Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

The World Guardian raised a titanic hand to its head as quickly as it could, recoiling from the flame just before impact. The baleful torrent of flame seared the rock on the golem's forearm with ease, superheating the surface-level stone to a magma orange. The World Guardian released a bellow as quiet as a being of its size could manage, a pained grunt that shook the ground below. Aoi's trek up the World Guardian is uninterrupted, it seems the stones are shifting to allow her a smoother journey upward.

Clenching its burned forearm, the World Guardian rips the charred stone from itself, countless charred stones falling to the floor as the golem clenched its other fist tightly, rearing back to toss the boulders at Annie with furious force. As the stones sailed through the air, the World Guardian thrust its left shoulder forward, a massive, bent tree erupting from the stone like a whip to smash the massive boulders into smaller, fragmented pieces. The tree recoiled as it cracked through the air, sinking back into the World Guardian's stone body.

Jax - Did a Silly

It hadn't occurred to Jax how the rules of this opponent would be significantly different than everyone else when he had cast his ability. He could only hope his allies would have success in taking down this enemy while he was being useless, a smile of relief stretching across his lips when the Corrupted Freddy was torn to shreds. Jax is about to celebrate the group's success when the appearance of the glowing eyes stops the Grandmaster in his tracks, pivoting to look up at them.

After the villainous monologue of rhyme finishes and the eyes dissipate, Jax turns to face the group.

"Well, as ominous as that was, at least it had a fun rhyme scheme."

He seems unbothered by it on a surface level.

Edited by KrampusTheTherapist on Mar 31st 2024 at 7:18:37 AM

Confluence of Fates

Terapagos gets hit, but once again it doesn't seem to be all that bothered.

The same for Reyna's combo attack. All the attacks land, but Terapagos doesn't seem to care.

Its body exudes power again, and then it suddenly tries to Zen Headbutt Reyna mid-combo.

Grand Resurrection

"Kweh!", the bird sudden shrieks, laying down and putting its head under its wing as if to hide.

"WHAT!?", Ken Tahn then shrieks himself. "No, you can't just kill it! What's WRONG with you!?"

"What? Yes we can, that's why we caught it.", one of the bandits says. "Once we know if there's more of them or not, we're gonna eat it."

"How can you eat it!? Look at it, the poor thing's shivering!", Ken yells while approaching the cage with the frightened bird. The three bandits look at each other, weirded out.

"... are you serious right now? You throw knives at people without as much of a flinch, us included, but we go out of our way to catch something to eat and suddenly you're feeling bad for it?"

"This is different! It's an animal! And it's scared! As your boss, I forbid you from killing it!"

The three look at each other again, then shake their heads.

"We caught this thing for Majima, kid."

"We may be stuck with you, but Majima's got the last word on this."

"What would you even do with it if you don't want to eat it?"

"I... I, eh... I'll keep it! And take care of it!"

The three can't help but laugh. Ken looks angry, but instead of attacking he turns to Majima.

"You're okay with my idea, right?", he asks, looking genuinely distraught over this.

Astil

Refia's response seems to catch PC!Areui off guard a bit. He's about to say something, but Eric cuts him off.

"Huh?", Areui asks, confused. He says it at the same time as Refia. Then comes the explanation, and it makes the brothers pause.

"Wait, that rude guy is me!? That's a joke, right? His wings aren't even the right color!"

"My wings? You don't have wings at all.", PC!Areui smirks, upon which Areui immediately uses his magic to alter the tattoos on his shoulder and arm, forming them into genuine tattoo-styled wings.

"... okay, I'll admit, that's cool."

Kirue tilts his head, but then seems to remember something.

"Hold on a second... yeah, wait, I'm vaguely remembering. Didn't you show us a picture of this guy once?", he asks Eric.

Edited by DevilPsyco on Mar 31st 2024 at 3:09:36 PM

It was always good to observe a situation before jumping in. That was a basis unknown only to Kashimo only. And where Owlman might appreciate Crocodile and Kenjaku's restraints out of shared belief, he didn't care about it. If the battle had to happened before he felt ready, he just wouldn't join in. Besides, he had some last preparations to make.

Some of the people in the scene made themselves evident. Like the dragon woman. Some others were unfortunately not as visible. A thief stealing food didn't indicate anything for instance. Nor could he allow himself to believe that the people calling Beruka over were anything more than they seemed. But at the very least, it was fair to assume that people would be arriving to the fight shortly after its beginning. And taking into account what could help minimize obstacles between Kashimo and Corrin mattered.

Owlman unconsciously loom over the crowd like an actual bird of prey searching for prey. When he spots Killer Moth, his head very briefly stop before he identifies the evidence and just instantly begin to look around again, head moving very slightly faster as if to catch up on the interrupted movement. Much more threatening than Killer Moth was Red Hood. Which was it? Was he loyal to his Batman and his code or did he not care for it? Did he have his team with him? Nothing that mattered to Owlman, just another Red Hood, but Thomas wanted to know if he was dealing with cute bat-shaped armament or ballistic weaponry.

Seeing someone approach Kenjaku and Kashimo's waffle stand, Thomas's eyes do not widen so much as the pupils in them slightly widen. He wasn't a particularly active guy to start with but he needed to be careful - he was more noticeable than Red Hood was. And he had to admit he'd seen him sooner than he'd like to admit.

Thinking fast, Thomas draws a telephone and make a call, speaking straight to Kashimo's ear-piece.

Don't catch the thief. Chase them, shout at them, don't catch them. They'll do it for you. Crocodile. Prepare to move accordingly. Owlman was used to egocentric teammates. He could work with that. But he was pleasantly surprised to see Crocodile shift his mass around in preparation. With his peculiar powers, he didn't really need anything anyway. What mattered was that he was focusing on the situation.

Which is why Sir Crocodile's perspective on this was so limited. He observed as well but mostly paid attention to the crowd. Smart move to have the fight in a place full of civilians, but beyond that observation, he daigned to let himself be an underling. Not because he thought Kenjaku and Owlman smarter (the latter was running around in a owl costume and the former had some obvious head-related trauma before), but because if they messed up, it wasn't going to be on him.

As for Kashimo, the ancient sorcerer look confused and almost doesn't notice Mark snatching a waffle. On reflex, he doesn't care. On further reflex, it doesn't take him long to deduce why Owlman would want a visible chase.

AIIIE! MY WAFFLE! MY GOLDEN DELICIOUS SUGARY WAFFLE! STOLEN DESPITE COSTING ABOUT TWO MEASLY YEN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE TIME TO MAKE IT COME COMPLETE WITH DELICIOUS STRAWBERRY SAUCE, GOLDEN HONEY, WATERFALL SUGAR AND OTHER GREAT FOODSTUFF! Kenjaku shouts in misery. Kashimo groans and jump over the counter, running after Mark.

