------------------------------- UVR2- THE DESTRUCTION CONTINUES ------------------------------- SECTION TWELVE-RESULTS ------------------------------- _The Announcer's Booth_ Birdman was pissed. Professor Tym had left, claiming he had some kind of "experiment" that needed finishing. Now, he was waiting patiently for his next broadcast partner, but he, she, or it had yet to show up. In the hallway outside, where they *should* have been waiting, there wasn’t anyone. Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside the booth. Throwing the door open, he rushed outside, to confront an incredibly surprised man in a trenchcoat and jeans. "YOU! You're my new broadcast partner. Get in here." With that, Birdman grabbed him by the arm and threw him into the booth. "Um, what..." "Don't just babble, kid. What's your name?" "Thomas Wilde. Listen, man, I was just looking for the bathroom..." "Shut up. Get in the chair and announce things." Thomas looked around warily. "Is this a trick?" "If it is, then we're both being fooled. All of my guests have bolted, so you're it. Congratulations." "Wow." Birdman turned to the microphone, then, frowning, turned back to Thomas. "If you're going to be up here, you need a nickname. It's video tourney tradition." Thomas shrugged. "If you say so." He still looked vaguely like he'd been smacked with a two-by-four. "What should it be?" Birdman looked at him sideways. "You just wandered up here, right?" "Yeah." Birdman turned back to the microphone, and said, "Ouch! It looks like Kintaro and Motaro are simply dominating, folks. Nobody else can fight in the same ring as the two of them. Your thoughts, Wanderer?" "Huh?" That declaration of cluelessness was broadcast throughout the RumbleDome. Covering the microphone, Birdman stage-whispered, "It's your name." "Oh, right...I'd have to say-" "Talk into the microphone!" "-I'd have to say that if anyone hopes to get anything really done this round, someone's going to have to do something about the two of them. Both of them are so mobile that they’re taking up too much of the space allotted the fighters." Birdman covered the mike again. "You'll do just fine. Say more." _The Ring_ The assembled fighters jumped backward. Kintaro slammed to the ground where they had been standing, and immediately stood back up. "You will have to do better than that to stop me, Centaurian!" Motaro flickered out of sight, then reappeared behind Kintaro (on top of Gokuu, not coincidentally). "Then I will *do* better." Motaro was then slammed with a two-fisted uppercut, sending him back about twenty feet. "Little horse, the KAHN could not defeat me! What do YOU think your chances are?!" "Fair to excellent, worm!" Motaro fired several energy blasts from his tail at Kintaro while he spoke, and the Shokan fighter was unable to block. Meanwhile, most of the rest of the ring was simply dodging the two of them. As Birdman had noted, there was precious little room to stand in, and almost every fighter present was doing their damnedest to claim some part of it. Eliminating other fighters was not really a concern. Not really a concern, that is, unless one happened to be either Shun Di or Chin Gentsai. The two drunken masters were battling viciously, barely avoiding various unpleasant fates at the hands of Kintaro or Motaro, and neither could seem to get the upper hand. Chin Gentsai was compensating for Shun Di's *much* greater strength by repeatedly bopping him with his gourd, and, more importantly, absolutely refusing to stay linear. He was constantly sidestepping Shun's kicks and punches, retaliating with rolling punches and forward kicks. The four fighters weaved in and out of each other in a deadly dance. Shun kicked at Chin, the force of his kick carrying him just beyond Motaro's double-footed kick, which Kintaro blocked. Kintaro teleported and stomped on Motaro, his initial jump carrying him just out of the range of Chin's badly aimed Thunder Blast. Motaro's retaliatory tail sweep forced both Shun and Chin to jump, but did nothing but enrage the unsweepable Kintaro. Chin's rolling punch sent him into the path of a haymaker from Kintaro, and out of it at the last second to strike at Shun. At the last minute, each fighter was able to avoid a stray attack from another duelist and deal one of his own to his enemy. It was an amazing display of skill on the part of both parties. It would have been more impressive, though, if it had been at all intentional. After about five minutes of this, King yelled, "That's it! This is *stupid!