The Kingdom of Fanelia Gaea The camera panned across an outdoor battlefield, where a festive mood in a Renaissance-like atmosphere prevailed. Minstrels and dancers entertained the crowd while the Phantom Moon loomed in the night sky. In the crowd, a petite humanoid cat with short red hair and a simple tunic occasionally popped her head up, scanning the field. Massive mortars near the archway went off, signaling the beginning of the latest Fight Scene! The cameras panned to the announcers' booth, a large table. However, it was strangely empty at the moment. "Remember the money, JR! C'mon, please?" a nerdy voice could be heard pleading from off-camera. "No! No! I don't care *how* much they're giving me, this was *not* in my contract!" "Look, at least they're not asking you to sell being afraid of a guy in a Robocop suit," a third voice chimed in. "Well... oh, alright," Jim Ross finally relented. With that, he and his fellow announcers Mike Tenay and Ric Flair finally stepped on camera. The reason for JR's reluctance became clear... all of them were in period costume. Jim Ross fiddled with the laces on his tunic as the announcers took their seats. "At least it's not a toga, this time..." JR muttered to himself "Well, we're here in the enchanted land of Gaea, a certainly unusual setting for tonight's Fight Scene," Tenay opened. "Welcome back, everyone, for the second half of the opening rounds of the Moon Kingdom and Mobius Tournament!" "I *hate* enchanted lands," JR grumbled. "I could really get to like this place, guys," Ric enthused, holding up a hearty mug of ale and eyeing a busty wench in the crowd. "I guess it's just the majestic feel of the Renaissance, perfect for a Nat'cha Boy like myself. WHOO!" He took a drink from his mug, but was quickly interrupted by the sounds of machinery in the distance. Further into town, what looked like a intricate mech was treading through the streets. "Well...sort of..." "Last week, we witnessed the debut of an entity that made Pippkin look like the damn *Easter Bunny*... I'm talking about one Dark Sonic!" JR uttered. "He clearly had ill intentions toward tournament competitor Deb Soulstone and a young Author by the name of Lynxara... and he seemed in an almost *passive* mood last week," Tenay said, concerned. "I shudder to think what he has in store tonight." "And coming up real soon, we're going to see what his right hand man, the vampire wolf Kefkain, can do," Ric announced. "Unfortunately, Son Goku was unable to make it to Gaia for tonight's event," Tenay said seriously, "but the Powers That Be were able to find a suitable replacement..." The camera cut to a tall woman with waist-length platinum blonde hair. An indigo dress suit and a flowing cape covered her elegant form. She is Shion Nys, one of the more potent psionicists in the Kazei 5 realm. "I just hope she knows what's in store for her," JR warned, as the "MacGuyver" theme cued up over the outdoor speakers. A determined black cat strolled to the ring, wearing a black vest and a large belt pouch. He also carried an unusual pistol in a holster. He is followed by a somewhat stout, intelligent-looking racoon, who walked with a cane. "That boy has an impressive manager, guys," JR commented. "Mr. Draftwood there is a prominent doctor and computer expert back in Mobius." "Felix is really smart as well," Tenay added. "A vast array of gadgets is at his disposal, as well as that BB pistol--" "A *BB* pistol?" Ric interrupted. "Well, it's not just a BB pistol. It's supercharged with twenty-five thousand kiloliters of compressed helium held in a depleted Lawrencium capsule! You'd be amazed at what it could do!" "I still say we're going to see a royal babysitter try to fight a vampire," Flair pronounced dismissively as he turned his attention back to his ale. Abruptly, the beginning of the "The Perfect Drug" blared through the speakers. Dark Sonic slid out of the curtains, and smirkingly lead the huge Kefkain to the ring... Match one: Mobian Dimension Tournament KEFKAIN vs. FELIX XAVIER JINX Kefkain approached the center of the ring with purpose, and simply stared down at Felix with a chilling dead-eyed glare. "Well, Felix seems going on the attack first," JR began as Felix yanked a silver string from out of his wrist band. He whipped it toward the massive wolf, and it extended and wrapped around Kefkain's waist. "Felix appears to be trying to use his superior agility to trip up Kefkain..." Tenay continued. "And he's failing," Flair added flatly. Instead, Kefkain simply grinned