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Private/Closed Bootleg Brothers 6

comic

Previously turnt3chGodh34d

DART

His chest heaving lightly, Dart grimaced as he watched Rinku manage to actually counter the attack, for the most part. Only a single bolt landed? Yeesh… he’d never seen Blazing Dynamo reduced like that, especially given it was boosted to be a little better than usual.

It was looking like he’d need the dragoon after all.

While Rinku had to deal with the firenadoes, Dart regained his breath, focusing it. Just like Shana had always instructed him. Deep breath in… deep breath out…

It actually was a little calming, he had to admit.

Gripping Heat Blade tighter, he considered utilizing Moon Strike, a move he hadn’t been able to follow up on earlier, but as Rinku charged in, he understood that there could be no more delays. He’d promised Rinku to show his true power…

So that’s what he was going to do.

Bringing up his arm, Dart used his remaining armor to tank much of the blow, even as it shattered his armor. The mercenary went sailing backward, crashing through one of the buildings, nearly breaking through the demon stone.

With a huff, he dropped to the ground, shrugging off the rest of the armor. “Remember when I said I’d show you the real me?” He called up toward the demon, and Dart gave a small chuckle, his body beginning to glow. “The wait’s over.”

♬♪ The dominos of green
Are falling for your endless needs
You’re the master of illusion
Lost in your sad delusion ♬♪


The scattered pieces of armor lying around seemed to vanish, turning into ash, the glow around Dart burning so bright he was consumed within it, vanishing from view. It was as though a miniature sun had engulfed him, and jets of flames seemed to rise out of the back of the light, rising like wings, before the light dispersed.

Dart hovered a foot over the ground, his armor back, and far more organic-looking than before, like it was made for his biology itself, forming thickly around him to create a man-shaped tank. Emerald wings emblazoned from his back, and even Heat Blade had changed, now resembling the organic look of Dart’s armor.

♬♪ Every time you roll the dice
We’re the ones who pay the price ♬♪


“Dart Feld,” he reintroduced, Heat Blade shimmering at his side. “Dragoon of the Red-Eyed Dragon.”

The air around him shimmered with the heat rising off of him, and the Red Warrior was exerting a clear confidence as his wings glistened behind him.

♬♪ While the oceans boil for your games
You just feed the flames ♬♪


“Now let’s finish this.”



KASSANDRA

They were caught in an almost identical situation as before, the gap between them the same as it was, both of their enhancements leaving them with virtually no change or larger advantage in the end. As Nótt closed in again, Kassandra could see she was aiming to repeat the strategy from before.

The misthios had other plans.

With more fluidity than before, Kassandra's defensive movements knocked away incoming blows, parrying rather than outright blocking, reserving strength. With two blades, she deflected Moon Wing's beams again, growing increasingly irritated at its interference. If she could build a few charges without using them, she certainly had a method to take that eagle out of the picture. Plus, every strike that landed against Arachne's Stinger would see Hrímfaxi gradually facing degradation after continued contact with the stinger's poison point.

Almost as though both women had the same idea to mix things up, Kassandra had dashed backward, bringing her knees up to her chest, before kicking off the wall behind her and sailing over Nótt and Moon-Wing, simultaneously slashing the stinger for Moon-Wing. While its effectiveness wasn't superb when making contact with another weapon, it excelled against defenses. The following explosion sent stone flying, and carried the spartan a little farther.

She rolled to a stop on the ground, dust spaying from her heels that dug into the earth, before she bolted right back at Nótt, now taking the charge with a furious flurry of slashes. Having two active blades heightened her effectiveness against the fighting style the princess had so far displayed, and she was going to take advantage of it. "A compliment, to be sure," Kassandra replied. "But not one without a touch of distaste. I don't much love for the Isu."
 
Jevil

Jevil has been doing... basically nothing for a while. Since Tabby threw some digit-based insults at him, he hadn't had that much to do except think. And spin, of course. Jevil was trying out new ways of spinning. He was a pioneer in the invention of new spinning techniques. Normal pirouettes. Side-based rotations. Both. And the best thing he had discovered was orbiting. I will now describe, step-by-step, the exact process of Jevil orbiting.

Step 1: Jevil would pick some random point. Any point. It didn't matter where or what. If there was something there, he would proceed to step 3. If not, he would move on to Step 2: He would summon a Clubsdrone and have it move to that point, to make the next steps easier. Step 3: Jevil would move to some ideal distance away from the point, so that he wouldn't crash into something for Step 4.

Step 4 was the fun part. Jevil would move either up, down, left, or right, but not forward or down. He could also move diagonally, but it didn't matter, because Jevil would also curve around the point, so that his distance away from it never changed. He could also rotate traditionally in any direction he desired.

Step 5 would be where Jevil would get bored and start to speed up his orbit (and occasionally make it smaller), until he got fast enough and decided that he would simply stop curving, effectively launching himself rapidly away from the point. After that, he would laugh maniacally to himself for a few seconds then go back to step 1.

He was considering orbiting 2 things at once, having them orbit eachother, and other more advanced methods of spinning. How fun!
 

ArmedBlue

Previously Manu456Alola
Kirin

Kirin nodded in agreement with Irnane's words, pulling her hand away from the necklace. If all she could really do was help from the inside, then it was probably best she just waited for that pull to happen again. Maybe she had to give in fully to it next time?

Thankfully, it seemed she didn't have to wait for long. After a moment, another wave of exhaustion washed over the Battle Priestess, and her legs gave out once more. Kirin collapsed to the ground, closing her eyes with a yawn.

"Time... to kick some... ancient evil ass..."

Darkness quickly overtook the Adept.

...

"Ngh..."

The sounds of battle quickly reached her ears as she came to. Kirin opened her eyes, being greeted by the sight of a large throne room of sorts. Sunrise Palace? No, that wasn't right. This place felt more... ethereal and archaic. It matched the vibes of the necklace from earlier, at least.

Her head swiveled to her right, and she was quick to spot a familiar face: Nephthys, swinging a new weapon to destroy a jaw-like creature. Nearby her stood a short skeleton in a blue jacket, grinning widely, as well as a blue amphibian-like animal, who slid towards the back of a grotesque clown standing atop a large circus ball. them was a tan, purple-eyed man who seemed to be a spirit of some sort, though she didn't recognize him. Finally, there was...

The unconscious body of Rex Raptor lay near Kirin, having just been attacked by a strange jar-shaped monster. The priestess frowned at the sight of the pale boy. She may not have liked him much, but that didn't mean he deserved to go out like this, real or not. Who or what was it that everyone was facing off against here?

That Bakura kid now sat on the throne – except it didn't feel like it was the same boy. His looks and aura were different enough for her to realize after a moment that it wasn't exactly the same person, and sure enough, the real Ryo Bakura was located nearby his counterpart, stuck halfway into the ground. A large green-skinned figure covered in ghastly robes was also near the fake Bakura, firing off blasts of dark energy towards the group.

Kirin looked to Neph, sword already drawn as she focused her Septima into a set of talismans she conjured, before she threw two quick bursts of glowing white talismans at Morphing Jar and Dark Ruler Ha Des.

"Neph! What's the plan?"
ZedΩ
"Much obliged, dear."

With Eitri's support now established, the sage of Niðavellir began to provide her own suggestions on how to manage the threat that was Spamton. She opted for a more direct approach, either eliminating the salesman or warning Master Hand of the risk he posed as to prevent another disaster. Zed could not fault her for that.

"Although extreme, it is a measure we must indeed consider. A talk with Master Hand may also be effective, but I have my reservations about what his course of action would be in the event that he deals with Spamton. We do not truly understand his motives or goals, after all."

There was also a nagging feeling at the back of his mind. The plea that had been requested of the survivors... From what he could recall given the strange gap in his memory, the mysterious entity had wanted for the group to "help him see the light". Would such a brash decision satisfy the wish of this being?
 
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Gamingfan

Previously Gamingfan2
Magolor
"Other?" Magolor asked.
So Spamton had help? It came to a surprise to the egg, who didn't recall anyone aiding Spamton in their brawl, save for Jevil.
So then maybe...?
Magolor shook his head. He could speculate all he wanted, but an actual investigation would clear things up far more. Floating to his partner's side, Magolor took a cursory view of the area, stifling a faint giggle at the sight of Spamton's ramshackle booth. Everyone had to start from somewhere...but wow.
"That's a shame. I'd like to get to know the man behind the man. Any clue to where he could have gone?"

Kirby
Byleth knelt down to pat Kirby, but the pink puff could see the distress in her face. He gave another curious "Poyo?" and Byleth opened her mouth as if to reply, but no sound came out. This only seemed to further confuse the puff.
Why couldn't she tell him what's wrong? Kirby didn't understand.
Maybe some food would help cheer them up. Food helped everything, especially when eaten with friends!
Taking Byleth's hand with both nubs, Kirby would attempt to lead his friend towards the food stands, hopeful that the others could join as well.
 
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Shen: King of Digimon

Previously Shen: King of the Mist
Rinku


A direct hit. Rinku licked his lips, seeing the match going his way. In fact, it looked like he was close to wining already. Dart had faltered, now he just needed to finish him off. Landing on a nearby shoddy building, he sat perched on the rim, cocking his head when something strange happened.

A glow came from Dart's crash site, and words came soon after. Showing him what Dart truly way? Rinku leered, exhaling from his nose, the huff appearing like his aura, the toothy smile still plastered on his face. What followed was outside of his expectations. Dart transformed before his eyes, the bright lights making him squint. Dart now donned organic looking armor, heat radiating from him as he now boasted a pair of bright emerald wings that penetrated the light.

♬♪ Oh
You can hear the weeping violins
Long before the bitter end begins♬♪


A final form, is it? Almost there. Rinku chuckled. He put his hands in a finger gun formation, pressing his index and middle finger against his pecs as he gave a mocking bow.

"What an entrance, your highness." He looked up, sticking his tongue out. "Don't you know flames don't work on me anymore?"

He was going to show Dart exactly what he meant, twirling his Yo-Yos once more in a similar manner as before. Dart had shown to be mainly fire and wind so far, despite the curveball of electricity. If this transformation was just more of the same? It should be a piece of cake.

♬♪ Oh
You can see the strings and puppeteer
Before the dusk will make them disappear
♬♪
 

comic

Previously turnt3chGodh34d

DART

Highness? There must have been a misunderstanding, Dart wasn’t royalty. Albert definitely was, he was so royal that his first name was “King” (Dart assumed anyway), but the Mercenary from Seles? No… at least, he was pretty sure he didn’t have royal blood. He’d have to ask Minister Noish about that at some point.

But what Dart definitely understood was that Rinku had just claimed flames would no longer work on him. “Impossible…!” the dragoon muttered through clenched teeth. “He must have gained some kind of immunity when he took a chunk out of me. Looks like I’ll have to get creative.”

That wasn’t what Rinku meant at all, but the inner machinations of Dart’s mind was an enigma.

Suddenly bursting upward, Dart’s immediate movement displayed a very clear boost in power. His prior showcasing was put to shame by comparison. Yet just as quickly as he shot up, his wings propelling him faster than his shop item could, Dart came to an abrupt stop and looked down.

♬♪ The game is over
No more rounds to play, it’s time to pay
Who’s got the joker? ♬♪


Gauging the best place to hit, far from where he could see 808 had bounded off to (mitigating the chance she’d be caught in what came next), the Red Warrior fired down with the speed and ferocity of a comet, the air cracking as the sky behind him ignited with an intense trail due to his speed rather than any heat he was actually outputting.

Like the comet he was emulating, Dart smashed into the earth, shuddering the arena underfoot, an immediately explosion erupting out as buildings and earth were flung, breaking apart as they rose into the sky before coming down as debris all around, Dart impacted at an angle to make sure most of the debris would be coming down in Rinku’s general direction.

Like a pingpong, Dart zipped toward the largest chunks of flying rock, kicking them at high speeds directly toward the demon, one after the other in rapid succession.

♬♪ The game is over,
Who’s got the joker ♬♪


If Rinku was immune to fire, then the sturdy and reliable element of earth would stamp him out! Dart had a strong feeling that Kongol would highly approve of this tactic.

After kicking an array of boulders directly toward Rinku, the mercenary would go directly for the boy, giving him no time between the last chunk of earth, and Dart’s arrival.

♬♪ To kill the lies and make your heart recall ♬♪

Unleashing a flurry of rapid blows with Heat Blade, Dart made sure to keep the actual heat down, instead emphasizing raw strength and speed, rerouting the energy he’d normally be using to generate his flames. Intent on cutting the boy, his strings, his toys, whatever, the Red-Eyed Dragoon would put his power into every swing as he hounded Rinku in the event he tried to flee or find cover.

♬♪ There’s no other sky to fall ♬♪

To say Dart had become overwhelmingly aggressive would be an understatement. He was now putting his all into winning.
 
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Shen: King of Digimon

Previously Shen: King of the Mist
Rinku


Going up? Again? What exactly was he trying to achieve with that?

Expecting some kind of quick acting melee attack, Rinku prepped an evasive stance. However, Dart didn't hit him directly at all, instead striking the ground like a meteor. As the first signs of the impact went underway, Rinku leaped into the sky. While the structures and debris were still gaining altitude, Rinku performed parkour off of them, kicking off the side of one structure, leaping to the next, and so on, zapping across them as they arched down.

Dart's next move turned this into some kind of high speed air hockey, boulders and large chunks being flung towards Rinku, who was already actively in evasion mode, using the buildings and pieces he dove between to take the attacks for him. Dart's offensive was turned into a defensive!

Getting confident in how he was handling this, Rinku leaped out from another building...right when Dart flew right at him. The interception was quick and sudden, slapping Rinku out of the leap and tumbling into a high speed brawl. Several quick stabs struck him, stabbing into his lower abdomen, then his side, his shoulder. After the first three sudden strikes, his Yo-Yos swept in to defend him, striking and meeting the sword strikes as they came, bouncing off the strikes and worrying hit after hit. Parrying was difficult though, Dart's newfound strength made each Yo-Yo deflection a chore. He wouldn't be able to focus like this for very long.

