Televised Execution

Chaos Net. The deepest part of the regular Net. If it could even be called regular. Not that that was what was on SplashMan's mind as he materialized into the dark world of the television. "Hang on...why is Chaos Net in a TV?"

"Well, these kinds of TVs are really expensive. I remember seeing a couple like it in ElecTown, and, wow...I think I can safely say we're never getting one at home. They probably extended Chaos Net into the TV's cyberworld so people won't wreck it from the inside. And since this inn's really old, it probably didn't take much effort to do it."

"Oh...that makes sense." Ugh...now that he was actually in here, his will to go through with things was suddenly starting to disappear. But it was a little late to turn back, so he took a few steps forward, before coming to another stop. "All right, Sabrina. Just to make sure, you've done all the folder rearranging you want, right?"

"Yep, all set."

"Okay then. ...Oh yeah, one thing I wanted to say before we started."

"That being?" Not that she blamed him, but she was starting to wonder if he was just stalling at this point...

"Well, I feel a little...different. It's hard to explain...it's like my body doesn't feel as strong as it's been, but at the same time, I feel a little more harmonized with water."

"That...doesn't make any sense. Sure you don't just want to back out of this?"

"Nope! I said I'm doing this, and I'm gonna! But don't worry, if things get sticky, I'll turn and run like you told me to!" And he would do so with no hesitation whatsoever, but that didn't need to be said. So instead of wasting time pointing that out, he marched on, in search of what would probably be more than worthy opponents.

(Searching for Battle #1...no, seriously)
Jacking into the Chaos Network version of the Yoka net inside a fancy TV, SplashMan found himself in a picturesque beach setting, the kind that you would see on the actual TV itself. Palm trees, sunset, white sandy beach, the works. Except, well, this was Chaos Net, so there was bound to be some other thing that differentiated it from the others. And there it was; the normally orange sky was riddled with static, and the sun was an eerie ball of grey light in the sky, turning everything into a monochrome-like setting. Worse than that, the sea was not uninhabited, with three powerful upgraded Lark viruses, the Tark, menacing over the recently jacked-in SplashMan.

-- VIRUSES --
Tark A: 300 HP (Sea)
Tark B: 300 HP (Sea)
Tark C: 300 HP (Sea)

-- OBJECTS --
Palm Tree 1: 200 HP (Currently in front, a bit close to SplashMan)
Palm Tree 2: 200 HP (Far behind SplashMan)
Palm Tree 3: 200 HP (Directly left of SplashMan)

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

-- TERRAIN --
40% Sand (Shore)
60% Sea

-- CHAOS BATTLE 01, READY? START!! --
...What did he get himself into? SplashMan immediately started regretting his previous bravado, wanting to do nothing more than return to the safety of his operator's PET. But at the same time, that was sorta why he couldn't just turn tail and flee. Catch-22s were awesome like that. "Here we go...at least they can't guard against attacks like the blue Mettaur can."

"Yep. Good thing, too, since I kinda scrapped our only Break chip." But on the other hand, they were probably quicker, which meant they'd be more likely to miss. ...Why did she agree to do this again? "Well, if we're here, we might as well get as much stuff as we can, while we can." Time to reap the rewards of yesterday's mission...by reaping extra rewards from today's battle. Battlechip featuring a gray raccoon thing? Click. "Battlechip, PickPocket! Slot in!"

The Aqua Navi took a single step to the right, prepared for any attack Sabrina could muster...aside from obtaining a new, temporary ally: the same raccoon that was on the used chip. Short and round, with very tiny legs, and a very un-tiny tail shaped like a question mark. And that mask...how did it fit that many random decorations on such a tiny mask? Truly, it was an animal of mystery. Come to think of it, how did it even move with those legs, much less with the speed to steal something?

This was quickly answered as the Bandcoon curled up into a ball, and began rocking and rolling. But mostly rolling with amazing speed towards the Tark trio. Even the water didn't seem to slow it down much as it continued spinning. Looked like it was reaching the viruses...

YOINK!

