Anyis.EXE VS Pianissimo.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.

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Arena: Surprise!

The arena consists...of a gigantic single layer cake. Yes, a simple yet elegant baker's masterpiece, with its dark brown color indicating a chocolate flavor, and topped with fluffy white and red frosting. It almost seems like a crime to fight on it instead of eat...but such is the way of NetBattles.

Terrain Breakdown
-------------------
40% Frosting
30% Decorative Frosting
10% Candle
20% Plate
0% Cake
0% Cover

Terrain Description
-------------------

Frosting - Delicious, whipped frosting. Aside from being yummy to any Navi with a sweet tooth (or any tooth), it can prove to be the undoing of many a seasoned warrior, despite only going up to the midway of a standard height Navi's boot. Due to its creaminess, it makes much the 'floor' quite slippery, causing Navis to slide around if they're not careful. However, it can also be picked up and thrown with certain weapons. It's too soft to do any damage (even if you stuffed in a cannon and shot someone point blank, it couldn't hurt them), but it can make the area more balance friendly, and a well aimed throw with it could inflict Blind status for a turn or so. Not to mention making the one getting hit really, really embarrassed by getting hit by frosting.

Decorative Frosting - More of the scrumptious frosting, this time in a red color. The big difference between it and regular Frosting is that it's denser and rises much higher, clear to a stand Navi's chest. This makes it harder to maneuver around, of course, and in a worst case scenario, a Navi could be completely stuck for a moment or two. Of course, if you can master this terrain, it's a potentially effective place to hide, bringing an interesting risk/reward to play. Interestingly, if the cake is viewed from a bird's eye view, the decorative frosting appears to say 'Happy Birthday!' in big, bold letters. But whose birthday is it? ...Luckily, it's someone's birthday every day, so the creators of the cake need not think of an actual explanation.

Candle (200 HP each, 10 total candles) - Pink and white swirl around the candles as they rise clear above the heads of Navis, culminating in a bright orange flame around 7 feet up. The candles themselves are surprisingly difficult to destroy, making them prime places to hide and catch one's breath despite only being about twice as wide as a standard Navi. They also serve as a potential peril to those that grow weary of being hindered by the Frosting, as those that aren't careful while flying are sure to feel the wrath of the 'fire' in the form of 20 damage each time they run into it, and even grounded Navis must make sure to keep their hands a safe distance from them. Wind-based attacks can put them out for a turn. Bizarrely, the candles' flames aren't actually fire, and are simply illusions; the true damage comes from the razor sharp blades that make up each candle's wick, and lose their sharpness when hit by wind. Maybe they're actually fluorescent candles? The wonders of candle technology...

Plate - It's a big cake, but that doesn't mean it's the only thing around. The arena sits on an even more gigantic plate, which happens to be white and decorated with lovely blue tulips around the edge. It mainly serves as a barrier against those falling off the cake, be it by an opponent design, their own design, or some other design. It can be fought on as though it were regular panels, without the usual distractions of the arena. Of course, there isn't a ton of room to move horizontally between the edge of the cake and the edge of the plate, and moving to the bottom takes one action, as well, so try and be sure it's the right decision before consciously dropping down.

Cake - Even though the entire arena focuses on it, by default the cake itself has no role at all aside from providing the floor beneath the Frosting. However, if said Frosting is moved somehow, the top of cake becomes visible. This makes that part of the cake act like a regular panel, being able to be traversed without incident. Of course, you could also eat the cake if you choose...but aside from being delicious, doing so has no benefit to the Navi. At least it'd prove that the cake is no falsehood.

Cover - A cheap plastic cover, with small cracks here and there...so naturally, it's indestructible. It provides a cylindrical seal around the cake, from the edge of the plate to around 10 feet above the top of the candle flames. Thanks to this, all Navis are confined to the cake and its surrounding areas, without fear of being knocked a mile away A small knob at the top-center provides a means to remove the cover from the outside...but is there anyone outside the cover? Could it be possible that an entire existence exists beyond the realm of the cake? Or is it simply a covered cake on a table? The world may never know...

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

"... You're kidding me, right?" muttered Anyis, at a total loss because of what she was currently standing in: frosting. Vanilla, maybe? No no, wait, that wasn't the issue here. This was just too... "Why... Why are we fighting on a cake?!" shouted Anyis, unable to hold herself back as she broke out into a fit of laughter. This was just too ridiculous.

"Well, we can't fault them for a lack of variety." sighed Mill, who was at more of a general loss of the situation than his Navi was. Fighting on a cake was just... wow. Mill really almost lost it when he saw that the arena's name was "Surprise!". The tournament officials were so totally screwing with them at this point.

Once her laughter had subsided enough, curiousity got the better of Anyis, and she just had to do it: she leaned down and gathered a little glob of frosting on her finger, then promptly deposited said frosting in her mouth. "Hmm... Mm... Hrmm..."

Mill noticed what she was doing, shook his head in disbelief, and just surrendered: "Well? What does it taste like?"

