--Two days ago--

	She had lost again.  Gally sighed.  It seemed to be more of the norm, 
nowadays, for her to lose.  She didn't care.  She didn't, not at all.

	Well, not really.

	Gally sniffed, quickly blinking the tears away from her eyes and glancing 
around in case anyone else might have seen.  She need not have worried, Ifurita 
and Nuku Nuku weren't around.  Only the repair droid was in the room, its ovoid 
form hovering over a set of tools, awaiting her instructions.

	The lab seemed much emptier without Washuu around.  True, it was only one 
more body, and with all the dimensional folds and fractal extensions, area-wise 
Washuu's lab was nearly infinite, but the galactic scientist had a way of making 
it feel full and friendly.

	She made it feel like home.

	A sob jerked itself from Gally's throat.  Dammit!  Why did Mewtwo have to 
do that?  Why did he have to do that, and...

	And make things so much more difficult for her?  Gally did not WANT to be 
in charge.  She just wanted to play around, fight a bit, and have fun.  Almost 
like it was in motorball, but without all the death and the driving sense of 
loss she had had at the time.

	She swallowed and turned her head towards the repair droid.  "Okay, let's 
take the arm off, now."  Obediently, the automaton floated over and protruded a 
screwdriver from an orifice on its side and placed the head in a socket at her 
shoulder.  A soft whir emitted and it pulled a screw out.  She felt sensation 
from the arm flicker.  The droid floated around to a different angle and removed 
a second screw.  The arm flopped down next to her, limp and dangling from a few 
wires.  She reached over and pulled it free, dropping it on a pile with her 
legs.

	Dr. Light's repairs had gotten her moving again, but the old doctor hadn't 
considered how she operated when he did them.  She cursed herself for not 
thinking of that at the time.  Like so many other things she hadn't been 
thinking about.

	Security.  A slow look around told Gally just how large Washuu's lab was 
and just how many places someone could hide.  She used to think that the 
Cybergrrlz were safe there.  But now she realized how many things she had taken 
for granted about her new home.

	If Washuu were around, she could ask about things.  If Washuu were 
around...

	Gally gritted her teeth.  She needed to focus.  She could have beaten Dark 
Schneider, if only she'd focused better.  It wasn't her body that was screwing 
up, it was her mind.  Focus.

	Mewtwo.  That was the goal.  She had to beat Mewtwo and force him to give 
Washuu her mind back.  Everything else could wait.

	"Give me a look inside the shoulder cavity," she said.  The droid hovered 
close, and the camera lens that served as its eye twisted to focus.  On a screen 
above her, a slowly swaying image appeared.  She studied it, carefully.  She 
could have had Ifurita do this for her, but the android was working with Nuku 
Nuku at the moment, and Gally did not want to interrupt them.

	She shook her head slowly as she saw the wire connectors.  "I was afraid 
of this.  It isn't going to work."  She lay her head back and closed her eyes.  
She knew what she had to do, but didn't relish it.  

	But it had to be done.  She could WIN in any body, she was sure of that, 
it would just take focus, determination, skill, and probably a bit of luck.

	No, she couldn't go that route.  Gally had to fight to win, now, and she 
needed every advantage she could gain, short of cheating.  Mewtwo would not be 
an easy opponent.

	For Washuu, she had to do it.  She took a breath and opened her eyes.  
"Okay.  We need to do a transplant."  The repair droid waited; it had not been 
given an instruction.

	"I need a spare body. And Ifurita, she has to be here to do this."  
Gally's jaw tightened.  It was time to get serious.  She had forty-eight hours.

	When that was up, Mewtwo would be hers.

			*	*	*

	Xelloss sighed.  He was watching Cloud go to work on Aerith... again.  It 
wasn't that the boy didn't try, he did, he tried extremely hard, but something 
always seemed lacking from these sessions.

	Pain.

	The Mazoku had to face it.  Cloud Strife was just plain bad at torturing.  
He mused that it must have been all that icky righteousness and sense of justice 
in his all-too-human heart.  He shifted slightly in his chair and continued to 
observe.

	Cloud picked up the kazoo.  A grimace of anticipation crossed Aerith's 
face.  Xelloss amended his earlier thought.  Cloud could indeed cause pain, but 
it just did not last.  It was a pain of just waiting out something obnoxious.  
When Cloud stopped, Aerith would be fine, and her thoughts would be just the 
same.

	Worse, it was annoying to Xelloss.  He had tried to steer Cloud on the 
correct path for educating Aerith.  When that failed, he had tried some slightly 
overt means to keeping the angel in line.  Clearly the danger she posed still 
existed.  He would have to rectify that.

	He gave the boy three minutes before clearing his throat.  Cloud stopped 
playing immediately.

	"Yes, Xelloss?" he inquired.

	"I'm, ah, not sure you're being quite effective enough at this whole..." 
Xelloss gestured vaguely at the entire scene.  "thing.  You need something 
else."  He looked thoughtfully around the room and idly tapped his chin.  
"Variety, I think."

	"Variety?"

	"Yes.  I do believe variety is what you need.  You have many instruments 
at your disposal.  You need not limit yourself to the ones that are... like 
that."

	Cloud looked down at the kazoo.  "Do you think I should try a piano?  We 
could get one in here."

	"Hrm... perhaps you misunderstood me when I said instruments.  What I 
mean, Cloud, is that you need to be more creative."

	"Music is creative."

	"Er, yes it is, but not quite in the same way."  Xelloss stood up and 
stepped next to Cloud.  "You need to express yourself in your work upon Aerith."  
He gave Cloud a slight smile.  "You love her, don't you?"

	"Of course!  I would do anything for Aerith."

	The Mazoku spread his arms wide.  "Then show her that love.  I've heard 
that humans can bond best when torture is involved.  You must find that 
connection with Aerith."  He regarded the angel clinically.  She shied away from 
his gaze, at least as much as the bonds holding her would allow.  "Besides... 
this would just be short-term pain, for her own long-term good."

	"But I might hurt her."

	"Oh, Cloud, that would never do.  It is never the goal of a skilled 
torturer to cause permanent harm to an individual."  Xelloss swept up next to 
Aerith and trailed his fingers under her chin.  She jerked her head away and 
glared at him.  "You see?  She is still defiant.  Such an attitude could hurt 
her far more than you ever would.  You must show her the proper way."

	"But, the pain..."

	Xelloss feigned a sigh.  "Cloud, pain is just a sensation.  Anyone can 
learn to love a sensation.  That is what you must do, teach her to love the 
sensation.  The pain must be an extension of your love for her.  If she 
appreciates and loves you, then she will love the pain."

	Conflicting emotions crossed Cloud's face.  "Bu...  How?"

	"So glad you asked!"  Xelloss turned towards Aerith and frowned for a 
moment.  "Torture is like the fine art of making love to a woman.  To be 
effective, you do not need pure force.  Any old brute can hit someone and cause 
pain, but there's so many messy side effects.

	"You need to use a stroke instead of a strike.  You need to be precise, 
skillful... and you need variety."

	Cloud narrowed his eyes.  "Show me."

	"Hmm..."  Xelloss looked over one of the many tables containing implements 
of torture (or non-torture, as Cloud's kazoo had been) and made a play at 
choosing one of them, waggling his fingers over many before finally settling on 
one.  A small dentist's hook.

	He stepped back to Aerith and slid his finger, instrument held along the 
back of it, under her collarbone.  Xelloss twisted his hand just slightly.

	Aerith screamed.

	Cloud jerked forward, his hand flying for his sword.  His other hand 
grabbed Xelloss and slammed him against a wall.  "She screamed.  You hurt her."

	Xelloss sweatdropped, waving his hands defensively.  "Cloud, that's just 
her reaction to the sensation, it's quite normal.  Aerith is fine, look.  She's 
not even bleeding."

	Cloud turned his head, and scrutinized Aerith's form.  Other than her 
heavy breathing and a layer of sweat on her face, she did seem fine.  "What did 
you do?" he asked, releasing the Mazoku.

	"Watch... more closely this time."  Xelloss stepped next to the angel 
again and traced his fingers along her arm.  He twisted his hand, and she 
screamed again.  He looked at Cloud.  "Do you see?  You must stroke, caress, and 
massage the pain into her."

	"Show me again."

	"Oh, no, Cloud.  That will not do.  While I adore Aerith like a dear and 
wonderful part of our family, I'm afraid I just don't love her.  YOU must 
express your love, I cannot do it for you.  I'll demonstrate once more."  
Xelloss did, and she screamed a third time.

	"Now..."  The Mazoku held out the instrument to the Devil. "You give it a 
try."

			*	*	*

	Daisuke froze.  The hair on the back of his neck stood up at the sound of 
that melodious voice.  Please, he thought, please, anyone but her.  He realized 
that the UltraDome was not safe.  Home wasn't safe.  He had crashed at Jack's 
apartment for the past week, and despite the willing host that Jack 
(surprisingly) was, Daisuke had come through the week slightly the worse for 
wear.

	For the first time in months, he wasn't wearing a tuxedo for Ultra night. 
It felt strange, almost like he was naked. He did not want to be naked right 
now.

	"Daisuke..." she called out again.

	Cold sweat broke out on his brow as he turned slowly around.  "Shermie!" 
he said, his voice cracking high.  "So nice to see you."  He planted a grin on 
his face and tried to keep his eyes focused on her...

	No, not that part, anything but focusing on those.

	"Hello, Daisuke," she cooed, stepping out of the shadows.  Her arms were 
crossed, one finger tapping a slow beat against her elbow.  Her shoulders were 
held slightly forward in a way that accentuated her...

	"What do you want?"  Daisuke shut his eyes and turned away.

	"Daisuke, I'm worried.  You've been avoiding me."

	"Ah, yeah, well that's because you're a psycho bitch and you'll tear off 
strips of my flesh for dinner, right?" Daisuke did not ask her.  "Ah, yeah, ah, 
er, um..." he stuttered instead.

	She waltzed over to him.  "Why don't you come with me?"  She held her 
fingers a hairs-breadth away from his lips.  He could smell the fragrance rising 
from them; sweet, but with a slight bite.

	"I, ah, really don't think that's a good idea, Shermie."

	"Oh, why?" she pouted.  "Don't you..."  She placed her hand on his chest 
and gently pushed him against the wall.  "care about me?"

	Daisuke swallowed as she leaned her head close.  He could almost see her 
eyes.  He thought they would be big and wide and innocent...  No, wait, not 
innocent.  Never that for Shermie.

	"I've tried so hard to get close to you, but you always run away.  How can 
I torture you if you're never around?"  Her voice cracked.  She sniffed.

	"See, ah, that's the thing.  I'm not really that fond of being tortured.  
Y'know... the less blood that comes out of my body, the better."

	"Oh, men are always like that at first.  But they also all grow to love 
it, in time."  She pressed a nail--a very sharp nail--against the side of his 
neck, then slid it down to the nook of his collarbone.  "You would grow to love 
it," she breathed into his ear.

	Daisuke screamed.  Not anything intelligible, just a naked scream of fear.  
He jerked away from her and slammed into a table.  Wincing and holding his side 
with one arm, he held the other out to hold her off.  "Now, just stay right 
there," he panted.  "I really don't think you understand this whole thing.  
There is nothing between us.  I don't want to be with you.  I don't want to be 
tortured.  I just want to be left alone."

	For a moment, Shermie stared at him, then she started giggling.  An almost 
girlish-vibratto, undulating and full of innocence.  "Oh, you are so cute when 
you're scared."  She took a step towards him.  "Let's play some more, Daisuke.  
I like it when you run."  A grin crossed her face.  Daisuke imagined it as the 
sort of grin a wolf gets when it spies the prize doe.  "I can keep finding you," 
she continued, "Just like last week.  Didn't you think that so sweet, me waiting 
for you?  I had to really rush while following Miss Tendou's instructions to get 
there after the show..."

	All thoughts of fear left Daisuke's mind.  Nabiki?  he thought, Why was 
she telling Shermie where he lived?  "Shermie," he interrupted, "Why did Nabiki 
tell you where I lived?"

	She stopped and smiled, a blush rising in her cheeks.  "Well...  I'm not 
supposed to tell you, but..."  She paused, tapping her index fingers together.  
"But, because you asked, I found out some information for her about an Omega 
person."

	"Info?  On who?"

	Shermie waved her hand.  "Oh, I don't remember.  Some girl.  She lost last 
week."

	Gally, Daisuke thought, Nabiki had Shermie find out info on Gally, and 
then she lost to Darshu.  It was too perfect for him to ignore.

	He grabbed Shermie's hand.  "Thank you, Shermie, you've been a wonderful 
help, but I really have to go, now.  'Bye!"  Mind whirling at the implications, 
he turned and ran off in search of Jack.

	"G'bye, Daisuke-kun!  Don't keep me waiting!  Girls don't like that, you 
know!"

			*	*	*

	Nabiki smiled when he entered her office.  "Schneider-baby, so glad you 
could make it.  Have a seat."

	He took the proffered chair.  In the couch off in the corner, Morrigan 
affected a bored look and buffed her nails.  Nabiki and Darshu stared at each 
other for a long moment before he broke the silence.  "What do you want... Ms. 
Tendou.  I thought I was going to get this week off."

	"Yes, well," she shrugged, "I had to change plans just slightly."

	"Great, so why didn't you tell me before?  I was packed and ready to leave 
when you called me."

	"Oh, did I inconvenience you, Schneider-baby?  I'm sorry."

	He gritted his teeth and started to get up.  Tarou moved from his spot 
next to the door to behind Darshu and placed a hand on the Omega fighter's 
shoulder.  "I don't think you want to do that," the Chinese man said.

	Darshu sat back down and shrugged off the hand.  "Don't tempt me, boy," he 
growled.

	Nabiki leaned back and interlaced her fingers under her chin.  "It's very 
simple, Schneider-baby, you need to pull your weight more around here."

	"More?" he barked, "I've just fought for three weeks in a row.  Are you 
trying to kill me here?"

	"Schneider-baby, look at the situation.  You don't really have anything to 
show for all these fights.  You've beat up against Dan and a pair of robot-girls 
who are hardly worth remembering.  And I gave you help for those."

	"You want me to win, remember?  I'm your precious entry into Omega."

	She waved his declaration away.  "I could always find someone else, you 
know.  If you want to be part of my organization, you're going to have to show 
something for it.  Like Morrigan..." Nabiki gestured towards the Succubus.  
"she's fighting tonight..."

	"After a week off," Darshu mumbled.

	Nabiki ignored the comment.  "And she is a champion."  She sighed.  "You 
had a chance, Schneider-baby, but you gave it up."

	"Hey, I proved I'm BETTER than a champion!"

	She spread her arms and arched an eyebrow.  "Are you?  Can you honestly 
say that?  Naga DID win the fight, and that, I believe, is what counts.  Can you 
say you can really beat her?  Decisively, this time?"

	Darshu frowned.  "You're having me fight her again?"

	"Precisely," Nabiki said with a smile.  "You get to fight in our anchor 
match of the night, against Naga, for that Omega belt."

	"Fine," he started to get up, "But I better get next week off.  This is 
tiring."

	"Oh, is one little fight a week too much for you, Schneider-baby?  I 
thought you were this all-powerful demon-god or something."

	He blinked.  "No, that's not me."  A strange frown came across his face.  
"I thought your research was better than that."

	Nabiki ignored the accusation.  "Fine."  The smile dropped from her face.  
"Just don't lose, or you can find yourself some new help."

	"I beat her once, I'll do it again."

	"Good, that's all settled, then."  She clapped her hands and stood up.  
Darshu got up and turned to leave.  "Oh, yes, one last thing.  Tarou?"

	"Right, Ms. Tendou."  Tarou picked up a package and handed it to Darshu.  
It sloshed.

	"What's this?" Darshu asked, cocking his head at Nabiki.

