Private/Closed Bootleg Brothers 6

[Gamingfan]

Magolor
Rude. Magolor thought as the regular shopkeeper cut him off. He was just getting to the good part. But he held his tongue as the shopkeep began offering what he assumed was a deal. Once the shopkeep rubbed his fingers together, Magolor understood.
"Ah, I see! Well, I'm sure we can come to an agreement that has us both happy!" Magolor replied cheerfully. With the snap of his mitts, a glittering apple appeared in his palm.
"Now, name your price!"

Ryuji
"Oh, really?" Ryuji asked curiously, admittedly a little confused over the difference even after Blue verified. Yet, when he complimented his mask, however oddly, a huge grin spread across his face. Ryuji brought his hand up to his mask, posing proudly
"Heh, it is pretty cool. Then again, it only makes sense for a member of the Phantom-"
But before he could continue, someone else arrived, accusing Ryuji of picking a fight. It wasn't anything new for the delinquent, but it still insulted him. Ryuji slouched forward, unintimidated by the bird of Dagr shoulder.
"The hell? 'Couse not!" Ryuji barked defensively, before shooting back "Why? You calling dibs?"
Oracle sighed "Skull, could you not run your mouth for once? Making enemies here is not a good idea" she asked, though very aware of its pointless.

Alter Knight
"Good. Then we appear to be in agreement." Alter Knight nodded, much calmer than her less restrained battle partner.
As for when this fight would occur, she had little idea. For now, she studied the surrounding contestants, seeing if she could find another easy target.

 

[comic]

NEPH​

The human was in agreement. That much was settled, so the gardevoir tilted her head forward in a small dip of acknowledgement, her own form of greeting that didn't require physical contact. Fighting a human directly wasn't something Neph was familiar with - could humans even fight a Pokémon? It didn't seem likely, but then again, a look around this place revealed that there was a much greater variety than what she was accustomed to, though of course there were a few other Pokémon around. Ones she had limited knowledge of, save for the Mudkip.

< Then it shall be so. > Neph confirmed.
​

KASSANDRA​

"It was NOT a demotion," the Host turned sharply to face Grazie, his eyes focused on her for a moment, but he shifted very quickly back to his usual demeanor, blinking as though he were half asleep. He refused to elaborate on the matter, however. "Now I run one of the little shops here. I make do what what I have. It's as they say, you know. Life, uh, finds a way."

It was here that another familiar face appeared: the psychotic imp. Kassandra wrinkled her nose at the sight of him, before she turned her attention back to the host, wholly ignoring Jevil. "Who won the last tournament?"

"You don't know?" The Host asked. "Oh, well... heh, I shouldn't spill the beans. Master Hand is going to reveal one more little thing before the, uh, battles begin, yeah...? Anyway, I should be going. Don't want to upset my, ah, 'co-worker.'" Generic Host cast a reproachful gaze over toward a man stooping over Magolor. "Calls himself "Regular Shopkeeper," I mean, how unoriginal can you get?"

The Host evidently lacked self-awareness, before he waggled his fingers at them. "Ta-ta~" and he disappeared.

"Eugh. I hate that guy," Kassandra muttered.​

 

[The Alright Attorney]

With a flash of blinding light, Noah had found himself teleported to an utterly unfamiliar location. The past few minutes had been an absolute whirlwind of events for the Kevesi soldier. He had stepped away from his group for just a moment, and was suddenly posed with a challenge. Unsure of what was happening, Noah drew his blade and fought his sudden assailant, completely unaware of what he was even being tested for. It took a bit of effort, not having the rest of the Ouroboros team to help him took some getting used to, but he managed to defeat his foe.

After being offered a place in a tournament, Noah initially declined outright. He has a mission he had to complete and he couldn't wait. But the promise of time essentially not moving while he was gone, and a prize worth fighting for. Gazing down at this blade, he looked at the mark on his hand. A symbol of the time he had left. A symbol of what he was here to stop. Maybe this prize could help him put an end to Moebius once and for all.

"Alright." Noah answered simply. "I'm not one to fight just for the sake of it. But I'll do whatever it takes to save this world." With new resolve, the soldier looked at the floating hand that had made the offer, ready to be taken to the tournament grounds. "I'll be back soon Mio. I promise..."

---------
​

After being instructed to find an opponent, Noah watched the others here immediately all rush about, talking to the other combatants. There was quite a few people here, many of which Noah had no idea who they were. It seemed as though they were plucked from all over the place. Unsure of where to start, he wandered about, until he could find someone that at least somewhat resembled anything from Aionios. Eventually, he noticed what appeared to be a bug like creature standing alone and away from the group. While clearly not something from his home. Noah had fought many a large insect on his adventures, even just outside of Colony 9.

"If I'm going to stand a chance against anyone...." Muttering softly, he approached the creature. Stopping just before, he noticed the seemingly rock hard shell of the bug, trying to think of ways he'll be able to counter it. "Oh, well. Hello there. My name is Noah. I noticed you haven't found an opponent yet. I'm in the same position as you, so if you'd like, I'd gladly take the opportunity to fight you." Hand outstretched, Noah offered a handshake to the bug, not even sure if it could speak and respond back to him.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Weevil Underwood

"Kyahaha! In your dreams, Raptor!" Weevil said. Rex was practically foaming at the mouth. "You better be ready for a second great extinction!"

Snickering, Weevil shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk away. His first victory was practically assured, a replay of the regional finals. Now was time to scope out the rest of the competition and see what these chumps were up to. Maybe even see if he could push things into his own advantage. Sure, these competitors wouldn't be trading cards like the competitors on the ship to Duelist Kingdom, but it would be similar enough.

As Weevil began to take a better look around, he was struck by the pure variety of people here. Master Hand had said there were competitors here from other worlds. But some of these people look like they could practically be duel monsters themselves! Knights, floating heads, beast-warriors, aliens... Even quite a few normal-looking people and kids. Many were deep in conversation by now.

One conversation seemed to be rather heated, a normal looking man having a discussion with a strange, yellow floating creature. A man with brown hair floated nearby, watching the two speak. Weevil walked over to the group, looking to Mr. Miracle.
"What's going on here?" Weevil asked innocently.
@DevVoid @Gamingfan @Psymallard


Jeice

Jeice's eye twitched as the massive floating head began to laugh. Not to mention, he even got his name wrong!
"Tch!" Jeice crossed his arms, scowling. Even the poses had failed to intimidate this creature. Then again. This guy wasn't from his universe, and didn't have a scouter. He had no idea what sort of warrior he was facing down against. Jeice's grin returned. He'd pop this creature like the massive floating pimple it was.

"What's your deal, anyway? You a mutant too, or is everyone from your world like you? Massive floating ugly heads?" Jeice asked.
@comic


Nótt

Nótt smiled, giving Masaru a small nod in return.
"Martial Artist?" Nótt said to Masaru. She smiled. "So I had thought, from your physique and lack of weapon. I have met quite a few unarmed martial artists before, but never one from another world."

She turned her attention to the skull man.
"And Taskmaster." Nótt said. "A rather intimidating name, but befitting of your intimidating visage. I hope you are not a cruel taskmaster yourself."
Nótt smiled at her small jest, before giving Taskmaster a small nod as well.
"It is good to make your acquaintances. Are you two to be opponents first?" Nótt inquired. The massive eagle perched on her back, looking from Masaru to Taskmaster with a hungry glare.
@Psymallard @Fraseandchico


Dagr

The skull-masked young man was instantly indignant, not intimidated by her height nor her eagle. Dagr respected it, and it was clear from both the man's body language and the squid boy's body language that she had been mistaken in her assumption. The princess grinned, leaning on her poleax and looking down at Ryuji and Blue.
"Maybe, maybe. Still trying to figure it out." Dagr said to Ryuji. But before she could continue, the squid boy spoke up.

Dagr looked down to Blue, and found that he was totally enraptured by her bird. Holding out her arm, Dagr allowed her bird to flutter onto it so that Blue could get a closer look.
"Oh yeah, he's pretty great! This is Sun-Wing, my Jötun eagle." Dagr said. "He's been my companion since I was a little kid. A tough bird, just like me."
@Gamingfan @Captain Pokémon

 

[comic]

M.O.D.O.K.​

"HUH?" The mechanised organism's large eyebrows knit together, before he raised his arms and legs and looked at them. "CLEARLY YOU HAVE FLAWED OBSERVATION SKILLS. THESE LIMBS INDICATE I AM MORE THAN JUST A HEAD."

Interestingly, he said nothing about being ugly.

"IF YOU CONTINUE TO DISPLAY SUCH INCOMPETENCE, THEN MY CALCULATIONS OF SUCCESS ARE FURTHER GUARANTEED! BUT IF YOU MUST KNOW, I AM UNIQUE! I AM EXCLUSIVE! I AM! M.O.D.O.K.!! IT IS AN ACRONYM, MEANING MECHANISED ORGANISM DESIGNED ONLY FOR KILLING. YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE, MUTANT. I HAVE ALREADY BESTED MANY OF YOUR KIND, YOU ARE NOTHING TO MY GENIUS!"​

 

[DevVoid]

Vlad Dracula Tepez
As he had thought, his assumptions were not theories at all, but whole truths acquired through the sole action of observation. This seemed to have amused the elf and gotten her to reveal more information about her circumstances before arriving to the tournament. So, a plague of an army from a so-called 'Oblivion' is what's the main goal she seeks to solve here? How very intriguing. Considering Irnane had told him of her own goals of having accepted the invitation letter, the Vampire King decided to retort by explaining his own reasoning of participating.

" I see. I have no intention of pushing any hope onto you - after all, I expect someone with as much experience as you have accumulated to be able to handle themselves, whether or not they will win this tournament. I, on the other hand, am here for a simple reason. You see.. "

Dracula raised an arm, an open hand following suit, palm facing the sky. And within this open palm, a fire would manifest and take shape, re-creating the scenery of a feminine figure tied to a large cross while a carpet of flames was slowly consuming her from below.

" Twice had my former kin forsaken me. Twice had the so-called 'All-loving Father' in the sky twisted my fate. No more shall I let either bend my destiny, for it is my own to follow. I already have the power I need to wipe out humanity at a moment's notice.. but it is not the truth of my intentions. "

The cross now shaped itself to give more details to the feminine figure, who was almost swallowed completely by the rising flames at this point. Usually, he would only reveal such information to those he trusted and loved like his son, who was the only relative of his left. However, the situation here was different.

Here, there would not be a new generation of heroes come to strike him down again and again. Here, he was amongst total strangers that would be highly unlikely to have him see them again in any of his lifetimes, so telling such a thing would have no long-lasting drawbacks, given that the two did not even share the same universe (and especially given Irnane already figured out he'd lost a relative). And so, the small inferno shaped the head and face of a beautiful woman, who, as it was made obvious to a keen eye, was the one tied to the cross.

