Private/Closed Bootleg Brothers 6

[Captain Cardboard]

Jeice

Just before the kick landed, there was an explosion of energy from Kassandra. Jeice was knocked back, flying through the air. The attack had left him singed and hurting, but he had flown back quick enough to avoid most of the damage. The red space warrior flipped in mid air, landing on the ground across from Kassandra. The waves of water fell, and she now had a new weapon. A massive flaming hammer. Jeice wiped his hands on his armor, trying to dull the pain from the acid and flames. That attack was supposed to end her! How could she keep getting away with this?!

Jeice looked to Kassandra again, panic starting to become apparent on his face. He took a step back, eyes wide. A massive hammer like that was a powerful weapon in the hands of a skilled opponent. But it tended to slow them down. He couldn't make any assumptions that Kassandra would follow the same rules. And then there was the fact all of her weapons thus far had some sort of gimmick. The dagger was poisoned, the trident controlled waters. The bow hadn't done much, but she hadn't used it.

Jeice could feel the panic tighten in his chest. She was tough. So strong, and so powerful. There was nothing more he wanted to than to run away, fly back and get the Captain. He would sort her out, show her the true power of the Ginyu Force. But... here, he couldn't. Here, it really just was him. No Captain, no Burtur. Just him, and the savage. The panicked expression faded from Jeice's face, his expression becoming calmer and focused. He stood up straight, his long white hair flowing behind him.

"Whoa. Jeice is really getting his butt handed to him out there." Recoome said. The massive man munched on his popcorn, watching the fight intently.
"Heh. About time he was put in his place. He thought he was so great, just 'cause his power level is so high. Now look at him! He looks like he's about to wet his pants, hya ha ha!" Guldo laughed.
"Hey, shut it!" Burtur snarled. The blue alien crossed his arms, then glanced to the leader of the Ginyu Force. "... Recoome does have a point, Captain. It's not looking good out there for Jeice. Just what is this opponent?"

Captain Ginyu stayed silent, his hands together. The explosion sent Jeice and Kassandra apart. After a few more moments, Captain Ginyu grinned.
"Pay attention, gentlemen. You are about to see a reminder as to why Jeice is the second in command of the Ginyu Force." Captain Ginyu said.

"Right. It's... just me..." Jeice muttered.

Jeice lowered his shoulder towards Kassandra, getting ready... then in a red blur, shot towards Kassandra. It was the same strategy he had used before, rushing down on Kassandra and attacking with a flurry of blows. But right as the first punch was about to land, Jeice suddenly flew behind Kass- then to her right- then in front of her again- Jeice threw his flurry of attacks, but attempted to fly around Kassandra and attack her from all sides!


Bakura

The Gardevoir snapped towards him and looked at him with such a glare, Bakura couldn't help but to take a step back in nervousness. She spoke, but her mouth did not move. Despite being smaller than him (and only a little taller than Yugi), Bakura was intimidated by this creature. She had conjured miniature black holes, stopped the Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth's attack with just a tree, created illusions... It was like she was a real life Dark Magician. Bakura swallowed nervously.

"R-right. Nepthys. M-my name's Bakura." The teen's voice was even more quiet and timid than usual. "I was... I..."
Oh, what was he doing?! But he needed answers.
"I need your help." Bakura said. "W-we're strangers, and I know I have no right to ask this of you. But there's something wrong with me. Something causing me to act different, do things I wouldn't do. A-and I can't even remember what it is. But whatever it was, it's caused me to enter this tournament. I-It's caused me to fight, to hurt someone I don't even know. And if I've done that here, have I done it back in my own world? Have I hurt people I know?"

The more Bakura spoke, the more distressed the teen became. He rubbed his hands, glancing around nervously as his breathing quickened. He sounded crazy! He looked up to Neph, and was completely unable to read her expression.
"I-I'm sorry, this was a mistake..." Bakura said and started to walk away.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rex Raptor


Rex blinked at Warlock's taunts, his body deflating just a little, arching over a couple inches.

"Sheesh, you don't have to put it like that dude..."

Seeing as Warlock was off somewhere unknown, just vaguely in the opposite direction of him, Rex just grunted, adjusting his beanie.

"Whatever, if you want to run, my Dinos will catch ya! Two Headed King Rex, time to stomp that whole building into the ground!"

The twin headed dinosaur charged forth, shattering through parts of the exterior as he smashed craters into floor tile. However, Rex failed to notice three glowing creatures that somehow materialized around him. Whirling around, hehe cringed as Crawling Dragon#2 swung its tail around defensively, bashing into each of them. Though in a blast of purple light, the crawling dragon shattered into a million polygons, Rex knocked on his butt from the knockback.

"Urgh...I really need some defenses for these sucker punches."

Placing a card facedown, he looked up to see Two Headed's progress, rampaging towards the end of the building, getting ready to break out the other side!


Rex's field

Monsters:
Two Headed King Rex

1 Facedown spell/trap card

Cards in hand: 3



Rinku


Wind carved into Rinku, the harsh air cutting strings of his Yo-Yos, ribbons of cloth and bits of demon flesh and they were taken into the air. All the while, he was grinning ear to ear, seeing Weevil get ripped apart faster than he was. He began to wince and his body shake in pain, but his resolve held through as he felt the young duelist's struggles becoming more and more subdued. Right when he felt as if he couldn't hang on for much longer, Weevil went completely limp as the match was decided. The wind, moth, and landscaped all vanished before his eyes.

Rinku let Weevil go, the both of the plummeting out of the air and slapping pretty hard on the ground. Rinku coughed, blood coming from his lungs. This fight was one that actually left him significantly injured. If this were any other place, he might be worried about vultures of fighters picking him off while he was battered.

"Tch...as annoying as you were, you did give me a good fight." Rinku wobbled to his feet, cradling his right arm. "Hope they treat me to a better opponent for next around, one that doesn't make me want to tear my ears out."

With a light limp, Rinku managed his way to the portal, transporting to the plaza once more, not caring to get Weevil out. His wounds magically healed and his Yo-Yos regenerated, slithering quickly into his Yo-Yo bag as it snapped shut.

"Not bad. Not bad. Gettin' what I bargained for with this tourney. Ah, don't get a cast of whacky characters of this variety back home, that's for sure! Huh, I wonder if they have any snacks or sweets around here..."



Chai



"Huh, I really didn't think you would block that one-URK!"

He was suddenly kicked in the stomach, flying backwards, thumping to a prone position on the ground. Rubbing his head, he looked up, guitars riffing from the speakers as a shining blue arrow was charged up in Pit's grasp. Two blades, a single sword, and a bow?! How is that fair?!

Bringing up his guitar to defend himself, arrows pelted his position. Put was alarmingly accurate, chunks of junk debris flying off his scrap guitar. As screws, broken metal boards, and tin shreds took flight, Chai took a step forward, performing a perfect parry on the final arrow, bashing his guitar against the arrow and throwing the attack directly back at his attacker!

To follow up, he magnetized the fragments of his guitar back on, spinning it around in his hands. He looked behind him at the ring border next to him, smirking for a second, before flinging his guitar like a boomerang back at the angel!

"Getting worked up? I'm just getting started!"

 

[comic]

KASSANDRA​

There it was. The look present on Jeice's face was one Kassandra was no stranger to getting. Fear, uncertainty, and anxiety. History regurgitated bold men who gave her one look, and drew their assumptions. The misthios had become accustomed to stripping bold men of their confidence, and their bolder intentions. Despite being from another world, Jeice wasn't much different. Like most men Kassandra met, he had been sufficiently humbled.

"Alright, let's wrap this up, I've got things to get to," Kassandra sighed, taking a step forward - but Jeice's fear shifted in a moment, a shift in the air's energy signifying this. He was quelling his negative emotions, trying to replace them with something else. A determination.

That look, Kassandra recognized it all too well, and it gave her pause. The only step she took remained planted. She was reminded of a young woman, eager to take on the challenges of the world, faced with terrors behind her comprehension - and persevering through it all, despite the odds. It was what Kassandra was reminded of for herself.

He had more to give. Wisely, Kassandra set aside her arrogance to focus on her defense, now retracting her step as Jeice spoke. His words implied he wasn't used to working alone.

Then he was blitzing forward. Kassandra moved to defend, but he was at another angle, swerving about. Her brows creased as she struggled to keep up, before the blows began to land, coming from every direction. Despite all the damage he'd suffered, Jeice was performing even better than he had before. It was no surprise he'd been holding back before - so had the misthios.

The effects of the Intoxication from Venomous Attacks softened Jeice's hits, somewhat. He was weakened a degree, and it was showing. Despite that, he was giving it his all with a burning ferocity, his metaphysical flames burning brightly.

And it ignited the glimmer of a spark within Kassandra. An old familiar fire that she thought had been snuffed long ago.

The excitement for battle.

Battlecry of Ares would likely finish this fight. The increase in power and speed would overwhelm Jeice, she was certain of it. It was too simple and easy of a solution. The smoldering flame in her heart, a reawakened passion for battle, refused to resort so easily to it.

Kassandra closed her eyes, pulling upon her Eagle Vision. "Eagle Vision" was one word for it. It was a Sixth Sense, and being the daughter of an Isu, the misthios had access to it. In short, the Sixth Sense was the ability to sense "time," not the typical concept of it - but the explanation of it was more trouble than it was worth. The reason for using it in this instance was to sense through time itself to isolate Jeice. More accurately, to isolate where he would go. A precognition of sorts.

Kassandra opened her eyes and swung the hammer, meeting Jeice as he moved in for another blow, the hammer pushing in heavily. If it hit, the hammer would burst with fire and energy, like a more miniaturized version of her earlier Ring of Chaos. Immediately following this, Kassandra would press the advantage, the hammer spinning with her movements with surprising speed and agility, given its weight and power.
​

​

NEPHTHYS​

The boy apologized after spouting for a moment, then he awkwardly turned and departed. Nephthys watched him go for a moment, before she turned and faced the screens displaying the still-active battles. She was willing to write off the interaction as, quite simply, nothing of note - but the gardevoir felt a pang of emotion she struggled to find a word for. It might have been shame.

In her mind's eye, she relived the scenes in which her trainer had shown compassion and support to other trainers they had bested, even those that had come close to beating Nephthys. He... was a good person. If she had learned anything in this tournament so far, it might have been that she understood her trainer a little better than she had before.

The feeling of shame only intensified, before Neph closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, then turned to look back at the still-leaving Bakura.