ferociously, grabbed onto the silver string and yanked Felix in. "BOOT TO THE HEAD!" JR screamed as Kefkain staggered Felix with a kick to the snout, and followed up with a brutal slash across his face! "Kefkain has absolutely ripped Felix open," a horrified Tenay said. The bloodied Felix quickly rolled outside the ring to have Draftwood examine him. "It's a good thing that kid picked a doctor for a manager... I think Felix will need him some more before *this* match is over," Flair commented. Bookshire quickly cleaned up the wound and wiped some of the blood away. Vigilantly, Felix returned to the ring. "Uh-oh... it looks like Sonic wants to have a word with Bookshire," JR observed uneasily. Dark Sonic had circled around the ring, and seemed ready to confront the raccoon genius. "No, Sonic's been, er... *distracted*," Tenay added. A young girl had caught his eye on the way over: the red-headed cat-girl, Merle, from before. Dark Sonic took the time to blow her a kiss, frightening the poor girl back deeper into the audience, but giving the handicapped Bookshire a chance to put some distance between himself and the evil hedgehog. "Well, Felix is using his size to his advantage... he's dodging Kefkian's punches, but it looks like one is all it would take to kill him," Flair noted, becoming a bit more interested in the action. Felix pulled a short metal rod from his pouch. "He's got some kind of weapon out now...and he's actually *charging* Kefkain!" JR exclaimed incredulously. Felix ran at his opponent and dived, ramming the metal pole as hard as he could into one of Kefkain's knees. The white wolf briefly staggered... and then felled Felix with a massive spin kick that rammed his other leg into Felix's back. "That's *incredible* agility for something Kefkain's size," Tenay marveled. "And the sheer *power*! Kefkain sent Felix flying across the ring! MAH GOD!" Outside, Dark Sonic was amusing himself by slowly circling around the ring, sending Bookshire stumbling in front of him in a panic. "Felix is going for another one of his gadgets... is that a *pocket watch*?" Flair asked. Felix punched a few buttons on the watch and then chucked it at the as yet-unharmed Kefkain. The wolf batted the device away effortlessly as it flew through the air, sending it sailing out of the ring. It landed a few feet away from the announcers' table. "Well, that was stupid," JR declared to no one in particular... a few moments before the watch exploded into a massive fireball. The announcers screamed and dived underneath their desk, while Kefkain briefly paused to see the source of the commotion. Felix took advantage of the moment to pull out his BB pistol and unleash several super-charged pellets into the huge wolf. Kefkain was knocked back a little with each blast, the final pellet exploding in a fiery burst. "Felix has finally managed to stagger Kefkain!" Tenay exclaimed as he and the other commentators climbed back into their seats. But just then, a clicking sound emitted from Felix's pistol... he was out of ammo. Outside the ring, Sonic finally decided to confront Draftwood. They seemed to be in an argument, the raccoon rather bravely holding his own. In the ring, Kefkain cupped a massive claw around Felix's head. "*Incredible* chokeslam!" Flair exclaimed in grudging awe as Kefkain flung Felix to the mat. The vampire then sank a claw along Felix's shoulder and neck. "It look like some kind of nerve hold..." Tenay trailed off as he wracked his brain to figure out what Kefkain was doing. "Sweet Jesus! Worse than that!" JR shouted in horror as Kefkain began to flood his foe with seething red necromantic energy. Felix began wailing weakly, the robo-ref stopping the match as his body went limp. "Kefkain's finisher, the Soul Drain," Tenay finally said in recognition. The vampiric wolf didn't let go until Felix had fallen completely unconscious. "As if that wasn't enough... look at what's going on outside!" JR broke in disgustedly. A furious Sonic had grabbed Draftwood's cane away and proceeded to shove him down, relentlessly hammering away. "Oh, come *on*," Flair growled. But Sonic was stopped cold as a figure barged over the railing, and slammed him with a steel chair. She then grabbed him and dropped him with a cradle DDT. "Lynxara's back!" Tenay shouted. Kefkain rushed furiously to take vengeance for his partner/manager, but she was already gone, helped back into the crowd by a tall young man wearing a very familiar T-shirt. "She's not the only one! Is that Jamie Jeans?" JR asked. "After what