The back halls of the Ultradome weren't the most exciting place. After all, they weren't what the audience came to see. Except for the occasional 'back-stage' fight or interview, only the fighters saw them. The fighters didn't exactly stop to sight-see either, usually to busy going to or from a fight, or arguing. To put it bluntly, there was nothing exciting about them. However, the girl who walked through the aforementioned halls was almost bubbling over with excitement. "Another fighting tournament. I won the last one I was in, even if not much happened after that. But this will get Saucer-sama's attention!" She bounced a little in her excitement. It wasn't like people hadn't tried to beat her up before. She could take it once more to impress him! Then he'd date her for sure! She tried to contain herself and look calm as another woman rounded a corner, wearing a blue military uniform of some sort. The new entry had brown hair, done up in a bun on the back of her head. She paused as she noted the girl and stepped over. "Excuse me," she asked, "do you know where the Spirit of Shotokan dojo is?" "I'm sorry," the girl replied, "I'm new here, myself. Just here for one battle, really." The woman nodded. "I'm sure I'll find it," she said, stepping past the girl, "Thank you anyway." The girl watched the woman leave. Where was she? Oh right, thinking about Dick Saucer-sama! *** NOT LIVE, BUT FROM THE ULTRADOME! WATCH PEOPLE BEAT EACH OTHER UP FOR NO REAL REASON! YES, FOLKS, IT'S A { M A G I C A L C R O S S O V E R } { F I G H T I N G F E D E R A T I O N } { .-----------. } { | U-L-T-R-A | } { `-----------' } { http://www.pixelscapes.com/improfanfic } OMAKE! Night of the Dragons by Blake Blackwing (Nall@aol.com) The audience was loud. But that has been explained in so many ways that you don't have to hear it again. Hiroshi was hyper, but that was also normal. Daisuke was... well... Daisuke. "HELLO EVERYONE!" Hiroshi yelled, holding his microphone closer to his mouth for greater effect. "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME ACTION!?" "When aren't they?" Daisuke asked. He was, however, drowned out by the crowd roaring. "Tonight is a very special night!" Hiroshi pause dramatically for a fraction of a second, "It's called 'Night of the Dragons' and it's going to be very exciting!" "In other words, it's a theme show aimed at getting higher ratings," Daisuke commented. "All of our challengers tonight are, um... dragony! And all of them are mysteries, to be revealed just before the matches! You see, none of them are from Ultra! They come from who-knows-where, just to fight for you!" pause for crowd roar. "Because none of the challangers are in the Ultra tournament, no records will change," Daisuke explained calmly, "And also, this is an omake." "What's that mean, Daisuke?" Hiroshi asked in his 'tell me something exciting' voice. "It means this probably didn't happen." "Oh... does that mean we don't get paid for tonight?" "Probably." Hiroshi drooped a little. Just as Daisuke began to wonder if he'd finally found something to damper Hiroshi's enthusiasm, the other announcer straightened up again. "Who needs pay when you get to see this kind of ACTION!?" he yelled. The crowd loved it, of course. They love just about anything, afterall. "As stated, the challengers tonight are somehow dragon related, and are all mysteries to keep you people at home from changing the channel." Daisuke explained. "That's RIGHT!" Hiroshi chimed in. "We have FIVE EXCITING MATCHES for you tonight! Two in the Gamma division, one in Lambda, and the rest in Omega!! Seems these dragon people are heavy hitters, huh Daisuke?" "I guess so." "ALL RIGHT!" Daisuke sighed and looked through some papers. "Our first challenger tonight has challenged Johnny Cage, though I have no idea why." "Maybe he wanted an easy win!" Hiroshi suggested, "That's right, Johnny Cage has yet to win one battle!" "And the so called 'biggest loser in Ultra' is making his entrance now." Johnny made his way towards the ring, wearing his sunglasses and tight spandex pants as usual. He was a little distressed about the lack of cheers (and the presence of boo's) but hoped to change that. He didn't know any dragons, but he had participated in more than one Mortal Kombat. He was sure there was an outworlder or two with a score to settle. He didn't have to accept the challenge, but he needed a win. He'd already lost so much, another wouldn't matter. Plus he'd suffered enough pain. He could afford the risk to make a win. Even an unofficial one would make people like him more. Or so he hoped. Taking his sunglasses off, he set them next to the ring. Previously, he would have tossed them to a lucky fan. Unfortunalty, he didn't seem to have any anymore. He then climbed through the ropes and waited. "It looks like Johnny Cage is taking this fight seriously!" Hiroshi proclaimed, "There's none of his usual posturing or waving to the audience!" "It's hard to be confident when you've lost every fight you've been in," Daisuke pointed out. "And here comes the challenger!" Johnny looked towards the entrance to the stadium nervously. He waited for the monster from the outworld, the dragon, the demon bent on vengeance. What emerged was... a young asian man. "Participating in more than one Mortal Kombat, and more impressive, surviving, a master martial artist, the man who defeated Goro, LIU KANG!" Hiroshi excitedly read from a paper in front of him. "Liu?" Johnny asked, confused, as the other man made his way to the ring. 