Diyoha

You are a Character in Character Battle 9 is a CYOA ran by Kazyan which follows the 2010 character battle. The Character Battle is assumed to be 4-way, and instead of a series of polls, the tournament is translated into a combat setting. The main character, Diyoha, acts as the "you" in the title.

=CYOA=

Pre-R1
You're brand-spanking new to this contest thing, since your game was released after CB8. Thus, you really don't know how how you'll play out in the contest. Heck, you're not even sure if you're on the level of Crash Bandicoot, Samus, or somewhere in between.

Division A is holding its first match right now, and your Division B battle will show up soon. What would you like to in preparation?

A) Check out Division A B) Chat it up with your Division B buddies C) Information Operations! See what you can learn. D) Nap, so you'll have plenty of energy for your match E) Ask for some help You decide to talk to whoever else is in Division B. You know, get a feel for the place.

You have an enlightening conversation with Luigi, who happens to be on the other side of the division. Who knew plumbing was so trippy? You also talk to L-Block, who's going to be in your match. It doesn't say much; you wonder what's up with the thing. It states that it plans to just wing it from here on out, so that's one character you think you can take. Maybe. Also, you have an encounter with some prepubescent cowgirl, but you can't remember her name. She wasn't memorable, except for general annoying-ness.

You've got a little more time before you and L-Block step into the ring. Got any plans?

A) Look at the damage in Division A B) Glean some strategy tips from Luigi C) Sabotage L-Block...somehow. D) Information Operations. E) Nap F) Chug an energy drink, or something similar.

R1
You head back to Luigi and ask for some advice. After all, you're not going to fight each other until Division finals, assuming you both get that far, right? Luigi tells you that the audience is important, and hands you a Mega Mushroom from his overalls. "You didn't get this from me," he whispers in his thick Italian accent. Just then, you hear the five-minute warning.

As you arrive, you find L-Block rotating in place, while some random Final Fantasy character you don't quite recognize stands stoically. You figure he must be important. You promptly pocket the mushroom, seeing his weird look at you.

The buzzer sounds, and you are called into the arena. You stand in one end, and L-Block descends in a Tetris-like fashion onto the other side. That Final Fantasy guy is to your left, and a guy with three-eyed green goggles is at your right. The loudspeaker announces your names--apparently the FF person is Squall! The other one is Sam Fisher, and you don't recall anything about "Siphon Filter."

The match begins, and Squall lunges right at Sam as the roar of a non-existent populace fills the stadium. Interesting, most of them are yelling for Squall. What do you do?

A) Sit back and relax--they can kill each other B) Attack Squall C) Attack Sam D) Attack L-Block E) Try to entertain the, uh, audience? F) Nosh on the Mega Mushroom You're not going to be able to take these guys without help, so you withdraw the mushroom from your pocket and crunch on it while Squall gives Sam a sound beat-down. The effect is pretty much as expected--you get woozy, the world spins a bit, and suddenly everything is smaller. No, wait, that's just you being larger. Now eleven feet tall, the kids in the ring don't look so tough to you. Whispers from the audience mention a "morning vote."

L-Block slide to its left, apparently trying to get maximum distance away from you and Squall/Sam. The block is just four or so feet tall; you figure it can be hoisted over your head at this size. Sam isn't going to last forever, you observe, but he's got his gun, which will stall Squall (rhyme!)

Your move...

A) Attack L-Block B) A), and grab a hold of the piece as well C) Attack Squall D) Attack Sam E) Wait F) Steal Fischer's gun That gun is looking pretty good right now. You leave the joke to its lurking and attempt to pull apart the two fighters. You manage to kick Squall away and grip Sam's wrist with one of your enlarged hands, and then you pull the small weapon from his hand.

Uh oh. Your fingers are too large to fit in the trigger guard.

Squall is fairly ticked, and when he gets up, he's aiming his gunblade at you. What a rough situation. Sam is dazed and in poor shape below you. How do you get out of this?

