(The Arena)

Everyone watched at the two giant hands circled each other in midair. In fact, Nei was the only fighter to notice that the two corners of the arena sunk back down until they were level with the rest of the ring.

Master Hand and Crazy Hand raised all of their fingers and pointed their fingertips at the canvas. The whole arena was engulfed in some sort of strange, purple energy, blinding everyone in the arena.

When the light vanished, the seven fighters looked around, only to see that the ring was still a square.

"What the heck was that about?" Heavy D! asked aloud.

"Look!" Nei cried.

Everyone did, and instantly saw the ropes around the arena quickly fading from sight before turning off completely.

"This, folks, is our most dangerous arena alteration yet!" Unknown1 pointed out. "With no ropes around the arena at all, things are going to get even more hectic!"

"HIBIKI TAKANE!" (LB)

The latest Last Blade fighter, Hibiki, came out to a decent amount of cheering. The young girl smiled, as the added spotlight from CvS2 had given her a little more popularity.

Upon entering the arena, Hibiki's first instinct was to go for someone with a sword, allowing a fair fight. Unfortunately, none of the seven fighters still in the arena had a sword. Hibiki sighed. If only Janne hadn't been eliminated.

Hibiki decided to make the best of things and go for Chang Koehan, as his wrecking ball technically counted as a weapon. Hibiki lashed out with her sword, but Chang saw this and blocked it with the chain of his wrecking ball.

"I say! 'The Koehan' doesn't take too lightly to people attacking from behind!" Chang said as he raised his weapon to bring it down and crush Hibiki.

Hibiki did what anyone would do. She let out an 'Eep!' and ran off.

(Sound Booth)

Shadow, Astaroth and Aila had just gotten settled into the Sound Booth so they could start their job. Currently, they were trying to find some music for fighters that didn't request any.

"Who's next on the list?" Aila asked.

Shadow looked at the list of fighters. "Looks like that Lion kid from the Virtua Fighter node." He smirked. "Looks like he didn't request a theme song."

Astaroth scratched his head. "So what could we put on for him?"

Aila suddenly came up with an idea and grabbed a CD from a stack. "I think I've got it!"

(The Arena)

"LION RAFALE!" (VF)

Lion came out from behind the curtain and walked down to the arena, waving to the crowd. He was feeling a little better about not requesting any theme song judging by what happened to Sonic, Maxi and Borus.

"Blue shadows a venetian parade"

"Eyes on a starlet who was yet to be made"

"He had thin blue lips and a finger-less glove"

"He was a hunter for a prey to put his prints on"

Lion froze as he listened to Steve Taylor's 'Svengali' coming from the speakers. Looking at the Sound Booth, he saw three distinctive figures laughing their behinds off.

"Oh! Svengali!"

"Wa-ha-ho! Svengali!"

"Wide eyes, mesmerize! Ain't he clever?"

"Wa-ha-ho! Svengali!"

The young man sighed and continued down to the arena. Leaping in, he ran at Falco Lombardi. His first thought was to go interrupt the duel between King and Bruce, but he had seen what had happened to those that had already done that.

Falco saw Lion coming and smirked. "So, the little prettyboy wants to challenge me, eh?"

Lion narrowed his eyes and lashed out his palm. "Don't call me a prettyboy!" He shouted. "I'm a lot better than those other 'prettyboys' that came out and lost!"

"We'll see about that." Falco smirked.

"EDGE!" (S3)

The red-haired young man stormed out from the curtain, looking extremely-ticked off. But it wasn't because of something that happened backstage, no. It was because of what was currently happening on his back.

"Come on, you redhead loser!" Edge's sword, the Star Dragon Sword, shouted at its owner. "If you want to be better than that sloth that USED to wield me, you have to at least LOOK good! The part on your hair is completely wrong! Your outfit makes you look like a girl! Get a tan, you moron! Your face is so white that you look like a ghost!"

Finally having enough of the Star Dragon Sword's ramblings, Edge grabbed it and pulled it around to look at him.

"Look, pal! If you don't shut up this instant, I'm going to thrown you into the arena on your own and see how long you fare without me!" Edge shouted at his sword.

The Star Dragon Sword surprisingly quieted down, as if processing what Edge had just said.

Much to the dismay of Edge's sanity, the Star Dragon Sword started heaping insults again. "The colour of your hair is all wrong! The shade of red should be darker than that! Wear a jacket, loser! That yellow thing you're wearing isn't very becoming on you! And furthermore-"

Edge screamed in fury as he hurled the Star Dragon sword into the arena. The sword continued flying until it lodged itself in Scorpion's back, about five inches below Watari's ninja star. Scorpion curiously pulled the sword from his back and looked it over. He then saw Edge jump into the arena and narrowed his white eyes.

"Is this your sword, pal?" Scorpion asked coldly.

