Street Fighter vs Mortal Kombat

## Pre-Fight

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Liu Kang was standing above a steep cliff, below which was a massive field of green grass, with rolling hills, the occasional patch of forest, and a few plateaus. Next to him stood Sub-Zero and Scorpion, two rival ninja who had put aside their differences to ensure the continued existance of their entire universe.

The One Being, the amalgamation of all the Elder Gods who had created their verse, had encounterd the great diety of yet another, the One Being's brother, the creator of Street Fighter. The two had instantly gone head-to head in combat, both mentally and physically, arguing and actually fighting over which of their pet universes would win in total kombat.

The One Being finally decided that he could take no more debate without answers, and struck up a deal. The premeir fighters from each universe would all go head-to head in the style of a Mortal Kombat tournament. The winner would have their dead revived and would gain control of the realms of the others, while the loser would be completely and utterly anhialated.

The ice ninja spoke up in reply to Kang's open statement.

"Really? We are about to fight for the sake of our entire universe. All the realms, everyone. Our friends, family, and homelands. All are at stake. I think Shinnok has a bad feeling right now."

At mention of the word "family," Scorpion's face clenched into an angered scowl. He knew full well that Sub-Zero was innocent of the murder of his loved ones, but that didn't stop him from harboring a subconcious grudge against the warrior.

"Hmph. I have nothing to lose. I only battle for the honor of my universe. I have all intention on seeing my foes grovel at my feet before they are destroyed. I only regret that I will be unable to drag them to hell. Pity that there isn't a Netherrealm in this pocket universe."

Liu Kang smiled. He had never spent time with the hellspawn ninja before now, and he was slightly amused by how much Scorpion actually enjoyed being a revenant, a spirit of vengance. He heard a sound coming from behind, and, always on gaurd, he spun around, his fists igniting in magical fire as he entered his fighting stance.

The battle wasn't supposed to begin yet, but it wasn't inconceivable that the enemy had broken the rules and contemplated treachery and ambush. When he saw who had made the noise, however, he almost wished that it had been the enemy, rather than his reluctant allies, Shao Kahn and his protegee, Kotal Kahn.

"Liu Kang!"

The elder Kahn stepped foreward intimidatingly, smiling with a certain menace at the long-time defender of Earthrealm.

"Now, as much as I hate this alliance that we are forced into to save our mutual universe, we must still learn to work together. I know much of your tactics, I have clashed with them enough times, surely. But me must speak of strategy."

Kang scowled at his long-time enemy, knowing that the Kahn's statement was true. They needed a strategy if they were to save their homeworlds. But he wasn't about to agree with the towering despot. He was evil. As much as Liu Kang knew it to be true, he wasn't ready to accept the idea of taking sides with Shao Kahn.

"We don't need a strategy. We must beat them at their own game. We shal send Ermac to slay their telepath, Scorpion to slay their ninja, Raiden to destroy he who uses thunder. We don't just want to defeat them, we want to beat them, to prove ourselves superior."

The undead ninja Scorpion disagreed with this statement, and had no qualms with agreeing with Shao Kahn.

"No! It dosen't matter how we defeat our enemies, as long as we prevail. We must design a strategy."

Sub-Zero, if only to disagree with Scorpion and Shao Kahn, spoke up himself.

"No. Liu Kang's way is best. Honor above all. We will fight the enemy one-on-one. I care not what Shao Kahn has to say."

The ruler of Outworld let out a hearty laugh.

"Actually, I agree with Kang. We must *crush* our enemies, we must not let them gain a psychological victory by using pathetic tricks rather than simply tearing them apart."

He laughed again.

"Literally."

Kotal Kahn, always the lapdog of his greater, more powerful Outworld counterpart, agreed, and Scorpion was eventually swayed to their side. All present agreed that a one-on-one approach to the battle should be taken.

Moments later, however, some dissonants appeared. The powerful and evil sorcerers, Quan Chi, Shinnok, and their leader and arguable superior in combat, Shang Tsung. Each wore evil grins, and were floating, bathed in magic energy of each of their respective colors, clearly showing off for the sake of the other warriors gathered. It was like them to take such action, vying for superiority, even when the fate of all the realms were at stake. Tsung spoke up.

"Liu Kang, Scorpion, Shao Kahn, come here!"

He tellingly ignored Sub-Zero and Kotal Kahn, as much to purposefully disrespect them as anything else. The two showed their discontent, but heeded Shang Tsung's words and stayed back, scowling tellingly as the three called reluctantly stepped foreward.

Liu Kang had had trouble with all three of them at one time or another, and seeing them all at once, in one place, each one seeming in secret league with the others, he was greatly unnerved. Meanwhile, Shao Kahn had always had a hatred for the spindly sorcerers, in his mind much more evil then he ever was. Scorpion, on the other hand, had served a few of them once or twice, but they still creeped him out. He had never liked sorcerers.

Shang Tsung spoke up again, now that the fighters that he considered noteworthy had assembled. He felt himself the leader of the group of Kombattants, and was sure that everyone else would consider himself as such.