Sensing opportunities to get free, he'd send one of his Yo-Yos below them, to wrap around Dart's ankle. Once wrapped, it would fling him a few feet off of Rinku, but still keeping him in range. With this, Rinku would call upon the Devilsknife, commanding the tied Yo-Yo to spin Dart so his flank would face the little demon, right when Rinku would come in for a cleaving attack with the weapon right on Dart's wings!

All the while, his Yo-Yos would continue their harassment, rushing in to punch at Dart's arm and sword, all sorts of debilitating moves and strikes going at once. To lose an arm or wings? Both? What a fun choice!

♬♪Oh and you will ask
"Which one am I? Am I dead or still alive?"♬♪
 

comic

Previously turnt3chGodh34d

DART

As the sneaky yo-yo came in, trying to wrap around Dart’s ankle, one of the emerald wings suddenly flapped, it’s razor crystalline edge attempting to tear through the string in a wide slash just as the yo-yo had reached its destination, certainly severing the yo-yo before it could do much else, given the fact the wing slash was far too wide for the string itself to feasibly avoid when so near its original goal.

Even if not pulled, Dart would still slip into a spin, his wings slaying like a rapid slash attack that would threaten to remove Rinku’s head from his shoulders as the emerald feathers smacked the knife and a few yo-yo’s away.

As the other toys came in, Dart proved to be every ounce as rapid as he’d been a moment before, deflecting them away similarly to Rinku in his own parrying.

All of this was performed in that single spin before Dart was facing the demon again, before he shot forward like a rocket, aiming to smash the child through sheer force, or to send him hurtling backward from a heavy attack.

YOU’RE TOUGHER THAN YOU LOOK,” the dragoon’s booming voice complimented. “BUT IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN DEVILS AND TOYS TO BEAT A DRAGOON.
 

Shen: King of Digimon

Previously Shen: King of the Mist
Rinku


A quick slice was all it took for Rinku to be down to six Yo-yos. He grimaced, the plot foiled in such a quick move. Looks like he had to make do for now. With the devilsknife no longer going in for a power move with the advantage lost, it switched to the defensive as Dart flung himself into a spin. Colliding with Dart's body, the weapon of the darkener disappeared tanking the blow for Rinku, but that's all it needed to do.

With the initial blow softened, he followed the momentum from the spiral, allowing an opening for him to latch onto Dart's organic armor. They were already close and personal on each other, so when Dart rocketed forward, Rinku clutched onto to active dragoon. His body stung from his recent wounds, Rinku's fury getting invoked. He grit his teeth, his aura becoming a deep red around his fist as something materialized within it.

It seemed to be a splat bomb, the item that Inkling had so graciously given them. Instead of priming it, Rinku shot his fist forward, the ink container bursting upon the blow. The ink doubled the damage of anything that struck inked spots...now that Dart would have been inked at point blank range, the same hyper powered move, which was already powered to high degrees would double it's impact right in the center body of dart!

"HAAAA!!!!!"

His ki in his arm seemed to vaporize as it was being used up in the move, the destructive energy unfolding all in one spot. The remaining arm would command their Yo-Yos to make haste right toward Dart's head. Purpose? To act like buzzsaws all over his face, aiming to purée his eyeballs and work toward his brain, as that was the only critical spot he wasn't armored in.

♬♪Reflections of the real fade
The stranger in the mirror remains♬♪





"...!" Peppermint audibly reacted. "That was a high energy burn off...!"

The percentage of Rinku's energy dropped somewhere from 65% to 45% in that one punch, the energy seeming to be completely leaving that arm he used. The three Yo-yos it was commanding went silent as well, no longer having energy being fed into them.

"I didn't usually care about these matches, but Dart, you BETTER beat up this freak." She confided in her monitor.
 
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comic

Previously turnt3chGodh34d

DART

With Rinku clinging on once again, Dart’s tactic changed. Rather than simply sailing through the air, or even stopping, the dragoon hurtled suddenly faster into a plummet, his body inflaming without his input once again, a vapor cone exploding in front of him right before he smashed into the ground - and proceeded to burrow through it without losing much momentum. A moment later and the splat bomb erupted.

Rinku was safe from some of the damage in the plummet, given he had latched onto the opposite end of Dart’s tunneling.

BOOM!

The tight quarters prevented the yo-yo’s from reaching their mark, as instead, the explosion would engulf the immediate area, vaporizing the rock into a near perfect, though highly unstable sphere. Only a small glimmer of light was shining from above through a Dart-shaped tunnel that had just been formed.

That had to be at least fifty or sixty feet long, one could wager, give or take a little.

The empty sphere didn’t remain empty for long at all, as the destabilized area would immediately begin crumbling. Chunks of rock and earth would fall through the hole above, some of it getting lodged and those clogs rapidly piling on top of one another. With the last vestiges of light blocking out, the sphere fell into darkness. If this went on any longer, Rinku would be confronted with the possibility of getting buried alive. Dart had shown he could carve through stone with ease, even before his power-up, but if the demon didn’t get a head start, he would likely run out of maneuverable room to proper utilize his yo-yo’s in aiding his escape.

For the moment, Dart seemed to have disappeared after the explosion, likely buried under some of the debris. Visually, he was unavailable for the moment, leaving nothing for the serpent toys to hone in on and attempt to churn.
 

Shen: King of Digimon

Previously Shen: King of the Mist
Rinku


As his blow landed and Ki disintegrated from his arm, like kicking a hornet's nest, came the reaction. A fiery inferno covered the area like a thick sheet, Rinku's position along with his aura helping him shield from the damage, however, it wasn't going to be enough. Upon the explosion detonating, the airborne strings were severed, disintegrating the three powerless toys.

♬♪Can you hear the weeping violins
And cut the strings before the end begins?♬♪

Damn!


Survival was paramount. Without any other Yo-Yos currently active, he focused his Ki on holding off the explosion, the fire quite literally burning away his reserves. Rinku's eyes shot open with pain as he was forced off of Dart, blasting upwards from the flames in the same move where his three toys were disintegrated.

Losing sight of Dart now Rinku's light pollution filled eyes could only hone in on lots of city, crashing down to fill the void Dart just punched through. He may have been severely weakened, but falling rocks? That was doable. Steeling his exhaustion, shooting upwards. He tried to parkour off of them like he did earlier in the fight, but his reactions were notably more clumsy, premature, desperate. Like he was clawing up from an early grave.

As he reached the apex, Rinku hurled his body out, skidding against the littered ground level of the city and colliding with a series of boxes. The rough landing had Rinku cringing, squinting his eyes as he sat up, cradling his right arm. He was burning a lot quickly. He would never admit it to his opponent's face, but he was nearing his limit. Just how much had he done to him? He felt his fist connect, surely Dart was in a worse state than he?
 
Dark Dungeon

Yami Bakura scowled as Marshtomp evaded the Dark Ruler's attacks. Its punch knocked Crass Clown off their bouncing ball, and the uppercut shattered the fiend to pixels. Meanwhile, Nephthys dealt the finishing blow to Fearful Earthbound and called on yet another ally. At this, the pull of tablet grew slightly stronger.

Morphing Jar's attack on Raptor was successful. The teen's eyes dimmed and greyed, and as Kirin appeared, his body glowed before exploding into pixels, much like the other Duel Monsters had.

Kirin appeared, flinging Talismans at the aggressive Morphing Jar and Dark Ruler. The talismans struck the Morphing Jar, which recoiled in pain and annoyance as it was slightly weakened. The Dark Ruler however, merely raised a hand. The talismans bounced off a shield of dark energy, blocked by the power of the fiend emperor.

"Neph! What's the plan?" Kirin called out.
"The plan is this! Change of Heart!" Yami Bakura replied, placing a card in his duel disk. A green card appeared before the dark spirit, depicting a robed woman. One half of her was shrouded in darkness, and a black leathery wing sprouted from her back. The other half was bathed in light, with a white, feathered wing sprouting from her back.

"What?!" Ryo Bakura exclaimed. "No! That's... that's my... that's my card!"

A beam of light shot out from the card towards Kirin, but at the last second it suddenly changed direction. The beam turned and struck Ryo Bakura instead! The color faded from the teen's eyes, and he slumped over. Slowly, Ryo Bakura straightened up and looked to Yami Bakura blankly. Yami Bakura scowled.

"Interfering brat." The spirit spat. "No matter."
Yami Bakura turned towards Nephthys.
"Your tenacity is beginning to annoy me, monster." Yami Bakura said. "We shall end this, here and now. I will not allow your little pawns to interfere here."

"First. The spell card, Forbidden Chalice!" Bakura exclaimed. Another one of his face down cards flipped up, revealing a green card. It depicted a robed woman drinking from a goblet. Yami Bakura pointed to Kirin, and a strange magical aura appeared around the priestess. She felt her physical strength increase slightly, but suddenly she was cut off from the power of her Septima!
"It increases a monster's attack slightly, at the cost of temporarily negating their special abilities."

"Next, I activate the spell card Monster Reborn! It allows me to bring back one monster from either of our graves. I shall revive my Empress Judge." Yami Bakura explained. In a flash of light, Empress Judge appeared before the spirit once more.
"Now, I shall set one more monster, and activate the effect of my other set monster. Another Morphing Jar!" Yami Bakura said. One of the other face-down cards flipped up to reveal a familiar blue jar. The spirit of the Morphing Jar shot out, passing through Nephthys and draining even more energy from her. The pull of the tablet felt like that of a river current now, pressuring Nephthys to move closer. Yami Bakura discarded the cards in his hand, and drew five more cards.

"Not that I need any of these cards. Because I am activating this. Spiritualist Medium!" Yami Bakura said, revealing his final face-down card in his spell and trap card zone. It was another spell, this one depicting screaming ghosts rising out of graves.
"With this, I discard my hand. And my Dark Ruler gains 500 ATK for each card discarded!" Yami Bakura said. Spirits rose out of the ground, surrounding the fiendish emperor and empowering him.

Dark Ruler Ha Des gained 2500 ATK!

Surveying his monsters, Yami Bakura grinned.
"This is the end for you, monster. Empress Judge! Attack the swamp monster. First Morphing Jar, attack the skeleton! Second Morphing Jar, attack the priestess! And Dark Ruler...." Yami Bakura pointed to Nephthys. "Put an end to this poor monster's desperate struggles."

The four monsters moved as one. The Empress Judge showed no emotion, rushing towards Marshtomp as she had before and aiming a flurry of kicks and punches. The first Morphing Jar flew towards Sans, attempting to bite the skeleton as it had Raptor. The second Morphing Jar did the same, flying towards Kirin and attempting to bite through the priestess!

The Dark Ruler's grin grew as it faced down Nephthys. It held out its hand, and screaming ghosts swirled around the monster. An orb of white and black energy appeared in its hand, growing larger and larger. Finally, the fiend fired the orb! It shot out as a beam, heading straight towards the psychic Pokemon!


Yami Bakura stats
Hand: Empty
Field: Dark Ruler Ha Des (empowered by Spiritualistic Medium), Morphing Jar, Morphing Jar, Empress Judge, Face-down monster
Spell/Trap Card Zone: Empty


A bad place to be...

Rex Raptor slowly came aware. He was no longer in the dungeon, but he wasn't in the plaza either. As he looked around, things took shape. The air was damp and foggy. The sky was dim and overcast, and while it was dark, it was impossible to tell if it was night or day. The ground beneath him was grass, damp.

A massive graveyard stretched out around Raptor, seemingly endless...


Nótt

With each strike Kassandra's dagger made against her lance, Nótt could feel something change. The slightest difference in weight. The slightest difference in the way the lance moved through the air. Was that dagger... somehow wearing away at Hrímfaxi?! Her magical spear, that was specifically crafted and enchanted for her?! Such a thing shouldn't be possible! Just what type of incredible hero was this, that she bore a weapon that could damage even magical weapons at this rate?!

Even with all this shock, Nótt's expression remained that of cool elegance. Kassandra evaded the Nitro Crate, using the explosion to launch herself over the warriors. The assassin attempted to lash out against Moon-Wing with her dagger, but Nótt quickly parried it away with her stinger. Moon-Wing's defenses were good, but if this dagger was able to wear away at Hrímfaxi at such a rate, Nótt did not want to see what it would do to Moon-Wing. The eagle let out a surprised squawk at Nótt's interference, glancing down at the princess in confusion before simply rolling with it.

Nótt faced Kassandra, and found that now she was the one being pressured. The Princess began moving back as Kassandra pressed forward with a rapid flurry of attacks with her dual weapons. Nótt tried her best to parry the sword slashes, and stay out of range of the dagger. Nótt moved back into the entry hall of the castle, coming in to view of the other fighting warriors. Spartan soldiers clashed with Jotun warriors, blades against blades in the smoky chaos of the castle. Despite the prominence of the two main fighters, none of the other soldiers seemed to pay attention to the Princess and the Assassin.

"Hm. Thank you, I suppose!" Nótt called out over the din of the battle. The Princess suddenly used her spear as a pole vault, using it to suddenly move further away from Kassandra. Energy cracked around the lance as Nótt spun it around her.
"Dragon Fang." Nótt said. The energy suddenly took the form of a dragon. The massive energy attack flew up, before letting out a roar and rushing down towards Kassandra in a powerful slashing attack!


The Niðavellir Crew

Kirby tugged only Byleth, trying to pull the Professor back to her feet and lead her somewhere. Byleth merely remained seated, watching as the pink puffball tried to pull her.
"I can't, Kirby." Byleth said. "I am to protect Eitri. I can't go."

Overhearing this, Eitri glanced towards Byleth and Kirby. The Sage thought for a moment, before smiling and nodding to Byleth.
"Ms. Eisner. I believe I shall be well protected with Zed and Masaru with me for now. Why don't you go with Kirby, and see if you can find out anything more about Master Hand. Talk to some of those champions if you get the chance, or figure out if any of these competitors have been in Bootleg Bros before." Eitri said. "Just remember what we discussed before. And stay out of view from the Jotun."

