| F BRACKET Match 1 - Robert Newell Rand al'Thor vs. Walker Texas Ranger In a blinding flash of light, Rand al'Thor appeared but of nowhere into the streets of Shadar Logoth. He had no idea how he had gotten there, the last thing that he remembered was falling asleep in his apartment in the Sun Palace. He was fully dressed with his heron-mark blade belted to his waist and his fat-man angreal in a pouch opposite the sword. One thought lingered in his head, 'KILL HIM!' Rand told Lews Therin to be quiet and began to survey his surroundings. Just as he got his bearings, Lews Therin said, 'That wasn't me'. He then slipped back to a corner in Rand's head and began to softly moan for his lost Ilyena. "Well if that wasn't you...", Rand said softly under his breath, "Who was it?" Walker Texas Ranger appeared suddenly in the middle of a deserted, dark street. He had absolutely no idea where he was. The architecture of the city that he saw was archaic. The only thing he could compare it to was the picture of that ruin in Germany that he had seen. He was fully dressed, which was strange considering that the last thing he remembered was falling asleep after he had gotten home. His pistols were at his waist and he had a shotgun on his back. He could not ignore the voice that was echoing through his head, 'KILL HIM!' Rand did not want to embrace saidin just yet. This situation was admittedly dangerous, but he did not relish the thought of feeling the Taint and that odd counterpoint to the Taint that seemed to always come when he was in Shadar Logoth. Nevertheless, he was holding the Void, ready to grab Saidin at a moment�s notice. Saidin beckoned to him, but he did not give in to the temptation of embracing the Source. After searching around for a while, Rand decided to Travel back to Cairhein when out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone. Walker was not usually one to admit being frightened, but even he had to admit that this place scared him. Eyes seemed to be staring out at him from every corner, but when he went to investigate, all he saw was a retreating, gray mist. He began to panic and started running blindly. After passing through several alleyways, Walker saw someone in the courtyard ahead of him. Trying to relax, he went to see who it was that he had spotted. Rand watched as the man approached him. He was wearing tight blue pants, a loose white shirt, and a large, strange, wide brimmed hat. "Don't you know better than to go around Shadar Logoth by night, or at any time for that matter," Rand called out. Walker paused and said, "Go around where? Who are you anyway?" Rand wondered how anyone could not realize that they were in Where the Shadow Waits. He also could not place where this man was from. His clothes were strange and his accent was stranger. "Shadar Logoth is not a place that many visit unknowingly stranger. My name is Rand al'Thor, but you may recognize me by my title, The Dragon Reborn." Walker said, "Dragon... so you're a Klansman!?!" Walker quickly pulled out his pistols and waved them menacingly at Rand. Rand was about to say, "A what?" when Lews Therin roused from his rantings and screamed, 'Watch out! He has pulse-blades' Rand was not exactly sure what a pulse-blade was, but he was not about to be on the wrong end of one. He quickly embraced the source, wove a shield of Fire and Air, drew his sword, and charged. Walker wasn't sure why this strange man was carrying a sword, but he wasn't about to let him stick it into his body. He fired two shots, one from each gun. The bullets sped towards Rand, but upon reaching the shield they promptly disintegrated. Rand swung his sword, moving effortlessly into the sword forms. Boar Rushes Down the Mountain Reversed into River Undercuts the Bank and the power-wrought steel easily sliced through Walker's neck. His head went flying. 'Well I guess those weren't pulse-blades after all' Lews Therin said thoughtfully. The stranger lay dead at Rand's feet. Lews Therin suggested that Rand take the weapons that he had been carrying, they appeared to be relics from an age older than the Age of Legends. Rand agreed thinking that maybe someone at the Academy could figure out what they did. After taking the pistols and shotgun, Rand disappeared in a blinding flash of light. Winner: Rand al'Thor Match 2 - Aaron Bartholomew Airk vs. Reverand Mother Mohiam In the shadows of Shadar Logoth, an old crone wandered the empty streets. The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, while not uncomfortable, was certainly not comforted by the strange environ. The stench of evil was close about... the whole city smelled of it, and this was where she was to meet this Airk... he would prove a useful tool. Airk ran in almost abject terror. Back there, he has seen a shadow, a mist of some sort wandering the streets, and it had started following him. On he ran, almost hitting the old woman in his flight. She was the first living person he had seen in this place. "Run for your life, old woman... it's coming", he yelled. "And why should I", the old woman replied. "It's coming... the shadows here walk!". "But you <<HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR FROM SHADOWS>>". Already Airk felt better.. of course he had nothing to fear from shadows... How silly he'd been, a grown warrior, a leader of men, a great general, running from shadow... "<<GO BACK AND FIND THESE SHADOWS...AND DESTROY THEM>>" Airk didn't even notice that the old crone had spoken these words... it was as if he himself had thought them. Of course he would go back and destroy whatever it was that had caused these shadows, and made a fool of him. He turned, and strode off to where he had