Come back here, thief! Kashimo say, eyeing where Mark is going. He subtly try to lead him (while admittedly being behind him) to where Corrin and Beruka are at. Immediately confronted by Nuue, Beruka raise a confused eyebrow whereas Corrin shrug off her line about "darkness" to wave at her. Hi Nuue! How are you,! I met her a little while ago! He says, turning to Beruka. Nuue, meet Beruka, a great warrior of Nohr and my wife. Beruka, meet Nue. She's a Manakete! Corrin says, enthusiastically.

One that could "smell" the energy Beruka emitted. Bad news. She was lucky Corrin was in one of those moods because he'd be probably taken aback otherwise.

Ah, yes. A difficult fact to deduce at a first glance. Beruka says, though she appreciates Corrin's enthusiasm. And I... she peer over her shoulder to notice the Dojo group. Ah. It made sense for her to run right into them. She'd simply nod at them otherwise but with Corrin pleased at meeting new people, the younger woman believed it wise to have him meet them.

Maybe the dojo would suit him too? It'd give him something to do, people to meet, skills to learn...

But first off...

It's Beruka. She says, Corrin following after her while waving Nuue over. He waves at them with an agreeable smile. Beruka raise her left arm to point at him, her thin, pale finger barely sticking out of the fabric. This is Corrin. Corrin. He is a skillful fighter and my husband. She figured he wouldn't care for the prince part. Corrin. Corrin. These are Cardell's students in the Dojo. Corrin freezes and put his arms down the sides of his body, bowing.

Beruka's response is to just briefly look down in surprise. What was he doing? Well, whatever made him happy, she shrugs.

Hello, I'm Corr-ohberukatoldyouthat. Well, I'm glad to meet you! But remember my actual name's "Corrin" and not "glad to meet you"! He says, hands on his hips, a dorky smile on his face. Beruka seems pleased, even if the actual humor she find barely funnier than a child-sized skull, and she smiles in approval, wrapping her arms around his left arm.

With his sharp ears, Corrin's able to eventually hear Kashimo. And he turns to see the commotion perhaps before anyone else does. Huh! There's a thief! Let's see if they won't give us a better table if we help out!

Edited by Bolded1 on Mar 31st 2024 at 3:31:51 PM

Confluence of Fate

Rayne smirks slightly and pulls his Tera Orb from his bag. Now it's fully charged.

"Alright, now I can do this!"

He holds the Orb up to the air as Terastal energy gathers around it, before he lobs it at Metagross.

For a moment, Metagross is encased in Terastal crystals...

...before it breaks out with a triumphant roar, having changed into Tera-type Steel.

"Let's do this! Metagross, use Flash Cannon!"

An orb of light charges up in front of the Iron Leg Pokemon, but this time, it glimmers with Terastal energy, growing even bigger...

...before it unleashes that beam right at Terapagos!

Vandalon

"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Lute pushes forward, the claws denting the metal-reinforced bits of her armor as she drives the chainsword forward into the captain with a howl of fury.

"DIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!"

Meanwhile, Merga had warped back towards Phillip, and was currently keeping any remaining Fallen off of him through way of more explosive feathers.

   "She certainly is a character, isn't she?"   

Phillip grins weakly, still clutching his rifle as he lines up another shot, this time aiming for the last captain's head if Lute didn't simply cleave them in two already.

"Hey, that's my wife you're talking about. There's nobody I'd rather have at my back than her. No offense."

   "None taken."   

Centralis - Market

"I'm good! Didn't get into any big fights lately-"

Cue the screaming about a thief, and Nuue leaps into the air, her legs propelling her a good bit upwards before she unfurls her wings and takes flight, her eyes locking onto Mark.

"I see them!"

She holds out her left hand (claw?), which builds up with shadowy energy before she launches it at Mark. If it hits, it won't hurt...

...but it will make him quite drowsy, perhaps to the point of falling asleep if he can't fend it off.

Game

Charlie looks at her snow boots. "What kind of monster thinks one person's fall to darkness would be worse than a whole bunch of people dying?"

Victoria, like Jax, is unbothered.    "Do you know who he might be referring to?"   

Charlie glances at Evan, then looks away and sighs. "I'm pretty sure I do. For now, let's just...keep going."

She heads over to Lolbit.

Makai

Peppino is far from enraged enough for the six-piece beatdown combo meal, but he still attacks Atlantis again and again, trying to wear him down while he's vulnerable.

Confluence of Fates

Having your combo interrupted because the monster shrugs it off and hits you in the middle of your own attack before you can roll away. This is truly a Monster Hunter moment.

Reyna tumbles flat on her face. "Gog damn it!"

The Grand Resurrection

Majima silently takes in Tahn's outburst, closing his eye.

As soon as the decision falls to him, he points at the Chocobo. "Your name is now Drumstick! You will wake to it in the morning, or you will not receive breakfast!"

Then he turns to the bandits. "If it's a girl, it'll lay eggs and we can eat those. If it's a guy, tough shit. 'S a gamble."

Astil

"Yeah, I forgot too. I knew he was looking for you and showed you his picture."

"So we were looking for you, too..." Refia sighs. "Well, again, don't let me stop you from having a brawl."

Edited by KiriK on Mar 31st 2024 at 8:53:08 AM

Leo Luster

Inspector Gadget arrives to the place.

Hmmm... What's up in there?

Bely

She's back at her home, wearing her new Cosmic Dressand her two children, Beto and Pepo notice her.

Mom, where you were at?

Wow, how beautiful dress you got?

Yeah! Where did you bought it?

Hmmm... Dunno... I can't remember it...

Pica-Verse

Carolina and the others (sans Hatch) notice the newcomer. The wolf growls at him, and the Hunter points his water gun at his direction, but the others look more quiet...

Carolina: Hey... You don't look like the people from here...

Drawing!Belén: Are you with us?

80's!Emi: And look at those big shoes...

And now, for something completely different...

Lourent Desert

Something looking like a fish is swimming around a pool of lava... That the fish itself made.

The sunlight is harsh.

Edited by BombonBombin on Mar 31st 2024 at 8:13:04 AM

Makai - Atlantis

Eventually, Peppino defeats Atlantis! KO!

A portal to the next level opens up! It leads to a strange Ancient Egypt-like level! Upon closer inspection, there's a strange monochrome flower at the start of the level. And a tutorial section explaining that the flower is the Superball Power up, turning Peppino into an Original Gameboy character, which reduces his frames per second, but gives him an easy-to-access projectile! Good luck!

From his perch, Red Hood scans the crowd for any suspicious figures. To his brief surprise, Killer Moth of all people was among those gathered, though he quickly dismisses him as a potential threat. As far as bug-themed Gotham rogues went, Walker was certainly no Firefly.

He immediately recognizes Kenjaku's face from the posters he spotted during his last patrol, though someone on another rooftop catches his attention before he can consider confronting Kenjaku in the chaos of Kashimo chasing after Mark. Someone who looked eerily similar to Bruce Wayne in appearance.

"Something tells me this guy's probably not Hush..."

