KING OF THE NET PREGAME SHOW: FREE FOR ALL By: The Flashman (MXJK67C@Prodigy.com) TIME TO KING OF THE NET: 30 Min and counting... "Yo! How you people all doing out here tonight?" In response to the question asked by the man holding the microphone, who was dressed in a gold, blue and silver variant of a DaiRanger costume, the crowd roared happily. "Alright!" the man exclaimed, "My name's the Flashman, and in the next thirty minutes, I'm gonna be trying to psych all you people up. Let me hear you, are you all psyched up for King of the Net?" Everyone cheered somewhat loudly. "That didn't go very well. Let's try again. ARE YOU ALL PSYCHED UP FOR KING OF THE NET?!" The crowd shouted an affirmative at the top of their lungs. "Now THAT'S more like it," Flashman said as he turned to the camera. "You people at home heard this capacity crowd, they're ready for all the thrills, chills and grand excitement that's going to be a part of King of the Net. How about you? Have you placed your Pay-Per-View order yet? If not, just call our toll-free number and we'll hook you up for the time of your life. That number is 1-800-968-2252. That's 1-800-YOU-BAKA." Pausing a moment to let the joke sink in, Flashman continued, "Now, this AAA Event has been building for a long time. While titles are on the line, the life of one of the members of Team Foxfire will be ended tonight. And no less then the very existence of the AAA is at stake as well, due to the emergence of the evil Dark Sonic and his Horde." * * * The Trintron, along with the screens of the viewers at home, exploded with images of the carnage and destruction that Dark Sonic and his followers had caused since they arrived in the AAA, while "The Perfect Drug" played in the background. The wild arrival of Oni. The kidnaping and turning of Sailor Soulstone. Dark Sonic, standing victorious over Goku. The complete degradation of Ankuko. The turning of Oscar. Then, with the music fading into silence, a slow motion picture of Lynxara... falling to the mat. Dead. Fade to black. * * * TIME TO KING OF THE NET: 27 Min and counting... While Flashman's face was covered by a helmet, his body language and the husky sound of his voice told of his mood. "Well everyone," Flashman said softly, "As you can see, Dark Sonic and the Horde have a lot to pay for... and I for one, want to see Wolf rip Kefkain a new navel, a new back door, a new, much lower, smile and several other things I can't say until the Pay-Per-View starts. That'll keep the Mobius Title out of the Horde's hands as well. If you want to see that then get the phone... it can be rotary, digital, cellular, video, whatever... and call now." Taking a deep breath and trying to remember his grudging oath of non- interference, Flashman continued. "Another big match here tonight, is the... well... Death Match, between Team Foxfire's David 'Foxfire' Kintobor and David 'Star Mech' Kronos for the AAA Championship. This is no ordinary title match, as the winner will walk out with the title... and the loser will cease to exist!" The Sentai Warrior shook his head as he muttered, "Watch these clips to see how it came about. I need the time to figure out why everyone's gotten as psychoticaly bloodthirsty as Nav lately... and that's NOT a good thing." * * * Once again, the crowd watching the Trintron and the people at home were subjected to scenes that displayed the growing tension between the two Team Foxfire members, while "Princes of the Universe" played in background. Colley joining Team Foxfire at Star Mech's request. Kintobor's victory over Nav. Arguments and fights in public and in the back. Kintobor challenging Star Mecha to the Death Match, over images of Kintobor completely decimating Team Foxfire. Fade to black. * * * TIME TO KING OF THE NET: 23 Min and counting... "This is getting intense, folks," Flashman said candidly, "and I've just started scratching the sur..." he stopped as the camera man gave him signals and Flashman nodded. "Okay, I'm being told that it's time to cut to the ring for our special, Sneak Peak warm-up match. This is going to be a match between two competitors who weren't able to join the AAA and fight on a regular basis in time for King of the Net... but they *could* agree to a special one- time-only match here tonight. Anyway, remember, the number to order King of the Net is... 1-800-968-2252. Now, we're going ringside with Mike Tennay, and good old JR." TIME TO KING OF THE NET: 22 Min and counting... "Thanks, Flashman," Tenay said. "You're no Todd," JR tossed in, "but I've worked with a lot worse. If you people at home are wondering where the Nature Boy is, well... he can't be here tonight, so we eagerly await his replacement." A synthesized version of "Monster Zero March", played over the