happened..." Flair trailed off with a sigh. He grabbed a fresh mug of ale from the serving girl, and then turned to the others. "Do you guys think that Authors are born stupid, or just get that way once they're in the Arena?" JR pointedly ignored Ric. "A hell of a way to open up tonight's show! His man may have advanced in the tournament, but Sonic's in a world of hurt!" "Lynxara's already allied herself with Wolf... could we be seeing a return of the Wolfpack?" Tenay speculated. "They helped end the madness with Pippkin at our last Pay-per-view, they could certainly do the same here," JR concluded. "But let's move on to our next match, shall we?" Flair broke in. "We're about to see an AAA first: a duel between shapeshifters!" "That certainly sounds wild," Tenay added. The dopey pop sounds of the 1-2-3 Kid's theme music began playing as Sandra Nightweaver lead her other associate, Ryan the Newcomer, to ringside. At the moment, Ryan was a young raccoon with a couple of metallic fingers. "Young Ryan is a promising contender," Tenay began. "Energy blasts, shape-shifting skill, and a massive amount of blind luck." "Sometimes, Mike, a little luck is all you..." Ric was interrupted as an all-too-familiar theme piece of music to play. It was *his* theme, in fact, the theme from '2001: A Space Odyssey.' "These furballs are mocking me, aren't they?" Ric growled uncomfortably. "Ric, it's just coincidental..." JR attempted to assure his colleague. "First Joseph casually escapes a Buzz Killer, and now this Vision guy..." A vaguely feline humanoid with golden fur approached the ring, several small ridges not unlike a Klingon's sprouting from his head. "The Lord of Pez is looking impressive tonight," Tenay uttered in order to change the subject. It was quite successful. "The Lord of PEZ?!" Ric and JR called back. Tenay simply shrugged. "Look, I'm not the one that makes this stuff up." Match two: Mobius Dimension Tournament VISION vs. RYAN "We begin with a lock-up... and this looks to be a surprisingly technical match," JR said. Ryan had managed an arm bar and threw his opponent down. He then switched to a gorilla body for additional strength, and proceeded to hammer away at Vision with aggressive punches. "Now Ryan has his opponent in a gorilla press..." Tenay began "What else?" Flair smirked. "... and Vision is *launched* over the top rope!" "But he's already back up!" JR continued. As Vision landed, he morphed himself into a lizardman and slithered back in. "Ryan's having trouble grabbing Vision now, and... GAH!" Tenay suddenly screamed. "Vision just spat *burning tar* into Ryan's face!" Flair exclaimed gleefully. Maybe this Vision kid wasn't so bad after all... Vision then grabbed the Newcomer and began raking him with his hind claws. "Ryan's shifting into a much smaller mouse form to escape, and..." Tenay was forced to stop again by the need to wince as Ryan slammed an upper-cut into Vision's...area. "Sweet groin music!" Flair shouted. "Ryan's reverted back to his original form and... drop kick to Vision!" JR noted. Outside the ring, and generally unobserved, Sandra actually appeared bored with the match. In fact, she zipped up her backpack, and left. "Vision's recovering," Tenay observed tensely. Vision quickly shifted back to a feline form, flipping onto Ryan's back to apply a sleeper hold. "Ryan's almost out," JR announced. "One... two... no! Ryan backs into the turnbuckle, breaking the hold!" "Ryan's hand is glowing, and... laser blasts! He's firing off *laser blasts*!" Flair yelled. He grinned as a shot blasted into Vision's shoulder; maybe this Ryan kid wasn't so bad after all... Vision desperately scrambled away, trying to dodge Ryan's bursts. Vision bolted up and dashed toward Ryan... changing into a large humanoid boar just as he landed. "*Heavy* cross body press! Ryan's been absolutely *crushed*!" Tenay exclaimed. "Vision's following up with some kind of magic spell, or power move," JR began. A multi-colored light shone down on the stunned Ryan, and then block-shaped objects of various colors began to rain forcefully onto him. "What in the world is he... are those giant candies?!" a baffled JR wondered. "Well, he *is* the Lord of Pez..." Tenay reminded them. "First the unholy power of Mentos and now this," Ric said incredulously. "Is Willy Wonka our sponsor?" Ryan flopped face-first onto the mat after the ludicrous bombardment. "Vision's going to the top turnbuckle... he's shifting into a turtle, and..."JR said. "PEZ SPLASH!" Tenay screamed as Vision drilled a shell-first