"PEOPLE OF THE MULTIVERSE, WELCOME BACK TO THE ARENA! FOR THE FINAL TIME!"

The entire arena was filled to the brim with roaring spectators. Logically nothing would be heard this far out in space, but when you're in a subspace pocket there's no logic to apply to anything. Like how the collective roars never seemed to dull, not even during the contest's conclusion. The people had crossed dimensions to see some spectacular fights, and that was exactly what they had gotten. Regardless of the outrageous ticket price.

"WE'VE SEEN A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING IN THIS CONTEST; UNBELIEVABLE FEATS OF STRENGTH, MOVEMENTS FASTER THAN THE EYE CAN FOLLOW, SKILLS UNMATCHED AND TACTICS BORN FROM GENIUSES AMONG GENIUSES! BUT IN THE END IT ALL CAME DOWN TO THESE FOUR! FEAST YOUR EYES ON… THE TOP WARRIORS IN EXISTENCE!"

The bright spotlights all focused on the circular podium standing right in the middle of the arena. The shiny wide ring appeared to be made out of three sections, one of which was divided in two: Two platforms made out of solid bronze only a few feet off the ground, a notably taller one made out of sleek silver and an even higher one built out of solid gold. Of course, not many paid attention to the gaudy contraption. They were much more interested in the four people standing on top of it.

Now the spotlights directed all the attention to the two adjacent bronze platforms, along with the two semifinalists on it. The big viewing screen, the image split down the middle, started to show clips of their fights and highlights before shifting over to two dynamic portraits of them. Along with their names and placement.

SEMIFINALISTS: GOH'JI DAARDENRIAN (U2) & ASHES (U7)

3 major fights and a figurative bronze medal in the tournament to decide the multiverse's greatest, and Ashes still couldn't believe just how many people chose to applaud her. To the point she almost shied away from the spotlight. But eventually she waved back; she was still very flattered, after all. Goh'ji, however, had no such qualms. The Dragonborn was eagerly waving and bowing all around him, occasionally even laughing. The last few days had clearly done a lot to rile him up, that was certain. To the point that when Ashes reflexively began to whip her huge tail around in excitement, so did he.

RUNNER-UP: AHN-001 PRIME (U6)

As the lights switched over to the orange robot and the screen showed his own greatest hits, Prime practically bounced around the silver platform he stood on. While he hadn't been online for even a full year yet, he already knew that these last few days had been the greatest of his life. They had given him memories that he would always treasure when he and Abby went back home… and that would spur him on to reach ever greater heights. Universe 6's greatest technological achievement could not have asked for more.

WINNER: PULSE CADWALADER (U1)

Finally the lights turned over to the victorious Drow, who promptly shielded her eyes from the intense brightness. Her intense sensitivity to lights was one part of her heritage she could do without. Regardless, Pulse was still beaming with joy and gratitude from all the adoration - the extremely tiring last two hours of photo ops, autographs and questions answered hadn't done anything to quell that. Particularly when the viewing screen began to show highlights from her fights, culminating in her remaining standing after Prime's defeat from just earlier. Her favourite part was easily the segment from the aftermath of her quarterfinal match against Vuzrak.

"THERE THEY ARE, FOLKS: THE TOP FOUR IN THIS CONTEST, ONE OF THEM THE GREATEST OF ALL! BUT THEY HAD TO GIVE IT THEIR ALL TO GET HERE, AND IN A DIFFERENT TIMELINE THIS COULD HAVE ENDED IN ANY OTHER WAY! SO LET'S HEAR ONE MORE HURRAH FOR THE ONES WHO DIDN'T MAKE IT: LET'S HEAR IT FOR EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED AND BROUGHT THEIR A-GAME!"

An even louder surge of applause surged through the audience as the spotlights shifted once again, this time over to the other 12 contestants gathered around the podium. One by one a brief highlight of their endeavours flashed by on the viewing screen, and despite their losses they all answered the applause with at least some level of joy and appreciation. In the end, nobody among them regretted coming here. Well, except for Professor Suss, but not many paid any mind to the grumpy Kobold anyway.