That, of course, meant the stranger had to be none other than Owlman of the Crime Syndicate of America. A version of Thomas Wayne Jr. whose life hadn't been cut short, if Jason remembered what Bruce had told him about the Syndicate correctly. His surrogate uncle(?) from another universe or not, though, Owlman was a nasty piece of work with a nihilistic streak a mile wide. Jason was willing to bet every last weapon in his arsenal that no one would miss this psychopath.

"Lucky for me, I brought more than enough bullets..."

Grabbing a sniper rifle resting beside him, Red Hood trains the weapon on Owlman and begins lining up his shot. While it didn't seem like Owlman had brought other members of the Syndicate with him for backup, Jason knew better than to underestimate someone with all of Batman's skills and absolutely none of his morals.

Edited by IchigoMontoya on Mar 31st 2024 at 7:30:03 AM

Vandalon, Annie, HC

Lute’s chainsword finally broke the shield, and the Captain was helpless against her weapon as it dug into its chest with a spray of blood and gore. The Fallen shrieked as it died, and like that, all three Captains had been vanquished. Many of the alien corsairs turned tail and fled at this point, but some yet remained, pushing ever onwards. Most continued firing but some, having run out of ammo, switched to a more melee-focus and skittered across the field at the Sikarii firing line. From behind Lute, one leapt into the air, blades raised to come down upon her…only for a red cargo container to smash into it midair and send it flying backwards.

With a thundering roar, Thorsig dashed into the fray. He wore no armor and little clothing that effectively shielded him from the elements, but in spite of this, he tore into the stragglers like a wolf into an already weakened doe. One Sikarii hazarded a glance at the pod he’d been asleep in: torn open and smashed apart.

Through their combined efforts, Lute’s chainsword and Thorsig’s fists, Phillip’s bullets and Merga’s sorcery, those few Fallen that remained were be no more within a matter of moments.

"Thorsig fucking Thundermane, you daft old cunt.." Mordran snarled once it was done, dragging his bloodied axe behind him as he approached the Space Wolf.

"Mordran." Thorsig growled lowly. The two colossal men stalked towards eachother, muscles tensed and a clash between giants bound to ensue any moment now…

Their simultaneous laughs shattered the tense silence. The force with which their hands slammed together and shook would’ve crushed the skull of anyone unfortunate enough to get caught between like a grape, and had Mordran’s steel gauntlet been made with anything less than the Imperium’s finest metals, it would’ve crumpled instantly. The raw masculinity produced by the meeting could’ve proved enough to put a beard on Lute’s chin, had it been allowed to manifest.

"Been too long, you fuckin’ furhead. We all took you for dead!"

"Just about was." Thorsig said, a cloud coming over him. He wore a snarl on his lips, recalling the cry chamber, the amount of time he’d apparently spent frozen and adrift in the void.. "Where the warp am I? How’d you know..?" He turned his attention to Philip and Lute, staring strangely at Merga.

"Long story, I think..we’re headed to our base, we can talk there. You got some friends waiting for you, Thundermane…people who ain’t seen you in a long time."

——

"Almost.." Yuta huffed as he slapped his fingers against another jutting of carapace, pulling himself further along up the mighty World Guardian’s shell. The beast was huge beyond reckoning, beyond comprehension—he could not tell where it ended and the rest of the world began, but he could feel the air thin as he advanced steadily along its form. At last he dragged himself over the edge of the sheer cliff, some two hundred feet of stony wall below him and yet less than a fraction of the giant’s size. He panted as he finally came to a flat plane, standing like a speck of dust upon the shoulders. "Alright…alright, I’m there." He said, lowering his palms to his knees and struggling for breath.

"Can you see it?"

"The dragon? Yeah.." He drew his eyes upwards, to the sky where a writhing shadow blotted out the sunlight. "I see him. Among…other things."

"Good—I’m sending reinforcements to your location now."

Yuta Okkutsu nodded and waved a hand over the golden bloom on the back of his hand, ending the communication spell.

…

Three fireballs crashed into his back from above, three fireballs which left mild scorches in his blackened scale coat. Smoke lifted from his charred flesh. There was a cracking and a sizzling, fountains of pus and blood that exploded from the wound as the Annihilation Nergigante’s regeneration kicked in. Just as he turned itself in the air to face his assailant, there was a powerful gust of wind which brushed past his face, and one of those tiny human projectiles they liked to call an "arrow" surged past him…which meant there were humans here, no doubt attracted by a battle which concerned them in no way.

Arenagoers and interfering, Annihilation Nergigante could name few better duos.

The Ascended Eater of Elders flapped his wings and descended. He snarled as he plunged into the World Guardian’s midst, a hail of sharpened stones rained towards him like hail. Annihilation Nergigante was far from nimble enough to dodge most things smaller than him; he preferred to take his licks head-on and suffer the consequences later. So when the storm of stones finally came, they gashed against his hide, buried themselves into his flesh…but before long, he had begun to heal once more, the cuts closing and either popping the fragmented rocks out of him or just sealing them within himself.

He smashed against the World Guardian’s right shoulder, just an ant upon a much larger being, but the absurd difference in size did nothing to prevent him from ripping at the latter’s shell in an effort to reveal whatever lay beneath. He paused for a moment to glare up at the Stained Azure Rathalos, previously so blinded by his hatred and his hunger for the World Guardian to even remember the Flying Wyvern’s presence.

——

"Hi, Corrin! Hm?" Lily looked away, at Mark and the efforts to catch him that had begun already. She smiled and clapped her hands, before cupping them around her mouth: "Go get ‘im! Tackle his ass! Yeahhhh!" In spite of her cheering, she made no efforts to move towards him or catch the thief herself. She was too puckered out from the earlier day’s fighting, mixed with the training that had come before even that…

Nor did Liam or Raphael move to stop the man. Raphael because he was an individual without any powers at all, really—he wasn’t part of the dojo—and Liam for a similar reason, mixed with that he just didn’t care. The boy returned his attention to his studies, ignoring the cheeseburger bought for him by his sister. Lily frowned and shook her head. "You’re an ungrateful little man, you know that?"

Edited by ISZATSO on Mar 31st 2024 at 10:39:19 AM

Game

Evan is confused when Charlie glances at him for a moment, having caught that. As they now approach Lolbit he looks at Gregory and whispers.

"What'd Charlie look at me for? I'm doing fine."

Gregory shrugs. But then again, he doesn't know the full story either. He has no idea what's so significant about Dead King Freddy's words.

-

It's Lolbit time. They turn to look as the group approaches.

"OH, THERE YOU ARE! I HAD BEEN HOPING YOU'D FOUND MY NOTE! HOW ARE YOU ALL?"

"Could be worse I guess? We just fought a glitched super enemy or something.", Gregory responds.

"THE WORLD OF THE GAME IS GROWING MORE UNSTABLE. YOU MAY BE ON A SERIOUS TIME LIMIT. HOPEFULLY YOU WILL MAKE IT. PERHAPS MY WARES CAN HELP."

