Private/Closed Bootleg Brothers 6

[Fraseandchico]

Audrey Redheart
​

When Lucario disappeared from sight, it only gave Audrey a split second to think before she felt a fist going to her back, slashing her blade in a spin backwards as sword and spike clashed to protect her. However, Lucario's speed meant he began to overwhelm, bruising and burning Audrey's skin... And then the uppercut came -

And Audrey stabbed her blade straight down - into Lucario's skull, and on a miss to pull her straight back onto the ground, thankful for it's weight.
"Always finished with an uppercut." She snarled, a darkened aura of a selfish destroyer on full display right in Lucario's face. "You aren't original - I'm the Hero, I don't lose." It sounded like more of a self-encouragement / insult than anything else, but...

There had been a talisman ready to come off her sword when it went to clash with steel-type fist.

Just then, Audrey pointed her blade up once on the ground, legs shaking before, with a loud FWOOSH! - Streaks of lightning came down, right on top of Lucario, through the falling rocks as if they weren't there. Paralyzing shocks of a divine kind. She'd freeze him up, then strike as he came down.

And with the yo-yo? It began to rev, pulling and cutting like a Chainsaw on the Mega Kraggling which had it trapped...

 

[Psymallard]

marshtomp
After the Bakura Fiasco, Marshtomp woke somewhere he hadn't fallen asleep. He wondered if it had all been a dream, but spotting Neph and the others grouped together, something told him that it was not. He took a step towards the group- and his eye was caught by one of the huge screens above, which displayed the battle of Lucario and Audrey!

Marshtomp stood for a moment, his brow furrowing as he struggled with the decision of what to do, before finally deciding. He could talk to the others later, but right now, he needed to support his friend! The water/ground type made a beeline for a portal as fast as his stubby little legs could take him, and he reappeared in the stands. The Mud Fish pushed his way to the front of the crowds, and when he made it, he was barely able to see over the railing. His buddy seemed to be in a rough spot!

"Marshtomp!"

The Pokémon cried, gifting all the support he was able to give in this fight. He knew how strong Lucario was- he could win! Marshtomp knew he could!

tabby
After entrusting Magolor with the rest of the mission, Tabby had retreated back to the stands and tried to enjoy the remainder of the tournament he'd come to watch. However, the robot couldn't shake his metaphorical nerves. He found himself tapping his foot as he watched the screen, his mind wondering to the Spamton issue.

In the plaza, there was another outburst- a blue-haired woman fighting something only she could see. Tabby was curious- and immediately wondered if the plotting puppet had something to do with it. He searched for the Darkner's energy signature, and, sure enough, it was present in the stands.

With the subtlety of a ninja, the tabled slipped and slunk through the crowd, until he was in view of the group. He'd pulled a hood over his tablet head, and taken a position behind one of Masaru's massive calves. Beneath his cloak, his hands rested on his SMGs, and he was ready to take action at a moment's notice.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

Peppermint left the decision to Bakura himself, and after a moment of reflection, he agreed to leave the cursed item with the Battle Priestess. He seemed slightly hesitant about the matter, which was understandable given the threat the Millennium Ring posed. Kirin nodded in return, offering Bakura a smile before he walked over to Peppermint, who still held the artifact in the cat's paws.

"I suppose that settles it, huh?" She remarked, grabbing the Millennium Ring from the robotic feline. "Don't worry, I promise to make sure this gets dealt with properly. No evil spirit is breaking out on my watch."​

Pit
​

Dagr's reaction was to head straight for her sister, something the angel probably should have seen coming. A stranger in a cloak suddenly appeared to block the way out for a moment, relenting after a threat from the princess, who bolted out towards Nótt and her apparent lover. Pit turned to the figure beside him, noting the reptilian eyes winking at him from beneath the hood. He awkwardly scratched at the back of his head.

"So... come here often?"

More commotion in the plaza caught his attention, and it didn't take a genius to know why. Pit peered his head out of the doorway, overhearing the conversation between the jotun sisters from afar.
​

"A pretend relationship to infiltrate their nation and steal their secrets?" Palutena noted. "Nótt seems pretty convinced he's moved on from that. How dreamy can one man be?"

"Talk about total lovebirds..." Pit said, watching as Dagr stormed away from the other two. With slight hesitation, he walked over to the younger twin, giving her a sheepish smile.

"Maybe another Drink of the Gods would be good?"

ZedΩ
​

Before the Golden Trillion could reply to Eitri's offer, the manifestation of Layla's Septima appeared. Or rather, it should have – in the Djinn's place was now none other than Spamton himself. Zed's brow furrowed further at this, mind racing to come up with ways out of this situation. To involve Layla in this once more... he'd been too reckless.

"Prince Zed..." Sistina called, eyeing Spamton and the rest of the incoming group cautiously. "What, pray tell, is the meaning of this?!"

"Hm..." Serpentine grumbled, opening her eyes. She turned to the prince. "Is this what's been troubling you for the last few rounds? It seems this... being has linked himself with Layla's consciousness in some form. I can't make out much more than that."

