"I don't wanna die!"

"GAAAAAaaaaa--umph!" Frag's scream was cut short, as he landed in a patch of very thick savannah grass. Joseph's head appeared next to the disoriented Navi, chuckling lightly. "At least you managed to enter without any real difficulties..." He laughed, as he prepared his chips. "Prepare yourself, Frag. This area isn't known for being forgiving--"

"I know that!" Frag leapt to his feet, wildly glancing around for viruses--

Wait, how do I know that? He suddenly wondered...

((Here we go! Battle 1!))
ATTACK OF THE CACTY THEIR PRICKLY SPIKES ARE ... PRICKLY


CactyA:70
CactyB:70
CactyC:70

Frag:100 hp
"What are those things?" Frag rears back, nearly tipping over.

Joseph's amusement lingered, but he knew that this would soon become annoying. "Pick yourself up. It's only viruses."

"Viruses..." Frag said to himself, as if testing the sound out. "I see."

"Good. As a Navi, you're supposed to delete viruses. Are you ready, Frag?"

"I guess. How do I delete a virus?" Frag assumed what he thought was a combat stance, facing down the cactus-like beings before him.

"You attack them. Unfortuantly, your own power is currently limited--so I'll be supporting you with battlechips." Grabbing the first in the stack, Joseph flashed it before Frag before inserting it. "Cannon, download!"

A tingling sensation shot up Frag's left arm. Alarmed, he snuck a look--his arm had turned into a large blue blaster. "I see..."

"Exactly. Battlechips take awhile between uses, but they are quite useful for power while you're just starting out. Now, use it and attack!"

"Got it!" Frag raised the weapon, supporting it with his free hand. Lining up a Cacty, he pulled the mental trigger, sending the blast into the central Cacty. "Got you!"

"That won't be enough to delete it." Joseph calmly admonished his Navi, as he grabbed the next chip. "See the numbers above their heads? That's how coherent their data structures are currently. We need to deal enough damage to dissolve them--and the Cannon isn't powerful enough."

"So what do we do?" Frag looked worriedly at the Cacties--

"Simple." Joseph grabbed another chip. "We keep attacking until that number goes to 0. Shotgun, download!"

Another tingle, this time on the right arm. Frag grinned--"Alright, double firepower!" He raised the weapons--but found that his left arm had turned back to normal. "Wait a minute..."

"Unfortunantly, most battlechips can only be used once before they need to recharge. Focus on the battle, Frag--the Shotgun can hit two opponents, the primary target and another virus immediately behind it. Line up another Cacty with the one you just hit, and fire the Shotgun."

"Alright..." Taking up the Shotgun, Frag aimed at the Cacty again and fired, sending shards of shrapnel into the virus and whatever was behind it. "How's that?"

"Not bad." Joseph grinned--Frag obviously had some memory of his past self left. He was learning far faster than a normal Navi, and his aim was superb. "Now, viruses aren't going to just sit there for you to attack them. Back up and prepare for their counterattack."

Frag leapt back with a start. "They attack back?" On his guard, he waited to see what the Cactys did to attack...

((
1. Cannon (40); CactyB
2. Shotgun (50, splash); CactyB and splash
3-4. Dodge
))
Both blasts hit, the second striking two. A Cacty rolls its noggin at Frag, but misses.

CactyA:70
CactyB:DELETED!
CactyC:20

Frag:100
"I got one of them!" Frag cheered, as the smoke cleared--revealing two viruses instead of the original three.

"You're getting the hang of it." Joseph took another chip from the folder. "Now, often it's impossible to do enough damage to delete viruses immediately--but there's a way to deal double damage to the majority of viruses." Flashing the Heatchip's fire label before his Navi, Joseph continued. "There are four attributes that data on the Net can take. No one's sure why this happens, but these 'elements' determine the attributes of certain viruses and battlechips. The area we're in, NetFrica, favors the Wood and Fire elements. What element do you think those viruses are, Frag?"

Frag examined the cactus-like viruses. "They resemble plants, I guess... So are they of the Wood element?" "Correct. Remember the element wheel, Frag. Fire beats Wood, Wood beats Electricity, Electricity beats Aqua, and Aqua beats Fire. To fight these Wood viruses, we'll be using a Fire chip. Heatshot, download!"

Frag started as his right arm growled--the head of a snarling canine had replaced the Shotgun. Chips take all shapes and forms, don't they... "The Heatshot works like the Shotgun--it can also hit whatever's immediately behind the original target."

