Both were suspended on a large flat disc, made of material similar to a trampoline's, filled with holes slightly smaller than the width of a tennis ball. It was held by magnets (control of the magnets was fought over between Bryan Fury and Kasumi) at the top of a large room shaped like a cylinder with a floor of long spikes that had bases of the same size as the holes. Sergei Dragunov perched like a panther on one side of the disc. Bayman crouched like a bear on the other. Which one of them would go on in this epic battle of Dead or Alive vs. Tekken?

It was easy to tell that the two of them were evenly matched in skill. Variations on the speed and force of their blows always evened out; neither could quite hit the other hard enough or fast enough. And if one got in a perfect hit, the other would, too. The one real difference was this: Bayman yelled with his voice; Dragunov's mere gaze shouted along in its own way.

Bayman's voice was always meant to cheer on those who made him their character. Hitting an opponent with force like his was like pressing through sand, pushing it and, in time, breaking it altogether. One who plays Bayman soon finds their controller turning into that same sand to paw and smash against in unpredictable succession. A small jab from Bayman can so quickly turn into a ruthless combo, shattering through each obstacle like it was never there, and seeing the very air take power and rush around him when he was about to use a charged attack was even better. Once again, his battle cries made of words known to the soul and not the mind guide even the most disconnected player to easy victory. A slow, weak punch could surprisingly morph into a devastating kick or grapple, making Bayman's figure, steady and impenetrable, rush and flow into movement after movement, almost like a deadly dancer. Would Bayman's inhuman force make him all the more indestructible without the extra burden of a gamer to control his powers?

Making eye contact with Dragunov was like taking a peek into hell. All whirling black hair and armor, with limbs made of nothing but precision and force, exactly the way you would press each button on a controller to bring him to life in your screen. Then he would spin in just the right angle and you would see his face, so pale, and maybe a flash of bright white teeth in the perfect grimace of hatred that would last barely a few milliseconds before vanishing like a ripple in a motionless, unreadable pool. With all expression gone, the last evidence of a soul would be his eyes, ghostly blue, craving violence, as if the devil lived inside them, fixed on nothing other than what he was about to kill, and not moving from that target until it was dead. The sole purpose he existed. And now, Dragunov's eyes were fixed on Bayman. Would his gaze live up to its death sentence nature once again?

Dragunov was just beginning to get the upper hand in the fight, with Bayman backed against the metal rim of the disc, when the entire platform suddenly plummeted for the spikes below (the work of Bryan). They both instantly leapt from the elastic surface, soaring almost inhumanly high into the air as the disc clattered to the ground. Now there was absolutely nothing between the two elite Tournament contestants and the carefully sharpened spikes beneath them. They began to fall back down, sure that they would be impaled in the next few seconds. Bayman had a look of fury rather than fear. Dragunov hadn't any expression at all.

Then the disc shot back up to catch them just in time (thanks to Kasumi). Upon them getting to their feet, Bayman soon slumped back on to his hands and knees, breathless, and Dragunov actually retched, his legs shaking for a moment. The instant they were fully conscious, however, the two were fighting again with all their power. Dragunov took advantage of the yielding surface as momentum to perform the most acrobatic dodges and attacks possible. cartwheels turning into massive kicks and back flips becoming the most lethal grapples of all time. Bayman did about the same, but occasionally pounded against the disc with extreme force to send shock waves that could sometimes knock Dragunov off his feet. By now, both had blood smeared across their faces and even a few cracked bones. Their clothes and armor were torn and bent. Some of Bayman's fingers had been completely pulverized, the nails ripped revealing raw and bloody flesh beneath it, and one of Dragunov's beautiful, diabolical eyes was gashed and bleeding, fixed with the pupil pointed slightly askew. Then, the platform began to tilt steeply to one side.

The two fighters each grabbed for a hole in the platform to hold onto as it began to go completely vertical and then upside down. It stopped after flipping 180 degrees and held the two suspended over the waiting spikes. With his good eye, Dragunov gave a wary glance at Bayman, who looked back suspiciously from only 4 or so feet away. Then, still holding onto the disc, Dragunov sent a forceful kick Bayman's way, stretching every muscle in him to send his foot slamming against Bayman's chest, trying to knock him off the disc. Bayman was dazed for a second but with an angry yell regained his grip in time to seize Dragunov's still outstretched leg with one hand. At last, Dragunov gave his own shout of anger, glaring with immeasurable fury at his nemesis, baring his teeth like a monster would bare its fangs. Bayman almost smiled as he gave Dragunov a mighty jerk with all the force he could manage. Dragunov clutched ever more desperately at the hole in the platform and then, it all plummeted again. (All thanks to Bryan.)

The platform stopped just before they would have been run through. Dragunov was about to faint but suddenly regained the spark in his eyes and clung to the fabric disc. One of the spikes had grazed Bayman's leg, and the blood from it drizzled along the metal edges to the floor. The platform slowly raised itself back up again. Upon reaching the usual height, it turned right side up again, and both Dragunov and Bayman still clung fiercely to the holes until it had completely stopped turning. They stayed where they lay, trying to get back their energy and get feeling into their strained hands again.

Dragunov, still sprawled, barely conscious, on his side, felt Bayman's hand suddenly clamp over his neck. Bayman had recovered first. Dragunov attacked back, punching with extreme force at Bayman's face and trying to break the death grip until one of his wrists was pinned to the floor, too. With his other arm, Dragunov clawed at Bayman's hand and throat ferociously until he thought the last of his energy was long gone. He thought he could no longer resist. But once again the disc dived for the spikes at the floor. Somehow, Dragunov (as Tekken characters somehow do!) rolled on top of Bayman, freeing himself instantly, and, just as the platform was to reach the spikes, catapulted himself into the air using Bayman's torso to jump off of. Bayman was immediately impaled, and the net came right back up to give Dragunov an easy landing.