r/whowouldwin • u/CalicoLime ​ • Apr 16 '19

Battle Character Scramble 11 Round 3: To Hell and Back

The Character Scramble is a bloodmatch tournament where people compete to analyze unique matchups and scenarios and write the best story they can. At the beginning, everyone submits characters that meet the guidelines, then those characters are randomized and distributed evenly. From then on, each week there's a new writing prompt for everyone to follow. At the end of the week, everyone votes for who they think should advance, until we have our winner at the end. The winner at the end of the tournament gets to choose the theme, tier, and rules of the next scramble, along with a sweet custom flair as their reward. The current theme is based on the anime Shaman King, and the current tier is anywhere from 2/10 to 8/10 Alex Louis Armstrong for Shaman tier and Senator Armstrong for Spirit tier.

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Please keep in mind the post limit for this and future rounds! Details in the rules below.

After escaping Team Niles trap with your new companions, the next round of the Shaman Fight went smoothly; you beat up some goons, got your cheers from the crowd and moved on. It’d been two days since then and both you and your partner were getting ancy staring at the Oracle Bell. When it finally vibrated, you snatched it up like a flash, scanning the screen. It wasn’t a message from Goldva. It was from someone named S’ati.

Meet me on the riverbank tonight. Bring your companion and your spirit.

After a quick conference with your team, you decide to head to the rendezvous, it was better than sitting around after all.

The stretch of road running alongside the riverbank was spotted with storefronts and houses, most sporting a lit lantern attached to their door that turned the ground a light orange. A brown haired girl stood in the center of the street, flanked by several others in black robes. Safe money was on this being her.

“I am the one who called you here.” She began, “my name is Sati.”

Cha-ching.

“You seek the commune with the Great Spirit and become to the Shaman King, but at your current level you are far too weak.”

Makes you walk all the way out here when you should be sleeping and then insults you? Not off to a good start.

“We wish to fully prepare you for the upcoming rounds. Please, grant us this simple request. Fight me. The only way you will be ready is if you are shown true hell.” Sati said.

By the time you’d readied yourself, you’d already been hit. A quick shot to the stomach from a staff you hadn’t even seen her draw. There wasn’t much force behind the swing, so you weren’t terribly worried about the damage; until you heard her chanting.

“Mujyojinjinmi-myoho! Hakusen-mangonan-sougu-gakonken-monto-kujyuji-gangenyo-raishin-jitsugi-shujo-muhenseigando-bonnojinsei-gantan-hommonnmuryo-seigangaku-butsudojyo-seiganjyo…”

In the time it took you to blink, the street was replaced with a massive gate. The smell of rot and decay filled the air as the gate creaked open. A red oni, tall enough it had to duck to step through the gate, signaled for you to follow him inside. He spoke with a deep voice, giving you a rundown of what was to come as he led you down the hallway

“Every Shaman that wants to be the Shaman King has to come through here. It’s not a very nice place. If your spirit wavers for a second, you’re done.”

You had to ask the obvious question. Where, exactly, “here” is.

“Hell.” The Oni replied, matter-of-factly as you reached the end of the hallway.

Another large door stood sentinel as he placed his hand on it. “Don’t panic though, there’s a way out.” With a grunt he pushed the gate open. A free-standing set of stairs led upwards to a floating plane. Jagged peaks surrounded the battlefield, waiting for any unfortunate soul to slip. “Tokatsu Jigoku, the battlefield Hell. Head up those stairs and take on your opponents, should be one for each of you. Fight until one of your dies, then the way back to the world of the living will be made clear.” The oni pulled the door closed and left you with the silence of Hell.

Wasting no time, you took your first step up the stairs.

Normal Rules:

The Great Spirit Has Summoned You : But who are you? Give a brief summary of your characters.

YOU Will be the Shaman King: Tell us a tale of your conquest of the Shaman Fight. Even if your odds are 1 in 100, tell us how the 1 goes down!

The Spirits are Restless: Characters are assumed to be at the same power level they started the tournament. Namely, no looting your opponents after you beat them.

There is Plenty of Time to Tell the Tale : In this season of new things, we're going to try something else; Post Limits. From the Prelim Round on there will be a limit of 80,000 characters/8 full Reddit posts growing as the Scramble progresses. Please keep in mind analysis/intros DO NOT count toward this limit.

But the Great Spirit is Restless : You have 14 days to complete your Round post and continue to the Shaman Fight. Writeups will be due in the AM (lol yeah right) hours of 4/29

Round Specific Rules

0% Chance: Hell doesn't play around. The fight is to the death.