"...Yes, that is correct. Although she appears physically fine, we must find a way to free her." The leader of ATEMS finally replied, looking down at Layla, who remained dazed, before his gaze shifted to Spamton. His focus was entirely on saving Layla at this moment, and he figured he'd try the most direct route first. "Spamton, if you are able to, would you be so kind as to leave my friend's body?"

"Nn..."​

Gunvolt
​

Flamefield vanished with the Azure Striker's onslaught, prompting Dart to rush in as he had done before. Gunvolt stood firm, unleashing a barrage of darts in his foe's direction, watching carefully as the dragoon's blade trailed behind him. The moment the Adept was within reach, Dart slashed upward – and Gunvolt stepped aside in unison, pivoting to aim a roundhouse kick at the dragoon's torso.

Regardless of its effectiveness, the mercenary's slash had set off a secondary effect, summoning a brief tornado of flame to envelop Gunvolt. Fire seared against his body, the Azure Striker wincing momentarily, before electricity crackled all around him – and in an instant, another Crashbolt struck down around Gunvolt, acting to clear the tornado and deal additional damage upon Dart should he remain too close.​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

The NiGHTMARE


The slices Byleth cast towards the serpent like tail were met with a quick parry as the lance head of the tail dove in to intercept, the attack panging off the armor. It was quick to react unlike the beast it was previously attached to. With a flash of blue from near the tip of it's tail, a high pitched wispy voice was heard before armor starting to shoot across the remaining body of the creature, resembling that of the lance. It was sharp, rigid, and littered with segmented plates.

The mumbling of the weak voice was barely audible before the creature would leap forwards, sending its entire body towards Byketh to run her through. If it missed, it would carrying on the momentum of it's arched lunge and seep through the ground, repeating the same attack as it would emerge from the ground at the side!


"Would a farmhand destroy the crop he sows?" Wizeman refuted the claim. "The girl you care so much for shall not die, she shall bring Nightmare to a new age. This era that shall be ushered in has no place for an aggrandizing upstart."

The black hole would pulse, increasing its intensity as it's hue grew a darker shade of purple. At that point, two of the hands would disappear from Wizeman's side. Horizontally on either side of Sothis the hands materialized, thick blasts of blue energy firing off from the pupils in the palms of each hand. They were aiming to pelt her off her defensive stance and succumb to the dark pull.





Reala & NiGHTS


Reala's eyes flicked to the ex-weapon John had with him. The soldier's brief words already clarifying the situation quicker than he would have, Reala smirked and returned to face NiGHTS, content to ignore the AI's further objections.

NiGHTS tried to use this opportunity to get past Reala, dashing to the right of him, only for him to slink over to face them, strafing like a ghost. This play wasn't Reala's preferred method of stopping the purple jester, but if it made the traitor squirm, he'd gladly do this game of keep away.

It would seem like an oddly fluid dance in the sky, the siblings moving and evading, actions met with similar yet opposite reactions. NiGHTS would attempt to fly by him while Reala would intercept and keep pace, despite the effort. NiGHTS decided to shake things up, flying away from Reala, curving around the plaza. Reala, knowing exactly what his sibling was going to do, shot back towards Byleth. By the time NiGHTS had maneuvered in a semi circle in the area, they were stopped from reaching the professor by the crimson nightmaren, who swerved in the way before NiGHTS could get close enough.

Master Wizeman should have that so called god out of commission in no time. What's taking so long?

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

Stopping in front of a store labeled 'Regular Leatherworking', Dagr sighed. She stared up at the ceiling glumly, watching as Jevil flew in circles with his projectiles flying around him. At the sound of familiar footsteps, Dagr looked over to see Pit had approached. Dagr groaned, and went back to watching Jevil.
"Not really." Dagr said. "I can't just go and drown my sorrows every time. That's not healthy."

As Pit walked away, Nótt smiled at Ótr and gave his hand a loving squeeze. Ótr nodded nervously to the Princess, watching Dagr for a moment. With her prince in hand, Nótt led Ótr back to the bench she had been sitting at before. The strange commotion now at the back of her mind. She sat at the bench, resting her head on Ótr as she watched the fight between Audrey and Lucario continue.

Dagr sighed again, and turned her attention to Pit.
"What do I do, Pit?" Dagr said. "She won't listen to me, and I'm not strong enough to knock some sense in to her. Even if I wanted to give it a shot right now, I can't. Unless I want to end up like that bug brat."
Dagr rubbed her forehead, groaning.
"I can't do anything about it right now... So I might as well just... ignore it, I guess." Dagr said. She watched as her sister kicked her feet happily, observing the fight along with Ótr. Dagr scowled and looked away.
"Gah, I can't even look at them. I need to let off some steam." Dagr said. Once more, the Princess began to walk towards the sparring arena.


Eitri

The Sage stepped back as Spamton materialized before she could scan Layla. The child appeared to be incapacitated at the appearance of the digital being.
"Incredible..." Eitri muttered to herself. But she stayed silent, allowing Zed and the others who had interacted with Spamton earlier to take the lead in this situation.


