Sommelier.EXE VS Red.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 (Crumble Hill)

A ring of hard bedrock, 5 feet from side to side, encapsulates something not so hard: Crumble Hill. This precariously assembled mound of pebbles and rocks is stacked a tremendous 30 feet high with a colossal 100 foot diameter to match. Its massive size makes the hill's incline fairly shallow, around 15 degrees, but scaling it is no less daunting since the ground under your feet could give way with any step. Should you fall and be swallowed up by Crumble Hill, you'll soon be surprised to discover that the hill's core is completely hollow. Inside lies nothing but a flat plane that reaches all 100 feet from one side of Crumble Hill's walls to the other. Should the hole you fell through reassemble before you get out, you'll have to figure a way to dig yourself out.

It didn't take long for Crumble Hill's designers to realize scaling it unassisted was insane, and they remedied the situation thusly: 4 sturdy stone bridges arch up and over the sides of the hill, and come to a nexus right at its peak. There, where all 4 bridges meet, lies the crown of Crumble Hill: the Holy panel. It stands there alone in its majesty as it waits for combatants to bask in its glory, and is perhaps what allows the hollow hill it presides over to stand and regenerate so quickly. Outside Crumble Hill lies a lovely green landscape and blue, cloudless sky, but any who would try to reach for it would discover that tournament officials have placed an invisible area around Crumble Hill's circumference, making the otherwise far more appealing field mere eye candy to competitors. Entrants are initially set on the outer bedrock ring, with each fighter facing an opposite bridge.

Terrain: 38% Normal (Bridges, Arena Border, Inside Crumble Hill), 61% Cracked (Hill), 1% Holy (Bridge Nexus)
Special Effect: Re-Crumble (Cracked Terrain regenerates after only 1 turn)

Objects:

Arena Barrier (Immortal, Stationary, Invisible)
There are absolutely no signs that tell you this barrier is in place, other than the bleeding nose you might get from running into it.

Satellite Camera x3 (10 HP, Moving, Flying)
Cameras designed by SciLabs to record the events of the ONB Tournament for the entertainment of spectators. They are compact and fast, but fragile, although they were made with an expectation that some would get destroyed in the cross-fire. There are 3 cameras on-field at any one time, and a new one will be substituted if any get destroyed (at each modding).

Once the information is relayed to the Operators, they are given a few moments to strategize with their Navis before the match begins...

Bursting down to the outer bedrock ring came Red and Myun, both of which gaping in awe of the size of the enormous battlefield that they had to fight on.

"So big!" Red gasped, observing Crumble Hill from the bottom of a bridge.

"It says here that it's 30 feet high! Darn, that's a steep climb. We can't use our startoff strategy like last time, so we'll aim for something different," Shin mumbled, pulling out a notebook from his knapsack and scribbling some things down while they waited for their opponent.

"I think we should just get to the key point, right? Why don't we just Areagrab up there in the first place?" Red inquired. Myun picked at her ears, examining the bedrock. It sure fit its name, everything but the bridges looked like it would collapse completely if stepped on.

"That would just be stupid, and wasting a teleport for when we really need it," Shin replied, working out his own diagram of the battlefield.

"Hm, I guess it would be a bit boring," the fairy-tale fighter mused, walking back and forth in front of her bridge. "Anyway, who are we fighting? It's that person who works at the NetCafe, right?"

"Well, I've only heard a little about them, but yeah, that's who it is. We should stop by there sometime," Shin commented.

"Maybe we can drop by after our next meeting with Mr. Machman and Ms. Aera! Hey! Do you think they do weddings?" the red-cloaked battler inquired, eyes shining.

"Hm, they might, but I don't think a cafe is the best place to hold a wedding. I wonder what they serve on the menu...?" Shin pondered, pulling his notebook out in front of him and giving a firm nod as he examined his drawing.

"Guess we can ask them after the match! I'm so excited now!" Red giggled, starting expectantly at the bridge.