Byleth's expression turned emotionless once more, and she simply nodded. With that, Byleth stood up and allowed Kirby to lead her away. Ótr watched the pair depart with a scowl, and shook his head.
"Do you really think that's wise?" The prince asked Eitri.
"Come now, Ótr. What's the worst that could happen?" Eitri asked the prince. "Don't you trust me?"

Eitri looked back to Zed and Masaru, continuing their conversation.
 

Gamingfan

Previously Gamingfan2
Kirby
Disappointment settled on Kirby's face as Byleth resisted his pulling, only to vanish as Eitri gave them the okay. Giving the witch a grateful "Yo!", Kirby led Byleth along. Even after just recovering from a food coma, Kirby had grown so excited at the idea of eating food that he picked up the pace, dropping Byleth's hand as he sped towards his favorite: The bakery!
The puffball slid into the Regular Bakery, already drooling as he looked through the selection. Everything looked good, but Kirby immediately zeroed in on the Strawberry shortcake, managing to get his order across with a lot of pointing.
As he waited for it to come out, Kirby looked over at Byleth to see if his plan was working.
 

ArmedBlue

Previously Manu456Alola
Kirin
"The plan is this! Change of Heart!"

"Wha–"

A beam of light suddenly shot out at Kirin, but before she could even attempt to move out of the way, the spell switched targets, striking the real Ryo Bakura instead. Judging by his reaction to the hit, the move was in an attempt to incapacitate or take control of the Battle Priestess herself, but Ryo had somehow interfered with it. Kirin stared at the possessed boy for a moment, before she grit her teeth and turned to face Yami Bakura.

"You're not gonna get away with this!"

The Adept conjured another set of talismans, preparing to Arc Chain towards the nearby Morphing Jar – when another spell card was cast upon her. Kirin felt herself grow noticeably stronger, maybe enough to match Audrey in a head-on fight. But as she refocused herself, and moved to unleash her warp technique upon her target...

Nothing happened.

"Huh? Ugh, I hate this card game!"

Her Septima also stopped flowing into her talismans, and Kirin sensed no energy coming off from the Azure Spirit she held. She felt rather uneasy by the sudden development, stowing away her talismans to firmly grasp her weapon, waiting out the rest of Bakura's cards. Another Morphing Jar came out to fight, and a new Empress Judge that had apparently been defeated before also appeared.

The Morphing Jar that she had tagged leapt away to attack the skeleton, leaving Kirin unable to chase it down as the other Morphing Jar lunged at her instead. The Battle Priestess stood her ground, sword at the ready. While she couldn't use any special moves, she had a couple of sword techniques that didn't rely on her Septima, and as the Morphing Jar opened its mouth to bite down on her...


"Outta my way! Warden Flash!"

Kirin's blade suddenly struck out in the blink of an eye, aiming on countering the Morphing Jar's bite and cutting through it in a single slash, empowered by the effects of Forbidden Chalice!​
 
The Warlock
Dagr's own words did little to calm the Warlock in any way, earning her a short glare, before he eventually looked away at her and Pit's question.

"My true name is Dhar-Hur Mordenna. Now go."

He began to step away from the pair, growling under his breath, checking over himself.

Part of him seemed to know what was awaiting him upon return, not the Elders, no...
But the rest didn't want to hesitate. Couldn't want to do so.

Audrey Redheart
Audrey was waiting on Dagr, and spotted the Princess looking over at her inbetween conversation with that freak and the human-looking angel - The latter being a species Audrey wasn't particulary fond of, causing the hero to roll her eyes. She motioned, somewhat obnoxiously, for Dagr to get to the gateway ASAP.

Masaru Takahara
"..."

"Oh. Whoops." Masaru frowned, his voice sounded rather unsurprised at Eitri informing him of the mistake he made. "To be fair, I don't exactly have practice with this kinda lie... Or lying in general, for that matter." He then sheepishly admitted, putting a hand to the back of his head.
Then he paused as he listened to the others, clenching a fist almost as soon as Eitri was looking away to talk to Byleth.

"You guys can't seriously be considering it, right?" He asked both Zed and Eitri once she had finished talking to Otr, frowning and appearing rather annoyed by the suggestion.

"Just 'cause it's the easy option, doesn't mean it's right. Whatever you say, I'm not participating in murder, not assassination either."
 

Psymallard

Previously mallard
Taskmaster
The jackal was quick, and managed to keep up with Taskmaster's barrage. The problem came when the rhinoceros beetle charged back into the fray. Lucario was emboldened by this, enough to grab the staff and attempt a counterattack. But Masters was nothing if not adaptable.

He whirled to the side with a large step, and avoided horn and palm alike with that same movement. Continuing with swiftness, the assassin attempted to heave the Pokémon over his shoulder and onto the ground if he continued to hold onto the Scepter. As he would land, sandy spikes would erupt from below!

Kool Kats
His foe completed a circle, and spawned a voracious void that pulled in all its surrounding, and implied a destructive fate for all it consumed. Reala flew upwards, seeking to ensure Troy's destruction. The cultist remained unperturbed. Suddenly the Soul Edge was gone; Allison in its stead. Troy quickly created a Vortex Ball between the two and set it off, causing the two to fly in separate directions. The two rode the gravitational pull of the wannabe black hole, and landed on either side of the arena to use the corner posts as anchors and foil their annihilation.
 

comic

Previously turnt3chGodh34d

DART

As Rinku cradled his arm, wondering about the condition of his enemy, he would be given a very quick answer.

With a rumble and a crash, a man-sized fireball burst out of the ground, spraying rock debris all around him before he stopped in the air, wings splaying out at either side of him, attention falling on the demon.

It appeared like half of the dragoon armor had been shredded apart in the blast, exposing most of Dart’s upper torso and his entire right arm, the skin appearing actually blackened. Half of his face covered in the same darkness as well, right eye booodshot, half of his hair missing. He certainly looked worse for wear, but the Red Warrior wasn’t acting like it.

Dart was the kind of person to fight with every ounce of his strength, even if it all ran out. No amount of damage or fatigue would keep him down for long, not when he was fighting someone he believed evil. The only way to stop him was to kill him.

He’d probably be a lot more chill if Rinku hadn’t revealed his true nature.

NO RUNNING!” The dragon’s voice boomed before he suddenly zipped down, smashing into the earth with the intent to squash Rinku under the pressure of his weight and the edge of his blade. If the boy were to evade, the ground would erupt with brief kinetic energy around Dart, bursting air outward around him as the already ruined ground split open into a small fissure, jagged rocks flinging up around it and likely into Rinku’s face.

♬♪ The game is over ♬♪

Despite his tenacity, it was clearly evident that Dart was just a bit slower, his hits just a bit weaker. He was slowing down, but with his dragoon form active, that didn’t bring him all the way back down to his base form’s level.

Before Rinku’s eyes, the broken armor would begin to shift and meld, pieces extending like ribs to fill its broken shell. The armor was regenerating itself as though it were living tissue, sealing over the wound created, which would leave only Dart’s head exposed like before, minimizing an area of weakness.

♬♪ No more rounds to play, it’s to pay
Who’s got the joker? ♬♪


Bursting with his weight again, the dragoon would deliver a rapid series of blows meant to overwhelm the boy and finish him off, though for the moment, Dart was holding back his magic. He had a move on standby should Rinku overcome this challenge. A final rush to end this fight, once and for all as far as he was concerned.



KASSANDRA

Some kind of great lizard (no doubt a dragon, given the called out name) made of the same energy Nótt had been blasting around manifested, swooping up vigor. The Spartan took a brief step back, narrowing her eyes up at it. The Sword of Perseus had proven effective against this energy, but she doubted she could simply deflect this one. She’d need to put a little more oomph into this.

As the dragon rushed down, swinging its claws with the intent to main and overpower, Kassandra boosted herself upward in a slight twirl as she too slashed - and cut through the energy with her sword, splitting open the claw and disabling the attack against her, before she completed her spin, throwing the Sword of Perseus like a javelin.

With surprising accuracy (given she had tagged Nótt with he eagle vision), the sword pierced through the form of the dragon, launching through straight as an arrow toward Nótt’s skull, no doubt a surprise when the sword would emerge from the dragon’s back, the entire transaction a very rapid one.

upon landing, Kassandra could feel a third charge nearly built back up. Perfect. Once it was full, she could even the odds a little.



NEPHTHYS

Move after move, play after play, Yami Bakura sure couldn’t shut up. This particular play went on a little longer than the others, and to be honest… the gardevoir had no interest in just standing around politely waiting for him to finish.

With Fearful Earthbound out of the picture, and Kirin now present, Nephthys immediately disposed her idea of justice upon the Raptor-killing goon she so dearly despised. Splitting her glaive down the middle, she hurled either end through the air. They honed in on the skeleton-bound Morphing Jar from two angles, aiming to cleave it in half before the glaive would reassemble inside of it, and just for good measure, spin like a helicopter’s blade to finish the job if it already hadn’t before it flipped back to the gardevoir’s hands.

All in time for the Dark Ruler to get a considerable power-up, and for a Kirin to lose access to her septima. Neph had been banking on that power, and despite her slowly gnawing exhaustion beginning to catch up with her, she overpowered it.

“I hate this card game!” Kirin called. Nephthys very much agreed, but at the moment, it was still allowing her to have boosted power.

<Stay focused,> she told Kirin. <The plan is to exhaust Bakura’s arsenal. He will crumble without his toys to play with. He may believe he still remains in control, but once he reveals his true form, your septima will seal his power away and render him helpless.>

With that out of the way, the Dark Ruler sneered before charging up an attack. His power had increased enough that it was likely equal to the gardevoir, if her math was right. She needed a better method to put that guy out of the game.

Drawing in a deep breath, Nephthys closed her eyes, stabbing the glaive into the ground beside her and brining her hands together in front of her chest, just above her empathy horn.

As this was going on, whether the Morphing Jar had survived the gardevoir’s attack or not, Sans the skeleton would quite suddenly vanish, appearing instead beside the marshtomp just as Empress Judge was moving in. And then she moved toward them. Before she moved forward.

…She rushed forward.

…Didn’t she already do that?

And she was still moving toward them…

Every time the judge got nearer, she would suddenly appear right back where she began as though she hadn’t moved at all, the skeleton’s eye flashing a brief yellow every time this happened.

With a wide grin, the (considerably shorter) OTHER judge reached into his jacket and pulled out what seemed to be a hotdog, ketchup squiggled over the top of it. One end of it seemed to have two nubs resembling ears, with the folded parts of the meat resembling a cat’s face. Steam was rising from it, as though it had just been pulled fresh off the grill. Holding it out to Marshtomp, Sans winked. “here you go, pal, this’ll heal you up. it’s my last hotcat, but uhhh, i think you’ll get better mileage out of it than me.”

<Everyone may want to get back,> Nephthys projected to her allies before parting her hands with a cold hard stare forward, a small black dot appearing between her palms. As she widened the gap between her hands, so too did the gravity well widen, growing larger and larger - before the Dark Ruler’s beam came forth…

And…

It was swallowed by the void.

The gardevoir’s most powerful ability are up the attack, empowering it further as the black hole tripled in size. The room began to shake and shudder as debris from every corner of the battlefield became swallowed up in the expansive maw. Her eyes flared a bright magenta as violet energy began to crackle out of the void.

“GAAAR…” she grit her teeth. “DE-VOIR!!!”

The black hole lurched forward, space warping around it as excess energy poured from it in the shape of purple lightning bolts that shuddered out of it, a few heading for the Empress Judge.

The black hole roared, closing in on the Dark Ruler to swallow him whole. Whether it succeeded or not didn’t matter, as the black hole would surge forth toward Bakura - before suddenly erupting in a spherical explosion of vibrant purple light, no doubt engulfing the bastard and his Dark Ruler.

With a huff, the gardevoir dropped to her knees, wincing, her chest rising and falling quickly. That had to have been enough to put that cocky SOB on the back foot. It had to be enough to give them an opening, for Kirin to regain her septima and seal away the evil power for good.



IRNANE

Kirin collapsed after wobbling a second time. The dunmer woman stared down at her, before awkwardly crouching and repositioning the priestess into a less compromising position. “There. Now it looks like she’s sleeping, like the others.”

She paused, her gaze turning briefly upon Rex Eaptor, who had remained in a compromising position this entire time.



She moved toward him and made him more comfortable as well, giving his beanie a small pat before she stood back up, turning now toward Chai.

“You have a talking automaton feline,” she noted. “We have unmanned machines and chatty cats in my world, but never combined. Is she your boss? She seems to have some command over you.”
 

Gamingfan

Previously Gamingfan2
Taskmaster
Taskmaster avoided the attack, swiftly spinning to the side. Still holding the staff, Lucario turned with him, widening his stance as Taskmaster attempted to pull him overhead. As the man pulled up, Lucario pulled down on his end, locking the two in a brief power struggle until the Pokémon suddenly let go of the staff. The sudden shift in balance was meant to catch Taskmaster off guard, giving Lucario the opportunity to swing his arm and send a wide wave of aura into the Taskmaster's back!
 

Shen: King of Digimon

Previously Shen: King of the Mist
Dart & Rinku


NO RUNNING!

Seriously? Not a moment to rest in this place.

Dart looked angry. VERY angry. Highly damaged from the looks of it, but no less motivated to beat down than before. His spirit was annoyingly persistent. Dart swung his sword down at high speed, Rinku quickly moved his body out of the way of the head splitting attack, the sword almost touching his nose as it came back. By the time Rinku was leaning back from the evasion, the ground burst up, flinging the adolescent cosplaying demon backflipping uncontrollably through the sky from the attack.