	"Just another bit of help," Nabiki said.  "You know how to use it, I'm 
sure.  Remember, don't lose."

			*	*	*

	"Jack!  I got something that I have to tell you!"

	Controversial Jack, former God, head booker for Ultra, and agent of the 
apocalypse looked up from his copy of 'HTML For Dummies.' Mr. Duck sat on his 
shoulder, a pair of duck-sized glasses perched on his rubber bill.  "Daisuke, 
calm down.  You're as excited as that buddy of yours, Heero Yui."

	Daisuke gasped for breath.  He leaned over, resting his hands on his 
knees.  His normally well applied makeup had started peeling along his hairline, 
showing a band of his almost albino skin.  "Hiroshi," he corrected between 
pants.  "But that's not important.  Nabiki's been cheating!"

	Jack looked at him like he'd just said, "Butter should be spread on 
bread."

	Mr. Duck squeaked.

	"Evocatively said, Mr. Duck.  I think Daisuke needs the night off, too."  
Jack patted the boy on his shoulder.  "You're flustered, Dai, go home and rest a 
bit."  He reached into his pocket and jangled through loose change to get at his 
keys.

	"Listen to me!  She's been helping Dark Schneider win!  She got Shermie to 
find out some info on Gally so he knew where to attack her last week!"

	For a moment, Jack just stared at Daisuke, his only movement was a few 
blinks of his eyes.  Then, slowly, slowly, he reached up and held the bathtoy 
sitting on his shoulder.

	*SQUEAK*

	"Exactly right, Mr. Duck.  Are we going to stand for this sort of behavior 
from her?  NO!"  Jack stood up and started pacing in front of Daisuke.  "Just 
because she stole everything that I had and turned it into a sick parody of a 
good, clean entertaining show simply for the purpose of making money doesn't 
give her the right to start stomping on ideals.  Good, strong, American ideals 
like McCarthyism!"

	Daisuke sweatdropped.  He opened his mouth to say something, but Jack 
continued full tilt.

	"Why, when I started this whole business, I wanted it to stand for 
something, and NOW look at what she's doing.  Cheating to promote her own 
fighters.  Why, I've almost got a mind to go right up to that posh, overpriced 
office of hers and tell her just what I think of her little regime."  Jack 
turned and started towards the nearest stairs.

	Daisuke facepalmed, then quickly reached out and grabbed Jack's shoulder.  
"Jack, you didn't didn't start this federation.  That was Kasumi.  And, really, 
do you want to go up there while Tarou's around?  Let's sit down and talk for a 
moment."

	"Who died and made you leader?"

	"We're partners, remember?"

	*SQUEAK*

	"Are you against me, too, Mr. Duck?"

	"We've got to come up with a better gameplan, Jack," Daisuke sighed.  
"This whole practical joke and having a couple of fighters isn't going to cut 
it."

	"Hey," Jack waved a finger, "Nobody does a practical joke like I do."

	"Right... and nobody finds them and cleans them up like Nabiki does.  We 
need something stronger.  We know that Nabiki's cheating for Darshu, right?  All 
we have to do is prove it and expose her."

	For once, Jack was silent.

	"And," Daisuke added, "We need some more clout for our fighters.  I still 
think that--"

	"No," Jack said.

	"Don't be like that, Jack, it's for our own good."

	"No."

	"If you'd just consider i--"

	"No," Jack interrupted again.

	"C'mon, I'm part of this, too, and I say that we--"

	"No!"

	"Then who do you have in mind?  They're the only one's we can--"

	"I said 'No!' and I mean it.  I'm not asking those two idiots for 
anything.  Period."

	*SQUEAK*

	"I think," Daisuke said quickly, "That Mr. Duck agrees with me."

	"What?"

	*SQUEAK*

	"See?"  A smug smile crossed the clone's face.

	"Mr. Duck!  Again you betray me?  Am I surrounded by enemies?"

	"Think about it, Jack.  They're already champions, so you don't even need 
to push that.  They've been oddly effective recently."

	"Right.  Effective."  Jack took a long look at the white-washed walls 
around them.  "Knowing our luck, how long will that last?  And how are you 
goinig to get them to join us?"

	"I think that's your job, not mine.  You could offer them protection.  I 
think, between Shingo and Sakura, that we can provide that."

	"Why can't we just ask that mallet girl?" Jack whined.

	"Akane?  Do we really need a third Gamma fighter?  She's a friend and 
all..."  Daisuke trailed off.  He shook his head.  "We need variety.  We need 
Team Rocket."

	"Right.  You talk to them."

	"Me?  Why me?"

	Jack smiled.  "Because I'm going to be busy otherwise, tonight.  Biki's 
cheating her way to victory.  I've got to start some counter-programming on 
site."

			*	*	*

	Up.  Down.  Catch.  Up.  Down.  Catch.

	Ash Ketchum snatched the sparkling item from its freefall, running his 
fingers over the smooth surface.  Behind him, Misty looked up curiously from the 
VCR.  "What's that, Ash?"  He turned and showed the small piece of blue jewelry 
to her; she half-smiled in recognition.  "Why're you looking at that now?"

	The Cascade Badge gleamed under the hard fluorescents of the pair's 
dressing room as Ash turned it back and forth, seemingly lost in its movements.  
Putting that one away, he instead took out the Thunder Badge, trailing his 
finger over the sharp lines.  Finally he spoke.  "I'm the best, right?  I have 
all the badges.  I'm... I'm the best, right, Misty?"

	She slowly replied, "You worked hard for all of the badges, Ash.  And you 
won them."

	"I... yeah.  Yeah, Misty.  I know that, I know... but then why have we 
been stuck back in this room for the past two months?  I was one of the first 
people here, and they're just ignoring me!"  He sighed, then brightened.  "It'll 
all be okay after tonight, though!  We're finally getting our shot, we're 
finally getting what we deserve!"

	"That's the spirit, Ash!"  Misty smiled at him.  "We'll show all of them 
what great trainers we are, right?"

	"Right!"

	"Right!"

	"Pika!"

	The two kids turned, wide-eyed, to see the newcomer waiting in their 
doorway.  Ash grinned madly and swept up Pikachu.  "Heeeey!  This is great, 
Pikachu!  You came back!  Gonna cheer us on when we win the championship, huh?"

	"Pika, pi chu chu..." the electric mouse explained.

	Ash frowned slightly and knelt, setting Pikachu back on the ground.  "You 
didn't come to watch us?"

	Pikachu shook his head, and waved one paw fiercely.  "Piiii.... kachu!"

	"What, you're better friends with Blanka than me?"  Ash glanced over to 
one side, avoiding Pikachu's gaze.  "Don't you want to come back?"

	"Chu... pika...." Pikachu slowly said, putting one paw on Ash's knee and 
patting it gently.  "Pika.  Pichu."  It then proceeded to rattle off a string of 
chirping noises, just as it had when Ash had been its partner. 

	Only, Ash hadn't been Pikachu's partner for a very long time.  The pre-
teen stared, not understanding, as Pikachu talked, unable to pick up on anything 
but the fact that Pikachu apparently wouldn't leave Blanka for him.  "I thought 
I was your best friend, Pikachu!"

	"Chuuu..."

	"Well, fine!  I've been doing okay without you for a long time now, and if 
Blanka is your best friend now, then you should be his partner, right?"

	"PICHU!" Pikachu squealed, hitting Ash's knee and looking rather 
frustrated. "Chu, pii.... KA!"  Shaking its head, Pikachu ran off, flashing one 
last look back at Ash before it left.

	A silence hung over the dressing room for a long moment; Misty finally 
broke it.  "Maybe Pikachu just doesn't want to abandon Blanka, Ash.  I know I'd 
feel bad if I was him."

	Ash stared back at her.  "Then he just should've said so."

	Misty sighed.

			*	*	*

	"I want my fight."

	Nabiki Tendou, owner and head booker for Ultra, looked up from her nails.  
"Hmm?  Did you say something?"

	Gally rested her hands on Nabiki's desk, and leaned foward.  The desk 
creaked just slightly as the cyborg stared.  Tarou took a step from his position 
beside the door.  "Watch it, Tarou," Gally said without turning. "You don't want 
me pissed at you."

	Tarou snorted.  "What makes you think you could do anything to me?"

	"Relax," she said, turning her head towards him, "I'm not going to hurt 
your boss."  A small giggle, almost girlish, emerged from Gally's throat.  "I 
wouldn't want you to be lost, having no hoops to jump through."  She heard Tarou 
growl, but turned her attention back towards Nabiki.  "I said I want my fight.  
Against Mewtwo."

	"Oh?  Already?  I had thought you would have wanted to rest up a bit after 
your crushing defeat last week."

	"I'm ready, and I want my fight.  Tonight."  Gally stood back and smirked.  
"You owe it to me."

	"Do I?"  Nabiki blinked innocently.  "What makes you say that?"

	"You said I could fight him after I faced someone else."

	"Yes... so I did?  I also said you had to give a better showing for 
yourself."

	"Which I did!  I almost had him, it was just those damn weapons that kept 
getting in my way."

	Nabiki arched an eyebrow.  After a pause, the Battle Angel continued, "It 
doesn't matter.  I still fought better than I did against B-Ko or Mewtwo."

	A short laugh escaped Nabiki's lips.  "Oh, I'm afraid that you're wrong 
there, Gally.  See, I did not see anything impressive about your battle last 
week.  Mr.  Schneider had you on the edge from the beginning, and you never 
managed to gain any advantages."

	Gally opened her mouth to argue, then clicked it shut.  Her eyes narrowed.  
There was something else up here.

	"What I meant was that you must get a win," Nabiki continued, "Until you 
prove that you can do that, I'm afraid I cannot see the reason to grant any 
request for you."  An almost imperceptible shrug crossed her shoulders.  "In 
fact, I can barely see the reason to keep you around here.  You or your loser 
cohorts.  Oh, you sound great and wonderful with your name 'CyberGrrlz'..."  
Nabiki paused, her eyes mocking Gally.  "But really, all three of you are dead 
weight here.  Without Washuu, you don't have a proven success record among you.  
You can't win anymore, that idiot cat will never win, and..."  Her forehead 
creased.  "What was the name of that other one, again?  Silver-haired girl, very 
quiet."

	"Ifurita," Gally said through gritted teeth.

	"Yes, her."  Nabiki's grin turned predatory.  "When was the last time she 
even fought?  Much less won."

	Gally remained silent in reply, teeth still pressed firmly together.

	Nabiki clapped.  "But I CAN be a forgiving owner.  Not like Jack.  He was 
the devil, you know?  So, here's what you--all three of you--are going to do.  
You are going to start making a strong showing for yourself, or you shall find 
yourself out the door.  Is that clear?"

	"What about my fight?"

	"Oh, don't be naive.  I'm not going to give you anything until you give me 
something.  I'll give you a fight, however."  Nabiki tapped her computer screen 
with the eraser-end of a pencil.  "Hmm...  It seems that Sephiroth is free, 
tonight."

	Gally blinked.  She felt Tarou's hand on her shoulder.  "Okay, you've 
taken up enough of Miss Tendou's time.  You got a fight, now get out of here."

	"Oh, and Gally!" Nabiki called.  "Good luck.  You WILL need it."

			*	*	*

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

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

        Episode #45: Lots of People Hurting Each Other
        This Episode Written By:         Damien Roc
	Additional Material Provided By: Kristen Smirnov
					 Brian Stricklin
                                         Anonymous
					 and Twoflower
        MTCFF Ultra created by Twoflower

			*	*	*

	Hiroshi had a secret.  Nothing majorly important, mind, but still a 
secret.  It was the sort of secret no one would really consider a secret, but it 
helped him immensely and probably helped him keep a (somewhat tenuous) hold on 
sanity.  Maybe, just maybe, it saved his life even his life.

	Week after week, month after month, he was there behind that table and the 
UltraDome Was Loud (tm) all around him.  It gave him an amazing thrill.  The way 
the reverberating bass from those tens of thousands of voices swept down among 
the chairs and caused the very foundation of the building to rumble slightly.  
That in turn gave a pleasant roll in the base of his stomach.

	He loved that.  He didn't know why, because he never really liked 
earthquakes, despite the fact they produced much the same result (although they 
tended to take a lot less time and had a number of nasty side effects, like that 
time he was sleeping and the books from the shelf above his bed fell on him; he 
didn't get back to sleep that night, only partially because he was hammering a 
new shelf in that wouldn't provide such a hazard to his nocturnal duties.)

	But, truth be told, besides that feeling, the UltraDome Was Loud (tm) 
effect could cause a number of nasty side effects of its own.  Split and 
bleeding eardrums weren't really high on Hiroshi's list of things he wanted to 
have happen to him, so he had a secret.  A secret defense: earplugs.

	Not just any normal, run-of-the-mill earplugs, but the real industrial 
strength, you-could-go-and-fire-off-a-Desert-Eagle-next-to-my-head-and-it-
wouldn't-bother-me type of earplugs.

	It hadn't taken him long to figure this out.  Before he had died, Hiroshi 
didn't use earplugs, just like Daisuke.  But clones had more sensitive ears, and 
desperate measures were required.  It hadn't taken Daisuke long after his own 
initial death to pick up on this fact, as well.

	Tarou, on the other hand, was woefully ignorant.  Next to Hiroshi, the 
martial artist was already massaging his temples.

	Hiroshi smiled.  He liked small victories like that, especially against 
bullies.

	"WELCOME TO THE SHOW!" he shouted into the mike.  There was science to 
announcing.  One had to know how to top the crowd in just the right way.  "ARE 
YOU READY?"

	"Yes, I think it's readily obvious that they are ready, clone-boy."

	"FOR SOME..."  Hiroshi let the syllable linger, then die off.  Build it, 
build it, let the screaming rush into the void then, bam!  "ULTRAAAAAAA!!!!"

	And, whoom, the crowd responds, "VIOLENCE!!!!!"

	Out of the corner of his eye, Hiroshi saw Tarou scrunch his eyes shut for 
the briefest moment.  He had dubbed this the UltraDome Was Loud Effect.

	"And have we got a..."

	"Typical," Tarou interrupted, his condescending demeanor back in place, 
showing no reaction to the din.

	"..."  Hiroshi glared at Tarou.  "A GREAT lineup for you tonight, folks.  
For those of you keeping score at ho--"

	Ripping heavy metal started blaring from the speakers, cutting him off.  
Hiroshi's head whipped around to see who was coming down the ramp.  "It's Dark 
Schneider!" he shouted, "Darshu is in the house!"

	"Obviously, clone-boy.  You're as astute as ever."  Tarou had a smug smile 
on his face; more smug than usual.  "Oh, and call him Dark Schneider."

	"Sure, Pantyhose Tarou," Hiroshi almost shot back in frustration.  He 
stiffled it.  

	"What brings Dark Schneider to the stage, ladies and gentlemen?  He's 
calling for a mike!  What could he want?"

	Darshu tapped his foot impatiently while an aide brought him a mike.  He 
almost ripped the device out of the intern's hand, then pushed the young man 
away.  The silver-maned sorcerer gave a half shrug of his shoulders, a lopsided 
smile sitting easily on his face.  His gaze travelled slowly back and forth over 
the crowd as he waited.

	"Dark Schneider has fought in every Ultra since UltraRage Delta!" Hiroshi 
said almost in a whisper.  "He was reported to have the night off.  What could 
have brought him here?"

	In response to this, Darshu shot Hiroshi a glare for interrupting his 
entrance.  After a brief surge in energy from Hiroshi's announcement, the crowd 
began to die out, until only a few pockets continued to scream and shout, waving 
their "Akane Can Get Hardcore With Me!" and "Fight Morrigan And WIN Either Way!" 
signs.

