Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

Porky turns to look.

   "Ah, there's one of them. ... Neuff, I think. She's strong, so she might-"   

He then notices how pissed she looks and pauses.

   "... though she might need some time to herself."   , he mutters, looking hilariously afraid despite the fact that she can't hurt him. He turns to leave, then pauses a second time, seemingly in thought.

He then turns back to Neuff.

   "Hey, you!"   , he calls out, putting on his trademark grin, not wanting to show himself as scared.

She turns around, her frown vanishing into a neutral face. If anything, it makes her looks scarier because she looks so... neutral, absent, instead of active.

Yeah ? answers the Sister, oddly unemotional in tone.

She has lost track of the time she has spent looking for him. Has it been hours? Days? There are dark spots around her eyes that are not the result of any mascara, her wings are aching, her body feels heavy, and her fans are likely already starting riots on the streets, but she can't give up. Not yet... not ever.

As Mystia perches on one of the peaks surrounding Bloodpond Basin to have a look at her surroundings and rest her tired wings, her keen eyes spot a certain obese manchild. She has never met him before, but she's heard enough about him to recognize him from a glance: the infamous Porky Minch. Wait, isn't he normally found inside a spider machine? Mystia's eyes narrow. Something does not feel right.

The idea passes her mind to ask him about Psycho!Ness' whereabouts, but she knows enough about Porky to know that any kind of interaction with him opens one up for treachery and manipulation, therefore, she opts to observe for now.

Despite the fact that Porky keeps his grin, it's clear as day that he's nervous.

   "You... you, uh, know Loki and Thor, right?"   , he asks, sounding a lot less certain than a moment before.    "I, uh... I made a deal with them a little while back. Told them I'd help them find possessed people. And I just found... I found Ness..."   

He then looks more serious.

   "So I was wondering if you have a way of contacting them. I can't fight, and as much as I hate to admit it, those two might be able to deal with him."   

Nah. I will. she says. They'll probably show up. I'm not going to hold back too much but I won't brutalize Ness either. she says, twirling her hammer.

If it's a trap, I'll survive it and I'll find a way to hurt you. she declares, glaring.

As soon as Mystia vaguely overhears the words "found Ness", her reticence to deal with Porky goes right out of the window. She dives down from the peak towards Porky and Neuff, nearly crashing into the ground in her haste.

"Ness! You saw him! Where is he?"

Edited by Arachnos on Jan 17th 2019 at 12:57:58 PM

Noctilum

Thor◊ and Pietro◊ can be seen walking through the lush jungle of Noctilum, discussing amongst themselves. That is, until they reached Bloodpond Basin, where the two caught sight of Neuff's encounter with Porky.

"Wait... did he just mention Ness?"

"Unless I really need my hearing checked, yeah, he did."

With that, the god of thunder and the silver-haired speedster approach the Bloodpond Basin. Then Mystia happens, causing them both to nearly jump in surprise.

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Jan 17th 2019 at 10:03:14 AM

   "You? ... um, well, that works too, I think. I don't know exactly how strong you are, and Ness is annoyingly stubborn to deal with."   , he says. He then shakes his head.

   "A trap? I made a deal with those two and I intend to keep it. I want that Galeem out of the picture just as much as everyone else, so I'll only lose if I play dirty. I want to be turned back to normal too, and I don't care if I have to be one of the good guys to do it!"   

He jumps when Mystia makes her appearance, actually looking taken aback for once.

   "Whoa, what!? Who are... oh, wait, I know you."   , he says, grinning a little again. He turns around and points, and as such doesn't immediately notice Thor and Pietro.

   "Up there, in the Divine Roost. But I suggest you prepare yourself before rushing there."   

Edited by DevilPsyco on Jan 17th 2019 at 7:06:18 PM

... Fair. I'd do anything to kill Galeem too.

Neuff doesn't register everyone else's appearance and instead holds her hammer up, calling lightning down on it to charge the weapon, with it visibly glowing.

I won't kill him but I know better than to try and be dumb. she says, before seemingly preparing herself to jump over there.

"So you know what happened to him? And you know what awaits us there? What can we expect?" Mystia asks.

Noctilum

Defense turns around, hearing the thunder associated with Neuff's lightning.

Defense: "Did you hear that?"

Pinkamena:    "Let's go!"   

They dash over, coming to the Bloodpond Basin.

Edited by DefRevenge24601 on Jan 17th 2019 at 1:33:28 PM

"Oh, good, he's not halfway across the goddamn world."

"Come, the sooner we free Ness from Galeem or Dharkon's influence, the closer we get to resolving this bloody catastrophe."

