(Dome; Autograph Hall)
After a few minutes of impatient waiting, the fans had the change to go into a hall reserved for signing autographs and get their signatures from their favourite fighters. People like Ryu, Kyo, Mario and Sonic had countless people coming to them while the lesser-known fighters had an easier time signing autographs.
Everyone noticed that the heroes AND villains who took part in Bison's plot looked like they were beaten up. The fighters merely told them to forget about it and kept the line moving.
Kurow Kirishima growled as he signed an autograph. "I don't believe this! I had brainwashed a good amount of people and yet they all managed to be rescued! I knew I should have let myself get eliminated!"
He then looked to the side to see Momo Karuizawa looking all sweaty.
"And where in the world have YOU been?" Kurow snapped. He then sniffed Momo. "More importantly, where is your deodorant?"
The tennis played merely pouted. "It is not my fault wrinkly peaches smell bad…"
Meanwhile, the other Rival Schools looked in disdain that Kurow got the most people lining up to see him of the node.
"How in the hang is Kurow getting so many fans?" Shoma asked in disbelief.
"Kurow is the MVP of our node." Kyosuke said shaking his head in disgust.
"Are you kidding me!?" Shoma said with wide eyes. "We had been gone for most of the night and yet the whole world goes insane!?"
"Oh yeah. About that." Natsu said. "Where had you guys been all right?"
"We were stopping a plot run by Bison." Roberto said.
"What? And you didn't bring me?" Natsu asked hurt.
"Sorry, Natsu but it was an emergency." Roberto said. "We couldn't afford lose any time."
"Yeah but don't worry. We will not spare you any details." Shoma reassured.
"Sure, don't hesitate." Edge said jerking his thumb at Kurow. "Anything to forget Creepazoid over there is the star of our node."
After bidding the others doctors farewell, Jude, Estelle and Cheria walked towards the Tales of table with Caius. The latter then looked around to see everyone staring at him. Some hold a good amount of hate.
"Um…" Caius started.
"You! How dare you show your face here!" Jadeite roared. With that, he jumped onto the table to face him.
"You have the nerve to attack my sister among many others and yet you still show your face here!" Jadeite snapped.
With that, he punched at Caius who winced and braced himself. Until Jude came in the way caught the fist.
"Calm down, Jadeite!" Jude scolded. "What Caius did wasn't his fault!"
"What do you mean wasn't his fault?" Jadeite asked. "We got like, I don't know, a THOUSAND witnesses who saw him do it!"
"It's true!" Woodrow said standing up. "He had been brainwashed! The main cause of it even told me himself!"
"What?" Stahn gasped.
"Indeed. It is a long story but we are more than willing to tell you." Flynn said.
Caius paused for a moment before speaking. "Guys, I honestly don't know what I did but I could tell I caused you a lot of pain. I am… sorry."
"You're sorry? You think that is going to make everything all right!" Jadeite snapped.
"Jadeite, calm down! The others said so themselves!" Amber scolded. "Caius was not responsible for his actions."
The black-haired man paused before scoffing. "Fine. But I had better hear a FULL explanation for this!"
Caius winced. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to Jude.
"Don't worry." Jude reassured.
"R-Right. Thank you." Caius nodded before he sat down to sign autographs.
Meanwhile, Vector the Crocodile carried Espio the Chameleon piggy-back style.
"Do you have to carry me this way?" Espio complained. "This is so humiliating!"
"You prefer that I would carry you bridal-style?" Vector joked. "Besides, it is not like you to whine."
Espio sighed as Vector placed him carefully in his seat. Conveniently enough, it was right next to Tails.
"Espio, you are all right!" Tails said happily.
"Well, I am allowed to leave the Recovery Room." The ninja muttered. "So I take it that the conspiracy had been taken down?"
"Yep! All of the bad guys had been defeated." Tails smiled.
"I see. But what about Crunch and Nash?" Espio asked.
Tails' smirk vanished. "Don't worry, they been rescued along with the rest of the kidnapped fighters but they felt a bit down letting themselves get brainwashed like that."
