"WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THE BATTLE CONTINUES! WHAT DO YOU ALL SAY - SHALL WE WELCOME IN OUR NEXT TWO TEAMS TO THE BATTLEFIELD?"
Team Full Power and Team Academia's scuffle had brought about a whole slew of emotions all around, but now right after it had ended the ruling one was the usual excitement. That, and impatience: The vast majority of people just wanted Googlorp to stop prolonging this and for the fighters to enter already. Luckily for them, they didn't have to wait long.
"I'LL TAKE THOSE ROUSING ROARS AS A YES! WELL THEN, PEOPLE OF THE MULTIVERSE; HERE THEY COME! THE FIRST TEAM OF THE SECOND FIGHT!"
Shortly after the quick exchange of congratulations, hyping up and wishes of good luck between the victorious Team Full Power and their succeeding fighters, the room had fallen silent outside of the latter's preparations. Although with those preparations being clanging of metal and the ruffling of a bag from one side, and the other being rhythmic stretching accompanied by a few low grunts and hums, calling it silence was probably not the best choice of words. Eventually the semi-silence was broken; one of the contestants was all done with her preparations.
"Alright, that should be everything. What about you, are you sure you don't want to borrow an extra javelin or something?"
As an inventor and mechanic, Abigail knew it was crucial that all of her many tools were in working order. Without those she only had her own strength and overall lack of fighting skills to work with, and while the former was extremely formidable it wouldn't get her very far by itself. No, she needed two things more than anything in order to get anywhere in this contest. One of those things was her sharp intellect, the other one was right about to answer her question.
"Nah, I reckon I'll do right fine! I've got the ol' shooting iron, my sword, my trusty shield and my guts! Besides, this time I even remembered to bring extra bullets! What more could a gal need?"
Abigail had been around Ashes enough to understand that no, she did not need to borrow anything to make do out there. The only thing the Half-Orc had been worried about was her friend's bad habit of never bringing extra ammunition, but it seemed that that wasn't gonna be an issue today. So as Ashes finished up her stretches and went to grab her gear, Abigail let out a big exhale as she too picked up everything she needed. An exhale whose undertone didn't escape Ashes.
"You feelin' rattled? You sure sound like you are" the Tiefling somewhat teasingly asked her friend.
Abigail stayed silent for a second or two. She and Ashes had grown to understand the other quite a bit over the many times they'd met up to spar, drink or just hang out over the last year, so the mechanic didn't even consider hiding her thoughts from her.
"Yeah, I am. I mean, we're going up against the kid after all. You probably know even better than me just how big of a hurdle that is. I'm more curious as to how you AREN'T nervous" Abigail sighed.
Ashes simply chuckled. There was a very easy answer for Abigail's perplexion.
"Oh, I'm rattled alright. Guess I'm just better at hiding it! I just figure that there ain't any point in doubting myself - better to just go the whole hog no matter what! Also, that 'kid' ain't that much younger than you are, let alone me. Don't start sounding like an old lady on me, you hear?" Ashes cheerfully explained.
The Tiefling could be harder to understand than a native Sylvan speaker, but Abigail knew her well enough to appreciate the levity in her answer. The Half-Orc hoisted up her backpack as she started to head to the corridor towards the arena, all the while her nervousness was steadily put further and further into the back of her mind. Ashes quickly put on her black longcoat as she joined her teammate, fully prepared for the scrap that was to come. The time for preparations was over - now it was time for the good part.
"Right then, you ready for your rematch, Ashes?" Abigail steadfastly asked, raising her fist up for a fist bump all the while.
"I'm ready to win the whole kit and caboodle, Abby!" Ashes laughed, not hesitating to answer Abigail's gesture for a second.
"IN THE BLUE CORNER, WE HAVE TEAM STRAPPER MAKING THEIR ENTRANCE! THEIR MEMBERS INCLUDE CONTESTANT ABIGAIL HARLOW, THE BRAWNY BRAINIAC, WHO PREVIOUSLY ENDED UP IN THE QUARTERFINALS AGAINST HER CURRENT TEAMMATE THROUGH A COMBINATION OF HER IMPRESSIVE BRUTE STRENGTH AND HER EVEN MORE REMARKABLE GENIUS INTELLECT! AND CONTESTANT ASHES, THE RED ROUNCHER, WHO MADE IT TO THE SEMIFINALS AFTER DISPLAYING SIMILARLY PRODIGIOUS MUSCLE POWER, FIGHTING SKILL AND PURE DETERMINATION! THEY MET AS OPPONENTS, BUT NOW THEY AIM TO WIN TOGETHER! WILL WE SEE THEIR COMBINED STRENGTH BRINGING THEM THE TITLE OF MULTIVERSE'S GREATEST TEAM, OR WILL THEY TURN OUT TO HAVE NEEDED MORE TIME AT THE GYM? THE ANSWER WILL SOON BE REVEALED!"
While Team Strapper had been happily chatting and preparing, their opposition were a lot more thoughtful with their own planning. The fact that the teams, unlike the audience, had been informed of the matchups beforehand was certainly very welcome. That meant that the more tactical contestants had plenty of time to come up with strategies or just mentally prepare themselves. But while Abigail and Ashes' opponents had spent long hours doing just that, right now wasn't one of those hours. At least one of the contestants was deep in other thoughts.
"Nervous, starlight?"
Vuzrak's telepathic message brought Pulse back to the here and now - either that, or the somewhat embarrassing nickname he'd taken up calling her. Regardless, the inventor shook her head as she turned to face her dad.
"About the match? Not really. I just can't stop thinking about that… sensation from before. It was like everything I've ever known about reality just flipped upside down, and we don't even know what could've caused it. Are you absolutely sure you didn't feel anything, dad?" Pulse pondered.
The cleric didn't really know how to respond. He knew his daughter well enough to not doubt that she'd felt something, but he himself really hadn't a clue about what that something was. So all he could do was look her in the eye and assure her as best he could that it can't have been anything to worry about. At least not right now.
"It must've been something very distant" he replied.
Pulse let out another sigh; not the answer to the question she'd asked, but probably the right one regardless. Whatever it was, it wasn't an imminent threat. Right now she and Vuzrak had better things to do than worry about something that far off.
"I guess so. But I get what you're trying to say, and you don't need to worry. I'm very much ready to go! Just to make sure though, do you remember all the tactics we went through?" Pulse assured her father.
The spectral shape that was Vuzrak simply nodded as an affirmation. And with that, the two Drow stood up to go out towards the battlefield. Their plans were all thought out, their focus was in the here and now and their minds were about as aligned as they could be. Pulse gave Vuzrak a quick hug beforehand; she had to admit, hugging him in this cold, spectral state felt almost like hugging a snowman. Almost as peculiar as it was endearing.