	"There is a new reign in Ultra!" Darshu declared, "It is time for the 
detritus to be swept away.  This federation has let these lackluster individuals 
leech off of the true fighters for too long!"

	A few cheers rose from the crowd before he continued.  "It is far past 
time that these weeds got cleared out, so that real champions can shine as 
they're meant to be.  Real flesh-and-blood champions!

	"In the past two weeks, I have obliterated the inferior machines in Omega.  
It's a joke to have called them fights; I didn't even break a sweat.  I would 
continue to prove that these doll-puppets have no place in an honest fighting 
federation run by one such as Nabiki Tendou... but I must set my goals higher.

	"Far worse an offense is the current holder of the Omega belt.  When last 
I faced Naga the Pale Worm, I lost.  By my own choice I lost.  That was a 
mistake.  To allow her to continue to hold that belt has marred the greatness it 
once stood for."  Darshu paused to let the thought sink in.

	"Wait a minute," Hiroshi started quietly, "When was the last time anyone 
cared about the Ome--"  He stopped when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

	"Watch it, clone-boy.  You're supposed to support Schneider, remember?"

	Hiroshi swallowed.

	"While true fighters like myself have been showing their mettle week in 
and week out, Naga has sat on her fat thighs getting drunk.  She can't even keep 
her clothes on, sacrificing the dignity of the belt for a cheap peep-show on 
international television!"

	A few in the crowd, particularly in the nosebleed section, started 
cheering at the memory of the UltraRage.

	"And YOU people are scum for getting off on it!  You're just as bad as she 
is, falling for some tits and ass like that!"

	The cheers immediately turned to boos.  Darshu raised his voice to be 
heard over them.  "This farce ends tonight!  Naga, I'm challenging you to your 
belt.  I've already proved I can beat you, now I'm going to prove that I'm the 
true champion."

	"Holy LINA!" Hiroshi exclaimed.  "Dark Schneider has just issued a 
challenge for the Omega Belt to be fought TONIGHT!  Naga has held on to her 
championship longer than anyone else in Ultra history!  Will that reign 
continue?"

	"Unlikely, given that she can't fight.  Schneider was just warming himself 
up over the past few weeks, he'll be champion by the end of the night, just you 
watch."

	Several in the crowd started to flip their heads to the right and left, 
apparently assuming that Naga would be among them to answer the challenge.

	And indeed she did.  "OOOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!"  The speakers shuddered.  
Several audience members clapped hands across their ears, but the look of 
amazement and surprise on their faces did not leave as they did so.  Eardrum-
splitting sound was not unfamiliar in the UltraDome.

	The UltraTron flared to life, enlarging Naga's features to larger-than-
larger than life.  "You are quite mistaken!  I am even MORE formidable than 
before.  I accept your challenge and you shall see how strong an opponent Naga 
the White Serpent truly is."

	Darshu smiled.  "See you on the battlefield, then!"  He mock-saluted, spun 
on his heel and marched backstage.

	"Yes!  Run you little man, I shall defeat you again and you know it!  
OOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO--"  The UltraTron winked out, cutting off the rest of Naga's 
laugh.

	"And we have another match for this evening!  Check this, ladies and 
gentlemen, but now there are not one, not two, but THREE amazing title matches 
here for your pleasure this evening!"  Hiroshi took a deep breath while the 
crowd cheered their marked-out hearts out.  "Also, coming off their previous 
defeats to Dark Schneider, the CyberGrrlz Gally and Nuku Nuku each have a 
battle.  How amazing will this night be?"

	"Probably no more than normal," Tarou ho-hummed.

	"That's not all, though!  The Challenge Match between Ranma Saotome and 
Marlo Semaj will be issued tonight!  But FIRST, we've got a match between Blanka 
and Pikachu and Team Samurai!  Coming right your way!"

	"Great, the biggest losers against the biggest jokes.  This'll be a 
showstopper."

			*	*	*

	The energy balls came fast and furious, tearing into the rocky landscape 
and sending up blasts of rocks and dust that threatened to tear Nuku Nuku's 
clothes to shreds.  She darted to and fro around each blast as it erupted in the 
air, attempting to get an angle on her attacker.

	A sphere of light flashed in front of her and slammed into the ground.  
"Nya?" she emoted but didn't waste any time in leaping.  Her attempt to clear 
the imminent blast sent her rocketing into the air as they hyper-pressurized 
jacks in her legs extended to their fullest.  At the last instant before leaving 
the ground, she caught a glimpse of her opponent and adjusted her trajectory a 
minute amount for an intercept.

	Before she had even risen ten feet, the ground erupted.  The rush of air 
flipped her head over heels.  A moment later, something slammed into her back 
and sent her hurtling for the ground again.  A small crater cracked out around 
her as she landed.

	"Owie," she whimpered.  Another energy ball impacted the ground only a few 
feet from her position.  Debris rained down on her from the succeeding eruption, 
bringing a grimace to her face.  It had seemed such an easy goal, at first.  
Just like playing tag, she had thought.

	Wrong thought.  More energy blasts rained down on her.  She scampered 
around, dodging them as they came.  At least they weren't fast and furious.  The 
problem, she realized, was not that dodging was too difficult, rather that she 
could dodge, or she could attack, but not both.  Especially with her opponent 
being so far above the ground.

	How could she get close enough to make an attack?

	As she skittered over some uneven ground, the answer came to her.  Barely 
slowing her stride, she scooped a rock up and angled for a mineral outcropping.  
The blasts trailed behind her.  She gave a glance back to see her opponent 
following from on high.

	Thirty feet from the outcropping, she jumped.  In mid-air she twisted her 
body around and came down almost horizontal, bending her legs on impact.  With 
the barest pause, she shoved off again.

	The next energy blast came right towards her.  Nuku Nuku drew her arm back 
and threw.  The rock took off like it had been fired from a howitzer...

	And it missed low.

	The energy blast hit Nuku Nuku head on, killing all her momentum.  She 
dropped like a brick.  

	The impact with the ground drove the air out of her lungs.  She spent a 
few precious moments catching her breath.  In that time, she heard someone drop 
lightly to the ground next to her.  She cracked opened her eyes and looked up at 
the figure standing over her.  "Anou...  Sorry, Ifurita-san.  I tried, but I 
couldn't get close to you."

	The android-girl swung her weapon around until the end of it just barely 
didn't touch Nuku Nuku's nose.  "You could be dead, right now, Nuku Nuku," she 
said.

	The cat-cyborg felt the barest hint of heat coming off of the three prongs 
at the end of the power-key staff.  "Nya!"  She shook her head and scooted away, 
batting at her nose.

	"Still--"  Ifurita pulled the staff away, again and reached an arm forward 
to help Nuku Nuku up.  "--you had a good... tactic."

	"Wai!  Thanks Ifurita-san!"  Nuku Nuku hopped up and hugged her newfound 
mentor.  Ifurita started under her embrace, but relaxed minutely after a moment 
and placed a comforting hand on her back.

	"Ne, Ifurita-san?" Nuku inquired, pulling away.  "Why don't you show me 
some of Akuma's attacks?  I'm fighting him tonight."

	Ifurita frowned slightly before answering.  The pair started walking to 
the portal entrance of the CyberGrrlz workout center.  They weren't quite sure 
how Washuu had put the area together, or whether it was a newly constructed room 
each time they enterered or an egress to completely new worlds.

	"My experience with Akuma has been limited," Ifurita answered slowly.  "I 
did not fare well in either battle against him."  She paused, her gaze traveling 
to the horizon.

	Nuku Nuku bit her lip.  If Ifurita had a hard time against Akuma, she 
feared how well she would fare against him.

	"He was also different when I faced him," Ifurita continued, "I cannot 
guess at what his capabilities are, and therefore cannot mimic them."

	"Oh..."  The pair drifted into silence as they reentered the laboratory.  
For a moment, the aire of silence hit them and stopped their movement.  Nuku 
Nuku looked around.  Nothing seemed out of place, yet the lab had an empty 
quality that she had not noticed before..

	Then Gally entered in from the opposite entrance--the one from the 
UltraDome--and broke the effect.  She stopped and cocked her head at the pair.  
"Hey, guys, something wrong?"  She grabbed a remote control and flipped on the 
large flat-panel screen built into one wall.  "The show's starting."

	Nuku Nuku was still amazed at the size and power of everything in Washuu's 
lab.  It was so much more interesting than back home at Papa-san's.  She still 
hadn't worked up the nerve to play with the colorful buttons, yet.  Ifurita-san 
and Gally-san hadn't warned her AGAINST it, but the quiet reverence they kept 
for the lab's true owner got through even to Nuku Nuku.

	Still, despite that there was enough to keep Nuku Nuku occupied.  She 
planted herself on the floor and gazed up at the huge screen, eyes agape and jaw 
dropped.

	Then Dark Schneider appeared on screen, and she growled.  She heard Gally 
gasp behind her.  As the man worked through his speech, Nuku Nuku began to see 
red.  It wasn't fair, the way he was talking.

	"I would kill him"  Gally said, "But I have bigger things to worry about."

	Ifurita was silent.  Nuku Nuku felt this dark presence emanating from her 
friend, and turned away from the TV.  The Demon-God stared unblinking at the 
screen, even as the first fight began.  Then she closed her eyes, shook her 
head, and the moment was over.

	"Come, Nuku Nuku," she said, "It's time to get ready for your match."

			*	*	*

	"It's time for our first match of the evening, folks," Hiroshi gushed.  
"So far it's been kept under wraps at Nabiki's... er... I mean, Miss Tendo's 
insistence, but I have no doubts that we're in for a HIGH ENERGY match!"

	"No, we're not."  His co-announcer was obviously not letting Hiroshi's 
enthusiasm get to him, and had propped his feet up on the table and was resting 
his eyes.  "It'll be a slaughter."

	"I take it you know something I don't?"

	Tarou opened one eye and glanced at his pale-haired counterpart.  "There's 
a *hell* of a lot of things I know that you don't, clone-boy.  Let's just say 
it's nothing you need to wet your pants over."

	"C'mon, Tarou!  WORK wiiiii... uh... that is... okay."  Hiroshi mopped his 
brow--he still hadn't gotten the hang of censoring himself like this.  "Anyway, 
there's no need for more speculation--the fighters are about to be announced!"

	Indeed, the ring announcer had climbed into position and raised the 
microphone.  "This match is scheduled for one fall.  First, at a combined 
wattage of fifty thousand volts..."  He peered at his card at that, then 
shrugged and continued, "...the official Biggest Losers of Ultra... Pikachu and 
Blanka!"

	The audience completely failed to jump to its feet and cheer as the Lambda 
team made their way to the ring.  It's not that they were booed by the crowd--in 
fact, there were still a fair number of supporters in attendance, who called and 
cheered as best they could--but compared to the usual deafening wall of noise 
present in the UltraDome, it didn't amount to much at all.

	The two fighters reached the end of the ramp and entered the ring; Blanka 
leapt inside with a fierce battle howl, flexing his green muscles impressively, 
while Pikachu (who was still rather depressed after his meeting with Ash) just 
climbed the steps and ducked under the bottom rope.

	"And to introduce their opponents," the announcer continued, "the owner of 
Ultra herself, Miss Nabiki Tendo!"

	Dressed in a well-tailored and very expensive business suit, her hair 
perfectly groomed, Nabiki sauntered out from the wings and smirked down at the 
ring.  The huge screen next to her followed her every move, and allowed Pikachu 
and Blanka to get a good look at her smug expression.

	This did not bode well.

	"Look at them down there," she began, speaking into the microphone a 
stagehand had provided.  "I don't blame you people for not caring--they *are* 
the Biggest Losers, after all.  They're lucky I didn't just throw them out on 
their furry butts."  She smiled that smile again.  "However... as long as 
they're here, they're going to earn their keep.  So first I decided to book them 
in an interesting match.  Say... a Tornado Tag match--all four people in the 
ring at	the same time."

	The audience murmured, and the two already in the ring seemed a bit 
relieved.  That didn't seem too bad...

	Nabiki wasn't finished yet, though.  "But then I remembered last week's 
little fiasco."  Her voice turned mocking.  "Hey, they don't like cheating, do 
they?  We can't have any cheating."  She shrugged.  "So I solved that little 
problem..."  Pikachu and Blanka looked hopeful.  "...by making this a 'no 
disqualification' match as well.  In other words, EVERYTHING is legal."

	This time there was more of a surprised reaction from the crowd, and the 
fighters definitely didn't like the sound of that.  "Well," Hiroshi commented, 
"that *does* technically prevent cheating, but it puts Pikachu and Blanka at 
something of a disadvantage--both of them are pretty much clean fighters."

	"Or they would be if they took baths more often," Tarou added dryly.  
"Anyway, shut up for a minute--it's about to get even better."

	Once the mutters and shouted comments from the crowd had died down, Nabiki 
raised the microphone again.  "And who better," she announced, "to take part in 
a match where cheating is legal... than Haohmaru and Tatewaki Kunou--the 
Samurai!"

	Even those who'd been neutral towards Pikachu and Blanka raised their 
voices in outrage at this development, and the UltraDome was filled with the 
audience's protests.  The Samurai were totally unmoved by the jeers and 
insulting chants, focusing all their attention toward their unlucky opponents.

	Hiroshi, for his part, was stunned.  "I think I'm going to have to cast my 
vote for 'slaughter', as well."

	Next to him, Tarou was smug and ever-so-slightly amused.  "Hey, nobody 
gives a damn about the animals in a regular fight, so why not mangle them in the 
name of better ratings?"

	The Samurai began to stride down the ramp, taking a slow and methodical 
pace in order to psych out their opponents.  In addition to his standard bokken, 
Kunou was carrying a small satchel of uncertain contents, tucked securely under 
one arm.  Haohmaru, meanwhile, had set aside his reverse-bladed sword in favor 
of his traditional katana, and his stern gaze passed over the angry crowd, the 
pokemon and mutant in the ring, the monkey on the camera, the flashing lights, 
the...

	The what?

	His gaze was drawn back, and there was indeed a small brown monkey perched 
on one of the cameras.  It grinned at him, then jumped down and vanished into 
the crowd.

	For one merciful moment, Haohmaru was speechless.

	"Sensei?"  Kunou peered at the older man, a bit worried.  "Are you well?"

	"AH... I AM FINE, MY SLIGHTLY LESS THAN LEGENDARY APPRENTICE!"  He swung 
his sword a few times.  "NEVER BETTER!  LET US ENTER THE RING AND DEAL CERTAIN 
DEFEAT TO THESE PRIMITIVE CREATURES!"

	Nabiki watched them with a grin, showing no intention of leaving her 
position at the top of the ramp.

][ LAMBDA MATCH #1--TORNADO TAG NO-DISQUALIFICATION MATCH
][ THE SAMURAI vs. PIKACHU/BLANKA
][ FIGHT!

	"ENLIGHTENMENT!"  Whatever was bothering Haohmaru, he wasn't going to 
dwell on it.  "GIVE IT TO THEM NOW, MY STUDENT!"

	"Yes, sensei!"  Kunou tucked a hand into the satchel.  "Samurai Special 
Surprise Attack, Number One!"  Their opponents took defensive postures, ready 
for anything...

	...except the small plate that Kunou produced, holding it out toward the 
huge green mutant.  "Have a cookie."

	Being a creature of base impulses, Blanka shrugged and grabbed the plate 
of sweet-smelling confectionaries, preparing to chow down.  His partner, having 
rather more experience with such lame traps, pikaaaed a warning and let loose a 
thunderbolt, knocking the plate from Blanka's grasp and scattering its contents 
hither and yon.

	"Wow!"  Hiroshi wasn't really that impressed by the Samurai's first move, 
but he had to keep up appearances.  "A really... ingenious plan, expertly 
countered by Pikachu!"

	Tarou snickered.  "I never knew the little rat was afraid of cookies, 
though."

