Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

When the strange doll leaped aside, Loli stopped.

...

The inspection of the three would reveal... Nothing special about the two children, at least physically. But in Loli's case... Well, has wings. Dragonfly wings, which can flap very quickly, and because of that, and their body build, Loli can fly very fast, and do flight maneuvers outright impossible for many other flying creatures, like flying backwards, or fly in their place, without moving a bit. And it's strong enough to carry two chidren (and a bit more) while flying.

...

Anyways, the three look surprised how the doll changed its skin structure, and then they cover their ears again at the second screech.

Wow, did you saw? Now it looks like a tree!

I'm starting to think that thing is not any other doll...

Now I remember, the Professor Layton told us about strange dolls he had found!

Could it be...?

Cave somewhere

Asher silently rejoices at the sight of people in the same uniform as he is and walks to them, sharing the good news.

"I-I found lots of treasure down that cave, there was something guarding it but thanks a lot of help from that chain person and bald man it's safe for getting now!"

After giving the credit Seresthene deserves and Patches the credit he doesn't he makes his way to the ship. He instantly falls asleep and returns to wherever HQ is.

She snickers at the thought of compensation. Two people's hurried footsteps being heard.

"No need, he's one of those ki-"

"HEY HEY DONT BE A DUMBASS GIVE HIM SOME FOOD"

"That's... something coming from you- I er.. He's just worried-"

After Artemis speaks in behalf of her unconscious comrade. Amy and Nick make themselves known, Nick being pissed. Amy rushes over to Luin first while Nick momentarily stares at Luin awkwardly before walking over to Reiss.

He grabs the leg as the wounds mend with extremely uncomfortable amounts of cracking sounds. Each shard forming legs and arms to fuse back, this cycle repeating till fixed. Reiss' legs are still bruised to high hell so he's still unable to walk but at least his bones are being sorta fixed. The pain woke Reiss up in violent anguish.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"DO YOU WANT ME TO REBREAK YOUR LEGS?"

"OKAY OKAY CHILL- Don't see Mark, where'd he-"

"He hunched and splintered off to find the musclehead"

"Heh, of course he did- He's a backbone to this unlike y-"

Nick stomps on his leg, rebreaking it.

"I TAKE IT BACK JUST PATCH MY LEGS ALREADY YOU PRICK"

Amy on the meanwhile was busy with Luin. Her hand forming and dropping off an orb of water that fit itself into the injured ankle. Regeneration was slow, but relatively painless thanks to it.

"Does... anyone need help here too?"

To anyone who accepts, they would be met by a form of water healing too, the speed decreasing as the severity increases. Despite the climate the water was pretty warm.

She took a passing glance at Nakai while looking for who to heal. He strikes her as familiar yet different, but considering the situation at the moment she reserves the questions for next time.

"Ya want me to give a rundown er-?"

"Not... next to- M-maybe later"

Artemis sighs and watches by the entrance of where they went out.

I was supposed to link a post to Nick but I found that instead and it fit better lol

Edited by BoniniBanana on Apr 16th 2022 at 12:09:10 AM

The ravens catch Cyber's attention, though he's still suspicious given what happened just now, so he begins to scan them too.

Nevertheless, scanning all of them means that everyone will have a chance to get away from that spot before Cyber is done. Nesley dispels his psychic aura just in case Cyber's sensors will pick up on those when he gets close, then runs after Loki.

"... technically, yes, but then our pops would have to create a new one, and he's rather busy right now.", Argo says to Green.

"Oh, you're Oca? Yeah, Neuff has talked about you.", Demo says to Oca, smiling. Then Argo cuts in, looking unamused.

"'Fully grown woman'? Outwardly she looks 15, in reality she's much younger, I wouldn't call that full grown."

"I mean, if she's not at 100% then that just makes things less risky for me, right?", Yuno shrugs at Green before looking at Nicole.

"You're right, that's not usually something I want to do. But I dunno, it just kinda sounds fun to try my best against the Sister that whooped my brothers' butts, and what I want most is to experience fun things!", she happily says. The three now turn back to Katre right as she starts telling Argo why his idea is a horrible one, stunning him (and Demo to a lesser extent as well). He quickly raises his hands defensively.

"Y-yeah, you're right about that. I didn't really think that far through when I suggested it. Sorry."

Katre then leaves, and Yuno starts walking after her. Demo immediately grabs her arm to try to stop her.

"Yuno, again, this is a terrible idea!"

"I know you don't fully trust her after everything that happened, but after what she just said to us about her past and beliefs, do you really think she's going to try to kill me?", Yuno asks Demo, which causes him physical and mental pause.

