Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

The Snow Queen gasps as Lucina slices through her, spraying ice-blue blood. She collapses, falling toward the floor.

"Well... done..." As she hits the floor, she disperses into a cloud of snow.

All around the room, the various victims of the Snow Queen suddenly thaw out. The reactions are mixed - some are ecstatic, others are shell-shocked and crying, others still are just completely catatonic. One of them, a familiar-looking Japanese thug with an eyepatch, claps his hands in applause of Lucina.

And of course, Laurent is freed from his prison. Wisps of smoke - hot to the touch, carrying the spark of life - fly from the spot where the Snow Queen disappeared and enter his ears, returning his personality and memories.

Edited by KiriK on Oct 12th 2019 at 3:44:40 AM

Laurent's memories and personality return to him and he stumble forward in shock.

Surprised at what transpired, but perceiving a hapless Lucina, he's quick to join and hoist her up.

L-Lucina ? Wh... what's going on ? W-who did this to you ?

He reaches into his pocket and pull out an elixir, Lucina, meanwhile, smiles at the air, answering Goro's clapping with a wink, of all things.

I don't know... I... fought a queen to free you and these persons... It was pretty painful but... worth it.

She drinks the elixir, but even it can't quite undo all the damage. Still, the princess raises upward a little to kiss him on the lips, slightly, and then fall back, though he catch her on time.

Laurent stares at her, incredulous, but then smiles and pick her up, attempting to walk out of the castle with her. He struggles a bit more than he lets on, since he's not much of a physical fighter and she has a sword, some armor, and items, but he doesn't let it ruin the moment.

I trust that you will tell me more about this on the way back ?

She smiles in answer.

"Alright, everyone, let's get ready to blow this joint!"

Surprisingly, Majima takes charge of the situation with the other freed prisoners, corralling them in an orderly fashion, ready to lead them to safety.

—

Outside, the snow guardians stop fighting and step away from the entrance, then dissolve into errant snow bees.

The other Sheperds get ready to enter as soon as they see that the guards are gone, but then, Laurent and Lucina come out !

Aw, that's cute !

Laurent ! Lucina ! What happened ?!

Oh ! Lucina's hurt !

The three women approach the duo, but Lucina bother to wave at them a little, though she's too weakened to really do anything more.

I do believe that I am in need of a recapitulation of the events.

I'll tell everything on the way...

The two smile at one another, and Samsara claps, seemingly fond of seeing them in love.

Like back in the old days !

...

Gregor, Gangrel and Takumi are back at the card game. Takumi wouldn't play again usually, but he had a revenge to take against them.

You know ? Kitten right. Gregor can feel that things are much better somewhere far without knowing why !

Well, I know that things are going much better somewhere near, and I know why ! says Takumi, smugly showing his advantageous cards. Gangrel, meanwhile, has a much weaker set, to his regret !

Drat !

Hahaha ! Is good, ri-oh Gregor cards still bad.

Observing the game, Kitten says, "Heh... you know, I think you're right."

FIN

Reprium

On the edge of the jungle, Jessie, James and Meowth are discussing plans as Wobbuffet oversees the training of the Cubone and Houndour they saved.

"We haven't had a lot of luck finding their base so far.", Jessie sighs, leaning against a tree.

"And we've looked through a lot of places already.", James says, arms crossed.

"Unless they're underground or underwater, I dunno what place we coulda missed.", Meowth says.

Edited by DevilPsyco on Oct 12th 2019 at 12:20:59 PM

Reprium

Cubone's skull-helmet is beginning to harden, as if it's close to evolving into a Marowak.

Similarly, Houndour has gotten larger and stronger.

The search for the GO Rocket base is looking pretty fruitless.

Bleak Falls Barrow

Fu pops into existence by the ancient Nordic tomb, on the lookout for someone.

"Wobbu! Wobbu!", Wobbuffet alerts the others, getting their attention and getting them to walk over to the Pokemon.

"Oh? What's happening?"

"Looks like they're close to evolvin'!"

"Oh, that's great!"

An interdimensional portal opens up near Fu, and Officer 'Ken' walks out of it. Surprisingly, he's on the phone.

"-so anyway, I gotta go now. I just arrived and I gotta stay alert. Yeah, I'll try not to be gone too long. See you, love you~"

He turns the phone off and puts it in his pocket, then turns his head to notice Fu, and he looks red as a beet from embarrassment, just knowing he's going to get teased because of this.

"... I... uh... thought I would appear a little further away.", he mutters.

As if on cue, Houndour lunges to bite Cubone, and mid-attack it transforms into a Houndoom, mouth filled with flame. Cubone catches the attack with its bone, which is set aflame itself as it becomes an Alolan Marowak!

Marowak shoves Houndoom back and the two cease their spar.

"My lips are sealed," Fu says with a chuckle.

"Anyway, Dabura wants to make bad things happen again. The targeted point in the past involved the Assassins, so I felt I should contact you and maybe... get some advice?"

The four of them look surprised when they see the Alolan Marowak.

