------------------------------- UVR2- THE DESTRUCTION CONTINUES ------------------------------- SECTION SIX RESULTS ------------------------------- _The Ring_ As Anakaris floated into the ring, Rose ran over to him. The mummy paused. "You seem familiar..." "We met at the sorcery convention last year...I gave that speech on "Thaumaturgy And It's Use In Funky Hairstyles"....?" "Ah, yes. I remember. Excellent to see you again. Now, if you wil excuse me, I must go after Haohmaru...always go after the ex-champion, as Rameses said..." "No!" Rose caught him and began whispering into his ear. Guy had also entered during this seminar, and, waving to his comrades in the fight for all the Multiverse, quickly ran over and spinkicked the Silver Samurai. Meanwhile, Hanzo and Haohmaru were dueling back and forth. "Haohmaru, you may be powerful, but I have finesse on my side. And guile. Let's not (CLANG!) forget the guile. It's important." "HA! GUILE? GUILE? DO YOU NOT REFER TO THE LEGENDARY STREET FIGHTER? WHERE IS HE?" Haohmaru briefly paused in fighting to crane his neck about. Hanzo took this opportunity to quickly slash across Haohmaru's chest. "No, not the fighter! I mean cunning! Stealth! Ninjitsu! All that sort of thing! You know, sneaking up on people and letting people Choretsudan logs and disappearing! *That* sort of guile! You follow me?" Haohmaru nodded. "INDEED I DO! HOWEVER, YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR MY LEGENDARY WILINESS, FOR I HAVE TRICKED YOU INTO BELIEVING THAT YOUR PUNY SLASH ACTUALLY *HURT* ME, WHEN IN FACT IT WAS NO MORE TO ME THAN A BRACING SHAVING CUT!" Haohmaru then Sogetsuzaned the ninja out of the ring. Hanzo landed with a *thump* on a flat, bland field. Suddenly, a strange storm appeared on the horizon...lines. Lots of lines...Hanzo suddenly realized that he couldn't run away fast enough to escape. Birdman winced. "Death by Qix...yeesh." _Room 595, RumbleDome Hotel_ Iori Yagumi swore under his breath. He couldn't *believe* that the moron Rugal had seen fit to give him Cinder as backup. Number 21 or whichever he was had brought out this flaming Human Torch ripoff with great fanfare. Iori had to admit, his initial impression was good, but after seeing Cinder fight... Honestly. One punch was all Cinder was good for? He just *walked* towards Captain Kidd without a thought in the world (did nobody *study* their opponents anymore?), muttering something about a "Monster Combo", had punched Kidd once. Then, Kidd opened up a can of asskick: Spiral Kicks, Heel Kicks, Shark Knuckles, Shark Uppers. Cinder couldn't counter Kidd's attacks, and in ten seconds was collapsed on the ground, motionless except for the curtains he had set on fire. Now, Iori had to deal with *both* Sie Kensou and Captain Kidd. Both were capable fighters, although neither was his superior (but, then again, so few were...). This was irrelevant. There were two of them and one of him, and he couldn't dodge projectiles forever. The words "strategic retreat" rang loudly in his mind. Jumping towards the door, he smiled. He was going to make it... ...until Kidd's Frenzied Shark Knuckle slammed into his back, gnawing madly at him. Iori fell, scrabbling at the door. Rising to his feet quickly, Iori opened the door, revealing three security guards...one largish Italian and two vaguely catlike tanned people, one male, one female, somewhat alike. The fight stopped immediately. "Hokay...what's goin' on here?" The Italian had the nameband of "Nunzio." Sie Kensou spoke up first. "They attacked us!" Nunzio looked at Iori. "That true?" Iori nodded. "However, I would like to point out that they stole something of importance from my employer..." Nunzio looked at Kidd. "Well? *That* true?" Kidd mumbled. Nunzio raised his voice. "SPEAK UP!" "Ho! Yes, we did! Okay?" "Hokay...here's what we're gonna do. You," pointing at Iori, "are gonna get your...whatever, and take your flaming buddy outta here...huh. He set some a the place on fire..." Nunzio spoke into his com unit. "Yo, Tristan!" "W-w-what? I'm b-b-busy right now on the all-l-luvial dampers..." "No problem, buddypal...just send up a crew to room 595, we got us some fire damage here." "F-f-fire damage? Who's been using f-f-fireballs?" "Nobody...we gotta Killer Instinctive on