Private/Closed Bootleg Brothers 6

[Gamingfan]

Magolor
"Me!?" Magolor gasped with an expression full of mock offense, before waving his hand. "Aw, I'm just messing! Seems like you've got some amnesia, but that's okay, cause I know you!"
Though he remained cheery, Magolor took note of Spamton's confused speech. Seems like he couldn't remember much, and whether that would be useful or not Magolor wasn't sure...yet.
"Real ambitious guy, I can certainly tell. We've got that in common! A penchant for selling, too! Hee Hee! And...well..."
As Magolor carefully inspected Spamton's face.
"I suppose we've both had experience with, let's say...strings?"


Lucario
Well, that was strange.
Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, so perhaps the alarm was of the false variety. Recovering from confusion, Lucario made his way to the shop, now with even more coins.
There was a lot of new items in stock. Lucario's blood red eyes scanned the equipment, before falling onto what looked to be a small, buglike creature. It almost looked like a pokemon, a rock/but type in particular. A "Kraggling", it was labelled, stuck in a cage.
Lucario looked at the Kraggling, and it looked back. Something about it's small size reminded him of Marshtomp, in his previous form...
"The Kraggling." Lucario spoke to the Shopkeep as he placed down four coins. "I would like to purchase it."
Soon as he did, the aura pokemon would leave the shop and crouch down to face it eye to eye, reaching a paw out.
"I am Lucario. I hope you can rely on me, and I you." he said. With that, Lucario turned to enter his gateway, ready for his next opponent.
When prompted by the machine, Lucario spoke of the first thing that came to mind. Sinnoh's own version of the Safari Zone...
"The Great Marsh."

Ryuji
The phantom thief blinked in confusion as Nott sudden excused herself, apparently back in the tourney.
"Uh...sure. Good luck!" he replied, though he couldn't tell if Nott heard him.
"She moves fast..."
Honestly, Ryuji was pretty jealous that she got a second chance, but without much better idea of what to do, he strutted towards the stands for her fight. She was still a friend, so he'd make sure to cheer louder than anyone else!

Pollo
A blobby being yawned as he awakened from a long nap, looking around the empty stands in confusion. Where was he?
Oh right, he was here to cheer on a friend! But after eating so much, he had gotten sleepy and entered a food coma potent enough to apparently nap through the entire fight!
Shaking crumbs off his body, the Star Warrior Kirby hopped off his seat, determined to meet with his egg shaped friend. The Pink Demon quickly ran off toward the lobby.
Before running back, having taken the wrong direction.
Or was it the right direction...?
Kirby looked back and forth, completely lost.

Uh oh.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin​

...did Audrey just say she didn't like her much?

Shaking off the slight surprise of Audrey's bluntness, Kirin watched her opponent walk away, headed for her fight. That left the priestess with little to do outside of watching the battles or chatting up some of the other participants. Honestly, she didn't quite feel up to either of those at the moment. Maybe this was how Neph felt after their own fight.

"Oh yeah, right. Wonder what she's doing right now..."

If she remembered correctly, Neph planned on observing the fights and staying to see who won the tournament. Since there were some screens around displaying each fight, maybe she was in a spot in the lobby where she could see them all. Not a bad thought process, she figured.

Keeping that in mind, the Battle Priestess walked out of the alleyway behind Regular Store, turning to walk towards the center of the plaza. There were still a decent amount of people around...​

ZedΩ
​

Byleth's elaboration was appropriately extensive. While she described this "Super Smash Brothers" to be somewhat of a tournament, it had a far looser structure and a much grander cast. At one point, they'd encountered two powerful beings that easily defeated all participants – with the exception of Kirby, who Zed partially recalled seeing just before they attempted to make their escape from the Dimension Games.

The mercenary proceeded to list off participants of those games and the current tournament that had taken part in Smash. Eight in total, discounting the "Petey Piranha" who did not hold the official title of fighter. Two of those she mentioned were also alternate versions of said fighters, though perhaps they could also be other members of their respective species. The prince couldn't say for sure. He put a hand to his chin, listening to Eitri's own input on the reasoning for Master Hand's actions.

"We cannot truly be certain of his intentions, I'm afraid. Even with the added knowledge that miss Byleth has so kindly given us, it appears we still lack crucial information. It may be best to do as you said: investigate those who know him. Perhaps one of the members she has mentioned could know more than we currently do."

As he spoke, his eyes landed on the nearby Magolor and Spamton. He'd been putting off interacting or bringing attention to the latter of the salesmen to properly focus on the reunion with Eitri, though her revelations had gotten him slightly off course from his original plan. Ignoring the salesman any longer would probably not be for the best. Magolor was already making conversation with the short man, going for a slightly direct approach through their shared experience in sales. This initial part he could leave to the traveler, he believed.

"Say..." Zed moved slightly closer to Eitri, gaze still on the two salesmen, his voice low. "What do you make of our two friends here?"​

 

[comic]

KASSANDRA​

Kragg was graceful in defeat. More than she probably would have been. Certainly far more than Jeice- who she could see had lost his redemption match, having been voted back. Once again, he was furious at defeat. The misthios pondered if his "Ginyu Force" had something to do with Jeice's return- she honestly had no idea why he'd have been brought back otherwise.

As Kragg left, a call from above drew his attention. Friends of the rock bug, and it seemed to cheer him up. Kassandra watched as Kragg changed his trajectory to the stairs that led up to the stands.

She could remember the last time she'd been called to like that. The arena at the southern edge of the Greek world. A bloody place full of men and women with more power than any human should be capable of, where they could murder each other to their heart's content. She could remember looking up before the final match to see the old, wizened face of Barnabas grinning down at her from the stands. The old sailor yelled her name, pumping his fist.

He'd even managed to get the crowd to chant her name.

An involuntary chuckle escaped Kassandra's lips as she turned away from the retreating Kragg, the memory enough to give the misthios her own boost in joy- though it was short-lived at the reminder that Barnabas had been dead for over 250 years now. She missed that old sea captain and his ridiculous tales- some with more merit than others.

"Have you considered that he could be here?"

Aletheia's voice gave Kassandra pause, and the Isu continued; "This place lies without time and space, not bound by all the laws of continuity. Those you love could be here, if you look for them."

The prospect was tempting. Overwhelmingly so. The thought of seeing any of them again, for even a moment... Barnabas, Alexios, Nikolaos, Stentor, Myrrine, Peikles, Sokrates, Herodotos, Brasidas, Ikaros... yes, even the lustful Alkibiades. Friends. Family. People she'd accepted dead and gone forever.

And then there was the prospect of, should Aletheia's words ring true... losing them all again, all at once. Like getting her heart ripped out all over again.

"I have a match to get to," Kassandra finally muttered, eyeing the roster. She was slated against "Nótt," another who'd been brought back by vote- this time by the champions. Probably for the best, or she'd have to fight Jeice again or something, probably.

"The opportunity will remain, for as long as you are here," Aletheia replied, and added no more.

Kassandra felt a pit in her stomach, glancing up toward the stands and scanning through the faces she could immediately see. Those she'd seen when visiting Specter... Kragg and his friends... oddly, Specter himself seemed to be missing. As were anyone Kassandra knew.

She didn't need the distraction of hope if she wanted to win this thing. And yet again, she had to ask why winning was so important. As far as the misthios could tell, she stood to gain nothing from victory. Her gaze drifted over to search for Nótt, eventually finding the jotun. She... supposed... malakas, that was an impressive-looking woman. Wasn't there someone else who looked similar?

Shaking her head, Kassandra cleared her thoughts. At the very least, she could give the beautiful Nótt a proper fight. Winning didn't have an appeal, so the journey toward it or defeat would instead be the focus.

Wandering over to the shop, Kassandra took a moment to browse the remaining shop items. She was half-tempted to simply toss out the red orb now- it was useful but she'd felt her own power-ups contradicted by it. Maybe it worked well for Axe, who it originated from, but it hindered her just as much as it empowered her. Fortunately, Kragg had been the kind of opponent it was most effective against, more or less.

She'd hold onto it for now, however. Better that than letting it fall into the hands of another. The thought of using her most powerful moves just for that power to immediately be turned against her wasn't an enticing thought.

Gem Apples... they seemed useless at first glance, but upon reading their description...

She went ahead and purchased the items, then headed back out to the gateways. Her feet felt a little heavier in her approach.

Upon being given the choice of battleground, her choice was simple.

"The Battle of Thermopylae. My grandfather's last stand."
​

NEPHTHYS​

Bakura's retort was expectantly arrogant. "that's new," Sans commented, almost jovially beside her as his attack was ripped out of his control, and it persisted for another few moments before vanishing entirely just as King Rex's flames hit it, giving the impression Rex had destroyed the bones. The skeleton shrugged. "was only enough power in it to last a few more seconds anyway."

Fearful Earthbound appeared once more, just as the White Magical Hat was closing in again. Neph grit her teeth in annoyance at he monster's persistance, but she could feel something strange from the short skeleton beside her. A calm reassurance? He seemedto have some form of telepathy of his own, less direct than her own.

As the jaws of Fearful Earthbound closed, two blue bones materialized in an 'x' shape, and the jaws were forced to stay wide as they closed around the blue bones. Summoning a shield around herself and Sans, Nephthys used the psychic barrier to both halt the Hat's punches, while also severing the 'spikes' or 'fangs' of Fearful Earthbound.

"earthbound, huh? i get it," Sans chuckled. The gardevoir had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

At the warning from the egyptian spirit, Neph's scarlet gaze was cast toward Bakura. At least one more monster... and two more surprises...

They could handle that.

She was about to snap at the egyptian to do something, before she recalled her new free slot on her duel disk. Two-Headed King Rex filled one of them, but the final...

Her mind reflected back toward Lucario. She had seen him change. At first, she thought he had evolved, like Marshtomp. Instead, he had reverted back. Some kind of power she had never seen before... surely she could find a way to attain it, too? Maybe even grant its boost upon her allies as well, evolve Marshtomp again, even if it was temporary...

Focusing as Sans kept the blue bones up, and she retained her barrier, Nephthys focused on a card, one that would boost the power of her and her allies. To help Sans, Marshtomp, Rex, King Rex... One that could bestow...

Mega Evolution.
​

SPAMTON​

Spamton placed his hands together, grinning back up at Magolor. "SO YOu'RE LIKE-LIKE [Us], IS THAT IT? AWARE OF THE [Truth]? A TRUTH THAT DOESN'T EVEN NEED [[Hyperlink Blocked]] TO FUNCTION! AND THAT'S... THAT IS..."

He seemed to suddenly become distracted, his head turning to the other gathered individuals and what they were discussing. "SAY, HOW ABOUT YOU JOIN ME [Over There] AND KEEP UP A MUCH MORE... [Engaging Conversation]."

Just as Zed was directing attention to Magolor and Spamton... the less floaty of the two salesmen was already moving over.

"I COULDN'T HELP BUT OVERHEAR [Something That Shouldn't Be Discussed]! [Error 12-684 Game Crash. Why are you seeing this issue? <- Entity or entities no longer present in combat area have not confirmed killed. If you wish to restart the game, contact yourself, Master Hand.] I REC-REC-RECOGNIZE THAT KIND OF LINGO, MY FRIENDS! IT'S THE LINGO OF [[Data Expunged]]. ENTERTAINMENT IS EXACTLY WHAT THESE [[Data Expunged]] LIVE FOR! I WOULD KNOW... I'M A [Strings On Me] AFTER ALL! GUYS LIKE HIM KNOW ALL THEY WANT TO KNOW! THEY'RE NOT HERE FOR [Free Children's Education]!"

His mechanical laughter echoed around at that. "STILL, YOU SHOULD BE SPEAKING SOMEWHERE MORE [Private]. SOME PEOPLE MIGHT SAY IT'S [Rude To Talk About People That Are Listening]."

The implication that Master Hand was aware of their talks was clear, though he didn't specify that as the intent.
​

DART​

"Uh, okay!" Dart shrugged, and without wasting even a second of his time, he began to dart for the gates- before he kicked his heels to the ground to stop himself. "Oh, hang on! I have to talk to someone!" He called to Rinku, looking about before spotting 808, and dashing his way toward her.

He came to a stop upon seeing what it was she, Chai, and Irnane were up to. Blinking, he cocked his head to the side. "Uh, what's up with this scene?"

Irnane glanced back at him, and folded her arms. "They are under a type of hypnotic possession. I believe the fairy is the cause for the trance," she gestured toward Nephthys, answering both Dart and Peppermint. "Severing or disrupting the connection is... unwise, at least in the rules of my world. If something were to happen like this back home, and it be tampered with, all parties involved would become brain dead and susceptible to the influence and control of Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness."

"Oh. Uh, cool..." Dart scratched the back of his head. "Maybe you guys should call Master Hand for help. I just wanted to come over here to let Chai know that you have an awesome companion! I sure hope you appreciate her!"