'What's going on here?' Johnny asked himself. Liu climbed under the ropes and stood to face the former action movie star. "What are you doing here, Liu?" Johnny asked. "I've been watching you, Johnny. What's happened to you?" the other man asked in return. "I don't know what..." "You're a good fighter, I know you are. I believe you're not fighting at your full skill. It's not like you to get embarrassed this often." "This is differant, Liu, it's not like Mortal Kombat! But I don't understand, you're not a..." Johnny stopped as something occured to him, nervously he asked "...you wouldn't bite a friend in half, would you?" Liu put his hands together and bowed before falling into a fighting stance. "Come on, Johnny, show me the man you were." GAMMA MATCH 1: Johnny Cage vs. Liu Kang Johnny was still unsure, but didn't have much time to think about it as Liu had already begun acting. Cupping his palms, the asian sent a fireball towards him. Johnny barely had time to block as the flame exploded against his arms, pushing him back slightly with minor burns. Liu didn't give Johnny time to recover. Leaping towards Johnny, he began kicking rapidly, defying the laws of physics in the process. A little more prepared after the initial attack, Johnny managed to duck aside, throwing a green ball of energy that Liu easily managed to avoid. "It looks like Liu Kang is making a strong opening!" Hiroshi exclaimed excitedly, "Will this be another embarassment for Johnny Cage?!" "You're still not putting you heart into it, Johnny," Liu said quietly, "Do you require more modivation?" Liu's form stretched and altered, scales forming, claws sprouting from fingers. Within a few seconds, where Liu Kang had stood, was the long, sinuous form of a traditional eastern dragon. "WHAT a SURPRISE folks!" Hiroshi gushed, "Liu Kang has BECOME a DRAGON!" "What's so surprising, it's the theme." Daisuke murmured. "B-but I thought you couldn't hold that form for more than a few seconds!" Johnny said, backing away from the large form now towering over him. "The rules have changed," Liu spoke, his voice deeper due to his change in form. "Kasumi gave me the ability to hold it longer so I could participate tonight. Now fight, Johnny, fight for real!" The dragon formerly known as Liu Kang lunged forward. Johnny hopped aside, right into the path of a swinging tail. He flew rather ungracefully through the air and into the ropes. He was only begining to untangle himself as the dragon lunged again. Johnny managed to throw another of his green projectiles, this time impacting with the dragon's face and causing him to reel back. The distraction gave Johnny time to regain his footing. "Better, Johnny," the dragon said, recovering, "Keep it up!" "Looks like Johnny has his hands full!" Hiroshi exclaimed excitedly as he watched the fight. Johnny continued to avoid the dragon's strikes, throwing in an attack when he was able. But his attacks didn't seem to do much to the dragon's hide, while a hit from those teeth or claws would sure do a number on him. He was also tiring, Johnny couldn't keep up this game of cat and mouse forever. Johnny backed away, trying to get some distance. But the dragon took up more space than a human would, and the ring wasn't that roomy. Deciding that random attacking wasn't going to cut it, he studied his opponent looking for something more substantial. Liu Kang's dragon form was covered in thick hide. He was bigger, stronger, and had built-in weaponry. He was also surprisingly fast for his size, striking like a snake. His hide was a little lighter in the front, did that mean thinner? He could try an attack there, but it was hard to get past the dragon's defenses. Johnny smiled a little as an idea occured to him. Maybe he could get under them. He moved over to the dragon again, waiting for the proper moment. The dragon struck! Johnny dropped into a split, the dragon's upper body passing over him. He struck a fist up into the dragon's belly, not the usual target for this move, but he had never done it on a non-humanoid before. He was rewarded by a grunt of pain, but he wasn't done yet. As the dragon's head pulled back, he pushed himself upward into the air as hard as he could, trailing green shadows. He felt his fist encounter a soft spot beneath the green chin. The dragon fell back, shrinking into the form of Liu Kang. The warrior fell to his knees, wobbling. Johnny stepped up to him. "Thank you, my friend," Johnny said quietly, then pushed Liu over with a finger to the forehead. "The a-winner, a-Johnny Cage!" Mario said, holding up Johnny's arm. Somewhere, Kasumi smiled. *** Ken Masters sipped at a beer. Sure, it wasn't exactly the best drink for someone constantly undergoing martial arts training, but he allowed himself to indulge