Private/Closed Bootleg Brothers 6

[Psymallard]

Taskmaster
The Taskmaster blinked awake. He was back in the lobby. It was bright there compared to the dark temple, but much better than the throbbing pain from having the shit nearly being beat out of him just a minute ago. A woman nearby cleared her throat. The assassin's eyes slid over to see Nótt as she formally admitted defeat and complimented him on his victory. Though the man wasn't driven by his ego, flattery wasn't completely lost on him. However, as she extended his arm, his eyes quickly and instinctively searched her face for deceit or malice. He detected a well-masked rage, but no deceit. The quick study told him what he already knew: the princess was a well-trained goody two-shoes. He decided to take her hand, and with her help he quickly got to his feet. Nótt offered a meal, and although he wasn't going to take off his mask, he decided it couldn't hurt to chat.

"No hard feelings, eh?"

Beam
The shark awakened in the lobby. He remembered tearing into a chunk of the crunchy jester, but also roasting alive. He figured that he won that exchange, and threw up his arms in celebration. Throughout his cheering, he failed to notice a redheaded woman creeping up behind him. He celebrated a moment more before sensing the woman, and he whirled around to face her. There was an unmistakable recognition there, as her piercing gaze paralyzed the devilman. She wore an eerie, blank smile, and slowly Beam's enthusiasm returned to him. He assumed he had pleased her.

"Let's go, Beam."

That was it?! Had Beam won?! The fiend was filled with glee and pride. Although these devils were strange and difficult to overcome, he thought that he had completed his mission. The thought of having lost had since exited his mind as he followed the woman- strangely composed despite his boisterous nature. Then, he and Makima disappeared into the portal.

Marshtomp
The Hoenn starter watched the ghost approach. It was damaged and slowed by the Mud Shot, so the Pokémon assumed it couldn't be that hard to finish the thing off. As it swung, Marshtomp got low and charged forth below the attack with newfound grace, before he came up with a Rock Smash aimed at the Gross Ghost's sternum!

Shopmaster
"Hello? Shopkeeper guy? I've got money and I'm lookin' to spend! Whatcha got?"

As Dart sped in, the Shopkeeper was focused on whittling away at a small figure with a thin scalpel. He wore thin spectacles, a brown beret, and a worn leather apron. A moment after Dart spoke, the man turned and peered at him through his spectacles.

"Weeell, well, well-well-well?"

The man set the scalpel and the figure on the table, undid his apron to let it drop, and then, with a wave of his arm over his head, his spectacles and beret disappeared.

"I've got plenty here to sell. Dart. Darty McFly. Dart Sidious. Take a look!"

The Regular Shopkeep gestured above him, and from the ceiling descended a menu of all the different items he could purchase.

Spoiler: shop items

Wooden Sculpture- 1 token
Splat Bomb- 2 tokens
Crimson Stone- 2 tokens
Get Down Here and Fight Me!- 2 tokens
TNT/Nitro Crate- 2 tokens
TM Rock Smash- 2 tokens
Soul Edge- 2 tokens
Learn Their Secrets- 2 tokens
The Power of Fire- 2 tokens
Noble Scarf- 3 tokens
Megamorph- 3 tokens
Battle Armor- 3 tokens
Skull-Mark Ladybug- 3 tokens
808- 3 tokens
Knowledge is Power- 3 tokens
Hrímfaxi's Blessing- 3 tokens
Champion Sword- 3 tokens
Jevilsknife- 3 tokens
Shark Contract- 3 tokens
Skull Mask- 3 tokens
Gem Apples- 3 tokens
Shovel Scepter- 3 tokens

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

Dagr chuckled at Jevil's complaints. She had been a little nervous that the strange man would just up and vanish after his fight.
"Thanks! You're crazy fun yourself, I've never fought someone that can fight and move and use strange magic like you can. It was so much fun!" Dagr said. "C'mon, let's go get a feast and celebrate my victory! We can celebrate our fight too, but mostly my victory."

The Princess started to walk across the lobby towards the Regular Burger. As she did, she saw a familiar person out of the corner of her eye.
"Hey, Beam~!" Dagr called out, waving to the Shark Devil. But it was too late. He walked through the gateway, acompanied by a strange, beautiful woman. Dagr's smiled faded, and she slowly lowered her hand. She sighed and shook her head.
"Happy trails, sharkman. I hope your meat is fresh and juicy."

Dagr turned her attention back to Jevil.
"You complain about still being around, but I'm glad. I get the feeling that if we met back in a real world, we'd end up killing each other. I think here, it's a lot more interesting." Dagr said.


Nótt

The Princess nodded.
"Well, some hard feelings I suppose. But it certainly helps that everyone here is powerful warriors from their own worlds. And that this isn't an arena in Jotunheimr, so I didn't lose in front of all my subjects." Nótt said with a smile. "It also helps that you are a truly extraordinary warrior."
The two started to walk across the lobby to the Regular Burger. Looking up, Nótt could see that Dagr had won her match. The Princess cringed.
"Ah. That makes things worse." Nótt said. "I was hoping Dagr would be eliminated before I was."

She turned her attention back to Taskmaster.
"Sir Taskmaster. Where did you learn to fight like that?" Nótt asked.

 

[Psymallard]

Tasky
Just as he'd thought, there was some avarice about her loss, yet he was a bit surprised to hear her admit it. The two walked towards the restaurant; the Taskmaster's eyes scoured the area to catalog the remaining competitors while the princess glared at the leaderboard. He too turned his head to look at the leaderboard as Nótt began speaking. She was frustrated that Dagr had stayed in the competition for longer than she had, and, judging by their similarities in looks and attire, they were sisters. That made sense.

Then she turned to ask the mercenary about his training. His cold gaze flickered over to make eye contact, and he realized that he didn't tell about his photographic reflexes. He'd been quiet for most of that fight. After a moment of silence, he explained,

"I'm something of a fast learner. Been all over the world, and met the best it's had to offer. When I learned all the moves I could, I went to other worlds and learned some more. Even crossed blades with peoples like you and your sister before. It's no secret that you were a princess in the way you fought. Fancy spear, noble posture, graceful movements. You've trained with the elite, and your skills are real polished because of it. But you haven't had much experience with scraps on the street- and that's where you find a kinda creativity you can't learn from a private tutor."


Kragg
The large beetle dropped Ryuji at his feet. He ignored any protest that would come from the Phantom Thief, and gazed around the lobby. Contestants were thinning out, he noticed. His gaze fell upon the Regular Shop. Kragg vaguely remembered the rules of purchasing from the shop, and he had a hunch that the store was where his last opponent had learned to run so fast.

 

[comic]

IRNANE​

The mechanical feline clearly hadn't caught on to Irnane's conclusion to her diagnosis, that whole thing about "not being able to tell more without further evidence."

"I know nothing more. My conclusion was speculatory, anything more is further into the realm of educated theory."

808 was clearly concerned about this condition, but Irnane held minimal worry over it. Her gut instinct told her that the environment was relatively controlled, more or less. And if anything got worse, then Master Hand would handle it.

...Assuming he wasn't the cause. Irnane was no stranger to mad gods with far too much power. She wasn't one to put her stock in anyone that could snap their fingers and break all laws of physics.
​

​

NEPHTHYS​

She grit her teeth a little at Raptor's call-out - but she was able to stow her pride, if only for now. He was right, she did not know anything about dueling. She probably should have paid a little more attention when she'd fought Raptor and Weevil in the preliminary round. She turned her nose up slightly, crossing her arms. <As it stands, I do not,> she admitted. <I suppose I need your help in this matter - and you need mine if you want to escape this mindscape.>

Opening one eye, she noticed Marshtomp had yet to put down the phantom pain in their ass. She lifted one arm, and cast Dazzling Gleam toward the ghost from behind, the spiraling sparks of fairy energy zeroing in on the creature.
​

​

DART​

Dart didn't know what to make of the seemingly random nicknames using 'Dart' in them. This guy was a little eccentric, but at least he had some pretty humble hobbies - the mercenary could dig it!

His eyes scanned over the list of store items, and he stroked his chin, deep in thought. So many options... he was having a little bit of a choice overload. Each came with their own little description, talking about what they'd bring to the table. A fair few of them had cons to their pros, though most of the ones without negatives weren't all too useful...

"Hm..." Dart continued to stroke his chin. Magolor's flight had been a bit annoying, if he was gonna be honest. Without his dragoon form, that could have easily turned the tables - especially given what that guy turned out to be capable of. He'd need to build back up his dragoon points to use that form again, though just like before, he had some saved over. He hadn't used them all up against Magolor. More than he'd like, though.

If he was against another floating opponent like that, he'd need a method to best that advantage and even the playing field. Force them to fight on his terms...

And his eyes landed on exactly what he wanted.

"Hey, that looks pretty good," Dart pointed toward "Get Down Here And Fight Me!" It was 2 tokens, and that left him with 4 more. He could actually afford one more thing there... once again, he scanned over the list and stroked his chin. "Hm..."

Dart was not the most accustomed person to fighting alone. He was capable of it, and pretty good, but over his adventures he'd grown to somewhat rely on people to feed him information during a fight. He was a little bone-headed and he knew it. Something like a little fairy to give him advice wouldn't be a bad idea, were there any on the list?

"HM...!" Dart stroked his chin harder.

He finally came to a stop at "808." It apparently gave advice. Didn't seem to do anything more, but that didn't really bother the Red Warrior. He grinned widely as he pointed to 808. "That one, too!"

It was 3 tokens. That left him with only 1 remaining. Maybe he could get even more...? No, nothing on the list was worth so little...

"Oh, cool, and I'll take your cool Wooden Sculpture too. Why not!" Dart held out all 6 tokens to Regular Shopkeeper.​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Yami Bakura

The Marshtomp managed to slip under the Gross Ghost's slash, landing a clean blow to the duel monster. It recoiled back, screeching in pain before exploding into pixels. The Dazzling Gleam flew through the space the Gross Ghost had been moments before, exploding against the maze wall harmlessly. The Marshtomp had won the battle. And just like that, a calm came back over the maze. No more ghostly screaming or gusts of wind.

Yami Bakura smiled. An interesting test of his opponent's abilities. Of course, he hadn't expected the Gross Ghost to defeat any of the adventurers right away. The dungeon would wear them down, bit by bit...


Nótt

The Princess gave Taskmaster an embarrassed smile.
"Do you really suppose so? Unfortunate, I thought the fighting tournaments my kingdom had would have been enough to make up for that." Nótt said. The two entered the Regular Burger. It was starting to get more crowded as more and more competitors made their way to the restaurant. The pair sat down in a booth, and Nótt occasionally watched one of the tv screens showing the remaining fights. She looked back to Taskmaster, looking the assassin up and down again.

"You claim you're a fast learner. But it's something more then that, isn't it?" Nótt asked Taskmaster. "I've seen fast learners. My sister is a fast learner. But you're something else."
Nótt cocked her head.
"Why did you join this tournament, Sir Taskmaster?"

