Castle Maximov
"Master, do you really think this is the best idea?" Alexandra purred. "You nearly died last time..." She lay lazily, bonelessly, across the ancient four-poster bed.
Demitri scowled at his servant from where he stood, reading the letter that had arrived the previous day. "Your opinion means little to me, wench. Remain still. I did not give you immortality by my side for your conversational talents."
Alexandra made a little indignant huff, and rolled over, facing away from him. The other women -- Simone, Maria, and Teresa -- watched him move with half-lidded eyes, but he knew they agreed with Alexandra. He never should have killed his last group of servants, Demitri mused. There was a certain knack to creating properly obedient maidens, and he hadn't had the time in this last year to take the rough edges off of this group.
"You may stop looking at me that way," he hissed. "I am fully aware of the consequences that may befall me."
"Then why attend this event, master?" Simone asked quietly.
Demitri glared at her with such intensity that she scrambled away from him. "If I go to this tourney, I may die. But I will die on my own terms, and I will die with pride. Demitri Maximov does not hide in the shadows." He turned back to the letter, and perused the list of the other competitors. His eyes widened. "It would also seem that there is opportunity to be found here.
"Pack my bags. I leave at sunset." He strode out of the room to his library. He had a great deal of work to do before he left for the Rumble.
The Cafe Illusion, Southtown
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Robert, and Yuri, in holy matrimony..."
"He's squirming!" Andy Bogard whispered with glee.
"You shouldn't talk, Bogard." Joe Higashi grinned at Andy.
Mai Shiranui poked her eternal fiancee hard in the ribs. "So when are we setting a date, Andy?" Andy immediately clammed up, as Joe barely held back a peal of laughter.
Terry Bogard tuned both of them out and turned back to the priest. Blue Mary, next to him, had leaned her head on his shoulder in a way he wasn't sure how to feel about, but didn't mind at all. Andy was right, though; Robert Garcia, standing in front of the priest with Yuri by his side, was definitely ill at ease. He'd adjusted his collar six times in twenty seconds, and was twitching madly. Terry hid a slight grin.
"...do you, Robert, take Yuri to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"...um..."
"Say yes, you dope!" Ryo Sakazaki, Robert's best man, hissed.
"...um... I do..." Robert managed to get out.
"And do you, Yuri, take Robert to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do."
"You may now--"
Yuri knocked Robert flat on his back and kissed him rather thoroughly. Takuma stepped forward to separate them, but realized he had no right to anymore; slowly, he stepped backward. smiling sadly. As rice showered down on the couple, the priest, flustered, closed his Bible and tactfully withdrew.
Afterward, at the reception, Terry, Robert, Andy, Joe, and Ryo stood next to the bar, talking quietly. Across the room, Mary and Mai were fussing over Yuri the way single women do over new brides; a consensus had been reached among the men that such fussing had to be part of a woman's genetic makeup.
"So, where are you guys going for your honeymoon?" Andy asked.
Robert grinned. "Get this." He pulled a pair of brochures from his jacket pocket and handed them around. "Caribbean cruise. We'll be gone for two weeks. Folding chairs, sun, swimming pool, little drinks with umbrellas in them that taste like shampoo -- the whole nine yards."
"And my father isn't there," Ryo added.
"That's the best part! No offense, Ryo."
"None taken."
Terry raised an eyebrow as he paged through the flier. "Wow. You didn't spare any expense, did you?"
"None whatsoever. I mean, sure, it's my family's money, but still, nothing but the best, right?"
"I can see how you'd want that, yeah--" Andy began. However, a clatter from the main doors to the Cafe interrupted him.
King hopped out from behind the bar. She looked just the same as she always did, except she wasn't wearing gloves. "D!, who is it?"
Heavy D! came into the main room holding a struggling man above the floor by one arm. "It's either Robert's long-lost twin brother, or it's--"
"I'm Dan Hibiki! Yuri sent me an invitation, you ape! Put me-- Ow!"
