He scrolled through the character select screen. It was a beautiful chaos. Rows of pixelated icons represented a dream roster that Sega could never legally assemble. There was Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles, of course, but standing right next to them were deep cuts like Emerl from Sonic Battle , obscure comic characters, and even a few "joke" characters that looked deceptively weak.
He selected . The character portrait flashed, and the announcer’s distorted, bass-boosted voice boomed: ROUND ONE! Sonic Battle JUS Mugen V3
"C'mon, c'mon..." He needed meter. He needed an opening. He scrolled through the character select screen
Time slowed. The screen tinted grey. Marcus used the precious seconds to unleash a combo—a high kick, a spin-dash uppercut, and a finisher blast. The hit counter racked up: 12, 13, 14 HITS! There was Sonic, Shadow, and Knuckles, of course,
Marcus gripped his arcade fight stick. He wasn't just playing a game; he was entering a realm where the laws of physics were dictated by the "JUS" style—a specific, high-octane fighting engine known for its blistering speed, aerial combos, and flashy, screen-filling specials.
Marcus’s health was in the red.
The stage loaded—Green Hill Zone, but remixed. The pixel art was crisp, vibrant, and destructible. His opponent? A menacing, dark-eyed version of Sonic, tinted a bruised purple. This was the "Evil Sonic" AI, notorious in the MUGEN community for reading inputs and punishing hesitation.