	One of the items in question had landed on the announcer's table, and 
Hiroshi sniffed it cautiously.  "This is a Kodachi Special," he explained, 
"loaded with sleeping powder.  Kunou's sister used to make them to trap Ranma."

	His co-announcer rolled his eyes.  "Yet another reason I don't spend much 
time around Nerima..."

	"At any rate, Blanka doesn't look too happy about being shocked.  Even 
with an indirect hit, that bolt must've hurt!"

	Indeed, the mutant was less than pleased at his partner, and the pair 
exchanged a brief assortment of grunts and pikas.  Taking advantage of this 
distraction, Haohmaru reached into his gi and pulled out an object so terrifying 
that many of the audience dove for cover under their seats.  (Though, given the 
state of stadium floors in general, most of them immediately regretted it.)

	"OH MY LINA!"  Despite his high-quality earplugs, Hiroshi was definitely 
in a panic.  "He's got a MEGAPHONE!"

	The legendary one raised the bullhorn high.  "SAMURAI SPECIAL SURPRISE 
ATTACK, NUMBER TWO!"  There was a brief squeal of feedback, then: 
"[[[ENLIGHTENMENT!]]]"

	The resulting sonic pulse registered a cool 4.2 Richter at the local 
Geological Monitoring Station, and sent Pikachu and Blanka stumbling back under 
its assault.  Fortunately the force fields around the arena kicked in before the 
audience was pulverized as well.

	After recovering from the attack, the two electric fighters exchanged 
nods.  There would be time to argue later--for now, they had to concentrate on 
the fight.

	The battle resumed in earnest.

			*	*	*

	High above the ring, kneeling amidst the lighting grid, the Kunou family 
ninja watched the fight progress.  There was a bucket of water by his side, 
ready to douse the electric pokemon below when Sasuke's master gave the word.

	The down side, of course, was that he couldn't quite remember what the 
word *was*.  In the hustle and bustle of setting up for the match, Sasuke had 
forgotten exactly which Samurai Special Surprise Attack he was supposed to be.  
Was it fifteen?  Or sixteen?  Master Kunou had written the number down for his 
servant, but since he wrote it on Sasuke's forehead, it wasn't much of a help.  
At this point, the rat-like ninja didn't have much choice but to keep close tabs 
on the battle, hoping that Kunou would give him some sign when it was his  turn.

	In other words, all his attention was on the fight.  He therefore failed 
to notice the fierce, animal snarl until the creature was right on top of him, 
and by that time it was far too late.

			*	*	*

	So far, the match had been largely one-sided in favor of the Samurai.  Not 
only did they use their cheating attacks to good effect, but they also included 
displays of the swordsmanship they'd become famous for.  Blanka's tough, 
leathery skin sported numerous small cuts, and Pikachu's superior agility was 
all that kept the pokemon from a similar fate.  The 'Biggest Losers' had managed 
to launch a few attacks of her own, but nothing that would win the day for them.

	While Haohmaru kept Blanka busy in a clash of blade-versus-claw, Kunou 
knocked the yellow pokemon away from him.  Pikachu paused for a moment, glaring 
at the bokken-wielding human--the two of them had faced each other many times 
before, and as always Kunou's endurance and resilience was getting on the 
electric mouse's nerves.

	Kunou sensed his opponent's hesitation, and raised his bokken high.  
"Samurai Special Surprise Attack, Number Fourteen!  Vengeance from the heavens!"  
Pikachu's gaze snapped upwards, and saw...

	...nothing.

	This was odd enough that it made the other fighters pause in mid-clash.  A 
dry wind swept across the ring as Kunou posed impressively, waiting for an 
attack that never came.

	He scowled.  "I said, Samurai Special Surprise Attack, Number Fourteen!"

	This doubled the previous results--that is to say, still nothing.

	"Sasuke, you worthless troll!  Can you not even follow simple 
instructions?  I demand that you come down here this instant!"

	There are, of course, certain rules as to the causality of events in the 
universe.  It should be no surprise, therefore, that as soon as he made that 
demand, a small dark-clad figure fell bonelessly from the framework above the 
ring,  landing on Kunou with a metallic thunk.

	"Holy cow!"  Hiroshi was on his feet in excitement.  "It's the infamous 
Falling Bucket-Head Man Maneuver!  What a dastardly cheating technique on the 
part of the Samurai!"

	Tarou growled and yanked his counterpart back down.  "Were you *born* this 
stupid, or what?  Even if that *was* an actual technique, which I doubt, it 
looks like it backfired in a major way..."

	It was, needless to say, Sasuke, and as Hiroshi had pointed out the 
ninja's head was stuffed securely in a bucket.  His clothes were tattered, and 
an echoing moan emerged from the bucket as a battered Kunou climbed out from 
under him.

	"Treacherous cur!  How dare you strike your master thusly!"  Kunou booted 
his servant to the side, and Sasuke rolled under the ropes and out of the ring.  
"You'll pay for your villainy later."

	"ENOUGH OF THAT, STUDENT," Haohmaru barked, sending Blanka stumbling back 
with a well-placed kick.  "IT IS TIME FOR THE NEXT LEGENDARY ATTACK!"

	"Yes, sensei!  Samurai Special Surprise Attack, Number Fifteen!"  Kunou 
bravely approached Blanka, who loomed over him, arms spread wide to tear the 
kendoist to pieces... and the young man abruptly grabbed out with his free hand, 
snatching at the mutant's face.  "Hah!  Stupid creature--you have fallen for the 
most powerful technique of all.  You are now helpless against me, for I, 
Tatewaki Kunou... HAVE YOUR NOSE!"

	The arena was filled with the sound of facefaults.

	Nonplused, Blanka leaned down to peer at Kunou's clenched fist, possibly 
wondering why the nub protruding from his opponent's fingers wasn't properly 
green.  This was, as it turned out, an unwise move, as it gave Kunou the perfect 
opportunity to extend said fingers and jab them into the hairy creature's beady 
little eyes.

	Blanka roared in pain and stumbled back, temporarily blinded.  He'd get 
the stupid human for that!  The mutant threw himself forward into a spinning 
cannonball, which flew toward the still-gloating Kunou with surprising accuracy.

	This was a pity, since Pikachu had placed himself between Blanka and 
Kunou, trying to protect his partner while charging up for a return attack.

	Mutant, human, and pokemon were knocked about from the force of the 
attack, and Haohmaru desperately dove to get out of the way.  When the dust 
cleared, Kunou was tangled in the ropes on one side of the right, clearly 
unconscious.  After recovering from Kunou's Stooge-like attack, Blanka roared in 
victory... until he saw Pikachu at his feet, dazed and belly-up.

	"Not bad," Tarou admitted grudgingly.  "The furball took bokken-boy out 
for the count.  Almost took out the rat at the same time, though."

	"But it looks like Pikachu's still conscious!" Hiroshi countered, as the 
pokemon got woozily to his feet and shook his head.  "The 'Biggest Losers of 
Ultra' have survived this grueling match and emerged as winners after all!"

	In the ring, Blanka peered at his partner and picked him up, rumbling 
various apologetic grunts.  For his part, Pikachu didn't seem thrilled with the 
huge mutant, but after all they'd won the match--no harm, no foul.

	When Blanka moved to the edge of the ring, though, he was interrupted by 
the amplified clearing of a throat.  He and Pikachu looked up at Nabiki, still 
at her position at the top of the ramp.  "Where," she asked, "do you two think 
you're going?"

	The pair made assorted noises of a 'Who, us?' nature.

	"Yes, you.  I guess I failed to mention something about this fight."  She 
grinned widely as their expressions began to fall.  "You see, this is a Tornado 
Tag... No-DQ... HANDICAP match!"

	Hiroshi was boggled.  "What?!"

	"You two lose if either of you goes down," the owner of Ultra explained, 
"but the only way you win is by defeating... BOTH Samurai."

	The two heavily wounded and fatigued fighters turned to look at Haohmaru--
also damaged, but not nearly so much as Pikachu or Blanka, and clearly ready to 
go another round as he grinned viciously at them.

	"After all, we have to keep our customers entertained."  She turned and 
exited with a wave over her shoulder.  "Have fun, boys."

	"That... that's just unfair!" Hiroshi sputtered.  "They're in no shape to 
face Haohmaru, even two-on-one!  This has to be the lowest, most despicable..." 
The pale-haired clone suddenly became aware of Tarou's presence looming over 
him.  "Uh... I mean... good plan, Miss Tendo."

	Haohmaru, standing in one corner of the ring, took a mouthful of sake and 
blew it out over his katana.  "YOU HAVE FARED WELL AGAINST MY MOST LEGENDARY 
SELF AND MY GRADUALLY-BECOMING-MORE-LEGENDARY STUDENT, DIRTY AND FLEA-BEARING 
CREATURES, BUT NOW IT IS TIME TO END THIS CHARADE!"  He reached into his gi once 
more, producing what looked like a garage door opener.  "SAMURAI SPECIAL 
SURPRISE ATTACK, FINAL PHASE!"

	He pressed the button, and suddenly...

	...nothing happened.  Again.  *This* time, though, Haohmaru didn't seem 
concerned with the lack of effect, and tossed the remote aside with a confident 
grin.

	Pikachu and Blanka exchanged glances, then the jungle mutant shrugged and 
executed his favorite cannonball maneuver--hey, if it worked once...

	The samurai's smirk grew even wider, and he jumped high into the air.  
Blanka continued onward, slamming into the turnbuckle... which exploded, sending 
the mutant flying backward to land in a heap in the middle of the ring.

	"What the... they've replaced the turnbuckle pads with contact 
explosives!"  Hiroshi could tell his adrenaline levels were rising to dangerous 
levels, but at the moment he didn't care.  "That button must have been the 
activation switch!"

	"Pika!"  The yellow pokemon ran over to his injured friend, then glared at 
Haohmaru in a cute-yet-threatening manner, sparks leaping from his cheeks as he 
charged up.  "Piiiikaaaa... CHUUUUUU!"

	The thunderbolt arced out and slammed into Haohmaru but, as had been shown 
several times that night, he didn't seem much affected by the blast.  He laughed 
confidently.  "FOOLISH BEAST!"  He lifted a foot and pointed at his rather 
unusual footwear.  "THE SPECIAL INSULATED SHOES I WAS GIVEN MAKE ME INVULNERABLE 
TO YOUR PUNY ATTACKS!"

	Unfortunately, his katana didn't share his invulnerability, and the 
electric shock ignited its coating of sake.  The flaming blade was a cool 
effect, but it quickly heated the metal to intolerable levels, and Haohmaru was 
forced to drop the weapon, gripping his hand in pain.

	While the samurai was distracted, a battered, singed, and extremely 
enraged Blanka rose from the mat, roaring ferociously.  He grabbed Haohmaru and, 
after delivering a few stunning head butts, hurled his luckless opponent into 
the nearest turnbuckle.  The explosion knocked Haohmaru to the floor, where he 
lay in a twitching heap, still trying to get to his feet.

	Blanka obviously wasn't finished yet, though, and he stomped toward the 
fallen samurai with blood in his eyes.  All the frustration and humiliation of 
the match had taken their toll, and he was looking forward to putting his 
opponent down for good. 

	He reached for Haohmaru, claws and fangs at the ready... and Pikachu, who 
apparently had the same idea, jumped over his partner, bounced off his head, and 
dived toward the samurai with sparks flying.  "Piiikaaaa..."

	A huge meaty hand grabbed the pokemon, and Blanka pulled Pikachu up to eye 
level, growling angrily.  Before long Pikachu had squirmed free and the two were 
engaged in what appeared to be a heated argument.

	Though not normally inclined toward such things, Tarou produced a 
sweatdrop.  "Any idea what they're saying?"

	"Uh... Meowth usually does the translating," Hiroshi explained.  "I'd 
guess that this was the straw that broke the camel's back..."

	The two fighters continued to argue, their voices raised, and probably 
would have kept on doing so if not for the fact that Haohmaru, taking advantage 
of the momentary break, had retrieved his sword and gotten to his feet.  He rose 
over the quarreling pair, katana lifted high and a fierce gleam in his eye.  
Pikachu and Blanka were too preoccupied to notice, and it would be an easy 
matter to knock either one of them out.

	"This match is over!" Hiroshi shouted.  "The winners are-"

	For the second time that match, someone fell from the lighting grid.  This 
time, however, it was a controlled fall, aimed directly at Haohmaru--he barely 
had time to scream in surprise before the figure landed on his upturned face and 
began to scratch seven kinds of hell out of him.

	Tarou and Hiroshi watched the howling, frenzied creature in disbelief as 
it finished up with an overhand smash and jumped off, landing in a crouch as 
Haohmaru crashed to the canvas, out cold.  Now that the beast had stopped 
moving, they could get a good look at it...

	It was a girl.  No more than about eleven or twelve years old, she had 
unkempt spiky green hair and wore a tiger-striped bikini outfit.  The material, 
however, was the real thing rather than a pattern, as evidenced by the large 
tiger's claw gloves she wore on her hands.

	Scowling, she booted Haohmaru a few times, just to make sure.  "Baka!  
Cham Cham find you now--you no can run!"

	With some effort, Hiroshi shook himself out of his trance-like state.  
"Uhhhh... I guess this makes Pikachu and Blanka the winners after all."

	"Huh?"  Tarou blinked, then noticed that both Samurai were clearly 
unconscious.  "Hey, they didn't knock the loudmouth out--that freaky girl did."

	His co-announcer shrugged.  "No disqualification, remember?  Any way you 
look at it, the Samurai were defeated."

	Their victory, however, was lost on the winners of the match, who were 
still too busy arguing to notice until one of the cameramen pointed it out to 
them.  The fact that neither of them dealt the final blow only seemed to add 
fuel to the fire, and after a few more choice exchanges, Pikachu hopped out of 
the ring and scampered up the ramp, with Blanka hobbling after him angrily.

	Meanwhile, the girl in the ring was getting down to business.  "Paku 
Paku!"  At her call, the aforementioned monkey leapt out of the crowd, and they 
each grabbed one of Haohmaru's ankles and began to drag him out of the ring.

	By this time, Kunou had regained some semblance of consciousness and 
disentangled himself.  Taking hold of his cherished bokken, he charged forward.  
"Hold, foul demon!  Release my legendary sensei at once!"  He swung his bokken 
at the girl, who in a blur of motion managed to leap up and land on the weapon's 
wooden blade, swaying uncertainly for a moment.

	When her grip was secure, she scurried up the blade as if she'd been doing 
it all her life and peered at Kunou... from about three inches away.  She 
sniffed at him curiously, then grinned.  "Hello!  I Cham Cham.  Who you?"

	Old habits came to the fore, and Kunou allowed himself a small smirk.  
"The vengeance of heaven is swift and sure, and those who dare defy me will 
ultimately face a most wretched doom.  The rising star of Lambda division, often 
called the Blue Thunder of Ultra, I am... Tate-"

	"You weird-talking man," Cham Cham decided, and jumped down from his 
blade.

	Kunou's eyebrow twitched.  "You... say that *I*... talk weird?"  Noticing 
movement out of the corner of his eye, he swung the bokken in a wide arc.  
"Leave him be, ugly creature!"  The monkey screeched and, releasing his grip on 
Haohmaru's leg, scrambled up onto the fallen samurai's head, watching Kunou 
warily as he turned to face Cham Cham again.  "I demand that you tell my why 
you're trying to abduct my sensei!"

	The girl blinked.  "Cham Cham taking him back to Green Hell jungle."  She 
beamed happily.  "We get married!"

	There are some things that are the emotional equivalent of a bucket of 
ice-cold water, and having a surprise engagement sprung upon you is one of them.  
(Just ask Ranma.)  As the audience murmured in astonishment at this news, 
Haohmaru sat bolt upright, incidentally catapulting Paku Paku back into the 
crowd with a screech.  "WHAT?!  THE LEGENDARY HAOHMARU HAS NO INTENTION OF 
MARRYING YOU!"