"Now listen. To defeat the enemy, we mustn't allow them to fight us one-on-one. If we do so, we shall surely be defeated, or at least come close. If we want to survive, we must develop a clever ruse."

And thus the argument was rekindled, and unfortunately never fully resolved. While they wasted time in their pointless debate, Johnny Cage, Jax, and Kung Lao were in an argument of their own, this one over exactly how to go about *starting* the fight to the death between universes.

The cyborg Jax lit a cigar and smoked it, mildly peeved at his two allies. How could it be more obvious that agressive ambush would be the best strategy?

"Listen, Cage, you of all people should know that we just gotta walk up to 'em and kick their asses!"

The movie star adjusted his sunglasses and smirked at Jax, confident in his own opinion, as always.

"Is that a cigar, or a joint of weed? That's exactly what *I* said. Do you agree with me, or not?"

Jackson Briggs was getting rather upset. That spoiled punk knew what he meant.

"No, *you* said that we should attack 'em up front. We need to get the drop on them, take 'em down when they don't expect it if we gonna win this."

The actor laughed out loud.

"I never thought that the great Jackson Briggs would be such a coward. We have to take them on *head-on,* just drop them one-by-one. We can't look like a bunch of pissants in the most important Mortal Kombat tournament of all time! I have fan's! Fans with standards!"

"Damn it Cage, have you honestly forgotten that there won't *be* any fans if we lose? Have you forgotten the damn stakes!?!"

Kung Lao, up to this point silent, simply observing the heated argument, spoke up.

"You are both fools. We cannot take an agressive strategy. If they and their god beleive that they can defeat us, then they must truly be powerful. We must take a defensive position, allow them to come to us, and then slaughter them. They cannot win if we cannot be struck."

He took off his bladed hat and slid his fingers along the razor-sharp brim absentmindedly as he waited for the other's replies. Cage was about to speak up when the three sorcerers, Shao Kahn, Scorpion, Kotal Kahn, Sub-Zero, and Liu Kang returned from their high-altitude vantage point utop a nearby peak, from which they had watched the grass-green fields that would soon be blood-red battlegrounds.

Their conflict had died down, but they were still on bad terms, and no agreement had been reached. Liu Kang was extremely enraged at the sorcerers, Shao Kahn was full of hatred as always, and Scorpion simmered wit hthe unholy anger of the netherealm, silent but furious. The negotiations evidently hadn't gone well.

Sub-Zero, as one would expect, was... cool headed, as he returned from the "discussion." He immediately liquefied and dissapeared under the ground upon catching sight of Johnny Cage. He wasn't takin' none of his shit. Not now, anyway. Too much was at stake to have to deal with an airhead like Cage.

Kahn spoke up, having made his own decision. His deep resounding voice permeated the entire area. All of the Kobattants, some as far as 500 yards away, would hear his orders.

"Listen up! No matterhow we decide to battle our mutual enemies, we must first *find* them. And that requires scouts. Send for the Tarkatan, and," he whispered this part "That worthless idiot," and now back to his normal booming voice, "Reptile!"

In mere minutes, Baraka and Reptile stood before him at attention, ready for their orders. Baraka extended and retracted the blades in his wrists, as Reptile hissed quietly, his forked toungue flitting in and out of his mouth. He asked for their orders. None were forthcoming.

Kahn seemed lost in thought, and was not to be interrupted. Baraka knew this. Reptile did not.

"Sir, what are our ordersss?" Sir? Sir!"

Up to this point, the Outworld conquoror's expression had remained even, but when Reptile began to raise his voice, he found that he could no longer be merciful.

"None shal raise their voice to Shao Kahn!"

He swung a backhand at Shang Tsung's reptilian lapdog, but Reptile ducked and activated his camoflauge, dissapearing from view and hiding like that until Kahn had calmed down enough to be reasonable.

"Listen, fool. You have been rude and insubordinate, and for that, under normal circumstances, you would surely die. But these are no normal circumstances. As useless as you are, I still need a scout. You and Baraka attempt to locate the enemy. When you have found them, immediately report back."

Minutes later, the two had split up and were searching through hill and dale to find the army of Street Fighters that most surely awaited them, waiting only to catch sight of the enemy to blow them to peices. But let us move away from the two explorers for a moment and catch sight of what the enemy was doing, as Ryu and Ken discussed their next move, almost a mile away.

"Ken, I truly hope that you understand the severity of this situation."

"Are you kidding? Of course I do! If we lose, everybody dies. *Everybody."*

"Then why can't you take this seriously!?!"

Ryu, always the more cool of the two, was getting quite upset at Ken's lack of focus. The always upbeat American was making light of the situation, and the Japanese martial-arts master couln't stand it. They had had this argument before, but never under such a dire situation.

"Because, Ryu, I have to keep in a good mood. Things have really been going well for me lately. And if we get killed now... it all goes to Hell. Us, Eliza, my son. Everything. And I can't deal with that. So let me keep my mood up, ok? Please, Ryu."

Ryu gave an internal start at Ken's confession. He hadn't realized how depression had been wheighing down his ally, and he was upset that he had unintentionally made things worse. On the other hand, he never did get to apologise, for at that moment a spacial rift began to form behind them.