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

"Even if she's better now, there's still the risk that she'll miscalculate the strength she needs to use against you. What if she punches through your core and kills you? She just said she needed to cool off, she may just go with the battle flow and go too far!", Argo chimes in, trying to help Demo out. Yuno just chuckles as she pats Argo on his head.

"Silly big brother. I don't have a core."

That statement, whether it's somehow actually true or not, causes the two to pause again. A moment which Yuno uses to free her arm and start sprinting after Katre.

"If you're worried just come along so you can get me out of there if you get worried!~", she happily calls back to them as she's running. Argo and Demo start panicking and give chase.

"Sorry Oca we'll have to continue talking when we meet under less dire circumstances!", Demo calls back to Oca as they run. Yuno is actually faster than the two of them though, even with her chest plate armor, so Yuno will get to Katre before Argo and Demo will get to Yuno.

Loki briefly glances behind to see if the others had followed his example, then resumes his retreat.

Floating City, Walter's Bar

Pietro◊ is currently sitting beside the new arrival, Eddie◊, at Walter's bar in the Floating City, explaining the Arena's history in as much detail as he possibly can. Eddie, putting every ounce of his experience as a journalist to good use, hangs onto the silver-haired speedster's every word while jotting it all down in a notepad.

"God, I'm not sure I even know where to start with all this," Eddie admits once the story reaches its conclusion. "So, there were these... glowing eye monsters who zapped nearly everyone away, so you and the other survivors had to team up with even your worst enemies to destroy them and save everybody."

Pietro simply replies with a nod.

"They sure as hell didn't make it easy for us. Between them running when we had them on the ropes, us being forced to fight our friends, and wondering if certain people might betray us, I'm surprised things went as smoothly as they did," he says.

   "What did I tell you, Eddie? This place sounds like it does need a lethal protector!"    the deep voice chimes in from inside Eddie's mind, his tone oozing with excitement.    "And the best part is, no one will mind if we snack on bad guys! Mmm, maybe this Porky Minch brat tastes like actual pork..."   

Sighing, Eddie takes a lengthy sip of his drink. How in god's name had his life managed to get even stranger? What's next, would Cletus Kasady and Carnage somehow return from the dead?

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Apr 15th 2022 at 11:14:49 AM

Oca mumbles some things under his breath, before glancing over towards Zeeroe.

"Ya sure fuckin' did! Gave Kats a walloping though. You were like a feral animal."

oca since when do you call her kats are you just copying Nicole

"Meh, she's old enough in my books. I guess it's none of my business though. I'll just watch," he says, not doing anything to actively help either side as they run after Katre. "If she gets that badly hurt, I can Doctor."

"Completely! I'm like, the the roughest and toughest Ninjakoopa in these parts!" he boasts, flexing one arm. I don't doubt it - there aren't very many other Ninjakoopa in these parts.

Also, he has a very cool red headband. It's very cool.

Nagato Yuki.

She isn't here.

But she's keeping tabs on things.

Edited by Rbade on Apr 15th 2022 at 11:21:28 AM

Luffy doesn’t see fit to interfere with what Yuno wants. It’s her choice and that’s it. Besides, he likes her determination.

Yosh! I’m Monkey D. Luffy! Future King Of Pirates! How are ya Zeeroe? He stretches his arm her way for an handshake.

..

‘’Bitch, it’s    not over yet!    Suzuki hisses, as she melts into a nearby shadow and leaces before her powers get taken... again.

...

Well, see you Jack! Glacies just slip into the snow, deep underground, and tunnel her way out at freakish speeds.

...

Long story short, I really like punching people. Eem, but not out of the blue. It’s mostly fair fights or bad guys.

This cleared up, she nods. Hm, I was chilling out more or less. Waiting for someone interesting to meet and all. And I got my wish granted!

Edited by Bolded1 on Apr 15th 2022 at 9:21:52 PM

With a weary sigh, Fjorm takes her bagel and goes.

"Positive," affirms Star Knight. "If that's all, I bid you good luck."

"... Iiiii am so regretting that." Vera sighs.

"So, uh, how's your day been?" she asks Donte. "Y'know, up until that happened."

X charges through the blasts to land his punch.

"... I'll give you that." He quickly projects a Rolling Shield, a spherical barrier that protects him from Alpha Man's onslaught, though the subsequent finishing strikes manage to break it and blow him away.

X stops in midair and begins charging a Gravity Well shot.

—

Vergil grunts and covers his face with his arms as the steam and ice bombs erupt, his rock-like demonic hide weathering the elements with ease. He looks around in the fog, closes his eyes, and focuses.