* DOUBLE STRIKE!" The projectiles sped towards Motaro. Kung Lao yelled something, but King knew about Motaro's reflective abilities; as a matter of fact, she was counting on them. King's Venom Strikes hit Motaro in the chest, but, instead of hitting him dead on, King had aimed them precisely. The Strikes bounced off at a forty-five degree angle and struck Chin in the back of the head, knocking him out of the ring. "Bank shot! Yes!" King cheered. Chin found himself in the Star Wars Cantina. He fit right in. Kung Lao was staring at King. She smiled. "Don't tell me you never thought of that." All he could do was shake his head. Meanwhile, Kintaro had taken the advantage over Motaro, who had been caught off-guard. The Shokan wouldn't let up, constantly punching the centaur with fists roughly the size of small South American countries. Green blood flew all over the place. Finally, Motaro tried something that had never failed, and began teleporting like mad. Flicking in and out of reality, he threw energy bolts at the Shokan, which Kintaro was usually unable to block. Finally, Motaro teleported one last time behind Kintaro...but Kintaro wasn't there anymore. Motaro was struck by his full weight as he fell out of the sky. Picking up the dazed centaur, Kintaro threw the creature over the "ropes" with a single heave of his left arms. The centaur landed in Final Doom, where a Marine, thinking he was a demon, immediately shot him 397 times. Wanderer covered his eyes. "Oh, that was gross..." "Hey, baby. Wanna get a drink after the Rumble?" "Shut *up,* Gokuu! ROWRR!" "OW! NOT THE FACE!" Meanwhile, Orchid was feeling pretty good about herself. She had taken note of the failures of other Killer Instinctives, and knew where they had gone wrong. With Lasakens and Firecats, she was harassing King Lao. Finally, she slammed him with a jumping punch, then immediately threw a forward kick as she landed. Looking distinctly unimpressed, Kung Lao teleported behind her and kicked her in the back of the head. He then proceeded to punish Orchid with a seven-hit combo, knocking her away. As Orchid got up, she saw Chun Li advancing on her. With a laugh, Orchid spun around on her hands, slamming a pair of green heels into Chun Li’s head. As she landed, she rushed forward, her two lightsabers gleaming, and spun into a Monster Combo. Fortunately, none of these people from other nodes had Combo Breakers... Some people, however, had Alpha Counters. Chun Li threw a crouching forward kick, breaking the combo. "I don't have time for amateurs! KIKOKEN!" The fireball knocked Orchid over the "ropes." She landed in Time Crisis, and stared around her when she *should* have been scrambling for cover. Carnage ensued. Felicia was picking on Terry Bogard. The Man With The Hat's typical tactics were proving rather weak against the catwoman's fast and furious style; she would bound in, attack, and then she would be gone. His Power Waves were being stuffed with Sand Splashes, she didn't remain in one place long enough to bother with a Crack Shot, and his Burn Knuckles hit too high for him to avoid the subsequent Rolling Bucklers. Finally, his patience gone, seeing red, he stood there in the middle of the ring, his fists clenched, gritting his teeth. "What's the matter, mouse? Getting upset?" Felicia purred, batting at the air. Unfortunately, she was so intent on teasing her prey that she ignored the warning cries from her fans in the audience. "Come on, mouse...I don't bite...okay, I do, but you won't feel it..." Felicia crept closer- -and she realized what he was doing. "POWER GEYSER!" Too late. The catwoman was knocked into Thugg's stage from Time Killers. Looking around, all she saw was an enormous dinosaur, obviously dead, and miles of prehistoric jungle. She sat down to sulk. _Room 245, RumbleDome Hotel_ His head hurt...he wasn't exactly sure why, either. Wait...he knew. Eiji Kisaragi and Billy Kane had happened. Where was Charlotte? The only other person he could see was one of those Shodowners, trussed up like a prize bird... DEMITRI! It all came back to him...he had been floating in and out of unconsciousness, but Demitri was moving up to Room...Room 1891...he had to tell the others. And to do that, he had to escape...through the people in the next room... Better yet. Around them. But first... Rugal's hand idly tapped on the table he sat at. He studied the assembled Instinctual Killers with a look like fire. This was incredibly bad. He had gone from being able to use his own agents, to this band of idiots. The only one worth anything, Jago, was only a viable fighter by dint of the fact that he was not currently occupying his body. He was trying to figure out what he, Chang, Baek, Jack-2, and Colossus would be able to do if someone actually *did* attack in force (Earthquake was en route) that he was taken completely by surprise by a loud exclamation from the next room. "....Shinkuu...*GADOKEN!