The UltraDome itself is not an enormous building, as sports arenas go.  
Its size and seating capacity pale in comparison to the Tokyo Dome and the Rose 
Bowl.  Its corridors, corners, nooks and crannies seem endless when one wanders 
through them, but next to some other facilities, they really aren't that 
impressive.

	Nonetheless, there is something about the UltraDome that, despite its 
modest dimensions, makes it seem... bigger.  More important.  Larger than life.  
Perhaps it is the nature of the events that take place within; after all, how 
many other arenas can claim to be the site where the fate of the world was 
decided several times over?

	This quality also carries over to the ring.  It's no bigger than normal; 
it has no special features, no particular adornments that distinguish it from 
any other fighting ring.  Nonetheless, when 35,000 fans gaze down upon it from 
the rows upon rows of surrounding seats, they are given pause.  For they know 
that before them stands the site of great battles.  The site of wars fought for 
honor, glory, power, and love.  The sight of epic struggles fought between the 
finest warriors in the world.

	At the moment, however, it was the site of Jack's office.

	"What to do, what to do..." muttered Jack, leaning back in his chair with 
his feet up on his desk.  "The stuff I have so far is good... but I need more.  
This isn't enough to fill the show."

	Booking had always come easily to Jack.  The audience wanted controversy; 
all he had to do was give it to them.  Lately, however, it had become more of a 
struggle.  A chore, even.  The controversy just wasn't flowing like it used to.

	*SQUEAK!*

	"Hrm... you may have a point there, Mr. Duck," Jack muttered thoughtfully.  
"Controversy can't exist without someone to find it controversial, someone to 
oppose it.  Right now, who's opposing me?  What authority am I challenging?"

	The controversial one sighed.  "Hell, I *am* the authority.  What's the 
fun in that?  Nabiki pretty much lets me have free reign.  The only one who 
gives me trouble is Yaga, and I can dance mental circles around him with both 
sides of my brain tied behind my back... where's the challenge?"

	"You've gotten a lot more philosophical since I left, haven't you?"

	Jack blinked and looked up the ramp.  "Mr. Satan?  The heck are you doing 
here?"

	The ex-Ultra employee walked down the ramp and rolled into the ring, 
standing up in front of Jack's desk.  "I think you know why I'm here."

	"You want your job back."

	Mr. Satan nodded.  "Yeah.  I'm all healed up and ready to go."

	"Sorry man, but no can do."

	"Huh?"

	Jack shook his head.  "You heard about our money problems, right?   It's 
why we let you go in the first place.  Well, we're in slightly better shape, but 
it's still dicey."

	"It's not like I'm some no-heat jobber, Jack," Mr. Satan replied.  "I'm a 
former Gamma champ, and the crowd was still solidly behind me when I left.  I 
can help bring in more money."

	"Yeah, you were popular.  But you were also making a crapload of money.  
And there's no way Nabs would sign off on rehiring you, fan favorite or not, 
just to have you get knocked around like you were before you got injured."

	The afro'd fighter scowled.  "I had one bad fight."

	"No offense, but Sagat busted out the whupping stick on you.  You didn't 
even get a shot in.  He's our current champ; how can I re-hire you, with the 
money you're making, if you're not any sort of threat to beat our current 
champion?"

	"I've been training hard.  I completely revamped my fighting style--"

	Jack waved his hand to cut Mr. Satan off.  "That's all well and good, but 
that doesn't tell me if you're gonna be competitive.  And there's no way we 
could even think of having you back unless we were sure you weren't just gonna 
be dead weight."

	"Damn it, man, I'm not dead weight!" yelled Mr. Satan.  "Just give me a 
chance, and I'll prove it to you!" 

	"Hold up there," Jack interrupted, grabbing his phone.  "Before we even 
get started with this, I gotta run it by the Nabster.  It's all a moot point if 
she won't write the checks."

	The huge man punched the corner turnbuckle in frustration as Jack spoke 
over the phone.  After a minute, the spiky-haired booker hung up the phone and 
started scribbling on a pad of paper. 

	"Well?"

	"Naberooni gave it the okay from the financial end, but only if you're 
willing to work for 40% of your previous salary."

	"40 percent?!" Mr. Satan yelped.  "That's not fair!"

	Jack shrugged.  "Best we can do.  And that still leaves the questions 
about your ability... frankly, Mr. Duck and I really aren't sure we should 
rehire you."

	"JACK!"

	The spiky-haired man rolled his eyes. "Oh great, just what I need..."

	Yaga walked quickly down the ramp, a determined look on his face.  "Jack, 
there's something I need to discuss with you immed... Mr. Satan? 
Is that you?"

	Mr. Satan crossed his arms.  "The Great Yaga.  I haven't seen you in ten 
years."

	Jack blinked.  "You two know each other?"

	"Know each other?" Yaga asked incredulously, stepping into the ring.  "We 
were the top two fighters on the Japanese wrestling circuit for years.  We sold 
out the Tokyo Dome so many times I lost count, with over a hundred thousand 
people lining up to see us fight each time."

	"As I remember, we ended up tied at 50 wins each," Mr. Satan said slowly.  
"Yaga was the only guy who could ever match me move-for-move in a wrestling 
ring."

	"So you two are old friends or something?" Jack asked warily.

	Yaga snickered.  "Hardly.  We had too many bitter, bloody fights to call 
each other friends.  Besides, he never showed me the deference that a gaijin is 
supposed to give a native Japanese wrestler."

	"And I could never stand his enormous ego," Mr. Satan replied, shooting a 
glare at Yaga.  "But I think we both respected each others abilities."

	Yaga nodded.  "So why are you here?  I thought you'd been fired after that 
pitiful performance you put up against Sagat."

	"I'm here to get my job back," the afro'd wrestler growled.  "But Jack 
apparently thinks I'm not good enough to compete anymore."

	"Really?" Yaga said, intrigued.  He paced back and forth for several 
seconds, deep in thought.  "If that's the case... then I might just have an idea 
that could settle this."

	"Why me?" Jack muttered.  "Okay, if you're gonna pontificate, get it over 
with, and then I'll tell why your idea sucks."

	Yaga just laughed.  "Listen and learn how a real booker handles things," 
he said imperiously.  "Mr. Satan wants back in, but you're not sure he can cut 
it, or that he'd be worth the cost, right?"  Jack nodded slowly, and Yaga 
continued.  "On the other hand, he's popular with the fans, so dismissing the 
idea outright is just bad business.

	"The solution should be simple even to you, Jack.  Give him a special 
match tonight.  He wins, he's in; he loses, he's out."

	"If he wins, he shows he's got what it takes... makes sense, actually," 
Jack said after a moment.  "And I suppose you have an idea of who he should 
fight?" 

	"Actually, yes.  Me."

	Jack smirked.  "And how would beating you prove that he's a good fighter?"

	"Oh shove it, you little twit," Yaga spat. 

	"Insults from the poster boy for adult diapers.  I'm wounded," 
Jack shot back.  "Seriously, though... why do you want in on this?"

	Yaga chuckled bitterly.  "Much as I hate to admit it... you've 
consistently managed to get the better of me since I came here," he said, a sour 
look on his face.  "My mistake was underestimating you.  I looked at you, and I 
saw a spiky-haired, mentally unbalanced imbecile.  And make no mistake, you are 
an imbecile.  But you're a devious imbecile, and a dangerous one.

	"I'm still not sure how, but you've managed to make me look bad in front 
of the crowd at every turn," Yaga continued.  "And you turned them against me.  
They should be cheering for me, chanting my name... but that's not going to 
happen, thanks to you."

	"I can't take all the credit," Jack said, grinning.  "It would have been a 
lot tougher if you weren't such a complete and utter ass to begin with."

	"As I was saying," Yaga said, ignoring Jack's insults, "I've come to grips 
with the fact that I've lost the crowd.  But if I can't ride to the top of this 
federation as fighter the fans love, I'll do it as the one they love to hate.  
Which makes me a perfect opponent for Mr. Satan in the match I suggested." 

	"How so?"

	"Simple," Yaga replied.  "The crowd loves Mr. Satan.  They hate me.  And a 
lot of people will remember our feuds from back when we were both wrestling.  
It's guaranteed ratings gold, and the crowd'll eat it up."

	Jack eyed Yaga warily.  "And I suppose you're doing this for the good of 
the company?  What do you get out of it?" 

	Yaga shrugged.  "I get a match against a semi-respectable opponent.  When 
I win, the crowd will boo me even more for keeping their hero from returning to 
Ultra, which will propel me to the top of the Gamma division even faster.  And 
if, by some chance, Mr. Satan beats me... well, then the fans will love him even 
more.  After all, he'll have beaten me, the most hated man in Ultra.  And then, 
when I win the Gamma title, I'll have a strong, legitimate challenger who the 
fans love."

	"So either way, you benefit," Jack said.  "Why should I help you?"

	"Because Ultra *needs* me," Yaga replied sharply.  "Sagat's a great 
fighter, but he doesn't know the first thing about working a crowd.  The fans 
don't like him, but they don't hate him either.

	"They hate me, though.  They'll pay to come boo me.  They'll pay to cheer 
whomever I'm fighting.  Like it or not, I put asses in the seats.  And the more 
hated I am, and the stronger I appear, the more money you and Ms. Tendo make."

	Yaga smirked triumphantly as he leaned over Jack's desk and stared him in 
the eyes.  "Stop fooling yourself, Jack. Ultra needs me, Ms. Tendo needs me, and 
*you* need me."

	Jack shrugged.  "I dunno... the way I look at it, I could get the same 
crowd reaction with the match I was planning for you."

	"And that would be?"

	"You in a handicap match against a mob of angry Sakura fanboys.  Sound 
like fun?"

	Yaga *GLARED* at Jack.

	"Alright, alright," Jack sighed, rubbing his temples.  "I'm probably gonna 
regret this, but I'll book it.  This all okay with you, Mr. Satan?"

	"No problems here," Mr. Satan shrugged.  "I kick his butt, I get my job 
back."

	Ultra's head booker nodded.  "Anything else?  I've still got a show to 
book."

	"Since I haven't used my contractual provision yet," Yaga started, "I'd 
like to do so now.  Morrigan and Haohmaru would like a match against Team 
Rocket, to help cement their claim as the top contenders for the Lambda 
championship."

	"Fine, fine," Jack muttered.  "Now both of you scram and go get ready for 
your fight.  I'm making you the main event, so you better not put the crowd to 
sleep."

	"Oh, don't worry about that," Yaga laughed as he walked away.  "They'll be 
quite awake for this one, I assure you."

***************

	"What do you mean, we're not fighting together tonight?  I thought you 
told me you'd set up a match," Sakura Kasugano said, peering at her partner with 
a mixture of curiosity and irritation.

	"I said I had a match tonight," Shingo corrected her.  "Sorry, I didn't 
mean to drag you here on your week off..."

	"That's all right.  I'd want to be here to support you, Duo, and Li Ping 
anyway.  But how come you're fighting alone?"

	Shingo shrugged.  "Well, put it this way.  When's the last time I had a 
match on my own?"

	"The last time you..."  Sakura trailed off, rubbing her chin in thought.  
"I don't know... a couple of weeks ago, I guess.  Right?"

	He shook his head.  "My last regular Gamma match was before Jack made the 
two of us a team."

	She blinked.  "But that was months ago.  Has it really been that long?"

	"Yeah."  He directed a half-smile toward her.  "Don't get me wrong, it's 
great fighting as a team with you.  It's just... sometimes I feel like I'm not 
contributing that much, you know?"

	"That isn't true.  You know that."

	Shingo chuckled.  "Thanks.  But let's face it, I haven't exactly been 
lighting up the ring lately.  The most help I've been was in your solo fight a 
few weeks ago, and technically that was illegal.  I don't know, I just think I 
should be able to do more.  I mean, I used to be the Gamma champion, I only lost 
the belt because Nabiki vacated them all, but now it seems like we can't even 
win a straight fight."

	"That sounds a lot like what Mousse said last month."  Sakura frowned.  
"You're not letting that jerk get to you, are you?"

	"No.  Well, maybe a little," Shingo admitted.  He turned to pace across 
the dressing room floor.  "But maybe he's got a point.  What if I've been 
slacking off because I've got you to help me now?  That wouldn't be fair to you, 
and I'd be dragging down our team."

	"You'd never do that."

	"Not intentionally, but maybe it's subconscious.  Like I know I'll have 
you there to bail me out, so I'm not doing my best?  And there was that whole 
thing with Karin... maybe it distracted me from my training, and that's why 
we're not competing with the other Lambda teams."

	Sakura folded her arms.  "Everyone loses fights.  You can't just blame 
yourself for that.  Even in Omega... I don't think Lina Inverse has won anything 
in the last few seasons!  We've only been a team for three months, so maybe 
there are a few kinks left to work out.  But we're working together better than 
ever, right?"

	"Well... I guess we are."

	The self-taught Shotokaner nodded.  "Sure we are.  So don't go thinking 
you have anything to prove to me, got it?"  She smiled encouragingly.

	Shingo hesitated, then shook his head.  "Maybe you're right, but I think 
I've got something to prove to myself."

	Sakura sighed, giving up the losing battle.  "All right, then.  If you 
think it'll help...  Who're you fighting?"

	"Shaoran Li."

	"The kid magician?"  Sakura winced.  "He's a pretty cold one, isn't he?  
Careful you don't get hurt."  Like you did last time, she did not say.

	He nodded.  "I don't plan to.  But I thought he'd be a good choice to go 
with.  He won't go easy on me like some people would, but he's not out for blood 
like Ash or Vega might be.  So if I beat him, I'll know it's because I really 
was good enough to, and if I do lose, I probably don't have to worry about being 
mutilated while I'm down.  Besides," he added with a wry half-smile, "he kicked 
my butt with that weird speed-up thing last time, so I owe him one."

	Reluctant as she was to accept Shingo's reasoning, Sakura had to admit 
that the logic behind it seemed sound.  Well, except for that last part, but she 
could identify with that.  "Okay, Shingo," she said.  "As long as you're set on 
this... go out there and win that match."

***************

	"Sorry I'm late!" Sakura Kinomoto shouted as she burst through the door to 
Team Clow's dressing room, nearly bowling her partner over.  "I sort of lost 
track of time, and then I missed the bus, so I had to take the next one, but 
it's okay because I'm here now and tonight I'm definitely going to win!  Um..."  
She fidgeted restlessly under Shaoran's flat stare.  "Why are you looking at me 
like that?"

	"First of all, I'm wondering why you didn't just fly," Shaoran said 
disinterestedly as he rose to his feet.

	"I wanted to save all my energy for the match."

	He raised an eyebrow.  "That's actually sensible.   Congratulations.  Of 
course, it brings up the second point, which is why you think you're fighting 
tonight."

	"Eh?  But... you said you had a match tonight, right?" Sakura asked, 
uncertainly.

	"That's right.  I have a match tonight.  You don't."

	"But we're a team!" Sakura protested.  "We should be fighting together, 
right?"

	Shaoran sighed.  "We'll keep fighting together in the future," he said, 
obviously not entirely happy with the prospect.  "But there's always a chance 
either of us could be called to fight one-on-one.  In this case, Shingo Yabuki 
challenged me.  You remember, we beat him a few weeks ago?"

	"Oh..." she murmured dejectedly.  "I thought maybe I'd finally get a 
chance to prove that I can do this, too."

	His expression momentarily clouded even further, but that proved fleeting, 
as he peered at her inquisitively.  "I'd think you'd be happy.  You're the one 
who doesn't want to be in Ultra to begin with, aren't you?  Well, this week, you 
don't have to fight."

	"I thought that at first," Sakura admitted, nodding.  "But then I got to 
know some of the people, like the other Sakura, and they're pretty nice.  And 
it's sort of fun to be able to test what I can do without worrying that a card 
I'm trying to capture might hurt someone, or destroy something important."

	"Even after what happened at Reboot?"

	Sakura frowned, rubbing her head reflexively.  "That... hurt," she agreed.  
"But I was winning that fight until he made me give up my cards.  If he hadn't 
been able to do that... well, I can't say I would have won for sure, but..."

	Shaoran nodded.  "You were actually using your head there," he said, with 
grudging admiration.  "Maybe you're finally learning what I keep saying.  Keep 
it up, and you might even be a worthwhile partner."

	"Thanks... I think."  Sakura was troubled, but firmly continued, "I don't 
ever want to be that helpless again.  The next time we do fight, I'm going to 
win."

	He smiled at that.  "Now that's the right attitude.  Just make sure you 
don't get careless, like you did against Marlo."

	"I still think I could have won that fight," she protested.  "You didn't 
have to give up.  I would've found some way..."

	"He had you.  One move, and he could've crushed you," Shaoran said 
dispassionately.

	"You need to trust me more."

	He shrugged.  "You need to prove I can trust you.  You've done okay so 
far," he reluctantly admitted, "but okay isn't good enough."

	"But we're partners."

	"That wasn't my choice."  He scowled at her for a moment, then turned 
toward the door.  "This is pointless.  I'm going to go meditate before my 
fight."

	Sakura persisted in pressing the point.  "If you don't care, then why did 
you forfeit the match?  If that was really true, you should've let me go ahead, 
because if I won, then you'd win, and if you were right, then it wouldn't matter 
to you if I got hurt.  Right?"

	One hand on the doorknob, Shaoran hesitated for a moment.  "I just thought 
we might have a match the next week," he finally said.  "And I didn't want to 
have to lose because my partner was injured.  That's all."

	"I see..."  Sakura's shoulders drooped.  "Well... good luck in your fight.  
I'll be cheering you on."

	Without another word, Shaoran stepped through the door.

	Sakura sighed.  "He could be a little nicer..."

	"Would you like to make him nicer?"

	"Hoeee?"  Sakura turned and stared at the young blonde girl who sat cross-
legged on one of the dressers.  "How did you get back here?  Do you know 
Shaoran?"

	Smiling reassuringly, the girl shook her head.  "I'm backstage a lot.  
You're kind of new, so I guess we just haven't met.  My name is Mary."  That was 
all more or less true, but it wouldn't explain why she was in Sakura's dressing 
room.  That wasn't a problem, though.  With a slight effort of will, Mary nudged 
reality a fraction of a degree.  Sakura was already a trusting person; it didn't 
take much to get her not to question Mary's presence.

	Accordingly, the card captor simply nodded.  "I'm Sakura," she said, 
unnecessarily.  "It's nice to see that there are some people my age here who are 
normal."

	Mary couldn't help giggling at that.  "There are a few people your age in 
Ultra," she suggested.

	Sakura shrugged.  "Shaoran.  I guess he's not too bad, but... well, 
anyway.  Ash is kind of..."  She spent a moment searching for a diplomatic term 
before coming up empty.  "Bloodthirsty.  Gary seemed sort of nice, I guess, but 
I think he's still mad that we beat him in our first match.  And there was 
Misty, but she left almost as soon as I got to know her."

	"But you've still made some friends."

	She smiled, quickly warming to the conversation.  "Sure!  There's Sakura -
- the other one, I mean.  I'm a big fan of hers.  And Li Ping, he's funny.  They 
make such a nice couple, too."

	"Couple?"  Mary blinked.

	"Well, I don't think it's official, or anything, but you can sort of 
tell."

	"Hmm..."  Mary considered bringing up Shingo, but she realized it would be 
pointless.  Those three might bear watching, though.  "Can I ask you something?"

	"Sure," Sakura said, perplexed.

	"You're pretty powerful, right?  With all those cards, I mean?"

	"Eh?  Well... I guess so.  More than most girls are, anyway," she 
admitted.  "Of course, I don't have the whole deck yet..."

	"But you will some day," Mary prodded.  "What will you do with them, once 
you do?"

	Chuckling nervously, Sakura rubbed the back of her head.  "I don't really 
know.  I used to think I could go back to a normal life, but I know now that it 
can't be like before.  Maybe if I'd been better at keeping the job a secret... 
but I think it still would have changed me too much.  I didn't want to be the 
card captor, but since I was the one who let the cards escape in the first 
place..."

	"So it's a matter of responsibility?"  Sakura nodded, and Mary continued, 
"Still, you do hold a lot of power.  Isn't it also a responsibility to use that 
power?"

	Sakura smiled slightly.  "Sometimes I wish Clow had made the cards less 
powerful.  It would definitely make them easier to recapture.  Some of them can 
cause so much trouble..."  She shook her head.  "But I don't know.  I don't 
think having power means you have to use it."

	Mary nodded.  "You could always choose not to.  But if you could make 
things better for people, doesn't that mean that you should?"

	"Well..." Sakura began.  "That's true, but you have to be careful.  It's 
usually not that easy."  She frowned, remembering certain past incidents.  "A 
couple of times, when I tried using the cards to solve a problem, it ended up 
doing more harm than good.  Even if you have good intentions, there could be 
unintended consequences, you know?"

	Mary nodded again.  She knew.  Too well.  "How do you decide when to use 
the cards, and when not to?"

	"Um... mostly, I try to avoid using them when I can, except when I'm 
trying to catch another card, or when I have a match here."  Sheepishly, she 
poked her index fingers together, avoiding Mary's gaze.  "But sometimes I use 
them for other things, too."

	"So there aren't really any rules?" asked Mary.

	"Well, I try not to do anything that would hurt someone, or use them for 
things I could do myself."  She frowned, looking away.  "Sometimes I do anyway, 
but I try.  Other than that... it depends on the circumstances."  Shrugging, she 
added, "Just because I have this power doesn't mean I should use it all the 
time, right?"

	Mary nodded.  It wasn't the most eloquent phrasing, but the underlying 
message was worthy of further consideration.  It seemed to match a lot of things 
Washuu, Sephiroth, or Lina had said, but it differed in the particulars.  "You 
seem to have a good heart, Sakura-chan," she said.  "Don't give up."

	"Thanks.  I--"  Sakura turned back, smiling, only to find Mary gone.  She 
blinked in confusion.  "Hoeee?"

***************

	There were really good things to dine upon at the Ultra Bar and Grill.  
Because the place also served as a hangout spot for the majority of the Ultra 
roster, it made sure to be well-stocked in a variety of eats and consumable 
items.  No matter the person, there was one thing everyone did agree on as the 
best snack in the whole restaurant.

	No matter the name, EVERYONE agrees that the Ultra Bar and Grill is the 
best place to get cheese sticks for countries around.

	Said food would be the reason that Lina was currently at said bar and 
grill.  Gourry, her constant companion, bodyguard, and full time practice dummy, 
looked at her in confusion, stuffing a stick in his mouth.

	"So... why are you worried about this Mary girl again?"

	Lina shot a glare at her partner.  "Gourry, I already told you why!  The 
kid is..."  She looked around, and lowered her voice, not that she was worried 
about being overheard with all the background noise.  "The girl is really 
confused right now Gourry.  She could do something that we'll all regret."

	"I understood that, but that's not what I meant..." Gourry paused as 
Lina's face went into the table, through the table, and hit the ground.  "Lina? 
Are you alright?"

	Lina quickly gathered herself, and looked at her partner in disbelief.  
"You mean you really understood what I was talking about?"

	"Well, yeah.  You're afraid of a small kid making a bad choice and 
destroying things like you do sometimes."  Gourry continued, oblivious to Lina's 
dark aura surrounding her.  "But what I don't understand is why you're worrying.  
She's a kid, she'll learn eventually.  Right?"

	"Um... I guess."  Lina stopped and thought about that.  "Well, it's not 
like she could really afford a mistake, Gourry.  She's kind of omnipotent, and 
what she does would affect us a lot more than it would her."

	"I guess you're right, but I just feel that you should trust her.  She 
hasn't done anything drastically bad lately, has she?"

	"No..."

	Gourry smiled, proud of himself.  "Then why worry about what 
hasn't happened?  She'll get it."

