Prebattle Formalities

8 PM, Vanhoover Time, Channel 10, Vanhoover Tonight Entertainment Program. The show begins on an opening shot of two hosts sitting behind a desk in a relatively minimalist studio. Behind them are two large screens. Each displays the logo for one of two different bands. On the left, Attack on Mango. On the right, Dragonautica. In between the two logos, is a giant, stylized "VS" logo. After a second of pause, the host on the left perks up to speak. "Good evening Vanhoover! I'm Maple Drags!" Then, the right host speaks. "And I'm Steve!" There's a brief pause. The left host does her best to hide her sudden confusion. The right host beams a nervous smile. Sweat is already beginning to form around his brow. "Tonight, we have some of the biggest news in Vanhoover entertainment history!" Maple cheers. "For the first time in decades, Vanhoovers top two bands are going at it in a Battle of the Bands!" Adds Steve. "That's right! Just over a week ago, Vanhoover's #2 band, Dragonautica issued a challenge to the #1 band, Attack on Mango! 2 days later, Attack on Mango accepted the challenge! Tonight marks the official start of the battle, and we have live footage from the Glorian Amphitheater where it's about to kick off!" https://youtu.be/aw9IMpvWo0w?si=WynBTL27iRgRyO4n The feed cuts to a shot of a yak with the hair of an 80's metalhead, standing behind a large crowd inside of the Glorian Amphitheater. The reporter can only barely be heard over the roar of the crowd. "Hey Maple! Things are getting pretty wild in here! The crowd is electric! I don't think I've ever seen a crowd this pumped before! Except for back when A.D.R.O played their reunion show 10 years ago! We've just gotten word that the bands are getting ready to come out on stage!" As if on cue, the camera quickly pans up to the stage, where a large plume of fire shoots up in the middle. The crowd erupts into ecstatic cheers as one by one, 5 dragons emerge from the fire. First is a red dragon with wild, spiky black hair, and an outfit straight off of a barbarian from DnD. Next is a blue dragon with long, blonde hair that appears to shimmer. She wears a ripped, silver dress, which appears to have been torn at just above her hips. It only barely covers what it needs to. Next is a young white dragon. He appears to be no older than 11, and bounces around the other dragons in a hyperactive daze. Next, comes a black dragon, chained, and shackled to a dense, metal dolly. His mouth has been covered in a  thick, steel muzzle, which drips acid from the corners. Lastly, comes a green dragon wearing a nice, 3 piece suit with the sleeves ripped off. He is the one wheeling the black  dragon onto the stage. The first three dragons wave to the crowd below. Screens behind the stage show close ups of the blue, and red dragon's cocky smiles, and the white dragon's genuine, beaming excitement. The black dragon thrashes in an attempt to break free of his constraints. The green dragon scowls. He appears to search the crowd before making eye contact with the Vanhoover Tonight's camera. The camera zooms in, only to be met with a middle finger. The fire on the stage quickly dies out, and the dragons take their place on the right side of the stage. The camera zooms back out to get a shot of the stage in full. A thick fog begins to emerge from the left side of the stage. It rolls down the stage, into the crowd below, creating a faint haze. The lights on the left side of the stage are dimmed, with lights coming from underneath the stage illuminating 4 silhouettes, rising up from below. When the figures fully emerge, the lights cut on, and reveal the members of Attack on Mango, already arranged, and posed. The camera then zooms in to slowly sweep over the band. Nar stands at the front, with his fist clenched, and a large smirk across his face. Asuka stands beside him with one hand outstretched towards Dragonautica, giving them a thumbs down. Her other hand pulls at her left eye, with her tongue stuck out. Behind her stands Ruby, one hand on her hip, and the other pointing towards Dragonautica. In the back stands Juno. He appears to be happily waving to the crowd. The crowd erupts into uproarious cheers. The camera zooms out to get a shot of the two bands. Then, a voice comes over the amphitheater's speakers. "Vanhoover! Tonight marks the start of a historic event!" Then, the figure of an alicorn in a VERY shiny, sequin suit steps out onto the middle of the stage. The camera zooms in to focus on the alicorn. "Tonight marks the first time in 30 years that the top two bands in Vanhoover have gone head to head in a battle of the bands!" More cheering erupts from the crowd. "Let's not keep everyone waiting then! Allow me to go over the rules for this battle!" The camera zooms out, showing a shot of the stage in full. The screens behind the stage now show stylized graphics of sheets of paper with writing on them. "This will be a best of 5! The first band to win 3 challenges wins the battle! The challenging band will chose the first challenge, then the defending band will chose next! We'll repeat until one band has 3 wins!" The graphics on screen change to overly-stylized representations of each thing explained by the alicorn. "If both bands end up with 2 wins each, it'll go to a popularity vote, following a performance by each band! As for the challenges themselves, the rules are simple! Each banc can challenge the other to whatever challenge they see fit! Though, challenges with a high risk of serious injury, or death are not permitted! Both bands must compete with the same amount of members for each challenge! Though special exceptions may be made!" The camera then zooms in on the lead guitarist of Dragonautca, as the alicorn turns to face him. "Dragonautica! As the challengers, you get to issue the first challenge! I hope you've got something good in mind!" To this, the red dragon smirks. "Well, we COULD just start with a good old fashioned fight!" He pauses to allow the crowd to cheer, gasp, and ooh. "But where's the fun in that? We're dragons! It wouldn't be remotely fair! So! We thought long and hard about the best way to start this battle of the bands. And what better way than Vanhoover's past time? Hockey!" The camera quickly pans over to Attack on Mango. Nar has a visible glint in his eye. His response is quick, and eager. "You're on!" The camera then pans back to the alicorn. "Then it's a date folks! Next Monday!, Timberwolf Arena! Attack on Mango vs Dragonautica in a hockey match for the ages!" The cheering from the crowd reaches a fever pitch. "Tune in! This is gonna be a match you won't want to miss!" The camera zooms out one last time before the feed cuts back to the studio. Both hosts sit with bright smiles at the ready. "There you have it! 6 PM, Monday! Timberwolf Arena! Of course, if you can't go in person, we'll be broadcasting the full match live!" The left host beams, before the right host speaks up. "It's sure to be a great start to this historic battle of the bands! Don't miss it!"