The moment the Karve attacks again, he disappears with Trick.    "Foolish!"   

Tossing Yamato into a space rift, he dons the Beowulf gauntlets and greaves, attempting to grab the fighter and stop it with his own strength before slamming a fist down into its canopy.

—

During the period where The Providence's attack was paused, the Yamato's shields regained some strength. It weathers the barrage as light machine cannon fire retaliates with a storm of bullets, but a number of the laser cannons are rendered inoperable.

—

"... I'd best make sure no one else gets out." Myo grabs a comically large 'sniper' rifle with a rhino emblem on it and finds a window or door on The Providence. She opens it up, loads her weapon with a shell that would spook a tank, and aims through the opening, steadying the gun against the lowest available flat surface.

In a single moment, the Yamato's shields flicker from an impact, and she promptly takes her shot. A hole is blown in the vessel's upper hull, away from the Wave-Motion Engine area but enough to pierce inside the ship. She then loads a device into the gun, steadies, and fires it into the opening she just made. There's a loud beep from something in a pocket, which she pulls out, observes, and grins.

"Got it. Teleporter's in, let's move!" she orders her Rabbits and some Polyphemus drones. She tosses the thing that just beeped onto the floor, creating a teleporter.

Next

Edited by KiriK on Apr 20th 2022 at 7:19:04 AM

Nesley sticks near Loki, and the two successfully escape.

—

Cyber, having finished scanning, now looks at the area the group was in a moment ago. Thankfully he doesn't linger, meaning that he isn't suspicious of that area.

And luckily, he'd be distracted from continuing his search when someone approaches him.

"Sir.", Porter◊ says as he flies up to Cyber, his spider legs once more formatted like wings. "Dark Meta Knight and I have successfully retrieved everything that we could save from our Estraole bases."

Cyber turns to him.

"Has anything useful been left intact?"

"Not much. Some parts of the bases have reformed through the Arena's power, but not enough to make use of them. None of the machines left inside survived either."

"That is a lot of Hub clone losses. But no matter, we still have enough. How about anything information-based? Should we worry that people will find things they are not supposed to?"

"All diary entries survived, but we have retrieved them all. Prying eyes won't find anything of use. At most, the remains of those bases could serve as someone's hiding place, but nothing more."

"Then abandoning those bases is the correct move. We should not waste time on trying to restore them, we have everything we needed. Are there any updates on Mara?"

"She returned to Estraole for a moment, likely to see the fight, but since it was already over by the time she arrived, she left again before we could even ask for assistance. As such we have no idea on her progress on finding her children."

"I see. Very well, let us return to the current main base and think on our next moves."

Porter nods, then the two fly away.

"If you think they were bad, wait until you hear about some of the more recent threats that befell this place. Though those two definitely left the biggest impact on this world so far.", Walter◊ says from behind the counter as he cleans a glass.

"But let's not jump ahead too much, it's a lot to take in. After all, you're basically in Hell now, mate. Enjoy it.", he jokingly says, chuckling a little.

Once they've put enough distance between themselves and Witchmist Grove, Loki shifts his gaze to Nesley.

"Right. Now that we've lost our unwelcome guest, there's something I wanted to ask before you left," he says. "Have you heard anything new from Pseudo recently? Anything Thor and I probably ought to know about?"

Pietro flashes a smirk at Walter when he chimes in on the conversation.

"Come on, Walter, this place isn't that bad. I never would've met Seras and the rest of you guys if we hadn't bumped into each other here," he says. "Maybe things'll start looking up for him."

Eddie, once he's finished his drink, sets the glass down on the countertop as he processes everything he'd just learned.

"Actual gods, monsters, aliens, dictators, killer robots, demons, these guys calling themselves the Assassins and Gravitas... next thing you know, a bunch of symbiotes are gonna start popping up all over the place," he murmurs, looking away from Pietro and Walter so as to make sure they didn't think he was addressing them.

   "Oh, Eddie! You make it sound like getting to put down the next wannabe Riot or Carnage is a bad thing!"   

He turns his attention back to Pietro and Walter.

"Anyway, you said you and your vampire pals were hunting down a mad scientist who hates powers and anything that's not human. What'd you say his name was again?"

"Polyphemus."

"Yeah, that guy."

   "And you thought Lethal Protector was a shit name!"   

"Well, it is, but at least you didn't name yourself after some big dumb cyclops," Eddie says under his breath.

Edited by IchigoMontoya on May 15th 2022 at 6:05:09 AM

Nesley takes a moment to catch his breath. Considering how fit he usually is, it's safe to say his claim about being tired wasn't him being melodramatic.

