(The Arena)
The twelve remaining fighters in the arena from Section One were scattered around the arena, enjoying the slightest bit of downtime they could get before the next wave of fighters entered, although BB Hood was still struggling to keep Mimikyu off of her and in turn wasting her precious downtime. Other than her, however, everyone seemed content to simply wait for the next batch of fighters to enter.
The audience started cheering as the spotlight started shining on the entrance curtain again, signifying that the next Section was about to start and the next eighteen fighters were about to make their entrance into the arena…
"CHARLIE NASH!" (SF5)
The audience cheered as a familiar blonde-haired, repeatedly-dying soldier emerged from behind the curtain, though some unfamiliar with Street Fighter 5 seemed taken aback by the patchwork appearance of Charlie's body, his entire form looking like it was sewn together. Nevertheless, Charlie seemed to pay the attention the audience was giving him no mind as he marched down to the ring and stepped into it.
Pyra saw Charlie enter and frowned as he made his way over. "Yeesh. What're YOU looking so grumpy for?" She asked. "I mean, Ryu and Ken made mention of you from time to time but they never said you were such a downer."
Charlie narrowed his eyes. "I suggest you stay out of my way. I'm simply waiting for Bison to enter since my quarrel is with him." He replied coldly before pausing. "Though I'll admit I'll probably settle for Urien or Kolin if given the chance."
Pyra placed her hands on her hips. "You know, I'm sure there's someone at the Smash Mansion that could fix you right up if you let them." She mentioned.
"It's already too late for me." Charlie muttered before getting into a stance. "Though it looks like you aren't going to just let me be."
Pyra lifted her sword. "Hey, it's clear that you need help. You may be stubborn to refuse it but you still need it." She responded.
Charlie narrowed his eyes and lashed out with a hand, firing a Sonic Boom at Pyra and making her backflip out of range. "And it's clear to me that you need to mind your own business." He retorted. "Now I'll say it again: Stay out of my way or I won't be held responsible for my actions."
Pyra sighed and got into a stance. "One way or another I'm going to find out what your deal is!" She said determinedly.
"WANG-TANG!" (PS)
A young, dark-haired martial artist flew through the entrance curtain with a loud yell and a flying kick, much to the audience's delight. Showing off a few moves and aerobics on the ramp, Wang-Tang charged down to the end of the ramp and leapt foot-first into the ring with another flying karate kick.
Landing in the ring, Wang-Tang spotted Pete sitting on the canvas, still pouting at the results of the previous section. The young martial artist made his way over to the sad-looking doll. "Hey, Pete. You look kinda down for someone that survived a section and got the first elimination of the tournament." He noted.
Pete looked up. "Aw, my new friend got tossed too quickly and I was looking forward to having some more fun with him." He lamented. "Now that he's gone the arena's going to be so much more-boring…"
"Aw, you'll find a way to have a good time. You always do." Wang-Tang shrugged with a smile. "By the way, you never told us that you smuggled a bunch of our weapons in with you."
Pete smiled lightly. "Yeah, I knew they'd make for a little more fun." He said. "I think I brought some of pretty much everything."
"…How the heck did they all fit in your backpack?"
"That'd just give you an unfair advantage in our fights back home." Pete joked with a wink.
"DIDDY KONG!" (SSB)
The audience cheered as the familiar small chimpanzee emerged from the curtain, waving to the crowd as he tossed his trademark hat to himself a couple of times. People quickly took notice of the rocketbarrel pack on Diddy's back as he made his way down the ramp and watched excitedly as Diddy used it like a jetpack to propel himself into the arena with a loud cheer.
Diddy landed on the canvas next to the fight BB Hood was having with Mimikyu and pulled out one of his Peanut Popguns while in the air, raining down a hail of peanuts from above at the tussle between the two. Mimikyu scampered away, avoiding the assault altogether, as BB Hood was pelted numerous times in the face as Diddy touched down and landed on the canvas, signifying that the red-clad hunter was Diddy's original target anyways.
BB Hood, looking mad, stared down at Diddy. "What is it with people trying to pick fights with me?! I even told myself I'd try to stick to going after bounties tonight!" She exclaimed. "I really just want to go after the little edgelord in the mask but if you insist on being annoying then-"
Diddy fired another peanut into BB Hood's forehead and laughed before giving a smirk and motioning the red-clad hunter to approach him. BB Hood's eye started twitching a few times in response.
"Okay, you know what? Congratulations." BB Hood said as she drew her knife. "You just moved up on the Kill List."
Diddy's response was to blow a raspberry at BB Hood, drawing his second peanut gun and taking aim, looking like he was trying to strike a cool pose but failing to look intimidating due to holding a pair of wooden guns that fired peanuts instead of bullets…
"SLASH!" (EC)
The Eternal Champion's resident caveman emerged from the curtain and gave a primal roar to the sky with a wave of his club as the audience gave a cheer in approval. Slash set his sights on the arena and, with a toothy, fanged smirk, marched down the ramp before jumping in headfirst.
Darunia saw Slash coming over and gave a friendly, jovial wave. "Ah! Hello, friend! Say, you look like the kind of guy that enjoys a good rock. Care for one before we start fighting?" He offered.
"Um…He can have mine." Blanka said, handing Darunia back the rock the Goron Chief had given him to eat.
"Oh, brother! You're so courteous it makes me proud to call you a brother!" Darunia laughed as he took the rock and held it out to Slash. "Here, friend! Eat up!"
Slash looked at the rock in Darunia's hand for a second, slowly took it and stared at it a little more. "You…Eat these?" He asked.
"Of course! All Gorons eat rocks! It's how we get our nutrients!"
Slash stood in silence for a moment before crushing the rock in his hand. Darunia froze mid-laugh as he stared at the crumbled rock in Slash's hand. "We break rocks." Slash responded. "We break them into smaller rocks that we use for wheels and tools. This rock…This rock was too weak to be of any use…"
Darunia stared in silence as Blanka looked a little worried, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Uh…He…He didn't mean that…" He mentioned.
