The greatest in the Multiverse

by Shinwashi

The grandest fighting tournament in all of existence has just begun, and 16 remarkable people from across the multiverse are about to contend for the top spot. But first they need to get through not just the opening ceremonies, but some of their personal problems as well.

5. Top 16: Round 4

Round 4: The Drakewarden vs the Metal Ranger

"THE MULTIVERSAL TOURNAMENT RAGES ON, FOLKS! AFTER THAT EXPLOSIVE FINISH TO THE PREVIOUS ROUND, WE NOW MOVE ON TO ROUND 4!"

First onto the field was Morgan, and like everyone before him he was heralded by loud cheers and chants. His face was locked into a wide open smile just like always, or at least as close to one as you could get with a set of massive reptilian jaws. The Mosasaurus hybrid waved back with one of his flipper-covered arms; He was clearly enjoying being the centre of attention.

"IN THE BLUE CORNER, WE HAVE THE DRAKEWARDEN OF UNIVERSE 11! THIS 30 YEAR-OLD AQUATIC WARRIOR HAS SPENT HIS ADULT LIFE PROTECTING HIS HOME AS A MARINE CORPORAL, AND THANKS TO A FORMERLY SECRET MILITARY EXPERIMENT HE HAS GAINED THE TRAITS OF THE OCEANS TOP PREDATOR! BUT WILL HIS MILITARY TRAINING AND POWERFUL JAWS BE ENOUGH TO TOPPLE HIS UNPREDICTABLE OPPONENT? HERE HE IS: CONTESTAAAANT MORGAN!"

Even more cheers. Morgan had clearly become a bit of a favourite among the audience, in part due to his outgoing personality and in part due to his unique profile. They wanted to see him, and he was happy to comply.

"AND IN THE RED CORNER, WE HAVE THE-"

Googlorp's excited introduction was interrupted by the subject of his speech practically leaping out from the right corridor, swords in hand and green scarf flowing behind him. And before the somewhat taken aback Plasmoid could continue, the orange-plated fighter did it for him. Prime's metallic filtered voice echoed throughout the entire arena, clearly amplified with some microphone of his own.

"WHETHER FIGHTING AGAINST THE FORCES OF EVIL OR ENGAGING IN FRIENDLY SPARRING, THIS IRON WARRIOR NEVER LETS UP! IF THERE'S AN ENEMY, I'LL BUST THROUGH THEM! IF FATE STANDS AGAINST ME, I'LL DEFY IT! ALL WITH THE BURNING PASSION FUELING MY SOUL! AHN-001, BETTER KNOWN AS: PRIME! THE METAL RANGER!"

Prime's passionate speech was capped off with a big explosion behind him, the lack of impact and heat instantly proving its holographic nature. And then, silence. The crowd simply stared at him, dumbfounded and attempting to process the scene before them. But finally the silence was broken by a sudden outburst of loud cheers and roars. The audience had not been prepared for this abrupt entrance, but right now they were eating it up. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

Googlorp, understandably stunned at having his work done for him, hastily regained his composure to fill in what Prime had neglected to mention.

"Y-YOU HEARD IT YOURSELF, FOLKS! HAILING FROM UNIVERSE 6, OUR YOUNGEST COMBATANT - LESS THAN ONE YEAR OF BEING ACTIVE, IN FACT - SUMMED HIMSELF UP VERY CLEARLY! BUT HOW WILL THE METAL RANGER HANDLE THE PATROLLER OF THE DEPTHS? WILL HIS BURNING SPIRIT BOIL THE OCEAN AWAY, OR WILL IT BE EXTINGUISHED BY THE CRASHING WAVES? ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT!"

Prime was answering the roaring audience with even more over-the-top poses that didn't seem to serve much purpose, but as far as he was concerned it didn't matter if hundreds of thousands of people were watching or not. He'd pose anyway, because to him it looked really cool. The fact that the crowd seemed to share that thought was just a bonus. Eventually he stopped so he could address his enthusiastic opponent.

