Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

Naesala looks at them enter the stronghold, then turns to Arthur as he sits down on the ground.

"I suppose we'll see. Let's hope they will. This entire conflict should be dealt with as quickly as possible."

A sudden sound from behind a corner may catch Lucina off guard. Did she find the alchemist already?

Lucina let out a small gasp but catch herself beforehand and attempts to check the noise's source.

However, Xander and Camilla arrives first, with Xander firmly laying his hand on her shoulder.

Hold. I am more durable than you are. Allow me to step forth to absorb the attack for you. he whispers.

I am not one to let others get hurt for me. says Lucina.

Understandable, but in such close quarters, your agility may be hampered and dodging will be harder. Allow me to serve as your shield, I can take it. he declares. Stepping in front of her, he attempts to investigate the noise, while Lucina keeps her hand on Falchion's handle. Camilla is nearby, not as stressed as Lucina going by her relatively calm smile.

Edited by Bolded1 on Feb 5th 2019 at 7:13:47 PM

"Lay off him!" Majima tries to grab X by the head from behind and punch him in the back repeatedly.

Kenshiro closes his eyes in pain as X continues whaling on him.

Then he tries to uppercut the demonic hedgehog in the gut.

Hokuto Shinken Improvement: 3/4

What they'll find is...

a robed woman with pale skin, looking rather ghastly in appearance. Only literally, as her body seems to flicker.

"W-wait, hold up! I'm not your enemy.", she says, slightly nervous. "I saw you approaching outside and you look powerful. I need your help."

She glances behind her.

"Me and my bo-... my colleague were struck by those giant light beams from a while back. I became some sort of spectral entity and was binded to a person. My colleague remained solid, but was given three of these entities instead. He and the person I was tied to happened to fight, and mine lost. I've been free ever since, but unable to do anything but remain near my colleague."

She turns back to the three.

"Please, help me free him. I'll allow myself to be binded to one of you during the fight if you'll help me. I can tell you things about what my colleague is capable of, and, by my observations and experiments, I should be able to give one of you a boost in magical power."

NLA Outskirts: X Strikes!

The hedgehog was so focused on Kenshiro that he didn't even notice Majima until he was already beating on him, tossing him aside only to get punched in the gut by Kenshiro.

He flies back, and while doing so, he gets hit by a stream of shots coming from Cheelai and the bandits.

X:    "Ugh, Dammit! You won't get away with this! You are defying God!"   

He flies in, cutting into Bandit 4's left arm, leaving three deep gashes.

Bandit 4: "OH GOD!"

Bandit 1 throws a solid punch at X, actually mildly fazing him, X turning his attention to him before Segata grabs him and Judo throws him once more, X moving out of the explosion so fast that the bandits couldn't even track his movements. He goes for Segata, trying to kick him repeatedly, but Segata blocks most of the kicks, the last few sending him skidding backwards.

This could be a trap.

But the woman may be right as well. Beside, spirits that have yet to be freed should be in a frenzy and incapable of diplomacy... says Lucina.

It would be monstrous to leave you alone and distressed. And beside, three of our friends are seemingly tied to your colleague. Let us kill two birds with one stone and cooperate to free them.

Camilla sighs a little.

I'm available for the possession. I have greater magical abilities and I'd like to know how it feels to be possessed, completely helpless within my own body and condamned to...

Camilla.

Sigh, let us move along, then.

"I thank you.", she says, relieved. She then blinks.

"Those three spectral entities are your friends? Then we all benefit from working together.", she says, slightly smiling. She then chuckles a little at Camilla.

"Oh, my experiments have shown me that I don't necessarily have to hijack your body. It'd be more like you gaining the skills I provide, in this case magic, and being able to communicate with me. Regardless, I know where my colleague is. Let us hurry."

She starts floating further down the hall.

"Who are the three of you? I am Mona.", she says, figuring that they should exchange some basic information before battling together.

Edited by DevilPsyco on Feb 5th 2019 at 7:44:20 PM

I am Lucina, a princess from Ylisse. However, my title means little within this world. answers Lucina, keeping her eyes open.

