The Polaris Games: Section 1:
Polaris Central Arena, 9:55 AM
"How glorious."
Benet Snatch's grin grew akin to a bean stalk as his eyes feasted on the sumptuous sight. He had taken his spot up in the command tower, accessing all of the lights and other electronic confections at his disposal. Everything needed for the sake of production dandled at his fingertips, and the appetites of the masses drew from that gluttony. All the seats were stocked, each butt in the chair an eager spectator. A single ring, identical to the one shown in his invitation, sat in the middle, with the box of Pandora in presence, but shielded within another box, and another box, and another box. A single ramp lead down, allowing entrance, but in the center of the ring, alongside the symbols of his company, stood the module to change the arena, from plane to plane of existence. A single ethereal barrier, naked to the eye but open to the touch, barricaded all of the spectators from accidentally walking into the field, with the only weak spot being the ramp way.
His yes-man, Merak, stood beside him, already with a clipboard.
"Here's the first roster boss. Should I start?"
Benet flipped a lollipop out of its wrapper, and crunched it in its mouth. "Soon. The rules must be read."
A finger flicked a switch. A Jumbotron (with his love of Plasma screen TVs) started to showcase the rules. Referees, penguin-shaped automations in the appropriate stripes, waddled to the edge of the ring, all awaiting the parameters to activate teleportation. The tron, meanwhile, read out the rules in lieu of the mechanical referees:
"Fighter fight until the end. Fighters are eliminated if they are rendered unable to compete, due to excessive injury, unconsciousness, submission (openly giving up to another fighter) or death. In the case of the last one, the opponent will be regenerated by our benefactors in our med bay. Otherwise, any and all tactics are permitted within the arena upon entry. Have a nice day."
"Well, now lets draw who got #1."
The curtain resplendently pulled back, revealing the first entrant of the grand Polaris Games.
"SADIRA!" (Killer Instinct)
The leader of the Red Eyes of Rylai entered to more fanfare than expected. Showing more skin than most dermatologists tended to get the blood pumping, and even with the intent of killing everyone for bloodsport boiling, Sadira already became a fan favorite.
She leapt into the ring, pulling her blades out with intent to kill, as the vic-opponent that chose #2 marched in...
"CHIN GENTSAI!" (KOF XIV)
Under normal circumstances, one of two reactions would be justifiable for the drunken master: either consuming lust or consuming fear. However, as Chin had taken a trip with as many Ivans, Johnnie Walkers, Joses, and Captain Pirates as he could the prior night, the fact he was even able to walk to the ring was laudable in itself.
He rolled/fell over the ropes into the ring, yet another flask in his hand, as Sadira sharpened her blades.
"So, the first fly comes willingly into my web..."
Chin belched in response to the muffin talking to him.
Meanwhile, up in the command booth...
"Merak, flip it."
His yes-man complied.
In the ring, the arena began to shift. In one instant, Sadira and Chin stood in a boxing ring. The next, they were no longer in a brightly lit area, but instead standing under a night sky, on a massive bridge. Pieces of concrete had been ripped clean out of the ground, and debris and wrecked cars scattered among the area. A massive amount of rock and metal seemed to block them in on either side, but clearly they could be thrown over the side.
In the back, some of the Marvel heroes, Spider-Man among them, cringed visibly. Last he remembered, the Brooklyn Bridge looked in much better condition. Best to blame it on the Hulk again.
"For the next 30 minutes, the combatants shall fight in the wasteland of the Brooklyn Bridge, reduced to a warzone by...shall we say...imperfect aliens. That particular threat is gone, but there are plenty of tools to...oh my."
Sadira had not waited for the monologue to end, rather electing to slit Gentsai's thoat. In caution, he had the common sense to flee even in his drunkenness.
"ELPHELT VALENTINE!" (Guilty Gear Xrd)
Only the third entrant and the audience could see some weirdness piling up. Rather than a battle-hardened warrior, an exceptionally buxom lady in a wedding gown (gaining a few wolf whistles and leaving little to the imagination), strode to the vortices, entering the rubble and instantly dirtying the pearly white.