Byleth & Sothis

The beast changed once more, the tail becoming armored and segmented. Voices began to murmur, seeming to come from the beast itself. Despite the fight, Byleth found herself curious and tried to focus on what the voices were saying. Then the snake attacked! Byleth parried the lunge with her sword, stepping back and to the side to allow the beast to move past her. It dove into the ground, and on instinct Byleth spun to face it as it re-emerged from the other side of her.

The Sword of the Creator began to crackle with red energy as Byleth exhaled. She met the beast's lunge with a slash of her own! The red energy surrounding the blade enhanced its cutting power, and Byleth attempted to slash right through the monster and its heavy armor!


Sothis gritted her teeth as the black hole slowly pulled her in. But what was more intruiging to the goddess was what Wizeman spoke of. He wasn't looking to kill Byleth? Then perhaps...

Two of the hands around Wizeman vanished, and the goddess knew what they were going to be used for. They appeared next to Sothis, and Sothis acted. The goddess stopped resisting the pull of the black hole, instead using to her advantage. She blasted around the ball of nothingness in a sharp orbit, cloaking herself in energy and attempting to ram into Wizeman, like he had done to her before!

Then you are a fool! Sothis said. Or perhaps your powers of observation is not as powerful as you thought. That mortal and I are linked! It is because of me that she is alive today. You sever that tie, and your Ideya is lost!

 

[ArmedBlue]

Pit
​

"Right," Pit agreed with Dagr's refusal, his gaze following hers to land on the spinning Jevil high above them. He was pulling off some pretty impressive orbits, he had to admit.

The jotun princess spoke up again, voicing her feeling of powerlessness regarding her sister's rekindled romance. No amount of talking would do the trick, and the rules in place prevented fighting in the lobby. Pit's solution would have been to eat away until he felt better, but he had a feeling that wouldn't keep Dagr's mind off things. Instead, he followed after his friend, noting that they were headed for the sparring area. He recalled seeing Byleth somewhere around there earlier. If he wanted to keep Dagr busy, sparring was his best bet – he just had to distract her enough for her not to notice the professor.

"Guess we'll deal with that later. What do you say we do a little fighting at the sparring ring? Some good old friendly duels have helped me relax in the past. Trust me, Super Smash Brothers is all about that, and it's a lotta fun! C'mon!"

He dashed past the jotun with a sudden burst of speed, hoping for her to increase her own pace as well. If they got to the ring fast enough, maybe she wouldn't notice Byleth around there?​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

The NiGHTMARE


CRASH!

The sword of the creator slashed straight on with the incoming serpentine foe. It's shell buckled, cracks forming outside of the epicenter as the main spot struck seemed to shatter way. The spot struck, the a bit southern of the tip of the tail revealed a secret underneath.

The familiar black oozing body was present, but inside of it was small spherical area. Inside of the sphere, an embryonic entity floated in the fluids. It appeared to be the true representation of Miklan, the weak whispered voice of being heard louder without the armor to muffle it.

"...I'll kill you...I'llkillyou I'llkillyou I'llkillyou..."

Suddenly a flash of blue would pulse out, the tip of the lance sparking in the azure aura. It looked shocking to the touch, a small blue Ideya appearing to orbit around embryo Miklan.

**Sword breaker - Active
**Defiant Avoid - Active

Energized and ready to seize the moment, the lance tail shot out with renewed vitality. It would lay piercing scorpion like blows, trying it's best to break Byleth's Blade with heavy set attacks and eventually try and pierce straight through her when it would fail on her!


...

Sothis would find herself ramming right into the energy barrier Wizeman had up. The multicolored barrier rippled like a crystallized rainbow, keeping Byleth from touching the lord of Nightmare.

"Feeble attempts to persuade me to spare the existence you cling to. Nothing can prevent your annihilation."

Suddenly, the hands that controlled the black hole would stop, grasping either corner of it and dragging it outwards. The black hole turning a bright cyan as it would soon eclipse a wide area, including directly in front of Wizeman where Sothis had smashed into.

The cyan sphere was translucent, and could be easily passed into...but this seemed one way. As a golden frame on the bottom and top of the cyan circle, this quickly constructed a sophisticated looking prison, golden chains shooting from it to anchor to nearby stars. An Ideya Palace. Originally created by Wizeman to hold large stores of Ideya, he found that locking NiGHTS away in these Palaces to be quite effective.

The golden chains appeared identical to those Reala had used earlier against the two street smart rogues in the plaza. The golden chains would suddenly pulsated black as dark inscriptions would line each inch of metal. Suddenly, a black tar like ooze. would start to pour in the Ideya Palace. Liquified nothingness. The void in which Wizeman used to eliminate his own worthless creations. Touching the fluid would begin to erase those in contact with it until they were but a mere memory.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

The Princess looked back to Pit and smiled. The angel was speaking her language. He really was a sweet guy. She was about to reply, when Pit put on a burst of speed and sprinted past her! Instantly, Dagr's competitive spirit was fired up.
"Wha- Hey!" Dagr exclaimed playfully, running after Pit. She chuckled and ran after Pit. The angel was surprisingly fast, and Dagr really had to push herself to catch up to him. So intent she was on catching up to Pit that the Princess didn't notice Byleth slowly encircling an invisible foe. Dagr didn't see it. But someone else did.