Almost too fast for the eye to see, the tail of the orb of fur extended, trying to hook something from the middle pink ray. Apparently succeeding in its task, the raccoon unfurled itself, apparently happy at its capture, which appeared to take the form of a small Green Mystery Data. It then tossed the stolen goods straight at its summoner, who looked on in surprise as the data appeared to disappear inside his chest. He looked up at the not-quite-a-real-virus...only to see three enemies. The Bandcoon was gone. All SplashMan could do was scratch his head, wondering exactly what had just transpired. But not for long, considering each of the viruses had almost as much HP as he did. "That was, uh, interesting...so, should we start trying to turn these guys into junk data now?"

"We sure do! Oh, but first...what did that raccoon steal, anyway?"

"I'm not really sure. It should be safe inside me, but it's raw data...it'll take a little while to decode. Could be cash or chip data, or it could be junk data if it screwed up. I really can't know unless we win this..."

"...Well then. We'll just have to win so we can find out, won't we?" Now, to see if they were going to be lucky in this battle, via a chip that could easily delete even a Chaos Net virus...or not. Only one way to find out. "Let's try to make this a 2 on 1 battle! Battlechip, MachineGun2! Slot in!"

At last, a weapon formed over the Navi's hand. In this instance, a rectangular, double-barreled gun, metallic gray with a bit of light blue trim in color. Even though he didn't think it'd make a ton of difference, he did his best to position it in the best spot for viral assault, then engaged the internal mechanism...causing the twin barrels to light up as the sounds of 9 shots rapidly rang out. Unfortunately, it did so with such force that it was virtually impossible to keep it still for the entire duration....but SplashMan gave it his all, doing his best to keep the gun steady.

"All right, good job! Now, could you do a Water Splash? That's always good for some damage!"

Its ammo completely expended, the machine gun removed itself from the sentinent program, granting him full hand-based freedom. This time, however, that part of him wasn't needed for full-on Tark blasting, as water pressure began to build inside the dual cannons on his back. Thanks to two certain enhancements to his systems, it took very little time to reach maximum power, allowing the Navi to nearly immediately lower the dorsal artillery for accuracy purposes. Aim...ready. Internal pressure...high. Internal noise maker that gave the attack a nice, SPLOOSHy sound...prepped.

SPLOOSH!

And with that, SplashMan fired enough water in a single burst to make even powerful Aqua viruses such as Tarks jealous. And it was hardly for show, with the hydraulic attack having registered many a deletion on lesser, yet intact, enemies. It definitely felt good to him: not only was deleting watery enemies with water fun, it had been nearly 24 hours since he last got to use his staple attack. Which, considering how much they were training as of late, almost seemed like an eternity.

"All right, next up...well, let's try something else new!" During the mission, Sabrina had made a trade for a certain chip she believed her Navi would greatly enjoy. She didn't remember if she had told him about it, but...either way, he probably wasn't about to get upset about it. "Battlechip, AquaTower! Slot in!"

"AquaTower?" SplashMan's right hand glowed blue for a moment, becoming infused with a great amount of water energy, as his eyes gave it a momentary puzzled look. "...Oh, right, that trade you made yesterday!" The origins of the chip confirmed, he clenched his fist, raised it high...and slammed it into the ground. For a moment, nothing seemed to be happening as a result, but soon a gigantic water pillar rose from the terra less-than-firma, followed by another one, and another one. While not entirely speedy, the geysers continued on over the water, including across the area where the upgraded Larks were, and eventually clear beyond the horizon. Well, it certainly lived up to its name...

"I think that's enough of the total offense. So..." Time to fight V3 viruses with the might of V3 chips...well, A V3 chip. And it wasn't entirely mighty, either. It did, however, have a picture of a Mettaur3 on it. That had to be worth something. "Battlechip, Guard3! Slot in!"

It wasn't the first time a shield made from the same stuff as a Mettaur's helmet formed in front of the aquatic fighter. It was, however, the first time one appeared that was blue with a yellow cross on it. He'd seen yellow with green, and even red with blue, but never blue with yellow. It actually made him a little proud, having become strong enough to receive such a chip. Even FlareMan couldn't be insulted by receiving a Guard3. ...Well, knowing FlareMan, he'd probably still find a way, but he couldn't complain much. Probably. Argh, he couldn't get caught up in random thoughts during a battle. Especially if his shield was taken out. Luckily, he did have a backup plan; that nearby palm tree looked like pretty good cover...