It was more disorienting than it was damaging, the demon flying further and further away as they struggled to right themselves. Catching a glimpse of his enemy in his flips, Rinku growled, raising his arms up. The remaining Yo-Yos came to his aid, trying to defend himself. Parrying a few blows before one snapped...then another...as the final yo-yo was shattered apart by a blow, Rinku yelled out.

"ENOUGH!"

His Ki blazed up a vibrant crimson as he stopped on a dime, the ensuring flare up would force Dart back, creating a buffer zone between the two. Meeting eyes with Dart, he knew one thing. This was going to end, right now.

Pushed back a foot, Dart paused just as quickly, bringing his blade up to his shoulder, his armor sealing further around him.

“Enough?” He asked, glancing to the side and narrowing his eyes in thought. With all the toys gone… “Are you surrendering?”

"Surrender? Surrender??" Rinku scoffed. "Does this look like surrendering?!"

His aura continued to build, his reserves plummeting by the second as it got dark and darker, he reeled back, preparing to deliver his final attack

♬♪ The game is over
Who's got the joker?♬♪


The dragoon’s eyes became slits as he narrowed them further, almost like he expected Rinku to reveal he was actually joking.

Seeing the increasing power, just like before that last blow, Dart steeled himself and tightened his grip on Heat Blade. “Good,” his lips split into a grin. “I was hoping you weren’t.”

His wings spread, gleaming brightly, the dragoon preparing something himself. “FINAL…” he bellowed, before in the blink of an eye, twelve warriors identical to Dart appeared around the demon, slashing their blades.

After-images, as the real Dart suddenly appeared back in front of Rinku, a white hot energy gathered quickly into his blade. Somehow in a moment he’d gathered more energy than it had taken him a minute to do before in his base form.

“BURST!!!”

Slashing the blade and expelling every ounce of that energy, all other twelve hits from the after-images would actually land, culminating in an all-encompassing blow to bring forth an explosive finale.

♬♪ We are the ones, we hold the cards ♬♪

As Dart shouted, Rinku fired himself forward like a bullet, his energy expelling behind him like a burning comet. His speed was intense, getting right up close to dart before first slash struck, Rinku screaming out in pain. His body was on the verge of falling apart as the blade slash set in, but he would continue his momentum, fired directly at Dart's chest! Not even a second later, the remaining slashes would catch up to him.

BAM!

Rinku ripped through Dart’s center at the same moment, the slashes impacted him as his ki flared wildly from the blow, expelling all the energy he had. Both of their expended power combining into one destructive, all-encompassing blast.

The resulting eruption was a blinding bright white, encompassing the both of their bodies in a massive sphere, their forms disappearing from view, the remaining center of the city disintegrating as the pair of fierce fighters landed their final bows.

♬♪ There's no other sky to fall!!!! ♬♪

And then the rest of the arena followed, dissipating slowly.

The match… was over.

A silent moment hung in the air, before the announcer’s voice thundered.

DOUBLE ELIMINATION!!

Further away from the fireworks, 808 perked up, their feline eyes watching the final move of the fight as their ears went down. The loud boom that followed it was delayed like thunder, cracking through the destroyed city. And when the blinding light through Peppermint’s screen faded… 808 was back in the lobby.

"...What??" Peppermint spat out her tea. "Double elimination? So Dart, that means they are both..."

Stunned from the sudden display of violence between the two leading to a decisive end to the brawl, Peppermint slumped back in her chair.

"Well, shit."

Thunderous cheering and applause could be heard from the stands. They were usually excitable, but it seemed the finale of that last fight had the audience in hysterics.


Reala

The glowing orange sphere missed its target as they escaped the direct pull of the black hole, holding onto the posts on the corners. The sphere flew through the void as the gaetway close behind it, the gravitational forces returning to normal. Reala, still airborne, looked between the twins. He wasn't impressed.

"And you two thought yourselves to have the power to overtake moi?" Reala half lid his eyes. "All I have seen is spitting and flailing."

Setting his sights on the brother, he flexed his yellow talons. If they wanted to slice and cut so much, then he would gladly meet them in their preferred range.

"No matter."

The sound of a knife carving filled the space as it appeared Reala tore open the air while he raced towards Troy. This lefts a golden trail from each of his fingers, scarring the wind as he swooped in carving slice across troy's back while limiting his exit with his trail of golden cuts.



Chai



Chai was kinda zoning out, tapping his foot as he waited for Irnane to come up with a solution to this ever growing problem. Still keeping a safe distance from this no doubt contagious problem. Irnane, who was tending to the comatose, made time to ask the idle boy a question.

“You have a talking automaton feline,” she noted. “We have unmanned machines and chatty cats in my world, but never combined. Is she your boss? She seems to have some command over you.”

Like a kick to the gut, this knocked Chai completely out of his trance. He gave her the weirdest look, like she just did something with terrible manner as he drawled back.

"Okay okay, what? No! Just like...hold up." Chai put his hands up, waving them close to him. "First of all, 808 is a cat. Peppermint speaks through that cat sometimes, and she so NOT my boss. We are like, business partners sorta. Or...she's my sidekick."

Realizing that peppermint wasn't here to object to the last line, so he had bore leeway to talk in her absence. Though the whole thing of talking cats being common in Irnane's world was a surprise. Even back on Vandelay campus, talking cats weren't even a thing. That was sorta Peppermint's own passion project.



Rex Raptor


"Eh?"

Waking, Rex's confusion was evident, trying to recall what happened last. He was attacked by that weird pot monster and now he ended up here? Did the team drag him somewhere after the battle? Or maybe Bakura played a field card of some kind? Yeah, that would explain why everything looked so...edgy. Lots of graves.

"Uh...guys?"

There was no sign of his team. Standing to his feet and wiping his hands on his pant legs, he looked left and right, making sure to look around for any freaky tricks of Bakura's. Slowly walking forward, Rex gulped. He wasn't big on horror movies.

"You guys can come out now! Just tell me where that freak is and..."

He trailed off. As he walked, out of morbid curiosity, his eyes glanced over to the left, looking at the gravestones to see the names written on them.
 

comic

Previously turnt3chGodh34d

DART

♬♪ There's no other sky to fall!!!! ♬♪



When his eyes opened, blinded by the light… his gaze found not his opponent, but the bracket screen.

What had happened. Had he won? Had Rinku?

He watched as both of their names wiggled, before together, they disappeared… and emerged in the elimination list.

What…? No, that couldn’t be right. Could it? A double elimination? There was no chance to come back from that? No… second round? Or maybe a vote from the audience or other contestants?

He couldn’t just be out… just like that!

But as his gaze turned toward the screens depicting the remaining fights, the Red Warrior began to realize something. Between the four women, the skull man, and Lucario…



He hated to admit it, but he couldn’t imagine any of them giving him the fight Rinku just had.

So… maybe it was better to go out like this? With a bang! Otherwise the rest of the tournament might have been too easy, for him or Rinku.

“Huh…” Dart chuckled, placing his hands on his hips. “Guess that’s that, then!”

IRNANE

“Peppermint” could speak through the automaton? So apparently it actually was manned, somewhat. How interesting.

“So your machine cat is possessed?” Irnane concluded. “Or is someone projecting their influence over it from a great distance?”

Both choices seemed plausible. The first… maybe less in this case. The supernatural didn’t seem to be a familiar concept to Chai. Then again, neither was magic, and that was the explanation Irnane knew of for the second reason.
 

Shen: King of Digimon

Previously Shen: King of the Mist
Rinku


...

Music then silence. Rinku woke the same time that Dart did, if not a bit delayed. Their body didn't ache any more but their pride did a bit. The post battle clarity wasting no time in kicking in. He got really worked up, huh? A lot of overthinking and overstressing in hindsight.

Judging how he didn't walk out of there on his own terms, he didn't need to look up on the bracket to know he was eliminated. But a quick glance wouldn't hurt...

??? Dart lost too?

Rinku would normally feel a sort of spiteful satisfaction in that sort of thing, but he couldn't feel that in him. What he felt was akin more to...ease, maybe even contentment? Looking up at Dart, not having gotten up off the ground yet, Rinku blinked at his remark.

"I guess so." He then let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "You know Dart, let me let you in on something."

Floating back up to his feet, Rinku whipped his head to his left, looking at all the eliminated members on the bracket. Very few names still aglow.

"In my world, challenges just ain't easy to find. Jokes, pranks, and stealin' is all good fun, but I came here because I wanted a break from the easy. I wanted a challenge. Not just any challenge though. Not annoying like that Weevil kid or super complex and mysterious like that Irnneene or whatever. The other fights here were either too easy or bothersome. Our fight however? My blood was pumping more than ever before!"

He had a glint in his eyes, balking his fists with a smile on his face as he looked to Dart. Not in a way that was plotting his downfall, nor in a condescending way. Genuine excitement.

"I needed a good fight like that. Keeping my instincts sharp against a fitting opponent that doesn't drag the fun down with stupid gimmicks or lame hiding tactics. Someone that could take a punch the old fashion way and then some! Hahahaha!!"

In all honesty? It's likely he would have forfeited after the match was over even if he were to somehow pull off a win in the final moments. He came here to have a match like THIS and that's exactly what he got. He had to give it to Master Hand, he got exactly what he wanted.

"What I want to say, is you are alright. No hard feelings?"

He offered a fist up at Dart, going in for a brofist.

Wonder if Master Hand allowed cross dimension communication after all was said and done? Would be good to have a guy like this on speed dial.



Chai


"No, well...sorta? How would I explain this in middle earth..." He thought for a second. "808 is like, still a cat. Kind of. But she's a robot, so Peppermint can talk through her like a cellphone anytime she wants? It's not magic, it's technology."

That's when he flexed his mechanical arm, revolving the hand segment 360° and rolling the finger joints. Gesturing to it with his other hand, he brought the topic to him.

"Like my arm, this is all Armstrong Tech...which I'm just now understanding the pun of. A bunch or screws and wires in this bad boy, no potions or elf magic. Can you believe they were giving these out for free? Crazy right?!"
 
Byleth

Byleth allowed herself to be led down into the main lobby. As Kirby dashed off, the Professor took a more slow and careful pace. She scanned the lobby, keeping an eye out for familiar faces. There was Pit, talking to one of the Jotun Princess. Why wasn't she at her fight yet?

Pit?! Wait!

Palutena?! Palutena, all that stuff about you being a goddess better have been true!!! Heyyyyy! Can you hear me?!?!


Inside Byleth's mind, a voice silent to all but her called out. The progenitor goddess Sothis raged and seethed, yelling. It was something that Byleth had long grown accustom to, and her face never changed from the blank, emotionless expression. Byleth turned and followed Kirby into the bakery. She stood behind Kirby, surveying the baked goods. When he glanced back at her, she spoke.
"Just pick something for me." She said flatly. An unusual request, as usually she would suggest to have tea along with their baked goods.


Dagr

Seeing Audrey gesture to the gateway, Dagr gave the hero a sheepish grin. Warlock stormed off, but still gave his name. Dagr scratched her head, and looked to Pit.
"Well, Pitter Pat. Diplomacy was always my sister's strength. Now I really gotta go-" A cheer rang out from the crowd. A fight was already over! Rinku and Dart's battle had concluded, and it ended with... a tie?! That was something possible?! Dagr wanted to run over and talk to Rinku... but there just wasn't any time.

"Ack!" Dagr exclaimed. She'd just have to hope the demon boy would stick around. The Princess dashed towards the gateway. As she did, she spotted Jevil in the audience. Spinning around by himself.
"Hey, JJ!" Dagr called out, waving to the jester. "Watch my fight, okay?! I'm gonna make it real chaotic!"

Making it to the gate, Dagr grinned to Audrey.
"Sorry, sorry! Lost track of time, I guess!" Dagr said, running into the void. She slid to a stop, looking up and into the blank whiteness.

"Hey, computer!" Dagr called out. "That last place I fought was real cool! Can you pick a place like it, but different?"

The void was silent for a moment. Then the voice spoke up.
"Stage Selected: Gamer."


Nótt

Suddenly a sword shot through the energy dragon. Kassandra had somehow blocked her attack! While Nótt did not have eagle vision, her companion did. Moon-Wing raised its metal wing, knocking away the Sword of Perseus before it could strike the Princess. The blade fell to the ground with a clatter. The eagle retaliated, firing another set of eye beams at Kassandra!

It was a most unusual move, throwing her sword. Nótt pondered it as she charged towards Kassandra. Her dagger had appeared in her hand, perhaps her other weapons had the same attribute.
"Goodness, dear. That was a bit reckless, wasn't it?" Nótt asked, attacking Kassandra with a flurry of slashes and jabs.

"I would think an Assassin such as yourself would know to be more careful about these sorts of things." Nótt said between attack. The Princess suddenly dodged to the side, drawing the sword she received from Noah's shop item. Attempting to combo off her flurry attack, Nótt leapt towards Kassandra and slashed up with her blade, attempting to use Noah's Air Slash attack!
 

comic

Previously turnt3chGodh34d

DART

Dart turned to Rinku as he began to express himself. The warrior’s grin grew as he listened, and once Rinku extended a fist forward, Dart gave a pleasant chuckle, raising his own fist and bumping it against Rinku’s.

“Grudges aren’t my style – but you’re right. That battle got my blood boiling… it’s been years since I got to fight like that! At first when we were brought here, and I realized my power had been greatly weakened, I was worried. After that first round, though, I realized it was to make the fights fair. What use is there in fighting if you can’t push yourself? So getting handicapped? It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me!”

Dart paused, frowned, before he scratched the back of his head. “Well… maybe the second best thing… or third? My son being born was pretty awesome… and my wedding was really good… er- anyway!”

The mercenary beamed at the demon. “I can’t see anyone else giving me a better fight! We should do it again sometime! The only thing I regret is…”

Dart paused, glancing away toward the two remaining champions on their platform. “I didn’t get to fight him, again,” he pointed at Gunvolt. “When Master Hand recruited me, he used Gunvolt to test me. I wasn’t ready then, no armor, no dragoon… I lost, but I’d never been happier. A fighting tournament?”