Dan got up, rubbing his injured backside, and immediately got hugged by a flying Yuri. "Dan! You made it!"
"I didn't even know she invited him," Robert murmured.
"I didn't even know she could invite him," Ryo added.
"I didn't know you could get pink tuxedos." Joe winced.
"Hey, guys!" Dan said, rolling up. "Did you get your invitations too?"
Terry and Andy nodded, but Robert and Ryo looked blank. "What are you talking about?"
"The third Ultimate Video Rumble." Dan pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "I got this last week; that's how I was able to come, I talked the people there into sending me to this node. I would've been here earlier, but I gave the cab driver the wrong directions; I'm really sorry, Yuri..."
"It's okay, Dan," she said absently, reading his note of invitation. "Robert, why do you think we didn't get one of these?"
"We've been really busy with the wedding. I don't think we've been getting the mail."
Yuri looked up. "It says that it's starting next week. Robert, don't you think--"
"What? Oh. Oh. No. No way. I paid a lot of money for these--"
"Oh, come on, Robert, it'll be fun! We'll get to see all those other fighters again, and who knows? We might even win!"
"Hold on. We nearly got killed last time, Yuri..."
"I'm sure that won't happen two years in a row, Robert."
"It had better bloody well not," Ryo muttered.
"I agree," Dan said.
"Ryo, you aren't thinking of going, are you?" Robert pleaded.
"The KOF tournament is on hiatus right now, Robert. What else will I do while you guys are gone? Laundry?"
"Come on, Robert... for me?" Yuri batted her eyelashes at Robert.
"Oh, man, Yuri, don't give me that look... the cruise... the money... aw, hell." Robert turned away. "Sure, we'll go."
"Oh, thank you, Robert!" Yuri smiled ear-to-ear.
Outworld
"What did you want, Raiden?"
"Shinnok, Quan Chi, and Scorpion have left our dimension. I believe that they have gone to pursue power."
"Actually, I think they went to the Ultimate Video Rumble. Kai, Sub-Zero, and I received invitations as well."
The thunder god's eyes glowed briefly with power. "I meant what I said. I know of others who shall be attending the same tournament, for similar purposes. There are tremendous powers at work, Liu Kang, and Shinnok seeks to profit from them."
Kang bowed his head, admitting his mistake, and raised it again. "What do you need me to do?"
"Take Kai and, if he will listen, Sub-Zero, and attend the Video Rumble. Fujin, Sonya, and I are more than capable of keeping Reiko's armies in check while you are gone. Find out what Shinnok desires there and stop him from getting it."
"Not a problem."
Shadoloo Headquarters, Thailand
"Sir, I have that information you wanted."
"Report, Lieutenant."
"It has been confirmed by our agents at the MVTN; Maximov will be competing in the Third Annual Video Rumble."
"Excellent." Bison stood, his eyes glowing their familiar otherworldly neon shade. A small box was in his hand. "Gather the troops to march, Lieutenant. We leave immediately."
"All of them, sir?" The lieutenant was alarmed.
"All of them." Bison leveled a glare at his underling that would have bored a hole through steel. "I do not go halfway in matters of revenge, Lieutenant."
He swallowed. "Yes, sir."
San Franscisco, California (Masters Residence)
"What's the Ultimate Video Rumble?"
"It's just a tournament, Sean," Ken told his student. "They hold it every year or so. We get together with a bunch of people from other dimensions and eras and whatnot and kick their asses. It's usually a pretty fun time."
"Cool! Sign me up!"
"You needn't worry," Ryu said, scrutinizing the letter that had arrived in Ken's mailbox. "This says that all the current participants in the Street Fighter tournament are invited, as usual. Thank you for calling me, Ken."
"No problem, Ryu, but we have got to get you a cell phone or something. You're a hard man to reach; that's probably why I got your invitation."
Ryu was about to ask Ken what a 'cell phone' was when another item on the letter reached his attention. "...Chun Li will be attending."
