Well,

The action's started off strong and it's about to get a whole lot 
hotter.

The Flashman

May The Spirit Preserve You!
__________________________

			THE FFML ROYAL RUMBLE:
			      MATCH 2:
			    RAX/TRIDENT
				VS
			    JAGO/COMBO
			  (Fatality Match)

	As Sakura and Dan continued to celebrate their victory with their
fans, in the locker room, an important meeting was taking place.  
"Are
you SURE about this," the man in the shadows asked, "I'll do it, but 
do
you think I can handle something like this?"

	Flashman shrugged and replied, "I know that this match is going
to be a bit... extreme."

	"A BIT?!?"

	"Don't WORRY.  First of all, you've got the power to keep them
in line.  Second, I trust you.  Third, you said it would be fun..."

	"I meant refing a NORMAL match would be fun.  This however..."

	"Look, I need SOMEBODY.  That Ref 'O Matic machine I bought to
lay down the law for that first match... computer bites."

	The being groaned, "Did you HAVE to say that?"

	After finally going down the aisle, Sakura and Dan waved one last
time to the crowd, before dissapearing through the curtains.

	Meanwhile, reporter Zen had grabbed a microphone and headed
for the seats near the ring, seeing someone he wanted to interview.

	"Zen is pumped," he said, "this evening has already started
with a bang and Zen is ready for more.  However, Zen has just seen
someone that Zen wants to talk to."

	Zen indicated the two people behind him as he continued,
"Joining Zen right now are Armor King and one of the Dirty.. err...
Lovely Angels; Kei.  Can you tell Zen why you have come?"

	"Well," Kei replied, "I just came here to relax and WATCH a
bunch of crazy fights instead of taking part in one."

	"Zen would like to know as well... what are you doing here Armor
King?"

	Armor King looked down at the ground for a second before
answering, "We're on a date Senor Zen."

	Kei took over as she said, "Let's just say that I like jaguars."

	"AH!  Zen understands," he said as he grinned, making Armor
King sink lower into his seat, "it's a case of animal magnetism.
Zen would also like to know where your partner; Yuri, might be."

	"Well a few days ago, she met this guy named Striker, who she
thought was really cute," Kei grinned devilishly, "Yuri always did 
have
a thing for cops."

	Zen, still grinning lecherously, turned back to the camera and
said, "This is Zen, turning it back over to you White Wolf and Tybalt.

The next fight is about to start and Zen can't wait."

	Flashman walked down the isle, his suit spotless once more, and
grabbed the mike.  He exclaimed to the crowd, "Well now.  How's THAT
for a first match?"

	The crowd yelled in approval and then as the song "The Lyin King"
began to play, Flashman cleared his throat and announced, "This next
contest is the Awesome Victory/Vendetta match.  The rules are as 
follows.
The only way to win the match is for one member of a team to perform 
a
Fatality or Vendetta on one of the members of the opposing team.

	"Introducing first, making his way to the ring.  One half of the
team representing Killer Instincts.  Here is... TJ Combo!"

	The boxer was surprised by the massively negative reception he
received (although a few scattered cheers could be heard).  He 
entered
the ring and went though forms to loosen up as his music faded to be
replaced by "Turning Japanese".  Jago rushed to the ring and vaulted
over the top rope.

	Now that both KI warriors were in the ring, the crowd began to
chant, "CHEESY!  CHEESY!  CHEESY!  CHEESY!"

	Jago whispered to Combo, "We're not too popular around here, are
we?"

	"Yeah," Combo replied, "The people in the front row in the Sonic
the Hedgehog t-shirts ARE a bit of a dead give away."

	Suddenly, Jagos music cut off and was replaced by RAX shouting,
"OOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!  WHAT A RUSH!!!!"

	The crowd roared as "LoD" blared over the speakers.  RAX walked
down towards the ring, wearing red with black spiked shoulder pads 
over
his already impressive, half human, half cyborg body.

	As he entered the ring, RAX's music faded away and was quickly
replaced by "Snake."  The audience gave an even louder round of 
cheers
as the Atlantian Bio Warrior; Trident, made his way to the ring.  
When
stepping through the ropes the green scaled, gold bikini briefs 
wearing,
fish like Eternal Champion used the trident that replaced his right
hand to point to his partners shoulder gear and asked, "RAX, why are
you wearing that ridiculous looking... thing?"