"Question, you digital retailer.", Noah interjects. "If you're on our side, why do they still have to pay for your wares?"

"MY SET CLASS IS MERCHANT, AND AS SUCH THE RULES DO NOT PERMIT ME TO GIVE YOU MY WARES FOR FREE. I WOULD IF I COULD. AT MOST I CAN OFFER YOU ALL A DISCOUNT."

"... alright, fair enough.", Noah concedes. Just because the game is glitching doesn't mean everyone can break the rules.

"NOW THEN, I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU. I HAVE FOUND THE ULTIMATE ARMOR SET DURING MY SEARCH FOR THE BLACK CHIP. I CAN SELL IT TO YOU NOW, AND YOU WILL BE FULLY UPGRADED."

"The best armor? There's still three bosses left to go."

"I'm not complaining. Better armor means we'll get hurt less."

"I'm not complaining either, I just find it kinda weird."

"PERHAPS THE INCREASING UNSTABLE NATURE OF THIS GAME WORLD ALLOWED ME TO FIND THIS ARMOR PREMATURELY. NEVERTHELESS, TAKE A LOOK!"

> Buy (NEW)

> Trade (NEW)

> Quest (NEW)

> Talk (NEW)

> Quit

Selecting Buy will get them this:

> Group Potion (1): Heals entire party for half their Max HP. Does not work on fainted allies. 25$.

> Endo Armor Quantum: +30 Defense. Can sometimes nullify an instant death. (Not an actual Endoskeleton). 30$ each.

> Glitch Byte: Weakens the power of glitched attacks. []$.

Some pretty good stuff, though it'll probably cost them about everything they have left if they buy all of it. As for the Glitch Byte, its price seems to be changing randomly every second. Perhaps taking it when the price is low is for the best.

If someone selects the Trade option, they'll just get this prompt again:

"HAVE YOU FOUND AN ITEM YOU WANT IN EXCHANGE FOR THE PEARL?"

However, instead of a yes or no option, this time Lolbit pauses for a bit before whispering.

"Not yet. Next time."

And they'll be booted out of the trade option. As in, they can't even access it anymore.

If someone selects the Quest option, they'll get this prompt:

4 Layers Down: 2/4

Lastly, if someone selects the Talk option, they'll get:

1 - The Third Minion

2 - The Fourth Minion

3 - Guest Party Members

4 - Parting Gift

Confluence of Fates

The Tera Flash Cannon attack actually makes Terapagos flinch in response, though it's not yet enough to break through the barrier.

It does, however, anger it further.

Its body bursts again, after which it shoots a beam upwards that then descends upon Metagross in the form of falling stars. It's Tera Starstorm!

The Grand Resurrection

"WHAT!?" "WHAT!?" "WHAT!?"

Ken Tahn visually brightens up, like a kid who's been given a present on Christmas.

"I will take care of it as if my life depended on it!", he says.

"Now hold on a second.", Bandit 1 says.

"Your plan's all nice and all if it works out...", Bandit 2 says.

"But we spent days off the clock tracking this thing and hunting for it!", Bandit 3 says.

"Are you telling us we just have to accept that our efforts are for nothing because the kid wants a pet that's bigger than he is!?"

"Some disrespect for our past mistakes we can live with. But this kind of mockery's going too far!"

"Maybe we oughta show them what happens when people mess with other people's food where WE come from!"

The trio of otherwise comedic, spineless buttmonkey buffoons suddenly look like they're genuinely considering a mutiny, and it clearly catches Ken Tahn off guard too.

"How about-", he quickly interjects before anything has a chance to go wrong. The three look at him, too angry to be afraid of him.

"How about... you accept our decision, and in return... uh...", he stammers.

"In return, if you help me take care of it when I don't know what to do, I won't order you around like slaves anymore for personal things. ... I mean, you still gotta work in the restaurant probably, that's not my decision to make, but I mean for all the rest."

That makes the three pause. But they still look somewhat angry. It doesn't seem to be enough to fully convince them yet.

"And also to make up for you not getting to eat it, you can go eat on my costs for a week? Here or somewhere else, you get to pick."

Their anger seems to calm down, replaced by intrigue. One of them raises their index finger as if telling Ken Tahn and Majima to hold on, then huddle up and whisper among themselves for a bit.

A few seconds later Bandit 1 approaches Ken Tahn and Majima, then holds out his hand for a handshake.

"We agree with these terms."

"We hope you know what you're doin' 'cause we don't know the next thing 'bout raising birds. 'Specially not giant ones like this one.", Bandit 2 says.

"But we'd be fools to be stubborn when you're offering us all-dat.", Bandit 3 says.

Astil

"Hmmmmmm... nah. First impression is ruined, it's no more use.", PC!Areui says, though he's clearly screwing around. Areui seems annoyed by this though.

"You best watch it, I can knock you around 'till you lose your feathers and look like a human instead!"

"So... like you."

Areui throws up his hands.

"I can't with you! I'm not nearly that annoying!"

"I mean, sometimes-", Kirue begins to say, only for Areui to shoot him an unamused glare. Kirue just laughs and pats his shoulder, then looks at the others.

"So, what about me? Where is my alternate counterpart?"

PC!Areui tilts his head.

"... sorry, who are you?"

"Kirue. Areui's older brother."

"I don't have a brother. Or a family. Comes with being an Archangel."

Now both angels are shocked.

"Sorry, did you say Arch Angel?"

"Yeah. Why?", PC!Areui asks, but then he realizes. He starts snickering a bit.

"Wait, don't tell me. You're a regular angel!?"

"Yeah, and clearly so are you! Arch Angels don't feel emotions, everyone knows that."

That stops PC!Areui's snickering. His expression and body language is hard to read at the moment.

"Sorry, what exactly do you mean by that?"

"As I said. Arch Angels do not feel regular emotions. It's the only thing we angels have over them.", Areui smirks smugly. "Arch Angels are more like... deity servants with a superiority complex."

PC!Areui crosses his arms and taps with against his elbows with his fingers.

"Are you calling me God's lackey right now?"

Vandalon

"HAHAHAHA!!"

Lute raises her chainsword above her head with a cry of victory, though it's cut short when she realizes there's still more Fallen afoot.

...

Not like any of them lasted much longer, in the end.

Lute's chainsword slowly revs down, the oversized (for her, anyway) blade thudding into the snow-swept ground as she rushes towards Phillip.

"-are you alright?!"

She refrains from giving him a hug, if only because she's currently covered in alien gore.

"M-mostly. My arm hurts like hell, though."

Lute sighs, helping Phillip back onto his feet. Merga goes rather silent again, looking down at his suit- now with holes in it -and snapping his fingers. His suit repairs itself.

"I'll see to it that you get healed as soon as you can, ok? In the meantime..."

