Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

Strange help with the digging up and witness the last of the battle, before nodding.

I cannot stay, for I have other matters to deal with. But I am grateful about helping you. Farewell.

Strange's cape flares and he... vanishes, without a sound or a trace.

Rathalos gets a nicked toe and recoils back. It spits an explosive fireball at the neanderthal, which has a chance to inflict Fireblight (effectively setting him on fire to leave burns that can't be healed away naturally) if it hits him.

Diablos bursts out of the ground, but the goat-boy leaps out of the way and promptly lashes at its head with his scarf.

Legiana swoops down and bites at Awkeff.

Odogaron dashes at the neanderthal and suddenly flips back, swinging its tail at him like an uppercut.

Once she's hauled Alt Demo and the statues back onto solid ground, Nyriss takes a moment to give the battlefield one final look, then flies off.

Thor quickly moves to Psycho!Ness' side, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, lad? How in the Nine Realms did you escape that machine's grasp?"

Luckily, he rolls out of the way in the nick of time; don't ask how he did that while holding a scythe. Some mundane burns inflict light damage on his back.

He pops back up with barely enough time to swing his weapon at the tail. It slams into him and knocks him away, but he is surprisingly sturdy. At least, it doesn't send blasting off or turn him into mush.

Alt.Demo, once up, takes a moment to rest, the statues now safely besides him, after which he starts dragging them over to Thor's location.

With Ninten freed as well, he and Claus, after saying goodbye to Dr Strange and Nyriss, slowly make their way over to Thor and Psycho!Ness.

Psycho!Ness looks up at Thor as he sits up, not yet standing up.

"I... I didn't. I... he had me at his mercy, and was about to finish me off. And then he..."

He looks at the direction in which Greyface had fled.

"... he didn't do it..."

The still hidden Porky Minch, looking surprised by what he'd seen himself, vanishes from the scene before he can be discovered.

Thor raises an eyebrow at Psycho!Ness's revelation.

"That... is incredibly bizarre. Perhaps his machine malfunctioned, or someone contacted him and ordered him back. At least, those are the only plausible explanations I can think of..."

"But his machine could still ram through that debris, and he appeared to be alone... I don't think that, if he worked for anyone, that they'd let him even perform this attack."

He looks down at the ground for a moment, shivering a bit, his eyes tearing up a little.

"Thor... do you think... maybe... Pokey... maybe he could... one day..."

Ninten and Claus stand besides him now, looking concerned.

"Are you suggesting that there's hope for him?", Claus eventually asks. Psycho!Ness slightly nods, now looking up at the rest.

"I know it sounds ridiculous... but he spared me..."

Ninten and Claus don't really know what to say or think about this.

"I... am honestly not sure what to say," Thor replies.

Rathalos lands on the ground and charges to bite at the goat-boy.

Diablos doesn't seem to notice the scarf strike (even if it hit harder than a scarf should). Being a sound-based seeker, it turns its attention towards Awkeff since she's making the most noise so far.

Legiana flaps its wings at Awkeff, sending a wave of ice particles at her.

Odogaron starts advancing on the neanderthal.

The goat stumbles back, falls on his rear, and gets smacked away by the Rathalos' stampede.

Awkeff dodge-rolls out of the way of the bite, coming up next to the neanderthal. "Name's Awkeff. Don't have a lot of time to talk. Mid... Vur Shaan!"

A white glow encases the scythe, imbuing him with the ability to swing it faster than before.

"Quick summary: That's a temporary enchantment that'll make your weapon faster. You have three minutes to go nuts. I say attack the one with the horns; its burrowing could be troublesome."

The goat raises a furry hand from underneath his cloak. "I can heal anyone if they need it!"

Edited by KiriK on Nov 18th 2018 at 7:02:55 AM

He grunts.

"Call me Faery-Killer."

"Hm, fighting side by side with a true caster might be an unprecedented advantage... though I don't know if it'll be more efficient than Pescin's elixirs or crystal weapons."