seen the shadows before, not noticing the crone following him. When the Reverend Mother saw the shadowy mists of Mashadar consume Airk, and saw how useless his sword was against them, she knew that not only had she lost a tool in the man, but also that these mists were truly dangerous. She must stay in one of the houses, where the mists never entered... until a more suitable tool was encountered. Fingering her gom jabbar, she reflected that even if the next tool was unwilling, there were ways to hold off even great warriors until the <<VOICE>> had a chance to work on them. Winner: Reverend Mother (No, she didn't kill Airk, but she did control him and in a sense make him die). Match 3 - Robert Newell Saruman vs Mr Miyagi Mr. Miyagi eyed the tall man with a staff. A quarterstaff was a formidable weapon, but this man did not hold it as if he would be using it as a weapon. Something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't figure out what. Saruman stared at the short man. He obviously wasn't a dwarf, but he had never met such a short man in all the kingdoms of the West. Well, he did not appear to be a wizard, so Saruman raised his staff and prepared to blast the midget. Mr. Miyagi saw a gray tendril creep up towards his opponent. Being the honorable man that he was, he yelled "look out"! Saruman turned and saw Mashadar coming towards him. He unleashed the spell that was meant for Mr. Miyagi at Mashadar. The tendril kept coming. Saruman let blast after blast come from his staff until the evil presence that he was battling finally retreated. All the while, Mr. Miyagi watched Saruman. From his good deed, he discovered that his opponent had magical powers in his staff. He meditated until Saruman routed Mashadar. Saruman turned and raised his staff. He said, "Thank you for the warning, now you will die!" Mr. Miyagi was ready for Saruman. In a flying leap, he executed a crane kick at Saruman's staff and fell backwards from the force of the blow. The staff snapped beneath the mighty kick. Saruman was shocked... literally, as the discharge from the broken staff fried his brain. He fell to the ground, dead. Sometimes good deeds pay off, as Mr. Miyagi knew. Winner: Mr. Miyagi Match 4 - Aaron Bartholomew RA vs. Macguyver In Shadar Logoth, the ancient alien entity known as RA appeared in a flash of light. Eyes glowing, he examined the city. There was a human here that he was to kill... like crushing a bug. In another part of the city MacGuyver appeared. Unknown possibilities lurked in his backpack, and in a city filled with ancient junk... Rainwater still pooled in some of the streets, the result of an earlier storm. Sniffing the air, he noticed the lack of sulpher, or of the smell of guano. In a broken city such as this, bats should be prevalent. But apparently, there were none here. Having been instructed on the nature of this tournament, he was prepared to do his worst. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a piece of pipe, some duct tape, a lighter, and an aerosol can. Just one of a number of traps and tricks to be placed in these ruins. Hours later, Ra turned a corner, to find the human crouched over an odd looking bit of stone that then set over a hole in the ground. The human stood, and seeing RA, turned, and fled towards a building. Dodging into the gap in the mostly closed door, MacGuyver continued running, until he reached a small groto in the back of the building. RA approached the building, and upon reaching the door, flung it open, and entered. RA was thoroughly shocked and nonplussed due to the bucketful of stagnant rainwater that splashed over him. Stunned, RA turned, and received full force the result of his impetuousness. The water had just been a useful counterweight, connected by rope and some small pulleys screwed into the building's wooden beams, one of which had been pulled loose. This beam then slammed into RA, knocking him to the ground. Angered now, wet, and insulted, RA turned on the human still visible in the room. "Kneel human, and die". RA said, approaching the human, while extending the hand in which he held justice and death (via a large electric shocker strapped to his wrist). He never expected to be obeyed. He knew of human rebels who refused to obey him, and expected to be defied. However, surprising though it may be, MacGuyver knelt before him., and hit something on the wall beside him... With a loud explosion, the crude projectile weapon MacGuyver had assembled and concealed behind himself went off. Potato guns have a habit of doing that when the aerosol inside them is ignited by a small electronic charge. RA looked down at the hole in his chest, and fell over dead. While waiting for his ears to clear from the explosion, MacGuyver examined the hand the alien had been holding out towards him, and found the shocker attached to it. Removing it, and placing it on his own wrist, MacGuyver wandered off (carefully avoiding the jury-rigged land mine he'd placed in the street) to set more traps... who knew who would be coming after him next. Winner: MacGuyver Match 5 - Robert Newell Trinity vs. John McClane Trintity appeared in darkened room. "What had just happened?" she thought. She had left the Matrix in a hurry as there was an Agent following her, but after she had picked up the phone she appeared here rather than back on the Nebuchadnezzar. She looked like she was in the Matrix, but after a few practice punches, she realized that she did not have the super-human reflexes that should have accompanied this. In any case, she was very glad to have escaped from that Agent. She took a quick stock of her inventory and winced. All she had was her ten millimeter pistol. "Oh well" she