Her own glee at her fortune blinded her. Surely, she could find a suitable husband here!
With a cheery grin belying the scenery, she loaded her shotgun and aimed at the only marriable man in the arena.
"Get your hands off him!"
Ch-Chunk!
"BENIMARU NIKAIDO!" (KOF XIV)
"Looks like Kyo won't be in for a while."
The model-turned-fighter gave a once over of the bridge. His eyes met the lady in bridal wear, and already he could see mixtures of lust and desperation in her eyes. He had seen that look enough times to get a woman's reading.
"Uh, I better get going…"
"A MAN!"
The audible death-knell of her shotgun only quickened his own steps.
"MEITENKUN!" (KOF XIV)
Resembling something out of a airplane red-eye, Meitenkun slouched out of the curtains, a dangling headphone set around his neck. Wiping away the drowsiness while pragmatically checking all of the functions of his current opponents, the China team rep recognized one opponent in the bridge simulation.
"Hey, isn't that the..." A yawn escaped his lips, "that the guy from the Japan team? Huh?"
A rogue gunshot bounced off various cars, stirring him out of his slumber. A slight smear on the edge turned green to grey on multiple cars around him. Elphelt, having opened fire on Benimaru, but failing miserably at hitting her potential husband, barely bothered a glance.
"Well...as long as she's not-"
Another bullet cut through his security pillow, and instantly, while the dopey appearance of slumber remained on his face, a hardened gleam proliferated his eyes.
"Well. Now you gone and done it."
Benimaru thanked his stars as his attacker ate another high-speed punch. One minute, Elphelt was lining up another headshot. Next, her face was being smacked with a ki-induced pillow. He began looking for his next possible dance partner.
"ASUKA KAZAMA!" (Street Fighter vs. Tekken)
Entering the arena to cheers and catcalls alike, Asuka fumed on the inside. Her brawl with the boxer had not ended as she had expected, in that she couldn't land a single hit on him. He himself, despite having a disadvantage to only punches and an advantage in just being all-around faster, showcased the difference (accidentally or otherwise) by bring the punch to her face, but never once actually touching her.
She had been a little embarrassed and more than pissed off by that, but Mac (again without really saying a word), tried to be sporting. Asuka interpreted that as patronizing, and finally punched him in the face.
Despite that, his trainer had given her his business card, if she was interested in going again. Asuka, perhaps to salvage her own ego, interpreted that as another slap, reserved her anger for the ring.
The punk with his hair up seemed just the guy in need of a face lift.
"MAXI!" (Soul Calibur 3)
"Merak, let it be known that I have a sense of humor."
Benet flipped the switch, this time booming music to that of Elvis Pressley.
Maxi, having been born in a time long before the King of Rock and Roll came along, shimmied to the tune, but otherwise entered with a confident smile on his face. He quickly found Asuka spinning rings around Benimaru.
"Hey, you."
"Oh, yeah?"
Maxi then started to flip, twirl, and otherwise showboat with his nunchuks, as if to intimidate.
Asuka stopped the display with another haymaker.
"Ya know, I've never been much of a fan of Michelangelo. Me? I prefer Chuck Norris."
"JURI!" (SFxTekken)
The catcall bellowed again, but only slightly. Unlike Asuka, who let them get away with it in some regard, Juri licked her lips as she looked at some of the nearby spectators.
"Hey, honeybear. You're so nice to me. I could just wolf you all down."
The catcalls got considerably quieter at that. Everyone knew Juri's habits.
Once she got in the ring, she prowled over to Sadira, who seemed to be setting up another trap for the next wave.
"Hey, G-String."
Sadira looked over. "So, another fly enters...How quaint."
"Just so we're clear, I started the spider shtick. You wanna copy, there's a tax for plagiarism, after all."
Juri began collecting with the flat of her foot.