Sunton drop into Ryan, and easily covered him for the victory. [Commercials] [Another black and white scene: A soccer field. The sounds of girls laughing and playing can be heard. Samantha Jones, in jeans and a denim jacket, looks on with a soccer ball beneath her foot. As the commercial rolls, other female competitors are shown at various parts of the field. The voice overs begin...] Samantha: You run like a girl. [Sonya, drilling her ki-charged kidney punch into Joeseph] Sonya: You hit like a girl. [Soulstone, slamming Tuxedo Chris with a series of suplexes] Deb Lawson: You throw like a girl. [Scarlet on duty, charging up a telekinetic blast...] Scarlet: You manipulate energy powers... [Joseph in the clutches of Sonya's Labyrinth] Sonya: You throw down in the ring... [Soulstone unleashing the Holy Explosion, and in her moment of victory] Deb Lawson: Battle furiously with your opponents and emerge victorious... Samantha: Like a girl. AAA: Attitude "Welcome back folks!" JR welcomed as the camera returned to the outdoor arena. "We're about ready to start up the Moon Kingdom competition. A newcomer, the Nightman, will be facing the runner-up in our Virtual Championship tournament, Oscar." "This dark hero has a heck of a challenge in..." Tenay was interrupted by some commotion in the aisleway. "It looks like some fan got lost." A smile spread across Ric's face as he recognized the confused figure. "Ah... that's not a fan, Mike." Indeed, it was Lord Thinker, in regular street clothes. He had apparently lost his way in the stands, and was asking some of the groundskeepers for directions. He cheerfully thanked them and moved over to the announcers' table. "Ah, hello JR! Mister Tenay! And of course, Mr. Flair! I've seen some of your matches, by the way. Real good stuff!" Thinker rambled with enthusiasm. The announcers were more than a bit surprised by the quality of his speaking. "It's always good to see you as well, Lord Thinker," JR greeted him uncertainly. "Not to be rude, sir," Ric asked. "But I figured that, judging from your writings..." "Oh, *that*," Thinker replied. He made a point of holding up a silver medallion he wore around his neck. "The Powers That Be gave me a translator. Cool, huh?" "Quite," Tenay answered, impressed. "You seemed to be lost." "Yeah, I can't find my way back to my seat. Would you mind if I sat here next to you guys so I can watch the match? I won't be any trouble." "Well, sure!" JR replied. Thinker grabbed a chair next to the commentators as the whiny jazz opening of the "Nightman" TV show began. The spotlights panned to a costumed avenger, standing on a roof top a short distance away. With a leap, he began flying clumsily toward the ring. A voice from the stands sang mockingly, "Nightman, he flies like a moron..." "It appears The Powers That Be are giving Nightman a wedgie!" Thinker added with a giggle. Nightman stopped abruptly in mid-air above the ring, tilted back vertically and lowered to his feet. Then the haunting Goldust theme cued up, signalling the return of the Super Saiyen hermaphrodite Oscar to the AAA. He strode with purpose toward the ring, doing his best to ignore the "NAV!" crowd chant that started up amidst the hail of boos. MATCH 3: Moon Kingdom Tournament Oscar vs. Nightman Oscar began by unleashing a series of martial-arts chops on Nightman. He countered by grabbing Oscar's gi and launching him into the corner with an aikido throw. "In terms of martial arts skills, both competitors seem very evenly balanced," Tenay observed as Nightman nailed the Saiya-jin with several hard side kicks. "Nightman does have some impressive moves, I'll give him that," JR continued. Nightman whipped Oscar into the corner, and drilled a low drop kick to his leg as Oscar stumbled out. He maintained pressure on the leg as he went for the pin, but Oscar kicked out of it. "But it'll take a lot more than *just* skill to beat a Super-Saiyan, especially a Super-Saiyan with something to prove," Flair noted sagely. "Nightman's going for a clothesline... Oscar ducks, and reverses into an inverted atomic drop!" Tenay said. "Oscar follows-up with a *vicious* looking roundhouse kick, and Nightman's in the ropes," JR observed. "The herm's charging for a clothesline, but it's no good! Nightman just sent him flying to the outside!" Flair continued. Oscar landed nimbly on his feet, but was taken out by hard baseball slide from Nightman. He was about to follow Oscar out, but suddenly stopped as a heckler's voice rang out from the crowd. Nightman reacted as if the