"Hey, Jack?" "Greetings and felicitations!" "Whatever." Nabiki glanced down at her phone's display. "Oh, no. You didn't..." "Yup!" "You know he'll take this as a declaration of war." Definitely not a question. "He's already thinks it's a war. This is just to mess with him a little. Was there a reason you called? Or were you trying to get Mr. Duck? I'm sorry, he's off soaking in the hot tub with Selphie and Nuku-Nuku. Lucky bastard..." "I don't need to hear about your bath toy's sex life. I was just wondering if we could juggle the pairings a little..." "You mean Vega." Also not a question. "Jack, you know that he's going to try to slice her up!" "I sure do! That's why it's booked that way. Don't you want a good buyrate?" Nabiki ground her teeth in frustration. Finally she got out, "Since when do you care?" "People change, Nabiki. Since when do you care about Jessie? Or whether any of your fighters get hurt a little?" Nabiki could almost hear Jack's grin over the telephone. "And besides, it's controversial. It's edgy. I can't wait to see what happens!" "Are you sure it will work out?" "No... but there won't be a cage, so things won't go too far. She's a big girl, and she has some bigger pets. Tell you what - if you really want to worry, there are some other likely scenarios to plan for that even scare me..." --- Yaga reached to open the door to his dressing room, then stopped as he heard noises coming from within. He put his ear to the door but then jerked away as if burnt. Jack looked up as the door was kicked open and a large, enraged wrestler stomped into the room. "Oops! Sorry, Beeky, gotta take care of something." He hung up the phone and glared at the intruder. "You should knock before entering someone's office." "Jaaaaack!" Yaga was so angry he could barely speak. "Get out! OUT!" "Hey, have a seat. Was there something you wanted?" "What do you think you're doing?" Yaga was regaining a little control, but it was obvious that he still was on the verge of breaking something... like Jack's neck. Jack looked down at his desk. "Uh... paperwork? You'd be surprised how many insurance forms we have to fill out, and pay-per-views are-" "No, why are you here?!?" "That's a tough question, and I wish I would have asked Kasumi that while she was still God. I always thought she understood more than Lina and I-" "NO!" Specks of spittle flew in Jack's face as Yaga leaned over the desk separating them. "WHY ARE YOU HERE, NOW, IN MY DRESSING ROOM?" Jack shrugged. "It's my office, isn't it?" "No, it's my dressing room!" "Well, okay, it's that too. Do you need to change? I promise I won't peek, much." Jack held a hand over his eyes, and then opened a gap between his fingers to look through. "No, no, no, noooo!" Yaga stormed out of the dressing room/office before Jack could taunt him into doing something that could give Ultra an excuse to fire him. "You'll never go anywhere in this world if you start every sentence with 'no'," Jack called after him. Jack stared at the open door for a second, then decided it wasn't worth the bother to close it as the heavy sound of Yaga's footsteps came back up the hallway. Yaga was still fuming, but he just sat down in front of Jack's desk and waited for acknowledgment. Jack whipped through another form, then looked up at his visitor. "Yeeeeees?" "I'll just use Morrigan's dressing room tonight. I wanted to see you anyway - Sakura and I are a bad matchup. There's no way she can fight me, and if I beat her up, I'll look like a total jerk. You're going to rebook it. Now." Jack shook his head. "Nope. Can't do it - it was announced last week, the programs are printed, and it would mess everyone else's preparations up. You should have let me know before the bracket became public." "But you didn't... ah. Very good move, Jack. I'll have to remember that trick." Yaga stood up and turned to leave. He stopped halfway through the door, and smiled back at Jack. "But that means I still have some flexibility in setting up matches." He walked away, leaving Jack alone once more. The Controversial One smiled, a little bit sadly. He crossed three items off a long list and mumbled, "I guess it's plan D, then." Jack thumbed through a beaten-up rolodex and found the number he would need. He punched in the extension and waited for the other end to pick up. "Hi, it's Jack. No, you are reading it right. Say, I have something a little different for you tonight..." --- Mary sat alone in the back row of the Ultradome. It would be a couple of hours until the gates opened and she would have to move. She was curled up in a fetal ball, braced against the world around her. A tear trickled down her cheek, but she made no effort to wipe it away. The swish of robes was what finally made her look up. It was Sephiroth. "What disturbs you?" "There will be a lot of pain here tonight. People will be hurt, both in body and in spirit. I look at this ring," she waved vaguely at the roped-off square below, "and for the first time, I see no joy. I only see struggle without reward or hope. Retribution, but no resolution." Sephiroth didn't even bother to wonder how she knew. "So prevent the pain. You have the power to do that." "If I did that, it would just delay things. They would wait for another chance." "Then you stop that as well. You will never eliminate suffering unless you exert control." "Mommy said I shouldn't try to control people." The white-haired SOLDIER smiled. "Washuu is not the final word on moral issues. You are. You are allowed to decide what you should and should not for yourself." Mary shook her head. "But she was right! If I control a person, what's left is not really that person anymore - it's me. And I like people..." "Then don't control the person, prevent what they do from hurting others. They still have free will, and you have a world where suffering can not exist." "That's even worse! I would end up controlling everything that happens!" Sephiroth turned to leave. "Sooner or later, I know you will change your mind. When you do, we will have much to talk about." --- --=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-- Tokyo Sports Network Presents: Where Are They Now? --=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-- "Hello there, folks! This is Haitani, along with my partner, Shirai!" "And we're here to give you another look into the life of a former Ultra star!" "Today, we profile a former Gamma champion and current star of the hit sitcom, "Work With Me, Daisuke!"... MR. SATAN!" "Mr. Satan was kind enough to sit down for an interview with his co-star and biggest fan, Hiroshi, on the set of their show. Let's roll the footage." I'd like to thank you for sitting down with me for this interview. It's a real honor! [nodding] No problem. I mean, you were my hero growing up... heck, you were everyone's hero back then! You were the World Champ! Nobody could stop you! [lowers his head; chuckles] Yeah, the good old days. The way you said that... are those not good memories? Those? Those are great memories. I was on top of the world back then. It's just... well, let's just say I haven't been quite as successful lately. I know. I was heartbroken when Jack announced you'd been fired; I mean, you're a former Gamma champ! Yeah, the firing hurt. A lot, to be honest. Even moreso because I was injured at the time. [scowling] At the hands of Sagat... that dirty cheating no-good... Cheat? Sagat didn't cheat. He beat the living hell out of me. Eh? But you're Earth's Migh- I... I was never Earth's Mightiest Hero, hard as it is to admit. I'm a damn good fighter, but... [blinking] But? After Sagat knocked me out of action, I had a lot of free time on my hands, before I could start training again. So I did a lot of thinking. And there was one question that kept sticking in my head: How did it happen? What do you mean? I mean, how did I let myself get whomped like that? I mean, Sagat's as tough as they come, no question. But I've beaten guys on his level before. I just couldn't figure it out. And then... Well, I decided to look at some tapes of my fights before I came to Ultra, to see if maybe I had let my technique slip or something. And then it hit me. [leaning forward] What? I was trained as a wrestler. Only one guy ever gave me a run for my money at that. Sure, I learned some martial arts; I trained in karate, kickboxing, a few other styles... but everything I learned was meant to compliment my wrestling skills. [pauses; rubs his temples] But as I got more popular, I realized something. As good as I was, people weren't gonna give me the respect I deserved because of what I was. To most people, wrestlers aren't martial artists; they're musclebound idiots in funny costumes who hit each other with chairs. So as time went on... [catching on] ... you started to use your wrestling skills less and less as a way of getting respected as a "real" martial artist? Exactly! And after the stuff with Goku, I was so afraid of being found out... anything I could do to make myself look more legit, I did. And when you came to Ultra... [silent for a moment] After... after my lies were revealed, I was even more convinced that I had to establish myself as a "legit" martial artist. So I started using my martial arts skills more and more. And to put it bluntly, I can't match guys like Ranma and Sagat punch for punch. [on the verge of tears] Go on... [scowling slightly] It didn't help that I hardly ever got booked. That always got to me; even if I wasn't on top of my game, I had been Gamma champ once. If I'd gotten regular action, had a chance to get into a groove... [sighs] But it's too late for that now. So what now for you? I know you've decided not to return for the second season of "Work With Me, Daisuke!"... Yeah, I'm no actor. I'm a fighter. I belong in a ring. [excited] Does that mean you're going to return to fighting? You're all healed up and ready to kick as- Yeah, I've been training for a few weeks now, and I'm thinking off hooking up with one fighting circuit or another. If people think this old man has lost it... well, I'm gonna teach them to respect their elders. Well, you can rest assured that, win or lose, I and the rest of your fans in Ultra will be watching, and we'll still love you, win or lose. [pause] Any regrets? ... a few. [slowly] I never really feel like I got people to respect me as a fighter. That hurt a lot. And the way I left... I dunno. That left a bad taste in my mouth. All the time I'd been there, and to go out like that... it wasn't right. Well, I think I speak for all your fans in wishing you the best. Again, thanks for your time. No problem. --- Jack was walking the locker room halls, a small package in one hand, Mr. Duck on his shoulder, and a list in front of him. *SQUEAK* "No, that wouldn't work. As amusing as it would be to have Washuu use that personality splitter thing on Sagat and have him fight himself... actually, that wouldn't be amusing at all. Rather boring. You're slipping, Mr. Duck." *SQUEAK* "All is forgiven, I assure you. We all have off days, I guess. Ah, Bean! I wanted to give you this." Jack handed the small rectangular package to the tall and, oddly enough, vaguely rectangular driver-cum-fighter. "What is it?" the jacket-clad outlaw asked tentatively. He looked at the package as if it might blow up. With Jack, one always had to consider every possibility. "Just something to watch. Have a nice night!" And with a flurry of red hair and yellow rubber, the booker was down the hall. Bean sat down, looking at the videotape Jack handed to him. He popped the tape into his locker room's TV/VCR combo, and picked up the box. "King of the Deathmatch? What's this? All-Japan Pro-Wrestling's most Hardcore battles ever, including..." Bean fell silent, and an idea started to grow. --- *SQUEAK* "Hrm... That may actually work, Mr. Duck. Thank you for the idea..... But I won't tell you what was in that package for Bean." Jack turned and knocked on a door, seemingly at random. "Hello in there!" The door pulled open, and a tall lanky redhead stood in the doorframe, staring at the booker. Running a hand through his hair, pulling it out of his eyes in a manner that would have set cherry blossoms flowing through the air if there were any, Iori glared at Jack. "What do you want?", Iori said in a low voice. "Nothing much, I suppose. Just telling you to get ready, you have a title fight between the two semifinals." Jack smiled and started walking away, with Iori looking after him. The fighter shrugged, and turned around to start taping his hands up. "By the way, there's a special referee.", he heard Jack call back, but he couldn't make out the name. Iori smiled slightly. In the end, it didn't really matter. Having the belt put him one step closer to Ranma Saotome. --- The crowd was filing in and the crew was doing all the usual checks, but one noise - one soft noise - still managed to dominate the Ultradome. Ssssnick. Ting...ssssnick. Ting...sssnick. Ting...sssnick! Ting! "Man, that really gives me the creeps." "It's okay, he's up first anyway." "No it's not - you know who he's fighting. And he's been sharpening that thing for hours, so you know what he must have in mind... Isn't someone going to tell him to move so we can start the show?" "You go right ahead, Dai. Go tell Vega to get out of the way." "I suppose he can't hurt anything there..." --- { 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.mtcffultra.com } | | | --+-- ---. ._ | | | | | / |_\ \__/ \___ | | \ | \ +-- Ultra |- REBOOT: +-- v4.0 | \ |-< |_/ .__ | \ \__| .__ | \ | | Episode 78 A Verduran Otaku Production Written by Kerry "Ked" Stump with The Eternal Lost Lurker and Nameless Ultra Fan Additional writing by JesseLman MTCFFUltra created and edited by Twoflower The Ultradome rocked. Literally. This was nothing new. The current dome had been designed from the ground up with that exact characteristic in mind - previous incarnations had done so without the approval of the architects, but rather than attempt to contain the crowd noise with the last design they had simply designed around it. Noise would be deliberately converted into mechanical energy, which could in turn be safely absorbed by the over-built foundation. Most everyone in the dome thought it was a wonderful solution - except maybe for those poor souls in the nosebleed section who got whiplash. Except that recently, it perhaps wasn't rocking quite as much. Oh, it was still the loudest gathering of humans on the planet, but it long ago had reached a plateau and just drifted up or down a little from week to week since then. Maybe the crowds had become used to the routine. They came, and cheered, and shattered eardrums, but week after week of repetition had worn the ritual down a little. Maybe the crowd had "gone corporate". Maybe too many of the regulars had permanently injured their vocal cords. Maybe they had bumped up against the "right wall" of human volume. No one knew for sure. And it didn't matter: the dome still rocked. --- The crowd noise built as the seconds until the show began ticked away. The lights went out, and the mass of humanity collectively took an anticipatory breath. Spotlights lit the center of the ring, creating an island of bright reality. Nuku-Nuku stood in it, holding a microphone. She giggled for a second, then raised the microphone. "Are you ready for some..." She stopped for effect, prolonging the moment and teasing the audience just long enough... "UltraReboot?" --- The Ultradome exploded. Not literally. No, Nabiki would not be paying for yet another new dome, but those inside and nearby would tell tales about the shockwave and reverberations as if it had. The Ultradome shuddered, then settled into its regular rocking motion. The problem with the Ultradome's design was that exact feature. The rocking was designed to be absorbed by ground... which saved the dome, but created unpleasant effects for its neighbors. It had long been known that the energies released by the crowd would register on the Richter scale, and those energies were channeled into the ground where they gained the form of an earthquake as well. This wasn't a new phenomenon - as the buildings around the dome fell apart or were condemned, Ultra had bought them out and built parking lots - but this night the radius of destruction extended an extra fifty meters. The buildings had been evacuated as usual, and everyone was insured, so it was okay. So much for that "right wall". --- The lights came up as the crowd calmed a little, and Hiroshi stood up and waved. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Ultra Reboot Four! Folks, do we have a show for you tonight! Eight of the best in a single-elimination Hardcore-rules tournament to decide this season's Internet Championship!" "Which is of dubious - ow!" Daisuke grabbed his side where his fellow announcer had elbowed him. "Work with me, Daisuke! We've got Ash Ketchum here to defend his title, but I'm sure the other seven fighters won't be a pushover. Ash starts the evening with a bout against Shaoran Li of Team Clow. Sakura Kinomoto, the other member of Team Clow, fights The Great Yaga in the first round, and Selphie and Duo will meet as well!" "Later in the evening we'll have the long-awaited Gamma title defense." Even Daisuke couldn't help but be a little excited. "Sagat will fight Iori in what will surely be a savage battle. Good thing we've got a secret guest referee to keep things under control!" "But first up tonight," crowed Hiroshi as he turned to the ring, "could be the ugliest match of the evening! That's Vega, already sitting there in the ring. He was Hardcore Champion until last week, and he's probably out for blood, or revenge, or something!" "No, definitely blood," noted Daisuke as Vega stood up and saluted with his claw. He casually tossed his well-worn whetstone to the (not-so-adoring) audience, then removed his UltraSound(tm) earplugs with a deliberately conspicuous gesture. "Hey, 'Rosh: so how do you feel about endorsing the same product as Vega?" "Don't remind me." Hiroshi shuddered. "They keep seating us together at the dealer promotions." Turning back to the microphone, he continued with the fight introduction. "His opponent has been around Ultra for a long time - she's a former Lambda Champion, but this season has been a little rocky for her with the sort-of kidnaping of one of her friends and expulsion from the organization her team was named for. Please welcome... Jessie!!!" Predictably, the lights went out and an almost-familiar refrain sounded from the ramp entrance. "To protect the world from devastation!" "To reunite old friends within our nation!" "To denounce the evils of bladed gloves!" "To extend our reach to the stars above!" "Jessie!" A spotlight picked out the redhead halfway down to the ring. She stood with an easy confidence, arms crossed and head held high. She was dressed in what appeared to be a standard Team Rocket uniform... except for the tiny "'s" stenciled next to the large "R". "James!" Another spotlight found the other Pokemon trainer back in the entrance. He clasped his hands behind his back and nodded politely, letting Jessie have all the glory for one evening. "Team ROCKETS blasts off at the speed of light!" Around the dome, a hundred small model rockets shot into the air. Their exhaust flames lit the dome a ruddy orange for an instant, then the main lights came back up in time for everyone to see the rockets deploy their parachutes and gracefully descend. "Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" "We wish Pikachu was here," wailed both members of Team Rockets. "That's right!" replied the audience automatically, but with sympathy. "I wonder," wondered Daisuke, "if this new name might be a little too similar to Team Rocket's name? Well, Ash is here, and they could meet next round, so we may find out." Jessie strode down to the ring, and James followed. She climbed up into it while he took a seat in her corner. The referee joined the two fighters, and the fight got under way without any further ceremony. ** REBOOT Round 1 ** Jessie vs. Vega ** FIGHT! Vega pulled his mask down and waved his claw through the air menacingly, though he did not advance towards Jessie. "I've been waiting all week for this. You're not quite the specimen that Tifa is, but your skin will slice prettily enough. Tell me, do you use a body moisturizer?" Jessie blinked. "Do I want to know why you want to know?" "Most girls don't. Want to know, that is..." Vega grinned underneath his mask and made a beckoning gesture. "Come on - the sooner we start fighting, the sooner the... unpleasantness will be over." Jessie shrugged and pulled out a Pokeball. "If that's what you really want... ARBOK! I choose you! Poison sting attack!" "Jessie is starting out with a relatively weak attack," noted Daisuke, "but if she can poison Vega, that could slow him down later on and win the fight." The snake Pokemon materialized in the ring and immediately lunged for Vega. The Spanish ninja wove around that first attack and tried to pin the creature to the mat with his claw. Arbok writhed, making Vega miss and moving laterally towards him. Not waiting for another command from its trainer, the purple snake took advantage of its position and wrapped itself around Vega's legs. He gasped as the coils squeezed and his joints creaked painfully, but his arms were still free and he was able to jam the claw into the Pokemon and try to pry himself loose. "Oooooh! Arbok takes a bad shot! But will Vega be able to keep away from those fangs?" Arbok hissed in pain and instinctively snapped at Vega even as it loosened its grip. The huge fangs closed momentarily on his shoulder, and a few drops of poison dripped into the wound. Vega grunted and booted the Pokemon as hard as he could as it pulled away. Jessie eyed the situation. Arbok had gotten in a couple of worthwhile attacks, but it was bleeding on the canvas and could not straighten itself out where Vega's kick had landed. Well, she was here to fight, not to abuse her Pokemon. "Arbok, return!" Vega smiled at the opening and started for Jessie. She needed something fast - "Electabuzz, go! Swift attack!" The Pokemon threw itself at Vega, but he snapped the bladed claw up to guard just in time. The force of the attack knocked him back into the ropes and the creature's electric aura made his long hair stick straight out, but the poor Pokemon nearly had split itself into pieces as it slammed into the claw. It collapsed into a heap and made pathetic buzzing noises. "Electabuzz, thank you. Return!" "Ugh." Daisuke grimaced. "And the claw claims another victim. It's no wonder that Vega likes Hardcore rules so much." Vega shook his head, attempting to clear it and settle his hair. After a moment he took a step towards Jessie... then stopped and winced as the poison in his shoulder chose that moment to twinge. "Those creatures... annoy me," he grated. "That's good, 'cuz I have more!" Time to pull out the big gun - "Articuno! Use your Ice Beam!" The huge bird popped out of the Pokeball. It flapped its wings to gain a little altitude, and then cut loose with the frozen blast. Vega blindly dove into the center of the ring, and the ropes behind where he had stood froze solid, then cracked and collapsed under their own weight. "And the ring takes a hard shot!" Hiroshi crowed. "Vega had better be grateful he dodged that one!" "Yeah, but look what Aritcuno is doing." Daisuke craned his neck to watch as the Pokemon gained altitude. "Vega needs to find a way out of this fast, or else he's going to be a pervertsicle." Articuno climbed a little more, just to make sure its opponent could not jump up to spear it. Vega growled in disgust - he had no attack that could reach this monster, and no way to block... or did he? Articuno tried another Ice Beam, and once more Vega had to roll out of the way. This time, he picked a direction to move in, and as he came to his feet Jessie was within arm's reach. Vega's free hand snapped out and grabbed Jessie by her neck. He leveled his claw just millimeters from her face. Articuno screamed in outrage, and reared back to blast him. Vega tightened his grip to force Jessie to concentrate on breathing and turned to the Pokemon. "You understand me, don't you? If you try that, she'll get an eyeful of blade." He turned back to his captive, who had stopped struggling. "Put your pet away. Now." He emphasized the point by tapping the tip of her nose with the middle blade of the claw. "And Jessie's in trouble! She won't be able to break free from a real fighter like Vega!" Jessie fished out the Pokeball and returned Articuno. Vega relaxed for a second, then twitched as something unexpected happened: the referee developed a backbone. "Hey, now! Miss Tendo doesn't want any-" The backbone (metaphorically) snapped as Vega snarled, "This is hardcore, *right*?" "Um, ye-" "Then I can't be disqualified if I do this." Without even looking Vega lashed out with his claw hand, backhanding the referee, who collapsed in a heap. "Now," wondered Vega, "where was I?" He tilted his head to better study his new canvas, then the claw flashed and two thin, bloody lines appeared on Jessie's right cheek. "Oh, the humanity!" screamed Hiroshi. "Will no one put a stop to Vega's perversions?!?" Daisuke closed his eyes and repeated quietly, "I am not seeing this... I am not seeing this..." Jessie wailed and once more began to struggle. Vega ignored the weak blows as he drew her close and sensually licked the dripping blood off her cheek... at least, it would have seemed sensual if he had not immediately flinched away and spat on the canvas. "Ack! *thbbbt* Too much makeup!" Jessie protested weakly. "Hey, a girl has to look her best, right?" "No matter. I'll just have my tongue scraped later... now hold very, very still. I wouldn't want to hurt you... yet." Vega pushed Jessie away a foot or two, and casually slipped the blade up under the white Team Rockets top. He twisted and pulled it back, and Jessie's outer layer of clothing instantly shredded. Jessie shrieked as the fragments of white cloth fell away. "Oh, shut up. You still have that black thing on, at least for now." He moved his claw down to the taut hem of her skirt... And James's one Pokeball beaned him squarely from behind. Vega finally dropped Jessie and spun to meet the attack just in time to see a small, pink, catlike Pokemon materialize at his feet. "Mew?" Behind him, Jessie scrambled away and out of the line of fire. The little Pokemon took in the situation quickly and expressed its disapproval. "MEW." "And Team Rocket uncorks their secret weapon! Will it be enough?" "Is it safe to look, now?" Even Vega knew enough about Pokemon to know this was bad news, but it was too late for him to dodge. "Mew!" The psychic blast launched the ninja through the ropes, over the Spanish announcers' table, and into the crowd. The medical team rushed out to care for several mildly-eviscerated fans as Vega twitched, unconscious. The referee naturally chose this moment to wake up. He spotted Jessie climbing to her feet just outside the ring and followed the trail of destruction up to where Vega lay. He counted down from ten and then signaled the end of the match. Jessie knelt down and hugged the little cat Pokemon. "Thanks for helping us out - I was really in trouble there..." "Meeeeeew." The psychic Pokemon radiated happiness, and Team Rockets basked in the glow for a moment before moving on to make room for the next fight. "We have a winner, Ultra fans! Jessie will move on to the semifinals after a scary win over Vega! She'll meet the winner of our next fight there." Daisuke turned to the camera and began his lead-in for the next fight. "The second bout of the evening is also a meeting between an Ultra oldtimer and a new face amongst the fighters. Ash Ketchum is last season's Internet Champion, and since then he's become even more formidable with the addition of powerful new Pokemon to his arsenal. Tifa showed us last week that he still can be beaten... but I have to think he's still a favorite in this tournament." "He sure is! By the end of the evening, we may have our very first repeat Internet Champion! And just a few minutes ago, he taped this interview with our very own Nuku-Nuku!" Hiroshi gestured to the Ultratron, which lit up with the catgirl's smiling face. "Hiiiii!" The camera pulled back to show a nonplused Ash standing next to Ultra's favorite mascot. "I just bumped into Ash here backstage. Now, you're going to be fighting Shaoran Li tonight - do you think you can beat him?" Ash grinned evilly. "I know I can beat him. He may have some cheap magic tricks, but I know that I can grind that cheating, thieving punk into a paste." "Huh?" Nuku-Nuku scratched her head. "Shaoran may fight sneaky sometimes, but how is he a thief?" "You know." Ash looked offended when Nuku-Nuku shook her head in negation. "He took Pikachu several weeks ago, and he hasn't returned him to me yet! But even that doesn't matter, as I'm really looking ahead to next round. I'm finally going to get a clean fight against Jessie. The world will finally see who the best Pokemon trainer in Ultra really is!" "Um, you mean Jessie?" "No, me, you doofus!" Ash turned to leave, then had a thought and turned back to the microphone. "And Jessie, I'm not going to go easy on you - you were warned about using the Team Rocket name, and you've stepped over the line." Now he stalked off, leaving Nuku-Nuku to wrap up. "Well, that's what Ash has to say about Shaoran, who Nuku-Nuku is definitely going to be cheering for!" She smiled and waved, "Bye bye!" The crowd laughed and waved back as the Ultratron faded to its normal Ultra logo. The laughing faded away, though, as Ash came out of the tunnel and marched down to the ring. He stood in his corner, arms folded with studied impatience as the second fighter was introduced. "Team Clow has made quite a splash in the Lambda division with their magic - they are not the strongest fighters physically, but their diverse magic talents more than compensate. Shaoran Li may not use as many Clow cards as his precocious teammate, but he certainly knows what he's doing in the ring." "But can he compete with Ash's giant Pokemon?!?" Hiroshi waited a moment for the cue, then belted out, "We're about to find out, because here he is! Shaoran Li!" The young mage walked down to the ring, his sword leaning casually on his shoulder. It was obvious that he had eluded Team Clow's wardrobe department this evening - his simple green tunic and baggy black pants were elegant, to be sure, but were obviously intended as clothing fo fighting instead of showing off. He got only a tepid response from the crowd at first, but then Nuku-Nuku came out behind him in an abbreviated cheerleader's uniform, calling out "Go Li go Li GOOOO!" and waving a pompom wildly above her head. The audience had to cheer that... though Shaoran blushed at the spectacle. Shaoran climbed into the ring and stared crossly at his opponent. "I'm no thief - and Pikachu isn't yours, anyway." "Pikachu is my Pokemon," contradicted Ash. "He was given to me, as my first Pokemon. I cared for him, I protected him, I taught him to fight. I still have his Pokeball, and I never, ever agreed to trade him or give him to Jessie or James." Shaoran blinked at Ash's intensity, then