Yoka Net busting

Voltman goes on, freshly healed and ready for action. He finds a steaming hot pool in the middle, surrounded by four pillars. Nice place to relax, one might think, but as he moves along, some steam pops up in the near distance. A few Nautilus come up behind some pillars off in the distance, and a few Magneakers approach Voltman as well. Some Kettles are warming up the water with their boiling-hot water as well.

Too bad. No relaxing dip for Voltman today.

--Viruses--
NautilusEXA: 90HP
NautilusEXB: 90HP
NautilusEXC: 90HP
NautilusEXD: 90HP
NautilusEXE: 90HP
MagneakerEXA: 120HP
MagneakerEXB: 120HP
MagneakerEXC: 120HP
MagneakerEXD: 120HP
MagneakerEXE: 120HP
KettleA: 100 Degrees
KettleB: 100 Degrees
KettleC: 100 Degrees
KettleD: 100 Degrees
KettleE: 100 Degrees

--Pillars--
PillarA: 200HP (top left corner of pool)
PillarB: 200HP (top right corner)
PillarC: 200HP (bottom left corner)
PillarD: 200HP (bottom right corner)

-- Navis --
Voltman.EXE: 200HP

Terrain: 50% Normal, 50% Sea (Hot tub)
Voltman waded through a large wasit-deep hot spring as he continued through the depths of Yoka net. This area appeared to be an abandoned version of the commercial onsen located in the less virus infested part of the net. But signs of Virus infestation were everywhere. The ornate columns that lined the pools were eroded severely from what appeared to be bubblers, the pools themselves now only vaguely resembled what could be found by the average navi.

It's a pity, really. So many areas of the net have been taken over by viruses. Nearby, a small piece of data floated on the water. Voltman attempted to pick it up, only to have it shy away from his hand, moving towards his other side. Grabbing it with his other hand, the data not only didn't move away, it stuck to his armor. Magnetic. Voltman ignored it, continuing on.

I know what you mean. Battle navis have helped, not to mention the fact that data packets from deleted viruses are now automatically converted to zennies. Gives an incentive for the public to help. Something splashed to Voltman's left. Turning, he saw a small ripple maybe 20 feet away, but ignored it. Who knows what could have fallen off one of the pillars in the area? Even so, Voltman was becoming cautious. Something was amiss in the onsen. Skipping the superfluous step of manifesting his barrier's energy as electricity, he merely summoned the barrier out of excess data, and continued walking.

You're right, you know. I mean, it's practically a job, nowadays. Or it would be, if not for the fact that the average battler has expenses other than battling to cover. We're lucky. The rent is cheap, water and electricity are covered, and we only have to buy groceries once in a blue moon. Shigeru looked up from his PET's screen to see the MondoDog stand he frequented making the rounds of Scilab. Grinning, he continued optimizing the code of the battlechips as he had been. Removing some of the more superfluous graphics from the battlechips (Why even PUT graphical sparks in an Elecsword? The chip's element is going to produce them anyways...) he pulled up the Power series of chips, and set them aside pointedly.

Meanwhile, Voltman had reached the edge of the large onsen. Steam gushing out of small pipes near the nearby pillars, he flinched and summoned a spear as he heard two small *tink* sounds near the bottom of his armor. Turning around, he didn't see anything. He looked down, only to find two more magnetic pieces of data stuck to his armor. He took them off and was about to discard them, when a thought struck him that really should have much earlier. Why the hell is magnetic data in Yoka...? All of a sudden, the splashing seemed much less of an idle suspicion. Scanning the data in his hand as he began to run from the large onsen, a small results screen popped up on his visor and Shigeru's PET screen.
Scan complete
Object Status: Magnetic bomb fragment. Fragment is of viral source, and was deployed within ten minutes of current analysis. Recommendation: Proceed with extreme caution.

Both operator and navi responded in the same moment.
Oh shit.

A massive spray of water erupted as Magneakers leapt out of the water, landing on the floor near Voltman. What he had assumed to be steam pipes emerged from the water, revealing teapot-like viruses, and the splashing sound from the onsen returned as five submarine viruses emerged, periscopes swiveling in unison towards their new target as they neared the pillars. Voltman cracked his knuckles, followed by his neck, as he formulated a strategy.
Well, this is new. Shigeru, can you analyze the viruses quickly, and send some battlechips? Voltman's visor flashed as small progress bars appeared.
Done and done. You should be getting the virus data now. And indeed, Voltman's visor loaded three small wireframe images at the side of his vision. Magneakers he knew already. He'd have to stay clear of their lobbed attacks, otherwise he'd be left open for the other virus' blows. Nautilus viruses were other old favorites. But the third...
Kettle. HP: Variable. Special: Kettles will not attack unless provoked. Kettle viruses house violent forms of water data, which can be used offensively. However, if the water data is heated by a fire attack while still in the kettle, it will explode, dealing considerable damage to all within the explosion's range.
Voltman grinned. He had his strategy. The general selection of battlechips were uploaded, being the elemental wideswords, Areagrab, and the Moonblade, but Voltman sent three special requests to Shigeru. Seeing the fire chips, he understood, but... A cannon?
Voltman grinned. Trust me.

