$I started reading this chapter with zero inkling that it was the last
one.  Imagine my surprise and disappointment when it was.  It's been
fun.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In less than half an hour it would all be over.

	$So we start off with a steamy lemon scene between Pink and Snakebite,
I see.

Daring furtive glances around shelves filled to the top with white
towels
and towards the closed door that led outside the women's side of the
fighter's baths, Pink continued her work at the electrical box. She had
to
hurry and set up everything before time ran out. Timing was everything,
and
she still needed a great deal of it.

She did a brief inventory of all the various details that needed to be
in
place in order for the trap to be properly sprung. Currently, a large
billowing cloud of steam was escaping from the open sauna, slowly
filling
the bathing area. It served to form a light fog in the room, covering
everything in a light haze. But it was nowhere near enough yet. Far more
would be needed to mask the presence of the other factors before the
prey
entered the carefully laid trap.

Another of those factors was the electrical box Pink was having only a
modicum of success working on. She fumbled a connection for a moment and
made sparks fly and nearly caused a massive burnout that would have
forced
her to restart the rerouting from scratch. This was delicate work and
the
thick rubber gloves got in the way, but she needed them to protect
herself
from shocks. The electricity that was being rerouted from the box was
for
one person and one person alone, and Pink didn't particularly feel like
sharing in the experience it would deliver.

Suppressing panic at losing so much valuable time in the span of a
heartbeat, Pink diligently went back to work. Months of combat in dog
pits
had taught her the value of keeping calm and being persevering. Had she
not
been patient up to this point? Had she not waited months for a third
opportunity at revenge against the little bitch that had not only
usurped
her rightful place as the arena's main event, but had also harmed Link
twice
using Pink's own traps as the method of inflicting harm? Had she not
followed, no, stalked her prey, learning every detail, every nuance,
every
irritating habit of the thrice-damned girl so that an appropriate method
of
revenge could be instituted? Oh yes, Pink could calm down and prepare
the
trap properly. There was still plenty of time.

	$Shampoo walks in.  "So, Pink, whatcha doing?"
	Pink whirls around in shock and presses up against the box to hide her
work.  "Shampoo!  Noth- uhuhuhuhuhuh..."  *sizzle*

Circuits were tripped and wiring was tampered with. It was times like
this
Pink was grateful for her interest in her uncle's construction business.
Traveling with him to work, and hanging around the various sites and
asking

	$work, hanging around the various sites, and asking

numerous questions of the workmen had taught her much. From carpenters
to
plumbers to electricians, asking pertinent questions as she talked with
them, watching them work, even being allowed to help occasionally, had

	$had all bestowed

bestowed upon Pink enough basic knowledge to construct a simple house,
as
well as how to sabotage support struts and rewire electrical conduits.
If
she had not so desperately wanted to become a fighter, she probably
would
have entered her uncle's business. It would have been a boring, but
secure
life.

	$but secure, life.

By the time the baths were filled with the thick fog of steam pouring
out of
the sauna, Pink had completing the rewiring job. The long whitish cable
that
was attached to the powerbox would conduct the electricity, and with it
being nearly the same color as the floor tile, combined with the mist,
meant
the prey would never know that dangling cord of death was making its
home in
the large main bath until it was far too late. All it would take was a
fatal
pull of a lever courtesy of Pink, and it would all be over.

	$lever, courtesy of Pink, and

Trying to make herself comfortable from her hidden position behind the
bank
of towels, Pink waited patiently for Shampoo to appear. Stalking her
rival
had paid off; Pink probably knew what Shampoo was going to do before the
Amazon did. Any minute now her late night workout would be over, and she
would follow her standard itinerary of changing in the locker room
before
entering the baths. After briefly cleaning herself off, she would enter
the
whirlpool nearest the door, like she always did, and unwind her taut
muscles
after the near inhuman workouts her trainer inflicted on her. Only this
time, she would unwind like never before. Oh, there might be a moment of
tension at first, but once the electricity was finished with its job,
the
next time Shampoo grew tense would be when rigor mortis set in.

