Destiny Colosseum

[Dragonfree]

It was clear to everyone before they even attacked again that all of Team Spectrum were going down, thanks to Diyem's vague team telepathy. Most of them still had Reviver Seeds of some kind, would survive the onslaught regardless. He didn't. Which, what the fuck ever. He could check out for the rest of this, and meanwhile Brisa and Starr and Astrid would pummel them. If the Miracle Matters somehow survived that, which judging from the kinds of bullshit they'd pulled out so far he couldn't really rule out, well, it was out of his fucking hands.

The Miracle Matters were glowing in their various bizarre transformations, gathering power, and come on, come on, just bring it, end it already.

Mia frowned intensely beside him. "Something is weird. They've been growing weaker."

Them weaker, Team Spectrum stronger, something had caused them to rip through the Miracle Matters at a rate far exceeding the start of the fight. That silver barrier was definitely fishy. But at this point Dave didn't care. Later he was going to want a goddamn explanation for all this, but right now he just wanted to be done with this nonsense.

The Miracle Matters charged, and adrenaline shot pointlessly through his veins, as if there was anything they could even do about it right now. He made an obligatory effort to weave around them, but the Cinccino shattered his barriers, then the Serperior launched even more Leaf Storms, and then everything was on fucking fire. He willed his brain to lose consciousness as his fur burned and sizzled and his heart pounded deafeningly. Mia was still fighting, somewhere among the flames. At least she could barely feel pain.

After a few agonizing seconds, his legs crumpled and his mind started to drift away at last.

 

[Namohysip]

Last Word!
Gene's Final Slash destroys Bahamut's shield, before her Roseblades dig into him for 100 damage!

--
“Bakana…” she whimpered and fell, her wings disappearing into sakura petals. “I am sorry, friends, I have fallen…”

She stayed on her knees, clutching her injuries.
--
Mergo left grooves in the floor of the arena as little more than sheer force of will kept him on his feet. His body was wrought with pain and the distinct numbing burns of electricity. It seemed to be a running theme with stormbloods. He could feel his strength ebbing. A dry wheeze escaped as he took in a deep breath, followed by a rough cough. Something rattled. A tooth came loose and fell halfway to the ground before getting scooped into the natural orbit of his wind, which too was losing strength.

Well. You've earned a souvenir, Mergo thought, then flung the tooth back towards Brisa. It wasn't like he needed them for long, was it?

"Took you long enough," he croaked, then sucked in a deep breath to find his voice again. It was only enough for a short few moments. "Enjoyed having me around this party just that much, did you? I'm flattered."

His gaze flicked briefly over to Aria, seeing just an ounce more strength in her yet. It wouldn't be enough, but even still, the ghost of a smile emerged on his face. At least she was having fun.

Then it fell back to the remains of Team Spectrum, and the smile turned humorless and eerie as dark, crackling violet light formed a cosmic swirl in the sky above. "Then please," he called, "allow me to repay you for being such gracious hosts."

---

Last Word!
Mergo acts spooky before launching a Z-Burst at Bahamut for a CRITICAL 130 damage!
His Bestowed Overheats follow! They blast Bahamut for a CRITICAL 528 damage, and then Koa for 260 damage, KO!
The remainder tore at Brisa's Protects!

--
As the last of her allies fell, Aria thought to herself — Brisa had a point.

The lucario was the only one left on her side, while Team Spectrum still had a few too many. Even if she managed to take them down, she didn't expect all of them to stay down. Besides, Pop's plan had already worked the best it could. There was nothing left to gain from continuing to fight.

Then, she met Brisa's gaze. A pained grin crossed her face, and she nodded. Spectrum had given it their all, and now it was time to return the favor.

...But that wasn't the only reason. Mergo hadn't shared his thoughts, but he had been right. She was having fun.

Aria shot towards Brisa, her fist crashing into what remained of her shields, before muttering a thanks to Ben as the orbs of raw energy went flying. Shortly after, her own attacks followed.

---

Last Stand!
Aria summons every last bit of strength she has, using all of her Miracles!
Tempo Up! She can use moves effortlessly!
Blacklight Blitz! All of her moves are infused with Blacklight energy!
Crushing Blows! Her Staggers come into effect immediately!
Aria's first Extremespeed tears away Brisa's remaining Protect!
Her Bestowed Overheats follow! They blast Brisa for a CRITICAL 354 damage!
The remainder tear into Vix and Icetales, easily knocking out Vix with two and then taking out Iceteales' Phantasm with the remaining four for 229 damage!