"BUT NOW, DEAR AUDIENCE, IT IS TIME! IT IS FINALLY TIME TO AWARD OUR WINNER WITH THE GRANDEST PRICE OUR RESOURCES WERE ABLE TO ACQUIRE!"

With these words, the spotlights went out and the tense crowd went silent. A silence which soon was broken by what sounded like a synthesised drum roll accompanying the four suit-clad fairies entering the arena. With a very large - for them - wooden box, tightly locked up with arcane chains, held between them. The tiny squad fluttered over towards the eager but nervous-looking Pulse on top of the podium, where they cautiously let go of the box. Which remained floating in place, the magic emanating from it strong enough for Pulse to physically feel its pressure.

The fairies slowly started to hum what sounded like a magical incantation, and with an echoing 'click' the chains evaporated into a multicoloured mist. The box slowly opened up on its own, and what met the wide-eyed Drow's and the tense audience's eyes was… nothing. Nothing except a violently swirling mist of arcane energy.

"OF COURSE, SOMETHING THIS POWERFUL CAN'T SAFELY STAY ON THIS PLANE FOR TOO LONG! WHO KNOWS HOW MANY THIEVES AND CRIMINALS WOULD TRY TO GET THEIR HANDS ON IT IF THAT WAS THE CASE? NO, THIS ARTEFACT HAS BEEN SAFELY STORED IN ITS VERY OWN POCKET DOMAIN, ONLY ACCESSIBLE WITH A PASSWORD SHARED EXCLUSIVELY AMONG OUR MAGE SQUADRON! BUT NOW THEY ARE ABOUT TO BRING IT TO OUR WINNER! LADIES, GENTLEMEN, EVERYONE, WE PRESENT…"

The mage squadron began to murmur amongst themselves again, each one taking turns to utter a phrase in what Pulse could only assume was Celestial. But as the fourth mage finished their incantation, the mists began to explosively coalesce. Sparks flew, a small tornado swirled and a booming noise echoed, and roughly six seconds later the mists had taken the form of an old sealed scroll. One that still crackled with pure magical energy.

"...THE WISH SCROLL!"

The more attentive members of the audience had already figured out what the price was, but that didn't make anybody less stunned at what this object actually was. A simple scroll, capable of containing the most powerful spell in existence. The Wish spell. With enough imagination, the user could use it to bend reality itself. They could erase divine beings from history itself. They could rewrite the multiversal timeline. They could use it to grant themselves power beyond anyone's wildest dreams. And maybe, just maybe, they could even use it to pay off their student loans.

All of this power and more was now in Pulse's metal grip. The arcane crackles made the scroll itself somewhat difficult to hold in place; it was almost like wielding an even more unstable Chaos Bolt than usual. And despite the onlookers having gotten a good grasp on just who Pulse was, there was still a sense of fear going through a substantial amount of them. The Drow had been shunned and rejected her whole life after all - who knew what this much power could drive her to do? Maybe use it to smite everyone who ever wronged her? Or to grant herself the power of a god to do it with her own hands? Or maybe something only her ingenious mind could think of? Power corrupts, after all, and nothing had more power than this unfathomable scroll. But it didn't take long for this tense silence to be broken by a widespread gasp. Because with a grin, Pulse unravelled the scroll.

"OH? IT SEEMS CONTESTANT PULSE HAS ALREADY DECIDED WHAT TO USE THE SPELL FOR! WHATEVER COULD SUCH A GIFTED MIND DESIRE? BRACE YOURSELVES, FOLKS: LITERALLY ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN NEXT!"

