The greatest in the Multiverse (Plural)

by Shinwashi

One year after the conclusion of the first multiversal tournament, the stage is set for the official follow-up. Everyone from last time have returned to fight for glory, personal goals or whatever reasons they have, but this time there's a new rule thrown into the mix. One that's gonna test the bonds they've all built over the last year...

4. Round 3: In our pessimistic nature

"LET'S KEEP THE FUN TIMES GOING, PEOPLE! OUR NEXT SETS OF COMBATANTS WILL SOON HIT THE FIELD!"

By now the two impactful back-to-back fights had successfully riled up the whole audience. It appeared that among the 250.000 strong collection of onlookers, there wasn't a single soul that wasn't completely in the zone. Cheers, roars, applause and chants all around… these folks were more than ready to roll on to the next clash.

"I'D RECOMMEND YOU ALL TO TURN YOUR GAZE TOWARDS THAT BLUE CORNER, BECAUSE THE NEXT TEAM IS ABOUT TO MAKE THEIR ENTRANCE! LET'S HEAR IT FOR THEM!" Googlorp bombastically continued.

The crowd eagerly followed the Plasmoid's advice, and at that moment one core emotion reigned supreme. As they all awaited the first set of contestants, big smiles adorned innumerable faces. The mood was almost tangibly happy.

This did not include Root.

As the bypassing Team Strapper left the room, the green-clad Genasi sat there in thoughtful silence. Her teammate had some quick business to take care of, and so she'd been told to wait until he got back. Which meant that she had a moment left alone with her thoughts, and as was the norm these days those thoughts went to what had happened over the last year. What had happened during her very own adventure.

Like always, her recollection started with the goblin-infested town where she'd first witnessed the aftermath of a bloody invasion. And while she'd met some fellow adventurers that day, who had quickly become some of her closest friends, their presence hadn't quelled the sickness in her stomach at the sight of so much death. Root's thoughts speeded through the events that followed; everything from suffering a curse that had almost corrupted her completely, an attack on a large town by Fire Giants that had claimed untold souls, a clash against a Kraken in a large city's sewers that almost cost them all their lives to their failure to stop a Cloud Giant castle from crashing into the city of Everlund which had resulted in the single most devastation the Genasi had ever seen. In comparison, the resulting journey to the northern temple of Giant-kind's oracle, the attack on and destruction of said temple by a scheming blue dragon and the many trials and traumatic experiences that eventually led Root and her group to the final clash against that very dragon was almost bearable. Almost. Especially since that clash had only happened less than one month ago, and was thus still clear as crystal in her mind.

Root was well aware of how she still had some happy memories of her adventure. She got to meet some important friends, and together the little group that never settled on a name had seen the wonders of the world and managed to save so many lives. But all that violence, all those new friends who'd been taken away and the acts of unrepentant petty evil they had faced along the way… those were what kept her locked in this sullen state. But what really brought the tears that kept her awake at night wasn't the memories of people she'd failed or even the time she'd indirectly caused an enemy's execution. What stung the most was the memories of how one of her adventuring friends perished in the final battle against the blue dragon. While the previous experiences had been taxing and had worn her down, this loss was the one that had finally broken her. After a full year of adventure, Root was far from the person she used to be. She hadn't found herself able to smile at all since then.

"Hey, sorry it took so long. Hope I didn't make you wait!"

The sound of the lean purple Tiefling hastily entering the room dragged Root back into the here and now. It appeared that John's unspecified business, whatever it was, had been finished. But although the Root from last year would've left it at that, the more jaded Genasi of the present was left curious. And suspicious, even if that notion still made her disappointed in herself.

"What took you so long, Wick? Wait, I mean John. Sorry, I was… thinking a bunch" Root asked, quickly looking down in embarrassment after she caught her slip.

Of course, John was still a thief. He might've learned a lot about himself and gained so much more appreciation of the people around him, but still not enough to go against his instincts. So the opportunity to grab a shiny jewellery piece of clear prismarine from the oblivious Gameron's bag had been too good to pass up. But the Tiefling still made sure to keep that tucked away in the pocket of his pilot jacket; Root might've been a good friend, but it seemed that didn't prevent John from keeping his true line of work a secret.

"Nothing major, I just went to the bathroom and bumped into Pulse on the way back. So we traded some words, wishes of good luck and congrats and all that. Guess it took a bit longer than I thought!" John lied straight to Root's face.

He had done none of those things. Still, Root considered him a good enough friend to believe him without questioning. However, the latter part wasn't the case for John. She was his friend too, which meant that her very obvious sullen state was equally concerning to him. Not to mention how she'd accidentally called him by a name that he'd never even heard.

"Hey, how are you doing? Something you wanna talk about?" the Tiefling carefully asked.

Root jolted a little, all the while just barely managing to stop herself from letting out the mother of all sighs. She'd almost failed yet again; she'd let her inner demons become so visible that she'd almost dragged someone else into them as well. And while nobody she knew would've considered that any form of failure, the druid still brushed aside the issue in favour of putting up a brave face.

"No, it's okay. I'm okay. So are you ready to go, Mr. John?" Root answered with an almost convincing fake smile.

Of course, someone who knew how to read people as good as John could tell that Root was lying. She was far from okay - it was plastered all over her face, voice and body language. Something had clearly happened since they last met, and whatever it was it involved somebody named Wick. Whoever this was, John didn't know. So the Tiefling wordlessly decided to not dig any further; he wasn't a psychologist and he knew it. If he tried to figure out the reason behind Root's change, he might've just made things worse. Right now it was probably best to hang back and try to think of a way to help later.

"Well, I'm ready if you are. So if you say you're fine, then I'm all set to go reach the top!" the spacefarer answered in his most encouraging tone.

Root nodded along as she stood up to grab her things, and moments later Team Treeshade followed the sound of cheering and Googlorp's narration. Regardless of emotional states and withheld truths, they were going to fight anyway. At least for as long as they could keep it all together.

"IN THE BLUE CORNER, GIVE A WARM WELCOME TO TEAM TREESHADE! MAKING UP THIS MERRY LITTLE DUO IS CONTESTANT JOHN, THE VOIDROAMER, WHO ONLY GOT TO THE FIRST ROUND LAST YEAR WHERE HE STILL SHOWED SOME QUICK MOVEMENTS, CRACKSHOT CAPABILITIES AND THE CAPACITY TO LEARN FROM HIS MISTAKES! AND JOINING HIM IS NONE OTHER THAN CONTESTANT ROOT, THE JOYBRINGER, WHO MADE IT TO THE PREVIOUS QUARTERFINALS DUE TO HER BOND WITH NATURE, UNFLINCHING TOUGHNESS AND ABOVE ALL HER KIND AND LOVING HEART! THEY MIGHT'VE BOTH FALLEN AGAINST CONTESTANT GOH'JI LAST TIME, BUT NOW WHEN THEY'VE JOINED FORCES THEY'RE READY FOR ANYTHING! WILL THE COMBINED MIGHT OF MOTHER NATURE AND THE WONDERS OF SPACE SPELL ULTIMATE VICTORY, OR WILL THAT VICTORY REMAIN A DISTANT DREAM? THEY'RE ABOUT TO SHOW US!"

