Private/Closed Bootleg Brothers 6

[Captain Cardboard]

Nótt

With a sudden burst of speed, Lucario had evaded her attack by running up the pillar! Nótt's lance cracked the stone at the base of the pillar, weakening it. Lucario's movement was barely a blur, so fast Moon-Wing was barely able to react. A slight raising of its wing and movement of its head made the Lucario's attack a glancing blow against the eagle, but Moon-Wing was still able to keep its footing on Nótt's shoulder.
"Why dear, it's as I told you before!" Nótt exclaimed, pulling her lance from the pillar and spinning to face the Lucario. "You've never seen a human do the things I do, because I am no human!"

Nótt twirled her lance as Moon-Wing once more fired its eye beams at Lucario. Anticipating the Lucario to dodge them, Nótt took that into account with her next move. She struck her lance against the pillar once more. With a loud crack, the base of the pillar crumbled, and with a powerful kick Nótt sent the pillar toppling towards Lucario!

 

[Gamingfan]

Lucario
"Ah, yes." Lucario said with a bow. "Forgive me, you resemble them so much."
Lucario could feel his strength returning to him, giving the pokemon the confidence to dash toward the princess again. Even if Moon-Wing's beams didn't deal damage, to lose his strength would leave him in a disadvantageous position. So when Moon-Wing fired their beams, Lucario slid under them. Nott seemed to predict his caution, and kicked down the pillar over the pokemon, boasting about her being "no mere human."
"That is true..." Lucario replied thoughtfully. As the pillar fell closer, his mega stone shimmered brightly, covering him in rapidly degrading cocoon of energy.

"-then I should truly test my limits."

The coccon shattered, and Mega Lucario was finally in the game! The mega pokemon threw a devastating force palm upwards, and the adaptability boosted move demolished a section of the pillar, causing both halves to bounce up a little. Though Lucario could now feel Nott's Menace pushing down on him, the power boost from his mega evolution had a slightly greater effect, and Lucario knew any advantage he could get, no matter how minor, would be crucial.
As the pillar halves fell back down, Lucario unleashed a forceful dropkick into one, sending it hurtling directly towards Nott!

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Nótt

As the column fell, Lucario was obscured in a strange cocoon of energy. It was the technique Nótt had seen Lucario use in his fight against Audrey. Mega Evolution! A powerful transformation that granted the Pokemon a great deal of strength and speed. The column was split in half by Lucario's new form, and one part of the pillar was launched towards Nótt. The Princess launched herself into the air, hurdling over the pillar. It passed under her and smashed into the wall.

"Well then, dear! It's about time!" Nótt said. She walked confidently towards Lucario, taking note of his new form. For some unusual reason, this transformed version of Lucario was affected by her Menace ability. Unusual.
"I was wondering when you were going to do that." Nótt said, firing a pair of magic blasts from her lance as she approached. At the same time, Moon-Wing fired its eye beams. "I was beginning to feel insulted that you were not going all out from the start. This is the finals! No more need to conceal your strength or techniques!"

Energy crackled around Nótt, coalescing and taking form as she spun her lance. It took the form of a dragon, roaring to life! Nótt rushed towards Lucario and unleashed a powerful piercing attack from her lance. At the same time, the energy dragon rushed towards Lucario! Her iconic Dragon Fang attack!

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Chai & Peppermint


"Oh if it's just me and him we are likely screwed." Peppermint admitted, nodding their head accepting the fact. "We've been scraping by for now, but if I could just get into contact with my resources from inside..."

"Thats an overreaction." Chai shrugged off. "Sure I was almost been blown up, and an onslaught of robots ain't good for my health, but i've been beating them all! If the rest of the department heads go down as easy as Rekka, then we should be in for some smooth sailing."

808's eye became half lidded, eyes looking up and down at Chai. After a moment, the feline turned back to Bakura.

"As you can see, screwed. But we don't need to take down the entire company, just their department heads and acting CEO. This would go a whole lot smoother if we had other specialists. That's what we are going to look into when we get back Chai. Been hearing a promising lead from the R&D Department."

"Yeah yeah, just point me where to bash."

Chai had already tuned out, not fully agreeing with her but not motivated enough to argue any further.

"And this Kaibacorp you mentioned...hopefully it also isn't run by a bunch of psychopaths?"

 

[ArmedBlue]

Pit
​

Pit clenched his fists as Ótr refused to comply, continuing to deny Eitri's involvement with the Magical Contract. As much as the angel wanted to prove him wrong about the situation, the man was right about one thing – they didn't have any clear evidence of their accusations. Left without a good answer, Pit simply watched the prince of Niðavellir head back up the stands.

"Dang it..." he muttered. "He's definitely not listening without any solid proof, and we don't know where Eitri or Byleth are either. What are we supposed to do?"

"Hm... Pit, did you see who walked past Ótr a moment ago?"

"You mean the lady in the purple cloak?"

"Yes. We bumped into her earlier when Dagr was trying to get to Nótt and Ótr, didn't we? If you ask me, she may have been purposely getting in the way."