occasionally. Besides, there was no one else in the dojo to lecture him about it. Flipping through a magazine which displayed images of expensive cars, so he failed to notice when a figure slipped inside the dojo thought the main door. He also didn't notice as the figure moved up behind him quietly. He did, however, notice when one of his arms was twisted behind his back and he was lifted from his chair. "Hey, whats.." Ken protested, spilling his beer on his car magazine. "Got you, Ken. Getting sloppy," a female voice said behind him as he was released. Ken whirled quickly, dropping into a fighting stance. However, when he saw his opponent, a smile came on his face and he relaxed. "Chun-Li! It's been ages!" The woman smiled to him. Instead of her prefered fighting outfit, she wore a military uniforn, her hair tied back officially. "I'm afraid I'm here on buisness, Ken, though it is good to see you." "You planning on joining this tournament?" he asked, trying to save his magazine. "No, I have better things to do than fight for screaming fans. Though when an event is televised worldwide with advertisements everywhere, it's hard not to notice when HE gets involved," she said quietly, with an underlying tone of anger and disgust. Ken was about to ask who 'HE' was, then paused as he realized. "Oh.." "I have orders to arrest Bison and put a stop to his criminal organization. Since he's foolishly gotten involved in this Ultra thing, I know where to find him." "So you're not going to join?" "I'm not as stupid as he is, Ken. Let him show himself off, I'm going to work behind the scenes. By the time he knows I'm after him, it'll be too late." Chun-Li punctuated her statement by sending a foot into a nearby training dummy. Though the poor dummy had never harmed anyone, it now had a large hole though it's torso. "Been keeping up with your training, I see," Ken stated. *** "Well THAT was certainly an UPSET!" Hiroshi exclaimed as the commercials ended, "Johnny Cage finally won a match!" "Not that it counts." Diasuke said evently. "But we're all ready for the SECOND match of DRAGON NIGHT!" "I thought it was 'Night of the Dragons'?" "Our next challenger apparently had no scores to settle! So the fighters were asked for volunteers! One of the BRAVE SOULS stepped FORWARD! Please welcome, Tatewaki Kuno!!" Well, he had some fans, and the rest just roared because it's what large audiences like to do. Kuno made his way calmly to the ring, his bokken resting on his shoulder. After climbing into the ring, he borrowed Mario's microphone without asking and spoke to the crowd. "I, Tatewaki Kuno, fear no beast! I accepted his so-called dragon challenge to prove that I am a true warrior." He handed the microphone back to Mario and calmly awaited the one he assumed he was soon to defeat. "He seems confident." Daisuke pointed out. "But can someone who lost a battle to PIKACHU win against a DRAGON!?" Hiroshi asked in his 'we'll soon find out' voice, bouncing. "I doubt it." Daisuke commented. "Now the challenger, who's here for reasons unknown... and free concert tickets, MINK, the DRAGON HALF!" The crowd cheered. It didn't really matter that they'd never heard of Mink before. The fact that she was here meant that they got to see a fight. Out from backstaged bounced a girl. She had red hair and wore a breatplate and a shirt. Though her most striking feature was probably the fact that she had horns on her head and a tail sticking out from under that skirt. About halfway to the ring, she decided that Saucer-sama might be more impressed if she was cool and focused, so she strode the rest of the way without bouncing. The change in walking style was much to the dismay of Team Hentai, who were watching the show from the Ultradome lounge. Kuno looked around the girl, wondering if the beast was behind her. Mink waved a hand in front of his face, attempting to get his attention. "Hello Kuno-san, I'm here to beat you up, okay?" She smiled. "What insult is this? I came here not to fight with little girls." "I'm not a little girl!" she exclaimed, an angry look on her face as her fist was suddenly planted in his face. Kuno stumbled back, rubbing the red, fist-shaped mark. "Perhaps you are a worthy opponent after all." In the front row of the audience, a man with long blond hair and blue armor watched the proceedings. 'Is this girl really a fearsome red dragon?' he thought. GAMMA MATCH 2: Tatewaki Kuno vs. Mink Kuno started off by leaping in with lightning fast strikes of his bokken. Mink absently dodged, not seeming to pay attention as she scanned the audience. When the weapon strikes began to impede her search, she unfurled a small pair of wings on her back and flittered up into the air. "Come down and fight honorably!" Kuno demanded. Mink, however, didn't hear him as finally spotted who she was looking for. There, in the audience, was Dick Saucer. She waved cheerfully to him. "Saucer! Saucer! Look at me!" The blond haired man sweatdropped and gave a little wave that mostly included curling and uncurling his fingers. "Dick Saucer noticed me, huay huay!" Mink dropped down and began bouncing around Kuno. He was a little disturbed