Pianissimo stepped out of the shadows of the fiery cavern that was Hades net. There was no jack-in beam, no flash of light, nothing. He was simply there. Curious, he thought, looking around. The place is aptly named...it looks like someone tried to recreate hell itself here.
"Through the fiery caverns, we sail...
Virgil at my side, my guide and master~♪"
"No singing, Duke," Pianissimo responded bluntly, closing his eyes.
((Battle 1. Pioneering, bitch))
To Hell with this
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Virus Attack!
Champu: 60
CraggerA: 120
CraggerB: 120
Piano: 180
Terrain: 100% Sand
Battle 1 Start
Champu: 60
CraggerA: 120
CraggerB: 120
Piano: 180
Terrain: 100% Sand
Battle 1 Start
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"Well, this isn't exactly wasps and flies," Duke commented, glancing at the measly trio of viruses. Pianissimo didn't respond, though silently wondered if Duke was going to make Dante references for the entire time they were here. What bothered him was the two golem viruses. If he was right, they'd probably be fairly hard to damage.
Kneeling down, he swept his hand through the top layer of sand. It would help, to be sure. But how much?
Making a few quick chip selections, Pianissimo closed his eyes for a second, trying to envision the next few minutes in his head. They wouldn't be pretty at all. As he felt the chip data upload to his body, he drew his katana and swept it through the sand. Almost immediately, a wall of flames erupted from beneath the massive golems. Excellent...
Pianissimo jumped backward, attempting to free himself from the sand, then vanished into the air. From behind the odd virus out, the Champu, an arm reappeared first, and by the time the rest of him reconstituted, black talons had erupted from the armored glove. Pianissimo lunged forward, swinging the talons to catch the Champu, then flipping his wrist to send anything in the grasp of the darkened claws into the glass between the two golems.
As the claws retracted, leaving only a normal armored hand, Pianissimo jumped backward, distancing himself from the glass. He drew his blade again and thrust it into the sand just as before, only this time what shot from the ground, right through the glass, was a wall of wooden spires. Pianissimo moved again as he saw this, hoping to avoid any shards that may come his way.
___
1. Flameline under Craggers (70 each, create glass line)
2. Dodge
3. Areagrab behind Champu
4. Rageclaw Champu into glass between Craggers (20 + ???)
*Tac Movement: Move away from potentially breaking glass
5. WoodTower Craggers (100 wood, ground effect, +??? from glass shards)
6. Dodge any stray glass
Kneeling down, he swept his hand through the top layer of sand. It would help, to be sure. But how much?
Making a few quick chip selections, Pianissimo closed his eyes for a second, trying to envision the next few minutes in his head. They wouldn't be pretty at all. As he felt the chip data upload to his body, he drew his katana and swept it through the sand. Almost immediately, a wall of flames erupted from beneath the massive golems. Excellent...
Pianissimo jumped backward, attempting to free himself from the sand, then vanished into the air. From behind the odd virus out, the Champu, an arm reappeared first, and by the time the rest of him reconstituted, black talons had erupted from the armored glove. Pianissimo lunged forward, swinging the talons to catch the Champu, then flipping his wrist to send anything in the grasp of the darkened claws into the glass between the two golems.
As the claws retracted, leaving only a normal armored hand, Pianissimo jumped backward, distancing himself from the glass. He drew his blade again and thrust it into the sand just as before, only this time what shot from the ground, right through the glass, was a wall of wooden spires. Pianissimo moved again as he saw this, hoping to avoid any shards that may come his way.
___
1. Flameline under Craggers (70 each, create glass line)
2. Dodge
3. Areagrab behind Champu
4. Rageclaw Champu into glass between Craggers (20 + ???)
*Tac Movement: Move away from potentially breaking glass
5. WoodTower Craggers (100 wood, ground effect, +??? from glass shards)
6. Dodge any stray glass
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Pianissimo hits both Craggers with the Flameline before leaping backwards out of the sand. While airbourne, the Champu attempts to punch him, and due mainly to the difficulty of leaping in sand it manages to get its hits in before both teleport away.
Pianissimo successfully grabs the Champu, throwing him towards the glass panels. He misses slightly, and the fire virus bounces off one of the Craggers instead.
After this, the Woodtower smashes both Craggers and showering the immediate area with glass shards. The glass shards manage to destroy the Cragger who had been hit by the Champu earlier, but fail to destroy anything else.
Pianissimo's attempt to dodge glass shards did more than just that, though, allowing him to avoid a giant rock fist which slammed into the ground just a short distance to his right.
Champu: 20
CraggerA: DELETED
CraggerB: 10
Piano: 160
Terrain: 90% Sand, 10% Broken (Line near Craggers, and where fist hit to Pianissimo's right)
Pianissimo successfully grabs the Champu, throwing him towards the glass panels. He misses slightly, and the fire virus bounces off one of the Craggers instead.
After this, the Woodtower smashes both Craggers and showering the immediate area with glass shards. The glass shards manage to destroy the Cragger who had been hit by the Champu earlier, but fail to destroy anything else.
Pianissimo's attempt to dodge glass shards did more than just that, though, allowing him to avoid a giant rock fist which slammed into the ground just a short distance to his right.
Champu: 20
CraggerA: DELETED
CraggerB: 10
Piano: 160
Terrain: 90% Sand, 10% Broken (Line near Craggers, and where fist hit to Pianissimo's right)
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So that's it, huh? Pianissimo thought, surveying the remains of the three viruses. He was expecting...less of an effect. Perhaps he was merely overthinking the situation, given his recent experiences. Bladias, the Executioners, and an all-out war in Electown...the last of those while Duke was apparently sleep-operating, no less...
Compared to those, a fragile fireboxer and two very slow golems didn't really match up too well.