<Wait,> she called out to his mind. <It's... okay. Come, tell me what troubles you.>​

 

[Psymallard]

The Taskmaster
There was movement, a smile, and a voiced greeting that the Taskmaster shifted his attention to from the many screens displaying all manner of battles. It was Nótt, his opponent. The Asgardian-adjacent princess carried over a kind energy that was entirely different from the Norse superhumans he knew of. His cold, white eyes shone through the expressionless mask. He silently studied her expression for a moment, and then turned his gaze to size up the giant bird on her back. After another couple seconds, he glanced back at the Norse woman.

"Save it, princess. I don't like small talk. Are you ready?"

Beam
Was this the jester? As Dagr talked, he barely peeped out of the ground, watching silently as he was trained to do. This thing smelled oddly similar to a devil, but... there was a significant difference. As Dagr had joked, they smelled funny. The fiend's brain unconsciously changed gear into a hunting mode, preparing to lash out at the first sign of violence- just as he had been trained. However, no violence came, and Dagr left, which snapped the simple creature out of his hunter's focus. NiGHTS peered over to Beam, and the sharkman yelped.

"AHH! Ahhhh-"

He looked over to Dagr, but she was already long gone. He turned back to the Nightmaren, petrified with shock. He struggled for what to do, and his brain latched onto a keyword. Beam pointed at their face and shouted,

"JJ-JESTER!!!"

Kragg
The forest was substituted for something utterly different, a massive steel structure that glimmered with artificial lights of a variety of colors. Kragg hadn't the time to try and understand it, for Ryuji was already on the attack. The Earth's Bastion widened his stance, and the compressed rock on his wrist swelled to cover his hand in a stone gauntlet. Bracing this gauntlet with his other hand, he hurled his weight behind the rocky fist to meet and equal the mace swing. The gauntlet shattered violently as it took the impact.

In that instant, they were at a stalemate, but Kragg was quick to push an advantage. Before his opponent could readjust with his unwieldy weapon, the Wallrunner jerked forward in a movement similar to a headbutt, aiming to bonk Skull on the noggin with his strong horn. It was intended as a curt yet painful whack to disorient his foe as he quickly reeled back a fist and let loose with a more powerful blow. If Ryuji was knocked back, Kragg would glance around. He couldn't see an inch of exposed earth, but he could still sense it beneath his feet. It would take more than steel to stop the wrath of earth, if that was Ryuji's intention.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

Dagr still had no success finding Jevil. The little blue scamp was nowhere to be seen! But she did see something else. Rinku, coming out of his fight. Despite having been healed up, the match highlights showed it had been a harsh one for the demon kid. Dagr grinned.

The Jotun attempted to sneak up behind the demon boy as he muttered to himself. In a sudden burst of speed, she attempted to grab Rinku in a playful headlock and give him a noogie.
"Hey, Ice Rink! You won another match, congrats!" Dagr teased. "Looks like you had a pretty hard time on that one! Don't tell me that little nerd gave you trouble!"

In the distance, a high pitched whining scream could be heard. Dagr paused, looking in the direction of it curiously.
"What the heck is that?"


Weevil Underwood

Weevil came too in the plaza, staring up at the sky. What a terrible dream! That dweeb Rinku had been there, and turned his Perfect monster against him, and Weevil had been eliminated-
"NO!" Weevil screeched, jumping to his feet. He stared in panic at the leaderboard. Rinku had advanced in the bracket... and Weevil had been put in the loser's bracket! Even worse, he had been put there before Rex! Weevil's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"NOOO! NO, NO, NO!" Weevil screeched again. He shook his head and pulled his hair. "This can't be happening! I'm the regional champ! THE REGIONAL CHAAAAMP!"

Jeice

The Hammer of Hades slammed Jeice square in the chest, hard enough to cause a crack in his battle armor. It sent Jeice flying back through the air. The warrior let out blasts of ki from his hands to quickly stabilize himself, just in time to evade Kassandra's follow up attack. He bobbed and weaved around Kassandra's attacks with her hammer. As he thought, she wasn't slowed by the weapon's massive size. Even with all of his energy into dodging, Kassandra still landed a few glancing blows.

Seeing an opening out of the onslaught, Jeice launched himself backwards. Landing a good twenty feet from Kassandra, he struck a pose! Jeice let out a battle cry, leaning to the side and throwing a fist into the air. A blast of energy appeared around him, and his aura grew even stronger! Jeice dashed forward to meet Kassandra. He evaded the first few hammer strikes, before aiming a powerful uppercut at the warrior lady that would launch her into the air. Would that be successful, Jeice would fly up above her and attempt to spike her into the metal platform of their battlefield!


Bakura

The white haired teen froze. This Nephthys... it wasn't just that she could speak with her mouth closed, she was speaking directly into his mind. Bakura nervously glanced back to Neph, then slowly approached her again. He sat down next to her, placing his hands on his legs and looking up at the various screens showing the matches. Kragg's was just starting, up against the skull-masked teen...

"... For a long time. I'm not sure when it started. But I have these blackouts." Bakura said. " I'll be in class, or at home, and then suddenly I'm somewhere else, and it's hours later. I can't remember how I got there, or why I came there. And as crazy as it sounded, I never told anyone about it. At first, I was too embarrassed. But it happened more and more... and no one noticed. No one commented, or said anything. So I didn't either. I thought it was just something I had to live with."

He swallowed apprehensively.
"And then... Suddenly, I'm here. I'm in the tournament. And this sort of thing, I would never do. I'm not a fighter, like others here. I just... like games, and creepy things. I try not to hurt anyone, even by accident. But somehow, in my blackout, I signed up for this tournament. I was here, in the plaza. I spoke to Kirin, and then it was time for my fight. I was on my way to tell Kragg, the person I was fighting, that I didn't want to, and it was some sort of mistake. But then, the next thing I know, I'm in the middle of the fight. I had a blackout, and came too fighting Kragg. It was only a moment, because the next thing I remember after that, I'm back in the plaza, and Kragg is telling me the fight is over."

Bakura rubbed his head, cringing.
"Why... why was I fighting him? I don't know. But for some reason while I was blacked out, I did." Bakura looked to Nephthys. "There's... there's something wrong with me. And I don't know what to do. I saw you, and... well, I remember watching your fight against Weevil and Rex, when you were with Kirin. It said you were a psychic. So I thought, maybe, you could... take a look in my mind, and see if it all really is just in my head. Or if there was something else."

The teen shook his head and looked to the ground.
"I'm sorry. If it's too much of an ask, I understand..."


Nótt

The Princess frowned at Taskmaster's curt reply.
"Come now, Taskmaster. Where's that mysterious charming man I met at the start of the tournament?" Nótt asked, her smile quickly returning. "But if you're so insistent to quicken your elimination out of the tournament, of course I shall indulge you."
Nótt walked to the arena gate, stepping into the white void. Picking an unfamiliar fighting area had been part of her downfall last round. She wouldn't make that mistake again.

"The Night Temple." Nótt called out to the ai. Even from whatever changes Taskmaster's choice would cause, Nótt knew her stronghold front and back. Here, her attempt at crushing a skull would be much more successful...

 

[comic]

KASSANDRA​

That fifth charge expended rebuilt as Kassandra kept pushing the pressure, Jeice weaving around a good deal of attacks - but the hammer landed with a few, the contact enacting the weapon's ability, small bursts of fire and force further depleting whatever Jeice was running on. Suddenly, the mutant leapt back as he struck a pose. What a dork.

Jeice himself had landed a few blows, black marks singing Kassandra's armor - though, as per usual, she'd used the Fleece of Jason to absorb its fair share of ki blasts as well. He swung back in, diving just under the hammer and leading with an uppercut that connected to the misthios, right under her chin. Her teeth rattled as she was launched skyward, and Jeice zipped above her, before he slammed his fists into her centermass, blasting Kassandra downward.

Through the air, she turned, despite the breath knocked out of her lungs, and her sandals slammed into the ground. A surrounding blast of kinetic energy propelled from her, a passive ability that was used upon impacting the ground. Despite the heavy landing, Kassandra remained on her feet, turning her gaze upward. "Not bad," she commented, wiping at her nose, smearing the blood that trickled from her nostril. "Keep using moves like that and I might start thinking you're an actual threat."

This comment was less provoking and demeaning as prior ones had been, now seeming more like banter than an actual insult. Her grin supported this as her battle-lust increased, and she traded the Hammer of Hades for Artemis's Bow in a flash, pulling back the drawstring while consuming two charges this time, bringing her back down to three.

Once again, time seemed to slow for Kassandra as everything moved to a crawl, but this time, it was for her Rapid Fire attack. With greater speed than Hermes, Kassandra let an arrow fly toward Jeice, then she notched a second. The arrows moved as fast as Kassandra was, and from anyone else's perspective, she will have just fired eight arrows blitzing toward Jeice in the span of less than half a second, before she charged in with Rapid Fire ending, drawing an explosive arrow to fire at a potentially disoriented Jeice as she closed the distance toward him.
​

​

NEPHTHYS​

He wanted her to... look inside of his mind? That was an unusual request, and in most circumstances, highly invasive - not that Neph usually had a problem with that. However, her ventures into the minds of others were typically surface level, just to glean basic information about the individual. Entering the mind of another, proper, was somewhat arduous, and in her experience, a highly offensive act.

His condition he described was certainly unusual, and the gardevoir had to admit that it piqued her interest somewhat. Not every day you met an individual that would apparently black out. A split personality, perhaps. His black outs might have meant the other personality was taking over.

Nephthys hesitated, standing awkwardly across from the seated boy. She heard Weevil's wails of failure, and felt a tinge of satisfaction, before she refocused herself on Bakura.

<I... suppose it is possible,> she thought to him. <It isn't without adverse effects. If your mind doesn't acclimate to my mental intrusion, you could suffer a seizure. Potentially rupture your frontal lobe.>

That was science talk that Nephthys was partially talking out of her ass about. While she didn't know how true it was, she had heard from reliable sources and read books about such a process. Many humans were usually fine in her world, as the humans there spent so much time around Pokémon their minds had adapted to be more receptive to the neural waves of a Pokémon. There was evidence of the negatives, however, from humans that didn't spend time around Pokémon (somehow, Neph still hadn't worked out how a human even managed that). Their weaker minds simply faltered under the intruding presence of a psychic-type Pokémon. On top of that, gardevoir had very powerful minds - and Neph was pretty much the cream of the crop as far as her kind was concerned.

<I am not sure if there are less risks from other psychics present.>​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

NiGHTS


"Huh? Uh, yeah big guy...!"

NiGHTS couldn't help but to sweat. Beam was pretty intense, from yelping to a power fueled declaration. He reminded them of Gillwing a bit, appetite and all. Rolling with the punches, NiGHTS gave him a pair of finger guns.

"What's say you fight this Jester one on one?"




Rinku

As Rinku was putting a hand above his eyes, peering out for a snack vendor of some kind, he was none the wiser to Dagr coming from behind, clasping him in her strong physique and giving him a noogie. He cringed a tilting his head to the left as he struggled in her muscular hold.