loudspeakers. Stepping out from behind the curtain, below the Trintron, came a Hispanic teenager dressed like Ultraman, sans helmet. Jim Ross nodded as he said, "Here comes a future AAA hopeful. He's young. He's hungry. He's DJ 'Ultra Warrior' Rodriguez." "What I have on this young man," Tenay said as he read from a clipboard in front of him, "is that he's an Ultra, no pun intended, Do-Gooder whose powers are 'like Nav's with a Sci-Fi twist'. What that means, is that this guy can pull out a whole arsenal of weapons, but they all have a highly technological twist to them. "He's also got the standard mutli-dan blackbelt martial arts maneuvers that go along with being an Ultraman style warrior, so expect this guy to strike hard and fast." Once at ringside, DJ jumped into the air, over the top rope and landed in the exact center of the ring. The crowd, not sure of what to make of the Ultra Warrior yet, applauded politely. The music cut off abruptly and the lights then proceeded to go out. For a moment, the announcers tensed, afraid that Dark Sonic was going to make an early appearance. However, they breathed slight sighs of relief as Gangrel's theme music began to play when it was supposed to. Blood red light filled the arena and a single man stepped out from behind the curtain. He was pale skinned, dressed in black jeans and a black leather jacket, with a black t-shirt underneath. His black hair was spiked up and the red light reflected ominously off his black sunglasses. In his hands, was a canteen with a cobra-head designed top. Somehow, the canteen looked strangely... ominous. "Here's another who hopes to make his way into the AAA soon," JR said. "This guy goes by the name of Dark Starr, and that's about all we know about him." "What's in the canteen?" Tennay wondered aloud. "Something tells me we don't want to know," his WWF counterpart muttered. Stepping up the ring steps, Dark Starr faced the crowd, unscrewed the cap on the canteen and took a long, deep swallow of whatever liquid was within. Licking his lips in enjoyment and looking... energized from his drink, Dark Starr put the cap back on, placed the canteen in the corner, stepped into the ring and got ready to fight as the normal lights came back on. That was when a familiar squeal of saxophones were heard and a husky voice crooned, "Heeeelllllooooo, Senshi." Tennay asked, as a Native American in a tight white t-shirt and even tighter blue jeans, made his way to ringside, "What's the Great Red Serpent doing here? More importantly... what's that in his right hand?" "Mah God..." JR groaned without his usual enthusiasm, "It's a bed post." Twirling the bed post like a baton, Red took the microphone from the ringside announcer and crowed, "You can forget about Jolt Cola... and try the old Serbowski. 'Cause I got a RUSH that can keep you UP all night long." The Serpent laughed evilly as the crowd booed. He continued as he held up the bed post, "And Usagi-chan, I got what you like right heMMPH!" "YES!" JR exclaimed, "Someone just threw a scepter right in the Serpent's mouth!" "Thank god she never misses," Tennay threw in. With a dirty look up at the box seats, the Horde member sat down at ringside, trying to yank the offending object out of his mouth as the match got underway. Bouncing from foot-to-foot, DJ moved in and grappled with Dark Starr. The Man In Black easily shoved the lighter Ultra Warrior to the ground and DJ, rubbing the back of his head in contemplation, got back up to his feet. "Another lock up," Tenay reported, "Head lock by Dark Starr. DJ forces him into the ropes. Off the ropes... DJ ducks the clothesline and goes to the other side. Both of them bouncing off and... FLYING SPINNING HEEL KICK BY DJ! DID YOU HEAR THE SMACK WHEN THAT CONNECTED?!" "Waltman would approve," JR said. "Dark Starr's up. DJ takes him down with a Japanese Arm Bar. Dark Starr's up again... and down again thanks to that Hip Toss. Another Hip Toss by DJ... and another Japanese Arm Bar... followed by a Standing Drop Kick. The man in black is starting to resemble a yo-yo." "Dark Starr's becoming fast friends with the floor," Tenay joked. "Hey," Ross growled, "that's MY line." Tenay ignored his partner and addressed the audience, "You know, if this isn't the only match you want to see tonight, you should really get to a phone and call us now to order King of the Net. Why just have the appetizer? Stick around for the main course." "Remember," JR said, "That number is 1-800-968-2252." "That's 1-800-YOU-BAKA," Tenay added. "Anyway," Jim Ross said, "back to the match..." Dark Starr had slipped out of the ring after another hip toss and was moving around the ringside area, trying to figure out his strategy. DJ, not wanting to give him the time to do so, got a