LINK TO SECTION BELOW
We now return to Drake and Ashley. However, instead of them grinning brightly at the camera, Drake was grinning nervously while Ashley was… Looking exasperated.
"Welp… We are back!" Drake smiled.
Ashley let out a deep sigh. "Everyone watching at home, I am sorry for my violent behaviour…"
"...I literally haven't seen you come at me like that since the one time I accidentally spilt all of your shampoo in the drain." Drake frowned.
"You should have known better." Ashley muttered before again sighing. "Regardless, I should have expected you to spam memes!"
"Oh, because Xero didn't do that when he was covering the Battle of the Luminaries!" Drake scolded.
Ashley rolled his eyes. "Look, can we just continue?"
"Alright, alright." Drake muttered, rolling his eyes. "Just remember that YOU will be paying for my clothes. No, really, Cacey wouldn't stop bitching about getting them dirty."
"I know, I know. I will get it. I promise." Ashley sighed.
"W-Well, that was a thing!" Drake said, trying to fake a grin. "A-Anyway, just like we went over before… Cutting off, Wario has gotten the top slot and he gets to choose the fate of the next section. He "chose" the "Big Guy Blocker" one."
"Drake used air talk on "chose" because he wanted to choose the "You're The Boss" envelope." Ashley said, rolling his eyes. "Because the latter envelope was in a particular turnbuckle when King Dedede picked it. But it wasn't."
"And now he has to deal with everyone;s fury AND Monokuma!" Drake grinned. "Just like the day suggests, the Big Guy status of certain fighters will be nullified and only fifteen people will be eliminated this round."
"If someone gets an elimination, they will be trapped at one of the podiums for the rest of the round. This will happen until everyone will get an elimination." Ashley explained. "Thankfully, due to Xero and Maurice, Monokuma will not force anyone to kill anyone. But there is a strong chance that all of the events on the wheel will be punishments."
"Eh. We needed a round like this, anyway. Even if we have to deal with Monokuma." Drake said, waving it off.
"Oh, you are just saying that because YOU don't have to deal with him." Ashley smirked.
Drake let out a laugh, happy that Ashley was feeling better. "Right you are, Ash! Right you are, Ash!"
The purple-haired man then nodded his head. "But yes, let's introduce the new fighters, but first, let's remind everyone about who survived the last round."
LUNA LOUD
NODE: THE LOUD HOUSE
ENTERED IN: Section 5; Number 108
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 6
"Going to "...Why is SHE doing in a fighting tournament?" to the current MVP of Mystery Fighter, the rocker girl, Luna Loud!" Drake grinned. "She already made short work out of Dhalsim and Ken from Street Fighter V, Flapjack from Cartoon Network: Punch Time, Dumbo from Kingdom Hearts, Megaman from… Megaman and now K' from King of Fighters XIV!"
"Unfortunately, she has lost her guitar as part of a punishment. While this only limits her physical capabilities as she has more experience with bare-knuckle combat, she is EMOTIONALLY handicapped." Ashley frowned. "Question is, will she… Well, rock on regardless of this, or she will finally be the nail in her coffin?"
ROSALINA & LUMA
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/SUPER MARIO GALAXY
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 138
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 4
"Well, their first sections were… Arguably less than graceful with their accidental eliminations of Sakura from King of Fighters XIV and Wave from Sonic the Hedgehog." Ashley admitted before smiling. "But they definitely made up for the last round with Sofia from Battle Arena Toshinden and Blaze from… Sonic the Hedgehog!"
"I just noticed that all of the women they eliminated are women." Drake noted before smirking. "But it just goes to show that no woman could match up to the wrath of a protective mother."
RAPUNZEL
NODE: KINGDOM HEARTS/TANGLED
ENTERED IN: Section 7; Number 149
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2
"The girl may have been trapped in a tower for most of her life, but despite what you would think otherwise, that does NOT make her a slouch in combat!" Drake smirked. "Yooka & Laylee from… Yooka-Laylee and Mian from King of Fighters XIV learned that the hard way."