"AND IN THE RED CORNER, THE ONE AND ONLY TEAM OVERDARK! AMONG THEIR RANKS WE HAVE THE AVATAR OF THE DEPARTED VUZRAK DEATE, THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO MAKES AN UNEXPECTED RETURN AFTER HIS SURRENDER IN THE QUARTERFINALS LAST YEAR! AND BESIDE HIM HIS DAUGHTER, WHO NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION… CONTESTANT PULSE CADWALADER, THE GADGETEER CHAMPION; THE ONE WHO WON THE TITLE OF GREATEST IN THE MULTIVERSE! WITH HER BRILLIANT MIND, INCREDIBLE CREATIONS AND SHEER DETERMINATION, SHE CLIMBED ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP OF LAST YEAR'S CONTEST! AND NOW FATHER AND DAUGHTER ARE BACK TO REACH THOSE HEIGHTS YET AGAIN! WILL THEIR FAMILIAL BOND PROVE ENOUGH TO OVERCOME THEIR OPPONENTS, OR WILL THEY FAIL TO LIVE UP TO THEIR PAST GLORY? IT'S ALL DECIDED TODAY!"
Abigail's and Ashes' earlier entrance had been met by a substantial amount of approval, but that was nothing compared to Vuzrak's and especially Pulse's. The sheer volume of all the roars and chants of her name could only be described as deafening - Team Strapper both had to plug their ears for a moment, and while Pulse adored hearing everybody cheer for her she almost wished for a moment that she'd followed her opponents' example. But nobody could really blame the audience too much. Their overall favourite had arrived to defend her title, and they all knew they'd be in for one hell of a good time.
"Wow. Not to state the obvious, but you sure are popular here. Well deserved though if you ask me" Abigail said as she looked over the cheering masses.
"You know, I've been fantasising about this. The opportunity to put your ideas and tools against mine - see whose brainchildren are really the greatest, if you will. I guess what I'm trying to say is may the best inventor win, and let's make this a good one!" the Half-Orc continued.
She had barely finished her sentence before Ashes let out a laugh.
"Hey now Abby, don't forget about me and the holy man! I dunno about you two, but I'm just happy to get a rematch! I'll be gunning for that title of yours, lil' firecracker, and I'll be sure to give you the biggest scrap y'all have ever seen in either of your lives! Let's settle this, Team Overdark… whatever that means!" Ashes heartily added, looking over both Pulse and Vuzrak all the while.
At least Pulse couldn't help but gulp a little as she eyed Ashes over; she definitely looked noticeably beefier than last time. The Drow could certainly tell where that confidence was coming from - and going by the hint of unease behind Vuzrak's otherwise cordial expression, so could he. Regardless, she put those feelings aside for now as she answered her friends. Those two might've improved over the last year, but so had she.
"Well, both of us came from the Underdark but ended up wanting to have nothing to do with it anymore. So we're the complete opposite: Team Overdark! But anyway, I couldn't agree more on either of your points! Me and dad will show just what we're made of, and I assure you that I won't give up my title so easily! Let's do this, Team… Strapper, was it?" Pulse confidently retorted, with a bit of confusion thrown in towards the end.
Abigail simply sighed through a smile as she answered the smaller inventor's perplexion.
"Ashes' idea. It's apparently a term for a large and bulky woman, and… well, neither of us are exactly that small. And I've always been pretty bad at coming up with names, so Team Strapper it is. Anyway, everyone ready to go?" Abigail quickly explained.
All four contestants either nodded or vocally confirmed that yes, they were ready and itching to go. Before turning around to get in position, Vuzrak briefly locked eyes with Abigail as he sent a brief telepathic wish for good luck. He hadn't had much time to catch up with his fellow parent after all; just before fighting her and her Tiefling friend in a competitive match was as good a time as any. And judging by the Half-Orc's smile and nod back towards him, it seemed she reciprocated the wish. But with that, everything had been said. It was high time to start the fight already.
Pulse equipped her goggles as she took a deep breath. Abigail cracked her neck and knuckles. Vuzrak clutched his holy symbol while closing his eyes. Ashes pulled back her coat to hover her hand above her firearm. The audience all went silent as they prepared for what was about to come, and up in his booth Googlorp took a deep equivalent of a breath. The time to fight had come.
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"ROUND 2: BEGIN!"
[KABOOOMM!]
The air in the arena immediately turned intense as Ashes started off the match by drawing her gun and firing towards her opponents, all the while Abigail ducked down behind her to pull out her first tool from her backpack. However, none of the bullets hit home despite the Tiefling's noteworthy aim. Pulse's thinking had been just as quick - she had dropped her latest invention on the ground just before Ashes had reached her firearm. Which meant that the large shiny dome, made up of the same type of field that'd made her Photon Shield such a success, had deployed from the tiny generator around Team Overdark just in time to block every single bullet. Its elven inventor let out a sigh of relief as the dome turned out to work just as intended, but more than that a curious smile - a total of 6 bullets had been fired towards them. Which meant that either Ashes had just been left without the use of her main weapon, or she had learned to counter her habit of not bringing extra ammo. Either way, Pulse was happy; either for her own chances improving, or her friend overcoming a weakness.
"Alright, this should buy us a moment to set things up. Go ahead and do your thing, dad!" Pulse hurriedly told Vuzrak.
While the mechanic quickly followed Abigail's example and started to rummage through her Bag of Holding, Vuzrak started to mutter something while his long white hair began to shimmer. Or at least it looked like he did; whatever words he tried to speak out loud remained silent. Apparently sound couldn't cross dimensions the same way his spirit could. But given how the ground beneath the force dome started to pulsate with bright magical energy, the Aura of Vitality spell itself could. And around the same moment as Vuzrak opened his eyes again, Pulse stood up with her bag back on her back and her first tool in her hands. Or given how said tool was her Gauntlets of Ogre Power, the right word would rather be on her hands. A bit weathered after a year of steady use during adventuring, but still in 100% working order.
However, there was still another inventor on the field pulling out one of her remarkable creations. Abigail had required a bit more time given the sheer size of her construction, but during the moments that Vuzrak had spent channelling his Aura of Vitality the Half-Orc had released and activated her trusty Steel Defender. Team Strapper had now been joined by a third member - Darwin, the huge robotic lizard. All revved up and ready to go.
"Okay, so here's the plan. We can't rush in without knowing what that barrier is capable of, so Darwin will go in and test its durability. We know your firearm can't bust through it, so if Darwin runs up to the left I vote you follow up and go for the right. As soon as we either get through the dome or break it, I'll try to join you and take this fight to close quarters. Does that sound like a plan, Ashes?" Abigail whispered in her friend's ear.
The Tiefling simply grinned, before grabbing the rim of her coat to dramatically throw it to the side. As she grabbed the weathered shield from her back and unsheathed her trusty shortsword, she gave her thoughts on Abigail's idea.
"Fine as cream gravy, Abby! Just send in the lizard and I'll be right behind him!" Ashes eagerly replied.
Abigail followed up her teammate's answer by sending in the lizard. The artificial half-ton reptile immediately started to run at a surprisingly high speed towards the Drow duo, and despite Pulse answering its assault by drawing her own G.U.N. and rapidly firing at it she only managed to dent its armour. Which also caused Abigail to make a mental note - the dome could block bullets and probably more from the outside, but Team Overdark could still fire away without worries from the inside. Now to see if it could block the much larger Darwin's charge. Ashes however didn't stop to think about any of this for even a second, instead charging in after Darwin with her sturdy shield put up in front of her. The dome was about to be assaulted in a scissor attack, and the two Drow underneath it knew they needed to act fast.