 

[Gamingfan]

Alter
The empowered Knight swept the Champion Sword back and forth, not having any intention to let Kirin close the. Though really, she knew it wouldn't be long until the slippery priestess found a way.
True enough, a streak of blue zipped past her peripheral vision, and Alter knew what that entailed. Alter tightened her grip on the Champion Sword's hilt with as much strength as she could muster. The priestess spun quickly as she attacks, turning into a buzzsaw with what she could only assume had to be lethal intent. Alter swung her legendary weapon in return, the incredible power dormant within it was enough to hold back Kirin for a second. Alter Knight had no idea where this sudden increase in the Kirin's power came from, but she didn't plan to go down easy. Even if she was no longer the hero-
Before she could finish her thought, Alter's strength finally failed her. The power of the special potion knocked the Champion Sword out of her hands, leaving her defenseless for a moment too late. Alter didn't catch where her blade landed, though it hardly mattered as Kirin's own sliced through her armor-and herself-in an instant. Both halves of Alter plopped onto the floor, her face frozen in what looked like confusion.

Winner: Kirin!

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

"It's not that," Jevil explained, floating alongside Dagr as they made their way to the Regular Burger. "But I went for a dramatic exit- A speech, speech, some lights and sounds, I even went for the look of leaving! But noooooo, I have to leave through those strange portals," he said, pointing to the gateway that Beam had just walked through.

"No use complaints, complaints. You're right about the reincarnation thing, though- We can have a chaos, chaos, for as long as we like, and rarely get tired and never get killed. It's amazing, amazing!"

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

Alter Knight's bisected body fell to the ground with a thud as fanfare began to play, and the sight finally sank in for Kirin.

"What...?"

The immediate sting of regret washed over the priestess, unable to take her eyes off what remained of her opponent. That potion's effects were potent - far too potent. Despite knowing that death meant nothing in this tournament, she felt as though she had betrayed a part of herself. Her mind flashed back to her training as Battle Priestess. How she had sworn to never take someone else’s life. To use her Septima in a way that could help others.

Now here she stood, with blood on her hands.

Kirin found herself tossing her blood-stained blade away out of disgust, fearing that she’d come to do anything worse, finally looking away from her former opponent, brow furrowed and heart racing. How could she have done something like this? She… she couldn’t keep doing this. This wasn’t right. Walking hurriedly toward the newly-opened gateway, leaving Alter and her own sword behind.

There was someone she needed to have a talk with.
​

Pit
​

“Hm, I wonder where she went.”

Pit was quite sure what to think regarding Peppermint’s absence, but he supposed that if Chai wasn’t worried, then he didn’t need to either. Besides, he was already crazy hungry. He didn’t think he could even walk out of the burger joint without getting his fill.

“Well, sounds like a plan, then!” Whirling around on his seat, the angel waved over to one of the identical waiters that he could see walking around the place.

“Excuse me, mister waiter? We’re ready to order!”
​

Grazie
​

“Owww…”

When Grazie came to, she was back to the lobby. If she remembered correctly, she’d been fighting that Audrey girl a minute ago, so if she was here…

Her gaze shifted to the floating bracket above the plaza, and sure enough, she’d been eliminated in that last fight. And she’d been so sure she was gonna totally squish that so-called hero!

“Well, ain’t that jus’ the pits…” She frowned, looking away from the bracket. The plaza had thinned out a whole bunch, no doubt due to how far into the tournament they’d gotten. While she didn’t do half bad, Grazie felt pretty bummed out that she’d let a match like that slip out of her hands. What was she going to do now?

Glancing up at the tournament bracket, she spotted a pair of familiar ardent eyes staring back at her, full of compassion. Yeah, maybe a talk with the prince would cheer her up a tad. She just had to look for a way up there…​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

The Princess laughed, and played along with Jevil's outrage.
"Oh yeah. But are you really that surprised? You saw how dramatic that Master Hand was. Why, if he let you have your way, you'd outshine him for sure!" Dagr said. "But with that chaos and killing, I know, right? I'm not that big of fan of killing people to be honest, but here I can cut close and go at full power without having to worry about permanently harming people!"

She looked towards Jevil once again with renouned interest.
"You know, back where I'm from, it's believed that should you die a warrior death, the spirits of the ancestors will guide you to Valhalla. A wonderful place of strong warriors and great battles, where those who were slain simply rise again the next day as if nothing ever happened." Dagr said. "This tournament. It's like I'm there, without having to have died. It's fantastic."

As the pair walked towards the Regular Burger Resturaunt, Dagr noticed Grazie. The cutie with the sand powers! Unfortunately, she looked rather down. That meant... Dagr glanced up to the brackets. Yep, she had lost. To Audrey, one of the competitors that her sister had fought in round 1. Which meant she was out of the tournament. Dagr frowned, with those cool powers she had hoped Grazie would be one of the people she would fight. Then again, Dagr wished she was able to fight everyone here.

"Hey!" Dagr called out to Grazie. She gave the girl a smile. "You're Grazie, right? I saw some of your fights! Your sand powers and fighting moves are really cool! I thought the way it gave you awesome armor was incredible too."
The Princess gave Grazie a thumbs up.
"Sorry if that's out of the blue. I know a lot of people are just leaving after they get eliminated, so I just had to say this while I had the chance." Dagr said. She waved, and kept walking on. "I wish we could have fought!"

Bringing her attention back to Jevil, the pair entered the Regular Burger restaurant. There were a few people already inside. Nott and a skull-masked warrior sat near, but Dagr didn't particularly want to be near her. But there was another familiar face. Pit! The tourny veteran! Dagr glanced back at Jevil. Hm. An angel and a devil...
"I wonder if this will cause chaos?" Dagr said to Jevil. She walked over to Pit and Chai's table.

"Hey, Mister Tourney Veteran! You won your match, congrats!" Dagr said to Pit. "Is there room for two more at your table?"

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Master Hand


.
..
...


With the resounding snap of fingers, Master Hand had materialized right in the center plaza, right on cue as Kirin wrapped up their match with Alter Knight. Despite the feelings of distress, worry, and regret that festered in spots in the plaza, Master Hand ignored them, being all the ready to proceed with his announcer like voice.

"Good matches everyone, good show one and all! I see the item system provided is getting extensive use! Even if there was an item I don't recall registering." He patted himself on the back. "So then! I'm sure you are aching to know what the next person you'll need to pummel, and fear not! The matchups are updating as we speak, behold!

Rolling his hand to gesture to the brackets, they quickly cleared up the eliminated clutter, highlighting new brackets and matchups with the remaining names:



Winner's Bracket around 4

Rinku vs Irnane
Kass Vs Kragg
Dart vs ????

Loser's Bracket Round 4:

Audrey v Kirin
NiGHTS v Lucario
Pit v Taskmaster
Warlock v Dagr


"Now you might be wondering, oh Master Hand, why is there a question mark on the roster? How would we know who to fight next? To that I would say- I'M GETTING TO THAT YOU INGRATE!"

Clearing his nonexistent throat and recollecting himself, he snapped his fingers once more, a series of numbers next to eliminated names began to tally up.

"You see, I don't like odd number fights, so I brought in some audience participation to vote on which of the hopeless eliminated saps should rejoin the roster to get a chance of redemption! And by popular demand...heaven knows why, but the flamboyant Australian alien Jeice has been selected to rejoin! Everyone give him the minimum applause quota!"

Master hand put his index and thumb close together, and within a moment, Jeice was transported right in his grasp! Lowering him down in front of the bracket in which he was re-added to, Master Hand let out a single laugh.

"Have fun killing each other for our amusement now!"

With that, he disappeared into the aether after a firm thumbs up. It would seem that the hand was anxious to keep the ball rolling.



808


"Hm, well I guess that gut feeling isn't detracting from anything then...?" Peppermint guessed. "This non scientific stuff is beyond me. But either way..."

Noticing the tourney bracket updating, that meant Irnane was soon not going to be there. Taking this into account, 808 gestured to her.

"Go on, I'll try to do something about this."

Cocking their head at the millennium item around Bakura's neck, 808 touched it, holding it up slightly as they examined it. Nothing would indicate that it would be able to shine light as a reaction to her electric paws earlier. It was an antique, so how could it...?




Rex Raptor


"So you are saying my fate rests in teaching a hopeless rookie like you how to duel in order to live?" Rex let out a dramatic groan. "I don't like this one bit, but looks like it's my only option at this point. Have to stop you from screwing up."

Normally hearing someone was a rookie meant an easy target to squash, in this case he had to trust one with his future. This sucked. Sliding in and almost pushing against the psychic pokemon, Rex leaned over to take a gander at her hand.

"What do you got in here, anyway? What's the theme of this deck...?"


Rinku


"Heh, that who they stuck me with fighting?"

Putting down their smoothie, they stuffed their hands in their pockets, standing out of their seat. Getting to the door and kicking it open with a foot, the S class demon slowly made his way to the gateway. He needed a good Segway from Weevil's annoying battle into one that was more fulfilling, and considering they were already this deep in the tourney, Irnane wouldn't be one to underestimate.

 

[comic]

KASSANDRA​

The misthios wasn’t impeded once she’d returned to the lobby. Finding somewhere private to speak with Aletheia. Kassandra slunk around the edges of the lobby, looking for a place away from people, and unoccupied. Before she realized it, she’d found a thin tunnel that branched away, almost completely unseen in a nook at the side of the Regular Shop. People were gathering there, keeping one another distracted as the Keeper slid her way into the tunnel – a tight squeeze.

With a curious frown, Kassandra slid herself deeper and deeper into the tunnel, before it eventually opened up in a large cavern. Why was this place here, anyway? Even though it was fairly dark, she could tell there was practically nothing here, except for a small puddle of water in a corner of the cavern.

“Alright, Aletheia,” Kassandra spoke, “you wanted to speak, so speak.”

The transparent form of a tall, elegantly robed woman materialized in the center of the room, staring back at the misthios. She was silent for a moment as the two stared at one another.

“You are wondering what this place is,” Aletheia finally said. Kassandra’s eyebrows scrunched together.

“I mean, yes, but that’s not why we’re here.”

“Master Hand designed this place to be responsive to the needs of his contestants,” Aletheia continued. “There was no door to the stands above until you needed one. This room did not exist until you required it. Who’s to say what other things and places have appeared out of the need of others.”

“Fascinating,” Kassandra replied, not fascinated at all. “Your point?”

“Even the Isu are not capable of creating such things. This realm is accessed by beings far beyond you, and far beyond me. Your last opponent, Jeice, has the capacity to destroy entire worlds. By all logic, you should have lost the moment he struck you.”

Kassandra’s right eye twitched, before she folded her arms across her chest. “Clearly you’re wrong, considering I won.”

“This realm also weakens the powerful, and strengthens the meek,” Aletheia proposed. “Master Hand’s purpose is entertainment. A fight is entertaining when the combatants are near-equal to one another. Everything Master Hand has done is for the sake of entertainment.”

Kassandra didn’t remark this time during Aletheia’s pause, knowing the Isu wasn’t finished yet.

“Each individual here has a purpose of their own. Some seek victory, some seek knowledge, some seek enjoyment, and some seek power. Do you know what Specter sought in the last tournament? What he would seek if he participated now? Do you know what purpose he desires for you?”

The misthios shook her head and let her arms fall to her side. “I know what your purpose for me is. I’m just a glorified courier, destined to carry a staff until I can hand it off to the right person – and that person won’t even fulfill her own purpose!”

“And what purpose is that?” Aletheia asked.

“Oh, how about stopping armageddon? She was supposed to stop what destroyed the Isu, what was going to destroy humanity, and everything else, just like it did before!”

