighing at the fact they were way over there on the grass. "Too bad they're not over here, too...it'd make my life easier!"

"C'est la vie! Plus, it gives us a nice excuse to test out our newest chip! ...Well, not the newest, since I just did some library trading...but you know what I mean!" Time for fun with Popper. "BattleChip, WoodTower2! Slot in!"

In an odd change of pace, there were no visible signs chip data had been transferred to the Navi. Instead, he looked over at the group of viruses on the grass, getting a proper bead on them before utilizing the new attack. The Mashy were there, and the Elemperor were there...the latter couldn't move, so he wouldn't have to alter the path due to them getting out of the way...but just in case, he should try to line himself up with them as best he could, like so...okay, that should do it. Clenching his hand into a fist, he punched the ground, seeming causing nothing to happen...but then, a spear of wood rose in front of him. And another. And another. The series of stakes marched along, though only 2-3 remained above ground at any given time, most likely due to the chip's technical limitations...after all, he remembered from Sabrina's homework that Popper was one of the Net's oldest viruses. They continued to move forward, though they seemed to swerve slightly if it meant a shot at hitting something. It wasn't bad, it was just...a pain to use. It'd probably serve them well against Elec-based enemies, though.

"Hmm...all right, let's stop for a sec and look things over, so we can figure out just how much work we've got left!" And that meant obscuring her Navi's sight with a gigantic shield, of course. "BattleChip, IronShield2! Slot in!"

Sure enough, said giant shield popped up in front of SplashMan, who now had a method to guard against the utter wrath of things like spores...actually, why would the spores even affect him? He didn't actually breathe, after all...unless they were the kind of spores that just had to touch something to work? Yeah, that'd make a lot more sense...

[Order of Turn:
1-AreaGrab chip to near SnakeArm2s (teleports user, accuracy up)
2-WindRacket chip attack on SnakeArm2A and SnakeArm2B (100, Gust, Northwind and Microburst on impact) (Wind Attack)
3-Take aim on Mashys
4-WoodTower2 chip attack on MashyA, MashyB, Elemperor2A, and Elemperor2B (140, Wood, Piercing, Group Attack, Line-Chain)
5-IronShield2 chip on SplashMan
6-Dodge]
Taking an initiative, SplashMan teleported over to the SnakeArms, evading a bunch of ElementalRage attacks from the Elmperor. A WindRacket was swiftly delivered, with one of the SnakeArms deleted in one swipe. The other managed to dive underground, preparing its attack. The Mashy teleported up to the Navi's sides, but had one of their attacks interrupted by a WoodTower. The other had its way with him, releasing spores every which way. (45, Confusion!) SplashMan had just enough coherent thought to put up an IronShield and avoid a SnakeArm attack after that. The shield absorbed a second wave of Elmperor attacks, staying put afterwards. After that, the Mashy released a second wave of spores as well, but it was a bit slow on the uptake, allowing SplashMan to see the attack coming.

-- ENEMIES --
Elmperor2 A: 180 HP (Grass)
Elmperor2 B: 40 HP (Grass)
Mashy A: DELETED
Mashy B: 140 HP (Grass)
SnakeArm2 A: DELETED
SnakeArm2 B: 200 HP (Sand)

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashMan.EXE: 475 HP (Sand) (Confused!)

-- TERRAIN --
80% Grass
20% Sand
"Weeeeeeeeell, crap." That basically said it all, as Sabrina's Navi experienced a sharp downtick in reasonableness. "SplashMan, you okay?"

"...Pickles! So many pickles! I wish I had a spork to eat them with magic..."

"Umm...I guess that's a no." That said, she wasn't entirely useless to him, as there were a couple of BattleChips she had that didn't require any meaningful Navi interaction. "This won't work on everything there, but if the moving viruses make the wrong move..." ...You know, she really didn't use that chip much. She kinda had to wonder why, considering the sheer power of it. Oh well, she was using it now, and that was good enough. "BattleChip, Mine2! Slot in!"

As the aquatic Navi stumbled around, solid holograms of mines began to randomly flicker throughout the battlefield, before stopping at...well, actually, it was impossible to tell where it ended up. They were definitely somewhere, though, and if that Mashy or SnakeArm ended up at that somewhere...BOOM! One less virus to worry about.

And there was something else that didn't necessarily require full coherence to utilize, too. Something rectangular and very, very angry..."BattleCh...ahh, why am I even shouting it out? Not like you're really listening..." Yeah, CurseShield in. Whatever.