As Googlorp announced old news to the roaring audience, Team Treeshade's upcoming opponents went through their own pre-contest jitters. But whereas Root had been stuck dwelling on the past and John had hidden his own, these two were focused on the here and now. Or rather on what was about to come.

"Well, as we both know this went really well for us both last time. How far do you think we'll get this time before we're both smashed into pieces?"

In most cases, this choice of words would've been purely metaphorical. But for the robotic Bastion, they were very much literal. And unlike Root, her mindset hadn't changed much over the year. Her artificial form made of wood and steel had no nerves that could tense up and no lungs that could let out a sigh, but her tone of voice and defeated body language told everything. The memories of last time were still clear in her mind; with little to no changes in their strengths and skill sets, what chance did she and her teammate have now?

"Calculation: Teams designated as Overdark, Full Power, Hot Stuff and Righteous are all estimated to have probabilities of winning the contest ranging from 26% to 11%. Teams Academia and Strapper have already been eliminated. Overall the most likely result for our Team Double Gear comes out to placing 5th out of 8."

Unfortunately for Bastion, her literally steaming teammate took her question into consideration. Inferno's tendency to think about everything as an extension of logic wasn't a hindrance or anything, but right now it also wasn't exactly what Bastion wanted to hear. At least the molten robot didn't appear to be nervous or doubtful - their teammate already did enough of that.

"I meant right now, Inferno. You think we'll even get through Root and that sneaky little thief without failing miserably?" the verdant construct sighed.

With the question altered, Inferno went silent as the probably literal gears turned inside their head. And while the answer remained rooted in logic, it at least didn't spell as much disaster as the previous one.

"Based on Team Treeshade's earlier exploits, estimated teamwork and weaknesses, the chances of our victory in the upcoming bout comes out at 65,54%" Inferno clarified.

If Bastion had an organic eye, it would've widened in surprise. Over 65% was way higher than she'd expected; now the match actually seemed promising. But she was also well aware of how many times that kind of confidence ended up causing disaster. So when she grabbed her spruce staff from where it leaned against the wall, she did so with a cautious tone in her accompanying statement.

"Well damn, that's a welcome surprise. But I'm sure you know as well as I do that this doesn't mean we can afford to be careless out there. That's still a 34,46% risk of us losing, and after our results last time… what I'm trying to say is that I really want to win this one. Even if we need to use lethal force. You with me?" Bastion made clear.

Inferno's emotions were even harder to decipher than Bastion's, but even so their closed fists and determined body language made said emotions obvious. In their mind, Root was more than anything a competent ally while John was an unimportant nobody; killing them in the name of victory, especially since that death would only be temporary, was a perfectly acceptable notion to them. The steaming automaton mounted their blackened greatsword on their back as they walked up to join their teammate, and as they entered the steadily louder corridor they reaffirmed their goal once and for all. They were going to win this fight, no matter what.

"AND IN THE RED CORNER, TURN UP THE JETS FOR TEAM DOUBLE GEAR! FIRST UP IS CONTESTANT BSN UNIT-001 'BASTION', THE LIVING GARDEN, WHO FELL EARLY ON IN THE PREVIOUS TOURNAMENT AFTER A STUNNING DISPLAY OF ELEMENTAL CONTROL, CRAFTY TACTICS AND FIREPOWER! AND TO HER RIGHT WE HAVE CONTESTANT MODEL AUTA MAGICA NR. 54 'INFERNO', THE WALKING VOLCANO, WHO SIMILARLY FELL IN ROUND 1 LAST YEAR! BUT NOT WITHOUT GIVING EVERYONE A GOOD LOOK AT THEIR IMPECCABLE STRENGTH, GREAT DURABILITY AND THE POWER OF A VOLCANIC ERUPTION! AND NOW THESE BIONIC BRAWLERS HAVE COME TOGETHER TO DOUBLE THEIR ODDS AT VICTORY! WILL THEIR STEELY BODIES AND IRON WILL FLATTEN THE COMPETITION, OR WILL THEY REACH THEIR EXPIRATION DATE? ONLY THESE COMING MINUTES WILL TELL!"

While the audience cheers were audibly less enthusiastic compared to before, they were still very much prevalent. Especially among this year's newcomers who ended up extra intrigued by the prospect of a fully robotic team. And although said robotic team took in the adoration with varying levels of visible delight, their opponents did not. Maybe John did at least a little, but for Root the 250.000 strong audience might as well not have been there. It took until the two duos were face to face and Bastion addressed her in order for her to even emote.

"Who would've thought that we of all people would end up here? I sure didn't. But in all seriousness, may the best team win. Me and Inferno will make damn sure that it's us, so you'd better not slack off, you hear me?" Bastion declared as passionately as she could.

But contrary to what the verdant construct had expected, Root did not answer with a grin or giggle or even a skittish dance. She just nodded along with a vacant stare. And since Inferno remained as silent as ever and John appeared to be deep in thought himself, Bastion followed up herself.

"Hey, everything alright? You look a bit sick" Bastion asked a lot more carefully.

It appeared that Root just now even realised that someone was talking to her - at least if her sudden jolt was any indication. And although she did answer, said answer wasn't very reassuring to anyone.

"No, it's ok. I'm ok. Shall we get going?" the Genasi half-heartedly stuttered.

Now it was John's turn to look worried. And since Root's answer had been the exact same as when he'd asked the same thing earlier, it wasn't hard to figure out why. So as an extension of his decision then, the Tiefling quickly motioned for everyone to get into position and start the main event. And since both members of Team Double Gear knew better than to press the issue right now, everyone on the field complied. But as they did so, Inferno gave their thoughts on the conversation to their ally.

"Psychoanalysis: Contestant Root's mental stability differs greatly from its previously recorded state. I cannot deduce the cause for this instability, but at the moment she displays obvious signs of stress, grief and depression. With the current parameters in place, the risk of a full breakdown stands at 67,2 percent" the red-hot robot bluntly stated.

Bastion's covering layer of moss visibly dimmed from a verdant dark green to a dry yellow shade - a telltale sign that she'd just turned very worried. After all, Root was still a good friend. But the more she thought about it… last time they'd met, during Inferno's mission in the magical forest almost 4 months ago, she had acted a lot less jolly than usual. Her actions right now were almost the same as then, if only less hidden and notably more obvious. If she was somehow feeling down, then Bastion wanted to help. But at the same time, maybe that could wait until after the match. She did still really want that win. She and Inferno would just need to finish it quickly and painlessly… even if that meant dealing with lethal force.

Inferno slowly unsheathed their greatsword. John took a deep breath as his gaze narrowed. Bastion clutched her staff even tighter. Root sighed deeply as she planted her own staff in the ground. And in the announcer's booth, the Plasmoid known as Googlorp remained completely oblivious to the mental tensions brewing beneath the contestants as he started the golden countdown.

"3!"

"2!"
"1!"

"ROUND 3: BEGIN!"

With the loud explosions lighting up the sky, all unrelated thoughts were stowed aside. It was do or die time.

The first one to act was Root. Just a second after the match had officially started, the Genasi quickly started to change texture. A green light surged through her planted wooden staff from the bottom, and right afterwards it appeared as if Root herself gained its characteristics. Her skin grew harder and ridgier, until it looked to be made out of the same type of wood as her staff - the Barkskin spell. But she wasn't done transmuting herself just yet. As soon as the staff stopped shining green, her body began to change shape. Her head slowly elongated into a large set of jaws, her legs crooked while her toes fused into sets of three and her posture changed to a more horizontal one. And that was as far she got before Inferno made their first move.