*" There was a sudden explosion. One of the room’s walls no longer existed. Rugal threw himself to his feet with a startled obscenity. No one had remembered that Dan Hibiki was in there. "Combo! Baek! GET HIM! KAISER WAVE!" Rugal threw one of his trademark projectiles through the door to the adjoining room, wrecking several thousand dollars' worth of furniture but not striking Dan, who was already in the hallway and running like mad. The aforementioned Tekkeneer and Killer Instinctive were out the door and after him a moment later. _Room 1891, RumbleDome Hotel_ Demitri surveyed his band. With Bison's force's departure, his personal guard had shrunk alarmingly. "Morrigan, go get some more people." "Isn't this enough, Demitri?" she said. She was sitting demurely (how’s *that* for irony?) on Wolf Hawkfield’s lap. "I'm tired..." The vampire simply looked at her. "All right, all right, I'm going..." Morrigan floated out at the same time Kazuya and Bruce came in carrying the cage that contained Jon Talbain. Billy Kane was behind them with a limp Takuma Sakazaki over his shoulder. Last but not least, Haohmaru's unconscious body was being dragged in by Eiji Kisaragi and Lord Raptor, both of whom were touching the samurai like he was going to bite. (Which he probably would have, had he been conscious.) Demitri looked at Jon, who was lying in his cage. The werewolf looked utterly beaten. "I'm so glad they remembered you, Jon...I need someone on my intellectual level to talk to." Jon simply snarled. He was gathering his strength. "After all, you and I are going to have quite a while to talk, but once you're my slave...well, there goes all of the interesting conversations we'll have. Such is life," the vampire reflected. Suddenly, a darkness invaded the corners of Demitri's vision, and he went to his knees. Pain was driving through his every nerve, and something like fire was scourging his flesh from his bones. Jon looked at this, thinking that Demitri was having some kind of seizure. I WANT WHAT YOU'VE OFFERED ME, MAXIMOV. (I will deliver it to you!) Demitri screamed inside his mind. (Millions of souls will be yours, as soon as I am able. This I swear, Dark Guy.) THAT HAD BEST BE VERY SOON, WORM. MIZUKI CAN TELL YOU HOW I FEEL ABOUT FAILURE... Demitri straightened, his vision clear, his skin-miraculously, it seemed to him-untouched. "Set up the altar!" he screamed at his slaves. "This will proceed!" _Sub-Basement 21-JST_ There was a phrase for fights like this, Gen-An reflected sourly. That word was "slaughter." Spinal was destroyed in seconds by King. The Tekkeneer had neatly scooped the Killer Instinctive out of its initial charge and suplexed it into the floor. After repeated, similar treatment, as well as an application of the dreaded Octopus Combo, Spinal...well, Spinal was gravel. On the other hand, Rikuo was a decent opponent. While Gen-An had a greater reach and his dreaded Butcher Thrust, not to mention a stronger air game, Rikuo had a number of irritating projectiles. The occasional Screw Jet got through as well. They were moderately well-matched. However, when King tried to jump in and put the hunchback in a choke hold, he received a Poison Blizzard for his trouble. The Tekkeener began to get noisily ill, turning purple. Gen-An prepared to deal the wrestler a fatal slash. Suddenly, from down the hall, a single figure appeared, moving quickly towards the fight. As he came into the shadow... "KOURYUKEN!" Dan flew out of the darkness, fist first. Gen-An backed up and kicked the arrogant snot in the leg on the way down, but this made the odds just a little uneven. Weighing his chances, Gen-An suddenly decided to practice the better part of valor, and fled. Rikuo looked with surprise at Dan. Dan just looked like hell. "Where did you come from?" Dan ignored the opportunity for sarcasm. "Demitri's moved upstairs. I have to reach Ryo-" "That is what I need to do as well. I must make amends." Both of them looked at King, who was slowly regaining his proper skin tone. The wrestler looked ashamed (a difficult feat, given his mask). Rikuo looked back at Dan. "A defector." Dan shrugged. "Beggars can't be choosers. Let's go." Down the hallway, Baek and Combo watched the three of them leave. Neither were crazy enough to attack. Baek was the first to break the silence. "It looks like you're going to have to tell Rugal that Dan escaped." Combo swallowed hard. "*Me?!* *You're* the one who let him go..." _The Ring_ "Multiple targets. Weapons locks achieved. Exterminate!" Huitzil, with its usual wit and charm, opened up its usual can of projectile asskick. Terry Bogard was hit from behind with an Ice Beam (he then Burn Knuckled an unfortunate Iceman, thinking the mutant had done it). A Homicide Vulcan tore into Nakoruru. A series of explosions knocked Jeffry and Guy down. Ukyo raised his sword to attack, but was shot out of the air by a laser bolt. "Target evaluations: Wimps. Initiating new opponent scan-" "YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!" "YATTAYATTAYATTAYATTAYATTAYATTA!" CLANG! BONG! CLANG! BONG! CLANG! BONG! CLANG! BONG! CLANG! BONG! CLANG! BONG! CLANG! CLANG! BONG! CLANG! BONG! CLANG! *CRUNCH!