A Dominerd appeared in front of SplashMan, arms crossed, and ready to bite into whatever tried to attack the Navi of its summoner...hey, why was he going over there towards the grass? While surprised, the shield floated over, and still all set to chomp those who opposed its charge by attack...wait, he was moving around again in erratic fashion. Grr, get back here, you!

"Weeeeeeeeell, crap." Yep, still said it all.

[Order of Turn:
1-Mine2 chip attack (240, creates 10% Mined terrain randomly on the battlefield)
2-CurseShield1 chip on SplashMan (160, blocks and counters one attack)
3-Get on Grass terrain
4-Dodge
5-Dodge
6-Dodge]
Thanks to Sabrina's careful operating, SplashMan was able to overcome the harshest part of his confusion, but not without damages. The Snakearm lashed out its attack and bit a chunk of SplashMan, but as it retreated back, it triggered the mine and simply disintegrated into fine bits. The Mashy also went in for an attack, but it was blocked off by the CurseShield that instantly finished off the virus with its nasty bite.

Only two Elmperors were left and the wounded virus instantly recovered from its damages thanks to the panel it stood on. It began to attack the helpless navi, successfully landing a single hit before SplashMan finally snapped out from his confusion!

-- ENEMIES --
Elmperor2 A: 180 HP (Grass)
Elmperor2 B: 180 HP (Grass)
Mashy A: DELETED
Mashy B: DELETED
SnakeArm2 A: DELETED
SnakeArm2 B: DELETED

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashMan.EXE: 350 HP (grass)

-- TERRAIN --
70% Grass
20% Sand
10% Broken
(NOTE TO WHO MODS THIS: Terrain trapped via Mine simply reverts to untrapped terrain of its previous type, and not Broken. So yeah, no making me fall in a hole, ye mods with villainous intent in their hearts. >:0)

(OTHER NOTE: If you are a mod without villainous intent in your heart, feel free to ignore the latter part of that first note. Seriously, it'd be silly not to.)

Weird...why did everything taste green for a second? And why did Sabrina suddenly stop sending him chips? Unless..."Sabrina! Quit playing those porn games and help me out!" ...Huh? Where was he? Oh, right, battle. And there were just the Elemperor left. Sweet. But he couldn't remember what just happened...last he recalled, a Mashy warped near him and sprayed him with spores. After that, total blank.

"Hey, I only downloaded one, and only because the reviews said it was a good game! Plus the guy on the official art was...really...hot..." The Netopian girl trailed off as she realized that everything she said was being heard by at least several dozen people. "...Uh, what are you talking about?! I'd never do something like that?" Of course, her beet red face told everyone capable of looking directly at her all they needed to know.

"Huh? What're you talking about? You really shouldn't say that out loud in front of other people!"

"You just said...augh!" And suddenly, she felt a snap inside her brain. That couldn't be good. "Never mind! We're dropping that subject, RIGHT NOW!"

"You're the boss..."

"Dang right! ...Oh, you're kinda banged up now, so I guess now's a good time to heal you up some!" Right, they were still in a battle. They should probably focus more on that. "BattleChip, Recover150! Slot in!"

And cue obligatory pink glow as the effects of green nature flames and sand worm tackles faded away...mostly. They stung just a little too much to completely negate with that power. "Thanks! I feel better now!"

"Just don't get confused again! ...Ever..." At least the mushrooms were gone, so THAT couldn't happen again. "All right, let's go rub some magic lamps!" ...Crap, that sounded too much like that game...whatever, not like anyone knew that...right? "Here's the plan! You go up and punch an Elemperor in the face, then avoid any flares that come up! Then repeat!" And with a little extra power, they had a weapon capable of just that. "BattleChip, GutImpact! BattleChip, Attack+20! Double slot in!"

A large yellow and black fist replaced the aquatic Navi's regular hand, and was momentarily surrounded by a green aura, signifying the uptick in its might. Not wanting to sit around and be burned up by Wood elemental magic, he rushed along the grass toward the turban'd viruses, and quickly greeted one with a powerful punch to the face. Even though it was basically all face, what with being a magic lamp and all. He then leaped back a few steps, to try and get any attacks out from under him, before attempting to do the same to the other Elemperor. POW. That was the sound he'd make if that fist made contact. It was a very satisfying sound, that made fighting for his life completely worth it. But just in case he missed with either swing, he hopped back again, though still enjoying the thrill of hitting something with a fist in the back of his mind.

