For the past week the Ultradome had been under extensive repairs. As Jack looked on, Kasumi by his side, it became bigger, stronger, and able to take more punishment from the fighters. Jack smiled; he'd hired a special consultant to help with the reconstruction. "Now, you're telling me that the new and improved Ultradome can take ANYTHING the fighters can dish out?" "well.." spoke the consultant, "maybe not EVERYTHING... but it could definitely take a beating." The mad God grinned maniacally. "Good. Kasumi, pay the man." The God-turned-secretary handed the man his check, "Thank you, sir, you did a very nice job." The man smiled and slowly walked off. "It was my pleasure... and Have a Nice Day." Kasumi watched the man as he left. "What a nice man." Jack, in the meantime, was busy approving the card for that night's Ultra. "Kasumi, call Gendo. Tell him that we have a proposition for him." And began giving her further instructions. Kasumi blinked, uncharacteristically fumbled, and quickly recovered. "Of course, Jack-sama." She swiftly walked off to make the call. And lo... God did laugh. 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 29: the countdown begins Written (sorta) By Greg Hoogendam Edited by Ardweden the Kawaii Aardvark "LADIIIIIIIIIES AND GEEEEEEEEENTLEMAN!!!!!! We are LIVE from the New and Improved Ultradome! And LORDY do we have some great matches for you tonight! Why, I don't even know where to begin with them!" enthused Hiroshi, who for once was dressed in what could pass as a normal outfit. "That's because we don't have a card, Hiroshi." "Work with me Daisuke! In any event, we are two weeks away from Ultra Rage GAMMA! New York will NEVER be the same!" "Let's just get to the first match, shall we?" suggested Daisuke. The speakers came to life, blaring out the Pokemon Theme, introducing Ash and Misty. "Now Ash, remember what we discussed earlier. No worrying about Pikachu till after the match," instructed Misty as they approached the ring. "Okay Misty," answered Ash, pulling the first pokeball from his belt. "Match first, Pikachu later." The pokemon trainer sighed. "I just hope he's okay..." "ASH! CONCENTRATE ON THE MATCH!" The music changed to Prodigy's 'Breathe', ushering out Mai and Andy, the two walking a bit further apart than usual. The look on Andy's face was one of mug confidence, whereas Mai's was deep in thought. "Come on, Mai, concentrate on the match," said Andy, breaking the young ninja's concentration as they stepped up on the apron, Andy ducking under the first rope and starting the match. Gosukugi, who was roped into refereeing this match with threats of violent bodily harm, called for the bell. Lambda Match #1 Team Pokemon vs. Andy/Mai FIGHT! "Squirtle! I choose YOU!" Ash yelled as he flung the pokeball. A small turtle popped out. "Squirtle! squirtsquirt!" squirted the pokemon. Andy blinked, then blinked again. "A turtle?" "And Ash starts off with Squirtle, who I think is actually making his Ultra debut!" Hiroshi shouted into his mike. Andy shook his head and threw a single punch at the tinyturtle, who... well... turtled up. Andy shook his hand; the shell had actually hurt a bit. He readied another punch and was surprised when he suddenly got a facefull of water. "That's right Squirtle! Give 'em another Watergun attack!" Ash ordered. Squirtle complied, soaking Andy further. Andy, to say the least, was not pleased. His uniform was ruined, his hair was a wreck... and the crowd was laughing at him. This would not do. He charged Squirtle, kicking it in the head before it could retreat to its shell, then reached for Ash, pulling him in closer and smacking him around. "MY GODS! Andy has flipped and is beating Ash up! Someone call security; tell them to get down here and break it up!" Hiroshi cried, wincing in pain as he watched the beating. "Hiroshi, security is tied up at the moment. They're trying to keep Lilith from coming out here in a string bikini." Daisuke said. Hiroshi sweatdropped. Meanwhile, in the ring, Misty was busy screaming and tossing in a few pokeballs of her own to try and get Andy away Ash, but the water pokemon only served to further enrage Andy. Mai watched, her emotions in turmoil, until she finally climbed through the ropes and made up her mind. Walking towards Andy and Ash, she suddenly dropped to one knee... and hit Andy square in the cajones. As Andy doubled over she launched a