The Showbizz Beach Blowout

SplashLady left PhotoMan to go take care of the big, drunk guy right away. Fortunately, people were already trying to get as much distance from the guy as possible, so it wasn't too hard to lead them away. "Huey... duuuuuh.... did'ju see thaaaat-" he started, bending down to look SplashLady in the eyes. Before he could finish, she rocketed him away with the power of her FULL FORCE SUPER SOAKER. It looked like that situation was more or less resolved.

Once that was accomplished, she headed over to the lemonade stand. "Yeah, well, I know! The ice thing doesn't even matter if there's no business in the first place, though!" the girl behind the counter complained in a cutesy voice. Now that she mentioned it, there was truth to the statement: nobody was over there buying anything. That could just be a result of the malfunctioning machine, however.

"My name's Citri; Gelata's my sister. I'll bet her business was doing great, right? I don't get it!" Citri huffed as she turned and tended to the machine, managing to make the ice stop. "You can fill up the tank, but I don't think it'll even matter. Nobody wants lemonade! I even wore the sexy bikini just like that fox girl suggested I should to bring in business. I'm getting even less business than when that sorceress hid my store," she sobbed.

It might be hard to tell Citri, but the bikini she spoke so highly of was very unflattering. It would be pretty sexy on somebody else, but all it did was reveal her skinny and childish body in a way that'd make any customer looking for shop attendant girls in sexy bikinis feel less satisfied and more like a pedophile.

The rest of the activity on the beach stayed mostly the same, except that the dancers seemed to be winding down. They looked pretty exhausted, judging by all of the sweat on their bodies. Somewhere in the distance, the sharp clicking of PhotoMan's eyes revealed his presence... it sounded pretty close by, but she didn't see him anywhere.

***TIMER: 410***
Satisfaction Rating: 52%
((One action required to move to next area of beach))
"It wasn't that busy when I was there, though that's because her ice machine wasn't working, either..." Uh...wow at her get-up. Now she knew what she'd look like if she had taken the other swimsuit. It...wasn't flattering, to say the least. Even though she was hyping it up, that bikini did nothing for her. "Uh...you know, if you want to attract more men customers, there's more to it than just showing as much as you can. Not everyone can pull that off, and you, uh...no offense, but you can't. Not that I can, but that's exactly why I can tell you this!"

As she spoke, SplashLady started sticking her trident in the ice machine's water input whatever, and started filling 'er up like the other one. "Not every girl has the same body type. I mean, look at me. I can't exactly suffocate someone with my chest, but I can wear this bikini fairly well. The key is to wear something that fits and accentuate your body type, instead of just trying to go skimpy. For you, I'd say something a little more conservative...while there's such a thing as having too much on you, having a little extra over you creates an air of mystery about what's under there. It leaves a little to the imagination, and guys love that! Hmm...what is it some people say? 'Sometimes what a man can't see is better than what he can?' Something like that...but believe me, it's true!" ...She thought. Honestly, she was making it up as she went along, but it didn't mean it wasn't true. Except that quote, which she totally made up just then.

[Order of Time:
1-Splash water action on ice machine]
Citri stared back blankly, then reacted with clear offense. "Are you saying nobody's coming over here because I'm not sexy enough?! But I'm trying so hard!" she sobbed in rage. It was true that she was trying very hard, but indeed, the problem wasn't "not being sexy enough," it was just the wrong type of sexy. The girl pouted childishly as SplashLady filled back up the device. "I don't get it though, you're not following your own advice. I mean, your ass is nice, but your breasts look about like mine..."

"Finish up quickly; another situation has arisen," the camera navi muttered from a nearby position. SplashLady found him crouching behind her with his back turned, looking in the direction of the concert. It looked like another navi had become drunk and was now waving around much in the manner of the first; a clown-like navi in a weird navi was rambling off lines of famous poetry. He didn't seem as dangerous as the other guys, but just as drunk off his gourd.