"Whoa, wait, what..."

"Oh! It's a Marowak that originated from Alola!"

"Now that I didn't exp-"

Suddenly, Mimikyu◊ emerges from its Luxury Ball, to their added surprise.

"Mimikyu?", Jessie asks as Mimikyu approaches Alolan Marowak. "What are you doing?"

"Alolan Marowak are Ghost types, so maybe Mimikyu is interested."

"That could make sense. They're from the same region as well."

Despite Fu saying that, the chuckle makes him feel like this may not the end of when it's between the two of them, so he still looks slightly embarrassed.

This fades instantly upon hearing the news, replaced with a fearful expression.

"The Assassins? Fuck, no no no no, that's not good at all!", he says, pacing back and forth. "Please tell me Dabura doesn't actually know what they're planning. That he doesn't know about the risk it'd pose if they found one of their moves impeded because of a time traveler. Craaaaaaapppp... if Mara, of all people, finds out about that, things could get seriously bad. She is absolutely against time traveling of any kind, I can totally see her getting involved in this..."

He then looks right back at Fu, his expression desperately hopeful. With an emphasis on desperate.

"Look, I know you're not on good terms with Dabura, but is there some way, any way, you could somehow convince him not to meddle with an event involving the Assassins?"

Marowak twirls its bone club, making a fiery display.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Settle down now. First of all, it'll only create a pocket timeline, not change the events of this timeline! Second, no, I'm positive Dabura doesn't know a thing about them. He just thinks they're a fellow villain he can exploit, like, uhhhh... Zamasu!"

Fu holds up one finger. "To be honest, he just wanted to do something Assassin-related. He had his eyes on a much more important event. I convinced him to make it something with minimal involvement from the Assassins, but..."

He pulls open a time rift, through which the battle against Galacta Knight can be viewed.

Mimikyu tilts its head and taps the ground a few times with its wooden tail.

"Meowth, what's it doing?"

"I dunno..."

"Let's just hope it's nothing bad."

"Well, it hasn't even hissed at Marowak yet, so I guess it can't be too bad."

"Wobbu!", Wobbuffet says, motioning to a returning drone.

"Oh, it came back."

"Look if it found something, I'll keep an eye on Mimikyu."

James nods and goes over to it. Meanwhile, Mimikyu is making a twirling motion with its tail, then gesturing a throwing one while making its tail glow with ghostly energy.

... maybe it wants to see a certain attack.

"I really hope the rest of that pocket timeline goes the same as mine did then. I'm not sure how much you know of what's going to transpire here, but I can say that this isn't something to play around with.", he says, trying to calm down a little. He then looks at the start of the fight.

"Dark Meta Knight leaves? Then... wait, they're not directly involved with the fight. Oh, thank god!", he says, sighing deeply in relief. "They probably won't care about Dabura then unless he seeks them out."

He then ponders.

"Still, what good would it do for Dabura to give Galacta Knight a little bit more power? I'm fairly certain that the people gathered there would be able to deal with it."

The fires on the ends of Marowak's bone turn purple and it hurls the club, which becomes translucent, unleashing spiritual energy on impact with a nearby standing object before returning to its hand.

Fu scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, uh... his plan was to alter history so that Dark Meta Knight stays and fights. Don't worry! I have a plan of my own to discourage him from going through with that."

Edited by KiriK on Oct 12th 2019 at 6:16:13 AM

Meowth, Jessie and Wobbuffet look impressed. Mimikyu, meanwhile, is as unreadable as it always is when it's not angry.

It then nods, turns around and starts walking away. The three look at it walk past them.

"... what was that all about?"

"I have no idea."

"Wobbu..."

"I hope that works, otherwise who knows what could-"

Beat

Officer 'Ken' then looks at Fu as if he's doing something suspicious, but doesn't say anything yet.

The drone shows footage of the Markarth battle, then some seemingly-aimless wandering before coming across... a hotel.

A hotel, which currently sits at the outskirts of Whiterun.

And which, unbeknownst to anyone observing it or currently living in it, is broadcasting radio signals at this very moment...

Fu gives the officer a quizzical look. "Uhhh..."

Then it hits him. "Okay, that's on you for not figuring it out sooner. Even so, most of the time history gets set back on its intended course no matter whose plan it is. That's just the way things are."

Edited by KiriK on Oct 12th 2019 at 6:27:19 AM

"Ooh, come listen to this. It may be important.", James calls out. Jessie and Meowth head over to him, while Wobbuffet sticks with Marowak and Houndoom, while Mimikyu stops walking and turns its head to the Trio, hoping that they've finally found a lead so that it can go get back at those grunts that dared defeat it.

Just because they're not Pikachu doesn't mean Mimikyu wouldn't hold a grudge after all.

"On me for... how the hell am I supposed to figure that out if you didn't tell me!? I didn't think you were directly involved!", he says, holding the bridge of his nose in exasperation. Then he looks like he's uncertain if he wants to hear the answer to his next question. Yet, he asks it anyway.