da floor." "Oooooh. Okay. No p-p-problem. I'll s-send up a crew p-p-pronto." "Great. Nunzio out." Nunzio turned off his com unit. "Where was I? Oh, yeah. You are gonna take your flaming buddy outta here, and they are gonna give you what they took, and you will both live not very happily ever after." Iori was furious. "They stole from us, and you let them off with a slap on the wrist?" Nunzio nodded. "That's your punishment for not callin' us in." He looked at Kidd. "Give it over." Kidd grudgingly pulled out a glowing green vial and tossed it offhandedly to Iori. Iori caught it smoothly, and (out of Nunzio's line of vision) mouthed the words "Nice try." "Great. You, get him outta here." Nunzio turned back to Kidd and Sie. "Now, you two, where was you goin'?" "The workout room..." muttered Sie. "The workout room. How nice. Let us accompany you there. And, once we are there, we shall ask that you not leave it until you enter the Rumble, okeydoke?" _The Ring_ Shao Kahn was just now receiving his first R.S.D. from Heavy D! Staggering backwards, he wiped his mouth. "*Fool. One blow, and you believe that you can defeat the likes of Shao Kahn? The scourge of the Outworld? The conqueror of Earth? The...*" "Target of my fist..." muttered Heavy D! as he lunged forward. He was fully charged up and ready to deliver. Birdman winced at the ensuing carnage. "Well, folks, you see one of the reasons Rugal is rumoured to have denied Team USA entry into the KOF95 tourney...the D! Crazy, or as it's more popularly known, the D!-Struction, also known as the most damaging move in six nodes. Reptile?" "Ssshao Kahn can take it. Ssshao Kahn is invincible." "No, "Ssshao Kahn" is staggering, more like." Which was true. The Kahn, no longer deemed a threat by Heavy D!, had staggered near to the ropes, barely conscious for about thirty seconds. Shaking his head to clear the butterflies, he turned and saw the Silver Samurai, and decided to get some of his respect back by demolishing him. "*Pathetic tinfoil man...*" The Silver Samurai turned. "*You suck.*" The Samurai began frothing at the mouth. Suddenly, six afterimages appeared behind him, and all the Samurai ran over to Shao Kahn. "I! DO! NOT! SUCK!" (Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash.) Shao Kahn wondered if he had miscalculated. He guessed that this was so while the Samurai (and his afterimages) started jumping up and down on him. "I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK I DO NOT SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (accompanied by much jumping up and down) With a final slash, the Samurai knocked the somewhat flattened Kahn out of the ring. The Kahn landed in a dusty plain. Looking about him as he staggered to his feet, he mumbled. "*This node has promise...I shall conquer it! My legions! To me!*" The only response was a huge herd of cattle, bearing down right on Shao Kahn. The Sunset Riders node was not visitor-friendly. Meanwhile, Anakaris nodded. "So, we have to stop Shao Kahn? It appears the job is done for us..." Rose shook her head. "Too easy, though. Something's wrong..." She noticed Dan, gesturing frantically in the stands. "We might have trouble." Anakaris turned as well. "Very well, then. "Eliminate" me, so that I might aid them. You appear to be protecting Haohmaru well enough." Rose goggled. "Are you sure...?" Anakaris smiled. "Of course I am. These competitions mean little to me anyways. And we must not arouse suspicion..." Rose grumbled. "Okay..." With a swift Scarf Snap, she knocked Anakaris over the "ropes". The mummy landed in the Splatter House node, where he spent fifteen minutes dueling with odd buglike things. _Room 519, RumbleDome Hotel_ "So...the pieces are aligning themselves into place." Rugal gently snatched up his wineglass in his metal hand and poured a Chateau Briage '76 into it. Number 27 stared at him. "How do you assume that? We've received evidence of two highly discouraging factors: firstly, that we have rivals in the race for Haohmaru's soul; and secondly, that there is organized resistance by some of the do-gooders against us." Rugal smiled. "Both of which are too valuable not to be passed up. Rivals are useful for two things: taking out people we mutually need removed, and then being blamed for