He gave Chai a thumbs up. "Oh and also, I'm about to head to my next match. Whenever you're ready, 808."
​

MASTER CHIEF​

Upon being questioned on the vote, Kalmiya let out a small giggle, but waited for Reala and Gunvolt to explain their fair reasoning. Once they'd concluded, Kalmiya added; "Actually, Chief was the only one to vote otherwise! He voted for Masaru."

The Spartan didn't add anything to that, simply staring firmly ahead, almost like a robot.

"He didn't share why," the AI added with a shrug. "I guess it's because Chief likes to see potential where others don't!"

Again, the Spartan added nothing. In fact, one could have easily confused his robotic standing for something less emotionless. It seemed almost as though the large, heavily armored super soldier... was feeling a little awkward.​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

One by one, the champions gave their responses. Despite Reala's spiteful answer, Dagr rubbed her chin and nodded.
"The sadistic type stuff, huh? Yeah, I can understand that. I can totally get why someone would want to see someone like my sister get her butt kicked." Dagr said. She seemed to accept Reala's answer without being disturbed by it, and was more surprised by the fact the nightmaren had responded at all.

She turned her attention to Gunvolt, watching the teen as he spoke.
"She reminds you of yourself." Dagr echoed. The Princess walked around Gunvolt, looking him up and down. There wasn't any sign of a pet or companion. Perhaps he was speaking of an actual friend in battle, rather than something like Moon-Wing.

Finally, Kalimya spoke up. Master Chief had been outvoted, wanting to bring back Masaru instead.
"Oh, I see." Dagr said. "Masaru. He was that martial artist guy, right? Yeah, he was pretty cool! I would have liked to fight him, people that fight with nothing but their fists and body are so cool. Me, I love my ax too much to give it up."
Dagr looked up to Chief and smiled.
"Sorry you didn't get your pick to come back in. But I'm pretty sure I saw Masaru chilling out here in the plaza, you could..." Dagr looked to where Masaru had been working out, only to find that the fighter wasn't there anymore. She looked sheepishly to Master Chief. "Whoops. I guess not."

Smiling excitedly, Dagr looked to Gunvolt, Kalimya, and Master Chief once more.
"Okay, okay. Just one more question. And you don't have to answer if you don't want to." Dagr said. She gave the champions a mischievous smile. "Any tips on how I can win this tournament?"


Nótt

The Princess reached the top of the stairs of the stands, looking around and trying to get her bearings. If she spotted Spamton over there, that meant she had to go...

Before Nótt spotted Spamton, she first noticed a familiar face. Layla, sitting with the competitor Grazie and a few others. An idea formed in her mind. Zed had been next to...

"Excuse me." Nótt approached Grazie. Glancing to Layla, Nótt gave the little girl a smile and a nod before turning her attention back to Grazie. "You are Grazie, correct? I was wondering if you could help me."
Nótt frowned and looked around.
"Have you seen a young man, one a little taller than you? He has short black hair that's kind of greasy looking, pale white skin? He has a scar on his left cheek, and is dressed in black armor with a purple cloak. Has a sword." Nótt described. "I had thought I saw him somewhere around here..."

As Nótt spoke with Grazie, Moon-Wing looked down to Layla. It watched the girl for a moment, then began to preen itself. It plucked out one of its metal feathers, one decorated with the symbol of Jotunheimr, and tossed it to the girl.


Eitri

The conversation turned as Zed pointed out the others close to them. Magolor, and... some sort of puppet creature. The one Byleth said had just appeared. But before Eitri could give a response, the puppet creature had approached them. It had overheard what she had said, the clue left behind from Dimension Games. Eitri scowled. He had seemed distracted, conversing with Magolor. And yet, it had overheard them?

However it had heard them, the creature recognized the pattern of the language and gave its suggestion on why Master Hand was doing what they were doing.
"Speak somewhere more private?" Eitri echoed. The implication that Master Hand knew they were speaking was a troubling one, but Eitri wasn't sure she could trust this creature. She gestured to the stands and the plaza.
"Master Hand was the one that arranged this tournament. Surely, he was also the one that created this space." Eitri said. "If he is listening in to us as we speak here, in the middle of a crowd with thousands, hundreds of thousands of people all close together, what makes you think there is a place here that Master Hand would not be able to hear us?"

Eitri looked to Byleth. The mercinary shook her head, and Eitri turned to Zed.
"Do you know this creature, Zed?" Eitri asked.

Unable to find what he was searching for in the plaza, Ótr extended his search to the stands. He quickly spotted what he was looking for. Nótt, speaking with some other women. He cursed under his breath.
"Eitri." Ótr said, gesturing to Nótt. Eitri glanced to the Princess, then nodded to Ótr. The prince quickly stood up and started to head in the opposite direction of Nótt.
"Go with him, Byleth. Stay out of sight." Eitri ordered. Byleth nodded, and followed after the prince.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Peppermint/808 & Chai & Rinku (oh my)


More delays...?

Rinku kept his facade up for the moment, silently waiting for Dart to come back, tactically waiting for him to pick the map first, so stood just next to the archway. Meanwhile, 808 was interrupted from her work with Dart asking for her services yet again.

"Must we go...? wasn't that a one round team up...?"

808 didn't seem raring to go with the idea, especially since they were supposed to be looking after the recently unconscious. Putting down their approach towards the millennium ring, they pointed a firm finger at Chai.

"Don't do anything you will regret, Chai."

"Hey hey! Don't go assuming I'm gonna mess stuff up!"

Giving Chai the stink eye, she got back on all fours, moving past Irnane, stopping for a second to address the situation while Chai whistled a distance away from them.

"If it is a psychic thing, then that is more your area of expertise than mine. I'd stick around, but I've got no choice. Just...don't let Chai screw things up more than they already are."

808 approached the dragoon, the feline standing on two legs as they reached them. Peppermint had the cat cross it's arms, looking up at Dart.

"Let's make this a quick one. I don't want 808 in any more danger than she absolutely has to be."

With that, she hopped up on his shoulder, 808 resuming control of the form as it let out a audible meow and laid out on his shoulder like some kind of throw rug.

 

[Gamingfan]

Magolor
"Hee Hee! Truth huh?" Magolor replied. "Dunno about that..."
Magolor's ear twitched as he heard Zed talk to his ally. Now what were they discussing there?
Luckily, Spamton also appeared interested, and Magolor laughed approvingly at his offer.
"You read my mind." he agreed.
Spamton seemed to have lost his initial hostility, happily chatting away towards Eitri. She appeared less than receptive, but it hardly deterred the impish egg as he leaned over his glitchy companion, reaching both hands out for Eitri and Byleth to shake.
"Bet he does!" Magolor replied for Zed. "Hello! I'm Magolor, a humble shopkeep and soon to be amusement park manager!"
Magolor chatted happily, though as he winked at the white cloaked witch, he got a strange sense of familiarity. The egg was sure he'd never seen her before, though... didn't Kirby talk about a witch?

 

[ArmedBlue]

ZedΩ
​

Spamton had finally caught on, it seemed.

Zed's brow furrowed at the salesman's words. Perhaps it was due to his connection to the prior chaos or his apparent relation to code, but Spamton knew what they spoke of to some extent. Eitri picked up on the peculiarity of this, and after a glance to Byleth, she questioned the Golden Trillion himself.

Before he could answer though, Magolor had already intervened. Zed said nothing, instead giving Eitri a knowing look. Now was not the time for a full-on discussion, but once they were done here... Perhaps he could tell her more.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Zed, prince and leader of ATEMS," he replied, before the prince looked to Spamton. "I must agree with my friend Eitri here. If Master Hand is in control of this entire tournament, then it would be difficult to assume that a spot outside of his reach would exist."

He was, of course, putting aside the fact of that prior loss of control – but Spamton had no clear memory of that. Though perhaps he did know of a way to avoid such detection...

"Regardless... You know of Master Hand's motives, correct? Care to tell us more? Or perhaps about yourself? I'd be delighted to hear all about you."
​

Grazie
​

"Excuse me."

"O-oh, howdy!"

As Grazie looked to her left, a very tall woman stood beside her, towering over even Serpentine. A large metallic eagle was perched on her shoulders, which only made her look bigger to the Adept. Despite Nótt's slightly intimidating appearance, her attitude was very polite and dignified. She requested some help in locating someone she knew, some young man in purple and black with a scar. Grazie put a hand to her chin, trying to recall if she'd seen someone of the sort recently. Meanwhile, the rest of the ATEMS Knights looked on curiously.

As the two spoke, Layla looked up silently at Nótt and Moon-Wing. The little girl gave the two a smile, watching as Moon-Wing plucked a feather out, tossing towards her. Layla caught it with both hands, holding onto the metal feather tightly. She nodded at the bird, the wordless exchange unnoticed by the nearby Grazie.

"Hm, come to think of it..." Grazie muttered. "I'm thinkin' he was a few rows down from 'ere, chattin' with a few other people over there." She added, pointing towards the lower portion of the stands. Prado, who sat opposite her, seemed to perk up at this, placing a hand to her chest while extending the other in the same direction Grazie had pointed in.

"Why, that is precisely where Sir Zed was headed earlier! Perhaps he wanted to meet with him?"

“I don’ think he knows that guy…”​

Gunvolt
​

"Yeah." Gunvolt replied simply to Dagr's remark on his choice. The jotun added one more quick question, noting that they didn't really need to answer it, and her impish smile left the reason pretty clear.

"Any tips on how I can win this tournament?"

The Azure Striker let out a chuckle. "Just stay on your toes. Any opponent you face could have plenty of tricks up their sleeve. Can't exactly judge a book by its cover around here, but looking at your next match..." He replied, before his gaze shifted to the tournament bracket above them, searching for Dagr's upcoming matchup. After a moment, he found her opponent – and his smile seemed to fade slightly. It was Audrey.

"...she might be a handful."​

 

[comic]

MASTER CHIEF​

The spartan gave no reaction whatsoever to Dagr's words upon her addressing his choice of Masaru over the jotun's sister. His gaze drifted over the lobby, appearing to be observing as people dispersed, either to their matches or to other conglomerations of interactivity. Upon Dagr's final question however, John frowned behind his visor.

Winning his tournament hadn't been easy. In fact, it had held one of the toughest fights he'd ever faced in his life. Specter had been more than a handful and realistically, that fight could have gone either way. The Spartan got lucky- though he supposed that wasn't anything new in his experience.

His second fight against Rebellio had been difficult as well. Not because Rebellio was any stronger than their first fight together- but because neither of them were certain of the fight itself. They'd developed something akin to friendship, and the tournament had boiled down to just the two of them. Chief didn't want to fight him, and that had allowed Rebellio the upper hand. Yet when the adept had the opportunity to claim victory... he, like the Chief, couldn't follow through.

John had steeled himself. His gut instinct had told him that the prize of the tournament was one of unimaginable potential, greater than even the artifacts left behind by the Forerunner. He had taken his blade and made it quick, and Rebellio's feather entered the Spartan's care. With that, he had ascended to the Nexus and learned the truth, and convinced it to become its guardian- a task he found very difficult later on, though that was a story for another time.

Gunvolt's advice was as good as anyone could give. Dagr would have to make-do with it. Audrey had been in the last tournament as well, John recalled- though she hadn't lasted very long at all. Still, she was doing better this time. Maybe her being a "handful" could ring true for the princess. Gunvolt seemed to have experience with her.

At the Spartan's silence, Kalmiya chose to fill the void of advice he was leaving. "Don't lose!" the AI grinned widely, making something of a friendly joke. Master Chief meanwhile, reminded of Rebellio, reached down to one of his pockets and clipped it open.

...

It was empty.

Somehow, that didn't bother the Spartan. Almost as if this was meant to be what he found.
​

​

DART​

"Aw, does it have to be quick?" Dart pouted as he instinctively scratched under 808's chin, completely uncertain if she could even feel that. Regardless, he winked at Rinku as he passed, and gestured for the boy to follow as the Red Warrior made his way to the gateway. "That long song you played last time got me soooo pumped! I'm pretty excited to see what else you've got!"

As he stepped through the gateway, the disembodied voice in the white void asked for his selection of arena. Dart tapped his chin for a moment, thinking. With the power of flight now, he didn't mind a little more open space. Where was a place he hadn't chosen yet... hm...

"Ah, got it!" Dart snapped his fingers. "The Commercial City of Lohan! Uh, without people around, by the way. Just let it be Rinku and I!"
​

​

SPAMTON​

Clacking his metallic fingers together, the rosy cheeks of the puppet seemed to get a little redder with a seeming anticipation as his grin widened. "YOU DON'T KNOW ME? ISN'T THAT A [Real Drag] I USED TO BE [[Big]] A REAL [Hot Shot Kinda Guy] IF YOU GET WHAT I'M SA-SA-SAYING!"