"If she knows about this whole situation, maybe we can get some answers from her... Hey Dagr, are there people with lizard kinda eyes in your world? That cloaked woman had 'em. Think she could be more helpful than Ótr?"​

ZedΩ
​

Eitri's words gave the prince pause, Zed glancing towards the floating Spamton for a moment. Much like Masaru, the sage insisted not to bring Spamton to his world out of concern for greater danger – something that, although the Golden Trillion believed ATEMS would be able to handle, was a risk he'd so far been downplaying. The potential of finding aid in others was something he'd considered doing back in his own world, mainly due to the trust he placed in those within his organization, but he couldn't deny the opportunities at their disposal here. Perhaps... he'd been falling back on old habits upon seeing Layla at risk once more.

"Very well," Zed sighed, looking back at Eitri and Masaru. "I apologize for my earlier brashness. We shall remain here in search for a solution – as it happens, I am quite familiar with one of the people you mentioned, and her abilities may be just what we need."

"Oh, isn't that her over there, mister Zeddy?" Grazie called out, pointing to a group entering an open space in the stands a handful of rows away from them. Noticing the priestess among them, the Golden Trillion nodded.

"Impeccable timing. Allow me to simply..."

Raising an arm above his head, the leader of ATEMS released a single golden bird from his palm, allowing it to fly straight upward with a shrill cry. Surely that would be enough to get her attention...​

Kirin
​

Before long, the group reached a great spot in the stands to sit down and watch the final match from. Peppermint and Chai's talk of taking down a massive corrupt corporation reminded Kirin a lot of what she'd heard from Gunvolt about his own battles against Sumeragi. A lot of things had changed since then, and while things at Sumeragi weren't exactly on the up-and-up yet, she was glad to be able to change things for the better from within – even more so with her links to Shadow Yakumo. They'd secure the future of their world one day, she was sure of that.

A sudden shrill cry snapped her from her thoughts. Kirin looked up to witness a flaming golden bird soaring through the air, following the faint trail it left back down to its origin within the stands – and to a familiar prince who she hadn't seen in months. Him, and...

"Be right back, guys," she said, rapidly getting up from her seat with a look of concern. "Gotta take care of something."

With that, the Battle Priestess quickly moved over to the Golden Trillion's position, which was rather crowded with mostly familiar faces. All four of ATEMS' Knights were beside Zed and the little one, including that Grazie girl who had also lost to Audrey during the tournament. There were a few faces from the tournament she recognized – Masaru, a martial artist that reminded her of Cayman, and Magolor, a small egg-shaped magician. The girl with the witch hat was completely new to her, however.

The one that had really caught her attention, though, was the form of none other but Spamton hovering above Layla.

"Kirin. A pleasure to see you aga–"

"Save it, Zed," she interrupted, glaring at the floating salesman. "What the heck is he doing here?"

Zed raised a brow at this, all of ATEMS looking on intently. "You know of Spamton?"

"I've dealt with him in the past. Please tell me you guys are not trusting him."​

 

[Fraseandchico]

Masaru Takahara
​

While Zed did counter Masaru's point, Eitri also spoke up, prompting Zed to finally agree, mentioning that he recognized one of the people Eitri mentioned. He relaxed, putting his arms to his side and standing just slightly slouched.

"Nah, no need to apologise, I get it." He stood aside to let Zed do his thing, turning to Eitri. "Huh, Eitri, you sound like you'd make a great detective, y'know what I mean?" He chuckled at his compliment, before being surprised at the shrill cry of Zed's strange bird.

"A little warning would've been nice, Zed - That was loud!" He told Zed, laughing a little while the Battle Priestess approached. A small frame, but she'd been in the tournament too and Masaru could tell there was some power in her, and he did recognise her after a moment as Kirin. He'd offer a spar but there was far more pressing matters, especially when she scolded Zed and questioned if they were trusting Spamton.

"Er, hey to you too?" Masaru remarked, before shrugging his shoulders. "I wouldn't say we're trusting him, we're just trying to figure out everything we can for this situation, ya know?" He explained in very unhelpful terms. "We think there's something going on, big here - Something about Strings, but also there was also something about his world being in danger... And besides that, now we're trying to seperate him and the kid."

Somehow completely missing that Kirin apparently recognized Spamton.

Audrey Redheart
​

"Puh-lease." Audrey scoffed at Rinku's question, a tough frown on her face.

"That guy wishes it was him that annoyed me. Nah, it's that tall brat. What was her dumb name again? Knot, I think... Whatever, she doesn't matter. She thinks she can walk up to me and talk down to me like she did? If Master Hand wasn't in the way I could've gutted her before she had a chance to react. Who does she think she is? That royal brute shouldn't even still be in the tourney..."

...

"Hey, what do you mean, stench of failure?!" It took Audrey a moment but she growled at that, putting in her head the idea to raise the blade... but she stopped herself.

Especially when she saw eyes on her.
"Oh. They're done, huh."
Gunvolt saw her. She watched her name exit his mouth rather clearly. No turning back. Making sure her sword was on her back, Audrey crossed her arms and seemed to wave Gunvolt over, trying to get him to approach. "No time like the present, I guess."

​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rinku

Nott eh? Dagr and Nott, those two chickadoos seem to stick their noses into anything that they can nowadays. I still feel that phantom noogie...

"I'm all about some well deserved violence, who knows, if you sucker her into a sparring match maybe you can break some bones for funsies."

Naturally, the match between both competitors had ended. Gunvolt, the champion, named the victor. Suppose he was called champion for a reason. Said champion seemed to recognize Audrey somehow, something that Rinku didn't understand. The champions weren't here until recently, how could they have met? Keeping his thoughts to his own right now, he in turn waved down Dart

"Ya know, If mass destruction were allowed, you woulda totally clutched it."

