DREAM TOURNAMENT IV: ROUND THREE MATCHUPS
This is the list of matchups for round three. For details on voting,
see the "How to Vote" post or file. The following resources are
available for DT4 installments:
1) posted as they come out in rec.games.video.arcade,
rec.games.video.sony, rec.games.video.nintendo, and
rec.games.video.sega.
2) available via ftp at brawl.ecom.net, in the pub/dream-tournament/IV
directory.
3) sent out over the DT4 mailing list. To subscribe, send a message to
deuce@scsn.net with the email address where you want the new parts
to be sent.
All votes must be sent to: deuce@scsn.net
THE DEADLINE TO SEND IN A VOTE FOR ROUND 3 IS:
12:00AM EST MONDAY, MARCH 10TH! Any votes sent after that
will not be counted.
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Deuce sighed. Today was probably going to be a long day, he
decided. This was when the heavy-duty matches started happening, which
would at least be entertaining. But still, he was beginning to wonder
if contacting Kinsman to start the DT back up had been such a hot idea
after all.
"Ah well," he said to no one in particular. Which was good,
because no one was just the person in the room with him. "I've survived
this far, and the show must go on...." He got out of bed, showered, got
dressed, and went out to face the duties of the day.
****
With some stealthy maneuvering and some fancy footwork (not to
mention a few batting eyelashes), Morrigan had managed to lay down the
groundwork for her rather vicious plans for revenge on the accursed
Nakoruru. Because suspense is part of what makes any good revenge plot
entertaining, the exact method by which this groundwork was lain will
not be revealed at this time. Have a nice day.
****
"Oh, man," said Jeff as he looked at the first match of the day.
"This one is going to be loud. Where's my aspirin...."
MATCH 1: HAOHMARU (SS3) vs. ANDY BOGARD (KOF95)
------------------------------------------------
Haohmaru nodded, as he sized up his opponent for this round. "IN
ALL HONESTY, I CAN CLAIM TO BE BATTLING A COMPETENT WARRIOR, THIS ROUND!
I WISH YOU LUCK, BUT ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD WILL NOT AVAIL YOU
AGAINST I, THE LEGENDARY HAOHMARU, WHO AM LEGEND EVEN IN MY OWN
LIFETIME! YOU WILL LOSE!"
Andy's eyes widened at the ronin's brashness. "Oh really! Seems
to me that I'm the first worthwhile opponent you've HAD in this
tournament, big-mouth!"
"THIS IS TRUE," conceded Haohmaru, "BUT REGARDLESS YOU SHALL STILL
LOSE! IF NOT BECAUSE OF MY OWN LEGENDARY MIGHT, AND SKILL WITH THE BLADE,
THEN BY YOUR OWN PATHETIC, AND UNMANLY CHOICE IN FOOTWEAR!"
Stupefied, Andy looked down at his infamous ninja-galloshes, and
back up at the bushi-haired warrior. "And what the heck is wrong with
these?! They keep my feet dry!"
"AH! THEY ALSO SPEAK OF YOUR DEPENDENCE ON LUXURY!" lectured
Haohmaru, in a voice about on par with the noise of a jet engine. "A
REAL WARRIOR THRIVES ON HARDSHIP! I WEAR SANDALS AT ALL TIMES, TO
EXPOSE MY FEET TO THE ELEMENTS! INDEED, TO EXERCISE MY LENGENDARY
SENSE OF HUMOR, I HAVE COMMITTED FEETS OF LEGENDARY SKILL!"
The audience groaned, and from the Peanut Gallery were heard
various cries of "Don't quit the day-job!" and "This guy's got less
humor than Pauly Shore!" There were smattered, embarassed pockets of
laughter however.
After overcoming his initial reaction to Haohmaru's joke, he
beckoned the ronin on with his finger. "These 'unmanly' shoes are
going to walk all over you!"
MATCH 2: MORRIGAN (NW) vs. EIJI SHINJO (TSD2)
----------------------------------------------
Morrigan positively purred, as she circled the young
Toshindenite. A hungry gleam resided in her eye as it travelled
across the young swordsman. She gently began poking, and prodding
him, and chuckled darkly as he jumped.
"Umm... do you mind?" Eiji asked, as the succubus continued to
examine him. He hoped that the bright shade of crimson his face had
turned didn't show too much. Judging from the guffawing in the peanut
gallery, it had.
