Hunter surveyed "his" control booth as he prepared to leave. According to his tests, everything was working almost flawlessly. He felt confident that the MVFC would run well in his absence. It always seemed that meetings with the Network came at just the right time to screw up his schedule. With Samantha Cooke gone, Chris Wolvie off covering the late-breaking Time Crisis crisis (Hunter thought about that for a moment) for the MVTN, and Jessica Sanders at a wedding, Hunter was left with none of his regular staff to broadcast the MVFC for the week.

  This was why there were two new people in the booth.

  Kevin Kanda, a.k.a. Emerald, dressed in a suit and tie, seemed relaxed, if a bit anxious for Hunter to leave so they could begin. Hunter knew he was dependable; he'd done an impressive job at MVFC Madness.

  The second favor he'd had to call in worried him a little more. Slouching against the wall next to the door, dressed in his usual "uniform" of jeans, collarless shirt, and black trenchcoat, Thomas "Wanderer" Wilde didn't present much of a professional image. To tell the truth, he looked more like a pickpocket than anything else. Still, Hunter hadn't had much of a choice, and Wanderer did, at least, have tournament experience.

  He sighed. "So both of you know what you're doing, right?"

  Emerald nodded. "Of course."

  "Yup. This isn't too different from our setup, really." Wanderer inspected a data bank idly.

  " I'm trusting you both not to do anything that'll get us all in trouble this week."

  "Relax, Hunter." Wanderer calmly hooked a chair over to him and sat down. "We're both professionals. You haven't a thing to worry about."

  "I hope you're right." Hunter picked up his coat and walked out the door.

  Emerald, sitting down, glanced at Wanderer. "You actually know what you're doing?"

  Wanderer grinned. "Of course not. Let's get this show on the road."

 *MVFC Arena*

*NOW ENTERING THE MULTIVERSE VIDEO FIGHTERS' COUNCIL ARENA, OMEGA RED, REPRESENTING X-MEN. FIGHTING DISCIPLINE: TENTACULAR COMBAT. WIN STATUS: 1!*

  As the noted psychopathic Russian entered the arena, he noted Wolverine and Ukyo Tachibana watching from the stands. Instantly, he flew into a rage, forgot his form, and settled for shredding everything he could reach with his tentacles into very small pieces.

  "After I'm done ripping apart this clown they have for me, Logan, YOU'RE NEXT! I'M GOING TO TEAR YOUR HEART OUT!"

  Wolverine extended his claws and growled. "You touch me in a dream, Arkady, you better wake up and apologize!"

  Wanderer, the Man With The Voice (tm) in this instance, looked down. "Who is Omega fighting today anywa--oboy." He immediately put earplugs in.

 *NOW ENTERING THE MULTIVERSE VIDEO FIGHTERS' COUNCIL ARENA, HAOHMARU, REPRESENTING SAMURAI SHODOWN. FIGHTING DISCIPLINE: GAIRYU ISLAND SAMURAI. WIN STATUS: 9!*

  "HO! THE CROWDS HAVE COME OUT TODAY TO SEE ME, THAT IS I, THE LEGENDARY HAOHMARU, THRASH THE STUFFING OUT OF THE NOTABLY UNLEGENDARY PERSONAGE OF SOMEONE CALLED 'OMEGA RED'! I FIND HIS NAME FITTING, FOR TRULY, HIS NAME IS THE END OF THE GREEK ALPHABET (I KNOW THIS, BECAUSE IT IS THE WAY OF A LEGEND TO BE INTELLIGENT AND WELL-READ--HO! A PUN! I HAVE INADVERTENTLY EXERCISED MY LEGENDARY SENSE OF HUMOR!), AND TODAY WILL BE THE END OF HIS CAREER IN THIS HUMBLE TOURNAMENT, FOR HE, PRIOR TO THIS DAY, HAS SUFFERED HUMILATING DEFEATS AT THE HANDS OF JUGGERNAUT (WHO, TRULY, IS A MASSIVE FIGHTER, AND SKILLED AT USING HIS BULK, BUT FOUND HIMSELF TASTING THE COPPERY WINE OF DEFEAT AT MY HANDS THE LAST TIME I MET HIM INSIDE THE 'BATTLEDOME') AND IBUKI (THE YOUNG NINJA WHO HAS NOT BEEN AROUND LONG ENOUGH TO ACCUMULATE MANY LEGENDS EVEN THOUGH THE LEGENDARY HAOHMARU (THAT IS ME, BY THE WAY) WAS A LEGEND BY THE TIME HE WAS FOURTEEN)! FOR THAT IS THE WARRIOR'S WAY, THE SAMURAI'S WAY, THE COWBOY WAY..."

  This speech was punctuated by an impressive display of swordsmanship. Haohmaru's blade cut through several practice dummies without losing speed, neatly decapitating or disemboweling them.

  Kuroko stepped between the fighters. "Fighters, face me. Bow!" he ordered. Haohmaru paid the referee the respect he deserved, but Omega Red's eyes never left Wolverine. "Fighters, face each other. Bow!" As Haohmaru bowed, Omega finally turned away from Logan, and fixed upon the samurai. His tentacles twitched involuntarily.