After another mechanical chuckle, his clicked his fingers together again. "YOU SEEM LIKE [My Kind Of People] SO MAYBE I'LL TRUST YOU WITH [The Secret Formula] TO [A World Of Pure Imagination]! AFTER ALL... I'VE GOT THE [Keys] TO [The 2017 Subaru Outback]. WHADDYA SAY? DOWN FOR A LITTLE [Mischief]?"​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Nótt

At Praedo's suggestion, Nótt appeared to consider it and rub her chin thoughtfully.
"I agree with Grazie, I doubt your 'Sir Zed' was going to meet Ótr. Still..." Nótt said.

The Princess spoke with the knights for a few moments longer, getting a description of what Zed looked like. Of course, Nótt already knew what Zed looked like. But it would be strange if anyone noticed her recognizing someone she supposedly never met, from another world. Just from the way Praedo and Grazie spoke about Zed, it sounded like the two quite adored him. Nótt thanked the pair and headed in the direction they had gestured, giving Layla a small wave as she walked away.


Eitri

"We don't..." Eitri's protests were silenced by a glance from Zed. Evidently, he did somehow know this strange creature. The Sage quieted herself, allowing Zed to take the lead. She watched the pink haired man curiously, wondering what he knew. Spamton spoke again, and seemed to ignore most of their questions. Eitri scowled and crossed her arms.

"Apologies for interrupting..." A new voice spoke up. One that Eitri had overheard a few times in the palace of Niðavellir. The Sage looked over her shoulder and watched as Princess Nótt approached their little group. "... But none of you have seen a young man in black armor, with black hair and a purple cloak around here, have you?"

Glad to not have to listen to Spamton, Eitri turned her attention to Nótt.
"You're speaking of Prince Ótr? Yes, he was here. But he left to do something, whatever it was he didn't tell me." Eitri said. Nótt frowned and sighed dramatically.
"Oh well. A pity." Nótt said. She looked to Zed and was about to say something, before slowly looking back to Eitri.
"I know you, don't I?" Nótt asked Eitri. The sage nodded and gave the princess a small bow.
"Yes, your majesty. I am Eitri, the sage of Niðavellir. It is an honor to meet one of the princesses of Jotunheimr." Eitri said. Nótt gave Eitri a warm smile.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Eitri." Nótt said. The Princess looked back to the plaza once more, and sighed. "I wish we could speak more Eitri, but quite unexpectedly I have been brought back into the tournament. My opponent is likely already waiting for me. When you see Prince Ótr again, can you give him a message?"

While Nótt's smile remained, her eyes hardened and her grip tightened on her spear.
"Tell that snake that if I ever see his miserable face again, I will make him wish he was never born, no matter the state of the truce between our kingdoms." Nótt said, her voice dripping with venom. The light returned to her eyes, and she smiled cheerfully at Eitri. She nodded to Zed and the others. Eitri simply gave Nótt another small bow.
"As you wish, your majesty." Eitri said.
"Good day." Nótt said, and quickly walked back towards the plaza. Moon-Wing shot Spamton a venomous glare.

Eitri watched as Nótt disappeared down the stairs and rubbed her forehead, suppressing a groan.
"Damn it, Ótr..." Eitri muttered.


And back to Nótt

Quickly making it back down to the plaza, Nótt broke into a light jog and ran to the shop. There weren't many options left for her to choose from, but luckily she had enough to get the most expensive ones. Neither of the two expensive one stood out to her though. She already had long ranged attacks covered with her lance, and the power of flight was a little too limiting to appeal to the Princess. That left the others. The Champion Sword, a powerful attack she could call down. Parasite Paracide, a small insect monster companion.

Then there were the final two. The Crimson Stone, and the Explosive Crates. Both only worth two. Nótt considered her options. The Crimson Stone seemed quite the powerful option, even with that drawback. Whatever changes The Crimson Stone caused wouldn't be permanent, the Sword Manuel had been taken away when she had left the tournament. So Nótt didn't have to worry about maintaining a diet of blood.

Making her decision, Nótt purchased the Crimson Stone and the Explosive Crates. The small TNT and Nitro Crates vanished, while a necklace formed around the red stone. Nótt stared at it for a moment before putting the necklace on.

Instantly, a change came over the warrior. She doubled over in pain as her skin turned a pale white and cold. She grew a few inches taller as well, and felt two of her teeth grow into fangs. And the power! As the pain faded away, Nótt felt stronger. Faster. Tougher.

And hungry.

Nótt smiled, making a fist. She patted Moon-Wing on the cheek.
"Well my dear. We've kept Miss Kassandra waiting long enough."

~

Nótt walked to the archway. She paused a moment, looking down at Rinku who was standing just outside, and gave the demon a sinister, fanged smile.

Stepping into the archway, Nótt was greeted with the familiar, blank void. A small screen popped up before her, showing a picture of the TNT Crate and a Nitro Crate. Right, she had to choose one. Nótt selected the Nitro Crate, and looked over to Kassandra.
"My humblest apologies for the wait." Nótt said to Kassandra. "I had matters to attend to, and was not expecting to be returning to this tournament. Not that I am complaining. I am Princess Nótt of Jotunheimr. It is an honor to be your opponent."

Nótt gave Kassandra a closed-mouth smile and a small, polite bow.
"Now, let's begin. Castle Barnstokkr's throne room, please." Nótt said to the void.

The world took shape around the fighters. Nótt and Kassandra found themselves in a large throne room of excellently carved and polished stone. A red carpet led to an elevated stone platform where a large throne sat. But all was not well in this place. The castle was under attack! Flames consumed the two banners that hung from the ceiling. The flowers and candlesticks in the room were knocked over and scattered, and one of the walls had been destroyed by boulders flung by siege weapons. In the distance there was the sound of a great battle, people screaming and fighting. Even sounds of fighting from within the castle.

If Nótt was disturbed by the vision of her home in ruins, she gave no indication of it. The Princess stared down Kassandra with an elegant smile, reading her lance. Moon-Wing raised their wings, ready to defend against any attacks Kassandra would throw.

3!

2!

1!

GO!

Nótt sprinted towards Kassandra, her newfound speed from the Crimson Stone surprising even herself! She fired a magical blast from her lance, one larger and more powerful than normal, and attempted to slash at Kassandra with her lance when she reached the assassin.


Ótr & Byleth

Hidden behind a pillar, the prince watched as Nótt spoke to Eitri and Zed. Luckily, the princess didn't hang around for very long. Just a few words, and she was heading back to the plaza. Ótr let out a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted to do was to face Nótt again.
"Okay. It looks like the coast is clear. Byleth-" Ótr looked back, but Byleth was walking away. She had seen something in the crowd, and was heading towards it.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Ótr hissed, grabbing Byleth's arm. The mercenary stared at Ótr, before turning and pointing at what she was heading towards. A familiar pink blob.

"Eitri will want to speak with him." Byleth said flatly. Ótr scowled, and released her.
"Don't try anything, understand?" Ótr growled.
"I can't." Byleth responded.

Byleth approached Kirby with Ótr in tow.
"Kirby." Byleth said, her voice flat and emotionless. Quite the contrast from the smiling, cheerful professor that had been in Smash.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

808 & Rinku



Dart scratching 808's chin caused the feline's eyes roll back, it's tail curling up and flicking, a gentle purr coming off the creature. Despite it being a machine, it somehow still felt like he was petting a cat. When Dart asked Peppermint about the music, the somewhat dopey and cute 808 shifted personality on a dimec Peppermint's half lidded expression returning.

"That's not on me, it must be an effect of Chai's weird music thing. I don't really fully understand it myself."

Rinku warmly smiled as Dart passed him and entered, his expression shifting the moment Dart had their eyes off of him. A scrunched up cackle of an expression. Entering behind Dart, he didn't wait even half a second after Dart mentioned his map. Because he knew exactly what to pick.

"The City of Ghosts and Apparitions."

The Commercial city's segments started to materialize first, cozy old buildings and wooden stairs stretching upwards several stories of height. Trade goods and a trough of water were lining the ground level streets as some shoddy buildings seemed particularly neglected compared to the rest.

That's when the City of Ghost and Apparitions took hold, a subtle red mist filling the town as several demon stone buildings shot up, shattering through a couple buildings like house sized gravestones with a couple of openings hollowed into them to cosplay being windows. The mist grew stronger the further away from the center of town they got, and plastered in the middle of the town was a large structure. It was a castle of some sort, seeming peculiar in it's construction, having components jutting out and segments exposed to the elements. Whatever it was, it appeared very important.


Dart vs Rinku

3...
2...
1...

BEGIN!


The streets. A devil's playground. Rinku played on them nearly every day, easy marks most days. Saying he was street smart was an understatement. So as it started, he gave a shrug and dipped into an alleyway next to a clutter of trade goods and piled on crates. Dipping around a corner, he sent a copy of himself to keep going down the corner way while he camped out in a hole that was punched in a demon-stone building. The plan? For Dart to follow the doppelgänger, which maintained his easygoing persona. And when his back was turned he would deliver a sooner shattering drop kick of shocking velocity!




Reala & NiGHTS


Reala ignored Dagr, not seeing a point in giving advice to mere visitor. NiGHTS, seeing their sibling's stuck up behavior, pushed past him, giving their two cents on it.

"I may not be a tourney winner, but I got pretty far before! My advice is just to have fun and do your best to enjoy your matches. Not much a point in doing all this if you aren't enjoying yourself, yeah?"

"Fun? Is that still all you think about?" Reala interjected. "Truly, a battle is only won once you not only beat the body of your foe, but also their spirit so that they won't rise to face you again."

 

[Gamingfan]

Magolor
None of them gave solid answers. Instead, they both shared looks that Magolor tilt his head. What gives? These two seemed...far more familiar than he thought.
Spamton's words made Magolor tilt it even further. Somewhere away from Master Hand's knowledge? He'd pay to see that! But first thing's first...
Eitri's friend left and she herself did not return the handshake, so the mage played it off by clapping them together as he looked at the Golden Trillion.
"So Zed! Not going to introduce me to your friend? I'm almost hurt."


Kirby
The pink puffball squeezed between the crowds legs, looking every direction he could to see his ally. All Kirby could see were unfamiliar people, and his short stature did nothing to help. Maybe he should try flying? Kirby began to take a deep breath, until he heard his name being called
"Kirby."
The aforementioned star warrior deflating before he could take to the skies, and looked around in confusion. Didn't he know that voice?
Kirby turned to see Byleth, and his face brightened up near instantly. She sounded a little different, but he knew it was her!
"Baileth!" he chirped, scurrying towards her and her companion. It seemed Kirby had yet to fully process Byleth's dour demeanor as he greeted her with a hug, filled with excitement of seeing an old friend.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

The Princess took in the advice of each of the champions, nodding along thoughtfully. Generally, it was stuff she was already thinking about. Expect the opponent to have tricks up their sleeves. Win. Have fun, and defeat them. GV's reaction to seeing Audrey's picture was a type of reaction Dagr recognized. Recognition. Had they fought before? Was she a tourney veteran like Pit?

Dagr giggled at Kalmiya's suggestion, glancing up to Master Chief.
"I like her, she's funny." Dagr said, pointing to the AI. NiGHTS and Reala gave their advice as well. Reala's advice caused Dagr to frown, and the Princess leaned on her ax.
"I dunno about that, Ree-Ree." Dagr said to Reala. "I totally get the part about beating the body of your opponent, but crushing my opponent's spirit so they don't rise to face you again? Not really my style. I love it when someone gets stronger and comes up with new moves, just to fight me again! It's so cool seeing people improve, and so much fun to beat them again!"

Dagr grinned, flexing a bicep. She addressed the trio of champions.
"It was soo cool to meet you! With any luck, I'll be talking to you all again as an equal here in a few matches. See you around!" Dagr said, giving them a wink. She started to walk away, then paused and turned to NiGHTS.
"Hey!" Dagr said to NiGHTS. "I'm sorry that you lost your fight. If you have time, we should spar later!"

Dagr waved over her shoulder and walked away.

The Princess was about to head towards the archway for the fight, when she realized she had totally forgotten about Warlock.
"Oh, whoops." Dagr said. Making an about face, she walked past the champions once more and headed back over to the alien. Warlock was still right where she left him, luckily. He must have taken 'don't move' quite literally.

"Heyyy, Warty!" Dagr called out cheerfully. "Sorry about that. I got distracted."
She looked up at the alien, not effected by the impressive height difference.
"So, you're out of the tournament. Usually, I'd ask my opponent to get a bite to eat with me after our fight, but I don't think we're gonna have time for that." Dagr said. She looked around the plaza, watching as the remaining fighters headed to the matches. "Sucked that we were the last ones to finish our match, huh? What now? You gonna stick around to watch the rest of the tournament?"


Eitri

Shaking her head, Eitri turned her attention back to the others. In her interaction with the Princess, and the others, evidently she had totally missed Magolor introducing himself. Eitri took a moment to regain her composure, brushing aside some of her hair, and faced the shopkeeper.
"Apologies, it was not my intention to ignore you." Eitri said to Magolor. "I am Eitri, a humble scholar. It is an honor to meet you, Magolor. I saw some of your matches, you magics are very impressive. Does you shop sell magic lessons as well?"