As the air itself began to crackle and surge with purple energy, the waves of oxegen rippling and pulsing, a large purple portal suddenly appeared in the air. Stepping, or rather floating, out of the portal, was M. Bison, the master of the Psycho Power. With his arms crossed and his head pointing straight foreward, his pupiless eyes staring down his rivals, he presented an imposing figure.

"Greetings, Ryu."

His ignorance of Ken's presence was telling, much like the decision of Shang Tsung to disregard the very existance of Sub-Zero and Kotal Kanh. Unlike those two, Ken wasn't the type to ignore that kind of insult.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Bison. Took you long enough to get here. I'd hide too, if I had to deal with two guys who whipped you twice before."

The Shadaloo leader laughed out loud, and heartily.

"If the situation weren't as dire as they are, I would kill you for that. But they are, so I won't. Listen, *both of you.* I have no doubt as to our victory. But I managed to get a few words with Akuma earlier, and he had a rather valid point. Ryu, you need to use your full potential. Unleash the Satsui no Hado and destroy the opposition. Were you to do that, between you, I, and Akuma, the enemy will stand no chance."

"Never. Never, Bison, I will never give in."

"So I understand that you don't *care* that the end is nearing for everyone you have ever known."

"You know that isn't why, Bison. If I gave in to the evil within me, I would be no better than you."

"Have it your way, fool. But the moment the battle is over, you will die at my hand."

Ken smiled at the banter between Bison and his friend. This was not the first time he had heard *that* threat, not by a long shot. He spoke up.

"Not a second of peace after we work together to save the universe?"

"Not for the space of a blink of your eye."

"Wonderful."

The *"*conversation" was due to continue for some time, but the trio was interrupted by an urgent message from Bison's lackey, Vega. The blade-weilding narcissist pulled off his mask and gave an important warning.

"Master Bison, you must come immediately."

An irritated look of consternation crossed over the criminal leader's face as he knew that it took a lot to cause Vega t ounmask.

"Ryu, Ken. Let us leave. It seems that I have important buisiness."

The Shadaloo warrior teleported away toward the bottom of the mountain which was their vantage point, mirroring the earlier move made by the Mortal Kombattants atop their own cliff. Ryu and Ken followed, knowing that whatever caused this much worry for M. Bison of all people must be urgent.

At the bottom of the peak, they found several other Street Fighters waiting. Balrog was talking to Bison, who had his chin thoughtfully resting on his chin.

"Listen, boss, I know this probably takes some thinkin' out, but I need to know what to do. If Akuma leaves, we're in big trouble! Other than you, and maybe Gill, he's the strongest guy here!"

"True, Balrog. Ryu! You have spent more time with Akuma than anyone else here, exept for Gouken, and he has also conveniently dissapeared. He left to the west. Find him, and return him here while we still can. We need his assistance in the upcoming battle."

Ryu scowled in thought. He was loth to go and meet up with Akuma alone, but he knew that Bison spoke truth. They needed the Master of the Fist, and he was the only one around who could bring him back. He left, leaving no words of departure behind him.

Ken looked on, worried, but confident that Akuma would not harm Ryu. They were fighting for the same thing, after all. If Akuma killed Ryu out there, they could very well lose, and if that happened... everything would be gone. And even Akuma wouldn't want that to happen.

"Or would he? Damn."
Meanwhile, Gill and Zangief were in an argument of their own, with Dee Jay and Sagat sitting on a nearby boulder, watching in passive amusement.

"Zangief, you fool. I am a true leader. It is my born purpose! I live to command! You, meanwhile, are a wrestler from an uncivilized tundra who *wrestles bears* in his spare time!"

"If you were born to lead, why can you not come up with good plan? Truly comrade, how can you not understand that me must stay together. The enemy will surely have the sense to stay in one group, and if five of us encounter twenty of them, then all of a sudden it is 15 against 20! What is your leadership against those odds?"

"Better to chip away and not die all at once."

"So you doubt our ability to defeat them? I made a mistake deciding to vote for you as our leader. You are a coward, comrade. Leave here, get yourself some muscles and a backbone, and then return."

"You dare insult my bravery and might?!? Fool! I am the mighty Gill, the strongest fighter to ever live! If you beleive that mere bulky muscles and vodka can defeat me, then you are surely mistaken."

Gill's dual colors began to glow with his anger. Zangief tensed, his muscles bulging, as the two stared each other down. Although he would never admit it, Zangief harbored no illusions that he could defeat the genetically-engineered warrior, but intended to put the hurt on him.

As the two fighters readied for battle, they were suddenly interrupted by Sagat leaping through the air and landing directly between them.

"Stop! We mustn't war against ourselves!"

Dee Jay ran up to the group and spoke to Gill.

"He's right, mon! If you two fight, we lose a couple of powerhouses. And if that happens, we're finished!"

Zangief breathed deeply, before relaxing.

"They are right, comrade. I apologize. I was a fool. But still, I refuse to change my opinion. We must all stick together."

"You are right, Zangief. It is not befitting for a savior of mankind to contribute to the defeat of one of it's greates warriors. But I too will not relinquish my stand."

