(The Arena)
"Ooh, a treasure hunt! You mean in the Sonic Adventures games!" Tumble beamed.
"That's right. Like I said, we are way overdue for a Sonic stage, but that doesn't mean we can't make it more of a KNUCKLES stage." Knuckles smirked.
"So how do you intend it to work?" The Millennium Star asked.
"Basically, it would be just like in the Christmas section, except the items would be solely Sonic items and they would be underground." Knuckles nodded.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Sailor Jupiter snapped. "Besides you, the only one who can reliably dig underground is Rocket!"
"And even then, I don't have an Emerald radar like you!" The Guardian of the Galaxy roared.
"Which brings me to my next point." Knuckles smirked. "I want all of the fighters to have my Emerald Radar powers AND the Shovel Claws from Sonic Adventure!"
Vivi's eyes widened at this. "Wait, so that means…"
"That's right! Everyone would be able to not only sense the underground items but also dig for them!" Knuckles grinned.
Luong put a hand on her chin. "So even though you have a clear home field advantage, we would still all be on equal footing."
"Hey, no one could beat ME in digging up buried treasures so might as well give you all a chance to keep up!" Knuckles sneered.
Sailor Jupiter puffed out her cheeks. "Gee, thanks…"
"Still, I think-a this is a great set-up! Not too dangerous and yet just unique enough!" Luigi beamed.
"And you can never say no to items that will make it easier to kick people's faces in!" Helga smirked.
The other fighters slowly agreed.
"It seems that you got a nearly unanimous reception!" The Millennium Star said with an unseen smile. "Tumble, if you will."
"Already on the blueprints for Chao Ruins AND the possible Sonic boxes!" The die reassured, typing into his phone. "Andddddd done!"
The Millennium Star nodded before spinning around emitting his light around the arena. When the light cleared, the arena changed. The ground was mostly grassy with patches of dirt. However, the most noticeable change were the stone pillars scattered around the arena. There were two rectangular pillars close to the middle of the arena, two more that were in the middle of the west and east ropes respectives and two square ones at the northwest and southeast corner posts each.
Also, a ball of light appeared in all of the fighters besides Knuckles. The light then turned into sharp-looking claws.
"Ooh, these looks sick!" Helga grinned.
"Yeah, I don't even care if these are redundant for me." Rocket said with a dark smirk. "I am going to use these at least once!"
Luigi frowned at this. "...Maybe giving EVERY-a fighter with sharp-looking claws isn't the best move."
"Well, at least the arena looks pretty." Vivi noted, looking around.
"And considering the pillars, there is a lot of potential for nearly all of this to take advantage of in some way or another." Mai added.
"Now before we officially start, let's do an experiment!" The Millennium Star offered.
With that, he created some kind of old-school desktop computer though everyone was quick to recognise it as an item box from Sonic. Suddenly, all of the fighters' eyes bugged out before holding their heads at nearly the same side.
"Um, am I the only one who is hearing a beeping noise INSIDE of their head?" Poison asked.
"No, I hear it too." Luong added.
Everyone also agreed.
"That is my Emerald Radar powers. Whenever you are close to an Emerald or in this case, an item, it would start to beeping." Knuckles offered. "The more rapid the beeping, the closer you are to the item."
Sabrewulf frowned. "Well, THAT wouldn't cost us headaches in the long-run."
Knuckles chuckled nervously. "Don't worry, I am sure that you all will get used to it. Eventually…"
The fighters immediately narrowed their eyes at this.
"The items better be worth it, Red." Poison spat.
The Millennium Star shook his head. "In any case, I assume that this is to your liking!"
Knuckles nodded his head. "It is. Thank you."
The Millennium Star nodded before slowing Knuckles' platform to the ground for him to get up. Now it was time to introduce the new fighters.
"TENTOMON!" (DRA)
The red electromancer beetle came to a decent cheer. However, they immediately froze when he was wearing a gaudy animal print jacket with a wig that looked like a middle-aged woman's hair. He was then tapping his foot against the ramp.
(Oba! Oba! Oba!)
(Get power!)
(Oba! Oba! Oba!)
(Get up!)
(Oba! Oba! Oba!)
(Oba up!)
(Oba! Oba! Oba!)
(Too hot!)
Tentomon then spun around while throwing up the jacket and the wig into the audience as everyone looked confused while Oba Funk Osaka from Obachaaan played through the speakers. Despite this, Tentomon just strutted down the ramp while holding up one claw.
(Hey! Yo!)
(What's up)
(Head up!)
(We are Obachaaan Japanese Idol!)
(The Arena)
When Tentomon finished strutting to the end of the ramp, he started buzzing his wings before flying into the arena. Sailor Jupiter blinked twice before walking over to him.
"Umm, what is that just now?" Sailor Jupiter asked.
"Well, you know I have a Kansai accent, right?" Tentomon said. "Well, I decided to do some research to make my appearance as Osaka as possible."
Sailor Jupiter slumped her arms. "Is that you had a song from a funk group of Japanese grannies?"
"Of course! I have to use a song from Osaka that would stand out and what better way for me to stand than a bunch of middle-aged women?" Tentomon asked.
"Um, excuse me? I… I don't remember you being this… ECCENTRIC." Sailor Jupiter asked, blinking twice.
"Really? Oh dear, in that case I have to make up for lost time!" Tentomon offered before flying up. "The electromancer of the Sailor Scouts version of the electromancer of the Digidestined! Let's feel everyone in shock and awe!"
Sailor Jupiter just looked in disbelief. In fact, everyone did.
(The Crowd)
All of the Digidestined looked on in exaggeration while Izzy slapped his forehead.
"...Tentomon was never the same ever since they changed his personality in our 2020 reboot." Izzy muttered.
"RAMLETHAL VALENTINE!" (GG)
(Denial, denial)
(La Sola Estoneco)
(Terra, terra)
(La historio)
The white-clad dark-skinned young-looking woman floated a few inches off the ground with an emotionless look on her face. Flying behind her was a black-and-white ball with wings. Seeing this, the audience winced at this, getting bad memories.
Ramlethal looked around with a small frown. "It seems that everyone still thinks of a villain."
"They are not looking at you. I think they are looking at me." The monochrome ball, named Lucifero, sighed.
"Really? What is it that you do?" Ramlethal asked, still keeping her stoic demeanour. "Maybe I make you self-destruct in front of everyone, they would feel more at ease!"
"No ploding! No ploding!" Lucifero pleaded, frantically. "It is just that I am coloured similarly to Monokuma. You know, the mascot of Junko Enoshima who nearly engulfed the entire multiverse in despair."
"That is illogical. Monokuma may have a similar colour pattern, but he also has a red scar on his eyes which you do not." Ramlethal reassured.
"Considering how badly things went for everyone, I don't blame anyone for thinking otherwise." Lucifero sighed.
"...Well, that won't do." Ramlethal mused. "We have to show that you now fight for good. At least hope. Now, come. I have an idea."
With that, she floated down into the ring with Lucifero following and once she was technically "in" the arena, she made her way over to Luong. The dark-haired woman raised an eyebrow.
"Have you been helped?" Luong asked.
"Yes… You were in the hero group in the Tournament of Kikai, correct?" Ramlethal asked. "So technically you were a fighter for hope?"
Luong blinked twice at this. "More or less."
"Can we fight each other then? Maybe in doing so, you would see that Lucifero isn't a weapon made out of despair and thus show the whole multiverse." Ramlethal asked.
Luong paused. "Um, it is true that I was on 'Team Hope', I don't think just fighting would be enough to help you."
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing…" Lucifero frowned. He then paused before looking up and down Luong with a lecherous grin. "...On the other hand, I have nothing to lose here."
Ramlethal raised her hand, ready to snap her fingers. "Explode."
"Alright, alright. I'll behave." Lucifero muttered.
Ramlethal nodded before putting her hands on Lucifero. In a small burst of green energy, she literally TORE HIM IN HALF with each coloured side turning into a smaller version of him. Then, each orb had summoned a giant sword each, holding them as if it was nothing. Luong's pupils shrank at this.
"In any case, shall we begin?" Ramlethal asked, as if oblivious to Luong's bewilderment.
