------------------------------- UVR2- THE DESTRUCTION CONTINUES ------------------------------- SECTION TWELVE ------------------------------- _The Ring_ "ORCHID!" (KI) The last fighter from the Killer Instinct tourney was berating herself on her way down to ringside. "Stupid! Stupid stupid stupid! Always read the fine print, they said, but did I listen? Nooooooo! I went and signed away my soul to the man I was supposed to bring down, and all I got out of it was slavery..." "NAKORURU!" (SS2) A huge cheer arose. "Yay, Nak! Go, Nak! Come on, Nakky! You're the greatest! You can win this thing, I know you can!" Galford was jumping up and down as he shouted himself hoarse. Poppy coughed up a hairball. "ICEMAN!" (XM:COTA) Iceman looked around nervously. Haohmaru, of course, was nowhere in sight. He pondered his options. Should he stay and make sure that nobody working for the bad guys should get eliminated, so they wouldn't be free to serve evil? Or should he try to get out as quickly as possible to help everyone else? He was so distraught, he didn't even notice the tabloid reporter asking him if he was gay. _Room 245, RumbleDome Hotel_ Demitri surveyed the force he was leaving behind. Rugal sat in a chair, idly clenching his fist. Two of four Tekken fighters Blacknoah had hired (Baek and Jack-2) were present. Paul Phoenix and Kuma were going along with the Haohmaru party. In addition, virtually the entire Killer Instinct node (except for Spinal, Orchid, and Jago) was staying behind. Chang Koehan was humming contentedly to himself in a corner. Finally, Colossus remained, as Demitri's representation for the area. Demitri nodded in satisfaction. "Radio Bison and tell him to come along to 1891...I shall want him to head up a security detail." Iori Yagami's eyebrows shot up at that. Demitri smiled at Iori as they walked out. "Do not worry. You are still my lieutenant." "But why Bison, then?" "I expect that should any force defeat Rugal's assortment of flunkies, we shall need someone expendable to launch an attack as they come at us...an ambush, so to speak. Bison seems especially suitable, yes?" _The Ring_ "SHUN DI!" (VF2) "CHIN GENTSAI!" (KOF95) Shun Di staggered down to ringside hand in hand with Chin Gentsai. They were singing. Loudly. "o/~SO I'llll take the loooooooow road, an'...an' o/~...Chin, that's your part." "Oh. Ohyeah. Um. Uh...o/~ an' I'll take the hiiiiC! iiigh rooooooad...o/~ we sing this bit together, Shun." "Oh. Okay. Count of two. One, two..." Chin joined him in singing off-key. "o/~an' I'll play SF3 before yaaaaaa....o/~" "Good s-song, Chin." "Why, th-th-th-HIC! okay, that's nice of you to say, Shun! Want some...uummmm...what did I put in there this morning...?" Chin took an expermental guzzle. "Oh! Yeah! Scotch!" "Scotch? Mmmmm. Oh." Shun frowned. "But we don't have-HIC!-have-HIC!-have-HIC! got any ice." Chin's eyes narrowed. "Ice?" "Yeah! Can't have the scotch without the rocks, y'know..." Shun tailed off as he saw Chin glaring at him. "Whass wrong...? Wait, you aren't tryin' to tell me you have it straight?" They were at it tooth and nail two seconds later. "HUITZIL!" (DS2) "Multiple target acquisitions. Enhance aiming system powerflows to compensate for advanced drain on crosshair generators." "KING!" (KOF95) King grimaced. She had been hoping for an earlier draw (a rarity, here. The hoping. Not the draw) so she could team up with her teammates from Team England and double-team and triple-team the opposition. She considered what she'd just thought and thanked the stars she hadn't said it out loud. "BISHAMON!" (DS2) The runner-up of last year's UVR strode down to ringside. He was carefully admonishing his armor, sword, and little blue flames. "Listen to me. No fooling around. The whole universe is in danger here, and I won't have you destroying our chances at saving it. If any of you disobey me...even *once*...I will make sure that after this is done I will jump into an active volcano holding all of you tightly. Understood?" A chorus of smallish gulps and "yes, sirs" could be heard. _Eliminated Seating_ Robert Garcia staggered into the seating, looking like hell warmed over. Charlie rushed over to him, as did Stryker. "Jesus! What happened to you?" said Charlie. Robert grunted. "Later. We gotta go." At that precise moment, Ryo Sakazaki (shimmering) arrived, with Heavy D!, Lei Wulong, Donovan Bane, Yoshimitsu, and Jago/Doom in tow. Ryo looked at Robert. "What happened to you?" Robert looked at Ryo. "What happened to *you*?" "Never mind. We're going. Who's coming?" Stryker nodded. "I am." "You couldn't *keep* me away." said Charlie. Matrix came over. "Can I come?" Everyone wondered briefly about the merits of having a Time Killer along, then nods of acquiesence were made. Sasquatch came over, and said something like "chuffle chuffle chuffle." Donovan Bane translated. "That's "I want in", roughly." Kim Dragon came over. "I *said* I was in. And Storm, here," he gestured to the X-Woman, gliding over "can join us." Ryo looked around at his force. "You realize some of us might die? This isn't just fighting." Jago/Doom looked at him scornfully. "What did you think we expected? We fight for honor! To die honorably is better than to die a coward!" "We're Marines! We don't leave our people behind!" contributed Yoshimitsu. "Um, what he said." muttered Heavy D!. He looked at Ryo. "You still got that stake I gave you?" Ryo patted his side. Remarkably, the stake was still there. "Yeah." "Good. Use it if you get the chance." Suddenly, their talk was interrupted by two parties staring balefully at one another. Shao Kahn was heading over, flanked by Kano. However, Shang Tsung, obviously meant to be following on the other side, was staring into Wolverine's eyes with nothing more than hatred. Shao Kahn turned. "*Tsung! Do not waste your time on the Earther! We have more important things to do. My honor will not go unchallenged!