On her shoulders, Sun-Wing suddenly screeched and beat his wings. Dagr paused, looking up to her eagle in confusion.
"Sun-Wing?" Dagr asked. The eagle gestured, and Dagr finally saw them. Byleth, in the flesh. Dagr's eyes widened with surprise, and her mouth fell open in shock. "What the... is that...?"

As Dagr watched, Byleth suddenly and swiftly began backtracking. It was as if the Professor was being assaulted by a swift and powerful foe, one that drove the warrior back with every blow! A wince of pain and drawing back of her shoulder indicated a strike there, but no blood flowed nor wound was created! Another injury to the leg with the same result, then another across her chest! Dagr looked around in confusion. The champion Master Hand and his fairy friend watched impassively, and nearby Dagr spotted NiGHTS and Reala doing some strange aerial dance.
"H-Hey! Pit!" Dagr called over to the angel, and stepped closer. There were others nearby as well, as Dagr spotted a strange pink puffball creature wearing Byleth's cloak.
"NiGHTS! What's happening?!" Dagr called up to the Nightmaren.


Sothis & Byleth

The goddess reeled back from her failed attack. That was what she got for trying to mimic Wizeman, she supposed. She should have stuck to her own material. The pull from the black hole stopped, and Wizeman unleashed his new attack. Sothis shot away from Wizeman, conjuring a magic shield to protect herself. But the sphere instead expanded past her, enveloping her and transforming. Golden chains surrounded her, trapping her within a cage. She scowled at Wizeman.

I speak the truth. Whether you want to believe me or not, it will not change it. Sothis said. The goddess looked around her cage and scoffed. Do you really think something like this can hold me?
The black goo began to drip from the chains, and Sothis frowned. She floated upwards, hovering above the goo as it pooled beneath her. She winced as some fell onto her cloak, and watched in surprise as that part of her cloak dissolved into nothingness.

Sothis glared at Wizeman, before once more vanishing. She slipped through time once more, moving her time to before she was trapped within the Palace. Appearing where she had been resisting the pull of the black hole, she extended a hand towards Wizeman and focused. Time energy swirled around Wizeman as Sothis focused her power. She attempted to manipulate the time of Wizeman's magical protective barrier, bringing it back to a time where it had been broken by one of her attacks. With her other hand, she quickly gestured towards Wizeman. Sothis grimaced, focusing hard as she used up a great deal of energy in her temporal assault. More energies swirled around the Nightmare Lord, attempting to condense and detonate in another Sublime Surge attack!


The monster's form had changed once more! The armor broke apart, revealing gooey inside and strange glowing spherical area. But the beast began its assault once more! The breaking of its outer shell appeared to rejuvenate the beast, as it attacked with greater speed and power. In fact, its skill reminded Byleth of the special techniques of many Paladins and Pegasus Knights! Byleth found herself driven back by the monster's powerful attacks and hateful aura. Her defenses faltered as an attack got through, a glancing slash against her shoulder. Byleth gasped for breath, desperately trying to fend off the monster's hateful assault. Then another glancing blow, a small cut to her thigh!

With one powerful attack, the beast managed to break Byleth's guard completely! The Professor staggered back in surprise, and the monster delivered a powerful slash across her torso. No, she couldn't allow this! She had to use her

DIVINE PULSE

Or so she tried. But there was nothing. It was as if Byleth was cut off from those energies. Or perhaps, they were in use elsewhere. Byleth had to rely on herself.

Behind Byleth, a glowing symbol appeared. It would take shape in both the dream world and the real one, an unusual, tangled, intricate symbol.

As this symbol appeared, red energy crackled around the Sword of the Creator once more. The weapon extended into its whip form, and began to whip and whirl around Byleth at extreme speed! As if it had a mind of its own, the weapon slashed at the nightmaren in an incredible storm of attacks! Empowered by Byleth's latent magical powers and her Crest of Flame, it rained a series of powerful and precise slashes across the monster. It was none other than the Sword of the Creator's signature Combat Art. The Ruptured Heaven.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

The NiGHTMARE


Fragments of yellow and white rained as the attacks shaved off many fragments of Ideya from Byleth. One serious gash later and the tail had snapped another Ideya from its owner: The Green Ideya of Growth. With it taken, resolutions would waver and development would be repressed. Self improvement and broadening was handicapped.

With this recent change, the ripples in the sky began to appear visual to Byleth. The distorted space being noticed - the form of Wizeman suspended above. It seemed he lacked color, being a black silhouette in the horizon. Stars dotted the sphere like the battle with Sothis. Color was slowly creeping onto his form though, a snail's pace of palette restoring that inched across his giant form.

Miklan was heard laughing in weak hushed tones as they absorbed the Ideya, coiling back up for a follow up attack. However, a symbol appeared before it, causing it to hesitate. This hesitation was quickly punished as burning whip slashes encircled the beast. blow after blow, battered armor broke off the creature left and right, it's black fleshy body sliced and gashed all over the place.

As the attack reached its end, streams of black fluid poured out of many portions of the creature, the aching tail not appearing able to move any longer. It looked as if it would fall over and collapse at any moment. Thats when a green Ideya materialized around Miklan's embryonic form.

