It was just another average day at Union Academy and right now, it was the beginning of the First Year's Dodgeball Competition.
"Alright lads and lasses, today's the day we start the First Year's Dodgeball Competition! I know you've been looking forward to this, so let's have a ball!" Lena 'Tracer' Oxton announced.
"Heh, 'Ball'. Good one, Coach!" Eddy laughed as he, Double-D, Ed, Rolf, Flash, Ben, Rina, Junior, and Chris were watching. Ed had procured a tub of popcorn from somewhere and both he and Eddy were chowing down on it.
"You don't think your viewing habits are getting a tad extreme, everyone?" Double-D asked.
"Shut up, shut up, it's starting!" Junior hushed as Lena went over the students representing the two teams of today: Class 1-A and Class 1-B.
"Let's take a lookie then, shall we? Representing Class 1-A we have: Dipper Pines, Sachiko Shinozaki, Gamma Sparkle-Shimmer-Skyrise-Sentry, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. And on Class One-B's team we have: Silver Spoon, Mordred Pendragon, Eldritch Cromwell-Shadow, Applebloom, and Chara Dreemur."
"Looks like a good match-up! Got any candy, Rolf?" Eddy asked as Rolf took out a box of Jujubes Candy, which he greedily kept to himself.
"Here ya go, pal!" Ben said, pulling out a fresh box of M&M's he had procured earlier. Eddy smiled and accepted the gift before helping himself to the chocolate candies.
"Rolf predicts that the little ones will start doing great conflict. Like Barbarians on the battlefield!" Rolf chuckled through a mouthful of Jujubes.
"Rolf, please. Even if Gamma, Eldritch, Sachiko, Mordred, and Chara all have great powers within them, they wouldn't go TOO far," Double-D chided.
"I'm betting Twenty Bucks Dipper dies first!" Ben said, slapping down a crisp twenty-dollar bill.
"You're on!" Eddy said, throwing his own money into the pot. "When Gamma and Eldritch inevitably start clashing, I call wins on Gamma!"
"In your slumbering imaginations, Greedy Ed-Boy! Rolf concludes that Chaos Disciple Eldritch will be the victor!" Rolf dared.
"Oh, good lord..." Double-D sighed in dejection as Ed was just watching intently as the match was about to start.
*French Narrator: Five Minutes Later...*
The dodgeball field was an absolute warzone. Sachiko was using her ghostly powers to shoot any balls that came her way at the others, Mordred was practically leaping over their line to try and get to Scootaloo, and Dipper had pretty much been taken out of the game in the first minute, much to Ben's delight as he collected his personal winnings from Eddy.
"Man, those kids are gonna get themselves killed if they keep this up!" Chris said as he tilted his head to avoid a dodgeball flying his way. "Why isn't Coach Oxton doing anything?!"
"I think I know why..." Flash worriedly muttered as everyone looked to see Lena on the ground with a broken and bleeding nose and for some reason, a red skull holographic symbol hovering above her.
"Hey, I said I was sorry!" Rina exclaimed before ducking another dodgeball and throwing one back, taking out another player from the enemy team. While she was not even on either team, the dodgeballs being sent her way meant that she either had to dodge or throw them back.
"It's okay, Rina, I still love you!" Ben said.
On the field, as Gamma destroyed a dodgeball with her proton cannon, she heard Eldritch's voice call out for her.
"GAMMA! It seems we've finally found a battlefield on which we can settle our age-old rivalry! Have at you! I will show you no mercy! So, give me your best shot! Hold nothing back!"
"Can't he just give up the evil overlord thing already?" Eddy asked but noticed Double-D hiding under the bleachers and shaking in terror.
"IT'S LIKE GYM CLASS BACK IN PEACH CREEK ALL OVER AGAIN!"
"This is fun! Go, Canterlot Wondercolts!" Ed cheered, even as he had a dodgeball shot by Sachiko wedged in the side of his skull.
Back with Gamma, her crystal blue eyes glowed as a targeting reticle glowed in the center of them before the aura of her Shiva Battle Protocol emitted from her.
"Acknowledged. Deactivating all magic restriction programs. Running battle protocols. Scanning. Scan finished. Protocols applicable. Rerouting all power to right arm. Stabilizing," Gamma held a dodgeball in her right arm and held her other hand over it to steady her aim. "Increasing all power output to maximum level. 90%. Speeding up processing. 100%. Pushing limits. 120%. Danger! Maximum firepower. Taking aim. Limiters deactivated."
"Uh, I think we should get ready to duck!" Flash said as he quickly began dialing his Ultimatrix for a quick alien transformation.