Luong frowned before looking at the nearest Lakitu. "...I have GOT to stop accepting fight requests from stoic women with twin swords."
"FALCO LOMBARDI!" (SSB)
"WRASTOR!" (RoA)
The hotshot pilots birds came out at the same time, smirking at the warm reception before playing to the crowd. But while Falco merely waved, Wrastor did a lot more showboating. Falco noticed this and raised an eyebrow.
"Dang, and they call ME a show-off." Falco noted.
"Hey, I am just playing to the crowd and making a good first impression!" Wrastor retorted while dramatically flipping his scarf over his shoulder. "After all, Rivals of Aether is getting a proper sequel so we can't afford to slack off!"
"Oh? But at the end of the day, you are still competing with Super Smash Brothers and even though Ultimate has probably ended, our legacy will go on forever." Falco smirked.
Wrastor paused before looking at Falco.
"True… I admit that nothing we will do will catch up to YOUR node." Wrastor said. He then smirked. "Must be tough to rely on that when your subnode hasn't seen work outside of Smash for a long time!"
Falco's smirk vanished as his pupils shrank to the size of peas. Satisfied by this, Wrastor's smirk grew bigger as he turned around and walked off towards the ring. Falco then narrowed his eyes before running forward and doing an axe-kick onto Wrastor's scarf. This resulted in it being pinned down very hard which resulted in pulling Wrastor who gave a gagged noise before falling on his back.
Falco immediately laughed. "Oh, whoops! It looks like you didn't make a good first impression after all!"
Wrastor got up while rubbing his neck. He then glared up at the smirking Falco before pointing at the arena. Falco merely shrugged before the two birds walked down the ramp, obviously clearly going to have each other as their opponents.
"And now, Mystery Fighter… Number… FORTY-EIGHT!"
"KAO THE KANGAROO!" (Kao the Kangaroo)
The yellow-furred kangaroo came out to a warm reception. He excitedly looked at the cheering and jumped up and down with his arms up before doing a few practice punches with his boxing gloves with an eerie purple aura around it.
"Woah… I am getting a lot of love!" Kao noted his Polish accent (yes, not Australian, POLISH). "Then again, I DID have that game revival."
"Sure, at the time of the tournament. A few months later and people probably wouldn't give you the time of day."
Kao immediately frowned before glaring at his boxing gloves. "Oi, you never let up on the cynicism, do you?"
"Just saying. If they wanted an Australian furry platform mascot, the hosts would have gone with Ty the Tasmanian Tiger." The Eternal Gloves reminded. "I think the main reason you are here and not him is because you are more or less relevant at the time."
Kao rolled his eyes. "Well, I am here now and that's what counts. Now shut it and let's enter the arena."
With that, he literally hopped right in. He then decided to make his way over to Vivi.
The Black Mage looked up and saw him coming. "O-Oh, hi!"
"Hey, little guy! How about you and me having a little fight?" Kao asked.
"Um, okay, I mean that IS why we are here." Vivi shrugged. "Just one question."
"What's that?" Kao asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Why do you sound Polish?" Vivi asked.
Kao blinked twice. "Um, because my game was created in Poland?"
"For someone who is supposedly cast as the 'Smart Guy' of the Battle of the Luminaries' Five-Man Band Security Team, you sure don't do your research, do you?" The Eternal Gloves snarked.
Kao glared down at the pair. "Oi, I could take snarking at me, but don't go insulting strangers!"
Vivi blinked twice. "...It is getting deja vu for Mel and Branky."
"KOMODO MOE!" (CB)
The more heavyset purple-clad Komodo Brothers came out to a small cheer, especially when compared to his brother. However, he made it no mind and he decided to entertain the crowd by juggling two Scimitars to himself. Once he was satisfied, he caught the two before putting one of them away for now and walking down.
"Joe should be alright. He isssssn't alone and I think the Star Piece he took was blasted away in the explosion." Moe mused. "So I ssssshould be safe and focused and keep the tournament alive."
With that, he stepped in the ring. Helga raised an eyebrow before walking over.
"Are you and your brother supposed to be a duo or something?" Helga asked. "Why did you have separate entries?"
Moe merely shrugged his shoulders. "To be fair, Joe and I are ssssseparate playable characters in Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled."
"Yeah, but that's because you were meant to be a DUO racer along with Polar and Pura!" Helga shot back. "Furthermore, not only was Joe in the first CTR by himself, but he had not one, but TWO legendary skins for potential moveset! You got nothing!"
Moe narrowed his eyes. "Not traditionally."
Helga raised an eyebrow. "Traditionally?"
"Yeah, I decided to sssssee if I could branch out from my brother and form from my path." Moe said. "SSSSSeeing that he is into wizardry, I decided to be more like a Star Wars fighter based on my Master Moe skin."
"Two sides of the same nerd coin." Helga muttered, rolling her eyes.
Moe didn't seem to mind as he continued. "In fact, I have learned sssssomething I been dying to try!"
With that, he held out his palm. Helga actually got startled before getting into a catching position in case Moe was ready to throw out a projectile.
…But nothing happened. The two blinked twice with Moe still in his stance.
"...Anytime now, tubby." Helga said.
"You… You were ssssssupposed to be floating up in the air." Moe insisted.
Helga rolled her eyes at this. She was about to snark.
…Until she saw Knuckles flying up into the air. However, considering his panicked face and his flailing, it was clear that he wasn't doing it willingly. Helga blinked twice for a moment before looking back at Moe.
"...Why don't you try shaking your hand?" Helga asked.
Moe raised an eyebrow at this before shaking his palm while still trying to point it at Helga. This resulted in Knuckles being shaken as if he was a pair of maracas. Everyone looked in pure bewilderment.
"I don't get it! I KNOW that I could do it!" Moe insisted.
"Maybe you aren't trying hard enough!" Helga smirked while crossing her arms.
Moe growled as he stopped shaking his hand. This made Knuckles stop in midair where his eyes spun around dizzily. Finally, Moe threw up his hands in frustration which sent Knuckles into the nearest pillar, making everyone flinch in pain.
"Bah, it doesn't matter! I am ssssstill a swordslizard!" Moe spat, getting into a stance. "AND Krunk has lesssssss fighting potential than me and HE got an elimination!"
Helga raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fair enough. Though don't you think you should fight the one who is more eager to fight me?"
"H-Huh?" Moe asked, lowering his guard. "Who do you…"
POW!
That was when the fist of a very, very, VERY angry Knuckles collided with Moe's face. The Komodo Dragon was then flying towards a pillar before Knuckles chased off after them. Helga just waved them off with a smirk.
(Dome; Hallway)
Komodo Joe's group all looked on with wide eyes. The Komodo Dragon in-question just slapped his forehead.
(The Arena)
"NAGASE!" (KoFAS)
The bespectacled yellow-clad ninja smirked as she stretched her arms with a decent cheer to her name.
"Man, am I so glad that Bison's plan bombed from the start! I can't remember the last time I had so much time free at an UVR tournament!" Nagase said. She then frowned. "...Well, technically I also had free time at the first Tournament of Kikai but that got negated by the giant Volcarona attack."
With that, she made her way down the ramp. Once in, she looked around for a moment at the fighters. Some had potential, some… Were not worth her time. Regardless, she already chose a target and they weren't in the arena. So she decided to use a smoke bomb on herself to turn invisible and hide out until said opponent was in.
(Dome; Security Team Room)
"Look, all you are doing is wasting your energy!" Lloyd scolded.
"We should be saying that to YOU!" Yan shot back.
"Yeah, the entire reason we did all of this was for our node!" Claire added.
"Look, there is protecting your node and there is… All of this." Hibiki frowned.
"If it wasn't for… All of this, you wouldn't even know about this!" CoolB shot back. "We can't just do nothing!"
"I hate to do this and I REALLY hate to do this…" Horkeu Kamui frowned. "But a certain rocker ghost always wanted to be remembered and she ended up making people remember her for the WRONG reasons!"
"So? She is STILL popular despite that!" Prayuth shrugged.
"And you actually think people would want to see you ever again!" Lloyd said in disbelief.
The four prisoners merely shrugged, much to the frustration of everyone else.
