"Hi."

Daisuke was startled by the subdued greetings 
from Hiroshi. He examined his friend and co-host. 
'Lets see,' he thought to himself, 'glazed eyes, 
rumpled clothes, and a vacant expression.' 
Daisuke paused to consider this, then said, "Rei 
gave you her _special_ goodbye again, didn't 
she?"

Hiroshi nodded his head wildly, and then walked 
into the door. Daisuke sighed, and opened the 
door to the Ultradome himself. "I'll see you 
later, Hiroshi. When your mind gets back from... 
wherever..." And lo, he walked into the 'dome, 
mumbling about how some clones have all the luck.

Hiroshi just lay on the ground, smiling.

---

Taro entered Nabiki's office to a scene he had 
not witnessed for a long time - the owner of 
Ultra going over fighter rosters, with a slightly 
panicked look on her face. "Is something wrong 
miss... er... Nabiki?"

Nabiki glanced up and snapped back, "No, 
nothing's wrong. Well, not unless you count the 
fact the Jack has taken off tonight, without 
preparing a card."

Taro blinked. "Jack's gone?"

Nabiki hit a button on her answering machine, and 
the voice of 'Controversial' Jack Lysias came 
out. "Hiya, Nabsarini! Sorry I gotta leave you in 
a bit of a lurch here, but... there's something 
wrong with Mr. Duck."

"Sqweee..."

"See! He's loosing his voice. So I'm going to 
take him to the vet. Don't forget the #1 
Contenders Rumble, and hasta la bye bye!"

Taro shook his head at that. Thinking about it 
might make his brain explode. "Okay. So you need 
to make a card. What's the problem? This isn't 
the first time you've had to put a card together. 
Admittedly, it would have helped to have some 
advanced warning, but still, just slap some big 
name fighters together, and no one will notice a 
difference."

Nabiki slumped in her seat, and her head fell 
against her desk. She gave out a long sigh. 
"Except it seems that a lot of our 'Big Names' 
are ALSO out this week."

"What?"

Nabiki sat back up and picked up a stack of 
paper. Picking out the first one, she spoke, "Dan 
is visiting his little sister; apparently she's 
seen their eternally lost cousin more than she's 
seen him recently, and threatened to print every 
embarrassing baby picture she can find of him in 
her school paper if he didn't visit." Nabiki 
pulled out another sheet. "Jessie and James need 
the week off to recover - they were going to try 
'Team Socket,' looks like they blasted off 
again." Taro groaned as Nabiki pulled out another 
note. "B-ko and Sephiroth went off to Hawaii for 
the week." Nabiki sighed again. "And so on and so 
forth. Washuu's a guest speaker at that space 
science academy, Naga's trying to perfect the 
magic she 'learned' from Darshu. Darshu's gone to 
Vegas to celebrate his championship. Yuffie went 
off training. Bean's in Chicago for some 
automotive exposition, and Tifa's with him... I 
could go on, but I'd just get depressed."

By this point, Taro was ALSO feeling the start of 
a headache. "So who IS here?"

Nabiki handed over the roster she had been 
working on earlier. "The ones circled are here. 
The problem is getting enough fighters together 
to have a decent card, and still have enough for 
the rumble. Not to mention that most of Omega's 
gone... and of course we have to be ready to fit 
in whatever Yaga decides to pull tonight."

Taro gave a sigh of his own upon looking at the 
roster. "Well, Omega's not quite as bad as you 
think... you're forgetting Ultraman."

Nabiki blinked. "That's right. We haven't had him 
in a fight since the gauntlet."

Taro sat down in one of the chairs across from 
Nabiki. "And we can throw a couple of the newer 
tag teams against each other... that would be a 
good start..."

The two began making plans in earnest.

---

The two had never met, but one had always 
believed in the other. True, Mr. Satan had not 
been one of his idols, per se, but he had always 
admired Satan's tenacity and drive. Especially 
after joining Ultra. Satan just seemed to never 
give up, regardless of how scared he got or how 
hopeless the situation looked.

And now Satan had turned his back on everything 
that he had stood for.

Li Ping couldn't let THAT stand.

Mr. Satan wasted no time settling back in to his 
old dressing room after getting his job back. It 
was in front of that door that Li Ping now stood, 
psyching himself up for the confrontation. And 
then he knocked.

Surprisingly, it was Yaga that opened the door. 
"Yes... oh, why it's you, Li Ping. What ever can 
I do for you, kid." This was said in the same 
condescending voice that Li Ping had learned to 
hate back in NeoFighters.

"I came to speak to Satan, old man. Not you." Li 
Ping replied with a scowl.

"So talk, and stop wasting my time." And there he 
was, afro and all. Mr. Satan.

Ping faltered, Yaga's presence throwing him off 
stride. "I... I don't understand. Why did you 
fall in with Yaga?! Why... just... why?"

Satan glared at the young man. "Are you deaf, 
brat? I told you why. I told EVERYONE why! I want 
the respect I deserve, blast it!"

Li Ping shook his head, his long braid waving 
behind him. "I guess I just don't understand. I 
probably never will. All I can do is be like 
billions of other people out there... and feel 
disappointed." With that, he turned, and walked 
away.

Mr. Satan growled at the retreating figure. "That 
kid needs to be taken down a notch or two. Don't 
you agree?"

Yaga slowly grinned. "Time to book my match 
tonight, I think."

---

Lei Wulong had worked his share of bad cases. But 
Johnny Cage's death was turning into one of the 
worst. Not because of any sort of ancient evil 
presence, or because through the interference of 
an underworld family feud. No, this case was bad 
because he had... nothing. Too many questions, 
and no answers to any of them. And the one clue 
he had seemed to be a dead end.

Lei sat in a chair in his dressing room, and 
stared at one of the pictures of Cage, from his 
Ultra days - Johnny, Sofia, Jessie, James, and 
Jack, all under a banner proclaiming 'Sex and 
Violence.' 

This was getting him nowhere. It was time to 
reexamine what he had.

Means, Motive, and Opportunity. The three 
elements to any crime. Find who had all of them, 
and he would find his killer. The problem was 
that most of Ultra had the means... heck, some of 
the STAFF at the Ultradome had the means. And 
most had the opportunity. The problem was motive. 
Who would WANT Cage dead? Cage had no enemies who 
hated him enough to kill him.

Even someone trying to get into Ultra, with its 
current tightfisted hiring policy, would have had 
no reason to eliminate Jack. Nabiki had scoffed 
at the idea that she would even consider hiring a 
'jobber' like Cage again.

It was so frustrating. There was just nothing to 
go on here! If only he could find a clue...

His cell-phone rang.

Shifting gears back to the present, Lei flipped 
his phone open. "Wulong."

An obviously distorted voice answered him, 
"Having problems?"

Lei paused. "Who is this?"

"You're the detective. You tell me."

Lei growled. "Goodbye."

Before he could hang up, the voice said, "Have 
you checked your locker today, detective? You 
might find something... enlightening." And then 
the other end hung up.

Lei turned off his phone, and scowled. He could 
already tell that this case was about to get more 
complicated...

---

An hour later, Lei was attempting to piece new 
information into his picture. His locker had been 
full of screen tests, and hiring records from 
some movie companies. Twelve in all, from three 
different companies. All with one element in 
common: Johnny Cage tried for a role in each 
one... and lost to a newer, flashier actor. 
(Which was a shame in Lei's opinion. Most of the 
actors Cage lost parts to had less ability - in 
both acting and in the martial arts - than Cage 
had.) Cage had been told outright in a couple of 
the tests that the producers were looking for 
'new blood,' or that Cage was 'old hat.'

The confusing thing here was that Cage didn't 
need money. Cage, while being a person who liked 
his luxuries, was not prone to spending 
excessively. Cage could have lived comfortably 
for the rest of his life without working a day 
again. So why...

And then it hit him.

Exposure! Cage was used to being able to pick and 
chose his parts with impunity. He liked making 
movies, and was used to having people beat down 
his doors to be in this or that movie. But then 
attention had moved from Cage to other actors, 
and he wanted to be back on top again. Rejoining 
Ultra for a season or two - especially if he 
could pull of a few wins this time around - would 
have catapulted him back into the spotlight of 
the movie industry.

Which means that Cage might have been willing to 
settle for less money - especially since he 
wasn't in any sort of financial problems. And if 
he was willing to accept a smaller salary, 
combined with being a known quality rather than a 
risk, might have just been enough for Nabiki to 
hire him back!

And somebody who knew this, (and obviously 
someone did, as his anonymous caller proved,) 
somebody who wanted to get into Ultra, might have 
taken out the competition - permanently. Which 
would mean that it was someone who had either 
just been hired, or was on the list of 
possibilities.

While much of this was guesswork, it felt right 
to Lei. Enough so to warrant investigating it.

For the first time since starting this case, 
things were looking less grim.

---

"Whoa Akane. That's enough." Ken said this from 
his current position - on the floor of the 
training room they were using (ironically enough, 
the same one where the Shotokan Spirits used to 
be based.) He was gingerly rubbing his left 
shoulder, where Akane had just landed a powerful 
punch. He had never until this moment appreciated 
just how strong the younger girl was.