With a charging metallic reptile on her right and a massive Tiefling on her left, Pulse went for the one without a shield and resistance to fire. Mere seconds later the Scorching Ray had been launched from her finger not too unlike a bullet from her firearm, and with its large frame Darwin wasn't difficult to hit. But its attack was barely even halted - with the robot's durable armour plating and lack of pain receptors, Pulse hadn't really been expecting to do that. So when Darwin went right through the barrier, and thus confirmed to its creator that only smaller projectiles could be blocked from the outside, the elven mechanic was ready to counter it. Good thing she knew exactly how.
During the last year Pulse had found time to not only visit Universe 6 a couple times, but also compare notes with fellow mechanic Abigail. And while the likes of Prime's blueprints had remained classified, the much less unique Darwin had no such luxury. So with her phenomenal memory, the Drow remembered where its central core was located, what it was made of… and its flaws. In one quick motion, Pulse grabbed ahold of its steel jaws with her left hand - with her gauntlets augmenting her physical strength, holding the mouth shut was not an issue. And with a hefty grunt, she smashed her right fist right onto the top of Darwin's head. The resulting dent hadn't quite managed to break through, but it was sizable enough for what would come next. Pulse just hoped she hadn't miscalculated the robot's resistances.
[BBZZZZTT!]
The lights in Darwin's optics went out practically immediately. As its lifeless body slumped to the ground, Pulse stood back up while shaking off the lingering sparks from the spell's minor recoil. Turns out she'd been right on the money - one Shocking Grasp had been enough to completely fry Darwin's cranial unit, and with that any chance of repairing it until the fight was over. But Pulse could feel proud about herself later; Darwin might've been dealt with, but with all her focus having gone towards it she had neglected Ashes entering the dome with sword in hand. And judging by the latter's intense expression, she was about to make the incoming overhead slash hurt. That is, if it connected.
[THOOOM!]
Ashes gritted her teeth as she took the recoil of her sword slamming right onto the durable spectral shield. All eyes had been on Pulse shutting down Darwin with little to no effort, so when the Tiefling had breached the force dome she'd expected to at least get a solid hit in. In hindsight, she berated herself a bit; of course Vuzrak would be alert enough to stand between his daughter and Ashes. And unlike said daughter, he was strong enough to block a full-strength slam from the hulking farmgirl for at least a moment.
"SEEMS WE'RE OFF TO ONE HELL OF A START! TEAM STRAPPER SHOWS US THE TACTICAL APPROACH OF AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE, BUT TEAM OVERDARK PROVES THEMSELVES TO BE AN IMMOVABLE OBJECT BACKED BY SCIENCE AND DIVINITY! AND WITH THAT SUDDEN SHOCK FROM CONTESTANT PULSE, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT ROBOTIC REPTILE IS NO MORE! SO FAR THE DROW DUO HAVE THE ADVANTAGE - HOW LONG CAN THEY KEEP IT?"
"Go! I will handle her!" Vuzrak loudly messaged Pulse.
The mechanic quickly nodded, before crouching down to pick up the spectral dome's generator. With the Aura of Vitality cast and the Gauntlets of Ogre Power equipped, the barrier had done its job. Besides, given how Abigail had snapped out of her stunned surprise at Darwin's quick dismantlement and was now rushing in towards them, Pulse doubted it would remain useful for long anyway. So instead she took off her right gauntlet to draw her firearm and fire 3 bullets. Bullets which handily bounced off of the shimmering Shield spell. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. So instead, Pulse did the exact opposite. Instead of sticking with her literal guns, she re-equipped her gauntlet and rushed into close range.
"Oh you're gonna regret that, kiddo! Great thinking with that Shocking Grasp, but that just means I'm gonna hit you that much harder!" Abigail snickered.
By now the burly Half-Orc had come close enough to throw a solid hook, and just like she'd expected her smaller opponent sidestepped it easily. So she tried again with a jab from her left hand… a manoeuvre she quickly realised she'd come to regret. Because Pulse had just grabbed ahold of her wrist, and thanks to the sheer strength provided by the gauntlets Abigail found herself unable to break free. And as a result of the pain from the following Shocking Grasp distracting her, it didn't take long until her right wrist had been grabbed as well. Pulse had Abigail at her mercy, and given her confident grin she was about to make use of that opportunity.
"Given your size, estimated weight and strength feats, I'd reckon you'd be capable of lifting your own weight and then some. These gauntlets have a maximum output comparable to those strength feats. In other words…"
Pulse paused her explanation in order to give a visual demonstration. With a hefty grunt, the comparatively lithe Drow started to lift the huge Abigail off the ground over her shoulder. And before the Half-Orc could react, she was slammed into the ground with a loud thud. Abigail let out a groan as the pain hit her, but that groan was quickly silenced. Because Pulse wasn't quite done with her yet.
"... I can do that. Shocking, I know."
The Drow finished her counterattack by unloading the biggest Shocking Grasp she could muster. The roaring audience could visibly see the bolts coursing through Abigail, and if it weren't for their approving cheers they'd probably hear her agonising screams too. It was obvious - Abigail had no answer other than hanging on until Pulse stopped her attack. Right now, the smaller inventor had the clear advantage.
"You're doing pretty well for a gospel sharp! Almost making me work up a sweat here!"
While Pulse was handling Abigail pretty well, the same couldn't be said about Vuzrak. He might've been a respected cleric of Eilistraee and no slouch in close quarters, but Ashes' sheer strength and clearly superior fighting skills meant that he was fighting a losing battle. Hell, she was even comfortable enough to throw in a taunt as well. And while she hadn't gotten in any hit bigger than a flesh - or rather, soul - wound, it was only a matter of time before she broke through. Which she did mere seconds after Vuzrak had finished that thought; with a sudden slam from her tail, the farmgirl smacked the shield right out of his hand. Now that her opponent was wide open, Ashes wasted no time in revving up for a powerful side slash… or she would have, if the Drow hadn't pulled out a counterattack. Vuzrak wasn't a cleric of Eilistraee for his mastery of the shield, after all.
"Then I'd better try harder, then!" the cleric messaged Ashes.
Now Vuzrak's ghastly body began to glow even brighter. The Light spell quickly proved successful - Ashes staggered backwards as she covered her blinded eyes with her free arm. Suddenly losing sight of her foe had also visibly thrown her off balance, causing her to blindly swing her sword around to keep Vuzrak away. At least… until she slowed down. In front of everyone, the berserk Tiefling appeared as if her energy was rapidly drained; her swings dramatically slowed, her fiery expression was replaced with a docile calmness and her posture straightened. All the while Vuzrak simply muttered something. And eventually she came to a halt entirely, her arms slumped to the side and making no attempts to stop the Drow. Vuzrak let out a visible sigh; if the Calm Emotions spell had failed, he'd most likely been taken out here and now. And in his undead state he did not want to know what would've happened then.