[Order of Turn:
1-Recover150 chip on SplashMan (150, Recovery)
2-GutImpact chip attack on Elemperor2A (160+20, Impact, Break, Knockback)
3-Attack+20 chip on GutImpact (+20 power to all hits of attack)
4-Dodge
5-GutImpact chip attack on Elemperor2A (160+20, Impact, Break, Knockback)
6-Dodge]
After SplashMan regained his sanity, he quickly recovered his health and continued his attacks on the viruses. His empowered fist quickly ended the first lamp-virus, but the second virus seemed to have more luck on his side as SplashMan completely missed his attack. The last remaining Elmperor tried its best to attack its adversary, but it was no avail as the stubby, water jugging navi nimbly dodged the attack.

-- ENEMIES --
Elmperor2 A: DELETED
Elmperor2 B: 180 HP (Grass)
Mashy A: DELETED
Mashy B: DELETED
SnakeArm2 A: DELETED
SnakeArm2 B: DELETED

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashMan.EXE: 500 HP (grass) [GutImpact: 1/3]

-- TERRAIN --
80% Grass
20% Sand
Wow...he totally whiffed on that second punch. That was pretty embarrassing when you had spectators in front of you. Oh well, he still had another shot, so...

"Hold it!"

And SplashMan did hold it, as his fist remained behind in him in preparation for being swung forward into a magic lamp's face. "What? ...Oh, you want to do that, don't you?"

"Well, it's not like there's no reason not to. Unless you can think of one real quick!" Not holding out any hope of that happening, Sabrina just slammed in a chip, confident that her Navi wouldn't be able to think of anything...or that he'd really even want to do so. "Time's up! BattleChip, PickPocket! Slot in!"

A Bandcoon suddenly appeared in front of the temporarily large fisted Navi, who looked around, and appeared to be highly relieved that it had nice, cushy grass instead of all that sand it had to deal with lately. It took a moment to adjust its mask as it plotted a course of action for its only possible target. Let's see...couldn't move, appeared to be bent on attacking the Navi...looked like it didn't have to do anything fancy this time. Just curl up, rush the virus, and snatch some data. You know, exactly like the way it just did. Ahh, it was nice to just be able to swipe without thinking too hard for a change. With that thought, the pseudovirus removed a giant wallet from...what appeared to be within itself...and stuffed what it had stolen inside of it. It didn't seem to make much of a bulge, though really, cash, BattleChip data, and junk data could all be flat like that. Only time would tell if it was actually anything useful, or even interesting, though all things considered, it wouldn't be very much time until that was revealed for all to see.

For once, the aquatic fighter didn't spend all of his time gawking at the Bandcoon. Instead, he prepared himself for evasive measures, since it was safe to say the Elemperor was going to strike. And when it did, he'd be ready. As he did so, he started to focus even more on the virus, getting a mental lock on it for the next fist attack.

And soon enough, after being attacked, he repeated the process of running towards the virus, and attempted to punch its lights out. Well, unless it didn't have lights, but considering the mystical quality of its attacks, he sorta doubted that. And speaking of which, he prepared himself for its next move, not wanting to get blasted by ground based magic bursts. Those things stung.

Once all that was resolved, SplashMan lowered his cannons, and started to pump massive amounts of water in them, wanting to make sure this battle was over, and over now. The liquid inside quickly became the liquid outside, as he launched an intense blast of water at the turban wielding virus. Hmm, come to think of it, how would he look in a turban? ...Eh, probably silly as heck, seeing as how he didn't have a true head to put it on. At least the Elemperor didn't pull it off much better. That'd be pretty sad.

[Order of Turn:
1-PickPocket chip on Elemperor2B (steals reward data from one virus)
2-Dodge
3-Take aim on Elemperor2B
4-GutImpact chip attack on Elemperor2B (160+20, Impact, Break, Knockback)
5-Dodge
5a-Reserve Tank R (passive buster charge)
5b-Reserve Tank L (passive buster charge)
6-Water Splash charge attack on Elemperor2B (200, Aqua, Break)]
The enthusiastic Bandcoon rushed back to SplashMan, taking out its comically large wallet and reached for whatever was inside, revealing...A worn out, used turban. The psuedo-virus seemed rather prideful of its steal, but if simple laundry snatching was enough to satisfy his pride, what could stand in his way of being the best there is?

Nonetheless, the last of the Elmperor stood absolutely no chance against the powerful navi!