Byleth

A look of sadness flashed across Byleth's face as Kirby called out her name and hugged her. Kirby was just as cheerful and innocent as always... There was so much she wanted to say. How good it was to see him again. To warn him against whatever it was Eitri was planning. To beg for his help, anything, ANYTHING. But her mouth just wouldn't open. Quickly, the mercenary's emotionless façade returned. She knelt down, patting Kirby on the head and watching him through the sickly green halo that floated just before her eyes.

"Kirby." Byleth repeated, her voice flat. "There is someone who wants to speak with you. Follow me, please."
Byleth stood up and began walking through the crowd towards where Eitri and the others stood. Ótr looked down at Kirby with distaste. Had Byleth really been speaking the truth about this... thing being a powerful fighter? This tiny, mewling pink blob? It looked like it had a difficult time even moving around, how was something like this a powerful fighter? Scoffing, Ótr followed after Byleth.

 

[Gamingfan]

Kirby
Someone wanted to talk to him? Kirby had to wonder who. Maybe another smash combatant? Maybe they could lead him to Magolor!
Kirby nodded and skipped loyally along with Byleth, oblivious to the Otr's distasteful glare. Kirby did gave a concerned glace at the teacher, however, finally noticing her lack of warmth. Was she was in trouble? Was that what this mystery person wanted to talk about? Regardless, Kirby put his guard up, looking around for any sign of danger. He'd protect Byleth from whatever! Her mean faced companion, the scary looking alien in the lobby, even Magolor!

"...Oh!"

Magolor
Magolor shook his head, amused by Eitri's question.
"Hee Hee! I'm far to busy to be teaching magic right now. Few can even grasp it where I'm from, anyway. However...I do have quite a few magic tomes. For the right price...maybe I could be convinced to part-ack!"
Before he could finish his sales pitch, Magolor was blindsided by a flash of pink tackling his side. The egg swirled round and round, now face to face with Kirby squeezing him tight!
"Wo-Wo-Woah! Kirby!" Magolor exclaimed as he attempted to slow himself. He forgot how much of a cuddle bug the pink demon was. But once he finally regained control, he cheerfully returned the hug.
"It's great to see you too!" Did you come to cheer me on? ...It's a tad unfortunate though..."
Magolor trailed off, realizing Kirby's focus was elsewhere. The gumdrop looked at Eitri, Zed, and Masaru with uncharacteristic seriousness as he felt something in his head. It was like a fog was clearing, and the memories of Dimension Games rushed in as it did. Kirby did not show any visible discomfort, instead his cosmic eyes sparkled even brighter as he joyfully jumped off Magolor to hug his otherworldly friends!
"Poyo!"

 

[ArmedBlue]

ZedΩ
​

The short salesman appeared eager to get a deal of sorts going. It was more or less his thing, from what the prince gathered. Before he could reply to his request, however, another familiar face appeared. Nótt. Zed gave the jotun princess a smile, bowing slightly at her before the woman began to talk with Eitri. It quickly became apparent that the two came from the same world, and as Nótt gave the sage her message to prince Ótr, the Golden Trillion stifled a chuckle. Her words were surprising given the composure he'd seen from the princess so far, but he found it strangely amusing.

Nótt soon left for her fight, and the Golden Trillion couldn't help but wonder what had happened between her and Ótr to cause such a reaction...

"My, that is quite the message..." Zed remarked, a smirk creeping onto his face. "Anyways, as for your offer, perhaps we can save some mischief for later–"

Zed's words were interrupted by yet another familiar face. A pink puffball burst onto the scene, first tackling Magolor out of the air, before he leapt directly at Zed, Eitri, and Masaru. Kirby recognized them now, just as Zed and Masaru had regained their memories of the event. With a smile, the Golden Trillion let the star warrior attempt to wrap a nub around his side. It was about as much of a hug that Kirby could muster, given the disparity in proportions.

"Ha, it is good to see you as well!" He spoke. "To think you would happen to be a friend of Magolor's... Our lives truly are intertwined, are they not?"​

 

[Psymallard]

Taskmaster & the Kraggling
As Lucario put a paw out, the Kraggling lifted one of its nubs to touch his new owner's hand. Then, he scurried after the jackal.

---

Taskmaster only stared in silence as his opponent appeared and selected a stage. The battlefield took shape around them. A train track split the battlefield in two. Small, wooden structures rose on either side of the track, reminiscent of a wild west boomtown. There were more features of the great marsh: including swathes of tall, dry grass, patches of dead trees, a sprinkling of boulders, and moderately large, murky bogs scattered both in and around the ghost town. Otherwise, the ground was flat, dry, and sandy. Not a cloud in the sky, the sun was harsh, and glinted brightly off the mercenary's white cape.

Taskmaster twirled the Shovel Scepter, and then assumed a stance identical to that of a certain lance-wielding jotun princess. Then, he simply waited for Lucario's move.

Marshtomp
After he had realized that victory was his, Marshtomp raised his hands and cheered! The triumphant attitude was short-lived, however, as a ghoulish warrior materialized in the Empress's place! It lunged at the Mud Fish, and although he wasn't as fast, he did manage to upchuck a heavy Mud Shot in an attempt to deflect the flimsy rapier it held. Marshtomp then began to backpedal, as he was unsure if he could handle another powerful monster on his own!

???
"HEY, COCKHEADS!"

The Kool Kats were approaching the three champions in the middle of the plaza. Troy Monet wore a pouty scowl, and his glare flickered between them. Allison Addams was a much different story; her rage was much more visible. It was expressed in an ugly, red-faced snarl following her initial outburst.

"Are you three stupid or did you just wanna see that fat cow lose a second time??? You... fff...LOSERS are turning the end of this thing into a SNOOZEFEST of squares. .....YOU SHOULDA BROUGHT US BACK, 'CUZ WE ONLY FUCKING LOST TO A CHEATER AND A FLUKE!"

 

[Gamingfan]

Lucario
The Great Marsh formed around the two fighters, a mix of The Great Marsh and what looked to be a desert. Lucario's eyes met the man own's as he perused his aura. Instantly, Lucario could see he was human, but far from an ordinary man.
"I am Lucario." the pokemon spoke. "I hope we both learn from this experience."
Taskmaster remined silent, calculating. Both fighters entered a fighting stance, but Taskmaster didn't appear eager to move, so Lucario took his turn.
Giving his rock-type ally a nod, the fighting/steel type kicked off the floor, quickly closing the distance between the two. Lucario attacked fast, with rapid punches and leg sweeps pressuring Taskmaster. He seemed to be aiming low, as if to knock Taskmaster off his feet!

 

[comic]

KASSANDRA​

Her opponent arrived, in the form of the impressive Nótt. She was even better at a closer distance, Kassandra thought- but she tried to shove thoughts of intimacy aside. They were to fight, and she had a feeling Master Hand wouldn't like an alternate outcome if Kassandra tried to pursue one. It wasn't as though Kassandra hadn't bedded her enemies before.

"Misthios Kassandra of Sparta," the woman replied, deciding to eye her for one more moment and take it all in. Once the stage took form, Kassandra ceased this, instead taking a defensive stance with the Sword of Perseus. What came next was surprising.

Eyes widening as a blast, not unlike those of Jeice, suddenly fired out of Nótt's lance. Kassandra dropped backward, tucking into a reverse somersault, and as she sprang back up she was forced to meet lance with sword, clashing the blade against Nótt's weapon before she'd even fully regained her balance- and being shoved backward.

With a grunt, Kassandra stumbled backward, her brow creasing. Maybe using the red stone wouldn't be too detrimental in this instance- it seemed Nótt, like Jeice and Kragg, was her better in physical prowess. But then again, it would only weaken her stronger attacks. Better to resort to it again only once she was certain she needed it if her other options got exhausted.

She was reminded that she actually had a shop item from Nótt herself, given her first loss. Who had it been that had beaten this woman? Her aggressive and intentional opening to the fight certainly made it seem like her loss against anyone was no mere fluke- or more likely of one. That, or Nótt was empowered by a shop item, not an unlikely scenario. Given the items she'd browsed more than once... the pale skin, the reddened eyes, the notable fangs... that was Dracula's shop item. And if Kassandra remembered correctly, her attacks would be practically useless against Nótt if it didn't hit the woman's head.

Her speed, clear combat prowess, and the fact she already knew the downside of her item would make victory very difficult in this instance.

"The Crimson Stone," Kassandra noted aloud, three gem apples appearing in her hand. "Not a bad choice. I'd considered it, but... well, Hrímfaxi's Blessing seemed more appealing."

She hurled the apples forward at the woman, intending for them to detonate before they reached their mark, hopefully garnering a brief smokescreen alongside possibly unbalancing the princess if she tried to rush through it first.
​

DART​

"Aw man..." Dart looked around at their surroundings. "Can't I fight somewhere nice for once? Everybody's always gotta choose something depressing... oh well..."

He ceased observing his surroundings, and instead looked about for Rinku, who'd seemingly disappeared. Dart hadn't caught sight of where he, nor his illusion went. Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he shared a glance with 808 before he began to rise into the air. "Hey, uh, you aren't scared... are you...? You can forfeit if you want, I won't be mad..."

Rising higher, he topped over the buildings and looked down. This flight was even better than his dragoon wings. Those required momentum and push. He was lighter than air with the item from NiGHTS, and it was pretty great. His eyes searched about for his missing opponent.
​

SPAMTON​

Well! It seemed he'd been mistaken! They all collectively ignored his request. Well, the tomboy didn't (or was it a girly boy?) but he/she/they? quickly lost interest. Oh well, it wasn't as though everyone was cut out for this sort of thing. After all, beating the shit out of fate didn't seem to be Eitri's style in the slightest, given her short temper.

Clacking his fingers together again once more, he glanced left, then right, and swiveled on his heel before he started to silently walk away while the group chatted with a ball of bubblegum that arrived. He needed to get back to what he'd been doing before. How odd it was that he wasn't in his NEO form, however... before he'd appeared among these unsavory types, Magolor excluded, he had downloaded his code to a disc. Had Generic Host not followed through with the agreement? Had Kirin faltered at the last moment? Even if that was the case, he should still be a disc or NEO.

Not a puppet.
​

MASTER CHIEF​

Kalmiya curtsied when Dagr said goodbye, leaving only NiGHTS as the non-champion still among them- until a pair of disqualified contestants called down to them, barking their disdain at the choice of returning combatant. Kalmiya swished her lips to the side in thought for a moment, before she glanced toward Reala, Gunvolt, and Chief.

"So long as it doesn't interfere with the current matches... you could challenge one of the champions. I can't guarantee it will be easy, though!" Kalmiya called back to Troy and Allison. It would be an opportunity to either impress a champ... or simply be proven why they weren't brought back.​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rinku & 808


"Scared? Please." The feline eyes rolled. "This is all just a holographic simulation. None of it is real. It's like being scared of missing textures or a new program..."

She would trail on, but noticed that Dart wasn't looking at her when he said these things, this made her stop rambling, looking away and back at the buildings below.

"Oh. You were talking to the kid. Right."

Despite Dart flying higher, Peppermint wasn't Disturbed by the environment, even if it started to hint at Rinku's nature. Why would a boy like that want to claim a place like this as their location of choice? There was something wrong with that kid. Especially if they could get this far without as much as losing.

"Say...losing eyes on a target isn't smart." She nudged her ally. "This mist here is annoying. That'll make him hard to spot from further away."

...?!?!?!

Did they avoid my trap?!

Rinku was flabbergasted that they didn't follow. Only when he saw a silhouette briefly flick overhead did he realize what was going on. Dart was in the air, like he was luring Rinku out, not wanting to be in any dark alley to get jumped. Hm. Looks like he needed to take the ploy a step further.

Carefully darting out of cover, he snaked under a table, and then behind some crates. Not currently in Dart's field of view, he flew up higher, jumping into a third story opening in a demon stone building. Doing so, he created a doppelgänger, which was outside, sitting down on the wooden bridge that overlooked the rest of the city.

Take the damn bait already.



Reala & NiGHTS


As one leaves, another arrives. While NiGHTS nodded eagerly to Dagr, Reala all but ignored them with a huff, both of which quickly subsided when the 'Kool Kats' arrived. Troy and Allison had both been non factors in the eyes of Reala, who winced in annoyance upon their loud entrance. Like a loud mosquito that found itself a buzzing nuisance in the room of a sleeping child.

They were content in simply judging them with a disapproving look, it was only when Kalmiya proposed a challenge did Reala's interest get reinvigorated.

"Not a terrible suggestion. I would allow you to face me in battle." Reala pointed at the pair with a clawed finger. "Only under the caveat that if you lose...I'll never have to see those hideous faces of yours around here EVER again."

