Sea++

DubloonMan walked out into the network and found himself home at last. A wide body of water stretching out as far as the eye could see was just to his right. A balmy breeze, crisp with the unmistakable saline aroma of the ocean filled him deeply. He took a step forward onto the white sandy beach and grinned with a deep breath.

"...YAR HA-HAR! TH' SEA AT LAST! ARRRRRRRRR..." he growled, "Have ye seen such a sight, lad? Have ye?"

Roger looked out to his own oceanic horizons and answered, "Yeah, I think I have."

"Yarrr... Ye've seen naught but a glimpse! Let me show you what th' sea really be about!" DubloonMan declared and trodded off along the beach.

"You do that." Roger answered and stretched out along his bench and decided to browse some navi information webpages on the side.

((Battle 1))
Walking along the white sandy beaches of the Beach network, DubloonMan happened upon a strange flower in his travels. The flower wriggled about as he approached it, so he went wary. Then, chance took a turn as the flower suddenly opened a very large and scary-looking mouth, showing some impressive chompers. To make it worse, some weird crab-things in whirlpools had spotted him from the waters at the side, and were approaching him!

-- ENEMIES --
Whirly A: 90 HP [Sea]
Whirly B: 90 HP [Sea]
KillPlant: 100 HP [Sand]

-- ALLIES --
DubloonMan.EXE: 170 HP [Sand]

-- TERRAIN --
40% Sand
60% Sea

-- BATTLE 01, READY? START!! --
"Yarr... Ye be encroachin' on th' wrong beach." DubloonMan warned the viruses as he readied his anchor. Surprisingly it was lighter than usual.

Roger had begun installing the programs into his navi and they were making him stronger bit by bit. DubloonMan thought someone was playing a trick on him and he dropped the anchor in the sand. It made a heavy impact, splashing through the sand like water.

"Roger!" DubloonMan called out, "What manner o' happenstance be this?"

Roger was in the middle of implementing the Process Upgrades according to a site he had found and replied, "I guess you must be getting stronger from all these fights."

That was good enough a response for the navi and he nodded, "Aye, t'is true. We've been through many a battle."

His curiousity sated, DubloonMan readied his anchor once more and began to spin it around his head; slowly at first but picking up speed as he paced across the sand. Just then, Roger finished activating another set of Process Upgrades for his navi. DubloonMan's voice carried the tone of an angry god as he charged forward, his terrifying laugh booming in all directions, "YAR HA-HAR! ALL YE WHO HEAR ME VOICE, KNOW NOW YER LIVES BE FORFEIT AND YER VALUABLES BE MINE! HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR!"

The iron hook ravaged the air around him until he reached his limit and let it loose upon one of the weird crab cyclones. Feeling particularly empowered, he shouted, "ROGER! ME RAGEHOOK!"

His operator was still fiddling with settings but found the chip in his jacket and slotted it in. DubloonMan eyed the Killplant maliciously and declared, "IT BE TIME T' WEED ME GARDEN!"

He then lowered himself and brought the curved edge of his hook under the virus's maw. Roger could see he was attempting to uproot it from its sandy plot of earth, which seemed like a logical way to defeat a plant. DubloonMan had other plans for it and prepared to hurl the whole thing at its ally. He would definitely need a break after that though as his breathing had become strained from shouting so much.



1 - Move into melee range of Killplant
2 - Panic Attack - Nova 3 Stun (+1 turn recover)
3 - Anchors Aweigh (Nova 2 Knockback) + WhirlyA (40 damage)
4 - RageClaw Throw KillPlant into WhirlyB (20, 20)
Charging the KillPlant with his roar of might and intimidation really worked out for DubloonMan, as almost all the viruses were instantly stunned in awe, save the KillPlant. They still attacked anyway, throwing themselves at the pirate. The anchor throw that ensued later nullified this attack, pushing the KillPlant backwards just as it fired a seedling at DubloonMan. The large seed clocked him in his good eye. (30) Out of anger, DubloonMan then used his RageClawHook and threw the KillPlant into the water, damaging it as the plant made a big splash. His aim to hit another one of the viruses wasn't achieved, however, as the plant landed just a bit short of the Whirly he targeted.

-- ENEMIES --
Whirly A: 50 HP [Sea] [Stun]
Whirly B: 80 HP [Sea] [Stun]
KillPlant: 70 HP [Sea]

-- ALLIES --
DubloonMan.EXE: 140 HP [Sand]

-- TERRAIN --
40% Sand
60% Sea
DubloonMan stared into the flashfrozen faces of the Whirlys and recognized the paralyzed look of fear in their eyes and reacted as he usually did - with a hearty laugh, "YAR... HA-HAR!"

Yes, this was what he wanted. To strike terror in the hearts of his enemies with his mere presence. He was still winded but tried to hide his fatigue with more laughter, "HAR! HAR HAR!... HAR! HAR!"

