Match of the Millennium

As the broadcast goes live, NFG commentators Tom and Lou appear on-screen in front of a large electronic display showing the NFG logo. Contrary to the norm, there's a serious atmosphere, the lights slightly dimmer than usual, and both commentators clasping their hands in front of themselves. TOM: "Ladies, gentlemen, and all of our other friends, it is with grave concern that commentator 'Loverboy' Lou Harris and myself, Tom Bradley, must report a theft." LOU: "Yes, folks. You may have already noticed it. Our jobs... have been stolen." A sting suddenly interrupts the broadcast's EDM score. TOM: "Well... more accurately, Lou, our files have been stolen. Along with some of the production equipment." LOU: "That's right, Tom. The equipment we use to produce the Rundown has been removed from the studios, along with a portable drive containing the latest Rundown podcast." TOM: "In other words, we don't have a rundown for the matches this week. We do, however, have this footage of the alleged perpetrator of this theft." The screen behind Tom and Lou changes to show grainy security footage in front of a room labelled 'TECH BOX.' The door pops open, and a short, vaguely humanoid figure wearing a balaclava creeps out, carrying a sack over its shoulder, before running down the corridor and disappearing into an air vent. LOU: "Is that Nixie?" TOM: "No, Lou. Not only would Nixie have had no reason to steal the rundown, considering our sympathetic review of her performance, but her whereabouts at the time of the theft can also be confirmed." An image shows a post from Coco's social media showing footage of Nixie nonchalantly sitting in a sun chair and drinking an unknown beverage. The picture zooms out to reveal that the shot is at Abigail's Scrapyard, where vehicles are being smashed up by fighters in the background. LOU: "Huh. I always wondered what she gets up to when she's not on camera." TOM: "Indeed. So, to clarify, our jobs have not been stolen, and our rundowns will be continuing in the future." LOU: "But in the meanwhile, you might as well check out one of our fighters' independent podcasts, like the Ichikast, for a rundown of the matches." TOM: "I repeat, our jobs have not been stolen." LOU: "It's okay, Tom. Just power through the match lineup and you can see Dr. Harper at the appointment later." TOM: "Ahem. You're right, Lou. So, continuing on with the standings update!" Link to the rundown on Ichikast 3: http://motm.kicks-ass.net/news/2/47.shtml (Continued in the next post!)

The points standings for the NFG appear on the screen: ================================ NFG - Points ================================ End of Round Five Buck - 30 points Chevy - 29 Points John Doe - 28 Points Coco - 27 Points Djamila - 27 Points Ichika - 27 Points Tamaki - 25 Points Iris - 25 Points Ayala - 25 Points Hawksley - 24 Points Buford - 23 Points Nixie - 21 Points Sarah - 21 Points Kenzo - 20 Points Genie - 15 Points Zarine - 15 Points Braun - 13 Points Laurel - 11 Points Hated R - 11 Points Junko - 11 Points ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- METAL: 121 FROST: 111 THUNDER: 108 BLAZE: 88 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOU: "That's the spirit, buddy! Now, as you can see, folks, Frost and Thunder had a strong showing this week, with the original Thunder members all taking wins, and Frost's new acquisitions in Coco and newcomer Zarine both taking wins and Buford and Nixie taking draws." TOM: "We also have Buck and Chevy taking the top spots ahead of John Doe, and three-way ties in the standings between Coco, Djamila and Ichika, along with Tamaki, Iris and Ayala." LOU: "And Laurel, Hated R, and Junko." TOM: "Fair point; other than Zarine defeating fellow newcomer Laurel, the NFG's newest acquisitions struggled to pick up wins." LOU: "I'm sure they'll settle in and start picking up wins soon, once the nerves have died down and they've had more time to train under their mentors." TOM: "Blaze continues to lag well behind the other teams in the standings despite their poster boy in Hawksley picking up a win. Meanwhile, Metal remains in the lead, but the gap is closing. And with Metal facing off against Blaze, this is Blaze's chance to step up and close that gap even further." LOU: "Or possibly get knocked clear out of teamwide contention." TOM: "So, why don't we go ahead and dive into that matchup?" LOU: "Sounds good to me, Tom." (Continued in the next post!)