**Miracle - Active

It appeared despite the damage, it clung on to life. Thats when the lance tip and the orb that carried the embryo were fired from the tail like a ballista, leaving the failing tail to liquify on the spot. The lance tip spun like a drill in the air, flying at alarming speeds. It would provide it's final attack - drilling into Byleth until the job was done!

"nonono...die...must die...!"



.....




"Silence. Can't you see that even now that this little distraction is finally coming to a close?"

Wizeman's eyes shifted to Byleth, color close to completion on one of the hands. Stretching out two of the hands slowly towards Byleth, they'd approach like looming shadows. While not close yet, one of them would eventually reach out to pluck out her Red Ideya right from her chest!

Sothis's combo was well underway, the remaining hands flicking over at one another as the barrier dispersed. Time tricks. She was doing it again. She no doubt sought to somehow exploit this. One hand gripped the southern chain of the nearly filled Ideya Palace. As it did so, it began to transmute the Palace, the northern chains becoming ornaments as the covering of the prison went down, the southern chain becoming a golden rod. The Palace was now a Chalice.

As the Sublime Surge began to appear, he whipped the filled chalice across the cosmos sky around him like an angered king, the liquid nothingness spilling into the space the sublime surge was starting to occupy, unbinding it before it could come to fruition. He wouldn't be denied!



NiGHTS & Reala



No matter how much NiGHTS tried to get through to Byleth, Reala would match it or play goalie, preventing them from reaching her. From the look of her signs of pain, it was getting to a boiling point. Reala was their twin, they knew their tactics already, had the same mobility. This keep away game was getting to NiGHTS, who could at least get the satisfaction of slinging blows at Reala in a typical fight. Thats when Dagr entered the scene.

"NiGHTS! What's happening?!" Dagr called up to the Nightmaren.

"Dagr!" NiGHTS exclaimed. "She is suffering a forced nightmare, and Reala and his bogus boss Wizeman is involved!"

"Bogus? Come now NiGHTS, is that any way to refer to your creator? Tsk tsk, you ought to show some respect."

"That's enough Reala, you better get out of my way or you are gonna regret it!"

"Oh?" Reala titled his head, amused by the prospect. "And how are you going to go about that, exactly?"

NiGHTS yelled out in frustration, drawing their arm back and swinging a punch towards Reala. The crimson striped jester stood still, awaiting the attack as their sharp restore like eyes stared back at NiGHTS. As the lunch slowed down and halted an inch from Reala's face, the hostile nightmaren smugly scoffed at their sibling.

"Of course."

Reala would extend his claws and swipe at NiGHTS, who would lean back fall down with gravity, course corrected a few feet away from the clawed clown.

"Dagr, I can't get close to her. But you can! If you can get her over to me, maybe I can snap her out of this!"

 

[ArmedBlue]

Pit
​

"H-Hey! Pit!"

At Dagr's call, the angel slowed down slightly, looking behind him – to spot Dagr looking elsewhere, having stopped in place. The sound of a whip cracking followed, and the jotun stepped closer.

"...Uh oh."

Pit sprinted back towards Dagr, stopping nearby her as he looked toward the area in front of the sparring arena's entrance. While he did expect to find Byleth there, her attitude caught him off guard. The professor swung her Sword of the Creator wildly around her, seemingly attacking nothing in particular, nearly striking those around her. NiGHTS and Reala hung high above, while one of the champions, Master Chief, watched from afar. He didn't see the 'Ganvol' champion Kirby mentioned anywhere, though the pink puffball himself stood around nearby, trying to help.

For a moment, Pit wondered if this was what Sothis had warned them about earlier. NiGHTS quickly cleared up that this was a forced nightmare, and that if Byleth could be brought over to the purple nightmaren, there was a chance to fix things. The angel thought for a moment, still feeling somewhat bad for letting the professor be spotted by Dagr like this – but it was clear she was in a lot of trouble. Dagr had already found out, so there was nothing he could do about that. What he had to do now was help his friend.

"We'll help you out! Lady Palutena, any ideas?"

"Master Hand's rules state that fighting in the plaza will eliminate the aggressor, so fighting anyone directly is out of the question. Byleth could accidentally hit you if you get too close, so you'll have to wait for the right moment if you want to get her closer. Why don't you try keeping Reala away from NiGHTS in the meantime?"
​

"Got it!" Pit nodded, turning towards Dagr for a moment. "I'll try to stop Reala from getting in the way, so you focus on getting Byleth over to NiGHTS, alright?"

With that, the angel's wings flashed blue as he took off, soaring past NiGHTS and stopping in front of their sibling, sticking his tongue out mockingly. He stood at the ready, prepared to match Reala's movements and keep them away from their twin.

"You're not getting past me!"​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

The Princess nodded to NiGHTS as Pit took to the air. Dagr turned her focus towards Byleth, watching her release the powerful attack. That technique had to be the legendary Ruptured Sky attack, and any other time Dagr would have loved to simply observe the move in action. But now wasn't the time to be fangirling over special moves. Her focus moved to the sickly green halo that hovered around the Professor's head. There was no mistaking what it was. Another thing to remember for later. The Princess then shifted her attention to Byleth's eyes. They were strange, unfocused, as if she was half asleep. Whatever this Nightmare was doing, clearly Byleth couldn't see into the real world. Dagr slung her ax across her back, crouching as she readied to move.

