Mugen Universe: Tournament of Champions- The Fanfiction Series

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

Benefit of the Doubt, Part 2

“I don’t believe this!” Zarabeth spat. “You’re telling me this. . . this freak” – she gestured to Alucard – “wants to join us? After he was serving Vellinor?”

Anzell sighed. “That’s pretty much what he said,” she replied. “the facts seem to back up his story, however: he was nearly killed by implants that were found inside of him, and he did go out of his way to save Team Holy Sword.”

Marv merely grunted. “How do we know that wasn’t just an act to gain our trust?” he muttered. “This could all be part of some big scheme by Vellinor.”

“If this was a scheme,” Alucard said calmly, “then you would probably be dead by now.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Marv grumbled. He turned to Anzell. “Don’t trust this guy, Anzell: for all his fancy talk, you can tell just by lookin’ at him that he’s a killer, through and through.”

“One could say the same by looking at you, grayface,” Alucard said calmly.

“No one asked your opinion, freak!” Zarabeth snarled.

“So I’m a freak, am I?” Alucard slowly removed his sunglasses and looked at Zarabeth with those calm, ancient red eyes of his. “This coming from a fellow vampire, someone who is every bit as much of a ‘freak’ as I am. And besides which, Vellinor mentioned you once or twice, Miss Zarabeth. Would I be right in assuming you once served him as well?”

Zarabeth nearly snapped at this: she made to draw her blades, but Anzell quickly raised her hand and shook her head.

“And as for you,” Alucard said, turning to Marv, “you call me a killer, a murderer, a psychopath. And yet, one need only look at you to see that you are no better than me – that you’ve killed people before, and felt no guilt.”

The big man glowered at him. “Watch it pal,” he growled. “Yeah, I may have killed my share of people in the past, but they were people who deserved it -- murdering, raping pieces of shit who had no right to be alive. Don’t ever compare me to you, bloodsucker.”

Alucard didn’t bother to reply. He could have pointed out something else that was obvious to him – that this man was the kind who was carrying some kind of dark secret, who had once murdered someone and had enjoyed it. He could tell because this man – Marv, they had called him – was so much like him in many ways: brutal, vengeful, a lawn unto himself.

“Stop it,” Anzell said abruptly. The last thing she needed was for her team to be provoked into violence. “This is getting us nowhere.”

“I agree,” Zarabeth abruptly said, turning her back on Alucard and beginning to step away. “This is a waste of time: let’s just lock the asshole up and get out of here.”

Marv gave a grunt of indifference and began to walk away as well. Alucard turned to Alita. “What about you, girl? Do you believe I’m guilty as well?”

The cyborg didn’t reply: on the one hand, the evidence seemed to be on the vampire’s side, but . . . she had seen him when he was fighting. He had fought like Zapan, like Den, like she even had at one point – viciously, savouring every death he inflicted and every drop of blood he spilled. Slowly, she turned away to join the others.

“Well?” Zarabeth huffed as the group huddled in the corner out of Alucard’s earshot. “What’s your decision, Anzell? You already know that I’m for leaving him to rot in his cell.”

Marv said nothing. This situation was bothering him far more that he let on – true, Alucard was a killer through and through: he could tell that just by looking at him. But the vampire’s words bothered, made him aware of his own sins, his own violent tendencies. The idea that he and Alucard were alike disturbed him all the more when he found himself suddenly understanding the vampire’s viewpoint.

Slowly, Anzell straightened up. She agreed with them that Alucard wasn’t the kind of person she would trust straight away – that he was a bloodthirsty monster who loved carnage. And yet she had seen something in his eyes when he had removed his shades – not quite remorse, or even humanity, but – an ageless wisdom in those red eyes. A strange nobility that lived side by side with the murderous bloodlust.

How am I any better? she thought to herself, remembering the Bluestar incident. How can I justify turning my nose down at him when I’m even worse?

The goddess suddenly realized that her memories were drifting too far into that event, and she snapped back to the present. No, she had to stay focused: she couldn’t wallow in the past or become consumed by that guilt. She had to remain strong.

I’m a goddess, damn it . . . .

Slowly, she turned around to face Alucard. The vampire was watching her expectantly, waiting for some kind of outcome to this episode.

The goddess began to step towards him. “Your file and your confession state that you served something called the Hellsing Agency,” she said finally. “That you hunted down other vampires in order to protect humanity. Is this true? Do you really care for the wellbeing of humans?”

“This might surprise you, but I was human myself once,” Alucard replied dryly. “I know that in the past I was a monster – and to a degree, I still am. I can’t change who or what I am, but I know at least one thing: evil deserves to be punished. One day, I know, I will be punished for my evils, but not before I’ve made life hell for all evil things out there.”

The vampire took a step towards the goddess. “I have been fighting the forces of darkness for quite a long time, Lady Anzell,” he said. “And now, at a time as desperate as this, Vellinor threatens to plunge the world into such darkness. I want to fight to prevent that, Lady Anzell, and if that means fighting alongside you, then I will gladly do so.”

Anzell stared for a minute at Alucard, then slowly shook her head. “I’m not this world’s saviour,” she said softly. “You’re right: this is a time of darkness. But I’m not qualified to bring forth any light.”

Alucard gazed at her with his calm red eyes of his. Then, slowly, a faint grin spread across his face. “I can tell this much just by looking at you, Lady Anzell,” he said. “You are not an archetypal goddess. You’re insecure, frightened . .. but you aren’t high and mighty, aren’t you? You don’t believe mortals to be below you in any way: otherwise, you wouldn’t work alongside them.”

“You’ve asked me questions about who I am and what I stant for,” he continued. “Now it’s my turn. Do you care for mortal kind, or would you be content to see it wiped out?”

Anzell was taken aback by this question. “I . . . . .” She gripped the haft of her spear tightly. Once again, memories raced back of the destruction of the Bluestar galaxy, of the catastrophe that she had failed to stop. She had only sat back and watched, then: she had done nothing while billions of mortals lives died a screaming, agonizing death.

Never again . . .

“No.” She looked Alucard straight in the eyes, a sudden strength filling her voice. “Mortal-kind may be capable of evil, but it is also capable of good. All of their sins don’t justify the destruction of billions of lives, and us gods aren’t any better for simply letting it happen. I won’t sit back and let humanity get wiped out: I’ll fight for them and their right to live if need be!”

“That’s not good enough, Lady Anzell,” Alucard said. “There’s a difference between those who act on their words, and those who are simply full of hot air. Your word is your honour, Lady Anzell, and I will only serve a master who has strength behind their convictions. Vellinor is the kind of person who won’t care if entire populations need to be sacrificed, so long as he gets what he wants. How far are you willing to go to stop him?”

Anzell didn’t look away from Alucard’s penetrating gaze. “I’ll do whatever it takes,” she replied. “If I have to fight his God-Killer myself, I’ll do it. If I have to die so that millions may live, I’ll do it.”

This answer seemed to satisfy the vampire. Slowly, he bent down on one knee and bowed before the goddess.

“Then I pledge myself to your service, Lady Anzell,” he said solemnly.

From further behind, Zarabeth watched with incredulous disbelief. Marv, Master Chief and Alita remained stone-faced and silent.

Anzell said nothing. Instead, she extended her hand: white pinpricks of light shone out of her palm, and a long shape began to take form in the air in front of her hand. Before long, the shape finally resolved itself into a long olive branch of the purst white.

The goddess offered the branch from the Sacred Groves of Evermere to the vampire. “Take this,” she said, “I’m going to repeat some questions for you to answer.”

********

Shinji Ikari was officially having a bad day: first Rei-chan had turned up and turned out to be a changed person from the girl he knew. Next, Rei and her new, psychotic friends had shown up and made themselves at home. And now. .. . .THIS was happening. He coud swear that if this Joker person didn’t tear up the place first, Asuka would when her temper went through the roof.”

There was a knock at the door that made Shinji bolt upright. Finally, security was here! They could finally be rid of these maniacs once and for all! Without a moment’s hesitation, Shinji rushed to the door and opened it.

There weren’t any security on the other end: rather, is was a strange-looking man, of medium height, with a plain gray suit, dark hair and a bushy black moustache.

“Excuse,” he said in a strange accent, “this is Judge room, yes? I am Health Inspector Borat, here to look for bugs. I come in, yes?”

Next: Ash is questioned, and Borat is in da house!

[T51R]

~Battlefield Earth, Part 7...Common Ground~




They were surrounded as her eyes darted around trying to pick out the strongest of them. The big machine, she thought to herself as the Master Key slid from her sleeve and into her hand, she didn’t know what it would take to damage it and didn’t have the time to find out. The woman behind them with blue hair like hers, she was a flyer. Best left to her mysterious benefactor, she reasoned. The three pink haired girls perhaps? Likely, however it was the young bespectacled man who caught her eye. Urashima. They had met before, at the beginning of all this. “You,” Achika addressed the young man, “hear me. I am only here for one thing, to see my son Tenchi.” In her hands the master key flashed to life, a blue blade of light several feet long sending winds trough the foothills. “Listen to me,” she reasoned while the big man in blue stood his ground and the gaudily-dressed woman pulled several cards from her own sleeve and fashioned them into cutting blades. “More than a decade ago, I died. I died, not knowing the kind of man my Tenchi would grow up to be. I died, because of something in my bloodline.” She indicated the God of Destruction standing not ten feet away, the sigil of the Orochi glowing brightly beneath his feet. “When my ancestor came to Earth many, many bloodlines were mixed together with the Jurian. One of them,” she breathed a sigh of relief; the woman with the cards straightened up if only for a bit. “…was the Yagami bloodline. Through them, my fate became intertwined with the Orochi Power and I myself was bound to the God of Destruction through the Contract that granted that family their inhuman powers, and their purple flames.” She noticed the Orochi inching further away. “If what he has told me is true, then my son, my own son carries the same curse that I do. If what I think is right, then his time is about to run out as quickly as mine did.”

All eyes soon found their way to Kenshiro, who kept his stance. One by one he exchanged glances with both his team-mates and the others with whom they had become not only friends but comrades-in-arms. Finally, the big man met Ifurita‘s gaze with his own. “Why are you with him,” he nodded towards the Orochi, “do you have any idea who and what he is? Do you have any idea at all what his plans for humankind are?” All he received in reply was a blank stare. “Let me tell you now that he has been here before,” he explained, “and the way we are acting towards him now is only because of the fact that he attacked us when he first appeared. He is Orochi, the God of Destruction who has sworn to eradicate every human life from the face of this planet.”

“You cannot be serious,” Achika gasped in shock, then turned to the man next to her.

“You may ask Lord Rayden for confirmation,” Kenshiro went on, “but what we need to know now, is if he again intends to attack us. If so…” He narrowed his eyes as the butt of a cigarette landed at his feet, and the God of Destruction began walking towards the three teams with its hands in its pockets.

“You‘ll what, get your arses handed to you again?” he mocked, looking over the assembled teams sponsored by Celestin. “Get it straight, the last time we danced I put the lot of you in the hospital because you couldn’t hack it. And if things were like they were back then, rest assured that all of you‘d already be taking that long sleep.”

Nausicaa kept her target in her crosshairs, while around her, the three Diclonius appropriated almost everything from rocks, trees and twigs, turning them into lethal projectiles ready to be shot towards their target. “So what‘s stopping you,” she began to squeeze gingerly down on the trigger of her bolt-action rifle.

The God of Destruction took in the scene around him. Slowly but surely, the sigil faded from around his feet. “Looks like you guys are a few corpses short. What, they skipped the niceties in that arena over there and went straight to the bloodbath or something? Oh that’s right, I forgot. No killing in the first few rounds. What, the rest of you losers still in the hospital?” He began to grin as wide as he could. “And we were just getting warmed up, too!”

A gunshot snapped through the woods and over their heads, Nausicaa cocking the rifle again then levelling it right between the Orochi’s eyes, “That‘s not it at all. What do you mean, ‘if things were as they should be?’ Let me tell you now, we‘re missing someone very important to us. And if you‘ve done anything to Edward then…”

“So you lost your shrimp,” he shot back, “well don’t look at me, only thing he‘s good for in my book…was target practice.”

“You bastard…”

It was Robin who took the next step, cautiously, slowly approaching the divine being who had so easily decimated them in their first near-fatal encounter. “If you wanted to, you would have summoned that white light again,” she pointed out, “or, you could have brought the lighting again. I think, you‘re here talking because you don’t know how to say what you want to.” She knew that she’s touched a nerve; the Orochi’s face distorted into a mask of frustration grinding its teeth together in rage. “What is it that you want? We only want Edward back, if you have him, then please give him back to us and we will be on our way.” She glanced over her shoulder, and found Kenshiro’s approving nod.