Nonetheless, however, the fact remained that two of his targets were still alive. He reached into the folds of his scarf, feeling new chip data, and pulled out what appeared to be a small ball of some sort. This should do nicely, he thought, preparing to move if things somehow still managed to go bad. He sighted each of the remaining, severely weakened targets in turn, then crushed the ball in his hand. Moving to a point where both were aligned, he thrust his hand forward, sending a small blast forward at the remainder of the targets.
___
1-5. Prepped Dodge
6. Shotgun - 50 to CraggerA, spread to Champu
Compared to those, a fragile fireboxer and two very slow golems didn't really match up too well.
Nonetheless, however, the fact remained that two of his targets were still alive. He reached into the folds of his scarf, feeling new chip data, and pulled out what appeared to be a small ball of some sort. This should do nicely, he thought, preparing to move if things somehow still managed to go bad. He sighted each of the remaining, severely weakened targets in turn, then crushed the ball in his hand. Moving to a point where both were aligned, he thrust his hand forward, sending a small blast forward at the remainder of the targets.
___
1-5. Prepped Dodge
6. Shotgun - 50 to CraggerA, spread to Champu
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The Shotgun hits both tired viruses, finishing off the battle for Piano.
Champu: DELETED!
CraggerA: DELETED
CraggerB: DELETED!
Piano: 160
Terrain: 90% Sand, 10% Broken (Line near Craggers, and where fist hit to Pianissimo's right)
Rewards: 350z
Champu: DELETED!
CraggerA: DELETED
CraggerB: DELETED!
Piano: 160
Terrain: 90% Sand, 10% Broken (Line near Craggers, and where fist hit to Pianissimo's right)
Rewards: 350z
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Pianissimo inclined his head slightly, bored again. As he had predicted, the enemies didn't match up. At all. A minor distraction they were, and nothing more. He glanced up and opened a viewscreen into the real world, only to see Duke had pulled out Inferno and started reading.
The assassin shook his head, moving on. How typical...he should've known his netop would do something like this from the start.
((Moving on...battle 2 or something.))
The assassin shook his head, moving on. How typical...he should've known his netop would do something like this from the start.
((Moving on...battle 2 or something.))
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As Piano moves on, he finds more threatening enemies. Two candles just kind of sit there and three weirdos roll around the area.
CandevilA: 120
CandevilB: 120
CirkillA: 110
CirkillB: 110
CirkillC: 110
Piano: 160
Terrain: 75% Sand 25% Lava
The lava is pretty well spread around. Nothing currently sits on any of the randomly scattered patches of it.
Battle 2 Begin
CandevilA: 120
CandevilB: 120
CirkillA: 110
CirkillB: 110
CirkillC: 110
Piano: 160
Terrain: 75% Sand 25% Lava
The lava is pretty well spread around. Nothing currently sits on any of the randomly scattered patches of it.
Battle 2 Begin
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"One must wonder what these guys were thinking when they designed this place," Duke said, looking at the enemies on the PET's projector and waving Inferno. "They obviously haven't read this at all." Pianissimo didn't answer. Duke continued. "I mean, they could at least have made SOME reference to it. That wouldn't be too hard to ask...would it? Just a quick reference, rather than nothing but sand, lava, and weirdos?"
As he thought of this, something else came to mind. "Then again, we've barely scratched the surface of this place," he continued as an indicator lit up on the PET. Not missing a breath in his ramble, he received the chip requests. Areagrab, WideBlade, StepSword. "I never did understand why the first level had people chasing blank banners for eternity while being stung by wasps. Then again, constantly fighting weirdos for your life isn't much better. In fact, there's no symbolism there, except perhaps fighting for nothing." His hands seemed to work on their own as he opened a black carrying case, pulled out the three requested chips, and inserted them in the order requested. "Actually, that doesn't sound so bad, given the time period. But he didn't do that...and this isn't that time period...hm...I wonder..."
He paused mid-monologue to look down at the screen. Pianissimo had sprung into action as soon as he received the chip data. The holo-projector on the PET showed him disappearing instantly, leaving sand to fall back to the ground in little blue sparkles where he had been. He poked the image, or rather pushed his finger through it, where he suspected the assassin would reappear...and he was correct in guessing right in front of the 'weirdos', which looked, in Duke's eyes, like deep-sea divers on tank treads with arm cannons. He was curious to see what effect the wideblade chip would have on Pianissimo's katana, being a broadsword imprinted onto a naturally thin weapon. To his surprise, the weapon activated trailing orange light almost a foot away from the blade itself. The orange light also seemed unusual and out of place as it arced with Pianissimo's slash to the gunners, him being used to the soft blue of weaker weapons.
As Pianissimo pulled himself as free of the sand as he was going to get, Duke wondered what effect the potential change in Hell's levels would have on the rest of his journey...if that's what it was. "Doesn't seem much reason to change anything else. I could see why wasps would be hard to replicate, unless they used Honeybombers. The rest of it is probably fine, though." As he spoke, Pianissimo twisted his blade in midair. The glow brightened to white for a second, then faded to the familiar soft blue...just as the navi himself vanished again. "Well, maybe Cocytus. Despite everything, the real world equivalent of this place is a volcano...an extinct one but still...so a frozen pit doesn't really fit. Everything else could, and should, be managed, but the ice...not so much." Pianissimo had reappeared in front of the demonic-looking viruses and immediately slashed at them. "If there's some sort of incarnation of Satan at the end of this...or even down in Rogue Net, I really hope he's not the three-headed, mindbroken monster, too. I was...actually a bit disappointed with that."
"Duke," Pianissimo's voice came from the PET as he moved away, ready to dodge in case anything survived. His voice was as quiet and calm a usual, except for two words at the end which carried only the slightest increase in intensity. "Will you shut up?"