Aletheia blinked slowly, staring almost impassively back. “Were you told this?”

“Yes, I…” Kassandra turned away, feeling frustrated. “I…”

“You came to that conclusion on your own, Kassandra,” Aletheia said. “Your purpose was to carry the staff to Layla. Layla’s purpose was to lay the foundation of survival. She and Desmond Miles will serve in the purpose of solving the End Equation. Layla was never meant to stop the end. She was meant to build the equation for someone else to do so.”

Kassandra was silent for a long moment, staring at the wall as she digested those words. Not just Kassandra, but Layla too. Both used for nothing more than setting something else in motion. Was there no end to this cycle of destiny?

Turning back to Aletheia, Kassandra pointed a finger at the Isu. “Why is this not something I can accomplish? Why can’t I see into the future, find the equation, and save my world?”

“You are not meant to.”

“That’s bullshit!” Kassandra yelled, seething again as she started to pace in her stewing anger, muttering Greek profanities under her breath. “Then who? Who is meant to? I need to know if anything I am going to do will mean anything! I have to know if I…”

Images flashed in front of Kassandra’s mind again. She saw the same scenes as earlier, that had stopped her from killing Jeice. This time, they came and went from her mind’s eye in quick succession. All those people she had ever known and loved, gone and dead. Long gone… and long dead…

She was the only person who remembered them. They had almost all been lost to time. Only a fair few would be remembered, like Herodotos and Perikles, but even then… they would never be remembered as Kassandra had known them. They ere to be foot notes in the memory of history. Functionally immortal, the misthios carried this all with her, but if she were to b honest with herself, the thought of her fate ultimately resulting in the same boat haunted her.

The thought that her thousands of years wandering the planet would result in nothing. She would not be remembered. She would leave no impact. She would be nothing more than failed potential and broken memories.

“…I have to take control of my own destiny,” Kassandra concluded with shaking words. “The Isu failed before. Your plans now can fail as well.”

“Keeper,” Aletheia lifted her head a little higher, commanding a presence in the cavern. “The reason the Isu could not stop the end was beyond us. The reason Layla will not stop the end is beyond her. The reason you will not stop the end is beyond you. You saw the future you were set upon, as shown by Specter. He revealed to you the truth of your destiny. So, you have altered it to your vision, but do you realize what your new future entails?”

Kassandra stared back, unable to find the right words to respond to that.

Aletheia lifted her arm, her palm facing Kassandra, and in an instant, her mind was assaulted by more flashes. A sky of red, a dried ocean, a cracked earth. Magma gushed from beneath as the air itself was reduced to dispersing toxic fumes. Blackened corpses lined city streets, skyscrapers crumbling into dust, everything eventually turning to ash. The sun sat in the air, larger and hotter than Kassandra had ever thought possible, its usual orange glow now a deep, angry, violent red.

The vision ended, and Kassandra stumbled back, her heart pounding up in her throat, leaving her with the need to catch her breath. “What…”

“That is your future,” Aletheia confirmed. “That is the destiny you desire. So afraid to be forgotten that you would enable humanity itself to be reduced to nothing but ash and echoes.”

The misthios had to take a few more moments to digest all of this, swallowing despite her dry mouth. The vision had felt so real… she had felt that intense heat… a heat that would devour the world and all it held.

“The coming end is far worse than what the Isu faced,” Aletheia warned. “The reason we cannot find the End Equation, is because it is beyond us. Your sacrifice, Desmond’s sacrifice, Layla’s sacrifice… the sacrifice of all your descendants and all your people. They open the gateway to something beyond us. Beyond time and beyond space. Behind that voided veil of probability lies the answers, and salvation. That is what this building toward. That is what is the destination of your ultimate destiny. Do you understand, Keeper? Do you understand the weight of your importance? Without your contribution, EVERYTHING ENDS.”

…

……

Kassandra hadn’t even realized she had dropped to her knees, her legs growing too weak in her expanded knowledge to support her weight. All of this… she had never so much as considered any of it. The sheer scale and impossibility of it all… not even Specter could have considered any of it.

“I… I understand…” the Keeper muttered, slowly bringing herself back to her feet. This fate laid out before her, the “destination of her ultimate destiny”… it was far from ideal. Far from what she wanted. But if Aletheia had not fabricated lies (and Kassandra had no reason to doubt her), that fate would be a catalyst into stopping the end. Saving the world.

…

……

Hearing the booming voice of Master Hand outside, Kassandra could feel her heart finally beginning to slow down. The round had ended, it would seem. She needed to continue the tournament.

She glanced back toward Aletheia. “Will no wish or “greatest honor” fast track the Isu’s plans? Is there no way for a power like Master Hand’s to stop the end?”

“Maybe, Keeper,” Aletheia replied. “But the future we have set in motion is guaranteed… as long as you allow it to be.”

Kassandra nodded, and the transparent Isu faded on the spot, leaving the misthios standing alone. She turned and began to squeeze herself through the tight tunnel that led back to the lobby.
​

NEPHTHYS​

And with a final burst of sparkles, the Gross Ghost was defeated by the Marshtomp’s move. With that distraction handled, Rex butt into the gardevoir’s personal space to look at her “deck” in irritating fashion.

<Deck?> Nephthys frowned, now also squinting at the duel disk. <I only see the two cards. They appeared when I accidentally summoned the both of you. You notably without a duel disk of your own.>

She made a verbal jab along with a slight elbow jab. Nothing all that painful, just to push Raptor out of her personal space a way. If he wanted a better look he could ask.​

IRNANE​

808 didn’t seem to enjoy grasping “non-scientific” things. In Irnane’s world, magic and science were fundamentally identical. It was fairly intriguing to know there were worlds out there with so little magic that it would seem hypothetical, rather than probable.

Nevertheless, the mechanical feline assured Irnane that it would investigate further, as Master Hand had appeared to announce the start of the next round.

Contestants were whittled down considerably by now. Irnane’s dark eyes scanned the winner’s bracket to see she’d been partnered against Rinku. She tasted something bitter on her tongue when she recognized who that was. A demon parading as a child. No different than some Daedra. This would be an opportunity to properly face somebody more akin to her enemy than what she’d fought so far.

Irnane gave a nod to 808 before she turned her gaze on Weevil. “Behave yourself. You seem to have a knack for demanding unwanted attention.”

With that, she walked away, headed for the gateway to begin her match with-

She stopped when her eyes drifted by the Regular Shop. Items, right. She had four tokens to spend. There was little reason not to. She had caught scenes of Rinku in action. Anything to use would not be frowned upon.

Irnane moved to the Regular Shop, ready to spend some tokens.
​

GENERIC HOST​

“Yes, amazing, amazing, isn’t it, hm hm…”

Behind Jevil appeared the host of the last tournament himself, Generic Host. He put a knuckle up to his mouth to give a polite, awkward chuckle. Dagr wouldn’t know him, but Jevil would, given he’d been in the last tournament. Bad matchups hadn’t let the jester progress very far last time, and now that he was eliminated again, it was pretty much identical results. He’d waited until after Dagr had called to Pit to speak with Jevil, offering a place at the table.

“How are you doing, my jittery, delightfully jevilish little friend? Oh,” he looked toward the others. “Don’t ah, mind me. Just making a business venture, seeking opportunity, you know how it is. Say, Jevil, why don’t we uh, talk about the fundamentals of Chaos Theory somewhere a little more private, hm?”

He gestured outside, a somewhat devious twinkle in his holographic eye.
​

[[KITCHEN GUN!]]​

Kirin, by now somewhat accustomed to these vague ways of reaching her storekeeper, managed to find herself in the cold tunnels somewhere uncertain once again. However, when she came to the spot where Spamton was supposed to be… the salesman was nowhere to be found. The entire room had gone gray and empty. All that remained was the desk he’d been using, and even it seemed cold and lifeless now.

However, there was something lying on the table. A thin, black disc. A CD, but it was unmarked.

Suddenly from behind Kirin came a voice.

“Admiring the new decor, hm?”

Generic Host emerged from the tunnel, stopping a few feet from Kirin, the blank smile on his face as unsettling as it ever was. “He was uh, quite pleased that you used both of his products. It got him so excited that he, well haha…”

Generic Host gestured to the desk where the CD sat.

“He turned himself into a CD, apparently.”​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

Seeing the shop abandoned like this was strangely unnerving. Gone was that strange, quirky atmosphere of the salesman's place, only leaving behind a colorless stand... and a CD. Where the hell was he?

"Admiring the new decor, hm?"

Him again. The Generic Host that had convinced her to deal with Spamton had appeared behind Kirin, the priestess whirling around in an instant, finding herself backing up towards the lifeless stand out of instinct. Even though her sword had automatically returned to her once she made it back to the plaza, the thought of wielding it made her feel uneasy.

"I don't buy it," Kirin responded, frowning. Not entirely true, given the sheer weirdness of the salesman, but it didn't feel right. "Where is he? I want out of these deals." As she spoke, her peacock green eyes glanced back and forth between the Host and the CD. There was a hint of curiosity regarding its true nature, though she couldn't quite believe the man's words.​

Pit
​

"Hey, Mister Tourney Veteran! You won your match, congrats!"

Hey, that voice was familiar.

"Thanks, Dagr! Of course, come right in," Pit replied, scooting over to give her enough room to sit. "So you won yours too, huh? I knew you were strong. Think we'll be facing each other soon?"

As if on cue, Master Hand appeared outside, formally announcing the start of the next round. The bracket visible outside (which now also appeared on the various TV screens throughout the restaurant) changed to show the new fights, including the returning Jeice. His next opponent was a "Taskmaster", and looking at the photo displayed of him, he was quick to spot the man... just across the hall, sitting in a booth of his own alongside a woman that looked similar to Dagr. Assuming the masked man turned to look at him, Pit would give him a quick wave and a smile, before he turned his focus back to Dagr.

"Guess that answers that. Maybe next round... Oh yeah, this is Chai, by the way! We fought just last round, and it was one heck of a fight. I'd never heard music like that before!"

Dagr was also joined by a floating jester with a dark color scheme, seemingly in a bit of a world of his own. The holographic man next to Jevil seemed far different, instead trying to make some sort of business with the darkner. Pit wasn't quite sure what to think as the Host dismissed any attention that would've come to him, keeping his focus on business for now. The angel supposed he'd let him be, paying him no further mind in the meantime.​

Grazie
​

"Huh?"

From a distance, a tall, muscular woman called out to her. It was pretty unexpected, especially considering she immediately bombarded Grazie with compliments about her fighting, leaving the Adept standing there for a couple of seconds in shock. After a moment, she returned the thumbs up, which probably looked a little silly to Dagr considering her very short stature in comparison to the Jotun woman.

"T-thanks, darlin'!"

With that, Dagr walked away as quickly as she'd showed up, leaving Grazie alone once again. The girl looked around the plaza, looking for a way up to the stands, not paying the announcements much mind - before her gaze landed on a gray metal door nearby, with no label attached to it. The structure just past it seemed to stretch pretty high up, so she figured there could be an elevator to the stands. She wasted no time as she approached it quickly, pushing the big metal door with both arms, making her way inside. The interior turned out to be a massive flight of stairs, stretching skyward as far as she could see. With a huff, she began to make her way up.

