David. Not the bumbling, well-meaning, senseless doofus she'd come to know and... almost respect. Not the hopeful young man who continually embarrassed her by expressing his feelings for her at the wrong times. Not even the brainburned zombie, driven to walking catatonia by the Orochi's influence. David. His eyes lit by an inner fire. Lounging on what could only be called a throne. Casually inspecting her, not with lust or affection, but with an overwhelming disinterest. David. "David!" A cruel smirk graced his lips for a moment. "Foolish child. David... is no more. There is only the Orochi." Sakura raised her gloved hands to her mouth. "No..." He stood up... no. He *rose* up, hovering above her, exuding an aura of immense power. "It took great courage to track me down, child. But very little sense, as well." She shook her head, curing herself of her momentary shock. "You... you can't be the Orochi, David! Come back with me - we'll find a way to... to..." He glowered down at her. "You are wasting your breath, girl. I am the Orochi; I am the void. Nothing you do can wrest my power from me. You would do well to learn that... if you will be serving as my pawn." "P-pawn?" "You did not think you could brave the lion in his den without consequences, did you? And after all, I still need to punish you for your part in stealing my servant from me." Purple fire swirled around his body, slowly concentrating in his hands. "Fortunately, I no longer have any need for her - more of my Harbingers are approaching. One is already here at Ultra, in fact, just waiting to awaken." Sakura's eyes were wide as she backed against the door, which was firm and unmoving behind her. David/Orochi's eyes blazed brightly as the flames lanced out to envelop Sakura. "You escaped me once, child. You shall not do so again." The feminine screams caught Gambit's attention, and he quickly homed in on their source - the rather obviously-labelled door to the Orochi's lair. The Cajun pulled at the handle, but wasn't terribly surprised when it failed to open. "Chere!" he shouted. "Don' you worry - Gambit's comin'!" A few kinetically-charged cards demolished the door's hinges, and the tall mutant kicked the portal inwards to reveal... An empty room. Nothing but the Orochi's throne to give any clue that he'd been there. And Sakura's headband, smouldering slightly, lay on the floor. Gambit clenched his fist helplessly. "Merde." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- That was then, a week or so ago. This is now. Some distance away from the Ultradome, at the prestigious Ohtori Academy, a lone figure rode an elevator, steeped in shadows. "If the egg's shell does not break," he intoned, "the chick will die without being born." Another figure joined him in the elevator. "We are the chick; the egg is the world." Again, a figure appeared next to him - a rather impressive trick, considering that the elevator didn't stop between floors. "If the world's shell does not break, we will die without being born." The lift slowed as it reached the top. "Break the world's shell! For the sake of the world's revolution!" Kiryuu Touga stepped out of the elevator and turned to his companions. "Have you received the latest word from End of the..." He stopped and stared at them. Admittedly, one was a rather snobby-looking woman and the other was a blue-haired young man, but they definitely weren't who he'd been expecting. A less calm, manipulative, and bishounen individual, under the same circumstances, would have leapt back in surprise or at least produced a sweatdrop. Instead, Touga merely frowned slightly - only slightly - as he looked at his fellow passengers. "What, may I ask, are *you* two doing here?" The woman stepped forward haughtily. "Not a bad little motto," she admitted, ignoring his question, "but it doesn't compare to ours. Isn't that right, James?" There was a soft *click* as the young man pressed a button on the stopwatch he held. "Oooo, Jessie, look what *I* found! I've always wanted one of these!" She glared at him momentarily, then focused what little charm she had on Touga. "Actually, Kiryuu dear, we're here to see you." He smirked fractionally and sat down on a white chair, his body posed just-so for maximum coolness. "You wouldn't be trying to bribe me, would you?" "Hardly anything so crude," James replied smoothly. "We have too much respect for you to try something like that." "Then, what do you want?" Jessie glanced at James. "It's obvious..." James glanced at Jessie. "There's only one answer..." Team Rocket suddenly threw themselves at Touga's feet, grovelling unashamedly. "Pleeeeeease," Jessie wailed, "loan us some money! We're soooooooo poor!" "Jack pays us even less than our old boss did, and he paid us nothing!" "We'd be so terribly grateful! Just a few million yen? I know you can afford it!" Touga let out a small laugh. "How pathetic. And what exactly would I get in return?" Team Rocket paused in their grovelling activities. "James, give him the stopwatch." Her partner clutched the device closer to him. "No, it's mine! It measures down to one hundredth of a second and everything!" "Then there's only one thing we have worth that much money." Getting to her feet, Jessie sauntered toward Touga, with full lips, long legs, navel artfully exposed... Touga was unimpressed. "And that is?" Without warning, she pulled a huge off-white sombrero from nowhere and plopped it on Touga's perfectly-groomed hairstyle. A big red letter 'R' was emblazoned on the goofy hat. "Presidency of the Team Rocket Fan Club!" There was a pause of precisely 4.18 seconds - James measured it. Then Touga threw them off the tower. Once gravity had done its duty and wandered off to attend to more, ahem, pressing matters, Jessie painfully pulled herself out of her personally shaped crater. "You should have given him the stopwatch," she grumbled. A battered and bruised James peered at the device, which had miraculously survived the fall. "Wow, it really *does* keep on ticking." He turned his attention to his partner. "Anyway, I *told* you we should have asked Johnny Cage for money instead." "He's in Hollywood this week," she reminded him as she got to her feet. "Filming 'Iron Fists of Flaming Honorable Death', or something." She blinked as she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, and turned around. "Oh, yeah. We're pretty much on our own this week, aren't we?" James started to count on his fingers. "Johnny's out of town, Sofia's still trying to hide from that Kunou fellow in case he remembers the date she promised him, and the demonettes have taken a part time job involving produce." His partner, who had been bouncing an empty pokeball thoughtfully in her hand, stopped and glanced at him. "Produce?" "Something like that. 'Lemon Consultants', I think they said." ("No, no, this is *all* wrong. This should be 'gasp', not 'squeak'. You used the word 'thrust' seven times in one paragraph. And you just can't *do* that with a Twinkie. It might be fun to try, but it just wouldn't work. Haven't you ever had sex before?" "Uh... no." "Figures.") Jessie shrugged. "What about Jack?" "Last I saw him, he got this letter in the mail, then laughed like a maniac and ran off, saying he'd be out of town for a few days." "Hmm. I wonder what it was." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Controversial Jack read the address listed on the letter again, then looked up at the building before him. This was it. He rushed forward, eager to enter as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, this caused the rubber duck on his shoulder to fall off. The toy seemed to glare at him accusingly as he retrieved it. "Of course I wouldn't leave you behind, Mr. Duck," he told it reassuringly. "Not on a day like this." He replaced Mr. Duck on his shoulder, then gestured expansively at the edifice before him. "We've been given a rare opportunity, my old colleague! Let's go make the most of it." *Squeak!* Jack strode up the steps and threw the front doors open. "Citizens of Chicago, I am HERE!" When this failed to provoke much of a reaction, he shrugged and sauntered inside. As he passed through a metal detector stationed near the door, it bleeped as it registered the beartrap concealed in his coat pocket (don't ask). This didn't bother Jack - alarms were something that happened to other people -so he was surprised when a guard stopped him. "Excuse me, sir, but you'll have to empty your pockets." Jack whirled on him with the fury of the righteously indignant. "How dare you, sir! Do you think I don't have a right to be here? I was asked... nay, *entreated* and *summoned* to be here!" "Well, that may be, sir, but-" "Silence! Yes, I can see it now, you donut-munching lackey of the Communist Imperial, uh, Imperium! You wait for unsuspecting people to come in to perform their patriotic debt to society, then nastily delay them for no other reason than because they have large metal implements on their person!" The guard shrank back a bit from the stares of bystanders as Jack pointed a finger at him. "You, sir, are an enemy of Democracy!" "Look, what do you want?" the guard asked, rather desperately. "It's not what I want - it's what I'm here to do." He held the letter above his head, brandishing it as if it were the Holy Grail. "I, Jack Lysias, am here to serve on JURY DUTY!" -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- LIVE! FROM THE ULTRADOME! THE BIGGEST SPECTACLE IN ANIME AND VIDEO GAME SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT AND IMPROFANFIC! IT'S TIME FOR... { 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 } Episode 19: Tokyo Trouble! Written by Brian Stricklin The dressing room shook, even at this range, from the noise and vibration caused by thousands upon thousand of excited people. Fortunately Daisuke was quite used to this by now, and carefully put his brown-tinted contact lenses in with nary a problem. He peered at his reflection in the mirror, and sighed. All things considered, he'd got off easy with just red eyes. As if on cue, 'all things' poked his head in the door. "You ready, Dai?" "As ready as I'm going to be." He adjusted his bow tie one last time, then stood up. "How're you feeling tonight? Any... problems?" "Actually, no." Hiroshi sounded a bit surprised, and flexed his arms as if just to make sure. "All systems go. I guess they finally ironed the kinks out of the whole cloning process." "Well, let's not press our luck. I don't want to get another full