He looked back at Rinku. “And I don’t regret this part. Nobody’s ever bothered to talk to me after. I don’t think Mudkip could, and Lucario was at least nice. Warlock wasn’t happy… Magolor was tricky, but… y’know, hah! And Jeice… I thought he was somebody I could respect, but… he’s just a monster. You? You’re nothing like him. You meet your match, you don’t throw a toddler tantrum about it! I’m glad I met you, Rinku!”



IRNANE

She listened patiently, before giving a slight nod. “I see. Technology in my world was perfected by the dwemer. After they rebelled against the gods, and disappeared, well… nobody’s really tried to mess with technology much since then. They never created anything like your companion, not to that degree. More basic robots to guard their treasures. The arm, though, I can understand. I’m not quite as primitive as you might be thinking.”

Getting to know Chai a little more, she wasn’t quite as offended at his assumptions and ignorance as before – it was a transaction of vastly differing cultures, after all. He didn’t have a problem with her being a dark elf, so she supposed he was fine. She made sure to give a pleasant chuckle at the end of her sentence, just to convey she wasn’t offended at anything he had assumed of her thus far.

This was a lot less boring then staring at a group of sleeping people, waiting for them to wake. There really wasn’t much she could do to help them. Of course, she had the magic to penetrate that amulet and enter herself, but given the different worlds and their rules, she didn’t feel comfortable risking her spirit’s exposure like that. There was no telling if the Nerevar could be reborn again if the spirit couldn’t return to her world.



KASSANDRA

“Assassin? I never said I was that,” Kassandra frowned, and when the beams came in, they finally hit – and dealt no damage. Had they been distractions this whole time?

…no… she could feel something within her shifting. It was like the beams were trying to physically weaken her through some supernatural means. Killing the eagle had suddenly just become top priority rather than an adjacent objective.

Nótt’s rush was met with two blades countering her again – the Sword of Perseus had appeared back in Kassandra’s grasp, part of its recall ability. Once again, the exchange commenced, and just like before, Nótt was forced to confront the stinger’s contact continuing to weaken her weapon.

Then Nótt surprised her, just as a third charge was filled, the woman darted away, a move Kassandra was fine meeting – until a second blade appeared. Reacting quickly, the spartan barely met the attack and decided to reposition herself, stepping back and shifting her feet, evading the flurry until Nótt leapt, slashing upward. A supernatural current pulled at the misthios to carry her up, leaving her to decide it was now or never.

All 3 charges were consumed.

Deflecting the blade from connecting, Kassandra was pushed back before she suddenly pushed forward, almost like she had kicked off of something invisible in the air, driving Arachne’s Stinger for Nótt’s clothed stomach. It wouldn’t deal immediate damage, but the poison would course through the princess’s body – head included. It would weaken her, draining some of that life force to make any landing blows on the skull more effective.

And almost immediately, an identical stinger would suddenly be forcefully driven toward Moon-Wing’s body from behind, wielded by a shadowy figure resembling the misthios. Her usage of her three charges.

After the shadow drove its stinger toward Moon-Wing, it would proceed to try and grapple the bird, aiming to physically twist and rip its head from its body while Nótt was busy with the real Kassandra.



SPAMTON

“NO CLUE!” Spamton laughed, sidling his way behind his shop, looking under it for a moment. The CD was missing, so… he certainly hadn’t misremembered that bit. It got a little hard, having voices in your head. Facts could get muddled, but he knew for certain that somehow, he’d been foiled.

Had it been Kirin? No… she was usefully compliant.

It must have been Mike.

Popping back up, Spamton looked left, then right, before back at Magolor. “CAN I HELP [Want To Get Rid Of Toe Fungus?]”
 

Psymallard

Previously mallard
Taskmaster... and Kraggling
Feeling a tug resist his pull, Lucario had impeded on the Taskmaster's flow. He was put in a bad spot, but was reminded of the Shovel Scepter's special ability. Sand rose above the assassin, and then, like the wings of a great eagle, reached out to protect him. The sand shield soaked up the damage, but still caused the man to go flying forward from the force behind the attack.

The super soldier rolled with his momentum, and then to his feet. At the same time, he reached to his belt, unbuckled a pouch on it, and then flung an electric bola at the jackal. Then, he sprinted at his foe with the aim to impale him.

---

The Kraggling ran back into action, and leapt with the intention to stab the skull-faced warrior on its horn!

Marshtomp
Another one down! The water/ground type, despite being in a pinch, was proving surprisingly effective. He stumbled a little after that moment of exertion, and next thing he knew, his fin detected movement. It was the Empress Judge again! He had trouble beating her when at full power, so there was no chance for him to overcome the powerful monster now. The stage 1 put up his arms to defend, and shut his eyes.

But no defeat came. The Marshtomp cautiously opened his eyes to see the ghost type presenting what looked like human food to the amphibian. After hearing Sans verbally confirm his charity, the Marshtomp accepted gladly. He took the delectable 'dog in his hands and then scarfed it down whole. After consuming the Hot Cat, Marshtomp felt much better. He stood up straight, and his bruises faded away. He wasn't in tip-top condition, but it was fighting shape. He punched his fists together twice in quick succession to signify his readiness to brawl.

"Marsh!"

The Mud Fish would have jumped right back in, except a psychic suggestion from the Gardevoir warned the group of some incoming attack. Sure enough, Neph let loose an awesome display of power to threaten the destruction of the enemy team! The Marshtomp stumbled out of the way, and then circled around to be closer with the rest of the team.

Kool Kats
The gravity well soon ceased to be, and no sooner than it did, Troy Monet generated another Vortex Ball around his fist. He pushed it down on the top of the post, to heave him self upwards. As he followed through with the motion, the ball erupted, and sent him cartwheeling over the Nightmaren's dive attack.

Meanwhile, Allison had turned back into a sword in a flash, and sped towards her Troy with their Soul Tether. As soon as the Soul Edge would reach Troy's hand, he lashed out at Reala with the blade!
 

Shen: King of Digimon

Previously Shen: King of the Mist
Rinku


Rinku nodded along, listening to Dart's words. His nodding going a bit slower at around the center part when Dart seemed to stumble on his words.

This guy is a real dumbo. But at least he's an idiot that can fight.

"Totes. Ain't no sense complaining about losing. Just means you got outplayed or outmatched. Though....you are saying that blonde twink over there beat you?"

He pointed over to Gunvolt, almost laughing at the idea of Dart losing. He didn't seem that tough. What made him so special exactly? Didn't look like he had much muscle on him nor any Ki to speak of. What was the catch?


Chai


"Y-Yeah? Well, god rebelling is cool too - I guess."

Trying not to be upstaged in the tech department he shooed the notion aside, thinking on the fly of something else that would be impressive about his tech. Looking at his arm again, he got an idea.

"Well, can that dwemming tech do this?"

Extending a Rod from his arm to his hand, scrap magnetized toward the rod, forming his signature scrap guitar. Flexing it, and gesturing towards it, he continued.

"I can make a guitar, bash people in with in, and of course, make sweet sweet music." He prided, plucking imaginary strings on it, making guitar sounds with his mouth. "brow now now now naw maw brrrrooooow!"

"Ah, there's my idiot."

From behind, 808 jumped on top of Chai's back, draping herself on his shoulders, taking him off guard for a sec.

"Hey, your back!"

"Mhm, yeah." She half heartedly acknowledged, turning to Irnane. "So, How was babysitting?"

"HEY!"




Reala


Evading and evading. That's all the visitor ever did. A mouse could only run from a cat after all. So he could hardly blame their attempts to scamper off. They hurtled over, reuniting with their female counterpart and forming their dynamic duo again.

He watched the fights. He knew the capabilities of the blade. For their benefit, he was willing to entertain this. He stood still, his stance ready to break into action when-

Slice!

The slashing of a blade rang out, making its mark...however, Reala snatched in in the air, the blade pressing against his palm while his golden talons gripped the metal, slowly growing larger and sharper. Nightmaren existed as the absence of spirit, the polar opposite.

"This weapon, Soul Edge, was it?" Reala cocked his head. "You've a lot to learn about reaping spirits and souls, boy. I've been dealing in souls before your kind first took breath."

With that, Reala would pull the weapon closer to him to yank Troy's body closer to him before he'd deliver a humiliating back hand to him.
 

ArmedBlue

Previously Manu456Alola
Pit
With the reveal of his true name, Mordenna walked away from the two fighters.

"Can't help but feel a little bad for the guy..." Pit muttered, before he turned to Dagr. The jotun princess was really late for her fight at this point, so the angel made no effort to get her to stick around any longer. "Alright, off you go, then! Just a little more butt kickin' and you'll be in the finals in no time!"

The angel waved goodbye to his friend enthusiastically, and Dagr stepped through the gateway... leaving Pit alone in the plaza again.

"Well," he sighed. "guess it's about time I grab a healthy serving of those Regular Burgers about now, huh?"

"I think you've earned it after all these fights," Palutena replied with a chuckle. "Why not kick back and watch the rest of the fights? Or maybe even–"

"Palutena?! Palutena, all that stuff about you being a goddess better have been true!!! Heyyyyy! Can you hear me?!?!"

"Huh? Who was that...?" Pit looked around for a moment, dumbfounded.

"Could it be? Oh, Sothis! Of course I can hear you. And I'm a goddess too, of course. It's been a while since... Super Bash Sisters, was it?"

"Don't you mean Super Smash Brothers?" Pit chimed in, looking around the plaza – before he caught a glimpse of a familiar professor and pink puffball walking into Regular Bakery. The angel dashed after them, though he had quite the distance to cover, as he was on the other end of the lobby. He didn't know more people from Smash were around here!

"No, I think I'm right. Anyway... How have things been?"

ZedΩ
"Killing him would not be my first choice," Zed quickly responded to Masaru's concerns. "Despite what you may have seen from me during the Dimension Games, I assure you I do not typically resort to such extreme measures. Our first encounter was under... peculiar circumstances, if you will."

The Golden Trillion let out a sigh, looking out into the plaza. Spamton and Magolor where nowhere to be found, and Byleth had just entered a bakery alongside Kirby. Where exactly could the former pair have gone...?

"However, if the situation truly called for it... I do not believe I would hesitate. The idea of making that choice is not a pleasant one, of course. But a ruler must always be prepared to make the difficult choices for the sake of his people. I trust you'll understand."​
 

Gamingfan

Previously Gamingfan2
Lucario
Taskmaster was blasted back, though he quickly recovered and went back on the offensive. The assassin tossed a bola forward, which sparked with electricity. In response, Lucario flipped back, summoning his bone staff once more. One end stabbed into the floor and the staff extended in a flash, pushing the fighting type up as he delicately balanced on the higher end.
The bola came in, wrapping around the middle of the bone as Lucario fell back. Though they crackled with lightning, the charge could not transfer through the staff. Grabbing the other end, Lucario held the weapon defensively. Though strangely, his eyes were shut. Lucario was locking in on Taskmaster's aura.
Taskmaster followed after the bola, stabbing forward with his Shovel Staff. Lucario moved in time, blocking the assassin's staff with the middle of his own! The bola covering the staff proved rather durable, helping the weapon hold against the stab. The pokemon counterattacked by swinging his staff up to force the man back, and flip away at the same time.
The bone staff faded away as Lucario landed, leaving the bola to flop onto the sandy floor. Lucario looked at the item curiously.
"This trapping device is far more primitive than a pokeball." he thought.

Kirby
"Oh..." Kirby shrunk a little at the flat request. But she seemed open to eat at least. Maybe things would get better once the food was actually out. ...Yeah, that's it!
Speaking of, his shortcake was ready. Kirby happily went up to grab the dessert, taking only a second to think before ordering another for Byleth. She asked him to, and it spared him of any more pointing. Besides, who doesn't like strawberry shortcake?
Kirby balanced the shortcake on his head. Being so close to sweet perfection excited him, but the puffball held back for now, still casting glances at Byleth. He tried to be sneaky about it now, but it was still quite blatant.
Though in between glances, Kirby thought he saw a familiar mop of brown hair get closer....

Magolor
The mage sneakily attempted to look over the counter, only to play it off as Spamton popped back up.
"Well that's not great..." Magolor sighed. If Spamton didn't even have an idea, there wasn't much in the way of leads.
The mage almost went into deep pondering mode, before realizing Spamton was looking at him. He seemed to have gotten rather comfortable in this little shop...was he trying to sell something?
"Help...me? " Magolor asked. " Hee Hee! Unfortunately, I left my toes at home."
Magolor giggled at his own joke, apparently rather proud of it.
 
Audrey Redheart
"Ugh, took you long enough." Audrey shrugged as Dagr finally approached, listening to the Princess's excuse.

"Whatever! Time to whoop some butt, again." The Hero followed Dagr into the void, a confused look at Dagr's strange decision with her choice, before shaking her head.

"Well, if you're just gonna leave it to this thing, I might as well take some Initiative. I'll be picking the Dreamscape." And a few moments later...

"Stage Selected." The computer's voice rang out, and the void around the pair morphed.
Audrey felt herself pulled away from Dagr, leaving some fair distance between them as a wooden platform, red, emerged beneath them. Crayons the size of the two fighters scattered about, with two rather large books hanging above like platforms over other books acting as walls. Down the sides of the platform appeared four table legs, though only halfway down them, they disappeared to misty yellow clouds, said clouds emerging to surround the area, leaving only a large glass window in the distance and a stange screen of sorts within sight of the the platforms. Alongside the books, a tree of yellow leaves and pink wood sprouted in the middle, pushing the platform furthest from Dagr (and closest to Audrey) up slightly.

3!​

2!​

1!​

Audrey lifted her blade into a ready stance, a smirk turning to her face.
"Get ready to lose, lady! I'm the actual Hero, and you're about to find out what that makes you!"