___
1. Areagrab in front of CirKill group
2. WideBlade CirKills (110 slashing, wide)
*Tac Movement: Try to minimize impact of sand
3. Stepsword Candevils (teleport, 120 slashing, wide)
4-6. Prepped Dodge
As he thought of this, something else came to mind. "Then again, we've barely scratched the surface of this place," he continued as an indicator lit up on the PET. Not missing a breath in his ramble, he received the chip requests. Areagrab, WideBlade, StepSword. "I never did understand why the first level had people chasing blank banners for eternity while being stung by wasps. Then again, constantly fighting weirdos for your life isn't much better. In fact, there's no symbolism there, except perhaps fighting for nothing." His hands seemed to work on their own as he opened a black carrying case, pulled out the three requested chips, and inserted them in the order requested. "Actually, that doesn't sound so bad, given the time period. But he didn't do that...and this isn't that time period...hm...I wonder..."
He paused mid-monologue to look down at the screen. Pianissimo had sprung into action as soon as he received the chip data. The holo-projector on the PET showed him disappearing instantly, leaving sand to fall back to the ground in little blue sparkles where he had been. He poked the image, or rather pushed his finger through it, where he suspected the assassin would reappear...and he was correct in guessing right in front of the 'weirdos', which looked, in Duke's eyes, like deep-sea divers on tank treads with arm cannons. He was curious to see what effect the wideblade chip would have on Pianissimo's katana, being a broadsword imprinted onto a naturally thin weapon. To his surprise, the weapon activated trailing orange light almost a foot away from the blade itself. The orange light also seemed unusual and out of place as it arced with Pianissimo's slash to the gunners, him being used to the soft blue of weaker weapons.
As Pianissimo pulled himself as free of the sand as he was going to get, Duke wondered what effect the potential change in Hell's levels would have on the rest of his journey...if that's what it was. "Doesn't seem much reason to change anything else. I could see why wasps would be hard to replicate, unless they used Honeybombers. The rest of it is probably fine, though." As he spoke, Pianissimo twisted his blade in midair. The glow brightened to white for a second, then faded to the familiar soft blue...just as the navi himself vanished again. "Well, maybe Cocytus. Despite everything, the real world equivalent of this place is a volcano...an extinct one but still...so a frozen pit doesn't really fit. Everything else could, and should, be managed, but the ice...not so much." Pianissimo had reappeared in front of the demonic-looking viruses and immediately slashed at them. "If there's some sort of incarnation of Satan at the end of this...or even down in Rogue Net, I really hope he's not the three-headed, mindbroken monster, too. I was...actually a bit disappointed with that."
"Duke," Pianissimo's voice came from the PET as he moved away, ready to dodge in case anything survived. His voice was as quiet and calm a usual, except for two words at the end which carried only the slightest increase in intensity. "Will you shut up?"
___
1. Areagrab in front of CirKill group
2. WideBlade CirKills (110 slashing, wide)
*Tac Movement: Try to minimize impact of sand
3. Stepsword Candevils (teleport, 120 slashing, wide)
4-6. Prepped Dodge
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Pianissimo blinks out, and reappears before the still stationary Cirkills, and lays them to waste with a broad sword sweep. He freed himself of the sand, and repeated his time-space jump, this time appearing before the Candevils. His quick sword strike dispatches them both before they can respond.
As the chip data falls into the sand, Pianissimo can hear the sounds of shouting, and blades meeting nearby. The sounds were coming from the far side of a rather large rock a short distance to his left.
CandevilA: Deleted
CandevilB: Deleted
CirkillA: Deleted
CirkillB: Deleted
CirkillC: Deleted
Pianissimo: 160 HP
Victory:
Get: Candle1, 500z
As the chip data falls into the sand, Pianissimo can hear the sounds of shouting, and blades meeting nearby. The sounds were coming from the far side of a rather large rock a short distance to his left.
CandevilA: Deleted
CandevilB: Deleted
CirkillA: Deleted
CirkillB: Deleted
CirkillC: Deleted
Pianissimo: 160 HP
Victory:
Get: Candle1, 500z
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Duke opened his mouth to ramble so more, only for Pianissimo to raise a hand to shut him up before he started.
The sound of battle met his ears. It seemed to him that he wasn't the only navi here after all. "Something tells me we walked into Makai Kingdom or something, not Inferno," he said, making his way through the sand to the large rock from behind which blades continued to clash. He reached the rock and edged around it to where he could just barely peer around the side.
The sound of battle met his ears. It seemed to him that he wasn't the only navi here after all. "Something tells me we walked into Makai Kingdom or something, not Inferno," he said, making his way through the sand to the large rock from behind which blades continued to clash. He reached the rock and edged around it to where he could just barely peer around the side.
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As Pianisimo peered around the corner, he caught a glimpse of something black-clad, decidedly feminine, and armed with a Sword, dive out of the path of a Heel-Navi's downward cleave. As he watched, the raven haired custom Navi scrambled through the sand, and eventually got back on her feet, managing to bring her sword up to parry a second strike from the same Heel-Navi as she tried to flee.
The maneuver didn't work well at all, as a second Navi, a Normal Navi, stepped towards her, rage-claw already in motion as it shouted "I'll be taking my Sword back--" His words were interrupted as the Navi threw the mentioned blade into the air, and let him strike he--
No, she vanished as the weapon seemed to connect. This threw the NormalNavi off balance, forcing him to stumble forward through the spot the female Navi had occupied. She re-appeared in the exact same spot a few heartbeats later, caught the tossed blade, and, with a quick backwards step and thrust of her arm, drove it into the Navi's back, all the way to the hilt. She muttered "Indeed." as the back-stabbed Navi fell over, and disintegrated into oblivion as it was deleted.
This created a problem for the black-clad Navi, as the Sword vanished with its owner. Her cloth attire would be no help against the other four Navis closing in around her....