For a moment, Ashes remained in her own little world. But that ended at the same time as the spell… courtesy of a warhammer slamming her in the back. The Tiefling was sent face-first into the ground with a crushing pain between her shoulders. Her natural toughness coupled with Vuzrak's somewhat rushed attempt at getting a hit in meant that she hadn't broken anything - cracked some bones for sure, but not quite broken - but it sure hurt like all hell. However, Ashes was far from out. Mere moments after hitting the ground, the farmgirl lashed out with her large tail. The surprise attack worked; Vuzrak was sent stumbling, giving the adrenaline-fueled Ashes enough time to stand back up and counterattack. And counterattack she did. With a loud roar, the farmgirl slammed into her spectral foe with the back of her shield as hard as she could. Hard enough to send the ghastly, but still somewhat physical and armoured, Vuzrak flying a couple metres back.
The sudden feat of strength had knocked the air out of more than just Vuzrak; the audience fell silent for about a second before resuming their eternal cheering. But Ashes' next action proved that this one-handed slam had been more a result of the adrenaline fueling her on than anything else. As Vuzrak struggled to remain standing, so did Ashes. The pain from the warhammer strike had begun to set in as the adrenaline rush wore off, which meant that the Tiefling was left reeling almost as much as her opponent. Right now, it was hard to say who had the advantage.
It was about then that Pulse had to let up her Shocking Grasp - any longer and she'd risk destroying her hands, both organic and artificial. Besides, this much voltage would've been more than enough to kill any normal person. Abigail might've been extremely tough, but even she couldn't have much more fight left in h-
"GRAAAAGH!"
Pulse's thoughts were interrupted by the uncharacteristically primal roar from her charred opponent. Abigail had lunged out almost immediately after the spell had ended, surprising the smaller mechanic enough to fail to react in time. The Half-Orc had managed to grab ahold of Pulse's left leg, and judging by how hard she grasped it it didn't take a genius to figure what she was trying to do. The Drow winced in pain; her force field prevented Abigail from crushing her leg immediately, but despite this she still felt like it was stuck in a hydraulic press. And in the latter's fight-or-flight state it was only a matter of time before she'd resort to something much more dangerous. Pulse needed to act fast and she knew it.
"Ch-choke on this, Abby!" the elven inventor stuttered through gritted teeth.
Aside from her improvised one liner, Pulse's attempt to free herself was about to prove successful. And despite the Chaos Bolt forming in her artificial right hand being utterly random in nature, said one liner had accidentally been spot-on. Because it had settled on the form of a murky poisonous cloud by the time it reached the livid Abigail's face. Poisonous enough to not only make the Half-Orc violently cough, but also to let go of her opponent as a consequence. Pulse ignored the pain in her leg enough to crack a smile; that escape had been the result of nothing but dumb luck.
"SEEMS LIKE THAT ADVANTAGE I SPOKE ABOUT IS ABOUT TO BE DROPPED! CONTESTANT VUZRAK GIVES AS GOOD AS HE GETS, BUT AGAINST THE WALL THAT IS CONTESTANT ASHES THAT MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH! AND WHILE CONTESTANT PULSE APPEARS TO BE BETTER OFF, EVEN A CHAMPION NEEDS TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO DROP THEIR GUARD! BOTH SIDES MIGHT BE BROKEN AND BRUISED, BUT NEITHER ARE EVEN CLOSE TO BEATEN JUST YET! WHO WILL COME OUT ON TOP TODAY?"
With her foe distracted by the poison cloud, Pulse could afford a moment to assess the situation. Googlorp had been correct; Team Overdark still had the advantage, but against the immense walls of muscle that was Team Strapper they couldn't afford to let too many hits slip in. Something that Vuzrak was risking right about now. So Pulse decided on her next plan, before reaching for her Grievously Unbearable Nuisance. It was time to switch things up a little.
The Drow pointed her firearm towards the now recovered Ashes, but right as she was about to pull the trigger she had to weave out of the way of a blindly swinging green fist. Abigail was still only a metre or so away from her after all; the noxious gases hadn't created any distance. Therefore all three bullets missed their target, but at least they made Ashes stop in her tracks long enough to redirect her attention. Just what Pulse had counted on. With a fierce grunt, the Drow threw as big of a gauntlet-boosted punch in Abigail's stomach as she could muster. And given how the bulky inventor fell to her knees with her hands on her stomach and with nothing more than a pained whimper escaping her lungs, she wouldn't make any moves to stop her foe. Which gave Pulse plenty of time to run up towards her father.
"You doing okay, dad? I'm only doing so-so myself, so how about we try to switch dance partners?" Pulse suggested.
Vuzrak simply nodded as he hoisted up his warhammer. His daughter had already beaten Ashes before and he knew Abigail more than he did any other contestant barring Pulse, so it went without saying that he agreed with the logic behind that idea. The two Drow thus switched their gazes over to new targets - Pulse slammed her gauntlets together as Ashes tipped her hat with a fiery grin, while Vuzrak quickly started to make his way over to the coughing Abigail. The Half-Orc was still left reeling from the gases and the gut punch, which meant that Vuzrak was free to get a solid hit in. At least… that's what he thought.
The cleric had just gotten close enough to swing his hammer when Abigail made her move. Not only did she completely avoid the overhead slam, she also lunged out to grab Vuzrak by the wrist with all her might. Which was enough to not only make the ghostly Drow wordlessly stagger in pain, but also make him drop the hammer to the ground. And to come to a worrisome realisation - Abigail must've faked being incapacitated for so long. She had definitely been quite damaged, but not as much as Vuzrak had expected. These thoughts went through his mind as the large mechanic hoisted him up by the wrist, before turning him around to look his spectral avatar in the eyes.
"I have to admit, that hurt. All of it. You have one hell of a daughter, you know that? You have every right to be proud of her. But that also means that me and Ashes will have to pull out the big guns if we want to win this. So… apologies in advance, Vuzrak" Abigail stated.
With her free hand, the inventor pulled out something from her Bag of Holding. To someone like Vuzrak, the roughly fist-sized metal sphere didn't look like anything special. Something he knew meant that it was probably very dangerous. But what really made him worry was that Abigail didn't use whatever this was on him. Instead she rolled it towards Pulse and Ashes, until it stopped right behind the latter. But the impressive - and to the Drow, worrisome - part came right after. The small brass sphere suddenly unfolded four tiny thin legs, not too dissimilar in form to a spider minus half its limbs. As it hastily scurried around the intrigued Ashes and the cautious Pulse, it released a steady stream of some thick and grimy substance. And then came the ignition. Within seconds, the ring of grime around Pulse and Ashes had been set ablaze to form a cage of fire. Fire that Abigail's infernal teammate was barely inconvenienced by… but which blocked her much more flammable opponent off severely. Now that she'd aided her friend in turning the tables, the Half-Orc turned back to the fearful Vuzrak.
"And as for you, I'm sorry. This is still a fight to the finish, so don't take this personally" Abigail apologised.
