The high (or low, depending on your viewpoint) point of the Fall and Spring terms is the Combat Finals. These are done in two sections: Freshmen and Sophomores are the first week, followed by Juniors and Seniors the second week. Academic finals alternate.
Finals for each term have a specific theme. For Spring 2006, the theme was "rescue an unconscious victim, a dummy, from a piranha-filled lake."[1] For Fall 2006, it was "disable the infernal device in the city." Students are paired (mostly) randomly, and only one can get to the device and take the 30 or so seconds to disable it (enter their information and answer a couple of questions) without the other student interfering. Grades are assigned on how well they did against a set list of criteria, such as taking the initiative and avoiding collateral damage, as well as the relative capabilities of each student. This means that a low-powered student can "lose" and still get a high mark if he performed better than expected under the circumstances, or a high-powered student can get a low grade even after winning, if she performed poorly.
Most pairings are random. Some aren't, for reasons either of safety or to teach a lesson. Then there's the Crash where one or two teams are selected for high profile tests. In Crash tests anything goes. The opponent may be another student, but it may just as well be a Junior, Senior, an instructor, a team or (gasp) the Dragonslayers simulation.
The Combat Final is not optional - it does not matter whether the student is taking combat classes, the Survival sequence or just a regular Gym class. However, there are a few (very few) circumstances that will sometimes allow the student to postpone or avoid entirely the Combat Finals, such as health issues or significant power changes close to the Finals. Seniors may opt out of the Spring Term Combat Finals.[2]
Freshmen are usually not told about the Combat Final until a couple of weeks before Fall Term finals. This can sometimes result in a rush to create a costume, since costumes (or at least a disguise) are an absolute requirement for Arena 99.
Unknown Year matchups
Fall 2006 matchups
Known winners are in bold. The absence of bold may mean that the result of the match is unknown, or that it was a draw. If the student's grade is known, it's supplied in parenthesis after the codename. These are listed roughly in the order they happened, although there are some anomalies that aren't noted.
Monday, December 11, 2006
- Kismet vs. Bogus[1]
- Heyoka (B-) vs. Cerebrex[5]
- Bugs vs. Tarmac[6]
- Chaka (B[5]) vs. Silo, Nephandus, and Bravo[7] (no story)
- Valkyrie vs. ?[8] (mentioned)
- Charge (F) vs. Armadillo[9]
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
- Tisiphone vs Shroud[1] (Fourth examination)
- Punch vs. Jobe[7] (mentioned only)
- Bladedancer vs. Nex[7]
- Diamondback and Hekate vs. Dragonslayers[7]
- Bunker vs. Glass[10]
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
- Olympia (F) vs. Hardcase (C)[11] (mention only)
- She-Beast (B) vs. Zhong Lau (C)[11]
- Dash vs. ?[12]
- Foxfire (B+) vs. OMAG (F)[13]
- Aquerna (A-) vs. Buster (F) [14] (Has to be December 12 for the dates for Straight from the Squirrel's Mouth to work.)
- someone who got stuffed in a trash can[12]
- Fractious (C) vs. Stopwatch (A-) [12]
- Reach vs. Bronco[15]
- Eldritch vs. Lancer and Hippolyta[16]
- Fey vs. Mule[16] (destroys force screen)
- Thuban vs. Slab[1] (supposedly last)
Thursday, December 14, 2006
- Lifeline vs. Vox[17]
- Razorback vs. Jimmy T[17]
- Loophole (B-) vs. Sizzle[18][19] (destroys arena control system)
- Phase (A) vs. Belphegor[20]
- Generator (B) vs. Electrode[1]
- Gateway (A) vs. Golden Girl[21]
- Miasma (C-) vs. Peeper (F)[22]
Friday, December 15, 2006
- Iron Star vs. Spark[15]
- Carmilla vs. Jericho[23][8] (mentioned)[24]
- Tennyo (B) vs. Zombie Attack!!![1] (last combat final of the week)
Unknown Date (underclassmen)
- Timeless (A-) vs. Bluejay [25] (mentioned)
- Greasy vs. ?[12] Before Fractious, not necessarily same day. Also implied to be after Peeper.[22] It can't be both.