“Wish I could,” the God of Destruction finally sighed, “but I don’t have him. Why the hell would I wanna take a shrimp like him on board anyway?”

“You‘re still not telling us,” Robin brushed some stray hairs away from her eyes, “what it is you want, and the reason you didn’t attack us.”

His eyes swept this way and that. Things were so much easier when Wukong had been around he thought, it was always good to know someone had your back no matter what. “I…” He glanced over at where Achika had tucked the Master Key back into her sleeve. “Dammit…”

Slowly, the Jurian approached him. “Tell them,” she suggested, “and maybe, you‘ll find that we humans aren‘t as bad as you think we are.”

“SHUT THE F*CK UP, ” he snapped, “f*ck this, nothing for it now” he growled under his breath then looked the young Witch Hunter straight in the eye, followed by Yomiko, Naru, Keitaro and the others. “I…” he stammered, “I want, no…” they could hear his teeth grinding together in rage, “no…I need…your help. To save this world.” The men and women around him stood in shocked silence. “I need your help, to keep this planet…to keep this Earth…from being destroyed.” He looked straight at the Geno Breaker. In the cockpit, Raven saw that his eyes held no lie. “Things have happened, none of them are good. If anything,” with his teeth still grating together he locked eyes with Kenshiro. “…this world is in more danger now than it was at the start of all this. Because it just isn’t the Earth now. Everything, and I mean everything there is from Heaven, Hell and everything in between is being threatened. Ninety-nine-point-nine-nine-nine percent of that everything I don‘t even wanna think about because I don’t give a shit about it. But the 0.001 percent, if I can manage to save just that…it‘ll be enough for me. Because that 0,001 percent…is this Earth.”

The remnants of Heavy Metal Impact, the full line-ups of the Holy Swords and Hearts of Fire as well as the three Diclonius girls couldn’t tell what to make of it; they just stood where they were.

“I want…” the Orochi fumed to itself, for the very fact that it had no other choice than to beg for a helping hand from the very creatures that he had sworn to destroy. “F*ck this….” he fell to his knees before the men and women. “Please. There is nothing left of my Office. My best friend and my first lieutenant is dead. My Intel officer betrayed us all. Heaven wants my head on a pike, and for all I know Hell doesn‘t give a damn about what happens to all of you whichever way this Tournament works out. There‘s one last thing that matters to me; this planet. And you happen to be living on it. So please. Help me…to save this world.”




~Next...a new day?~

[OverMaster]

Unforgettable Sins, Part XV: Kim Kaphwan vs. Captain America, Conclusion.

Dome A:

The assembled masses of the public howled again in cheers as both men exchanged kicks almost in a blurry of fast motion, no move wasted, no words uttered. Even the Judges themselves simply remained silent and attent, watching on with notable interests, except for Loki, who just seemed bored and aloof on his fine seat.

Finally, Morrigan Aensland broke the silence. "I bet on the hunk with the shield" the succubus purred with lascivity dripping from each word.

"I am not going to differ about that" Loki almost yawned. "That accursed Captain always finds a way, even around the impossible...".

"Both have courage, and the inner strenght" Aslan observed stoically. "It truly is a shame we do not have more contestants like them".

"Ryusei Raku!!" Kim shouted while trying something new, and slided down to surprise the Captain with a leg sweep, then sprang up with a strong chop kick, which was just barely blocked by the Avenger with his shield. The supersoldier then followed with a barrage of rapid fire boxing punches to Kaphwan's midsection, never wasting a single moment.

"MR. KAPWHAN!!!" Flonne cried out from the sidelines. "BEWARE!".

"He knows what he's doing" Zelgadiss Graywords patiently observed from where he was sitting next to an anxious Amelia. "Trust him".

Eventually, Kim broke Cap's combination of sucessive attacks with an upward kick aimed at his ribs, and followed by kneeing him, then concluding with another kick, not mighty enough to send his opponent back. He knew that, in the long distance, the shield gave the star spangled superhero the reach advantage.

Captain America countered with a powerful uppercut to the Korean man's jaw, then grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder a few feet away. Kim landed on his feet as he could, and quickly sprang back to his feet, then to duck under the round, shiny shield just thrown his way; he managed to dodge it, and then jumped over the American with a flying kick, hitting him again. He landed in front of him, but as he prepared to attack again, and Cap rubbed the blood off his mouth, he heard Darkwing's voice.

"Kim! Behind you!!".

He did not have time this time to dodge or duck, only to notice the shield coming back flying from behind one of the trees of the simulated bayou, impacting him on the face, and sending him straight into Captain America's ready haymaker, who knocked him down, then caught the shield as it flew back to his hand.

"It... it is like a boomerang!" Amelia squealed, impressed.

"Or a frisbee..." Darkwing Duck muttered bitterly, frowning behind his purple mask.

"You fight very well, friend" Cap said, sportmanshipingly allowing his adversary to work back to his feet, extremely dazed. "Would you like to surrender now? There is no shame on it after your display, and you are not in the shape to go on".

Kim half-smiled, even through his dizziness. "Sorry, Captain, but I can't. I... I have my kids and wife watching this at house, you know? And my disciples, too... If I have to fall before you, at least I will give a good performance for them... ALTHOUGH I WON'T LOSE!!". He suddenly shot a lightning quick sucession of TaeKwonDo kicks, most of which Steve Rogers could barely block, even though it clearly was taking a lot of effort and energy from him.

"I am sorry" the supersoldier simply said, and punched him in the head, then finished with another slam of his shield to Kim's face, knocking him down. "But I really can't lose, either!".

"WA!! MR. KAPHWAN!!" Flonne cried out.

"Well, who was going to know" Zelgadiss sighed and crossed his arms. "He lost, after all".

"Darn" Darkwing banged his face against his hands. "He should have called me in for help!".

Mandy gave Kim a quick countdown, and then declared Captain America winner between a deluge of hoorays from the public. The Captain, however, did not bask on it, and merely walked to Kapwhan's side, shook him slightly to awake him, and helped the groaning martial artist to stand up again. Meanwhile, however, a female voice surprised him.

"MR. AMERICA!".

"Psst, Amelia-chan... his name is Captain America..." Flonne whispered to her friend, who had just flown to the top of the tallest tree of the ring's bayou, and was starting her usual entrance from there.

Ignoring her, Amelia continued, "Mr. America, while your heart may be in he right place, your team is not the right one to impose the triumph of Justice at the end of this tournament! As much as it pains us to oppose you, it's us who will take this to the Goddess! For the ultimate wellbeing of everyone! For those who count on us! For Miss Lina, for Gosalyn-chan, for Mr. Kapwan's family, for the short guy and the fat guy! I, Amelia of the Will Royal House of Seyruun, will honor them with my, no, our victory!! Get ready, Mr. America!! Justice knows of no national boundaries, and we will prove it!!".


Korea:

The massive, obese Chang Koehan took his eyes apart from the TV for a moment, and then looked down at the tiny man in white sitting next to him.

"Uh, Choi..." the bearded, balding giant asked, "was that peppy crazy girl talking about us when she mentioned 'the short guy and the fat guy'?".

"What do you think, Chang?" Choi Bounge snarled. "Damn, she couldn't even have the decency to properly learn our names... OW!" he yowled as someone else slapped him on the head from behind.

"Quiet, both of you!!" Jhun Hoon scolded them. Then he frowned. "Kim, as always, your technique still lacks polishing. Maybe *I* should be there instead of you...".

"But that Angel chickie rejected you..." Chang shyly reminded him.

"Silence, or I'll give you 100 more laps around the lake for tonight" Kim's rival/codisciple hushed him down icily.


Next: The Chibi Joker Mini Saga concludes, and Meet 'Shard Kong'!

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

Unforgettable Sins, Part XV: Kim Kaphwan vs. Captain America, Conclusion.

Dome A:

The assembled masses of the public howled again in cheers as both men exchanged kicks almost in a blurry of fast motion, no move wasted, no words uttered. Even the Judges themselves simply remained silent and attent, watching on with notable interests, except for Loki, who just seemed bored and aloof on his fine seat.

Finally, Morrigan Aensland broke the silence. "I bet on the hunk with the shield" the succubus purred with lascivity dripping from each word.

"I am not going to differ about that" Loki almost yawned. "That accursed Captain always finds a way, even around the impossible...".

"Both have courage, and the inner strenght" Aslan observed stoically. "It truly is a shame we do not have more contestants like them".

"Ryusei Raku!!" Kim shouted while trying something new, and slided down to surprise the Captain with a leg sweep, then sprang up with a strong chop kick, which was just barely blocked by the Avenger with his shield. The supersoldier then followed with a barrage of rapid fire boxing punches to Kaphwan's midsection, never wasting a single moment.

"MR. KAPWHAN!!!" Flonne cried out from the sidelines. "BEWARE!".

"He knows what he's doing" Zelgadiss Graywords patiently observed from where he was sitting next to an anxious Amelia. "Trust him".

Eventually, Kim broke Cap's combination of sucessive attacks with an upward kick aimed at his ribs, and followed by kneeing him, then concluding with another kick, not mighty enough to send his opponent back. He knew that, in the long distance, the shield gave the star spangled superhero the reach advantage.

Captain America countered with a powerful uppercut to the Korean man's jaw, then grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder a few feet away. Kim landed on his feet as he could, and quickly sprang back to his feet, then to duck under the round, shiny shield just thrown his way; he managed to dodge it, and then jumped over the American with a flying kick, hitting him again. He landed in front of him, but as he prepared to attack again, and Cap rubbed the blood off his mouth, he heard Darkwing's voice.

"Kim! Behind you!!".

He did not have time this time to dodge or duck, only to notice the shield coming back flying from behind one of the trees of the simulated bayou, impacting him on the face, and sending him straight into Captain America's ready haymaker, who knocked him down, then caught the shield as it flew back to his hand.

"It... it is like a boomerang!" Amelia squealed, impressed.

"Or a frisbee..." Darkwing Duck muttered bitterly, frowning behind his purple mask.

"You fight very well, friend" Cap said, sportmanshipingly allowing his adversary to work back to his feet, extremely dazed. "Would you like to surrender now? There is no shame on it after your display, and you are not in the shape to go on".

Kim half-smiled, even through his dizziness. "Sorry, Captain, but I can't. I... I have my kids and wife watching this at house, you know? And my disciples, too... If I have to fall before you, at least I will give a good performance for them... ALTHOUGH I WON'T LOSE!!". He suddenly shot a lightning quick sucession of TaeKwonDo kicks, most of which Steve Rogers could barely block, even though it clearly was taking a lot of effort and energy from him.

"I am sorry" the supersoldier simply said, and punched him in the head, then finished with another slam of his shield to Kim's face, knocking him down. "But I really can't lose, either!".

"WA!! MR. KAPHWAN!!" Flonne cried out.

"Well, who was going to know" Zelgadiss sighed and crossed his arms. "He lost, after all".

"Darn" Darkwing banged his face against his hands. "He should have called me in for help!".

Mandy gave Kim a quick countdown, and then declared Captain America winner between a deluge of hoorays from the public. The Captain, however, did not bask on it, and merely walked to Kapwhan's side, shook him slightly to awake him, and helped the groaning martial artist to stand up again. Meanwhile, however, a female voice surprised him.

"MR. AMERICA!".

"Psst, Amelia-chan... his name is Captain America..." Flonne whispered to her friend, who had just flown to the top of the tallest tree of the ring's bayou, and was starting her usual entrance from there.

Ignoring her, Amelia continued, "Mr. America, while your heart may be in he right place, your team is not the right one to impose the triumph of Justice at the end of this tournament! As much as it pains us to oppose us, it's us who will take this to the Goddess! For the ultimate wellbeing of everyone! For those who count on us! For Miss Lina, for Gosalyn-chan, for Mr. Kapwan's family, for the short guy and the fat guy! I, Amelia of the Will Royal House of Seyruun, will prove it with my, no, our victory!! Get ready, Mr. America!! Justice knows of no national boundaries, and we will prove it!!".


Korea:

The massive, obese Chang Koehan took his eyes apart from the TV for a moment, and then looked down at the tiny man in white sitting next to him.

"Uh, Choi..." the bearded, balding giant asked, "was that peppy crazy girl talking about us when she mentioned 'the short guy and the fat guy'?".

"What do you think, Chang?" Choi Bounge snarled. "Damn, she couldn't even have the decency to properly learn our names... OW!" he yowled as someone else slapped him on the head from behind.