She pulls an oversized hypo-syringe from the medical pack on one of her suit's many attachment points, carefully stabbing it into Phillip's injured shoulder and squeezing the release lever. A small hiss sounds out as a painkiller makes its way into his arm, and he breathes a sigh of relief.

"T-thanks, love."

"Don't mention it... I hate seeing you hurt."

They catch up with the rest of the group, Lute supporting Phillip, who's currently leaning onto her shoulder for support. Seems the painkiller, though powerful, still can't dull all the pain, especially now that adrenaline is wearing off for the both of them, leaving them even more drained than before.

Estarole

Aoi grips the one handlebar she's actually holding even tighter as shards of stone rain down around her. She's glad this bike is controlled through her mind and mana and not the handlebars. Pushing a surge of mana into the bike, bright cyan-blue flames shoot from the tailpipe and she lurches forward, hurtling up the World Guardian before she finally gets a clear shot at Annie.

"Firing."

Her arm snaps to target, aiming where her combat programs think the oversized dragon will be. And then she fires, the large burst of plasma screeching towards her target. She doesn't slow down her ascent in the slightest, though- standing still means you're as good as dead.

Confluence of Fate

The stars slam into Metagross, and it lets out a pained warble before collapsing to the ground, fainted.

"NO!! Metagross, return!"

He returns the fainted Pokemon to its ball and readies another.

"Go! Gronny!"

Rayne tosses out his Lucario, Gronny.

Gronny's Lucarionite is reacting to Rayne's Key Stone!

The Key Stone keychain clipped onto Rayne's bag shines brightly as his bond with his long-time partner Pokemon is realized, evolving Gronny from Lucario into Mega Lucario!

"Gronny! Use Aura Sphere!"

Gronny leaps into the air, letting out a loud growl as it forms a sphere of blue energy between its hands, before launching it right at Terapagos.

Confluence of Fates

"Hey, big turtle! What am I to you, chopped liver?!"

Reyna uses Silkbind Vault to slingshot herself in a rising arc, aiming to land on Terapagos' back. Moreso to get its attention on her than to attempt a mounting attack, as she'll jump away as soon as it reacts.

The Grand Resurrection

Majima totally would've killed all three bandits before they realized he was willing to lose a few men. With Tahn successfully defusing the situation, though, he cordially shakes Bandit 1's hand. "I'll give Kiryu-chan a call. He's raised chickens before, he'll know what to do."

Okay but Drumstick is not a chicken, it's more like a domestic ostrich.

... Y'know what, this is basically a Like a Dragon side story already, it'll probably work out.

Astil

"I know how it feels to be persecuted."

Refia steps forward again, between the angels. "To be lumped together with a kind of people you're nothing like, judged for the worst things you've never done just because everyone like you does those things."

She walks up to OG!Areui. She's a bit shorter than him, but in the moment, she might feel like the more imposing one.

"That's been my entire life as a succubus. And that's why, as someone who only thinks of what you've said and done in this one interaction so far... I must ask you to please stop talking shit about my friend."

Confluence of Fates

Reyna gets Terapagos' attention, but before it can act, Aura Sphere strikes. It suddenly shudders as its barrier breaks.

Enraged, it begins to absorb more Terastal Energy from its surroundings.

...

But...

The Grand Resurrection

Granted, Ken Tahn wouldn't have hesitated to kill them either if he felt he had to. He was just taken aback by the fact that they talked like that despite how fearful of him they'd been all this time. It told him that this mattered a lot to them, so he'd decided to settle on a compromise.

The three now move away from the cage, prompting the Chocobo, now named Drumstick, to peek out from under its wing. Ken Tahn approaches the cage slowly, then crouches a bit to seem small.

"Hey, it's okay. They won't hurt you. You get to live with us instead."

Drumstick doesn't really look reassured, but it does look less frightened. The fact that it's been reacting this way shows that it's an intelligent creature, otherwise it wouldn't have known what they're talking about.

"How about we get you something to eat instead?", Ken Tahn suggests. Judging by the bird's beady eyes glistening up a bit, it seems to like that idea.

"Hey, what do birds eat? Worms, right?", Ken Tahn asks. Surprisingly, Bandit 3 speaks up.

"Birds this big would probably eat meat if they're carnivores, or entire vegetables if not. Probably carrots or cabbage judging by its size."

Ken Tahn, as well as Bandit 1 and 2, stare at him. He chuckles sheepishly.

"I read a biology book that one time we came across that abandoned library in our world. Told me a good bit about various animals."

"Right, sometimes I forget you can read.", Bandit 2 comments. Ken Tahn chooses not to comment on that for now, instead looking at Majima.

"Do we have vegetables to feed it?"

—

Meanwhile upstairs, Zacharie and Hugo finally enter the establishment. Of course all they see is Thief King Bakura.

Astil

Areui does look a bit taken aback too when Refia gives him a piece of her mind.

"Right... I, er... sorry.", he says while glancing away, slightly meek.

"I suppose the way we met made us a bit more irritable towards him than we needed to be.", Kirue admits with a nod, apologizing that way.

PC!Areui still has his arms crossed, but he stopped tapping once Refia stood up for him. There's a small hint of a genuine smile, though if Refia looks back it'll be replaced with his more usual smirk.

"Next time I test your strength I'll do so fairly.", he says to his counterpart. That seems to be good enough for Areui, who slightly smiles in return.

THE GRAIN SILO STRIKES AGAIN

"...A battle royale..."

Jack's inner thoughts begin running rampant after the terms are laid out to him. He's starting to think he's in over his head, not in terms of raw power but in terms of importance and complexity. There's consequences here if he wins the fight and isn't able to handle the aftermath. But still, if that's what comes with his return to the arena, that's just how it will have to be. He has to plan this out very carefully regardless, starting with how to win.

<(Icarus, Ovarr, Bely) leaving gives me better odds, but there's still some fierce competition... I can divide these fighters into categories, at least. (Sarah, Tilra, Artemis, Flandre), those ones have raw power. In a battle of strength, I don't see myself winning against any of them unless I push myself to my limit, or they happen to wear each other down before focusing on me. Even then, if I power up from the start, they'll almost certainly team up against me, and all my fighting back would do is delay the inevitable. (Cittufeni and Emma), I saw those two being able to absorb power, both from other opponents and myself. Ironically I think I'd have a harder time against them if I went all out, given my shaky control over the excess radiation and their own abilities...>

His gaze drifts as he weighs things up and forms a plan of action. All things considered, he does not expect to get the win, but if things fall into place the way he wants them to, Jack hopes he'll have a chance.

<Priority one, avoid becoming the target. Priority two, take down the power absorbers, ideally before I need to nuclear but there might be some wiggle room. Priority three, conserve as much of my resources as I can.>

There. He has a plan. Turning his attention back to Gor, he remains silent momentarily while staring at them with some level of fascination. Then he shakes that aside, pulling the Boreal Bomber open and counting the ammo inside as a last-minute check before locking in. Something tells him he won't be able to access any other gear, and he can only carry so many specialized heavy grenades in reserve, so he'll have to make them count.

