- by maco² 04031999

The pleasant cold wind blowing, passing by the closed glass doors of the penthouse. A couple of warriors celebrating their newfound love rested on the soft cushion of the bedroom.

Soulmates, they are. Finally fulfilling their destiny to hold one another in lover's arms. The golden haired man lying on his back atop of his Orient lover. Ryu, carresing Ken's body, his manhood still resting inside between Ken's warm thighs. Eternal bliss, a hope that it would not end.

"I love you, Ken.", Ryu whispered to his lover's ear.

"Same here, buddy.", Ken answered him with a kiss. There they still lay, holding each other.

The phone rang. Ken lay aside on Ryu's arm and took the phone to his ear.

"Is this Ken Masters?", a man's low voice spoke.

"Yep, who's this?", Ken asnwered.

"Here's your wife."

"Ken?!", Eliza spoke in pain.

"Eliza?! Are you okay?", he got suddenly worried.

"Ken, help me.", she pleaded.

"Eliza?! Where are you!?"

""If you wanna see your wife alive, better check your mail.", the man spoke.

"What? Who is this?!! Where's Eliza?!", Ken demanded. But he only heard a click. "Hey!", he shouted at the phone. Beside him was Ryu who was also worried. "What was that Ken?"

Ken tightened his grip on the phone, expressing his anger and worry. "Someone kidnapped Eliza! This gotta be a bad joke!" And suddenly he hurried and connected his laptop with the phone and checked his e-mail, unconcerned of his bare appearance. A new mail came incoming from a web-based e-mail address. There was an instruction telling him to go to a certain junkyard with a hundred million dollars in different denominations.

"Dammit!", he cursed. He took his phone and dialed Eliza's private cellphone number.

"Hello? Eliza?"

"K-Ken? Help.", Eliza pleaded."

"Eliza? Where are you?", Ken anxiously asked her.

Click.

"Eliza?! Eliza?! Shit!"

Ryu stood up already getting prepared for action. "They got her.", he said, "We'd better hurry and think."

Ken pondered the actions he should take. Seemingly feeling amiss with his own thoughts, he asked Ryu for an advice, "What do you think we should do?"

Ryu thought deeply then spoke, "We'd better ask her for help."

Ken darted at him, "Hey! I don't trust federal agents!"

"Don't worry. Maybe Chun-li and Guile are willing to lend us a hand.", Ryu assured him.

The blond guy thought deeply, "Yeah I guess you're right." And he started to dial Guile's number but stopped abruptly for a second. He thought somebody might be tapping his call so he spoke to Ryu, "Somebody might be sneaking at us. You'd better check out and use a public phone while I cash in the ransom."

"Alright.", Ryu dressed up and speedily but cautiously left the room. Ken discreetly made the necessary preparations for acquiring the ransom money.

* * *

The junkyard is obviously full of scraps and worn tires, a definitely fine venue for dirty tricks and foul dealings. Also a good place for a rat to live in, Ken said in his mind. He walked on the path between the mounds of junk carrying with him two big travel bags filled with cold cash. After a few steps he stopped and dropped the bags on the ground. "Ok. Whoever you are, come out now. I got what you want.", he talked aloud.

Dead silence. Where is that rat hiding, Ken thought. He watched around waiting for a single sound of another one's presence to be heard. A vibrating sound occured, not quite as he suspected. Suddenly the piles of junk in front of him trembled. The iron scraps and tires fell down and rose a giant humanoid like robot with features of a bulldozer. The engine-like sound coming from its mechanical skeleton moving whirred as it focused its empty sockets of eyes at him.

Ken got a bit surprised to see a robot in front of him. "What's this? Robo Junk?", he uttered.

The huge contraption stood in front of him as he drew back a bit. "Ken Masters, did you bring the money?", the robot spoke.

"Yeah!", he haughtily said showing him the money inside wrapped in plastic as it was instructed by the kidnappers, "Now where's my wife, tin can?"

"She is here, safe and secure. Just the way you want her. She's accompanied by another girl named Sakura. We got them comfortably seated inside a red junk car ahead of me.", the robot spoke in a mechanic voice, "But first, haven't we told you never to bring anyone else along with you?"

