Round 3
Dante vs. Travis Touchdown vs. Master Chief
Much like it had been for Red vs. Green, the migration towards the big screen in the Smashers' Box was palpable. Unlike during Red vs. Green, however, Quinn Marmaduke's interest was immediate. These three, despite the very visible contrasts between them, were some of the most surefooted fighters in the Smash Brothers organization These contrasts made themselves clear in the match graphic. Dante yawned, while Travis threw up the horns with a smile on his face, while Master Chief simply snapped into a military salute.
Sans' whining about being relieved of his administrative duties to watch his friends battle drowned out the interviews. Master Chief said his piece about finishing the fight relatively early and left, while Dante and Travis pelted each other with inside jokes about animes, that Sans occasionally broke from whining at Mario to chuckle at.
"Have you ever done any work Herr Sans?" seethed Ludwig, rubbing his temples.
"I work smarter, not harder," Sans snapped.
"If it'll make you shut it, I'll forfeit my break," Shulk announced, gritting his teeth.
"Thanks, kid," Sans laughed, "Always knew you were a pal."
"Nice!" Olimar, who was intently watching the big screen, cheered, "Futaba predicted Dante! Maybe I'm actually backing the right horse this time."
"She's been wrong half the time," Bayonetta groaned, "And as a result, I'm out more coin than I care to admit."
"Don't be too hard on the young one," Rosalina said, "It's simple probability. She has as equal a chance of getting it wrong."
"Yeah!" Ryuji said as Travis zoomed down the ramp on Demzamtiger to NMH, "Listen to the space lady."
Akechi chuckled as Dante zoomed down the same ramp on Cavaliere, "You couldn't understand probability, much less spell it.
Quinn breathed a sigh of relief that this stunned the overly loud Phantom Thief in a soft enough grumbling that he could actually watch the rest of the match. Dante interlocked his fingers behind his head, cradling his head as he loafed onto the dividing line.
As the foreboding strings of the Halo theme played over the speakers, the crowd began the symphonic moaning that seemed popular with people far and wide. All this jovial adulation didn't seem to even register with Master Chief, the near-silent Spartan riding out aboard the vehicle, piloting it with what Quinn was sure was one hundred compliant with whatever military procedure he was trained in.
The vehicles all disappeared, and introductions began. Dante punctuated his with the same exaggerated crotch-grabbing pelvic thrust he had done to celebrate his defeat of Virgil. Travis did much the same but punctuated his with a moonwalk. As Dante applauded politely, Mills went to Master Chief's introduction, which earned yet another snappy salute.
Kirby floated into the air, using the brief time he stayed in the air to playfully mock Chief's salute, which earned chuckles from the Smashers who weren't above expressing joy.
By now, the three competitors were turned to the video board, watching the stages flutter by. With an affirmative "ding" it landed on Orbital Gate Assault!
"Oh, Banana Bird damnit," Cranky groaned, "I swear, we're one match away from Great Cave Offensive."
"I hope not, that stage sucked," 9-Volt groaned back.
"Hey!" King Dedede yelled at the screen, "I find that…Great Cave Offensive!"
Boos erupted as the Smashers set to fight were teleported to the stage. A Pac Pellet was lobbed through the air, its juices exploding all over Dedede's cap, dribbling down his neck and onto the back of his robe.
"EY!" roared Dedede," Pacman ya yella belly coward, You owe me the cost of the dry cleaning bill."
Pacman raised his hands, making the devil horns gesture Travis had earlier, "Totally worth it dude!"
Rules: 3-Stock, items medium.
Stage: Orbital Gate Assault
Music: Space Battleground
As each second of the countdown ticked by, each Smasher once again arrived on their vehicle of choice.
GO!
Travis, having been randomly given the spawn point behind that Master Chief had his back turned to, charged first, only for Chief to throw him up and behind him. Travis instinctively kipped to his feet, taking a defensive stance. Energy Sword and Demon Sword connected with Beam Katana. A clang followed by a sizzling sound indicated that they were all interconnected, each of the three contestants pushing against the entanglement, jostling for control of the stalemate.
"Man, Travis is way stronger than I thought!" Riki marveled.
"Holy shit," Sans mockingly gasped, "You two can talk?"
"Hey, forgive us for being engrossed in the matches. That is what we're here to do right? Watch the matches?" barked Kunio,
"Too bad that interest doesn't translate into your series beyond non-weebs?" Sans snapped back.
