Orthos.EXE VS Exorcist.EXE

As the Navis jack in, their Net Operators are shown a 3-D model of the arena their Navis will be fighting in with various features labeled and highlighted as the presentation runs. At the end of the presentation, the environmental statistics for this arena are displayed for reference.

Quote (The Underworld)

The center of the arena itself is a flat, circular plane, with a few small walls and columns to use as cover, or as vantage points. The columns are simple rounded rectangles, standing up lengthwise about 8 feet in height. They are not secured to the floor and can be knocked over, unlike the few small walls. At the walls of the arena are four pits. The walls of the upper arena are covered in a large netting that allows it to be grabbed onto and clung to, but is otherwise un-noteworthy.

The pits surrounding the center of the arena drop down into a second, lower half of the arena that is exactly as wide as the first, but is much taller than the upper arena. Close to the edges of this 'underground' arena are four small, circular platforms; these send a navi flying directly upward to ground-level, and are placed below the four pits. They must be specifically triggered, however, and do not trigger when navis enter the lower arena by dropping from above.

At the far walls of the underground arena are four additional, angled boosters which catapult a navi up to one of four horizontal platforms on the walls of the lower arena; these four small platforms each have two hand grips on the wall next to them that will pull a navi to the next platform over, either to the left or right.

---Terrain---
Upper Level: Normal (96%), Hole (4%)

Lower Level: Normal (88%), Spring Panel (4%), Booster Pad (8%)

Note: Hole Terrain means you can fall through it to reach the lower level. Hole Terrain cannot be changed.

Note 2: Breaking the panels of the upper level means creating holes Navis can fall to the lower level through. These are Broken Panels, and can either regenerate in a couple of tuyrns or be repaired/changed into something else, unlike Hole Terrain.

---Objects---

Hematite Column (300 HP) [4 ea. on upper level]
-- Can be knocked over, and rolled.
-- Can be stood upon.
-- Can be used for cover.
-- Too heavy to lift, throw, or send flying with microburst.

Hematite Barricade (150 HP) [4 ea. on upper level]
-- Can be used for cover.
-- Immovable

Hematite Cube (300 HP, extremely heavy) [4 ea. on lower level]
-- Tethered to the ceiling by ropes, which can be cut with a single slashing attack.
-- Can be stood upon, even while tethered.
-- Cannot be moved other than cutting them loose.
-- Immovable once on the ground, and may be used for cover.
-- Deal 100 Null Damage if they fall upon a Navi, and break instantly.

For Reference: The upper area is approximately 15 feet high. The lower area is approximately 45 feet high. The platforms on the lower level are 25 feet from the ground, as are the hanging cubes.


The Navis, on the other hand, appear on the upper level of the arena, a moderate distance from each other, and are not given any of the data their Operators received. The Navis would be given a few moments to themselves before the match actually began....
Exorcist jacked into the arena terminal in a burst of light, walking in a lax position with her thin arms pressed tightly across her bosom, both hands resting calmly in her lap. "So this is the place where I'll be fighting Orthus? It's a lot roomier than I'd imagined... I hope I'll be able to close distance enough to use my attacks here. Oh, and look, there's multiple levels too!" she gasped, peeking her head down to the level below while holding her silk cap on with one hand.

"Ha ha ha! That Orphus guy is going to be a no-show when he realizes what a powerful opponent he's up against. I know we came here for training, but we really should have given our actions some more thought. Nobody's going to be able to fight against you, you're just too cute... er, strong! Just too strong!" Burt guffawed, upsetting the other arena duelists by smacking one palm up and down on his terminal.

The navi gave a low, forced laugh, trying to share in her operator's good humor and possibly baseless faith. "Well, at any rate, perhaps we ought to go over some of the chips that are in the folder you picked out for me? Is there anything I'm used to?" she asked hopefully, pressing both hands together over her chest.

"Er, not really," Burt laughed, pausing to take a swig of his now warm Net-Cola. Gagging into his scarf, he took the time to throw the soda into the nearest garbage pail, missing his target and failing to devote any further time to it. "The closest things to normal it has in it are the sword and cannon chips. Other than that, a lot of this stuff is pretty weird. There's some recovery chips though, how thoughtful of them!"

Exorcist, not feeling that she was getting much from her operator's pre-battle chip coverage, fell to thinking about her ally and how he must be faring. She'd grown so accustomed to having him around that she couldn't wait for her match to get started, just to have somebody else to talk to besides Burt. Exorcist realized that the reason she missed Traceur wasn't simply limited to needing company. She felt that she could almost feel his presence next to her, helping her to put up with Burt's nonsense and spurring her onward to victory. A stronger connection than even she realized was sparking and leaping inside of her...
Time passed by when no one showed up to face the eager Exocist and Burt. Before they knew it, a voice came from the roof of the Colosseum. "Aries Stahl and Orthos.EXE are disqualified from their tardiness to the battle. Hence! By default! Burt Blanchard and Exorcist.EXE advances to Round 2!"

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WINNER: EXORCIST.EXE
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"When in blue blazes is that opponent going to get here? I wish I'd brought a book or a magazine to read while I wait! Geez!" Burt groaned, turning backwards and resting his elbows on the competitor's terminal. "Look, everyone else's opponent has shown up already! Go ahead and disqualify the other guy!"

"I think they already did, Burt. Didn't you hear the announcement?" Exorcist asked, frowning with disappointment. "My very first match is a no-show? I can't tell whether this is supposed to be good karma's luck or whether this is just depriving me of my training," she thought to herself, resting one hand upon her cheek. "At any rate, jack me out and I guess we'll wait until the next match starts. I felt like I had so much energy too, you know?"

"Ha ha ha! Don't throw that away yet, Exxy. We need to train some more before your next match, riiiight?" Burt laughed, regaining his chipper mood immediately as he learned that they'd earned the win by default.

Exorcist sighed, crossing her arms across her chest wearily. "Really? More training already?" she asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Your body can never be too healthy!" Burt snorted hypocritically, jacking out Exorcist and leaving the podium. "Man, Orthos... heh, more like Snorthos... Or Borethos...." he snickered to himself as he left the arena.