A) Dive at Squall and hope he doesn't shoot you first B) Use Sam as a meat shield C) Toss Sam at Squall D) Call "Uncle" E) Break the trigger guard; it's not important F) Throw the gun at Squall You decide that the only way to avoid getting shot involves Sam, so you grip his shirt with your free hand and fling him at Squall. Even at your doubled size, the dude's heavy! Squall does a double-take at the projectile-ized person, which is just long enough for the two to connect. Sam crushes the FF8 protagonist. A shot rings out from the gunblade, but you aren't hit, because the blade is pointing in an awkward, uncontrolled direction. Squall flails to get Sam off him. The latter looks to be near unconsciousness, but it's hard to tell with those goggles over his eyes.

Now what?

A) Finish off Sam B) Get rid of Squall C) Leave those two; get rid of the CB6 champ over there D) You still have Sam's gun; break the trigger guard E) Listen in on the "audience." Squall has been giving you a rough time; now to pay back the favor. While Squall wrestles with the heap that is Sam, you step over and grab Squall's right arm with your own, pocketing Sam's gun just before doing so. You yank the FF character up and hook your left arm under Squall's left, so now you're basically holding him just above the ground by his shoulder and right arm. Squall tries to swing the gunblade, but it's in his right hand, and his wrist simply isn't strong enough for the job.

You feel the elbow of his other arm ram into your left-ish waist, but it doesn't really hurt. He squirms violently, and you don't think you can hold him much longer. Action?

A) Release his right arm, then hork the gunblade B) You're still bigger than him; body slam C) Use your free left hand to strangle him D) Fight dirty E) Lug him around + crush Sam F) Release Squall Coup de grace time. Your left hand slaps against the top of Squall's sternum, and you close your thumb, index, and middle fingers on his throat. Squall is clearly not enjoying this, and flails a little more. He manages to rip his right arm free from your grip, as you're concentrating on his neck. The weapon fires a few times as squall swings it--you're going to get sliced/shot if you don't do something about that. Solution?

Out the corner of your eye, you see movement from L-Block.

A) Punch Squall in the face with your now-free right hand B) Shake him up some C) Choke harder! Use your right hand to help D) Ignore it and hope he drops it E) Just grab the weapon F) Fling Squall away (paulg235 suggested throwing Squall at L-Block, and others concurred.) You spin 360 degrees to get momentum, then fling your victim at the Tetris piece. Squall pretty much goes ragdoll before skidding on the ground and crashing into the CB6 champ, which then falls over on Squall. A shot from the gunblade grazes your shoulder.

What happens next is rather amusing. The Final Fantasy guy is still rather dazed from being strangled, so L-Block repeatedly tries to flatten him under its three-square surface. Squall manages to ram the gunblade into the piece, and then yanks it up, thereby removing a small purplish chunk of the CB6 champ. It falls over. The affected square of the block is the one at the top of its "L" orientation.

L-Block manages to keep sliding around a little, but Squall doesn't realize it's not out yet. He points his gunblade back it you, and pulls the trigger...

KACHINK

He's out of ammo.

He'll take a few seconds to run back to you; what to do?

A) Break the trigger guard on Sam's gun, then shoot Squall B) Finish off Sam C) Throw Sam at Squall/L-Block D) Taunt Squall E) Taunt L-Block F) Do something cool for the "audience." Squall starts running...

"Hey, line-fodder! I expected the champ to, you know, not fail at life!" You call out to L-Block, but while you're doing that, Squall manages to reach you. He finally lands a hit with the gunblade, and you are impaled.

The world spins and suddenly you realize you're not in pain. Also, you've shrank. Guess that mushroom gave you an extra health point, or whatever measures life in Mario's universe. Squall doesn't wait for you to recover, and swings the weapon. You narrowly dodge to the right, and the FF protagonist takes another swipe. You back away, and he keeps charging. Soon you find yourself against the wall. Squall points his blade at your throat.