-----------
Summary
-----------
---Allies---
Pianissimo: 160 HP (On-Sand, behind RockA) [Cover]
---Side 1---
Black-Clad Female Cleric (?) : 280 HP (On Sand) {Unarmed} [2 Moves Away]
---Side 2---
HeelNaviA: 200 HP (On Sand) {Equip: Guard1, FireKnife} [3 Moves Away]
HeelNaviB: 200 HP (On Sand) {Equip: Widesword} [1 Move Away]
NormalNavi: Deleted
NormalNaviEX: 500 HP (On Sand) {Equip: Machinegun1} [2 Moves Away]
SwordNavi: 300 HP (On Sand) {Equip: LongSword, LongSword} [3 Moves Away]
---Objects---
LargeRock: 1200 HP (Pianissimo is behind this)
RockA: 600 HP
RockB: 600 HP
Terrain: Sand 75%, Lava 25% (large pool on the other side of the group of Navis)
((Battle 3: BEGIN!))
The maneuver didn't work well at all, as a second Navi, a Normal Navi, stepped towards her, rage-claw already in motion as it shouted "I'll be taking my Sword back--" His words were interrupted as the Navi threw the mentioned blade into the air, and let him strike he--
No, she vanished as the weapon seemed to connect. This threw the NormalNavi off balance, forcing him to stumble forward through the spot the female Navi had occupied. She re-appeared in the exact same spot a few heartbeats later, caught the tossed blade, and, with a quick backwards step and thrust of her arm, drove it into the Navi's back, all the way to the hilt. She muttered "Indeed." as the back-stabbed Navi fell over, and disintegrated into oblivion as it was deleted.
This created a problem for the black-clad Navi, as the Sword vanished with its owner. Her cloth attire would be no help against the other four Navis closing in around her....
-----------
Summary
-----------
---Allies---
Pianissimo: 160 HP (On-Sand, behind RockA) [Cover]
---Side 1---
Black-Clad Female Cleric (?) : 280 HP (On Sand) {Unarmed} [2 Moves Away]
---Side 2---
HeelNaviA: 200 HP (On Sand) {Equip: Guard1, FireKnife} [3 Moves Away]
HeelNaviB: 200 HP (On Sand) {Equip: Widesword} [1 Move Away]
NormalNavi: Deleted
NormalNaviEX: 500 HP (On Sand) {Equip: Machinegun1} [2 Moves Away]
SwordNavi: 300 HP (On Sand) {Equip: LongSword, LongSword} [3 Moves Away]
---Objects---
LargeRock: 1200 HP (Pianissimo is behind this)
RockA: 600 HP
RockB: 600 HP
Terrain: Sand 75%, Lava 25% (large pool on the other side of the group of Navis)
((Battle 3: BEGIN!))
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Pianissimo stared unblinking at the battle unfolding before him. Curious, the assortment of navis engaged. Two ordinary HeelNavis, two normals of differing ability, and one that was obviously a sword-wielder, all encircling a ebon-clad custom, feminine navi, fighting them back with, he assumed based on the normal that fell by her strike, their own weapons.
He wondered momentarily if he should even get involved. The fight was not his, merely a skirmish between two unfamiliar sides. To involve himself in this would be to involve himself in matters he likely wished not to be a part of. On the other hand, the four remaining could just as easily be simple thugs, in which case he could potentially use them to relieve himself of the simplicity of his latest encounters. The thought was appealing, but unlikely. The four gave an impression of partial competence, however vague, a trait lacking in most thugs.
Still, two things remained drawing him to the scene. Curiosity, and the immediate danger of one side. If he made the wrong decision, he could always take out the female navi afterward and wash his hands of the matter. A simple solution, and not one unfamiliar to him. Pulling his head back around the rock, he sent a request for chips to his operator.
"There's no way you're going to hit with all of that at this range," Duke commented, reviewing the selected requests. All but one were ranged chips, either ground or aerial-based, and rather difficult to aim at such a distance.
Pianissimo had anticipated this as well. They would all be difficult for scoring hits, but all of the first four possessed as well one other, positive characteristic. "Perhaps," he responded, a smirk passing across his face for a split-second. "But I'm not aiming just to hit."
"I'll leave it to you, then." Duke extracted five chips and inserted them into the PET. Surprisingly, he had taken Pianissimo's words to heart earlier and stopped rambling. Now, he merely waited.
The assassin removed his hands from the rock, letting one drift to the blade at his waist. One more piece remained in order to execute his plan. It was foolish to think of trying to kill all four of them outright. No, that was unnecessary for the moment. For now, he would see them in confusion, attacked by an unseen force. Then, he would strike. He removed the katana from its sheath and waved it almost lazily through the air in front of him. Waves of darkness issued forth, coating the area on all sides as far as he could see. A surreal darkness fell over the entire landscape, leaving everything visible yet still blackened. Pianissimo's body itself faded until it was completely indistinguishable from the darkened environment. And now...it begins...
A low rumble echoed through the sky as the first chip was activated. The assassin took another glance at the battlefield, ensuring the light from his eyepieces had gone out, and watched as the chip took effect. A series of lightning bolts marched across the battlefield. While four of the bolts targeted each of the navis he had labeled as opponents, several more rained down randomly, orchestrating a deadly showdown between sky and earth.
As the light faded, Pianissimo knelt to the ground and dug both of his hands into the sand. A dull purple glow enveloped his lower arms as he looked up again, sighting two targets. The two strongest ones would serve, he decided. His next moves would serve a slightly different purpose. Though he would still aim to hit, the true aim of the next strike would once again be confusion. As two violet pillars erupted from the ground around them, they flashed brilliantly, giving no indication of a source.
Pianissimo twirled his katana around again, preparing to move the final piece. The blade shimmered for a second with the light of a fire, before he plunged it into the sand. A wall of flames rose up between the other two attackers, equally as devoid of an apparent source. In appearance, the flames had sprung forth just long enough after the powerbolts to give an average reaction time between the two. Without an obvious source, he wondered what assumptions the navis would make.