---

Aria begins her onslaught! A flurry of blows tear away all of Team Spectrum's remaining Shields!
Aria's Blacklight Extremespeed Barrage strikes all of Team Spectrum!
Icetales: 777
Owen: 2206 against the Tree, several barriers, and finally Owen himself, six total!
Astrid: Lovetap
Nip: 2 for his barriers, and two more for the KO at 1241!
She disappears into the Speedforc— wait no, there she is.

---

Aria's Z-Burst Finale deals 1118 damage to Starr!

 

[TheGOAT]

When the dust finally settled, when they could all finally take things in… there were only two.

“There’s something funny about this,” Astrid admitted, swallowing the pain and embracing the crowd’s energy. “Something funny about the two of us being left. I can’t quite put my tail on it.”

Eleven balls of white fire—the last of Owen—circled overhead. She couldn’t help but grin even as cold hard reality dared to set in. Her strength, everything she needed to strike properly, was gone. Behind her. Unconscious on the ground. She couldn’t strike the way she was used to, and fatigue was doing her no favors, and Aria…

…was all alone. But she was a seasoned fighter. Scratch that, she was stronger, surely. Spurred by the thought, Astrid got down on her haunches. Neither of them could keep this up for any longer. Maybe… maybe she didn’t need to pack any oomph into her attacks! If she could just close it out…

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria wasn't sure how she was still on her feet. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to be. The strength that had possessed her moments prior was gone, replaced with excruciating pain as the adrenaline died down and reminded her body that it was a broken mess. But she wasn't the only one left standing.

"Don't... suppose you—"

She spat out a glob of black liquid with streaks of white running through it, which soon faded into the familiar red of blood.

"—you'd like to just fall over now?"

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid cracked a strained grin. “That’s… ngh, not how I usually go out. No point changing now.”

Shadows erupted off of her body, feeling like it could be ripped asunder if she kept pushing. But what better place and time to push? Stakes be damned. Astrid wouldn’t be convinced it was anywhere except right here, in the Colosseum, fighting people who ultimately wanted them to succeed. Well, fuck it. She’d show them success.

She raised her head and roared an awkward battlecry—the crowd might’ve heard and reciprocated, or might’ve thought it to be a sneeze, but Astrid’s senses were going and walls were closing in on her vision. They were mostly drowned out either way.

So Astrid shot forward, silently determined to end it. Three of the Overheats zoomed ahead of her to augment her assault while the other eight lagged just behind.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria stared at the Overheats with a resigned smile, realizing that she'd be feeling a lot more pain in a moment.

She dared to take a step forwards, her bones scraping in protest, before breaking into an awkward sprint. As the Overheats approached, she pooled what little strength she had into her legs, giving herself a meager burst of speed in an attempt to literally throw herself past them and into Astrid. But they both knew it wouldn't be enough.

Well, at least it wouldn't hurt for too long.

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid connected with Aria in one motion and wrapped her in a tight hug.

The fireworks that followed were nothing special to her anymore. But when she woke up a moment later and stood tall, with victory confirmed by the announcer… it felt pretty damn special this time.

“I did it, ah… aha…” She glanced back at her team. “I struck… on my own, I actually…”

She savored those precious few seconds before blacking out.

 

[Namohysip]

And then, silence...

By some miracle, the analysis machines that were geared up on the colosseum's perimeter had not all gone out, allowing them to continue to monitor who won and who had lost. Incineroar was, briefly, nowhere to be seen, until a pile of rubble near the far end of the northern arena shifted. With a grunt, he pushed aside some of the rubble, looking scuffed up, as he flicked off sand and dirt from his fur.

"Is it over?" Incineroar said, looking at the top vitality bars, then at the team.

Yes, it was. Zeroed out, for everyone. The audience was buzzing with anticipation on who had won; they couldn't really tell. The judges were replaying the footage, watching the numbers in slow motion, who fell first. Cross-checking timestamps. It down down to seconds at best.

Incineroar held a hand to his ear, listening to something. Then, he brought it down.

"...Yes! It seems... that we've finally gotten ourselves a winner! After a true clash between our heroes and heroes from another realm, the winner is...!"

The two Diyems stood up, staring at one another. Both were stoic and expressionless. Cibus, collectively, seemed to hold their breath. And then...

