The first two seconds of the fight:

Marlo and Hiroshi both charged the ring. The former by executing a somewhat graceful jump off of a conveniently placed trampoline; the latter by scrabbling somewhat ungainly onto the apron and struggling through the ropes.

The Furnyture Savior tossed the bookrack at Hiroshi, then quickly pulled a filing cabinet from FurnitureSpace.

"It looks like Marlo's going for the quick win," Daisuke commented. "He's going right for the..."

The bookrack flew at Hiroshi. Anger disappeard from his face, replaced by horror. Horror of an "Oh, my GOD! What have I gotten myself into?" type. The bookrack spun end over end, going straight for Hiroshi's head.

And it exploded a few inches from the frightened announcer's face.

"... jug... u... lar." Daisuke's jaw dropped.

The glowing red hexagonal struction of an AT Field spread out around Hiroshi. The look on his face shifted to astonishment and then horror. His head swivelled to the side, taking in his impromptu defense.

Marlo cocked his head to the side. His eyes narrowed slighly. The corner of his lip rose in a sneer. He slammed the file cabinet against Hiroshi, but it was also stopped by the AT Field. The cabinet crumpled under the force. Marlo dropped it and pulled out a chair: same effect; a table: same effect; a desk, a floorlamp, a sawhorse...

They all crumpled against the pulsing red field. "Ha!" Hiroshi laughed. "Hahaha! I can do this!"

(Cue music from sound booth: the Hallelujah sequence from Handel's Messiah.)

"And it seems," Daisuke found his voice again. "That the challenger is not going down quite as expected."

Marlo pulled out a four poster bed - complete with feather pillows, silk sheets, and a down quilt. "You are going to fall!" He slammed the bed into Hiroshi's AT Field and a contest of wills began.

"It seems the Champion is trying a new tactic, but can he get through something designed to stop Angels?"

Slowly... slowly it seemed that the battle was being won. By Hiroshi. Sweat began to pour down the sides of Marlo's head, lines of concentration worked their way up across his forhead.

Hiroshi's mouth, at first a thin line of anger, spread to a grin that was almost predatory. "I've got you, Marlo," he whispered. "I can do this."

The bed cracked.

"I can do this!" Hiroshi exclaimed. "Daisuke!" he turned towards his partner. "I understand the AT Field!"

Then he noticed he was standing in the middle of an enlarging shadow. Noticed that Marlo wasn't attacking anymore. He looked up. "Uh-o..." Then a 15 foot tall bell slammed down on top of Hiroshi.

Marlo slid down from on top of the bell and gave it a pair of pats. He pulled a simple folding chair out from FurnitureSpace, gave the audience a smile, then slammed the side of the bell for all he was worth.

The resounding peal echoed throughout the arena.

Daisuke stared. "What sort of bell rings when it's on the ground?"

As the echo died out, a crack appeared at the bottom of the bell. With a ripping shriek, it edged its way up the side of the bell.

Marlo laughed. "That was liberating." He hopped off the now damaged ring and sauntered up the ramp. At the entrance he turned towards the audience. "And that is why _I_ am the most important thing in this federation. Yeah, gimme that applause!"

Daisuke cleared his throat. "And the apparent winner, and still Hardcore Champion, Marlo Semaj." He looked up at the damaged bell and ring. His partner was somewhere in that mess. The This Old Dojo crew was making its way towards the center of the arena to fix and clean up.

"Umm... we'll be right back after a short commercial break for the first Omega fight of the evening."

The crowd roared.



"But... bells don't just disappear like that."

"I really don't know what caused it. Master isn't going to be happy with me."

"Ah, well, do the best you can for the ringing, boy."



Cloud Strife walked through the backstage halls of the Ultradome, tripping on cloud nine. Almost literally.

The note was very simple, very direct, but lettered in a fine cursive handwriting that he knew by heart. "Cloud, please meet me outside the cafeteria. I need to talk to you." She NEEDED to talk to him. To HIM. At long last, he was going to be able to be with Aerith again...

Needless to say, Cloud felt very good about life right there and then. He knew, he knew in his heart of hearts that in a just universe, Aerith's life would not be over. Her death was an accident, a terrible accident... and now, with god's blessing, she continued on! Ever since finding out, he'd been eager to meet with her, but never had a chance (since he couldn't exactly walk up to heaven to visit). He never really was able to get in touch with her, but now she'd gotten in touch with him.

