LINK TO RESULTS BELOW
The camera turned on to Drake and Ashley. However, the former had a sheepish grin on his face and Ashley… Just looked grumpy.
"...What a round, am I right?" Drake asked, trying to look enthusiastic.
"Yes, what a MESSY round…" Ashley muttered.
Drake's grin vanished as he let out a deep sigh. "Okay, we will be doing things a bit different here. We are going to start by telling you who was the first person to be affected by the wheel."
"It was Maleficent from Kingdom Hearts. We are telling you this because the wheel had actually given her a penalty." Ashley explained. "She could only use the last spell she used for the rest of the section."
"But… Said spell is actually one of her strongest ones. Or in this case…" Drake said before letting out a cough. "METEORS OF HEAVENS! UNLEASH THY FURY!"
"So now Maleficent is summoning meteors left and right onto the arena, regardless of who she hits…" Ashley winced.
"And because of that, most of the fighters were focusing on avoiding the meteors or even facing Maleficent head-on." Drake said.
"Which means most of the eliminations are completely accidental!" Ashley exclaimed. "Seriously, how are we supposed to judge these…?"
"I mean… To be fair, this isn't the first time this has happened. This just happened the most frequently." Drake shrugged.
Ashley slapped his forehead. "So much for a normal round…"
"Serves you right for thinking that way when Junko Enoshima is in charge…" Drake scolded.
"True… The only good thing about all of this is that Xero is definitely going to answer for this later." Ashley muttered before shaking his head. "Shall we get this over with?"
"Let's." Drake nodded. "But first, the people who have gotten an elimination, but couldn't make the cut."
FOX McCLOUD
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/STAR FOX
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 150
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
Ashley just shook his head in annoyance. "See? This is what happens when you constantly taunt a guy with dead parents…"
"To be fair, Roxas from Kingdom Hearts wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back." Drake reminded. "It was Falco's "charming" signature line."
"Even still, maybe Fox wouldn't have eliminated him out of spite if he and Kairi didn't constantly taunt him!" Ashley insisted.
"Well, for better or for worse, he more or less proves that he is not one to be trifled with in the arena?" Drake asked with a sheepish grin.
KISSHU IKISATASHI
NODE: TOKYO MEW MEW
ENTERED IN: Section 4; Number 94
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 4
Drake and Ashley both paused before looking at each other.
"...I take it that this is another story fight?" Ashley piped up.
"Definitely…" Drake noted. "While Kisshu has done a decent job fighting her AND Green Lantern at the same time, it was Splash Woman who has thrown herself out of the ring in hopes of luring Kisshu in to get information about Ichigo."
Ashley frowned, shaking his head. "This is a trap and anyone with eyes could see it."
"Yeah, ignoring the fact how stubborn Kisshu is with Ichigo, he couldn't resist falling for it to save her." Drake frowned. "Besides, after hearing about Ichigo, there is no way he would have the mental strength to continue with the tournament."
"Yes, I suppose…" Ashley mused. "Too bad too, because four eliminations is nothing to sneeze at. Especially when he entered the arena wielding a brand-new weapon."
"Yeah, hey, before we continue, can we talk about Splash Woman?" Drake asked.
Ashley raised an eyebrow. "What about her?"
"Didn't you notice that her eyes were glowing red during her fight with Megaman?" Drake pointed out.
Ashley's eyes widened at this. "Y-Yes! She did! Do you think that she is being brainwashed?"
"I mean it is a strong chance. Canonically, Splash Woman and the other Robot Masters in 9 were tricked by Wily into joining because they were scheduled to be scrapped." Drake explained.
"Wait… Sentient robots were going to be SCRAPPED?" Ashley asked in horror.
"Yeah, it gets really dark when you think about it…" Drake frowned.
Ashley paused. "...Who else do you think is brainwashed?"
"Well, Yamato Man wasn't created by Wily, but by someone in Japan." Drake explained. "He, along with the other competitors of the First Annual Robot Tournament were kidnapped."
"Ah…" Ashley said before pausing. "Anyone else?"