* Kim Kaphwan and Chun Li looked at each other in surprise from opposite sides of Huitzil. "That's *my* move!" they said, in perfect unison. Huitzil was smoking dangerously. It began to bounce up and down, red lights on its "head" flashing wildly. A strange feminine voice came from within the robot's chest cavity. "Warning. Warning. Power core breach. Safeties are off-line." "What does *that* mean?" Chun Li asked of the world at large. Terry Bogard looked up from what he was doing, his eyes wide. (Since beating the crap out of Iceman was what he was doing, the X-Man was happy.) "I heard that at the Dream Tournament! It's going to explode!" "Why didn't you say something earlier?!" Kim yelled back. "I was busy! Get rid of it!" "All *right,* already!" Chun Li kicked it through the dimensional field. The robot landed in front of a group of teenagers in various multi-colored outfits. "What is *that,* Billy? One of Rita's evil tricks?" "One moment, Kimberly. I'll examine it for anything of a highly destructive nature." Huitzil chose that moment to go nuclear. Back in the RumbleDome, the audience was going nuts. People were cheering, stomping their feet, and throwing their drinks into the air. Popcorn showered the ring. Wanderer was staring at the DimensionCam. "Do you have any *idea* for how long I've wanted to see that?" Sitting back in his chair, Birdman smiled. "Finally, our long national nightmare is over." Meanwhile, Rancid was in trouble. It never failed. Every time he entered this bloody ring, everyone started chasing him. It was like they had something *against* the Time Killers. Was it his fault? (Well, yeah, probably, but he wasn't about to tell himself that.) No. Why were they picking on him? No one had chased Matrix around, or Orion... He, on the other hand, had been running from the moment Motaro was eliminated. Bishamon, in particular, seemed to want his head on a plate. Rancid sighed. It was just his luck. "Excuse me, but if I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?" "Go away, Gokuu! AMUBE YATORO!" "OW!" Guy was, also, having a bit of trouble. Well, okay, he was having a *lot* of trouble. Shun Di was kicking his ass. The drunken master was a constant rolling blur of kicks and punches, and Guy was simply not fast enough to block them all. He was being forced back to the edge of the platform. The Virtua Fighter jumped in, preparing to deliver a final blow that would knock him over the "ropes." Not knowing if it would work, Guy Bushin Leaped, delivering a powerful series of jumping punches and kicks. The light faded in the ring, and a series of blue shadows trailed behind him as he hit Shun Di again and again. Finally, the combination ended, with a dazzling sunburst effect. Shun Di was out of the ring. Guy slumped to his knees from the effort. Shun landed in King's bar from KOF'95. Even unconscious, his finely tuned reflexes enabled him to order a shot of whiskey. _Throughout the RumbleDome_ "Mind if I sit here?" Clark looked up. He had just bought his sixth or eighth beer; it was starting to dull the pain from when he'd asked Janne if she had wanted to see his Vulcan Punch. "No, not at all." Morrigan smiled cutely. He didn't see the fangs. Pai was irritated. How *dare* her father talk to her like that in the middle of a fight? After all those years neglecting her, how *dare* he? She was going to win it all, next time. She was already planning how she would humble her father in the next Virtua Fighter tournament. "Is there a problem, dear?" "Do I know you, chick?" Pai demanded of the woman next to her. "No. But you will." Morrigan moved closer. He thought they were gone. Sub-Zero moved around the corner, the shadows hiding him. Of course, that wouldn't do much good against Sektor's motion sensors, but he felt better. The robots had started to move again a few minutes ago, and he hadn’t been able to stop running for more than a minute since. "'Come to a tournament,' Jax says. 'They won't be able to hunt you there,' he says. 'They don't allow fighting at these things except in the ring,' he says. 'Okay,' I say," he muttered sardonically. "I should get my head examined." "Do you always talk to yourself?" The question came from his left. He turned, to see a beautiful woman looking at him, about half-cloaked in shadow. "Only when I'm being chased." "Really," Morrigan replied. "You are." Jack-2 was looking through the RumbleDome's security feeds. Unfortunately, most of the people he was looking for knew enough to avoid the cameras or disable them. Still, it kept him busy while Rugal chewed out Baek and Combo. Judging from the occasional shouts of "GENOCIDE CUTTER!" it was healthier being in here. "Jack?" came a breathy voice from his left. "You have a link to the Dome's systems, right?" He looked to his left, and saw Morrigan standing there. "Yes..." he said hesitantly. "Good." She came closer. Her hand traced along his jawline. "There's something I need you to do." A few minutes later, Sektor unplugged itself from the wall. "Units, report. This is unit LK-486, transmitting new orders." Its adjusted programming was very clear. Throughout the RumbleDome, Cyrax, Dural, Brocken, Fulgore, and Smoke stopped what they were doing and headed towards the nearest elevator. Grrr...the *first* elimination of the Rumble. Great title to have. Ralf loved it. He was one of the greatest fighters in the world at home, but when he came on these little interdimensional joyrides, he always seemed to get the short end of the stick. Bastards. He'd show them in ‘96... "Excuse me? Ralf, right?" "Yeah." He turned around. "I'm a *big* fan," Morrigan gushed. Joe Higashi was fuming in one of the practice rooms. He had lost to *Dan!