The Face of Chaos

In a flash of light, SplashLady ended up witnessing Chaos Net with her own eyes for the first time. "Wow...this place is, uh, different..."

"Kinda depressing, isn't it? They probably don't do much upkeep here, since so few Navis can access it."

"Plus, the programming language it uses is pretty old. Any older, and some Navis would probably start to really feel it."

"Really? Would you be affected?"

"I dunno...maybe. SplashMan would probably be fine, though, since his coding's fairly old." The mermaid Navi started walking along, looking very carefully at her surroundings. "You know...I realize it's old and full of powerful viruses, but you'd think the GNA would take a little better care of Chaos level Nets!"

"No kidding...not much we can do, though, since I don't know much about programming, and there's only so much you could fix on your own. Plus all the viruses there are good enough to smash what you did fix pretty quick..."

"Yeah...at one point, this was one of the busiest spots in the entire Net. But now I'm practically echoing from the silence. It's sad, really..." Shaking her head, the aquatic fighter journeyed onward, now certainly within the realm of potential enemy strikes.

(Searching for Battle #1)

Entering the deepest parts of the ACDC network, SplashLady did sort of expect some rather difficult competition. The viruses there, too, thought of a full commitment. You wouldn't get this from any other network. The MegaBunnies wanted to tell her how they were feeling, and they were gonna make her understand.

-- ENEMIES --
MegaBunny A: 200 HP
MegaBunny B: 200 HP
MegaBunny C: 200 HP

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashLady.EXE: 550 HP

-- TERRAIN --
100% Normal

-- CHAOS BATTLE 01, READY? START!! --

While hardly the first time she had encountered Bunnies, it WAS the first time they seemed genuinely threatening to SplashLady, with their orangey-gold coloring and overall aura of menace viruses of their caliber gave off. "Er...this is going to be different than the other Chaos Net battles..."

"Yeah, we've gotta be careful...but at the same time, the faster they're gone, the less time they have to shoot electrical rings at you! So let's not waste any time!" And no time was wasted on the operator's part, as she whipped out three chips, quickly rearranged them into a certain order, and slammed them all into the PET chip insertion slot. "BattleChip, AreaGrab! BattleChip, BambooSword! BattleChip, Attack+20! Triple slot in!"

As had happened in many a battle previously, the mermaid Navi disappeared from her spot on the battlefield, finding herself yet again behind an enemy group after instantaneously warping. Her trident was gone, however; instead of the usual triple pronged head, a single, large piece of sharpened wood jutted forth from the shaft, giving a more traditional spear-like appearance and function to it. With as much speed as she could muster, the weapon's side began to be pushed in a slight arc ahead of her, possibly into the side of some rabbit viruses in the process; a simple slash attack. But, proving her prowess with a lance, she quickly flipped the spear in her hand, allowing her to quickly follow up with a backhanded stab technique.

This second attack was still not enough to SplashLady, however, as she spun on the toe of one boot, returning her weapon to its original position in her hand. With all her might, her rotation was made 360 degrees, and tore at the trio of electrical opponents with the previously unused side edge of her blade. Unfortunately, the last cut ended up veering into the ground on completion, resulting in the shattering of the technological bamboo. Just in case a MegaBunny managed to avoid that many attacks, however, she remained on guard, to try and avoid any incoming ZapRings.

"...That was kinda quick, don't ya think?"

"Like you said, we shouldn't waste time against viruses like these. The faster they're deleted, the better!"

"Uh, right..."

[Order of Turn:
1-AreaGrab chip to behind MegaBunnies (teleports user)
2-BambooSword chip attack on MegaBunnyA, MegaBunnyB, and MegaBunnyC (80+20, Wood, Slashing)
3-Attack+20 chip on BambooSword (adds 20 damage to all hits of previous chip)
4-BambooSword chip attack on MegaBunnyA, MegaBunnyB, and MegaBunnyC (80+20, Wood, Slashing)
5-BambooSword chip attack on MegaBunnyA, MegaBunnyB, and MegaBunnyC (80+20, Wood, Slashing)
6-Dodge]

Teleporting behind enemy lines before the Bunnies could even begin to attack, SplashLady swung her bamboo... spear in a wide arc at the viruses. They were a bit quicker than they looked, however, and hopped forward as soon as they realized she had disappeared. That didn't stop her from cutting down two of the powerfully adorable creatures before they could escape, but the last hopped on the spot and hurled a ring of electricity that smacked into SplashLady's arm. It caused more numbness than pain, at least.