Since Root had made liberal use of the Wildshape ability last time, Inferno had formulated a plan just to counter it. And those times said transformations had shared some core similarities. She'd turned into an owl against Gameron and a hedgehog against Goh'ji, and since she hadn't pulled up any dirt and rocks now like she'd done when becoming an Earth Elemental then she was likely to assume something closer to the former two. In other words; Root was most likely to become something small and hard to hit. So it was with confidence that the construct swung their heavy greatsword… only for their target to easily step over it. Root wasn't a tiny forest critter at all - in fact, she was still growing larger by the second. And after finishing sprouting the thick scaly tail, the maw filled with sharp teeth and the powerful two legs, the reptilian creature known as Root stared down on her miscalculating assailant. The druid had surprised more or less everyone with her sudden transformation into an Allosaurus.

With her massive just-under-two-ton frame, the druid turned dinosaur had no problem reaching the somewhat stunned Inferno. And with an audible metallic crunch, she slammed her open jaws onto the robot's bulky frame. However, Inferno didn't do much more than stagger a bit; Root had failed to take all of her new form's quirks into account. An Allosaurus might've been powerful, but compared to many other predatory dinosaurs its jaw muscles were surprisingly weak. Weak enough for Root to not be able to cause any more damage than some buckled armour and tiny bite marks. Enough to loosen some joints and hinges around the head, but no more than that. And worse, left in just the right position for Inferno to counterattack with a full-force headbutt in the chest.

The transformed Genasi was left staggering in place with nothing more than a weak equivalent of a cough to show for her fearsome attack. Good thing the Barkskin's wooden texture adorned her morphed state as well; without it she would've most likely fallen to her knees in pain. But right as she shook her head to regain her composure, the follow-up attack took that away. In between the dinosaur transformation and Inferno's heavy counterattack, everyone had forgotten to keep Bastion in check. Thus she launched her first attack in the form of her trademark Erupting Earth spell, and to good effect - the sudden quake and multitude of heavy rocks striking Root from beneath her feet was enough to make her trip and fall on her side. Now the morphed Genasi was open for another big attack… an attack that Bastion never got to execute. Because just like everyone had up until now forgotten all about her, so had she forgotten all about John.

[SHNNK!]

It took a moment for the tiny construct to realise that she had indeed been stabbed. But right as she noticed the two knives, split from one fused metal sheet attached to two handles, lodged in her wooden frame then the sharp pain hit her. Which of course resulted in a loud scream escaping her voice box. However, it quickly became apparent that John hadn't been quite as successful as he thought. He'd instinctively aimed his attack to make his target bleed out and thus quickly weaken… but the completely artificial Bastion didn't have any blood to begin with.

"Damn, that one hurt. Inferno, get him!" the frail automaton shouted.

The call for help had come mere seconds before it arrived in the form of an upward slash from Inferno, but the agile John had enough awareness to pull out his knives and jump to the side in time. About half a decade of constant vigilance during break-ins and escapes will do that to a person. But John's evasive manoeuvre also meant that Bastion was free to attack again, and this time she aimed her attention to the still grounded Root. And with the latter's huge frame, the robotic druid knew exactly what spell to use here. With a grunt, Bastion started to channel magic straight into the ground. But unlike before, what erupted from beneath Root wasn't a stream of rock and dirt. The druid turned Allosaurus yelped in pain as hundreds of sharp spikes pierced her rugged skin.

"THE MATCH HAS ONLY GONE ON FOR A COUPLE MINUTES AND WE'VE ALREADY SEEN SOME CRAZY SH- I MEAN STUFF! CONTESTANT ROOT'S TYRANNOSAURUS FORM MIGHT'VE BEEN A SURPRISE, BUT IT APPEARS THAT ALL THOSE TEETH ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO CONTESTANT INFERNO'S ARMOUR AND DRIVE TO WIN! COUPLE THAT WITH CONTESTANT JOHN'S FAILED ATTEMPT AT A SNEAK ATTACK AND CONTESTANT BASTION'S PAINFUL-LOOKING SPIKE MAT, AND IT'S CLEAR THAT THE ADVANTAGE STARTS OFF SQUARELY IN TEAM DOUBLE GEAR'S HANDS!"

Normally Root would've taken a moment to correct Googlorp misidentifying her form's species. But given how she not only currently lacked the ability to speak, but was also in visible pain all over, that correction would have to wait. Right now she hurriedly scurried to her feet with several of the spikes still lodged in her side, before quickly running over to slam Bastion away with her tail. But even though the arboreal automaton was sent flying into a loud and painful crash, she still let out a snicker. Because her plan had worked perfectly - rile up Root enough to focus on her, and therefore be left open for the real strike.

[SLSSSH!]

The transformed Genasi didn't even make a sound as she fell to all fours. It was probably a good thing she couldn't see her left side - or rather, the catastrophic cross-shaped bleeding wound that covered most of it. With their saurian foe distracted, Inferno had successfully landed two full-power slashes. Powerful enough to overwhelm the Wildshape's limits. Slowly but surely, the Allosaurus shrunk back down to a very shocked Earth Genasi. The dinosaur form had absorbed most of the damage, but Root was still left with a bleeding left side. But more than that, she was looking even more distraught than before. The uneven breathing, the wide eyes and the shaking form on all fours… this was the telltale signs of somebody who could've just been killed by someone she considered a friend.

"72,5%" Inferno quickly recalculated.

The stoic robot just managed to finish their analysis of Root's mental state before their right arm was entangled by a mass of vines sprouting from the ground. And although they knew they could easily just break free, they didn't have time to do that before Root followed up with a heavy slam from her staff. And given how it had just been enhanced with the Shillelagh spell, it was enough to make even Inferno feel it. However, said slam was quite haphazard; it appeared that Root was too occupied with her inner conflicts to even focus on the fight anymore. So it didn't take much effort for the molten automaton to break apart the thick vines while parrying the next slam with their free arm. But before they could follow up with a stronger blow, they were struck by two searing hot blasts with enough impact to knock them forward. Courtesy of John's smoking ray gun several metres behind them.

"Oh no you don't! When you're dealing with a lady, you treat her with respect!" the Tiefling shouted with an unusual amount of confidence.

John was most certainly utterly terrified at the prospect of drawing Inferno's attention, but right now buying Root some time was far more important. But that came at the cost of having his firearm dropped to the ground after a Thorn Whip wrapped around his arm - turns out that he'd been neglecting the other lady on the field, and thus gone against his own statement.

"Couldn't have said it better myself. You know, for being a supposed master thief you're really easily distracted. It's like you're asking to be caught!" Bastion snickered.

However, she did not get the answer she expected. Because John simply snickered as well upon the callout.

"Oh, I'm a thief alright. That means I know when to be sneaky and when to provide a distraction. It also means that I'm pretty good at deciphering key details; where the code to the safe is, where the best escape route is and the fact that the robot less than half my height is probably extremely light!" the Tiefling confidently laid out.