"It is no good. As much as I admit it, they are right." Gabe sighed. "They are never going to break that easily!"
"Yeah, so what are you going to do?" Linn sneered, crossing her arms.
Suddenly, they heard knocking on the door. Raising an eyebrow, they turned around to see Claude poking his head through the entrance.
"Any luck?" Claude asked.
"No, they are stubborn as mules." Horkeu Kamui sighed.
"I thought so that's why I decided to pull all of the stops." Claude smirked before looking back. "Push it in, Kanji!"
With that, the bleached-hair young man then entered the room and once he did, everyone's eyes bugged out.
Kanji was pushing a large tray full of delicious-looking cakes. Everyone blinked twice.
"Um, what is that…?" Gabe asked.
"Cakes. They are personally baked by Jill and were preserved with the portable mini-fridge." Claude grinned. "They are obviously not a lot, but it should be more than enough."
"I see that, but what for?" Gabe asked.
"Easy. A trade: We will give our prisoners these treats in exchange for information on what is going on." Claude said.
"Not that they deserve it, but desperate times call for desperate measures." Kanji scoffed.
Everyone blinked twice at this.
"...Are you stupid? An ENTIRE node had banded together to try to ruin an UVR tournament and kill the main host just because they weren't invited to it!" Gabe said in disbelief. "There is no way that they would jeopardise their plans."
"FREDDY KRUEGER!"
Everyone paused before looking down the cell to see Linn and CoolB holding the bars with drooling faces. Their nodal companions looked on in exasperation.
"The fake Psycho Mantis!" Linn elaborated.
"It is Freddy Krueger!" CoolB repeated.
Everyone's pupils shrank at this. Prayuth then turned towards Claire.
"Linn is YOUR friend. She isn't MINE." Prayuth said, matter-of-factly.
Without taking her exasperated face off of Linn and CoolB, Claire clocked Prayuth in the face.
(Dome; Rooftop)
The rest of Xuan Dou Zhi Wang all looked completely stunned at what was happening over them.
What should be a simple, black night sky actually looked like there was a major tear in it as if a wound made by a sharp Machete. And inside said rip seemed to be various scenes playing out as if several movies were playing at once.
Said scenes were quite familiar with Haohmaru fighting Bishamon from Darkstalkers, Rancid from Time Killers managing to do well (while fearing for his life), Demitri Maximoff faced off a LOT of angry people, Chang Koehan fighting like a superhero, Muscle Power of all people pulling out a win against King from Art of Fighting, Rainbow Dash kicking tail left and right, Squirrel Girl and Air Man forming an alliance, Dot talking while on the Pyro's shoulder and finally Penny Proud, Isabelle, Bubbles and Ellis forming a friendship.
"So let me get this straight… All of this… Is our timeline?" Ell Blue asked.
"I think so…" Freddy said, rubbing his chin. "I mean why else would we be seeing so many scenes from previous UVR tournaments.
Everyone then looked at the despair clones of Cruella, the Joker, Harley, Junko and Tsugumi. They just waved back.
"It would also explain why we are seeing the villains of the respective non-official UVRs." Freddy said.
"Um, no, it doesn't." King said. "What does what we are doing have to do with… All of THIS!?"
"Fuck if I know, man!" Freddy exclaimed.
"While the explanation definitely gives us more questions than answers." Shirley mused, putting her hand on her chin. "However, it DOES explain why Harley is in her jester outfit and in love with the Joker."
The jester in-question grumpily crossed her arms. "Even now, I am still confused that there is a timeline that I fell out of love with Mister J."
"Well, to be fair, you ARE from different timelines or particularly the timelines when the UVR got ruined or ALMOST got ruined in Junko's case." Shirley explained. "And the third Megamix Tournament was during the pre-resurgence era."
Harley grumpily crossed her arms. The Joker then put a comforting hand on Harley's shoulder.
"Yeah, I don't get it either…" The Joker frowned. "I can't think of anything that would make me turn you away."
Everyone, even the despair clones (yes, both the stoic group AND the group that came with Joker and Harley) shifted their eyes to the side.
"R-Right…" Ray said before stifling a cough with his fist. "That still explains why you are appearing like despair clones."
"Yeah, I admit that we don't know either." Junko frowned, scratching the back of her head.
"Wait, YOU don't know!" Xeno exclaimed.
"Hey, I am the Ultimate Despair, not the Ultimate Clairvoyant, even then saying holding the latter title isn't even that good at it!" Junko scolded. "No, really, one thing I was in the Tournament of Kikai ready to blow up the Final Twelve with a bomb and the next thing I know, we appeared on the roof!"
Panda's eyes widened at this. "Wait, really?"
"Yeah, before we could question anyone, ALL of us suddenly realised what was going on." Junko said. "A) You were trying to destroy the Xuan Dou Zhi Wang and B) It is our duty to help you."
Kuya raised an eyebrow. "Your… Duty?"
"Yes, I don't get it either." Cruella shrugged. "All we know is that we needed to help you."
Brazel narrowed his eyes. "Well, isn't THAT convenient?"
Tsugumi frowned. "You don't believe us?"
"Of course not, three of the more dangerous threats to the UVR just randomly appear, with one of them being so much of a wildcard that not even the VILLAINS wish to work with her in fears of ending up like Mukuro Ikusaba?"
"He DOES have a point. I genuinely wanted to form bonds with other villains just so I could betray them and feel the despair of it." Junko said, matter-of-factly.
Everyone looked on in disgust or exasperation.
"Junko, please…" Cruella frowned.
"To be fair…"
Everyone looked at Freddy rubbing his chin.
"They ARE Despair clones. Being that are formed by near-despair of people." Freddy offered. "They have no other goals outside of that. So when they are saying that they are willing to be loyal to us just to destroy the UVR, I genuinely think they mean it."
"Okay, Freddy. Then, if they ARE despair clones just like the ones we currently have, then at least one of us has to take the Despair Extractor to the roof!" King shot back.
"Indeed, the Despair Extractor has to be close to its target." Brazel added.
"Yes… About that…"
Everyone turned to see Cortex standing close to the Despair Extractor while holding a device.
"Apparently, the Despair Extractor range has increased in the last section." Cortex explained.
Ell Blue's eyes widened at this. "Wait, really?"
"Indeed. And the reasoning is literally the timeline floating above us." Cortex said, pointing to the sky.
"That DOES make sense. If the timeline is in danger, then that makes there is no hope because if there is literally no future, what is there to hope for?" Junko asked, putting her hand on her chin. "Say, Cortex, do you know the exact range of the Despair Extractor now?"
Cortex shook his head. "Not an exact estimate, but it wouldn't be out of the question that the range spans to the entire dome and hotel."
"Yeah, that seems to be the size of the timeline tear so far. If it gets bigger, the range of the Despair Extractor will get bigger." Junko noted.
Everyone looked at Junko with wide eyes. The Ultimate Despair rolled her eyes.
"Um, along with the Ultimate Despair, I am the Ultimate Analyst, duh!" Junko said.
"Um, okay, so far, so good with getting our questions answered." Ciel said, scratching the top of her head. "But… Shouldn't we need the original forms the likes of Cruella, Junko and the others?"
"Unless…"
Everyone turned to see Ell Blue looking with wide eyes.
"...This is the near-despair… Of EVERYONE." Ell Blue said.
"Come again?" Shanwoo asked, blinking twice.
"Think about it. Junko Enoshima, Cruella De Vil, the Joker. They are responsible for nearly ruining the UVR for good." Ell Blue pointed out.
"Even though it was a failure on OUR end." Tsugumi sighed.
"Even still, it was more than enough to make everyone on-edge. It is similar to what WE'RE doing!" Ell Blue pointed out.
Even the stoic Shirley's eyes widened at this. "So the Despair Extractor could make despair clones of COLLECTIVE near-despair?"
"It seems like it…" Ell Blue noted.
Cruella smiled before putting her hands together. "Well, are there any more questions?"
"Um, yeah, where're YOUR friends?" Ciel asked, raising a hand.
Cruella's smile vanished. "Wait, what?"
"You know, like how Junko has Tsugumi and the Joker has Harley?" Ciel elaborated.