"I'm sorry, Masters-sensei. I honestly thought 
you would have dodged that," Akane replied, her 
face tinged a bit red.

Ken grunted and sat up. "Yeah, I should have. I'm 
rusty, I guess." He examined Akane for a moment, 
then patted the mat next to him. "Sit down, 
Akane. I've been meaning to have a talk with 
you."

Akane was a bit wary. While she respected him, 
the two of them never really got along. He was a 
very good sensei, but Ken's insistence on 
discipline clashed with Akane's Anything-Goes 
style and attitude. All signals pointed to this 
being another 'You need more discipline' speech. 
Nonetheless, Akane sat down where indicated.

Ken sighed, and considered what he was going to 
say for a moment. "Akane, at the moment, I'm not 
sure how to continue your training. I've taught 
you all I that you will let me of Shotokan 
Karate. I can't force you to learn more of it... 
nor do I have the right to do so. But that leaves 
us with a 'what now' question." He paused for a 
moment.

Akane took a guess at his thoughts. "What is it, 
Masters-sensei?"

"I'm going to give an assessment of your skills. 
Afterwards, if you wish, we can work on things in 
the direction that YOU feel you need to go. 
But... I've been told that you don't take 
criticism well. If you are going to throw a fit, 
I will warn you now, I will leave. I don't need 
an uncooperative student. Do you understand me?"

Akane, feeling it proper, assumed a formal 
kneeling position, and bowed. "I will listen, 
Masters-sensei." She said that with more respect 
than she usually did.

Ken smiled. "Okay. You have several good points, 
and several bad points. On the good side, you 
have strength, precision, and skill. On the bad 
side, is your lack of endurance, weak ki power, 
powerful emotions, and you're analytical.

"Now, what that all means. You are deceptively 
strong, Akane. Immensely so. Oh, I've known 
people who are stronger than you, but they also 
generally out-mass you two or three times over. 
And your not afraid to apply that strength... 
which is good. Further, you know just where to 
hit for the best effect. You don't just flail 
away at your opponents and hope to wear them 
down, you go for the blow that you KNOW will 
hurt. And you're strong enough to make them feel 
it even if they defend... another good thing.

"You also have the skills. After training with 
Ranma and myself, you have the skills you need to 
beat any other Gamma competitor in Ultra." He 
made a serious face. "I hereby give you 
permission to laugh in the face of anyone who 
tells you otherwise." Akane couldn't help 
herself, and giggled at that.

"On the other hand, Akane, you have some pretty 
serious things that are holding you back. First 
off, you lack endurance. You just aren't cut out 
for a long fight at the moment, and if you can't 
take more than a few good hits. That's got to 
change, you won't be doing yourself or anyone 
else any good if you don't toughen yourself up.

"Also, you have a powerful ki force available to 
you, but while you can tap it, it remains 
unfocused. The end result of that is your ki 
attacks, the Shockwave and Bombshell, doing 
little more damage to your opponent than tickling 
them would do. So right now, all the bombshell is 
good for is surprising, and maybe blinding your 
opponents, and the shockwave isn't helping you 
whatsoever.

"You lack emotional control. Your emotions are 
often so powerful that they control you, not the 
other way around. While this can be good... when 
you are feeling good about something, almost 
nothing can shake you. But if you get mad or 
depressed, you would become useless in a fight.

"Finally, you think too much. You have a tendency 
to analyze everything as it happens, which 
results in you leaving yourself open too much. 
You have to learn how to keep yourself focused on 
the fight, or it will eventually cost you."

Ken looked Akane over, and was pleased to see 
determination, rather than sorrow, in her. "Any 
questions?"

"Yes, actually." Akane replied. "I've been told 
time and time again that I'm not fast enough..."

Ken snorted. "No offense to your fiance, Akane, 
but speed is not everything in a fight. You 
aren't critically slow, in fact, you are faster 
than a majority of the Gamma competitors at this 
point. With that, and your strength and 
precision, you are able to compensate for any 
speed demon at the moment. Again, it would help 
if you could take a hit better, but I've seen a 
lot of people who weren't fast at all, and they 
still made it a long way in the Street Fighter 
tournaments."

"So, Akane, what do you want to work on?"

---

Ultra.

Mary's favorite time of the week.

Even with everything else going on, she never 
missed Ultra if she could help it. And 
considering that she was the living godhead... 
very little could make her miss an episode.

But tonight she had a different goal in mind. She 
needed to prove to everyone (well, everyone who 
knew) and to herself that she could use her 
powers correctly.

So tonight, she resolved to help someone - one of 
the fighters. And she'd show everyone that she 
could use her powers responsibly.

Unfortunately, as several Gods before her had 
proved, omnipotence does not prevent one from 
making mistakes...

---

                      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 81: The Episode Without a Name...
Written By: Jason
MTCFF Ultra Created by: Twoflower

---

"Are you ready?"

And it was loud.

"I said, are you ready?!"

And it was louder.

"Are you ready for some... 
UUULLLTTTRRRAAAVVVIIIOOOLLLEEENNNCCCEEE?"

Daisuke didn't *hear* the resulting cheers, per 
se, as the new earplugs he had were guaranteed to 
stop ALL sound from getting through. Not that it 
helped all that much, since the volume was 
sufficiently loud that his bones resonated in 
response.

This, of course, did not seem to effect his co-
host, Hiroshi. "Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, 
have we got an ULTRAOCIOUS show for you! 
Bulleta's first title defense! The return of 
Ultraman! It will be stupendous! Colossal!"

"Made all the more so, since the card was only 
made an hour ago..." Daisuke cut in.

"That's right Daisuke! Thanks for reminding me! 
Everyone, Mr. Duck took ill earlier, and Jack had 
to rush him to the vet. So, because I KNOW you're 
watching, get well soon, Mr. Duck!"

Daisuke had a sudden urge to hit his head against 
the table. He suppressed it. Barely.

"We'll get to our first match in just a moment, 
folks. But first, a very special episode of 
"Where Are They Now!"

---

"Hello, everybody! This is Haitani."

"And I'm Shirai, bringing you another episode of 
"Where Are They Now?" A chance for one last look 
at some of the former superstars of MTCFF Ultra. 
And tonight's episode is VERY special!"

"So special, we had to wait for the Ultra Lawyers 
to clear us to show it."

"That's right! Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we 
give you, the wedding of Andy Bogard and Mai 
Shiranui!"

---

It was a beautiful western-style wedding. Mai and 
Andy stood before the priest, in white wedding 
dress and white tuxedo, respectively. A smallish, 
balding priest stood before them, performing the 
ceremony. Standing to one side was Joe Higashi, 
acting as Andy's best man. Oposite him stood 
Mai's three bridesmaids, and good friends, Yuri 
Sakizaki, King, and Chizuru Kagura.

Perhaps more interesting, however, were the 
guests. The church was filled with a virtual 
"Who's Who" of fighters. Kyo Kusinagi and his 
friends. Ken Masters and his wife Elisa. Athena 
Asamiya and Sie Kensou. Young Rock Howard, the 
ward of the late Terry Bogard, now staying with 
Andy. Robert Garcia. Ryo Sakizaki. The Ikari 
warriors, Ralf Jones and Clark Steel. Karin 
Kanzuki. Sakura Kasugano. Dan Hibiki, and his 
friend, Blanka. Even some of less reputable 
members of the fighting community were present - 
Billy Kane leaned against a wall in the back. 
Chris, Yashiro, and Shermie, with several seats 
empty all around them.

All together, there was an obvious, but tense, 
peace between all in anticipation of the 
nuptials.

And then came the critical part of the ceremony. 
The part that just invited trouble...

"If the is anyone with reason why these two 
should not be joined, let them speak now, or 
forever hold their peace."

"I object!"

There were gasps, as everyone turned to look at 
the entryway. There stood two figures - an 
average sized person, and a diminutive figure, 
both obscured by cloaks. The smaller figure 
stepped forward. "I will not let this wedding 
happen... until I kiss the bride!!" With that the 
figure whipped off his cloak, revealing the 
perverted master of Anything Goes, Happosai! 
Happosai proceeded to perform an incredible leap 
and latched onto Mai's... prominent secondary sex 
characteristics.

Meanwhile, his companion, revealing himself to be 
none other than Ataru Moroboshi, was attempting 
to glomp the bridesmaids, with notably less 
success.

This seemed to be the cue for everyone to start 
fighting. The camera caught several scenes of 
fighting worthy of an episode of Ultra before 
something hit it and the view dissolved into 
static.

---

The picture returned to show Haitani and Shirai. 
"Well, as you could probably guess, we can't call 
them 'Mr. and Mrs. Bogard.' QUITE yet." Haitani 
stated.

"But, they ARE planning another wedding. A 
private ceremony this time."

"As for Happosai and Ataru, they are still at 
large. The authorities are offering a substantial 
reward for any information that leads to their 
capture."