NiGHTS could only mouth 'language' to themselves in response to the pair's British entrance, shaking their head not only at them, but at Reala. Seems like their sibling was trying to flex again. Their power trips are definitely something they didn't miss.

"He's easier to beat than he looks, trust me, I know." NiGHTS winked at the pair.

 

[comic]

DART​

Absently scratching at his cheek, Dart noticed he had a little stubble growing in. He'd need to shave that once he got back home- Shana liked his clean-shaven face. She said it was because he was more handsome, but he knew she just didn't like his stubble scratching her face. He found it pretty funny when it did happen.

"This is a pretty cool song... shame it's being wasted..." Dart commented to 808, before he noticed something. On one of the wooden bridges that connected different parts of the upper level of the city, he finally found the kid. "Oh, there he is."

Hovering down nearer to him, Dart waved. "This is uh... the part we're supposed to fight... there's cool music and everything."​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rinku & 808


"...Huh..."

Peppermint squinted at 'Rinku'. Something was REALLY off. I mean, as off as something could be off in a spooky ghost town. But with with kid here, it seemed like he was here...yet wasn't. Thermal imaging detected heat, but abnormal for any creature. What on earth?

"Well...if we are going to fight..." The Rinku said, looking off in the distance

CRASH!

Suddenly, eight Yo-Yos shattered through the floorboards, firing right up at Dart! Rinku was attacking right while his guard was down looking at the fake Rinku! Peppermint eyes back in surprise, shouting out.

"DECOY!"

Soon after, the real Rinku smashed right through a wall from a demon-stone building. So even if Dart were to somehow see through his surprise attack, he'd come up with a knee right to the spine. If he played his cards right, he'd hope to paralyze dart right out the gate!

♬♪ The room is filled with sin, would you let me in?
Tonight might be the night. ♫♩

 

[comic]

DART​

"DECOY!"

Dart's body was already moving, shooting backward almost on instinct at the sound of splintering wood, the yo-yo's shooting upward in front. Immediately, the mercenary slashed his blade horizontally, flinging a blast of fire in a wide arc at the strings and the false Rinku- just as something collided with his back, denting the crimson armor.

With a slight wince, Dart immediately spun in the air, swinging with the flat of his blade to smack Rinku aside. That hit had been harder than anticipated... enough that it could have been similar to Kongol the Giganto.

"You might wanna get to a clear spot now," Dart told 808, smirking slightly. "So it was all trick then, is that it, kid? Haha! You got me! So now we gonna fight for real?"

Heat Blade ignited at this, flaring vibrantly.

♬♪ As troubles disappear, the moon seems so near
Beneath electric starlight ♬♪​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rinku & 808


It seemed with the arc of fire coming their way, the strings which would normally be severed by such an attack, appeared to naturally slide out of the way - like a batch of slippery snakes. The false Rinku winked as it was torched and faded away by the remaining flames.

With a grin, Rinku held up an arm, taking the swing of the blade, sliding back in the air, stopping himself before he could slide too far. His grin was the only visible part of his face with the arm covering the rest of it. 808, which was dizzy from this maneuver, shook their head, nodding to what Dart said, jumping onto the wood below to find a vantage point.

"So it was all a trick then, is that it, kid? Haha! You got me! So now we gonna fight for real?"

Such arrogance. To allow himself to get hit on purpose despite knowing his ruse. And even being coy about lying that he was fooled? Ha! Not an amateur move. Someone who knows how to handle me? The perfect opponent

Rinku laughed, slowly moving aside his arm to show his eyes were flaring up with a new aura of intensity, his pupils fierce with focus.

"The nice guy game got boring. Time for a new game! Which bone of yours will break first?!"

The Yo-Yos recalled to Rinku, Rinku channeling his Ki directly into his next move without splitting attention. With a hyperactive energy that seemed bounding with excitement, the toothy grinned Rinku shot forward, focusing a surprising amount so early on a dash, he spun his body into a dropkick, looking to kick Dart straight up into the sky!

♬♪ Don't you miss your shadow?
Don't you miss the ground?♬♪

"Will it be your fingers? Ribs?? How about a collarbone?!"

With a relentless assault, regardless if his previous attack failed, would sling an onslaught of punches, charged with a flaring pink energy to strike Dart's body all over the place. Chest, shoulders, arms, neck, he'd pepper his body with a slew of blows. Rinku's eyes were practically a spiral, getting lost in his endless melee assault!

♬♪You're hiding from tomorrow
As the wheel spins round and round♬♪

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dark Dungeon

White Magical Hat punched at the barrier, continuing to try to wear it down. Powerful strike after powerful strike hit the barrier, the force creating small shockwaves that cracked the stone floor beneath him. Then, a shadow loomed over him! The spellcaster crossed his arms, managing to block Two Headed King Rex's attack just in time. He resisted the crushing attack of the giant dinosaur, and with incredible strength threw the two headed monster off of him! A new target acquired, the White Magical Hat lunged towards Two-Headed King Rex with a powerful, shattering punch. If this attack was able to destroy the monster, Nephthys would feel some of her energy drained.

The Dark Ruler Ha Des straightened up, his magical barrier fading as Nephthys and Sans focused on the defenses. The powerful monster grinned wickedly, pointing his finger at Nephthys once more. It fired another powerful beam of dark energy at Nepthys, one that threatened to shatter the barrier she had created and pierce the Pokemon!

Marshtomp's Mud Shot knocked away the Earl of Demise' initial attack, but the fiendish swordsman continued to pressure the Pokemon. It cackled evily, and unleashed a flurry of rapid jabs and slashes with its rapier!

On his throne, Yami Bakura watched with interest as Nephthys once again focused herself. Calling upon the power granted to her once more. Chuckling to himself, he shook his head and drew a card.
"Come now, Nephthys." Yami Bakura said. "You are hardly a duelist. What a pitiful creature you are. Reaching out, grasping for something to save you, anything. Like a drowning man, you've even pulled others down with you."

Yami Bakura looked to his card, and chuckled.
"This should... pacify you." Yami Bakura said.

"Stop!"

Finally seeing an opening, the real Bakura made his move. The teen sprinted out from behind the pillar closest to the throne. A shadow emerged from the pillar, moving to intercept. A massive humanoid bug, with brown chitin and sharp claws lunged out- And stopped. In fact, upon seeing Ryo the Man-Eater Bug ignored the boy completely. Ryo ran past the Man-Eater Bug and grabbed Yami Bakura, trying go for the duel disk.

"Ah! You brat! What are you doing?!" Yami Bakura snarled, wrestling with Ryo for control.
"I won't let you hurt them!" Bakura yelled back.

Ignoring the struggle between the Dark Spirit and Ryo, Man-Eater Bug looked across the battlefield... and locked eyes with Rex Raptor. Letting out a screech, it began to crawl towards the duelist.

Nephthys reached out with her mind, trying to call forth a card that could bestow the power of Mega Evolution. One that could boost her power, or the power of her friends, or both. In her minds eye, Nephthys could see a deluge of duel monster cards soaring around her, all of them flying by. Or was she flying through them. But none were what she was looking for. Not a single one seemed to contain the power of Mega Evolution. Then, sudden. One flew into her hand.

Opening her eyes, Nephthys found herself holding a Duel Monsters card. It was a green card, depicting a handshake. Red lighting flashed around the arms. The card was titled 'United We Stand'.

Nephthys placed the card on her duel disk. A massive bolt of red lighting burst down from the ceiling, passing harmlessly through Nephthys' energy shield and hitting the Pokmeon. Instantly, an intense red lighting burst forth around Nephthys. The Gardevoir would feel power like never before flowing through her! Red lightning crackled off her skin and out of her eyes as the spell powered Nephthys up, increasing her power greatly due to her number of allies!

Nepthys gained 4,800 ATK/DEF!


Plaza

The semi concious body of Ryo Bakura twitched slightly, and his head slumped to the side.
"... Stop..." The teen whispered, his dull eyes gazing out into nothingness. "I won't... let you... hurt them..."


Nótt

Kassandra was able to deduce she had picked the Crimson Stone. Not a difficult thing to do Nótt supposed, but it meant that Kassandra was likely also aware of the item's strengths and weaknesses. The assassin threw a trio of familiar, apple-shaped gems, and the Princess quickly backed up as Moon-Wing raised its wings. The bombs detonated in a surprisingly small explosion, creating a small smokescreen.

"Consider me flattered, dear." Nótt said. "I see you yourself have claimed Magolor's Gem Apples. An interesting choice, I would have guessed a woman with your arsenal would already have had something similar. But I suppose there are not many good item choices left, hm?"

Moon-Wing began to flap its wings intensely, blowing awake the smoke and dust created by the smokescreen as Nótt moved around it, firing magical blasts towards Kassandra. Moon-Wing fired beams of energy from its eyes, ones that if they hit Kassandra would not harm her, but instead temporarily weaken her attacks and lower her speed. As Nótt fought, her expression remained a polite smile. It was as if this fight so far was requiring no more exertion than a refined tea party.

"Tell me dear, have you been enjoying the tournament so far? Had any fun fights?" Nótt asked between attacks.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

More and more fighters headed for their matches as Kirin made her way through the plaza. Her eyes scanned the dwindling crowd in search for Neph, though she had little luck. Where could she be...?

The Battle Priestess was snapped from her thoughts as a loud pair walked up to the center of the plaza, protesting the champions' choice of returning contestant. Kirin didn't have much of an opinion on that Nótt lady, only really having noted that she had muscles that Cayman would love to spar against. She hadn't seen him in a while either, come to think of it. Knowing him, he was probably trying to get into one of his Duels against some particularly strong fighter.

She stared at Troy and Allison for a moment, thinking the outburst to be a quick way to make a pretty bad impression, before she turned her focus back to looking for the Gardevoir. Leaving didn't seem like something she would do just yet, and watching fights from afar was probably more her style, so she couldn't be too far–

"Oh, there you are!"

She found the familiar Pokémon resting at a bench away from the center of the plaza alongside a few other people, with the likes of Rex even among them. Kirin walked up to the bench, stopping nearby a boy with a red scarf and a blue-skinned elf lady. Their exact names didn't concern her at the moment, however, as she quickly noted the lack of response from the Gardevoir. Something was wrong.

Neph, Rex, and that Bakura kid were all out cold.

"Hey, what's going on?" Kirin turned to Irnane and Chai. Maybe they knew something she didn't.​

Pit
​

"Heyy, Dagr!"

To the jotun's right, Pit finally approached, waving. He'd had a bit of a tough time getting through the crowd earlier, but now that most people had left, he was able to spot his friend rather easily.

"How's it going? I saw you won your fight, nice job! Just a little more and you'll be with those champs in no time!" He commented, before he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh, as for me, well..."

His eyes glanced over to the tournament bracket, where his name and image were crossed out alongside the other eliminated contestants.

"...you sure weren't kidding when you said that guy had to be strong. I totally see how he managed to beat your sister, hehe." He added, before he turned to look at the massive Warlock next to him. He definitely gave off real bad guy vibes.

"Oh, is this guy your friend? He's, uh, pretty tall..."​

Gunvolt
​

With Dagr's departure, a much different, far louder duo arrived. Gunvolt raised a brow as Allison let out all her rage, throwing out a series of insults aimed both at the champions and their former opponents. That behavior certainly reminded him of a few wrathful Adepts he'd fought in the past.

Thankfully, Kalmiya quickly brought up a way to direct that fury elsewhere. A battle against one of the champions – and to the Azure Striker's surprise, Reala seemed eager to face off against those two. With the intent of crushing them and getting them to leave afterward, of course.

"Well, you won't hear me complaining," Gunvolt commented with a shrug. "Knock yourself out."

Truth be told, he was interested in seeing what Reala could do in battle. He really hadn't caught much of their abilities beforehand, so he could only assume Reala possessed skills somewhat similar to NiGHTS, who appeared to be their counterpart. Of course, just a relationship wouldn't be an accurate way to guess at those abilities – having faced off against another Azure Striker in the past, he knew there were clear differences between their fighting styles. Even Copen had once used gear based on the Azure Striker Septima.

"So?" Gunvolt called out to the duo standing below the champions. "You up for the challenge?"​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rex Raptor


The earth shook as the prehistoric pet of Rex's was thrown off balanced, stumbling back, the small fry shaking his fist and pointing accusingly at the culprit monster.

"Wha?! It's just some common dust collecting monster! Some overpriced suit can't beat a dinosaur! And I'll show ya! King Rex! Reduce him in ash!

The vestigial wings of the Two Headed King Rex flapped, the two necks rearing up, head building inside of each mouth. That's when it hopped back, producing a thick, burning cloud of soot and charcoal that covered the area in front of him. If the creep loved to punch so much, then it'll have to punch through all that burning and dying first! Ha!

That's when a noise from behind him alerted him. Turning about, he saw Bakura...getting fought by a weird nicer version of him? The symbolism was lost on him, if there were any, especially when a certain insect was revealed nearby the tussle, locking eyes with him. Saliva from the insect splatted to the ground in thick globs. It was hungry.

