Saturday, November 21, 1992, 12:00 PM

The crowd cheered both ways. Cries of "Kill, Ryu!" and "Kill Ken!" could be heard.

Ryu was in the arena, facing off with long-time friend and foe, Ken Masters.

"Come on, Ryu! I've surpassed you!" Ken taunted. "Like Sheng Long said: 'You're the first fool'!"

"But you were the second fool." Ryu replied. "And first fools know best."

"Whatever." Ken said. "You know what they say, Ryu: 'First is the worst, second is the best.'"

Ryu shouted "Shoryuken!" and nailed Ken in the chin. Ryu landed and finished Ken's rhyme. "Third is the one who's gonna get his butt kicked by me!"

Ken wiped the blood from his mouth. "Very nice, my old friend. Very nice. I wasn't expecting that. But you forget - we trained under the same master! Hadoken!" Ken shot a blue fireball from his hands, which Ryu just barely jumped over.

In midair, Ryu went into his Hurricane Kick move. "Tatsu-Maki-Senpu-Kyaku!"

Ryu flew through the air, over Ken's head and to the opposite side of him. "I learned that at an old deserted beach. Hurricane season."

Ken started laughing. "Oh, Ryu. Learning new tricks as always. Well, here's one of my own! Tatsu-Maki-Senpu-Kyaku!"

Ken went into a Hurricane Kick, but it was faster than usual. Ken's foot smacked into Ryu's face three times before Ken went out of the move and Ryu crumpled to the ground.

Ken said into the fallen Ryu's left ear "I learned that one in Desert Land on the Mushroom World. Tornado season."

"KEN WINS!"

It was followed by assorted cheers and boos. Again, people screamed Ken's name and threw flowers and other things at him.

"I told ya, Ryu," Ken said over the crowd, "ya always were second best!"

Captain N, Lana, Mike, and Mega Man walked into the huge, circular arena.

"So, when do we kick ass?" Mike asked.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THIS NEXT BATTLE PROMISES TO BE A GOOD ONE. OUR FOUR CHALLENGERS: KEVIN KEENE, PRINCESS LANA DESCHAIN, MIKE VINCENT, AND MEGA MAN!"

The crowd cheered.

"AND THEIR OPPONENTS: THE FOUR-MAN TAG TEAM OF CHUN LI, E. HONDA, ZANGIEF, AND DHALSIM!"

The four walked into the arena.

Chun Li, with her blue outfit flailing about, yelled "I'm the strongest woman in the world!"

"Nah, She-Ra is!" Kevin yelled back at her.

E. Honda, a sumo wrestler, shouted out something in a foreign language.

Zangief, a buffed-up bear wrestler, laughed heartily.

Dhalsim, a guru with stretchable limbs, got into a meditation-like form.

"FIGHT!"

In that instant, the N Teamsters took their fighters. Kevin went up against E. Honda, while Lana took Chun Li. Mike went up against Dhalsim, and Mega Man battled Zangief.

Mega Man looked up... and up... and up at his opponent. "This is gonna be one mega long battle!"

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IN THIS CORNER - KARATE MASTER RYU KENSHIRO!"

Ryu fixed his headband and put his right arm in the air. He could see the N Teamsters in the audience, cheering for him.

"IN THE OTHER CORNER - BRAZILIAN MONSTER...BLANKA!"

From out of a cage on the side of an arena, a green-skinned, orange-haired beast broke. He roared loudly, which got him several cheers.

"FIGHT!"

After hearing those words, Ryu walked toward the monster known as Blanka.

Blanka growled. "You can't beat me. Blanka strong!. Blanka be champion and overthrow Bison!"

"Right." Ryu muttered. He ran at Blanka and shouted "Tatsu-Maki-Senpu-Kyaku!" He went into a Hurricane Kick, but just flew over the crouching Blanka.

Then came the shocker.

Ryu landed just next to Blanka.

Suddenly, like a wolf on the prowl, Blanka got down on his haunches. He squeezed his fists and closed his eyes.

Ryu suddenly felt a jolt of electricity surge through his body. Then it was unbearable. Blanka was electrically charging himself like an eel! The electricity hit Ryu and zapped him. Ryu fell to the ground, burned.

However, he got up and said "That the best you can do?" Ryu flipped backward until he was on the other side of the arena.

Blanka called "You die!" He then jumped forward and curled up into a ball! He hurled himself at Ryu.

Ryu went into a Dragon Punch, shouting "Shoryuken!" As Blanka was hit, Ryu landed and instantly went into a Fireball. "Hadoken!"

Blanka was hit and fell to the ground, groaning.

"RYU WINS!"

Ryu folded his arms across his chest and struck a pose that made girls in the audience scream.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! OUR NEXT BATTLE PROMISES TO BE QUITE A SHOWDOWN! LET'S HAVE A HAND FOR RYU KENSHIRO!"

Ryu nodded and got into fighting stance.

"AND NOW LET'S HAVE A HAND FOR HIS OPPONENT - GUILE!"

A man wearing green army pants and a green tanktop (with little dogtags) struck his fighting stance. His hair, Ryu noted, was like nothing he'd ever seen before. It was blonde, yet shaped like a broom of some sort. It covered his entire scalp, which looked especially weird.