"HAW HAW HAW!" Earthquake laughed, "Aint'cha ever seen a WOMAN
before!?" The Time Killers fell over laughing, and shared (another)
drink with their new comrade.
Morrigan however, looked at Eiji curiously. "Well, if it hurts,
I'll stop." The hungry gleam in her eye built up to a steady blaze.
Eiji began to sweat as Morrigan circled around, to face him. "Do
you have a girlfriend at home, Eiji? Not that I care, of course. You
just seem so young, and untried. I think you'd find losing this match
to be an... educational experience."
Eiji swallowed hard, certain that the sound was audible
throughout the mammoth arena. His right hand tightened on the grip of
his blade, while his left went to try to stop the flow of blood from
his nose.
MATCH 3: SAGAT (SFA) vs. KIBAGAMI GENJURO (SS3)
------------------------------------------------
Sagat cracked his knuckles. After stomping that little brat into
the ground in his last fight, he was feeling pretty good. He knew he
could take on the world, or better yet, the multiverse.
Genjuro stepped onto the platform, and eyed his opponent. "I
*do* hope," he said sarcastically, "that you will be a better opponent.
I grow bored with weaklings."
Sagat harrumphed, "Watch what you wish for, little man." He
tensed up, and his chest started likening itself unto a tree trunk.
"You may have had an easy time of things so far, but that's all about
to change."
Genjuro smiled malevolently. "Show me what you've got, one-eye,
and we'll see if you can survive this fight."
Sagat sneered. "Your sword will not help you against me. I will
break you like a twig."
Genjuro laughed. "And I will gut you like a pig. I hope you're
ready to die."
"Anytime you're ready, little swordsman!" roared the big man,
itching for the start of the fight.
MATCH 4: KIM KAPHWAN (KOF95) vs. GALFORD (SS3)
------------------------------------------------
Galford and Kim, old friends since the Tae Kwon Do practitioner's
cameo appearance in SS2, met in the center of the platform. They bowed
to each other, shook hands and exchanged greetings, while Kim's children
played with Poppy off on one side.
"It's really too bad I have to fight you." Galford was commenting,
"I'd much rather get a piece of say...Amakusa."
Kim nodded in return with a slight smile, "It is not given to us
to choose our opponents however, and it would not do for us to simply
refrain from fighting."
With a bit of a laugh, Galford nodded, "That's true too." He
grinned, "It wouldn't do to disappoint our fans."
Then, as if on cue, both fighters turned, and flashedd sparkly
smiles at the crowd, resulting in a lot of starstruck females, and a
roughly equal number of jealous boyfriends.
"Well then," Kim continued, "Shall we?"
Galford nodded, "We shall."
MATCH 5: LION (VF2) vs. YURI SAKAZAKI (KOF95)
----------------------------------------------
Yuri looked at Lion carefully, examining her opponent with a
critical eye, as her father Takuma had taught her. After a final
look-over she walked right over to the practitioner of the Praying
Mantis style.
"Kung Fu, huh? That is SO 1970's!"
"YURI!" came a cry from off the platform. On the floor below,
stood Takuma Sakazaki. "Concentrate on your opponent!"
"But I *AM*," cried Yuri. "It's not MY fault he's using a style
that's OUT of style!"
"That doesnt matter!" admonished Takuma. "I fought many a mighty
kung-fu artist in MY day!"
"Could I...," began Lion.
"Shut up!" Yuri shouted at Lion, before turning back to her father. "But look how old you are, Dad! The only Kung-fu guy *I'VE* ever seen is your drinking buddy, Chin!"
"YURI!" Takuma yelled.
"DADDY!" Yuri replied.
Lion shook his head with a sigh, and took his place, hoping they weren't going to double-team him.
MATCH 6: HSIEN-KO (NW) vs. TERRY BOGARD (KOF95)
------------------------------------------------
Terry looked at his opponent incredulously. "Umm," he said, "those are nice fingernails you have there."
Hsien-ko preened. "Why, thank you! I try to look my best."
"I'd hate to imagine what your manicurist bill is like," said Terry. He didn't like the idea of being hit with those things.
"Oh, I know!", said the DarkStalker, looking mighty annoyed. "He's started charging me by the hour!"
"By the HOUR? How long does it usually take?"
"Oh, about twenty minutes...," she began.
Terry chuckled, "That's not so bad."