voice was very familiar... "Springboard Huracanrana!!" Tenay shouted as Oscar sailed off the ropes, grabbed Nightman's head with his legs, and pinned the dark avenger for a two-count. "Quick recovery by the Nightman, and a beautiful snap suplex to Oscar!" JR observed. Nightman then bounced off the ropes and delivered an incredibly slow and deliberate elbow drop. "Somewhere, Rocky Maivia is crying," Flair stated flatly. Nightman followed up with a leg drop onto Oscar's abdomen, and attempted a second one, but... "Oscar's grabbed Nightman's leg... he's got the other one... and Nightman is in the Dragon Claw!!" JR exclaimed. Tenay shook his head. "Nightman's got nowhere to go... this is over." And, after a lot of frustrated struggling, Nightman did finally submit. Oscar dropped Nightman disdainfully and left to another electric chorus of abuse form the crowd. As the victorious hermaphrodite left, Nightman grabbed a mic. "It would appear that some of you citizens don't *care* for a match unless there's a lot of energy blasts and high-flying involved! Perhaps if there was some *consideration*, the Nightman, *your* champion, would have won this match!" Nightman complained. "What?" Flair asked in disbelief. "Don't worry, guys, I'll handle this!" Lord Thinker suddenly exclaimed. He carefully entered the ring to calm the dark avenger down. "Hey, Nightman, Oscar's a tough guy. He was almost the Virtual Champ, and you still gave him a run for his money!" Thinker encouraged. "Just push this loss aside, tune up those nifty moves, and you'll do better next time, yes?" Nightman turned to the cheerful Thinker, and a grin spread across his face. He extended a friendly hand, and as Thinker reached to clasp it, Nightman nailed him with a front kick to the stomach. The audience and announcers groaned as he then grabbed Thinker and dropped him to the mat with the Night Hammer (the Taki/Juvi Driver). He seized the mic maliciously and proclaimed, "I am the Night's champion! I have the stealth of a panther... and I can play an awesome saxophone..." He paused and bent down to the struggling Thinker and finished with a snarl. "And *I* do not need any free advice from the likes of *you*." He threw down the mic and awkwardly flew off to an outburst of hatred from the crowd that rivaled Oscar's in intensity. "What an ass!" Ric said in disgust. "The kid was just trying to help!" "This is a sour note to end an otherwise good match. Thinker didn't deserve that!" Tenay added somberly. "Champion of the night...That's the worse case of sour grapes I've seen in a long time!" JR grumbled. He then continued, "Our final event features..." JR was interrupted by an all too familiar and haunting Nine Inch Nail song. "Oh, come *on*! Once is enough for that damn hedgehog!" "Well, Team Foxfire does this all the time..." Tenay trailed off with a helpless shrug. "I guess he wants to make sure we get our daily requirement of evil in," Ric shrugged as he turned his attention back to his ale. "Wake me when it's over." Dark Sonic, flanked by Kefkain and Tuxedo Chris, strode up the aisleway. "Actually, it does seem like he has something to get off his chest," Tenay notices as Sonic seized the mic angrily. The hedgehog was still rubbing his sore neck. "I have a few words I now wish to say to that *brave little girl* who ambushed me earlier tonight," He said with an angry grin. "And bring your little friend down, too." Lynxara stepped warily out of the back, then began moving towards the ring when Jolt joined her. He was close behind, apparently assuring his friend that he would help her. Once she was at ringside, she peered up to Dark Sonic with a defiant gleam in her eye. "It gives me *great* pleasure to introduce my newest associate," he hissed. Lynx briefly glanced at Jamie... and her eyes widened in horror as she saw his expression become hateful. Without hesitation, he promptly rammed his fist into her face. "THE HELL?!" Tenay shouted as Flair did a beautiful spit-take. "WHAT THE... but she's... what the hell has Sonic done to him?!" JR shrieked. Jolt dragged her up so he could buckle her over with a vicious blow to the stomach, and then dropped her to the ground with a DDT. He casually lifted the unconscious girl and rolled her into the waiting clutches of Sonic and his minions. An enraged Wolf charged up to confront Jolt within seconds, and an equally outraged Samantha Jones followed suit. "What the hell is wrong with you, Jamie?!" Samantha screeched. "How could you..." She gasped as Jamie spun around with a maniacal grin on his face, and began... changing. 