"I could understand the feeling. Wanting to help take down those villains but in the end, ended up hindering them." Espio said looking down.
"Don't be like that." Tails scolded. "You did something I wouldn't have the courage to do."
"Perhaps but that still doesn't change the fact I let my guard now." Espio sighed. He then gave a weak smile. "But the villains had been defeated and at the end of the day, that is what matters."
Tails happily nodded before signing another autograph.
If someone was to say that the Waku Waku 7 group would have a fan following, most people wouldn't believe it. But here they were having a good amount of people signing their autographs.
"Um, would this suffice?" Tesse asked handing a signed picture.
"It would do more than suffice!" The fan said happily walking off.
"I still can't believe it!" Rai said in disbelief. "I never seen so many fans coming for us."
"I think we had earned some when nearly all of us had gotten at least one elimination." Slash explained.
"I know, right?" Arina asked. "I thought we were going to be used against the other people but instead, I had done a lot better than we thought."
"Than ANYONE thought." The Chief asked. "Do you think we can repeat the same progress if we get invited back?"
"I doubt it seeing that we would be up against more well-known nodes." Dandy-J said before smirking and handing a person a signature. "But you know what? Bring it."
Mauru happily nodded before pressing his giant paw print on a fan's back.
(Dome; Awards Ceremony)
A couple of hours had passed and the audience had cleared out of the dome to go back to their respective nodes. This just left the fighters, hosts, security team and a few certain people left.
Mainly because of the Awards Ceremony that was for fighters alone. In a big room, all of the fighters were spread out. The only notable exception was Bison and not even the people who saw him vanished knew where he gone. As the fighters waited patiently, the three hosts walked up pushing a cart with a white cover on a small stage.
"May I have everyone's attention?" Tinyrocket asked taking the microphone. "First off, I wanted to thank everyone for coming and making this tournament a night to remember. Most of you played a big part of making this tournament what it was."
Most of them clapped.
"Now before I hand out the rewards, I would just like to direction to the projection screen to show everyone what was the final elimination count." Tinyrocket said.
Everyone obliged looking at a giant screen to see who eliminated who.
Sixteen Eliminations – PIKACHU (Gan Isurugi, Kongman, Rachel Alucard, Skullomania, Valkenhayn R. Hellsing, Tesse, Taokaka, Rainbow Dash, Miker Hagger, Sailor Jupiter, Testament, Agumon, Potemkin, Dandy-J, Bubsy the Bobcat)
Fifteen Eliminations – RAINBOW DASH (Dhalsim, Diddy Kong, Fox McCloud, Mr. Game & Watch, Hokuto, Rock Howard, Raizo Imawano, Wario, Alvin, Renamon, Lucas, Captain Falcon, Kratos Aurion, Judith, Kyoko Minazuki)
Nine Eliminations – SAILOR JUPITER (Arakune, Kyo Kusanagi, Jack, Ness, Zappa, Yuri Sakazaki, Ruca Milda, Dizzy, Terry Bogard)
