A Sworded Affair

The amount of sharp bushes made seeing or dodging an effort in futility. However, SharpMan could take solace in the fact that he didn't step on any bear traps while navigating the battlefield. Unfortunately, his FireKnife strike only deleted a bush as the WuNote teleported to another bush. All three stabbed at SharpMan with long, sharp noses, piercing his barrier, then himself. Leaving him a little holier than before.

-- ENEMIES --
WuNoteA: 130HP [In BushB3]
WuNoteB: 130HP [In BushC1]
WuNoteC: 130HP [In BushB2]

-- OBJECTS --
BushA1: 1HP
BushA2: Deleted
BushA3: 1HP
BushB1: 1HP [GMD]
BushB2: 1HP [WuNoteC]
BushB3: 1HP [WuNoteA]
BushC1: 1HP [WuNoteB]
BushC2: 1HP
BushC3: 1HP

GMD: 15HP [In BushB1]

-- TERRAIN --
70% Grass
30% Snare [Scattered]

-- NAVIGATOR --
SharpMan.EXE: 110HP [Barrier destroyed!]
Strangely enough, SharpMan didn't fly into a rage, despite everything turning out to be a disaster. Instead, he just clutched his hands into fists, and grinded his teeth as he stared at the bush viruses. "...Hector."

"Yes?"

"Here's the plan. First, I chop these things down until they're mulch. Then, I'm going to do the exact same thing to everything that isn't a green crystal in this entire area!"

"Even the traps?"

"Iron's a nutrient, isn't it?"

"...I honestly have no idea." Okay, enough having fun with the Navi. If he waited any longer, steam was going to come out through his ears, and probably pressurized enough to go straight through the helmet's ear coverings. And he wasn't paying for that repair. "We can talk semantics later. For now, let's concentrate on the enemies before us." Luckily, there was a chip to help with that. "BattleChip, PanelGrab! BattleChip, WideBlade! Double slot in!"

The spot where the bladed Navi stood began to glow, imbuing him with the underrated ability to sense his foes better. Sure, he could see them just fine, but now he could seem with his mind's eye...or something like that. Now enhanced with this new ability, he made a short dash over to where the WuNote...stood, or whatever it was bush tree things did, his arm blades now coated in a shining, golden aura. Without any fanfare, he slashed at the three Wood-attuned foes with his right side blade, followed immediately by an identical cut with the left side blade. Normally, he didn't mind adding a little flourish to toy with the enemy a bit, but now he was annoyed, and all he cared about now was their imminent demise. And that meant taking the no-frills approach.

Sitting back in his chair, it occurred to Hector that there was always the off chance that a WuNote might be able to get out of there in time to avoid a grisly fate. Well, that needed to be changed. "Stay put. I'll handle the coup de grace." And thanks to a random moment of chip trader fun, he had the perfect attack for such a situation. "BattleChip, AquaNeedle! Slot in!"

High above the battlefield, three large spikes formed, and began a speedy descent. Their targets were clear, as each one had a different virus to drop on. Ideally, it wasn't even needed, but even in a worst case scenario, every little bit counted.


[Order of Turn:

SharpMan:
1-PanelGrab chip on SharpMan (S, Accuracy Enhancement)
2-WideBlade chip attack on WuNoteA, WuNoteB, and WuNoteC (110, A+, Slashing, Wide Attack)
3-WideBlade chip attack on WuNoteA, WuNoteB, and WuNoteC (110, A+, Slashing, Wide Attack)
4-AquaNeedle1 chip attack on WuNoteA, WuNoteB, and WuNoteC (20, Aqua, A, Drop Attack)

Spikey:
1-Remain conspicuously absent]
The WuNotes teleported away before the Widesword managed to strike them... Except the first strike actually did hit a single WuNote and destroyed all the bushes around it before it could teleport. They replaced their bushes before being struck by AquaNeedles, deleting one and leaving the other two exposed.

And SharpMan didn't step on a Snare.