He'd almost told Tifa the good news. But... he wasn't sure how Tifa would react. Not just because of her behavior back when they first found out about Aerith, but because.. if what Bean told him was true, then she.. she would...

No, don't think about that now. It's a joyous time and things like that could be handled later. He stopped outside the doors to the cafeteria, and waited. He had come early, of course, to make sure he didn't keep Aerith waiting.

Cloud counted the minutes until their meeting. What would he say? The first time he spoke with her since she... left. He'd have to pick his words. The minutes went by.

More minutes went by.

She was late. He forgave her and kept thinking of what he'd say.

Time continued to tick.

Just when Cloud was beginning to have a doubt, it was erased -- he shifted, moved from where he stood to where he now was, a simple white room, with white windows overlooking a silver city. Heaven. It was breathtaking, but mostly because of who was here.

Aerith finished writing in the file folder she was carrying, and closed it. "Sorry, sorry... there's so much to do here, and I promised myself I would complete this paperwork before we talked."

Cloud cleared his throat. Now. "Aerith, I--"

"Cloud... you need to let me go."

"--what?"

With a pained sigh, Aerith gestured for Cloud to have a seat on a floating cushion. "Cloud... I'm sorry. I should have talked to you about this before, especially with everything Tifa's been going through, but... I'll admit, I've been putting it off. I can't put it off any longer. Cloud, we can't be together again. I was worried this might happen when I appeared in Tokyo-3 for the first time, that you might find out and think that... but we can't. It's over."

"..." was Cloud's less than joyful reply. He added one word to it, which summarized all his feelings at once. "...why?"

"Because the girl you knew as Aerith Gainsborough is dead, Cloud," Aerith spoke, trying to be as comforting, as sympathetic as she could in tone. "She sacrificed her life so that she could save the Planet. It was an important act, Cloud. Because of that, millions were spared from Jenova's wrath. But it was a sacrifice, a final deed to bring closure to... my life. I went into it willingly, and I knew I wouldn't be coming back. It was the right thing to do. And that is where you and I ended. I hoped you could accept it, but... now this has opened the issue again."

"--no, no," Cloud said, almost desperate. He stood, walked over and took Aerith's hands quickly. "You're HERE! You're alive, Aerith! You're still alive, and you're still you, your hands are still..."

But they weren't warm. They weren't cold, either, but they felt like.. nothing. Like he was just holding a thing.

"Cloud, this existence I have now was a gift from Kasumi-sama," Aerith explained. "The only reason I continue on is so I can heal and help others. I'm an angel, Cloud. I have purpose. I am me, I am Aerith, but I'm no longer human and to act like one would be.. selfish of me. I went into this willingly as well. I'm proud to be what I am, and to do what I do for people. I don't have any regrets. But I can't be what you want me to be, not any more. You HAVE to accept that. It's hurting you and it's hurting Tifa..."

The young boy's hands dropped to his sides, in shock. His perfect dream of being returned to Aerith crumbled, little by little... and Aerith knew, and she looked down, not wanting to come eye to eye with Cloud. It had to be done, she told herself, over and over. It had to be done.

"...Cloud, I need to get back to work," Aerith said. "And you need to return to Earth, where you belong. Please, please don't do anything rash. Time heals all wounds, and you have one who cares for you deeply.. don't look away from her. Do you understand?"

"......"

"No goodbyes," Aerith said. "It would be meaningless to give you a goodbye in death when I couldn't in life. I'm sorry. Live your life, Cloud. You can still have many happy years, if you choose to have them."

Cloud shifted, moving to where he was now, standing outside the cafeteria of the Ultradome, the elation of Heaven and all his flights of fancy dashed.

And it still made no sense to him. None of it. Most of her words washed off him like water off Mr. Duck's back. He needed to understand. He needed a friendly ear, someone who could help him. He ran. He ran to find Tifa.



Ranma Saotome performed a complicated throw that slammed Cage face-first into the steel barricade lining the ramp... The heir to Anything-Goes Martial Arts launched a blizzard of punches, all centered on Cage's nose. When Ranma finally eased up, Johnny was still standing; he was stunned, and blood streamed from his obviously broken proboscis, but he was just barely conscious... Cage flew screaming through the air until his progress was halted by the metal turnbuckle.

Mr. Satan stared at the small TV and VCR setup, his face firm as stone. He pressed stop and eject, then popped in the other tape.