"Stand back, brother." Darunia urged, holding a hand out in front of Blanka. "Gorons do not stand for such disrespect. I shall take him myself."
Slash gave a smirk and held his club in his fighting stance. "Heh. Looks like I'll get a good fight out of you." He mentioned.
"NECROZMA!" (PKMN)
(Don't you wanna be free?)
(Don't you wanna be hook, line and sinkered?)
(Listen to the voices telling you your choices!)
(I'm telling you that running ain't a choice!)
(For a cold, dead Parasite!)
(Look beneath and you'll find my demeanor!)
(Swallowed by a monster, trapped within a blunder!)
(I'm telling you that hiding ain't a choice!)
(For a cold, dead Parasite!)
Meowth's off-key singing blared through the speakers again as the crowd sitting near the entrance curtain backed away in fear of the strange, polygonal-looking, pitch-black Pokemon emerged from the curtain and slowly made its way down to the ring, seemingly-ignoring the crowd's reaction or the fact that Meowth's voice was accompanying it down to the ring.
Dragging its huge, taloned hands behind it, Necrozma entered the ring and scanned the fighters, likely eyeing them all up to see who would give it the most power. Sensing a huge amount of energy coming from Menat, though it couldn't explain where it was coming from. Either way, Menat seemed to have the most energy and that was all that mattered for Necrozma.
Menat seemed to be mentally-aware that Necrozma was coming after her since her head spun around to see the dark beast racing at her with a claw outstretched. Menat jumped and wove her way around Necrozma's attack, landing behind it as it passed by. Menat summoned her Soul orb and fired it into Necrozma's face once it had stopped and turned around after it saw that it had missed its mark.
"I know that look and I've dealt with many people and things like you in the past, even under the tutelage of Master Rose." Menat shook her head. "I do NOT get taken by surprise that easily."
Necrozma gave a roar in response, taking another swing at Menat's head with a claw, which the seer backflipped away from skillfully. Menat landed on her feet and got into her stance, separating her large Soul orb into six smaller ones that floated around behind her. In response, Necrozma reared back and screeched at Menat as it got into a feral, menacing stance. One way or another it would get her energy…
"Mystery…Fighter…THREE…"
"MAD PIANO!" (Super Mario 64)
In the arena, Mario froze up, his eyes widening in horror as he heard the name of the next entrant being announced. Slowly, Mario turned in place as he found himself staring up at the entrance ramp, watching as the next Mystery Fighter was shown wandering down the ramp.
Indeed, there it was. The Mad Piano: A literal sentient grand piano with more teeth than a horror game monster, marching down the ramp awkwardly and making a noise every time it move that sounded like…Well, a grand piano moving by itself. Finally, after awkwardly lugging itself down to the bottom of the entrance ramp, the Mad Piano flung itself into the ring, showing that it was apparently very-capable of jumping somehow.
Mario gave a yell as the Mad Piano made a beeline for hi, obviously still intent on shredding him like it tried those years ago. Everyone gathered in the arena seemed to pause what they were doing and watched in bewilderment as a terrified Mario ran screaming through the arena chased by a sentient piano. The Mad Piano was moving quite a bit faster than it used to, and as it was chasing Mario it threw itself into the air and turned over, opening its lid and exposing the rows of sharp teeth it was hiding underneath it as it fell towards Mario.
"Not a-this time!" Mario shouted in a panic as he threw himself into a forward roll and dodged the oncoming falling piano as it crashed into the canvas. Mario made a break for one of the corner posts and jumped up on top of it, spinning around while perched on it to stare down at the Mad Piano as he made vaguely-barking sounds at him from the canvas.
"Just..Just a-stay back, you!" Mario challenged. "I…I a-definitely have a way to beat you now, you know! It's…It's a-very real, I a-swear!"
The Mad Piano sat on the canvas for a few seconds before opening its lid and spitting a book at Mario, causing him to scream again and leap off the high ground as the book flew past his head.
"You a-have projectiles, now?!" Mario yelled as he ran away with the Mad Piano hot on his heels. "Who a-gave you projectiles?!"
(Announcer's Booth)
Khall looked down at the arena, blinking in confusion. "So…That piano thing is one of Sheogorath's Mystery Fighter picks?" He asked.
"Yep. Evidentially he thought it'd be funny to sic it on Mario since he knew how much it terrorized Mario 64 players back in the day." SSBFreak shrugged. "I guess he wasn't counting on Mario entering the ring in the first Section and that's why he wanted the Mad Piano moved up in draw order."
"Um…But where did all these moves come from?" Khall scratched his head. "It's faster, can jump, has some biting moves and can throw those haunted books now. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong but I don't remember it having those things back in Mario 64…"
SSBFreak gave a sigh and handed Khall a piece of paper. The purple-clad ninja looked over the paper for a few seconds and lifted an eyebrow. "…What the heck's a 'Smash Remix'?" He asked.
(?)
A portal opened up on a snow-covered island, dropping eight fighters into a deep snowbank. Most landed upright, and Sackboy was too light to sink into the snowbank anyways, but Soldier landed in the snow face-first and was left struggling to get himself out with his feet sticking into the air.
Chris Lightfellow pushed herself out of the snowbank and brushed her armour off. "Where the heck are we?" She asked.
Athena looked to be shivering as she stepped out of the deep snow. "A-And why didn't we get dumped somewhere warmer?!" She added.
Volkov, flying in the air, cave a cold shrug. "I don't notice anything different." He admitted.
"You're a VAMPIRE!" Several of the others shouted at once. Volkov rolled his eyes in response.
Boom Boom stepped forward and squinted as he stared out over the edge of where everyone was standing, across a large body of water. He spotted what looked to be a base of some kind with hard-working machinery built into it from every angle, looking like it was either digging into a nearby frozen mountain or melting snow on it. Either way, experiments appeared to be going on since the base looked to be crawling with armed guards.