thought, "At least I have plenty of clips." For some reason she knew that she would need them as she felt a compulsion to kill someone named John McClane. John McClane was very confused. He had been having a very strange dream that he was aboard some big space station that was trying to destroy Earth. There was more to it, but the events of his dream were rapidly leaving him as he awoke. (See www.grudge-match.com/History/mcclane-deathstar.shtml ) He had no clue where he was, but the crumbling stone architecture told him that he wasn't in New York any more. Suddenly he felt a wave of emotion roll over him. After it passed, he knew he had to kill someone called Trinity. He was not sure why, but the compulsion was too strong to fight. He checked his pistol and made sure it was fully loaded. It was of course, John McClane never went anywhere without a loaded weapon if he could at all help it. Trinity saw McClane first and took a snap-shot at his head but missed it wide. Unfortunately, she was relying on her Martrix honed skills, which, while not completely gone, were severely diminished in the real world. She knew how to do everything, but she was not as fast as she had been when she trained and was understandably off. McClane dropped and rolled behind a tall pile of rubble. Quickly, he ducked his head and gun out from behind the pile and took a few shots from his semi-automatic pistol at Trinity. Trinity had not expected to miss her first shot, so she had also ducked for cover around a corner after she missed. McClane's bullets found only empty air. The two of them went back and forth with this for a while, but neither came close to hitting the other. Unfortunately for Trinity, the commotion from the gunshots had attracted Mashadar to the scene. Trinity was preparing to go on another offensive when a grey tendril latched on to her leg. She screamed in and pain as she turned around and saw the mist that was approaching her. She tried to scramble away, but she was caught and slowed, if not completely stopped. She fired several shots into the cloud, but they had no effect. McClaine heard Trinity's screams and knew them for what they were, pure pain. He leapt out, guns blazing, just in case it was a trick, but it wasn't. He saw Trinity writhing in agony on the ground. Her pistol had been thrown several feet away. She was still screaming in obvious pain. McClane went to investigate with his weapon at the ready. As he got closer, he picked up her gun. He was still wary, but less so as he now saw that she definitely had been felled by something. When he was only about ten feet away, he saw what had incapacitated his opponent. A grey cloudy mist was slowly enveloping her. It looked as though the cloud was eating her, and indeed, that is the most accurate description possible to what was actually occuring. It had already gotten to her waist. Trinity begged McClane to kill her. He backed away as he did, emptying the remaining bullets from Trinity's gun into her. Mashadar was displeased that this human had killed its meal before it had the opportunity to consume her soul. The misty horror surged forward, trying to catch another victim, but it was to no avail. John McClane had already turned and was running away as fast as he was able to. He kept on running and did not stop until he tripped over a pile of rusted metal. As he got up, he heard someone's footsteps. He was not positive, but everyone in this twisted place seemed to want to kill him. Rather than take a chance, he quickly scrambled behind a nearby wall. As he got there he cursed himself. He had dropped his gun when he tripped. It was buried somewhere in that pile of scrap. Winner: John McClane Match 6 - Robert Newell Jackie Chan vs. Frankenstein's Monster Jackie Chan observed his opponent from a distance. The creature was seven feet tall and thickly muscled. Jackie was impressed, but not too much, the brute was not even armed. He ran at Frankenstein's Monster, and with a flying kick knocked him sprawling. Frankenstein's Monster was enraged. This little man had hurt him! With a roar, he launched himself at Jackie Chan. Jackie easily dodged the attack. This monster may seem strong, but he was neither quick nor skilled at fighting. All of the people he had killed were taken by surprise and throttled to death. It was much different facing a skilled fighter. Jackie met another charge and this time threw his opponent hard into a stone wall covered in designs of plants. There were pieces of metal from what appeared to be a rusted gate at the base of the wall. Frankenstein's monster picked up one bar that was four feet long and threw it at Jackie. He dodged the attack again, this was rather easy for him actually. The monster took another metal rod and brandished it like a club. Jackie went on the offensive, chopping at the monster's wrist and numbing it. A swift kick to the midsection knocked Frankenstein's Monster against the wall. A trefoil leaf that appeared to be part of the wall fell off, and the wall split down the middle. Inside was pitch blackness, but Frankenstein's Monster did not care, he fled through to escape Jackie Chan's onslaught. Inside there were ramps and bridges leading off in all directions. He began off in one direction but stopped abruptly as the bridge he was about to cross collapsed. Jackie Chan was close on his heels. A few more, well placed blows knocked Frankenstein's Monster off of the ledge down into the seemingly endless abyss. Unbeknownst to either of them, the Ways that they had entered were bottomless. Jackie Chan left the way he came. Once he was outside, he picked up the trefoil leaf that had fallen off of the wall. He was not sure what it did, but he felt it might be important. He also took the metal rod that the monster had thrown at him. It had struck a stone wall and had not been scratched. It was also very lightweight. He decided to hold onto that as well. Meanwhile, Frankenstein's Monster was still falling into the abyss of the Ways. After a few hours of this, the judges were about to call Jackie Chan the winner because Frankenstein's Monster was permanently incapacitated. Before they could, Frankenstein's Monster heard a voice. Boil the blood and crack the bones. 