Sommelier appeared on the battlefield subtly, with no flashes or bangs present. It just wasn't really her style. Of course, any distraction she made would be immediately tossed to the side in favor of the gigantic battlefield in front of her. "Wow, they really went out of their way on this one." chuckled Sommelier as she casted her eyes around the area. No amount of searching, though, yielded a view of her opponent. "Louis, I don't see Red anywhere. You sure they already showed up?"

"Yes, I'm sure." confirmed Louis. "It's a big field; try walking around a bit and maybe you'll find something."

"True." agreed the Navi as she took to the nearest bridge in search of her opponent. Once she got to the top, it really hit her how large this arena really was. She almost would've been speechless, had she not caught a glimpse of something red hopping around at the bottom of the hill. "My opponent... is a kid?" groaned Sommelier under her breath as she found her young opponent. Big guys she could deal with, but kids... She really didn't sit well with fighting them. However, there wasn't much choice in this case, so she gathered up her voice and shouted, "Hey!" to get Red's attention.

Red, Myun, and Shin perked their heads up at the new arrival and gave a brief wave to them, Shin staying where he was and Red and Myun traversing up the hill to meet their opponent.

"Aha~! You must be Ms. Sommelier! I'm Red_Riding_Hood.exe, and this is my support unit, Myun!" Red began introducing herself first, before gesturing to the anthropomorphic bunny companion she had at her side, who offered one of her boxing-glove covered fists at Sommelier.

"Yo," Myun grunted, licking the end of her other glove.

"Ahaha~ You have to forgive her, she's a bit cynical," the childish navi explained, grinning sheepishly.

Meanwhile in the real world, Shin gave Louis a sheepish wave as he closed his notebook and set his pencil down.

"Well sir, I believe we're going to have a fine duel today," Shin stated, punching his fist out from across the station. "Let's make this good."

"Oh right! Shin we have to ask them about the menu later!" Red reminded her netop.

"Hm? Oh right, we're dropping by there afterwards huh?" the self-proclaimed ace mused.

[Red_Riding_Hood.exe: 210 HP
Myun.SP: 90 HP]

"Ah, yes, of course." nodded Louis, a little taken aback by this odd "brotherly meeting of fists" greeting from Shin. "The people watching this match want a show, and it's up to us to oblige them. I expect nothing but the best from you, Mr. Fujiwara."

Sommelier bent down on her knees to get more on-level with her opponent, and after hearing her greeting... Yeah, no doubt about it. She's a kid. Designed to look like one, designed to act like one, and designed to be one. This... was not good. It didn't help that Sommelier was completely skipping over the fact that this was the second round, and that by being here, it means that Red already beat an opponent once. She had lines she didn't cross, and fighting kids was usually one of them. This match was going to be very interesting...

"Well hello there Red, Myun." smilied Sommelier, casting away her numerous doubts to return her opponent's greeting. "This is going to be a tough match, so I want both of you to be careful and give it your all, okay?" Sommelier gave Red a quick pat on the head before getting back up on her feet and returning to her starting point. Of course, her worries were returning too...

(Ready, Sommelier.exe: 300 HP)

"Will do!" Red giggled, adjusting her hood after Sommelier patted her on the head. "Come on Myun, let's do our best!" the crimson crusader beckoned, her animal companion nodding her head as they both skipped back to their starting position.

"Let's make this good," Shin grinned, holding his tournament issued folder at the ready.

"Alright!" the red-caped wonder yelled excitedly as she took a running stance.

[Red_Riding_Hood.exe: 210 HP
Myun.SP: 90 HP

Ready]

After the two combatants ended their introductions atop the holy, center stage of Crumble Hill, a blunt noise, akin to that of a large switch being flipped, sounded suddenly. Coinciding with this quietly booming metallic sound was a dramatic dimming of the lights. After moments left in the darkness, a spotlight appeared center stage, brightly illuminating the three Navis standing there.