"Quiet, both of you!!" Jhun Hoon scolded them. Then he frowned. "Kim, as always, your technique still lacks polishing. Maybe *I* should be there instead of you...".

"But that Angel chickie rejected you..." Chang shyly reminded him.

"Silence, or I'll give you 100 more laps around the lake for tonight" Kim's rival/codisciple hushed him down icily.


Next: The Chibi Joker Mini Saga concludes, and Meet 'Shard Kong'!

Meanwhile, in the stands, a figure wearing sunglasses and a stars-and-strpes bandana looked down, and smiled.

"Heh, I knew it," Bandit Keith* said. "That stupid Korean guy was no match for Captain America . . . .. in America!"

"Braaaaaains," Keith's zombie sidekick spoke up. This roughly translated as "Dude, we aren't even IN America."

"Quiet, Zombie Boy!" Keith growled. "You have no right to tell an American what to do . . . .in America!"


*Yes, this is the version of Bandit Keith from Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNbqugg5sR4) on YouTube. Sorry, but I just had to throw him in.

[J Dog]

Meanwhile, in the stands, a figure wearing sunglasses and a stars-and-strpes bandana looked down, and smiled.

"Heh, I knew it," Bandit Keith* said. "That stupid Korean guy was no match for Captain America . . . .. in America!"

"Braaaaaains," Keith's zombie sidekick spoke up. This roughly translated as "Dude, we aren't even IN America."

"Quiet, Zombie Boy!" Keith growled. "You have no right to tell an American what to do . . . .in America!"


*Yes, this is the version of Bandit Keith from Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNbqugg5sR4) on YouTube. Sorry, but I just had to throw him in.

Hey, I used Keith before, remember?

Anyways, it's time for me to continue:

Ramifications- Part 2: Jack's Actions

Back at the Grounds, Jack was busy with his two primary assistants, his sister Tiffany, and his friend Mimi, and figuring what else to do. They heard about the downed craft, but figured to let that wait for that.

"It isn't as if I don't want to do it, but I think that the problem will come to us within a matter of time."

"Well, isn't there anything we CAN do?" Tiffany moaned a bit, believing that ever since the battle, little exciting has happened to them.

"Hell, I really do want something good happening, I'll admit. But, until then, all that we can do is just train and wait." He then pointed to a flyer to the Underground Citadel. "We haven't been there in a while, and that time was just for Mimi to fight."

"I don't know..." Mimi said with concern. "That place is seedy, and I really didn't want to be there longer than I had to."

"Relax; you got me. And, I'll let you wear the suit Mari gave you if you REALLY are freaked about the nutjobs and gamblers down there." He lifted his hammers. "You cool with that?"

"Yeah." Mimi admitted. "I'll go with you."

Once down in the arena's staging points, Jack, Tiffany, Mimi, and Palmon were down. Mimi WAS wearing the Valkyrie Basic Suit.

"Something exciting better happen here." Jack stated.

"Hopefully, it won't be that big." Mimi then told him.

**********

"You... you... defeated my brother?!!" Orion shockingly gasped. "But... how?!"

"Well, I really don't want to bore you with the details, but I will say one thing; you're next!"

Orion couldn't believe it...

Next: Down in the Citadel

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

Hey, I used Keith before, remember?

When was this?

Besides which, this wasn't the "real" version of Keith, but the abridged parody version.

[J Dog]

When was this?

Besides which, this wasn't the "real" version of Keith, but the abridged parody version.

Oh, my bad...

[OverMaster]

Unforgettable Sins, Part XVI: Battle Plans.

The Underground Citadel. Oswald Cobblepot's office:

"It-it can't be" the startled Penguin almost babbled. "YOU? A fighter HERE?".

"What's so strange about it?" the Chibi Joker snorted, and gave him a condescending look. "It isn't forbidden for MUGEN fighters, is it?". He began to absently toy with a pen that was laying around on the Penguin's desk, as if it were some sort of spear he swung around. "Even that ditzy child with the living plant had a turn at your arena. Why not your ol' buddy Me too, Ozzie?".

"It certainly is an... unusual request coming from you" Cobblepot admited. He polished his monocle with a tissue, and blew on it, then put it back on. "You have always been more willing to tactics than to direct confrontation".

"But you know I like a good challenge every once in a while, too" the Mini Joker smiled wyly, then added, "By the way, tell your assassin to step out from behind the curtain. He's making me nervous, not because of any possible danger, but because I can't shake the creepy stalker vibes from him".

Cobblepot blinked, surprised. "How did you--" he began to ask, but cut himself short and cleared his throat. "Deadshot, please. Mr. Joker won't be a threat to us".

Only then, Deadshot stepped out from the shadows at the other side of the room, from where he had been perfectly said, but he still said nothing.

"Well, that's better!" the miniature Joker nodded. "So, Ozzbert, about my request...".

"Look, I suppose I could give you a spot" the Penguin sighed. "But you still have to follow some guidelines. I don't want to get over my head with that Rayden and his angels. Additonally, we are on an almost full schedule right now, and all fighters are already compromised...".

"So just boot one of them out, or get him or her killed, whatever!" the Joker was becoming more impatient. "But give me a spot, or else--".

"Calm down, calm down!" Cobblepot frowned. "At least allow me to finish my sentences first. All of them are already compromised, save one. Another last minute addition, that I had to accept because Bison from Team Darkness pressured me into giving him a place. One of his chief lieutenants. Big guy, former heavyweight boxing champ, with a known history of brutality at the ring. Do you think you can handle that, even in your current... reduced state?".

"Feh, piece of cake" the Joker waved the issue away. "As a matter of fact, I'd like someone tougher, bigger, than a mere boxer...".

"You will get your wish if you advance to the finals" the Penguin handed him a hard cover notebook with an elegant penguin design on the cover. "Check our battle lineup, Joker".

He eyed the plan in front of him curiously.



Originally posted by The Penguin's notebook.

FIRST ROUND.

First Fight: Marv vs. Kho-Nan. Winner: Marv.

Second Fight: Rainbow Mika vs. Makoto Rindou.

Third Fight: Zarabeth vs. Panther of Gartland.

Fourth Fight: Dan Hibiki vs. Killer Croc.

Fifth Fight: Maya Natsume vs. Sabretooth/Victor Creed.

Sixth Fight: Evangeline A.K. Mc Dowell vs. Mikoto Minami.

Seventh Fight: Johnny Cage vs. Felicia (last name not available).

Eight Fight: Mike Balrog vs. ??????


SECOND ROUND:

A) Winner of the First Fight vs. Winner of the Fourth Fight.

B) Winner of the Second Fight vs. Winner of the Seventh Fight.

C) Winner of the Third Fight vs. Winner of the Sixth Fight.

D) Winner of the Fifth Fight vs. Winner of the Eight Fight.



SEMIFINALS:

1- Winner of A vs. Winner of C.

2- Winner of B vs. Winner of D.



FINALS.

Exhibition matches:
Segata Sanshiro vs. The Player.
Petomer (Griffin or Simpson? He kept contradicting himself) vs. any takers.



"I wanted to pit Mr. Balrog versus one of my prize recent recruits, Mr. Yujiro Hanma, but sadly, Mr. Hanma has just been crippled by a member of Team Hearts of Fire. You will have to take his place".

Joker's eyes shone. "You mean... if I beat that stupid boxer, I can have a chance to fight...". His gaze delighted on two names from the list. "Vamp Girl and the Gray Gorilla... Anzell's goons... Too good to be true...".

Then he chuckled, and nodded a lot. "HYA-HA! Rest assured, Pengy, I'll deliver the goods! Sign me up, Fatty, because you just got the best entertainer for this precious sideshow of yours!".

Next: Shard Kong!


OOC: I realized we really needed a clear schedule of battles for the Citadel event. I hope this isn't unconvenient for any of you; otherwise, we can alter it.
I chose Evangeline because I have a plot twist including Negi Springfield and some of his class (so far shown only in a cameo back when Belldandy appeared over MUGEN) coming up. Plus, it can lead to an interesting Eva vs. Zarabeth confrontation.
Petomer, Maya and Cage had been seen hanging around the arenas, so I had to give them something to do. The Player vs. Segata Sanshiro subplot has been hanging loose for too long, and I figure we can solve it here.
As for Mikoto, I'm simply in a Mai-HiME watching spree right now, that's all. :p

[J Dog]

OOC: I realized we really needed a clear schedule of battles for the Citadel event. I hope this isn't unconvenient for any of you; otherwise, we can alter it.


Well, actually, I do recall Cobblepot mentioning how he would consider seeing the winner of the Four Way Fight and talking about a "lucrative" deal.

But, the winner was Mimi, and I doubt she would even accept that. However, since I have them in the Citadel now, plan on holding Dorado's upcoming fate for a while, and I won't have Brett around until next episode (to give time for him to "heal"), I think that they should be talked to. I'm not saying they HAVE to, but it'd be something...

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

Benefit of the Doubt, Part 3

A few minutes later, the questioning period was over: Alucard had answered each and every one of Anzell’s questions, effectively reiterating that he was no longer working for Vellinor, that this wasn’t some elaborate scheme on the Trickster’s part, that he had absolutely no intention of betraying or hurting Anzell or any members of her team in any way, shape or form, and that his offer to help Anzell truly was geniune. Throughout the questionoing, the sacred branch had remained a pure, unsullied white, indicating that the vampire had been telling the truth. Alucard had shown visible discomfort and even slight pain when he had held the branch, however, and had attributed it to the fact that a sacred object like the branch was anathema to a creature of darkness like himself.

“I still don’t like it,” Zarabeth muttered to Anzell as she walked away from Alucard. ”How do you know that branch thing was working properly? The bastard didn’t even take off his gloves!”

“You remember what he said,” Anzell replied. ”The seals on his gloves are the only things keeping his power in check. And besides, it would take divinely-forged seals to counteract the branch.”

Marv grunted. “So we should take his word for it because he passed the lie detector test?” he grumbled.

“Marv’s got a point,” Alita said. “He may not want to hurt us simply because we’re convenient to him right now,” she said. “What’s to stop him if he ever changes his mind? He already changed his mind once about Vellinor.”

Anzell bit her lowerlip. A part of her wanted to trust Alucard and believe in the sacred branch—it was never wrong, after all. But another part of her couldn’t ignore what her team was saying. What if Alucard did decide to betray them later on? What if, by letting Alucard join them, she simply signed their death warrants? What if—

“Hey! You winged dorks had better be releasing me this time!” a voice was heard shouting from down the hall. “Between this and getting anally probed by that Washu lady, my day has been crap so far! The least you could do is get me out of this damned rack!”

Alita blinked. ”Anally…probed?”

A few seconds later, a pair of angels came walking down the hall, pushing what appeared to be a mobile rack between them. Fastened to it by wrist-cuffs was a famiiar, dark-haired man who still bore bruises on his face from Marv’s rough treatment.

“Williams,” Alucard said with a faint smile. ”I was wondering when they’d let you out.”

Ash’s expression turned sour when he noticed Alucard. ”Aw great, you again,” he grumbled. ”As if I haven’t been through enough trouble as it is.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that part, pal,” Marv said with a sinister grin as he stood up, cracking his knuckles.

Ash’s eyes widened when he noticed the big gray guy who had all-too-recently nearly hospitalized him. And the vampire chick. And pretty much everyone else who had attacked Vellinor’s team. Damn, he was in for it now.

“Uhhh . . .if you guys are here to interrogate me or anything…..uh, Vellinor made me do it, okay?”Ash said.

Anzell merely raised an eyebrow.”Do what?’

“Uhhh, whatever it is you’re going to be accusing me of,” Ash replied.

Anzell shook her head.”We aren’t accusing you of anything, Mr.Williams,” she said.

Ash raised an eyebrow in surprise. A second later, his shackles opened up, and he slid free from the rack. “You’re. .. you’re releasing me?”

“I might,” the blonde woman (who rather hot, as Ash noticed) said. “There is a condition, however. We would still like you to answer some questions, Mr. Williams.”

Ash raised an eyebrow at her and gave her his most charming smile. ”Hey, I’ll do whatever you want, babe,” he said. “Up to and including foot massages.”

Further to the side of the room, Alucard grunted derisively. ”Williams, you fool, don’t you know that you should behave respectfully in the presence of a goddess?” he grumbled.

The vampire’s words caused Ash to blink in surprise. ”Goddess?” He glanced back at Anzell. ”Hey, you’re a goddess? You aren’t that Belldandy chick, are you?”