	"Simple," RAX replied, "extra intimidation..."

	"I never thought you would NEED extra intimidation."

	"... plus the fans love it."

	"Why is it so important to play up to the people watching the
fights?  In my time, they are only used for deciding if the opponent
lives or dies."

	"Oh liven up," RAX shot back, "in case you haven't noticed, these
people LOVE you.  Return the favor and give them what they want to 
see."

	Trident, curious to see if RAX was telling the truth, thrust his
trident high and was almost knocked off his feet by the reaction of 
the
crowd.  "Hmmm," he thought, "I could get used to this..."

	Everyone was surprised when "Diesel Blues" blared over the
speakers.  "And now," Flashman said, by way of explanation, "I would
like to introduce the special referee for the rest of this evening.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank him from taking
time out from his busy sceadual to do this for us.

	"From The FFML, here is... TEKKA KNIGHT WARHAMMER!!!!"

	Warhammer smiled at the people in the audience as he clanked
down the aisle in his 300+ lbs. armor, realizing that this was a 
golden
opportunity to get more people to read his works, if he did a good 
job
here tonight.  He entered the ring and gathered the four fighters
around him.  He looked at them slowly and carefully as he said, "I 
want
to get something straight right off the bat.  You WILL follow the 
rules
of this match.  If I see you try ANYTHING or even THINK of trying
anything underhanded, I will....

	"You'll what," Combo sneered, "Disqualify us?"

	Trident glared at him as he said, "Must as I detest agreeing
with this piece of trash, I must say that a disqualification would 
ruin
the point of this match."

	"No," Warhammer replied menacingly as he pulled out a gigantic
war hammer that put anything Akane could have come up with to shame,
"I'll use THIS!  Got me?"

	All four fighters stopped staring at the weapon long enough to
nod.  "Good," Warhammer replied as he put the hammer away, satisfied 
for
the moment, "Now, go to your corners, choose who will start and come
out fighting."

	RAX removed his shoulder pads and without looking, threw them
away...

	...where it landed right on the head of Armor King.  "OW,"
the masked wrestler exclaimed, "watch it Senor!"

	"Calm down," Kei said as she placed an arm in front of her
date, "it was an accident."

	"Alright, I will."

	Combo sauntered over and yelled, "Hey A.K.!  You've got a DATE?"

	Armor King looked up and snarled, "What's it to you Chico?"

	Combo snickered, "I figured if you ever went out with anyone, it
would have been King... and I ain't talkin about the one from Art of
Fighting."

	The hidden character shot to his feet as, TJ made kissing sounds,
and he roared, "WHY YOU PIECE OF..."

	The rest of A.Kings remark was cut off as Kei grabbed him in a
strangle hold from behind and whispered in his ear, "I came to WATCH 
a
fight.  Not take part in one for once," then she tightened her grip,
"GET ME?!"

	"Yes dear," Armor King answered meekly as he sat back down.

	Combos laughter only lasted until RAX leveled him with a jumping
side kick to the face.  The big boxer fell and rolled to his feet, 
only
to be hit by the knee of RAX, who had lifted off the ground slightly 
and
blasted forward with his right knee extended, in an attack called 
The
Jet Knee Smash.

	Combo once again stood and this time ducked RAX's kick and
plastered the cyborg with a rushing punch to the face.  Combo 
followed
up with a five-hit combo and RAX fell to the ground.

	The Eternal Champions character rolled backward and rose to his
feet.  He wiped away the small trickle of blood on the side of his
mouth and said, "You call that a five-hit combo...."

	RAX suddenly moved in and shouted, "THRASH 'N' BASH," as he hit
TJ with his own five-hitter.

	"Now THAT'S a five-hit combo," RAX chuckled.

	Combo rose to his feet and made the tag to Jago.  RAX went over
to his corner and asked his partner, "Ya wanna?"

	Trident sighed as he replied, "Save the jests for after the fight.
Just tag me."

	The two teams switched fighters and Jago and Trident slowly
circled each other.  "PLASMA BOLT," Trident yelled as he fired his
ki attack from the trident on his right hand.

	"HIGENWOOGENTA," Jago cried uninteligably, as he released his
own ki attack.