As for Eldritch, he began sweating as Gamma's aura became brighter and brighter as she took aim directly at him. The dark crows he had summoned to his side even looked at each other in horror before flapping off.
"All systems ready. Locking onto target. Target locked. Ready to fire. Three... Two... One… FIRE!"
Gamma proceeded to unleash a powerful Shiva-charged proton blast, launching the cannonball like a railgun at Eldritch, seemingly engulfing him in a powerful explosion. Everyone looked in awe as Flash transformed into his recently discovered Petrosapien form, Diamondhead, and erected a massive barrier of crystals to absorb the shockwave.
Double-D screamed as he practically pissed himself while Scootaloo was sent flying from the battlefield before Ben pulled her into his arms with telekinesis.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, thanks!"
Gamma stood still, surveying the impact as the dust began to settle.
"Firing successful. Target seems to have been hit. Scanning. Confirming hit. Wait..." Her eyes then widened in shock. "Target was not hit! Projectile was... CAUGHT?!"
Suddenly, the dodgeball she fired was returned to her at equal force, striking her in the center as she tried to process what was going on. Everyone looked to see where Eldritch once stood as dark laughter echoed out of the smoke.
"Not bad! Not bad at all! You've got one heck of an arm on ya, little lady! But you're gonna hafta try a WHOLE of a lot harder if ya wanna win this!"
Eldritch revealed himself with his eyes now blazing like fire, his hair wilder and more unkempt, and his PE uniform reduced to a burnt vest and shorts.
"Looks like Eldritch awakened another of the powers of the Chaos Gods within him... and with it, a new personality!" Ben said as he observed what was going on.
"Rolf recognizes the energy... IT IS THAT OF THE BLOOD GOD!" Rolf exclaimed in fear as he hid behind Ben.
The new personality of Eldritch grinned wildly. "You better not be holding back! There're no second chances when yer facing Feral! Favorite Prodigy of Khorne! Prince of Pandemonium and Cracker of Skulls! And just look at all these skulls to crack. Oh, it's gonna be a good day for granddad."
The surviving kids on the battlefield were shocked at Eldritch's new transformation while Applebloom got a sense of Deja Vu when Eldritch unlocked his Personality of Slaanesh, Ardent.
"Yo, what's up with Eldritch?! This is way past his usual crazy!" Mordred exclaimed as she got on guard.
"I-I don't know! But... Somethin' like this happened before... that time I got pushed out that window and-!" Applebloom stopped when she noticed Gamma's hairband on the ground, which was actually her power limiter to keep her magic under control.
Where Gamma had been hit, a black miasma had covered her. Suddenly, a single glowing red optic emerged from the shadows and smoke.
"Arcane... limiter... forcibly... removed... Activating... Emergency Protocol."
"Oh boy, this can't be good..." Chris muttered.
Gamma was surrounded by a thin red aura as she slowly began levitating off the ground, a wave of heat slowly emitting off her body as everyone gazed at her in shock.
"Shutting down all unneeded programs. Entering Critical Mode. All defensive programs running at One-Hundred and Twenty Percent! All offensive programs running at One-Hundred and Fifty Percent! Password: IGNITE!"
"Oh my... everyone please brace yourselves! We're about to make contact with a new Battle Protocol!" Double-D exclaimed as Flash quickly transformed into the Pyronite form he called Heatblast in the hopes he could absorb the resulting fires that would inevitably be produced.
"This is gonna be good!" Junior laughed.
"Hide with me if you want to live!" Ben said, having formed a massive multi-layered barrier of ice and pure cold that he ducked behind with Eddy and Rina.
"Warning! Temperature rising! Stabilizing!" Gamma's arms glowed with magical flames as a wing of fire sprouted from the left side of her back, her eyes now glowing fiery orange. "All systems green! Protocol Run successful! EMERGENCY BATTLE PROTOCOL: IFRIT!"
Everyone watched in awe before Feral's eyes began sparkling, his cheeks glowing pink as he let out a wolf whistle at the majestic sight. Applebloom, Mordred, and Scootaloo turned to look at him in confusion and/or shock.
"Well, well, aren't you the unexpected looker! Mighty impressive." Feral chuckled as he got over his swooning. "I might be biased though; I got a thing for gals who look like they could kick my ass. Got that from me dad."
He then plunged his fist into the ground and then pulled out a solid ball of compacted earth, glowing red in the palm of his hands.
"Now then if I'm not mistaken... I believe we were playing 'DODGEBALL'?"
Gamma silently held up her hand, forming a miniature flaming comet above her before sending it at Feral, who threw his rock at it, both objects clashing and creating a mighty explosion.