As the inventor closed her eyes, the scroll began to shine a bright multicoloured light in all directions. The crackling sparks had turned into surging lightning bolts, and a slowly rising hum followed the translucent shockwaves pulsating throughout the arena. And now even some of the other contestants began to worry. Not everyone knew about Pulse's deepest desires, so in their minds anything could result from the Drow's wish. Prime, Owen and Inferno even put one hand on their respective swords just in case. But some, like Ashes, Alva, Root and especially Vuzrak knew that there was nothing to fear. They all smiled as the victor's wish came closer and closer to being realised.

And with a loud boom, everything went white as reality was altered.

Slowly but surely, everyone's vision began to return. The first one to register what had happened around them was Root, having been the first one to hide her eyes from the bright flash. And just like she had expected, nothing major had changed. The subspace around her looked just like it had before, barring the fact that the scroll was gone and Pulse appeared notably winded. But one thing had in fact changed. A thin green bracelet, seemingly made out of solidified pure magic and with an infinity symbol engraved in it, had appeared around the Drow's wrist. And as Root soon came to realise, her own wrist too. Every single other contestant's wrist, in fact.

As everyone else came to, all eyes were either on the peculiar object on their wrists or on the still reeling Pulse. Naturally they all wanted an explanation as to just what kind of wish this was. Something that the mechanic, after eventually recovering from the magical "recoil", was more than happy to give them.

"Right, I guess this is where I hold my big uplifting speech. So, no doubt you're all wondering what this green thing is?"

In the middle of her sentence, Pulse's voice was greatly amplified by one of the fairies of the mage squad. Now everyone could hear her loud and clear.

"You know, when I agreed to join this tournament I didn't think I'd get very far. But since the prospect of making any wish come true was too much to ignore, I thought that I might as well find out what I'm made of. At first, I will admit that my wish was really selfish. I was gonna use it to forcibly remove the stigma against Drows from every mind in the multiverse, or at least prevent everyone from making said stigma heard. Which, given how most of my kind tend to act, would've probably ended in disaster. But then a lot of things happened. I met some really nice people, like a fellow mechanic with more life wisdom than I'll ever have and the most upbeat druid I've ever seen. I actually won my first match against the single biggest threat in the tournament, and formed some mutual respect out of it too. I reunited with the dad I never thought I'd get to reconcile with. And I learned from a certain gunslinger that my wish really was pretty dumb, and that it was something I could work on on my own. No need for some big reality-warping wish there."

As the Drow walked around on the spot delivering her speech, the onlookers listened intently. This went double for the contestants, and especially the ones she had mentioned indirectly. Vuzrak even felled a proud tear, and Ashes almost let one out as well.

"And then… I made it. I actually won. I had to fight the multiverse's most gloriously stubborn son of a glitch with all I had in me, but I won. And all the while my new friends were backing me up. It was around then I decided I wanted to pay them back… especially since some of them have gotten quite close. So with no more idiotic need to force everyone to like me, I made a plan to give my friends just what they all want and deserve!" Pulse continued, now with a teary eye of her own.

Several of the contestants had now begun to realise just exactly what was on their wrists. And while they all let the victorious inventor finish her speech, their rising euphoria was crystal clear.

"So my wish was to give everyone who participated a sort of planar-crossing conjurable gateway generator. Or in layman's terms, a way to safely travel between our 16 universes whenever we want! Just think hard enough of the person you want to see, and they'll receive a sort of message via the - summonable, might I add - bracelet. And with just a tap on the fancy symbol, you'll open up a portal for your friend to safely go through! This is my gift to you folks, and all in all my way of saying thanks! For a fantastic contest, and for getting to know you!" the Drow finished, her voice giving away her overwhelmed emotional state.

By now the crowd completely lost it. The cheers and whistles had once more reached their absolute highs, with a few "Pulse I love you" and "what a wish" being heard over the united roars. Along with one or two "stuff it, goody two-shoes" that nobody paid any mind to. But it was the other contestants that reacted the strongest. Prime and Goh'ji danced around while clutching each other, both of them ecstatic at their rivalry getting to continue. Owen and Morgan almost did the same, although they settled for a solid handshake instead. And as Pulse made her way down from the podium, she suddenly felt herself being knocked to the ground on her back. By the two small ladies that had recklessly attack-hugged her.

