Posts made by Sommelier

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Ready, Sommelier.exe: 300 HP)

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

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

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

"Whew... That was really close..." panted Sommelier as she pushed herself up off the ground after dodging Junior's surprise strike. Her ponytail had winded its way around her neck in the scuffle, so a quick flick of her head set the hair back in its proper place. A brief pause came over the battlefield as everyone reformed strategies, prompting Sommelier to say, "I gotta say he's good, Louis. Is that enough of a 'gauge' for you?"

"I suppose. That move at the end was fairly skilled, I admit." responded Louis reluctantly as he loosened his tie a bit.

"Does that mean I can start doing things my way? Your cautious baby steps aren't
going to be taking me anywhere but my own grave." asked Sommelier sharply.

"If it means you'll stop heckling me, then fine..." grunted Louis, getting embarassed by his Navi's lecture.

"Great! I'll be looking forward to your support, Mr. Mercier." grinned Sommelier widely, immediately reassuming a battle stance. "No more dancing around, Junior! Let's give these people a show to enjoy!" she shouted as she lunged forward, breaking into a dash directed straight at Junior. With not much distance in between the two to begin with, Sommelier soon reached her target, making a leap through the air as she tried to grab Junior with her hand. She quickly anchored her feet to the ground before continuing her heckling of her opponent, trying to grab on to him when she could and wrestle him out of attacking position.

"I dunno about you, but I get thirsty when I fight really easily." blurted Sommelier out of left field in a very casual fashion. "I always have this bottle with me to address that," she stated, lifting her wine bottle up to show Junior, "But it would be rude of me to not share, wouldn't it?" With that, she lifted the bottle up to her face by its neck, letting a flow of deep red wine cascade out of it and over her lips. After a quick swig, she pulled the bottle down and swished its contents around a bit. "Ah, that's good... Always one of my favorites." Sommelier sighed contently, all the while trying to fight with Junior. "You don't seem like a wine person, though... How about some coffee? It's free of charge!" she shouted at the end, thrusting the bottle forward at her opponent, sending a spray of coffee straight at Junior. The normally dark brown color of the drink was tainted with so much cream and sugar that it had almost turned white. Sommelier would never serve such a wired mix to her customers, but it seemed to work well enough in messing up her opponents. Sometimes it was even enough to knock them out, but Sommelier expected better of Junior. At least it should slow him down a bit, she thought.

Louis, having watched the events unfold in silence, was beginning to notice the wear and tear Sommelier was incurring in her fighting. Without a word to his Navi, Louis grabbed a healing chip out of his folder and placed it into his PET, sending a surge of fresh energy to Sommelier. The female Navi flinched in surprise as she felt the chip enter her body, but quickly figured out what it was and gave her thanks to Louis. "You just said to support you, and that's what I'm doing." stated Louis matter-of-factly.

"That you are, that you are." smiled Sommelier as Louis slotted in one more chip, this time one geared for attack. "Oh, nice choice." she noted as her bottle began shaking violently as it tried to contain a violent current of water forming inside it. After pointing the neck of the bottle towards the ground, Sommelier swung her weapon in a wide arc, sending all the water inside over the ground. Instead of just being absorded into the floor, though, the water jumped up fiercly into a series of towers that marched their way loudly towards Junior.

Sommelier thought for a second on her next move, having run out of chips for the time being. Oh well, now was as good a time as any to use her attacking technique. This was a tough battle, so she figured she might not have another chance. Sommelier pulled a single slip of paper out of her apron pocket, and turned it around to show Junior. "You know, I usually only use these on punks who don't pay their bills. I guess you should be proud you're pushing me so far as to use it on an honest guy like you." informed Sommelier, sounding almost apologetic as she threw the piece of paper into the air, which immediately shot towards Junior with a fiery conviction and taste for blood. As it weaved and looped its way through the air, it became pretty apparent that this bill wasn't easy to run out on.

Knowing that she had probably outstayed her welcome on the offensive, Sommelier began to fall back into an evasive set, but Junior began acting odd and she couldn't help but be curious. After he had said his piece, Sommelier responded, "I feel a little bad that you've been holding back, too. I guess you didn't take what I told you before to heart... Oh well, I can't help it if I mow you down because of it." sighed Sommelier, shaking her head in disappointment. Junior then proceeded... to wink at her? She was already on the defensive, but she couldn't help but get a weird feeling. A guy winking... Could it be that Junior... was queer?

1) Grapple with Junior. (Movement)
2) Moch-Lattechino Express's Last Stop (Sleep, 3-turn Slow x2, 9TCD) @ Junior
3) Recov50 (Heal 50 HP) @ Self
4) AquaTower1 (100 damage, Aqua, Piercing, Ground Attack, Group Attack) @ Junior
5) "Your tab's being called" (100 Drain, Seeking, Homing, 7TCD) @ Junior
6) Dodge

Cooldowns:
Moch-Lattechino Express's Last Stop - 9 turns
"Your tab's being called" - 7 turns

"Junior's not wasting any time..." said Sommelier as she saw her opponent speed into action. "... So why are you?" she asked, turning the focus of her speech to her Operator.