* It was like losing to Robert Garcia-if Robert had been about twelve. He delivered a flying side kick, trashing one of the punching bags and sending it careening into the corner, sand flying everywhere. There were three more bags like that. The door creaked open behind him. "What?!" "Just looking for a few pointers, Joe..." Morrigan's voice was like silk. _Eliminated Seating_ Ryo was studying his hands. The fact that he was shimmering was just adding to the incredibly surreal feeling he was having about this entire day. A "leader," him? Takuma would laugh... A lot was riding on him right now: his family, a lot of his friends, and beyond that, the entire Multiverse. On Ryo Sakazaki. He wished he could talk to Terry. Terry did this sort of thing all the time. His little team of "heroes" were muttering amongst themselves. Charlie, as the military expert, was telling them all where they were going and what to expect. Shao Kahn was standing amongst them, looking so far out of place it was kind of funny. He-Kahn-was going to make a grab for Haohmaru as soon as Demitri was out of the way...Ryo knew it, and Kahn knew Ryo knew it. The question was, what to do about it? Suddenly, Kahn stood up. "*You fools talk too much. We must go immediately, before the vampire becomes a god. I *refuse* to be on equal terms with that insect!*" Ryo rubbed his temples. The headache was more or less gone, but the enchantments on him were making his skull vibrate. It was very...funky, but it made tolerating Kahn more difficult. However, staggering in through the entrance from the hotel...was that...? Ryo ran over to help Rikuo, who was supporting both King and Dan Hibiki. Kyo Kusanagi was right behind them (he had stopped to change clothes). "What the hell happened to you?" Dan looked at him. "What the hell happened to *you*?" Robert walked over. "What the hell...hey, wait a minute..." Dan and Robert looked at each other for a moment, then Robert smiled at Ryo. "Handsome guy." "I still don't see the resemblance." Dan was a bit grumpy. Rikuo said, "Gen-An and Spinal happened to us. Billy Kane and Eiji Kisaragi happened to him. They both have something to tell you..." As Ryo and Robert listened to him, Ryo was first shocked...then a devilish grin appeared on his face. _The Ring_ "I'd just like to say, your father must have been a terrorist, because you are the BOMB!" "KIKOKEN! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!" FWOOSH! BAM! CRACK! WHAM! THUD! "You know, I'm starting to think I might not be welcome here." Kintaro was dominating the ring. Ever since Motaro's unfortunate demise (the DimensionCam now showed the unconscious Motaro being prodded by a pair of *very* frightened knights), the Shokan warrior had been using his size to great advantage. He punched Bishamon out of his way, breathing an enormous fireball in the general direction of Rancid (who ducked). Nakoruru and Ukyo jumped in, slashing, but the Shokan teleported out of their way and fell, with his full weight, on Jeffry. With surprising speed, Kintaro grabbed Guy and Kung Lao. "This is gonna hurt..." Kung Lao muttered through clenched teeth. "Hardly, Shaolin. There are greater foes afoot than you...namely, those who want Haohmaru's soul. I am your ally in this...however, if someone were to win this competition, then the plot would be worthless. That is my goal. You will all fall before me, ending this threat!" Kintaro flung both fighters across the ring like rag dolls. Guy landed safely (Kim cushioned his fall). Unfortunately for Kung Lao, though, Nakoruru was watching for an opportunity like this. "*Go,* Mamahaha!" The magical falcon wheeled into the air, hitting the Shaolin and juggling him mercilessly. Finally, he was ejected from the ring. Galford started going crazy. "The first of many, Nak! You can do it! You can go the whole way! You're going to win! You're-" As one, the Eliminated seating told him to shut up. Meanwhile, Kung Lao had landed in Double Dragon. An enormous man wearing only jeans and work boots walked up to him, cracking his knuckles. "So Lee has a friend, huh? I'll crush you." Kung Lao just smiled. Five seconds later, Birdman was scrambling for the censor button on the DimensionCam. Nearby, Billy Lee watched idly. That was one less gang member he had to fight, but that was a really grotesque way to go... "Well, that's it for Mortal Kombat 3. Disappointing, really." Birdman tapped a few buttons, eliminating the node from the roster. (On a more disturbing note, the ratings had jumped a few hundred points after Kung Lao's outburst, proving once again that extreme violence sells.) "Damn. I had two bucks riding on him," Wanderer lamented. "MK4 had better get some eliminations..." "Hey, babe, I'd just like to say-" "Did you just call me THAT WORD?" "What word?" "The 'b' word." "What, 'babe?;" "That’s it." "Yeah, I did. Why?" "TRAP SHOT!" *WHAM!