[Order of Turn:
1-Take one step to the right and PickPocket chip attack on TarkB (steals reward data)
2-MachineGun2 chip attack on TarkB (50, hits 9 times, missed shots may hit nearby enemies)
2a-Reserve Tank R (passive buster charge)
2b-Reserve Tank L (passive buster charge)
3-Water Splash charge attack on TarkA (200, Aqua, Spread 1)
4-AquaTower1 chip attack on Tarks (100+15, Aqua, Piercing, Group Attack)
5-Guard3 chip on SplashMan (200-, Reflects one attack as shock wave with Piercing + Line Attack)
6-Hide behind nearby tree]
The Tarks immediately knew that SplashMan wasn't some ordinary lunk that happened upon their little piece of paradise; no, they were smarter than that. Immediately, they began evasive maneuvers to split up and surround SplashMan's position, leaving the Bandcoon pseudo-virus to pick up nothing but sand. SplashMan did not waste any time either, taking out a powerful MachineGun chip and dealt massive damage to the Tark. (50x4) The other Tark blasted him with a barrage of shots, two of which hit the palm trees around him, and one which overshot him over his head. SplashMan's retaliation was to aim his cannon at one of them, blasting it with pure impulsive force. (200) The Tarks kept on firing, and SplashMan was shielded by the trees. However, one decided that it was going to do something different. With a flash of its eyes, it fired a powerful ray of light at SplashMan. Strangely enough, the ray did not seem to have any damaging properties. However, it did sear SplashMan's vision to the point of temporary blindness. (Blinded!) His AquaTower afterwards missed entirely due to his now disabled status. He did put up the Guard in time, however, and took some cover... like it was any good at this point with the Tarks surrounding him.

-- VIRUSES --
Tark A: 100 HP (Sea)
Tark B: 100 HP (Sea)
Tark C: 300 HP (Sea)

-- OBJECTS --
Palm Tree 1: 50 HP (Currently in front, a bit close to SplashMan)
Palm Tree 2: 200 HP (Far behind SplashMan)
Palm Tree 3: 50 HP (Directly left of SplashMan)

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashMan.EXE: 350 HP (Sand) (Blind!) (Guard3)

-- TERRAIN --
40% Sand (Shore)
60% Sea
"Aaaack!!!" What just happened? There was a bright flash of light, and then everything went dark...oh, there, his sight was coming back. Kinda. There were still massive spots that jumped around whenever he tried to blink, though. "Ugh...these spots..."

"What WAS that?" Suffice it to say that neither Navi nor operator had any ideas on what had happened, even though it was a simple Blinder effect. "Everything okay, SplashMan?"

"Kinda...I can't really see right. There's all these spots that keep blocking what I can see..."

"Then maybe we should take it easy for a little bit...actually, I have an idea. Think you can pull off a Water Splash on the one you didn't hit earlier? If you can't, that's okay, but it'd make things awesome if you could!"

"I guess I can try..." Once more, the aquatic Navi lowered the weaponry into firing range, quickly preparing them for a massive burst once again. Right cannon...full. Left cannon...full. Water pressure...about as maxed out as it can get without everything exploding. The main components were all set. Now he just needed to try and concentrate for a moment, and locate the Tark yet to be blasted. Hmm...that looked like the o-gah, he blinked, and now there was a spot covering that area. ...Okay, it moved again, and the virus was still there, whew. With a less than lethal sounding splooshing noise, the near lethal water cannons erupted, shooting water with enough force to...er...well, enough to do some serious damage. Unfortunately, the spot returned to being view blocking a moment afterward, so he couldn't see if he succeeded.

Not that it mattered, since Sabrina was already moving on to phase two of her self-proclaimed awesome plan. "If we're lucky, all the viruses have exactly 100 HP. And that's a very important number for us."

"It is?"

"...Yeah, it is. I think you'll know what I mean after I give you...this!" And her PET was pulled into the void. ...Or actually, the void was pulled into the PET. ...Er, the chip with a Void on it was pushed into the PET's insertion slot. "Battlechip, Vortex! Slot in!"