Anzell shook her head. ”My name is Anzell, Peacekeeper-Goddess of Evermere, Goddess Second Class by Yggdrasil’s standards,” she replied. ”But enough about me: is it true that you were forced into serving Vellinor against your will?”

Ash’s expression turned sour. ”Yeah, that bozo put these electrodes under my skin,” he replied. ”That Washu lady got them out, though. . . but I think she might have done something to my arm….” He twitched his robotic arm a few times curiously.

“And what did you do under Vellinor’s employ?” Anzell asked. “Other than fight in the arena, that is?”

“Hey, that’s all I did,” Ash spoke up defensively. “But I didn’t just fight because that asshole told me to: I pretty much did it for the whole “saving the world” thing.”

“Oh, how heroic,” Alucard said dryly.

Anzell ignored Alucard as she remained focused on Ash. “The thing is, Mr. Williams. . . “

“Hey, call me Ash,” he cut in, flashing her a million-dollar grin.

“ . ..Ash,” Anzell corrected, “records indicate that you broke into a high-security library administered by Yggdrasil personell and stole a forbidden book called the Necronomicon Ex Mortis, also known as the Book of the Dead.”

At this, both Marv and Zarabeth glared at Ash, remembering how he had eluded them. Ash nervously shrank back in his seat. “Well.. . a guy I know kinda appeared to me in a dream,” he said sheepishly, “and told me that I had to destroy the book. Believe me, that thing has caused me a lot of trouble in the past: every time I think I have it easy, that thing comes along and makes my life hell again.”

“Then where is it?” Zarabeth hissed. “Because someone used it to raise the dead on the day we captured you.”

Ash’s eyes widened. Memories of the Evil Dead flooded back into his mind, memories that he frequenty saw in his nightmares. He looked Zarabeth straight in the eye with the look of a man who has been to hell and back

“What?” he said in a low tone. “You mean someone else has the book?”

“So ya lost it?” Marv grunted.

“Yeah, I lost it,” Ash grunted back. “It fell into the crowd when you two were chasing me.” He turned back to Anzell. “Hey lady, if you’re gonna release me, you better be quick—if someone else has the book, then the Deadites are gonna come back, and we’re ALL going to be royally screwed!”

Anzell said nothing for a minute. There was something stange about this whole story. “Ash. . . you say you were contacted by someone in a dream?”

“Yeah, it was this wizard guy whose kingdom I saved a while back,” Ash said. “He’s a pretty annoying old fart, though.”

“Well, call it a hunch, but I think the Undead horde might have been a smokescreen to keep the angels occupied while Vellinor made an escape,” Anzell said. “I think you were set up, Ash.”

Ash nearly jumped. “You . . . you mean that crazy loon snatched the book?” he exclaimed. “That grinning, lying, backstabbing, son of a gerbil has the Book of the Dead and is going to summon the Deadites again? Oh, fan-friggin-tastic! I’m gonna kill that asshole!”

“Hey, you ain’t gonna kill no one yet, pal,” Marv grunted. “We still haven’t decided if we’re gonna release you yet.”

Ash glared at Marv. “Oh thanks a lot,” he grumbled. “You bring me out here and question me, only to tell me ‘thanks, but we aren’t letting you out?’ Well, screw you guys!”

“Why should we let you go?” Master Chief spoke up. “Firstly, you might still be working for Vellinor, and secondly, we just don’t have a really good reason to do so.”

“Hey, I want nothing to do with that asswipe!” Ash shot back. “And for your information, Space Man, if Vellinor has the book, then you’ll need my help! I’ve fought the living dead something like four times in a row and beaten them?”

“So have I, and you don’t see me complaining,” Alucard cut in.

Ash turned red in exasperation. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he grumbled to his former teammate.

“Somewhat,” Alucard replied with a grin.

Anzell sighed. “Listen, Ash, you have to understand that we can’t afford to be too careful,” she said. “We believe that Vellinor is trying to take over heaven, and I wouldn’t put it past him to plant agents in our midst.”

“Okay, okay, I get that much,” Ash muttered. “So how do I prove to you guys that I’m on your side?”

The goddess turned back to her team, who nodded simultaneously. Turning back to Ash, Anzell re-summoned the branch. “Hold this, please.”

Ash eyed the branch in confusion. A tree branch? Okay, this was officially weirder than a Sam Raimi movie . . .

********

A few minutes later, the questioning was done: Ash had answered the same questions Alucard had answered, and, just as before, the branch remained white, indicating that Ash had been telling the truth.

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

Anzell glanced for a minute at the angels, then back at Ash. “Since you technically are still a member of Team Vellinor –apparently you’re still on the official roster – then you can’t be held legally any longer. However, since you yourself quit, you might still held accountable for the break-in. I might be able to help you out of that by bargaining with the angels– if, in return, you help us.”

Ash blinked. “You mean . . . help you guys fight Vellinor?” he asked.

The goddess nodded. “I’m sure we could use your help, Ash,” she replied. “In fact, given the way things are now, we could use all the help we can get.”

The human paused for a minute and pondered the offer: a chance to team up with a sexy goddess to fight the Deadites once more and get back at Vellinor. . .


(Cut to shot of Ash and Vellinor dueling with swords on top of a castle rampart, just like Ash and Evil Ash did in Army of Darkness. After a while, Ash has been forced back near the edge of the ramparts.)

Vellinor: Hah! You can’t beat me, you mortal dweeb! I’m a frikkin god! By the time I’m done with you, there won’t be anything left to scrape off the floor. Any last words?

(Ash ducks under Vellinor’s swing and drives his sword into his guts. As a surprised Vellinor staggers back, Ash pulls out his boomstick and points it at Vellinor’s head)

Ash: Hail to the king, asshole.

(Ash pulls the trigger and blows Vellinor’s head off. As Vellinor’s body falls off the ramparts, both Anzell and Zarabeth coming running into Ash’s arms)

Ash: Gimme some sugar, baby. (Kisses Anzell)


Ash’s fantasy was interrupted by a fist slamming onto the top of his head, leaving a sizeable lump. “Ow! What the –”

The rest of Team Anzell stared at Zarabeth, who stood fuming in front of Ash. “He was daydreaming about me!” she exclaimed defensively. “You could tell just by looking at his face!”

“Jeezis, what’s your problem, Miss Feminazi?” Ash shouted back as he rubbed his aching head. “Besides, what makes you think I was daydreaming about YOU?”

Zarabeth’s eyes narrowed. “You mean you were thinking about Anzell?” she hissed. “THAT’S EQUALLY DISGUSTING, YOU BASTARD!” With that, she hit him over the head again.

“OW! QUIT IT!” Ash shouted. “ARE YOU MENTAL OR SOMETHING?”

Anzell abruptly stepped between them. “Zarabeth, stop . . . . .” She paused abruptly, then looked at Ash in a strange way. Before Ash knew it, the goddess placed both her hands on either side of his head. “What the . . “

“Memory rewind!” Anzell said, filtering through his memories only up to the past five minutes. A second later, she removed her hands, her expression now quite sour. ”He was thinking about both of us,” she muttered.

There was a short pause as Anzell and Zarabeth both looked coldly at Ash, who could only sweatdrop nervously. A second later, Zarabeth’s fist and Anzell’s spear-haft both came slamming down on Ash’s head. “OW! HEY!”

Further behind, Marv, Alucard and Alita couldn’t help but chuckle slightly.

“Eh, I say we let him join,” Marv said. “I like him better than the vamp. Besides, he’s harmless.”

“I agree,” Alita said.

“Same here,” Master Chief added.

“Yeah, I’m – HEY!” Ash glared bitterly as the rest of Team Anzell.

Regaining her composure, Anzell stepped back from Ash. “All in favour of letting Ash join?”

Alita, Marv and Master Chief all raised their hands. Zarabeth’s hands remained folded across her chest as she glared hatefully at Ash.

The goddess nodded. “I guess I’ll have to come up with the final decision on both of them, then,” she said. She turned back to both Ash and Alucard. “I will need a bit of time to think about this,” she said. “Once I’ve made my decision, I’ll let the two of you know.”

“Wait . . . you mean you’re just going to leave me here?” Ash exclaimed. “But. . . c’mon! Your pals voted to let me go!”

“The final decision is still mine to make,” Anzell replied. “And as I already told you, I can’t afford to be too careful. Until I make my decision, I ask that you trust me, Ash.”

“And yet you won’t trust me,” Ash huffed as the angels began to pull him back to his cell. “This is just great.”

“Oh, quit whining, Williams,” Alucard said calmly as the angels began to escort him back to his own cell. “You brought this on yourself with that little daydreaming stuff of yours!”

“Hey, I’m only human!” Ash shot back before he and Alucard disappeared down the hall.

Marv simply took a drag from his cigarette. “Hmn, this has been a pretty crazy day so far,” he muttered. “By the way, Anzell, what happened to your dress?”

“Don’t ask,” Anzell grumbled as she turned to head for the exit, followed by her team. The first thing she’d do when she left, she told herself, was to find a dry-cleaners- demonic milkshake-blood wasn’t something that could easily be removed by her magic.

Alita was the first through the door. “A part of me still doesn’t like this, the cyborg girl said as she stepped into the street.

“What, the fact that we may have to trust those two assholes?” Zarabeth grunted.

The cyborg shut his head. “Not only that,” she replied. “It seems to me almost as though Vellinor was content to let them quit: otherwise, he might have tried sending henchmen to kill them.”

“Oh yeah, try to kill off a pair of guys in a heavily-guarded prison,” Marv muttered. “Not to mention that one of them is un-killable.”

Master Chief sheathed his rifle as he stepped out. “Judging by what Anzell’s told us, Vellinor would find a way, since he’s so good at planning,” he said. “Either Vellinor’s still planning a revenge hit, or he’s simply letting them go because he has a backup plan. Or it could all be one big trap.”

Alita stretched her robotic limbs. “I guess we won’t find out until it’s too late then,” she said. “Maybe we should play it safe and leave them imprisoned?”

“Maybe,” Anzell replied. She looked up at the sky—World War I biplanes were dogfighting against X-Wings starfighters above. “At the moment, that’s the least of our worries. I just hope Skuld can fix the bug infestation in the Yggdrasil network.

Marv snorted. “So that’s what all of this is? Just one big glitch?” He chuckled. “Eh, I never understood computers.”

Zarabeth remained silent. Since she had no idea what the hell a “computer” was, she wasn’t quite following the conversation.

“What would you have us do, then?” Master Chief asked as they crossed the street-- a dump truck-turned-dinosaur roared past them. “People on the grounds may be in danger. Should we help them out, or continue looking for the shards.”

Anzell glanced at the horizon—already, quite a few buildings in the distance were on fire. “No reason why we can’t do both,” she said. “Zarabeth, you’re with me: we’ll check the south side of the Mugen grounds for shards and help any people we can.”

A look of anxiety and disappointment crossed Zarabeth’s face. “But . . . but my match—“

“ – will be after the one between that wrestler chick and that judo girl,” Marv cut in. “You’ve got plenty of time to spare. What about me?”

Anzell shook her head. “You’re in no condition to help out, Marv,” she replied. “I’ll teleport you back to the Citadel to heal.”

Marv’s scarred face soured. “Aw, rats,” he grumbled before he disappeared in a flash of light.

The goddess turned to Alita. “As for you, Alita . . . I recently got a call from Dominic Deegan,” she said. “He thinks he’s found a clue either to Sakura’s possible location, or one of a Chaos cell. He was wondering if you could help him and Karin out.

Alita’s eyes widened as the mention of Sakura. “Where can I meet them?” she asked excitedly. A part of her felt responsible for Sakura’s well-being ever since she got shot in the training grounds, and that part of her practically jumped at the chance to try to find her.

“They’re at the bus stop at the easternmost part of the grounds, near the Citadel,” Anzell replied. She could tell that Alita felt partially guilty about Sakura’s disappearance, and wanted to give her this one chance to absolve herself. “Just be careful, Alita.”

The cyborg nodded. “I will Anzell,” she replied. Thank you, she mentally added. She turned to Zarabeth. “And Zara-chan, in case I don’t get back in time, good luck in your match.”

“Thanks,” Zarabeth muttered, “though I have no idea how the hell I’m supposed to fight a . . . . android.”

“Simple,” Alita replied. “You can simply cripple it in the same ways you can cripple a human.” With that, she turned and and, in a blur of movement, began to leap from rooftop to rooftop until she was out of sight.”

Anzell turned to Master Chief. “As for you, Chief,” she said, “whether you want to help out us or Alita, I’ll leave it to your discretion.”