-- ENEMIES --
WuNoteA: 115HP [Exposed!]
WuNoteB: 115HP [Exposed!]
WuNoteC: Deleted

-- OBJECTS --
BushA1: 1HP
BushA2: Deleted
BushA3: Deleted [WuNoteA]
BushB1: 1HP [GMD]
BushB2: Deleted
BushB3: Deleted
BushC1: Deleted
BushC2: 1HP
BushC3: Deleted [WuNoteB]
BushD1: 1HP
BushD2: 1HP
BushD3: 1HP

GMD: 15HP [In BushB1]

-- TERRAIN --
70% Grass
30% Snare [Scattered]

-- NAVIGATOR --
SharpMan.EXE: 110HP
By now, SharpMan was really starting to see red, as he still had multiple viruses to deal with. If it wasn't for the metal jaws of pain surrounding him, he'd be halfway to bum rushing over to one of them and give it a harsh lesson in agony. But, for that reason, and ONLY that reason, he managed to will himself into staying put. "...This is getting ridiculous! How do these stupid things keep moving before I can slice them?!"

"Don't worry about it. It's only a matter of time until-" ...Hmm? That was weird. Hector could hear something from a nearby open window. It sounded like...crying? Strange. And worth investigating. "...SharpMan, here's something to incinerate one of those things. There's something I need to check real quick."

"What?! What's so important that-" The bladed Navi was interrupted by a metallic, almost furnace like gun forming over his hand. He decided to shrug off his operator's sudden absence, and decided to focus on turning the bush virus to ash, even if it was via a method he didn't exactly love. Placing his free hand over his arm (but not on the gun itself; he'd probably burn himself if he tried that), he trained his weapon over towards one of the WuNote, tried to make absolutely sure that the attack's explosion wouldn't blast that mystery data into pieces, and launched a small fireball towards the plant virus. Although, he was hardly a sniper Navi, so there was always the chance he'd mess up in some way...stupid snares. If it wasn't for them, this battle would probably be over...but nope, instead, he had to wait until his operator got back, which had better be very, very soon...

[Order of Turn:
1-HeatShot chip attack on WuNoteB (40, Fire, A, Spread 1) (Spread Target: Anything besides Bush B1 area)
---TURN SPLICE---

Spikey:
1-Still conspicuously absent]
More bushes were burned away by fire. One of the WuNotes was deleted as it tried to retreat, summoning some more bushes... but something strange happened. The other bushes clumped together to form super bushes. So now there were less bushes, but those that were left were bigger and thornier.

-- ENEMIES --
WuNoteA: 120HP [BushA1]
WuNoteB: Deleted
WuNoteC: Deleted

-- OBJECTS --
BushA1: 20HP [WuNoteA]
BushA2: 20HP
BushB1: 20HP [GMD]
BushB2: 20HP

GMD: 15HP [BushB1]

-- TERRAIN --
70% Grass
30% Snare [Scattered]

-- NAVIGATOR --
SharpMan.EXE: 110HP [3 Actions Left!]
Though the sight of the WuNote burning into nothingness entertained SharpMan for a bit, eventually the lack of his operator began to irk him. While he COULD do something, without chips, he couldn't do anything about all those bushes, which was a little embarassing considering he was covered in razor sharp metal blades. Even having his SP around would speed it u-

............................................

...Seriously? He forgot THAT? The bladed Navi sighed, completely disappointed in himself for not remembering such a basic thing. Granted, he'd never had a SP before, but...ugh. He raised his hand, and proceeded to snap his fingers, creating a trail of light next to him. A purple Spikey formed, sleeping like a rock. He looked down at his SP, with a mildly amused look on his face, as he lightly tapped the toe of his boot against it. Good thing that wasn't the end with the blade. "Wake up, sleeping beauty! You've got work to do!" The purple dog's eyes opened, and with a big yawn stood up, before looking around and wondering why it suddenly wasn't in the PET...

"Sorry about that. Everything's taken care of. ...So, you brought the Spikey into the battle?"

"Yep, in a moment of profound genius, it occurred to me that, hey, I can just summon it right now! And I did. Couldn't hurt, right?"

"Right. Now, I have an idea on how to get rid of the bushes, and it'll help. But, it also involves a ch-"

"No."

"You're not even giving me a chance to-"

"No. You want Spikey to get rid of that one bush over there, while I get rid of the other two, and since the virus probably won't move to an already occupied bush, it'll be a sitting duck for us, and that gives me a chance to move over and strike."

"And the prob-"

"But, with all the snares around, it's too hazardous to move, so unless necessary, I'm not moving in with my swords. And we don't have a whole lot else that can hit both of those bushes in one fell swoop...except that stupid CornShot!"

"Well then, following your logic, there's not much else we can do, now is there?"

"..." The Navi immediately flinched, realizing that he talked himself into a corner by explaining everything. "...Fine, but the next chance you get, you're getting rid of that chip!"