Edge sighed. "Yes, but I really wish that it wasn't."

The Star Dragon looked up at Scorpion. "What kind of ninja wears yellow? It doesn't shadow you at all! Your outfit looks way too plain! The least you could do is accessorize! And those eyes! What the heck are you supposed to be? Some kind of undead freak loser or something?"

Scorpion realized that Edge was going through enough torture as it was, and decided to let the boy live. He handed the Star Dragon Sword back to him. "I pity you, boy."

"MUSCLE POWER!" (WH)

The American wrestler came out from behind the curtain and raised his hand into the air. "I'M NUMBAH ONE!"

Silence.

Muscle Power curiously looked around. "I said…" He raised his hand again. "I'M NUMBAH ONE!"

Again, silence. Muscle Power looked up into the crowd. "Well? Aren't you guys going to say that YOU'RE numbah one?"

"Are you kidding?" Brian Battler asked. "That joke got so old so fast that it wasn't even funny!"

"Yeah, man!" Mickey Rogers said from his seat beside Brian. "I mean, who are we kidding? Any fighter in the arena could dispose of us in five seconds!"

Muscle Power grumbled as he continued walking down to the arena.

Brian looked at Mickey. "You really know that we're numbah one, right?"

Mickey nodded.

(Hotel; Lounge)

Eiji Kisaragi's vision slowly returned to him as he rocked his head back and forth. Slowly, he saw himself staring into a ceiling with lights all over it.

"Great! You're awake!"

The sudden sound of the voice almost made Eiji fall off the sofa he was sitting on in surprise. Looking at the voice, he saw Julia Chang getting up from a chair and walk over to him.

"Wh-Who are you?" Eiji asked.

"Julia Chang. I was at the vending machines when you collapsed at my feet." Julia replied.

"Oh, yes. I remember now." Eiji rubbed his head. "Where am I?"

"In the lounge. After you passed out, I brought you here so you could be comfy until you woke up."

"Well, I appreciate the gesture. Really, I do." Eiji said.

"Say. What on Earth happened to you that could cause you to pass out like that?" Julia asked as she sat down on the couch beside Eiji.

Eiji sighed and looked down. "It's sort of a long story."

"I got time." Julia shrugged. "I've already been eliminated from the tournament, so I don't really have anywhere to go."

The purple-clad ninja nodded. "Okay. I was in the gym, fighting those two ninja wannabes Gozu and Mezu."

Julia nodded. "From the Kizuna Encounter node? Yeah, I heard they were pretty much wannabes too. Why were you fighting them?"

"They thought that they were good enough ninjas to take someone like me on." Eiji replied. "Needless to say, I totaled them, but I cut off a piece of each of their gauntlets. I picked up both pieces and suddenly I get engulfed in pain." Suddenly, Eiji reared back and shouted in pain as his left side was covered in a red aura and his right side a blue aura. Julia backed off and stared in shock at Eiji until the auras died down.

"What could be causing this?" Julia asked.

Eiji shook his head. "I don't know. It happened as soon as I picked up those gauntlet pieces."

Julia grabbed Eiji arm and pulled him off the couch. "Then we'd better find someone that can help you. A magic user, perhaps."

"But who could we get?" Eiji asked. "The best mage I can think of is Rose from the Street Fighter node, and I don't know if she's anywhere near here!"

"There must be someone else!" Julia insisted. "There HAS to be! Who else can you think of?"

Eiji pondered for a few seconds. "The only other mage I can think of is that Rasputin fellow that came with the World Heroes bunch."

Julia nodded. "Let's go find him, then."

The purple-clad ninja stared at Julia in shock. "You're actually willing to help me?" He asked.

"Of course!" Julia said. "No one deserves what you're going through!"

Eiji stared in amazement as he followed Julia out of the Lounge. No one had ever cared this much about him before. He'd have to thank this woman later.

(Jeffry McWild's Stage)

The ocean waves splashed gently onto the sandy beach as seagulls flew overhead. Aside from Jeffry's small house, the only man-made thing on the beach was a square platform to use as an arena.

Craig Marduk groaned and rubbed his head as he slowly got to his feet and looked around, seeing where he was.

The giant man sighed. "Well, at least that stupid, old ape didn't-"

*THWACK!*

Marduk staggered forward, the back of his head sporting a new injury. Turning around, Marduk could only muster one sentence.

"No. Freaking. Way."

Although Marduk refused to believe it, there he was. Cranky Kong was standing there, slapping his cane into his hand.

"Ready for your lessen in manners, sonny?" Cranky asked as he slowly approached Marduk.

Marduk growled. "You've been causing me enough trouble, gramps! If it weren't for YOU, I'd still be in the bleachers, enjoying the tournament!" He pointed accusingly at Cranky.