"But to eliminate the latter, she has to use a power that she doesn't like so now her morale is down. Even more so than Luna." Ashley frowned. "Question is, will she be able to recover from this…?"
PAC-MAN
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/PAC-MAN
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 158
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2
"Not surprising that one of the iconic mascots in gaming history is doing well!" Ashley smiled. "His strange yet technical fighting style has already overwhelmed Xanadu from King of Fighters XIV and Saki from Arcana Heart."
"And he didn't even need a Power Pellet to chow through the competition!" Drake grinned. "Let's see if he will continue to Pac. This. World."
MAI SHIRANUI
NODE: KING OF FIGHTERS XIV/FATAL FURY
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 159
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Sheesh, Mai is relentless in her vendetta against Super Smash Bros this episode. Not only did she cause a lot of chaos this episode, but she even managed to trick Kirby out of the ring!" Drake grinned.
"And surprise, surprise, she is going to spend a good chunk of this episode going after ANOTHER Smasher." Ashley muttered, rolling his eyes. "As much as I hate to admit it, but her rage is actually giving her the best chance of surviving to the next round."
RAWK HAWK
NODE: PAPER MARIO: THE THOUSAND YEAR-OLD DOOR
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 161
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"I must admit, even though his arrogant nature reminds me too much of my brother, at least with Rawk Hawk he could actually make it work!" Ashley admitted.
"Yeah, his elimination of Vanessa from King of Fighters XIV is nothing short of impressive." Drake nodded. "However, he knows that he has bigger fish to fry so he isn't done! Not by a long shot!"
WARIO
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/WARIO
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 165
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2
"Well, so far, Wario's track record is already at a good stop with his eliminations of Daimon from King of Fighters XIV and Green Lantern from DC Comics." Drake said before frowning. "But…"
"But he is currently out of favour with everyone in the ring by stupidly choosing the "Big Guy Blocker"!" Ashley muttered, rolling his eyes. "All I am going to say is this. If he could survive this round, then I have no doubt he will be in for the long run!"
RAINBOW MIKA
NODE: STREET FIGHTER V
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 168
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Rainbow Mika is demonstrating her skills at not only as a wrestler, but also a tag-team partner, double-teaming with nodal companion, Laura and dominating Taruto from Tokyo Mew Mew!" Ashley noted.
"However, while that IS her gameplay from Street Fighter V, she knows that she can't tag-team forever." Drake noted. "Especially with the Big Guy Blocker. Fortunately for her, she has enough skills on her own."
CLOUD STRIFE
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/FINAL FANTASY VII
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 169
OVERALL ELIMINATION: 1
"Anyone surprised that the poster boy for Final Fantasy has managed to make himself to the next round?" Drake smirked. "He only showed his stuff by eliminating Zeus from PSASBR!"
"Granted, he did a cheap shot on him. But considering how petty and powerful Zeus is, I doubt anyone would hold it against him." Ashley shrugged.
TERRA
NODE: KINGDOM HEARTS
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 171
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
Ashley frowned. "...Okay, so we are not going to pretend Terra is not off to a good start with his only elimination being someone he was trying to protect. In this case, Bayonetta from Super Smash Bros."
"But at least he more or less proved in other instances in the ring that he is more than just a meathead." Drake shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he will redeem himself here?"
LITTLE MAC
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/PUNCH-OUT!
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 173
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Okay, so admittedly, just like Terra, Little Mac's track record thus far is not impressive with him eliminating Mojo from the CN: PTE.." Drake frowned. "But at least there is more of a reason here."
"Yes, Rawk Hawk and Vanessa wanted to fight him and made him get sidelined so they could face him." Ashley nodded. "At least now that there is only one person who wants to face him one-on-one, he will do a little better."