Pink could barely restrain her maniacal laughter as she waited for the
end
to come.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With a loud exhalation, Shampoo entered the locker room, twisting her
neck
back and forth in order to work some of the kinks out of it. The
movement
produced small cracking noises. Stretching her arms and legs out went
more

	$The movement...noises. really needs to be reworded or combined with
one of the other sentances.

silently.

Tonight's session had not been that bad; just a standard two and a half
hour
long workout consisting of a regimen of tough, but far from impossible,
exercises designed to maintain her strength and build up her endurance.
Jaddo had no surprises in store for her, like the time he used a remote
to
control the speed of the treadmill she was using (there was little in
life
more annoying than being forced to go from zero to twenty in three
seconds,
then back to zero in the same amount of time. Repeatedly.). Or the time
he
made her think she was growing weak by sabotaging the bench press she
always
used by lowering the numbers printed on the side of the weights (she
never
did find out how much she managed on her last lift, but she was pretty
certain it had to have been between a quarter and half a ton). He had
all
sorts of little 'tricks of the trade' to keep her on her toes, and held
no
reservations about using them. No wonder he had never married. She
doubted
he could comprehend developing anything other than a love/hate
relationship
with anyone he liked.

However, tonight had been an easy work out, and now it was all over. As
she
sat down next to her locker and began to undress, she planned what to do
to
entertain herself this evening. Jaddo was going to be busy in another
meeting with Kiber, which was becoming almost routine. This meeting
would be
the fifth or sixth time they had gotten together to discuss something,
and
without her ever going along. Jaddo assured Shampoo the discussions were
never about her. Actually, her mentor revealed that the talks rarely
seemed
to be about much of anything, and certainly not the sort of thing that a
trainer like him would be useful in. He was becoming increasingly
perplexed
by the odd visits, but continued keeping them, partially for Shampoo's
sake,
and partially because the money he had been given thus far for the tasks
he
had been doing for OMC had been so generous that he felt compelled to do
anything short of jumping through burning hoops for the head of western
operations. Still, he occasionally confided in Shampoo that he was
certain
there was something else going on with Kiber, but nothing he could
explain.
The young Amazon had her own suspicions, but kept them to herself. She
had
no direct proof, but considering the way Kiber looked at Jaddo, and the
unusual generosity, it was good circumstantial evidence that lended
credence
to her theory.

	$Heh, this was funny later.

Pushing thoughts of Jaddo out of her mind, Shampoo was still trying to
decide if she should hang out with Chingmy or eat at Beef's when Link
burst
into the room. That was unfortunate. Shampoo had hoped to be done with
her
clean up before Link finished her work out. It was highly unusual for
someone to be exercising as late as Shampoo did, but on this night Link
had
shown up halfway through Shampoo's regimen and had engaged in a light
workout of her own. For the rest of the night Shampoo had to put up with
nasty looks being shot her way, and returning with glares of her own. At
one
point, Jaddo had made some hissing cat noises at Shampoo. She let him
know
her feelings about the jest by dropping a free weight on his foot. That
ended any further commentary on the matter.

	$Other than his cry of pain, which sounded suspisciously like
'MeeYOWWW!'

A pity nothing had changed since the workout. The evil scowl Link was
directing at Shampoo annoyed her greatly. It was like an itch she
couldn't
scratch. The young warrior was tempted to wipe it from Link's face, but
practicality held her back. Fighting outside the arena was frowned upon,
and
Link had never actually done anything to Shampoo, aside from trying to
strike her dead with a glance.

	$You should really have her think something about how strange it was
that neither of them had ever retaliated for her mistaken attack on
Link.  Either all the rumors about how protective they were of each
other were overrated, or she was a sufficiently intimidating fighter
that they had to content themselves with harsh looks.  Shampoo rather
preferred the latter explaination.