A bolt of lightning marked Voltman's disappearance from the field with a blinding flash, as he exited the same temporal plane as the viruses. Water droplets ceased falling, the viruses stopped moving, and Voltman... Voltman walked calmly over the water as if nothing were the matter, whistling softly as he positioned himself in the middle of the Nautilus viruses. Links of a chain began to appear in his hands as he activated his second battlechip. The Moonblade solidified as Voltman finished his amateur whistled rendition of Yellow Submarine, snapped his fingers, and deactivated the Areagrab. With a roar, he threw the blade forwards, the chain trailing behind it, to stab at the first enemy. Wrenching at the chain, he retrieved it, and quickly slashed at two others without even using the chain. Finishing off his attack with a bang, Voltman twirled the chain around his sides, alternating which side with each swing, before letting out the chain and attempting to cleave the final two Nautili into halves. Disengaging the battlechip, Voltman took quick note of the Magneaker's location and dodged to the side before... standing there?

Voltman, those Magneakers are gonna be firing at you, start moving or you'll get caught in the blast...! Go and take them out! Shigeru yelled at his navi, confused by the unexpected inaction. Voltman merely raised a hand toward the holoscreen.
Shh. You're as bad as Watt sometimes, I swear. He said, keeping his attention focused on the Magneakers. The kettles were still stewing near the edge of the pool. Bored with his enemies' inactivity, Voltman started singing under his breath. You're a little teapot, short and mean...
The Magneakers were advancing. The end of the line had almost neared the first kettle. A fiery fist began to coalesce far above the kettle and descend, moving towards the unfortunate virus' handle. Here is your handle, as I have seen...
Voltman's arm turned to a cannon, even as a small sheath appeared at his waist, its outer side charcoal black. Whipping the Fireknife out of its casing, Voltman used the blade to pry the top of the cannon's casing off, and inserted the knife into the firing chamber before replacing the top once again. When you get all sliced up, I hear screams...
The firehit was nearing its target, as were the Magneakers. It was time. Voltman took aim at the opposite end of the row of Kettles from the Firehit and pulled the trigger, sending the flaming knife towards the last enemy. The cannon morphed into a smaller buster, while a similar buster appeared on Voltman's other hand, both trained on the enemy group. You're boiling over, now let off some STEAM!

Overview:
<Siphon (20 HP Barrier)>
1. Areagrab to behind Nautilus group (Teleport)
2. Moonblade1 to NautilusA-E (90, A accuracy [5 Targets= C accuracy, +2 ranks from teleport and Sword subtype])
3. Elecsword to any remaining Nautili (80, +15 elemental bonus, x2 due to weakness, Elec)
<Swordplay (Tactical positioning, dodge any incoming Magneaker bombs)>
<Tactical position description: Kettles placed between Magneakers and Voltman, used to lure Magneakers into range of Kettle explosions>
4. Firehit1 to KettleA (60, Fire)
5. Shoot Fireknife from Cannon (High Velocity Flaming Knife)
6. Fireknife to KettleE (60, Slashing, Fire)
<Jolt [x2] to any remaining Magneakers (40)[x2]>
<Dynamo (Heal 20 HP)>
Walking through time, Voltman quickly took care of four of the Nautilus with his quick Moonblade move, and the remaining one was zapped by a nice ElecSword strike. Then, the Magneakers made their move by firing a few bombs, one of which hit his barrier, after which Voltman initiated his Fire attack, hitting the first of the Kettles and initiating a chain reaction! The kettle Voltman hit boiled over, blasting steam all over the place, hitting its neighbors as well, which also blasted steam all over the place! The Magneakers, which were charging in Voltman's direction, got hit by the Kettles, but some survived. Not for long though, as Voltman got his buster running, deleting a few Magneakers and finishing the battle.

--Viruses--
NautilusEXA: Deleted
NautilusEXB: Deleted
NautilusEXC: Deleted
NautilusEXD: Deleted
NautilusEXE: Deleted
MagneakerEXA: Deleted
MagneakerEXB: Deleted
MagneakerEXC: Deleted
MagneakerEXD: Deleted
MagneakerEXE: Deleted
KettleA: Deleted
KettleB: Deleted
KettleC: Deleted
KettleD: Deleted
KettleE: Deleted

--Pillars--
PillarA: 200HP (top left corner of pool)
PillarB: 200HP (top right corner)
PillarC: 200HP (bottom left corner)
PillarD: 200HP (bottom right corner)

-- Navis --
Voltman.EXE: 200HP (Barrier destroyed)

Terrain: 50% Normal, 50% Sea (Hot tub)

Battle 4 - Victory!
Rewards: 1680z, [LittleBoiler1] Battlechip
((Dibs on battle 5))
Voltman literally hit the floor laughing after the viruses were deleted. The Kettles had to be the worst virus adaptation he'd seen yet. They were like bombs, except he didn't have to deploy them, they were accepted into the enemy ranks, and they were a hell of a lot more fun to set off.
Pocketing the cash and his new battlechip, Voltman walked on.