Byleth finished her attack, and winds whipped around Dagr. With a burst of speed, the Princess blasted towards Byleth with her Tempest Step technique! She tackled Byleth like a linebacker. Even in her dream state, Byleth still reacted. She threw an elbow strike at Dagr's head, but the awkward angle prevented anything more than a glancing blow.
"NiGHTS!" Dagr called out, spinning and throwing Byleth up towards the Nightmaren! As Byleth flew into the air, she swung her sword. The whip blade lashed out, striking a spot near Dagr.


Byleth & Sothis

Byleth's sword returned to its normal form, and Byleth lowered her weapon, gasping for breath. The monster was in a terrible state, oozing and falling apart. But despite its grievous wounds, the monster still stood! The Professor took a step back, slowly raising her sword, when the end of the tail suddenly shot towards her! A projectile attack, with everything behind it. One that she would be just too slow to block-

An invisible force slammed into Byleth, grabbing her and moving her out of the way of the monster's attack! Instinctively, Byleth threw a blind elbow strike, but felt it merely as a glancing blow. As she struggled in the grip of this invisible creature, she was suddenly spun around and flung into the air! Byleth twisted in mid-air, and spotted the orb-tip of the creature. She swung her sword, the whip blade flying down towards the monster and attempting to pierce the embryo and put an end to the beast!


Wizeman flung the liquid nothingness, completely absorbing Sothis' Sublime Surge. Out of the corner of her eye, Sothis spotted a pair of hands slowly making their way towards Byleth. She continued focusing on using her time energies to disperse the barrier, still reverting its time even though the barrier was already gone. Despite her energy expenditure and the situation she was in, Sothis smirked at Wizeman.

A series of reverse explosions detonated in front of Wizeman without warning, the X pattern that last broke his barrier! Sothis finally released her hold on Wizeman's barrier, breathing heavily and extending her arms to her sides.
Sirus! Sothis commanded. Once more, the area around Wizeman took the form of a starry night sky. This area was much larger then last time, even including the two hands that were slowly making their way towards Byleth. Just as before, the stars began to explode around Wizeman and his hands in a series of supernova explosions!

 

[Gamingfan]

Mega Lucario

Mega Lucario swiftly threw his head to the side, causing Audrey's blade to miss and strike his fist. Both fighters were locked against each other, the Wrath of Aeres allowing Lucario to keep up with the sword's power. Yet as he felt the power wane, Lucario knew he had to press his advantage.
"- I'm the Hero, I don't lose." Audrey spat, her words punctuated by a swelling of aura. She swung her blade up, summoning a storm of thunderbolts that destroyed the rockslide. Lucario used Extreme Speed, disappearing right in front of Audrey's narrowed eyes. He was going for her back, a classic villain move!
"What did I just say?" she growled, swinging round and slashing behind herself. But to her surprise, she hit nothing bit air Lucario ran a full circle around her, reappearing in the same spot and striking with a swift punch!
The Hero grunted as she was sent back. As she recovered from the blow, Audrey gripped her weapon with both hands. When Lucario approached, the bolts reached the floor, pelting Lucario's position. His Extreme Speed kept him just fast enough to spin away from each strike, but as Lucario attempted to rush Audrey again, he was met with a wide slash of her sword.
Mega Lucario flipped back, looking for an opportunity to strike again, but between the storm and Audrey's attacks, he was forced fully on the evasive.
"HA! Hahaha! Run all you want, Luca!" The Hero laughed, even as she watched the pokemon dance around her attacks, "Soon as your fire runs out, you're dead!"
Mega Lucario's pupils shrunk as he locked in on Audrey. He would end this now. The pokemon suddenly turned, as if preparing to run. Seeing this, The Hero immediately fired another bolt of lightning at the aura pokemon before he could retreat, but it was a bait!
As she summoned lightning into her sword, Audrey's eyes widened as Lucario spun round, sidestepping the bolt and rushing The Hero!
Mega Lucario leapt forward, roaring as he threw a full-power Force Palm into Audrey's gut! The Hero belted out a cry as she felt her ribs crack, going from pain into rage as she swung her blade into Lucario's side!
The attacks sent both fighters into opposite directions, with Lucario crashing into the other rock wall while Audrey rolled where the destroyed wall was.
The crowd fell completely silent, waiting with bated breath to see the victor of the loser's bracket. Audrey laid motionless, while Lucario was impossible to see due to being covered by rubble. Then the crowd murmured as they saw Audrey twitch, and cheered as she slowly arose!
Audrey slowly picked herself up, wincing as she felt her movement marred by paralysis caused by the force palm. The Hero's grimace turned into a grin, as she basked in the audience's cheering.
Lucario meanwhile was still alive, somehow managing to stay whole thanks the the Wrath of Ares, yet the rubble kept him pinned down. The pokemon could hear the faint sounds of cheering, leading him to believe Audrey had managed to survive the clash. Lucario attempted to rise again, but Ares's strength had left him. He was stuck, and likely to be considered unable to battle soon.
Lucario hadn't intended to win this tournament. Instead he wanted to find his limits, and learn how to overcome them. Yet knowing that he would lose to someone with such a poisoned aura....he couldn't help but feel sickened.
The faint sound of pebbles falling brought Lucario back to reality. A familiar aura was close by and...digging through the rocks? The pile pinning Lucario down grew unstable, and as fell apart enough for Lucario to see out, he realized who it was.
The Kraggling! It looked incredibly banged up after it's scuffle with Audrey's yo-yo, but was alive still. Even better, it had enough strength to push some rocks off Lucario, relieving the burden off of the aura pokemon. The cheers became clearer, and Lucario recognized one familiar voice.
The little Marshstomp.
Lucario pushed himself up with renewed vigor as the Kraggling shoved off a few more rocks and hopped on his shoulder. The crowd suddenly silenced again, causing Audrey to grow confused.
"What? HEY! What are you all...looking...at..."
Audrey watched in horror as she saw Mega Lucario rise again. How? Her sword hit him directly! He should be dead!
...Wait, her sword!
Audrey looked around frantically, realizing she had dropped it after the clash. Her eyes swept the arena until they landed on the weapon, which had embedded itself into a rock near the edge of the arena.
Both fighters looked at the sword, then at each other, before booking it towards the weapon. Though she was a little closer to it, the cursed paralysis kept Audrey slower than Lucario. Desperately, Audrey attempted to dash to close the gap, but her muscles locked up, and the girl fell to the floor as Lucario grabbed the hilt of the sword. The aura pokemon pulled the weapon from the rock, and tossed it over the edge.
"No!" Audrey cried, futilely reaching from the sword. The Hero's fists balled up in rage, before she threw out the Demon's Yo-Yo to tear Lucario apart. Seeing the danger, the Kraggling leapt towards the bladed yo-yo, struggling as the yo-yo threatened to rip it apart. But by then it was too late. Mega Lucario raised his arm, swirling with aura. Without a word, Lucario brought down a max-power Reversal-
Right beside Audrey.
As the attack hit the floor, the force released a shockwave strong enough to launch Audrey over the edge. Audrey tried to dash back, but the paralysis took effect, and all she could do was struggle in the air as locked eyes with Mega Lucario, who silently watched her reunite with her sword.