"... Dunno. I've never really tasted stuff like this before." Anyis admitted. "It's definitely sweet, though... Really sweet... Eck..." She stuck her tongue out in disapproval as the raw sweetness of the frosting overtook her mouth. "Okay, way, way too sweet..." moaned Anyis as she created and immediately crushed up some ice in her hands. She then stuffed the frozen water in her mouth in and effort to wash her tongue of that fearsome assault on her taste buds.

"You... don't have a sweet tooth? That's rare." said Mill in a surprised state of mind. He should've figured that Navis wouldn't have as broad a familiarity with tastes as humans, but for her to be overly sensitive to sweet stuff... Oh boy, Mill could finally get some revenge on her with this. That'd have to wait for after the match, though. "Well, aside from you not liking the taste, we don't know much about this arena yet. Since Duke and Pianissimo aren't here yet, take some time to explore."

"Mhm..." nodded Anyis as she continued crunching her teeth down on the ice in her mouth.

As Anyis tried to get the taste out of her mouth, Pianissimo appeared. Just...appeared. One minute he wasn't there yet, the next he stepped out from the shadow of one of the candles. He tested the strange ground he had stepped in with his boots, noting how it stuck to them. "Frosting," he observed, scanning the rest of the 'arena'. It was, indeed, icing on a cake.

"I guess this battle should be a cakewalk then," Duke yawned as he read over the statistics.

"Duke, it's bad enough that I'm fighting on top of a cake here without your puns," Pianissimo sighed. "At what point did the coliseum officials stop taking this tournament seriously?"

"Maybe one of their kids turned 10 today," Duke offered, noting that there were ten candles.

"It's amazing you're awake enough to notice that detail," the assassin remarked back, glancing over at his opponent to see that she was...chewing on ice? Whatever, he thought, beginning to map out the arena in his head.

((Can start when you dudes say Ready))

"Hmm..." muttered Anyis as she swallowed what was left of her ice. So this was the mighty Pianissimo... She walked straight up to him, giving him a slow once-over with her eyes before meeting him face to face. Well, as face to face as she could against a guy almost a foot taller than her. "... Nah. You totally aren't the type to be affected by teasing. Guess I have nothing else to say, then..." she sighed in disappointment. "Oh well. Have fun beating up a lady, pal." Anyis said as she turned around and gave Pianissimo a lazy wave before walking back to her spot.

Mill, meanwhile, was rubbing his temples. He honestly couldn't tell if it was a talent or a suicide attempt to approach an assassin with that much sarcasm...

(Ready)

Pianissimo simply stood there, outright ignoring Anyis's sarcastic comments as he waited for the battle to begin.

((Ready.))

((Send first round turn summaries to me by PM before midnight after the 24th.))

After Anyis helped herself to the cake, and both Pianissimo and Anyis decided not to enjoy a taste of the sweet stuff (though in different ways), the match began to begin.

The lights dimmed and a faint tune could be heard. What else would the tune reveal itself to be once it became clearly audible, but the tune of "Happy Birthday to You."?

The music started slowly and soft and became louder and faster quickly, as time passed. Before long, a light shined on center stage where a party noisemaker floated in the air. It blew pathetically once, allowing the roll of paper at the end to roll out only half way. Then again in a similar matter. It appeared that this would be their countdown.

The lights returned to normal lighting after the blower made one last pathetic noise.

Finally, a powerful wind must have forced its way through it, as the paper unrolled fully and the noisemaker produced a loud high pitched noise, signaling the start of the match at last.

The noisemaker disappeared and the combatants were watched by many eager eyes, wondering what their first moves would be.

[[b]Battle Start[/b]]
[Post by Midnight after August the 29th]
[Wait a moment before posting, I'll let you know when]

Combatents:
Anyis.EXE: 140 HP
Pianissimo.EXE: 200 HP

Terrain: (Differs from First post in the following)
[No Changes]

You've got to be kidding me, Pianissimo thought as the countdown was carried out by...Happy Birthday and a noisemaker. It was obvious to him now. The tournament officials really weren't taking this seriously anymore. Still he waited, growing increasingly annoyed with the sound of the noisemaker, before it's final blast sounded. He felt chip data being downloaded to his form...Duke must have prepared for it during the annoying countdown to still do it with that timing...and made his move.

As the noise faded, Pianissimo fell into a half-crouch and swung his left arm to rake across the ground. Mid-swing, black claws formed over his gloved hand, creating a taloned gauntlet which dug into the icing and slung a large chunk of it forward at Anyis. Standing up again, the assassin threw his body back and to the side, anticipating a similar strike from her.

Landing and skidding in the icing several feet away, Pianissimo glanced toward the nearest candle. He darted toward it and hid behind, giving Duke time to catch up even in his tired state. After a second, he did, sending...a barrier.

You are so pathetic, the assassin thought.

Data from a second chip...or rather third including the rageclaw, was downloaded. An EnergyBomb.

Better.

A soft blue glow engulfed Pianissimo's body, spreading into a wrapping of energy floating a couple inches past his armor. Pianissimo wasn't completely satisfied with the weak protective field, but it was still something. His body shielded from a lucky shot, unless said shot was a REALLY lucky one that would tear right through it, the assassin peered out from behind the candle.