"Uh…What's that out there?" Boom Boom asked. "Looks kinda like something King Bowser would build if he were into destroying ecosystems as opposed to kidnapping Princess Peach."
"Ah! The Doom Monkeys are here!"
Everyone jumped (as Soldier finally managed to pop his head out of the snowbank he was trapped in) as they found themselves staring upwards as a floating screen attached to a propeller floated down, showing the face of a short scientist with red hair, a metal faceplate taking up half of his head and a live rocket sticking out of the top part of his cranium.
"Greetings, Doom Monkeys! Dr. Cortex has told me for so long about this tournament he was invited to! One that was guaranteed to involve being on the receiving end of a lot of pain! I was thinking I was sure to be invited along even as Dr. Cortex's plus-one! I even had my twelve suitcases packed with all the basic essentials like my irradiated toothbrush and my collection of Andrew Lloyd Webber albums!" N. Gin announced on the screen. "But no, Dr. Cortex needed someone to keep watch over his mining operation here to make sure that the bumbling henchmen didn't botch anything while he took the least-incompetent ones with him to the tournament! And that's FIIIIIIINE! I certainly didn't want to go to a tournament where I would be sure to get my beautiful buttocks broken a bountiful bunch! I'm FINE just standing around and watching Dr. Cortex's stupid minions play Texas Hold'Em despite the fact that they're actually all playing Omaha without realizing it!" N. Gin devolved into a fit of crazed, desperate-sounding laughter for a few seconds before staring furiously at the eight gathered fighters. "I'M NOT BITTER! YOU'RE BITTER!"
Boom Boom blinked. "Yeesh. This guy makes old Kamek look SANE." He muttered.
"A-HEM."
Everyone, the screen holding N. Gin's face included, turned to see a hologram of SSBFreak materialize nearby. Once everyone was looking at him, SSBFreak continued. "Welcome, fighters, to our big twist for the tournament: The Multiversal Matchup!" He announced. "Now, you may have lost your chance to win the main tournament, but how would you like to have a chance to win a secondary prize? In each Section, eight eliminated fighters will be selected at random, so long as they scored either one of no eliminations in the main tournament, as a way to give more of a chance to shine to some fighters that may have felt like they had more to give. Those eight, in this case you guys, will be put into a mission-based or elimination-based side round for a chance to win a special prize: A special Multiversal Matchup Trophy, different from the one that will be given to the winner of the main tournament."
"A trophy? I like trophies! They're like medals except shinier and you can bludgeon someone with them if they're big enough!" Soldier said with a grin.
"Wait. We weren't told of any of this beforehand." Needle Man spoke up.
"Of course. This was a twist we wanted to keep secret until things got going." SSBFreak smirked. "Now, in every Multiversal Matchup, there will be many ways you can get eliminated, so remember that you only have one chance. These matches will go until there is a definitive winner or all but one of you are eliminated, but remember that these matchups are NOT fighting-oriented so the winner will NOT be decided by the standard means, although in most cases they will still be a last-man-standing format."
SSBFreak wove a hand in the direction of the base built into the frozen mountain, as if to showcase it. "For this first Multiversal Matchup, you have all been brought to the world of Crash Bandicoot; more-specifically, to one of Cortex's bases that's sure to be conducting experiments and causing ecological disasters with its mining of crystals. N. Gin is overseeing things here and is stationed on a platform near the top of the base." He explained. "So, here's your mission for the first Multiversal Matchup: The first person to get to N. Gin and BLOW HIM UP will be the winner of the trophy. If none of you survive the round, the trophy will be given to the last one standing."
"Hey! I never agreed to that!" N. Gin shouted indignantly. "I mean, I'm all for the delicious pain but Dr. Cortex will shatter my spleen if he comes back to a destroyed mining operation! I LOVE my spleen!"
Soldier laughed and drew his rocket launcher. "Ha! Asking me if I want to blow someone up is like asking me if I changed my socks today!" He laughed. "And by that I mean that it's a very stupid question because I have, in fact, been wearing this pair of socks for the last two weeks straight! They are now a part of my feet!"
Chris and Boom Boom, the ones standing on either side of Soldier, promptly took a few steps away.
SSBFreak smirked. "Well, if you're all ready, the first Multiversal Matchup will start as soon as this hologram shuts off." He said. "Good luck and may the best man, woman, robot, Koopa, cloth doll, vampire or deranged mercenary win!"
With that, SSBFreak's hologram shut off, leaving the eight fighters standing in the snow and staring at N. Gin's video screen. N. Gin stared in silence for a few moments, as if suddenly realizing that eight multiversal fighters were now on a personal mission to destroy him. "Oh, fiddle-muffins…" He squeaked as he hastily cut the feed on the screen.
Young Link watched as the screen floated away, likely starting to go back to wherever it had come from. "Well…Looks like our night's not over yet." He said with a smirk and grabbing hold of the Fierce Deity Mask clipped to his belt. "Who's up for a little race?"
"Looks like the little guy's already gotten the idea." Needle Man pointed out.
Everyone turned towards Sackboy and saw that the cloth doll was already riding into the sky on another rocket with a wide grin. Everyone else seemed to finally realize that the competition had started as they all started running off in every direction, trying to make their way towards the base to beat the boss and win the first Multiversal Matchup…
(The Arena)
"ANGEL!" (KOF)
The audience cheered as the white-haired wrestler emerged from the curtain, playing to the crowd as she came out to an instrumental song that sounded like it would be at home in an actual wrestling match. After taking a moment to hype the crowd up to her liking, Angel charged down the ramp and leapt in with an acrobatic flip.
"Hey! Frogman!" Angel shouted as she rushed over to a meditating Greninja.
"Ja?" Greninja opened an eye as he watched Angel running over.
"Yeah, I'm talkin' to you! Gimmie a battle!" Angel said. "I always wanted to fight a real ninja!"
(Dome; Restaurant)
Mai Shiranui was sitting at a table with Andy Bogard, eating a small meal, before giving a loud sneeze and flying backwards in her chair, landing on her back.