"Dagnabbit, 'course it couldn't be that easy..."​

 

[Psymallard]

Taskmaster
After his tangent on his observations during the fight, Taskmaster's gaze swept over the riffraff inside the Regular Restaurant. Pit and Audrey, both moving on in the losers bracket, were there. Either was a potential next opponent for him. He and Nótt slid into a booth, and Taskmaster rested both of his hands palms-down on the table. The princess acknowledged Taskmaster's understatement, and then asked him of his intentions here. But before he answered, his eyes drifted to the door as Dagr came in, another potential enemy in the loser's bracket. Was it possible that Nótt was gathering information for her sister? Yes. While the mercenary did prefer to keep his skills secret, it wouldn't help much to know what he could do if she couldn't stop it. He took a breath and looked back at Nótt.

"Photographic reflexes. Anything I see once, I can remember and perform perfectly. Real nifty stuff, wouldn't have got this far in life without it. As for your question..." he shrugged, "Why not. I've got nothin' but to gain from this. I get to copy the best from across the multiverse without missing anything back home, and I can't shake the feeling that there's a surprise in store for the very end. Call me curious."

Outside, the booming voice of Master Hand announced the new brackets. Taskmaster's attention shifted over to look at his next match. He was against Pit, the angel boy across the room. He calmly looked back to the jotun across the table.

"...How 'bout you, princess?"

Marshtomp
The Mud Fish ducked to avoid the spray of sparkles from the late Dazzling Gleam. When he stood, he wore a frown. The Gardevoir and what he assumed to be her trainer were arguing instead of helping him with the battle. That wasn't very productive at all, and Marshtomp didn't really want to do all the work when there was a supposedly stronger Pokémon around, but if there was a kid in trouble, he wasn't going to shy away from the danger as his party fret over trivial matters. The water-ground type slid down the pile of gold and began walking down a random hallway.

Really Regular Shopkeeper
"You got it, Mr. Dartastic."

The man's arm reached over and picked up the coins in one large fistful. Then, he pocketed the gold. Using his pointer finger, he directed Cayman's Septima from the shelf and into the Red Dragoon's person. He pulled out a deed from beneath the desk, which declared (temporary) ownership over the cat robot. The Shopkeep pushed both that and the wooden statuette forward.

"For some reason, we couldn't keep the cat in here. So you're gonna hafta wait to meet her. She'll join you when you start your fight, but it's up to you if you wanna warn her beforehand... or not."

Kragg
He was done with their fight, so the Earth's Bastion left Ryuji on the ground and went towards the shop.

The door was barely wide enough to account for his girth, but once inside, he looked around at the wonders on the shelves. There was another hairless ape adorned in crimson armor who had just completed his purchase. Kragg paid him little more mind than a glance, and continued perusing. What caught his eye was a tiny card on the shelf. The hulking beetle pinched it with his thumb and forefinger to look at it, and then read the description engraved onto the pedestal he had taken it from. It was called Megamorph. He looked to the Shopkeep and pointed at the card, and then turned away. Three coins disappeared from his nonexistent pockets, and he was imbued with the card's power. He passed Irnane on the way out.

Spoiler: Updated Shop Items

Splat Bomb- 2 tokens
Crimson Stone- 2 tokens
TNT/Nitro Crate- 2 tokens
TM Rock Smash- 2 tokens
Soul Edge- 2 tokens
Learn Their Secrets- 2 tokens
The Power of Fire- 2 tokens
Noble Scarf- 3 tokens
Battle Armor- 3 tokens
Parasite Paracide- 3 tokens
Knowledge is Power- 3 tokens
Hrímfaxi's Blessing- 3 tokens
Champion Sword- 3 tokens
Jevilsknife- 3 tokens
Shark Contract- 3 tokens
Skull Mask- 3 tokens
Gem Apples- 3 tokens
Shovel Scepter- 3 tokens

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

"Oh, I don't care for what's after life, life." Jevil said, in response to Dagr's mention of Valhalla. "If you focus too hard on what's next, next, you won't see the now, now! I think it's better to focus on today, leave tomorrow for tomorrow and yesterday for yesterday. But you do you, and I'll do I. You're right about the fighting, though," he said, grinning wildly, "I can cause as much chaos, chaos as I want, and never have to rest! It's perfect!"

He watched as Dagr spoke with Grazie, floating and giggling to himself over some nonsense joke he'd heard a while back.
Dagr turned her attention back to Jevil, before he somehow managed to immediately lose it as she turned over to someone else's table. A young boy in white clothing with wings, and a taller boy with a metal arm. "I wonder if this will cause chaos?" Dagr said to Jevil, walking over to their table and leaving Jevil confused.

"Why would those tw- Oh, whatever," said Jevil to noone in particular as he floated after her. He floated around in a slow circle as Dagr spoke with the younger boy, waiting for a cue to sit down, until...
He turned to the Generic Host. "Oh! It's you." He listened to what the Host had to say, and turned back to Dagr. "Sorry, my lady, but we have some business, business to discuss. I'll be right back!" He quickly explained, before turning to follow the hologram.

 

[comic]

GENERIC HOST​

The Generic Host seemed somewhat bemused at Kirin’s response, a slight smirk stretching his simulated lips into a smile that curved down. “Out of the deals, hm? You’d have to talk to the guy you made them with then, yeah? That CD there, it really is him… it’s why this place is so daft now. All of that was code- his code, heh…”

He strode past the girl, his eyes never leaving hers, reminiscent of a hawk watching its prey. “The salesman promised to answer your questions when you got back, and he very well can’t in this state, I’d say. Have you ever heard about the Parable of the Pearl? Bible stories aren’t really my thing, but Spamton, he really seemed to like it…”

Generic Host came to a stop in front of the CD, turning his gaze on it. He reached his hand out, but his fingers seemed unable to grasp the object. He let out a chuckle, before he looked back toward Kirin. “It tells of a merchant man who finds a single pearl of great price. He wanted it so badly that he, went and, well, sold everything he had. Every single thing, just to buy this one pearl. The pearl was Heaven, in the parable.”
​

​

DART​

“Oh, uh, alright. Thanks!” Dart waved to the shopkeeper before he zipped his way out of the shop, nearly colliding with Kragg along the way. “Sorry big guy!”

He eagerly scanned the lobby. 808 was a cat, apparently. And where could he find… ah-ha! There was one! Again, Dart took off, immediately closing the distance to 808. “Hey there, kitty!”
​

​

IRNANE​

Kragg and Dart could be found in the shop. Both were part of the winner’s bracket like her, though unexpectedly, the three of them didn’t so much as interact. If they all won their respective matches, then one pair there would certainly be interacting then.

Nevertheless, both had departed when Irnane approached the Regular Shopkeeper and scanned the list of items. Many to chose from, but only a few would prove real use to the Nerevarine.

“I would like to purchase “Learn Their Secrets,” and “Soul Edge,” if you wouldn’t mind.”

She procured her 4 coins and held them out.​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

Frustration began to build up within the priestess as Generic Host continued to talk. Had Spamton tricked her? Gotten away before she could get the answers she wanted? And what was this about Bible stories?

Still though, she managed to remain calm enough to properly analyze what the Host was telling her. Spamton was the parallel to the merchant in the story, seeking to obtain a valuable pearl at any cost. Her gaze shifted down towards the black CD as the Host found himself unable to grab it, and Kirin picked it up instead, her reflection staring back at her through its sleek, shiny surface.

"There has to be a way to turn him back to normal," she said, voice low, before she looked back up at the Host. "What was the pearl he was looking for?"​

 

[comic]

GENERIC HOST​

The Generic Host's smile stretched a little wider and he chuckled again, this time the sound generating from the back of his throat. "I asked him the same thing."

His gaze went down to the CD now held by Kirin. The smile on his face seemed to register satisfaction, before he strode past her, motioning for her to follow. "I haven't known the little guy long, but when we met, he was looking for his 'pearl.' I myself wanted something like it, and so ah... well, we struck a deal."

Expecting Kirin to follow, the Host didn't so much as look back to see if she was, instead continuing to stride into the dark corridors. "We would help each other get that 'pearl.' We just needed somebody else to make it all work. Somebody like you. Haha... Hm... There's a way to revive Spamton, but without you, it would not be possible. You know what CD's are, don't you?"

It was impossible to notice he had yet to answer Kirin's question.​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Nótt

Nótt's eyes widened at Taskmaster's reveal of his powers. Photographic Reflexes?
"That's... incredible." Nótt said. "No wonder it felt like I was fighting an entire group."
But if his ability was to copy whatever he saw... then he likely was able to copy her own fighting style. Nótt frowned. She didn't quite like that.

Master Hand appeared again, revealing the next round of fights. Dagr was up against the strange alien, Warlock. Ryuji had been eliminated. And Taskmaster was up against Pit. Nótt looked over towards Pit at the same time as Taskmaster. He was a rather cute kid, smiling and waving at them. Nótt returned Pit's smile and wave with one of her own. Unfortunate that Taskmaster would kill him.

Nótt turned her attention back to Taskmaster. She unconsciously played with her hair, looking out the window at the other fighters in the lobby.
"Well, many reasons. For one, I was invited. It's rather rude to turn down an invitation, isn't it?" Nótt said to Taskmaster. "And what sort of person would I be to turn down such an invitation? How many people get the opportunity to join a fighting tournament with heroes and warriors from other worlds?"

"Of course, there was also the fact that Dagr was invited as well. If I had turned down my invitation, Dagr would be the sole representation for all of Jotunheimr. And I couldn't have that, no." Nótt chuckled to herself. "But I suppose that's backfired a bit. I've been eliminated, and Dagr is the one moving on in the tournament. I was expecting it to be the other way around."

"And then, well... Don't tell my sister. But I do actually quite enjoy these sorts of fighting tournaments." Nótt admitted. "Being able to cut loose and use my strength against strangers and warriors does the body good. And it is important for a Princess to be able to defend her kingdom, should the occasion arise."


Yami Bakura

The spirit watched as the Marshtomp's token split off the group. He shook his head and scoffed.
"Splitting the party? Will the wonders never cease?" The spirit chuckled.

Marshtomp began to to make his way down one of the hallways. It was cool and dark, with the occasional torch illuminating the dungeon. Suddenly, a trap was sprung! The ground abruptly gave away beneath the Pokemon's feet. A trap door, opening to a pit of terrible razor spikes!

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

The Host began to explain a little about his history with Spamton, walking out of the room while Kirin hesitantly followed. Host and Spamton shared similar goals, a so-called "pearl" to chase, but it was something they couldn't get on their own. In a way, they'd been using her for that goal, which certainly offended Kirin, though she held back on a remark for now.

"You know what CD's are, don't you?"

"Pretty much unused nowadays in my time, but yeah. What are you planning?"​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Jeice

In the audience, Jeice sat and watched the remaining fights gloomily. His arms crossed, he continued watching as Kirin dealt the finishing blow to Alter Knight.
"Oh come on, ref! No way that was fair!" Guldo called out. Jeice hadn't stuck around after he had lost his fight. What was the point? If he had his way, Jeice would have left this tournament and walked away. But no. Captain Ginyu insisted that they stick around for a few more fights.
"Oh don't look so down, buddy! You did really well!" Burter pat his friend on the back, but Jeice just sighed and looked away.

