Disclaimer: I do not own anything/anyone that I use/abuse in this story.

Backing away from the camera, Shad, dressed in her black W.T.F. shirt and camo cargo pants, sat down on a chair in the middle of the stage. "Hello everyone, and welcome to Season 3 of W.T.F.!" She called out cheerfully. "I'm sure you're all surprised at how quickly I got the third season started, I mean let's face it, it took me months to get signed back on for the second season, so let me explain what's going on."

Standing up, she began to pace back and forth across the stage. "For the last two seasons I've been dealing with the network, and after careful consideration, I've decided to do things a little differently from now on. Not only will I save in network fees, but I don't have to worry about all the lawsuits anymore either." Smiling, Shad faced the camera and clasped her hands behind her back. "Now that I'm in complete control over the show, I've decided to cut down on costs by simply posting these episodes online. I know you won't get to watch me on primetime anymore, but look at it this way, at least I won't have to censor things for the general public." Grinning evilly, she cleared her throat before continuing. "Anyway, as I was saying, since the episode will be posted straight to the net, and we all know how much it costs to upload large videos, from here on out W.T.F. will start having minisodes instead."

Taking a breath, Shad continued. "Each minisode will have one fight and the winner of each minisode match will have to use the prize machine. I know what you're thinking, what about the tokens? Well, since each minisode will only feature one fight, having the tokens will only hinder the show so they're being retired. Don't worry though, maybe someday I'll figure out a way to put them back in the show." Tossing one of the tokens into the air, she caught it and tucked it back into her pocket. "Besides, they cost quite a lot to make so I don't plan on throwing them in the trash anytime soon." Sitting down, she placed her hands in her lap and smiled. "Ok, back to the explanation. Since the prize machine will be used at the end of each episode, and who knows how long it'll be before the fighter who won the prize is in another match, the prize that's won will be used in the next fight. So each episode a fighter will win a prize, and that prize will be dumped on the fighters of the next episode. Sounds fun doesn't it?" She finished with a smirk. "Now since a prize will be given out each minisode, I made sure to stock the prize machine with all sorts of fun things, including the highly coveted championship belt."

"As always, this is an invitation only show so the fighters may come and go as they please, however, each minisode the fighters will be decided beforehand so I can make sure I actually have them here to fight. The randomizer will still be used to set up the matches, but I'll have it get me the fighters names first and then run the match stips during the show when the fighters are all present. Weapons are of course allowed, assuming the match rules allow them, and though killing is not, since I'm no longer ruled by the network, I'm fine with anything just short of the killing blow. In other words, some of these matches could get really messy." Grinning, Shad stood up and moved her chair off to the side of the stage where her trusty table was waiting for her.

Taking a seat at the table, Shad snapped her fingers. Seconds later the ring appeared in the center of the stage. Leaning back in her chair, she smiled. "So, let's get this minisode started." She said, switching to her announcer mode. "Our first two fighters this season are very special to this show. Everyone please welcome back to the show…Sephiroth and Ryu!" Clapping her hands, she watched as the ninja in black appeared inside the ring and crossed his arms before leaning back against the ring post, much like he'd done the first time he fought the silver haired menace.

Seconds ticked by and Sephiroth was still nowhere to be seen. "Hmm, I know I told them to have him here by seven." Shad muttered, looking at her watch to check on the time. "Maybe the transport crew hit traffic." Pulling out her cell phone, she punched a series of numbers and waited for the other person to pick up. "Hey Doc, just wondering where the patient is." Shad spoke once the line was answered. "Oh, so he should be here now. Ok, thanks. Yeah, I'll call you when we're finished so you can come get him. Later." Hanging up her phone, she tucked it back into her pocket and headed towards the hallway. "Wait there Ryu, I'll go and get him. Apparently the transport people dropped him off in the lounge so I have to go release him really qui-."

BOOOOOOM

"…never mind, he seems to have gotten free himself." Shad finished as the long haired man came through the hole he'd blown in the side of the room. "Must you destroy the building every time you're here?" She asked in annoyance. "Repairs get expensive dammit."

"Shut up woman." Sephiroth growled angrily. "You have no right to complain about a wall after all the shit you've put me through."

Shad smirked. "And yet you keep coming back for more."

Narrowing his eyes, Sephiroth reached for his masamune only to growl when he realized that those damn doctors had stolen it from him when he was admitted. "Not by choice." He bit out angrily.

"Whatever." Shad said, waving her hand dismissively. "Now since you're here, go get in the ring so we can start your match."

"Like hell I'll fight again." Sephiroth said, crossing his arms and turning to leave. "I'm leaving."

"Man, you really are afraid of me huh." Ryu called out with a smirk. "Every time we're set to fight, you chicken out and try to run away. I guess you only fight imaginary things in your head now, being as you were in the loony bin and all."