by the fact that she was now only a couple of feet tall. "Mink has gone CHIBI!" Hiroshi declaired, "Is this some battle tactic?! Or perhaps foul play?!" "Ha!" Kuno declaired, finally figuring things out (at least, he believed), "You think to trick me into lowering my guard with this form!" Mink was still doing her cute bouncing thing. Kuno used the opening and his bokken swung in an arc, connecting with Chibi-Mink's stomache and sending her across the ring. "Things aren't looking good for Mink!" Hiroshi chimed in. "Obviously," Daisuke offered. Mink slowly stood, no longer chibi and looking none too happy. Kuno pressed the attack. She dodged and blocked the bokken, but couldn't get in an attack. "I won't let you make me look bad in front of Saucer-sama!" "You are beaten, girl," Kuno declaired, "but you are a worthy opponent, so I will date with you, firey one!" Suddenly, Mink caught the bokken in one hand and stared at him. "What?" "I said I will defeat you, and then date you!" With a snap the wooden sword broke as Mink squeezed. Kuno barely had time for that to register before a fist set him through the air and into the nearest wall. "No one can date me but Saucer-san!" she yelled. Dick Saucer sweatdropped. "And now some commercial messages." Daisuke said. *** Hiroshi quickly put away the remains of a chocolate bar as he saw the camera light go on. "We're BACK! And that's all for our Gamma battles, now for the OMEGA BATTLES. If they're HALF as EXCITING as the Gamma battles, we're in for quite a show, right Daisuke!?" "I suppose." "In a show of bravado, Lina Inverse declared she could defeat ANY dragon! Therefore, she will be the first to face a challenger! We take you live to Earth's own moon! Kasumi has kindly provided an atmosphere for the coming battle!" Lina kicked a moon rock and watched it sail farther than it would have under the type of gravity she was used to. She supposed the lower gravity should be a help for her. It couldn't hurt, after all, to be a little stronger. She'd let herself get overconfident in a few previous battles and wanted to make up for it, so she jumped at the chance for this match. After all, with the Dragu Slave, what was a little dragon battle? Lina wondered if she depended on that spell too much. It's not like she didn't have a wide variety of spells avilable. But why beat around the bush when one well-placed Dragu Slave could end a battle? She looked up as a portal opened, expecting her challenger to emerge. Instead, out stepped the referee, Goku. In his hands was a rectangular box. "Hey, where's my opponent?" Lina asked. "He'll be here soon, just have a little patience." Goku offered, setting the box down. Lina walked over, cursious, as Goku opened it. Inside, resting on a pillow, were seven flashing balls, each with a differant number of stars inside. What were those, some kind of magical talismans? "What're those for?" she asked, voicing her thoughts. "To call your opponent," Goku said, then he looked down to the balls, "Okay dragon, you can come out now." Goku stepped back. Using her vast magical knowledge, Lina decided it must be a good idea and backed up as well. A bolt of yellow energy struck into the air from the box. The energy was unlike anything Lina had ever felt. She watched, wide-eyed, as the bolt curled and twisted in the air, forming into the largest dragon she had ever seen. Dragon? It was the largest ANYTHING she had ever seen. The creature looked down on the two much smaller people. "What is your wish?" the dragon asked in a deep voice. "Oh, I'd like for you to fight this girl here until one wins," Goku asked in an unimpressed tone. "As you wish," the dragon turned towards Lina. "Uh oh..." Lina mumbled. OMEGA MATCH 1: Lina Inverse vs. Shen Long: The Eternal Dragon "Ray Wing!" Lina cried, leaping into the air, then quickly flying aside as the end of the dragon's tail left an imprint in the ground where she had been a second earlier. Giving herself a little distance, she held up a ball of red energy. "Fireball!" she cried out, tossing it with a gesture. The fireball sped through the air (brought to you by Kasumi) and impacted the dragon's green scales. After an explosion, which was insignificant compared to the size of the creature, Lina saw she managed to make a scuff. "This isn't good," she said to herself. The dragon looked to her with its glowing red eyes and storm clouds formed above and around the battle area. Some of the dragon's long coils dissapeared in the blackness. Lina began to wonder if it was just trying to show off, when lightning began raining down around her. She barely had time to raise a shield before a bolt of electricity slammed against it. Lina darted through the air towards the dragon, attempting to become a harder target. "Time for the old reliable," she murmured to herself. "Darkness from twilight, crimson from blood that flows," she began chanting, "buried in the flow of time. In Thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness! Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess!" Lina was surrounded by the required energy and special effects. She look to her target and cupped her hands. "DRAGU SLAVE!!" Lina Inverse, the Dragon Spooker, the Enemy of All Living Things, unleashed a crimson beam of energy towards the main body of the dragon she was battling. The beam struck dragon scale and there was a large explosion, obscuring the area from view. Unfortunately, Lina Inverse isn't an anime fan, and doesn't know that the power thrown around in the Dragonball universe makes even the Dragu Slave look pathetic. Therefore, when the explosion cleared, she saw that she'd managed to singe the scales, but little else. "That's not possible!" she exclaimed. In her surprise, she barely managed to avoid an immense paw swipe. Even though she dodged most of the attack, a claw nicked her, easily ripping through her shoulder guard and leaving a gash in the arm below. There was only one thing left to try (besides the Giga Slave, which even she wasn't willing to use in a 'friendly' tournament.) But the spell required most of her power. She couldn't maintain Ray Wing and cast it, and she couldn't reach the dragon from the ground. That left her once choice. Darting through the clouds, she hoped to hide long enough to pull her plan off. She cast a minor healing spell, enough to use her arm as she continued weaving in the air. Finally, she darted towards where she remembered the dragon to be. She was rewarded with the sight of a large, green scaled hide through the clouds ahead. "Hope he doesn't notice a bug on him," she muttered, landing on it's back and dispelling her flight spell. She then began running along the dragon's back to where she remembered his head to be. 'This is a LONG dragon,' she thought to herself three minutes later, but luckily he hadn't seemed to notice her yet. His head came into view, swinging back and forth as he search the area for her. Lina smiled, she was right under his nose... or above it actually. But, now was the time to strike. She quietly murmured the spell that activated her talismans, which began to glow red, amplifying her power and allowing her the energy she needed. She began another spell. "Lord who controls the darkness of four worlds, I beseech thy fragments. By all of the power thou possesseth, grant the heavens' wrath to my hand." The beginning of the spell apparently attracted the dragon's attention, as his head curled around to look at her. He was more flexible than she thought, but she couldn't be distracted now as dark energy began to gether around her. "Unleash the sword of dark, freezing nothingness. By our power, our combined might, let us walk as one along the path of destruction." One of the dragon's whiskers sped towards her, damn he was big, but she was done. "LAGUNA BLADE!" she cried activating the spell as pure black energy from the Lord of Nightmares formed in her hands in the shape of a crackling sword. With an upward swing, Lina neatly sliced off the dragon's whisker, which was on it's way to impaling her. She then lowered the blade against his side, looking up to him. Her meaning was clear, 'if this weren't a tournament you'd be less one head now.' "Your wish has been granted," the dragon said. Wish? What did he mean, Goku said for him to fight until someone won... oh. Lina found herself falling as the dragon she was standing on vanished. It coalesced into seven spheres of light which sped off in the direction of Earth. A Levitation spell later, Lina was on the ground safely. "The winner!" Goku declared. *** "That was GREAT, that was SPECTACULAR, that was AMAZING!" Hiroshi was saying back at the Ultradome. "It wasn't bad," Daisuke offered. "Wow, you must have liked it a LOT!" "We still have one more Omega battle tonight and a Lambda battle as well." "So STAY TUNED!" *** Mink was in the back of the Ultradome again. And she was excited. Again. After all, she'd won! Dick Saucer was sure to be impressed! And he'd sent a message asking her to wait for him! All her dreams were coming true! o/` Saucer..... Sauuuceerr... o/` came the sung words, drifting down the hall. It was him! His voice was sooooo wonderful! o/` The red, the red, the red dragon. I will kill the red dragon o/` Yes, his voice was definitely wonderful! He rounded the corner. His handsome hair. His handsome face. His handsome armor. His handsome sword. "Ah, there you are dragon, time to die!" Dreamy sigh, he was so heroic. *** "And we're BACK!" "You already said that tonight, Hiroshi." "Actually, I didn't say 'and' last time, so it's ORIGINAL!" "Well, things are all set for our next Omega battle. The next dragon challenged Sephiroth, but apparently he didn't care about our theme night and refused." "Or MAYBE he was AFRAID!" "He could be watching you know, Hiroshi." "AFRAID of hurting a dragon too badly when he wins!" "And what if the dragon is watching?" "SO we're OPENING it to all you OMEGA people out there! Who will step forward for the MYSTERY CHALLENGER!?" Hiroshi sounded excited, but when didn't he? Suddenly, a line of light blinked down the middle of the table. Before Hiroshi could comment on how cool and exciting it was, the table fell in half and Sephiroth stood before it calmly, sword in hand. "Oh... hi there... Mister Sephiroth sir.." Hiroshi said, a