"Guts Man, Skull Man and Sheep Man. But only if they show up on the villains' side." Drake explained. "Everyone else has been created by Wily from the start."
"Oh." Ashley nodded. "...Wait, do you think Orange knew the entire time?"
"Oh, of course he did! Right…?" Drake grinned.
Cue awkward silence.
"...Anddddd I am done." Drake piped up.
KAIRI
NODE: KINGDOM HEARTS
ENTERED IN: Section 6; Number 132
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 3
Drake let out a sad sigh. "Well, it seems that she wasn't able to do at least half as well as she did at the first Battle of the Luminaries."
"Still, her progress is nothing to scoff at." Ashley reassured. "Especially her elimination against Shego from Kim Possible."
Drake immediately lit up. "Yeah! For context, Shego has actually gotten a prize from the wheel and her prize was a rifle that fires non-lethal ammunition."
"And Shego being the villainess that she was, used it to her advantage!" Ashley noted. "But Kairi stayed resilient and despite she is still not on Sora and Riku's level, she managed to overpower Shego, not only destroying her new rifle and eliminating her. Definitely not a bad record to go out on."
"Indeed…" Drake nodded. He then lit up. "But now let's get into the people who survived the section!"
TARUTO IKISATASHI
NODE: TOKYO MEW MEW
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 139
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
Drake's eyes lit up in surprise. "Heh. This is a surprise!"
"Yes. I wasn't expecting Taruto to get an elimination to be honest due to the previous poor record of Tokyo Mew Mew besides Kisshu thus far." Ashley agreed.
"But then again, it is BECAUSE of Tokyo Mew Mew's lack of eliminations was what made him determined." Drake noted. "Bonus points for him fighting Whip from King of Fighters XIV, a node that hasn't been doing well in recent tournaments. Man, no offense to the current rosters, but their lack of enthusiasm in fighting games is truly disgusting…"
"But as sad as it is to see Whip fall so short from avenging her node, Taruto definitely earned his elimination." Ashley agreed. "Especially since he is one of the few people to actually have a "traditional" elimination."
"And don't forget, if it wasn't Pai's early draw, he would have gotten an elimination as well, even if he didn't survive the section." Drake pointed out. "It seems that the Cyniclon trio are stronger than we gave them credit for."
WONDER WOMAN
NODE: DC COMICS/WONDER WOMAN
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 140
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Well… What could be said about Wonder Woman…?" Drake asked with a sheepish grin.
"You mean OTHER than the fact that she eliminated Penelope from Sly Cooper when she was trying to snatch Maleficent's meteors?" Ashley asked, rolling his eyes.
"Um, yeah… Like…" Drake said before shifting his eyes. He then brightened up. "Oh, we could talk about how she is now the Atom!"
Ashley rolled his eyes. "What Drake means is Wonder Woman is the latest victim of the wheel and her punishment was that she shrunk down."
"On one hand, that means she is much lighter and easier to throw out, but she still has her super strength and it is not like this was her first time fighting people much bigger than her so while handicapped, it is not by THAT much." Drake noted.
Ashley paused before smiling. "I must admit that I am looking forward to seeing how she will do now that the punishment will last for two rounds."
MALEFICENT
NODE: KINGDOM HEARTS/SLEEPING BEAUTY
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 142
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Well, you must admit, Drake, even though she only got one elimination this section, she definitely proved your previous concerns wrong." Ashley sighed.
"And then some." The mayor sighed. "Again, while she only eliminated Garzooka from Garfield's Pet Force, the majority of the eliminations were done because everyone was too distracted by either fighting her or avoiding her meteors of heaven."
"And even then, her elimination of Garzooka was actually legit." Ashley noted. "It shows that even though she will be spamming one spell, she could still be dangerous."
Drake grinned. "Now I am REALLY looking forward to her in the next round! I doubt she will be able to pull the same trick twice, but hey! As long as she continues to show off her power, regardless of how well she does!"
KITTY KATSWELL
NODE: T.U.F.F. PUPPY
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 154
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Well, well, well!" Drake smirked, crossing his arms. "It seems that Xero and Bluesy were onto something with having her into the tournament!"