The two combatants and the support program would likely be just as surprised as the audience to see a green clad female Navi, dressed in official looking clothing, standing by them. From her position at center stage she stood between the combatants, clearly supposed to be an announcer or referee of some sort. Clutching a microphone to her chest, the satellite cameras watched her intensely. "Greetings!" She shouted happily, in a high pitched and childishly enthusiastic voice.

"Welcome to Round Two of our very own Open Net Battle Tournament! We have for you today an exciting match between two great opponents!" She drew out the last few words like an announcer on a prize show, in order to increase crowd response. It seemed to be working well enough, based off the claps and cheers.

"Here we have Princess of Fairytale Land, Little Red Riding Hood herself! " She paused for applause and received it. Upon direction of focus, the lights shined ever brighter on the mentioned Navi, making it very clear who she was describing. "She may not stand tall, or look tough, but inside that charming apple red cloak is a devilish fighting spirit." She then glanced down at the rabbit accompanying her, and added a few words on it as well. "And don't forget to factor in her rascally little rabbit, the ever feisty Myun!"

The announcer then turned a few degrees, switched hands on the microphone, and gestured at Sommelier. "And here we have Queen of Coffee, the net Café's very own Sommelier!" Once again, she drew out the name, and once again she paused for applause, which was once again heard. The lights, too, once again moved to redirect the audience's focus. "Whether she's serving Navis at her establishment, or taking care of some troublesome customers, she's one graceful and fearsome opponent."

"And now to start the match!" There wasn't much pause this time, though she did take a step back and raise a hand, now holding a green handkerchief. The lighting returned to its normal levels, and the quiet inspired by the suspense in the audience allowed the sound of the lights returning to normal levels to be heard. "On my mark..." She began, holding it high in the air. "Get set. . ." She drew these words out dramatically, knowing how tense the audience and competitors could get in these final moments.

"GO!" She shouted happily, as she brought her arm down. At the bottom of her delicate arm's arc, she released the handkerchief, allowing it to float towards the ground. Before it could hit the ground between the combatants, and before she could get caught in the crossfire, the announcer had disappeared, likely for the safer position of a spectator spot.

This left just the three cameras and the three combatants on the field, and the audience watching in suspense as they wondered what would happen first.

BATTLE SUMMARY:

Shin:
Red_Riding_Hood.exe: 210 HP [On Holy Precipice]
Myun.SP: 90 HP [On Holy Precipice]

Louis:
Sommelier.exe: 300 HP [On Holy Precipice]

Terrain:
[Unchanged, except as noted below]
No changes

[[EDIT: Assume you know the drill, but you may send in your turn summaries now. Before midnight on the 5th would be nice.]]

((Even if the probability is "0"...))

Quote (Announcer)

"GO!"

"Commence Operation: Blast Assault!" Shin shouted, sending 3 chips quickly into the PET.

"Roger that!" Red replied, already gathering a bunch of wind below her feet at the start signal. The red-caped wonder instantly rocketed herself into the air, leaping high over the battlefield, trying to get a glimpse of Sommelier's location. Taking some of the leftover gusts formed from her jump, the wind navi mischievously imbued their power into a plant seed the size of a tennis ball, formerly pulled out of her picnic basket.

"Take this!" Red yelled, making a fastball pitch with the GrassSeed at Sommelier's legs. The size of the terrain generated depended on where it hit, but it would surely give out a forceful knockback to Red's opponent.

Wasting no time as she went into free fall, the crimson crusader whipped out a small pistol from the depths of her picnic basket and aimed it at the bartender navi.

"Burn up!" came a cry as the fairy-tale fighter pulled the trigger, releasing a scorching blast of fire that seared through the air on the pathway to Red's opponent. The crackling flames of the Heatshot absorbed power from whatever Grass Terrain it came in contact with as it descended toward Sommelier, attempting to singe a great deal of damage to the waiter navi.

Red took it upon herself to watch out for where she landed and angled herself with some last-minute acrobatics toward the bridges. Would she make it? Her feet made contact with something, and she rolled quickly to the side to avoid an oncoming attack, but what sort of surface had she landed on?