'Suck the marrow, bitter marrow. Sweet the screams. Flay the hide, eat the soul... no soul... oh well... Strip the skin, rip the flesh' Machin Shin, the Black Wind, feasted upon the doomed creature. The judges okay the kill because Frankenstein's Monster was already effectively killed. It was easier this than waiting for the creature to starve or dehydrate. Winner: Jackie Chan Match 7 - Aaron Bartholomew Hulk vs. Stripe Pausing in his search, the Hulk scanned the dark and crumbling city around him. Moldering towers spired into a gray misty sky, which glowered over wasted roads and ruined structures. "Perfect place to fight some gremlins", he muttered sardonically to himself, turning from the eerie view. Hours before, he has been placed here to destroy the gremlin Stripe. When the brilliant light of his own arrival faded from his eyes, he saw the small demonic creature scuttling away into the ruins of the decaying city. Though he had tried to follow, demolishing several ruins in his path, the small beast has managed to escape him, disappearing into one of the many gaping holes in the rubble-strewn roads. Then it had begun to rain lightly, a grisly rain in this sepulcher of a city. In the hours since, he had been attacked. At first by single gremlins, which he has easily battered out of his way, not even pausing in his search for their leader. As time went on, their numbers grew. The Hulk knew that he would have to find where Stripe was hiding, or he would risk being overwhelmed. As lightning crashed overhead, the Hulk lumbered down the torn road, scanning the pitted buildings for a hint of movement. Passing a ruined tower, the Hulk stopped as he heard a soft chittering emerge from the building. Without pausing, the green-skinned juggernaut hurled himself through the near wall of the broken building. The weak wall shattered, spraying those inside with sharp fragments. Taken by complete surprise the small gremlin force was decimated by the stony shrapnel. The few that survived were still recovering when the Incredible Hulk reached them. Swatting one of the small vermin against a wall, the Hulk rushed onward. Blasting one of those remaining with a powerful blow from his fist, the Hulk spotted another run through his legs. A moment later he felt its slight weight upon his back, and the pain of its claws ripping through his skin. Throwing himself forward, there was a delightful squishing noise as the vicious creature was crushed between the ground, and the half-ton weight of the Hulk. Rolling quickly to his feet, the Hulk barely caught glimpse of the last gremlin disappearing through a dank hole in the floor of the building. But none of these small monstrosities matched the one he had been shown. With a last look at the shattered room, the Hulk descended to the dark depths below. * * * * * Stripe hissed with a diabolic glee when the injured sentry reported back to him. The immense green creature had followed him to these depths. Here, was now his. Here his armies would easily crush the gigantic thing. Stripe re-entered the pooling rainwater; he would need more forces. The thick with refuse from previous floods, Stripe screeched in pain as mucus-filled boils erupted wherever the water touched him. As smaller gremlins grew in his skin, Stripe contemplated his increasing army. . He hissed in agony as each clawed its way out. He would need them to keep this new den, and more importantly himself safe. * * * * * Erupting through another jetsam-blockade, the Hulk attacked the gremlins behind it. In the dim half-light coming from the holes in the eroded road just above him, the Hulk could see that there were many more of the small fiends now. Stomping one that had started biting his leg, the Hulk slapped another off his back, and grabbing one that had climbed onto his shoulder; he threw it into the remaining group of them. Blitzing them dazed gremlins; it was not long before the Hulk had them fleeing. Charging after them, only after turning a corner did the he realize why there had been so many here, and why he had been allowed to get so far. Staring into a large chamber in the rock, hearing the dripping of rainwater into pools, the Hulk could see the gleaming eyes of hundreds of gremlins gazing at him. * * * * * Stripe watched as his minions swarmed over the green giant. Gremlins flew back from the living whirlwind almost constantly, to lie broken on the floor. Yet more took their place. Eventually the mound of bodies stopped moving around the chamber, and slowly an enormous mob of gremlins piled off the torn and battered body of the Hulk. As his minions began feeding, Stripe turned his attention back to the water pooled and rising in the chamber corner. This was a good den, a defensible den, and from here, his armies would rise. Winner: Stripe Match 8 - Mark Ailshie Gradion vs. Goliath Two flashes of light flashed in the dark and foreboding ruins of Shadar Logoth. The crumbled hulk of an ancient palace lies between them, but that is no obstacle for either of these competitors. Goliath feels eyes on the back of his head, and turns, but there is no one there. In spite of himself, the Gargoyle