"Big embarrassing mess, is what it is." Jeice grumbled. "Just glad Lord Frieza wasn't 'ere to see that."
"Hah! Could you imagine if Lord Frieza was here in this tournament? He'd wipe the floor with everyone!" Recoome chuckled.

Then Master Hand appeared, and made his next announcement. To Jeice's surprise, the fighter that the crowd had chosen to return... was him! Jeice stared at the brackets in shock.
"Way to go, Jeice! You're getting a second chance!" Burter exclaimed, slapping his friend on the back. Jeice straightened up, clearing his throat and tossing back his hair.
"Uh, yeah! Well, of course the crowd would vote for me! We're the Ginyu Force after all, the strongest warriors in the universe!" Jeice exclaimed.

With a snap of Master Hand's fingers, Jeice was back in the lobby. He brushed himself off, glaring up at Master Hand before the hand vanished. All right. What now... Jeice started to make his way towards the arena gateway, but the steely glare of Captain Ginyu stopped the warrior. Captain Ginyu nodded towards the coin store, and Jeice swallowed nervously. Right. A second chance. He couldn't allow himself to muck it up like he had his first chance. He had to take these fights seriously.

Jeice walked into the coin shop, passing Kragg as he entered. Inside, a blue woman was talking to the shopkeeper. He had to make his choices carefully. 5 coins in his pocket. Items worth 2 to 3 coins. He had enough for two items.

A skull mask? No way, he wasn't hiding his beautiful face. Shovel Scepter? No, why the heck would he need to control sand (except to maybe get it out of his hair...). Shark Contract? Sacrificing his own body was too much of a cost. There were quite a few weapons, but Jeice wasn't interested in getting a sword or scythe. His own hands would be enough.

Jeice's eyes settled on a beautiful, well crafted purple scarf. He read the tag. Noble Scarf. Increases user's attack or defense, based on the user's stance. Stylish and useful. Jeice picked up the scarf, experimentally wearing it. Not bad. The red warrior went over to the items worth two coins. Crimson Stone looked compelling... but that Dart used a bunch of Fire attacks, right? Not a good choice at the moment. The Power of Fire seemed useless to the warrior, why would he need to make his strength equal to his opponent? Jeice was wayyy stronger.

But that disc. TM Rock Smash. A special fighting technique. Jeice rubbed his chin. That seemed useful. He picked up the disc, and with the two items in hand, he walked to the shopkeeper. The warrior gave a nod to Irnane.
"Hey." He greeted, placing the two items on the counter and looking to the shopkeeper. "I'm goin' all in, mate. Noble Scarf and TM Rock Smash."


Weevil Underwood

"What?!" Weevil exclaimed. A vote for a returning fighter, and he wasn't picked?! An outrage upon outrage! Who did these moronic, classless people think they were?! These people wouldn't know true talent if it hit them in the face!

The bug duelist scowled at Irnane when she told him to 'behave himself'. He stuck out his tongue at the elf, making faces as she walked away. Stupid elf, thinking she was so high and mighty because she was still in this tournament. To make matters worse, she was heading towards the coin store. So much for going in and stealing stuff, it would be way too risky with her on alert and Raptor down.
"Useless moron." Weevil said, shoving Raptor's unconscious body with his foot. He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away.

Think Weevil, think! There had to be something he could do. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Kassandra. The assassin was walking out from a dimly lit side passage, one Weevil hadn't noticed before. A plot slowly began to form in his mind...

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Peppermint/808


She smirked slightly to herself as Weevil made an uproar about not being chosen. For someone to try and kick and cat and start fights, it was probably best that someone of that moral character wasn't chosen. Though after Weevil kicked Rex, her eyebrow raised. Guess they aren't the partners in crime that I suspected?

Shaking her head at the notion of even letting those two remain in her head rent free, she was about to do another scan on the bodies...that is, until a strange man approached, calling them like a cat. 808's eyes reverted back for a moment and quietly hissed, backing up, before Peppermint retook control.

"Woah woah, hey. I don't know you, pal." Peppermint waved off, standing on two legs. "There's another people to talk to right now, I'm busy at the moment, alright?"



Rinku


Hm?

He spotted Irnane from the corner of his eye...walking away from the gate. Was she not in the mood? Out of curiosity, Rinku loosely tailed her, wondering what was up. Soon to figure out that she along with other fighters were going to purchase items to help them in the incoming fights.

Support items? That just means they are insecure about their own abilities that they need 'em. Even so, if she's getting one, better even that playing field.

Eyeing the stock with a glance, his eyes rested on a rather comical looking weapon, which fit his style. And seeing as how Irnane was getting two items...heh...that one would do

"Make it that devilsknife there, we'll see how 'devilish' it really is. Throw in that splat bomb, will you?" He said to the shopkeep, eyeing Irnane. "Prepping before the fight are we? Thought we do a bout without any supports. What's the matter? You getting desperate?"


Rex Raptor

Cringing and stumbling back from Gardevoir's jabs, the groaning duelist was overcome by frustration and overall displeasure.

"You have no hand, you have no deck, how can you expect me to teach you anything?!?" He yelled in outburst. "So then all we have is a pipsqueak with fins, me without cards, and a loser who can't duel?! You better get us the heck out of here cause we are gonna die!!"





Chai


Watching as Dagr spoke right to Pit, congratulating him on beating his match, Chai felt distant. Pit responded, and Chai squinted his eye, his pride getting a bit hurt by the interaction.

"I wasn't that bad either, ya know."

And just then, Pit was there to save the day, introducing him and talking him up, Chai impulsively puffing his chest out slightly and his bravado slowly recovering.

"Yeah, was a real close one, could have gone to anyone really." He flexed his mechanical arm. "Name's Chai, future rockstar and present badass."

His mechanical hand swiveled to meet Dagr, as if to shake her hand.

 

[comic]

NEPHTHYS​

The gardevoir glanced toward Marshtomp as Rex complained about their situation, noticing the Mud Fish Pokémon was walking away. Poor choice, as almost immediately the ground opened up beneath him. Marshtomp nearly fell in, but stopped in the air just as he dipped a couple inches, before he was telekinetically lifted back toward Nephthys.

<Be careful,> she advised. <Our foe is as crafty as he is cowardly. Kind of like our third wheel here.>

She jabbed her thumb in Rex’s direction.

<But we may need help from another, yet. My duel disk here has a third card slot available. So, if I summoned one more individual, it would fill. Something tells me that I will be unable to summon anyone else, however, so I must make this one count.>

With her free arm, she stretched it forward and began to focus. They needed somebody crafty, somebody who could handle everything that came their way with a cool head. Somebody nobody would expect…
​

​

SOMEBODY NOBODY WOULD EXPECT​

“WOWIE! I’VE NEVER SEEN SO MANY STRONG FIGHTERS IN ONE PLACE BEFORE! YOU THINK ANY OF THEM KNOW HOW TO COOK? COULD THEY TEACH ME?”

Papyrus looked toward Undyne at his question, and she quickly grappled the skeleton to noogie him. “Hey, punk! My cooking lessons not good enough?” she teased.

Papyrus struggled and failed to escape her vice grip. “AHHH! NO, OF COURSE NOT!”

“W-well, Papyrus made a good point,” the timid voice of Alphys cut in – though she was just barely audible over the crowd around them. They were lucky they’d gotten seats so close to the lobby of the tournament. Undyne and Papyrus claimed they’d been involved with something before, which had given them “VIP Access.” Alphys suspected that wasn’t entirely true. “There ARE a lot of strong fighters here… maybe you should have joined the tournament!”

Undyne let go of Papyrus, who straightened his scarf, and she folded her arms. “Yeah, don’t know why I WASN’T! But next time? I’ll SQUASH everyone!”

“NOOGIE THEM, MORE LIKE,” Papyrus muttered, rubbing the top of his head, before he looked to his left and frowned (the skeleton equivalent was still a grin). “WAKE UP, YOU LAZYBONES! THE NEW ROUND JUST STARTED! YOU’RE GOING TO MISS IT!”

Sans opened an eye socket, a beady white orb within acting as a pupil as it focused on Papyrus, and the shorter skeleton’s grin widened a little more than it already was. “did ripper roo win yet?”

“WHAT!?” Papyrus appeared incredulous. “HE WAS ELIMINATED FOREVER AGO! HAVE YOU BEEN ASLEEP THIS WHOLE TIME!?”

“no.”

“OH, WELL, TRY TO PAY MORE ATTENTION. I AM ROOTING FOR KRAGG! HE’S ALMOST AS STRONG AS UNDYNE, AND THAT IS THE EXTENT OF MY ENTIRE REASONING!”

“Almost, hah!” Undyne beamed. “I’d SQUASH him too! But I’m rooting for Dagr! No tricks and no nonsense! Just a chick with muscle, and I can respect that!”

She slapped her own bicep, flexing it.

“Hehe, yeah…” Alphys seemed to blush a little. “I-I think I’m r-rooting for… Irnane. Something about her just s-speaks to me…”

“Bet she’s a nerd,” Undyne grinned.

“A NERDY NERD!” Papyrus agreed.

Alphys stammered an inaudible defense.

Sans closed his open eye socket, settling back into his seat…

He could feel something pulling him, somewhere else… a strangely familiar feeling.

…

Sans opened his eye sockets and grinned at the three individuals poised before him. They weren’t Undyne, Alphys, or Papyrus.

“hey.”

Nephthys frowned when she saw the short, hoodie-wearing skeleton. She wasn’t entirely sure what she’d been expecting, but it hadn’t been this. <Can you fight?>

Sans recognized these three. Tournament contestants. Given the hazy, almost distorted feel and look of their surroundings, he concluded this was a mindscape. The gardevoir’s presence made this little easier to understand – all three of them were currently passed out in the lobby.

“weird way to start a conversation, but to answer you; not very good.”

Nephthys took a moment to keep her breathing calm and not freak out. She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath, before she opened her eyes again and looked toward the card that had appeared for her third and final summon. Unlike Rex’s and Marshtomp’s, this one was virtually bare. All it had was a picture of a plunger, and the title “The Plumber.”

<You’re… a plumber…?>

“aspiring, it’s a bit of a… pipe dream,” Sans winked, leaning against a plunger that had mysteriously appeared beside him. “my brother says I should… raise the bar.”

Once again, Nephthys closed her eyes and practiced another deep breath. <Fine. Okay, fine. Rex, you’re promoted from ‘useless’ to ‘not the most useless.’>

Sans held up a pipe wrench. “need me to… adjust the situation?”

<No, just follow us and stay out of trouble.>

“that sure is a lotta… pressure, but i’ll try.”

<Please stop…>
​

​

DART​

Dart frowned, tilting his head slightly to the side at the cat’s response. “Huh, you sure are acting funny! Oh, I guess nobody told you… man, this is gonna be awkward…”

Rubbing the back of his head, Dart pulled out the contract. “So uh, according to this, you’re still considered a ‘tournament asset,’ not sure what that means entirely, but I bought this because I figured I could use the help of somebody giving me advice during a fight, hah hah!”

He rubbed the back of his head again, a little anxiously, before he held out the contract to 808 to see.
​

​

GENERIC HOST​

“Good, so you wouldn’t miss it,” the Host replied, ignoring Kirin’s second query. “Before the tournament began, Spamton made a very, ah, important request. See, he’s a bit of a dreamer. High aspirations, real ambitious type. At one point in time, he was a pretty successful guy. Says he had help, and when help disappeared… so did success. That help… that’s his ‘pearl.’ That’s his Heaven.”