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Bakura

"And this Kaibacorp you mentioned...hopefully it also isn't run by a bunch of psychopaths?" Peppermint asked.
"Well..." Bakura chuckled sheepishly and scratched his cheek. "It's... complicated."

"I don't know much about it, to be honest. But from what I've heard, KaibaCorp has a bit of a... history." Bakura said. The teen thought for a moment before continuing. "They used to make weapons and military technology. But that changed after the CEO disappeared, and his son took over the company. In a remarkable short amount of time, KaibaCorp went from making guns and bombs to making toys and games. And they are incredibly successful at it too, I've never heard of anything like it. To make things more impressive, the one who is running the company is still in high school. I had a few classes with him, even. Seto Kaiba."

Bakura winced as he saw a particularly brutal hit in the fight, but continued.
"He didn't really seem interested in talking to anyone. Honestly, he seemed like kind of a jerk. Smart, but not the type of person you'd want to be paired up with for a group project." Bakura said. "He hasn't been in school for a little bit though. There's been some rumors about it. Something about someone being sent to the hospital, and Yugi beating him in a duel."

Bakura smiled to 808.
"Ah, sorry. Yugi is one of my classmates. He's really nice, and really good a Duel Monsters. But so is Kaiba, supposedly. I think I heard he's one of the best. So Yugi managing to beat him is a bit of a surprise." Bakura said to Peppermint.

Their conversation was interrupted by an unusual noise, the loud, shrill cry of a bird. Whatever it was, it was something that Kirin thought she needed to take care of.
"Oh, that's okay. No problem." Bakura said. He watched as Kirin made her way towards a group full of, well, rather colorful characters. He watched with some curiosity from a distance as she spoke with a pink haired man.


Eitri

Zed decided to follow her advice, bringing over Kirin. The Prince had prior connections to the Priestess, it was obvious to Eitri they were from the same world. But to the sage's surprise, Kirin also recognized Spamton and called the salesman out by name. Spamton was not from Zed's world. Kirin was not involved in whatever event Zed and Masaru had been pulled into. And Spamton had not been in this tournament. So how did Kirin know Spamton? Whatever their previous encounter was, it hadn't been good for the priestess.

"Please, Miss Kirin." Eitri said, stepping forward and gesturing to Layla. "Spamton is either unable to, or refusing to depart from this girl. Any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated."
As much as Eitri wanted to ask Kirin about what her previous encounter with Spamton had been, that would have to wait.


Dagr

The Princess grinded her teeth as she watched Ótr walk away. Master Hand or not, she couldn't let him get away with this! She took a step to go after him, when Pit's question brought her back to her senses.
"What, huh? People with lizard eyes?" Dagr asked. The Princess paused and thought a moment. "... Yeah. Yeah, there are. They go by a few different names. Fafnir, or Manaketes. They're interchangeable. They're a race of dragon-people, or decendants from them. While they look human, or jotnar, or dvegar, they have the ability to transform into dragons. Some like to keep aspects of their dragon forms, like their eyes or wings."

"You said you spotted one?" Dagr said.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin & ZedΩ
​

The Battle Priestess' gaze shifted between each person that spoke to her – Masaru gave a vague explanation of the situation, while Eitri more directly requested she help Layla in separating her from Spamton. Kirin took a closer look at the girl, noting that she didn't seem to be fully conscious, static flickering faintly behind her irises much like she'd once seen Spamton do. Her head briefly turned toward Zed, who didn't appear as bright and smug as he usually did.

"I'm afraid it's true," Zed said, nodding slightly. "If your Radiant Fetters are able to help... please, free Layla."

It was Kirin's turn to raise a brow now – the prince had once refused her help during a very similar situation, claiming he alone would make up the debt for his failures. He really had changed a bit since that day. There was no telling if this would go in a similar manner to the Azure Spirits fiasco, but given Luxia (and by extension Layla) had once saved her life... she had to try.

"Alright," she complied, kneeling in front of Layla, pulling back the girl's hoodie. "Let's see what I can do..."

Placing each hand on the temples of Layla's hand, Kirin closed her eyes – and after a moment, a misty purple aura began to pour out from the priestess' body. The energy slowly began to swirl around both Layla and Spamton, gradually forming into semi-transparent chains that continuously circled them both. Kirin's sealing Septima was at work once again, aiming to weaken Spamton and isolate him from Layla.

Although she'd never truly done something like this before, her Radiant Fetters had worked quite well at purging Dragon Radiation from the bodies of many Adepts back home. The idea of removing Spamton in a similar manner surely couldn't be too far fetched.​

Pit
​

"Dragon people, cooool..."

Pit pictured the awesome transformations in his mind for a moment, before he snapped back to the situation at hand, nodding earnestly.

"Yeah, I did! Remember when we were leaving Regular Burger, and we bumped into a lady in a purple cloak? I'm positive she had those lizard-dragon eyes. And I bet that was the same person a moment ago, heading up the stairs just before Ótr did! What if she knows something we don't? Maybe she can tell us where Eitri is or something, right?"​

Gunvolt
​

Audrey beckoned for him to head over, staying rooted to her spot. The Azure Striker glanced to Dart for a moment, giving him a nod and a slight smile before he holstered his pistol, leaping off the side of the arena. Upon landing, a flash of electricity surged around his body, and once dissipated, left his injuries from the battle swiftly healed. He approached Audrey with overall optimism, though there was a twinge of uncertainty in the back of his mind.