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU MISS! OMIGOSH I'M SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW, THANK YOU! DID I SAY THANK YOU?! BECAUSE THANK YOU SO MUCH!" the ecstatic Root shouted into Pulse's stomach as she hugged her tightly.

The Genasi had never been more overjoyed than in this moment. She had fully expected to never see any of her new friends again, thereby the plan to gather everyone into two "cheering teams". So this wish was everything she could've ever asked for. To the point that Pulse had to pull her back a bit; if she kept unthinkingly burying her face into the Drow's stomach like this, she was gonna suffocate herself in no time at all. Besides, the overwhelmed - if somewhat abashed - mechanic still had to address the muscular Dwarf hugging her legs.

"What the druid said, Red! Oh man, you're the best! If I hadn't just met the Half-Orc of my dreams I would just kiss you right now, so hard!" Molly happily expressed.

She really should've expected this. One of the reasons she had made this wish in the first place was just because of how colourful these people's personalities were, and how those had resulted in some damn strong relationships. Of course that was gonna mean some strong feelings about getting to keep those relationships going. These thoughts and more went through Pulse's head as she tried her best to answer the ecstatic folks pinning her down, until eventually help arrived. In the form of two huge hands gently picking up Root and putting her to the side, before similarly picking up Molly to embrace her.

"Well damn, big girl. You just keep making the rest of us look lacking by comparison, huh?"

Alva, with Molly tightly held in her right arm, reached out to help the still downed Pulse up from the ground. When the Drow was back on her feet, the much larger Half-Orc gave her a hearty slap on the back while laughing. Hearty for the former's standards at least - Alva herself had to hold back somewhat immensely.

"I'm glad I was right. I really did go down to the best of us! Apparently not just in terms of fighting, but in character too! Using a fucking reality warping thing for some blokes you've known for about four days? That's just madness, the good kind!" the giant warrior laughed.

"Well, to be fair you blokes helped me more during four days than anyone sans my adoptive folks have done in my whole life. And besides, it was either this or using a relic of endless possibility to make myself feel less angsty. Plus, I couldn't just break up my friend and her new flame, now could I?" Pulse sheepishly responded.

Clearly she didn't think as highly of her deed as the people around her did. She was made of a lot of things: smarts, determination and bluntness among them. Clearly this didn't include ego. But apparently it was enough good things for Alva to hastily pull her into a one-armed affectionate squeeze, before turning her attention back to the Dwarf in her other arm.

"So… now that we don't have to split anymore, what do you say? Wanna try a date and see where that goes, you smoking hot hothead?" Alva whispered towards Molly in the most sensual way possible, to the point that Pulse immediately skedaddled before things got too steamy.

Molly simply grinned in an equally sensual way, before putting her arms around Alva's neck.

"Bae… you bet your giant ass that I do!"

What followed was a quick but clear mutual kiss, with both parts clearly not caring just how many people were watching. This could've perhaps been the start of a hopefully long and loving relationship after all - the first one on record to cross universes. All set to a loud "aawww" noise coming from the audience, followed by another long round of applause.

While Pulse did join in the applause, she did leave the two lovebirds to it as she went back to her dad. There was still one harsh truth to acknowledge, and it was better to just get it done before she missed her chance. But one look from him told her all she needed. They would talk about it, but not here in the big arena. This was something that had to be just between them. And with a bittersweet nod, Pulse showed that she understood. Right now she could just enjoy the happy mood for a couple minutes longer. Besides, every other contestant barring the professor and Inferno was eagerly making their way towards her. Pulse let out a smiling sigh as she prepared herself to address her remaining grateful friends.