Shigeru, on the other hand, took the chance to remove one of their new trade chips in favor of the powerful new battlechip.

(BATTLE 5, 200 HP
Folder Edited!
Removed: Quake1
Added: LittleBoiler1)
As Voltman walks along, the area gets steamier... he comes across a broad wooden bridge built over a lake that seems to double as a sauna. Mist fills the air all around him... he continues forward.

As Voltman crosses the bridge, his vision being impaired by the haze, he spots a few outlines a short distance ahead...

Swordies?

--Enemies--

Swordy? A: 300
Swordy? B: 300
Swordy? C: 300
Swordy? D: 300

--YOU--

Voltman: 200

--Terrain--

90% Wide Wooden Bridge, 100% Sea Lake (Off to the sides of the bridge, and below it)

SPECIAL: Sauna Air: ELEC attacks may have unpredictable results!

BATTLE 5!

START!
As Voltman continued his walk through the nets of Yoka, he analyzed the new battlechip he'd just acquired through his quick defeat of the enemies. It seemed that it was some sort of bomb, but...

Hey, Shigeru, help me out with this. I'm looking at the new chip we got, but I can't seem to understand the parameters of its detonation. He said, pulling up the appropriate string of code that demonstrated his confusion. Shigeru pulled up the battlechip code on the holoscreen.

Well, it's got a detonation trigger of any sort of damage, but I'm sure you understood that much. And... Shigeru stopped, trying to make sense of the code. The damage parameters for the battlechip changed entirely after it had been been hit once, before... Ah, I think I get it. Once hit, the chip converts all incoming damage into a latent form, adding to the power of the battlechip itself. Voltman looked at the battlechip image with slight awe, imagining the possibilities.

So, I toss this, unload my most powerful attacks into it, and then... what, just let it explode? Voltman asked, holding up the image data of the Kettle as he acquainted himself with the new weapon. He tested a few throws with the data, noting that while it appeared unbalanced due to its shape, handle, and spout, it didn't seem to affect the trajectory.

Well, you might not want to use our MOST powerful attacks, being the swords... it looks like it... well, suffice to say that unlike with the Countbomb, you won't be flying away unscathed. Shigeru turned his attention away from the screen, coughing slightly, and Voltman stopped.
Shigeru... what. Did. You. Do. The operator coughed a bit more, before managing to find his voice away.
Well... I may have possibly, sort of, kind of... [size0]Traded the countbomb away...[/size] He turned his face away from the screen.
Oh, well, alright then. We've more pressing problems. Shigeru's expression changed from nervous to bewildered as his navi completely ignored the trading of a chip that had just saved him. He was about to press further questions when he realized that Voltman was entirely correct. Without either navi or operator paying attention to the environment, the steam had grown unfeasibly thick. Voltman waved a hand ineffectually in front of him trying to clear the veritable wall of gaseous water. He gave up after a few moments, as his eyes adjusted to the changed field. He could see some sort of water below him, but the important field was that of the bridge that was in front of him. And even more pressing an issue, the enemies beyond it.

Uh... Shigeru... I believe my visor is malfunctioning. These enemies are reading as Swordies with ludicrous amounts of HP. And it wasn't just the HP that was bothering him. It was the size. There were only four of them, and they still managed to take up most of the bridge. What had been a slight sense of eagerness for battle soon fell to the crushing realization that he might be up against an enemy that could pose a threat.
Sorry, Voltman. Your visor's right on the money. Even so, I think that our new abilities just might be able to help us out, here... I've sent the required battlechips. I'll leave you to decide what to do with them. Several loading bars appeared on Voltman's visor as the battlechips downloaded, before a notification stating that three utterly foreign attacks were ready for his use. Voltman looked at the battlechips' data.
Skully1. It's one of our most powerful chips, sure, but not of that much use against multiple foes... and what the hell is a Tankcannon? I mean, the name obviously answers that, but... it appears to be able to load either weighted or exploding shells, but only one or the other. What am I supposed to do with THESE? Voltman was extremely confused. There were four enemies, and he only had two battlechips and his own abilities. It was then that a third loading bar appeared, and Voltman got his answer. ...LittleBoiler.