running start, leapt onto the top rope and bounced off for a Spring Board Dive, but Dark Starr saw him coming, caught him in midair and slammed him to the floor with a power slam. "MAH GOD!" Ross exclaimed. "He could have just broken DJ's back!" Rolling back in to break the count and then rolling back out, Dark Starr picked up the Ultra Warrior and body slammed him on the concrete. Then he picked him up again and performed a DDT. "DJ's not going to be able to take much of this," JR said, "Starr's trying to make a name for himself and he's not holding back." DJ was unceremoniously rolled back into the ring and Dark Starr got back in and covered him for a two-count. "How did he kick out of that?" Tenay commented. "Dark Starr with an elbow drop on the downed DJ. Now a knee drop. Going for a... Boston Crab! That shows some battle smarts." "He know's he's hurt his opponent's back," JR agreed. "so he's going to focus on it." The Ultra Warrior screamed in agony, but refused to submit as he slowly pulled himself to the ropes and grabbed on, forcing Dark Starr to break the hold, which he did on the count of four. "More battle smarts by Dark Starr," Tennay said, "He held on right to the last second to get as much out of the move as he could. Now, Dark Starr stomps away at the wounded back." "Wait a minute," JR said. "DJ just pulled out a weapon. It looks like a... bed post?" "I hope it's not like the Serpent's bed post." "You just HAD to go there, didn't you?" "Sorry." DJ raised his... bed post, to the sky and a white light enveloped him, knocking Dark Starr away and when it faded, DJ stood, completely healed. "MAH GOD!" JR exclaimed. "The Bed Post Healer has done it's job and now DJ looks like he hasn't even begun to fight!" "Bed Post Healer?" Tenay asked as gave his partner a weird look. Ross shrugged. "I don't name them, I just report them." DJ began a vicious punching and kicking assault on his opponent, even backing Dark Starr into a corner and delivering three Spinning Heel Kicks before backing off and pulling out another weapon that looked like nothing more than a flash light that worked at both ends. "LASER LANCE COMMAND..." the Ultra Warrior cried, "NOW!" A blade of blue energy formed at each end of the lance and DJ slashed Dark Starr with it three times. Every strike, though giving no physical indication of harm, earned loud screams of agony from the man in black. His opponent fallen on the mat, DJ banished the Laser Lance back to wherever it had come from and went for a cover. However, he only earned a two-count before Dark Starr was able to slip his shoulder out from under him. "How did he kick out of that?" Tenay asked. "Just barely." Ross replied. "DJ backing off, waiting for Dark Starr to get up. WAIT A MINUTE! While the referee was watching Dark Starr, the Great Red Serpent just cracked DJ over the back of the head with that bed post!" Dark Starr watched DJ fall and looked at the Serpent, who was indicating that he should cover DJ. Starr then proceeded to grab his canteen and sat down on the ring steps, where he was promptly counted out as he sipped his drink. "Ladies and Gentlemen," the ring announcer intoned, "the winner of this match, as a result of a count out... DJ "ULTRA WARRIOR" RODRIGUEZ!" The Serpent went nuts and got in Dark Starr's face, yelling at him, after he had gotten the scepter out of his mouth, and pushing him. That proved to be his mistake as he pushed just a little too hard and made Dark Starr spill some of his... drink. A small amount of a thick, clear fluid landed on the collar of Dark Starr's jacket. He stood, screwed the cap back on his canteen, licked the fluid off the collar... And then hauled back and punched the Great Red Serpent in the stomach. The camera's near them picked up Dark Starr saying, "I applaud your organization's goals... but I work ALONE." With that, Dark Starr left, leaving Serpent on the ground, unconscious. "How do you knock someone out with a stomach punch?" Tenay asked. DJ, who had gotten back up just to see his opponent slug the Serpent, was confused, yet happy he had won, as he made his way back to the locker room. * * * A quick King of the Net Commercial and... * * * 10 MINUTES UNTIL KING OF THE NET AND COUNTING... The crowd turned towards the ramp way as they heard the opening chords of the Eagles song, "Get Over It", begin to play. When the song began to rock, three extra large smoke bombs went off at the top of the runway. The one on the left was blue, the one in the center was gold and the one on the right was silver. Stepping through the smoke came Flashman, who received a somewhat loud pop. As he made his way down the ramp towards the ring, alternating gold and blue smoke bombs went off about three steps behind him. Stepping