sweep, taking him off his feet, then swiftly moved into her Flame Fandango, repeating it as Andy bounced back from the ropes until he finally fell face first on the mat. Mai then added one last kick to Andy's ribs, and looked out at the cheering crowd. "NIPON-ICHI!" Then she turned and walked away from he ring. "WOW! I THINK MAI JUST DUMPED ANDY!" shouted Hiroshi, visibly bouncing in his seat, "And Gos calls for the bell. The match goes to Mai and Andy, as Andy did knock Ash out, but... WOW! Andy and Mai are done!" "It certainly looks that way, Hiroshi, and here comes Aerith with the medical team to help Ash out of the ring," Daisuke commented. A worried Misty looked on. Ash took quite a beating there... and she somehow felt like she was missing something. ======== Shingo sat meditating in the one of the Ultradome's many training rooms... he found it hard to meditate with Karin close by for some reason, but he had to be focused. He had a title shot tonight, and he wanted to make Ranma-sensei and Kyo-sensei proud of him. ======== Sakura and Shermie walked down the hall, the Gamma Title Belt around Sakura's waist. "Shermie, I must prepare for my match tonight. Take the item to Orochi; I'll see you later," Sakura ordered. Shermie smiled, her hands cupped protectively around something, and vanished. ======== Back in the Arena Proper, hard rock music played from the speakers as Wolverine walked out. He climbed through the ropes and stood on the mat, clanging his claws together. "Okay folks, lock up the little ones, 'cause this next match is Hardcore Rules! As we all know, that means no time limit, no DQ, and no countouts! First guy that can't fight LOSES!" Hiroshi stated for the benefit of the unutterably stupid, bouncing just a bit more as he waited for Logan's opponent. o/~ Are You Ready? ~/o The theme from Degeneration X, in c minor, prompted Ranma's entrance. The martial artist scowled as he stalked his way into the arena. He was clothed in a black t-shirt and blue jeans for a change, and sans Nabiki. "Hmm, could this be a new style for Ranma, complimenting his new outlook on life?" Hiroshi hypothesized. "I wouldn't be at all surprised, Hiroshi... It does suit him, though," Daisuke replied as Ranma climbed into the ring, and awaited the signal from the ref to start. Gosunkugi, who was the pliant type when around two men that could turn him into fine powder, complied. Gamma Match 1 Wolverine vs. Ranma: Harcore Rules FIGHT! Ranma wasted no time, rushing Wolverine and unloading an Amiguriken. Wolverine reeled back and answered with a sharp kick to the chest, sending Ranma into the ropes. Logan then followed up with a shoulderblock, causing both of the fighters to tumble to the floor. Ranma recovered swiftly and whipped Wolverine into a gaurdrail. He then hopped onto the apron, ran, and dove feet first into the mutant. The crowd (and Hiroshi) really began to get into the match, especially when Wolverine threw Ranma into the 5th row. Ranma stood up and shook the cobwebs form his head just in time to dodge a clawswipe and reply with a roundhouse of his own. Wolverine took the full force of the kick and staggered backwards into the aisle with Ranma not far behind. Feet, fists, and claws flew as they fought their way through the audience, who cheered eagerly at the action. Eventually they spilled into a concourse, where a division of Lego-men pushed the crowd back and out of harm's way. Ranma smiled and fell back, taking Wolverine off his feet. As he flipped up, he grabbed a canister of soda and used it to hit the rising Wolverine on the head, sending the sticky, warm syrup flying everywhere. Wolverine staggered back and grabbed the handle on the door to the women's restroom. He swung it open and gathered himself in the doorway. Ranma launched himself forward, prepping another Amiguriken, and was rather surprised when Wolverine managed to grab his pigtail and swing him into a sink, the porcelain shattering. Ranma replied with a wild punch at the mutant, which sent him into a stall... upsetting the young woman in it. Wolverine charged out, an almost feral snarl on his lips as he finally connected with a claw swipe, opening a small cut on Ranma's left shoulder. "ITE!" Ranma cursed, taking his mind off Wolverine long enough for the mutant to throw him into his own stall: this one empty, except for the toilet... and the water therein. The young now-girl