The pieces all fell together within Voltman's mind, and he prepared his attack. Putting his hand behind him, he gripped the handle of a small kettle as it appeared and lobbed it forwards. The small object flipped over the bridge, eventually coming to a stop directly among the four large Swordies. Raising twin busters, Voltman summoned a small amount of excess energy to each, before firing them simultaneously. Twin balls of white energy sped towards the virus group, and more importantly, the kettle. As the white orbs of energy exploded when they came into contact with the small kettle, a strange sound filled the arena. A tiny whistling, that soon started to grow. A thin line of steam began to flow out of the kettle's spout.

Time to heat things up! Voltman yelled as he summoned his next battlechip. A large cannon appeared over Voltman's shoulder, which he grabbed without delay. Falling to one knee to support the large weight, Voltman took aim at the center of the virus group. A small targeting reticule outlined the five possible targets. Voltman ignored all five, calculating the very center of the group that would (hopefully) envelop all enemies within a blast. Tapping a button on the side of the Tankcannon, a crackling red tank shell fell into the loading chamber, which promptly closed. Checking his aim one final time, Voltman pulled the trigger and let the attack fly. The red shell moved through the air as if lobbed, before falling into the center of the group and exploding. Sharpened fragmentation flew everywhere, some on fire, others proceeding with enough force to tear small holes in the bridge.

The kettle's whistling grew much louder with the passing of time. What had begun as a trickle of steam was now an unstoppable torrent of steam from the kettle's spout. Voltman, there's not much time left! Power up that boiler! Voltman nodded only once, summoning his last battlechip that he could spare before the eruption of the weapon. A white bone formed within his hand, strange pulses of energy running down its length as its programs identified possible targets and saved their data signatures for future use. Tapping into the Skully's programming, Voltman activated the homing subroutine for the LittleBoiler chip. Granted, if it missed, nothing would happen, the Littleboiler exploding well before a second pass would be made... but it was the primary pass that Voltman didn't want to screw up. Drawing the bone backwards, Voltman let it fly with a massive swing. The bone spun through the air, curving towards its target, and barely reaching the area just as the whistling stopped.

Voltman, confused, looked towards the LittleBoiler. Steam was no longer coming out of the weapon. Indeed, the entire spout had sealed itself off. But if there's no place for the steam to escape, that means... His eyes widened as he realized the implications, and he shielded his face just as the kettle exploded at the other end of the bridge, throwing steam in all directions, and obscuring the view of the field. Voltman turned around...

Overview:
<Siphon (20 HP Barrier)>
1. LittleBoiler1 to near virus group (When hit, absorbs all damage for 2 actions before exploding for 100+Damage Absorbed damage, Blast 2, Aqua)
<Jolt [x2] to LittleBoiler1 (40)[x2]>
2. Take Aim
3. Tankcannon2 to LittleBoiler1 and surrounding enemies (120, Blast2, B Accuracy [C Accuracy, +1 Rank due to Take Aim])
4. Skully1 to LittleBoiler1 (100, Homing)

--Turn Splice--
The moment Voltman throws the boiler, two of the silhouettes disappear. As he opens fire... a third disappears. He manages to clip the remaining Swordy with the tankcannon, however, but it gets the f*ck out of dodge before the littleboiler goes off...

--Enemies--

Swordy? A: 300 (Location Unknown)
Swordy? B: 300 (Location Unknown)
Swordy? C: 180 (Location Unknown)
Swordy? D: 300 (Location Unknown)

--YOU--

Voltman: 200 (20)

--Terrain--

90% Wide Wooden Bridge, 100% Sea Lake (Off to the sides of the bridge, and below it)

SPECIAL: Sauna Air: ELEC attacks may have unpredictable results!
The Tankcannon's blast enveloped the LittleBoiler chip in a massive explosion, and with a quick scan, Voltman confirmed that the attack had indeed been absorbed into the small battlechip, but more important was what the scan didn't detect. The enemies. One of them was caught in the large explosive shell's blast, but the other three didn't just dodge the attack. They disappeared entirely. Voltman turned around, bewildered, as he summoned the Skully1 and threw it at the Littleboiler. Seeing the battlechip seal itself off, he hit the deck just in time, metal shrapnel flying all around the field. Voltman turned in all directions, but his enemies had disappeared. Something had gone very, very wrong.

Did... did they die? Voltman asked, recoiling as a small pebble underneath his boot let out a sharp cracking sound when he walked forwards. The bridge was calm, the mist was still just as thick. Nothing had changed, except for the enemies disappearing entirely. He already knew the answer to his question, though. They were there, as much as he wanted to believe they weren't. Years of battling didn't go by without granting some sense of self preservation, and Voltman's sense was telling him that letting down his guard would be a very bad idea indeed. A feeling that was only strengthened by his operator chiming in moments later.