"I believe I will go after the one currently engaging me."

Faery-Killer advances quicker; he glances at his discarded coat making sure no harm has come to it nor its contents.

Psycho!Ness goes silent, looking like he's an emotional mess, not sure what to do or think. Ninten sighs and puts his hand on Psycho!Ness' shoulder.

"Well, whatever happens, I'm sure it'll all turn out alright in the end."

Psycho!Ness only slightly reacts to that, so Ninten suddenly grins evilly at him.

"Nesley."

Psycho!Ness seems to snap out of it, getting back up with an angry, embarrassed glare.

"You-"

"What? You thought I wouldn't have heard Pokey's loud voice because I was recovering from Brainshock?", Ninten asks, smiling trollishly at him.

"Sto-"

"I kinda like that name. Imma call you Nesley from now 'till forever!"

"Oh no you don't!"

Psycho!Ness and Ninten, now both glaring, look each other dead in the eye, sparks flying between them. Literally in this case, as it's their PSI manifesting. The fact that this is happening also means that their PSI is slowly returning.

Claus rubs the back of his head and sighs.

"These two have arguments like this one all the time.", he says to Thor. He then smiles a little.

"Though this is the first time Ninten started one with the intention to help though. It got Ness back to his normal self in record speed."

He then notices something as he glances around.

"Um... Thor? Have... have you seen Lucas anywhere?"

Edited by DevilPsyco on Nov 18th 2018 at 2:11:02 PM

Thor sighs at Ninten and Psycho!Ness's arguement, but ultimately decides that it was issues to be tackled later. He then looks to Claus before glancing at the area.

"I... thought he would have rejoined you by now, Claus."

Awkeff sheathes her Nightingale Blade and draws her volcanic-looking greatsword from her back. "Fine. I'll deal with the rest."

The goat looks over at her. "Um, Miss Awkeff? What is that?"

"I call it the Infinity Sword. Don't try to protect me from the fire-breather. You'll see why." She rushes at Diablos.

Rathalos spits a fireball at each of the combatants.

Diablos scratches the ground with one foot, rearing up for a bull charge of its own.

Legiana swirls around in the air and flaps its wings at the neanderthal, blasting a wave of frost at him. If he gets hit, he will be inflicted with Iceblight, forcing him to exert himself more for stamina-draining motions, and thus making them tire him out faster.

Odogaron, meanwhile, simply rears up before biting down at him.

He cringes as the iceblight takes hold... however, as a neanderthal who is adapted for the cold, not to mention a very fit ancient warrior, he has stamina to spare. For now, at least.

He leaps to the right as Odogaron bites down on his position, attempting to get him to get hit by its own ally's attack.

"Huh? N-no, I haven't seen him at all!", Claus says, looking worried, which causes Ninten and Psycho!Ness to stop arguing. They turn to Alt.Demo, who shrugs.

   "Haven't seen him. He didn't fall off, that's for sure. I'm heavier than some kid, so he'd have been above me if he fell, and when I woke up, that's where I was looking at."   

Claus, becoming increasingly worried, starts to head over to piles of debris rapidly, despite his pain, tossing the rocks aside in the hopes of finding Lucas.

"Lucas? Lucas!? Where are you!?"

Ninten and Psycho!Ness look at each other, the former grabbing his phone.

"I'm gonna call Pseudo and have him send the Vahki over. They'll be able to go through all this debris in no time."

As he starts calling, Claus keeps digging through debris regardless, completely panicked.

Greyface, back in Porky's old lab, sits on a chair with his hands on his forehead and in his hair. Porky enters the lab.

   "You didn't go through with it."   

"..."

   "The Arena would've revived him."   

"... I know...", Greyface mutters.

   "... Well then?"   

"I... l-look, I won, alright! I won. That's... that's enough. I won.", he keeps saying, clearly as an excuse.