I am the crown prince of Nohr, Xander. he declares. It is a pleasure to encounter you, Mona.

I am the old... more mature princess of Nohr, Camilla, and his little sister. says Camilla, twirling her axe. Oh dear, I forgot to name myself. I am Camilla.

Edited by Bolded1 on Feb 5th 2019 at 7:49:29 PM

Hokuto Shinken Improvement COMPLETE!

Kenshiro starts stomping up to X. "You're no god and you never will be."

"Huh? What's he on about?"

"Gods never die. But you...?" Kenshiro raises an arm to point a finger at X dramatically, in a way that'd make the likes of Phoenix Wright and Jotaro Kujo proud, as a brilliant aura of blue flames surrounds the warrior.

"You are already dead."

Narktus has moved to a field of monitors with drone-camera views on them. And now, he's panicking. "ABORT THE MISSION, X! ABORT!"

"You're all royalty?", she asks, surprised. "Huh... it's good to know that there are worlds out there where royals aren't afraid to fight for themselves. A pleasure to meet you."

She then halts, gesturing for the three of them to remain silent. Regardless of whether they'll do, they'll start hearing explosions nearby.

"They're close...", she whispers.

My father, King Garon, fought with his soldiers back in his youth. I follow his exemple : after all, what kind of king would let his people die, while he hide somewhere else ?

I share a similar point of view. I intend to fight with my subjects, no matter the battlefield, so that they may never feel alon-

Lucina's last word is drowned out by the explosion and the royal trio wait it out, hiding a little. Xander and Camilla, with their armor, are not as graceful as Lucina.

Those three spirits should make the puppet skilled at swordfighting and magically talented. How should we approach this, Mona ?

NLA Outskirts: X Strikes! God And Man

X smiles his demented, toothy grin, the world almost warping around him.

X:    "Oh, you'll see just how much of a god I AM- Ah, you're a buzzkill, boss!"   

The world immediately settles back down as X bows.

X:    "Fortunately for you, I am drawn by a higher calling. As such, I must bid you adieu. But don't worry your pretty little heads, I'll kill you soon enough. Toodle-oo!"   

A portal opens, X stepping backward into it before it abruptly closes.

Cheelai: "Well, that was anticlimactic."

Bandit 4: "Can we go get John and heal the two of us up now?"

Bandit 1: "That's probably a solid idea."

Space Station Gravitas

X steps in from the portal, nodding his head in blue-balled disappointment.

X:    "What's the matter, boss? I had that handled!"   

The world slightly warps for a second, healing X of his wounds before returning to normal.

"Of course." Kenshiro's aura dissipates.

Majima walks up to Cheelai. "Hey, green chick, you got any friends?"

Kenshiro glares at Majima. His aura suddenly comes back.

Narktus turns around to face X.

"First, Targa needed something from you. Second, the seven-scarred man, Kenshiro, had memorized your body's pressure points. Had you stayed, you would've found yourself vulnerable to his art. And Hokuto Shinken is an art of killing instantly."

Targa walks up to X and kneels before him. "You outrank me in the forces of Gravitas, so I made sure to have something to offer you in exchange for what you can offer me."

Edited by KiriK on Feb 5th 2019 at 1:10:06 PM

"The magic will undoubtedly strengthen his bombs and flasks, and while he doesn't have a sword, he does have two staves that can be used as daggers. All of his special equipment is going to be boosted by this.", she says. "He's a little small and pretty fast, so you're going to have to keep your eyes on him at all times. However, he isn't the toughest one around when it comes to defensive capabilities. Try to strike only when you think you'll be able to land a hit. Any clean, powerful hit will count."

She winces.

"Here they come. Princess Camilla, I'll bond to you now."

She focuses, closing her eyes, and then turns into particles, which attach themselves to Camilla's armor. She'll feel a noticable surge in her magical capabilities, and no less in control of her actions than usual. Seems like Mona didn't lie.

An explosion then goes off close by, creating a puff of green smoke, and Plague Knight suddenly jumps into view. Looking the three of them over for a moment, he readies a flask for battle.

However, in a puff of smoke, two more Plague Knights appear behind the trio, both of them holding a staff.

