(The scene opens to the image of Ataru sitting behind a large, curved desk, wearing a formal business suit and tie. Next to him sits Sakura, also formally dressed, and edging as close as she can to the outer rim of the camera shot to put distance between her and Ataru.)
"And we're back to JNN, your news at whenever the heck you happen to read this," Ataru picked up the stack of papers in front of him and then tapped the bottom edge of the stack against the desk to straighten the pile, careless or ignorant of the fact that he was holding a stack of perfectly blank Xerox paper. "Our top story tonight: WAR!!"
Sakura took over, turning to one side slightly as she kept her eyes locked on the prompter. "A recent surge of unrest in the Spamville sections of
www.fukufics.com has led to military action by the forum Brotherhood of G.R.O.S.S., or Get Rid Of Slimy Succubi, a violent splinter faction that opposes forum admin Josh Temple and his relentless crusade to make Ranma Saotome a Sailor Senshi. Conflict has already broken out amongst the various threads, and mass warfare seems unavoidable."
A small diagram appeared next to Ataru, showing an outline of a human head with a black spot inside the skull.
"Experts suggest that anyone who didn't see this coming a mile away might not have any brains at all!" Ataru said authoritatively, gesturing to the diagram.
"And now, to get a better perspective on the conflict, we turn to our embedded reporter and senior combat analyst, Ranma Saotome," Sakura said, gesturing to the side.
A fuzzy, static-filled image appeared next to Sakura, and the image slowly cleared to reveal Ranma standing in front of a scarred landscape covered in craters and smoke-filled trenches. Manning the trenches behind him, instead of actual soldiers, were animate, chibi-sized plushie versions of Space Marines and Stormtroopers firing off-screen.
Sakura grimaced. "It looks pretty bad out there, Saotome. Is there any end in sight?"
Ranma shrugged. "For all I can tell, both sides still command endless waves of reinforcements, and it doesn't look like this battle is going to end until the corpses and stuffing pile up high enough that neither side can fire at each other. But even that will be a temporary peace, I'm afraid. For both armies, there is only one acceptable outcome: a complete and crushing victory."
Ranma gestured out to the trenches. "But this is just the rear lines. At the front the fighting has reached a point of massacre as Final Fantasy Tactics units are roasted alive by the dozen from Black Dragon's special unit plushies, ranging in form from Lina Inverse to Iori Yagami, to a dozen different magic-wielding versions of me from a variety of dead fanfics."
Sakura was about to ask another question, when Ataru suddenly leaned over toward the picture.
"Whoa, wait! Aren't the FFT units part of Stratagemini's army? One of the Spammaster Generals of the Brotherhood? That's on the same side as the plushie army of the Lord of Chaos?" Ataru asked, causing Sakura to look thoughtful.
"Well... yeah." Ranma admitted. "Funny story, actually. You see, everybody on Josh's side is either already dead, refuses to fight, or are such dirty God-moders that they're no fun to battle with. The actual war lasted about six minutes, including coffee breaks." Ranma scratched the back of his head. "And, well, the armies didn't want their budget to get cut next year, so they've started killing each other now."
Sakura sweatdropped. "I see. Thank you, Ranma. Stay safe out there."
The box disappeared, and a smaller one appeared in its place, portraying a small tropical island with a volcano in the middle. Sakura cleared her throat.
"Overlord and Brotherhood General Black Dragon, Lord of Chaos continues to reside in his deserted island laboratory fortress, occasionally overseeing the war, but mostly playing Phantom Brave and drinking soda pop. To aid him in his quest for cyberspacial domination he has trained the island's indigenous giant sand crabs to heed his commands as his loyal slaves. Also in preparation of the war, Black Dragon is said to have constructed a complex network of orbital ion cannon satellites, which has been summarily rendered useless by the unforeseen complications of getting giant crabs to effectively use complicated electronics for aiming such weapons."
There was a slight rumbling sound in the background, and Ataru and Sakura blinked as everything shook slightly.
Ataru suddenly pressed a hand to his ear and concentrated. "I have just been informed that Wyoming has been completely destroyed by a series of devastating energy beams from space!"
Ataru once again stopped, his hand still pressed against his ear. "This just in! The Bush Administration has organized for a public poll to determine whether the President should take credit for the orbital assault or blame it on Bill Clinton!"
Once again, Ataru stopped and concentrated, his hand not having moved. "Breaking news! I have just been informed that there is no transmitter in my ear!"
"MOVING ON," Sakura said firmly, "we've managed to send our own reporter, Lum, to interview one of the Brotherhood generals behind this pointless slaughter that they have initiated. She's managed to get this exclusive interview with Jester "Himitsu" Xellos, which we're now broadcasting live."
Yet another box opened up on the screen, showing Lum with her back to the camera, wearing a tiger-striped business suit. Sitting across from her was a Xellos avatar with the standard costume fare, plus a large sword at his hip. He was also eating a soft-serve ice cream cone, which looked horribly out of place among the piles of sand, dark machinery, and the occasional giant crustacean guard.
"So what are you doing to bring a swift end to the war, Mr. Himitsu? Surely as one of the senior Brotherhood commanders you must have a plan."
The mazoku looked at Lum as if she was crazy.
"Why would I want to bring an end to the war? It's just getting interesting!"
Lum frowned. "Aren't you concerned about mounting Brotherhood casualties in the face of little to no tangible gain?"
"Nah."
Lum sweatdropped.
Himitsu rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. Half the army is composed of dolls. What do we care if they're torn apart by the hundreds?"
"What about the other half?" Lum asked.
"Those guys demand wages. We WANT them dead."
Lum sighed. "At least tell me you have a plan for winning the war eventually."
"Of course I have a plan," Himitsu said condescendingly, before going back to eating his ice cream.
".................. Well?!" Lum finally shouted impatiently, not getting any answer from the mysterious priest.
"Well what?" Himitsu said in confusion.
"What's your plan?!" She said through clenched teeth.
"You want to know the details of my plan?"
"YES, PLEASE," Lum said, only slightly calmer than she was a moment ago.
Himitsu leaned forward closer to the Oni reporter. "My plan is..."
Lum leaned forward as well.
"A secret!" Himitsu said as he grinned, surprising absolutely no one.
Lum sweatdropped. "How can you run a war when you won't tell anyone your plans?"
"Practice!" The annoying mazoku said, wagging his finger at her as he finished off his ice scream. Then he stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have to cut this short. It's my turn to stop Stratagemini from casting Ice 9 and freezing the entire universe."
Ataru turned away from the display as it disappeared. "And there you have it! Next up: President Bush claims to have destroyed Wyoming for the good of the nation; approval rating nearing 100%! We'll be right back after a few words from our sponsor!"