Before Bastion could process that deduction, John grabbed a safe part of the Thorn Whip's stem with his free hand. And in one hefty motion the spacefarer reeled in the lightweight robot like a winner of tug-of-war. Bastion landed faceplate-first right in front of John's feet, and although she reflexively dispelled the Thorn Whip she did so too late; John had already pulled out his knife again, and this time it hit home.

The artificial druid let out an intense scream of pain. The knife had been plunged deep into her wooden spine, and although her body was entirely made of wood and metal her soul was still bound to it - she felt just as much pain as a flesh and blood being would. The only thing keeping her standing was the fact that said spine had been stabbed rather than sliced apart. However, Bastion was well aware that John was just one bright idea away from changing that. Which meant that she had to take a page out of Root's book.

The surprise among the onlooking crowd could not be missed as Bastion began to transform. But not like Root's seamless morphing - as a robot, Bastion's rarely used Wildshape ability appeared a bit different. Her wooden frame rapidly split into several quickly growing branches, forming a quadrupedal stance supported by steadily thickening wooden legs. And while her rusted metal parts didn't morph with the rest of her, they did rearrange themselves to fit around her elongated neck, flat back and four kneecaps. 6 seconds later and the druid had finished her transformation into a deer made almost completely out of intertwined branches. A deer which was agile enough to quickly weave behind the taken aback John and deliver a strong kick in the back.

"WILL THE TWISTS NEVER END? NOT EVEN THE FULL POWER OF A DINOSAUR WAS ENOUGH TO PUSH BACK CONTESTANT INFERNO, AND THE SAME SEEMS TO BE TRUE OF CONTESTANT JOHN'S BACKSHOTS! BUT WAS THE LATTER ENOUGH TO TAKE DOWN CONTESTANT BASTION? NOT EVEN CLOSE, FOLKS! THE LIVING GARDEN CONTINUES TO SHOW THAT SHE'S MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!"

While a deer's kick was much stronger than any melee blow Bastion could normally manage, it had still been delivered in a hurry. Thus it only left John knocked face-first into the dirt. Which, of course, was her intent all along. Just as quickly as she had transformed, the wooden deer contorted back into her original construct form by the time John had gotten back on his feet. A position he wouldn't remain in for long.

"Heh. Gotcha!" Bastion yelled.

For a moment, the Tiefling could feel a faint breeze blowing from behind him. A breeze which then turned into a gale. And then a howling blast of wind strong enough to uncontrollably launch him forward into a rolling tumble. Turns out that the Wildshape had only been meant to set him up for the spell Gust of Wind; a spell which had completely sent him careening right towards the unprepared Root, herself kept at bay by a watchful Inferno. Worse, it quickly became apparent that Bastion had aimed the gust perfectly. With a loud thud, John crashed right into his disoriented teammate.

"Ow ow ow… what just happened? John, are you okay? Anything… hurt."

At first, Root's first instinct after sitting up had been to check her friend's status. But by the time she reached her last sentence that all changed. Because right in front of her, having tumbled out of John's pocket, was a jewellery piece made out of aquamarine. Something that absolutely did not belong to him.

"John… what is that? Whose gem is that? How… how did you get it?" the trembling Genasi asked.

Time almost seemed to freeze at the moment as Root haplessly stared at the silent Tiefling. John's mind was working overtime; he could tell her that it was a family heirloom, or maybe something from the gift shop, or… no. That wasn't in any way fair. Root was too good of a person to deserve being lied to again. It might've ended up destroying their friendship for good, but he couldn't let himself keep lying right to her face. So as Team Double Gear slowly approached, the thief confessed.

"You're right, I stole it from Gameron earlier. I'm a thief, Root. I've been that since long before we met. But I promise I'll give it back later, so for now… I'm sorry for lying to you. You didn't deserve that at all. Besides, I didn't want to ruin our friendship by scaring you away" John sighed.

Root didn't answer. All she did was stare with wide unbelieving eyes as she felled the first of surely many tears. But before any more could come of this crisis, two silhouettes fell over the broken duo. Inferno and Bastion, the latter stabilised by her healing spells, had their own thoughts to express.

"Affirmation: Team Treeshade is compromised. Extending the battle any longer is inadvisable. Therefore, the most logical conclusion will be to employ lethal force to ensure a victory. As this facility is equipped with a magical field with reviving capabilities, this outcome is acceptable" Inferno emotionlessly stated as they pointed their sword towards John.

"No hard feelings, but Inferno is right. I'm sorry, but this is still a competition and killing is completely allowed. And we really want to win this fight. But I promise we'll make it quick and painless, and let's hope the revival goes even quicker" Bastion coldly added as she aimed her staff towards Root.

John closed his eyes in defeat. With Root emotionally compromised and himself at Team Double Gear's mercy, he was well aware that this fight was over. Not only that, but his friendship with Root was all but guaranteed to be completely destroyed. However, the Genasi did not share this silence. One sentence managed to escape her quivering lips as the tears kept hitting the ground.

"Wrong. Everything is wrong."

As Root practically coughed out her sudden remark, every other contestant on the field stopped in their tracks. Even the cheering audience went completely silent as the scene in front of them unfolded. Because the very earth beneath the two teams was slowly shaking more and more. And as the previously so peaceful and innocent Genasi violently slammed her fists into the dirt as the tears erupted, the solemn truth became increasingly clear to everyone.

Root had finally been broken.

"Everything is wrong Wrong WRONG WRONG!"

At that point all hell broke loose. With each uncontrolled slam of her fists into the dirt, the ground beneath her shook more and more. Until the reason behind it became clear - several enormous thorned roots, enough of them to form a towering ring beneath the devastated Genasi, violently broke through with the seeming force of an eruption. Not only that, but each of the thick plants swung around completely uncontrolled. Luckily the nearby John's quick reflexes had saved him once more by telling him to immediately get back, and given what happened next that was most certainly a good thing. Because as told by the steadily louder buzzing, Root's rampage was about to yield more than just a ring of uncontrolled plants. Out of the now obscured centre stormed a massive swarm of small locusts, each one copied from a single lifeless magically infused twig. The spell known as Insect Plague. And given how they too targeted both contestants and inanimate rocks on the field alike, it quickly became apparent that these were just as uncontrolled as the roots. But neither berserk flora or fauna was the most alarming part for the onlooking other three contestants. The most alarming part was Root's freakout piercing through it all in the form of an angry scream.

"Everything I've ever believed was for NOTHING, wasn't it?! Wherever I go people turn out to be selfish and petty, or they die! There's good in everyone? NO! If even those I call friends turn out to be thieves or willing to kill even those close to them, THEN WHO CAN I EVEN TRUST ANYMORE!? NOBODY! BECAUSE THERE'S EVIL IN EVERYONE, ISN'T THERE?!" the druid screamed through her rabid tears.

Nobody in the entire audience cheered even a little. Whatever sound was made came from worried whispers, shocked gasps or even terrified cries from children and adults alike. Even Googlorp had nothing to give except stunned silence. The situation was dire, and everyone knew it. Including John and Team Double Gear that witnessed it all first hand. For now they even formed a wordless truce - calming Root down was more important.

"No, Root, you got it all wrong! You were right from the start, just look at- ugh, dammit. She can't hear me through all this noise!" John tried to shout, only to redirect his worried callout to Team Double Gear.

