FJORRD THE CRUSHER
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Pit's moment to breathe turned out to be about two seconds, as the nord was rushing in again, ice coating his fists once more, which were holding onto his frost axes that he'd finally pulled out. "Breathe!?" He shouted, sounded incredulous. "Where's that fight you had in you?"
Fjorrd leapt into the air, his axes ripping through the branches in his way while his body simply barreled through what he missed. Lightning still cracked through the sky, and the tree beside Pit erupted in flames as it was struck by a particularly vicious bolt of lightning - Skyrim's weather effects still ceased to dissipate. The man was like an unstoppable juggernaut as he reached the angel. "I gave you one simple challenge!"
Pit's wings flashed, and he rose above an axe-strike. The slash from Fjorrd caused the entire upper half of the tree to fall away, before the nord kicked off of the branch he had landed on, previously occupied by Pit. "Do not run from me! Show me your truth! You are greater than this!" It dislodged from the force of his push as Fjorrd rose into the air, still closing the distance to Pit, who swerved to the side and belted out of the way - but Fjorrd shifted in the air, turning his body to face Pit, before-
"WULD NAH KEST!"
The distance closed once again, Fjorrd blitzing through the air like a missile, his shoulder ramming into the angel, who let out a shout as his wings ceased their glow for a moment, and the two began to plummet. Fjorrd tossed the axes aside, leaving them to tumble through the air as the man grappled the much smaller boy. His hands were like blocks of ice, freezing to the touch, and Pit could feel that frost seeping into his body by touch alone. "Where has your courage gone? Bring it forth! Show me your might!" Fjorrd bellowed, his voice making the sky itself rumble, despite the storm now dissipating. "SHOW ME!"
DART FELD
Warlock's return was one of surprising humility - though Dart wasn't as surprised as most might be. Every villain he'd ever faced wound up doing something like this. In a sense, it was par for the course - but he didn't lack appreciation for it. Dart gave a nod to the Warlock, before he crossed his arms over his chest. "Sure thing, Mindripper."
With that, the Warlock stalked away, headed seemingly to the Regular Shop, but for all anyone knew, that could have just been in the way of the direction the psychic beast had chosen.
Dart glanced around the lobby as many of the remaining fights began to wrap up, and he felt a sense of calm and ease returning to him. The Warlock had really worked him up for a moment there... but it had been a long time since the mercenary had been in a proper fight, especially one against a villain. He'd almost forgotten how they could get under his skin. Especially the Warlock's mental attacks. Nevertheless, Dart was reminded of where he was. The tournament, and he'd just moved up the bracket.
The familiar excitement seeped back in, and Dart's face split into a grin. The next round on the Winner's Bracket was looking promising - a LOT of great potential to be found there. He also happened to catch the end of the fight between Mudkip and Lucario - in which the little mud fish had seemingly evolved into something that looked a lot more powerful than the earlier Mudkip. When they returned to the lobby, Dart gave the Marshtomp (as the roster now indicated) an approving, encouraging nod.
KASSANDRA
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Rather than abide by Kassandra's wishes, the Knight darted forth with an encroaching zeal. Her blade slashed and hacked, but the newly conjured Trident of Poseidon met and matched her attack, blow-for-blow. Finally, another bolt of lightning from the sky separated them, forcing Kassandra to dig her heels into the earth again, sliding to a stop.
"No, we finish how we began," Alter Knight replied. "I've seen what you can do at range - I won't let you recover."
"Recover what?" Kassandra smirked. "You haven't even nicked me."
"We will see."
Alter Knight charged once again, preparing several more lightning-based attacks (as they seemed fairly effective against the misthios, at least in keeping her on a back foot), but something surprising happened.
Kassandra let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes, before the trident disappeared as the distance between herself and Alter rapidly closed. "Alright, fine. We'll skip the spectacle, and I'll-"
Alter's blade plunged through the spartan's torso, who grit her teeth - and bolts of lightning plunged downward, striking the misthios. Smoke burst about on impact, before Alter made sure to strike a few more times, the lightning bolts likely reducing the spartan woman to a charred corpse, and ending the fight.
