(The Arena)
The twelve survivors of Section Two were scattered around the arena, taking a bit of time to rest in the downtime between sections, although it was clear that about half of them were uneasily watching the Mad Piano, which was still sitting like a regular inanimate piano until someone approached it, and no one really wanted to be the first one to step forward. Lord Hater had finally seemed to get over his lamenting of his inability to collect Power Stones, at least for now, due to what seemed to be a comforting hand of Mimikyu on his shoulder, giving him an awkward pat.
As the lights started shining on the entrance curtain again, the audience started cheering, knowing that the next section was about to start and that they were going to get some more fresh faces in the arena. All they needed to do was wait until the next fighter made their grand entrance…
"RYO SAKAZAKI!" (KOF)
The audience cheered as the blonde-haired protagonist of Art of Fighting emerged from the curtain, giving a few waves as he walked down the ramp to the arena, psyching himself up silently as he readied himself to enter the arena. Taking a deep breath as he quickly scanned the arena for a potential opponent, Ryo stepped in to officially start his run.
"Okay. Yuri usually does well in these things; I just need to replicate that success." Ryo muttered to himself. "Shouldn't be too hard. Just…Stay away from the piano."
Bodvar looked up, saw Ryo enter the ring and waved him over with a bright smile. "Ah! Hello, old friend! Come over here!" He greeted.
Ryo lifted an eyebrow as he wandered over to the boisterous Viking. "Uh…Do I know you?" He asked.
Bodvar laughed. "Ryu, don't be silly! The two of us have clashed numerous times in Valhalla after that whole Street Fighter crossover event was announced!" He admitted.
Ryo's face fell. "Um…I'm…Not Ryu." He lifted a finger to interject.
"Oh, nonsense! You think I wouldn't recognize my old sparring partner just because he decided to dye his hair?" Bodvar laughed again, wrapping an arm around the confused Ryo's shoulder. "Come! Let's pick up where we left off at the last Brawlhalla tournament!"
Ryo stepped back nervously, suddenly not liking where this was going. "I…Don't think that's a good idea." He admitted.
Bodvar smirked as he summoned his sword. "YOU, being apprehensive about a fight, especially with ME? My, a lot has changed since we last saw each other, eh?" He said. "Well, no matter! Let's continue the fight, Ryu!"
"I-I already said I'm not-" Ryo stammered but Bodvar seemed too far gone to listen as the Viking was already pouncing him.
"SHEIK!" (HW)
Stepping out from behind the curtain was a familiar masked figure, playing a harp a few times to the crowd before placing it on her back, crouching low and dashing down to the arena like a ninja. The audience cheered as Sheik raced down the ramp, leapt into the arena and vanished in a cloud of smoke in midair, appearing on the canvas to signify her entrance.
Truth be told, this version of Sheik was actually the Twilight Princess Zelda that had been retired from Smash once Ultimate's Zelda made her debut. Master Hand told her that he could still have her as Sheik rather than outright replace her with the new Zelda like it sometimes happened to the Links in Smash so TP Zelda had been quick to agree to fight in Smash solely as Sheik. It made things a lot easier when she found out Zelda and Sheik were separate fighters in Hyrule Warriors, anyways.
Greninja seemed to sense Sheik approaching and opened an eye, briefly stopping his meditation. The blue Pikmin surrounding him seemed to notice as they stood up and looked at Sheik as well. Greninja instinctively got into a stance as Sheik approached him as the blue Pikmin surrounding him seemed to do the same.
Olimar seemed to take notice of this. "Fascinating…The Pikmin seem to be adapting to a different personality type…" He mused as he continued to write down notes.
"Don't worry, Greninja. I'm not here for a fight." Sheik handwaved as Greninja faltered a bit. "Look, the two of us can fight any time at the Smash Mansion. If you don't mind, I'm looking for someone a little different to fight for now. Any suggestions?"
Greninja blinked in confusion before glancing over to the trio of Lord Hater, Mimikyu and Magyar. "Ja?" He mentioned, pointing in the trio's direction.
Sheik gave a nod. "Thanks. I was thinking about that space guy." She mentioned as she went on her way, walking around a series of blue Pikmin that each attempted to strike a threatening-looking ninja or karate pose in an attempt to keep Sheik away from them. Greninja scratched his head and looked around at the blue Pikmin, wondering when he had accumulated so many apprentices…
"HEIHACHI MISHIMA!" (PAS)
The audience cheered loudly as the iconic old veteran fighter of Tekken emerged from the curtain, standing tall and stoic in an arms-folded stance as he stared out amongst the arena survivors. With a commanding presence, Heihachi strode down the ramp, seemingly ignoring the reaction the crowd was giving him.
In truth, Heihachi was contemplating what kind of help he could recruit in the ring. Wizzro had failed to do much of anything, Necrozma was eliminated before a real attempt at recruitment could be done and Lord Hater looked far too ineffective of a villain to be of any use despite the fact that he had a shadow Pokemon and a possessed suit of armour working with him. This left Heihachi with no real prospects as he stepped into the arena and did another scan.
Heihachi paused as he set his sights on the motionless object in the middle of the arena. A smirk slowly floated across the old man's face as he started making his way over to the piano sitting in the middle of the canvas.
Bowser Jr.'s eyes snapped open. "Dude! Get away from that thing, old man! It'll tear you apart!" He called out, trying to get Heihachi's attention despite still staying far away from the Mad Piano.
Heihachi gave a dark chuckle as he looked over his shoulder at the scared Koopa prince. "This thing is currently the number one opponent in the ring." He mentioned. "If anything will give me a good fight, it's this."
As soon as Heihachi got close enough, the Mad Piano sprang to life and lunged at the old fighter. Heihachi responded by driving a fist into the side of the Mad Piano, sending it recoiling in seeming pain. Heihachi smirked as got into a stance as the Mad Piano approached again…
"FAIT!" (BH)
A book in hand, out stepped from behind the entrance curtain a woman with bright hair, a pointed hat and a aura of magic and mystery about her. Scanning through the tome in her hand (which, as it turned out, appeared to be a book on Pokemon), Fait glanced down at the arena and, with a playful smirk, closed the tome with one hand before spawning a scythe in the other and jogging down to the ring, choosing to use her scythe magic to teleport into the arena rather than jump in herself.
Mimikyu was in the process of trying to pry Sheik off of Lord Hater when he suddenly felt a presence behind him. Letting go of Sheik and instinctively swerving to the side, Mimikyu avoided a scythe swing from Fait, whom had materialized just behind him, and stared at the magician woman with an angry expression.
"Hmm. Seems you're more aware of your surroundings than my notes on you gave credit for." Fait mused with a light smirk. "I was expecting a bit of an easier fight but you're swifter than you look. Perhaps it's the lighter weight?"
Mimikyu lashed out at Fait with a shadowy hand, but the magician simply spun her scythe again and teleported just as the Disguise Pokemon's hand grabbed at her, reappearing behind Mimikyu. "You have a strange movement to you. This is strange. My notes didn't go into that kind of detail…" She mused, catching Mimikyu by surprise.
"H-Hey, lady! Leave my minion alone!" Lord Hater said as he struggled to get himself out of a headlock from Sheik. "Y-You're playin' with fire here! Seriously!"
Fait laughed. "I think you have more-pressing matters to deal with at the moment." She admitted as she turned to Mimikyu and got into a stance. "I hope you don't mind me taking a few notes while we fight, do you? You Pokemon fascinate me." She insisted.
Mimikyu tilted his head in confusion.
"Mystery…Fighter…FIVE…"
"SCRATCH AND GROUNDER!" (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog)
The audience reacted in surprise at the sight of two animalistic, yet cartoony, robots that emerged from the curtain side by side: A tall, lanky chicken robot and a short, green, vaguely-mole-shaped robot with drills for arms, tank treads for legs. The crowd, after getting over their surprise at seeing the two badniks, gave them a warm reception as the two comedic lackeys looked around.
"Gee, Scratch, it kinda looks like they LIKE us." Grounder, the mole-like robot, admitted.
"Of course they do, bolt-brain! And if they like us, then they won't mind if we destroy Sonic once he enters the ring!" Scratch, the chicken robot, said with a smirk as the two robots marched down to the ring together.