Go!​

With that shout, Audrey surged forward, aiming to start this fight with an upwards slash from the ground straight at Dagr's stomach!

Masaru Takahara

Masaru shot Zed a frown, crossing his arms as he listened to the Golden Trillion's explanation.
"Justify it how you want, it's still murder..."

He sighed.
"Look. Sorry, but there's just no world where I could justify it, not where the chance for redemption is still there. You know why I protected the little guy from an attack of yours, Zed, that could've killed him?" The Martial artist began to explain himself, closing his eyes as he seemed resistant to examining his surroundings now.

"There was this guy I met once. Not exactly a good guy, killed way more people than Spamton did, at least that I'm aware - I fought him, alongside a bunch of wonderful people I'll never get to see again, we had him on his knees, ready to be slain..."

"And we walked away. Gave him a chance, a sliver of hope." He opened his eyes again as he explained, a somewhat nostaglic look on his face. "He still ended up dead, yeah, exhausted himself to it - But not before saving the rest of us from a monster beyond us, something only he could stop. A little mercy saved lives, and allowed a far worse guy to reach some sort of redemption...or at least some peace after death."
 
Nótt

Moon-Wing squawked in surprise as it was stabbed in the back by the shadow. They had been snuck up on?! Impossibility on top of impossibility! As Nótt fell back to the ground, she parried away Kassandra's dagger with her lance and twisted her body so Kassandra would soar past her. Still, the dagger's blade grazed her side, and Nótt felt the familiar burn of a poison entering her system. Moon-Wing thrashed on Nótt's shoulders, moving violently and beating its wings to stall the shadow's grapple.

With an enemy on either side of her, Nótt brandished the sword she had received from the shop. The moment the Princess touched the ground, she unleashed the second of the three Sword Arts she learned. The Sword Strike. In a powerful, swift motion, Nótt spun and unleashed a powerful, spinning slash at both Kassandra and her shadow.

As much as Nótt wanted to shoot a quip right back at Kass, the appearance of the new threat took up all of her focus. Just how many tricks did this assassin have? Falling from a great height didn't hurt her, a sword that bounces back attacks and block's Moon-Wing's eye beams, a dagger that can even degrade magical weapons, and now this?

The Princess retreated further into the castle, firing magic blasts at Kassandra and her shadow. She tried her best to position herself so one of the warriors was between the other, working hard to prevent the pair from flanking her once more. Moon-Wing fired his eyes beams at the real Kassandra as Nótt moved.


Dark Dungeon

With a quick slash, Kirin dispatched the Morphing Jar. The strange creature screeched in pain before exploding into pixels. Even with the destruction of his other monsters, the dark spirit remained cool and collected. Nephthys was able to avenge Rex Raptor, destroying the other Morphing Jar while

The explosion faded, and the Dark Ruler was gone. Even with the extreme power up from the spell, the fiend had been completely annihilated by Nephthys' attack. A strange aura of dark magic was around the throne, protecting Yami Bakura. It faded, to reveal a strange golden mask with red markings. Yami Bakura's other face-down, a monster called 'Mask of Darkness'. The mask clattered to the ground, dissolving into pixels. It task of protecting Yami Bakura had been completed. Thanks to its effect, Yami Bakura drew a card from his graveyard.

Empress Judge became more and more irritated as she tried to charge towards Marshtomp. She paused, her focus shifting towards Sans. With an angry roar, the warrior stuck the ground with a powerful kick. It dislodged one of the stone bricks in the floor, and the Empress Judge launched the brick at Sans!

"An impressive display, Nephthys. Very impressive." Yami Bakura said, drawing a card from his deck. He placed two on his duel disk, and shook his head. A card appeared before Yami Bakura, as did another hidden monster. "It was a valiant effort, but I'm afraid our game is almost over."

With the intensity of her exhaustion, the pull of the tablet seemed to grow exponentially. The pull was incredibly intense, like force winds only the Gardevoir could feel. It was then that Nephthys realized why this sensation was so familiar. It was just like all the way back then. The pull of a Pokeball, the first time she had been captured. As for all the others, Yami Bakura appeared to ignore them. His focus was only on Nephthys.


Rex Raptor

As Raptor wandered the graveyard, he looked to the gravestones around him. A cold breeze blew through the graveyard, kicking up some dead leaves. The wind moaned in the trees. The grave closest to Raptor bore a familiar name.

RIP
Two-Headed King Rex


In the distance, a cloaked figure could be seen. A low moan rang out through the graveyard. Not of the wind in the trees. But of a creature. Through the fog, it made it difficult to see exactly what it was.


Byleth & Sothis

Oh thank goodness. Things have been horrible! Sothis called back to Palutena. Palutena, listen to me. I'm in a lot of trouble right now.

Sothis let out a breath before continuing.
I hate to do this, but I don't have any other options here. Byleth's in trouble. I don't know how long I'll have to explain, but listen to me. You have to beat her in a fight, or send Pit to beat her in a fight, or something. It's the only way to free her!

In the bakery, Byleth picked up the shortcake Kirby ordered for her and froze. She looked back over her shoulder, out the window, and spotted Pit rushing towards the shop. She thought, considering the situation. After a moment, she looked down to the Star Warrior.
"Why don't we eat outside, in the plaza?" Byleth suggested to Kirby, her voice still flat and emotionless.


Eitri

The sage listened as Zed and Masaru spoke their piece. Zed claimed that murder would not be his first choice, but it did not satisfy Masaru. Eitri folded her arms and nodded.
"I see. Let's push that option back for now. Call it a 'measure of last resort'." Eitri said. "Please Masaru. Forgive me. But like Zed, I too have people to look out for. I may be only a child, but I am still the Sage of Niðavellir. I may not be the king, but the welfare of the people of Niðavellir are still a priority of mine. Like Zed, it would not be my first choice. But I will do what I must to protect my people."

Eitri looked from Zed to Masaru.
"That brings us to the first strategy you spoke of. Changing Spamton's mind. As I said, I am a mage and scientist, not an orator. I rest it upon the pair of you to direct me in the way I can be most helpful in this regard." Eitri said to the pair. "Perhaps I could serve as a distraction for Master Hand? Draw his eye so you two may try to assist Spamton without interruption? Then again, Spamton did speak of a place that even Master Hand was blind to..."


Dagr

The Princess grinned when Audrey called out to her. As the fight started, Dagr didn't take a ready stance with her ax. Instead, she rested her weapon on her shoulder, and watched Audrey with an excited grin.

"Oooh, a hero? Wait, no. The Hero? That's pretty cool." Dagr said to Audrey. In a quick movement, Dagr sidestepped Audrey's slash. The Princess continued to move back, sidestepping and dodging Audrey's follow up attacks.
"Let's see. So far fought a demon, devil, Inkling, Jevil, and champion of the elder gods. But fighting 'The' Hero is a new one." Dagr said, recounting her opponents in the tournament. "Huh, if you're 'The' Hero, I could play 'The' Villain! That could be fun!"

The Princess suddenly lashed out, throwing a fast, strong jab punch at Audrey's face. Winds swirled around Dagr, and the Princess launched herself into the air. With a backflip, she landed on top of one of the book-platforms. Dagr struck a pose, partially covering her face with her free hand.
"Oh, hoh hoh!" Dagr let out a haughty, dramatic laugh. "Mighty hero! Your journey ends here! For now you face Dagr, Princess of the giants! With your defeat, I'll, uh... plunge the world into darkness. And I'll, uh... oh, what did those old legends say. I'll... oh, that's right! Fee Fie Foe Fum! I'll grind your bread to make my bones!"

Dagr's haughty facade faded as she couldn't help herself, and laughed.
"Oh wait, dang it! That's not how that goes! Lemmie try again!" Dagr said. Sun-Wing rolled its eyes. If his companion wasn't going to fight, he would. The eagle fired beams of light from its eyes as Audrey! If the beams hit Audrey, they would slightly weaken her speed and defenses temporarily!
 
Audrey Redheart
"I like the smack talk, little Princess," Audrey let out a grunt as she ducked beneath the incoming jab punch, letting Dagr jump to the platform and pointing her sword at the Princess as Dagr spoke a rather entertaining villainous speech, with Redheart deciding to talk just moments before the much more geniune laugh.

"But I didn't mean you're the villain... I meant you're a loooooooot less than that, you know?" Audrey then shrugged as Dagr called for a second try at her speech. "Then again, I guess it's not to be my first time fighting Giants-" She was suddenly interupted when Sun-Wing decided the obvious fact that matters of speeches, launching an attack of beams on Audrey. She brought up her blade to deflect, something she was rather used to doing, but found herself a little too slow, cursing herself for not being as used to that sort of speed.

With that, she felt her muscles tighten up a little, slowing her movements by a noticeable amount, and though any surface damage appeared negligible, it still annoyed the Hero.
"Hey! What the hell!?" She called, before muttering. "Stupid bird...Fine then!"

She pointed her sword straight to the sky, and a blast of lightning shot down into the blade.
THOOM!
And as per the usual, the blade absorbed the streak of lightning, storing it within. Audrey then lowered the sword, the stream of electricity disappearing from the 'sky', before chuckling.
"The world won't need any darkness where it's goin'!" Leaning into Dagr's own game (And slightly slipping lip on a curious matter with own world), she pointed the blade upwards... But not at Dagr, but at Sun-Wing. In an instant, the lightning shot out of the sword like a cannon, through any book-in it's path as the bolt flew at the Eagle, prepared to chain between Bird and Master in an instant!

Masaru Takahara
As Eitri spoke up in agreement with Zed, Masaru could only pause and listen, though was thankful she was in agreement to only have that as a last resort.

"I...Yeah, alright." He had to think for a moment, his frown pretty much disappearing. "I suppose I could go along for that, but how could you distract him?" The Martial Artist had to ask, a little concerned for that issue.
 

ArmedBlue

Previously Manu456Alola
Kirin
The Battle Priestess' attack was enough to destroy the Morphing Jar, just in time for Neph to explain her plan against Bakura. As the Gardevoir began to focus her energy into a powerful gravity well, Kirin gave her ally a nod, leaping backward to stay out of its range – and as she did so, she could feel her Septimal power quickly return to her. With Radiant Fetters at her disposal, they'd be able to take care of this threat without much issue...

BOOM!

Neph's attack struck true – for the most part, at least. Dark Ruler had been successfully wiped out, and while another layer of Bakura's defenses went down with it, the evil spirit himself remained unharmed. Given Neph's clear exhaustion from the move, Kirin rushed back to her side, firmly placing herself in front of her ally, staring down the clearly confident Bakura.

"You sure love to gloat, huh?" She called out, charging up another set of talismans. "Sorry, but you're not gonna win this!"

With those words, the Adept of Radiant Fetters let loose a flurry of talismans in a spread, aimed at Empress Judge, the unrevealed card, and Yami Bakura's hidden monster all at once. Each successful hit would place a swirling purple marker on the respective target, before Kirin would suddenly vanish – warping to cut into each foe in a flash, courtesy of her Arc Chain technique, with slightly added damage per each talisman stacked!​

Pit
"Is that so? Hm... Looks like it's up to you to help Sothis and Byleth out, Pit. I think I saw a sparring area on the western side of the arena. That should be a good spot."

"Free her through a fight? Aw man, please don't tell me it's a Chaos Kin situation again."

"I don't think that's quite right. But if something was able to take control of Byleth, then we can't just sit around and watch. Is there anything more you can tell us, Sothis? What's causing you two this trouble?"

Given his own experience freeing Palutena from a soul-eating parasite, Pit felt determined to save his friend from whatever was plaguing her. Hopefully this threat they were up against wouldn't be as tricky or elusive as the Chaos Kin. When he faced off against it alongside Pittoo, his wings had burned up entirely. Just the thought of going through that again sent shivers down his spine.

The angel took a deep breath as he finally reached the bakery, finally laying eyes on Byleth and Kirby up close. They looked just as when he'd last seen them in Smash. Pit crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe in an attempt to play it cool.

"Hey, wasn't expecting to run into you guys!" He greeted the pair. "Been a minute since the last Smash event. How's it been? Catch any of my fights here? Maybe feel raring to battle yourselves?"

As he spoke, his gaze landed on the desserts served to the two, and the cool guy act immediately fell apart.

"Ooh, is that a strawberry shortcake? I want one! No, ten of 'em!"​

ZedΩ
Masaru's explanation for his train of thought intrigued Zed. As things would have it, the martial artist had once encountered a being that threatened to destroy all he and his allies held dear, but instead of finishing their foe off when he was weakened, they gave him another chance. While it didn't pay off in the way Masaru intended, that bit of mercy later spared them from a terrible fate. This shed some light on the man's actions during the battle against Spamton, something the Golden Trillion had forgotten to inquire on earlier. In a way, it reminded him of a certain priestess...

Although Masaru still appeared uneasy over the prospect of killing their target, Eitri's agreement on it being a last resort seemed to calm things down. The Sage of Niðavellir shifted the topic to reforming Spamton, proposing that she acted to distract Master Hand from their actions under her allies' guidance. At the mention of the host's blind spot, Zed's looked down into the lobby below once more, and his eyes narrowed at the sight of a lone Tabby.

"A blind spot may sound unlikely, but it just may exist," The prince remarked. "When Magolor left alongside Spamton to talk privately, the one known as Tabby followed after them, likely to ensure no deceit of some kind occurred. Yet he appears to have been completely left behind. This assumption may be rash, but there is a possibility they somehow entered some sort of normally inaccessible area."


Following that thought, the Golden Trillion turned back to the others.

"As for a distraction... I imagine it would be difficult to hold his attention for long, given his role as the host of this event. Surely he would like to keep a close eye on all aspects of the tournament. For that reason, maybe surprising him with an unexpected topic could be enough to distract him for a time, should we choose to go down that route. Forgive the sudden suggestion, Eitri, but..." His gaze fell on the youthful sage.

