Although the deadline for the latest section of the Tournament of Kikai was still a few days ago, we are cutting into Drake, Ashley, Wally and Catherine. They were all in their Christmas outfits and walking down an unknown hallway.
"Are you sure that we are going the right path?" Ashley asked.
"Relax. Tiny was the one who gave us the coordinates." Drake pointed out.
"Yes, but this is uncharted territory." Ashley countered.
"...Dude, he has written one character in "uncharted territory" before." Drake muttered. "We will be fine!"
"Aye, AH am more concerned what we are going ta do when we get there?" Wally frowned.
Catherine growled. "I know what I'M going to say."
"Cat, please, remember the point of this." Wally groaned, rolling his eyes.
"Alright, alright… How about this?" Catherine muttered. "I will complain for two minutes."
"Knowing you, those two minutes should be more than enough…" Ashley muttered.
"Alright, alright!" Drake sighed.
Soon, they have finally arrived at their destination. A door. Drake grinned before looking at the others.
"Well, are you ready?" Drake asked.
Wally grinned before giving a thumbs-up, Ashley gave a small smile before nodding his head and even Catherine looked excited.
"Alright, let's do it!" Drake said before knocking on the door.
"Coming!" A voice said.
A few seconds later, everyone decided to wait for someone to answer it. Soon, the door opened and once he did, his eyes bugged out.
He was a man with a simple attire of a red shirt and blue jeans.
"Drake?" The man asked, surprised.
The vampire then grinned.
"Danglars!"
Almost immediately, another man ran over to the door and poked his head out of it. He looked younger than Danglars and had cat-like features.
"Ashley?" The cat-like man asked.
The wizard just chuckled.
"Tybalt."
The two men grinned. "Yo!"
Immediately, the man known at Tybalt pounced at Drake like a… Well, cat. While startled, Drake immediately grabbed him bridal-style. Tybalt then hugged him.
"Dude! You have NO idea how grand it is to see you guys again!" Tybalt grinned.
"Yeah, same here, Ty!" Drake grinned, returning the hug.
"This is… This is fantastic!" Danglars said, walking over to Ashley and shaking his head. "I thought we wouldn't be able to do another Survivor crossover like this again."
"Yeah, me either." The purple-haired man chuckled. "But here we are."
Danglars then noticed Wally and Catherine. "Oh, you two are here too?"
"Aye!" Wally grinned, proudly.
Catherine just nodded her head.
"So it IS true…"
Everyone looked up to see two more people coming over. The first one was a brown-skinned man with brown hair, a blue-and-red striped shirt and blue jeans. The second one was a young redhead woman with a blue dress with long blue stockings and had rabbit ears tied in a ponytail.
"We get to meet THE Ashley and Drake!" The brown-skinned man said in awe.
"It is like meeting legends!" The rabbit-eared woman said, clapping her hands together.
Ashley immediately blushed at this. "W-We are legends?"
"Of course! You two are some of Tinyhammer's oldest characters AND you interacted with some of Orange-Ratchet's a lot!" Carver said. "I never thought I would see the day."
Ashley scratched the back of his head with a blush. "Oh wow… That is flattering."
"Aye, Ah always wanted ta meet Danglars and Tybalt at least once seeing all of the fun Tinyhammer has with them!" Wally grinned.
"Aww, we want to have fun with you guys too! Heck, we want to have fun with the majority of your cast!" Tybalt beamed.
"But… What are you doing here?" The brown-skinned man asked. "Don't you have a show to run?"
"Relax, relax! The deadline is still going on! We have plenty of time!" Drake reassured. "Besides, we are here to do something very special!"
"And that is?" The rabbit-eared woman asked, tilting her head.
Drake, Ashley, Wally and Catherine all smiled.
"We are here to have a Christmas special show!" Drake grinned.
The other four's eyes widened at this.
"Really?" Carver asked.
"Yeah, we used to do it all of the time whe Tinyhammer was younger, but for some reason, he outgrew them." Ashley frowned.
"However, he decided to do one. You know, seeing that there is a Christmas vibe going on." Drake smiled.
"Oh yeah! We definitely saw that!" Tybalt grinned.
"So you decided to do a crossover story with us?" The rabbit-eared girl asked with her eyes lighting up.
"That's right, Blunny!" Catherine smiled. "I mean seeing that we can't do it with Xero and Maurice at the moment for… Obvious reasons, we decided to do it with you, Carver, Danglars and Tybalt!"
"Oh, I love too, I love too, I love too!" Tybalt grinned, hugging Drake.
"Yeah, we've been finding ways to pass the time, but it could get pretty boring during the Okron Tournament." Danglars nodded.
"Plus, I met with a lot of strange people before, but I never interacted with OTHER people's OCs." Blunny smiled.
"So I get it is unanimous!" The brown-skinned man known as Carver beamed. "Let's do the show!"
"Yay!" Drake grinned, throwing his arms up into the air.
PLOP.
...Forgetting that he was carrying Tybalt at the time.
Drake blinked twice with his arms frozen in place. "Um, oops?"
Tybalt gave a thumbs-up while lying face-first on the ground.
"I'm okay!"
/-/-/-/-/-/
A few moments later, Drake, Ashley, Wally, Catherine, Carver, Blunny, Danglars and Tybalt were all sitting in a seat each.
"So for those of you just turning it, welcome to a Christmas Special!" Drake grinned.
"It is between the cast covering the Tournament of Kikai with the cast covering the OKRON TOURNAMENT!" Carver offered.
"Despite having the same show layout, we rarely interacted with each other until now!" Ashley smiled.