The Tiefling had so many things he wanted to say. About how Root had let her own negative thoughts take over, and that things were never as hopeless as she thought. About how her philosophy had helped so many people, and how without that things would definitely have turned out so much worse. About how everyone could in fact turn out for the better, even if they did carry petty thoughts inside them. But with these out of control dangers making any approach at all life-risking, he had no way to actually tell her these things. At least not on his own.

"(Sigh…) Hey Inferno? I think we need to get our priorities in order. We could always set these things on fire and win the day, but if we do… then we've probably destroyed our friend forever. And I don't know about you, but I don't think I'd be able to live with that. So, you wanna throw all hopes of a win to the side with me?" Bastion lamented.

The construct would've been lying to herself if she said she hadn't considered just taking this opportunity to win, and therefore get some vindication for last year. But she also knew that she'd never be able to actually do such a thing. Not at the cost of Root's faith in everything positive. Bastion was fully prepared to sacrifice her goal in order to save her friend from herself.

"...Affirmative. Deactivating safety regulations" Inferno answered after some silence.

Even if Inferno had been fully intent on following through with their directive to win at least the first fight, they were still a protector at their core. That was their prime directive. And true to its designation, their prime directive would always take priority. So the decision to save Root from her violent crisis rather than killing her to take the win was followed without hesitation. But to do that, they would need to get to her. And to do that they would need to get both the vines and the unthinking horde of locusts around them out of the way. Luckily, Inferno had something to deal with the latter.

Everything alive knows to fear fire. Its searing heat can burn away even the toughest of hides, its bright flames can scare even the largest beasts and its smoke is an universal messenger of doom. And no fire could even begin to compare to the molten death that is lava. Such as the lava that flowed inside of the walking volcano known as Inferno. Thus the automaton once again opened up the numerous hatches and locks all over their metal body - forcing the nearby Bastion to hastily move further away - while steadfastly walking towards the insect swarm. However, they had missed one key detail about their targets. While a real animal would have fled the scene in the face of such intense temperatures, these locusts were merely mindless facsimiles. Instead of fleeing from the approaching robot, they swarmed towards them.

"Advice: Target the roots and clear a path for John. I will eliminate the invertebrates" Inferno stated as they became all but obscured by the innumerable bugs.

Bastion knew enough about their teammate that their armour was tough enough to withstand even a thousand bug bites, at least long enough for her to take care of the vines. Of course, that was problem enough on its own - each vine was thick enough to break her apart with one or two slams, and there were at least six of them aimlessly swinging around. She couldn't even risk going through them herself. So instead she reached out to grab John by the ankle in order to give him the boost needed to do what she couldn't - the spell simply known as Jump. Now to just cut a path for him through the plants, and luckily she had just the thing for that.

"You're powered up, get in there! Hurry, for Silvanus' sake!" Bastion shouted as she charged up her staff.

In the span of roughly 6 seconds, the automaton had gathered enough silvery white magical energy to release a Moonbeam. Not as searingly powerful as the one Root herself had used against Gameron one year prior, but enough to burn a couple of the roots to a crisp. Of course, two new ones would just sprout up to continue their rampage. But that would take a few seconds - seconds that the alert John quickly capitalised on. By the time Bastion had finished her callout, John had started running. By the time the Moonbeam struck, he had gotten into position. And by the time Bastion had guided the beam out of the way, he had taken the leap. He was ordinarily a pretty good jumper, but with the Jump spell boosting him he easily cleared over triple his usual distance. And with the addition of his impressive agility, the Tiefling successfully made landfall safely as new vines sprouted where the old ones had fallen. But he didn't stop to even catch his breath or address the pain in his feet from the landing. John immediately dove towards his still crying friend to hug her as firmly as he could.

"Root, you've got it all wrong! You were right from the start - everyone can be a good person! And you're not delusional; you're living proof that people can turn out for the better!" the Tiefling shouted as he clutched Root tightly.

He knew that everything hinged on these next few moments. Not just his own and Team Double Gear's lives, but Root's entire outlook on life as a whole. So despite the giant roots randomly striking his back and his instincts telling him to run like hell, he remained exactly where he was. And luckily for everyone involved… it looked to be working. While the plants and insects were still rampaging, Root herself had fallen silent and stopped shaking. So John continued.

"I mean, think about it! Bastion learned to make friends thanks to you, basically this whole interdimensional group came together thanks to you and I'm… at least trying to become a better person thanks to both Goh'ji and especially you. I'm a work in progress, I will admit that. But without your philosophy I'd still be a completely waste-of-space burglar! And all of this is due to your belief in how everyone can be good!" John explained.

Still no answer from Root barring some unsteady heavy breaths and sulks. However, John could feel how she turned less tense in his arms by the second. Slowly but surely, he was getting through to her. The spacefarer finished his speech with his final - and most important - argument.

"Listen, not everyone can or even wants to be saved. Some people really are irredeemable pieces of shit. But most people? Like, 95% of people? They're worth your philosophy! Not everyone has good in them, but even the most unlikely can be worth saving! Think about it - in addition to me and Bastion, how many people have been saved because you chose to offer them kindness? Probably a LOT more than those that were never worth it!" John finished.

Suddenly, all of the swinging roots stopped dead in their tracks and the few insects that'd endured Inferno's onslaught fell to the ground. Because their caster had frozen up entirely, wet eyes wide open. John's declaration had sent Root's dishevelled mind into a realisation.

The Tiefling's last couple of sentences sent her flashing back to her own adventure again. Sure, there had been an untold amount of traumatic deaths and displays of sickening vices, but among all the horrors there had also been… compassion. For every dead friend or murderous warlord, there had been a grateful town or kindhearted ally. And while the incidents with the Giants attacking almost every town she'd been to - and the blue dragon killing her close friend - kept her awake every night, how could she have forgotten all the lives that she and her group actually DID save? Like when she stopped that vengeful town leader from killing the henchman of the responsible goblin king, which had given the group a valued friend and ally? Or when she'd saved a captive slave from a life of misery by buying him at the trade before freeing him? Or how just over a month ago, she had successfully convinced the acting sovereign of the Giants to pull back from an impending war with the small folk? All the while trusting to believe in the good in people, and given how the land back home was at peace thanks to her and her friends' efforts there had to be some merit to that mindset. All this and more flashed through the tired Genasi's mind as she returned to the present, where she was met by the worried face of the friend who'd risked his life just to remind her of all this. And what he said next was the final nudge needed to fully break her remaining doubts.

"Welcome back, buddy. Just thought it was my turn to be here for you if you needed me" John tenderly reaffirmed her.

And that's when the tears broke out again. But not tears of rage, sorrow or devastation as during the last few minutes. These were tears of gratitude.

Root had finally been brought back.

"I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry…" Root repeatedly stuttered through the tears.

John just gave her some extra pats on the back as the hug was maintained, as if to show that he didn't hold this against her. Frankly, he was just happy that she seemed to have forgiven him. But for now they just sat there for a while to calm down and recuperate from the averted disaster. At least until they were interrupted by the loud words coming out of the microphone.

