Phinal Round Match 2 (First Place): @auroraphantasma vs. @ecto-american
“You can do this, Nick,” Vic said with a (hopefully) comforting pat on the next phighter’s shoulder.
“Yeah. I’m tough. I’m cool. I’m the best dang hot pocket-warmer there ever was!”
“...Not sure why that’s relevant, but okay!” Vic flashed him a thumbs up. “Now go out there and kick Aurora’s butt so my security team doesn’t get Vibe Checked halfway across the Zone again!”
The security team had lost G3, Cecilia, and Lori to the cursed Vibe Check. Tali was going to have to reopen Denny’s job applications again at this rate. Which would be kind of a let down, since the Denny’s was about to close after this match anyway.
From their place in the VIP box, Tali watched Vic nudge Nick out into the ring. From the opposite side, Aurora was escorted in by Nero and Rin.
“Man, you guys sure are scared, huh?” Aurora grinned. “What do you think I’m going to do, waste my energy Vibe Checking you when Nick is right there?”
Tali started to wonder about the ethical implications of sending Nick into the ring against his constant tormenter, where the only rules were “phight until your opponent is incapacitated.” But it wasn’t like they were going to cancel the Phinal over something as little as fear of permanent trauma.
“Alright frootloops and gentlehoes, phools of all genders, it’s the phight you’ve been waiting for!! Nick aka Ecto-American will face down the terror of the ring, the pillowcase-weilder from Nightmare Valley herself, Auroraphantasma!”
The crowd was split in its cheers, some chanting Nick’s name (and screaming about Hot Pocket Rights), while some chanted “VIBE! CHECK! VIBE! CHECK!” presumably in honor of Aurora.
“No running this time, Nick.” Aurora grinned, holding her oddly-stabbed pillowcase like a sword. It was only now that Danny saw it held still that he realized it had a picture of Denny Phantom on the front, the unofficial mascot of the Ghost Denny’s.
“What did they do to you, my poor restaurant-themed kin,” Danny whispered.
“...You’re gonna accept that Denny’s kinned you?” Tucker asked.
“You know this isn’t the weirdest thing that’s happened.”
“And at risk of causing Nick nightmares for the foreseeable future…” Tali began, “PHIGHT!”
Aurora flew in swinging— or rather, teleported in swinging. Her Denny’s application had warned that she could and would teleport behind you, and she intended to use that power to its fullest.
Nick, however, had experience in dodging the now-predictable attack. He cartwheeled out of the way, stuffing his own secret weapon into his mouth: the perfectly-cooked Magic Star Hot Pocket.
“No way,” Tali breathed. “I thought that hot pocket was only found in legends.”
“...It’s literally just a hot pocket?” Bug said behind them. “What’s so special about it?”
“Nick’s been working on the recipe all month,” Tali confided. “You know his vendetta against Mario Kart? It’s partially because Mario Kart apparently ruins friendships, but it’s also because he had to play it for weeks straight in order to collect all of the Power Stars he needed to fuel his Hot Pocket.”
“...That’s some serious backstory you just made up there. Mad props.” Bug nodded.
Regardless of the Magic Star Hot Pocket’s origins, it did its job: making Nick completely invulnerable to all attacks. Including the dreaded Vibe Check.
“You have no power over me, Aurora!” Nick called, grinning with the rainbow remnants of the hot pocket smeared across his mouth. “I sacrificed my sanity to Mario Kart for this!”
“Yeah, well, we’ll see how invincible you really are!” Aurora challenged back. She geared up to swing her pillow case, holding it back like charging up Ness’s Baseball Bat attack in Super Smash Bros. She began to glow as the power collected in her crucified pillow case. **
She just had to wait for Nick’s star power to wear off… but she did have less stamina than the fattest cat in the world.
“This is… oddly anticlimactic.” Bug said, resting their chin in their palm.
“Shh, they’re having a stare down,” Tucker said.
“Which would be a lot more intimidating if the Mario star music wasn’t playing in the background,” Sam countered.
Tali didn’t care; they were on the edge of their seat, staring just as intently to see which phighter would break first. Nick began to sweat, not daring to try to strike Aurora while her pillowcase was charged. Even star power could only take him so far. He needed to wait for the right moment…
“Agh, enough of this!” Aurora shouted, throwing her speared pillowcase like a javalin.
The fabric image of Denny Phantom flew through the air. Came into contact with Nick’s chest—
And was flung back just as forcefully, effectively Vibe Checking Aurora straight out of the ring.
“VIBE CHEEEEEEEECCCCCCKKKKKKKK!!!!” She called as she flew out of the stadium, past the Denny’s, into the ghost zone version of the moon. A tiny explosion could be seen on it.
“That… where did that moon come from?” Danny asked.
Tali shrugged. “Aurora’s desire to be dramatic.”
“And dramatic it was,” Bug admitted. “Probably not as much flair as my win last year, but A for effort.”
Tali grinned before raising their kazoo to play the Mortal Kombat theme, while Lexx beatboxed in the Danny Phantom theme over it from across the stadium.
“And there you have it, pholks! Auroraphantasma is unable to battle and is our second place winner! Ecto-american wins the first prize!!”
Vic stepped into the ring to hand the shell-shocked Nick the trophy (which someone should design, because Tali had no idea how to describe it).
“You won.” Vic said, offering her hand for a fist bump. “Any words you’d like to give the crowd on your victory?
Nick bumped knuckles with enthusiasm.
“I’ve never played a game of Mario Kart in my life.”