Nodding, Pietro transforms into his Chaos Form, spreads his wings, and flies off towards the Divine Roost with Thor not too far behind.

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Jan 17th 2019 at 10:48:55 AM

   "You mean you don't know what happened yet? Did you live under a rock the past few weeks?"   , Porky asks.    "This Galeem attacked the Arena and turned a ton of people into either spirit beings, or puppets to be possessed by those same spirit beings. They only turn back to normal if you defeat them, at least the puppets do, because I'm still a Spirit! Everyone who wasn't hit by Galeem has been fighting to rescue people ever since. As for Ness, he's a puppet, and..."   

He clenches his teeth, his eyes shining red. If anyone had ever thought this was just some effect from within his mechs, that turned out to be wrong.

   "Galeem has to be doing this on purpose, because this... THIS is some sort of cruel joke! You'll see who his Spirit is when you're up there, and I can guarantee you that none of you will like it! It disgusts me that, out of everyone, Ness was paired up with that one!"   

He shakes his head.

   "Regardless, he won't be hard to find. He's sitting in one spot, but I don't know how long he'll stay there. You best hurry along now. As for me, I'm going to continue looking for more puppets. Never say that I don't uphold my end of the bargain... if I have something to gain from it too of course."   

He then sees Thor and Pietro fly in.

   "... well, you were right, it looks like."   , he says to Neuff.    "And as annoying as you heroes' tendency to always be where you're needed to be is in my opinion, it's helpful now. ... Good luck."   

Divine Roost

Pietro and Thor will arrive there to find the fields ravaged, stone debris from destroyed boulders laying around everywhere. Strangely though, they're all flat on certain sides, implying that they were actually cut into rather than blown up. The question is... what motive could anyone have to do that?

There's a dark, creepy atmosphere, not unlike something one would feel when walking in a cemetary during the dead of the night. Somewhere in these cold, dead ruins, Psycho!Ness waits to be found.

Instinctual Recreation

Neuff doesn't listen to him when he address her and just fly up, before slowly beginning to fall down towards the spot, looking utterly focused.

Noctilum

Pinkamena:    "Sans."   

Defense: "Gueige."

Pinkamena:    "No, the others already got him earlier."   

Defense: "Oh! Anyway, let's roll."

Defense picked up Pinkamena, placed her on his back, and flew after Pietro and Thor.

Pinkamena:    "WHEEEEEEEEEEE!"   

Defense lands, sliding a bit before losing his momentum. Pinkamena climbs off of him, brandishing a knife, only for a portal to open and her be pulled away by The Mask. The portal closes, leaving Defense alone.

Mask: "You're needed elsewhere!"

Defense: "Alone again. Amazing."

Edited by DefRevenge24601 on Jan 17th 2019 at 2:02:42 PM

Divine Roost

Yamoshi is sitting on one of the giant tree's branches, looking around.

He notices people arriving, but does not do anything to show himself, instead remaining where he is... and waiting for something to happen.

"You know, some of us have lives outside of this place alone," Mystia says, annoyed at Porky's comments. "Galeem... that explains why I heard that name so many times during my search... Galeem... Galeem." She says this name many times, as if committing it to memory. Her tone is cold enough that it might well be the first thing in the world to reach absolute zero. Porky will note that her eyes are shining yellow, the pupils contracting and darkening, now resembling the eyes of a bird of prey. "This has been... instructive. Thank you kindly for this information." Her words are as polite as ever, but her voice feels like it could cleave one's soul in twain. Porky might feel some relief that her hatred is not directed at him.

With a single flap of her wings, Mystia takes off like a rocket to catch up with Pietro and Thor.

   "Okay... this doesn't scream forboding and ominous."   

"Everybody remain on your guard. It appears that Ness has been embued with a considerably... violent spirit."

Thor and Pietro touch down upon the ruined Divine Roost, where they look around for any sign of Psycho!Ness.

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Jan 17th 2019 at 11:11:39 AM

Flashback, Primordia

Mac would smile, lighting a cigar with his flamethrower. He'd look to the group, putting the cigar in his mouth, and he'd say something rather odd...

"I'd Gladly come along and tell your scholars about my world usually, but... I'm not sure if I can trust you yet. This might be odd, but... Just to offset my worries, I need to test something... and it's not exactly pretty..."

Presently, NLA

The two Shulks would be sparring, the replica monado and monado 2 clashing... The Shulk using the monado 2 would have an advantage of raw power, but... even outside of what would usually be in visions, The Shulk using the replica monado would be predicting his foe's moves with ease... Dunban, Reyn, Sharla, Riki, and melia would be watching this duel, While Mumkhar's off with joker, the two talking about their pasts...