A small metallic sphere materialized in his right hand as he drew back behind the candle. He waited another second, then poked his head out again and lobbed the sphere at Anyis. It wouldn't be the most accurate throw, but he wasn't worried about that. All he wanted to do was give off the impression that he was going to keep attacking from behind the candle. Hitting her would just be a bonus.

As soon as the bomb left his hand, he ducked behind the candle again, sliding into the shadow it cast. His eyepieces, scarf, and the red trim of his armor faded to match the black, while his body began to lose shape. It sank into the shadow until nothing was left. As the last of his form, the rageclaw, disappeared, the shadow closed over it and rippled before returning to normal, as though nothing happened.

Behind Anyis, Pianissimo rematerialized in the air, pushing his way out of nothingness. He drew his katana as that and his right arm rematerialized. Raising it high, he brought it down in a powerful overhead slash as he fell, tracing a dark line down her form as he attempted to bisect her. Or at least badly wound her.

Re-sheathing the blade after the slash, Pianissimo thrust forward with his claw-armed off hand to impale her. He then gripped the wrist of that arm in his right hand and lifted, flinging the claw and hopefully Anyis toward the flame of the nearest candle.
___

1. Rageclaw: Fling icing at Anyis
2. Dodge
*Speed of Darkness: Move behind nearest candle.
3. Barrier: 10HP Barrier around self
4. EnergyBomb Anyis: 40x3
5. Cloak and Dagger: Teleport behind Anyis, 100+Slashing
6. Rageclaw Anyis into candle flame: 20+20

She knew. She knew. Before the starting signal even went off, it was very, very clear what needed to be done. Whether she won or lost against Pianissimo would mean nothing if this didn't happen. Next week... No, next year, it would still be haunting her if she didn't get her revenge. Yes, for that foul offense on her palette, Anyis was hell-bent on making sure this frosting died.

Conveniently for her, Mill was sending a chip that would help quite a lot with that chaotic ambition, albeit for a more practical reason. It ended up being their saving grace as underdogs against MachMan, and now... Well, underdogs might not be a strong enough word anymore. That aside, what ended up under Anyis's feet had proven to be a far better defense than all the barriers and shields in his folder combined, and Mill was fully intent on making use of that fact once more as he slotted the SeaSeed in with the start of the battle. He normally didn't put such a rush on supplying Battlechips, but along with how important this one was... Mill's pride would've taken a big shot if he lost on the quickdraw to someone who was seemingly an insomniac.

Just as soon as the glass orb materialized in Anyis's armored palm, it was just as quickly thrown out as the flustered woman reveled at the opportunity to liquefy the vile, sugary topping. The seed itself hit the "ground" with a far more muffled noise than last time as it shifted its way through the frosting Anyis was so determined to destroy, but the chip's effect would kick in regardless: white quickly turned to blue, and the fluffy texture of frosting was taken over by the incoherent form of water. As soon as she was sure that she would, in fact, be diving into water instead of a top layer of chocolate cake, Anyis took the plunge, and per Mill's previously-installed directive, her clothes transformed themselves into that of her swimsuit. Boots vanished, gauntlets turned hydrodynamic, and robe and bodysuit alike surrendered themselves to Anyis's orange two-piece.

"Much better..." sighed Anyis through her oxygen filter, which in itself was a proof of this GMO's sea-worthiness compared to her default. However, this wasn't a time to be relaxing in a pool of water. This was a very big match against a very strong Navi and a very nasty condiment, and as luck would have it, getting rid of the frosting was tantamount to giving her a home field advantage against Pianissimo. With the SeaSeed expended, Anyis had to turn to her own innate abilities: freezing stuff, to be precise. To spare everyone involved a frosting pun, Anyis went straight to work in gathering whatever loose data was floating around the arena and turning it against the existing terrain. This, though, took a bit more focus than usual as Anyis had to form the ice in a ring-like shape around the water as to not trap herself, and shape control was not something she practiced very often. Still, the remaining frosting around Anyis's pool started to harden as a glossy sheen of data overtook it, leaving behind one very frozen pastry of a battlefield.

At this point, Anyis still had some energy left over, and it didn't look like she'd be getting another chip quite yet. Hmm... Well, there is that one trick I haven't used in a while... she pondered before coming to a conclusion on her final move. It was pretty much going to be a shot in the dark since she didn't want to leave the water, but hey, if she actually managed to hit Pianissimo with the Channel Static, this match would become a whole lot more possible. Here came the hard part, though... It had only been a vague feeling up until now that quickly got swept up in the rush of battle every time, but now that she took a moment to feel the area out, it was clear that the River was exceptionally thin around here. Well, I guess it makes sense for an isolated and regurarly-maintained server like the Colosseum's to not have a lot of garbage data... Makes finding a ghost for me to use damn hard, though... Anyis inwardly sighed in frustration at this, but kept on in her crusade to find some poor deleted soul in the confines of the Colosseum, only to attempt to shackle what little existance it has left to Pianissimo for no other reason other than to mess him up. Finally, a faint voice echoed in the back of her head, and Anyis had found her ghost.