-- ENEMIES --
MegaBunny A: 200 HP
MegaBunny B: DELETED
MegaBunny C: DELETED

-- TERRAIN --
100% Normal

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashLady.EXE: 450 HP [Stun1]

While the ring of electricity proved painful, somehow it didn't sting quite as much as SplashLady would've anticipated. Maybe it was that HP+200 in her systems...or maybe MegaBunny was just surprisingly weak for a virus of its level. Regardless, the static gave her a few moments to think about it as she tried to reclaim full control of her body. "Urgh!...That stung..."

"That...was a lot less painful than I would've thought. Not that I'm complaining!"

"...There!" The mermaid Navi stopped glowing yellow, finding herself completely free to perform any movements she wanted.

"Feeling better now?"

"Yep. Now let's end this battle before that happens again!"

"Right!" Hmm...but at the same time, now was a great chance to try a certain something involving raccoons. "Well, hold on a sec. Let's see if we can grab a little extra stuff, then we can wipe that MegaBunny off the face of the internet! BattleChip, PickPocket! Slot in!"

A second virus entered the scene; this one, however, had no interest in attacking the Navi. The Bandcoon had little difficulty determining its target, seeing as how there was all of one possible option, before curling into a ball and rolling at a high speed toward the electrical opponent. As it sped past, its tail appeared to reach in and grab something from the MegaBunny, though what it was, or even if it was any useful data, was completely impossible to tell. Nevertheless, it seemed proud of itself, and pulled out a small safe to store what it had taken in absolute safety before vanishing. Exactly how the safe was going to be opened was unclear, however...

But that could be worried about once there wasn't anything trying to kill her. Raising her trident above her head, she began to spin it rapidly, creating a stream of water that followed the weapon's every move. Given the Navi's experience in the matter, it took very little time for it to build into something worthy to be flung at to inflict large amounts of damage...and then, suddenly, with no warning, she stopped, prongs aimed towards the enemy. Every droplet of summoned water also stopped spinning, and launched forward to try and strike the rabbit with a massive deluge.

"Hmm...aha, got an idea! But if it's gonna work, you can't try and avoid any attacks, okay?" And naturally, the operator didn't bother waiting for an answer before continuing. At least the plan was self-explanatory. "BattleChip, CurseShield! Slot in!"

"What?! That thing still hurts! And you're telling me I can't try and avoid? How can you even-" A Dominerd formed in front of SplashLady, beginning its duty to block that which would harm its summoner...and make sure that the guilty party would suffer greatly for it. "Oh, right, that."

"Yep, that. Your head still isn't 100% right after what happened in Hades, is it?"

"N-No way! I'm completely focused! See?!" The fact the mermaid Navi was clearly blushing seemed to contradict her words, but nevertheless she peered from the shield virus's left side, with her non-spear arm now reshaped into a generic buster gun, and took a single, quick shot at the MegaBunny before hiding behind her defense once again. "That oughta annoy it into firing back!"

"...Yeah. That'll show me. You're definitely completely into it." Sabrina clearly wasn't buying what her Navi was selling...but still, that's what being an operator was about, right? Keeping your Navi's head in the game, no matter how much she wanted to think about something else.

[Order of Turn:
1-Stunned
2-PickPocket chip on MegaBunnyA (steals reward data from one virus)
2a-Reserve Tank R (passive buster change)
2b-Reserve Tank L (passive buster change)
3-Water Splash charge attack on MegaBunnyA (200, Aqua, Break)
4-CurseShield1 chip on SplashLady (160, counters an attack)
5-Wait for CurseShield to be triggered
6-Buster shot on MegaBunnyA (50)]

Bang, stuff exploded in the bunny's face. Not like it mattered much.

