Pianissimo.EXE VS VoltMan.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....

With a flash of lightning, and a massive crash of thunder, Voltman warped to the ground of the arena, looking around carefully. It certainly was... interesting. He familiarized himself with the area around him quickly, noting that the columns were, in fact, part of the battle programming, and the edges of the arena did not lead to an instant death.
The basics taken care of, Voltman settled back to wait for his opponent.

Time passed in silence as, well, nothing happened. Eventually, the lighting of the arena flickered for a second and the faint sound of boots touching the stone floor of the arena from behind one of the stone columns.

A few more seconds passed before the assassin navi Pianissimo stepped out from behind the column, grasping the ancient sword he had acquired in Hades Net in one hand. How it had gotten here when it hadn't been transferred to the PET, he wasn't sure, but that meant nothing to him.

He looked up, surveying the arena and making note of the details, then rested his helmet-shielded eyes on his already present opponent. So...it's you... he thought, recognizing the navi from Sharo.

((I am this match's Mod. The match will begin when you both post READY.))

A flash of recognition lit Voltman's eyes as the navi stepped out from behind one of the columns. It's him! The fight with Squalo... The tournament folder locked into place, as Voltman's opponent entered the arena, and he moved his hands nervously in the moments preceding the match.

(Ready)

The assassin met Voltman's gaze for a moment, registering the recognition on the other's face. So he did remember then...

Perhaps this will be fun after all, Pianissimo thought, closing his eyes and giving the faintest trace of a smile. He opened his eyes again, staring at the eyepieces that shielded them from the net until a blip told him that Duke was ready with the rental folder. As it came, he gave a slight nod to nothing in particular.

((Also ready.))

Suddenly, a loud roar echoes over the P.A. System, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, I PRESENT ROUND ONE COMPETITORS FOR ONB TOURNAMENT: VOLTMAN.EXE AND PIANISSIMO.EXE! More roars of a crowd.

YOUR CHIP FOLDERS ARE NOW LOCKED TO THE SPECIAL TOURNAMENT FOLDER YOU SIGNED UP FOR, AND WILL REMAIN LOCKED UNTIL THE BATTLE IS OVER. I WANT A GOOD CLEAN FIGHT, ONE THAT PEOPLE WILL REALLY GET EXCITED OVER! LET'S GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT FOR YEARS TO COME!

BEGIN!!!

ONB Tournament Round One

VoltMan.EXE: 200 Hit Points

Pianissimo.EXE: 180 Hit Points

((Okay, PM your turn action summaries ONLY to me, and when I PM you the go ahead, then you can post using that summary here.))

((*this post assumes someone has relieved Pianissimo of the ancient sword, since Greco has told me I can't use it in the tournament*))

The roar of the crowd hit the assassin's ears like a jet blast, making him thankful that his helmet masked at least some of the sound. Note to self, he thought, weathering the thunderous PA system to the best of what ability he had, have Duke choose a quieter tournament next time. Normally he would have silenced the arena on his own, but he decided it unwise, at least for the moment.

He heard the announcer speak the words "I WANT A GOOD CLEAN FIGHT, ONE THAT PEOPLE WILL REALLY GET EXCITED OVER!" and smirked. Depends on your definition of 'clean,' he thought. If he meant straightforward, the announcer was likely to be in for a rude awakening. After all, an assassin only invited death by charging blindly into battle.

Nonetheless, he kicked off from his starting point immediately at the word "BEGIN," hopefully not giving Voltman enough time to react. As he dashed, he unsheathed his katana, moved almost close enough to be in attack range, and...

...turned away before reaching him.

The assassin spun around to face Voltman, but as he finished turning, he left his unoccupied left arm behind his body, drawing attention to his sword arm. The enemy would likely be expecting an aimed strike now, especially if he recognized the feint maneuver, so the assassin gave it to him. Only this was also a decoy as he stopped his sword swing halfway and pulled it back, simultaneously swinging his left arm, now wielding a compressed air gun that encompassed it from the elbow down, forward and unleashed the AirShot attack without missing a beat.

As the recoil from the shot hit Pianissimo, he let it carry him backward, dissolving into the shadow of the nearest column. As he would have hit either the ground or column, he had completely vanished. Taking note of Voltman's new position just before vanishing, he directed his teleport to reappear next to the lightning navi, signaling his renewed presence with a downward slash from his katana the moment it fully rematerialized.