	She blinked again, an oddly audible sound.  "But... you propose to Cham 
Cham.  That mean you want marry!"

	A stunned gasp rose from the audience, followed closely by a belly-laugh 
from Tarou.  "This is great!"  He'd apparently gotten over his disappointment at 
the Samurai's loss, and had decided to take his amusement where he could.  
"Looks like the loudmouth's got a Lolita Complex too, Hiroshi!  Maybe you two 
oughta double date!"  His co-announcer scowled at him, but said nothing.

	Haohmaru, of course, *did* have something to say.  "I WOULD NEVER HAVE 
PROPOSED TO A SKINNY WAIF LIKE YOURSELF!  YOUR DESIRE TO WED THE MOST LEGENDARY 
MAN YOU'VE EVER MET IS UNDERSTANDABLE, CHAM CHAM, BUT YOUR LIES ARE AS 
TRANSPARENT AS A MOUNTAIN STREAM!"

	"Very lyrical, sensei," Kunou murmured.

	Cham Cham narrowed her eyes.  "I no let you back out!"  She fished in her 
clothing for a moment, and produced a small brown object.  "You remember this?"  
Haohmaru peered at it--it was wrinkled and desiccated, but it looked rather 
like...

	"That's a potato," Hiroshi announced.  "Kind of anticlimactic, if you ask 
me..."

	"This not just potato," Cham Cham corrected him--at the edge of the ring, 
Paku Paku had emerged from the crowd again, this time having collected an armful 
of snacks and a souvenir giant foam hand.  "This is Sacred Jungle Potato of 
Matrimony.  You give this someone, that mean you want marry them!"  She blushed 
cutely, pressing her gloved hands to her cheeks.  "Nobody ever propose to Cham 
Cham before.  I embarrassed!"

	Haohmaru was unimpressed.  "I DON'T CARE WHAT KIND OF POTATO THAT IS, 
FOOLISH GIRL!  I NEVER GAVE THAT TO YOU!"

	"Did so!  Cham Cham remember that night--it so romantic!"  With stars in 
her eyes, she began to recite the story.  "You in Green Hell, looking for Tam 
Tam for to fight."  She stopped and scampered over to the announcers table.   
"Tam Tam is Cham Cham's big brother.  Him missing for long time.  You know where 
is?  Cham Cham look all over, but not find him."  For some reason, her monkey 
seemed rather depressed.

	The legendary one rubbed his chin.  "I DO REMEMBER THAT... IT WAS SHORTLY 
BEFORE I WAS INVITED TO DO BATTLE WITH THESE LESS-THAN-LEGENDARY MORTALS."

	"See?  See?  And when you stop and have food, Cham Cham come to fight you 
instead, but you say you not want fight.  When I still not leave, you throw 
thing at Cham Cham and say 'Take this!'"

	"OF COURSE!  I CAN'T BE BOTHERED WITH..."  He stopped and stared at her 
smug expression.  "OH... NO..."

	She nodded.  "You throw Sacred Jungle Potato of Matrimony at Cham Cham!  
Even say to take it!  Village wise woman say that definitely proposal."

	Tarou and Hiroshi exchanged glances.  "So," Tarou asked, "what exactly 
about that is romantic?"

	"Sounds kind of like an average day back home, actually," Hiroshi mused.

	"Cham Cham been through lots to find you, but now we go back to Green Hell 
and be married!  Then we look for Tam Tam together!"

	"BAH!" Haohmaru bah'd.  "WHY SHOULD I RETURN TO MY HOME ERA?  I HAVE 
ALREADY PROVEN MY LEGENDARY SKILL AGAINST ALL OF THE WEAKLINGS THERE!  WOULD YOU 
ASK A GOD TO WALK AMONG MEN?  YOUR SEARCH HAS BEEN IN VAIN, CHILD--YOUR REQUEST 
TO MARRY THE IMMORTAL HAOHMARU IS SUMMARILY... DENIED!"  He drove this fact home 
by pointing imperiously at Cham Cham...

	...at where Cham Cham used to be.  During her fiancee's monologue, she'd 
moved off to inspect one of the cameras, and was currently treating the folks 
watching from home to an extreme close-up of her face.  "What in here?  It look 
like a big, big eye!"

	A vein throbbed in the samurai's forehead.  "HEY!"

	Cham Cham tilted her head back and peered at him upside-down.  "Hmm?"

	At this point, a few kind words from Haohmaru, an explanation and perhaps 
an apology, would likely have defused the situation peacefully.  It should come 
as no surprise, then, that the big-haired warrior said nothing of the sort.  
"LET ME MAKE THIS PERFECTLY CLEAR.  THE LEGENDARY HAOHMARU WOULD NEVER, NOT IN A 
MILLION YEARS, SINK SO LOW AS TO MARRY SUCH A DIRTY, UNSCHOOLED, SCRAWNY, *FLAT-
CHESTED* LITTLE WRETCH AS YOURSELF!  YOU ARE WEAK AND FLIMSY, AND HAVE NO RIGHT 
TO BE ON THE SAME CONTINENT AS I, LET ALONE AT MY SIDE!  THE BRIDE OF HAOHMARU 
MUST BE STRONG, BEAUTIFUL, AND QUICK-WITTED--ALL QUALITIES THAT YOU SHALL NEVER 
POSSESS!"  Cham Cham's eyes were wide with disbelief at this torrent of 
humiliation.  "IF YOU ONLY DO ONE SENSIBLE THING IN YOUR LIFE, URCHIN, LET IT BE 
TO RETURN TO THAT INFESTED JUNGLE YOU CALL HOME!  AND TAKE YOUR SMELLY MONKEY 
WITH YOU!"

	The audience, in a rare circumstance, was struck dumb by Haohmaru's 
tirade, and watched the jungle girl to see what she'd do next.  For her part, 
Cham Cham was flushed with shock and embarrassment, and tears filled her eyes.  
"You... you...!"  She took a deep breath, and put all of her heart into three 
words:

	"Haohmaru no BAKA!"

	As Cham Cham made a tearful retreat up the ramp, Haohmaru laughed long and 
loud, impressed with his victory against the impudent girl.  "COME, MY STUDENT," 
he said to Kunou, "JOIN ME IN MANLY LAUGHTER!"

	"Yes, sensei!"

	Their laughter filled the dome, even rising over the angry mutters of the 
audience.  Tarou, on the other hand, seemed impressed.  "My opinion of the 
loudmouth just went up a notch," he admitted.  "He may be a moron, but he knows 
how to put his women in their-"

	Cham Cham suddenly erupted from the wings, carrying the biggest and 
heaviest object she could find close at hand--a large metal trash can.  She 
vaulted into the ring and bashed the still-laughing Haohmaru many, many times 
with the can, treated his apprentice to much the same procedure, jumped up and 
down on her fiancee's mangled remains a few times for good measure, then made a 
tearful retreat up the ramp, Paku Paku following close behind.

	Hiroshi just... blinked.  "Uh... we'll be back after this."

			*	*	*

	The Pikachu/Blanka argument continued through the UltraDome's hallways and 
sub-corridors, but was more or less ignored by the employees and other fighters-
-with insane half-gods, cybernetically-enhanced demons, and scantily clad 
succubi on the premises, a yellow rat being chased and howled at by a green hair 
guy didn't attract much attention.

	Finally, Pikachu had had enough.  As Blanka chased him into a stairwell, 
he jumped onto the metal railing and turned around, glaring at his partner as he 
entered.  "Pika!  Pi pikachu!"

	"Awooooa!"  The green mutant gestulated angrily.  "Graaah awoo!"

	The pokemon turned his little black nose up scornfully.  "PiKA."

	Whatever that meant, it proved to be too much for Blanka to bear, and he 
reached out for his fellow Loser with a menacing growl.  Instinctively, Pikachu 
summoned what energy he had left and fired off a thunderbolt--his partner, well 
aware of his own injured state, crouched down and covered his head in an attempt 
to weather the worst of the attack...

	By this point in the evening, neither of them should have been surprised 
when nothing happened.  They were, though, and looked around in confusion, their 
squabble temporarily forgotten as they tried to figure out what exactly had 
happened to the thunderbolt.

	Neither of them had seen the pulse of electricity surge along the metal 
railing, following its spiral path to the top.

	They hadn't heard the pained shriek, either.

	They *did*, however, hear the descending footsteps.  They were slow and 
deliberate, promising horrible things to come.

	And as Pikachu and Blanka turned to look up the stairwell, they saw who 
was there.  And they both turned a deathly pale, or as close to it as their 
individual pigmentation would allow.

			*	*	*

	As the medical crew scraped Kunou and Haohmaru off the ring, Hiroshi tried 
to regain some momentum.  "Well, folks, NEXT up we have-"

	"An announcement."

	"Huh?"  He looked at his co-announcer.  "What do you mean?"

	"Something's up," Tarou said shortly, a puzzled frown on his face.  "This 
wasn't planned..."

	Hiroshi followed his gaze and looked to the UltraTron--the picture was 
wobbling and jumping, as if the cameraman was in too much of a hurry to worry 
about precision.  "Is it a Blair Witch Project sequel?"

	"Shut up and listen, clone-boy..."

	On the screen, the camera closed in on a door marked 'Stairs', and the 
door was pushed open.  Within stood Pikachu, Blanka...

	...and Nabiki.  Her once-immaculate suit was covered with scorch marks, 
and her hair was basically fried.  She was glaring at the two Losers like the 
spectre of death itself, and they both shrank back under her gaze.

	"You... you filthy animals!" she snarled.  "Which one of you electric 
maniacs did this to me?  Tell me!"

	Pikachu quailed from her wrath.  It had been an accident, but he doubted 
she would care about a technicality like that.  He might as well wait for the 
inevitable end...

	"Awoooah!"

	The pokemon looked up sharply as Blanka stepped forward.  "P-pika?!"

	Blanka, his thoughts focused on Pikachu's recent unhappiness and his 
desire to return to his former trainer, glared defiantly at Nabiki.  He and 
Pikachu had been through too much together to let one fight destroy their 
friendship, and if he could take the heat in order to make his partner happy, 
then that's what he'd do.

	Nabiki, meanwhile, was unimpressed.  "So, it was you, was it?  Well, you 
ugly son of a-"

	"Pika!  Pi pikachu!"  The pokemon jumped forward and gestured, pointing at 
himself.

	"Awoo!"  Blanka started to do the same, but Pikachu turned around and 
shook his head, clearly willing to take the blame for what he'd done.  They 
locked gazes for a moment, then Blanka stepped back.

	"All right, fine," Nabiki growled.  "You think you can attack me and get 
away with it, you little vermin?"  For a split second, she seemed ready to boot 
Pikachu into the middle of next week... but she wasn't the violent type.  She 
paid others to be it for her.  With Tarou nowhere nearby, though...  "As of 
right now, you are OFF the roster permanently.  You're banned from Lambda, 
you're banned from Gamma, Omega... you won't even be in a stinking Hardcore 
match!  Do you understand me?!"

	Pikachu lowered his head and nodded silently.

	"Good!  Now pack your things and get the hell out of my stadium!"

	As Nabiki stormed back up the stairwell and the former partners exchanged 
glances, the screen switched back to the Ultra logo.

	Back at the announcer's table, Hiroshi was stunned.  "Can this be true?  
Pikachu's been essentially banned from Ultra!  I don't believe it!"

	"Believe it," Tarou said with smug satisfaction.  "You mess with Nabiki, 
you pay the price.  I just wish I was there--I'd have kicked *both* their furry 
asses for what they did."

	"But even with what he's been through," Hiroshi said loyally, "Pikachu 
wouldn't have zapped her--I'm sure of it!  It must have been an-"

	Tarou loomed over him briefly.  "What happened to the rat can happen to 
you, clone-boy."

	"Uh... a-heh... right.  Um, we'll be back with the next match in just a 
minute, folks.  Stay with us."

			*	*	*

	Jack had never been in the room before.  He knew it existed, beneath the 
UltraDome.  It was nestled somewhere between the boiler room and the third 
janitor's closet.  But he'd never been there.  He was just the one who'd had it 
built.

	It had been a month or so before the profits started to sag.  Jack liked 
to think he was one for planning ahead; he considered the move on his part one 
of prudence, in case Ultra needed some extra dough to hold it through the lean 
weeks.  In truth, he just wanted a quick buck.  Like any and all people looking 
for a few extra bucks, he turned to that pantheon of amazing profits for no 
logical reason that can be determined: the Internet.

	Ultra HAD a website, of course, but it wasn't very good.  Had Jack known 
who had designed the damn thing, he would have thrown that person out... or at 
least thrown them into a hell-in-the-cell with a pack of horny chihuahuas.

	He knew enough, though, that it needed to be redesigned.  So he had put 
out an ad.

	Hiroshi wrote the first one.  It went something like this: "WRITE ULTRA'S 
WEBPAGE!"  ...  And so forth.  Jack looked it over after he posted it.  The 
blinking hurt his eyes.

	Daisuke wrote the next one: "Wanted.  One webpage designer.  Job is to 
redesign webpage for popular international sports entertainment show."  Jack 
fell asleep while reading that one.

	So he'd been forced to write up the ad himself.  "Controversial Jack wants 
YOU!"  He'd been rather proud of it, for the five minutes he remembered doing 
it.

	The response they got came as a complete surprise:
		sports entertainment
		audience rises online
		with work by Navi

	This was mostly because nobody remembered putting out the ad.  But Jack 
considered that close enough to a "yes"  to hire the person.  (The fact it was 
the ONLY response didn't dampen his spirits.)

	BONUS!  She didn't even want to get paid.  Just needed a room, the 
occasional meal, and a constant connection to the... Wired, she said.  Nobody 
understood that, but she got a full DSL and never complained.

	Until now, nobody had even seen the person they'd hired...  Talked with 
her a few times, over the phone, usually Daisuke.  Jack assumed her to be one of 
those quiet, reserved girls.  Probably a bit overweight and librarian-like.

	He frowned at the girl in the tanuki pajamas who opened the door and 
looked up at him with large, unblinking eyes.

	"Hi!  I think I'm here to see your mommy."

	"mother exists not / to influence this being / Navi serves purpose"

	Jack considered that.  "So _you_ are Miss Iwakura."

	She stepped back and turned around.  Jack followed her into the room.  It 
seemed far larger than it had any right to be.

	"Hey... you aren't tapping into any supernaturalspace pockets to extend 
this thing are you?  Something was raising the energy bills."

	"the desire of one / in this place of existing / with i and Navi"  She sat 
down in front of the small, unassuming computer at a desk.  It looked a bit like 
an iMac.

	Jack smiled.  It looked cute to him, the elementary-school-age girl in 
front of the toy computer.  He opened his mouth to ask where the REAL Miss 
Iwakura was.

	The words caught in his throat when he looked up.  The... Computer was the 
only name for it.  The Computer thrummed its life, filling the vast void of the 
closet-sized room with its power.

	Jack's amazement did not last long.  "Ooh."  His smile became a grin.  
This was what he wanted.  To Jack, computers were great and mystical devices 
that could do anything.  You just needed the proper medium to talk to the 
spirits on the other side.

	This belief was caused by the fact that when most boys were either out 
chasing girls (and setting the tone for their entire lives) or playing with 
things their parents bought but never used (like 8086's, and also setting the 
tone for their entire lives, Jack was taking the first steps towards world 
destruction.

	He'd had to skip a few details along the way.

	But he KNEW power.  This was power.  This Computer could give him exactly 
what he wanted, and Nabiki could go thumb herself when he was finished.  YES!

	"Oh, yeah, baby.  This is what papa ordered.  Listen here, Iwakura, have I 
got a deal for you."  Jack ploppled down cross-legged next to her.