"Pseudo? No, I haven't been in contact with the base since I left.", he says, strapping his bat back to his backpack again.

"I hope for him that he doesn't get stabbed through the back by Porky's machine at least. I can tell from experience that it's even less pleasant than it sounds."

Walter then glances at Eddie when he mutters something under his breath. Did he hear what he said? Unbeknownst to Eddie, Walter is an (artificially created) vampire, so his hearing is stronger than that of a normal human.

What Walter says next basically confirms it.

"Trouble in paradise?", he suddenly asks with a little smirk. A question that will undoubtedly confuse Pietro and Eddie both... until the latter potentially realizes that Walter just made it clear that he knows Eddie's body isn't just his own.

"Ah, of course. Well, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to stop for a meal before I meet back up with Thor," Loki says, pointing to the nearby Braidwood Inn with his thumb. "Care to join me?"

Pietro and Eddie do, indeed, look suitably taken aback by Walter's remark. After a brief exchange of looks, the latter breathes out a sigh of resignation and shrugs before Pietro even think to ask a question.

"Alright. You wanna come out and say hi to the nice people, Venom?"

The source of that voice in his mind, Venom◊, emerges from Eddie's shoulder, looking both Pietro and Walter over with his milky-white eyes.

   "Pleased to actually meet these superpeople Eddie and I have heard so much about!"    he says, greeting the two with his signature toothy grin.

Pietro, after recovering from the initial surprise of seeing an alien symbiote made of black goo casually come out of someone's body to say hello, looks more bemused than anything else.

"Believe it or not, man, you actually don't crack the top ten weirdest things I've ever seen around here," he says, extending a hand towards him. "Then again, I hang out with vampires and gods, and my sister's probably one of the strongest magic users you'll ever meet."

Venom shakes his hand with an outstretched tendril.

   "I like this one, Eddie!"   

He thinks a bit on it. He did set out on a solo journey of self discovery, and was fully intending on staying on his own all the way through.

... but his stomach has other plans, as the mention of food makes it rumble.

"... Y'know what? Sure.", Nesley says, smiling a little.

Walter's look of equal surprise shows that he clearly didn't expect this to be the case. But just like Pietro, he recovers quickly.

"You're also looking at one of the vampires he just mentioned.", he says before looking at specifically Venom.

"Now you're rather fascinating."

He ponders for a bit, then fills a glass with beer and offers it to Venom.

"I don't know if you can consume alcohol, but if you can it's on the house.", he grins.

"Your dad is pretty busy and YOU're going to be pretty busy so I can't make you too busy for now! Bye!"

With this conclusion Green walks her way over to Zeeroe to not hinder the trio any further. With a cheery tone she tries to bring their spirits up.

"But that's okay because you aren't dead yet! Meaning you can do it again till you die!"

Green being the bearer of good and truthful news as always.

"Was gonna drag her to one of 'em places you mentioned, but-"

Donte sighs disappointed.

"Nothing out of the ordinary for me. I was in a bar when all of 'a sudden I found my way on some shitty old man's pirate ship. Don't remember much, was busy sobering up before their butler threw me off. Kicking that guys ass if I see him again."

"Come then. The food isn't going to magically float towards us while we stand about."

Loki makes his way towards Braidwood Inn, humming a certain tune along the way.

Venom wastes no time scooping up the glass and downing its contents.

   "A vampire who serves great beer on the house, all sorts of bad guys to feed on... I think we've hit the jackpot!"   

He extends another tendril towards Walter, offering the same handshake he gave Pietro.

Pietro can't help but chuckle at Venom's antics.

"Man, I bet you two must've gotten up to a lot where you from," he says to Eddie. "You mind sharing a few stories? It's the least you could do after I brought you up to speed on pretty much everything about this place."

Eddie nods before clearing his throat.

"So, it all started with this company called the Life Foundation..."

From there, he proceeds to go into detail about the adventures he and Venom went on prior to arriving in the Arena.

"I didn't know you liked to sing. What song is that?", Nesley asks as they make their leave, intrigued.

Walter accepts Venom's handshake, looking as refined as ever as he does so. He was a butler, after all.

"Well, I'm glad that someone's excited about this place. I hope you'll have more luck here than I did."

He then proceeds to listen to Eddie's story, staying silent all the way through. Even afterwards he doesn't immediately speak again. A barman can be a good listener after all, and Walter probably wouldn't be speaking up much unless prompted to.

"... Well then." Vera seems rather nonplussed. "I'll be going now."

She spreads her wings and bursts off into the air.