Chef Kawasaki looked up and his eyes widened. "Oh, dear! Did I put too much pepper in the stir-fry?!" He asked aloud.
(The Arena)
"Plus with you been a lizard or something it may make you a slipperier opponent for me! I'm always up for a good challenge!" Angel laughed.
"Gren?" Greninja lifted an eyebrow.
Angel shrugged. "Yeah, I can't understand you or anything, so I'm just gonna go with the assumption that you're agreeing to the fight." All of a sudden, Angel rushed Greninja and lashed out with her arm in a running clothesline, which Greninja backflipped away from.
Landing in a crouching position, Greninja narrowed his eyes and started forming a water shuriken in his hand. "Gren…" He hissed.
"WIZZRO!" (HW)
Ignoring the mixed reaction the audience was giving him, a boney, shadowy figure in a large cloak emerged from the curtain, only a single eye shining out from the blackness of the hood. Wizzro scanned the arena from the top of the entrance ramp as his eye suddenly turned into a grinning mouth.
"Hehehe. Oh, I think that one will do nicely." Wizzro chuckled as he floated down the ramp and leapt into the ring. Setting his sights on the fight between Necrozma and Menat, Wizzro floated over and created a wave of poison darkness, shooting it outwards.
Menat looked to her left in time to see the wave coming and created a magic plane in front of her with a wave of her arm, blocking the blow. "Another one seeking a fight? Hmm…You somehow seem even more-corrupt than the Pokemon monster." She mentioned.
Necrozma, on the other hand, screeched in pain as Wizzro's wave, which was aimed at Menat, splashed against it. Necrozma stared down at Wizzro in fury and roared at him. Wizzro backed away slightly, holding up his hands in defense. "Uh…H-Hey, now! No need to get rash! I was coming in to help you with the girl!" He insisted. "I swear!"
Nacrozma responded by swatting Wizzro in the face and knocking him away. Wizzro landed on his back and tumbled for a bit, rubbing his face. "Ugh…Lord Ganon could really use that Pokemon's power on his side…" He muttered. "I may need to try a different approach now that it seems to be angry…"
Suddenly feeling a hand on his shoulder, Wizzro turned around and found himself staring into the eyes of Blanka, whom had a dark, serious look on his face.
"Hey. So, my buddy over there is currently fighting that caveman guy but he still warned me about you." Blanka mentioned casually as he pointed behind himself, where Darunia was still fighting Slash. "So how about I deal with you instead?"
Wizzro watched as Blanka ignited his free hand in electricity and his mouth changed to a panic-stricken eye. Wizzro squeaked in terror as Blanka's iron grip clamped down on his shoulder…
"CAPTAIN OLIMAR!" (SSB)
The crowd cheered as the spacesuit-clad, small humanoid emerged from the entrance curtain and waved politely to the audience as he made his way down the ring, taking the time to wring his hands and take a deep breath before stepping into the ring. After the whole "Nack the Weasel" incident at the Tournament of Kikai, which involved one of the hosts deliberately wanting to emulate a violent series of events from the original UVR run, Olimar was looking forward to staying away from any major drama, but getting another early draw kind of threw a wrench into that.
"I knew I should've offered my spot to someone else. Someone here is probably crazy enough to want an early draw…" Olimar sighed as he made his way over to Kaya and cleared his throat. "Um…Excuse me?"
Kaya looked down at Olimar as he approached, having been checking her bow for cracks in the downtime. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you come in!" She mentioned. "I…Take it you're looking for a fight?"
Olimar rubbed the back of his helmet. "Well…I mean, I kinda would rather avoid the violence and all that but I guess the audience is looking for some action." He admitted with a shrug.
Kaya chuckled. "Yeah. You have a point. Sorry I haven't been paying attention for a bit; I'm not used to checking my weaponry for damage now that I'm not in Valhalla." She admitted before switching to her spear and coating it in ice as she got into a stance.
Olimar paused in though. "Hmm…Cryomancer, eh? I think I can work with that." He mused as he reached down and plucked three blue Pikmin from the canvas (…somehow…). "Okay. I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
Kaya laughed. "Your pet things are cute! I'll try not to hurt them!"
"MAGYAR!" (BH)
Stepping out from behind the curtain next was what looked to be a walking suit of armour that appeared to be possessed, complete with a spear sticking straight through the torso. The walking suit of armour stopped walking as it seemed to notice that its helmet was on crooked before adjusting it and continuing down the ramp.
(Coming to you on a dusty road)
(Good loving; I got a truck load)
(And when you get it, you got somethin')
(So don't worry, 'cause I'm coming)
(I'm a Soul Man!)
(I'm a Soul Man!)
(I'm a Soul Man!)
(I'm a Soul Man!)
(And that ain't all!)
Magyar suddenly froze and cast a dark, icy glare up at the Sound Booth. Astaroth was seen laughing his head off and Aila was doubled over on her back while Shadow, ever the stoic guy, simply looked highly amused as he gave a smirk.
"I say we visit that Sound Booth after we're finished in the arena…" A voice said from somewhere in Magyar's armour.
"Are you KIDDING, 67?! You DO know the big guy is known to steal souls, right?!" A second voice demanded.
"Yeah, I agree with 94. He'd likely wipe us all out." A third voice chimed in.
"Fine, fine. Let's just keep going…" The first voice whined.
Magyar landed in the arena and spotted Lord Hater crouching over and talking to Mimikyu. The possessed armour strode over, summoning their huge greatsword into their hand.
"…I know we didn't really get off on the right foot and, to be perfectly honest, I think that's something we can BOTH agree that we BOTH could have handled better." Lord Hater said, taking care not to set Mimikyu off again. "But now that I've seen your power firsthand I think I could REALLY use someone like you working for me!"
Mimikyu stared up at Lord Hater with a confused expression, and then looked behind him to see Magyar approaching from behind. Mimikyu let out a surprised squeak, getting Lord Hater's attention as the villain stood up and turned around to find himself staring at the possessed suit of armour.