smiled as the perfect return taunt occurred to him. "Heh. Well, I bet he won't mind helping me beat you." ** REBOOT Round 1 ** Ash Ketchum vs. Shaoran Li ** FIGHT! Ash snarled and started dropping Pokemon. "Houndoom! Use Flamethrower! Steelix, circle around behind, and Bind him if he runs away! Hitmonlee, stay back and guard me." Steelix plowed through the ropes and into the front rows audience, who collectively screamed and ran away. Hitmonlee looked irritated as it moved between the trainer and the mage, but followed orders nonetheless. Houndoom started blasting flames even before it had fully materialized, but it took a second before its fire focused properly on-target. Hiroshi started the fight call. "Ash puts out a good spread of Pokemon and it looks like he has a plan! What can Shaoran Li do to counter?" "We still don't know just how powerful his magic is," Daisuke analyzed. "He's pulled off a few nasty tricks in the ring, but he's going to have his hands full with this many threat axes." Shaoran grimaced as the squad of well-trained Pokemon fanned out according to Ash's commands. This was going to be a difficult fight. He dove and rolled beneath Houndoom's flames, checked behind him to make sure the Steelix was not about to grab him (it wasn't), and quickly fired off his first spell before Houndoom could reload. "Lord of the Sea, hear my call!" A torrent of glowing water shot from the tip of his sword and drenched the fire Pokemon. "Shaoran gets in the first good shot, and it looks like Ash is down one Pokemon already!" The Houndoom yiped as its internal flames were extinguished, and Ash recalled it immediately. "I see you're pretty fast on the trigger tonight... STEELIX!" Shaoran didn't wait to hear what Ash was going to command his giant Pokemon to do. He pulled a Clow card from his tunic and spun to face Steelix. "Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Yellow streamers of light swirled in from all directions and coalesced into the little Pokemon. Pikachu automatically discharged its attack, striking the Steelix with waves of electrical discharge. The huge Pokemon was knocked back for a second, but quickly shrugged off the effects of the attack. Pikachu finally got a good look at what it had just attacked and sweatdropped mightily. "Piiiikaaaa..." Shaoran blinked as his plans suddenly disintegrated. "But, but..." he sputtered. "Steelix is listed as a steel-type Pokemon? Why didn't that hurt it? Metal, electricity, zap?" Ash laughed. "Didn't read far enough in your FAQ, did you? Not all the types really behave the way their names would lead you to believe." "It looks like Shaoran has made a critical miscalculation," explained Daisuke. "Not only are steel-type pokemon not especially vulnerable to electric attacks, but it's also a ground-type, which actually resists electricity." Pikachu crossed its forelegs and regarded Shaoran with disgust. "Pika, pichu kachu. Pikachu!" it lectured angrily. "And even Pikachu knew better than to try that," laughed Hiroshi. Ash smiled. "Anyway, I was hoping you would try that. Hitmonlee! Thief attack!" The fighting Pokemon leapt at the surprised young mage. Shaoran successfully parried the flying kick with his sword, but Hitmonlee landed, spun, snatched the Clow card out of his other hand, then booted him once in the stomach before dashing back across the ring to Ash. In the instant that The PIKA left Shaoran's hand Pikachu simply dissolved away in a puff of yellow mist. "Oh, no!" Hiroshi screamed. "Pikachu gets stolen *again*!" Ash took the card from his Pokemon and grinned. "Finally, my friend comes home. Steelix, end this please." The steel Pokemon snaked back into the ring and encircled Shaoran. He lashed out with his sword, but it merely bounced off the diamond-hard scales. Out of options, he grabbed the other card in his pocket and invoked it. "TIME card! Speed me up to five times norm - urk!" The TIME kicked in despite the incomplete spell, and Shaoran was suddenly moving five times faster than normal... or at least he would have been if Steelix had not already wrapped him in its Bind attack. Instead, he got to experience being crushed by a ten-ton monster for five times as long. He quickly dispelled the effect and waved his surrender to the referee, not bothering to wait until he passed out from the pain or lack of oxygen. "So Shaoran decides that not getting killed is better part of valor, and taps out." Daisuke blinked in realization. "I guess that means we're going to get an all-Pokemon semifinal after all!" Ash quickly recalled his Pokemon and walked off. Shaoran slowly got to his feet and called after him, "Hey! Bring back that card!" Ash just ignored him. "Even if you truly think it's yours, you won't be able to get Pikachu out of it!" Ash slipped silently into the tunnel, not even once looking back. "I just can't wait," cried Hiroshi. "Will Ash figure out how to use the PIKA card? Will he try some nefarious, underhanded tactic to punish Team Rockets for trademark infringement! Or will Jesse find some way to win out against Ash's bigger, badder Pokemon! We've got creamy Ultra goodness on tap tonight!" --- "..." "..." "..." "..." "...nice tux." "...thanks. The Ultra costumers picked it out - I'm helping out a little later, and Nabiki made sure I'd be dressed for the occasion. You look fantastic, too." She leaned into his arm a little, and he relaxed as for once they started a conversation without it turning into a confrontation. "So... what have you been up to? I haven't seen you around much recently." He felt her stiffen, but at least she didn't pull away. It was a few seconds before she replied. "I've been training," she declared. "...experimenting a little, I guess you could say." What did that mean? "Really? Anything I'd be interested in?" She chuckled, then relaxed once more. "Yes, though I suspect you've probably tried a lot of it before." She craned her neck to look more directly at him, and he could see the intent and determination in her eyes. "Let me work through things a little more - I want to surprise you." He leaned over and they kissed. "I guess I'll survive the wait. I've just missed you, 'ya know?" "Oh, Ranma..." --- "The third first-round bout is perhaps the most bizarre matchup we'll see tonight!" "While my esteemed colleague here is probably exaggerating a little, it is hard to imagine two fighters that have less in common than Sakura and Yaga," Daisuke deadpanned. "Yaga is a huge man with a long history in the ring. He's entirely a hand-to-hand fighter - all his special moves are straight out of the wrestling playbook." "And little Sakura is one of the newest, youngest, and certainly cutest fighters in Ultra!" Hiroshi ignored Daisuke's mumbled, "Don't you already have a girlfriend?" "Her entire fighting style is based on magic - while she can fight in the traditional sense, it's only because she has a Clow card that allows her to do so! Do you really think she has a chance in the ring? Yaga beat Bean last week, a fighter who weighs maybe five times more than Sakura, and is at least that much stronger to boot." "If this was a normal match, Yaga would be the clear favorite. He's powerful, reasonably mobile, and he'd only need to catch Sakura once." Daisuke frowned. "But Reboot uses Hardcore rules, which means that Sakura isn't limited to the ring. I think she'll create some distance, then just blast him." "We're about to find out, Ultra fans, 'cuz here they are! Sakura Kinomoto and the Great Yaga!!" For once, both fighters came out at the same time. Yaga marched proudly down to the ring, in the usual manner... but he was ignored by almost everyone (save a few jeering Bean Bandit fans, still disappointed by the fight a week before). In fact, most of the audience totally missed his entrance as Sakura literally flew into the arena. Sakura was riding her Key Staff much like a witch's broom, and she was dressed to match. A huge pointed black hat was perched jauntily on her head, and she wore a long black dress with a train that trailed behind her as she glided smoothly around the Ultradome. Just in front of her on the Key Staff rode Keroberos, desperately trying to hold on to the thin rod with his imitation hands. He was dyed jet black to match the rest of the costume. After circling the ring twice, Sakura finally swooped down to the canvas. The crowd roared their approval as she dispelled the wings on her staff and took a bow. Yaga roared, too. "How dare you upstage my entrance! Have a little respect for your elders, girl!" Keroberos floated out of the ring to Sakura's corner as she replied. "Have a little respect for the girl who's going to clobber you," the little black stuffed animal cried, powerposing. "Big words from the little girl's toy! But will she have the stuff to back them up?" Hiroshi wondered. "This is her first time in the ring without her partner, who is still shaking off the effects of the pounding Ash gave him earlier this evening. This fight may well come down to whether she can operate without backup." ** REBOOT Round 1: ** Sakura Kinomoto vs. The Great Yaga ** FIGHT! Yaga marched straight for Sakura, intending to end the fight quickly. He reached to grab her, but she ducked under his grasping arms and invoked her first Clow card of the match on the run. "FLY!" Once more, her staff sprouted wings, and she circled up from the ring. "Daisuke was right! There she goes, folks, and Yaga has no way to counter!" Yaga made a running leap for her foot, but he fell ten centimeters short of the mark. Sakura looked around the dome, searching for a place to set down... and found the perfect spot. She set down on the lighting rig and settled into a secure seated position in the junction of several large metal bars. "Hey! What sort of fight is this? Get back down here!" Yaga looked for a way up to where Sakura sat, but without exiting the arena and reentering from a lighting service entrance there was no way to do so without flying. He squinted, shielding his eyes from the glare as he tried to pinpoint exactly where Sakura's attacks would be coming from. ...was that a second girl he saw in the rafters? He blinked, and focused on his opponent. "I told you so." Daisuke was smug. "There's nothing Yaga can do to reach Sakura, and she's about to-" "SHOT!" A rapid-fire stream of glowing energy balls zinged down from the ceiling. Yaga dove and rolled away from them. The first dozen only burnt holes in the canvas, but a couple at the tail end of the blast caught Yaga on his thigh. It was enough to knock him down, but a second later he was back on his feet, not even limping. Not that he had anywhere he could go... Sakura frowned in mild annoyance - it was a good thing Shaoran had forced her to pack something stronger, but she knew he would be insufferable about it for the next two weeks. "ARROW!" A giant shining arrow streaked towards Yaga, only to split into a volley of smaller arrows that rained around Yaga. The wrestler writhed and twisted in a desperate attempt to avoid Sakura's new attack, but he flopped the wrong direction and took a half-meter glowing arrow right in the gut. "Gaaaaah!" Yaga went down again, and this time the referee had a chance to count to six before he struggled to his feet. "Will Sakura finish Yaga off with another ARROW attack? Or will does she have something even more powerful to humiliate him with?" The wrestler shook with anger as he waited, helpless, for the next attack to arrive. This was so blatantly unfair! Jack had set him up... but there was an option, wasn't there? No, there wasn't. That would turn the crowd against him permanently. "ARROW" This time the giant arrow split immediately and the entire ring was filled with deadly streaks of light. Yaga spun and leapt for a gap in the pattern, but his foot went numb as a zigging arrow bolt caught it. He landed poorly and fell on his face. Sakura laughed, and so did the crowd. Perhaps the eternal loathing of millions of Ultra fans would be preferable to this, after all. Yaga stalked over to his corner and grabbed a sheet of paper from a flunky as Sakura prepared for a finishing blow. A favorite card glowed in mid-air just in front of her, and she raised her staff overhead for a dramatic activation. "WIN-" "STOP!" Yaga's shout cut off Sakura's summoning. He brandished the paper at her, and announced, "This is my contract, and it says I have complete authority to book my weekly match as I see fit! And since you're denying my fans the pleasure of watching me in a fair fight, I say that there will be no Clow cards allowed in this fight! Give them to the referee, and we'll finish this the proper way." As the crowd figured out what Yaga meant, they began to boo and scream obscenities. Yaga stood and took it - he had chosen this course and there was no going back. Sakura was incredulous. "But-" "No buts! You know I have this right - I've been setting terms for my matches all season. If you don't play by the rules, you'll be disqualified!" The referee looked up from the corner, where he was frantically skimming through another copy of the contract, and nodded reluctantly. The crowd hooted and jeered their disapproval, but there was nothing they could do to affect the match. "Whoa!" bellowed Hiroshi. "It looks like Yaga just might have turned the match around! With a sheet of paper! And the fans are up in arms, too." Daisuke pursed his lips. "It all depends on what Sakura does now. If she doesn't play along with Yaga, it gets very tricky. The preannounced hardcore rules might trump Yaga's contract, but I suspect the argument would end up in court." Sakura pondered the situation for a moment, and the audience held its breath. Finally, she held out one more card. "FLY" Yaga drew breath to bellow at this infraction, but this time Sakura cut him off. "At least let me come down from here... " She made a barely-controlled descent to the ring, abandoning all sense of decorum and style. One last time, she banished FLY, then handed her sheaf of cards to the referee. "Don't lose these." "So Sakura decides to play by Yaga's rules! Does she have a plan, or is she merely suicidal!" She turned back to Yaga and stiffened in an untrained fighting pose. "Okay, are you satisfied now? Can we get this over with?" Sakura did her best to sound brave, but those in the front rows could see stark fear in her eyes. Yaga nodded, and once more leapt for Sakura. Once more, she ducked through his arms... but this time she had no magical tool to enact a full escape with. Yaga twirled and caught her with an elbow that caught her between the shoulderblades. Sakura was knocked across the ring and sprawled face-first on the mat. Daisuke had covered his eyes once again. "Definitely suicidal." She struggled to her feet, but Yaga was right there. He clamped his hand over her right wrist and began to spin in place. A larger opponent would have simply been dragged in a circle, but Sakura was so light that she went airborne almost immediately. Yaga let go at precisely the right moment, and she flew straight into a turnbuckle. Sakura collapsed in a heap and the referee moved in to start the count, but The Great Yaga was on autopilot. He picked the girl up, lifted her overhead, and almost casually tossed her back down to the canvas in a classic bodyslam. "Yaga has gone berserk!" screamed Hiroshi frantically. "Someone, stop this now!" he pleaded. The bell rang, not waiting for the count. The referee jumped between Yaga and the motionless girl, forgetting in the heat of the moment what usually happens to Ultra officials that get in the way. Yaga was startled by the interference from such an unexpected source, and