"Someone would have thrown you out sooner or later because of your constant put-downs directed at us elderly people!" Cranky retaliated.

Marduk put up his fists. "You ready for the last fight of your life, old man?"

Cranky smirked. "Ladies first."

(The Arena)

"SHEN WOO!" (KOF)

A KOF newcomer, Shen Woo came out from behind the curtain to a fair amount of cheering. Apparently, people liked him way better than they liked Ash Crimson.

Deciding to give his fans a good show, Shen Woo punched his own face several times to clear his head and ran down to the ring.

Upon entering, the boxer was wondering which person to go for first. He quickly spotted Heavy D! and smirked.

"Heh. It's only fitting that a boxer fights another boxer." Shen Woo figured as he ran at D!.

D! turned to see Shen Woo charging at him and his eyes snapped open. "WHOA!" Thinking in self-defense, D! lashed out an R.S.D., nailing Shen Woo in the face.

"ELECTRO!" (MC)

"We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue!"

"And then we'll take it higher!"

"We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue!"

"And then we'll take it higher!"

The green-clad supervillain smirked evilly as he walked down to the ring. The pieces for Bison's plan were slowly falling into place. Already, they had captured two of the targets, and were well on their way to kidnapping the third. Electro was so wrapped up in his twisted thinking that he didn't notice his new theme song, 'Electric Avenue' by Tait.

"We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue!"

"And then we'll take it higher!"

"We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue!"

"And then we'll take it higher!"

Reaching the arena, Electro jumped in, having no problem considering the fact that the ropes weren't around the arena. Lee Chaolan was supposed to come out in the next section. Electro could ask for an update then. All he had to do was survive the current section.

Unfortunately for Electro, Chang Koehan spotted him and instantly brightened.

"An evildoer!" Chang shouted in glee. "Finally! Someone 'The Koehan' can have no mercy on!"

Instantly forgetting about his current feud with Hibiki (much to the young woman's relief), Chang stampeded in Electro's direction, kicking up dust as he ran.

Electro tried casting lightning bolts to bring the giant man down, but found that they had no effect on him. "Crap!" Electro turned and ran.

Everyone was paying attention to Chang's newfound speed so much that they didn't notice the spotlight shining on the entrance curtain again.

"And now…Mystery Fighter…Number…SIX!"

"LARCEN TYLER!" (Eternal Champions)

The 1940's gangster came out to a loud cheer (although it wasn't as big as Scorpion's). As 40's slums music came through the speakers, Larcen spun his grappling hook in his hand and walked down to the ring, the brim of his fedora almost covering his eyes.

Larcen couldn't believe his luck. He had actually been invited to partake in this tournament, allowing some publicity for the Eternal Champions node. If he could manage at least ONE elimination, the popularity for the Eternal Champions would increase a lot.

Leaping into the arena, Larcen quickly saw Scorpion in a fight with Edge and starting to lose. Larcen quickly ran over and grabbed his grappling hook.

Upon reaching the fight, Larcen lashed out his weapon, slamming it into Edge's face, knocking the young man away from Scorpion.

Scorpion nodded at Larcen. "Thanks, Larcen. It's good to see you back in the action."

"Thanks, buddy." Larcen replied. He looked around at all the fighters. "Come on! Let's show these guys what it's like fighting with a grappling hooks!"

Scorpion smiled darkly from underneath his mask. "Now you're talking my language!"

"LUCIA!" (S3)

Lucia, the Karayan chief, received a mixed reaction from the crowd. The cheers were because she was one of the most powerful characters in Suikoden 3. The boos were because Lucia was Hugo's mother.

Pulling her weapon, a long whip, from her belt, Lucia ran down to the ring and leapt in.

Lion Rafale knocked Muscle Power away and turned to see Lucia come in. "No offense, but how old are you, lady?"

"Um…late 30's." Lucia replied honestly. "Why?"

Lion shrugged. "No reason. Your white hair just makes you look old."

*SNAP!*

Lucia cracked her whip again, striking Lion in the knee a second time. As Lion hopped around on one foot, holding his knee, Lucia stared ahead in shock, feeling her hair. "Does my hair REALLY make me look THAT old?"

"Oh, yeah." Nei nodded from aside.

(Dome; Hallway)

Lee Chaolan ran down the hallway, trying to outrun his pursuer, Rainbow Mika. Ever since he had run from that room on floor 30, Lee had run all the way around the hotel and was now in the dome. Lee was entering the arena in the next section, anyway. He would be able to lose Mika then.

Looking back, Lee saw that Mika was gone. There was no one chasing him anymore, and the only thing the silver-haired prettyboy could see was the doorway at the end of the hallway.

Lee stopped running and sighed in relief. "I lost her." He said.