it. Particularly useful will be the coalition of Shao Kahn and M. Bison: they already distrust one another far more than, say, you and I do...and they both have simplistic notions about brute force being enough to win true power. Neither have the slightest idea of subtlety." "Interesting. Now, if you would explain how resistance against us is a good thing." "Simple." Rugal sipped his wine. "This is really excellent...a good year. At any rate...the resistance apparently is unaware that all those pursuing Haohmaru's soul are not in cahoots. They will believe that any strike against "the bad guys" will result in a loss of power to us all, when in truth they're only damaging our rivals." Number 27 smiled. "Impressive." Rugal nodded. "There's one more advantage we may be able to grab if the timing is right. A wild card, if you will." Number 27 guessed it instantly. "Magneto." "Precisely. He's easily the most powerful fighter in attendance; he will command the loyalties of Juggernaut and Omega Red, and possibly the Silver Samurai as well; he wants power as much as we do- although he has a ridiculously altruistic cause; and he has not yet aligned himself with any of our rivals." "So you propose we woo him?" Number 27 clasped his hands together. "But he refuses to work with any except mutants." "A quandary. But one that can be overcome, I am sure." Rugal sipped his wine some more. "So, now that you have your errant warrior's soul back in your hands...what are you going to do with it?" "Jago obviously cannot be allowed free will. Thus, I will destroy it." "Excellent. I assume you will use him to garner information about our enemies?" Number 27 smiled in response. "But of course." _The Ring_ Athena was acting oddly. (Or, rather, normally, depending on your point of view and usage of the word.) She was pointing at the newly arrived Omega Red and screaming. Omega ran over to her. "What? Is it the tentacles? People always whine about my tentacles, like it makes a difference if I kill them with my bare hands. Hmmmm. That's a good idea, actually..." Athena screamed. "Tentacles! Tentacles! OVERFIEND had tentacles! You're the OVERFIEND! Evil, bad, not-very-nice, lousy-table-manners OVERFIEND!" She quickly grabbed him and threw him over the ropes. Omega Red fell into Smurf Village. "PAPA SMURF! PAPA SMURF! This one has TENTACLES!" "Tentacles? Let me check my books...hmmmm. "Overfiend."" He shrugged. "Be prepared to run if he doesn't disappear within fifteen minutes like all the rest." Sawada, also a newcomer, was having troubles coping with the rest of the fighters. "What do you *mean*, you don't recognize me? I'm Sawada! Second-in-command to Colonel Guile!" "Oh...you're from the Street Fighter node." said Rose. "Funny. I don't recognize you...maybe Charlie would?" "Charlie? Charlie Blanka?" Heavy D! shook his head. "Nah! Blanka..." he noticed that he was talking within earshot of Rose and Guy, "um. Ain't Charlie. Oh well. Since you're from the Street Fighter node, I'd guess you'd know Fei Long...he's around here somewhere." Sawada was starting to lose it. "Fei Long? Who the hell is that?" Heavy D! looked at Sawada oddly. "You know, for someone who says he's a Street Fighter, you sure don't know anybody..." Sawada ran at D! "I *am* a Street Fighter! I AM!" D! shrugged and Soul Flowered Sawada over the edge of the "ropes". Sawada landed in the USA of the Street Fighter node. Guile walked up to him. "Who're you?" Sawada stared at the strange figure. "Who are *you*?" "I'm Guile. Pleased to meet..." Sawada lunged at him. "YOU'RE NOT GUILE!" Guile clobbered him with a Flash Kick. "What's up with him?" _Eliminated Seating_ Charlotte, supporting a slowly staggering Ryo Sakazaki, reappeared into the Eliminated seating as the two made their way through the doorway. Collapsing over in the corner opposite Morrigan's entourage, they were instantly joined by Andy Bogard and Dan. Andy looked at him. "Jesus. What happened to you, Ryo?" Ryo lay back, wincing in pain. "Morrigan, Wolf and Janne happened to me." Andy grinned. "I know you've been having woman troubles, but you should know better than to interrupt..." Ryo glared at Andy. His tone lowered automatically. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Morrigan was turning Wolf into her slave when I interrupted, and Janne was helping me until Morrigan got her too." Charlotte interrupted. "That's not important! What did they say about Haohmaru?" she hissed quietly. Dan started at that. "Haohmaru? Who mentioned Haohmaru?" Ryo looked at them. "Okay, shut up and let me talk here." Over on the other side of the seating, Janne was gently stroking Morrigan's waist. "What do you desire of me, mistress?" "Nothing right now." Morrigan's voice was irked. The Sakazaki boy was up again. This could prove troublesome...best to talk to Pyron. She activated a mental communication. "Pyron?" "Have you learned of any further opposition to our plans?" "Possibly...have you dealt with the remaining fighters who were plotting against us?" "Naturally. What is the problem?" "Ryo Sakazaki isn't out of the picture yet." A pause. "Why didn't you kill him?" "Lapse in judgement. I'll fix things, okay?" "No. You and Demitri have to "recruit" more fighters to our cause. We shall need them, after all." "So who then..." "I'll let Mizuki handle it." "All right..." Back on the other side of the seating, Ryo had finished some time ago, and Dan had responded with his tale of what Rose had related to him. Ryo mulled it over. "So...Morrigan is working for Shao Kahn? That doesn't make much sense..." Charlotte was in no mood to talk. Seeing Kano, she drew her epee. "I shall split their skulls apart!" Andy grabbed her and held her down. "Dammit, if we get stopped by Security, we won't be able to do anything! We have to work quietly. And right now we need information, because it looks like we're dealing with more then one force of bad guys." Ryo nodded. "I have a plan for that, actually." Dan looked at him. "What?" "Well, my gi's been torn to shreds here. So, I have to go back to my room to change, right? And who knows what I might hear back there?" Dan shook his head. "It's too dangerous. You've just had the crap beaten out of you! We can't send you back now. What if they catch you again?" "I'm the only one who *can* go. I have an excuse, they won't view me as a threat, and it'll give me a little more time to recuperate. Besides which, if they revolt openly you'll be needed here." It was patently clear that Andy, Charlotte, and Dan didn't like this idea much. It was also patently clear that they all realized no choice was involved. _The Ring_ As Brocken, still frothing at the mouth and screaming for Sub-Zero's head on a platter, was tossed out leisurely by Haohmaru ("HA! YOU WOULD DO BETTER TO FOCUS YOUR CONSIDERABLE ANGER ON A PRESENT TARGET, RATHER THAN ONE WHO IS NOT PRESENT! OF COURSE, BEING THE LEGEND THAT I AM, NO AMOUNT OF ANGER THAT YOU WOULD EVER POSSESS WOULD BE ENOUGH TO BEST ME! FOR MINE IS THE WARRIOR'S WAY, THE NOMAD'S WAY, THE CURDS AND WHEY...") into the Terminator 2 node (where he was shot by Rebel Human forces sixty times before he fell down), Takuma Sakazaki turned and saw his son, Ryo, stagger back into the Eliminated seating (supported by Charlotte), obviously having had the crap whaled out of him. Takuma immediately ran over. "RYO! Son! Are you all right?" But Ryo was already staggering out of the Eliminated seating, his tattered gi trailing along behind him, only the pants even anywhere close to being intact. Takuma, his eyes still on the Eliminated seating, was paying no attention as Caffeine Nicotine knocked Galford for a loop. "Now, kid, this is where a good old-fashioned fighting technique can come in handy. Just think, if you'd enrolled at Caffeine Nicotine's School Of Hard Knocks, you'd have been taught the famed One-Arm-Shuffle, perfect for this sort of situation where you've been partially dismembered." Galford slashed frustratedly at the little old man, who easily blocked with his staff. "Y'see? Easy block. Now, if *I'd* taught you the brilliant Quintuple-Deke-And-Dive, you'd have just slashed me right proper across the legs. But I didn't, so you didn't. Did I mention how cheap tuition is? Only two thousand yen worth of food and three quests a year!" Galford disappeared, and dove in from above directly down on Caffeine, who blocked with his hat. "Yep. Now *that* was an example of the near-perfect Paddy Fighter's Block technique, taken from the Ranmaist school of "total environmental combat." Well