A pink sphere resembling a MiniBomb appeared in the Navi's left hand, with the right currently involved in the holding of the Guard. Fortunately, due to his operator shouting out the name of the chip, SplashMan knew not to fling it hard, or treat it like NumberBall, since he had a nice big spot blocking his entire left arm. As a result, he knew enough to turn in a direction with neither Tark nor palm tree in his way, rear back...

...And slam it into the ground. Though he couldn't quite see it either, a pink whirlpool formed in front of the Navi. For a moment, all was peaceful, as though it was content to simply spin. And in a way, that was true. But as it whirled, things started to get heavy. The trees' leaves began to droop, being pulled by an unknown force. Even tiny bits of data started to drop, as proof that the area's gravity was being intensified exponentially. And yet, the water tank Navi didn't so much as flinch. As the one who triggered the attack, he had the luxury of feeling normal Net gravity simulation. The ray viruses, however, were not. Particularly the ones that had been made weaker from various gunfire...

Surprisingly, the move didn't seem to last quite that long, and before long, things returned to normal, or at least normal by Chaos Net standards. And due to that, a certain operator decided to play things a bit safe, by transferring more data to her Navi. "Just in case...let's give you two ways to defend yourself. Battlechip, CurseShield! Slot in! And now, just hold tight, and we'll see if things get any better for your eyes!"

The left arm that had unleashed the force of countless Gs onto the battlefield acquired something new on it; a shield resembling a Dominerd virus. Combined with the Guard3 on the right appendage, he was now provided...less than 360 degrees of safety, but it was certainly far better with the second defensive barrier. Which was good, because his vision was still less than great. But with nothing else to do, he had to do his best to ensure that any WideShots of might avoided his personage, and hit square into one of his shields. Good thing that WideShots made a distinct sound when fired...a sound he knew very well. Hopefully that would help him in his attempts to avoid massive pain.

[Order of Turn:
0a-Reserve Tank R (passive buster charge)
0b-Reserve Tank L (passive buster charge)
1-Water Splash charge attack on TarkC (200, Aqua, Spread 1)
2-Vortex chip attack on solid ground near SplashMan (10+15, Aqua, deletes all viruses at or below 100 HP)
3-CurseShield1 chip on SplashMan (160, attacks after blocking attack)
4-Dodge
5-Dodge
6-Dodge]
Being blinded wasn't exactly the best thing in the world, as SplashMan found out. Firing a cannon haphazardly wasn't up there either, with the attack firing out into the sea uselessly. The Tark had seen this chance, and initiated heavy firing mode, destroying his cover and blasting his shield with a dose of WideShot, Chaos Net style, which reflected it back. (75) However, SplashMan had another ace up his sleeve, which was the Vortex gravity bomb. Throwing it down caused two of the Tark to inexplicably collapse and be sucked into the wormhole, deleting them. The last Tark, however, felt nothing, and kept on firing with reckless abandon. It met the CurseShield's face, which leapt at the Tark with a fearsome roar and a chomp of the teeth. This was Chaos Net level we were talking about here, though, and the Tark showed its prowess by easily sidestepping the cursed shield's attack.

By now, SplashMan's vision was returning to him, and he could see better.

-- VIRUSES --
Tark A: DELETED
Tark B: DELETED
Tark C: 225 HP (Sea)

-- OBJECTS --
Palm Tree 1: 50 HP (Currently in front, a bit close to SplashMan)
Palm Tree 2: 200 HP (Far behind SplashMan)
Palm Tree 3: 50 HP (Directly left of SplashMan)

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

-- TERRAIN --
40% Sand (Shore)
60% Sea
Darn, he missed. While SplashMan was hardly surprised at his failure to connect while visually impaired, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, mainly since it would've ended the battle right there and then. "Well, at least we've got just one more left!"

"Right."

"Any ideas?"

"Duh!" Like she didn't have ideas. "It can't attack when you're right behind it, so...Battlechip, AreaGrab! Battlechip, Blizzard! Double slot in!"