Grounder paused. "Uh…But when is that gonna be?" He asked.
Scratch paused. "Wait. It was your JOB to find out when Sonic entered!" He insisted.
"Nuh-UH! Dr. Robotnik said it was YOUR job!"
Scratch rolled his eyes and swatted Grounder upside the head, knocking the mole-like tank robot into the arena before stepping in himself. "Look, we wanna make Dr. Robotnik proud while he watches us from the crowd, and it's CLEAR that neither of us know when that stupid hedgehog is supposed to enter." He mentioned as Grounder pushed himself off his face. He saw Mario off to the side and pointed him out. "He's friends with that plumber guy, isn't he? Maybe HE knows when Sonic is gonna enter."
"Oh! Great idea, Scratch! Maybe we can beat the information outta him!" Grounder said, turning his drills hands into actual hands just so that he could rub them together in anticipation.
"Of course we can! We were built to destroy Sonic, so what good is a puny, fat human gonna do?" Scratch asked as he climbed onto Grounder's back. "Come on! Run him over!"
Grounder grinned darkly as he revved his tank treads and took off, making a beeline straight for Mario. Mario stood in their path, lifted a leg and took one step to the side, allowing the two badniks to fly by him, screaming in terror as they crashed headfirst into a cornerpost.
Mario stood over the prone forms of Scratch and Grounder. "You know, it a-doesn't really help you when you announce you're a-plans out loud." He reminded.
"Aw, shut up!" Scratch moaned from the canvas.
"SQUIRTLE!" (PKMN)
(Ahahahaha!)
(Wipeout!)
While the audience was spared more of Meowth's off-key singing because the song he had picked for Squirtle was almost entirely instrumental, they soon realized that Meowth was playing the guitar for the riffs of the surf song and that his guitar playing was just as off-key and off-tune as his singing was.
Squirtle seemed to pay the awful guitar music blaring through the speakers no mind as the small turtle okemon's thoughts appeared to be elsewhere. It was clear he was still a little bummed that the tournament host had yet again not allowed him to enter in his Blastoise form, something he had turned into during the Tournament of Kikai, solely because 'it's Squirtle that shows up in Smash and not Blastoise'. He had heard the same excuse in the revived Battle of the Luminaries and he was honestly getting tired of the amount of times he was getting forcibly turned back into a Squirtle now that he knew what it was like being a Blastoise.
Greninja saw Squirtle enter and made his way over. "You look a little down, kiddo. You still upset about the power downgrade?" He asked, though in the Pokemon language only other Pokemon could understand.
"Of course I am! How would YOU like it if, after spending so long in your third form, you get forced back into your FIRST?!" Squirtle demanded, again in the Pokemon-only language.
Greninja sighed. "I understand the frustration. I would be annoyed if I were in your shoes." He insisted.
Darunia suddenly made his presence known as he came over, huge hammer slung over his shoulder. "Ah! Another potential little bro, perhaps!" He said. "Say! You look like you could use a little iron, kid! I think I've got a rock or two if you'd like."
"Why would I eat a ROCK?!" Squirtle demanded.
"You learn to just kind of roll with it with this guy, Squirtle." Greninja sighed.
Darinia laughed as he fished a rock into view, not understanding what the two water Pokemon were saying. "Sounds like you're interested! Well, believe me, these rocks are full of all the iron you-"
"SQUIRTLE!"
Squirtle fired a beam of water from his mouth, more in an attempt to get Darunia to start talking, only to watch as, instead of a small, weak jet of water, a high-pressure beam of water fired from his mouth that knocked Darunia not only off his feet by caused the Goron chief to fly backwards several feet.
Greninja jumped back in shock at Squirtle's display of power and even Squirtle himself seemed surprised when he stared ahead with wide eyes and an open mouth as the water jet died down. "Did…Did you just do what I think you did?" Greninja asked.
"Yeah…I think I did. I only have that kind of power as a…" Squirtle said before a smirk floated across his face. "Okay. I can work with this."
(Announcer's Booth)
SSBFreak stared in wide-eyed silence at the arena, his brain seemingly trying to register what was happening. Khall, in the meantime, was scratching his head in confusion. "Huh. That little guy's pretty OP, if you ask me." He mentioned. "I'd hate to see what kind of power he packs when he becomes that big water-tank-turtle thing."
SSBFreak blinked a few times, held his bridge of his nose in annoyance for a few seconds, and took a deep breath. "SHEOGORATH!" He yelled in frustration.
A pillar of light appeared behind the two hosts and, when it fizzled out, there stood Sheogorath, with Haskill behind him and carrying a serving tray of cheese. "Yes, hello, that's me name. Please don't wear it out or put it on a tee shirt and expect it to not be shrunk in a hot wash." The mad god said with a playful grin.
SSBFreak turned to stare at Sheogorath with an angry look. "WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?" He asked flatly.
Sheogorath paused, then glanced at Haskill. His chamberlain gave a shrug in response, and then the mad god glanced back at the host. "Yoooou're…Gonna need to be a bit more-specific." He admitted.
"SQUIRTLE!" SSBFreak exclaimed, waving his arm in the direction of the arena, where Squirtle was shown picking up Darunia, whom was at least three times his size, and piledriving him into the canvas. "Why is he showcasing this kind of power?! He's way stronger than a Squirtle should have any RIGHT to be!"
Sheogorath laughed. "Oh, THAT? Lad, the poor thing went through SO MUCH growth and development in the Tournament of Kikai. LITERALLY! He literally became a Blastoise over the course of the tournament!" He reminded. "But due to the stipulations about needing to be a Squirtle for the following tournaments he needed to take a step down in power and, if I'm being honest, I thought it felt kinda unfair for him. To have all that muscle and destructive power just stripped away from you? How would YOU like it if someone warped your insides and turned any dwabbingly-miniscule muscles you have to fat? Seriously, how WOULD you like it, because I can definitely arrange it."
SSBFreak held his forehead. "So…Let me get this straight: When Squirtle was turned from a Blastoise back into a Squirtle for the tournament, you didn't change his power level? So we have a Squirtle in the arena with the power of a BLASTOISE?!" He asked. "And you expect me to believe it's because you felt SORRY for him? YOU?!"
"Eh, I'll admit that most of it was seeing the humour of watching such a small fighter packing a punch like that." Sheogorath shrugged nonchalantly.
SSBFreak sat in silence for a few seconds, holding his head. "…Please tell me you didn't do the same thing to Ivysaur…" He sighed.
"Okay. I WON'T tell you." Sheogorath replied. After a couple seconds of awkward silence, he pointed his thumb at his chamberlain. "Haskill will."
"He totally did." Haskill stated dryly.
SSBFreak's head hit his desk again as Sheogorath and Haskill vanished in another pillar of light, likely to return to Sheogorath's private booth.
"Y'know, I can't put my finger on it but something tells me that guy has something going on he's not telling you." Khall mused.
(Hotel; Dr. Cortex's Room)
The only sound heard in the room was the quiet ticking of a clock hanging on the wall. Awkward silence hung over the room's table as Cortex and Wily glanced at each other a couple of times before returning their gazes to the third person sitting at the table; the same one that Nina had returned with only a moment prior. It was true that Nina had returned with "A" Dr. Robotnik; just not the one that her uncle was looking for.
The new figure bore a slight resemblance to the Dr. Eggman that Cortex and Wily were searching for but was far-more cartoonishly-overweight, with a slightly-elongated forehead and a thick, busy orange mustache. Rather than wear glasses like Eggman did, the newcomer had bright red irises inside pitch black eyeballs.
"Now then! Shall we get down to business?" The cartoonish Dr. Robotnik asked with an over-the-top hamminess to his voice. It was clear he didn't have very much patience. "I assume that there's a reason you two decided to interrupt the grrrreat evil genius that is Dr. Ivo Rrrrrrobotnik while he was watching this tournament?"
"Um…May I ask why you were here watching the tournament in the first place?" Wily asked.
"Hah! I heard that the rrrrotten, rrrrepugnant hedgehog was here so I entered my two dumb-bots to smash and destroy him the instant they saw him!" Robotnik insisted, rolling his r's at almost every instance he could for some reason.
"You realize that it's not YOUR Sonic entered in the tournament, right?"