"So today on this special day, to make the Christmas section of the Tournament of Kikai more… Christmas-y, we decided to do something special." Blunny said. "And that is…"
With that, something appeared on the screen. It was called "Battle of the Luminaries Respective".
"Seeing that Drake said that the Tournament of Kikai will start a little while after Valentine's Day of next year, we might as well fill you in on what we need to get to that point." Carver smiled.
"That's right! It is clear that the Tournament of Kikai has taken many cues from previous tournaments, including the original series so why not talk about it?" Drake asked.
Blunny frowned. "I… Will be willing to admit that I am not as well-versed in that tournament as I should."
"That's alright, Blun! Just ask anything if you're confused and we will do what we can ta help!" Wally offered.
Blunny smiled and nodded. "Thanks…"
"First off, let's talk about how the first Battle of the Luminaries was made." Drake started. "While it is considered an UVR-spinoff, it is actually inspired by SSBFreak's Megamix Tournament. Tinyhammer always looked up to him."
Catherine then scoffed. "I'll say he does. He follows him around like a puppy-dog. No, seriously, what fanfic he didn't make that SSBFreak already made? Survivor Xover Version is based on Central Hub, his Soul Calibur V is based on SSBFreak's IV one and who could forget the Elympios Branch?"
Wally blinked twice before raising his hand. "I did…"
"You know what I meant?" Catherine muttered.
Carver chuckled nervously. "F-Fair enough. So anyway, Tinyrocket has decided to do his own UVR-spinoffs after the second tournament. I don't know why he didn't do it after the first tournament, but then again, the first tournament seemed like a one-time thing."
"So Tinyhammer, at the time, Tinyrocket decided to start his own tournament. Battle of the Luminaries. Which is a fancy way of saying stars." Drake said.
"He, of course, enlisted the help of SSBFreak and Orange-Ratchet." Danglars grinned.
"He decided ta use franchises that he likes playing or watching." Wally explained. "That is why Waku Waku 7 and the Tales series ended up at the tournament in the first place."
"Hey, if SSBFreak could have his Suikoden III, Tinyhammer could have his Tales of." Ashley said.
"Indeed." Carver nodded. "So what do you wish to talk about first?"
"Well, ironically enough the story. Or rather in this case, the story outside of the ring." Drake offered.
"Sure, that is a good start." Blunny started.
"You see, as you could imagine by his picks for nodes. Both in the main cast AND Mystery Fighters, Tinyhammer has a thing for the obscure." Drake explained.
"I mean… It is not like Orange-Ratchet doesn't have HIS obscure favourites." Blunny noted. "Admit it, you guys would have never even HEARD of Hank the Cowdog if it wasn't for him."
"True dat. True dat." Drake chuckled. "But yeah, at the core, it was about focusing on the obscure. Or rather people who felt like they don't get the screentime like others do."
"So basically Tiny is stealing SSB's brainwashing plot and adding his own spin on it." Catherine sneered.
"More or less, Tiny thinks it is more interesting for the victims to be brainwashed because of their negative feelings." Drake explained.
Carver nodded his head. "At least there is a theme there."
"But what does Blaze the Cat have to do with that theme?" Blunny asked. "Having a lack of popularity or screentime never seems to be a problem for her?"
"Oh, that. It was just a reason to implement Tiny Tiger X Blaze the Cat." Drake grinned.
Carver and Blunny both blinked twice at this.
"Um, what?" Carver asked
"Oh, you didn't know? SSBFreak ships the two." Danglars explained. "Even did a crossover pairing to support them."
Blunny blinked twice. "I… Suppose I heard weirder pairings."
"But yeah, admittedly, Tiny also copied SSB's Eiji Elemental curse. Complete with the injured victim literally dragging herself to her love interest." Catherine muttered.
"Ooh, SSBFreak also ships Eiji Kisaragi and Julia Chang?" Tybalt asked with his ears perking up.
"I'm… Not sure." Ashley admitted. "As far as I know, SSBFreak doesn't write for the two outside of the Megamix Tournament.
"But yeah, Eggman Nega's power plot is just a point to put the two together." Drake explained.
"Makes sense. Despite there being a lot of Sonic characters that the fandom are fans of, who actually likes Eggman Nega?" Wally nodded.
Drake chuckled nervously. "GreyRaine and Orange-Ratchet were wise to cut him and Black Doom from their respective rosters. But eh, Eggman Nega was always a means to an end."
"So going back to the character feeling neglected thing, was Mr. L planned from the start?" Danglars asked.
"Well, kinda. He had Solid Snake as one of the main heroes to make up for him not being invited when Sonic got his own node." Ashley explained.
"Oh, right. I have forgotten that there was a time when third-party characters were rare at the time." Danglars noted.
Drake chuckled. "So yeah, Tiny picked Luigi to join because of how Snake protected in Super Smash Bros Brawl on their Codec, it was cute so he decided to expand on that relationship."
Blunny hugged her hands together. "Indeed. It was blessed."
"But what about Shoma Sawamura?" Danglars asked.
Drake's smile chuckled. "Um, nothing. Tiny just thought he would be interesting to write for."
Danglars chuckled nervously. "I mean he wasn't wrong."
"But how about the security team? They were mostly wandering around the entire time." Tybalt frowned.
"Don't be like that, Ty! If it wasn't for them, others like Mighty the Armadillo and Nack the Weasel would have been kidnapped and brainwashed!" Danglars scolded.
"I mean… Tybalt is not wrong." Catherine noted. "Other than warning the rest of the people on that list, they haven't done much except help Blaze finish HER arc."
"Yeah… It is clear that Tiny didn't have too much of a plot and merely had a security team for the sake of having a security team." Drake chuckled.
"Not that is a bad thing. Ah actually liked the members." Wally offered.