Half a second later, he landed in a crouch, sheathing his katana and swinging his left arm forward again, this time holding a nine-tailed barbed whip, his modification of the Varitails chip. Using a wrist-flicking motion that had become familiar to him from previous, similar uses, he swung the whip forward, attempting to bind Voltman, or at least ensnare him long enough to hold him in place for a couple of seconds. He then tugged at the whip enough that it would keep it taught should it have succeeded, then flicked his right arm forward in a sidearm throw at Voltman, releasing at the apex a metal ball with three red capsules attached.

Good timing with the chips, Duke, he thought, satisfied as he observed the triple energy burst that signaled the bomb detonating.

Out of steps for his immediate strategy, he dashed to the left, hoping to avoid any retaliation.
______

1. Tac Movement: Feint maneuver: draw off attack or dodge
*Tac Movement: Feint again
2. AirShot1: 20 damage + microburst
3. Cloak and Dagger - Teleport to wherever Voltman ends up after AirShot, 100 slashing
4. Varitails - 10x9, attempt to bind Voltman
5. EnergyBomb - 40x3
6. Dodge

(Sorry, man. Homework situation's been ultra-shitteh these past few days.)

A voice cried out over the loudspeakers, and the match was on. Voltman shook thoughts of the past battle with this navi as an ally and charged. Twin sparks flew from Voltman's shoulders, hitting the ground and bringing back up a barrier of electricity that covered his armor. The selection of battlechips cycled through the selections on Voltman's monitor and, seeing a Thunder1, Voltman made his selection. The prongs on Voltman's shoulders detached in his hands as he reached up for them, crossing them in front of him as a Billy would in its attack. A ball of lightning soon formed where the tips of the spikes crossed. A targeting reticule centered on Pianissimo, sending a single white bolt of data into the Thunder chip, which flew into the air and blazed after its target.

Remember, Voltman, we can't afford to take too much damage too quickly, here! Shigeru yelled into the arena. Voltman nodded, and dodged to the side as he saw a blur of vision out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he summoned a ball of blue-white energy, the size of a cannon shot, and fired it off towards where he had seen the blur.

Alright, let's see that swordplay you showed against Squalo! I've improved, have you? Voltman taunted, a knife blazing with electricity appearing in his hand. Voltman went into a crouch, and took off in a charge, the knife trailing sparks in his wake. A burst of electricity flew out of the emblem on Voltman's chest, suddenly, obscuring the navi from view for a fraction of a second. When the light disappeared, it was seen that Voltman had done the same. A world devoid of sound met Voltman as he sped up to incredible speeds. Taking a jog around the field to where his opponent waited, Voltman noted that despite the extreme speed, Pianissimo was still moving, if only slightly. Damn. He is fast. I'll have to be carefu... Three bursts of light from his emblem shone out quickly, signaling the imminent end of the signature attack. Voltman forgot about the strategy, for a moment, pulling back the knife and taking aim at Pianissimo's back.

A massive sound, half roar, half thunder, rent the field as Voltman appeared behind Pianissimo, Elecknife in hand. Bolts of lightning shot through Voltman's arm, charging the knife with his own power, and beginning his attack. The knife slashed downwards as Voltman landed from the midair position he had started in, letting out a miniature boom of thunder as the electricity split the air, only for it to whip back into the vacuum created in its absence. Hopping nimbly to the side, Voltman let out several diagonal slashes at his ally-turned-opponent, finishing with a massive uppercut from heel to head, ending in a flip backwards. Voltman landed, knife in hand, slightly crouched, one arm behind him, the other forwards with the tip of the blade aimed at his opponent.

A small yellow disk appeared in Voltman's hand, which he tossed in front of him, where it flipped lazily once, twice, and then grew to the height of an adult human. Gripping the handle on the concave side of the item, Voltman crouched behind it, even while his emblem glowed with energy for the second time in that sequence of attacks. Once more, a white orb appeared in Voltman's hand, but this one he passed from hand to guard, the energy flowing along the curved surface before being converging on the center of the object and firing off a pulse of energy the shape of the chip. Electricity played around Voltman's armor, looking for wounds to heal, or cracks in his defenses to patch. He laughed, out of nothing but the sheer thrill of battle. This looks promising! Be sure to give me a good fight, now!