"Oh! A spooky suit of armour! That's gotta be the most-classic minion type a guy could wish for!" Lord Hater said, shaking his hands in glee. "Say, how would you feel about throwing your strength behind an amazing, evil and cool space dictator like me, huh?"
Magyar's response was to point their greatsword at Lord Hater's face. "NO." Several voices said as one.
"Hey, let's not be hasty! Let's give him a shot!" Another voice inside Magyar asked.
"Shut up, 13!" Several more of Magyar's voices shouted.
Lord Hater paused, his smile slowly drooping down. "Ooooh…There's more than one of you in there?" He asked timidly.
"This suit is powered by one hundred souls…" Magyar replied coldly in what sounded like twelve voices.
Lord Hater looked around fearfully for a way out. "Um…Maybe I'd be able to work you all in. I definitely can't afford to pay all one hundred of you, though…" He mentioned meekly.
"Mystery…Fighter…FOUR…"
"MERENGUE!" (Animal Crossing)
Emerging from the curtain, much to everyone's surprise, was a pink, timid-looking rhino girl with a strawberry-like horn holding a tray of muffins and cookies. She looked around at the surprised crowd cheering for her as she nervously started passing out the free samples on her tray.
"U-Um…T-Thank you! If you like these free samples, I-I'm working at the café in the hotel side of the building, s-so please come by and support my friends and I there!" Merengue said nervously with a timid, shaky smile as the audience nearest to the entrance ramp accepted the free samples as they were being handed out.
Once she was done handing out the free samples, Merengue stood in silence on the ramp for a few seconds before covering her face with the empty sample tray. "Oh, w-why did I let Chai convince me to do this?! I-I'm so stupid! I'm not a fighter! How does she expect me to do in this thing against people trying to kill each other?!" She whimpered as she slowly made her way down the ramp, inch by inch, until she reached the end. Taking a deep breath, Merengue decided to go with it and let herself fall into the arena.
BB Hood was still in the process of fighting Diddy Kong, using her knife to try and close the distance between the two but the smaller was proving to be a slippery target, laughing and taunting her with every chance he got. BB Hood's patience had worn thin long ago and by this point she just wanted to end the fight and move on to something else but knew that if she didn't destroy this cheeky monkey then it'd drive her crazy. BB Hood raised her knife above her head and prepared to swing it down.
"E-Excuse me!"
BB Hood swung her knife down but a blur of pink got between her and Diddy, holding up a metal tray and blocking the blade with a loud clang. BB Hood bounced backwards as Merengue stood her ground, fearfully lowering the tray but still somewhat hiding behind it. "Y-You should be more careful! It's dangerous to j-just swing those sharp things around like that!" She stammered.
BB Hood stared darkly. "You…Are you kidding?" She hissed. "It's just…One thing after another with you people…How many of you do I need to KILL HERE?!" She screamed as she rushed Merengue and raised her knife again.
"N-NOOOO!" Merengue screamed as she flailed her arms about, seemingly forgetting that she was still holding onto the metal tray. The tray ended up smashing across BB Hood's face and the strike, combined with Merengue's natural rhino muscle, sent BB Hood flying clear across the arena with one blow.
Diddy Kong looked at Merengue in awe as she continued to obliviously flail about, as if not realizing that BB Hood wasn't there anymore, and glanced at the tray she was holding, seeing that it was now sporting a dent in it shaped specifically like BB Hood's face. He scratched his head.
"BOWSER JR!" (SMB)
Bowser Jr. laughed proudly as he came out from behind the entrance curtain riding his mini clown car. The audience cheered as the Koopa Prince flipped a switch on the inside of his clown car that swapped out the propeller for a set of tires, which he used to drive down the ramp and rocket himself into the ring, much to the approval of the people watching.
Landing with a loud thud, Bowser Jr. gave a smirk as he pulled his hammer into view and made a beeline for Mario, seeing that he was still in the process of being chased by the Mad Piano. "Atta boy! Get the plumber, doggie!" He called out as he swung his hammer at Mario.
Mario, however, saw the hammer coming at his head and slid under the swing. Bowser Jr. snarled as he watched Mario get up again. "Oh, you think you're so cool, Mario? Well, just you wait!" Bowser Jr. said determinedly. "Now that I'm working with poochie here, we'll take you down in no time!"
Mario paused. "You…You have a-no idea what that thing is, do you?" He asked.
"I was told the piano terrorized you back in Big Boo's Haunt and I wanna capitalize on that!" Bowser Jr. said before turning around to face the Made Piano. "Okay! You wear him down and I'll-"
The Mad Piano bared its teeth at Bowser Jr. and lunged at him, showing no discernment between him and Mario. Bowser Jr's face drooped comically before the Koopa Prince screamed, turned around and started running away with Mario rather than chase after him, the Mad Piano now chasing them both.
"W-Why isn't this thing listening to me?!" Bowser Jr. demanded. "I-I thought it was one of papa's minions!"
(Dome; Mario Bros. Locker Room)
Bowser looked down in shame as Peach watched the screen in horror. Slowly, the blonde princess turned to Bowser. "You…You never told him that piano was FERAL?!" She demanded.
Bowser held up his hand sin defense. "I-I swear I didn't think we'd see that thing again! There's a reason I never tried to bring it back!" He insisted.
Peach put her hands on her hips and looked cross. "Then why and how did you enlist the piano to your forces in the FIRST place?!" She checked.
"I DIDN'T! The piano was part of Big Boo's Haunt to begin with and it terrorized my minions so much we just let it be! It…It seemed safer that way…" Bowser said timidly, tapping his fingers together.
(Hotel; Café)
Two elephant girls were standing behind the counter of the hotel's café, seemingly oblivious to the main barista, a green male pigeon with a pair of small shades, sighing in frustration as he served his current customers. This was largely due to the fact that they were currently in an argument.
"You seriously signed Merengue up for the tournament without telling ANY of us?! And you only told her when the tournament was about to BEGIN?!" A white elephant whose head looked like it was designed after a china teapot, said in anger.
