(The Arena)
The seven fighters left in the arena waited patiently for the next wave of fighters to arrive, but none of them were in any hurry due to the fact that they were starting to tire out and savored each second of rest before the next fighter would enter.
"DURAAL!" (VF)
The cybernetic boss of Virtua Fighter came out to a mixed reaction, but she paid it no mind. Duraal simply and silently walked down to the arena and stepped in.
"Hmm…" Axl mused. "That seems a little too human-like to be a cyborg." He smirked and drew his guns. "Maybe it's a Maverick. If that's the case, it needs to be destroyed."
With that, Axl advanced on Duraal, taking aim.
(Battle Field)
X and Zero were in the middle of a savage gunfight, hiding behind a barricade, when X suddenly paused in thought.
"What's up, X?" Zero asked.
"Why do I have the feeling that Axl's just done something incredibly stupid?" X asked aloud.
(The Arena)
"ICE CLIMBERS!" (SSB)
"You ready, Nana?" Popo (the blue-clad Eskimo) asked his sister.
"You bet, Popo!" Nana replied.
The two vertically-challenged Eskimos ran down to the ring as their theme played through the speakers. Once the two reached the end of the entrance ramp, they leapt in together and landed at the same time.
"Look, Popo! There's Falcon!" Nana pointed out.
"Hey, yeah! Let's go over to him!"
The two rushed over to their nodal companion's side, each letting out a cute 'Hi, Captain Falcon!', waving their hands.
Falcon turned and saw them coming over. "Uh…Hey, kids." He said.
"You wanna do some double-teaming, Falcon?" Popo asked.
"Well, I don't exactly have an opponent right now, so there's not really anyone to double-team." Falcon pointed out.
"Oh, that's okay!" Nana insisted. "We'll just stick around until someone challenges us!"
"And now…Mystery Fighter…Number…TWENTY-TWO!"
"ABUBO!" (Rage of the Dragons)
The large thug came out to a mixed reaction (but mainly a series of boos) and walked down to the ring. Abubo was certainly a sight to behold, because his head looked way too small for the mountain of muscle he had.
Even still, Abubo had no problems with his strange stature as he jumped into the ring. His first action was to kick Wario in the face with both of his feet.
"What the heck was that for?" Wario asked, rubbing his face.
"I don't like to look at shrimps like you." Abubo said simply. "You're all weak compared to my raw power."
Wario lost Abubo as soon as he said 'shrimp'. "You're callin' me a shrimp? Oh, that DOES IT!" With that, Wario jumped at Abubo. "Put up your dukes, smart-aleck! Let's see if you have the power to back up that big mouth of yours!"
"MUDMAN!" (WH)
The last World Hero came out to a loud cheer (mainly due to his increased popularity from NGBC) and to tribal music coming from the speakers. Mudman danced down to the ring and jumped in.
Seeing him enter, Yuri went over to him (and stepping around the battle Axl was having with Duraal). "You're that mask-wearing freak Ryo told me about, aren't you?" She asked.
"If by 'mask-wearing freak' you mean 'highly-talented tribal chief', then yes, that would be me." Mudman nodded.
"Ryo told me that you had some skills." Yuri mused as she put up her fists. "Let's see if that's true."
"I assure you that you won't be disappointed." Mudman said.
(Dome; Box 45)
The arena boxes were crucial for Bison's plan, because he had to station one of the targets there. He rented the most soundproof box he could find at the beginning, knowing that it wouldn't come into play until later in the tournament.
"Why can't we watch the fight?" Toad asked/whined as he pointed at the blinds preventing anyone from seeing the arena. "I wanna see people get pummeled!"
"We're not allowed to open the blinds because then people would be able to see in." Vega replied simply. "And if people can see in, they'll see him." He finished with a jerk of the thumb towards Louis, the squire of Chris Lightfellow, whom was tied to a chair.
Louis had given up on calling for help long ago, because he knew that each box was soundproof. So instead, he looked around the box. As Toad kept complaining to Vega, King Lion sighed and tried his best to ignore the two. The brainwashed Roy was standing around, staring off into space. Other than that, there wasn't anyone else in the box. Bison had told King Lion that since it was a less-likely place to find someone, they didn't need as many people to guard the target.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Toad stopped complaining and walked over to it.
King Lion suddenly started having flashbacks of something that had happened earlier in the night and waved his arms in the air. "Don't do it, you fool!" He shouted.