"... Didn't wanna... This job sucked... Beta tester my ass... That arena was a deathtrap... and lame... Just wanna get outta here..."

Uh huh... Apparently Anyis had, in her paranormal pursuits, stumbled upon the ghost of a despondant Colosseum employee Navi who got caught up in some haphazard trap in one of the arenas. For the sake of his dignity, she prayed that his death didn't happen on this particular arena. "Oh well, he'll do." muttered Anyis through her mouthpiece and she drew the sulking spirit out of its hidden recess of dataspace and into her hands. Now all she had to do was wait, sh...

... iiiiiit. Anyis felt the water behind her shift in a very abnormal fashion, and her first assumption was that Pianissimo just teleported behind her. The water might hinder him a bit, but this was bad. Really, really bad. "Now or never...!" Anyis shouted suddenly as she turned around and threw the ghost data at what she presumed was her opponent...

Actions:

1. SeaSeed (Medium Area Sea Terrain) at center of arena
2. Dive into Sea Terrain (Submerge)
3. River Slide (Large Area Ice Terrain) surrounding Sea Terrain
4. Channel Static (1 Turn Confusion) @ Pianissimo
--Ectopatcher (Heal 15 HP) @ Self

Cooldowns:
River Slide - 1 turn
Channel Static - 2 turns

The match was off to a sweet beginning. As Anyis palmed a Sea Seed she found herself covered in frosting, flung at her by her opponent. This childish gesture, based off the thoughts she had been having, must have been quite the cruel twist of fate.

It didn't stop her from continuing though. She chucked the seed into the dead center of the field, forming a large ring of water. As the water spread, Pianissimo retreated behind a candle, keeping himself dry and defended.

As he fortified his defenses unseen, Anyis dived into the pool of water, changing her outfit as she did so. The dive cleaned her of all the cake particles, on the bright side.

She hadn't been under water long when the water above her burst into the air , creating a fabulous water show for the people watching. These people didn't include Pianissimo, who had stopped peeking out from behind his candle to begin sinking into a shadow on the cake.

By this time, Anyis had surrounded the watery filling she had created with a gentle icing. Though she already had elemental advantage and home field advantage, this was icing on the cake. The frosting had been a complete success, and shined in the light.

As Anyis turned inward to search for spirits in the River, Pianissimo appeared behind her. This was good and bad for him. Good in that he successfully managed to land a blow to Anyis, bad in that he was slowed and in a hostile environment.

She sent a ghost back at him, trying to possess him. However, the River was week and the ghost was inaccurate and not strong enough. She couldn't will the ghost into him, and he managed to move around it and bat Anyis away, though due to the water and Anyis's natural advantage, she managed to stop herself before long.

Pianissimo could feel himself running lower on air.

Anyis could likely feel herself in a worrisome position.

Combatents:
Anyis.EXE: 35 HP [Under Water]
Pianissimo.EXE: 190 HP (10 HP Barrier) [Under Water]

Terrain: (Differs from First post in the following)
50% Sea Terrain [Center of cake]
40% Ice Terrain [Frosting over rest of the field (Cake and Plate)]
(Still 10% Candle)

((Send me summaries by midnight after September the 4th.))

Bubbles spewed from Anyis's air filter as she felt the full brunt of Pianissimo's blade on her back. The viscosity of the water spared her a particularly painful-looking gash, but there was still no denying that it hurt... a lot. She couldn't be sure if Pianissimo actually planned to warp into the water or if was just back luck on his part, but the fact that he could still cause that much damage in her element was scary. The Ectopatcher routine scrambled to work as soon as Anyis was hit, but the sheer power of the slash meant this wasn't going to be a quick patch job. Furthermore, her main resource, the junk data of the River, was in short supply around here. She couldn't rely on it much anymore. All things considered, the situation looked bad. Did she really stand a chance against such a strong opponent...?

"Like hell am I going down that easily!" Anyis shouted aloud through her breather. Without much thought to the action, Anyis threw her fist forward at her assailant, moving it effortlessly through the water as she totally and completely disregarded the lack of damage it'd be dealing since Mill scrapped her buster-supporting programs for some pocket change. As if to repent for his stinginess, the frugal-minded Operator slotted in a ColdPunch to give Anyis the power she needed to sock Pianissimo right where it mattered. Ice immediately built up around her hydrodynamic gauntlet, and, being completely submerged, the water around it began solidifying as well. If her fist wasn't in motion, all the water around her would probably have locked up in an instant and left her floating up to the surface in an thick block of ice. With that frightening thought in the back of her mind, though, Anyis curled her fingers and let loose one of the best punches she could off, fully intent on showing her opponent why he didn't want to attack her underwater.

... Next thing she knew, Anyis wasn't even in the water. Instead, she was high and dry on the surrounding ice, standing but a foot or two away from the liquid's edge with her bare feet. "What the... Mill, what did you do?" asked Anyis in a state of confusion as her air filter fell out of her mouth to rest dangling around her neck on a cord.

"I used the AreaGrab, so I could use this..." explained Mill as he took a third chip out in the wake of his sudden second move. When slotted into the PET, the new chip manifested itself on Anyis's remaining free hand as a U-shaped magnet. And with that, it became very clear why he used the AreaGrab on what seemed very trivial.