Sagat decided that he needed to interject.

"I must agree with Zangief. United, we stand. Divided, we fall."

Zangief looked to Dee Jay.

"What is your opinion, comrade. Perhaps a majority will convince Gill to give up his ilusions."

The musical figter looked at the three warriors who stood ahead of him, one multi-colored and glowing with power, and the other two musclebound and over 7 feet tall. He decided he didn't want to annoy any of them.

"Sorry, mon. I'm staying out of this."

Gill chuckled.

"Finally, a commoner who knows his place. We shall have a vote."

However, several of the fighters would not be able to take part in the vote, for as Ryu finally caught sight of Akuma, a much weaker Street Fighter was struggling to find his way back to the main group.

"Oh, man! I hope I don't run into anybody out here who wants me dead! Come to think of it, there's a 50/50 chance that anybody I meet will want to kill me! That's not good at all!"

A terrified and completely lost Dan Hibiki looked nervously at the seemingly open plains that surrounded him nearly to the edge of his sight in every direction. The only visible landmark was a crevasse about half a mile away. He didn't want anything to do with it.

He had no idea why, but he had somehow ended up seperated from his allies, and was now trying to get back in contact with them. Earlier, he thought he had seen some purple energy surge out in the direction of the canyon, possibly Bison powering up. However, he wasn't quite sure he actually *wanted* to meet Bison, and besides, he really didn't want to have to go through a crevasse.

So he decided to turn around. Walking for about a half-hour, he was making good time. However, he thought he could see something or someone on the horizon. Quickening his pace, he trotted foreward hopefuly, praying that it was an ally he was headed for. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't.

As he strained his eyes to identify the figure, he realized that it had green skin. The only person he could think of with green skin on their team was Blanka, and this guy didn't seem to have the same stance or build as his furry electric friend.

Nor did Blanka have a habit of dissapearing into thin air, as this unknown figure did. Dan got out of there, and fast.His legs pumped like they never had before, he had evidently chosen "flight" over "fight." As he ran, he realized that that guy was maybe following him. And if he was, he had to get back to his friends, Bison or no Bison.

Which meant, he was loth to admit, that he had to travel through the canyon he had seen earlier. Taking a detour around it would cost him hours, and whoever it was who was on him could very well catch him by then.

"DON'T WATCH FATHEEEER! I'm not running away, I swear! I'm just getting back to my friends! The-they probably need me! Yeah, they need me!"

As he rushed into the crevasse a half-hour later, he didn't see the brown-skinned, sharp-toothed creature watching from above, on the canyon's walls, although it wasn't for lack of trying. The Tarkatan simply blended in.

Meanwhile, Ryu had *finally* caught up with Akuma, who was walking slowly away from their camp, but somehow traveling huge distances in the process. Ryu would never get used to how casual Akuma could seem in achieving amazing feats. He could almost beat Akuma in battle, but while he fought with everything he had, straining every muscle and breaking nearly every bone, Akuma seemed calm, collected, and casual.

"Akuma! Wait!"

Ryu ran up to the Master of the Fist, leaping through the air to land in front of him.

"What are you doing, Akuma?! We need you back at camp!"

"I'm leaving. Now get out of my way."

Akuma simply walked straight forward, shouldering Ryu out of the way to keep walking.

"Wait! Why are you leaving? Are you even aware of what is at stake here?!?"

"Of course I am aware. But why should I care. The world means nothing to me. "

Ryu was at a loss. He didn't know how to reply to that.

"B-but..."

He then realized. All these years, Akuma had been looking for one thing.

"Akuma! Listen to me! We are about to walk into the most intense battle any of us have ever fought, and against the strongest enemies. Do you know what that means, Akuma? It means that you will finally face a worthy opponent. You'll get a rare opportunity to cut loose."

Akuma turned toward Ryu and smiled, his face slowly changing from his normal calm visage to a picture of amusement, his smile slowly widening until he burst into raucous laughter. He almost lost his footing in the sheer hilarity he seemed to see in the situation.

Ryu was severely confused, and quite consternated.

"HAHAHA!!! HA! Ha. Oh. You are a clever boy. Not just everyone would choose to *bribe* someone with their *possible death.* But you know that that would work on me, eh?"

"Err... Yes?"

"Well it won't. Why do you think I went out here? If I go with you, I will be fighting alongside you and all the others. I am Akuma! The Master of the Fist! The path I walk, I walk alone. I shall challenge the enemy and shatter them. You fools can mop up the pieces."

"But, Akuma-"

"No. I am leaving. I sense that the battle will begin soon. I strongly recommend that you return to your allies. There is nothing you can do to bring me back with you."

"Under normal circumstances, Akuma, I would prove you wrong with my fist in your face. But now, that isn't an option. I wish you luck."

"I have no need of luck. Nor do I have need of gods, or kings, or even devils. Nor," he said tellingly, narrowing his eyes at Ryu, "do I have need for allies."

The white-clad Street Fighter took the hint and turned around, trudging quickly off toward his friends, and reluctant friends, back at their camp.