-- ENEMIES --
MegaBunny A: DELETED
MegaBunny B: DELETED
MegaBunny C: DELETED

-- TERRAIN --
100% Normal

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashLady.EXE: 450 HP

-- CHAOS BATTLE 01, VICTORY!! --

-- REWARDS --
[ZapRing3] Battlechip, 1200z

Ah, the nothingness. Well, nothing besides that mass of reward data, and...what the? Was the safe the Bandcoon left behind...disintegrating? Yep...it was, and nothing was left behind. She'd just assume that meant it had nothing worth getting. With a twirl of her spear, the remains of the bunny viruses left her sight, to make its way to her assigned PET. "That was rough, for just three Bunnies...oh well. We got their chip, by the way."

"I guess it helps out with the library...but I can safely say we won't be using it soon." And into the reserves it went. "Oh well, maybe I'll get lucky and someone will buy it. It's not exactly bad."

"Yep...think I should keep going? Both times SplashMan was in Chaos Net, he only did single battles..."

"Well, yeah, but the first time was because those Mettaur were on something, and then we were just in the TV to fix it. This is different. March!"

"Well, I still feel pretty good, so I guess I can't complain. Onward!" SplashLady delved deeper into the Net, into areas even her brother had never seen before...

(Searching for Battle #2)

Rolling on through the ACDC Chaos Network, SplashLady went on to find some more viruses to spar with. And, of course, she found some in a short time, which were two Kabutanks, again with different coloring schemes than their weaker brethren. Though it seemed like they would get an easier battle than before, a viral screech from behind suggested that it was not the case. While she was facing the Kabutanks, two Chaos-version Champu had gotten the drop on her, flanking the mermaid Navi on two sides from the rear!

-- ENEMIES --
Kabutank3 A: 200 HP (Front)
Kabutank3 B: 200 HP (Front)
Chimpu A: 220 HP (Back, left)
Chimpu B: 220 HP (Back, right)

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashLady.EXE: 450 HP

-- TERRAIN --
100% Normal

-- CHAOS BATTLE 02, READY? START!! --

Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Sure, the viruses were absurdly powerful, but they weren't on her level. Plus, Chimpy were Fire element, which made them that much easier to be eliminated by spraying water at them. Yep, nothing to worry about...aside from the fact that, ya know, they were absurdly powerful for viruses. "I guess we should get started...so, let's rock!"

"Okay, so Chimpy punch things with fire, and Beetle...uh...are those the ones that shoot lots and lots of bombs, or the bombs that have weird effects? ...Or are they the ones that shoot bombs with really big blast radiuses? Gah, I always forget!"

...Okay, not having much of an idea about how one of the virus types battled wasn't good, either. "At least we know they fire bombs. That's good enough for us, right?"

"Uh, I guess? I kinda like knowing exactly how they're going to smack you..." Oh, whatever. Bombs were bombs, more or less. "At any rate, let's focus on the Chimpy first, since they're easier for us to destroy!" Like with this, for example. "BattleChip, WaterLine2! Slot in!"

Deciding to take a traditional approach to utilizing the chip data, a Raingear virus formed over SplashLady's left hand, which immediately began to eye the fire behind it. The Navi turned around and stuck her arm forward, allowing it to open its mouth in anger over the thought that there was something nearby that wasn't soaked. Luckily for its rage, there was a way for it to fix that, as it began to create wells of water below the surface of the panels, which began to rise as a trio of mighty geysers that could seemingly put out any flame they so much as touched. Which most likely wasn't true, but the ones within eyesight definitely couldn't withstand that much force of water...

However, they could still just sidestep it, so...never hurt to go with a little extra. "All right, this is Chaos Net, so...let's make sure we don't have to worry about those guys! BattleChip, WideShot3! Slot in!"

Once more, a method of splattering water onto foes popped onto the mermaid Navi's left hand, this one being a bit more conventional; a wide mouthed gun, colored and shaped to resemble a Lark's mouth. However, after the usual approach of aiming the weapon at the intended targets and activating the firing mechanism, it showed that it had much greater power than what it looked like...its strength appeared to actually be more on par with the dreaded Tark than a mere Lark. It sailed forward, its aquatic power fairly obvious to whoever beheld it.