"I do too." Drake said. "As for the actual ring, it is just… Happens."
"Well, we could talk about the Mystery Fighters." Tybalt offered with a grin. "Let's face it! They are the most interesting variants of fighters."
"Fair enough." Drake chuckled. "Now where do I start?"
"Why not go in order of Mystery Fighter revealed." Ashley offered.
"Sure, why not?" Drake asked before taking a deep breath. "Tiny wanted to start the "fodder" Mystery Fighter so he decided to use a joke character and Dr. Bosconovitch was the perfect choice. He also did the same with Amingo from Marvel VS Capcom 2 though not to a certain extent because he felt like Amingo has a shot, but is just so random."
"Next up should be…" Danglars said before frowning. "Wilhelm from Pop'n Music 14 and Samurai Bob from MySims."
Ashley chuckled nervously. "Yes… It is still that Tiny only invited those two because he is a fan of their respective series and nothing."
"But of course, we will go ta our first big Mystery Fighter, Rainbow Dash!" Wally smirked. "Seriously, Ah knew brony power was wrong, but fer her to last SO long?"
"Yeah, even Blunny and I knew that." Carver nodded.
"Rainbow Dash was mainly invited because Tiny liked the cartoon, but at least he put it on someone who has combat experience thanks to her fight with Starscream in Death Battle." Catherine noted.
"Next up is… Tai-Lung. Not going to lie, I expected him to get at least one elimination, seeing that he is the main antagonist and a much-beloved movie." Drake mused.
"I mean he IS a villain." Blunny pointed out.
"Even still, it is not uncommon for a villain to do well in the arena." Ashley shrugged. "Next up is the Scorpion from Saturday Night Slam Masters because Tiny loves wrestlers."
"Too bad, he sucked so much that he didn't even have a chance to have his fight with Mignon Beart… And maybe Colette Brunel showed." Catherine spat. "NEXT!"
Wally rolled his eyes. "Next up is Astaroth from Soul Calibur."
"Okay, as Shadow and him are in the Sound Booth in the Megamix Tournament, they HAVE to enter the arena together!" Tybalt pointed out.
"Exactly! And I may be going out-of-order, but had Shadow survived his final section, AILA from Suikoden III would have shown up then." Drake frowned.
"Aw, that's a darn shame…" Danglars frowned. He then brightened up. "But hey, at least they all get reunited in the story."
"Aye, now next is Peacock from Skullgirls." Wally said.
"Oh, I know her. How did SHE do?" Blunny asked.
Wally just sighed sadly. "She got close, but she didn't even get a single elimination."
Blunny's eyes bugged out at this. "What!? But she is like a parody of those old-fashioned cartoons!"
"I know, right!?" Drake frowned. "Maybe she just entered the UVR scene ahead of her time? We have to see when she enters in the Tournament of Kikai."
"Next up is Kairi, someone I am impressed with has a positive reception." Ashley smiled.
"Indeed. Especially since she wasn't even an AI-controlled party member." Catherine noted. "She has gotten a decent amount of eliminations."
"Kairi has a lot of potential that the games didn't let her show. Hell, they only let her shine in the DLC of the third game!" Ashley added.
"Next up is Welkin Gunther from Valkyria Chronicles, who Tiny decided to invite because the third game is represented in that Sega X Capcom X Namco crossover, Project X Zone." Drake explained.
"Heh. THAT is a crossover I wasn't expecting." Carver noted, raising an eyebrow.
"Me either." Drake grinned. "So Tiny went with the protagonist of the first game because he is more iconic. AND cameoed in the second game and even the third one."
"Jon Talbain is a no-brainer. Tiny LOVES his wolves and he is arguably the most iconic one in Darkstalkers!" Wally said.
"Not arguably. EVERYONE knows that Talbain is loved." Catherine scolded. She then rolled her eyes. "Well, everyone except Capcom, of course."
"Next is the obligatory "WTF man, why did you invite that thing? It may kill everyone in the ring!" Drake read. "The Witch from Left 4 Dead."
"I am impressed that Tiny actually invited her." Blunny said in awe. "I heard that he doesn't like horror stuff."
"He doesn't. He got into the franchise, thanks to GMOD videos on Youtube." Ashley shrugged.
"Ah, the old GMOD days. Before SFM." Wally said.
"Well, I am glad that Tiny invited her." Danglars smiled. He then smirked. "Even though Link, Lucario, Metaknight and Patamon feel otherwise."
Everyone then laughed at this.
"Banjo-Kazooie could be classified as "Coming into the UVR scene too early" like Peacock, but they still did decently well." Catherine noted with a smile.
"Yeah, I could only imagine the love they will get when they eventually come in the Okron Tournament and the Tournament of Kikai." Drake grinned.
"And now…" Catherine said before, rolling her eyes. "Gaston."
Blunny's face also scrunched up in disgust. "THAT Disney Gaston? Tiny invited HIM!"
"Tiny thought that it would be funny." Drake offered. He then smirked. "And considering he spent his entire time in the arena being chased by the Witch."
"GASTON STARTLED THE WITCH!" Tybalt shouted.
Everyone jumped before looking at the catboy in disbelief. The latter shifted his eyes from left to right.
"Aw, come on! I HAVE to do it!" Tybalt exclaimed.
Drake just let out a hearty laugh. "See? THIS guy gets it!"
Ashley rolled his eyes. "Next up is Beartank from Rakugakids."
Carver blinked twice. "Um, who?"
"A Konami fighting game. Not surprised that you don't know about it." Catherine admitted. "However, it DID have an interesting premise with the character being literal chalk drawings, not unlike Chalkzone."