"Alright. Even if I immediately get put in the dirt... I'm about as ready as I can be."

Confluence of Fates

"But..." indeed, as during this whole chaos something else had creeped into the area. Blending in as if it belonged here, a familiar Elder Dragon◊ was clinging onto the ceiling above, its fangs bared in an imitation of a smile at the energy buildup it could sense.

The Red Dragon - MHWI OST

Soulstealer Xeno'Jiiva had come here because the place felt oddly familiar to him, reminiscent of where he had 'hatched'. But this was a pleasant surprise, unaware prey that was already softened up for him.

Soulstealer fucking divebombed from the ceiling and slammed his full weight on top of the smaller creature, aiming to disorient it in anticipation of his real attack. Namely attempting to sink his fangs or dig his claws in to any parts of Terapagos not protected by the shell and start draining its energy. This includes the Terastal energy which will catch him off guard but not to the point he'll let go right away.

Annie Dannie

The Stained Azurelos let out a challenging roar, flying around to get a better angle of attack but taking care not to approach too closely. Annihilation Nergigante might find it odd it's covered in some black ooze that seems almost alive with how it moves, right before it breathes in for another fire attack. This time it breathes deeper before firing a solid stream of flames at the Eater of Elders.

Avar-Laren

Well that's certainly suspicous.

Sebastien is immediately on guard, his weapons at the ready as the dark figure disappears into the mine.

"This feels a bit too familiar." Sebastien says, remembering the last time a suspicious dark figure appeared before them. It was around when that mess with Sheol and Luin's hometown being sacked by the Nergigante happened. "I probably don't need to say it but be on your guard."

HC

Killer Moth would normally be content to ignore any ongoing robberies, he's not a vigilante or some loser like that.

But he recognizes Kenjaku's voice. Aw hell, that can't be a good sign. He starts getting ready for some kind of fight or violence to begin, considering how he has a gut feeling this is going to be another game for that lunatic.

Plus he kind of wants payback so he wouldn't be against sabotaging whatever Kenjaku is here to do.

Emma, already forming a battle plan and an order of which people to target first once Gor mentions a battle royale.

Jack, Cittufeni, Flandre, Artemis, then Sarah...

Her reasoning is simple enough, it's the order of people that are adequately equipped to handle her absorption and output. Cittufeni is a game of tug of war and Jack doesn't seem as much of a problem.

Her biggest challenge would be the ones who regularly square up to Sarah (Artemis and Flandre) she's seen how she fought against her Captain — a man she could barely even lay a finger on in brute force, technique, and tactics. If that's anything to go by, she can't immediately charge in with them.

She figures she must stockpile as much power before even deciding to go near them and maybe by the time they've tired themselves out, she has a chance at shooting them down... Although.

The ultimate wildcard is Tilra, she meets that condition and even more, she can't face her head on, period. Nothing she can think of in her arsenal can properly square up against her. Perhaps she's overestimating her over the "stolen" kill from earlier? Maybe she isn't?

Emma isn't sure, in times like these she tries to see what benefit the collective would gain nd—

"We're all winning in the end, it'll just take more elbow grease to get my slice of the cake out from the others if I don't."

She laughs to herself, it's smug but she's clearly nervous — a feeling she has not experienced in years — against facing everyone here.

Min Min's Place

Save

• 13th Dilemna

Huh? With the guy appraoching, Ui's signaling "Pyra" that they're changing appearance in response by vibrating in their pocket.

| You |

(Gotcha.)

• > Interaction Mode
• > Combat Mode

An overlap? Does this mean this new UI doesn't change between interaction and combat? Gotta take a look at it then...

Interesting looking pause menu. Now instead of simply having several VN functions, Combat Mode functions like stats, Inventory and Party Members are shown as well. It also covers the entire Screen Space instead of a block in the middle.

There are 4 Party Member slots with portraits. Alright, there's "Pyra" themselves using Hanako sprites, Ui with no portrait because the entire screen is their portrait of sorts, Ravenos, and a 4th slot with the name Kirike on it.

Oh, so that's what she's called. <- Names are usually presented as ??? in textboxes until someone tells you

Closing the pause menu, two UI functions appears at the corners of "Pyra"'s field of vision.

On the lower left is a menu saying "Commands". This is probably where "Pyra" Blast will be cast.

On the lower right is a gauge containing HP, MP and a thing that says "Drive". "Pyra" doesn't really know what a Drive is so let's set that aside.

It looks like a mix between a hammer and a blaster though. Maybe in combat this can be pulled out to be used as a weapon.

The guy has a hovering circle with three different controller Top Buttons near him. Maybe this is the command to talk with him.

Quickly doing a pressing motion, a conversation is initiated with the usual KS textbox hovering in front of "Pyra" alongside all the new UI stuff.

| You |

(Ah, ol' reliable textbox.)

"A-and you're..."

Again, with the ??? thing...

Sarah had fought all these people, some at once. So she knew what she was getting into by declaring a battle royale. Amongst all of them, she mostly "feared" Tilra the most but that was mostly due to previous experience. She was under no doubt that Jack, Cittufeni, Emma, Flandre and Arlina could prove themselves to be valuable foes.

Tilra, she'd have to take out first. She had almost done it back then but had let up on the pressure. True, Tilra seemed to have regained her stamina, but Sarah could always try and overwhelm her. It wouldn't be easy, though. And it might cost her a lot of attention and strength to do so.

But yet, there was a factor in that Tilra had been seen in action by the others. They likely wouldn't leave her alone to charge up something that could single-handedly kill them all. But yet, there was also the factor of Gor mentioning some fights could be "isolated". With Sarah's prodigious rate of recovery and stamina, she could perhaps afford to let the others focus Tilra while she take them one at a time. Or perhaps even wait out whatever apocalyptic attack Tilra could unleash by fighting someone else in another dimension.

Perhaps that was the best way, yes. Sarah herself knew she was certainly familiar to the people here beside Jack. They'd probably account for her, meaning that the Battle Royale would be difficult for her. Yet there's a silver lining in Flandre's casual approach to the situation, almost seeming like she's just eager to fight it out. Sarah's eyes widen, a bit sad as she quickly realizes what she could do to try to gain the upper hand.

It might take one fighter off the board to weaken Tilra but with Flandre seemingly about to focus on her, well, it's not like Sarah would benefit from ignoring her.

Gor is pleased. And the world around the fighters change into an enormous and literal stone arena, with four large white pillars of stone in the middle of it. A world of hot sand stretch at the fighter's feet, and spectators cheer on them, on balconies overlooking the battlefield. Near those balconies are black portals leading to other worlds.

Gor give the fighters time to prepare themselves and vanish.

GO

The word isn't said so much as it's understood. And Sarah decide to immediately activate Limit Breaker the very first second of the fight, blitzing up to Flandre in a way that seems damn close to teleportation but is actually raw, faster-than-light speed that make her look like a thin beam of blue light for a moment. Skidding in front of Flandre, her right elbow jutting out towards the vampire girl's face with her left fist by her hip, Sarah throw a monstrous punch at Flandre's mid-section.