And just like that Sephiroth was inside the ring.

"Once again Ryu goads Sephiroth into fighting." Shad grinned. "He is so damn predictable." Leaning back, she glanced up at the giant screen, but before she could say anything else, Sephiroth attacked.

"The only reason I was in that hell hole is because of that EVIL woman! I AM NOT CRAZY!" Sephiroth screamed as he lunged at Ryu, hands aiming for the ninja's throat.

With a laugh, Ryu ducked underneath the deranged man's hands and swept his leg out at Sephiroth's feet. When the silver haired man stumbled, Ryu gave him a little push and 'helped' him to the floor. Staring down at his opponent, Ryu shook his head. "That was way too easy, you're slipping man." He said, stepping back to give Sephiroth room to stand.

As Sephiroth slowly stood up, a dark glare on his slightly pale face, Shad rubbed her forehead in annoyance. "You could've at least waited for the match stipulations." She muttered. Shaking her head, she sighed. "Oh well, do whatever you want. Whoever's left standing wins."

Ignoring the psycho woman outside the ring, he really didn't care what she was saying, Sephiroth shook his head to dispel the little birdies and dropped into a fighting stance. "Since I don't seem to have any of my weapons on me, I guess I'll just have to tear you apart with my bare hands." He growled angrily.

"Yeah, you just go ahead and try…" Ryu said with a smirk as he waved his opponent forward. "…girly man." He added in a Schwarzenegger voice.

Chuckling behind her hand, Shad wiped a tear from her eye. "It was so worth recording Kharma's voice, that was priceless." She said, laughing as she placed the remote back on the table. I'm going to have to remember to thank him for his impersonation the next time I see him."

Growling at the insult, Sephiroth ran at Ryu screaming a war cry in anger. "I'll rip out your tongue you pathetic excuse for a fighter!"

"Look who's talking." Ryu muttered under his breath as he sidestepped Sephiroth once again. Rolling his eyes when Sephiroth turned and yet again ran towards him, Ryu pulled a red sheet out of thin air and began to wave it back and forth with a smirk. "Hey, over here." He called out mockingly; taunting the silver haired man like a bull fighter would taunt a bull.

"Wow, I actually see steam coming out of his ears." Shad said with a grin. "I think he's really pissed now." Stretching out her legs and crossing her feet, she smiled evilly. "Looks like this fight may get interesting finally."

Just then Ryu proceeded to wrap the red sheet around Sephiroth's arms and spin him into the ring post. Snorting, Ryu turned around and started to walk away.

"…or maybe not. I guess Sephiroth's really fallen since the last time he was here, that wasn't even a fight." Shad said with a pout. "How lame, and this was my opening fight too." With a whine, she buried her head in her hands and grumbled.

"I've had enough." Sephiroth said through clenched teeth as he tore the sheet from his arms and slowly stood up. "Every time I see you I've been humiliated and embarrassed."

"I can't help it if you're an easy target." Shad said with a shrug.

Ignoring her, Sephiroth continued. "Well no more. Now, it's my turn. You will pay dearly for all the suffering you've caused me."

"Oooh, scary." Ryu said sarcastically. "The crazy man is getting serious, whatever shall I do?"

"Die!" Sephiroth cried as he pulled a ring post off of the ring and threw it at his opponent's head. Grabbing another post, he chose to use this one like a bat and ran around the ring swinging it at Ryu's head. "Stop running, you'll only die tired!" He said with a maniacal laugh.

"Wow, I may have to actually do something." Ryu said as he ducked underneath the metal post and rolled to the side. "Such a nice surprise." Dodging yet another blow to the head, Ryu was caught off guard when Sephiroth followed it up with a spinning kick to the stomach. Coughing, he tried to catch his breath as Sephiroth grabbed another ring post and began to wave one around in each hand.

"Ok, now would be the time to get off your ass and finish this fight Ryu." Shad growled as she watched Sephiroth destroying her brand new ring. "He's breaking my stuff."

Ryu turned to glare at Shad's lack of concern for his health, he just had the wind knocked out of him and all she cares about is her stupid equipment. Sadly, this took his attention away from Sephiroth long enough for his opponent to bring a ring post down on his head. Stumbling backwards, Ryu clutched his head as the world began to spin around him.

"Now, to finish you off." Sephiroth said with an evil grin as he brought the second post around to nail Ryu on the other side of the head.

Rubbing her forehead in exasperation, Shad watched as Ryu was flung across the stage by the force of Sephiroth's latest hit. "Dammit, I knew there'd be lag time, but I never thought it would be this bad." Pulling out her cell, she pushed a button and waited. Seconds later a male voice picked up. "Kharma, you've got horrible lag time." She said in annoyance. "Well I don't care if there is a tournament going on, either get it in gear or hand over the controls and I'll take it from here."