Rather than let it play out however, he decided the time had come to step in himself. Pushing himself back to his feet, he stepped out from behind the rock, allowing the eyepieces of his helmet to briefly flash crimson. There wasn't enough time for anyone to react to it, however, before they went out and Pianissimo himself vanished.
Behind the sword navi, a foreign blade sang through the air in a powerful slash as Pianissimo blinked back into existence.
___
1. Call of Darkness - Illusion of darkness, invis and one-hit barrier to Pianissimo
2. Elecreel - 80 elec to all opponents - Side 2 (series of lightning bolts)
3. Charge Powerbolt
4.
-Powerbolt - 70, ground - SwordNavi (burst of energy from the ground)
-Powerbolt (from action 3) - 70, ground - NormalNaviEX (burst of energy from the ground)
5. Flameline - 70 fire, ground - HeelNavis (wall of flames on opposite side from energy bursts)
*Tac Movement: Step out from behind rock/possibly give away position
6. StepSword - Teleport, 120 slashing, wide - SwordNavi
He wondered momentarily if he should even get involved. The fight was not his, merely a skirmish between two unfamiliar sides. To involve himself in this would be to involve himself in matters he likely wished not to be a part of. On the other hand, the four remaining could just as easily be simple thugs, in which case he could potentially use them to relieve himself of the simplicity of his latest encounters. The thought was appealing, but unlikely. The four gave an impression of partial competence, however vague, a trait lacking in most thugs.
Still, two things remained drawing him to the scene. Curiosity, and the immediate danger of one side. If he made the wrong decision, he could always take out the female navi afterward and wash his hands of the matter. A simple solution, and not one unfamiliar to him. Pulling his head back around the rock, he sent a request for chips to his operator.
"There's no way you're going to hit with all of that at this range," Duke commented, reviewing the selected requests. All but one were ranged chips, either ground or aerial-based, and rather difficult to aim at such a distance.
Pianissimo had anticipated this as well. They would all be difficult for scoring hits, but all of the first four possessed as well one other, positive characteristic. "Perhaps," he responded, a smirk passing across his face for a split-second. "But I'm not aiming just to hit."
"I'll leave it to you, then." Duke extracted five chips and inserted them into the PET. Surprisingly, he had taken Pianissimo's words to heart earlier and stopped rambling. Now, he merely waited.
The assassin removed his hands from the rock, letting one drift to the blade at his waist. One more piece remained in order to execute his plan. It was foolish to think of trying to kill all four of them outright. No, that was unnecessary for the moment. For now, he would see them in confusion, attacked by an unseen force. Then, he would strike. He removed the katana from its sheath and waved it almost lazily through the air in front of him. Waves of darkness issued forth, coating the area on all sides as far as he could see. A surreal darkness fell over the entire landscape, leaving everything visible yet still blackened. Pianissimo's body itself faded until it was completely indistinguishable from the darkened environment. And now...it begins...
A low rumble echoed through the sky as the first chip was activated. The assassin took another glance at the battlefield, ensuring the light from his eyepieces had gone out, and watched as the chip took effect. A series of lightning bolts marched across the battlefield. While four of the bolts targeted each of the navis he had labeled as opponents, several more rained down randomly, orchestrating a deadly showdown between sky and earth.
As the light faded, Pianissimo knelt to the ground and dug both of his hands into the sand. A dull purple glow enveloped his lower arms as he looked up again, sighting two targets. The two strongest ones would serve, he decided. His next moves would serve a slightly different purpose. Though he would still aim to hit, the true aim of the next strike would once again be confusion. As two violet pillars erupted from the ground around them, they flashed brilliantly, giving no indication of a source.
Pianissimo twirled his katana around again, preparing to move the final piece. The blade shimmered for a second with the light of a fire, before he plunged it into the sand. A wall of flames rose up between the other two attackers, equally as devoid of an apparent source. In appearance, the flames had sprung forth just long enough after the powerbolts to give an average reaction time between the two. Without an obvious source, he wondered what assumptions the navis would make.
Rather than let it play out however, he decided the time had come to step in himself. Pushing himself back to his feet, he stepped out from behind the rock, allowing the eyepieces of his helmet to briefly flash crimson. There wasn't enough time for anyone to react to it, however, before they went out and Pianissimo himself vanished.
Behind the sword navi, a foreign blade sang through the air in a powerful slash as Pianissimo blinked back into existence.
___
1. Call of Darkness - Illusion of darkness, invis and one-hit barrier to Pianissimo
2. Elecreel - 80 elec to all opponents - Side 2 (series of lightning bolts)
3. Charge Powerbolt
4.
-Powerbolt - 70, ground - SwordNavi (burst of energy from the ground)
-Powerbolt (from action 3) - 70, ground - NormalNaviEX (burst of energy from the ground)
5. Flameline - 70 fire, ground - HeelNavis (wall of flames on opposite side from energy bursts)
*Tac Movement: Step out from behind rock/possibly give away position
6. StepSword - Teleport, 120 slashing, wide - SwordNavi
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As the sky darkens, the black-clad Navi drops to one knee quickly, and scoops up a handful of sand. As thunder rolls its way across the field, the Guard1-equipped Navi dashes towards the kneeling cleric, fireknife ready to strike....
Then all hell breaks loose.
The SwordNavi takes a step forward, Longswords lashing out at the female Navi, when she suddenly rises and steps to meet the shield-equipped Navi. The bolts begin to rain from the sky as the cleric throws sand in the HeelNavi's face and... passes through his body as if he were made of air. This causes the SwordNavi to strike the HeelNavi's shield, reflecting his own attack back into his face as a thunderbolt adds injury to insult and lights up his life.