Meanwhile, Myun had dashed all the way with all her strength to where she thought Sommelier's location was. After the attacks of her master had subsided, the bunny support program felt free to just go in and attack. Charging her right fist with all her might, the rabbit made a loud war-cry while smashing her fist upward toward Sommelier's chin. She quickly followed up with two hits from the ends of her ears before dancing away to another location.

Activating the last of the chips Shin had sent her, Red let out a yell before sending a Boomerang screeching through the air toward where she last saw Sommelier. Imbued with a bunch of Red's natural energy, the curved wooden blade would surely bring a heavy blow to her opponent, but for now, she needed to go to safety, and so dashed leftward in case there was an oncoming attack.

A bit of light shined on her during this maneuver, healing any wounds that might've been inflicted on Red by the opponent.

Shin grinned while watching the plan play out. He was having a bit of fun.

Red's Actions:
1. Jump [Airstep: Gain High Altitude]
*Gust [Imbue Knockback to next Attack]
2. Gust imbued GrassSeed at Sommelier [10 +15(elemental Bonus)+10(One Opponent)= 35 Wood DMG + Knockback+ Grass Panel Creation. If Misses, creates Medium sized Grass Terrain.]
3. Heatshot to Sommelier [40 Fire DMG +100%(if on Grass Panel) =80 DMG + Spread1]
4. Land and roll [Dodge]
5. Boomerang1 at Sommelier [60 +15(Elemental Bonus)+10(One Opponent) = 85 Wood DMG]
6. Dodge
*Sunshiny Day: Heal 15 HP

Myun's Actions:
*Run Myun Run: Get in Melee Range of Sommelier
*Smash [Imbue Break to next attack]
1. Attack Sommelier [40 Break DMG]
*Rhythm Boxing to Sommelier [2x10 DMG]
2. Dodge
3. Dodge

With the signal for combat having been given, Sommelier could only think of one thing to do: hide. She was in no way mentally or physically prepared to fight a child, so her best option was to take cover until a good plan revealed itself. So, without any word to or from her Operator, Sommelier dove forward into the hill, pushing aside loose rocks until there was a hole big enough for her to crawl through.

Once inside, Sommelier took a deep breath... of the stagnant air held up in this dimly-lit dome. Her face contorted in agony as the foul odor ran through her nose, and she even had to cough once or twice to get her breathing back in order. Having taken care of that, Sommelier finally spoke to Louis, "I need a plan, badly. I just really can't fight against Red that easily..."

Louis sighed heavily before responding, "I swear... Your compassion is going to get you killed one day." It was good that his Navi had a certain moral standard, but this was really a bad time for it to come up. "Okay, okay... If you can't attack Red directly, then let's set a trap for her."

"A trap?" echoed Sommelier. "How do you plan to do that? We don't have any trap chips, and I can't do anything like that."

"Alone, maybe, but if we just use your abilities and the right chip, I think we could build a trap. Take... Ah, this SeaSeed, for example." responded Louis as he pulled out the aformentioned chip from his folder. "With this we can create a simple pool of water. What if, though, you combined it with that special coffee blend of yours?"

"That... Oh, that." pondered Sommelier. She lifted her bottle up to eye level and modified the liquid contents inside until the proper result appeared: Moch-Lattechino's Last Stop. This stuff was so wired that you'd crash instantly and be out for hours at a time, and just with a sip at that. "So, you want me to..."

"Lace the water with that, yes. The moment Red follows you inside the hill, you can push her in, and she'd be gone long enough for us to put a quick end to the battle." explained Louis.

"Alright... Let's give it a try." Sommelier couldn't admit that the idea of attacking an unconcious Red was even worse than the original problem, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. The SeaSeed appeared in her hand shortly after, which she had little trouble throwing at the center of the dome's floor, creating a sizable pool of water in its place. As she walked over to it, Sommelier uncorked her bottle and began pouring in the destructive concoction. The poor lighting in here mostly masked the color change of the water, but a keen eye would reveal that it had turned an ugly, murky brown. "Hey... What if Red doesn't come in here?"

