Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

Farandare is about to retort something, but before she can, Ganondorf takes a sword through the chest, followed by the warning. As much as Farandare is loath to listen to someone else's commands and unwilling to miss whatever show is about to unfold, something about Ganondorf's flaring aura and the shadow of Calamity Ganon at his back, not to mention Ridley also opting to get the heck out of dodge, persuades her to change her mind. The icy onslaught ceases, and with a shout of    "WULD... NAH KEST!"    she takes off at the speed of the wind in the same direction Ridley went, gaining some good distance from the scene before crouching down and being lost from view among the buildings of NLA.

Edited by Arachnos on Feb 21st 2019 at 6:14:29 AM

Floating City

Standing in front of the entrance to the Dark Realm are the two people who had been observing the rest from inside the building, only a third has joined them now. Cloaked and hooded to remain incognito, they turn to each other.

"Alright, our preparations are complete. It's time to go find them."

"I just hope we'll be able to save them... I don't think I'd ever get over the guilt if..."

"We'll get to them, and we'll kick the butts of everyone in our way!", the new person says. The first one turns to the third, sighing.

"You really shouldn't be going in there with us..."

"You can't stop me. I have to save my darling~. Besides, I'm stronger than both of you combined, so stop whining and let's get going!"

Without giving the first person a chance to talk, the third one jumps into the entrance to the Dark Realm. Letting out another sigh, the first person jumps in after them.

The second holds their hands together, praying.

"Please... please let us succeed..."

They then, too, jump in.

The war of light and dark was raging all around him. Allies and enemies falling one after the other. In their midst floated a certain mechanical devil covered by shadow. It gathered thermal energy hot enough to melt the area around it before unleashing all its power in a single blast, wiping the world out completely...

Miles jolted awake, gasping and holding a hand to his heart. A glance around showed that the world was still here for the moment. He glanced to his sides to see the Sisters and Shyna sleeping beside him with their own blankets and sighed in relief.

The young man climbed out of the Zerobot Armor and stretched, glancing out at what was left of the world. He had no intentions of giving up...but the more he looked out at the current state of things, the harder it was to keep hope alive.

Floating City (presumably)

Thor and Loki are currently discussing amongst themselves nearby.

"Right, so I'll disguise myself as an unassuming minion, board Thanos' starship, set a few... contingencies in place, and leave with no one the wiser. And when it comes time for the Mad Titan's sudden but inevitable betrayal, I'll spring the trap. Oh, I do look forward to seeing the look on his face when he realizes too late that I wasn't blindly playing into his hands."

"That's quite a solid plan, Loki, but remember, this Thanos apparently possesses telepathic abilities capable of hearing between dimensions. What if he manages to hear your thoughts and catch onto your attempted sabotage? He isn't exactly the forgiving type, you know."

"Hmm... perhaps we ought to consider paying Cinke's laboratory a visit beforehand, then."

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Feb 21st 2019 at 5:58:00 AM

The sound of talking brought Miles back to reality. He glanced over to see a pair of familiar faces nearby. As he approached, he waved politely, "Thor! Loki! Nice to see you both in one piece!"

"Trying to figure out how to deal with Thanos, eh? Good idea...except for the mind reading part...I might have a couple ideas on that end though," He took a seat next to them, "From what I recall, Magneto had a special helmet that could block even Charles Xavier's telepathy though I'm not sure what kind of metal it was. Must've been something special though to block out telepathy..."

"My other idea is...well..." He glanced over at where Zero was still sleeping and sighed, "...My robot buddy over there...one of his abilities is to see a little bit into the future by simulating parallel universes and I seem to be able to use it to some degree...it's not perfect though as I get these phantom pains when it's used."

There's the sound of monstrous roaring and a devastating shockwave and explosion.

Ridley lands near Farandare, but when the sounds ring out, he flies up into the air to investigate.

He drops back down.    "Looks like we should probably run. Creepy lady, I'm with you for as long as it is in our mutual interest."   

Oblivia, The Yawning Giant

There's a big rocky cliff standing out in the middle of nowhere, overlooking the desert below. Nearby sits a great canyon.

The winds are blistering and the skies are moderately dark...

Edited by KiriK on Jul 1st 2019 at 7:55:38 AM

   "Guess the battle did not exactly go his way, did it..."    Farandare says, sighing.    "He should have trust me more. To think that, after all his talk of collaboration, he just decided to take them all on himself..."    she muses. A large rectangular portal opens in thin air.    "I'm going back to the castle to get some rest. I suppose you might as well come too... weird dragon,"    she replies, the epithet seeming to be her answer to his "creepy lady" insult.

—-

In Oblivia, a person is standing over the cliff and looking into the distance, their green cloak billowing in the wind. Curiously, the cloak seems to be "split" in two after a certain point, which makes it look a lot like the elytra of a beetle or a cockroach.

Halting their conversation at the sound of Miles' voice, Thor greets the boy with a wave while Loki merely settles for a nod.

