Contest of Champions
Chapter 1: Azula vs Kylo Ren
With the games now having commenced, the Grandmaster and Bill faced two screens, both of which flashing by hundreds of beings across the multiverse.
"Alright, Little Boy Blue, tell you what, I'll let you have first shake," Bill said. "Pick the first fighter."
The Grandmaster simply stood in front of the screens, his hand placed on his chin in deep thought. Where was he to start? Who would be the first hero or villain to partake unknowingly in this game? Thankfully, it didn't take very long for him to make up his mind.
"I shall choose this being from universe C-Two-Twenty-One-Five," he said as the first screen suddenly stopped, displaying the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation: Azula. Bill, however, had to resist the urge to burst out laughing.
"THAT'S who you're picking?" he asked. "A girl with mommy issues?"
The second screen then stopped as well, displaying the dark Jedi known to most as Kylo Ren.
"I'll do you one better," Bill continued. "A space wizard with daddy issues!"
"Very well then," En Dwi Gast replied. "Our combatants have been determined. Now to create their arena. Which of us shall have the honor?"
"We'll determine that with a coin toss," Bill answered as he conjured a coin and tossed it upward. "Heads!"
The coin then landed on his hand. Much to his slight irritation, it was tails.
"I believe an agni kai arena will best suite these two," the Grandmaster suggested, cutting to the chase.
"Sounds good to me," Bill responded as the screens suddenly cut to an agni kai arena outside the Fire Nation palace. "Now, let's start this party with a bang."
Having suddenly found herself at the palace's arena while planning with her father in regards to the inevitable invasion of the Fire Nation, every inch of Azula's body was tense. As she stepped onto the arena, she was completely alert with her fists ready to incinerate anyone who may attempt to get the drop on her. She knew that something was amiss and she was determined to find out what.
Suddenly, while the princess turned around and walked backwards to see if anyone was behind her, footsteps could be heard, causing Azula to turn around and face the other side of the arena where a masked, hooded figure emerged from the darkness and approached her.
"It's rude to approach your princess without bowing before her," Azula stated. "And quite foolish if I might add. Identify yourself!"
However, the masked man simply continued to approached the firebending prodigy, not intimidated even in the slightest. Azula opted to not incinerate him as he got closer, wanting answers from this man, who finally stopped once he was a couple of feet away from her.
"You aren't in any position to make demands, child," Kylo Ren finally responded in his modified voice. "I strongly suggest that you tell me who you are and where I am."
"Clearly, you're not from around here, so I will forgive your lack of decourm for now," the princess replied. "I am Azula. Princess of the Fire Nation, and-"
"You think that your royalty gives you a sense of entitlement over me," the Knight of Ren interrupted. "But it does not, Princess. Now, you will assist me in returning to the First Order, and then this 'Fire Nation' will serve us in our fight against the Resistance."
"No, I don't think we will," Azula responded with a devious smirk.
Hearing this caused Ren to storm towards her, confirming to the prodigy that she had struck a nerve.
"That wasn't a request," Kylo angrily stated, swiftly grabbing his lightsaber and igniting it before swinging it downward in an attempt to slice Azula in half. However, much to Ren's surprise, she had lept backwards the mere second before the blade could make contact before thrusting her foot forward, a torrent of blue fire coming from it, forcing the dark Jedi to duck downward to avoid it as Azula landed a few feet away from him.
"If you intend on killing me, you'll find it to be much more difficult than you had anticipated," she stated prior to thrusting her right arm forward, unleashing a large, blue fireball towards the knight, only for him to thrust his own hand forward. This in turn caused the fire to be blocked by some invisible force much to Azula's shock as she ceased her attack.
"You will find that the same can be said for me," Kylo Ren responded as he advanced towards Azula. The princess simply allowed the wielder of the Dark Side to approach her before he swung his weapon towards her, only for her to quickly evade it by shifting to the side. Ren attempted to cut her down again only for her to swipe his arm away, causing him to miss. The princess proceeded to sweep her feet against the knight's legs, causing him to fall to the ground. She then lept upward and attempted a fire heel drop right onto Kylo's helmeted head, only for him to roll to the side and get back on his feet. He swung his weapon in an effort to decapitate the girl, only for her to bend backwards to avoid it, the laser sword only managing to singe her hair bangs ever so slightly.
With his lightsaber getting him nowhere, Ren instantly thrusted his hand forward once Azula got back on her feet, her eyes widening as she let out a gasp as something violently pushed her and sent her flying backwards towards the wall. However, the young princess managed to hit the wall with her feet and firebend powerful flames from them, rocketing her back towards the dark Jedi. She then landed right in front of him as he swung his lightsaber repeatedly like a bat, only for her to evade every single swing with an almost mocking smirk on her face. She had guessed that this stranger had a short temper and planned to use it to her advantage. Thus far, it was working, as Ren's attacks seemed to now resort to blindly swinging his weapon until he slices something off.