" All I want.. is to see her again. "

Though he had not revealed the name of the woman displayed, it was clear by the brief melancholic look on his face who this was. At least, to Irnane it likely would be, given her intuitive attitude. And this flame was held for but a few blinks worth of moments before his fist balled and clenched tightly, sending embers out and about that quickly fizzled away, not daring to let any other eye take a peek at it.

" That is my sole intention. And I won't let anyone stand in the way of it. Not even you, Irnane Bethryon. "

Minos Prime
Minos had nodded to Palutena's question. Though he saw no corruption within this angel's spirit, he would still need to take care of him, as well as the others here, if he wanted to win this tournament and claim its prize. And Pit was also the first one to peak his interest so while he was already conversing with him, he may as well.

" Thy purpose is to fight. But, be assured, angel of another realm. I will not lay my full wrath upon thee, for thou art not deserving of the anger I hold for the heavens of the realm I know. So, I ask of thee. Are thy Angel and Goddess prepared for a clash of might? "

Shaymin
A-ha! So it was a Pokémon! But how come he had never seen of such one, despite having adventured far and wide all over the world? Well, it was questions for later or maybe never, given that the whole reason he was here to begin with was to fight and compete! Then, the Sword Pokémon asked him much the same question, which Shaymin happily answered with eagerness and excitement.

' Yes, that's not surprising! I am what I've heard other Pokémon call a 'Mythical Pokémon', whatever that means! We're not that rare, we have a whole village back at home! I think the reason you've never seen one of us is because we like to wander the world a lot! Or we used to, until we found our spot at Sky Peak Mountain! '

Mr. Miracle
As much as he enjoyed watching the shopkeep tear Magolor a new one with his sly, snide ways of speech, it was briefly interrupted by a snide voice asking him what was happening, sounding like something that one would imagine a goblin would sound like. Flipping his head upside-down, Hagen looked at the source of the sound - who had a very fitting image to boot! It was none other than the living embodiment of that one nerd emoji the kids like to throw at each other nowadays, it seems! Still, the great Mr. Miracle does not throw out mockery without provocation, even if it is just a light-hearted joke. So, he was happy to answer, reaching into his coat while he was about to speak up and pulling out a full-sized bag of popcorn from seemingly thin air.

" The little hooded guy over there thought he could pull a quick one and put up free advertising, but the sir there caught on quick and is about to chew him out! Have some popcorn! "

Miracle now produced a second, smaller bag of popcorn from his coat again with his free arm, tucking the larger one between the arm that was holding it and his chest and offered the smaller one to Weevil.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rex Raptor


Right! You better get out of here! The nerve of that creep...bah! Who needs him! He'll get his come upins soon...Now that he's gone and wandered off, I can look at this freak show...

And freak show it was. There was a flying clown talking to a talking blue hedgehog, a squid...kid? Or was it kid squid? Even a giant walnut head of a man, floating around on a glorified hover wheelchair. A lot of these guys looked like duel monsters in their own right! That's when he saw a human, relatively normal looking, talking with...a flower in a dress? Maybe? Was kinda hard to tell with this place. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he strolled his way towards Kirin and Gardevoir.

"Now ain't this an interesting pair." He said out loud. "What did you guys do? Better not be anything lame, cause this tourney ain't for chumps!"

@ArmedBlue @comic

 

[Psymallard]

Mudkip
The little Pokémon wandered into the restaurant, where a man at the cashier perked up, and flashed his grin.

"Hi there! What can I do ya for?"

Mudkip waddled right up to the counter and propped his front legs up on it, forcing the man to lean over the counter to get a look at his customer.

"Mudkip mud mudkip mudkip!"

"One oran berry?" The man tapped at his screen for a moment, before peering back over the counter to inquire, "Will that be all, sir?"

With a jolly smile, the Mud Fish Pokémon nodded his head, prompting the man to lean back over his shoulder and holler, "Order up!"

Moments passed, with the Regular Cashier tapping the counter as he glanced about the room in thought. Mudkip waited patiently; same smile plastered on his face seemingly permanently. Eventually, the cashier leaned over the counter and reached down with a paper bag in his hand. The water-type clumsily pushed himself onto his hind legs to recieve the bag with his forelegs, and smelled the bag to check the contents, and sure enough, a ripe oran berry. It made his mouth water, but he refrained; it was a gift for someone else!

"There you go, sir. Have a blessed day."

"Mudkip!"

"My pleasure. Bye-bye, now!"

The small creature pushed through the door of the restaurant, bag now being held in his jaws. Now all that was left was to find that lady...

Kragg
The Earth's Bastion was the last one standing alone. It was humbling, Kragg had never been picked last before, in fact, he remembered always being picked first for dodgerock when he attended the academy. Then again, it seemed like some weren't interacting with others by choice, which was some kind of solace. In truth, Kragg was both too shy and too indecisive to approach someone himself, traits that he regretted allowing his current loneliness.

"Hello there. My name is Noah. I noticed you haven't found an opponent yet. I'm in the same position as you, so if you'd like, I'd gladly take the opportunity to fight you."

The hairless ape extended a hand. While the handshake wasn't a custom of his people, Kragg was aware of its meaning and he appreciated the gesture. The hulking beetle took the human's hand between his oversized thumb and forefinger, gently shaking his hand, as if afraid to break it.

"Kragg accept."

Regular Shopkeeper
The Shopkeeper flashed a genuine smile this time, pleased at Magalor's willingness to do business.

"Alright, how about 10 of those gem apple suckers per flier? Heck, I could even take some myself to feature inside my shops!"

The man's gaze flitted over to Weevil as he approached, but soon returned to Magalor, as the Shopkeeper had a strict policy of ignoring children with bowl cuts while he was doing business.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Weevil Underwood

The duelist glanced to the magician, then to the popcorn he had somehow summoned. Adding to the fact he was floating, and the way he was talking, it was like he was a magician of some sort. Weevil took a closer look at the space Mr. Miracle was floating on, taking the bag of popcorn and munching on some.
"... How are you doing that?" Weevil asked Mr. Miracle.
@DevVoid


Jeice

The mutant Brench-seijin grinned, pointing a thumb at himself.
"I can promise you this, mate. You haven't seen anything like me before." Jeice said. The red alien rubbed his chin. "But that name. Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing. I gotta say, it's a lot cooler sounding than MODOK. But I suppose we'll see soon if you live up to your name. Not that I think you will, with a power level that low."
@comic

 

[Fraseandchico]

Audrey
​

Audrey seemed more...well, weirded out by what Troy said, rather than scared. Then again, there was every chance she was hiding fear; Showing fear wasn't exactly something she enjoyed after all.

"Okay, yeah, not going to lie, you guys are freaky-creepy. I'm going to enjoy tearing you to shreds." She half-laughed, assured in her victory.
"You wanna get on with it, or is your entire plan to roll over dead after failing to get me to give up, loon?" She raised her sword, pointing it at the pair (Though keeping at plenty distance as to avoid breaking the 'no fighting in the lobby' rule, even on accident). If the pair looked closely enough, there was sparks coming off the side and tip of the blades.

Axe
​

"Oh, come on..." Axe groaned seeing the Generic Host appear, glaring at him with a tensed stance...all the way until Jevil suddenly appeared next to him, causing the boy to yelp.

Bad memories, indeed. He was even more tense now, bordering on his weapon being readied as he glared at Jevil, completely ignoring Generic Host now.
"Jevil." He scowled, before trying to focus - It wasn't like he had given Jevil a choice than to kill him in that last tournament, which was dumb of him, but the memory stung. "You...aren't going to do that whole 'scything me in half thing' to me if we fight again, are you?" He asked, skipping past Jevil's own question. Noticeably, he inched slightly closer to Grazie, as if asking her to 'please just get me out of this so we can fight already'.

Masaru
​

"Well, I haven't met a Princess before, so first time for everything." Masaru replied to Nótt, deciding it was best to leave out the part that he had, but she was dead and a ghost. Ghosts don't have vocal cords and couldn't seem to hear him, anyway, so it basically didn't count, right?
Unlike Taskmaster, he didn't notice anything beyond that immeadiate sportsmanship - Not quite his specialty. Then Nótt asked if he and Taskmaster were to be opponents, and he noticed a rather large eagle arrive on the Princess's back. He decided not to ask, figuring it was some important creature in the culture of her homeland - It'd make sense for a Princess to have such a thing near her at all times, right?

"I, uh...think so. He did ask me to show him my moves, which I kinda have to take as a challenge." Masaru explained, nodding to Nótt, before turning to Taskmaster. "You were challenging me, right? I don't have the most wrinkled brain when it comes to 'getting' other people." He sheepishly asked.

The Warlock
​

Mordenna was surprised, so to say, by Dart's lack of worry towards how the Warlock got his name - or his past. Normally humans were terrified when he did things like that; Perhaps this one was even more dangerous than he thought.
...
Or stupid. Honestly, he could believe either intereptation, he didn't have a high view of humans.
"Hm. You are...certainly a unique, individual." He stated, a backhanded compliment of sorts, as he frowned slightly. "But, I suppose that is fair; You come to fight, it does stands to reason someone would be excited... You may be 'pumped', but are you ready to face a veritable God, the greatest of all warriors?" He half-boasted, half-questioned.

 

[comic]

IRNANE​

Dracula displayed a proficiency and mythitude with his conjured fire that seemed almost Daedric in origin. Through it, he in kind explained his own motivations for participation. This was, after all, a tournament of willing contestants. They were here by choice, not through the will and manipulation of higher entities (a refreshing change of pace).

The vampire concluded with a simple, thinly veiled threat, though still of his calm and respectable demeanor. While she understood his sentiments (to some degree, for she'd never had closer relationships than superficial friends), she found his desires construed of ire and hope. In the Nerevarine's experiences, resurrection of any form was a fool's gamble. It could be done, yes. Many vampires had, in fact, brought loved ones from the grave, but ultimately, such resurrection was futile. A vampire lord had once done such a thing, bringing his wife back as a vampire such as himself, but she had been disgusted by him, herself, and her resurrection. She had done everything in her power to return to the afterlife. The lord became a shell of his former self, craving only power after, and a group of heroes was forced to destroy him, erasing him from Nirn and Oblivion both, never to be heard from again.

She felt like Dracula may face a similar fate, though in this instance, she practiced enough restraint to avoid telling him this, instead choosing to respond to his closing words.

"A respectable stance, Lord Dracula," Irnane replied formally. "I have no wishes to keep you from your goals, but for mine, I can't waver. Regardless of the outcome, I hope you find the peace you seek."
​

M.O.D.O.K.​

How delightfully innocent. What misplaced confidence! The Man-Mind would have some serious fun with this one. This talk of "power levels" as though he could somehow gauge someone's potential based off of visual data and- wait.