"You're called Morgan, right? Nice to meet ya! Oh man, this is gonna be a blast, am I right?"

The robot warrior practically pumped his fists up and down in excitement, not too unlike a hyperactive child. It was clear that among all the participants, he was definitely the most thrilled to be here. To him it wasn't about the prize waiting at the end. It wasn't about proving a point, or to learn more about other universes. It was all about the fight. All about the thrill and fun of it.

"Bwahahaha! Well, aren't you a flashy one! But you're right, my boy! I can tell that this will be a really good ol' classic brawl!"

Morgan wasn't too far behind Prime in terms of eagerness. He had been in his fair share of rousing bar brawls in his time, and while he didn't live for it like Prime did he still found great enjoyment in it. So a tournament like this, a good-natured competition to see who among the contestants was truly the best, was almost like a dream come true for him. Both sides were certain of it; there would be no regrets in this bout. Only a whole-hearted thrilling clash between warriors.

As both fighters tensed up, the crowd around them fell silent in anticipation. Prime took an offence-focused stance as he put a hand on his back-mounted sheathed sword, and Morgan did the same towards his sturdy wooden bow. And up in the announcers booth, the Plasmoid commentator shouted the four golden words. Or rather, letters.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"BEGIN!"

The explosion sounded, and the fight had officially started.

To nobody's surprise, Prime rushed in first. The iron fighter unsheathed both blades and dashed headfirst towards his more robust opponent. But Morgan was fully prepared for a reckless action like this. Before the stannic speedster could strike him he had already fired an arrow. Prime's glowing yellow eyes widened as he just barely noticed the sharp projectile in time, and proceeded to dodge it by sliding beneath it on his knees. This gave Morgan all the time he needed to capitalise on his opponent's wide open state. The reptilian corporal delivered a firm haymaker to Prime's faceplate, and the sudden blow sent his lightweight body flying backwards. But this quickly proved to be a mistake on Morgan's part.

Prime effortlessly stopped his unwilling dive with his arms. He broke the fall by pushing back against the incoming ground, before rapidly springing back to his feet. And since Morgan was now the one left wide open, the agile robot leaped feet-first towards him.

"METAL KICK!"

The completely ordinary jump kick struck Morgan right in his huge upper jaw. The marine was sent staggering backwards as the pain hit him, his bow cluttering to the ground as he dropped it. Prime's sleek frame and thin limbs were deceptive; the warrior could dish out a surprising amount of blunt force, which Morgan had just learned first hand. Or rather, foot.

"OOOF, THAT LOOKED PAINFUL! CONTESTANT MORGAN LANDS THE FIRST HIT, BUT CONTESTANT PRIME RETALIATES WITH A SHARP COUNTERATTACK! THE FIGHT IS OFF TO AN EXPLOSIVE START!"

Morgan rubbed his cheek as Prime landed on the ground, and then felt something in his mouth. He spit it out, and sure enough, it was one of his teeth. The reptilian soldier quickly made a decision: Avoid close-quarters combat with Prime at all costs. He wouldn't stand a chance against the robot's agility, combat skills and sharp blades in a prolonged fight.

"Well now, you're a lot quicker than I thought! Seems like underestimating you would be the worst mistake one could make!" Morgan exclaimed. His brain told him to back the hell away and create some distance between him and Prime, but his heart told him to express his great respect for his opponent. And like usual, he listened to his heart. Prime, who'd spent the two seconds between him landing after his kick and Morgan's commendation picking up his dropped blades, had exactly the same inner argument. With exactly the same clear result.

"Thanks, you're pretty good too! That sucker punch wasn't half bad!" Prime responded. His fighting spirit was ignited, and every part of his mechanical body was itching to continue. He knew that Morgan had to have a lot more tricks up his sleeve than a simple bow and a solid right hook. The real fight hadn't even begun yet.