Eight Eliminations – LUCAS (Gemel, Miles "Tails" Prower, K', Jivatma, Shadowgeist, Raven, Cless Alvein, Jadeite Hearts)
Seven Eliminations – IKE (Hayate, Jade Curtiss, Nack the Weasel, Sakura Kusagano, Baiken, Garuda, Ken Masters), SPYRO THE DRAGON (Cream the Rabbit, Blackwargreymon, Nitros Oxide, Yuri Lowell, Lambda-11, Luise Meyrink, Noel Vermillion)
Six Eliminations – CAPTAIN OLIMAR (Johnny, Mai Shiranui, Zaki, Blair Dame, Blanka, Dr. Nitrus Brio), YOSHI (Hyena, Leona, Sheena Fujibayashi, Banjo-Kazooie, Marta Lualdi, Asbel Llant), PICHU (Vulcano Russo, Koromaru, Senel Coolidge, Relius Clover, Geary, Mauru)
Five Eliminations - WARIO (Nina Cortex, Tiny Tiger, Venom, Ray the Flying Squirrel, Politank-Z), KAIRI (KH) (Slash, Nagase, Jam Kuredoberi, Kula Diamond, Chipp Zanuff), RIPPER ROO (Crash Bandicoot, Pinstripe Potoroo, Kim Kaphwan, Jin Kisaragi, Moses Sandor)
Four Eliminations – DIDDY KONG (Dr. Boskonovitch, Pullum Purna, Edge, Emil Castagnier), BLAZE THE CAT (Lien Neville, Arina, Marth, Iria Animi), BEAN THE DYNAMITE (Fio Germi, Allen Strider, Axl Low, Peacock), FOX McCLOUD (Wilhelm, Zelos Wilder, Asch the Bloody, Blaze the Cat), LINK (Chloe Valens, Astaroth, Ryu, Hanzo Hattori), BIG THE CAT (Krunk, Litchi Faye-Ling, Bang Shishigami, Link), JIGGLYPUFF (Robo-Ky, Bean the Dynamite, Welkin Gunther, Mel), RICHARD MEYER (Momo Karuizawa, Rilla Roo, Spada Belforma, Cracker Jack), KUROW KIRISHIMA (Nagare Namikawa, Guy Cecil, Bark the Polarbear, Hyo Imawano), DINGODILE (Penta Penguin, Blitz, Jude Mathis, Mario Mario), MEWTWO (Hakumen, Richter Abend, Reapermon, Spyro the Dragon)
Three Eliminations – ESPIO THE CHAMELEON (Akira Kazama, Alba Meira, Ryo Sakazaki), MILES "TAILS" PROWER (Pit, Bridget, Wave the Swallow), MIGNON BEART (Gabumon, The Scorpion, Shing Meteoryte), PATAMON (Pura, Accel, Amy Rose), LUCARIO (Jay, Jon Talbain, Area), BANJO-KAZOOIE (Metaknight, Platinum the Trinity, Anji Mito), SLY COOPER (Ran Hibiki, Ky Kiske, Donkey Kong), ROUGE THE BAT (Gatomon, Kirby, Pete), CAIUS QUALLS (Amber Hearts, Woodrow Kelvin, Luigi Mario), GEARY (Sly Cooper, Ninon Beart, Billy Kane), BLITZ (Kyle Dunamis, Batsu Icjimonji, Julia Whitepearl), RAGNA THE BLOODEDGE (Rouge, Lloyd Irving, Ryoma), BUBSY THE BOBCAT (Hawkeye, Natsu Ayuhara, Terriermon), KING DEDEDE (Ralf Jones, Veemon, Koala Kong), NOEL VERMILLION (Kairi (SF), Pride Falcon, Kurow Kirishima)
Two Eliminations – ZELOS WILDER (Iron Tager, Ace), GUILMON (Komodo Joe, Baby T.), CRUNCH BANDICOOT (Iori Yagami, Nash), GEMEL (Xiao Lon, Princess Peach Toadstool), PRINCESS PEACH TOADSTOOL (Vega, Tytree Crowe), AYAME (Espio the Chameleon, Roberto Miura), HOKUTO (Tear Grants, Ayame), COLETTE BRUNEL (Wormmon, Veigue Lungberg), PURA (Samus Aran, Loni Dunamis), BLANKA (Luke Fon Fabre, Lucario), THE WITCH (Patamon, Gaston), CRASH BANDICOOT (Dr. Eggman, Jigglypuff), BONUS KUN (Hideo Shimazu, Edward Falcon), LILLY KANE (ROB, Bonus Kun), NACK THE WEASEL (Soiree Meira, Captain Olimar), ARAKUNE (Tiffany Lords, Juliet Starling), NESS (Silver the Hedgehog, Yurika Kirishima) ESTELLE SIDOS HEURASSEIN (May, Kairi (KH)), KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA (M. Bison, Bonne Jenet), GATOMON (Lilly Kane, Nagase), DR. NEO CORTEX (Reid Herstel, Estelle Sidos Heurassein), IMPMON (Knuckles the Echidna, Dr. Neo Cortex), DONKEY KONG (Mighty the Armadillo, Leo), SHOMA SAWAMURA (Valgas, Impmon), BLACKWARGREYMON (Duke, Zelda), LUIGI MARIO (Dr. Nefarious Tropy, Slayer), VECTOR THE CROCODILE (Rai, Makoto Mizoguchi), CREAM THE RABBIT (Ike, Zato-1), AGUMON (Ragna the Bloodedge, Chairperson), WADDLE DEE (Rita Mordio, Boman Delgado), MARIO MARIO (Vector the Crocodile, Judas), FAUST (Caius Qualls, King Dedede), CHUN-LI (Gourmand, Akuma), DANDY-J (Darun Mister, Gunrock), TERRIERMON (Pichu, Storm the Albratross), REAPERMON (Chun-Li, Eugene Gallardo), LUISE MEYRINK (Rutee Katrea, Falco Lombardi)
One Eliminations – MARTH (Leon Magnus), ARINA (Wang-Tang), IRON TAGER (Sophie), Sophie (Millia Rage), AMINGO (Kyosuke Kagami), VEGA (Chae-Lim), BRIDGET (Millia Maxwell), NASH (Doctrine Dark), CHLOE VALENS (Samurai Bob), ZANGIEF (Guilmon), IRIA ANIMI (Amingo), SOL BADGUY (Flynn Scifo), BLUE MARY (Sol Badguy), CARL CLOVER (Blue Mary), WORMMON (Tai-Lung), CLARK STILL (Zangief), HINATA WAKABA (Galuda), ROBO-KY (Makoto Nanaya), SLASH (Phillia Felice), ASTAROTH (Guile), GUILE (Carl Clover), SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG (Farah Oersted), ROCK HOWARD (Shadow the Hedgehog), RAY THE FLYING SQUIRREL (Roy Bromwell), LITCHI FAYE-LING (Hinata Wakaba), RYU (Barbatos Goetia), NANASE (Colette Brunel), AMY ROSE (Jet the Hawk), JON TALBAIN (Sharon), RILLA ROO (Mignon Beart), PAPU PAPU (Big the Cat), RENAMON (The Witch), GASTON (Tsubaki Yayoi), PINSTRIPE POTOROO (Charmy Bee), ROB (Beartank), BOWSER (Papu Papu), MARTA LUALDI (Dhaos), M. BISON (Bowser), EDWARD FALCON (The Undertaker), JULIET STARLING (Wolf O'Donnell), THE UNDERTAKER (Richard Meyer), KONGMAN (Geese Howard), SAKURA KUSAGANO (Bahn), JIN KISARAGI (Norm), TESSE (Yoshi), BAIKEN (Kain Highwind), POLAR (Ice Climbers), COCO BANDICOOT (Ripper Roo), AILA (Stahn Aileron), GARUDA (Sonic the Hedgehog), KIRBY (Ash Crimson), AMBER HEARTS (Roy), SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (Polar), ROUGE (Shoma Sawamura), RAI (Athena Asamiya), PETE (Coco Bandicoot), KOROMARU (Black Doom), JUDAS (Rouge the Bat) NAGARE NAMIKAWA (N. Gin), LLOYD IRVING (Rick Strowd), RITA MORDIO (Hayato Nekketsu), Testament (Sagat), VEEMON (Waddle Dee), HAWKEYE (Chester Burklight), AKUMA (Daigo Kazama), MAURU (E-123 Omega), FALCO LOMBARDI (Faust), RUTEE KATREA (Dingodile), EUGENE GALLARDO (Maxima)
After the screen had finally scrolled down the people who got one elimination, Tinyrocket stepped back allowing SSBFreak to take the mike next.
"Now before we present the main one, we will like to present some small ones." SSBFreak said as Orange-Ratchet pulled off the cover revealing a series of trophies. "These are not as big as the one for the winner but it deserves attention. So here are the honourable mentions.