Dan was still running, but also struggling to keep his breath as he attempted his desperate escape.

"Oh man! I gotta take a break!"

He fell into an exhausted crouch, hands on knees, before simply falling over on his face. He was extremely near the end of the crevasse, and could actually see the rest of the Street Fighters, no more that a few thousand feet away.

"Ugh."

Dan panted in exhaustion, trying to catch his breath. He realized that he was getting a mouthful of dust from the canyon floor his face was pressed up against, but didn't care. About a minute later, he finally got a bit of his energy and rolled over onto his back.

***"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"***

Standing directly over him was the grey-skinned Tarkatan warrior Baraka, his ugly face, sharp teeth, and long blades sticking from his wrists making him a horrifying thing to see simply watching you as you lay on the ground. Baraka's high-pitched gurgling growl sent Hibiki over the edge.

The weakling Street Fighter leapt to his feet almost instantly, in the process jumping over 30 feet into the air, before landing.

"Uh... GADOUKEN!"

Dan sent a small energy ball into Baraka's face before running screaming toward friendly lines in terror, hoping that the Tarkatan wouldn't be able to catch him. Before he could reach them, however, he caught sight of a terrifying array of unknown warriors, obviously the Kombattants that wanted to kill them all.

"AAAAAAH!"

He kept running, his eyes behind him, watching Baraka, who had gotten up with a slightly burnt face and was chasing him, or to the side, watching the Mortal Kombattants readying for the upcoming battle. What he didn't see was what really mattered however, as he smacked directly into Akuma, hard enough to send him sprawling to the ground, but not with enough force to make the Master of the Fist do so much as flinch.

As Dan lay on the ground, his vision a bit blurry from the impact, his brain quietly registered relief that Baraka had evidently stopped in his tracks, surprised at Akuma's sudden appearance. Dan staggered to his feet, wondering what he had run into.

When he saw, he was almost more scared than he had been when he saw Baraka.

"A-akuma! H-hey, b-bu-buddy! I-I'm so sorry I messed up your, err, your clothes!"

Dan suddenly reached out his hands and began dusting off Akuma's gi, apparently in an attempt to placate the staggeringly powerful warrior.

"Stop, fool!"

That shut him up.

*"Hm. Honestly, it wouldn't really hurt our cause to kill this guy here and now."*

Akuma thought for a moment about his best course of action.

*"On the other hand, I need the trust of my allies. I have a better way of eliminating extra weight."*

"Listen, fool. You are a coward and a weakling, but him..."

Akuma nodded his head toward the still flabbergasted Tarkatan that Hibiki had been running from moments before.

"He is even weaker. Listen, boy, he has *no energy."*

Dan almost couldn't believe that. Even fighters who relied on sheer muscle, like Zangief and Hugo, or those who used nothing but weapons, like Vega, had *some* energy. Even *he* had ki.

"Wait... *none?"*

"Not one drop of ki."

"S-so... I can beat him."

"Easily."

*"Wow! Somebody weaker than me! That's great! I'll prove that I can really fight! I'll take down the creepy guy and everybody will be grateful! Yeah!*

"OK, Akuma, you guys can count on me! I'll show that creep the power of Saikyo!"

As Dan rushed Baraka, somehow confident in his ability to defeat him, Akuma laughed. The freak was weak, but he couldn't be *that* weak, surely. He didn't see the figure stalking, invisible, toward him.

He heard him though.

Sending a light jab into thin air, he fire off a tiny blast of the Satsui no Hado, which flew through the air and struck the camouflaged enemy in front of him, forcing him to drop his cloak and reveal himself as Reptile.

"Who are you, fool?"

Reptile, angered that he had been so easily found, replied in a rage.

"I ask the questions! Who are you, foolish one?"

"I am Akuma, the Master of the Fist. And you?"

"I am Reptile."

The green fighter's forked tongue flitted in and out of his mouth, he flashed his teeth, a bit of acid fell out of his mouth, sizzling the ground, and he twitched his fingers, showing off his claws.

"And I have no need of fists."

Akuma crossed his arms.

"And one as weak as yourself dares challenge me? Normally, I would not even stoop so low as to kill you in one punch. But in this case-"

Akuma fell into a fighting stance.

"I'll hold back for you."

The angry Reptile hissed at Akuma.

"By the time Baraka is finished killing your friend, I shall be feasting on your corpse!"

"Pitiful. It is almost sad having to kill someone as delusional as yourself."

"For Shang Tsung! For Shao Kahn! For Outworld!"

"Hm... For Akuma. Let us begin."

### Fight!Edit

Cues: Mortal Kombat Theme: Techno Remix

Reptile leapt at Akuma, spreading his claws to slice at the street fighter, but Akuma stepped backward, leaving Reptile to land on his haunches. The Saurian leapt to his feet, but was struck by a straight punch from Akuma landing directly on his forehead, sending him staggering a few feet back. The green-skinned warrior struck out with a few punches, striking the Satsui no Hado fueled warrior on the torso, but doing little damage.

Akuma threw a right hook, but Reptile ducked under the fist, and used his Power Slide ability, knocking the Master of the Fist off of his feet. Akuma fell to the ground and landed in a push-up position, pushing himself back to his feet and striking Reptile with a heavy elbow to the torso.