"Coming out of the corner swinging seems so uncivilized to me." responded Louis haughtily. "Just let him do what he will for now and get a gauge of his power, alright?"

"You have no sense of adventure, Louis." sighed Sommelier, making a dive for the nearest pillar as a cover. Stalling, after all, didn't usually work well without a good defense. "Can't you at least give me something to attack with? A game of cat and mouse probably isn't what the audience is looking for."

"Fine, fine, since you must insist so fervently..." groaned Louis in surrender as he grabbed a lone chip out of the pre-arranged folder he was provided. He eyed the AquaNeedle for a moment, almost as if he was waiting for some sort of response from the tiny piece of plastic before shrugging his shoulders and slotting the chip into his PET.

Once processed, the cork on Sommelier's wine bottle took on a sharper edge, continuously angling until it formed a pin-point needle. Taking just a moment to examine her weapon, Sommelier gave the bottle a few turns to get some different angles before saying, "Not bad, not bad... Good choice for such a reluctant pick, Louis." Realizing that she couldn't take all day to just examine it, Sommelier pointed the spiked bottle upward, shooting off a trio of needles which arced over the pillar and towards Junior.

With the AquaNeedle off and on its way, something clicked in Sommelier's head and she just had to ask, "... You're totally winging this, aren't you? Normally you'd have sent me at least 3 other chips by now."

"Having to use this folder I'm not used to is throwing off my rhythm, unfortunately. Just bear with it for now." explained Louis. "Here, I'll give you a Guard to help with defending." he said as he activated the promised chip.

"Please try to figure out a strategy by then..." sighed Sommelier as she raised the yellow shield that appeared in her hand. It was a little bit heavier than she expected, but with a little extra leverage she lifted it and prepared to take on whatever would come, knowing very well that Junior would come after her at some point.

Once the Guard was expended, Sommelier abandonded her cover, finding it useless since she was still being attacked regardless. Running a seemingly random path, Sommelier kept her eyes out for incoming strikes. She saw Junior toss a seed on the ground, but before her curiousity could get her mental gears spinning on that, it struck her that Junior had outright disappeared. Her head spun left, then right, back left again... Nope, he vanished. Definitely not good. Sommelier tightened her stance to try and boost her reaction time, all the while waiting for something. She didn't have to wait long, however, as Junior's AreaGrab landed him right by her, and she knew she didn't even have time to look at him. It was either dodge whatever was incoming or get hit. Sommelier made a rolling dive to the side, hoping dearly that she had reacted fast enough to escape the surprise attack...

Actions:

1) Take cover behind Hematite Pillar. (Movement)
2) AquaNeedle (20 + 15 damage, 3 hits, Aqua) @ Junior
3) Guard1 (1 Hit Shield, Reflect 60 damage)
4) Dodge
5) Dodge
6) Dodge

"Well, I guess that depends..." shrugged Sommelier, scratching the side of her head. "Some girls are into that old 'chivalry' thing still, but I think more often than not she would want to prove herself as much as you would." Sommelier then paused a moment, gathering some new thoughts. "Even before that, though... We Navis can really be male, female, or anything in between on a whim. I wouldn't worry about gender roles too much." she said with a smile, patting Junior on the shoulder. "Everyone has their own opinions and stories to tell, so I suggest you just let them say their piece and work from there."

Louis nodded silently, proud of Sommelier for echoing the ideal means to treat customers that believed so strongly.

"Now, there are people on the other side of these cameras that expect a good fight. So put up your dukes and give me all you've got. I'll be sure to do the same. Good luck, Junior." With that said, Sommelier backed away a bit and assumed a fighting stance, arming herself with a wine bottle in hand.

(Ready)

"Sorry I'm late, had a few straggling customers to take care of." annouced Sommelier to no one in particular, having suddenly appeared in the arena. She then started letting her eyes travel around the room, pausing at key features like the holes and the columns before continuing to roam. "Wow, this is pretty upscale for a Netbattling arena... SciLabs must've really gone into high gear for this one."

"To be expected, considering SciLab put their name on this. If the tournament turned out to be a flop, their reputation would be tarnished and investors would start backing off left and right. A true business nightmare..." sighed Louis, a bad rep being his own worst nightmare. "Please try to win, Sommelier. I can't even begin to imagine what will happen to the Net Cafe if you get beaten easily."

"Don't worry so much. I'll give it my all, trust me." promised Sommelier as she began twisting and stretching her body. "I have to admit, though... I think I've been behind that counter too long. It might take me a little bit to warm up." A sharp pop from her shoulder as she spun it around confirmed that suspicion. "Ow... Oh, wait, I think I see our opponent." said Sommelier as she noticed what looked like an arm sticking out from behind one of the pillars. She straightened out her black apron and tightened the knot keeping her black ponytail in place, then stepped out to face her opponent.

"Hey. You're Junior, I take it?" asked Sommelier, offering out a hand in greeting.