that finally broke his rhythm. He looked down at the still form of his opponent, and his expression darkened with a mixture of rage and grief, horror and self-loathing. He stood and watched as the Ultra medical staff took Sakura away. As the stretcher cleared the ring a rain of half-empty food and beverage containers started. Yaga stood his ground for a moment as the crowd pelted him with refuse and obscenities, but then the security staff dragged him away from the danger. As Yaga was herded out of the arena, he finally understood how he had been manipulated. His lips twisted and he spat out a name. "Jack." The man had a lot to answer for. --- It only took a minute for This Old Dojo to clean up the mess. Hiroshi watched as the last puddle of cola and ice was mopped up and the patching of the singed canvas concluded. As the crew members left the ring, he picked his microphone and got the show back on track. Duo made his way down the ramp, acknowledging the cheers with a wave. He stopped briefly to autograph a Deathscythe model held out to him by a fan, then continued into the ring. He vaulted over the ropes and landed with a thump on the canvas. As his opponent was still on her way to the ring, he prepared with some painful-looking stretching that drew some "ooohs" from his fans. Selphie climbed through the ropes with a forced-looking smile and wink for the audience, ignoring the occasional boos. She bounced a couple of times in a half-hearted way. A production assistant tried to hand her a microphone, but she didn't notice even when he tried to shove it into her hand. He shrugged and left the ring, and the official signaled that everything was ready. "That's odd," said Daisuke, scratching his head. "Normally Selphie wouldn't pass up an opportunity to taunt her opponent. I wonder if something is wrong?" "She's just focused on the fight, Dai! She's gathering herself for what promises to be an absolute war! I wouldn't be surprised if she uncorks some fantastic new attack right away." The bell rang. ** REBOOT Round 1: ** Selphie Tilmitt vs. Duo Maxwell ** FIGHT! Duo bounded out of his corner, his fists raised and a cocky grin on his face. Selphie dropped her flail and took a couple of steps forward with her hands raised above her head in a completely unthreatening manner. "Wait! Wait, wait!" Duo stopped just a step in front of Selphie, his left fist cocked for a huge haymaker. "Why," he asked suspiciously, "would I want to wait? Is your pal about to break a chair over my head or something? Do you need more time to cast a spell that's going to fry me?" "No, it's just... well... can we talk for a second?" Selphie asked earnestly. "Please?" Duo blinked. Hiroshi and Daisuke blinked. Heck, just about everyone in the Ultradome blinked. "Some 'fantastic new attack' this is. What's she going to do, ask him to lie down?" "Shhhh! I can't hear what they're saying, Daisuke!" Selphie and Duo had put their heads together and were having a rather friendly-looking whispered conversation. Duo still looked tense, but he relaxed as more time passed without a sneak attack. The crowd quieted, but only a few words could heard outside the ring. Selphie was doing most of the talking, but Duo seemed to mostly agree with whatever she had to say. "...so, so awful... ...you know, really clobber... ...could be hurt... ...put on a... ...promise to... ...a great way..." As the impromptu conference continued, the crowd began to jeer and boo. After about forty seconds Selphie stuck out her hand, and Duo shook it. They each returned to their corners, and Selphie picked up her weapon. --- Nabiki was livid. "What does she think she's doing! This is a contract violation!" Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. This has to happen." --- "Whatever that was about, it looks like they're finally ready to get it on," shouted Hiroshi, desperate to draw the disillusioned crowd back into the scene. "I wonder what they agreed on?" mused Daisuke. "Duo isn't the sort who would throw a fight, but I can't imagine Selphie would, either..." The two fighters nodded to each other politely, then sprang into action. Once again, Duo moved quickly to the attack. Selphie opted for a more defensive stance, spinning the huge wooden device in front of her to form a shield. Duo stopped momentarily to consider the best way to attack, then launched a kick into the center of Selphie's defensive pattern, trying to knock the weapon from her hands or at least out of position. Selphie read the attack perfectly, and hooked his foot with the chain. She spun in place, adding her muscle to his momentum and slamming him leg-first into the turnbuckle in her corner. "It looks like Selphie gets the first shot in." Daisuke scratched his head. "Duo's a friend, and I hate to say this, but I think he's just a little outclassed here, even if Selphie doesn't use her magic." Duo went down, but rolled away in time to avoid the forty pounds of wood that pounded into the mat where his chest had been a moment ago. "Yow!" He sprung back to his feet, but backed off a little, slightly favoring one leg. "That," he commented, "is one *mean* weapon." Selphie giggled brightly, her earlier pensiveness totally gone. "Thank you!" She decided it was her turn to attack, and slung the flail out in front of her with an overhead casting motion. It was aimed for Duo's head, and he ducked forward and to the side. Rather than the end of the flail caving his forehead in, the (relatively) soft chain smacked his shoulder. Selphie tried to draw her weapon back, but Duo wrapped one hand in the chain and tugged. The SeeD came flying at him, and he headbutted her. "Wow," wowed Hiroshi. "That's gotta sting!" Selphie landed on her butt, plainly dazed. Duo tossed the flail to one side and wound up for a kick. Selphie blinked her eyes clear just in time to raise a block. Duo kept kicking, and Selphie continued to block. She tried to grab his foot once, but missed and took a glancing blow on her arm for the trouble. Finally she rolled away, and Duo let her go. "So the question is how tough are you without that big stick-chain-thingy? Can you fight at all with your hands?" Duo grinned as Selphie realized her weapon was on the other side of the ring. "Let's find out." He leapt towards her. "Why isn't he worried about her magic?" wondered Daisuke. She met his charge in mid-ring, ducking under his first wild punch and kneeing him in the stomach. Duo grunted, but kept swinging. His second blow caught her solar plexus, and she doubled over just in time to meet his uppercut with her chin. Selphie went flying back into the ropes. She laid on them for support as Duo advanced on her, clearly ready to finish the fight. As he came within range, Selphie's gaze focused on something behind him, and she cried out sharply, "No! Zell, don't!" Duo turned around to see Selphie's partner standing just a yard away, with a folding chair raised for a disabling blow. The martial artist from SeeD looked surprised. "But you said to-" "No." "You-know-who won't like this at all..." "Just... not tonight, okay?" Zell shook his head in disgust and lowered the chair. "It's your choice." He climbed down from the ring, opened up his chair, and sat down next to Selphie's corner. "Oh my gosh!" Hiroshi was seriously flabbergasted. "The SeeDs of Destruction DIDN'T cheat! What's going on here?" Duo didn't relax his guard, but nodded respectfully to Selphie. "I guess you really meant it. I'm... pleasantly surprised." "Don't think for a moment this means I'm not going to kick your ass into next week," she blustered, reaching down to retrieve the flail. She picked it up, but her guard was lower than before. "Let's get this over with." Once more the fighters met in the center of the ring. This time Selphie tried a complicated entangling maneuver with the flail chain. It wrapped itself around both of Duo's legs and one of his arms. He struggled to block her punches with one hand, and ended up falling backwards. He grabbed her wrist as he went down and managed to throw her past him into the ropes. She ended up tangled upside down in them. Duo managed to wiggle free from the flail before Selphie could extract herself from the ropes. He tossed the heavy weapon out of the ring, crushing a fan who jumped to catch it. As Selphie stood and turned to face him, he caught her with a roundhouse punch, then booted her hard in the stomach. She went down, doubled over in pain. The referee came over and counted her out. Selphie waved off the medical techs and sat up on her own after a few more seconds. Duo walked over to her and offered her a hand. "Good fight," he said. He whispered something in her ear as she stood, and she gave him a thankful smile before Zell helped her out of the ring. "So Duo is going to face Yaga in the second round! That's going to be one helluva fight, folks. Yaga certainly is not fond of the younger fighters in Ultra, and Duo didn't take too much of a beating here so he'll be fresh and ready to rumble!" Hiroshi was hysterical with excitement. "Don't you think this was just a little suspicious? Selphie didn't cast a single spell. And what's with her telling Zell *not* to cheat?" "But did you see the blows she was trying? If Duo had been just a little slower, he'd be a bloody wreck in the Ultra infirmary right now! And why would Selphie throw a fight?" Daisuke shrugged. "Maybe we'll find out later." --- Up in the owner's box, a production assistant answered the phone. She listened for a moment, hen passed the handset on to Jack. "It's for you, sir." "Hey! Jack here! ...I thought you might change your mind. It's already set up, I'll just send the map you'll need down to you... No, I don't care, but Nabiki would remind you that this is a family show. Use your best judgement. ...no, thank you!" Jack put down the phone and turned back to look out the window into the Ultradome. Nabiki stepped in front of him. "Is this something I need to know about?" "Not really." He lifted his wineglass and tilted it back and forth, idly wondering why Nabiki wasted money on such expensive vintages. "I feel like I'm losing my sense of controversy - more and more I'm booking to satisfy the needs of the moment, and I can't afford to indulge in random silliness. I could have told you this morning almost precisely what was going to happen in the first round... even the ugly moments. And that was confirmation of what I had hoped would happen this round." "You said it this morning, Jack. People change. And you're doing a great job - the instant numbers are looking good for tonight. Releasing the bracket ahead of time really generated a lot of interest. Don't feel guilty for making money." "I don't feel guilty about the money, I feel guilty for getting a couple of little girls hurt." --- *This certainly feels familiar,* Jessie thought to herself as she eyed the leather-clad boy who was glaring at her from the other side of the ring. "Alright, twerp...I can't believe I'm about to hear myself say this again, but hand over Pikachu." "Typical..." Ash smirked. "Now all these people know you're nothing but a two-bit thief." The crowd jeered, and Jessie glowered. "*Me* a thief? You're the one who's holding someone else's Pokemon captive, you little snot!" Ash jabbed a finger at the older trainer for emphasis. "WRONG! Pikachu was MY Pokemon before it belonged to anyone else! Just because it left me doesn't mean it was ever anyone else's Pokemon! And now that I've got Pikachu back, it's staying with me for good!" As the crowd roared their disapproval, he turned to glare at all of them. "Shut up! All you idiots just SHUT UP! You don't know ANYTHING! You worship thieves and cheaters and lowlifes!" He gestured at his opponent. "Look at her! She won earlier tonight by cheating, and you're acting like she's a real hero!" He jerked a thumb at his own chest. "You didn't catch *me* cheating! I won my match fair and square! That's the way a real champion plays!" Jessie closed her eyes, a vein pulsing in her forehead. For a long moment, she did little except take a few deep breaths (much to the delight of the nosebleed section). At length, she opened her eyes, focusing a calm, steady, determined gaze on Ash. "Alright. I've had all I can stand of you, Ash. I promised the scrawny girl I'd bring you back around to your old self if at all possible... I don't know if I can, and I'm beginning to not care, but James and I have worked very hard to gain the respect and admiration of all these wonderful people, and I will not stand here and put up with your garbage anymore! For me, for my partner, for the fans, for Pikachu...I'm going to win this match!" Ash snickered, crossing his arms. "Cute speech. But do you really think a cheater like you can beat a real Pokemon master?" "Some master," the former Rocket snorted. "Well then, why don't we make this match something a cheater like you is more familiar with?" "What are you going to do?" Jessie asked resignedly. "Let's make this an all-out battle," the leather-clad boy said. "Six on six. All my Pokemon against all your Pokemon. That way your...*fans* will get at least a little more show out of this match." As the crowd murmured and jeered, Jessie blinked. "Six...? Well...I guess so..." The UltraTron flickered, the face of the Controversial One filling the enormous screen. "Now, normally, I'd have to put the kibosh on that sort of thing right away." Ash blinked. "Why? There's no rule against it." "Because you'd wreck the arena, that's why! Nabiki can't quite afford a new one yet," the spiky-haired booker retorted. Calming himself, he grinned lopsidedly. "But I've already arranged battlefields for both semifinals, where you won't do as much damage and will have much a more interesting atmosphere. That okay with you?" "Fine by me," the biker boy nodded, clenching a fist. "I've got no problem with that," Jessie said, though she seemed a bit nervous. The head booker chuckled, and a portal opened. "Good! Then let's get a move on, you two have a match to fight!" Ash and Jessie glowered at each other for a moment, then stalked through the portal, followed by the referee. As it closed behind them, the two Pokemon trainers looked around in astonishment as they realized where they were... ** REBOOT Semifinal: ** Jessie vs. Ash Ketchum ** FIGHT! Jessie's eyes widened as she beheld the structure looming above them. Decked out in bright lights, its girders stretched into the sky, seeming to reach up into the stars and become one with them. During the day, this massive structure was awe-inspiring. At night, with its artificial illumination of the city skyline, it could literally take one's breath away. "Tokyo Tower..." Ash snorted, and began tossing Pokeballs. "Steelix, Magneton, Skarmory, Houndoom, Scyther, Hitmonlee, I choose you!" The ex-Rocket stared at the collection of severe, battle-hungry Pokemon facing her, and took an involuntary step backward. After a moment, she began tossing out Pokeballs of her own. "Cyndaquil, Electabuzz, Arbok, Victreebel, Articuno, Persian, go!" A pair of camera pods floated into view, and a holographic image of Jack popped up between the combatants. "Just to make this more interesting," he said, "I had one of the boys hide something up on the Tower itself." He held up a photo of a flaccid rubber chicken. "This is Mr. Duck's cousin, Mr. Cluck. If one of you manages to find Mr. Cluck and make it back to the portal that will open once the chicken is moved, you'll be declared the winner and advance to the finals." He waved. "Now, move out!" Ash smirked. "Forget that, only a cheater goes for the easy win." "How can it possibly be cheating if it's an official