Toad didn't listen and opened the door. He was met with a fist slamming into his face, knocking him away from the door. The door opened up all the way to show Jacky Bryant, Clark Steele and Lei Wulong (whose team had met up with them and split up earlier).
"What did I tell you?" King Lion shouted.
"We don't want a fight." Clark said. "We're simply here to save the boy."
"What makes you think we'd give him up so easily?" Toad asked.
"Because it would save us beating you guys into the ground." Jacky said.
"Then we'll fight you for him!" Vega shouted as he rushed at Clark. Roy mechanically sprang at Lei and Toad did the same with Jacky.
King Lion, seeing the fight break out, sighed. "I hate my life." He said as he walked in to held Toad with Jacky.
(The Arena)
"GOZU!" (KE)
Like Mudman was the last World Hero, Gozu was the last Kizuna Encounter member. However, the red-clad ninja wasn't greeted with as warm a reception as the tribal man was. Gozu ignored the jeers from the crowd and jumped into the arena.
Billy Kane instantly smashed his staff over his head.
Gozu jumped to his feet. "What did you do that for?" He asked. "That really hurt!"
"I'm looking for info!" Billy shouted. "I failed to get it from that undead mummy guy in the last section, but I think you'll do even better."
Gozu sighed. "First that 80's reject and now you. This just isn't my day."
"JUGGERNAUT!" (MC)
"This seems too big for me"
"Hulking monstrosity"
"Too late to get out now"
"And like the speed of sound"
"This thing has brought me down"
"I don't remember how"
"I want to be free"
"But Juggernaut is killing me"
Juggernaut came out from behind the curtain to a Five Iron Frenzy song (coincidentally called 'Juggernaut'). The crowd cheered him on as the hulking giant lumbered down to the arena and leapt in.
"Freedom like a song!"
"The weak shall be made strong!"
"I may sink before I swim!"
"But I'm not giving in to you!"
"Juggernaut!"
The huge mountain of muscle hit the canvas causing the entire arena to shake. Juggernaut looked around for a potential challenge and saw one in Abubo. Seeing him currently in a fight with Wario didn't seem to bother Juggernaut, as the giant man plowed straight into the yellow-clad plumber, sending him across the arena.
Abubo looked Juggernaut up and down and smirked. "Oh, yeah. Time for a challenge."
"JACQUES!" (S3)
The final member of Geddoe's team came out from behind the curtain, his gigantic crossbow latched onto his back. Jacques glanced up at the Sound Booth and saw Aila waving at him wildly, cheering him on. Jacques managed a rare smirk and continued down to the arena as hordes of fangirls shrieked wildly.
It didn't really bother Jacques that he was the only Suikoden fighter in the arena. He simply pulled out his crossbow, took aim and fired, sending an arrow at Roomi.
The catgirl saw the attack coming and leapt to the side. Roomi then rushed at Jacques, whom smirked.
"Well, at least this one is more aware of her surroundings than the others from her node." He mused to himself quietly.
"And now…Mystery Fighter…Number…TWENTY-THREE!"
"TSUGUMI SENDO!" (Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition)
Tsugumi, a young wrestler (yes, wrestler), came out to a mixed reaction. Those that cheered were because of her personality and unique style. Those that booed were because Tsugumi's lone appearance was in Wild Ambition. Those that remained silent do so because they were still trying to figure out whom she was.
The brown-haired girl paid no attention and focused on getting down to the ring. When she entered, Tsugumi ran over to Captain Falcon to start a fight.
However, Popo and Nana jumped in the way. "You wanna take on one of us, you gotta take on all of us!" Popo challenged.
"Yeah! United we stand!" Nana agreed.
"Can't I just fight him?" Tsugumi asked, pointing at Captain Falcon.
"Not unless you agree to fight us as well!" Popo said.
"Kids, look…Uh…" Falcon said.
"RYUJI YAMAZAKI!" (FF)
"…Why don't you two go fight him instead?" Falcon asked, pointing at the newcomer.
"Okay, Captain Falcon!" The Ice Climbers said as one and rushed off to cause mischief. Falcon and Tsugumi then started fighting.
With one hand in his pocket, Yamazaki strode down to the arena and stepped in. Looking around he smirked. "Well, now I can take my sweet time." He said. "After all, none of those punks can follow me in here. I can just fight casually and Bison will still pay me."
Suddenly, a pair of wooden mallets were driven into the Yakuza's forhead. Yamazaki stepped back and looked down at the two culprits.
"Put up your fists, mister!" Popo challenged. "My sis and I are gonna challenge you to a fight!"