ZARINA
NODE: KING OF FIGHTERS XIV
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 178
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Literally dancing her way into the next round is the Columbian fighter, Zarina!" Ashley smiled. "She is already off to a decent start with her elimination of Diddy from Super Smash Bros!"
"She still has a long way to go, but I doubt that will get her down!" Drake reassured. "And hey, she has a Smash Ball!"
LUCAS
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/MOTHER 3
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 179
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 1
"Showing how frustrating he could be is the little PSI Powerhouse, Lucas!" Drake grinned. "Using his Final Smash to get Maleficent from Kingdom Hearts out of the ring!"
"Even though he lost his Smash Ball, he still got a lot of tricks up his short sleeve!" Ashley offered.
LUCARIO
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/POKEMON
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 181
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2
"Despite getting two eliminations in the last section, Lucario kinda didn't really that much screentime." Ashley frowned. "He has easily dispatched a literal-tiny Wonder Woman from DC Comics and we didn't even see his elimination of Laura from Street Fighter."
"Don't worry, he will have more than enough to get an elimination." Drake offered. "Remember how well the Pokemon are doing in the Okron Tournament?"
JOE HIGASHI
NODE: KING OF FIGHTERS XIV/FATAL FURY
ENTERED IN: Section 8; Number 182
OVERALL ELIMINATIONS: 2
"And last, but not least of the surviving fighters is the Muay Thai Whirlwind himself!" Drake grinned. "Despite all odds, he managed to pull out a surprise elimination of both Dark Samus from Super Smash Bros and Jak & Daxter from PSASBR!"
"Him getting a double elimination shows that there is still hope for the King of Fighters combatants!" Ashley agreed. "Speaking of hope, let's see the new hopefuls!"
THE SORCESSESS
NODE: SPYRO THE DRAGON
BIG GUY ALERT!
"And here we have our first Spyro baddie!" Drake grinned.
"Indeed and even though she has seniority like Gnasty Gnorc or iconic status like Ripto, she is a piece of work itself." Ashley warned.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I mean, killing UNBORN dragons just to gain eternal life?" Drake asked in disgust before scoffing. "If she came out before Persona 5, she would SO be a target for the Phantom Thieves!"
"Yeah, seriously…" Ashley said, rolling his eyes. "Well, as her name would suggest, she is… Well, a sorcessess. She usually fights with magical projectiles. Whether it would be regular fireballs, sending a barrage of electric orbs and having said electric orbs in a homing fashion."
"So she is a long-range fighter. Not surprisingly considering her name." Drake mused, rubbing his chin. "Though I would have thought that she would have a few close-range moves, considering her size."
"Oh, don't misunderstand. The Sorcessess is not above running up to people and smacking them with her specter." Ashley pointed out. "Especially if she puts magic around said specter."
Drake gave a descending whistle. "You are right. She IS a piece of work."
"Indeed. Not helping is because of her superiority complex, she is VERY easy to offend." Ashley nodded.
AXL
NODE: MEGAMAN/MEGAMAN X
Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I know of X, Zero and Sigma, but not Axl."
"Not surprising considering he only been in three games." Drake noted. "Two of them being poorly perceived by fans and the third game being a spin-off."
Ashley winced. "Oof… To debut in X7 of all games."
"Yeah… NOT a good first impression. But then again, he got better." Drake reassured.
"Okay, so what can he do?" Ashley asked.
"Well, he is a long-range fighter like X. However, unlike X, who always uses his trusted X-Buster, Axl has more guns than a gun store." Drake explained.
"Ah. And does he absorb people's powers like X and Axl?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah. And not only does it give him more ammo options, but he could also TRANSFORMED into certain enemies." Drake added.
Ashley's eyes widened at this. "Like Ditto?"
"Like Ditto." Drake nodded. He then frowned. "But… He could only use it to his full potential in Command Mission because yeah… We do not talk about X7."
Ashley frowned. "I do hope that just by being from X7 won't hinder his chances."
"I sure hope not. I remembered hating Silver the Hedgehog for the longest time, but he is actually a pretty cool dude." Drake added.