shivers. He could have sworn there had been someone there, but now there was nothing but moonlight on the empty windows of the ruins. With a snarl, he takes to the air, and searches the ground beneath for traces of movement. Gradion spotted the Gargoyle overhead, and ducked into the shadows. The gloom of the ruins effects Gradion too, but after living alone for six hundred years, he has grown used to loneliness. Goliath flies past him, searching the street further on. Gradion spread his wings and stepped into the sky, trying to fly quietly enough to sneak up on Goliath. But Goliath hears him, and spins in mid air to face him. "So. You are Gradion the Grishnak. You won't surprise me so easily. Face me like a real warrior." Gradion snarls at the challenge, and darts toward his opponent. "I don't need surprise, fool! But a warrior never gives up an advantage his opponent has given him." The two winged warriors collide, Gradion swinging the Star of Stonach, his scepter-mace, emblem of the lost kings of the valley. Goliath tries to fight back with his bare hands, but he uses his tail as a fifth limb, giving him a slight edge. Catching Gradion's mace arm in his massive hand, Goliath pitches the Grishnak over his shoulder, smashing him against the wall of an old armory. Gradion groans, but keeps hold of his weapon. He kicks off the wall, striking Goliath under his chin. Goliath is dazed, and starts to fall, but catches himself ten feet before he hits the ground. He is about to turn to look for his enemy, when a heavy weight lands on his back, driving him to the ground. Gradion rides the Gargoyle into the ground, and Goliath has the wind knowked out of him. Gradion raises the Star, about to finish the job. Thinking quickly, Goliath tosses a handful of dirt into the lost prince's eyes. Gradion yelps, and Goliath rolls away. Gradion swings blindly, and scores on Goliath's right wing. Goliath groans, and retreats into a nearby house, while Gradion clears his eyes. Things look bad for Goliath. His right wing hangs limply. If he survives until day, the sun will heal him of all injuries. But dawn is hours away. And besides, a frozen statue would make an easy target for a swinging mace. As Goliath knows only too well. Goliath realizes that his best chance is to avoid the open air, where Gradion's wings will give him a distinct advantage. Outside, Gradion studies the ground, discovering where Goliath has retreated to. Spinning his Mourning Star, he ducks into the house hunting his opponent. Goliath surprises Gradion as he turns a corner, and grabs hold of the Star! Gradion holds it too, and the two struggle to pull the weapon out of the other's grasp. Both monsters snarl and bare their teeth. Goliath swings his tail to try to trip Gradion, but Gradion jumps over it. The two continue struggling until they crash through a particularly weak wall, and fall into a neighboring basement. Seizing the advantage, Gradion spreads his wings and carries Goliath into the air. Goliath drops the Star, hoping to drop back to the earth, but Gradion seizes his arm in one of his feet, and drags him shouting into the air. With a fierce kick, Gradion releases the Gargoyle, sending him face first into the ground. Goliath rolls to break his fall, but Gradion is on him in a flash. The Star of Stonach comes down on the Gargoyle's head, and Goliath cries out once, and is still. Gradion roars in victory. Winner: Gradion, prince of the Grishnaks. ROUND 2 Match 1 - Robert Newell Rand Al�Thor vs. the Rev. Mother Mohiam Rand reluctantly let go of saidin shortly after he killed Walker Texas Ranger. The male half of the True Source made him feel a hundred times more alive, but that was not necessarily a good thing here. The taint seemed slightly fouler in this place. Shadar Logoth, or as it is known in our language Shadows Waiting, was the home of the evil of Mashadar. It made an odd counterpoint to the pulsing of the wound in his side. The wound that would inevitable kill him. 'His blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul' was what the prophecies promised. Well, he knew he was going to die in the Last Battle, but Tarmon Gaidon is not today. He had let go of saidin, but he kept the Void so that he would be prepared at a moments notice for danger. He was not sure where his last opponent had come from, but he aimed to find out. There had to be traces of that. He was not as good a tracker as the man who he still called father, but his skills were adequate. He thought he caught a glimpse of some tiny, furry creatures, but they disappeared when he went to investigate. Then he saw the woman. The Reverend Mother was reciting the litany against fear for what seemed like the millionth time. She was not one to admit weakness, but this place was truly strange and dangerous, but she did not fear. Reverend Mothers trained their minds and bodies to an incredible degree. Still, the litany against fear was on constant repeat in her mind. She had the Voice, and her gom jabbar, but she knew neither was effective against the evil that haunted these walls. She was determined to survive, so she sought her next opponent single-mindedly. She somehow knew that her only escape from here was to kill all who she was pitted against. Rand saw the Reverend Mother long before he himself was seen. As soon as he laid eyes on her, he knew that he must kill her. Rand could not. He embraced the True Source, hoping that the Taint would scour his soul from his body so he would not have to do this, but it did not. Lews Therin was roused from his muttering at the back of Rand's skull and began to comment on the situation. "She does not matter, only Ilyena matters. That WOMAN can