Overview:
<Passive: Siphon (20 HP Barrier)>
1. Thunder1 to Pianissimo (40, +25 elemental bonus, Stun, Homing, Elec)
2. Dodge
<Passive: Jolt to Pianissimo (40)>
3. Hyperspeed to behind Pianissimo (Dodge, Accuracy+, Teleport)
4. Elecknife to Pianissimo (60, +25 elemental bonus, Elec)
5. Elecknife to Pianissimo (60, +25 elemental bonus, Elec)
<Skill: Swordplay (Dodge)>
6. Guard1 (Reflect up to 60 damage)
<Passive: Jolt to Pianissimo (40)>
<Passive: Dynamo (20 HP Heal)>

Pianissimo turned on a spot in the nick of time, the Thunderball sailed past him, right where his original course would have taken him. His Airshot was likewise well timed, as no sooner did the electrical crackle of Voltman's energy barrier begin then it was suddenly torn asunder with a ear-splitting crack.

Voltman, after having his barrier last for a mere fraction of a second, began to dodge, a wise decision. Unfortunately, Pianissimo could be likened to liquid shadow as he swiftly melded out of and back into existence, right in Voltman's path, slashing him cruelly with his katana. Fortunately for Voltman, the strike loosed a blast of electricity right in Pianissimo's face, sending him staggering backwards. Voltman continued with some incredible speed of his own, and cut back at the assassin.

Oh, by woe to poor VoltMan! His proximity is exactly what Pianissimo needed. While his first strike rang true, his second was quickly tangled in a mass of leather whip. The blade cut through most of the ropes, though, so only a few managed to swing around his body, not enough to really pin him down, so his swordplay allowed him to nimbly break free from his bonds.

While Pianissimo quickly hurled an Energybomb at Voltman, Voltman just as quickly pulled up a shield, which caused the bomb to bounce back toward Pianissimo and leaving large, deep cracks in the shield, it's useless now. Pianissimo was already on the move, and was nowhere near the bright explosion of his own weapon, nor the second blast of Voltman's radiance.

Voltman's eternal fuel dynamo whirs.

The Thunder swings around for a second pass.


ONB Tournament Round One

VoltMan.EXE: 90 Hit Points

Pianissimo.EXE: 55 Hit Points

Voltman charged, firing the thunderball quickly as his barrier charged. The barrier closed over his armor, just as a lightning-quick blast of air tore it apart, sending Voltman flying backwards. Gah! Voltman grunted, as he regained his footing and leapt to the side. But without warning, a solid shadow appeared in the air in front of him, lightening to reveal Pianissimo's form. It was too late to dodge, and the katana connected in full across Voltman's chest, leaving a deep gash in his armor.

Damn it, he's fast! Voltman remarked, pulling his hand back and thrusting it forward. A ball of energy hit the enemy point-blank, dealing moderate damage, just as Voltman whipped out the Elecknife, flipping its hilt backwards and forwards before gripping it tightly and slashing across his enemy's chest. Voltman began his second strike, only to stop as strange ropes bound his arm and torso. Slashing with the Elecknife once more, he severed several of the items and used the momentum from his slash to break free of the rest. Summoning a yellow disk, Voltman expanded it to the size of a guard, just in time. An explosion rocked the front of the guard, shattering it into pieces but returning the damage to where it had come from.

But no sooner had the attack been launched than Pianissimo had moved. Voltman roared and released a second blast of energy, which also missed his opponent's form due to his wraithlike speed. Sparks erupted from Voltman's emblem, partially patching the massive damage done to the breastplate of his armor. He gasped as the deep wound let out a spasm of pain, before sighing as it was relieved somewhat. Damn... that strike had to have taken out half my health, at least. Shigeru, send me some help, here! Gathering as much energy as he could, Voltman became enveloped in a veritable generator's-worth of power, a sphere of energy surrounding him as he pumped all of his energy into the recovery, along with the Recov50 Shigeru had sent him.

The effect was spectacular in its radiance, and varied in its effect. The barrier so common to Voltman reappeared over his armor, and sparks of electricity gathered around the wound a second time. White battlechip recovery energy flowed over the cut, almost fully healing the damage that had been done. And the outside of the sphere let out bursts of energy surrounding Voltman, spreading moderate damage to the near vicinity of Voltman's healing.