"... Ah. Yeah, I'll pass on frying myself alive." noted Anyis as she watched an electric current to begin coursing through her new weapon. "Good thinking, Mill. Now..." With her future now decidedly less shocking, Anyis had to figure out when and where to strike. Unless Pianissimo had some reason to enjoy drowning, he'd probably try to get out of the water. Whether that was by swimming or teleporting, she wasn't entirely sure. And because of that, she could only guess. Anyis waited around for just a few seconds to see if Pianissimo would give away his position, and then struck with her best estimate. Even if she was off a little, the magnetic pull of the MagBolt could possibly compensate, so all she needed to do was aim well enough to pull him in and bludgeon him in the face with this electrical melee tool.

With her big attack done, for better or worse, Anyis was ready to fall back on a strategy that had helped her greatly several times before: dive, take cover, and hope for the best. Despite potentially laying electrical waste to the pool she had been swimming in just moments before, Anyis jumped back in right after the high voltage had dissipated across the surface of the water. Between this and the ice she was previously standing on, she'd be a little depressed if she couldn't pull something off with such a huge homefield advantage... Well, okay, artificial homefield advantage.

Actions:

1) ColdPunch (80 Aqua damage, Impact, Knockback, Freeze, Accuracy+; 160 damage to Barrier, 75 to Pianissimo) @ Pianissimo
2. AreaGrab out of the water; standing at water's edge (Teleport)
--Ectopatcher (Heal 15 HP)
--Bash (Add Impact to:)
3. MagBolt1 (180 Elec damage, Impact, Stun, Magnetic Pull, Accuracy+; 360 damage to Barrier; 175 to Pianissimo) @ Pianissimo
4. Dive back into water (Submerge)

Cooldowns:
River Slide - Ready
Channel Static - 1 turn

The battle seemed won already. From Anyis's reaction, Pianissimo could tell his opponent had never planned on him warping straight into the water after her, or at the very least hadn't planned on him being able to fight effectively from that position. As it turned out, Pianissimo hadn't planned on ending up underwater either. His armor wasn't completely waterproof, he couldn't see as clearly, and the sheer density of it slowed his movements. But as his attack had proven, none of that had been enough just yet. Though the water had slowed his hand, his blade itself had been unimpeded. Still, his opponent had come this far, so he knew she couldn't be out just yet. Which meant he would be the one in a tight spot if he stayed underwater.

But not just yet.

The assassin knew from experience not to screw around with a wounded beast. Not after nearly being killed by a water-bound, wounded literal beast once before. Grasping it with his free hand, he lashed out with his clawed hand once, twice, weaving his body and swinging the arm to try and get the smoothest movement out of it as he attacked Anyis. With luck, he would finish her right there and leave behind no need to continue. But continue he would anyway, as halfassing a job just wasn't his style.

He kicked away, allowing himself to rise toward the surface and away from retaliation. Letting his own momentum and buoyancy carry himself upward, he broke the surface, then looked back around for Anyis. Obviously she would have moved by that point too, only an idiot would just stay right where they were against...

There.

All it took was a simple flicker in the brightness of his eyepieces, too subtle for most navis to notice, and then the battlefield as Anyis saw it would become a living nightmare. What would surround her at this vital point in the battle, hopefully locking her in place? Electrified water, perhaps? And so it would happen, as Pianissimo climbed out of the water and dug his blade into the ice at the edge, electricity spread out across the entire surface of the cake, leaving no place safe to stand, except conveniently right where Anyis was at the moment.

Even the candles somehow appeared to be charged, but no one would likely have wanted to climb those anyway.

Of course, in reality Pianissimo had no way of electrifying the stage, and as such had not done so. What had happened, however, was that the place Anyis would perceive as safe now burned frighteningly hot. Melting ice, boiling water, it certainly had not become the one place Anyis wanted to stand. But it was exactly where she was when it appeared, and where the illusion was meant to keep her.

Pianissimo also really had stabbed his blade into the ice. Rather than using it as a source to electrify the stage, however, in the time the illusion had materialized he cut a large piece out of the ice. Positioning the blade behind the ice and channeling the power of a Panelshot, he forced the ice patch out of the ground and flung it at Anyis. He then waited until it was no longer between him and Anyis, whether that be by her dodging or it hitting, before sheathing his katana and slinging that arm forward, the armor over his right arm now covered by the housing of...

"The vulcan? Are you serious?"

"Huh? That's odd, I meant to send you an airshot. Guess I really am too tired to be operating," Duke yawned in response.

Whatever, the assassin thought, aiming the gun at Anyis. Pulling a trigger within the housing, he let loose a barrage of five rounds. Optimal or not, it should still have been enough.
___

1. Rageclaw Anyis: 40+Slashing
2. Rageclaw Anyis: 40+Slashing
*Swordplay: Dodge
*Speed of Darkness: Move away from Anyis and surface
3. Nightmares: Illusion, attempt to turn panel where Anyis is to lava
4: Tactical Movement: Get out of the water
5. PanelShot Ice panel at Anyis: 60+Freeze
6. Vulcan2 Anyis: 10x5

The tense battle continued. Neither combatant could stand to waste a single moment. Anyis couldn't afford to. She dived at her opponent, flowing elegantly through the water; her home element. Activating an icey fist, she froze the panel around it, and thus the entire column of water, hitting Pianissimo with a wall of ice that he had great difficulty avoiding. So much difficulty, in fact, that he didn't manage to avoid it at all. The ice plowed through his barrier and dealt a good deal of damage to the navi behind the barrier, too.