physical from Ritsuko again." They both shuddered, then headed toward their station near ringside. "Have you heard anything more about UltraRage Beta?" Daisuke shrugged. "Not really. Kasumi's being rather cryptic about the whole thing." "Well, she's God. She's entitled to inscrutability." "I guess. I wish we had something to give the crowd, though. This show's going to need all it can get. Four matches, and not a single title belt up for grabs." Hiroshi rolled his eyes. "Come on, WORK with me here, Daisuke! Just because you're a clone doesn't mean you have to be *completely* unenthusiastic." "That's not because I'm a clone," his friend pointed out. "I'm naturally bland." "Oh... yeah." They walked in silence for a moment. "Still, I guess I see your point. It's looking like it might be a slow night..." "Hello, boys." They stopped and looked at the figure blocking their path. "Oh, hello, Washuu," Daisuke said politely, because being impolite to a genius scientist would be Bad. "Please," she corrected, smiling brightly, "call me Washuu- chan!" She leaned closer, and the two Furinkan students had an unpleasant feeling, matched only by the times when Nabiki felt she could make money off of them. "If today's show is going to be a bit quiet," she continued, "then you wouldn't mind doing one itsy-bitsy favor for me, would you?" -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- A few minutes later, Hiroshi and Daisuke walked out to their ringside table, wading through the nearly solid wall of noise like seasoned professionals. Around them the Ultra theme song played, and the crowds gestulated and held up signs for the cameras: "The Orochi ate my Pokeballs!" "Sofia 3:16 says CALL ME QUEEN!" "Help - I'm trapped at Ultra and I can't get out!" "Ladies and Gentlemen," Hiroshi all but yelled into his mike, "Boys and Girls... This... is... ULTRA!" "And tonight," Daisuke continued in that boring way of his, "we have no less than four matches for you. Well, maybe less, if someone gets injured or something." "Don't nitpick, Daisuke - it's bad for the ratings. Anyway, that's FOUR, count 'em FOUR incredible fights for you tonight..." "...barring accidents..." "...including a high-energy GRUDGE match!" Next to him, Daisuke cringed slightly at the word GRUDGE. "That's right, the losers from one of last week's matches wants a rematch, and they don't care who they have to maim to get it!" "We'll get to the first match in a few moments..." And Daisuke sighed, obviously not looking forward to this next part. "But first, we have a special message for one of our faithful viewers." (In the control room, Nabiki peered at the monitors. "What the hell?") "That's right, Daisuke. One of our Omega warriors would like to dedicate tonight's show to that one person. And if you're watching, here's an EXTRA special message just... for YOU!" Daisuke sighed again, then opened up the piece of paper he'd been given. "Dear Bison," he said in a monotone, hoping beyond hope that the criminal mastermind wasn't watching this, "I have Ifurita and you don't. You're a big loser. Love, Washuu-chan. P.S., Neener, neener, nee-" Abruptly every television set tuned to Ultra, including the TitanTron hanging over the ring, flickered as an outside source comandeered the transmission. Instead of the UltraDome, the screens now showed a rather dark and oppressive semi-military headquarters of some kind. In the center of the screen, an imposing figure glared at the screen, his eyes glowing with purple energy. Ultra had been pre-empted by the Shadaloo Network. Bison said nothing for a moment, then when he spoke, his voice echoed with menace. "A childish move, Washuu," he began, "and a pointless one. If you are so sure that you have succeeded, then send the toy back to destroy me." He chuckled. "But I don't believe you can. Can you?" The transmission flickered again, and Washuu herself was now sharing a split-screen effect with the tyrant. "I won't bother saying that I've exorcised your influence," she replied - Ifurita could be seen in the background, floating peacefully in a holding tank in Washuu's lab. "We both know that'd be a lie." "Then why try to provoke me this way?" She beamed happily. "Because it's fun!" Bison let out another humorless chuckle. "Idiocy. If that is all you wanted-" "This is your one and only warning, Bison," Washuu interrupted, her tone becoming serious. "Free Ifurita, or face the consequences." "Consequences?" This time he laughed, long and loud. "Oh, Washuu... once I have you under my power, I'll keep you close at hand as my personal jester. M. Bison does *not* submit to threats. Not now. Not ever." She smiled. "In other words?" "In other words..." He leaned toward the camera, Psycho Power blazing. "...do your worst." His side of the picture flickered out, leaving Washuu alone. "I was hoping he'd say that," she said to the millions of people watching at home, and the picture reverted to the UltraDome. (Nabiki, having spent the last few minutes working frantically - or at least giving orders frantically - cued the next commercial and slumped back in her chair. "We have *got* to get better anti-piracy equipment.") -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Commercial, done in black and white] [Pikachu walks down a beach, making tiny little footprints in the sand.] PIKACHU (Voiceover): Pika... pikachu. [A Squirtle and a Slowbro are seen in the background, dancing in the waves.] PIKACHU (Voiceover): Kachu pika... chu. [A single Spearow flies overhead, filmed in slow motion.] PIKACHU (Voiceover): Piiiiika. [The scene cuts to a lightning-bolt shaped cologne bottle.] HUMAN VOICEOVER: Between watts and amperes lies Voltage. By Calvin Klein. PIKACHU (Voiceover): Pikachuuu. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ash turned off the dressing room's television despondently. "Well," he said quietly, "I should be happy that Pikachu's doing all right... I guess..." He sighed. A slender arm snaked its way around his neck - it was kinda nice, except for the fact that it abruptly cut off his air supply. "Ash," his assailant snarled, "would you just GET OVER IT? It's been over three weeks already! If you acting all depressed, we won't stand a chance in our own match!" "Glack..." Misty released his neck, then moved around to sit next to him. "I know how you feel, but *Pikachu* left *you*, remember? You don't have anything to feel guilty about." "It's not that." The young pokemon trained looked down at his hands. "It's just that... well, Pikachu's my best friend. It won't be the same without..." The redhead crossed her arms and regarded her partner. Time for desperate measures. "And what exactly have you done to get Pikachu back?" "Huh?" "It seems to me that Pikachu left because you were losing so much. Even to Team Rocket, of all people!" He got to his feet angrily. "Hey, they had Mew! Besides, it's hard to get used to a new style of competition!" "My point is that *maybe* if you actually win a few matches, Pikachu will stop acting like such a twerp and come back." "Yeah..." He blinked. "Yeah, you're right! I gotta win this one - for Pikachu!" *Of course,* Misty thought to herself, *a fair-weather friend like that probably isn't worth having around...* -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "...and we're back!" "Sorry about that interruption, folks," Daisuke added. "It's all good, Dai. Without further ado, let's go straight to our first match of the evening. And it's gonna be good, folks, 'cause this is our GRUDGE match!" His partner rolled his eyes. "I hate when he does this..." "First off," Hiroshi said, ignoring Daisuke's theatrics, "weighing in at one hundred seventy five pounds of style (and about four hundred pounds of brute strength)..." A voice from the sidelines shouted. "You're reeeeeally pushing it, kid!" "...Team Fatima themselves, Bart and Rico!" The two Gear pilots strutted down the aisle... well, Bart strutted, anyway. Rico was more in the mood for trudging. "I can't believe we gotta fight these idiots again," he muttered. "Lighten up," his partner advised, waving and mugging for the cameras. "If this is anything like last week, we won't be here long." "Yeah, yeah. Just don't mess with those stupid balls after you catch 'em. I don't want to land in Tokyo Bay this time." Bart grinned. "Hey, you needed a flea bath anyway." While half of Team Fatima cheerfully pummelled the other half, Daisuke continued the introductions. "And in the other corner, notorious pokemon thieves and members of Sex and Violence, Team-" His announcement was cut off when a big black sphere, a fuse sputtering from its top (and, for those who hadn't gotten the hint, the word BOMB written across it), landed on the table before him. The two announcers glanced at it briefly, then, with reflexes honed by months of working at Ultra, dove for cover long before it exploded. As the smoke from the blast filtered into nothingness, the lights in the UltraDome suddenly dimmed, and an amplified voice arose from one side of the stadium. "We'll do our *own* introductions, thank you very much! Prepare for trouble!" From the other side of the Dome came the traditional response: "And make it double!" Rico yawned. "Wake me when it's over." "To protect the world from devastation!" "To unite all peoples within our nation!" Daisuke calmed beckoned for a new table, which was brought out within moments. "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" "To extend our reach to the stars above!" A single spotlight illuminated the first speaker. "Jessie!" Another was directed at the opposite wall. "Ja... HEY! Down here!" The spotlight moved around a bit, until it found its target. "That's better. Ahem. James!" The two pokemon poachers grabbed onto zip-line handles (conveniently set up beforehand) and zoomed down to the ring. "Team rocket BLASTS OFF at the speed of light!" "Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" Jessie and James landed with surprising accuracy at opposite corners of the ring. Unfortunately, intertia being what it is, they continued onward to collide at the center, ending up in a moaning heap. A diminutive figure jumped onto the newly-placed table, between Hiroshi and Daisuke. "Meowth! Dat's right!" Hiroshi, who had unconsciously been chanting the Team Rocket motto (along with a good percentage of the audience), recovered enough to grab his microphone. "Wow! Another explosive entrance by Team Rocket! Not as good as the hang gliders, but pretty spiffy." Daisuke cleared his throat. "Well, I heard they're having money problems. Anyway, since both Lambda matches tonight involve the pokemon teams, we've invited our resident pokemon expert and translator, Meowth, to co-announce with us." He nodded to the speech-capable pokemon. "Glad you could join us." "Glad ta be here." "What happened with the Team Rocket merchandise you were flogging last week?" Hiroshi asked, puzzled. Meowth smirked. "Are you kiddin'? When James and Jessie got beat in a few seconds, da whole t'ing went down da tubes! Dat's why they're so broke - they lost all da money they'd put into da toys, da big losers!" The losers in question were dragging themselves to their corner to get ready for the match. Meanwhile, Rico had apparently made good on his intention to fall asleep, and Bart was vigorously kicking him in an attempt to wake him up. "So I ditched Team Rocket, and got me a nice cushy job at Ultra. Now I'm workin' with God's younger sister, Nabiki." (BEGIN FLASHBACK MODE "Meowth! Payday attack!" "...It's an ant." "I don't care! Payday attack!" "Okay." "Attaboy!" END FLASHBACK MODE) "Well," Hiroshi interjected, "it looks like they've gotten everything sorted out, so let's go straight to the GRUDGE match!" "Do you always have to say it like that?" Daisuke asked curiously. "Yes, I do." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- LAMBDA MATCH: BART/RICO vs. TEAM ROCKET. FIGHT! "Okay, pretty boy," Rico snarled, "just snag the stupid things before their little critters come out, and we'll go home early." "Piece of cake." Bart snapped his whips expectantly, waiting for the first throw. Wiping the last traces of tomato sauce from his mouth, a small plumber in red overalls set down his meatball sandwich, jumped to his feet - literally - and bounced over to the ring. "Let's-a get this fight started! Here we gooooooo!" "I couldn't agree more," James said with a smirk. He took a pokeball from his belt, wound up... "Empty pokeball, go!" ...and tossed it towards Bart, who reflexively snatched it out of the air, and therefore was unable to snag the pokeball *Jessie* threw out. "Nice fake-out there on the part of Team Rocket," Hiroshi noted. The pokeball bounced to a stop and opened with a flash of light, revealing... There was a short pause. "There's nothing there," Daisuke noted. Hiroshi peered closer. "No, no, there's *something* there... Can we get a close-up on that pokeball?" The big screens of the TitanTron displayed an ever-growing view of the pokeball, and before long it became clear that there *was* something next to it. It was a small greyish-blue creature, with huge ears and a curly tail. It also sported a tie and a single gold earring. "Chuuuu?" it announced curiously. "What the hell is that?" Hiroshi wondered aloud. "It ain't no pokemon *I've* ever seen," Meowth noted. "Lemme check my special Ultra-edition pokedex." The small red device chirped as Meowth held it toward the tiny mouse-monkey-thing. "Chu Chu," it announced in its metallic voice. "A pokemon of an unknown type. It eats many times its own weight in food each day, and can often be found in the company of young girls in abusive relationships." The prince facepalmed. "Just what I needed. Something *else* in the world named Chu Chu." "Kid," Rico yelled up to Bart, "it doesn't matter *what* it is: just get rid of it." "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Bart walked up to the bizzare critter. "Sorry about this." So saying, he brought his boot down heavily on Chu Chu. James panicked. "Oh, no! Chu Chu is weak against Heel Grind attacks!" "Don't worry, James," Jessie replied soothingly. "We've trained him well. Just watch." In the ring, Bart lifted his boot to reveal... Nothing. "The hell?" He lifted his boot higher, trying to see if the creature was stuck to the bottom... "Kid, look out!" "Huh?" Bart turned around, to see Chu Chu launch himself from under the fabric of the ring and slam into the prince with ridiculous force. Bart flew backwards into the turnbuckle. "Holy cow!" Hiroshi shouted. "That little critter's helluva tough!" "Chu Chu," Jessie shouted. "Do another Dig attack!" "Chu!" The monkey thing dived under the ring's canvas again, vanishing from view. Bart got to his feet, still not sure what had happened, and thus was too dazed to defend himself when Chu Chu popped up behind him and kicked him in the back of the head. Jessie laughed triumphantly. "He may not be much to look at, but once we pumped Chu Chu up with the skill modules we bought with the last of our money, he became a pint-sized dynamo!" "It looks like Team Rocket's been studying some serious tactics from their teammates," Daisuke noted. Meowth shrugged. "Don't worry - it won't last long. It never does." Shaking his head to clear it, Bart faced off against the tiny beast. "Okay, shrimp," he snarled, readying his whips. "Playtime's over." He lashed out at his opponent, the whip crackling with energy. "Chu Chu!" Jessie commanded. "Cut attack!" A tiny katana appeared in Chu Chu's grip, which he used to slice up Bart's whip in a twinkling. Annoyed, the prince rushed forward to grab the creature before it could do more damage. "Chu Chu! Flash attack!" Bart reeled back, blinded, as Chu Chu produced a small camera - complete with flashbulbs - and took his picture repeatedly. "My turn!" James crowed. "Chu Chu! Bubble Beam attack!" As the monkey thing produced a glass of milk and a straw, Jessie smacked her partner with a paper fan. "Idiot! I told you not to teach him that one!" Bart, still reeling from the earlier attacks, stumbled backwards against a turnbuckle, only to be grabbed by his partner and thrown into the audience. "Stop embarrassing yourself, kid," Rico grumbled as he climbed into the ring. He stomped toward Chu Chu, who waved his katana bravely as the metahuman loomed over him. Their gazes locked, even though Chu Chu barely had any eyes to speak of. The mood was tense as their wills clashed, the mighty warrior versus the pokemon wannabe... and, unsurprisingly, Chu Chu carefully set his katana down, grinned up at Rico, and ran all the way back to Ohtori. "Toldja," Meowth said smugly. "All right," Jessie muttered, "Plan B. Did you get it, James?" Her partner held up another pokeball. "Right here." "Then get to it!" Without another word, he lobbed the red and white into the ring. "Paras, go!" The crab-like creature that emerged looked rather unsure amid the bright lights and roar of the crowd. It didn't help matters when Mario took one look and... "Mama mia! Look at all the mushrooms on-a you back! They look-a so tasty!" He raced toward the pokemon, which understandably panicked and ran for its life. "Come back! Mario only wanna jump on-a you head a little!" Mario chased the Paras down the aisle and out of sight, leaving the two teams unsupervised. Realizing this, Rico started to regret sending Bart into the crowd... "Weezing, go!" "Arbok, go!" "Mew, I choose you!" "Meowth, go get 'im!" The announcer/pokemon shrugged. "What the heck... once more, for old time's sake! Banzai!" A few moments later, it was all over. While Arbok and Weezing had been pummelled by Rico's attempts to fight back, the combined attacks had proved too much for him, and he fell into an unconcious heap. Team Rocket danced around each other, ignoring the boos and catcalls from the audience. "We won, we won, we won AGAIN!" "...by cheating," Hiroshi pointed out loud enough for them to hear. "If you can't win without cheating," Jessie replied smugly, "then it's not worth winning." "Well," Daisuke interjected, "seeing as how there's no referee here to challenge it, looks like Team Rocket does, in fact, win." Jessie and James waved to the crowds, who threw things at them. "And we'll be back with more Ultra after this." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Lightning flashed over the Masaki house, and a trememdous storm howled around it. (Actually, it had been nice and sunny an hour earlier, but when Washuu wants a storm, she *gets* a storm.) The genius scientist had set up a makeshift lab on the roof of the house - nothing fancy, just a few bioplasmic reconstructors, electrostatic modulators, and a toaster oven. Everything she needed. "Do my worst, huh?" She cackled gleefully. "I'll show you my worst!" She pointed at a small figure manning, or possibly cabbitting, a set of controls. "Ryo-Ohki! Increase the power gain to 15.097!" "Miyaa!" The cabbit turned a big dial with difficulty, and the assembled equipment began to hum with energies barely kept in check. Washuu watched the screen of her hyperspace computer intently. "Atomic batteries to power... turbines to speed... Regulators at eighty percent... eighty one... eighty tw-" "Washuu, stop!" The scientist didn't turn around as Galaxy Police Detective Kiyone climbed up onto the roof. "I know what you're doing, and I can't allow it!" "Kiyoneeee!" Has it been mentioned that Mihoshi was currently dangling from a particularly complex piece of equipment? Well, she was. It might also be worth noting that, because Washuu was aware that the Fanservice Quotient was an important factor in any such endeavor, Mihoshi's clothing had been artfully ripped in strategic places. Anyway. "Kiyoneeee! Help me!" The senior Detective leveled her blaster at Washuu. "Let her go, NOW!" Washuu never looked up from her computer. "Gally, restrain her!" Suddenly the gun was knocked from Kiyone's grip and her wrists had been grabbed with an unbreakable hold. "Sorry about this," Gally said from behind her, and sounded like she meant it. "But it *is* sort of important." "Regulators at ninety five percent! Ryo-Ohki, prepare the GBL interface!" "Miya?" "The Great Big Lever!" "Miya, miyaaaa!" "Washuu, don't do it!" Kiyone pleaded. "What you're doing could spell the end of the universe!" "Then the universe will die for a good cause - in the name of SCIENCE!" "Kiyoneee! What's going on?!" The Detective forced a weak smile, but couldn't meet her partner's eyes. "It's all right..." She quickly turned her head away. "Everything's going to be all right." "Ryo-Ohki! NOW!" The lever slid downwards as the cabbit leapt onto it, just as a tremendous blast of lightning struck the equipment. Slowly, the brilliant flash of light faded, as did the storm, leaving behind nothing but silence. And then: "It... is... ALIIIIVE!" -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- For once, Jack was grateful that Kasumi was so... tidy. When she rescued him from the destruction of his own universe (which he rather directly caused), she could have just dropped him in some backwater town and let him fend for himself, a man with no official documents that recognized his existence. While that could have been fun for a while, Kasumi had decided to set him up with birth certificates, citizenship papers (filed in Chicago for some reason), a passport, and dental records. It was the citizenship papers that brought him here today, sitting in a box with eleven other people - every American citizen has to serve jury time sooner or later. He wondered briefly whether that had been part of her overall plan, getting him out of the UltraDome for a while... and then decided that he didn't care. Regardless of *her* intentions, he was going to milk this opportunity for all it was worth. It should be noted that one generally doesn't serve on a jury the same day they report in. However, after Jack had ordered pizza for the bored masses waiting for their assignments and organized a seventy-five person round of 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat', the harried judge had sent him up to a courtroom just so he'd never come back again. At the moment, though, he was bored. The lawyers kept bogging down the case with a bunch of facts, and Jack was impatient to get to the sentencing phase. And then, astoundingly, he saw a familiar face, in the form of the assistant defense attorney, who entered the court with a large armful of papers. Miss Jane! Well, he guessed it wasn't *that* surprising. The two universes were pretty similar, after all, and if evolution had produced a transvestite lawyer in one of them, there could certainly be a counterpart in the other. Speaking of which, he wondered if this universe had discovered the truth about Judge Judy... Now that Jack was more or less focused on the trial, he began to get a sense of deja vu over the proceedings. At a nod from her - or, rather, *his* - superior, Miss Jane slinked toward the young man who had just been sworn in, letting him get a full eyeful of the tight skirt and full blouse the attorney wore. "Mister Franklin," Jane purred as the young man gulped audibly. "You claim that you were fired from ScumCo because you're a homosexual. Is that right?" "Uh... yeah." "Really?" An artful touch of fingertip on Jane's pouting lips caused the men in the room - Franklin included - to break out in a sweat. "You mean you wouldn't even want to... kiss me?" "Er... uh... well..." "While you think that over," Miss Jane announced, "I'll just bend over to pick up these papers I accidentally dropped. Don't mind me..." "OBJECTION, Your Honor!" The judge stopped fondling his gavel and looked over at the Controversial One. "You can't object - you're on the jury." "I'm not officially objecting, just being generally objectionable." He stood up on his chair. "Friends, it's obvious that Franklin is getting his mojo working over there. But despite what you may think, this *proves* that he's gay!" The jury muttered in confusion, and before the pudgy baliff could stop him, Jack vaulted out of the box and ran over to stand behind the sexy attorney. "Because, under this tight business suit," he continued, "Miss Jane here..." "How did you know my-" "...is really... A MAN!" He grabbed a handful of clothing and ripped Miss Jane's blouse and padded bra off in a single movement. The jury gasped, and Jack smirked triumphantly. "That's right!" he crowed, reaching around Jane's body. "Take a gander at this washboard chest!" If the quiet sound effect produced as he prodded the attorney's chest were to be written down, it might have been spelled as *squirk*. A sense of doom crept over Controversial Jack. Except for at his hand, which felt all warm and soft. Miss Jane - a.k.a. Jane Elizabeth Fitzgerald, three-time winner of the Miss Harvard Wet T-Shirt Competition - shrieked and pulled a humongous gavel from Hammerspace. "PERVERT!" She managed to get one good hit on Jack's overly-spiky head before he made it out the door. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "...all I'm saying," Daisuke insisted, "is that it wasn't much of a grudge, let alone a GRUDGE. Team Rocket's *used* to being beaten." "Aw, c'mon, Dai! Lighten UP for a change! The fans like some exaggeration from the announcers! You've got to... oh... we're on, aren't we?" Hiroshi cleared his throat, then quickly grabbed his microphone. "And we're ready for YET ANOTHER mind-bogglingly exciting match, folks!" A stagehand scampered up to Daisuke and whispered in his ear as Hiroshi continued to gestulate. "First, hailing from ancient Japan, wielding a supposedly non-lethal sword which he's been allowed to keep even though he's already impaled one person with it, the man whose voice registers on the Richter scale, HAOOOOOOOOOHMARUUUUUUUU!" As the samurai sauntered down to the ring, surrounded by cheers from the spectators, Daisuke looked at the stagehand sharply. "What do you mean, not in her dressing room?" Haohmaru leapt into the ring. "*ENLIGHTENMENT!*" Immediately, some genius in the control room activated the Dome's emergency sound dampeners (a Washuu-brand optional extra) so the samurai's speech was merely painfully loud. "AND WELL YOU SHOULD PRAISE ME," he added humbly, "FOR ONCE I BEAT MY UNWORTHY OPPONENT..." "Did you check the Spirit's training room? I see." "...DEFEAT WILL BE UNAVOIDABLE WHEN I USE MY..." "Well, announce a sale on Ryu memorabilia over the external PA. If that doesn't bring her out, nothing will." "...GREATEST WARRIOR THIS OR ANY OTHER WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!" When it seemed safe to do so, the dampeners were shut off, which made the roar of the crowd return in full force. "And his opponent," Hiroshi announced, oblivious to Daisuke's conversation, "previous Gamma belt holder and member of Spirit of Shotokan... SAAAAKURAAAA!" "She's not here." Hiroshi stopped in mid-bellow and turned to his friend. "...what?" "We can't find her." In the ring, Haohmaru grew bored and began to show off an impressive array of katas for the crowd. "Ooookay..." Speaking into his microphone again, Hiroshi announced. "Uh... folks, there's going to be a short delay, until we find Sakura. Hopefully it shouldn't take-" Without warning, a burst of purple fire erupted in the middle of the ring, knocking Haohmaru into the ropes. A figure stood within the flames, completely untouched and unharmed by them. Despite the spotlights immediately trained on the figure and the flames dancing around it, its face and body remained cloaked in shadows. But there was no mistaking its true identity... "OH MY GODDESS!" Hiroshi shouted. "It's... it's the Artist Formerly Known as Prince!" A large portion of the audience facefaulted. "I think it's the Orochi," Daisuke murmured. "OH MY GODDESS! The Orochi is really the Artist Formerly Known as Prince!" "...Are you done?" "I think so." Haohmaru had managed to untangle himself and, blissfully unaware of what he was doing, faced off against the Orochi. "DISHONORABLE CUR! YOU CAUSED THE NOBLE HAOHMARU TO BECOME ENTWINED IN THOSE THICK YET ODDLY STRETCHABLE CABLES! NOW YOU SHALL PAY FOR-" A blast of fire knocked him back into the turnbuckle. "...or not." The Orochi seemed to glare at the audience, then turned his attention to the announcers. "You wish to find the girl?" he asked, his voice carrying to the ends of the UltraDome. "Here she is." He gestured, and an image of Sakura, unconscious and suspended by ropes of fire, appeared next to him. The crowd gasped and, after a moment, jeered the Orochi, though not too loud in case he decided to take offense. Even Hiroshi was too stunned to speak. "Such is the fate of all who would defy me. For while my powers may have been ridiculed and underestimated thus far, the Orochi will no longer be taken lightly. I *will* prevail." He turned his face toward the nearest camera. "Lina Inverse. Know that by stealing my puppet away from me, you brought this calamity upon the girl. Think carefully before interfering with me again, for I promise this - you will regret it." Without another word, both the Orochi and the image he'd summoned vanished from the ring. The audience booed him again, but it was clear that their hearts weren't in it. "We'll, uh..." Daisuke cleared his throat. "We'll be back after this." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Only three people seemed unsurprised by this turn of events. The tallest one shook his head. "Gambit never meant for dis to happen," he said slowly. "Mebbe if I'd-" "It's not your fault," Ken assured him, leaning on a crutch due to his still-broken foot. "Damn stubborn kid... she would've gone after the Orochi with or without your help." "What's past is past," Ryu quoted, his eyes fixed on the now-empty ring. "All that matters now is getting her back." He glanced at the mutant. "You'll help?" Gambit nodded solemnly. "I garontee." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This... is Laos. A recently-constructed fortress, built in the side of a towering cliff, marked the headquarters of the nefarious criminal organization, Shadaloo. (Or Shadowlaw. Or Shadooloo. Depending on who you talked to.) Totally unnoticed, a shimmering portal opened just outside the fortress. It almost immediately closed, leaving a lone figure in its place. The figure approached the fortress' massive doors: forty feet high, a meter thick, and composed of an unbreakable alloy. They were doors that seemed to emote pure malice and immobility, as if to say 'don't even bother'. There was a control panel near the doors, involving a thirty-key code and a large cache of C4 should the wrong password be entered. This rather increased the death rate of Shadaloo's newest recruits, who could never quite remember the last digit. On the bright side, it also cut down on Jehovah's Witnesses - a definite plus in the eyes of the designer. The would-be intruder looked up at the panel for a moment. Seven seconds later, the doors slid open. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "This is it, Pikachu! It's the chance of your career! Of *anyone's* career! I've got you booked - wait for it - at Caesar's Palace! Right alongside Carrot Top!" The pokemon shifted the cellular phone to its other ear. "Pika?" "Well, of *course* it's big money! We're talking Vegas here, my friend! Bright lights! High rollers! All the most beautiful women in the world! Uh, you *are* male, right?" Pikachu's eyes narrowed. "Pikachu!" "Forget I mentioned it. Anyway, get packing right away - you start next week!" "Kachu ka pika?" "How long? I've got you performing for a full *year*, old buddy! That way *everyone* will be able to see you!" "...Pika." "Okay, then! See you in sunny California!" *CLICK!