However, he noticed the Killplant wasn't affected but it had no ears to hear his voice nor any eyes to show fear. It was a wonder it was still alive after being uprooted and thrown into the ocean. Its insistence on continuing to live displeased DubloonMan greatly.

"Hey, you okay?" Roger asked, "You look tired. You don't have to push yourself."

DubloonMan recuperated quickly and growled with his second wind, "Yarr! I'll be needin' me fire barrel and th' torch."

"I thought you didn't like the Firehit." Roger mused.

"Th' plant be givin' me too much attitude fer a quick death." DubloonMan answered, "It earned a slow burn straight t' th' briny deep. NOW WHAR BE ME WEAPONS?"

Roger slotted in the Fireburn and Firehit as was demanded by the navi and started to browse BBSs on the PET, playing with its other features. He wasn't even interested in the fight anymore though the sounds of battle made for a nice exciting ambience.

DubloonMan delighted in the fact that his targets were still too stunned to move and he lifted his barrel, deliberately spreading the gunpowder beneath the Whirlys' twirling bases. He materialized his torch next and used it to ignite the black dust before approaching the Killplant once more.

"I'll learn ye th' meanin o' PAIN!" the navi laughed before brushing the fiery tip of the weapon along the thick leaves of the plant before slowly twisting the burning end into the jawed flower's petals. Roger was too busy reading up on an article about support programs to notice his navi's overly sadistic tendencies. The fire crawled up the handle but he had finished playing with it and dropped the flaming stick with no regard to where it landed.

"Roger!" DubloonMan called out.

His operator replied with a simple "Hm?"

DubloonMan sneered, "Me nine round flint, if ye would be so kind..."

"Still not done, huh?" Roger said before slotting in the Machinegun.

DubloonMan felt his work was finished but there was no kill like overkill. Withdrawing the pistol from his coat, he unloaded upon the beach with all the gunfire he was allotted with, sparing no expense in his ruthless extermination.



1 - Recovery Time
2 - Fireburn2 WhirlyA, WhirlyB (90 damage + line(3))
3 - Firehit Killplant (60 + Impact) x2
4 - MachineGun WhirlyB (9 x 30 damage + Spray-Fire)
Using his good ol' barrel of gunpowder, DubloonMan quickly roasted one of the crabs, but didn't get the other due to it being less in a straight line than he would have liked. He burned up the KillPlant easily enough, and finished off the last of the Whirly with his nine-round flintlock.

All in all, a good show.

-- ENEMIES --
Whirly A: DELETED
Whirly B: DELETED
KillPlant: DELETED

-- ALLIES --
DubloonMan.EXE: 140 HP [Sand]

-- TERRAIN --
40% Sand
60% Sea

-- BATTLE 01, VICTORY!! --

-- REWARDS --

[TreeBomb1] Battlechip, 340z
DubloonMan splashed around in the shallows of the sea and looked aroud, "Yarrr... Th' beaches be clear once more."

"Uh huh." Roger agreed blindly.

"Aye, and a small trove o' booty as well." DubloonMan continued.

"Uh huh." repeated Roger.

"...What's wrong with ye? Ye seem lost, lad." noted DubloonMan.

"What? Oh, sorry. I just applied for a mission to get a supp-" Roger stopped himself and began again in terms that his navi might better understand or appreciate, "I signed up for a mercenary job. The reward is a... Well, it's a choice of any... Umm... It's a parrot."

"A parrot?" DubloonMan echoed.

Roger had problems thinking of how to best explain what a support program was. While the support program in question could be anything he could imagine, the only thing he could come up with on the spot was a parrot. It wouldn't be a bad fit though, getting a parrot for his pirate navi. Roger quickly committed to the idea and reaffirmed his answer, "Yeah, you want a parrot right? Colourful little companion?"

DubloonMan stroked his beard, "I've never given much thought t' ownin' a bird... Does it know any tricks?"

"Uhhh... I dunno, the job didn't say and they haven't gotten back to me yet." Roger said.

"Hmm... I'll be givin' this 'parrot proposal' some... Consideration." DubloonMan said and gathered what few coins were scattered about along with the chip data.

((Battle 2))
Continuing to walk along the shore. DubloonMan spied a Kettle in the middle of the path that seemed to be boiling furiously. He curiously hobbled closer... when the kettle turned around and jumped, revealing itself to be a virus!

Two Wallas and a Raingear erupted out of the sand behind him! It was a trap!

-FRONT-
Kettle: 0 Degrees

-YOU-
DubloonMan.EXE: 140 HP

-BEHIND YOU-
WallaA: 100 HP
Raingear: 80 HP
WallaB: 100 HP

-Terrain-
80% Sand
20% Sea (To your right)

-BATTLE 2-
-ROUTINE, SET-
-EXECUTE-
"Eh?" DubloonMan grunted as he turned to face the ambush party. He snapped another look at the Kettle and prioritized the larger group first.