rule?" Jessie demanded. Without waiting for an answer, she snapped out, "Victreebel, Poisonpowder! Persian, Screech! Articuno, Mist! Cyndaquil, Smokescreen! Electabuzz, Thunder Wave! Keep the twerp and his Pokemon busy!" As the air filled with smoke, fog, static electricity, toxic pollen, and the horrendous screeching of a feline Pokemon, the redhead charged toward the Tower, hoping the elevator was operational. Ash smirked as the various distraction techniques washed over his three Steel-types harmlessly. The other three Pokemon in his arsenal didn't fare quite as well; Hitmonlee began to sway a bit on its feet as a greenish tint washed over its normally brown skin, Scyther twitched a bit from the effects of Thunder Wave, and Houndoom seemed a bit less menacing than it had moments earlier. "Nice try, but you're not dealing with an amateur here! Houndoom, use Pursuit--don't let her get to the elevator! Scyther, mow down that weed! Hitmonlee, take out Persian! Skarmory, you take care of Articuno! Magneton, you deal with Cyndaquil! Steelix, Bind that Electabuzz and put its lights out!" The six Team Rocket Pokemon spread out, advancing on their targets as their master had commanded. Jessie was brought up short in her headlong dash for the elevator as a large black dog suddenly appeared in front of her, snarling and growling, eyes glowing red. She backed up slowly, trying to find some way out. "Arbok, help me out over here!" "Chaaaaaaaaaaaabok!" The purple snake Pokemon slithered toward its trainer's call, interposing itself between her and the demonic dog. Arbok's hood flared as it hissed at its adversary; Houndoom backed up two steps and unleashed a bloodcurdling howl. Ash grinned, crossing his arms. "This is gonna be so easy." --- Elsewhere, Electabuzz dodged frantically as the massive steel serpent dove toward it, creating cracks and craters in the pavement with each near miss. "Eeeeeelebebebebrrrzzzzz!" the stout cat grumbled as it stamped out of the path of its opponent. The Pokemon began to spark as it unleashed another Thunder Wave, which simply passed across Steelix's skin without causing any damage whatsoever. The massive creature bellowed laughter at the smaller Pokemon, then lashed around with its tail, slamming Electabuzz toward the Tower like a golf ball. The striped Pokemon flew through the girders of the structure and landed somewhere near the central core of the Tower, dazed and gibbering incoherently. --- "Cynda?" The hedgehog Pokemon looked curiously up at the hovering ball of metal which glared balefully down at it with three electric eyes. "Mag. Ne. Ton." With no further communication necessary, the mechanical Pokemon began its sonic assault on Cyndaquil, sending the smaller creature tumbling end over end across the ground. "Quiiiil!" Cyndaquil shouted as it stood, dizzy from the assault. It hunched down and glared at its opponent, the flames on its back flaring up brightly as it opened its mouth and spat out a ball of flames. The spherical Pokemon bobbed and wove as several more fireballs followed; none were quite fast enough to hit. Without warning, a spark flared from one of the magnets on Magneton's body, striking Cyndaquil and sending it flying. --- Victreebel bounced around, attempting to Vine Whip the insane insect which was chasing it all around the base of the tower. "SCYTHER!" the bug roared, bloodlust in its eyes as it lashed out, severing a vine with a sharp foreleg. "Bel! Bel, bel!" The pitcher plant convulsed, spewing a thick black spray of acidic nectar. Scyther screamed as one of its wings was clipped by the attack, smoke curling as delicate tissue bubbled. The insect Pokemon wobbled in flight, before landing to give its injured wing a rest. Advancing angrily, Scyther began clashing its scythes together, sending sparks flying. The plant Pokemon wasted no time in discharging a flurry of Razor Leaves, which Scyther casually batted out of the air. A wicked gleam entered the bug's eyes as it suddenly launched into a flurry of action, spinning and whirling and slashing. Victreebel cringed and cried out as the blades of Scyther's forelegs cut deep gashes in its body. Sap, water, and flecks of plant pulp filled the air as the unfortunate Pokemon was shredded by its assailant. --- "Prrrrrrrrrr," the cream-colored cat said as it glared at its opponent, baring sharpened claws. "Mon!" The slightly greenish Pokemon replied, assuming a defensive stance. Persian launched itself at the fighting Pokemon like a panther, lashing out with claws and gnashing its teeth wildly. The poisoned Hitmonlee staggered under the assault, barely managing to put up a defense to absorb some of the punishment. Once the cat's attack wore down, the fighting Pokemon wavered, then launched itself into the air. "Hit!" A forward kick slammed into Persian's forehead. "Mon!" A rolling kick knocked the cat off its paws. "Lee!" A double kick rendered Persian senseless. "Prrrrrsian!" The gold coin on Persian's forehead gleamed, and Hitmonlee staggered. A shower of coins erupted from the injured Pokemon, and Persian's eyes lit up with greedy glee. Suddenly, Hitmonlee began to glow. "Mon..." Its eyes flashed, and Persian felt its body lock up. Hunching down, the fighting Pokemon flared with a bright blue battle aura. "Hit!" Its gaze met the feline's and locked. "Moooooooon....LEE!" Hitmonlee launched itself into the air, flying toward the stunned cat at barely subsonic speeds. As soon as its foot collided, the Pokemon spun, drew back the other leg, and launched it outward, its leg extending to almost four times its normal length to slam its heel into Persian, knocking the cat into the distance. As soon as it recovered from the Mega Kick, Hitmonlee began to wobble. The greenish tint had become significantly more pronounced, and sweat beaded on the Pokemon's forehead. "Moooon..." it moaned weakly before collapsing in a dead faint. --- Two birds circled the titanic transmitter, screeching battle cries at each other as they traded blows from a distance. The glowing yellow stars of Skarmory's Swift met the cold gusts of Articuno's Powder Snow, cancelling each other out. At length, Skarmory dove toward the ground unexpectedly. As Articuno watched the skies for any traces of its opponent, the metallic bird suddenly appeared right behind it, its Agility enhancing its speed tenfold. Articuno cried out in pain as its belly was nearly ripped open by a vicious Drill Peck. Using its own Agility to escape, Articuno put several meters between itself and Skarmory, then turned around and opened its beak wide, emitting its powerful Ice Beam. Skarmory shrieked and dodged, nearly winged by the attack; the powerful beam slammed into the framework of the Tower instead. An ominous creak rent the air as decades-old metal was flash-frozen. Skarmory blurred behind the other airborne Pokemon and attempted to slice it open with Steel Wing. Articuno whipped around and unleashed a Gust attack, causing Skarmory to swerve off-course and crash into the side of the Tower. Another Ice Beam lanced out, this time nailing the steel bird directly in the head. "SKAAAAAAR!" it cried, shortly before its beak froze in place. The metallic Pokemon plummeted to the ground, encased in ice. --- Victreebel glowered at the bug Pokemon standing less than a meter away, wiping flecks of greenery from its scythes. The pitcher plant was bleeding profusely, leaves and vines laying in pieces around its base. Through the haze of pain, a kernel of instinct penetrated the plant Pokemon's tiny mind. Although it had never been the most obedient creature, it was still domesticated, but the heat of battle and the horrendous damage inflicted upon it by Scyther knocked loose a primal instinct which had been buried as soon as the Pokeball had first locked around it. Scyther blinked and began to sniff the air as a sweet, alluring scent permeated its immediate vicinity. Lured by the delectable aroma of fresh nectar, the bug Pokemon floated toward the source, eager to drink deeply after such an exhausting battle. Instinct can be a powerful thing, overriding any training or counteractive impulses. Which, in Scyther's case, is a very unfortunate thing, as the hapless insect didn't realize until it was too late that the sweet odor was coming from its battered opponent. Of the two Pokemon, one had a very nice snack. And, it reflected, bugs taste a lot better than floofy trainers. --- Arbok hissed in pain as the hellhound stood over it, fangs bared and eyes glowing. Jessie stood helplessly by as her oldest and dearest Pokemon ally was picked up in the jaws of a malicious beast and tossed around like a rag doll. "Chaaaaa..." Arbok hissed as it was slammed into the ground repeatedly. Houndoom bellowed its satisfaction as it dropped the battered snake, a bark that filled Jessie's blood with cold dread. "Arbok... no..." So shocked was she, that she failed to notice the dark Pokemon advancing on her, maw dripping with saliva. The cobra Pokemon twitched, shakily raising its head. "Chaaaa..." Its eyes locked onto the demonic dog, and it felt a cold rage flood its body. With strength borne of loyalty, desperation, and anger, Arbok flung itself across the ground, slamming into Houndoom with surprising force. As the canine Pokemon went down, Arbok sank its fangs deeply into the enemy's flank, and without letting go, unleashed a full spray of toxic acid into the wound. Houndoom shakily rose to its feet, and kicked Arbok loose. Black blood spattered the ground as the cobra's fangs ripped the flesh where it had attached itself to the devil dog. Baring its fangs, Houndoom glared at the unconscious snake, then returned its gaze of hatred to Jessie, who had recovered from the shock and was beating a path to the elevator. --- Tokyo Tower shook as the massive snake-like Steelix rammed repeatedly into its base, trying stubbornly to get at the striped electric Pokemon which was cowering behind the metal framework. Occasionally, Electabuzz would unleash a Thunderbolt, electrifying the Tower itself, but it was ultimately futile, as Steelix seemed to be completely immune to electric attack. Noticing this, Ash snapped impatiently, "Go UNDER, you idiot! Dig under the Tower!" Bellowing, Steelix turned, nodded to its master, then drove itself into the ground, its massive bulk disappearing beneath the surface in a matter of seconds. --- Magneton hovered over the fallen fire Pokemon, bobbing and sparking as it began building up for a finishing blow. Cyndaquil struggled to pick itself up off the ground, its flames guttering as it gritted its teeth in pain. "Cynnn....da....." The hedgehog Pokemon glanced around, hoping to spot any sign of relief from its predicament. It spotted, in the near distance, the retreating form of its trainer, who was being doggedly pursued by...well, by a dog. Its comrade, Arbok, lay unmoving on the ground, as were a number of other Pokemon. "QUILLL!" it cried out. "Mag. Ne. Ton." A powerful arc of electricity surged across the triple orb's surface. Cyndaquil hunched down, quivering and awaiting the end. Suddenly, a furious shriek came from above, followed a blast of intense cold. Cyndaquil hurriedly leapt out of the way as Articuno's Ice Beam slammed into the hovering Magneton, freezing it over and causing it to drop to the ground. "CUUUUU!" the bird crowed, landing beside its small comrade. "Cuuu, cuno?" "Quil! Cynda, cyndaquil!" Nodding gratefully to the icy Pokemon, Cyndaquil stood shakily, the flames on its back roaring back to life. Glaring at the shuddering Magneton, Cyndaquil opened its mouth wide and issued a stream of flames. An unearthly screech erupted from Magneton as it fell victim to the combined onslaught of freezing cold and intense heat. Smoke curled from the machine Pokemon as it lay unmoving on the ground, its electric eyes dimming. Articuno and Cyndaquil nodded to one another, then took off to aid their allies. --- "Nice doggie... good doggie... I think I have a Milk-Bone here somewhere..." *What am I going to do?* Jessie wondered as she watched the angry hellhound nervously. *All my Pokemon are...well, I hope they're not all out of commission, but...* Houndoom advanced on the redhead, a malicious gleam in its eyes. Jessie briefly wondered if the Pokemon actually intended to eat her, or just use her as a chew toy like it had done with Arbok. Suddenly, twin blasts of fire and ice intervened on her behalf, creating a nimbus of steam which quickly permeated the area around the central shaft of the Tower. Houndoom was unhurt, but became wary as it searched for the assailants. Articuno dove onto the scene, screeching and unleashing another Ice Beam. Houndoom countered with a Flamethrower, then leapt high into the air, landing on the frozen bird's back. With an unearthly howl, it sank its teeth into Articuno's wing. "CUUUUUUUUU!" the bird shrieked as it plummeted to the ground. "Articuno, no!" "QUIIIIL!" Cyndaquil leapt between the two Pokemon, its flames burning brightly as it began charging up a Flamethrower attack of its own. Houndoom made a sound like a snicker, and charged forward, slamming into the smaller Pokemon with a sickening crunch. Cyndaquil cried out in pain as it was sent flying. "Cyndaquil!" Jessie was near tears now. Articuno struggled to rise to its feet, and began issuing Ice Beam attacks and a Blizzard at the surrounding area. Each time it attacked, it nearly hit Houndoom, but the dark Pokemon was just a bit too quick, and nimbly evaded all the attacks. The structural framework of Tokyo Tower surrounding the battle did not fare as well; metal creaked in protest as it was frozen by the intensity of the attacks. Finally, Houndoom stopped evading, unleashing a Flamethrower which slammed into Articuno like a freight train. The icy bird screamed in pain as steam rose from its body; when the flames subsided, the once-beautiful Pokemon lay unmoving, all its lovely icy plumage burned away. Jessie sank to her knees. "No... how horrible..." Houndoom began to advance on her once more. --- Electabuzz scrambled out of the way as Steelix erupted from the ground, tangling itself in the brightly painted girders of the Tower. The massive Pokemon roared in frustration as it attempted to break free of the steel beams holding it firmly in place. The striped Pokemon looked up at the trapped serpent, and began to form a plan. Charging toward Steelix, Electabuzz drew back and powered up for a Thunder Punch. As it approached its opponent, it slammed its sparking fist not into Steelix, but into the framework of the Tower. Sparks flew from the tortured metal, and the electric Pokemon was rewarded by a roar of pain from its opponent. Steelix writhed among the electrified girders, its spine twitching in agony as the steel of the tower combined with the massive, entangled serpentine Pokemon acted together as a short circuit. Television signals across Japan flickered erratically as the static electricity overloaded Steelix for several seconds before dissipating. Finally, the massive metal Pokemon ceased its struggles, eyes blank. --- Ash glanced around and frowned. He wasn't sure how, but somehow that cheating bitch had managed to eliminate most of his Pokemon. Of course, a few of hers were down as well, but... He grinned as he noticed that Houndoom had cornered Jessie. The grin turned to a scowl as he saw Cyndaquil approaching from behind. "So, a sneak attack from the back, huh? How low can you get?" Cupping his hands around his mouth, he cried out, "Houndoom! Use your Hidden Power!" The devil dog howled as it heard its master's call, and it hunched down, eyes glowing menacingly. A dark fog began to rise from