"You've already got my wife. Who am I supposed to be here with? My mother?", Ken replied cockily with a smirk.

"Don't try to fool us, Ken Masters. Why didn't you try invite your dear friend to join in our tea party?", Agent 14's distorted voice came out of the robot.

"What are you babbling 'bout, rust face?", Ken asked him.

"Oh? So he's to shy to come. Maybe I should get him myself.", the robot said after which he raised his right arm sideways and detached it. The clamp-like hand rocketed to a pile of trash adjacent to them. Ken got alarmed.

"Ryu! Get out of there!", he cried out.

The huge hand crashed into the pile and broke through it. Ryu, in the nick of time, was able to roll away from the large iron clamps. "Hadouken!", Ken shouted the technique. The blue ball of energy smashed down the robot on its back. He saw the mechanic monster fall down but sensed a motion from his back. He jumped out of harms way as another robot pounded the ground where he just stood. Landing on his feet, he was ready again to dodge another attack but Ryu flew from the shadows and knocked the head off with a powerful flying kick. The body of the other mechanic monster fell down also. Its disconnected wires were sparking.

Ryu watched the robot lay motionless. Content that it will do no more harm, Ryu went quickly to Ken's side, "Are you alright, Ken?", he asked him. "Yeah.", his lover replied. But before they knew it, the robot Ryu kicked exploded awesomely sending the two fighters flying with the debris landing on a mound of junk.

"Uh.", Ryu tried to stand up quickly. So did Ken. Yet the surviving other robot Ken knocked down was flying above them so near with its hands ready to pound the two into pulp. Ryu and Ken were prepared this time.

"Shoryuken!", Ken shouted as he performed the rising dragon uppercut striking the contraption. The robot propelled sky high. "Hadouken!", Ryu yelled hitting the robot with his energy ball and exploded it in mid-air. Ken came back on his feet on top of the mound. Suddenly they felt an energy just coming from below. But it was to soon. They fell of the collapsing mound along with the scraps as another mechanic giant rose from beneath.

Ryu and Ken was almost buried among the dirt and junk and found it difficult to move from the weight. The robot towered over them ready to crush them.

"Sonic Boom!", a shout cried out as a spinning energy force smashed through the back of the robot's head. Its head flew and fell in between Ken and Ryu. The mechanic body itself collapsed and lay on its weight. "Whew.", Ken breathed gladly and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He smiled at Ryu in comfort.

"Get out of there!", Guile shouted at them, "That head will explode!"

"Shit!", Ken cursed. The two guys scampered out of the garbage quickly. Luckily enough, the head detonated far enough just propelling both of them on the ground, Ryu lying on top of Ken's back. Chunks of scrap metal flew above them in the air.

A few seconds as the debris cleared, Ryu was still on top of Ken trying to protect his lover from the shards of broken metal. "Do you wanna keep lying on my back? We just did it already.", Ken teased him. Ryu quickly got off him. "Hey. Take your time.", Ken continued to tease him and stood up. Guile went down the from the pile of junk and walked to them. They looked around to watch out for more of those weird robots.

"The hell?", Ken muttered as he noticed the bags containing the ransom money disappeared. Ryu and Guile looked behind and also noticed it was gone.

* * *

Hiding behind the scene was Chun-li. She saw the mechanic monster attack Ken and Ryu and was coming to their aid when she saw a metallic puma coming out from the garbage and crawled behind the fight snatching the bags containing money. Counting that Guile and the others can manage on their own, she decided to follow the robotic animal. She chased it down from the piles and sprinted to it. The puma, knowing its been chased, increased its speed. But Chun-li seemed faster and was gaining on it. So the Puma released caltrops that spiked the ground. The agile lady fighter effortlessly avoided them.

But when she almost got near it, the puma jumped into the murky polluted water along with the bags. She stopped short on her tracks. Will I? she thought, hesitating to jumped into the smelly stagnant pool. Almost without warning a huge robot rose from the pool and attacked her. She dodged it, almost getting hit. "Scary scary eh?", she said, "Well take this! Lightning kick!"

The mechanic monster was smashed a thousand times with the lightning fast attack. The final kick send it flying into the piles of junk. It blew and shattered into many pieces. Afterwards, Chun-li looked back into the blackish water. "Too late.", she said, "It got away with the money."