But after the third bolt, when Alter tried to pull her blade out, one of the misthios' hands snapped out, grasping the knight's forearm. Alter's yes narrowed, and she prepared another bolt to escape the grasp - only for pain to shoot up her arms as Kassandra simply gripped, and the knight's arm snapped in half, breaking off in the woman's grip, armor, bone, and all.
Staggering back, now armless and weaponless (for the moment), Alter Knight grit her teeth as the smoke cleared, clinging to Kassandra as the spartan began to walk forward. Her eyes were flaring with a red light, a crimson aura seemingly drifting from her body. Alter Knight didn't know it - but this was War Cry of Ares.
Alter's severed arm still clung to the sword, which still stuck through Kassandra's chest. Calmly, the misthios yanked it out, before tossing it aside, and rolling her head. Her neck popped several times, before the woman grinned. "Like I was saying: I'll make this quick."
Before the knight could attempt to dive for her now discarded weapon, Kassandra was upon her, fist swinging upward. Alter couldn't breathe as the fist made contact, imploding her breastplate into her chest, simultaneously knocking the wind out of her. Alter was launched upward, but Kassandra grabbed her by the leg before she could soar away, and yanked her back with enough force to dislocate her leg. Alter felt her face cave in as Kassandra slammed her own head into the knight, smashing her into the ground with the force of the blow.
Kassandra was being needlessly violent, excessive with her brute force. She wasn't doing this to prove a point, or to humble Alter Knight - Kassandra's aim was to put her potential on display for the other contestants that caught her fight. She was trying to root a fear in some of them through her display, something that words would never do.
Alter Knight could barely think or react, she couldn't even refill her collapsing lungs. The last thing she saw was Kassandra raising a sandal over the knight's skull, and-
...
Winner: KASSANDRA!
When the gateway opened, Kassandra stepped out of it, rolling her shoulders, before her gaze drifted up toward the stands high above. She didn't so much as glance at the leaderboard, her eyes instead connecting with Specter's. The ape lifted a wine glass up in the air as he stared back down at her with a thin grin across his face.
The misthios probably didn't recognize it - but she had just started down a path much darker than she would have taken if she had never met the psychic ape.
NEPHTHYS
Her initial feeling was embarassment. She'd just had a breakdown, let loose all of her might, then cried, and still lost - all on interdimensional television. Her face was flushed when her eyes darted toward the leaderboard to find her name had been stricken from the leaderboard, instead appearing under a category listed as "ELIMINATED."
Soured, she turned her gaze away from it. Despite the anger and shame she felt, a part of it was quelled by her experience in this strange tournament. Back home, she was so used to being superior. She almost never had to struggle. She was the prized Pokémon of a champion, the main reason he had attained that position in the first place. But after struggling against Wally, shortly before his passing, she found herself woefully unmatched - and sorely misplaced. Her trainer was content to live life outside of the battle scene, something that they had dedicated so much of their life to.
But maybe that's really what awaited those who truly attain victory. For years they had talked and dreamed of overcoming the Elite 4 and become Champions. Then they did. Dreams achieved. That was it. Neph still wanted to battle, to protect their title, but outside of Wally, none ever compared. Even when she'd run away to Sinnoh, the gardevoir still found none worthy of her efforts.
Well, until now. This tournament was chalk full of people her equal, and her superior. It was a strange dichotomy, being forced back into a stage where she actually had to try again - and despite giving both of her fights every ounce of her strength, she had still failed.
Would victory have given her anything, though?
If she had somehow come out on top in this tournament, would she finally be satisfied? Or should she have been satisfied with all that she had already accomplished? Her trainer was. Maybe...
Maybe it was time she was, too.
Nephthys closed her eyes, her shoulders slumping slightly as an unfamiliar feeling started to settle over her. At first, she couldn't place a name to this feeling, but after some fleeting moments of deliberation, the gardevoir came to the realization of what this emotion was.
Peace.
It felt alien, yet at the same time, comforting. Slowly opening her eyes, the gardevoir cast a glance around herself at the gathered contestants, and felt a sudden surge of another emotion that was foreign to her, though not unknown. Respect.
She hadn't felt that in a while.
For the first time in a long time, Nepthys felt her lips curl into a small smile.