"Of course, Ataru's fiancee is offering an even 
bigger one just on Ataru... so if you see either 
of them, you know what to do..."

"And this is Haitani..."

"And Shirai. Stay tuned for more, "Where Are They 
Now?"

---

"And I know we all wish Andy and Mai the best of 
luck at their next wedding! Isn't that right, 
Daisuke?"

Daisuke paused before speaking. "I'm sure they 
will. I'm just surprised that they didn't realize 
that inviting THAT many martial artists to one 
place was bound to cause trouble..."

"Anyway, enough of the past! Let's move to the 
present! Like right now! Our first fight will be 
the magical forces of Team Clow against the 
skills and trained animals of the Spirits of 
Nature!"

"Yes, well, while both teams are still rather 
new, but I don't see this as much of a fight. 
Team Clow has only lost once, while the Spirits 
of Nature have yet to win at anything."

"Oh, come on..."

Daisuke stopped his friend with a glare. "Say 
anything that even resembles a new catch phrase 
and I will..."

"Hurt me?"

"Good boy! I'll get you a biscuit later."

---

Sakura Kinomoto decided she was not having a good 
night as the camera's took a close-up of her 
outfit for the week (A simple but tasteful 
leotard and jacket combination, all done in 
shades of pink and red). Told just an hour ago 
that she and Shoran had a match tonight had not 
given her a lot of time to prepare for the match. 
Not to mention that Shoran and Kero had gotten 
into a fight before coming to the 'Dome, and Kero 
had taken off. This would be the first time she 
would be fighting in Ultra without the support of 
her small guardian beast. Of course, Shoran was 
also in a sour mood... and the worst part was, he 
wouldn't tell her what the fight was about!

"Remember what we discussed?" He asked as they 
walked to the ring.

Sakura sighed. "Yes. I've already used Sword and 
Jump, so they won't be able to catch me by 
surprise," she said, gripping her enchanted key 
staff. He'd been like that since learning about 
the match. Drilling her on what she should and 
shouldn't do, and complaining that she was going 
to mess something up.

He didn't trust her, she realized.

She took her place in the ring, waiting for their 
opponent. "I'll show him he can trust me."

---

They were young. They were priestesses. They were 
in tune with the working of nature. But beyond 
that, they were warriors. And warriors from a 
time and world were losing usually meant death.

They had fought twice since coming to this... 
Ultra. They had lost both times.

This was unacceptable.

"I wish to start this time, sister." Rimiruru 
said as the two walked to the ring, determination 
written on their faces.

Nakoruru just nodded, Mamahaha perched on her 
shoulder, and Shikuru following behind her.

This time, there would be no distractions. No 
confusion.

Just the battle.

---

Despite everything, Rimiruru couldn't help but be 
slightly intimidated by the younger girl that 
stood across her in the ring. Being attuned to 
such forces, she could feel the magical power 
within Sakura... and it was such that the madman 
Amakusa could only wish to possess.

Sakura however, was focused on another thing. 
Specifically Konril. For the first time she was 
aware of, she was meeting a magical entity that 
wasn't one of the Clow cards. And the last thing 
she wanted to do was to accidentally seal it like 
she had Pikachu.

Then the bell rang, and the time for such 
thoughts was over in a clash of metal.

][ LAMBDA MATCH
][ TEAM CLOW VS. SPIRITS OF NATURE
][ FIGHT!

"And here we go! Rimiruru and Sakura to start. 
And it looks like the action is already fast and 
furious!" Hiroshi stated with his usual 
exuberance.

"A surprising amount of skill being shown by 
Sakura... she must have used the Sword card 
BEFORE the match, good strategy."

It was proving to be a good strategy, as both 
fighters quickly discovered. Rimiruru's skill 
with her kodachi was nowhere near the skill 
Sakura was given through the Sword Card. She 
quickly found herself on the defensive in this 
fight. Fortunately, her sword wasn't the only 
thing she had.

At her command, Konril began throwing ice at 
Sakura.

Sakura back-peddled and began dodging the 
projectiles. She needed some room to breath... to 
think! She pulled out a card that was sure to 
protect her... "Shield Card... Protect me 
from..."

Rimiruru recognized at once the gathering of 
magical energies. She didn't know the specifics 
of her opponents magic, but it didn't take much 
to figure out the she needed that card for it. 
With another command, Konril froze the mat 
beneath Sakura.

Unprepared for the suddenly frictionless surface 
she was standing on, Sakura tripped, and dropped 
the Shield card. Then she tried  to roll out of 
the way as Rimiruru crashed into her, Konril 
having formed a block of ice beneath its 
mistress.

She didn't succeed.

Sakura dizzily got up when she felt a slap on her 
shoulder, and saw the referee acknowledge a tag. 
"What are you doing?"

"You can't handle her. I will." And with that, 
Shoran Li entered the fight.

Rimiruru's confidence had soared. Sakura was 
obviously a beginner, despite her power. And now 
the other one had entered, and he was much less 
powerful. Then her confidence plummeted as Shoran 
pulled out an ofuda and a blast of fire engulfed 
Konril.

Shoran's low-level fire spell was not capable of 
destroying a spirit of elemental ice like Konril. 
That does not mean that the spell didn't HURT it. 
Rimiruru immediately dropped all defenses as she 
examined her half-melted friend.

Shoran was not one to let such an obvious opening 
slide.

"And Shoran begins to pummel Rimiruru 
mercilessly!" Hiroshi enthused while the crowd 
shared its opinion on Shoran's ruthless tactics.

Meanwhile, in the ring, Rimiruru's head was 
pounding. Probably due to the fact that her 
opponent smashed the pommel of his sword against 
the side of her head. Staggering, she managed a 
clumsy dodge to a jumping kick, and collapsed 
into a corner. Looking up, she saw her sister 
reaching out, and tagged her in.

"And now Nakoruru's in. While being more skilled 
with her blade, and having those animals as back 
up, do you think she can match the magical 
abilities of Team Clow?" Daisuke asked his 
counterpart.

"She certainly has enough to curb Shoran's ego!" 
Hiroshi responded, generating a good pop.

Shoran smirked at his new opponent and quickly 
lashed out... only to feel the rap of Nakoruru's 
blunted blade against his back. It quickly became 
apparent that in a straight-out fight, the elder 
Ainu sister held the advantage in all ways, 
superior skill, strength, and speed. Shoran 
couldn't hope to beat her with fighting alone.

Flipping back out of her range, Shoran pulled out 
another ofuda and sent a blast of fire at 
Nakoruru. Much to the delight of the crowd, 
Nakoruru dashed UNDER the flames, her blunted 
sword glowing with energy as she struck his legs.

Shoran cried out in pain, but managed to get a 
good hit in on the ainu priestess before escaping 
her reach again. "Try dodging this!" With that he 
pulled out another ofuda, and this time threw a 
blast of lightning at Nakoruru.

Nakoruru tensed, her next trick required perfect 
timing...

Right before the lighting would have hit, 
Nakoruru spun, her cape appearing and billowing 
around her. The lightning, upon contact with the 
cape, was reflected back at Shoran!

The crowd went wild at this, as did Hiroshi. 
"Amazing! Nakoruru just threw Shoran's attack 
back at him!"

The descendant of Clow Reed, unprepared for this, 
took the full brunt of his own spell. He fell to 
the mat, smoking and twitching.

Shoran only came to his senses in time to hear 
the Spirits of Nature declared the winners...

---

Upon getting back to their dressing room, Shoran 
hit the wall in frustration.

Sakura, shuffling from foot to foot, mumbled an 
apology.

Shoran looked at her, and took a deep breath. 
"Don't worry too much about it. We can't always 
win." Then he glared at her, "Of course, if I 
didn't have to do most of the work here, things 
would go a lot easier!"

The Card Captor glared back. "Well, you didn't 
need to tag yourself in! I could have handled 
it!"

"Yeah, right. She had you cold... er, no pun 
intended. Your SUPPOSED to be here to learn how 
to control the cards better. Instead, you slip 
and drop the Shield! You should be glad the cards 
like you so much, or we could have had to re-
capture it! I can't keep carrying you! You've got 
to learn how to handle yourself, or you will 
never be the true Card Captor! You could have at 
least TRIED to help me out there!"

"But I couldn't reach you to tag in!"

Shoran stared at Sakura. "You just don't get 
it!!" He yelled, then stormed off.

---

"What an amazing match, as the Spirits of Nature 
pick up their first win in Ultra!" Hiroshi was, 
of course, enthused.

"I have to admit, they managed to surprise me. 
But tonight they were really focused on the 
fight," Daisuke agreed. Well, in his own way. 
"The next fight is going to be a surprise. I 
can't guess who will win this one."

"It's so sad!" Hiroshi was suddenly wailing. "A 
hero, fallen so low. Oh, Satan, how could you?!"

Daisuke stared at Hiroshi as the later did a 
credible imitation of Soun Tendo. Then he dragged 
his attention back to the present. "Yes, well, 
tonight, Mr. Satan will be facing Yaga's long-
time rival, Li Ping."

