The greatest in the Multiverse
Round 8: The Colossal Champion vs the Prodigal Inventor
"AND NOW, PEOPLE OF THE MULTIVERSE, WE HAVE REACHED THE LAST FIGHT OF TODAY! LET'S HOPE THIS 8TH CLASH FINISHES THE FIRST ROUND OFF WITH A BANG!"
The excitement throughout the arena had not only hit its metaphorical roof, but blown through it past the stratosphere. After 7 intense bouts, only one more remained before the quarterfinals would begin. The audience had been born ready; this was gonna be a match to remember.
"IN THE BLUE CORNER, IT'S THE PRODIGAL INVENTOR OF UNIVERSE 1: OUR THIRD AND FINAL REPRESENTATIVE FROM THERE, COMING RIGHT AFTER THE SECOND! AT 19 YEARS OF AGE SHE IS ONE OF OUR YOUNGER CONTESTANTS, BUT DESPITE THAT HER SCIENTIFIC CREDENTIALS ARE THE STUFF OF LEGEND! BACK HOME SHE HAS USED THAT GIANT BRAIN OF HERS TO HELP CONQUER DEMONS, PRIMAL BEASTS AND UNDEAD PIRATES, ALL TO SAVE HER PLANAR SYSTEM FROM DESCENDING INTO CHAOS! BUT RIGHT NOW, SHE'S HERE TO FIGHT FOR THE TITLE OF NUMBER ONE! WILL HER CLEVER STRATEGIES LEAVE HER OPPONENT DUMBFOUNDED IN THE DUST, OR WILL HER PLANNING PROVE FUTILE AGAINST OVERWHELMING POWER? TAKE THE STAGE: CONTESTAAAANT PULSE!"
Judging by their trademark collective loud cheers and chants, the audience were clearly happy to see Pulse enter the stage. Although the slender Drow didn't really do much in the way of answering them, instead looking straight in front of her with a tense expression adorning her face. So far her confidence boost from putting Professor Suss in his place was still intact. But as soon as the bright spotlight turned from her over to the opposing gate, that boost crumbled. Merely from the sight of the titanic silhouette exiting from it.
"AND IN THE RED CORNER, THE ONE AND ONLY COLOSSAL CHAMPION OF UNIVERSE 16! AT 20 YEARS OF AGE, THIS WALKING BEHEMOTH OF A WARRIOR IS THE REIGNING CHAMPION OF HER WORLD'S LARGEST UNDERGROUND FIGHTING ARENA! AND IN THE EFFORT TO KEEP THAT TITLE AND GET ALL THE MONEY FROM IT SHE CAN GET IN ORDER TO HELP HER FAMILY, SHE HAS GONE TO GREAT LENGTHS TO GROW TO AN ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS SIZE - AND GAIN THE STRENGTH TO GO WITH IT! WILL SHE SQUASH HER FOE LIKE A FEEBLE BUG, OR WILL SHE BE CUT DOWN TO SIZE? OUR LAST WARRIOR: CONTESTAAAANT ALVA!"
If anyone thought the roar of the audience was loud before, it was nothing compared to when Alva entered the battlefield. All sets of eyes were focused on the grinning warrior as she confidently marched towards the arena centre, her tattered red headband fluttering behind her and arms thrown up in the air to take in all the cheers. By the time she had reached her opponent, the crowd was loudly chanting her name more or less in unison. Alva gave off a massive toothy smile; there was nothing better than this. Eventually, the Half-Orc lowered her giant arms to look over her tense foe. Judging by her deadpan expression and rumbling sigh, she was not impressed.
"So, you and me huh? Well, I guess it could be worse. Let's just get this over with, big girl" the giant sighed.
She turned around to get into a starting position, not even bothering to wait for an answer. Pulse was left stuttering; partly terrified, partly frustrated, partly confused. Why the sudden nickname "big girl"? Was it sarcasm? Misplaced endearment? Or was she just overthinking it? She settled for the latter reasoning before heading towards her own starting position, clasping her hands together in an attempt to focus. And as her hulking opponent put a hand on her back-mounted warhammer, the Drow finally managed to muster a response.
"Yes. Let's."
For mere seconds, the arena fell dead silent. Until Googlorp broke the silence with the words everyone had been eagerly waiting for.
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"BEGIN!"
[KABOOOOM!]
It was on. The fight to end the first round had finally begun.
Both fighters simultaneously made their move almost as explosively as the start signal. Alva hoisted her enormous spike-adorned warhammer from her back, charging towards Pulse with heavy steps. As she did so, Pulse quickly started to dig through her string bag. Her artificial right hand frantically skimmed around trying to find her target, and after a few seconds she pulled out her first weapon. Clasped in her hand was a small but sleek firearm; one cylindrical barrel, a tiny scope and a handle wrapped in leather. This was one of her latest inventions; the Grievously Unbearable Nuisance - or G.U.N. for short. The very first of its kind in Universe 1.
"I'm gonna have to have a chat with that big Tiefling about stealing my design" the inventor semi-seriously thought to herself as she pulled the trigger.
With a loud noise, the lead bullet shot through the air faster than the eye could follow. And then it hit its target. The charging Alva suddenly felt something pierce her skin, the sudden shock causing her to stop in her tracks. But that was all she did. Pulse looked on in disbelief as the Half-Orc started running again as if nothing had happened. The bullet had barely even drawn blood; Alva's thick hide and dense muscles were too tough for the frail prototype weapon. So Pulse let her brilliant mind go to work, and after just one second she had formulated a new plan. And as Alva was about to get right up in her face, the Drow put the plan into action. That plan? Run like hell.