"Chun, hm?" Ken took the letter. "Hey, so will Zangief. Dhalsim... Sakura, too... and Dan. Good lord. I can't believe they keep asking him--wait a minute." Ken realized that Ryu was staring off into space, and looked at him. "Just how long has it been since you've spoken to Chun Li?"
"Not since the second Street Fighter tournament ended. I haven't seen her since that last night in Thailand." Ryu's eyes were distant.
Ken stared at Ryu with his jaw hanging open. "Man, you are so dead."
Royal Castle, Latveria
Doom studied the small box that had been sent to him. Obviously, it was some kind of dimensional transport device; Doom made a note to disassemble it and see what powered it as soon as possible.
"Why," he mused aloud, for the benefit of the recording devices in his armor, "would Doom choose to attend a mere sporting event as a competitor? All already know of Doom's power; more to the point, why should Doom reduce himself to such brawling?"
He strode into his main laboratory and consulted his notes. "The answer is simple. After my experiences last year at this tournament, I have made headway into my experiments with tapping the personal powers of superhuman beings. I had hoped to be able to lure Thanos, or perhaps any of the small handful of suitable mutated humans--Johnny Storm, perhaps, or the X-Man known as Phoenix--into my lair so that I might utilize them, but this invitation opens another option.
"Kyo Kusanagi.
"A boy with a link to the most primal energies Doom has ever seen, sufficient to open a conduit for divine energy. Inexhaustible in small amounts, but will go insane if too much is channeled at one time. Undoubtedly, he has learned much over the past year from his previous mistakes, but, barring his death, it is fair to theorize that he will retain his power.
"Doom goes, then, to this Rumble to seek Kusanagi. If he may be persuaded to assist, then Doom will have sufficient raw power for whatever undertaking he should see fit. If he may not, then he must, regrettably, be taken by force.
"Appendix: other individuals, such as Thanos, will also attend this event, although for what reasons, even I do not know. This means, of course, that the Infinity Gems will also be present. However, since Eternity's decree that the Gems will no longer work together, Doom need not fear the Titan's power. He wields great power, but not true omnipotence.
As well, it has reached my attention that Hell is well-represented at this event; given Doom's actions in the past, especially against the individual entity known, vulgarly, as the "Dark Guy", I must remain on my guard. Alarmingly, there appear to be at least two artifacts of great power held by other competitors in this tournament; both draw upon demonic sources for their abilities. Does this reflect mere coincidence, or a conspiracy aimed at the heart of Doom?
"Only time will tell.
"I leave now for the dimension in which this 'Rumble' is held. A Doombot shall serve to keep my enemies at bay until my return.
"Close record 117-A."
Shimabara
The grimoires were correct, Amakusa noted. Prophecies were notoriously unreliable, but this one, at least, appeared sound. Fortunately, he had experience to back this one up.
In the twentieth century, there would be born several men and women of exceptional power, focuses of the mystical force known as, depending on the prophet, the "Source", or "Orochi". While the names weren't given, some of the signs were, and Amakusa remembered who he had seen these in. They would be attending this event, as they had the Dream Tournaments. He was sure of it.
"Come, Zankuro," the wizard said.
Zankuro stood, his eyes filled with hatred. Amakusa's control over him was a fragile thing, but it held. For the moment. "What do you want, wizard?"
"We are attending the Ultimate Video Rumble. We go to gain power. Utopia, and unity, will yet be mine."
A campsite outside Castle Ravenloft
"What strange magic is this?"
"It's not that strange, Luthor. According to this letter Red Cloud translated, we press this thing here, and we'll be transported someplace else. We've done that before quite a few times."
"But for what purpose?"
"Some kind of tournament, apparently," Ignatius said, scrutinizing the letter.
"A tourney? Wonderful! I was quite the old hand with a lance back in the day...I remember when I won the field against Azoun himself. There was a match for you..." The paladin's eyes grew distant.
"Great job, half-pint. The lad won't shut up for weeks."