“I was thinking about checking the eastern area anyway,” the Spartan replied. “If she ever needs my help, I’ll be close by.” And with that, he turned and headed eastward.

“’Cripple it like you would cripple a normal human,’ she says,” Zarabeth grumbled. “Some bloody help she is.”

“Let it go, Zarabeth,” Anzell replied as she turned in the direction of Team Expendables’ quarters, where smoke was beginning to rise. “I think we should start down there, don’t you?”


Next: A Chaos cult is uncovered, an ancient evil returns, and Borat-related craziness ensues!

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

And now for some match predictions:


TEAM JUSTICE VS. TEAM USA- Hmmm . . .. tough one. I think the Yanks have an edge in both experience and sheer fighting skill, but Team Justice has Flonne. I give it to Team Justice 6/10

TEAM YOUNG DUELISTS VS. TEAM SMASH BROTHERS- One word: KIRBY. The little pink dude is all but impossible to keep down, and woe betide the Duelists if Kirby absorbs any of Yugi’s monsters . .. .

TEAM EVIL SCIENCE VS. TEAM VENDETTA- Tough one. I can’t see Scorpion doing that much, since his techniques aren’t very uber-powered, but Forte and Iori should be able to hold their own, and Negaduck will no doubt have plenty of dirty tricks up his sleeve. I’ll give this one to Team Vendetta.

TEAM SHIN SACRED TREASURES VS. TEAM NUISANCE- All I can say is that it will get hilarious when Happosai joins the fray. Otherwise, though, I think the Priestesses may need to pull out some heavy-duty attacks to combat Bowser and Team Rocket, otherwise they’ll just get pummeled. Come to think of it, Happosai alone might be able to take them out, since he gets more powerful as he gets hornier. The Priestesses just might win if Sailor Pluto can pull out some powerful attacks, though.

TEAM SKULD VS. TEAM ENGLAND- The Brits are composed of nothing but low-powered basic fighters, whereas Team Skuld has a mage and two gods on their side (one of whom has trained under Kaarage). Team Skuld is winning this one, easily.

TEAM HODGEPODGE VS. TEAM WANNABE CONQUERORS- Eep. Bugs Bunny ALONE will make life hell for the Wannabes. And given the tendency of their plans to backfire . . . .methinks we will see yet another team getting utterly pwned.

TEAM WACKY HIJINX VS. TEAM DEVASTATION- This might be a little more even, as there are a lot of heavy hitters on the Devastation team that might be able to overcome even Cartoon Invulnerability. Unless Puni, Bobo and Slappy (I don’t have high hopes for Daffy, personally) pull out some really powerful gags, they’ll be going down hard.

TEAM NERON VS. TEAM SHADALOO- I think Shadaloo has the slight edge here with Justice and Jedah, but then the sheer intelligence of both Prometheus and Maleficent shouldn’t be underestimated, and Agent Smith might be abe to wear the powerful fighters down after a while. Still, I’m giving it to Shadaloo 6/10

TEAM HOLY SWORDS VS. TEAM VAMPIRE- As I’ve said before, the Swords might be able to deal with the girls, but Demitri is just out of their league.

[OverMaster]

J Dog: I just assumed Mimi wouldn't be interested in more Citadel battles (she'd prefer to help Jack instead), and I have other plans for Tomoyo, Cosette and Hood, so I left it that way.

Lord, any opinions on the underground matches' card? Any other opinions from someone else?

[T51R]

Next post tomorrow. OM, YHPM. :D

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

[QUOTE]FIRST ROUND.

Rainbow Mika vs. Makoto Rindou- tough one: Makoto is arguably more skilled, but Mika has a much better endurance factor. Oh what the heck, I'll give this one to Makoto, since Mika, IMO, is more or less a humour character (though it might turn into Sakura vs. Excel all over again)

Third Fight: Zarabeth vs. Panther of Gartland- I'd say Zarabeth has a silght advantage in speed, and Panther a slight advantage in strength. Zarabeth will probably win if she manages to cast Hellish Vigour and swordblitzes Panther. Panther, on the other hand, will only win if she gets a ringout on Zara or KOs her (which will be difficult, given Zarabeth's inhuman stamina): no matter how badly hurt she gets, Zarabeth will stubbornly fight on against any odds.

Fourth Fight: Dan Hibiki vs. Killer Croc- barring SMvsFL, Croc wins.

Fifth Fight: Maya Natsume vs. Sabretooth/Victor Creed- (reads Wiki article on Maya)- hmm, she seems to have an advantage of speed and chi power, but I think Vic's healing factor and ferocity will be able to counter that. I'll give it to Sabretooth, 6/10

Sixth Fight: Evangeline A.K. Mc Dowell vs. Mikoto Minami- I'll give this one to Evangeline, since she beat a frikkin demon-god with ease.

Seventh Fight: Johnny Cage vs. Felicia (last name not available).- does Felicia have her bad luck aura going on? If so, Mr. Cage ain't winning this fight.

Eight Fight: Mike Balrog vs. Emperor Joker- Jeezis, OM, what did Balrog ever do to you?


Segata Sanshiro vs. The Player- the Player has already beaten Segata before. He'll do so again.

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

Mark of Chaos, Part I: Broken Paths

The place where the scarred men had brought Ed was dark and cramped. It smelled of blood and rotting flesh. It smelled of suffering, of fear. There were voices in the place – crying, whimpering voices, some begging for mercy, some begging for release, some begging for death. The men laughed or shouted at them and kicked them when they begged. Ed was afraid when they shackled him to a nearby wall, right next to a man who lay dead on the floor, his midsection ripped open.

He was forced to listen to their chants in strange tongues, chants that chilled his very soul. He shut his eyes when they brought people onto the circle and drew jagged knives. He couldn’t block out their screaming … the screaming just wouldn’t stop …

At one point, a few of them came up to him and pried his eyes open with grubby fingers as a screaming woman was brought to the bloodied circle. They didn’t gut her and tear out her heart and entrails like they had done to the others: they began cutting her deeply first, then slicing her up one bit at a time. First her fingers. Then her toes. Then her tongue. Then her skin. Then her eyes. The scarred men laughed at Ed’s fear. Some had seen his face, and laughed that the infamous Fullmetal Alchemist was a sissy.

The woman looked like an unrecognizable slab of meat by the time she died. Her screams had faded shortly before then.

We are saving the special treatment for you, Fullmetal, they told him. Yours will be a truly wonderful death. Your soul will be a gift for Chaos.

Once, Ed caught a glimpse of the stone they brought in. It was blood-red, covered in strange runes. Its surface seemed to pulse as though alive. Faces formed on the stone’s surface and screamed at him. He fainted then; after he woke up, he never saw the stone again.

He wanted to escape. He wanted his mother. He wanted it all to stop –the fear, the suffering, the death. He just wanted it to stop . . .


*******

Pebbles and ash crunched under Alita’s feet as she, Karin and Dominic made their way through the wasteland. The scene around her was one of complete devastation: this place used to be part of a city, but now it was just one giant graveyard. Buildings had been knocked over or smashed apart like they were made of matchsticks, and most of the ground was covered in a thick layer of rubble. Fires still burned in some places. Once or twice, they even came across a dead body.

And to think that we’re barely a mile out of the Mugen grounds, Alita thought somberly to herself. When they had started on this journey, Dominic told them that he had found droplets of blood in a clearing … not Sakura’s he had told them, but, according to his psychic vision, someone who had been abducted by a Chaos cult. According to his vision, the cultists had a base somewhere in the ruins outside of the Mugen grounds. Here, they just might find Sakura. Karin had wondered why they weren’t calling on the angels to help them, and Dominic had stated plainly that the angels would attract too much attention and force the cultists to flee, whereas three individuals would probably go unnoticed.

Along the way, they had stumbled across a column of refugees on their way to Mugen. They had been a ragged lot: wounded, exhausted, some of them dying on their feet. Alita had noticed that they had all had the same look in their eyes—one of fear and despair, of hopelessness. These people had seen their loved ones killed and their homes destroyed: they truly believed that the end of the world had come.

The trio had stopped to help these refugees out, helping to tend to some of the more lightly wounded and giving the group directions to the Mugen grounds. The sight of these refugees had particularly troubled Karin: she had lived a life of sheltered wealth, and had never known what suffering or poverty looked like. Now she had seen it up close.

“Those poor people,” she said as she and Alita followed Dominic. “I hope they get to the Mugen grounds alright.”

“Even if they do, there will be hundreds more coming in after them,” Dominic replied flatly. “Everyone out there is either dead or homeless by now.”

Karin gulped. “Then why isn’t anyone helping them?” she exclaimed. “We can’t simply leave these people to die!”

“It’s not that simple,” Dominic muttered. “The world’s governments are doing all they can, but at this stage …they’re fighting a losing battle. The world’s only chance left is the Mugen tournament.”

The seer abruptly kicked a nearby stone. “Which is just effin’ great,” he grumbled. “The fate of the world will probably wind up depending on some stupid jock with a big sword.”

“No need to be so bitter,” Alita said. “Look at it this way: the fate of the world won’t be depending on you.”

“Oh yeah, that’s really reassuring,” Dominic said sarcastically. He paused for a minute. “You’re right, though: I couldn’t hack the responsibility of having to save the world.”

“Or the fighting,” Karin added. “Let’s face it, Dom, you’re no warrior.”

“Unlike you, you mean?” Dominic said dryly as he negotiated a mound of rubble.

Karin glared at him. “Oh shut up,” she said. The rich girl paused, and glanced at Alita. “Alita-chan . . . what is it that makes someone a warrior, anyway?” she suddenly asked.

Normally, Alita would have told Karin that she was the wrong person to ask such a question to, that for all her skill, she wasn’t sure what it was that made her a warrior either. But instead she found herself saying the first thing that popped into her head.

“To have an ideal that never wavers in the face of death, and a code to live by,” she replied. “That’s what makes a warrior.”

The cyborg nearly slapped herself then and there. Someone else had told her that before! Alita stopped as a brief, flitting image suddenly resurfaced from the shadowy depths of her memory—one of a grim, blonde-haired woman, with cybernetic mechanisms visible on her neck, sitting down and talking almost maternally towards a black-haired little girl.

Gelda?

“Um . . . Alita-chan? Are you alright?” Karin asked. “You look kinda … spaced out .. “

Alita snapped back to reality. “It’s nothing,” she said. “Keep going, Dominic.”

“If you say so,” the seer muttered. With that, the trio continued onwards.

I still can’t remember much of my past life, Alita thought to herself. She remembered snippets of her training on Mars here and there, of how her parents had been killed in the planet’s incessant wars and how she had been found and taught by Gelda, a Panzer Kunst master. Everything else was a complete blur. What kind of person had she been, she wondered? Did that person, all those years ago, also have to contend with the concept of her own identity like she did? Or had she simply ignored the branding of either human or machine as an unnecessary triviality?

To have an ideal that never wavers in death … For the longest time, the cause that Alita had fought for was herself and her own right to exist, and her belief in her own humanity. It was her faith in herself that had kept her fighting throughout all of her ordeals, and ultimately pulled her through every time.

And yet… was it enough? While watching the fights of the Mugen tournament, she had seen warriors with plenty of self-confidence, determination—warriors who fought for everything they believed in, whether right or wrong –fall in the arena, their hopes and beliefs crushed underfoot. How far could idealism or faith really carry someone in this endless dance of destruction? Was it all for nothing?

I want to make a difference here, she thought to herself, remembering the refugees she had come across. I want to help end all of this suffering. But I don’t know if I’m strong enough to make that difference.

“We’re here,” Dominic suddenly spoke up. The three of them had come to a warehouse standing in the middle of the rubble and debris, more or less still intact despite some damage to its outer walls. It was clear that this place had been used as a supply depot for the construction of the Mugen grounds, though it looked like it had been abandoned when the Kaiju attacks had struck.

“So this is the place?” Karin wondered aloud. “It looks kinda abandoned.”

“Hey, this is the place I saw in my vision,” Dominic said defensively. “Just because it looks abandoned from the outside doesn’t mean it isn’t swarming with cultists on the inside.”

Alita gazed at the warehouse. She didn’t know if it was just her, but she felt something evil about this place, as though it smelled of blood and rotting flesh—the same smell of suffering she had noticed on the refugees.

“Let’s go then,” she said, and with that she began to walk towards the warehouse. Maybe I am a speck in the grander scheme of things, she thought to herself. Maybe I can’t make a difference. But I won’t have Sakura’s blood on my conscience.