"CINDER!" (Killer Instinct)
The literal man on fire surprising entered to both boos and cheers. He had ARIA's orders in the back of his mind, and he could see several that entered his thoughts. Of course, if he won, that would be great too. Nothing else came to mind except setting planet Earth on fire to make him smile.
Cinder began to rush the group of Asuka, Benimaru, and Gentsai, before stopping and looking at the nearby cars.
With their full tanks of gasoline.
Cinder smiled, and popped a few hoods.
"MAY!" (Guilty Gear)
Upon entering the ring, May checked out the burning man currently grabbing pieces of equipment out of one of the many cars on the bridge.
"Mister? What the heck are you doing?"
"Ever seen a Buddhist suicide?"
"No."
"Give me a moment. We'll get pictures."
May eeped, as Cinder found a gas can, touched it, set it ablaze, and promptly chased her with the flaming object.
"ABEL!" (SFxTekken)
"I'll get my memories back…All I gotta do is win here…"
He looked around briefly. That Korean chick from S. I. N. was kicking the spider-lady around like a volleyball. He remembered several footprints on his face from her.
"EUSTASS KID!" (One Piece: Burning Blood)
"You forgot the captain!" Kid grimaced at the booth. The first of many pirates in a world of pirates, the scrap was just what Kid had in mind. A little blood letting in the new world never set anyone wrong.
His metal arm reached out at the variety of toys lying around. Abel quickly jumped to avoid the sudden driverless vehicular manslaughter Kid initiated.
"FILIA MEDICI!" (Skullgirls)
Crazy seeps in small doses, as the audience got their next taste of the lunacy of the arena. Case in point, one Ms. Filia, who looked like any ordinary schoolgirl, save the parasitic abomination constituting her hair.
Said abomination, Samson, was in the middle of barking orders.
"Get going, Filia! That redhead knows something of value to us!"
"But you ate before we got here-"
"Silence! He knows of the Devil Fruit! We will have it!"
Filia, preferring a new novel to this (Samson actually signed in for the sake of hoarding food and getting a place to sleep), simply skipped to the Captain of the Kid pirates, avoiding skillfully the buses being tossed around.
"CLARK STILL!" (KOF XIII)
Another partner without his brother-in-arms, Clark wasted no time getting in the ring. Like Benimaru, he did not know when his partners would be getting in the ring. All the same…
Kid noticed his entrance by tossing trash cans and cars in his general direction. Clark responded by leaping, catching, and tossing them back upon release.
Maybe if he tossed a Prius he'd throw it right back…
"CARL CLOVER!" (Blaze Blue)
Carl tossed his top hat into the air upon entering, allowing his 'sis' and weapon, Nirvana to catch it and plant it back on his head. He pulled out his list, looking down at the turn out.
"Sis, none of our targets are in the ring just yet."
Nirvana silently glided behind him, offering only agreement in silence.
"Well, I suppose we can wait a bit. Surely, at least one has to pop up..."
Carl saw Clark currently bouncing Maxi against the wall, attempting to boot him off the bridge.
"Hey Sis, there's someone else like us. Lets go give them a hand in the mean time."
"ACCEL!" (Powerstone)
The venue had actually excited Accel. Though he had been a bit bummed by getting such an early draw, the arena-or more specifically, its properties, more than made up for it.
Everyone cleared the way as Accel sped right past them on a hastily acquired motorcycle, jumping off a ramp (also happened to be a Mizar drone) and onto the bridge. Without losing any momentum, he plucked our his own guns, and started firing. Some of the fighters cleverly ducked behind cars (save the Prius) and other objects (Meitenkun in a Mustang, Carl behind Nirvana). Chin ducked into the doubledecker bus. Cinder, curious for another boom, immediately began hot-wiring on of the spare cars.
Elphelt, meanwhile, had decided to take the sniper's approach, and climb a double-decker bus to get a clear shot at Benimaru.
Meanwhile, in the training facility...