"HOLY MOTHER OF MILI, WHAT A TERRIFYING SPECTACLE! WAS… WAS THAT CONTESTANT ROOT'S FULL CAPABILITIES? IT APPEARS SHE HAD A FULL MENTAL BREAKDOWN, BUT THANKFULLY SHE SEEMS TO BE OKAY NOW! BUT AS WE BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF OVER HER HOPEFUL RECOVERY, WE STILL NEED TO CONSIDER THE RULES HERE! CONTESTANT ROOT JUST JEOPARDISED THE LIFE OF HER TEAMMATE, NOT TO MENTION HER COMPROMISED STATE OF MIND… I'M NOT SO SURE WE CAN ALLOW HER TO REMAIN ON THE FIELD, FOR HER AND EVERYONE ELSE'S SAKE!" the clearly shocked Googlorp announced.

Now the previous silence had been replaced by uncertain murmurs across the audience. While more or less everyone was happy about Root coming to her senses, the reasoning behind that varied. Some were genuinely happy about their idol snapping out of her sudden delve towards rock bottom, but others felt different. Several people were left afraid of the little Genasi with the vast destructive power and unstable mindset. And given Root's expression as she looked up towards them, she was well aware of their thoughts. But it appeared that it didn't matter whose thoughts you sided with - a fairy was quickly approaching the huddling Team Treeshade.

"(Ahem) Due to this turn of events, the tournament staff feels that allowing contestant Root to continue is not advisable. Therefore she is disqu-"

That was as far as the fairy got before Bastion audibly cleared her metaphorical throat.

"No, she isn't. What were the rules again? Oh right: Anything is allowed, as long as both fighters on one side go down. Do you see anyone down for the count here? Because I sure don't. So allowing you people to decide that is not advisable. How about we let the lady herself decide if she's done, hm?" Bastion sternly laid out.

She might've been fueled at least partly by a desire to see things through, but the verdant automaton still couldn't just let her friend be treated like that. In her mind, she deserved to at least choose. And luckily, the audience seemed to mostly agree - a fair amount of them started to chant in unison, all of them voicing their agreement with Bastion. Which seemed to be enough; the fairy referee grumbled something as he fluttered away. Neither he nor the rest of the tournament staff appeared to have a counterargument. Leaving Root to address the rest of her friends, even if those words were hard to get out.

"I-I'm so sorry… I forced you all to drop everything and risk getting seriously hurt just because of me. And I'm sorry for calling you murderers and thieves earlier. I have a lot to answer to, and-"

However, the young druid never got to finish her apology. Inferno simply held out their hand as if to tell Root to just shut it and listen, which she did. Possibly more out of surprise than anything else.

"Affirmation: Emotional outbursts can prove to be advantageous for any individual's psychology. Based on your previously documented behaviour, my analyses conclude that this was likely your first experience with this level of stress and anger. Therefore, one of the most likely emotions currently experienced is relief. In summarization, this type of emotional outburst can prove to be highly therapeutic in the long term. Albeit only if you possess the knowledge on how to process it in a beneficial way" the red-hot robot explained.

Of course, Root had understood absolutely none of that. Which meant that the sighing Bastion stepped in to translate her ally's verbal instruction manual to Common.

"What they're trying to say is that it's okay. Nobody's mad at you - heck, I'm pretty sure everyone has been where you just were at some point in their lives. I've sure been, even if my case was less visible. So it's okay to go through these kinds of outbursts, just as long as you can learn from them. Sometimes, you need to break down completely in order to begin healing" Bastion translated with an as tender a tone as she could.

The robot put a reassuring hand on Root's shoulder, as if to show she meant every word. But her calming tone quickly changed to a more serious one as she brought up her next subject.

"Still, I wouldn't mind finishing this fight. Neither of us are gonna force you to keep up the violence, but we would really like to prove to ourselves that what we can do is enough. You wanna keep going, Root? Nobody blames you if you don't" Bastion added.

Innumerable thoughts had been going through the conflicted Genasi's thoughts all day, and right now was no exception. But after a brief moment of contemplation, she knew the answer. After all, it was obvious. She was absolutely exhausted after that breakdown, while her friends had been pretty badly beaten as well. Not to mention how scared and vulnerable she still felt beneath all that relief and gratitude, plus how she was well aware what parts of the audience thought of her. Of course she wanted to finish the fight - both for her own sake, and to repay the friends who helped her back. Right now they all needed some fun.

"I'm ready when you are, miss! Let's go the whole distance!" Root replied.

So as the weakened but determined teams nodded and turned around to get into position, the thankful John noticed something. For the first time since he'd teamed up with her, his friend wasn't brooding or faking happiness. For the first time in a long time, Root was finally smiling again.

"WELL THEN FOLKS, LOOKS LIKE THE FIGHT IS STILL ON! I DON'T KNOW JUST WHAT HAPPENED DOWN THERE, BUT FOR NOW IT SEEMS TO BE OKAY! AND WITH CONTESTANT ROOT STILL IN THE CONTEST, IT HAS COME DOWN TO ONE FINAL CLASH! BOTH SIDES SURE LOOK TUCKERED OUT AFTER THAT… INCIDENT, NOT TO MENTION ALL THE ACTION BEFORE THAT! EVERYTHING IS ABOUT TO COME DOWN TO WHICH SIDE CAN DELIVER THE BIGGEST BLOW! WILL IT BE TEAM TREESHADE… OR TEAM DOUBLE GEAR? WE'RE ABOUT TO GET OUR ANSWER VERY SOON!"

"Alright, let's finish this quickly! So I hope you're ready to handle THIS!"

Bastion started off the final act by firing off the biggest spell she could still muster, which in this case took the form of a freezing Ice Storm. And while Inferno didn't add any declarations of their own, they nevertheless charged in side by side with the blizzard with their superheated aura activated and their greatsword in hand. A combination of unquenchable fire and chilling ice that a common thief like John had no answer against. So instead he nervously looked down at his much more magical teammate, clearly hoping that she had a better answer than his "run like hell and hope they aimed poorly" plan. Which she of course did. Root might've specialised in Wildshape transformations and mastery of plantlife, but she was far from without other options. So just as Bastion had taken a page from her book with the earlier deer transformation, so did Root mirror Bastion's Ice Storm with a searing stream of fiery pillars erupting from the ground. A little spell known as Wall of Fire.

"I'll handle Miss Bastion! Could you please hold off Inferno, buddy?" Root asked through gritted teeth.

At least part of John wanted to bolt and say that no, he probably couldn't handle the massive iron warrior that was Inferno. But he'd long since decided to put his cowardly days behind him; he owed that much to both Goh'ji and Root from last year. So he simply drew his ray gun as he moved away from Root, before firing at his metallic target in order to draw their attention. A tactic that perhaps unfortunately worked; Inferno immediately shifted their gaze towards the nimble little Tiefling. So for now it was John against Inferno a little bit away, leaving the druids to finish their part of the fight. And with the Wall of Fire keeping the Ice Storm at bay, Root was free to run up behind Bastion.

"Nice move there, little lady! But I'm ready for whatever you can throw at me!" the wooden automaton confidently boasted.

However, this self-confidence was about to prove short-lived. Because Root had one last surprise in store for her artificial opponent.

"Maybe. But can you do it when stuck like this?"