"How DARE you, you shrrrriveled old man! You think I wouldn't rrrrecognize my sworn enemy when I saw him?!" Robotnik demanded. "You DARE challenge the memory of the genius mind of Rrrrrobotnik?!"
As Robotnik continued to ramble in an over-the-top manner, Cortex glanced at Nina. "You REALLY couldn't find Eggman?!" He whispered in a hushed voice.
"We scanned everywhere in the crowd! We really don't think he's here!" Nina whispered back.
"Why THIS one?! I'd even take the live-action movie version of Robotnik over this one!"
"This one was the only one we could find!"
"Hey! Small one! What are you talking about over there?!" Robotnik demanded. "Don't you know it's rrrrude to whisper when other people are around?!"
Cortex coughed. "Uh…Forgive me. My mind is elsewhere right now…" He admitted. "Well, my colleague here and I have a project ongoing tonight and we needed some more mindpower for it so-"
Robotnik laughed heartily. "Ah, so you OBVIOUSLY heard I was here and decided that this little prrrroject of your needed a mind of MY genius intellect behind it!" He guessed.
Cortex and Wily glanced at each other awkwardly before turning by to the overweight scientist. "Yeah. Sure. Let's go with that." Cortex replied.
"We know it's not an optimal situation but we could really use the help." Wily explained. "Are you able to give us a hand?"
Robotnik pondered for a few moments. "Well, you see, that's a good question. While I would LOVE a chance to have some help building a machine that can finally destrrrroy that cursed hedgehog once and for all, and I honestly don't see those two dumb-bots of mine having any luck in the rrrrring, I…" He trailed off for a couple of seconds, looking deep in thought. "…Oh, who am I kidding? Of COURSE I'm interested!"
"Ah! Splendid! Perhaps we can work on this machine right away? Cortex isn't due in the arena for a bit and even I have a few sections before I'm due in there, so if we can get a head-start on building this then we won't need to worry about catching up with it later." Wily said.
"That said, we could also use a bit of manpower in addition to what we have." Cortex said. "I...Certainly hope that you brought more help other than those two robots you just sent into the arena."
Robotnik blinked in confusion. "Why would I ever need more?" He asked.
Cortex and Wily shared another glance. They both had a feeling that tonight wasn't going to be fun...
(Hotel; Hallway)
"It's good to hear that you're on board with this." Zant said as he walked down a hallway alongside a tall, slim man in a suit with a hat covering his eyes. "Lord Ganondorf said you were usually up to chip in if it caused a little chaos."
Yuber couldn't help but give a light smirk. "I couldn't stay away if you asked me to. Chaos and destruction seems to attract me." He admitted. "Plus, I figured someone would be coming to me for help tonight anyway. I'm just surprised Bison never approached me this time."
"Hmm...You think he's actually not going to try something?" Zant asked. "Lord Ganondorf would definitely want to know if he needs to worry about Bison tonight."
"If Bison IS planning something I was never approached about it. You did, however; that's all that matters to me." Yuber shrugged. "I take it Ganondorf's looking for people to check in?"
"Well, him and the old Mishima guy from Tekken, but he's in the ring by now." Zant replied.
"Huh. I didn't count on Ganondorf being one to have a work partner." Yuber smirked. "You sure Mishima won't catch on that he's probably just as much a pawn as you are?"
Zant turned his helmet to face Yuber sharply. "My patience runs thin enough as it is! Lord Ganondorf has a plan and I intend to make sure he sees it through, and right now that involves getting as much help as I can!" He insisted.
"Sure, sure. Like I said, I'm fine just playing along if it means I can cause some mayhem but remember that I need to keep one eye open tonight. Usually the host of these things has Pesmerga enter as a Mystery Fighter just to mess with me but now I know he's entering as a regular fighter so I know he'll likely be looking to come after me." Yuber informed.
Zant scoffed behind his mask. "I still don't see why you're so scared of that guy. He's just a guy wearing a black suit of armour." He mentioned.
Yuber sighed. "I'll...Admit that the Suikoden series kind of died out before that whole subplot got resolved." He admitted. "Just remember that, if Pesmerga shows his face when I'm around, I'm retreating. I don't have the time, will or patience to deal with him tonight."
Zant sighed. "Fine. Just go report to Lord Ganondorf and I'm sure he'll fill you in one what he'll expect of you." He mentioned.
Yuber nodded as he tipped his hat and sunk into a portal of light on the floor he generated under his feet, leaving Zant alone in the hallway. The masked Usurper King glanced around a bit before he was satisfied that he was alone and gave a sigh. "How many of these prospects are going to piece away at my sanity?" He asked aloud. "I'm looking over my shoulder enough as it is..."
Zant was loyal to Ganondorf but he had to admit that he was getting tired of this recruiting. He felt he had spent the last couple of sections doing nothing but gather forces for his master and even then he felt he was getting nowhere. For that matter, Ganondorf still hadn't told him what the plan was about. The only one who seemed to be fully-aware of what the plan entailed was Heihachi Mishima, Ganondorf's apparent business partner (and the main reason Ganondorf had the funds to provide Zant to recruit hirable forces), and Zant was still cautious to actually trust the old martial artist. Something about him put Zant off and it wasn't just the fact that he kept a huge grizzly bear around as a loyal pet and bodyguard.
Zant turned around and prepared to start walking down the hallway again, likely to go and try recruiting someone else. Perhaps that red-clad bounty hunter would be up for some extra work now that she had been eliminated from the tournament. However, the instant he turned around, Zant froze when he saw a new figure coming down the hallway. The newcomer, a female, was dressed colourfully, complete with bright, puffy yellow overalls, oversized red sneakers and a bright blue top, and had orange-ish hair designed and patterned like a colourful lollipop. The most-notable characteristic for Zant, however, was the round, bright red nose the woman had as she walked obliviously towards Zant.
"Oh! Excuse me!" The clown woman said as she passed by Zant and made her way into a nearby door leading into the hotel's restaurant.
A thousand thoughts went through Zant's mind as he watched the woman vanish into the restaurant. All he continued to see in his mind was the woman's red nose; a giveaway to her status as a clown. His thoughts instantly went back to the third Megamix Tournament; before the dome lost its power and needed to be cancelled, Zant had gone to a magic reading room owned and operated by Street Fighter representative Rose, and he had gotten his fortune told on a whim, though he immensely regretted it now since it had kickstarted his paranoia...
Zant had been told that, at some point, he would get into a fight with someone, an unknown assailant but described as a clown with a bright, red nose, and barely survive the battle regardless of if he won or lost. Zant had remained overly-paranoid about a villainous clown that he had been working with, worried that he would be ambushed at some point but, since nothing had happened, Zant figured that the fortune had been warning Zant about another clown he hadn't known about. Now, years later, Zant was beginning to wonder if that fortune he had been told all those years ago in a separate tournament entirely was really warning him about someone in THIS tournament.
And, specifically, about the clown woman that had just passed him and walked into the restaurant.
"...Clown...Clown..." Zant whispered in a panic. His limbs started shaking in fear as a blade suddenly shot from his huge sleeve...
(Hotel; Restaurant)
"Welcome to the restaurant! You lookin' for something to eat while you watch the tournament? We've got you covered!" Chef Kawasaki greeted.
Lola Pop, resident clown fighter of ARMS, gave a polite nod as she approached the counter. "Hi, there! I'm looking for something that'll satisfy my sweet tooth for a while!" She greeted. "What do you recommend from your dessert menu?"
"Oh, I have a strawberry cake here that's to DIE for, my friend! Seriously, Kirby's gone on a warpath before JUST BECAUSE a slice of his strawberry cake got stolen." Chef Kawasaki replied. "I mean, Kirby will eat anything but if it's something that's worth going on a path of wanton destruction that results in the annihilation of a fragment of Dark Matter then I'd say it's definitely good."
Lola Pop blinked a few times in confusion before giving a shrug. "Sure. I'll give it a shot." She replied.
Chef Kawasaki nodded as he left to start preparing the order, passing by the kitchen window where the Swedish Chef was chasing a sentient block of cheese with a grater before, a few seconds later, running in fear from the same block of cheese that was now wielding the grater. Kawasaki didn't trust his fellow chef enough with this recipe; this cake needed to be made to perfection.