"Indeed, we were, lad! Perhaps I could run this telepathy-blocking helmet idea by Cinke the next time we visit her laboratory. After all, despite her... oddities, she is quite an accomplished scientist."

"Simulating parallel universes to peak into the future, you say? I'd consider going with that method, were it not for the flaws you mentioned."

   "Touche."    Ridley stalks through the portal after her.

A blade presses against that person's back.

It's one half of a silvery bow. It and its other half are being held by one black-feathered, black-dressed angel.

"Hey."

Edited by KiriK on Feb 21st 2019 at 8:45:39 AM

"Well, if worse comes to worse, I'm willing to accept a little bit of pain if it means we finally get to be one step ahead of the Mad Titan," Miles shrugged, suppressing the unpleasant memory of what happened the last time he used Higher Order Prediction, "The other thing I'm worried about is that cube he has...the Cosmic Cube, I think? There doesn't seem to be a limit on what he can do with its power...either of you got ideas on that front?"

Loki strokes his chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Hmm... Perhaps distracting Thanos for a certain amount of time might keep the cube from fouling everything up. Knowing this realm, I wouldn't be surprised if outside forces caught his attention just long enough for me to set everything in place."

"In any case, should this plan actually succeed, we might just vanquish three major threats in one fell swoop. Or at the very least, ensuring that Thanos won't be wreaking nearly as much havoc as Galeem or Dharkon," Thor chimes in.

"Good, cause I get the feeling that once the battle with Galeem and Dharkon is over, he's gonna make his move so we're not gonna have a lot of time to act..." Miles shifted his feet nervously as he pondered whether he should bring up this kind of topic. Considering they might not get another chance like this to talk until the fighting was over, he figured he might as well.

"Hey, have...either of you had a dream lately of a...mechanical devil appearing in the midst of the war between light and dark and just...wiping them both out along with the rest of the world...?"

Thor looks at Miles as if he'd just uttered the most absurd statement imaginable, while Loki raises an eyebrow.

"No, I don't believe I've had any dreams regarding a... mechanical devil."

"...Not that I recall."

"Silly question, I know, but I figured I might as well ask..." Miles looked up at the darkness covering the Arena and then over to Zero, "That Robot over there...he's called Mazinger Zero. With him, the wielder has the potential to become either a god or devil. I got no doubt that I'm gonna need to use that power if I'm going to help end this madness, but..."

He shuddered, "I...I don't know if I can do that. I'm scared...scared of what I might become. I mean...twice I've turned down a chance at godhood and I had my reasons for them...but this time, I don't think I have an excuse. Besides, Zero told me that if I let fear consume me...everyone will pay the price."

"In case you weren't aware, lad, our little coalition consists of many powerful individuals," Loki points out. "Enough that you likely won't even need to use... whatever kind of power this strange machine offers."

"However, if you absolutely must accept this Mazinger Zero's offer... I doubt that becoming a monster will be among your worries," Thor assures, laying a hand on Miles' shoulder. "After all, you're a strong, wise, and noble young man, not some unrepentant sociopath who commits horrific atrocities for fun."

At the slightest contact, the cloaked silhouette whirls around, revealing itself to be a green-haired woman with shining blue eyes, although it would be quite easy to mistake her for a pretty boy, as she wears her hair fairly short and her chest is on the flatter side. Her choice of attire does not help matters either, as she is dressed in a green tuxedo with tails, which - when combined with the cape - gives her outfit a bit of a Tuxedo Mask flair. More distinctive, however, are the small antennae protruding from her hair, similar to those of a bug.

The angel boy will have very little time to take all this in. The woman's eyes flash with a sinister glow, and within fractions of a second, one of her hands seems to shift, as if composed of thousands of tiny particles that all arrange themselves into a serrated green blade similar to a praying mantis' claw going for his throat (although stopping just millimeters short of a killing blow if he fails to block or avoid).

Edited by Arachnos on Feb 21st 2019 at 11:31:11 AM

The dark angel dashes backwards, combining his blades into the Silver Bow. He readies an arrow formed from magical energy on the ethereal bow-string, holding the bow sideways as he paces away from the woman.

Hive

The green-haired woman looks at the angel with a smirk, hands folded over her chest in a confident posture, but her eyes are filled with sheer hatred and contempt.    "What are you doing here, little boy? Shouldn't you run home to your mommy in the sky before you accidentally hurt someone with that? Or worse, actually do something useful for a change?"    Her voice sounds off. It's a woman's voice, but it has a weird sound to it... simultaneously echoing as if countless people were speaking at once, and... buzzing?

Whatever the case may be, she rushes at Pit in a zigzagging motion, trying to throw his aim off, as both her hands "shift" into chitinous black claws with that same particle effect and she attempts to strike him with an X-shaped double slash.