* "That's *it!* I'm not trying anymore." The audience cheered. Guy looked at Kintaro, and then at the Eliminated seating. They could really use him up there...with a sudden grim smile, the Bushitsu master ran over to King, who was resting after knocking Gokuu away from her. As he talked, her eyes widened, then she assumed a similar grim expression. King immediately ran after Kintaro. Terry Bogard was still pounding on Iceman. As the X-Man struggled to his feet, he was struck with a pair of kicks, a kidney punch, and an uppercut that sent him into the air, where Terry joined him. "POWER...*DUNK*!!!!" he yelled, knocking him to the ground. Iceman recovered quickly. Terry was standing in front of him, gathering his chi for a final Power Geyser. "For the last time, I didn't blast you! Huitzil did!" "Sure, pal. Whatever." There was a circle of power surrounding the Bogard. He was starting, once more, to glow. "Screw this," Iceman muttered. "I tried diplomacy. ARCTIC ATTACK!" An ice storm swept the ring. Pellets and boulders bounced off many of the fighters, knocking most down. Only Guy, Bishamon, and (somehow) Rancid were able to block the onslaught. Terry was knocked cleanly out of his charge and slid across the mat like a shuffleboard weight. Iceman laughed. "Gotcha, buddy! Now, I'm gonna-WHULPH!" Bishamon's Sword Toss had connected. As the blade drew the X-Man back, the undead samurai said to him, "You talk too much." He then grasped his sword and sent Iceman out of the ring with a Rising Slash. Iceman landed in, of all things, X-Men. Not the tournament fighter, but the side-scroller. Dazzler and Nightcrawler looked surprised, but the woman they were fighting looked scared. Iceman smiled at the White Queen. "Miss me, sweetheart?" "Oh, no..." A battle royal began. Back in the ring, Bishamon turned around to deal with that annoying Time Killer. He heard a buzzing as he turned, as Rancid swept his chainsaw down and across, cutting off Bishamon's right arm. "Now, Bish, my man, this is going to end! Starting with you, I'm going to tear everyone in this ring apart-" "You will pay for that." Bishamon's arm floated up from the mat, to reattach itself to his shoulder. "Darkstalkers are harder to dismember than most, fool." "Mommy!" Frantically, Rancid hacked at the samurai, but Bishamon's Reversal Slash dealt with him. Rancid was knocked across the ring, landing in front of Gokuu. "Well, hello, there..." Gokuu said, looking down at the Time Killer. To Gokuu's eyes, he had 'Easy Elimination' tattooed on his forehead. "Hello, yourself," Rancid said, slashing at Gokuu's gut. The World Hero reeled back. Rancid jumped up and kicked him in the face, then sliced off his right arm. Gokuu screamed in agony, then kicked Rancid in the jaw. The Time Killer reeled back, then came at him again, removing Gokuu's left arm. Finally, as an act of mercy (for himself, not Gokuu-the man's screams could curl wallpaper), he swung again, and decapitated him. The pieces of the World Hero went over the side and through the field. The pieces landed in a neat pile in the courtyard of Shang Tsung's castle, from the original MK. Not much else happened. Some of the crowd booed. Others howled. The Time Killers were going nuts. Rancid had done it again! He had beaten the odds! He had...been Sword Snapped over the side by Bishamon. The Darkstalker, for one, shining moment, looked at peace. Rancid landed in Extreme Games. He severely complicated the street luge competition. _Eliminated Seating_ Ryo's people were conferring apart from Shao Kahn and his minions. "So, the bloodsucker's moved, and left Rugal with a few party favors for us." "You have a way of cutting right to the heart of a matter, Stryker." "Sue me, Wulong." Charlie looked relieved. "So, that's at least one boss we won't have to deal with. Sounds good to me-we can just cut straight up through the hotel to Demitri's room." Ryo nodded. "Should we attack Rugal?" Charlie shook his head. "Ordinarily, I'd say yes, but our main goal is to make sure Demitri can't sacrifice Haohmaru, not-" he swallowed, "-to survive afterwards." They were all quiet for a moment after that. "Whether we have someone behind us or not isn't important, so long as we can do that." "Good. Let's get to work." Robert punched his fist. "What are we waiting-" Shao Kahn roared, "*WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR, MORTALS?!?!? I HUNGER FOR THE VAMPIRE’S SOUL!