[BRROOMMM!]
Pulse almost lost her balance as the massive hammer smashed into the earth with enough force to crack it, creating a small crater at the point of impact. However, as Alva had stopped running in order to try and hit Pulse she'd unwittingly given the inventor a brief moment to switch tools. The red-headed Drow carefully threw the firearm back into the backpack; clearly the Grievously Unbearable Nuisance had failed to be grievous, unbearable or even a nuisance. Instead she pulled out a large rectangular frame of metal, itself too large to have been able to fit inside a small string bag. Turns out Abigail Harlow wasn't the only artificer in the tournament with a Bag of Holding. But as soon as the bag was back on her back, Pulse looked up. Right into the fierce growling face of Alva Morrison.
"CONTESTANT PULSE LAUNCHES THE FIRST ATTACK IN THE FORM OF HER FIREARM, BUT IT SEEMS IT WASN'T ENOUGH TO PIERCE THROUGH CONTESTANT ALVA'S SHEER NATURAL FORTITUDE! AND NOW THE LATTER IS MOVING IN FOR A HAMMER SIDE SWEEP - ARE WE GOING TO WITNESS YET ANOTHER BATTLE BE DECIDED IN A SINGLE BLOW? BRACE YOURSELVES, FOLKS: CONTESTANT PULSE MIGHT JUST END UP SQUASHED!"
Alva wasn't about to take any chances. That little weird trinket Pulse had used hadn't been a problem, but who knew what else she had up her sleeve? Who knows, maybe that metal square she currently held in her hand was a camouflaged disintegrator or something? So with a rumbling grunt, the Half-Orc swung her heavy hammer towards Pulse. The mechanic didn't have time to dodge or even activate the metal frame. And so the crowd looked on in awe as Pulse was struck in the side by a hammerhead almost as large as her torso.
[WHAM!]
The thin Drow was sent careening through the air, before crashing down several metres away with a loud boom. The impact knocked up a thick layer of dust, obscuring the still Pulse from view. The audience started to murmur; was this really gonna be a repeat of the last round? A single-stroke battle? Alva seemed to share the same thought, but regardless she still kept her guard up. She wasn't so dumb as to leave herself wide open, even if her foe had no way to get back up. And it was a good thing she did. The excited audience began to gasp as the dust settled to reveal a shining figure standing up.
"Uurgh… damn, that hurt. Let's not do that again, please?" Pulse groaned.
She clutched her clearly pained side with her left hand, but other than said pain she seemed to be fully intact. As a matter of fact, she hadn't even broken any bones. For a brief moment, Alva was left shocked. Why was this elven twig not smashed into pieces? Sure, she hadn't hit her with her full strength. But still, nothing? However, it only took Alva a few seconds to figure out the reason; a shining blue aura that now surrounded Pulse's body. Just like that Shield spell Abigail had used two fights ago, but unlike that one's brief appearance this one seemed to be up permanently - or at least activating whenever the Drow took damage. A bright blue force field.
"Really? A barrier? Godsdamnit, more shit to waste my time" Alva sighed.
Now she had to bust through a thick force field as well, not just some flesh and bone. Nevertheless, the annoyed Half-Orc went in for another attack to try and smash that field to pieces. But the distance the previous strike had created between them had given Pulse plenty of time to activate her creation. In her flesh-and-blood left hand: the metal frame. In her artificial right hand: a cylindrical steel contraption with a conical mouthpiece covered with a glass lens. With the press of a button, the cylinder gave off a bright beam of light. But unlike what one would've expected from a flashlight, the shining ray did not reach the ground. Instead it was intercepted by the metal frame, and only seconds later the frame had been filled by a field of pure light. For all intents and purposes, it had been converted into a shield of solid light. A shield that was about to be struck by an enormous warhammer.
But Pulse did not block the incoming hammer. Instead she did something nobody had expected; she went on the offensive. As Alva started to rear her weapon backwards to prepare the next attack, her opponent slammed the bright barrier into her stomach. The Half-Orc was left completely unharmed by the shield bash, if somewhat amused at the Drow's feeble attempt to hurt her. Until the shield started to hum, as lines of light were being sucked in towards it. Suddenly a huge burst of force magic exploded out of the shield, as if propelled by a large piston.
The force cushion pushed against Alva's burly stomach, causing the giant to stumble several steps backwards. Pulse wasn't finished however. As Alva was trying to regain her balance, the inventor pointed her steel finger towards her in a shape not too dissimilar to her firearm. Her fingertip was surrounded by flickering flames and embers, and moments later she fired off a thin ray of scorching magical fire. The beam struck Alva dead-on in the chest, and unlike the G.U.N. this resulted in a pained grunt from her. Pulse flashed a small smile; finally something seemed to work.
"This, my not-quite-friend, is what I call a Photon Shield. Thanks to two thin electric fields, combined with a small dose of magic, this frame can capture light particles and solidify them into a barrier about as strong as reinforced steel. And thanks to a force piston in the front, it can push back attackers like you who get too close. In simple terms: You're gonna have a hell of a hard time hitting me!" Pulse exclaimed.
Getting the first hit in had been a big help for her confidence, enough for her to almost reflexively start rambling about the ins and outs of her creation. The possibility that her opponent could know the details of what she was talking about, maybe enough to counteract it, didn't cross her mind. But right now, Alva couldn't care less about what made that shield tick. All the blow-blocking barriers and whiffed warhammer strikes had only served to make her more and more pissed, and the more pissed she was the more serious she'd get. The gigantic warrior bellowed out her frustration towards her opponent, signalling that now she was going to really get going.