"Goodbye," he says as a shadow falls over him. He doesn't follow up to skewer you, but looks up at the source.

SLAM

Squall gets flattened under five feet of solid tetromino.

Um...

A) Get out of L's way before he smashes you against the wall B) Kick L-Block over C) Attack the damaged portion of L-Block D) A, plus finish Sam E) You're small enough for Sam's gun now; use it against L-Block F) D, using the gun You whip it out. The gun, that is. A shot rings out as you put a bullet into the Tetris piece, putting a spiderweb crack in the middle block.

You instantly realize the mistake. If L-Block survived getting a chunk of itself broken off by the gunblade, what's a pistol going to do? The tetromino stalls for an instant, and then you find yourself smashed against the wall. It's not pleasant, and your nose is probably broken from being attacked by the purple mini-wall.

Grunting, you wrap your arms around L, and push it to the ground on its side. You've got just an instant to act before L-Block rotates back into place...

A) Wipe the blood from your nose B) Taunt L-Block C) Shoot it again; this time in the damaged area D) Dive for Squall's gunblade; he's not using it anymore E) Run! F) RASSLE L-Block starts to rotate back upright, but is interrupted when you abruptly grab its central square and hook your arms around it. The block attempts to squirm, but you continue your RASSLE move by rocking backwards and pulling L so that its damaged block is over your shoulder. Basically, you ram it into the wall backwards. A breaking sound indicates that L-Block didn't take it lightly--those cracks made by the bullet probably helped.

You let go of L-Block, and it falls over, the top square early destroyed. The audience rasps a phrase in the Mortal Kombat announcer's voice.

"FINISH HIM"

A) Pick up Squall's gunblade, ninja jump off the wall, and gravity-drive the weapon into L-Block B) Falcon Punch C) Pick up L-Block, spin to gain momentum, and throw it into the wall D) Unload the whole cartridge of Sam's Pistol into the block E) Declare victory...you're the last one standing, right? You don't know how to Falcon Punch, but Sam probably has a frag grenade that can show you how.

Oh, look, he does. You jack the grenade, and do a dramatic run towards L-Block.

"FALCON...PAAAAAANCH!"

The grenade soars out of your hand with the pin removed, and it basically looks like you did a ranged Falcon Punch. L-Block blows up with the grenade. You swat away some smoke, wiping your still-bleeding nose in the process, and see that the tetromino was more or less divided along the third dimension, leaving an L-shaped rough carcass, with the other half blown to bits.

It is not getting up from that.

The "audience" cheers and hollers, then the announcer reveals the standings, starting from 4th. Sam...L-Block...Squall...and you. You beat them all. He says a medical crew will come by to patch you all up, with Sam and L-Block being eliminated. You have a brief time before the medics arrive...

A) Wait for them B) Looting time! C) Help Squall up D) Gloat

Between R1/R2
You never know if acting like a complete tool will pay off in the long run, so sucking up to Squall sounds like a good idea to you. But first you're going to take everyone's stuff.

...

"Take my hand," you tell Squall. He groans, and grabs your arm. You pull him up to standing, and let him lean on you--he's in bad shape after getting crushed by L-Block. The medics arrive.

Squall grunts and looks at the two characters about to get carted off. "Why is he...?" Squall asks, looking at Sam, who has been stripped to his underwear. You smile to yourself, thanking the fact that your game has one of those "magic satchel" type inventories.You've thoroughly looted Sam, taking his body armor, fancy goggles, and change of clothes, and you also snatched a few pieces of L-Block and scraped together some purple powder. Presumably, it was made when the tetromino got totaled by the hand grenade. You've left Squall with his gunblade, because you really don't feel like getting punched to death later.

A medic appears with a belt of cliche health potions, and hands you and Squall a pair. He walks off to tend to Sam and L-Block before you can even open the top. You're not in that bad shape; just a nosebleed that is near to headed by now...hmm.