"...per nail," she finished. Terry winced as she continued, "But they're as sharp as razors now! Perfect for fighting and finishing off those damned DarkStalkers."
Terry wasn't about to comment on the fact that SHE was a DarkStalker as well. "Well, umm... I'm sure he does a good job... but I suppose we'd better get ready to fight..."
She nodded and smiled. "It's so nice to meet a polite man once in awhile. Shame I've got to carve you up though." She clacked her metallic-looking nails together menacingly. "No hard feelings."
Terry suddenly turned about as pale as Lord Raptor on the average day. He was trying to plot out how to best handle this fight. If he didn't do it FAST, he was going to be in a LOT of trouble...
MATCH 7: HATTORI HANZO (SS3) vs. KING (KOF95)
----------------------------------------------
King smiled smugly at the black clad ninja materialized in front of her on the platform. "I see we meet again, ninja."
Hanzo gave the ever so slightest inclination of his head, a gesture that might've been called a nod if he'd moved a bit more.
Tightening her gloves, King continued, still wearing that same smug smile, "I've picked up some new tricks since the last tournament, and this time around, the fight is going to turn out differently."
The ninja's expression didn't change (as if anyone could tell) but, if anything, his attitude became more grim as his voice echoed hollowly from beneath his mask, "I too, have gained much. Do not be too sure of your skills." He made a mystical looking gesture in front of his face as if to emphasize his point.
King laughed, a bit cockily, and crossed her arms, as she waited for the match to start. "We'll see who's overconfident."
****
Deuce threw a glance over at Mike, and asked, "Do YOU have any
idea what's got her feeling so confident?"
Wraith chuckled slightly, "Well, I don't KNOW, but if I had to GUESS I'd say it has something to do with the package that was delivered to her yesterday labeled 'Acme Fire Retardent Tuxedo.' I could be wrong though." He promptly ducked as Jeff swatted at him.
MATCH 8: LAU (VF2) vs. MAI SHIRANUI (KOF95)
--------------------------------------------
Lau eyed the young woman in front of him with a certain amount of
irritation. Judging by that outrageously skimpy costume, this girl was
exactly the sort of young delinquent he had been trying to prevent his
own daughter from turning into...before she'd run away from home
entirely. Regardless, he was going to show this young minx that she
wouldn't be able to distract him by wearing a revealing outfit.
Mai, meanwhile, didn't like the look she was getting from the old
man across the platform. While she was used to getting what she thought
of as 'appreciative looks' from men of all ages, this old geezer
reminded her of her dad when he was about to ground her for staying out
too late chasing after Andy.
"Hey Jiichan! We're here to fight, so don't get any funny ideas!"
"I'm quite aware of why we're here YOUNG LADY. It's you and that
undersized bathing suit that seem to be missing the point. You'll be
getting a good thrashing unless you learn to behave decently."
MATCH 9: HEIDERN (KOF95) vs. AKIRA (VF2)
-----------------------------------------
The greetings between Akira and Heidern were short and polite, but
not overly friendly. Both fighters had their purpose in this
tournament, and while neither of them particularly approved of the
other's motivations, they both respected the other, both by reputation
and by virtue of the fact that their opponent had made it this far.
Once the formalities of greetings were out of the way, the two
contestants retreated to their respective corners to warm up (or have a
cappuccino) and await the start of the match.
MATCH 10: KYO KUSANAGI (KOF95) vs. TACHIBANA UKYO (SS3)
-------------------------------------------------------
Kyo cracked his knuckles. This was to be the big one. He had
faced some stiff competition in his time, but now he was facing the
"Greatest Fighter in the Multiverse." The Dream Tournament Champion was
not one to be trifled with. So, with that in mind, he steeled himself
as he saw Tachibana Ukyo hobbling up to the platform, Rimururu at his
side, helping him.
Ukyo walked slowly and patiently, as he always did when he felt
his illness getting the better of him, and it definitely was today. His
clothes were stained red with blood he had coughed up, and his coughing
fits were almost uncontrollable. But still, he fought on, as ever.
When he reached the platform, Rimururu helped him up, and chastized him
some more for not staying in bed and resting.
But the silent swordsman would not be swayed. He knew he must
continue in his fight, and he DID actually kind of enjoy being known as
the greatest fighter in the multiverse, despite the fact that the title
meant any idiot with some training in martial arts was out to defeat
him. But he would never have admitted it to anyone else.
