Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

Tahn looks really surprised when he sees Majima. A little shocked into silence even.

"I'll leave you two to talk. Once you're done here, just call Botar through the camera.", Pseudo says as he leaves, closing the door behind him.

Once they're alone, Tahn rubs one of his eyes for a moment as he snaps back to it.

"I... I remember you. I didn't think you'd actually..."

He then awkwardly clears his throat.

"So, um... welcome to my cell, Maji."

Claus opens his eyes again. It's immediately obvious that it's not Claus who's looking through them though.

"You're seeking aid against Thanos?", he asks, the change in his voice confirming what was already pretty clear. It's the Masked Man.

"I'm a man of my word."

"Nice place."

Eternatus: oof ouch owie my [REDACTED]

Eternatus used Eternabeam!

In a last-ditch effort to wipe out its competition, it fires a barrage of death rays from the empty space all around it, plus one big one from its 'palm'. After the attack, it is left wide open, and will need to spend its next turn recharging.

Edited by KiriK on Dec 11th 2019 at 3:37:43 AM

Thor immediately fixes the Masked Man with a suspicious look and readies his axe, just to be safe.

"What does it matter to you?"

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Dec 11th 2019 at 1:39:02 AM

We’re in the endgame now.

Eternabeam blows through the city and fmucking slaughters everything in its path. The Green Death? At least he got one good hit in. Gohan, Ami, and Rbade are luckily still close enough to just hop under the blast. Sporacles and Eggmet hit the deck as well.

Azula, Kailob, the Kroach, and Megumin are all far away.

Fighter, Dracovish, Dugstruction, Mega Man, Vegeta Junior, Rambuta, and Arceus are all blown away. Rbade quickly return it.

The Kroach decides, yeah, Eternatus was the right target after all and fires Big Laser.

Two final emblems show wink into existence around Kailob – the Electric type is the last one to show up on the outside, while the emblem the attack collapses in around is Ice-type.

”PSIII!”

Kailob fires the Pain Cannon.

"Yeah, it's more comfortable than regular cells. From what I've heard about them I mean, since I've never actually been caught before."

He then looks slightly pouty.

"I'm not counting this situation as being caught, the first time they caught me when I was weak from smoke inhalation, and the second time I was still getting used to having a body again. Besides, it's not 'being caught' if you're staying here willingly, right?"

Then he proceeds to look just a little embarrassed.

"... I also don't wanna lose my reputation as the uncatchable thief. Being 'Ken Tahn, the thief who got caught twice because of bullshit' doesn't really sound intimidating."

"During the war against Galeem and Dharkon, I had a moment where I felt truly lost. It was Thanos who gave me the advice I needed to realize what I should do. He also offered me a position as one of his minions. I couldn't give him an answer then, but I can now."

He puts one arm behind his back, on against his chest, and then does a surprisingly polite bow.

"Claus won't fight, but I will. And when I do, I can give him the conclusion of my realization. In other words, take me with you when it's time to fight, and I will assist."

He stops bowing.

"Claus is being pretty loud in my mind right now, angry that I forcefully took control, but for this instance I felt like I needed to let my voice be heard. He's also pretty worried about what'll happen to his base with us gone, but I believe Picky can serve as an interim leader."

"Huh!?", Picky's voice suddenly rings from the doorway, revealing that he'd been eavesdropping. When the Masked Man looks at him, he looks sheepish.

"It'll only be for one battle. That's less than a day. I think you have what it takes to last at least that long. We can appoint Richard to help you if you become too stressed from the job."

Picky, while unsure, does also look appreciative that the Masked Man, of all people, believes in his abilities. The Masked Man then turns back to Thor.

"Regardless of your opinion on me, we both know that I am powerful. I'd be an asset for your cause, and Claus' life will not be in danger during this fight. What do you say?"

Edited by DevilPsyco on Dec 11th 2019 at 10:47:55 AM

"It's true, though. Try changing it to something like 'The Nomadic Thief' - say, they can't keep you there for long."