ROY
NODE: SUPER SMASH BROS/FIRE EMBLEM
Ashley rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. You are going to chant "Roy's our boy"."
"Eh. Maybe I will for the memes, but real talk, I prefer the Koopaling." Drake shrugged.
"Ouch." Ashley winced.
"But regardless, all sub-nodes must be covered." Drake said. "Yo, Walls, Cat! You are up!"
The camera went to a confused Wally. "A-Are ya sure, mate?"
"Hey, we may be stretching the line a bit, but it is STILL a sub-node worth covering." Drake said from off-screen.
"Aye, if ya say so." Wally shrugged before stifling a cough. "Super Smash Bros Melee is the second game in the series."
Catherine suddenly smiled.
"While only the second game, it is arguably to be much better than future games like Brawl and 4." Wally started to explain. "This actually comes to a lot of different factors, but one of them is definitely the competitive scene where players have accidentally discovered a glitch that they dubbed as "Wave-Dashing" it is…"
It was then he finally noticed Catherine smiling at him. He then looked off-screen. The camera then went to an exasperated Drake and a confused Ashley. The camera then went back to Wally and Catherine.
"...Ya are talking about the Binding Blade, right?" Wally asked.
"Yyyyyyep." Catherine nodded, still keeping her smile.
Wally then sank into his seat with his face turning beet red.
"To be fair, I don't even know why we have to cover the Binding Blade." Catherine piped up. "I mean Super Smash Bro Melee IS Roy's debut game. Only put in there to promote his game. Hell, he almost got cut from the international version of Melee!"
"Look, I can't say something like "I don't make the rules" because I am not even sure about the rules." Drake scolded from off-screen. "But still try to do it. I cheated and checked the non-Mystery Fighter nodes. You don't have much to do this section.""
Catherine rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright! So Fire Emblem: the Binding Blade is the sixth game in the Fire Emblem franchise, taking place in a different continuity far different from the games of the previous entries."
"The story takes place on the continent of Elibe. One day, the country of Bern has attacked its neighbours, Sacae and Ilia and when Lycia is targeted next, the son of Marquess Eliwood takes up his sword in place of his sick father." Wally explained. "I'll explain more, but it goes into standard fare. Trying to protect the country from invaders turns into saving the world from dragons."
"Despite what I said earlier, credit is where credit is due. This game is where the Support system, something that is a major part of future Fire Emblem games." Catherine explained. "It is where after two character fight next to each other, they may start a conversation which is good for both gameplay AND character focus."
"The game has gotten its own manga and even a prequel called the Blazing Blade." Wally nodded.
"Said prequel is more talked about than the main game." Catherine muttered.
"Cat!" Wally scolded.
"Oh, come on! I've seen more people fan over Lyn and Hector than Roy and even his father, Eliwood!" The pink-haired woman scolded.
Wally rolled his eyes. "Regardless, as Catherine said, Fire Emblem wouldn't be the same without support conversations so it deserves its spot in Fire Emblem. And it DID exposed more people to the franchise."
"I… Don't think that is a good thing considering the whole "Too many Fire Emblem characters in Smash" thing." Catherine frowned.
"...Ah swear, Catherine. Ah am in awe at how you could go from bubbly to cynical in a snap." Wally groaned. "Back to you guys."
The camera then went back to Drake rolling his eyes. "Feel your pain, man."
Ashley shook his head. "So because he is one of the two original Fire Emblem characters in Smash, he should have a straightforward design."
"More or less." Drake shrugged. "He swings his sword hard and hits hard with his sword, relying on getting in close."
"Ah." Ashley said. "And I heard that he is a Marth clone?"
"Well, that was the case in Melee. However, when he came back as DLC in 4, he has gotten a bit of his own moves that are enough to distinguish himself from the original lord." Drake nodded.
Then, a familiar alarm went off. Drake's pupils suddenly shrank.