- Hazmat vs. Crunch[26] (mentioned)
- X-O(D) vs. Tesla[27] (mentioned)
Monday, December 18, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Spring 2007 matchups
The Spring 2007 Combat Finals were done around a "rescue the hostages" theme, with various possible specific scenarios. Cooperation among the students was allowed, so there isn't a "winner" as such. If the student's grade is known, it's supplied in parenthesis after the codename. These are listed roughly in the order they happened. The underclassmen had their Finals beginning on Tuesday, May 29, because Monday was a holiday (Memorial Day).
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
- Hippolyta[29] and Belphegor[30]
- Phase and Tisiphone[30]
- Generator and Mule[31]
- Bladedancer and Pejuta[29]
- Loophole (C+) and
Lifeline(F), Solange (A) and Pejuta (10 extra-credit ponts) -- Lifeline forfeited, but Loophole was allowed to compete with Solange and Pejuta as her replacements.[29] - Miasma and Pristine[32]
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
- She-Beast (A) and Mega-Girl (A)[32]
- Greasy (C) and Kaiju (C)[33]
- G-Force (C) and Haywire (B-)[33]
- Venus Inc. Group Final -- All (Poise, Chemtrail, Fey, Heartbreaker, Lifeline, Pristine, Freeze Frame and three unnamed students) got a B-, except Loophole (5 extra credit points), Solange (5 extra credit points) and Pejuta (a cookie)[33]
Friday, June 1, 2007
Saturday, June 2, 2007
- Wondercute and STAR League Jr A Crash with no winners.[34]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Jade 8 - Exams
- ↑ Diane Castle on the old Crystal Hall Forums (dead link)
- ↑ Ayla and the Birthday Brawl: Chapter 9 - The Legend of Arthur, or of Magnificence
- ↑ Straight from the Squirrel's Mouth: Chapter 1
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Call the Thunder: Chapter 2 - Wake-up Call
- ↑ The Pushover
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Call the Thunder: Chapter 4 - The Beatings will Continue Until Morale Improves
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Call the Thunder: Chapter 3 - All's Fair in Fun and Chaos
- ↑ Charge 2: le Snob Francais
- ↑ Call the Thunder: Chapter 5 - Idiots 'R Us
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chasing the Dragon
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Stress Fracture
- ↑ What's Up, Dork?
- ↑ Never Look a Gift Squirrel in the Mouth
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Big Idea
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Call the Thunder: Chapter 6 - There is no homework, only Zuul!
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Call the Thunder: Chapter 7 - Screw this melancholy crap!
- ↑ Gearhead
- ↑ Word of God says Gearhead took place on Thursday. (dead link)
- ↑ Combat Boot
- ↑ Summoning Tactics
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 A View to a Smell
- ↑ Call the Thunder: Chapter 1 - Let's Play a Game
- ↑ There's Something about Billie: Chapter 1
- ↑ Hart on the old Forums (dead link)
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 Straight from the Squirrel's Mouth: Chapter 4
- ↑ Vamp
- ↑ Hive's Christmas Holiday - (Look what I got for Christmas!): Part 1
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Galatea Debutante
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Charging Buffalo, Hidden Dragon: Part 2
- ↑ Odds and Ends: Part 1
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 Odds and Ends: Part 2
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 33.4 33.5 Odds and Ends: Part 3
- ↑ All the King's Horses
Notes
Aquerna's Fall 2006 final is on the 13th according to Never Look a Gift Squirrel in the Mouth, but the follow-up sequence, Straight from the Squirrel's Mouth only works if the final is on the 12th. Fractious is two fights after AquernaJohnBobMead 22:44, August 20, 2010 (UTC)