"Oh yeah? Good thing I'll only have to smash that damn field before I can split your big head open!" Alva practically roared.
As if launched from a cannon, she once again charged towards Pulse with thundering footsteps. The mechanic remained where she stood, her shield raised up above her head. She was very much prepared to push back her foe once again. But in the middle of her charge, Alva altered her grip around the hammer. Instead of grabbing the middle of the handle like one usually would, she instead held it as far down as she could. And as the Half-Orc once again reared the weapon above her head, Pulse realised too late what was about to happen. In her moment of confidence, she had underestimated her opponent's cleverness. She gritted her teeth as she prepared for impact; this was not going to be fun.
[BAROOM!]
Adjusting her grip, combined with the length of her huge arms, had given Alva more than enough range to strike Pulse out of the shield's reach. Although this did come at the cost of some power behind the attack; the shield had still protected Pulse, and the Drow was still standing. Heavily reeling from the impact, but still standing. But that shield was done for. The lower part of the frame was completely snapped, and the bright solid light making up most of the barrier was rapidly flickering. However, the somewhat still intact force piston in the centre of the shield was still sucking in lines of light accompanied by an uneven hum. Once again, Alva was sent staggering back as her balance was thrown off by another forceful push. But this last push was all the busted barrier could muster, and so the flickering light went out completely. Leaving Pulse without a shield, and only a briefly stunned opponent to make up for it.
"ONE FAR-REACHING HAMMER STRIKE AND CONTESTANT PULSE'S SHINING SHIELD IS DOWN! CONTESTANT ALVA HAS THE OBVIOUS EDGE IN MARTIAL ABILITY AND POWER, BUT THE PRODIGAL INVENTOR HAS MANAGED TO MATCH HER FOE BY LIVING UP TO HER TITLE! CAN SHE MUSTER THE FIREPOWER TO TOPPLE THE COLOSSAL CHAMPION?"
Googlorp hadn't even finished his comment before Pulse fired another Scorching Ray. Once again the sizzling beam struck Alva, this time in the right shoulder. Another pained grunt as the Half-Orc reflexively clutched the burning wound; the damage wasn't much, but it was a start. And Pulse very much intended to go all the way to the finish. The slender Drow suddenly started running towards Alva as the latter regained her senses, her metal fingers now crackling with electric sparks. The green-skinned warrior almost burst out laughing - the little twig was practically serving up herself on a silver platter! So she once again grabbed her hammer, preparing to break right through that force field. But right as Pulse was getting close to Alva, she once again defied everyone's expectations. Instead of running up right next to her opponent, she threw herself into a head-first dive at her.
Pulse's hands collided with Alva before the Half-Orc could swing her weapon, thus hitting the warrior with enough voltage to fry a normal person. The electricity from the Shocking Grasp coursed through every part of her giant body; all the muscles in the world can't protect you from a strong enough electric shock, after all. But while the assault noticeably hurt it was far from enough to stop Alva. The warrior's right hand let go of the warhammer, rapidly moving in for a strong hook. But Pulse simply smiled as she clicked her heels together. The entranced audience watched in awe as the Drow's body seemed to be sucked backwards, almost as if her motions were rewinded. A few seconds later and she stopped; back at the position she'd been in before her jump. The Boots of the Winding Path had worked their magic.
"This little fucker…! Anytime I'm trying to hit her she's just pulling some stupid new tool out of her ass! Just fight me for real, you pussy!" the Half-Orc growled.
In most cases, Alva was a borderline perfect warrior. Her strength was unmatched, her skill was considerable and her adaptability was respectable. However, if her fuse was lit and she lost her temper then all that tactical sense went out the window. And this red-headed upstart with her weird tools and all that running away had shortened that fuse to its very end. To hell with holding anything back; this Drow was going down here and now, even if that meant a bloody - if only temporary - death.
"Whoah, now she teleported? I didn't know our universe had technology like that!"
Up in the contestants watching area, a set of round completely black eyes followed the action intently. Ever since his loss a few bouts ago against Root, Gameron had mostly been dozing off. Watching big fights was fun and all, but without any stakes that he cared for his interest had been steadily dropping. Until these last two fights. Now the fighters were from his own universe. Now he had to watch them progress, to see if they could bring home the glory. Now things had gotten really interesting.
"It didn't, at least until she came along. Pulse is the brightest mind I've ever heard of; if anyone can give our universe the win, it's her."
The third representative of Universe 1 smiled as he said this. Out of hundreds of thousands of onlookers, nobody had more faith in Pulse than Vuzrak Deate. He and Gameron had started to chat and comment on this ongoing fight, since one of the fighters out there represented their home. Not only that, but the odds against her were frightening to say the least. So while he retained hope that she could use that brain of hers to clinch the victory, at the same time he had never been more worried. It was impossible for him not to be.
"She sure is an interesting fellow, that's for sure. Her spellcasting is a little sloppy, but she more than makes up for it with those gadgets of hers. You know, she just might be able to win this" Gameron replied, his flippers leaning against the railing. Vuzrak simply nodded, but before he could answer he was interrupted by a rough, feisty laugh ringing through the air. The two men looked over to see a very muscular Dwarf overhearing them.
"That nerd? Beat Alva? Aaah, you guys are hilarious!" Molly laughed.