The hot-blooded automaton rushed forward again, blades crossed in front of him. His opponent flinched a bit at the sudden assault, but his eyes remained intently focused at Prime's movements. And thus he took action at exactly the right moment. Morgan threw himself to the side in a combat roll, narrowly avoiding the dual-bladed attack. But Prime wasn't done yet. Without stopping, he turned his body around and lunged at his foe one more time. And this time Morgan was in no position to dodge.

"CROSS SLICER!"

The two swords cut right into Morgan's back in an X-shape, and judging by his pained roar it clearly hurt. His leathery armoured vest had protected him from any serious damage, but the attack had still managed to draw blood. The saurian fighter fell to one knee, a position Prime quickly capitalised on. He reared both swords backward and slashed them across Morgan's back, although the lesser force of this attack hindered it from getting through the leather armour. But he struck again. And again. And again. Prime repeatedly delivered slash after slash from all directions, practically dancing around his grounded opponent. Slowly but surely, the protecting armour began to fall apart. The more he got hit, the more Morgan felt the swift strikes get further and further into his skin. And with another loud exclamation, Prime delivered the clincher.

"DANGER FLURRY!"

The final dual slice reduced Morgan's armour to nothing but torn-apart pieces, and left him not only shirtless but also bleeding all over. His protective vest had prevented his wounds from being anything more than mere cuts, but now his well-trained frame had nothing but his own hide to defend with. Worse, his body was still reeling from the speedy barrage. Prime was just one good hit away from securing a quick win.

But that hit never came. Instead of finishing the job, Prime simply took a step back as his stance switched to a more relaxed one. The wounded Morgan stiffly turned around, confused.

"Hhnnn… What are you doing? Aren't you gonna finish me off?" Morgan asked. Prime simply stared at him, one sword still pointing towards his bleeding opponent.

"What I'm doing? Come on, you still have a lot of fight in you, don't you? I'm just letting you get back up so we can keep going! It would be a waste to just stop already!" the mechanical brawler replied. This was Prime's biggest strength, but also his greatest weakness. His love of the fight was strong, very strong. He would not let anything prevent him from having a good fight, even if said anything was an opportunity for a quick win. And if he knew the very obvious risks about this, he clearly didn't care. It was just who he was.

Morgan shakily stood up, ignoring the various cuts and gashes all over his body. And just like Prime, he too was hindered by his own biggest strength and flaw. In his case he was too busy marvelling at Prime's honour. During his time in the marines back home, he had mostly been dealing with immoral thugs or primal beasts, with the occasional attack from opposing factions completely devoted to do what they believed was right. But this, an honourable fighter willing to spare a wide open foe purely in the interest of having a good time, was rare. Something his fair-minded nature spurred him on to respect.

"Hahaha! You're right, my friend! Many thanks for your camaraderie! In return, what do you say we start fighting for real?" the marine guffawed. And upon hearing those words, Prime's eyes shone brighter than usual. He replied in a voice that utterly failed to conceal his excitement.

"Oh yeah, it is ON! Show me just exactly what you've got!"

Morgan was practically beaming. He grabbed whatever remains of his armour that still clinged on to him and threw it aside, fully showing his well-trained physique to the appreciative audience. He took on a pose as he spread his arms to the side, and suddenly he began to give off some sort of aura. A mist of seemingly magical light blue vapour emanated from his body, slowly coalescing into a strange shape above him. Prime merely took an offensive stance as he observed, otherwise not moving an inch to intervene. He had to see what this was. And merely seconds later, the vapour began to take a more familiar form. It seemed like a silhouette, but not that of any humanoid being. It possessed a long neck, an even longer tail, two bat-like wings and four broad fins underneath its slender body. Finally, the vapour appeared to solidify. And revealed a long snout filled with dagger-like teeth, smooth overlapping scales and a wide fin on the tail. Morgan's voice echoed as he sent his friend into battle.

"Go, Johann! Give that man all you got!"