In the mean time, the dancers seemed ready to be moisturized in some fashion, since they were standing around, talking with fans, and sweating like dogs.

***TIMER: 400***
Satisfaction Rating: 64%
((One action required to move to next area of beach))
"Um...that's not quite what I was saying. Just because someone else can pull off that kind of outfit doesn't mean you can. You have to find what works best with you. And when you do, people will line up like they are for that water...slide..." Oh...shoot. That completely slipped her mind. "All right, I've gotta go. Remember what I said!...Oh, and just so you know, this swimsuit isn't actually mine. I borrowed it from someone else. And yeah, it doesn't fit me perfectly...but trust me, the other one wouldn't have worked at all!"

...And, right on schedule, another drunk Navi. Somehow, she wasn't surprised. Might as well nip this one in the bud while she could. She raced over to the apparently clown-like Navi, and started summoning more water out of the ground. Sure, he didn't seem as dangerous as the other one, but...well, that could change in an instant. Come to think of it, the first drunk Navi mentioned someone else. Maybe this was that someone else? Oh well, if he was, he was joining his buddy in a moment.

"How do I soak thee? Let me count the ways...just this one!" With a nudge of her trident, water rushed forth with the power of a fire hose, in order to send out the clown. "Well, gotta admit...any job that lets you send Navis flying high isn't all bad!"

Speaking of high, that water slide was pretty high up itself. Getting to the top wasn't going to be easy...either she'd have to shove aside countless Navis in the line, or climb up the hard way. Either way cost precious time...but maybe there was a way to make things easier. "Hey, PhotoMan! You probably know this place better than I do...is there a PA system nearby? Or at least something like a megaphone? Anything that would help me talk to a lot of people at once will do!"

[Order of Turn:
1-Head for drunk Navi
2-4-Pressurized hose water action on drunk Navi]
SplashLady heard something sort of alarming like "I'll find a bikini that makes guys crazy for me," as she left, but it might turn out alright. At any rate, pep-talk wasn't one of the water-related things she was supposed to keep track of, so it'd be wrong of them to count her off for it.

The clown turned to SplashLady for a moment, then waved a strange old Yoka teacup through the air, splashing some sort of translucent liquid around as he did. "Diju know... d'ja know the famous writer sharkspear... Squalospear? Whuddever, he-!" the navi started talking, revealing an unnaturally high-pitched voice. Before he could get much out, SplashLady sent him packing; another navi dazzled far into the distance like a star, riding her stream.

PhotoMan nodded, crossing his arms. "Yes. A program allows my voice to project at crowd-control levels for large shoots, so that I can take on the roll of director if need be. I must warn you, however..." he responded, then opened his mouth as if facing a doctor. "The device is far within my throat. To project, you will have to put your face very close to mine. Because this is your job, I am not permitted to give the message myself."

The explanation of PhotoMan's voice amplifier made no sense at all. It was also somewhat surprising how well he could speak with his mouth open like that. Regardless, besides the mouth, his dull expression hadn't changed at all.

The dancers were still sweaty and the water slide was still crowded, but other than that, everything seemed under control. The crowd around the stage was very animated; everyone seemed to be becoming a little on their guard after watching so many people get hammered by water streams, although they understood those were drunk.

***TIMER: 360***
Satisfaction Rating: 64%
((One action required to move to next area of beach))
...So, he could give out a message himself, but instead was making her talk in his mouth? That...ugh, she couldn't think about that gap in logic, or else she'd get a headache. But, if the jobs were that clearly defined, there really wasn't much she could do. Besides, considering how things went with the muscular guy, it might be better if she did it anyway. "Oh...all right, since I really need to get the message across. But no funny business! Oh, and if you could, can you turn so that it'll be directed at the water slide line?" SplashLady cleared her throat, then approached PhotoMan's gaping maw with a small amount of apprehension, mostly because the concept was weirding her out. Though at least based on what she'd seen, he'd treat it as simple business. "Uh, testing, 1, 2, 3..." ...Yep, that was good enough. Time for some public announcements. "Attention, water slide patrons! Maintenance will be on its way. A cute female Navi with green hair, blue eyes, and a trident will arrive at the slide momentarily. Please let her through so she can fix the water slide. Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope to have the slide up and running very shortly!"