She pointed her clawed finger towards the fuming Alva, with the two vexed Universe 1 representatives looking over to her as well.
"Look, your beloved champ has lobbed some metal pellets, two flaming beams, two magic shoves and some touchy electric zap at her. And the result? Alva ain't even winded! Unless the geek - with the admittedly very nice hair - has some grand secret superweapon in her bag, she's gonna get crushed!"
Gameron and especially Vuzrak were about to tell this loudmouth a thing or two. Who'd asked her to slander Pulse like that? Who did this Dwarf think she was? But right as Vuzrak stood up to tell her off, a huge gasp surged through the audience. And as the cleric looked back towards the field, he could feel an ice cold panic fill his entire being. Unlike Molly who leaned forward in excitement.
"Take a good long look at this, holy man. Looks like Alva's done fucking around!"
Alva's entire body was shaking. Not out of fear, damage or even anger, but from the sheer power welling up from within. She had pledged to take down Pulse by all means necessary, and that meant using her secret most powerful weapon. As she tensed up and put all of her focus into activating her ability, her body became covered in lines of runes written in the Giant language. Their black letters became outlined in glowing red magic, and in front of everyone their energy was released. Hundreds of thousands of people stared in awe as Alva's body started to grow even larger.
A low rumble could be heard all over the battlefield as the Half-Orc rapidly gained more and more height. She'd already stood at a ginormous 258 cm tall, but after only about two seconds she'd passed the 3-metre level. Seconds after that she'd reached 3 and a half metres, all the while her shoulders grew wider and her limbs grew thicker in order to maintain her proportions. One more metre of growth later and she finally stopped, dropping her also size-increased warhammer to the ground as she did. And while the sound resulting from that impact was frighteningly loud, it was nothing compared to the deafening boom of her laughter.
"Bwahahaha! What'cha gonna do now, half-pint? I'll tell you what: Nothing! Because I'm gonna pulverise every bone in your body! Hope you've said your prayers, big girl!"
Even though Alva clearly enjoyed the sheer terror in Pulse's eyes, her amusement was still outweighed by her fury. She'd been hoping for a quick and simple fight so she could move on to more worthy opponents, but instead the brainstorming Drow had zipped around her and refused to go down. The comparison to a cockroach did not fail to cross Alva's mind. Frankly, she felt insulted. This wasn't just a waste of time, it was extremely annoying. So she picked up her gigantic hammer; it was time to finish this.
"Wellllll fuck" was all Pulse's advanced brain could come up with.
All of her plans and weapons had failed to have much of an effect, and now that Alva was almost twice as big - and most likely twice as powerful and durable - there was no way anything the inventor had could make even a dent. Except for maybe one thing. There was still one countermeasure left; if that failed, then Pulse's calculations showed a 0% chance of victory. But she needed time to set it up, time that she didn't really have. Especially since a 4-and-a-half metres tall Half-Orc was thundering towards her with murderous intent.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! CONTESTANT ALVA, ALREADY SUPERSIZED TO BEGIN WITH, REVEALS A TECHNIQUE THAT ALMOST DOUBLES HER SIZE! IS THIS THE POWER OF THE RUNES OF THE GIANTS? IT MOST CERTAINLY IS, AND WE'RE ABOUT TO SEE IT IN ACTION! CONTESTANT PULSE BETTER HAVE ONE HELL OF AN ACE UP HER SLEEVE, OR SHE'S GONNA END UP DEMOLISHED!"
Pulse shoved her hand into the Bag of Holding, trying to find the key to her plan. Call it luck or call it quick thinking, but she found her target among the many tools and inventions almost immediately. The flashlight. Previously it had helped fuel her photon shield, and now it was about to serve a much simpler purpose. Right this moment actually; Alva's ginormous legs had carried her right next to Pulse in no time at all. With nothing else to lose, the inventor shakily pointed the cylindrical tool up towards Alva's eyes. One click of a button later and the ray of light struck with the intended effect.
The giant flinched in place as she was suddenly blinded, her ponderous warhammer just barely swinging over Pulse's head. The Drow now had a brief opportunity to escape; an opportunity she took without hesitation. She darted between Alva's legs, fitting in between them without needing to crouch even a bit. She quickly scrambled through her bag again, this time pulling out two identical detailed metal rods. Pulse turned her gaze back towards Alva, the giant still stunned from the bright flash. Perfect. Time to put her final trump card on the table.
Without missing a beat, the mechanic jammed one of the rods into the ground. After making sure it was facing the right way and firmly planted in its place, she once again looked back to Alva. Still reeling from the light. She noted to herself that her flashlight must have been more effective than she thought, she'd never expected her opponent to be this affected. So she turned back to her plan, running over to plant the other rod exactly 5 metres away from the other. The contraption was all set; now all she had to do was activate it at the right time. However, something was… off. The crowd was still cheering loudly despite nothing really happening other than some rods being planted. The Drow turned around to check on Alva's state. Was she up to som-
[WHAM!]
Pulse's mind almost went completely blank due to the immeasurable pain now filling her entire torso. The forcefield had blocked most of the damage, but the full-force warhammer strike had been way too much for it to block completely. Her slender body was sent careening towards the wall like a rocket, slamming into the side of the arena with enough force to leave a crater. It took all of her willpower and mental fortitude just to stay conscious. And Alva's booming laughter pounding against her pointed ears did not help matters.
"HAH! Finally, you stayed still! You dropped your guard for just a moment, and look where that got you! A beaten bloody pulp, just waiting to get flattened! So how about we just get to the inevitable already?!"