Tybalt's eyes lit up at this. "Ooh, that definitely seems like a good node to use!"
"Also, Beartank is actually the Breakout character of the game, showing up in Pop'n Music and Konami Kart Racers." Catherine explained. "Hell, Pop'n Music is the reason why Tiny even HEARD of Rakugakids."
"Juliet Starling from Lollipop Chainsaw is a weird one to use, but then again, that was the point." Ashley admitted. "She is a cheerleading, chainsaw-wielding zombie slayer!"
"Indeed. I could see why Tiny would use that in his first tournament." Blunny smiled.
"Oh, you heard of Lollipop Chainsaw?" Drake asked in awe.
"Yes, the franchise was represented in Orange-Ratchet's second Survivor season." Carver said.
"Yeah, about that, doesn't he have a third season he has to work on?" Drake asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Doesn't Tinyhammer have an eighth season to work on?" Danglars immediately countered.
This resulted in an awkward silence between the eight.
"...So next up is the Undertaker from the WWE." Ashley said, dropping the subject.
Carver's eyes bugged out at this. "ANOTHER WWE fighter?"
"To be fair, this one is actually well-known. Even by casual fans." Wally offered.
"Wally!" Ashley scolded.
"But yeah, Tiny used to watch WWE growing up. He eventually stops, but he still wants a piece of his childhood." Drake said. "And he thought the Undertaker is one of the coolest."
"As someone from Hanna-Barbera, I CAN confirm that he DID show up in a few crossovers in the past so him being here isn't TOO much of a stretch?" Danglars admitted.
"I am quite surprised at Sailor Jupiter. Sure, she is the "fighter" of the Sailor Scouts or Senshi, but I never expected her to do THIS well!" Drake admitted.
"I don't think anyone did. They underestimated her for being a cartoon for "Little girls"." Catherine said, rolling her eyes.
"Boy, I am sure glad that times have still changed in the magical girl genre." Carver chuckled.
"Next up is Bahn from Fighting Vipers, for the same reason why I invited Welkin Gunther. Except he is actually in Project X Zone." Drake explained. "Though if the game was released in the West at the time, Tiny would have written him less of a stiff."
"And less of a petty he-man." Catherine muttered. "Seriously, I could 100% see Gaston, but why knew that Bahn and the Scorpion were such sore losers. Emphasis on losers!"
"I admit that no one wants to admit that they lost to a pink-clad girl with a floral weapon, a Sailor Scout and a PONY, but that is no reason to be petty about it." Drake said in disgust.
"Kain Highwind is another one I was surprised didn't get a single elimination. I mean, not only is he from Final Fantasy, but I remembered him being one of the most popular characters from that game." Ashley noted.
"Yeah, he is one of the few that could get into Dissidia despite not being the main protagonist OR antagonist." Carver admitted. "And it is not like the UVR-spinoffs DOESN'T attract Final Fantasy fans. You saw how well that node is doing in the Okron Tournament."
"And Cloud and Auron both did well for themselves at the Tournament of Kikai." Drake added.
"I can't seem to find any notes on why Tiny invited Sly Cooper. Apparently, he just feels it felt right." Ashley admitted.
"I mean he DID get three eliminations sooo…" Danglars said before shrugging. "Never give up? Trust your instincts?"
"Bro, even though certain fans may overlap for… Certain reasons, StarFox and Sly Cooper are NOT the same." Tybalt scolded.
Danglars chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "True, true…"
"Next up is Leo, arguably the main protagonist of Warzard." Ashley said.
"Could have fooled ME considering the love that Tessa got." Catherine scoffed.
"Even still, you would think a barbarian warrior with a literal lion's head would get more love." Wally muttered.
"Being a Persona fan, Tiny HAS to put one in." Ashley said.
"And of course, he had to put in the doggo that fights with a KNIFE between its teeth!" Wally grinned.
"As for Blitz, I heard before that he was put into the story because one of his friends really liked him or at least found him underrated." Drake said, rubbing his chin.
"I mean even though Blitz IS the Butt Monkey of the show, there have been a few moments that showed how awesome he can be when he isn't being narcissistic or cowardly." Danglars admitted.
"Sometimes your biggest foe is yourself." Carver admitted, shaking his head.
"Next is Mike Haggar… I am flabbergasted at how poorly he did." Drake frowned.
"Ah, he is a memetic badass and one of the biggest faces in Final Fight!" Wally added. "He was the one who got Cody ta clean up his act!"
"It is a shame, really." Blunny frowned.
"Now onto Rick Strowd." Drake said.
"Why… Just why?" Catherine asked in disbelief. "Even GASTON made sense."
"Hey, he is a boxer, he has a cool design. As far as Tiny is concerned, that is all he needs." Drake said.
"Now onto the… Last-minute Mystery Fighters." Ashley winced.
"I heard that. What in the world happened?" Blunny frowned.
"I don't know. Apparently, one of them made a few stupid questions and one thing led to another and next, we had a brawl which ended up hospitalizing ALL of them!" Drake explained.
"At the time, it was hard fer Tiny to think of new Mystery Fighters so he put the remaining four in the hands of the voters ta get in some good ones." Wally said.
"First is Spyro the Dragon, suggested by Brony4Ever." Ashley explained. "And honestly, I think Tiny made the best choice. While separate games, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon are the two sides of the same coin."
"Oh, I totally get you. Even though I could respect that Tiny isn't into Spyro as much as Crash Bandicoot, not having Spyro at least would be a missed opportunity." Danglars admitted.
"Next is Waddle Dee, submitted by… Orange-Ratchet!" Drake smirked. "And HIS reasoning is that we already have Kirby, Metaknight and King Dedede in the tournament. Why not have the full set?"