"Ack! Insects! Why did it have to be an insect!"

Rex broke out into a run as it crawled surprisingly quickly toward him. He already commanded his monster, who was busy torching an enemy. Looking around for a life line, he found Sans as the closest ally that could support him. All but leaping at him, he'd gripped the jacket of the skeleton and put him as a barrier between him and the insect.

"That thing wants to eat me!!"

 

[comic]

DART​

This kid's sudden shift in attitude would have shaken most people's perspective. Dart, however, wasn't "most people." As Rinku charged in with his threat, the Red Warrior charged forward in response. Rinku's drop kick slammed into Dart's forearm, the warrior smashing his arm into Rinku's heels, energy canceling one another out.

"Will it be your fingers? Ribs?? How about a collarbone?!"

Rinku recovered, leading with a flurry of blows- and Dart matched him, step for step with an equal abundance of excitement. Pink ki smashed against bursts of flames, the fire energy sizzling against Rinku's ki. Dart let out a laugh as he twirled Heat Blade in the furious transaction, blocking up to two blows with a wisely-placed blade meeting the demon child's blows.

♬♪ When your wings are burning
Who keeps you from falling ♬♪

"I can see why you made it this far," Dart commented, before he slammed his boot on the ground. A burst of flames erupted between them to force Rinku back for the briefest of moments- followed immediately by the dragoon dragging the tip of Heat Blade across the ground before slashing up vertically, launching a second, much more powerful burst of fire, leaving a trail of residue flames along the ground.

During their short boxing match, Rinku would have noticed something particular about Dart's fire. While it wasn't ki itself, the energy was similar. Dart's power came from some internal energy, meaning the fire wasn't normal flames you'd find in nature. Its energy was enough to bite back against the ki. Not nearly as volatile, but its potential couldn't be understated.

♬♪ You fly higher
Than your guardian angel ♬♪

"You hide your true strength, saving it to trick your opponent into a false sense of security. Then, when they least expect it, you strike, like a coiled snake!"

Bursting forward, Heat Blade blurred through the air before the dragoon leapt up- and the ropes holding up the bridge gave way, having been slashed in the blink of an eye. Then, using his newfound flight, Dart burst down toward Rinku, bringing down his weapon with an overhead hammer strike, attempting to set up his Volcano combo attack should the hit land.

♬♪ Into the fire
Dancing with danger ♬♪

"It'll take more than snakes to overcome a dragon master!"
​

NEPHTHYS​

United We Stand...

"Like a drowning man, you've even pulled others down with you."

It wasn't Mega Evolution... but it might prove superior.

Nepthys gained 4,800 ATK/DEF!

<No...>

Dark Ruler Ha Des shattered the barrier, its powerful energy breaking through with ease, especially given White Magical Hat's earlier onslaught. The blast made contact with something inside, erupting- before glistening constructs, that almost seemed like blades of a sort, propelled out from the epicenter, intending on tearing through Fearful Earthbound before the powerful fairy constructs would converge on White Magical Hat from all angles, intending to converge on him and tear him apart, the shards fusing together to form some form of magenta double-blade glaive of sorts.

Just as the smoke cleared around Nephthys, the double-glaive reached the gardevoir's hand. She hadn't willingly summoned its immediate form, that had been more... instinctual. Yet somehow, it felt proper. It felt right. As though at some point, at some time... this weapon would be symbolic of something.

Lowering the double-glaive, Neph would turn her gaze first upon Yami Bakura, finding Ryo Bakura had found his way here as well, and was tussling with his dark variant.

<I see now what I could not before. Standing alone will not benefit me. I will not grow, I will not flourish. To build bonds with others... that is why WE will defeat you, and why I will never stand alone again. Your Empress Judge was not my future.>

As Rex dashed behind Sans, who simply grinned dolefully at the approaching bug monster, Nephthys intruded, appearing directly in front of the Man-Eater Bug, slashing her glaive out to bisect the creature in two. If luck was on their side, Marshtomp would be able to wrap up with his foe quickly, and they could beat down Dark Ruler Ha Des, and then...

Well, if the spirit man wasn't lying, then Yami Bakura would be completely out of tricks... and completely at their mercy.
​

KASSANDRA​

As more blasts came in, Kassandra was prepared for them this time. With the Sword of Perseus, she angled her blade, deflecting the various lance blasts, and even Moon-Wing's lasers, to deflect away. She tried to angle it so they'd launch back at Nótt and Moon-Wing, with limited success since she had to focus on the initial deflection aspect anyway.

"There's been fun aspects," Kassandra replied with a shrug, appearing to give off the impression that her attitude to this match... was very much the same as Nótt's own. Something like a "refined tea party."

"I was in the last tournament too, and to be honest... I think the competition in this one has so far been something of a downgrade. Or perhaps I'm better suited this time. Either way, I get the impression you're going to be much more enjoyable than my previous opponents."

She couldn't help herself, tossing in a wink to the princess, not yet making a counterattack against her, keeping the next move in the jotun's ballpark.
​

IRNANE​

The boy's murmuring only solidified Irnane's theory. While the fairy and the other boy (denoted by his uncleanliness in comparison) didn't speak, they still twitched, heir eyes moving behind their eyelids. They were all in the same mindscape, for whatever reason. When Kirin approached, taking a moment to look at the scene, she turned to the Nerevarine and Chai for answers.

"Their minds are linked," the dark elf replied simply. "I don't know why, but I assume it was mutual. Well, between them," she gestured to Nephthys and Bakura. "This one probably wasn't a willing participant. I would guess the reason he's fallen under the spell, whereas we haven't, is because his mental defenses and intellect are probably too low to actually passively resist."​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rinku



The acrobatic demon flew back when the flames erupted out from the ground, bouncing back on their tip toes, a cautious hand hovering over his right pocket.

A fast paced assault didn't break him apart. This won't be easy...but that's the point! I didn't join this tourney to find easy fights. Gotta thank white and glovey after this for giving me a tough opponent that's not utterly annoying!

As flames shot his way, he raised his hand, Yo-Yos reconnected twirling around in a funnel formation to create a cyclone of wind, the flames dispersing safely aside. With a smug look on his face, he was surprised Dart would even try that. But right as he thought so, Dart was off, lunging forward!

The bridge's ropes snapped, Rinku visually taken aback at first, before getting a dirty idea. Scraping his Yo-Yos against the wood, he slapped up a curtain of woodchips and sawdust, looking to 'throw sand in his eye' as it were while he subverted expectations.

During this smokescreen he kicked up, he separated himself into two, leaving a clone below where Dart was to attack while the real Rinku flanked behind away from Dart's field of vision. The fake Rinku plummeted down, the overhead striking quickly catching up.
"I'd say something about a snake's poison being able to take out things ten times it's size but..."

♬♪You place your bet with no regret♬♪

As the overhead strike would phase through the fake Rinku, three Yo-Yos would come from behind and drill into the same spot Rinku had dented before

"..I think mangling your body will speak louder! Heheheheh!" The clone giggled. in his face.

♬♪In this game of- Russian roulette!♬♪

To put insult to injury, Rinku himself would add another attack. While Dart would realistically turn to meet what hit him from behind, Rinku would drop down from above and give Dart a taste of his own medicine, elbowing down towards his skull!

.
..
...

"Another one of these...fun."

Peppermint bemoaned, drawing many comparisons between Rinku and Jeice. A fast paced fight of fists, with energy from inside the body fueling it. Yeah, it seemed Rinku's energy was similar to Jeice, somewhat. So the mechanics should work the same, but there was the business with these clones he could make and channeling into these children's toys. Mechanically? He should work close to Jeice, so if Dart could handle him, then he should be able to handle Rinku in theory, so long as he doesn't fall for a ploy. Rinku had schemes on his side, and judging from Dart's intelligence, that could be a problem. Maybe she needed to interfere sooner than she'd have hoped.



Chai


"Sooo you are saying he's dumb and weak."

Gleaming that from Irnane's analysis of the situation, Chai nudged him with his shoe, of course, not accomplishing anything in doing so. Turning to Irnane, who seemed like someone right from lord of the rings in his mind, Chai spoke up.

"Don't you have any fairy magic or voodoo that can do something? Looking like that, I'd be surprised if you didn't."

 

[comic]

DART​

This kid reminded Dart of an opponent he'd fought early on in his journey. Not only did he hit like Kongol, but these replicas... it was exactly like the Shadow Clones the Sandora Elite had used! He'd been a tricky opponent too, and prior experience with fighting foes who could use equally tricky clones...

Seeing the woodchips, Dart turned his body slightly, letting his shoulder pauldron take away the attempt to blind him. If he'd learned anything from the Sandora Elite and his Shadow Clones...

It was that you were never striking the real foe until you finally did. You simply had to assume each strike you threw would expose yet another projection.

And the strings of those yo-yo's... they could move and curl, like snakes of their own...

Just short of slashing through what Dart presumed to be a clone (his body language was far too open to indicate he was real, anyway), Dart conjured a small orb in his hand as he turned around, battle instincts kicking in alongside his recognition with experience. His spin had been sudden, the man halting in the air and turning in the blink of an eye, where the yo-yo's smashed into... his palm, crushing the orb he'd just summoned.

Arm shuddering from the impact, Dart made to immediately close his fist around the yo-yo upon impact, all while a sudden wave of flames surged around Dart. The orb that had just been broken was Burning Wave, and it manifested like a tsunami, surging up and washing over the city like a cleansing wave, threatening to burn apart the yo-yo's strings caught in the open as the encompassing wave rapidly rolled over Rinku, while Dart was immune to its effects. Undoubtedly the sudden turn of events would upset Rinku's piledriver attempt, as he was directly in the line of fire. Dart made to sever the string of the yo-yo he'd tried to grab (assuming the flames didn't destroy it already).

♬♪ Russian rouleeeeette! ♬♪

"Y'know, last time I fought somebody as tricky as you, I would have loved to have a different weapon. Fortunately, I packed it when I decided to come here," Dart spoke, Heat Blade vanishing in a flash of light. "I've learned it's a lot harder to be tricky, when you can't think straight!"

Mind Crush manifested, emerald flames blitzing from Dart's palm as he lightly shook off the tingling in his other hand from the triple-impact.
​

​

IRNANE​

"Sooo you are saying he's dumb and weak."

"It's likely," Irnane replied, glancing at Chai as the guy nudged Rex with his foot, before turning to the dark elf.

"Don't you have any fairy magic or voodoo that can do something? Looking like that, I'd be surprised if you didn't."

"Looking like what?" The Nerevar Reborn furrowed her brow, narrowing her eyes at the human. "Was it the pointy ears that tipped you off? Or the ash-gray skin? No, it must have been the crimson eyes."

She might have been slightly defensive, but being a dunmer raised in Cyrodiil among primarily humans, she'd dealt with her fair share of unsavory types who assumed she was who she was because of what she looked like.​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rinku


It seemed as though his plan was going well until Dart suddenly stopped on a dime, flipping around with some kind of orb in hand?

...!!

He hadn't expected such reaction time. Knowing something was going on with this orb, he pumped a supply of Ki into his strings, bolstering them with more effort. So as Dart was to close his hand... paralysis would shake his body as he'd willingly grasp the stunning touch of the toys. All the while, the Yo-Yos would rip out of his grasp while he was paralyzed, punching through his body if they weren't shredded aside.

What Rinku couldn't predict was the sheer scale of this flame spawning in however. While the Yo-Yos recalled to their master, the Ki staved off the burnings as before they were completely returned - to a Rinku taken off guard by the wall of flames. Covering his face with his arms.

FWOOSH!

Flames swamped him and the city, the currently weightless Rinku was flung back out of control, the limited pink Ki around his body not enough to sponge the damage of the flames from his body. Rinku smashed through a demon stone wall while the flames consumed the city. Demon stone proved however to be hard to light ablaze, as if it's surface had been flame bleached.

Inside of the structure Rinku had crashed into, a few seconds passed before stirring was heard. Hobbling towards the newly created opening, the boy's clothes seemed charred and his skin had scratches and bruises from his crash landing.

"You...think that's hot?" He spat a glob from his mouth. "I'm seen hotter flames in demon world!"

Gesturing around towards the flaming city, a cheshire sneer growing on his face. Despite taking a hit just now, his spirit seemed to be bolstered in smugness by the imagery.

"Oh, would you look at that? Burning your own world to the ground? And here I thought I was the demon."

The trees lining the outside of the city caught ablaze, and wailing of spirits followed that. The mist seemed to mix with the smoke, ghosts from the forests shooting through the streets to shriek their incomprehensible cries while Rinku prepared his next move.

Throwing all eight of his Yo-Yos out, he flew out in the open, stopping in between a corridors of buildings that were still standing. These demon stone structures would do. Throwing 4 of them to the left, and 4 others to the right, they stopped right on the stone. It looked as if the four were supporting his weight as if he were some kind of spider man.

