DwhitetheGamer

*How fitting that Copper had a lot of flowers planted out in his front yard. He does have extra seeds to spare, too.*

@Literally Snails "Aha, there it is," Copper said with a smile, finding his Sonic Pole. Currently it was sheathed in a scabbard-like way. He picked up the sheathed pole and trotted out of the hotel room, locking the door behind him so that nopony would be able to get in. Afterwards he headed back outside, going to another open area close by, where he could be seen by any contestant or staff member. After checking to see that nopony was around, which there wasn't anypony to be seen, he unsheathed his pole, extended it by about 2 feet from its' initial size, then began training. He started his practice slowly at first, making sure his attacks were where they were meant to be, before picking up the pace little by little.

Copper took the key and thanked the clerk before heading to the designated room. He made his way up the stairs to the second floor and then immediately made a left to their room. After unlocking the door, he opened it and entered the room, looking around for his Sonic Pole.

Copper grunted as he watched Onyx go back to the hotel. He could tell he wasn't one to talk, but that was fine. There were a few silent ponies and creatures he had seen and faced off against when he was a mercenary, and they did pack quite a punch. He was overall pleased with the results of his training, though. Taking a punch head-on like what he took from Onyx wasn't one to be taken lightly, so he had to make sure he was ready for his match. Suddenly his eyes widened as he remembered something. "I remember telling them about my Sonic Pole, so I hope it's in there. I need to freshen up my skills." he said to himself before making his way back there. He trotted to one of the clerks and said, "My name is Copper Strikes. Can you tell me where my room is, please?"

Copper braced for impact, and when it happened, he got sent several meters backwards. However, he planted his hind legs and slowed to a complete stop, getting up rather easily. He walked back to the Minotaur and then looked at where he was punched. The area he was punched at had a large mark from the fist, but the pony was rewarded with only a small bruise that was easily repairable. He looked up at Onyx. "That actually hurt a bit," he said. "I could tell that wasn't all you got, but I'll take it either way. I honestly was about to ask someone to punch me and help test my body for this tournament, so thank you."

Copper blinked in surprise. It wasn't training? His eyes widened as a thought struck him. Onyx may have wanted to see how tough the Earth Pony was, and he was disappointed in what he saw. He had an idea, however. He remembered that he was conditioning his body when he was meditating, and he smirked at Onyx. "Let me show how much of a tank I am instead. Hit me with every ounce of strength you got." He got himself ready by extending his hooves to his side, wide open for an attack.

Copper grunted, seeing the punch blocked by the Minotaur. He looked up at his opposition, an emotionless look on his face as an intense standoff commenced. Then, remembering a certain phrase, he couldn't help but smile. "This must be training to you, huh?" he asked Onyx, his expression softened. "Alright. I'll train with you, but next time, ask before we train."

Even if he was an Earth Pony, Copper wasn't immune to the ground shaking. But instead of panicking, he kept his cool. He didn't expect an attack on the back, but he did manage to see it in the corner of his eye. He blocked the shot, this time, and retaliated by aiming a punch to the Minotaur's solar plexus, in an attempt to knock the air out of him temporarily.

Seeing that it didn't faze Onyx, Copper ended up dodging the strike. It was indeed far less power than it was let on, and that was because he dramatically increased his speed instead. "Can you knock it off?!" he shouted. He was getting quite annoyed with this character. He knew who he'd be facing off against in the finals if both of their teams made it in.

Seeing that there would be no one to help him, he had to take the initiative. Copper immediately got up, and started making the ground shake from his straining. Not just in the small area they were in, but throughout the area of the Everfree they were in. (From :49 to 1:35 is what I'm referencing.) At the end of it all, Copper had a dark red aura around him. He looked at the Minotaur and said, "No more."

"Ahhhhg!" Copper screamed out as his leg was grabbed by Onyx. Why did this guy attack him? What purpose would he gain by attacking somepony outside of the ring? He seemed defenseless now. "HELP!" he continuously screamed out, in the hopes that SOMEPONY, maybe even a member of Team Rokata, would try to help him. He hoped to the holiest of deities that somepony could.

He didn't show it, but he was quite surprised at the sudden attack from the Minotaur. But he wasn't a slow poke, because in just a split second he was in another spot in the same area, not taking his eyes off of the Minotaur. Seeing the damage, he tapped his back leg on the ground, and immediately, the ground was restored, as if nothing happened. "Leave this in the arena," he said with an ice cold stare at Onyx, sparks coming out of his body slowly. He didn't say anything else, hoping the Minotaur knew the consequences if he even tried to continue.

@Literally Snails Copper watched as Dynamo ran away as fast as he could from Canteen, grunting a little. It wouldn't hurt to have a bit of self-defense thrown in every once in a while, and Dynamo would know that. Regardless of the decision, the blue Earth Pony turned his attention back to Onyx. He looked directly at the Minotaur, with no emotion. "With the interruption out of the way, can I help you?" he asked again.