  "Fighters, to the battle node!"

Osaka, Japan--King of Fighters Universe

  The two fighters materialized, and as they did so, a woman walked away from between them, showing a placard that said "Round 1" up for the gathered crowd, who cheered.

  Then they noticed Omega Red. With a roar, the Russian monster of science spread his arms out wide and swung his tentacles in every direction.

  Suddenly, someone yelled, "It's the OVERFIEND! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!" Without warning, Haohmaru and Omega were alone upon the battleground.

  "HMPH. A PITY; I HAD HOPED THAT I WOULD GET THE CHANCE TO DISPLAY MY LEGENDARY SWORDSMANSHIP BEFORE A CROWD OF YOUNG MODERN JAPANESE! YET YOU FRIGHTEN THEM AWAY! ARE YOU READY TO MEET YOUR MAKER, OVERLY RUDE CREATURE OF DARKNESS?" Haohmaru purified his blade with a mouthful of sake and prepared to chastise Omega harshly.

  Omega said nothing, his coils undulating like a thing alive beside him.

 *ROUND 1--FIGHT!*

  "SENPUURETSUZAN!" Haohmaru swung his sword in his old familiar Cyclone Slash technique. The tornado, unfortunately, was dispersed when Omega Red rammed a coil straight through it, wrapping the tentacle around Haohmaru's midsection. Before the ronin could react with more than a startled exclamation, Omega slammed him twice into the ground.

  Omega Red laughed, a sound dredged up from the depths of hell. "You shall fall, like so many others, before me...samurai..." He accented that last word with enough sarcasm to drop a man in his tracks.

  Haohmaru got up quickly. He watched Omega Red's tentacles carefully as he moved forward, jabbing carefully at Omega's chest. The tentacles coiled underneath Omega with startling speed, propelling him forward. He placed his foot underneath Haohmaru's chin and knocked the ronin away once again. As Haohmaru staggered up from that attack, reeling, Omega's coil slid around him once again. There was an unpleasant sucking sensation--

  "Don't even say it," Emerald warned Wanderer.

  "Wasn't planning to."

  --as Omega leeched the very life from Haohmaru's bones, healing the meager damage that Haohmaru had done a moment before. As Haohmaru staggered upward, weakened, he thought of Charlotte, and of her current similarities to this man, an idea came to him.

  As Omega came rushing in to deal more damage, Haohmaru lifted his sword in defiance—then abruptly reversed his hold on the blade, and ran himself through. The ronin fell over on his blade, stone dead.

 *HONORABLE DEATH! WINNER: OMEGA RED! PERFECT!*

  Omega Red was only taken aback for a moment. "He would rather have taken his own life than submit to defeat at my hands...pathetic." He waited for transport back to the Arena, when a familiar voice burst out from behind him, nearly blowing out both of his eardrums.

  "HA! YOU HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO MY LEGENDARY TRICKERY! YOU ARE TRULY A VICTIM OF YOUR OWN DOGLIKE INTELLECT IF YOU THOUGHT THAT I WOULD SUBMIT TO MORE THAN A TEMPORARY DEFEAT TO ONE SUCH AS YOU, FOR I AM THE LEGENDARY HAOHMARU, WHO NEVER GIVES UP AND NEVER SURRENDERS! NOW, AS MY WARRIOR’S RAGE REACHES ITS UTMOST POINT, I SHALL TEACH YOU TO RESPECT YOUR FELLOW FIGHTERS, JUST BEFORE YOUR IGNOMINOUS EXPULSION FROM THIS TOURNAMENT (WHICH IS KIND OF A WASTE, BUT NO ONE EVER SAID THAT EVERYTHING A LEGEND DOES HAS TO MAKE SENSE)!"

  Omega turned around. "Very well, then. Try your best. Just try not to whine too much when you're lying at my feet."

 *ROUND 2--FIGHT!*

  Before Omega could bring his tentacles to bear, Haohmaru dashed forward and raked across his chest with a Shippu Kogetsuzan. It was a devastating attack even normally, but with his POW at its maximum, the blade bit into Omega Red multiple times before sending the mutant skyward. He crashed to the ground, wounded badly.

  Haohmaru came running in a second time. He knew that his power boost would not last much longer, and he intended to put it to use in the best way possible. As Omega recovered, a tentacle shot out towards Haohmaru's legs, and under them; fortunately for Haohmaru, the ronin was no longer on the ground at this point. He turned over in an aerial somersault, perfectly timing an Earthquake Slash to dodge Omega's attack and counter. Omega, who was already occupied, took his blade in the head and pitched over for a second time.

  As Omega Red staggered to his feet, Haohmaru, feeling his Rage desert him, rushed forward into his POWer Special: the Tenha Fujinzan. Omega Red was struck head-on by six consecutive Kogetsuzans, followed by a devastating aerial slash that sent the mutant down to the ground, completely unconscious.

 *WINNER: HAOHMARU! PERFECT!*

  Haohmaru smirked, and threw his sword high into the air, twirling his scabbard before catching his descending blade in it. "AND THAT, MY LESS-THAN-DIRT ADVERSARY, IS HOW A LEGEND CONDUCTS HIS BUSINESS!"

