Jessie shrugged at Aaron's reply. "Wasn't really paying attention. I didn't expect someone else would be synced in already, either." She snickered. "Besides, I just sort of ran up to him and figured I'd spar with the first person who looked ready. He just happened to be ready on that machine."

She winced as the wall gave way and injured Discord's arm. Probably hurt the guy a lot more than it would her. "Who, Goldlock?" she asked after Aaron's outburst. "I haven't fought her yet, and I've fought almost everyone here. Never saw her in the sparring room." Jessie crossed her arms. "Have you? What was she like?"

Jessie watched the hooded girl that Aaron had just called to the stage. She recognized her, having seen her fight not too long ago in a practice, but she ran off before they could be introduced. Maybe that was a good thing, she thought. It was probably in her best interests to steer clear of Alexa from now on.

The blonde left Jessie's thoughts when Aaron came up to her. She laughed at his reply and jabbed him lightly in the arm. "Way too cheesy. But the whole 'Monkey King' spiel is pretty good, though. I think it suits you. But you have to say it with more..." She took a deep breath and held it for a moment, looking for the right word. "Confidence," she finally said. "You're the king, man. Act like it. Come onto the stage doing backflips, rip the mic out of the announcer's hands, and shout 'I'm the Monkey King!' as the crowd goes wild, 'Monkey King, Monkey King, Monkey King' . . ." She stopped shouting and put her arms down. "Or something like that."

Jessie crossed her arms and shook her head The Dovakhin raised his hands to catch the Riyu Jingu Bang. “It’s not gonna work,” she muttered. The staff crashed into the earth, his attempts only delaying it, as he dived away. “He should’ve dodged. He would’ve been fine if he dodged.” His shouting wouldn't have saved him from the shock wave, but that was nothing compared to the staff itself. She was surprised he could still walk away.

But Wukong might not.

Aaron narrowly lost his first match against Jessie. Wukong knocked Samus down and winded her. There was no way she could dodge the massive Riyu Jingu Bang, so she activated her own super move to save herself. Wukong might have centuries of experience, but Aaron only had two years. Jessie’s been with Samus for six. They took the full force of the super move and had just enough energy to shoot Wukong out of the sky. After they fell, Aaron couldn’t take any more and desynced.

That felt like ages ago. They practiced for hours every day after that fight. Jessie dragged him through hell and back again to ready him for the tournament. When Wukong went down, Aaron had to get back up.

And there he was. The Monkey King clambered out of the crater, not fully strong, but still alive. Still synced. But so was the Dragonborn. Without weapons or armor, they clashed in fist-to-fist combat.

It only took one punch for Jessie to know who would win. If it wasn’t for his inhuman stature, she could take on the Dovakhin herself. He was strong, slow, and ungraceful. It doesn't matter how hard your one punch hits if you can’t land it. A few more seconds and the shouting brute of dragon’s blood fell to the ground, defeated.

The two desynced, shook hands, and parted ways. At least Ash was a good sport about that. He sauntered off the stage and left the stadium, but Aaron walked towards the battler’s lounge instead. Jessie’s blue eyes lit up. The doors swung open and she elbowed her way through the crowd - again - to find her friend. “Hey Aaron! Good job on winning your first fight,” she said with her hand up for a high-five, “but what took you so long? I was afraid you weren't gonna show up.”

From what she's been told, Ashley wouldn't be difficult for Jessie to spot in a crowd: burly, muscular, missing an arm, and carrying a shotgun. She didn't really believe that last part. Who brings a shotgun to an Astral battle? Aside from the Astral. Ah well. After about a minute, she found him sitting with what was probably his team. The stub where an arm should be was a dead give-away. No one else she saw had any missing limbs and . . . well, he actually did carry a shotgun. Damn. How'd he get away with that? He was looking pretty focused at the moment, probably getting "in the mood" for his next fight, so Jessie didn't bother interrupting him. They could talk after his match.

Speaking of the match, where's Aaron? He's going up in a couple minutes, but a no-show means he forfeits the match. That would leave a really bad impression for his first fight. Jessie pulled out her phone to text him. She wasn't paying much attention while walking back to her seat and accidentally stepped on a girl's foot. "Oh gosh, sorry about that!" she said to her. "I was on my phone and didn't bother looking up." The girl was about the same height as Jessie, maybe a bit shorter, and had dark green hair. An odd choice, but she couldn't really say much with her own hair colour. "Pretty smooth, right?"