The slightly transparent dragon spirit known as Johann lunged towards Prime, almost seeming to swim through the very air itself. Prime stood ready, prepared to plunge both blades into the draconic spectre as it passed by. Two seconds later he did so, but with one hitch. Johann got to him first.

"AND NOW FOLKS, IT LOOKS LIKE CONTESTANT PRIME IS PAYING FOR HIS DISPLAY OF SPORTSMANSHIP! THE CHROME CHAMPION SHOWCASED STUNNING SPEED AND IMMENSE SKILL WITH WEAPONRY, BUT CONTESTANT MORGAN COUNTERS BY UNLEASHING A SPIRIT DRAGON! WHAT OTHER SURPRISES CAN THESE TWO POSSIBLY HAVE IN STORE?"

Johann struck Prime with its front fins with enough force to pin the latter to the ground. The robot noted that it felt strange; he could feel the spectral dragon pushing him down and preventing him from moving, but at the same time it seemed to be borderline weightless. Not only that, but its texture felt more like cold glass than flesh and blood. Unfortunately, the teeth that suddenly dug into his shoulder felt very much like the real thing.

Prime had been created for the simple purpose of being as close to human as possible. He could think, feel and react at almost exactly the same level as a living person, but right now he wondered why the hell that included the ability to feel pain. Especially the amount of pain coursing through his upper torso right now. He screamed and wriggled around, but Johann refused to let go. And over in the spectators seats, two yellow eyes followed the action.

"Ouch! You said he can feel just like a person, right? You sure that was a good idea?"

Pulse was leaning forward in her seat, her head resting against her hands. The red-headed Drow of Universe 1 had mostly been stuck in her own thoughts during the first two rounds, but both Bastion and especially the completely technological Prime had really piqued her interest. She looked up at her much bigger new buddy, who calmly answered her question.

"He was meant to be as close to a living being as possible in body, spirit and mind. And pain is just as much of a feeling as any other. Besides, in his profession it's probably a good thing to be warned when you're wounded" Abigail responded. During the fight she had been notably very calm, not even flinching or widening her eyes when her metal friend had taken damage. Instead she simply leaned back, occasionally letting off a knowing smile.

"I guess that makes sense," Pulse replied. "The fact that you managed to simulate pain receptors in a body covered in steel and aluminium is kinda revolutionary, after all. Still, he seems to be getting his ass kicked out there. You're really not worried he might lose?"

Abigail merely smirked as she crossed her massive arms.

"Nah, this is nothing. I've seen this fella stare down bigger lizards than this, so no, I'm not worried at all. He's gonna have to put in some effort for sure, but he got this."

"Well, nobody knows him better than you I suppose," Pulse answered. Her head turned towards a third figure sitting a few metres away from the two inventors.

"And what about you, big, warm and silent? Who would you bet on?"

The still machine hadn't uttered a word since the first round had begun. They hadn't even shown a sign of emotion, with the only clues to their feelings being an occasional twitch. But upon being addressed, the robotic guardian slowly turned their head towards Pulse. Inferno replied, their deep voice sounding like they were speaking into a metal can.

"Statement: The individual known as AHN-001 possesses superior speed, agility and close-combat efficiency. Meanwhile, the individual known as Morgan Sarun excels in ranged combat efficiency and improvised technique. Differences in physical strength and durability is negligible, but Morgan Sarun does have a very slight advantage in these areas. Based on these measurements, AHN-001 has the largest possibility of winning. However, with the dragon spirit on the field the odds of Morgan Sarun winning is 5 to 1. As long as it is present, AHN-001 will not win."

Pulse stared at the monologuing automaton, before giving off a deep sigh and turning her attention back to the fight at hand.

"Sure pal, could've just said that Prime is in trouble but go off I guess."