Ranma leaped up an inch, then came down, his feet flashing first out, then in, catching her skull between them. He flipped off, and Sofia slumped to the floor for a ten-count.

A single drop of sweat slid down the side of Mr. Satan's head. He had a fight against Ranma, tonight. He had already watched the previous matches and heard the previous speeches. Ranma had not yet spoken, but Mr. Satan had a good idea what the aquatransexual was going to say.

It would involve hurting Mr. Satan.

A lot.

Mr. Satan was a changed man. He was ready for his match. He could fight. He could win. He could even take and hold the championship belt.

Nothing Ranma might say would matter in the slightest for how Mr. Satan would perform in the upcoming fight.

But his stomach did hurt just a slight bit.



Team Rocket was deep in thought.

Now, that's really not saying much. It's right along the lines of "Lina showed off her cleavage." To be fair, though, Lina does have breasts, and Team Rocket does have brains. Thus, after quite a bit of discussion, they'd come to a conclusion.

They were screwed.

It wasn't often that they realized just how high their capacities and attraction for hardship was. Now was one of those times. After trying to capture Blanka and landing themselves in the infirmary for a day while their eyes refocused, their spirits had plummeted. Last week's loss had done little to help that feeling...until Jack had given James a few words of encouragement. Like patting a kicked dog on the head, Jessie and James regained their confidence! They regained their conviction! Most importantly, they regained their style!

Indeed, Team Rocket could do no wrong!

A bright shiny piece of candy to the first person to identify the error in that last statement.

A step out the door after the Matrimony Match, a chance encounter with the manimal who'd landed them in a whole lot of hurtin', and one challenge with Jack as a witness later, they had another match for this week. Only now was just how badly Blanka had beaten them earlier starting to filter into their fuzzy brains. It had been almost laughable how easily he'd trumped their counterattacks; they probably would have indeed been laughing if they'd seen the situation from any perspective but their own.

It was time for a plan. It was time for logic. It was time for some honest, no-holds-barred self analysis. Ten minutes later, Meowth shredded the list that was full of words like handsome, gorgeous, brilliant, master criminals, snappy dressers, and DAMN but we look good.

What *were* they good at, then? Pulling out a piece of paper, Jessie listed what they were good at: lying, cheating, forgery, theft. With a sigh, she crossed that out and changed it to "petty theft."

A laugh caught their attention, and they both turned to see Tifa walking down the corridor with Bean, tugging on one of her fighting gloves. The two fighters were probably going to practice before their match that night, where they'd do great and fight well and not make fools of themselves. The jerks.

Despondency settled over the duo, and they sat with matching chins resting in matching palms. Meanwhile, Meowth stared after the departing fighters, a grin spreading across his feline face. More specifically, he stared at the glove Tifa had just slipped on. "Turn those frowns upside down, because Meowth has an idea."

Jessie perked up. "Really?"

James looked hopefully at Meowth. "What is it?"

Motioning down the corridor, Meowth started strutting towards the exit. "Just sumtin' that's gonna put youse guys back on top. We gotta make a quick stop first, and then we hit da road." The three walked down the hall, made a quick stop in an office, a quicker stop in a wallet, and then left the Ultradome.



The spunky blond slowly pushed open the door to the spacious dark room. "Anou... Washuu? Washuu?" Mihoshi looked around, but (predictably enough for a room with the lights out) could not see the mad scientist anywhere.

"Washuu? Wa-aaagh!" Thump. Crash. "Ow!" Sniffle. Sob.

Somewhere in the shadows behind Mihoshi, someone moved. The miniscule light from the door glinted off the form. Or forms, rather. For individuals spread out around a fifth.

"Mihoshi," the fifth said quietly.

"Ara?" Pause. "KyaaaAAAAH!!!"

A stray, flailing hand whapped down on the board marked "Ultra Portal Controls". A red light came on.



Daisuke tried to smile into the camera. Hiroshi had been taken away on a stretcher. Despite his relatively closeness to Rei, Hiroshi probably did not have a good chance of being cloned again by NERV, Daisuke surmised.

"Welcome back to the show." He shuffled through a few papers, trying to think of how to go on. They hadn't given him a guest announcer. He should be getting double pay if he had to do the show alone. He pondered talking to Jack after the show.

The preponderous silence brought him out of his thoughts. He looked around, and realized that 150,000 pairs of eyes (and about 6 billion others, worldwide) were on HIM.