As Jim spoke, M.O.D.O.K.'s fingers began to dance over a keypad on his left armrest, a small screen appearing in front of him. His eyes scanned it, before he laughed uproariously. "HA HA HA! A SUPPLEMENTAL SCAN OF YOUR PRIMITIVE DEVICE HAS REVEALED TO ME THAT YOUR EYEPIECE IS A FLAWED TECHNOLOGY! HOW CAN IT GAUGE A POWER LEVEL WHEN IT CANNOT REALIZE HOW UTTERLY SUPERIOR I AM? WHEN IT CANNOT FATHOM MY INTELLIGENCE? THIS IS HILARIOUS, HOLY SHIT. YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE SO HARD, OH MY GOD!"
​

Kassandra​

With the departure of the Annoying Host (Kassandra internally felt very clever about this degrading nickname), she noticed Axe grow notably uncomfortable around the jester. Jevil... she couldn't recall anything impressive from the small, impish annoyance. Whatever, she needed an opponent anyway, why not go with this loser?

"Jevil. You, me. Fight," she spoke as though she were speaking to an uneducated individual, pointing to him, then her, then punching her hand into her fist. Perhaps claiming this clown would ease Axe, as well.
​

DART​

"Ready and able, Mister Mindripper!" Dart grinned, accepting the warlock's obvious challenge. "Man, it's been a while since I faced any gods. I hope you're as good as the others! So uh..." he scratched the back of his head with a chuckle. "Do we have to sign up somewhere? I don't see any papers or-"

He paused as his gaze landed on each individual shop scattered about, and his eyes widened. "Whoa! We get food, too!? I'm starving!!"

The mercenary immediately sprinted over to "Regular Restaurant," in a couple strides, grinning wide as he stopped at the front counter. "Hey! What are you selling?"

Once again, Dart's focus was split when he glanced down to see the small Mud Fish Pokémon. "Hey, you're pretty cute!" He complimented, before immediately returning his attention to the Regular Shopkeeper, mind going a mile a minute.​

 

[Gamingfan]

Magolor
The sales mage rubbed where their chin should be as they considered the deal. Part of him wanted to vanish right there and then to escape and avoid paying at all. But, he was a (semi) reformed magician, and part of going good meant avoiding breaking promises. Besides, it wasn't a bad offer. He had apples to spare, and the shopkeeper even offered to advertise them in his own shops.
Magolor nodded as he came to a decision, before showing mock indignation. He was still a joker, after all.
"10 apples?! That's ridiculous....ly fair my good man!" He giggled. "But, you'll need to show me where to put these apples, given I have..."
Magolor looked past the shopkeeper, and towards the many fliers plastered haphazardly behind him.
"Quite a few fliers to pay for."

Ryuji
"Oh yeah?" Ryuji replied, mostly confused by the sudden change in behavior. First she was scolding him, now she's joking around?
But there was hardly anything Ryuji could say as she and and the squid-kid began conversing. For now, Ryuji just wanted, tapping his weapon over his shoulder.

 

[The Alright Attorney]

'So it can speak. And it's name is Kragg. Already more intelligent than most of the beasts roaming the wild in Aionios.' Noah was alreasy starting to take small mental notes about his opponent. While Taion acted mainly as the group's tactician nowadays, there was a time Noah had to call the shots, so he was already starting to formulate any plan he could, observing Kragg's physiology. 'With a shell like that, Sena's ogre hammer is probably the most viable strategy I'll have against him.'

Deciding to turn to the conversation to small talk while he waited, Noah looked back to Kragg again. "Have you done much fighting where you come from? It's all I ever known all my life." The Kevesi soldier asked his opponent. He didn want to linger to long thinking about his past.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

Well, that settled things. The two were to fight soon—she wasn’t exactly sure how soon, as it seemed no battles had begun yet, so maybe there were still some choices left to make. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too long, it was a little awkward trying to hang out with someone so silent…

And as if to answer her thoughts, a far more chatty kid strolled right up to them, donning a red beanie and a green jacket. He said something about the tournament not being for chumps, and how they’d better not done anything lame, to which Kirin raised a brow.

“I can assure you we’re not lame, kid,” she replied, drawing her hidden blade ever so slightly from her pewter staff, the glistening metal something that Rex could clearly notice. Guess she could have a little fun while she waited.

“I’ve personally dealt with a few Primal Dragons myself. You do anything not lame?” The Battle Priestess turned the question back at the boy, a smirk tugging at her lips.​

Pit
​

“An angel is always ready for duty!” Pit replied enthusiastically, pumping a fist. Palutena’s Bow manifested in his hand, two golden rings forming around his forearm. It was his weapon of choice, especially given how long he’d been using it for, so it only made sense to start off with it first.

Pit then looked around the lobby, noticing how no one had gotten to fighting yet. Maybe Master Hand had to take a quick nap before officially kicking things off?

“Uh… when’s this starting again?”​

Grazie
​

Just like Axe, Grazie let out a yelp when a weird floating clown joined the mix. It looked like the boy already had some experience with Jevil, and it was definitely not the good kind. Axe inched closer to her, and the taller woman seemed to pick up on it, challenging the darkner to a fight.

“Well, guess that leaves the two of us, Axe!” The Adept said, stepping in between Jevil and Axe, pretty relieved that she wouldn’t have to deal with the other two. Fighting a kid wasn’t quite what she was hoping for, but the others looked so scary…

“Ya ready?”​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

.
..
...

Snap

After a moment, Master Hand had manifested itself once more. In the center of the plaza, the hand gestures toward a new board which rested just ahead of the foundation.

"I trust you have all chosen a poor sap to fight? Good! Because we are not doing that!"

Pointing his index finger at the board, it lit up with names, the 'VS' between the character names transforming into 'and'.


Chai and Cayman
Rex Raptor and Weevil
Rinku and Beam
Ripper Roo and Alter Knight
Magolor and Mr. Miracle
Inkling and Dagr
Taskmaster and Masaru
Lucario and Mudkip
Dracula and Irnane
Shaymin and Aegislash
Minos and Pit
Kirin and Neph
Grazie and Axe
Audrey and Troy/Allie
Nótt and Ryuji
Warlock and Dart
MODOK and Jeice
NiGHTS and Sonic
Kassandra and Jevil
Kragg and Noah



"Confused? Well you should be!" The hand explained. "After all...those odd six empty letter spaces before 'battles' actually meant something. D-O-U-B-L-E. Double battles! You were actually choosing your teammate! Hopefully you haven't made a tragic mistake that you are going to regret in the immediate future. And without further ado...let's see the matchups!!"



Magolor and Mr. Miracle
Vs
Grazie and Axe

Nótt and Ryuji
Vs
Audrey and Troy/Allie

Kassandra and Jevil
Vs
Ripper Roo and Alter Knight

Warlock and Dart
Vs
Lucario and Mudkip

Rex Raptor and Weevil
Vs
Kirin and Neph

NiGHTS and Sonic
Vs
Dracula and Irnane

Minos and Pit
Vs
MODOK and Jeice

Inkling and Dagr
Vs
Rinku and Beam

Kragg and Noah
Vs
Chai and Cayman
Taskmaster and Masaru
Vs
Shaymin and Aegislash



"And with that we have our double battle matches! Proceed to your fights through the archway and play nice! Let's give it our all out there...or else!"

Vanishing without a second between actions, Master hand left everyone there with his words and the board showing their matches. Allying with their chosen foes? Surely no tension would be cause with such a move



Chai



"...Uh. I don't think that guy is gonna be all that happy when he hears the news..." Chai muttered.

"I would think that our oh so benevolent host there would have broadcasted that to every...location?" Peppermint pondered, looking over the names on the roster. "Come to think of it, we don't know where that archway will actually take us."

"Only one way to find out!"

Leaping into the Archway, Chai was near instantly transported to a new, blank arena. It almost seemed like a template. There, stood Cayman, having only been waiting a few seconds, but was still antsy to begin. Chai whistled inconspicuously, slowly scooting closer.

"Soooo big dude, looks like we are doin' a collab." Chai remarked, side eyeing the bigger man. "Hope you are ready to bash in some heads, cause we are gonna need it."

 

[Psymallard]

Taskmaster
The hitman crossed his arms as Masaru gave his own reply to Nótt. Then, the fighter inquired him directly. Taskmaster cocked his head and paused, his beady white eyes boring holes in Masaru from within his expressionless skull mask. He allowed Masaru to soak in the awkwardness of the moment again, yet his mask didn't betray whether he was amused or annoyed at the mixed martial artist's slowness. Finally, the assassin relieved the man's curiosity with a simple and dry:

"Yes."

Then the Hand revealed his trick. The hired talent had been wondering what those extra spaces were. He could work with this. His ability didn't only pertain to his enemy's attacks, he could copy Masaru almost as well just by fighting alongside him. Looks like they'd be fighting a sentient sword and a weird-looking deer. Not his preferred opponents, to say the least. Still, he could work with it. He turned to Masaru and pulled out two items: a billy club and a small communications device.

"Here. The comms device is to keep in touch with me mid-fight. The sword thing might target you, so use the billy club to defend yourself. Prioritize the deer first."

Kragg
The Earth's Bastion was uncomfortable being under such scrutiny from the human, and was subsequently caught off-guard by Noah's question. Has he done much fighting? It'd been a while since he was able to engage in small talk with a stranger like this, usually he only interacted with other Wallrunners or threats to the balance of Aether. Kragg was a seasoned fighter, but the beetle, through a mixture of humility and stupidity, his response turned out notably vague.

"...Yes. Kragg fight. Guard Great Rock Wall, keep life balance."

Master Hand's announcement hardly phased Kragg. He was happy to fight alongside Noah, he seemed to be a somewhat noble warrior. However, the beetle glanced over at the swordsman to gage his reaction to the information.

Troy & Alli
Allison sneered at the insults and taunting, slinking out from Troy's path as he slowly lumbered forward, hands in pockets. A wild look was in his eye, accentuated by his shark-toothed grin, which was wide as ever.

"You should know something about me, little girl. This cat doesn't roll over. Nah, this cat gets what he wants, you dig? You don't get to slow me down. Try-"

The young man came to a stop right before the tip of Audrey's sword, looming over the hero.

"-And... well, threats ain't my style. You'd better pick up what I'm puttin' down."

Allison put her head on his shoulder, leaning on him from behind. This pushed Troy forward a bit, and the sword poked the narcissist's chest, threatening to break skin. The man did not mind, still staring into Audrey with his yellow reptilian eyes, and searching for fear within. He was aiming to unnerve her before the match, because he fully believed that a disrupted vibe would be detrimental in a fight. Allison clutched at her obsession, vaguely aware of Troy's goal, but also partially off in her own odd world. She mockingly crooned,

"Rrreeeeeed Carp-et~"

- - -

Troy's grin faltered when he realized they were to be teammates. He didn't enjoy the notion. This girl's vibes weren't chill. His eyes went from Master Hand back to Audrey, now a twinge of anger in his expression. He could work with her for the time being, but if she got in his way, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

Mudkip
The Mud Fish Pokémon was flattered by Dart's compliment as he left the store. Soul now refilled with joy, the creature trotted off, deciding to look for Flannery through a glowing gate thing...

Beam
Teams? This was exciting! Beam fell further into his frenzy, shouting and cheering. He couldn't hold himself back, and made a beeline into a nearby portal.