Their Spirits, Odin, Selena and Laslow◊, manifest behind them, with Odin near the one holding the flask.

The Trio of No Quarter

Fighter: Plague Knight (+ Plague Knight X2)

Spirit: Selena, Laslow and Odin

Conditions:

• The fighter’s physical attacks have increased strength

• The fighter’s magic attacks have increased strength

—-

Ally Spirit: Mona

Class: Advanced

Effect: Magic attacks ^^

Edited by DevilPsyco on Feb 5th 2019 at 8:32:34 PM

NLA Outskirts: God And Man Aftermath

Cheelai mildly facepalmed.

Cheelai: "Ah, you're one of those..."

As if on cue, Lucio and Jet arrive on the scene.

Lucio: "Yo, Cheelai! There you are!"

Jet: "We were looking for you. Who are these guys?"

Cheelai: "Actually, I don't think we've formally introduced ourselves! I'm Cheelai! And your name?"

Space Station Gravitas

X:    "Killing instantly? Sounds not good. At all."   

X turns to Targa.

X:    "A trade of services? I'm listening."   

He smirks, feeling good about what's about to happen.

I see... she says, as Camilla bond with the spirit. She looks at her hands in amusement while Xander grimly get himself ready, the smoke sweeping over him as he and Lucina calmly draw their swords. Siegfried and Falchion are pointed at their enemies, with Lucina looking a little hurt at the sight of the three spirits.

For Nohr !

For Nohr !

For you, my friends.

Xander points his sword and fires a black beam at the enemies, attempting to hit them and spark a distraction. Lucina, meanwhile, launch herself forward, heading for the closest one. Camilla gets a thunder book, with a confident smirk;

"Goro Majima."

"... Kenshiro."

Targa opens his nice suit, revealing the cybernetic parts of his body underneath.

"Give me modifications like the things your dolls have."

"My former master, Kyo-oh, the King of Ruin, knew a sister art to Hokuto Shinken. It is called Meito Kieiken. While Hokuto Shinken targets one's body... Meito Kieiken targets the mind."

"He left the art's knowledge, all its techniques, with me. I can teach it to you in exchange for these upgrades."

Canonically, Meito Kieiken died with Kyo-oh. Targa is not the same as in canon.

The Plague Knights leap to the sides to dodge Xander's attacks, and one of them blade/staff clashes with Lucina.

"A lovely girl you may be, but what must be done, will be done.", he says, speaking with the same tone as Laslow/Inigo would. He jumps back, then starts striking at Lucina with swift stabs from his Staff of Striking, attempting to hit her multiple times.

Another one jumps at Camilla, throwing several bombs with lightning bolts surging from them. If they hit anything, instead of exploding, they will send small blasts down on the ground, and those will explode instead.

"Like the strike of lightning, Odin Dark bears down upon you, fiend!", he says as he attacks.

Watch out, his bombs can have different casings and effects. This one's a feint at first!, Mona mentally says to Camilla.

Lastly, the third Plague Knight drinks from the Beserker's Brew, then starts charging at Xander while donning a red aura.

"You think you're stronger than me!? Just you wait!", he says. If he manages to make contact with Xander while donning this aura, Xander will be hurt and knocked back a fair amount.

Edited by DevilPsyco on Feb 5th 2019 at 9:02:00 PM

Lucina winces in sympathy but manages to deflect his attacks, being naturally competent at fighting and also knowing how he fights. That said, she slip up a little sometimes, and needs to dodge. After all, while she knows how Inigo fight, Laslow had the time to refine his fighting style.

I know that you can fight it ! Please ! she says, attacking on her own with some sword swings. She's hardly going all out herself.

Camilla's eyes widen slightly when she "hears" Selena's spirit but she dodge the flasks and opts to fire a Thunder spell, being careful to dodge the projectiles this time. She seems a little surprised at the added power of her spell.

I thought that someone like Leo would have a more serious retainer...