Winner: Lucario

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

NiGHTS and Reala


NiGHTS looked on excitedly as Pit and Dagr's teamwork began. Dagr preparing for an opening and the lunging at Byleth while Pit was quick to intercept and copy Reala's own tactic (to the crimson jester's annoyance).

"Tch. The visitor thinks itself to be wisening up." He snarled.

Reala boosted straight up, aiming to turn around the air and plummet straight toward towards where Byleth was. Meanwhile, NiGHTS took the window of opportunity that they could.

"Thanks everyone! I'll try to get her out!"

That's when NiGHTS flew in close, their hand coming right to Byleth's forehead. A white light shone for a quick second before NiGHTS vanished entirely.



The NiGHTMARE


The now helpless creature gave a last high pitched gasp upon Byleth's finishing blow, quivering and shaking before the hate filled nightmaren went limp. Doing so, nightmare Miklan vanished in a field of yellow light, the Ideya that was once lost gradually floating back towards Byleth. The battle was won!

...Half of it anyway.

Wizeman himself remained, his color now fully restored and the conflict between him and Sothis becoming wholly viewable. As a hand was about to grip Byleth, a fierce series of explosions emerged. The hand recoiled, and Wizeman who had been unprotected from the blast gave a guttural groan, the sigil around his back shattering, the backdrop of the cosmos with it. The God had been hurt.

"My patience has met its end."

A reverberation was felt around, rippling across the nightmarish reality they found themselves in. Golden spears shot out from across the 'sky', each one flying down and impaling Wizeman. The golden spears finding themselves lodged in his collar and upper body in an organized manner. They pulsated with an ominous glow, like a pattern of a heartbeat as Wizeman appeared to be getting bolstered by the moment.

"It seems a mere second level nightmaren could not bypass the rules of this world, the world of hosts and fabricated battles. I say this game has run its course. Once this dream space is unmade, I'll simply pluck the Red Ideya from the remains thereof."

The golden spears began to charge, the realm quaking with every pulse of the spears. Wizeman was planning to kill Sothis and turn Byleth Comatose in his next move. At this point, a voice yelled out.

"Hey! I found you!"

While they hadn't really interacted Byleth would recognize the appearance of NiGHTS from matches earlier on in the tournament. They offered an outstretched hand to the professor as the appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"We finally got to you! Here, take my hand and we can get out of here!"

"NiGHTS...My worthless creation."

NiGHTS tried their best to stay confident in the face of their maker. They were here to save the visitor, not to face angst of the past after all. Focusing on that, NiGHTS gave smile to Byleth.

"Come on, we got no time to waste!"