As the energy dissipated, Voltman stood tall, a spear in hand. The tip of the spear suddenly shone out with energy as Voltman channeled battlechip energy into it, before the entire head turned into a clear, razor sharp mass of ice. Voltman twirled the spear around his sides, releasing flecks of water into the air. They began to coalesce into three spheres of water, before spreading to reveal bubbles. Sweeping the spear across the bubbles in once smooth motion, Voltman sent them flying towards Pianissimo. Dodge this! Voltman quipped, confusing Shigeru. He WILL. Voltman's seen how quick this navi is! There's no chance...![i] Shigeru was right, they were fairly slow moving, and would be no trouble for the quick navi to dodge, but the electric navi wasn't done yet. Voltman's eyes gleamed underneath his visor, just as he gave a quick informal salute to his opponent and vanished.

Merely a moment later, Voltman reappeared on the other side of Pianissimo from the bubblestar chip, a large buster capped with a fan in his right hand. Taking aim, he let the shot fly. The Airshot left eddies of disruption in its wake, as Voltman attempted to put Pianissimo in one of the bubbles by force. He pulled the Elecknife out of its sheath, readying it to attack once more. No teleportation available to him this time, he simply charged at his opponent. As he neared, he pulled his arm back, thrusting violently with the knife as he finally reached his opponent. He crossed one arm in front of his chest as the other attempted to carve a deadly pattern around Pianissimo's form, bolts of lightning striking the bubbles nearby and shattering their fragile forms. He didn't let up on his attack at all, though, merely slashing harder and harder at shorter frequencies, carving gashes in the terrain of the net surrounding them. The red form of the underworld was joined by a glow of yellow and white from the electricity of the attack.

After what seemed like an eternity, Voltman slid backwards along the terrain, sliding the knife into its sheath at his waist again as he gathered an orb of white energy in his hands, drawing his palms backwards to his side. Finally, throwing the energy upwards, Voltman summoned a spear and swung at the energy, connecting and sending it flying straight at Pianissimo. Voltman lowered the spear to his side, keeping a close eye on his opponent. Come on! Let's go!

Overview:
<Passives: Dynamo, Siphon (20 HP Heal, 20 HP Barrier)>
<Passive: Jolt to Pianissimo (40, use to keep away during recovery)>
1. Recov50 (50 HP Heal)
2. Bubblestar1 to Pianissimo (20, Trap, Aqua
3. Areagrab to other side of Pianissimo from Bubblestar (Teleport)
4. Airshot1 Pianissimo into Bubblestar (20, Knockback)
5. Elecknife to Pianissimo (60, +100% due to Bubblestar, +25 elemental bonus, Elec)
6. Elecknife to Pianissimo (60, +25 elemental bonus, Elec)
<Skill: Swordplay (Dodge)>
<Passive: Jolt to Pianissimo (40)>

You talk too much, Pianissimo noted to himself, dodging out of the way before the reflected bomb could reach him again. It was unfortunate that the energybomb was useless, it likely would have rendered Voltman crippled enough to end the fight effortlessly. Instead, however, the opponent had managed to hang on with...more health than the assassin had. He, meanwhile, had also taken significant damage.

No worries, he thought, swinging his katana in a fast yet wide arc and diving sideways into the shadows that began to spread from where the blade had cut through the air. As he faded and disappeared into them, the darkness spread through the entire underground arena, coating it in a surreal, illusionary darkness. Though the surroundings remained visible to the observer, the assassin had vanished completely.

He wasn't done, however, as from Voltman's view the blackened terrain twisted from normal hematite into a nightmarish hellfire landscape within a mere second. The ground became superheated, with plumes of flame erupting every few feet, and the air filled with toxic smoke that would cripple the systems of any navi the moment they stepped into it. The only safe spot remaining after this transformation was a small area of space enveloping the position where Voltman stood.

In reality, the battlefield remained as normal, save for the spot Voltman would perceive as a safe space, where a burning red glow signaled the appearance of a small pool of lava bubbling up from the ground.

Expecting movement, however, he scanned the battlefield for the electrically-charged form that would indicate his opponent's position, then moved through the shadows, appearing almost instantaneously behind Voltman, katana drawn, and slashed through the black, watching as his ebony blade appeared contrasted against the golden-white glow of electricity for a split-second before retreating back into shadow.