Daisuke swallowed. "Our, um, next match is... is..." He glanced at the fight card. "Making his debut in Omega is the former champion of Gamma and self proclaimed master of taunting, Dan Hibiki..."

Immediately, the cheer rose. Hundreds of "DAN FAN RIGHT HERE!" signs appeared in the audience.

"And he'll be facing off against Rei Ayanami in EVA-00'." Daisuke looked up, noting that someone had sat down next to him. "Er..." he managed to get out.

"Hello, Daisuke-kun!" Lilith Aensland bounced. "I'm here to announce while Hiro-kun's getting looked at." She pouted. "That wasn't very nice of Marlo, hurting my Hiro-kun. I'm going to have to hurt him even MORE, now!"

"Er... lovely. Have a seat."

"Wai! Hello, everyone!" Lilith blew a few kisses to the crowd, getting raucious cheers from some of the audience members. (The rest were mulling over what Marlo had said.) She sat down and pulled on the second headset. "And this will be especially fun to see that hussy who's trying to steal my Hiro-kun away get a wholloping."

"You don't seriously think that Rei is going to lose this fight. She's against _Dan_Hibiki_."

"Oh, even he wins on occasion."

"He has eleven losses, more than anyone else in Ultra. That's more than any other person has wins."

Lilith waved away his comment. "Oh, Dan will be impressive. That's what Hiro-kun would say, right?"

"Yeah. Impressively stupid."

The ControversialTron flickered to life, showing a lucious forrested landscape. Looking extremely out of place was a ShadowNERV portable EVA Power Generator. EVA-02 stood next to the large piece of machinery, looming far above the treetops.

Daisuke checked his notes. "It seems that the match is being held--"

"Hey! That's the wrong one!"

"Wrong what?"

"The hussy has a big blue one, not a big red one!"

A messenger ran up and passed a sheet of paper to Daisuke. He quickly read over it. "There has been a change. Rei Ayanami is not fighting in the upcoming match. Asuka Langley is."

"Ooooh!" Lilith fumed. "That isn't fair!"



Rei stared up at the monitor in the corridor. Tinny sound emerged from a small speaker in the side. She watched, unblinking, as Lilith bounced to the announcers' table and sat down.

She sat down in Hiroshi's chair.

Briefly, she considered going to the ringside to have her revenge upon the succubus.

"no. i must see how hiroshi is doing." She turned, and made her way to the infirmary.



"After last week's debacle, Asuka, we don't have much faith in you." Asuka Langley watched Gendo Ikari pace on her viewscreen. He seemed so small, yet still so dominating.

Until her eyes traveled to the figure cloaked in the shadows behind him. M. Bison frightened her far more than anyone else she had ever met. She wondered who was in control now. Gendo still seemed in charge but...

"You must be sure to get us a sample of his DNA, Asuka," Ritsuko added. "Lina's was contaminated far too much for us to use by the soil of Bismoll."

"I know!" Asuka said with a huff. "I can do this!"

A portal opened above EVA-02 and a floating camera came out. Gokuu followed it out. "We're a bit high up," he noted, looking around.

"Okay, the same rules follow. Destruction of the world or the universe we're in is a technical foul, um... Where is the other fighter?"

"Ha!" Asuka said, "He's probably just afraid, like Baka-Shinji."

"Remember about your range and time limit, Asuka," Misato said.

"_If_ he shows up, this will be a short fight!."

Gokuu looked around dubiously. "Well, if he doesn't show in 30 seconds, I'm going to..."

Chumbawumba's Tubthumping started playing. Far above Gokuu a portal opened. Stone Cold Dan Hibiki stepped out. "Oosha! I, Taunti..." Then fell like a rock. "YAHOOOOIIIIIIII!!!!"

He forgot his newfound powers WOULD allow flight, or at least flight in the upwards direction, and hit the ground at about three times terminal velocity. A cracked crater appeared, a few trees wavered in an unbalanced manner.

Gokuu landed next to Dan's impact point. "Umm... This might end i..."

"Such a small tap cannot hurt the manly, hard skull of Taunting Godhead Legend Stone Cold Dan Hibiki!" He pointed up at the towering EVA-02. "Your size does not frighten me. You, who would fight the very forces of Good will taste defeat at the hands of myself!"

("Dan seems okay, despite the early hit," Daisuke commented.)

Gokuu shrugged. "Okay. You know the rules. Game on." He flew off to a safe distance.