A telepathic inquiry caught the Shark Devilman off-guard, asking him where he'd prefer to fight.

"WATER!!! YEAH! WATER!!!! KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!"

Regular Shopkeeper Prime
"Bah, just put them anywhere. I'll have them cleaned up before y'all come back from your fights. Pleasure doin' business with ya, put 'er there!"

The man held out a hand to solidify the deal, and to signify that there would be no hard feelings.

Regular Shopkeeper(on duty)
The Regular Cashier kept a gleaming smile as he watched one customer leave and another come in.

"Hey, what can I do-"

"Hey! What are you selling?"

"Woah there, cowboy. We sell all kinds of things."

He turned around to lean on the counter, looking up at the glowing menu screens to direct Dart's attention up there, before looking back over his shoulder at the customer

"From our specialty menu... we've got the Regular Burger, Double Regular Burger, Regular Cheeseburger, Regular Hamburger, Regular Nuggets, Regular Fries, Regular Pizza, Regular Fish Sandwich, Regular Spaghetti, Regular Grapes... anything your heart desires, I shall serve you, milord."

The man nodded his head to the left and right as he listed each item, switching his expression with each nod. He ended on a smile, awaiting Dart's order.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rinku


Strolling through the archway with his hands behind him, the little demon looked around. A little sparse. The only thing that was here was an artificial device, floating in the air with text on it.

'What is your preferred map?' The voice stated, seemingly telepathically. 'Each team must have their own consensus'

Those words echoed through his mind involuntarily. Deciding on the map, huh? That was kind of quirky. Judging from how Beam already chose water, Rinku just decided to roll with it.

"Water by itself it a little plain. How about we spruce it up a bit? Like how about a beach? That has water." He stated to the AI.

The AI. The had one of two lights turn green on it, showing consensus for one side. Now they just had to wait for the other and then the match would begin. Rinku grinned, crossing his arms.

"You know, 'Beam', you better live up to that bloodlust of yours. I don't want this to be a boring match!"

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Weevil Underwood

Before he could get any response from the floating man, Master Hand arrived once again. And what he said absolutely shocked Weevil.
"What?!" Weevil exclaimed. He would be teaming up with Raptor?! The bug duelist scowled, throwing his bag of popcorn to the ground in rage. He had wanted to blast that dino duelist to extinction, and now he'd be working with him. Their opponents, from what Weevil could see, were some girl in clothes that made her look like an anime cosplayer and a strange green and white humanoid that could pass off as a Duel Monster.

No. No, he could make this work. He knew Rex's deck well. Perhaps he could be able to use him... But first things first.
"Thank you for the popcorn, mister." Weevil said to Mr. Miracle, before running into the crowd of contestants. It didn't take him long to located Neph and Kirin, and he approached the two contestants with a cheerful smile and his hands in his pockets. Rex was already there speaking to them!

"Hello there!" Weevil said to the two, completely ignoring Rex. "It seems like we are are going to be opponents. I thought I should introduce myself to you. I am Weevil, and I wanted to wish the two of you luck."
Weevil drew a pair of cards from his pocket, handing them towards Neph and Kirin. The cards were face-down, with only the brown and black pattern on the back showing.
"In my world, it's a tradition to wish your opponents luck by offering them cards. I hope you'll accept." Weevil said innocently.
@comic @ArmedBlue @Shen: King of Digimon

Jeice

"What?!" Jeice said, taking a step back as the surprise twist was revealed. He would have to be teaming up with this MODOK. He looked to MODOK, crossing his arms and scowling. But his scowled turned to a smile.
"Well then, mate. Looks like you earned yourself a reprieve from fighting me. I hope you can back up all your talk." Jeice said. Their opponents were a strange faceless creature, and a young kid with wings and blades. Jeice grinned. He'd rip those wings right off.
"Alright, science man. What does your science tell us about our opponents, then?" Jeice asked as he walked towards the archway.
@comic


Dagr

To her surprise, Master Hand had her fighting the squid kid?! Dagr didn't want that, she had just showed up to make sure the skull guy wasn't trying to pick a fight! But before she could say anything about it, now they were going to be on a team together? Dagr looked down to Blue, really taking in the Inkling. He was... very short. Rather skimpy. And not at all very tough looking. Perhaps there was some hidden talent here, but Dagr was a little disappointed. But their opponents. Another kid, and a buff guy with... was that a shark face?! Cool. At least the squiddo would have someone to play with while she was fighting.

Dagr looked over to Ryuji.
"Sorry, dude. Looks like you're teamed up with my sister. But you look pretty tough, so I'm sure you'll do fine. Maybe we'll fighter later." Dagr said to the delinquent with a grin. She turned her attention back to the Inkling.
"Alright, squiddo. Looks like we're a team. I'm Dagr, it's good to meet you." Dagr said to Blue, extending a hand down to the Inkling. Her hawk hopped back onto her shoulders.
@Captain Pokémon


Nótt

The Princess looked to Taskmaster and Masaru. They would be fighting together, and she had been about to ask if they knew anyone who still required an opponent when she was abruptly paired up. Her new partner appeared to be a young man in dark clothes with a skull mask. Ryuji Sakamoto. Nótt looked back to the two other fighters.
"It was good to meet you both. I wish you luck." Nótt said, giving Taskmaster and Masaru a polite bow before walking away.

Nótt found Ryuji close to Dagr and her partner, a small boy with blue hair.
"Ryuji?" Nótt said to the teen. He was shorter than she expected. She gave him a small nod, noting the large morningstar he wielded. The physical strength of humans was always so difficult to estimate... "I am Princess Nótt of Jötunheimr. I do hope we can get along."
@Gamingfan

 

[Fraseandchico]

Audrey Redheart
​

While Audrey had her sword held to towards Troy and Allie, Troy spoke against her again. This guy was barely perturbed, if at all. Of course, his own words didn't unnerve her - While most didn't speak against her, she was determined to not let anyone get the best of her this time.
"What I'm picking up, is you have never, EVER, fought anyone like me-" She was cut off by Master Hand's reapparance, and his reveal. She was slack-jawed all the way until he disappeared, her sword lowered.

"WHAT?!" She yelled out in surprise after Master Hand left, annoyed and angry. "You mean- I have to team up," She loosely pointed her sword at her 'allies', "with THESE two?!" She groaned, angry. "Ugh." She scowled, putting her blade on her back. "You know what? Fine. As long as it's just this round." She decided, looking to the board. They were fighting some teen called Ryuji, and some lady called Nótt. They didn't look too special, though the teen had a weird mask, and the lady did appear to be rather well built. Still, Audrey assumed it wouldn't be too big a deal...

Axe
​

Axe let out a small sigh of relief when Kassandra told Jevil that she'd fight him, before nodding to Grazie.
"Yeah, I'm read-" As he was speaking, Master Hand reappeared in the middle to the boy's surprise. "Wait, Doubles?" He was surprised, and somewhat worried, until Master Hand disappeared and he saw his and Grazie's opponents; Some people like Magolor and Mr. Miracle. Magolor looked a little strange, but other than that he could be fine with this.

"So...Um, I guess we're teammates for this." He commented to Grazie. "Good news is you'll have the crowd on your side thanks to me, heh." He decided to joke, wanting to defuse any possible worries.

Masaru Takahara
​

"Huh?" Masaru was surprised when Master Hand reappeared, the host speaking of the truth; This was all a bit of a surprise, but it kinda made sense to him from an excitement standpoint; If Master Hand could get people to work together after previously only choosing each other as opponents, it would be far more interesting for both the fighters and the crowd - And himself. The opponents revealed to him and Taskmaster, however...Well, he wasn't so sure. One of them looked like a small hedgehog-deer, thing - Frankly, it was way too cute for Masaru to be a fan of fighting it - and the other was some kind of floating sword and shield. He'd rather have fought other martial artists, to learn how those from other realms fought, but he'd have to make do (Who knew, perhaps Master Hand would let him spar with some of them if everyone was willing).
"Ah, good luck to you, Princess Nótt." Masaru bowed back to the Princess as she began to walk away, before looking back to Taskmaster as his new ally talked and gave him items; A billy club, and a communications device.

"Just like out of a sci-fi movie..." He mumbled with the comms device in hand, looking it over. "Wait, prioritize the deer thing? But it's so cute, it'd be like punching a puppy..." Takahara stressed to his ally before sighing. "...Alright, but as soon as it even considers giving up, I'll change targets to the sword." He soon relented, however, sighing a little.

The Warlock​

"What are you doin-" The Warlock was mortified when he realised how easily distracted Feld was - This was not a good sign for how the battle would go for the Warlock in regards to this foe....Or, rather, his would-be foe. While Dart was off asking about food and calling a strange creature 'cute', Master Hand summoned himself to the center of the area, and told them something that the Mindripper had not expected; This was a double battles round, and he had actually picked his ally in Dart.


...That may have made Dart's distraction seem even more concerning in the Warlock's eyes, but his worries settled when he saw who his foes were; Some creatures called 'Mudkip' (The thing Dart had called cute, ironically) and 'Lucario'. They looked of little threat. He decided not to interupt his ally's shopping in that case, he figured they could afford to waste time with how simple the enemy appeared to look - He'd merely need to give a strategy on the way to the fight, not that it'd be needed.

 

[Gamingfan]

Alter Knight
"...what."
No. No no no. This was not part of her plan. Instead of netting a simple victory, she had forced herself into an alliance with an insane animal! Gah!
Despite her inner turmoil, Alter Knight kept a straight face, even giving a false smile towards Roo.
"Well...I suppose we're teammates instead. How...interesting."
With the archway open, Alter Knight entered it, considering her options, until she noticed that she was in a blank area.
Alter Knight froze. She didn't like it. It was too similar to the void she had spent 7 long years in.
Alter Knight put a hand to her head, trying to ignore the memories. Fortunately, a telepathic voice gave her an idea over what to do.
"Ugh...Kanterbury Forest." she decided, Ripper be dammed.
She just wanted something familiar. Anything to escape the emptiness.

Magolor
"Gotcha." Magolor replied, shaking the shopkeeper's hand with his own limbless one. His other hand snapped, and a star shaped portal opened inside the Regular Shop. Calculating in his head, Magolor summoned a veritable array of apples from the portal, closing once everything was paid for. As he did, the little mage caught sight of the matchups.
"Ah." was his reaction to the reveal. With a shrug, Magolor floated right into an archway.
As soon as Mr. Miracle would enter, he would find Magolor with a hand opened in front of him, a perfect mirror of the shopkeeper.
"Well, I suppose we're now allies for this fight." He said, still cheery. "If that's the case, I say we start over. My name is Magolor, and I hope we work well together."
Heehee, I'm so smooth~

Lucario
So he was allies with the Mudkip? Not a particularly impressive looking partner, but Lucario hardly minded. He'd rather that than face the little mon outright.
With the aforementioned Mudkip having wandered into the arch, Lucario followed suit, entering to a blank template of a world.
Knowing the Mudkip would be confused, Lucario replied preemptively.
"It appears we've been decided as allies for this erm...pokemon battle, you could say." he explained. "Just know I'll try and protect you as best as I can."
"What if your preferred map?" asked...someone.
Lucario looked around, but could not sense anyone other than him and Mudkip. Curious.
"Well, that aside, is there anywhere you prefer?" Lucario asked his teammate.