	Lina was scared now.  Gourry was making sense, a rarity that could match 
up to the old 'once in a blue moon' phrase she'd so often heard.  "I guess 
you're right, Gourry.  Still, there are other problems.  She's looking around 
for answers, and she just might find the wrong ones."

	"Like?"  Gourry asked.

	"... Like him," Lina said, pointing to the couple just walking into the 
eatery.  B-Ko had a simple gown on, while Lina's target, Sephiroth, wore rather 
tight leather pants and a dress shirt with ruffles on the cuffs and collar.  He 
looked only slightly uncomfortable.

	The two made eye contact, and for a moment, exchanged glances of varying 
levels of hostility.  Then the couple went to the bar.

	"Sephiroth?  What can he do?"

	"Gourry, have you been paying attention to the last couple of cosmic 
screw-ups?  He was always at the center of them!  Always trying to be a god.  
He's nothing nice, and he would be one to take advantage of Mary's power."

	"Well, there is one way to find out..."  The blonde swordsman stood, and 
began to walk over to the two at the bar.

	"Gourry!"  Lina was up and after him, but too late as he closed the 
distance, and was in the Son of Jenova's face in mere moments.

	Sephiroth eyed him warily, and B-Ko regarded him with restrained interest.

	"Um, excuse me Sephiroth-san, but Lina was just wondering if you were 
manipulating Washuu's daughter, 'cause of her power and stuff."

	Lina growled internally, but kept a stone face.  She did smack the blonde 
swordsman upside the head though.  "Gourry!"

	"And what business would it be of yours?" Sephiroth asked coolly.

	"Well, if you were, she's probably afraid of you doing something not good 
with the girl's power.  Lina tends to think that about people sometimes," Gourry 
answered cheerfully.

	The former SOLDIER arched his eyebrow at the man.  "... It is not as if I 
possibly could.  She is the Alpha and Omega, after all."

	"Well, I'm not too sure about those branches of Ultra, but I guess I 
wanted to ask so Lina could stop worrying about it so much."  Gourry continued 
smiling.  "I'll stop bothering you now.  You guys should try the cheese sticks 
though.  They're really good."

	Sephiroth blinked.  "Yes.  They are," he genuinely agreed.

	Happy with his accomplished mission, the swordsman returned to his table.  
"See Lina?  Nothing to worry about.  He said he couldn't manipulate her if he 
wanted to."

	Lina was speechless.  That pronouncement wasn't going to help her sleep 
any better, but still.  "... Thanks Gourry."

	"No problem!  It's what I'm here for."  He beamed.

	"Do it again and I'll kill you."

	"All right."

***************

	Click.

	"o/...Sunday, Bloody Sunday... o/"

	Click.

	"o/...Bad Boys, Bad Boys, whatcha gonna do... o/"

	Click.

	"o/...Okay, three, two, one, let's jam...o/"

	Click.

	"And the next stop on the Tour de Smack, Ultra.  And the big question on 
everyone's mind, other than what kindergarten classroom the Great Yaga will 
terrorize next, is who's going to take this punk down for the beating he gave 
Sakura Kinomoto at Reboot.  

	"The guy's unstoppable, unless you're piloting ten tons of giant robot.  
Heck, even Tokyo's Finest, Lieutenant Lei Wulong couldn't put the Kiddie Krusher 
in his place in a close match.  Maybe if Supercop had eaten his Wheaties at 
breakfast, Yaga would have gotten the beating he deserved, and while we're at 
it, doesn't he have better things to do than fight in Ultra, like joining the 
legion of cops trying to out who killed Johnny Cage?

	"But hey, give the man credit, at least Wulong had the guts to face Yaga 
in a fair fight, unlike Duo Maxwell.  How much courage or skill does it take to 
fight a two-meter person with a fifteen-meter robot?  But I probably shouldn't 
pick on Duo, the Shinigami probably needed his Gundam to be in the same league.  
Let's face it, Yaga's beaten a bloody path through Gamma.  After all, only one 
person's been able to beat Yaga, and after the kegs of whoopass he opened on the 
Roadbuster and Supercop, I'm beginning to think that Roxy's win was a fluke.

	"Which is why I am *geeked* to hear rumors of Mr. Satan sightings in 
Controversial Jack's office--"

	Click.

	Lei Wulong flipped through the preset radio stations on his portable radio 
as he ran.  Ultra had provided its competitors with a full size gym for training 
and warming up.  Although Lei did not have a match scheduled today, barring 
Jack's usual surprises and the colossal Murphy factors that settled upon Ultra 
like Jack on baby seal patties, the cop still used the facilities.  Exercising 
gave him time to unwind and let his mind roam free.

	He had a lot to think about, most of it of greater importance than the 
dueling frustration and relief over the sarcastic little radio host's 
commentary.  While it was a relief than not every soul on the planet could see 
through Lei's admittedly weak cover story, the pointed critique of his fighting 
skills left a sour taste in his mouth.  But mulling over public opinion brought 
him no closer to Johnny Cage's murderer.

	Not that there was much to go on.  Lei could count the number of concrete 
clues on one hand and still have room to count to four.  Nothing had been found.  
No physical evidence, no discrepancies in alibis, no eyewitness accounts.  Only 
Cage's death rattle whisper of "Ultra" as he stared wide-eyed at a rerun of the 
incredibly popular sports entertainment show.

	For all Lei knew, Cage could have been pulling some stunt as he died.  The 
last few words the C-movie actor had spoken were all famous deathbed lines.  
Maybe "Ultra" was Cage's "Rosebud."  If Lei was wasting his time because some 
dying actor wanted to play "Citizen Cage..."

	No, his hunches were rarely wrong, and they lead him straight to Ultra.  
Somehow, the fighting federation played a role in Johnny Cage's death, and Lei 
was determined to unearth the connection, even if he had to unearth Cage's body 
for another autopsy.

	The lack of evidence frustrated Lei.  He could not believe that Cage's 
attacker could have smashed the actor's dressing room into toothpicks without 
leaving some sort of cellular residue, be it hair, skin, or blood.  Plus, the 
attacker would have left shoe marks, fabric threads, and other forms of evidence 
as well.  

	The forensics lab still had not determined how the attacker had entered 
the room.  Lei was tempted to unleash Internal Affairs on the crime lab.  At the 
very least, the investigators were guilty of gross incompetence on one of the 
highest profile cases to come around in years.  The investigators who tracked 
down Cage's enemies and former Ultra competitors had been more thorough, but 
someone had to be lying.  After all, Cage could not have beaten himself to 
death.  Which is why-

	Lei's cell phone tapped a rumba against his leg.  "Wulong here."

	"Lei, I don't know what the hell you did to piss off Forensics, but their 
supervisor just called and chewed on my ass for thirty minutes.  You better have 
a damn good explanation for this."  Lei winced.  His precinct chief had shouted 
into the phone.

	Lei looked around.  Only a handful of people were in the room.  The 
policeman ducked behind a weight machine and spoke in a low voice.  "I had them 
sweep through the crime scene again, Chief.  I don't buy this 'no evidence' line 
they've been giving us."

	"Dammit, Lei, don't do things like that without running it by me.  Do you 
know how long you've set the investigation back with that stunt?  It'll take 
weeks for forensics to comb over everything again."

	"Since we're going nowhere-"

	"You do realize that it's been weeks since Cage's death.  The chances of 
finding anything new are next to nothing.  Meanwhile, the commissioner's been 
breathing down my neck-"

	"We just didn't look hard enough the first-"

	"Lei, the brass wants results.  They want someone's head on a platter, and 
you've just swung the case into a dead end."

	"Give me enough time, and I'll find something."

	"Look, Lei, the bottom line is that if you can't find results in Ultra, 
you'll need to start looking outside Ultra.  If you won't do it voluntarily, 
I'll reassign you myself."

	"But I'm sure that-"

	"I want a list of potential leads and avenues of exploration not related 
to Ultra on my desk by tomorrow afternoon.  Do you understand?"

	"I understand," Lei sighed.

	"Oh, and Lei, the brass wanted me to relay this as well.  Win your next 
fight.  You represent Tokyo PD to the world, and we don't want any punk thinking 
he can get the better of one of our officers just because some kid with more 
balls than brains took you down in the ring."  The phone beeped once, and the 
line went dead.

	"Great," Lei sighed.  He looked around the gymnasium.  Fortunately, the 
other occupants were too involved in their own pre-Ultra rituals, and were thus 
blind to the world.  Lei took off running, pausing only to replace the 
headphones on his ears.

	The big problem with guessing who killed Johnny Cage lay in the lack of 
evidence.  However, it was possible to determine a few things about the killer. 
There was only one killer, and that killer was a skilled fighter of some renown.  
While sending a mob of goons after a person usually resulted in a fatality, the 
lack of evidence precluded multiple attackers.  

	First, all the furniture should have been damaged.  Nothing would have 
been spared, especially the television.  Second, the crime scene investigators, 
including the sloppy ones hired for the Cage case, would have found hair and 
fabric remnants at much higher frequencies than found.  That left a solitary 
fighter, which, due to Cage's skill, meant a well-trained foe.  Too bad the 
coroner botched the autopsy.  They could have figured out some of the 
assailant's physical characteristics from the marks on the body.

	Not many people would use highly skilled solitary assassins.  It was 
cheaper to throw masses of thugs at a victim.  Or, for a more professional 
approach, a sniper could be used.  Both methods would provide a relatively quick 
kill, with a minimal amount of abuse before death.  If someone had wanted to 
torture Cage, the actor would have just vanished without a trace until some 
construction crew dredged up his bones during the latest construction project in 
Tokyo Bay.  Therefore, the Mafia of all types and nationalities failed to play a 
role in his death.

	That left jilted lovers, professional rivals, and the other standbys of 
murder investigation.  None of them seemed too promising.  Most of Cage's rivals 
had airtight alibis.  His associates were more than helpful, cooperating with 
the police at every opportunity, except for one topic.  It seemed that Cage had 
been a part of an underground martial arts tournament at one time.  While this 
was of little surprise, given Cage's ongoing quest to prove his skills, it now 
remained his only lead outside of Ultra, albeit a tenuous one.

	Lei sighed.  He had practically nothing to go on until the forensics teams 
finished their resweep of the crime scene and the labcoats could crunch their 
equations and findings.  Meanwhile, if he could not pry something loose from 
competitors and Ultra staff, the Tokyo Police Department would have no choice be 
to close the Ultra phase of the investigation.  With his cover gone, Nabiki 
would probably drop him from Ultra, unless he could convince her to grant him a 
formal contract.  

	Fat chance there.  With Ultra currently recovering from the financial mess 
Bison had inflicted, contracts were rare.  Lei would have to fight more often, 
winning the crowd's approval, just to be eligible.  Nabiki guarded contracts 
like they were valuable.  Almost as if...

	Almost as if they were worth someone's life.

	Could someone have killed Cage to keep him out of Ultra?  Maybe with one 
less rival around, this hypothetical person felt that he or she would have a 
better chance at an Ultra contract.  But why kill Cage? Rumor had it that there 
was no way Nabiki would let him back into Ultra.  By all reports, the guy would 
have been nothing more than a punching bag.  Who in their right mind would see 
Johnny Cage as a rival for an Ultra contract?

	But that was conjecture, a visit to the realms of the imaginary.  Lei 
might as well wish for his weight in gold while he was at it.  Unfortunately, 
the evidence left him with nothing more than conjecture to go on.  At least 
tomorrow's report would be riveting reading, he chuckled to himself.  There 
would be enough fairy tales in it to keep a child up for days.  Meanwhile, he 
would try to find out as much as he could while his superiors allowed him to 
stay in Ultra.

	The investigation had stalled into a waiting game.  Lei would sit back, 
watch all, and be ever vigilant.  Like all criminals, Cage's killer would make a 
mistake, and when he or she did, Lei would be waiting to drag that individual to 
justice.

***************

                                    LIVE!
                              FROM THE ULTRADOME!
                             THE BIGGEST SPECTACLE
                            IN ANIME AND VIDEO GAME
                              SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT
                                AND IMPROFANFIC!
                                IT'S TIME FOR...

                { M A G I C A L  T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G }
                {    C R O S S O V E R    F I G H T I N G      }
                {             F E D E R A T I O N              }
                {                .-----------.                 }
                {                | U-L-T-R-A |                 }
                {                `-----------'                 }
                {          http://www.mtcffultra.com           }

  Episode 80:  Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Ultraviolence                
                           (But Were Afraid to Ask)
                      Written by:  Impro Group From Hell
                      MTCFF Ultra created by:  Twoflower
                       
***************

	It has been said by innumerable philosophers, scholars, learned men, and 
parents with young children that silence, in its purest form, is golden.

	If that is indeed true, then, at this very moment, the UltraDome was made 
of lead, for it was LOUD.

	"Ladies and gentleman, get up out of your seats!" yelled Hiroshi, somehow 
able to be heard over the deafening roar of the crowd. "Because it's time... 
it's time to get ready... for a little... ULTRAVIOLENCE!"

	Daisuke, meanwhile, waited until his seat had stopped vibrating before 
removing his earplugs. "We've got a bunch of interesting fights for you 
tonight..."

	"Interesting? More like ULTROCIOUS!" yelled Hiroshi, cutting in.  "We've 
got a Gamma championship fight, an Omega championship fight, an Omega 3-way... 
and the return of MR. SATAN, who, if he can beat The Great Yaga, will earn 
himself a brand new contract!"

	Daisuke winced as the crowd approached its previous volume as they 
cheered. "But first up, we have-"

	"ENLIGHTENMENT!!!"

	A score of flash pots lining the entrance ramp exploded.  The pyrotechnic 
display faded, revealing Morrigan and Haohmaru at the top of the ramp.  Hard, 
minor rhythmic music pulsed throughout the arena.  As Team Enlightenment strode 
down the entrance ramp to the jeers of the crowd and the cheers of the nosebleed 
section, the Ultratron flashed images of the duo's greatest hits, slams, punches 
and kicks.  Morrigan stood in the center of the ring when the Ultratron montage 
ended with a replay of a rocket assisted Morrigan slamming Rimururu into the 
canvas.

	"Here comes Team Enlightenment, the first of our competitors in what looks 
to be our only Lambda match of the night," Hiroshi said.

	"Even though Team Enlightenment consists of two longtime Ultra 
competitors, it is one of the newer Lambda teams.  They've made quite an impact 
on the division by defeating the Spirits of Nature and the Lambda champions Gary 
and Marlo with a signature style-" Daisuke said.

	"You mean rampant cheating," Hiroshi interjected.  

	Meanwhile, Morrigan beckoned for a mike.  Haohmaru needed no microphone, 
as his volume was, indeed, legendary.  The announcers groaned, but thanked 
Nabiki for giving them Haohmaru-proof headphones.  "And Morrigan wants to 
address the crowd."

	"Too bad the crowd doesn't want to hear," Daisuke said, as the crowd 
chanted obscene insults at the succubus.

	"BE QUIET!!!  LISTEN TO US AND YOU SHALL FIND ENLIGHTENMENT!!!" Haohmaru 
bellowed at the crowd.  Morrigan winced at the legendary roar.  But the not-so-
slanderous accusations against Morrigan's lack of character ceased, only because 
the crowd was too busy nursing headaches.

	"Children, children, children," Morrigan began, shaking her head.  "Is 
that all there is to Ultra?  Children?  Seems that way to me, because every time 
we fight, Haohmaru and I send another set of children running back to Jack, 
screaming for their mommies."

	"INDEED," Haohmaru began.  The noise dampeners in the UltraDome took the 
edge off of his volume.  "I THINK THAT'S ALL JACK HAS TO PUT UP AGAINST US."

	"We certainly have yet to see a team with the experience needed to put up 
a challenging fight against us," Morrigan continued.  "No matter how much we ask 
for decent competition, Jack matches us against half trained braggarts like Gary 
and Marlo or naive little girls like the Spirits of Nature."  

	"AND EACH TIME WE CRUSH THEM WITH GLORIOUS DISPLAYS OF OUR LEGENDARY 
SKILLS."

	"You mean legendary displays of cheating," Hiroshi called out.

	Morrigan turned her back on the announcer, ignoring his outburst.  "Iori 
was right.  The experienced fighters, at the peak of their skills and 
development, aren't getting the respect they deserve.  They are forced to play 
second fiddle to brats who can barely walk, much less fight.  They fight only on 
off nights or to break in another child fighter chosen only for merchandising 
effect and not fighting prowess."

	"NO LONGER!  WE HAVE FOUND A MAN SYMPATHETIC TO THE PROBLEMS OF 
EXPERIENCED FIGHTERS IN THE GREAT YAGA.  IT WAS HE WHO SCHEDULED OUR FIGHT 
AGAINST OUR OPPONENT'S TONIGHT."

	"See, it all comes down to respect.  Gary and Marlo might be little trash 
talking punks with bigger mouths than brains, but at least they'll shut up and 
fight.  But there's a team out there who talked a good game, but when it came 
time to throw down, they let another do their dirty work.  They actually called 
one of the most experienced fighters in Japanese sports entertainment, a man 
with a distinguished track record in the industry, 'much too boring to fight.'  
On that dark day, skill and bravery met insults and cowardice."

	"BUT WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM A TEAM SO EMBARRASING THAT THEY HAVE TO 
CHANGE THEIR NAME EVERY WEEK?"

	"It's bad enough that Jack doesn't show us the proper respect, and even 
you out there in the audience fail to give us our proper dues.  But when fellow 
'fighters' get in on the act, enough is enough.  It is time to teach these 
foolish babies to have the sense to show the proper respect in the only way 
Ultra respects-"

	"BY KNOCKING IT INTO THEM."

	"Bold words from Team Enlightenment.  Now, how will Jessie and James 
answer?" Hiroshi said.

	"I'd be more concerned about how the entire Lambda division will react.  
Most of our teams are 'mere children,' and I doubt any of them took too kindly 
to Team Enlightenment's posturing," Daisuke countered.

	"Team Rockette? Pocket?" Daisuke said, cursing the fighters formerly known 
as Team Rocket for their weekly name changes.  "-or whatever their new name is 
certainly are taking their time.  Could we be seeing a rare forfeit tonight?"

	A low rumble filled the arena, then faded.

	"And the crowd seems unusually restless tonight," Hiroshi said.

	The rumble built again, intensifying beyond its previous level.  At its 
peak, chairs and desks shook.  The announcer's desk slid forward ten 
centimeters.

	"What's this?  An earthquake?" Daisuke wondered, crouching down underneath 
the desk.  The rumble began again.

	The lights turned off, leaving the audience in darkness for a split second 
until a familiar refrain began.

	"Prepare for trouble."  Four large spotlights housed in the UltraDome 
rafters swept across the crowd, the ring, and the floor.  The Ultratron screen 
sported a giant question mark that strobed various colors.

	"And make it double."  Four more spotlights swept the dome as the 
rumblings grew.

	"To prevent desserts from devastation."

	"To unite kids of all ages within our nation."

	"To drizzle victory on our fans!"

	"To be as sweet as the crowd demands!" The spotlights all rushed to the 
ring, where, with a spray of dirt and shredded mat, a hole appeared.  Morrigan 
and Haohmaru dove out of the ring before the cloud of debris could harm them.

	"Jessie."  She leapt out of the hole, clad in a caramel brown version of 
her Team Rocket uniform.  A white "C" replaced her usual "R."  She waved to the 
crowd, stepping away from the opening.  Jessie was met by screams of approval.

	"James."  He burst out of the hole.  Unlike Jessie's more conservative 
outfit, James chose to wear a bright green dress made of pliable plastic.  Like 
Jessie, a white "C" featured prominently on the dress.  White gloves, boots, and 
even a handbag accessorized the outfit.  The audience boggled, before cheering 
again.

	"Team Chocolate swirls in at the speed of light!"  The question mark on 
the giant screen melted into a giant "C" before the newly created "Team 
Chocolate" logo replaced it.

	"Surrender now and have a bite!"  The house lights sprang back to life 
seconds before pre-positioned air cannons launched streams of chocolate candies 
into the crowds.  Dugtrio popped its three heads through the hole it had made in 
the Ultra ring.

	"That's right!" the crowd cheered.

	"Team...Chocolate makes another trademark entrance to the roars of an 
appreciative UltraDome crowd," Hiroshi said.  

	"What is it about the green ones?" Daisuke wondered.

	"This match pits the oldest Lambda team against the Lambda team with the 
oldest members in a stunning, doubtlessly ultrocious brawl.  Who will be 
victorious?" Hiroshi said, ignoring his coworker's comment.  As he spoke, 
Haohmaru slid into the ring as Jessie left.

	The referee signaled for the bell.

][ LAMBDA MATCH
][ TEAM ENLIGHTENMENT vs. TEAM CHOCOLATE
][ FIGHT!

	"-and James and Haohmaru square off in the middle of the ring," Hiroshi 
continued.

	James pulled his arm back.  "Dugtrio, dig...oompf!!"  The crossdresser 
bent over, clutching his solar plexus.  Haohmaru had thrust his dulled sword 
into James's stomach.

	"HEAD!!"  Haohmaru shouted in the classical manner as he slashed at 
James's hip. "ARM!!"  The next cut slapped at the younger man's ribs.  "GROIN!!"

	James hunched over to protect himself on instinct.  But instead of 
attacking James's lower body, Haohmaru's dulled blade struck James's face, 
sending the pokemon trainer staggering away.  The crowd booed.

	"And Haohmaru proves once again that the weak spot in a pokemon team is 
the trainer," Daisuke said, wincing at the beating James took.

	Haohmaru waved his sword over his head in a victory pose.  "ENLIGHTENME--
AHHHH!!!" he cried out as he charged, then fell over.

	"But Haohmaru didn't count on Dugtrio," Hiroshi yelled into the mike.

	"Hiroshi, he tripped over it," Daisuke groaned.

	"Yeah, but what strategy!  Using a pokemon as a speed bump!"

	James staggered some more, clutching his head.  The pain ebbed, and the 
pokemon trainer wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth, staining his white 
gloves.  "Dugtrio, sand attack!"

	A small twister, about three meters tall and just as wide, spun away from 
Dugtrio.  The dust devil caught Haohmaru, who closed his eyes and braced himself 
against the blast.  The air currents swirled about him harmlessly, blowing sand 
into his eyes, ears, and hair.

	"And James tries to put some space between himself and Haohmaru," Daisuke 
noted.

	"SUCH A FEEBLE AND CHILDISH TRICK SHALL NOT ENSARE AN EXPERIENCED AND 
LEGENDARY SWORDSMAN SUCH AS I!" Haohmaru said, shaking his head and rubbing the 
golden sand from his eyes.  The fine desert sand clung to his skin and his eyes.

	"Tackle, now!" James called.  Haohmaru threw himself out of the way, and 
rolled to his feet.  With lightning reflexes, the swordsman unsheathed his 
sword, slicing through the spot where he once stood.  The blade cut 
effortlessly, without the slight resistance of a sword passing through flesh.

	"Totodile, use your Water Gun," James commanded.  The crocodilian stepped 
from behind the trainer.  A forceful stream of water slammed into Haohmaru, 
throwing the swordsman into the ropes.

	"And Haohmaru is all washed up!" Hiroshi said.

	"Hiroshi, please, no more bad puns," Daisuke said.  Then, he addressed the 
match.  "James's rapid change between pokemon allowed him to get the better of 
Haohmaru, this time."

	With his eyes washed clean by the Pokemon's water attack, Haohmaru finally 
could see his opponent.  He stood up and slashed with his sword.  A line of 
force swept away from the sword's arc, past Totodile, and into James, throwing 
the pokemon trainer into the turnbuckle.

	"Haohmaru's taking the fight straight to James," Hiroshi said.  

	"Yeah, but there's a third fighter on the floor, Totodile, and Haohmaru 
would do well not to forget it," Daisuke added.