Ideally, it'll knock her out cold. Less ideally, it could kill her. But in either case, Sarah try driving her fist into her guts. With such strength that the subsequent shockwave of her blasting behind Flandre could be a powerful physical threat to the fighters behind Flandre. And if that happens, Sarah doesn't exploit that. In the scenarios where Flandre is beaten by that, she proceed to then gently put her down to the ground, letting her rest on the hot sand.

Actually, if that take Flandre out of the fight, she'll be fine and able to move on elsewhere in the Arena. It's just that her body being left there is a way for Gor to remind the fighters of what had just happened.

You. Sarah rise to her feet, wanting to make a little speech about not losing, only to realize that her fists communicated it all very cleanly for her anyway. She wasn't holding back. And would fight as hard as she can onwards. You're next. With similar speed as before, Sarah vault up to Arlina next, attempting to grab her by the face and slam her towards one of the nearest portals.

Her every movement cause shockwaves to happen around her, igniting the sand. A seemingly careless manoeuver but one she mean to use to stun the party and stop them from trying to interfere.

If that happens, and if Arlina is hit, Sarah and she will go to...

Yet another Generic Island

Sarah arrives unto the site of her battleground. A generic Easter Island full of Moais stretching into the horizon. They'll be the stern judges of her battle with Arlina, the black portal closing behind them. It'll only open up again for the winner and her unconscious (or dead, Gor didn't care) foe. And Sarah intended for her to be the one to do it.

Tossing Arlina towards the ground, Sarah decide she doesn't need a moment to study her surroundings, promptly teleporting behind Arlina at the last moment, right after she land on the ground, to try to drive her two fists straight into her back. the attack splitting the land in two as a huge gash tear it apart, even though most of it is focused on Arlina. The shock is immediate, countless moais falling into the brand new canyon into the dark water at their feet.

Sarah waste no time further scarring the land, taking off running after the "goddess" (if she was hit and sent flying) in a manner that ignite the grass and stone all around her in a sweeping shockwave. With a vicious uppercut, she attempts to first appear in front of Arlina before sending her flying high into the sky. Where she'll then try to viciously ping-ball Arlina around the sky, attempting not to give her a second to get her bearings

The sky remains blue and the land promptly repair itself as Sarah attempts to whack Arlina around with precise punches and kick, sonic booms occurring all around as Sarah moves at speed way beyond that to keep the pressure going. The air whines with every punch she throws, each more than capable of dooming planets and stars to annihilation, and raining down upon Arlina's body to punch craters all over her.

Foolish, so foolish. She'd taken THOR to a place to die. And her friends were going to have to fight each other, despite some staying for her sake, she was sure. The only way she could regain some honor out of this was by making it not... useless. By trying to fight her way out of this, as she'd always did. Even if Tilra, or Cittufeni, or Arlina herself seemed like they could be worthier opponents for Gor, what's with Sarah already having screwed up.

But she doesn't want to let THOR down. She want to be the one to kill Gor, and she also want to keep her memories.

As she take another swing at Arlina, Sarah decide to aim for the throat.

Edited by Bolded1 on Apr 1st 2024 at 3:43:50 PM

Church Forbnite

In a better situation, Flandre might have been prepared for an attack like that. She could have braced herself or try to block it but as it is she's only able to widen her eyes in surprise before getting gut punched. Ow. She ungracefully spits out of her mouth, some blood leaking out as well. She glares at Sarah briefly before promptly collapsing unconscious. Oh well at least she won't remember this I suppose.

Edited by shroobot3000 on Apr 1st 2024 at 5:21:00 PM

Church, Vandalon, Avar-Laren

Cittufeni eyed Emma once the battle had begun. Her own absorption ability was similar to his own, which meant that a competition over sources was bound to make them meet as enemies…

Unless…

"Woman," He said urgently, hovering towards her. There was a low hum as he did, the Creation Power being jetted through his flayed yet bloodless skin a cool blue color. "I have a proposition: join our resources and our strengths, face the others together…I am certainly in no shape to face them as I am, and I doubt you are either. But together…I calculate a higher probability of success than any other scenario." The android offered, then trailed off for but a moment…

"And may the best of us come out victorious when only we remain."

——

"There is a medical bay you can report to at base," The Sikarii who had come to Phillip’s aid a few moments ago informed. "Will you be able to make the journey?"

"It should only be another ten or fifteen minutes." Mordran joined in, glancing off in the direction they were soon to leave in. "I’d suggest hanging out in the pod while we walk with that injury, if some lumbering fuck hadn’t destroyed it." He changed his gaze to Thorsig, who narrowed his eyes at the Techmarine.

——

Luin nodded her agreement. She drew her blade and crept through the crack in the doors, advancing into the darkness. Lannéadrom shimmered brightly in the room despite a clear lack of any other light, revealing a vast, open chamber. Black bricks made up the walls and floor, but the roof above them was stone, complete with stalactites that looked like fangs in the faint lighting. In the walls were various thirty-foot steel bulwarks, many of them closed. Some were open, though, and behind all of them was an empty cavity that had once stored something.

At the far end of the room was yet another steel door, though this one took up nearly the entire wall; undoubtedly the entrance to the mines. Standing before that door was a man clad in monster’s armor, leaning against the metal with arms crossed and a scowl on his lips.

   "I don’t understand either, Luin."    He hissed, having clearly overheard the woman’s unfinished statement just a few moments earlier.    "Why the General is so…intent on keeping you alive. Why she’s so protective of you—making sure none of us so much as even think about hurting you—after all you’ve done. You and your friends."    He sneered at Sebastien, before pushing off of the wall and walking forwards, rapidly crossing the room.    "Destroyed our camp. Killed our people—my people! Brothers, sisters!"    Now, the Poacher had begun shouting.

"Those assholes had it coming." Luin lowered the blade she’d held high for light, pointing it now at his throat. A younger her might’ve tried to de-escalate the situation…but not anymore. Now, she prayed for the Poacher to attack…she really, really wanted to see his blood spill, and from the sounds of it, he was alone in his confrontation against them..

The sound of feet hitting the ground echoed behind them. Luin wheeled around and was met with the sight of another Poacher, blocking their exit. The first of the two shot forwards towards Sebastien, his dual blades shining as they were drawn. He leapt up and aimed to land on the man, attempting to cut open Sebastien’s throat with both daggers if the first attack were successful.

Meanwhile, Luin deflected a thrust of the other’s spear with Lannéadrom. At the heed of a whistle, Rime pounced at the Poacher but was fended off by a swing of his shield, knocking the Giadrome away.