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

*********

Proteus stood on a rooftop, looking up at the mad, crimson sky, and basked in its illogical, ever-changing glory, the sky’s glow tinging his host’s hair a vivid orange. The recent bug infestation had plaid right into the Changer’s plan: indeed, the Mugen grounds now looked like a realm that had been claimed by Tzeentch, with reality distorting and changing wherever he looked. Madness and panic reigned in the Mugen grounds, as it did everywhere else in the world. Chaos reigned.

The seeds for Chaos’ growth on this world had been sown: every drop of blood brought the daemon-tide one step closer, and every soul was marked to be consumed by the Four Powers. The Wind of Change blew strong across the world. Everything was going according to plan: the corruption of this world could now begin.

“Sakura,” he said without looking back at the glowering female figure that stood behind him, “I am going to send you to the woods near one of our cells. The champions of the weak gods will be striking there soon: I will leave it to you to thwart them.”

A faint glimmer of excitement lit up in Sakura’s now-bloodshot eyes. “So I’m finally going to have a fight, huh?” she growled.

Smiling, Proteus turned around to face her. “Precisely,” he said. “Go forth, Sakura, and spill blood in the name of Khorne.”

For a brief second, a red glow lit up Sakura’s eyes – a glow that extended to the still-bleeding symbol that had been cut into her forehead. A second later, however, the glow was gone.

“Gladly,” the Champion of Khorne said with a faint smile. A second later, she seemed to shimmer and disappear as she was teleported away by Proteus’ magic.

Still smiling, Proteus turned back to watch the madness unfold. He would convene with Bacterian and Gray soon, and they would get to work.

Yes, he thought, today was definitely a good day for Chaos.

To be continued …



OOC: Yowza. I realize that lately, I've been on a writing spurt. My sudden writing rush will probably be slowed down pretty soon, though, by exams and essays, so bear with me.

[J Dog]

J Dog: I just assumed Mimi wouldn't be interested in more Citadel battles (she'd prefer to help Jack instead), and I have other plans for Tomoyo, Cosette and Hood, so I left it that way.



Oh, well that makes more sense then, OM.

[OverMaster]

Unforgettable Sins, XVII: Shard Kong.


MUGEN Northern Borders:

"Well, I must commend you on this, Miss Nami" the man's voice came clearly to her even though the man itself was nowhere to be seen, although it sounded like he was very near her. Way too near for her comfort, but that was the least of her worries now. "Your hunch of where that Shard could be, near the river, dragged by the water to its margins, proved to be true enough...".

Then they had to jump aside when the giant creature, taller than a house, swung a fist down to them, and they barely dodged it, because it was quite fast, despite its huge size. Nami rolled and screeched to a halt while readying her staff to give a fight, while the Invisible Man coughed, and asked again,

"Now... what do you suggest we do with it?".

Near there, hiding behind a sakura tree, Usopp loaded his slingshot with trembling hands, nervously. "Don't... don't fear, guys!" he called out with a loud yell. "Remember, I'm here!!". Then he noticed the towering, lumbering titan of crystal skin hearing him and beginning to stomp in his direction, and gasped. "Ohh, maybe I shouldn't have said that...".

But in any case, he aimed the slinsghot up high and shot, placing an explosive shell right between the behemoth's eyes, making it to stagger back. "HAH! Bullseye! I told you, there's nothing to--". He ran away when, a second later, the monster grabbed the tree, ripped it off the ground with ease, and tried to squash him with it. "RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!".

"Damn" Nami cursed under her breath, and taking advantage of the giant's momentary distraction away from her, she whipped one of the communication devices the Authors had given her out. "Hey, Miroku? Tomoyo-chan? Answer, damn you, now...".

A brief crackling of static was heard, and then Tomoyo's voice at the other end of the line. "Yes?" was all what she asked.

"Ah, finally" Nami said, going to take cover behind a big rock, while the Invisible Man shot with a pair of guns at the monster, only to find its crystal skin was apparently bulletproof. "Listen, we need you here and now! We found one of the Shards near the river, almost at the edge itself of the Grounds".

"Well, congrats" Tomoyo dryly said. "So you'll get that bonus from the Authors like you wanted...".

"Screw the bonus, I won't be able to collect it if I'm dead! When we were going to pick it up, the stupid thing took a life of its own and grew to gigantic size, becoming some sort of rampaging overgrown gorilla!".

"Don't tell me" Tomoyo seemed to sigh. "Team Merc and us are facing some weirdness around here, too. You'll never believe what happened to this Naga broad...".

"IT CAN'T BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THIS!!" Nami shrieked. "BRING YOUR BUTTS HERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, TOMOYO!!". And she cut the communication angrily. "Oooh, they must have been just fooling around again...".

Then, she jumped out in the open; she had to delay that thing before it reached some place with civilians, and until Angels or her other teammates showed up, it looked like it was up to her; all what Usopp and Skinner were shooting at it right now while they ran around it seemed to have little to no effect. The thief raised her Clima Tact staff and shouted, "Heat Balls!!", hitting the monstrosity with several balls of concentrated, booming spheres of burning heat. However, although that made it to roar, it looked to have barely any more effect than her partners' attacks. "Shit...".

But then...

"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!!!" another female voice called out, and a long chain made of glowing, yellow energy shaped like a string of hearts wrapped itself around one of the monster's legs, and with a mighty yank, it made the ape to stumble and fall flat on its face, all equilibrium lost for now.

Nami, Usopp and Skinner looked around to see a young blonde with a short blue skirt, a red mask over her face, and a big red ribbon on her head, standing at the head of a group of four others, including a short boy with glasses, and three caped heroes... all vastly different from each other.

"You, monster!!" the blonde yelled again, pointing at the now standing up once more ape with a finger, defiantly. "If you are able of rational thought, listen! I'm the Sailor Senshi who fights for Love and Justice! Pretty sailor suited warrior, Sailor V, I mean, Sailor Venus! And--".

Spawn pulled her with himself out of the way when the monster suddenly stroke back in retaliation, with a thundering roar and a two-fist combined slam that shook the whole area. "I told you, girl!" the Hellspawn grumbled. "I knew that thing wouldn't listen to any reason!".

"Great Scott!" the man with the black bat emblem on his chest backed away with his young partner. "Old chum, this being obviously must be some sort of space alien! None of our usual enemies could have ever created such a thing... not even Egghead!".

"Batman, please!" Robin grunted, throwing a few Batarangs up at the monster, who just deflected them with a handslap. "Snap out of that, okay?! We don't know anyone named 'Egghead'! And stop calling me 'Old Chum'! it's very unlike you!!".

Dexter sighed to himself as he pressed a few buttons on his exoskeleton, and loaded his portable particle beam. Since that curious crisis had started, things had gone downwhill with amazing quickness. Not only Minako had changed back to her old Sailor V, pre-Sailor Venus persona, much more inexperienced, but even the Batman himself had morphed into that... out of shape, far naiver man who was now looking through his utility belt for some wacky silly thing again, no doubt.

"Okay, I'll have to do it myself, then..." the Boy Genius mumbled, and fired. "PARTICLE BEAM! GO!!!".

It razzled through the air with a loud sound, and hit the crystal gorilla across the chest, sending it back and down.

"YES! Another great day for science!!" Dexter beamed, but then the monster jumped back to its feet, grabbed a huge rock and threw it at him. Dexter barely could blink at that, but luckily for him, Spawn managed to hit the rock in midair with a hellfire blast before it could hit him.

"Great, I'm stuck with saving your butts from everything now" the dark being groaned. "When did I become a f***ing babysitter?".

"But... but that is... impossible..." Dexter babbled as the giant hit itself in the chest with both hands and roared in a wild challenge. "That particle beam should have annihilated it, or at least greatly unconvenienced it. Instead, it did almost nothing... But why??".

"You'll have time to try tests on it later, after he's down, Dex-kun" Sailor V said, while hitting the monster on a leg with a Venus Crescent Beam, again with no results. "Right now, though, you'd better try with something else!".

"It's useless!" Nami told them, using her Clima Tact to drop lightning on the gorilla's head. "We are hitting it with all we have, and we aren't even slowing it down!". She had no real idea on who were all those newcomers, but as long as they were helping her, they would be welcome.

"Rest assured, citizen, we will subdue this rampaging beast!" the goofy-looking Batman pulled a can of spray out of his utility belt. "The Bat-Gorilla Repellent will take care of him long enough for us to tie him down, then we'll have him ready for the Gotham City Zoo!".

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND??!" Nami shrieked. "THAT THING DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A NOSE, AND IT'S NOT LIKE WE COULD REACH TO IT TO SPRAY THAT ANYWAY!!".

Meanwhile, Miroku, Deadpool, Deathstroke, and Tomoyo (who was dragging a very annoyed Bulleta behind her) arrived to the place, followed by a morbidly obese Naga who panted dragging her own weight behind them with a lot of effort, looking grotesquely out of proportion still clad in her leather bikini. "Wooo, just look at the size of Koko there!" Deadpool whistled. "And... and it's soooo shiny, with that pretty crystal skin!!!".

"Curses!" Miroku said. "It looks like, indeed, that is a shard of Evermere given life... and if it keeps the magical properties it had before, then it must be totally impervious to any damage!".

"Huh...?" Naga whimpered between pantings, sitting down on the ground to take a breath.

"Remember, the Gem of Evermere is supposed to give protection against any kind of hurt or damage. So it has to be almost invulnerable itself, unless hit with anything short of true divine power" Miroku frowned.

"Then what do you suggest?" Deathstroke quickly asked.

"I don't know" the monk admited. "I could try to absorb it with Khazaana, but then we'd lose the shard forever in the depths of the black hole. However... I don't know what else to do for the moment".

"Great, just great" B.B. Hood mumbled. She unsheated her Uzis. "Then think of something! Push that brain to its limits! We'll distract it in the meanwhile! HOOOOO!!!". She opened fire on the monster. "EAT LEAD, CRYSTAL FLEABAG!!!".

Tomoyo looked at her with glazed eyes. "Such passion... such vitality... such a killer instinct! I think I'm in love...".


Next: Amelia vs. Captain America!

[KingEli]

MUGEN Hotel, a few blocks away.....:

"Hey Beetle, I'm here!" Yelled Guy Gardner with Team Warriors in tow "What's the situation?"

"It's about time, we got--. What the hell happend to Lobo and Vegeta?" Said Beetle Pointing

"Well they got transformed into gi--" Said The GL as he looked back at them and saw them chaged again, this time both dressed like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. "............Dammit."

"You too huh?" Said Kord

"Why in the hell this keep happening to us?!" Yelled Vegeta

Meanwhile Captain Britain and The rest of JLAvengers are continuing the assulat on G'Nortzilla

"You know if after all this is done............I think I've earned the right to drink." Said Iron Man(Now downgraded to his FIRST armor)

"I may take you up on that offer." Said Spider-Woman(Now in a SHILED Uniform)

"I'm with you Stark, AA NEVER coverd THIS.*" Siad Captain Britain Pounding away at it's Midsection

"Hey Britain, hweres your team at?" Asked Booster Gold

"Turned into Stone Statues I'm Afraid." Replied Bratin

"That Sucks" Said Luke Attacking the back of neck of Monster

"OK people New plan! Get the hell outta my way!" Said Guy Gardner Flying at high speeds casuing the heroes to stop attacking and in Luke's case jump off his neck onto a nearby building, while Guy latched on The bEast with a giant..........

"Dog Coller?" Said Iron Man

"Yeah, why not" Said Guy as G'Nortzill tried to get it off. "Heh. That's right, 100% willpower you ani't gettin that ooOOOOOFFFFFF!!!" Yelled Guy as G'Nortzilla decied to start running a wild and fast pace draging Gardner around the Grounds

"See I told you should have let me Blast him into Atoms." Said Vegeta(Now Dressed as a Cowboy.

"Heel, Heel, Sit you &*@&*&#@*&#@&" Said Guy


OOC:Yes Captain Britan was also a Acoholic

[T51R]

~Battlefield Earth, Part 8...A new day~






“And so, I found myself here. The next thing I know, I‘m fighting Mr. Urashima and then he,” Achika lifted her eyes from he bowl of instant Ramen, “comes out of nowhere. As far as I can remember, I woke up in a place that he claimed was another dimension. He told me that I am a Kushinada, the 8th Maiden who is to be sacrificed so that he may regain his full powers.” She had been explaining herself for what seemed to be a good long while, and only the women had stayed by her side. The men were more interested in questioning the God of Destruction behind the little store on the fringes of the tournament grounds. “But,” she held the bowl in both her hands, “all I want, is to see my son again. I want to see him as he is now, to talk to him, to know the man he has grown to become. When he was young, I died you see, thanks to the part of me that is Yagami. I never had the chance to even speak with him; to be truthful, he was still too young to understand my words when I had to leave this world. I only hope that…” tears began to well up in her eyes, “…that he remembers me as I was, and that he won‘t run from me when Orochi takes me to him. But before that, he must meet with the young man who is his Contractor.”