Ryuji
"Heh, apology accepted." Ryuji accepted the apology with a smile, before realized the rest of Dagr's sentence.
"Who?"
The answer came pretty soon, with another giant woman appeared beside Ryuji, saying his name.
"Whoa! Where did you-. How-"
"Holy crap!" Oracle reacted with just as much surprise. "Just look at those-"
Ryuji cleared his throat, regaining composure.
"I mean, it's Skull." he replied, kicking the floor awkwardly.
Once names were out of the way, Ryuji smirked as he saw the archway open up.
"Let's kick some ass, kay?" he said to Nott as he entered the arch.
Oracle sighed. "That confidence is going to get you killed some day, Skull."

 

[comic]

NEPH​

The girl called Kirin awkwardly stood there for a moment, perplexed at how to interact with the gardevoir, who was content to leave her like that, but then a boy came over.

Now, Neph had seen her fair share of young snot-faces in her time with her master. She's stomped plenty into the dirt. This boy gave her "sleaze" vibes to the max. More laughable than that---a simple glimpse into his mind procured a single thought: "dinosaurs."

Whatever that was.

The gardevoir elected to ignore him, leaving that undesirable interaction up to Kirin, but it was cut short when the "Master Hand" rematerialized in the lobby, calling upon their attention, and doing a reveal.

Double Battles. Neph hadn't been expecting that, but it wasn't something she was unfamiliar with. Typically, her master would just partner her up with Swampert, and the two would wipe out any of the double-battle opposition. Kirin was her ally, rather than her opponent. An interesting turn of events, but not unwelcome. It could allow the gardevoir time to see others fight a little without being the direct target constantly. She still wasn't sure on how seriously to take all of this, considering her track record, but also her trial. It would simply be better to gather as much information as possible to gauge her own chances.

Funnily enough, their opponents were the snotty kid, and another, somehow even snottier child who approached, similar to how "Rex Raptor" had. "Weevil Underwood" was this one's name. He appeared to belong under wood, as opposed to where he stood now. Her tried to come off as kind, even gracious. The demeanor reminded her somewhat of the sickly child Wally---but of course, the Embrace Pokémon had an extrasensory perception to back up her judgement, which helped without having any pre-established bias. She didn't trust him one bit.

He offered them cards, and the gardevoir was almost tempted to use her mind to shred them right out of the kid's hand---but she was curious. She knew he was scheming something, but what was the question. Finally, she decided to let Kirin accept her own card, and the gardevoir wordlessly turned away, before she disappeared, teleporting directly to the gate, and drifting into it.
​

M.O.D.O.K.​

What? This was outrageous! This was unfair! He was so READY to obliterate this dumb, short, australian mutant. Now it was his ally? Very well, the Man-Mind was no stranger to shifting allegiances, anyway. It came with the role of "supervillain."

"MY BITE IS FAR WORSE THAN MY BARK, OF WHICH I HAVE APLENTY," M.O.D.O.K. assured his "ally" upon his first jab, before James asked if the Mechanised Organism could get a read on their opponents. "Minos" and "Pit," according to the board. With his screen still up, M.O.D.O.K. simply directed it toward the pair and began to collect his data, brow furrowing as it was read back to him.

"OLYMPIANS IS THE NEAREST TO WHAT I AM FAMILIAR WITH," M.O.D.O.K. relayed. "GOD-LIKE ENTITIES IMBUED WITH PRIMORDIAL POWERS. BAH! GODS ARE SO LAST DECADE! AT LEAST THEY'RE NOT ASGARDIANS, I HATE THOSE GUYS."

Despite his outward confidence, M.O.D.O.K. felt a twinge of anxiety in his bowels (which might have just been the 5 gallons of ramen he eat before opening his invitation letter). Minos, if name implied anything, might have had some relation to "King Minos," a figure of Greek mythology, though judging more by appearances, he could have been corrupted by Mephisto, or given the might of Galactus as a herald. Or something of the sort, considering the multiverse was at play. Pit, meanwhile, was clearly of some kind of neo-catholic christianity-themed angel. The wings, the boyish looks, the ornate gold and swaddling white robes, all obvious giveaways.

"MINOS IS THE STRONGER OF THE TWO. IF I HAD TO GUESS, IT IS THE ONE MORE LIKELY TO PREFER MELEE COMBAT. I ASSUME THAT IS YOUR PREFERRED STANCE, AS WELL. YOU TWO WOULD BE BEST GOING HEAD-TO-HEAD. PIT, HOWEVER, IS CLEARLY SKILLED AT RANGE. IT WILL KEEP ITS DISTANCE TO LET MINOS DO THE SMASHING. I WILL MIMIC THIS ROLE AND SUPPORT YOU, WHILE KEEPING THE ANGEL OFF OF YOU. MINOS SHOULD BE OUR TOP PRIORITY, HOWEVER. I AM SO INTELLECTUAL!"
​

DART​

He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he observed the menu, listening carefully to what the Regular Shopkeeper was saying, before he frowned. "So everything's regular here?" the mercenary asked, completely oblivious to Master Hand speaking behind him. "Like, there's no specials? What is a regular? Like, is it a flavor? Does everything taste regular?" He wasn't catching on to the theme of these shops.​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Ripper Roo



The Kangaroo didn't seem even bothered about the double battle shift. If anything, he seemed to find Alter Knight's sudden change of expression hilarious, outright cackling like a hyena in response. Looks like they were stuck together!

"Hehehehohohohahaha!!"

Ripper Roo bounced and bounced before flying headfirst into the arena. Upon hopping in, he didn't even address the map, letting Alter handle all of that. Instead, he licked his chops before teething on Alter'e right arm.




Rex Raptor


A look to Gardevoir, who was just silent, told Rex everything he knew. Speechless? Ha! She must be nervous. I can smell the blood in the water already. Hope I get matched up with her next, she look like easy marks!

He was about to assume the case with Kirin as well. She however, had other ideas. Revealing just a glimmer of her sword, she proclaimed her doing battle with primal dragons. Rex's confident expression quickly changed to a puzzled one.

"Eh, for real?" Rex shook his head, easing his fist, his time becoming more angered. "So?? I command dinosaurs! DINOSAURS! So what you took out on teensy dragon when I got a horde of prehistoric pets ready for smashin'!"

Rex's argument was cut off when Master Hand had suddenly announced a new change: Double Battles...Doubles Battles? Wait. That meant...

"WEEVIL?!" Rex exclaimed, looking at the screen.

Perfect timing it seemed, as Weevil interjected himself into the conversation. Rex archer a brow as the green haired big enthusiast seemed...cordial. That's when Rex's expression changed from general annoyance, to curiosity, to a wicked smugness. Weevil was an insufferable creep, but he hated to admit it, he was clever. He could tolerate him for the moment so long as he got further to winning this thing.

"Psssht, don't think I'm giving YOU two a gift." Rex remarked, crossing his arms. "I'm keeping my Dinos away from your grubby hands. You should just count yourself lucky Weevil here is taking pity on you."

 

[DevVoid]

The Emperor of the Night
Dracula could recognize the look on her face. Irnane had doubts that his goal would lead to any good for him in the long-run and that it would likely end in his demise. Granted, he himself had thought much the same. But, then again.. maybe finally being put to rest is what he truly needed. Yet he would not go yet.. not without seeing her once again, for one last embrace. After all, that's the least a man could ever ask for, right? Before he could speak up however, the giant hand had appeared once more and revealed the veil it hid the real match-ups with.

Just like he thought, this battle was not one to be fought against the Drow, but with her against two others. How expected, given that it was such a simple trick that even a child could solve it. Still, the clock had struck where pleasantries were over and a bloodbath would soon begin. And it seems their opponents were none other than one 'Nights' and one 'Sonic', the latter of which Dracula knew from his time being a story boss in that 'World of Light' event that had occured. Strange stuff it was, but nothing out of the ordinary for him.

" It seems our fates are not quite yet destined to eliminate another, but to intertwine to take out another pair. Given past experiences, I am already well aware of that 'Sonic' creature. It is quite the fast one, I suggest remaining on guard. And given the active levitation of the one it is to be paired up with, I assume it to be excelling in aerial combat, unlike the flightless blue creature. I shall meet you past the Gateway, Irnane Bethryon. "

With a flick of his cape, the King of Vampires dispersed into a large swarm of black vampire bats that flew in a rush over and through the Gateway before re-forming, patiently awaiting the arrival of both his opponents and his (temporary) ally.

The Magician of Wonders
" Tsk, tsk, tsk. You can't just throw away food like that, kid.. "
The actor-turned-hero mumbled under his breath, pointing at the wasted bag of popcorn on the ground and lifting it, alongside each specific kernel, with just a finger and flicking it all into a nearby trash can. So, he was to pair up with Magolor as opposed to taking him down then, eh? Sounded simple enough. Their opponents were.. a small child and a girl who looked like one as well. Great.. that's just great. His first match in the tourney and he was already set to beating the ever-living shit out of children. That'll be a great look for Mr. Miracle's look, he's sure. Well, he had to let these minors know softly that they won't be outsmarting this trickster, in one way or another. So, Terry floated off into the Gateway where he already found his teammate trying to introduce himself again. To this, the man simply took off his hat, bowed and put it back on again.

" Have no worries, Magolor! This magician is prepared to deal with all manners of cards that fate attempts to deal to him, teaming up with a supposed enemy included! May our match bear the fruit that will be our victory! "

The Gratitude Pokémon
Though the small, hedgehog-like grass type was awaiting an answer from the talking sword, it seems their conversation was interrupted by Master Hand who had announced that they are to team up against two people instead of fighting one another. Oh well, this was even better! After all, an expedition team always works in pairs! (Or three.Or four.)

So, with his Gracidea flower now wriggling, a white energy formed the Shaymin's body into his Sky Forme as he now flew wordlessly to the gate, hoping his teammate to follow. As soon as he got through though, his attention was taken by the Pokémon in the stands, already seated and cheering for the little mythical creature. He recognized the other Shaymin from the village but most of them were Treasure Town residents. He could even see some members of the Wigglytuff Guild sitting amongst the crowd, which just excited the grass-type even more. With a quick dash, the Sky Formed Pokemon flew on over as close to the crowd as he could and begun talking to the Pokémon he knew, completely forgetting about the fact that he had a match to fight.

The Old King
So, it was him who was to fight in a duo with the angel? Minos had no problem with it either way. So, with a nod, Minos spoke up one last time before it was time for him to head off to the gateway and into the arena. Given that Pit had a bow, he expected him to be more of the flying, arrow-firing sort, like how those blasted robots in his world usually took more time being flashy and jumping about like little fleas than they do actually blasting at opponents, for one reason or another.