Little Mac kept his pace, as Doc Louis had brought out the mitts. With most people either watching or waiting for their entry, Little Mac had some time to work out his footwork before he competed.
All in all, his training had been...unorthodox, but successful, but he hadn't expected that many ladies to ogle him. Bad enough he got that after his fight with Super Macho Man, but he really didn't expect it here.
"Mac! Don't zone out on me! You don't need your dragon lady now!"
Little Mac flushed, but began another rush, meeting jab for jab. He was still trying to figure that one out.
"Hey! Mac!"
Little Mac groaned, and stopped his punches, turning to the new challenger. Kid Muscle had interrupted, perhaps a little too earnest and accompanied by a flustered Meat.
"Kid, we really don't-"
"Mac! Don't think I'll take yesterday lying down! I had a chance to impress the ladies, and you-"
Little Mac turned to Doc Louis: Both of them shrugged in tempo as Kid Muscle ranted about the embarrassment he dealt with last night.
"Look, son, I get what you sayin', but Mac was just trying to train. You and Dragon lady decided to step in the middle."
"Hey, that's fine! Go train! But it grinds my gears that you got all those girls on your shoulders and you don't even take a moment."
Mac shook his head. He really had no idea how to address this.
"Look, Mac's still trying to train now, and would, if you wouldn't interrupt. Unless you want to be his sparring partner, since you seem to got beef with him."
"Louis is right, Junior. If you're calling him out, there's the ring."
Little Mac extended a fist, as a means of sportsmanship. Kid Muscle seemed almost ready to do the same, except...
"Ahem..."
All four men turned, seeing a new face, a pretty blonde of rich taste (judging by the expensive looking dress) entering the training center.
"Miss?"
"Ah, Emilie de Rochenfort. Just call me Lili." She twirled her hair, circling the two young fighters, each with their own reaction: Kid's jaw had practically hit the ground (Meat trying to remind him of Roxanne), while Mac seemed really uncertain and blushed a vibrant crimson.
"Hmm. Well, I can see why she would be interested in you. But I think I can do one better."
"Miss, look, I agree that Mac's probably easy on the eyes, but he's gotta get to his training, so..."
Doc Louis's attempts to corral were ignored. Lili scanned them both over. A plan swirled behind her head, and she tutted her response.
"I have a proposal. I happen to have...better equipment than this here. I have room to accommodate one of you, but I am only interested in the stronger. I assure you, either of you will be happy with the results. But I only can spare for one."
Mac's eyes lit up a bit, before looking at his rotund trainer, who was shaking his head and mumbling something like 'hormones'. Kid was enthralled long before the offer. Lili could've been talking about car repairs and he would've agreed to it.
Meat kept his head. "What's the catch? What do you get?"
"Oh nothing. A second in me, but otherwise, you can settle your little grudge."
"And you think that will help you?"
"I have my own reasons, but whoever wins, I will accompany them to the ring."
Little Mac looked from person to person: Doc Louis shaking his head, Meat shaking his head, Kid Muscle salivating at the mouth, and Lili giving the most coy of looks. The boxer from Brooklyn didn't have much opportunity to respond, in that Kid was already dragging him into the spare ring.
Back at the arena...
"SLAYER!" (Guilty Gear)
Arguably the most dapper dressed so far, the vampire known as Slayer walked out with his wife, waving at the polite applause.
Then he promptly turned and sucked Sharon (her neck) dry. Some in the audience found that displace remarkable kinky.
Pulling out his pipe, he simply teleported into the arena, finding himself standing between Asuka and Sadira's clash.
"Geez! Man! Don't do that! You might give someone a heart attack."
"Oh, my apologies."
"Like yourself." Sadira crooned.
Sadira's quip ended with his knife in Slayer's chest. Slayer, a vampire and not some mere mortal, simply looked at the blade, plucked it out, and clapped.
"Ah, so are we trying wooden stakes now?"
"Oh, crap..."
Sadira stepped aside, crafting her next trap. Asuka tried her own fisticuffs, but Slayer stopped with almost pitiable ease.