Edited by ISZATSO on Apr 1st 2024 at 1:03:50 PM

Hub Centralis

"Oh shit I forgot to pay-"

Mark casually turns around to pull out his well needed payment but—

Kenjaku screams he's a thief, then Corrin, Kashimo, and Nuue all decide to chase after him all of a sudden. He rolls to the side to avoid the sleeping wave — he doesn't even know what it does but it looked threatening enough to piss him off.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKERS IT'S A SINGLE WAFFLE"

He pulls out his coin purse and pitches a single gold coin at Kashimo, his strength and explosiveness makes it shoot for the chasing sorcerer like a bullet.

"Here's your damn payment!"

Afterwards his chained hammers appear from thin air and lets the ends spin around his arms like windmills.

"NOW FUCK OFF UNLESS YOU'RE LOOKING FOR HANDS!"

Edited by BoniniBanana on Apr 1st 2024 at 10:42:35 PM

With how things have kicked off, Jack is simultaneously in a great place and a horrible one. The swift elimination of Flandre has taken one variable out of his mental calculus, and from what he can tell Sarah is occupying herself focusing on Artemis/Arlina, which should tie up those two. However, from what he's seen of Tilra she makes for a formidable foe, and Cittufeni's already playing the diplomacy game to try to team up with Emma. If the two power absorbers were to team up, that would be disastrous for his long term strategy. He cannot just let this happen. But how to play the other people off against each other...

Option A: Team up with Tilra against the power absorbers. This could be a good option... But he doesn't know what Tilra might have planned, especially since she's now the only heavyweight left in the starting area. The power absorbers might not pose as much of a threat to her as they would to himself, and if she knows that, he'd be the only threat via process of elimination, leaving no reason for her to team up with him. Then she'd run the easiest one-versus-two on the power absorbers and be free to pick off whichever of Sarah and Artemis emerge victorious. Clearly a plan that Jack can't go with.

Option B: Try to prevent Emma and Cittufeni from becoming aligned with each other. While that does mean Tilra gets free reign to pick her own target or even just charge up another ridiculous attack, he can still probably deal with her, which is a hell of a lot better than the alternative. Since Cittufeni already made his move and is (at least in Jack's mind) higher threat potential, that would mean his best odds come from prying Emma away from the deal instead. Of course, the ideal outcome after that would be for Emma to conveniently fall against someone else, but would she be also be thinking that deep into the scenario...?

He'll have to keep some cryo grenades in reserve just in case, but he's willing to shoot a more metaphorical shot right now.

"I also think a team-up would do you some good," he starts, directly focusing on Emma while talking. "Just not with the machine man over there. Surely it makes more sense to pair up with someone you'll counter in the eventual one-on-one, rather than someone you at best draw with? Besides..."

Okay, so threatening her might not be the best choice if he's trying to play her off against other people. But it might help get the point across. He spins the ammo chamber of the Boreal Bomber, wincing at the sensation of blisteringly cold frost flakes on his fingers - a wholly unnecessary move on his part, but one that looks decently flashy and shows his readiness.

"You know I have to go after you first if we don't work together. It just makes tactical sense."

Church of Gor - Generic Island

"..."

Arlina lets out a slow breath as she lands on the island. She didn't expect she'd be fighting Sarah under these circumstances, but too much was on the line for questioning what's happening now. She locks eyes with Sarah, right before she sees her dissapear from view.

Right behind her, as she'd expected- Not currently being able to move fast enough to dodge the hit, she rolls with the blow, going flying away in a tumble before she starts to shine with a golden light.

"You're angry with yourself. Blind rage won't get you far. But if you won't hold back, neither will I."

Right before Sarah can unleash her series of follow-up attacks, Arlina teleports to the side, her body emitting a golden light. Godseeker. She immediately lashes out with multiple blades of light, before resummoning Excalibur Morgan and driving it downward, the blade exploding into a grand pillar of black flame that further scars the island below, scorching the grass to a crisp and vaporizing part of the earth.

Her other hand reaches out and grabs the other Excalibur,◊ this one carrying a blade untarnished by darkness. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't wield both at once- but this isn't a normal circumstance.

Confluence of Fates

"What the hell is that?!"

Rayne struggles to stand his ground from the resulting shockwaves, falling back a few steps. Gronny looks back at its Trainer in worry, but Rayne simply nods, and Gronny focuses back on the fight.

"Whatever it is, it looks a lot stronger than that turtle... And I don't like the idea of fighting it when it isn't distracted. So! Gronny, use Close Combat on that dragon!"

The Mega Lucario leaps forward with a growl of fury, pummeling Soulstealer with an unrelenting flurry of blows, before leaping back.

Gronny's Adaptability raised the STAB effect from 1.5 to 2!

Gronny's Defense fell!

Gronny's Special Defense fell!

Edited by RainbyPlays on Apr 1st 2024 at 11:53:16 AM

My mind's perfectly clear. Sarah retorts, as she sees her foe grab her sword and retaliate by opening her right hand, a mass of shadow leaping out from the palm of her hand and shaping itself into a large claymore-type blade. The Necrosword, which is immediately pit against the strength of Arlina's white blade, "sparks" flying as the ground around the two women collapse.

Were she in a cheerier mood, she'd point it out. But instead, the dark blade clash with Arlina's sword a number of times, moving in a blur as sparks fly. Sarah isn't as skilled in swordsmanship as Arlina, so she try to see if she can't use her speed or strength to make up for it, swinging her black blade fiercely, with arms so fast as to be a blur.

I'm angry, but who wouldn't be in my stead?!

She's successful at fending it off, though she's pushed back shortly before Arlina attack her with an enormous blast. Sarah match it by lifting her own sword overhead and slamming it overhead, creating, by sheer strength, a colossal crescent-shaped projectile that hurl itself at Arlina's own move, not overcoming it, but matching it. As both pillars devastate the world below, cloaking it in darkness, the familiar light that accompany Sarah's teleportation stand out all the more, with her appearing over Arlina and swinging her sword down at her.

Nothing but a clone though. Sarah knows Arlina is skillful with those though, so she expect it to last less than a second. More than enough time for her as Sarah try to fly into Arlina to slam her elbow into her neck, the air warping and distorting as Sarah throws her entire upper body forward, stomping on the ground hard enough to shatter it and disperse both her and Arlina's earlier attacks with the sheer shockwave of it.

I put an entire goddamn world in danger by bringing THOR here! I can't just sit back and let someone clean up my mess, Artemis!

Sarah then move her left arm forward to throw Arlina deep underground, shattering miles upon miles of ground at her feet at the entire world tremble. Enormous debris and shards of the island are thrown perilously high into the air, with Sarah looking so small next to the smallest of the reverse meteors caused by her own attacks.

Very soon, the island setting is basically erased. The borders of the crater spread so wide around her as to only be visible with sight matching her own.

Which Sarah further amplify by coming down at Arlina with a painful stomp, further worsening the cracks as she try stomping Arlina deeper undergound. Her necrosword is gone, having become... necro-gloves.

Edited by Bolded1 on Apr 1st 2024 at 6:29:36 PM