worth learning, if you ask me..." Galford stepped back. "Sic 'em, Poppy!" Nicotine was suddenly buried in angry biting dog. "Aghh! Aggggh! No fair! Look, you didn't give me a chance to point out that the Nicholson Kill-The-Doggie style would have enabled to me to prevent this if you hadn't moved so danged fast!" Galford kicked the old man over the "ropes". "No thanks. I'm pretty happy with my regular style." Caffeine landed in Pong. "Ah! Now *this* is more like it! None of them super-hyper colours! This is what we had in the old days! Heck, we didn't even have this! For fun, we had to grab knives and slash at each other to the death before we turned twelve, and WE LIKED IT!" Meanwhile, Cyclops was hitting half the ring with his Mega Optic Beam. Everybody except Takuma Sakazaki was caught in the massive blast, and Guy was the only target who managed to block. Spying Takuma, Cyclops ran over and prepared to boot the older fighter out. Takuma wasn't paying attention. He'd seen virtually every Killer Instinct fighter present in the Eliminated seating leave, along with Chang Koehan, Billy Kane, and Eiji Kasaragi. Something was up, and Takuma was more than willing to bet that his son was involved somehow...and now Morrigan, Janne, and Wolf were taking off as well! What was going on here? He was thus surprised when Cyclops caught him in a flying head-scissors and vaulted him over the ropes. However, Takuma had learned more than a few tricks in his vast experience fighting, and managed to catch the mat edge before he tumbled through the field. Pulling himself up a bit, he saw Cyclops' legs in front of him- the X-Man was Optic Blasting Guy. Grabbing wildly, he caught onto Cyclops' leg and latched on. Cyclops' Optic Blast shot wildly into the air as he was jerked out of position. Looking down, he saw Takuma holding onto dear life. He prepared to Optic Bolt the older fighter away. Birdman was speaking into the mike rapidly. "Folks, this is interesting...note that if Cyclops is pulled out *underneath* the ropes by Takuma, he *won't* be eliminated...in fact, a forcefield will consolidate underneath him until he returns back into the ring. Takuma, it should also be noted, hasn't yet been eliminated either...that won't occur until he passes through the field. If he gets back into the ring, he's perfectly legal." Cyclops' aim was letter-perfect. He prepared to knock Takuma off... ...and suddenly felt multiple kicks striking his back, carrying him upwards with painful force, and over the "ropes". Guy had not been idle while Cyclops aimed at Takuma. Takuma, his handhold lost, tumbled through the field just before Cyclops followed him. Both fighters landed in Caveman Ninja, and spent their next few moments fending off a dinosaur before setting down to furious conversation. _Room 725, RumbleDome Hotel_ Blue Mary stepped out of the shower, stretching langorously. Damn, but that had been good...the fighting circuit didn't leave room for so many perks usually...hell, most places didn't give you a complimentary bathrobe! Walking over to her bed (a *double* bed. Double the fun, as her sister used to say. She reminded herself to go find Terry after the Rumble and make use of all these additional perks) she lay down, revelling in the wonderfully soft blankets- and the afterdinner mint on her pillow (which she promptly ate). The mint had reminded her of how hungry she was, and she turned over to the phone... ...and saw someone. A fairly tall man, youngish, with noble, arrogant features, dressed in a brown form-fitting suit and red cloak, sitting quite calmly in the plush armchair, his feet up on *her* bed. Surprised, Blue was determined not to show it. "Hey, sugah, don't y'all know how ta knock?" Very good. Not even a quiver in her voice. Of course, there was no reason for her to be scared of him: she'd been in this situation before, and always handled it (usually by throwing the offender out the window, after slamming him against the wall a few times). "My apologies, but time was of the essence, and you did not hear my summons...I presume you were busy in the shower." "Well, yeah, I was....WHAT TH' HELL ARE YA DOIN' IN MY ROOM?" Blue's voice rose upwards as she realized she was being reasonable for someone who had broken into her place of rest. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Demitri Maximoff, of House Maximoff, from Rumania. I come to you seeking your aid." "How did you find mah room?" "One of your fellow fighters, Bob Wilson, was chatting with myself and two fighters from the Tekken node...he told me where to find you." "Uh-huh." Blue made no attempt to disguise her skepticism. "An' what could I do ta help yourself?" "Your fiance, Terry Bogard..." Blue laughed nervously. "Oh, he ain't my fiance, honey. He's just...kinda...got a thing goin' with me, that's all. Andy an' Mai are the ones're gettin' married." "My apologies once again. As it may be, Terry is in great danger. His soul, you see, has been supercharged due to his drawing the last number in the Rumble last year...surplus nodal energy." Blue looked blankly. "I don't understand what you're gettin' at." "Don't worry. I do. What matters is that every two-penny tyrant present wants Terry alive so they can sacrifice him." Blue stood up quickly. "Well, we gotta go tell him!" Terry couldn't die! He was...Terry! Demitri shook his head. "If we tell Terry, then these tyrants shall view us as targets as well. We can help more effectively from the shadows." Blue nodded. "Okay. Just lemme get mah fightin' togs an'..." She stopped suddenly as she felt Demitri's hand close about her wrist. Looking into his eyes, she couldn't help noticing how powerful they seemed... "You are quite beautiful. You know this?" She was *blushing*...stop it! Stop it! You're *Terry'* girl, not this high-born man's floozy! She stopped as their mouths were inches apart. "Look, Demitri...you're awful handsome...but I'm Terry's, and he's mine. I'm a one-man girl..." Demitri smiled. "I understand." She smiled back. "Good." He continued to smile. "You obviously have some ilusions about yourself. Allow me to shatter them." His head dove down, fangs extending as they plunged into her neck. Blue suddenly knew what Demitri was. And she knew that she wasn't a one-man girl anymore... _The Ring_ Yoshimitsu, having been slashed away Smoke, was now listening to rapid talk from Guy. He nodded. "Protect Haohmaru! Save the universe! Eliminate even the toughest stain!" Suddenly, Yoshimitsu noted that Mai Shiranui was hurling fans at Haohmaru. "Now, kids, remember: don't throw anything with a pointed edge." he said, and ran over to her, spin-kicking her as he arrived. Meanwhile, Jon Talbain was pulling Smoke away from Haohmaru, via a Wild Circular that left the cyberninja sputtering in front of the "ropes" and easy prey for a Rising Comet Rush from the werewolf. The Mortal Kombatant landed in Battle Arena Tohshinden. Gaia, Sho, and Fo all looked at him. "My. He isn't one of us, is he?" Yoshimitsu was now slashing at Mai Shiranui unreservedly. "The Yoshimitsu 2000 is stain-resistant, which really makes it a handy aid in those battles where the blood flies!" "Don't you ever SHUT UP?" Mai yelled, and Flame Fandangoed the Tekkeneer over the "ropes". It landed in Caveman Ninja, next to Takuma and Cyclops. Yoshimitsu instantly recognized Takuma as one of those Guy had mentioned. "Protect Haohmaru! Save the universe! Eliminate even the toughest stain!" Cyclops was puzzled. "Okay, you've been telling me about Haohmaru, but what did *that* mean?" Takuma shrugged. "I guess it means this thing is on our side." _Room 519, RumbleDome Hotel_ "Didn't youh haave anything moh dihfficuhlt foh me to do?" muttered the cyberwired Jack-2 in a voice vaguely reminscent of Arnold Shwarzenegger. Rugal looked at the fighter. "Shut up. You're being paid handsomely." He looked around at his other acqusitions from the Tekken node: Paul Phoenix, Baek, King, and this gigantic bear they called Kuma which was being sedated right now. Jack-2, their most important hiring, was patched into the security network of the RumbleDome, and screens had been wried into him. Eventually, they'd disengage the monstrously huge fighter, and then they'd have a direct linkup to every camera in the building. Number 27 had overseen the patch job, showing a surprising knowledge of cybernetics and security grids. Rugal turned to Number 27. "They have a technical genius of some sort on the Security team. How do we know we won't be detected?" Number 27 laughed. "We won't