Kunio clenched his fists, "How about I shove my fist up your-"
"Kunio, that's not nice!" squeaked Kyoko, sitting up so abruptly that Riki, whose lap she was sitting in, nearly fell out of his auditorium seat.
"You're right bud, sorry," mumbled the legendary schoolboy.
"Anyway, you aren't wrong babe," Misako butted in, "Like, we coulda told you he was strong, but I didn't think he was strong enough to offer resistance against a seven-foot-tall space marine."
Just as Misako said this, the Great Fox banked away. Master Chief dropped to the middle Aparoid ship, while Travis and Dante jumped to the ships to Chief's left and right respectively.
"This took longer than I thought it would. I'll take on both of you idiots if I have to."
"Bring it on generic spaceman," Travis beckoned.
Before Chief could move, Travis had jumped into a vertical slice. Chief blocked the blow, pivoting and throwing Travis to the middle, so now that he and Dante surrounded him. Chief pulled his service pistol, while Dante aimed both Ebony and Ivory.
Travis scowled at his silver-haired friend, "Ah. That's how this is gonna be."
Dante shrugged, "Sorry bro, I gotta make the rent somehow."
"Fuck off dude. You're just bad at managing money. "Sylvia is about to serve me with divorce papers!"
"Hey, I may be bad with money, but I least know how a condom works."
Chief fired his service pistol, which Travis immediately blocked with his Beam Katana. Now, the bullets flew. The onslaught from the other two eventually depleted Travis' Beam Katana to a husk. His only means of defense was gone, he was nothing more than a target. Travis gritted his teeth.
"SCREW CRUSHER DEATH KICK!" he shouted.
With those words, he teleported to Master Chief, drop-kicking him. This did nothing to stop Dante's barrage, and Chief joined back in almost immediately Pelted with bullets, Travis was easily knocked to the top Blast Zone with a swing from Master Chief's Graviton Hammer.
Dante: 3
Travis Touchdown: 2
Master Chief: 3
Aboard the Revival Platform, Travis watched Dante and Master Chief shoot it out, as The Great Fox became the main platform again.
"Jackpot," Travis announced.
"Hey," Dante protested, "That's my l-"
Dante found himself the victim of a vertical slash. The slots appeared, each slot landing on an 8-bit bell.
"BLUEBERRY CHEESE BROWNIE!"
As Travis' irises turned black, Dante let out a pained chuckle, "Going old school huh, you corny mother.."
Travis whipped around, swinging his sword wildly. A beam of light launched out of the blade, smacking into an unsuspecting Master Chief. Then another, then another. Dante took this time to try to jump away, but Travis whipped around smothering Dante with projectile laser slashes.
Then, his eyes became normal. Dante fired rockets from a rocket launcher, which Travis ducked, the rockets pelting Master Chief.
"It's all fun and games until your fancy powerup runs out," lectured Cranky.
"I dunno Cranky," 9-Volt countered smugly, "Travis looks like he's got a handle on this."
Dante charged, only to run into a hook kick from Travis. In a heartbeat, Travis had hooked Dante's waist from behind, launching him backward into a German Suplex. The slot machine activated, landing on Throw Crazy Mode!
"SUPLEX CITY BI-" 9-Volt began.
"Do you want to get mauled alive by you-know-who boy?" Cranky warned.
9-Volt audibly sunk in his seat, "You're right I'm sorry."
Three German Suplexes later, Master Chief ran into the fray.
"SPIN DE-"
The floor gave out from under them once again, once again aboard three separate Aparoid ships.
Dante, still recovering from the triage of suplexes, was slower to move than Travis was when Master Chief unleashed his Graviton Hammer. Dante was easy pickings, blasted into the left Blast Zone by a mighty swing.
Dante: 2
Travis Touchdown: 2
Master Chief: 3
As Master Chief pulled out a Needler, Travis was ready.
"SCREW CRUSHER DEATH KICK!"
Having been on the receiving end of a ton of errant fire, Master Chief was prime for being launched into the right Blast Zone as soon as Travis' sneakers connected with his armor
Dante: 2
Travis Touchdown: 2
Master Chief: 2
Travis was struck with an Aparoid missile just as the ships began to pound the Orbital Gate for the umpteenth time. Dante jumped into the air, bringing his sword pointed down at Travis. Travis was propelled into the air, the perfect height for Dante to swing his gun wildly and land every hit. Master Chief soon joined in, pelting the helpless Travis with bullets all his own.