"Oh, definitely. I can't remember too much, but apparently Return to Dreamland was big at the time and there were even a lot of people who were rooting for him to get into Super Smash Bros!" Carver smiled.
"So he can't get that, why not get into HERE?" Tybalt smirked.
Drake chuckled. "Next is Hawkeye from Marvel Comics, submitted by Roger Man."
"I know I am going to sound like the very dudebros that I constantly complain about during the recaps." Catherine frowned. "But out of all Marvel Heroes, hell, all Marvel CHARACTERS, they chose the bow and arrow guy."
"Hey! Hawkeye is cool!" Carver scolded.
"Actually, Catherine's reasoning is correct in this case." Drake said.
Everyone, including Catherine, looked at Drake in confusion. Except for Ashley.
"...Huh?" Catherine asked.
"When you look at the Marvel line-up, we have a super-genius super-rich in a super suit, a muscle-bound brute that came the way he did by gamma radiation, an all-American super soldier, we have… A circus acrobat archer." Drake explained. "And that ironically made him stand out against everyone else."
Catherine blinked twice. "That's… Not wrong. I admit that if Tiny picked someone like Captain America or Wolverine, I would say something like "generic power fantasy pick" and to be fair, I don't get that from Hawkeye. Much."
Drake, Ashley and Wally rolled their eyes while everyone else blinked twice.
"Woah, is she ALWAYS like that?" Carver asked.
"All. The. Time." Ashley muttered.
Drake chuckled nervously. "And last, but certainly not least, TotalFanatic with Bubsy the Bobcat."
Ashley blinked twice. "Wait, didn't TotalFanatic vote for Spyro as well."
Suddenly, Drake's phone started to ring. Rolling his eyes, he answered it.
"Hello?" Drake asked.
"So let me get this straight. Technically, Bubsy should not be allowed to enter the section because TotalFanatic already got one of his characters in." Xero answered, sounding annoyed.
"To be fair, Brony4Ever suggested Spyro first and it is not like he is a vote-spammer seeing how different their and TotalFanatic's suggestions are." Drake pointed out.
"Yeah, but still you are giving special treatment to someone that might as well be another number for you!" Xero scolded. "No, really, I didn't see that person's name come up AT ALL in GreyRaine's Okron Tournament votes."
Ashley rolled his eyes. "Oh, Xero…"
"Just one more thing: Why? Just… Why?" Xero groaned.
"I am going to tell you what Tiny told us." Drake said.
"...And that is?" Xero asked.
"Why not?" Drake asked.
Xero paused. "...Look, I admit that I may have made a few mistakes."
"A few!?" Everyone exclaimed.
"Okay, a lot of mistakes, but even then, I still tried to make sure that the Mystery Fighters have something to offer." Xero pointed out.
"Ta be fair, Bubsy DOES have something ta offer. It's... Just down ta personal preference if that is a good offer or a bad one?" Wally asked, scratching the back of his head.
"...I am done with you people." Xero muttered.
With that, he hung up. Everyone let out a deep sigh of exasperation.
"...Well, that is more or less the first Battle of the Luminaries." Drake concluded.
Blunny clasped her hands together. "Tinyhammer worked so hard and in the end, it played off. It even gives you a winner that rivals the score of the ORIGINAL Ultimate Video Rumble winners!"
"I know, right? So it is only inevitable that we will get a sequel!" Drake smiled.
"Unfortunately, he had to make some hard cuts with Rival Schools, Power Stone and Guilty Gear." Ashley frowned.
"Eh. They kinda sucked so no love lost there." Catherine said, waving it off.
Carver frowned. "Okay, you are not wrong, but do you have to say it like THAT?"
"Due to their records in the first tournament, Tiny has made Spyro and Rainbow Dash their own nodes." Drake explained. "Due to his love of Persona, he put in Persona 4 Arena as well."
"He also put in Darkstalkers and Soul Calibur IV." Wally added.
Danglars tilted his head to the side. "Um, wasn't Soul Calibur FIVE released at the time?"
"Hoo boy…" Catherine muttered.
"Why, that is a valid explanation, Danglars. First off, the Astaroth in V isn't story-wise the same one as OUR Astaroth." Wally said with a warm smile. "Second off…"
He then scowled.
"WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT V!" Wally roared.
Orange-Ratchet's characters jumped while the others looked exasperated as Wally panted heavily.
"Now just like boxers, Tinyhammer likes wrestlers and so that is why he invited Saturday Night Slam Masters." Ashley explained.
"Now, onto the story." Drake grinned.
"Wait, hold on. I think I read about this before." Carver piped up. "The story is based on one of Veigue Lungberg's Limit Break or in this case, Mystic Artes in one of Tales' many crossover games."
"That's right. And honestly, seeing that Veigue AND the cast of Soul Calibur are in the case, why not take that concept and roll with it." Drake said.
"I personally loved how there are two sets of heroes as always, but one is trying to stop the wielder of Soul Edge AND Soul Calibur while the other is unwittingly following the latter spirit sword!" Blunny smiled.
"Indeed. Both teams have different urgenies despite initially having the same goals at first." Ashley nodded.
"So…" Carver said, sternly. "How about Cruella De Vil?"
Everyone immediately shuddered or growled at her name.
"Yeah, just like Veigue's Mystic Arte looking like Soul Calibur, Tinyhammer loved Gabumon fighting with Cruella and her cronies that he decided to make it a subplot." Drake explained. "You know how Ash Crimson had his own subplot in the third Megamix Tournament?"
"Still, I would never expect that subplot… To merge into the main one." Blunny admitted.