little less enthusiastic than normal. "I have no need for menial battles. But I will not be called a coward by the likes of you. So I will once again prove the power of the blood of JENOVA." Without another word, he disappeared. Hiroshi began fishing for his microphone in the remains of the announcers' table. Daisuke had forunately been holding his. "Well, it looks like Sephiroth has accepted the challenge after all. And I didn't think anyone cared about Hiroshi's opinion." Hiroshi had finally recovered his mic. "So SEPHIROTH will face the next MYSTERY CHALLENGER!! And as a SPECIAL TREAT, GOD HERSELF will deliver the challenger!" "Let's go live to the World of Ruin." Although it had once had another name, after Kefka had finished with it, most simply called it the World of Ruin. People, animals, and plants, most had died, and what remained only had a tenous grasp on life. After Kefka's defeat, the life energy contained in his form had been released, allowing the world to begin to recover. A portal opened and Sephiroth floated out, his silver hair blowing in the slight wind as he took in his surroundings. Though the world had began to recover, the area here remained dead. Nearby lay the remains of what had once been the largest tower in the world. But in grand tradition of bad guy's fortresses, it had collapsed when the bad guy died. Another portal discharged Goku, who smiled and waved to Sephiroth. The one-winged-angel-currently-without-any-wings ignored him. There was no portal, no flash, no poof, but suddenly Kasumi was just there. She smiled to Goku and Sephiroth, then to the cameras that had been set up in advance. "I hope everyone is enjoying the show," she said kindly, "but since the next challenger requires a steady supply of mana to stay in this plane, I'm going to call him myself." After all, who has more Magic Points than God? Kasumi smiled again, holding up a small red sphere. 'A summon materia?' Sephiroth thought to himself, 'I am fighting a summoned monster? What a waste of my strength.' Kasumi didn't do anything dramatic, simply held the sphere in her palm, but the materia began to glow brightly. A few seconds later, a beam of intense energy struck the ground far enough away not to kill anyone. After a small explosion, a silver dragon stood there. Lifting his head, he roared and extended three sets of wings. Then he focused his gaze on Sephiroth. "The world not only belongs to humans, but to other creatures as well. You would have wiped out all without thought. I come to avenge my brethren which fell." "Dragons are strong, for beasts," Sephiroth said calmly, "but apparently too weak for my uses. All I used, died." "Play nice," Kasumi admonished, before disappearing from the battlefield. OMEGA MATCH 2: Sephiroth vs. Bahamut ZERO Sephiroth decided this wasn't worth his time and that he should end it quickly. He held out a hand and the Masamune appeared in his grasp. He sped towards the dragon, sword poised to remove its head. Energy crackled around the dragon's jaws and it unleashed a wide beam of destructive force at the charging figure. Sephiroth broke off his charge, whirling to the side. The beam continued onward to strike the remains of Kefka's tower. Suddenly not so much of the remains remained anymore. Sephiroth reminded himself that a battle could be lost by foolishness, even a simple one. Playing it a little safer, he extended a hand, palm outward, towards the dragon and called upon the power of a materia. "Fire 3," he said simply, and the dragon was engulfed in an explosion of flame. It was all too easy. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow as the flame cleared and showed a completely unharmed Bahamut. "You don't understand, Son of JENOVA," he said, "I come from the same plane that your materia calls on for its magic. That energy cannot be used against me." "Then I will defeat you personally," Sephiroth said simply. "My blade has not tasted blood in too long." Sephiroth circled the dragon, more cautious this time. When he saw an opening, flew in quickly. The dragon swung a claw at him, but Sephiroth had been expecting something of the sort. He easily avoided the slash, his blade leaving a deep gash in the dragon's side as he passed. Dark red blood began dripping from the wound. Bahamut sent another energy beam after him and Sephiroth dodged aside. A mountain in the distance behind him lost a quarter of its mass. Sephiroth again darted in, his sword ready. He dodged another pathetic claw swipe, only to fly face-first into a swinging tail. He was propelled backwards, bouncing a few times before coming to a rest. He looked up in time to see a clawed paw heading down towards him. Sephiroth quickly rolled to the side and narrowly avoided being crushed. Pushing himself up, instead of moving away, he leapt toward the dragon, his blade sliding across the flesh of the dragon's underbelly. He turned his sword upward in preparation to impale the creature, but it moved away into the air, its six wings working. Dragon blood dripped down on Sephiroth, but he didn't seem to care. 