In the barren wastelands of Siberia, a lone figure strode onwards, trudging through the snow, unhindered by the cold despite his sleeveless gi. Shin Akuma would not be stopped in his vengeance upon the fool who had created that pathetic duplicate of him. Devilot would fall, and her death would be a warning to all who would mock the dread master of Shotokan. Unfortunately, Akuma had nothing more than a name with which to find his prey. This plan of just walking until he found her was taking longer than expected. Shin Akuma resolved to, in the future, refrain from eradicating the research staff until AFTER they had provided him with all the information he needed. Shin Akuma trudged on. * 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 T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G } { 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.improfanfic.com } Episode #39: Missing Persons! This Episode Written By: BSD Original Concept: Twoflower * "In space, no one can hear you scream." This is, of course, because in space, there is nothing. No molecules to vibrate, therefore no way for sound to propagate. Space is utterly, totally, silent, the perfect silence of the endless void between the stars. The perfect example of the absence of sound, the perfection of stillness. As a thought experiment, I'd like you to fix that concept in your mind. Got it? Good. Now reverse it. The absolute inversion of total silence is the only way to describe the sound that filled the Ultradome. Every molecule that could vibrated wildly, propagating sound like sound is propagated only in the Ultradome. The crowd roared, the crowd screamed, and it seemed like nothing could overcome the noise. And then, something did. A sound boomed out with the volume of galaxies dying and gods angrily lecturing their creations. Compared to it, even the totality of the noise of the crowd dimmed to nothing. A single voice, boosted by the divinely created soundsystem of the Ultradome itself. A frenetic voice, but not a raised one. A raised voice on this sound system might likely endanger the existence of matter itself. "Are you ready for a bit of the old...Ultraviolence?" The crowd screamed again as Hiroshi pumped them even further. The unending wail of the audience continued on, overpowered by the might of the UltraSpeakers. "We've got an UNBELIEVABLE card for you tonight! TWO Omega matches, TWO Lambda matches, and a qualifying round for the Gamma Championship! It's gonna be spectacular, so all of you just sit back and relax, 'cause will be right back, after this!" - Shiranui Mai, ninja extraodinaire, rushed through the seemingly endless halls of the Ultradome backstage, the roar of the crowd dulled to an ever- present hum by the new and improved ground-zero-proof construction of the building. Hiroshi had already gone to break, and they were supposed to enter as soon as the commercials were done. And she couldn't find him anywhere! For the last hour, she'd searched for Andy without result, and it felt like she'd covered the entire place at least twice, but still nothing. She tried calling again, "ANDY? ANDY? HELLO?", but there was still no more answer than there had been when she had started her search. It was beginning to look hopeless, and the heightening of the noise of the crowd probably meant that the commercials had just end and she and Andy were supposed to be heading towards the ring RIGHT NOW. Mai gave one last desultory call of "Andy?" before making the long walk back to her dressing room, alone. Not three doors down from Mai's last despairing calls, in one of the rooms set aside for guests of the Ultra combatants, the man she had been searching for tucked his hands behind the cap he now considered "his" and shrugged. "Well," he said to himself, "It looks like little brother gave Mai the slip. I wonder why he'd do a thing like that." - In the main stadium, the audience screamed, waving their signs about like a storm-whipped field of grass, proclamations of being a "DAN FAN" blurring into lewd proposals towards the female fighters, flowing seamlessly into shameless toadying before the various evil overlords. Ultra had returned from commercial and the crowd knew it. "Here we go, folks!", shouted the albino bundle of hyperactive announcer that was Hiroshi, "Our first fight of the evening! One