"Hey, I'd like for you to have all the chips you want, too, but we can't always get what we want..." And, hated chip in. "BattleChip, CornShot! Slot in!"

A rounded BombCorn formed on SharpMan's hand, which he wasn't very happy to see. With his free hand, he pointed over at one of the bushes, snapping his fingers to make sure his SP noticed. "Hey! Attack that bush! Don't worry that there's nothing in it, just get rid of it!" The Spikey appeared mildly surprised that it got to actually do something other than avoid attacks, but managed to quickly snap out of it, and opened its mouth in the direction of the bush. A medium sized fireball that strongly resembled a HeatShot emerged from its depths, ready to burn up whatever virus created plant life that got in its way. Unfortunately, as a small blow to its Spikey pride, if it hit, it wouldn't create an explosion that kept on going. But, maybe one day...

At around the same time, the Navi pointed his own weapon towards a bush, and like his SP, aimed at an empty bush. However, the possibly edible blast that was released from it was capable of automatically sending out a second blast towards an adversary, and since there was only one WuNote left...then again, his luck hadn't exactly been perfect, so all he could do was watch and see if things unfolded as perfectly as they did in his mind...

[Order of Turn:

---TURN SPLICE---
2-Summon Spikey (bring SP into battle)
3-CornShot1 chip attack on Bush A2 (50, Wood, A, Trick-Shot Spread 1) (Spread Target: WuNoteA)
---TURN SPLICE 2---

Spikey:
1-Here and Attacking Bush B2 (10, Fire)]
The young Spikey SP tried to breath fire on one of the spikey bushes. Unfortunately the sleepy pups' aim was off and the bush was unharmed.

SharpMan's CornShot1 however, deleted the bush it was thrown at. But unfortunately the WuNote managed to teleport away just as the heat-seeking bullet erupted out of the corny explosion and passed right through where the WuNote was.

The WuNote appeared in the bush with the GMD and made its attack. But it was distracted from dodging so much that its pointy nose aimed too far to one side.

-- ENEMIES --
WuNoteA: 125HP [BushB1]
WuNoteB: Deleted
WuNoteC: Deleted

-- OBJECTS --
BushA1: 20HP
BushA2: Deleted
BushB1: 20HP [GMD] [WuNoteA]
BushB2: 20HP

GMD: 15HP [BushB1]

-- TERRAIN --
70% Grass
30% Snare [Scattered]

-- NAVIGATOR --
SharpMan.EXE: 110HP [1 Action Left!]
Spikey.SP: 40HP
By now, the tempest that was SharpMan's temper was gone. Oh, he was definitely still angry about everything, but now he had a certain calmness he rarely had. "...Hector."

"...You're thinking about withdrawing, aren't you?"

"Yeah. It just ain't fun."

"You have my blessing. There were just too many things working against you this time."

"Grr...I can't believe I've sunk this low, to be running away from some stupid virus!...But you're right, this isn't the kind of fight I'm good at. Nothing left to do...but live to fight another day! C'mon, Spikey! We're getting out of here, and you're up first!" With a snap of his fingers, the Navi dismissed his SP, returning it to the safety of the PET. The smaller the numbers, the more likely any attempts to cut and run were to succeed. And 1 was smaller than 2.

With that, SharpMan took a deep breath, preparing himself for his next move...and bolted in a bushless direction, doing his best to avoid stepping on those snares as he did what he hated to do more than anything...

[Order of Turn:

---TURN SPLICE 2---
4-Dismiss Spikey

NEXT TURN:
ALL-Flee]
And thus SharpMan bravely ran away.

-BATTLE 1: FLED!!-
"ARGH!!!" Once it was clear that he had successfully run from the quasi-immobile viruses, SharpMan immediately slowed down, and started to slice the air in front of him. "I don't know what those...things were doing on the ground, but I don't EVER want to see them again!"

"Even though you never walked into one, it really messed things up, didn't it?" Hector leaned back, and looked at his PET thoughtfully. "So, you want to try another fight?"

"I'm so mad, I can't even see straight! Grrr!!!" More ripping apart imaginary foes in front of him. "...Yeeaargh!"

"I'll take that as a no. All right, I'll think of something more relaxing for us to do. You just go ahead and jack out, and chill. And don't start destroying things in the PET. You know what happened the last time you pulled that."

"Hey, I'm angry, not stupid!" And with that insightful remark, the bladed Navi was gone.