In the blink of an unblinded eye, the water Navi vanished from his cozy spot on the beach, reappearing in the slightly less safe water directly behind the final Tark. However, he wasn't exactly the same as he was prior to the warp; he had what almost looked like an extremely old and inefficient air conditioning unit for a right hand. And while it might or might not have had some age to it, it was, if anything, too efficient, as the instant he extended his arm forward, the unconventional weapon spewed icy gales forward, that were capable of freezing anything on contact. Despite the area's tropical appearance, the water below it only seemed to serve as fuel for the ice, as it spread forward.

As the frigid attack began to die down, Sabrina elected to remove another pair of chips: one was a blue fist the pair was familiar with. The other, however, appeared brand new, giving off a sheen that only unused chips seemed to have. Its effects were far from arcane, however, given that unlike most chips, the text 'ATTACK+20' was clearly visible in its picture. "And now you can cut loose! Battlechip, ColdPunch! Battlechip, Attack+20! Double slot in!"

SplashMan's right hand reformed, only to become encased in a large fist that gave off a cold blue aura. While he had used ColdPunch before, it still felt a bit different. The Attack+20 seemed to be working, as the power flowing through his arm was definitely greater than usual, even after he applied his own internal power into the like-elemental weapon. Deciding not to let much time elapse between attacks, he reared back, wound up slightly...

POW!

He swung with all his might, leaving a small icy trail in the air as the fist moved forward. Even if it didn't actually hit the intended target, the air would certainly feel a punch like that for some time.

POW!

But it didn't stop there. Taking the reckless-yet-relentless approach, the Navi used his ice punch attack a second time in an attempt to finish off the ray virus.

POW!

And a third time, in case it was needed to be the charm that deleted a Tark virus. Even if it wasn't necessary, it'd make for good practice for another time where it was more needed.

[Order of Turn:
1-AreaGrab chip attack to behind TarkC (teleports user)
2-Blizzard chip attack on TarkC (100+15, Aqua, increased chance of freezing on Aqua-element terrain)
3-ColdPunch chip attack on TarkC (70+25+20, Aqua, Impact, Knockback)
4-Attack+20 chip applied to ColdPunch (boosts all hits of chip by 20)
5-ColdPunch chip attack on TarkC (70+25+20), Aqua, Impact, Knockback)
6-ColdPunch chip attack on TarkC (70+25+20), Aqua, Impact, Knockback)]
Teleporting up to the Tark virus, SplashMan loaded up an... air-conditioner to his right hand, and fired a burst of hail at the enemy. The Tark was much more agile than that, however, and sidestepped the attack as it was released. SplashMan's first punch afterwards was also dodged decisively, as it seemed the Tark was adamant on not losing. It fired its WideShot attack at SplashMan, which damaged him for a good deal of data integrity. (75) His later punches both connected easily, however, as he exhausted the Tark and deleted it with a mighty blow.

-- VIRUSES --
Tark A: DELETED
Tark B: DELETED
Tark C: DELETED

-- OBJECTS --
Palm Tree 1: 50 HP (Currently in front, a bit close to SplashMan)
Palm Tree 2: 200 HP (Far behind SplashMan)
Palm Tree 3: 50 HP (Directly left of SplashMan)

-- NAVIGATOR --
SplashMan.EXE: 275 HP (Sea)

-- TERRAIN --
40% Sand (Shore)
60% Sea

-- CHAOS BATTLE 01, VICTORY!! --

-- REWARDS --

[WideShot3] Battlechip, 1400z
..Near-blinding pain aside, SplashMan successfully proved who the king watery data being was. ...Him. And maybe SplashLady, since she was mostly like him. Aside from being a girl, and probably to some, less of an eyesore. But she wasn't the one that just deleted three Tark, so yeah. He happily walked over to where the reward data laid, and began accessing it. "Woo, there's chip data in this!"

"Sweet! I'm gonna guess it's WideShot3!" A picture of the chip popped up. Red background, pinkish Lark series virus...yup, that didn't match either of the kinds they already had. Definitely the 3rd chip in the series. "Well, that was intense. ...Actually, I just thought of something. Could you jack out for a little bit?"

"Yeah...I think that's a good idea." His will to Chaos Net battle depleted, the Navi more than happily exited the Net, now with an upgrade to his already impressive arsenal.

(TO THE REAL WORLD)