The triumphant warrior reared back her giant hammer once again, before throwing it towards the downed Pulse. With a massive thud, the weapon landed right on top of the inventor. However, the size of the hammer combined with the angle Alva had thrown it at showed that this manoeuvre wasn't meant to be lethal. The heavy handle had landed right across Pulse's torso - it was meant to keep her pinned down, not finish her off. The Drow desperately tried to get the hammer off of her, but it was no use; the weapon probably weighed more than twice as much as she did, and with at least 4 confirmed broken ribs her efforts only resulted in excruciating pain.
However, her ribs were far from the only thing that'd been broken. As she laid on the ground in agony, Pulse could do nothing but accept her fate. She was going to die here, plain and simple. Not only was her opponent unfathomably more powerful than she was, but she'd also proven smart enough to counter her plans and even outwit her. Alva must have faked being incapacitated for that long just to throw Pulse off-guard. This conclusion was enough to deflate any remaining morale the broken inventor still had. Thus she made no moves to resist Alva as the latter lumbered over towards her.
"Just look at you. Throwing a bunch of junk at the wall, only for nothing to stick. Are you proud right now? That you've just wasted my time? Insulted my honour as a warrior by hurling some stupid gizmos, not even trying to fight for real?! You've been real disrespectful, big girl. You don't get to stay in this contest any longer."
Alva's last taunt jolted Pulse out of her feeling of hopelessness, at least partly. For a brief moment, she remembered what she was here for. What she was fighting for. But one more look at the irked giant was enough to quash those feelings again. She had lost. She couldn't beat Alva. No amount of brute force could topple her and there were no tactics that she couldn't counter. So Pulse simply went limp and closed her eyes, waiting for the final blow. At least she'd done all she could. In the end, it just wasn't enough.
"Go show off your trash all you want when you go home, but if you just came here to advertise then you're just pathetic. Leave this tournament to someone who's actually worthy to win it!" the giant continued, before raising her right foot to deliver a finishing stomp.
Alva's words hit Pulse like an arrow. What the hell was she doing? She couldn't just give up like this, not as long as she could still breathe! As long as she could breathe, she could move. As long as she could move, she could fight. And as long as she could still fight, she was worthy of staying in the contest. She just needed to get out of this predicament first - then she could prove her worth. With a sudden burst of reinvigoration, the Drow pushed through the pain from her broken ribs in order to channel all the magical energy she could muster into the giant warhammer.
Without warning, the sized-up weapon suddenly began to defy gravity. The hammer, probably weighing more than 150 kg at this point, was now levitating off the ground. At the sight of this, the taken aback Alva stopped in her tracks for a couple seconds; her wide open eyes told everything about how much she'd been expecting that to happen. More than enough time for the freed Pulse to roll out of the way and get up on her feet. She gasped in pain as her ribs were pressed against the ground, but she ignored it almost completely. Fortunate for her, since Alva's foot came crashing down where she'd been laying only one second earlier with enough force to shake the ground.
"CONTESTANT PULSE IS STILL ON HER FEET! THANKS TO SOME QUICK REFLEXES AND EVEN QUICKER THINKING, THE PRODIGAL INVENTOR REMAINS IN THE FIGHT! HOWEVER, SHE DOESN'T LOOK TO BE IN TIP-TOP SHAPE! HOW MUCH LONGER CAN SHE ENDURE?!"
By now Pulse's determination burned brighter than ever. That lumbering knucklehead had pressed one too many buttons with that last remark, and the sudden ire flowing through the inventor spurred her on. To hell with keeping a low profile and letting her actions do the talking; she was gonna prove right here, right now why she was here. Why she had to be here.
To start off with, the Drow's golden eyes turned pitch-black in an identical manner to Vuzrak's spell the round prior. Just like he had covered the area around Professor Suss in complete darkness, so did Pulse cover the area around Alva. Or rather her upper body, the dark sphere centering around her head. And judging by the Half-Orc's deafening furious roar coupled with her violent movements the distraction worked without a hitch. The mechanic once again began to dig through her Bag of Holding, searching for her final ace in the hole. As she did, she could feel a familiar rumble emanating from the ground. Exactly what she'd been waiting for.
At this point Alva's patience had reached its limit. She'd had Pulse pinned down right where she wanted, and yet the little twig was still throwing out useless strategies that did nothing but distract her. That was it. Alva made up her mind then and there; as soon as she got out of this darkness, she would stop drawing this out. She would smash that Drow into unrecognisable pieces the moment she'd got her hands on her. So for a brief moment, she stopped thrashing around to try and figure out this darkness sphere.
Her mind flashed back to two previous bouts, both of which had featured a combatant using this exact same spell. John had used it as a projectile, casting it on a small mushy berry. And Vuzrak had cast it directly around Professor Suss, with that sphere seeming to emanate from the latter's staff. In other words… the spell had to be coming directly from some object. And since the sphere had moved with her, then…
The warrior grabbed ahold of her headband, tearing it off with an excessive amount of force. Sure enough; her vision returned as she threw the shredded cloth to the side, which also let her short unkempt black hair loose. Alva violently turned her head towards where she'd last seen her opponent. And sure enough, there stood Pulse. Arms crossed and on top of one of the protective walls, accompanied by another large contraption standing right beside her.
"Ever been judged by someone based on an assumption? People being certain that you're gonna mess up their whole life just by existing? Shunned and rejected thanks to your visage alone? I'm not gonna waste your precious time by continuing to list details, but to make a long story short that's a summary of my life. And I'm sick and tired of it!" Pulse exclaimed, her defiant voice echoing throughout the stadium.