"In pain," Zeeroe groans. Still lying on the ground, she takes Luffy's hand, mistaking the offer of a handshake for assistance in getting up. "I can't believe I lost to that... monster. I was fighting some kinda monster, right?"

—

"..."

Once they've touched down, Katre goes into Limit Breaker and throws a punch. Not even aiming to hit Yuno, the sheer force creates a shockwave capable of blowing the prototype Pawn Doll back a ways.

"One more time. Are you sure about this?"

Luffy helps her up and look baffled when she brings up the monster. Well, Katre did regenerate, right? That's... weird. Huh, he'd never seen that besides Marco now that he's thinking about it!

I think you were fighting Katling! She is kinda weird but also kinda nice, it's weird!

"A traditional Asgardian folk song. I'd teach it to you, but I'd rather avoid giving certain people who shall remain nameless further cause to label me a rockstar," Loki replies before heading into Braidwood Inn.

Nicole raises a finger and prepares to chime in, only for Yuno to suddenly run off while Demo and Argo give chase. Lowering her finger, the Arcane half-dragon shakes her head.

"Friggin' hell..."

Her gaze flickers to those who were still present, and she notices that Zeeroe was finally regaining consciousness.

"Guess I'd better make sure she doesn't end up getting herself killed on accident. Oca, would you mind using that big brain of yours to see if you can't think of a way to keep Zeeroe from going berserk on the next Sister she bumps into?"

With that, she spreads her dragon wings wide before taking off like a bullet after the Pawn Doll siblings.

Pietro listens intently as well, taking it all in. These two had fought a mad scientist and his symbiote, a serial killer and his symbiote, and said serial killer's girlfriend and her sonic screams.

Once Eddie finishes his story, he places some money on the bar to pay for his and Pietro's drinks.

"Any questions?"

   "Before either of you ask, no, Carnage did not taste good!"    Venom chimes in.

Pietro strokes his chin, looking thoughtful as he contemplates his question.

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Apr 15th 2022 at 4:29:15 AM

Green crouches and then slowly rises up as Zeeroe does too. While it does seem like she wants to take a good look she just did it because she can.

"Her name was Katre! Don't be sad, you lived and clashed with someone just like you! Surely you'll meet again since they're like you, which also means you're nice!"

Donte waves and walks off too.

Yuno, once she arrives, gets nearly blown off of her feet. Despite that though, she looks pumped. Notable is also that she didn't actually move from her spot despite the shockwave.

Maybe her armor made her heavy enough to resist it?

"Yeah, I wanna see how I fare."

She grins a very similar grin to those of her brothers'. Family resemblance, am I right?

"Understandable.", Nesley snickers as they leave.

"As some vampires eat human flesh in my world, knowing that Symbiotes taste awful is a good thing to know ahead of time.", Walter smirks as he takes the money.

"As for questions, I personally don't have any. ... although I guess I could ask, in the event that you somehow come across Polyphemous, that you make short work of him. I have a feeling you're capable of doing that.", he says, now grinning.

"I guess? You could say that Katre's monstrously strong. She looks like a plain humanoid to me tho."

He gives Nicole a look like "yeah, I could give it a shot". Oca then has some trouble processing what the fuck Green is trying to say.

"I recorded the last like, twenty seconds of the fight if you want to see," he tells Zeeroe.

Venom flashes a grin at Walter in return.

   "Of course! I've been thinking of doing that ever since Pietro here told me about him."   

Pietro, seeing as Walter brought up what he was considering asking, decides to speak up.

"So, you two'll help us take down Polyphemus?"

"Do you have to ask? From what you told me, this guy sounds a hundred times worse than anyone we've ever fought," Eddie replies.

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Apr 15th 2022 at 5:00:36 AM

"Katre...?"

"... Could you show me?" Zeeroe asks Oca. "I swear I was fighting a monster."

—

"Hm." Katre looks serious, until she breaks into a grin. "Alright then. You've been warned."

Rivers in the Desert ~Scramble~ - Persona 5 Strikers

She slams her fists on the ground, making an explosion, then strikes the air with a shockwave punch to blow the dust cloud towards Yuno, obscuring the Pawn Doll's vision.

With this opening, she darts towards Yuno, then circles around to the side just in case before launching with a charging knee strike.

Luffy remembers that things could get kinda shitty if Zeeroe meets Katre but he also knows the power of friendship is on their side.

She's fighting over there!

"Eh, sure!"

He fiddles with his arm for a second. Nothing happens, so he smacks it and a moment later a hologram fizzles to life above his held-out palm.

He gives Luffy a look like "bruh".