"To be fair, Tiny realized that he had written himself in a corner when the security team found out the true nature of Cruella's plan." Drake shrugged. "And just let me say, at least this time around, the security team is directly involved in the plot, even if it is the "B"-plot."
"Indeed. But yes, Cruella getting Soul Edge is just to give her relevance and boy, did it ever." Ashley said, shaking his head.
"I am still stunned that the situation got so bad that even the VILLAINS are willing to say "Okay, yeah, this is going too far…" Danglars said.
"Of course! It is THEIR asses on line when Soul Calibur starts their self-righteous crusade!" Catherine reminded. "But eh, as long as it did something new than give us a straight "good vs evil" fight like always."
Drake nodded his head. "Shall we go into the Mystery Fighters?"
Everyone nodded their heads.
"Great, now Poochy from Power Instinct and Sheep Man from Megaman were cast as "fodder" picks because of how obscure and… Unpopular they are." Drake explained. "Though Tiny did say that he wouldn't be surprised if at least one of them got an elimination.
"Savage Dragon is a show that he used to watch on a Youtube channel called the Annotated Station. However, Tiny unironically liked the show and decided to cast the main character." Ashley explained. "Now Yuki from SNK Gal Fighters is cast because she is a "lulzy" pick, but also to have some interesting interactions with her boyfriend, Kyo, that Tiny wouldn't have otherwise."
"Weird picks. But not exactly in a bad way." Carver nodded.
"Next up is Motaro from Mortal Kombat who was cast… Just because he negates projectiles." Drake said.
Tybalt blinked twice. "Wait… That's it?"
Ashley narrowed his eyes. "Do you know how many people have projectiles, Tybalt? Sure, against certain fighters, it won't affect them TOO much, but against certain people? They have to change-up their entire gameplan."
Tybalt paused. "True…"
"Now about Haar, this was when Tiny finally got onto the Fire Emblem hype-train." Drake said.
Danglars blinked twice. "But Haar is from the Tellius series."
"Even still, out of everyone in Awakening, he felt that Haar was more interesting to write for." Drake shrugged. "You know, like his own Juan from Suikoden III."
"Sakura Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura is pretty otherwise. The anime is a major part of Tiny's childhood so he wanted to put that into the tournament." Ashley explained. He then smirked. "And of course, we gotta have someone who was in the Final 4 at the last tournament."
"I must say, Bubsy certainly surprised me." Blunny admitted. "I thought he would get at least one section, but that's it."
"Aye, same here. Ah can't think of a single soul that isn't surprised to hear that he made the Final 4." Wally said.
"Next up is Max, another wrestler Mystery Fighter, to be fair, he IS popular in that game. Especially since he is apparently the "speedrun" character of the game." Drake shrugged. "There is also Zitz from the Battletoads."
"Ah am stunned that Zitz did so poorly and didn't even got any screentime." Wally frowned.
"Yeah, I heard that the Battletoads is a cult classic. I wonder what happened." Danglars frowned.
"That is just the nature of these things. Sometimes someone you don't expect, succeed and sometimes someone that should be a fan-favourite drops like a stone." Drake frowned.
"Next, we brought back Kraken and I-No from Power Stone and Guilty Gear respectively as they are the only ones who DIDN'T get their node invited back even though they missed their shot in the ring." Ashley frowned.
"And even though they got another chance, they completely botched it!" Catherine said, crossing her arms. "Seriously, they were BOTH the first ones to get eliminated! What a waste of two slots!"
Carver frowned. "Even still, those two deserved a shot in the ring. Yes, they are villains, but they are worse ones out there."
Catherine raised an eyebrow. "In terms of actions or actual skill?"
"Oi…" Carver muttered.
Drake shook his head. "Sailor Jupiter was invited back due to her good score and while she did well, she didn't quite live up to her score in the first tournament."
Ashley rolled his eyes. "And here we have our obligatory "Same Name" fight with Raven from Tales of, Raven from Tekken 5 and Raven from Teen Titans."
"Ah, yes, I remembered that fight." Danglars nodded with a smirk. "I guess because SSBFreak does that all of the time, Tiny gotta have his own version."
"Pretty much." Wally said scratching the back of his head. "Ya know between inviting a joke character and someone just for their name, Tekken isn't getting much love from Tiny."
"I could say the same for Raven except she has demonstrated that despite being cast for her name, she has so much potential and she became so much more." Catherine smiled.
"Not surprising, she IS one of the ORIGINAL Teen Titans!" Tybalt smiled.
"Good one, mate!" Wally smirked.
"Now being a fan of boxers, Tiny was arguably the face of Ready 2 Rumble, Afro Thunder." Drake said, rubbing his chin. "He also invited someone OTHER than Suikoden III, Boz Wilde from V."
Ashley blinked twice. "But… He is not even a playable party member. He is just a NPC relegated to war battles."
"I know. And I personally find that a sin because I love his personality in V." Drake frowned.
"Next is Kira Daidohji from Arcana Heart." Drake said, rubbing his chin.
"Swimming!" Tybalt said, cheerfully.
"Um, right." Ashley said, blinking twice.
Danglars chuckled. "Real talk though, Kira is definitely one of the more interesting-looking characters from Arcana Heart."
"To be fair, most of the girls from Arcana Heart are "interesting-looking" for better or for worse." Catherine piped up.
This resulted in another awkward silence.
"Now onto Elias Patrick from Rage of the Dragons, one of the more prominent characters from that game and even shown up in Power Instinct Matrimelee." Drake said. "Other than the Lee Twins, only him and Lynn had that privilege."
Blunny squinted her eyes. "He… Looks like a buff Ozzy Osborne."
Drake laughed. "True dat! True dat!"