Lola Pop waited as Chef Kawasaki started to work on the cake. Admittedly, the clown girl was a bit disappointed that the ARMS cast was passed over for a formal invite to the tournament, but she knew Min Min would be making the node proud as a rep for the Smash node. Maybe the next time ARMS would get a full roster representation? Lola Pop couldn't help but be hopeful for the future, in that regard.
Still, she wanted to get back to her seat before Min Min entered the arena. She didn't know when Min Min was slated to enter but Lola Pop started getting a craving for something sweet that she couldn't ignore and decided to make a quick trip to the restaurant. She could have gone to the nearest vending machine but she knew the good sweets would be chef-prepared. Hopefully she could get her order and take it back to her seat before Min Min could enter the ring. The last thing Lola Pop wanted to do was miss-
Lola Pop suddenly heard what sounded like a sword getting unsheathed, which brought her out of her thoughts. Lola glanced over her shoulder and saw Zant standing in the doorway to the restaurant. "Oh, hello. Did...You forget something in here?" She asked.
"...Clown...No...No clown is going to succeed..."
Lola Pop tiled her head in confusion. "Um...What?" She asked.
Zant raised two scimitars into the air and, with a loud battle-cry, leapt at Lola Pop with both weapons raised above his head. Lola Pop yelled in surprised as she rolled to the side, causing Zant to slam his scimitars into the counter.
"Hey! Those are new counters!" Chef Kawasaki yelled from his prep station.
Lola Pop instinctively got into a stance as she transformed her regular arms into her long and elastic ARMS, designed to look like long, stretchy taffy. "W-What is your DEAL?!" She demanded.
Zant wasn't listening as he slowly turned around to face the girl. All he cared about was stamping out the clown. And that, at the moment, was Lola Pop...
(The Arena)
"NECALLI!" (SF5)
The crowd seemed to be giving a mostly-negative reaction as a long-haired, primal-looking man emerged from the curtain, crouching low as he scanned the arena, as if looking for someone specific before making his entrance.
"I sense powerful souls...Souls of fierce warriors..." Necalli muttered as he looked down at the arena with wild eyes. He set his sights on one fighter. "That one!"
Necalli roared as he stampeded down the entrance curtain and threw himself into the arena, landing on his feet as he stared straight ahead and made a beeline for his target, leaping over a surprised Olimar as he did.
Magyar looked up and saw Necalli charging at them. They quickly held up their broadsword and blocked a blow as Necalli dug into the sword with his bare hands. "What crawled up YOUR pants and died?" One of the souls snarked.
"You carry many warrior's souls in you! I MUST HAVE THEM!" Necalli roared as he continued to take wild shots and lash out at Magyar, as if trying to break through their defense using brute force.
"Yeesh. It's just one thing after another in here." One of Magyar's souls said flatly.
"Well, I don't think he's leaving us alone if he's actively looking to eat us." Another soul admitted.
Magyar took a huge swing at Necalli, striking him in the side with their broadsword and sending the soul-hungry warrior sprawling. Necalli didn't seem fazed too much as he landed on his feet again and turned to face the haunted armour, letting out another roar as Magyar got into a stance.
"H-Hey! Don't leave me alone! I can't fight this crazy girl by myself!" Lord Hater pleaded at Magyar, suddenly realizing that, with both Mimikyu and Magyar distracted, he was on his own as far as Sheik went.
"You'll live." Sheik smirked as she played her harp a bit and summoned a flaming rock over Lord Hater's head.
"BAYONETTA!" (SSB)
To a combination of cheers and catcalls, Bayonetta emerged from the curtain and struck a few poses, seemingly reveling in the attention before striding down to the arena, guns in hand. Reaching the end of the ramp, Bayonetta struck another stylish-looking pose before backflipping into the arena, earning her another cheer for the show.
Bayonetta landed in the arena near Merengue, whom seemed to be finally stopping favouring her shoulder. Merengue stepped back in surprise, nearly falling over, as Bayonetta landed in front of her. "Ack! D-Don't surprise me like that!" She said.
"Darling, you should have known what you were in for when you signed up for this." Bayonetta shrugged with a chuckle.
"I-I DIDN'T sign up for this!"
Bayonetta laughed again. "Sorry, sweetie, but if you don't have the willpower to stay in the ring then you've kind of brought this on yourself." She said. "Don't worry. This'll be quick and painless."
Bayonetta lashed out with her foot, aiming straight for Merengue's face. The pink rhino screamed as she held up her hands and caught Bayonetta's foot with them, keeping the kick from landing. The umbra witch's smirk faltered when she saw that Merengue was holding her in place and preventing her kick from going forward.
"Hmm...You've got some muscle on you..." Bayonetta remarked.
"P-Please don't make me fight you!" Merengue shouted as she picked up Bayonetta by the leg and threw her over her shoulder in a desperate attempt to get the witch away from her.
Bayonetta landed on her side and awkwardly bounced back a few feet before coming to a halt and pushing herself up. "Okay. I definitely wasn't expecting that." She remarked as she pulled up a pistol. "I may have to try bullets on this one..."
"NECLORD!" (ST)
The crowd backed away in fear as Suikoden's resident vampire lord emerged from the curtain with a cold, fearsome presence compounded by the dimmer lights accompanying him down to the ring. Neclord took his time walking down to the ring, giving the audience time to bask in his dark presence, before he reached the bottom of the entrance ramp. His hand lighting up with electricity, Neclord descended into the arena.
Heihachi was still fighting the Mad Piano, seemingly to a standstill. The Mad Piano was snapping at Heihachi wildly, sometimes even tossing a book or two at him, but the older martial artist was proving to be too fast for it to hit and strong enough to counter when the sentient piano tried attacking him.
All of a sudden, Heihachi felt the presence of something coming at him from behind and instinctively dodged out of the way. A powerful bolt of lightning shot past him and slammed directly into the Mad Piano, knocking it back several feet from the power of the blast. Heihachi turned around and saw Neclord coming over. "That was a mistake; trying to take a shot at me from behind." He said as he got into a stance.
Neclord couldn't help but smirk. "Your reflexes are surprising for someone of your age." He mentioned. "It's been a while since I've faced someone with such skill."
Heihachi paused, going through some thoughts in his head as he weighed his options. He knew of Neclord's power and pondered if he was someone that could be of use to his and Ganondorf's plan. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have the vampire lord on his side, anyways. "Actually, now that I've seen the power you wield, perhaps we can avoid a conflict?" He asked.
Neclord paused. "What did you have in mind, mortal?" He asked.
"I have a little...Business offer for you." Heihachi said. "If you come on board, I can almost guarantee an army of fools that, after killing them, can be resurrected into fighting for you."
Neclord thought this over for a few seconds before giving a dark smirk. "I'm listening..." He said.
Bowser Jr., meanwhile was screaming as he tried to keep the Mad Piano away with a hammer. Neclord making his appearance by blasting the piano away from Heihachi got it to set its sights on the Koopa prince again.
"Get away from me, doggie! I swear I'll give you indigestion!" Bowser Jr. said as he swung a hammer at the Mad Piano, causing it to jump back and avoid the attack. The Mad Piano then leapt at Bowser Jr., teeth bared and ready to chomp down on the small Koopa.
All of a sudden, a huge ninja star slammed into the side of the Mad Piano and exploded, knocking the sentient instrument to the side again. Bowser Jr. looked around to see where the star had come from and found himself looking at the entrance curtain. His face fell again. "Aw, maaaaaan..." He whined.
"POM POM!" (SMB)
Standing outside of the curtain was another large Koopa, though not as big as Boom Boom was, this one a female with a ponytail and a red-pink colour scheme. Standing in a pose after throwing her ninja star down at the Mad Piano, Pom Pom summoned another one into her hand as she raced down the ramp like a ninja, disappearing at the end in a cloud of smoke.
Another cloud of smoke burst from nothingness in front of Bowser Jr. as Pom Pom appeared in front of him. "I'm glad I got to you in time, prince!" She greeted. "When King Bowser saw the piano entering the ring he gave me strict instructions to make sure it didn't get to you."
Bowser Jr. sighed. "How many times do I need to tell papa that I don't need a babysitter?" He whined. "I mean, I'm glad for the help because that thing took me by surprise but you and Boom Boom don't need to worry about me so much."