"If you keep this up, children, I will take you both over my knee. Now, do you really want to go?"
"MARIO!" (Super Smash Bros.)
The orchestra boomed the anthem of the Mushroom Kingdom, as the iconic plumber entered the stage. Adjusting hat and offering a hearty, "Here we goooo!", he bounded into the arena.
The bullets, still being fired by Elphelt and Accel, forced the plumber to take the high road, effortlessly jumping to the highest parts of the bridge. Some fighters stopped in marvel as they wondered just how a fat plumber could jump that high.
If any of them paid attention, closely, they could see, deep in his pockets, a kaleidoscopic orb, flashing diligently.
"MITSURUGI!" (Soul Calibur 3)
"Hmm. No Soul Edge."
Mitsurugi knew nothing of the powers spoken of Pandora. However, he was well acquainted with the powers of Soul Edge. With Nightmare involved, he was destined to show his face.
Until then, Mitsurugi could handle himself among the other fighters in the ring. The sight of the gunslingers certainly earned a slight edge to his blade.
"FALCO LOMBARDI!" (Super Smash Bros.)
Falco went in with style. Somehow getting his ARWING to fly around the arena, he flew it into the portal, quickly dismounting and landing in the middle of the gun fight between a distressed Elphelt and a dismissive Accel.
A feathered digit simply pressed a button on his wrist, and a blue light enveloped him. The bullets, all passing within the range of his reflector, bounced in all directions, hitting tires and almost capping into some of the fighters.
"Looks like a great place to bust out the Landmaster, but..."
His monologue was cut quite literally, as Accel drove-by cut in with his gun.
"BONE COLD!" (Galactic Wrestling)
Complete with a cigarette between his lips, Bone Cold looked around, ignoring the boos as he entered the ring. He immediately recognized Carl Clover from their previous, secret meeting. Apparently, someone really wanted to catch little girls, and while that sounded a little more disgusting than Bone Cold wanted to deal with, he never turned down that kind of money. While this meant he would be competing with him as much with the others, he still intended to claim all the money on his own.
Until then, he could cripple a few scrubs in the process.
His eyepatch already gauged his opponents, as the next entrant walked in...
"HEART AINO!" (Arcana Heart)
"Well, how 'bout that. Payday."
Bone Cold's hand latched onto his Starry Arrow, with all intent to unload.
Carl, pummeling a hapless Maxi, simply looked over his shoulder. "But she's just a pink-haired girl? What's so special about her?"
"Big...talk...coming from a-"
"Sis, you hear something?"
Maxi groaned as Nirvana slammed him into another Prius.
Heart, meanwhile, bounced into the ring, waving quite fruitfully to the adoring fans. She, unlike most of her peers, had perused the shops, gather more than a few plushies of mermen and werewolves and Sasquatches. Saki had been nice enough to take all of it to her room, and she had even found some white-haired boy to help out.
Though his last name 'Bloodedge', was a bit weird.
"All right! Lets go!"
No sooner had she entered that she twirled, and the Starry Arrow avoided her.
"The heck?"
Bone Cold's jaw practically hit concrete, as the schoolgirl escaped his attack. Drawing it back, he took aim again, as Heart, forgetting that this was a fighting competition, skipped along to where Clark Still was grappling with Filia Medici.
"Oh, what's that on her head? It looks adorable!"
"K'!' (King of Fighters XIII)
Already with the area filling to its maximum capacity, the clone of Kyo Kusanagi rushed to the ring, already a fire broiling upon his person.
The presence of Cinder, another burning man himself, immediately attracted his attention.
"Man, how many posers are there? Blasted morons..."
"RORONOA ZORO!" (One Piece: BB)
"USOPP!" (One Piece: BB)
Entering to a roar from the crowd and a billowing flag of the Straw hats, the crew's resident swordsman and sniper entered as one. Usopp played up the crowd with his own tales (which yielded a little bit more believability with the menagerie of warriors gathered), whereas Zoro locked eyes with Mitsurugi and never turned an eyelid. Even amid the barrage of metal objects flying, Zoro recognized a fight when he needed to.