The other elephant, a light-blue elephant wearing a hat that looked suspiciously like a cup and saucer, waved her hands in front of her face. "H-Hey, give me a break, babe! I thought it'd give Brewster and us some additional business tonight!" She insisted nervously.
The teapot elephant folded her arms and stared coldly. "Chai, you do NOT get to call me 'babe' tonight. Not after pulling this with Merengue." She said.
"Aw, Tia!" The blue elephant whined.
"She's our FRIEND! She's not a FIGHTER!"
"She's a RHINO!" Chai cried. "She doesn't NEED to be a fighter! She's a TANK!"
The pigeon barista gave another sigh and turned back to his customers. "Coo…I'm real sorry about this…" Brewster said stoically as he set a cup of coffee on the counter. "Our baker just entered the arena as a Mystery Fighter and only one of my co-workers knew anything about it."
The first customer, an overweight bald man with a thick beard and a pair of overalls, gave a handwave. "Eh, that's fine. To be honest I'd probably feel the same way if that happened to me." Bear Hugger admitted.
"Coo…Thanks for understanding. You want Pigeon Milk in your coffee?"
"Eh…Nah, but if you have cream and sugar I'll take four of each and make it a Double-Double." Bear Hugger said before holding up the donut he had bought. "By the way, this donut is amazing! The maple flavor really shines through, eh?"
Brewster nodded as he poured some cream and sugar into Bear Hugger's coffee. "Thanks…Merengue is one of the best bakers I know." He said before turning to Bear Hugger's companion. "Can I get you something?"
The second customer, a snowball-shaped robot wearing a winter hat and a pair of skis, shook his head. "No thanks, eh. I'm a robot so I can't or don't really need to eat anything." Blizzard Man admitted.
Brewster nodded as he finished up and turned around to try and keep Tia from killing her girlfriend, leaving Bear Hugger and Blizzard Man at the counter while the former stirred his coffee.
"Ya know, you didn't need to come with me if you weren't going to order anything." Bear Hugger admitted. "I coulda even paid for you if you wanted to try something."
"Thanks for the offer, eh, but I can't really eat or drink anything. It'll mess up my circuits." Blizzard Man gave a friendly laugh. "I guess I just wanted to tag along because it's always good to see a bit more Canadian representation, eh?"
Bear Hugger gave a laugh. "Oh, you got that right! I thought that cyborg from KOF and I would be the only ones here!" He admitted before pausing. "Though, I hope that you'll forgive me for saying this but I kinda think you're designed like a Canadian stereotype. I mean, a snowball robot wearing skis with ice powers? Canada's more than just snow."
Blizzard Man rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Uh…I mean, I don't wanna offend you but you can't really talk about that, eh." He mentioned. "You're a lumberjack that drinks maple syrup, plays hockey, trains with a bear and you're even eating a maple donut now."
Bear Hugger laughed in embarrassment. "Oh, yeah. I kinda put my foot in my mouth there, eh? Sorry about that!" He said.
"No, I'm sorry, eh. I didn't want to mention it."
"No, I'm sorry! I was the one to start things."
"Yeah, but I'm sorry that I decided to keep it going."
Bear Hugger and Blizzard Man sat in silence for a few seconds before laughing together. "We're definitely Canadian." Bear Hugger admitted with a grin.
"Totally, eh!" Blizzard Man laughed.
Suddenly, Blizzard Man turned his head to look over his shoulder, his sensors picking up some sounds coming from near the doorway to the café. Bear Hugger seemed to notice. "What's up, eh?" He asked.
"I hear a couple of people talking…" Blizzard Man mentioned.
"It's impolite to listen in on a conversation." Bear Hugger scolded.
Blizzard Man sighed. "Sorry, eh. It's just that I could make out the words 'plan' and 'power' and stuff like that and I figured it'd be something I should hear." He looked down.
Bear Hugger lifted an eyebrow. "Wait. I think I remember something like that going on behind the scenes last time I was at a tournament happening here." He mentioned. "Hmm…Maybe we SHOULD look into it…"
(Hotel; Hallway)
"Look, I appreciate that Ganondorf thought of me when he started looking around for people to help him. Quite frankly he needs all the help he can get." Urien sighed as he folded his arms. "But why the heck should I CARE about what he's planning if I'm just going to be a lackey?"
Standing in front of the tall, lanky, white-haired man was a similarly lanky man with white hair, though this one was pale, had pointy ears and was dressed a little more flamboyantly compared to Urien's business suit. In response, Ghirahim gave a smirk. "See, that's what set you apart from the others in the eyes of Lord Ganon. He knows you're far too powerful and smart to simply boss around like some hired thug." He said. "That's why he's willing to let you in on the power he's going to be getting from this."
"You still haven't told me what it is he's trying to do." Urien lifted an eyebrow.
"He hasn't told anyone yet. It's a mystery to even me." Ghirahim admitted. "But he insists that all involved will get a taste of the power, and I know that's something you could really use, especially if you finally want to usurp that brother of yours."
"Do NOT speak of him!" Urien roared before pausing. "Ganondorf's…Not planning on asking Gill to join him, is he?"
"No. He knew you two would never work together and he gave you priority." Ghirahim shrugged.
Urien paused in silence before finally sighing. "You know what? Fine. I'm interested. I don't know if Ganondorf will be able to follow through on his promises of power but if there's a chance I can get enough to surpass Gill then I have to take it." He admitted.
Ghirahim gave a creepy smile. "Of course. Personally, I knew you wouldn't pass up the chance." He explained. "Here. I'll give you some directions. I can't lead you to the meetup point myself because I'm still doing some recruitment work."
"Fine, fine. Just gimmie the directions." Urien sighed.
"Pardon me, buddy."
The two turned towards the door to the café and saw Bear Hugger and Blizzard Man standing outside of it, the former looking a little cross, which was something not many people saw on the face of the normally-friendly boxer.