	As Daisuke spoke, the crocodilian pokemon leapt at Haohmaru.  The 
swordsman barely had time to interpose his sheathed sword between himself and 
the pokemon before Totodile's jaws clamped down on the scabbard.  Totodile shook 
its head back and forth repeatedly, ripping the sword out of Haohmaru's hand. As 
the samurai looked down, stunned, Totodile swung its tail, knocking the sword 
out of Haohmaru's other hand.

	"And Totodile's disarmed Haohmaru, giving Team Chocolate a decided 
advantage," Hiroshi said.

	Haohmaru punted the water pokemon before it could attack.  The crocodilian 
slid into the middle of the ring, stood up, then clacked its jaws.

	"Totodile, Bite attack."  A simple command, readily obeyed.  Totodile 
advanced on Haohmaru, who backed away.  The pokemon opened its jaws in an 
ominous toothy grin.  Totodile sprang for the jugular, but it's mouth closed 
around air.  Morrigan had pulled Haohmaru under the ropes.

	"Totodile flies into the turnbuckle as Morrigan makes the tag," Hiroshi 
shouted.

	The crocodilian staggered about, as the fairer member of Team 
Enlightenment stepped through the ropes.  She bore down on Totodile, intent on 
turning the pokemon into a handbag.

	"James, let me handle her," Jessie called from ringside.

	James nodded, recalling Totodile into the safety of a pokeball.  He held 
the ropes open as Jessie stepped through, before departing the ring.

	Jessie smirked as she faced Morrigan.  "Electrabuzz, go!"

	"An inspired choice by Jessie.  Electric pokemon are especially effective 
against flyers.  Morrigan's got her work cut out for her if she wants to defeat 
Electrabuzz without taking too much damage herself," Daisuke said.

	Morrigan's eyes widened and a faint shimmer of sweat dripped down her brow 
as she recognized her new opponent.  She paled as arcs of current flowed on the 
Electrabuzz's skin.  However, her momentary hesitation gave way, as her wings 
shifted into a portable laser cannon.  She fired a thick blue beam that crashed 
into Electrabuzz, sending him hurling through the ropes and into the anti-
fireball screens Nabiki had installed to protect the audience from harm.  The 
pokemon slid down the screen to a rest.

	Morrigan stood in the middle of the ring, breathing heavily, much to the 
delight of the males in the audience.  Jessie gulped, rummaging around her 
costume for another pokeball.

	"We've just seen Morrigan's Soul Eraser,'" Hiroshi crowed.  "Amazing!"

	"As are all the glares from the female half of the audience," Daisuke 
said.

	But while the crowd tried to resolve newfound relationship troubles, Team 
Enlightenment pressed their attack.  "MORRIGAN, NOW!" Haohmaru shouted.

	"Right."  The succubus took to the air, hovering three meters over the 
ring.  From her vantage point in the air, Morrigan systematically rained energy 
projectiles upon the ring.  Down at ground zero, Jessie scrambled to avoid the 
blasts, all thoughts of a new pokemon abandoned.

	"Morrigan's using her 'Soul Fists' to herd Jessie," Daisuke said.  "But to 
what end?"

	Jessie shrieked as she backpedaled into the turnbuckle.  Morrigan floated 
closer to both the ground and the pokemon trainer, telegraphing yet another Soul 
Fist.  Pressed against the turnbuckle, Jessie inched as far from her opponent as 
physics allowed.  Two strong arms snaked under her arms and around her 
shoulders, pinning her against the turnbuckle.  A hint of a smile could be seen 
on Morrigan's face as Jessie screamed.

	"Last time Morrigan had a trapped opponent, she pegged him with a 'Soul 
Fist' from point blank range," Daisuke said.

	"But she's standing there, Daisuke, glaring at Jessie," Hiroshi added.  
"This doesn't look good."

	Morrigan backhanded Jessie, turning the younger woman's head with the 
blow.  The pokemon trainer glared at her attacker, working her jaw at the same 
time. 

	"Let me go!" Jessie demanded.

	"Now, now, now," Morrigan said, waving a finger in Jessie's face.  An evil 
smile lit the ancient one's face.  "Speak only when you are spoken to."  The 
succubus raised her hand and made a fist.

	Blow after blow rained down upon Jessie.

	"Morrigan's pummeling Jessie.  Someone, please, wake the ref.  But wait, 
she's stopped!  She's sliding over the ropes and... tagged out?!  Now Haohmaru's 
in the ring and he's stomping Jessie!" Hiroshi shrieked.  

	James leapt through the ropes clenching a small red and white ball in each 
hand.  His right arm reared back as Hiroshi spoke.  "Jessie can't take much more 
of this savage beating by Team Enlightenment.  Please, someone, stop this!"

	"I hate to say this, but I don't see how things can get worse for Team 
Chocolate," Daisuke said, cringing at the beating his former teammate received.  

	Light flashed above the ring.  A loud boom reminiscent of a deeper, more 
powerful gunshot than usual reverberated throughout the UltraDome as a sizeable 
portion of air accelerated past the speed of sound.  All four Ultra fighters 
fell to their knees, covering their ears.  Two flashes of light pulsed away from 
a ringside seat, coalescing in the middle of the ring.

	The referee woke up, and shook his head.

	"Magneton, Thundershock!  Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, punish the swordsman!"  
The three pokemon leapt to complete their tasks.  Magneton zapped Morrigan 
before the succubus could react.  She screamed as the current arced through her 
body, then collapsed.  Meanwhile, Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee had pushed Haohmaru 
into the ropes, beating him in the same manner Team Enlightenment had pummeled 
Jessie.  With great effort, the swordsman fell through the ropes, landing on his 
feet.  He dashed over, lifted Morrigan's body and ran up the entrance ramp, 
chased by catcalls, electric current, and two fighting pokemon.

	While the pokemon rampaged about the arena, a short figure in black 
leather and shiny metal slid under the ropes and motioned for a microphone.  One 
of the technicians tossed a cordless mike to the person.

	"Return!"  Three flashes of light flew from the general area of the 
Ultratron into three spheres held in the figure's hands.

	"Morrigan, Haohmaru, you had that coming for a long, long time," Ash 
Ketchum shouted.  "There's no room in Ultra for cheaters and thieves, and you 
two are among the worst.  Did you forget that cheaters never prosper?  As long 
as I'm around, it'll stay that way."

	The crowd clapped hesitantly but appreciatively.

	"This is amazing!  Ash actually helped Team Chocolate.  Could he have seen 
the error of his ways?" Hiroshi said.

	Ash spun around and glared at James, who still sat on the floor.  The Team 
Rocket Enforcer strode over, staring into James's eyes.  "But you two aren't the 
worst here in Ultra.  No, standing here with me in this very ring are the King 
and Queen of cheaters and thieves."

	"Somehow, I doubt it," Daisuke answered Hiroshi's question.  The applause 
died, replaced by whistles and boos.

	"Did you actually think that, just because I was gone last week, you could 
cheat and get away with it?  Did you actually think I wouldn't be watching you?  
Apparently you did, and now you're caught.  You can't worm out of this one.  I 
want you to admit to being a cheater right here, right now, before everyone in 
the audience," Ash said.

	James said nothing.  He backed away from Ash, wide eyed.

	"Speak up!"  Ash shook his head at the older teen's silence.  "You disgust 
me, and it's finally time to take out the trash.  Your time in Ultra has run 
out.  Either you can leave now, or I'll show you out," Ash growled.  He raised 
his hands, revealing the six pokeballs he held.   With a wry smile, he 
continued. "Please, by all means, let me show you out."

	A cannon's report, accompanied by a pyrotechnic explosion, echoed in the 
UltraDome.  Suddenly, the last climatic moments of the 1812 Overture burst from 
the UltraDome's speakers.  Fireworks and special effects went off in time to the 
music and cannon blasts.  As the final chords faded, the Ultratron flared to 
life.

	"So that's what that button does, Mr. Duck," Controversial Jack said.  The 
Controversial One sat behind his desk, holding a universal remote the size of a 
desktop computer.  Mr. Duck squeaked, although only Jack knew what Ultra's 
unofficial mascot had said.  Cheers and chants of "Jack, Jack, Jack," broke out.

	"What do you want?" Ash hissed from the ring.  "Come to bale out your 
cheating friends?"

	"Well, Ash, I was just in my office watching the action when I noticed 
your little display.  Now, Mr. Duck and I have a unique perspective on the 
matter--"  The camera panned down away from Jack to the "floor" of his office.  
There was no floor.  Members of the live and home audiences could clearly make 
out the Ultra ring as seen from a Mr. Duck's eye view above it, complete with 
announcer's tables.  "--And we feel we have a solution for this little problem."

	"Yeah, Team 'Chocolate' or whatever they call themselves needs to pack 
their bags and leave," Ash growled, looking straight up at the UltraDome's 
ceiling.

	"Well, you could just go ahead and beat up on Jessie and James.  I'm sure 
it's fair to take on tired and battered opponents," Controversial Jack said, 
punching random buttons on his remote.  "Normally, I'd revel in the controversy, 
but I've got a better idea. A treat of sorts, if you will."

	"SQUEAK!" the one and only Mr. Duck said.

	"Now, now, Mr. Duck, that one'd drop a sandbag on him, not a treat."  Jack 
scolded his friend.  He leaned back in his chair, setting two heavy boots upon 
his desk.  "Beekster wouldn't like that."

	"I don't want your treat, I want Team 'Chocolate,'" Ash said, heaping 
scorn upon the last word.  He clenched his fists, ready to fight.

	"My, my, such rage.  Well, I'll let you sate your rage once and for all at 
the next UltraRage," Jack said.  Meanwhile, down at the announcer's desk, 
Daisuke groaned.  He was surrounded by punsters.  "Ash, I'll let you pick anyone 
you want for a Lambda match against Team... Rockette?  Sprockets?  What exactly 
are they calling themselves again?"

	"Team Chocolate," James said.  During the exchange, he had crept over to 
where Jessie lay.

	"Whatever.  Anyways, you've got your match.  Who do you want to be your 
teammate?"

	"Teammate?  For these two?  I can whip them both without breaking a sweat.  
I'm the best Pokemon trainer ever.  I'll beat Gary, Jessie, and James all at the 
same time-"

	Jack sat up suddenly, his eyes shining with glee.  "Now you're speaking my 
language.  An interesting proposition, but," Jack said, trailing the last word.  
"I think I might need Gary for something else. How about just you against Jessie 
and James?"

	"That's it?  I've won already."

	"Oh, I don't know about that," Jack said, waving his hand.  "I might add a 
stipulation or two, just to keep it a fair, clean fight.  Or I might not."

	"Whatever. You're on!" Ash snarled.

	"I'd love to stay and chat, but it looks like This Old Dojo needs to move 
my office elsewhere."  The Ultratron cut the standard "MTCFF Ultra" logo.

	Ash whirled about, facing Jessie and James.  Team Chocolate huddled 
against each other nervously.  "I've only got two things to say to you cheating 
thieves."  The self-proclaimed pokemon master threw out a pokeball.

	"What's that?" James said.  A slight quiver crept into his voice.

	"This next UltraRage will be your last."  

	"And the second?"

	Ash spoke again, addressing a large red and white sphere hovering by the 
cowering teens.  "Electrode, Explosion!"

	"Looks like Team Chocolate's melting away again!" Jessie and James said in 
unison as they flew towards the rafters of the UltraDome.

	As Ash stormed off stage, Hiroshi held his hand against his earpiece.  
"We've just received word that the referee has awarded this match to Team 
Enlightenment due to outside interference."

	"Team Enlightenment has now won three straight fights using underhanded 
and questionable tactics," Daisuke said.

	"But more important we've just seen Controversial Jack announce the first 
match of the next UltraRage where we'll catch Team...er, Jessie and James versus 
Ash in a world-class Pokebrawl."

	"Please, someone in Advertising, change the name," Daisuke pleaded.

	"Work with me, Daisuke."

	"Drop dead."

	"Already have."

	"Encore."

***************

	A lone figure leaned against a wall backstage in the 'Dome.  Arms crossed, 
single eye narrowed, and with a scowl on her face, Roxy was the very image of 
confidence and sheer toughness.

	But Roxy was also Akane Tendo, and Akane was extremely nervous.  Her match 
that night was scheduled to start soon, and try as she might, she could not stop 
herself from worrying about it, especially since her defeat the previous week.

	To add to that, the past week had been an extremely busy one.  As Akane, 
she had visited Ranma in the infirmary.  Twice, not every day, and for a fairly 
short period of time.  While he was glad to see her, there wasn't much she could 
do for him except listen to him make empty threats against Iori.  She still felt 
a bit guilty, but at least she could see he was recovering, and at least he 
could see that she cared.

	Instead of constantly being by Ranma's bedside, she'd spent the vast 
majority of her time last week as Roxy, and she'd actually enjoyed hanging out 
with Sakura and Shingo.  It was a nice change to be able to talk fighting, as 
well as more conventional topics, with people her age and actually be taken 
seriously.  A couple of times, she'd nearly slipped up and said something that 
Akane would know, but she was fairly certain that she'd managed to cover herself 
without arousing suspicion.

	Sakura's admiration for her was almost scary, and she almost hated having 
to conceal from the young Shotokan fighter exactly who she was currently 
training with.  She, in turn, was impressed with Sakura and Shingo's devotion to 
their training, though she had to refuse their offer of a sparring session 
because she already had plans to work with Ken.

	Li Ping had even shown up once.  She was surprised to find that she wasn't 
the least bit angry with him.  In fact, he'd treated her with friendliness and 
respect, instead of the teasing and mockery that she'd feared.  Despite her loss 
to him, he certainly didn't seem to think that she was weak or any less of a 
fighter.

	Now that she thought back on it, though... hadn't there been a bit of 
awkwardness between Shingo and Li?  She couldn't quite pinpoint why, but it 
seemed familiar to her, somehow.

	However, even if she didn't bear any animosity towards Li, he'd managed to 
defeat her, and the fact continued to trouble her.  Plus, with all the activity 
of the past week, she hadn't managed to fit in as much training time with Ken as 
she'd wanted.  While he assured her that she would be fine, and that her skills 
were continuing to improve, she still couldn't shake the nagging doubt that if 
she'd just spent a bit more time with him, she'd be in much better shape now.

	"Hey."  A voice interrupted her thoughts.

	She looked up to see Marlo Semaj standing opposite her.  "Yeah?  What do 
you want?"

	"Saw your match last week," he replied.

	Wonderful, she thought.  Exactly what she needed.  Now Marlo was going to 
start in on how poor a fighter she was.  As if she didn't have enough doubts of 
her own...

	"What about it?" she asked, slightly defensively.

	"Not a bad showing.  You did pretty good against that Ping dork.  Didn't 
get your ass kicked, which is cool, because an ass as fine as yours doesn't 
deserve that kind of treatment.  Later!"  He nonchalantly strolled off.

	Akane sputtered.  "Why that... you... I'll..."

	Suddenly the realization hit.  Marlo, in his own way, had actually 
complimented her.  He thought she was attractive!  And, she was willing to bet, 
he'd probably thought her fight last week was good, though he'd never come out 
and say it.

	Her anger dissipated, and she chuckled to herself.  Well, if *Marlo* was 
impressed by her fighting, even if she had lost, maybe she had things going for 
her after all.  She had managed to beat Yaga, too -- that was no small feat.  
Nobody won all the time, but there was no reason why one loss had to 
automatically signify the beginning of a losing streak.

	She'd go out there, she'd do her best, and she'd see how things ended up. 
Wasn't that what she'd intended when she first started out?

	"Roxy's gonna shine tonight," she said with a grin.

***************

	"And now for our first Gamma match of the night!" said Hiroshi.  "First 
up, we have a firm fan favorite, after only two matches - the blonde bombshell, 
Roxy!"

	The spotlights picked out the ramp entrance.  Akane stood there, hearing 
the adulation of the crowd.  Grinning widely, she struck a pose calculated to be 
somewhere between cute and drop-dead sexy, and the crowd's cheering intensified.  
She walked up to the ring, smiling the whole way.

	Would they have cheered Akane as much?  She didn't care too much at the 
moment.

	"There is still no news on her mysterious past," said Hiroshi.  "But we 
*do* know that last week's speculation about her parentage is... definitely 
incorrect.  So the mystery still stands - who, exactly, is she?  Where did she 
come from?"

	"And it seems that she might have an answer or two," said Daisuke.  "She's 
motioning for a microphone."

	"What does she have to say?" yelled Hiroshi.  "I repeat, what does she 
have to say?"

	"Be quiet and you might hear," jibed Daisuke.

	The crowd quieted, meaning that now you could perhaps hear a jumbo jet 
passing over the 'Dome, if you strained your ears.

	"Listen up!" said Akane.  "All you need to know is that I'm Roxy, and all 
I'm here to do is get the Gamma belt!  I'm going to be the best and if I have to 
go through Sagat to do it, I'll do it, and I'll do it easy!"

	"And once more she shows us how spirited and ready for action she is!"

	"She'd better be," said Daisuke.  "For her opponent this time is Selphie 
Tilmitt."

	The spotlights switched back to the ramp.  Selphie and Zell were already 
walking to the ring, the crowd booing as loudly as they'd cheered Roxy.  The two 
noticed, but didn't give it any mind.  They were too busy discussing the match.

	"Now remember," Zell whispered to her.  "This Roxy is strong *and* fast.  
Be careful.  You don't want to stay close for too long, but you don't want to do 
anything that takes too long to get to her, either."

	Selphie rolled her eyes.  "I *know* that, Zell.  Remember, I'm a SeeD too.  
I've fought almost as many battles in the field as you have.  Don't talk down to 
me just because you've been a martial artist for, like, ever."

	Zell groaned.  "You're starting to sound like Akane and her 'I'm a martial 
artist too' speech."

	"Hey!  Don't compare me to that... that... has-been!  She hasn't been 
around for ages!  You see her anywhere around here?"

	"Doesn't matter," said Zell.  "Where were we?"

	"And they're at the ring!" yelled Hiroshi.

	Zell blinked.  "So we are.  Good luck."

	Selphie grinned.  "With you around, I don't *need* luck."  She clambered 
into the ring, careful not to give the nosebleed section of the audience a view 
of her underwear.  Considering the almost nonexistent length of her skirt, this 
was harder than it sounded.

	"Selphie has fought solo only once before, against Duo at ReBoot!  She put 
up a good fight but lost - will she win tonight?"

	Selphie motioned for the microphone.  "You bet I will!" she chirped.  
"Because all I see is another loser, out of all the losers in Ultra!"

	"Is that all you have to say?" asked her opponent.

	"Oh, I have plenty more to say."  Selphie grinned.  "When I win this 
match."

	"As if," said Akane.  "Let's fight!"

][ GAMMA MATCH
][ SELPHIE TILMITT vs. AKANE 'ROXY' TENDO
][ FIGHT!

	Akane wasted no time at all.  With a cry of "Shockwave!" she sent a small 
fireball hurtling towards her opponent.  Ken had termed it sloppy and crude, and 
it would have lost cohesion and dissipated after traveling only ten meters.  But 
at her current distance from Selphie it didn't need to be anything else.  It 
flew forwards and smacked into Selphie's face, causing her head to snap back 
slightly but otherwise not hurting her all that much.

	However, the fireball hadn't meant to be anything more than a distraction.  
The short time it took Selphie to regain her balance was enough for Akane to 
dash in close and land a pair of powerful punches -first to her gut and then to 
her head.  Akane followed by turning the high punch into a head grab and threw 
the other girl hard into the mat.  She formed her hand into a knifehand, raised 
it high, and chopped it downwards to the other girl's body.

	Selphie was having none of it.  Getting smashed into the mat had been 
painful, but she'd had much worse as a mercenary.  She quickly rolled out of the 
way of the downwards chop, and Akane's hand smashed into the ring.  Selphie 
didn't even give Akane time to pull her hand free; as she rolled to her feet she 
struck upwards, clobbering Akane under the chin.  She twisted her nunchaku in 
mid-swing and swung again, sideways this time.  The blow sent Akane falling to 
the mat.

	Akane received a sudden premonition of doom and looked up to see Selphie 
trying to do the same to her as what she had tried to do to Selphie, with the 
nunchaku arcing down towards her.  She rolled back and sprang to her feet.  With 
a sweep of her nunchaku and a shout of "Fire!", Selphie sent a small fireball 
heading towards Akane, trying to hit her as she landed.

	Akane's eyes widened as she saw the ball of fire hurtling towards her.  
She couldn't let it hit.  If it did, it could ruin her disguise.  Akane pushed 
further and instead of stopping in a standing position, she continued the 
spinning motion into a cartwheel, getting clear of the fireball.  It flew past 
and hit the ring post, where it sputtered out harmlessly.

	Akane completed her evasive maneuver, landing in a defensive stance.  She 
eyed the other girl warily, breathing heavily and trying to ignore the ringing 
pain in her head.  That nunchaku had *hurt*, and Selphie's magic wasn't going to 
help matters one bit.

	Selphie, for her part, was also in a defensive stance, also breathing 
heavily and trying to ignore the ache in her abdomen and head.  The fireball 
hadn't hurt too much, but the followup blows had.  This Roxy girl was almost as 
strong as a gorilla, she surmised - possibly even stronger.  She was just lucky 
she'd gotten away from the downwards chop.  It probably could have ended the 
fight right then and there.

	"And they're off to an explosive start!" shouted Hiroshi.  "Roxy shows a 
new use for her Shockwave, and Selphie shows she's just as tough!"

	Selphie quickly regained her breath, and started circling around her 
opponent, looking for an opening.  "Nice trick," she said, and smirked.  "But 
you don't have any more, do you?  I've got many more."

	Akane turned to face her opponent as she moved.  "Fighting isn't just 
about tricks and special techniques," she said.  She turned to face the yellow-
clad girl again, but stayed in her spot.  It was central enough to not worry 
about an immediate ring-out, and if her opponent moved around enough she might 
tire herself out some more.

	"Well, that's one way of looking at it," said Selphie.

	"One way?"

	"You could also say that it's just an excuse to explain your lack of 
techniques."

	Akane started to get mad, barely hearing the audience boos and jeers.  
"It's all about your skill, and how you use those techniques!  You don't need 
many to be able to do well!  You don't-"

	"Thunder!" shouted Selphie, cutting Akane off with a smallish lightning 
bolt.  It struck from above and Akane, in the midst of a tirade on martial arts 
that would have done her father proud, got zapped.  She staggered backwards, but 
stayed upright.

	Selphie didn't let her opponent keep her balance for long.  "FIRA!" she 
shouted, and sent a trail of fire blasting across the mat towards Akane at 
incredible speed.  Akane started moving backwards, so when the trail reached her 
and exploded upwards, she was already half out of the way.  But halfway wasn't 
enough.  It was still going to hit her and hurt like blazes, and she was 
*already* dodging.  She needed some sort of shield.

	The answer hit her at the same time the column of fire did.  She let her 
aura explode outwards, blasting the fire away.  She didn't let up for a second; 
as the last of the fire died away she was circling to the side, and Selphie was 
only starting to turn, her mouth an 'O' of surprise.  She'd never get a better 
chance than this.  She threw another fireball, unannounced this time.

	"REFLECT!" screamed Selphie, almost so fast Akane couldn't make out the 
word.  The effect was unmistakable, however; there was a flash of green as the 
fireball hit something barely centimeters in front of Selphie, and bounced right 
back at Akane.  She didn't even have time to gawk before her own fireball hit 
her in the face.

	The light was blinding, and Akane couldn't see Selphie twirling her staff 
for another spell.  There had also been a fair amount of noise, but she could 
still hear Selphie shout "BLIZZARD!"