 When was the stupid girl ever going to
forgive her for the case of mistaken identity that ended up knocking
Link
out at Beef's? It was over five months ago, and still her rage was just
as
great, if not greater, than before. Some people just didn't know when to
let
a matter go.

	$Perhaps at the end of this.

Shooting Shampoo the most evil glare of the night, Link proudly
announced,
"I am going to use the baths first. I don't want you coming in there and
disturbing me either, so you're going to have to wait until I'm done."

There was no mistaking that challenge. Shampoo had more than half a mind
to
take her up on the offer and start a fight then and there. Had anyone
else
been present, Shampoo probably would have accepted the challenge and put
Link in her place, but on this night she simply wasn't in the mood. It
would
be easier to allow Link her little victory and wait until she finished
using
the whirlpool. That would allow Shampoo to relax in privacy and comfort
instead of worrying about being drowned. Who knew, perhaps this
'victory'
would get Link to relax a little and back away from her case of
irrational
anger, though Shampoo held no realistic hope of that.

	$Heh.  You're a bad, bad man, DB.

Hearing no objections on Shampoo's part, Link gave a smirk that almost
made
the Amazon reconsider, then began undressing. It was Shampoo's turn to
scowl
at Link as the girl hurried into the baths and slid the paneled door
behind
her shut. Still feeling grimy from her workout, Shampoo just stared at
the
door and waited.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside the baths, Pink could barely conceal her glee as she heard the
door
open, announcing Shampoo's presence. At first, Pink was concerned that
she
had heard Shampoo talking to someone in the locker room, but then
figured
she must have been mistaken. The low hum of the pumps running water
though
the pipes directly overhead made hearing things difficult, and Shampoo
always worked out alone, with only her trainer, whose presence was an
impossibility in the women's baths. One thing Pink had learned about her
rival was that Shampoo kept her sleaziness behind closed doors, and if
someone caught Jaddo entering the baths with her, everyone would have
known
of their shared debauchery by the next morning. No, it had all been a
mistake on Pink's part, of that she was certain.

There was a quiet, "Damn," which Pink was barely able to make out. No
doubt
Shampoo was confused by the steam that was already filling the room. It
was
thick enough to obscure things, but not so much that she could not see
the
main whirlpool bath upon entering. Pink had experimented earlier with
the
amount of steam needed, executing her plan in precise detail. It was at
just
the right level.

Staying as silent as she could, Pink remained huddled down as she heard
the
sounds of a foot gingerly slipping into a pool of water. It was followed
by
the rest of the leg, then an entire body following suit. There was a
soft
sigh as the heat from the water soothed and relaxed a tired and worn
body.

Pink cried out one loud, "Ha!" as she pulled down on the lever on the
side
of the power box, shooting a flow of electricity through the cable and
into
the water. There was the brief smell of ozone in the air, a shout of
excruciating pain...

...and then all the lights went out.

	$Good thing, that.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The locker room outside the baths was plunged into pitch blackness.
Shampoo
let out a soft, "Damn," and began fumbling her way through the dark to
find
her clothes so that she could exit the locker room. It was just her luck
that it had to happen before she cleaned up. Now she was going to have
to
find some other place to wash up, perhaps even bothering the head of the
arena, Tetsuo, and asking him if she could use the executive showers
this
one time. Luckily, she was a main eventer, and he and Jaddo seemed to
get
along well. There was a chance he would say it was all right, though
with
the way things had been going lately, he was probably not even on the
premises to begin with.

Why couldn't she get even a hint of good luck thrown her way?

	$Tsk tsk tsk.  What more does she want?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"And then she goaded me into entering the baths first... then rigged it
up... to electrocute me when I entered," Link softy moaned from her bed.
"If
it wasn't for the circuit breakers being tripped, I'd have been dead for
sure. She's a psychopath. She wants me dead more than anything in the
world.
You believe me, don't you, sis?"