Both Yomiko, Robin and Naru either sipped from their cups or finished their skewers of crab-balls wile listening to Achika’s story. “So, if he meets with the Morisato boy, he‘ll be allowed to stay on Earth?” Yomiko asked while wiping her lips.

“I don’t know honestly,” Achika looked towards the ground, “But all I do know is, after I meet with Tenchi, I will then have to honour my agreement with Orochi and become his Eighth Maiden.” A single tear fell from her eye. “But, even if I see him as he is now, just once, if I could just talk to him for a while, then it will be enough for me and I will be able to go on peacefully.”

Nausicaa propped her head up with her arm while laying her rifle across her lap. “I don’t know,” she listened carefully, for the sound of the men behind the store. “I still think that you should ask Lord Rayden what he makes of all this. If Orochi really is a renegade against Heaven like he says, then he should be able to help you much more than he can.”

Achika shook her head. “You see, part of our agreement is that if I become his Eighth Maiden, then he will rescind the Contract that binds my Tenchi to him. I have done nothing for my son during the most important years of his life. So, if I can do him this one service…then maybe, I‘ll have some right to call myself his mother.” Suddenly, she reached out and grasped Naru’s hands. “You‘ve met him haven’t you?” she asked much to Naru’s surprise, “he is fighting in the Tournament as well isn’t he? Surely you’ve at least spoken to him if not once? Tell me, what is he like?”

With a smile, Yomiko put her own hand atop Achika’s and Naru’s. “Uhmm, unfortunately, the team that Tenchi was…I mean, is with keeps to themselves most of the time. We have hardly spoken to them to be honest but never fear, I did see him when Saviours from Space arrived and he does seem to be a nice young man. I think you‘ll be pleased with how he turned out.” The woman’s smile brought a bit of warmth to Yomiko’s troubled heart, if only for a little bit.



-Behind the store-



“So yeah,” the Orochi muttered while sitting atop a used milk carton, smoking again. “At the very least I‘ll need to get in touch with Morisato and tell him that our contract‘s still on. And that girl out there is the key to all f it. Where you guys come in,” he breathed a column of smoke at Raven, who stood as motionless as ever, “is that I need a ride for the both us into the Lodge. Right to the door of the Skuld Team‘s room. That’s where Morisato is. If you can get me that far, that is.”

Kenshiro and Raven remained silent, their thoughts their own at that moment. Why, they exchanged looks, should they help a being that had been so eager to annihilate them in the past. Though the woman with him looked to be genuine enough, the God of Destruction himself was another matter entirely. “No way,” Raven rose to his feet. “No damned way. Both my ZOID and my Organoid are fused now because of you. You put Urashima in the hospital along with us, you kidnapped that girl. Then you have the nerve to come back here and beg us for help?” His expression turned to one of pure rage. “Well SCREW YOU, OROCHI! You don’t deserve help, what you deserve is to have every damned Angel, Guardian and Valkerye show up right now and haul you off to whatever place you were going to. That‘s all you deserve.” He turned to Kenshiro. “If you wanna help him, go ahead. I don’t want any part of it.” He stopped, Achika stood in his path with pleading eyes.

“This is not just about you,” she gritted her teeth while forcing the words past them. “Cant you see Mr. Raven, there are lives at stake here besides your own. My son, my only son…” smooth hands and slender fingers clenched themselves into fists. “…have you family? If you do, then you know the pain that I feel. You‘re here alone aren’t you, you have children don’t you?”

The ZOID pilot returned her glare with cold, dark eyes and pulled a picture of Reece and their newborn from the folds of his Guylos Empire uniform. Slowly, he turned it around and showed it to her. “I‘m here for them, not for you. Not for Tenchi. I‘m here for them, and them alone. You can go solve your own problems.” With that, he left to join the women at the front of the store. “Shadow!” In reply the big red machine echoed with a guttural rumble and rose to its feet, following its master into the woods.

“Wait!” Achika felt warm as a big hand came to rest in the middle of her back, warmth and reassurance filling her from the inside out. She found Nausicaa, Yomiko and Robin looking knowingly at her.

“He‘s always like that, I‘ve lost track of just how many times he‘s run off now.” Yomiko explained. “He‘ll be back in a bit and he‘ll have changed his mind. He ran off when the three girls came to live with us, and when all of us decided to live together.” The three of them distanced themselves from Ifurita, leaving the android by herself a small distance away. “Mr. Kenshiro, Mr. Urashima, what do you think?” She pushed her glasses further up her nose while using it as an excuse to take a quick peek at where the God of Destruction sat, smoking as usual. “I do trust her, but him, he is another story. But if the two of them are linked in the way that she says then we can‘t not help.” Across the way Keitaro and Kenshiro looked over their shoulders, towards the Orochi.

Naru recoiled when it was Keitaro who began to speak. “Look,” he began, “we‘re here looking for one of our own. And we’re not gonna stop looking until we find Edward. I haven’t known him for very long but, all the time we’ve spent together has brought all of us very close. We’re not here to listen to you Orochi, but I do want to help. Because if helping you means helping Miss Achika, then its fine with me. But you…you tried to kill me! To kill us! Mr. Kenshiro,” he looked at the ground at the Hokuto master’s feet, “if its okay with you, I‘ll go with them.”

“No.” Keitaro found himself looking upwards, the big man’s low voice conveying warmth as well as sympathy. “We will all go, if that is alright with you.” Kenshiro looked over his team-mates as well as room-mates. “If you will have it, we will escort Achika into the Lodge, along with him. And then, we will continue looking for Edward.”




-Fighter‘s Lodge, Team Skuld HQ-




With a bottle of Sake in one hand and a glass in the other she sat while Keima watched, stupefied at the amount she had drunk. It had been days since she had any chance to rest, and not finding the time to visit with her younger sister in Heaven was weighing heavily on her. That her youngest kin had made a deal, essentially with the devil himself, troubled her even more. Skuld would pay the price, she thought to herself while taking a long sip, for being so irresponsible in her actions. She allowed her head to slump backwards into the plush sofa, and looked at the roof trying to see the crimson skies beyond it. Damn, she cursed under her breath. Belldandy confining herself to her quarters at their Father’s behest. Her own Herald engaged in combat on another dimensional plane, she shuddered to think what destruction the first God-Killer would wreak in his attempt to reign in the Monkey King. And now, she found herself a pawn of both the Lord of Nightmares and the Chousein. Because of her own irresponsibility, because she had acted with her heart, and not her mind. She set the cup back down on the table, and lifted the bottle to her lips.

“Uhmm, Aunt Urd?”

She glanced to her left and found Keima looking at her, sparkling eyes full of concern.

“Uhh, are you sure…you should drink so much?”

[T51R]

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW FAR THAT DAMNED LESBIAN COPY OF MINE CHASED ME, AND WHAT I HAD TO DO TO GET RID OF…”

She caught herself in mid-sentence, her face cherry red when she realized she was talking to a child.

“Aunt Urd, what‘s a les…”

“Well, I drink a lot because,” She forced herself to smile. “every Goddess has an alternate power source,” she explained, “did you ever wonder why your mom always ate so much ice-cream?” Urd noticed the boy’s blank expression. “Well, in times like these when Yggdrasil can‘t function properly, we can use different means to maintain our powers. Mine‘s Sake, your Aunt‘s is sleep. And your mother‘s…” she thumbed towards the kitchen from where sounds of guzzling and gulping came, “is ice-cream.” She noticed Keima’s confused expression, and patted him on the head knowingly when he started looking around the room. “I don’t think you have an alternate power source,” she tried to explain things as simply as she could. “Because you‘re half human and half-God, things would be a little different for you I think. But, as far as I‘ve read there hasn‘t ever been a case of a Demi-God needing an alternate power source, because their powers aren‘t as great as a full-blooded Goddess or even a Demon.” Both of them turned towards the fax machine as it began to beep continuously.

“Aunt Urd, what‘s a lesbian?”

Urd began looking around the room quickly, then snapped her gaze back to Keima while tapping him on his head while Beenuel began gathering a stack of papers in his arms. “Well, you‘re still a bit too young to know what that is so…”

“Is a lesbian a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Look that depends on who you ask, so don’t worry about it for now. You‘ve still got a lot of growing up to do before you can even figure that out so just take it easy…huh?” she found an obscenely large stack of paper thrust towards her by the God of Animals. “Beenuel, what‘s that?” she asked as Skuld came back into the living room looking dejected as well as tired; she had only just finished a new machine that, for the time being, stabilized the area in their HQ and kept it relatively separate from the bug-induced insanity that still raged on outside.

“The battle report Lady Urd,” Beenuel handed her the stack while trying not to look at it.

Skuld bounded across the room, and lifted herself up over the back of the sofa. “What battle report?” She began looking over the runic writings in earthly ink. “Did big sis fight someone? Did she win?”

Urd shot her youngest sister an annoyed look. “NO, this is the battle report for a Goddess who is also a Contractor.”

“Huh?”

“I sent my Herald on a mission, because certain members of the Council wanted someone…” she stopped herself when he finished reading the first page, found a marker, then divided the stack in half. Placing the lower half onto the table, she kept on reading through the top half. “Well, lets just say that the idiot had to go fight someone and this is the report about what happened.”

“Which idio…oh. THAT idiot!” Skuld’s face turned sour, and her spastic seizures returned for a couple of seconds. “So, who did he fight?”

“Sun Wukong.”

Beenuel’s features turned white; he knew full well the legends of the Great Sage. After all, he had personally tabulated most of them when it had come time for his third-class licence exam thesis. “And?” Urd handed him the pile of paper on the table, while making sure that no-one else could read the first page of the stack she herself had. “Impossible…impossible!”

“What’s wrong?” Skuld left Urd’s side and snatched the pile from out of her mentor’s hands. “No way.” She too turned a ghastly pale. “Kaarage Sempai…he…”

“It is official, yes.” With a small flash of lighting, Urd incinerated the pile of paper she held as soon as she finished reading through it. “As of eleven minutes ago Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, a.k.a the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, is listed as Killed in Action. And his executioner, by the will of Heaven and whose actions were approved by both the Council and the Triumvirate of Heaven…was my herald.”

Beenuel stormed towards the Goddess of the Past. “Lady Urd, how dare you deploy that…thing in such a task?! Do yuhave any idea of the kind of damage that…”

“Don‘t get your panties in a knot,” Urd shot back confidently with a wink, “read the damage report.” Beenuel did, and looked up at her with surprise. “Happy now? No universes destroyed, minimal damage, and only the target was eliminated. He even shielded two quadrants against Gugnir’s blast and modified high-level techniques on the fly in order to accomplish his mission.”

“Then I commend your command and control of your Herald Lady Urd,” the God of Animals bowed towards her, “you are a worthy Mistress indeed, and fit to command a Herald of such ability.” Behind him, Skuld began bouncing all over the room in a fit of jealousy.

As soon as he had turned his attention back to her youngest sister however, Urd’s eyes narrowed with concern; there had been two separate reports. The first, addressed to her, had highlighted the Great Sage as being held captive. The second however, had listed him as dead. “Ohhhhhh,” she purred, “nice one.” It began making sense then. “Skuld,” she called to the youngest Norn while Beenuel and Nakoruru were trying to calm her down, “we‘re about to have visitors.”




~Next…let the wheel of fanchar death begin to turn again! Nudoru’s back on Earth!

[OverMaster]

Unforgettable Sins, Part XVIII: Amelia vs. Captain America, Prelude.


Main Dome A:

"Okay, both of you, walk up here, we don't have all day" Mandy said, and both combatants approached her to assume their respective preliminary positions. "You two white breads know the full rules. Try to make it a good show, though. Put some life on it. The public loves that".

Amelia sweatdropped. "Ahh... we are on a serious fight for the future of mankind here, right...?".

"Not like that is uncompatible with the values of entertainment, I was told" Mandy shrugged dryly. "Blame our sponsors. I find it depressingly silly as well".

Meanwhile, at the seats of the rest of the Slayers (except Lina, Naga and Xellos), Gourry watched on with expectation. "Wow, that America guy sure is skilled. Guys, do you think Amelia has a chance against him?".