The princess then proceeded to knock his arm out of the way once more, this time grabbing a blade from her sleeve and stabbing it right into Ren's left shoulder. The Knight of Ren let out a painful grunt before knocking her upside the head with his free hand. The force of the strike caused Azula to stumble backwards, allowing Ren to kick her down to the ground and hold her by his foot. He preppared to stab her heart with his lightsaber when the girl thrusted both of her fists, causing two large torrents of fire to launch her backwards, causing Ren's weapon to pierce the floor instead. He then looked up to see that Azula had used her torrents of fire to propel her upwards before grabbing onto a large tapestry above him.
"Come down and fight me, coward!" the dark Jedi shouted.
"Come and get me," Azula responded. Her plan was to get Kylo to climb the tapestry, then, once he was high enough, she would cut it, causing him to fall a great height that would hopefully kill him. But...
"If you insist," Ren replied as he thrusted his open hand forward and pulled it back. Much to Azula's shock, she was suddenly thrown from the tapestry and towards the knight, who simply stepped out of the way and allowed the princess to harshly land on the floor and slide several feet before stopping. Groaning in pain, she attempted to get back on her feet when she was suddenly pulled back towards Kylo, who readied his weapon to finish her once she stopped. Once she did so, she immediately rolled out of the weapon's path as it hit the ground and got back on her feet across from him.
Azula proceeded to blast another ball of fire towards Ren, only for him to deflect it with the Force once again, however, what he did not know was that was simply a distraction. Once the smoke cleared, the princess came flying towards him with her foot in a kicking position and she struck him right in his helmet, causing him to be sent flying backwards and off the arena. He had released her lightsaber in the process, which retracted the blade and the hilts in the process. With time now on her side, Azula started to swing her arms around almost elegantly as sparks started to come out of her left hand.
Ren, meanwhile, had started to climb back up to the arena, his hood down, revealing his entire helmet. Once he finally got back onto the arena floor, he lunged his right hand towards his lightsaber, pulling it towards him with the Force, causing him to not notice what Azula was doing until it was too late. When he turned his head towards the princess, she lunged her left hand towards him, a bolt of lightning practically exploding from her fingertips as it hit the dark Jedi right in the gut, causing him to violently fall backwards with a burn mark on his abdomen, his helmet falling off in the process.
With a smirk of victory, Azula turned and walked away from Ren's body, wishing to get back to more important matters at hand. But then, she heard the sound of Kylo's lightsaber igniting once more and stopped dead in her tracks. She then turned back around to see the Knight of Ren back on his feet, still without his helmet, as he hit his burn mark twice with his left fist as blood droplets fell from it.
"We're not done here," he said in his normal voice with an intense scowl on his face. All Azula did in response was roll her eyes in annoyance before pushing her fists back, both them and her soles creating jets of fire that rocketed her towards her opponent. Ren, in response, hit his wound another five times before readying his weapon. Once she was close enough, he swung his lightsaber towards her, only for her to slide underneeth its path and instantly get back on her feet. He tried once more to slice her in half with it, only for her to once again knock his arm out of the way. However, this time, Ren proceeded to immediately swing it once again. Noticing this, Azula instantly tried to get out of its path, but the blade managed to get to her shoulder, burning it through her armor and managing to get to burn herself in the process.
The princess screamed in pain in response to this as the knight Force pushed her harshly against the back wall. She then fell back to the arena floor and got back on her feet, grasping her shoulder as she looked at her opponent, now with a scowl of her own. However, she then started to observe her eyes...and smirked.
"What are you smiling about?" Kylo asked, his scowl having never left his face.
"Your eyes," Azula answered. "So much raw anger in them. And yet...the slightest hint of fear."
"Silence!" the knight shouted as he ran towards her ans swung his lightsaber at her, only for her to grab his arm in the process. He attempted to strike her with his free arm, only for her to grab that one as well.
"What's the matter?" the princess mocked. "Afraid you'll lose to a fourteen year old girl?"
With all of her strength, she managed to turn around and toss the Knight of Ren several yards away from her.
"Afraid of death?" she asked as Ren got back onto his feet. "Afraid of disappointing someone?"
The second she uttered those words, Azula noticed the slightest widening of Kylo's eyes. Without him saying a word, she got her answer.
"That's it, isn't it?" she asked. "You're afraid you won't live up to someone's promises. Or is it that you'll never be as strong as someone?"
There it was again. Only this time, Ren's eyes widened slightly more and was accompanied by a slight deep breathing. Then, almost as a means to rub more salt in the wound, Azula smirked once more. In response, the knight yelled out in anger and charged towards the firebending prodigy with every intent to slice her into pieces, only for her to thrust her right fist forward, sending a fire blast directly into his shoulder. The dark Jedi shouted in pain and fell to his knees as he grasped the burn with his free hand.
"That's the difference between you and me," the princess continued as she walked towards him, sparks coming out of her left fingertips. "I'm already perfect. I have nothing to prove to anyone."