As Root spoke these words with a grin on her face, Bastion could suddenly feel herself slipping. Literally. Because her feet were slowly but surely sinking further and further into the suddenly very muddy ground beneath her. In the heat of battle, Bastion had realised the trap too late - Root truly was back from the brink, and with that came one hell of a non-lethal move. The moment she had run up behind Bastion, she had cast Transmute Rock beneath the latter's feet. And the more the robot struggled to get loose, the further she sunk. Even now her whole legs were engulfed in the sticky mud.

"Oh. Oh no. Dammit! You haven't won yet!" Bastion nervously shouted.

In her panic, she had forgotten to take reasoning into account. There were several ways she could've freed herself - anything from Wildshaping again to simply moving before she had gotten stuck might've worked. But instead the constricted construct lashed out one more Thorn Whip towards her captor. An attack that was easily avoided as Root quickly transformed again, but not into anything as fearsome as an Allosaurus. This time she rapidly shrunk down into the airborne form of a simple barn owl; a form that could just fly out of reach of the purple whips of thorny vines. And less than 6 seconds afterwards, she landed on the ground whereupon she quickly transformed back to an Earth Genasi again. Free to seal her opponent's fate once and for all.

By now, Bastion had been submerged from the neck down in soggy mud. Only her head remained completely defenceless above ground, and Root was free to crush it or burn it or whatever that came to mind, really. So the construct closed her eye in preparation for the inevitable… which, of course, never came. Root was all but tapped out after her breakdown, but she still had a spell or two left in her. And she'd had enough violence for today. The weakened Druid channelled the last of her magical energy into the soft earth around Bastion, where it rapidly began to harden. The other half of Transmute Rock's capabilities - the ability to solidify mud into sturdy rock. And while Bastion was still intact and metaphorically breathing, she couldn't move anything below her neck even an inch. Both druids knew it full well - it was over. Their battle was done, and the victor was clear.

"What, can't hit me? Your metal body might be super strong and all that, but it can't even keep up with me, can it?"

As the druids' fight had gone on, so had John's clash with Inferno. Although calling it a clash might've been a bit generous - everything between John's distraction and Root's first use of Transmute Rock had consisted of John bobbing out of the way of Inferno's many slashes. And while John wanted nothing more than to just run the hell away, he knew full well he couldn't. He was exceptionally agile and possessed the Tiefling's innate resistance to fire and heat; his Genasi teammate did not. So when Inferno switched tactics and lunged out with their open hand after John's first slip-up, the Tiefling felt a not so faint hint of disappointment in himself behind all the fear and pain. The pain of having his throat firmly grabbed by Inferno's steel hand, that is.

"Intimidation: This confrontation is over, John of Universe 3. Your airway is cut off and you are left wide open for attack. Your termination begins now" Inferno laid out with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

They weren't kidding; the robot wasted no time on dragging their heavy greatsword up towards John with their free hand. However, John hadn't given up just yet. Inferno needed a couple seconds to hoist up a two-handed weapon with just one hand, and those seconds were enough for the Tiefling to reach into his pocket and pull up the first thing he grasped. That being the jewellery piece he'd stolen from Gameron. He would return it later just like he'd promised Root, but for now it would serve a different purpose. So just as Inferno raised their sword off the ground, John's eyes went pitch black. And with one clunky motion, he lobbed the piece of aquamarine straight into one of the construct's tiny armour openings. The Darkness spell once again worked its literal magic - everything around the affected gemstone, including two brawling contestants, went completely dark.

The sudden darkness coupled with a dual kick in the chest from a dangling John was enough for Inferno to instinctively let go of their foe. The Tiefling took a brief second to gasp for air, before putting the pain aside long enough to pull out his daggers again. He only had this brief opportunity to land a good hit - he needed to make it count and he knew it. Luckily, Inferno's assessment had given him just enough time to figure out where to strike. His opponent was a robot after all, and what better way to disable a robot than to aim for its main processor? Not to mention how the bite from Root's Allosaurus form had already done half the work for him. So as John lunged out to make his move, he couldn't help to note the irony. He feared Ashes more than anyone in the tournament, but here he was copying what she'd done one year ago.

[THOMM!]

As the darkness around the contestants was dispelled, yet another stunned gasp surged through the crowd. They had just witnessed Root trapping Bastion in the ground itself; now they saw John clinging on to the flailing Inferno's broad back. And the ones closest to the action had even heard the loud metallic noise as the Tiefling's knives were jammed straight into Inferno's head attachments. It was probably a good thing that the latter's artificial body couldn't feel pain; having two knives plunged into your equivalent of a neck is otherwise a potent source of it. But John wasn't done quite yet. He pulled out one dagger at a time before jamming it into the damaged hinges once more, over and over… until they snapped. And just as Inferno's cumbersome arms finally clutched their agile opponent, another loud sound pierced through the air.

[Crrreeeeaak]

With all the limited might his tired body could muster, John pulled the loosened head towards him. And as globs of lava spilled out and the arms turned limp, Inferno's body stopped moving completely. John had successfully removed his opponent's still functioning head from their body, and with that the last piece of resistance. Without a head, Inferno's body slumped motionless to the ground with a loud thud. So with no other way to keep fighting other than cursing their foe, both Inferno and John knew full well that it was over. Their battle was done, and the victor was clear.

For once, the battlefield did not sink into silence as the tension died down. Team Treeshade didn't make a sound other than panting and the occasional pained groan, although since the losing team was still conscious they both made sure to fill the air with their frustrated sounds; Bastion's strained grunts as they fruitlessly tried to pull herself out of the ground and Inferno's repeated declarations of enmity towards the tired John. But eventually another familiar sound pierced through - the sound of tiny wings. The fairy from earlier was back on the field, and this time nobody moved to stop his countdown.

"10!"

"9!"

"8!"

"7!"

"6!"

"5!"

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"K.O!"

"IT'S OVER, FOLKS - FOR REAL THIS TIME! DESPITE HER COMPROMISED MENTALITY, CONTESTANT ROOT PULLS THROUGH AND TAKES THE WIN OVER CONTESTANT BASTION! FOLLOWED BY CONTESTANT JOHN GIVING CONTESTANT INFERNO ONE HELL OF A BOUT OF DEJA VU, THEREBY PULLING OFF A WIN THAT YOUR KIDS PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE WATCHING! THIS MEANS THE WINNER, AND THE ONES TO ADVANCE TO THE SEMIFINALS, IS TEAM TREESHADE!"

As usual, cheers and applause filled the air as the winners were crowned. But unlike the previous match, these cheers were a lot less prevalent. And it wasn't hard to figure out why. The careful body language among a substantial part of the crowd, not to mention the fearful glances at both the battlefield and the viewing screen… the people were scared, plain and simple. Most of them still excited and happy for sure, but quite a lot of them scared. And judging by the source of that fear's deep sigh and shaking head, she knew full well why.

"(Ouch, everything hurts…) Don't listen to them, Root. They just don't know how to process this. You're a lot better than what they think" John sighed as he slowly sauntered up to the now sitting Root.

The weakened Tiefling sat down next to his similarly tired friend to put a hand around her shoulders. He reckoned she could need that right now; someone like her was likely to take being the target of so much distrust pretty hard, especially after this recent outburst. So to his surprise, she still managed to smile honestly as she nodded along.