" It seems thy fates are not yet destined to take down one another. Come, angelic one. We shall see to it that thy clash will result in our victory. "

Minos Prime had now wandered off after these words, making use of his typical slow, yet complete dominant power-walk to head off to the arena, just brimming with confidence and bravery, not one ounce of fear even displayed on him - not that it could in the first place, given his lack of a face.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin​

“…huh.”

That was a twist. Every matchup had now turned into a pairing, and the fights were now team battles. As it turned out, the kid in front of Kirin was one of the two opponents she and Neph (the board finally gave her a name) would be fighting. Rex’s teammate approached shortly afterwards, seemingly a lot more polite—he even offered the two a pair of cards for “good luck”.

Kirin had no way to know if what the boy said was true, but she felt it a little rude to not at least accept the offer. After a moment of slight hesitation, she took the cards from Weevil’s hands, while Neph just… teleported away, the Adept catching a glimpse of the Pokémon before she disappeared into the archway.

“Thanks,” she said to Weevil, ignoring Rex’s remarks. “Good luck to you, too.”

She followed after her teammate shortly afterwards, walking over to the archway and passing through, appearing in a white void of sorts. Neph was there, but no other fighter stood alongside her. The matches probably took place in separate pocket dimensions or something. A voice spoke telepathically, though it was not Neph’s, and it asked to select a map.

“You got any places in mind? I don’t mind fighting somewhere new,” she told the Gardevoir, finally unsheathing her hidden blade, ready for battle. She also took the chance to take a closer look at the cards Weevil had given her, turning them over to reveal their contents…
​

Cayman
​

“…team battles?!”

Cayman stomped the white void he stood on as Chai approached, clenching his fists. “Duels are supposed to be one-on-ones! It’s in the definition! Where’s the honor in a two-against-two?!”

Just like Chai suspected, Cayman wasn’t taking the news too well. He came here for Duels, not whatever the team equivalent was called. And now he had those taken away? Unbelievable.

Then an idea came to mind.

“If that Master Hand won’t give me a Duel, I’ll force one!” He decided, turning to face the future rockstar. “That rock beetle of theirs looks like a mighty opponent. I’ll keep his focus just on me, so you can go ahead and beat up the other guy. Isn’t that a great idea?!” He exclaimed, mood practically swinging around.

“Oh, and you can pick whatever map you want. A true man can battle on any arena!”​

Pit
​

“Well, this is quite the surprise.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Pit commented, looking over to the duo’s opponents. One was a red guy with long white hair, while the other was a huge head with barely noticeable limbs. The latter sat on an advanced chair, sort of reminding him of a Tempura Wizard, one that had a baby with a Monomiknose.

…a pretty ugly baby.

Minos wandered off towards the gateway, prompting Pit to follow, keeping the same pace as the Prime Soul. Why did this guy always power-walk everywhere?

The two were through after a moment, appearing in a white void. It brought back memories of when the Chaos Kin turned him into a ring, a thought the angel briefly shuddered at. A voice in his head that was not Palutena’s asked the two to select a stage, to which Pit turned towards his teammate.

“I’ve got quite a few places to pick from, not my first time in one of these. Skyworld sounds like a good first pick. Uh- if it doesn’t bring any bad memories, of course.”​

Grazie​

Suddenly she wished she’d chosen someone else.

No, what was she thinking? For all she knew, Axe could be the strongest of them all! No point in judging based on appearance, especially given her own looks. Their opponents didn’t look particularly threatening either…

“Well, havin’ the crowd rootin’ for us is always a plus!” Grazie responded to Axe as she headed towards the gateway, expecting the boy to follow. Once they headed through, they’d both appear in a white void, with a voice telling the two to pick a map.

“Ooh, how ‘bout that Sumeragi desert base we raided that one time?” She spoke first, before she remembered that the choice had to be a consensus. The girl turned to Axe afterwards, crouching just a little to be on eye level.

“Ya see, I’m right good ‘round sand, so it’d be very good for us if we pick a place full of it. If ya don’t have any places in mind with a bunch of sand, mind lettin’ me have this one?”​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Chai



Huh. He's...a LOT more into the idea suddenly. At least he didn't decide to take his anger on this dangerously close face of mine. So hey, that all worked out.

"One v one? Ight, I can vibe with that. Sooo...who does that mean I'm fighting?"

808, who had returned to her feline form walked out in front of chai. The lights on her body began to glow a faint blue as Peppermint spoke out of her mouth.

"While you were busy being buddy buddy to Cayman here, I took a few snapshots of the plaza, including the roster. Because I knew you would probably forget who you were fighting next."

"Hey! I don't always forget stuff! Just, you know. Sometimes."

"Ugh. Whatever, just take a look."

A hologram projected from 808's eyes, showing the roster list. It seemed that Kragg and this Noah character were battling them. This was quickly followed up with a slightly blurred image of a boy talking with Kragg, obviously zoomed in. Putting his chin in the space between his thumb and index finger, Chai squinted at it.

"That's him? He looks very...protagonist...y."

"Meaning?"

"Don't you know? Anime protags always have plot armor peppermint! It's like, rule one."

 

[Psymallard]

Taskmaster
"No. It's not cute. It's not a living thing, it's an obstacle. That's your mindset now. Follow my lead, and I'll get you to the second round."

The Taskmaster checked his equipment as he talked to Masaru. He checked off each item one by one in his head.

"The deer will be much easier to kill. It's made of flesh and blood, and I intend to make it bleed. Once it's dead, we outnumber the sword."

Once finished with his check, the assassin began walking to the gate.

"Let's move out."

---

In a white void, a floating computer asked the Taskmaster for a stage choice.

"New York City subway tunnels."

The assassin had several reasons to pick this stage. It kept the opponents, both of which whom could fly, closer to the ground, primarily. The opponents were also unfamiliar with subway tunnels, he assumed, while he(and possibly Masaru) were familiar there.

Mudkip
The Mud Fish Pokémon listened to Lucario's words. A team battle? Like they'd have to fight someone? Uh oh, Mudkip was wondering why they were currently in a white void- this must be what the inside of a Pokémon stadium looked like. He must've wandered into one, and there was no exit in sight!

"Well, that aside, is there anywhere you prefer?"

Well, he was obviously lost, so maybe this thing could take him back home.

"Mud mudkip! [The river!]"

He didn't have any idea how vague his request was, but the computer would understand it as the river that ran along Route 119 in Hoenn.

Kool Kats
Troy scoffed in Audrey's face when she became irate over the fact that they were teaming up. Allison hopped into the air and in a flash of light, she turned into a unique-looking sword. Troy caught her and his feet were enveloped in vortex balls, allowing him to drift backwards into the gate as he pointed his blade at Audrey.

"You'd better be able to back up your words, little girl."

---

The computer asked where they'd like to go. Oh, the options...

Regular Shopkeeper
After shaking hands with Magalor, he flashed a smile one more time before disappearing in a ripple of air, going to go clean up the hoard of gem apples now flooding his shop.

- - -

In response to Dart's curiosity, the cashier smirked, amused, and, not skipping a beat, answered Dart's questions with his own question.

"Well, does an irregular burger sound any good to you?" the man guffawed, "Could you imagine? Who'd wanna buy that?"

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Weevil Underwood

Gardevoir teleported away without accepting a card, but Kirian took both of them. Weevil gave the girl a smile, waving as she walked away. But the moment Kirin was out of view, Weevil's cheerful smile quickly changed a wicked grin. 1 out of 2, not bad.
"Kyehehe. What a chump." Weevil said. He looked to Rex. "This duel is going to be a piece of cake."

This is a tournament! You have to do whatever it takes to come out on top. It's how I've always played, and just because this isn't duel monsters doesn't mean I'll stop here!

Weevil placed another card into his deck, and began to head towards the archway.
"Come on!" Weevil snapped at Rex. He entered into the archway, standing across from Gardevoir and Kirin.

'What is your preferred map?' A voice spoke. Looking up, Weevil spotted a black device floating in the air. The origin of the voice. 'Each team must have their own consensus'.

They were to select their own battlefield? Things got even better and better. He knew the perfect place. Who would have thought the inside scoop he got for the Duelist Kingdom tournament would help him here too?

Weevil suddenly sighed, shaking his head sadly.
"Oh no. We have to choose a battlefield? But for us duelists, our battlefields are in simple card game arenas. Oh well, I guess I'll just choose one of those." Weevil said. He frowned, appearing to rub his chin nervously. "Hmmm. How about... the Duelist Kingdom's Forest Zone?"

These chumps won't know what hit them...


Jeice

Most of the names MODOK threw out, Jeice had no idea what he was talking about. But the floating head seemed to call them gods. Gods? No way. With a frown, Jeice used his scouter to read Minos and Pit's power levels.
"Well mate, if they're gods, then they're pretty pathetic gods." Jeice said. MODOK directed a plan, and Jeice simply shrugged.

"Doesn't matter to me, mate. Minos, Pit, I'll crush all who get in my way and show them the true might of the Ginyu Force! Whoaaa!" Jeice exclaimed, once again striking a pose.

The pair reached the archway, and Jeice looked across the Pit and Minos with a grin.
"Heh." Jeice said. "Right. A faceless guy, and a kid. I don't normally do this, but I'm in a merciful mood right now. So I'll give you two the option to forfeit the match, right 'ere, and right now."


Nótt

"Yes, let us." Nótt said. The Princess of Jötunheimr smiled at Ryuji, and the pair began to walk to the archway.

"Before we enter into battle, there is something I believe you should know." Nótt said. The massive eagle on her should began to preen itself as Nótt showed Ryuji her weapon. "My lance, Hrímfaxi."

"It is a powerful magical weapon. One of it's abilities, my people call 'Pathfinder'" Nótt explained. As she spoke, her lance glowed blue for a moment. "It is an ability that only truly works if I have allies fighting alongside me. Now that Hrímfaxi has identified you as an ally, you are able to use it's Pathfinder ability. It has a range of around 15 meters. As long as you are within those 15 meters, you may teleport to another space within 15 meters of me at a mere thought."

Nótt smiled down at Ryuji.
"I do not know if that works well with your fighting style, but the option is now there should you need it." Nótt said to Ryuji.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rex Raptor



"Kyehehe. What a chump." Weevil said. He looked to Rex. "This duel is going to be a piece of cake."

Rex couldn't help but belly out laughter. Man, it almost wasn't fair! I mean, it's kinda not, but still! Those girls didn't know just quite what they were getting themselves into. With REAL monsters on their side, they were nothing short of invincible!

"Come on!" Weevil commanded, as he went into the portal.

"I'm on it, I'm on it." Rex dismissed in kind.

Entering the Place at a similar time as their two foes, Rex put a hand on his hip, peering up at the computer thing above them. Deciding of maps? Weevil was choosing the forest zone? In most situations he would have protested. But considering what Weevil had just pulled, he was willing to overlook it for the sake of having a strong teammate.

"It don't matter. Eventually everything will be a wasteland in then end." He snorted, giving a side eye to the opposite team. "Wonder what puny map those two are picking."