With the assault on the Chimpy deemed complete to her, SplashLady once more did a 180, to focus on the insect-like viruses on that side. Raising her trident high, water began to rise from the ground, swirling around her as it built frightening power. Oddly, the instant it reached the height of the weapon, it began to charge one of the Beetle with enough force to penetrate steel, as opposed to a usual flourish, or even a simple point. Not that she didn't have as much command over it as usual, she simply wished to utilize her powers a little differently this time.

After approvingly viewing the continuance of the deluge, the girl overseeing the battle attempted to think of other ways to potentially make the enemy break apart into junk and reward data, eventually succeeding as she removed a BattleChip that she couldn't recall ever using before. "You know, I think now's a perfect chance to try something! BattleChip, Mine2! Slot in!"

Lowering herself on one knee, the Navi touched the ground, noticing that some sort of explosive device was randomly flashing on panels throughout the battlefield. While it eventually stopped, it had also vanished to her own sight, making its location completely unknown. "Uh, isn't that going to explode if I step on it, too?"

"Nope! The description says that the user can't trigger the mines. And you're the user, so that won't be a problem!"

"Huh...nifty!" She rose to her feet, trying to get a good feel for what viruses were still alive, so she could taunt them directly. "Go ahead, try moving! Maybe you'll get deleted for it, maybe you won't! But be my guest, chance it!" Her mind at ease about not getting blown up by her own explosives, SplashLady began preparing herself for avoiding bombs and fire punches, especially since she wasn't earning any favors by talking to the viruses like that...

[Order of Turn:
1-WaterLine2 chip attack on ChimpuA and ChimpuB (130+15, Aqua)
2-WideShot3 chip attack on ChimpuA and ChimpuB (100+15, Aqua)
2a-Reserve Tank R (passive buster charge)
2b-Reserve Tank L (passive buster charge)
3-Water Splash charge attack on KabutankA (200, Aqua, Break)
4-Mine2 chip (240, creates 10% Mine terrain)
5-Dodge
6-Dodge]

Immediately moving to fight fire with water, SplashLady and her raging Raingear unleashed a torrent of water below the Chimpus. One was sent rocketing into the air and burst into junk data as it went flying. The other teleported to SplashLady and made a series of swift jabs at the water Navi. Only one managed to make contact (50) before she got clear of the virus's range and retaliated with WideShot, making the virus regret moving closer. After that, SplashLady lazily powered up and let her aquatic prowess do the talking as a deluge of water surged at the Kabutanks. Unfortunately, the targeted virus barely managed to avoid the water and retaliated with a haphazard spray of bombs. The hasty counter left SplashLady unharmed, but she had come dangerously close to several explosions. The second Kabutank watched quietly as SplashLady set up a mine on the field, wary of another attack. The attack in question did not come, nor did any mines explode, so the battlefield was quiet for the moment.

-- ENEMIES --
Kabutank3 A: 200 HP (Front)
Kabutank3 B: 200 HP (Front)
Chimpu A: DELETED
Chimpu B: DELETED

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashLady.EXE: 400 HP

-- TERRAIN --
90% Normal
10% Mine

So many bombs...did that clear up the confusion?

"Okay, so it shoots lots of bombs. That means that it...uh...what DOES it mean?"

...Nope. With a sigh, SplashLady refocused on the Geetle, raising her trident once more...before stabbing it into the ground. Oddly, a blue aura began to surround the head, which began to rise, and soon covered the entire weapon. The radiance quickly darkened, signaling another deluge of water shooting from the handle, towards the tank virus. Once the aquatic forces were fully expelled, the mermaid Navi reclaimed what was rightfully hers, twirling it around in her fingers as she resized the situation. "So, what's the plan? I can't think of anything really special we can do, unless I use Water Splash again..."

"Nah, I have a better idea!" Yep, it was time...to test...THAT. Yes, THAT. THAT which needed to be tested. "You might wanna brace yourself before using it, though, just so you don't fall over from using it. I mean, that'd be embarrassing, and it'd be a little tricky to dodge their attacks, too..."