* Pikachu tossed the phone onto the hotel's bed and, pulling a suitcase from the closet, began to pack its meager belongings. But slowly; the pokemon had a lot on its mind. So fast... it was happening so fast. Of course, Pikachu *deserved* the publicity and attention. It was *glad* to be rid of those losers it'd been forced to hang around with. They hadn't been worthy of... Pikachu's mental ramblings trailed off as it realized it was staring at a framed picture. Ash. Misty. Brock. Togepi. And, of course, Pikachu. All posing for the camera. Pikachu stared a bit longer, then shook its head and tossed the picture into a corner. That was its *old* life. It wasn't... wasn't... The pokemon climbed onto the bed and turned on the TV. It had to stop thinking about the past. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "For our next match," Daisuke announced, "we have another Lambda matchup." He glanced at Hiroshi. "And this time, there's no grudge involved whatsoever." His friend gave him a hurt look, but soon got over it. "That's right, Dai, and that's because our first team is the newest pairing in Lambda, and hasn't yet fought together in Ultra. Hailing from Pallet Town and Cerulean City, please welcome... ASH and MISTY!" The two pokemon trainers walked down the aisle amid rather halfhearted cheers. "When Pikachu was with me," Ash muttered, "we got lots of applause." Misty thwapped the back of his head. "This is your last warning, lamebrain! We're here to *win*, not mope around!" "I know, I know... Don't worry, Misty. I'll do my part." "And their opponents," Daisuke added blandly, "Tifa Lockheart and Bean Bandit." There was a tremendous roaring and revving of engines near one of the entrances, and everyone near it quickly dived for cover as it grew louder... and louder... and LOUDER... Until the door opened and Roadbuster walked out, waving to the crowd. "What, you didn't think I'd drive through *another* wall, did you?" Emerging behind him, Tifa sighed quietly. Normally she would have at least rolled her eyes, but her reunion with Cloud... could have gone better. "Come on," she said, walking to the ring with no preamble. "Let's get this over with." He followed her, looking a bit concerned. "Something wrong, sweetcheeks?" "Nothing. I'm fine." Bean frowned, but said nothing. Wasting no time, Tifa climbed into the ring and looked at her youthful opponents. "Well?" Team Pokemon looked at Daisuke, who shrugged and officially started the match. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- LAMBDA MATCH - ASH/MISTY vs. TIFA/ROADBUSTER. FIGHT! Seeing that her partner hadn't quite gotten into the spirit of things, Misty readied a pokeball. "I'll go first! Starmie, I choose-" There was a flash of red light, and a large yellow form appeared in the ring, clutching its dopey-looking head with both hands. "Psy?" "No! You *idiot*!" Misty stomped her feet angrily. "If I'd wanted a complete LOSER, I would have called for you, Psyduck!" It tilted its head in confusion. "Psyiy?" The redhead sighed, and looked at Tifa. "Fine, beat it up. Put it out of my misery." "Whatever you say." Tifa walked up to the befuddled pokemon and booted it into the turnbuckle. Though never quite sure if it was actually conscious or not, this seemed to convince Psyduck that it needed a nap. The Midgar warrior walked back to her corner and tagged Bean. "Your turn." He peered at her a moment before nodding. "No problem. We're gonna talk about this later, though. Okay?" "Psyduck, return!" The pokemon was absorbed into a beam of red light and drawn back into its red and white home. "Let's try that again, shall we? Starmie, I choose-" "Wait, Misty." She bobbled the pokeball for a moment, then glared at her partner. "What is it *now*?" "Let me take this one," Ash said, as he stepped up to the ring. She blinked in surprise. "Ash?" He stared down at the pokeball in his hand. "I have to do this," he said, almost to himself. "I miss Pikachu, but... I can't waste my life just because it's not around." Some of the old Ash seemed to return to him. "I have to prove that, with or without Pikachu, I'm still a Pokemon Master!" "Hah!" Meowth popped up on the announcer's table again. "Some Pokemon Master! He's only got a handful of pokemon to his name!" "Where did you go?" Daisuke asked curiously. Meowth raised a cautionary finger. "Dat... is a secret!" Hiroshi rolled his eyes. "Great. It's contagious." At the ring, Ash turned his cap backwards and wound up. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!" The pokeball flew forward with a snap of Ash's well-trained arm, striking the mat long before the Roadbuster could even think of intercepting it. An instant later, Ash's second-favorite pokemon emerged, peering about itself with an expression of sullen menace. Bean leaned back against the turnbuckle and laughed. "What've we got here? A cross between a frog and an artichoke? Probably tastes great if you barbecue it right!" Ash smirked in return. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you." He pointed at the huge man. "Bulbasaur - use your Leech Seed!" The plant-bearing pokemon nodded once. "Bulba!" It concentrated, and a tiny seed popped out of its pod, zooming toward Bean faster than the eye could see. Roadbuster stopped in mid-laugh, and peered upwards. "What the hell?" There was a tiny palm tree growing on his head. Meowth nodded grudgingly as Bean tried in vain to remove the tree. "A good startin' move - da Leech Seed will drain its victim's health and transfer it to da Bulbasaur." Without warning, a ukelele-toting maniac jumped onto the ring. "Hooptah! Now you be lookin' like da Big Kahuna!" Bean punched him into row 147, seat 13B, and Hiroshi and Daisuke applauded. "Fine," Roadbuster grated, popping a handful of walnuts into his mouth - shells and all - and chewing noisily. He swallowed, then took his sunglasses off. "That just means I gotta finish this quick." He literally launched himself forward, charging toward the pokemon with vengeance in his eyes. "Bulbasaur!" Ash shouted quickly. "Razor Leaf attack!" A barrage of painfully sharp leaves erupted from the Bulbasaur, spiralling toward the hulking road warrior. Unfortunately, the leaves did little more than scratch his face - his armored clothing absorbed the rest of the damage. With a bellow, Bean swung his foot and connected with a powerful kick, propelling the pokemon into the ropes. It quickly got to its feet and turned to face its opponent, sending a pair of thick vines out to smash against the Roadbuster's face. He barely flinched. Walking steadily toward the pokemon, ignoring the heavy blows he was receiving, Bean Bandit cracked his knuckles. "Kid," he called out, "you better call your pet back before it gets *really* hurt." Dismayed at his pokemon's inability to hurt the muscled courier, Ash looked down. "I guess I have no choice." He held out the pokeball, which had returned to his hand after throwing (like a chakram, but with fewer sharp edges). "Bulbasaur! Return!" But the Bulbasaur quickly hopped out of the beam's path. "Bulba!" It shook its head vigorously. "Bulbasaur!" "Ohhhh!" Ash grabbed the edge of the ring frantically. "Bulbasaur, this is no time to be stubborn! That guy's a monster!" The pokemon shook its head again. "Bulbasaur bulba. Bulba bulbasaur bulba. Saur. Saur!" Meowth wiped away a tiny tear. "Oh, Meowth! That's so touching!" Hiroshi and Daisuke developed a collective sweatdrop. "Uh," Daisuke ventured, "could you translate it for us, please?" "Bulbasaur said it knows how Pikachu abandoned Ash when he needed it most," Meowth explained. "Bulbasaur wants to prove that it would never let Ash down!" The Bulbasaur nodded. "Bulba." (In a high-class hotel room, Pikachu - who had been watching Ultra because there was nothing better on TV - sat up with a start. "P... pika?!") Ash's expression softened. "Bulbasaur..." "Well, I gotta admit," Bean said, "the critter's got guts." He shrugged out of his armored jacket and handed it to Tifa. "Are you sure about this, Bean?" she asked. "Why not just get rid of it so we can get out of here?" He grinned winningly at her over his shoulder. "Now, what fun would that be?" With a grunt of pain, he used his full strength to rip the palm tree from his head and dropped it over the side of the ring. "Come on, ya ugly sucker," he said, a thin trickle of blood rolling down his temple as he moved forward. "Let's dance." "Bulbasaur!" The pocket monster and the man-monster charged towards each other... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Pikachu watched in astonishment as Bulbasaur put itself into extreme danger just to prove that... ...that it could go the distance where Pikachu called it quits. The electric mouse made its decision and picked up the phone, quickly pressing the Redial button. A few moments later, a familiar voice answered. "Talk to me." "Pika pikachu." "Hey, Pikachu, sweetheart! How's it going?" "Kachu... pikachu!" "What?" There was nervous laughter. "You're kidding, right?" "Pika pi chu!" "You, you can't *do* this to me!" The agent's voice sounded genuinely afraid. "Do you have any idea what happens to people who disappoint Carrot Top?!" "Pikachu pika!" the pokemon said nastily, and slammed the phone down, cutting off the desperate pleas from the other end. Pausing only to pick up the discarded picture from the corner and set it carefully on the bedside table, Pikachu hurried out the door. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bulbasaur staggered under the assault of another massive kick, and retaliated with a vicious tackle maneuver. This proved to be a mistake, however, as Bean grabbed the pokemon out of the air and tossed it into the ropes. Ash winced with each new attack that Bulbasaur received, and moaned audibly as his pokemon fell onto its side. "Come on, Bulbasaur!" he shouted. "Enough is enough!" But the pokemon ignored him and painfully got to its feet, preparing for another assault. "I can't let this go on," Ash muttered. "I've gotta go in there and pull Bulbasaur back!" "You can't!" Misty protested in alarm. "Once you enter the ring, you're a target. That guy will flatten you!" "I don't care!" Ash grabbed the lower ropes just as Bulbasaur fell to the canvas again. "Bulbasaur's my friend - all my pokemon are my friends! I can't just let it get hurt like this!" He started to pull himself up into the ring... Just then, a small lightning bolt, just enough to attract attention, zapped into the ring between Bean and Bulbasaur. The courier looked up, trying to find the source of the attack. "The hell?" He didn't need to look very hard. Dramatically posing in an open window (actually a fake window provided by the Ultra props department, since the UltraDome was fully enclosed), a single spotlight centered upon it... a small yellow creature gazed down at the ring. It had a zig-zag tail, red cheeks, and was wearing a scaled-to-fit tuxedo. Complete with top hat and rather stylish mask. Somewhere, a guitar played... "Pikachu pika pika," the creature announced. "Kachu pika pikachu pika pi!" It leapt downward, landing in front of Bean Bandit with impressive accuracy. "Pika kachu... Pikapi pika!" It posed again, and the crowd cheered thunderously. Ash dropped back to the ground, stunned beyond words. "What a surprise!" Hiroshi gushed, and the crowd seemed to share his excitement, producing huge Pikachu signs and waving them about as they yelled and screamed their approval. "It's none other than... Pikapi Pika, legendary hero of the downtrodden and defender of justice!" Daisuke rolled his eyes. "It's Pikachu in a really bad disguise, Hiroshi." (In their dressing room, Team Rocket exchanged surprised glances. "That's really Pikachu?" James asked in astonishment. "Who would have guessed that it's an even better master of disguise than we are?" Jessie wondered.) In the ring, Pikachu and Bulbasaur were having, for lack of a better term, words. As the voltage vole spoke quietly to the weakened but indignant plant/animal hybrid, Hiroshi turned to Meowth. "Care to translate?" The cat-thing treated him to an imperious glare. "Dis one's best kept between pokemon, skinball." Finally, an agreement seemed to be reached, and Pikachu nodded to Ash. He returned the nod, and held out a pokeball. "Return, Bulbasaur!" A moment later, the pokemon had vanished, leaving only the tuxedo-clad mouse to face the Roadbuster. Daisuke listened to a stagehand for a moment, then nodded. "Well," he announced, "since Pikachu *was* trained by Ash, the judges have agreed to allow the substitution." For his part, Bean just shrugged. "Fine by me. But don't think I'm gonna go easy on the little squirt - it's time to finish this match." He grinned. "This'll be over in just a minute." It was. "Pika!" Without warning, Pikachu launched itself at Bean, who casually attempted to backhand the pokemon... And missed. By a longshot. Frowning, he turned around to see the electric mouse bounce off the ropes, only to continue on to ricochet off the opposite side. Each time, it seemed to pick up a little speed, and Pikachu easily evaded Bean's powerful but undisciplined swings as it bounced from one side of the ring to the other. "What's happening?" Hiroshi wondered aloud. "Pikachu's using it's Agility maneuver," Meowth told him, still watching as the mouse became a black and yellow blur in the ring. "It must be buildin' up to a big attack!" "Why do you say that?" "You'll see!" Bean tried to intercept Pikachu, but it was no good - the pokemon had become too fast to see, let alone hit... And then the Roadbuster felt a solid impact on his back. He staggered forward, then tried to reach around to remove his burden. The pokemon's cheeks blazed with power. "Pika pika pi!" Meowth turned to the camera. "For those who don't speak Pikanese, dat translates roughly as..." It suddenly grabbed Hiroshi's microphone and shouted, "EAT HOT ELECTRIC DEATH, MONKEYBOY!" "Piikaaa... CHUUUUUU!" A titanic thunderbolt filled the ring, shorting out nearby electrical equipment and causing the hair of everyone in the area to stand on end. (Haohmaru, hanging out in the wings, later had to be taken to the hospital.) The Roadbuster didn't fare nearly as well, and even with his incredible stamina, fell to the ring looking rather extra-crispy. "Okay," Daisuke managed, "so what happened?" "Well, apart from dat first little spark," Meowth explained, "Pikachu wasn't usin' any of it's electrical attacks. Den it started racin' around Bean, which helped build up its power - kinda like rubbin' your feet on da floor on a cold day and gettin' a static charge. Finally, it released da whole load in one shot!" "You know, I don't think that explanation would stand up to any scientific examination." The cat-pokemon shrugged. "It woiked, didn't it?" Pikachu... ahem, Pikapi Pika jumped to the top of the turnbuckle and looked down at Ash. "Pika kachu pi. Pika pi pikachu. Chu pika pi!" With that, the pokemon jumped to the floor and raced away before Ash could reply. "And that was?" Hiroshi asked. Meowth hopped off the table. "'Believe in yourself, you can do it, yadda yadda, I'm out of here.' And so am I. It's been real!" Hiroshi snagged his microphone back. "Another ELECTRIFYING victory here at Ultra! And we'll be back in... in..." He peered down at the mike. "It's not working." "Just wave to the camera, Hiroshi." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Pikachu made its way back out through the UltraDome's winding corridors. It *wanted* to go back to Ash, but... Not paying attention to where it was going, the pokemon didn't notice the human sweeping up backstage until it had bounced off her legs. She turned around and smiled down at it. "Well, hello, Pikachu." A large sweatdrop rolled down the pokemon's temple as it realized it had just bumped into God. She knelt down with a kind expression. "I saw you helping Ash out. That was very nice of you." "Pi..." The electric mouse shook it's head vigorously. "Kachu pi kachu! Pika kachu..." it posed dramatically, "Pikapi Pika!" Kasumi giggled. "You're so silly!" Pikachu deflated a bit. "But why are you leaving? I know Ash misses you." "Pika..." The pokemon took off its rather pointless mask and dug a toe into the ground. "Pikachu pi pikachu." "Oh, I see. You don't think he'll forgive you for treating him so badly?" "Pika." She stood up and gave Pikachu another reassuring smile. "You might be surprised. And, after all - everyone makes mistakes." Her smile wavered a bit. "Even me." As Pikachu stared at her in surprise, Kasumi went back to cheerfully sweeping up a floor that, in retrospect, seemed spotless. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Deep in Shadaloo headquarters, there was an intense discussion taking place. "Michael? Nah, that's not right." "What about Melvin?" "Does he *look* like a Melvin to you?" "Well, you're the one that suggested Mortimer." The intruder approached the voices, heedless of its own danger. There was a heavy thud as one of the speakers pounded a table. "Damn it, the 'M' has to stand for *something*!" "Perhaps it's silent." "Vega, that's got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard." "Really, Sagat? Are you sure you were listening when you suggested that it stood for 'Malodorous'? I'm sure Bison would be overjoyed to know what you think of him." "I *still* say it stands for 'Mad Dog'," a third voice insisted. So they worked for Bison. The intruder knew what to do... The three speakers looked up with a start as a high piping voice said, "You're bad men, aren't you?" The figure before them was, without question, intensely adorable to anyone but the most hardened criminals. Blonde curly hair sat above huge, pale blue eyes, and the intruder's brow was crinkled just so to give it a look of determined cuteness. The figure was also about three feet high. ("You've been around Mihoshi long enough," Washuu had explained to Gally a few days earlier. "You know what she's like. Well, I'm going to hook her up to a little device I'm making and calculate her morphic algorythyms - the factors that make her what she is, such as her ability to bypass security systems, her capacity for accidental damage, her uncanny luck, and her love of pretty buttons and yummy food. Once I amplify the algorhythyms and instill them in an android body, we'll have an unstoppable weapon." "Why so small, though?" "A smaller body... *concentrates* morphic fields. I'll show you my dissertation on the 'SD Phenomenon' some day." Washuu had looked at the prototype android proudly. "I shall call her," she had announced, raising a pinky to her lips, "Mini-Miho.") "You're all under arrest!" Mini-Miho announced, posing dramatically in her tiny Galaxy Police uniform. "If you don't come quietly, you'll be sorry! Mama Washuu said so!" Sagat, Vega, and Balrog stood up. "What have we here?" Balrog rumbled. Next to him, the gangling kickboxer laughed. "So this is the best that Washuu can send against us? I don't see why Bison's so burned up about her!" Vega strapped on his claws. "Shall we, then?" "Why not? We haven't had a decent fight in ages." The three street fighters closed in on the helpless little girl with malice aforethought... A few moments later, after a series of screams and splintering crashes, Mini-Miho lost interest and wandered further into the building, looking for more things to do. Behind her, Vega was unconscious from a misplaced uppercut, Balrog had been knocked back into a table by a Tiger Punch, and Sagat was desperately trying to remove the claw that had nailed his foot to the floor... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Back in the Masaki household, Washuu had remotely linked the television set to the cameras set in the tiny android's eyes. As her creation wandered around the Shadaloo base causing intensive property damage, she laughed and ate more popcorn. "Go get 'em, Mini-Miho!" There was a soft moan from under the sofa. "Why did you do it, Washuu? Why? You've doomed us *all*!" "Oh, relax. Once Bison gets the message, I've got a nice little transdimensional portal set up for the little darling - we'll send her to where she'll fit right in." And the dimension of the Pocket Fighters would never be the same... Mihoshi - the full-size model - peered under the sofa. "Won't you come out now, Kiyone?" "Not until that... that *monster* is gone for good!" "Washuu, why don't we just transport a bomb onto Bison's lap or something?" Gally asked, puzzled. "Wouldn't that be a lot easier?" The genius scientist looked at her companion incredulously. "Easier? Well, of course it'd be *easier*, but it wouldn't have any style. 