"...By mere seconds... Team Spectrum!"

Explosive roars nearly broke the atmosphere, but Incineroar was able to cut his own mic to prevent any feedback loops. Miracle Diyem grunted, but didn't do much else, while Spectrum Diyem did the exact same motion with a bit of Shadow leaking from his mouth. They both turned away and headed for the recovery lobby.

 

[Ambyssin]

After managing to reawaken, Bahamut surveyed everything. In the end, both sides had completely exhausted themselves for mere entertainment. Now Team Spectrum would need time to recover... which would give whatever adversary still remained additional time to fortify itself.

"... well, I certainly hope you had fun. Though I don't think some of your appearances would suggest it."

He knew none of the audience's cheers were really for him, so with a flap of his wings, Bahamut headed out of the Colosseum. Likely heading for somewhere without large, curved walls to mess with his light exposure.

 

[Disco]

Mellow slowly sank into the floor, giving a thumbs up as she did.

 

[Negrek]

Rocky jumped up and down, pumping his fists in the air while he whooped louder than anybody. On the ground near his feet, Nate grunted and slowly raised his face out of the dirt, squinting through swollen eyes.

"We won! We won we won we won!" Rocky bounced in an ecstatic circle.

"Mhhgfckr. Ow."

"That was so cool! The Miracle Matters can do all kinds of cool stuff. Did you see everybody turning into legendaries? There was a giratina! And another zeroaora! And deoxys and did you see Ben? He was like a dragon! But xerneas! And with horns!" He spread his arms wide to suggest their span.

Nate let his head fall back to the ground. "Why's there so many fucking zeroaora around, anyway?" he asked, slightly muffled.

"They wouldn't stay down! They kept getting back up! And using all their weird moves! And then there was fire. Soooooo much fire." Rocky grinned.

"That's nice." Nate dug a hand into the arena's loose-packed floor and slowly began to drag himself out of his sprawl.

"And then it was like kabwoosh! Whoom!" Rocky flailed his hands expressively. "And then Astrid got the serperior like BOOM!"

"There's always fucking explosions," Nate groaned, eyes closed in a wince as he pushed himself up to hands and knees.

"Yeah, but this time it was more!"

"Figures you'd like it."

"Of course! It was so cool! It was our coolest battle yet!"

"Waste of fucking time is what it was," Nate grumbled sourly. He looked over his shoulder at where most of the Miracle Matters were sprawled across the arena floor in similar attitudes to Team Spectrum, a few rising shakily or being carried off by helpers. Yeah. Whole lotta fucking nothing. "Let's go," he said, and started limping for the exit. "It's over. No reason to stick around here."

Rocky kept bouncing around, describing a broad circle around the marshtomp as he went. Nate kept up his scowl, thinking of the weird silvery thing going on with the Miracle Matters, and the way the balance of power had shifted. Too much Blacklight shit. Couldn't a guy even enjoy a proper battle anymore?

 

[Flyg0n]

Throat still throbbing, Koa limped off the field with great effort, head held high. They'd won, in the end. That was all that mattered. Yet despite his outward pride, he couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling of that brief stretch time he'd been utterly helpless, silenced.

Still, seeing the beat down they'd put on those Miracle Matters in the end... yeah, that feel good. Now he just wanted to sleep for an eternity. And rub the win in their smug faces.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa pried herself out of unconsciousness and scraped herself off the ground to see, through that dizzy post-knockout haze, yet another mutual knockout. On the scale of two dozen participants, this time. Holy skyfire.

She coughed, and blood spattered her forearm where she put it to her mouth. Something was broken, somewhere. Possibly several things. She was beyond pain. In a way, it was comforting. She was still growing stronger. They all were.

She'd offer Astrid her compliments on being the last one standing later on. For now, it would be enough to limp clear to the locker rooms and get showered. The medics would fuss over her, but they knew better than to rush her into the infirmary by now.

What had her ordeal bought, then? Looking around at the crowds, whose cacophonous noise was more of a pressure on the eardrums than an actual cheer, it seemed they'd bought even more adoration than before. On a world like Cibus, apparently that meant something.

She took an agonising bow, hearing something creak and complain inside her body, and turned to walk clear of the field along with those teammembers able to. Despite the long odds, they'd done it. And if they could beat the last team to beat the Blacklight...

...surely they could beat what was coming, too.