Afraid not. The battle routine is still fully functional. They're here. Shigeru responded, scanning the battlefield for any sign of the enemies. None. No data signatures to suggest any sort of illusion or vision-changing effects. They'd just vanished. He'd never seen anything like it. Or... well, that wasn't entirely true. Voltman disappeared on a regular basis, without any sort of invisibility or illusion sigs. But it wasn't possible for viruses to have mastered that technique so thoroughly. Was it? Teleportation in viruses wasn't unheard of, but to disappear so suddenly and without any sign, especially in such large units... It would mean that the viruses are evolving. Or being modified. And either prospect is a grim one indeed. Voltman was quickly becoming more agitated, turning around with a frequency fed by paranoia, and losing patience through his fear.

Well I don't see them! Any evidence to support that theory, Shigeru? Because it sure looks like they got the bat out of heck! Voltman turned, and stopped. Had he just seen a blurred outline? No, it was impossible... They were gone. They had to be. There wasn't any invisibility program at work, no irregularities in his functions. But where Voltman was finding no flaw in his logic, Shigeru had found the truth. Within the streams of data transfer protocols for the battle were the normal pieces. Virus data transmission, battlechips, communication. But there, recently... four data transfer protocols. A sinking feeling developed in his stomach as he saw a similar blur to what Voltman had just witnessed. There was virtually no time. Highlighting three battlechips, Shigeru set aside all communication and data recording lines for a few moments as the battlechips sent. The progress bars filled instantly on Voltman's visor, and a curved yellow shield materialized over his head, before falling to the ground and engulfing Voltman completely.

The electric navi fought against the confined space briefly, before a small holoscreen displaying Shigeru's face popped up and let out a few quick words. Voltman, there's not much time, so listen carefully. These are no normal viruses. They disappeared through a data transfer protocol identical to the ones found in your Hyperspeed process and the Areagrab battlechip. Teleportation. Voltman seemed to deflate as he heard the news. The Guard2 seemed a lot less confining, now. Not a prison, but a safe house.

No other choice, then. We'll have to play it safe. Thanks for the tip, but now, leave the rest to me. Voltman nodded to his operator, even as small tendrils of data from the underside of the Guard2 creeped outwards, entwining themselves around Voltman's shoulder-mounted lightning rods and midsection. The Guard2 had effectively bound itself to Voltman's back. Downloading the other two battlechips, Voltman emerged from the Guard2 cocoon with a leap into the air. Flipping a small rectangular patch of data around in his right hand, even while his left hand sank into his wrist, Voltman activated both battlechips. The rectangle grew bigger, eventually reaching a size of slightly shorter than Voltman and about half as wide. Two small bands wrapped around Voltman's forearm, and his shield was prepared. The last battlechip hesistated in its activation momentarily, as a warning message popped up on Voltman's screen.

Warning: Current environment contains heavily water data saturated air. Use of electric element battlechips has the potential to-
Voltman waved away the warning, and activated the battlechip. The steam whipped around Voltman's wrist as massive amounts of energy were drawn into the empty hilt that now replaced his hand. Slight electric shocks ran through the water in the air as the battlechip activated, a glowing blade of electricity shooting out of the hilt to take its rightful place as Voltman's weapon of choice. Striking what he hoped to be a dramatic pose, the armored and armed electric navi looked around, trying to combat ghosts.
I mean really, what kind of a sick person would come up with this sort of stuff? Voltman remarked, twitching at another shadow.

Overview:
--END SPLICE--
4. Guard2 to protect Voltman's back (Reflect up to 120) (Switch to primary shield position if Curseshield is destroyed first)
5. Curseshield1 to parry Swordy? attacks (Block one attack and counter for 160)
6. Elecsword to parry Swordy? attacks (80, +15 Elemental bonus, Elec, Whatever the hell Sauna Air does)
<Dynamo (Recover 20 HP)>
Voltman steels himself, expecting an assault.

For a few long, tense moments there is nothing but silence on the bridge, and the slight hiss of far-off steam in the air, and the gentle lapping of the lake against its' shores.

Then it happens.

The wounded Swordy pops up in front of Voltman, a strange mask covering its' small head where there would usually be a helmet.

The rechristened Ninja Swordy takes a swipe at Voltman and eats the kickback from the CurseShield, then quickly winks back out of existence again.

Voltman pulls out his Guard2 as a second Ninja Swordy reappears in front of him; he readies it to block the surely-incoming blow...

Only to be struck from behind! (40)

Voltman scrambles to try and ready himself for attacks from both directions at once, but is unprepared for the Ninja Swordy that appears above him and swings downward-- he raises his blade to block the strike, but the Swordy instead disappears, opting for discretion rather than blunt force.

Back where we started...

Voltman's Elecsword warbles faintly in the steamy air.