"Hey, Ice Rink! You won another match, congrats!" Dagr teased. "Looks like you had a pretty hard time on that one! Don't tell me that little nerd gave you trouble!"

"Ack...YOU are giving me trouble...ECK!"

With a flicker of pink Ki, he managed to squeeze out of her grip, slipping down from it and out the side. Taking a breath, he had no intention of being knocked out before a match could begin. Before he could make a sarcasm laced reply, he heard a shriek.

...It was Weevil. He was still here? As Weevil sulked over his loss, still somewhat in denial, Rinku saw a golden opportunity. Giving a mischievous snicker, the devilish child approached.

"Heh, more like regional chump." He shrugged. "If you'd just get out of my way, I can't have that loser energy you are giving off contaminating my space. Beat it."

Rinku would then give a light shove with his shoulder, to push past Weevil and scope out something to eat. His snicker turning to a full on grin as he passed the green haired geek.

Oh that's sweet~

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Jeice

A flurry of arrows! Jeice quickly deflected most of them away, with three of them striking his breastplate and knocking him back. One of them grazed the side of his neck, and the explosive one struck him square in the chest. It kicked up a burst of smoke and knocked Jeice back even more. Through the smoke, the scouter showed Kassandra flying up towards him! The red warrior aimed a powerful kick, aiming to send Kassandra flying into one of the statues in the arena.


Bakura

It could give him a seizure? Or rupture his frontal lobe? Like of his brain?! Bakura rubbed his head again, and looked up to the many screens of the arena. Everyone else in this tournament was hardened warriors. It certainly didn't look like anyone had a way to help him in the same way Nephthys could. And then there was Chai and Peppermint's suggestion that he went back to his world and got a doctor's help. But who knew how long that would take, now that his blackout had put him on a boat to Duelist Kingdom.

"Is there anything you or I could do to reduce the risk of me getting hurt from this?" Bakura asked Nephthys.


Weevil Underwood & Dagr

"WHAT!"

Weevil was practically frothing at the mouth.
"You JERK! DWEEB! IDIOT! You think you can talk to ME that way?!" Weevil exclaimed. "That win was MINE! You know you could never beat my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth! You took the wimp's way out, you little tick!"

"Hey." Dagr grabbed Weevil's head in a painful grip, and the boy froze. Dagr smiled, but there was a glare in her eyes. "Stop talking. You're annoying me."
She let go of Weevil, and the boy quickly scuttled away.
"I'll get you for this, Rinku! Just you wait!" Weevil called over his shoulder.

"Geez, talk about a sore loser." Dagr said to Rinku, following after the demon boy.

 

[comic]

KASSANDRA​

Jeice threw out a kick, and Kassandra was struck by it - but not without repercussions for the Red Magma. Better his foot than his fist, as the misthios had positioned her bow for the drawstring to catch on to Jeice's boot, yanking back. The Bow of Artemis did not break as Kassandra only flew back a couple feet, before the bow slingshotted her back toward the mutant at double the speed, her legs swinging up and extending for her heels to deliver an aggressively brutal kick.

Now, Kassandra didn't plan exactly where her heels were closing rapidly in on as she thrust her legs out for maximum speed and power. She'd been aiming mostly for his centermass, but as she closed in with the blink of an eye...

Jeice was at risk of his groin being the target.
​

NEPHTHYS​

He was persistent. Again, Neph didn't actually know if he would be susceptible to such risks, as she didn't know the ins and outs of his world. However, she paused to think about it for a moment. Even if those risks did somehow prove to not only be accurate, but fatal - couldn't Master Hand just revive Bakura? Everybody revived after every match, no matter how they were beaten, so it only stood to reason that the same applied within the lobby as well.

<I don't know,> Nephthys answered. <If worse comes to worse, Master Hand could revive you.>​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Jeice

CRACK!

Kassandra's full body kick struck Jeice's lower stomach, sending the Ginyu Force member flying back. He struck the wall near the ceiling, but was quick to stop the fall. Her gear was tough, maybe even more durable than his Ginyu Force Battle Armor. But now wasn't time to think about such things. Clearly, this woman could not fly. So he had to take advantage of this while he had the chance!

"Crusher Ball!" Jeice yelled, conjuring another ball of red ki in his hand. He flung it down towards Kassandra, the volleyball -sized sphere rushing towards the spartan.


Bakura

The white haired teen rubbed his chin.
"I thought so as much, as well. If they are able to revive people who have taken terrible injuries, or have died in these fights, hopefully they would be able to revive me as well. If something happened." Bakura said.

"It sounds awfully risky, doesn't it... But I have to know." Bakura said, looking to Neph with determination. He let out a shaky breath, then looked to the Gardvoir.

"Please. Let's do it."

 

[comic]

KASSANDRA​

That kick had just barely refilled her fourth charge, Kassandra launching backward from the hit. As Jeice hit the ceiling, Kassandra took aim with her bow, expelling that refilled adrenaline charge to summon a shining, translucent arrow in the bow - a Ghost Arrow of Artemis. Jeice yelled his attacks name out as Kassandra fired the ghost arrow.

He threw the ball forward, intercepting the ghost arrow - which passed harmlessly through the ball, directly for Jeice at nearly point-blank range. The arrow would not be affected by his armor, simply passing through him like its namesake implied, but it would deal heavy internal damage. The only way to avoid damage was to dodge.

The Crusher Ball was a familiar one to the misthios now, Jeice had called it out before. It would fly straight before curving suddenly downward to come upon its opponent from above. With this in mind, the bow vanished and Kassandra tucked and rolled backwards, just as the ball came down upon her - only to meet the Sword of Perseus swinging upward, the blade flashing as it knocked the projectile at an angle to launch it back toward Jeice.
​

​

NEPHTHYS​

The gardevoir subtly shook her head. Not to say "no," or to convey anything to the boy at all. Rather, an involuntary gesture to represent her questioning herself on how she got into this situation. She had to remind herself it was something her trainer would do. The right thing to do, was to help others. She wasn't quite the hotshot she'd thought she was, and that humbling humiliation of back-to-back losses had made it very clear to her.

<...Very well...> Neph closed her eyes, and focused. What exactly she'd be looking for, she had no idea. This was a somewhat awkward and off-putting situation she found herself in - but it wasn't like she could be doing much else. <Relax. Try not to think, it will make this easier.>​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Pit
​

The angel didn't manage to land any shots on Chai, the rockstar blocking the arrows with his guitar before deflecting the last one back at Pit. He was quick to twirl his bow in front of himself in response, swiftly blocking the reflected projectile. Chai wasn't done however, spinning his guitar in his hands before throwing it at Pit.

"Getting worked up? I'm just getting started!"

"Oh yeah? Me too!"

As the guitar flew towards him, Pit's bow vanished in a flash of light, suddenly replaced by a bigger, mightier weapon: the Babel Club. Taking a step forward, Pit swung heavily at the guitar, aiming to reflect it right back at Chai!​

 

[Psymallard]

Taskmaster
The princess was disappointed in the assassin's change in tone. She wondered why he had changed, but the answer was simple: she hadn't been his foe at the beginning of the tournament. But the Taskmaster dared not protest aloud, nor did he flinch at Nótt's trash talk. He simply followed her inside the shimmering gate.

The system asked for an area. The mercenary replied mentally, "Amazon Ranforest; southern Columbia." He'd underestimated Masaru in the last fight, and, watching the other fights take place, he'd realized that he was outclassed in power by many in the tournament. His conclusion was that a direct approach might not be the most reliable answer against some of these combatants- and he'd need somewhere with lots of cover so he could regroup if need be.

First, a large temple, resembling the Roman Pantheon rose in the north. Vines and other vegetation crept across it while an aqueduct arose to the west, running down the length of the battlefield on that side. In front of the aqueduct, nearer to the middle, was a large obelisk. Then came the Amazon, bursting forth as the already-present vegetation grew larger- vines thickening to seem as snakes, grass erupting into ferns and shrubs, and trees growing taller and thicker. The battlefield was enveloped in flourishing flora, causing the stone tiles of the Night Temple to be cracked and uneven. The sky was dark besides the massive full moon, and the loud chorus of chirring frogs permeated the humid coolness of the air.

Before the match started, Taskmaster had procured a small ball from is satchel. As the battlefield took shape around him, he rolled it around between his fingers, but never once took his eyes off of his opponent. Once the battle began, he flung the orb at the ground, which erupted into a huge cloud of grey smoke that covered the assassin's movements as he disappeared into the dimly-lit jungle.

BEAM!
NiGHTS seemed to understand the fiend, offering to start the fight! Beam saw this as a win. He threw his fists into the air triumphantly, cheering.

"YAAAAAAA!!! FIGHT! FIGHT!! KYAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

Beam sunk into the ground again to swim towards the gate, but before he entered, a chill ran up his spine. His adrenaline spiked, and he whipped around to look for what was the problem. The devilman immediately noticed what it was. There, among the boisterous, varied crowd, two piercing yellow eyes stared back at him with an expectant leer. He gulped and continued into the portal.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Jeice

The Magma warrior threw himself to the side desperately, but the arrow pierced his leg.
"GAH! The same bloody leg!" Jeice exclaimed. If felt like the arrow went all the way through, piercing his thigh completely. But there was no time to judge the damage. But there was no time to see how bad the wound was. Kassandra batted his Crusher Ball right back towards him, just as Jeice had planned. With practiced reflexes, Jeice caught the Crusher Ball. He spun in midair, keeping the momentum from Kassandra's deflection, and threw the Crusher Ball back towards the Spartan Woman. It shot back towards her at twice the speed she had launched it at him!


Bakura

Don't think? How did one not think? Bakura turned to face Nephthys, letting out a nervous breath. He just needed to calm himself down. Bakura closed his eyes, focusing on steadying his breathing. Yeah, that was the ticket. Just focus on his breathing. In, out. In... out. In... out. Slowly, Bakura relaxed.

Nephthys entered Bakura's mind. There, she could see the teen's memories strewn about. As Bakura had described, there were gaps. Strange, blurry pieces missing. The memories of this tournament were especially full of holes and missing moments. The fight with Kragg was nearly entirely gone, with the exception of the memory of a terrified Bakura clinging to the leg of Kragg. A massive, threatening monster fired a blast of energy into the back of Kragg, then nothingness. Until Bakura was back in the plaza, speaking to Kragg, Chai, and 808.

The teen winced. He could feel the presence of Nephthys in his mind. It was incredibly uncomfortable... but not an unfamliar sensation. Why did it feel so familiar? Bakura shook his head, and forced himself to focus on his breathing. In, out. In... out. Don't think about polar bears...