'It is a decent opponent,' Sephiroth thought, 'but I am too powerful to lose to something as weak as a summoned monster.' He swung his sword with such strength that a wave of force continued upward, depriving the dragon of half its wings. Unsurprisingly, it crashed to the ground shortly after, the three wings fluttered down slower. Sephiroth was mildly impressed when it still managed to stand. "Suffer your defeat at the hand of your own kind," he said calmly, feeling there was irony in it, and that such a pathetic creature did not rate him finishing it personally. Searching through his spells, he found one that was sufficient. Channeling his mana though one of his materia, he called upon the power of Leviathan. Above him appeared the large blue sea serpent that would soon destroy the pathetic creature who thought it could defeat him. He waited for the flood of water to slam into the dragon. It didn't come. He looked up just in time to see Leviathan's tail before he was smashed into the ground. Though dizzy and barely conscious, Sephiroth could make out the form of Bahamut above him, claws prepared for the killing blow. "Only one as twisted as you could believe that we'd attack one of our own kind," he said as the claw came down. Sephiroth's vision was filled by an orange tunic as Goku appeared, blocking the blow. "That's enough," Goku said quietly. "He deserves death. He brings it upon others, it must be stopped!" the dragon said, a few drops of his blood falling to stain Goku's shirt. "That's not my buisness, but you've won, now stop." Bahamut shook his head, turning away before he vanished back to his own realm to heal. *** "WHO would BELIEVE that SEPHIROTH would DEFEAT HIMSELF with his OWN SUMMON SPELL!" Hiroshi yelled into the microphone. "And that brings us to our final battle of the night," said Daisuke with exponentially less enthusiasm. "THAT'S RIGHT! Our LAMBDA BATTLE!!" *** "Geeze, Ruby," said the white and brown haired boy, "I still think I'm Omega powerful." "But we couldn't fight as a team in that Omega thing, Nall!" said his companion, "And there's no way I'm being left out!" "I just wish that Kasumi person hadn't asked us not to use our true forms," he muttered, "And I can't even use my sword!" "Oh, quit being such a wimp! You saw the power that was given off in Vane a few weeks ago. It's up to us to check on this stuff!" "And Kasumi gave us a chance to check things out by being in a battle, I know, I know." "You're on in two minutes," a man with headphones told the two. *** "It seems anti-climactic to have a Lambda battle after two Omega fights," Daisuke was saying. "But it's FOUR FIGHTERS!" "Whatever." "Trying to get themselves a win, JUST WHO has ACCEPTED the LAMBDA CHALLENGE?!" "Team Pokemon." "TEAM POKEMON!!!" From backstage, Ash and Misty made their way down towards the ring. Misty was smiling and waving to the audience. Ash, however, didn't seem too happy. "I just don't feel right battling without Pikachu, Misty," he said quietly. "Get a grip, Ash. Pikachu will come back, and until then you have to prove that you're still a good trainer!" "I guess so..." As they reached the ring, Hiroshi began introducting the 'mystery challengers.' "Hailing from the MAGICAL WORLD OF LUNAR! Nall and Ruby make up... THE DRAGON TRIBE!" More cheering, what else do you expect? "I'm not sure many people know the Eternal Blue, Lunar," Daisuke said. "Don't you have a SEGA CD?!" Hiroshi asked. Daisuke was spared an answer as a blue hedgehog appeared and handed Hiroshi some cash for the promo. Finally, things returned to the matter at hand, the challengers. Walking out from backstage was a boy appearing in his mid-teens, wearing a green jacket, white pants and boots. His hair was mostly white, except for a stripe of brown down the center. On his shoulder was... a pink cat with wings and a yellow bow. "What kind of Pokemon is that?" Ash wondered, pulling out his Pokedex. "Hasn't that joke been done to death?" Daisuke wondered. "I think it's a GREAT JOKE!" Hiroshi declared. Ash pointed his Pokedex at Ruby. Luckily, Prof. Oak had had a chance to upgrade it after a few previous embarassing incidents. 'THAT IS NOT A POKEMON. HAVEN'T YOU LEARNED YET THAT EVERY ANIMAL YOU SEE ISN'T ONE?' was displayed on the screen. Ash sighed and put it away. First Pikachu, now his Pokedex was sassing him. Ash climbed into the ring. Shortly after, Nall climbed in as well. Ruby sat on a turnbuckle and waved to the audience. "You a-know the a-rules," Mario said. "Actually, I don't," Nall offered. "Oh, a-right," Mario pulled out his updated rule sheet, "No edged-a weapons and no a-turning into fifty a-foot long dragons and a-eating the opponent." Ash blinked and stared at the guy in front of him. He was a dragon? Nall just shrugged at the rules. "Okay-a, begin the a-fight." LAMBDA MATCH 1: Team Pokemon vs. The Dragon Tribe Ash had learned a lesson from the times he had gotten beat up before. That lesson was 'don't get personally involved unless necessary.' So as soon as the match began, he ran to the other side of the ring, tossing a Pokeball. "Charmander, I choose you!" With the standard Pokemon special effects, out popped the little orange, flaming tailed lizard. Nall blinked