Eternatus' light fades, slowly beginning to build back up as it spends its turn recharging. The attacks make impact, but it's too weary to react.

Now is the time to finish it off with whatever they have left to throw at it!

All the survivors whale on Eternatus!

Rbade uses his Plushter, while Ami fires arrows. Gohan orders Rocky to use Tackle.

Sporacles throws his knife again while Eggmet pew-pew-pews. Azula blasts lightning, and the Kroach fires missiles. Kailob and Megumin just sort of slump over, tired and out of commission.

The Great Saiyaman in all his glory unleashes a Kamehameha.

"While I'll admit that sounds pretty cool, it doesn't sound intimidating. I'm only 12, I need to assert myself with mystery and intimidation in order for people to take me seriously. Granted, robbing people would be easier if they didn't take me seriously, but then where's the challenge?"

He sits down on the rather soft ground.

"Anyhow... why'd you come to visit me? I mean, I know you said you would, but you didn't really say why."

Once the Masked Man has finished talking, Thor lowers Stormbringer and begins stroking his chin as he silently contemplates his decision. After a moment or two, he speaks up.

"...Very well. I suppose you can join us when it comes time to face Thanos."

"This had better not be a choice I'll come to regret..."

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Dec 11th 2019 at 2:09:18 AM

"Like I told you, I do what I want."

Cracks begin to form on Eternatus' fingertip-mouths. They spread down its fingers, up the length of its serpentine body, and finally shards of energy like shooting stars explode off of its body, raining down upon the survivors.

They will find giant rainbow-shimmery Poké Balls materializing before them.◊ Or, well, Team Rbade only gets one ball between the three of them. Also those who hung in the vicinity but weren't actively fighting it to the end don't get shiiiiit.

Now's your chance! Catch Eternatus!

"I can definitely get behind that mindset.", Tahn says, smirking a little. He then pauses.

"... well, whaddya wanna talk about?"

Beat

"... do you like riddles?"

The Masked Man looks genuinely grateful for once, showing a hint of a smile on his otherwise normally pretty emotionless face.

"I appreciate that."

He closes his eyes, and when he opens them again, Claus seems to be back. He looks very unamused.

"Ugh, I hate it when he does that without warning me beforehand. At least it's for a good cause this time."

Gohan immediately grabs it and yeets it like a volleyball at Eternatus. Sporacles realizes too late what it was, but still tries his hand at tossing it. Eggmet doesn't know what to do with his – neither do Megumin, Azula, and Kailob has no arms. Dr. Gray is the third entity to toss a ball at the Eternamaxed Pokémon.

The Omega Kroach almost steps on his, but just blunders away. With Eternatus clearly defeated and everyone else too small to notice its work here is done.

"Indeed. I just hope that he doesn't decide to accept Thanos' offer and turn against us," Thor admits. "Loki would never let me hear the end of it. Odin's beard, I can hear him already..."

Dealing with the enemies, Paragus?

Paragus, Thanos, Broly and the Black Order stand in the throne room. Paragus isn't exactly scared, but he is rather nervous. Thanos, however, does not move, simply toying with the decapitated head of a Doombot.

N-no, my lord. As I must've told you before, I firmly told them off.

Thanos pauses briefly.

You must be aware of the reason why I didn't bring the prince to you yet.

Of course... I... I am aware that Broly must be trained. B-but as you see, we are making great progresses!

Yes. But until he master his incredible power, he shall not be put near the prince. His power coud damage this world quite thoroughly, and I have calculated that entering Super Saiyan type Omega would cause quite the catastrophe.

S-super saiyan? My boy is a strong warrior, but... it is a legendary form, only reached ever by..

By every single Saiyan who ever stepped foot here. Your son's raw power is immense, and I say this as an expert in powers infinite. This form should be easy to access, once he has mastered his wrathful state, that is.

...