-- ENEMIES --
Elmperor2 A: DELETED
Elmperor2 B: DELETED
Mashy A: DELETED
Mashy B: DELETED
SnakeArm2 A: DELETED
SnakeArm2 B: DELETED

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashMan.EXE: 500 HP (grass)

-- TERRAIN --
80% Grass
20% Sand

-BATTLE WON!-
2,900z
And he got...the Elemperor's turban. Hmm. Useless for battle? Sure. Potentially fun to wear? Maybe. After quickly accessing the reward data, SplashMan transferred the headgear with the cash, almost hoping his operator wouldn't call him out on it...

"Hey! What's with the turban in all the money?"

...Of course, that plan backfired spectacularly. "I dunno, maybe it'll come in handy some day!"

"Yeah, an old turban that probably reeks of virus. Suuuure. I'm getting rid of it!"

But he wanted the turban...something deep inside of him wanted it badly. Time to try a little bluff, based on something Sabrina said earlier. "...Fine. Throw it away, and I'll let everyone know all about your 'gaming experience' the other day!"

Naturally, the girl's face turned red as she realized what her Navi meant. "...Fine! Keep your stupid turban! See if I care!"

"I thought so!" Of course, there was no way he was telling a bunch of people that kind of story. He wasn't exactly a huge jerk. "So, guess I'll keep going!"

"Sure, but whatever's causing all this might be up ahead! It's getting to be that time, you know."

"...It is, isn't it? I hadn't even thought about it!"

"Well, that's what operators are for! Oh, speaking of which..." SubChip data time! "I wanna make sure you're in perfect shape for whatever's coming up! SubChip, MiniEnergy! Slot in!"

The single use recovery flowed through the Navi, repairing the lingering injuries. "Yep, that'll do it! Thanks!"

"No prob! Just be careful!"

"I will!" And there was more searching. Very careful, cautious searching. Words could not describe the amount of care taken in the search. Well, they probably could, but it'd take far too long to do so. And so the Aqua Navi steeled himself for whatever came his way...or whatever he went towards...or maybe even some combination of both. Not like he knew ahead of time what'd happen.

(MiniEnergyPack used)
(Searching for Battle #5)
Treading carefully toward what he thought was the source of the station's distress, Splashman squinted as a smog of different colors obscured his path. If he could smell, he'd probably be retching already.

"Wot wot! Someone's gotten past my guards! No no no! This will not do! Show yourself!" A rather pompous voice called out, apparently unaware that the smog was basically disallowing Splashman to even respond to that.

"Grrrrr!!!! I will not stand for this! First they refuse to televise my magnificence and now some runt dares to breach into my personal time? This is war!!!!" the voice called out again.

Splashman registered something tapping twice on the ground before the smog was quickly vacuumed back into.... a perfume bottle.

"Blasted villian! You finally reveal yourself! The great OdorMan shall make quick work of you!" the culprit cried, waving his cane dangerously at SplashMan. OdorMan seems to be no more than your average plump, british gentleman in a full tux, cane, and top hat. He has a rather bushy mustache that he likes to wriggle from time to time.

SplashMan wondered what he'd gotten himself into as OdorMan adjusted his spectacles.

-CULPRIT-
OdorMan.EXE: 600 HP

-TERRAIN-
100% Grass

-DETECTIVE-
SplashMan.EXE: 550 HP

-BATTLE 5-
-ROUTINE, SET-
-EXECUTE-
As he proceeded, SplashMan couldn't help but notice the increasingly sight obscuring fog in front of him. "I think we're getting close to whatever's causing this whole mess..."

"You mean that's NOT something usually in Beach Area? Really?...Anyway, be careful!"

"Will do!" But he had no time to do so, as a voice demanded he show himself. "Uhh, I think I'm gonna need my WindRacket for that..." Wait, what'd he just say?"

"Whaaaaaat?!" A previously silent employee shouted as OdorMan appeared on the screen due to lack of smog. "That's him!"

"...Who's him?"

"That's OdorMan, and not long ago he pitched a TV show idea to us. In addition to being really lame, none of the other Navis could get within 50 feet of him without gagging, so we shot down his proposal! He swore revenge, but so does everyone else we turn down...I didn't think he'd follow through! I mean, look at him!"

"...Huh. Well, I think we know what we have to do. Good thing SplashMan doesn't have a sense of smell!"

"Yeah! But he's probably got other ways to deal with me..."