A) Drink up B) Save the potion for later C) Give it to Squall As Squall downs the red potion, you put away yours, stashing it in your...inventory. You're honestly not sure where all that stuff goes, but it's handy. Then you wipe your nose again.

Squall looks refreshed almost immediately after drinking his potion, and walks off without a word just like the Mr. Stoic he is. You've got no more business here, so you head off as well.

It's downtime, and your next match won't even be close for a long while. Got any plans for now?

A) Clean yourself up B) Examine the stuff you took C) Tell Luigi the news that you won D) Chat with some people around E) Nap

(The name "Diyoha" was adopted upon asking Board 8 here.) After leaving the field, you go looking for Luigi. The Division B section of the contest setting shouldn't be too hard to scour...aha, there he is!

You vividly describe what happened in the battle, leaving out the fact that you looted the place, but nevertheless pointing out why you're got dried blood below your nose. "Mama Mia! I knew you'd-a make it," Luigi congratulates you, then pats you on the back. "But-a seriously, go wash yourself up. Diyoha, you stink like a clogged toilet." Well, you do sort of smell after that exertion.

You go off to take a shower, and then you stop by Div B's cafeteria to get some chow. Some other characters are already here. Some mature-game alien guy--you think he's called Admiral or something--is chatting with Tina Armstrong. A different table hosts Zelda and Captain Falcon, and there's that little cowgirl at the very end.

You kind of just want food, but talking is nice.

A) Sit with Tina and whatshisface B) Sit with Zelda and Captain Falcon C) Sit with the annoying cowgirl D) Sit alone Captain Falcon beckons you over with a hand motion. Decision, made. You tread on over and set down across from him, next to Zelda.

"I see you've come back in one piece," Captain Falcon points out in his masculine voice.

"We were wondering how your battle went," Zelda interjects. "I knew Squall would make it out, but you..." She smiles at you. You're not quite sure if she's trying to flirt, but you're not comfortable either way--Link's sword is pretty sharp, and you don't want him to get jealous.

"I did do pretty well," you admit. Here's your chance to:

A) Boast about your victory B) Ask them about the division's bracket--you're a bit lost here C) Ask Captain Falcon to teach you a real Falcon Punch D) Shut up and eat You cut the humility facade and start gloating about how awesome you were. Zelda listens with a smile on her face, but Captain Falcon loses interest after about a minute and goes back to eating his food.

By the time you finish vividly recounting the way you tricked L-Block into crushing Squall (or your embellished version; whichever worked best,) Captain Falcon had gotten up and left. Tina and whatshisface are gone as well. You almost get worried for a second as Mega man passed through the cafeteria, but then you notice the "Visitor" tag pinned to his chest, which has a big red "A" on it. He's in Division A, apparently.

"You sound destined for the division finals," Zelda remarks to you. "Captain Falcon told me you're up against him, so--" You tune out from her. Wait, what?

D'OH. You probably just gave Mr. Falcon Punch a strategy tip or two against you.

You finish your food, a little bit irritated, and say goodbye to Zelda. Okay, what now?

A) Check out the Division B bracket B) Watch the current battle C) Examine the stuff you took from your fight D) Visit another division You leave the cafeteria, find a hallway corner, and sit down before removing your loot from your stash.

Sam's gun...the ammo cartridge rattles, so there's some ammunition still in there. The body armor is, um, armor--it's really tough, and should be effective against bullets. You look through the gogglesAAAAGHTOOBRIGHT! You rip them off your head. It's night vision, so that could be useful. Sam's clothes aren't anything special, but they are black, which is good for if the arenas become dark for some reason.

Four chunks of L-Block don't do anything that you can see, but they're kind of heavy. Maybe they'd be cool for hitting people in the skull. A fifth mass of the tetromino fits...everywhere. You try sticking it in the wall corner, against the goggles, in the arch of your shoe--it just seems to match everything. Every time you look at it, there's a side on it which you haven't seen before. Finally, you dump out the powder, which forms into a cube instead of a pile when you do so. That's kinda weird.