--Enemies--

Ninja Swordy A: 300 (Location Unknown)
Ninja Swordy B: 300 (Location Unknown)
Ninja Swordy C: 20 (Location Unknown)
Ninja Swordy D: 300 (Location Unknown)

--YOU--

Voltman: 200 (Guard2, ElecSword)

--Terrain--

90% Wide Wooden Bridge, 100% Sea Lake (Off to the sides of the bridge, and below it)

SPECIAL: Sauna Air: ELEC attacks may have unpredictable results!
Voltman swore as the enemies began appearing. The first impact was actually welcomed, as his Curseshield took the blow and countered for nearly all of the virus' remaining HP. But unbeknown to Voltman, that was the last attack he'd be landing in the current round of battle. The dominerd shield disintegrated as its energy was spent, leaving Voltman's right arm bare and his front too exposed for not knowing the combat capabilities of his enemies. The tendrils of data from the Guard2 on his back began to retract as he pulled the shield from its position.
A sword and shield? Well I suppose if you're going for old-fashioned... Shigeru snickered, but Voltman didn't respond. Shigeru could joke, but the technique hadn't developed as one of the most recognized combat styles without its merits. The Elecsword detached itself from his wrist as his hand returned, gripping the newly exposed hilt and turning the focus of the Elecsword's blows from power to finesse. A blade on one's arm was fine if the goal was to build up momentum behind the swing, but for precision countering and slashing the flexibility of, say, a wrist was unparalleled.

The enemy attack started suddenly, with the second of the foes appearing a small distance in front of the electric virus buster and charging forwards. Voltman readied his shield, and prepared his Elecsword. Without warning, a searing pain shot across his back as his barrier barely absorbed an unexpected blow. Whipping around, he only managed to see a slight disturbance in the fog where the enemy had been. Turning to face the first enemy, he took an involuntary step backwards as he saw that it, too, had disappeared.
What the hell, man! Voltman yelled, exasperated. Show yourselves! A slight sound above him made him look upwards, sword at the ready, to see the fourth enemy descending on his position.
Raising his guard, Voltman prepared for impact, but none ever came. Peeking his head out, he saw that the fourth enemy had disappeared as well. That was the breaking point. Voltman's normally calm demeanor had given way to nervousness, as the enemies struck from the shadows. He unconsciously reached a hand to the small, persistent scratch on his navi emblem from his defeat in the tournament, turning at the slightest sound, and barely keeping a solid grip on his sword.

Voltman! Get a hold of yourself! Shigeru yelled at his navi, seeing the panic that he was descending into. Voltman turned to the holoscreen, twitching as a small splash was heard from the nearby stream.
Now I know how our enemies feel when I keep zipping around the battlefield. This is freaking scary, Shigeru. I've got no way to predict their movement, and they move faster than I normally... do... Voltman stopped his twitching as a thought struck him. He placed the Guard on his back once more, activating the null-element Widesword on the arm it had just occupied. Sparks flew over Voltman's form as an electric barrier surrounded his armor, and the fear that had been in his eyes not moments ago had been replaced by a malevolent gleam. He had his strategy.

Two things began happening at once. One, the widesword began to... change. The data seemed to twist and morph, as the energy within it conflicted with a second battlechip. The Bubblestar. Emerging along the hilt as three small bubbles after a few moments, the widesword now served two purposes, and neither of them were anything positive for Voltman's enemies.
The other thing that began happening was Voltman started to... well, the most accurate term would be speed up. His actions started to jerk, but not out of any sort of involuntary action. Rather, anything Voltman did began to happen at such a speed that it seemed instantaneous. Twirling the Widesword in his hand, Voltman looked around carefully. Suddenly, a movement out of the corner of his eye. And another. The enemies were approaching.

Tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword, Voltman looked around and grinned. Things might be a bit more even, this round. But only time would tell.

Overview:
<Siphon (20 HP Barrier)>
<Transfer Guard2 to back>
<Widesword activated>
1/2/3/4. Prepare Battlechip array (Prepare Widesword attack, Prepare Elecsword attack, Prepare Hyperspeed, Prepare Bubblestar)
5. Wait for enemy appearance (Dodge)
<Jolt if weakened Ninja Swordy appears (40)[x2]>
<Battlechip array to first non-damaged Swordy that appears (Hyperspeed to dodge enemy and counter, use Bubblestar, Elecsword to enemy, Widesword to enemy) [Teleport, RP'ed as incredible movement speed and reaction time] [20, Trap, [color=blue]Aqua[/color]], [80, +15 Elem. Bonus, + 80 due to Bubblestar, [color=orange]Elec[/color]][80, Wide range of attack]
<Swordplay (Widesword Parry)>
6. Continue to parry incoming Swordy attacks with Widesword, wary of previous battle plan. (If, and they probably won't, they try to attack the same way, use previous experience to parry incoming blows with the Widesword)
<Dynamo (20 HP Heal)>
(Bump)
(Slightly early bump, but I have to get to class)
A few things happen in rather rapid succession.

First, a new target appears, HP at full.