"It's just the sort of set up she would lay for you, the tricky bitch!"
Pink
bristled at the sight of her sister's charred form, the smell of ozone
clinging to her once again bedridden sibling. As with the other times,
Pink
saw no reason to bother her sister with the details as to her being the
one
to actually sabotage the bath. It was obvious that somehow that bitch
Amazon
had ferreted out the trap and set up Link so that she was the one that
would
end up dead, and it had only been an oversight on Pink's part that kept
events from turning out that way. It was unbelievable how much Shampoo
must
have despised Pink and lusted after her Thomas to lash out at Link yet
again. It was pathological. Oh, how Shampoo would pay for her sins,
especially by repeatedly using Link as a victim in all of these
insidious
plans of revenge against her. All Pink needed was to wait for the right
opportunity and come up with yet another plan. It would be foolproof for
certain this time. She would see to it personally, right after she got
rid
of that irritating feeling of deja-vu that was plaguing her.

	$From all the earlier times?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You can kick harder than that, girl!"

"I've already ruined two bags!"

"You should have gone through three by now. I've seen that wanna-be-god
boyfriend of yours kick harder than that."

"He is not my boyfriend, and it's because of you saying shit like that
that
keeps encouraging him to think that I'm interested in him!"

"Watch your mouth. Guys don't like women that swear. Keep it up and the
only
way you'll land a man is if you get beat. And kick harder."

"I'd kick a lot harder if you were the target," Shampoo mumbled under
her
breath.

"What was that?" Jaddo asked from his position to Shampoo's right. Far
to
her right.

"I said I'd kick a lot harder if you were the target!" Shampoo snapped.

"Well why didn't you say so?" Jaddo said as he moved up to the workout
bag
that served as the bone of contention between the two.

Shampoo was stunned by the gesture. Was he willing to put himself on the
line like that just so that she could improve her kicks? Certainly he
had
done all that he could for her, but this was going too far. A mental
debate
on what to say about his willingness to sacrifice himself for her
benefit
warred in her mind.

Then he pinned an eight by ten glossy of his face to the center of the
bag.

	$Heheh.  Smart man.

All it took was one kick to snap both the chain and the side of the bag,
sending it and its contents flying across the gymnasium.

"Yah. Told you you could kick harder," Jaddo said smugly.

The sound of clapping echoed throughout the gym. Since Shampoo and Jaddo
were working out alone, and neither was bringing their hands together,
they
turned to see where the unexpected applause originated.

Entering the gymnasium was the familiar form of the arena administrator,
Tetsuo Aritsukoji. He casually strolled to where the duo stood. "I
haven't
seen anyone smack a bag that far since Won Ton fought here, and he
didn't
have half your skill or charm."

Jaddo tensed up. "When the administrator comes calling this time of
night
when you're smelly and sweaty, it's either really good news or really
bad."

Shampoo tensed up as well. Holding up her arm, she sniffed herself. She
only
smelled a little. Her deodorant was holding up. Nothing to be
excessively
worried about. Still, she would be certain not to engage in any
unnecessary
embraces with anyone.

	$Not worried about her hair, but let her sweat just a little...

"It all depends on your point of view." Tetsuo continued his casual
bearing,
neither increasing or decreasing the speed of his gait as he drew
closer.

Jaddo let out a sigh. He was getting too old to spar with words with
someone
as nimble as Tetsuo. Besides, he had a bad feeling about this. "Better
cut
to the chase."

At first, Tetsuo almost seemed reluctant to speak of the matter. "Here's
what's been offered to me. A request has been lodged by the Imperial
Arena.
They've lost a handful of their more talented fighters lately. Since
that's
happened, attendance and ratings have slipped slightly and show no sign
of
improvement. This worries them a great deal, since they're number one,
and
every other program in the Empire wants that top spot. They think an
influx
of new talent might spark some interest and get them out of a potential
nose-dive. They want me to ship them our hottest commodity to help out.
Those are their words, but the meaning behind them is clear. It's
obvious
who they want. They've seen Shampoo and are convinced she is the answer
to
their woes, but they cannot ask directly. It has to at least carry the
air
of being a fair choice among the other fighters, or there might be an
outcry
of the games being rigged, or at least loaded."