"Well, he can't use magic, Gourry-sama, so that's a definitive plus in her favor. And besides, she can fly, which gives her an added edge" Sylphiel pointed out.

"Yes, but a good fighter can overcome those advantages with enough skill" Zangluss differed. "That strange throwing shield could easily hit any flying enemy, and that man... he fights with far more strategy than Amelia. It won't be as onesided as it may seem at first".

"Oh gods, please let Princess Amelia to win" Filia joined her hands in praying, while next to her, Jyllas kept the baby Valgaav sitting on his lap. "With Miss Lina out of the contest and the Nanagomi's team eliminated, she's our world's last hope".

"TEAM JUSTICE! VERSUS TEAM USA!" Mandy raised her voice then. "ROUND TWO! ONE, TWO, THREE, FIGHT!".


Team Latveria's Headquarters:

The Chibi Joker kept on flying around Chibi Galactus' head as Team Latveria watched on in disbelief. The tiny cosmic clown kept blasting the Devourer of Iceboxes with several continued blasts of power coming out of his gloves, although it looked like they were simply annoying him.

"Hey, Chibi G!" Joker called out. "Where did you get that spiffy hat of yours?" he tried to joke, while inside cursing that helmet that looked to be blocking his attacks. "I'd like one of those for myself. It's so stylish, and... purple...".

"Let the silence reign, fool" Chibi Galactus finally tagged him, slamming him aside with a handslap. "You cannot stand in Chibi Galactus' path for pickles and mayonnaise!".

The Chibi Joker crashed down against a wall, but flew right back to the Galactus parody almost immediately, before he could head for the nearest kitchen. "Wait just a second there, Gourmet! I'm supposed to be killing you here...". He charged one of his fists with power, and then socked him across the face, rocking him much to Doom's silent astonishment. "You can eat all what you want after I'm done! Okay, just eat dirt and worms, but even so--". He ducked under a beam of Chibi Power Cosmic shot from his adversary's eyes, which vaporized the nearest wall on the spot. "HEY, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME, JERK?!?".

"I... I can't believe this..." Mystique said from the sidelines. "This looks like nothing but a bad dream...".

"It is simply disgusting" Kagato frowned, repulsed. "If only my powers were not failing, I would put a swift end to this idiotic nonsense".

However, much to his surprise, Doom silenced him with a gesture. "No, Kagato" the Latverian dictator quietly replied, never taking his eyes from the bizarre fight. "Let them to do battle. Ridiculous as their behavior may be, the keys of a great power waiting for us could be there. Keep watching...".

"JUST LIE DOWN AND DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! Pretty please?" Chibi Joker said, bombarding Chibi Galactus with several dozens of projectiles made out of thin air, all with smiley faces painted on them, which rocked the bug-created entity with fierce force. Joker finally stopped, and hovered above him crossing his own arms behind his back. "Weeeeell...?".

"Curse you, human..." Chibi Galactus actually wheezed, struggling to stay on his feet. "You are just lucky I am hungry, most of my energies already depleted... However! My Herald will take care of you and your insolence! And then I'll have my lunch break!". He raised a hand high. "Silver Bugger!! Come to your master!!".

"Silver..." Chibi Joker began to twitch a green eyebrow, incredulously.

"... Bugger?" Mystique completed the sentence in the same tone, feeling almost tempted to cynically laugh.

But then, a portal opened above Chibi Galactus, and out of it floated down a silver Bug, coated in a shiny surface, riding a surfboard made of the same material covering all of its body, including its long ears.

"BEHOLD, MORTALS!" Chibi Galactus bellowed. "The harbinger of your doom, the Silver Bugger, scourge of the spaceways! Loyal wielder of the Chibi Power Cosmic! And all around fluffy guy! He will be your executioner!".

Chibi Joker and Team Latveria almost facefaulted.


Next: Taken Sides.

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

Mark of Chaos, Part 2: Heads of the Hydra

“So this is the way in?” Karin asked.

The three of them stood in front of a large steel doorway at the side of the warehouse. So far, they had not seen any activity around this place: it had been eerily quiet, just as tomb-like as the rest of their surroundings.

“Hey, it’s either through here or through those big hangar doors in the front,” Dominic replied. “Besides which, Karin, are you sure you want to go in? After all, the place is probably packed full of cultists.”

The Kanzuki heiress clenched her fist. “I’m not afraid of any damned cultists!” she snarled. “If Sakura’s in there, then we’ve got to help her!”

Alita said nothing: instead, she closed her eyes and focused her mind. There were definitely people inside – past the doors, she could hear their faint voices, and feel the vibrations of their footfalls.

“Well, this door’s locked, so there won’t be any foolhardy heroics from us,” Dominic muttered. “I say now would be a good time for us to call in the angels. Besides, there may be another way in—“

The seer was cut short when Alita calmly lashed out with a fist at the doorway, causing Dom and Karin to jump as the steel frame crumpled under her punch, the impact blasting it off its hinges. The door flew backwards, crashing onto the floor of the warehouse – which just so happened to be packed full of surprised, masked cultists.

“Or we could just do it that way,” Dominic said sheepishly.

The scene inside looked like a scene from hell: the place was dark and ill-lit, and was swarming with cultists who were busy stockpiling weaponry and explosives and moving contraband materials. This was nothing, however, compared to the large circles of blood that had been drawn on the floor, with disemboweled corpses still littering these ritual circles. Other poor unfortunates were crucified or impaled upon spikes jutting out of the floor. Judging by the way some of these bodies twitched, Alita realized that some of them were still alive. Lining the walls, meanwhile, were rows of ragged wretches who were chained in place—no doubt they were the next batch of victims.

Karin gasped and tried to hold back the urge to vomit at the scene. They had more pressing matters, though – namely the fact that the cultists were shouting in alarm and grabbing weapons.

“Karin, you and Dominic take cover!” Alita shouted. “I’ll handle them!”

“What, ALL of – “ Karin didn’t have time to finish before machine gun fire sprayed out from the gantries above, forcing her grab Dominic and dive for cover. Alita didn’t bother to take cover, however: she elegantly somersaulted over the incoming fire, and, a second later landed on a nearby walkway between a trio of cultists. The masked Chaos-worshippers were surprised that this girl had leapt such an impossibly long distance, but before they could even turn around, Alita spun and pulverized their heads in three split-second chops.

The headless corpses hadn’t even hit the ground before Alita leapt over the gantry in a blur of movement and landed in the midst of another bunch of stunned cultists. Screams and gunfire echoed through the air as Alita began to methodically slaughter her way through the massed cultists, each chop, punch or kick reducing a Chaos worshipper to a messy smear. Karin peeked around the edge of the doorway, and watched in both fascination and horror as blood and body parts flew everywhere, every strike of Alita’s causing a cultist to disintegrate into a red mist. The cyborg was little more than a blur, zipping back and forth and effortlessly dodging gunfire at close range while cultists seemingly exploded around her.

“She…her style…it’s… “ Words couldn’t quite express Karin’s amazement at the sheer speed and strength Alita was exhibiting. The only person she had ever seen who had been that good was Akuma himself.

“State-of-the-art robotic body, split-second reaction time, unique fighting style…nothing out of the ordinary for an advanced cyborg,” Dominic noted, seemingly unimpressed.

As soon as the last of the cultists she had been facing hit the ground, Alita heard the distinctive click of loading rifles behind her. In a fluid motion, she somersaulted, whipping out the Damascus Blade in midair and letting the double-edged weapon unfold as she arced over the gunfire before landing in the midst of the next group of cultists. She slashed out once, the double-edged blade tracing a silvery blur, before crouching low. For a minute, the cultists seemed to stand in mute shock – that is, before each of them fell apart into several expertly-cut chunks.

Normally, she wouldn’t be so brutal to ordinary humans – she knew all too well how lethal the Panzer Kunst was against non-cybernetic opponents. I can’t afford to show them any mercy, Alita thought to herself as she raced forwards to kill more cultists, passing the mutilated remains of sacrificed civilians as she did so. Not after what they did to these people…not after what they did to Sakura…


******
Inside the inner sanctum of the Chaos cell, Varnak, Aspiring Champion of the Alpha Legion, was in the middle of reviewing the overall plans for covert operations on this planet – he still couldn’t believe it was Terra itself, during a time when it was still a verdant world rather than a blighted industrial wasteland – when he heard the sounds of battle outside. His enhanced hearing and centuries of experience quickly told him that it was not a battle but a slaughter: the only dying screams he heard were coming from his own followers, and by the sound of things, they were dying quite messily. Oddly enough, he heard no sound of weapons fire other than the crude autoguns the cultists used, and no battle-cries or massed footfalls to indicate that the attackers had any large numbers. Indeed, if he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn that it sounded like the attacker was only one person. But for a single attacker to be moving that quickly was next to impossible…

There were a series of heavy footfalls, and a second later, a pair of very frightened cultists burst in on the Chaos Space Marine. It must be bad, Varnak thought, if they were more frightened of the attacker than they were of him: clad from head to foot in ancient rune-adorned power armour and standing roughly seven feet tall, Varnak, like all Chaos Space Marines, was a terrifying sight to behold, and his tendency to brutally kill any cultists who displeased him meant that his followers worked extra hard to avoid incurring his wrath.

“Master Varnak!” the lead cultist wailed. “We are under attack! A . .. a girl . . . she’s . . .. she’s too fast, she’s too strong! She’s killing us ten at a time! She can’t be huma – “

Varnak’s armoured fist abruptly shot out, pulverizing the man’s head like an eggshell. “Calm down,” he growled, shaking blood and grey matter off his gauntlet as the headless corpse fell to the ground, the man’s comrade turning white as a sheet. He turned even whiter when Varnak turned his gaze towards him. “This attacker clearly sounds like some sort of metahuman,” he mused aloud. “We must be prepared for any eventuality: I want you to assemble a detail to extricate the Aetherion and carry it to the Fifth Cell. I will stay here and deal with the threat while you make your escape. Remember: if you think you are being followed, destroy the Aetherion and take your own lives. Otherwise, you shall have the wrath of the Gods to answer to.”

The cultist hurriedly nodded and rushed out. Slowly and purposefully, Varnak turned and opened a nearby weapons rack, pulling out both his bolter and his power sword. He loaded a fresh clip into his gun, thumbed the activation rune of his sword, and grinned in anticipation. He knew that sooner or later the cultists would be wiped out to a man – they were poorly-trained cannon fodder, not true warriors like the Chaos Space Marines. Still, Varnak was confident that the plan, in its perfection, wouldn’t be affected too much by the loss of this cell, especially since few of his followers knew the locations of the other cells. Such was the way of the Alpha Legion: even if the enemy severed one head, it was but one of many heads that could strike back, just like the hydra that served as their symbol. So long as he engaged this girl in battle – for she sounded like she would be a worthy challenge for one of the Chosen of Chaos – then he would be happy.

*************

By this point, the cultists were in a rout: nearly half their number lay dead, reduced to unrecognizable splatters by this seemingly unstoppable devil-girl. She was just too insanely fast, moving across the entire length of the warehouse in mere seconds while dodging bullets left and right. A few began to scream that the gods had abandoned them, though others screamed back that the gods would surely deliver them from this monster. Naturally, luck dictated that these die-hards were usually the next to die at the Angel of Death’s hands. Alita felt a thrill run down her metallic spine, a surge of sadistic satisfaction at the fear she was causing – she shook her head. No: maybe her old self would have revelled in the carnage she was wreaking, but she had changed over the years. No matter how much these cultists deserved to die and deserved to suffer for the evils they had perpetrated, she would NOT sink to their level by enjoying the suffering she was inflicting on them.

“Go Alita!” Karin shouted from the entraceway. “Give them hell for what they did to Sakura!” The rich girl was completely amazed at how easily Alita was killing off the bad guys: every movement was perfectly coordinated, Alita’s cybernetic muscles allowing her to perform feats no mere human could match. Even Ken, she realized now, was nowhere near as fast or strong as Alita (even though the cyborg had not yet demonstrated any of the devastating chi attacks that Ken possessed).

[Lord of Nonsensical Crap]

“Uhhh, Karin, maybe you shouldn’t be shouting like that,” Dominic said nervously. “I mean, we ARE in the middle of a warehouse swarming with gun-toting Chaos cultists who will most likely kill or sacrifice us at the first given opportunity.”

“Relax, Dominic, Alita-chan has the situation under control,” Karin scoffed. “What’s the worst that could possibly happen to – “

The martial artist was cut short when there was a tremendous crash: Kar