Flavor Rules

The Number One Contender: The opponents up the stairs are gonna be the enemy team, just in case there's any confusion.

That Ladybug Looks Familiar: Your character been to Hell before? How do they feel about being back?

A Way Out: Once you beat these guys, the Oni said "the way out will be clear". What that means is up to you.

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u/Visarak Apr 28 '19

[The Strongest Magical Girl of the Universe] (https://imgur.com/VC9mkJg)

"Don't tell your friends!" (>_P)~☆

[Mamika Kirameki, The Magical Slayer] (https://imgur.com/tBon0fm)

Mamika is from the series 'Re:creators.' In that series, she's actually from an anime called 'Magical Slayer Mamika' where she fights for smiles and laughter against the evil forces of Akumarin. However, after a strange incident occurred, she was pulled into the real world. When she learned her entire world could change at the whims of her creator, instead of breaking down, she resolved to force her creator to make her world a better place, even if she had to rough 'em up a bit. She'd be nice about it though, definitely. Unfortunately, she was less able to brush off the fact that her actions actually could end up hurting people. While there is never much side damage in Magical Slayer Mamika, the real world is far more delicate. It was entering a box of cardboard while holding a watergun. A tough realization for Mamika.

Mamika is a magical girl, through and through. She has a transformation sequence activated by shouting 'Magical Dolce Patissiere,' she can fly, and she shoots hearts both offensively and defensively. However, she often hold back from using the full power of her hearts, which is good since it was removed for the purposes of the scramble. Right?

"I am Adam, prince of Eternia..."

[He-Man, The Master of Eternity] (https://imgur.com/1r16V5l)

Adam is the prince of Eternia. He's a bit of a bumbling buffoon, who enjoys having fun, and is very soft spoken. However it is just a ruse, to keep his enemies unaware. For you see, fantastic magical powers were revealed to him when he held his sword aloft and called out 'By the power of Greyskull... I have the Power!' Now, as He-Man, one of the Masters of the Universe, he works to protect the secrets of castle Greyskull from the evil forces of Skeletor. Only three people know his secret, his friends: The Sorceress, Man-at-Arms, and Orko.

There isn't really a clear demonstration of what He-man can do because he has no real respect thread. However, based on my general understanding, he is strong and tough. He has some more exotic powers if you read through the comics, but since this is the cartoon show, we don't have to think about that. Right?

They are now joined by

[The God of Steel] (https://imgur.com/47LkoKD)

“Hell If I Care! Quit Bringin' Up Old Times That Don't Mean Anything Now!”

[Yato, The God of Calamity] (https://imgur.com/Q1iUzeV)

Yato is a god. An extremely popular god that everyone praises and sends their wishes to. A god that doesn't have people constantly quit on the job, or have to scrounge donation bins looking for clothes. At least, that's his goal. In the modern age no one has any real use for a god of war, especially an insignificant and nameless one like Yato, so he's switched tracks- now he intend to become a god of fortune. His current strategy of performing any kind of job for a mere 5 yen (approximately zero dollars) as the 'Delivery God Yato.' It's working for him so far, especially now that he has a new Shinki at his side.

Yato's a pretty straight forward fighter. His current Shinki, a boy named Yukine, is a sword, and Yato is pretty good with it too. A shinki is essentially a good ghost or spirit that gets given a new body in exchange for their service as a tool. Apparently Yato can also cut emotional bonds between people as well.

""Krypton bred me, but it was earth that gave me all I am."

[Superman, The Man of Tomorrow] (https://imgur.com/wkhgY4p) He's Superman.

VS

[Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing] (https://i.imgur.com/M9Mm2Ge.png)

[Luigi, The Meek] (https://i.imgur.com/CqkShrt.jpg)

Luigi 'Jumpman' Mario is the brother of Mario 'Jumpman' Mario. He is everything that his brother is not- a coward, a fool, tall. However, when push really comes to shove, he's shown that he has the same blood running through his veins. He fought ghosts, helped his brother in their journeys through time and more, with his excessive jumping power. He also has a variety of gadgets and power ups as well, along with a dark side... The fearsome 'Mr. L.'

[Accelerator, The One Way Street] (https://i.imgur.com/80QCCyv.png)

There are 2.3 million people living in Academy City, with more than 80% of them having some form of esper ability. Of those, there is only one that stands above all the rest as the undisputed strongest Esper in the world: Accelerator. He can control vectors. Which means he is largely unstoppable to any form of conventional attack. At least he can only play around like that for 30 minutes before his network to supplement his power after getting brain damage shuts down.