"No problem, Torgo, glad I could help. How about the rest of you? Up for a little vacation?"
"Won't we just wind up back in the Mists again?" Shinesta asked.
"According to this letter, no," Red Cloud replied. "It is powerful enough to transport us beyond the Mists, but only for a short time... a week, perhaps two, no more."
Silence greeted this revelation.
"A week out of Ravenloft," Xenobia said aloud.
"Without Strahd breathing down our necks," Darius added.
"Actual sunlight," Erland breathed.
They looked at each other, and all pressed the button almost simultaneously.
Citadel of Death
"Why go to a tournament such as this, Master?" Mephisto groveled.
"Because," Thanos responded, "it amuses me to do so. Question not my motives, devil."
"Of course not, Master. But why risk yourself in such a way?"
"There is no risk. Many of Warlock's foolish Earther allies will, no doubt, follow me to this tournament. This will allow me to eliminate them on my own terms, without awaiting one of them to dispose of the others for me. Are you done with your foolish questions, devil?"
"Your wisdom astounds me, Master." But your pride will prove your downfall one day, Mephisto mused to himself.
Geese Towers, Southtown
"Gentlemen, thank you for coming," Geese began from behind his desk. Billy Kane stood to his left. Mr. Big and Wolfgang Krauser were seated in chairs across from him; clustered behind Big were his men--John Crowley, Mickey Rogers, Jack Turner, and Eiji Kisaragi. Laurence Blood leaned against the wall near the door, next to Axel Hawk. Ryuji Yamazaki, his homicidal impulses curbed for the moment by the twenty thousand dollars Geese had given him, was just in front of the door. "As you know, the Ultimate Video Rumble tournament is here again, and a few of us have been invited to attend."
"I received no such invitation," Eiji said.
"Nor did I," Blood added.
"Me neither," Hawk chimed in. Big's men murmured agreement.
"You'll be paid for your time," Geese replied. "I intend to compete in this tournament, and I'm willing to offer those of you who were not invited a substantial fee for coming with me."
"What's the plan, Geese?" Mr. Big said around his cigar.
"Thought you'd never ask. Billy, the lights?" The room went dark, and a television monitor revealed itself, showing a succession of images. "What you see there, gentlemen, is an artifact called the Infinity Gauntlet. It's currently controlled by some alien from another node. His name is Thanos. He doesn't know it, but he's just taking care of it for me.
"That is the Mace of Tanis. It, in its own way, is as powerful an artifact as the Gauntlet. A 'demon' called Asmodeus has it right now, but not for much longer.
"This swords is known as Soul Edge, wielded by a pirate named Cervantes. It's as good as mine.
"And, of course, lest I forget, we have here Iori Yagami. Calm down, Billy; I'm interested in his powers, no more, no less. These, gentlemen, are opportunities knocking. They will all be held by figures who are attending the Third Ultimate Video Rumble. Individually, they're powerful. As a group... well, cancel Christmas, because it won't be near as good as what we'll have."
"What's in it for us, Geese?" Krauser demanded.
"There's more than enough power there for everyone, Wolfgang... don't be so suspicious. Interested, gentlemen?"
Big tapped his cigar into an ashtray. "Why not. It beats sitting around and watching game shows, right, boys?"
"You got it, Mr. Big," Turner replied.
"I will follow you, Howard," Eiji said. For now, he added mentally.
"As will I," Blood said.
Krauser cracked his knuckles. "When do we start?"
Geese opened the drawer of his desk, and pulled out the portal box. "Right now. I hope you've packed."
A dusty road, 17th Century Japan
"Is everyone ready?" Jubei Yagyu asked. For some reason, he mused, they all always seemed to meet at this same road before they left. He wondered why that was.
"kaff -- As... I'll... ever be..."
"C'mon, Poppy! Rimururu, Nakoruru, are you still coming?"
"Of course, Galford. Do slow down."
"You're sure Kazuki will be there?" Sogetsu asked quietly.
"This letter says he was invited," Jubei responded.