"Yeah, as far as I know, the blackout happened while the Joker was in the arena and Harley was long eliminated by then and yet SHE is here." Seal noted. "If SHE is here regardless then…"
"Then, where is Jasper and Horace?" Cruella asked before laughing and waving it off. "They are scouting the area."
Legend's eyes widened. "What!? Even though they are Public Enemies No. 2 AND 3 for the Battle of the Luminaries!?"
Cruella paused while blinking twice. She then looked at her fellow despair clones who looked just as confused. …Before they all laughed.
"W-What is it?" Kaoru asked.
"Oh nothing. It is just that this segway into what we can do for you." Cruella said.
Kuya frowned. "And that is it?"
Cruella then held out her hand. Suddenly, a dark red portal opened up in front of her. Then, something floated up from it. A familiar fleshy sword with an eye in it. Everyone's eyes widened at this.
"Soul Edge…" Freddy released.
Cruella then grabbed the Soul Edge with one hand. "Yes, while my knowledge about this timeline is limited, I DO Soul Edge and its power."
Ciel's eyes widened. "So that means…"
"Jasper and Horace are in their transformed forms. Out of us eight, they would be less recognizable." Cruella smirked.
Ciel nodded. "Yes, that makes…"
"Wait a minute." Shirley said before counting on her fingers. "You said eight. Besides Jasper and Horace, who is missing?"
Suddenly, the despair clones frowned before looking at each other.
"Um, well…" Tsugumi said.
"SCREEEEEEEEE!"
Everyone jumped before looking up at the sky.
…Only for something to crash in front of them, making everyone jump. Said figure groaned as they laid dazed on the ground. It was then everyone was able to recognise them.
"A Volcarona?" Shanwoo asked.
"Oh, that's right! I nearly forgot that a giant Volcarona destroyed the Okron Tournament." Kaoru realised.
"Yes, despite showing up at the same time as us, it just kept flying around like a drunk fly." Cruella muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Why? Was it like that in the Okron Tournament?" King asked.
"I am not sure." Ell Blue frowned.
"Wait, weren't there TWO Okron Tournaments?" Panda asked.
"Twowhatnow?" Junko asked, blinking twice.
"Hey, that's right! There was a second Okron Tournament after the first one was destroyed!" Legend realised. "Though it felt like the second Okron Tournament was the FIRST one."
Harley blinked twice. "Umm, what?"
"I… Don't have the foggiest idea. But I have reason to believe that it is related to why Volcarona is acting like… This." Panda said.
With that, he gestured to the Pokemon who was flailing on the ground. Everyone blinked twice.
"...So what else?" Cruella asked, chuckling nervously.
Everyone paused.
"I'm out…"
Everyone's eyes bugged out before turning around to see Kaoru walking towards the door leading back into the door.
"Wait, what do you mean you're out, Kaoru?" Seal frowned.
The pinkette turned around before looking at each other. "Exactly what I mean. I don't want to do this anymore!"
Ell Blue's eyes bugged out at this. "WHAT!?"
"Come on, Kaoru, we need you!" Tsugumi frowned.
The idol singer looked stunned at this. "W-Wait, really?"
"Yeah, you fight exactly like Athena Asamiya and she was a nightmare to fight against!" Tsugumi added.
Kaoru's face immediately went sour at this.
"Wait, she does! That means she does nothing but spam obnoxious pink energy balls while teleporting out of harm's way!" Harley realised.
"If she is THAT evil while being a justice fighter, just think how someone who is fighting on the side of evil could fight!" Cruella nodded.
Kaoru's eyebrow twitched. "As riveting as your reasoning is, I am going to go."
"Kaoru, are you really going to leave this far?" Brazel asked.
"It is BECAUSE we came this far why I want out!" Kaoru snapped. "Take a look at the sky! At the new despair clones!"
Everyone looked at each other.
"Our main goal is simple to kill Drake and/or ruin the tournament!" Kaoru reminded. "Not destroy the FREAKING timeline!"
"Yeah, I am with her." Shanwoo frowned.
Ell Blue looked at Shanwoo horrified. "Shanwoo."
"Look, you may have convinced us to avenge Yan, man." The tan-skinned man sighed. "But this is more than avenging Yan or our node."
Ruriy shook her head. "I knew that we shouldn't have expected this. I just knew it…"
Everyone but Ell Blue, Brazel and Arashi slowly agreed to it, much to the chargin of the despair clones.
"But… But…" Ell Blue sputtered.
"Y-Yeah, because we should call it off." Ace said.
"Same…" Freddy sighed.
Ell Blue did a double take at this. "Wait, even YOU, Freddy!"
"Look, trust me, dude! I do not want this to end up as an anti-climax!" The serial killer frowned. "But I have a legacy, man! What interfering with the timeline messes it up!"
"See? Even the poster child of nightmares himself thinks we are going too far?" Kaoru pointed out.
"Wow… This is why I don't hang out with you guys." Arashi spat.
Long glared at Arashi. "No, the reason you don't hang out with us is because we don't hang around with serial killers!"
"I mean fair, but it isn't a picnic for me either." The blue-haired man shrugged.
Kuya shook his head. "Let's just focus on rescuing Yan, reuniting with the others and retreating as if nothing had happened."
"That one gets my vote!" Sheva nodded.
Everyone slowly agreed. Ell Blue just looked around with wide eyes. He then hung his head.
"Come on, guys. Let's go." Blast said.
Everyone nodded before walking towards the door.
ZAPPPPP!
Everyone jumped before turning to see Ell Blue shoot out a lightning bolt in the sky with a serious look on his face.
"...To say that things had escalated is an understatement. However, it seems that you all need a refresher on why we are here in the first place." Ell Blue growled.
(The Arena)
"PIT!" (SSB)
The brown-haired angel came out to the theme to Kid Icarus Uprising and a loud cheer. Seeing this, he grinned before jumping up excitedly while holding a half of Palutena's Bow in the form of a blade before looking around the arena.
However, his smile vanished when he saw the Millennium Star raising an eyebrow in a stern fashion. Pit nervously chuckled before sheepishly waving it at him.
"It seems that the no outside guidance rule also applies to this tournament." Pit frowned. "So I am going solo."
With that, he looked up at the Eliminated Seating to see Palutena smiling and waving at him. Pit returned the gesture before jumping up and using his wings to glide into the arena. Once in, he put away his blades before getting out the Shovel Claws.
"I kinda want to get into a fight first, butttttt I am also curious to see what it is like to act like a mole." Pit noted.
With that, he used the claws to start digging and made his way underground.
"MERLINA!" (StH)
(My eyes)
(My eyes)
(Are filled with curiosity)
(You think)
(You think)
(That you have power over me)
The magenta-haired wizard came out to a decent cheer and "With Me", the final boss theme of Sonic and the Black Knight. She held her staff while putting the other hand on her chest while looking around.
"Even now… People are still cheering, still fighting, despite knowing that Xuan Dou Zhi Wang is doing everything in their power to try to destroy the tournament…" Merlina mused before doing a snicker. "It seems that Sonic isn't the only one who is needlessly optimistic."
(In this life)
(This life)
(There's no room for you and me)
(So, turn away or face this day with me)
(Face the day with me)
(With me)
(Face the day with me)
With that, she stepped into the ring and ran over towards the fight between Knuckles and Moe. Acting quickly, Merlina raised her staff. This summoning an armoured hand holding a large sword from said portal. Moe looked up, just in time to yelp and jump back to avoid the attack.
"Ah, Merlina!" Knuckles smiled.
"Sir Gawain, nice to see you in the ring!" The pinkette smiled.
Knuckles' smile vanished. Merlina noticed this and slapped her forehead with her free hand.
"Forgive me… You would think after all of this time, I would know how to tell the two of you apart." Merlina muttered.
"Yeah, about that." Moe piped up, getting Knuckles and Merlina's attention. "Why ARE you invited to thisssss tournament?"
Merlina blinked twice. "Um, because I was in the Okron Tournament AND the Tournament of Kikai."
"Yeah, the Okron Tournament." Moe said. "Doesssss the Okron Tournament even count anymore seeing it seems like it would never be finished?"
