It was hard enough to spot that Delta actually missed it the first time that his gaze swept over that spot on the seabed. A mass the same color as the sand beneath it (or perhaps it was simply transparent?), he only paid attention to it because it seemed out of place.

A chill ran up Delta's spine as he finally saw the far finer appendages reaching towards a group of navis. I'd hoped that nothing got into the swimming area, but it looks like something did, the navi thought, And I didn't ask Prose anything about raising an alert...

Forming his buster, Delta addressed his netop, "Henry, I just spotted a potential hostile reaching towards some resort guests." Even as he stepped towards the water, Delta checked his badge to see if it had come with any options for communicating with resort staff.

Meanwhile Henry had jotted down a note that something had been spotted in the water at the resort beach, before responding, "Okay, given that you have a staff badge, you should be able to order an evacuation."

Delta hit the water at a full run, kicking up water as he moved. However, it didn't take long for him to hit the point where the water was deep enough to slow him down, dragging at his shins as he pushed forward. This didn't stop him from taking his netop's advice, shouting, "Resort security! Virus in the water! Everybody out!" It remained to be seen how the beachgoers would respond.

((Okay, so there are a couple notes that I want to make out of character:

• There was no mention of lifeguards in the previous post.


• The forums rule for terrain don't cover the case of falling into liquid terrain such as Sea and Onsen. (And lava, but at least some lava IRL is viscous enough that most animals wouldn't sink into it.) There are rules for submerging, but nothing in the stats for liquid panels says that you can fall in, and if you're submerged in liquid you can return to the surface with an action.


• Result: it's not actually clear that a cyberworld swimming area would have or need lifeguards, because the board rules leave it ambigous as to whether navi's ever struggle to keep their heads above water. The battle network series supports this hypothesis; Megaman.exe never submerges in sea panels as far as I know.

))
((TLDR; Are there lifeguards? They're not mentioned, and while they would need to be present on a resort beach in the real world, the cyberworld has rules that make it far harder to drown.))

Seafoam grabbed the chip without comment, already pulling the map back out for another look. While the text was unreadable, that shouldn't stop her from at least trying to analyze the data contained within. The new chip was quietly uploaded back to her PET unexamined, this map was much more interesting.

Holding the map in both hands, Seafoam...wasn't sure where to start. She hadn't exactly tried analyzing anything before, leaving her with little idea of how one actually analyzed objects...now that she thought of it, it couldn't be that different from examining a battlechip, could it?

So that was where she started, closing her eyes and focusing on the sense that took in information about new battlechips that had been left behind by defeated viruses or extracted from mystery data.

((GET: FanHP: 100
Properties: Anchored
Object Damage: 100 + Impact
Damage Method: Telekinesis
Status Effect: Fan Effect + To-All-Clause (Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Creates a VacuumFan to pull enemies closer and reduce their evasion.
Duration: 3 turns or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Special: Wind Type: This chip counts as Wind Type for the purposes of Wind triggered effects, such as traps and terrain.
Trader Rank: D, Folder Chips 8 -> 9))
((Attempt to connect to the map.))

Objectives:

• Beach


• Main Lodge


• Restaurants & Salons


• Pool & Spa


• Restricted Beach


• Employee Area

-----

With Prose having headed for the lower levels, Delta took the time to make a list of the various areas in the resort. It was a good way to keep track of which areas had already been swept, and he needed to decide what order he was going to sweep the areas in anyways. That said...he turned, taking long strides towards...

"The beach? That doesn't seem like a likely place to have any viruses that haven't already been spotted." Henry seemed to have his own thoughts on the matter.

"All the more reason to start there then. Besides, if there are viruses there, it's the area that has the least cover for anyone who can't fight back. I also want to check the area that's blocked off on the map." Even as he explained, Delta kept moving, alert for any sign that something was wrong.

((Head to the beach))

After listening to the situation, Delta felt like this was a simple enough mission...except for the added wrinkle of potential rogue net viruses. "I don't believe that I have any further questions. Sweep the resort, prevent viruses that slipped past the defenses from attacking the guests, and note what we encounter and where." The resort itself shouldn't be too difficult to navigate, especially given that such a public location should have maps readily available in some form. "I can get started as soon as I have that direct link." Having said his piece, Delta took a moment to look around, scanning the pair's surroundings for any viruses.

"...Huh." Seafoam had to admit that she hadn't expected that last volley to end the fighting.

Ducking back under the water, the netnavi swam over to the logs, resurfacing to collect the data from the battle. Climbing to sit on the panel with her lower legs immersed, she examined the duo's rewards.

((2670z -> 3270z))
(( RollingLog1Damage: 50 + Ground Attack + Wide Attack (2) + Double Attack
Accuracy: C
Description: Rolls a log at enemies. Can hit up to two enemies at once per log.
Duration: Up to 2 uses before the end of the turn.
Element: Wood
Special: Double Attack: After spending an action to attack with this chip, you may choose to spend a second action and attack with it again before the end of the turn.
Note: This chip used to be known as RingLog1
Trader Rank: D GET))

Tucking the zenny and chip into storage, Seafoam pulled her feet out of the water and stood up. Looking around, she spotted the mystery data and jogged toward it, climbing the tree up until she reached the Octahedron.

She didn't hesitate, poking at the data with her index finger to decode it into an extra reward.
((Open GMD))

((Bump))

((Bump))

Seafoam ignored the Shrub in favor of the irritatingly evasive electrical virus. Fortunately, her netop wasn't sitting idle, having picked a chip to follow up with, "Cannon, battlechip in."

"Thanks Carol." Even as she responded, the netnavi was raising the cannon to point at the dangerously high voltage rabbit. Leaping sideways to throw off any more incoming projectiles and dropping to one knee, Seafoam pressed her thumb to the touchhole. The roar of gunpowder as the cannon went off in a cloud of smoke was invigorating, but Seafoam was already moving again.

Circling the remaining Shrubby and its cover so that she had a clear shot at it, Seafoam threw a harpoon at the cowering virus.

The netnavi wasn't finished. A stomp sent a wave of blue outward from her foot as the terrain was converted to water. A moment passed, and the aqua-element navi disappeared beneath the water.

((I think that I'll go more for combat than roleplay here.))

"...The profile brief mentioned scouting and viral containment. I should be able to handle myself well enough for either task, but containment sounds more interesting at the moment." Delta chose to remain standing; after all, it seemed that he was about to have work to do.

Continuing on the subject of containment, "Any sign that the viruses are part of a coordinated effort?" Delta doubted that this was the case if the containment work was centered on an operating resort, but it was possible. Either way, Delta had no problems helping to get and keep the situation under control.

((Mods call on whether this is coordinated, whether Prose thinks that this is coordinated, and what exactly attackers would be trying to do.))

Seafoam turned, tucking away the map into storage as she did so. Almost lazily, she swung one of her arms, forward, sending a wave rushing across the panels towards the virus that had fired at her. "Carol, send me a ShockWave and a Shotgun." Though Seafoam was speaking calmly, it was clear that Bunny's attack had put a rest to any attempts at resolving things peacefully.

"Chips sent."

Readjusting her aim, Seafoam thrust out her other hand in a palm strike towards the panel in front of her. The results were immediate, a shockwave appearing on the panel and blasting forward towards one of the viruses taking cover behind a shrub. The other such virus was no luckier: the blunderbuss that had appeared in Seafoam's hands after she unleashed the shockwave was discharged towards it.

For the moment, Seafoam focused on moving to avoid any retaliatory attacks. Mostly, this consisted of being ready to sidestep incoming projectiles before they reached her.