The cleric's hand flies up and relieves the HeelNavi of his FireKnife as she passes through him. Lightning strikes the robbed Navi as the black-clad one quickly throws the weapon at the Widesword equipped HeelNavi, striking it. An eye-blink later, the cleric dodges towards the Machinegun-equipped EX Navi, just in time for Pianissimo's Flame Line to flare to life, deleting both of her adversaries behind her.
The machinegunner panics, and begins unloading his weapon in her general direction. His timing couldn't have been worse, as Pianissimo's PowerBolt blasts both him and the SwordNavi from below. His half-blinded gunfire connects with the cleric, but ricochets off of a field of some sort, leaving his target unharmed. This prompts the black clad Navi to blink out as yet more fire scythes its way through the spot she'd just previously occupied, only to re-appear before the Navi with the gun.
The EX Navi discards his empty weapon, and takes a swing at the female Navi that appeared before him... Only to have his swing miss as she ducks the left-hook, then springs upwards, driving her shoulder into his torso, and knocking him down.
Pianissimo then teleports before the now-recovered SwordNavi, and finishes him off with a sweeping sword slash. The Navi joins his fellows from the fire in deletion, making it 3 Navis down in the span of 10 short, chaotic seconds.
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Summary
-----------
---Allies---
Pianissimo: 160 HP (Invis, 1-Hit Barrier) [On-Sand]
---Side 1---
Black-Clad Female Cleric (?) : 275 HP {Unarmed} [On Sand, to Pianissimo's right]
---Side 2---
HeelNaviA: Deleted
HeelNaviB: Deleted
NormalNavi: Deleted
NormalNaviEX: 300 HP (Laying on Sand) {Equip: GutPunch} [1 Move Away]
SwordNavi: Deleted
---Objects---
LargeRock: 1200 HP
RockA: 600 HP [to Pianissimo's left]
RockB: 600 HP
Terrain: Sand 75%, Lava 25% (large pool 7 moves away, behind Pianissimo)
Then all hell breaks loose.
The SwordNavi takes a step forward, Longswords lashing out at the female Navi, when she suddenly rises and steps to meet the shield-equipped Navi. The bolts begin to rain from the sky as the cleric throws sand in the HeelNavi's face and... passes through his body as if he were made of air. This causes the SwordNavi to strike the HeelNavi's shield, reflecting his own attack back into his face as a thunderbolt adds injury to insult and lights up his life.
The cleric's hand flies up and relieves the HeelNavi of his FireKnife as she passes through him. Lightning strikes the robbed Navi as the black-clad one quickly throws the weapon at the Widesword equipped HeelNavi, striking it. An eye-blink later, the cleric dodges towards the Machinegun-equipped EX Navi, just in time for Pianissimo's Flame Line to flare to life, deleting both of her adversaries behind her.
The machinegunner panics, and begins unloading his weapon in her general direction. His timing couldn't have been worse, as Pianissimo's PowerBolt blasts both him and the SwordNavi from below. His half-blinded gunfire connects with the cleric, but ricochets off of a field of some sort, leaving his target unharmed. This prompts the black clad Navi to blink out as yet more fire scythes its way through the spot she'd just previously occupied, only to re-appear before the Navi with the gun.
The EX Navi discards his empty weapon, and takes a swing at the female Navi that appeared before him... Only to have his swing miss as she ducks the left-hook, then springs upwards, driving her shoulder into his torso, and knocking him down.
Pianissimo then teleports before the now-recovered SwordNavi, and finishes him off with a sweeping sword slash. The Navi joins his fellows from the fire in deletion, making it 3 Navis down in the span of 10 short, chaotic seconds.
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Summary
-----------
---Allies---
Pianissimo: 160 HP (Invis, 1-Hit Barrier) [On-Sand]
---Side 1---
Black-Clad Female Cleric (?) : 275 HP {Unarmed} [On Sand, to Pianissimo's right]
---Side 2---
HeelNaviA: Deleted
HeelNaviB: Deleted
NormalNavi: Deleted
NormalNaviEX: 300 HP (Laying on Sand) {Equip: GutPunch} [1 Move Away]
SwordNavi: Deleted
---Objects---
LargeRock: 1200 HP
RockA: 600 HP [to Pianissimo's left]
RockB: 600 HP
Terrain: Sand 75%, Lava 25% (large pool 7 moves away, behind Pianissimo)
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As the sword navi fell, Pianissimo drew his blade away and moved toward the fallen, last remaining navi. The darkness was lifting, and with it, his cover.
It surprised him, to see how well his plan worked. Three deleted within ten seconds, the fourth heavily damaged and laying on the ground. And still, no one had seen him yet. As the darkness fully lifted and his body faded back into visibility, however, he knew this would no longer be the case.
Seeing the battlefield, Duke pulled out and inserted a few more battlechips. That, he figured, would be all that was needed.
Pianissimo, meanwhile, locked his eyes on the fallen last navi. Perhaps the stupidest thing to do in such a situation would be to let it get up and retaliate. As the chip data was received, he kicked through the sand and rushed forward, vanishing completely and reappearing on the other side of it. His target itself, however, now had a small silver orb with three cylindrical attachments on it laying on its chest. The assassin , for the first time fully visible to the cleric navi and their opponent, stared down coldly at the navi as the orb started blinking, then jumped out of the way of the impending explosion and started reaching for another weapon.
___
1. Areagrab to other side of NormalNaviEX
2. Plant Energybomb on NormalNaviEX's chest - 40x3
3*. Dodge + tactical movement: Dodge + get out of melee range
SPLICE!
It surprised him, to see how well his plan worked. Three deleted within ten seconds, the fourth heavily damaged and laying on the ground. And still, no one had seen him yet. As the darkness fully lifted and his body faded back into visibility, however, he knew this would no longer be the case.