"So, are you sending it over or not?"

"I realize these are tough viruses, but be a little patient! Geez!" Now for THAT chip, possessing a nice, bold Rare tag next to its description...not to be confused with THAT other one she had and used...or THAT other one she had but didn't really use. Nope, it was definitely THAT one. "BattleChip, Gaia2! Slot in!"

The three prongs instantly vanished atop the water Navi's spear, replaced by what appeared to be a rather large hammer head. Heavy, too, based on her suddenly finding herself struggling to maintain holding it. She started to swing it, using the momentum to try and control it a bit better before raising it above her head, and lowering it with everything she had...right on the ground, with no viruses even close by. But that was by design, as a tremendous shock wave rippled from the hammer, going in all directions. Oddly, however, it seemed to die down quickly in some directions, while still going strong in others. She wasn't entirely sure...maybe she was off when she swung it? Or was it just part of the attack? Not that she minded; 360 degrees of attack force wasn't to be trifled with. "That looked pretty rough...I know Gaia viruses can cause earthquakes by doing that, but that just blew everything I've seen from them out of the water...

"And you never would've known it the way you were struggling to just hold it!" Sure, SplashLady could destroy viruses like no one's business, but it was definitely more about technique than raw strength for her..."Here's something a little lighter! BattleChip, Bubble-V! Slot in!"

While frowning over the fact her operator completely called her out on her decided lack of muscle strength, the heavy hammer head on the Navi's weapon quickly faded, and equally speedily replaced with a gun resembling a hose nozzle. Well, at least she could once again wield it with no problems. The worst she had to do was try and directly position it towards the Geetle ahead, which seemed to be a fairly easy process. Sending a small pulse of water energy to it, the nozzle erupted, sending out an explosive grouping of bubbles that, upon impact, could split into two separate, yet equally powerful bubble blasts...or at least that's what SplashLady remembered. Frankly, it had been a while since that was pulled out of the ol' arsenal. "So, want me to get some other attack ready, in case that doesn't work?"

"We could, but nah. Let's worry about you not getting blown up by lots and lots of bombs!"

"Roger that!" That presumably meant 'dodge anything they shoot at you', unless she was sending over IronShield or CurseShield...but Sabrina was being awfully quiet about it if she was, and that just didn't happen. Time to get happy feet and prepare for some evasive maneuvers...

[Order of Turn:
0a-Reserve Tank R (passive buster charge)
0b-Reserve Tank L (passive buster charge)
1-Water Splash charge attack on Kabutank3A (200, Aqua, Break)
2-Gaia2 chip attack on all enemies (130, Ground Attack)
3-Bubble-V chip attack on Kabutank3B (80+15, Aqua, Spread 2)
4-Dodge
5-Dodge
6-Dodge]

Picking off one of the Kabutanks with her Water Splash was easy, as it was too slow to avoid the explosive shot. Bombs were landing everywhere but SplashLady's movements easily sidestepped them. However, the Kabutank remaining also was pretty speedy, jumping over the Gaia attack like a boss. The Bubble-V was unexpected, however, and it received the bubbly wrath. It didn't go down immediately, however, and remained strong.

-- ENEMIES --
Kabutank3 A: DELETED
Kabutank3 B: 105 HP (Front)
Chimpu A: DELETED
Chimpu B: DELETED

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashLady.EXE: 400 HP

-- TERRAIN --
90% Normal
10% Mine

Somehow, the fact the beetle tank was able to leap over the earthquake didn't surprise the Navi at all. Instead, she just shook her head and sighed. "It figures..."

"How did it even jump?! It barely even has legs!"

"Couldn't tell you, I was a little preoccupied, what with the whole giant hammer thing and all."

"Yeah...well, at least we've got a chance to do some other stuff, so it's not too bad." Yep, other stuff. That usually meant using certain non-damaging chips to make their lives easier...and today was no exception. "At any rate, just stand there for a sec! BattleChip, Recover120! BattleChip, PickPocket! Double slot in!"