"I think I get it..." Frag grinned, as he lined up the stationary Cacti, targetting the one with "70" above it. "So Wood burns..." With this realization, he shot the fireball at the virus. "That should end it!"

"Don't be so sure." Joseph's voice knocked Frag from his euphoria. "Viruses think, just like you do. You can never be sure that your attack connected--but you can compensate by hitting them with far more than necessary."

As Joseph's words sank in, the round head of the Cacti from before suddenly shot out at Frag! "Whoa!" He screamed, as he flipped to the side, trying to sidestep the attack. "Don't just stand there, Frag--attack it!" Joseph chided, a tinge of annoyance marking his voice.

"With what?" Frag wondered--he didn't have any battle chips available!

"Why do you have fists, if not to defend yourself? Punch it!" Joseph demanded, realizing that he had not instructed Frag on the use of his own attacks.

"Right!" Frag reared back, lunging forward with his right fist extended--coming up inches short. "No way!" He growled, willing his arm to extend, to strike farther--

A strange popping noise met his sensors, as his arm shot out like a bullet from his shoulder, chasing after the Cacti head...

((
1. Line up them virii, boy!
2. Heatshot (40 fire, spread), CactyA
3. Dodge
4. Far Fist (20, knockback), CactyC
))
THe Cacty burns and the other has its head knocked off... plop!

CactyA:DELETED!
CactyB:DELETED!
CactyC:DELETED!

Frag:100

Rewards: Cactball1, 300z
"What just happened?!" Frag gasped, as he stared at his stump of an arm. "Where did--" He looked around wildly, before seeing his forearm slowly float back to him. Seizing the detached limb with his free hand, Frag stared at whatever the hell his arm was.

"That was unexpected..." Joseph examined the phenomenon intensely, trying to determine where Frag's unique ability had come from. "It looks like you're not tightly held together as I hoped. Unless... Frag, can you control that arm when it's detached?"

"Let me see..." Frag replied hesitantly, as he tossed his arm into the air, willing the hand to ball up into a fist--the fingers curled instantly, and the arm held its position in midair. "Whoa..." He whispered in awe, as he pushed his floating arm around.

"This will need further experimentation later." Joseph concluded, giving up on figuring where this new surprise came from. "Grab your arm--and that data that those viruses left behind."

"Alright..." Frag sighed, as he slid his arm back into its socket. It clicked softly, and stayed in place. Shaking his arm gently until he was sure it wasn't falling out anytime soon again, Frag lumbered over to the remnants of the viruses and collected the purified data.

"What now, Joseph?" He asked, not sure where to proceed.

"Just keep looking. The more combat experience you can garner, the better off you'll be better."

"I guess..." Frag proceeded slowly into the tall digital grass, a gentle rustle announcing his presence--
Virus Attack!

MagtectA: 90
MagtectB: 90
MagtectC: 90
FirepheonixA: 110
FirepheonixB: 110

Frag: 100

Battle 2 Start!
"So soon?" Frag stepped back, his buster already at the ready. The hot wind blowing across the savannah blurred the figures--but he couldn't mistake the forms. Three floating magnets slowly buzzed towards him, while a pair of flaming birds rode the currents, coming from above...

"Viruses won't care whether your're ready for them or not--be quick, be ruthless, and get ready." Josephy hissed, as he grabbed the recent aquisition, barely written onto a battlechip. "Our main priorities for now are the Magtects--those clusters of magnets. Remember the wheel--we'll be using our new Wood chip, along with some staples. Cactball! Heatshot! Shotgun! Battlechips in!"

Frag took off at a curious loping run at the Electric viruses, barely catching the thorned green ball as it appeared before him. Suddenly stopping in place, Frag leaned back and hurled the Cactball forward in a furious pitcher's throw before dual-wielding the Heatshot and Shotgun chips, the Spikey's heated growl beside the cold gleam of the metal barrel. As the green ball of mayhem rampaged across the grassland, bouncing at the perfect height to just graze the bottoms of the Magtects, Frag frantically tried to to line up the annoying buzzers, all too aware that he was open to attack--"Stay together, stay together, stay toget--" He prayed, as the Cactball passed through the Magtects--he was too nervous to see if it had hit any--and fired the bolts, sending a wave of metal shrapnel at his opponents--

((
1. Run at Magtects, away from FirePhoenixes if possible
2. Cactball1 (3 x 20 wood damage), one of the Magtects. (MagtectB?)
3. Heatshot (40 fire damage, splash), MagtectA-C
4. Shotgun (50 damage, splash), MagtectA-C
))
The ball slams into the first magnetic enemy thrice, deleting it. The next tow blasts take out its neighbor. The Pheonix tries to attack, but misses Frag as he dashes around.