"Then I'm in. Where are we going?"
"A tournament. Get ready; it's a little strange."
"kaff ... than... a little..." Ukyo said derisively.
Europe, Arabia, and Japan
The Council of Seven still stood, but not for lack of trying. Across the land, warriors fought to overthrow their cruel tyranny, alone or in armies. Where they were found, they were crushed whenever possible. Anarchy reigned supreme in these days; no man, woman, or child was immune to the crushing hand of war.
Several fighters and sorcerers stood out from the rest, however. These were the most famous foes or allies of the Council of Seven, and their deeds would either doom or exalt the world. They all quested, fighting both each other and time, to find the one artifact that would enable them to overthrow the Council--the Mace of Tanis, held by the demon Asmodeus.
These warriors were all visited in the middle of the night, despite their best attempts to remain hidden. Each one was given a small box and a letter of invitation.
They had each been invited to participate in a fighting tournament called the "Ultimate Video Rumble", held far beyond this place and time.
Asmodeus, the letters said, would be there.
The invitations were accepted.
The Dark Dimension
"Why are weee going to thizzz tournament, Jedah?" Q-Bee inquired.
"There is something there we may use to accomplish my goals," Jedah responded curtly. Blood drizzled slowly down his arms. "An artifact, known to the elders of the Dark Dimension centuries ago before a schism stole it away."
"Schizzzzm? What zzzort of schizzzm?"
"The splitting of hell along the dimensions. It's very complicated. Must you nag so, woman? Your voice..." Jedah turned around, and Q-Bee saw why blood had been flowing. "...hurts my ears." Jedah chuckled slowly as he replaced them on the sides of his head.
Q-Bee swallowed hard and looked away. She would never know how she had managed to ally herself with this madman.
"But I can get it," Jedah continued. "If I can get it, I can set it all right again. It'll be easy." He held up a small box. "Come now. We shall make our stand."
Avengers Mansion
"Doom's up to something," the Hulk growled.
"Doom is always up to something," Captain America calmly responded. "The question is, does it have anything to do with Magneto, or Juggernaut, or Thanos, or Apocalypse, or, for that matter, Blackheart or Shuma-Gorath? We can't afford to let them out of our sight."
"Agreed," Cyclops said. He and the X-Men had been asked to Avengers Mansion by Captain America; so had Spider-Man and the Hulk, despite their "freelance" status. "Did you have some kind of plan about this?"
"Myself, the Hulk, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Spider-Man, Storm, and Iron Man will follow them to this 'Rumble'. The rest of you will remain behind to take care of Magneto's Acolytes, as well as whatever plans Thanos might have left in his absence."
Cyclops nodded. "That seems fair. How are you getting there?"
"I had Reed Richards rig these up for me." Captain America pulled a small box with a prominent red button from his belt. "These will home in on the teleportation coordinates Doom used, and, hopefully, take us to the same dimension he went to. We'll leave right now, unless there's something I need to know."
"Nothing I can think of. Good luck, Captain."
The two heroes shook hands, and Captain America led his strike team into the next room over.
"That was smooth, flag," Wolverine muttered, lighting a cigar.
"What was, Logan?"
"Ya glossed over the fact that none of them were invited pretty nicely. I gotta give you credit."
"Yes, well..."
"Why were we invited, and no one else?" Spider-Man asked. "You'd think they'd want more than just us."
"They recognize quality, sugah." Rogue grinned.
"Well, dere's no real reason to upset the others, now is dere, ami? They'd want to come along, and we might jus' want to be a li'l more subtle than that."
"I was there last year, Cajun. We might have to do more scrappin' than we'd like."
"We're going there to fight, Logan. That's a given. But don't lose sight of the real reasons." Wolverine gave Captain America a sideways glare. "Are we ready?" Receiving a number of nods, Captain America pressed the button on his box. However, as he did so, no one noticed Wolverine's gesture, or the two shadows that detached themselves from the room's far corner, and followed the heroes into the gate.