The not-so-mermaidlike Navi backed off a bit, her announcement complete. Not wanting to keep the line waiting any more than needed at this point, she raced over to the water slide, waving her weapon of choice to make sure people saw it. "Excuse me! I'm here to fix the water slide! Let me through, please!" If people had paid attention, she should be able to get up without problems. But it was still an if...

[Order of Time:
1-Head for water slide
1a-See if patrons will let her up to fix water slide]
PhotoMan stared straight as SplashLady as she spoke; alarmingly, the voice that projected back out of his mouth was indeed a highly amplified version of her own and blasted into her ears at close range. PhotoMan nodded, then spoke out in an outrageously loud, broadcasted voice. "Good job, now we-"[b][/b] he started, then realized the volume. He closed his mouth, then gave a small click. "Good job, they seem ready to anticipate you now. Please hurry up there."

People stood aside, willing to let SplashLady up. "She is pretty cute, isn't she?" a guy at the top muttered. His girlfriend sent him careening down the slide as he did, but luckily it was pretty much empty for him anyways. No harm, no foul.

The giant water star required SplashLady to climb up a ladder to reach the filling station. As she looked inside, she found that the water level was about 1/5 of its capacity. It was a good thing she came when she did; a few minutes longer and anyone knocked down the waterslide would emerge with some painful scars at the bottom.

Amazingly, the concert seemed to keep on going, despite the drunken attendants getting blasted out and the fact that the singer was having to compete with PhotoMan's announcements. Another drunken guy seemed to be parading around; this time, it looked to be one of the black suits who were supposed to be acting as security for the idol on stage. How had that happened?

The dancers had just finished up with their fans, but they seemed far too sweaty and dehydrated to do any more dancing. SplashLady would have to deal with them eventually.

***TIMER: 350***
Satisfaction Rating: 64%
((One action required to move to next area of beach))
Hallelujah, she was finally up here. Well, she came up here to fix it, so there was no sense in sitting around. Sticking her trident in the opening, SplashLady started to whistle as the tank began to head closer to the designation of F instead of one of E. "Just a little longer, everyone!" Do do doo...yep, nothing but time could fix things now. Though for the first time since the mission began, she felt as though she could relax for a second. Ahh...

But alas, her moment of peace was just that, a moment. A look in the tank revealed it was full, and she was all set to continue. Now, to take care of those dancers before they collapsed. And fast. Luckily, there was now a fun and easy way to head down. Dissipating her weapon of choice, she climbed down from the star tank, and turned to the crowd. "All right, the slide is open for business!" To prove it, she hopped on the slide, and underwent the process of using it. "Whee!" Poor SplashMan...had he been the one doing this, he would've had to go down the long way, since he'd destroy the slide.

With a sound highly appropriate for a Navi of her name, SplashLady hopped out, not even giving herself a moment to drip before preparing to race towards-

"Yaaawn...great, now I can't get back to sleep. What's with the megaphone or whatever, anyway?" Back in the real world, Sabrina's nap had been interrupted by the announcement that had nothing to do with her. Groggily, she picked up her PET...and gave her Navi a funny look.

"Sorry, had to tell people to get out of the way! You can go back to sleep now."

"Uh, SplashLady?"

"What's up?"

"What kind of beach blowout or whatever are you at now, anyway?"

"What?"

"I mean, I'd expect a topless beach in a Netopian area of the Net, but Beach is Electopian..."

"What ARE you talking about?..." A gust of wind blew at that moment, which felt suspiciously breezy between the shoulders and belly button..."...EEP!"

In what could only be considered a violation of the laws of physics (even by Internet standards), the not-so-mermaid Navi leaped back into the pool at the water slide's base, keeping her upper region firmly pressed against the edge. "..."

