Section Six
More fighters were constantly coming into the ring.
"CAMMY!" (Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo)
The lithe combatant ran down into the ring, ignoring the loud and numerous wolf whistles directed at her. She was wondering why Ken was busy running around the ring with Ryu hot on his tail.
"RALF!" (King of Fighters '94)
"Yup. I'm gonna make Heidern proud of me! Yeah! I don't need no lousy guns or anything...I can kick ass all by myself!"
His spirits were uplifted by a huge cheer from the crowd. Unbeknownst to him, the cheer was actually for Sub-Zero, who had just entered the "eliminated fighter" seats (undergoing a number of fierce glares in the process from Team Japan of KOF, the Virtua Fighters, Takuma Sakazaki, and Pyron).
"JACK!" (World Heroes 2 Jet)
"VEGA RIP-OFF!" chanted the crowd.
"Shut up! I'm a perfectly good fighter. I have a laugh, yeah, but Vega's is wimpy, while mine is maniacal! Hyah hyah hyah! See?"
"KIM KAPHWAN!" (King of Fighters '94)
Was Kim the hope for KOF in this tournament? He was probably one of the toughest fighters in the node, lacking only a projectile. And he had ample kick attacks to make up for it.
Kim wasn't thinking about any of this, naturally. He was wondering whether the fighters were being served lunch after the Rumble.
"UKYO TACHIBANA!" (Samurai Showdown 2)
Ukyo was confused. Why, all of a sudden, was he being branded as a cheap fighter? He was dying from TB, for God's sake. Couldn't they let him fight as he saw fit?
"RAIDEN!" (Mortal Kombat 2)
"Hmmmmm. It looks like a LOT of the Mortal Kombat big guns are coming out earlier than that node would like... comments, Mr. Meyer?"
"Let me just say how glad I am to be here, Birdman, and to remind everybody out there to play Richard Meyer's Battle Gods, coming soon from Hi-Tech Expressions!"
"ANAKARIS!" (Darkstalkers)
The giant mummy decided to float up and drop in. Better that way, he figured, to surprise his opponents. Unfortunately, most of his opponents had spotted him, and were waiting for the Egyptian.
"JUBEI YAMADA!" (Fatal Fury Special)
"Well, I'm not sure if it's right for Jubei to be making an appearance... he is old, and all... comments, Mr. Meyer?"
"There's no one that old over in Richard Meyer's Battle Gods, the only fighting game node with four fighters at a time! Did I mention that we have Special moves, too? And Six Executions (our Fatalities) apiece?"
"HEIDERN!" (King of Fighters '94)
The tall German commando strode forward... his knife was in hand, and he (and Ralf, mustn't forget Ralf) would kick some ass this time around.
"(How exactly did Kung Lao beat me again?)"
and, the final fighter of this section:
"PREDATOR HUNTER!" (Alien Vs. Predator)
Birdman had been sipping a Jolt Cola, and he sprayed it out in surprise at the announcer's call. He looked down, wondering if he had misheard, but no... the Predator Hunter was striding forward calmly, halberd in hand. The other fighters in the ring were all equally surprised. Birdman looked up into the crowd, where the Aliens vs. Predator section was... and, among the various Predators, and the two Marines, there was an empty seat.
"May I just say, that in Richard Meyer's Battle Gods, we have TWO aliens?"
"Shut up." He clicked off the announce mike, and turned to the comm unit. "Brant, what the hell is happening? Can you explain this?"
Brant's voice shot out over the net. "Um, yeah. You remember that you billed this event as being a 140-fighter Rumble?"
"Yes, so?"
"There was only 138. Do the math."
"But... where did you get him?"
"Oh, I had a little battle royale of my own beforehand, to determine which fighters would make the cut... we needed two."
"Oh? And who made the other cut, huh, Brant? The Cleric from Tower of Doom? Wonder Boy? Another freaking Predator? One of those Killer Instinct fighters? Who?"
Brant told him. An evil grin spread over Birdman's face.
"Oh, I don't have problems with HIM..."
WHO WILL LIVE?
WHO WILL DIE?
WILL THE PREDATOR HUNTER BE A FACTOR?
Original Authors
Chris "Birdman" Bird
Bob "Boobwod" Wood
Brant Rogers