"Maybe Li Ping will be able to break the terrible 
spell Satan is under!" Hiroshi cried, leaping 
onto the announcers' table and posing.

"Hiroshi, your acting like Kuno. Please stop 
before you frighten the audience away." Daisuke 
said, beads of sweat rolling down the back of his 
head.

---

Mr. Satan's trip to the ring wasn't like it was 
in the past. Satan wasn't smiling or greeting 
people as his fans cheered. No, Satan was 
scowling, and the audience was pelting him with 
foodstuff and trash.

But when he focused on them, he saw them blanch, 
and turn away. They knew how dangerous he was.

He was loving every minute of it.

---

Li Ping stopped at the top of the walkway, a 
microphone in hand. "I just want everyone here to 
know, Mr. Satan, that I'm dedicating this match 
to THEM, the fans that make all this possible. 
The fans YOU betrayed."

Mr. Satan signaled and got his own microphone. 
"You do that, kid. You do that. That way, when I 
beat you into paste, everyone will learn to give 
me the respect I deserve!"

As Li made his way to the ring, Hiroshi was... 
well, his usual self. "Wow! Li Ping has just 
promised to avenge all the fans Mr. Satan 
betrayed... oh, why, Satan, why?" And Hiroshi 
broke down again.

Daisuke got the feeling he was on his own for the 
color commentary on this match.

When Li Ping was nearly to the ring, was when a 
surprise showed up. The Great Yaga also appeared 
at the entrance, calling for everyone's 
attention.

"Ah, hello again, Li Ping." The aged wrestler 
began. "You didn't think I was going to just let 
you get away with this, did you?"

Li Ping was, needless to say, confused. "Get away 
with what?"

"Oh, come now. I know you. I was with you through 
Neofighters. I know how you work. Why, I bet your 
little gang is nearby, just waiting for a chance 
to pounce on my good friend Mr. Satan. Well, I 
won't go for that. So, as of this moment, I am 
appointing myself as the guest referee for this 
match." With that Yaga slipped on a referee's 
shirt and made his way to the ring.

Generic Referee #354 simply shrugged and left. He 
was still going to be paid, after all.

Since Hiroshi was still crying, Daisuke as left 
to comment. "The Great Yaga as the guest 
referee... effectively turning this match into a 
two on one handicap match... this doesn't look 
good for Li Ping."

][ GAMMA MATCH
][ MR. SATAN VS. LI PING; GUEST REFEREE THE GREAT 
YAGA
][ FIGHT!

Li Ping opened up the fight with a kick to 
Satan's head... only to have his foot caught. Li 
tried to reverse the kick, but that was an old 
trick in the wrestling world, and Satan saw it 
coming a mile away. He simply pushed Li away, 
sending the Movie Martial Artist to the ground.

Li Ping kippuped before Satan could hit him with 
anything and tried a punching combination he 
originally saw in "Lord of the Fist part 6."

Satan just took the first two hits, then grabbed 
Li in a powerful bear hug. After crushing him for 
a moment, Satan threw himself back, subjecting Li 
Ping to a crushing suplex.

"And Satan has dominated the match since it 
began. Yaga hasn't had to do anything yet..." 
Daisuke reported. Next to him, Hiroshi just 
sniffled.

Satan managed to smash his elbow into Li before 
the younger fighter rolled away and got back up. 
Spinning around, he backhanded Satan away, then 
moved in to continue the attack... only to have 
Yaga shove him aside at the last moment. "Watch 
out, kid. Deliberately hitting the ref is a no-
no." He then made a show of checking to see if 
the unhurt Satan was alright.

Daisuke's droll voice accompanied the jeers of 
the crowd. "Ah yes, there is the blatant 
cheating. It will take a miracle for Li to win 
with these odds."

Li growled, and then turned to face Mr. Satan 
again. Satan wore a superior smirk, and motioned 
for Li to attack.

Li Ping obliged, launching into a powerful Shadow 
Kick. Satan was unprepared for it, and was 
knocked into and over the ropes by the blow.

Daisuke was amazed. "Once again, Li Ping utilizes 
the late Johnny Cage's signature move, the Shadow 
Kick! Somehow, I think Cage would have been proud 
to know that at least one of his moves lives on."

Satan got up, but pulled something out from 
underneath the ring. Returning to the ring, he 
surprised Li Ping with the shinai he had, and 
began beating him mercilessly.

Hiroshi finally got his head back into the game. 
"And Mr. Satan <sniff> is beating on Li Ping with 
a practice sword. And Yaga..." the commentators 
watched as Yaga was carefully watching everywhere 
BUT the fight in progress, "...is openly ignoring 
it!"

Finally Li managed to pull the shinai away from 
Yaga, and broke it over his knee. However, he 
wasn't going to last long, he ached all over, and 
was breathing heavy. He had only one chance...

Quickly, Li leapt to a ring post, and then again 
high into the air. At the apex of his jump, he 
cried "Bullet Time!" and stopped, gathering 
energy for one last hit.

Satan, still in the ring, smirked.

The crowd was going while as the seconds ticked 
by while Li remained suspended in Bullet Time. 
The cheers were deafening when Li finally 
launched, and hit the ropes, and rebounded right 
to Satan at near-supersonic speed.

Then there was a gasp, and nearly complete 
silence as Satan clotheslined his incoming 
opponent.

Li Ping was stunned, and stretched out on the 
ground. Above him, he heard Satan say, "This ring 
is MY home, kid. You won't catch me with a simple 
trick like that." With that, Satan picked Li up, 
and slammed him to the mat again. Then he 
gathered Li's limbs up...

"And Mr. Satan <sniff> subjects Li Ping to the 
Satan Stretch! No one has EVER escaped this 
devastating submission move before! Will Li Ping 
be the first?" Hiroshi asked.

"After that beating," Daisuke answered, "I doubt 
he could right now even if he knew how."

Indeed, moments after applying the Satan Stretch, 
Li Ping began submitted, and the bell rang, 
signaling the end of the match.

Satan released the hold, dropping Li Ping to the 
mat once again. Then he did an elbow drop to the 
prone fighter. Then Yaga came over, and did a 
body splash as well.

"The match is over, but Satan and Yaga continue 
to beat Li Ping down! Get some help down here, 
now!" Hiroshi was going ballistic.

When Satan and Yaga were setting Li up for 
another splash, Sakura Kasugano, Shingo Yabuki, 
and the girl known to the spectators only as Roxy 
rushed to the ring. Seeing their approach, the 
two wrestlers executed the better part of valor, 
and escaped through the crowd.

"A devastating loss and an equally devastating 
beating for Li Ping." Hiroshi moaned.

"Not to mention Satan affirming that he isn't a 
hero anymore." Daisuke reminded his partner.

Hiroshi just burst into tears again.

---

"Ungh." That was about all Li was able to say at 
the moment, as he lay on the bench in his 
dressing room.

"I can't believe that Yaga! He's going to far 
with this." Shingo seethed.

"Yes, I agree, but while he has that contract, 
he's never going to stop." Sakura pointed out.

Akane Tendo, currently her alter-ego of Roxy, 
snorted. "You got THAT right. And I can't think 
of anything that would even make the old fart 
CONSIDER risking his oh-so-precious contract."

Sakura got up. "Well, I've got to go... my match 
is next. Roxy can you...?"

"Yeah, I'll watch him for a while, but I have my 
own match to get ready for later."

"Great! Wish me luck!" And with that, Sakura 
Kasugano left. Shingo waited a moment then 
followed his tag team partner.

Roxy adjusted her eyepatch and leaned back in her 
chair, psyching herself up for her fight later. 

And Li Ping, although hurt, had heard everything. 
And began making his own plans.

---

"Coming up next, we have what should prove to be 
an ULTRAMENDOUS match!"

Daisuke placed his head in his hands, "Yet 
another new word to describe another match. 
Hiroshi, get a thesaurus..."

"Work with m..." Hiroshi stopped at the glare 
Daisuke gave him. Daisuke had been working on 
that glare. It was enough to even get some omega 
level competitors to pause. (Okay, only Dan, 
really, but still...) "uh... Anyway, the Shotokan 
School Girl Sakura Kasugano faces off against the 
Master of Hidden Weapons Mousse!"

"Since this is NOT a hardcore match, Mousse will 
have to limit himself to blunted weapons. 
Regardless, it has been a while since either of 
these two have fought without their tag team 
partners, so it should be interesting to see how 
they handle it."

---

Sakura Kasugano made her way to the ring with 
determination. She was NOT going to need Shingo's 
help this time. He was only there to stop Tasuki 
from interfering. She was a little self-conscious 
about her chosen attire of the week - a light 
blue karate gi. Unlike her idol, she had not 
ripped off the arms, and she was wearing 
sneakers.

Mousse awaited her in the ring, confident in his 
impending victory. He had a plan, after all.

Tasuki and Shingo waited below, watching each 
other warily.