"Uh...wow. Your face is beet red!"

"So would yours if this happened to you! Now, I need to stay up against here, so tell me where my top is, before other people get down here!"

"All right, all right...uh, okay, you have a small problem. It's...smack dab in the middle of the pool, just floating there. I dunno if anyone's noticed..."

"That figures..." The aquatic Navi lowered herself to the bottom, using her innate ability to not worry about oxygen to her advantage. She quickly swam beneath the article of clothing, then propelled herself straight up to snatch it and put it back on in the blink of an eye. If one had been paying very close attention, however, one would have gotten a quick peek at what was underneath the bikini top...

"Phew...that was almost super embarrassing..."

"No kidding...you're lucky you woke me up!"

"Yeah, thanks for giving me that heads up...ugh, I don't even want to imagine what would've happened if you hadn't said anything..."

"No prob! Just do the same for me if it ever happens, okay? All right, this little bit of excitement's over, so I'm out. Wake me up when the mission's over!" And the operator was once again out like a light.

While still a little flustered, SplashLady made her way out of the pool again, and proceeded to head for the dancers...which was slightly ironic considering what almost happened. "All right, the cavalry's here! Open up!" And just like the volleyball team, everyone would get some water, both in and on them. That would presumably be enough to hydrate them. There was still the matter of that new drunk guy, but from there she should be able to assess the situation...

[Order of Time:
1-Hose water action on water star
2-Hose water action on water star
3-Head for dancers' location
3a-3?-Light spritz water action x2 on each dancer]
With the slide filled back up to a satisfactory level, SplashLady exited, stage waterslide. Luckily, few seemed to be around to catch the mishap at the bottom; it went virtually unnoticed, except...

Click click

PhotoMan stood at poolside, apparently having been watching her from that position all along (or otherwise somehow getting all the way back down to meet her after climbing up secretly). He made no particular expression in response to what had happened, although the clicking sound seemed to be abnormally loud and occurred with increased frequency. "Thank you for that. The water-filling, that is. Please proceed onward," he droned, then stepped out of her way.

SplashLady gave each of the dancers light hydration; they seemed thankful, but it was slightly doubtful whether or not it'd be enough to allow them to get back into their routine. They were awfully sweaty...

The suit-wearing guy over at the stage still seemed to be creating a ruckus. PhotoMan popped up suddenly at her side. "Please take care of this problem as quickly as you can manage; we must move on," he urged her. "They're bursting out- the outbreaks, they're er... outbursts. You'll have to figure out what's causing these drunken outbursts somehow."

***TIMER: 320***
Satisfaction Rating: 80%
((One action required to move to next area of beach))
Fortunately for PhotoMan, SplashLady had been too distracted to pay attention to him snapping certain pictures of her. If she hadn't, however...well, the fate of the drunken people would've been nothing compared to his. Speaking of which, looked like she had another one to send flying off, and a new mission to get everyone to knock it off. "Yeah, it's weird how they keep popping up...but whatever's causing it, I don't think it's in this area. I'll keep an eye out for it when we move on."

Yet again, the bikini'd Navi rushed off, reaching the stage after a short period of time. She hopped up on it, and started whipping up some more water. "I can't believe security would do that while they're on the clock...what a disgrace. Hopefully this disgrace'll knock some sense into him..." With enough water to create her own personal pond, she launched her offensive in the form of something resembling a powerful hose spray, which should hopefully wrap up any and all concert distractions. So she wouldn't be one herself, she quickly exited, stage right.

"Okay, that should finally wrap things up here!" And without a doubt, she earned some pay in this section. "Let's head for the next area. Coming, PhotoMan?" Spraying herself with a little water to cool off, and electing to let it just run down and drip off instead of even trying to find a way to dry herself, SplashLady was off to races again, to see what the next area had to offer. Hopefully, less than this one...