of the most hated pairs in the Lamda division's been challenged by one of the most beloved, and the fight is sure to be a good one! So please welcome (even though you don't like them) BISON'S BUSTERS!" In an instant, the lights cut to half, and the ControversialTron went black. Bach's Toccata and Fugue came on, and the ShadowNERV logo filled the screen, only to be quickly replaced by the crimson-clad figure of Bison, control stick set in front of him. "It seems that everyone is set against me." The dictator said without varying his cruel grin a fraction of a degree, "But I don't think that my chosen warriors will have much of a problem." He tapped his control stick twice, and Ken dashed into the ring, followed quickly by his massive partner. "So who is going to oppose me tonight?" In response, Bison was momentarily cut off from the screen as the words "The Hungry Wolves" popped up in his place, and smoke began to spew from the opposing entry ramp. "YES FOLKS!", Hiroshi hollered, "THAT'S RIGHT! Bison's Busters will be opposed by none other than Andy and Mai, the Hungry Wolves!" Who promptly failed to appear on their designated ramp. Hiroshi coughed slightly and raised the microphone to mouth again. "The HUNGRY Wolves!" Artificial smoke continued to stream from the entrance, but no team did so. "The Hungry WOLVES!" Nothing. "the hungry wolves?" Bison was reinstated on the ConvtraversialTron with an evil chuckle. "Well then. It looks like I win by default. What a pity. Fifty cents spent by me, but no blood to show for it. Referee?" Touga looked up from flirting with the girls in the front rows and nodded once. "The Busters win by default, as their opponents failed to show." He immediately returned to his banter, as following what was actually going on had nothing to do with being a referee. Bison widened his smile even more, guaranteeing that even more audience members would suffer recurring nightmares. "Goodnight then, my friends. It looks like these much vaunted "wolves" are simple curs." With that, he cut the connection, returning the ContraversialTron to its standard view of the rabid UltraFans crowding the dome. Hiroshi nervously adjusted his tie. "So it looks like we go to a break. Right?" The control room obligingly cut away. - Jack was irritated, to say the least. The Pay-Per-View was in two weeks, and the first match of the night hadn't even happened. It hadn't even not happened INTERESTINGLY. No televised back-alley chair-fights. No bizarre sexual diversions. Not even a token appearance by the defaulters. This wouldn't do. This called for strong measures. "Nuku-Nuku!" "Yes, Jack-san?" "Get me ... Mr. Duck." - In the Evangelion launch bay, a red colossus stood silently, gazing at nothing with its six soulless eyes. Even with the restraints removed, it stood slumped, unmoving and unpowered, like a puppet with cut strings. "No response, commander. Synchronization is below the minimum for activation. Unit 02 won't be able to fight." "Then we won't send her out. If Asuka is useless, remove her from the duty roster. Arrange for her to be returned to her family and ready Unit 00 for combat. Tell MARDUK to ready the-" Commander Ikari broke in the mid-sentence as he was interrupted by a burst of choral voices. Without turning, his normally expressionless face turned into a frown. "Are you simply going to cast her aside as you once cast me aside?", came a voice from behind the commander, a voice of total peace and assurance. "If she's no use to us, then yes. I have no time for spoiled children. And less for traitors." "If she's truly no use to you, then you won't mind if I take her with me when I go?" "You can kill her, for all I care. Of course, you'll have to fight Unit 00 anyway." "I understand that." In a second burst of hymns, the intruder was gone from the command room. "Rei. You know what to do." - "Aaaaaannnndddd we're back. Welcome back, everybody! I know that the last fight didn't quite go off as planned, but I promise you this one will be a doozy! In fact, to prove that our luck is changing, look who's back! My buddy, DAISUKE!" With that final shout of emphasis, Hiroshi began clapping wildly, joined by the audience, who tended to do everything wildly, as the returning commentator came down one of the ramps, arm still in a sling from the recent events, and