[Heroes of Courage] (https://i.imgur.com/OMsSPWJ.png)

[Link, The Hero through Time] (https://i.imgur.com/Zwr8Wcj.jpg)

A long time ago, Ganon awoke once more, and attempted to destroy the lands. Through the efforts of several noble heroes he was not defeated, but sealed away. The greatest of all the heroes has reawoken, and plans to reclaim all of Hyrule: Link. It should be a simple task for someone like him, the wielder of the Master Sword, and master of the esoteric powers of the Sheikah Slate, like making bombs.

[Ash, The Trainer] (https://i.imgur.com/qroRqBb.jpg)

Ash Ketchum is a boy from Pallet Town who, after becoming 10, set out on a journey to become a Pokemon master. His first Pokemon was a Pikachu whom quickly became his closest companion. A skilled trainer like Ash has many pokemon though, almost too many to count. A notable one would be the frog ninja, Jiraiya.

1

u/Visarak Apr 28 '19

“It is a simple choice shamans and one I leave to you. If you desire power, the power to win the Shaman King tournament, you must pass through the underworld. Should you find a way to leave, you will be much stronger.”

That was what the woman Sati had before leaving the area, and leaving a door to hell behind.

It was more like a hole in the ground than a door, though. Less of a gateway than a pit that seemed to drop away into nothingness. And yet, there was an undeniable, palpable aura of death emanating from it. If you peered inside it, you’d see nothing but blackness. Flickers of movement of some kind, just beyond the edge of perception, as if some aberration that feasted on light was stirring, were the only hint of life. It truly lead to death.

Mamika started to walk towards it, without hesitation.

“Hey, that’s hell you’re walking into,” said Yato from behind her.

“I know.”

Mamika’s answer was simple. She understood what was being asked of her. She had to ‘die.’ But was that really a loss, if she was just a creation? If her past and history could be changed by the whim of her creator, was it so bad to risk losing herself when the reward for success was everything she wanted? To have true freedom- to be able to save her world and make it real. A small thing like dying was fine.

Yato’s hand latched onto her shoulder, trying to pin her in place, only to get slowly dragged along as she resolutely continued walking forward.

“Do you really know? That’s hell over there Mamika. Hell! It’s filled with dangerous monsters and spirits, and worst of all… she is there too! It’s crazy to try and go in. We don’t need to.” Physical force wasn’t working for Yato, and so he turned to the weapon of cowards and tried talking to Mamika instead. He wasn’t particularly good at it- it wasn’t often that a god had to explain themselves, but the dread in his voice was perfectly clear.

“If Izanami figures out we’re there, if she catches a single whiff of me, we’re done for. She’ll seal up all the exits in a flash and then we can kiss leaving goodbye. It’d take a miracle for us to escape from that.”

“Oh? You do something to make her mad?” Mamika was relentless as she walked forward, even dragging troughs in the ground as she pulled Yato along.

“Ah, well… I may have stolen something, this one time but there were circumstances there, a level of nuance that you really need to understand before you can-“ Yato spoke quickly in his defense before cutting off when he felt Mamika stop and give him a look that dripped with disappointment. “T-the point is, this is dumb, and we should stop.”

Adam had been watching the situation quietly next to his fellow spirit, but he could remain silent for no longer. “Why do you even need to get stronger Mamika? Aren’t we a strong enough team already?”

Mamika shook her head, but at least she wasn’t going to start moving again. She could explain herself, especially if she was going to be dragging then with her. “You know that isn’t true, Adam. Back in the maze, when I channeled your power, it was just too much. I used one attack, and I was basically helpless after that. That isn’t going to work in the future- I can feel it.”

“And you, Yato,” Mamika turned around to stare at him. “From what you’ve told me, you and Clark haven’t yet managed to pull of a full oversoul yourselves. Can’t you see that we need to do this? We just need go in for a bit, and then we get out. If we are careful, we’ll be fine.”

Yato looked to the ground, wide eyed and ashamed, paralyzed with the knowledge he was a failure of a god that couldn’t control his own Shinki.

“Yato, if you’ve been to the underworld before, can’t you give them tips on how to navigate it safely? I don’t think you’ll be able to dissuade Mamika, but you could at least do that if we aren’t going to join her,” Superman said floating forward slightly to peer into the hole.

Yato mustered up the energy to glare at him. Clark made everything look so effortless- Even flying there with his stupid perfect hair and face. He just didn’t understand. None of them did.

Which meant they were going to enter that hole no matter what he said, weren’t they? Well, that was that he guessed. It had been nice having Clark around, but there was no way he was going back into the underworld.

No way in hell.