The smoke from the explosion covered them from everyone else. No matter how good their eyesight was, none can penetrate through the cloud of smoke and were at the edge of their proverbial seats in anticipation of who was the victor.
"Hey, can someone clear up the smoke?!" Chris coughed out.
The massive cloud of smoke suddenly dispersed and everyone still conscious was treated to one hell of a sight.
Ben, with tentacles of shadows breaking through the back of his shirt, had both Gamma and Feral wrapped up and in choke holds. It was clear that he was straining himself judging by the pained expression on his face.
"DESIST!"
He slammed them together quite harshly. Gamma's eyes glowed light blue before falling flat on her face as steam came off her, going into reboot mode. As for Feral, his eyes rolled into the back of his head at the strike to his neck, and passed out.
"Holy Horseapples! What happened?!" Applebloom asked as she, Mordred, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon, Chara, and Sachiko came over, Sachiko carrying Dipper in her arms Cain & Abel style.
Ben quickly retracted the tentacles into his body before dropping down to one knee and breathing heavily.
"Awww, and we were just gettin' to the good parts!" Junior pouted.
"Ben?" Rina asked worriedly.
"Sorry, Shadow Element...The Phase of Spirit...not pretty..."
Rina helped Ben to his feet as he noticed Crydius and Tempest Shadow watching from afar and sighed as he figured he'd check on them.
"Man, talk about a dodgeball match for the ages! Wish I had my camera with me," Eddy said, in amazement at the action he witnessed.
"Preferably, I hope tomorrow's dodgeball battle doesn't go to the extremes as this one did..." Double-D sighed as Chris nodded in agreement before getting up to see what Ben was up to.
"But Chaos Disciple Eldritch-Boy... he awakened a form akin to the Blood God of Khorne, just like the form he awakened in the wicked form of the Demon of Desires, Slaanesh!" Rolf muttered, a troubled look on his face.
"Who wants a hot dog, you guys?" Ed asked nobody in particular.
"You really had to kill the mood right when it was getting good, huh brother?" Crydius asked as Ben confronted him and Tempest Shadow.
"I hope you aren't trying to play favorites here. Considering your kid just awakened a new personality."
"At least he showed some decent potential," Tempest said with a roll of her eyes.
"So, you don't care about Eldritch or Ardent? Just Feral and whoever Tzeentch's personality might be?"
"Hey! Eldritch, Ardent, Feral, they're all the same to me," Tempest huffed. "He did a good job, either way."
Crydius simply smirked. "And of course, this little disaster has not only further proven my theory but also confirmed my suspicions. I'm pretty sure I figured out how our boy works."
"Oh, enlighten us, dearest brother," Ben said sarcastically as Crydius grinned as if he was glad that his sibling had asked.
"I'd be happy to. His four personalities, each tied to one of the four Chaos Deities, come out as a result of a specific trigger. Eldritch himself is linked to Nurgle, most likely due to his gentle nature."
"Gotta spread the love somehow," Ben commented.
"But when he comes into contact with violence, his personality linked to Khorne, Feral, takes over. Similarly, when someone he really cares about is in trouble, like with Applebloom, Ardent takes control." Crydius continued. "They seem to be aware of each other's existence, but they don't share any memories, feelings, or thoughts. Most intriguing. But the one we want now is the personality connected to Tzeentch."
"Ah yes, the Architect of Fate, The God of Sorcery, Deceit, and Change... And also, the God of Trolling Douchebags," Ben said with a nod of his head. He already knew about the Chaos Gods and what they could do. "What do you even want Tzeentch's personality for, anyway? I'd still like some insight on what you're up to."
"And spoil the fun?" Crydius smirked. "Besides, since we know how the personalities work, we simply need to have Eldritch be stimulated by something that challenges the mind."
"I don't exactly like whatever you have planned, dearest brother of mine..." Ben muttered before rubbing his chin. "But unfortunately, my curiosity outweighs my fears and I think I can assist with whatever you have planned."
"Oh, and how so?"
Ben simply smirked as he knew that this would be the part where Chris definitely got to have some fun.
"Ever heard of Yu-Gi-Oh?"
Crydius and Tempest perked up at Ben's words before turning to each other and then back to him with grins on their faces.
"Ben, if we weren't brothers and I already had a girlfriend, I could just kiss you."
"Me too... and I'd do it with tongue too."
"Okay, now you made it weird."
"Let me guess, you guys want me to help Eldritch unlock his fourth and final personality, the Mark of Tzeentch, correct?" Chris inquired.
"How the hell did you...? You know what, forget it. Yes, that is what we want you to do," Crydius explained.
