"Oh my god…" Scott said in awe.
"Matthew? Is that really you?" Ramona asked.
"It is indeed." Matthew said.
"That's really Matthew Patel? From the League of Seven Evil Exes?" Hope asked.
"Yeah, he and Lucas also had that little...gig with the Dark Forces a while back." Jesse said.
"Oh yeah, we actually heard about that one." Ramona said.
"It went as well as you would expect. After what happened at Junk Planet, we got canned." Matthew said.
"Oof… Sorry to hear that." Scott said.
"This is quite a bombshell, the Mystic Pirate in the flesh." Spade said.
"Anyway...after the Dark Forces stuff, I spent some time in the Universal Prison before getting out on good behavior." Matthew said. "Since then, I spent time in the Idol Universe looking for purpose. And I did...with these guys."
"Being a bouncer for a gang is a purpose?" Theo said.
"Hey, I never said it was a great purpose." Matthew said.
"Still, it's been ages, man. Never thought we'd see you again like this." Scott said.
"Likewise." Matthew said. "So...I see you and Ramona are still together. Unless she's…"
"Not happening." Ramona said.
"Instant shot down." Al said.
"Either way… This rematch might be a good chance to see how strong you've gotten." Ramona said.
"Yeah…. Shall we begin?" Matthew asked, getting into a fighting stance.
(Cue- Seoul Road (Arranged)- King of Fighters XIII)
Scott pounds his fists as they spark with electricity. "Bring it on!"
"If you insist." Matthew said as he started running towards the two, throwing out fireballs in an attempt to distract them.
"We've got a few new tricks up our sleeves. Persona!" Ramona said as she summoned Isis, who used her winds to smother the flames.
Matthew looked surprised for a moment, before he steeled himself and continued his charge. He managed to reach Scott, going in for a kick to the side, which the Hero Alliance member blocked and responded to with an electric punch to Matt's stomach, which caused the bouncer to stop in place.
"New tricks, huh…?" Matthew winced as the lightning ran its course across his body. When it stopped, he was still on his feet, but slumped slightly, close to being doubled over. "...Glad to see I wasn't the only one."
Before Scott and Ramona's eyes, a blue aura formed around Patel's body before he straightened up and threw an uppercut into Pilgrim's chin, forcing him to take a few steps back.
"Whoa, wh-what was that?" Scott asked as he regained his footing.
"Well, in the Universal Prison, I met a few people who were willing to teach me a new way to fight." Matthew explained as his aura flared. "Now it's not just fire I can use. I have Heat in my arsenal as well."
"Heat, huh? Looks like things are starting to get interesting." Scott said.
"Heat?" Ajna asked.
"Oh, Heat is something about drawing on the inner fire of… well, it varies." Scarlet said. "It's a street level fighting style, sort of like a lesser man's Ki, focusing entirely on the improvement of the physical body. Thing is… it's mostly used by the yakuza."
Matthew then took the initiative, running towards Ramona and throwing several quick jabs that she managed to avoid. However, a rising palm strike struck her on the forehead, followed by a kick to the stomach that sent her to the ground. Patel stood still for only a second before he jumped to the left, still getting grazed by the Zio launched by Caesar, sending him into a spin before he reorientated himself.
"Right, just barely slower than lightning." Matthew hissed as he held his wounded shoulder. "Nice shot, Scott."
"Ramona told you we've gotten stronger, Mattie." Scott said. "Though what you've got is pretty impressive too."
"Thanks." Matthew replied. "I worked hard to get the hang of it. Hope you don't mind if I give you another close-up demonstration."
Matthew ran right at Scott, throwing a burning blue punch that Scott jumped to the side to avoid. From there, the bouncer pressed his assault, Scott ducking and blocking the attacks as they came, sending attacks of his own out whenever he could.
"This guy's good." Mark said. "He's pressing Scott and Ramona hard, making them work to get an advantage."
"Neither of their Personas give them a weakness to fire as well, so their skill sets make them more evenly matched." Cheetah said.
"Yep. It's a test of skill and wit at this point." David said.
"And to think he was only the first of Ramona's Exes Scott had to fight." Hope said.
Back on the dance floor, Scott landed an electric punch on Matthew's right side. Wincing for a moment, the bouncer nevertheless powered through and hit his opponent with a headbutt, knocking Pilgrim to the ground.