	The air around Akane chilled as an iceberg almost as large as her appeared 
in the air immediately above her head.  Akane looked up as the same moment it 
dropped.  She just managed to dance backwards out of the way, and through the 
ice she saw multifaceted images of Selphie charging at her.  Obviously the spell 
was supposed to be just a distraction.  It was too bad for Selphie that it 
hadn't worked.

	Akane grinned at the irony of using Selphie's weapon against her, and 
before the iceberg could land, struck at it with enough force to smash through 
concrete.  The iceberg shattered into hundreds of ice fragments, all pinwheeling 
towards Selphie.  The SeeD squawked in surprise and scrambled backwards, out of 
the way of the sudden hailstorm.

	Akane leaped forwards through the ice, performing one revolution of Ken's 
Tatsumaki Sempuu Kyaku to gain speed and distance.  She cocked a fist in mid-
flight and landed with a punch that spun Selphie around once as she fell with a 
heavy thump to the mat.  The girl tried to get up to her hands and knees, then 
slumped.  It didn't look like she'd be getting back up anytime soon.

	"Get back!" shouted the referee, and clambered into the ring.  Akane was 
only too glad to oblige.  There had been quite a few close calls there, and she 
was breathing heavily.  She stepped back and let the referee hurry over to 
Selphie.  He bent over the fallen fighter and started a ten count, and so 
completely missed seeing Zell pick up a steel chair and throw it.  He did feel, 
for a brief moment, the chair hitting him in the head with a clang, and promptly 
fell to the mat.

	Akane spun and saw another chair hurtling into the ring, this time aimed 
at her head.  She ducked as Zell himself jumped into the ring.  She rose up with 
a rising kick to his chin, which he easily blocked and shoved aside.  She 
punched and he blocked; he counterattacked with an inwards knifehand to the 
neck, which she deflected upwards.

	"And Zell enters the ring!" shouted Hiroshi.  "And the audience is hating 
every second of it!"

	The audience was, indeed, hating it.  They booed, they jeered, they 
stamped their feet and waved anti-Zell and anti-Selphie signs.  Zell's face 
darkened for a moment, and Akane wondered why.  It didn't fit with what she'd 
seen of him so far.

	She was probably just imagining it, she decided.

	She couldn't think much more about it anyway.  The blows became faster and 
more furious and she had to think about the fight completely.  Her punch flowed 
into a block then into a backfist then into a sideways dodge away from his 
piercing kick and into a high spinning kick that Zell ducked.  She struck 
downwards at his collarbone with a chop and he sprang backwards up to his feet, 
and her hand swung low, leaving her defense open.  She tried to recover her 
hand's inertia, but was too slow.  Zell leapt forwards impossibly fast into a 
series of punches that knocked the wind out of her.  He followed with a few more 
blows that she lost track of and finished with her crashing to the mat.

	She could dimly hear Daisuke saying, "That had to hurt."  She rolled her 
eyes -- of course it hurt, she was on the mat, wasn't she?

	"Cure!"

	"What's Zell doing?" shouted Hiroshi.

	Akane managed to pull herself up to her feet, and saw Zell standing over 
Selphie.  There was some green light between him and his fellow SeeD.  Selphie 
groaned, opening her eyes, and Akane's eyes widened too -- he was healing her!

	"No you don't!" she roared, and hurtled headlong into Zell before he could 
finish.  She ducked her head at the last minute and let her shoulder do all the 
hitting, and he fell aside and into the ropes, getting tangled.  Selphie's 
nunchaku crashed into her side a millisecond later.  Holding her side, Akane 
turned to see Selphie, standing woozily and her eyes focusing and unfocusing, 
but still standing.

	"That... that was a surprise," said Selphie.  "It almost got me."

	Roxy would have a smart comeback.  "I'm a very surprising person," Akane 
managed, and struck a pose.  The crowd cheered, and she felt heartened, gaining 
strength from their support.

	"You really think so?  How about this?"  Selphie twirled her nunchaku in a 
complicated pattern, grabbed the two ends, and snapped the weapon into the shape 
of a Z.  "Thunder!"

	The now familiar bolt struck downwards, and Akane easily got out of the 
way.  "That wasn't all that surpr-"

	"Water!"  A ball of water appeared above Akane and fell on her, which 
didn't do much except chill her a little.  What was Selphie doing?  Doing those 
spells in the other order would have been more effective.

	"Oh damn," said Zell.  "It's Slots."  He quickly slid out of the ring.

	"Scan!"  Akane cringed backwards, but nothing much happened.  Selphie 
cursed, she mustn't have wanted that to happen.  Akane charged forwards, hoping 
to end this, but was too slow.  With a shout of "Bio!", Selphie cast her next 
spell.  A stream of green bubbles targeted Akane, and she managed to roll out of 
the way.  One of them grazed her side, and made her sick to her stomach.  She 
forced herself onwards -- if she stopped moving, she'd be an easy target.

	"Firaga!"

	Akane's eyes widened - she remembered seeing this over two months ago, 
when it was used against Ranma.  It was a giant ball of flame that started off 
around the opponent, with no travel time, and there was no way she could get 
away--

	Unless she used her exploding aura technique again.  She concentrated and 
let it blow outwards, and a gap opened in the growing ball of flame.  She 
plunged through it, beating out fires in her clothes and wig.

	"Tornado!"

	As a giant tornado formed *around* the ring, Akane decided that yes, this 
latest round of attacks was very surprising.  She quickly grabbed onto the ropes 
with one hand to avoid getting blown away, and onto her wig with the other, 
hoping that the attack would die out soon.  She felt vaguely satisfied to see 
Zell holding the ropes in a death grip and also being blown about madly, but 
this was dispelled by the sight of the still unconscious referee being thrown 
out of the ring by the raging winds.  Selphie and Zell would be able to cheat 
with impunity now.

	Somehow, through the noise of the tornado and the surprised shouts of the 
audience, she could hear Daisuke's calm voice.  "All right," he said, "this 
appears to be her Limit Break, Slots.  She can use it to cast any random spell, 
even if she doesn't have it stored.  And considering how critical her condition 
is right now, she can probably do it constantly."

	That was no help at all to Akane.  She needed to end this, and fast.  And 
she didn't even know what all Selphie's spells and their weaknesses were.  The 
wind died and she sprinted towards her opponent, trying to get in close before 
another spell--

	"Earthquake!"

	That was probably a mistake.  In a country as earthquake prone as Japan, 
she'd had earthquake training as soon as she'd entered school.  The instant she 
heard the spell's name, she dropped to the mat and, with the absence of anything 
to hide underneath, covered her head.  The shaking mat thus didn't do much 
except jar her slightly.

	"And Roxy is getting *battered*!" shouted Hiroshi.  "With all these random 
spells, there's no way she can plan ahead, or even get close to Selphie!"

	The shaking of the mat died down.  Akane was back to her feet like a shot, 
and closed the distance with a flying high kick aimed at Selphie's head.

	"Eep!" cried Selphie.  There was no time for to use her Limit Break for 
another spell.  She barely had time enough to get her nunchaku between her and 
the kick.  The wood visibly bent under the force, and Akane responded with 
another midair kick, this time at Selphie's midsection.  Selphie blocked that 
one too.

	They couldn't go for much longer like this.  Both were near their limit 
and they both knew it.  The match would be decided in the next few moments.

	Akane threw another punch.  Selphie blocked with her forearm and tried 
bashing the blonde girl in the head.  Akane ducked and rose with a kick, which 
Selphie was only too happy to duck away from, as it finally put her in decent 
range.  As she dodged away, she swung her giant nunchaku at Akane's head.

	Akane grabbed it and pulled.

	Selphie knew she'd never be able to win a tug of war with the strong 
blonde girl, and a desperate idea came to her.  Instead of pulling back, she 
threw her end of the weapon to the side, letting go.  Akane, expecting 
resistance, stumbled backwards as the now-free end of the nunchaku swung out and 
around and clocked her in the back of the head.

	Her vision swam with black spots, and she knew she'd fall unconscious at 
any moment.  And to top it all off, Selphie was in front of her and about to 
strike with the punch that would knock her out and win the match.

	She couldn't lose again.  She *couldn't*.  Not after losing last week.  
The free end of the nunchaku was rotating away from her head; with a heave she 
spun it forwards and around and into Selphie's head.  The SeeD fell, unconscious 
before she even hit the mat.

	Akane dropped the nunchaku and tottered over to the ring post, and grabbed 
it for support.  Behind her, Selphie laid unmoving, clearly down and out for the 
count, had there been a referee to do any counting.

	Nothing moved in the ring for a dangerously long moment.

	"Well," said Daisuke, after ten seconds had passed.  "Selphie appears to 
be well and truly out of it.  It appears we have a winner."

	"Ladies and gentlemen!" shouted Hiroshi.  "We do indeed have a winner!  
Let's hear it for Roxy!"

	And the crowd went predictably crazy.  Cheers filled the air and hastily 
scribbled "ROCK ME ROXY!" signs were waved.

	"Yay," Akane managed, oblivious to it all.  She staggered out of the ring 
and up the ramp, the crowd cheering her every step of the way.

	"What an amazing match!" Hiroshi yelled.  "There were some moments where 
it could have gone either way, but in the end Roxy pulled through with an 
incredible upset!"

	"True," said Daisuke.  "She almost knocked herself out, after all.  Not 
many people can keep on going after whacking yourself in the head with a heavy 
piece of wood."

	There was an awkward pause, interrupted by Daisuke coughing as he checked 
his notes. "Next up on our show is the Omega title match, which pits current 
champion Yuffie Kisaragi against her partner of sorts, 
Dark Schneider."

	"It's horrible to see how a friendship can go so sour over the belt!" 
Hiroshi cried.

	Daisuke blinked at his partner. "Despite the fact that Darshu became the 
number one contender for the Omega belt at REBOOT, we've heard little about any 
souring between the pair."

	"But behind the scenes, who knows what sort of tiff they've had going on."

	"Maybe they've had one," Daisuke said. "We'll just have to see during the 
fight."

	"And what a battle it's going to be. You may not know it, but every week, 
we've got scouts scouring for new and amazing locations for our upcoming Omega 
battlegrounds. There are some pretty intricate differences between our wasteland 
battlegrounds that can play a huge part in victory or defeat."

	"Such as...?" Daisuke prompted, resisting the urge to smile.

	"Um... such as the wildlife! You may have to deal with rattlesnakes one 
day but rampaging hippopotami the next, which reminds me of the latest episode 
of 'Work With Me, Daisuke!' in which our intrepid hero gets locked into--"

	Daisuke's head thunked into the desk, prompting a round of canned laughter 
from the thirty-thousand strong live studio audience.

	"Anyway..." he said more forcefully than he would have liked, breaking 
into Hiroshi's tirade. "We take you now to our battleground, deep in the outback 
of Australia. The Great Stony Desert."

	"This is so tense... I can't wait!" Hiroshi bounced in his seat a couple 
of times.

***************

	The Great Stony Desert of Australia is one of the most desolate places in 
the world.  As with much of the Australian outback, there are few places to find 
water in the generally flat, arid land.  It has been the site of many deaths, as 
explorers in the 1800s tried to cross it, failed, and ultimately perished.

	To the two individuals who had just arrived, though, it was just one 
thing.

	"Aah!" Yuffie cried, pulling at her collar.  "It's hot!"

	Dark Schneider tried to keep up a firm resolve, but he was already 
sweating profusely, even though they were less than a minute out of the portals.

	While they waited for the referee to arrive, Yuffie passed the time by 
casting minor wind and ice spells to set up a makeshift air conditioner.  She 
grinned as the cool air blew her short hair into a flutter and closed her eyes 
to relish the relief.

	Darshu took a step towards her, but was speared with a glare.  "We're 
fighting, so you can take care of yourself," Yuffie said.

	A third portal opened, and Ifurita floated out.  If the immediate blast of 
heat affected her in any way, her features did not show it.  "Ambient 
temperature is detected at 133 degrees Fahrenheit, 56 degrees Celsius," the 
android girl monotoned.  "If either fighter collapses due to the heat, it will 
be considered immediate forfeiture.  Medical personnel have been notified.  All 
other standard rules apply."

	She glanced towards each fighter.

	"Begin."

][ OMEGA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
][ YUFFIE KISARAGI vs. DARK SCHNEIDER
][ FIGHT!!

	The fight began with a piffle.  Literally, as Yuffie dispelled her 
makeshift cooling apparatus.  She brushed her hands and eyed Darshu.  In 
response, the fire mage crossed his arms and waited.

***************

	The crowd in the UltraDome shifted uncomfortably.  "Well, it seems that 
the two of them are still on good terms with each other," Daisuke commented.

	Hiroshi sniffed.  "It almost brings a tear to my eye, thinking about how 
two close friends must do battle.  I wonder what's going on through their 
heads."

	"Probably calculating about how they can out-cheat the other," Daisuke 
said.  "Yuffie's current hold on the belt is due to some timely interference by 
Dark Schneider at UltraRage Eta.  She did beat Dan in a straight-up fight for 
the belt last season, though."

***************

	Yuffie broke first.  She thrust her arm forward with a pale-blue materia 
clutched in her hands.  Her fingers tightened and a cluster of tendrils of air 
shot out from around her arm.  They twisted around each other in a pattern of 
helixes, aiming to slice through Darshu where he stood.

	He didn't oblige the attack; with the barest tightening of his legs, he 
shot into the air.  The knives of air swerved shot through the space he had 
occupied and quickly dissipated.

	"You'll have to do better than that, girl," Darshu mocked.  He dove down 
towards her, a fireball flaring up between his hands. His arms thrust forward, 
and the projectile grew as it sped towards the ground.

	Yuffie pulled out a deeper blue materia and answered with "ICE!" Streaming 
shards of magically frozen water met the orb of flame and created a lot of 
steam.  The air superheated in the reaction and expanded outward rapidly, 
buffeting Darshu in the air and sending his flight into disarray.  Yuffie held 
her ground, but was forced to her knees.

	While the airborne mage tried to right himself, she followed up with a 
second ice attack.  It missed low and hit the ground, sending up a spiny array 
of stalagmites across the stony surface below him.

	Darshu steadied himself and looked down.  "What's that supposed to do, 
girl?"

	Yuffie grinned at him and pulled out a jet-black materia.  "Just this!  
DEMI!"

	"HuHURK!"  Veins popped up along Darshu's neck as his whole body was put 
under the strain of a massive gravity increase.

	"WOO-HOO!"  Yuffie hopped from foot to foot, but kept the materia trained 
on Darshu.

	Despite his efforts, the gravity wave accelerated him from his lofty 
height towards the glittering spiky death beneath him.  So instead, the pale-
haired wizard shifted tactics.  "Guns'n'Roh!" he called, spreading his hands out 
in front of him.  As his efforts against the gravity spell ceased, he was tugged 
downwards well above the normal pull of Earth's gravity.

	The ring of fire splayed out in front of him, however, was faster.  It 
landed in the middle of the ice formation and rapidly contracted.  The flames 
carved through the ice rapidly until they had condensed to a single point at the 
center, which winked out.

	On the upside for Darshu, he now had a lukewarm pool to land in and 
cushion his fall.

	On the downside, the spent energy from the fire meeting ice blasted 
upwards.  The steam momentarily engulfed him just before he splashed down.

***************

	"Wow!  Yuffie's holding her own!  Who'd have thought that she could stand 
toe to toe with Darshu and pull out a victory like this?"

	"It's not over yet, though," Daisuke replied hesitantly.  "However, this 
is surprising, considering the amount of power Darshu often pumps out in his 
battles."

	"Yuffie's got power, too!"

	Daisuke paused.  "Why are you pumping her up? Isn't she the person who 
took the belt from Dan?"

	"Lesser of two evils, Dai.  Work with me."

	A vein pulsed on Daisuke's forehead.  "What was that?"

	"And besides, she won against Dan in a straight-up fight!" Hiroshi 
continued, ignoring Daisuke's question.  "Everyone's favorite hero will get the 
belt back eventually, just you watch."

***************

	Yuffie cut the Demi spell and ran forward to stop at the edge of the ice 
croppings as Ifurita flew over and peered down at Darshu's landing spot.  The 
Omega referee didn't start the count, bringing up a frown on Yuffie's face.  She 
fumbled for her Ice materia and cut the spell.  The remaining -- melting -- ice 
spikes instantly disappeared, along with all the water that had resulted from 
the meeting with Darshu's ring of fire.

	The bishounen wizard remained, however.  He wavered on his feet, and his 
hair was full of sweat, leaving it slick against his body.

	"Darshu!" Yuffie shouted, waving at him.  "You're looking a little pale!"

	Darshu grimaced and pressed a hand to his face.  He felt shaky and weak.  
Shaking his head, though, he tightened his fist and swung a finger towards the 
ninja girl.  "Okay, Yuffie," he called.  "Enough is enough.  Hand over the belt, 
now."

	"What?" the thief-ninja stopped and stared at the Exploder Wizard.

	"You heard me.  You're only wearing that belt because of me, so hand it 
over."

	Ifurita floated above the pair.  Her eyes narrowed slightly.

***************

	"Wow!" Daisuke's voice raised a few degrees over its normal monotone.  
"Dark Schneider calls out Yuffie."

	"He's admitting his lying, cheating ways!" Hiroshi agreed 
enthusiastically.  "Now just watch as Ifurita pounds the snot out of him!"

	Daisuke blinked.  "What makes you think that's going to happen?"

	"She's supposed to enforce the rules against the bad guys!"

	"She's supposed to be an impartial referee for the match at hand.  Darshu 
cheated ages ago, Hiro, and everyone knows it."

***************

	"No!"  Yuffie stood up straight, her arms shaking with determination.  "I 
won this belt fair and square, and you aren't gonna get it."

	"Fine," Darshu sighed theatrically.  "Have it your way."  He pulled out 
his sword and charged forward."

	Yuffie quickly whipped out a materia and started to backpedal.  She 
bobbled it, though, taking a few precious seconds to get a grip on it.  By the 
time she did, Darshu was already within range.

	He made two quick swipes with his sword, sending her further off balance.  
She tripped over her feet and fell back on her rump.

	"Ouch!" Yuffie winced and rubbed her behind as she sat on the ground.

	"Now!" Darshu paused for a moment and held his blade high.  "You are 
defeated!  BARVOLT BLADE!"

	"Wha--" Yuffie recovered enough to grab another materia.  "Shield!"

	A bolt of lightning lanced down from the sky and impacted the upraised 
sword.  Electricity crackled along its edge as he swung the weapon down.

	It stopped just short of hitting the girl.  She smiled as the electricity 
flared out along the edge of the shield spell.

	"Heehee!" Yuffie giggled.  Suddenly her eyes widened.  "KYAAAAAA!" she 
screamed as electricity coursed along her body.  She writhed around on the 
ground for a few seconds as the white-blue energy flickered across her skin.

	Ifurita landed beside the pair of fighters as the ninja-girl went still.  
Darshu backed off a few steps with a smug expression on his face.  He resheathed 
his sword and crossed his arms.  Ifurita started the count.

	"One... two... three..."

	Yuffie's eyes flickered.  Ifurita stopped counting.

	"What is it?" Darshu asked, peering at her.  "Count her out."

	"I am not so sure," the android girl intoned.  She peered down at the 
prone thief.

	Darshu followed her gaze.  He saw Yuffie's eyes scrunch up just slightly.  
"I don't see anything," he said, straining to keep his voice level.  "Not trying 
to make me lose, are you?"

	He tapped his foot as Ifurita finished the count.

	"Well, I guess I'm the winner, right?"  A broad smile crossed Darshu's 
face.  He reached down with one arm and hoisted Yuffie's limp form over his 
shoulder, then reached out with the other towards Ifurita.

	"Yuffie is unconscious," she announced.  "Dark Schneider is the winner and 
new Omega Champion."  Then she handed the belt to him.

	With a slight spring in his step, Darshu trotted through the portal and 
disappeared.

***************

	"Holy Flambe!  Dark Schneider pulls out a new move and breaks through 
Yuffie's defenses for the win!  Who'd have thought he'd hide something from a 
close friend and teammate like that?"

	"What, Hiro?  Surprised that he kept something secret so he could be 
assured victory?"

	"Huh, no, not really, now that you mention it.  But, dang, that was one 
low blow!"

	"This victory makes Darshu the first repeat Omega champion Ultra has had.  
But with the intense competition to get to the top contender spot between Gally, 
Alberto, Dan and himself, it remains to be seen for how long he can hold onto 
it."

	"Not long, I think, because Dan's the man who's gonna be taking it back!"

	"Again."

	"What?"

	"Again.  Dan defeated Darshu last time for it.  In any case, that would 
require Dan to actually return to Ultra.  We've seen neither hide nor hair of 
him since last week's Omega Brawl, which Dark Schneider also won."

	"He's on a stinking roll of late!  Dan has to stop him!"

	"Right, Hiro.  We'll be right back after this, Ultra fans."

***************

	Darshu kicked the door shut behind him.  He checked around to make sure 
that no cambots had managed to sneak into his dressing room.  "Okay," he said.  
"It's clear."  He dropped the Omega belt onto his dressing table.

	Yuffie's eyes opened and she slid off of his shoulder and twisted around, 
bringing circulation back to her body.  "Woo!" she cheered.  "It worked."

	"Keep your voice down," he commanded.  "You're still supposed to be 
unconscious."

	"Right, right."  She grinned and giggled into her hand.  "That was cool 
what you did with your sword.  How'd that work?"

	He snorted.  "Oh, it wasn't anything more than a small Barvolt and an 
illusion to make it seem bigger and better than it was."

	"It was great.  I wondered for a moment if you were casting it for real.  
Not that it would have gotten through my shield."

	"Right," he agreed, then quickly moved on.  "How'd you do that, anyway, to 
writhe around like that with all the electrical effects?"

	"Oh, I just put this on before the fight."  She dug around in a pocket and 
pulled out a rectangular plastic device with a button and a cord extending 
inside her clothes.  She pressed it.

	"Aaaah!" she cried out.

	"That doesn't sound right," Darshu said.  "It's humming."

	"Aa-" she pressed the button again and the humming stopped.  A blush 
extended across both her cheeks.  "Oh, not that one, this one."  She grinned and 
pulled out another, similar, device and pressed the button.  This time, her body 
jittered around a bit as electricity flickered across it.

	"See?"

	"Umm... yeah."  Darshu peered at her for a moment.  "Good work.  I'm glad 
you didn't get confused."

	"So what's next for us?"

	He fell back into a chair and crossed his hands behind his head.  "After a 
while, we'll pass the belt back to you.  First, though, we've got to rig it so 
that you're the top contender again."

	"Will that be hard?"

	He laughed.  "With people like DAN to worry about? No problem, girl.  Just 
leave it up to me."

	"Weehee!"  Despite his earlier warning, she hopped up and down with glee.
 
***************

	Nabiki sat in her office, half watching the show, half concentrating on 
Ultra's latest revenue reports.  Things were looking better, if only minimally.  
They were still rather significantly in the red, but the last few shows had 
pulled in excellent ratings, and the debt was slowly but steadily being reduced.

	She'd been rather surprised when Jack called about rehiring Mr. Satan.  He 
had sounded skeptical about the proposition, but wanted to know how much they 
could afford to pay him, just in case.  As popular as the man was, there was 
simply no way Nabiki could have justified rehiring him at his original salary.  
At 40%, she thought, he might just be a rather nice bargain.

	Her ruminations were interrupted by a knock on the door.  "Come in," she 
muttered, still looking at the papers in front of her.  After a moment, she 
looked up, and her eyes narrowed.  "Oh.  You.  What do you want?"

	"Ms. Tendo, your iciness in my direction wounds me," said Vega, gracefully 
walking into the room, sharply dressed in a white suit.  "I am simply here to 
discuss some business."

	"Well, without an appointment..."

	"I have an appointment," Vega said smoothly.