"No doubt about that. And I'm kinda nervous about that grass...I have a feeling he's going to use it somehow. But, we've got ways to deal with that. Like...this!" Oh, she loved this chip...Marius ended up making her one happy girl when he traded it. "BattleChip, AquaDragon! Slot in!"

A large jar appeared next to the aquatic Navi, with a water based dragon rising out of it to inspect the situation. It immediately noticed that for as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but grass. With a roar, it retreated into its pot, determined to change that. But before it could strike, the more sentient of the two peered into the pottery, deciding to egg it on a bit. "By the way, that other Navi's probably the reason there's so much grass! I'm not a huge fan of grass, so if you rammed into that guy, I'd appreciate it!" A moment passed, and it seemed like nothing was happening...but with another cry, the WaterDragon rose from the ground, the area beneath it instantly becoming more oceanic in nature. With that, the assault was on, as the pseudovirus raced across the battlefield, taking a shot at the Navi that dared defile the beach with all of this non-water. Its highest priority, however, was making sure there was a nice wet patch in the area.

"All right, hurry! Get on that water!"

As fast as his feet could muster, SplashMan dashed from where he stood, seeking terrain he could associate with on a base elemental level. Unfortunately for him, he was never known for his foot speed, so it took a little time, even as he frantically raced to the ground as wet on the inside as he was. At least he wasn't quite as embarrassingly slow as he once was...all that Rogue Net practice helped. Now, to wait for the next order...

"...Hmm. I guess I should defense you up while I'm thinking up our next move. BattleChip, IronShield2! Slot in!"

A large shield appeared in front of the tank-like Navi, somehow perfectly positioned on the water as if it was solid terrain. Weird. Not that he was complaining, as he made sure his barrier was between him and his assailant.

"Hmm...I guess now's a good chance to try out something new. This was something I got when I was trying to boost my library, but it looked good, so I decided to try it out!" Granted, battles with Navis weren't the best times to experiment, but considering the potential results...yeah, worth a shot. "BattleChip, LilBoiler! Slot in!"

A Kettle appeared in SplashMan's arms, who looked on it in surprise. "Uh...how does this work, exactly?"

"The way I read it, you throw it near the enemy, but not directly at it. Then, you quickly fire an attack at it. Then it explodes with both its own damage AND the damage of the attack that hits it!"

"Huh. Sounds pretty tough!"

"I say we find out for ourselves!"

That was all he needed to hear. Moving his shield momentarily to make it easier to see OdorMan, he tossed the object towards his foe, landing with a thud. And there it sat, as it prepared to boil itself over. But that wasn't the entire attack...

"And now we hit two birds with one stone!...Or two attacks...BattleChip, TwinFang3! Slot in!"

A pair of Waldon tusks appeared along SplashMan's arm, who peeked over his repositioned shield to take aim on not only the opposing Navi, but his own summoned Kettle as well. It took a moment, but once he was sure his aim was down, he let loose the missile-like teeth, which rocketed forward towards the pair of targets, to give each extremely pointy pain. Of arguably more importance was the object; with a TwinFang in it, that water would get pretty piping hot...somehow. But he wasn't arguing with the logistics of it, so long as it did its job. And since Sabrina went quiet, he had time to see if it did, in fact, do its thing. When he wasn't busy blocking with shields and otherwise avoiding pain, anyway.

[Order of Turn:
1-AquaDragon chip attack on OdorMan (150+15, Aqua, creates 25% Sea terrain before disappearing)
2-Get on Sea terrain
3-IronShield2 chip on SplashMan (4-hit shield)
4-LittleBoiler1 chip (100+, Aqua, Blast 3, adds damage from one attack to its damage, remains for 2 actions after attack before blowing up) (1 HP Wood element object)
5-TwinFang3 chip attack on OdorMan and LittleBoiler1 (130)
6-Dodge]
"Impudeeeeeence!" OdorMan cried as he was almost pretty much washed away by the AquaDragon. "Get back here you!" The navi grunted, even thought Splashman was really kind of moving toward him. Odorman threw an electrical discus at Splash right as he hit the water, dealing some good amount of damage, but not as much as Splash was about to do to him.

Since the attack from earlier seemed to be leaving a shock to his system, Splashman threw up an Ironshield, as OdorMan tapped his cane on the ground twice, covering the area with a kind of murky fog. You really couldn't tell where he was through the smoke.