[Order of Time:
1-Get over to stage
2-Pressurized hose water action on drunken guy
3-Pressurized hose water action on drunken guy
4-Pressurized hose water action on drunken guy
5-Head for next area]
Another guy got hosed and went flying; the crowd was clearly distracted now that SplashLady had taken the stage to hit the navi, but the idol kept on singing anyways. It was doubtful whether anyone was watching her at this point, however, with all of the worrying about getting sprayed and the sprayer's identity now revealed.

PhotoMan kept his stoic expression, but tilted his head slightly as SplashLady came down. "I'm not certain that was wise. You're lucky the bodyguards didn't chase you off of the stage," he whispered to her, quickly walking behind her to keep up with her pace. "You did get him though, I guess. I just hope that was the last case."

As PhotoMan continued to be a buzzkill, SplashLady approached a lovely white wood villa. The small beach chateau had a porch on stilts, with the rest leaning upon a steep hill. The window at the back, facing over the ocean, allowed SplashLady to see a neat, blue-walled interior, decorated tastefully with oil paintings. Two figures were seated inside, but it was hard to see them.

More importantly, perhaps, a volleyball game was going on just outside of the shade of the palm trees surrounding the house. All of the guys were ripped and tan, sort of like the male equivalent of the all-female match SplashLady had watched earlier. The volleyball match was coming to an end with the serve she came in on; one side cheered while the other boo'd.

The guys seemed ready to be hydrated; the crowd wasn't really swarming in on them, so it'd probably be easy to go get to them. At the same time, the two figures who were inside came out onto the overhead porch to talk. Two women, both with hot bodies and elegant, up-done hair like models, came out to the railing. The first, a blond, was dressed in a white sun-dress and pretty sun hat, topped with some sort of strange looking plant. The second wore a white, formal shirt with the collar open and long-legged, khaki-colored slacks.

Each of the girls held a Netopian tea-cup (the styles were different than the Electopian ones she'd seen earlier). The blond looked wistfully over the ocean while the brown-haired one frowned sourly. "Thank you very much for having me, Ms. Aroma. It's a shame that that exhibitionist had to choose to hold her party here... it's created more noise than I'd have liked during our reunion," she muttered, just loudly enough for SplashLady to hear.

"It's no matter at all, dear friend; I enjoy the seeing all of the beach-goers frolic and play. They're always so animated, reminding us of the peace we have to protect. It's always nice to be reminded, isn't it?" the blond asked, pushing a loose strand of hair from in front of her shining blue eyes.

"I suppose. Sometimes I can't help but think they should be more grateful," the other sighed, leaning over the railing herself.

"... There's not actually a lot to do here, that I can see. We should move on quickly."

***TIMER: 270***
Satisfaction Rating: 76%
((One action required to move to next area of beach))
"Hey, you wanted the drunk guy gone, and he is. I guess I didn't have to do it from point blank range, but then I'd risk hitting an innocent bystander. Just doing things the way I know how!" Not that that'd make PhotoMan feel any better, but it was a load off her mind to explain it a little.

The next area was surprisingly quiet, aside from a men's volleyball game. It intrigued her more than the previous one for...obvious reasons, but alas, she had a job, and couldn't admire the scenery, as it were. Though, speaking of admiring scenery, a couple of ladies nearby seemed to be talking about something while looking at the ocean. She had no idea who they were, but apparently they knew something about this whole thing...and protecting the peace or something. She hated to stop for even a moment, but she was just too curious. "Hey, PhotoMan. Any idea who they are?"

[Order of Time:
0-Ask about women on porch]
"Perhaps you're right. There's really no telling," PhotoMan admitted, but still with no change of expression or tone. "As for your question, the blond woman in the dress is Aroma. She's a Netopian diplomat, quite popular; I suppose that even popular navi diplomats are probably still less known than human ones, however. Even in the net age, policy is still conducted largely in the real world."