	Nabiki blinked, and checked her daily planner.  Yep, there it was.  
Nabiki's secretary was gonna get his pay docked for this...  "Okay, fine, but 
I'm a busy woman, so please keep it brief."

	"Yes, of course," he said, smiling.  "I've come to talk to you regarding 
the way in which I've been booked recently."

	"Jack handles the booking.  You should talk to him if you have any 
problems."

	"Jack *is* my problem," the Spaniard said, smile fading.  "I am an 
enormously talented and charismatic fighter, and yet he refuses to book me in 
such a way as to take advantage of those qualities.  Frankly, I think he holds 
some sort of personal grudge against me."

	"Oh, do tell," Nabiki said flatly.  "What kind of grudge?"

	Vega shrugged.  "I have no clue, but whatever it is, it is obviously 
preventing him from impartially appraising my talent and worth to this 
federation." 

	Nabiki nodded.  "So you came to me..."

	"For a second opinion, as it was," he said, smile returning.  "You are a 
businessperson, first and foremost; I know I can count on you not to let 
personal feelings get in the way of what is best for the company.

	"Plus, I have often found that men, jealous of my talent, wealth, and 
amazing looks, are prejudiced against me," he continued.  "You, on the other 
hand, as a woman -- and a particularly beautiful woman at that -- are more 
likely, in my opinion, to treat me fairly."

	"Okay, I understand what you're saying," Nabiki replied after a moment.  
"So what is it you want, exactly?"

	"A title shot," Vega said, leaning forward.  "Once I beat Sagat, I shall 
bring dignity and class back to the Gamma championship... qualities that have 
been sorely lacking among those who have held the title.

	"And, perhaps, after my victory, I could treat you to dinner at a 
restaurant of your choice," he said, pouring on the charm.  "As a way of saying 
thank you for your impartiality and help."

	Nabiki raised an eyebrow.  "You're joking, right?"

	"Hmm?"

	Nabiki narrowed her eyes.  "The second-to-last thing I need right now is a 
claw-wielding psychopath as the standard-bearer for my company," she said 
bluntly.  "The last thing I need is a claw-wielding psychopath as a date."

	Vega grimaced, but made an effort to keep up appearances.  "But 
perhaps..."

	"No buts," Nabiki said firmly.  "I don't want the public face of my 
business to be a mask-wearing whackjob who gets his rocks of on torturing 
defenseless women.  And as for the date... handsome and rich though you may be, 
there are plenty of handsome and rich men out there for me who *don't* get their 
jollies from skinning people."

	Vega's eyes flashed.  "I suggest you reconsider, Ms. Tendo," he said, 
voice tight.

	"Why?"

	Faster than the eye could follow, Vega's hand shot out, grabbed Nabiki by 
the collar, and pulled her halfway across the desk.  He lifted his other hand, 
revealing his trademark claw.  "Reconsider," he growled, moving he point of the 
claw towards Nabiki's face, "or we'll find out if your beauty really is only 
skin deep."

	Nabiki's eyes widened in terror.  "You'll... you'll never get away with 
this..."

	"Oh, but I will," Vega laughed cruelly.  "After all, who will stop me?"

	"Me, for starters."

	Vega spun around just in time to get grabbed by the collar and thrown out 
the doorway into the hall, landing hard against the far wall.  Clearing the 
cobwebs, he looked up to see Tarou, an arrogant smirk on his face, standing just 
outside the door.

	"You okay, Ms. Tendo?" he asked, never taking his eyes off of Vega.

	"Fine, I think," she said, straightening her blouse. "Should I call for 
help?"

	"With this loser?  Please," he said, chuckling evilly.  "The day I break a 
sweat beating up some sissy rich-boy ninja wannabe is the day I drop dead."

	"That can be arranged," spat Vega, leaping at Tarou with a vicious claw 
swipe.

	Which Tarou caught.  Bare-handed. 

	Vega's eyes widened.  "Impossible.  The pain-"

	"Is nothing next to what you're about to feel," Tarou said, teeth grit.  
Reaching back, he unloaded a vicious foreknuckle strike to Vega's face, crushing 
his nose and sending blood spurting.

	"My face!" Vega squealed, reeling back.  "My beautiful face!  You've 
ruined it!"

	"Not yet, I haven't," he said, walking up beside Vega.  "But give me a 
minute, and I'll see what I can do."

	With that, Tarou reached up, grabbed Vega by the ponytail, and smashed his 
face into the wall.

	*WHAM*

	The Chinese fighter pulled back Vega's head so he could look straight into 
the Spaniard bloody, dazed eyes.  "Now, listen closely.  You made a very big 
mistake tonight."

	*WHAM*

	"Nobody attacks Ms. Tendo on my watch, you hear?"

	*WHAM*

	"Least of all some flouncy pretty-boy with a blood fetish."

	*WHAM*

	"So since you didn't get this obvious fact already..."

	*WHAM*

	"I guess I'll have to beat it into you!"

	*WHAM*

	"*Nobody* hurts Nabiki, get it!  NOBODY!"

	*WHAM*

	"Tarou!"

	Tarou looked back to see Nabiki standing by the doorway, a shocked look on 
her face.  "He's unconscious.  You can stop; we don't want to seriously injure 
him or anything."

	"Why not?"

	"... I suppose a few more couldn't do too much more damage."

	Tarou grinned.  "Yes, ma'am."

	*WHAM**WHAM**WHAM**WHAM*

	"Jealous my ass, claw-boy," Tarou muttered, letting Vega fall to the 
floor.

	"What was that?" Nabiki asked.

	"Nothing," Tarou responded, waving his hand dismissively.  "You sure 
you're okay?"

	"Yes, I'm... your hand!"

	Tarou blinked, and looked down at his hand, which had three bloody grooves 
carved in it.  "Ah, that," he said, shrugging.  "Just a scratch."

	"Don't give me that 'just a scratch' macho bullshit," Nabiki said, 
scowling.  "Let me have a look at that."

	"I said it's no big- aah!" Tarou yelped as Nabiki grabbed his hand. 

	"Some scratch," she said, grinning.  Talking hold of his hand, she peered 
down at the cuts.  "You should go down to the medical office and get this taken 
care of."

	"It'll heal."

	"Don't be such a moron!  It could get infected!"

	"Wouldn't be the first time. 	I'll manage."

	"Damn it, Tarou!" Nabiki said, raising her voice.  "I..."

	I'm holding his hand awfully tightly, she realized. 

	Where has that come from?  Blinking, she looked, up...

	And found herself looking right into his eyes.  "Umm..."

	"Ms. Tendo?"

	"... You can call me Nabiki, Tarou..."

	"... Nabiki?"

	"Yes?"

	"I... I..."

	"Ms. Tendo!"

	The two started and leapt apart.  "What?!" yelled Nabiki, flustered.

	"We heard there was some kind of disturbance," said the security man 
nervously, gesturing back at the other five guards with him.  "Was there a 
problem?"

	Nabiki paused for a moment, then nodded.  "Yes, Vega tried to attack me.  
But Tarou managed to stop him."

	The security guard's eyes widened.  "Really?  What do you want us to do 
with him?"

	Nabiki thought about that for a moment.  "Call the cops, and have them 
hold him for a while.  Then call Interpol; I think they'll be interested in 
speaking to him."

	"Anything else, Ms. Tendo?"

	Nabiki stared down at the prone form of Vega.  "When he comes to, tell him 
he's fired."

	"Yes, ma'am," the security guard said.  The other guards came over, cuffed 
Vega, and dragged him off down the hallway.

	Nabiki waited until the guards were out of sight, then sighed softly.  
"What were you about to say, Tarou?" she asked, turning around.

	Except Tarou was already jogging down the hall the other way.  "I'm 
heading down to get my hand taken care of now.  I'll see you later, Ms. Tendo."

	Nabiki nodded and waved.  When he was gone, she walked slowly back into 
her office and plopped down in her chair.

	"Call me Nabiki..."

***************

      Hiroshi targeted the camera with his high-voltage manic grin.  "Up next, 
we've got a real treat for you, folks!"

	"As opposed to the other real treats we present you with each week," 
Daisuke commented dryly.

	"Exactly!  Now you're getting the hang of this, Dai.  But let's not keep 
the audience waiting.  Tell them who's going to be fighting!"

	"Right."  Daisuke glanced down at the card.  "Up next, we've got a Gamma 
match for you, featuring--"

	"Featuring the return of a former Gamma champion!" Hiroshi broke in 
excitedly.  "He's been a fan favorite in Lambda since last season, but tonight 
he's back in the division where he made his name.  Ladies and gentlemen... 
Shingo Yabuki!"  The crowd, predictably, roared as Shingo's entrance music cut 
in.

	At the announcers' table, meanwhile, Daisuke folded his arms and glared at 
Hiroshi.  "You know I hate it when you do that," he said, away from the 
microphone.

	"Do what?" Hiroshi asked, a bit too innocently.  He turned back to his 
microphone before Daisuke could continue.  "Shingo's been a fixture in Ultra 
since its early days, but his opponent today is one of the newest fighters on 
the roster.  In fact, tonight will be his first solo fight outside of the Reboot 
tournament:  Team Clow's own Shaoran Li!"

	The crowd responded to that, too, but this time, it was primarily boos and 
jeers that answered the announcer.  The young Chinese boy barely seemed to 
notice as he glided down his ramp, head high, challenging Shingo with his gaze.  
As he reached the ring, he wrenched a microphone from a conveniently-situated 
stagehand, not taking his eyes off of the copy fighter.  It never hurt to give 
the audience a little extra show, after all.  "So you really are challenging me 
again," he scoffed.  "I thought you'd be smarter than that, considering the 
beating I gave you last time."  A new wave of boos swelled from the crowd, and 
Shaoran permitted himself a smirk that wasn't entirely faked.

	Shingo, meanwhile, had acquired a microphone of his own.  "Maybe you did 
catch me off guard," he said calmly.  "But this time, I know you can do it, and 
I'll be ready for it."  Scattered applause met his words.

	Shaoran chuckled.  "You won't have to.  I didn't bring the Time card with 
me tonight."  The cocky smirk on his face grew into a full-blown grin as he 
concluded, "I don't need it to deal with a has-been like you!"  With that, he 
tossed the microphone back to the stagehand and vaulted over the ropes into the 
ring, posing with his sword in a flashy crane stance.

	If the words were getting to Shingo, the veteran fighter didn't show it; 
instead, he smiled back.  "Brave words, for someone who was losing the match 
until he pulled out that trick.  I guess we'll see whether you can back them 
up!"  Handing off his microphone, he climbed into the ring himself, bouncing 
lightly from one foot to the other while he waited for the referee to start the 
match.

][ GAMMA MATCH
][ Shingo Yabuki vs. Shaoran Li
][ FIGHT!

	Shaoran darted forward as soon as the bell rang, performing a broad, 
scything swipe with his blunted sword.  Shingo simply stepped back, out of the 
attack's way, preparing a kick to counter.  But a nagging feeling in the back of 
his head led him to twist to his left instead, narrowly avoiding the handful of 
paper wards that Shaoran threw with his other hand.  The ofuda sailed past, 
landing on the floor beyond the ring, where they burst into flame.

	"And Shaoran reveals another magical power," Daisuke noted.

	Hiroshi nodded.  "It's not a Gadouken, but then, what is?"

	"Very little.  Most of Ultra's fighters use more effective techniques.  
And don't you dare pull out one of your catch phrases now."

	Hiroshi chuckled sheepishly.  "Um... wouldn't dream of it, old pal."

	"I thought you said no tricks," Shingo murmured, blocking a roundhouse 
kick and countering with a straight punch that Shaoran twisted to avoid.

	"No Time card," he threw back, thrusting his sword toward Shingo's gut.  
Shingo pivoted backwards and launched a kick, but the young magician pulled his 
blade into position in time to parry.  "I never said I wouldn't use my own 
abilities.  What sort of fight would that be?"

	Shingo grinned; he'd been hoping to hear that, even if it did mean the 
battle would be harder to win.  "Good!  But power... is still no match for 
experience!"  With that, he dropped to the mat, planting his hands firmly on its 
surface, and spun his body, extending both legs in a sweeping kick with a much 
longer reach than he'd normally manage.

	The maneuver took Shaoran by surprise, bowling him off his feet.  Shingo 
completed the motion and set up for an axe kick, but Shaoran was too fresh for 
that tactic to work; the young mage rolled away before it landed, recovering his 
footing.  Warily, he circled, maintaining a low crouch.

	Hiroshi cheered wildly.  "And Shingo gets in a decisive first blow!"

	"Decisive?"

	"Well, it could be decisive, Dai.  You never know."

	"You like that one?" Shingo teased.  "I got it from Blanka.  But I guess 
you wouldn't be familiar with that name."

	"Oh, it's from someone else?" Shaoran asked with false innocence.  "That 
explains why it actually worked, then.  I knew it couldn't be part of your 
style."  Perhaps he should have paid more attention to the ring and less to the 
talk, because he stumbled as he continued circling.

	Shingo launched himself forward in a spectacular flying kick, only to 
discover too late that Shaoran had been acting.  The young boy sidestepped 
easily and landed a vicious backhand blow with his sword that knocked Shingo 
into the ropes.  He pressed the attack with a high kick and another sword slash, 
but Shingo managed to turn in time to block the first and avoid the second.

	The mage wasn't letting up the attack, though, and Shingo was being herded 
toward a corner.  That wasn't good.  The sword gave the kid a reach advantage, 
and he was using that advantage mercilessly.  When Shingo dodged, the sword 
would flash to another position; the few times he blocked, there was a kick to 
follow up before he could close.

	Then Shingo smiled.  He had a plan.

	The next time Shaoran's sword flashed out toward him, Shingo stepped back.  
Then he continued running backwards, and slightly to one side.  He saw the 
flicker of surprise flash across the boy's face, and inwardly exulted as he felt 
the ropes at his back, stretching... stretching...

	"Shiiiingo kick!" he called, taking to the air just as the ropes snapped 
back.  He spun as they hurled him forward, adding to his momentum.  As he 
started to complete the rotation, he noticed Shaoran belatedly starting to move, 
attempting to dodge the telegraphed attack...

	And failing.  Shingo's foot caught the mage's chin, throwing him backwards 
to the mat as his sword spun out of his grasp.  Shingo landed, hesitating for a 
moment before deciding to go after Shaoran rather than remove the sword.  That 
moment was almost enough for Shaoran to struggle back to his feet, but Shingo 
closed in, landing a pair of punches that were barely blunted by Shaoran's weak 
defense.  Shingo shifted his weight to the other foot and threw a straight side 
kick to finish off the combination, but this time it was the Chinese boy who 
backed away out of range, shaking his head to clear it.

	"What an incredible show of skill by Shingo!  Shaoran is really on the run 
now," Hiroshi noted.

	"No more taunts?" Shingo wondered, pushing the attack.  He didn't want to 
stand off and allow Shaoran to fully recover; the young magician was dangerous 
even without his sword, and Shingo didn't want to underestimate him.  A few more 
attacks landed; none of them were very solid, but that was okay.  He'd wear the 
boy down if this continued.

	But Shaoran had gotten his second wind.  A sweeping circular motion with 
his left hand deflected one of Shingo's punches, throwing off his rhythm.  Then 
a palm strike landed in his gut, forcing him back, and a low sweeping kick 
dropped him to the mat.  "I prefer results," he answered almost laconically, 
directing a kick at his downed opponent's head.  He ignored the audience as they 
registered their displeasure with his course of action.

	The blow struck Shingo's hip, instead, glancing as the copy fighter rolled 
away.  He came back to his feet with a rising uppercut that vaguely resembled 
Ken's Shoryuken technique, but lacking both the flame and the raw power.  The 
maneuver served to force Shaoran back until Shingo was set, though, and the 
young mage mentally cursed his decision to harry his opponent rather than to 
retrieve his blade.

	Shingo was still for a moment, eyeing his opponent.  He was breathing 
hard, more tired from the exertion than he would like to admit, and had taken a 
few serious hits, but he thought Shaoran was worse off.  A multitude of glancing 
blows, plus that one Shingo Kick, had left him visibly slowed.  Shingo rushed 
forward, drawing his fist back, and the magician fell into a defensive stance, 
but this time it was Shingo who was bluffing.  He dropped to kick low instead, 
toppling Shaoran again.  The boy slapped the mat and rolled into a back 
handspring to regain his feet, but the motions lacked the smooth grace he had 
displayed earlier.  Shingo smiled to himself and prepared the coup de grace.

	Though he tried to hide the extent of his injury, Shaoran wobbled slightly 
as he landed.  His eyes narrowed as he scanned the ring to locate his opponent.  
If he didn't finish this fast, he might collapse.

"Oh... hello," said James.  Then, with a concerned frown, he added, "Are you all 
right?"

	"James-sama?"  His eyes widened.  "James-sama!"  Though clearly flustered, 
he rushed toward his idol.

	He ducked forward, dropping to the mat just before the powerful roundhouse 
kick James threw whistled through the air where his torso had been.  His hands 
pushed against the floor of the ring, catapulting him into the air in the kick's 
wake, and he drove his own foot forward into James' jaw with a sharp crack.  The 
former Rocket fall backwards, slamming onto the mat.

	He started to get up, and Shaoran threw himself forward, kicking out with 
both legs and hitting James in the chest.  His weight forced James back to the 
mat, where Shaoran scowled down at him, reaching to grasp his collar.

	"Do you really think I'd be stupid enough to fall for that twice?" he 
asked with withering scorn.  Then his free hand landed a solid punch, right 
between "James'" eyes.  The transformed fighter fell backwards, murmuring 
incoherently as he reverted to his normal state, and Shaoran staggered away as 
the referee approached to make the count.

	At eight, Shingo twitched, and Shaoran winced, attempting to gather energy 
that simply wasn't there.  But Shingo failed to rise before the count was made, 
and it was with some relief that he stood, leaning on his sword in what he hoped 
was a nonchalant manner, while the referee declared him the winner.  Out of the 
corner of his eye, he noticed that Shingo had recovered sufficiently to rise to 
his knees and offer a hand in congratulations.

	Shaoran turned away, as if he hadn't seen, and the audience's boos 
escalated in volume.  Right now, he didn't care.  Forcing neutrality onto his 
expression, he stood straight, head high, and sheathed his sword.  Then he 
climbed out of the ring and walked at a measured pace back up the ramp.

	As soon as he'd gotten backstage, he ran into Nuku-Nuku, almost literally.  
"Oh!  Shaoran-kun!" she said with a delighted smile.  "Nuku-Nuku is sorry about 
your loss at Reboot..."

	It was a small blessing, at least, that Ultra's camera-pods weren't 
flitting about at the moment.  That way, only the cat-girl witnessed Shaoran's 
collapse.

      Back at the announcers' table, Hiroshi and Daisuke discussed the match.  
"Well, Shingo's trick backfired, but it looks like he's not hurt too badly," 
Daisuke said.  "Our medical staff says he should be up and about before the end 
of the night, although he might ache for a while."

	"Maybe it's true that his carefully-planned strategy didn't work, Daisuke, 
but--"

	"By 'carefully-planned strategy' you mean dressing up as James, right?  
Just checking."

	"BUT," the more frenetic of the clones continued, "you have to admit that 
we saw some truly spectacular fighting from Shingo tonight!  Did you see that 
kick off the ropes?"

	"Yes, Hiroshi.  I was sitting right next to you, remember?"

	"This makes Shingo's second loss to Shaoran, though.  I wonder if this 
could be the beginning of a bitter rivalry?"

	Daisuke shrugged.  "It's either that or a coincidence."

	"There are no coincidences in Ultra, Dai!"  Hiroshi stood, knocking over 
his chair, and powerposed.

	Daisuke facepalmed.  "If you turn that into another new catch phrase..."

	"I know, I know.  You'll hurt me."

	"Yep.  Hey, maybe that could be my catch phrase, since everyone recognizes 
it..."

	Hiroshi just looked at his fellow announcer and shook his head sadly.

***************

	Ranma struck, with a middle punch to the centerline of the body.  He held 
the pose for a moment, then breathed in as he withdrew from the movement.  He 
brought his arm back slightly as his lead foot came back to just in front of his 
rear foot, the heels raised slightly.  He spun and kicked, focusing entirely on 
the technique.

	Ryu's philosophy had one overriding tenet -- "The fight is all".  Almost 
everything he did was for the fight, either searching for one, preparing for 
one, or actually being in one.  It reminded Ranma somewhat of his father's 
approach to martial arts, though it was infinitely more honest.  Then again, 
almost everything was infinitely more honest than his father's approach to life.

	He cut back on the thought.  He had to focus.  "The fight is all," he 
remembered Ryu saying.  "Everything else is secondary.  In training, you must 
give the same all you would give in the fight.  Remember this, Ranma."

	With an effort, Ranma ignored the thoughts of his father and concentrated 
entirely on his technique.  The next movement in his kata, a high reverse 
spinning kick followed by a crouching spinning kick into a middle block, snapped 
out almost perfectly, a millimeter off target if at all, and capable of 
destroying concrete.  Even now, a training dummy across the hall was falling 
over from the sheer force.  He congratulated himself then winced.  He was 
concentrating on other things already.

	"The fight is all," Ryu had said.  "Everything else -- how you get to the 
fight, your entrance, 'trash-talking' to your opponent -- does not matter.  
Forget them.  Concentrate only on the fight."

	He'd protested, of course.

	"Sagat will not care.  He, too, lives only for the fight.  He cares little 
about appearances.  To stand a chance against him, you must learn to live for 
the fight like he does."

	Doing that wasn't hard -- it was practically what he'd done most of his 
life, anyway.  But Ryu took it to insane new levels.  Even training with your 
eyes open could be a distraction, if there were others present.  "You may 
instinctively seek them out with your eyes, to see their opinion of you in their 
own eyes."  It seemed ridiculous, but training with his eyes closed did help, at 
times.

	Even though there was nobody present, he closed his eyes and continued in 
his kata.  It was hardly as if he needed them open - this was an Anything Goes 
martial arts kata that he'd been practicing for close to eight years now, and he 
could tell if his execution of it was off by any more than a millimeter just by 
feel.  Ryu had been impressed by Ranma's execution of this kata.

	He spun and dropped into a low stance, blocked an imaginary attacker, then 
leaped into a quick series of mid-air techniques aimed at the attacker's 
imaginary partner.  Every single one of the kicks was aimed precisely at the 
partner's temple, collarbone, and sternum, and each would have shattered stone.  
He landed and leaped again, attacking the original attacker--

	His danger sense flared and he snapped his eyes open to see a bright 
orange fireball millimeters from his torso, and Sagat a short distance behind 
it.  He tried to twist out of the way so instead of it hitting him full on, it 
hit his side.  He twisted further, regaining his balance, and landed on another 
fireball.

	"Pathetic," sneered the massive Thai.  "Training with your eyes closed.  
Can't deal with how bad your form looks?"

	"It'll be more than enough to take you on, Saggy," Ranma retorted.

	Sagat rolled his eyes.  "Saotome, even with all this extra training, you 
still can't deal with a simple Tiger Shot combination."

	Ranma fumed.  The fight may be all, but obviously there were times when 
training wasn't.

	Sagat continued.  "I don't particularly care who you're training with, 
but-"

	"Who said I was?"

	Sagat snorted.  "Oh please.  Saotome, your form has changed.  Perhaps not 
enough for those worms out there to notice, but I definitely noticed.  For such 
rapid change in both form and approach, you have to be training with somebody 
else.  I don't particularly care who, even if it is Ryu, as I suspect."  His eye 
gleamed with a sudden thought.  "Actually, I do care.  Beating his student might 
not be the same as beating him senseless, but it's a good start.  Especially 
when it's you."