	"fleeting one must go / stating purpose in this place / to speak with Navi
	"seated on mouse cable / one risks loss of credit when / Navi is not 
pleased"

	Jack sweatdropped.  "Well, here's what I've got proposed for you.  Nothing 
that'll hurt your job security, consider it a little extra on the side that we 
can hash out later.  Plus, you'll get your own official CHAOS T-shirt!"

	"choosing agreement / in solitude one will be / left here with Navi"

	Jack could tell that this might be a hard-sell, but he always rose to a 
challenge.  He began to outline his plan.  His complete ignorance to what 
computers could normally do didn't prevent him from enthusiastically urging her 
to design alien technologies on the spot to do what he wanted her to do.

	Lain mostly agreed.  At least he thought she did.  They finished talking.  
She showed him out.  Jack whistled a victory ditty as he skipped down the hall.

	"this federation / and all who inhabit / Navi calls baka"

			*	*	*

	"And here we are for the second amazing match of the night, folks!" 
Hiroshi emoted.

	"Amazing," Tarou said, "Right.  Amazingly boring."

	"Have faith in our fighters, Tarou!  These two know how to put on a show!"

	"Like Bob Sagat does?" Tarou snorted.  "Let's get on with this.  The 
sooner it's over, the sooner the important fights can take place."

	Hiroshi gritted his teeth for a moment, then plastered a smile on.  "Let's 
get on to the battlefield, where our Omega referee Gokuu is waiting for the 
fighters to show.  This is going to be great!"

	The Omega Arena showed up on the UltraTron.  It was... yellow.  And tan 
and brown and ochre.  The sephia rainbow of colors just flared out.  Especially 
under the bright grey sky where twin suns flared.

	"..."  Tarou stated.  "How amazingly great this is.  Ooh, I think I just 
saw a rat scurry across the ground."

	"It just goes to show..."  the interruption tore everyone's eyes from the 
screen and over about ten feet to the entrance ramp.  "It just goes to show," 
Controversial Jack Lysias repeated, "That Nabs can't book something interesting 
to save her life."  He turned and gazed up at the shot of the battlefield.  
"Niiiice place you got there, Beekster, did you purchase it from Yahoo 
Auctions?"  He gave a little laugh, shrugged, and sauntered down the ramp.

	"And what do you think you're doing here?" Tarou asked, having gotten up 
to block Jack's way.

	"Relax, panty-boy.  I'm not here to bother Miss Tendou's show.  I even 
agreed with you!"  Jack patted Tarou on the shoulder and stepped around him.  He 
spread his arms wide as he walked around the ring to the vacant Spanish 
announcer's table (En Espanol my foot!  This is Japan!), sat down...

	And pulled out a deck of cards.

			*	*	*

	The portals opened and out stepped the two fighters.  Nuku Nuku looked to 
both sides and scrunched up her nose.  "Hot!" she complained.

	"..."  Cyber Akuma responded.  Turbines at his back whirred, and he 
started rising into the air.

	Gokuu landed.  "You should know the rules.  Destruction of the world or 
universe is a technical foul."  He gave Akuma a long glance.  "Excessive 
brutality after victory will not be tolerated."  He shrugged.  "Okay, then.  
Game on."

][ OMEGA MATCH #1
][ Nuku Nuku vs.  CYBER AKUMA II
][ FIGHT!

	Gokuu waved his hand down to start the action.  Nuku Nuku charged, a growl 
rising in her throat.  Her hands drew back in fists, striking at Akuma's 
midsection.  She swung...

	And missed as the jets at Akuma's back flared to life, sending him high 
above her.  The attack sent her reeling off balance.  A stumble became a tumble, 
which turned into a graceless roll across the landscape.  Dust kicked up into a 
cloud, obscuring her from view.

	Cyber Akuma hovered above with no weapons ready.  He waited for the dust 
to settle.  Slowly a form stepped out of the dirt and grit.  Nuku Nuku's face 
and clothes were a mass of grimy brown, her hair already messed up slightly.  
Her teeth, bared in a feral grin, were a beacon on her dirty face.

	She could get him.  She ran up to him and jumped, trying to grab at the 
floating cyborg.

			*	*	*

	The cheering that had erupted from the firey start of the battle began to 
die down and Nuku Nuku hopped up and down beneath Cyber Akuma.  And as she 
continued to hop.

	"This was predictable," Tarou said.

	"And, ah, Nuku Nuku goes on the offensive early, but faces some drastic 
problems.  How will she overcome this setback folks?"  Hiroshi sweated over the 
microphone, praying that something interesting would happen, soon.

	It did.  "I TOLD you..."  Jack had on headphones and a microphone over at 
the Spanish announcer's table.  "She's certainly not NaBookie.  BUT, since all 
you folks are wanting some quality entertainment, I'm willing to appease!  Turn 
on the Picture-in-Picture!"

	On cue, the image on the UltraTron (and on millions of TVs worldwide) 
shrunk down and inhabited a corner, while the main image was replaced with a 
view of a table.

	The Spanish announcer's table.  Jack's hands showed clearly as he shuffled 
the deck of cards.  Then he dealt out the standard setup for ImproSolitaire.

	"What are you doing?" Tarou demanded.  He towered over Jack on the 
opposite side of the table.

	"Hmm..."  Jack peered at the setup.  "I'm debating on moving the three of 
clubs or the seven of diamonds.  Actually."  He turned and looked back at the 
crowd.  "Which card should I move?"  He raised a hand with one card.  "Three of 
clubs!"  Some ragged cheering responded.  "Seven of diamonds!"  A few more 
audience members got into it.

	"Seven of diamonds it is!"  Jack moved the card and looked at the setup 
again.  "Jack of Spades or five of hearts!"  The audience began to cheer.  Jack 
played cards according to what got the most noise, faster and faster and faster.   
The crowd roared and Tarou looked slightly bewildered at it all.

	"King of clubs!  Duece of spades!  Six of hearts!  Ace of hearts!  Jack of 
diamonds!  Ten of *gurk*!"  Jack's barrage of cards was cut off when Tarou 
grabbed him by the throat.

	"Just WHAT do you think you're doing?" the martial artist cum enforcer 
repeated.

	Jack pried the fingers off his neck.  "I'm giving the audience what they 
want!  This IS interactive entertainment!  Not like that..."  he gestured 
vaguely in the direction of the UltraTron.

	On the picture-in-picture screen, Nuku Nuku continued to jump like a cat 
chasing a ball of yarn.  If not for the fact he was made of metal, and never 
expressed any emotion anyway, Akuma might have given the idea that he was toying 
with her.

	A vein pulsed on Tarou's forehead.  "You are getting out of here.  Now!"  
He grabbed for Jack's shoulder.

	"Hey!  You can't do that!  I'm an Ameri--"

	"Oh, my lady in Heaven!  Something's happening!"  Hiroshi stood up and 
pointed at the screen.

			*	*	*

	Nuku Nuku yelped and began dodging.  She knew she could catch Akuma 
eventually, but not if he started shooting at her.  The fireballs ripped up the 
ground behind her as she zigged and zagged around.

	She noted sourly that her school uniform had been ruined, again.  She 
considered getting some different clothes to wear for these fights.  If everyone 
was going to be so mean to go and destroy her clothes, she considered it a good 
idea to wear things that Papa-san wouldn't have to work so hard to replace.

	She'd make Akuma pay, for sure.  She just needed to CATCH him.  But 
first...

	A glimmer of an idea came to her.  She saw a canyon nearby.  If she could 
lure him into it, she might be able to get closer!

	Nuku Nuku took off running.

	Akuma's thrusters roared as he followed behind her, but her piston-driven 
legs spread the gap between them.  He rose slightly, and started arcing his 
fireballs past her.

	Too late Nuku Nuku realized what he had done.  By then a fireball caught 
her in the back and sent her flying.  She flipped over, skipped against the 
ground, and then disappeared over the edge of the canyon.

			*	*	*

	"Is that it?" Hiroshi cried.  "Is this the end of Nuku Nuku?"

	"Good riddance."  Tarou had returned to his seat at the announcer's table, 
but he kept glancing in Jack's direction.  The controversial leader of CHAOS had 
stopped his game of solitaire and was staring at the screen along with the 
audience.  He had become uncharacteristically silent.

	"Oh, the humanity!  For such a young life to be snu..."  Hiroshi suddenly 
brightened, "Wait a moment!  Gokuu is checking in on the proceedings!"

			*	*	*

	Gokuu landed and peered over the edge.  After a moment, he shrugged and 
took off again.

	Akuma alighted on the spot the Saiyan had just vacated.  A mechanical 
rumble began to grow in his metallic chest.  "Come on out, girl."  His voice was 
harsh and cold, like a wind sweeping down from Siberia.

	The pause grew into a silence as his response.  He shifted his foot 
slightly, sending a pebble over the edge to clatter down the rough sides to the 
bottom, tens of meters below.

	He shook his head and rose up on the jets again to float slowly (but 
noisily) down into the canyon.  The temperature difference in the shade was 
tremendous, but he could still see that it exceeded his optimum design 
parameters.

	The polarized filters in his eyes took a moment to open enough so that he 
could see.  Nuku Nuku crouched on a small ledge in front of him, her body even 
more battered, but still not down.

	Not down for long, at least.  Akuma swiveled in mid air.  He held up his 
hand to loose another fireball.

	Nuku Nuku leapt.  She chucked the rock in her hand at the same instant.  
It flew fast and rammed Akuma in the forehead with a clang.  Nuku Nuku landed on 
top of him, sending him off balance.  The pair wavered about, slammed into the 
opposite side of the canyon, then tumbled to the floor.

	Small parts of Akuma broke off from the impact.  Nuku Nuku landed on top 
of him in a crouch.  He swung at her as he forced himself up.  She executed a 
backflip, her legs arcing wide and straight.

	Akuma got to his feet, and turned as Nuku Nuku charged him again.  They 
exchanged a flurry of punches and kicks, each one held off by a block or negated 
by a timely parry.

	Nuku Nuku's initial charge pushed Akuma back against the wall of the 
canyon, but he began to turn it around once his rearward progress halted.  His 
blocks became grabs, drawing the cat-droid into more crushing attacks.  His 
parries became ripostes.

	"You cannot win," he rumbled, twisting her arm around.  He was rewarded 
with a soft crack appearing across her elbow.  "My superior arts will spell your 
doom."

	She grunted, attempting a leg sweep.  He shifted his weight and caught her 
foot at the rear of his knee.  He clamped his leg up and reversed his twist, 
slamming a fist into her shoulder.  She spun around in mid-air, hit the ground, 
and slid a few meters.

	Rocks crunched under Akuma's feet as the plodded over to her.  "I have you 
now.  Are you ready for death?"

	He stopped when he heard a sound.  It echoed and amplified through the 
canyon.  In a vague way, it sounded like a Volkswagon on steroids.  Akuma looked 
down the length of the canyon.  He saw something move, and began to turn.

	Then the thing passed them, blowing the Shotokan cyborg over.  Akuma 
frowned from his position on the ground, and started to rise.  but two more of 
the contraptions passed.

	Like a massive swarm of bees, more and more of them came, their vibrating 
howl filling the canyon.  Individually, they could not be seen, but together 
they were a mass.  Fleeting, but impermeable.

	Nuku Nuku's eyes widened and she perked up.  A feline grin crossed her 
face...

	And she began chasing the passing machines.

	After an eternity, or an instant, they were all passed.  Akuma  shifted, 
pebbles and rocks rolling off his metal body.  He looked after them, but did not 
see either cat-android nor any of the noisy machines.

	However, he had other ways.  He turned on his jets, and rose up above the 
rim of the canyon.  Off in the distance, he saw multiple trails of dust being 
kicked up, forming fantails almost like brown water.  He frowned, and began to 
chase after them.

			*	*	*

	"Where has Nuku Nuku gone off to!"

	"There!  You see?" Jack roared.  He stood up, and the PiP display on the 
UltraTron winked out.  "Beeker can't even control her arenas!  In my day, we'd 
never have stood for this kind of interference.  Give it all for the audience, 
that was our motto.  Keep the fights close together."  He turned to face the 
audience, completely failing to see Tarou stalking up behind him.

	"You fans are the ones who are losing, here!  You wanted to see some good, 
clean, fair violence, and what does Tendou give you?  This..."  He waved his arm 
vaguely at the screen.  His continuation was cut off when he was grabbed and 
hauled bodily around.

	"Now listen here, you," Tarou spat in Jack's face, pushing the spiky-
orange haired man back against the barricade between the ringside and the 
audience.  "You do not call her Biki or Beeker or Nabs or Tendou.  It's Ms.  
Tendou, and you WILL give her that respect."  

	The raven-haired chinese man drew back and quieted his tone.  "And also.  
You will cease to interrupt my announcement of this match.  Shut up, or I'll 
haul you out of here."

	Jack blinked.  "Did you hear that, folks?  This show now belongs to Mr.  
Garterstrap here!  Are you going to stand for that?  This is supposed to be YOUR 
show, for your fun and enjoyment!  Don't stand for the Tendou and Tarou 
Tyranny!"

	*SQUEAK*

	The crowd started booing.

	"That's it."  Tarou grabbed the Controversial One by the shirt and slung 
Jack over his shoulder.  He hauled the former head booker out of the arena, 
kicking but not screaming.

	As they left, a small, yellow bathtoy fell off of Jack's posession.

	*sque--squeak* Mr. Duck bounced on the floor.

	Hiroshi just stared.

			*	*	*

	The dust trails receeded ahead of Akuma.  Realizing he could not keep up, 
Akuma landed in a fairly open plain beyond the canyon and looked around.  "She 
has left the arena."

	Gokuu landed.  "Not yet."

	"Where, then?"

	"Can't say."  Gokuu shrugged and took off again.

			*	*	*

	"And Nuku Nuku has disappeared!  But where?  Gokuu, the UberReferee for 
the Omega division isn't giving Cyber Akuma any pointers..."  Hiroshi felt 
slightly better, now that Tarou was gone.  He could run freer, now.  There might 
be consequences later, but he was good at forgetting about that sort of thing.

	"Let's see if we can see anything from the more aerial cameras."  

	The view on the UltraTron shifted to a blimp's-eye-view of the 
battlefield.  From above, it became more obvious what sort of battlefield Nabiki 
had chosen.  It seemed to be some sort of racetrack.  Dirt fantails showed where 
the hyper speed machines used to race were, but from the height of the camera, 
further detail eluded the view.

	"And it seems that this battlefield has a deadly element attached!  How 
will Akuma deal with these incredible machines when they come around again?  
They should be upon him again within the minute!  And where is Nuku Nuku?"


			*	*	*

	Akuma grunted in dissatisfaction.

	Behind him, the overpowered VW sound rose.  In one motion, Akuma turned, 
targeted the lead machine, and fired a ki projectile.  It looked like half the 
lead machine exploded, the rest of it flipped end over end in a high arc and 
crashed to the ground.  The momentum behind the machine drove it until it had 
passed Akuma.  

	More of the machines started to pass him as he turned to examine it.  It 
seemed to be a large engine attached to a sled of some sort.  His blast 
apparently had taken out another engine.  An odd, barely humanoid creature was 
attempting to extricate itself from the sled.  Calmly, Akuma stepped on the 
creature's head.  He blasted the second engine and turned back towards the other 
machines.

	If he had to take them down one by one, he would find her.

	"MYAAAA!!!!"  Nuku Nuku flew off one of the sleds and tackled him.  The 
force tore the both of them completely off the path of any more of the rocket 
sleds.  They split apart in midair.

	Akuma got to his feet and stalked over towards Nuku Nuku.  "This has gone 
on long enou--"

	She sprang up and chucked a large slab at him.  The projectile glanced off 
his chest.  A second one followed, but he countered with a fireball.  Nuku Nuku 
backed away, grabbing and throwing boulders, bits of pod racer, anything at 
hand.  Akuma blasted some away, and shrugged off others as he made progress 
towards her through the barrage.