"You ready to have your butt kicked, little man?" Guile taunted.

"Someone's butt is gonna be kicked today, and it isn't mine!" Ryu answered.

"FIGHT!"

Ryu and Guile leapt into action. Ryu started off with a solid jump-kick to Guile's face, followed by a series of low kicks. Guile shrugged it off by using a suplex on Ryu.

Ryu got up and shook his head rapidly. "Okay, Hair-Boy, tell me why you're here."

"Why?"

"Everyone has an agenda. Just tell me." Ryu then shot a Fireball. "Hadoken!"

"I guess I do. Sonic Boom!" Guile shot another projectile, which looked like two saw blades made of fire, at Ryu's Fireball, canceling it out. "I'm here to take down M. Bison. Ever since he killed my partner long ago, I've had a vendetta against him. Why are you here?"

Ryu hopped over to Guile, using another jump-kick. "Sagat. He's the one I want. In the first Street Fighter tournament, I gave him a scar across his chest with my Dragon Punch. He's been hunting me down ever since."

The fight went on.

Guile eventually said "Let's see that Dragon Punch."

Ryu smiled and shouted "Shoryuken!" He went into a Dragon Punch, but missed the crouching Guile. As Ryu descended, he was hit by Guile's foot.

"Flash Kick!" Guile shouted, hitting Ryu right in the left leg.

Ryu hit the ground hard, and he rubbed his wounded leg.

"I'm not done yet." Ryu said, getting up. He decide to fake Guile out. He leapt in close and shot a Fireball.

Guile, of course, canceled it out with a Sonic Boom.

But Ryu, with his fast reflexes, instantly went into a Dragon Punch, hitting Guile square in the jaw.

"RYU WINS!"

"This is crazy!" Captain N called to his teammates. "How are we supposed to beat these guys?!"

"Keep fighting!" Lana called back. "Wear them down!"

Chun Li jumped into the air, turned upside-down, and did a move similar to Ryu's Hurrican Kick, only...upside down.

"Spinning Bird Kick!" Chun Li shouted as she did the move.

Lana drew her Zapper and blasted Chun Li out of the air.

She fell on her back and panted. "Good job, Princess. I underestimated you."

Lana helped Chun Li up. Chun Li walked out of the arena and smiled back at Lana. Lana gave her a thumbs-up.

Mega Man wasn't doing so well. He was being thrown around by Zangief like a ragdoll.

"You are small and weak, Tovarisch! Why do you not give up!?" Zangief taunted. He flexed his muscles and approached Mega Man.

"This is mega bad." Mega Man mumbled. He charged his arm cannon up, and, just as Zangief was in close, he let the blast loose, knocking the muscle-man back into a wall.

Zangief hit the wall with a thud. He shook his head and put his hand on it. "Ow." he muttered.

Mike took on Dhalsim.

Dhalsim reared back, then blew fire at Mike!

"Yoga Fire!" Dhalsim shouted through the blast.

Mike quickly pressed the Right button on his Power Pad and dodged the flame.

He drew his Zapper. "Gotta make this hit." he mumbled to himself. He aimed at Dhalsim's skull necklace and fired.

The laser beam shattered the skull!

Dhalsim fell to the ground. "My chi energy...shattered." Dhalsim gasped. "You are a true warrior."

"I know." Mike said with a grin.

Kevin took on E. Honda, the sumo wrestler.

"You are very dishonorable, using a weapon." Honda said.

Kevin thought, then said "You're right. I can kick your butt without this." He put his Zapper away.

"Oh, no!" Lana said.

"It shall be so, then." Honda said. He reared back, then leapt at Kevin.

Honda flew through the air like a missile, coming staright at Kevin.

Kevin thought fast. He ducked and let Honda fly over him. Just as Honda was in the right place, Kevin kicked upward, hitting Honda squarely in the stomach. Honda flew up into the air, then landed with a thud just near Kevin.

"THE N TEAM WINS!"

The four N Teamsters waved at the cheering fans.

Kevin turned to the others. "C'mon. Let's go and see if we can catch Ryu's battle."

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT HAS COME DOWN TO THIS FIGHT! IN THE RUNNER-UP POSITION, RYU KENSHIRO!"

Ryu waved to the crowd. He looked at the N Team and winked at Stacey.

"AND THE CHALLENGER, WINNER OF EVERY BATTLE YET, KEN MASTERS!"

Ken walked into the arena. People cheered loudly. Ken smiled and waved back.

He then looked at Ryu with a mischievous grin. "Hey, Ryu. Ready for more?"

"I'm ready. But this time, you're the one who's going to be beaten." Ryu replied, getting into fighting stance.

"Okay, dude." Ken said, doing the same.

"FIGHT!"

Ken and Ryu instantly went into action.

Ken flipped back and threw a Fireball. "Hadoken!"

The Fireball flew at Ryu, but Ryu easily evaded it by using his Hurricane Kick. Ryu landed and said "Now, Ken! It ends!"

"For you, dude!" Ken said, making a thumbs-down gesture towards Ryu.