"We give away our position. If we give away something as crucial as that, she and her Operator won't be able to resist the chance to attack. After that it's up to you to get her in the water." With that in mind, Louis pulled out a Bubbler to use as a sort of water flare. "Oh, and now that I think about it, it couldn't hurt to bolster your defenses a little." As noted, he took out a Barrier too and slotted both chips into his PET.

A thin layer of translucent energy wrapped itself around Sommelier to serve as defense, and the contents of her bottle began bubbling violenetly as the data of the attack chip stirred inside. Deciding to fire before the bottle up and imploded on its own, Sommelier shot the Bubbler up through the dome's ceiling, sending the attack up into the air for all to see. Now, all she could do was wait for her opponent to show herself...

Actions:
1. Dig inside Crumble Hill (Movement)
2) SeaSeed (Medium Sea Terrain) in center of Crumble Hill's interior
3) Lace the water with Moch-Lattechino's Last Stop (Sleep, 3-turn Slow, 9TCD), turn it into Moch-Lattechino's Relaxation Sea
4) Barrier (10 HP Barrier) @ Self
5) Fire a Bubbler (65 Aqua damage, Spread) through the top of Crumble Hill to alert Red to Sommelier's position
6) Throw Red in Moch-Lattechino's Relaxation Sea if she comes in

Cooldowns:
Moch-Lattechino's Last Stop - 9 turns

The battle got off to a rather non-conflicting start. Once the announcer disappeared, Red and Sommelier headed their separate way. As the one leapt into the air, the other dove through the ground. At the height she was at it was a rather nasty fall, which left her vulnerable for a moment as she landed a thirty foot drop, but she recovered without incident.

Red, from high in the air, threw a grass seed at where Sommelier should have been. However, as Sommelier was under the hill and Red was now at a very poor angle to hit the hole and curve it at the opponent, she ended up smashing the seed into the side of the hill. The hill was covered in a region of grass, which almost immediately began to cover back up in pebbles.

Meanwhile, Sommelier took this moment to create a decent sized pool of water under the hill. As her pool was formed and she approached it, Red's rascally rabbit dove through Sommelier's hole and began to approach her from behind.

Red fired a Heatshot at the grass she had formed, no Sommelier to be found. Despite a few pebbles already covering the grass, it still burst into marvelous flames as the fairy tale fighter approached the ground once more. Sommelier poured her Mocha-Lattechino's Last Stop into the pool she formed after walking over to it, and Myun took this as a great opportunity to get in an easy blow. Jumping from behind and beside the waitress, Myun aimed a boxing-glove covered ear at Sommelier's chin from point blank, as the target leaned over pouring in her mix. By some strange error in judgment on Myun's part, she missed. She overshot the punch and it threw her off balance, instead causing her to fall into the newly spiked drink, absorbing the dangerous mix and getting the caffeine into her system.

Myun, in reaction, leapt from the water using the caffeine which hadn't yet run its course and aimed two more punches at Sommelier. She missed on the first one as she thrashed out of the water, drenched, but the last one connected, throwing Sommelier slightly off balance as the speedy energized rabbit shoved her backwards onto her backside.

By now, Red had landed from her high jump. The impact from her landing caused the ground to crumble away beneath her, but she had been quick enough to roll off this spot and onto a new one, keeping her squarely on the outer level and leaving a trail of pebbly holes forming behind her as she rolled and stood.

Sommelier stood back up and armed herself with a barrier. Once she was defended from any more attacks like the last minor blow she had received, she'd be able to see that the effects of her drink were definitely taking hold on her opponent's partner, as the rabbit wavered as it stared at her, its eyes drooping.

As Sommelier fired off a bubbler to show where she was, Red threw a boomerang through the hole she had formed in her landing. She began to run sideways to make herself a more difficult target, keeping aware of her surroundings. One thing she hadn't counted on, likely, was what happened next.