"Gotcha, just wanted to make sure. And you want me to play Yu-Gi-Oh with Eldritch to make that happen, is that right?" Chris asked again.
Slowly losing his patience, Crydius nodded his head yes.
"After Ben mentioned it to us and considering the amount of thinking power that goes into the game, this is effectively our best option to get to awaken Tzeentch's Mark," Tempest said.
"Well, then you can count on me," Chris said as he saluted. Chris then glared at Crydius, inching towards him as he said the following.
"But don't mistake me for a fool. When I find out the reason why you two want Eldritch's Tzeentch personality is for something horrendous, I will personally tear you both some new assholes and blow you like SNES cartridges," Chris growled as he got up into Crydius's face, before turning and walking away.
After he managed to find Eldritch, Chris took him over to the Yu-Gi-Oh section of the school. As they walked to one of the available Duel Arenas, Eldritch raised his eyebrow in confusion as he and Chris took their places.
"Why are we here, Uncle Chris?" Eldritch asked.
"We're here because your folks wanted me to assist you in awakening your power," Chris said as he placed some cards in front of himself.
Thanks to the Solid Vision tech within the Arena, Eldritch could see three cards in front of him, with one already standing up, that being a card called Skill Drain, which had a picture of a green man sweating as yellow energy was leaking off his body like smoke.
"Now, your opponent has just activated Skill Drain and in response, you've activated Mystical Space Typhoon to prevent its activation from going through, since a Continuous Spell/Trap HAS to remain on the field in order for its effects to be applied," Chris explained, as Eldritch nodded along.
"However, your opponent also happens to have Imperial Order set, and is planning to activate it in response to your MST," Chris further explained as he flipped one of the other cards over, revealing a picture of a king throwing his arm out to the side.
"This will ensure that you are unable to use Spells or Monster effects so long as these two remain face-up on the field. However, there is a way to prevent this. Can you figure out what that way is?" Chris said as Eldritch put a finger up to his chin in thought.
"Hmmm. Ooh, maybe if I... no, that probably wouldn't work. Wait, but there's also... Nah, would never work," Eldritch mumbled as he tried to figure out a solution.
Soon, Eldritch started to sweat as he struggled to come up with an answer, before yelling out in anguish.
"I can't do it!"
"Yes, you can, Eldritch! Just believe in yourself! And if you can't do that, then believe in me who believes in you! Just think, Eldritch, think! Believe in the heart of the cards!" Chris cried out as he pointed at his own head.
Eldritch clutched at his head as the mark on his head glowed, screaming in pain as his jacket started to turn blue.
"Eldritch!" Chris called out as Eldritch's screaming stopped.
'Eldritch' then let go of his head as he took a deep breath before he finally spoke.
"The answer is simple. In one way of doing it, I activate the Counter Trap, Red Reboot to negate Imperial Order, allowing my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Skill Drain." 'Eldritch' answered.
Chris couldn't believe it. He'd actually done it. But he had to make sure that it was Tzeentch's Mark, just to be safe.
"Alright, next question. Take a look at this," Chris said as he removed the cards and placed another one down.
It was the Quick-Play Spell, Super Polymerization, which had a picture of a swirling blue vortex and bolts of energy going into the center of the vortex.
"Normally, Super Poly is immune to being chained and negated. However, there is one way to ensure that it does not go through, what is it?"
'Eldritch' smirked as he looked at the card.
"That's easy. All you need is a Continuous or Continuous-like effect that can negate Spell Cards, such as Magician's Right Hand or Silent Swordsman LV-Seven."
Chris removed Super Polymerization as he moved on to another question.
"If you want to summon a Synchro Monster, how do you manage to pull it off?"
"Pfft, what is this, amateur hour? All you need is a Tuner monster and various non-Tuner monsters whose combined Levels are exactly equal to that of the Synchro Monster that you wish to summon." 'Eldritch' answered back.
"And finally, for all of the marbles, answer. Me. This. What is the effect of Pot of Greed?" Chris said as he squinted his eyes in concentration.
'Eldritch' stared at him unamused.
"You're joking, right? Th-This has to be a joke, and if it is, then I'm not laughing."
Chris shrugged his shoulders as he deactivated his side of the Duel Arena.
"Eh, I mainly said it for the meme. Anyways, I think we've done enough for today. Let's get back to Crydius and Tempest."
As the two left to find Eldritch's creators, Chris thought to himself.
"I guess this is the Mark of Tzeentch in action. I've done my part, now all I can do is wait and see what the magic man has in store for this kid."
Hopefully, me and Chris will get back together in order to add more flair to these chapters. We also have another friend we hope to bring back into the fold.