Better Luck Next Time: Mewtwo may have lost the battle but he still pulled up a great fight ESPECIALLY with his desperation move.
Iron Pegasus: Pikachu may have beaten Rainbow Dash in terms of eliminations but that still doesn't mean we can give the latter credit for such an amazing streak.
Super SUPER Smashing: In the end, the Super Smash Bros node had gotten the most eliminations as a group node by far.
Pokemon Powerhouse: Not only did the two Pokemon made it to the Final 2 but the other Pokemon have done relatively well.
Epic Fail: Link, Metaknight, Lucario and Patamon's attempt to get the Witch out of the ring… And ended up causing the very chaos they were trying to get rid of.
Tales of Triumph: The Tales of node had done considering well with a good number of their people getting elimination.
Girly Friendship: Mignon Beart and Colette Brunel had both entered the ring together and formed a tag-team that not only did a decent job in fighting but also in laughs.
Darkhorse Node: Honestly, I was expecting Waku Waku 7 to be the Kizuna Encounter of the tournament but instead nearly every one of them got an elimination.
Mysterious Success: While some Mystery Fighters got eliminated almost instantly, they were some who did quite well. Heck, even better than some people would had guessed.
Top of the World, Top of the Charts: The winner of the tournament not only won the whole thing but also got the most amounts of eliminations.
Everyone had gathered their trophies happy that they at least got to bring home something. Except for four certain people.
"Um, I don't see how this counts as a honourable mention." Patamon asked lying on his trophy.
"It's not. It's a tournament version of a Razzie." Metaknight said flatly.
Link, Metaknight, Lucario and Patamon then glared daggers at a cage. Inside of it was the Witch moaning as always with her trophy next to her.
"Shut up." Link spat as a few people chuckled.
It was Orange-Ratchet's turn to take over the mike as the other two reached into a large box. "And now the moment you all been waiting for. Would Pikachu come up and accept his trophy."
Pikachu, despite still feeling tried, bounded by the stairs with a happy smile. They also notice Mewtwo was floating behind him for some reason. While some were confused, others knew why that was.
"Pikachu, you are the first-ever winner of the Battle of the Luminaries." Orange-Ratchet said. "We would like to present to you this trophy."
Tinyrocket and SSBFreak then made their way over allowing everyone to see. It was a beautiful golden trophy that was the size of Cortex. On top of the figure were two figures attacking each other with a punch and a kick respectively. The middle of the trophy had the initial "BOTL" and the wooden frame had the golden plate that said "Champion: Pikachu".
Pikachu's eyes sparkled at the radiance of the trophy.
"Go ahead, Pikachu. Take it. You deserve it." Tinyrocket smiled as he and SSBFreak placed the trophy down.
Pikachu nodded as he made his way to the trophy and went to pick it up. Or at least he tried to pick it up. Due to the size difference, he can't even budge it.
"Um, on second thought, maybe we should hold on to it for a while." SSBFreak said adjusting the mic as a few people snickered. "In the meantime, how about a speech?"
"Ready, Mewtwo?" Orange-Ratchet asked.
The legendary crossed his arms and nodded. Pikachu then started to speak in his Pokemon talk much to everyone's confusion. That was until Mewtwo started to speak.
"I still can't believe it. I mean my draw wasn't terrible but at the same time wasn't that great if I wanted to win. But I just shrugged it off and fought as hard as I could. I had faced off against so many people with fighting styles that I am not used too and yet I still beat them and made it all the way here. Even though my body feels like lead, the wonderful feelings overtake it. I also had a lot of fun facing so many different and strong opponents. I hope that the Battle of the Luminaries get a second addition because there are still a lot of opponents I wanted to try my strength again. If so, I hope to see everyone there."
The audience cheered for Pikachu as he looked up at Mewtwo with a bright smile and spoke to him. The psychic surprisingly returned the smile and used his psychic powers to levitate the trophy off the ground. The two Pokemon then went off-stage. Tinyrocket then adjusted the mic to his normal height.