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Byleth & Sothis

Byleth dropped back to the ground as her sword retracted. Expecting to find the monster somehow still coming after her, she turned to defend herself and found instead three orbs. White, Blue, Green. Instinctively, Byleth extended a hand to the orbs. They rushed towards her, disappearing once they touched her, and Byleth felt the mental fog within her mind dissipate. The distracting lewd thoughts, the memory gaps, and the apathy all vanished. Before her now was an even bigger threat. The massive creature that seemed to take up the sky. Byleth looked up to Wizeman, falling back to a defensive position.

"Hey! I found you!"

Suddenly appearing next to Byleth was NiGHTS, one of the competitors from the tournament. One with strange powers, whos appearance was remarkably similar to Reala's. They offered their hand, urging Byleth to take it. The Professor hesitated.
Byleth! Now is the time! Sothis called out, flying down towards Byleth and NiGHTS. I do not know if I shall be able to hold this next attack!
Byleth nodded, and took NiGHTS' hand!


Dagr

NiGHTS' vanished before Dagr's eyes, seeming to fly inside Byleth. The Professor landed on her feet, so Dagr turned her attention towards Reala.
"Go, Sun-Wing! Help Pit!" Dagr commanded. Sun-Wing launched itself off Dagr's back, flying over and hovering above Byleth. Should Reala somehow make their way past Pit, they would find Sun-Wing obstinately in their way, using their body to shield Byleth if necessary!


Ryo Bakura

Kirin's answers seemed to satisfy Peppermint. Bakura returned Kirin's smile with a nervous smile and nod, rubbing his hands as he watched the relic transfer from one competitor to another.
"I suppose that does settle it..." Bakura said. Looking back up at the leaderboards and the fights, the white haired teen found that the tournament was nearly over! There was only one fight left now, the humanoid wolf-creature against the Valkyrie-like giantess.
"I'm sorry. It looks like the tournament's almost done. I didn't mean to distract you all from watching the fights." Bakura found himself apologizing again.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

The NiGHTMARE


NiGHTS gripped tightly to Byleth's hand, a white aura surrounding the pair. Wizeman had prepared to finished them off, the golden spears infusing the elder god nearly finished charging his wiping attack. NiGHTS closed their eyes, letting the space between dream and reality fade as they pulled the professor though to the waking world. And in a hazy spell...


The Plaza


...Byleth woke. Material, not dream. NiGHTS was beside them, letting go of their hand. Taking a relieved breath, the Jester tilted their head toward the visitor they helped rescue.

"Phew, that was a real doozy. Hope the nightmares weren't too harsh on you?" They gave a wink.

"Tch...!"

Reala was getting ready to dive bomb past pit and rake NiGHTS out of his victim's mind before they had retrieved them from their prison. Of course. NiGHTS sticking their nose into matters that need not concern them. Grimacing at the revelation, he paused in the air, right before a certain hand quickly rushed on the scene with alarming speed.

"-And enough of that!"

Snapping his fingers, NiGHTS, Reala, and Sothis would feel some kind of invisible force imparted on them. Not a weight, nor did it seem invasive, but a presence.

"That should do it. Last thing we need is a repeat of these gods incidents. I'm making an addendum to the rules - No using dream spaces or using gods to cause an uprising. If I were any other host everyone involved would be booted from this place! But I'm a benevolent one, so count your lucky stars this time."

Thats when he would point his finger at Reala. "Oh, and one more attempt like this and somebody is going to Crazy Hand's basement!"

Thats when the roster board changed, Audrey's name blotting out in red upon her defeat. This seemed to draw Master Hand's attention. Without bothering a goodbye to the group, he whisked away to the center of the Plaza, warping Lucario and Audrey out from their match, Lucario placed closer to the hand.

"Excellent battle! Gonna be honest, I didn't think a rep that should be in a certain other triple A fighting game franchise would make it this far in the bootleg bros tournament. Congratulations! You are the king of the losers!"

Confetti fired off from seemingly nowhere, multicolored 'L' shapes raining down around Lucario.

"And as the king of the losers, you have the right to fight the king of the winners! Nótt has been waiting for you to finish up for some time now, let's get you two paired up so we can start the finals! All the stands are gonna be watching this one, so make sure to make it a show!"

With that, Master Hand warped out. He seemed to have more energy for this one, oddly, compared to his last address. But now it was off to the final matchup. The bracket updating to show all the other names disappearing except those two. Nott and Lucario.




Peppermint & Chai & Rex Raptor


"Hardly, I'm only here cause the idiot with the guitar came along."

"Hey!"

Peppermint nudged the white haired teen with 808's feline elbow, a small smile on the cat's face.

"Go on then, don't do anything I would do, okay? Take care of yourself back home."

"I'm going first!"

Rex stomped past the pair, pushing them aside. With a huff, he turned back and pointed at Bakura with a disgruntled look on his face.

"When we fought in that weird mind thing it completely unfair! When we get back home, we are having a proper duel, and I'll crush ya like the weakling you are! Nyeh-heh-heh!"

With that, Rex left in a hurry. Peppermint just shaking her head and shrugging as the teen ran back to his own world.

"...And do me a favor and don't lose to that guy."