MagtectA: DELETED!
MagtectB: DELETED!
MagtectC: 90
FirepheonixA: 110
FirepheonixB: 110

Frag: 100
A crimson wave crashed by his foot--but Frag continued his relentless charge what was now a lone virus, intent on finish the job. Joseph stared intently at the holographic battlefield--"Frag! Hit the Magtect! Hurry!"

He had read the virus's actions--it intended to send one of its magnets at his Navi! "Don't let it complete its attack! Hit it!" Panicking, Frag did what came naturally to him--he cocked his left arm back and launched the makeshift missile at the floating collection of magnets, continuing his charge behind the ridiculously fast projectile--

"Cannon! RageClaw!" Joseph slammed in the chips, "Make them count, Frag!"

"Let's see--" Frag brought up his red arm, trying to aim the Cannon with one arm. To his dismay, instead of a sleek blue blaster, his arm was covered in black fur, ending in a taloned hand. Where did the Cannon--on no... He stared ahead, where his left arm was slowly floating back to him, the Cannon gleaming in the NetFrica sun. Well, nothing for it... Frag decided, as he tried to get in contact with his detached arm.

Blue light gathered at the muzzle of the weapon, to Frag's relief. Hoping that the arm was still facing the Magtect, Frag left it to its own devices, leaping at the floating virus as he heard the gunshot, the claws extended on his single arm--attempting to rake the Magtect as he passed by, he quickly set out to locate his detached arm--

((
1. Far Fist (20, knockback), Left arm (blue), MagtectC
2. Dash at MagtectC, dodge
3. Cannon (40), load on Left arm (blue, detached), MagtectC
4. RageClaw (40), load on RIght arm (red), MagtectC
))
Frag beats the Magtect to death. However, this time Frag is not so lucky with evasion and is hit with flames.

MagtectA: DELETED!
MagtectB: DELETED!
MagtectC: DELETED!
FirepheonixA: 110
FirepheonixB: 110

Frag: 70
Frag felt the jagged line burn into his back, torching the various colors of his body to a dull grey. Snarling in pain, he raised the RageClaw, intent on dealing back the pain multifold--

"Focus." Joseph chided, his voice strangely cold to Frag. "Banish your emotion. By hating them, you're giving them power--acknowledging their existance. Control your pain--don't let blind rage become your master!"

"It... it..." Frag trembled, his head bowed as he tried to do what his Operator told him. "It's hard. But remember, they are inferior. That's why they need to come at you in groups--that's why you would win 1 on 1. Remember that, Frag." Joseph's voice softened, as he gave his Navi another tidbit. "Some battlechips have multiple attacks--and can be used repeatedly. You see how the RageClaw hasn't disappeared yet?" Frag looked at his arm--it was still covered in fur! "That's right. RageClaw is such a chip. That's not all, though--other than slashing outright, it can turn viruses into projectiles. We're ending this now, Frag. I need you to hurl the FirePhoenixes into each other."

"...Understood." Extending the talons, Frag leapt at the flaming birds, exhausted after their barrages of fire. With a vicious swing, he gripped at the fluttering virus, not sure if he had grabbed it or not--he had dulled his senses against the heat--and sent the arm and its contents in the general direction of the other FirePhoenix. "That's not enough, is it?" He asked, now armless and out of options--

"Be patient. I wouldn't ask you to do something without backing you up. Bubbler!" An unfamiliar chip--but from the sound of it, Frag assumed it was of the Water element. The arm he had thrown earlier bobbed near him, the head of a giant shrimp loaded and ready to fire.

I see... Frag ran to his arm, sliding it into the empty socket before twisting to point the new weapon at the mess of flaming feathers in the air. Steady--steady-- He slowed down his breaths, as he closed his mental reticle over the viruses--

An explosion of suds showered from above.

((
1. RageClaw (2 x 20), throw FirePhoenixA into FirePhoenixB
2. Far Fist (20), Right arm, FirePhoenixB
3. Grab Left Arm
4. Bubbler (50 aqua, splash), Left Arm, FirePhoenixA-B
))
Frag flings the one bird, but the heat given off by it makes his aim go off. He punches the other bird anyway, though. It is then deleted, but the other is still off to the side and isn't hurt. It does take a moment to recover, however.