The memories continued further. Bakura suddenly in the plaza, speaking to Kirin before his fight with Kragg. Bakura in the stands, watching Weevil and Rex fighting Kirin and Nephthys. Another gap. Bakura on a large ship in the middle of the night, looking out over the ocean. Another gap. Bakura sitting in the living room of his house, watching a silver haired man in ostentatious clothing holding up Weevil's arm in victory and announcing a massive tournament.

As Nephthys continued looking through these memories, something else caught her attention. There was something behind these blurry gaps in Bakura's memory. Nephthys focused her psychic assault, and Bakura winced again. Slowly, what she sensed came into focus. It was a door. A strange, metal door with the design of an Egyptian eye within a ring upon it... It was something here, in Bakura's mind. Something Neph could interact with...


Nótt

Their arena took shape. The open courtyard of the Night Temple was quickly overgrown with jungle plants. Nótt stood at the ready, staring down Taskmaster. But instead of fighting, the mercinary produced a device and activated. It let out a massive cloud of smoke, and Taskmaster vanished into the jungle. Nótt waited a moment, before sighing and relaxing.
"Taskmaster, dear. I'm not going to chase you into the jungle. If you want to fight, you can come to me. After all, it falls upon the man to pursue the lady in a relationship." Nótt called into the jungle.

The Princess moved back to the entrance of the temple, leaning on her lance casually and looking out into the jungle. Her eagle kept a sharp eye out, constantly scanning the area.

 

[comic]

KASSANDRA​

For some reason, he threw the ball back. The misthios raised an eyebrow, before she shrugged. Surely he was aware that she'd just whack it back. The distance between them was great enough for her to reliably prepare and react accordingly. When she'd hit the crusher ball before, it had been reactionary. Now that it was hurtling toward her with greater speed, she would thus increase it further as she arced the Sword of Perseus, swinging it once more to bat the Crusher Ball even more quickly back toward Jeice.

Directly after batting it back, a helmet seemed to appear in her hand, one that she raised to her head and slid over her skull. The helmet bore a golden sheen, with a crimson crest sticking out of the top like a mohawk. Three spokes came down from the helmet, two on either side of her face, the third in front of her nose. The helmet itself seemed to give off a wave of intimidation, alongside the indication of war and experience. A helmet fit for a battleborn killer. The Helmet of Ares.

Consuming her third adrenaline slot, the Sword of Perseus lit up with flames, the orange fire dancing off its surface. A wave of heat permeated from it, felt even by the distant Jeice.
​

​

NEPHTHYS​

The psychic plane could have been considered an alternate realm all on its own. As Neph delved deeper and deeper into Bakura's mind, plunging into it with a lack of precision and caution (this was not something she was familiar with doing), the gardevoir could sense she was drawing nearer and nearer toward something. Bakura's mind was filled with those gaps he'd mentioned, and despite her keen mind's eye, she couldn't pierce the fog within those gaps. It was... almost like an entirely separate mind existed, a mind she had not penetrated like she had Bakura's.

Then there was something she could latch onto, projecting her focus on something lurking behind the existent memories. Slowly, it came into focus - and she found her projected self before a door, an eye-like symbol emblazoned on it. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at it for a moment, the noise of the memories fading around her. This was different; a manifestation of the mind. Something that she could influence without the need to tamper Bakura's mind, or alter his memories.

Neph raised an arm, aiming her palm at the door, before she aimed to telekinetically yank it open - and paused, her gaze narrowing further. There were likely risks to something like this. The door here wasn't natural, it had been placed, or created, within Bakura's mind. Either it was hiding the truth, or it had locked something away.

...Well, given Master Hand's seeming omnipotence, consequences didn't seem to be that prevalent here. She tried to blast the door open.​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Jeice

Kassandra once again hit the Crusher Ball back towards Jeice. Yet another thing Jeice had expected. It was much, much faster now. But even as it hurdled towards Jeice, he was still able to notice the small changes Kassandra was making. Her power level shot up when she put on the helmet, and the sword ignited in flame. Where was she even pulling all this junk from?!

Jeice caught the Crusher Ball yet again, using the same technique as before. How fast could Kassandra go? Jeice spun in the air, keeping the momentum of the Kassandra's deflection, and flung the Crusher Ball back even faster! As he did, Jeice struck another pose. He bent over and stuck out a leg, splaying his arms behind him. The Crusher Ball grew in size, strengthened by the awesomeness of Jeice's pose!


Bakura

The door slammed open, revealing a void of darkness! The white haired teen winced again, letting out a small pained grunt. A dark force appeared around Nephthys, forcibly drawing the Gardevoir in and slamming shut behind her. In the real world, Bakura slumped forward.

It was dark, pitch black. But slowly, things took shape. Light began to illuminate the area around the Pokemon. Nephthys found herself in corridor of stone brick. It was cool and a little damp, like a dungeon or tomb. Behind her, the corridor stretched into an impenetrable blackness. Empty torch sconces were attached to the walls, and rusted chains hung from the ceiling.

Before Nephthys, the corridor ended in two doors. The one on the left was a simple, wooden door. It had many locks and chains attached to the outside of it. Even so, the door was open. The room within was brightly lit, the light being what illuminated the dark corridor Nephthys was in. The bright light and current angle Neph was at made it difficult to see what was inside the room.

The second door very much resembled the door Neph had opened to reach this corridor. It was of a gray stone, with a large Egyptian eye in the center. Like the previous stone door, it had a ring around the eye. But this eye and ring was made of gold, and five golden spikes stretched out from the lower half of the ring. It greatly resembled the necklace Bakura wore.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Chai


I knew he was gonna copy what I did!

Chai, thinking ahead for once, was already prepared, dipping off the side of the stage, taking his metal arm and pulling on the bands of the ring as vibrations begun to condense in his arm. So when the guitar came flinging back, Chai pulled hard on the ropes, his feet pushing off from the side of the stage, snatching the guitar into the slingshot he was making! When the band reached it's limit, Chai let his feet go, sending him and the guitar forward, and he released the vibrations in his arms during this, a burst of even further momentum, cloaking the guitar in a ring of blue energy!

The words 'Boom' 'Boom' would faintly be seen rotating around guitar spelled in the energy and it whirled at frightening velocities towards Pit.

"Nuh-uh, I'm NOT getting my own guitar getting thrown at me again!"

♩♪ The birds are flying low
The same old song is going on and on. ♫♬



NiGHTS


"That's the spirit!"

They did so in kind, pupping one of her fists in the air a few times, one with enough energy to flip her backwards through the air and soar towards the gateway, winking at a slightly troubled Beam as they beat them into the fighting area.

Entering the void, NiGHTS whirled around, righting themself, crossing their arms as they looked up at nothing in particular, talking to the AI.

"Voice? Could you be a dear and take us to Queen Bella's court?"

 

[Gamingfan]

Magolor
Figures. Most people like him needed direction. Dart did seem to find a hole that caught his interest though.
Magolor floated over, looking down the hole.
" Huh, you sure?" he asked
A quick look at Dart's face made it clear he wasn't.
"Uh huh...I'll take your word for it." Magolor said with a shug. He snapped his fingers, quickly creating a ball of fire crept forward, illuminating the area.
"Well, Dragoons first."

Lucario
Lucario's assault hit its mark, but it proved to just be a clone. Two more similar auras quickly joined the arena, and unloaded on the aura pokemon.
Without many other options, Lucario blasted aura from its palms, pseudo-flying over the beams until he stopped at the celling. Well aware the MODOKs would follow his movement, Lucario opted to make himself difficult to track. Using Extreme Speed, the fighting/steel type became a blur as they disappeared and reappeared in multiple places as to disorient the three M.O.D.O.Ks. As he bounced off the walls, Lucario would strike their sides and backs as to sweep through all three in one burst.

Ryuji
Likely due to his previous victory, but Ryuji was feeling extremely confident in this fight. So when Kragg met his blow with equal strength, he was shocked.
"Whoa, you're tougher than-ow!"
Even through Ryuji's mask, Kragg's headbutt seemed to hurt. But Ryuji quickly found his footing after the hit and shoved his mace against Kragg's follow-up, locking the two in another stalemate that'll do a number on Kragg's fist. To pile on the pressure, Ryuji began to charge energy, preparing to shove forward with increased power!

Alter Knight
Kirin went on the offensive, while Alter chose to stay on defense, keeping her shield forward and her sword tucked back . The priest threw her talismans, the number and speed of which Alter returned in kind, stabbing her weapon forward like a rapier, a long energy projectiles extending the blade's reach to Kirin's own. With each one though, the blade's reach lessened, as if weakened. Three talismans slipped past her assault and slapped onto her shield, and Alter felt a sudden drop in her weapon's energy.
So these tailsmans didn't seal spirits...
Here came the priest! Her strikes were swift, but Alter would not give her an opening to exploit, blocking her blows with her shield.
When sword met shield, the force of the blow hit harder than Alter expected, forcing the knight back. Alter's heels left grooves in the ground as she held tough, as did her shield.
Finally, Alter went on the offensive, swinging Libera at Kirin twice, then thrusting it forward. Both swings were punctuated by a series of lightning strikes for added reach, while the thrust was followed by multiple bolts behind Alter to dissuade a sneak attack.

 

[comic]

KASSANDRA​

The crusher ball was upon her again, and once more, the Sword of Perseus sent it sailing back toward Jeice - with a catch (pun intended). Striking the flaming sword had ignited the ball itself, giving it a film of flame around it that would burst and scorch whatever it touched, in turn detonating the ball it had enveloped. Effectively, Kassandra had just limited Jeice's options to "dodge" with very little wiggle room- especially given that this time she'd sent the ball back at even greater speed than Jeice had sent it toward her.
​

​

NEPHTHYS​

A deeper dive into the intrigue of some kid's mind. Neph's eyes darted between the doors for a moment. Drawing on just basic assumption, the gardevoir assumed the door of light was likely Bakura, perhaps a release to return to his sense of "normalcy" while the other door would further draw out the "other" within. This corridor was likely a crossroads of sorts, and very likely, the other personality was the only of the two who had awareness of it and its use.

She ignored the ajar door for now, focusing again on the emblazoned door with the golden symbol, raising her palm once more to cast it open.
​

​

DART​

The Red Warrior offered a shrug. "Fair enough," with that, he leapt into the hole, disappearing from view. Before, when Dart had done similar activities his first time through the nest of Feyrbrand, the holes had been tubes that led elsewhere. This time, however, it was like getting swallowed in darkness. Gravity didn't even seem right as very suddenly, Dart found himself in another location, just as expansive as the last. It was less like leaping into another area and more like being transported to an entirely different plane altogether.