"Your father didn't want to take any chances." Pom Pom insisted.
"So her seriously told you to watch me like a hawk the instant you got into the arena?! I don't need protecting!"
"My prince, I don't like to talk back to you but you DID see how much damage that monster is capable of in the last section, right?"
Bowser Jr. pouted. "...Fine. Thank you for saving me from the deranged piano, Pom Pom." He sighed. "But I don't think either of us are safe until it's gone."
Pom Pom looked over her shoulder and saw the Mad Piano preparing another lunge. Slapping her hands together, pom Pom generated four clones of herself that surrounded the Mad Piano, seemingly taking it by surprise and making it stop. It glanced about at the five Pom Poms surrounding it, as if wondering which one was the real one.
"Stay behind me, my prince! We can take it!" All five Pom Poms shouted at once as they all threw a ninja star at the Mad Piano.
Bowser Jr. sighed again as Pom Pom bravely (or stupidly) jumped in to fight the Mad Piano with her group of clones and he pulled out another hammer before racing in to help her with his clown car. His dad would be sure to give him an earful after this...
"LORD VRAXX!" (BH)
Standing outside the curtain was a green, one-eyed alien with a mad grin and laughing insanely to the sky as the crowd gave him a warm reception. He waved to the crowd proudly as he marched down to the ring like a regal king.
"Thank you, my future loyal subjects! When the great Lord Vraxx conquers this universe he will be sure to remember you all and will be sure to perhaps go easy on you!" Lord Vraxx called out to the audience as he continued to wave until he reached the end of the entrance ramp. Vraxx grinned as he summoned a pair of futuristic-looking blasters into his hands as he jumped into the ring.
Diddy Kong was still trying to tinker with his rocketbarrel jetpack that had been busted in the last section when Vraxx came over and stood over him. "The arena is no place for TINKERING, you whelp! I didn't become grand emperor by letting my soldiers build contraptions on the battlefield! I just placed high-powered, untested, particle-accelerated guns in their hands and pointed them at the enemy!" He announced. "Look around you! There are fights everywhere!"
Diddy stared up at Vraxx flatly, pulled out his peanut popgun and pointed it at Vraxx's huge, single eye. Vraxx laughed loudly. "Is...Is that gun made of WOOD?!" He demanded. "What good is a gun made of WOOD expected to be against two top-end blasters like the ones I-"
*POW!*
A peanut bounced off Vraxx's eyeball. The space tyrant screamed bloody murder as he staggered backwards, gingerly holding his eye. "Owwww! What'd you hit me for, you little rodent?! Don't you know how RUDE it is to shoot someone when he's in the middle of a monologue?!" Vraxx yelled before he paused. "...Wow, now I know how my enemies feel when I do the same thing to them..."
Diddy, having finished fixing up his jetpack, tucked it away for now (where he put it was a complete mystery), and got into a stance, beckoning Vraxx to face him.
"So you've decided to stand up and fight after all, huh? Very well..." Vraxx said as he opened fire on Diddy with both blasters. "Now SUBMIT TO VRAXX!"
Diddy leapt around the volley of laser bolts Vraxx fired upon him, showing athletic gymnastics and backflips to get around some of the shots. Vraxx continued to unload lasers onto Diddy but steadily got more and more frustrated the more Diddy avoided the shots. Finally, when Diddy landed on his feet away from Vraxx, he pulled out his popgun again and fired another peanut into his eye.
"OW! Stop that, you flea-bitten little throw-rug!" Vraxx shouted as he charged at Diddy with another yell. "No ones makes a mockery of Lord Vraxx!"
"MAI SHIRANUI!" (KOF)
For once, SNK's resident fanservice ninja seemed to be ignoring the cheers and declarations of love thrown her way. Instead, she stared down at the arena with a serious, hardened gaze, setting her sights on one particular target as she drew a fan, shoved it between her teeth and ran down the ramp with two more in her hands, engulfing herself in flames as she leapt into the arena.
Landing in the arena, Mai rushed headfirst at her target, shoulder-barging her way past a surprised Darunia (as he was recovering from another high-pressure water jet from Squirtle) and leaping her way over Greninja, whom seemed to be stepping in her way and looking for a fight from a fellow ninja.
Bayonetta turned her head just in time to see Mai's leg coming at her head. Mai smashed her leg across Bayonetta's face in a powerful roundhouse, knocking the witch down as Merengue looked on with a bewildered gaze.
"Um...Thanks for the help." Merengue piped up.
Mai didn't seem to be listening and instead stared down at Bayonetta. "Stand up, hussy! I've got beef with you!" She declared.
Bayonetta pushed herself up and stared at Mai, wiping a drop of blood from her mouth. "Dear, I think you must have me mistaken for someone else." She said.
"Bull! Sakurai barred me from Smash because he deemed me too inappropriate to even be a cameo, but he's fine letting YOU be a full-fledged FIGHTER?!" Mai said as she got into a stance. "What do you have that makes you appropriate in a game for 'good boys and girls'?!"
Bayonetta looked Mai's outfit up and down a few times. "Perhaps an outfit that doesn't show off enough skin that you could wear it to a swimsuit competition?" She asked.
"You're clothes are LITERALLY your HAIR!" Mai yelled, getting frustrated. "And you strike enough sultry poses you could work part-time as a stripper! Am I the only one seeing the hypocrisy here?!"
Bayonetta lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "My. It seems you have a chip on your shoulder as big as your chest. Can't have that." She said as she aimed her guns at Mai. "How about you put your money where your mouth is?"
"Gradly! I've been waiting for this moment for years!" Mai said as she got into her own stance.
Merengue looked back and forth between the two a few times before she finally decided to slink away and hope no one notice her get out of dodge when the two women clashed.
(Dome; Security Office)
A blubbering, barely-holding-it-together Saxton Hale sat on a chair in the security team's main office. Max, Lucia and Scorch were all taking notes as Saxton Hale continued to tell them all what had happened, although it was clear that they were having struggles since Hale was barely able to get a sentence out before sobbing and devolving into a sputtering mess.
Estel gave a sigh as Hale collapsed into a sobbing mess again as she turned to the note-takers. "Well, what do we have to go on?" She asked.
Max showed his notepad, revealing a bunch of scribbles and a few stick figures getting their heads bitten off by a stick figure resembling Max himself. Lucia scratched her head and gave a silent shrug, showing her notepad to be covered with incomplete words in her attempts to make sense of what Hale had been saying. Scorch silently showed Estel his notepad and she saw that, likely out of boredom, he had set his paper on fire despite having no access to his flamethrower.
Estel groaned and slapped her head. "We're getting NOWHERE with this! All we know is that someone took something called an 'Australium' and that's not even a real thing!" She said.
"In the world of TF2 it is." Max supplied, holding a finger in the air. "One of the most-valuable and sought-after minerals in that world, as a matter of fact."
Estel blinked. "And you decided to hold back on telling us that you knew this WHY?!" She asked.
Max shrugged. "I dunno. Watching the big guy cry was funny." He admitted.
Estel held onto her forehead in frustration. "…And what ELSE can you tell us about this 'Australium'?" She asked.
"Oh, basically that it's the reason ol' discount Chuck Norris here is a successful businessman since Australia is pretty much the only source of Australium, wars have been fought over the stuff and the TF2 announcer lady may or may not have an agenda of her own involving Australium in a bid to gain immortality." Max said plainly. "But don't quote me on that last part because the TF2 comics are still unfinished ten years later."
"TF2 refuses to die so badly that the endgame comic can't even be finished." Psymon smirked.
Estel blinked. "And WHY did Mr. Hale think it was a good idea to bring a material that priceless and important here in the FIRST place?!" She demanded.
Hale looked up and wiped away his tears, trying to regain his composure. "Lady, I'll have you know that I ALWAYS walk around with a twenty-five pound brick of Australium just in case I decide I want to buy someone out! I was intending to see how I felt about this tournament before I decided if I wanted to buy the rights to it off the owner!" He insisted. "B-But…But when I looked at where I had stored it in the TF2 Locker Room, it was GONE!"
"So whoever stole it had access to your locker room, so wouldn't that obviously narrow it down to one of the nine mercs?" Estel guessed.