????

Nyarlathotep would observe galeem, studying the being...... Maybe this is the challenge they were looking for...

R!Ammy would be silently observing the sun from the rooftop of the tallest building in the city, while Ringabel, Tiz, the recently rescued Edea, And Agnes all discuss the current situation inside the lobby of the building. Richard would be right outside, leaning against the wall.

Edited by ReynTheLord on Jan 17th 2019 at 11:21:52 AM

Porky looks kinda intimidated right before Mystia leaves. Once she and everyone else are gone, he smirks nervously.

   "Am I glad I'll have my barrier back in the future..."   

He turns and starts to leave.

   "I'll leave this in their hands. In the meantime, I should check up on my commander. Now where could he be..."   

He takes a small device out of his pocket, presses some buttons, and turns to look.

   "Oblivia, huh?"   

He heads off.

After some looking around, they'll find something perculiar in the distance. Near the edge of the Divine Roost's cliff, they'll be able to see what appears to be a throne made out of stone.

In that throne sits Psycho!Ness, elbow on the right armrest and head leaning against his hand, a position a bored royal would often find themselves in. Though the expression on his face is far from bored. His mouth may be neutral, but his eyes, glowing with the purple shine that reveals he's under Dharkon's control, are in an unblinking stare, looking right at the nearby group from before they could've even noticed him, as if he'd already sensed them nearby.

There's no reaction from him at all. Unlike all the other puppets, who attacked the moment they saw anyone who's not a puppet, or a puppet from the opposing being, Psycho!Ness is just... looking at them, as if waiting for them to come closer. All this, along with the dark aura that surrounds him, makes him look more terrifying than he's ever been before.

Samsara is sitting in a bright room in the fort, flanked by Laurent and Lucina. Takumi and Xander sit at the opposite sides of the room, within pedestals, glaring at one another. Ryoma and Oboro stand behind Takumi, intense as well. Frederick and Miriel stand in Xander's side.

This is significantly one-sided. Those three are from Hoshido, whereas I alone hail from Nohr.

Three of you just means more lies, prince of Nohr. says Takumi. As for me, we will say the utter and complete truth to our Ylissian judges.

Oboro's face is locked in her "demon mode", whereas Ryoma is a bit more reasonable. Samsara leans back, arms folded.

We need to reach something of a compromise. You can't be deployed into large-scale battles if you can't at least trust one another.

With my brother and I around, the prince of Nohr will see no use in the battlefield : his presence would be superfluous.

Rightly said, Lord Takumi !

—

Neuff lands in front of Ness and doesn't attack, though she look close to.

Edited by Bolded1 on Jan 17th 2019 at 11:25:58 AM

Yamoshi grunts and closes his eyes, trying to simply feel out the bodies and actions of those present to observe.

Mystia's heart leaps with joy upon seeing Psycho!Ness again, but then sinks once she processes his posture and the eerie purple glow in his eyes. This position is so completely unlike him that she shudders slightly. There is no doubt that what Porky said was, for once, true - something alien has taken possession of her protege's body.

Her mouth opens to call out to him, but no sound comes out. Is it even a good idea to let the unknown entity controlling Ness know that she has a connection to its vessel? Or would it simply give her foe a source of weakness to exploit?

Once the duo catch sight of Psycho!Ness sitting upon his makeshift throne near the Divine Roost's cliff, Thor gestures for Neuff to stand down, lowering his voice so that their possessed foe couldn't overhear them.

"Neuff, do not attack just yet! We know nothing about this spirit that Dharkon's bonded to Ness, or what they're capable of..."

Pietro, meanwhile, raises an eyebrow in response to Psycho!Ness' odd behavior.

"Weird... Thor told me and Wanda that Galeem and Dharkon's puppets attack on sight, but Ness is just... quietly sitting there. And what the hell's up with that throne, did he get stuck with Mara's spirit?"

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Jan 17th 2019 at 12:01:14 PM

Even when Neuff is right in front of him, Psycho!Ness just stares. Though he suddenly grins and moves to sit up straight, doing both so fluently that it may startle them.

   "Visitors. That's a rare sight."   , he says, his tone of voice lower than usual, actually making him sound like he's years older than he currently is. His aura starts to manifest, forming into a creature behind him, one much bigger than Psycho!Ness himself. Almost twice as big in fact. And when the creature gets six arms, Pietro might curse himself for jinxing it.

For none other than Mara◊ manifests behind him. Psycho!Ness then stands up in his throne.

   "What makes you think you're welcome in my home, you brats?"