SplashLady found herself in the pink, as some of her bomb and electrically charged ring injuries immediately dissipated, leaving only minor instances of pain. Perhaps of more note to the enemy, however, was the presence of a Bandcoon virus in front of the Navi, promptly scoping out the Geetle upon realizing that it was the only possible victim of its future larceny. This time, there was no lava or sand in the way of it, so the thief elected to take a quick, simple approach: it curled into a tight ball, and speedily rolled its way towards the lone enemy, taking a split second to reach into it with its tail, and pull something out. As always, however, it was completely impossible to tell what the unanalyzed data contained, be it coveted chip data, desired funds, or, for all they knew, a spare copy of its frame. And there was no time to investigate, either, as the Bandcoon begun to spin in place, creating a hole large enough to store the goods, and promptly buried it. It wouldn't be hard to reclaim, but when there was an angry virus in front of you...it was usually a good idea to put your priorities on it before worrying about any random stuff you got.

"You know, for once, I actually did that for something other than just wanting a chip...since if we do get one from it, we'll have a better idea of what it does!"

"Uh, maybe...honestly, it's kind of confusing."

"Tell me about it...but we can either stand around being confused, or get rid of it so we won't have to deal with it anymore!" Well, actually, it was probably possible for her to do both, but she wasn't going to. "Smash it good! BattleChip, AreaGrab! BattleChip, GutImpact! Double slot in!"

As she had experienced many times before, and would most likely experience many times in the future, the mermaid Navi disappeared from where she stood, only to reappear directly behind her foe. Of similar note was her trident, which went from its usual three prongs into a large yellow and dark gray fist, surprisingly light given its size. With a fair amount of might, she quickly thrust it forward, to try and catch the Geetle off guard before it could regroup. Of course, doing more than one was pointless for such a tactic, thus she elected to hang back and size up the situation should there still be a remaining foe. Once it was clear where the virus remained, she promptly rushed it and gave it another whack with the large handed weapon, to give the battle an end...

[Order of Turn:
1-Recover120 chip on SplashLady (120, Recovery)
2-PickPocket chip on Kabutank3B (steals reward data from one virus)
3-AreaGrab chip to behind Kabutank3B (teleports user)
4-GutImpact chip attack on Kabutank3B (160, Impact, Break, Knockback)
5-Take aim on Kabutank3B
6-GutImpact chip attack on Kabutank3B (160, Impact, Break, Knockback)]

(Caos golpe escala)

Taking care to heal and properly loot her soon-to-be-vanquished foe, SplashLady watched as her partner in crime raided the Kabutank and returned with a modest sum of zenny as the aquatic Navi teleported behind the last virus and spearpunched it to kingdom come.

-- ENEMIES --
Kabutank3 A: DELETED
Kabutank3 B: DELETED
Chimpu A: DELETED
Chimpu B: DELETED

-- TERRAIN --
90% Normal
10% Mine

CHAOS BATTLE 2 COMPLETE!

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashLady.EXE: 520 HP

Rewards:
1600z+500z
in other words
2100z

Finally...while not difficult, that battle felt quite annoying. Still, it was kind of nice to actually have to properly focus on each enemy...made things a little more intense. "Okay, let's see what we got." The viruses yielded...cash. The PickPocket yielded...more cash. Not that that was bad, but it wasn't going to clear the Beetank/Beetle confusion in their minds. "Sending over the cash data now...done! Want me to keep going?"

An enormous yawn from the real world gave the Navi her answer. "Eh, I guess...wait! I got a better idea! Let's take a mission! There's something I'd really like, but I don't know how to get it without requesting it..."

"Mission? I guess that's fine. Feels like it's been a while since we asked for one. I guess I should go ahead and jack out if that's what you want, right?"

"Hey, it's not like you don't get a say in it."

"I guess it'll depend on what our mission ends up being. If I like it, I'll do it. If I don't, SplashMan can handle it!"

"Way to be a team player..."

"Oh, don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing! Anyway, I'm out!" And indeed, in a beam of light, Chaos Net became eerily quiet once more...

(JACKING OUT)