'Jamie' briefly became a rougher looking boy in street clothes before hulking out into a purple-skinned, bat-winged demon. "Great Scott! That's Oni!" Tenay shrieked. "He makes Nav look like a *pacifist*!" Flair added in shock. "Good Gawd... if Sonic has shape-shifting magic at his disposal, then no one's *ever* going to be safe here again!" JR breathed. Oni easily overwhelmed the much smaller Wolf with devastating punches, then threw him maliciously onto the ground. Oni smiled frighteningly as he turned to the fuming Samantha. "Oh, I'm sure you're wondering what happened to your precious Jamie. Well, I *tried* to keep him in one piece," Oni taunted. Samantha's eyes began to glow white with rage. "Don't worry, though. He's resting comfortably at an inn... hopefully, he's finally mending. After all, no more Author, no more you..." Oni exposed a fanged grin as he continued. "And what fun would it be if you just blipped from existence, ne?" "And we've got *another* piece of pure evil running through the tournament," JR moaned. "Look! From the back! It's Sonya Sho Robotnik!" Tenay suddenly shouted. She quickly dashed in, and she and Samantha immediately engaged the demonic Oni. "Just look at them go at it! It's a slobberknocker!" JR howled. "Samantha and Sonya *together* are barely managing to hold their own!" Tenay continued in fright. "The ring, guys, look at what's happening in the ring..." Ric trailed off. As the barely-conscious girl began to pull herself up, Kefkain approached from behind and gripped a claw onto her tender shoulder. Lynxara shrieked as the red energy engulfed her and drained her. Samantha and Sonya attempted to advance, but the massive Oni forced them back with a furious assault that left them bloodied and retreating. Kefkain was amazed, as he released the girl. Instead of falling limp, Lynxara remained standing, albeit very weakly. Kefkain grabbed Lynxara and turned her so Sonic could examine her more closely. "You're stubborn! I like that!" Sonic slurred, "Yes, you'll be perfect, with a few... modifications." Sonic casually threw a spell onto Lynxara. She winced slightly, but the spell only fizzled out in a flash of light. He looked on in awe. "You're...resisting my powers..." he breathed into her ear. Sonic ran a clawed finger down the side of her neck. "There's more to you than I thought." He turned with a smirk toward his comrade. "It's a good thing I acquired some *heavy* artillery." Tuxedo Chris nodded in approval and, with frightening ease, unleashed a reality-warping spell into the girl. Lynxara shrieked as heat and pain ripped through her body... Oni was still brawling with Sonya and Samantha, and looking more and more like the potential victor. Behind them, Wolf had gotten up and was witnessing the torture his ally was being put through at the hands of Dark Sonic. With purpose, he darted around Oni and ran to the ring. Just as Oni went to tackle him, the ground exploded beneath his feet. He glared upward to see Shion hovering in the air and crackling with psionic energy. He spread his wings and was about to take off... "STASIS BLADE!" ...when Oni was frozen in place by a burst of magic. "Yes! Soulstone's out!" Flair cheered as the former Senshi charged from the back, Eternity in hand. The trio advanced to the ring... Chris and Sonic stepped back to admire their handiwork. Lynxara was still weakly struggling, but had been radically altered. While she maintained her height and long black hair, she was now feline in appearance. Specifically, a lynx-like cat-girl. "Absolutely perfect..." Sonic sighed blissfully. "One of my best works." Tuxedo Chris sneered with pride. "Gentlemen, let us return to Mobius! I have a new toy..." Sonic began. Then Wolf rushed the ring and tossed Chris onto the floor almost as an afterthought. Kefkain dropped the girl and lunged toward Wolf... *SNIKT!* *SNIKT!