Her boomerang swung through the underside of the mountain and easily missed her target. It then swung back and headed in the direction Red was heading. It smashed into the under side of crumble hill and burst through right in front of Red, creating a hole in her path. Moving too quickly to avoid the hole, she slid through it and began to fall towards a pool of somewhat murky liquid below her. However, before she could travel too far into the hill she was jerked back violently and stopped falling, suspended in air. The boomerang had lost its momentum after breaking through the hill, and began to fall back to the earth. It landed, conveniently enough, in the caped crusader's very own red cape, pinning her to the outside of the hill and suspending her in the air over the spiked seascape. The boomerang, large and reinforced with about 40% metal, was enough to keep her hanging for now, but the crumbling hill was worrisome terrain to be hanging attached to.

Sommelier was a good 10 feet too low to physically grab Red and toss her into the water, so she was forced instead to watch and prepare for her next move. Myun, with the crash now in full swing, fell over to the ground with a thump, fast asleep. The ground above Red began to crumble, evident by pebbles falling around her. She'd likely fall into the water soon if she didn't do anything about it.

Despite a by and large lack of action in this first round, the crowd seemed very intent on seeing what would happen next.

BATTLE SUMMARY:

Shin:
Red_Riding_Hood.exe: 210 HP [[b]Hanging by cape[/b] inside Crumble hill] [Approx. 20 feet over See terrain][Falling Hazard]
Myun.SP: 90 HP [Sleep][Slow[3 turns]][Inside Crumble hill][Normal terrain in front of sea and Sommelier]

Louis:
Sommelier.exe: 290 HP [Inside Crumble hill] [In front of sea] [Barrier]

Terrain:
[Unchanged, except as noted below]
17% Grass [A small patch on fire] [Side of hill where Red Shot]
5 % Broken [Holes where Sommelier dove through, Red landed, Red Ran, and Red Fell]
17% Sea [Center of Inside Crumble Hill] [Spike with Moch-Lattechino's Last Stop]

((OOC: Send in new turn summaries by midnight June 13th))

Nobody could have anticipated what happened next; a lag spike of unknown origin hit Crumble Hill. The spike had a devastating affect on poor Sommelier, leaving Red more or less alone as she activated her Areagrab and traveled instantaneously.

Of course, Somelleir paused, stuttered, and froze before melting away not-unsimilar to a TV powering down, followed by the well known "EJO'd" message.

And as suddenly as it had started it was all over. The announcer returned next to Red and spoke to the audience. "Well, that's the game, folks!" She said. "Looks like Red here has won this round. Let's give her a big round of applause, she's moving onto the next round!" She shouted dramatically to the audience, who complied enthusiastically. A spotlight centered on Red, focusing all attention on her, as if it hadn't been already.

"Shin Fujiwa and Red_Riding_Hood will be moving onto the next round where we await even more exciting battles from such fierce competitors as herself." The announcer informed the audience of this genuinely enough, but some observant combatents may note the bite of the words as she seemed to sarcastically compliment the battle's intensity.

"And, because they put up such a good fight," The announcer continued in a similar way, "Sommelier and Louis Mercer shall be leaving with one of our lovely consolation prizes; 3000 zenny or their choice of Elemental Knife!" Images of both options appeared on the screen for emphasis.

"We hope to see even more action next round. Until then!" She said as a final farewell before disappearing once more.

Shin GET: Entry to next round
NPC Louis GET: 3000 zenny or Choice of elemental Knife

"That was... interesting..." Shin blinked, startled at the sudden victory.

"Kind of... short," Red mused.

"But then again," Shin started, looking around him. "The matches for this round seemed to be going really fast." Indeed, it seemed that half the matches were over. "Oh well, let's pack up. Good game, Louis. I'll stop by the cafe soon," Shin said, giving his opponent a friendly wave before jacking Red out and leaving.

[JACK OUT]