* * *

Back at the junkyard, Ryu, Ken and Guile searched for Eliza and Sakura. They followed the path ahead where the first robot appeared. Then they saw a red wreck of a car, inside of which are two girls with their mouths gagged.

Rushing towards the car, Ken opened the side to see Eliza and Sakura also having their hands and feet tied up. "Eliza!", Ken said. Eliza was mumbling some words from her gagged mouth.

Guile came between them, "Wait! Let me check them for a while.", and he inspected if there were any wires attached to them that could set off a bomb. Contented to see there wasn't any, Guile gently pulled the girls out of the wreck and loosened their binds one by one.

"Huh huh huh.", Eliza whizzed. She is not accustomed to dirty and dusty places because it made her sneeze a lot and catch an allergy. Ken held her hand and said, "Are you okay, Eliza?", he asked. Oddly, a glint of anger daggered from Eliza's eyes.

"Touch me...", Eliza angrily looked at his eyes, "NOT!" And she snobbishly slapped Ken's hand off her. "You certainly took your time getting here.", she complained nose up and hands tucked in her shoulders.

Ken was surprised by her ungrateful reaction, "Hey. I was really worried about you.", he spoke mildly, trying to calm her.

"Really, darling? You do have a conscience.", she sarcastically raised her brow. Ken's eyes widened from her response and felt somewhat insulted.

On the other side, Sakura was whacking the dirt off her skirt when Ryu made a gesture to hold her arms. "Are you hurt?", he said concerned. Sakura suddenly pulled her body away from him with aversion, "Eew! Get your hands away from me. Talk about dirty. You smell.", she said disgusted. "Huh?", Ryu got a bit surprised from her cold reaction towards him. "Why don't you take a bath?", she added sorely. The army soldier, Guile, was puzzled by the unusual reactions of the girls.

"Let's leave this place, Sakura.", Eliza said to the other while patting some dust off her shoulders. Sakura came near her also whacking the dirt off her skirt while the three men stood motionless, baffled. And then, Eliza looked sharply at Ken and said, "What are you waiting for? Take us home!", she ordered him.

They were more surprised. "Ne?", Ryu uttered with confusion. Ken just stood blankly staring at his wife. Then Guile said to him, "Come on, take your wife home, Ken. We'll just continue with the investigation tomorrow." Ken looked back at him, "O-ok.", he stummered. "Ryu, I'll meet you back at the hotel. Take care of yourself."

"Okay.", Ryu replied and nodded back at him.

"Come on!", Eliza irritatedly blurted at Ken. Ken, not wanting to make a fuss, quickly rushed to them while the two girls turn their backs on him, "Hmmp!"

As they left, Ryu was scratching his head in confusion. Guile just calmly said to him, "Don't worry. Probably stressed out." Then they turned around to see Chun-li coming out at sight and going towards them. "A cat robot got away with the money.", she puffed, "And another giant robot attacked me but I got rid of it."

"Strange. Kidnappers using robots.", Guile murmured to himself. "I don't think we're dealing with just professional criminals.", Chun-li said to them, "They didn't use men but robots. They want to kill us."

"Hmm... I'll be needing a robotics expert.", Guile said, "This way, we'll be able to track down whosoever is behind this."

"Yes.", Ryu agreed, "But right now, I'm more interested why they wanted to kill Ken and all of us."

There, under the gloomy early morning, the three warriors who defeated the dreaded Shadaloo, pondered on the unusual event that brought them together once more.

* * *

"Ha ha ha ha.", Sagat bellowed an evil laugh which rattled Agent 14's spine. "Just as I have planned. Ha ha ha ha ha."

"Master, I have the readings of Ryu, Ken, Chun-li and Guile's energy ratings.", the agent informed him.

"Good.", he said and looked at the graph projected in front of him in a hologram. As he expected, Ryu's energy level exceeded from his other companions. And he also noticed that it grew better from his previous scale. "So he has improved. Very well, this will be a grand match for both of us. But before I behead you personally, I will make your life tormented. I will make it so misearable, you'll be begging you were never born. Ha ha ha. HA HA. HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!" And he continued his horrible chuckle, echoing in his dark throne.

- end of part 4 -