<><><><><>​

 

[Namohysip]

There were remnants of the previous battle still on the walls, but at least the ground had been leveled out once again. Incineroar was set at the far end of the arena, calling the fighters to come in.

"Rounding off their gauntlet against the Omen Heroes, Team Spectrum's dynamic duo has now challenged Team Gyro of the Water Continent to a battle!"

The roars and cheers drowned out whatever Nutmeg and Pita were saying to one another, though it sounded like they were doing some last-minute strategizing. Nutmeg nodded idly, glancing to her right, where Mew was cheering and probably saying a few things she shouldn't from the stands.

"Saved best for last, I bet," Nutmeg said. The Charizard spread her wings, radiating heat from her very presence. Despite the fact that Owen was so much larger, there was something imposing about her in particular...

"You'll remember us the most," Pita stated flatly. "Hope you're ready. Unlike the rest of the Heroes, we're still in top shape!"

And then they started to move the moment the round was called. Nutmeg spread her wings and darted forward; Pita went to the side, and both of them curved toward Brisa and Starr for a pincer attack. They shared mere glances with one another, and that was all they needed to coordinate.

Pine and Nanam were strong in raw strength. But these two... This was different. The experience they radiated was like no other team. There was no rust on their blade. And, therefore, perhaps no faults to exploit.

Pita and Nutmeg are ready to fight!
Nutmeg's Resolution is active! She gained Blaze of Glory, and will gain 1 Speed per turn!
Pita's Measure is active! He gained Resolve 50%, and will gain 1 Defense and Resistance per turn!

Nutmeg: 8,000
Pita: 8,000

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

There'd been little time to get to know Team Gyro, as Brisa had been keen to do with the members of the other Omen teams. Perhaps she'd get to know them by the purest means there were – battling – and converse afterwards. Either way, they'd both known they were in for one hell of a tough fight.

Brisa concentrated. Owen had said there were no weaknesses to exploit, that they were at the top of their game, that they had balanced combat outlooks. So, naturally, here she was experimenting with something unfamiliar. Who knows, maybe it'd pay off? She remembered what she'd been shown, partly by Leg, partly by Starr. Focus on one's own energy, and part it—

Brisa used Substitute!

She hadn't expected it to ache quite so goddamn much even after all her practice, but perhaps that was foolish of her. Practically all Starr's combat repertoire was self-injurious. She grinned, and flared her mane with Blacklight and her paws with static charge.

Brisa used Electric Terrain!
Brisa used Brilliant Paragon!
Brisa Unleashed her Tenacity!
Brisa was soothed and healed by Starr's Catharsis...

Δ Stats: +2 Atk, +2 Spd
Δ Stamina: -192
Δ Blacklight: +55/+30
Δ HP: +236
Δ Misc: +2 Charge, +1 Protect, +Paragon, +Unleashed, +1 Action, +Substitute

 

[Chibi Pika]

Alright, so maybe it was a bit ridiculous to be back here so soon after the big exhibition match, but it was a lot more satisfying to be standing here just the two of them as opposed to a huge squad on either side. Felt more personal too.

"You better make things interesting, then!" Starr called back to Pita. She'd already fought two Lucario in the colosseum and both of them played completely opposite to each other. Time to find out what his style was, then....

- Starr used Substitute!
- Starr used Void Catharsis!
- Starr is winding up.

Δ Stats: +2 Atk, +2 Spd
Δ Stamina: -85
Δ Blacklight: +40 shd
Δ HP: Set to 100%
Δ Misc: +1 Protect, +2 Actions

 

[Namohysip]

Looks like they're getting set up, Nutmeg said with a glance..

Like they always do, Pita's eyes replied back.

Pita was the parallel to Shield. That probably meant he wasn't very good at offense and focused on defense.

Pita used Bone Rush on Brisa, destroying the Protect and hitting the Substitute for 164 damage!
Pita used Extreme Speed on Starr, taking out the Protect and then striking the Substitute twice for 160 damage!

"Damn, they're tough!" Nutmeg said. "So much for taking advantage of that... They've got good defenses now!"

She fell back and raised her hands. From thin air, a rockfall--

Nutmeg used Rock Slide, destroying both Substitutes for 42 and 58 damage!
Nutmeg used Flare Blitz on Brisa, dealing a grazing 80 damage! She took 40 damage in recoil!

"We won't get through like this..."