Keep your focus on the enemy ! They will not hold back at all ! Strike fiercely, Lucina ! This is the only way to save your friends ! says Xander. He's the one who get struck and sent flying, though he's able to catch himself by digging Siegfried into the ground. He, first, fires off another beam but get close to the knight with great speed, moving fluidly in spite of his armor and going for an horizontal slash.

Edited by Bolded1 on Feb 5th 2019 at 8:53:00 PM

Laslow!Plague Knight doesn't react to Lucina's plea at all, instead using a Staff of Surging to suddenly fly up into the air as a way of dodging, close to the ceiling of the hallway, and hovers in place for a moment as he then conjures up a Vat, which proceeds to fall down onto the ground and explode. Lucina'll have to dodge, or she could be seriously hurt.

Odin!Plague Knight gets hit by the Thunder Spell and falls onto the ground for a moment. Then, in a poof of green smoke, he vanishes and reappears a few feet further. He now brings out three bombs, the three floating around him in a circle, and he leaps towards Camilla, intent on making them explode on impact.

Selena!Plague Knight dodges the beam once more, but does get surprised and slashed across the chest. He too vanishes in a puff of smoke, only to reappear a few feet further.

"Agh! Are you serious!?", he growls. He then throws a large green flask at the ground in front of Xander. If he doesn't try to dodge, he'll get caught in a powerful X-shaped explosion.

Lucina barely dodge and realize that she’ll die if she hesitates. Letting out a pained sigh, she points her sword at the spirit, preparing Aether.

Camilla get struck by the bombs but is bulky enough to withstand it, though she gets thrown backward quite a bit. She smiles though, and fire a bigger spell.

I can fight you with projectiles if you want !

Xander dodges and rush forward, attempting to quickly close the gap to prevent her from tossing a bomb. He slash horizontally !

Laslow!Plague Knight, strangely, doesn't attack this time.

Same for Odin!Plague Knight and Selena!Plague Knight, the both of them leaping backwards to avoid damage. They then toss a flask on the ground in front of them, creating a smoke bomb. Once it has faded, it looks like the Plague Knights have switched locations with each other, which is only possible to notice because of their Spirits.

Laslow!Plague Knight now charges at Xander with the Staff of Striking, Selena!Plague Knight jumps above Camilla and tries to drop a vat on her, and Odin!Plague Knight starts chucking bombs at Lucina. These ones slightly home in, but a few dodges could shake them off. They have no distinct other properties to them.

Lucina run through but the narrow space means that she get hit and stumble along, gaining burns and losing half her sleeve.

However, she gets an idea and leap backward when the projectiles hit, covering her behind the smoke...

HOPE WILL NEVER DIE ! she yells, piercing through the smoke like a missile and attempting to hit « Owain » once. She then leaps back and go for another strike

Xander clashes with his retainer, attempting to overpower him.

Camilla dodges the attack and look up, before casting Wind this time.

Well, I've been attacked by a retainer twice now. This is going to reflect on me.

Edited by Bolded1 on Feb 5th 2019 at 10:10:48 AM

Her trick works, and Odin!Plague Knight gets struck twice, harshly landing nearby. He gets back up, without fancy smoke bombs this time, and drinks from another flask before throwing regular bomb flasks at Lucina.

Quickly, warn Lucina! He drank from the Leech Liquid! If he hurts anyone here, he'll restore some of his health!, Mona says to Camilla as the Wind sends the vat flying back up against Selena!Plague Knight, making it explode and sending him flying further down the hall.

Meanwhile, Laslow!Plague Knight attempts to stand his ground, but even with boosts, Plague Knight's frail body just isn't a match for Xander. As such, his staff is knocked out of his hand and he himself is dazed, open to be attacked.

Now you don't want to get hit by that, Lucina. It will heal him.

Lucina, upon hearing of it, dodge the attack, even if part of it hit her right arm. She groans in annoyance, grabs her sleeve and rip it off for good, making her look like her father, in a "no sleeve" way. She raises her sword at Plague Knight!Owain and grit her teeth.

Satisfied, Camilla raises her tome and fire a Wind spell at Plague Knight!Laslow, leaving herself open for another attack. Xander also swings his sword, attempting to take him out of the fight via a combined sibling attack.

Forgive me, Laslow !