You put the stuff back in your magic-satchel inventory, briefly wondering if you could masquerade as Sam Fischer with all his stuff. What now?

A) Look at the bracket B) Watch the current battle C) Go sabotage Captain Falcon D) Nap "Oh, hi," Squall says off-handedly as you enter a room with him and a TV inside. The TV blares footage of the current fight, which appears to be rather tame except for some brightly-dressed woman wrecking everything with either magic or high-tech stuff; you can't tell. A two-tailed anthropomorphic fox is waving a white flag frantically, and...hey, there's Luigi! he barely has a scratch on him.

You root for Luigi for a while, and eventually the match ends. Squall looks indifferent to the Luigi > "KOS-MOS" result. You've got nothing else to do, so you keep watching, and observe the next match. Zelda > "Yuki", apparently. The losers were that admiral guy and some jackal with a gun--you're fairly surprised at the cowgirl making it through.

Your division is finished settling its matches...man, this is going to take a while.

FAST FORWARD after the next action.

A) Check out the other divisions' bracket. B) Nap. C) Congratulate the victors. D) Chat with Squall about your upcoming fight with Falcon and...whoever. (The action was sort of a compromise.)

(The following was broken into two posts)

Squall turns off the TV with a remote. He looks quite bored.

"We're fighting Cap Falcon next," you tell him. "Got any ideas?"

"Cut his hands off," Squall mutters, then opens a brochure lying in a chair next to him. "Or I could just kill you." You're slightly taken aback, but then again, this is a tournament. His brochure appears to be the detail of Division B's bracket. You peek over his shoulder, but then he gives you an annoyed look and hands it over.

B1: Tina Armstrong > Captain Falcon > Banjo > Angelo B2: Diyoha > Squall > L-Block >>> Sam Fischer B3: Luigi >>> KOS-MOS > Chun Li >>> Miles 'Tails' Prower B4: Zelda >>>>> Yuki > Arbiter > Ratchet

"Tina and Falcon...they're chumps," you conclude. "And I bet it's Luigi and Zelda after that. Good for them, but man, KOS-MOS can go choke."

Squall raises an eyebrow. "Kill her batteries and it's no contest."

"I wonder what the other brackets are."

Squall shrugs his shoulders, clicks the remote, and the TV changes to the program guide. You look at the results from Division A.

A1: Mario >>> Ryu >>> Grox > King DeDeDe A2: Master Chief > Falco > Donkey Kong > Frank West A3: Mega Man >> Liquid Snake >>> Shadow The Hedgehog >> PaRappa The Rapper A4: Raiden > Sackboy >>>>> Nana > CJ

"So we've got Mario to worry about later."

(Break)

R2


The doors open to cheers of the seemingly non-existent audience, beckoning you and the other three to enter. Muffled cheers of "Squall" dominate as you step over the threshold. The sunlight shies upon the body armor you took from Sam, now protecting your chest. Squall steps through the door to your left, while the foreign Tina Armstrong and Captain Falcon cross the doors opposite and to the right of you, respectively.

The announcer declares the Round 2 match: Tina vs Captain Falcon vs Diyoha vs Squall. The audience murmurs your and Squall's names, deliberating the finish order. Diyoha >Squall? Squall > Diyoha? Or would Diyoha take enough LFF to make it Squall > Falcon?

The crowd's cheers do a crescendo as Squall draws his gunblade. Tina takes up a clear hand-to-hand fighting stance, and Captain Falcon rushes out into the middle of the arena, his right arm cocked back. He looks like he's about to falcon punch Squall, and the latter runs out to meet him with the point of his gunblade. Tina steps forward slowly.

Your action?

A) Shoot Tina with Sam's gun B) Shoot Captain Falcon with Sam's gun C) Rush over to Squall and help him D)Rush over to Tina and do CQC E) Wait and see what happens