Seeing the battlefield, Duke pulled out and inserted a few more battlechips. That, he figured, would be all that was needed.
Pianissimo, meanwhile, locked his eyes on the fallen last navi. Perhaps the stupidest thing to do in such a situation would be to let it get up and retaliate. As the chip data was received, he kicked through the sand and rushed forward, vanishing completely and reappearing on the other side of it. His target itself, however, now had a small silver orb with three cylindrical attachments on it laying on its chest. The assassin , for the first time fully visible to the cleric navi and their opponent, stared down coldly at the navi as the orb started blinking, then jumped out of the way of the impending explosion and started reaching for another weapon.
___
1. Areagrab to other side of NormalNaviEX
2. Plant Energybomb on NormalNaviEX's chest - 40x3
3*. Dodge + tactical movement: Dodge + get out of melee range
SPLICE!
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The cleric stepped back from her shoulder tackle, then back-pedaled instead of following through with another attack. Her eyes went wide as the EnergyBomb landed on the Navi she'd knocked down. The EX Navi started to grab for the explosive when Pianissimo appeared standing over him... at which point the EX Navi froze, a surprised look on it's face. When Pianissimo moved away, the Navi resumed trying to rid itself of the explo---
Too late. It went off in the EX Navi's hand. Extremely irritated, the Navi stood up, summoned a shield, and turned to face Pianissimo.
Beyond the EX Navi, Pianissimo could see the obvious confused expression on the female Navi's face as she backed away slowly, and raised her bare hands in a fighting stance. "...." She still went unarmed, not having summoned any weapons or chips.
"What in blazes is your problem?!" the EX Navi demanded, suddenly. "How's about a taste of your own medicine." he said as he hurled a bomb at the assassin...
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Summary (Split)
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---Allies---
Pianissimo: 160 HP (Invis, 1-Hit Barrier) [On-Sand] <Incoming>
---Side 1---
Black-Clad Female Cleric (?) : 273 HP {Unarmed} [2 Moves Away, On Sand]
---Side 2---
HeelNaviA: Deleted
HeelNaviB: Deleted
NormalNavi: Deleted
NormalNaviEX: 180 HP {Equip: GutPunch, Guard2} [1 Move Away, On Sand]
SwordNavi: Deleted
---Objects---
LargeRock: 1200 HP
RockA: 600 HP
RockB: 600 HP
Terrain: Sand 75%, Lava 25% (large pool 12 moves away, ahead of Pianissimo)
Too late. It went off in the EX Navi's hand. Extremely irritated, the Navi stood up, summoned a shield, and turned to face Pianissimo.
Beyond the EX Navi, Pianissimo could see the obvious confused expression on the female Navi's face as she backed away slowly, and raised her bare hands in a fighting stance. "...." She still went unarmed, not having summoned any weapons or chips.
"What in blazes is your problem?!" the EX Navi demanded, suddenly. "How's about a taste of your own medicine." he said as he hurled a bomb at the assassin...
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Summary (Split)
-----------
---Allies---
Pianissimo: 160 HP (Invis, 1-Hit Barrier) [On-Sand] <Incoming>
---Side 1---
Black-Clad Female Cleric (?) : 273 HP {Unarmed} [2 Moves Away, On Sand]
---Side 2---
HeelNaviA: Deleted
HeelNaviB: Deleted
NormalNavi: Deleted
NormalNaviEX: 180 HP {Equip: GutPunch, Guard2} [1 Move Away, On Sand]
SwordNavi: Deleted
---Objects---
LargeRock: 1200 HP
RockA: 600 HP
RockB: 600 HP
Terrain: Sand 75%, Lava 25% (large pool 12 moves away, ahead of Pianissimo)
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Pianissimo didn't answer the normal navi. In fact, as the bomb came sailing towards him, he didn't move at all. His armor had faded to a solid, featureless black. Then...it broke apart and melted into its own shadow.
"Funny, I still have yet to administer..." The voice had no apparent origin. It's owner's position wasn't given away until a black katana thrust at the navi from behind. Crimson eyepieces lit up above it, followed by the rest of the assassin's black armor.
The blade retreated to Pianissimo's side as more chip data was downloaded into it. A faint blue pulse of light ran across the length, encompassing the weapon. With no unnecessary movement, he thrust it at the navi a second time, this time aimed for its head.
"...your prescribed lethal dose of cold steel..." he finished.
Pianissimo pulled the blade away again in a ripping motion, then jumped back away from his target, just case.
___
4. Cloak and Dagger - Teleport behind NormalNaviEX, 100 slashing
5. Sword - NormalNaviEX, 80 slashing
6. Dodge
"Funny, I still have yet to administer..." The voice had no apparent origin. It's owner's position wasn't given away until a black katana thrust at the navi from behind. Crimson eyepieces lit up above it, followed by the rest of the assassin's black armor.
The blade retreated to Pianissimo's side as more chip data was downloaded into it. A faint blue pulse of light ran across the length, encompassing the weapon. With no unnecessary movement, he thrust it at the navi a second time, this time aimed for its head.
"...your prescribed lethal dose of cold steel..." he finished.
Pianissimo pulled the blade away again in a ripping motion, then jumped back away from his target, just case.
___
4. Cloak and Dagger - Teleport behind NormalNaviEX, 100 slashing
5. Sword - NormalNaviEX, 80 slashing
6. Dodge
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Pianissimo's target was wholly unprepared for the assassin's sudden attack from behind. With two quick stabs, the EX Navi down and deleted before the bomb he'd thrown even hit the ground.
When Pianissimo leaped back, however, he realized too late that the cleric was still standing there. His reminder came when he felt her hands bracing against his back and heard the rapid shuffling of feet (almost a mad scramble) as she pushed herself away from his landing spot. He felt her hands remove themselves from his back, and noted the sound of her movement was becoming more distant. But even more surprising was when he heard it stop....