Human
Name: Jessica Sinclair
Username: Lunartic
Age: 19
Personality: Jessie is bold and very competitive, sometimes to the point of arrogance, but always good-spirited.
Sponsorship: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
 • A video game and console designing company. The CEO admitted he had a “good feeling” about sponsoring Jessie.
Bio: Jessie’s an athletic city girl from LA. Her parents enrolled her into sports at a very young age, but moved to Astral battling when she was 13. At 17, she was touring on the national pro scene. During the off-season, she would come home to help coach the up-and-coming fighters at her local gym, as well as get a bit of practice in. And not just with her Astral, Jessie’s a trained martial artist and even has her hunting license.

Nothing gets Jessie more excited than competition. It doesn’t matter if she wins or loses . . . okay, it does matter, but not as much as the fight to get there. The most exciting battles are when she goes toe-to-toe with someone of equal skill, maybe even higher, and the fight is so close you could cut the tension with a knife. And when she meets someone lower, she’s more than willing to help them climb. Who knows, maybe they’ll be the next Astral champion that Jessie gets to topple.

Appearance: Jessie has long red hair that flows loosely behind her Two braids fall past bright blue eyes. Her usual getup consists of casual jeans and a plain tee. Her Astral mark is on the back of her neck: a lightning bolt over a circle, the symbol for Samus's Power Suit.
Astral Mark Picture
Theme: "Trenches"
Picture:


Astral
Name: Samus Aran
World or Region: Metroid Universe
Techniques:
Power Suit: A powered exoskeleton designed for Samus by her adoptive parents, the Chozo. Her weapon of choice is the Arm Cannon. It fires the energy-based Power Beams and concussive Missiles.
Zero Suit: When the Power Suit is deactivated due to lack of energy, it leaves Samus in the Zero Suit. With it she wields the Paralyzer, a short-range beam pistol that delivers a slight electric shock.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Power Suit
 • Versatile: Samus’s Power Suit is highly modular and easily upgraded, making her an adaptive fighter. Such upgrades have been listed below.
 • High Mobility: With Space Jump boots in her calf, Morph Ball, Grapple Beam, and natural talent, Samus is very good at not staying in one place for too long.
 • Did Her Homework: Samus’s database helps her keep track of her opponents and the environment, and after using the Scan Visor, she can download information about them to her HUD.
 • Mid-Range Combatant: Samus’s weapons and fighting style are most effective outside melee, keeping her distance but not staying too far away either.
 • Mid-Range Combatant: Samus is relatively inexperienced with close-quarters combat and her weapons become inaccurate at long distances.
 • Energy Tank Depletion: The durability of Samus’s Power Suit relies on her Energy Tanks. Taking damage will decrease their energy, and it cannot be replenished. Once the Energy Tanks are empty, the Power Suit deactivates.
 • Once It’s Gone… : If she takes enough damage to deplete her Energy Tanks and deactivate her Power Suit, it cannot be reactivated.
 • … It’s Gone For Good: If she didn’t activate Hypermode before losing her Power Suit, she will not have a Super Move for the rest of the fight.
Zero Suit
 • Came Prepared: Samus’s Zero Suit comes with the Paralyzer, Jet Boots, and Gauntlets. The boots allow her to Space Jump, similar to the Power Suit’s ability, and they make her kicks hurt more. The gauntlets do the same with her punches and Plasma Whip. As well, the Plasma Whip has a similar function to the Grapple Beam.
 • Chozo DNA: Even without her Power Suit, Samus is stronger, tougher, and more agile than the average human being
 • Close-Quarters Combat: Samus is more capable at closer ranges in the Zero Suit than the Power Suit, however...
 • Emergency Backup: Samus is not accustomed to fighting at close range. Although she is more capable, the Paralyzer is much weaker than the Arm Cannon and she lacks experience.
 • Make It Quick: Comparatively, the Zero Suit lacks the offence, defense, and utility for extended fighting.
 • No Suit, No Super: Hypermode is unavailable without the Power Suit, and therefore cannot be activated with only the Zero Suit.
 • Super Move: “Phazon Enhancement Device activated. Initiating Hypermode. Energy tanks will auto-ventilate in 30 seconds.”
Samus injects a Phazon Cell into her Power Armor to enter Hypermode. For up to 30 seconds, Phazon courses through her Power Suit, increasing its resilience and giving it a bright blue glow. Her weapon systems are charged with Phazon and deal significant damage. Firing her weapons and taking damage depletes Phazon from the suit. When the Phazon is depleted, her energy tanks empty completely. This deactivates the Power Suit and leaves her with only the Zero Suit.
Appearance:
Power Suit: Samus’s Power Suit is a distinct yellow-orange metal with large shoulders a green glow in its seams. On her right arm is her signature weapon of choice, the Arm Cannon. Her chest and helmet are red, with her visor a contrasting green.
Zero Suit: Samus’s Zero Suit is a blue skintight jumpsuit that encases her from the neck-down. Her blonde hair just reaches her middle back and is most often done up in a ponytail. She carries the Paralyzer, a pistol-like weapon, and Jet Boots, which look distinctly like high heels.
Theme: Yellow Valkyrie
Logbook: A list of systems and abilities Samus has access to in her Power Suit, as well as the upgrades that have been added to them, can be found here
Picture:

”Teams? This’ll be fun,” said Jessie as she stood up.

Alex sighed. ”As long as we don’t get some jackass paired with us.” She walked over to Dean and brushed his arm. ”I’m going to see how Warren’s doing.”

He nodded. ”I’m going out for a smoke. You want anything?”

Alex scowled. ”I thought you were trying to quit.”

”I am.”

There was a brief pause. ”Whatever. Bring me a coffee.” She went up on her toes and pulled him in for a quick kiss. ”I’ll text you if Warren wants anything.” The two parted, Dean slipping out of the class and Alex on her way to Warren.

”I’m heading up to the room,” said Jessie as she walked by her sister.

”Enjoy your date,” she replied. The class was mostly empty when Alex finally reached Warren’s desk. She crouched down to meet his eyes. ”You don’t look so good.” She lightly patted his shoulder and stood straight. ”C’mon, let’s get out of here before Mortecai yells at us again.”

GM Edit

Six months have passed, and our heroes have gained more souls, and new abilities. Reports have risen about mysterious people stealing souls. Carter has taken to this by offering a reward for the capture of these thieves. Now, we see what is in store for the students in Mortecai's class.



Silene woke up rather suddenly, sitting upright, unable to move or see. The air was cold and musty. Her entire body ached. She licked her lips: dry, cracked, and irony. Bloody. The last thing she remembered was going to bed angry at Warren, but he wouldn’t do this to her. Whatever this was. Footsteps behind her sent chills down her spine. They circled around her, heels clicking on a metallic floor. They stopped in front of her. She felt a leather  brush her cheek, moving down to her chin and lightly holding it, bringing it up.

”Look at what he did to you,” said a smooth, seductive male voice. ”Let’s clean some of this up.” He let go and walked away, still talking. ”There’s not much I can do about the cuts or bruise, but the blood can be cleaned.” He walked back. Silene felt a warm, wet cloth on her mouth. She was too scared to move. ”I feel like a mother, cleaning up her infant child after a meal. There, good as new.” He took the cloth and walked back to where he got it from. He walked around a bit more, shuffling papers around, moving large objects. Then he stopped.

”Smile, honey.”

Click.

”You’re on camera.”

There was a queasy feeling in Jessie’s stomach when the test began. She knew what was going to happen, and the sudden realization made a wave of nausea wash over her. Then she remembered who was on the receiving end and felt a lot better about it. And it was during their test that she actually thought about what kind of person Dagen was. Rude, sarcastic, sociopathic, quick to anger, and vastly egotistical. He had all the charm in the world but probably couldn’t keep a girlfriend who gave two shits about her own feelings.

Why was it always the cute ones?

And his Soul Resonance was pretty cool too.

”Excuse me?” she blurted out, brushing past the stranger to meet Dagen face-to-face. ”This man has the power to lock you inside your greatest fears, and don’t give me that ‘I’m not afraid of anything’ bullshit, because I thought that too for a while, and guess what? I was fucking terrified! Not only that, but he can . . .” she shuddered as she spoke her next words, ”force you into a weapon and make your soul wavelength match his. Have you ever been raped? Because that’s what it fucking feels like!”

Alex stood up. ”Jessie-”

She looked and pointed at her sister. ”Stay out of this Alex.” Her sinister gaze returned to Dagen. ”This is between weapons. Where was I, oh yes, you were threatening the life of a man who is clearly stronger than you’ll ever dream to be!”

"Jessie!" Alex pulled her sister back. "Enough."

Jessie shook free, but stood her ground. I want to smack him.

He's not worth it.