the Pokemon's body, coalescing into a demonic aura which permeated the air of the relatively enclosed space near the Tokyo Tower's elevator shafts. Jessie glanced up at the horrifying evil presence, and felt true fear. "H--hey... wait a minute now..." Houndoom suddenly tripled in size, massive jaws snapping and snarling as muscles rippled beneath jet black flesh. Eyes burned with the fires of Hell itself as the canine Pokemon advanced on its master's enemy. "Finish her off," Ash said. "It's time to end this." Suddenly, a small object appeared between the massive Houndoom and Jessie. Everyone blinked as the tiny Cyndaquil glared up at the demonic Pokemon bravely, flames crackling along its backside. Ash stared for a long moment...then began to laugh. "How cute! That Cyndaquil thinks it's going to save you! Houndoom, get rid of that stupid little weakling." The enormous dog howled, a decidedly wicked gleam entering its eyes. Jessie gulped. "Cyndaquil...run. Head for safety. I can't reach the Pokeballs, so...please. Just...save yourself." "Quil," Cyndaquil growled. The flames on its back flared to triple their usual size...and the Pokemon began to glow. "Huh? What the hell?" Ash stared. Houndoom took a step backward, watching the small Pokemon warily. Plumes of fire erupted from the hedgehog's back as a white light strobed from its body, illuminating the landscape. Within the light show, the Pokemon's body began to grow and change, flames growing brighter and stronger with each passing second. "It's....it's evolving," Jessie realized. The strobing light dissipated in a final, blinding flash, revealing the newly-evolved Pokemon. Twice its previous size, the blazing quills on its back were joined by a fiery comb down the center of its head. Eyes like embers glared up at the massive Houndoom, and the inferno on its back flared, roaring like a furnace. "Quilava," it hissed. Ash smirked. "It still won't beat my Houndoom." Jessie crossed her arms. "We'll see about that! Quilava, use Flame Wheel!" "QUIL!" Curling itself into a ball, the Pokemon flung itself at its opponent, the flames on its back leaving a trail in the air around it. As it drew near, it uncurled its body, emitting a burst of superheated air which blew the ring of flames across the battlefield. Houndoom roared in agony as its body was wreathed in fire. "Now, use your Swift attack!" Even as Houndoom rolled on the ground to extinguish itself, Quilava spat a stream of glowing stars, biting into the dark flesh of the demonic Pokemon and leaving numerous small cuts. Jessie grinned. "Now, finish it! Fire Blast!" "QUILA!" Its flames roaring and crackling, Quilava opened its mouth, emitting a massive burst of flames in the shape of the kanji for 'fire'. Houndoom could only watch in horror as the fiery blast roared across the space between the two Pokemon, engulfing it and sending it flying. The force of the demonic battle aura faded, and Houndoom shrank to its normal size, tumbling across the ground. The demonic Pokemon whimpered a few times before passing out. Ash growled. "It's impossible! How can I lose to a cheater like you!" Jessie powerposed. "Face it, Ash. You're the only loser here. Now, hand over Pikachu!" The leather-clad boy eyed his opponent, then smiled oddly. "You really want this Pikachu?" he asked, drawing a card from his jacket. "I'm sure not going to leave it in the hands of someone like you," the redhead scowled. Ash smirked. "Well...I guess I have no choice, then." He reached into another pocket of his jacket and withdrew a small crystalline stone, green with an inset lightning bolt. "TEAM ROCKET NEVER SURRENDERS!" With that, Ash struck the stone against the face of the PIKA card. The deafening roar of thunder blew both trainers off their feet. Arcs of static electricity ripped across the ground and into the sky, striking everything except, miraculously, Ash and Jessie. Tokyo Tower was pelted by the onslaught, scrambling television signals nationwide. At the center of it all, a Clow Card erupted in a swelling miasma of pure energy, and the faint sound of a Pokemon screaming in agony could be heard in between thunderclaps. The bizarre electrical storm lasted for a full fifteen seconds. As the last of the static electricity faded with a muted rumble, Jessie and Ash stood, the former wide-eyed and apprehensive, the latter grinning like a fiend. Where the PIKA card had fallen, a Pokemon stood. It bore a vague resemblance to Pikachu, and yet it was not Pikachu. It was a full foot taller, chubbier, with reddish-orange fur and curly ears. Its tail was long and ropelike, tipped with a bushy thunderbolt. Sparks ripped across its tiny frame as it turned in place, beady black eyes darting in all directions. "Chuuu.... Rai.... Rai raichu rai chuuu..." At the sound of its own voice, the Pokemon seemed to freeze up. "Rai?" It looked down at its brown-furred paws, its large, clubby feet, its tail... and fell on its plump rear, mortified. "Chu...rai raichu chu rai..." Jessie gasped. "What... what did you.... what did you *DO*!?" Ash smirked. "The only thing I could think of that could possibly break the spell that little witch girl put on Pikachu. I evolved it." Raichu turned and looked up at Ash, fear and loathing in its eyes. "Chu.... Rai rai chu rai chu..." "Yeah, I know, but it was the only way," he said with surprising tenderness. "Would you rather have stayed sealed away, a slave to those two cheaters?" An electric shock was his answer. Coughing a puff of smoke, Ash shrugged. "It doesn't really make any difference what you want," he replied. "The fact is, I'm still your trainer, and you're still my Pokemon. My mistake was in not making you behave yourself from the very start. That ends now. So... Raichu, you're going to finish this cheater and her Pokemon off for me so I can win this match." "Rai rai chu rai CHU rai rai chu raichu rai chu rai raichu!" Raichu gesticulated wildly with its paws, cheeks sparking. Ash simply pulled a battered old Pokeball from his pocket. "Remember this?" Raichu recoiled in horror. "Then you'll do what I say, won't you." "....Rai." The mouse Pokemon looked sadly at Jessie, who looked sadly back. "Now, Raichu... Thunder. Maximum power, don't hold anything back. I want the cheater and her Pokemon to go down for the count." The Pokemon sighed, and began charging up. "Raaaaaiiii....... CHUUUUUUU!" A massive thunderbolt lanced down from the heavens, striking Quilava, Electabuzz, and Victreebel down where they stood. The other unconscious Pokemon were caught in the blast as well, and twitched spastically in their sleep. The Tower itself began to spark and sputter as transmitter dishes, spotlights, and traffic cameras were obliterated by the electrical onslaught. Jessie cringed and waited for the end to come...but it never came. Ash was livid. "I told you, get her too!" "Chu." Raichu crossed its arms and looked away. Ash scowled. "Alright, be that way. I'll teach you how to behave." He held out the old Pokeball, and a red beam of light lanced out, striking Raichu and pulling it in. The referee emerged from where he'd taken cover during the battle. "I...guess the winner is Ash," he said. Ash pocketed Raichu's Pokeball, and glanced around at his fallen Pokemon. "Crap, Giovanni is going to be mad at me," he muttered as he recalled his Pokemon. "He won't think I did enough to punish you for hijacking the honorable Team Rocket name again." Jessie stared at him. "Is that all you can think about? Yourself? Your Pokemon are hurt! All of our Pokemon are hurt!" She looked around at the battlefield in shock and horror. "Look around you, Ash! This wasn't a battle! This was...this was just *wrong*!" The younger trainer shrugged. "Sometimes you have to make a few sacrifices when you want to win. Especially when you're fighting a thief and a cheater who can't be trusted to fight by the rules." Jessie was about to say more, when a horrendous sound of tearing metal filled the air. She glanced up, and her eyes widened. "Oh... my..." Ash followed her gaze up, and for a moment even he was horrified. "I think it's time to leave," he said, headed for the portal which had just formed. Jessie and the referee were hot on his heels as soon as the ex-Rocket had recalled her own Pokemon. Between the repeated ice attacks, stray fire attacks, the electrical onslaught, and the structural damage from Steelix being entangled in the lower framework and subsequently removed without leaving any kind of support in its place, Tokyo Tower was looking rather unstable. No sooner had the group from Ultra filed through the portal and it closed behind them, the enormous steel structure that served as the central broadcasting array for all of Japan began to collapse. Beams and girders twisted, bent, and fractured as three hundred and thirty-three meters of tower--four thousand tons of steel--came crashing to the ground. --- Hiroshi leaned forward, his excitement fueled by the roar of the crowd. "And now, folks, get ready for the Gamma title match!!! Sagat has held his title for weeks now, beating off all comers for his crown!" Daisuke sighed, and simply stated, "No one has challenged him, Hiroshi. If you want to hype a match, that's fine, but can we try to keep it in the realm of the real?" Hiroshi glared at him, and opened his mouth to speak. Daisuke just shook his head slowly and Hiroshi paused for a moment. "The title that Sagat has held for so long is on the line tonight! Sagat, known for his savagery in the ring, is fighting someone who can be equally savage, IORI YAGAMI!" The crowd cheered. It wasn't as loud as it could have been, but there were some diehards out there, for both Sagat and Iori. Most cheered simply at the thought of more wai-wai violence. The lights went out for a moment, and there was some scuffling in the ring. Hiroshi nearly exploded in excitement. "What's this? Did one of the competitors sabotage the lighting to sneak attack the other?" "Hiro, neither of them is here yet. How could one sneak attack the other if they both aren't here?" Smiling to himself, Hiroshi shilled for a moment. "And don't forget folks, tomorrow night at eight is a special presentation of 'WORK WITH ME, DAISUKE!' Mr. Satan learns the meaning of antidisestablishmentarianism, while I find out the hard way that there are some jeans I don't look good in. Catch it all tomorrow night on..." "WORK WITH ME, DAISUKE!" the audience yelled. Finally, their attention back in the ring, Hiroshi marked out a bit more, as if that were possible. "Oh my god! We have been graced by the presence of Controversial Jack himself! What could he possibly have to say?" "Nothing that could get us in trouble, I hope." Daisuke prayed. Jack waved to the fans, making a circuit around the ring. "Now folks, I know everyone is chomping at the bit to see Yaga and Duo. But I think you'll like this one too. But there is a slight problem here." Jack nodded his head as the crowd voiced their disbelief loudly. "I know, I can hardly believe it either! But you see, I'm afraid that Sagat and Iori can't be trusted to play by the rules. And while making this fight hardcore would have been fun, I think I have a better idea." The audience held its breath, waiting to hear what could possibly be better than a hardcore match. "I've decided to appoint a special referee for this match." There was a mild pop, and Jack smiled at it, pleased at the near lack of a response it got. "Oh," he said, still smiling. "I guess that didn't work all that well. Hrm. Guess I'll go in the back and tell Ranma not to bother with officiating this match." The sound barrier cried in excruciating agony, which is a regular occurrence in the Ultradome when the audience likes something. Or hates something, for that matter. With a grin that had the Cheshire Cat green with envy, Jack looked around the Ultradome. "What's that? I can't seem to hear you over this racket." Jack pantomimed listening to the audience, waving his hand in circles a couple of times before holding it to his ear. "You do want Ranma to officiate this match? Well, that's great, cause I already got him all suited up!" Techno Chinese J-pop came over the speakers as Ranma sauntered down the ramp in a designer tuxedo. Closing his eyes and basking for a moment as the crowd chanted his name, he smiled and did a standing flipleap, landing on one of the ringposts. The crowd ate it up, and Ranma nodded a bit. The music changed, still Asian, but now something stronger. Harder. Iori Yagami walked down the ramp, his gaze locked on Ranma. Reddish orange flames began to lick up Iori's arms as he climbed into the ring, not stopping until he was face to face with Ranma. Ranma smiled at the other teen, not backing down, then pushed Iori away. "I'm here to make sure you and Saggy fight fairly, not hand your ass to you." Ranma said, loud enough for the mike to pick it up. "And Ranma seems to be laying the law down for Iori, but Iori isn't one to take the law laying down!" Hiroshi marked. Daisuke looked at Hiroshi, and tried to piece together what his partner had just said. Shaking his head at the futility of it, Daisuke instead turned his attention back to the ring. "Ummm. Right. But is it a smart move for Ranma to be antagonizing Iori like this? This could turn brutal and bloody, because Ranma has a history with both these fighters." Footsteps echoed over the speaker system, footsteps that sounded like someone walking over brittle glass, crunching and cracking with each step. With a huge explosion, the lights went dim, save for a spotlight focused at the top of the ramp. No one was there. "I wonder what Sagat is doing?" Daisuke said, staring at the ramp, waiting for Sagat to start walking down. A flurry of motion caught Hiroshi's eye, and he yelled into his mike, "The crowd! Sagat entered through the crowd! And now he has the drop on Iori!" And the bell rang. ** GAMMA Championship: ** Sagat vs. Iori ** FIGHT! Iori heard Hiroshi's comment in time to dodge to one side as Sagat threw a hard punch at where Iori's head would have been. Without pause, Iori stepped in close, rabbit punching Sagat in the gut quickly a few times, then landing a hard knee to his stomach. "Sagat is taking some punishment from Iori, but it doesn't seem to be having any effect." noted Daisuke. "Not true! See how Sagat is staggering from that knee, stumbling backwards, trying to get away from the awesome might of Iori's Fury?!" Surely enough, Sagat was being pushed back. Iori grinned savagely, and raised his fist to land a crippling blow to Sagat's neck. The punch never made it. Sagat looked at Iori, his one good eye gleaming as he squeezed the captured fist. Iori winced in pain, but then growled, calling his Yagami flames up, searing Sagat's hand. Sagat's wrapping burst into flames, and fell back, away from Iori, holding his hand close to his body. Seeing Sagat on his knees, leaning against the ropes, Ranma shrugged, and began a ten-count. As he started counting, Iori walked behind him, grabbed his shoulder, and shoved him aside. Rolling with it, Ramna got into a ready stance, calling out to Iori. "What's your problem, you flamer?" Turning his head to the Neriman Martial Artist, Iori growled at him again. "You're an official. Officiate.", then turned back toward the kneeling kickboxer, his flames licking up to his shoulders. Ranma scowled, but swallowed it. Iori was right. Sagat noticed the man coming towards him. "That hurt like hell!" Sagat thought to himself. Steeling himself, he let Iori close in another foot. Iori raised his hand again, this time aiming for Sagat's temple, and let the blow fly. But again, Sagat caught Iori's fist. Using a simple