and wondered what he was supposed to do with it. Kneeling, he poked it lightly. "It's kinda cute..." He comment was cut off as his head was engulfed in flames with a 'char!' That would have stopped a normal man, but Nall was a dragon! And more importantly, he lived with a red dragon who had a quick temper. He backed away, coughing and looked to Ruby. "A fire critter, I think this is your department." "Can't handle the cute little lizard, Nall?" "Oh just go get it!" Nall reached out and poked Ruby, adding for kicks "Ruby, I choose you!" Ruby paused long enough to leave a claw mark across Nall's face. "I'm not one of those 'pop out of a ball' things!" She then hopped into the ring, leaving Nall to nurse his most recently acquired scratches. "Charmander, flame attack!" Ash called out. "Chaaaar!" Charmander replied, bathing the small pink form in fire. Ruby yawned dramatically, examining her claws. "It must be a fire Pokemon!" Ash exclaimed. Misty moved close enough to smack Ash on the back of the head. "Ash, haven't you gotten the point that not everything is a Pokemon!?" "Sorry... old habits, but I know how to handle this! Charmander return, go Squirtle!" With a flash, a pop, and another flash, the 'cute lizard' was replaced by a 'cute turtle.' "Squirtle!" he exclaimed. "These things sure have a good vocabulary," Nall commented from ringside. Squirtle saw its opponent and hit it with a blast of water. Now, you know how fun wet cats are? Now picture a wet cat who's a fire elemental and has a short temper. That's half of how angry Ruby was. A flaming aura burst into existence around her as she growled (in a kind of cute way) and glared at Squirtle with red eyes. Being an intelligent Pokemon, it did the smart thing. It ran back to Ash and climbed inside a Pokeball. Ash looked at the flaming, angry kitty in the ring. "Uh... your turn, Misty!" he said, tapping her as he jumped out of the ring, not waiting for her to agree to it. Misty threw a Pokeball into the ring, wanting some safety before she got in. The ball popped open to reveal a starfish with a gem in the center. "Starmie, I choose you, squirt gun!" The Starmie aimed it's top point at the flaming form and unleashed a blast of high pressure water. Ruby might be a dragon with powerful fire magic, but in this form she doesn't weigh much. The result is that she was blasted back against the turnbuckle, wetter and angrier. "Uh.. want me to go in for you, Ruby?" Nall offered, extending a hand. "I can handle a starfish, Nall!" she exclaimed, running out of his touching range and towards the most recent source of her irritation. Before Misty could cry out a new order, Starmie had its first experience at being madly clawed at by a little pink cat. Unfortunately, Nall still held the record for number of times being clawed. Seeing that her pokemon was losing, she recalled it. Ruby, seeing only one target, fluttered her little wings and charged Misty. The Pokemon trainer wasn't used to being directly attacked, only having had her pokemon battle. Panicking, she did the first thing that comes to the mind of most Pokemon trainers, she threw a Pokeball. Ruby had seen the little creatures pop out of these things. So, logically, she figured it wasn't a threat until it hit the ground and something popped out. The plan was to knock the ball aside, then scratch and/or fry the girl into submission. She touched the ball, there was a flash, the ball fell to the floor of the ring, and Ruby was nowhere to be seen. Nall stared at the ball. Ash and Misty stared at the ball. The audience stared at the ball. Hiroshi held his breath and stared at the ball. Daisuke looked up from doing his taxes. The ball wobbled. Nall ran. Ash recalled the last time he'd captured someone who wasn't a Pokemon. Ash ran after Nall. Then there was an explosion of flame which filled the ring, knocking Misty ungracefully to the floor outside. The flame formed into a large, draconic form and solidified. Taking up most of the ring was now a large, furry, red, catlike dragon. And she was angry. "You are-a disqualified-a..." Mario began. However, he was interrupted as he made the highest leap of his career as his overalls were set on fire. "Wellthatsallwehaveforyoutonightwe'llseeyounextimeonUltra!" Hiroshi gushed out before running behind the shield that protects the audience. Daisuke watched the large red kitty dragon tear up the ring, then began calling the This Old Dojo repair crew. ------------------------- ][ Omake recap, unofficial results, no wins or losses recorded ][ JOHNNY CAGE defeats LIU KANG ][ MINK defeats TATEWAKI KUNO ][ LINA INVERSE defeats SHEN LONG ][ BAHAMUT ZERO defeats SEPHIROTH with help from LEVIATHAN ][ THE DRAGON TRIBE disqualified in battle against TEAM POKEMON ------------------------ Authors notes: I wanted to do a 'dragon night' theme for a while because... well... I like dragons. As to why I did the Chun-Li thing, well, in just about all the games she's after Bison, and since he's been in a highly publicized event, I didn't think she'd ignore it. Since no one else did it, I figured I might as well, even if it is an omake, someone might like the idea.