*" Stomping over to the group, Shang Tsung and Kano behind him, he stood directly in front of Ryo. Somehow, he'd managed to acquire Sindel, Mileena, and Baraka, who stood with him as well. Ryo looked up at the God of the Outworld, who fairly shook with rage and hatred. Ryo didn't know what Demitri had done to Kahn, but it must have been bad...it almost made him feel sorry for having to do this. "Kahn, you take point." "*I WILL CRUSH HIM...*" In another being, it would have been accurate to say that Kahn had blinked. "*WHAT?*" "You heard me. Move out and hit Demitri first. He's in room 245 of the hotel...we'll back you up as soon as we know for sure what he's doing." Ryo fought to suppress a grin. "*I SHALL DO SO IMMEDIATELY. HURRY, MORTALS. I DO NOT INTEND TO LEAVE MUCH OF THE VAMPIRE INTACT FOR YOU TO GROVEL IN FRONT OF. COME! WE GO TO WAR!*" He walked out of the seating with his forces behind him. As he walked out, he was heard to remark, "...WEAK PATHETIC FOOLS..." Ryo started to laugh wildly. Charlie, Stryker, Lei, and Robert looked at him strangely. Ryo wiped his eyes. "Well, that's Rugal taken care of, and Kahn in the bargain. Let's go." _The Ring_ Kintaro uppercutted Kim Kaphwan out of his way, ignoring the rain of Kikokens, Tsubame Gaeshis, and Power Waves being directed at him. "Is no one going to prove a *challenge* in this competition?!" he growled. Behind him, King reached into her tuxedo jacket and pulled out a hip flask. Taking a small sip, she readied herself to fight the Shokan. She began to assume her fighting stance, then looked at Kintaro again. Shaking her head, she took another, longer, slug, grimaced, and whistled loudly. Kintaro turned around, slowly, and received a Venom Strike full in the face. He blinked, and breathed an enormous ball of flame at the bouncer, who sidestepped and dashed forward into the dreaded Tornado Kick. She threw herself into the air, her legs higher than her head, and Kintaro, as was expected, blocked. However, the Shokan was unable to block the second kick, as King spun around in midair. Neither did he block her subsequent Trap Shot, and her foot took him in the jaw. As King landed from that, she backed up, just out of the range of his forward punch. "Do you honestly think that you can defeat the mighty Kintaro?" "Well, yeah... DOUBLE STRIKE!" "Your puny techniques will prove useless-" "YA!" SMACK! "That's *it!*" Kintaro leaped into the sky. King jumped backward, but the plummeting Shokan came neatly down on her in mid-air. As she hit, the creature stomped once, twice, then jumped off. King struggled to her feet. "A good fight, woman, but I will prove superior!" Kintaro roared his power and majesty to the sky. "Now," King muttered, and charged him. The Shokan's guard was completely down. He felt every bit of the Illusion Dance. The last kick launched Kintaro into the air. "HIT HIM!" Guy screamed, slamming the airborne Mortal Kombatant with a Rising Spin Kick. Ukyo jumped up into a Swoop Swallow Slice, which smacked him at the same time as Terry Bogard's second Power Geyser of the round. Jeffry, looking up, simply drew in a deep breath and threw a thunderous uppercut, slamming Kintaro up again. Looking up from her fight with Bishamon, Nakoruru quickly kicked the samurai away. "I have him!" she yelled. "LEYLA MISTUBE!" Rising into the air, she slashed Kintaro deeply. Guy yelled, "Chun Li!" "Got him!" She intercepted him before he could fall back to the mat completely with a Level 1 Super Kikoken. Kintaro bounced back into the air. Finally, King had been dashing across the ring after him, and she leapt up. Accompanied by the roars of the crowd, she connected with a kick in mid-air that eliminated Kintaro. Birdman and Wanderer, in the announcer's booth, were goggle-eyed. "That was the most incredible thing I've ever seen," Wanderer whispered. He couldn't have looked away on a bet. Birdman glanced at the ratings screen, and his eyes hit the DimensionCam. "That's the second most incredible thing I’ve ever seen," he said, pointing. "Look." Kintaro had landed in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter. In a burst of complete, awe-inspiring rage, he was absolutely massacring Apocalypse. En Sabah Nur was being crushed, punched, and blasted to within an inch of his immortal life. Gambit and Cammy stood on the roof of a nearby building. "Were we going to do somet'ing about dis, chere?" "Hadn't planned on it, luv." The Multiverse was watching that battle of modern titans so intently that no one noticed Jeffry sneaking up behind a reeling Kim. The Tae Kwon Do fighter was almost unconscious after being beaten by Kintaro. All he knew was that he had to stay in...this time, he had brought his children to the Rumble, and they were watching him fight from the skybox seats. A shadow fell across him, and he turned to see Jeffry, his hands extended