 

[comic]

IRNANE​

It was an intriguing change-of-pace, of which she hadn't expected. Of course, she'd never been involved in tournaments before, she had no idea what to expect in the first place. It made her a little paranoid about any potential future twists the Master Hand had in store. Dracula, however, didn't seem at all surprised. She assumed he must have guessed this would happen, and if that were so, he had intentionally sought her out as a partner, opposed to an ally, something equally as surprising.

He gave his input on their opponents; "Nights" and "Sonic." Sonic was apparently very fast, not something Irnane was overly concerned with, she was quite quick herself, and had a variety of spells to slow any quick-moving target. Nights was aerial, as per Dracula's deduction. Irnane could play the ranged, airborne game as well. Still, she knew not to grow too overly confident. After all, Snake had been a seemingly normal man, and he had done a fair few surprising things in her trial. She had to assume any opponent she made would be just as slippery and just as tough, if not tougher.

A look at Sonic told her a few things: he was a bestial, of what rate she had no names for in her world. Blue in color, large quills came from his head and back. He had thin limbs, and wore only gloves and shoes. A bit of an inappropriate display, though perhaps his kind's rules didn't apply to the sentients of Nirn. Nights, on the other hand, seemed like a jester of sorts. Lanky and vibrant, she seemed chaotic and unpredictable, not unlike the other jester she'd seen here for the tournament. Confidence came off of both of them, and their lack of awkwardness of formality together was a clear indicator that they were friends outside of this tournament, which would make her and Dracula's job that much harder. They'd be going up against a pair already familiar with one another, putting Irnane and Vlad at a disadvantage.

She stopped analyzing them for the moment to instead watch as Dracula dispersed into a collection of bats, fluttering to the gate. Not something most vampires she knew of could do. She dispelled her emerging surprise and curiosity to instead follow her temporary ally for the gateway. The coming fight, she knew, would be a tough one.

Upon stepping into the white void that awaited them, a void like that of Azura spoke to them, requesting an arena to combat in. That was an interesting thing to give to the contestants... a chance to alter the battlefield to their advantage. By simply judging from Sonic and Nights, Irnane knew they'd be better off in a tighter environment, in order to give Nights and Sonic as little room to maneuver as possible. Somewhere preferably dark and hostile...

The perfect thing came to mind.

She turned her head to look at her towering ally. "How do you feel about battling in the heart of an active volcano?"
​

NEPH & KIRIN​

Co-Written w/ ArmedBlue​

A blank canvas was what awaited them on the other side of the gate. A world awaiting to be filled. A disembodied voice, not of telepathy, spoke all around them as Kirin, Rex, and Weevil appeared. It demanded a location to battle in, two of consensus from either team. Kirin had no input to give, asking the gardevoir to provide something "new."

Weevil and Rex, however, plotted up their own home-field advantage. Neph narrowed her eyes, before she glanced toward Kirin.

< The environment needs to be cramped, give them little room to move. Inorganic materials making up our surroundings would be best. Does anything of that nature come to mind? If it does: use it. I will consent to it. >

The gardevoir did think of a couple places from Hoenn, but nothing that was exclusive to her line of thinking. She'd heard Weevil's request. "Forest Zone" didn't leave much up to the imagination. She wanted to take away as much "forest" as possible.

Kirin thought about the request for a moment. A place both cramped and inorganic… most of the missions she’d been on had been on pretty open spaces, putting most options out of the question. One in particular stuck out to her, even if it brought some memories…

But she had to push for an advantage.

“Sumeragi Futures Institute of Technology,” she called out to the floating machine above them, a second green light lighting up. Both teams had made their choices.

Within moments, the white void was filled with swirling colors, the world around them taking shape…
​

DART​

An irregular burger? The red dragoon had no clue what a burger was, but "irregular" sounded way more exotic than "regular."

"Wow, yeah," Dart nodded his head. "It does sound pretty good! I'll have one irregular burger, please!"

He completely missed the Shopkeeper's points, as-per usual. Dart's stomach growled in anticipation as he awaited his mouth-water, irregular meal, still oblivious to the fact that he'd be teamed up with Warlock, and that the tournament had officially begun.​

 

[Fraseandchico]

Audrey
​

The Hero scoffed in response to Troy's warning to live up to her words, following the Kool Kats to the gate.
"Yeah, sure, same to you, loser." She told him, shaking her head as she arrived.

...

Then she was asked where she wanted to go for the fight, just like that previous tournament.
"The Dreamscape." Audrey answered the computer voice with little hesitation, not letting her allies answer before her nor explaining. She seemed to be forgetting the part about it being a consesus. "Heh, would like to see how our enemies deal with that weirdness." She laughed, as if it was obvious what the Dreamscape was.

Axe
​

Axe didn't hesitate in following Grazie to the gate, remaining as cheerful as he wanted to. He was slightly concerned at the appearance of a white void, and the voice asking for a stage - So it was just like the first. Of course, Grazie answered long before Axe could speak, mentioning something of a desert base. And crouching to be on his eye level to explain why, asking if it was okay. Axe was slightly annoyed at the crouching, reminding him just how short he could be, but shrugged.

"I mean, if it makes things easier for ya, it's not like it makes me worse. Not like the only place I know has that stuff...and I should get used to fighting outside that place, again!" He agreed, nodding his head.

Upon his agreeing, one of the red lights turned Green. He could already hear the crowd...

Masaru
​

"An obstacle?! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Masaru felt...well, disgusted by what Taskmaster said about that deer thing, shouting his thoughts out loud. It was disrespectful of the life he was about to fight, whatever this 'Shaymin' had lived throughout, and more. He scowled, having it in his mind to kick Taskmaster's mask in now, before trying to calm himself, remembering the rules against fighting in the lobby area and how it wasn't alive. He'd just hope he'd get a chance to do it some other time, teach this guy a lesson in respect...

"We're. Not. Killing." He scowled as he told Taskmaster that, glaring with his teeth gritting together. "We'll make them give up, that's all that's needed."

Still, he followed his vexing ally to the gate, dissatisfied with his current scenario (But feeling as though he had to work with it, else fail himself) as his eyes darted into the white void ahead - What one could mistake as beyond death, if just for a second before he remembered what was happening.
"Well, I've never been to New York, so this'll be new..." He decided to agree with Taskmaster's decision, the green light for their team alight as he looked up to the crowd. He could see many he didn't know, and some people he knew as his fellow martial artists. He could also, barely, see what appeared to be the deer-like - it was quite small - opponent in the sky, interacting with friends in the stands.

As if he needed to feel worse about this whole fight.

The Warlock
​

"O' Elders, grant me patience..." The Warlock grumbled as he watched Dart's idiocy (In his eyes, of course) in regards to his time, at the shop, stomping over in frustration with his supposed ally. He had it in his right mind, in all honesty, to teleport the Dragoon to the gates with him, but held off on it, reasoning that it would not allow for his teammate to be happy with his help.

"Ahem." He spoke to Dart from behind, growling. "Did you not hear the Hand? The tournament is starting, and we are to ally for this first round, human." He was half-expecting Dart to somehow not hear him, or disregard him with a want to eat. Humans tended to be foolish like that, just not usually in front of the Warlock (Well, that they knew).

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rex Raptor


It seemed to accept their commands, the A.I. glowing green before vanishing entirely. Around the contestants, the biome began to appear. It seemed to be constructed transparently, the objects and land seemingly like ghosts before they materialized.

They found themselves on a long stretching metal pathway, alloy poking up along it to form makeshift walls. However, many of the walls seemed cracked open, vines and brush overtaking several of them. The path itself had grass and moss overgrown across it, matching with the loose and dead wires that wove between the weeds.

It seemed they were in some kind of expansive lab...an old lab that was overtaken by nature that is. Where there would be a ceiling, there was instead a large open cavity, trees lining the background. But if one could squint, they would see towering skyscrapers blocking the dome like stage.

Suddenly, chunks of the stands began to vanish from the plaza, transporting around the stage, floating far off near the out of bounds segments of the map, pieces of crowd roaring that the first match was going to begin!

Rex Raptor & Weevil Underwood
Vs
Neph & Kirin


...Begin!


Having already activated his duel disk, Rex looked down at his newly drawn hand of cards snickering as his eyes darted to his foes.

"Don't mind if I start the stomping! Get out here, Sword Arm of Dragon!!"

Rex placed a monster on his duel disc, which crashed onto the field with a series of heavy foot stomps. With a screech of a roar, a dinosaur came to life before their eyes. It seemed very much like a stegosaurus, except it's tail appeared elongated and shaped like a spear, and it's face seemed vaguely dragon like.

"Sword Arm of Dragon! Gorge that Chick!" Ye commanded. "You say you can take on Dragons eh? How about one with it's own blade!"

"Reeeeeeeeeee!"

The Dino roared, charging forward before skidding, it's body drifting to the left as the spear tail swung out to stab Kirin in the chest.





Chai


"Hmmm...what was I doing again? Oh yeah! Map time! Has to be a good one, after all, it IS the first act. Lemme think..."

While Chai was thinking it over and 808 began to play with their tail. Chai's loud thoughts began to get noticeable as his 'Hmmm's' and 'Uhhh's' grew more frequent. Eventually, 808's Accents glee blue again as Peppermint took control, rolling their eyes.

"Vandelay Industries, Marketing Walkway."

"What? Huh?! Peppermiiiint!" The rockstar practically wailed.

"What? Wasn't like you were picking one. Heads up. Your foes should be arriving any second now."

 

[comic]

NEPH​

Unfortunately, there was more foliage than she'd been hoping for. Oh well, it wasn't as though she could find her own uses out of it. The first to move was Rex, the kid with the second-worst voice she'd ever heard shouting out this and that. She couldn't but roll her eyes when he started boasting. Noticing the trees sticking up around them, she cocked her head to the side, she used her telekinesis to sever a rather large branch's connection to its base, which sat directly over Rex, who seemed to engrossed as he sent out his... Pokémon? It wasn't a creature she'd ever seen, and he didn't use a ball, but instead a card. Some other kind of form of battling... But he was a trainer, nonetheless. The other would be as well. Unfortunate, she and Kirin alone would have to dispose of two entire teams.

The heavy and large tree branch feel for Rex, seemingly for no reason, but the Embrace Pokémon was quick to follow this Calm Mind, a film of light flashing from her, denoting her increase of Special Attack and Special Defense by a level. Since this was her "turn," that was the only move she could use, but it didn't stop her from simultaneously using telekinesis to try and tie Weevil's shoelaces together, leaving Kirin alone to deal with the dinosaur, outside of Neph's branch support against Rex.​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

This place was definitely a LOT more worn down than the last time she’d been here. Almost like centuries had passed since then. The opposing team’s map pick certainly took effect, but they’d successfully limited the fighting grounds to the somewhat cramped hallway. At least for now.