The Saurian recovered almost instantly from the attack, and slashed at Akuma, putting small scratches down his arm, before suddenly disappearing into thin air. Akuma looked around the area for a moment, trying to determine if Reptile had teleported or turned invisible, and quickly got his answer when he was struck by a hard punch to the face, almost breaking his nose.

"The master of the fist, eh? A lot of good that title is doing you now!"

"You fight with trickery, fool. One must face his opponent and defeat him, not attempt to catch him unaware. You are worthless."

Akuma countered, throwing out a punch of his own, but the fist struck nothing but air as he was hit again, this time by a hook to his gut, on the left side of his body. Dropping into a crouch for a split-second, Akuma pulled off a sweeping kick in an attempt to knock his enemy off of his feet, but the reptilian warrior was evidently out of range, or perhaps jumped over the strike. Akuma was hit again, from the back this time, the blow coming in the form of two punches, one from each fist.

The Street Fighter spun around, attempting once again to strike his unseen assailant, but managed to hit nothing but air for a fourth time. Taking another hit, this time a kick from the right side, Akuma was beginning to lose his temper. He got back into a fighting stance, and easily took a hit from his front without doing so much as flinching. Waiting for about a second and a half, Akuma suddenly threw a heavy kick toward his left side.

The Master of the Fist smiled as he felt his foot connect with the face of the pitiful coward who had been harassing him. Reptile reappeared, green blood trickling down his face, quite badly stunned. Akuma didn't take a step, instead thrusting his hands to his side and allowing purple energy to pool between his palms.

"Gohadoken!"

Akuma's ki blast surged from his hands at the still semiconscious Reptile, striking the Saurian directly in the chest and sending him flying backwards. Akuma strode confidently up to the injured Reptile and picked him up by the face, holding him in the air and looking him directly in the eye.

"No need for fists. Pitiful. You are not even enough for a warm-up."

Reptile hissed at Akuma, feeling helpless, before realizing that he had another available technique. Concentrating, he scowled at Akuma, if a Saurian can be described as having such and expression, before noxious gas suddenly spewed from every one of his orifices, sending Akuma coughing and stepping back in a rage.

The sudden release of the gas had caused it to become quite concentrated, and Akuma lost sight of Reptile, who attempted to once again camouflage. The Master of the Fist was not going to allow this, and unleashed a massive punch into thin air, the force of which knocked Reptile off of his feet and blew away much of the poison that was surrounding him. He fired off a Gohadoken with one hand, with the intention of stunning Reptile so he could go in for the kill.

A quite worried Reptile countered this attempt by spitting a ball of acid, the two projectiles cancelling each other out as Reptile dashed at Akuma to take advantage of Akuma's temporary weakness, having fired an energy blast, what he wasn't expecting, however, was for Akuma to easily fire off another Gohadoken and dash forward, passing directly through the Saurian warrior.

As the Master of the Fist phased through the reptilian kombattant's body, Reptile felt a sudden heat in his chest. It reminded him exactly of the feeling of getting a chill, of sudden fear, but the opposite, an instant burning that seemed to harm his very soul.

However, damage to his soul was not the current priority, as Akuma fired off a punch to his back, bending him over backwards at an impossible angle as his spine snapped. Moments later, Akuma stepped back as the Gohadoken struck Reptile, shattering several of his ribs, before Akuma landed a palm thrust to the back of the green-skinned warrior's skull, cracking it as well.

Reptile fell, and Akuma easily kicked him hard enough to send him into the air, before leaping into midair himself and beginning to spin, using the Tatsumaki Zankukyaku and flying toward the airborne Reptile like a roundhouse-kicking helicopter, striking the Kombattant at such and angle that he was sent flying directly into the ground.

"Is that all? You must be joking! Surely, the great Reptile should be feasting on my corpse by now! Of course, Dan does not seem to be dead either, so you still have more time."

Akuma glanced over at Dan, who was having some trouble with Baraka, understandably. However, to Akuma's surprise, his prediction of Dan being a match for the Tarkatan had proven true, with Hibiki, while terrified, holding his own.

At almost the exact moment that Reptile had leapt at Akuma for the first time, Dan had staggered confidently at Baraka.

"Hey, bud, you want a taste of real martial arts?"

The Tarkatan only growled.

"I'm the world-famous fighting master Dan Hibiki, the inventor of the sensational Saikyo fighting style!"

Baraka stepped closer to Dan, who was pretty wildly and tauntingly swinging his arms, his hand making the peace symbol, jumping into different stances as he pretended to choose which one would be most effective.

"You don't stand a chance! I'll dazzle you with my awesome power!"

The grey-skinned warrior stepped closer to Dan. He was almost within blade range.

"This is for you, dad! I'll show this meathead what real fighters can do! SAIKYO!!!"

Dan rolled at the surprised Baraka and thrust his fist in the air in what could easily have been a powerful uppercut, but instead simply flexed as one final taunt before landing a series of weak punches to Baraka's chest, knocking him back.