Yamazaki chuckled. "Don't go crying on me if you die, kids." He said as he got into his stance.
(Hotel; Arcade)
Balrog considered himself extremely lucky. Because of everyone watching the arena, no one was coming into the Arcade. In fact, it had gotten so late that the staff had locked it up after Section Eight started up. Due to this, there were no punks coming in.
This was a good thing because the Arcade was the position for Mel Masters, and Balrog had the displeasure of watching him alone.
"Why do you keep doing this, Balrog?" Mel asked. "Whenever I see you, you always seem to be doing something illegal or working for Bison."
"He pays me big bucks, kid." Balrog explained. "As long as he keeps that paycheck coming, I'm sticking with him."
"Probably because you'll never get back into boxing." Mel muttered. "This is the only way to get money for you."
"Hey, I take it like it is, kid." Balrog said, not even bothering to look at Mel. "I can't go back to boxing because they just wouldn't allow my moves."
"Yeah, because they were so cheap and dirty!" Mel snapped.
"Shut up, punk!" Balrog shouted. "Why, if I were allowed to kill you, I'd-"
"Do absolutely nothing!"
Balrog and Mel looked in the direction of the voice and saw Cody standing at the door to the Arcade.
"But…How?" Balrog asked. "The door was locked!"
Cody whistled and showed Balrog a hairpin he had taken from Nei earlier. "Lockpicking. One of the skills I learned in prison."
Balrog growled as Cody advanced. "Well, it looks like you're out of luck, Metro City hero." He taunted. "There's only one of you, and I clearly out-power you."
Cody smirked. "That's what you think, buster." He said. "Now come on! Let's do this!"
"Get him good, Cody!" Mel cheered.
(The Arena)
"SHIGEN NAOE!" (LB)
The oversized man had to duck to get out from behind the curtain, but he got out eventually. Like Juggernaut, Shigen lumbered down to the ring, his hand constantly flashing a pale gray.
Once he was in the arena, Shigen made a beeline straight for Abubo and Juggernaut. However, before he could get far, Wario stepped in his way. "Okay, buster! I got tossed aside by that guy over there, but I think you'll do fine as a replacement opponent."
"You're too small." Shigen said, looking down at the portly plumber.
"Don't judge a book by its cover." Wario said. "I'm a lot stronger than oh, say Mario."
This made Shigen raise an eyebrow, having heard of how strong the legendary Mario was. "Very well. Let's see how you fight."
"And now…Mystery Fighter…Number…TWENTY-FOUR!"
"ABYSS!" (Marvel vs. Capcom 2)
Roll blasted Gozu away with a Roll Buster when she heard the name being called. She slowly turned around and indeed saw the armoured monstrosity that was Abyss.
Roll screamed.
Abyss ignored the large amount of boos directed at it and instead walked down to the arena (at an incredibly slow pace that made Juggernaut look fast). Abyss stepped into the arena, walked over the Axl/Duraal fight and stopped at Roll's side, towering over her.
Roll shrieked again and hysterically fired Roll Busters at Abyss' torso. "GET HIM AWAY!" She screamed. "GET HIM AWAY!"
Everyone turned and saw that Abyss was in the arena. Wario, Billy, Tsugumi, Yamazaki, Yuri, the Ice Climbers, Roomi and Mudman and rushed in to help Roll with Abyss, Yamazaki mainly because he wanted to fight someone with strength and power such as Abyss.
"E. HONDA!" (SFA3)
Street Fighter's original sumo (and quite possible the first sumo in any fighting game) came out to a loud cheer. Honda laughed and waved to the crowd as he walked down to the ring and jumped in.
The first thing Honda did when he entered was deliver a head-butt to Shigen's stomach. Despite the power behind it, it did little more than make Shigen flinch.
Honda stood up and saw the power that Shigen possessed. "Amazing. Never before have I felt such power and fighting spirit! Have you ever considered a career in sumo?"
Shigen spiked Honda into the canvas.
"And now, the final fighter of this section…"
"KASUMI TODOH!" (KOF)
The blue-haired heir to the Todoh style came out to a decent-sized cheer and ran down to the arena, seeing her friend Yuri fighting off the huge machine with several others. Kasmui jumped in and wasted no time in running over to help her friend.
"Yuri!" Kasumi called out.
Yuri looked and saw Kasumi coming over. "Oh! Kasumi! You're just in time!" She said. "Help us out with this thing, will you?"
"How do we beat it?" Kasmui asked.
"I don't know, but we need to take this thing out before it kills somebody!"
"Right! Let's do this!"