He took a moment to realign himself before he looked around, taking in the new area. Another cavern, this one of dark purple stone. Gargantuan stalactites hung from the ceiling, the smallest of which were easily the size of entire castles. The path ahead was of the dark violet stone, puddles of greenish water collecting in the dips found here or there. Dart recognized that as a sign of Feyrbrand's poison. Was the dragon here? Or... could it be something else?

The path led a winding way, with seemingly no walls, eventually coming to a stop at a metallic platform, rows of gears beneath it giving the impression that the platform moved, like a gondola, but where it moved to led into the darkness. Dart couldn't see the destination.
​

​

M.O.D.O.K.​

Whereas his initial attack had been focused and powerful, this next one was more focused on speed and evasion, sacrificing Lucario's power output - enough that when he zipped by each of the M.O.D.O.K.s, they remained in operation, wobbling on the spot for a moment, shouting obscenities in their typical fashion, but still operational as they further converged on the Aura Pokémon.

"IS THIS THING ON?"

The Man-Mind's voice suddenly rang through the tower's intercoms.

"I THINK IT IS. GOOD. GREETINGS, LITTLE JACKAL FIEND. THIS IS AVENGERS TOWER - OR MORE ACCURATELY, A MOCK RECREATION OF AN OTHERWISE OFFENSIVE STRUCTURE. THESE SIMULATIONS ATTEMPT TO MIMIC OUR CHOSEN DESTINATIONS AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE, AND THIS FACT HOLDS TRUE HERE. I HAVE ACCESS TO THE TOWER'S SYSTEMS, AND WITH A SIMPLE HACK, IT WILL ALL BE AT MY DISPOSAL: AIMED AT YOU. NOW MAY BE A GOOD IDEA TO SURRENDER, BECAUSE IF YOU DO, I WON'T MAKE THIS NEARLY AS PAINFUL AS IT WILL BE OTHERWISE - WHICH IS STILL RELATIVELY EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL. BUT IF YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME, TAKE THE ELEVATOR UP TO THE FLOOR NUMBER EQUAL TO THE SQUARE ROOT OF TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND NINE. IF YOU CAN'T SOLVE A BASIC LITTLE BABY MATH EQUATION - THEN YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER IDIOT TO ADD TO MY GROWING BODY COUNT! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

As M.O.D.O.K. monologued, his weakened copies continued their assault, now utilizing a barrage of miniature missiles that whizzed and whistled through the air for Lucario.​

 

[Fraseandchico]

Audrey Redheart
​

The Hero, of course, took the time to gloat.
"Heh, duh, Kid. That's what you get when you fight the Person chosen to carry the will of the Creator of her Universe! You're lucky to even be moving!" Redheart told Grazie, taking the time while her foe was effected to brag. "Honestly, you really should've given up at the start." She added, noting that Grazie's armor didn't seem to be falling or anything despite the Hero being absolutely sure she damaged it.

"Good Eya, sand is weird." She murmured, before smirking again and dashing forward to aim a heavy blow, almost blunt in nature, directly towards Grazie's head with a yell, and a rush of excitement through her veins!

The Warlock
​

The Warlock almost laughed to himself as he heard the large dino charge towards his location. He jumped to the roof of the building just in time to see it crashing through the wall.

"Like a moth to a flame." His voice carried as Rex was preoccupied with the zombies, followed by Two-Headed crashing through the wall where the Warlock stood before, with the Warlock silently thanking himself for taking to the roof. Rex was clever at times, and the Warlock had to admit that, but the human child was also reckless. "An overextension, a simple tactical mistake." He laughed, though it was obvious that this is not criticism he would never be accusable of. Psionic energy, once again, flowed from hand to head. A simple daze, a rudimentary technique by this stage.

Though, given Two-Headed's relative mindlessness, it suddenly became clear what this truly was, something his previous opponent's rather cluttered opponents made it harder for anyone else to tell beyond mere guesses. This wasn't some special technique, designed to poke at all the right places in ones mind, no.
It was just Mordenna forcing a glimpse of his own mind, tortured and broken beyond repair, onto someone else.

And he enjoyed the feeling when others saw his fractured sanity for what it truly was, not whatever facade he put up to the world. The confidence and pure belief of self, covered only by pure insanity from years of torture and propaganda. The anger at the world, at his parents for keeping him from his 'destiny', at the Elders themselves for controlling him despite being a dying race, at his 'siblings' for their stupidity - Honor or Recklessness, respectively, and at his enemies for slaying them. Something that, despite Rex not being the Target, the look the Warlock wished to project into the Twin Headed Dinosaur's eyes would make clear even at a distance.

With Two-Headed targetted, the Warlock quickly turned his attention, taking his mind off the dinosaur and lifting himself back up to the sky.
"You've been entertaining, smarter than I anticipated, Rex Raptor. But this ends now." He noted, his hands taking in an influx of Psionic energy. "WITNESS THE POWER OF THE VOID!"

The energy shot out from the Warlock's hands once more, swirling around Rex Raptor in a wide spiraling circle, a vortex of power. This vortex solidified as a rift in life itself - The ultimate Psionic technique, Void Rift. And as the vortex centered on Rex, it began to implode with a burst of pure energy!

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil
It was just Dagr's luck that she had turned in that direction, because at that exact moment, a vent in the ceiling burst, and out popped the very blue scamp she was looking for.

Jevil looked... dirty. Well, he never looked clean, that's for sure, but he was a darker shade of blue than usual and his clothes were covered in soot.

"My, you Lightners are so uncreative!" Jevil declared, as he spun in a circle during his descent. All that time in the vents had somehow not effected his ability to move in impossible ways. "I mean, not ONCE did you think to check the vents! And even when you did, it was barely even a glance! How did you expect to find me if you left all this space unexplored?"
(I am assuming direct control of Jevil at the pleading of several people.)

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Jeice

Kassandra launched the crusher ball back at Jeice, this time with something even more around it. Jeice caught the Crusher Ball once again. The flames scorched and burnt his hand, and the Crusher Ball... didn't explode. This was Jeice's signature move, his technique he had developed since he was a child. From the slightest touch of his Crusher Ball, he could tell that Kassandra had done something to his attack that would destabilize it. Jeice reflexively infused his Crusher Ball with even more ki, stabilizing it in his hand and preventing it from detonating in his face.

Still, the moments it took to do this slowed the attack speed of the Crusher Ball. Jeice launched the energy sphere back at Kassandra once again, not appearing to get the memo that the attempt was futile. The Crusher Ball flew towards Kassandra, flying straight towards her as it usually did. Suddenly, at the last moment before reaching the spartan, the Crusher Ball changed course and shot straight down in front of her, just out of range of her sword. It was Jeice's Crusher Ball Splitter technique! The Crusher Ball would detonate on the ground, causing a massive explosion if it hit.

At the same time, Jeice flew directly above Kassandra and attempted to barrage her with energy beam attacks from above!


"Bakura"

Neph raised her hand to psychicly open the door, but before she could, the stone door slowly creaked open. There behind it, a figure stood. Bakura. He stood taller, more confidently. His hair even seemed more full, and his features sharper. A strange, invisible, dark aura could be felt around the teen.
"Well, well..." His voice was raspier, but confident. He looked Neph up and down, grinning hungrily. "I hadn't expected you to get this far. Such power. It rivals that of the Millennium Items..."

'Bakura' chuckled.
"Haven't you heard of knocking?"
The room Bakura stood in was pitch black, the beam of light from the hallway only illuminating the spirit and part of the floor. It was a same stone brick as that of the hallway.


Dagr

"Hey, Rinku. You haven't seen that Jevil guy anywhere, have you- oh!" Dagr stopped, watching as the Jevil floated down from the vent. Literally, floating down and spinning as he did. It was unexpected, to say the least. And kind of silly. Dagr chuckled, covering her mouth as she looked at the small floating jester.

"Oh, uh. Sorry? Climbing around in air shafts isn't really my thing." Dagr said. She watched as Jevil floated around her. He was circling her, but Dagr didn't appear to feel all that threatened. She gave Jevil an excited smile. "What were you doing up there, anyway? Find anything interesting?"

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

"Oh, nothing fun up there. I was just exploring, exploring! But I can forgive ya for not wanting to go there." Jevil seemed to, for the first time, notice the status of his clothes. "The vents are filthy, filthy! That Master Hand guy should really clean it."

He paused for a moment. Suddenly, he exclaimed "Ah! I just remembered! We're supposed to be dueling, dueling! Fighting, battling- and a few other things! I exploring for so long that I just forgot!" He seemed excited, bobbing back and forth and occasionally pirouetting. "We should go now! Time is short, short, and I've already wasted so much of yours." At this, he turned to the gateway of light that was always present in the lobby, bobbing back and seeming to shake with excitement at the upcoming battle. Then, without waiting for Dagr, he flew into the light at full speed.

He found himself in a white void, as he had in previous battles. Before the voice that was always there even began to speak, Jevil made his selection. "The Scarlet Forest!" he exclaimed, without a hint of hesitation, and his selection was locked in.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

Jevil continued floating around, twirling in midair. The jester suddenly recalled they were to fight, and shot into the light of the gateway. Dagr's grin grew, and she looked down to Rinku.
"A guy after my own heart. Well, Ice Rink. I'll see you soon, save some sweets for me!" Dagr said. The jotun princess rushed after Jevil. Seeing his companion rushing towards the arena, Sun-Wing swooped down and landed on Dagr's back. The pair jumped into the light.

She appeared in the void, a good distance away from Jevil.
"Please select your stage." The automated voice said. Dagr thought for a moment, leaning on her ax. They really could pick anywhere to fight, couldn't they? Anywhere...

Dagr brightened up.
"Oh, yeah! I know a perfect place I've always wanted to fight!" Dagr said. She pointed up into the void, in the direction of the voice. "I pick the legendary stadium from the World of Awakening! Arena Ferox!" Dagr said. With her choice, the area around the two fighters began to change. A forest of scarlet trees and leaves sprouted up around them, with black and purple grass. A stone floor, cracked and covered with vines, appeared beneath the two fighters. Emerging out of this forest, gears and ancient mechanisms began to grind and start up. Two massive statues of humans rose out of the ground. The one closest to Dagr was kneeling and held a large platform over his shoulder. The one closer to Jevil was crouched, holding one platform at his waist and another over his head.

3..

2..

1..

BEGIN!


"Alright, lets go!" Dagr exclaimed. She rushed towards Jevil with the speed of an Olympic sprinter, quickly trying to close the distance and slash at him with her ax!

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

Immediately, Jevil jumped onto the platform at the closer statue's waist, pulling out several small heart-shaped grenades. "My hearts go out to all you sinners!" Jevil cried, tossing the grenades in a spread at Dagr, after which he swung to the platform still further above via one of the statue's arms, in order to summon a rain of diamonds to fall on Dagr once the hearts explode.