face in the perpetually tired look which all the UltraFans had come to expect from the subdued announcer. Daisuke slipped into his chair alongside Hiroshi and peered at the fightcard that had been put out for him."Lessee...Next up, we've got an Eva-02/Eva-01 fight, booked for a MMMFFHHFMFMF!" Hiroshi sweatdropped as he muffled his partner and tried to cover for his slip. "Hehe? What he MEANS to say is that we've got a PHENOMENAL bout scheduled! Eva-02, favored Omega tool of ShadowNERV, against Eva-01, ex-agent of NERV and current agent of Lina! It's going to be exciting, folks! So just put your eyes up on the ContraversialTron, because the carnage is about to begin. - The tiny seaside town was utterly devoid of life. No colorful umbrellas twirled, no brass band played, and no happy residents roamed the streets. But what now appeared to be a quiet oceanside resort Village was about to have its peace shattered. And itself shattered as well. The first thing to arrive was a spiky haired man in traditional referee stripes. No sooner had he touched down than two portals opened, one barely large enough for a man, the other barely large enough for a skyscraper. Through the first stepped a young man in casual clothes, a serene expression on his face. Through the other lumbered a pale blue monstrosity, several times taller than the tallest building in the town. - Noting the color, another spiky haired man, this one watching the scene on his television, ground his teeth in frustration. If one more person crosses me tonight, he thought, I'm going to feed them to Mr. Duck. - Goku spoke. "You both know the rules. I'm watching. Begin!" ][ OMEGA MATCH ][ AYANAMI REI/EVANGELION UNIT-00 VS. IKARI SHINJI/EVANGELION UNIT-01 ][ FIGHT! That which was Shinji fuzzed, lost cohesion, and became that which was both Shinji and Unit-01. And not a moment too soon, as his AT field was barely extended before the blade of Unit-00's progressive knife skittered across it, dropping sparks that ignited a number of the quaint buildings surrounding them. He quickly parried, and the fight was on. "A fast beginning by Ayanami! Will Ikari be able to stand up to her? They always say that the best defense is a good offense, and it looks like Rei's on the defensive!" "Looks like the offense to me, Hiroshi." "EXACTLY!" "Are you simply going to do whatever he tells you? Even now?", the young angel shouted out as he pressed his blade against his opponents AT field, trying to breach it. "of course. i do what commander ikari tells me to do." The liquid placidity of Ayanami's tone contrasted sharply with the parry and vicious slice she made at Unit-01's chest, almost tearing his AT field. Shinji caught Unit-00's wrist and threw it as he came up with an idea. "And if the Commander told you to bring him Hiroshi's head?" "i. i. i would...i would..." "Oooh. That's a good idea." Daisuke said, "I wonder if Mr. Ikari will do me a favor?" Hiroshi sweatdropped and inched his chair away from his co-host's. Shinji took the momentary distraction of his opponent as an opportunity. He pushed hard with both his field and his knife, and he felt her field give, for just a moment, but that was all he needed. With a sweeping motion, he shredded Unit-00's AT field and placed the knife tip at the base of its neck. "I can pop the head off the unit like this, Rei. no matter how much he says that you're "expendable", I don't think he wants his precious toy damaged so badly. Give up." "h-hai." Within himself, Shinji smiled. He really didn't want to hurt Rei. It wasn't her choice, not really. "And it looks like a win for Unit-01. But besides that, Hiroshi, why do you think ShadowNERV sent out your honeypie rather than that redhead they've been sending out the last few times?" "I have no idea, Daisuke. And don't call her my honeypie." - While two portals had delivered the fighters to the battleground, only one came to remove them. Unit-00 stepped through first, and 01 followed, returning to the form of Ikari Shinji as it arrived at ShadowNERV. Shinji touched down lightly on the walkway over Unit-00's cage and faced the man he had once called father. "You won. So you can have the useless brat." "That kind of attitude towards us is why I left, and why she has to leave as well." "This way.", Gendo said, not providing any other response to the