Back on the battlefield, Prime was still struggling to keep the spectral beast's jaws away from him. But strangely enough the dragon seemed to be… weightless. The robot couldn't budge it, but despite Johann being right on top of him he didn't feel like he was being pushed down. Though it was obviously physical enough for him to feel both it and its teeth. And with this thing keeping him busy, he couldn't even see what Morgan was up to. Without warning, Prime started to exert all the force he could. He needed to get Johann off of him, now.

"Hhrggh… GET OFF ME!"

Prime slammed his steel-clad knee into Johann's stomach, and although it didn't seem to be hurt it was still shocked enough to rear back a little. Perfect. Prime now had a few seconds to move his torso, and he used those precious moments to sit up as much as he could. And with his head now in position, he reared it forward and delivered a crushing headbutt. His sharp head crest pierced through the spirit dragon's chest, a thin stream of blue vapour pouring out like blood from wounded flesh. This was much more effective than his knee kick. With a shrill roar Johann reared backwards, letting go of Prime and enabling the swordfighter to roll to the side. Free from his entrapment, his gaze quickly turned towards Morgan.

"AND CONTESTANT PRIME IS FREE! ONE KNEE JAB AND A HEADBUTT WAS ENOUGH TO GET THAT LUSTROUS LIZARD TO RELEASE HIM! BUT WITH ONE BOW-WIELDING SOLDIER AND ONE ANGRY GHOST DRAGON AFTER HIM, IS HE REALLY ANY SAFER?"

In the time that Prime had been pinned to the ground, Morgan had made sure to tend to his more serious wounds. But he was clearly still weakened, so Prime dashed towards him with both swords trailing behind him. But he didn't come far until something heavy slammed into his side, once again sending him flying. Upon landing on his feet - albeit clumsily - the robot saw Johann pulling its huge finned tail back. It wasn't going to let Prime get anywhere close to its master.

"Alright then, you first!" Prime shouted. He once again rushed up towards Johann with both blades ready, but before he could strike he was once again interrupted by a sharp pain in his side. And there stood Morgan, bow raised towards Prime and arrow cluttering down to the ground right next to the metal warrior.

"Sorry, I can't let you slice up my buddy!" Morgan yelled. The humanoid Mosasaurus fired a second arrow, an arrow which the nimble Prime managed to dodge. Right into another tail slap from Johann. The robotic fighter stumbled once again as he clutched his side, and came to an alarming realisation. These two worked together in astounding synch; they wouldn't let him even get close to either of them without the other landing a hit on him. Whereas everyone before him had only faced a single foe, he was up against two.

The reptilian duo launched everything they had at Prime. Morgan fired arrow after arrow, Johann launched blow after blow. By now the steel warrior was focused entirely on defence. He leaped over Johann's tail swipes, ducked its sharp jaws and threw himself away from Morgan's projectiles. But he couldn't keep this up forever. Sooner or later he would get hit again, and judging by the gashes and holes Johann had left in his armour he couldn't take much more. He needed to find a weakness to exploit. A blind spot, a mistake from one of them, a… pattern.

That was it! Prime's head jolted as he realised the solution. His two opponents never attacked at the same time, it was always right after the other. His mouthless faceplate couldn't form a grin, but it didn't need to. His suddenly much more confident body language told it all. At least until he started to move at a blinding speed towards Johann. The spectral dragon once again lashed out with its jaws, and once again it missed. Morgan fired yet another arrow, and it resulted in yet another miss. That was when Prime struck. While Morgan was busy grabbing another arrow from his quiver his spirit friend was slashed by two sharp blades.

Johann let out a chilling roar as a large stream of magical vapour poured out of its side. The spirit lashed out once more with its jaws, but struck nothing as Prime ducked beneath them. Another arrow whistled by, completely missing its mark. Seeing his friend getting hit this hard had shocked Morgan; his focus had been shaken. Exactly what Prime had hoped for. He took advantage of their broken rhythm and launched another heavy strike towards Johann. The swords opened up a second massive gash, causing even more vapour to erupt like a geyser. And by now the spirit dragon had started to fade. Its transparent body started to flicker, like it had begun to lose its tether to this plane. Upon seeing this, Morgan's eyes widened and his face paled. He quickly called out to his wounded buddy.