42.3% of true science is Showmanship, you know!" Her smile faded slightly. "Besides, Bison has too strong a hold over Ifurita. The link between them is powerful. If I were to kill him - and believe me, I'd like to - she probably wouldn't survive the aftermath." "Oh." The Battle Angel blinked. "42.3 percent?" Washuu nodded. "I did some calculations once, just to make sure." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- A horde of police officers, baliffs, attorneys, and one dog named Scruffy stampeded past the door, waving torches and pitchforks. As the sounds of pursuit faded in the distance, the door opened a crack, and a little yellow beak poked out. "Is the coast clear?" a voice asked. *Squeak.* "Well, get back in here for now." It shouldn't have been possible for Jack to go 'court- hopping'. But he'd managed it, infiltrating himself into seventeen juries before they'd caught on. Once they did, though, they'd seemed to take offense... The door closed, and Jack looked around his hiding place. It was a dark, mysterious place, full of looming shadows and inky blackness, as unknowable as the silent void of deepest... Tired of this set of analogies, Jack turned on a light switch. The room was plain and utilitarian, filled with rows upon rows of filing cabinets, bookshelves, and the occasional shoebox labelled 'Percy's Lingerie - DO NOT TOUCH'. Jack looked around himself in amazement. "Wow... Mr. Duck, do you realize where we are?" *Squeak?* "No, it's the Important Documents Reading Room!" He set the toy on a cabinet, facing the door. "You keep a lookout, and I'll try to find the 'Four Gods' Earth and Sky'. Hey, maybe we can fall into another world and become bitter enemies! That'd be cool." Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be many ancient Oriental tomes, and Jack was about to give up his search when he noticed something in the corner. A computer. Jack, who was at least somewhat familiar with computers, recognized it as a Serendipity 4800. On its screen, a friendly blue message box blinked cheerfully. "'Gateway to Chicago Police Department main server: connected,'" Controversial Jack read. "'Do you wish to continue?'" He sat down with an expression of mixed reverence and maliciousness. "Oh, yes. *Yes!*" -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The electronics division of the This Old Dojo team finished their work and vanished with professional efficiency, and Hiroshi and Daisuke sat back down at their newly refurbished table. "Well, folks," Hiroshi began, "the night's not over yet!" "We thought we'd point that out," his partner interjected, "in case your watches were shorted out in that Thunderbolt." "And don't worry! Everything damaged during our fights is *guaranteed* to be replaced at no charge! Honest!" (Nabiki put her head in her hands and moaned.) "But now," Daisuke continued, "we go to our Omega battle of the night." "That's right, Daisuke! Our two champions from *last* week's Omega matches have decided to go at it in a no-holds- barred slugfest!" "Probably not a slugfest," the dark-haired announcer amended. "The ratings for the Shinji-Asuka fight weren't the greatest." "At any rate, let's go straight to the planet where this Battle of the Behemoths will take place!" Daisuke peered at his partner. "Battle of the Behemoths?" Hiroshi shrugged. "I would've said 'Clash of the Titans', but it's copyrighted." "Never stopped you before." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- There have been many worlds that existed outside the law or in defiance of it. Worlds that are havens for the lowest thugs and criminals, worlds that are veritable dens of iniquity. Worlds where the citizens would lynch their own grandmothers for the silver in her hair. But New Hong Kong, a bustling planet on the edge of Humanspace, was one of the very few worlds in the multiverse that was *legally* lawless. Due to an enterprising hacker, the only law on New Hong Kong is "There Is No Law On New Hong Kong". And that's official. Despite the anarchy one might expect, though, the planet was a thriving community and a primary center of commerce. One of the world's (many) advertising slogans was this: "If you want to get away *with* it all, come to New Hong Kong!" It was into this hive of scum and villainy that Sephiroth was deposited. The planet's main spaceport was to be the battleground - it was designed to withstand the crash landing of a 'Big-Honkin' class star cruiser, so it could probably hold up during the fight to come. A Snarr forcefield had been erected around the perimiter, though, just in case. Sephiroth glanced up at the sign at the edge of the spaceport ("Welcome to New Hong Kong. There are no laws here, so watch it.") then crossed his arms and waited patiently for his opponent. Around him, the few citizens that hadn't heard about the match quickly started to filter away - you didn't live long on New Hong Kong without highly developed survival instincts. Sephiroth waited. He was calm. He was composed. He was bishounen. He had a band-aid on his forehead. It was annoying. Even a couple dozen FullCures hadn't removed the little elastic strip - the Knights of the Round must have hurt him even more than he'd thought. To be honest, he dearly would have liked to return to the world of his birth and seek his revenge on Cloud, but the impertinent girl had challenged him, and Kasumi had insisted that he respond. Foolishness. As if on cue, a truly huge portal opened on the other side of the spaceport, and the red EVA Unit stepped out of it. "All right, Sephiroth," the red-headed stepChild announced over her external speakers, "now you'll see what a real EVA pilot can do!" He smiled slightly and took to the air, hovering a short distance before the gigantic figure. "Sohryu Asuka Langley. Why do you challenge me?" "Because once I beat you," she responded hotly, "everyone will *know* that I'm better than that idiot Shinji. You may have smacked him around the last time you two fought, but this time you'll be facing a *real* warrior." "We shall see." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- OMEGA MATCH - SEPHIROTH vs. ASUKA. FIGHT! Without another word, Sephiroth flew toward the EVA, drawing his katana with the skill of long practice. In response, Asuka readied her progressive knife, ignoring the rifle her EVA carried for the moment. She stabbed at the relatively tiny form barrelling toward her, confident of victory. Never losing his slight smile, Sephiroth adjusted his course slightly, rising over the ponderous stab, then with a single focusing shout, brought his own weapon down in an overhand smash. The Masamune sliced clean through the huge knife. Asuka couldn't supress a gasp. "I-impossible!" The EVA quickly fumbled for its rifle, but by that time Sephiroth had reoriented and was flying straight toward the huge biomech. "AT fields at maximum!" Asuka cried, manipulating the controls. The hexagonal field of raw reality snapped into place, but a fraction of a second too late. The scion of Jenova swooped toward the EVA... ...and vanished, disappearing into the Unit's chest. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "What the hell?" Hiroshi shouted. "Where'd he go?" "He must have gone immaterial and phased into the EVA," Daisuke decided. "He can do that?" "According to Tifa, he used to fly through walls and floors all the time." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Still not realizing the situation, the EVA cast about, trying to find its opponent. Emitting a continual stream of German curses, Asuka gripped the controls tightly. "Come out, you damn coward..." A blazing pain shot through her, as if something were tearing up her insides. Another followed, and between waves of agony she realized where Sephiroth had gone... From the outside, there was no physical damage to the EVA, but it jerked and writhed, trying to escape the pain that arose from within itself. It fell to its knees, clutching at its torso. Suddenly there was a bright green light near the base of its neck, and the surface there burst apart in a spray of white metal and LCL fluid. Sephiroth rose upward out of the hole thus created, holding Asuka by the front of her plugsuit. As the girl coughed for air, oxygen-rich fluid pouring from her mouth, Sephiroth continued to float upwards, leaving the crumpled EVA far below. "Reckless girl," he crooned. "You are fortunate I have a fondness for simple puppets such as yourself." Asuka coughed again. "P... puppet?" "So you may consider this a warning," he continued, ignoring her questioning tone. "And, as my reward..." He pulled the weakly-struggling Asuka closer... and kissed her. Her eyes flew wide open. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "I don't believe it!" Hiroshi screamed. "What, that Sephiroth kissed her?" "No, that he kissed her when she was covered with LCL fluid! EWWWWWWW!" -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The child of Jenova broke the kiss, and Asuka stared at him, her mind whirling with emotions. "Wh... what..." He smiled coldly. "Flare." Red balls of light appeared and began to coalesce around Asuka. Suddenly panicking, she redoubled her struggles, but to no avail. The fiery flash illuminated the spaceport, and Asuka's scream echoed for miles. When the spell's effects faded, Sephiroth looked at the burned - but still breathing - form of Asuka... and dropped her, then entered a portal which whisked him back to the UltraDome. An instant later, Son Goku materialized below the plummeting Child, caught her, and returned her home as well. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Daisuke cleared his throat. "Well, that was... unusual." "You're telling me," Hiroshi agreed. "Sephiroth does seem to enjoy messing with people's minds." "At any rate, it was obviously a decisive win for him. We can only hope that Asuka and her EVA will be in fighting form in time for UltraRage Beta." "Oh, I'm sure they will be. Asuka's already being treated in the UltraDome's sickroom, and the very best NERV scientists will be working on repairing her Unit. There shouldn't be any problem." Daisuke looked at his partner. "Hiroshi... *think* about what you just said, would you?" Hiroshi briefly considered the skill level of the NERV technicians... and developed a sweatdrop. "Uh, we'll be back after this." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- [Commercial. Close-up of SHINGO on a barren mountainside, reading the last few pages of a book entitled 'Lina Inverse's Beginner's Guide to Black Magic'. He closes the book and focuses on a target painted on the side of a far-off cliff.] SHINGO: Darkness beyond Tuesday, Christmas beyond the beer that flows, Buried in a box of Tide, In your great drain, I pledge a shelf to darkness, And we fools will stand to be defeated By the power you and I possess! [A red light gathers in his hands, and he extends it toward the target.] SHINGO: NISE NO DRAGON SLAVE! [There is an intense explosion... about four feet radius, and centered on SHINGO.] VOICEOVER: Thickheaded? Sure. [The scene changes to a glass of freshly-poured rootbeer, overflowing with foam.] VOICEOVER: But not as thickheaded as a nice cold A&W rootbeer. It's got the flavor you just can't get anywhere else. [The scene cuts back to a badly charred SHINGO.] VOICEOVER: A&W. The official rootbeer... [SHINGO falls over] ...of Ultra. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Jack smiled to himself as he walked out of the building, having redirected the people searching for him by the simple expident of starting a small fire in one of the upper rooms. Smoke billowed from a window and there'd probably be a certain amount of damage, but hey - that was someone else's problem now. It had been a productive day. The computer had been *so* much fun. He'd thought about issuing paroles to every criminal in the Chicago area - THAT would ease up the prison crowding situation everyone was always whining about - but there was a line between controversial and stupid, and Jack wasn't stupid. Besides, every time he did something like that, it tended to backfire on him. So he'd settled for putting out an APB on O. J. Simpson, sending out a memo to all officers that the Miranda Rights would now be read in Esperanto, rerouting the Chief of Police's phone line to a 976 number, and ordered seventeen thousand boxes of lime Jell-O for the next Policeman's Ball. And a few other minor changes... "This is all *your* fault, you know." Jack craned his head around to see two young women emerging from the building. "I keep telling you not to use the incendiary grenades, but do *you* listen? Nooooo..." "But Rally," the smaller girl argued, "if I hadn't, the terrorist would have gotten away! Besides, it was only *one* police car - I don't see why they're so mad." "He got away anyway, remember?" The dark-skinned girl sighed and opened a folded piece of paper she carried. "Well, let's see what the fine is." There was a pause. "So, how much is it?" "S... seventy... thousand..." Her blonde companion winced. "Kinda steep for a cop car." "No... this is a *check*. For seventy thousand dollars!" "You're kidding!" "It looks real to me." The paper was snatched out of her hands. "Then let's go deposit it before they change their minds! Now I can buy that rocket launcher I've had my eye on! Yippee!" "May! May, get back here!" Jack grinned at Mr. Duck as the two women raced off. "You know," he told his companion, "I've always had a soft spot for girls with guns." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Well, that's all the time we have for Ultra this week," Hiroshi announced. "But don't forget to clear your calendar, 'cause in three weeks, it's time for... Ultra! Rage! BETA!" "Until next time," Daisuke continued, unmoved by his partner's extreme attitude, "goodnight." "Later, folks!" Hiroshi waved vigorously. "We're outta here!" -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Asuka awoke to find herself in another damn hospital bed. What had happened? She'd been fighting... then Sephiroth charged... the pain... even more pain... the sensation of falling... She'd lost. And had been badly injured in the bargain, by the feel of it. And... she raised a hand to her lips. *He was a damn good kisser, too...* Heavy breathing next to her attracted her attention, and she slowly turned her head to see Shinji looking down at her. Asuka's gaze inexorably fell to the thing he held in his hand... Her screams quickly brought a group of orderlies, who pulled Shinji away. Before he was removed, though, he extended the video box toward her again, and she shrieked once more as she tried to get as far away from it as possible. "C'mon, Asuka," he said in a tripped-out voice, "watch Grave of the Fireflies with me. It's bitchin'." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Orochi exulted, but silently, outwardly giving the appearance of nihilism. The transfer to this body had done him a world of good - or, rather, a world of evil. His past setbacks would not be duplicated; now he could truly embrace his destiny. The corruption of David's well-meaning soul had brought the Orochi a fresh outlook, new purpose... "Hey, what's with the whole 'stringing me up' thing, David? That's twice so far you've done this. Have you got a thing for ropes, or what?" He turned slowly. "I am the Orochi, girl. Not 'David'." "Bull," Sakura told him bluntly, still dangling by her wrists. "You're still the same whiny loser David as before, and as soon as I get out of these ropes, I'll smack your face in to prove it." Now that her initial shock and denial at David's 'transformation' had worn off, Sakura was actually feeling pretty confident about the situation. Sure, her left eye was puffed up and there were burn marks on her legs, and she'd even lost her genuine Ryu-style headband, but underneath it all, the one who had captured her was *David*, and she was damned if she'd be afraid of *him*. Besides, Naga had broken free of the Orochi's hold by finding something that mattered more to her. The best way to cure David would be to do the same thing for him... The Orochi chuckled at her comment. "Believe what you wish, but David has been wholly absorbed into my spirit. He no longer exists." "Oh, really?" She smirked at him. "Then kill me." He glanced at her momentarily. "Go on, kill me! I defied you, remember? Come on, toast me like a fajita!" When nothing happened, she looked at him triumphantly. "I'm not dead yet." The Orochi shrugged. "I would not waste my energy on such a pointless exercise." "Is that it? Or is it that David's really still in there somewhere, keeping you from doing me in?" There was a long pause. And then the Orochi laughed again. Turning toward Sakura, purple fires blazing, he leaned in toward her. "Let me explain something, foolish child. I am the God of Hate. I draw my power from it, and it nourishes me. When I say that David is no more, that is the absolute truth... for he has become part of me, still aware but helpless. "The spirit of my old host had become... complacent. Resigned to his fate as the bearer of my power. His hate had grown quiet. But now... ah, now I have a host who deeply despises me for who I am, and what I've done." The flames flared brighter. "He has rekindled my power, to the strongest it's been in a long time. If I were to kill you, his hate would burn brightly, it's true... but perhaps not for long. To keep you as a hostage to his hate is a much more efficient and certain proposal." "Boy, you love to hear yourself talk, don't you? I wish it'd been Akuma that had kidnapped me - he'd have popped my head off, no questions asked." The Orochi began to float away, still facing her. "Enjoy your bravado while you can, girl. Your hate is sweet, but it doesn't compare to that of your lover, and-" "David is *NOT* my lover, you... you...!" Furious, Sakura kicked out at the Orochi - as always, her shoelaces were none too tight, and the sneaker whipped through the air. There was a *thunk*. "Girl," the Orochi said finally, his voice slightly muffled. "I will tell you this only once." "Yeah, what?" "Not... in... the face." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- M. Bison sat in his chambers, carefully focussing his Psycho Power to regenerate his body, still somewhat damaged by the fight with Shin Akuma two weeks ago. It was very difficult work, and so he might be forgiven if he failed to notice the screams, crashes, and explosions until long after Mini-Miho had been whisked back to Washuu's lab and thence to the Land of the Little People. When he finally opened his door (and any new recruits who might be incautious enough to mention his fuzzy bunny slippers would be fed to the pumas), he was greeted with chaos. Ninety percent of his troops were wounded and/or unconscious. Every monitor had been rewired to show Moldiver. The entire west wing of the fortress had been demolished (Mini-Miho 3:16 had said 'What does this button do?'). And every single vending machine in the building was mysteriously empty. Bison closed the door. Washuu. Somehow, Washuu. He considered, but again rejected the idea of joining Ultra himself. Too many people would love to get him in the open like that, and he didn't get where he was today by taking stupid risks. No, he nee ded an agent, someone who could face Washuu in the Omega league... and obviously his own troops were woefully inadequate. And then Bison grinned a huge, menacing grin. He knew just the person for the job. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ][ ULTRA EPISODE 19 RESULTS RECAP ][ OROCHI kidnaps SAKURA. Again. ][ CONTROVERSIAL JACK shows up for jury duty. ][ WASHUU taunts M. BISON ][ TEAM ROCKET defeats BART/RICO (by cheating) - Now at 2W/2L ][ PIKACHU disguises himself as PIKAPI PIKA, fooling almost nobody. ][ ASH/MISTY defeats TIFA/BEAN, now at 1W/0L ][ WASHUU sends MINI-MIHO to harrass M. BISON, and later sends her to another dimension. ][ SEPHIROTH defeats (and kisses) ASUKA, now at 6W/3L -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- AUTHOR'S NOTES Man, writing these stories is *draining*. I don't think I'll sign up next time around - I know it's supposed to be for fun, but it's still kind of stressful. Anyway, a few notes and thanks... If you're confused by Jack's courtroom scene, I highly recommend the first few pages of his original ImproManga series. All will be made clear... In case I didn't make it clear enough in the story, Mini- Miho was *really* intended as a one-shot joke. Like most of Washuu's creations, she shouldn't show up again without an extremely good reason. 'Nise no Dragon Slave' = 'Fake Dragon Slave'. Just so you know. Who's Bison's new agent? Beats me. I left it open so as to not force it on anyone, but since he doesn't have Iffy anymore, Bison *does* need a new pawn... Many thanks go out to my prereaders! I'm grateful for all your opinions... even the ones I didn't agree with. (Oh, and 2F - I liked that idea, but I don't think cellular phones would transmit electricity like that. ^_^) - Brian Stricklin ...who can hopefully get a good night's sleep now...