"Oh, looks like we are having our first Mystery Fighter early on." Ashley mused.
Drake didn't say anything. He just had his head down.
PSYCHO MANTIS
NODE: METAL GEAR SOLID
Ashley's eyes widened at this. "Huh. Didn't know Orange-Ratchet was into Metal Gear Solid."
"Yes, curious." Drake said.
Ashley then jumped, feeling that there was something off.
Drake then continued as he put his hand on his chin. "Never in anything, not even his One-Minute Melees did he ever have a character related to the game. Not even the likes of Solid Snake. My assumption is that he must have been inspired by countdown creators like TheGreenScorpion or Quarterguy."
Ashley frowned. "D-Drake, are you okay?"
The mayor then turned his head towards Ashley. It was then the latter saw a blank stare in Drake's eyes, making the wizard gasp.
"Worry not. He is unharmed and he will remain that way." "Drake" offered before looking over himself. "Though I AM curious from harm this body will endure."
"D-Drake, say Sike right now!" Ashley said, narrowing his eyes.
"It is not Drake! It is Psycho Mantis!" Wally shouted from off-screen.
Ashley looked off-screen in disbelief. "That's impossible! He is literally fighting off Cloud and Lucas as we speak!"
"This is the same guy who KNOWS what you have been playing on your PS1 while fighting him and the only way to defeat him is to literally unplug your controller and put it down the other slot!" Wally yelled.
"That is true." "Drake" piped up. "While I had to connect the thoughts of Xero to Orange-Ratchet to Tinyhammer to finally, Drake, it was child's play."
Ashley looked at "Drake" scared. "B-But…. Why?"
"Oh, I am just curious to see how you all will cover my node and my powers. Because I KNOW that he goes on Wikipedia and TVTropes to do most of them." "Drake" explained.
"Hey!" Wally snapped, off-screen.
"To be fair, I do not have much of a problem, considering your creator's attention span, I only wish to make sure why I should be feared." "Drake" said.
Ashley narrowed his eyes. "You already showed it by hijacking my friend literally from another node."
"Not yet." "Drake" scolded. "I have to explain where I am wrong."
"Hey! First, you hijack Drake and now you hijack our job!" Catherine roared from off-screen.
"Said the girl named Catherine even though she is supposed to be Asian." "Drake" said. "Now Metal Gear Solid is a stealth action video game, the first game in the series. However, while some ignorant people will feel otherwise, it is actually simply named "Metal Gear". Created by Konami. Back when they were an actual presentable company."
Ashley rolled his eyes. "You know what? You wanna hog this segment, fine? But we are going to take a short break!"
"We are just going to leave Drake like this!?" Wally asked, off-screen in disbelief.
"For now… Don't worry." Ashley reassured.
With that, he got up and walked off-screen.
"Tch. I am the best chance of explaining everything, anyway. Anyway, Metal Gear came into the world after Hideo Kojima, someone I have REALLY mixed feelings on, realized the MSX2, a… Primitive home computer, couldn't take more than a few enemies at the time so he suggested that why not make a game out of AVOIDING people."
"Drake" then let out a dark chuckle.
"The concept got a lot of criticism with this infamous quote from Kojima's boss. "Hiding from your enemies? That is not a game!" Needless to say, everyone started to play and it was a surprise success, spawning a lot of sequels. Now, I am not going to try to explain the plot of Metal Gear because there are a LOT of twists and turns. What I CAN say is that nearly every game, it involves a plot about a dynasty of mercenaries, all with the Codename "Snake". They take place in various military events that take place from the mid 20th to early 21st centuries."
"Drake" again chuckled.
"Granted, you would think that it is a purely serious game and while that is true for the most part, Hideo is not afraid to be silly. The titular Metal Gear are giant robots that "Moo", some of the enemies involve a man that is always surrounded by bees, an old man who is 100 years old and yet one of, if not THE best snipers of all time and of course, me. And the main protagonist is known to be going around in a cardboard box. Naturally, it spawned a lot of memes."