I have no doubt that these idiots will stumble along in their plot to organize a fight between these two. Broly will have the time to be trained until he master his form, and then, he'll slaughter the prince. Your revenge will be fulfilled, and I'll put you back in your universe, with the means to access worlds and leave this blasted hellscape of a planet that you call home.

What about the others?

They don't matter. Now go.

Paragus nods, and leave, taking his quiet son with him. Thanos leans back in his chair.

These fools... to think that I would not keep an eye on a great asset of mine. And they ignore potential threats such as the warship or the Assassins. A tragedy that this place is of such usefulness, and filled with unknown variables.

   Surely we could wipe them out if we were to attack them.   

Sending my minions per groups to be beaten in fruitless conflicts, one after another? Perhaps you've confused me for one of the others evildoers who roam this world. I shall stay here, collect information on their bone-headed plan, and prepare myself to crush them..

Assuming that their plan goes beyond a frontal attack, of course.

Ha. You amuse me, Maw.

Edited by Bolded1 on Dec 11th 2019 at 11:30:30 AM

"Not quite my forte, but I'll bite. Whatcha got?"

Each successfully thrown ball captures a differently-perceived instance of Eternatus, shaking three times before shrinking down into the form of a Premier Ball and click!ing shut. The big one in the sky is no more, and the unthrown balls vanish into thin air.

Victory Fanfare

Edited by KiriK on Dec 11th 2019 at 4:32:26 AM

Megumin and Kailob are fast asleep. Fast friends!

Sporacles scratches his head. Does this count...? No, too many other people.

Eggmet pops up and waddles off. He was rather touched by how Spiritia saved him earlier and wants to find her.

Gohan and Rbade's reactions are similar.

"Was that thing a fucking Pokémon?!"

Ami lightly smacks him. Language, mister! Again!

Dr. Gray chortles about his catch before hee-heeing into the wind.

"Oh, I have quite a few riddles, from easy to hard. And then there's my favorite riddle, which is so hard that nobody who I've told it to has been able to get the answer in time. Hell, the only one who came close was an actual god, who came to visit me before."

He laughs a little.

"Whaddya say, wanna try that one?", he jokingly says.

Majima, if he's skeptical that Tahn claiming a god couldn't solve it is real, rather than him boasting, may remember that, when he talked to Pseudo just now, it was clear that someone else did visit him once before. And, knowing the Arena, it could be possible that said person was a god.

"I don't think he would. It'd mean completely abandoning this base, and we agreed on helping G.E.M. get the resources they need to rebuild their cities. ... unless Thanos also convinces G.E.M. to..."

Claus looks worried for a moment, but then shows a nervous smile.

"I... I trust that it'll end well. But Thor, if it does turn into the worst case scenario, don't be afraid to stop him no matter what. Even if it means... well, y'know. I'm sure the Arena would... revive me."

He doesn't sound too sure about that fact. However, he does look serious about what they'd have to do if the Masked Man betrays them, despite what it'd cost him.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhh..." Majima's face goes flat.

The kid can't be serious, right? Then again, there was that one time at the bowling alley...

"Ah, what the hell. Gimme."

Edited by KiriK on Dec 11th 2019 at 4:54:14 AM

Thor nods, immediately catching on to what Claus was asking.

"Right. I certainly hope that it won't come to that, but if it does... you have my word that I'll end it quickly and painlessly."

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Dec 11th 2019 at 2:48:36 AM

Claus nods.

"Thanks, Thor. I know I can count on you."

   "Um, sorry, but-"   , Lardna suddenly says as she walks outside, with Picky close by her. Claus turns to her, confused as to what she'd want.

"Yeah?"

   "This fight that you need Claus for, when you need Picky to stay in the base... when is that fight going to happen? Is it anytime soon, or will it still take some time before then?"   

Claus, not knowing the answer to that, turns to Thor.

"Heh, seriously? Alright then.", Tahn grins, sure of his victory already.

"Quickly going over the rules: The riddle will consist of two questions. You get one guess, you have to get them both right, and you only have a minute to do so. Alright? I'll give you a moment to process these rules before I ask you."