"What about the usual forty victory minimum rule you need here before
you
can move on?" Jaddo asked.

	$She's been there for months, what's the trouble?  Probably almost a
year now, or even more.

"It's been waived. It's been done before under similar circumstances.
However, to keep the protests to a minimum, there will be a special
challenge match. The winner of that will get to advance to the Imperial
Arena immediately."

Shampoo was struck speechless. This was it. A chance to avoid another
three
months of running up nearly pointless victories and taking the next to
last
step on the path she had embarked on. All she had to do was win one more
match. True victory was almost in her grasp.

Unlike his prot�g�, Jaddo did not seem anywhere near as excited. "So if
everything's been settled, why are you here? You could have just
informed us
tomorrow. Hardly seems worth the effort of you coming down here and
telling
us right now."

Shampoo gave him a hurt look. Slowly, she began to think she knew why he
was
behaving this way, and it didn't sit well with her. Not in the least.

"Very perceptive," Tetsuo admitted. "It's not as simple as you think.
There
are two reasons why I'm here. First, I need permission to enter her in
the
fight since it is a special challenge match."

Jaddo shrugged. "Don't need to ask me. OMC owns her contract. Ask them."

"I already did, and Mr. Kiber, of all people, told me that the decision
was
yours."

"Oh?" Jaddo asked, genuinely surprised. Kiber became increasingly
peculiar
each time they crossed paths, even in a roundabout way, such as this.

"But I would have come down and asked the two of you anyway, even if
they
had insisted she enter," Tetsuo informed them.

"And why is that?" Jaddo asked, now more annoyed than ever that Tetsuo
was
threatening to become enigmatic as Kiber.

Tetsuo's demeanor went from somewhat casual to deadly serious. "I would
never willingly advance a fighter prematurely to the next level unless I
was
convinced they could handle it. Based on personal experience, I believe
Shampoo is more than ready. However, I want to hear it from both of you
that
I am correct. If I don't, I swear to you I'll make up some excuse as to
why
you can't go and find a replacement for you. What do you say, Shampoo?"

Shampoo nodded her head mutely. She knew she was ready. Likewise she
knew
that Tetsuo was aware she was not the one that needed to be convinced of
her
preparedness. It galled her to think that this important decision,
perhaps
the most important yet, had to be left in her mentor's hands. Shampoo
was
mature enough now to admit she had made mistakes before, and that almost
every time they had a disagreement, Jaddo had been right. But not this
time.
As certain as the sun would rise in the East, she was ready for the
Imperial
Arena. But it would take a miracle to convince Jaddo of that. Damn the
man
for being so overprotective of her. She was going to be forced to waste
even
more precious time and squander the opportunity she had been blessed
with.
It wasn't fair!

A hand lined with scars from over six hundred fights throughout its life
ran
its way through short strands of hair that lay close to a scalp that
only
now, approaching five decades, was starting to show signs of fleeing
from
the previous lines that had been laid down almost since his birth. It
was a
man who felt every single one of those years that said, "Yah, the girl's
good to go. She's just spinning her wheels in the dirt. Nothing left for
her
to learn here that she can't learn just as easy in the Impy Arena."

For a moment Shampoo weakened and thought her legs would give out. Jaddo
not
only had given her permission, but an endorsement full of conviction.
Somewhat reluctant conviction, but it was there. It was more than she
could
have dreamed of. "Thank you, Jaddo. I won't let you down."

Jaddo turned on her, some of his vigor returning to him. "I didn't say
you're ready to win it all yet. You're not. So don't get lazy and sloppy
and
get your ass kicked because you think you're hot shit. You do that and
you'll be flat on your back putting out for one of them Arena hotshots
that
is going to win the tournament. Make no mistake about that, girl."