"That's it!" Ryu shouted. Channeling up his chi energy, Ryu focused all of his power into his fists. He threw a Fireball at Ken, which Ken Dragon Punched over.

That's exactly what Ryu wanted.

As Ken descended from his Dragon Punch, Ryu went into the same move. "Shoryuken!" Ryu hit Ken hard, which knocked Ken to the ground.

"RYU WINS!"

The crowd roared. To see Ryu beat Ken was quite a feat.

Ryu waved to the crowd. He threw a kiss to Stacey.

Just then, a huge television monitor came down on one side of the arena. On it, the man M. Bison appeared.

"Congratulations, Ryu. You have fought well. But it isn't over yet. No. Now, you must face my three champions! Balrog,...Vega,...and Sagat!"

Ryu went over to Ken and helped him up. "Ken, I...I might - "

Ken finished Ryu's sentence: "You might need some help, I know. Sure, man. Good job."

Two doors opened on a side of the arena. Out from them, two men walked.

One, who had black skin and boxing gloves, hit his gloves together and shouted "Yeah, baby!"

The other was much scarier looking. He wore a white mask with dark eye slits. His long, brown hair was tied up in a ponytail. But what he bore on his left hand scared Ryu and Ken the most. A metal claw attached to his wrist braces. Three talons protruded from it, making it look like the fist of a certain comic book character that Kevin recognized.

"Come! Show me what you can do!" the man with the mask taunted. "No one can defeat the beautiful Vega!"

"Yeah, me neither!" the boxer, Balrog, added.

"I'll take the scary dude, Ryu." Ken whispered to his friend.

"Which one's the scary dude?" Ryu asked.

"Aw, just fight!" Ken replied, jumping towards Vega.

"Oh!" Ryu realized. He hopped over to Balrog.

Balrog started punching air. "Yeah, man! Come on! I be ready, man! Come on!"

Ryu watched the bouncing boxer with a concerned eye. As soon as Balrog was done bouncing, Ryu laughed and said "You scare me, man." Ryu went into a Fireball motion. "Hadoken!"

The Fireball hit the boxer in the stomach. Balrog fell to the ground on his back. "Ow!"

Ryu folded his arms and said "Yeah" to himself.

Ken and Vega battled.

"Man, you sure are fast!" Ken laughed. "I like that!"

"Prattle all you want after you have beaten me, not before!" Vega replied, bouncing off of the walls as if he were some kind of loony. Vega landed in front of Ken and landed a quick punch before hopping away again.

"This is tougher than I thought!" Ken said, grabbing his chest.

Vega, who had jumped to safety, let out a cry like a banshee. It was both annoying and enchanting at the same time.

Just then, Ken and everybody else in the audience heard the sound of metal scraping upon metal, like a huge gate had come crashing down.

They were partially right. From above, a huge fence crashed down to the ground, separating Ryu and Ken on different sides.

"Ryu!" Ken shouted.

"Ken! What's going on?" Ryu shouted.

"Now, you shall experience my true style of ninja bullfighting! Now you shall die!" Vega taunted. He jumped onto the fence, grabbing it with amazing agility. He climbed around on the fence like a spider on a web.

Ryu and Ken both tried to knock the crawling Vega down off the fence by shooting Fireballs. A chorus of multiple "Hadoken!" shouts could be heard, and blue fire flew all around. But the two were just not able to hit Vega!

Finally, when things looked bleak, Vega jumped off the fence and into the air. He let out a cry that sounded somewhat like a yodel, then came flying down at Ken.

To Ken, Vega seemed to almost levitate in midair. Then, before he even knew what had hit him, Ken was grabbed by Vega and suplexed in the air!

"Ken!" Ryu screamed, reaching his arm through the fence.

Ken hit the ground hard. He was hurt. Not a good thing. Vega landed on his feet and let out another shrill cry. He backflipped in place, then removed his mask and put his right arm into the air.

"Now for you, little man." Vega taunted, looking at Ryu.

Looking at Ken's body, Ryu said "That's it. No more mister nice guy. You hurt my friend!"

Ryu focused all of his energy and let out a killer Dragon Punch, which destroyed the chain-link fence! Vega reared back in terror, as Ryu came forth with a Hurricane Kick. The Hurricane Kick had so much power, it broke the claw off of Vega's hand.

Finally, with one last move, Ryu reared back and aimed his Fireball straight at the dizzy Vega. Vega was hit, and flew back into a wall, yelling.

Ryu picked up Vega's mask. He threw it into the air. Aiming up, he shouted "Hadoken!" and the mask was no more.

Ryu then ran to his injured friend.

He knelt down by Ken's side and said "Ken! Ken! Wake up! Come on, man! Wake up!"

"Oh,...did anyone get the number o' that bus?" Ken finally asked, rubbing his head.

Ryu smiled and put his hand on Ken's shoulder. "Welcome back, man."

Just then, another door on the sidelines opened.

Ryu and Ken looked over at it.

As soon as Ryu saw the man who walked out of it, he frowned. "It's finally you." he muttered.

"Yes, Ryu!" the man said. "It is I, Sagat! And I am here to exact my revenge on you!"

TO BE CONTINUED...