into the ring, Flashman struck a Sentai pose as white pyrotechnic streamers, which sat on every inch of the ring apron, went off in a display that made it look as if Flashman were at the center of a flood of comments. The crowd would have cheered loudly for the fire works show... if they hadn't been coughing heavily from all the smoke thrown up by it. Up in the box seats, the Sailor Mac version of Darien turned to the same version of Serena and asked, "HE'S one of your biggest Fan Boys?" Her eyes red from the smoke, Serena replied, "This Usaginite likes to make an entrance, doesn't he?" Taking a microphone, Flashman exclaimed, "I have ALWAYS wanted to do that!" Smirking under his helmet, Flashman continued, "However, I'll bet I'm not the one you people came here to see. I'll bet you're here to see Samantha Jones and Oni duke it out at opposite ends of an unbreakable Adamantium chain in a falls count anywhere brawl. I mean, this one could end in the locker rooms, it could end in the street, heck, it could end in Club Anipike or even in another reality, knowing those two. "I'll also bet you're here to see all three of our current titles be decided tonight, am I right?" The crowd roared. "I thought so. We've got the finals of the Moon Kingdom Title Tournament. In one corner, we've got Nav..." Flashman tried to say Nav's name in a way that indicated the crowd should boo, but instead, he heard the normal ear busting cheer that came whenever the Anti- Moonie's name was mentioned. "And in the other, Sailor Soulstone!" Soulstone got a loud pop as well, but no where near as big as Nav's. After muttering something about bad taste under his breath, Flashman continued, "We've also got the Mobius Title finals as Wolf," a VERY loud pop, "goes up against Horde member Kefkain." A chorus of boos. "Of course, who can forget out Death Match between David 'Star Mecha' Kronos..." A lukewarm cheer. "... and David 'Foxfire' Kintobar." Overwhelming boos. "In this match, the winner walks away with the title and the loser... well... the loser doesn't walk away, PERIOD. Now, as for you people at home, do you wanna know how much of it you'll see if you don't call and order now? Could someone in the booth put the lights out?" Everything went dark. "This is what you're gonna see. Nothing, nadda, zip, zero, zilch, you aren't gonna see a thing if you don't pick up that phone and dial...1-800-968-2252. That's 1-800-YOU-BAKA. Could someone turn the lights back on?" Nothing happened. "Could someone please turn the lights back on?" Still nothing. "Did someone fall asleep up there or something?" That was when "The Perfect Drug" began to play. "Guys... this isn't funny." "That's because this isn't a joke, I assure you." A single spotlight at the top of the ramp way illuminated a black quilled form. Dark Sonic, a live microphone in hand, had arrived. "I," the evil hedgehog said, "would like to say a few things to you people. First of all, Samantha Jones," Dark Sonic paused to let the cheer die down, "I must have succeeded in driving you insane. Why else would you allow yourself to be in a match where there's no way for you to escape from him? "As for the Mobius Title, Kefkain WILL win, that I can guarantee. And, whoever wins the Moon Kingdom Title had better enjoy the taste of victory while they can, because they will be destroyed at the next Fight Scene. That, I guarantee you as well." Flashman, in a display of boldness, shouted, "Yack yack yack! Only time will tell, so shut up, go away and let us get ready for King of the Net in peace!" Dark Sonic grimaced and muttered, "You Authors still haven't learned to fear me yet. Maybe you're just too stupid." That was when Tuxedo Chris came out from the crowd, rushed into the ring and blind sided Flashman. As Pearl Harbor attacks went, it wasn't very spectacular. It was an axe handle to the back of the head, followed by a few stomps and then, Tux-Boy lifted Flashman up and delivered a Tuxedo Press. Dark Sonic began laughing and Tuxedo Chris began to taunt the crowd. That lasted for about thirty seconds. Then Flashman got up and leg dived Tux-Boy. As Flashman did the Stone Cold style fist pound on Tux-Boy's face, Dark Sonic frowned and stormed off. The Sentai Warrior got up and drew the laser pistol at his side. "FLASH BLASTER!" he cried as four blue colored beams erupted from the pistol and knocked Chris over the ropes and to the floor. Flashman picked up his microphone again and, as "Get Over It" began to play again, he said to the crowd, "Well, that's all the time I have. I hope you're all ready for King of the Net and remember, that number is 1-800-968-2252. That's 1-800-YOU-BAKA. See ya." 5 SECONDS TO KING OF THE NET AND COUNTING... 4... 3... 2... 1... KING OF THE NET BEGINS... NOW