They started to rise a set of stairs Kirin hadn’t encountered before her last two times in these tunnels. The stairs seemed to go upward forever, as far as she could see.

“That CD fits into a part of that dream. A tool that will give him the key to the gates of Heaven. It’ll do that, and fully resuscitate him. And don’t worry- he’s eccentric, but he’s true to his word. He’ll answer your questions,” Generic Host gave another chuckle as he looked back and winked at Kirin.​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

So Spamton's pearl was... help? Help to achieve that success again? If the host's words were true, then she'd already been contributing to that with those two deals, but it seemed he wanted to go above and beyond with his grand return. A return to "Heaven", and this CD was key in it.

"Maybe he is true to his word," Kirin looked down at the CD again, continuing to head up the stairs. "but how do I know you're being honest to begin with? If you ask me, the whole idea seems pretty far fetched..."

Then again, she had seen some strange things during her time here, and even back in her world.​

 

[comic]

GENERIC HOST​

“That’s funny, you’re funny,” the Host waggled his fingers at Kirin. “Be honest with yourself for a minute- since when did any of this stop being far fetched the moment a talking glove put you in a multiversal tournament that ignores death, hm?”

They reached the top of the stairs, the floor leveling out to a single passageway ahead of them. The air seemed to hum with something strange. Something that Kirin couldn’t quite place her finger on, but knew it was a familiar feeling.

“I used to run the show,” Generic Host said, his tone sounding wistful in memory. “I mean, not really, but it sure felt like it. I was created to host tournaments, and now look at me. Master Hand doesn’t even have me do anything, he just lets me linger - and for what? Oh, I’ll get my chance in the spotlight again. Heh heh… Reggie will just have to understand.”​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

Kirin, of course, had no response for the Host's rebuttal, only able to ball a fist in frustration as she continued to follow. Their trek led them to a narrow hallway, filled with an aura that the priestess knew she'd felt before, but she wasn't sure exactly when. Her eyes darted from wall to wall in growing unease, feeling as though something could jump out at any moment - but nothing ever did.

Generic Host then said he'd actually hosted tournaments in the past, created solely for that purpose, though he'd been abandoned by Master Hand, it seemed. She recalled being told something of the sort by the Host when they'd first met. If she had to take a guess, Master Hand had probably ditched him due to a tournament racking up low viewership, after which the hand himself got back in charge. But to get his chance in the spotlight again... what was he planning?

The thought of a big TV screen popping up in the lobby and playing ads related to Spamton and Host crossed her mind, but that couldn't be it.​

 

[comic]

AS ABOVE​

The need to convince Jevil of anything was so slim it scarcely existed. The jester was gleeful in agreeing to the Host’s invitation, and the hologram led Jevil out of the way, to a far corner of the lobby – and then through a seemingly invisible door. The both of them simply stepped through the gray well (more of a wiggle waggle in Jevil’s case) and they were separate from the others.

“Jevil. Jevil, Jevil. Great name,” Generic Host turned to face the jester with a wry grin. “You seem to be making friends, hm? Enjoying yourself?”

He seemed to be setting a conventional repertoire with Jevil, either as a courtesy or an attempt to butter him up – or for a third, unclear motive.

Regardless of the darkner’s response, Generic Host would continue.

“This place is pretty nice… real orderly. Rules. But order always begets chaos, right? Mmhmhm…” the hologram rubbed his hands together. “It’s deterministic. Control never lasts, it will always devolve into disorder. That’s how Chaos Theory works – and Jevil my delightful friend… it’s on its way here. Ooh, yes. Chaos that even Master Hand can’t snap away. And when it comes… I certainly hope you’ll take part in it.”
​

SO BELOW​

The corridor opened up into a large room. The ceiling was either too high to see, or the room too dark – or both. Same with the surrounding walls. It just seemed to open up into an abyss, but the Host did not slow down. He seemed to take note of her silence, as he eventually slowed to a stop and turned back toward Kirin.

“The Parable of the Pearl. I wonder, Kirin. Do you have a pearl? A Heaven? Could it be that your priestess code forbids dreams and aspirations just like everything else? So ordained to code and honor and discipline…” He let out a slow chuckle. It carried a dark undertone with it. “Is that why you wanted to call off the deal? You felt bad about hurting someone else? Surely you must have considered that potential when you agreed to come to this tournament, right?”

As Kirin’s eyes adjusted to the engulfing darkness, she’d start to take notice of what seemed to be vines all around, draped from the ceiling and hanging on the periphery of light, just barely at the edges of what she could see. The further the room went, the more entangled and populated the vines became.

And at the edge of the room, just behind Generic Host, there seemed to be a body strung up in the vines, almost invisible in their tangled mass.

“Unfortunately, whatever you say doesn’t matter, dear…” Generic Host continued before Kirin could have a chance to immediately reply. “At the end of the day, you all go back home like nothing happened… and I stay stuck here to be forgotten again. We’ll all get our pearls as we deserve them, and if you want yours..”

He stepped aside and gestured to the body tangled in the vines. “You’ll put the CD in that.”​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

"Oh indeed!" grinned the jester. "This place is too tight, too small, too controlling- But all control breaks down one day. When this place shatters into it's component chaos, I'll gladly be there to watch it all fall down- and maybe tear down some walls myself, hee hee!" His grinning face as as maniacal as it had always been.

But... the jester seemed to be thinking about something. Or someone. His face settled down. "If you know where this place is heading... do you think there will be room for just one more?" He asked. "Chaos, chaos is always better with friends, and you're right about me making some. I just wonder if they'll be ready for what's coming..." His face was flat and his grin had soft

He slowed down for once. But this was brief. He suddenly leaped into the air. "Oh I'm sure it'll be fine! They'll all see what good can come from Chaos, Chaos. Now, I'd like to ask," said Jevil, floating down to Generic Host, "When?"

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

Did she have a pearl...?

Her trials during these past few months came to mind as the Host spoke. The appearance of Primal Dragons across the globe, Adepts whose power had ascended beyond what was once thought possible, was causing massive problems everywhere. When the priestess encountered Gunvolt, the two worked together to seal as many of them as they could before things got worse - but following his disappearance after the encounter with Moebius, she and the Dragon Saviors were the only force left in the nation that could effectively handle this threat.

So what was it exactly that she'd been looking for in this tournament? The chance to fight people from other worlds and learn from them was a big deal, sure, but maybe that wasn't the whole story. Maybe it was hope that the prize for the winner could help her solve the Primal Dragon problem. Or maybe it was simply a desire to get away from the chaos of her world.

Kirin's mind was muddled with possible answers to the mix of emotions swelling within. She felt trapped. Generic Host continued to speak, gesturing to the strange, lifeless body at the end of the room, wrapped in a mess of vines. She could barely see an opening in it, clearly made for the CD to be put into - and she found herself slowly walking towards it, each step filled with uncertainty. Initially, she'd come here to call it quits, try and prevent herself from claiming another life, regardless of whether it could be reversed or not. But now, with the potential of finding that "pearl" of hers, another solution to the problems she faced...

Her arm shakily rose as she gulped, holding the CD in front of the slot built into the body's midsection. At the end of the day... everything would be fine, right? Could she even be certain that that would be the case? More and more doubts overcame her as the disc hovered just in front of the opening - before her gaze fluttered back onto the Host, who stared back at her with that smug smile.

“This isn’t right,” she muttered, turning fully to stare him down, letting the disc hang at her side. “Whatever your end goal truly is, I don’t want a part of it. I’ve had enough deals and tricks,” she spoke defiantly, throwing the CD aside, the small device skidding along the cold floor.

“I will uphold my duty as Battle Priestess of Shadow Yakumo.”​

 

[comic]

GENERIC HOST​

The Host slowly drifted his fingers over his lips, staring back at Jevil in humor for several seconds of awkward silence, before his eyes drifted to the side, as though he were deep in thought. "Soon... very, very... soon, yes."

He chuckled.

"Chaos is as unpredictable as it is inevitable. When it comes..." He waggled his fingers playfully at the jester. "Have fun~"

He faded, satisfied with one encounter. Unsatisfied with the other.

“I will uphold my duty as Battle Priestess of Shadow Yakumo.”

The smug smile seemed to drift away for a moment as Generic Host stared blankly at Kirin, and his gaze suddenly focused before he let out a soft laugh. "So willing to throw away what could be your only chance at getting your pearl... haha... I told Him that you wouldn't stay gullible for long."

For some reason, Kirin got the feeling that 'Him' wasn't in reference to Spamton, but somebody else - a mysterious third party.

"What's a little fun every now and again?" The Host continued as he could barely keep small giggles from escaping his mouth between words. "I suppose I'll just have to use your corpse to put that CD in its proper place. Then, the tournament will be mine. I'll be whole again, free of Master Hand, free of the Nexus... free of control. I may not be able to touch the key,

But you're fair game, young missy..." Generic Host straightened the white tie, fitting it right against the collar of his black turtleneck sweater, before he raised his left hand to eye-level, wearing a smirk, staring through his thick horn-rimmed glasses at Kirin. "So let's have a little fun~"

He snapped his fingers, and a series of seven orbs of light appeared around him, orbiting perpendicular to the ground, making it appear as though the Host were wearing a sideways halo - and in rapid succession, beams of searing white energy bolted out of each orb in turn, aiming for the Battle Priestess.​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

Jevil shrugged. "I guess it'll happen when it happens." He wondered about what was going to happen, though. What was that tricky little holographic host bot up to now? Something even Master Hand couldn't beat... What could that be? That grabby little giant hand seemed to have full control over the world. Did he plan on spinning it?

Well, no use in wondering about it. What would happen would happen, and in the end Chaos would rule the day. There's no point in thinking about a future that you can't predict- It'll arrive anyway. He floated back over to Dagr, Pit, and Chai, and once again began circling around the table, trying to balance a spade on his tail and giggling as he did so.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

The Princess slid into the booth, sitting next to Pit and nudging the angel playfully with her elbow. She glanced over to Jevil, and was about to gesture for the devil to sit with them as well, when he was called away by someone else. A rather unusual man, slightly illusiory. Like a ghost. Dagr's intuition told her something wasn't quite right... But there was nothing she could do.

Chai spoke up, directing her attention back to her two new companions. Dagr's face lit up when Chai extended a hand to shake.
"Whoa! A metal arm? That's really cool!" Dagr said. She shook Chai's hand, putting a little extra squeeze in her grip. You know. For science.

Master Hand announced the next series of contestants. Nott was... not among them. She had been eliminated. Dagr blinked with surprise, then grinned. Served her right. She'd have to find that Taskmaster guy, congratulate him and shake his hand. Speaking of that Taskmaster, Pit was up against him. Rinku was up against that Irnane woman. NiGHTS was facing... Lucario? Oh yeah, he was that brawler wolf guy with the blue magic. And she was up against Warlock. The tall, strange purple alien. He had psychic powers, and could summon warriors to fight for him.

Very, very cool. Of course, Dagr would have wanted to fight Rinku, or Pit, or Taskmaster. But all the remaining contestants seemed like very interesting people to fight.