like he was going to grab Kim. "What do you want?" Jeffry's brain must have malfunctioned at this point, for that's the only thing that would explain his answer: "Um, to eliminate you, I guess." Kim answered him with the last of his energy, expressed in his Houohkyaku-also known to his fans as the Phoenix Flattener-directly to Jeffry's face. Kick after kick landed on the Virtua Fighter, delivered by one of the greatest fighters in the Multiverse. The punishment finally ended by way of a flipping kick directly to his chin, just as the audience's attention returned to the Rumble. Jeffry exited the ring, passing through the dimensional field. Jeffry landed in an abandoned church. Cy-5 and Warhead looked at him. "What mortal interrupts our combat?" Warhead asked menacingly. "Good lord...War Gods..." Birdman whispered. The ratings had declined already. Jeffry, moderately upset about being eliminated, simply attacked them both. "Ouch. Jeffry’s piledriving Warhead into the ground...now he's got Cy-5 in a headlock...man, that had to hurt! The War Gods are being taken apart!" Wanderer looked at Birdman. "Why do you look so depressed?" Birdman looked back at the ratings screen. They were climbing steadily. "Nothing, man. Nothing at all." Kim had collapsed from that effort, utterly spent. Nakoruru, having just sicced Mamahaha on Bishamon, looked down at the unconscious Fighting King, and picked him up. "Don't be upset," she said. "This is for your own good." She then tossed him gently out of the ring and turned back to the fight. Suddenly, she turned back. "Where do I know you from, anyway? Oh, well..." Kim landed in Little Nemo's Slumberland, smack dab in Little Nemo's empty bed. Oblivious, he slept on. In the ring, Guy was having a whispered conversation with Terry Bogard. "So, that's the story. What do you say?" "I'm in. How could I not be?" "Good. Listen, we need people-" An apple fell between them. Guy's eyes bugged out, and he threw himself backward. The apple split into quarters, as Terry was knocked out of the ring. He found himself in NBA Jam. Someone threw him a basketball. Terry grinned, and turned his hat backwards. "Let's go." Scottie Pippen laughed. "Man, white men can't..." "POWER...DUNK!" The backboard shattered to powder. "...never mind." Back in the ring, Guy was pissed. "Ukyo, what was that all about?" The Shodowner shrugged. "...so...you...get to eliminate...all of the (cough) people we...need on the...outside...? That's...not (hack) fair..." "Point taken." ******* FINAL TALLY: (46 voters) CHUN LI (SFA)- 37:9 (ratio=4.11) BISHAMON (DS2) - 35:11 (ratio=3:18) KING (KOF95) - 33:13 (ratio=2.54) NAKORURU (SS2) - 32: 14 (ratio=2.29) UKYO TACHIBANA (SS2) - 31:17 (ratio=1.82) GUY (SFA) - 32:20 (SFA) - (ratio=1.60) ***********LINE OF SURVIVAL************ TERRY BOGARD (KOF95) - 28:19 (ratio=1.50) KIM KAPHWAN (KOF95) - 28:20 (ratio=1.40) RANCID (TK) - 25:21 (ratio=1.19) KINTARO (MK2) - 25:21 (ratio=1.19) FELICIA (DS2) - 25:22 (ratio=1.13) SHUN DI (VF2) - 24:22 (ratio=1.09) KUNG LAO (MK3) - 24:22 (ratio=1.09) JEFFRY MCWILD (VF2) - 21:27 (ratio=0.78) ICEMAN (XM: COTA) - 19:27 (ratio=0.70) CHIN GENTSAI (KOF95) - 15:31 (ratio=0.50) ORCHID (KI) - 12:34 (ratio=0.35) HUITZIL (DS2) - 11:35 (ratio=0.31) GOKUU (WHP) - 4:42 (ratio=0.10) MOTARO (MK3) - 4:42 (ratio=0.10) BONUS MATCHUP: KING (T2) and RIKUO (DS2) beat GEN-AN SHIRANUI (SS2) and SPINAL (KI) by a score of 26 to 14 with six abstentions. ELIMINATIONS: Chun Li, Bishamon, King, Nakoruru: 2. Ukyo, Guy, Terry, Kim, Rancid, Kintaro: 1. CURRENT ELIMINATIONS LEADERS: Haohmaru 13, Guy 13, Athena 9, Rose 8, Silver Samurai 6, Mai Shiranui 6, Ukyo 5. THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER: Guy (SFA) has survived six sections and has tied Haohmaru (SS2) for eliminations, which means he's tied for first. However, he has nine eliminations to go before he comes anywhere near Haohmaru's record twenty-two eliminations...and there are only thirteen other fighters left in the Rumble. UNBE-F**KIN'-LIEVABLE: Once again, Rancid has defied chance to be the only Time Killer to eliminate someone at the Rumble. If not for the three (count ‘em) sub-bosses this round, he would have survived to Round Thirteen. MAYBE NEXT YEAR: Mortal Kombat 3 is out of it without a single elimination! Them's the breaks... BEST VOTE QUOTE: "SHUN DI (VF2): LIVE (Well, substance abuse has its perks.)" WHOOPS, BAD IDEA (UVR2): Terry Bogard. The only reason he didn't survive this round was his elimination of Ranma Saotome (R1/2HB)...he earned four "die" votes because of it. Watch for the next round, coming soon! (This time, I mean it. :) Thomas "Wanderer" Wilde Editing, suggestions, and repeated apologies from: Christopher "Birdman" Bird *********************** "I hear more than I like to, So I boil my head in a sense of humor, Laugh at what I cannot change, And throw it all on the pyre again..." -The Dave Matthews Band, "Drive In Drive Out"