She'd come here to talk to him, which was probably good – but with how their last encounter had unfolded and suddenly ended, how would Audrey feel...?

"Hey," he opened with a small wave. "It's... been a while."​

 

[Gamingfan]

Lucario
Nott leapt over the pillar, and took her time walking towards the pokemon, who silently watched her with pinprick eyes.
As she fired off, the pokemon leapt backwards, taking cover behind the other half of the pillar he had shattered. Nott's projectiles weakened the pillar's integrity, and though he they couldn't see each other, Lucario could sense her aura approaching. As great energy gathered into Nott's weapon, large amounts of aura flowed into Lucario.
"Yes...no need..."
Nott's Dragon Fang crashed into the pillar, shattering the cracked marble as Lucario unleased a counterattack in the form of twin beams of condensed aura, aiming to surprise Nott and Moon-Wing by cross-slashing through her dragon fang and into the duo!
"To hold back!"

 

[comic]

SPAMTON​

And then the salmon-haired slugger backed out of the deal. Spamton's fingers clacked anxiously together as he watched Zed notice someone that the salesman similarly recognized. "WELL..." he muttered, glancing to Layla, his big and blushing smile unwavering. "SHIT!"

Kirin wasn't interesting in chatting away with the omega boy though. Rather, she took issue with Spamton, who was taken aback at her hostility. He hadn't done anything to her. In fact, she had slithered her way out of their deal! It took him but a second to understand what she was doing.

She was gaslighting them.

"TRUST? THAT'S [Overpriced] COMING FROM YOU!" Spamton chuckled, his sly charisma oozing from him despite the situation. "WE HAD A DE4L, YOU'RE THE [One And Only!] WHO DIDN'T [Slam Dunk]! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IF THERE'S ONE[1] NOT TO T-t.TRUST, IT'S THIS DEAL-BREAKING, BACKSTABBING, CHEATING, TWO-TIMING, SLIMY, [Scruffy-Looking Nerf Herder!]"

Yet Kirin was approaching, and Spamton knew what she could do. The Generic Host had been particularly interested in her power, and was forthcoming when the salesman asked more about it. He knew how she'd used it against those from other worlds, and it would undoubtedly work on one from her own.

Spamton was relying on his words stirring the others, placing a level of doubt on Kirin - and he had more ammunition in the chamber. He could feel something funny. He needed them to stop, and stop quickly. There was too much potential in a form like this, with people like Zed and his harem or whatever the hell they were. He couldn't see his plan to fruition if everyone was against him!

"IF NOT FOR OUR [Deals On Wheels!], YOU'D HAVE BEEN OUTTA THIS TOURNAMENT LONG AGO, KID!"​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Jevil

As for the other Darkner who had an encounter with a man who supposedly speaks in hands, he was currently transfixed by 3 spinning orbs. The orbs weren't just spinning, they were orbiting. But their orbits weren't stable- they were anything but. Jevil had just discovered the Three-Body Problem, and he had the opposite reaction to most people when they first heard of it.

The Three-Body Problem is both simple and incredibly complex. To summarize briefly, you can easily predict the motion of 1 object in space provided you know it's mass, size, shape, and velocity. You can do the same with 2, provided you have the same information for both. You can't do the same with 3.

Ok, that's not true. You can do the same with 3. But only in very specific circumstances, and even then those are like cheating- such as having 2 of them orbit around eachother, and the third orbit calmly around them both. In another universe, this problem's unsolvability lead to an alien invasion of Earth, and many other things. But here, in this universe, it just has Jevil in awe.

Jevil was, predictably, overjoyed to find this perfect example of Chaos. He took it in for hours, doing nothing but just watch the glorious chaos in front of him. Exactly 7 hours in, he let out a loud cry of joy, and threw himself in, increasing the chaos by several orders of magnitude. He began to laugh maniacally, which spread across the entire lobby, before quieting down and enjoying himself.


He was miserably happy.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Nótt

Lucario's aura attack slashed through the Dragon Fang, right towards Nótt. Just like with his previous aura attack, that same purple energy field appeared around the Princess and her eagle. The field took the brunt of the attack, but it was still powerful enough to push Nótt back slightly. A bit of the aura energy even managed to make it through, leaving slight burns on Nótt's arms and clothes.
"Good, good! Very good!" Nótt exclaimed, ran towards Lucario.

The Princess jumped into the air, spinning and attempting to bring her lance down on Lucario with a powerful slam attack! Moon-Wing fired its eye beams at the same time, attempting to slow and weaken the Pokemon temporarily. She followed up her attack with another rapid flurry of stabs and slashes, once again attempting to push Lucario and force him back. This time, Nótt was attempting to force the Pokemon towards the throne, and the large cliff-like drop off behind it!


Dagr

"It's worth a shot." Dagr said. She quickly jogged up the stairs, shoulder-checking Ótr as the pair passed the prince. He managed to keep his footing, and merely glared at the two fighters. Once they were out of earshot of Ótr, Dagr glanced back to Pit.
"... One of Ótr's retainers is a Manakete." Dagr said. "That snake is lying through his teeth. Master Hand's rules be damned, I'll beat the truth out of him if I have to."
There it was again. That unusual feeling Dagr had been experiencing ever since her fight with Jevil. Like an unusual sense of vertigo and dizziness, right to the pit of her stomach. Not a wholly unpleasant feeling, but a strange one. Dagr knew resorting to physical violence in a situation like this wasn't right. But... why shouldn't it be? Why should Master Hand get to make the rules? Why follow the rules anyway, what had the rules ever done for her but forced her to do things she hated?!