	 "Now the end."  In a rush of inner power and screaming engines, he slid 
at Nuku Nuku bullet fast.   Unnatural darkness blotted out the scene accompanied 
by a flaming hell symbol.   From the oppressive darkness, the sounds of an 
seemingly endless orchestra of blows rang out.   Akuma vaguely felt a hand on 
his shoulder but shrugged it off.  The Instant Hell Murder continued until Gokuu 
grabbed his arms and pulled him physically out of the cloud of darkness.

	"It's OVER!" Gokuu shouted.  "What did I say before the fight?  Now a 
little girl is--"

	Nuku Nuku flew over the Saiyan and ripped Cyber Akuma out of his arms.  
She grabbed the shotokan cyborg by the neck and executed a short throw over her 
hip.  Akuma hit the ground with an extended arm.  The appendage bent in a 
strange angle halfway between his elbow and shoulder.  He struggled to rise, but 
only spun himself in a small circle.

	The catgirl stomped over to him and grabbed his good arm.  She hoisted the 
larger fighter to his knees, stared him straight in the eyes, said, "Baka!" and 
kicked him in the stomach.  A scream of metal accompanied Akuma's short flight 
through the air.

	He landed flat on his back and stared at the heavens for a long moment.  
Nuku Nuku crossed her arms and smiled with a smug "Hmph!"

	Slowly, Cyber Akuma rolled and sat up.  He stared at the Cybergrrl.  The 
attack should have made her own hate rip her asunder.  "What...  how...?"  He 
stumbled over his words.  "That attack should have killed you.  What did you 
feel?"

	The catgirl cocked her head to the side.  "Like scratching the furniture."

	Akuma stared at her for a long pause.  "Very well."  He turned away and 
flew off.

	"Okay, um...  Nuku Nuku wins," Gokuu said.

	In response, she sighed visibly and collapsed to her knees.  "HOT!" she 
complained.  Vents opened up on her arms and released clouds of steam.

			*	*	*

	"Nuku Nuku wins!  What an amazing upset, folks!"  Hiroshi gasped for 
breath.  The end of the fight had run his throat raw, jumping from hyper point 
to hyper counterpoint.  "Cyber Akuma has quit the battle after his amazing 
finisher, the Instant Hell Murder, did NO damage to Omega's newest warrior!"

	He needed to slow down.  He needed a break.

	He needed anything except the person sitting down next to him.  "Hurry it 
up," Tarou said, "We've got to go to commercial."

	"Uhh...  So the youngest Cybergrrl picks up her first victory!  We'll be 
right back after this message!"

			*	*	*

	After wandering through the UltraDome for a while, Cham Cham had worked up 
something of an appetite.  This was easy to fix, though--she'd hunted, trapped, 
and killed a vending machine, leaving it dangling from a snare vine as she made 
off with its brightly-colored contents.

	She was currently sitting with Paku Paku in the UltraDome's front lobby, 
feeding her face and dwelling on her misery.

	"Haohmaru no baka," she muttered, finishing off a pack of Zingers.  "It 
not just marriage now.  He insult me and he insult home.  It matter of pride."

	Paku Paku nodded solemnly, opening his fourth bag of banana chips.

	The jungle girl raised a gloved fist.  "Cham Cham show him!  Will beat him 
and take back to Green Hell, whatever it take!  He be sorry he make fun of Cham 
Cham!"  Paku Paku looked a bit more downcast at this news.

	It's worth mentioning at this point that the small brown monkey was in 
fact Cham Cham's big brother Tam Tam, cursed by a vengeful god with a weird 
sense of humor.  So far, his sister was utterly oblivious to this fact, and his 
attempts to tell her who he was had been seen as 'cute' and been rewarded with a 
banana.

	He'd rather been hoping that this little side trip wouldn't take too long 
so he could go back to looking for a cure, but it looked like that wasn't in the 
cards.

	His sister, meanwhile, had gone back to sulking.  "But... people say that 
Cham Cham no can fight Haohmaru unless have partner."  And they'd told her that 
Paku Paku probably didn't count, which was terribly unfair.  "I not know what to 
do..."

	She sighed.  Paku Paku sighed.  Blanka sighed.

	They all stopped and looked at each other.

	Cham Cham peered at the newcomer curiously.  Unlike a lot of people at the 
Dome, she wasn't at all nervous or intimidated around the hulking brute, who 
kind of reminded her of her brother.  Besides, he smelled like the jungle.  
"Cham Cham remember you.  You beating on stupid Haohmaru."  It was clear that 
she approved.

	Blanka nodded with a shrug.

	"Why you here?  You no with little yellow thing?"

	He shook his head and, with a selection of howls and grunts, explained the 
situation.  To his surprise, she seemed to understand--the only other human who 
could easily comprehend him was Dan.

	"Oh.  So, you go home now, since not have partner?"  He shrugged and 
grunted, and she blinked.  "Still have thing to do?  What?"

	Instead of explaining verbally, Blanka loped to a nearby souvenir stand, 
grabbing small plush versions of himself, Pikachu, Mousse, and Shampoo.  (The 
attendant didn't stop him--not only for the obvious reason, but also because 
nobody had bought those things in weeks...)  With the occasional howl for 
emphasis, the mutant re-enacted the fight with the Jusenkyo Survivors as best he 
could, finishing up by popping their plushies into his gaping maw and viciously 
grinding them up.

	"Cham Cham see!" she exclaimed.  "You mad and want make big stomp-stomp on 
duck man and funny-talking woman!"

	Like Kunou before him, Blanka's thoughts were of a pot, kettle, and 
blackness nature, but he simply nodded.

	Coming to a decision, she scrambled up onto his shoulders.  "Okay!  Cham 
Cham help you beat them."  He blinked and peered up at her, whuffing in 
confusion, and she beamed down with a cute smile.  "You help Cham Cham beat 
stupid Haohmaru?"

	This, too, was an attractive idea.  Blanka nodded after a moment's 
thought, and she threw her arms around his nearly non-existent neck.  "Good, 
good!  We have lots fun together!"

	As the two jungle fighters started to chat, Paku Paku scarfed down a few 
more treats.  He wasn't too thrilled with the thought of Haohmaru as a brother-
in-law, but it looked like they'd be there for at least a little while.  And 
things were looking up--they'd finally met up with someone who was properly 
civilized.

			*	*	*

Camera fades in to what appears to be a panty-shot up a blue schoolgirl's 
uniform skirt.  For a moment all is stationary, then the girl starts walking and 
the effect becomes...

Nosebleed inducing.

Slowly the camera pans back and shows the rear of Sakura Kusanago.  She 
continues walking, the back of her skirt swishing up.

The picture freezes.

ANNOUNCER: Tell us honestly.  Would Nabiki and Morrigan really even give you 
this much?

			*	*	*

	"Hey there, little fella!  What's the matter?"

	Pikachu looked up at the human figure crouched over in front of it.  The 
young man had hands on knees, and a concerned expression cast worry lines around 
his eyes.

	The pokemon rubbed tears out of its eyes.  "Pika!" it complained, "Chu 
pika pi chuuu!"

	"Awww..."  the man held out his hands.  "Come here and let's hug those 
problems away."

	Pikachu hopped into the waiting hug and snuggled up.

	"I've got JUST the thing for you..."

	The meeting between Pikachu and Daisuke did not go anything like that.  
But the end result was much the same...

	"Um...  Pikachu."  Daisuke shuffled his feet, trying not to look directly 
at the crying pokemon.  The electric mouse shook its head and blinked up at the 
former announcer.

	"Pika..."  Pikachu seemed resigned about something.  "Pi chu pika."

	A nervous smile twitched up one corner of Daisuke's lips.  He had to find 
Team Rocket.  Talking with an animal he didn't have the slightest chance of 
understanding was not going to help him.

	But compassion won over.  "Well, um, got a problem?"

	"Chu."  Pikachu nodded.  It waved a paw vaguely down the corridor.

	Daisuke peered in the indicated direction.  He saw Blanka... talking, he 
supposed, to a young girl with green hair and what seemed to be tiger-skin 
clothes.  The pair were too far off for him to hear, but he clicked their 
friendly-seeming behavior with Pikachu's downheartedness.

	"I see.  You think you've lost a friend?"  He squatted down next to the 
rodent.  "I wouldn't worry about it.  He'll still be your friend."

	"Chupi chu."  Pikachu shook its head and stared at the ground.  "Ka chu 
pi."

	Blanka and the girl walked passed the.  The green mutant stopped briefly.  
"Awroo," he said shortly to Pikachu.

	"Pikachu," Pikachu responded.  It shrugged and waved a paw.

	The pair started walking off.

	"Hey, wait!" Daisuke called.  They stopped and looked at him.  "What 
happened?"

	"Yellow rat no allowed fight," the girl said.  "Blankie-chan fight with 
Cham Cham, now."  She turned and marched off.

	Daisuke nodded in understanding.  "Out of a job?  he asked, leaning back 
against the wall next to Pikachu.  "I know what that's like.

	"Pika..."

	"Damn Nabiki."

	"Pichu."

	Daisuke sighed.  He gave a slow look at the pokemon.  "Well, couldn't you 
go back and fight with Ash?"

	"Chu."  The pokemon shook its head emphatically.

	"Huh...  I won't ask."

	"Ka chu."

	"Eh..."  Daisuke shrugged.  "I guess you could come hang out with us until 
something else crops up.  It's not like Jack'll notice having another small 
yellow thing around."

	"Pi?"

	The co-manager of CHAOS stood up.  "Sure."  He held out a hand.  "You can 
at least sit there and watch the rest of the show, right?"

			*	*	*

	Everything is better with pyro.  This has been a universal constant since 
the dawn of man, when stone hit stone and sparks flew and cavemen went 'oOOOoOo 
oeee OOO!' which loosely translated to 'Bitchin!'.  When a national holiday is 
celebrated, fireworks go off.  When vikings conquer a village, they promptly set 
it on fire.  And when an Ultra superstar emerges from the ramp who is being 
deliberately promoted by the front office, you get pyro.

	But once the wall of flames and sparks finished igniting and everybody was 
nice and deaf, Marlo Semaj marched right through the smoke and got to the ring.  
He meant business, and wasn't in his usual jovial mood.  With a backpack slung 
across one shoulder, he climbed over the ropes, and into the ring.

	"Folks, I.. THINK we have a Marlo versus Ranma hardcore match coming up 
next," Hiroshi announced, while Marlo threatened someone into giving him a mike.  
"This would mark the first official in-ring entrance of Ranma since his incident 
last season, but from what I know, I don't think he wants to get in the ring."

	"Bah, of course not," Tarou mocked.  "The little fem-boy is--"

	"EXCUSE me," Marlo interrupted, glaring at Tarou.  "But let's not use up 
the entire bag of Anti-Saotome insults before I finish my promo, okay?  Speaking 
in respectful terms to a fellow smartass, of course."

	"No skin off my back," Tarou said, sitting back.  "Go right ahead."

	"...that's it?" Hiroshi asked, perplexed.  "You're not going to mock him?"

	"Hey, Ms. Tendo likes this guy," Tarou said.  "Every quarter hour he's on 
is in the upper bracket when the ratings come in."

	"I know!  That's because everybody's watching and waiting for him to 
LOSE," Hiroshi reminded.  "Ever since he lost the belt he's won every match on a 
technicality, even though he's gotten his ass handed to him a few times already-
-"

	"RANMA SAOTOME!" Marlo called, tired of the ringside banter.  "We go back 
a long way, don't we?  Wasn't it me who pushed you to new heights last season 
when we were competing?  Wasn't it ME who brought out the finest in you?  You 
know, speaking as probably the only friend you HAVE, I have to say... you're a 
PUSSY."

	The young boy promptly ignored all the boos being dumped on him by the 
audience, and sidestepped to avoid a thrown corndog.  He set down his backpack 
for the time being.

	"It's true!" Marlo shouted.  "You're a damn dirty hippie, Ranma!  But last 
week... last week I must've pushed SOME kind of button because in that boiler 
room, you actually had the balls to smack me around.  I'm not pissed, Saotome!  
I'm HAPPY for you!  Because now it means I can face you in this ring like a man, 
and win or lose I get my Hardcore title shot!  But now I'm hearing scuttlebutt 
that you're back to being a pansy?  Ranma, I'm giving you TWO minutes to get out 
here, or I'm gonna force the ref to disqualify you and declare me the winner.  
And trust me, a chair to the face can be VERY persuasive.  One minute and fifty 
five seconds!"

	"If he's smart, Ranma will stay right where he is," Hiroshi said.  "He's 
got nothing he has to prove to the likes of this guy."

	"If he's smart, Ranma will get his ass out here and not jeopardize Ms. 
Tendo's ratings," Tarou countered.  "He's got his paycheck to be concerned 
with."

			*	*	*

	"Forget it," Ranma said, half watching the monitor, half keeping a 
cautious eye on Nabiki.  "Japan is a free country.  I don't HAVE to go out 
there."

	"You're no longer in Japan, you're in the UltraDome," Nabiki said cooly.  
"Here, I make the rules.  I say you challenge Marlo.  You've been on the shelf 
for long enough, Ranma.  Just think of it as some kind of martial arts obstacle 
to honorably overcome or some nonsense like that."

	"What do you know about martial arts?" Ranma asked.  "This is not about 
repeatedly hitting people.  It's a control you have to master, and right now, 
I'm not wholly in control.  I'm not going to risk anything just because--"

	"Because if you don't, I'm stripping your fiancee of her Hardcore belt and 
putting her on suspension," Nabiki finished.  "You've got one minute left, 
Saotome, make your decision."

	"...you what?  But that's not--"

	"Fair?  You said it yourself, Ranma, what do I know about martial arts?" 
Nabiki asked.  "I know business.  In business, you do what you have to to 
maximize profits, and everything that points to the bottom line is justified!  
Time ticks.  What's it going to be?"

	"Jack wasn't as bad as you," Ranma glowered.  "He was bad, but at least he 
was improving before you ousted him.  That guy is as single-mindedly persistent 
as me.  He's going to get his job back."

	"Oh, please.  Jack couldn't find his own ass if you hooked up a GPS 
tracker to it.  Now FIGHT!"

	And Ranma stepped through the curtains.

			*	*	*

	"Ten, nine..." Marlo continued... until he saw Ranma.  And grinned.  He 
grabbed his backpack quickly, in case Ranma rushed the ring-- which was not 
happening.  The martial artist took his time to get to the ring, and climb in.

	Marlo slid the zipper open quietly.  This was going to be EASY.

][ GAMMA MATCH #1
][ RANMA vs. MARLO, HARDCORE RULES
][ FIGHT!!

	"I'm only satisfying Nabiki by coming out here," Ranma warned.  "I'm not 
going to fight you, Marlo.  That's Akane's job."

	"Yeah, well, I can't GET to Akane until I get past you," Marlo reminded.  
"But don't worry, Saotome.  I'm gonna make this nice and quick.  See, I keep my 
finger on the pulse of Ultra.  The grapevine.  The proverbial game of 
Telephone..."

	"Can you say ANYTHING in a single sentence?" Ranma asked.

	"You're afraid of WATER!" Marlo said in a single sentence... whipping a 
fully pumped SuperSoaker XLS 5000(tm) out of his backpack.  The cheerfully 
colored neon green and yellow plastic rifle locked right on Ranma.  "And using 
this Ultra-endorsed fun summertime toy (1000 yen at your local Toysu L Usu) I'm 
gonna have FUN playing with you!  EN GARDE!"

	Ranma yelped, and jumped left to avoid the water stream... coming up 
angry.  "Marlo, you moron!  Don't DO that!!"