Second, Voltman lunges for it, hyperspeed active-

-And the wounded Swordy blocks the way. The Bubblestar hits it at about the same time his Jolt goes off, killing the thing in a sparkstorm, but removing his type advantage over the unwounded one- which he takes a swipe at with his Elecsword.

The blade crackles and hisses in the sauna air, leaking electricity everywhere-- including into Voltman, removing his barrier-- And lashes out at the ninja swordy for a bit more damage than expected! (120) The ninja is sent reeling from the electricity, and Voltman strikes it again, this time with the Widesword... but the blow is parried by a third Swordy! As Voltman's blade struggles against the Swordy's, the last one catches his unguarded flank and opens up on him. He catches the first strike with his elecsword (20), but the Swordy manages to get him with the second blow. (40)

Voltman's Elecsword wavers...

--Enemies--

Ninja Swordy A: 180 (Being guarded by B)
Ninja Swordy B: 300 (Guarding A)
Ninja Swordy C: DELETED (Location... well, dead, you ninny)
Ninja Swordy D: 280 (To left)

--YOU--

Voltman: 180 (Guard2 (On back), ElecSword, Widesword)

--Terrain--

90% Wide Wooden Bridge, 100% Sea Lake (Off to the sides of the bridge, and below it)

SPECIAL: Sauna Air: ELEC attacks may have unpredictable results!
Swords clashed as Voltman's enemies appeared in the fray once. Bringing his own weapons around from his sides as the first enemy appeared in front of him, unscathed despite the battle so far, Voltman charged and readied the Bubblestar battlechip. The effects of the Hyperspeed became clear as Voltman crossed the field in an instant, stopping his charge just out of sword range of the newly appeared ninja. Slashing the Widesword horizontally, Voltman let loose the three small orbs on the hilt, which flew forward to engulf the enemy. A reading suddenly appeared on his visor, that of the weakened Swordy approaching. Voltman locked onto its data signature, readied a few weaker shots, and let fly.

It was then that all hell broke loose. Materializing not near, but INSIDE the bubble that was on a collision course with its ally, the swordy absorbed the brunt of the blow. The jolt attacks tore into the already deleting virus, ripping it neatly in two, and clearing Voltman's path to his first target. Through the fragmenting data and the remainder of the bubble, Voltman flew towards his target, letting loose a punishing blow with his Elecsword. Suddenly, the mist in the air around Voltman and his target lit up into a million tiny pinpricks of light as the electric charge was conducted across each of them at once. Voltman barely had time to react to the occurrence before it was already upon him. Son of a... Voltman's barrier shorted out as it protected him from the static, but the enemy was not so lucky. The points of light were drawn to the blade of the sword, increasing its power even as Voltman finished his swing. The enemy's ninja mask received a small slit even as its armor was cleaved open by the force of the blow. Swinging with the Widesword next, Voltman met unexpected resistance as one of the Swordies leapt out of nowhere to protect its companion! The clang of the swords rang through the battlefield as he struggled against the powerful opponent.

The fourth and final enemy appeared to Voltman's side, charging forwards while he was occupied. Swinging the Elecsword, Voltman managed to parry the first blow, a blast of electricity from the sword conducting through the air and dealing minor damage to the foe. But the second strike hit its mark, and left a gash in Voltman's armor. Pushing his systems to their limit as he struggled to both heal and fight his Swordy opponent, Voltman's wound knitted itself almost instantly as a barrier reformed over his armor.
Alright! Now that I've got you where I can see you, it's time for a little anger management! HRAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Voltman let out a massive yell as he pushed off with his Widesword. The weapon deactivated, sliding into his wrist. But something else formed where the sword had been. A curved wooden structure slid out of Voltman's wrist, its ends bound together by a strong, thin cord of data. Attaching to where the hilt had been, the bow loaded itself with a single round and activated.

Pointing the bow at his recent opponent, he pulled the release catch within the mechanisms of the handle. A small, heart-tipped arrow flew at high speed towards the nearest Swordy virus, leaving strangely still areas in its wake, where mist seemed to slow and electricity became briefly visible as more than a flash of light. Charging forwards, Voltman whipped the bow around himself in a rather elaborate fashion. With a flick of his wrist, the metal of the bow turned from a deep pink to a steel color. The bowstring became a linked chain as the bow itself split in two, curved blades forming where there had been wood moments before. Gripping the chain in the center as his grip on the bow failed with its split into two, Voltman swung the newly created Moonblade around his person. The twin blades carved a path of destruction, leaving swirling patterns in the mist behind them. One blade swung past Voltman's head, the chain elongating as it targeted the Swordy to Voltman's left. The other end of the weapon was slicing through the area around both the ninja Swordy had just attacked and the one that had saved it. Eventually, the chain retracted, pulling the two curved blades together and deactivating the battlechip. As the data fragmented in his hand, Voltman was already looking at his remaining weapon.