Dagr's internal conversation with herself was cut short when the pair made it to the top of stairs. There, looking down into the plaza, was a person in a purple cloak. The figure glanced towards Dagr and Pit, and a single glowing eye could be seen under their hood. The figure turned and bolted, running further into the stands.
"Them?!" Dagr said to Pit, starting to run after the cloaked figure.


Eitri

Spamton spoke up, revealing some... interesting information. Eitri watched Kirin and Spamton curiously. Perhaps she should have asked Kirin about her previous encounter with Spamton. While the sage seemed to appear relaxed, the weapon across her back stirred slightly. The red eye of Grim Brokkr turned, staring at Kirin.
"Ms. Kirin..." Eitri said, taking a step closer and looking up at the battle priestess. "How do you know Spamton, exactly? From my understanding, he's not from your world..."

From everything Eitri had seen in the tournament so far, and her experience with similar types of people, the sage found it hard to believe Kirin was involved in anything willingly nefarious. But she had been proven wrong before...

 

[ArmedBlue]

Pit
​

Dagr led the charge up into the stands, passing Ótr on the way – who Pit couldn't help but stick out his tongue at as they did, clearly mocking the prince's steadfast behavior. His jotun friend didn't humorously vent that frustration like the angel did, instead claiming she'd beat the truth out of Nótt's beloved if necessary.

"Well, hopefully it won't come to that–" Pit commented as they reached the top, similarly pausing alongside Dagr when the two spotted their lead. That cloaked figure clearly realized this, rushing deeper into the stands in an attempt to lose them.

"Them?!" Dagr called.

"It's gotta be – Lady Palutena, help me fly!"

"Go, Pit!"

His wings began to glow brightly after a second, the angel leaping off the ground and into the air, gliding over the people in the stands with remarkable speed thanks to Palutena's Power of Flight. He'd remain on the lookout for the cloaked figure as he flew, and should he spot her, swoop down in front of his target to try and cut off an escape!​

Kirin & ZedΩ
​

Although Kirin's eyes remained shut, each word that came from Spamton's mouth caused her frown to grow more and more pronounced. Eitri pried further into the matter, curious on her history with the salesman. The priestess didn't respond at first, both out of guilt and a desire to focus on her Septima.

"...Kirin," Zed pressed as well, keeping his distance. "What Spamton speaks of... had you made a deal with him in your time here?"

"I..." She muttered, feeling all eyes on her.

"If there is something you must say, do let it out at once!" Prado added more urgently. "To conceal the truth is quite unbecoming of you, little kitten!"

"...Yeah, I had a deal with him!" She finally relented, eyes snapping open, the mystical chains around Layla and Spamton wavering somewhat. "It wasn't right, and I didn't mean for things to end up like this. It could get even worse if he does as he pleases, so–"

"We're aware," Zed interjected, though he didn't elaborate. His gaze grew more serious, filled with a mixture of concern and confusion, remaining fixed on the priestess. "Tell us what happened."

Kirin hesitated for a moment, but as the deal with Spamton was already out, there wasn't a point in hiding things. "After losing my first fight in the tournament – the team battle – I spent a while exploring the lobby, since it was pretty barren at the time. I'm not sure how, but I ended up at a long hallway that felt separate from the rest of this place. A holographic man showed up there, and he managed to convince me to follow him deeper in."

Grazie spoke up at this. "Holographic man... ain't that the host of the tournament before this one? I remember that right muscular Kass lady mentionin' that at some point. I even saw the man himself for a bit before all the fights, I tell ya!"

"Sounds like that's him, yeah. His name's Generic Host, and he led me to meet up with Spamton way beneath the lobby. We made a deal there, where he'd give me a free item for my next fight as long as I didn't tell anyone. Didn't think much of it, a terrible thing in hindsight, but it basically let me get through two more rounds thanks to that. It was... cheating, there's no denying that. After that second item of his, I wanted out of the deals, but when I went back to his shop... Spamton wasn't there anymore. Just a CD, and Generic Host leading me to some machine to insert it into, saying it'd revive Spamton and let me talk to him. In reality, it was a way to get me to help in achieving their goals – success as "Heaven" for Spamton, and the power to overthrow Master Hand for Host."

Things were beginning to click together for the Golden Trillion – Spamton's attack had been a consequence of these hidden deals. "So you inserted that CD."

"No! I refused to do it and ended up fighting Host to stop him. Thought I could handle it, but..." her body trembled but for a moment, the memory of her traumatizing battle still fresh on her mind. "He was too strong – to make things worse, he managed to copy my Septima, and became corporeal somehow. He got power like he wanted, and put that CD in himself, saying he held up his end of the bargain. After that, I was sent straight to my next fight. I don't know what he or Spamton have been up to after that, but I warned Master Hand about Host once my fight was done. Didn't seem to be all that worried, but I get the feeling things are bound to go south in due time. Everything's in danger because of me, and... I..."