Edited by Arachnos on Feb 3rd 2020 at 9:01:57 AM

The dark angel dispels his arrow and splits his bow back into two, clashing blades with the woman's claws. "Don't you dare compare me to that white-clad crybaby who plays errand boy to gods who do nothing but make their own world worse. They're not worth serving! I am Dark Pit, and I serve nobody but myself!"

With that, he attempts to kick her in the abdomen to break the clash, which should be hard enough to send her off the side of the cliff. If successful, he runs off the cliff edge, dives down after her, and starts shooting rapid-fire arrows of light green energy at her from above as they both fall.

Dark-Winged Doppelganger (Chapter 6: Dark Pit - Kid Icarus Uprising)

Edited by KiriK on Feb 3rd 2020 at 7:59:51 AM

The woman doesn't expect this and is struck cleanly. Dark Pit may note that hitting her makes a rather disgusting squishy sound, and her flesh does not seem as solid as a regular person's. Still, she is hurled off the cliff, falling fast, but seemingly completely unconcerned about it. Instead, she now sports a more genuine smile as the sheer scorn fades a little from her eyes and she starts nimbly taking evasive maneuvers to avoid the arrows. While she's still going nowhere but down, her movements are not those of someone who is new to the air.

   "Ah! How interesting! Someone else with a brain, you say! I was so tired of these mindless followers. Oh Savior this, oh Savior that... and that preacher, she makes me just..."    She makes a motion as if to retch.    "My name is Wriggle Nightbug,"    she says, somehow giving Dark Pit a bow in midair.    "Shall we play the danmaku game together? If you show me that you can put your blade where your mouth is, perhaps you and I could discuss this a little further..."    Without waiting on the angel's reply, she points her hand at him and fires a series of homing bolts of flame in the shape of fireflies that may prove difficult to shake off.

Edited by Arachnos on Feb 21st 2019 at 12:22:11 PM

eugh...

"Let's dance, bug-brain." Dark Pit pulls his limbs together until he hits terminal velocity, falling headfirst right past Wriggle before his wings spread out and light up with sparks of purple light, carrying him back up into the air above her like a parachute opening up.

He spreads his arms, holding the Silver Bow in one hand, and does a barrel roll, dispelling one of the firefly-bolts before getting scorched by the rest. "Urgh!"

He flies towards the canyon, facing Wriggle as he does so (thus flying backwards). He does not shoot at her, but he weaves through the air up, down, and sideways, so that if she follows, she will not be able to ram right into him.

A pair of translucent insect wings shoots out of Wriggle's back from under her cape as she starts pursuing Dark Pit, still grinning. He will note that her movements in the air are particularly nimble, seemingly completely mocking things such as inertia and momentum, flitting from one place to another in fractions of a second. Despite her human size, she flies almost like an insect.

She exploits this agility in the air to promptly turn her back to Dark Pit, her rear end emitting a blinding light and Sucking-In Lines.

   Firefly Sign [Comet On Earth]   

A huge blast of scorching light and fire magic is unleashed from Wriggle's butt towards Pit. If he dodges it, the ball will explode and release more of these firefly projectiles everywhere.

Edited by Arachnos on Feb 21st 2019 at 1:09:55 PM

Dark Pit tries to dodge the orb, but suffers for it by taking a number of fireflies to the back and wings. He responds by firing a charge shot from his bow. It's a very large and powerful arrow of energy that homes in on Wriggle with great accuracy.

He also slows down a little and lets the gap close between himself and her, splitting his Silver Bow into twin blades once more.

Wriggle attempts evasive maneuvers as before, but this time, the homing factor of this arrow blindsides her as it pierces straight through her shoulder, as in literally coming out on the other side. A bunch of tiny specks, fried by the plasma arrow, fall out of the wound right before it starts getting patched up by more small squirming bodies.    "Hmph. Not bad, for a kid."   

Seeing Pit move into closer range, Wriggle shapes both her hands into giant mantis claws and snaps them in the air with a resounding crack with such speed that the untrained eye would struggle to follow their movement. She's not yet close enough to actually hit Pit with them, so it seems to be more of a show of force than anything. Now whether Dark Pit will take it as a dissuasive tactic or a challenge... remains to be seen.

Edited by Arachnos on Feb 22nd 2019 at 3:49:02 PM

Dark Pit chuckles a little at seeing how Wriggle handles taking damage. Seems his initial taunt of "bug brain" may have been right on the nose all along.

He responds to the mantis-arm snap by reconnecting his blades. Not into a bow, however. Rather, into a double-edged weapon with blades pointing in opposite directions, like a dual-headed polearm. The dark angel then fully catches up to melee reach, spinning the Silver "Bow" between his fingers on one hand at Wriggle like a buzzsaw (Pit and Dark Pit's forward aerial in Super Smash Bros.).

This is the only image I could find of Dark Pit, not 'real' Pit, with his bow in that form. Sadly, one edge of it is clipping out of camera view, so it's a bit hard to tell.

Edited by KiriK on Feb 22nd 2019 at 7:33:38 AM