For a moment, Alva stopped. Usually an opportunity like this was too good to pass up; her opponent had left herself wide open. But Pulse's words were coated in a determination the Half-Orc had never seen before. Whatever her point was, it was clear it came from the heart. It was enough to make Alva stop and listen.
"I don't know how the Drow situation is in your universe, but if it's anything like mine then you'd know it's not great. Not one day going by without at least one shunning look, insult or the occasional death threat. Even if you've never meant anyone any harm. You accused me of wanting to advertise my stuff? Well, you're right! I'm here to prove, on the largest stage of all, that I'm NOT a born villain! That I can do good, despite how I happen to look! That the stuff I can make can even topple behemoths like you!" Pulse continued.
Murmurs and smaller cheers began to surge through the captivated audience. Pulse's speech had seemed to hit home among most of them, either via sympathy or just the honesty behind it. If the people noted the admittedly selfish reason behind the words, they didn't care. Even Alva's intense snarl dropped, if only by a little.
"In other words, I am here to show off! Show off just what I'm made of! And it's not malice or vileness or whatever people say! So get ready, Morrison! We're finishing this RIGHT NOW!"
As Pulse finished her speech, the audience once again erupted in cheers. Their sheer volume and excitement now rivalled the levels they'd been at during Alva's entrance, just directed towards her opponent instead. One word was repeated at full volume among these chants. That word being Pulse's name.
"Heh. I admit, you do have backbone, big girl. Maybe I was wrong about you. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you win this! You might be worthy of being here after all, but I'm still gonna break you apart!" Alva answered, her snarl now turning upside down into a fierce smile.
The Drow's words had caused her to flash back to her own upbringing, similarly filled with insults and unwarranted hatred just for her being a Half-Orc. Especially for being a positively enormous Half-Orc, even before the effects of her Giant runic research had kicked in. But while she had long since learned to manage it and even find amusement in the many fearful reactions, her opponent's familiar experiences had still had an effect on Alva. Deep down she felt a new strong sense of respect. Regardless, she still grasped her warhammer as she started running towards Pulse. It was better to just finish this quickly before she grew too much of a heart regarding her red-headed foe. Besides, the size boost was getting close to running out anyway.
As her opponent came rushing towards her, Pulse quickly turned to the contraption beside her. A large boxed shape made of steel, adorned with three spindly iron legs and three cylinders not too unlike her G.U.N. Her trusted main weapon: the turret. The inventor wasted no time in activating it, and as soon as she did a barrage of translucent blasts of force magic rocketed towards Alva. The Half-Orc had been keeping her guard up though, blocking the projectiles with the head of the hammer. But she had once again underestimated her opponent; her charge visibly faltered from the impact of the force pellets. They weren't enough to stop her completely, but they were still more powerful than she'd expected. All the more reason to take it out first.
Despite the turret's onslaught, Alva managed to push through everything it threw at her. And eventually she got right next to both it and its wounded creator. The warrior let go of her hammer, lunging out with both fists towards her targets. Her left fist crashed down on the turret with a loud boom, causing the contraption to cease fire immediately as it caved in on itself. It was still functioning, albeit reduced to harmless sputtering and giving off small sparks. Alva's right fist just barely missed its flailing target, instead smashing into the concrete wall with enough force to create a crack spanning from its top to its bottom. Pulse herself had instinctively leaped out of the way, but as she hit the ground she felt an excruciating pain take hold in her. Originating from the cracked rib she'd just landed on.
"AAARGH!"
The enraptured crowd collectively gasped as Pulse's pained scream filled the arena. Up until now the Drow had managed to ignore her broken bone, but one moment of carelessness had been enough to bring it back to the forefront. She achingly crawled over to the closest wall; if the rib hadn't been completely snapped off before it most certainly had now. The inventor was too overwhelmed by the injury ravaging her torso to move. Unfortunately for her, Alva felt no such distress.
"Oof, that sounded serious. Well, you ain't gonna feel that for much longer. I guess you at least deserve to go down with honour" Alva sighed. The giant lumbered over towards the writhing Pulse, revving her arm for the finishing blow. But as she did, another expression crept up on the inventor's tortured face. A strained yet gleeful smile. Because Alva had stepped exactly where Pulse had wanted her to. In the ground right in front of her were two ornate metal rods, still waiting to be activated. Behind her was the sputtering turret, broken down but not broken apart. And in front of her was Pulse, still with a spell or two left in her. All these factors making up the Drow's final shot at victory.
"Heh, that goes both ways!" Pulse suddenly exclaimed.
Without warning the turret started to hum loudly, before shooting out one last blast of force magic from its busted barrels. As it did, so did Pulse. With a loud grunt, she forced her tired arms together to create a deafening Thunderwave. The pain surging through her chest was almost enough to cause her to pass out, but still she remained conscious. Both concussive forces struck Alva simultaneously in her neck and her ankles respectively - two forceful blasts pushing from opposite directions. And with all this happening over the course of mere seconds, the Half-Orc had no time to react. Or to prevent what happened next. Pulse shakily dragged herself to the side as Alva fell face-first into the ground with a thundering boom.
The warrior quickly regained her senses, and as those came back so did her fury. Her opponent was just one teensy hit away from defeat, and yet she kept prolonging this! But before the raging giant could get back on her feet, a stuttering voice echoed through the air. A voice which heralded the end of this fight.
"Hey Alva!" Pulse shouted.