However, said navi wasn't just waiting to get hit by an ice column. He had been slicing at his opponent with his own fist type weapon. It just so heappened that being out of his element had left him more clumsy than he had expected, and he got hit before he could hit her.

Pianissimo was faster than Anyis, though. His reaction time and reflexes showed this, even if the advantage in field went to his opponent. He sliced out again not soon after being struck, and it was too fast a retaliation for Anyis to react, especially with her fist encased in a block of ice. She took a deep slash to the stomach, saved from death solely by her UnderShirt.

Pianissimo decided to follow this up by casting a nightmarish illusion on Anyis, first turning the panel she was on into lava and making it appear normal, while making all other panels appear dangerous. Or, it would have changed the panel beneath Anyis into lava, had she not teleported away split seconds before.

Apparently having sensed the danger she would be in Mill had brought Anyis out of the water where she had been, saving her from being submerged in lava, which would have been very bad for her. Her ectopatchers kicked in as she booted up her next chip, which was sparkling with the same electricity as the water she stood upon. Surely this couldn't be safe or normal, and with electricity on the ground, she must have been shocked by it, right? But she had no time to register this pain; being so close to death must have numbed her a bit, as she headed forward towards her next move, all the more determined.

Pianissimo took the time it took Anyis to heal and used it to get back out fully on "dry" land. The ice he now rested on was horrible for his balance, and he couldn't imagine that it could possibly provide him with a better battle advantage than before, though it stopped him from drowning. Despite whatever it appeared to be to Anyis, he was resting fine on ice, not floating on top of electrified water. He ripped up a chunk of the ice, and though he was a good shot, the ice wasn't a good firing point, and the icicles flew by Anyis harmlessly.

She threw her magnet shaped gloves at the opponent, attempting to give him a nice jab, and hopefully pull him into range. However, despite the nice concept and the wonderful opportunity the terrain and element would have blessed Anyis with, she picked this moment to slip up, and ended up aiming the wrong way, missing Pianissimo and allowing him to continue with his strategy unhindered.

Anyis then dived into the water, electrified or not, determined not to die. Pianissimo pulled out a small handheld machine gun type weapon which fired in rapid succession at the poor girl. However, between trying to fire through water at an aqua navi who was simply gifted with moving under water, and standing on ice firing a decently strong and fast weapon, he only managed to hit her twice. The sliding apparently had a negative impact on his aim.

Sadly for Pianissimo and very luckily for Anyis two hits was exactly what she was able to sustain, her undershirt booting up and saving her from certain death for a second time. She floated under the water in very critical condition, in what should by all means be a hostile environment. Her opponent floated over her, out of the water, and in a far better condition than herself.


Combatents:
Anyis.EXE: 1 HP [Under Water][Illusioned]
Pianissimo.EXE: 115 HP [On Ice]

Terrain: (Differs from First post in the following)
40% Sea Terrain [Center of cake]
5% Lave Terrain[Center of Sea, next to Ice]
5% Ice Terrain [Center or Sea, next to Water]
35% Ice Terrain [Frosting over rest of the field (Cake and Plate)]
5% Broken Terrain [Next to Pianissimo]
(Still 10% Candle)

((Send me summaries by midnight after September the 18th.))

So...the water really does affect my aim that much, Pianissimo thought, staring into the water. A trained marksman would have accounted both for the ice and for the refraction of the water's surface. Unfortunately, he was not a trained marksman, and though he knew both of them had a negative impact on his ability to aim, he didn't know enough about shooting things to account for it. Looks like there's nothing left but to go back under, he thought. "Duke, areagrab, now. Don't screw it up this time," he said, weighing his options. He'd already come at Anyis from behind, and she'd probably be expecting an attack from above most of all. Frontal attacks were always a bad idea when there were other options, the sides were only a little better.

Which left...below?

I'm sensing a long tirade directed at me if this doesn't kill her, Pianissimo thought as Duke sent the chip. Surprisingly, he'd sent the right one again. How annoying, he assassin added in regards to his previous thought. Better make this quick. The assassin lunged forward in hopes of having some momentum once he was underwater, then vanished into the air.

Underwater, only the slightest disturbance in the water signaled his reappearance as the assassin rematerialized under Anyis and began to drift upward. He swung his katana upward, angling it to cut through the water with the least possible resistance as he swung a deadly aimed slash at the left side of Anyis's body, just under the arm. With any luck, he would be fast enough to kill her before she could heal. But he knew he probably wasn't.