"So Tiny decided to invite another Left 4 Dead Mystery Fighter, only it is the… Hunter?" Ashley asked, blinking twice.
"Apparently he is one of the more popular zombies from the game." Drake shrugged.
"Um, guys, I don't mean to disturb you, but I think the Hunter is popular for the wrong reasons." Catherine frowned.
Everyone's eyes widened in realization before looking at each other in disgust.
"What… Is wrong with those people?" Blunny asked, looking green in the face.
"Welcome to my world, Blunny." Catherine muttered.
"Next is Sketch Turner, the protagonist of Comix Zone, a game that Tinyhammer played as a kid." Drake grinned. Then, his face fell. "Or at least he TRIED to play it. Trust me, it is NOT beginner-friendly."
He then scowled.
"You put an instant-death pit in a BEAT-EM-UP?" He muttered.
"S-S-So because of Tiny's love of old-school games and big guys, Tiny HAS to invite Wreck-it Ralph." Ashley said, trying to change the subject.
Carver smiled. "I find it endearing that he is one of the only people that Bison could have a normal conversation with."
"Ah know, right? Tiny likes the thought of Ralph being buddies of people that are usually not known for their people skills and just went with it!" Wally grinned.
"Next up is Dot Warner from Animaniacs and hoo boy, did Tiny underestimate how popular this character will be." Drake said, shaking his head.
"Um, isn't it obvious? She is one of the Warner Brothers or in this case, the Warner Sister." Tybalt pointed out.
"Yeah, but… Tiny got bored of writing for her. Sure, it is funny to see her mess around with the fighters for a few sections, but you could only do so for so long." Drake frowned.
Then, the phone rang. Drake raised an eyebrow before answering it.
"Hello, Xero?" Drake asked.
"I think I know what the problem with that is." The bunny answered.
Drake raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"The problem is Tinyhammer is trying to make every battle a "serious" one. Like, everyone has to be "played straight"." Xero explained. "THAT is the reason why Tiny isn't having fun with Dot. He is limiting himself."
Drake paused. "Woah, when you put it THAT way."
"And I get it, constantly messing around with the fighters could only go so far before becoming repetitive. But she, hell, ANYONE with reality warping powers doesn't have to do a traditional battle." Xero said. "Like it is fine for people to get clumsy eliminations."
Drake nodded his head.
"Just relay this to Tiny, say there are two people in a fight, but either they BOTH survive the round or they BOTH get eliminated without a single elimination." Xero offered. "Just think… How could I do this? Hell, with that arena gimmick in the third tournament, you could have a gold mine on your hands."
Drake paused before smiling. "Hey, thanks!"
"It is fine. It IS one of the reasons why Tiny fell out of love with the second tournament in the first place so I just thought I could try to help Tiny falling into the same hole twice." Xero offered.
Drake nodded his head. "I don't know how this third tournament will go, but between your advice and the strict restrictions on Big Guys, I doubt history will repeat itself."
"Glad to hear it! Bye!" Xero smiled before hanging up.
Drake nodded his head before putting down his phone. "Sorry about that. You know how Xero is like?"
He then noticed everyone was looking at him with smiles.
"It is more than alright…" Ashley said.
"So shall we continue?" Carver asked.
Drake finally nodded before sighing.
"Unfortunately, the good-feels train may have to come to a halt for now because up next is Starscream." Drake admitted.
Immediately, everyone's faces went sour.
"...I mean I do NOT approve of how Rainbow Dash went out, but let's be fair about this." Danglars said.
"Hm?" Wally asked.
"Do you really think Starscream would beat Rainbow Dash in a fair fight?" Danglars challenged.
Catherine frowned. "True… I don't see it so having Tiny make him go the May route makes sense."
"Especially since if it wasn't for being involved in that Death Battle to begin with, Tiny wouldn't even give a second thought about any of the Transformers cast, let alone Starscream." Ashley said.
"Funny story about Meowth. He is arguably one of the only Mystery Fighters who got his invitation as some kind of payment." Drake said, rubbing his chin.
"Wait, hold on, I think I remembered this one. It was when Xero and Maurice were interviewing all of the eliminated fighters and because Pichu could only say his name, you had Meowth translate for us." Danglars explained.
"That's right. And it was XERO who gave him the invitation. Not Orange-Ratchet." Ashley explained.
Tybalt let out a hearty laugh. "Boy, was Orange furious when he did that!"
"Though from what I heard, Orange-Ratchet told Xero upfront that he was being NICE by not having Tinyhammer come along!" Carver grinned.
"Oh, Ah CAN confirm that!" Wally grinned.
With that, the eight shared a laugh.
"So Solid Snake is invited back due to being such a big presence in the first tournament, obviously." Drake said.
"Yeah, but doesn't that go against the moral that he learned at the end of the first tournament?" Catherine frowned.
"She's… Not wrong. Especially since Shoma was one of the main heroes and HE wasn't invited back." Blunny frowned.
"But to be fair, he only got one elimination sooo, eh?" Carver shrugged with a sheepish grin.
"Yeah, even without his presence in the first tournament, ya would think that the face of Metal Gear Solid would get more than one elimination." Wally frowned.
"Then again, you WOULD think that in the Tournament of Kikai." Danglars shrugged.
"Next is Don Karnage from Talespin." Drake said.
"Oh, say no more. Even if he is a villain, the guy is a fan-favourite!" Tybalt grinned. "He is funny, whether we are laughing WITH him or AT him."
Drake chuckled. "True dat! True dat!"
Ashley scratched the side of his head. "I don't understand why Tinyhammer picked Murray over Sly."
"THE Murray!" Tybalt scolded, looking surprisingly stern.
Ashley rolled his eyes. "THE Murray."