 

[comic]

KASSANDRA​

This malakas, he really couldn't learn! Kassandra rolled her eyes as she prepped her swinging arm - when the orb suddenly changed direction, imitating his splitter from before. The misthios scoffed in the split second she had to register this before the ball erupted, and she went flying at an upward angle away from the impact point...

And directly into a barrage of energy beams. Kassandra yelled as she was struck, a few sizzling out against the Fleece of Jason, but when she finally landed, the Keeper of Humanity grunted as she pushed herself back up, looking worse for wear. Her armor was smoking - but it only seemed to make her power level increase, the energy seemingly fueling the Helmet of Ares.

"Keeper, use your greatest tool," Aletheia's voice whispered in Kassandra's voice, and she looked up toward Jeice, baring her teeth. This guy wasn't about to keep her from her goal. She'd finally grasped her destiny by the reins... she wasn't letting him stop her. Nobody would.

"You wanted to see what I can do!?" She called up to him, sufficiently angered, an anger only feed and perpetuated by her helmet.

The Sword of Perseus disappeared as Kassandra let out a yell, ripping her necklace from its chain as she consumed all three of her remaining charges for one advantage.

The Staff of Hermes materialized from the small jewel that had been her necklace, taking shape as a red aura enveloped the misthios. For Jeice, her power levels would have multiplied exponentially, far exceeding anything she'd shown before. Her Battlecry of Ares, only enhanced by the Helmet of Ares, and by the Staff of Hermes.

Suddenly, Kassandra appeared directly in front of Jeice, not unlike an instant transmission technique, the Staff of Hermes transfiguring into a double-edged sword-like spear that she began to spin and twirl as she unleashed a ferocious barrage on Jeice, her speed able to match him as she hovered, a gift granted by the Staff of Hermes. If he were to flee, she would transmit herself directly in his path to continue her unrelenting barrage, aiming to maim and dismember her opponent with heavy, lethal blows, hitting much harder than she had before.
​

​

NEPHTHYS​

This was the individual she'd been seeking. The "other" she'd hypothesized, fully realizing her theory as fact. Of course, he was just as she expected. A dark, confident, aggressive version of Bakura with a sprinkle of sadism to top things off. Another of her guesses had been proven, that being he could travel freely between these doors. If Neph had to assume further, she'd guess that Bakura was the original, and was his true self, and that this being was an intruder of sorts. Those black outs were the cause of this entity.

<I was invited,> the gardevoir replied without missing a beat. <You weren't.>​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

Jevil was already on the move, flying up onto other platforms. He tossed some strange, heart shaped orbs towards Dagr and flew to the higher platform. No way, this little guy wasn't getting out of this that easily! Wind swirled around the princess, and Dagr launched herself into the air so quickly she was a blur. The heart grenades exploded beneath her, but as she flew up diamond spikes appeared above her!
"Hearts, diamonds, I can do Anything!" Jevil called out. The diamonds were quickly knocked aside by Dagr's poleax, and the princess landed in front of Jevil.

"Hearts, Diamonds, I see what you're doing here! But don't you know, diamonds are a girl's best friend!" Dagr said, slashing at Jevil with her ax. Sun-Wing screeched, giving his partner moral support.


"Bakura"

The spirit tsked, shaking his head.
"Perhaps you were invited into the head of our little common friend." The spirit said. "But this is my domain."
Should Neph reach out with her psychic powers, she would find that the spirit was right. This hallway, and the room that the spirit was in, was not inside Bakura's mind. But were instead somewhere else. The spirit grinned, leaning back in his seat.
"It's been a very long time since I've had visitors." 'Bakura' chuckled. "If you are looking for a cup of sugar or some eggs, I am afraid I am fresh out."

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

Jevil quickly backflipped off the platform to dodge the axe. As he did so, he seemed to... morph into a scythe? His body turned thin and long, condensing into nothing more than the handle of a scythe, while his jester's hat turned into a long blade.

"Uee hee hee! You're pretty fun! If diamonds are your friend, maybe devilsknife's your foe!" The scythe (Jevil?) cried, as 3 copies of it appeared. The scythes went horizontal and began rapidly spinning, before quickly moving to form a circle around Dagr. Soon, they spiraled in towards her, spinning at high speeds...

 

[Psymallard]

Taskmaster
The assassin watched his opponent from the shadows. She didn't try to seek him out, but instead remained calm and kept her back to the temple wall. It was simple, but smart. It put the ball back in his Taskmaster's court. He stalked from the shadows, finding a comfortable nook for himself.

Then, he nocked two arrows, calmly took aim, and then fired. One arrow, with a bulbous glass head containing a green liquid, soared directly towards Moon-Wing's chest. It would shatter upon impact, splattering a highly corrosive acid everywhere. The second arrow was a normal one, aimed to try and puncture Nótt's thigh.

Then, he lowered his bow to watch what the warrior princess would do next.

Beeeeeeeeaaam
The entity asked Beam for a stage once more, and he felt it was time for a change of pace. The beach was no longer a good idea in his mind, as he was killed the last time he was there. His next best idea was a place he'd been once before on a mission.

"Z-ZOMBIE DEVIL-...er... DEN!"

Despite the lackluster description, the entity read his mind and the devilman's pick was manifested. The spire of twigs fused together with cement, and small openings were created to make way for windows. Alongside with the twisted buildings, skyscrapers reached up towards the sky, adorned with brightly colored signs written in Japanese symbols. Roads of asphalt crisscrossed the ground below, but what was most prominent were how the floating brass platforms changed. They all connected to eachother, and grew thick cement walls along their sides. Over the top was no roof, but rather a thick crisscross of wires, vents, and old pipes that lead nowhere. The network of halls still remained suspended above the pool of burning lava. However, over the crackling of flame below, the groans of the undead could be heard echoing through the halls...

Beam was in one of these hallways, just across from NiGHTS. As soon as the battle began, Beam sunk into the ground, only to find that his bare feet had found open air- dangling fifty feet above a vat of molten rock. He frantically paddled back into the bronze platform, and then leveled his body horizontally to stay hidden. From the claustrophobic cover, he stalked the jester- waiting for the right moment to strike while he still pondered if they tasted like vegetables.

Kragg
Skull managed to block the beetle's punch with his hammer, and although it stung, it did not do much damage to the boulder-smashing knuckles of Kragg. The Earth's Bastion shifted his weight forward, pushing even harder against Ryuji than before. It was at this time where he lifted a foot, which came right back down. As he stomped, the earth responded to his call, and surged forth around the overgrown insect. Rock burst forth all around Kragg, including beneath his opponent. This might warped the steel floor into wild, sharp edges that pointed away from the Wallrunner. This was both an attack, and a way to make sure Ryuji wouldn't be able to utilize that running speed to its fullest again.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Jeice

Finally, a hit! Jeice grinned, breathing heavily as the smoke began to clear from his attacks. While not a direct hit, his gambit with the Crusher Ball Splitter worked. It had knocked the savage right into his barrage of energy blasts. Surely, she still couldn't...

The scouter chirped, and Kassandra's power level was slowly increasing. She was still alive?! And getting stronger?!
"You wanted to see what I can do?!" The woman yelled. The woman let out a battle cry and ripped off her necklace, and Jeice took a defensive position. In an instant a staff appeared in her hand, a double-bladed weapon. Her power level shot up dramatically, nearly overloading Jeice's scouter. He was lucky he had the new model, the older one might have blown up from that.

Suddenly, Kass was right in front of him! She went on an all out assault, slashing and striking with heavy blows and attacks. So fierce was the assault, Jeice didn't have time to think about how Kass was still hovering with him. It was everything Jeice had to stave off a lethal blow. Each slash, each strike, knocked the red warrior back. What remained of his mighty Battle Armor was being broken to pieces. A deep stab and slash to his already mangled leg. A shallow stab to his gut. But the worst of it? A deep slash across the side of his face.

"GRAH!" Jeice screamed, hitting away another one of Kassandra's attacks. A small opening, the slightest of moments of relief. It was this, now or never. Jeice held up his hand, taking the same pose as he did when he created his Crusher Ball.

Here goes nothing!! I don't even know what I'm doing!!

Around Jeice, a set of six Crusher Balls appeared! He flung the barrage of Crusher Balls at Kassandra, then created another Crusher Ball. This one was much larger, and burnt with red flames. He launched that attack at Kassandra as well!


Dagr

More and more enemies that transformed! Not into just dragons or beasts, but devils and weapons?! Awesome, Awesome, AWESOME! Dagr's smile grew, and she watched the Jevilknives spin around her. She made no attempted to dodge away from the spinning scythes, simply keeping herself facing the knife Jevil had transformed into. And when all four of them rushed towards her-

"Whoa-ho! A new ax?! For ME?! You shouldn't have!" Dagr exclaimed. She dropped down at the last second, and the scythes barely missing her. Two of them glanced off Sun-Wing's metal feathers, the eagle protecting its partner. But the scythes flew back, attempting to slash at Dagr again! Dagr rolled off the platform, falling to the lower one. But still the scythes followed her. Well, if Jevil was so intent on giving her this new ax...

She had been keeping track of which Jevilknife the little jester devil had transformed into. When all four of the scythes closed in on her, Dagr made her move. She raced forwards, rushing past the Jevilknife that Jevil had transformed into. As it flew past, Dagr grabbed its handle and used it to hit away the other Jevilknife flying towards her! Keeping up the momentum, she started swinging the Jevilknife around over her head as fast and as violently as she could, in an attempt to disorientate the jester.
"Hope you don't get motion sick!" Dagr called up to Jevil.


Nótt

The Princess stood with her back to her Temple. The thick jungle was throwing things off, making it difficult to see far through the undergrowth. But still, Nótt stood at attention.

There. The slight glint of metal and glass reflecting in the moonlight. Not one momentary glimmer, but two. Two, from the same bow. These were all the warning Nótt needed. Taskmaster released the two arrows, and Nótt was quick to move. She struck the acid arrow out of the air with her lance, the capsule shattering. It splattered onto the blade of the lance, but appeared to have no effect. Some drops of the acid splashed onto Nótt's shoulder pauldrons and cape, letting out a slight hiss. Other drops fell onto Moon-Wing's feathers, also letting out a slight hiss.

Moon-Wing lowered one of its wings, blocking the second arrow from hitting Nótt's thigh. At the same time, Nótt pointed her lance in the direction the arrows had come from. A beam of blue energy shot from the lance towards Taskmaster. Meanwhile, Nótt was not (lol) going to just sit hear and let this skull-masked mercenary stealth archer her to death. Nótt threw the doors to the Night Temple open, quickly retreating into the temple. She would rather not fight here, it would make a mess everywhere. But this wasn't really her Night Temple, so it would be fine.