  Omega Red snarled as he got up, already envisioning how the ronin would look with his bones crushed to powder.

 *ROUND 3--FIGHT!*

  Omega Red seethed with anger. As Haohmaru rushed forward to try to get within striking distance, he shouted "OMEGA DESTROYER!" Osaka vanished for both of them, replaced by a rushing field of blue.

  His tentacles flailed madly across the distance between them, striking into Haohmaru's body a few dozen times, lifting him up and slamming him to the concrete. Haohmaru staggered back up and rushed again; this time, he closed the distance between them. Omega Red clutched his body inward for a second Omega Destroyer; Haohmaru Kogetsuzaned him before he could complete the move.

  As Omega reeled back, Haohmaru leaned forward and slashed madly, casually moving into a devastating and intricate fourteen-hit combination, looking as if the display of master swordsmanship was as nothing to him. As the final slash bit into Omega, the ronin began to glow for a second time. The Rage was back, and more impressive for having been gone.

  Omega got to his feet. The only thing keeping him vertical was a picture of Wolverine that floated madly through his skull. If Omega lost here today, there would be no release; the X-Man would not die slowly, as he should, as Omega Red killed his friends and his adopted family in front of his eyes before slowly settling down to pulling the flesh off Wolverine's bones inch by inch; he would die quickly, in the cage at Annihilation, and Omega Red would have to share the kill with Sabretooth.

  This lack of justice made Arkady Rossovich's head swim with rage.

  Slowly, to Omega's eyes, Haohmaru's face began to look like Logan, and Logan was laughing. As Haohmaru wound up to deliver a finishing blow, Arkady drew upon a reserve of strength he hadn't known he possessed, and dashed forward.

  Haohmaru's sword came flashing down, but it never reached Omega Red. Instead, Omega Red slammed the ronin up into the air, Osaka replacing itself with the rushing wave of blue for a second time, breaking into a twelve-hit beatdown that defied the laws of gravity. As Omega slammed Haohmaru away, the battered ronin was skyhooked out of the air with a tentacle, wound up and around, and slammed into the ground with a fierce explosion.

  But Haohmaru got up.

  Omega Red looked upon this with something close to awe. "LOGAN! WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO KILL YOU?!?"

  "HO! I KNOW NOT WHO YOU SPEAK OF, HELL-SPAWNED CREATURE OF THE NIGHT, BUT I, THE LEGENDARY HAOHMARU (WHO, TRUTH BE TOLD, IS SOMEWHAT MIFFED THAT YOU WOULD SEEK TO AGGRAVATE A LEGEND SUCH AS MYSELF BY DELIBERATELY CALLING HIM BY A DIFFERENT NAME), WILL REQUIRE A GREAT DEAL MORE PUNISHMENT THAN YOU ARE CAPABLE OF DEALING OUT, FOR I POSSESS LEGENDARY FORTITUDE AND SKILL!" Haohmaru dashed forward and brought his sword down upon Omega Red as hard as he could. A tentacle surged up to block it, and the clash of metal on metal rang throughout the node. The two men pressed against each other, neither willing to yield, Haohmaru from stubbornness, Omega Red from sheer insanity.

  This kept on for quite a lot of time. Both knew that the clock was drawing close to running out, and both knew that they were more or less equal now.

  Omega Red was the first to break their clash. "I have had ENOUGH! OMEGA DESTROYER!"

  Haohmaru blocked just in time, as tentacles surged all around him. His sword parried them all away, though some came close enough to leave their marks upon his flesh. Haohmaru quietly waited for the storm to die out...

  ...Omega Red ceased moving, certain that that he had to have killed Logan...

  "SENPUURETSUZAN!"

  Omega Red went straight up, and came straight down. He did not get back up.

 *WINNER: HAOHMARU!*

  The mutant slowly rose to his feet, seeing Haohmaru leaning upon his sword and smirking at him, and knew that he had lost. The enormity of this fact hit him, and he began to race forward, hands and tentacles outstretched, intent upon grabbing Haohmaru by the neck and strangling the ronin until his head popped off.

  A beam of white light stopped that ambition cold.

 *OMEGA RED, YOU HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF UNWORTHY FOR COMPETITION! THEREFORE, BY ORDER OF THE MULTIVERSE VIDEO FIGHTERS' COUNCIL, YOU ARE, HEREBY, FORBIDDEN FROM FURTHER PARTICIPATION IN THE TOURNAMENT, SAVE FOR THE CASE OF CHAMPIONSHIP VIOLATIONS! Have a nice day...*

  "LOOOOGAAANNNN!! I WILL KILLL YOUU..." Omega Red was still screaming as the teleport effect faded out.

  Haohmaru sheathed his sword. For once...for the only time...Haohmaru was at a loss for words.

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*TV Control Center*

 Emerald spoke into his mike. "That was one of the most spectacular fights ever seen! Omega Red took Haohmaru to his limits, but Haohmaru gave back as good as he received to take the match and eliminate Omega Red from competition! We'll see whether the ronin faces Hanzo Hattori or Hulk...after this!"