That's when he flashed his face up, his narrow pupils firm on his target. The Yo-you all spun up, sparks flying off the buildings as they fired Rinku forward. The longer this went on, the more acceleration he got, the sparks shooting further and more vibrantly as the shredding of stone sent high pitched screaming resonating across the town, as if a young maiden was in agony.

"HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"

♬♪ With nothing left to steal, nothing left to borrow
You're playing on devil's playground!♬♪

..........


Cut to 808. Shivering as they peeked out from under a bucket, the wood around them ablaze from Dart's recent move.

"...T-This guy can't be serious!"

Peppermint threw a few marshmallows at her monitor. If she was to help Dart out, then that involved 808 not getting destroyed by a wave of fire. Was that really necessary?




Chai



"Looking like a...ya know, one of those magical like middle earth creatures? like uh..."

Thinking of something to reference, he cleared his throat, putting in a forced regal accent as he stood upright, stretching out his metal hand and waving it slowly ahead of him while he put on the sternest face he could muster.

"Beware the eye of Saru-Maru...!" He blinked out of sync.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Nótt

The assassin was able to not only block the magic blasts, but send them back at Nótt! Twirling her lance, Nótt blocked some of the magic blasts while Moon-Wing used it's wing to stop the rest. Kassandra had even been able to block Moon-Wing's eye beams, and hadn't been slowed by its effects. That was quite the magic sword she used...

"Ah, you flatter me again dear!" Nótt laughed, rushing in to close the distance. She attacked Kassandra with a flurry of lance jabs, using her weapon's superior range to keep the distance from Kass' sword. Nótt moved around Kassandra and pressured her, attempting to force the assassin to retreat up towards the throne. As she did, Moon-Wing fired his eye beams at Kassandra once more.

"I am sorry to hear that your fights have not been as enjoyable as last time." Nótt said in-between strikes. "I shall strive to rise to your expectations!"

With another sweeping attack, Nótt continued.
"I assume the battle that is overtaking this castle is part of your map choice? What did you choose?" Nótt asked. As they fought across the throne room, Nótt suddenly moved to the side. There was a large clay pot, filled with dirt and flowers, and had been one of many used as decoration in the throne room. Nótt struck the pot with a powerful kick, launching the heavy urn at Kassandra's head!

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

"Yeesh, talk about insensitive..."

Chai's comments towards Irnane also rubbed Kirin the wrong way, though not in the same manner as the dark elf. To the Battle Priestess, it felt like more of a mockery towards spiritual arts in general, something she had plenty of experience with as a member of Shadow Yakumo. With a sigh, the Adept stepped closer to those that had passed out at the bench, deciding to focus on what the lady had told her.

"Well, you might be right about these two being in this intentionally. Neph's pretty much a master of psychic techniques, from what I've seen. Something like linking minds doesn't sound like it'd be too far fetched for her."

The priestess' gaze fluttered to the unconscious Rex Raptor beside her.

"Kinda funny how Rex got dragged into this, heh. We were actually opponents in that first team battle way back when the tournament started," she noted with a chuckle, before she looked toward Neph and Bakura again.

"Still, though... Why exactly would they go through all this trouble? Messing with minds and stuff usually ends up terribly from what I've seen in my world. Wonder if I can help out with my Septima somehow..."

Then again, she wasn't sure if trying to use a seal on any of them would just make things worse. Severing psychic links would probably be dangerous.​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

"Huh?"

As the Princess spoke with Warlock, a familiar voice piped up. Dagr turned to see Pit approach. The jotun's smile grew, and she waved back to the angel.

"Hey, hey, Mr. Tourney Vet!" Dagr greeted her friend.
He talked about how he had lost his match, and Dagr glanced up to the brackets to double-check. Yep, lost to Taskmaster. The same guy Nott had lost to, who was now slated to fight... Lucario? A strange, anthropomorphic jackal creature. Cool. In fact, it looked like their fight was already starting. Actually, quite a few of the fights were already starting. Dart and Rinku were going at it! Dagr watched Rinku's fight for a moment, grinning excitedly.
"C'mon, Ice Rink. Take him out!" Dagr muttered, cheering on the boy.

"Oh, is this guy your friend? He's, uh, pretty tall..." Pit was saying. Dagr blinked, and looked from Pit to Warlock. She was caught a little off guard, distracted from the fights, but quickly recovered and wrapped an arm around Warlock.

"Me and Warty? Yeah, we're buddy buddy!" Dagr said, nudging the alien warlord playfully. "Nothing like a bit of mortal combat and attempted murder to bring people together."
Dagr leaned closer to Pit, fake-whispering conspiratorially.
"Of course, it's all so I can figure out how to get as big as him. You know how it goes." Dagr joked.

She leaned back on her ax and looked around. Where was Audrey? Dagr was certain she hadn't already headed to the portal...
"So, Pitter Pat. I just asked Warlock this, might as well ask you." Dagr said. "Out of the tournament now, what are you gonna do? Stick around? Head back to wherever home is? You gonna cheer me on?"

 

[ArmedBlue]

Pit
​

"Nothing like a bit of mortal combat and attempted murder to bring people together."

"Heh, tell me about it..."

The memory of the angel's first few encounters against Pittoo (who much rather preferred to be called "Dark Pit") came to mind. Despite Pit's best efforts to get him on his side against the Underworld Army, his counterpart born from the Mirror of Truth chose to follow his own path, making no allegiances. It took an encounter with the Chaos Kin for the doppelgänger to come around, and after the defeat of Hades, they'd become ever so slightly closer.

Until Viridi picked him up as an officer in the Forces of Nature, anyway. But at least Pittoo wasn't as much of an edgy rival as he used to be.

Dagr followed up her remarks with a playful joke, Pit chuckling in response. Then, the jotun princess asked him on what he planned to do now that he was eliminated. The captain of Palutena's guard spent no time in thinking over his choice, giving Dagr a smile as he pumped a fist.

"You better believe I'm seeing this tournament through! This kinda event is always pretty exciting, y'know?" He replied in earnest. "Besides, things are more or less peaceful back home, so why not kick back and cheer on a friend while watching some awesome battles?"​

 

[comic]

DART​

The yo-yo's spun, and as Dart tried to grab one, they yanked back to Rinku, pulling out of his grasp before he could latch onto one and stop it, a shock of energy snapping off of them and shocking through the warrior- though he didn't seem to express being all that bothered by the paralysis as he shook out his hand, like he was waving off water.

"Oh, would you look at that? Burning your own world to the ground? And here I thought I was the demon."

"Huh?" Dart appeared puzzled. "This... you know these places aren't really real, right? You didn't hit your head that hard..."

He didn't seem to catch onto the mention of Rinku's true nature. Not yet, at least. The wailing of spirits momentarily caught Dart's attention, and he was reminded of the Phantom Ship, Saint Louvia. It had been destroyed by the Black Monster, the source of Dart's past trauma and at the time, his revenge. He had no idea then that one of his closest traveling companions, Rose, was the Black Monster all along. The wailing spirits of the ship had attacked them, recognizing her, and... well, Dart was no stranger to cutting down ghosts just as much as anything else.

This momentary distraction let Rinku set up, and as he launched himself toward Dart with cackling laughter. He turned his gaze upon the boy, before he gripped Mind Crush tightly, raising a brow at the maniacal laughter. "Then again, maybe you did..."

Slashing, he sent strange emerald flames bursting toward Rinku. They wouldn't be quite as powerful as his usual flames, instead carrying with it Mind Crush's effects- also at halved efficiency. After launching a couple more of those, he swooped upward, shooting up like a comet and spiraling low, grinning. He loved this kind of flight- maybe he could talk with NiGHTS after this about finding a way to permanently get this for himself.

♬♪ Looking for the end of the rainbow
There's nothing to be found ♬♪

Then he shot down, perpendicular to Rinku as he slashed his blade, launching downward to sever however many strings he could before boosting backwards, right back toward the boy from behind.
​

KASSANDRA​

Nótt was just as aggressive as Jeice, but unlike him she was actually competent. Not to mention more talkative (and more attractive by a landslide). Had she not adopted the crimson stone, the misthios probably would have been able to match her just fine on her own, but as it stood, Nótt was a hair faster... stronger... and that ability making her immune to damage outside of her head was a tough one to get around. Then there was the eagle, who would likely protect her skull at all costs. Kassandra would probably have to dispose of it, first.

She was reminded of her own eagle, Ikaros, for a moment. He'd been a beautiful friend. Phoibe had always wanted an eagle like him, before the politics of Athens and the Cult of Kosmos cut the child's life painfully short.

Kassandra was pushed back as she deflected the jabs, a clear play at distance. The misthios normally would have switched to the trident by now, but her other weapons lacked the deflection ability of the Sword of Perseus, and Nótt seemed to rely pretty heavily on such attacks.

The Keeper rolled backwards to avoid Moon-Wing's beams, and a sweeping strike, but Nótt was quickly getting closer at landing a blow. The defensive style wasn't allowing Kass to build up charges as quickly as she would have preferred, she was only about halfway to filling a second.

Kassandra made a momentary retreat, covering a small bit of ground and leaping up toward the throne itself just as Nótt launched the potted plant. The misthios frowned before she swatted the dirt-packed ceramic aside, letting it crash into the wall behind her. "I know nothing of this room, so probably," Kassandra replied. "The Battle of Thermopylae, led by my grandfather, King Leonidas of Sparta. In defense of the Greek city-states against King Xerxes and his Persian Empire. Three hundred Spartans against about two hundred thousand Persians."

As she said this, Kassandra kicked the throne toward Nótt.
​

IRNANE​

The dunmer blinked slowly at Chai's reply, and thankfully, Kirin recalled her attention so Irnane didn't have to answer. Kirin provided her own input, confirming the fairy's abilities and reminding Irnane of her name; "Nephthys." Then, the battle priestess pondered on a way to help, mentioning a 'septima.'

"What is that?" Irnane asked. "A septima. Is that what you used to depower this Nephthys in your fight?"​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

"Whoops, guess I'm used to everyone back home knowing what a Septima is. Sorry 'bout that."

The Battle Priestess turned to Irnane, clearing her throat.

"You could think of Septima as a kind of psychic power. In terms of variety, they're practically limitless, but that's besides the point. My Septima is Radiant Fetters, which lets me seal away other Septima. Or at least that's how things worked in my world. Here, it looks like it applies to pretty much any psychic ability, and it might work a little bit on tech, too."

She was partially guessing at that last one. In that first team battle, she'd managed to put a seal on Rex's Duel Disk, inhibiting its functions for a short time. Whether or not the device was psychic or mystical in nature was beyond her.

"So yeah, I did end up using it against Neph. Worked pretty well, too. I was thinking I could try adjusting the strength of their connection somehow with my Septima, buuut I dunno if that's really a good idea. For all I know, messing with whatever psychic link they've got going on could end up hurting them pretty badly. Never encountered this sort of situation before, y'know."​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rinku


Dart's comments came and went without response, flames flying towards the quickly accelerating Rinku. Knowing what worked last time when he countered flames, the Yo-Yos on the corridor leapt off their walls as the killer kid spun. The force that had already been gained mixed with his movement generated a wind funnel around him, a visible tornado forming. The flames bent around the wind current, splashing harmlessly on the corridor of buildings instead of him.

♬♪ Don't you miss your shadow?
Don't you miss the ground?♬♪

He wasn't ignorant to where Dart was. So if the dangerous dragoon descended down on the demon, Rinku would spin behind them and counter attack, prepared to use the devilsknife if need be for a surprise strike.
♬♪ You're hiding from tomorrow,
As the wheel spins round and round♬♪



Chai


"Eh?" He flipped to Kirin. "I say something wrong...?"

Thankfully, the conversation shifted to spare him from thinking too long about that exchange. As the newcomer explained what their ability could do, Chai, just like his time high school, elected to take the spark not version of the information.

"Sooo you're saying there's a chance your September could work?" He questioned. "I bet between your techno stuff, Elf's voodoo magic, and my moral support, we can make them easier to snap out of it! What you think?"

He thought he was a genuine for thinking of this. He in fact, was not.

 

[Fraseandchico]

Audrey Redheart
​

As she was given time, Audrey spent it...well, watching around.

There's too many people in this lobby, guh.'

She took looks to the Champions, gripping her newly bought store item tightly.
Audrey saw Gunvolt's smile fade seeing her in the tournament bracket.

"Should've expected that, I guess." Still, it wasn't long before Audrey's new opponent had wandered off again, and seemed to be talking with a small group - And the Champions now seemed very preoccupied with a friendly challenge with those losers who dared insult Audrey and be so annoying. The Hero was almost tempted to stick closer and watch them get their butts whooped, but had a different thought.
That would probably mean confronting Gunvolt - Or more accurately, being confronted by him. Especially if his little 'Champion' position had given him a chance to see her own universe...whatever was left of it, anyway, not to mention the presence of that Master Chief guy, who Audrey was pretty sure to be the winner of the last tourney she was in.