"Ye pathetic lot think ye got th' drop on me? I'll show ye who dropped what on who!" he snarled, "ROGER! ME BOMB!"

"Huh? Oh yeah, Crackerbomb. Yeah okay." Roger said and slotted it in. He had been preoccupied looking up information about the Treebomb chip they had recently collected. Sources cited that it reacted strongly to water attacks and would erupt into a line of wooden spears if left alone. He wasn't sure how well DubloonMan would react to the spontaneous growth of trees, but he figured the seed itself could be used as a last ditch projectile.

DubloonMan summoned the large bomb and heaved it towards the middle of the virus group. It landed on the soft sand and exploded instantly, creating a giant plume of sand that rained back down in a thick hazy shower. He snapped at his operator, "Roger, lad! Get yer head together! This be no walk in the park!"

"Right. Right. OKAY!" Roger answered, minimizing windows and divering his full attention to the fight, "Shotgun the walruses and gun down the survivors with a Machinegun."

"YAR HA-HAR! THAT'S TH' SPIRIT! IT BE TIME T' SPREAD SOME LEAD!" howled DubloonMan.

The chips were slotted in one after another but DubloonMan was quick to use the data as quickly as it loaded. He reached both his arms into his coat and pulled out his flintlock pistol with one hand and his blunderbuss with his hook. Roger raised an eyebrow at how this was going to work. His navi was quick to discharge both firearms simulaneously, gunning down the viruses with extreme prejudice. The Blunderbuss was spun around DubloonMan's hook, balanced on the trigger guard, and was fired with a quick snap of his wrist. It was quite an impressive display of skill and familiarity with the firearm and an all-around neat trick.



1 - CrackerBomb Weather (80 damage + Blast 3)
2 - Shotgun WallaA (50 damage + Spread 2)
3 - Shotgun WallaB (50 damage + Spread 2)
4 - Machinegun1 Weather (9 x 30 damage + Spray-Fire)
The bomb hurled in the Weather's direction exploded surprisingly well, deleting the main target and severely damaging the other two. The Wallas opened their mouths to fire two steel spikes from them each. However, as DubloonMan pulled out his blunderbuss and flintlock at the same time, the Walla knew they were beat as they were turned to swiss. The Kettle did pretty much nothing but walk up to DubloonMan and bump into him a little.

-FRONT-
Kettle: 0 Degrees

-YOU-
DubloonMan.EXE: 140 HP

-BEHIND YOU-
WallaA: DELETED
Raingear: DELETED
WallaB: DELETED

-Terrain-
80% Sand
20% Sea (To your right)
With one side out of the picture, DubloonMan turned to face the small Kettle bugging him for something. Perhaps it was trying to attack him feebly. He glared down at it with disapproval.

"Firehit?" Roger asked.

"Aye." DubloonMan said with a somber scowl.

A wooden cudgel materialized in his hand and ignited upon completion. The bright orange flame cast odd shadows across DubloonMan's angry face in random flickers, adding to his fearsome grimace. He had no witty quips or clever words to taunt his opponent this time. It was just a matter of ending the battle now.

He watched the Kettle carefully, trying to ensure a clean hit, totally unlike his normal tactics. A streak of fire marked him raising the weapon and a second streak marked its fall. One hit was not enough. He struck again with the club in a horizontal sweep, casting out a wave of embers. The constant waving was feeding the fire on the torch and it was quickly eating its way down the handle; a voracious and insatiable flame. DubloonMan discarded the rapidly incinerating club along with his quiet disposition by spouting, "Yar! Who wants tea?"



1 - Take Aim
2 - Firehit Kettle (60 + Impact)
3 - Take Aim
4 - Firehit Kettle (60 + Impact)
A watched kettle does boil over. How unexpected.

-FRONT-
Kettle: DELETED

-YOU-
DubloonMan.EXE: 140 HP

-BEHIND YOU-
WallaA: DELETED
Raingear: DELETED
WallaB: DELETED

-Terrain-
80% Sand
20% Sea (To your right)

-- BATTLE 02, VICTORY!! --

-- REWARDS --

600z
"I could actually go for some tea right now." Roger said, "Yeah, that sounds pretty good."

Night was falling and the temperature along with it. Roger tried to pull his jacket closed but it was already ill-fitting, practically draped over his wide frame. He decided maybe it was time to go back home when an alert beeped on his PET. His mission request had been accepted.

"Hey DubloonMan, the job came through! We're going to a remote island and I guess we're... Going hunting?" Roger guessed.

"Aye, lad? What quarry be we after?" asked his navi.

"...Angry birds." Roger replied, "Anyways let's get going. We can come back here after we're done."

"Yarrr... It's been a blast and I bid ye a fond adeiu," DubloonMan called out to the ocean, "Until next time!"

Roger opened the link from the mission briefing, "So I guess I go here?"

A beam of light ripped DubloonMan from his beloved beach and sent him straight to the designated coordinates, leaving behind only his footprints.

((Link to private island server))