"Ladies and Gentlemen. Here he is, the Street Fighter Champion. The greatest proffesional fighter in all the world. Master of Shotokan Karate. Master of Fire. Please welcome, Ken Masters!" A giant pillar of flame errupted on the stage, when it died down, Ken stood there. The crowd burst into applause. A woman in a tight red dress walked on to the stage and presented a large golden trophy to him. "Thank you," Ken said, "I was going to put this on the top of my trophy case, but Mel's basketball team just won their division championship, so I guess I'll have to find some space in the garage for it. Seriously though. I'd like to thank my father, who, when I was young, looked at me and said, 'Ken, you are a spoiled brat, and I'm sending you to Japan to learn some discipline.' Thank you Dad, I hope I can raise Mel half as well as you raised me. I'd also like to thank my beautiful wife, Eliza, for being so supportive, even though she dies everytime I go out there. And my son, Mel, who's the greatest inspiration a guy could have." ****************** Ken walked down the hall to his hotel room. He had just put some of the equipment in the training room through a severe round of abuse, and while he wasn't angry anymore, he was still worried, and more than a little upset. There was someone behind him. Great, Ken though, *he* is here. I do *not* need this right now. "Hola, Sensei," Sean said, twirling his basketball on one finger. "Sean, pick a language and stick with it." "Still pissed that Ryu wasn't here to see your triumph?" "Mind your own business, Sean," Ken told him, as he opened the door. "Eliza, I'm back!" "Feeling better, honey?" Eliza said, kissing Ken on the cheek, "Oh, hello, Sean." "Yeah, a bit," Ken said, "I'm still worried, though. The Street Fighter tournament is generally considered the greatest fighting circuit in the entire world. Even if Ryu already has won, it's not like him to pass up an opportunity of skill." "Sean!" Mel said running to the door. Sean scooped him up, and sat him on his shoulder. "Heya, amigo, heard about the basketball championship. Not surprising with the moves I showed you." "You did very well in the tournament, Sean," Eliza said, "Making the top ten is very impressive." "Thanks, Mrs. Masters, too bad Zangief stopped me at ten," Sean said, "So how about it, Sensei?" "You're still not ready, Sean, so stop calling me Sensei. And besides, I don't have time to train you right now. I'm going to find out what happened to Ryu." Eliza sighed, "I worry about you, honey, but I know you can't just abandon your freind." "Don't fret, Mrs. Masters, I'll help," Sean said. "You want to help?" Ken asked. "Si, Sensei." Ken tossed him a set of keys. "Then go get my duffel out of my car." Sean looked at him, then thrust the keys in his pocket and stormed off, grumbling. Eliza giggled, "He's sure willing to put up with a lot, isn't he?" "Yeah, the kids got perseverance But I need to talk to Madame Rose, and I don't want him in my way." ******************** "Damn it's cold up here!" Sean said, shivering, "Why'd they have to have the ceremony all the way up in Moscow, anyways. Now where'd Ken park that car? There it is!" Sean opened the trunk and pulled out a duffel bag. "Hibiki-san!" a girl in a really short fuku called out running to him, "Hibiki-san!" Sean glared at her, which cause her to come skidding to a stop. "Don't ever call me Hibiki!" Sean said between his teeth, "I'm twice the fighter Dan will ever be!" "Gomen nasai!" the girl said cowering back. "Don't worry, my grandfather told me never to hit a girl," Sean said. "Hey, aren't you Sakura's friend? Um, Kei?" "Hai, Sean-san," she said. Sean winced. "Don't call me that, please, it sounds silly. Just call me Sean." "Hai, gomen nasai." "Say, what are you doing here? I didn't think Sakura entered the tournament this year." Kei nodded, "Hai, she's been missing for two weeks now. Everyone keeps saying she probably just went out to train, but she would have told me. I think something's wrong." "So what are you doing here in Russia?" "I don't know why, but something's telling me she's in big trouble, something only a really strong warrior could handle, so I thought maybe I could get one of the Street Fighters to help me." "Hmmm.... Ryu's missing, too. Could be that something happened to both of them. Come with me, we'll tell...." Sean stopped short, and pulled Kei down behind the car. Peering around the side of the car, they saw two men in business suits standing in an alley, looking VERY suspicious. One opened his breifcase, showing the contents to the other. Unfortunately, he was facing away from Sean, so he couldn't see what was in the case. "Who are they?" Kei whispered. "Dunno," Sean replied, "But the Street Fighter tournament doesn't have the cleanest history, Bison used it to cover up his drug trafficing, who knows who else used it like that." "You think this is connected to a Street Fighter?" "Maybe." The man handed his breifcase to the other, and they began to walk away. The man who now held the case got into a limosine, which pulled away. "I'm gonna follow them." Sean dropped the duffel back in the car, and ran to his motorcycle. "Wait!" Kei said, "I need your help!" She climbed onto the back of his motorcylce. "Put this on," he said, tossing her his spare helmet, "And hold on tight." Kei screamed as they ripped out of the lot, already going over 40, with no signs of slowing down. ******************** Ken raised his hand to knock on the door, when it opened. Madame Rose stood in front of him. "Come in, Champion," she said. Ken looked at the hotel room. A heavy mist covered the dark room, the only light coming from an orb that floated above a simple wooden table. She