	The two attacks collided and canceled each other out.  Jago
however, had followed his attack in with a flying jump kick and 
Trident
was barely able to block the attack in time.  Jago followed up with 
a
sword swing that Trident dodged by the skin of his teeth.

	Jago moved in to hit a forward snap kick, not seeing that Trident
had a green aura forming around him until it was too late.  "BIO 
STUN
FIELD," Trident cried as Jagos foot connected with the aura, 
freezing
the ninja solid.

	The trident on Tridents hand spun and he slammed it into his
opponents mid section.  The Spinning Trident, did its work and Jago
was knocked out of his stun and into a world of hurt as Trident 
flipped
over and planted his trident into the mat.  "WHIRLPOOL KICK," the 
Bio
Warrior cried as he extended his legs and let the trident spin his
body around.

	Jago was whacked four times by Tridents flailing limbs and the
worshiper of the Tiger God fell back and tagged in Combo once more.
Combo rushed at Trident but the Eternal Champion simply flipped over
again and this time planted his flesh and blood hand as he used his
powerful legs to flip Combo across the ring, right into the waiting 
arms
of RAX, who was about to let go with his Vendetta move.

	It might have worked, if RAX hadn't suddenly found himself
trying to remove Warhammers' hammer (try saying THAT three times 
fast)
from his face.  "Wha... wz that fer," the groggy cyborg kick boxer
asked.

	"I warned you," Warhammer replied, "if you want to perform your
move, you gotta be tagged in."

	"'K," RAX replied as he tried to clear his vision.

	Combo meanwhile was trying to think of a strategy to overcome
Tridents major speed advantage as well as his not inconsiderable
strength.  However, Armor King wasn't letting the opportunity to rub
it in slip by.  "OY, Senor Combo," the one eyed masked wrestler 
taunted,
"You're not laughing now, are you?!"

	Combo looked directly at Armor King and said in a voice just
loud enough for him and the cameras to pick up, "Oh shut up you one
eyed, flea ridden, mongrel s..."

	In the back...

	Hikaru looked around at her fellow Magic Knights as they gasped
at what TJ had said to finish his remark.  Hikaru looked at Fuu and
asked, "Why's everyone so shocked?"

	Fuu looked at her and replied, "Let's just say that our hulking
compatriot just said something very rude about Armor Kings racial
origin."

	Ringside...

	Under his mask, Armor King was turning all different shades
of red, purple and white.  His fist shaking, he looked up at Combo 
and
replied, "I'd rather be what I am, then a trash talking, dishonorable,

back fighting, n....."

	A shot from a laser pistol, aimed at the ceiling, drew everyones
attention to Kei as she brought her side arm down.  When she was 
sure
that both Combo and A.King were looking at her she said, "Now 
gentlemen,
remember this is supposed to be FAMILY entertainment.  I came here 
to
get away from stuff like that.  If I hear EITHER of you using a word
like Mr. Potty Mouth used a few seconds ago, again..." she hefted 
her
blaster as she trailed off menacingly, making both men gulp.

	Combo said quickly, "I think I'll go back to the match now."

	Armor King sat back down and tried to soothe his date by saying,
"Yes dear.  Of course dear.  You're 100% correct and I was wrong dear.
"

	As Combo turned around, he was greeted by RAX kicking him in
the face and saying sarcastically, "So glad that you could give 
little ol'
unimportant me a bit of your precious time, MR. Combo."

	The boxer sucker punched RAX below the belt and growled, "You
got that right."

	As RAX proved that an important part of him was still human,
by writhing in pain on the mat, Combo quickly tagged in Jago.  Jago
shouted, "HIGENTWONGAH!  WHYHENTOOHGA!  MYTENTBLOOGA," as he fired
off three more of his fireball attacks.

	All three struck RAX in the stomach as he arose and sent the
cyborg kick boxer back down on his back again.  RAX got himself to 
his
feet once more, only to be knocked down by Jagos flying spin kick.  
"So
THIS is how a rubber ball feels," RAX thought to himself in disgust 
as
he analyzed his performance so far.

	RAX caught Jago napping, as his wake up Rocket Upper Cut clipped
Jago on the jaw and launched both fighters in the air.  "OUTSTANDING,
"
Shao Khan cried out from his private booth.