question. In a few minutes of silent walking, they had arrived at the holding room where Shinji himself had once been kept, bound with multiple handcuffs. Gendo nodded to the guard and the door was opened, revealing Asuka, bound just as Shinji had been bound, pair after pair of silver cuffs binding her arms. The once-proud girl raised her head, revealing hollow eyes and a defeated expression. Shinji smiled gently and reached out a hand to Asuka. "Come on, Asuka. I've come to take you out of here." Asuka simply echoed in a questioning tone. "Out of here?" Shinji reached out farther. "Yes, to a place where everything will be OK. You won't worry anymore, and everything is peaceful." "To heaven?" Shinji smiled again. "Yes. To heaven." In an instant, Asuka's face changed from that of a wounded woman to that of a hunted animal. "NO! I'm not your doll! I won't die with you, mama! I won't! I'm not your doll!" The angel recoiled from Asuka's sudden rage. "But Asuka--I just want you to be happy, to be away-" "NO! I'M NOT YOUR DOLL!" Suddenly, another voice spoke. A voice as deep as the grave, as cold as space, and as hollow as Mihoshi's head. It resonated, and touched something in the bones and hearts of everyone who heard it. "No. You're not. You're not anybody's doll." In a twisting of space and a puff of brimstone, Hellmaster Cloud arrived, Aerith standing just behind his left shoulder. He smiled a smile that had no humanity anywhere in it and spoke again. "If you stay here, you remain a pawn of this two-bit god. If you go with the boy, you become the pawn of a tinpot god. Either way, you're nothing more that a puppet, a doll. Come with me, and you're free." He reached out a leather-gloved hand, and before either of the Ikaris could speak, she had taken it, and vanished in a puff of smoke. For a brief moment, father and son shared the same fear. - "WOW! That was quite a fight! And we're not done yet! We've got ANOTHER Omega fight, a Lambda championship challenge, and a Gamma qualification bout!" "In fact, Hiroshi, that qualification bout is up right now. So let's introduce the fighters. Or would you rather blather on a bit more? "Well, this is certainly going to be an interesting match, as both men have held the title before. Over here, we've got the flaming flirter himself, IORI YAGAMI!" The viciously psychotic bishounen entered via the designated ramp, booed and hissed by the vast majority of the crowd, the only holdouts being a small group of shrieking fangirls towards the back. He, of course, ignored it all. He was here to fight, not to strut for the crowds as some were. Hiroshi resumed his introduction once Iori had made it to the ring. "And to oppose him...EARTH'S GREATEST HERO! MR. SATAN!" The chanting began even before Hiroshi said the name. Up in the far corner of the seats, someone started it, and it spread, spread throughput the audience, until every single person was chanting in unison. Chanting one word. One name. "Sa-tan!" "Sa-TAN!" "SA-TAN! SA-TAN! SA-TAN! SA-TAN! SA-TAN! SA-TAN! SA-TAN! SA-TAN!" The chant went on and on, growing louder and louder. It doubled in intensity as the man himself stepped out onto the ramp and began his walk to the ring. He finally reached the ring, and raised his arms above his afroed head, basking in the adulation of the crowd. The chant finally began to die down, to a moment of perfect silence, just in time for Touga to start the match. ][ GAMMA QUALIFICATION BOUT ][ MR. SATAN VS. IORI YAGAMI ][ FIGHT! "HOLY MACKEREL! Iori wastes no time in hitting Satan with a vicious combo! It looks brutal to me, and I don't know if even Satan can withstand it!" "I doubt he can. It's not like he's anything--wait, wait. He's standing back up!. Mr. Satan actually stood back up after something that rough. You may be an idiot, Hiroshi, but sometimes you back the right people." Meanwhile, in the ring, the fighters circled each other. "That was pathetic, boy! You may be strong, but if you don't know what you're fighting for, you have no real power!", Satan said, with bravado that was only mostly false. That hurt, he thought, but I'm not on fire. Maybe I can do this. Iori sneered at his opponent. "Don't be stupid, old man. I'm going to beat you so badly, you won't know what YOU'RE fighting for. So just shut up and take it like a man." Satan shook his