judo move, Sagat threw Iori into the corner, and began pounding on him. "And it seems that Sagat is turning the tables on Iori, keeping him in the corner and not letting him out." Daisuke noted. The crowd popped at each kick to Iori, relishing the violence. Iori cringed as another kick sank into his kidneys, almost bringing tears to his eyes. He was beginning to get desperate, feeling the need to get out of this situation. His mind worked furiously to figure out some way to get out of the corner. When Sagat brought his leg up for another kick, Iori saw his opening. A loud crack reverberated throughout the Ultradome, and both Daisuke and Hiroshi winced as they heard it. The crowd ate it up like a fat man at an all you can eat buffet. "That had to hurt Sagat." Daisuke noted. Indeed, this was an understatement as Sagat fell backwards again, holding his leg this time. Ranma stepped forward, putting his hand on Sagat's shoulder. "Whaddya say, Saggy? Gonna give up? Get your leg checked before this punk here tears it off and starts working on other parts of you?" Before Sagat could answer, Ranma's eyes narrowed. Ranma turned around and grabbed Iori, throwing him back into the corner. "Stay there, Iori." Iori seethed at him for a moment, and Ranma smirked. "Good dog." Ranma turned back to Sagat, who was still down, and never saw the flying tackle Iori launched at him. Hiroshi leapt up onto his chair, shouting at the top of his lungs, "GORE!!!!! GORE!!!!" Daisuke grabbed the sleeve of Hiroshi's jacket, pulling him back down. "Wrong company, you moron!" Hiroshi shrugged meekly, having the decency to look vaguely embarrassed. Again, Ranma rolled with the blow, managing to get out of Iori's grasp. Sagat's eye widened a bit as Ranma settled into a fighting stance. "That stance looks vaguely familiar... whose was it?" he thought as he leaned against the ring post, watching Iori and Ranma square off. Ranma relaxed a bit, noting Iori's flames. "What's the matter, flamer? Ain't got the balls to fight me straight up? Gotta attack me from behind?" he taunted. Iori lashed out at Ranma, but Ranma dodged back. The pigtailed martial artist smiled as he continued to dodge Iori's attacks, luring him into a spiral pattern. Sagat saw what was happening, and decided to put a stop to it. He tested his leg, and then, swallowing the pain, moved to intercept Ranma. Ranma tried to dodge backwards, but felt a wall of muscle stopping him. Looking up and back, he saw Sagat grinning at him. Looking back at Iori, Ranma saw the fist coming for him, so he did the only sensible thing. Ranma tucked into a ball, and rolled between Sagat's legs. Iori's punch landed right in Sagat's gut, making the taller man grunt a bit. Ranma, however, took advantage of his position and launched a kick right into the back of Sagat's knees. The towering man fell to his knees, and Ranma and Iori looked at each other, then shrugged, and turned their attention to Sagat. "I can't believe it folks! Iori and Ranma are working together, forcing Sagat down with such a vicious beating the likes of which I have never seen!" Hiroshi marked. The crowd got out of their seats, yelling and cheering as the two rivals laid a beatdown upon Sagat. "Iori wants the belt, because it will help him get Ranma, I suppose. And Ranma still remembers how he and Akane lost that belt to this man." Daisuke noted calmly. "But wonder how long... Oh well, there it goes." Sagat crumpled in the corner, watching as Iori and Ranma advanced on him. Suddenly, Iori whirled on Ranma, his fist catching the boy square in the temple. "Ranma will be seeing stars there! It seems that Iori is tired of this partnership, and Sagat is in bad enough shape that Iori can focus on Ranma." Hiroshi leaned forward, watching the fight intently. "But Ranma isn't going to let it go, folks. Already, Ranma is taking the fight to Iori." Sagat smiled. Ranma and Iori seemed to have forgotten him as they fought in the center of the ring. Rising from the corner, Sagat slowly moved towards where the two were. Quick as lightning, his arms snaked out and grabbed them both by the back of their heads. Without preamble, Sagat savagely smashed them together. "You know, you two should get together a bit more often." he quipped as he continued to ram the two together. Hiroshi was quiet as he watched the two unconscious forms of Iori and Ranma slump to the ground, laying there motionless. Daisuke cleared his throat, then started speaking again. "It seems that... Sagat wins." Standing proud, soaking in the audience's hate, Sagat leapt over the ring ropes, his title in one hand, and landed on the concrete floor. He immediately collapsed on the floor as his leg gave out beneath him. "Sagat may have won, but at what price victory, folks? Iori and Ranma seemed to have really hurt the man!" Hiroshi shouted as he watched the action on the ramp. The audience cheered mightily as they watched Sagat limp up the ramp, showering him in disdain. --- "Uuughghhh..." Sakura came to in a haze of pain. She squinted against the glare of the overhead fluorescents, and was able to make out a slender figure standing beside the bed she lay in. "Where... am I?" The figure drew closer, and Sakura took a moment to put a name to the face. "Miss... Tilmitt?" "Call me Selphie, please. You're in the Ultra infirmary - Yaga beat you up really badly. You're fine - nothing broken, nothing leaking, but you'll probably be sore for quite a while." Sakura shook her head to try to clear it, and regretted doing so immediately. "No kidding. My body feels like one giant bruise. Um, what are you doing here?" "If you tell anyone, I'll have to kill you..." Selphie winked. "But I saw what happened, and it really disturbed me. I just wanted to make sure you're all right and keep you company. Your teammate is a couple of rooms down and doing even better than you, and that talking pet of yours is busy finding a lawyer to sue that referee you gave your cards to to give them back instead of selling them on eBay." Sakura was silent for a few seconds, and when she spoke again, it was so quietly that Selphie had to lean closer to make out the words. "Did I do the right thing?" Selphie blinked away a tear. "You did a very brave thing, certainly a 'right' thing. The right thing may not always be the best thing... but don't worry about it. I arranged things to make sure Yaga ends up down here too." The door creaked open, and an Ultracam floated into the room. Selphie turned to it and yelled, "Get out! I'm trying to properly intimidate this rival while she can't defend herself, and witnesses spoil the effect!" She punted the camerabot back out into the hallway. A Blizzard spell froze it in a solid block of ice, overloading the antigrav generators and sending it tumbling to the floor. "Can't a girl make threats in private?" Selphie whipped her flail out from nowhere and brought the long handles down on the camera in a perfect overhead arc, smashing the device into a thousand pieces. When Selphie turned back to Sakura, the SeeD was smiling once again. "Why do you act that way?" asked Sakura. Selphie shrugged. "It pays the bills. Anyway, sit up and watch the next fight. You'll want to see Yaga get flattened, right? --- "And for the second semi-final, we send you now to Steam and Flame Factory #7." "What do they make at a 'steam and flame factory'?" "Bad movies, mostly." --- Duo walked into the huge building and whistled in appreciation. It was one of the largest enclosed spaces he had ever seen, larger even than some mobile suit hangars back home. The space was not empty - strange machinery scattered semi-randomly throughout the facility belched a heavy, white vapor into the air that significantly reduced visibility. Every few seconds, a gout of flame would roil up from unseen sources. Above him, a multi-level tangle of catwalks, ladders, and conveyors extended off into the mist. Definitely a good setting for a fight. Yaga apparently agreed with him. "This place has... possibilities," he said, an anticipatory gleam in his eye. "Too bad you're not enough of a fighter to give me the chance to explore them all. This match will be over far too quickly for that." The UltraCams floated closer to catch the pre-fight taunting. Duo smirked. "What makes you think that, old man?" "You're just a punk with no real skill. A brawler, like Bean, but without his monstrous strength. I saw that sorry excuse for a fight earlier - you won't have a shot against me." The Gundam pilot shrugged. "Selphie was a bit distracted, and she managed to distract me as well. Don't worry, that won't happen here." Yaga sensed weakness, and sprung on it. "Hell, boy, you even had to *fix* that fight in order to win, didn't you? Not just a cheater, but a lazy one to wait until you're in front of an audience to set things up." "This from an old pervert who manipulates a contract to allow him to beat up little girls?" Duo chuckled mirthlessly as Yaga turned red. "You really shouldn't have done that." "If she knew her place, that would not have been necessary! If Jack understood what an asset I could be, he would not have forced me to do that!" "Her 'place'? Geez... You are right about one thing, though." Duo set himself in a casual guard stance and signaled to the ref that he was ready. "What's that, brat?" As the bell rang, Duo muttered just loud enough for the audience to hear, "This *will* be a short fight." ** REBOOT Semifinal #2 ** The Great Yaga vs. Duo Maxwell ** FIGHT! Yaga started forward, his arms spread wide to ensnare the boy when he came close enough. Duo stood still for a moment, then turned his back and sprinted off into the mist. "Hey, boy, where do you think you're going?!?" Duo did not respond, and Yaga lumbered after him, not in any hurry. "I'm over here, stupid!" Duo kept up his pace, and it wasn't long before Yaga lost sight of him. "Coward!" Yaga slowed to a walk, and began to study his surroundings more carefully. There were a lot of ways the boy could ambush him here. Duo could hide behind some machinery, and sneak up on him for a cheap shot. The boy might not be as strong as Bean, but one didn't need that sort of strength to brain someone with a length of piping. He spun around, suddenly sure that he was in danger. There was no one there. The metal catwalks suddenly clanged above and around Yaga, and he was forced to consider the possibility that Duo was going to somehow drop the whole mess on him somehow. That would *hurt*. He looked up and saw a couple of the walkways swaying back and forth, creaking as they strained the welds holding them up. Yaga stopped, and considered his options. After a moment, he realized what he needed to do. "Hey, punk," he called, "I'm not going to stumble around in here and give you an easy target - I'll be outside the main entrance, if you have the balls to face me like a real fighter." As he started back, carefully scanning all directions for a sign of an attack, Yaga heard Duo call back, "Great! I'll be out in a minute." The voice came from far above and to the right, so Yaga relaxed a little. As he strolled out of the factory, he yelled over his shoulder, "Shouldn't you have taken care of that before we left the Ultradome? Or are you just that scared of me?" "Ha! Put on your diaper before I come out, gramps! You wouldn't want to have an accident on live television." Duo's voice was strangely muffled, though it seemed to come from the same place as before. Yaga turned beet red, but held his tongue. The kid would get what was coming to him, if he wasn't a complete coward. He reached the main warehouse door, and walked out into the parking lot. It was a cool evening, and the moon was out. The Tokyo skyline in the medium distance (even the parts that were burning) would make a spectacular backdrop for his glorious victory. He turned back to face the factory, and the world suddenly shook. "An earthquake?" No, or at least not a big one. It was strange - the vibrations came in pulses. "Almost like..." Yaga's eyes widened with fright just before the side of the factory exploded out towards him. He ducked a flying I-beam, then scooted to one side so that the metal of the building's side didn't crush him. When all of the large debris had settled, he stood and faced the factory once more. Eight tons of black and white mechanical death stared back at him through the roiling steam and dust. The beam scythe turned on with a "zzzzzzzing", and the Gundam Deathscythe started towards him once more. "No. Fucking. Way." Yaga turned to a nearby camera and screamed, "Jaaack! I know you can hear me! I invoke my contract! This is a no-mecha match, starting right now!" Jack must have been expecting something of this sort, as he replied immediately from speakers mounted on the floating UltraCam. "Nope. You already used up your booking for the night on poor little Sakura, and even that was really stretching the limits. If Sakura had protested at all, the Beekster's lawyers would have had time to get an injunction. Too bad! Have a nice new life as a pancake!" The speaker clicked off, and Yaga was on his own. "JACK OFFERED TO SET THIS UP FOR ME," commented Duo, his voice amplified by the Gundam's PA system. "BUT I SAID NO. YOUR FIGHT WITH SAKURA CHANGED MY MIND." Yaga tried to run away, but came screeching to a halt as the beam scythe gouged a trench in the parking lot, blocking his path. "This isn't fair!" "NO, THIS IS HARDCORE." The Deathscythe stomped its foot just a few meters away from Yaga. The wrestler was jarred off his feet by the impact. On his back and looking up, he had a perfect view of the mecha leaning down over him. The free arm reached for him, and a single extended finger pinned him roughly to the pavement. Yaga screamed incoherently, more in absolute terror than real pain. "SO HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE TOTALLY HELPLESS, YAGA? ON YOUR BACK, STRIPPED OF ANY MEANINGFUL DEFENSE BY TECHNICALITIES?" The finger poked, ever so slightly, and Yaga screamed once more as his rib cage compressed momentarily. "NO, I *REALLY* DIDN'T LIKE WHAT YOU DID TO SAKURA. YOU MIGHT WANT TO BE A LITTLE MORE CAREFUL WITH THAT CONTRACT IN THE FUTURE, ASSHOLE." The referee inched up to the scene and determined that Yaga was indeed pinned. He counted him out, then scurried away to safety. Duo pulled Deathscythe's finger up, and Yaga sat up slowly. The wrestler painfully gathered his breath for another round of angry defiance, but Deathscythe took another step towards him, this time missing him by mere centimeters, and he fainted. Duo spurred the Gundam into a full sprint - the sooner he got back to the Ultradome, the better his chances would be in the final. --- "Oh my gosh! Duo just took Hardcore to a whole new level! And I've just been informed that we'll start the final immediately after he gets back, so in just a very few minutes we may know who will be our next Internet Champion!" "Somebody had better tell Ash," noted Daisuke. "He may need to run up here to avoid being disqualified. That Gundam is pretty fast, and Duo is only a few kilometers away." "Do you think he'll use the Gundam in the final? It's small enough that he could probably fight with it in the dome." Daisuke shook his head. "There's no way Nabiki would allow that - it might fit inside, but if it tried to move and fight the dome would be demolished and an awful lot of the audience would probably get squished. It's kind of unfortunate, since if Ash has time to get his Pokemon fully healed I doubt that Duo has the godlike martial-arts skills he would need to defeat all of them at once on his own. That little blowhard certainly has shown no compunction tonight over dropping multiple Pokemon at once, and I'm sure that this match will be no different." "Now Daisuke, you know we're not supposed to take sides..." "I don't care. Pikachu... Raichu is a friend and what Ash has done to him just plain stinks. Can you honestly tell me that you don't want Duo to win this fight?" Hiroshi expertly dodged the question. "I have reports now that Ash has left the Ultradome's Pokemon Center and is on his way to the ring. Duo is..." A bone-jarring *thud* shook the Ultradome. "apparently just parking his Gundam outside the front gate! They'll both be here in just seconds!" "Let's take this moment to review what's happened so far tonight." Daisuke nodded at the UltraTron, which flashed the mostly-completed tournament bracket. -Jessie--\ >-Jessie--\ --Vega---/ \ >---Ash---\ -Shaoran-\ / \ >---Ash---/ \ ---Ash---/ \ >=???????