Lucia held up a hand. "Except maybe rule out the Soldier guy because he was probably still in the ring when it was stolen." She added.
"Good point. So that means it's one of eight guys?"
Hale stood up. "Oh, absolutely NOT! Those mercs may be idiots but they're not stupid enough to steal AUSTRALIUM from ME, their BOSS!" He insisted.
"Well then, who else could it be?! The locker rooms have tech installed to keep people from entering a locker room not belonging to their node!" Estel replied.
"I don't know! That's why I came to you lot!" Hale retorted.
Estel sighed and looked to Psymon. "Well. What is it we do when we have so little to go on?" She asked.
Psymon scratched his head. "Uh…I dunno. Usually the security team just wanders the hallways aimlessly, gets into fights with the odd villain here and there and just…Stands around being funny." He said.
"It helps break up the pace of the action in the ring!" Max supplied.
"AaAaAaAaAaAahhhhhh! Ah'm ten feet away from rupturing mah pancreas!" Homsar said randomly, as if proving Psymon and Max's points, as he floated over Saxton Hale's head.
Hale looked up and watched Homsar float by. "Uh…Is that white blob thing one of yours?" He asked.
"He's a tagalong that we can't get rid of." Estel rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mr. Hale. We'll start looking for leads on who took your Australium and where they went with it. If none of the mercs took it, then maybe they at least saw something."
"Uh…I'm gonna request that you keep me away from the Pyro." Scorch said. "I may be a pyromaniac but I don't feel like melting tonight."
(Multiversal Matchup)
A portal opened up in the sky and deposited eight fighters into their node. Unlike the previous section's participants, the eight Multiversal Matchup fighters were dropped onto the top of a sand dune as opposed to a deep snowbank. Most of the fighters managed to stick the landing okay but Wang-Tang ended up landing awkwardly and tumbling down the dune before landing face-first in the desert sand below.
Angel looked around. "Well, at least we got sent someplace warm." She admitted.
Slash felt the sand and couldn't help but smile. "This feels like home to me." He admitted. "Maybe we're somewhere prehistoric…"
Pyra brushed herself off before looking ahead, down the dune. "Hey, look! There's a town down there!" She pointed out.
The group looked ahead and saw a small collection of stone buildings in the sand, surrounded by palm trees and bits of water. Even further over the horizon, the group could see a larger civilization with more buildings and likely more signs of life. However, what caught everyone's sights the most was that there were soldiers occupying the small town, looking ready to take on a group of invaders that, as it slowly dawned on the group, likely meant that the goal of this round was to invade the town and cut through them.
Clark looked around curiously. "Strange…This place feels familiar…" He admitted.
Angel smirked. "So we're likely in Ikari Warriors? That'd give you a home field advantage." She admitted before looking at the others. "Hey, everyone? We're ganging up on the guy with the shades!"
"This is NOT Ikari Warriors." Clark said sharply. "All I said was that it looked familiar."
"So where are we, then?" Ibuki asked, arms folded.
Spike looked over his shoulder and saw Necrozma looking towards the sky. After a few seconds, it fired a laser beam into the clouds. "Uh…Guys? The Pokemon seems to see something up there." He said.
Everyone looked up into the sky (although Wang-Tang had to crawl his way out from under the sand first) and watched in surprise as a fleet of UFOs descended from the clouds and honed in on the soldier-occupied town. Almost instantly, the sounds of screaming and shooting were heard as the soldiers were clearing trying to fight off the UFOs.
As most of the other fighters reacted with shock and surprise, Clark gave a sigh. "THAT'S why this place felt familiar…" He admitted.
"Your suspicions are right, Clark!"
Everyone turned to see that a hologram of SSBFreak had materialized beside Wang-Tang at the bottom of the dune. Everyone came down the dune to be closer to the hologram and see what the host had to say, though Necrozma seemed more-intent on shooting at the UFOs that passed by. The others decided to leave it be for now.
"Welcome to this section's Multiversal Matchup, everyone. Like before, you eight have been chosen for a little side competition in an effort to win a special trophy at the end of the night. Also like before, this one isn't necessarily elimination-based but we all know anything can happen. You've all been brought here, to the world of Metal Slug, during an invasion of the Mars People." SSBFreak announced.
"Mars People? You mean the aliens?" Spike asked.
"Yeah. They specifically call themselves the 'Mars People'." Clark explained.
"Anyways, as you can see, the soldiers down there are being annihilated by the Mars People…Buuuut, I mean, I guess technically the soldiers are enemies too but the Mars People are the bigger threat." SSBFreak shrugged. "So, here's your mission: Fight your way through the town. The Mars People's mothership is at the edge of the town and is the main thing responsible to this invasion, so obviously the mission for this Multiversal Matchup is to destroy it. The Mars People will be trying to shoot you but, be warned, so will the soldiers. You can use whatever method you want to get ahead, including the firearms left scattered around the town, but remember that there are NO respawns or extra lives in this case like there are in Metal Slug. The winner will be the last one left standing or the one that destroys the mothership at the edge of the town."
Slash narrowed his eyes. "I'll do this without the firearms! I've faced Trident before and surely these 'Mars People' are no different genetically than he is!" He announced. "My club is all I need!"
"Speak for yourself. This'll be way more-intense than catching monkeys." Spike sighed as he looked out at the chaos the group was about to be thrust into.
"With that, all that's left is to wish you luck. The challenge starts when this hologram shuts off." SSBFreak finished. "Let the second Multiversal Matchup…Begin!"
With that, the host's hologram shut off, leaving seven fighters standing at the bottom of the sand dune and Necrozma continuing to fire lasers at the UFOs, trying to get at the lights they were emitting. Again, the others seemed to be ignoring it.
"This'll be interesting." Pyra smirked as she summoned her sword into her hand. "I'm sure I can burn my way through those aliens like I can anything else."
"Don't be so cocky. I've fought those Mars People before and they're NOT to be taken lightly." Clark reminded.
"So you DO have a leg-up here!" Angel said. "Guys, my point still stands! Let's gang on up him!"
Everyone suddenly heard a loud screeching coming from the top of the sand dune. Necrozma, in its attempts to snipe down a saucer, had caught the attention of a low-flying UFO. Necrozma leapt onto it as it swooped by and started slamming its huge claws onto the top of the ship in an attempt to bring it down. The UFO carried on with Necrozma on top of it, towards the town, before the polygonal Pokemon managed to bring it down somewhere inside the town.
Ibuki's eyes widened. "That thing's already gotten a huge head-start!" She exclaimed as she took off running towards the town.
Clark, arms folded, watched as everyone else raced off towards the town in a panic, hoping to catch up with Necrozma before it could do too much damage. Clark sighed as he unfolded his arms, took the time to adjust his shades and brushed a bit of sand off his shoulder. "Here we go again…" He lamented as he took off after everyone else…
(Hotel; Gym)
The gym of the hotel was more of a formality than anything. Most hotels needed to have some sort of gym even if they were barely used, and on the night of the tournament the gym would likely not see anyone at all. SSBFreak only decided to keep the gym as part of the hotel because he had felt it just wouldn't feel the same without it.
That said, despite the fact that there was a huge event going on, the gym was currently being used. Two Pokemon were using one of the weight benches, but what was unusual was that the muscled, four-armed Pokemon seemed to be the spotter for the small, round, balloon-shaped Pokemon currently lifting weights on her back using the bench.
"Come on! You're almost done the set!" Machamp said.
"It's…It's getting heavier each time I push!" Jigglypuff groaned as she continued to push the weight upwards but looked like she was struggling.
"You've been going strong for ten minutes! You just need a couple more!" Machamp urged.
"I'm...I'm getting tired. My stupid stubby arms are hurting!"
"You want to prove how strong you are, right?!"
"Y-Yes!"
"You want to impress Kirby, right?!"
"YES!"
"Then show me! Finish the set!"
Jigglypuff yelled as she pushed the weights up one more time with all her might, managing to get the bar over the hooks and rest the weights off of her, finally ending her set. Her workout done, Jigglypuff sat up, which looked more like a ball rolling, as she panted in exhaustion. "Thank you for spotting me, Ms. Machamp." Jigglypuff said. "And…Um…Thanks for keeping this a secret."