Alva turned her head back towards the Drow, who had managed to crawl over to one of the rods. One a couple metres to the warrior's left, the other a couple metres to her right. And as the red-headed genius pushed a button on the rod, Alva felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. The sense of pure impending terror.
"Why don't you make like a cell… AND SPLIT!"
[SHHIIINN-CHNK!]
There are no words in any universe that can accurately describe the roar that Alva let out. Words such as immense, deafening, bestial and anguished could be considered the closest ones, but none of them would be even remotely powerful enough to do it justice. Nevertheless it was louder than any sound that'd been uttered so far in the tournament, enough so that the audience - and Pulse especially - had to plug their ears. And Alva had all the reason to scream. What else are you supposed to do when your body has been sliced clean in half?
Pulse clutched her head as she forced herself to stand up. In front of her laid the still enormous legs of Alva Morrison, completely severed from her now writhing torso in a steadily growing puddle of blood. And in between them was Pulse's final contraption. A shimmering orange rectangular barrier of solidified light, very similar to what had made up her shield before. Only thicker and originating from both grounded metal rods. The progenitor to the Photon Shield: The Photon Field. But as the Drow struggled to stay standing, both she and the shocked audience let out a gasp. Despite the catastrophic wound, despite the sudden loss of both her legs and tons of blood, Alva still tried to move.
The pain in Alva's lower waist only seemed to intensify by the second, but yet her arms pushed her torso off the ground. The warrior glared murderously towards the shaking Pulse; even when reduced to this she was still eye level with the mechanic. Her mind was close to shutting down out of sheer agony, but still she refused to let herself go out like this. Losing in the greatest tournament of all during the first round against some thin nerd, even if her motivations had been respectable. If her fans back home would learn of this - if her mother learned of this - then her entire reputation would plummet. She'd lose her title of undefeated champion, and with that all the fame and respect she needed to get any good winnings from her fights. That burning refusal of defeat was the last thought crossing her mind before everything went black, and her bloodied body once more crashed into the ground. Her supersized form quickly shrinking back to its normal size as it did.
Everything went silent. The audience were still too stunned by the sight of the gory battlefield, not to mention the bloodcurdling roar from just moments before. This went double for Pulse. The Drow tried to fight back the chills from seeing all this unfold, not to mention the still very much prevalent pain from her broken ribs. It took a substantial amount of effort just to stay conscious, but if she wanted to prove she could win this she had to stay that way. That thought was enough to force her quivering legs to stay strong. Suddenly, the silence was broken. By the fluttering of tiny wings approaching the field.
The fairy referee fluttered around the unmoving Alva, as if to confirm the obvious. But finally, after 10 long seconds, she began the countdown.
"10!"
"9!"
"8!"
"7!"
"6!"
"5!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"K.O!"
"IT'S OVER! THE LAST MATCH OF ROUND 1 IS OVER, FOLLOWING THE MOST SHOCKING TURN OF EVENTS! AGAINST ALL ODDS, CONTESTANT ALVA HAS BEEN DEFEATED! THIS MEANS THAT THE WINNER IS THE PRODIGAL INVENTOR OF UNIVERSE 1: CONTESTANT PULSE! I… I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"
The crowd mostly seemed to share Googlorp's feelings; they couldn't believe it either. Pulse hadn't just defeated the gigantic warrior champion, she had split her in half. An outcome that pretty much nobody in the extensive audience had expected. So therefore it took a while before the cheers got going. And when they did, they sounded somewhat… lacking. Pulse had earnestly gone on about how she was not some evil menace, but at the same time she had literally sawed a woman in half. Everyone was, to say the least, conflicted. However, the half-hearted cheering resulted in the sudden loud shout coming from Pulse being that much clearer.
"Well? You gonna activate that healing field or not? Hurry up, she can't be holding on for that much longer!"
As if obeying a command, the pearlescent white light once again covered the entire battlefield. Its restorative effects were very much focusing on Alva, and they were quite immediate. The Half-Orc's split body parts were seamlessly fused back in place, all her spilt blood returned to her body and the few bruises she'd amassed evened out. As for Pulse, she felt a huge sense of relief as her ribs were healed up completely and her stamina was restored. Even the scattered remains of her broken inventions were put back together. It took a minute, but eventually both fighters had returned to 100%. As soon as the light had begun to dissipate, Pulse walked over to the still floored Alva. Reaching out her metallic right hand towards her as she did.
"I don't know if you wanna hear this from me after everything, but… for what it's worth you fought really damn well. You didn't disappoint, that's for sure" the Drow muttered, her body still mildly shaking in anticipation of Alva's answer.
Alva had been quite blunt in her feelings about her, and this loss was not likely to have done anything but worsen them. Despite this Pulse still felt obliged to help her up on her feet. To blazes with her own feelings of unease and lingering disdain; her opponent had proven herself to be the warrior she claimed to be, and thus deserved respect and sportsmanship. When Pulse had put her mind to something, she would see that through no matter what. That was just who she was.
But to the inventor's surprise, Alva clutched her hand without hesitation. Her grip was really strong, but the lack of effort behind it made it clear there was no contempt to be had. Still she merely maintained the clasp, making no attempt to sit up just yet. Instead the warrior simply replied in a bittersweet tone.
"Huuuh… same to you, big girl. Guess I'm not the undefeated champ anymore. I hate to admit it, but you win. You fought well, if somewhat unusually."