"Again, thank you for participating in this tournament." Tinyrocket said. "Have a safe journey home and I hope to see all of you again.
(Nodal Train Station)
Because that most of the people had already gone home, the train station was filled with no one but the fighters waiting for their train back to their home nodes. However, while they were waiting, they decided to start some conversation.
"Seriously, man!" Terry Bogard asked in surprise. "You had been brainwashed!"
"Yeah, it is not the best feeling in the world." Richard said shaking his head.
"Dang, I am sorry to hear that man." Rock said
"Yeah… I am just glad I managed to redeem myself by defeating a couple of the villains and rescuing someone who got kidnapped too." Richard sighed.
"Yeah, you certainly showed it in the ring." Terry nodded.
"But there is one thing I don't understand." Mai said. "Why did they brainwash you unlike someone like Terry or Rock? Nothing personal."
Richard shook his head. "It is not about strength. It is about how jealous I was."
"Huh?" Terry asked confused.
"Apparently that Kurow creep had been using my envy to control me." Richard said. "I was always jealous of seeing you guys fight out there and I would do anything to get back into the ring."
Rick Strowd frowned. "You got my sympathy, man. I totally know how you feel."
"Yeah, though I wonder if I get invited back and so does Kurow, would I just give in just as easily?" Richard asked.
Terry, Rock, Mary, Mai and Rick stayed silent not knowing how to react to this.
"Um, excuse me?"
The five turned to see Tsubaki Yayoi making her way over with her head down.
"Hey, kid!" Richard grinned. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, thanks to you." Tsubaki said. "You have no idea how grateful I am that you rescued me."
"Hey, no prob." Richard said. "I am sure anyone else in the same situation would had done the same."
"Perhaps… But that doesn't make your rescue any less noble." Tsubaki said bowing down. "Please forgive the trouble I had caused you."
"Hey, hey, don't be like that." Richard said. "I got brainwashed and was forced to hurt people too."
"Yes but Kurow had brainwashed you because you haven't seen work for a while. A semi-reasonable for envy." Tsubaki said. "I got brainwashed because… Well, it is a long story."
She then sighed.
"May the next time we meet." Tsubaki said before giving a small smile. "Let's us meet without hatred blinded us."
Richard gave a hearty laugh. "Of course!"
Tsubaki nodded before giving the Fatal Fury guy one last goodbye before walking off. Terry smirked before putting his hand on his shoulder.
"Richard, you may not see work any time soon." Terry chuckled. "I think you had gained something just as rewarding."
The bartender watched as Tsubaki walked away. "Yeah, I guess so."
Meanwhile, at the Sonic the Hedgehog train station, the three were talking to each other.
"So that wrestler guy from Power Stone tried to capture you to use you as a hostage?" Shadow said sternly.
"Yeah, he is just happy I found out far too late." Aila said holding her bow. "I would had stuck that arrow up with the sun don't shine!"
"Something tells me you are more than capable than that." Shadow said. "Anyway, it is nice to not only meet with each other and work together in a fight."
"I know right?" Astaroth grinned. "I used to think my fighting style is villains but it CAN be used for good if the person I am using it on is a villain!"
Aila blinked twice. "Um, Astaroth, I don't think it works that way…"
"…Don't bum him out." Shadow whispered to Aila.
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
The three jumped before turning to the direction of the voice. Roy Bromwell was clinging onto a lamppost for dear life with Tiffany and Boman trying to pry him off. A good distance away from Ray blinking twice.
"Get him away from me! Get him away from me!" Roy whined.
"Ray, what do you do?" Shadow asked.
"I don't know! All I did was say "Hi" to them and suddenly, Roy freaked out." Ray insisted.
"Considering what happened in the arena between you two, I am not surprised that he is like this." Aila winced.
"And all I thought we needed were a good number of ice parks." Boman groaned. "Now it seems that we need to get him into therapy too."