"Drake" nodded his head.
"So yes, it deserves respect. May I recommend Metal Gear Solid? Yes, it has ME in it, but it really IS baby's first "Metal Gear". Don't underestimate it. Especially not me. Like, I am the most powerful psychic in FOXHOUND. As you could see by me telepathically hijacking Drake. In fact, my gas mask, you will see in the ring protects my head from… Troublesome thoughts. My powers go beyond the fourth wall as you could see as I could tell which game you usually play. It could be Suikoden or it could be Castlevania. That with the standard levitation and telekinesis. I was practically unstoppable."
"Drake" then snarled.
"UNTIL the player figured out that to defeat me, all he had to do is unplug the controller and put it into another one. But it just goes to show how powerful I am. ...You know what? This is actually enjoyable. I may actually do this."
"I thought you would say that…"
"Drake" looked off-screen to Ashley, Wally and Catherine glaring sternly at him. Ashley was holding a phone.
"Well, if you are so insistent about taking over Drake's body, that means YOU are in charge of his phone calls." Ashley said, holding out said phone.
"Drake" scoffed before accepting the phone.
"Very well. Doing "politician" work should be fun." He said before putting it to his ear. "Hello?"
"GET OUT OF DRAKE'S BODY NOW!"
"Drake" winced before his eyes' bugged out. "X-Xero!?"
"You heard me!" The angry voice, shouted.
"B-But how?" "Drake" asked, stunned.
"If I could skip time to put "We Love Steve" banners on the announcer's booth of the Okron Tournament and make calls to Carver and Blunny's show, I could do so for this story!" Xero snapped. "Now stop possessing Drake or I will make sure that every penalty for this section will affect you and ONLY you!"
"Y-You're bluffing!" "Drake" countered. "Thanks to that foolish plumber picking the "Big Guy Blocker", Monokuma is in charge of the wheel!"
"If I could get THE Junko Enoshimar to act as an unofficial third host WITHOUT killing anyone, I could get her to do that!" Xero snapped.
"Especially since Junko doesn't like being upstaged when this is supposed to be one of HER sections." Maurice's voice piped up.
"Drake" winced before frowning. "Tch… Fine. I need to show that brat what a REAL psychic is, anyway."
Then, Drake's body had collapsed in his chair. Ashley and Wally immediately ran to Drake's side.
"Drake!" Ashley called out.
"It is okay, Ashley!" Xero reassured from the phone. "He is just out for a bit."
The wizard let out a deep sigh. "...As much as I should thank you, I feel like this is another one of your many failings as a host."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know that Psycho Mantis will actually possess Drake's body!" Xero roared, angrily.
Ashley let out a deep sigh. "You're right. Who would have predicted THAT? I am sorry…"
"It's fine. I am, too. I am just glad that Drake is alright." Xero sighed. "Oh, now I have to go back to the tournament, but tell Drake this."
Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
"Don't let Psycho Mantis tell you otherwise. Even if you are getting your intel from Wikipedia and TVTropes, you are still doing more work than Maurice and I did." Xero offered. "As long as you're giving it your all, you are doing much better than us in MY books."
Ashley, Wally and Catherine smiled at this. The former then took the phone.
"...Thank you, Xero. In more ways than one." Ashley said, softly.
"No problem." The rabbit reassured. "But you are REALLY grateful for me, you should do more segments about Ste…"
Immediately, Ashley hung up on Xero with a blank look on his face. Wally and Catherine both chuckled.
"So what do you do with Sleeping Beauty?" Catherine asked.
Ashley let out a sigh. "Let's get to a break. I know that Drake would want the show to go on, but at the same time, I don't think he will be pleased if he missed on a few fighters."
With that, he looked at the camera with a sad look on his face.
"S-Sorry… We have to cut to a break due to… Outside interference. We will continue as soon as Drake is feeling better."
LINK TO SECTION: archiveofourown / works / 25531129 / chapters / 76191629