][ GAMMA MATCH
][ SAKURA KASUGANO VS. MOUSSE
][ FIGHT!

Sakura immediately dodged out of the way of a 
hoard of chains that Mousse threw at her. Calling 
up her own inner energies, she thrust her hands 
forward. "Hadoken!"

Mousse snorted and backtracked to the other end 
of the ring. Taking out a frying pan, he was 
easily able to whack away the pitiful remains of 
Sakura's fireball when it got to him. He replied 
by throwing a hammer attached to string... a 
hammer that nearly took Sakura's head off.

"And the fight starts off as a missile weapon 
contest, and it looks like Mousse has the 
advantage." Hiroshi observed.

Sakura realized this at the same time. She would 
have to get close in to beat Mousse. Leaping and 
spinning, she used her version of the hurricane 
kick to get in close, at the last minute dodging 
an upward slice kick from her opponent.

She heard a ripping sound. Looking down, she saw 
that much of her right pant leg had been ripped 
away... ripped away by the hooks attacked to 
Mousse's shoe! While she was distracted, Mousse 
lashed out again, this time with hooks on strings 
from his fingertips. This time, one of her 
sleeves was shredded.

"Hey, ref! He's using edged weapons!" Shingo 
yelled at the referee.

The individual in question turned to Shingo and 
said, "What, I didn't see anything." Shingo only 
then noticed the glasses the official wore, 
glasses that looked every bit as thick - and 
ineffective - as those that Mousse himself once 
wore.

Meanwhile, in the ring, Sakura was trying like 
mad to dodge Mousse's attacks, and losing more 
covering in the process.

"We've... seen this before, haven't we, Daisuke?" 
Hiroshi asked, unable to take his eyes away from 
what was happening... and hoping that Rei didn't 
notice that fact back home.

Daisuke was also finding it hard to look away. 
"Not in Ultra, but yes. Mousse did this to Ranma 
once. It's one of the ways he uses to try and 
completely humiliate an opponent, by stripping 
them completely bare." Daisuke thought about that 
a moment. "I hope the effects booth is ready to 
implement censoring at a moments notice..."

---

High above the ring, Mary watched from what was 
normally referred to as the 'Nosebleed' section. 
After all, she didn't need to be at ringside... 
she got the view just as good where she was.

Perk of being the All Mighty.

She didn't like the way the match was going, 
however. Mousse was a petty and spiteful person, 
chalk full of obsessions. Sakura was a good 
person with a drive to excel and a caring heart. 
She didn't deserve to be humiliated in the way 
she was.

She decided that THIS would be what she would 
change... but what could she do? If she did 
something obvious, like smiting Mousse, then 
everyone would know something was up. Not to 
mention that her mother Washuu and miss Lina 
would be upset. Sephiroth would only be upset 
that she hadn't asked him to do it for her.

She studied the fighters for a moment, and the 
realized something.

Sakura was holding back. She was holding back a 
lot of power and ability. And she didn't even 
seem to realize that she was doing it.

Mary grinned. This would be easy to fix. Just a 
little nudge, and Sakura would be able to beat 
Mousse without a problem.

---

The only thing protecting Sakura's modesty at 
this point was her sports bra and the remains of 
her pants... now small enough to qualify as gym 
shorts. This had to be, without a doubt, the most 
humiliating fight she had ever been in, bar none.

Mousse wondered momentarily if he should give the 
audience a REAL show... but then decided that 
doing so would get him in trouble with Nabiki, 
and with the show still having cash flow 
problems, those that annoy the boss quickly lose 
their jobs. Better to just end it now, and leave 
the girl with the knowledge that he could have 
left her naked in the ring.

With a cry of, "The last blow! Fist of the White 
Swan!" Mousse rushed in, swinging the special 
training potty he used just for this attack. 
Sakura, prepared to dodge more hooks, was 
startled, and hit hard by the silly attack.

Sakura lay on the ground, dazed. Absently, she 
heard Shingo trying to reach her, only having to 
go through Tasuki first. She heard the referee 
administering the ten count. She heard Mousse, 
chuckling evilly.

And then she felt something click in her mind.

And then all

She 

Saw

Was

RED!!

---

Within the ultradome, Ken Masters felt a 
strangeness around him, and knew something 
terrible had happened.

---

In an unassuming apartment in Tokyo, a man was 
having tea with his sister. Normally, he wouldn't 
have missed an episode of ultra for the world... 
but she had compelling blackm... er... reasons 
for him to do so.

He turned at a strange feeling, and then his tea 
cup shattered in his hand, spilling hot tea all 
over him. "AH! HOT, HOT!!"

"I'll get some towels, big brother. Honestly, how 
can you be so clumsy?"

Dan Hibiki ignored his little sister, and the 
pain. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

---

And in a forest outside Tokyo, two men stopped 
sparring. Well, more of, one stopped sparring, 
and the other got in a very good shot because of 
it.

"Are you okay, Ryu?" Ranma Saotome asked.

Ryu just shook his head, and stared in the 
direction of Tokyo... and the Ultradome. 
Something that should be impossible had happened.

May whatever gods were left help them, how had 
SHE learned THAT technique?!

---

Sakura stood over Mousse, his bruised and broken 
form trying to crawl away from her. The referee 
calmly counting him out.

He was the only calm one. For the second time in 
one night, something had rendered the Ultradome 
almost absolutely silent.

Sakura looked around. How had this happened? One 
moment, dazed on the ground, the next, she won? 
And everyone was afraid. She looked at Shingo and 
Tasuki... even they had stopped fighting, and 
seemed afraid. Of her. Why?

Then she heard it. A single voice, from someone 
who almost couldn't be silenced. Had the crowd 
not been so quite, she might have missed it, but 
as it was... 

"Raging Demon."

No. She couldn't have. She forgot about it! She 
FORCED herself! She couldn't have...

The bell rang, and Sakura ran. She needed to get 
away, to get away from their stares, their 
whispers. From Mousse's trashed body. From 
Shingo's fearful gaze...

The referee didn't even notice Sakura's departure 
to the back as he declared her the winner.

Daisuke finally found his voice. "Go to 
commercial. Go to commercial already!!"

---

Sakura was curled into a fetal position as she 
sat in her dressing room.

How could she! Not that technique!

She held herself tighter. Memories assaulted her. 
Memories of absolute hatred that had taken her 
body away from her when chibi-Akuma had possessed 
her. Memories of the unending rage at all life 
that had controlled her at the behest of the 
Orochi.

The first had left it, as a 'gift,' for the use 
of her body. The ultimate technique of Shotokan 
Karate. Sealing that technique had not been hard 
then, she hadn't had the power to use it then. 
But then the Orochi had possessed her, giving her 
speed and strength and power beyond what she had. 
But when she had been freed, and the Orochi 
defeated... it hadn't all gone away.

Keeping the deadly technique sealed had been 
difficult then. Even more after Akuma, the true 
master of the technique, was destroyed.

Now, she and Ryu were the only two people left 
with the knowledge.

And she had let it out. No outside force took 
control of her to do so. She had weakened and 
used it. The Shun Goku Satsu. 

The Instant Hell Murder.

The Raging Demon.

What was she to do now?

---

It was wrong! All wrong!

This wasn't what she wanted to happen!

Why hadn't it worked out right?

Mary faded away from the Ultradome.

What was she going to do now?

---

In the main office, two other people were also 
shocked. "Oh god, just what we need. Sakura, one 
of our most popular fighters, just went psycho on 
us..." Nabiki moaned.

"Don't worry." Taro replied. "Look, I'll go check 
on Mousse and Sakura. You just wait here, I'll be 
back when I get word."

Nabiki, her head in her hands, nodded.

Taro smirked and left. He hadn't really lied... 
he would get word on what was going on with both. 
But, knowing how things worked in the 'dome, he 
knew that no information would be available from 
the doctors until sometime after the next match. 
Nor was it likely that anyone would be able to 
get anything out of Sakura until then either.

How very convenient.

---

Meanwhile, another figure was feeling the 
beginnings of his own headache. He should have 
known things wouldn't be simple.

Lei Wulong had seen the entire match, and figured 
he would get the call from HQ by tomorrow at the 
latest.

Sakura had just demonstrated that she could 
perform one of the most deadly attacks in the 
world, as well as having shown that she might not 
be in entire control of herself. He didn't think 
she had done it, since it would be very hard for 
the young girl to get from school, to where Cage 
died, defeat him, and get back to where she met 
her friends an hour later - the next point where 
he could confirm her whereabouts. But that 
wouldn't matter.

Lei's superiors wanted the Cage case closed. They 
weren't particularly concerned that they get 
justice, just closure. To make the public feel 
comfortable in their homes again.

Things had gotten tricky. If Lei couldn't either 
come up with conclusive proof of the real killer, 
or at least proof that completely cleared Sakura 
of the crime, then they would go around him and 
offer the girl up anyway.

---

Things were still unusually somber when Ultra 
came back on the air. After all, when one 
witnesses the surprising reappearance of what is 
perhaps the world's deadliest and most infamous 
martial arts technique, it tends to kill (no pun 
intended) a partying mood.