   "... Hm. Sure."   , Porky coldly says to his younger self.    "Well, if you're not going to go after him anymore, I'll be going back to my actual business here, before the Great Light decides I've been too inactive and sends me back to the Nothingness."   

He starts to leave again, but then pauses when Greyface speaks up.

"I thought you couldn't fight."

He turns back around.

   "I can't. The protective aura works both ways."   

"... You were able to throw those bombs because I gave them to you, so you could just pick them up. But that building collapsing... I didn't give you anything to let you do that."

Porky grins.

   "Listen. I cannot harm people, and people cannot harm me. That's how it is."   

After that, he leaves, leaving Greyface on his own as he understands what Porky's trying to say. After that though, other, intrusive thoughts return to him.

He just sighs.

Edited by DevilPsyco on Nov 18th 2018 at 2:35:27 PM

Thor approaches Claus before laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm yourself, Claus! You're wounded and I'm certain that Lucas couldn't have gotten far!"

He proceeds to move several large chunks of rubble aside in an attempt to find Lucas.

(CLOMP CLOMP CLOMP)

(From right behind Diablos comes the vigorous, hurried stomping of someone in heavy armor.)

YOU, UGLY BEAST, WELCOME TO DIE!

(it's STADRICK◊, and he's swinging his big ol' Kirby star-flail right at that dragon's butt.)

He turns to Thor.

"B-but-"

Having made his call, Ninten now puts his hand on Claus' shoulder, making him sigh and stay put, as much trouble as he has with doing so.

A little bit later, Vahki◊ start appearing and pushing away rocks, having been given specific orders to not start digging through them, as they could potentially hit Lucas with their blades that way.

Beat

About 10 minutes later, the Vahki return, having searched the city. One of them stands up on two legs and shakes its head.

"Y-you mean you couldn't... find him?", Claus asks, looking even more distraught, especially when the Vahki confirms it with a nod. Lucas is no longer in the city.

But then where is he?

Both Ninten and Psycho!Ness immediately try to comfort Claus.

"L-look, let's go back to the base. We'll tell Pseudo, and he'll have the Arena searched by his cameras. And we can help too. And our outside friends. We'll get Kumatora and Duster on too. I've met them, like, once, but I just know that they care for Lucas too."

Claus is completely silent, looking like, if he'd talk, he'd start freaking out. As such, he just weakly nods.

"We'll take those guys with us too.", Ninten says, gesturing to the statues. "Surely Pseudo will know what to do about Diamondization."

   "Fine by me."   , Alt.Demo says as he starts to walk away. He stops after a few steps and glances back at the group.

   "... well... good luck with finding your friend. I suppose... if I see him, I could... let someone know."   

After that, he's off.

Awkeff raises the Infinity Sword above her head as she steps towards the Diablos, then she slams the sword down, creating an explosion of flame in a small area around herself. She gets hit by Rathalos' fireball, but her sword seems to absorb most of the heat.

Flame Charge: 4/10

"B-by the way, my name's Ralsei! It's a pleasure to meet you all!" The goat jumps away from the fireball aimed at him, then lashes his scarf, which seems to have also been enchanted by the power of Awkeff's Battle Fury shout, at Legiana from below.

Awkeff speaks back to Ralsei. Her voice has become tinged with a faint reverb effect. "You're so cute and innocent it's distracting me."

Rathalos spits a single fireball into the center of the battlefield. This one does the Smash Bros. thing of exploding into a wide Sphere of Destruction on impact instead of making a realistic explosion. Everyone is at risk of being within the radius.

Diablos rears back, startled and more damaged than it expected to be by the Infinity Sword - and caught off-guard by Stadrick's sudden attack. It promptly swings its head at Awkeff, in the same motion pivoting its body in such a way that its tail comes swinging at Stadrick like a club.

Legiana isn't being too careful and gets its foot caught by Ralsei's scarf, resulting in it being hit by Rathalos' fireball, knocking it out of the sky.