So instead, Audrey moved ahead, circling as best she could to avoid the Champion Trio (and Krazyool Kats), and aiming to pass by Dagr, Pit, and Warlock over by the portals as she went towards the gateway.

Masaru Takahara
​

As Masaru listened along, he mostly remarked with small grunts of agreement or otherwise, deciding to save his own introduction to Spamton for a little later with just a quick wave. When Nótt approached, he was about to quickly greet before being rather...shocked as he heard her.

"Er...yeesh, that's awkward. There's a lotta people getting recognized over here, huh?" He was about to ask Eitri what the situation was there after the Jotun Princess had walked away, but was swiftly interupted by the arrival of a little pink puffball, who remembered the group rather quickly too. "Oh, hey lil gu- Woah!" Surprised by the sudden jump to hugs (though considering how much of a kid Kirby seemed even to Masaru, he probably shouldn't have been), and though his figure would make it difficult for Kirby to accomplish such an attempt, he welcomed it anyway. "Good to see you too, kid!"

Out the corner of his eye, he noted Spamton moving away. Had he done all he could yet to avoid...all this?

"Hey, other little guy, Spamton, was it? We're a lil busy right now, but honestly I could use some Mischief later - Wind down a little, yeah? As long as it's hurting no one - Of course, that's your own choice." After saying that, he quickly shot Zed a glance that practically screamed 'Is that good?'. His next look was one of realisation that he could very well blow their cover, and rapidly trying to cover that look up as he tried to think of an excuse.

The Warlock
​

As Dagr approached the once-haughty Warlock, it was clear he was thinking too hard. Snapping to reality once Dagr talked, he growled.
"I must return to my own world. The Elders - Or, more specifically, their leader and thus the God I serve - have called me back." He swiftly explained, looking rather defeated as he explained his predicament, before muttering under his breath, almost seeming to try and hide his next statement when Pit approached and held Dagr's attention.

"They watched me embarress them, and they saw the," The Warlock almost gagged. "human emotion I felt, so my due punishment is nigh." A sigh later, he looked towards Pit and Dagr. He seemed to be almost scanning Pit's topmost thoughts, glancing down at the angel, unreacting to Dagr's arm.

"Little flier, you appear to be a servant of a God too, yes?" It was a general guess, but given the standard-angelic appearance - The sort used by the Elders when designing their "Archons", though much fairer on the eyes (As in - Not a product of countless genetic modifications) in this case - it seemed like a rather fair assumption. He paid little mind to the passing form of Dagr's next opponent.

 

[Psymallard]

Taskmaster
The jackal quickly raced forward with a flurry of strikes. Taskmaster went on the defensive just as fast. He backpedaled whilst blocking the hail of attacks, and sprinkled in a few noncommittal jabs from the Scepter to force Lucario to respect his space. Just as the Pokémon would have felt comfortable in his offensive, the Taskmaster jabbed the staff into the ground to stop a sweep in its tracks. He held it in the dirt with one hand, and the other balled up a fist to throw a haymaker at the Aura Pokémon!

---

The Kraggling had hardly realized Lucario was moving before his master was engaged with the Taskmaster. It quickly began galloping towards the two as quickly as its little legs could carry it!

Marshtomp
The Mud Shot was enough to slow the Earl down a little bit, but it soon renewed its efforts to cut the Mud Fish down. Marshtomp backpedaled as his foe approached. However, as the ghoul closed in, the Pokémon had one more maneuver up his sleeve. He stopped himself with his sturdy legs, and then charged forth!

The Earl was able to score a hit before Marshtomp completely closed the distance- it left a large mark across the amphibian's face. Marshtomp felt lightheaded and dark spots began to form in his peripheral, but he was committed to this attack. He aimed to grab the Earl of Demise's leg, lift it up, and then free one of his hands to Rock Smash the monster into the stone floor!

Kool Kats
At the mention of a challenge, Allison's face fell calm and she backed off. She shot a look at Troy, sensing that he wanted to take over here. A grin crept across the cult leader's face as he stepped forth.

"You're on, harlequin."

The narcissist chuckled inaudibly, thinking for a moment as he licked his teeth.

"...As long as we're makin' demands... I best get somethin' too when I'm vic-to-rious, dontcha think?"

With that, Troy Monet whirled around. Allison leapt into his arms, and leaned over his shoulder to shout at Reala.

"WE'RE GONNA EAT YOU ALIVE!"

Then, she poofed into the Soul Edge, which Troy then twirled until it came to a rest on the ground. The narcissist dragged it along the floor as he slowly sashayed over to the arena.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Reala



"That's your price, is it?" Reala half acknowledged.

This somehow brought humor to Reala's face, actually making the red and black themed maren chuckle. The disciplined general snapped to, shutting down his smiling at a moment's notice.

"If you win, you can have all the nightmaren flesh you can stomach. That I promise."

Golden glimmers traced Reala's movements as he floated forward, NiGHTS separating from the rest of the victors with a polite wave as they made way outside of the arena to watch the inevitable throw down with their sibling.

Landing down in the arena, their arms crossed, Reala simply waited for their insane opponent to approach. He made no movements to attack, he simply stared ahead, his eyes narrowing in a underwhelmed yet belligerent gaze.

"Make. Your. Move."

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dark Dungeon

Yami Bakura and Ryo continued to struggle, but it only took a moment for the Dark Spirit to gain the upper hand. It struck Ryo, knocking the teen back. He fell down the stairs leading to the thrown, a bruise quickly forming on his cheek where he had been struck.
"You pathetic brat! Stay out of my way!" The Dark Spirit snarled.

The White Magical Hat raised its cloak, trying desperately to shield itself from Neph's incredible assault. But to no avail. The Gardevoir seemed to be everywhere at once, and there was a blinding flash of energy. Then, the monster fell limp to the ground. Yami Bakura simply scowled at Neph's speech, drawing another card from his deck.

"You may have great power. But it still won't be enough to protect your so-called friends! And with your little pawns gone, you will fall next!" Yami Bakura snarled, pressing a button on his duel disk. Nephthys appeared directly in front of the Man-Eater Bug, aiming a slash at the monster. But as she did, suddenly, a hideous undead ghost burst forth from the insect. It flew into Nephthys, and for a moment the Gardevoir was blinded. There was a screech as a monster was destroyed. But when Nephthys opened her eyes, she found she had not slashed through the Man-Eater Bug. Instead, it was the Two-Headed King Rex that was recoiling with pain. It let out another pained roar before it exploded into pixels. Yami Bakura had activated another trap, a second Dark Spirit of the Silent!

Neph's ATK/DEF fell by 800!

The White Magical Hat jumped back to its feet, looking hurt and roughed up, but still in the fight. It had survived Neph's attack, but was clearly breathing quite heavily. The Fighting Spirit spell that Bakura had used on the monster had protected it. The magic of the spell had saved the Duel Monster, at the cost of the spell itself. White Magical Hat was back down to his 1000 ATK.

"I summon Moon Envoy!" Yami Bakura declared, placing another card on his duel disk. The Moon appeared on the ceiling of the tomb, and a beam of moonlight shone down. Stepping out of the moonbeam was a warrior dressed in blue armor, armed with a crescent pike. The Dark Spirit gestured to his monsters.

"Dark Ruler, Moon Envoy! Attack Nephthys. Man-Eater Bug, White Magical Hat, destroy that skeleton and dinosaur brat. And Earl of Demise, kill that swamp monster!!" Yami Bakura roared. Even through his rage and frustration, the Dark Spirit placed another card face-down in his duel disk.

Be careful. The Egyptian Spirit said, still floating near Nephthys. He has set another trap. That still makes two face-down cards, and three more in his hand...

The Dark Ruler raised his hands, spreading its fingers apart. Not one, but ten beams of dark energy shot towards Nephthys! Meanwhile, the Moon Envoy charged towards the psychic Pokemon. It slashed at Nephthys with its crescent pike!

The Earl of Demise let out a roar of surprise as Marshtomp managed to get through it's attack! It flailed its rapier about as Marshtomp picked it up, before stabbing it down towards the Pokemon. But before the attack could go through, Marshtomp slammed the Earl into the floor with a powerful Rock Smash attack. The Fiend screeched as the floor cracked from the intense blow. Marshtomp's attack had totally shattered the monster's torso. The Earl pawed at the air uselessly, before finally collapsing and disintegrating into pixels.

"Ugh... Stop... Stop this!" Ryo said, pushing himself back up. The Dark Spirit scowled at the teen.
"I'll deal with you later." The Dark Spirit said. Ryo suddenly felt the ground beneath him liquify. He sank into the stone floor until chest height, and the stone resolidify around him. No matter how much Ryo tried to push himself out, he couldn't move. He was stuck!
"Please, stop! Don't hurt them!" Ryo begged. The Dark Spirit merely rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the battle.


Plaza

Ryo's head suddenly moved to the side, and he grunted softly.
"Stop... this..." Bakura whispered. "Please... don't... hurt... them..."


Nótt

Kassandra launched the throne towards Nótt, but the princess was quick to strike it aside with her lance. She had never really liked that throne, even if her mother preferred it. When she became queen, Nótt would have to commission a much more elegant looking throne...

"Three Hundred against Two Hundred Thousand?" Nótt echoed. "My, my. Those are not odds I would like. Your grandfather must have been exceptionally brave."
Either that, or quite stupid. But Nótt did not add that on. A battle of such unequal numbers was not that unusual to Nótt. She was reminded of the tales told of the legendary Hero-King Marth. Quite a few battles of his had been against similar numbers, his elite squad of heroes against entire enemy armies... But why had Kassandra picked such a place for her map? Was she really that familiar with the battle's layout that she thought it would give her an advantage?

The Princess jumped onto the elevated platform where the throne once was. Here, the two could look out across the land surrounding the castle. The throne room was quite high up, over a hundred feet off the ground. Around the castle, it was a desolate, rocky landscape. Spartan warriors could be seen mounting a desperate defense of the castle against the massive Persian hordes. As the Princess and the Assassin fought, far below the Spartans were forced to retreat into the castle.

"Choosing the middle of a battle for a stage choice is not something I would have expected. Are you hoping to see your grandfather here?" Nótt asked, her polite smile remaining.

Nótt unleashed another flurry of lance jabs and slashes, trying to break through Kassandra's defenses. She pushed Kassandra back towards the edge of the drop. If the assassin wasn't careful, Nótt would try to force her out the window. Moon-Wing fired another set of eye beams at Kassandra, and suddenly Nótt fired a magic blast towards the ceiling. The magic blast struck the anchors of one of the massive, burning banners that hung from the ceiling. The flaming banner feel towards Kassandra.


Eitri

Masaru spoke, mentioning that a lot of people were getting recognized here. The sage blinked, thinking for a moment. Were there? She had brought Masaru up here, recognized Zed. Byleth recognized others.... Suddenly, something soft and squishy jumped on her.
"Ack!" Eitri exclaimed, looking back. A familiar pink puffball was hugging her. Kirby! Eitri looked down at the Star Warrior in surprise, then back up to Byleth.

"Ah... Hello again, Kirby..." Eitri said, extracting herself from Kirby's hug. Just like in the Dimension Games, there was something about the Star Warrior that made her uneasy. Looking around, she found Byleth had rejoined the group. The Professor must have spotted Kirby in the crowd and brought them here. Eitri grinned and nodded to Byleth.
"Well done, Byleth." Eitri said. Byleth remained emotionless, and looked back to the plaza.

Masaru spoke up again, talking to Spamton, who had lost interest. Instantly, she looked to the fighter with narrowed eyes. He could use some mischief? Eitri hadn't pegged Masaru as the mischievous type. Then there was the obvious look to Zed. And then there was something else...

Eitri frowned, looking from Zed to Masaru. But her suspicions about that would have to wait until later. Eitri turned her attention back to Kirby.
"Kirby." Eitri said. "This could be very important."
She looked to Kirby seriously.
"Before you found us, did you remember what happened in the Dimension Games? Or did you only remember the Dimension Games after you saw all of us together?" Eitri asked Kirby.


Dagr

"Hey, that's the spirit!" Dagr said, slapping Pit on the back. Warlock started talking about his plans, how he was going to return to his own world. Dagr was only half listening. She had finally spotted her opponent, Audrey, heading towards the portal.

"Well Warty, that sucks. I was hoping you'd stick around!" Dagr said. "Looks like Audrey is finally ready, so I'm gonna head to match! See ya around..."
Dagr put her hands behind her head, but only made it a few steps before all of Warlock's story finally registered with her. The Princess paused, looking back to Warlock with concern.

"I'm sorry, did you just say that your elders are pissed because you.... had emotion?" Dagr said. She looked up to the Warlock. "... Are you sure you want to be working for these elders of yours? You sure you want to go back?"