Her voice trailed off after that, all of ATEMS looking on in silence. Kirin felt the particularly judgmental gaze of the Knights piercing into her, making her feel like she'd rather just be swallowed up by the earth. Her head hung low, the priestess' hands remained at the sides of Layla's head – by now, the sealing chains around Layla and Spamton had stopped moving entirely, and appeared almost translucent compared to their more opaque look from earlier.

The truth had been brought to light.​

 

[comic]

SPAMTON​

He listened and watched patiently as the dirty laundry was aired. However, Kirin's story soon turned to things the salesman had no memory of. He knew she'd tried to back out, but Generic Host had upheld his end of the bargain? It sure didn't seem that way... it was Magolor who took the CD here, and was the reason he was stuck with Layla at the moment.

"WAIT, WHAT?" Spamton raised an eyebrow. "IF THAT WAS TRUE 1 WOULDN'T [Buy Product!] I'D BE IN A MUCH [Bigger] BODY, WITH A L0T [Bigger] POWER! ENOUGH TO G3T [Bigger]THAN [A Free Jacuzzi With Your Next Purchase!], AND WITH IT? I'D hH-ha-HAVE THE [Turtle Power!] TO TAKE BACK MY WORLD, AND GET [Hey Stinky!] THE LIGHT<nER$ THAT [Got Reduced Property Value?][Superbowl Half-Time Supershow!]"

Perhaps it was too little too late, but that last part had been a played sympathy card, looking to earn it from any of the others. Masaru was the most likely to indulge in this. That Eitri girl... ehh, Spamton had a feeling she wouldn't care one way or the other. The added bonus was that what he said was completely true. It was his intention.​

 

[Gamingfan]

Mega Lucario
Lucario scored some extra damage, albeit and small amount.
The bird and princess skidded back, and jumped right back into the offensive. As Nott hopped into the air, spinning her lance, aura pooled around Lucario's feet.
Bursts of aura blasted out of Lucario's paws, rocketing the pokemon up to meet the princess before her descent! Lucario shoved his aura-protected palm forward in time with Nott's lance. Prioritizing force over damage, the force palm would release a shockwave to engulf Nott and Moon-Wing! At the same time, Moon-Wing fired their eye beams into Lucario, reducing his ability and causing him to feel Nott's overpowering strength.
The clast would blast Lucario (and hopefully Nott), back. The aura pokemon went flying, a feeling he was starting to get familiar with enough to land on his feet. Yet the polished marble floor did not provide enough traction.
There was a harsh squeaking as Lucario's paws met the floor and he slid back just enough to go over the edge. Without panicking, Lucario managed to grab hold of the cliff's edge and stop his fall. Now dangling over what appeared to be Mt.Coronet, the mega pokemon pulled himself up to his chest, eager to return to battle.
"I'm not finished...until my last breath" he proclaimed boldly.
Nott had him where she wanted him, but could she press her advantage?

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Nótt

The noise of Lucario's paws squeaking on the smooth marble was contrasted by the loud, harsh screech of Nótt's metal gauntlets and lance against the stone floor. Lucario's attack had knocked the Princess back, but she was quick to regain her footing. She quickly walked towards Lucario, watching the Pokemon pull himself back up. To the Princess, the Pokemon seemed less like a warrior narrowly evading a steep fall, and more like a pet dog trying to stop itself from falling off a bed. As she approached, Moon-Wing fired its eye beams at Lucario once more.

"I'm not finished... until my last breath." Lucario proclaimed.
"Adorable." Nótt purred. The Princess lunged forward with her lance, attempting to keep pressure on Lucario on the edge of the cliff! The Princess launched a series of jabs and slashes with her lance, attempting to push the Pokemon's defenses to the limit and prevent him from slipping away.
"What is the matter, dear? Already out of breath?!" Nótt exclaimed.

The Princess suddenly jumped back, her lance crackling with energy! She slammed her lance into the ground as an energy dragon roared to life, creating a massive crack in the floor of the ruins. With a rumble, the section of floor Lucario was standing on began give away. There was a loud grinding of stone as that section of the battleground broke off from the rest, and was about to start sliding down the mountain!


Dagr

Pit landed in front of the cloaked figure, but the mystery person quickly darted to the left. Running deeper into the crowd, the cloaked figure ducked down a narrow corridor. Dagr sprinted after the figure, following them. The corridor led to a section of the stands underneath the seats, one that was empty and dusty with discarded trash laying about. Wind whipped around the Princess, and she used her Tempest Step technique to fly forward at incredible speed! She tackled the cloaked figure, and the two fell to the ground and rolled.

The hood fell from the figure, revealing a pale older man with black hair. He had a scar across the left side of his face, and his left eye was just a glowing golden orb. The man pushed Dagr away with a powerful kick, jumping to his feet. He drew something from his cloak, and with a series of clicks and whirs the device unfolded into a mechanical-looking longbow. Dagr drew her ax as the man nocked an arrow, aiming it at the princess.
"Where's Byleth!" Dagr yelled. The man merely scowled.


Eitri

Kirin had used Spamton to cheat in the tournament?

... Really? That was it?

The sage watched Kirin, quite unimpressed. Of all the things, that was what Kirin was ashamed of. That and, well, being enough of a sucker for Spamton and this 'Host' to con into helping them with their goals. Eitri was unaffected by Spamton's attempt to appeal to the emotion of the others. Instead, Eitri was more focused on the fading of Kirin's septima. The Septima itself was quite interesting... The eye of Grim Brokkr quickly scanned it, attempting to pull any data from it that it could. In the meantime...