Blinking at the sudden silence on the other line, he'd answered and then promptly hung up, Shad shrugged as she pulled a controller out from under her table and turned it on. "Just give me a sec Ryu, Kharma was having a hell of a time sending you commands so I'm taking over." She said as her controller connected up to the fighter in the ring.

"I wondered what was going on, usually Sephiroth would be destroyed by now." Ryu said as he stood up slowly and shook off the dizziness. Crouching into a fighting position as Sephiroth stalked closer, he waited.

Sephiroth was so far gone by now that he had no idea what was going on around him. So the fact that Ryu had taken a new fighting stance, and was giving him an all knowing smirk, didn't even register in Sephiroth's mind. Raising a post above his head, he laughed. "I'm going to kill you, and then I'll rip that dammed woman's head off!"

Ryu ignored the comment and waited until the ring post was mere centimeters away from his head before rolling out of the way. Springing to his feet, he kicked his left foot out and caught Sephiroth in the back of the knee. Sephiroth stumbled and nearly fell on his face before catching himself and spinning around to where Ryu was currently standing. Raising a post above his head, Sephiroth hadn't planned on Ryu jumping over his head and pulling the ring post out of his hand as he sailed over his head.

Ryu dropped into a crouch and waved the post in front of him. "Did you lose something?" He asked with a smirk.

Growling, Sephiroth charged with the post held before him like a sword. Ryu dropped to the ground and as the post went over his head, he once again kicked Sephiroth's feet out from beneath him. This time though, Ryu wasn't content to merely let him fall to the ground, instead he kicked the silver haired fighter in the back and launched him into the air. Before he could hit the ground, Ryu kicked him again and Sephiroth flew into the last remaining ring post. With a groan, he collapsed to the mat.

Despite the fact that he was already down, Ryu walked over and picked Sephiroth up by the collar. Pulling back his arm, he punched him in the face and sent him flying yet again. This time, when he landed against the far wall, Ryu remained where he was.

Tossing the controller on her table, Shad kicked her feet up and smiled. "Well that was very satisfying." She said with a grin. "I should do that more often, it's great stress relief." Glancing over at Ryu, who was still standing in the middle of the destroyed ring, she waved her hand dismissively. "He's had enough, just ignore him. Now, why don't you go ahead and use the prize machine before you head out." Snapping her fingers, she watched as the machine dropped down from the ceiling.

Shrugging slightly, Ryu walked over to the newly modified prize machine and pulled the lever. Seconds later a soft 'thunk' was heard and he reached inside the opening to retrieve the prize. Pulling out the item, Ryu raised an eyebrow as he stared at the small furry thing in his hand. "…what is this, and what am I supposed to do with it?" He questioned.

"That would be a Furby." Shad replied. "And you're not supposed to do anything with it. That little guy is going to be dropped on the next fighters that come on the show. If you'll be so kind as to place him on my desk before you leave, that would be great."

Nodding his head, Ryu and his prize disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

Once the ninja was gone, Shad pulled out her cell and punched in some numbers. After the second ring, she spoke. "Hey Doc, I'm all done with your patient. You can come get him anytime. Ok, I'll see you soon." Hanging up her phone, she tucked it into her pocket and faced the camera. "Well folks, I hope you enjoyed the first minisode of Season 3. See you next fight. Later." Standing up, she pulled a bottle out from under her table and headed over to where Sephiroth was lying unconscious. "Now, let's dye your precious hair pink." Shad said with an evil laugh as the camera faded to black.

Behind the Scenes

"Hey Kharma, it's me." Shad spoke into her phone as she pretended to tidy up her office. "I'll need to have Ryu on the show tonight so make sure you're available ok. Also, I was wondering if you'd thought anymore about switching control over to me. You're so busy nowadays and I just think it would be easier if I took over from here on out. Anyway, think about it and let me know. Later." Hanging up her phone, she tossed it on her desk. "If I get control over Ryu, this show will get a lot more interesting." She said, sitting back in her chair with a smile.

Fighter's Standings

Sephiroth—Beaten by Ryu.

Ryu Hayabusa (Controlled by Kharma…and Shad)—1—Beat Sephiroth. Won a Furby.

Champions

Season 1 – Caboose

Season 2 – Aisha

Since the tokens are no longer being used, from now on the fighter's standing list will show all fighters who have fought so far this season and how many matches they've won. I've also added a section for previous champions so you'll always know who won each season. If you'd like to see a running list of all the fighters who have been on the show then click on the Fighters Standings link on my web page.

Here's your Anime Trivia question of the week!

In D. Gray-man, Yu is an exorcist that works for what organization?