Copper gave a smile to Dynamo and nodded at him. "I'd be glad to help you, Dynamo. You're one of my best friends and I support..." The Earth Pony mercenary stopped talking for a moment before showing an emotionless face. He didn't look back, he wasn't scared, but he was holding himself back from attacking, since it was a natural thing to do since he was trained in self-defense. "Need something?" he asked the Minotaur while still looking at Dynamo. No emotion came out of his voice.

@Dynamo Pad After another minute of meditation, Copper woke up and touched the ground with his hooves, his bubble shield dispersing. He figured now would be a good time to talk to Dynamo about this Mind Racer spell. He trotted his way back to the main lobby and looked around before seeing Dynamo. Then he waltzed over and said, "Heya, Dynamo. What's up, old pal?"

Mind Racer... that sounded somewhat familiar to Copper, but he never heard of it before. It's almost as if it was... no, it couldn't. It couldn't be what he was thinking of. His own brother said something about a "Form of Self-Consciousness", or as he called it, "Ultra Instinct," but he knew it couldn't be this so-called Mind Racer. Even then, Mind Racer was a spell? It sounded like a spell that was extremely difficult to master. Maybe he could help Dynamo with the spell. @Literally Snails @reader8363 @Unicorncob Shrugging, he headed outside, picking a safe spot for himself, and sat on the ground. From there, he closed his eyes and began to meditate, wrapping a bubble shield around himself to prevent attacks from all around, as well as isolating outside noise as he floated a little bit. It seemed like a normal meditation session, but in reality he was mentally toughening up his entire body slowly and steadily. This was a technique he learned two years ago, to be able to tank even the strongest hits and hit like a freight train by using the natural strength he has earned over the years.

It's mostly because the companies produce new games, and people will indeed flock to said games. Don't worry, though, because I think a revolution is going to absolutely crush that evil mindset.

The thing is that Apex Legends is going the same route as Fortnite. A free-to-play game with people paying for cosmetics, icons, and banners that grant absolutely no competitive advantage in real time battle.

@Dynamo Pad Copper looked at Jade for a few moments, observing the real captain of the team. He never saw her in the fights, but he assumed she was a tough nut and a strategist. He wasn't that much of a strategist himself, but he does take notes. Now he looked at Dynamo for his answer to Jade's question. "I hope he does," he said. "I can personally vouch for him being the temporary captain."

Copper couldn't help but frown at the statement by Tricis, but then shrugged. "Not gonna argue. It is true that I need to know what it is and how it works. But it could work, so keep that in mind." He then looked at Shining and then the rest of the group. "I'll need some tape to watch how Team Crimos fights, so that I can figure out a strategy for whoever I face."

Copper was listening with intent on what Dynamo assessed from watching Team Crimos fight in their match, putting himself in deep thought. The team appeared quite interesting from what his childhood friend was describing. Canteen? That one intrigued him the most. He wanted to take that one on above the others, but he wasn't sure if he was able to. "I need to say something," Copper said to Jade. "I've had a few years of experience being a mercenary, and what it's taught me at one point was that you can use the items your enemies use against them. Not to say it'll 100% work because said items are only effective when a certain pony uses it, but I think if you plan everything accordingly, you might be able to have their items completely backfire on them. The Inhaler, for example. If somehow a pony manages to reverse the inhaler's effects, they will be the ones who have the advantage." @Dynamo Pad @Literally Snails He looked among the entire group now. "I'm assuming that we can choose which fighter in the next match to take on, and in that case, I want to fight Arid. I have a lot of tricks myself to have my own advantage."

"You don't remember me?" Copper asked with his trademark grin, heading to Dynamo and patting him on the back. "I was the one you always talked to when we were sparring partners in Karate. I believe it was that 5th Degree Black Belt mare, I don't remember her name, who we met under. My name is Copper Strikes, and you used to call me Tip Toes because of my agile hooves."

Well that answered the question for Copper. Jade needed to train Tricis for the last fight should the team make it past Team Crimos. He could probably fit as Captain, but he'd rather not do it because he just came here and wasn't trusted yet. Now that he looked at the squad in question, he smirked. "Nice bunch you got here, Captain," he said to Jade. "I'm quite surprised." @Dynamo Pad At that point he noticed the gamer unicorn, which made his eyes widen in shock. "DYNAMO?!" he said with a huge smile. "Long time no see!"

The blue Earth Pony looked over at Draco, raising an eyebrow at him. "A guild? Sorry but I work alone for now, and I never figured to join one. What guild are you from?" He was genuinely curious as to what guild Draco is from, and he might join it at some point.

This actually surprised Copper to some extent, and it showed with his expression. He was replacing the leader? What happened to Jade that caused this to occur? He half expected to replace someone else on the team, but this was a complete first. He mentally shrugged, though. He'll ask later, but for now he said to Jade, "Don't worry. I'll try my best." Now he turned to Tricis and continued. "Assuming you already paid for my stay for just the semi-final match, you'll need to pay me half of what ponies owe me for a mission. 25 bits." He had already told Tricis that the payments were for his family rather than himself.