"Indeed, she has demonstrated that just because she is from a slapstick comedy, she is still a mostly serious spy." Ashley noted. He then paused. "Even though she DID get her elimination based on a technicality."
"Hey! She used her wits to trick Sir Raleigh from Sly Cooper into getting his tongue onto a falling meteor, didn't she?" Drake scolded.
"Alright, alright… At least she purposefully used a loophole." Ashley muttered, rolling his eyes. "Also, she has gotten a prize from the wheel. A fake Smash Ball. However, she didn't look like she was happy to take it."
"Well, considering that she doesn't have her own real Smash Ball, that is understandable." Drake mused. "But she shouldn't give up hope. Considering this type of tournament, I just know that there is a chance for her to use it."
Ashley rolled his eyes. "That is what I am afraid of…"
JAK & DAXTER
NODE: PLAYSTATION ALL-STARS PLAYSTATION RUMBLE/JAK & DAXTER
ENTERED IN: Section 6; Number 124
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 3
"Well, Jak & Daxter is doing their best to make up for PSASPR's abyssal score thus far!" Ashley smiled.
"Indeed. Not only did they get three eliminations, but they also survived their second section!" Drake grinned. "The only people thus far to do so!"
Ashley rolled his eyes. "By the way, we are only talking about their score and not Jak & Daxter's elimination of Fox McCloud because it went exactly like previous ones. Bang bang. Oops, I just eliminated my ally."
Drake glared at Ashley. "Dude!"
"I am sorry! I know that repeating ourselves is inevitable at this point, but I draw the line of trying to make these types of eliminations more hyped than they have any right to be!" The wizard scolded. "ESPECIALLY in this section."
Drake just rolled his eyes.
MOJO JOJO
NODE: CARTOON NETWORK: PUNCH TIME EXPLOSION
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 153
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
DIDDY KONG
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/DONKEY KONG COUNTRY
ENTERED IN: Section 6; Number 127
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 3
Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I DID noticed that you skipped Mojo earlier."
"Yeah, you said it yourself. There is no point of repeating ourselves in certain instances so we might as well put these together because they happened at the same time." Drake shrugged.
"Fair enough…" Ashley sighed. "Anyway, the two monkeys, along with Filia from Skullgirls and King Shark from DC Comics, tried to use powerful attacks to deflect Maleficent's meteors back at the latter. The former two used their Smash Balls while Filia and King Shark used a combination attack."
"However, it ended backfired. At first, everything was going well. But then, Mojo, in his mutated state had accidentally knocked King Shark out of the arena." Drake said, scratching his cheek with his finger.
"And while Diddy was flying around, he mistakenly crashed into Filia, knocking them out of the ring." Ashley said, shaking his head. "Oh, and guess what? Filia had dropped her Smash Ball and Diddy swiped it for himself."
"And the game of pass the Smash Ball continues…" Drake said.
RAPUNZEL
NODE: KINGDOM HEARTS/RAPUNZEL
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 149
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Okay, before we continue, Maurice has asked the same question you… Ranted about back when Rapunzel entered the arena." Drake said.
"Oh? You mean about her hair?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah. Turns out this Rapunzel is actually NOT from Kingdom Hearts." Drake pointed out.
Ashley's eyes bugged out at this. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah. Turns out that she is from Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, a cartoon that takes place after it." Drake pointed out.
"W-W-Wait! How does THAT work!?" Ashley exclaimed. "How did Xero do that?"
"The same way Tinyhammer brought Hyo Imowano back from the dead when he was canonically dead in Project Justice." Drake pointed out.
Ashley paused. "I… Suppose that is true… Especially since Xero seems more focused on representing the Disney part of Kingdom Hearts… For their original contents."
"So THAT is why Maleficent is such a threat here." Drake smirked.
"Hey!" Ashley scolded before shaking his head. "Anyway, while helping everyone with the meteors she accidentally eliminated Yooka-Laylee from Yooka-Laylee."