Odogaron doesn't get directly hit by Legiana's attack, but it is left standing in the ice particles briefly left behind on the ground, causing it to get inflicted with Iceblight. It promptly bounds away from the exploding fireball before swiping a claw at Faery-Killer, potentially leaving a nasty cut on him that will slowly continue to damage him through bleeding unless he stands perfectly still.

Edited by KiriK on Nov 18th 2018 at 8:00:12 AM

AHAHA—HWARGH—!

(Got a lil' too cocky there, Stadrick, RIP. He's bowled over by the tail, but he manages to do a decent tuck'n roll so he's not bruised up too much.)

(Being the rude lizard he is, he also gives his flail a rough swing and hurls a star at Diablos' face.)

After nodding farewell to Alt Demo, Thor looks to Claus and the boys.

"Worry not, I'll have Heimdall keep watch for any sign of Lucas. The moment he spots him, I'll contact you as soon as possible."

He gawks at Stadrick, but forces his eyes away for now. The Faery-Killer manages to twist in just in time to just get nicked by the slash, causing him to bleed normally but not quite enough to cause the effect. He mourns his shirt, though.

Faery-Killer then runs like hell from the blast radius, picking up a rock to throw back at the nearest dragon as he dashes for his coat.

Claus looks up at Thor, nodding silently to him as well and trying to show a grateful smile, but he can't bring himself to stop looking worried.

"Thanks, Thor.", Ninten says as well. "We'll see you soon."

A little bit later, the boys and the Vahki are warped back to Pseudo's base.

NLA

In a hidden hideout, the unconscious Lucas is put down on a bed. The person who took him snaps his fingers, causing the bandits to appear.

"Get some bandages and medicine for this kid.", he tells them.

"Y-yes, sir.", one of them says, hurrying off to get what was asked of him.

"And you, some lightly digestible food for when he wakes up, and a glass of water.", he tells another one, and they immediately obey.

"And get some stuff so that he can take a bath later. We don't have any spare clothes, but he may want to wash himself."

And another one is off.

"And the rest of you, out of the room. I'm sure he won't appreciate being crowded the moment he opens his eyes."

The rest starts to leave, save for one, the bandit leader.

"Where did you find a kid this badly wounded? I think he might have a broken leg."

"There was a big fight going on in that flying city and everyone got blown all over the place by an explosion.", he says. "Out of all of them, he was the closest to me, so I took him."

"But if he was in a fight in this place, he might be stronger than he looks."

"Yeah, I'm sensing he has powers. But we don't need to worry about those."

"Are you sure? If he's healthy again, he might try to escape."

"He won't succeed, not until we've gotten some good money for him. Besides..."

He grins.

"Ken Tahn never lets a hostage escape."

Awkeff stands calmly in the middle of the inferno.

Ralsei runs out of the blast radius. "Miss Awkeff!"

When the energy dissipates, the High Elf is still standing, and the Infinity Sword's glow has intensified, emitting a bassy volcanic rumble in her hands.

   "Thanks, you stupid weird dragon."   

Flame Charge FULL

   "Hey, everyone! Watch this!"    Awkeff steps sideways and does a whirling horizontal slash at the air with the Infinity Sword, and from it erupts a crescent wave of fire that goes careening towards Diablos. The fire blast will explode violently on contact with anything.

Rathalos takes flight again, this time swooping down in an attempt to snatch up Stadrick with its talons and fling him into the ground.

Diablos' left horn gets broken off and it falls on its side.

Legiana picks itself up, only to get hit in the face by Faery-Killer's rock. It promptly comes stomping towards him and sweeps its tail in a circle to try and knock him over, scattering more ice particles that can also prolong the effects of Iceblight if they touch him.

Odogaron's movements are slowing from overexertion due to its own Iceblight affliction. It shrieks before lunging at Ralsei in an attempt to pounce on him.

Thor bids farewell to Claus and co., then departs from the premises via the Bifrost.