Machamp folded both sets of her arms. "Why do you want to keep you working out a secret?" She asked.
"Come on. You saw how much I was struggling with so little weight! People would just laugh at how stupidly weak I am!" Jigglypuff sighed as she grabbed a bottle of water Machamp was holding out for her and started drinking it. "You can bench-press fifty times what I just did!"
"Jiggs, I'm a MACHAMP. Not many Pokemon get to be as strong as me." Machamp reminded. "But the fact that you're trying at all is admirable and you've been steadily showing progress in the time I've been training you."
"I've been doing these workouts for three months now, though, and I don't feel any stronger…"
"It's a process. Believe me; you're getting stronger."
Jigglypuff sighed. "That makes me feel a bit better, I guess…" She admitted. "Maybe in a few more months I'll become the strongest Jigglypuff around! I won't even NEED to become a Wigglytuff!"
Machamp couldn't help but smirk as Jigglypuff suddenly regained some energy and started hopping around in what looked like an attempted boxing stance and started throwing a few practice punches with her stubby arms. "It's good to see you've got your confidence back. That didn't take long." She said. "Well, now what? Want to rest a few minutes and keep going with the weights or move onto something else?"
Jigglypuff was about to respond when, all of a sudden, a muffled explosion rocked the gym, the source sounding like it was coming from outside the gym in the hallway. The two female Pokemon turned to face the door to the gym.
"What was that?! A bomb?!" Jigglypuff asked.
"Come on! Pikachu told us about potential plots at these things; maybe we can catch whoever planted that!" Machamp urged.
(Hotel; Outside Gym)
"Klump, why do you keep insisting on EATING those oranges when you KNOW they're grenades?!"
"I can't help it, your scaliness! They're so good!"
King K. Rool sighed and held his forehead as he observed his two loyal hench-Kremlings, Klump and Krusha. The blue-skinned, muscled form of Krusha seemed to be staring at the shorter, helmet-wearing form of Klump in confusion as smoke emitted from the latter's mouth as he spoke.
The Kremling king narrowed his eyes. "You know, there's a reason we don't get taken seriously and I have no doubt it's because of you two bumbling buffoons and your inability to destroy those Kongs!" He said.
"I thought it was because you kept changing identities in every game you were in, your heaviness." Krusha lifted a finger.
"THANK YOU, Krusha." K. Rool rolled his eyes.
"You're welcome." Krusha replied dumbly.
"Look, the only reason I came for you two idiots was because I got an offer to help Ganondorf with something tonight and I told him I had some extra hands in exchange for some more power." K. Rool folded his arms.
"So you have faith in our abilities to fight for you! We won't let you down, sir!" Klump said energetically.
"NO. I made Ganondorf promise me some extra power in I brought ANY help. He won't realize I've conned him until I come back with YOU TWO."
Klump stood in silence for a few seconds. "I'll take it." He shrugged.
"JIGGY!"
K. Rool and his henchman turned to see the door to the nearby gym burst open as Jigglypuff and Machamp spilled out into the hallway, each of them looking mad.
"Puff! Jiggy-jigglypuff, puff!" Jigglypuff said.
"Champ! Ma-champ!" Machamp added, hoisting a handheld barbell into the air with one of her arms.
Klump shouted in surprise as he grabbed at his helmet. "A couple of spies! They musta heard what you were saying about Ganondorf, sir!" He said. "They must have heard you were offered power and now you're working with him with us as your help!"
Jigglypuff and Machamp paused in silence, staring at Klump with awkward looks. K. Rool slapped his forehead and slowly dragged it down his face. "Klump, remind me after this is done to KILL YOU." He said, realizing that Klump had just blabbed everything he knew to both Pokemon.
Klump shrunk back in fear. "I'll, uh, make a note of it." He said.
Krusha held up a hand, as if asking permission to speak. "So…Uh…Does this mean we gotta kill those things now?" He asked.
"YES, Krusha, this means we gotta kill those things now." K. Rool sighed.
Krusha nodded as he turned just to be met with a massive fist to the face courtesy of Machamp. Krusha was sent flying back, straight past K. Rool, as the Kremling king seemed to realize just how much-stronger even the one Pokemon was than his stronger Kremling.
"D-Don't just stand there, Klump! Start fighting them!" K. Rool said as he stepped forward.
"R-Right, sir!" Klump saluted as he pulled an orange grenade into view.
"Krusha, get over here! Don't think that, just because you got punch head-over-heels and knocked into a wall headfirst, you get to lie down on the job!" K. Rool said as he looked back to where Krusha was picking himself out of a hole in the wall.
"Coming, your vileness!" Krusha announced as he jogged in to help his king.
Jigglypuff and Machamp looked at each other for a few seconds, nodded as one, turned back to the three Kremlings and got into serious-looking stances. It was time for Jigglypuff to see if her workouts were paying off…
(The Arena)
"CRASH MAN!" (MM)
(I'm walkin' down the street)
(And my heart goes boom)
(In a minute we will meet)
(And my heart goes boom)
(When we are together, I want your love forever)
(I'm walkin' down the street)
(And my heart goes, boom, boom, boom)
(And my heart goes boom)
The orange-armoured Robot Master only spared a glance up at the Sound Booth (seeing Aila and Astaroth doubled over in laughter again), quickly deciding that a Crash Bomb wouldn't be able to reach that high up, before walking down the entrance ramp accompanied by a generally-positive reaction.
In all honesty, Crash Man was glad he was entering the arena at this point; he had been with Nina when the two of them found the cartoonish Dr. Robotnik and Crash Man felt it was safer to duck out and enter then arena rather than face Dr. Wily's anger at returning with the wrong version of the scientist Wily had asked for. Deciding to take his early entry as a blessing in disguise in that manner, Crash Man reached the bottom of the ramp and jumped in, arming his first couple of Crash Bombs.
Crash Man's first target was Greninja and the Robot Master fired one of his bombs out of his arm as he rushed forward. Greninja showed awareness, however, as he turned around and sliced through the bomb with a blade of water, causing the two halves of the explosive to explode on either side of him. "Ja!" Greninja shouted as he quickly got into a stance to face the approaching Crash Man.
"Straight to the point, huh? I guess I should've known better than to try to sneak-attack a ninja." Crash Man rolled his eyes.
"Gren, gren-ja!" Greninja said as he formed another blade of water in his hand and crouched low, surrounded by approximately six blue Pikmin that had been meditating with him not long ago, each of which striking a similar attempt at a threatening pose.
Crash Man smirked as he loaded up another bomb. "Well, your ninja skills won't be able to help you forever." He mentioned. "Sooner or later one of my bombs is gonna blow you up."
Greninja crouched low and narrowed his eyes, waiting for Crash Man to strike first as the Robot Master pointed an arm cannon at him…
"Mystery…Fighter…SIX…"
"STEVE!" (Borderlands)
The surprised audience gave a cheer to a strange, masked figure dressed in a leather jacket adorned with enough spikes and armour to make him look like a Mad Max reject. Taking the time to adjust his gloves and make sure his mask was on tight, Steve cleared his throat and looked out amongst the audience.
"Heyooooo!" Steve called out, garnering a larger audience cheer at the sound of his trademark. His job done, Steve pulled a crowbar into the open, jogged down to the arena and leapt in, readying himself for a fight.
One of Olimar's red Pikmin seemed to notice Steve coming over and frantically pointed him out to the space captain, whom had his back turned to the approaching raider. Steve waved at the smaller fighter as he approached, clearly showing no intention of attacking from behind.
"Oh. Looks like we've got someone looking for a fight." Olimar mentioned as he flipped through his notes. "Well, it looks like I've got some free time. I may be able to squeeze you in."
"Heyooooo!" Steve said.
"Uh…Yes. Hello." Olimar said. "You ARE here to fight me, right?"
Steve tilted his head. "Heyo?" He asked.
Olimar glanced at the red Pikmin, who shrugged simply. Olimar glanced back at Steve. "Uh…I'm sorry. I don't think I speak your language." He said.
Steve's response was to pull out a rocket launcher and point it straight at Olimar. "Heyooooo!" He said cheerily.
Olimar's eyes snapped open. "Okay, I DEFINITELY understand that!" He said as he grabbed the red Pikmin and scrambled away as Steve shot a rocket into the canvas and started chasing him.