He reached his corner, nodded to Kyo, and took a few deep breaths,
steadying himself, and focusing his concentration. And like he always
did, he suppressed his own coughing enough to fight to the best of his
ability.
Kyo looked on with no small amount of amazement. This man was
stricken with a fatal disease (at least back in the samurai's own time),
and yet he fought, ignoring his weakness and coughing fits. He was good
enough to beat everyone else last year... and this was to be Kyo's one
shot at unseating the champion. Lacking the years of training and
dedication that Ukyo had, he was nervous. But he would fight to the
best of his ability.
Ukyo caught the look in Kyo's eyes and smiled slightly. "... I
wish you... luck, young Kusanagi.... ...," he said, wheezing.
Kyo nodded, "And to you. This will be one for the record books."
Ukyo smiled again, "... yes... in some way.... or another...."
MATCH 11: ROSE (SFA) vs. KUBIKIRI BASARA (SS3)
----------------------------------------------
Rose sat in her room, meditating before her fight with the
insane revenant known as Basara. She had closely observed his prior
matches in this tournament, and knew that he was not an opponent to be
trifled with. He was truly insane. When she was called out, she
walked out to the platform, expecting to see her opponent waiting for
her. Even when she got to her corner, he was nowhere to be seen.
Deuce radioed Jolly Green and Wraith. "Anyone seen Basara?"
he asked. "He's due to start fighting any moment now."
"Not a clue," said Wraith, "I'm sure he'll show up anytime now."
But Basara kept the crowd waiting. Finally, approximately ten seconds before he would have been disqualified, he suddenly leaped out of a portal of darkness in the center of the platform. "Looking for me?" he asked of the general populace.
"Basara, where have you been?" demanded Deuce. "You nearly got yourself disqualified."
The undead man laughed, an eerie, hollow sound. "I was attending to some business with some friends of mine."
"Wonderful. Fine," said Deuce. "Just try to be here on time from now on." Basara nodded shakily, and hopped back into his corner, awaiting the start of the match. He was looking even crazier than before, if that's possible.... Rose shuddered, and was not looking forward to this fight one bit.
MATCH 12: OMEGA RUGAL (KOF95) vs. VERMILLION (TSD2)
---------------------------------------------------
The tall, shadowy man stood in his corner and checked his guns, to be sure they were loaded and ready for the coming battle. He had observed the man who was to be his opponent this round, and knew he would be no pushover. So he was being extra careful.
Rugal sat casually across from Vermillion, and smiled. A man who
was so unskilled as to require GUNS to fight? This would be a joke. He
knew he was perfectly capable of defending himself against anything the
sniperlike man could unleash. He flashed the malicious grin at his
opponent.
Vermillion returned the grin, and added a high-pitched laugh to punctuate it. This match would be short, indeed... and victory would be quite sweet. Once this Rugal character was out of the way, only one more of the so-called "bosses" would stand in his path toward attaining his lofty goal... to become the first "boss" character to win a Dream Tournament... and he would allow nothing to stop him....
MATCH 13: AKUMA (SFA) vs. AMAKUSA SHIRO TOKISADA (SS3)
------------------------------------------------------
"So," began Amakusa loftily, "we meet again, Akuma. You should not have come back." Amakusa cackled with glee, as her... oh, sorry... his sphere floated defensively around him.
Akuma glared at the sorcerer. "Your 'Dark Guy' isn't here to save you THIS time, magician! Everyone heard about his defeat."
Amakusa glowed with rage. "I have more than enough power to deal with someone who isn't even normally selectable!"
"Power?" Akuma laughed. "So far, the only person you've DEFEATED has been a little girl from a node that's been almost totally eliminated!"
Rauccous laughter was heard from the Peanut Gallery, along with a shrill shriek, "I'm NOT a girl!", and a faintly muttered, "Stupid hormones." Master pouted, as Rancid pinched her... oops, sorry... his cheek. (Aww... isn't he adorable?)
The air around Amakusa's hands crackled with energy. "Just remember... this time I don't have to hold BACK! I'm going to blow you straight out of the tournament!"
(To die-hard DT fans, Akuma and Amakusa first met up in Round 2 of Dream Tournament III.)
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Jeff "Deuce" Nussbaum Mike "Wraith" Pureka "Jolly Green" Jason Wright
deuce@scsn.net mpureka@wesleyan.edu jasondw@hargray.com
(
geocities.com/soho/lofts) (
geocities.com/soho)