"So… electric powers, huh?" Matthew asked through heavy breathing, allowing himself a moment to rest. "Is that your Persona's whole thing, or does it have anything supporting that?" he asked.
"Well… Maybe a few. Rakunda!" Scott said as Caesar appeared and lowered Matthew's defense. Patel immediately felt the effects, stumbling before he managed to catch himself.
"Don't fall yet…" Matthew said to himself. "Not yet…!" he said as he stood his ground, shaking from the effort. "Don't… count me… out yet!"
Matthew ran and jumped towards Scott, aiming to hit him from above with a strike bathed in blue aura. The Hero Alliance member leaned back to avoid the attack before contouring with an electric punch straight to the face, sending Patel soaring back across the dance floor. As he reached the middle of the floor, a quick wind from Isis caught him and landed him in the middle of the floor. The bouncer tried to get up, but found himself unable to, his wounds enough to keep him down.
(end song)
"...I think I've seen enough." Baton spoke up from the sidelines, nodding. "There's no doubt in my mind now; you've all got the synergy needed to pull this off."
Scott and Ramona came up as Scott reached an arm out for Matthew. With some effort, he reached out and took it, getting pulled back up.
"That was… a good fight." Matthew said in between deep breaths. "Great job… both of you."
"Yeah. Gotta admit, after all that stuff with Gideon, it was just great to see you again." Scott said as Ramona used Media to heal everyone's wounds.
"Great to see you too." Matthew said, standing back up. "After getting some perspective, it felt nice fighting you without the whole league thing over my head. It's like… getting a chance to relive a moment I'm not proud of, and changing it."
"I know how you feel. It feels a bit different for us too. It's just...you know, a lot of stuff has happened since then." Scott said.
"Yeah, anything that doesn't involve Gideon is a good moment in my book." Ramona said. "Still… It's good to see you again, Matthew."
"Same here, Ramona." Matthew said. "I'm glad we all managed to change."
"Well, I'd say that was a good fight." Baton said, walking up to the three. "And, as promised, I'll give you everything you need to infiltrate the tower and bring its defenses down."
The gang leader reached into his suit and pulled out two things: a holographic projector, and a USB drive.
"The front entrance is too heavily guarded, but there is a back entrance that has minimal guard." Baton stated. "This projector here will disguise your clothes so that you'll look like members of the Wind Chimes. Once you get inside, you'll need to make your way to the tower's basement, the Dose of Reality is stored there last I heard. This USB holds a little virus my IT-savvy members cooked up. Just plug this into the machine, and the field around the tower goes down. Then the rest of your group can do what they do best, and make their way to the bard. I'll leave what comes next up to you."
"Sounds flawless." Meowth said.
"Yeah...it's very perfect. So our stealthiest guys will go into the basement." Theo said.
"Wrong. Were you listening? Our powers are sealed while that field is up. Only Scott, Ramona, Matthew, and those of us that are physically inclined can operate properly in that field." Kokichi said.
"Yep...leave it to us normals to take this task head on." Subaru said.
"Uh, Subaru. That counts your power too." David said.
"Easy. I just have to avoid dying. Besides, not even sure if it even works outside the Adventure Universe or not." Subaru said.
"(Then why would you even suggest it?)" Leopardmon thought sweatdropping.
"Guys, guys… It's alright. If everything works out, we won't even have to raise a fist until the field goes down." Scott said.
"Yeah...trickery is how we're going to win the day." a voice said.
"Uh...who said that?" Hope said as something phased through the wall. "Ah!"
"A Gengar?" Baton said.
"Calm down. He's with us." Pikachu said.
"Wait… You were that Gengar that Kasumi and the others fought, are you?" Zacian asked.
"That...that was the old me. I'm not that Pokémon anymore." Gengar said. "Anyway...we may not have a lot of pull but...I do have connections. They can help serve as little...distractions for some of the men."
"They're not going to…" Hope said.
"Huh? No no no. Well...unless you count getting scared to death." Gengar said.
"That could take off a lot of the heat." Ramona said.
"As long as it helps to bring down the bard, the Composition will support any ideas you have." Baton promised. "We're getting this job done ASAP. Let's go save the city."