Master Chief
The lobby has changed upon his return. More statues stood around, this time of all members of the tournament. They formed half-circle rows in a wide arc around the Spartan. The back row was the first eliminated, the next row being the second round of eliminations, so on and so forth until two status stood close by; Hareta and Psyduck. Despite being small individuals respectively, their statues stood nearly 20 feet tall, and were among the smallest of the gigantic statues around them.
The statues of the still active contestants now stood by the gateways to each match. While the refreshments table remained, it seemed to have upgraded to some sort of high tech liquid fountain, capable of dispensing any liquid in the multiverse, according to the advertisement on its side.
Finally, the crack in the sky seemed to have grown exponentially. In fact, calling it a crack, or even a tear, was a massive disservice, as about a quarter of the entire skybox had now been ripped away to reveal a shifting mass of incomprehensible matter beyond, swirling colors and substances unknowable to any fourth dimensional life forms, and possibly even more advanced than that.
With one look at the screen displaying Specter's match, 117 could easily conclude what was happening.
Like Chief and Hareta, there was an exhanging of keys. Most mysteriously, the Generic Host was nowhere to be found, his usual pedestal off to the side sitting abandoned.
"Kalmiya," John spoke, "run through all of the collected data on Specter, compile a new dossier."
The AI set out to build a new file on the simian, as intel gathered in the more recent close-up fight had provided some insights into the ape. Almost as though summoned, he suddenly appeared a few meters opposite the Chief.
After taking a short moment to soak in his surroundings, Specter smirked at the Spartan, dispelling his fresh insult with little hesitation.
"I would think the world would be all the better if less like you existed in it," the simian concluded smugly.
"Likewise," was the only response 117 gave, his gaze turning away from Specter passively to observe the remaining battles. Three left.
There were so few of them now... Most of the alliances made previously seemed null at this point. Fortunately, the likes of Rebellio, Axe, and even the morally ambiguous Death remained, but for Specter's alliance, Metal Sonic still remained. The only individuals Chief had yet to form a personal opinion on were Amaterasu and Snake.
If the Chief could overcome Specter, he was concerned with the prospect of the final fight in this tournament, and the potential of facing Metal. While Hareta may have defeated him, and John had defeated Hareta, that didn't automatically mean the Spartan would come out on top.
Solid Snake
"Not... gonna take me down that easy...!" Axe grunted as he pushed back. Snake could recognize a test of strength when he saw one, and if the kid didn't want to be taken down so bad, then the soldier would pick him back up. Using Axe's own pushing strength as leverage, Snake would suddenly pull back, aiming to lift Axe up when he least expected it.
If the kid wanted his shield back, then the soldier would give it back. So as Snake would yank, he'd turn Axe in the air with the quick ferocity of the tug, and let the shield slide off his arm, effectively forcing Axe to go flying if he held onto the shield. The purpose of this was the small block of C4 plastered against the inside of the shield, and as it was released into the air with Axe, it would detonate.
The use of the physics leverage, and the thrust of the shield, would also be the result of preventing the shield's axe head from cutting into the soldier, only glancing off a few beard hairs.