"No, Johann! Quick, get over to me before it's too late!"

Hearing its master's panicking words, Johann retreated away from Prime as fast as its flickering body could bear. Morgan gave his friend some covering fire, launching a well-aimed arrow towards Prime to force the robot to stop chasing after the dragon spirit and instead focus on dodging. As soon as Johann arrived at his side, he put a calming hand on its still solid face.

"Don't worry old chum, we can still win this. Do you think you can still take to the air?" the drakewarden asked. Johann simply lowered its head to confirm. Morgan hastily climbed up on top of the spectral drake, and a few heavy wing flaps later the reptilian duo was airborne. But down on the ground, Prime didn't even flinch. Instead he reared his entire body forward, before letting out a loud war cry.

"FINISHIIIING MOVE!"

The small rocket boosters in Prime's ankles and wrists ignited. With a burst of speed the warrior dashed in Morgan's and Johann's direction, both blades trailing behind him. But Morgan wasn't going to find out what this finishing move was. This fight had been extremely fun, but if he wanted to win he couldn't risk Prime executing this attack. It was time to end this. The soldier pulled back his bowstring one last time, this time channelling all of the natural energy he could muster into it. Not a trick he used often, but right now it was his last hope.

"FOLKS, WE'RE ABOUT TO SEE A CLASH OF TRUMP CARDS! CONTESTANT PRIME'S ULTIMATE MOVE AGAINST CONTESTANT MORGAN'S GREATEST ARCHERY TECHNIQUE! ARE YOU ALL AT THE EDGE OF YOUR SEATS? BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL AM! WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP?!"

As soon as Googlorp had finished his narration, Morgan fired his last arrow. Or so everyone thought. Mid-flight, the arrow split into what must have been almost a hundred more. The single projectile had turned into a piercing rain of metal and wood, all falling towards Prime. But the robot's sheer determination was not to be underestimated. The metallic warrior charged head-on into the barrage of arrows, causing the entire crowd to gasp in shock. And as Morgan was about to find out, not even a hundred arrows was enough.

Prime nimbly dodged any arrow that came towards him. Those he couldn't avoid, he split apart with his swords. Those he couldn't split, he took head-on. And those he took on, he ignored. With several arrows lodged into his steel torso, he emerged from the fletch storm. And took a leap towards the protective wall that had been raised several minutes ago, but that nobody had really paid any mind to during all the action.

"SHINING…"

Prime jumped on top of the concrete wall, and with a burst of flame his rocket boosters powered up his leap skyward. The warrior was now rocketing towards Morgan and Johann at an immense speed.

"CROSS…"

The robotic fighter crossed his swords in front of him, now only a few metres away from his opponents. And as the entire audience held their breaths, Morgan had a realisation. He couldn't dodge this in time. He had lost.

"SLICER!"

And with those words, Prime's swords struck the flying spectre with the force of a small missile. Johann had already taken a lot of punishment beforehand, and this enormous slash was more than enough to fully sever its connection to this plane. The dragon disappeared in one giant burst of vapour, but even this wasn't enough to completely stop Prime's momentum. Thus Morgan only had a second to process the loss of his steed before his chest was torn open.

[SLLSSSHHH!]

It took a moment for the soldier to feel the pain coursing through him; the shock had been that intense. But when it did, it was more than he could bear. His chest was now nothing more than one giant X-shaped wound, blood and chunks of flesh pouring out of it. A mortal wound. He could feel himself losing consciousness before he even hit the ground. He did notice the massive explosion engulfing him though.

[BOOOMMM!]