burn, I can BURN, THE WHOLE WORLD CAN BURN IF IT WILL BRING MY ILYENA BACK!" With that last scream, Lews Therin retreated back into oblivion. Rand knew that he would be back eventually. He could not bring himself to kill this woman, but he decided to take a precaution, knowing that she was likely to be hostile. He wove bonds of air and held Gaius Helen Mohiam fast. He was not as strong in Air as he was in Fire or Earth, but this was not too difficult to do. Rand walked over to the Reverend Mother and said, "What are you doing here and what are your intentions." She was shocked that she was bound so easily, especially since she could neither see nor touch her bonds, but she replied <<YOU WANT TO RELEASE ME>>. The Voice should make this fool do her bidding she thought. Unfortunately for her, the Voice slid off of the Void with no effect whatsoever. "Compulsion" Rand thought, "She can use compulsion!" "Aes Sedai!", screamed Lews Therin. "It is Latra Posae!" Lews Therin raved. "It is her fault! The Dark One's counterstroke would have failed if she had allowed my Sisters to aid us in sealing the Bore!" Rand had never witnessed Lews Therin this roused. He had to struggle to keep Lews Therin from seizing saidin and destroying this woman where she stood. Rand did not know who this Latra Posae was, but it was highly unlikely that Lews Therin knew what he was saying. Latra Posae had to have been over two thousand years dead if Lews Therin had known her. Lews Therin was stark raving mad, so he was likely hallucinating. While all of this was happening, it only took a second of real time, Rand had to let go of his grip on Helen Gaius Moiham to keep control of himself. As soon as she was free, the Reverend Mother lashed out with her gom jabbar. Her prana-bindu reflexes allowed her to hit Rand easily. As soon as Rand felt the prick, he had wrenched control of saidin away from Lews Therin. By pure reflex, Rand Channeled. He wished he could call it back, but it was too late. A bar of liquid light seared from his palm, striking the Reverend Mother. Her colors inversed for a split-second, and then she was gone. There was a purple bar of an afterimage across his vision as he fell to the ground. He hated himself. He had killed a woman. The balefire made her cease to exist before she had stabbed him. He was lucky, but he did not know it. He wouldn't have cared. He wanted to die, but he knew that he could not. He remembered the saying that Lan had taught him, 'Duty is heavier than a mountain, death lighter than a feather.' He had to go on, or the world would die. He knew that, but it did not make him stop wishing that he had died instead of her. He did not know her name, but he burned her face into his memory. It stood beside Liah, Maiden of the Spear, the nameless Darkfriend on the road to Tear, Moiraine, Morgase, even Lanfear was on the list that he made himself remember. The list was of women who had died because of Rand al'Thor. It tore him up inside, but he had to go on. He had to. Winner: Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, the Lord of the Morning, Shadowkiller, the Chosen One, the Car'a'Carn, the Cooramoor, etc. Match 2 � Brian Ailshie Mr. Miyagi vs. MacGyver Mr. Miyagi looked completely at ease and without a care in the world. However, in reality, he was tensed and ready for action. He walked with his hands at his side, but they were still in a defensive posture. His sneakers crunched softly on the gravel, but he stood on the balls of his feet. As he turned a corner, into another alleyway, he noticed a man dart around another corner about a block away. Keeping his calm outward composure, he hastened his steps. MacGyver knew he was being followed. His opponent seemed to be a harmless, fat, old, Japanese man. But Mac knew better than to trust outward appearances. If he could stay ahead of him for another few minutes he would have him. Suddenly, as he turned another corner of this endless maze-like town, the old man was directly in front of him. He stood like some odd crane, one foot hovering in the air as if in mid-kick, and both hands above his head. Mac feinted a step toward him and rolled away from the kicking foot. *@#SMAACK+*^ The old man was a surprise! His lower foot had come arcing around and hit MacGyver square in the back of the head. Mac's head swam, and his neck felt like his head might just topple off his shoulders at any moment. Shaking his head to clear it (and to prove to himself that his neck wasn't broken) Mac rolled away from a quick series of thrusts from the old man's hands. A somersault brought the young man back to his feet and onto the offensive. Mr. Miyagi used the drum technique to dodge his fists and score a few more hits. Youth was no match for experience. Soon the poor kid would be finished and Mr. Miyagi could return to catching flies with his chopsticks. MacGyver knew he was no match for this "fat, old man" and it galled him to no end. Still he was getting his Butte kicked, and no mistaking that. Time to retreat to his trap A.S.A.P. Letting the old man's next blow send him to the floor (it didn't take much acting), MacGyver rolled, somersaulted, and ran. Turning a quick succession of corners, he dived into a doorway and lay on the floor to catch his breath. Mr. Miyagi followed the man quickly but cautiously. A left and a right took him to an alley where he could see the man lying on the floor of a building at far end. Mr. Miyagi proceeded more carefully. And lucky too, as a large, scythe-like blade swept out of a crack in the wall. Mr. Miyagi dodged it easily. However, the blade hit the opposite wall with great force, sending a huge pile of rubble and debris cascading down. MacGyver rolled onto his side. He could see the man's hand sticking out of the pile. It didn't even twitch. Mac may not be a great hand-to-hand fighter, but there is something to be said of a guy who can "build a nuclear reactor out of a couple of coconuts!" Winner: MacGuyver Match 3 � Robert Newell John McClain vs. Jackie Chan Jackie Chan walked out of the Ways. They had not exactly frightened him, but he was beginning to be spooked by this strange city. He twirled the three-foot piece of metal that he had acquired experimentally. It was light and strong... an excellent weapon. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Someone had darted behind the next building over. Jackie went to investigate. His finely honed reflexes saved him from being brained by a rather large chunk of masonry that John McClain threw. "Only one opponent" Jackie thought, "This will be easy". Jackie Chan charged John McClain and hit him with a glancing blow on his shoulder. It should have hit his head, but John had quite finely honed reflexes as well. They began to spar with each other. Normally, they would be quite evenly matched, but Jackie was armed, and John was not. He did have the advantage of knowing that his pistol was nearby... if only he could get to it. Jackie liked this weapon immensely. His opponent was very worthy in his skill, but Jackie knew that he had the upper hand with his rod. John began to move toward the pile of rusted metal as he fought off Jackie's onslaught. John had almost gotten there, when Jackie hit him on the ribs and snapped six or eight of them. John fell to the ground in agony. However, he had fallen right next to his gun. As he picked it up , Jackie hit him on the leg, breaking it as well. Jackie thought that he had won, but his overconfidence allowed John the opening he needed to shoot Jackie in the stomach. Jackie had not suspected a hidden cache of weaponry. They laid there bleeding and moaning. The sounds of despair brought Mashadar who feasted once again. The judges allow Mashadar to kill them, once again allowing the expediency to beat slow death by the gut wound that Jackie had or the punctured lung that John had. Winner: BYE! Match 4 - Mark Ailshie Gradion vs. Stripe Stripe cackled as he surveyed his forces. There were an awful lot of them, now. They had begun to bicker and fight among themselves. Stripe wished he had more complete control over them. Not that he would have known what to do with that control. He had a dim thought that he had to kill some guy whose name began with a "G," but anything more structured than eating and drinking and killing anyone in his way was beyond him. Besides, he knew he was safe from his next opponent, as long as he stayed underground and kept his offspring between them. But suddenly, a ghostly grey tendril poked out of the wall and grabbed a few gremlins. They squealed in terror and tried to get away, but the fog held them fast. Stripe saw it from across the room. Perhaps this basement was not the safest place to be. Had he known it, Stripe had nothing to fear from Mashadar, since according to the rules only Gradion could kill him. But, like I said, Stripe didn't have much of a mind for rules. He fled up the long staircase towards the night sky. Gradion didn't know who this "Stripe" was, but as soon as he arrived for this fight, he started getting attacked by little green men, and assumed that these had something to do with his opponent. None of the little creatures stood a chance against him, of course. Like the Hulk, he could belt away dozens of them at a time and consider it no more than an exercise. Unlike the Hulk, Gradion had the ability to fly away when their numbers became overwhelming. The numbers were frequently overwhelming. Gradion spotted two of them fighting in a bucket of rainwater, and watched how they multiplied. "By Stonach!" cursed the Grishnak prince. "I could keep killing these things all night, and never defeat them all." Of course, Gradion had no way of knowing that they would be far easier to defeat in the day time. Dawn was still hours away. Gradion decided that he had no choice but to go on the offensive, and find the root of this evil. He noticed a lot of them coming out of one particular building. With a roar of challenge, he flew into the door and started splattering gremlins all over the walls. But they just kept coming. Stripe came up the stairs at last into a whirlwind of flying gremlins. A large scaly man with huge wings was scattering his children like flies. The gremlins kept coming, of course--All they saw was an enemy. They never saw a danger until they were dead. But Stripe was a bit smarter than that. He noticed a beam that supported the roof and maneuvered his way over to it. He started chewing on the rotten wood. A few gremlins were distracted enough to come over and see what he was doing. Stripe snarled at the first one, and scratched him in the face. "Mine!" he said in his broken English. Of course, then every gremlin in hearing distance> wanted to chew on the beam. Shortly, there were two mobs coming out of the cellars and going in different directions--one group to attack the grishnak, and the other to attack the beam. Gradion was so blind with blood lust that he barely noticed. Stripe sprang to one of the windows. With a crash, the ancient structure crashed in on Gradion and the gremlins. Stripe had lost hundreds of children in the big room, and hundreds more were buried in the cellars, doomed to die slowly of suffocation. But Gradion died too. And Stripe still had dozens of gremlins, and the chance to make more. Winner: Stripe ROUND 3 Match 1 � Robert Newell Rand Al�Thor vs. MacGyver Rand had wrested his sanity from