Vuzrak could feel the grip around him tighten as his opponent's body became surrounded by a bright red aura. It wasn't difficult to recognize what this was - the spell known as Enhance Ability. Capable of boosting attributes such as dexterity, constitution, intelligence and more… and given how Abigail had just used it to crank up her already immense strength to the extremes, he braced himself for impact as she effortlessly slammed him to the ground.
The green mechanic continued her assault by slamming Vuzrak around several more times, seemingly lifting him as easily as one would a feather. Lucky for him that he was technically only there as a spectral avatar; if this had been a flesh and blood body, he would've most definitely been completely turned to mush. Abigail finished her attack by throwing her target like an elven hammer throw straight into the arena wall, and while she hadn't broken a sweat Vuzrak was a different story. His avatar could only take so much punishment before the connection between it and his physical form broke, but given how much it flickered and how his edges had blurred he wasn't far off from that outcome. All as his daughter was trapped in a flaming cage with a hulking Tiefling, while both said Tiefling and her supercharged teammate knew full well that the advantage was theirs. Right now, Team Overdark knew all too well how far up against the wall they were.
"Ha! Just when you thought you've seen everything, they pull out a ring of fire! All these genius strategies and tools that I can't understand being thrown around… I'm starting to feel a bit behind here!"
Since two of the smartest people of the tournament were out on the battlefield right now, most of the other contestants up in their seats shared this sentiment. But only the enormous Dragonborn paladin known as Owen Whitlock had actually stated it out loud. And if anyone else agreed with his last sentence, they didn't show it. Only he did. Owen was larger and stronger than anyone not named Alva Morrison, he had a close connection to the war god Tempus and he'd even won that one karaoke contest a couple years ago. And yet he couldn't help but feel lacking when faced with all those clever strategies out there, regardless of how effective they were. It was enough to make the otherwise so outgoing Dragonborn slump down a bit.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Owen! I've known many fine people in my day, and you are among the greatest of them! So what if you don't have a super-huge brain? You're still the same strong, capable man I've come to admire!"
Morgan's honest enthusiasm never really failed at cheering up Owen. The navy soldier turned humanoid Mosasaurus was just that jolly, and Owen had known him long enough by now to know that he meant every word. Which also meant that he was right; in a world where your true calling in life is to live as Tempus decries and spread his teachings, who needs super-intelligence anyway? The Dragonborn let out a chuckle to show he'd gotten the message, leading to the pleased Morgan hastily pulling him in with a hand across his shoulders. Or at least as far as he could reach.
"You'll always be a good chum in my book, my friend. Don't put yourself down like that!" Morgan laughed.
However, the two friends' moment was interrupted. By a loud harkling rumble from the massive figure behind them.
"Look, if you two wanna kiss and make out then good for you, but at least go get a room. You're kinda distracting. Got it?"
Most people in the stands were here to see the fighting, and the giant Half-Orc known as Alva Morrison was no different. So seeing this to her sickeningly sweet talk going on was not only distracting, but more importantly their semi-hugging meant that the much shorter Molly beside her had an even harder time seeing the actual fight. But to Alva's surprise, the duo didn't answer with an apology or even a rebuttal. Instead they looked down onto the floor with a hint of… embarrassment?
"Actually… we already tried that a while back. We got along well and decided to take it to the next step, but that… didn't work out. So we're just good friends. Nothing more and nothing less, miss" Owen stuttered under his breath.
On one hand, Alva got her wish. On the other she was left silent, somewhat shocked at this direct and probably very personal info dropped out of nowhere. She was frankly more shocked at this directness than anything - the fact that Owen and Morgan had at least tried to take things further wasn't surprising at all. Still, she returned to her original demand. Although not without a hint of regret.
"Ah… sorry to hear that. But Mol' still can't see if you keep moving around like that, so I'm still gonna gently ask you to sit the fuck down" Alva bluntly muttered.
Judging by their hurried apologies and how they immediately settled down, the reptilian duo had gotten the message. And as Alva leaned back as well, she heard someone else address her. That being the red-haired Dwarf on her right.
"Thanks for looking out for me babe, but I can barely see shit anyway. It's fine" Molly sighed.
Alva chuckled as she flashed a small smile; she had an easy fix to that issue. With a firm but gentle grip, the Half-Orc grabbed Molly by the waist and hoisted her up on her shoulders like one would a toddler. But since Molly now had arguably the best view out of anyone in the watching area, she didn't appear to complain. She instead leaned down to kiss Alva on the head. So with the argument settled and two loving gestures being made, the four onlookers could go right back to watching the fight heat up with no more complaints to be had.
Well, except from John behind Alva who could now see absolutely nothing. But if it stood between that and confronting a more than 2-and-a-half metre tall Half-Orc, he easily settled for the former.
"THINGS ARE LOOKING PRETTY DICEY FOR TEAM OVERDARK! CONTESTANT VUZRAK SUFFERS THE BIGGEST CLOBBERING OF HIS AFTERLIFE - HOW MUCH LONGER CAN HE KEEP GOING? MEANWHILE LAST YEAR'S CHAMPION HAS TO FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL TO HOLD ON TO HER TITLE, BUT UNLESS SHE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT FLAMING CAGE THEN THAT FIGHT CAN'T LAST LONG! EVERYTHING WILL COME DOWN TO WHAT THESE EXCEPTIONAL ELVES DOES NEXT!"
Although Pulse was doing better than her old man, it wasn't enough to be described as doing well. Despite her… sizeable upper torso she was as nimble as ever, but with limited space and a battle-hungry hulk of a Tiefling chasing her she'd still taken several hits. Most of them punches and the like; Ashes still remembered what got through that force field, so with their larger points of impact her fists did notably more than her thinner sword. Which meant that Pulse had been on the receiving end of at least 10 painful blows, and given the size of her bruises and the throbbing pain behind them only a little bit of the impact was absorbed. Either that or Ashes was just that much stronger than last time. Or both. Regardless, the Drow needed a plan and quickly. She just needed a chance to run without risking second or third degree burns.
Pulse did what she did best and put her brain to work on figuring out a plan. She needed to douse those flames enough to escape Ashes, but she didn't have any water nor any inventions involving it. How else do you put out flames? By smothering it. What smothers fire? Something dense that blocks off access to oxygen. But what in her arsenal could do that? The Drow could only think all of this in short spurts before either dodging the fired-up Ashes' blows or taking another one on the chin, so she only grew more and more desperate. She could really stand to figure out a sol… wait. Stand. She was standing on the solution the whole time. Of course!
"Sorry Ashes, but I wanna win!" Pulse blurted out.
Right after avoiding an overhead double axe handle, Pulse began her counterattack. First step - scoop up a handful of dirt from the ground. Next step - throw it right in Ashes' eyes. Last step - throw enough dirt onto the flames to douse them and create a way out. All three steps were executed flawlessly. Now Ashes was not only briefly blinded, but enough flames had been put out for Pulse to slink out of the cage without any more serious burns. In just enough time to feel a strong rumble emanate from beneath the ground. Sure enough; the new and improved concrete walls began to rise up to provide some extra cover. Exactly what the inventor needed to put her next idea into motion.