	"Whatever."  Ranma straightened up and glared at Sagat, and advanced upon 
him.  "Was that all you got to say?  'Cause you got to beat me first.  I 
certainly won't have my eyes closed when we fight for the Gamma belt.  You won't 
be able to take me by surprise then."  He jabbed his finger into Sagat's chest, 
lightly.  "And *I'm* gonna be the one walking away with it."

	Sagat grinned down at him -- a nasty grin, full of menace.  "It doesn't 
matter what you do or how much you train, Saotome.  I've been fighting since 
before you parents even thought of having you, and I'll always be ahead of you.  
Remember whose fireballs hit who, here."  He returned Ranma's gesture, jabbing 
the much younger boy in the chest.  "You'll never get the Gamma belt back, 
brat."

	Ranma growled.  His perfect moments of concentration were lost; he'd never 
be able to get them back and resume training for a good long while yet.  
Certainly not with Sagat here.  He spun on his foot and stalked out.

	"Going so soon?" Sagat asked.  "Pathetic.  Utterly pathetic."

	Ranma stopped at the door, and looked back into the training hall.  "This 
ain't over, Sagat," he promised.

	"Challenge me as much as you want, I'll beat you or your girl to a pulp 
every single time," Sagat promised back.

	Ranma growled, and walked away.

***************

	"And for our next match, the Gamma champ returns to the ring to defend his 
crown!"  Hiroshi yelled over the crowd's churning roar.  "Coming back from his 
injury in his last title bout..."

	"Which he won mainly thanks to his opponent fighting with the ref," 
Daisuke mumbled under his breath.

	"...Let's hear it for Sagat!" Hiroshi finished, ignoring his partner as 
Sagat stalked down the aisle in a blaze of spotlights.  A thunderous mix of 
cheers, boos and hisses accompanied the Muay Thai kickboxer as he strode toward 
the ring.

	"And challenging him for the title today--" Daisuke got out, before his 
hyper colleague cut him off.

	"--It's the Roadbuster himself!  BEAN BANDIT!"  Hiroshi belted out as Bean 
appeared at the top of the ramp.  The crowd erupted into furious cheering.

	"Do you think Sagat's really recovered from that leg injury Iori gave 
him?" Daisuke wondered.  The tall, lean fighter was climbing into the ring, 
stepping over the top rope a little more gingerly than normal.

	"He's not looking in top shape, Dai," Hiroshi agreed, watching Bean enter 
the ring.  "But will it be enough to give Bean the edge?"

	Arms folded, Sagat regarded Bean with an arrogant smirk.  The outlaw 
driver returned the stare grimly.

	The bell rang.

][ GAMMA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
][ SAGAT VS. BEAN BANDIT
][ FIGHT!

	As the bell's note faded, Sagat merely drew one leg up and adopted a 
smooth, poised defensive stance.  Across the ring, his American opponent also 
readied himself.

	"Ready to go the way of your Shadowlaw buddy, Sagat?" Bean queried, 
bringing up his fists.

	Sagat's savage grin was the only answer needed.

	The two fighters locked eyes for a long moment... then lunged out of their 
corners, crashing together in a storm of blows.

	"Neither Bean nor Sagat are wasting any time," Daisuke commented.  "Will 
it be Sagat's speed or Bean's endurance that wins tonight?"

	Back in the ring, Sagat dodged a punch, blocked another one on crossed 
arms with a solid _whump_, and took advantage of the opening to counterattack in 
a flurry of rapid strikes, forcing Bean back on the defensive.

	Bean grunted as an elbow slipped through his guard, grazing his jaw.  
Sagat's speed and long reach were proving deadly.  If the kickboxer had any 
weaknesses, he wasn't showing them yet.  Which meant that if Bean was going to 
win this match, he'd have to put some pressure on Sagat, fast.

	Distracted, he barely parried a cat-fast knee jab.  _Great idea, Bean.  
How?_

	He fended off another elbow as Sagat got entirely too close, forcing the 
Muay Thai master back with a solid punch -- and then Sagat's long arm snaked in 
out of nowhere, and Bean's ears rang with the blow.

	Shaking his head to clear it, Bean backpedaled, narrowly blocking a second 
punch, and a third.

	All right, then.  Time to cut loose...

	"Sagat's definitely in control tonight," Daisuke noted, watching as Bean 
was pressed back again and again.  "Bean's going to have to do something pretty 
fast to get out of this one."

	"But don't count Bean out yet!" Hiroshi enthused.  "He's come back from 
some tough situations in the past--"

	In the ring, Bean blocked again, countering with a punch that drifted low, 
and Sagat reflexively raised his knee to fend it away--

	The echoing thud of contact was clearly audible, even over the crowd.  
Sagat leaped back defensively, visibly wincing as he landed.  The kickboxer 
quickly resumed his fighting stance, but he was noticeably favoring one leg as 
Bean rushed in again.

	"Bean fakes Sagat out to take advantage of that injured knee, and now he's 
right back in the match!" Hiroshi cried as Sagat stumbled back.  The 
professional driver pressed his attack, hammering away as Sagat desperately 
strove to defend his weakened leg.

	"And that's it for Sagat's speed advantage," Daisuke noted.  "It looks 
like this might turn into an all-out slugging match."

	The two fighters exchanged a brutal series of blows before Sagat sprang 
away.  A high kick snapped out to connect with Bean's chin, but the Roadbuster 
reeled back for only a second before lunging back into the fight.  The Muay Thai 
fighter couldn't move out of the way fast enough, and a solid hit from Bean 
dropped him to the mat.

	"Sagat is DOWN!" Hiroshi yelled.  "No, he's up again!  This is going to be 
one nail-biter of a match, ladies and gentlemen!"

	Daisuke sighed.  "...Which Bean is going to win by a mile, thanks to 
Sagat's injury."

	"Aw, c'mon, Daisuke!  Work with--" Hiroshi cut off, gulping at the Look 
his partner gave him.

	Sagat backed away, fending off Bean's kicks and punches.  His reach and 
power were keeping him in the fight for now, but Bean was tall and strong, too.  
Which meant that the match was even at best, a losing one at worst.

	Sagat snarled.  "Losing" was not a word he was familiar with... at least, 
not when applied to _him_.

	The American fighter came at him again, fists flying.  A few punches 
landed on Sagat's shoulders and arms, but the kickboxer ignored them, throwing a 
couple of elbow strikes that Bean managed to avoid. 

	The getaway driver threw a kick this time, short and straight, and Sagat 
deflected it with his leg -- his bad leg, unfortunately, since he needed his 
good one to balance on.  Bean's eyes blazed as he recognized the opportunity, 
and his next punch swept in directly at Sagat's raised kneecap.

	Sagat didn't even move.  The blow slammed home, and the Thai 
kickboxer stumbled back; Bean charged after him, intending to finish the fight 
before his opponent could recover.  With Sagat's leg out of action, he wouldn't 
have to worry about--

	"TIGER UPPERCUT!"

	Bean flew backwards, crashing to the ground.

	"What a turnaround!" Hiroshi cried, as Sagat stalked forward, showing no 
signs of leg injury at all.  "It looks like Sagat was luring Bean in all this 
time!"

	Bean was just standing up when a rising knee caught him in the gut.  He 
grunted, doubling over just enough for Sagat to grab him and throw.

	"That has to hurt," Daisuke winced as Bean's head impacted the turnbuckle.

	"It's not over yet!  Bean's getting up--"

	Sagat grinned, and the air around him seemed to ignite with the flare of 
his chi.

	"TIGER UPPERCUT!"  This time Bean cleared the ropes and flew out of the 
ring, propelled by Sagat's fist.  He slammed headfirst into the ground and 
stayed there.

	"I don't think so," Daisuke said dryly, as the referee administered the 
count. 

	"Another amazing finish from Sagat!" Hiroshi yelled over the sea of 
booing.  Sagat strode over to the ropes, betraying only a slight limp as he 
grasped his title belt.

	"Looks like he wasn't entirely faking it after all," Daisuke said.  "It 
takes a lot to make Sagat show he's injured."

	"That just proves what a tough customer Sagat really is!" Hiroshi cheered.  
"At this rate, the Gamma champ looks set for a long reign at the top--!"

	"Not a chance."

	Sagat turned just in time for a fist to slam into his face.  He staggered 
back--

	"MOKO TAKABISHA!"  The ki-blast smashed into him, closely followed by a 
series of punches and kicks that pummeled Sagat into the ropes.  A savage 
uppercut flipped him out of the ring to land with a painful thud.

	"That's Ranma!" Daisuke gasped.  "Where'd he come from?"

	"And Ranma has come out of NOWHERE to take Sagat down!" Hiroshi bellowed.  
The teenager hopped out of the ring, walking over to Bean and offering him a 
hand as the driver tried to get up.

	"Hey, Sagat," Ranma smirked as a microphone was thrust in his face.  "That 
was just a sample.  Next time we're in the ring, I'm gonna show you just how 
hard I've trained."  He met Sagat's vicious glare evenly as the Thai fighter 
clambered to his feet.  "That Gamma belt's got my name on it, Saggy.  You keep 
it for me 'till then.  Anyone who wants it after that--" he paused to look Bean 
in the eyes as the American leaned on him-- "can come take a shot at me for it."  
He exchanged one final stare with Sagat, and then they both turned away.

	"Ranma throws down the gauntlet to Sagat!" Hiroshi cheered, as the 
fighters departed.  "This is going to be one ULTROCITY of a title fight when 
those two finally meet up in the ring!"

***************

	Back home, when Nakoruru was troubled, she would take Mamahaha and 
Shikuruu, go to the forest, and meditate.

	In modern-day Tokyo, however, there were no such forests.  She and 
Rimururu didn't have the resources to travel outside of the city to seek them.  
Instead, they had to make do with wandering the back corridors of the UltraDome.

	She strode through the hallways with one hand firmly on Shikuruu's back, 
to prevent the wolf from taking off unexpectedly, and the other on the hilt of 
her wooden sword.  Mamahaha flew through the beams above them, while Rimururu, 
Konril by her side, followed her sister.

	Nakoruru kept her eyes peeled for any sign of Haohmaru or the demon that 
had corrupted him.  Surely, if she and her sister could get him alone and speak 
with him, they could make him see the dark path he'd begun to travel on, and 
lead him back to the light.  And if they found the demon...  She cast a worried 
glance over her shoulder at Rimururu, who simply smiled back.

	The demon would not be allowed to take her sister's soul!  Nakoruru would 
die before she would let it come to pass!  Yet... so far, they had made a very 
poor showing in this competition called Ultra.  Both times, they had been 
defeated, and it sat heavily in her heart.  Her injuries had faded, but the 
humiliation had not.  Back home, she was a respected fighter against the forces 
of darkness.  Here, she was a laughingstock.

	They rounded the corner and suddenly came face to face with the two human 
beings she least wanted to see.

	"Well, what have we here?" Tasuki sneered.

	Shikuruu snarled, and Mamahaha let out a soft cry.

	"Can't you keep better control over your pets?" Mousse asked.  "That 
stupid wolf of yours nearly ate me last week."

	"I... I'm sorry," Nakoruru stammered, caught off guard.  "He didn't mean 
to.  He was just confused with all the people around."

	"And it wasn't fair of you to make us think that your curse was 
permanent!" Rimururu cried.

	"That's right," Mousse said.  "It wasn't 'fair.'  But it worked."

	"And if we're going to talk about being fair," Tasuki continued, "what's 
with the animals, anyway?  If one of them's yours, and one of them's hers, then 
what were you doing with both of them?  And if they're both yours, then what was 
she doing with them?"

	"I... I..." Nakoruru was unable to come up with an appropriate response.

	"Anyhow, it's obvious that you don't belong here," Mousse finished.  "So 
we'd be more than happy to send you to where you belong..."  There was an 
audible clinking sound as Mousse shifted into a fighting stance, while Tasuki 
snapped open his fan.

	"Let's get them!" Tasuki cried.  "LEKKA SHINEN!"

	"You know," a voice said from behind the Ainu maidens, "I really can't 
stand bullies."  Two flashes of red light followed the declaration.  Suddenly, 
Mousse found his own chains heading straight back at him, as if they'd bounced 
off an invisible wall, and Tasuki's flames simply washed over Nidoking's tough 
hide.

	Gary stepped in between the two sisters.  "Alakazam, Psychic Wave," he 
told the spoon-wielding pokemon.

	"Kazam!"  The blast of telekinetic power forced the two young Chinese men 
back.

	"I may have taunted Ash back in the day, but he never let it defeat him, 
and I considered him a worthy opponent.  Now he makes me sick... and you're just 
like him!" Gary exclaimed.  "If it's a fight you want, why don't you take on me 
and Marlo?"

	Mousse regained his balance.  "Oh, we'll do just that."  He laughed 
softly.  "You made a poor decision today, Gary Oak.  When we meet you in the 
ring, we'll utterly *destroy* you!"

	"Yeah, yeah, whatever.  Talk is cheap."  Gary waved his hand dismissively.  
"Nidoking?  Take-"  But Mousse and Tasuki had scrambled away before he could 
finish the command.

	Gary sighed.  "And cowards, too.  Figures."  He turned back to the Ainu 
sisters, only to find Rimururu staring at him with a rapt gaze, which made him 
strangely uncomfortable.  Nakoruru, meanwhile, was examining his pokemon, a 
curious expression on her face.  When she noticed that Gary's attention was on 
her, she gave a quick bow.

	"That was very brave of you," she said.

	"Err... thanks, um, Naka...?"

	"Nakoruru."

	"Right."  He turned to her sister.  "And Rimmer...?"

	"Rimururu!  And this is Konril!"  She indicated the floating crystal next 
to her.

	Gary blinked.  "Okay... uh, anyway, I just happened to be walking by, and 
I couldn't just let those two get away with starting a fight."

	"You are wise and noble, Gary-san," Nakoruru replied.  "We are most 
grateful for your aid, and that of your companions."

	"Companions?" Gary asked, scratching his head.

	Nakoruru indicated Alakazam and Nidoking.  "Yes.  The creatures that fight 
with you, as Shikuruu and Mamahaha do for us."

	"Oh, my pokemon?" Gary realized.  "Yeah, I guess they are kind of like 
your animals, in a way.  I'd never really thought about it like that."

	"I'm sure you and your partner will defeat those bullies!" Rimururu 
enthusiastically interjected.  "In fact, we'll come to your matches and cheer 
you on!  Yay, Gary!  Hooray!  Go, Gary, go!"  Despite having arrived in modern 
Tokyo only a few weeks ago, she seemed to have the art of cheerleading down pat.

	"...yeah.  I'll, ah, look forward to that," Gary said, finding her 
reaction slightly disturbing, yet oddly familiar.  "Well, if you'll excuse me, I 
need to go find Marlo and let him know that those jokers are going to be gunning 
for us.  Seeya 'round!"  He recalled Alakazam and Nidoking, clipped the 
pokeballs to his belt, and walked off.

	"He could be a worthy ally and protector," Nakoruru remarked after he had 
left.

	Rimururu nodded.  "And he's very handsome, too!"  She blushed slightly.

	"That is also true."  Nakoruru smiled.  "Come, Rimururu.  We should start 
preparing for both his next match, and ours."

	So the two young women, the wolf, the hawk, and the floating ice crystal 
continued their way through the UltraDome.  Their hearts were lightened, their 
spirits lifted... and Rimururu silently wondered where she could procure a set 
of pom-poms.

***************

	"Now it's time for our second Omega fight of the night," Hiroshi 
exclaimed, "and this one's a three-way brawl!"

	"Gally and Washuu have some issues dating back a while, while Alberto has 
been seeking to establish himself as a major player for the Omega belt," Daisuke 
added, ever the informative one.

	"So without further delay, let's take you live to the fight!

***************

	The harsh winds of the great Sahara played across the sands, shifting them 
with enough force to scrape the paint off of a tank, but Gally remained unfazed.  
Her environment was of little concern, although kicking the small bits of 
silicon and gravel was going to be a bitch later on.  What her focus was at the 
moment, was the smug looking person before her.  Shockwave Alberto was not an 
opponent lightly, as she knew from experience.  He'd make for good exercise.

	With a pop of atmosphere, her second opponent appeared.  Washuu touched to 
the ground, decked out in a body suit that hugged every part of her figure.  It 
had some slim, metallic connections to the arms and legs, and other than the red 
and black color pattern, was generally featureless.  Her expression was slightly 
ragged, but serious, which threw Gally off for a moment.  The usually pleasant 
demeanor was completely missing from the scientist's whole body language.

	"Washuu?"

	The woman acknowledged her with a nod.  "Gally."

	"... How's Mary?"

	Gally saw the woman twitch.  "She's... fine."

	"Really?" Gally gave her a skeptical look.

	"Of course.  Nothing to concern yourself with."  Washuu flicked her wrist, 
and a short metal cylinder popped out of her arm compartment.  "Let's get this 
over with, shall we?"

	Alberto, standing ignored until now, puffed his cigar and nodded his 
agreement.  "Indeed."

	Gally frowned, but moved into her familiar combat stance.

][ OMEGA MATCH
][ THREE WAY MATCH
][ GALLY vs. WASHUU vs. SHOCKWAVE ALBERTO
][ FIGHT!

	Gally charged Washuu, going in for a low strike, and was shocked to find 
her no longer there.  She spun on her heel in the sand, and received a blow to 
her stomach for her troubles.  Gally doubled over, and rolled away from the ax 
kick that had landed where she was.

	Washuu shrugged when the cyborg got up and gave her an appraising eye.  
"If this is going to be a speed fight, I'd thought I'd dress for the occasion."  
She slashed the cylinder at the ground, and a blast of energy blasted its way 
across the sands and at Gally with alarming speed, growing as it went.  Gally 
dived and rolled out of the way.

	Washuu slashed with the cylinder again, and Gally dodged another blast.  
The scientist blurred, and then was in front of Gally, and the two began 
exchanging blows.  Gally ducked, dodged, and countered where she could, but it 
seemed she'd get four hits for every two she'd put in.

	Washuu jumped back, and Gally could only roll out of the way with the 
blast of energy that came their way.  She looked at Alberto, who was frowning.

	"Of course I could just let you ladies tire yourselves out, but then 
again, I DO want a workout today."  He threw two bolts in both girls' 
directions, and then went for Gally.

	Washuu ignited the cylinder, letting an energy blade come forth, and 
slashed at the blast of crimson energy, expelling it.  She charged after 
Alberto, and tackled him from behind, making them roll in the sand.  She wound 
up on top, and grabbed and lifted the taller man.  "Well, the way you just keep 
feeding me, I doubt if I'll tire before you."  She threw the man at Gally.

	Gally tried to duck the thrown man, but he grabbed her and tumbled with 
her to break his momentum.  He pulled the cyborg to her feet, and she screamed 
as she was blasted from the front, and behind.

	While she crumpled to her knees, Alberto grinned at Washuu's shocked look, 
and threw another blast at her side.  The woman flinched, and he drove in for 
the kill, raining her with strike after strike.  He kicked her in her stomach, 
and she went flying into a dune.

	Washuu stood up, her head spinning.  If the kinetic absorbers hadn't 
compensated, that would have hurt, badly.  At least her experiment was a 
success; it put her on near equal ground with the gangster's speed, and Gally's 
as well.  Still, this was looking to be a difficult match.

	The woman charged Alberto, who just stood there, smiling.  Then they began 
boxing again, arms becoming an impossible blur.  Alberto grunted under the 
assault, and gave back just as much as he was receiving.  He kicked Washuu in 
her stomach, and she doubled over in pain.  Alberto knife-chopped her to the 
ground, and kicked her away again.  He stood still for a moment, and let loose 
with a powerful blast of energy.

	Gally watched on as the scientist snapped her sword up in a blocking 
position.  The energy hit, and the scientist fell to her knees, gasping.

	"Hmph.  If that's all you have, then I'll just make this short and sweet."  
Alberto's hand crackles with crimson lightning, gathering into another blast, 
while Gally watched on with a morbid curiosity as Washuu seemed to begin glowing 
herself.  Alberto unleashed the bolt, trailing with a loud thunderclap, and 
Washuu was never there to accept it.

	They were at each other again, trading punches for kicks, and blocks for 
throws.  Gally growled deep in her throat.  It was a rather amazing sight to see 
the two battle in such a way, but they had completely forgotten about her.  Time 
to check that.  A slight command, and her missile bees were sent to deal with 
the two.

	Washuu ducked another punch meant for her face, and delivered a sharp knee 
to his side.  He buckled, and she went for a strike again, when he flared his 
aura flashed around him.  She staggered back, not quite sure what to make of it, 
so she had even less time to react when the criminal lord's hand grabbed her 
around the neck.

	Alberto spun with Washuu in tow, and hurled her toward Gally once more.  
The scientist grunted as she impacted with the small swarm, and was knocked away 
from her original trajectory and into another bank of sand.

	"Nice, but I did expect better from such a self-proclaimed genius of the 
universe."  The man turned to Gally, and smirked.  "And that simply leaves you, 
yes?"

	Gally smiled grimly, drew her Damascus blade, letting it click in place, 
and charged.  She dodged two bolts thrown at her, ducked a third, and tumbled 
away from a fourth.  She righted herself, and found the black-clad man standing 
over her.  A gloved fist, black and crimson lighting arching around it, met her 
gut once, twice, and again.  She doubled over, and tried to reel away from the 
blows, but he grabbed on to her, lifting her to face him by her bodysuit.

	"I still owe you somewhat, if I remember correctly."  He smiled coldly at 
her.  "I must say, you do present a nice challenge, but I'm afraid that idiot 
Hibiki has more of a chance against me than either of you do."

	Gally glared at the man, and slashed at his face.  Then she saw nothing 
but air, and then the ground flashed around her as she tumbled end over end into 
a dune.  She spit out sand and dusts, and glared even more at the laughing 
criminal.

	"Comical, but it is time to end this."  Kinetic energy gathered 
surrounding him, picking up the wind and building a miniature sand storm around 
him, blinding him from view.  Gally stood, wary of where the attack might come 
from, or when.

	Something tingled out the side of her vision.  She looked skyward, and saw 
a glimmer.  That glimmer became a sparkle, and a sparkle became a bright flare.  
She blinked in confusion, and paled as she quickly calculated point of landing.

	Washuu stood up, and shook the cobwebs out of her head, thankful indeed 
for the kinetic absorbers.  Then she looked at the field, at the swirling storm 
that she assumed was Alberto, and at Gally, who had turned and ran.  What could 
possibly--

	She looked up at a whim, and saw the incoming meteorite that seemed to be 
heading right... toward... them...

	Washuu ran.  Fast.

	Alberto decided that enough was enough, and prepared to unleash a hell the 
two girls had never known, when a screaming outside of the wind came to his 
ears.  The sandstorm slowed, his aura still flickering dangerously, and he 
looked up in time to see a rather large fireball heading right toward--

	A bright flash, and then a geyser of wind and sand blew about like a wild 
demon unleashed.  The two women waited for the dust to settle, and treaded with 
some care back to ground zero.

	Alberto was out.  Unconscious, in the middle of a rather big crater, with 
another laying on him, groaning.  It... he, was pink from reentry and several 
degrees of burn.  He was also naked as the day his mother gave birth to him.

	"... Dan?" Gally said upon recognition.

	The two women stared a moment longer, varying degrees of emotion on their 
faces.  "Damn... who'd have thought?" Washuu finally said, her face deciding to 
settle on a rather deep shade of red. 

	Gally was also blushing madly.  "I never really thought of Dan as having 
such a big..."

	The two ladies turned to each other, and then looked back at Dan's 
'mightiness'.  "Oh my."  They said in unison.

	Ifurita levitated from her skyside view, waited the appropriate moments, 
and stated, "Alberto is out of the match."  A portal appeared underneath the two 
people, and they disappeared.  "Continue the match."  Then she was skyward bound 
again.

	Washuu shook off her embarrassment, and turned to Gally.  "Well, ready to 
lose?"