"...perhaps a mention of the Dimension Games would be enough to keep Master Hand's attention?"​
 

Psymallard

Previously mallard
The Copycat
Lucario deflected the thrust upwards, but with a twirl, Taskmaster presently regained control of the weapon and smacked the incoming Kraggling away- hard. He was quick to continue to put pressure on the Pokémon as it was distracted with comparing the effectiveness of trapping devices.

"You'd oughta focus."

He leapt at the blue mammalian, but mid-jump he reached a hand up, where a sandy handhold had formed in midair! He swung from the floating bar of silica, and flung a hard-hitting kick as he gained altitude from the swing. When his hand left the sand, he was sailing over Lucario in a gainer(forward-moving backflip), from which he'd follow up on the kick with a slash of the Sand Scepter from above!

The Muddy
Woah! Nephthys sure was strong! She wiped out the giant scary monster that was obviously the meanest of the foes in one fell swoop. He was unaware of the danger the exhausted Gardevoir was now in, but he was aware of the Empress's assault on his skeleton friend. Though the beast wasn't quick enough to stop the flying brick, he charged at the distracted Judge in an attempt to knock her legs out from under her!

The Koolest
"This weapon, Soul Edge, was it? You've a lot to learn about reaping spirits and souls, boy. I've been dealing in souls before your kind first took breath."

The First Champion's words irritated Troy, though he didn't show it. The Nightmaren had nonchalantly kept up with the kultist's agility- his greatest strength in battle. Now, with nowhere to go, Reala's backhand struck the narcissist square in the face to knock him to the other side of the arena with a busted nose. The slender man used the ropes to get back to his feet, and he wiped the blood off his face.

"You think I give a shit?" Troy growled, "I'm the new wave, grandpa. Dig it or get trashed. You ain't shit."

It was a desperate scramble for a comeback after that backhand. It was clear that Troy was on the disadvantage, and he couldn't allow that to be true for long. So with his opponent on a superiority high, the kult leader threw himself forward. With a leap and a flip, he was on course to deliver a Vortex Ball-enhanced axe kick. Whatever the Vortex Ball struck, the orb would erupt and reverse Troy's momentum entirely to send him into a backflip punctuated by an upwards slash- all in a single swift maneuver!
 

Gamingfan

Previously Gamingfan2
Lucario
Though the pokemon's eyes were not on the man, Taskmaster made the mistake of assuming Lucario wasn't aware of him. The pokemon did not spare a glance as he felt Taskmaster's aura close in. With interesting usage of his staff, the man swung towards the pokemon with his foot out. Without looking at Taskmaster, Lucario bent low, ducking just under his leg. Faint wisps of aura floated around the fighting/steel type's paws, which lay flat on the ground as Taskmaster soared overhead. When Taskmaster swung, Lucario advised the man.
"Do not underestimate your opponent."
Lucario used Extreme Speed!
The aura pokemon near instantly launched at Taskmaster, his foot outstretched and body surrounded by a whirlwind of aura. He attacked the man mid-slash, and though Taskmaster attacked from behind, Lucario's kick was perfectly aimed at his head!


Kirby
"Why don't we eat outside, in the plaza?"
The teacher's question caught Kirby's focus. Her voice was still cold, but at least Byleth was talking. Now that both had their desserts, Kirby happily nodded and plodded along to the exit, carefully balancing his cake.
He was halted by a familiar figure. Pit himself stood by the doorway! Kirby nearly ran up to deliver another hug, but he couldn't with his cake still in his hands. Not only that, but Pit was acting weird...
Then the boy folded to the sight of cake.
Kirby brightened up even more once Pit acted like the angel he knew. At least he was normal!
But now with someone who's appetite could rival his own, Kirby got caught with his energy and began asking for steadily growing orders, oblivious to the growing concern on the poor Regular Baker's face.
 

comic

Previously turnt3chGodh34d

DART

The “twink” word was new, Dart hadn’t heard that before, but his mind moved away from it quickly as Rinku continued, the Red Warrior completely forgetting about the word. “Yup, that’s Gunvolt,” Dart said, folding his arms. “I don’t know if he was holding back, but I didn’t have my armor, or enough energy for a dragoon when we fought. Obviously I wasn’t in tiptop, but I had a feeing he wasn’t going all out, himself. I’m eager to see what he’s capable of, really!”

The mercenary looked away, easily able to pick out the sight of 808 nearby, who’d returned to Chai. Even though he lost, meaning she wouldn’t be able to accompany him any longer, he still wanted to thank her for her help.

IRNANE

“Well, can that dwemming-”

“Dwemer.”

“-tech do this?” Chai formed his guitar of scrap metal, and Irnane gave a short chuckle.

“As far as I know, they cannot,” she got the feeling he didn’t like being upstaged, and given he’d recently assumed her world to be severely limited in technology, her bringing up the dwemer had provoked a response. He explained to her what the guitar was before 808 returned.

Upon the feline’s question, and context of the earlier conversation, Irnane smiled, humored. “Well, we figured out what’s going on here. Roughly,” she gestured toward the now passed-out Kirin lying nearby.

SPAMTON

“AT HOME, HUH? NOT A [Prublum], WE’VE GOT [All] SORTS OF REPLACEMENTS! THIS GOD DAMN [Electric Toothbrush], HOW ABOUT A [Half-Eaten] [Lebron James]? PERHAPS THIS [Broken Mirror TM] IS CALLING TO [Me, Not You] – OR MAYBE YOU’D [Lick] A MOLDY [Hairbrush]? MY STOCK IS A LITTLE LIMITED THESE DAYS… I TOO, LEFT…”

Spamton’s persona briefly flickered again as a conflict seemed to arise in his usually stoic, grinning face.
“SOME STUFF BACK HOME.”

He laughed, pulling out a curtain rod and slapping it down on the table.
“I’M USUALLY BETTER WITH [Cungaderos] BUT [VroomVroom!] I’M SELLING MOSTLY [Bathroom Appliances] TODAY! [And You Too Can Prevent S$1#ID3 By Calling The Number On The Back Of] [Social Security Number]”

KASSANDRA

The misthios tucked and rolled, springing back up in time to respond to the Sword Strike attack, slamming the flat of her blade against Nótt's sword, using her forearm against the other side of the blade to bring the slash to a complete and jarring stop, and the princess began to make a tactical retreat.

While the slash had torn through the side of the shadow-like entity – it didn’t seem to actually phase it as wisps of smoke trailed up from it, and Moon-Wing’s attempts to flutter were met with continued pressure and realignment, hands winding about to their desired destination – and if it couldn’t rip the head off, it would plunge its hidden blade through the eagle’s skull or neck, whichever was most convenient, this no doubt keeping Moon-Wing from continued interference for the moment.

Kassandra didn’t give Nótt the breathing room she was looking for, charging right after her, deleting any distance that could have been covered otherwise as the misthios attacked with zeal, a flurry of two blades to combat the woman while her temporary summon would continue trying to get rid of Moon-Wing. With three charges expelled, Kassandra was aiming to rebuild back up to have more abilities to keep her going on the fly. If the eagle was removed, then her chances was improved.

NEPHTHYS

As expected, Bakura was protected – and that protection was destroyed. Two birds with one stone, as Dark Ruler Ha Des had succumbed to the attack as well. The only monster left on the field was Empress Judge, and considering Marshtomp had beaten her alone before, Nephthys had no doubts he could do so again with the skeleton’s aid.

The judge kicked a brick toward Sans, who winked before he casually stepped to the side. He raised his hands up on either side of him as though to say “oops.” The brick flew past him, and the marshtomp closed in on the woman.

The gardevoir’s plan was working. While the black hole move had been somewhat desperate, her aim had been to destroy the Dark Ruler while also revealing any assumed defenses or traps Bakura had around him. With that out of the way, and Kirin’s septima restored, Nephthys bore very little dread at the situation, even in her exhausted state.

Yet that dumb tablet, it pulled at her mind. Could the others feel it? What could it mean? She assumed it was another trick of Bakura, a way to try and one-up her. The sensation of a pokeball’s pull could be felt…

Was he attempting to imprison her, seal her away, or capture her? She had her own pokéball she belonged to, which would most likely counter any capturing attempts, but the other methods remained fair game.

Kirin responded to Bakura in Nephthys’s place, voicing much of what the gardevoir was feeling. Slowly, she pulled herself to her feet, gathering her strength slowly back. Thanks to her boost in power, the recovery was a little better than what it normally was.

Raising her hand, she began to launch a series of psychic blasts from her palm. The white energy would blast around, moving around her allies if they came in front of it, before honing in on Bakura himself in an endless barrage, dozens of blasts after dozens of blasts. They were relatively weak, not comparable to an actual move, but they acted as suppressive fire, intended to hound on Bakura at the expense of very little energy.
 
Dagr

"Wha- Hu- Little?!" Dagr gasped, stepping back and putting a hand on her chest in mock horror. "What? What are you even talking about? I'm taller than you, and standing on the high ground! And calling me less than a villain? What does that even mean, I can be such an evil villain- Whoa!"

Dagr dove off the platform as Audrey unleashed her lightning attack. In an impressive display, the attack punched a hole in the platform. Dagr stared at the remaining hole in awe, mouth agape as she looked from the destruction back to Audrey.

"That... was... AWESOME!" Dagr jumped back to her feet, and launched herself towards Audrey. Sun-Wing urged his partner on from his perch, flapping his wings to push Dagr faster. The Princess rushed up on the hero, raining heavy slashes and ax strikes down on Audrey. Dagr's eyes shone brightly as her villain persona was forgotten, totally enthralled by Audrey's weapon.
"That was like a Levin Sword cranked up to 11! A super-Thoron blast! I've never seen anything like it, how'd you do that?!" Dagr asked between strikes.


Byleth & Sothis

As Kirby headed towards the door, Byleth's eyes narrowed. She paused, closing her eyes and focusing for a moment. The sickly green halo around her head glowed softly, and began to pulse.

It's a long story. Back in Fodlan, Byleth was taking some students on a training mission when... Oh... Sothis' voice began to fade, as a wave of fatigue and weakness washed over her. Byleth... you fool... I'm helping you! Augh, Palutena... Beware... Eitri...

Zzzz...


Unable to resist any longer, Sothis fell back into a slumber...

Byleth opened her eyes, and found Pit had reached them. She watched the angel, still emotionless. Quickly distracted, the angel ran in and ordered some dessert as well. Byleth waited until Pit was done ordering before speaking up.

"Pit." Byleth said flatly. "Sothis has been speaking to you, hasn't she."
She watched Pit for a reaction, but didn't give him a chance to respond and continued.
"It would be best if you ignored her. We've been having a bit of a dispute lately, and she's just throwing a fit right now." Byleth said to Pit, staring down at the angel.


Eitri

The sage nodded to Zed's suggestion.
"My thoughts exactly. If my theory about the memories of competitors usually being erased, my presence could be enough to distract Master Hand for the time you need." Eitri said. She followed Zed's look down into the plaza, spotting Tabby as well. An unusual creature. Was it a mechanical creature, like Omega? She watched Tabby, then looked back to Zed and Masaru.

"You can't be serious."

Ótr finally spoke up. The young prince looked to the trio skeptically.
"Eitri, you can't seriously be considering this. You said yourself, this Master Hand is incredibly powerful! You saw what he did to that bug kid. And you want to go and confront him?" Ótr said. He shook his head and scowled. "This entire Dimension Games affair has driven you mad."

"It's not confronting him. It's merely asking questions." Eitri said. "And if things go badly, I'll have the valiant prince of Niðavellir to protect me."
"Oh no, no, no. You're not dragging me into this one, Eitri. Not this time." Ótr said, crossing his arms and looking away. Eitri looked back to Zed and Masaru.
"He'll be with me." Eitri reassured the pair. "I suppose that leaves the two of you to meet up with your friends, and find where Spamton went?"


Nótt

Nótt continued moving back, keeping up a strong defense with her lance and sword against Kassandra's sword and dagger. Her slash attack seemed to have failed entirely, useless book. She knew she should have been faster and gone for the Flower instead. But now was no time for reflecting on what could have been. The shadow had not been flung off or affected by the attack. Moon-Wing continued thrashing about, attempting to slash at the shadow with its beak as it did so. As much as Nótt wanted to help, she found her hands full dealing with Kassandra.

With the sound of scraping metal, the shadow's hidden blade went directly into Moon-Wing's neck. The eagle let out a gurgled squawk, and Nótt could feel a large amount of blood drip onto her neck. For the first time in the fight, Princess' smile was replaced with a small frown. Her eyes narrowed slightly. A mere glance back to Moon-Wing was all it took to communicate with the eagle.

Moon-Wing suddenly launched itself off of Nótt, falling to the ground. it grabbed the shadow with its beak and talons, firing its eye-beams into one of shadowy limbs wrapped around its body. Its thrashing became more violent and intense, death throes for a dying bird as it continued to attempt to delay the shadow from reaching Nótt.

With Moon-Wing no longer on her shoulders, Nótt's speed increased. She sheathed her sword and focused on her lance, the weapon moving like a silver blur through the air, parrying and blocking Kass' assault. She stopped her retreat, standing her ground against the assassin as she stared directly into Kassandra's eyes. Nótt's counters grew stronger and stronger as her rage increased, the aura from her ATK/SPD Menace becoming more and more intense.

Knocking away another attack, Nótt quickly moved to the side and lunged towards Kassandra, firing a powering Dragon Fang blast directly at her center mass!


Dark Dungeon

Yami Bakura ignored Kirin, still keeping his focus on Nephthys. It was only when Kirin final went on the offense that the dark spirit even gave her a glance. Her talismans struck the two face-down cards, but the Empress Judge was quicker to react. The warrior dodged to the side, evading the talismans but putting her right in the path of the Marshtomp. The swamp Pokemon bowled through her, but the acrobatic warrior caught herself on her hands. On her side, she aimed a rapid flurry of kicks at the Pokemon.