Undeterred, SplashMan summoned the LittleBoiler in the midst of the smog and shot out two tusks through the smoke as a Boomerang came flying out and crashed into his side! Splashman heard one of the tusks hit something metallic and smirked as he jumped out of the way of a Flameline before he heard something explode.

"DRAT! Now my fine suit's all wet and you're at fault! GRRRRRRR!!!!" OdorMan bellowed from within the smog.

Splashman cringed as the effects of the earlier electrical attack seemed to slow him down.

-CULPRIT-
OdorMan.EXE: 195 HP (In the Smog! Evasiveness UP!)(Sea)

-TERRAIN-
75% Grass, 25% Sea

-DETECTIVE-
SplashMan.EXE: 340 HP (4-hit shield FRONT)(Stun 1 action)(Sea)
"Grk!" Gah, he couldn't resist it any longer...and as such, SplashMan locked up, as the leftover static electricity coursed through him. Luckily, it didn't last overly long, and with a shake of the body, he was able to snap out of it. "Man, that stung!"

"Well, when you're water based like you are, it happens..." ...Hmm. A more pressing concern, however, was that smog hanging around OdorMan. It didn't even look like WindRacket could blow that stuff away. Plus he was loud and annoying, which made concentrating that much harder...hmm. Or did it? Idea time! "All right, plan time, SplashMan!"

"I'm on it! Just tell me what to do!"

"First, use this!" And there was BattleChip transferral. "BattleChip, Gaia2! Slot in!"

The aquatic Navi watched his right hand vanish, making room for a yellow hammer with metallic trim. He needed no instructions on how to use it, as he raised above his head, and slammed it into the wet ground below. Almost immediately, the ground began to shake...

"Here's the trick! He'll probably complain about this attack. Listen for him, then launch a Water Splash as quick as you can! But don't slack off on aiming!"

So that was what her plan was. Well, it wasn't like he could come up with anything on a whim like that, so SplashMan lowered his cannons, as a wave of earth began to roll across the battlefield, the very floor he stood on being forced to echo the power of his attack. It was weaker in some spots, but it was traveling in every conceivable direction, and probably some not-so-conceivable ones as well. It hitting the enemy Navi was nice, but now he just had to wait and listen for him to say something...

...Aha, a sound! At least, he was pretty sure it was a sound. Water quickly flooded into his artillery, and culminated in a tremendously powerful water blast, strong enough to shatter even solid rock. Aside from its strength, however, it was mostly non-descript, at least by water blast standards. Not overly exciting, but that never stopped it from inflicting severe pain before.

"There we go! Now, let's do some mind games with him!" And that meant...another BattleChip. Hey, Sabrina liked being part of the action, too. "BattleChip, Mine2! Slot in!"

In a substantially less violent method, the watery Navi reached down and touched the water beneath him, transferring his newfound data to it. The images of land mines flickered on and of throughout the battlefield for a moment, before disappearing altogether. But their location...even he didn't know. "Well, go ahead, OdorMan! Feel free to move around as much as you want!" After all, each time he tried to move...yeah, those mines were powerful. And best of all, they didn't affect their summoner. It really was pretty handy.

"...Ya know, I hate to be a buzzkill for my own plan, but I just thought of something."

"...What's that?"

"Well...we both saw that guy. And, uh, he doesn't really strike me as the kind of Navi that runs around a lot."

"Aww, then what're we gonna do?"

"Don't worry! I've got a plan for that, too!" Yoink! Slam! Whirr! "BattleChip, WindRacket! Slot in!"

SplashMan's hand once again changed, this time into some sort of...old-fashioned fan...thing. Regardless, he had a pretty good idea of what to do with it. And so, without even taking a step, he swung it in front of him, with all his might. It wouldn't harm the opposing Navi at all, of course. But he definitely stirred up the winds with it...even OdorMan would get blown away a bit by that gale. And that meant the odds of his subterrainian bombs activated increased...and who knew? Maybe it'd do something about the giant cloud. He wasn't holding his breath, though...no pun intended.

[Order of Turn:
1-STUNNED
2-Gaia2 chip attack (130, C, To-All, Ground Attack)
3-Listen for OdorMan's remarks to determine location
3a-Reserve Tank R (passive buster charge)
3b-Reserve Tank R (passive buster charge)
4-Water Splash charge attack on OdorMan (200, Aqua, Break)
5-Mine2 chip attack (240, S, sets 10% Mine terrain randomly throughout battlefield)
6-WindRacket chip attack on OdorMan (100, Gust) (intentional miss)]
"And one more for good measure!" OdorMan called, a ball lobbing out of the smokescreen and exploding on SplashMan while he was stunned. Ugh. GOOD THING THERE WERE SHIELDS HUH.