Nutmeg glanced at Pita. They both nodded, and then Nutmeg slammed her hand on her chest, crouched down, and puffed a plume of fire. Flaring her wings, an immense heat surrounded her body all at once. It felt like her offensive potential had skyrocketed... But at the same time, all that energy had done a number on her endurance... That is, until Pita pointed his paw at her, firing a pink beam of light.

"That's more like it," Nutmeg said, her eyes narrow.

Nutmeg used Belly Drum, maxing out her Attack!
Pita used Heal Pulse, almost fully healing Nutmeg!

Nutmeg's Speed increased! Pita's defenses increased!

Pita: 8,000
Nutmeg: 7,960

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa grit her teeth and gave a low whistle. If her gut was right, and it tended to be, Nutmeg would be just about able to land a one-two knockout on her, even with her defensive training of late. Goddamn. She thought fast, her brain rifling through tactical options until it found one that worked.

I'll hit first, follow up, her stance and movement would say to Starr, a thrill going through her shoulders from fighting as a duo again.

[+6, Stab, Guts, Terrain]
Brisa used Umbral Overcharge, choosing to paralyse! Brisa used Bolt Strike on Pita! [Charge, +600 Para]
Brisa used Electric Facade on Nutmeg! [SE, Charge, +300 Para]
Brisa used Electric Facade on Pita! [Charge, +300 Para]
Brisa used Electric Facade on Pita! [+300 Para]

Δ Stamina: -168, then *2
Δ Blacklight: +30/+50
Δ HP: +65
Δ Misc: -2 Charge

 

[Chibi Pika]

No tricks, no disruptions, just a pure, all-out offensive. Well, Starr couldn't really complain. Especially if the hardest-hitting moves were all her own element. She could deal with that. Probably. The rocks not so much, but eh--one thing at a time. If those two were going for offense, then Starr and Brisa would just meet that with their own. They were good at that.

Starr unleashed her Resolution!
- Starr used Umbral Insolence! She lost 645 HP.
- Starr used Brilliant Flarestrike on Pita! [+9, STAB, Blaze, SE, Reckless, 120bp]
- Starr used Shining Renegade on Pita! [295 dmg]
- Starr used Blacklight Blue Flare on Pita! [+9, STAB, UE]
- Starr used Eterna Z-Burst on Pita! [+11, STAB, UE, 218bp, Magic]

Δ Stats: +2 Valor
Δ Stamina: Set to 50%
Δ Blacklight: 0/0
Δ HP: Set to 50%, then +967 [Insolence]
Δ Misc: If Pita hits Resolve, redirect to Nutmeg

 

[Namohysip]

Brisa's Bolt Strikes and Facades struck against Pita and Nutmeg!
Pita: 1922
Nutmeg: 1324

Starr's onslaught came next, striking Pita until he was staggered back! Nutmeg got in the way of the Z-Burst!
Pita: 2305
Nutmeg: 2001

"Wh-ah! they aren't... stopping at all, are they?!" Nutmeg grunted, finding herself on one knee only briefly. She beat her wings to stand back up, then sped forward, but Pita was faster.

Pita used Extreme Speed for two hits, this time against Starr! One missed, but the other hit for a grazing 35 damage!

Nutmeg followed up with a Rock Slide!
Brisa: Grazing 53!
Starr: 101

Nutmeg used Flare Blitz on Brisa, dealing 385 damage!

Brisa is Staggered!

Pita used Heal Pulse on Nutmeg, healing her fully!

But Nutmeg's flight pattern seemed to be changing. She suddenly swerved toward Pita, who jumped high into the air. Then, with a flip, he landed on her back and she banked left. Perhaps it was a trick of the eye or the position of the sun, but it almost looked like a sigil of the Tree of Life had pulsed from them in that instant. And when that light faded, Nutmeg looked lithe, thinner, and her wings frayed--not at all like Owen's.. but some reading would indicate this was the other form that Charizard could take. And, atop her back... Pita had changed, too, in the same way. Simultaneously, right before their eyes and eclipsing the sun, they had Mega Evolved.

And now, Pita, atop Nutmeg's back, pointed forward with a conjured Bone Club. "We'll show you just how we fight! You aren't the only ones who can battle As One!"

Pita and Nutmeg used Divine Bond!
They are fighting as a single unit! Their HP, buffs, and traits added together! They gained +4 Accuracy, but lost 2 actions!

Pita and Nutmeg gained 1 Defense, Resistance, and Speed!

Brisa: 452
Starr: 509

Pita&Nutmeg: 12,000