Merlina paused with a blank face as Knuckles narrowed his eyes.
"Like sssssure you were invited to the Tournament of Kikai, but other than adding Team Hooligan for his petty 'revenge', he pretty much just copied and passsssted." Moe said.
"Oi, what is wrong with having her here!?" Knuckles snapped.
"I don't know… Besidesssss Eggman, isn't it a taboo to have human-like characters." Moe said, scratching the back of his head. "Especially with Elise and Chris Thorndyke."
"Hey, Elise got a redesign that was favoured positively and at least Chris wasn't that bad in the final season of Sonic X and the spinoff comic!" Knuckles shot back.
"It is alright, Knuckles, there is only one way to deal with an argument like this." Merlina reassured.
The red-furred fighter raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"
Merlina then raised her staff to summon another portal. This made the armoured hand come out, this time without the sword. It then floated over Moe's head… And promptly karate-chopped it.
"Nice argument." Knuckles smirked.
"OSWALD!" (KoFAS)
The Irish well-dressed gambler came out to a loud cheer (especially those who main him in XI and XIV). However, he paid it no mind as he looked at the arena while holding a card to himself with a small smirk.
"Quite a lot of interesting opponents this time around." Oswald noted. "Good thing I have already decided on one."
With that, he ran towards the ring and leapt in without a second thought before throwing the card he had in his hand.
It found itself embedded in front of the ground of Luigi, making him jump. Looking up, he saw Oswald walking over.
"W-What do you want?" Luigi asked with a gulp.
"Simple. I had always wanted to fight you." Oswald explained.
Luigi blinked twice. "W-Wait, really?"
"Of course. You were a casino dealer in Super Mario 64 DS." Oswald noted. "I must say, out of all Mario characters, I never assumed that YOU would be skilled with cards."
Luigi's eyes widened before scratching the back of his head with a blush. "Oh, wow. Considering how-a missable those minigames are, I am pleasantly surprised that you know."
"Never underestimate someone who has been around cards as much as I am." Oswald smirked. "I want to see how that skill translates into a fighting style!"
Luigi jumped at this. "B-But how-a could I translate it when I DON'T fight with cards?"
"That is for you to know and me to find out." Oswald said, getting into a stance.
"And now, Mystery Fighter… Number… FORTY-NINE!"
"GEMINI SUNRISE!" (Sakura Wars V)
(Warera kagayaku chijou no senshi)
(Tatoe donna kunan mo norikoete)
The red-haired Texan samurai cowgirl (yeah, you read up) came out to a decent cheer. She looked around excitedly while using her hand as a visor while excitedly scanning around the area.
"Oh wow! There are a lot of tough looking fighters in the arena!" Gemini noted before slapping her hands against her cheeks. "I have to make the Star Division proud just like I did in both Project X Zone games. Though maybe I have a chance to be the STAR of the Battle of the LUMINARIES!"
(Aku wo horobosu ishizue to narou hikari are iza susume)
(Warera New York Kagekidan)
Gemini then walked down the ramp while waving to the crowd. She then stepped in before looking around for an opponent, unaware that Helga was raising an eyebrow at her.
"Why is a Japanese song playing for you?" Helga asked.
Gemini blinked twice. "Um, because I am from a JAPANESE game."
Helga jumped. "But you are clearly Texan…"
"To be fair, Sakura Wars DID take place in Japan, but it was set in France in the third game before going to New York in the fifth game." Gemini explained.
Helga's eyes widened. "NEW YORK!?"
"Yeah, I came all of the way from Texas on my horse, Larry, while fighting villains with my katana and samurai skills!" Gemini explained, getting out her katana.
Helga slumped her arms. "...Is THIS what Japanese see Americans?"
"Hey, seeing that you live in the Bronx, can we fight? Normally, I would be hesitant about fighting a child." Gemini said before smirking. "At the same time, fighting someone from New York could lead to a NEW ME!"
Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing to look at Gemini in disbelief at the bad pun. Helga blinked twice before getting out her slingshot.
"...I am getting you out of the ring before you lower my IQ points any more." Helga said, flatly.
"HAKUMEN!" (BB)
The white-armoured samurai came out with his extremely-long nodachi while his long, white ponytail blew in the non-existent wind, he was about to go down the ramp to enter the arena.
Until he noticed a familiar star hovering over him. He merely looked at it before it went into him, resulting in an aura to glow around.
"Congratulations, Hakumen!" Tumble smiled. "You are the special Big Guy for this section!"
"So it seems that my boss status is remembered after all of this time." The samurai said before nodding. "Very well. I will make due with this last-minute position."
With that, he made his way down the ramp before stepping in. Once in, he made his way over to Sabrewulf before swinging his nodachi downwards towards him. However, Sabrewulf's canine hearing perked up before looking up before flipping backwards to avoid it.
"You have a lot of gall attacking me with a cheap shot!" Sabrewulf spat.
"This tournament has enough trouble with people who can't even control their urges in a situation like this." Hakumen shot back.
Sabrewulf frowned. "I admit that was the case before…"
"Really? I don't see any improvement in my eyes." Hakumen said before getting into a stance. "My sword may not be made out of silver, but it is more than enough to vanquish you."
Sabrewulf growled. "Like you are the only one with an overgrown sword I faced before!"
With that, he ran over and swung his claw at Hakumen. However, the white armoured man got into a defensive stance which created a circular barrier in front of him. Immediately, when Sabrewulf's claw collided with said barrier, Hakumen grabbed the werewolf before slamming him against the ground.
"I should warn you, beast that countering is my speciality." Hakumen said.
"ZAKI!" (RS)
The red-haired female delinquent stood outside of the Ready Room with her arms crossed while wearing a chain as a necktie.
"I am glad that Hideo and Chairperson didn't make the last section." Zaki mused through her mask. "Sure, we need the eliminations so we can't be picky but I hate teachers and I don't see myself doing well with Chairperson either."
Giving a shoulder-shrug, she then made her way down the ramp before stepping in. She immediately lashed out her chain with electricity surrounding it towards Hakumen. However, the samurai easily blocked it with his nodachi without looking at her.
Hakumen then turned his head. "You have a death wish, child."
"Are you crazy, child!?" Sabrewulf scolded. "This guy didn't get his Big Guy status from a pick from a hat!"
"I am aware of that. This guy is giving me PTSD flashback of Demon Hyo!" Zaki said before narrowing her eyes. "But at the same time, I can't stand people like these!"
"If unchecked, this beast's senses will go wild and attack innocent people!" Hakumen scolded. "Would you be responsible if that happens?"
"Would YOU be responsible if that DOESN'T happen!" Zaki shot back. "Especially since he seems perfectly fine against that Tales swordsman and baboon-like alien!"
Sabrewulf frowned. "I appreciate the sentiment, girl, but I think this guy actually fights more ferociously than me."
"All the more reason for me to not let THIS guy run free!" Zaki said, scoffing her through her mask.
"Very well. I will take you both on." Hakumen challenged.
"Um, a-a-attention, everyone."
Everyone's eyes bugged out before turning to the direction of the Announcer's Booth. There, they saw Ashley who was quiet for the last while. However, despite having a lot of time to himself, he looked worse for wear.
"Ashley?" Tumble asked.
"S-S-Sorry for the sudden announcement, but I got an update on the current villain plot." The purple-haired man said, sputtering.
Everyone's eyes widened at this.
"The fake Psycho Mantis… Is Freddy Kreuger." Ashley said.
Everyone gasped at this.
"F-F-FREDDY KREUGER!?" Luigi exclaimed.
"Isn't he the one who trapped children in nightmares and killed them!?" Tentomon added.
"W-Wait a minute. If HE was Psycho Mantis, then how did he get his power?" Merlina asked.
"Yes, for it to work like in the Dream world, shouldn't we ALL be asleep?" Poison frowned.
"ENOUGH!"
Everyone turned towards Ashley. While still looking terrified, he gave a stern glare.
"Look, I didn't tell everyone to scare you because everyone inside of the dome is working on a way to combat him." Ashley said. "I just wanted to tell the multiverse so if there is anyone who is able to battle nightmares, please… Considering that Freddy is working Xuan Dou Zhi Wang, who knows what they would do. That is all. Sorry for interrupting but I felt like this needed to be said sooner than later."