"Alright." Pianissimo heard the female Navi begin speaking from somewhere behind him. "Now what?" She paused as she stepped backwards a few more paces, her guard still held. Considering she wore no armor, was nearly a foot shorter than Pianissimo (the height disparity was made even worse by her guarded stance...), and the fact that she was also unarmed... and what came out of her mouth next sounded more than a little insane.... "Do I get to thank ye now, or do ye wanna scrap, too?" She said as she stared up at him from a 'healthy' distance away, her violet eyes squinted with suspicion as she sized him up.
-----------
Summary
-----------
---Allies---
Pianissimo: 160 HP (1-Hit Barrier) {Equip: Sword} [On-Sand]
---Unknown---
Black-Clad Female Cleric (?) : 270 HP {Unarmed} [On Sand]
---The Pwn'd---
HeelNaviA: Deleted
HeelNaviB: Deleted
NormalNavi: Deleted
NormalNaviEX: Deleted
SwordNavi: Deleted
---Objects---
LargeRock: 1200 HP
RockA: 600 HP
RockB: 600 HP
Terrain: Sand 75%, Lava 25% (large pool 9 moves away, behind Pianissimo)
When Pianissimo leaped back, however, he realized too late that the cleric was still standing there. His reminder came when he felt her hands bracing against his back and heard the rapid shuffling of feet (almost a mad scramble) as she pushed herself away from his landing spot. He felt her hands remove themselves from his back, and noted the sound of her movement was becoming more distant. But even more surprising was when he heard it stop....
"Alright." Pianissimo heard the female Navi begin speaking from somewhere behind him. "Now what?" She paused as she stepped backwards a few more paces, her guard still held. Considering she wore no armor, was nearly a foot shorter than Pianissimo (the height disparity was made even worse by her guarded stance...), and the fact that she was also unarmed... and what came out of her mouth next sounded more than a little insane.... "Do I get to thank ye now, or do ye wanna scrap, too?" She said as she stared up at him from a 'healthy' distance away, her violet eyes squinted with suspicion as she sized him up.
-----------
Summary
-----------
---Allies---
Pianissimo: 160 HP (1-Hit Barrier) {Equip: Sword} [On-Sand]
---Unknown---
Black-Clad Female Cleric (?) : 270 HP {Unarmed} [On Sand]
---The Pwn'd---
HeelNaviA: Deleted
HeelNaviB: Deleted
NormalNavi: Deleted
NormalNaviEX: Deleted
SwordNavi: Deleted
---Objects---
LargeRock: 1200 HP
RockA: 600 HP
RockB: 600 HP
Terrain: Sand 75%, Lava 25% (large pool 9 moves away, behind Pianissimo)
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From an outside perspective, the end of the battle, with Pianissmo missing the presence of the cleric navi and likely nearly knocking her over, would have been rather amusing. The assassin, meanwhile, looked neither amused or flustered as he pivoted to look at the source of the female voice.
In the real world, however, Duke was amused by the insult. "Nice one," he said, earning a stare.
Pianissimo didn't speak for several seconds as the question was asked. When he did, it was in his usual faint, wavering voice. "I should hope not," he answered, referring to the second option.
In the real world, however, Duke was amused by the insult. "Nice one," he said, earning a stare.
Pianissimo didn't speak for several seconds as the question was asked. When he did, it was in his usual faint, wavering voice. "I should hope not," he answered, referring to the second option.
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Her eyes widened at the unexpected decline of hostilities, and she lowered her hands as she said "Well... then... I sincerely thank you." in a disbelieving tone. With her arms no longer blocking her frame, Pianissimo was able to see that she was clad from the neck down in black attire (including shoes, but lacking gloves) that featured nothing more ornamental than simple white stripes along the edges of her vest, down the sides of her pants, and the sleeves of her shirt. Her Navi Emblem was worn around her neck as an amulet, and featured a solid white female silhouette clasping a solid black sword against a lavender background.
"Pardon my rudeness, sir, but I must take my leave of ye, and with haste. I've neither the time left for pleasantries nor introductions." She made a sweeping gesture to indicate the sandy field where they were standing. "This lot t'were merely trying to delay me from catching the thieves who've made off with something I simply must recover. I fear the fools are trying to break it, even now..." She turned to leave suddenly, but threw a "You're kinder than ye look, benevolent oaf." with an impish smile as she took off running after the fore-mentioned bandits.
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Summary
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Victory!
---Allies---
Pianissimo: 160 HP (1-Hit Barrier) {Equip: Sword} [On-Sand]
Get: 1200z, Guard2
---Unknown---
Black-Clad Female Cleric (?) : 265 HP {Unarmed} [On Sand...and there she goes! 4 moves away, and gaining.]
Get: TFO
Terrain: Sand 75%, Lava 25% (large pool 9 moves away, behind Pianissimo)
"Pardon my rudeness, sir, but I must take my leave of ye, and with haste. I've neither the time left for pleasantries nor introductions." She made a sweeping gesture to indicate the sandy field where they were standing. "This lot t'were merely trying to delay me from catching the thieves who've made off with something I simply must recover. I fear the fools are trying to break it, even now..." She turned to leave suddenly, but threw a "You're kinder than ye look, benevolent oaf." with an impish smile as she took off running after the fore-mentioned bandits.
-----------
Summary
-----------
Victory!
---Allies---
Pianissimo: 160 HP (1-Hit Barrier) {Equip: Sword} [On-Sand]
Get: 1200z, Guard2
---Unknown---
Black-Clad Female Cleric (?) : 265 HP {Unarmed} [On Sand...and there she goes! 4 moves away, and gaining.]
Get: TFO
Terrain: Sand 75%, Lava 25% (large pool 9 moves away, behind Pianissimo)