And forget what she had been thinking about making a mess in her Night Temple. The first chamber, an annex that lead deeper and was usually decorated with couches to lounge in and small tables, was incredibly overgrown with vines from the walls and ceiling and plants sprouting from cracks in the floor. Nótt turned her attention back to the door, moving behind cover to see how Taskmaster would take this...

 

[comic]

NEPHTHYS​

This wasn't an encounter the gardevoir was overly familiar with. In her and her trainer's conflicts with Team Magma and Team Aqua, they'd been extremely immediate and forthcoming in their plans, ambitions - and overall insanity in their ideas. But they were just people. There were psychic humans, of course, but nothing Neph knew of her world would permit somebody capable of this.

<You are the source of Bakura's dilema,> Nephthys said. <Why torture him?>
​

​

KASSANDRA​

More of the crusher balls closed in, charging in for the emblazoned misthios - but in a surprising move, a ring of over a dozen blue energy orbs of her own appeared around her. They launched into the crusher balls, the crusher balls weakening from the first balls, before being cancelled out by the second or third, all finally bursting out in an eruption that engulfed both Jeice and Kass. The Staff of Hermes had many uses, and that one, Kassandra had learned from Pythagoras. A father of math, a philosopher, and her own Isu father. They'd fought, once before, and his death is what had earned her the staff in the first place. She had also prior used the energy balls to counter Jevil's own projectile barrage in the preliminary round.

There was a small moment between the attacks, Jeice barely managing to summon a final ball with the others, but Kassandra was already upon him, leading with a flurry of strikes in an aim to do to his body what she had done to his armor, when the final ball struck her from above, head-on, erupting in a burst of light...

There was barely a second of time as the light faded, before Kassandra burst from it, upon Jeice once again. It was unclear how much damage had been dealt, as she was fairly volatile and durable in this state, which had yet to end. Again, if Jeice tried to cover distance, she would close any of it through teleportation, severing fleeing as an option.

The initial barrage had slowly won Kassandra back another charge, and with the counter to the crusher balls, she was nearing a second, if hindered by the final crusher ball. This also allowed her to keep up the heat, not willing to waste the limited time her power boost was active as she unrelented in her assault, hounding on Jeice with her powerful strikes, making sure to cut as deep as she could with her heavy, rapid swings.

"You asked for this!" Kassandra bellowed between her virulent hacks and slashes. "After everything- I have earned the chance to control my own destiny for once, and you're NOT stopping me!"​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

"Genius, GENIUS!" Jevil cried as he was spun around. He, of course, quickly transformed into his normal self, looking down at Dagr with her hand around his neck. Well, around the spring that seemed to act as his throat...
"You're a master, a master! Using my own Devilsknife against me- Noone else would have thought of it!" As he said this, a heart grenade appeared in each of his hands. "But you should have let go when you had the chance, chance."

Jevil tossed the grenades at full force, and they exploded directly in Dagr's face. The force knocked Jevil out of her grip and into the air. As he floated above her, he said "And no, I don't get sick of spinning, spinning. In fact, I love it! You should try spinning too!" After saying this, Jevil... teleported to be floating just a little away from the platform Dagr was standing on. He tossed a spread of spades at her, then teleported to her left, tossing more spades, before teleporting again, and again, and again.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rex Raptor


"Okay...evil monologue...not ominous at all..."

The monologue soon turned into a declaration of victory- no. a declaration of attack! Rex frantically looked left and right, not knowing where this attack was going to be. So he just picked left and began to bolt at full sprint. This didn't help him much, as a black vortex sprang up, the side of it washing over him in a rush of pain!

He was flung through the air, his beanie flying square off of his head as his green unbutton overshirt was reduced to ribbons. The duelist slammed hard against the ground, rolling across it as duel monster cards spilled everywhere. A harsh pain resounded in the youth's head, like he was just hit in the head by a baseball bat.

The pins and needles of shock rushed through his fingertips as the world didn't seem to stop moving around him. It felt as if...something was ripped from him. Something he couldn't place. Like his body was telling him to lie down.

"I ain't going down, not like this...!"

Rex found it within himself to bite the walls of his cheek, giving him a jolt of pain to try and fight off the shock. Shaking his head and hitting his skull against the concrete, he managed to sit himself up, embers burning off of his brown hair.

"That wasn't bad...but I'm still stand...err...sitting. Right?!?"

Rex's shaking arms calmed somewhat as he steeled his nerves, looking down as he drew a card, noting his spilt deck. This deck is cut in half, I hope HE wasn't in that half.

"Just gonna lay this facedown..."


Rex's Field:

Monsters:
Two Headed King Rex

2 Facedown Spells/Traps.

Cards in hand: 3


NiGHTS


"Huh, a pretty urban place. A tad dim looking though."

The dreamscape jester remarked on the place, putting their index finger to what would be their chin as they looked about. It was when her shark opponent seeped into the concrete did they put things together.

This guy is just like Girania! A fish that dives into surfaces like water! Don't think he'll have the same weakness though. Hmm...time to get creative!

Taking flight through the halls, drill driving upwards and into the open. Seeing the Victorian aesthetic buildings mixed in with the modern concrete ones, she took note of a bent clocktower. The structure was worked in with steel beams and neon, its twisted clock hands bent up to signify it was midnight in this world.

Fluttering up past of series of bronze platforms, they touched down on the minute hand of the clock, which seemed frozen in place. The point of their tip toe was propping them up on the clock tower as they took note of possible hiding spaces for the shark.



Rinku


Shortly after he put the small fry in his place, the vent jester appeared, covered in dust and fuzzies from their A\C excursion. Rinku was going to make a snide remark, but as the conversation went on, he felt the strange feeling of something...off.

That Jevil. He's seen many of demons and humans in his time, motivated by greed, lust, ambition. Jevil wasn't motivated by any of that. It wasn't like Rinku's own kind of entertainment either, it was an empty sort of joy. One that had nothing to look forward to, a hollow happiness. Like nothing mattered in the whole world than to enjoy himself There was nothing more dangerous that someone that put no value on their own life.

As the pair went off to fight it out, Rinku motioned at Dagr with a subtle head flick to the right.

"Crush the freak, but don't be an idiot, ight?"

In truth, Dagr was the strong and straightforward sort. For an adversary with nothing to lose that could and probably would do anything to win? That could lead to utter disaster she wouldn't be prepared for.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Bakura

"Torture?"
The spirit chuckled, looking to the Pokemon.
"I am simply doing what I want, when I want." Bakura said. "If I truly wanted to torture the boy, well... Even in my current state, it wouldn't look like this."
Bakura's smile grew.

"Is that what brings you here? Concern for the boy?" Bakura asked.


Jeice

The blast from his final Crusher Ball enveloped Kassandra. Sure, some of the barrage had been stopped by whatever it was she had summoned, but this was a direct hit! Surely it would be enough to-

Kassandra burst from the light. Jeice's eyes widened in panic, completely caught off guard on how Kass had been able to not just survive his Crusher Volcano, but be able to respond so quickly?! Her first strike smashed through the remains of Jeice's Battle Armor. Jeice tried to fly back, dodge, anything! But she was always there. Kassandra was just too fast, to strong. A slash across his side. Another nearly cutting off his right hand. She screamed something, something about her own destiny.

The staff slashed across Jeice's throat. The alien choked, gurgling on his own blood. Another powerful hit slammed him into the ground. He laid, twitching and bleeding on the cold metal floor, choking on his own blood.

WINNER!​

​

KASSANDRA!​

Dagr

Jevil transformed back into his creature form. Dagr had expected to be holding the jester by his tail, but instead found she was holding his throat. It was long and springy now, like a metal coil.
"But you should have let go when you had the chance, chance." Jevil threw the pair of grenades right at Dagr's face. A wing of metal feather suddenly interposed itself between Dagr and the grenades, blocking the explosion. Sun-Wing, blocking the attack with one of their wings! Still, the chaos of the attack had Dagr reflexively letting go of Jevil.

Now, the little guy was warping all around and throwing strange spade projectiles. Dagr dodged some by rolling off the platform, landing on the ground. She ran, using the large statue to find cover from some of the projectiles. Others, she was able to hit away with her ax. Still others, Sun-Wing hit away with their metal wings. The statue holding the two platforms began to crack, showing signs it was weakening.
"Slippery little guy, huh?"

Jevil appeared again. Winds rushed around Dagr, and the warrior princess appeared next to Jevil in a blur.
"I wish I'd known about your toys! I would have brought my own club!" Dagr exclaimed, attempting to barrage Jevil with a series of rapid ax slashes!

 

[comic]

NEPHTHYS​

Regardless if this entity was different than the usual things the gardevoir had experienced - his monologuing was not far off from the likes of Maxie and Archie. More reserved and calculated, sure, but they all carried the same weight. Nephthys couldn't help but roll her eyes, casting a quick glance at her surroundings, before she glowered somewhat.

<Sure, if that's what you want to think,> Neph replied. <Leave his mind alone, or at least find common ground. Give him the knowledge he needs. Your intentions are far from my business, but he asked me to investigate. I'm speaking on behalf of him.>
​

​

KASSANDRA​

Jeice collapsed, and Kassandra moved quickly toward him, clearly intending to not let up. For the satisfaction of his death? For the boiling rage that had come forth from within? For plain sadism?

Yet as she raised her blade, an image flashed across her mind. She could see an old, familiar scene. A man on his knees, his eyes staring blankly forward. He was held up by a spear, lodged in the ground, sticking through the man's skull, from the bottom of his jaw and out the top of his head. Brasidas, her old friend. Somebody she had grown to care about, once... maybe more than that.

The image left as quickly as it came, and it was enough to make Kassandra stop, her eyes widening, and she took a step back, staring at Jeice's body as he fell still. He was dead. A fanfare began to ring through the arena, but something felt wrong. Something felt off.

Another image flashed before her. A small girl's corpse, cradled in the arms of the misthios. The girl was cold, staring lifelessly upward. Phoibe. Kassandra had promised to protect her. The girl reminded her of herself. During their years on Kephallonia, Kassandra had taken the role of a big sister to her... and she'd failed to come to Phoibe when the girl had screamed her name as the cultists bore down upon her.

Again, the image was gone, and Kassandra felt a sudden twisting in her gut as she stared at Jeice's body. The gateway opened behind her, waiting for her to depart as the winner, but this victory felt empty. Cold. Dead. Like Brasidas, and Phoibe. Something was surfacing within her, and she didn't like it. She could feel her chest constricting as her breathing got more shallow the longer she stared at the Red Magma.