The Tarkatan countered himself, sending a punch at Dan's face before extending the Tarkatan blade on his right hand and swinging it at Hibiki. He had telegraphed the move so ludicrously, however, that even Dan's weak martial arts instincts were enough to allow him to duck under the lethal attack, and that opened Dan up with a perfect opportunity to counter.

Instead of taking that opportunity, however, Dan rolled backwards and shot a thumbs-up in Baraka's direction as the Tarkatan retracted his blade.

"Yahoo! You tried to kill me with that one, but I dodged no-problem! You haven't got a chance against the perfect might of Saikyo!"

Dan's tirade was interrupted by a direct hit from Baraka's Spark attack, burning his face and nearly igniting his gi. Baraka followed up the attack with a charge, extending his blades in an attempt to impale Hibiki. Luck was in the Street Fighter's favor, however, as he narrowly dodged, the blades cutting a slash in his sleeve and scratching him a bit in the process.

"Hey! That hurt! It's cheating to use swords, even if they do freakily pop from your wrists! I'll make you pay for that! Witness Saikyo's power, I I'll show you the Dankykyaku!"

Dan leapt into the air, flying forward, and slammed his knee into Baraka's face before unleashing a kick, followed by another, all three strikes landing on the exact same place on the Tarkatan's head before Dan landed on the ground in a crouch and swung a haymaker at the Kombattant with such force that Hibiki spun around and fell on his rear.

Baraka staggered and fell to one knee, but quickly regained his balance and charged Dan. It was at this point that Akuma nailed Reptile with his Tatsumaki Zankukyaku and observed how the fight was going. Meanwhile, the main body of Street Fighters and Mortal Kombattants had finally caught sight of the battle. Each side also observed the other, as neither knew exactly what to do. Ryu and Ken discussed their next plan of action.

"Ken, do you have any idea how strong that green guy is fighting Akuma?"

"I haven't got a clue. But I see what you're getting at. If he's really tough, he might bring down Akuma right here and now, and if that happens, we're really screwed."

"I doubt the creep is at Akuma's level, he seems to have the upper hand... oh, wow."

The duo observed Akuma's brutal combo.

"Eh, Ryu?"

"Yeah, Ken?"

"I don't think he's bringing down Akuma."

"You are definitely right. Let's not interfere. But what about the guy fighting Dan? Where did Dan come from, anyway?"

"He was here earlier, but then he disappeared. I guess he got lost or something. But listen, I don't think we should interfere at all. Look at us. Have any of us, and I mean *any of us,* trained to fight in groups? No, we haven't."

"I see what you're saying. What you mean is, if we fight one-on-one, they'll be likely to as well, and we'll be fighting in our element?"

"Exactly. See, that's why I like you Ryu. You can really think."

"Thanks. But I am currently thinking that there is someone approaching from the other camp. I'll go and meet him. *Alone."*

"Ok, Ryu, but watch yourself. I don't want to lose you."

"Don't worry about me. Sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the fight."

"God, Ryu, I never thought I'd say this, but you need to be more serious."

"I'm sorry. I just... I'm in a good mood for some reason. Forgive me, but I think I'm actually looking forward to this fight."

"I feel ya, Ryu. Just watch yourself, and keep your left up."

"You hit me with *one Tatsumaki!*"

"And it could have been *two blade hits!"* And then you would've been dead! Ever thought about that, eh bub? Didja?"

"Real funny, Ken. I gotta go."

"Right. Good luck."

As Ryu strode off to meed the figure who, unbeknownst to him, was the legendary martial artist Liu Kang, Reptile got back to his feet and challenged Akuma once again.

"You thought that that could bring me down? You are worthless, fool! I am Reptile! The greatest of the Saurians!"

"And I am Akuma, the greatest of all. You are naught but a worm, crawling across my path."

At this, Akuma charged Reptile with incredible speed, preparing for a devestating punch. The Saurian dodged, at the same time flitting out his long forked tougue, slicing a small scratch along the heavily muscled arm of the Master of the Fist. While he had finally managed to do some damage, the Kombattant knew full well that he was still losing, by a lot, in fact.

"Fine. You've pushed me too far. Today, human, you will die. Face the might of the Basilisk!"

Reptile's eyes began to glow green as, in his vision, the entire world seemed to slow down. He was ready now. Charging at Akuma, he struck the martial artist with dozens of punches, before opening his jaws extremely wide and chomping down viciously on Akuma's arm.

The Master of the Fist was thouroughly suprised. Reptile's speed boost was simply incredible. He had hardly ever seen anything like it. But it still wasn't enough to give him trouple. Cocking his fist, he threw a heavy punch into Reptile's gut, before swinging another punch. The reptillian warrior, however, managed to duck out of the way, dodging several more punches as well.

Akuma swung a powerful kick at Reptile, but the Saurian simply stepped back out of the way before stepping forward and pummeling Akuma with several punches. The Master of the Fist fought back with light jabs harrassing the speedy kombattant, but he was unable to do any real damage, because all of his heavy blows were immediately dodged.

"You are a fool to attempt to defeat me. Speed will only delay the inevitable."