"Tch, nice move there. But you're barkin' at a knot, tottie! I'll get back to you as soon as I can see you!" Ashes snarled.
Now the fire was unexpectedly giving the Tiefling a disadvantage. Without her vision, she could only pinpoint Pulse's location through her hearing. Which was currently compromised by the roar of the blaze around her, not to mention the steady roar of the crowd. And while ridding herself of the dirt in her eyes wouldn't take long, it'd take long enough for Pulse to go through with her plan. For now, Ashes was under control.
About ⅘ of the arena's width was covered by two 1,5 metre tall walls. The section between them was about 5 or so metres. Perfect. Without wasting a second, the mechanic rushed over to pull out an old but reliable invention. Last time it had been used to slice Alva in half, but now it would serve its actual function. Sure enough, the orange barrier known as the Photon Field lit up right between the concrete walls. Now to go and prevent Vuzrak from finding out if he could die a second time.
Ashes would still need a couple seconds to get all the dirt from her eyes, so Pulse put her focus on Abigail as the latter approached Vuzrak to finish the job. Or at least that would've likely happened if the Half-Orc's world hadn't suddenly gone dark. Pulse flashed a quick grin as the Darkness spell did its thing - sometimes, being a Drow had its occasional perk. With Abigail thrown off guard, Pulse had just enough time to grab her flickering father and help him back on his feet. And to formulate a quick new plan of attack.
"Listen, I have a plan. It hinges on us switching targets again, so it depends on if you can continue or not. Do you think you can handle Ashes again while I take care of Abby?" Pulse whispered to her dad.
Vuzrak simply answered by lighting up his hands with a healing spell, slowly but surely stabilising his unstable form. As soon as he was up and running again, he grabbed his elaborate spear from his back before planting it in the ground. Pulse flashed another grin - nothing else needed to be said.
"Perfect! Let me give you a tip though; you'll want to rile her up as much as you can. Get her too excited and/or frustrated and she's gonna start swinging blindly, which… well, you definitely know the rest. Good luck!" Pulse quickly added as she ran off towards the shrouded Abigail.
Vuzrak somewhat nervously chuckled as he headed towards the edge of the fire ring. "Good luck"... yeah, he was definitely going to need that. Even now he wasn't too confident about his chances as he saw the imposing silhouette walking through the flames. But he was gonna fight regardless. He'd promised his beloved daughter that he would, and with her advice behind him he still stood a chance.
"I'll be your opponent now!" the cleric telepathically told Ashes.
The Tiefling simply twirled her revolver as she came closer, although the sudden voice in her head did make her stop in bewilderment for a second. But since figuring out the source didn't exactly require a genius, she responded in kind quickly.
"Fine by me, gospel sharp! Let's finish this in a jiffy, alright?" the determined Ashes declared.
"Let's" Vuzrak answered back.
With those thoughts, the Drow started to channel his signature trump card. His already dark blue skin began to emit a dim black aura; an aura which quickly expanded outward to form a dome of lightless energy, like night had fallen exclusively within its borders. A little something the cleric knew as his twilight sanctuary. But anyone who'd been present for the last tournament knew that this wasn't everything. So while none of those people rolled back in surprise when Vuzrak rose upwards from the ground with sanctuary and everything, they still roared in excitement when he did. Everyone except Ashes, who settled for answering with an impressed whistle.
"I gotta admit, that is a fancy trick! But can some dark cloak help you take a bullet or two? I doubt that!" the farmgirl excitedly shouted.
Flying or not, Vuzrak was neither that fast nor agile. Which meant that an experienced gunslinger like Ashes had no trouble locking on to the shrouded centre of the soaring sanctuary. So about three seconds after making her boast, the Tiefling pulled the trigger. But while a loud bang filled the air, it was not followed by a pained scream or the nightly sphere crashing to the ground. It was, however, followed by the loud clink of metal. Ashes let out a small groan; of course she'd forgotten about Vuzrak's durable armour. But no matter. That just meant that she'd need to aim more carefully and hit some unprotected area… that is, if Vuzrak would let her.
Another black magical dome sprung up on the arena, this time around Ashes. And since Pulse's daily use of the spell had been spent on Abigail, it didn't take a genius to figure out which Drow had cast this one. This was enough to turn the Tiefling's grin upside down; she couldn't hear her airborne opponent, she couldn't keep track of any footsteps and she sure as hell couldn't see him. She needed to get rid of this darkness now, and if she remembered correctly the way to do that was to throw away whatever object it was centred on. Her first guess was the first item of hers that she reckoned people noticed - her wide hat. So she grabbed it and threw it aside almost like a frisbee… only to find out that everything was still dark as night. But what was the source then? Her revolver? Her boots? Her shirt? Whatever it was, she didn't have time to figure it out - an intense pain struck her in the back as some sharp weapon pierced her skin.
"WHO KNOWS WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE? I SURE DON'T! THREE OUT OF FOUR CONTESTANTS ARE COMPLETELY OBSCURED BY DARKNESS, AND WHILE ONE OF THEM IS REPEATEDLY FLYING THROUGH THE OTHER IT'S SURE HARD TO TELL ANYTHING ELSE! LET'S JUST HOPE THAT THINGS LIGHT UP SOON, BOTH FOR TEAM STRAPPER AND FOR THE AUDIENCE!"
While Pulse had managed to counter the flyby strategy during the first contest, the less intelligent and more agitated Ashes wasn't so lucky. Therefore Vuzrak could simply keep zooming by the farmgirl to repeatedly stab her with his spear; he didn't want to risk landing any big hits and by extension stick around long enough for her to catch on, but in order to rile her up he didn't need to. And even better? The tactic was working. 5 wayward bullets later and the frustrated Ashes violently threw her firearm out of the darkness to try her sword instead, all accompanied by an unmistakable snarl. With a confident smile creeping up on his avatar's face, Vuzrak went on the attack again.
The cleric flew by again and again, each time adding another bleeding stab wound to Ashes' collection. And by now any attack made by the huge Tiefling was clearly done without much thought behind it. Vuzrak had succeeded - Ashes was by all means riled up. Of course, going into close quarters with a borderline rampaging wall of muscle was far from without danger. Among all those blind slashes, two or three of them did manage to hit the Drow. But it became clearer and clearer the longer the scene unfolded; Ashes was getting whittled down. Especially since those wounds from the earlier warhammer strike couldn't have helped. Eventually her attacks had slowed down enough that they barely even counted as swings anymore, and coupled with her heavy breathing it was obvious most of her stamina had gone down the drain. And all she'd gained out of the ordeal was Vuzrak's sanctuary reaching its time limit. But as the Drow touched down on the ground while his dome quickly faded away, the heaving Ashes came into view as well.