"The other is... checking databanks... Bayonet.EXE. She's a member of the Netpolice Department of Internal Affairs. She's played a part in some NP policy negotiations herself. Perhaps that is why the two of them are together. Regardless, Aroma raised no objections when we informed her of our intent to hold the Showbizz Beach Blowout on her property, so don't worry about the two of them."

PhotoMan spoke in a subdued voice so that the two ladies neither heard nor acknowledged them. It struck SplashLady that she'd have to raise her voice a bit just to speak to them, since they were so high up.

***TIMER: 260***
Satisfaction Rating: 76%
((One action required to move to next area of beach))
Aroma and Bayonet...never heard of them. Though, SplashLady couldn't help but wonder what a Netopian diplomat was doing with space in an Electopian area of the Net...eh, diplomats probably made enough money to afford things like this. Being rich must be nice. "...I see. All right, we'll just let them be." And while spraying people was in her job description, it definitely wasn't worth potentially angering higher ups...at least not if there weren't too many people around.

...Ah, right. Speaking of people, there was that volleyball game aftermath to take care of. Utilizing the sprint which had been homed over the last...hmm, how long had it been, anyway? She wasn't really sure, and didn't have time to look at a clock. Well, whatever, she was off to the court. Upon reaching, she fully intended to give each and every participant some hosing down. Well, maybe not hosing down, because that'd take a long time. But they'd get some water on them, and in them, and that's what counted. Also, some minor ogling would be allowed between sprayings. But not enough to interfere with the mission.

Once that was all done, she gave herself a light spritz, and began the process of running towards the next area. At least this last section gave her a small breather.

[Order of Time:
1-Race for the volleyball court
1a-1?-Light spritz water action on/in volleyball players
2-Head for next area]
PhotoMan shrugged, then plodded along behind SplashLady at a slow pace. SplashLady hydrated the players, stopping for only a moment to do so, then continued on. She was gone before anyone had a chance to ask who she was or what she was doing.

Her partner had begun to look a little sleepy; the camera navi watched the next area with his eyes only half open. The next area seemed pretty barren of people; the area was being readied for some sort of festive luau, with colorful umbrellas, a band stage, and little circular tables. A big water-storage star was sitting next to a minibar. It was easy to assume that SplashLady was meant to fill it.

Sitting near the bar, a distinct looking girl with her hair done into two big tails like glittering, yellow stars stared at PhotoMan and SplashLady. Her eyes themselves seemed to glow with stars. Her attire consisted of the same sort of long tee-shirt that PhotoMan had offered for SplashLady to wear.

"Aaah, there you are, PhotoMan! I was beginning to wonder if you were going to let this event flop too, with your laziness and all. But it looks like everything's under control! Your team did the pillowfight fine, and the Beach Blowout seems to be a success! It's all way better than I expected!" she cheered. She moved towards him with a light bounce from her sizable chest. "Think of the ratings!"

"Ah yes... This girl has helped immensely," he remarked, nodding towards SplashLady.

"Oooh? Hrm... I would have picked somebody different. I dunno, isn't she sort of plain? Hrmmmm..." the girl remarked, looking SplashLady over nosily. "Oh well, I guess she did the job." For some reason, PhotoMan looked pretty offended by all of that, like he had something to say. It was an odd expression for him. "My name's Showbizz! I'm the best there is when it comes to organizing big, showy spectacles like this one!"

"I'm certain she'd figured that out by now," PhotoMan muttered.

Pouting, Showbizz went over to grab at the camera hanging from his neck. "Alright, fork em over, PhotoMan! I want to see all of the pics you've got! We need them to hand out to the media, so we can make the ratings big, big, BIG!"

Surprisingly, the photo navi didn't seem willing to give up his camera; he wrestled with Showbizz, trying to get it free from her grasp. Unfortunately, he was rather weak and she was rather emphatic, so he was having a hard time recovering it. "I apologize but... the film still needs to be doctored... you can't expose it to the sunlight... the quality is all off!"

"Whaaaa? Don't make it sound like you're using some old photo camera that has to develop its film! That's stupid!" Showbizz grunted, still trying to wrestle it from him. "Gimmeeee!"