"Witless One, you do not understand my true power. This will be your final battle."

"Your falce prophecies are not enough to defeat the Master of the Fist."

With that, Akuma clenched one fist and immediately surged with energy, appearing aglow with red flame, the sheer power of the Satsui no Hado burining around him. He began to speed up himself, charging Reptile with incredible speed. He still wasn't quite as fast as the blitzing Saurian, but he was close.

Unloading a massive punch at Reptile, he landed a fist on the side of the kombattants snout, causing the reptilian warrior to spit a mix of saliva and green blood out his mouth, before Akuma brought an elbow down on his enemy's head, dropping Reptile to the ground.

The Saurian crawled forward, almost as at home on four legs as on two. He rapidly ecscaped Akuma's reach, before leaping up on his two feet again. As Akuma stepped forward to lodge his fist in his enemy's face, Reptile coughed once before spitting acid at the Master of the Fist. Akuma dodged, throwing his punch and sending Reptile sliding backwards.

The Saurian, still sliding, fell into a crouch and slowed himself by driving his claws into the ground. Preparing to again launch a ball of acid at Akuma, he was unprepared for being struck by a Gohadoken that send him once again sliding across the dirt, on his back this time.

However, he still had his ball of acid prepared, and shot it directly at Akuma. The Street Fighter was unable to dodge this time, and instead blocked the shot with his forearm. The green liquid instantly burned through his gi and began dissolving his skin. A few seconds later, it had lost it's potency, and Akuma was left with nothing more than a few burns and scars on his skin.

"Acid. Hm. I have honestly never encountered a foe who used such a weapon before. You have shown me something new, and therefore, you have pleased me. I may consider granting you a favorable death."

Reptile was seething with rage and disbeleif. He had blasted his enemy with his most powerful attack, and he had *thanked* him for it.

"Y-you! I'll kill you! I'll tear you apart!"

Dashing at Akuma at full speed, he unleashed several slashes at the Master of the Fist, slightly scratching him, before grabbing at the Street Fighter's jaw and attempting to break it. His attempts failed, but he was still able to do some damage, nearly dislocating the bone. He then reached forward, attempting to drive his clawed thumbs into Akuma's eyes.

But he wasn't having it. Grabbing at Reptile's wrists, Akuma held the Saurian's claws far from his face, before jerking them toward him and nailing Reptile with a headbutt to the face, cracking his skull. The Master of the Fist finished with a brutal Goshoryuken uppercut, launching the Saurian high into the air. Reptile landed with a heavy impact and struggled to his feet.

But let us move our metaphorical camera back to Ryu, who had finally met up with Liu Kang.

"Greetings."

The Street Fighter held out his hand, and the Kombattant readily accepted. The two shook hands in an almost friendly manner, before getting down to buisiness.

"I'm Liu Kang. Listen. We both know what is going to happen here. We are going to fight. Most of us are going to die. And in the end, one of us will lose our entire universe."

"So there is no use having this conversation."

"Exactly."

"But if I recall correctly, *you* were the one who initiated this meeting."

"Perhaps I was simply drawing you into an ambush."

"Perhaps. But you don't give the impression of one who would do something like that. I'm Ryu, by the way."

"Ryu, not *Ryu,* right?"

"Yeah, that's right. There's a lot of confusion there."
"So why *are* we here?"

"I don't know. I guess I was just thinking that maybe we could find some sort of mutually beneficial agreement, some way that *dosen't* involve universal genocide."

"You have no idea how long I have wished for that. But there is no other way."

"Hm. I wish it didn't have to end this way."

"You mean *begin* this way. I am Liu Kang, greatest of the warriors of Earthrealm. And I will do *anything* to save my world. In another time, perhaps we could have been allies, friends, even. But today, there is no such chance. You must fall by my hand."

Liu Kang got into his fighting stance, both of his feet planted firmly on the ground, one fist clenched, and the other hand making an open palm facing directly toward the ground.

"So be it."

Ryu got into his own stance, with his side facing Liu Kang, as both of his fists raised to gaurd his body and face. Both were prepared, but neither wanted to launch the first blow. The two simply circled around each other defensively, as Dan and Baraka found viciously, with no thoughts but to end the other's life.

Dan threw an attempted feint at the Tarkatan, but the grey-skinned warrior had little trouble stepping out of the way, leaving Dan to flail at air. Baraka sent a heavy backhanded blow at the Street Fighter, who was struck on the top of the head and forced to the ground.

The Tarkatan extended his blades and thrust downward at the prostrate Dan, who barely managed to roll out of the way and get to his knees, suprising Baraka by actually doing something smart for once and unlimbering one of his big guns, the Koryuken uppercut.

The powerful punch slid across Baraka's torso, tearing off the robes that covered his upper body and catching him directly under the chin, lifting him off the ground and falling to the ground. The Tarkatan actually lost conciousness for a few moments following the punch, and by the time he got up Dan was ready for more action.

With his robes practically blasted off of his chest, it became clear that there was something a little off about him. In fact, extremely off. In fact, he literally had a row of staples running down his torso keeping his guts from falling out.

"How dare you! You worm! You deserve only death!"