GREEN LANTERN
NODE: DC COMICS/GREEN LANTERN
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 151
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
Drake and Ashley blinked twice.
"Umm…" Drake started.
Ashley threw up his hands in frustration. "Aw, come on! Green Lantern didn't even touch Kisshu from Tokyo Mew Mew! Green Lantern only got the elimination for being the only person who is close to him while jumping in!"
"...I mean, Kisshu can't eliminate himself." Drake frowned.
"Yeah, but… Still…" Ashley started before groaning, rubbing his temples.
"If it makes you feel better, I feel jipped because I was looking forward to seeing Green Lantern fight and out of everyone who survived this round, I feel that he has gotten screwed in the screentime department…" Drake lamented.
"...What even IS this section?" Ashley muttered.
KIRBY
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/KIRBY
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 136
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 3
Ashley gave another sigh. This time, with a relieved smile. "Well, at least we still got fighters who got legit eliminations!"
"Yeah, not just one, but two of them!" Drake agreed. "One of them being Piccolo aka a DRAGONBALL Z fighter!"
"Anyone who could eliminate one so easily deserves credit, but knowing Kirby, it was Tuesday for him." Ashley noted.
"Ooh, look who is using memes now?" Drake smirked.
"Shut up!" Ashley scolded. "Anyway, he then proceeded to overpower Kairi from Kingdom Hearts! It is no surprise that he is doing well!"
"Actually, technically speaking, it is." Drake piped up.
Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah, believe it or not, but Kirby has actually done poorly at the Battle of the Luminaries. Sure, he definitely did better than a lot of his fellow Smashers, but still." Drake shrugged.
"Wow, that is quite a surprise." Ashley said in awe. He then smiled. "Well, at least he is making up for lost time!"
LUNA LOUD
NODE: THE LOUD HOUSE
ENTERED IN: Section 5; Number 108
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 5
Drake gave a descending whistle. "DAMN, the lesbian power is strong with this one!"
"Um, indeed…" Ashley said, blinking twice. He then brightened up. "She is now tied with current Mystery Fighter MVP, Akane Owari!"
"Now only that, but her eliminations were this round are two of Capcom's biggest stars!" Drake added. "She eliminated Megaman from… Well, Megaman and Ken Master from Street Fighter V!"
"She is doing fantastic thus far! And one has to wonder if she has what it takes to break Akane's record?" Ashley mused.
ROSALINA & LUMA
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/SUPER MARIO GALAXY
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 138
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2
"I am not surprised to see that Rosalina & Luma has gotten the top slot." Ashley smiled. "She is as powerful as she is graceful."
"Yeah, she is no slouch. Even though she hasn't eliminated Maleficent, she still did everything in her power to keep her at bay and honestly, her powers over gravity is the perfect counter for the meteor of heavens!" Drake grinned.
Ashley then frowned. "But because she was so focused on fighting Maleficent, she didn't notice that she eliminated two other people. Sakura from Street Fighter V and Wave from Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Wave was whatever, but it is still sad for the longest-running champion to go out in such a way." Drake frowned. "Ah, well…"
"Well, that was unfortunately not the most humiliating elimination in this section." Ashley sighed. "But yes, that is everyone. We shall say goodbye to Kisshu, Sakura, Shego, Filia, Yooka & Layee, Kairi, Megaman and Fox."
"And we welcome Kirby, Rosalina & Luma, Taruto, Wonder Woman, Maleficent, Rapunzel, Green Lantern, Mojo and Kitty!" Drake grinned.
Ashley blinked twice. "Is it just me or are there less people who lasted more than one section here than the last one?"
"Yeah, they are like… THREE people here. Four definitely on how you view Jak & Daxter." Drake noted. "At least you can argue that Luna makes up for the lack of quantity with quality, but still…"
Ashley shook his head. "Let's just go to the stats for now."