be. I rewrote the detection schematic while I was in there...they'll think any security problem is coming from Pyron's suite." Rugal nodded. He looked at Jago. The ninja was standing ramrod-straight against the wall, his eyes glowing a malevolent green. "What are we going to do with him?" "I haven't decided yet. He has to go fight in the Rumble, though. I may control his actions, see how well I do. For a giggle, you know." "Hey! Over here!" The voice was the hollow echo of King's mask. Rugal and 27 headed over to Jack-2. The cameras were up and running, and they were getting every bit of information they wanted. One screen showed Ryo Sakazaki, in a new white gi, standing outside a door and looking pale. "Which door is that?" Rugal asked. Number 27 turned to a laptop and tapped a few keys. "It's the suite assigned to Mizuki...she's working with Pyron, or so we thought." Rugal roared. "Excellent! Now he thinks Mizuki has tricked them all into believing that Shao Kahn is responsible! We're home free!" Paul Phoenix tried to interrupt. "Um..." "Shut up. King, fetch the champagne...I feel like celebrating!" "But..." Rugal turned to Paul. "What? What could possibly be so important that you have to interrupt me?" Paul turned white. "It's just that I saw him walking away from here as I was coming here, man. Nothing, really, but I thought you should know..." Rugal turned red. "WHAT?" Number 27 looked at the screen. "He's not lying." Ryo could be seen ticking off fingers and saying names. As the cameras were not wired for sound, they had to rely on reading his lips...but it was pretty clear what he was saying. "Rugal." "Number 27." "Shao Kahn." "M. Bison." "Mizuki." "Pyron." "Demitri." Number 27 looked confused. "Demitri? Why is *he* important?" Rugal wasn't interested. "Where's the door guard?" Iori Yagumi shrugged. "Still unconscious. You didn't appoint anyone to replace Cinder." Rugal shook his head. "I am surrounded by bunglers." He strode out the door." Number 27 called out after him. "Where are you going?" Rugal turned. "The ring. I enter briefly. However: order the fighters we summoned back here to ambush Sakazaki as he heads back to wherever he's going...I suspect the Eliminated seating. That one knows *everything*...he is the most dangerous to us right now. And one last note: Magneto will be here shortly. Don't screw up our chance at domination." _Passageways Underneath the RumbleDome_ Ryo was running now. He was the only one who understood how bad things were. He *had* to get back to the others... ***** FINAL TALLY (69 voters) ----------------------- GUY (SFA)- 51:18 (ratio=2.77) HAOHMARU (SS2)- 49:24 (ratio=2.04) MAI SHIRANUI (KOF95)- 47:26 (ratio=1.81) ATHENA ASAMIYA (KOF95)- 47:27 (ratio=1.74) GALFORD (SS2)- 47:27 (ratio=1.74) ROSE (SFA)- 45:26 (ratio=1.73) SILVER SAMURAI (XM:COTA)- 45:27 (ratio=1.66) JON TALBAIN (DS2)- 40:30 (ratio=1.33) HEAVY D! (KOF94)- 40:30 (ratio=1.33) *************LINE OF SURVIVAL*********** CYCLOPS (XM:COTA)- 39:30 (ratio=1.30) TAKUMA SAKAZAKI (KOF95)- 36:33 (ratio=1.09) HANZO HATTORI (SS2)- 35:35 (ratio=1.00) YOSHIMITSU (T2)- 33:36 (ratio=0.91) OMEGA RED (XM:COTA)- 30:39 (ratio=0.78) CAFFEINE NICOTINE (SS2)- 28:41 (ratio=0.68) ANAKARIS (DS2)- 28:41 (ratio=0.68) SHAO KAHN (MK3)- 18:51 (ratio=0.35) SMOKE (MK3)- 16:53 (ratio=0.30) SAWADA (SFTM)- 10:59 (ratio=0.16) BROCKEN (WHP)- 8:61 (ratio=0.13) BONUS MATCHUP: CAPTAIN KIDD (WHP) and SIE KENSOU (KOF95) defeat IORI YAGUMI (KOF95) and CINDER (KI) by a score of 47 to 15, with 7 abstentions. (It should be noted that a surprisingly high number of people voted for the Kidd/Kensou team solely because Cinder was on Iori's side. One voter remarked: "Cinder would help Iori more if he were fighting against him.") ELIMINATIONS: Guy, Haohmaru:2. Mai, Athena, Rose, Silver Samurai, Galford, Jon Talbain, Heavy D!:1. CURRENT ELIMINATIONS LEADERS: Haohmaru 9, Athena 7, Galford 7, Mai Shiranui 6, Silver Samurai 5. STAGNATIONVILLE: Of the current survivors, five have been present for more than four sections (Samurai, Haohmaru, Mai, Athena, and Galford). Ouch for everybody else... See you next round. Chris "Birdman" Bird Brant "Looks like a new day's dawnin'" Rogers Scott "Feels like a new day yawnin'" Johnson Austin "But it smells like teen spirit" Loomis