"Usopp, think you can watch my back for a bit?"
"Sure!"
"All right."
Mitsurugi, meanwhile, caught sight of Zoro himself, and kicked away Tron.
"Three swords? Do you break your blades so fast you need spares?"
"My name's Roronoa Zoro. You look like you can actually handle that blade."
"Better than you."
"Careful, old man. You're talking to the future." Zoro popped all three of his blades out.
"Your future is in hell. And you'll be there before me."
"SLY COOPER!" (Playstation All-Stars)
Taking air for ground, Sly glided into the field. His ear was burning on account of the piece relaying information to him, but on his paraglider, he got a good scope of the arena.
"Bentley, why did we accept this invite again?"
"I heard over the radio that there were some special gems in the arena. We might be able to get a good price on them if we can get all three."
"I get that part, but entering a tournament's a bit excessive…"
Indeed, Murray perhaps would've been the better option, but stealth has its own rewards. Even as Elphelt was drawing a bead on him, she blinked once…and then he was gone.
Meanwhile, at her feet, a single yellow gem glimmered.
Usopp, however, getting some distance from his triple-sword wielding compatriot, armed his own Kabuto for the long range approach, actually taking the harassment route of actually deflecting Elphelt's bullets with his own star-shots.
"SUICUNE!" (Pokken Tournament)
When news came out that Pokémon would be entering, people had expectations of the strange. Suicune, a blue, purple-haired, quadruped cat-like thing with tentacles, certainly fit the M.O. of strange. Holding dignity in its gait, it surveyed the arena.
Most ignored its entrance, beyond the quiet of the audience. But with each step it took, a chill mist formed behind it.
"What exactly would that guy want, if it won?" some of the audience members asked.
Its eyes turned a darker shade of blue, as it lined its attention at the two men tossing flames. A tentacle quietly picked up a red gem, seemingly discarded.
"YUN SEONG!" (Soul Calibur 3)
Suicune didn't get close. Yun Seong, high on cockiness and a little punch-drunk on his chances, launched himself at the legendary Pokémon, cutting into his back with a swipe of his sword. Suicune yielded, for the moment.
"Yeah? What you got? Hhu?"
Yun looked down, as his knees were quickly encased in ice. Yun didn't need to chop the ice off, as Suicune quickly tackled him out of it.
"SCIZOR!" (Pokken Tournament)
Another vastly strange opponent emerged and took flight, as what appeared to be a metallic covered praying mantis flew above all the competition and promptly divebombed a group consisting of Mario, Asuka, Slayer, Meitenkun, and Sadira.
"Scizor!" It bellowed out, despite the obviousness of its weakness looking it square in the face. Being a steel-type Pokemon, it suffered an almost natural weakness to every competitor in the arena.
Mario, being quite familiar with the roaming monsters, twirled his cap back on and lit a small fire on his fingers.
And the last participant for this is...
"GANG-II!" (KOF XIV)
"Hmm. If my old student were here..."
Gang-II, teacher to the potentially crazed Kim Kapwhan, could already sense how his student would react if placed in the arena. Even with his senses blurred by worldly pleasures and the like, Gang-II could tell the malign mindsets of everyone on the bridge. The red-haired man with the metal arm, the skeletal superhuman, and the two nearly dressed women brawling around all emanated a sense of evil intent. Nothing compared to the ones in back however.
Falco Lombardi attempted a dash, only for the Tae Kwon Do master to intercept and block with skill practiced from years of study. Falco's body bounced on a car hood, allowing another opening.
"So, what sort of bird tries me?"
Falco tried a kicking combo of his own, only for the slightly shorter Gang-Il to clash each kick with one of his own.
Only for Falco to slap his reflector on, shocking the Tae Kwon do master back.
"One who brings a gun to a fist fight."
Among the melee, the quest for Pandora began.