The fighters then looked at each other with frowns.
"It is absolutely fascinating how spite could make someone abandon their morals." Hakumen said in disgust.
"I hope that the hero team this time around actually managed to find a way." Vivi said with an unseen frown.
(Sinnoh; Newmoon Island)
Things seemed to be deserted on Newmoon Island with the only sounds being the trees swaying from the wind and the waves crashing against the waves. However, that was until a ring suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grew, creating a portal. Then, two familiar people walked out of it. One looked around in awe while the other hardly looked fazed. The latter then looked back at the portal.
"Thank you again for the transportation." Mewtwo nodded.
Then, a grey-skinned figure with pink hair poked their heads out of the portal with a big grin on its way.
"No problem! Can't deny a situation THIS serious!" Hoopa grinned. "HOOPA!"
Mewtwo gave a small smile. "Well, how long do you think it would take you to get our OTHER recruit."
Hoopa's grin vanished. "Yeah, about that. I think I should be able to get her, especially when Freddy is involved. But I also heard that she is very busy tonight so I may be a little slow."
Mewtwo's partner frowned before stepping forward.
"Hoopa, we don't HAVE time to be slow!" Jigglypuff scolded.
"Hey, don't shoot the messenger." Hoopa said, holding up his hands.
"He is right, Jigglypuff. We are already asking a lot to take her from her job." Mewtwo scolded.
The puffball puffed out her… Well, entire body, Mewtwo then looked at Hoopa.
"In any case, doing our OTHER recruit, it will take more time than usual." Mewtwo reassured. "So there is a chance that YOU will be finished before us."
"Aight. Just be careful." Hoopa nodded. "I think you already know this, but he isn't going to join you without a fight."
Mewtwo sternly returned the nod. "Indeed. Leave it to us."
"Well, good luck to the three of us! HOOPA!" Hoopa cheered.
With that, he poked his head back into the portal before it closed. Jigglypuff frowned before looking up at Mewtwo.
"I don't know, Mewtwo. I know that we are in a desperate position but recruiting THIS guy?" Jigglypuff asked.
"I admit that is my reaction as well, Jigglypuff." The feline-like Pokemon frowned. "At the same time, unlike in our node, fighting fire with fire seems like the best way to counter Freddy."
"But isn't our other recruit enough?" The balloon asked.
"Pikachu's logic is based on the fact that Freddy and by extension, Xuan Dou Zhi Wang had found a power source that is able to use his full nightmare powers despite everyone being awake." Mewtwo reminded. "We don't know how strong Freddy currently is."
Jigglypuff still looked uncertain. "I guess…"
"To be honest, I am just as stunned that PIKACHU suggested this and he is not even here." Mewtwo frowned.
Jigglypuff glared up at Mewtwo. "Hey, Pikachu didn't want to see Pichu alone for the moment. Cut him some slack."
"Y-Yes, also true." The psychic said. "Sorry…"
"It's fine… But man, to say what happened in the final battle against Oume's group is an understatement." Jigglypuff winced. "I am pleasantly surprised Pikachu and the other champions managed to bounce back."
"Especially after what happened with Pikachu's first two eliminations." Mewtwo frowned. "Now come… He is not going to come to us just by…"
"GRRR!"
Mewtwo and Jigglypuff's eyes widened before turning their heads to see a certain dark Pokemon glaring at them with only one eye. Mewtwo immediately narrowed his eyes.
"Darkrai…" Mewtwo said.
"First, that egotistical jackal and now YOU two! Not even the persistent trainers visit my Newmoon Island twice in one night!" The mythical Pokemon.
Mewtwo merely frowned. "...Forgive us for interrupting your rest, Darkrai, but there is an emergency at the Crossover Dome and we need your help."
Darkrai actually looked taken back at this.
"W-What?" Darkrai asked.
"Yes, that is how serious it is there." Mewtwo sighed.
Darkrai continued to look stunned before narrowing his good eye.
"No, I will NOT go! I'd rather be alone!" Darkrai scolded.
"Darkrai, come on. You can't possibly think we would come all of this way to just go back if you say no." Mewtwo scolded.
"Well, I don't care!" Darkrai spat.
Mewtwo narrowed his eyes. "I wanted to handle this amicably, but it seems that was wishful thinking on MY part. If you refuse to help us, then I…"
"No, I will!" Jigglypuff said, stepping forward.
Mewtwo's eyes widened at this. "Jigglypuff!?"
"Don't misunderstand. I still have mixed feelings about recruiting Darkrai, but we are going to do this, we need to do this right." The fairy-type said, looking up at Mewtwo. "You are one of the strongest fighters in the tournament and you are at a disadvantage with Darkrai being a Dark-type AND a Mythical Pokemon. Even if you beat him in a fight, you would still lose a LOT of HP."
Mewtwo gave a bored look. "You just want to flex your Fairy-type moves that you failed to use in the arena."
"Yeah, so?" Jigglypuff said, sassily.
Mewtwo rolled his eyes. "Fine… But I am stepping in if the battle gets too intense for you."
Darkrai scoffed. "So you have a type-advantage against me. You are still a common Pokemon!"
Jigglypuff glared at Darkrai. "Um, excuse me? Unlike Mewtwo, I was in ALL five Smash games! I think it gave me enough experience to face off against a Mythical Pokemon!"
Darkrai growled before he and Jigglypuff got into a stance. Mewtwo frowned while crossing his arms.
"...I hope you know that we are going through for you, Pikachu."
(Unknown Location)
The man continued to work at his office while writing down on a piece of paper with another sigh. He then pushed a button on the desk.
"Cherry, the paperwork is done."
"That's great, sir. I actually have three hundred more for you to write."
The man rolled his eyes. "Splendid, that is great to hear."
"Glad to hear it, sir! I will deliver it to your desk soon!"
The man frowned. "No, I was…"
Too late. They hung up.
"...I was being sarcastic." The man sighed. "Ugh, SHE would have something interesting to say."
With that, he continued to work. …Unaware that the room he was sitting in was slowly draining in colour.
(The Arena)
"WHITE BUFFALO!" (PI)
The muscular Native American stood proudly outside of the Entrance Curtain with his arms crossed. He then ran in place while putting his hands to his mouth and doing a war whoop (making several people wince). Despite this, he didn't pay any mind as he walked down the ramp with a stoic look on his face.
However, once he stepped in, he pulled out his Shovel Claws and examined them with a big grin.
"These Claws are so shiny and in such great condition! I have to get these for my collection!" White Buffalo noted. He then frowned. "But these are created with the Millennium Star's magic so they would go when the section is over… I wonder what else I could find."
With that, he looked around for a moment. It was then he saw Rocket sitting on the ground while examining various weapons. His eyes lit up before walking over to the alien.
Rocket didn't notice White Buffalo behind him until a giant shadow covered the arena light from him. Raising an eyebrow, he turned around to see White Buffalo.
"Um, excuse me!? What do YOU want!?" Rocket asked.
"I see that you have a lot of weapons! I want at least one for my collection!" White Buffalo noted.
Rocket blinked twice at this. He then smiled. "Yeah, I will give you my entire collection!"
White Buffalo's eyes lit up at this. "Oh, really?"
Rocket immediately rolled his eyes. "Dude, I was being sarcastic! Seriously, did you really think…"
It was then White Buffalo crouched down and picked up the guns that were on the ground, much to Rocket's shock and anger.
"Thank you for your patronage! I thought that I would have to trade something in exchange but it is nice that I could get these for free!" White Buffalo grinned.
With that, he walked off. Rocket continued to look stunned before growling and putting on his Shovel Claws before scampering over on all fours.
"Like flark, I would ever let you do that!" Rocket roared. "I bet you don't even know the first thing about gun maintenance!"
"MAI NATSUME!" (BB)
Mai Shiranui's eyes widened before looking up to see a blue-haired, scantily-clad woman, leading a bright red spear stand outside of the Ready Room, getting a lot of cheers from the men. The latter immediately blushed with her face turning red before making her way down the ramp while shyly waving to the ground.