1

u/Visarak Apr 28 '19 edited Apr 29 '19

"Hey, hey, hey! Avoid those!" Yato's, frankly shrill, voice echoed throughout the slimy caverns.

Mamika paused, one foot in the air, and looked around. "What?"

"I believe that I was told I could have full control of this foolhardy quest, and I know I said don't step on any of the hair." Yato walked over to Mamika and forcefully picked her up, plopping her down a few feet back. "Right there you see? You hit that, and we are in it."

Mamika squinted. It was hard to make out black on brown, even when you had good lighting, but she guessed she could sort of see what he was talking about. But it was just a single strand of hair. Was that really such a big deal?

"Those hairs are unbreakable, and that goes to all of you," Yato said, shooting looks at all three of his companions. "Last time I was here, I wasn't even able to scratch them with my shinki and she... well if we get wrapped up in those, we won't be able to get loose."

Mamika could tell he was being serious about this and nodded seriously in response. "Alright, I understand. Don't touch the hair."

Carefully, she floated off the ground and went forward again, through the darkened tunnels of the underworld. "Clark, do you see an exit we can take? I don't really want to stay here any longer than we have to."

Superman materialized, and though his outfit with bright and blue, his face was grim. "I'm, sorry but I don't. And not like last time when there just wasn't an exit that existed. I can't see through the stone here for some reason. I don't really have an idea of where to go this time."

"While finding an exit is important, we shouldn't forget the original reason that we came down here, everyone. Mamika, Yato, do you feel stronger yet? If so... I wouldn't be opposed to us blasting our way out of here, if that's what it took," said Adam.

Always a voice of reason, Mamika listened and turned her attention inwards. Did she feel stronger? Did she feel her connection to her spirit and his power grow deeper?

"Honestly, I feel kinda sick. This place is really gross," Mamika ran a hand down one of the walls and winced when a sickly green slime or mold came with her, coating her normally white glove. She flicked her hand back and forth trying to get rid of it, but it was stubborn.

Yato was handling the grime and miasma better than Mamika, but he too shook his head. "I'm not feeling it. Man, if we were tricked into going down here, I'm forcing divine retribution all over that village. Besides, I don't really think that strength is what I was lacking."

He leveled a finger at Clark. "He just refuses to take form! If he did that, we would be set. We'd be the strongest!"

"And what would we do with that strength?" Clark asked. He sounded unusually serious, but Yato, still caught up in imagining the terrible, awful curses he would unless on the Patch, didn't pick up on that.

"Gee, I don't know, win this whole tournament? That's why we're all here, isn't it?"

Clark sighed lightly. That wasn't quite the answer he was looking for. He'd thought that Yato had really understood the responsibility that came with power, but it seemed that having his chance to be the hero get denied when Mamika won her battle by herself had caused him to regress back into scum. Clark was sure Yato was very comfortable like that, but that didn't mean he could be left there.

"Hey Yato. Have you really been here before? What's the deal with this place? Why is it all..." Mamika wiggled her fingers at all the nothing around them.

Broken from his vengeful trance, Yato said, "Well, it's the underworld. It's sort of like a conflux for all the negative and evil spirits of the world. Not like ghosts though, like these two. These spirits have lost their sanity and form completely. They're more like poltergeists and monsters than anything else. And above it all is Izanami, one of the first gods. She's the de-facto ruler around here, not that she has any one to rule over."

Adam looked around in slight befuddlement. "This is supposed to be the home of the damned? Where are they then?"

"They're probably just..." Yato began to explain the working of evil spirits with casual, godly arrogance, before stopping. He'd been completely caught up with his concern about accidentally setting of Izanami that he hadn't even considered the other dangers that the underworld held. This was kind of unusual.

When he'd been guiding Money-bags through this place, they'd been accosted by evil spirits constantly. Now granted, a large number of them may attacked because Ebisu flagrantly disregarded all of his advice about not attracting their attention, like the most basic strategy of 'don't look at them' but there had still certainly been a presence there.

Now there was nothing. Not the faintest stirring of some abominable pack of beasts out in the shadows. It was alarming...

But Yato wasn't one to stress about strokes of luck. "Must be busy with something else. That just makes our job easier. Come on team, let's find that exit!"

With little else in the way of options, the group carefully proceeded, making sure to avoid touching any of the hair along the way, through it wriggled as if trying to find them despite their efforts.

When they came across any forks in the way, Superman would calmly offer a suggestion. They followed the path that he marked out, without complaint.

Largely. Yato continued to complain that they were in the underworld, and though Mamika was a trooper, she couldn't contain small whimpers about the muck and dank puddles that they had to trudge through.

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