"Oh man, this is gonna be great! Guess our showdown's gonna wait, Mr. Tourney Veteran. Something that epic will have to wait until at least the Quarterfinals." Dagr said. By then, Jevil had rejoined their group.
"Oh, guys! This is Jevil! Come on, sit down. He's the little devil I fought last round. Crazy fun, he was conjuring a ton of different attacks and projectiles. It was like I was in hell, but bullets. Whatever a bullet is." Dagr said. She winked at Pit. "And I wasn't exaggerating when I said this guy was a devil. Pretty sure he actually is. You cool with that?"

Dagr turned her attention back to Chai.
"Hey, why'd Pit mention music when he talked about you? Do you use music in your fighting style or something?" Dagr asked Chai.

 

[Psymallard]

Masttasker
The princess recounted her reasons for joining, which fell in line with what he was expecting. There seemed to be a rivalry between the jotun sisters, and they both enjoyed the thrill of battle. It fell in line with the Asgardians he knew. He remembered how there were two princes of Asgard, and recalled how one of them had died prematurely before the brothers ended their feud. It wasn't any of his business, but he couldn't help but wonder if the same thing would happen to these sisters.

"Your secret's safe with me, Your Highness."

The assassin's eyes had flickered over to watch the blue man that had appeared in the restaurant, and who had led the insane jester outside the building. He didn't like this sudden appearance. The man was strange to him, neither a contestant nor a host, and he had the disposition of a vulture. Nobody else seemed to notice, but the air around the holographic man was different. He had something on his mind, something besides the tournament. No one else here had much to think about besides their fights- any worries from their homeworlds couldn't hurt them here. It was off-putting, but the assassin didn't know what to make of it. Not yet. His eyes scanned the windows to see if he could spot them outside, but he had lost them. Before doing anything, he needed more information, and so he calmly resumed his conversation with Nótt. Or he would have, if he had any kind of affinity for small talk.

Marshtomp
As the pocket monster waddled off, he suddenly felt the ground give way beneath his feet. A sharp cry was cut short as a telekinetic force suspended him over the deadly pit, and then safely drifted him back to where he was before. The Gardevoir had saved him, and although he was a bit embarrassed for falling into the first trap, the psychic type directed her malice towards the human. She promptly summoned a final monster. It was a wide skeleton that spoke in lowercase. While Sans unleashed a flurry of puns, the Marshtomp stared blankly at the hallways. The clever wordplay was lost on him as he attempted to think of a way to safely bypass the trap-ridden hallways... with little success.

THE SHOPKEEPER
There was a surge of people coming in! Seems like some of them noticed the value of some of the items being used. The Regular Shopkeeper snapped his fingers, and drained the customers of their funds. Then, those that didn't have their items already saw the newly purchased equipment float off the walls and in front of their faces- just waiting to be grabbed.

"Thanks, come 'gain!"

The man waved the contestants off and then grabbed a newspaper to begin reading.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

NiGHTS


"Mhmhm~"

NiGHTS was laying crosslegged in the air for their foe to arrive, not too keen on getting an item. They had seen some dreams of a few Lucarios in the past, and Sonic kept telling them about a Lucario he fought in a smash bros tournament. They could get pretty tough when brought into a corner, so they were told. But overall? They always seemed of reasonable and noble character. At least it wasn't anyone really vile.





Chai


Chai seemed pretty sure of himself as he subconscious struck a resting pose, liking the attention he was getting. That was when Dagr introduced a new 'friend' of hers, a weird grinning bouncy ball of a clown. Instantly unsettled by this guy's appearance, Chai scanned him up and down.

"Uh...hi?" He offered the slightest of waves.

When he was asked about what his ties to music truly meant, he pondered for a second, before noticing a jukebox at the end of the room. Getting an idea, he beat his chest with his metal knuckles, and a small multicolor pulse of music notes emitted from it. Suddenly, the Jukebox came alive, playing 'What's new pussycat?' From its speakers. The salt and pepper shakers on tables swaying slowly to the music while faint music bars were seen overlayed on the windows.

"Oh just have music robot powers is all." Chai wiped imaginary dust off the tip of their nose with their thumb. "I fight to a beat and beat people with music and soundwaves from my guitar. Like, WABAM! And stuff!"

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

And so it came down to a fight.

Generic Host summoned a series of orbs to start off with, appearing energy-like in nature. Unsure of their properties, the priestess elected to throw talismans at each one in response, hoping to neutralize them with her Septima in some way. They still managed to get their shots off, prompting Kirin to dash forward, leaping through the air and drawing her blade, pushing aside her feelings of unease. She knew what she had to do.

The Adept of Radiant Fetters began to spin in midair as she moved towards the Host, blade stretching outward - her Rakshasa Cleave technique. The beams that approached pinged off the shockingly durable sword, though one barely slipped past, burning into her torso. She pushed past it, instead continuing her trajectory in the Host's direction, looking to cleave through him in one smooth move.​

Pit
​

"...a devil?"

Not what Pit expected, though Jevil did sort of look like an Underworld baddie the more he looked at him. A little weird attitude, but he seemed friendly enough.

"Uh, sure, I guess it's fine," the angel replied, having to check himself for any sort of prejudice. In his own experience, the Underworld Army was always out to get him, no matter how cute their members looked at times. Only Hades and Medusa ever really happened to help out, and the former was in a collective effort to fight off the alien Aurum invasion. Medusa had been basically rebelling against Hades, too. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever see those two again. It would be nice to properly thank Medusa for that save, at least.

"Aaanyway, sounds like it was a real tough fight. Chai was pretty tough, too. Never seen a mortal fight that way."

Just then, Chai did his music thing on the nearby jukebox, much to Pit's amazement. As the music began to play and the environment softly reacted, the angel looked around in admiration, his gaze shifting between Dagr and Chai with a grin. He even found himself tapping his foot to the beat.

"See, isn't that awesome? All my fights would be ten times cooler if they had rad music to back it up!"​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Dagr

The Princess watched as the music sudden kicked on. The salt and pepper shakers started dancing. Strange musical notes floated through the air. Dagr smiled, taking in the strange show as she looked around.
"Whoa. That's really cool!" Dagr said. She took a closer look at the salt and pepper shakers, then looked back up to Chai. All of that, just from hitting his own chest?
"That's some crazy magic, Chai-ster. Wish we could have fought!" Dagr said.

As a waiter walked past, Dagr snagged a drink off his tray when he wasn't looking.
"Oh yeah. Jevil, this is Pit and Chai. Pitter Pat here is a tourney veteran, ya know. He's also an angel." Dagr said between drinks.

Hm... As much as she wanted to stick around and celebrate her victory, the next round was already fighting. Dagr tapped her fingers on the table before finishing her drink.
"Eh. I should really get going, I still gotta check out the coin store and see what cool stuff I can get." Dagr said, getting up from the table. She picked up her axe and rested it on her shoulder.
"What about you, Pit? Have you gotten any cool items with your winnings?" Dagr asked the angel.


Nótt

The jukebox suddenly kicked on, surprising Nótt. But she smiled and looked back to Taskmaster. There was a slight pause in their conversation as Taskmaster looked out the window. Nótt got the feeling he was more of the strong, silent type. So that left the burden on her to continue the conversation.

"Sir Taskmaster..." Nótt said. She rested her head on her hands, watching the assassin. She gave her most charming smile. "A name fitting for a mercenary, but still an unusual one. Did you choose that name for yourself?"


Jeice

The red warrior had his items. Picking the disc up once again, he stared at it. Okay... now what? The disc began to glow, and in a flash of light it vanished. He felt different. That special technique, Rock Smash. It wasn't there before, but now, it was like he had known it for the longest of times. Strange...

Without saying anything more to Irnane and ignoring Rinku, Jeice walked out of the store. Now to find his next opponent, Dart. But did he really have to? Jeice decided to just fly over to the arena gate instead. He began to stretch and loosen up for the fight, throwing a few poses into the mix.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

808/Peppermint



"..."

"..."

"...I'm what now?"

Peppermint seemed flabbergasted, like she didn't believe what was coming from Dart's mouth. Putting her paws on her hips, she arched a suspicious brow.

"If this is a sort of ploy to get close and pet 808, it's not going to work." She shook off. "Your lies could use some work."





Chai


"I know, right? Like my whole life has an OST now, I definitely got some recommendations if you want to hear 'em." He spoke confidently, leaning back in his chair. "Though it probably pumped Angel boy here as much as me, prolly why I lost."

Yup, that must be the reason. He nodded his head to himself. But just like that, Dagr motioned to leave while dumping the weird, possibly possessed clown at the table.

"Eh? now I have to play babysitter?!" Chai exclaimed, realizing the two were going to matches, but he wasn't. Leaving him alone with Jevil.

 

[comic]

IRNANE​

Jeice, the red mutant who had been eliminated just last round, gave the woman a nod. She found that interesting, given what she had seen from him up until now. A sign of some modicum of respect. Did he find her displayed feats so far to actually be deserving of his respect, or did he perhaps hope that she would take an interest in him? It was so against the character he'd shown thus far that she was momentarily taken aback, but returned the nod in kind. He didn't linger once he had his items, however. Having been voted back by the audience, he was ready to attend to his next match. A second chance.

Her items were received by the uninterested Regular Shopkeeper. Yet as she went to leave, the demon sought provocation after selecting items of his own. His sneer, his tone, his narrowed eyes as they sought a reaction. Many villains outside of Dagoth Ur often considered Irnane to be the "unfun" type. She focused on the matter at hand - all business. She was only more expressive with those she trusted, or at the very least cared for. It was not easy to get a legitimate rise out of her, but she already had a bias against this "child." He was a demon, like the daedra. If she had to guess, Rinku was more like a follower of Mehrunes Dagon than Azura, and that was enough for hr to instantly dislike him.

"Desperation implies a lack of faith in oneself, of which I do not bear," the Nerevarine replied with express simplicity. "Rather; curiosity and intrigue back my decision. You, however, are clearly desperate. Given your disposition in regards to the store items, and your need to have one anyway simply because I got one, says as much. Deny it as you please, it will not sway anyone's conclusion, least of all my own. Now do you still wish to squabble and delay, or should we step through that portal and engage in an art the both of us are evidently exceptional at? Because you are lacking in the capacity to intimidate, and to exact insults. I suggest you focus on the one thing you're good at."

Rinku's opponents thus far, as Irnane could conclude - really weren't as impressive as lot of others present, from what she had seen. Inkling had been disposed of rapidly. Dagr was more impressive, but ultimately not difficult to overcome with the proper foresight and response. Beam was not much different in that regard - just a little effort in strategy would go a long way. Weevil was of the opposite to those first three, and the boy was not much different from Rinku in some regards. At least Weevil was human, which made him more tolerable to the dark elf. Still, enough power and determination had been shown to overcome Weevil, with a rare exception in the case of Rex Raptor.

Now he would face Irnane. She would not be able to claim most of his stats, as she'd done against NiGHTS and Sonic. He wasn't as impressive as them. Rather, it was his weapons. The yo-yo's, capable of independent action and subversive power. Agility and quick-thinking would be enough to overcome them, and Rinku himself was not quite as physically impressive. She would just need to get close and secure victory. A part of her doubted she would show mercy this time.