Rex was quick to move, summoning a strange dinosaur with a spear-like tail. It charged at her with a roar, Kirin sprinting forward to meet it head-on, conjuring a series of talismans in her left hand, sword in her right. With practiced precision and speed, she threw all of them in quick succession at the huge target, each talisman seemingly absorbed by the beast upon contact. A purple reticle would appear around the stegosaurus as it made to stab with its tail, Kirin stepping to the side to avoid it.

“Eat this!”

With a short hop and a swing of her weapon into the ground, three large blades suddenly burst from below Sword Arm of Dragon, aiming to stab into its more vulnerable belly. The attack would also unleash the concussive energy stored within the talismans, increasing the power of the blow!​

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Weevil Underwood

The battle had only just started, and instantly Weevil was on the run. So the field wasn't the one he had wanted it to be, no matter. Either way, he would make it work. The duelist activated his duel disk and drew his starting six card, glancing through them as he retreated back. The insector duelist slid behind a small pile of rubble. Or should he say, tripped, as somehow his shoelaces were tied together. He caught signs of some sort of energy vanishing from around his shoelaces. Really?!

"I summon Killer Needle!" Weevil exclaimed, placing a card onto his duel disk and kicking off his shoes. In a blast of light, a massive hornet appeared. "Killer Needle, show that creature your deadly sting!"

With a loud buzzing, the massive hornet flew towards Neph with it's stinger at the ready. The massive insect bore down on the Pokemon, attempting to gore it with it's massive stinger. Weevil then turned his attention to Kirin.

"Oh Kirin~! I have something else for you now!" Weevil called over to the Battle Priestess. Placing another card onto his duel disk, a green card appeared in the air next to the bug duelist. It depicted the same monster Weevil gave Kirin, Parasite Paracide.
"The spell card, Reckless Parasite! It calls forth a Parasite Paracide card lurking in my opponent's deck. And as I recall, you have one now! Kyahahaha!" Weevil laughed. In Kirin's pocket, the Parasite Paracide card began to glow. And in the same burst of light Rex's Sword Arm of Dragon appeared and Weevil's Killer Needle appeared, the disgusting insectoid form of the Parasite Paracide appeared next to Kirin. It was a small creature, a little over a foot wide, and floated in midair as it let out a screech.

"Kyahaha! Only a fool accepts a gift from an enemy! Now both you and your friend are infected!" Weevil exclaimed, pointing to Kirin. As he did so, he placed another card onto his Duel disk. A strange aura began to emanate off the Parasite Paracide, and would begin to transform Kirin and Neph into part bug!

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rex Raptor


SHINK!

Sword Arm of Dragon was gutted before hus very eyes! Thick blades of three stuck out from the ground, seemingly magically summoned by Kirin. Rex couldn't help but jump back in response. I knew she had a sword...but this?! She ain't no ordinary swordswoman!

As Sword Arm of Dragon disintegrated into a plume of shattered polygons, a shadow cast ominously over the Dino duelist. Looking up, he realized it was a tree, falling right down for him!

"Eek!"

Darting to the ground, he barley managed to escape the thump for he tree trunk as it fell upon hard steel. Taking a sigh of relief, he staggered to his feet. Normally, he'd be afraid this moment would be taken advantage of by his enemy, but it seems Weevil had begun his own attack, the perfect distraction! Drawing a card, he grinned in response to it.

"You thought that trick was pretty slick, did you? Now I'm gonna bring the pain! I actuvate the spell card; Double summon! It lets me bring out two of my dueling Dinos to play instead of one! Say hello to Uraby and Trakadon!"

Rex slapped the cards on the field, two monsters appearing, already sprinting down toward the enemy side of the field. They were of similar builds. One was a tall, 7 foot raptor that was brown with jet black stripes, topped off with a pair of red piercing eyes. The other was Trakadon, who was blue with yellow stripes, who appeared more nimble, yet slightly smaller than Uraby.

"That flower looking thing prolly messed with that tree! No puny plant power you can muster is ever gonna take out the Tyrannical Might of REX RAPTOR!!!"

Uraby stomped forward, mouth agape and Saliva dripping from its jaws, cutting the distance quickly to try and gnaw into the psychic Pokemon. Trakadon was a bit craftier, charging diaogonally before swerving in for a side attack, leaping into the air with it's hind talons ready to sink into Neph's skin.

 

[DevVoid]

Dracula
His brow raised at the suggestion of establishing this here fighting arena to mold into that of a volcano's core. An intriguing suggesting. While under normal circumstances, normal vampires would likely want to keep far away from fire, the King himself was an excelling tamer of the roaring flame. Really, turning the arena to a volcano would be a perfect fit.

" I agree to this - battling in the heart of such a monument would play perfectly into my hand. A volcano it shall be so. "

Minos
Despite the red-skinned man grabbing the Judge's attention for but a moment, Minos gave him no response in regards to his taunts. After all, taunts were for the disgraceful. True gladiators held high honour for not themselves but also their opponents, even if the opponent is.. less than capable of doing the same, so it seems. His hollow cranium turned back to the angel, nodding in agreement.

" Thy world it shall be. For the time I have been allowed to maintain my freedom, thy heavens would be any better place than the dreaded area of flesh I had been imprisoned in. "

 

[comic]

NEPH​

Weevil's first response was to summon what seemed to be some kind of giant Beedrill, which buzzed its way quickly toward her. The Pokémon had seen this simple strategy before, and understood immediately that she was being underestimated: Weevil had already called out Kirin's name, expecting his Beedrill to finish her off.

She was prepared to disappoint him.

Raising a palm, she summoned a barrier, which flashed almost like light screen in front of her, the Beedrill smashing through each thin psychic wall, but it slowed with each one, before she opened her palm all the way, constricting its wings to force it to drop to the ground before her, and she maintained her hold on the wings, before she caught on to what Weevil was saying.

That idiot Kirin had ruined them both by accepting those cards.

Or more accurately... Neph herself had ruined them by not shredding the cards immediately, as she'd originally planned to. It was a stupid mistake. Her trainer wouldn't have made it. She wasn't accustomed to making the calls, she'd always relied on him for that, and-

Neph refocused herself, pushing thoughts of her trainer aside, realizing she was starting to let up on the Beedrill's wings, before she realized she'd... what...? Were those mandibles? Her typing, too, had shifted. Psychic/Bug.

...

Yeah, she was gonna kill that little freak. Fainting be damned.

She closed her palm, using her telekinesis to sever the Beedrill's wings from its body, but before she could do much else, she realized Rex was targeting her as well.

She had the perfect move, though it wouldn't have an extra boost from STAB due to her loss of her fairy typing, but with the boost from Calm Mind, it would hit much harder than usual.

Using Dazzling Gleam, a flash of light shone from the gardevoir as she swiped her hand through the air, and a burst of glimmering energy slugged toward the Beedrill and the two new summons from Rex (why he was allowed to summon more than one Pokémon was beyond her), all while she simultaneously added a push from her own telekinesis, trying to nudge the quick-moving enemies into converging on the Beedrill, and landing their attacks on it instead.

Her mandibles clicked in anticipation.

Ew.

Gross.​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Kirin
​

Her Merciful Beheading was successful, defeating the first of the dinosaurs in a single blow, but it seemed Weevil was already making his own move, the Parasite Paracide in her pocket coming to life.

“Ew. Hey, what the—“

The disgusting creature released a sickly aura, Kirin taking a step back and dropping to a knee, feeling its effects wash over her. Within moments, her skin began turning a pale green, a bit of an exoskeleton forming on top of it. Her legs became segmented, causing her to stand a little awkwardly once she got back on her feet, and to top it all off, the horn-like attachments on her head had been replaced by actual antennae.

This was incredibly disgusting.

Kirin had to resist the urge to throw up as she looked herself over. She didn’t seem to actually take damage from that, but it was clear the card’s purpose was to disrupt her and Neph, as well as gross them out. And it was already succeeding at one of those.

But she had to focus. Rex and Weevil were already taking advantage of the distraction to attack Neph, three different monsters gunning for her. They had a fight to win, and she couldn’t let this transformation get to her.

The Battle Priestess was quick to fling a series of talismans in a spread at the Uraby and Trakadon, placing tags on them should they hit their mark. Should she be successful, Kirin would suddenly vanish, leaving an azure trail behind her as the distance between her and the dinos closed in a flash.

She would warp from one raptor to the next, slashing at each one in quick succession with her Arc Chain while Neph struck back with Dazzling Gleam, before Kirin came to a stop just above Uraby, right as the Pokémon’s attack ended. Should Neph’s attack not finish it off, Kirin would drive her blade into the dinosaur’s skull in an attempt to eliminate it.​

Pit
​

“Alrighty, Skyworld it is,” the angel replied with a nod, and one of the lights on the machine above lit up green. That settled their own choice. He then turned to face the duo’s opponents, furrowing his brow at Jeice’s words.

“What?! There’s no way we’d forfeit a match! I’ve never backed down from a fight, actually!” He exclaimed, clearly a little offended by the offer. Who did this guy think he was?​

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Rex Raptor


As the Dazzling gleam glimmered to reality, Uraby was struck by several of the sparkling projectiles, tumbling to the ground with a hiss, the fall in itself keeping it a lower profile from other incoming ones. While it was resting still, a tag set in before Kirin plummeted from above, skewering the Dino's head right in the center! The downed Dino cried out as it too shattered like the previous one.

Trakadon meanwhile wouldn't be so easily struck. Due to already being at the side of Gardevoir, it landed on the ground, strafing its body behind her, avoiding the field of vision that dazzling gleam was going down, avoiding a tag accidentally doing so. The evasive blue raptor pivoted, arching its neck down low before snipping at the small of gardevoir's back with his rows of teeth, hoping to snag a chunk of her flesh! All the while, Rex began to draw another card, looking at it with a fierce gaze.

 

[comic]

NEPH​

Kirin's aid helped in the conflict, but that tricky blue-colored Pokémon (or whatever it was) was quick to slip outside of Dazzling Gleam's band. Unfortunate, but not impossible to deal with. It was attempting to slink up behind her, but as its jaws came down-

The Embrace Pokémon had vanished.

Rex Raptor drew a new card, looking at it with intensity, as of yet unaware of the gardevoir standing behind. She twitched her wrist, using a nudge of telekinesis to try and make Rex's chosen card somehow "slip" out of his grasp and fall to the ground, only to mysteriously start drifting into the air by an unfelt "wind," attempting to lead Rex directly toward the quick-hitting Kirin.
​

M.O.D.O.K.​

"YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN HIS MERCY," the Man-Mind spoke after Pit. "IT WAS YOUR ONLY CHANCE, NOW YOU WILL NOT BE SPARED! BY THE WAY, JASON, OUR CHOSEN MAP IS MY PERSONAL A.I.M. RESEARCH LABORATORY!" M.O.D.O.K. cackled as though he'd said something hilarious, before he tapped on his arm rest, the screen disappearing, and the front of the chair's arms opening up to reveal two twin turrets on either side, charging with energy.

"WE WASTE TIME DAWDLING. LET US BEGIN THEIR ERADICATION!"​