	"Or what, Saotome, you'll scream like a girl?!" Marlo asked, retargeting, 
and spraying wide... each shot was nimbly avoided by Ranma, who did not study 
Kempo for years just to be smacked with a stream of water from a kid's plastic 
gun.  "I don't know why you're so spooked by water, but I'm gonna hose you down 
until you say uncle!  I've got this match LICKED!"

	"For--" Dodge. "Crying--" Jump! "Out--" Swerve. "LOUD, Marlo!" Roll.  
Ranma breathed heavily; he hadn't been working out.  (He should have been 
working out, at least staying in shape for his eventual return, it's not like 
lifting weights would've messed with his head... but hindsight is always 20/20.)  
"Why do you think I attacked you last time!?"

	"Because I'm just that damn good at pushing your buttons!" Marlo said... 
dialing the rifle all the way up to 11.  "Behold!  SHINKUU HYDROKEN!"

	Ranma fell flat, pressing himself hard against the canvas while the three 
foot wide jet of water hosed down Hiroshi.

	"Glug," Hiroshi emotionally responded.  He spat out a goldfish.  "Blargh.  
Tarou, can you make ANY sense of this?  Why would Ranma be afraid of water?"

	"I tried asking Akane backstage earlier this week, she wouldn't tell me," 
Tarou answered.  "I don't get it.  Even if the fem-boy deserves a rich beating, 
I usually get along fine with Akane, and she was bein' real secretive..."

	"Quit running, you pooftah!" Marlo shouted, trying to keep the sprayer on 
Ranma, and failing miserably.  Just because he had mad furniture skeelz didn't 
make him Solid Snake, after all.  "I'm gonna... gonna..."

	The Furnityre Savior's nozzle went flaccid and dry, as his water tank 
emptied.  He cursed, and ripped a fresh one from his backpack and began the 
arduous process of pumping the damn thing up to full pressure.

	Ranma relaxed a moment... and tried to think of a way out of this.  He 
could always run over, sock Marlo one and knock him out.  Marlo wasn't all that 
durable, being a perfectly normal kid despite the furniture powers.  But... he 
couldn't.  The other side of him got all his urge to hurt people.  He needed a 
special technique that he could execute even with his problems...

	Of course!

	"Saotome School Special Final Attack Technique!" he announced, making sure 
to capitalize each letter to freak Marlo out... and promptly turned around.  
"RUN AWAY!"

	It would have worked, if not for one thing.

	He'd been ignoring the crowd.  He worked the crowd and reveled in it in 
his earlier days of Ultra, it's true, but it hadn't meant as much to him 
lately... so he hadn't noticed the 'BORING!' chants from the bloodthirsty fans.  
And he hadn't noticed someone throwing a soda at him.

	The plastic mug clonked on the back of his head.  Ranma tumbled through 
the ropes and fell outside the ring, the drink spinning twice in midair before 
the lid came off and it splashed down.

	"Got it!" Marlo cheered, not noticing any of this.  He finished the last 
pump on his rifle, and looked around for his enemy...

	Who was climbing in through the ropes.  Lurched over, and a bit on the 
short side, with red hair.  Marlo didn't think twice about it; he pegged her 
right in the face with the watergun.

	"HA!  Got you!  Who's da man?  Who's da man!?" he demanded to know... 
before realizing that the watergun had done exactly as much damage as a watergun 
would probably do.  IE, none.  Suddenly, his grand strategy seemed bordering on 
idiocy.

	Even the generic white-and-black striped Ultra refereeing official knew to 
get the hell out of the way of Ranma.  She was glowing red, and giggling in a 
low, evil, Iori-esque sort of way...

	"...let's fight," Ranma said, gleefully happy.  "I'm ready."

	"I don't think I get it, but... hey!  Fight is good!" Marlo responded, 
tossing the supersoaker away and drawing a metal folding chair (with a 'Balls 
Mahoney' sticker on the top) from Furniturespace.  He twirled the chair once... 
he could finish this in one shot.

	With a war cry and a squeak of his sneakers on the mat, Marlo rushed 
straight at Ranma, chair held high.  The idiot didn't even move to avoid it!  
Marlo jumped at the last possible second, somersaulting in the air, and bringing 
the steel chair down with an impossibly sick *WHACK* to the top of Ranma's head.  
Victory.

	Ranma didn't stop smiling.

	Marlo whacked her over the head again.

	Nothing.

	"What the hell?" Marlo asked, backing off slowly.  "Did you toke up on 
painkillers or something, Saotome?!"

	Hiroshi grabbed his microphone and leaned forward, excitedly.  "Ranma's 
hulking up!  What incredible stamina; he's just absorbed TWO chairshots without 
batting an eye!"

	"The no-sell," Tarou spoke sagely.

	Marlo snarled.  This was humiliating, and the Furintyre Savior would NOT 
be humiliated!  He reared back, readying the strongest swing he could manage--

	And his chair was blocked with a pinky finger.

	Then snatched from his hands.

	"THIS is how you do it," Ranma explained, twisting her grip on the chair 
and bringing it down hard enough on Marlo's head to make his spine sound briefly 
like an accordion.

	The next thirty seconds went something like this: WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! 
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK. The audience, 
usually cheering mindlessly for any amount of bloodshed and violence, was 
awkwardly quiet at this, as Ranma was laughing like a madwoman while she beat 
Marlo like a ground-based pinata.  There was no style, no martial art, just the 
straightforward process of f'ing someone up.

	"...I think Marlo's unconscious," Hiroshi said.  "The referee's calling 
for the bell... the victor is Ranma Soatome!"

	"I've heard of twelve step programs, but never twelve concussion programs 
before," Tarou joked.

	Hiroshi didn't laugh.

	"Laugh," Tarou ordered.

	"Ha ha!" Hiroshi laughed nervously, with a 'please don't hurt me' implied.

	"How's that?!" Ranma shouted, tossing the chair aside, and taunting the 
stars and birdies circling Marlo's head.  "Want more?  Want more?!  You said you 
brought out the best in me!  Here's the best in me!"

	The Generic Referee tried to pull Ranma back.  "The match is over!  He's 
had enough--"

	A roaring elbow sent the referee sprawling.  "Back off, zebra head!" Ranma 
shouted back at him.

	Looking quite peeved, the ref rolled out of the ring, and went to say 
something to Hiroshi.

	"Uhh..." Hiroshi said, not sure if he wanted to announce this while Ranma 
was still around.  "The... the referee has reversed his decision!  Due to 
disqualification for interfering in a referee's official duties, Marlo Semaj is 
the winner!"

	"WHAT!?" Ranma shouted.

	"Protect me, Tarou!" Hiroshi yelped, diving for cover behind his sizeable 
co-host.

	Tarou glared backwards.  Well, he would have if his neck could've done 
that.  "What do I look like, your pokemon?"

	A little chaos was a good thing; a lot was not.  Ranma wasn't too 
surprised to turn and see the herd moving in on him... the medical techs with a 
stretcher for Marlo, an annoyed Nabiki Tendo, and even Akane carrying a thermos 
of hot water and looking worried.  They were coming to put an end to things.

	She'd have nothing to do with that.  Ranma vaulted over the ropes, and 
charged at the group en-masse; two medical techs yelped and jumped out of the 
way, a suitable distraction... for Ranma to knock Akane over, jump the railing 
and escape through the crowds.  A door illuminated by the glowing red EXIT sign 
was kicked open, and he was out and running.

	"...what?" Hiroshi asked, peeking around Tarou.  "What the hell's going on 
here?  Ranma just bowled Akane over and now he's leaving the UltraDome?"

	"Akane better be okay, or I'm gonna have to explain a few things to that 
fem-boy," Tarou growled.  "Cut to commercial, brownnoser."

	"Uh... we'll be back after these messages!!"

			*	*	*

	The procession filed into the backstage area, while commercials for 
SuperSoakers(tm) played across televisions all over the world.  Nabiki sighed; 
she'd have to do a little behind the scenes work to keep them from pulling 
support now.

	"So, what's wrong with Ranma now?" Nabiki asked.  "And no dodging the 
issue, sister.  I need the truth."

	The figure strapped to the stretched yelled as he was wheeled past the two 
girls.  "The truth?!" Marlo shouted.  "The truth is he's a freakin' PSYCHO!  
Hold it, hold it, STOP the damn stretcher!  I did what you asked, Ms. Tendo, you 
better give me my title shot!"

	"I suppose I have to," Nabiki said.  "Akane, are you willing to face Marlo 
once and for all at UltraRage Epsilon?  You're both going to want time to 
prepare, especially after tonight... not that I won't book you two in any 
matches until then, of course.  In Ultra, EVERYBODY works."

	"Fine," Akane said.  "But even if 'everybody works', I don't want you 
putting Ranma in the ring with Marlo again before then.  Got it?  Beyond that, 
it's a deal."

	"That's fine with me!" Marlo shouted, before wincing in incredible pain.  
"Agh... you keep that freak away from me, okay?  I just thought he was a 
wholesomely mean bastard, but MAN, he's screwed up!  He's not fit to live among 
the normals!  He's an animal--"

	Akane kicked the stretcher, sending it flying down the hall.  Medical 
flunkies ran after it.

	"Now, about Ranma..." Nabiki reminded.

	"We should've told you sooner, sis... I'm sorry," Akane said, with a sigh.  
"He's perfectly fine, when he's a boy.  But somehow, when he's a girl, he turns 
into the kind of person he was long ago.  Doctor Tofu thinks it might have 
something to do with his curse... it's messing with his recovery."

	"Disassociative identity disorder?" Nabiki correctly identified.  
"Hmmm..."

	"I'll have to track him down and get him some hot water," Akane said.  
"I'd better call Kasumi and Dr. Tofu, too.  Excuse me, sis."

	Nabiki watched her sister leave.  A germ of an idea was forming...

	But it could wait.  She had other business to attend to tonight.

			*	*	*

	Hiroshi buried his face in his hands.  He could survive this.  Only 
another hour or so, and he could be out of here, free of that prick's tongue for 
an entire week.

	And then...  And then he'd be back again for ANOTHER round of...

	"Hello, Hiro-kun!"

	Hiroshi immediately tensed.  He felt arms swim over his shoulders and 
around his neck.  Soft short hair brushed against his ears, and he felt her chin 
rest lightly on his shoulder.

	"Oh... you feel stressed up, Hiro-kun.  Do you want me to give you a 
massage?"  Her breath wafted over his cheek and he involuntarily inhaled some of 
the sweet scent.

	His brain froze.  He didn't need this, not now, not...  Ohhh, that DID 
feel good, tho.

	"And also," she continued, "I want you to tell me immediately if that 
hussy starts bothering you."

	Alarms went on in Hiroshi's head.  Not MORE conflict between the two of 
them.  Please.

	"I know how you really feel, but Miss Tendou was nice enough to explain it 
to me."

	"What!"

	Lilith leaned forward and smiled in his face.  "Oh, you know.  How you're 
confused, but you really love me.  I knew it, but you're always so shy.  I love 
you, too, Hiro-kun.  You can tell that hussy and I'll protect you, okay?"

	"Umm...  Right.  Thanks, Lilith.  That gets a lot off of my mind."  He 
glanced down at his non-existant watch.  "But we're coming off of commercial, so 
I've got to get back to work.  I'll see you later!"

	Hiroshi sweated as Lilith skipped off.  He glanced down at the card in 
front of him.  Oh, great.  If it wasn't one succubus, it was her sister.

	"Falling asleep on the job?" Tarou asked, sitting back down.

	"What?  No!"

	"Well, get on with it, we're on the air."

	"Ah... right."  Hiroshi swallowed, forced a smile up, and opened his 
mouth.

	"And, remember who you're supposed to be supporting, here."

	A lump appeared in Hiroshi's throat.  His voice jumped a perfect third.  
"It's time for our next amazing match, folks!  The current Gamma champion, 
Morrigan Aensland had a stunning victory against Mr. Satan two weeks ago!"

	The lights went dark.  Breathy chorus music began to waft out from the 
speakers, and red strobe lights began to flash.  She slid out from the backstage 
area, taking her slow, seductive time to flow down the ramp to the ringside.

	Not quite fifty percent of the crowd cheered with abandon.  Not quite 
fifty percent (the other not quite fifty percent) huffed and wondered what was 
so big about Morrigan.

	(Two things, the first not quite fifty percent would have answered, had 
they not valued their lives.)

	"Her opponent has been out of action for a while, here in Ultra, but don't 
count him down too quickly.  That scrapping, feisty mutant hailing all the way 
from the United States of Canada!"

	"He's going to go down."  Tarou shrugged, throwing a sharp glance at 
Hiroshi.  "He's rusty, and Morrigan's the sort to stay on top of her form."

	"Er... right.  Well, here he is: Wolverine!"

	On cue, the X-Man's slow, hard rock themesong started playing.  He entered 
to an almost indifferent crowd.

	A coy smile crossed Morrigan's face as Wolverine came down the ramp.  "You 
look delicious.  I may lose on purpose, just for you."  She winked.

	"Darlin', I don't care about any thing you want to do after the show.  
That's your concern.  I'm just pissed that I've been ignored in this federation, 
despite being here since the beginning."  Wolverine slide under the ropes and 
stood up across from the succubus.  "But you throw this fight, and I'll make you 
pay."

	"Ooh!  I like agression in a man!"  She waved him forward.  "Come, you 
strong man.  I will accept your power and show you final ecstacy."

	"Just the sorta stuff I wanted to hear."

	"Okay, fight," the referee said.

][ GAMMA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
][ MORRIGAN vs.  WOLVERINE
][ FIGHT!

	*SNIKT* Wolverine's claws slipped out from the back of his hand and he 
swung a wide strike at Morrigan's midsection.  One of the succubus's wings 
hardened to stave off the strike, but the Canadian mutant anticipated the block, 
and shifted his weight.  He spun around behind her and slammed his fist into her 
solar plexus.

	"Wolverine goes for some quick domination and fancy footwork!"

	Morrigan gasped and stumbled forward.  She arced a kick back at his head, 
but the feisty canuck caught her strike.

	"If this is the best you can do, darlin'," he said, "then I'm not going to 
have any trouble here."

	She didn't respond, but used his hold as a pivot point to clip his chin 
with a kick from her other foot.  Wolverine let got and rubbed his jaw.

	"Not bad."  He attacked again, but this time she responded by flapping her 
wings and flying above the attack.  Wolverine tried a hasty grab for her foot, 
but came up short.

	"Oh, poor little man, can't reach your betters?" she taunted, floating 
lazily above Wolverine's attacks.  "Jump!"

	Wolverine stopped and regarded the succubus.  "Hey, Mac," he asked the 
referee.  "Isn't she out of the ring?"

	The crowd expressed its disapproval at this attempt for an easy win.

	"Typical," Tarou snorted.  "Faced with a superior opponent like Morrigan, 
most would decide to take an easy way out."

	"Ah..."  The official blanched at the question.  "No, I don't believe so, 
sir.  She hasn't touched any ground outside the ring."

	"Huh...  Alright then.  Gotta do this the hard way."  *SNIKT* Wolverine 
popped his middle claw out on one hand and slashed through the top rope.  He 
whipped it up at Morrigan.  The succubus, surprised at the attack, didn't dodge 
as the rope snaked around her body.

	"Wolverine isn't taking no for an answer here, folks!  He can't take the 
fight to the Gamma champion, so he's bringing her to the fight!"

	Tarou turned his head and looked at Hiroshi.  Then the enforcer leaned 
back and placed his hands beneath the table.  Hiroshi smiled and glanced down at 
the hidden hands.

	Wolverine hauled down on the rope.  Morrigan slammed into the ring with 
showstopping force.  "That's more like it," he chuckled.  "Now to finish this 
the right way."

	Morrigan rose groggily to he