"Kirin!" Eitri snapped sharply. The sage gestured to Spamton and Layla. "Maintain your focus. You may have put everyone in danger, but now is not the time to be focusing on that. Now is the time to focus on helping this child."

With that, Eitri turned her attention to the members of the Spamton event.
"I may have not been through what you have, but Spamton's story does not ring right to me. It does not sound like what he put you through had anything to do with getting back to his world." Eitri said to the others.

 

[comic]

SPAMTON​

Guessing Eitri's cold-heartedness had been accurate, but then the little brat decided to encourage more anti-salesman rhetoric!

He wasn't in the best position to fight for himself, and this whole group was already entirely distrustful of him. Kirin, he supposed he could get... but she hadn't exactly been the best bet for him, either. But what about the others? Eitri said he'd done something to them, but he didn't know what the hell that was!

This was totally unfair. How could he defend himself against pre-determined prejudice??

Typical lightners.

"LOOK. I DON'T KNOW [Kid Named Finger], BUT [I'm Innocent, Your Honor]! IF YOU HADN'T NOTICED, THIS REALM EXISTS OUTSIDE OF [Time And Space], SO MAYBE YOU ALL JUST HAD A [Collector's Edition] [Dreamboat]! MAYBE YOU ALL WERE INFLUENCED BY SOMEONE! [[Heaven]], MAYBE THIS [Thousand Year-Old Dragon] HERE IS MANIPULATING YOU! I DON'T KNOW WHAT ANYONE'S [Hopes And Dreams] ARE, BUT MINE HAVEN'T CHANGED SINCE [[KRISPY KREME]] DESTROYED ME AND MY [Sandbox]. I INTEND TO GO BACK AND [Final Power!], BUT I CAN'T DO THAT DO THAT DO THAT DO THAT

IF I DON'T [Press F1 For Help] [Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death!] FROM LAYLA, AND I GO BACK TO BEING A [Projekt CD Red]! I CAN'T [Save The World] LIKE THAT! CAN'T ANY OF YOU SPARE AN OUNCE OF [Oh, Woe Is Me!] WHY [Execute] A GUY FOR THINGS HE [Haven't] [Did]!"​

 

[Gamingfan]

Mega Lucario
"What is the matter, dear? Already out of breath?!"

Lucario said nothing, but the fire in his eyes should have answered for him.
Though as Nott approached, Moon-Wing fired beams at him again. Lucario suddenly released his grip on the cliff and fell back down, ducking the beams and Nott's spear strikes. Lucario clung to the wall, sensing Nott's movements. Unable to strike him from her position, she instead leapt back, gathering energy in her spear and stabbing it into the floor!
Lucario felt the mountain shake from the impact, ears twitching as he could hear cracks form around him. They connected below the pokemon, and he felt part of the wall sliding off, with him on it!
Lucario slammed his fist into the chunk, digging his arms spikes into it as he swiftly pulled himself over the edge with Extreme Speed. Aura pumped out of his arms and ran through the cracks, reaching Nott before erupting and taking out the floor below her!
The cracks in the floor grew larger, now threatening to take both fighters over the edge!

 

[ArmedBlue]

Pit
​

"Dagr!"

Pit had followed closely after his friend, dashing into the area below the stands to find Dagr already grappling their target. Beneath the cloak, however, there was a strange old man instead of a dragon-like woman. While he wasn't sure how to take this, there was a good chance this man was affiliated with the one they'd been looking for. They could get something out of this.

The angel's eyes quickly locked onto the longbow the man now held, conjuring his own Guardian Orbitars in turn as he dashed in front of Dagr. He looked toward the man with a serious expression, ready to deflect the arrow with a charge shot if necessary.

"Just tell us, c'mon! The faster we get to her, the faster everyone can move on with their lives! Besides, there's no need for anyone to get seriously hurt!"​

Kirin & ZedΩ
​

Spamton gave his input on everything Kirin had said, except his version of the story didn't line up with the priestess' own. He claimed he'd have obtained power great enough to take back his world – Zed knew the truth to this, of course, but he held his tongue. The salesman's mention of his own world sparked a memory within the Golden Trillion, one of a voice he could not fully recall begging to help Spamton save his home. What exactly was the erratic man's situation back there?

Eitri, in the meantime, snapped at Kirin to continue working on her seal. The Battle Priestess glanced up at the sage before her for a moment, before she focused her gaze back on Layla. The regret still weighed heavy on her, but this girl was right – Layla was in trouble here and now, and wallowing in the past wouldn't do anyone any good. To think she'd preached that to GV for so long, but kept failing to follow that advice herself...

"Zed..." she muttered, the ethereal chains around her targets beginning to regain their form and speed. "A while back, you said you wanted to atone for your actions, right? Guess it's my turn to atone, now."

The Adept's sealing Septima became active once more, acting to gradually fulfill her original intention. Spamton's rant about saving his world and being guilty of things he hadn't really done sounded familiar – to the priestess, it was almost like Moebius' own fate. Someone who may have had good intentions deep down, but whose methods and actions brought chaos to others around him. Intervention of some sort was needed.

ATEMS' leader, likewise, had picked up on this.