	$Shampoo: Not necessarily true.  According to ancient amazon laws, the
wife gets to choose the position.  I could pick doggy-style instead, so
there.  Nya.

"I won't." Shampoo tried to sound earnest, but was too agitated to keep
the
excitement out of her voice. She was going to go to the real Arena and
show
the whole world what she was capable of from now on.

"You still have to get by your opponent," Jaddo warned, knowing full
well
where her mind really was and not blaming her for a second. Not that she
would ever know that. He turned to Tetsuo. "Who's she going to face?"

"Assuming she agrees to it, Pink. If she doesn't feel up to it, or wants
to
wait for her sister to advance at the same time she does, Snakebite. If
he
wants to wait for his girlfriend, then Link will get third choice.
Personally, I can't see Link turning down the opportunity to face
Shampoo
even if we told her afterwards she was going to be dipped in honey and
covered in fire ants even if she won."

	$Delete that last 'even'.

"Link's recovered from her electrocution?" Shampoo asked. That was a
surprise. Everyone thought she was still bedridden by the freak
accident.

"The docs have said she's battle ready since last week. I made her sit
out a
week just to play it safe, but she's more than ready to get it on now.

	$Especially since she hasn't had a boyfriend in a long while.

 And
speaking of electrocutions, are you sure you don't know anymore about
what
happened to her? You were the last one to see her before that incident,
and
you were in the room right outside where it happened. Generally
speaking,
cables don't rewire themselves and sneak into whirlpools."

Jaddo held up a warning finger. "What about 'The Case of the Haunted
Jacuzzi' back in '93?"

	$Oh, jeez.

"That was one of the night janitors pretending the place was haunted so
he
could run a smuggling operation out of the basement."

"And he would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those
meddling
kids."

"And their cowardly dog," Tetsuo admitted.

	$*shakes head*  I approve, in a vaguely horrified sort of way.

"I had nothing to do with Link's accident!" Shampoo declared angrily.
She
had already been interrogated by Tetsuo on this matter right after the
incident happened, and she had told him the same thing.

Tetsuo brought his hands up defensively, probably not a bad idea with
the
attitude Shampoo was currently sporting. "I was just double-checking.
Rumor
has it you might have been the one to do it because of a rivalry you got
going with her."

"There is no rivalry! It's all in that demented girl's head!" Shampoo
spat.
"She's crazy. She blames me for everything that goes wrong in her life.
She
probably blames me for her infamous bad luck with men, nevermind the
fact
she had it before I was ever here. I was just a scapegoat for her ever
since
I mistook her for Pink and decked her."

	$At least she doesn't deny it.

"Shampoo's telling the right of it," Jaddo confirmed.

Shampoo nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

Jaddo continued. "She isn't shifty enough to come up with half the
things
that happened to that girl. For example: her idea of a complex battle
strategy is to scream AND leap."

Shampoo's head had stopped nodding somewhere around, 'half the things'.
It
was only because she felt so indebted to her mentor that she didn't
attach
one of his eight by ten glossies to his face and kick it in.

"So when is the fight going to be scheduled for once you get her
opponent?"
Jaddo asked.

"Four days."

Jaddo let out a low whistle. "They ain't exactly taking their time about
this, are they?"

"They are anxious," Tetsuo admitted.

Shampoo did some quick calculations in her head. "That would make the
fight
on a Monday. Are they having some sort of special card then?"

	$Monday night fight, eh?  That should boost ratings.

"Actually, the fight is going to take place in the Tridome."

Jaddo let out a string of colorful curses. "So the high-class elite want
some personal entertainment instead of the same fare the masses get.
Man, I
hate that highbrow fatcat crap."

The way Tetsuo's eyes gleamed in anger told the others his feelings on
the
matter. "It's part of the price for having this top-rated fight, I'm
afraid.
Once they got wind of how important the match was, they wanted to
exclusively bask in the glory of the two top commodities going at it."