"Yeah, I know what they're thinking. 'She could've killed us' and 'what if she snaps again' and stuff. But honestly? I don't blame them. I would be terrified if I saw someone act like I just did too. These people are scared of me, and I understand why. But I can accept that. As long as I've got friends like you, it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks" the Genasi responded in a bittersweet tone.

She capped her reassurance off by gently hugging John again. And while Root might've been overall relieved and content again, John might've just had her beat in that regard. He'd been so worried about ruining their bond, so to hear he was forgiven was enough to almost make him shed a tear. Heck, right now he almost felt like he could attempt to leave his thieving lifestyle behind purely out of gratitude and appreciation. Only time would tell.

"Thanks again for lifting me back up, buddy. I couldn't have come back without you" Root added.

"Hey, I only reminded you about what was always there. I can't take all the credit!" John reassured her.

As the winning team had their little moment, the field beneath them began to glow a familiar white. It didn't take long for Root's depleted stamina and open wounds to heal up, and the same was true for John's bruised back and the cuts from the Thorn Whip's spikes. And just like Team Treeshade were restored to normal, so was the more badly beaten Team Double Gear. Inferno's muttering head appeared to be almost magnetically dragged back to their neck, although not before their spilt lava and broken hinges were put back where they belonged. Meanwhile Bastion was treated to the odd sensation of being pushed out of the ground like a plucked vegetable, before having her damaged spine and stab wounds restored to normal. Of course, even the most potent of healing fields can't do much for emotional scars.

"(Sigh…) 65,54% you said? For a moment, I actually believed that. I'm glad the kid is alright, but still. I guess we did the best we could, even if that's still not enough. Although I guess that's on me, sacrificing our shot at actually getting somewhere like that. I'm really sorry about that, Inferno" Bastion lamented.

Right now there was probably no better word to describe Bastion's thoughts than "bittersweet". She couldn't tell anything about how her teammate felt right now, only that she herself felt pretty damn bad. Root's saved outlook was the only thing preventing the moss growing on her chassis from dimming completely. And as for Inferno, they had finally stopped muttering in order to address their own thoughts.

"Status report: Strongest emotion detected is the one classified as 'disappointment'. However, no condonement is to be detected. Our opponents possessed superior tactics and capabilities compared to ours; therefore, there is no discernible reason to blame anybody. Excepting John of Universe 3 - the act of cutting off my headpiece generates the feelings of anger and frustration" Inferno laid out.

Bastion couldn't help but chuckle a little. Her teammate, with their tendency to reduce literally everything to logic and numbers, had a way to make problems appear so much less than they were. So for now, she motioned towards their opponents. They had a better thing to do than mope around right now.

"Feeling better now, kiddo? I hope you can forgive us for that whole being-ready-to-kill-you thing. Just know that neither of us wanted to, we just wanted to win really badly. Doesn't excuse anything, but I just want you to know" the verdant robot murmured as she approached Team Treeshade.

"Honestly… thanks. I'm still pretty shaken, but I think I can forgive you. Heck, I'm sorry too - you all were forced to drop everything just to calm me down! If I had just been able to handle it this might've ended differently, so-"

Root's gratitude/apology was interrupted by Inferno cutting her off. An action that did earn them some annoyed glances from Bastion and John, but which wasn't stopped either way.

"Affirmation: Me and Bastion have already discussed this matter. As this victory was the result of you and John's superior tactics and capabilities, there is no discernible reason to blame anybody. There is no contempt to be had towards exclusively you" Inferno explained, followed by a glare towards an unnerved John as if to accentuate the last sentence.

"What my teammate here is trying to say is that it's okay - we would've probably lost anyway. We're just glad you seem to be doing better. So before we go and let the last few brutes knock themselves out, I'm gonna give you another hug. Any objections, lady?" Bastion sighed.

Root's joyful expression told that no, she had none. So to the sound of the steadily louder audience in the background, the two druids shared a quick reassuring hug. One which was about to be expanded upon a little.

"Come on you two, get in here! You're my friends too, you know?" Root practically giggled.

Barring a brief hesitation born from an unfamiliarity with Bastion, John didn't take long to join in. Said unfamiliarity did show itself in both his and Bastion's expression, but it appeared that this completely escaped Root. However, this was about as inclusive as the moment got - Inferno settled for a mere hand on the young Genasi's shoulder. After all, moments like these simply weren't in their nature. But seeing as Root's smile didn't diminish in the slightest, it seemed that this wasn't an issue. Just for now, she could allow herself to be her old self again.

"AND WITH THAT, WE THANK TEAM DOUBLE GEAR FOR A PERFECTLY TUNED PERFORMANCE! AND WE CONGRATULATE TEAM TREESHADE FOR A PERFORMANCE THAT OVERCAME ALL OBSTACLES! BUT NOW, PEOPLE OF THE MULTIVERSE, THERE'S ONLY TWO TEAMS LEFT BEFORE THE SEMIFINALS! SO STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT WHICH TEAM WILL ADVANCE TO FACE TEAM TREESHADE TOMORROW… THROUGH A CLASH BETWEEN COMBINATIONS OF BRUTE FORCE AND MAGICAL WONDER! RIGHT ABOUT NOW!"

"It's nice to have you back, buddy. You just keep that up and I just might be able to live honestly from now on."

On the way back towards the waiting room, John attempted to keep the mood up with another reassurance. And as usual, Root responded with a smile. But opposite of usual, that smile wasn't a joyous one. Rather it was a bittersweet one; Root did not agree with what her friend had said. She wasn't the same moody Genasi who had entered the fight, but it was clear that she also wasn't the same cheerful ray of sunshine as last year.

"John, I don't think I'll ever be fully back. All those things that happened during my adventure… stuff like that doesn't ever leave you. I doubt I'll ever see anything as black and white ever again, and that definitely includes people. But… I do think I'll be able to start moving on. Including from Wick's death" the druid lamented.

Now John was the one who sported a bittersweet expression. On one hand, the little girl who could see the good in anyone was truly gone. But on the other, the woman that stood in her place sounded wiser than he'd ever could've expected from her. He couldn't help but smile - maybe this was how it felt to have a younger sibling grow up. Although among all this, he was also left confused; he still had no idea who this Wick person was. And as if sensing this, Root jolted a little as she explained.

"Oh wait, I never did tell you about him, right? He was a good friend of mine who… passed on very recently. A great warrior with a lot behind him, but at the end of the day he was the most reliable guy you could ever find. I promise I'll tell you more about him and the others another time, but right now I'll need to properly mourn him. Of course, I don't think he would want anyone to mourn him forever" Root elaborated.

"Heh, look at you! What happened to the little girl who was so scared to be in a real fight?" John proudly asked.

Root gave another earnest smile in response as she gently shook her head.

"I guess we all need to mature someday, buddy"

The young Genasi punctuated this with another gentle hug, which John wholeheartedly accepted. And as they passed the bypassing last team walking towards the arena, their thoughts were somewhere between bittersweet and blissful. Neither of them had felt the disturbing glitch in the atmosphere like the two inventors had, but as for now that was probably for the best. Root was smiling again, and that was all that mattered. She could have this uninterrupted last moment of childhood's innocence.

The Multiversal Tag-Team tournament was about to reach its first climax, and the calm was about to give way for the storm.