"WHAT A LEGENDARY SERIES OF EVENTS TO CLOSE OFF THE TOURNAMENT! FROM THE VICTORIOUS CONTESTANT PULSE MAKING HER WISH IMMEDIATELY, TO HER SHOWING THE BIGGEST SHOW OF SELFLESSNESS I HAVE EVER WITNESSED TO POSSIBLY THE FIRST INTERDIMENSIONAL RELATIONSHIP BEING FORMED… AMAZING, TRULY AMAZING! BUT NOW, EVERYONE, THIS REALLY IS IT! THE CONTEST IS OFFICIALLY OVER, AND WHAT A CONTEST IT WAS! NOW ALL THAT REMAINS IS FOR EVERYONE TO GO HOME… AND TO LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT TIME! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR COMING, AND ONE LAST THANK YOU TO OUR GLORIOUS 16 CONTESTANTS! THIS IS YOUR ANNOUNCER, GOOGLORP, SIGNING OFF… ONE LAST TIME! GOODBYE FOR NOW!"

"So meetup for a beer, next Tuesday in your hometown, right?"

About half an hour after the closing ceremonies, the contestants had all gathered around the ginormous portal generator that was about to take them home. Professor Suss and Molly had been the first to go through the blurred blueish gateway, with Alva heading out soon after - although not before noting how the two rods maintaining the field looked notably similar to Pulse's Photon Field rods. The last the remaining folks saw of the hulking behemoth was a cold shudder. Next up in turn was Morgan, but before he headed home his new good chum would need to confirm their meeting plans.

"Yes, at the Dragonblade. Best beer in the province, so look forward to it! Take care, my friend!"

Owen cheerily waved towards Morgan as the guffawing Mosasaurus hybrid walked through the gateway, and after the portal closed to recalibrate to Universe 14's signature the beefy Dragonborn let out a satisfied sigh. He'd made a couple good friends during this trip, but that marine was something else. And as the portal swirled to life again, he took one last look at the people who'd fought along with him. Owen threw one more grateful wave towards the one who'd made his continued friendship with Morgan possible, before lumbering through the deep blue wormhole.

The newly crowned greatest in the multiverse had just finished checking that all her belongings were packed and accounted for, and after waving back towards Owen's exit she leaned back with a deep sigh. At this point she had finished most of her goodbyes, from promising to compare notes with Abigail again to answering John's awkward invitation to come to his universe sometime with a "maybe". Barring the big dreaded goodbye, that just left one person. A person that had just approached her while she was deep in thought - Pulse didn't even notice him until he'd already sat down next to her.

"Hey there, champ. Everything good?" Prime asked in an unusually collected tone.

Pulse let out another deep but contented sigh. She did have a lot on her mind right now, but almost all of it were good things. So she decided to share some of it with the robotic runner-up beside her - to her, Prime felt like someone who she could feel at ease around. Particularly when he wasn't in a fired-up mood.

"Yeah, I'm all good. Great, even. I was just thinking about… everything from these last few days, really. All the new relationships, all the action, how I of all people managed to be named the winner… you know the drill. To be honest I'm still trying to grasp it: me, a mere mechanic, managing to outlast someone as good as you? I mean, I'm not complaining, but I'm still not sure if this wasn't more luck than anything" the Drow expressed.

Upon hearing Pulse's moment of doubt, Prime simply laughed as he hit her in the shoulder with a light jab. Clearly he didn't agree with her argument for even a second.

"Come on, are you kidding? You hit me with everything you had, while I came at you with all I had! And at the end you didn't have any sort of block or hindrance; I can tell you were at your absolute best! Your full power, if you will. So no, it wasn't luck if you ask me. Just skill, smarts and more drive to win than even me" Prime exclaimed.

"The only thing I'm surprised about is how you could fight that well with those things in the way" he teasingly added while motioning towards her upper torso; a comment which netted him a light jab in the shoulder from a somewhat abashed Pulse.

"...Hey! Mind yourself there, pal!" Pulse retorted in a snappy but light-hearted tone, before quickly changing the subject.