gestured for him to sit down at the table. He did, and she sat down across from him. "Thank you, Madame Rose." "What ails you, Champion, that you come seeking knowledge?" she asked. "Ryu's absence. I know there's something behind it." "Your instincts are sharp. Indeed, Ryu's disappearance is shrouded by dark energy. I have tried to divine the cause of his absence, but could not." "Is there anything I can do to help?" Ken asked. "Yes, I need something, something that represents the connection between the two of you. It is possible, however unlikely, that I may be able to learn what was previously unavailable to me through this connection." Ken reached into his gi, and took out an old, battered picture. I showed two young boys, one American, one Japanese. The Japanese boy held his hand up in the air in triumph, while the American boy's hand was held forward, in the sign of victory. "Will this work?" he asked. Rose didn't answer, she just took the picture and held it above her head. She closed her eyes and began to hum in meditation. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. "Nerima, go to Nerima. I do not know what awaits you there, but it will ultimately lead you to Ryu. Beware, the one who beat Ryu is a great threat, and stopping him will not be easy. Are you determined to go?" "You bet." "Then hurry, time grows short. In Nerima, you will make freinds and allies, and be drawn into a fight of great importance. That is all I can tell you. May the road you walk lead you to victory, Champion." "Thank you, Madame Rose." ******************** The limosine finally pulled into an old industrial building. Sean pulled to a stop a small distance away. He eyed some scaffolding left over from renevations done who knows how long ago. "Wait!" Kei said, "You're not going to leave me alone out here!" "Just be quiet, okay?" Sean said, as he climbed the scaffolding. Kei had a little bit of difficulty following, but she managed. Once he was on top of the building, Sean found a large skylight, and peered down inside. A giant glass tank was filled with some white gunk that bubbled violently "Did you get it?" a man in a white coat asked. The man with the briefcase walked into view. "Here it is, Doctor Kure," the man said, opening the case. The Doctor took out a small vial of a bright blue liquid. "At last," Doctor Kure exclaimed. He placed the vial into a machine, filled with similar vials of different colors. He pressed a few buttons, and the vials began to drain. The chemicals flowed through various tubes, into the tank. The tank drained, however, some of the liquid remained still, when the tank had emptied. A man stood there. He was featureless, constructed out of the chemical, somehow solid yet liquid at the same time. "Awaken, Twelve," Doctor Kure said. Two red eyes, opened. "Running systems check... Memory.... okay.... operational data..... okay.... thought systems.... okay.... systems check complete.... activating independant thought programs...." "Hello, Twelve, how are you feeling?" "Hello, Doctor Kure. I am well." "Master!" Doctor Kure said to someone Sean couldn't see. "It works! Just as I had calculated! He is perfect!" "We will see, Doctor," a voice said, "He will have to prove himself, before we can begin mass production. We cannot afford to pour money into a defective product." "He IS perfect, Master! But if you require proof, test him anyway you like. He is keyed to take orders directly from you, and only from you." "Very well. Twelve." "Yes, Master?" the strange creature asked. "Kill that man." "Of course, Master." The man who had delivered the chemical, stepped back, his eyes wide. He turned to run, but Twelve's arms streched out, transforming into sword blades at the end. The man screamed as the weapons buried themselves in his back. Twelve drew his arms back, reforming them into hands. The man fell to the floor. "Kei, let go of me," Sean hissed. Kei had Sean's arm in a tight, painful grip. Sean struggled to free himself, and wrenched his arm out of Kei's hands. He lost his balance, and fell through the glass. He managed to grab onto a pole, and flip safely onto the ground. Right in front of Twelve. "Twelve," Sean looked up to see a man, half firey red, half icey blue, split by an even line down the middle, on a viewscreen, "Kill him." "HA DO BURST!!!" Sean yelled, unleashing a burst of energy into Twelve, sending him crashing into a table full of equipment. Sean gulped as Twelve got up, seemingly unphased. "Gotta split!" he said, and ran like hell. "Twelve," Gill said, "Do you want to prove yourself?" "Yes, master," Twelve said. "Bring me that boy's head. Do not let anyone see you. If you are seen, kill any witnesses. Do this, and you shall be worthy in my eyes." "Thank you, master." Twelve said, and he ran off after Sean. Kei, ran from the skylight, and started to climb back down the scaffolding. However, she was too nervous, her hand slipped, and she fell. Someone caught her. "Thank y-" Kei cut herself off as she looked at her savior, a large bead of sweat rolling down the back of her head. An iron mask looked down at her, or was it his face? The man was nine feet tall, and wore a trenchcoat and hat. The giant put her down and turned to face the wall. With one swing of his fist, he ripped a giant hole in it. Behind it, Sean ran like the Devil himself was behind him. Seeing the newly formed entrance, Sean quickly changed direction, and darted out the hole, seconds before the wall collapsed. The giant pointed at Sean's motorcycle, then disappeared into the shadows of the alley. "I think he wants us to go," Sean said, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest. "Yeah," Kei managed to squeak out, "Let's go!"