MagtectA: DELETED!
MagtectB: DELETED!
MagtectC: DELETED!
FirepheonixA: 90
FirepheonixB: DELETED!

Frag: 70
"Get it now! While it's still dazed!" Joseph commanded, as he pulled his trump card. "I'm sending a melee ranged weapon, get in close!"

"Right!" Frag responded, as he charged the grounded FirePhoenix, grabbing his returning arm along the way--

"Sword!" Out of the barely reconnected red arm, a glowing blue blade extended forward, energy trailing behind Frag as he slashed at the prone form, trying to cleave it in two.

"Finish it!" Joseph yelled, as Frag dragged his blade up from its afterswing, the blade going from before him to behind him in a wide arc--"You're done!" He yelled, as he continued shifting his weight, slamming the virus with an explosive uppercut that literally took off into the air--

((
1. Grab right arm
2. Sword (80), FirePhoenixA
3. Sword (80), FirePhoenixA
4. Far Fist (20), left arm, FirePhoenixA
))
Frag lays into the last foe.

MagtectA: DELETED!
MagtectB: DELETED!
MagtectC: DELETED!
FirepheonixA: DELETED!
FirepheonixB: DELETED!

Frag: 70

Rewards: Magbolt1, 500z
Sifting through the wreckage, Frag came upon a stray magnet that was still intact. "That would be battlechip data. Good job, Frag." Joseph gleefully announced, as the data was transferred into the PET. "We've got a fair number of powerful chips now... You think you can last another battle?"

"Let's not be hasty..." Frag started, but Joseph interrupted. "Of course, not right away. Stay aloof for a few minutes, catch your breath--but I think we've got a good streak going here."

"I... I guess..." Frag replied, as he hunched over, trying to blend into the landscape as much as possible--

(BATTLE 3! BWAHAHAHAHA!)
Virus Attack!

BoomerEXA: 100
BoomerEXB: 100
BoomerEXC: 100
Tuby: 100
TeddyA: 140
TeddyB: 140

Frag: 70

Battle 3 Start!
"Good lord--" Frag staggered back momentarily, stunned by the ridiculously large numbers before him. "Joseph, I don't think--"

"Exactly. Stop thinking and strike! Before they can get organized, overwhelm them. We can't run away here--they'll delete you before you can escape. So go! RageClaw!" Joseph loaded the chip, and directed his Navi. "Get ahold of yourself--the Tuby doesn't look that dangerous--neither do the Teddys, even though they have the most HP. We're going for those Boomers!"

"R-Right!" Frag lumbered forward, his left arm erupting in black fur and talons. Suddenly, a thought flashed--his hand looked like those Teddy viruses... except it was black where they were brown--

"FOCUS!" Joseph yelled, as Frag realized that he was face to face with a Boomer. "Throw it! Now!" Joseph insisted, and Frag instinctively lashed out, the black claws spreading out for maximum traction as he jabbed at the levitating virus, roaring in exertion as he swung his considerable mass to launch whatever he had grabbed at the other Boomers.

"Heatshot! Bubbler! Shotgun!" Joseph seized the moment, sending as much area-effect chips as he could. "Blast them into tomorrow!"

Frag's vision followed to where he had aimed his toss, discarding his RageClaw as he loaded the HeatShot, the crimson Spikey head at the end of his red arm. Before the Bubbler could load, Frag had fired a fiery burst at where he hoped the weakened Boomers were. He ditched the discharged Heatshot, dual-wielding the Bubbler and Shotgun chips, raising them forward simultaneously and firing at the smoldering ruin.

((
1. RageClaw (2 x 20), throw BoomerEXA into BoomerEXB
2. Heatshot (40 fire, spread), BoomerEXA-B
3. Bubbler (50 aqua, spread), BoomerEXC, spread to Tuby?
4. Bubbler (50, spread), BoomerEXC, spread to Tuby?
))
Frag dashed forward, throwing two enemies together, liining them up for firey double deletion. The other slow moving enemy is picked off by the following two attacks. The teddies menacingly begin to advance, but do not attack as of yet. A high pitched sound then pours from the tuby's horn, making Frag's head spin.

BoomerEXA: DELETED!
BoomerEXB: DELETED!
BoomerEXC: DELETED!
Tuby: 100
TeddyA: 140
TeddyB: 140

Frag: 70 (Confused)