"I certainly hope you aren't planning on any villainous things, friend." Bear Hugger folded his arms. "The last time something like that happened in this dome it sorta ended with the dome's destruction."
Ghirahim scowled. "Kindly leave your disgusting face out of our business." He said.
Bear Hugger smirked. "Kinda hard to do when the guy you're drinking with has super-hearing." He said, giving a motion to Blizzard Man, who gave a light wave.
Urien sighed and stepped beside Ghirahim. "Looks like a little obstacle." He mentioned. "Should be nothing but a roadblock."
Ghirahim scoffed and summoned his sword. "Less than a roadblock; this is a simple speedbump." He added. "Perhaps this will be the perfect way to see you in action to see if you're worthy of the position."
"Whatever. Just don't get in my way."
Bear Hugger sighed and glanced at Blizzard Man. "Looks like you were right, buddy." He said. "I don't think we're going to get any answers unless we beat them, either."
"I don't think we'll get answers either way, eh." Blizzard Man shook his head. "But we should probably at least stop them."
"Yeah. That works too." Bear Hugger shrugged casually before cracking his knuckles. "Alright, you two. Who wants a Bear Hug?"
Ghirahim scoffed again and held up his sword. "I'll cut the fat off you LITERALLY." He said. "Maybe I'll shave that beard while I'm at it!"
(The Arena)
"TIR MCDOHL!" (ST)
Coming out from behind the curtain to, surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), the theme song to Soul Eater was the first protagonist of Suikoden, taking the time to tighten the green bandana on his head to make sure it was on tight enough that it wouldn't fly off during a fight. Gripping his fighting staff, the dark-haired Tir jogged down to the ring and leapt in without a second thought.
To be honest, Tir was a bit disappointed that Pahn had been tossed so quickly since he had been looking forward to teaming up with him when he saw their entry number so close together. Now Tir had to hope that he could last until Gremio or Cleo entered but he knew they weren't due to enter for a while…
Meta Knight saw Tir coming over to him from his perch on one of the cornerposts and turned to face him, his cape turning into a pair of wings again. "The boy with the soul-eating magic." He greeted darkly. "I hope you've got control over it here. There are a lot of people that your rune is capable of killing if something goes wrong."
Tir stared flatly. "I've been controlling the Soul Eater Rune for years now. I think I can control the outbursts so long as no one in the arena straight-up DIES before they get eliminated." He replied simply.
"That may be so, but I don't want to take any chances." Meta Knight said as he jumped off the cornerpost and landed on the canvas. "I'm no stranger to world-ended catastrophes and I feel your rune is one just waiting to happen."
"Believe me, I feel the same. But THANKFULLY, I'm not one to use the power the run has so recklessly." Tir rolled his eyes before getting into a stance. 'But I don't think you're going to let this go until I fight you, right?"
Meta Knight chuckled behind his mask and drew his sword. "You'd be right, boy." He mentioned. "Believe me; you won't see me coming."
"We'll see about that." Tir narrowed his eyes.
"CLARK STILL!" (KOF)
The crowd cheered as a blonde soldier wearing a cap and sunglasses emerged from the curtain and stood on the ramp. Seemingly paying little mind to the cheering crowd, Clark gave a like smirk as he otherwise stoically looked down at the ring, cracking his knuckles as he scanned the arena for potential opponents. Clark took off like a bullet and shot down the ramp before leaping in headfirst to start his foray in the tournament.
Clark landed in the arena and, on his way over to help Menat with Necrozma, suddenly heard a battle cry coming from overhead. Clark turned his head and looked up to see Wang-Tang falling at him in a flying kick. Clark spun around to face the young martial artist and held up his arms, blocking Wang-Tang's attempted kick and forcing the younger fighter to leap off him and land a few feet away.
"That's some serious defense for someone who isn't a giant." Wang-Tang smirked. "Usually the only one to withstand my kicks like that is Gunrock."
Clark couldn't help but smirk. "You're new here. There's a lot of thing that'll surprise you." He admitted. "But, since you've already thrown the first punch, I suppose I'll give you the fight you're looking for."
"You sure? I'm sure I'm stronger than you think I am." Wang-Tang taunted.
"Like I said, you may find yourself surprised." Clark reminded simply.
"Oh, really? Well, that's great! I hope you're ready for-"
Wang-Tang suddenly found himself getting thrown straight up into the air. Screaming in surprise, Wang-Tang flew upwards, hung in midair for a a couple seconds at the height of the toss, and then started falling down again towards Clark, whom was holding his hands up and getting ready to catch the falling martial artist.
Wang-Tang had a feeling this was going to hurt…
"SPIKE!" (PAS)
The spiky-haired protagonist of Ape Escape emerged from the curtain to a warm reception from the crowd, stun club in hand. Giving a wave to the audience, Spike jogged down the ramp and leapt in, using his propeller gadget to fly into the arena with great air. Landing on the canvas, Spike looked around for an opponent and noticed that both Raiden and Sackboy were out already.
"Aw, man. So much for a double-team. I was hoping I wouldn't be the only one in the arena." Spike lamented as he made his way over to Merengue, whom was trying to get the imprint of BB Hood's face out of her tray while Diddy Kong watched in curiosity.
Diddy noticed Spike coming over and gave a monkey shout, pointing Spike out to Merengue as he drew his popguns again. Merengue seemed to notice this and turned to see Spike coming over. She straightened up nervously as Spike came over. "I-I hope you aren't planning on capturing Diddy in that net of yours." She mentioned. "He's not one of those monkeys that you chase around in your home node."
Spike sighed. "Yeah, don't worry. I know. I also know that if I tried capturing HIM I'd have to deal with Donkey Kong at some point and I don't think I'm really ready for that." He rolled his eyes. "I was more coming over to see if you wanted a match."
"Um…M-Me? I-I mean, I'm flattered but I'm not sure how much of a fight I'd be able to put up…" Merengue stammered in surprise.