But some people are always willing to try.

"Welcome back, folks! Well, we... definitely had 
a shock as Sakura Kasugano gets a decisive win 
over Mousse. And our next match of the evening 
should be just as exciting!" Hiroshi said, trying 
to get back in the mood.

"Although, hopefully without such a... surprise." 
Daisuke mumbled.

"Ahem, er, yes. Up next we take you to Generic 
Planetoid #296, somewhere out in the galaxy, for 
a showdown of, well, ULTRA proportions! The 
Dragon-Spooker, Lina Inverse takes on the Giant 
of Light, Ultraman!"

THAT got the crowds attention. And suddenly, the 
shock was gone, replaced with normal Ultradome 
exuberance.

"The world they are fighting on DOES have a 
breathable atmosphere, but no sentient life to 
pollute it. So Ultraman should be able to last 
significantly longer there before powering down 
than he would here on Earth." Daisuke pointed 
out.

"Which means we are in for one excellent fight! 
Let's get to it!"

---

Krillin was already waiting when Lina and 
Ultraman (in human size) appeared. "Okay, you 
both know the rules. Destruction of the world or 
outside interference are grounds for 
disqualification. Ready? Begin!" Krillin then 
flew off a ways to be sure he was out of range.

Ultraman fell into a combat stance and tensed. He 
knew better that to shift to his giant form at 
the moment... all that would do would be make him 
an easier target for Lina's more powerful magic. 
But if he could get in close, he was confident he 
could triumph.

Lina brought her hands together. She had a plan, 
but it was risky, and she'd need to stay away 
from Ultraman if it had a chance of working.

][ OMEGA MATCH
][ ULTRAMAN OMEGA VS. LINA INVERSE
][ FIGHT!

Ultraman was ready. As soon as she threw that 
spell, he would be able to dodge it and be on 
her. End of story.

"Dark Mist!"

And a deep black fog covered the area. This was 
not what Ultraman had expected. He immediately 
dashed forward through the fog, but Lina dodged 
away.

Fortunately, Ultraman was a being used to 
traveling in deep space. It took only a moment 
for his eyes to adjust to the dim conditions Lina 
had created. Then he found her, floating away 
through the use of a levitation spell. Crossing 
his arms, his Specium beam fired, and Lina barely 
dodged it. He then rushed in toward her, only to 
have to fall back under a barrage of Flare 
Arrows.

"Amazing!" Hiroshi was, naturally enough, 
excited. "Despite a rather non-violet opening 
from Lina, the action is now going fast and 
furious!"

Daisuke wasn't as impressed. "What action? 
Ultraman is chasing Lina all over, and she's just 
trying to stay away! Ultraman's too small and 
fast for her to use her really damaging spells, 
so unless she can outlast Ultraman, she's going 
to lose."

Indeed, it was pretty much as Daisuke described 
it. For several minutes, Ultraman just chased 
Lina around, while Lina dodged and used flare 
arrows or fireballs to keep Ultraman back when he 
got too close.

Then, something unexpected happened.

The gem in Ultraman's chest began to blink, 
signaling that he was low on energy. Ultraman 
appeared shocked that this happened.

Lina, floating again, smirked as she saw 
Ultraman's confusion. "Surprised? You shouldn't 
be... information about Ultraman is pathetically 
easy to find. And almost all Ultramen have had 
two weaknesses in common: they run out of power 
quickly in Earth's atmosphere, and are unable to 
recharge in darkness." Lina gestured at the fog 
she had created. "I altered this spell to not 
only block out most the light available, but to 
recreate the pollutants that drain you so. End 
result: one out of power Ultraman. So, ya wanna 
give up before you get to the 'Never Rise Again' 
part, or do we continue?"

Ultraman shook his head. He might be running low 
on power, but he wasn't out yet.

Lina grinned. She didn't think he was going to 
give up... he came across as someone who hated to 
run away. Now things were going to get serious.

Ultraman rushed in one last time, and Lina 
prepared a Mega Brand, to explode the ground 
beneath him. Krillin moved in close to be able to 
call the fight.

The shockwave blast caught them all by surprise. 
Lina and Krillin we blasted away, Ultraman driven 
into the ground. Stepping through the fog was 
Shockwave Alberto, carrying what appeared to be a 
remote control. "I, personally," he said, "find 
it pathetic how easy it was to find a way to 
remotely control the portal generator."

He walked over to where Ultraman had fallen. 
"Well, well, well. Here we are." Ultraman tried 
getting to his feet, but Alberto blasted him down 
again. The gem just started flashing faster. "Oh, 
do stay down this time. Things will go so much 
less painfully for you if you just accept it." He 
bent down and examined the flashing gem. "I 
wonder... is this important to you?" He reached 
to grab it.

Absolutely desperate, Ultraman's arms began to 
glow. Alberto backed away to get some room, but 
to no avail. What followed wasn't a beam 
attack... Ultraman seemed to explode with energy, 
knocking Alberto away.

When he got back up, he saw Ultraman dive into a 
portal. Further, he saw both Lina and Krillin 
heading back towards him, both obviously upset. 
That was not a battle he wished to risk. Pressing 
a button oh his controller, another portal 
appeared and he stepped through.

Lina and Krillin arrived a moment too late.

Lina looked at Krillin.

Krillin looked at Lina.

"So," she said, "who wins?"

Krillin fell to the ground.

---

In an little used hallway in the Ultradome, a 
portal appeared, and Ultraman stepped out. Then 
there was a flicker, and Ultraman was replaced 
with Pantyhose Taro. Taking a moment to catch his 
breath, he beat his hand against a wall. "Damn 
that bastard." He said to himself. If he hadn't 
rigged things so that he could open his own 
portal away from the field, he might not have 
gotten away in time... and he for one DIDN'T want 
to see what would happen if he lost all power as 
Ultraman.

Alberto seemed to have fixated himself on 
Ultraman. Taro narrowed his eyes. He would have 
to do something about that...

Taro quickly made his way down the hall. He had 
to visit the clinic, after all.

---

Back at ringside, Hiroshi was still... Hiroshi. 
"Amazing! Folks, if you just joined us, the omega 
match ended in a draw when Shockwave Alberto 
surprised everyone and attacked Ultraman, Lina, 
AND Krillin! We can be sure that this feud 
between Alberto and Ultraman isn't over by a long 
shot!"

Hiroshi paused to take a breath. "And up next, we 
have for you, what promises to be a match to 
remember! A match that is going to be hardcore to 
the extreme! Everything that can be used as a 
weapon, will be! Every dirty trick in the book 
will be used, and then some. Ladies and 
gentlemen, this is the match that we can only 
call the Ultimate Hardcore Match - current 
champion Bulleta B. Hood defends her title 
against the two time former hardcore champion, 
Marlo Semaj!"

Daisuke waited a moment to be sure Hiroshi was 
done before speaking. "Yes, well, I agree with 
you on that. On one hand, there's Bulleta. She's 
only had two matches here, but she quickly found 
her niche in hardcore, literally chasing the 
previous champion Vega throughout the Ultradome. 
She has a cache of weapons that possibly equals 
that on Mousse's, but she prefers a more... 
modern take on her arms. Quite frankly, when 
she's fighting, the average Gamma fighter just 
tries to get out of her gun sights."

"That's absolutely right! But she's not fighting 
an average fighter tonight! She's fighting Marlo 
Semaj! Not only is he one of the only fighters 
who has managed to win the belt more than once, 
he is also known for keeping the belt a long time 
when he does get it. Like him or hate him, no one 
can deny that Marlo IS hardcore."

---

~o/la la la la la/o~

Bulleta was a picture right out of a fairy tale. 
The basket, the red hooded cloak, the pretty face 
and blonde hair. She was even followed by a cute 
little puppy and butterflies danced around her. 
But within her was a darkness black enough that 
it even frightened some of the most powerful 
Darkstalkers of the Makai world. And now that 
darkness had come to Ultra... woe be it to anyone 
foolish enough to become the focus of it.

Then... Marlo came to the ring.

"You know, when I was offered this match, I 
almost turned it down," Marlo began, as he walked 
to the ring. "After all, I'm one half of the 
current Lambda champions! What would I prove by 
taking Hardcore belt again?"

Marlo stopped talking a moment to climb into the 
ring. He didn't set down the mike, though. "But 
then I looked at what had happened to that belt, 
and I realized that I NEEDED to take the belt 
back, just to bring respect back to hardcore! I 
mean, LOOK at the latest holders! First there was 
the fruit with the blood fetish, and then he lost 
it to you..." Marlo finally addressed Bulleta 
directly. "A little girl with pseudo guns, and 
you had him running for his life." Marlo shook 
his head, but missed Bulleta's twitch. "If this 
is the state that hardcore is in, it's a wonder 
anyone cares for the division anymore."

Finally, he turned back to address Bulleta. "So 
why don't you hand that belt over like a good 
little girl and... spare... yourself..." Marlo 
ground to a halt at the sight before him.