"... Sure."

"Riddle me this."

He clasps his hands together. His joking attitude vanishes and he looks serious now. His voice lowers a few tones, not into threatening or terrifying levels, but still low enough for Majima to understand that Tahn fully expects this to be incredibly hard to solve, maybe even impossible in this time limit.

"A man and woman from a well-endowed environment adopt a young boy, about 8 years old, from an orphanage. They love and nurture the boy, and he is happy for what could be the first time in his life. However, some people in this neighborhood pose a problem for the new family. The woman's rich, spoiled mother, who never accepted her daughter's husband as family and has a history of performing underhanded actions to get what she wants, finds the idea of a 'street child' disgusting, and refuses to acknowledge him either. The family's neighbors seethe with hatred and jealousy, for they are unable to conceive a child of their own and have not been able to adopt one for months. A local mafia boss sets his eyes on the new, happy family as a target, for the man has secret, unsettled debts with his gang. The boy's new home tutor is appalled by his lack of manners and etiquette, has a very short temper, and unbeknownst to the couple, she is a former prison inmate who was imprisoned for domestic abuse. Lastly, when the boy gets hurt one day, purely on accident, his butler and bodyguard, who was already on thin ice for disrespect and overt violence in the past, is fired for being unable to keep a good enough eye on him. Despite all of these things, the man and woman don't let anything deter them from caring for their new son."

Tahn's eyes narrow and darken.

"But one day, the man and woman are found murdered in their bedroom. Stabbed to death, as shown by the large gashes across their chests, necks and faces, without there being any sign of the murder weapon, the only other off thing being that the front door was open. The boy, who can't stop crying, has to be returned to the orphanage, and the police investigate the case. They arrest the rich mother, the neighbors, the tutor and the bodyguard under suspicion of one of them being the killer. They try to arrest the mafia boss too, but he disappears into the depths of the criminal underworld. The four people that they managed to capture all vehemently claim that they are innocent, and that it must have been either the mafia boss or one of the other three. Due to a lack of evidence against them, the people who were taken in were judged innocent until further proof may be discovered, and a hunt on the mafia boss was opened."

A moment of silence.

"So now I ask you. Who did it? And what was their reason for doing so?"

"Honestly? I have no bloody idea when our fight with Thanos will take place," Thor replies. "Though judging by the state of things, it's currently leaning towards the latter possibility."

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Dec 11th 2019 at 3:19:17 AM

Majima looks around the room, seeming uncomfortable.

And yet, he doesn't hesitate.

"It was the kid. He knew about his family's enemies, and the stress got to him. He wanted to kill them before he could love them too much, only for the mafia to take them away. And I know it wasn't anyone else because... it's just what my gut tells me to say."

He preemptively raises his hands defensively. "Now maybe you're not content with the 'I followed my heart' explanation. Maybe you don't think it counts because I didn't consider any of the others. But you know what?"

Majima pulls off his eyepatch, revealing his scarred, mangled eye socket.

"I, too, killed in order to save myself from the pain of loss."

Edited by KiriK on Dec 11th 2019 at 5:18:03 AM

   "Oh, that's good. You see, I need Picky to take me to that Pseudo guy real soon. I have to say something to him before I go back home."   

"You're going home?", Claus asks.

   "Yeah, I'm not staying in this death trap of a place. Especially since..."   

She sighs.

   "Pokey is never going to come back with me no matter what I try."   

Ken Tahn just stares right at Majima, eyes wide, mouth slightly agape, and not a single sound escaping from him.

"... not... not even ten seconds, and you...", he eventually mutters, his voice much more weak, soft and timid than it usually is.

"I... I don't... how..."

"Um... Tahn?", Pseudo speaks through the camera, sounding slightly worried about his state at the moment. Tahn not reacting to the sound at all only heightens his worries.

"Majima, right? Could you... check if he's alright? I have never seen him like this before."

Edited by DevilPsyco on Dec 11th 2019 at 12:25:05 PM