"Not everything may line up, but there is a truth to each point of view here," Zed said. "Spamton. We may not know what happened to your world, but if there is a way to save it and restore peace, like you say... then perhaps something can be done about that."

"Prince Zed...?" Sistina murmured.

"But I cannot condone Layla being held hostage. Like everyone, she deserves her own freedom. There must be another way to achieve one's goals without limiting the lives of others. Another path toward the light, if you will. All I ask is to give it time. Think things through. In due time, things shall turn out for the better."​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Nótt

Lucario dropped down, clinging to the cliff to avoid the Princess and Moon-Wing's attacks. Nótt was content with stepping back and watching Lucario fall as the rest of the cliff crumbled, when with a flash Lucario was back over the edge. There was a pulse of power, and aura energy burst up from the ground below her. Lucario was trying to bring her down with him!

How amusing!

With the entire portion of the ruins that threatened to go down the cliff now being quite wide, Nótt charged towards Lucario. Her powerful steps were enough for the crumbling stone, and the large chunk of the temple broke off completely. Even so, the chunk retained its shape enough to provide the fighters a stable battleground as it slid down the mountain.
"Isn't this fantastic?!" Nótt exclaimed between lance jabs. "Have you ever fought somewhere so incredible?!"

Moon-Wing screeched loudly, and its eyes flashed! But no beam was shot out. It was a false attack, a feint attempting to distract Lucario's attention away from Nótt. At the same time, Nótt spun the lance and attempted a powerful attack against Lucario's stomach!


Dagr

Before a fight could break out, Pit interposed himself between Dagr and the mysterious archer. The man kept his bow trained on the pair, showing no sign of fear or anxiety. Just cool composure.
"I have no idea what you are talking about..." The man replied in a low, gravely voice. He stepped back, and as he did Dagr caught a glimpse of the armor he wore beneath his cloak. Black, metallic, and form-fitting. The same type of armor Ótr wore. Dagr's eyes narrowed.
"... Dvegar..." Dagr said. She pointed to the man. "You're dvegar! I knew Nidavellir was involved with this!"

"Step away from him!"

Sword in hand, Ótr stormed into the area below the stands. He pointed his blade to Dagr and Pit, swiftly walking towards them.
"First you accuse the sage of performing a Magical Contract, then you threaten my retainer?! Are you mad?!" Ótr yelled. "Has me resuming my relationship with your sister enraged you this much, that you risk war?!"
"We know you and your cronies are a part of this, Ótr! Stop your lying, tell us where Byleth is!" Dagr yelled back at Ótr.
"What, because you threaten my retainer?! You really are mad!" Ótr exclaimed. He scowled, gesturing to his archer. "Come along, Gjall. We are leaving."

"He's not going anywhere. Not until we get answers." Dagr snarled, taking a step forward. The archer drew back his arrow once more, taking a step back, and Ótr quickly moved forward. The Prince pulled off his purple cloak, and with a swirl it suddenly transformed into a circular shield.
"Princess Dagr, you are making avoiding war very difficult..." Ótr growled.
"Please, you dvegar aren't so tough without your fancy suits. I can take both of you easy." Dagr shot back.

The situation was rapidly devolving. What the hell was she doing? All these years keeping things calm and cool, maintaining the peace with Nidavellier, avoiding war. Why was she throwing it all away now? Well, why shouldn't she? She just couldn't stand here while an innocent was in trouble, and these dvegar constantly insulting her!

Spinning, spinning, spinning... Like those strange objects that had been spinning around Jevil, the situation wasn't just devolving. It was spinning out of control... And Dagr kind of liked it...

 

[comic]

SPAMTON​

His words fell on deaf ears. Well, more accurately, unswayed ears. Kirin continued, and Zed claimed the salesman was holding Layla hostage.

Ridiculous! Spamton hadn't even placed himself in this situation, they'd somehow activated him, and it wasn't as though the little lightner couldn't act of her own accord!

"Think things through..."

Spamton's eyes shrouded in static as his visual form began to seemingly erase, starting from the top of his head and moving down, line by line, his code reversing back into a cd. His forehead, then his eyes, then his nose were digitized.

"I already thought things through..." he replied, his usual spastic demeanor gone for the moment, before his mouth also disappeared.

The rest of him followed quickly, and once he was gone, the cd appeared once more, dropping to the ground.​

 

[Gamingfan]

Mega Lucario
Lucario flipped back after his move, which managed to bring Nott with him. The fighters now stood on a huge chunk of the throne room, and sliding down Mount Coronet.
"Isn't this fantastic?!" Nótt exclaimed. "Have you ever fought somewhere so incredible?!"
It was a little hard to hear her over the rough grinding of marble against stone, but Lucario's seemed to share her excitement. He had a unusually toothy smirk, and his pupils were shrunken with joy bordering on insanity. With his new form, his feelings, usually locked away, seemed to be surfacing!
"Yes!" Lucario spoke with unrestrained emotion. "This is what battling is!"
Nott's charged forward, spinning her lance. Moon-Wing screeched, and Lucario caught the flash of its eyes. But he could sense no energy building behind the bird's eyes!
"You won't fool me!"
Lucario only paused for a half second. When Nott drove her lance towards Lucario's abdomen, he turned in tandem. As Nott's spear cut a gash into Lucario's side, he would punish her with an Adaptability-boosted Force Palm into Nott's stomach, directly forcing waves of aura into the princess to blast her away and paralyze her!