head sadly. "With my fans behind me, I can't be beaten. Who's behind you? They don't call me Earth's greatest hero for nothing, boy." Unfortunately, while Satan had been going on about a proper fighter's motivation, Iori had used the gift he had received from that Mano girl. Orange flames spewed out, and Satan's elaborately puffed hairdo was suddenly alight. "That looks hot, Hiroshi. What do you think of your man now?" "It certainly LOOKS hot, Dai. But I'm not worried! Satan will overcome all obstacles! Go SATAN!" "You do know we're supposed to TRY and be impartial, right?" Satan finally managed to beat out the fire on his head, to the amusement of Yagami. The famous wrestler looked at his hands, at the ashy remains of his wonderful hair, and felt anger. Vast anger. "YOU HUMILIATED ME IN FRONT OF MY FANS! DIE!", he thought he screamed, but it mostly came out incoherent. He rushed towards the younger man, and amazing even himself, connected solidly into the torso of the still-laughing fighter. Iori HRRKED as he felt the punches connect. That's about all he did from there on out. Unbelievably, he couldn't get in an attack, or even block or dodge what kept coming at him. He'd seen the fat old man fight before, and he was nowhere near this fast, strong or skilled. The worst thing was that with each kick, each punch, each headbutt, each elbow, the crowd repeated that one word, that word he was now coming to hate. "SA-TAN!" "POW!" "SA-TAN!" "ZOT!" "SA-TAN!" "BAM!" The beating was merciless. Satan kept pounding as long as the crowd kept cheering, and the crowd kept cheering as long as Satan kept pounding. He only stopped when he went to headbutt Iori in the face and got a view of the pulp he'd already made. Nothing permanent, but he was Earth's Greatest HERO! He was supposed to do the right thing! Shocked, he dropped the defeated warrior to the ground and raised both hands over his head, rallying the victory chant. His victory chant. - "More ale over here!" Naga was the best. She always told herself that. She always told others that. The most beautiful, the most powerful, the most intelligent. But her sidekick--her scrawny, barely magical sidekick-- had managed to become god of this world. "Maw ale hea'" Then that freakishly loud man who she'd been running around with for a bit had said something to her. He'd been winning, and he'd given up. She'd valued the Omega belt as proof of her obvious greatness, but if she only held it by the sufferance of others, was Naga the mighty truly so mighty? "Ma...alsh ha?" Whatever she was, she was passed out at a bar. - "Don't forget, everybody! Satan's win just now means that he's got a slot in the Gamma Championship tournament at Ultra Rage DELTA! Be sure to tune in, two weeks from now, for the biggest spectacle EVER!" "That shameless plug aside, now we've got the Lambda championship. It's the Disciples of the Void up against Tifa and Bean, defending (once again), their title, So get ready folks, 'cause here we go." Absolutely nothing happened. Not a puff of smoke, not a flicker of laser, not a beat of music. The crowd collectively sweatdropped. Especially one young boy one row back, eating his popcorn. "That fight was today? Oops. Shermie's gonna be mad...." - In a hospital room, a carefully placed bundle of withered flowers failed to terrify the patient who had been discharged earlier that day. Naturally, the woman lying in wait for him to come screaming out of the door had a long time to wait. - Halfway to Hokkaido, a car roared along the seaside, violating virtually every traffic law that exists. Simultaneously. In the passenger seat, Tifa relaxed, letting her long hair flow out behind her. It was nice to get out of the dome once in a while. See the sights. Get some fresh air. Spend some time alone with Bean. Fresh air. A thought struck her, and she raised her head up slightly. "Hey, Bean. You get the feeling we forgot something?" "Nope." "Nevermind, then." And the car drove on. - For five full minutes, nothing happened. THe crowd began to grow restless, and still, nothing. Riots broke out, and nothing. Finally, something happened. The Controversial One himself appeared on the screen which bore his epithet. The ContraversialTron flared to life, displaying Jack in all his glory. "This", he said happily, "Is absolutely the last straw. Does