= -Selphie-\ / >---Duo---\ / ---Duo---/ \ / >---Duo---/ --Yaga---\ / >--Yaga---/ -Sakura--/ "Duo won a strange, but relatively close match in the first round against Selphie, and then he went on to take revenge for Yaga's mauling of Sakura by crushing the wrestler in the match we just saw." Hiroshi chimed in. "Ash got here first through Shaoran, who made some critical mistakes in that match and lost not only the fight but Pikachu as well! And then in the semifinals He and Jesse had the fight of the season, a veritable Apokelypse!!!" Daisuke winced, but let that one pass. "Ash won that one by evolving Pikachu, but the rest of his Pokemon were in sorry shape. Was he be able to get them healed in time? Who will win the Internet Championship? We're about to find out, ladies and gentlemen, 'cuz here they are! Ash Ketchum and Duo Maxwell!" Dramatic music swelled, and the two fighters entered the arena from opposite ends. Ash came in through a side entrance and had to wade through a mostly hostile crowd. Ultra security pushed a path clear through the pressing mass of fans, but Ash still got a couple of hastily-made "Free Raichu" posters shoved in his face. Duo came down the normal entrance ramp. He mostly ignored the roar of fans screaming his name and looked across the arena floor to watch Ash approach. Duo studied the face of his opponent as they entered the ring, searching for an indication of how the trainer's Pokemon were doing. The bell rang. ** REBOOT Internet Championship: ** Ash Ketchum vs. Duo Maxwell ** FIGHT! "Here we go! This is it! Everything is on the line here! Neither of these fighters is going to back down! It's going to-" Hiroshi's overenthusiasm was cut off as the Duo decided he wanted to say something before the fight really began in earnest. "I see you've made it to the final again, Ash. Remember last season, when Tifa gave you a free chance at the title in the hope that it would shock some sense into you?" Ash snerked. "Yeah, well I didn't need it then, and I sure won't need it to beat your cheating ass," he blustered. "No, you probably won't. Since the last ReBoot, you've become even more callous, more cutthroat, more self-deluded. And those traits have only made you more dangerous. If I thought it would help, I might make you the same offer that Tifa did. But I know it's too late, and all that's left is for me to try my best to oppose you, to try and show the world that there are honorable fighters left in this league." Duo brought his fists up and waited for the inevitable. "Honorable? You?!? You used your robot to get back here and force me to fight before the center could finish healing my Pokemon, and you think that makes you honorable? Go to hell, Duo." Duo grinned mirthlessly. "Judging by who I'm sharing the ring with, I must already be there." "Well, at least you didn't totally succeed in your cheating. One of my Pokemon did have time to recover! STEELIX! I choose you!" --- From her perch in the rafters Mary had seen everything. Fight after fight had ended in fear and pain, and now the final was about to go the same way. The forces of hate and selfishness would carry the day once more. Mary considered Ash for a moment. Maybe it wasn't entirely his fault - she could sense the lingering traces of a dark power that had once touched his mind. But that influence was long since gone, and purging the last of the taint would not change him one bit. She remembered the lives this boy had disrupted, the friends he had betrayed, the damage he had done. She remembered the lengths he had gone to in his misguided quest for revenge. She remembered the outraged cries of Raichu as its body had evolved against its will. This could not be allowed to continue unchecked... but there was no one on hand who could stop his Pokemon. And so, the little god passed Judgement. It was such a little thing... but maybe it would make a difference. --- The ring was bathed in red light as the Pokeball opened and discharged its passenger onto the canvas. Steelix slid across the ring to the target its master had indicated... except why was this human so incredibly big? "What's this?! What's this?! That's Ash's Steelix, but why is less than a meter long?" Daisuke looked back and forth in total confusion. "What happened? How did Duo do that?" "Wha- What did you do to my Pokemon?" Ash accused. Duo looked down at the tiny Pokemon that was attempting to wrap itself around his leg. "What happened to you, little guy?" He picked it up (with a grunt of effort, as the Pokemon still was heavy, even though shrunk to the length of his arm) to get a closer look. "I didn't do anything. How could - WHOA!" The chibi-Steelix had wriggled loose and tried to Bind Duo's neck. Duo got a firm two-handed grip on the middle of the Pokemon. "I'm going to feel guilty about this, but I guess I don't have a choice." He slammed the chibi-Steelix's head against the mat several times, then tossed it aside as it stopped thrashing. Ash recalled the Pokemon, and Duo reached behind him to rub some protesting back muscles. "Wow, that's going to hurt tomorrow morning." He looked up at Ash. "Is that it? Can I start beating on you now, or do you have any other pets I have to deal with first?" Ash was seething with rage - he had only one option left, and it wasn't one that he thought would help at the moment. "Raichu, I choose you." Now it was the orange Pokemon that appeared in the ring. "Thunderbolt that cheater!" "Rai?" Raichu looked back at Ash. "Rai, chu!" It turned away from both of the fighters and tried to crawl out of the ring. The front row of spectators could see tears crackling with electricity rolling down the Pokemon's face as it braced itself for what it knew was coming. Ash pressed the button, and the bolt of red light reached out and sucked the recalcitrant Pokemon back into its prison. He looked back to find his opponent (so he would know which way to run) just in time to catch Duo's fist with his chin. Ash fell stunned to the mat, and the referee counted him out. Hiroshi came out of his chair. "That's it! That's it! We have ourselves a new Internet champion! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Duo Maxwell!!!" A camera crew jumped up into the ring, and Nuku-Nuku followed with the champion's belt. "On behalf of Magical Troubleshooting Crossover Fighting Federation Ultra, all these wonderful fans," the crowd roared its approval. "...and everyone, everywhere who wanted to see Ash get clobbered, Nuku-Nuku is proud to present you with the Internet Championship Belt for UltraReboot 4.0!" Duo happily slung the massive, gilded anti-fashion statement over his shoulder. "Thanks! It was a strange evening, and I'm happy to have survived." "Nuku-Nuku would like to know how you shrank that mean old Pokemon that Ash has been using. How did you do it?" The Gundam pilot shrugged. "I didn't do it. I have no idea what happened. Maybe it was just some wacky manifestation of karma." The catgirl tried for a second to figure out what that meant, but gave up and got with the interview. "Since you won this title do you think you'll be fighting in the ring more? Or will you go back to Omega?" "I honestly can't say. I prefer to fight in Omega, but it's awfully hard to find materials to repair damage to my Gundam. We'll just have to see what comes up." A production assistant rushed up and urgently whispered something to the new champion. "Uh-oh. I double-parked Deathscythe and now SV2 is threatening to tow it. Gotta go!" "Congratulations on you victory, and Nuku-Nuku looks forward to seeing your new web page at the Ultra site! Yaaaay!" Nuku-Nuku bounced in joy and celebration as Duo ran out of the arena. --- "Well, that wraps everything up here at UltraReboot 4.0," Daisuke announced. "It's been a long, weird evening, but the final result is Duo Maxwell is the new Internet Champion, and Sagat holds onto the Gamma belt." "Be sure to tune into Ultra next week, enthused Hiroshi. "The Omega fighters will be back from their vacation and there's sure to be all sorts of wonderful Ultraviolence in store!" Daisuke nodded. "Not to mention all the fallout from tonight's events. We'll be back too, of course. But for now, good night everyone!" --- The Ultradome was quiet once more. All the fans had gone home, and the cleaning crew was just finishing hosing down the tiers of seats. The arena lights had mostly been turned down, but the ring lighting was still on. A lone figure sat on a folding chair in one corner of the ring. She stared out into the dim space beyond the ropes, obviously lost in her thoughts. Another, smaller, figure materialized in the middle of the ring. "Miss Lina? What are you doing here?" Lina Inverse sat up fully, not startled at all by her visitor. "I was just thinking... about you, Mary." She smiled kindly at her divine guest. "That was your doing tonight, wasn't it?" She gestured vaguely at the ring. Mary nodded. "It needed doing. I promised Mommy that I wouldn't interfere, but I just couldn't stand to watch evil win again... I don't know. It felt right, but was it?" "Mmm." Lina turned away and contemplated the darkness once more. After a minute she continued without looking back at Mary. "A long time ago, when I had power like yours, I struggled with where and when it was appropriate to use it. A bunch of stuff happened, and I had to get involved with some scary things... but before it all went really bad, a friend pointed out something that might help you." "What was that?" "Ultra is sort of a special place, Mary. You can get away with things here that would cause serious problems elsewhere... you can make mistakes without causing real harm to the universe. There will still be real consequences, but it's a good place for you to learn in before taking on larger challenges." She fell silent for a moment, and Mary almost started to ask a question but subsided when Lina continued quietly. "I wonder... if Ultra was created especially for you." Mary scrunched her face in puzzlement. "So I can do whatever I want to here?" Lina turned quickly to face the little god. "No! You still need to be very careful. You need take small steps, and learn from happens. Mistakes you make will still hurt people here." "I think I understand." "Just promise you won't try to do anything outside Ultra. In the real world, small mistakes with your power can mushroom into unthinkable tragedies." Mary smiled, but shook her head. "I won't promise you that, Lina. I made some promises to Mommy, but I already broke those. I will think about it, though..." She took a few steps and disappeared, leaving Lina alone once more with her thoughts. She desperately hoped she had told the little god the right thing. ** ULTRA REBOOT 4.0 RECAP ** ** Jessie DEFEATS Vega ** Ash Ketchum DEFEATS Shaoran Li ** The PIKA changes hands. ** The Great Yaga DEFEATS Sakura Kinomoto ** Duo Maxwell DEFEATS Selphie Tilmitt ** Selphie SHOWS a softer side. Sort of. ** Ash Ketchum DEFEATS Jessie ** Pikachu is FREED from the Clow card, but EVOLVES into Raichu. ** Sagat DEFEATS Iori (and Ranma too) ** Sagat RETAINS the Gamma Title. ** Duo Maxwell DEFEATS and HUMILIATES The Great Yaga ** Controversial Jack WINS the weekly booking duel with Yaga, 2-1. ** Duo Maxwell DEFEATS Ash Ketchum ** Steelix is CHIBIFIED. Wai! ** Duo Maxwell WINS Internet Championship. ** Mary GETS some advice from someone who's been there. Author's note: Ai yi yi, what a rush. I'm not sure what to say about this one. I'm very ambivalent about the way it turned out. It's as thematically tight as Ultra can be, maybe more so than my last try at Ultra. I got to write some characters I liked, and I got to research characters I knew nothing about. With my work schedule, things got a little tight, but I was able to deliver almost everything I intended to. I like my part, and I liked writing my part. But. I am a little disappointed in my output. I didn't have problems sitting down to write this time, but I had extreme difficulty grinding out more than 5k in one sitting/evening. When you consider that I wrote about 75k of this episode, you can see why that was a problem. In the end, I was able to do about 35k Friday night and this morning/afternoon and that was plenty to complete the episode. I know the fights are a little short, and I am painfully aware that I didn't really find Daisuke's voice this time around. ...so I'm proud, but I'm not happy. I want to try again, maybe even next season... but I'll still have the scheduling problems (MCSE evening classes) and I'm a bit leery of trying to write something of this scale within Ultra deadlines while that's still going on. Maybe I'll try to put together a group. Eh. Enough grousing. Like I said, I'm proud of it. Major thanks to Lurker and NUF for writing fights. I was worried about the Pokemon war from the moment I saw how the bracket was going to fall together. I needed a huge fight... but I'm not Poke-literate. I asked Lurker if he wanted to write a Pokemon-heavy fight, but I'm not sure if he knew what he was getting into. I told him to try for the "Private Ryan" effect, and I'd say he got as close as he could. He even improved on my Pikachu scenario... Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Lurker for great writing and moral support. And even some prereading. I told NUF to write a Gamma title, and let him run with it. I'm satisfied with what I got back from him, even the thing with Bean and the videotape. I wish him luck with his part, and joy in writing it. JesseLman contributed the Satan interview. Not sure exactly where he's going with it, but with as much complaining as I did to the authors in front of me, it was the least I could do to help out an author (group) following me. And mondo thanks to Brian Stricklin for helping me out when my word processor died an hour before the deadline and I hadn't done a full spellcheck or any formatting yet. The episode might well have died right then and there without his assistance. I should acknowledge my factual sources for this episode: Ultra Team Clow Booking FAQ (by Scott Schimmel, at MTCFFUltra.com) mechadomain.gundam.com Pokemon Gold/Silver Pokedex (by Mike Meevasin, at www.gamefaqs.com) and of course all the wonderful denizens of #iff who answered my questions, no matter how random they were. While I have your attention, let me plug my Indie Impro / personal writing website, Verduran Otaku. It's home to two WAIWAI impros, Fireworks Season and Steam Phoenix, as well as my own writing and musings. With this project out of the way I'll be able to get back to updating it regularly and cleaning up some of the minor issues it has. Stop by some time, VO is linked off the main IFF homepage. That's it! G'night, everyone. - Kerry "Ked" Stump July 21, 2001 --- "A two million yen towing fee?!? You're crazy!"