During her thoughtless rage, the farmgirl had failed to notice just where the darkness had come from. And it wasn't until now that she realised that it hadn't been cast on her weapons, clothes or even just her body. The dark dome remained in place when she moved… which meant that the only possible source was one of the small rocks beneath her feet. This little inquiry only served to make her even more livid; enough to back right into a dead end. Only now, after fighting Vuzrak for several minutes, had Ashes noticed the glowing Photon Field between the concrete walls blocking her off. With her back to the shining wall and her stamina all but expended, Ashes had realised her error. Her temper had once again put her at a major disadvantage.
At the same time that Vuzrak had engaged Ashes, Pulse had run off to do the same with Abigail. As for the Half-Orc, the sudden darkness and brief lack of incoming attacks had given her an opportunity to calm down and think. Almost every time prior that she'd seen Pulse use this spell, it had been to set something up or to get into a better position. Which meant that Abigail had time to do the same. By the time she heard Ashes mention something about a fancy trick, she had pulled out her ace in the hole. By the time she heard a gunshot, she'd pulled out her weapon of choice. And by the time Googlorp did his next narration, she had equipped everything. Abigail was ready to walk out of the dark dome - noting how it had indeed been cast on a rock on the ground all the while - and find exactly what she'd expected. She found Pulse standing right next to that trademark turret of hers.
"Seems you've calmed down a bit now, huh? And… ah. Good thinking there. I should've expected those" Pulse stated while pointing towards Abigail's tools.
The larger inventor couldn't help but chuckle. And as she fired up her elaborate harness with an accompanying loud hum, she replied.
"Well, I do know your style by now. You cast Darkness, then set up your turret. On paper that's a pretty good strategy, but keep in mind that it can still backfire. Like when your opponent has a flying harness in her Bag of Holding, for example!"
With those words, Abigail's Wings of Iron flared to life. And a couple of seconds later, the hulking Half-Orc was airborne. Pulse let out a perplexed sigh - between Abigail and Vuzrak, she started to wonder if all parents out there had the power to take flight. But she could wonder about that later; in Abigail's right hand was her dangerous returning javelin, and unless she wanted to risk her forcefield breaking down she had to attack first.
"Voice command: Fire at medium power 45 degrees upwards!" the Drow commanded.
Her signature tool fired off three translucent blasts of pure force energy, but against a prepared airborne target it didn't do much good. Sure enough, all Abigail had to do to dodge them was to dash a bit to the left. And as for the counterattack, she was more than prepared… that is, before she heard Ashes' frustrated grunts of pain further away. It appeared that against Vuzrak's combination of nightly flight and his sharp spear, her teammate was getting beaten back. Pulse would just have to wait. With her free hand, Abigail picked out the third prepared tool from her pocket. A small brass sphere, smaller but otherwise fairly similar to her firestarter, covered in a few closed openings. And after narrowly dodging a second turret blast, the Half-Orc threw her pellet at Pulse's feet. With immediate effects; as the impact caused the sphere to open up, Pulse quickly lost sight of her opponent. One of Abigail's more recent inventions - a smokescreen pellet. With the Drow distracted, Abigail could turn around and focus on saving Ashes.
Or rather, that's what she would've done if her harness hadn't been violently blown apart.
One piercing bang had rung out through the air, and while Abigail had felt a singe of pain as one of the wings broke off she appeared to still be mostly intact herself barring the sudden shock. But more alarmingly, whatever had caused that sound had also destroyed her Wings of Iron. Which meant that she was rapidly about to impact solid ground. Hard.
[BARROOOOMM!]
Every bone in Abigail's giant body was aching something fierce at best as she crawled up from the point of impact. She'd managed to brace herself just before landing, but all that had done was lessen the damage just enough to still be able to stand. But as the dust settled and the audience flared back up, the burly mechanic looked up towards Pulse. And the elongated contraption held in her hands.
"Thought I'd copy your strategy with the tool switch under cover! I call this particular tool a Ranged Infra-Focus Life Extinguisher, or R.I.F.L.E. for short. Think the principles of the G.U.N, but with ammo capacity and firing rate traded away for range and power. And as you just felt, it's quite effective. Apologies in advance, Abby. But this is still a competition, so don't take this personally!" Pulse explained.
The battered Half-Orc took a brief moment to admire the double-barreled firearm. To think that someone like Pulse, who came from a universe where a regular gun was a big technological achievement, had single-handedly improved the design to this degree. But that was as far as she got before a crippling pain took root in her legs. As soon as Abigail had gotten back up, Pulse had fired two more shots towards the former's knees. She let out a cacophonous roar of pure pain as she kneeled down - the blast had practically blown apart both of her kneecaps. Even if she hadn't been distracted by the sheer agony, it was all too clear that those legs had been rendered completely compromised. But Pulse wasn't done just yet. This fight had gone on for long enough - it was high time to finish this.
"Voice command: Fire at 65% power at exactly 45 degrees vertically and 20 degrees to the left! You fought well, Abby, but I'm ending this now!" the Drow declared.
With that, the now charged turret unleashed one more translucent blast straight into Abigail's chest. The beefy inventor was sent helplessly tumbling backwards… until her head struck one of the walls with a sickening crack. Exactly what Pulse had aimed for. And while her visible albeit strained breathing showed that she was still kicking, her body slumped motionless to the floor. Abigail had been the first to fall, all without any lethal force. An already obvious fact that one of the approaching fairy referees was about to confirm.
"10!"
"9!"
"8!"
"7!"
"6!"
"5!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"K.O!"
"AND CONTESTANT ABIGAIL GOES DOWN FROM ONE TURRET BLAST TOO MANY! IT APPEARS THAT WHILE SHE PUT UP ONE HELL OF A FIGHT, IT WASN'T ENOUGH TO BEAT THE ONE AND ONLY CHAMPION! WHICH LEAVES ONLY A WORN OUT CONTESTANT ASHES TO CARRY ON TEAM STRAPPER'S WILL - CAN SHE MAKE A MIRACULOUS COMEBACK? OR WILL THE DROW DUO OF TEAM OVERDARK TAKE THIS WIN?"
Ashes was already struggling to keep track of the situation, so when she heard both her friend get launched into a wall and Googlorp loudly announcing her defeat she was left at a standstill. And although Abigail was safe - her unconscious body was immediately teleported to a secure force bubble equipped with a stabilising field right next to the blue corner's entrance - this fact did not help the Tiefling to see what her opponent was up to. At least until she felt the immense pain take root in the back of her head.
Vuzrak had seized the golden opportunity. Ashes had been left wide open, which gave him more than enough time to equip his warhammer and go in for a strike. The attack had hit home and the Drow could even hear his opponent's skull crack… and yet despite this, Ashes still stood. After being sent stumbling forwards and with great effort for sure, but she stood. Her huge ridged horns blocking most of her head and Vuzrak's resulting carefully aimed but weaker blow probably had something to do with it, but the cleric was left stunned nonetheless. What in the nine hells was this gunslinger made of? But this shock was about to cost him dearly. For as it turned out, Ashes still had the strength to do more than just reel in pain.
"Ggnngh… I ain't losin' yet, partner!"