Kirin began her assault, and one of Yami Bakura's face-down cards flipped up. It was a trap card, and a spectral, undead zombie-ghost shot out of it! It passed through Kirin as she began her Arc Chain technique. But instead of appearing in front of Empress Judge and the rest of Yami Bakura's cards, Kirin suddenly found herself teleporting in front of Nephthys and attacking her!

Nephthys still managed to get off quite a few psychic energy blasts. They shot towards Yami Bakura, but at the last moment his final face down card revealed itself. A massive starfish with thick, green hide interposed itself between the blasts and Yami Bakura, absorbing the weak blasts and blocking the attack. The Dark Spirit drew another card, and placed it on his duel disk.

With the revving of an engine, another monster appeared. It was a green military vehicle, armed with a heavy-duty minigun! The vehicle revved again, before opening fire with its automatic weapon at Kirin.

Yami Bakura looked back towards Nephthys, and extended a hand towards the Pokemon. Dark mist seeped out of the tomb wall behind him, swirling around the duelist. Nephthys would feel the pull from the tablet increase even more! Meanwhile, with the Dark Spirit's focus on Nephthys, Ryo Bakura found he was finally able to pull himself out of the ground.
 

comic

Previously turnt3chGodh34d

KASSANDRA

Moon-Wing was successful in keeping the shadow away from its master - except Kassandra had never used it for the purpose of reaching Nótt. The shadow of Kronos' Punishment was always intended to remove Moon-Wing from the equation, and it was succeeding. As the eagle struggled against it, tearing into it, the shadow gave no indication it was in pain as it continued to grapple right back, its blade stuck in the bird's throat, before slowly tearing upward, gouging the wound deeper and wider before it would slash to tear it through the top of the bird's skull... and finally vanish as the energy used to summon it faded entirely.

Nótt's response was to increase her own aggression, pushing back with renewed vigor, enough that Kassandra got rid of the Sword of Perseus, using Arachne's Stinger exclusively for maximum speed, but she was still barely keeping up as she grit her teeth. This fighting style didn't emphasize strength, leaving her to get pushed back by every blow she blocked, still weakening the lance with each contact point, but the misthios couldn't keep this game up forever. She just needed...

There!

Her sandal slid over the ground as Kassandra side-stepped one of the attacks, which barely missed her by less than an inch, and from the perspective of the misthios, time seemed to slow, enough that Nótt appeared slow and sluggish. It would only last for a moment, so Kassandra took advantage of it by slashing over Nótt's unguarded flesh - her biceps and thighs in what the princess would interpret as a sudden burst in speed beyond what either of them had shown capable of before.

Just as quickly as it came, regardless of the damage dealt, Nótt unleashed her Dragon Fang blast as the Defensive Maneuvers ability ended, and the blast threw the spartan woman off her feet, flying back through the air with a grunt. Twisting midair, Kassandra's boots activated, and she caught herself, stopping upright and hovering quickly down to her feet.

"Good one. You'll have to forgive my focus on your eagle, but it could interfere too much. I prefer to fight fair. Well... fair-er, and his beams didn't thrill me very much," the misthios rotated her shoulder to loosen up some tightening muscles, and sensed her charged energy. Her defense had filled up another charge, and the perfect dodge had nearly brought her to a second - though taking that energy attack reduced a decent portion of it. Her plan now revolved around obtaining 3 more charges once again, this time for another purpose.


NEPHTHYS

Kirin suddenly appeared in front of her with a slash, but the gardevoir knew why already. As it was at the beginning of the arc chain, the attack was relatively weak. Neph had fought Kirin before, and so the attack only knocked her back with a grunt, ending her own chain attack with the blasts.

<Ergh,> the gardevoir intended to assure Kirin she as fine, but her exhaustion, combined with her immense annoyance at the situation, and the mysterious pull of the tablet was weighing on her, and she lost interest in saying anything else. This wasn't working as well as she wanted, he still had all these damn cards... wasn't he almost out like, five cards ago??

With a huff, Nephthys took a step back to survey the situation. Empress Judge was able to release her attacks - but a series of bones erupted out of the ground beneath her, passing passively through her and rapidly draining her life points by 60 a second the longer a single one remained in contact with her. It had risen as soon as her attack unleashed, meaning if she wanted to follow through, she'd likely be forced into critical health territory.

The gardevoir raised her hand, using telekinesis to rip either the tablet out, or the material around it to send it hurtling at Bakura's back. Normally a minimal effort as she peered back into her mind's eye. She hadn't summoned Chai before, only managing to pull in Kirin, but Nephthys was nothing if not stubborn, and this time, she intended to pull the guitar-player in.
 
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Shen: King of Digimon

Previously Shen: King of the Mist
Rinku


"Him? ...Huh. If you say so." Rinku tilted his head. "Well? What you waiting for? Go up to him and ask if you can knock him off his block. All this talk is making me curious what that beanpole has on ya."

Rinku couldn't help but smirk, giving an intrigued side eye towards the melee champion. And here he thought Dart and he were the only heavy hitters left amongst the cast here. If he didn't come out from such a satisfying match, he might have even wanted to fight Gunvolt.




Reala


The sewer rats still carried on. Badmouthing him again despite how the battle had been unfolding so far. Their unyielding resolve despite their disposition was almost admirable, but Reala cared not for the capabilities of visitors.

While they were getting up, Reala soared into the air, a trail of golden sparkles glimmering behind him, before diving straight back down. The sparkles behind him completed a paraloop, a rift opening for a split second in front of Reala, the large sphere he had hurled from before as a finishing move flying straight out of it!

It would seem when it fell into the void earlier, it remained exactly in the state it was when it was hurled inside. So as it hurled towards the vortex ball using pair, it already seemed ready to blow!


808 / Chai


"...Great. And it only cost someone else falling into this." Peppermint said, half enthused. "Judging from how it's not solved yet, I take it that means that there's still nothing that can be done?"

"No duh, that's why they are still knocked out cold." Chai responded snidely. "And Dwemmer elf stuff ain't enough to help. So guess the plan is to watch and see what happens??"

"With this growing to affect more people, this is going from an issue to a problem. And from what you told me about that...spambot thing? This place isn't as safe as we were lead to believe."




Rex Raptor


"Wha? That's a tombstone for my Dino? But if that's his grave, then..."

He looked around at the tombstones all around him, the setting somehow becoming more morbid from this realization.

Either this is some kind of freak show illusion of a graveyard to psych me out...or...it really is a graveyard.

The thought of the latter made him gulp. Not a second later, was the presence of an unknown made apparent to him. One look was all it took.

Heel turn.

"Nope nope nope nope."

Rex aggressively power walked in the opposite direction of the being.
 
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ArmedBlue

Previously Manu456Alola
Kirin
"Wha–"

Kirin was caught off guard by the hijacking of her Arc Chain, watching in surprise as her blade struck Neph, knocking the Pokémon backwards slightly. It became rapidly apparent that Bakura had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. First that possession card, then the brief removal of her Septima, and now this attack–reversing move. The Battle Priestess grit her teeth in slight frustration, though she quickly refocused on Neph's plan. They just had to keep wearing him down.

"Sorry!" She briefly apologized to her ally, despite the attack not being her fault. As she was still airborne thanks to Arc Chain, the Adept quickly flipped backward through the air, burning her air jump. Kirin's gaze shifted over to the new monsters in play, taking note of the already revving minigun aimed at her, and she was quickly reminded of one of ATEMS' units. If she could freely Arc Chain like in her world, taking it down would a piece of cake... But here, she had to get a little more creative.

The Battle Priestess suddenly dropped down to the ground, a storm of bullets beginning to fire out at her – yet as soon as she reached the stone floor, Kirin immediately zipped forward, azure afterimages following the movements of her Fierce Issen Dash. The monster's cannon would quickly start to adjust towards her new position, but the Adept was headed for the side of the vehicle, where her sword would shoot out to briefly stab into the metallic plating covering it.

From there, Kirin would use her momentum to vault herself to the top of the military vehicle, her aim to use sheer speed to avoid being riddled with holes. At the zenith of her vault, the Battle Priestess would quickly drop down like before, blade outstretched as she fell – and the moment her weapon hit its mark, three large swords would sprout from the ground directly below the vehicle, looking to skewer it from the bottom up!​

Pit
"Eitri...? Who's that?"

"Pit. Sothis has been speaking to you, hasn't she." Byleth spoke, straight to the point.

"Uh–"

"It would be best if you ignored her. We've been having a bit of a dispute lately, and she's just throwing a fit right now."

The angel struggled to find a response to that for a moment. Then, the growing orders of strawberry shortcakes began to roll out, and Pit dashed over to the counter, picking multiple up in one go. Without giving it a second thought, Pit immediately chowed down, going through five cakes in under ten seconds before he finally turned back to face Byleth and Kirby. The food did wonders to get his brain working again. If Byleth was really under the control of something else, then of course she'd want him to ignore Sothis!

"She said you were in trouble, though! No way I couldn't check up on you guys when she said that, y'know?" He replied, dropping any sort of discretion. When it came to that other part Sothis had mentioned... Maybe he could get them to fight!

"Well, how's this? Let's celebrate this little reunion with a friendly battle, for old times' sake! I saw this big sparring arena out there in the lobby, so it's a perfect chance to practice and show off new stuff! C'mon, it'll be fun, right?"

As he finished his proposal, the angel scooped up another shortcake, eating it whole in one bite, before he grabbed another plate to save for Kirby.​

ZedΩ
The leader of ATEMS was pleased with Eitri's agreement. Now that their course of action was settled, all they had to do was carry it out... when the time was right, of course.

"Excellent," Zed said upon Eitri's assurance of Ótr's cooperation. "Then it is as you said: we gather up and locate Spamton. It's important that Magolor is also found, though chances are he is with Spamton as we speak. If he can lead us back to Spamton, that will make things much easier for everyone. In the case he cannot, then... Hm..."

He pondered on a potential solution for a moment, green eyes briefly searching through the stands, before his gaze landed on Layla, who stared back down at him intently. Zed's smile grew slightly at this. With the aid of her Septima's recon...

"...A certain friend of mine may be able to assist us."
 
Nótt

The dagger slashed Nótt's arms and legs, and the Princess winced slightly. Thanks to the Crimson Stone, the pain was dulled, but she could still feel poison entering her system. The Dragon Fang attack struck Kassandra, but Nótt did not relent. She rushed towards the assassin as she flew back, slashing and striking with her lance. Her expression remained stoic as Kass spoke, but at the comment Nótt let out a dry laugh.

"A fair fight, hm. Right." Nótt said. "You have the ability to conjure enough legendary items to arm an entire army of heroes. You have the power to heal yourself. You are unharmed by a fall from a great height. Hidden blades, shadow clones, whatever that last attack was, a dagger that can damage even magical items. But of course, my bird is too 'unfair' for you."
Nótt laughed again, this one more authentic.
"If Moon-Wing was still alive, he'd be quite flattered!" Nótt said. "And since when does an assassin care about a fair fight?"
The Princess suddenly feinted an attack with her lance, appearing as though she was going for an attack on Kassandra's upper body before suddenly swinging a true attack at her legs!


Byleth

There was no response from Sothis.

Byleth watched as Pit began to gulp down the strawberry shortcakes, not even waiting until they were seated. Byleth frowned, putting a hand on Pit's shoulder.
"Slow down, Pit. You're not Kirby, you're going to choke." She said.

Byleth then addressed the rest of what Pit said.
"Well, she is wrong. I am fine." Byleth said, looking to Pit through the strange green halo that orbited her head. She shook her head at the proposal for a fight, and sat down at a nearby table.
"I'm not interested in fighting right now, Pit." Byleth said. "I actually wanted to speak with you. You've been in quite a few of Master Hand's tournaments, haven't you."

Byleth took a bite of the Strawberry Shortcake, but her expression still remained flat and emotionless.
"Do you or Palutena know why he hosts the tournaments?" Byleth asked the angel.


Eitri

Once again, Eitri followed Zed's line of sight. He was looking to a little girl, maybe one around Eitri's own age or a little younger. Sitting with her were a few other women, one of which Eitri recognized. Grazie. Eitri looked from the group to Zed.

"I see." Eitri said, curious. "Your retainers, I presume? Grazie is one of yours?"
 

comic

Previously turnt3chGodh34d

KASSANDRA

Nótt kept on the assault, but her response to the misthios was a dry one. She wasn’t having fun, and proceeded to call out the things Kassandra could do. The spartan deflected the incoming jabs as she landed, being forced back at a rapid pace as they fought.

“When you put it like that, I sound a lot more impressive,” Kassandra admitted, shuffling backward, giving herself more room to maneuver against the rapid assault. “Then I suppose I’m not sorry for what I did, and will continue to do as I have. After all, you have a few decent advantages of your own…”

Another block knocked Kassandra back, and she redirected herself to push back against a second slash, only stopping. “You’re- ergh -stronger, you’re faster, more attractive too, and that crimson stone you have makes you very, very hard to kill.”

Another attack, and Kassandra was knocked backward, her back reaching the wall. “And again, you call me an assassin – I am not.”

The second charge was filled. Nearly there…

“I am a misthios. Perhaps I was simply trying to make you-” she had to duck under a jab, the lance stabbing into the stone behind her. Kassandra rolled quickly away, positioning herself behind Nott in time for the woman to slash through the stone and resume her assault. “-trying to make you feel better about what I did. Moon-Wing will be fine when we get back, no matter who wins. Not that I don’t welcome a challenge, but-”

Once again, she was pushed back, and Arachne’s Stinger slipped out of her grasp, sailing down the hall. Thinking quickly, Kassandra summoned Poseidon’s trident, carrying it by the middle as she barely managed to keep Nótt from impaling the mercenary again. “-But I don’t need something protecting your head the entire time, given that’s the only place I can hurt you.”

Kassandra was being pushed out of the castle this time, back onto the battlefield they’d fallen upon before. With Poseidon’s trident, she intended to make use of the sea that Thermopylae overlooked. She just had to get closer to the water to call upon it properly.
 
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