"Is it that bad?" Shampoo asked.

Jaddo was quick to explain. "It ain't like Hellmount or some of the
illegal
action that goes on in Shanghai, no. It's this small underground arena
in
the corporate sector that was built exclusively for the elite in Hong
Kong.
It's a classy place. Actually, over three quarters of the seating is box
seats, and admission is by invitation only. That's why I don't like it.
It's
the principles involved that make me pissy. The exclusive fights they
throw
there are just another way for the so-called nobility to express their
greed, just like the gigantic buildings they throw up. Just never cared
much
for elitism, is all."

"I see," Shampoo said, already wondering both what this Tridome was like
and
which of her opponents she would face. Any of the three was dangerous.
Snakebite would most likely be the worst to deal with thanks to his
speed,
but either of the twins could cause problems as well, Pink probably more
than her sister. The irrational hatred of the young Amazon was shared by
the
girls, though Link was the one that took it to the extreme. Still, Pink
was
the more skilled, and perhaps the more vicious as well. It promised to
be a
dangerous fight in any event, one that she would have to prepare for
starting tonight.

As Tetsuo left the gymnasium, affording Shampoo the privacy she desired,
she
turned to her mentor. "Thank you for telling him I'm ready."

Giving a non-committal shrug, Jaddo said, "I only did it because you
are.
I've never held a fighter back or pushed them forward sooner than was
good
for them. Not going to start now, no matter how concerned for you I am."

Shampoo's eyebrows arched in surprise. "You openly admitted you're
concerned
about me."

	$me?"

It took Jaddo a full four seconds before coming back with, "Ah, only
because
it would reflect poorly upon my training if you get your ass kicked one
week
into your Arena stay."

That was as transparent an attempt as Shampoo had ever seen from the
man.
Scales tipped back and forth in the young girl's mind as she considered
letting it go or to milk the slip up for all it was worth. At last, one
side
weighed in heavier than the other. "Of course it is." But her taunting
smile
told Jaddo the truth of the matter.

"Let's get back to work. Four more reps instead of three since you got a
big
fight coming up," Jaddo said uncomfortably as their workout resumed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pink could barely contain the excess of energy coursing through her. A
nervous dance that shifted between pacing and bouncing back and forth on
her
feet refused to leave her, despite her upset stomach.

	$Err, awkward, that.  Suggest rewording, but I'm not sure what you're
going for.

The anxiousness was
easily as bad as the first time she had fought in Hong Kong, standing
before
more people than she had ever seen in one spot in her entire life. The
four
days since she had been informed she would be fighting in a special
challenge match with the winner advancing to the Arena, and almost as
importantly, fighting Shampoo, had gone by more quickly than any other
96
hours in her life. Now her dreams were about to be made reality all in
one
night: revenge and career advancement  It was too good to be true. The
only
thing that could make it better was if her boyfriend proposed to her,
but
even Pink wasn't that far out of touch with reality. Shampoo's blood
decorating her fists as her arms were held up in victory would be more
than
enough to suffice. In fact, Pink was so excited, she had gone to her
sister's room to talk (which was more of an enthusiastic babble) as she
waited for the final hours to pass and her trip to Tridome to begin.

"I'm going to go to the big leagues. I'm going to go to the big leagues.
I'm
goinHEY!" Pink narrowly dodged the table lamp hurled at her head.

	$goinhey?  That some sort of gratuitous chinese thrown in?

"Would you stop that annoying dance?!" Link raged at her.

"It's not annoying."

The sound of Link's teeth grinding against one another hard enough to
wear
away the enamel filled the room. "Of course it's annoying. You always do
it
whenever you have something go your way. Like the time the town festival
held its Miss Spring contest and you won it while I didn't even get
fifth
place. Or the time Kenji Morisana asked you out and you accepted when
you
knew I had been trying to get him to ask me out for two months. Or the
time
you beat me in the finals of the school tournament of champions."