"You thinkin' what I'm thinking Chiefy?" a jovial Dante asked.
Chief only grunted.
"Good enough for me!' responded the devil hunter.
Both sharpshooters pulled out rocket launchers, each firing their payload at Travis. A baseball swing with the Graviton Hammer made sure Master Chief sent Travis to the Blast Zone.
Dante: 2
Travis Touchdown: 1
Master Chief: 2
Travis watched the firefight between the other two as long as he could from aboard the Revival Platform, waiting for the stage to quickly cycle through its phases.
Parrying a bullet from Master Chief's service pistol, everything slowed, allowing Travis to land a suplex on Master Chief. Again, the slot machine cycled to Throw Crazy Mode!
"Oh boy, another suplex spot," Cranky sarcastically quipped.
"I'm excited to see how Master Chief deals with being thrown by a normal human quite frankly," interjected 9-Volt.
Four German Suplexes befell Master Chief. Dante, yawned, scooping up a Super Scope.
"NO YOU DON'T!" shouted Travis, "SCREW CRUSHER DEATH KICK!"
The otaku assassin teleported to an unprepared Dante's position, nailing him with a dropkick. As Dante struggled to his feet, Travis heard Chief load and launch the bulk of his Rocket Launcher ammo. Travis ducked, five rockets pelting a weakened Dante. Meanwhile, Travis grabbed the Super Scope, spinning around only to see Master Chief preparing a shot from a sniper rifle. Both weapons fired, striking their intended target.
"Talk about a double whammy!" cheered 9-Volt.
Travis dropped the Super Scope, interjecting jumps into his furious charge, deflecting service pistol shots the whole way. He landed perfectly on the Aparoid ship Chief occupied. Now Travis was behind Chief, his hands clasped around the bulky armor. Dante meanwhile, charged a Super Scope shot, the massive bolt of laser striking Chief just as they dropped to the Great Fox.
Dante: 2
Travis Touchdown: 1
Master Chief: 1
The two swordsmen charged, Dante swung the Devil Sword first, but Travis sidestepped the blow, leaving Dante open for a volley of sword slashes. A final, cleaving Death Blow activated the slot machine again. A dud.
"Ha! Sucks bro! Happens to me at the casino all the ti-"
"SCREW CRUSHER DEATH KICK!"
Dante was mid-word when Travis' extended legs caught him in the chest. Chief jetpack deactivated, a sniper shot rang out through the air into Dante's back, and a Graviton Hammer shot to the back sending Dante to the Blast Zone!
"And Master Chief sneaks one out the back," 9-Volt explained
"How did they not hear his jetpack activate and deactivate? I blame the loud music young people listen to," explained Cranky.
Dante: 1
Travis Touchdown: 1
Master Chief: 1
"And we're down to the wire! Gotta say I didn't expect it. Figured one would get teamed up on more," mused. Cranky.
It was here that the rocket launcher volley began, from across two Aparoid ships from Dante and Master Chief, with Travis once again stuck in the middle. He deflected as much as he could, but once again, the battery on his Beam Katana gave out, and the assassin pelted with the explosive armaments.
"Oh fuck this," Travis spat through the pain, "If I'm going out, I'm going out swinging, like Bruiser Brody before me!"
The air was pierced with a symphony of Travis announcing his Screw Crusher Death Kick move, darting from Dante to Chief, occasionally pausing, but never fully stopping, the rocket battle. Eventually, the rocket volley was too much for Travis to bear, a simple upward cleave from Dante spelling Travis' final elimination
PLAYER 2 DEFEATED.
As the two Smashers that remained fell onto the hull of the Great Fox. Chief readied his sniper rifle. Just then, a Staff fell right into Dante's hands. Both aimed and fired. Dante grunted, laughing through gritted teeth.
"Didn't wanna use this form, but you're a tough cookie Chief."
Spreading his arms, Dante turned into a demon apparition.
In Chief's helmet, Cortana gasped in shock.
"His power level is off the-"
Cortana's analysis was cut off by a barrage of missiles. Chief attempted to duck the first one but it wheeled back, striking him.
"Damn, he's got homing-" Cortana began.