Pianissimo's katana began to pulse a soft blue as Duke sent another chip, somehow again managing to pick out the sword chip in his tired state. How convenient for him. The assassin lashed out with the chip-empowered sword, this time with a less directed blow, but still dangerous and still angled into the swing. As Pianissimo drew away from the strike, he kicked against the water to dodge any incoming counterattacks; there was no way Anyis wouldn't have noticed him after two attacks against her. The water made dodging difficult, but hopefully it would be enough.

Or rather, hopefully those two attacks would have finished Anyis.

Hopefully didn't cut it with Pianissimo, though. A bit of assurance never hurt. Drawing his blade back again, he drove it through the water in a forward stab, then pulled away again, noticing how much slower the pullback was than the thrust. Hm. Let's not keep doing that, he thought.

Pianissimo kicked through the water again, closing the distance between himself and Anyis in an attempt to account for any movement, be it drift or conscious. As he moved, he drew his katana back for one last swing, then delivered it: an overhead diagonal slash using the blade's weight to assist in cutting speed.

After this, the fourth attack, he sheathed his blade again and brought his left hand, enclosed in a fist, to rest in front of his face. As if on cue, Pianissimo felt a third chip's data enter his systems. In response, a wire frame shield spread from the emblem atop it, then filled itself in in the signature pattern of a Guard chip. Its color distorted by the water, he felt no need to mute it this time.

He did, however, find the need to ask. "I'm surprised, despite that last screwup you've managed to send the right chips this time. How'd you do it?"

"Huh? Oh..." Duke responded in a half-yawn. "I asked a colosseum worker to bring me some coffee."

If it were not the middle of a battle still, Pianissimo would have facepalmed on the spot.
___

1. AreaGrab below Anyis
2. Silencer Anyis: 150 Slashing
3. Sword Anyis: 80 Slashing
*Swordplay: Dodge
4. Sword Anyis: 80 Slashing
*Speed of Darkness: Move after Anyis if she moves
5. Sword Anyis: 80 Slashing
6. Guard1: Reflect up to 60

Thoughts were cloudy... Vision blurry... Her body was in pain... The only thing that jolted Anyis back to reality was the crackle of "electricity" in the water around her. The supercharged energy coursed above her, below her, to her side, through her... and nothing happened? What the hell... Damnit! Beating me up wasn't enough, so he has to mess with my mind too? yelled Anyis within her mind, getting very frustrated by her situation. Her Ectopatcher routine continued to run its course as it had been for quite some time now, but the repair program's limits were more than apparent. Ugh... I'm on my last leg... And being forced to see and hear electricity everywhere I look is not something I need to deal with... She was really, truly exhausted now. Anyis could easily just let herself float aimlessly in the water, waiting for the end. "Yet...!"

----------

"Damnit...!" swore Mill under his breath. That was such a strong plan! Pianissimo would've been on the verge of collapse, yet to think it could all fall apart due to nothing but bad luck... Some unintelligible grumbling echoed through Mill's thoughts as he lamented this potentially final failure. Readings from the PET repeatedly notified him of Anyis's critical condition coupled with the illusion induced on her. Were they really going to be so thoroughly crushed after coming this far...? Every trick we've used so far has failed here... So many of my best chips are gone...! Anyis is like a cornered mouse now against this guy! Mill's frustrations reached a peak, with the thought scratching at the back of his mind that he, as an Operator, was totally useless by this point. It's not like he could fight in Anyis's place, so what was the point of getting frantic over it...? "But...!"

----------

"This isn't over yet!" shouted Operator and Navi in unison, steeling their minds, bodies, and souls for one final strike. With the quickest reflexes he could muster, Mill threw one chip into the PET... Then two... And three, and four... Just like that, Mill threw everything he had to his Navi, allotting her as many Battlechips as she could possibly handle at her current level. "Give this one all you've got, Anyis! There's no turning back now!" announced Mill with conviction.

"Like you... need to tell me... that!" retorted Anyis through tired breaths. She didn't care if she'd pass out afterward... All that mattered was that she made Pianissimo hurt! Okay, what did Mill give her first?! AquaTower! ... AquaTower? Well, okay, she had never used that one before... But it sounded simple enough. A tower of water? She was swimming in water! "Do or die, right...?!" sighed Anyis as she activated the new chip. Water churned around her... Slowly at first, but became more and more violent by the moment... Even the imaginary electricity was being agitated by the attack! The ice above, too, would respond to the attack! This was the best chance she would get! "Pianissimo!" shouted Anyis through her air filter and the growing noise of the churning water. "You're strong, I'll give you that! There's no shame in losing to a Navi this capable! But... Just giving up that easily is pathetic! I'd embarrass everyone I've beaten to get to this fight if I collapsed so easily! So I'm going to attack! With everything I have! And you're going to take it! Take it, fight it, and strive to defeat it! We'll prove who the winner is here!" The water responded to Anyis's rising emotions, spinning, churning, and whirling around her even more violently as if to its agreement to the challenge. "Heh... Now, go! March forward to victory! The only defeat here will happen falling forward! AquaToweeeeeeer!!!"