None of it was really SplashLady's business, so perhaps she'd want to just fill the container?

***TIMER: 240***
Satisfaction Rating: 85%
((Reached end of beach))
Ah, so this was who organized the whole thing. Though, the 'plain' remark got Showbizz a glare that just screamed 'I dare you to come over here and say that again'. But since shooting the event organizer with water probably wouldn't win her any points, SplashLady quietly walked over, stuck her trident in the star, and began to fill it up.

She then viewed the scene between Showbizz and PhotoMan, a bit curious as to why the latter was so reluctant to show the pictures he'd taken. Granted, it probably wasn't any of her business, but..."Come on, PhotoMan! Show us what you took! It's not like anything really bad happened, so there shouldn't be any problems whatsoever!" Well, probably nothing really bad happened, anyway. Though she'd been pretty focused, nothing struck her as being so bad that no one should be allowed to see it...

[Order of Time:
1-Hose water action on storage star
2-Hose water action on storage star]
"She's got you there! Come on, I'm your boss! Gimmeeee!" Showbizz grunted, pulling extra hard on the camera.

PhotoMan looked almost like he was getting strangled, but pulled back hard, knocking his boss into furniture in a way that was sure to lose him his chance at the Employee of the Month award. "Absolutely not! You know as well as I do that I have all sorts of editing to do before these photos are worthy for print, critique, or even viewing!" he protested.

"Aaagh! You, water girl! Five satisfaction points if you help me get this thing!" the star-hair girl beckoned, holding onto the camera loosely as PhotoMan dragged her around, fighting a now almost one-sided battle to keep hold of his photo storage.

***TIMER: 220***
Satisfaction Rating: 94%
((Reached end of beach))
...Hmm. PhotoMan REALLY wasn't giving up without a fight. It really made her wonder exactly what he had taken that he was so hesitant to show. "You know, you're making it look suspicious by not just showing us. What is it that's so bad? I'd think having some help with the preliminary viewing and selection would be a good thing for you. C'mon, don't make me join in!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhh...I needed that! Hey, SplashLady! Are you done with the mission yet?"

"Not yet. I'll let you know when!"

"Guess I'll watch some silly Electopian daytime TV, then. Now where's that remote..."
"It's not because of the content! I can't show you because it's not time yet!" he complained, gripping tightly onto the camera and shaking Showbizz to-and-fro. "I haven't composed my-!"

"No points, water girl! I'm doing this the hard way now! Star flaaash!" the perky show host cried out, releasing a blinding burst of light that forced PhotoMan to stagger backwards and release his treasured camera. The star tails at the back of her head bobbed up and down with excitement as she giddily opened it up.

If SplashLady had been worried that the end of PhotoMan's earlier sentence would be "quality control" or "album arrangement" or something professional, she'd be disappointed. She now had to wonder what he was talking about as the photos spilled across the floor, revealing their contents...

Hundreds of photos. All of SplashLady's ass.

"... Haven't composed my thoughts yet... To explain all of this..." he groaned, rubbing his temples. Oddly, he didn't look mortified or embarrassed about the pictures.

"What... er...? You're some kind of pervert with an ass fetish? I don't get it!" Showbizz muttered, slumping her shoulders. "I've never noticed you taking photos of my ass before, or Swat's! What gives?"

"A woman like you couldn't understand. You're only interested in what other people think of you... all the time! You have no real beauty. You show off your body to anyone who'll look and give you a thumbs up for it," he explained in an accusing tone to his boss. "Now put that in contrast with this artistic beauty... The real key is to understand her origins."

"A mermaid with a sleek, human upper body, toned for swimming through the water... but a fish's bottom half. Who upon seeing the woman atop would not wish to see a woman's body beneath it? Then lo, imagine that a round, perfectly shaped ass suddenly replaced that lower body!" he exclaimed emphatically, with a new, artistic gleam in his eye. "This deserves to be photographed! The before and after... fish to ass! It's an overwhelmingly arousing concept!"