"Anyway, did you catch what that Googlorp guy said in his closing speech? That whole 'LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT TIME' thing? You think they're gonna end up hosting another tournament?" the inventor asked inquisitively in her best impression of the Plasmoid.

The previously so calm Prime suddenly lit up like a christmas tree, and in no time at all he was back to his more recognizable bombastic self.

"Oh man, I hope so! I'd better get to training before then, 'cause you can bet that I'm coming for that title of yours! And I'll need to come up with some new special moves too! Aaah, I can't wait!" Prime rambled on.

Pulse couldn't help but laugh; that robot was nothing if not upliftingly energetic.

But all good times had to come to an end - Abigail was calling over to Prime. It was their turn to go home.

"Heh, there's far from any guarantee that they're gonna host a second tournament and you're already planning ahead. You really love fighting more than anything, don't you?" Pulse said with a smile, extending her fist towards the robot as he stood up to leave.

Prime chuckled a little, before answering the fist bump with one hand and motioning a small wave with the other. There was no need to say farewell; they'd see each other again, after all.

"Yeah of course, what's not to love?" was the last thing Prime said before he headed over towards his creator, both of them all set to go home.

As Pulse watched her fellow inventor and her high-spirited creation disappear through the portal field, she took a deep breath as her smile slowly dropped. Right now Bastion was the next in turn to go home through the gateway, and after that it was her turn. Hers, Gameron's… and Vuzrak's. She and Gameron would end up back in their respective spots where they'd been picked up for the tournament, and while it would be the same for Vuzrak he would be returned to beyond the veil. He might have gotten to keep his physical body, but that did not change the fact that he'd long passed from the mortal realm. So it was with a heavy lump in her throat that Pulse approached her similarly solemn dad.

"...Hey dad. I… I think you already know what's about to happen" the inventor exhaled.

Vuzrak had had a lot of time to come to grips with this. He'd had this in the back of his mind ever since his and Pulse's reconnection on the battlefield, and he was thus about as ready as he could be for this goodbye. That didn't make it any less difficult though.

"I'm so sorry… I wasn't sure if I could make the wish any more specific. I was certain to include the option to traverse universes, but I couldn't guarantee that the bracelet was also gonna be capable of crossing the planes within one singular universe. Which means that this is goodbye. Unless they actually go through with hosting another tournament, we won't meet again until I kick the bucket. Which hopefully won't be for another 700 years or so. Again, I-I'm sorry. I wasn't-"

Pulse's apology was interrupted by the heaviest hug she had ever received; it put all of the cleric's previous embraces to shame. And that was the point where the floodgates opened. Pulse had managed to hold back her emotions for quite a long while, but hugging her long-lost dad for what she assumed was the last time caused them to erupt in the form of a small river of tears. All for a man she'd never known anything about until a few days ago, but who'd time and time again shown that his undying familial love was everything she didn't know she needed.

"I got to see you again, Pulse. All grown up and doing well. That is all I could've asked for. Thank you, my daughter. For everything that you are" Vuzrak warmly whispered, although not without starting to shed tears of his own.

The two Drow remained standing there for a while, exchanging farewells, good-luck wishes and gratitudes. But eventually they broke off the embrace, now fully content with their separation. It was high time to go home and continue their own lives - and undeaths - and adventures.

"Well then, are you ready? Have you said everything you wanted?" Gameron patiently asked the Drow duo as they approached the open vortex.

Pulse and Vuzrak looked towards the other one more time, before sharing a heartfelt nod.

"We have. Let's go home!" Pulse said with a grin, before all three disappeared from view as they walked through the portal.

The Multiversal Tournament was over, but the lives of its participants went on. Perhaps one day they would all gather again, either for another contest or to unite against something greater. But until then they would keep building their own stories. They had dungeons to crawl, dragons to slay and kingdoms to save. And thanks to one selfless wish, they would always have new friends at their sides. Together, their bonds were possibly the greatest in the multiverse.

That was just who they were.