shook her head and aimed a crescent kick at Wolverine's chest, forcing him through the wall. Logan stood up slowly and met the charging martial artist with a hip toss into a plate glass window, cracking it severely. As Wolverine prepared a follow-up, the young girl recovered and quickly spun around and connected a kick to the back of Logan's head, forcing him through the window and down to the parking lot below. ======== Back at the announcer's table Hiroshi was positively on fire, calling shots left and right as the fight played out on the ControversialTron. "MY GODS! They're outside the Ultradome and fighting their way through the parking lot. Wolverine rips a traffic sign out of the ground, swinging like a club, but Ranma is too fast and nails Wolverine in the knee!" Daisuke on the other hand, was simply his normal self. "Stronger Ultradome my ass..." ======== Back outside, the fight left the parking lot and spilled into the streets of downtown Tokyo, with the two combatants pounding each other with anything they could get their hands on. A small Mouko Takabisha sent Wolverine into a nearby ramen stand, noodles flying everywhere. Wolverine snarled and got to his feet, launching a flurry of clawstrikes at Ranma, who managed to dodge them all and answered with crotch kick. The martial artist backed away and paused for a moment, confident that she did enough damage to keep Wolverine from attacking her for a few seconds. However, Ranma had forgotten about Wolverines healing factor, and was fairly surprised when she suddenly found herself airborne, via uppercut, and heading into the clothing store right behind her. Ranma crashed into one of the store's support pillars, cracking it. She was unable to dodge the rapidly approaching mutant and received a vicious kick to the ribs. Coughing briefly, she swung her leg around in a sweep, taking Wolverine down. Ranma's mind began planning scenarios: Wolverine was easily stronger and had far more experience. Among her own advantages, Ranma counted superior speed and adaptability; the question now was how to actually win. She smirked as a plan began to form. Picking the mutant up, she threw him forcefully into another support pillar, buying time to methodically take out the load-bearing walls with well placed punches and kicks. Wolverine snarled and charged the young girl, only to miss when Ranma dodged. The razor sharp claws slashed completely through one pillar as she made for the doorway. The building began to shake and rumble: the wood and brick structure wasn't built to take much damage anyway, and the two fighters had demolished it no time flat. On her way out, Ranma tossed off small Mouko Takabisha, hitting Logan in the chest and knocking the wind out of the mutant long enough for the building to collapse on him. Ranma slowly counted down from ten, waiting for the mutant to come out emerge from the wreckage. This didn't happen, and she began to walk off, heading back to the Ultradome. ========= Back in the Ultradome, the crowd was on their feet cheering as Gosunkugi declared Ranma the winner. "WOW! Just...WOW! Daisuke, have you EVER seen a match like that?" Hiroshi shouted into his mike. "Yes, every single omega match," Daisuke said, shaking his head at his partner. "Dai, you really need a girlfriend." "Can I borrow one of yours?" "... That's not funny." ========= Backstage, Sakura was stopped by a hand around her arm. "Now chere, you s'posed to be reportin' in on occasion...." Gambit said as he whirled Sakura around. "I am? Oh, yeah, it's just that... well, you see Remy... its like this," Sakura began as Remy leaned in closer. Sakura's fist found Gambit's chest a welcome target, knocking the wind out of the mutant. "I lied." Sakura walked off, leaving Gambit gasping for breath. ========= Meanwhile, in the old Ultradome, now The Orochi's Den of Hate, Shermie was presenting her master with the prize she and Sakura had retrieved. Orochi smiled and pressed the button on the device, releasing a single being from within. "And now, you will [EMBRACE] the [VOID] as my latest Harbringer!" The being stared at Orochi with a blank look on its face, "Psy... Duck?" And lo... Orochi sweatdropped. ======== Hiroshi was excited, even more so than usual. Perhaps it was the triple espresso he'd had last night... but at any rate, he was currently bouncing in his chair like a Gummi Bear on crack. He smiled as the