"Fish... ass? Fish ass?! What's so arousing about fish ass!?" the blond navi fumed, leaning over the table and shaking her associate by the neck.

"As I said, such a narrow-minded woman as yourself sees only still photos of an ass! My mind sees every subtle movement of her lower body, freshly transformed from its fish tail form. Using my video-vision and my set-director skills, I captured all of the most inspiring scenes and angles. SplashLady, it is no exaggeration to say... that I feel deeply moved by this experience," he explained. His face showed no emotion, as usual, but his voice shimmered with new emotion and passion.

"Ohmygaaawd, you're the worst event host / cameraman / stage director / navi I've ever met! You're sooo fired!" Showbizz droned, unable to believe what she was hearing. "What am I supposed to give to the media!? A million photos of water girl's buns?!"

"Well... there is a good chance that they won't understand the beauty of the concept without considerable explanation, I admit," PhotoMan admitted.

"Yes. That. Uuuuuugh, so stupid!" Showbizz moaned, running her fingers through her hair. "The party here starts at Timer = 160! That means you've got like... a few minutes to take some pictures we can use for advertising purposes. Otherwise you are fired and possibly sued. I don't even know what that girl wants to do to you at this point."

"Trust my photographer's sense on this one. The perfect photo to advertise must feature SplashLady's ass. Please, SplashLady," he begged her, kneeling before the woman he'd artistically victimized with his hands clenched. "Allow me to capture your beauty one last time in a photo. We can go anywhere on the beach to do it, with whomever you want... or perhaps reposing alone! With your supple legs gently lapped by the waves..."

"We could also both stomp on his face and take a photo of that... Or maybe just me stomping on his face! Or maybe just me~!" Showbizz cooed, pressing her hands to her cheeks giddily as she switched from vengeful to self-absorbed.

***TIMER: 210***
Satisfaction Rating: 94%
((Reached end of beach, one action required to move between areas, can move to any area with one post))
Woo, now they'd get to see all those pictures, and whatever PhotoMan was into...

...Uh...

...Um...

...He was into her ass. No other way to put it...

...Uh...

...Wow...

"...You know that was just a long skirt, right? I can tuck my feet in to look like I have a fish tail, but I always have legs..." Uh...wow, she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Ugh, can't get back to sleep. Guess I'll see how SplashLady's mission's going..." Due to the laws of the universe, Sabrina chose that moment to check in. "...Holy cow, SplashLady, why are there so many pictures of your ass?!"

"It's...a long story. I'll tell you later."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure guys would go nuts over it..." And probably some girls, but she wasn't one of them. Nope. She was only staring at the pictures because she didn't expect it and was still in stunned mode. That was all.

As much as she wasn't a fan of Showbizz, however, she did raise a good point. These pictures clearly couldn't possibly be released to the press. At least not unless they gave her something like a Recover200 for compensation. But they needed to give them something. Though PhotoMan was still focused on her...okay, focused was a REALLY unfortunate word choice. Although...hmm. Maybe there actually was a way to make everyone happy. "...All right. I have an idea on what we can do. PhotoMan, come with me!" And presumably much to his dismay, SplashLady began pushing him forward, making sure that this time, she was the one that brought up the rear. ...Ugh, after this mission, she was getting her mind reprogrammed to not pick the worst possible mental wordings.

Together, they backtracked, past the beach house, and back to the most bustling of the areas. Luckily, it was a lot easier to maneuver through it now that she knew where everything was. Now she just needed to locate the dancers...aha, there they were. She raced up to them, requiring them for her plan. "Hi, listen, I need to ask a huge favor from you guys. Can you do a dance, and let me join in? Preferably something with a lot of hip action and butt swinging. I don't have much time to explain why, but I don't think I'd be lying to say the success of the blowout depends on it. Please please PLEASE help!"

[Order of Time:
1-Head for Area 4
2-Head for Area 3 - Dancer's Area]