* Wolf ripped into the vampire's chest with his adamantium claws. Kefkain fell to his knees and glared at the commando, his expression one of slight annoyance. Ignoring the white wolf momentarily, Wolf placed himself between Sonic and Lynxara. He raised a bloody claw up toward the dark hedgehog. "If you so much as *touch* her... I *will* rip you apart," he growled. "Gee, I've heard this somewhere before..." Sonic mocked. "A self-proclaimed 'Grey Fox' spouted such words. I broke him, and retrieved my Sally, just as I'll break *you*. And then..." he peered behind Wolf to the furious Lynxara, and grinned. "It's only a matter of time." With a bored, superior sigh, Sonic snapped his fingers and he, Chris, the already-healed Kefkain, and Oni vanished in a crimson mist. Wolf maintained his stance even as the rest came to the ring to check on Lynxara. She was still sitting on the mat, looking quite overwhelmed. [Commercials] WARNING! WARNING! BAD LYRICS AHOY! [The scene shows two wierdos dancing to a song holding Yellow cans of Whoop-ass] The Song goes: [Think the Jooky song] Going out on the beach To beat the heat, then a guy comes and beats you up, You hold the can and say 'Tough'. [Refrain] Whoop-Ass Whoop-Ass It's a party in a can Whoop-Ass Whoop-Ass Better than a fan Whoop-Ass Whoop-Ass Blows like Charley-4 Whoop-Ass Whoop-Ass It will make you hit the floor. [End of Refrain] Open it up and you will see Explosive Energy like a mad bee Unleash on your foe Then he is no more. [Refrain again] Announcer: Whoop-ass! The official kick-ass drink of the AAAT! Now comes in Cherry-4, Killer Bee Lemon, and Unibomber-Grape. _________________________________________________________________________ "Welcome back everyone," JR greeted uneasily. "Folks, Dark Sonic has once again shocked us with another dreadful attack..." Armored security had flooded the stands, as Soulstone and Wolf escorted the now-furry Lynxara back to the locker-rooms. "I'm just glad that Wolf there came to the rescue before things got any *uglier*," Ric noted. "The next time he's in the ring with one of Sonic's boys, it's not going to be a pretty sight." "I just had a spooky thought," Tenay interrupted. "We've yet to see Sonic in any major action. He seemed casual, even just then! What will he do when he *really* gets into a fight?" The commentators shuddered at this notion. "Fortunately, we'll be able to end this Fight Scene on a much better note than the last one... we've still got our main event left, and what an event it is! WHOO!" JR smiled slightly at Flair's markish tone. "We've the last opening match of the Moon Kingdom tournament coming up, pitting Team Foxfire's Star Mech against none other than the Destroyer, Nav!" Queen's "I Want It All" began to play. "Star Mech" Kronos was escorted to ringside by Jonathan Brisby. He was chatting on a cell phone, but couldn't be heard. Even before Kronos' theme ended, a "NAV!" crowd chant had begun, so when the sirens and guitars that announced him started up, the crowd exploded with uproarious cheers. Nav, along with Bane, made his way to ringside, completely focused. MAIN EVENT: Moon Kingdom Tournament Nav vs. David "Star Mech" Kronos Stipulation: No count-out. The bell rang, and the two fighters locked up. Kronos hooked in a hammer bar, but Nav managed to reverse it and lunge in for a fireman's carry takedown. Kronos rolls back up and glared at his rival intently. "There's a lot more on the line here than advancement in the tournament, guys. Kronos obviously wants to prove himself..." Tenay began. "And Nav is out for moonie blood," Flair finished with a grin. Kronos dashed forward, but was tripped up. "Nav with a small package... one-count! Both competitors are already back up!"JR observed. They grappled, and Kronos won, dropping Nav with a spinebuster. Tenay winced as he watched Star Mech pull the Destroyer up and launch him into the ropes. Kronos lifted Nav up with ease and simply let him fall onto his chest. "I think we're beginning to see Kronos with a *definite* power advantage here," the announcer commented. "Nav's beaten power before, and he can do it again," Flair said determinedly. Nav rolled up, struggling but obviously in pain. Kronos took the advantage, snapping a pair of side kicks into Nav's back. He followed by Irish whipping Nav into the ropes. "Nav's managed to grab onto the ropes, but Star Mech's still going for a hard clothesline... now both men are out of the ring!" JR exclaimed. "And a *hard* snap suplex from Kronos! He just *slammed* Nav onto the floor!" Tenay continued tensely. "Star Mech's attempting to whip Nav into the steps..." Flair exploded into cheers. "Reversal! Reversal! Kronos just went flying!" Star Mech rolled up from the hit and quickly drew his Crescent Shooter. The Destroyer promptly took a stunning blast, but stayed on his feet. "Kronos is pulling out some kind of crystal and attaching it to the Shooter... MAH GOD!" JR and the other announcers pulled back reflexively as Nav scrambled desperately by the announcer's table, pursued by Kronos. Star Mech's Crescent Shooter was spewing an unholy barrage of mystical blasts at the Destroyer: lighting, fire, ice, even pure magic! "Nav's back in the ring, and he's drawing a pair of pistols," Tenay began uncertainly once the danger was past. With incredibly precise shooting, the Destroyer blasted Kronos in the leg, and then shot the Crescent Shooter out of his hands. It dropped outside of the ring, far from Kronos reach. "Thus proving that a magic weapon is *crap* if you can't shoot it right," Flair smiled. Nav charged and mercilessly pistol-whipped Kronos. "Kronos is staggered, nearly unconscious! Nav's grabbed him, and... dragon suplex! Kronos is pinned!" JR shouted. "And doesn't *this* look familiar," Tenay groaned. Edward the Coyote suddenly dashed in, along with Mechtail. They climbed up onto the turnbuckles unnoticed by Nav. Mechtail had some difficulty, but Edward quickly launched off the top with a body splash. Nav saw him, and rolled away just in time for Edward to land on Kronos. "Nav has just chucked Edward out of the ring," Flair continued excitedly. Nav saw Mechtail struggling, and kicked the ropes to drop him uncomfortably onto the corner turnbuckle. "And a belly-to-back suplex from the *middle turnbuckle* to finish off Mechtail!" Brisby went ballistic as he saw Nav send Mechtail sailing into the middle of the ring. He motioned frantically to Scarlet and Colley, who scrambled to confront Bane. Kintobor followed... casually. "We've got gang warfare out here now, folks!" JR yelled. "MAH GOD, just look at the carnage!" Kintobor watched Nav throw his comrade Kronos out of the ring with a haughty expression, and moved in. Scarlet forced the juggernaut Bane against the ring apron with a series of devastating psionic blasts. Bane let out an angry yell and charged to quickly floor her with a hard clothesline. Furious, Colley drilled a kick to Bane's gut, lifted him up and jack-knife power bombed him into the rampway! "Foxfire's latest addition, Colley, certainly seems to be proving his worth now and..." Tenay stopped and blinked in surprise. "Sweet Jesus! Bane's GETTING UP!" Bane *nailed* Colley from behind, and flipped him up and around into a devastating Knightsbane Shoulderbreaker. Flair's attention was drawn to Star Mech's efforts outside the ring. "Kronos is just inches away from getting his Crescent Shooter back... if he does, I'm not sure even *Nav* could beat him," he observed a bit nervously. The battered Star Mech could only look up in confusion as David Kintobor set his foot down on the Crescent Shooter. The cyber-fox looked down at Kronos with a disappointed look, and... The announcers were thunderstruck. "I... did I just see that?!" Tenay shrieked. Flair was out of his chair, grinning enthusiastically. "I knew it! This *had* to happen sooner or later!" "Mah God..." JR breathed. "Kintobor just KICKED David Kronos in the head!!" Kintobor rolled the dazed Star Mech back into the ring, where Nav casually landed the Desert Eagle Moonsault for the a victorious pin. As Nav left ringside with a jubilant Bane to celebrate, Kintobor rolled into the ring. He stared down at the humiliated Star Mech, and seemed to be... lecturing him, taunting his efforts. Star Mech quickly got up and began shouting at Kintobor in a rage. Gesturing proudly to his Virtual Championship belt, the cyber-fox mentions that he "got the job done" without the rest of Team Foxfire's help, and was very disappointed with Kronos' tactics. The rest of Brisby's stable entered to intervene just in time. It took both Scarlet and a frantic Brisby to hold Kronos back from assaulting Kintobor. The announcers were still stunned. "What is this going to *do* to Team Foxfire's power structure?" JR asked. "I don't know... the only way for them to get over this would be to put their egos aside, and I'm not sure they *can*!" Tenay replied. "It looks like Foxfire's falling apart at the seams...and right when Sonic's Horde is growing!" "If there's some way to get the Davids back together, Jonathan Brisby's the mouse who can find it," Flair declared. "But in any case, I'm going to be *really* interested in what Foxfire has to say next week..." The camera cut back to Colley and Mechtail trading insults with Kintobor, while Coyote and Edward tried to talk the champion down as the show closed... ___________________________________________________________________ A note from the Powers That Be: Gaea is the setting of the really awesome but kind of obscure anime "Vision of Escaflowne," just in case anyone's wondering. And yes, this *is* a shameless plug for said series. Go watch some episodes if you can, it's great!