	Gally turned toward the older woman, and unleashed another swarm of bees.  
At the same time, Washuu slashed with the modified saber, the resulting blast 
kicking up sand and spent kinetic energy as it met the bees.

	"Afraid you're not gonna win that way Gally-chan.  Going to have to try 
something else."  The scientist smiled at the girl's frown.  Then she ran toward 
the cyborg.

	Gally readied herself, and jumped away from the initial charge.  She 
reached the peak of her leap, and threw an arachnid where Washuu had stopped.  
The spider-like bomb stretched and armed itself, and Washuu rolled away as it 
landed, the explosion kicking up like a small concussion quake.  She stood up 
among the settling dust and dirt, and fell to the ground again, a result of 
Gally landing on her feet first.

	The cyborg picked the woman up, and gave her two more kicks to her already 
hurting stomach, and watched her double over again.

	Washuu grunted, and looked up at the android coldly.  "A little rough, 
aren't we?"

	Gally responded with an equally icy stare.  "We are in battle.  You should 
know better than to expect mercy.  You seem to be able to take it."

	The scientist grinned.  "So it seems."  She ignited the energy blade on 
her sword and slashed at Gally's legs, but the cyborg backflipped away, Damascus 
blade suddenly out and in her hand.  "I'm actually very thankful for this 
powersuit.  Helps me to bring the battle to close quarters without much fear of 
being outclassed."  She made a gesture, and the energy blade disappeared.  
"Shall we dance?"

	Gally couldn't hide a wicked smile on her face.  "Sure."

	The two charged each other, Gally once again going low, ducking an aimed 
kick from the redheaded scientist-turned-combatant.  The smaller cyborg reigned 
in punch after punch, and was surprised that most had found their marks.  She 
made one more punch, and threw the woman away from her.

	Washuu landed roughly, but came to her feet quickly.  Gally appraised her 
opponent's condition.  "... You're weakening.  Whatever that suit is doing is 
starting to wear."

	The scientist's mouth frowned, but her eyes seemed to dance a bit with 
mirth.  "Damn, it's that obvious?  The whole thing is designed to enhance my 
regular attributes, but the beauty of it lies in the energy feed.  I've been 
siphoning off of yours and Alberto's kinetic energy.  Guess I took some hits I 
wasn't supposed to."  Washuu chuckled dryly.  "But don't think that I'm down and 
out yet.  You wanted a fight so bad, and you're going to get one.  Nothing 
personal."

	Gally watched with a strange expression of relief welling within her.  Her 
friend, if she could still be considered that, was a lot looser than she had 
been at the beginning of the fight.  The cyborg had no doubts that in her semi-
fresh condition, she was in a lot of trouble from whatever the scientist was 
about to do, but she still felt less troubled about it than she thought she 
might be.  "No offense taken."

	Trouble indeed.  Washuu had pressed a button on her left wrist attachment, 
and the sleek metallic band started humming.  The sword ignited, and Washuu 
herself started to look a lot better than a couple of moments ago.  The other 
three attachments on her arms and legs began thrumming in unison with the first, 
and her body became outlined in red.

	No words were exchanged.  A wicked grin appeared on Washuu's face, and 
suddenly Gally was on the ground.  She rolled into a crouch, and then Washuu was 
there, trading punches for kicks, getting more into Gally at an alarming rate.  
The cyborg reeled, and clipped the scientist up, then turned to dash away to get 
some breathing space.

	How did she get so damn fast?	 She calculated on what could have possibly 
have increased her speed and strength in such a way, when she remembered what 
Washuu had said about the kinetic energy.  It must have had reserves to do such 
things.  She had to get that advantage away from her.  Perhaps...

	Gally continued to think about it, and a smile rose to her face.  Washuu 
got up and slashed again, a much bigger blast than before charging at the 
smaller cyborg.  Gally rolled out the way, and then ran at her, full tilt.

	Washuu barely dodged the charge, and blinked when the girl kept going.  
She frowned and ran after her.

	Gally continued at her break-neck pace, with Washuu gaining on her heels.  
Hopefully, if she had guessed that near miss correctly, she could take the wind 
out of the scientist's sails.  She flipped the Damascus blade in her hand to 
full length and slowed slightly.  Washuu closed the distance on her, ready to 
knock her block off...

	The cyborg spun, seeing the arm raised to strike, and swung at it with her 
blade.  The attachment, reaching clear to her arm, gave a metallic squeal as it 
was cut cleanly along the side.

	The girls both went tumbling in different directions, and everything was 
still.  Gally rose to her feet shakily to her feet, and smiled when Washuu rose 
as well, missing her left arm attachment.  She was no longer glowing, and 
looking more winded than she did before.

	"Good... guess," she spoke.  "Haven't figured out how to... work so much 
energy at once without all four absorbers."  The other three began glowing, and 
then stopped.  Washuu sat in the sand, shaking her head.  "Kinetic to Potential, 
and then overload.  Too many kinks to work out right now.  Match is yours for 
now."

	Gally blinked, disappointed.  "No tricks left?  Nothing left to throw?"

	"Nah.  I just wanted to test it out.  Thanks for helping me point out the 
flaws."  She lay back in the sand, listening to Ifurita announce her submission 
from above.  "There wouldn't have been so many, but I really haven't been too 
focused lately."

	Gally walked over to the scientist, slowly starting to feel all of her 
lumps.  "What's been going on Washuu?  Really?"

	"I... really don't want to talk about it."  The scientist looked at the 
cyborg sadly.

	"Well, then, lets go freshen up, and then you can talk about it?"

	The older woman got a curious, skeptic look on her face, but Gally 
continued talking.  "That was a nice fight you put up.  We could go cool off, 
and maybe I can help you figure out some of those glitches in your suit?"

	"... What the hell?  I want some company right now.  Let's go get cleaned, 
and get some food.  I'll show you the schematics."

	"Sure."  The girls rose, and started walking toward the portal.  "That 
really was a good fight, Washuu.  I never knew you had it in you."

	"Well, when you've been around like I have, you pick up things."  She 
shrugged.  "You should have seen some of the training simulations that I ran 
with Ryoko."

	"I'd still like to see them.  Actually, I've never seen Ryoko fight."

	"Well, I think that could be arranged, if you're interested."

	The girls walked into the portal, and above their heads, Ifurita smiled 
lightly.  Then she vanished herself.

***************

	"... Well that was unique," Daisuke muttered.

	"What a match folks!" Hiroshi said excitedly.  "Gally and Washuu start on 
the road to settling their differences, and Dan makes his return in spectacular 
fashion."

	"That's would be one way of putting it," agreed Daisuke half-heartedly.  
"If nothing else, at least now nobody can question Dan's manhood, I suppose."

	"And what a manhood it is!"

	Daisuke facefaulted mightily.  "We'll be right back."

***************

[The screen goes black.  A single voice is the only thing present.]

<NARRATOR> Their names are etched in legend.  Lion-O.  Panthro.  Cheetara.  
Tigra.

<NARRATOR> You know their exploits, beating back the sinister plots of Mum-Ra, 
the ever living.

<NARRATOR> But now, an unknown force has taken over their minds, and unleashed 
them upon an unsuspecting world to wreak havoc.

<NARRATOR> And only one person stands in the way between them and the 
destruction of the world.

[A young girl in a Japanese schoolgirl's uniform, holding an oddly shaped wand, 
appears on screen.]

<NARRATOR> This fall... prepare yourself... for CAT CAPTOR SAKURA!

<LION-O> Thunder... Thunder!  THUNDERCATS!

<SAKURA> Hoeee?

***************

	"Yes, folks, it's Cat Captor Sakura!  Coming October 15 to a TV set near 
you!" shilled Hiroshi cheerfully.

	"..."

	"Dai?  You okay?"

	"... In all the languages in all the world, there are only three words 
that can adequately sum up my reaction to that commercial."

	"Yes?"

	"What the fu-"

	"Anyway..." interjected Hiroshi, sweatdropping slightly, "it's time for 
our main event folks!  And boy do we have a doozy for you!  He's a former Gamma 
champion, and a hero to millions and millions of people around the world, myself 
included.  Tonight, he has one chance.  One fight to prove that he's still the 
best.  If he loses, he will *never* return to Ultra.  But if he wins, then he 
gets a brand new contract!

	"Ladies and gentleman, give it up for MR. SATAN!"

	The crowd (led by Hiroshi) went nuts as Mr. Satan walked down the ramp, a 
serious look on his face.  Several fans reached out to shake his hand as he made 
his way to the ring, but he simply walked by, eyes focused on the ring.

	"Look at the determination on his face!" yelled Hiroshi.  "He is *pumped* 
for this match!"

	"His opponent tonight," Daisuke said, cutting in, "apparently has a long 
history with Mr. Satan, dating back to when they were both top figures in the 
Japanese wrestling scene.  We've also been told that there is still some 
lingering bad blood between the two."

	"Which will only increase the already electrifying intensity of this 
match!"

	"Crowd does seem pretty pumped," Daisuke admitted. "Satan's opponent might 
have something to do with that."

	"And that opponent is making his way to the ring right now!  He is The 
Great Yaga!"

	Daisuke peered at the entranceway as thunderous boos rained down from the 
rafters on Yaga.  "And it looks like he has a microphone."

	Yaga stood silently, waiting for the crowd to quiet down, before bringing 
the mike up to his lips.  "Now, normally, this would be the time where I'd talk 
about what an privilege it is to fight in front of all you great fans, how I 
hoped to set an example for you to live by, and how I wanted your support as I 
engaged in honorable combat."

	"But quite frankly, I'm tired of sucking up to you ungrateful whelps.  You 
should be bowing down at my feet for the granting you the boon of seeing me, The 
Great Yaga, fight.  But instead, you boo me and call me names.  You show me no 
respect."

	The muscle-bound wrestler smirked.  "Then again, what should I have 
expected?  After all, Ultra's fans are a bunch of stupid, uneducated, dirty, 
smelly, spineless, inbred, low-class scum.  You people are too ignorant to know 
when you're in the presence of greatness.  You're too busy stuffing your fat, 
greasy, pus-oozing faces with corn dogs and nachos, only stopping to scream your 
insipid, pea-brained heads off along with your tiny-genital boyfriends and 
monstrously ugly girlfriends..."

	Yaga dodged a thrown popcorn tub with a grin.  "Oh, I'm sorry.  I forgot 
that none of you pathetic losers could ever *get* boyfriends or girlfriends.  My 
mistake."

	"... Wow," choked out Daisuke, wide eyed.  "The Great Yaga has apparently 
rejected the fans who had long since rejected him, and is absolutely tearing 
them a new one.  I'm not sure if they know what to make of it."

	Indeed, while the boos were still cascading down on Yaga, a good portion 
of the crowd was too stunned by Yaga's unexpected change in attitude to react.

	"But enough of that," Yaga said with a snicker of contempt.  "You all 
aren't even worth my time.  You were screaming and cheering for Mr. Satan 
before, right?  You want him back in Ultra, right?"

	The crowd responded in the affirmative.  Loudly.

	"Well it's *not* going to happen!" screamed Yaga, now walking down the 
ramp.  "So you better prepare to be leave here disappointed tonight, because 
after I beat the hell out of your beloved Mr. Satan, he will *never* appear in 
an Ultra ring again!"

	*That* the crowd knew how to respond to.  And respond they did, much to 
Yaga's apparent pleasure.  He causally made his way into the ring and stared at 
Mr. Satan.  "If you want to give a goodbye speech, I suggest you give it now, 
because you won't be in any condition to do so after the match."

	Mr. Satan, his expression deadly serious to this point, broke out in a 
small smile.  "We'll see about that," he replied strongly.  "Now let's do this."

][ GAMMA MATCH
][ MR. SATAN vs. THE GREAT YAGA
][ SPECIAL STIPULATION:  IF MR. SATAN WINS, HE IS REHIRED.
][ FIGHT!

	The two wrestlers circled each other for a few moments, sizing each other 
up warily, waiting for the other to make the first move.  Finally, they charged 
in and grabbed each other in a traditional wrestling lockup, one hand on the 
opponents' shoulder and the other on his arm. 

	Satan made the first move, shifting his feet slightly and using Yaga's 
momentum to grab him in an arm lock.  Twisting and wrenching, he put added 
pressure on the wrist, almost bringing Yaga to his knees.

	Before that could get anywhere, though, Yaga reached up with his other 
arm, grabbed a handful of afro, and yanked, pulling Mr. Satan down to the mat.

	"And Yaga wastes no time breaking out the dirty tricks," Daisuke observed 
dryly. 

	"That was cheating!" yelled Hiroshi.  "Ref!"

	The ref walked up to Yaga, eyes narrowed.  "Did you pull his hair?"

	"No."

	"Okay, carry on."

	Hiroshi facefaulted.

	Mr. Satan rubbed his head as he got back to his feet.  With a glare, he 
lunged at Yaga, and the two locked up again.  After a moment, the afro'd fighter 
once again got the advantage, maneuvering Yaga into a headlock and grinding it 
in.

	Yaga quickly countered, pushing Mr. Satan off him and into the ropes.  As 
he shook off the effects of the headlock, Mr. Satan bounced off the ropes and 
bowled him over with a shoulder-block.

	Now it was Yaga's turn to glare as he got up.  Mr. Satan moved to lock up 
again, but the Japanese wrestler intercepted him with a stiff right hand as he 
moved in.

	Satan reeled back, but quickly recovered and responded with a punch of his 
own.  The two then fell into a rapid exchange of punches, going back and forth 
repeatedly with neither man willing to give an inch.

	At least until Yaga interrupted Satan as he wound up for a huge uppercut 
with a thumb to the eye, sending the former gamma champ reeling back towards the 
corner.

	"And there's the Greco-Roman eye poke," stated Daisuke flatly.  "Not 
exactly textbook technical wrestling out of The Great Yaga so far tonight."

	Yaga quickly moved to take advantage, landing a solid boot to the gut that 
knocked the wind out of his temporarily-blinded opponent.  With a grunt of 
exertion, he picked Mr. Satan up around his legs, turned his back to the corner, 
and fell backwards, dropping his adversary face-first into the top turnbuckle.

	Standing over Mr. Satan as he tried to get to his feet in the corner, Yaga 
gave a sarcastic wave up to the crowd right before he started viciously stomping 
and kicking at his fallen opponent, battering him with boots to the chest and 
head.  Arrogantly, he pulled Mr. Satan to his feet my his hair, reared back, and 
delivered a HUGE open-handed slap to the chest, raising angry red welts on the 
chest of his foe.

	"Geez, that even sounded like it hurt," muttered Daisuke. 

	"C'mon, get him, Mr. Satan!  You can do it!"

	"... You know, Hiroshi, as an announcer you're really not supposed to show 
bias."

	Hiroshi gave Daisuke a plaintive stare.  "But he's fighting Yaga!"

	"... Okay, point."

	Back in the ring, Yaga made the crowd wince as he struck with another 
tremendous open-handed slap.  Grinning, he took a few steps back and charged in, 
hoping to sandwich the stunned Mr. Satan against the turnbuckle with a running 
tackle.

	Fortunately for Mr. Satan, he managed to move out of the way at the last 
moment, leaving Yaga to crash into the corner.  As his opponent staggered back, 
clutching his chest, Satan steadied himself and exploded forward, nearly taking 
Yaga's head off with a vicious clothesline.

	Yaga crashed to the ground (much to the crowd's delight), but didn't stay 
there long.  In an instant, Mr. Satan was on him, pulling the stunned fighter to 
his feet and, in a rather impressive feat of strength, lifting Yaga over his 
head for several seconds before slamming him to the mat.

	"And Mr. Satan follows up a thunderous clothesline with an amazing gorilla 
press slam!" cheered Hiroshi happily.  "And lemme tell you folks, that's no 
small accomplishment; The Great Yaga is a big guy, and Satan picked him up like 
he was nothing!"

	Yaga painfully sat up, clutching his back, and saw his opponent advancing 
on him again.  Scooting back towards the ropes, he held out one hand in a 
warding gesture.  "Wait!  Time out!"

	Daisuke blinked.  "Since when are there time outs in Ultra?"

	Satan looked down at Yaga for a moment, then continued advancing.  The 
brief delay, however, had given his opponent a chance to gather his bearings, 
and Yaga took advantage, grabbing Mr. Satan by his wrestling tights and throwing 
him through the ropes and out of the ring.

	Getting quickly to his feet, Mr. Satan rolled back in to the ring, but 
Yaga was back on his feet too, and quickly started stomping on the prone Satan 
before he could regain his footing.

	After a few stomps, Yaga dragged his opponent to his feet and grabbed his 
head under one arm.  Lifting Mr. Satan's other arm over his own head, the 
Japanese wrestler grabbed his foe with his free hand and lifted, holding him 
upside down in the air.  Holding him there for a few moments to let the blood 
rush to his head, Yaga suddenly dropped to the ground while still holding onto 
Mr. Satan's head, driving the afro'd wrestler headfirst into the mat.

	"And Yaga catches Satan with a vicious brain buster suplex after blatantly 
cheating to get the advantage," said Hiroshi angrily. 

	"Nothing in the rules that says he can't grab an opponent by the tights," 
Daisuke observed, ignoring Hiroshi's outraged protests.  "It looks like Yaga is 
concentrating his offense on Mr. Satan's head, probably to set him up for the 
Roaring Elbow."

	Yaga, meanwhile, was stomping again at the fallen Mr. Satan.  Pulling him 
to his feet, Yaga threw Satan into the ropes, catching him as he bounced back 
with an upraised boot right to the jaw.  As Satan fell to the mat, Yaga bounced 
off the ropes himself, then jumped into the air, crashing down with his leg on 
his adversary's head.

	Rising quickly to his feet, Yaga turned to the crowd and pointed back at 
the fallen Mr. Satan.  "What do you think of your hero now, huh?  He's nothing, 
you hear me?  Nothing!"

	"And Yaga wastes valuable time taunting the crowd," Daisuke stated flatly, 
raising his voice to be heard over the loud boos and curses directed at The 
Great Yaga.

	"What's he thinking?" wondered Hiroshi.  "I mean, he hit Satan with a big 
boot and a leg drop.  That's not gonna keep anyone down for the count!"

	Yaga continue to mock the crowds for a few moments longer.  Satisfied that 
he had gotten the worked up sufficiently, he turned around to finish Mr. Satan 
off...

	And found his opponent standing up, grinning viciously.

	Before Yaga could react, Satan had grabbed him around the waist and 
lifted, tossing the Japanese wrestler over his head with a picture-perfect 
belly-to-belly overhead suplex.  As Yaga's back crashed into the mat, Satan 
turned and walked over to his stunned opponent. Pulling him upright, Satan 
picked Yaga up again and dropped him back-first across his knee.

	"And Mr. Satan follows up a beautiful suplex with a backbreaker, leaving 
Yaga writhing on the mat in pain," yelled Hiroshi excitedly.  "And it looks like 
the momentum has shifted back to Earth's Mightiest Hero!" 

	Seeking to capitalize on his momentum, Mr. Satan reached down to grab 
Yaga, intending to drag the fallen fighter to his feet once again.  Yaga, 
however, had other ideas.  Knocking his opponents hand away, he surprised Satan 
with a lightning-quick nutshot, sending Hiroshi's favorite Gamma competitor 
crumpling to the mat.

	"And more dirty tricks out of Yaga!" yelled Hiroshi indignantly.  "C'mon, 
fight fair!"

	Ignoring Hiroshi's outraged screams, Yaga moved to take advantage of his 
pain-wracked opponent.  Dragging him by his hair to an upright position, he 
doubled Satan over with a vicious kick to the gut, then locked his foe's head 
between his legs.  Hooking both of Mr. Satan's arms, Yaga draped one leg across 
the back of Satan's neck and jumped into the air, using the leg as a focus for 
all of his weight to drive Mr. Satan face-first into the mat.

	Daisuke winced as Mr. Satan's face bounced off the canvas.  "An 
unorthodox, but highly effective move by The Great Yaga.  He hooked both arms to 
prevent his opponent from bracing himself, and used his leg to put all of his 
prodigious weight on the back of Satan's head upon impact."

	Yaga got to his feet and put one big boot on Mr. Satan's throat, posing 
for the crowd with a cocky grin while choking his downed opponent.  The crowd 
responded with a colossal round off boos, which only made Yaga smile even wider. 

	"What did I tell you?" he yelled, standing over his prone opponent.  "He's 
washed up!  A loser!  You better get your cameras out, because this is the last 
you're gonna see of him!"

	Still grinning, he again pulled Satan to his feet, and locked the American 
wrestler's head between his legs.  "It looks like Yaga's going to go for a 
piledriver here," Hiroshi said anxiously.  "You can do it, Mr. Satan!  Don't let 
him get his move off!"

	Yaga laughed.  "It's too late for that, punk," he said, staring at 
Hiroshi.  "He's all but finish- OOF!"

	Yaga's badmouthing was interrupted as Satan pulled the Japanese fighter's 
legs out from under him.  With his opponent flat on his back, Mr. Satan secured 
his hold on the legs and began to spin.

	And spin. 

	And spin.

	Quickly building up speed, Satan was soon spinning Yaga through the air.  
Building up momentum, he turned one final time and let go, sending Yaga flying 
through the air, over the ropes and hard to the floor at the foot of the 
entrance ramp.

	"What strength by Mr. Satan!" Hiroshi yelped.  "He must've tossed Yaga 
fifteen feet!"

	Shaking off the dizziness, Mr. Satan stared out towards the ramp, where 
Yaga was struggling to get up.  Narrowing his eyes, Satan backed up against the 
far ropes, eyes locked on his opponent.  Suddenly he surged forward, dashing 
across the ring before leaping into the air, bouncing off the ropes, and 
rebounding off, doing a twisting flip in mid-air before crashing into the wide-
eyed Yaga, who had just made his way to one knee.

	"... HOLY CRAP!" screamed Hiroshi, marking out.  "Mr. Satan just 
absolutely demolished The Great Yaga with a running springboard corkscrew 
somersault suicide plancha to the outside!"

	"... A what?!" Daisuke blurted out.

	"... He jumped on him, Dai."

	"Ah, okay."

	"But remember, folks, knockouts outside the ring are cause for 
disqualification, so Satan has to bring this back in the ring to win... hey!"

	"What?" 

	Hiroshi pointed back to the ring, where Morrigan was standing on the 
apron, talking with the ref (who was visibly drooling).  "What's she doing 
here?"

	"Presumably distracting the ref so he doesn't see that," Daisuke observed, 
pointing up the ramp where Haohmaru was helping Yaga to his feet.

	Exchanging a glance, the two fighters set about kicking and stomping at 
Mr. Satan, who had been trying to get to his feet a moment ago.  The crowd (at 
least those of them that weren't enraptured with Morrigan's cleavage) shouted 
and cursed at the two as they dragged Satan back towards the ring, beating on 
him all the while.

	Rolling the afro'd wrestler back into the ring, Yaga motioned for Haohmaru 
to grab a steel chair from ringside.  The two rolled into the ring, and Yaga 
lifted Mr. Satan up, holding his arms and leaving him wide open for Haohmaru to 
brain him with the chair.

	"Damn it, this isn't fair!" yelled Hiroshi, staring back and forth between 
Mr. Satan being held helpless and the ref, who was too busy watching Morrigan 
lean over the ropes to notice what was going on behind him.

	Haohmaru help up the chair and reared back, preparing to smash the steel 
chair over Mr. Satan's head.  Narrowing his eyes, he surged forward, bringing 
the chair down in a massive overhand swing.

	Which hit Yaga right in the face, as Satan managed to duck out of the way 
at the last moment.

	As Yaga fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, Satan took advantage 
of the surprised Haohmaru, grabbing him by the shirt and throwing him out of the 
ring.  He then turned around and ran across the ring, knocking Morrigan off the 
apron with a running forearm.