"And 'most of the time'? Alright, sure, sure, and what happens to the ones that stay altered?"

Ami is lounging around in the hotel.

"Hah...!"

What a great day! ... Nothing's happened, but, uh, isn't that also a good thing?

Houndoom peers over as well.

Erma pops out of the floor next to Ami and silently raises a hand. Hiya!

Then a noise outside catches her attention. She holds up a shushing finger before peeking out the door... and seeing a huge portal in the sky.

Hotel Basement

"Boss, we're currently broadcasting at the correct frequency for dimensional bridging."

"Good. Those meddlers won't see our trap coming."

"Hold on. We're getting an... anomalous response. You're not sending the mirror frequency yet, are you?"

"No, why?"

"Something else just opened a rift on our signal."

Sigh... "Cease transmissions until the anomaly is identified and neutralized."

"Sorry, I just thought I was hinting at it pretty strongly!"

"As for that, I absorb the temporal energy from the distortion's resulting butterfly effect, causing the changes to undo themselves and the created timeline to merge back into this one with no effect on it. The greater the distortion, the more energy there is to absorb, but it all goes back to zero at the end."

Edited by KiriK on Oct 12th 2019 at 6:43:50 AM

The trio looks confused.

"Dimensional bridging?"

They then jump when Mimikyu hisses wildly, looking and sounding pissed and hopping up and down furiously. Naturally, the others look terrified at that sudden reaction.

"M-M-Meowth! What's it saying!?"

"I-I can only understand half of it! Um... um..."

"Hurry up before it takes its anger out on us!"

"It's saying that... oh... OH!"

Now Meowth looks pretty annoyed as well.

"... so what was it?", James asks, now thoroughly confused.

"Mimikyu says that their base is likely not in the Arena and that they're just using this place to test the Shadow Pokemon."

James blinks, and then shrieks when Jessie erupts in fury as well.

"Are you saying we've been searching this super dangerous world for weeks on end FOR NO REASON AT ALL!?"

Then James loses his composure as well, though, of course, not to the degree of Jessie and Mimikyu.

"Those fake Rockets were probably laughing at our efforts whenever they saw us too!"

"WOBBU!", Wobbuffet says, equally angry. Jessie then starts setting up their communicator.

"What are you doing?"

"Contacting the boss. We need Hoopa here pronto!"

"Maybe we shouldn't contact the boss while we're still angry. What if we get snappy by accident?"

Jessie stops upon hearing that, sighs and turns to the others.

"Take a moment to calm down. And THEN we're calling the boss!"

"You can't expect me to catch all that with everything I have on my mind. I have ongoing cases at home even when I'm here, y'know.", , he says, sighing again. He then comes closer to Fu, eyes still narrowed.

"And there is absolutely no way there can be any permanent changes from this? You're 100% sure on that? What about people who die when they're not supposed to?"

He then looks worried.

"Oh fuck... the Assassins curse. Galacta Knight didn't kill anyone back then, but if he does now, the Arena won't revive them. What if he kills Thor? We NEED Thor to stay alive! If Thor dies, Claus might never get over his fear and bitterness of himself! W-without Thor- w... with-without-..."

He stops talking, breathing and heaving heavily as he's actually on the verge of an asthma attack from pure panic. Which may surprise, maybe even shock Fu, if he didn't expect such an intense reaction from him. Nevertheless, he's fast enough to grab his inhaler and start puffing air into his lungs, slowly calming down again.

Ami pouts at not getting a chance to respond to the greeting, but follows Erma's... oh, what's that?

"Huh!"

It looks kinda weird. Maybe it's aliens?

The portal crackles and fizzles before ejecting something out of it.

Something... man-shaped.

Ah shit, it's a T-800.◊

Erma looks at him with worry.

Fu adjusts his spectacles.

"Calm down, my asthmatic friend, and allow me to explain to you why that isn't an issue."

"Time-rift-created timelines are weak. They terminate after a certain length of time, looping back to the beginning, and they don't capture the entirety of the space the rift leads to. In short, they're closer to simulations than reality. And when they close, which they always do when I absorb the energy from them, they are undone."

Ah, a dude! Hello, dude!

... No, she has no frame of reference for what Terminator is. If she did she probably wouldn't be waving.

He tries his best to calm down.

"Undone...? Completely...?", he asks, still catching his breath. "It... wouldn't affect anything at all?"

Erma dives up to Ami. No no no no no!

Too late. He sees the girls and starts approaching.

"You. You will tell me where I am. What date is this? Where is Sarah Connor?"

Erma shakes her head. She... attempts to explain to Ami why this big man who talks in monotone is bad.

"I guarantee it. Lots of warped timelines I've made in the past have had what should've been huge, long-reaching impacts, yet nobody knows they ever happened... except for the people who enter the rifts, because there's always gotta be someone who wants to set history straight."

She nods sagely.

"Uhuh!"

Ami then points in a random direction, gives a random number for distance, and... uh, drawing a blank on the year. Erma? Help??