Sonic shook his head at this. He then noticed something. "Hey, where's Blaze?"
"She said she wanted to say goodbye to a few friend." Silver shrugged.
At the Crash Bandicoot nodal station, everyone was boarding the train. Dingodile was about to get on it himself until he heard a familiar voice.
"Dingodile!"
The pyromaniac jerked his head up before turning around to see Tiny walking over.
"Aye, mate! What's up?" Dingodile asked.
"Tiny just wondered if Dingodile would do favour." Tiny asked poking his fingers together.
"A favour?" Dingodile asked raised an eyebrow. "Um, it depends but shoot."
"Tiny wondered next time Dingodile play hooky…" Tiny said. "Tiny play hooky too."
The hybrid jumped at this. "Huh? Why?"
Tiny looked down. "Well…"
"Tiny!"
The tiger's eyes widened as Dingodile raised his eyebrow. The two turned to see Blaze making his way over.
"Tiny, can I talk to you?" Blaze asked before glaring daggers at Dingodile. "With Cortex's goons."
The muscular feline shook his head. "Blaze no worry. Dingodile won't tell."
"Really?" Blaze asked before looking at Dingodile who just seemed confused.
"Yes." Tiny grinned.
"All right if you say so." Blaze said before giving in a deep sigh. "Tiny, I never got the chance to thank you."
Tiny tilted his head. "Tiny memory bad but Tiny remember Blaze thanking Tiny."
"Yeah, well, I really mean it." Blaze said. "As a princess, I made sure that I would be anything but a burden but even though I was mostly a prize for the villains to fight over. But you, Faust, the security team. You did everything in your power to keep me safe and get the power off of me even though I didn't do much to help.
Tiny shook his head. "Blaze was in pain. Tiny can't leave like that."
Blaze sighed. "Sometimes I even wondered if you know what side you are truly on."
Tiny raised his eyebrow. "What?"
"Never mind. Anyway, you gave the most because you risked your loyalty with Cortex to save me." Blaze said.
Tiny shook his head. "Tiny didn't risk loyalty with Boss. Tiny risk loyalty with Bison. Cortex is good guy."
Blaze paused before looking over at Dingodile who frantically shook his head. Blaze again sighed.
"Anyway, you also risked your life to drop that draining machine." Blaze said. "Which took away my pain from being near my Sol Emerald."
"Really? Tiny happy!" Tiny grinned. "Tiny grab pretty gem won't hurt Blaze anymore."
"Yeah, me either." Blaze said with a small smile. "Anyway, I think my train is going to go. Bye."
"Bye, Blaze." Tiny smiled. "Tiny happy he met you."
Blaze chuckled. "Blaze happy she met you too."
With that, the two said their goodbyes and Blaze walked off. Dingodile blinked twice before walking over to Tiny and putting his hand around the tiger.
"Well, looks like our little Tiny is growing up." Dingodile snickered.
Tiny looked at the hybrid in confusion. "What Dingodile mean."
Dingodile chuckled shaking his head. "Never mind. Let's just get on the train before Cortex gets impatient."
Solid Snake sat on the train waiting for his train to go back to Metal Gear Solid. He seemed to be lost in thought.
"Hey, Snake!"
The soldier jerked his head to attention to turn to see Luigi walking over looking happy.
"Oh, hey, Luigi." Snake said. "Came to say one last good-bye?"
"Pretty much." The plumber nodded. "Though I can't-a stay too long. I have to-a convince Princess Peach that Dr. Eggman is not Mario."
Snake blinked twice. "What?"
"Don't ask." Luigi said shaking his head. "Anyway, too bad that we-a had to keep that fight with Bison secret. If the hosts heard about it, there will-a HAVE to invite you to the second tournament!"
"Yeah… Yeah…" Snake sighed.
Luigi frowned. "Snake, I already-a told you. I was-a the target. Not you."
"No, it is not that. It is just that…" The mercenary said. "…I could have been one of the targets either way."
Luigi raised a confused eyebrow. "Um, what do you mean?"