ANYBODY know what my job is? Does ANYBODY care? No? You see, I'm the Director here. If you want a fight, you come to me. If you DON'T want a fight, you come to me. If I say you fight, you fight. If I say you don't fight, you don't go NEAR the ring. Now, I was ready to let this week slide, excuse a few absences, but Mr. Duck here convinced me not to. First off, the Omega match for later tonight is now random. If I don't set it up, I cast it to the winds. If that means that you fight your beloved child, so much the better. Second, EVERYONE in Lambda is on at Delta. ALL of you clowns. No exceptions. Now, Washu, if you please?" The ContraversialTron shifted over from the visage of Jack to the familiar image of the WashuTech Random Stipulation Generator, this time set for Omega. OMEGA: Stipulations Standard Searching for Fighters Naga: Incapacitated Ifurita: Incapacitated Akuma: Approved: Not in Range MewTwo: Approved: In Range: TeleERRORERRORERRORERRRRROROROROROEROEOREROEO The WashuTech machine exploded spectacularly, taking the ContraversialTron with it. Smoke and debris filled the center of the UltraDome. A single figure, bathed in blue light, floated where the electronics had once hung. , the telepathic message came, forcibly sent into the mind of all present, . From nowhere, a screen twice the size of and twice as clear as the ContraversialTron appeared, filled with the smiling face of Washu, self- proclaimed "Greatest Genius in the Universe". "Of course I can hear it, you secondary-school science-fair project. What do you want?" "Whatever you say, Mr. Introductory Lab Results. But I can't fight you right now. I actually have interesting research to do. But Gally's free, so why don't the two of you play and I'll get back to you later?" But before he could protest, he found himself somewhere else. ][ OMEGA MATCH ][ GALLY VS. MEWTWO ][ FIGHT! What is called the Great Salt Lake is a wasteland in which nothing living can survive. It hides great secrets, but on its surface, there is nothing visible, nothing to see but the endless plains of white. Across this emptiness, two figures faced each other. One was short, lithe, and appeared to be a human female. The other topped seven feet and, though bipedal, looked nothing like a human. Its skin was grey and purple, its body terminating in a large tail, and its appendages tipped with three spherical digits. It was like a parody of a human by someone who had only heard legends. "Whatever", sighed the Battle Angel. I'm fast, but he's tough. I'll just have to do it in the first try. Too bad Panzer Kunst won't help. With a cry, she bunched herself up and lunged forward, hoping to end the battle with one strike. MewTwo's blue shield of psychokinetic power sprang up around him, and for a moment it held, but Gally pushed with all her strength, every pseudomuscle in her body straining forward, and the shield flared and fell. She struck then, and sliced along the shoulder of the massive Pokemon, a brief flare of triumph filling her before her mind itself locked up. Gally would have wished she could scream, if she could even think to wish. - A Dragonite dropped off two packages that evening at Washu's lab. In the first was a seemingly random jumble of electronics, servos, bits of ceramic, and bits of metal. In the other was a brain-casing, the protective shell for a central nervous system meant to be implanted into a cyborg. Attached to the second was a note. Washu: Enclosed please find the second of your three lackeys. I have shown that two of them are less than me, and next week I will show that the third is just the same. And then, at the upcoming spectacle, with all the world watching, I will defeat you again, and turn the world against your brand of hideous science. Washu looked down at the boxes. Gally could use an upgrade, anyway. ] [ ULTRA EPISODE 39 RESULTS/RECAP ] [ BISON'S BUSTERS are defaulted to by THE HUNGRY WOLVES and are now at 2/0 ] [ EVA-01 defeats EVA-00 and is now at 5/4 ] [ ASUKA has FALLEN ] [ MR. SATAN defeats IORI YAGAMI and is now at 7/1 ] [ MR. SATAN has qualified for the GAMMA CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT ] [ DISCIPLES OF THE VOID and TIFA/BEAN Double-Default and both pick up a loss ] [ JACK lays down the LAW ] [ MEWTWO defeats GALLY and is now at 3/0 ] [ MEWTWO challenges WASHU