This was a foe she feared could actually release her inner self. A repressed portion of her self that she had hidden away. daedra made a habit of letting that part of her surface. The hatred and the bitterness. She hated demons, had seen what they did to her people. Their cultists had killed the Emperor that had set her on the path of redemption. She would have given her life for him, but she was nowhere near to gift him with such kindness.

No, if Rinku was anything like any daedra Irnane had met, then he was deserving of no reprieve and no mercy. She had no reason to believe otherwise.
​

​

NEPHTHYS​

<What do you think my intention is, Raptor?> the gardevoir snapped back with more calmness to her demeanor and projected tone. It was here that she realized her dislikable companion had no idea what situation they were actually in. Perhaps a little context might make him somewhat more tolerable, though that was nigh impossible, she believed.

<I assume you know Ryo Bakura. He had a duel disk, so I am guessing he came from your world. After my last match, he approached me with a request: to use my psychic powers and enter his mind, with the express intent to find out why he was suffering vast memory lapses and making out of character decisions during these episodes. I agreed, and discovered a spirit parading Bakura's face, who seeks our destruction. I have summoned the three of you here partially by accident in my efforts to bring the true Yami and an ally of my own here. I misjudged my ability to do this and have instead summoned the three of you. Regardless of personal preference, this is where we are now, with our physical forms rendered inert until we can return to them. We need to defeat the false Bakura if we are to escape this mindscape.>

Hopefully that would put a little more pep in someone's step, because all this lingering around was giving their opponent more time to get ready for them. And thus far, the only individual she believed she could rely on for support was Marshtomp.
​

​

DART​

...

"Huh??" Dart seemed taken aback for a moment, apparently legitimately confused he'd been accused of lying. It wasn't a trait he was a known for. He decided to shrug it off, as the two weren't well acquainted yet. "I've got a pet at home I can pet. Besides, you don't look very soft or cuddly, hah!"

Without the foresight to realize this could have been insulting, Dart continued. "Anyway, this was the deed I got. You don't have to do much for me in the fights, I can handle the physical stuff. I'd just really appreciate somebody who could tell me things that I wouldn't get. I'm... uh, not exactly the brightest guy..." he kicked absently at the ground at his confession. "But I can kick butt! All I'd need from you is to tell me the best way to kick hit harder!"

He continued to hold out the paper he'd gotten from Regular Shopkeeper that detailed this arrangement to 808, which the cat had yet to acknowledge.
​

​

A MATTER OF PEARLS​

The talismen sent toward the orbs fizzled and popped like flies on a light when they made contact. Touching them was evidently not a wise decision. However, the orbs seemed to go a shade to another color, no longer expressly white. It was too soon to tell what color that was, and if the palette change was good or bad, but it was safe to assume that Kirin's own septima had some effect on them.

The hologram chuckled with excitement in the back of his throat, before he took a single step back, watching Kirin's approach. She swung and-

BAM!

-her blade collided with some kind of baton made of energy, another in his other hand. She wouldn't know it, but these were replications of Specter's weapons, although the blades were humming with energy of a different sort, not from Specter's world. Born of kyber crystals, one blade was a deep purple in color, the other a furious crimson. Reflective of the lightsabers used by Darth Revan.

"Please tell me you did not expect such an easy victory, mhmhm..." the Host grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth, before he stepped forward with a sudden surprising flurry of slashes, each movement of his body reflective of a skilled martial artists. He was replicating the skill of Turner and Solid Snake. More techniques he'd stolen from those he had hosted before. His body spun and turned with grace and precision, as though he were dancing, though each movement was a lethal stroke aimed to dismember the Adept of Radiant Fetters, the entire time his dopey smile remained on his face, eyes doleful in their gaze, barely containing the malicious intent behind them.​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rinku


Most would engage in an argument over what Irnane had said against him. To defend their stance from their opponents, to insult them, or other verbally combative strategies. However, Rinku wasn't going to do any of that, after that response, Rinku grew a wide grin across his face, chuckling lowly, before breaking out into a full on cackle! After he was done laughing, he leveled his head with a predatory gaze on Irnane. In all honesty? He was finding it hard to get invested after Weevil took some wind out of his sails. But the way this chick tried to get under his skin? It got his blood pumping, like she was ready to kill with her tongue as well as her blade.

"Hahaha! Oh I'm going to enjoy plucking out each of those pretty bones of yours~!"

He wasn't going to wait, he wanted the match to start now. In mere moment, Rinku was a blur, air displacing as Rinku darted ahead, blowing past all others in his path. Soaring last NiGHTS and into the portal, he threw the jester off balance for a moment as he skidded to a halt inside of the holographic space. Finally an opponent that wasn't going to be boring or annoyingly tricky.

"The Urban Backalleys."



808/Peppermint


"Oh. You are serious?"

It appeared that her cat had been auctioned off without her knowledge. This got on her nerves. Looking at Dart's face, he seemed innocent to all this. He wasn't truly to blame. It was that shopkeeper. Sighing as she held back her insults, she took it down a notch.

"Look, I don't care what price tag they put on 808, she can't be bought or sold-"

"WRONG!"

Suddenly, Master Hand had materialized right there in the lobby nearby the pair. The intrusive clothed hand waggled his finger in the air before pointing it at 808.

"If you aren't the main fighter, then you are candidate to be bought at the shop. You won't be tied to Dart FOREVER, just for the the next match or so. Don't protest this if you know what's best for you."

She bit her tongue at that comment. Seems as though he had very little patience for rule talk. It was pretty tyrannical, especially for a decision upon someone. So instead of worrying about 808, he looked to the three unconscious people at her.

"Okay but what about-"

As soon as she said 'okay', the hand snapped his fingers and disappeared. Did he really care that little about what happened to the losers? Would also explain her own treatment. That was an ill omen...what would happen if Master hand decided he didn't tolerate them being around anymore? A worrying thought. But she would play along for the moment until she could find a feasible way to approach that.

"Okay...fine." Peppermint caved. "But you should make this quick, I can't just leave them there unconscious like that for long."



Rex Raptor's unconscious mind.



"Bakor...who now?" He scratched his head. "I don't know who that is, or what weird psycho mojo you are talking about, but even if I were on board with this plan, what do you expect me to do? I don't got cards of my own here, heck, the closest thing we have to monsters would barley pass as 2 star fodder summons!"

Kicking the ground in frustration, he gave a groan before gesturing to the walled off corridors before them.

"You look like the only one with actual powers here, so why don't YOU come up with a plan."

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

Just as she thought she'd gained the offensive, the priestess was forced back into defense, the sudden summon of energy swords catching her by surprise. Kirin reacted with impressive reflexes of her own, weaving between slashes and glancing blows aside with her blade, continuing to step backward as the Host swung with extreme prejudice. She knew she'd soon get backed up against the body hanging behind her if things kept going this way.

"Didn't think a guy like you would actually know how to fight!" She provoked, swinging her sword downward to narrowly bat aside an incoming strike. Her weapon continued to move downward, while the Adept threw her legs out from under her, letting gravity take over as she fell backwards, just out of range of another slash - when her extended blade finally glanced the ground.

In the blink of an eye, three massive sword pillars burst from the ground, centered on Generic Host's position!​

Pit
​

"What about you, Pit? Have you gotten any cool items with your winnings?"

"...there's an item shop?"

Pit seemed genuinely dumbfounded at this revelation. Standing up from his seat, he took a look outside - and sure enough, there were people lined up at a shop outside, trading golden coins for all sorts of things. The angel checked his own pockets, remembering that he felt them getting a little heavier a while ago, and he pulled out three coins of his own.

"No way I'm missing out on getting an item! Sorry guys, but I gotta go! Good luck!"

He ran off after that, unfortunately missing out on the food he wanted to get. But if he had a chance to up his fighting skill, then it'd hopefully be worth it. He reached the store in no time flat, where a blue-skinned lady and a small kid had just gotten their stuff. Pit eyed the salesman's wares, reading through each description at a rather agonizing pace, his reading skills still a work in progress. With three coins, he could only afford a single item, so he had to make it count. Eventually, he made his pick.

"Hey mister salesman, can I please get that Skull Mask?" He requested, holding out all three of his coins.​

 

[comic]

IRNANE​

To duel with demons, the locale would need to be a careful selection. Rinku posed "The Urban Backalleys" for his contribution to their arena. That sounded woefully generic, but perhaps his idea of what she was picturing for that was more substantial. That, or it was exactly as she expected. He didn't seem to care where they fought. Vivec City would not be a terrible choice to counteract that, however...

the eye of the needle lies in the teeth of the wind...
the mouth of the cave lies in the skin of the pearl...
the dream is the door and the star is the key...

"The Valley of the Wind in Vvardenfell," Irnane told the void, and the world began to take shape around them. What came to be was more or less what Irnane could have expected. The Valley of the Wind was tangentially the same in regards to its path and distance, from what she could tell, but now the walls were that of buildings that rose to the sky, almost as tall as the White-Gold Tower in Cyrodiil. They were of drab stone and brick, various pipes sticking out here or there, several chutes of ladders that led to metal stairwells that only rose so high, but the various windows showed the layer of rock behind them. It was as though someone had built walls to cover the natural rock of the valley. It extended seemingly forever in either direction, leaving the two in a rather narrow arena. The sky above was a muted gray, and a light sprinkle came from above, accompanied by a chilling and endless wind that breezed through the valley at all times.
​

​

DART​

"That's up to the opponent!" Dart replied, and with the sign of vocal approval, he quickly scooped up the cat and raced to the gateway, eager to start his match. Jeice was the opponent, a guy who seemed pretty strong. He'd been eliminated before, but some votes brought him back to give Dart a foe to fight.

When the void enveloped him and 808, it requested his selection. The Red Warrior gave it a moment of thought, uncertain of his choice. He'd already used a few iconic places from early on in his adventures, but he still had yet to...

"Ah, got it! Let's head on over to the Black Castle in Kazas!"
​

​

NEPHTHYS​

<I already have,> Neph claimed. <Unlike you, I'm capable of such a thing. Psychic tracing is another thing I can do, and while Bakura's trail is faint, any time he plays a card, the summoned entity or employed trap will be linked to his duel disk. I can follow that link, so all we have to do is wait for him to do anything.>

"if i was him," Sans said. "i probably wouldn't do anything."

<Not helping,> the gardevoir said. <Now come, we shouldn't stay here.>
​

​

GENERIC HOST​

"Prejudiced, aren't we..." the Host squinted at her with a wry smile before he suddenly vanished, flickering back into view several paces away as the pillars erupted from the ground - and were suddenly stopped when the halo of energy balls spun around them and seemed to lock the sword pillars in place, a stasis field manipulating around them. Then, the pillars dispersed, their energy disappearing into the orbs as they seemed to absorb them, turning another shade in color. A hint of yellow seemed to be pulsing from the spheres, now.

The orbs spun back toward Generic Host, and with the distance between them again, they powered another attack. This time, they spat out expanding wells of light that grew into what appeared to be grids of lights that rolled through the tunnel, leaving Kirin with no room to evade them outside of either warping, or diving through rare, slim slits in the grids just big enough that she could maneuver through.

And just as soon as the multiple waves of rolling grids of energy stopped, an array of crimson threads would shoot out from the engulfing darkness, creating a tangled web in seconds as they threatened to pierce Kirin.​