the grip of Lews Therin and had sent him fleeing into the deepest recesses of his mind. He could hear the Kinslayer moaning for his lost Ilyena, but for now, Rand was in full control of his body. He could not afford to let go of saidin again though. The evil of Shadar Logoth made the taint even more soul-searing than usual, but he could not give Lews Therin another opportunity to gain control. He knew that if Lews Therin ever took over, he would likely never regain his body. Saidin beckoned, but he did not channel. He did however, use his enhanced senses. Saidin made him feel a hundred times more alive, every sense was sharper. It made normal life seem bland and washed out in comparison. He did not however, see the trip wire before he stepped on it. It intrigued him, who would set such an foolish snare for the Dragon Reborn? It had not done anything?! He avoided the next trap and searched for more. Every few buildings, some kind of trap or another was deftly hidden, but not to one holding the Power and looking carefully for it. Rand decided that the trap setter must be his next opponent. MacGyver cursed to himself. Why hadn't the tripwire set off the building collapse like it was supposed to? And how was this mysterious man avoiding all of his traps? What neither of them knew was that Rand's ta'veren-ness was working for him again. MacGyver was so good at jury-rigged devices that only one in a million or so would ever fail to do what it was supposed to do. The pattern however, was subtly altered, so all of MacGyver�s traps were failing as if they had been the odd millionth trap. Rand finally heard something. Another trap being set by MacGyver. He channelled. Even with Asmodean's teachings, he still did not remember half of the things that he instinctively could do. The earth opened up and spewed lava at MacGyver. The building in front of him was destroyed and he was badly seared by the heat. Strangely enough, the wreckage of the building looked like the symbol of the Aes Sedai of the Age of Legends, but this was simply another random occurrence of the pattern being made manifest near a ta'veren. Neither one recognized it, Rand because he was busy channeling fist sized balls of fire at MacGyver and MacGyver because he was busy having a hole burned through his chest by Rand's third fire ball. Rand surveyed the wreckage and thanked the Creator that he did not have to fight a woman this time. Winner: Rand al'Thor the Lord of the Morning, Dragon Reborn, Shadowkiller, Cooramoor, Car'a'carn, King of Illian, etc. Match 2 Stripe takes the Bye from Match 3, Round 2. ROUND 4 Match - Robert Newell Rand Al�Thor vs. Stripe The gremlins were everywhere. Stripe had used his bye time well and had amassed an innumerable host of gremlins. Stripe was ready... or at least thought that he was. He was rapidly losing servants to Mashadar, but he did not care. He had more than plenty to kill this 'Ranaltor' or whatever his name was. Rand was somewhat confused. The tiny beasts that were attacking him didn't look like any Shadowspawn that he had ever encountered. He was dispatching them easily enough, and they had started to shy away from his flaming sword of Power, but Rand couldn't shake the sense of danger that he felt. He began to blow up groups of gremlins as he saw them with miniature fireballs. They kept coming. More and more were coming. The death throes of the originals were drawing the gremlins fast. Rand's sword spun around him like a whirlwind as he brandished it in one hand. In his other hand, he was clutching the fat man angreal. Finally, one gremlin got through his defenses and scratched his hand. He reflexively dropped the angreal and shot a stream of balefire from his hand. The gremlin disappeared in the massive blast and his hand was made whole, but he could not find the angreal in the writhing mass of gremlins. He channeled harder now, cutting a path through the beasts. Lightning and fire, rent earth, and blades of air mowed the gremlins down, but they kept coming. Rand laughed madly in his head. These little beasts thought that they could defeat the Dragon Reborn?! He channeled and a gateway opened in the air before him. Before his view lay a glittering crystal sword, thrust into the stone floor of the Heart of Tear. Rand channeled again and the blade came free as the traps he had previously woven recognized him and accepted its passage. The gateway closed. Rand's hand gripped the pommel of Calandor, the Sword that is not a sword. The light of Saidin filled him full. He had done this once before in Tear. That time he created a vortex that sought and killed Shadowspawn. He channeled a similar weave and a similar vortex began to annihilate every gremlin in sight. The Power was intoxicating, he had only once channeled more of the Power, but this was still incredible. He swung his sword and half the broken city collapsed. Mashadar fled to the deepest pits of the earth that it knew. Stripe was crushed by the falling buildings. Rand stood alone, filled with the Power. He dropped Calandor and vomited all over the ground. When he woke he felt much better. His wounds were still there, but then again, they had been for quite some time. He looked around, but could not find Calandor. Before he could even guess who had taken it, he disappeared in a flash of light. Moridin stepped into the light, holding the Sword. With the Dragon gone, and Calandor his, none could oppose him. Unfortunately, with the tournament finished with this world, all returned as it had been, yet frozen awaiting the return of the Dragon from parts unknown. Will it be in victory or defeat? The Wheel Weaves as the Wheel Wills. Winner of Bracket F: Rand Al�Thor |