Alva began to sit up, and as Pulse failed to even slightly make her budge she realised why she'd refused her help. The Half-Orc was simply way too big and heavy for the much scrawnier inventor to lift off of the ground. Pulse sheepishly put her hand away, but as she did a somewhat bothered expression came upon her. Alva had plainly admitted defeat, yet something was obviously bothering her. And Pulse had a guess as to why.
"Hey, you lost against someone you've never met before, using tactics you've never thought of and who operates on a fundamentally different set of logic than you. I'm willing to bet this right hand of mine that your championship title doesn't account for contenders outside your own universe. So as far as I'm concerned the only thing that changed today was your record in a completely unrelated tournament. You're still undefeated in the entirety of Universe 16, champ!" the Drow stated.
Judging by Alva's stunned expression, Pulse had hit the nail on the head with that reassurance. The giant warrior just sat still for a moment, before closing her eyes as a small but warm smile crept up upon her face. Pulse was right. Even though she had lost, Alva had still put up a fight worthy of song. And even if anyone from Universe 16 had seen this bout, they wouldn't have held anything against their champion for losing. Just as long as she'd shown the multiverse exactly why she held that title. And since she'd done just that, Alva couldn't think of a single person who would be disappointed in this fight. Least of all her mother. The Half-Orc properly rose to her feet, giving a nod of affirmation towards Pulse. No more needed to be said; the message had gotten through.
"By the way, speaking of nothing; why call me 'big girl'? Just curious, given that you are… you" Pulse questioned.
Alva looked down at her much smaller former foe, as if puzzled by the question. That didn't take long however, as the warrior burst into a small fit of laughter as she answered the confused Drow.
"Oh, that? I thought it was obvious. It's mostly sarcasm, but I mostly thought about your huge ra-"
(We here at the Tournament Recording Team regret to inform you that the recording of the following 6 seconds were corrupted in the editing process. The people responsible for this mistake have been sacked. We would like to apologise for this inconvenience, and we assure you that this will not happen again.)
"Uuuh… right, I see. A-anyway, thanks for the fight, champ!"
Alva's comment had left Pulse's cheeks almost as red as her hair, resulting in the very flustered Drow attempting to divert the conversation back to the results. At least Alva seemed amused.
"Heh, same to you! You'd better go all the way and win this whole damn thing now, you hear? I'm not gonna accept losing to anyone less than the absolute best here!" the Half-Orc exclaimed, her fierce grin once again adorning her face.
The two fighters once again clutched each other's hand, and although Pulse visibly winced from the powerful handshake she still answered Alva's grin with one of her own.
"Don't worry, I will! That's a promise!"
"WELL THEN FOLKS, THAT'S IT! LET'S THANK CONTESTANT ALVA FOR HER ENORMOUS EFFORT AND FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE, AND LET'S CONGRATULATE CONTESTANT PULSE ON HER SHINING VICTORY! BUT NOW WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF OUR FIRST ROUND, AND THAT MEANS WE HAVE OUR 8 QUARTERFINALISTS! DON'T LEAVE YOUR SEATS JUST YET; LET'S TAKE ONE MORE LOOK AT THE VIEWING SCREEN!"
In a repeat of the opening ceremonies the day before, the large viewing screen switched from showing the two contestants to showing a set of 8 red and blue brackets. Once more said brackets began to spin around rapidly, before one of each colour shot out of the vortex to their own side of the screen. The same stylized names and facial portraits, although with one difference. This time the flames filling up the background were blue in colour.
QF ROUND 1: GOH'JI VS ROOT
Over in the contestants watching area, 7 sets of eyes were eagerly glued to the screen. One of them simply crossed his arms and nodded in anticipation; Goh'ji was clearly looking forward to fighting this next foe, even if she hadn't been his personal first choice. Root on the other hand did not seem to share this feeling. The Genasi let out an audible gulp, knowing full well what she was getting into this time.
QF ROUND 2: OWEN VS PRIME
Owen was positively beaming. He obviously already knew who'd he be fighting, but it still felt good to see it officially announced. This was not an opponent to underestimate, that was certain. Still, this was the chance to avenge his friend Morgan's loss. This thought was enough to once more reignite the Dragonborn's fighting spirit. However even that spirit was nothing more than a flickering ember compared to Prime's. He had been ready to fight the mountainous paladin ever since Bastion's defeat, and right now he had never been more ready.
QF ROUND 3: ASHES VS ABIGAIL
The two sizable brawny fighters turned towards each other, looking the other in the eye with respect. As soon as Abigail had won her first fight, Ashes had been fired-up in excitement. And even though it was to a smaller degree, Abigail had felt the same. They were both fully aware of the other's strength and skill; no more needed to be said.
QF ROUND 4: VUZRAK VS PULSE
Unlike the other quarterfinalists, both Drows were notably distressed by this upcoming matchup. Pulse hadn't been thinking much about this outcome; she hadn't really expected to beat Alva in the first place. But now she had to fight Vuzrak? Her thoughts about him were all over the place, but fighting him was not what she wanted. But no matter how anxious Pulse felt about this, it was nothing compared to Vuzrak. His nerves were already tensed to their limit after seeing this last fight, and he had barely had any time to calm down from his joyous celebration upon seeing her take the win. The prospect of fighting Pulse hadn't even crossed his mind until now, so this revelation caused him to fall to his knees. He wasn't prepared for this. He wasn't prepared to fight the one he cherished more than anything.
He wasn't prepared to fight his daughter.
After a long and action-packed day, the first round came to a close. But the fight for the title of greatest in the multiverse had only just begun.