*" He turned to Ryo. "*Mortal, I, Kano, and Shang Tsung will be joining you, as previously agreed. Let us go together to destroy the honorless dog Demitri.*" Wolverine ran up. "I'm comin' too. I don't trust these punks." Finally, Sie Kensou, fresh from elimination, ran up. "I'm not too late, am I?" Ryo sighed. "Let's go, then. We haven't got all day." _The Ring_ "CHUN LI!" (SFA) Chun Li ran down to ringside. As she looked at Ryu she tried hard not to giggle. She barely succeeded. For his part, Ryu paid no attention to the goings-on, as he was busy meditating on his short-lived conquest in this fight. Obviously, someone had exploited a flaw in his style. Style errors could not be tolerated. Ryu would root them out. "GOKUU!" (WHP) "Who *is* this loser?" muttered Lucky Glauber. "HEY!" shouted Gokuu. "I'm mean! Look! I painted a kanji on my back and everything! It means "ten"!" He pointed at a crudely painted kanji on the back of his shirt. The paint was still fresh. "Actually," remarked Hanzou, "that one means "zero"." Gokuu fumed. "KUNG LAO!" (MK3) Kung Lao ran down to ringside, planning a strategy against Motaro, whom he had seen in the waiting room before the entrance. He couldn't think of one. "RANCID!" (TK) Rancid walked down to ringside with a look on his face. It was the look of someone who thought he was going to die. Nobody understood this. After all, Rancid had eliminated four people last year... _Room 1891, RumbleDome Hotel_ "Yes, my master. I am at your beck and call." Bison groveled before Demitri, prostrated. Part of Demitri was amused at mighty Bison worhsipping him like an idol. However, most of him was simply irritated. "Get up." Bison got up. "What do you wish me to do, master?" "Take a detail out. I wish you to prepare an ambush for any dogooders that can be ready to move at a moment's notice." "Who do you wish me to take, master?" Demitri pondered this. At that exact moment, Morrigan came in with more fighters following her like puppies. She grinned. "You know, Demitri, I should thank you for..." "Yes. You *should*. But let us not bother with it for now. Who have you brought me?" "Let's see. This is Lee...and Anna...and Ganryu...and Kazuya (he was a feisty one, I must say)...and Bruce. Good enough?" "It will suffice for now. Bison, you will take..." Demitri pondered. "Adon, Birdie, Ryoko, Fuuma, Pyron, Blue Mary, Heihachi, Bob Wilson, Jubei Yagyu, Nina Williams, and Eiji Kasaragi. Prepare to march on my orders..." _The Ring_ "MOTARO!" (MK3) Motaro teleported into the ring and instantly started slamming everyone in sight. A number of fighters aimed projectiles at the monster (ignoring Kung Lao's screams of "NO! DON'T!"), but his reflection abilities (granted to him by Shao Kahn) gave them all quite a surprise (not to mention a number of stuns). His tail lashed around, knocking Jeffry, Bishamon, and Chun Li off their feet. Picking up Guy, he slammed the Alpha Fighter with one mighty fist across the ring. He raised his head and roared. "NOBODY CAN STOP MOTARO!" "KINTARO!" (MK2) The arena went silent. Kintaro's red eyes glowed. "MOTARO! Foul Centuran! Feel the wrath of the Shokan! Feel *MY* wrath! Shao Kahn's magics will not protect you from me!" Motaro swallowed hard. _Sub-Basement 21-JST_ King was running at top speed. He *had* to find the doers of good and offer them his knowledge of the enemy. It was his only way to atone. Suddenly, running through a door, he ran straight into Spinal, who had been heading the other way. Spinal quickly recognized King as one working for Rugal. "Hey! What are you doing down here?" In King's defense, it should be noted that he was pious, friendly, terrific with children, brave, and kind. Nowhere did we mention "quick-witted". "Um. I'm on a mission for Rugal. He sent me down here to find...um...Billy Kane. Yeah." "Oh, okay. Me and Gen-An can help you out, then." The little green hunchback scurried into view. "Oh, that won't be necessary. I can do it myself..." Spinal's voice turned suspicious. "Really. I insist." "Um. Well, um..." he brandished his crucifix. "Get back, undead!" Spinal laughed. "Oh, puh-leese! I'm a scientific breakthrough, not some cheesy dark ritual!" He poked King with his sword. "It says so in my file!" He poked King again. "Come on, Gen-An. Looks like we've got a turncoat here." Suddenly, Spinal was interrupted by a strange drilling sensation in his lower body. He fell back. Rikuo, finishing up his Multi-Hit Mollusk, stood by King. "I take it you're the good guy?" King nodded mutely. "Okay. You can tell me the rest later." WHO WILL LIVE? WHO WILL DIE? KINTARO OR MOTARO?