She then raised her left hand upward, ready to finish Kylo once and for all, when, in one last effort to win, the Knight of Ren thrusted his right hand forward, causing Azula to suddenly stop in her place, the sparks still in her left hand, much to her surprise. She struggled to free herself as Ren got back on his feet and walked towards his helmet, picking it up and putting it back on before turning to the princess once more.
"Is that so?" he asked, his voice now deepened once more as he approached her. "We'll see about that."
He then proceeded to slowly move his open hand above Azula's head once he reached her as she continued to try and free herself from his grip.
"What...what are you doing?" she asked.
"I see a family of four," Kylo responded. "You, your father, your mother and your brother."
Now it was the princess' turn for her eyes to widen. What was he doing? How could he have fortold that without even talking to her?
"You looked up to your father as he taught you everything you needed to know about this 'firebending,'" the dark Jedi continued. "You and your brother had a typical sibling rivalry, and your mother..."
He then stopped, having sensed something.
'What is wrong with that child?' the voice of Ursa said in Azula's mind.
"...Your mother," Ren continued as Azula's eyes widened much more. "She thought you were a monster, didn't she?"
"Get...get out of my head!" she shouted.
"There's so much hatred for her, isn't there?" the Knight of Ren stated. "But I also see...love."
"Shut up," the princess practically hissed.
"Yes," the knight continued. "Despite everything you've done, all you ever wanted was your mother's love."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" the firebender angrily yelled as tears started to well in her golden eyes.
"I speak from experience when I say this," Ren replied. "Your parents are only going to disappoint you."
"I SAID GET OUT!" Azula shouted when she suddenly broke free from Kylo's grip and thrusted her still sparking hand downward, lightning practically exploding between the two of them and causing them to fly into the walls. Upon impact, Azula's hair pin was undone, causing her hair to become undone as she and her adversary harshly landed on the ground. Not wasting any time, Azula shot another lightning bolt at Ren, only for him to thrust his hand forward, causing the bolt to stop in midair before being sent right back at the princess. She instantly jumped out of its path before rocketing towards Ren and sending yet another bolt of lightning towards him. He managed deflected it with his lightsaber, however, Azula then lept above him and landed behind him.
Instinctively, the dark Jedi swung around in an attempt to kill the princess, only for her to kick his lightsaber out of his hand. Right before he had a chance to use the Force to reacquire it, Azula shot a lightning bolt at it, completely obliterating it. Growling in anger, Ren thrusted his hand forward to Force push her violently against the wall, this time holding her in place as he used the Force to pull her hair pin to his other hand. He then approached her with the intention of cutting her throat with it, but then Azula proceeded to shoot a massive, blue flame from her mouth, right into Kylo's chest.
The Knight of Ren yelled out in pain as he inadvertedly released his grip on Azula, allowing her to shoot one last bolt of lightning while he was distracted. This one managed to hit him dead in the chest and exploded, smoke covering the entire arena. As she coughed from the excessive amount of smoke, Azula kept her eyes on where Ren stood, wanting to see if she had managed to finally kill him.
Once the smoke started to fade, Kylo's helmeted head could be seen, indicating that he was still stood in front of Azula. Thinking he was still alive, she readied herself for another attack. But then the smoke revealed the rest of his body...and the massive hole where his heart use to be. Ren's body then slumped forward and harshly hit the ground, dead.
With the intruder finally taken care of, Azula glared down at the body before she started to walk out of the arena, clutching her shoulder wound as she did so.
Back with the Grandmaster and Bill, the triangular demon was absolutely shocked that his combatant had lost before noticing the smirk on his rival's face.
"Oh, don't get so smug," he irritably said. "That was just the first one. You haven't won this yet!"
"Then let us continue," the Grandmaster responded as the screens displayed the arena, Azula and Kylo Ren's corpse fading away. Per the Grandmaster's conditions, Ren will be brought back to his universe alive and well while Azula will have her memories of the encounter erased. The screens then started to flash the beings of the multiverse once more.
"I think it's time we tested out a team battle," Bill suggested. "And I got just the team I wanna start with."
His screen then displayed four individuals known as Coco Adel, Fox Alistair, Velvet Scarlatina and Yatshuhashi Daichi. Otherwise known as Team CFVY of Beacon Academy.
"Very well then," the Grandmaster replied. "These four have faced many creatures of mass destruction. Let us see how they handle creatures that are more than meets the eye."
His screen then displayed the four Predacons known as Tarantulas, Waspinator, Inferno and Quickstrike.
"I believe a forest will be in order for this match," En Dwi Gast said as he smirked to himself once more. This game was turning out far more interesting than he had expected.
SCORE
Grandmaster: 1
Bill: 0
DISCLAIMER: The Grandmaster is owned by Marvel, Gravity Falls is owned by Disney, Avatar: The Last Airbender is owned by Nickelodeon, Star Wars is owned by Disney and Lucasfilm, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Beast Wars is owned by Hasbro.