With a half-hearted snarl, the Tiefling thrusted her sword straight into Vuzrak's chest. She was bruised, beaten, tired and had a massive crack in her skull, and yet the force behind the attack was enough to make the spectral Drow scream out in agony. Or at least for his wordless avatar to open his mouth in that manner. And now he was less present than ever - said avatar was frantically flickering like a smashed monitor. It went without saying that he was close to his equivalent of death; any more damage and he'd learn first hand what that meant. So he had to act quickly. With a strained whisper, Vuzrak cast his last shot at victory.
Several tiny dim spheres of magical energy fell from Vuzrak's unstable fingertips onto Ashes' face. And the effects were almost immediate; the Tiefling's expression quickly shifted from adrenaline-fueled determination to a dozing calmness. Slowly but surely her tired body ceased moving, until she finally succumbed. And with a thunderous crash, Ashes fell backwards onto the ground as her sword clattered down beside her. She wasn't just unconscious; she was audibly snoring. The Sleep spell had worked just as Vuzrak had intended. With no movement coming from Ashes' bruised body, the air in the arena finally fell silent. The battle was over, and all that was left was to formally announce it. And to see if Vuzrak's form could remain stable before that little fairy returned to begin the countdown.
"10!"
"9!"
"8!"
"7!"
"6!"
"5!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"K.O!"
"AND THAT'S A WRAP, PEOPLE! CONTESTANT PULSE MANAGES TO BEAT CONTESTANT ABIGAIL THROUGH SUPERIOR INGENUITY AND FIREPOWER, FOLLOWED BY CONTESTANT VUZRAK JUST BARELY OVERCOMING CONTESTANT ASHES! AFTER A LONG AND HARD BATTLE, THE WINNING SIDE IS: TEAM OVERDARK! THE DROW FATHER-DAUGHTER TEAM ADVANCES TO THE SEMIFINALS!"
More cacophonous roars from the audience filled the air as they witnessed their champion (and Vuzrak) take the win. But while Pulse herself practically bounced around in happiness and contentment, she quickly stopped herself. After all, Vuzrak looked like he was about to crumble apart. So after throwing out a couple more waves, the inventor rushed over to support her barely standing father. And while she could still physically feel him, now he felt less like a snowman and more like a collection of brittle ice sheets.
"Easy there, dad. Are you… are you okay?" Pulse asked with a not so hidden hint of worry.
Luckily the answer came quickly. Vuzrak put a cold hand on Pulse's right cheek, all the while giving her a reassuring smile.
"I'll be okay, starlight" he mentally answered in a shaky tone.
This telepathic message was almost immediately followed by a surge of white healing energy covering the field, and so Pulse noted in relief that it did indeed work even on a divine avatar. While he didn't show any visible injuries, Vuzrak's form slowly but surely regained its stability until he was fully reconstituted to the state he'd started the match in. Pulse herself didn't have as serious injuries, although her sprained leg and multitude of nasty bruises did fade away. Meanwhile Team Strapper began to regain consciousness as all of their damage healed as well; Ashes could feel her skull fuse back together and her spear wounds even out, while Abigail's many broken bones, burn marks and overtaxed lungs were fixed up good as new. Even Darwin quickly came back online as his fried circuits recovered. A few moments later and everyone on the field were back to 100%, which also meant that the losing side could realise that they were just that.
"Well then, I guess that's that. Out in the first round against the kid and her dad. To be honest, I'm not surprised in the slightest" Abigail sighed as Ashes helped her to her feet.
The Half-Orc had accepted this outcome as soon as she'd learned who her first opponents were. Still, the disappointment in her expression couldn't be fully hidden. Thrashing Vuzrak around, caging Pulse in with Ashes and appearing to get the advantage over Pulse with the Wings of Iron… times had been many when Abigail believed she stood a chance. Maybe she had, but still her initial prognosis had ended up correct. No use in dwelling over it anymore now.
"Yup, can't say I disagree with ya. Still, buck up a little, will ya? We gave it our all and had one hell of a time! By gum, I just wish we could've tussled a bit more" Ashes heartily responded, although by her last sentence she'd let out a bittersweet sigh.
Barring the members of Team Full Power and maybe Alva, no contestant in the tournament loved a good fight as much as Ashes. The fact that she'd failed to beat Pulse a second time, let alone fallen against someone that the latter had beaten herself last year, didn't do a thing to lower her spirits. No, the only thing weighing on her mind was that with this elimination she wouldn't get to fight anymore. But even then, that just meant she'd have to train even harder before a potential rematch. The gunslinger's morale burned as bright as ever.
"There's no stopping your optimism, eh? One of the many things I appreciate about you, Ash'. But anyway, what do you say about giving our blessing to the winners? That cleric's drive and that kid's inventions… truly something amazing" Abigail answered with a faint smile.
Given her grin, Ashes clearly agreed. Thus Team Strapper made their way towards their cheering former opponents, now ready to leave the battlefield. At least after a brief moment of camaraderie.
"AND WITH THAT, WE THANK TEAM STRAPPER FOR A PERFORMANCE THAT LEFT ONE HELL OF AN IMPACT ON US ALL! AND WE CONGRATULATE TEAM OVERDARK ON A VICTORY BORN OF INGENUITY! BUT NOW WE'VE REACHED THE HALFWAY POINT OF THE FIRST ROUND; LET'S SPEED THINGS ALONG BY BRINGING IN OUR SECOND TO LAST SETS OF FIGHTERS OF THE DAY! LET'S WITNESS A FIGHT… ALL ACROSS THE SPECTRUM OF LIFE!"
After a substantial amount of received cheers and mutual impressed compliments between them and Team Overdark, Abigail and Ashes briskly walked back towards the blue corner's waiting room. Barring a quick exchange and wishes of good luck to the passerby next team, the two remained mostly silent on their way. At least until Abigail slowed down; enough for Ashes to stop in curiosity. Something was clearly on her companion's mind.
"Something wrong, Abby? You look to be in a brown study" the Tiefling asked.
Abigail jolted a bit as she registered the question. And after a quick sigh, she revealed what was on her mind.
"Ah, just something… weird from before. Back in the first fight, Pulse and I felt something completely off with the atmosphere. Like parts of it just completely fizzled out. And while I still don't think it's anything serious, it still really puzzled me. Did you feel anything weird earlier?" the mechanic pondered.
Her red friend simply shook her head.
"Nope, can't say I did. Was it like a shiver down the spine or something?" she answered.
"I see. No, not exactly. I can't even place what it was, but I guess the best way to describe it is like… a void, but at the same time overflowing with dread. I don't know, but whatever it was, it's gone. Forget I brought it up" Abigail murmured.
While Ashes just shrugged her shoulders and kept walking, the described sensation left neither hers or Abigail's thoughts. The latter did make some mental notes - only she and Pulse had been confirmed to feel it and not Ashes, which implied it was arcane in nature - but otherwise she was stumped. Whatever it was, it was utterly unexplainable. It was scary. And while it fell to the back of their minds for now, deep down they both knew this wasn't the last time it'd come up.
The Multiversal Tag-Team Tournament kept up its pace, and the stakes would only continue to raise.