"But yeah, it IS an odd change. Especially how well Sly Cooper did in the last tournament." Tybalt admitted.
"Tiny said something having more of a feel for Sly Cooper and felt that The Murray is more suited for a tournament like this." Drake mused.
"Well, the Tournament of Kikai has demonstrated that they, along with the tech-wizard in a WHEELCHAIR, are equally-suited for these things sooo…" Danglars smirked.
Ashley chuckled before frowning. "I am very disappointed in Kairi's performance in the second tournament."
"Yeah, sure Sailor Jupiter and especially Rainbow Dash didn't do so hot, but at least they have gotten eliminations." Drake sighed.
"It is just like Mike Haggar, right?" Carver lamented. "You don't know WHO will survive or not."
"On the bright side, the Pyro did decently well for the two sections he was in." Drake said.
"So what's HIS… HER… THEIR story?" Catherine asked.
"For being invited? Nothing much except Tiny thought he would be the most interesting to write for." Wally shrugged.
"Well, considering their alliance with Dot, I could see that." Blunny frowned.
With that, everyone shuddered.
"Next up is Krusha from Donkey Kong Country." Drake said before shrugging. "Not much to say, Tiny just likes his big bois."
"AND he IS one of the most endearing characters in the cartoon sooo…" Catherine said before shrugging.
"And last, but not least is Sabin Rene Figaro from Final Fantasy VI!" Drake said.
Wally then grinned. "The Motherfucker who suplexed a train!"
Blunny winced. "Do… Do Tiny's characters always have such a foul mouth?"
"Actually, no, Tiny used to be against swearing and thus nobody swears, not even people who LOOK like they would swear." Drake admitted.
"Well, that is all of the Mystery Fighters." Wally said, dusting his hands together.
"Hey, I have to ask: Did you ever find out what were the stats for that section if the crystals and vines incident didn't happen?" Tybalt asked.
"Um, yes, I counted it." Ashley said, rubbing his wrist. "Unfortunately, I have forgotten the stats and even the order. I just remembered who survived and who didn't."
Carver just gave a reassuring smile and nod. "That should be more than enough."
Ashley nodded his head before taking a deep breath.
"The people who made the top three are Dot Warner, Andy Bogard and Discord" He said. "As for you see, that was the straw that broke Tiny's back."
Everyone blinked twice at this before rolling their eyes. Not at Discord AND Dot Warner being in the Top 3, butttt… Yeah…
"The people who have gotten an elimination AND survived the section are Knuckles the Echidna, Colette Brunel, the Pyro, Twilight Sparkle, Ripper Roo, Guilmon, Luise Meyrink, Jon Talbain and Krusha." Ashley explained.
"That seems about right." Carver nodded.
"And the people who have gotten an elimination, but failed to survive the section are Wario, Carl Clover and Yu Narukami." Ashley concluded.
"Huh. Two tournaments in a row where Carl has gotten an elimination. Ah am impressed." Wally said in awe.
"And Yu scoring another elimination for the Persona 4 Arena cast." Catherine nodded.
"I am more shocked that Wario only survived ONE section despite how well he did at the first tournament." Drake added.
Suddenly, a phone started to ring. Drake nodded his head before getting out his phone.
...Only to find that it wasn't ringing.
"MINE!" Ashley said, getting out his phone and answering it. "Hello?"
"Hey. Sorry that my friend is constantly interrupting you." Maurice's voice said.
"Eh. It's fine." Ashley said. "So what's on your mind?"
"Actually, it is what is on Xero's mind, but I begged him to let me answer in this place." Maurice said. "You know, seeing that I didn't really get some screentime in this special so far."
"That is more than alright, man. Christmas is a time for togetherness and you are just as much part of the UVR-staff OC team as the rest of us!" Drake smirked.
"Thanks, Drake. So Xero just wanted to say that he is stunned that Andy Bogard of all people has gotten two eliminations." Maurice added.
Everyone's smiles vanished as they rolled their eyes. Ashley, on the other hand, took the statement seriously.
"I know, right!? You would think that with people's opinions on him, he would be lucky to get even one elimination, but no. He has gotten TWO." Ashley added.
"I guess it just goes to show what happens at these things." Maurice admitted. "Oh, and Ashley…"
"Hm?" The wizard asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Thank you…" Maurice said.
Ashley gave a warm smile. "It is more than alright. So hear from you soon, hopefully."
"Perhaps. Even Xero kept saying that I should call in now-and-then." Maurice admitted. "So yeah, goodbye for now and Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!" Everyone said, though most said it half-heartedly because of the earlier conversation.
With that, Ashley hung up.
"...I am speechless." Drake muttered.
Ashley just smirked. "Must be the Christmas spirit!"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Well, that is everything about the Battle of the Luminaries." Drake said. "Is there anything you two wish to know?"
"No, I think this was more than a good enough retrospective." Carver said, shaking his head.
"Thank you so much for giving us the honour to talk with you!" Blunny smiled.
"Hey, no problem! I just thought that Orange-Ratchet may be like this!" Drake grinned.
"I'm sure that he will!" Tybalt grinned. "I know that I did!"
"Hey, seeing as you are here, who wants to watch the Runawayguys play LittleBigPlanet?"
Immediately Drake, Ashley, Wally and Catherine raised their hands with big grins on their faces.
"We do!"
Danglars just chuckled. "I knew that you guys would see that you are not too familiar with the franchise so this should give you a hint of what you are getting into."
"Then, what are we waiting for?" Drake smirked.
"But first things first! We have to end this properly!" Carver nodded.
"Indeed." Blunny smiled.
With that, all eight got up and looked at the camera with smiles on their faces. They then all spoke the same thing in unison.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