	Jago crashed onto his back as RAX landed on his knees, crawling
for his corner and for a tag to Trident.  Combo came into the ring 
and
rushed to cut off RAX but Warhammer was right there to say, "Naughty,

naughty," and to also shorten Combos neck by several inches by way 
of
his massive weapon.

	By this time, the ninja had managed to get to his feet and hit
RAX with a ten hit combo.  "KIIIIIING COMBOOOOOOO," someone in the
stands yelled.

	Jago grabbed RAX in a waist lock, preventing the Eternal
Champion from making the tag.  RAX, in desperation raised his arms
skyward and cried, "TURBINE!"

	RAX spun like a top and Jago was thrown clear across the ring.
RAX fell to his knees, the move completely dizzying him.  He lashed 
out
blindly and he let out his pent up breath as he felt a cold scaly 
hand
slap on his.

	Trident smiled as the crowd went wild.  Trident went back into
the fight like a man... err, bio warrior on a mission from God.  He
grabbed the charging Jago in his leg throw and did the same for 
Combo
as he too tried to attack Trident.

	Trident once again performed his Whirlpool Kick and hit both
Killer Instinctites at the same time.  A yellow glow enveloped 
Trident
and he yelled, "REPULSER FIELD!"

	Both Intincters were blown to opposite corners of the ring as
a recovered RAX reentered and began to fight against the illegal 
boxer.
As they did so, Warhammer started to move in to bash the both of them.


	That was when things REALLY went haywire and it started when
Orchid sauntered down to ringside.

	The female KIer walked up the steps and while Warhammer was
busy dispensing justice to RAX and Combo, she unbuttoned her shirt
and gave Trident, who was pretty much beating Jago into mush, both
barrels. (Pun intended.)

	Almost all the males in the building in front of Orchid passed
out, blood fountaning from their noses.  Trident actually seemed
unaffected as he looked at Orchids... weapons.  Orchids mouth hung 
open
as she said, "Why haven't you passed out?"

	Trident replied innocently, "Why would those things make me pass
out?"

	Orchid would have replied, except she was struck from behind by
the Eternal Champion named Shadow.  The two female ninjas began to
cat fight and that was the catalyst, as the rest of both the Killer
Instincts and the Eternal Champions crew came from the locker room
and started an all out brawl.

	"Ugh," Slash the caveman said to the Spanish broadcasting team,
"give."

	With that, the man from 50,000 BC picked up their table and
brought it down on the head of Riptor, breaking it and giving the
dinosaur a severe migraine.  Spinal and Xaviar traded sword and 
staff
blows, while Blade and Glacius locked up in a test of strength.  The
Eternal Champion himself blazed around the slow, yet strong, Eyedol,
dizzying the larger boss character.

	Warhammer was swinging left and right, hitting whoever came into
his range.  "Warhammer looks worried," White Wolf commented, "and 
for
good reason.  There are too many bodies and too much raw hatred in 
the
ring.  All it will take is one spark that could make the situation
grow even worse."

	It was fitting that Cinder would be the one that set things in
motion.  The criminal turned mutant fired his burning attack and 
blasted
Jetta Maxx in the stomach, blasting a hole straight through.  "JETTA,
"
Larcen cried in alarm.

	The ex-cat burglar scooped up the Russian acrobat into his arms.
All action paused as they watched the drama unfold before them.  
Larcen
had made it quite clear how he felt about her.  Larcens trench coat 
was
soaked by Jettas life essence as he said, "Jetta... hang on... I'll
get you to..."

	"No," Jetta rasped, "too la..." she died.

	Dead silence filled the arena.  Larcen rose to his feet and
glared at Cinder.  Before anyone knew what was happening, Larcen 
attacked
Cinder with a viciousness that no one had ever seen from him before.
The fire covered fighter was caught flat footed and was no match for 
the
infuriated ex-cat burglar.  It ended when Larcen pulled out his
grappling hook and line.  He jumped over Cinder and wrapped the line
around the fire warriors neck.  Larcen then jumped over the top rope
and hung Cinder until his flames winked out and his legs stopped 
kicking.

	Once again, silence reigned as the Eternal Champions and the
Killer Instincters stood shock still.  Whispers escaped the lips of
the fighters.

	"My god... Jetta-chan..."
	"He iced Cinder..."
	"A noble woman... gone."
	"My GoOd FrIeNd..."