"Hohoho! How'd you like th- WAGH!" OdorMan wailed as the Gaia2 rocked the whole battlefield. "S-such impudence! You'll pay for that!" Something glittered inside the dense layer of fog.... that enough was a good marker.

The smog seemed to get thicker, but Splashman had already determined his location, his water tanks filled and ready. One burst of water slammed into OdorMan, the smog disappearing completely as he landed on his rump.

"N-nooo! This can't be!" OdorMan growled, searching his pockets for something as SplashMan lay down the mine trap. "Aha! The mighty M-Cannon will ensure your doom! Fiiiiire!" OdorMan cried, his cane transforming into a giant cannon and blasting SplashMan....

...but hooray for shields.

"Gaaaaah! Wait! What was that? I didn't feel a thing!" OdorMan blinked, the effects of the WindRacket not pushing him at all.

-CULPRIT-
OdorMan.EXE: 15 HP (Sea)

-TERRAIN-
65% Grass, 25% Sea, 10% Mine (Random)

-DETECTIVE-
SplashMan.EXE: 340 HP (2-hit shield FRONT)(Sea)
'Wait, what was that?', indeed. How did OdorMan not get blown away? Not that he could really complain, because everything else worked without a hitch. Still bugged him, though..."Um, Sabrina? I dunno how he did it, but WindRacket didn't faze him at all..."

"Weird...wait, there's a NaviCust program that makes you immune to being pushed or pulled around, isn't there? He probably has one."

"Not a clue..." Either way, he had a job to finish. "Gotta finish this guy off quick! I mean, he did just use M-Cannon on me. That's a Chaos Net level chip!"

"I noticed! And, well, first things first!" Healing data, sent! "Heal up! BattleChip, Recover150! Slot in!"

A pink aura surrounded SplashMan, as various injuries were patched up instantly. Ahh, that always felt nice. "Thanks, but I dunno if that was really necessary..."

"Can't be too careful!" ...All right, the enemy was low on HP. She should wrap it up before he could get in a good strike or something. "On that note, when you have an enemy that low on HP, you can never hit him too much!" And that meant chips that could hit. A lot. If you were lucky, at least. "So let's not waste any time! BattleChip, MachineGun2! Slot in!"

The aquatic Navi's right hand transformed into, fittingly enough, a double barreled machine gun. As with most gun-style chips, he just had to point it towards the target, and activate the firing mechanism. Unlike most of them, however, it hardly ended there. A steady stream of bullets shot forth from the weapon, each causing the aim to falter, and forced him to try and readjust it to keep it trained on OdorMan. Sure, it was something he'd done before, but it never got any easier...

The instant the sound of rapid-fire failed to reach her ears, Sabrina continued with the theme. "Keep it up! BattleChip, QuadNeedle! Slot in!"

SplashMan's hand changed again, this time into a bow-like gun. Relieved at the fact this one was less annoying to use, he did his best to aim it at the (presumably) smelly Navi, and launched a simpler, easier attack: 4 sharp metal spears, all fired in rapid succession. At least it didn't have to be adjusted after each one.

"Aaaaand, just in case we need more hits!..." Because 13 separate attacks just wasn't enough. "BattleChip, AquaNeedle2! Slot in!"

...AquaNeedle? Wow, this kept getting easier and easier for him. With his hand regained, he simply pointed at the trespassing Navi, causing three spikes to begin falling from the sky. Of course, all had the same target: the fancier dressed of the two combatants. Well, technically, the ONLY dressed of the two combatants...regardless, impalement was the order of the day. But, just in case that many shots couldn't get to him, he altered his hand into a stereotypical buster gun, and shot a pair of magenta energy blasts at his opponent. Hey, like his operator said, you couldn't hit your enemy too much...

[Order of Turn:
1-Recover150 chip on SplashMan (150, Recovery)
2-MachineGun2 chip attack on OdorMan (50, D, hits 9 times)
3-QuadNeedle chip attack on OdorMan (50, B, hits 4 times)
4-AquaNeedle2 chip attack on OdorMan (30+15, B, hits 3 times)
5-Buster shot on OdorMan (50, Break)
6-Buster shot on OdorMan (50, Break)]
"Noooo! I will not go down here!" OdorMan cried, bravely bouncing over the first wave MachineGun bullets to try avoiding the rest, his cane changing into a pretty deadly looking sword.