Once in, Mai Shiranui walked over with a raised eyebrow. "Not used to the attention from the men, huh?"
Mai Natsume looked up. "H-Huh? No, I already had caught the eye of a lot of men and even a few women, but never all at once."
"Really? With an outfit like that, I thought that you would have." Mai Shiranui noted.
Mai Natsume blinked twice. "Really? But I am not differently dressed compared to some of the female nodal companions of mine."
Mai Shiranui paused, remembering the likes of Noel, Litchi and Makoto. "That's… Not wrong. And I thought MY node is full of fanservice."
"Hey, incidentally, can I fight you?" Mai Natsume asked, reading her spear. "You seem like you would be super-tough to fight?"
"As much as I would like to say 'of course', I admit that most of the super-toughness was restricted to dealing with you-know-who?" Mai Shiranui sighed, rubbing her electric collar. She then smiled. "Sure, why not? Most of their heavy hitters are gone, anyway so I could afford to have a none-Smash fight."
Mai Natsume chuckled nervously at this. Unknown to the two Mais, Poison was watching them with a raised eyebrow.
"The way the blue-haired Mai moves more… Erratic compared to other women fighters I faced." Poison noted. "It is almost as if…"
Then, Poison's eyes widened.
"Wait, how come she said 'the female nodal companions of mine' instead of something along the lines of 'my fellow female nodal companions'?" Poison asked.
She then shook her head. Regardless of the answer, that was not her place to pry. She, of all people, should know that.
"TUSK!" (KI)
The blond bearded Barbarian let out a battle cry as the cheer went wild (though it was mostly the woman). Carrying his absurdly-long sword as if it was a normal, he made his way down the ramp before stepping in.
Poison's eyes lit up before rushing over and skidding to a stop in front of him. "Oh, wow! You have quite the build on you!"
Tusk merely grinned at this. "But of course, as the Watchman of the Gods, you can't afford to let yourself be flappy!"
"Hey, how about you join the G.W.A.! We could have someone with a body like yours!" Poison grinned.
"G.W.A., isn't that the name of your wrestling association?" Tusk asked. As Poison frowned, the former frowned. "...Miss, I literally faced a demonic warlord on a regular basis. What makes you think I wish to fight mere mortals?"
"Aw, come on! Don't be like that!" Poison scolded. "I am sure that the very 'mortals' are strong."
"After facing off against Combo, I admit that there is little flaw with that statement." Tusk said before shaking his head. "Regardless, I'll believe it when I see it!"
"Alright, how about you fight me? I am not as strong as the wrestlers I manage, but I am still strong in my own right?" Poison asked. "If I am able to impress you, you are SURE to be impressed by the others!"
"Again, that statement DOES make sense." Tusk said before shrugging his shoulders. "Ah, well. Why not? Either I get you to stop bugging me or I get to face potentially strong opponents!"
"VULCANO RUSSO!" (FEXL)
The Italian monochrome-striped-haired dandy came out in a suave fashion (with the fangirls again going well). He smiled before blowing a kiss to the warm reception before strutting down the ramp.
(You ain't nothin' but a hound dog)
Vulcano immediately froze with shrunken pupils before looking up at the Sound Booth.
(Cryin' all the time)
(You ain't nothin' but a hound dog)
(Cryin' all the time)
(Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit)
(And you ain't no friend of mine)
The Sound Booth trio laughed as well as the crowd when "You Ain't Nothin But A Hound Dog" from Elvis Presley played through the speakers. Vulcano rolled his eyes.
"Oh come now, that is literally what you guys did to Maxi in the first Megamix Tournament!" Vulcano scolded.
"I know that is why I came up with it for nostalgia's sake!" Astaroth laughed.
Vulcano shook his head before entering the arena. Once in, he made his way over to the fight between Luigi and Oswald. Letting out a loud shout, he swung his arm downwards while engulfing it in energy, sending a wave forward. However, the two were able to see it and jumped back to avoid it.
"Hey, what the…" Luigi said before noticing Vulcano's outfit. "He… Is like a Jojo character."
Oswald narrowed his eyes. "May we help you?"
"Ah, forgive me. I just noticed that you two were having a duel between gamblers." Vulcano said. "I like to consider dabbling in cards myself."
"But… I saw-a you fight at the last two Battle of the Luminaries!" Luigi pointed out. "I didn't even-a KNOW you played cards until then!"
"I must admit that it isn't more apparent in Fighting EX Layer." Vulcano sighed. "And even then it is more of an aesthetic thing."
With that, he did a dramatic pose. For some reason, this made cards pop out of him before floating to the ground.
"...Yep, definitely like a Jojo character." Luigi thought.
"Well, can't say I appreciate the rude interruption." Oswald said.
Luigi glared at Oswald. "You did-A the exact same rude interruption to ME."
The Irishman merely continued as if he didn't hear Luigi. "...I must admit that there is definitely something unique about you! Very well, you could join us!"
Luigi looked at Oswald in disbelief. "Excuse me!?"
"Grazie, I promise that you will not regret this late arrival." Vulcano smirked.
Luigi slumped his arms. "What is-a with my fellow Europeans forcing me into these crazy situations?"
"YOSHITORA TOKUGAWA!" (SS)
For the third time in a row, the fangirls went wild when the young heir to the Tokugawa Shogunate came out while carrying the sheaths of each of his SEVEN swords on his person. He smirked before waving to the ladies.
"I can't believe that Xuan Dou Zhi Wang actually wants to destroy a fine tournament like this!" Yoshitora noted while walking down the ramp. "It has everything! Strong fighters, gimmicks to keep the tournament fresh, beautiful women of all shapes and sizes!"
With that, he stepped into the ring. …And almost immediately stumbled forward before falling onto his stomach in an ungraceful fashion. Suddenly, someone appeared behind Yoshitora with their foot out in a tripping position.
"Man, I told myself that when I enter the area, I would fight the first Samurai Shodown fighter I see because I am somewhat of a Ditto Fighter for Hanzo Hattori." Nagase said with a bored look. "But of course it is generic pretty boy #2576…"
Despite being tripped up, Yoshitora looked back with a small smile. "M-My, my, aren't we naughty?"
"Save it. You think that just flashing your pretty looks is enough to woo me?" Nagase asked, rolling her eyes. "This is why I hate prettyboys."
By this time, Yoshitora got up. "I admit they tend to be all flash, no substance. Though I like to think that I am a cut above them."
"Why because of your seven swords?" Nagase asked. "And I thought just having ONE giant sword is compensating for something?"
Yoshitora merely chuckled before putting his hand on one of his many handles. "It seems that words would be enough to sway you. How about my actions speak for themselves?"
Nagase spat before putting her hand on the ninjato on her back. "I strongly doubt it, but at the very least, don't try to bore me TOO much."
Suddenly, Pit popped out of the ground beside Nagse and Yoshitora, startling them. He then looked around before noticing the two.
"Um, how many fighters are left to enter the section?" Pit asked.
"Um, two?" Yoshitora answered.
"Woah-oh, at this rate, I am going to be the only one without an opponent before the final fighter comes!" Pit frowned.
With that, he got out of the hole before running off.
(Eliminated Seating)
"Well, Pit seems like he is having fun with the Shovel Claws." Lucario noted.
"Fortunately, they are pretty self-explanatory so he doesn't need any help about how to use them." Palutena smiled.
Lucario turned towards Palutena with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, about that. Why did you provide your guidance in the Tournament of Kikai in the first place?"
The goddess let out a deep sigh. "Honestly, I didn't even know that the no-outside help rule was in effect."
"I mean even though you weren't TECHNICALLY in the arena, you were still in it, even if it is just your spirit guidance." Lucario frowned. "It is a miracle that Dark Pit also didn't get disqualified the same way."
"To be fair, Viridi is more concerned about trolling Pittoo than actually helping him." Palutena said, shaking her head.
"Also true…" Lucario said. "Look, even if you somehow ignore the fact that you got Pit disqualified, he shouldn't be complacent on relying on you."
Palutena paused with a frown.
"...You are right, Lucario. Even though that is my role as a goddess, I can't do everything. I have to let my people decide what they can do on their own and not wondering 'What would Palutena do?'" Palutena admitted. "It is because of that why Pit suffered a humiliating defeat?"