Prime landed elegantly on his feet, arms outstretched and swords held in a reverse grip. He was covered in dents and gashes, plus smoke was pouring out of him. But that hadn't stopped him from activating his built-in image emitter to create the illusion of an explosion behind him. He needed his finish to be as dramatic as possible, after all. Anything else would just feel anticlimactic. The robot eventually turned his head backwards upon hearing a loud impact behind him.

Morgan was still conscious, but just barely. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak and he couldn't breathe. All of his remaining energy went to maintaining consciousness. And so when a small fairy referee fluttered down to start the countdown, he felt nothing but relief.

"10!"

"9!"

"8!"

"7!"
"6!"
"5!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"K.O!"

"IT'S OVER! THE FIGHT IS OVER! IN THIS INTENSE CLASH OF SWORDS AND SPIRITS THERE COULD BE ONLY ONE WINNER, AND THAT WINNER IS THE METAL RANGER: CONTESTANT PRIME! THE SHINING CROSS SLICER PROVED TO BE CONTESTANT MORGAN'S UNDOING!"

The crowd had been holding their breaths ever since the finishing blow, but now they all erupted in loud cheers and roaring. The victorious Prime sheathed his swords, before suddenly throwing his hands skyward while screaming joyously. He even started to jump up and down, before all the damage caught up to him and forced him to fall on his iron bum. His victory hadn't been painless, that much was certain. Luckily neither he nor the downed Morgan had to wait long for that to end. Once again the field started to glow a pearlescent white, and slowly but surely the two fighters were restored to full strength. Morgan's grievous chest wound began to close up, and soon he was back to full health. Even his tattered leather vest had reformed itself. Likewise, Prime's armour was mended and dented out. As soon as they were both back to normal, the light faded as the two fighters rose to their feet to face each other.

"Hahaha, seems like I lost this one! Well, no use in crying over that. That was a great fight, my boy! Many thanks for this rousing tussle!"

Morgan wasn't even feeling down about losing. His only regret right now was bringing out Johann into the tumult, but at least his buddy was safe right now back in the spirit realm. That, and he hadn't been able to keep his promise to face off against Owen in the next round. But he had done all he could, and that was all that mattered to him. Thus he took Prime's hand without any hard feelings, a sentiment shared by his blue-clad fellow contestant.

"Oh man, that was intense! Thanks a lot for the match man, you and your dragon sure were strong!"

Prime clearly was happy about winning the fight, but more than anything he was just happy about the fight itself. A clash like this, when both sides held nothing back and fought for nothing more than the fun of it, was what he lived for. The fighters shared a firm handshake to close off the duel, all to the continuous roar of the crowd.

"AND WITH THAT, WE THANK CONTESTANT MORGAN - AND JOHANN - FOR AN OUTSTANDING EFFORT AND CONGRATULATE CONTESTANT PRIME FOR COMING OUT ON TOP! AS WE HAVE REACHED THE HALFWAY POINT OF TODAY'S MATCHES, WE WILL NOW HAVE A 1-HOUR BREAK TO GIVE THE CONTESTANTS SOME BREATHING ROOM! SO PLEASE STRETCH YOUR LIMBS, TAKE A BATHROOM BREAK OR TAKE A LOOK AT OUR LOBBY'S GIFT SHOP, AND WE WILL RETURN IN ONE HOUR WITH A BOUT THAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS… RED-HOT! I AM YOUR HOST, GOOGLORP, AND YOU'RE WITNESSING THE MULTIVERSAL TOURNAMENT! SEE YOU ALL SOON!"

Most people seated in the arena rose to their feet to do exactly what the Plasmoid had suggested, and that included the observing contestants. Some of them, such as Owen, Goh'ji and Abigail, eagerly went to find their friends to express their feelings on the battle. Others, such as Gameron and Bastion, headed towards the contestant's lodge to get some alone time before the action would start up again. The rest headed towards the lodge as well, but not to rest or to recuperate. They all had preparations to do before their turn to fight came up. Each in their own way, but all with the same thoughts in mind. The thought about victory.

The tensions were dying down, but not for long. The tournament was far from over.