	As the crowd went nuts, Satan turned back towards Yaga, who was just 
starting to move.  Pulling him up to a sitting position, he moved behind his 
opponent and sat down on his shoulders.

	"What the heck is Mr. Satan doing?" Daisuke wondered aloud.

	Hiroshi narrowed his eyes as Satan moved his feet between Yaga's legs and 
hooked them under his foe's knees.  "Oh my god... he's going for the Satan 
Stretch!"

	"Huh?!"

	"The Satan Stretch!  Look!" yelled Hiroshi, pointing towards the ring.  
"He's sitting on Yaga's shoulders, and has his feet hooked under Yaga's knees.  
Now he's gonna grab Yaga's arms and lean forward, putting all of his weight on 
the back and neck, while pulling forward on the arms and up on the legs, adding 
to the strain!  It's the most devastating submission hold ever developed!"

	Indeed, Yaga was screaming in agony, struggling desperately to break out 
of the hold as the ref hovered nearby.

	"Yaga's sunk!" Hiroshi screamed, jumping to his feet.  "Nobody *ever* 
breaks out of the Satan Stretch!"

	As Yaga continued to yell in pain, the ref looked down "Do you submit, 
Yaga?"

	"..."

	"Do you submit?"

	"... Yes. I submit. I submit, damn it!"

	The ref nodded and motioned for the bell as the crowd erupted in cheers.  
Mr. Satan quickly disengaged the hold and stumbled to the ropes, using them to 
hold himself upright while the crowd chanted his name.

	"And Mr. Satan pulls of a spectacular victory, overcoming rampant cheating 
on the part of The Great Yaga to get the win, and more importantly, secure a 
spot on the Ultra roster!" Hiroshi screamed ecstatically.

	"But it looks like Yaga and company aren't taking the loss well," Daisuke 
pointed out.  Indeed, Yaga, Haohmaru, and Morrigan were all in the ring, 
surrounding Mr. Satan, who was backed against the ropes.

	"You may have won the battle," Yaga spat, standing a bit unsteadily, "but 
you're about to lose the war."

	"Don't count on it, old man!"

	Yaga blinked as Gary, Marlo, and Li Ping ran out from the locker room and 
dove into the ring, standing up at Mr. Satan's side.  "3 on 1 is hardly fair," 
Li Ping said, falling into a fighting stance.  "So I hope you don't mind if we 
make this a bit more even."

	Yaga scowled.  "This is none of your business.  Get out of here before we 
beat the crap out of you little punks too!"

	Gary chuckled, holding a pokeball in each hand.  "Please.  There're four 
of us and three of you.  You don't stand a chance."

	"Yeah, so get your asses in gear and scram before *we* beat the crap out 
of *you*," Marlo finished, wielding a loveseat.

	Mr. Satan looked at the three youths supporting him, then back towards 
Yaga.  "Thanks for backing me up, guys."

	"No problem, Mr. Satan, sir," Li said.  "Welcome back to Ultra."

	Satan nodded.  "That reminds me," he said, turning to the furniture-
wielding teen to his left.  "Hey, Marlo, you remember when we were fighting, all 
those jokes and insults you made towards me, and the times you punked me out?"

	Marlo blinked.  "Umm... yeah, I do..."

	"Well so do I," Mr. Satan replied, right before cold-cocking Marlo with a 
vicious uppercut to the chin.

	"What the-" started Gary, but he was interrupted as Mr. Satan spun, 
grabbed him by the shirt, and tossed him across the ring, where Haohmaru and 
Morrigan began beating the hell out of him.

	Li Ping quickly jumped back, a confused look on his face.  "What the hell 
are you doing?"

	Mr. Satan laughed.  "What I should've done a long time ago... oh, you 
might want to watch out behind you."

	Li started and spun around... just in time to catch a Roaring Elbow right 
between the eyes, knocking him out of the ring and into unconsciousness.

	Hiroshi, meanwhile, was standing behind the announcers' desk, mouth agape.

	"I don't believe it, folks," Daisuke said, a little stunned, "but, hard as 
it is to comprehend, it appears that Mr. Satan has joined up with The Great 
Yaga."

	"... NO!" yelled Hiroshi, panicked.  "It can't be!  It's gotta be a 
mistake!  Some kind of mix-up!"

	Back in the ring, Mr. Satan looked down at the unconscious Marlo with a 
look of contempt.  Li Ping was also out, and Team Enlightenment had just put the 
finishing touches on Gary.  With a malicious smile, he grabbed a microphone from 
a techie at ringside and walked to the middle of the ring.

	"I bet you're all asking yourself the same question now.  'Why, Mr. Satan, 
why?  Why would you attack the people who came to help you?  Why would you help 
Yaga?'" he said, pacing back and forth.  "Well, I'll tell you why.  It's pretty, 
simple, really." 

	"It's all about respect."

	"Ever since I got here, nobody's shown me the respect I deserved.  Look at 
what happened recently; I was *fired*!  Me, a former Gamma champ, fired like 
some no-talent jobber!  And while I was out injured, no less.  What kind of 
organization fires people while they're recovering from injuries suffered on the 
job?  One that has no respect for it's employees, that's what kind."

	"And not only did they fire me... they didn't even have the decency to do 
it to my face!" he shouted, pounding his fist against the ropes."  That bastard 
Jack, and that damn Nabiki... they didn't even call me to let me know!  I only 
found out by watching the show! I deserve better than that, dammit!  I'm Mr. 
Satan!  I deserve more respect than that!"

	He paused for a moment, and when he continued, his voice was softer.  "For 
a while, I thought part of that was my fault.  I thought that maybe I had let my 
skills deteriorate, that I had moved away from my wrestling roots, and that was 
why I wasn't getting the respect I deserved."

	"But then last week, Yaga gave me a call.  And he made me realize that 
even though my fighting style had gotten sloppy, it wasn't my fault."

	"It was all of *your* faults!"

	Daisuke blinked.  "It's the fans' faults?  How does that work, Hiroshi? 
... Hiro?"

	Hiroshi, if he heard his partner speak, didn't respond.

	"Yeah, it's your fault!  You, the fans!" Satan screamed, pointing out into 
the crowd.  "I was the world champ!  The best in the world!  But you people 
wouldn't take me seriously, because I was a wrestler!  So I changed my fighting 
style.  And I was *still* the best!  But still you wouldn't take me seriously!  
I heard the whispers: 'Oh, he's not a martial artist!  He's just a muscle-bound 
freak!'"

	"Your lack of respect *forced* me to screw up my fighting style.  You all 
*forced* to take credit for all the stuff Goku did, just to get you to take me 
seriously!" 

	Mr. Satan paused, and lowered his head.  "Then in Ultra... no respect.  
The bookers refused to put me in matches consistently.  I'd go weeks without 
fights.  And you people... yeah, you cheered me.  But you didn't respect me."

	"Yaga reminded me of something Hiroshi said in that interview," Satan 
said, glaring down at the announcers' table.  "He said that whatever happened, 
win or lose, you all would support me."

	"That's just it, though.  You don't cheer for me because you respect me.  
You cheer because I'm a nice guy who signs autographs, shakes hands, and fights 
fair.  You cheer for me because you like me."

	"Well dammit, I don't care if you like me!" he shouted, eyes ablaze.  "I 
don't want your love!  I want your respect, dammit!  I want you all to 
acknowledge me as the best damn fighter in the world!  And if that means joining 
up with Yaga, so be it."

	"Because whatever it takes, I am going to *make* you all respect me!"

	As the crowd sat in stunned silence, Mr. Satan tossed the mike to the 
ground and started making his way out of the ring, followed by Yaga and Team 
Enlightenment.

	"It looks like Mr. Satan's gone off the deep end," Daisuke muttered.  "In 
a long, rambling speech, Mr. Satan claims that his turning his back on the fans 
was all about resp-" 

	Daisuke paused as his partner took of his headset.  "Hiroshi, what are you 
doing?"

	Hiroshi stepped out from behind the announce table and started walking 
towards the ramp... and towards Mr. Satan.

	"Hiroshi, get back here!  Don't be stupid!"

	Hearing the commotion, Mr. Satan paused and watched the cloned announcer 
walk slowly up the ramp.  "What do you want?"

	"... This is all a joke, right?" Hiroshi said, a hint of desperation in 
his voice. "You're just saying that to trick Yaga, and get him to trust you so 
you can make him pay for all the bad stuff he's done, right?"

	Mr. Satan stared at Hiroshi for a moment, before snickering and shaking 
his head.  "Get lost before I hurt ya, punk," he said, turning to walk away.

	Hiroshi reached out and grabbed the American wrestler's shoulder.  "Wait! 
You can't do-" 
 
	*WHAM*

	Hiroshi fell back down the ramp from the force of the punch that Mr. Satan 
had driven into his gut.  "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said, an unconcerned 
look on his face as he stared at the white-haired announcer, who had tears 
running down his face.  "Let's go people."

	And so he left, leaving a crowd stunned, an announcer physically and 
emotionally battered, and a hero fallen from grace.

	And somewhere, across the world, the Pope cried.  

***************

	"Mmm, this cherry pie is great!" Sakura Kinomoto squealed in delight.

	"Best I've had in a long time!" Sakura Kusagano agreed, digging in.

	"Ow, my head," muttered Shingo, face down against an icepack.

	"Ditto," groaned Li Ping, likewise leaning against an icepack.

	The four youths sat at a table within the Ultra Bar and Grill, winding 
down after another memorable episode of Ultra.  Needless to say, the two Sakuras 
were in significantly better moods than were Shingo and Li.

	"Oh, come on, guys," the older Sakura teased.  "Stop being so 
melodramatic.  It's not *that* bad."

	"You try getting hit with a Roaring Elbow right in the chin, and then 
we'll talk," responded Li.  "Still can't believe Mr. Satan joined up with 
Yaga..."

	Shingo nodded.  "He was always such a good, honorable guy... I can't 
figure out what could have happened to make him so... so bitter."

	"Yaga's a bad man," said the younger Sakura quietly.  "If anyone could 
turn Mr. Satan against everything he stood for, it's him."

	"How're you doing, by the way?" asked the self-taught Shotokaner.

	"Okay," replied the younger Sakura.  "I'm still a little sore, but..."

	Li raised his head from his icepack and grinned softly at the card captor.  
"Next time I get in the ring with him, I'll kick him in the nuts for you, okay?"

	Everyone at the table laughed.  "By the way," the older Sakura said, 
looking over at the card captor, "what was with that commercial during the 
show?"

	"That... was Kero-chan's idea," she replied, sweatdropping slightly. 

	The older girl nodded.  "One thing about Ultra... you always have to 
expect the unexpected."

	"Don't forget about Dan's mighty schlong!" yelled Naga from across the 
room, holding up a half-empty mug of beer.

	The four youths *BLUSHED*.

	"Yeah, that was..." Shingo started, before trailing off.  "... Yeah."

	By unspoken agreement, the topic was closed.  No further discussion was 
needed regarding the Mighty Taunting Wang of Stone Cold Dan Hibiki.

	Suddenly, the older Sakura grinned.  "I know what'll cheer you guys up... 
how about a round of karaoke?"

	"That'd be great!" said the Team Clow member, smiling broadly.

	The two males just groaned, flopping back down against their icepacks.

	"Oh, don't be such spoilsports!" chided the Shotokan fighter.  "It'll be 
fun!  Something silly to relax you after a hard day."

	"Okay, okay," said Li.  "I'm in.  It'll give me a chance to try a couple 
of tricks I saw in 'Shaolin Lounge Singers 4:  Revenge of The Polyester Ninja 
Clan.'"

	"... This I *have* to see," said the teenage Sakura.  "Shingo?"

	"Yeah, I'm in," replied the young man.  "We'll go up right after that guy 
heading onto the stage..."

	Shingo paused and cocked his head.  "What the..."

	"What?" the other three said simultaneously.

	"That guy on stage," Shingo said, squinting.  After a moment, his eyes 
widened.  "Is that... is that TAROU?"

	o/" AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII EEEEEEEEE-IIIIIIIIIII EEEEEEEE-IIIIIIII... will 
always love YOOOOUUUUUU... o/" sang the Chinese youth, smiling slightly.

	Li Ping boggled.

	Shingo Yabuki gaped.

	Sakura Kusagano sweatdropped mightily.

	Sakura Kinomoto clapped.  "He has a nice singing voice!"

	The older Sakura watched as Shingo and Li collapsed back onto their 
icepacks, and flagged down a waitress.  "I don't suppose I could convince you to 
get me some sake," she mumbled, head in her hands.  "I need it right now..."

***************

	Mary sat crosslegged, floating in the darkness of the as-yet-undefined 
pocket dimension she'd created for the purpose.  When the embodiment of the 
Godhead wished to be alone, nothing would trouble her.  Nothing, at least, 
outside of herself.

	Unfortunately, Mary was troubled.  She had a great deal to think about, 
but she wasn't even certain where she should begin.

	She cast an eye over the assembled figures before her.  She'd made a 
detour on the way to retrieve a few of her Ultra toys, under the vague 
impression that a visual aid might help her to order her thoughts.  That was why 
a small squadron of action figures was lined up in a semicircle like a privy 
council.  So far it hadn't helped.  But maybe she could take the idea one step 
further.

	The leftmost figurine, Washuu's image, stepped forward.  "People have to 
make their own mistakes," it said with the scientist's voice.  "Otherwise, 
they'll never learn.  And there's nothing in the universe that's more important 
than learning."

	Nothing?  But her mother hadn't really said that, had she?  Set that aside 
for the moment.  If people made mistakes, they would suffer.  They would cause 
others to suffer.  Was there any good to be found in suffering?

	"You are the Alpha and the Omega," Sephiroth's likeness argued 
dispassionately.  "There is no right or wrong except what pleases or displeases 
you.  You are the ultimate power, the sole judge.  You cannot do wrong; by 
definition, what you say is right, is.  You must use your power to instruct and 
guide others; only then will they know the right path."

	"Do you know what I will?" Mary had asked Sephiroth once.  He had not, of 
course.  The problem was, Mary herself didn't, either.  Even if she wanted to, 
she couldn't use her power to enforce "right" until she decided exactly what 
that was.

	"They suffer," the toy prompted her.  "You could end that suffering.  Tell 
them.  Lead them.  Show them your truth."

	She didn't like suffering.  But what if her mother was right?  If it was 
necessary for some reason, then wouldn't she be doing wrong by eliminating it?  
Was it even possible to eradicate suffering while leaving free will?

	"You can practice with Ultra," suggested the Lina Inverse action figure.  
"You can make mistakes without causing serious harm to the universe.  It's okay 
for you to use your powers in Ultra, as long as you're careful."

	But Mary had tried solving people's problems at Ultra already.  That had 
been one of those mistakes, and it might have caused serious harm, if she hadn't 
quickly undone it.  That suggested that Sephiroth was wrong, and her mother was 
right:  She could make mistakes.  And she had learned from hers.

	Lina had once held the same power Mary possessed, though.  She seemed to 
agree with Sephiroth that it was okay for Mary to use the power.  She had 
experience, so her opinion should be worth something; neither Washuu nor 
Sephiroth had ever been god.

	Of course, Lina also seemed to disagree with Sephiroth on the purpose for 
which those powers should be used.  So... she should use her powers to do what 
she wanted, but not use them to do *whatever* she wanted?  No, that didn't make 
sense.  There had to be something to Lina's argument that she wasn't seeing; 
otherwise, it was self-contradictory.

	"You might have the power to do something, but that doesn't mean you have 
the right to," said the Sakura Kinomoto action figure (butterfly-costume 
variant).  "The ends don't justify the means.  You can't hurt innocent people 
and claim to be doing good."

	That was almost the opposite of what Sephiroth had said, but it didn't 
seem to agree with Lina or Washuu, either, not exactly.  But if Mary really 
didn't determine what was right and what was wrong, as Sephiroth argued, then 
who did?  It wasn't as though there were a higher power announcing the precepts 
of universal morality.  But she'd already seen the importance of free will, as 
her mother had argued, and Sakura's words seemed to apply to that experience.

	Mr. Satan's figure folded its fully-articulated plastic arms over its 
sculpted chest.  "You're only having these problems because people don't respect 
you.  You're Number One!  You could make them respect you.  Just show them a 
little of what you can do.  Then they'll start listening.  You won't need to use 
your power every minute of every day.  Just once in a while, to keep it fresh in 
their minds.  Once they're willing to listen, your words can reach them."

	Mary frowned, regarding the action figure thoughtfully.  It was true that 
Mr. Satan hadn't been treated very well.  Was his situation really analogous to 
Mary's, though?  It wasn't as if she were being neglected, exactly.  But what if 
she made up her mind?  Would she have to make a show of force in order to be 
listened to?  Sephiroth would probably agree.  Her mother wouldn't, but Washuu's 
past actions suggested that that disagreement might be hypocrisy.  Lina 
certainly hadn't been averse to demonstrations of power.  Sakura... had.  She'd 
admitted to using the cards selfishly, but she hadn't been proud of it, Mary 
realized.  She'd known, or at least learned, that it was wrong.

	But there was that question of right and wrong again.  Her situation 
wasn't quite the same as Sakura's.  At least, not if she really did decide what 
was right.  Sighing, she turned to the last figurine.

	"Yahooie!  The manly likeness of the mighty Dan would like to point out 
that the true heart of the pure fighter is the only path worthy of the mighty!  
You, too, must strive to be a shining example of awe-inspiring niftiness.  Only 
then will you achieve the persuasive stature and manly charisma of Dan!"  The 
pink-clad doll flexed its forearm.  "Taunt all Saikyo!  For great Justice!"

	Mary couldn't help smiling at that; it was just what her idol would say, 
after all.  But what had it really meant?  She could persuade people without 
using her powers?  Of course she could, but it would take some time.  And 
persuade them of what?  What would she be an example of?  Great justice?  But 
that brought her back to the question of what justice was.  That wasn't much 
help.

	Clearly, Mary thought, she had to figure out "right" and "justice" and all 
the related concepts before she could get any further on the correct course of 
action.  If there even was a correct course.  At this point, she wasn't entirely 
sure there was.  But that would follow, once she decided on "right".

	And to do that...  She smiled again.  She would take Lina's advice, at 
least in this.  Ultra would serve as a microcosm.  In Ultra, questions of right 
and wrong came up all the time.  And even if they were a little exaggerated a 
lot of the time, they would still help her decide for herself what she agreed 
with.  Then she would know how to proceed, and which of her advisors, if any, 
had been right.

Until then, she would be very careful when she used her powers, and keep 
in mind what Washuu, Sakura, and Dan had said.  And if she did use them, she 
would be sure to pay attention to the consequences.

	She was looking forward to next week's Ultra already.

***************

MTCFF Ultra #80 Results and Recap
][ YAGA puts one over on JACK in the BOOKING WARS
][ SHINGO feels a bit INSECURE
][ LEI WULONG needs to GET some RESULTS
][ TEAM ENLIGHTENMENT defeats TEAM CHOCOLATE by disqualification
][ MARLO compliments ROXY... sort of
][ AKANE 'ROXY' TENDO defeats SELPHIE (and ZELL)
][ DARK SCHNEIDER defeats YUFFIE
][ DARK SCHNEIDER is now OMEGA CHAMPION
][ DARK SCHNEIDER and YUFFIE plan to pass the OMEGA BELT back and forth
][ VEGA threatens NABIKI and is BEATEN UP by TAROU
][ VEGA is FIRED
][ SHAORAN barely defeats SHINGO before COLLAPSING backstage
][ SAGAT ambushes RANMA backstage
][ SAGAT defeats BEAN and REMAINS GAMMA CHAMPION
][ RANMA punks SAGAT after the fight
][ GARY rescues NAKURURU and RIMURURU from TASUKI and MOUSSE
][ RIMURURU becomes a GARY CHEERLEADER
][ GALLY defeats 'SHOCKWAVE' ALBERTO and WASHUU (with a little help from DAN)
][ DAN is MANLY (and PINK)
][ MR. SATAN defeats THE GREAT YAGA
][ MR. SATAN is REHIRED
][ TAROU sings KARAOKE
][ MARY approaches a DECISION, but doesn't quite arrive

***************

Impro Group From Hell members and who wrote what:

Kate "Ciara" Malloy: Roxy backstage scene; Nakoruru/Rimururu backstage 
scene

Steve Scougall: Selphie/Roxy fight, Ranma/Sagat backstage scene

Nathan "Achariyth" Housley: Team Rocket/Team Enlightenment fight, Lei 
Wulong pre-show scene

Marcus Fong: Sagat/Bean fight

Kenji: Gally/Alberto/Washuu fight, Lina/Sephiroth pre-show scene

DamienRoc/DamienPhoenix/Ryuuzaki/etc (Planner): Yuffie/Darshu fight and 
backstage scene

Scott Schimmel (Planner): Sakura/Shingo pre-show scene, 
Sakura/Shaoran/Mary pre-show scene, Shaoran/Shingo fight, Mary post-
show scene

Jesse Ellman (Planner): Yaga/Jack/Mr. Satan pre-show scene, 
Vega/Nabiki/Tarou backstage scene, Mr. Satan/Yaga fight, Kareoke post-
show scene, Semi-Witty Opening Regarding the Volume in the UltraDome.

Authors Notes:

- Kate Malloy

Not really all that much to say here, and I'll keep it short since I'm 
one of ten or so people.

Huge thanks go to Shachihoko for comments and suggestions on the 
Nakoruru/Rimururu/et al. scene.  Further thanks go to Jesse, the heart 
(or spleen ;p) of this whole operation.  Still further thanks go to the 
other main co-conspirators, Jeff and Scott, and to the rest of our 
illustrious co-writers.

I had fun working on this type of collaborative writing, and wouldn't 
mind doing it again some time in the future. ^_^

- Steve Scougall

That was fun.  It was certainly a lot less pressure than a full Ultra 
chapter.  My scenes still turned out to 23k - enough for a chapter of 
many other Impros.  ^_^
   
In case you want to know what to blame me for, I did the Ranma / Sagat 
backstage scene and the Akane / Selphie fight.  
   
Thanks must go to Jesse, Damien, and Scott for letting me be part of 
the Impro Group From Hell, and to write for Ultra at least one more 
time.  But who knows?  I might try signing up again for Ultra's next 
season.

- Scott Schimmel  

I don't recommend writing for Ultra when you're going to a convention 
the same week.  Thankfully, I didn't have to write 100k this time, and 
it looks like our small army of authors somehow managed to get this 
chapter together.  Ultra is a lot of fun to write for, even if it is a 
time-sucking monster.  And planning the part was even better.  Most of 
the credit for that should go to Jesse, who did an insane amount of 
organizational work.  Thanks to the rest of the people crazy enough to 
sign up for this part, and Twoflower for starting this whole mess in 
the first place.  See you next season, with any luck...

- Jesse Ellman

And I thought this was gonna be *less* stressful than writing a full 
part. Silly me. =P

Various miscellaneous problems came up, but all ended up being dealt 
with, due in large part to my brilliant co-planners, Dame and Scott, 
and our brilliant co-writers, Kate, Steve, Marcus, Nathan, and Kenji. 
(Extra special thanks to Kenji, who came in on short notice to write 
two scenes when we didn't have anyone to do them.)

Thanks also to 2f for okaying the return of Mr. Satan (not to mention 
all our other crazy ideas =P), and for being extreemly generous in 
giving extension time when things got a bit dicey.

And that's it. C&C appreciated; post on the message board or, if you 
have comments on specific scenes, send them to the appropriate author 
(you can most likely find the appropriate e-mail address on one of the 
Improfanfic subpages; if not, send it to the Impro Group from Hell e-
mail address, along with who you want the comments to go to, and I'll 
make sure they get to the appropriate person. ^_^)

~ Fin