He followed up with a second strike with the same blade, though this time it pulsed blue as it advanced into the light, the mark of a sword battlechip.

As the blade retreated into the darkness again, its owner dashed to the side, doing a 90 degree strafe around Voltman and gaining enough distance to at least dodge a knife-strike. He then lashed out with his blade with a third time, its black form pulsing blue again as it was thrust into the light, then fading again as it was drawn back into the illusionary darkness a split-second later.

___


1. Call of Darkness - Invis, 20HP barrier, surreal darkness illusion
*Tac Movement: Vacate current position
2. Nightmares - Illusion of hazardous environment everywhere but target's current position, lava panel under target.
3. Areagrab behind Voltman
4. Silencer - 150 slashing
5. Sword - 80 slashing
*Swordplay: Dodge
6. Sword - 80 slashing

With an explosion of electrical energy, VoltMan not only hurls a static bolt at Pianissimo, (which promptly hits him.) he is also healed up and protected. Pianissimo moves quickly to defend himself as well, as VoltMan continues to regenerate.

And then the fight shifted dramatically, instantly, and irrevocably in Pianissimo's favor.

As the assassin faded into the shadows, Voltman was left with little in the area of which direction to shoot. He fired his Airshot near where his opponent once was, hoping to ensnare him into his trap, but it was all for naught, as the darkness gobbled up the blast greedily, and continued to swoop around him.

Then, even the ground came up against him, (at least to his own eyes) as more and more flame, darkness, and toxin spread around him, enveloping his senses.

Not wanting to give up, VoltMan nobly drew his dagger and took a flying leap at the heart of darkness, but it's edge bit nothing but it's own shadow. Behind him, he felt a razor sharp blade tear through his electric armor, and continue downwards into his back, tearing away more of his health with it. Still standing he swung with his electric knife again, but he may as well had been trying to hit Pluto with a handgun. He felt a second slash across his chest, slicing through straight down to his Undershirt.

And then, with a sudden finality, Pianissimo's sword was protruding out of Voltman's chest, driven clear through his back, impaled on darkness, with no friend but the shadows to comfort him. With a dazzling blast of light, Voltman released the last amount of energy from his body, which somehow managed to catch his assassin in the face, blasting him out of the shadows, light returning to the arena, revealing a gravely injured, but distinctly still standing, Pianissimo.

"GAME!" came the roar of the announcer, and two Progs swiftly flew out onto the arena floor, one with an envelope, the other with two cases. "THAT'S THE MATCH! PIANISSIMO WINS, BUT ONLY BY A HAIR, IT SEEMS! CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH FIGHTERS! MAN, THOSE TWO POWERHOUSES MADE SHORT WORK OF EACH OTHER!" The MC chanted happily.

The Prog with the envelope glided to a halt next to Pianissimo. The Prog with the cases, VoltMan. The one Prog by VoltMan said in a singsong voice, "You lose! Pick one: A Recov30, or 1000Z!" And the other, to Pianissimo: "You win! Take this pass to the next round, please!"

ONB Tournament Round One

VoltMan.EXE: 0 Hit Points (Loser! Get Recov30 or 1000Z!)

Pianissimo.EXE: 1 Hit Point (Winner! Get Second Round Pass)

Voltman collapsed, his emergency programs just barely saving him in the colosseum's protected arena.
I... I lost. But if I had to lose, at least it was to a fighter such as yourself. Thank god, too. Voltman coughed up a chunk of data. If it'd had been to a newbie fighter, I don't think I could... *cough* ...show my face in the arena for a while. His energy, out of the battle, healing him enough to stand, he ignored the pain for a moment and stood, sword through his chest, offering his hand to Pianissimo for a post-battle handshake.

And to the Prog... The Recov.

Rather than accept Voltman's handshake, Pianissimo simply gave a nod to the opponent. A quick scan of his systems showed that the last-ditch effort to damage him had shorted out a few nonessential systems, so he chose not to respond either in case speech was one of them.

He took a step back, pulling his katana out and sheathing it once more, accepted the pass to the next round, then simply sank into his own shadow, vanishing from the arena.

Voltman put his hand back, grimacing and pulling the sword out of his torso.
Forgot your sword...
Ass.

He took another look at the sword, seeing the yellow blade.
Oh, no, wait. That's mine.

And with that, he disappeared.