next combatants entered the ring. Shingo was first, accompanied by Karin, who simply watched from the top of the ramp until he got in the ring, then departed. His opponent was simply teleported into the ring via a black disc. Sakura stretched and adopted her stance, signaling her readiness to begin. Gosunkugi called for the bell. Gamma Match 2 Shingo vs. Sakura, Gamma Title Match FIGHT! Sakura struck first, lunching a Hadoken and running after it to nail Shingo on the way down. The boy slowly stood up and answered with a Shingo kick, or at least tried to. Sakura simply reached out and blocked the kick, taking a good hold of Shingo's ankle and twisting it in a direction it was never meant to go. Shingo screamed like... well, he screamed like a little girl. Sakura, on the other hand, laughed as she twisted the ankle to near its breaking point. Shingo breathed a sigh of relief as she released his ankle, but this didn't last long since she used a sleeper hold on him instead, cutting off the blood supply. Shingo tried valiantly to break out, but gradually began to slip into unconsciousness. At the announcer's table, Hiroshi was on the edge of his seat as he called the match. "And Sakura cranks back on the sleeper as the ref checks to see if Shingo can continue... this match may be over bef- WHAT THE HELL?!?!" Running down the ramp was Gambit, bo in hand as he climbed into the ring. The mutant pulled Gosunkugi away from Shingo, and kicked him swiftly in the gut. Sakura released the sleeper, and began to rise... only to receive a bo shot across the back of the neck, followed by another one clear across the head. The girl fell back, motionless. Gambit smiled and left as quickly as he arrived, leaving the ref gasping for air and Sakura out cold. Shingo stood slolwy, a little wobbly on his hurt ankle, and noticed Sakura on the mat at about the same time as Gos began a ten count... Ten seconds later, it was over, and there was a new Gamma Champion. As Gosunkugi handed Shingo the belt, the young martial artist began crying. Finally he had proven himself to Ranma-sensei and Kyo-sensei, he was a champion... Okay, so he wasn't quite sure as to how he actually won, but that was beside the point; he was champion. o/~ ARE YOU READY? ~/o Hiroshi was stunned, "What? What's Ranma doing out here?" Daisuke shook his head. "He's probably coming out to congratulate his friend, Hiroshi." "Oh... well, I guess that makes sense" In the ring, Ranma had grabbed a microphone and was addressing Shingo. "First of all, I just wanna say congratulations, Shingo, you're the Gamma champ. Now, lets get down to business... Shingo, I'm your sensei. What's more, I'm your friend, and I was thinking... what better way for you to have your first title defense than against me, your friend, at Ultra Rage. Think about it, Shingo, honorable combat amongst friends for the title. You and me, mano e mano. What do you say?" Shingo looked a bit confused, but slowly nodded his head. "I was hoping you'd say that!" With those words, Ranma dropped the mic and kicked Shingo in his wounded ankle. As Shingo doubled over, Ranma landed an uppercut, sending Shingo into a corner where Ranma began to pummel his former student with punches and kicks until a small group of lego-men was able to pull him off. Smiling, Ranma picked the mic back up and began taunting Shingo. "Hey! Hey champ! See ya at Ultra Rage, bitch... and bring my belt with you." With one last crotch chop, Ranma strode out of the arena as the lego-men helped Shingo to his feet. Over at the announcer's table, Hiroshi fainted. ======== Daisuke shrugged and shook Hiroshi, waking him up. "Huh... wha... where are we?" Hiroshi asked. "Tonight's Omega Match, Hiroshi" Daisuke reminded him as an intern handed him the details of the match, "Oh hell..." Hiroshi peeked over Daisuke's shoulder. "WOW!" ======== Once, Satan City was the proudest city on Earth, home to the World's Greatest Hero, Mr. Satan... That had changed at Ultra Rage Beta, at the hands Jack Lysias. Now, the city was broken, all but abandoned; the few people who remained where spiritless and destitute. It was in this blasted city that two portals opened: one spat forth the form of Shinji Ikari; the other, EVA 02. Overhead, well out of the EVA's jump range, a small squirming bag hung. It was watched over by Goku, who couldn't help but feel sorry for the owner of the feminine voice