CURRENT MVPS
STREET FIGHTER V: Sakura Kasugano - 4 (Eliminated)
KING OF FIGHTERS XIV: Geese Howard - 2 (Eliminated)
SUPER SMASH BROS: Pikachu - 4 (Eliminated)
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: Big the Cat - 4 (Eliminated)
SPYRO THE DRAGON: Agent 9 - 5 (Eliminated)
SLY COOPER: Murray - 2 (Eliminated)
KINGDOM HEARTS: Goofy - 8 (Eliminated)
PLAYSTATION ALL-STARS BATTLE ROYALE: Jak & Daxter - 3 (Still in the ring)
MEGAMAN: Napalm Man - 1 (Eliminated)/Megaman - 1 (Eliminated)
DC COMICS: Clayface - 2 (Eliminated)/Raven - 2 (Eliminated)
TOKYO MEW MEW: Kisshu Ikisatashi - 4 (Eliminated)
SKULLGIRLS: Parasoul - 3 (Eliminated)
BATTLE ARENA TOSHINDEN: Eiji Shinjo - 1 (Eliminated)
CARTOON NETWORK: PUNCH TIME EXPLOSION: Blossom - 2 (Eliminated)
MYSTERY FIGHTERS: Akane Owari - 5 (Eliminated)/Luna Loud - 2 (Still in the ring)
"Not much to say except Kisshu and Jak & Daxter are picking up the slack for their respective nodes." Drake noted.
"And we already got a potential new Mystery Fighter MVP THIS soon!" Ashley said in awe.
"Heh. I guess our voters are more into strong women!" Drake smirked.
Ashley couldn't help, but chuckle. "Anyway, normally this is the part where we will tell you to stay tuned to see what Rosalina's choice will be."
"However, unlike other sections, we actually saw what her choice is." Drake said. "To try to find new allies to combat Maleficent, she picked "King of Smashers" so we will be having FORTY fighters in the next section!"
"However, because of that, that is why the next section will come out late and when Orange-Ratchet only puts up the results." Ashley frowned. "I beg for all of you voters to wait patiently for him because while he is a writer, he still has a real life."
"So yeah, stay tuned!" Drake nodded.
The camera then turned off. ...But the chapter isn't over yet.
Ashley let out a deep sigh. "What a section to cover…"
"I do hope that we did everything we could to spice it up." Drake frowned.
"Hey, we did as much as we could." Ashley said, waving it off. "If anything, blame Xero and Monokuma."
Drake shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? Everyone and their grandma already does!"
Ashley just smirked. "Anyway, I can't believe I am saying this, but I need a drink!"
"Oh, hell yeah! I LOVE doing this job, but I could only do so much without a drink!" Drake agreed. "Yo, Walls, Cat, wanna join us?"
"Do we!?" Wally grinned.
"You have NO idea how hard researching is!" Catherine groaned.
"Alright, then let's…" Drake started.
Suddenly, his phone started to ring. Pulling it out of his pocket, he looked at it.
"Um, you guys go on ahead. The boss wants to talk to me." Drake offered.
"Aye, mate." Wally nodded. "We literally got all of the time in the world right now."
Drake cast the kangaroo a double finger-gun as the three walked off. Drake then answered it.
"Ello?" He answered. He then brightened up. "Oh hell yeah, I am enjoying this job! I never felt this alive in a long while! Watching these fighters interact with each other, seeing old UVR tournaments referenced, and of course, that wheel! Even though it is going to get a line of fighters to kick his ass one by one, it is a great idea!"
Tiny then spoke. It was then Drake's pupils shrank.
"W-What…?" He softly spoke.
Tiny then continued to speak.
"N-No, I am scared. I-In fact, I am honoured… A-And you are sure that you want me and Ash for this?" Drake asked.
Tiny just laughed before giving his reply. Drake then gave a smile like a kid who entered a candy store.
"T-T-Thank you… I obviously can't start planning now, but I will see what I could do during breaks and will even if I could ask Xero at the end of the tournament."
Tiny again laughed before confirming something.
"A-Alright… Goodbye…"
With that, he hung up. However, after he did, he collapsed on his knees in pure shock.
"T-The madman… He is actually trusting ME with this…"
LINK TO RESULTS: archiveofourown / works / 25531129 / chapters / 70205685