The middle-aged man turned a corner and was instantly greeted by a backhanded slap to the face. Lee staggered back, looked ahead and saw Rainbow Mika flying at him, hip-first.

Mika slammed her hip into Lee's face, knocking him into the wall. R. Mika landed on the floor, got up and walked over to Lee.

"Okay, pal! You're telling me everything you know about this plot!" Mika shouted at him.

Lee smirked. "I think not." Shoving his foot forward, he caught Mika in the face, knocking her away from him.

Mika landed on her back and quickly sprang to her feet again. She quickly saw Lee getting to his feet. "Face it, Chaolan!" Mika said. "I'm a lot faster than you are! There's no escape!"

Lee nodded with a smirk as he got into his stance. "There IS one escape: I go through you."

Mika got into her stance, narrowing her eyes. "So, I finally get a solo fight, eh? Well, this is going to be quick."

(The Arena)

"LEI WULONG!" (T5)

The Hong Kong cop came out from behind the curtain and ran down the ramp leading to the arena. Dressed in his police outfit, Lei reached for his gun as he jumped headfirst into the arena.

Lei quickly spotted Chang chasing Electro and too action. Pulling out his gun, Lei aimed it at the two. "Fweeze!" He shouted.

The cop fired a bullet, and it struck the canvas only inches in front of Chang's foot. The oversized man looked at Lei and beamed.

"Greetings, fellow freedom-fighter!" Chang greeted. "You don't suppose you could assist 'The Koehan' in eliminating this criminal scum, do you?"

Lei just stared. "Uh…Sure. Why not?"

In all honesty, Lei was actually aiming at Chang, but he wasn't about to let the giant man know that.

"ANDY BOGARD!" (KOF)

The younger Bogard brother was thinking heavily as he walked down the ramp leading to the ring. Ever since arriving at the dome, Andy had been feeling a very dark vide coming from somewhere in the dome. At first, Andy thought that it was just something he ate, but now the vibe was just getting darker. Andy was confident that something was going on now, but no one he talked to really seemed to believe him.

Andy jumped into the arena and landed on his feet gracefully. Looking around, Andy decided to find a villain to try and get answers from, and quickly spotted Electro, still being tailed by Chang Koehan and now Lei Wulong. Andy ran in to help the two distinctive figures chase Electro down.

Electro looked up as he ran. "WHY ME?" He screamed.

"LINK!" (SSB)

The second of SSB's biggest stars came out to an insanely large cheer. His theme song, the classic Legend of Zelda theme, came from the sound booth (only because Shadow and co. couldn't find any other song to change it to). Link drew the Master Sword and ran down to the ring.

Mario had just been eliminated, and he had managed three eliminations. Link was hoping that he could do better and hopefully prove that he was better than the portly plumber.

Hibiki saw the Hero of Time jump into the arena. "At last! Someone with a sword!" She ran over to him. "Excuse me, sir!"

Link turned. "Yes?"

"Ever since I entered the arena, I've been waiting for someone with a sword to come in so I could have a fair duel." Hibiki replied. "If it isn't too much to ask, I'd like to challenge you."

Link nodded. "Okay. Let's see how well you fight with a sword."

"JIN CHONSHU!" (FF)

The younger Jin twin, Chonshu, came out from behind the curtain and ran down to the ring. The red-clad young-looking man was feeling good. Because of the little contest he and Chonrei had set up before the tournament started, Chonshu only needed to score two eliminations to beat Chonrei's one.

Chonshu entered the arena and looked around for a target. Electro had three people chasing him now, and Chonshu didn't really feel like making it four. He quickly eyed the pair of Scorpion and Larcen, whom were double-teaming anyone that got in their way.

Rolling up his sleeves, Chonshu saw the two Mystery Fighters as a challenge and ran at them.

"And now, the final fighter of this section…"

"RYU!" (SFA3)

In the Eliminated Seating, Sagat rubbed his chin as he watched Ryu run down to the ring. In all honesty, Sagat was hoping Ryu would at least got one elimination, which would tie with Sagat. The tall man would hate to see Ryu get eliminated without taking anyone out first. He silently cheered Street Fighter's poster boy on.

Ryu leapt into the arena and looked for a challenge. From what he saw, he was the only Street Fighter in the arena, as Dee Jay had been eliminated only minutes ago. He decided on Falco Lombardi, running over to him.

Falco saw the Street Fighter coming and drew his blaster. Ryu saw this and quickly launched a fireball at the bird. Falco fired three shots from his blaster, but the fireball nullified all three and still continued on, finally slamming into Falco's face.

The blue falcon rubbed his face as he looked at Ryu. "You wise guy!" Falco said. "You're in for it, now!"

Ryu simply stared at Falco, his expression unchanging. "I merely see you as a challenge. Not a threat." He got into his stance. "Now, it is time to prove that."