Diddy Kong quickly climbed onto Merengue's shoulder and fired a peanut into Spike's face. Spike staggered backwards a couple of steps in surprise but quickly recovered and stared flatly, holding up his stun club again. "Kind of looks like that choice has been made for you." He said with a light smirk. "That monkey may not be one of mine but he's still asking for a little bit of trouble. Hope he doesn't mind if I respond."
Merengue looked over her shoulder at where Diddy was still perched, back and Spike and nervously looked back and forth between the two for a few seconds before realizing that she was caught in the middle. "…Oh, no…" She whimpered as Spike lunged at her and Diddy yelled a battle cry from his perch on her shoulder.
"IBUKI!" (SF5)
The crowd cheered as the young, dark-haired ninja of Street Fighter emerged from the curtain and started playing to the crowd with so acrobatics as she made her way down the ramp. Reaching the end of the ramp, Ibuki gave a loud, determined cheer as she leapt into the arena, leaping high into the air as she did, and took aim at someone in the ring, throwing a series of throwing knives at her target while she was in the air.
On the canvas, BB Hood had been recovering from the surprise smash attack from Merengue when she jumped to attention as a throwing knife hit the canvas at her feet. BB Hood jumped back as Ibuki's knives struck the mat and watched as Ibuki landed gracefully on her feet about ten feet away from the bounty hunter. "Ugh! What's the big idea?!" She demanded.
Ibuki smirked. "Hey, I just saw that you didn't have an opponent when I came out. It's kinda hard to miss you with the bright red cloak and all." She pointed out. "Besides, keeping my eyes on you to keep you from destroying the dome again is easier if I'm fighting you."
"Technically I was only part of the group responsible!" BB Hood sharply reminded.
"Eh, you were still there." Ibuki shrugged before getting into a stance. "Even still, fighting you keeps you from going after animals again."
"I'm hunting bounties and my top priority is the edgelord in the mask!" BB Hood snapped in frustration before pulling a machine gun from her basket. "How many people are going to keep me from claiming that bounty?! He's RIGHT THERE!"
Ibuki giggled as she pulled a kunai into view. "People like you are so much fun to rile up." She said.
"You brought this on yourself!" BB Hood roared.
"FIRE MAN!" (MM)
Coming out to a relatively-warm reception, the first of the original Robot Masters emerged from behind the curtain, the top of his head ignited in bright flames. Striking a pose that cause a stream of fire to shoot from his arm cannon and into the air, much to the audience's approval, Fire Man jogged down the ramp and leapt into the ring, landing on his feet and instantly firing a beam of fire towards an intended target.
Kaya was still in the process of fighting Olimar and his blue Pikmin when a beam of fire shot over her head, right through the end of her raised spear that had been coated in ice. Kaya jumped in surprise as she turned to see Fire Man coming over. "Hey! Are you trying to kill someone?!" She demanded.
Fire Man shook his head, giving a smirk before his face mask. "I've been programmed to avoid killing. I was aiming for that ice spear of yours to…" He trailed off when he saw that the tip of Kaya's spear was still coated in ice, as if his fire beam hadn't done anything to it. "W-Wait! How did your ice manage to not melt after that?!"
"It comes with the powers." Kaya smirked back. "Are you still up for a fight knowing that your powers don't hurt me like you thought they would?"
Fire Man got into a stance as his torch-head burned bright. "Heh. Of course. That just means that I'll have more of a challenge." He mentioned. "I'm not evil anymore but I still know a thing or two about getting scrappy!"
Kaya grinned and got into a stance again. "I'm used to fighting robots. I doubt you'll be much different." She taunted.
Olimar looked between the two, saw Fire Man's flames and sighed as he plucked a couple red Pikmin from the canvas. "It's a good thing I'm used to multitasking…" He muttered more to himself.
"And now, the final fighter of this section…"
"BODVAR!" (BH)
Brawlhalla's posterboy and resident undying Viking emerged from the curtain with a loud, boisterous yell and the loudest cheer for Brawlhalla thus far. Bodvar grinned in excitement as he eyed the fighters in the arena, as if scanning those gather to see if he could find who would give him the best fight. Not wanting to delay the action, Bovar ran down the ramp and charged into the arena without a second thought.
To be honest, Bodvar was actually a little disappointed in his draw; not in the fact that he had gotten such an early draw but rather at the fact that he hadn't thought about trying to barter his way into the first section. He wanted to fight as many multidimensional fighters as he could and already there were sixteen fighters that he had missed the chance to fight with due to the first section's fighters, save for his nodal companions Orion and Volkov, already being eliminated. Nevertheless, Bodvar vowed to make the best of it since there was nothing he could do about it now as he rushed over to help Menat with Necrozma.
Necrozma heard Bodvar shouting from behind and turned just in time to see the Viking lunging at it with a sword in his hands. Necrozma swung a huge claw and swatted Bodvar out of the air, but that left it open for a Soul attack from behind from Menat. Bodvar landed on his feet and swung at Necrozma again, only for the monstrous Pokemon to back away out of range of the sword attack.
"Your help is appreciated, Viking." Menat nodded as she summoned her Soul orb back to her side. "This monster seems intent on fighting me and I'm sensing that it's a lot more-powerful than it seems…"
"Ha! That just makes it better!" Bodvar said with a grin. "The stronger they are, the better the fight!"
Necrozma roared at Bodvar as the Viking turned to face it. Bodvar, in response, gave a dark grin and got into a stance. "Oh, our battle will be legendary, monster, but I'll destroy you like any other monster I've beaten!" He taunted. "My path to Valhalla was strewn with the bodies of my foes! You won't be any different!"
"You don't want to irritate it!" Menat scolded.
Bodvar smirked as he briefly turned to Menat. "If it makes it fight harder, then I'll make it as mad as I want!" He said before turning back towards Necrozma just in time for a huge clawed hand to wrap around his head.
Menat sighed as Necrozma started attacking Bodvar. "I wonder if he WILLINGLY runs into battles over his head." She muttered as she got into a stance and rushed in to help the Viking.