"Aaaaaaaargh!" OdorMan let out a warcry as he brandished his blade...

...before SplashMan's needle attacked slammed into him.

"C-curses! I-I'll remember this, y-you..." OdorMan whimpered, forcibly ejected from the network.

Looks like he left his wallet too.

-CULPRIT-
OdorMan.EXE: EJO'D

-TERRAIN-
65% Grass, 25% Sea, 10% Mine (Random)

-DETECTIVE-
SplashMan.EXE: 490 HP

-VICTORY-
Get: 3300z
As OdorMan's presence vanished, SplashMan made his shield fade, and quickly gave his foe a wave. "Later! Feel free to not come back any time!"

"Yeah...in case everyone here hasn't figured it out, SplashMan's not really super witty..." Before she even finished, applause and cheering erupted through the room, and based on the sound of it, the room beyond. "Huh?"

"Oh, thank heavens! That fiendish Navi's gone!" The employee that informed everyone of OdorMan's reason for vengeance rushed Sabrina, picking her up and hugging her without a second thought. Yeesh, that guy was huge. "We'll be able to escape this nightmare with minimal loss! You've come through for DNN in our moment of crisis!"

"You're...welcome...can't...breathe..."

"Er, sir?"

"It's true that since that Navi was removed, we regained control of the systems, but, uh..."

"Well, we're not at 100% yet. I'd say we're at...70%, maybe?"

"Whaaaat?!" Just as suddenly as he grabbed her, the employee dropped the Netopian girl like a hot potato, clearly stunned at the news. "What are you getting at?!"

"Well, basically, we think there are still viruses leftover. The damage they're causing is a little greater than before, so we have reason to think some of them are stronger, and maybe in greater quantities..."

"...Can we at least go back to programming now?"

"We should, yes. But if something isn't done, they'll knock us off the grid again!"

"That would be a problem..." BAM! BAM! BAM! He was just patting her on the back, but Sabrina felt more like he was trying to save her from choking without having to do a Heimlich maneuver. This guy needed to learn his own strength..."But we've already got an expert NetBattler here to get rid of them! ...You WILL be a sweetheart and get rid of them, won't you?"

"...We've come this far, so we might as well..." Sabrina was a bit nervous about answering, seeing as how it felt like her back had red handprints on it...

"Then we've nothing to fear!" ...No further touching. Good. "Everyone, back to work! She'll take care of the remaining viruses in the system!"

"...SplashMan, that IS okay with you, right? It's been rough, but you're still in good shape!"

"Yep! I'm with ya all the way!"

"Good, because then I'd look like a real...I can't even think of the right word!"

"Jackass?"

"...Yeah, that's it! I'd look like a real..." ...Wait, that sounded like the tour guide...she was still here? "Hey, why are you still here?"

"I'm responsible for everyone in the tour group. Even ones as strong in the cyberworld as you. So until you're done, I'm staying right here! Besides, who'd want to miss seeing more of that amazing technique?"

"...Hoo boy. At this rate, I'm gonna be famous."

"At least you're calm about it!"

"I guess...it's just weird. I came here to take a tour, and now I'm kinda saving a TV station from a virus invasion."

"Don't worry about it! At least we're doing some good with virus busting now!"

"If you say so. Well, shall we find out what these killer viruses are?"

"Yep!" And with that...boom! The echoes of the sound barrier not being broken could not be heard, as the aquatic Navi marched even deeper into the cyberworld...

(Searching for Battle #6)
With the main culprit apprehended, SplashMan went on to clear up the rest of the virus invasion. As he went along the beach, he found himself going further down the water until he was entirely surrounded by sea. Out in the middle of the water, he found a strange thing occurring; a large red Jelly virus seemed to grab the attention of a few viruses. Specifically, some Piranha and Shrimpy were so infatuated with it that they were starting to orbit the jellyfish virus. One of them saw SplashMan's approach and alerted its comrades to his presence, causing them to turn hostile!

-- ENEMIES --
HeatJelly EX: 290 HP
Piranha2 A: 120 HP
Piranha2 B: 120 HP
Piranha2 C: 120 HP
Shrimpy2 A: 180 HP
Shrimpy2 B: 180 HP
Shrimpy2 C: 180 HP

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashMan.EXE: 490 HP

-- TERRAIN --
100% Sea

-- ROGUE BATTLE 06, READY? START!! --