	Combo spoke aloud for the KI crew, "KILL'EM ALL!"

	"CHAMPIONS TO ME," the Eternal Champion called as his fighters
gathered around him.

	The fight began again, this time much more viciously then
before.  Trident and Combo spilled out of the ring and to the floor,
fighting close by where Armor King and Kei were sitting.

	Meanwhile, Flashman watched the proceedings and sighed.  He
lifted up a headset and whispered into it, "Get OUT of there 'Hammer.

I'm gonna clean house."

	Warhammer, having been briefed on the security precautions
before hand, quickly complied as Flashman picked up a remote control 
that
was labeled, "IN CASE THE KI/EC MATCH GETS OUT OF HAND" and stabbed 
down
viciously on the big red button in the middle.  The next thing the 
crowd
knew, a huge blast shield rose in front of them as the ring exploded 
with
thermonucular force, blowing up all the Killer Instincters and 
Eternal
Champions.  Except for Trident and Combo of course.

	The blast shield lowered and as the crowd tried to see through
the smoke, Combo felt a tap on his shoulder and spun to see Armor 
King
standing behind him.  The Tekken fighter looked at the boxer and said,

"Time to shut your big mouth for good Chico," before jumping 
straight
up and giving a Frankensteiner to TJ.

	Hoping no one, particularly a certain red head, had seen him,
Armor King leaped back over the railing and into the crowd.

	As Combo groggily rose to his feet, he saw a blurry green shape
walk out of the haze.  "S.. so... yer aliv' too," he rasped.

	Trident nodded and replied as his trident began to spin, "The
explosion seems to have injured you.  Very well... THIS ENDS NOW!"

	Trident stabbed forward and TJ felt a searing pain in his chest.

	Then he felt nothing more.

	The smoke finally cleared and everyone saw Trident, with the
trident that replaced his right hand deep inside the chest of his foe,

raise Combo over his head and put his tridents spin into overdrive.
Combo was spun so fast that his body flew apart in a bloody shower 
that
sprinkled the ruined ring and the area around it.

	"Snake" began to play again as Warhammer walked over to Trident
and raised the bio warriors left arm.

	Flashman picked up the microphone and said, "The win..." he
stopped.  Winner just didn't sound right, "The SURVIVOR of this
match... TRIDENT!!!"

	In the crowd, Kei turned to her date and said sarcastically,
"Thank you for completely embarasing me!"

	"*Que?," Armor King replied, trying to sound inoccent, "I didn't
do..."
(*= What?)

	"Yeah right," Kei shot back, "I heard you get out of your seat
AND I heard what you said to Combo.  You can enjoy the rest of this
evening yourself!  GOOD BYE!"

	"But... darling... Senorita... my reason for breathing..." Armor
King groveled as he followed the Lovely Angel out of the arena.

	Zen walked over to where Trident was hesitantly trading high
fives with members of the audience and letting them run their hands
over his trident.  "This is Zen," Zen began, "talking with the only
participant of this contest still breathing.  Trident, if you don't
mind..."

	Trident turned to him and replied, "I do not."

	Zen nodded and continued, "It seems to Zen, that the loss of
your friends has not affected you at all.  Can you explain?"

	"Yes," the Atlantian bio warrior replied, "the one running this
contest... his name escapes me, mentioned something about 'Dragon 
Balls'."

	"Ah ha, Zen understands.  Also, why are you here?  This was
supposed to be an Animate event with one or two video fighters 
making
guest appearances, Zen is curious as to why this match was even 
signed."

	Trident reached into his briefs, pulled out a piece of paper,
glanced it over and replied, "I have something I was supposed to 
read
after the fight.

	"Let it be known that soon, we Eternal Champions shall be
part of a cross over story with Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon.

	"It will be released after the completion (or sooner) of a
story called 'TRIO'."

	"Sounds interesting, Zen is looking forward to it."

	Zen turned back to the camera and said, "While we wait for
the ring to be repaired, we shall go to several interviews that Zen
performed earlier today with some of the participants of the Royal
Rumble."

	From his position at ring side, Warhammer thought, "Sheesh.
What a way to run a rail road.  I wonder what ELSE can happen tonight.
.."

SURVIVOR: Trident

NEXT: Interviews