Bulleta wasn't glowing, but not from a lack of 
trying. There was a disturbing light in the eye 
Marlo could see - her hood covering her other 
eye. "What. Did. You. Call. Me?"

Marlo couldn't figure out when it had gotten so 
hot. "A li..little girl." And now he was 
stuttering?

Suddenly she was back to her cavity-inducing-
sweet self. "Oh, goody! You can be my _special_ 
friend today!"

Marlo had never really watched many American 
cartoons... or he might have had a clue as to how 
much trouble he was in.

][ HARDCORE TITLE MATCH
][ BULLETA B. HOOD VS. MARLO SEMAJ
][ FIGHT!

"There's the bell, and the fight is..."

KRACK-THOOOM!

"On?" Hiroshi finished weakly. Bulleta was 
launching missile after missile right out - of 
all things - her basket. She had quickly 
destroyed the table Marlo had pulled out, and now 
the Furniture Savior was dodging his opponents 
weaponry. Quickly, despite his earlier bravado, 
he realized that the ring wasn't large enough for 
him to deal with a fight like this, and bolted to 
the back.

"Wait! We haven't even started playing yet!" 
Bulleta called as she chased after him, pulling 
out her uzi.

"And once again, Bulleta starts off with the 
heavy weaponry, and her opponent relies on the 
better part of valor." Daisuke commented dryly.

---

Marlo made a mental note as he dodged around a 
corner, and barely missed being sliced by a 
thrown knife, don't ever call the gun-toting 
psychopath a 'Little Girl.'

He turned a corner, and came to a stop, pulling 
out a dresser from Furniturespace, he waited. 
Moments later, Bulleta came tearing around the 
corner, and caught the dresser right in the face. 
She collapsed.

"Hah! Take that."

"Okie-dokie!" Bulleta replied cheerfully, pushing 
the dresser off of her. She smiled wickedly. 
"Thanks! You're already being MUCH more fun than 
my last friend! Have a drink?" Bulleta asked as 
she pulled a wine bottle out of her basket.

Marlo got a bad feeling, and managed to get out 
of the way as a huge stream of fire erupted from 
the bottle. Then the chase was on again.

---

The running chase that liked to think it was a 
fight made it's way to the Ultradome food court. 
Workers and visitors alike scattered when they 
saw Marlo race into the area, not wanting to 
become collateral damage.

Marlo realized where he was, and a hasty plan 
came to him. He quickly made his way into one of 
the kitchens...

"Come out, come out, where ever you are!" Bulleta 
sang as she got to the food court. She saw one of 
the doors to the kitchen swing, and burst back 
there in seconds.

"EEEEE!" screamed the only occupant of the 
kitchen, a slightly wet blonde girl. Bulleta 
turned to look back outside.

That was when the blonde hit her with a bookcase. 
Then another table. Then a bed. And then, just to 
be complete, a kitchen sink.

Marla panted a bit as she kept an eye on the pile 
of furniture she had buried her opponent under. 
This was the first time she had been glad to have 
her curse. That was when she heard a hissing 
sound, and looked down to see a hissing apple at 
her feet. "Oh, shi..."

BOOOM!!

When Marla got back up from where the explosion 
had blown her, Bulleta was back up too. The red 
cloaked girl stared at Marla for a moment, then 
smiled. "Wow! I didn't know you could do that! 
Now we can play dress up!"

Marla didn't like the sound of that. "Dress up?"

Bulleta nodded, and pulled out a hunting knife. 
"Yep. You'd look great as a mummy!"

"Crap." And Marla ran out the back...

---

"What an AMAZING fight so far folks! So far, both 
have gotten a few good hits in on the other, but 
nothing telling has been done yet." Hiroshi 
yelled.

"Regardless, it looks to me like Bulleta's had 
the upper hand for the entire fight." Daisuke 
observed.

---

The fight had ended up outside, after Bulleta had 
blown open the garage door. Marla was actually 
glad... she finally had enough room to maneuver 
around.

Bulleta was also glad to be outside... it was a 
beautiful evening. Ah, a cool breeze on her face, 
and a smoking gun in her hand... bliss!

There they stood, an almost classic picture of a 
showdown. Marla, holding a sofa at the ready. 
Bulleta, her uzi in her hands. The parking lot 
lights cast an eerie glow to both. Then there was 
motion and explosions. 

The action was fast and furious. Rockets were 
launched, tables were smashed, guns thrown, and 
chairs bent.

But then headlights flashed, and both dodged out 
of the way of an onrushing limousine. They were 
successful, but Bulleta did not dodge the figure 
that leapt of the top of the limo, and managed to 
land a powerful flying kick on her.

Marla re-oriented herself, just in time to 
identify the figure. "@#$% It's Vega!" The 
Spaniard ignored the Jusenkyo-cursed fighter, 
concentrating on Bulleta instead, suplexing her.

"My revenge starts with you, girl." He said to 
Bulleta as she got up. The he snagged her with 
his claw and threw her into the air. Marla (and 
the audience) watched in horror as Vega posed 
with his claw raised up...

And Bulleta fell right on it.

Traces of blood rolled down Vega's claw as he 
turned toward Marla. "And now for you, girl..."

Marla was angry. This fruitcake not only 
interrupted a match and severely hurt her 
opponent, now he was threatening her! "No, pal. 
Now it's time for me to get medieval on you @$$!"

Vega just giggled as he approached Marla. Then he 
stopped. Mostly because he was finding it hard to 
breath with several replica European royal 
thrones on top of him.

Moments later, the emergency medical team came 
and took Bulleta to the clinic, while the 
security guards wondered whether they should 
bother freeing Vega, or just wait for the police 
to arrive and let them do it.

---

The clinic was busy that night. But what amazed 
Taro the most was how relatively minor the damage 
had been. "Your kidding me, right?"

"No, sir," said the kindly, and completely 
forgettable, Ultra ring doctor. "It's amazing, 
but neither were hurt as badly as it seemed. All 
those chains and metal weapons Mousse had with 
him acted as a sort of armor - he'll have one 
large bruise over most his body for a few days, 
but he will be just fine.

"Bulleta's hurt worse, but it's still not as bad 
as it seemed. That cloak of hers is made out of 
kevlar, as was her shirt beneath it. She was 
still cut, and she has a few cracked ribs, but 
the armor she was wearing took most the damage. 
She'll need to take a week or two off, but is 
going to be just fine."

Taro nodded. "Good. We might be able to salvage 
this night, after all."

---

"Well, folks, this evening is almost over, and 
what an incredible and ULTRAOCIOUS evening it has 
been, right Daisuke?"

The commentator in question looked at his friend 
pointedly before replying. "If you say so. 
'Frightening' and 'terrifying' are more of how I 
would call it. Just tonight we've had two 
ambushes, to severe maulings, and more 
psychopaths than we've seen at one time since the 
time Bison reserved every seat in the 'dome!"

"Exactly, Dai!" Daisuke groaned and beat his head 
against the table. Hiroshi ignored this. "And 
we've saved the best for last! The #1 Contender's 
Rumble!"

Daisuke picked up the topic. "If you didn't know, 
this week's rumble will decide one of the 
fighters who will duke it out for the #1 
Contender's spot at UltraRage Theta. Further, the 
winner of THAT fight will get their shot later 
that same night, when he or she takes on Sagat 
for the Gamma championship."

"And, without further ado, bring out the 
fighters! Five of the toughest Gamma has to 
offer... and the fight isn't over until four of 
them are thrown from the ring! Shingo Yabuki! Ash 
Ketchum! Lei Wulong! Haohmaru! And the girl known 
only as Roxy!"

Each fighter made their way to the ring, eyeing 
each other. Once the bell rang, there would be no 
allies, only enemies. Even Haohmaru was unusually 
silent...

][ #1 CONTENDER'S RUMBLE
][ SHINGO VS. ASH VS. LEI VS. HAOHMARU VS. ROXY!
][ FIGHT!

Ash immediately threw some pokeballs. "Hitmonlee, 
Hitmonchan, I choose you!" He silently wished his 
Steelix wasn't still miniature sized... he was 
told it was getting better, but that it would 
take a while before it was once again full sized. 
He also pulled out a steel bat, to defend 
himself. "Hitmonlee, take out the cop! 
Hitmonchan, protect me!" he cried, as he saw 
Shingo approach.

Meanwhile, Haohmaru advanced on Roxy. "AH, THE 
ONE WHO SO HUMILIATED THE GREAT YAGA. NOW, I 
SHALL RETURN THE FAVOR, AND YOU SHALL FACE A 
HUMILIATING DEFEAT NOW!" And he sliced down with 
his sword...

Only to have it caught in a ninja clap. Roxy 
smiled at him, then tugged and twisted, disarming 
the warrior, and throwing the blade out of the 
ring. Smirking, she turned back to the now-
unarmed Haohmaru. "So now whatcha going to do 
without your sword?" When he punched her in the 
head, she reminded herself that now was NOT the 
time to get cocky.