"I know," grunted Master Chief
Before the AI or the soldier could react, Dante had teleported to them, his trick shooting pelting Master Chief. Dante launched himself at Chief, has devil power carrying Chief to the Blast Zone and depositing him there.
GAME!
In the Smash Mansion Courtyard, flaring his trenchcoat and withdrawing Ebony and Ivory.
"Sleep it off, baby! WOO HOO!" Dante cheered.
DANTE WINS!
Chief stood cross-armed in the loser quadrant of the screen along with a separate screen of Travis, who clapped happily.
Mister Zero stood with Travis and Chief.
"Well boys, three Smashers walked in, and you two are not walking into the next round. What went wrong?"
Master Chief grunted, walking off camera in a huff.
"Well, Dante's a powerful mofo, with an arsenal of weapons," Travis explained, "Like a real shonen anime character, and ya know what, I'm glad that if I had to go out, it was to him."
Mister Zero opened his mouth to ask another question but Travis interrupted, "Hey, there's the man!"
Dante walked into the frame, wordlessly exchanging a clasping handshake with Travis.
"So there's no hard feelings I take it?"
"Nope!" Travis answered.
"I'm glad to hear you aren't beating yourself up about it. You're a real bushido dude. Chief too."
"Well, I don't think you're gonna get any sportsmanship out of him, but you can try."
"We're gonna throw to Cranky and 9-Volt one more time and then the presentation of the next round, and then that's our broadcast," Mister Zero explained.
"Oh shit, you're right," Dante and Travis explained together, jogging out of frame.
As they burst through the tunnel, the Smashers' applauded.
"Proud of you boys!" Sans cheered, "Toriel's been dying to meet you."
"Mai wants to meet your brood real bad," Travis explained.
"And Nico's been bugging me to let her hang out with some Smashers, and quite frankly, you're the only two I'm comfortable unleashing that upon.
Mario clearing his throat brought an end to all conversation in the room.
"Alright-a winners, I need you single file behind me, and then we're going out to the podium again."
Slinking into line behind Wolf, who sipped something cloudy from a flask, and Ken. who anxiously brushed fingers through his hair. Then, they filed out through Tunnel Az.
"Please welcome President Mario!" Mills announced.
With that cue, they filtered out. Quinn blinked. Through the Hylian hooligans, and the fireworks erupting from the luxury liners above the stadium, he heard chants of his name.
Ken patted Quinn on the shoulder, "Hey, you've got fans!"
"I guess I do," Quinn mumbled as they all got into their position behind Mario, who was behind a podium.
"The number 12 is a special number in Smash Brothers history," Mario began, "Before the city and the semi-annual unification of entire universes, there were the 12 of us, stuck with nothing but the Mansion and its facilities."
Mario paused to let the crowd applaud Smash's progress before continuing.
"And now, a new 12 stands before you. In a field of 100, employing all sorts of different skill sets, these 12 are the upper echelon of Smash Brothers history. For the purpose of nostalgia, we're going to bring back an old favorite from the era of The 12. The rules will be five stocks, items high."
The crowd and Smashers alike murmured to themselves.
"We revisit old ground before we break new ground. When twelve becomes six, that's when things get real interesting."
Again, everyone murmured.
"What does that mean?" Luigi whispered to Donkey Kong.
Donkey Kong shrugged, "He's your brother. Something crazy probably. You've been there for all his parties too."
Luigi shivered, thinking of all the Toad magic that was spent bringing Mario's maniacal boards and party games to life before Mario spoke again.
"And now," Mario said with a dramatic pause, "The Bracket.
On every television in Smash City, the bracket appeared.
Round 4
5-stock, items high
Luigi vs. Donkey Kong
Zelda vs. Ganondorf
Red vs. Wolf
Quinn vs. Ken
Cloud vs. Banjo Kazooie
Sephiroth vs. Dante
The crowd applauded and hooted. When it finally settled down, Mario spoke again.
"And with that, Smash City denizens, we have four days until the next round. Please party responsibly, drink responsibly, and remember that WE ARE SMASH BROTHERS!"
The Olympic March played them off as the crowd cheered. The 12 Smashers that remained made their way up Tunnel A to the applause of the Smashers in the Box. ROB immediately opened a portal.
"A portal to the Smash Mansion has been opened."
Mario gave a jovial nod in the robot's direction, "Thank you ROB. Dinner awaits everyone!'