Suddenly, Palutena gave an exasperated look.
"On the OTHER hand, have you forgotten who you are talking about, Lucario?" Palutena frowned.
Lucario blinked twice at this.
(The Arena)
"LAU CHAN!" (VF)
The ageing man and father of Pai Chan stood outside of the Ready Room with his hands behind his back in a dignified fashion. He then looked up at the Eliminated Seating to see his daughter cheering him on. Lau gave a small smile before nodding his head and making his way down the ramp.
"...I wonder if Virtua Fighter 6 finally comes along, I would be on the roster. Because of my illness, there is a strong chance that I may…" Lau frowned. He then shook his head. "No, I can't think like that. And even if that WOULD be my fate, I do not wish to spend it moping."
With that, he entered the arena. Suddenly, Pit ran in front of him before skidding a stop.
"Wait, aren't you Lau Chan?" Pit asked with sparkling eyes. "Lady Palutena has told me about you!"
Lau gave a small smile. "Oh?"
"Yeah, you are a lead Chinese chef!" Pit beamed.
Lau's smile vanished. "...Come again?"
"Yeah, you are a lead chef so you must cook a lot of delicious meals!" Pit said with sparkling eyes. "So could you please cook for me?"
Lau paused at this. He then smiled. "Two things: First off, I appreciate your goddess for telling you about my job outside of my life of combat. Most people don't even know about that."
"It is no problem!" Pit smiled. "And the other thing?"
POW!
Pit then found himself face-first in the dirt patch after Lau gave him a hard karate chop to his head.
"FOOL! You think I came halfway across the multiverse just to be your personal chef!?" Lau scolded, angrily. "Now get up! I wish to teach you some respect!"
Pit groaned as he propped himself on his elbows. "Did I say something wrong?"
(Eliminated Seating)
"Ohhhh…" Lucario said with a bored look.
"Do not misunderstand, I shouldn't have been giving Pit Guidance and potentially getting him into trouble in the first, but yeahhhhh…" Palutena sighed.
(The Arena)
The Millennium Star and Tumble snickered at the exchange between Pit and Lau. Tumble then looked at the list to see who the final fighter was.
…Only for his face to turn in pure horror at who it was. Immediately, he showed the phone to the Millennium Star, causing his eyes to bug out in horror too. They then looked at each other before looking at the fighters before looking back at each other. They then sighed in defeat realising that they were no way out of this.
"And now, the final fighter of this section…"
"BARBATOS GOETIA!" (ToAS)
It was then every fighter's pupils shrank to the size of peas before their heads slowly turned towards the Entrance Curtain. Indeed, coming out to a huge mixed reaction and his theme, "Coup De Grace" playing through the speakers was the musclebound, dark-skinned, blue-haired man with his arms crossed while tapping his foot against the ground with an unamused look on his face. Ignoring the crowd, he stomped his way down the ramp.
"Um, guys? Could you please tell me, nay, tell all of us…" Helga started before suddenly shouting. "WHY DIDN'T YOU WARNED US THAT THE GUY THAT IS NOT ONLY KNOWN FOR BEING A SUPERBOSS AND HATED ITEMS WOULD APPEAR IN THIS SECTION!?"
"D-D-Don't look at me!" Kao insisted. "He wasn't in the Ready Room when it was my turn to come out!"
"He wasn't in the Ready Room when I got ready to come out either!" Merlina added. "I would have warned Knuckles if I did! He must have been waiting outside of the Ready Room!"
Poison glared up at the Millennium Star and Tumble. "And what about you two!?"
The two winced at this. "I swear we didn't notice that Barbatos was in the section until the eleventh hour!"
"How did you make a blunder like THAT!?" White Buffalo scolded. "Especially what happened in the last tournament!?"
Sailor Jupiter shook her head in disgust. "Ashley would never make an oversight like that!"
Gemini frowned while pulling her hat over her eyes. "...We needed both him and Drake more than we thought."
By this time, Barbatos had finally entered the area. He then held up the Shovel Claws that he was given. …Before dropping them and stomping on them once, managing to destroy them immediately. He then kicked them out of the arena (and onto a Garbodor in Pokemon. He failed to notice it.) He then stomped over to Knuckles, Merlina and Moe.
"He is after me!" Knuckles and Moe gasped before looking at each other. "He is after YOU!?"
Soon, Barbatos reached the three. He then gave a dark smirk.
"Heh, well, isn't this lucky? Here, I thought I have to choose between which two I have to go after!" Barbatos noted. "But instead I get to go after you two!"
Moe took a deep gulp. "Um, truce?"
"Like we have a choice…" Knuckles muttered.
Merlina narrowed her eyes before getting a stance. "I am with you boys."
Barbatos then got into a stance. That was until he froze. In fact, all of the fighters did. It was then they realised that they all had Knuckles' Emerald Radar which means that the first Item Box was buried. Everyone then turned towards Barbatos who just gave a cold glare.
"I don't even need to explain what will happen if even one of you pick up an item." Barbatos spat.
Everyone winced before looking at each other. What should be a fun treasure hunt, using abilities they never used before, ended up full of dread. Not only they had to deal with Xuan Dou Zhi Wang and Freddy Krueger but the threat of using an item of any kind and automatically getting hell on earth.
(Dome; Entrance)
"Fresh air!" Cruella said in relief as she, Jasper, Horace, Maleficent and Pete exited the Crossover Dome.
"Didn't you spend a good portion of the night having fresh air on the roof?" Pete smirked.
"Pete, you are SO lucky that I am too focused on leaving this place to even bother slapping you!" Cruella scolded.
"I am still confused about what you were hoping to accomplish by coming here." Maleficent said, shaking her head. "Despite having those Heartless-like clones just now, you are no closer to getting even a portion of your power from Soul Edge!"
"It is not about getting Soul Edge! It is getting what is mine!" Cruella scolded. "And that is my right to enter the tournament!"
"Gee, I wonder why everyone thinks that you DON'T have a right!" Pete snarked.
"You know, as much as Horace and I wanted to say, I must admit that I could see why Miss De Vil was adamant on coming here." Jasper said, narrowing his eyes.
"Yeah, BB Hood and Gnasty Gnorc were allowed to be in the Okron Tournament and Tournament of Kikai respectively and not us!?" Horace added.
"To be fair, THEY didn't steal Soul Edge." Pete reminded.
"That's right! Soul Edge! As in ONE HALF of the problem!" Cruella exclaimed. "Even when it should be as clear as Soul Calibur that Veigue Lungberg is part of the problem by now, people are STILL trying to gaslight me into thinking it is solely me!"
"Is it solely your fault? No, not really." Maleficent said before frowning. "But if there was a chance for the Soul Calibur problem to be resolved WITHOUT the Megamix Dome being destroyed, you kind of ruined it."
"So I got a little greedy with power! Hello, I am a Disney Villain! It is kinda our schtick!" Cruella spat.
Pete frowned. "Okay, I admit that you are not wrong in THAT regard…"
Maleficent shook her head in hopelessness. She then looked ahead and her eyes widened.
"But you know what? I don't even care about my rights anymore!" Cruella grumbled. "Why would I want to watch a tournament that seems to attract villains that make even Bison and Xehanort look tame in comparison? I am just glad that I could finalllyyyyyyyy!"
That was the sound of Cruella suddenly falling into the ground. Jasper, Horace and Pete jumped at this. Then, Maleficent sent her staff out, creating a stream of green energy forward. This created a bubble surrounding Cruella which caused her to float up in the air where she floated around looking scared and bewildered.
It was then everyone noticed something. The entire dome and hotel were completely surrounded by a black, transparent aura. However, despite the aura being see-through, they didn't see any buildings, just more darkness.
Cruella then looked down to see that the buildings were right below down. It was as if the Crossover Dome and the hotel were being lifted off of the ground.
"...Well, at least there is a chance that people would not think of you to be the worst thing to happen to the Battle of the Luminaries if everyone somehow survived this." Maleficent said.
While floating in the bubble, Cruella put her hands on her face. "Oh my Bald Mountain, I am going to cry…"