"Well, ever since I heard that Sonic had gotten his own node in the tournament and not me, I can't help but feel angry." Snake said. "I mean… The King of Fighters node had more than one third-party character and yet they got to compete."
"Well, Sonic IS one-a of the biggest gaming icons in the universe. In fact…" Luigi started.
"Um, this isn't about Sonic's popularity, this is about how I feel." Snake said sharply.
"All right, all right." Luigi said rolling his eyes. "I'm-a sorry."
"Anyway, with all of my hatred of being snuffed, do you think… I would have been a target?" Snake asked. "I mean that is how Kurow brainwashed Crunch, Nash and the others."
Luigi tilted his head. "What are-a you getting at?"
"I don't know. The whole thing feels like some kind of after-school session teaching about jealousy." Snake said. "But was I in the wrong to be upset that I didn't get invited in the first place?"
Luigi looked in awe. "Snake, this isn't like you."
"I know…" Snake sighed. "I was talking to Crunch and Nash and they told how they think they were brainwashed. As much as I hate to admit it but it makes me feel like a brat for phoning the hosts and calling them out for not inviting me. Especially when I already got a huge fan-base. They got it more worse than me."
Luigi paused. "Snake, I know how-a you feel."
Snake raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Of course! I have-a my fan-base too but I also have my envy of my brother, Mario getting all of the spotlight." Luigi explained. "I know-a I have a second Luigi's Mansion series but I wanted more than that. I mean look at Wario. Despite being an "evil clone", he got his own games."
Snake said. "So… How do you cope with it?"
Luigi sighed. "Honestly, I don't. I put-a my hands in my pockets and scoff off. But there-a is one thing this horrendous plot did well for me."
"And that is?" Snake asked raising an eyebrow.
"While it may takes years-a for your piece of the pie…" Luigi said. "Remember that-a people have to wait for it longer."
Snake paused letting the words of Luigi sink in.
He then snickered. "Wow… Did your just made that up or did you got that by some bad fortune cookie?"
"Hey!" Luigi said putting his hands on his hips.
"Well, it's true." Snake said before smiling. "But cheesy lines aside, I know what you mean. Thank you, Luigi."
"Hey, it's the-a least I could do after you came to save me." Luigi chuckled. "Anyway, I have to-a go back soon.
"I understand. Well, you take care of yourself, okay?" Snake asked holding his fist.
"You too, Snake." Luigi said fist-bumping with the mercenary.
Soon, everyone had left on their trains. The only one left were the three hosts.
"I must say, Tiny." SSBFreak smirked. "For a first time main host, you didn't do a bad job."
"Yeah. Not only you invited a lot of unique nodes but you also invited a lot of Mystery Fighters that people may never hear of." Orange-Ratchet added.
"Um, guys, shucks." Tinyrocket said scratching his head. "I couldn't have done it without you guys."
"So Tinyrocket, I don't mind playing co-host again." SSBFreak said crossing his arms with a smirk. "Are you going to make a second tournament?"
"Yeah… But I was thinking of waiting until the fourth Super Smash Bros come out." Tinyrocket mused.
"Fair enough. No matter who gets in, I am sure that the newcomers will have a large fan-base already." Orange-Ratchet said.
"Besides, I need to finish a few projects." Tinyrocket said.
"Well, don't hesitate to call me when you have ideas for a second one." Orange-Ratchet smiled.
"Indeed. This had been a great experience." SSBFreak nodded.
"Don't worry. The next time I get ideas for a second tournament, you guys will be the first to know." Tinyrocket said.
With that, the three hosts said good-bye to each other and went their respective trains going into a wormhole to their hometown.
And thus ended the Battle of the Luminaries.
END
Whew, I am done! It took a while to finish and MAN was it worth it! Just like I said, I have ideas for a second tournament but I am waiting for the fourth Super Smash Bros game to come out. So it may not be for any while.
To all of my voters and readers, thank you very much for your support and I hope you had a great time reading this.