"ICE CLIMBERS!" (SSB)
(One for your mind!)
(Two for your soul!)
(Want it, want it! Got to have it!)
(Two slices of pie!)
(One for your mind!)
(Two for your soul!)
(I feel like havin' a pie!)
Nana looked unimpressed as she and Popo emerged from the curtain, the former waving to the crowd in an attempt to hype the Ice Climbers up. "Popo, this was such a stupid idea." Nana said.
"Whaddya mean, Nana?" Pop asked his sister.
"The music you picked! No one born in the last twenty years is going to get the reference!"
"It's a Newgrounds classic!"
"You're only saying that because we were the stars of it." Nana rolled her eyes.
"It's the same difference." Popo shrugged. "Come on!"
Nana sighed as the Ice Climbers jogged down to the ring together, using a belay to jump over the gap between the ramp and the arena. Landing on their feet, Nana glanced around. "Okay. Wanna go help Mario fight those two robot things?" She asked.
"He's technically not entering as part of our node, though." Popo supplied.
Nana swatted Pop upside the head. "Popo, we've been sharing the Smash Mansion with him for YEARS." She reminded. "It doesn't MATTER if he's not with our node currently."
Mario turned and saw Nana dragging Popo over in his direction by the ear. "Oh! Heya, kids!" He greeted. "You a-looking to give me a hand?"
"You bet, Mario!" Nana nodded. "Two against one isn't a fair fight, even if it IS those two."
"Hey! That isn't very nice!" Grounder pouted.
"But now what?! Now YOU guys outnumber US three to two!" Scratch cried.
"Eh, I wouldn't worry about that." Nana shrugged. "Popo and I function as one fighter."
"But we do, too! So even with YOUR logic is still two-to-one for YOU!" Scratch said indignantly before turning to Grounder for help. "Back me up here, Grounder! You see the problem, right?"
"I can't do maths." Grounder replied simply.
Scratched slapped his forehead. "When Dr. Robotnik melts us into scrap I hope he turns you into a TOASTER." He said.
"MR. SANDMAN!" (PO!)
The world champion boxer of Punch-Out emerged from behind the curtain and played to the ground proudly as the audience around him gave him a loud cheer. Mr. Sandman pumped his fist into the air a couple of times as he strode down to the ring proudly and slowly, taking his time as it seemed he was making a big thump on the ground with every step he took.
By the time Mr. Sandman had gotten to the arena, he had set his sights on a target. Cracking his knuckles, the towering champion silently strode over in the direction of Heihachi Mishima, whom was in the process of talking to Neclord.
"I'll admit that your proposal is tempting, Mr. Mishima." Neclord stroked his chin in thought. "Are you sure you are able to promise this?"
"We're sure to attract unwanted attention in doing this. I can promise you no shortage of bodies and mortal souls at your disposal." Heihachi assured.
Neclord gave a nod. "Then perhaps I'll join up, at least for the time being, after I'm done here." He said before he looked behind Heihachi. "I'd better find a dance partner here. It looks like you may have your hands full."
Heihachi instantly spun around and caught an attempted punch from the larger Mr. Sandman as Neclord slunk away to see if he could start a fight with someone else. Mr. Sandman smirked as he felt Heihachi pushing back against his punch. "Oh, you're a strong one, old man." He laughed in a deep, booming voice. "I knew you'd be the toughest opponent here."
Heihachi narrowed his eyes as he shoved Mr. Sandman back and drove a palm into the larger man's stomach, knocking the boxing champ backwards on his feet. "While it's smart of you to see me as the strongest opponent, it's foolish to try and attack me from behind." He informed.
"Thanks for the advice but you learn to take any advantage you get when you fight the opponents I do back home." Mr. Sandman smirked. "Aran Ryan has tried every dirty trick in the book on me and he can STILL barely land a hit."
Heihachi got into a stance. "Well, now that you have my attention, I assume you don't intend to walk away." He said.
"No way. I'm finishin' this fight!" Mr. Sandman said, pounding his gloves together.
"Just know what you're getting yourself into." Heihachi said darkly as a shadow fell over his face.
"KING KNIGHT!" (SK)
The audience near the entrance curtain needed to shield their eyes as the spotlight reflected off of King Knight's glistening, golden armour that coated his entire body. Paying it no mind, King Knight lifted his scepter and started running down the ramp, only to trip a couple of feet on his long, flowing cape that he had forgotten to remove. Groaning in annoyance, King Knight unhooked his cape and continued on his way to the arena, trying to play it off as if nothing had happened.
Merengue was trying to steer clear of all the chaos in the ring when she noticed King Knight coming over to her and started panicking. "Oh, no! Not another person wanting to fight me!" She said.
"My dear, surely you jest! The whole point of this tournament is to get into these bouts, is it not?" King Knight asked. "Now, personally, I'd be fine to simply lay low for a while until that accursed Shovel Knight enters so I can smite him in front of a viewing audience…Buuuut I'll admit that I neglected to find out what draw he got so I suppose I'm stuck here for now unsure of when he's going to show up."
Merengue fidgeted. "So…Does that mean you don't want to fight?" She asked hopefully.
"Oh, of course I wish to fight! I saw that showcase of strength you displayed in the previous section and I wish to challenge you because of it!" King Knight said as he twirled his scepter in his hand. "If you'll pardon the rather poor taste in words, it'll be like a knight facing a fearsome dragon of otherworldly power!"
"Um…I'm a rhino…" Merengue meekly lifted a finger in protest.
"Eh, tomato, to-mah-to." King Knight shrugged. "You're big, you're strong, you have horns…Well, A horn, anyways. I'd say it's close enough."
"P-Please don't do this! I don't want to hurt anyone else!" Merengue pleaded.
King Knight laughed heartily. "Worry not! You'll find me a much more-formidable foe than a wooden doll looking to goof off!" He assured. "Now come! Let's begin the epic duel of man vs. beast, eh?"
"Why is no one listening to meeeeee?!" Merengue cried as King Knight lunged at her.
Music was suddenly heard around the audience as they looked towards the entrance curtain again. They saw that, just in front of the curtain, a golden sign had been set up, obstructing any view of the curtain behind it. At some point after King Knight had made his entrance, someone must have set up the sign without looking.
(I wear a disguise; I'm just your average Jane)
(The 'super' doesn't stand for 'model' but that doesn't mean I'm plain)
(If all you see is how I look, you miss the super-chick within)
(And I christen you the Titanic; underestimate and swim)
"And now, the final fighter of this section…And the current reigning champion of the Megamix Tournament…"
Someone suddenly burst through the sign in a flying kick, revealing their presence to the audience…
"SAKURA KASUNAGO!" (SF5)
(And I'll be everything that I wanna be!)
(I am confidence in insecurity!)
(I have the voice yet waiting to be heard!)
(I shoot the shot! Bang! That you hear round the world!)
(Cause I'm a One-Girl Revolution!)
Landing on her feet just outside of the sign she had broken through, Sakura stood straight and pumped her fists to the cheering crowd as she made her way down the ramp, eagerly looking forward to starting her run in the Megamix Tournament again.
It was true that she had been involved in other tournaments since the last Megamix had been cancelled, but this was the first time in a long time Sakura was making her entrance as a defending champion again; It felt a little more-special for her in that regard. Because of that, Sakura was determined to give the audience a good show as she made her way down the ramp and leapt in.
Sakura took all of three steps in the arena before she suddenly saw a bolt of lightning coming at her. Sakura dropped to the canvas, allowing the bolt to fly over her head, and she looked up to see Neclord striding over to her, smirking darkly.
"Well, look at what we have here. I was looking for someone to fight with and the defending champion falls right into my lap." Neclord smirked as his hand lit up in lightning again.
Sakura narrowed her eyes and got to her feet. "I didn't win my tournament as a fluke, you know! It's going to take a lot more than that to take me off-guard!" She pointed out.
"I see that now. How about you show me what it is about you that made you a champion in the first place?" Neclord said as he spread his arms, enveloping his body in dark magic and lightning.
"Champions came before me; champions came after me. All I can be as a champion…Is me!" Sakura grinned as she rushed forward and pulled her first back, preparing to meet Neclord head-on…