"I don't remember dancing in the last one," Pink said.

"How could you forget?! Right after you won the damn thing you got so
excited you stomped on top of me with that goddamn stupid dance!"

"It was an unintentional accident," Pink protested.

"And stop using redundant words, you stupid moron! If it was an
accident, by
definition it was unintentional!"

It took Pink a moment of deep thought to understand what was really
bothering her twin. "You're feeling jealous because I was the one asked
to
enter this match instead of you."

Tears suddenly filled Link's eyes. Giving Pink a look of intense
emotional
hurt, she sniffled and demurely approached her. Pink, suddenly feeling
very
rotten about making such an accusation of her sister, bowed her head in
shame.

	$Heh heh.  Nice.

Link kept giving her the hurt look as she grabbed Pink by the shoulders
and
raged "OF COURSE IT'S BECAUSE I'M JEALOUS OF YOU! YOU ALWAYS GET ALL THE
BREAKS!" At that point she began to sweetly shake Pink around, just like
a
rag doll. One that the child wants to break the head off of.

	$Kinda thought that.  She's got issues.

Pink worked herself free from her enraged sister's grasp. "Would you
relax?
It's just a temporary thing. You're going to make it to the Imperial
Arena.
It's only a matter of time. You're better than everyone here except me
and
Thomas."

"Most people rank Shampoo above me too," Link pointed out.

That made Pink giggle. "After tonight, Shampoo won't be a factor to
anyone
except the people that have to change her bedpans."

"She should be mine." Link balled up her fists and lashed out, punching
out
the side of her dresser.

The wood shattered with a loud crack that even made Pink jump. Her eyes
goggled as she looked at the damage her sister had inflicted on the
piece of
furniture. She was uncertain if even she could have done that much with
a
snap punch like that.

"Tell me what you're going to do to the bitch to cheer me up," Link
softly
intoned as she picked the splinters out of her fist, not giving any
indication of feeling pain.

Turning her eyes away from the dresser. Pink said, "Well, first I'm
going to
snap one of her legs so that she can't move around."

"Go on," Link grumbled, not cheering up in the slightest.

"Then I'll probably take out an arm. I'll admit she's dangerous with
two.
With only one wing, I can toy with her."

"Mess up her face. Mess it up good," Link all but whispered.

"That's what I was planning on doing." Now Pink was starting to get into
it.
"And then maybe I'll smash in one of her tits."

"Better. Much better."

"Rip off an ear or something. I did that to one of the guys in the dog
pits,
and he really screamed at the top of his lungs. Just like a little
girl."

	$Was his name M. Bison?

"I remember that. Yes, he did scream like a little bitch. I approve.
What
else?"

"And then I'll work over her ribs. Get a little internal bleeding
going."

Now the excitement was starting to overtake Link "And then?"

	$Link.  "And then?"

"And then."

"Yes?"

"And then."

"Yes?!"

"And then."

"Goddamn it, spit it out!"

	$Andthenandthenandthen!  Heh, Dude, Where's my car? all over again.

And Pink did, emptying the contents of her stomach all over her sister's
feet.

	$Although I liked that bit better.

Link looked at the colorful matter now clinging to her slippers. "You
know,
I don't think puking all over her is going to have that much of an
effect at
that point."

	$Never know, you could go for the audience gross out factor.  I've
known hardened people that can watch an autopsy during dinner who can't
help but add to the mess if someone throws up.



	$Had a minor delay in while commenting on this chapter.  The 'S' key
and the spacebar quit working on my keyboard.  Worthless, cheap
knockoff.  It was only seven years old.  I'm using a new one now.

	A serious scarcity of mistakes here, and it's on to the next one.  I'm
about two pages short of finishing the C&C on it as well, but I'm also
out of time at the moment.  Expect it either today or tomorrow.


-Ragun






	     .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'