inside screaming "WAAAAAAAAHH! ONEESAMA!!!!!!!!!" Three miles away stood the biggest damn ladder anyone had ever seen. Suddenly, the Voice Of God boomed from nowhere, "Alright, boys and girls, here's the idea: this is a ladder match. Since Gendo wants an angel so much I'm gonna give him a chance to win something even better... his very own Goddess. In that there bag is one Skuld Wishbringer, goddess of the future. You two EVA jocks are gonna have to set up that ladder, and fetch her down; first one to get to her wins possession. NOW LETS GET IT ON!" Omega Ladder Match Shinji Ikari vs. Asuka Soryuu-Langley/Unit 02 FIGHT! Shinji broke into a run, transforming into his EVA form on the way. Asuka was not far behind and managed diving tackle, driving Shinji into a small apartment building. She stood, ran to the ladder, grabbed it, and made her way back towards Skuld when she was tripped by Shinji. Shinji picked up the ladder and ran towards Skuld, intent on stopping the third Impact. Setting up the ladder, he slowly began to climb, and concentrated on reaching Skuld so much that he never noticed Asuka come from behind and push the ladder over, driving Shinji through a high rise office building. Asuka bent over and set the ladder back up. After it was secure she began climbing it herself, making it about halfway up when she felt Shinji's hand around the ankle of her EVA, pulling her off and throwing her into parking garage. Shinji was halfway up when he jumped, diving straight for Asuka's EVA. Asuka rolled to one side, letting Shinji hit the rubble as she stood and once more began climbing the ladder, rung by rung. She reached the top without any more interference and was just about to grab the bag when the Skuld-chan no Mallet appeared from it and conked Asuka's EVA on the head. EVA 02 fell back and hit the ground hard. Shinji blinked and began climbing from the other side. When he reached the top he gently cupped the sack in one hand. Goku smiled and called the match. "Shinji Ikari wins!" ======== Back in the Ultradome the crowd was ecstatic, and Hiroshi was leading the charge. "WOW! What a great way to end the evening! Ultra Rage Gamma is gonna be GREAT!!!!!!!!" Daisuke smiled, "For once, Hiroshi, I agree with you." "Now, hold up boys, the show isn't over yet!" came a familiar voice. Xelloss's face appeared on the ControversialTron, smiling, as always. "There's been a slight change in the plans. I'd give you a long explanation, but I think the footage can explain itself." And the giant TV cut to a grainy shot of Gendo in his office, with Sephiroth standing across from him. The would-be God was grinning evilly as he stared down the Commander of NERV. Gendo threw a feeble attempt of a punch. Sephiroth didn't even blink as he calmly grabbed Gendo's arm, snapping it. The screen switched back to Xelloss. "As you can see," Xelloss smiled, "Gendo wont be able to do any fighting anytime soon, soooo he's out of the main event and Sephiroth's in. See you all in New York!" And with that, the TV cut off. Hiroshi promptly fainted (again) while Daisuke shook his head, "Good night everybody." Finis ========= Ultra Episode 29 Recap ][ MAI/ANDY DEFEAT TEAM POKEMON, NOW AT 3w/4l ][ MAI DELIVERS A CROTCH SHOT AND DUMPS ANDY ][ ASH IS HURT ][ SHERMIE AND SAKURA CONSPIRE ][ RANMA DEFEATS WOLVERINE, NOW AT 7W/4L ][ SAKURA SUCKERPUNCHES GAMBIT ][ PSYDUCK EMBRACES THE VOID ][ SHINGO DEFEATS SAKURA (with help from Gambit) NOW AT 6W/3L AND GAMMA CHAMPION ][ RANMA GETS TITLE SHOT AT URG, BEATS UP SHINGO ][ SHINJI DEFEATS ASUKA IN LADDER MATCH, NOW AT 4W/4L ][ GENDO REMOVED FORM URG MAIN EVENT DUE TO INJURY ][ SEPHIROTH NAMED AS REPLACEMENT ========= Authors Notes Okay, this sucks, I admit it but I dont apologize for it, last week was damn busy what with thanksgiving and all, and I lost half the story to a freak act of stupidity but, I did get doen what I set out to do two things one, yes, ranma didnt do alot of dodgin in his figh, oh well, Wolverine could probably take on the major Ranma baddies and win 8 times out ten, so, thats why deal two, Sakura's fighting style no, it wasnt Shotokan, but then, she's currently infused weith the Orochi;s power,adn probably would feel Shingo below her, so, she hurts him,a nd trys to win in a way that humiliates him. again, deal the ladder match.,...I had planned on alot more than it was, so I do apologize for that thanks for reading