A third flash. The spear of Leonidas, rammed through the throat of a man, who stared back at her in shock and surprise as he gurgled, unable to draw breath with the weapon splitting apart his esophagus. Deimos, her enemy. Alexios... her brother. She'd tried so hard to bring him back from the mind washing of the cult, and she had failed miserably. She could hear her mother's cries echoing behind her. Alexios reached out for Kassandra, his fingers brushing against her cheek... before he fell to the ground, his blood staining her hands.

Kassandra stared at Jeice for a moment longer, before she hastily tore the Helmet of Ares off, and cast it aside. The helmet clanged against the floor of the Isu metal. This felt wrong. Something about all of this felt horribly wrong, but she didn't know why. This was just some idiot, wasn't he? Some obstacle to overcome... she'd killed so many people before, and it wasn't like he'd stay dead. He'd be resurrected in the lobby like it was some Lazarus Pit. Why did she feel this emptiness clawing at her? This was what she wanted, right? Victory. The spoils of war. The "greatest honor" at the end of it all, to let her achieve her dreams, ambitions... to allow her to mold her own destiny outside of the influence of the Isu...

...

The misthios ripped her gaze away, feeling guilty and ashamed for how she'd acted, and what she'd done, and uncertain why these emotions ailed her. Slowly, she made her way back through the gateway as the world around her drifted away into nothingness, flaking off into the white void, and she returned to the lobby.​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

Unprepared for Dagr's rapid slashes, Jevil dodged backwards suddenly, before pulling out his Devilsknife and blocking her next attacks. While they clashed, Jevil taunted her. "You're fast, fast, and clever too! But your club is missing- while mine are right here!" Jevil suddenly flew upward, throwing his Devilsknife, not at Dagr, but at Sun-Wing! With the bird preocupied, Jevil presumed, Dagr would be far easier to defeat.

"Spades, clubs, my power is limitless!" Jevil cried, throwing several black clubs into the air around Dagr. Each one pointed at her from a different angle, and they suddenly began spewing white club-shaped bullets at her, seemingly aiming for her arms and legs. Meanwhile, Jevil launched a barrage of diamonds at the preocupied Sun-Wing, who now had to flee both the giant Devilsknife while dodging a large amount of diamonds now headed his way.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Bakura

The spirit tilted his head, looking to Neph with amusement. As she looked around the room, it began to come more into focus. It was just as dim and tomblike as the corridor before. But scattered around this room were piles of treasure. Ancient treasures of gold and crystal. They seemed as though they had not been disturbed for a very long time, covered in dust and grim. There was something that did seem as though it had been recently disturbed. A small cabinet lie at the end of the room, halfway filled with small lead miniatures. They looked like they were toys for a fantasy game.

"And if I say no?" The spirit asked Neph with a smirk.


Jeice

Jeice, while he was bleeding out and stunned, was still technically conscious. His eyes widened as Kassandra rushed up, blade in hand- Then stopped. A strange expression crossed her face, and she threw away her helmet and walked away. The light envolped Jeice...

And suddenly, the warrior was back in the plaza. He blinked, looking around. The bracket showed his face greyed out, with the words 'eliminated' in red. Eliminated was right.
"Oh, no no no! NOO!" Jeice screamed.


Dagr

The Jevilknife spun through the air towards Sun-Wing, but the massive bird stood its ground on Dagr's shoulders. With a clash of metal, Dagr knocked the flying scythe away from her bird with her axe.
"Looks like a Jevilknife to me- ack!" Dagr yelped when the clubs appeared around her. If anything was becoming apparent, it was that staying still while fighting Jevil was not an option.

The Princess broke into a mad dash, sliding under the legs of the one-platform statue while Sun-Wing flew around it and landed back on Dagr's shoulders. Dagr took cover behind it from the club's bullets, knocking away the Jevilsknife as it swung back again. Diamonds rained down upon the pair, but Sun-Wing was ready. The bird raised its wings to shield itself and Dagr from the rain of blades. As the diamonds struck Sun-Wing's metal feathers, a strange green rune began to glow on them. A sphere of green energy appeared around Sun-Wing and Dagr, protecting the pair from the diamond barrage. Still, one of the diamonds managed to get through the energy shield and slash Dagr's shoulder. The Princess winced, but her smile returned.

"Sorry, JJ! I should have mentioned, Sun-Wing really doesn't like those rapid flurry type attacks. So we put a special magic on his feathers, Anti-Rush shield!" Dagr called out. The clubs finished their last bullet barrage, and the single-platform statue cracked and crumbled, disintegrating into dust. Grabbing a rather large chunk of the destroyed platform, Dagr threw it at Jevil before quickly rushing towards Jevil to close the distance. She aimed another series of slashes at the mad jester!

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

One of the main properties of Kirin's talismans was quickly proving effective: they could stack small amounts of concussive power, releasing it during the priestess' next strike. It came in handy besides their sealing ability, forcing Alter Knight on the backfoot for the start of their duel. She was quick to recover, however, striking back with a series of precise, lightning-enhanced swings.

A step backward wasn't quite enough to avoid the first strike, the accompanying lightning extending its reach enough to catch Kirin. A wave of pain coursed through her as Alter went for another swing, this one barely glanced aside by the Battle Priestess' own sword, not quite having the same amount of skill with a blade as Alter perhaps did. So she chose to prepare better for the next, standing her ground as her opponent came in with a thrust-

Kirin managed to parry the blow smoothly. Making use of her Warden Flash technique, she would strike back in a split second, a flash of lightning accompanying her counter slash as she moved to strike Alter Knight with far more strength than someone her size should have, her aim to send the warrior flying backward.​

Pit
​

Pit had rushed in following his initial reflection of the scrap guitar, hoping to score a follow-up attack - but Chai jumping off the stage left him confused. The guitar was soon caught in the ropes, and it was here that the angel realized what was going on.

"Hey, you're not supposed to send it back again!"

TWAAANG!!

The sound of a guitar chord rang out as the weapon suddenly flew back in Pit's direction Finding himself unable to get out of the way in time, he brought the Babel Club up to defend himself, the glowing guitar crashing into it. It carried some serious power, sending Pit flying all the way to the opposite end of the arena, the ropes stretching backward as they caught his fall. Pit was a bit dazed from the impact, but his weapon had taken the hit in stride.

"If that's how you wanna play..." Pit's wings suddenly began to glow a bright blue, switching out his Babel Club for a faster, lighter weapon: Tiger Claws.
​

"...don't mind if I copy your tricks!"

Pit suddenly slingshotted himself towards Chai, speed boosted by the Power of Flight! A flurry of sharp talons were fired at the rockstar as he approached, before Pit made to swipe with both claws once he was close enough.

​

♩♪ Way too many times
I've seen this same old twisted pantomime♫♬

Grazie
​

It didn't quite surprise the Adept to see Audrey gloat in response to her current situation. For someone chosen to carry the will of a god, she sure was full of herself. Regardless, at least all the bragging gave Grazie a little time to breathe and think of her next move.

Still laying on the ground and with white lightning crackling throughout, her yellow eyes landed on the castle nearby, and that gave her an idea. Audrey had just finished with her rambling, but as she smirked and prepared to strike, the so-called weird sand suddenly acted. In the blink of an eye, all the sand around Audrey's feet suddenly swept to her left, clearly intending on making her lose her footing and jerking her to the side. It was like getting a rug pulled out from below, and it showed no signs of stopping, as waves of sand were quick to continuously wash over the hero.

The annoyance factor of it all was quite high, but its main goal would soon become clear: Grazie intended on sending Audrey falling down into the nearby moat, before keeping her pinned down with an onslaught of sand!​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Chai


Chai swung back into the stage, swiping his nose with his thumb, satisfied with himself. Gaining a dose of pride, he's swiveled his mechanical hand 360° degrees around it's wrist ball, coming out with an extended index finger, his weapon slowly magnetizing to his hand.

"Book of Chai, Rule 1: If it didn't work the first time, then keep doing it till it works!"

"...Isn't that just the definition of insanity?" Peppermint commented.

"It ain't insanity if it-"

Chai stopped as claw shot past and cut his ear, another ripping through skin on his neck. The jolts of pain had him flip back at his opponent. Pit had leaped out, new claws outstretched. Chai could barley raise his guitar over his center body as a makeshift barrier before-

SCRATCH!

The claws swiped at his face, the rest of the force getting imparted on the guitar barrier, the concussion of which practically ragdolled Chai to the ground, the twenty something grasping his face in pain. Muffled cries were heard as he rolled around like a sausage, arching his body up in a whimper.

♫♬ They say the darkest hours are just before the dawn.
That we must die to be reborn! ♩♪

808 rolled their feline eyes, the controller moving 808 quickly to chump on Chai's chest.

"Hey, up and at 'em. What are you so mad about? He just followed your 'Book of Chai.'"

"Not the time, Pepperiment." He wheezed.

Getting up and popping the cat off his chest, he sighed, preparing his guitar as he looked intently at the claws of Pit's. Sharp. Deadly. Painful. And new.

♩♪ I'm still alive, I'm ready for the pain ♫♬

"Nice digs, but I think they look better on me!"

Bringing his hands behind himself, orange claws and holographic arms began to appear overlayed on top of his own. Chai giving a smirk before he used his own move.

"Rip and tear!"

♫♬ If I fall, I rise again!♩♪

Rushing forward, he would slash at Pit's claws with his own, we'd see just who's claws were better!

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

Thinking quickly, Jevil slashed the piece of rock in half with a quickly-summoned Devilsknife, before using it to block Dagr's flurry of slashes. "Anti-Rush Shield? How boring, boring! I would have called it the Wing of Fast Defense!" As he said this, his knife got faster and faster, blocking Dagr's attacks before they even got close enough to hit, before finally hooking the oversized scythe onto the handle of Dagr's axe, and pulling as hard as he could, which ended up pulling himself into Dagr. Realizing this, Jevil aimed his rapidly-moving legs directly into Dagr's face, kicking as hard as he could before floating away.

"And really, JJ? You don't need to make 'Jevil' short, short! It's already small!" Jevil was about to prepare another attack, but he seemed to get a better idea. "You don't spin too much, much. Let's play the ring-around!" And, suddenly, several things happened at once, Dagr seemed to be surrounded in a storm of chaos, with several bullets from each suit surrounding her and blocking her vision, but not hitting her. The ground began to shake, and she was tossed into the air, before landing on... a horse?

"Who keeps spinning the world around!?" Jevil cried, as the cyillinder of bullets disappeared, revealing that Dagr was now on a horse on a large carousel- And now, it was spinning. She soon found that she could partially control where the horse was, but not by much. Before she had a chance to counter, Jevil created a ring of spades around Dagr, and they began to spiral inward.