Meanwhile, Shingo flattened Hitmonchan with his 
'Shingo Kick.' He turned around in time to catch 
Ash's bat upside his head. Dizzily, he tried to 
moved away from the pokemon trainer, only to run 
back into Hitmonchan. One Mega Punch later, and 
Shingo was the first to be eliminated.

"That's one down as Shingo loses his chance at 
the belt for now! Who will be next?" Hiroshi 
asked.

"I'm sure that they weren't able to figure that 
out on their own..." Daisuke mumbled 
sarcastically.

Lei Wulong considered yawning dramatically as he 
danced around the kicking pokemon's attacks. It 
was like fighting a beginner of Tae Kwon Do, who 
only knew a few forms, and just used them over 
and over. Then Hitmonchan got in a good hit, and 
Lei back flipped away, rather then chance dealing 
with both of the powerful fighting-types.

Haohmaru saw Lei coming, and thought he could get 
an easy elimination. He used a leg sweep to knock 
Lei down, and then moved in to pick Lei up. This 
proved to be a critical mistake, as Lei swung up 
from his fallen position, and effectively used 
his whole body to knock Haoumaru up and out of 
the ring.

"And another one is gone! Poor Haohmaru, first 
disarmed, then eliminated."

"Hiroshi, don't even pretend you didn't enjoy 
seeing Haohmaru eliminated."

At the other side of the ring, a comedy act was 
performing. Well, that was what it looked like. 
Ash, Hitmonchan, and Hitmonlee were all attacking 
Roxy. However, Roxy seemed to almost float around 
them, and made it look easy while at it. Finally 
Ash had enough. "Hitmonchan, Comet Punch! 
Hitmonlee, Double Kick!" Ash was certain that 
something would connect if he used both his 
pokemons' fastest attacks.

Seeing both fighting pokemon rushing her, Roxy 
leapt up. The monsters, unable to stop, attacked 
each other. Ash stared a moment at the swirling 
eyes of his unconscious pokemon. Then back up to 
the smirking Roxy. He raised his bat in a futile 
attempt to prevent the inevitable, but Roxy 
grabbed him and rolled back, tossing him from the 
ring.

"It's down to Lei and Roxy, folks! Who is going 
to get the chance to get the chance to fight 
Sagat?"

"Do you ever listen to yourself, Hiroshi?"

Roxy watched Lei for a moment. "You ready?"

Lei took a deep breath... it was down to this. 
And he knew better than to underestimate the 
girl. "Sure thing, lets finish this." He knew, it 
was going to end with the next hit... he began 
swaying back and forth in his drunken stance. 

"Uh oh, Lei is using the drunken style! That form 
is nearly impossible to predict!" Hiroshi 
exclaimed. 

One good stunning blow, and he could eliminate 
her... He suddenly launched forward in a 
thrusting punch... and felt a jolt, as Roxy 
deflected the punch with her right arm. Lei's 
eyes widened as the crowd went wild. Roxy's left 
hand began to glow.

With a cry of "Missile Upper!" Roxy performed a 
vertical leaping uppercut, and Lei Wulong left 
the ring.

Hiroshi was ecstatic. "And with her own version 
of the Dragon Punch, Roxy wins! She will go on to 
face whomever gets chosen next week at UltraRage 
Theta for the chance to take on the Gamma champ 
Sagat!"

"Hiroshi, everyone knows that. We've only said it 
three times now."

"Which is exactly twenty time too few, Daisuke!" 
He then proceeded to try and rectify that 
situation.

Daisuke sighed. He never could understand Hiroshi 
when he got like this. "Well, everybody, that's 
all for this week. Say good night, Hiroshi."

"...to face SAGAT at UltraRage Theta!!"

"...close enough..."

---

'Roxy' rested a moment, before she began tugging 
off her wig. She almost had it off when someone 
knocked. Akane quickly straightened the wig, and 
got back into character. "Yes?"

The door opened, and Shingo and Li Ping entered, 
grabbed her, and left. Needless to say, 'Roxy' 
didn't like that. "You guys have exactly two 
seconds to let go and tell me what is going on 
before I..."

Li Ping and Shingo let go, and the latter 
answered her. "Nobody's seen Sakura since her 
match earlier. We want to check on her... and we 
thought you would want to as well..."

Roxy kept up with the boys, she WAS curious about 
Sakura. She was also surprised. "Sure, I want to 
know, but won't I just get in your way? You've 
been her partner for a long time now, Shingo."

Shingo nodded. "True, but your also the only girl 
fighter near her own age that she ever got to 
really talk to."

"We think she might open up to you, rather than 
us." Li Ping affirmed.

When they got to her dressing room, though, no 
one answered when they knocked. Worried, they 
entered anyway. There they found a short note 
taped to the mirror.

"Need to think. Bye. Sakura." Roxy read out loud.

Needless to say, this did not alleviate any 
worries.

---

Lina was relaxing in her room. Despite her match 
being declared a draw, she was feeling good about 
herself. Then she felt a familiar presence... 
"Hiya, Mary. What's up?" She turned to look at 
the child God, and was shocked to see that she 
had been crying. "What's wrong, Mary?"

"I don't understand, Lina... it should have 
worked, but then everything went wrong!" And Mary 
began to cry again.

Lina knelt down and gave Mary a hug, "Okay, Mary, 
WHAT went wrong?"

Slowly, with many sniffles, Mary explained about 
what happened, and her part in Sakura's match.

Lina sighed. She should have expected this. 
"Mary, this is why you have to be VERY careful 
with your powers. Your powers don't mean you are 
always right. I mean, look at some of the 
previous Gods! Do you think I would have let 
Xellos even get a chance to destroy everything 
had I been able to figure out how to prevent it?

"Another God set up a system purposely designed 
to create chaos and havoc, and then left it to 
run reality! There was a God who got drunk, and 
was tricked into setting up a way that humans 
could initiate their own destruction with that 
whole 'third impact' crap.

"And that's not even mentioning the God that 
decided to put up his divinity as the prize in a 
fighting tournament... and then inviting some of 
the most evil beings he could find to fight in 
it!"

Lina sighed, and stopped lecturing... that 
wouldn't help here. "You see, Mary, you can make 
mistakes with your powers. The problem is, when 
YOU make mistakes, other people have to live with 
the consequences."

Mary wiped her eyes. "But I could fix it. I can 
use my powers to make it so that it never 
happened in the first place! I can..."

"Turn everyone into puppets." Lina said sternly. 
"People were given freewill, Mary. If you reset 
reality every time something happens that you 
don't like, then freewill goes right out the 
window, and then we are nothing more than your 
puppets." Lina looked directly in Mary's eyes. 
"Do you WANT a world of puppets, Mary?"

"no."

"Then you... and Sakura... are just going to have 
to deal with what you did."

"but..."

"There is no 'but' here, Mary! It's done, and all 
you can do is learn from it and move on. That, 
and hope Sakura can too..."

Mary looked like she might start crying again, 
but she nodded, and then disappeared.

Lina hoped she had done the right thing.

---

][ HIROSHI is one LUCKY clone.
][ MR. DUCK has lost his VOICE
][ LI PING does not talk sense into MR. SATAN
][ LEI gets an anonymous TIP, and then finally 
gets a CLUE
][ KEN critiques AKANE'S fighting style.
][ SPIRITS OF NATURE defeat TEAM CLOW
][ SHORAN thinks SAKURA KINOMOTO doesn't GET IT
][ MR. SATAN puts the hurting on LI PING with 
help from THE GREAT YAGA
][ SAKURA gives the audience some FAN SERVICE 
thanks to MOUSSE
][ MARY screws up BIG TIME
][ SAKURA mauls MOUSSE with the RAGING DEMON
][ LEI'S case may get more COMPLICATED as a 
result.
][ LINA shows ULTRAMAN the drawbacks of PUBLICITY
][ ALBERTO interferes, match declared a DRAW
][ TARO decides he needs to do something about 
ALBERTO
][ MARLO learns not to call BULLETA a LITTLE GIRL
][ VEGA shows his DISPLEASURE at being fired by 
assaulting BULLETA
][ MARLO gets MEDIEVAL on VEGA
][ ROXY wins #1 CONTENDER'S RUMBLE
][ SAKURA left the ULTRADOME
][ MARY gets a LIFE LESSON
][ the AUTHOR is EXHAUSTED...

---

and aint THAT the truth!

Well, folks, here it is. A piece of mediocre 
crap, as promised.

This was nowhere near what I WANTED for this 
episode... but at least it's done.

Had I had the opportunity, I would have spent 
twice as long writing this, refining each scene. 
Expanding them past the bare bones version I 
ended up using...

And adding all that missing color commentary. 
(What can I say... it helps me to think of them 
as a separate scene. Thus, I don't write much 
normally.)

Well, before I finish here, I want to express an 
apology to the Impro Group from Hell... I 
complained at them about no communication, when 
it turned out to be MY e-mail that's $%^&*@ up. 
Sorry people.

Jason

And yes, I started this episode that way just 
'cause. ^_~