*crsshhh*

The pool of water erupted like a volcano, sending cold liquid rushing forward as white-capped waves as the Battlechip commanded a large chunk into its own form. The water wall, several feet tall, stood at a standstill for a moment as if to impose its power before surging forward at a speed greater than the waves it was producing in its wake. As the determined attack broke across the frozen shore, it actually increased its intimidation factor by drawing shards of ice into its currents, adding an array of aquatic shrapnel to the assault. Now, all there was to do was to wait for the result...

... Had that been the only chip Mill slotted in, that is. While the AquaTower itself represented a challenge to Pianissimo, neither Mill or Anyis were naive enough to think that alone would defeat the powerful assassin. So, in a sly display of cunning, Anyis activated the AquaNeedle right in the wake of the previous chip. A trio of airborne spikes materialized above (what was left of) the water's surface, and the projectile brethren shot forth. By matching pace with the AquaTower in front of them, the needles took cover behind the preceding attack in an attempt by Anyis to catch Pianissimo by surprise and land a finishing blow with something he couldn't see.

Though... Despite all this talk of "this being it" and so on, Mill couldn't escape his worries. In a move to relax his nerves, he sent a pair of support chips to aid the Navi he hoped would still be there in the aftermath. A Recov50 and a Barrier... Would they matter? Probably not, but... Well, Mill just wasn't used to seeing his Navi this beat up, and doing something like this, regardless of how trivial it was, made him feel a bit better. Good luck, Anyis...

Actions:

--Ectopatcher (Heal 15 HP) @ Self
--Bash (Add Impact to:)
1. AquaTower1 (110 Aqua damage, Piercing, Impact, Ground Attack, Group Attack) @ Pianissimo
2. AquaNeedle (25 Aqua damage x 3 hits) @ Pianissimo
3. Recov50 (Heal 50 HP) @ Self
4. Barrier (10 HP Barrier) @ Self

Cooldowns:
Channel Static - Ready

The battle had reached the decisive climax; both Piannisimo and Anyis went into do-or-die mode, thinking that their next actions would decide anything. Anyis made her move, summoning a tremendous aquatower in the center of the arena. Water and ice gushed down across the field, a powerful explosion that would surely destroy anyone caught in its wake.

Unfortunately, Pianissimo was not one such navi. Before the tower could hit, he was underneath Anyis, preparing his sword underwater to cleave her in two. The audience gasped as the intense action unfolded and fell into disarray as none of them could manage to accurately interpret the events. All sound was muffled and only vague figures of the navis stood out amongst the bubbles surrounding each of their bodies as they thrashed through the water. Although Anyis had summoned her iceneedles above the ice, they came crashing on through, surprising Pianissimo as they shot past her towards him. He quickly adjusted his strategy, bringing up a shield for defense, and reflected one into Anyis, nullifying the barrier she'd put up to defend herself. He dodged another but a third hit him in the arm he'd been using to support his shield, momentarily disrupting his momentum.

Although the battle had looked momentarily even, Anyis could not keep up with the swift swordplay of Pianissimo. One, two, three slashes went through her, sparing her only the fourth. As the bubbles finally subsided, the audience let out a collective exclamation: "PIANISSIMO!" Pianissimo had cut his opponent into shreds of data, despite her valiant efforts. The finals were now set: Pianissimo vs. Red would be the final match of the tournament.

A few especially observant people stopped to reminisce over the irony that such an epic battle would take place atop a cake, but again, these people were few and far between.

Combatants:
Anyis.EXE: DELETED [Under Water] LOSE! GET: 10000Z OR Longsword OR M-Cannon
Pianissimo.EXE: 90 HP [Under Water]

Terrain: (Differs from First post in the following)
45% Sea Terrain [Center of cake]
5% Lave Terrain[Center of Sea, next to Ice]
5% Ice Terrain [Center or Sea, next to Water]
30% Ice Terrain [Frosting over rest of the field (Cake and Plate)]
5% Broken Terrain [Next to Pianissimo]
(Still 10% Candle)

--PIANISSIMO WINS--

Next thing she knew, Anyis was laying on the floor of her PET, covered in a variety of cuts and gashes. "... Damnit..." she swore in a mix of pain and frustration. All that talk, all that effort, gone in an instant. "Well, my entire motivation since you woke me up is gone. Any suggestions, Mill?" sighed Anyis as she let the end of her march through the tournament sink in.

"We'll figure something out. Honestly, I didn't expect us to get this far to begin with, so coming this far isn't bad." responded Mill. Of course he was disappointed, but he knew full-well that Anyis wasn't the stronger of the two in this match. "Anyway, I've got the PET's repair function going now, so you should be fine in a minute. Anything left you want to do?"

"Hm... Yeah, just one thing." said Anyis as she flipped on the PET's output speaker. "Pianissimo!" she shouted. "Don't embarrass yourself in the finals. I'm going to have to come back and kick your ass if you do." Wow, what bravado.

Mill just shook his head as he uploaded the zenny reward to his account and left the terminal room.

(Taking 10000z)

Pianissimo rolled his eyes at Anyis's comment. I'd have thought if she was capable of that she would have done it now rather than threatening me afterward, he thought to himself, though he chose not to say it outright. Instead, he simply responded with a short "sure," and was jacked out.