No time to hesitate... Let's do this! He yelled, swinging the Elecsword in the air around him. Slashing first at the group of two enemies, Voltman wasn't shocked to see several fragments of the Elecsword detach from the force of the swing. Two more slashes left the sword with significant holes in its data, but Voltman wasn't done yet. Whipping around, Voltman finished off the use of his sword with a grand flourish: Throwing it directly at the fourth enemy. The sword literally shattered midflight, turning into a hundred small pieces of shrapnel that sped through the air towards their target. Flipping backwards following his toss of his sword, Voltman suddenly stopped as a strange sensation assailed him.

The air around Voltman pulsed disconcertingly, as he felt a tug at his armor. The environment was reacting with his own innate electrical abilities. He didn't have time to worry about things as trivial as that. Looking around for the Swordy that had been to his left, Voltman didn't see anything but more fog. Turning left and right, he summoned a small spear, twirling it around slowly and gathering an orb of energy at each end. Shigeru, we've got to have something. I've been beaten by a hiding sword user before, I'd rather not repeat the process. But Shigeru was already well ahead of his navi in terms of strategy. Two busters began to form on Voltman's arms as new battlechip data flooded his systems. The twin lightning rods on his shoulders detached themselves from their designated position, aiming forward as they hovered on either side of his visor. Looking at the data for the chips that had been downloaded, Voltman found a small .txt file attached to one. He opened it, seeing a simple message.
Me first

Confused, Voltman checked the data, only to find a slightly modified Powerbolt chip. Where it had appeared underneath the enemies before, now the beam curved to find its target. Voltman grinned. Perfect. Pulling up the buster on his right arm, Voltman aimed in the general direction of the bridge and fired. The beam flew straight for a small amount of time, before suddenly curving and heading towards a single point. Turning his entire body towards the target of the beam, Voltman let fly with the Twinfang battlechip and materialized new lightning rods to replace the ones he'd just used. Finally, he pulled up the largest buster, noted the position of the enemy, and fired. A small charge accompanied the Powerblast chip as it activated, a brief whine before a massive *thud* impacted Voltman's armor, momentarily knocking the wind out of him. The orb of energy tore a path through the mist, crashed through a stray spire of rock, and exploded. Voltman grinned, cracked his knuckles, and resummoned the spear he'd stored the attack data in earlier. Two small bits of energy circled the head of the spear, as Voltman looked out for attackers.

Overview:
<Passive: Siphon (20 HP Barrier)>
<Passive: Dynamo (20 HP Heal)>
1. RollArrow1 to Ninja Swordy B (50, Turn Cancel, Chip Break)
2. Moonblade1 to Ninja Swordy A/B/D (90, A Accuracy, Slashing)
3. Elecsword1 to Ninja Swordy A/B/D (80, +15 Elemental Bonus, $#!*& from Sauna Air, Elec)
<Swordplay (Dodge)>
4. Powerbolt to SwordyD (70, Seeking)
5. Twinfang1 to SwordyD (70, cannot target the same enemy twice, but I'm only targeting one and hoping one of the two buggers hits)
6. Powerblast to SwordyD (90, Breaking)
<Jolt [x2] to Ninja Swordies A/B if they survived (40)[x2]>
(Bump)
(Bump)
[Unlocked]

The Swordy guarding A is struck by the RollArrow, and abruptly freezes in place. Voltman follows this up by ripping off Pit slicing the gathered Swordies around him with the Moonblade; A, however, is unaffected, being blocked entirely from the blow by B.

Voltman then swipes out with the wavering, unstable Elecsword, which rips through all three of the Swordies, arcing around even the one blocking-- and then explodes in a shower of lightning, rocking through Voltman, the viruses-- even shattering a portion of the bridge and dropping all of the combatants into the lake. The sword's electricity ripples through the water as it expires, further damaging all the combatants-- Voltman's continued assault finishes the viruses shortly afterward.

--Enemies--

Ninja Swordy A: DELETED
Ninja Swordy B: DELETED
Ninja Swordy C: DELETED
Ninja Swordy D: DELETED

--YOU--

Voltman: 100 (In water)

--Terrain--

70% Wide Wooden Bridge, 100% Sea Lake (Off to the sides of the bridge, and below it)

SPECIAL: Sauna Air: ELEC attacks may have unpredictable results!


VICTORY!

Rewards: 2000z
(Alright then.)

Voltman, seething with rage from something he didn't quite understand, grabbed the cash and continued on, before Shigeru stopped him with an abrupt yell.
Hold on, Voltman. Before we go further, you need some help with your abilities. Struggling this shallow in the net isn't a good thing.

(Off to buy upgrades)
Shigeru arriving back from the shop and giving Voltman the go-ahead, the electric navi continued on.

(Battle 6, 100 HP, Ready for Murder)