CHAPTER 3.
Ken propped his feet up on a convenient stool chair and leaned back,he was ready for the duration of what he was going to tell his friends.
"Oh,by the way Ken."said Chun-Li. "Please don't exaggerate too much like you did last time you told Eliza and myself about your last tournament battle in Las Vegas."
"Hey now!"said Ken. "I told you every bit of that was true."
"Look,let's just get on with it okay,luv?"said Cammy. "We need to pass the time till they call for us."
"Right."said Ken. "Okay...here's how I got my invite. And it's a good thing that you mentioned the recent Las Vegas tourney I fought in...it has a lot to with what also happened to me."
FLASHBACK.
SAN FRANCISCO,AT A LOCAL MARINA YACHT HARBOR.
Ken,along with his wife and son and his trusted disciple Sean Matsuda were about to board Ken's large and colorfully laiden fishing yacht.
(You know,the one where it says KEN MASTERS with his face on the side of it from SF III:2nd impact.)
Sean grumbled as he carried two large coolers filled with drinks and provisions.
"Just great!"he thought. "It's the weekend,and I was looking forward to some heavy duty training with master Ken.
Instead...he out of the blue decides to take the family fishing...lucky me!"
Ken carried the fishing rods,while Eliza and Mel boarded the yacht.
"Wow..we're gonna catch some fish,right dad?"said Mel.
"You bet,Mel!"said Ken. "Who knows...maybe we'll be lucky enough to see some great white sharks while we're at it!"
"Now Ken!"said Eliza. "Don't scare our son. I agreed enough to this trip,let's not overdo while we're out in the waters."
"Heh,right..right."said Ken. "Sorry hon."
Suddenly,Ken heard someone shout his name.
"KEN MASTERS!"shouted a rather loud and brash voice just outside the yacht.
"What?"said Ken. "Who the hell...?"
"Uh,sensei?"called Sean. "There's someone here to see you,right now!"
"Who could that be?"said Eliza. Ken groaned in annoyance.
"Probably just some damn fan."said Ken. "You and Mel wait here,hon...i'll be right back."
Ken approached Sean who was on the deck of the yacht.
"Sean!"said Ken. "Who's out here yelling my name?"
Sean pointed over towards the dock near the yacht.
"That dude over there."he said.
Standing atop the dock was a tall,lean and very muscular american man.
He had curly red hair and a matching goatee and a single stitched scar across his right cheek.
He was also wearing a set of blue sweat pants,white sneakers and a black tank top.
The man was also carrying a red dufffle bag over his shoulder.
He also had a pretty peeved to just plain angry look in his eyes.
"He just shouted your name,sensei."said Sean. "I was about to shoo him off,but..I figure maybe you'd know him before I do."
Ken sighed. "Okay fine..no problem."he said. "I'll see what this douchebag wants."
Ken stepped down the ladder steps from the deck and approached the stranger.
"And who might you be I may ask?"said Ken.
"What...you don't remember me,Masters?'said the man.
"We recently fought each other in that tourney in Las Vegas,we fought in the finals!"
"Wha..oh yeah that Champion of Fighters contest I went to last month."said Ken.
"Now I remember. Yeah,you were that crazy kickboxer I fought in those same finals.
What was your name again...uh..Ted?"
"FRED!"snapped the man. "Fred-Wilson! I was once the pride and joy of all Las Vegas!
Until you had to come swimming your way into that tournament! And you...with your crazy karate moves...and sheer dumb luck..cost me my title!"
"Dumb..luck?"said Ken. "Hey..FYI there pal,I beat you fair,square and all that! Pardon me for tooting my own horn...you were good,but I was way better than what you had!"
"And of course,sensei likes to toot his own horn."thought Sean while rolling his eyes.
"Luck had nothing to do with it,and I won the title and all that went with it!"said Ken.
"So what are you here for anyways,an autograph?"
"Hell no!"said Fred. "I want a rematch,plain and simple! And here and now!"
Ken and Sean looked at each other.
"Is he serious or what?"said Ken.
"He must be,sensei."said Sean. "Uh..you want me to face him?"
Ken scratched his chin and thought for a moment. "No not today,Sean."said Ken. "It's been awhile since I fought one on one here..i'm getting a little out of practice."
"Okay,just checking."said Sean,feeling a bit bummed there.
"But look at this way."said Ken. "You'll get to see your master in action,and that way..you just might learn something from my amazing techniques yet."
"Well yeah."said Sean. "That's one way of looking at it. Stop his ass in then master."
"I..intend to."said Ken.
"Hey,you two gonna stop jibber jabbing,or are you gonna fight me?"said Fred.
"Oh,chill your ass..Fred."said Ken. "Lucky for you,I brought a change of fight togs just in case.
Just..change into yours and we'll face each other in a chosen destination."
Fred nodded.
"Okay,that's fine with me. I'll uh...change into that nearby restroom."
Ken then went back to the yacht whilst Fred went to the restroom.
Sean sneered at the guy's back.
"Master Ken's right...whatta douchebag."he thought. "Ah well...every fighter's world got one..or more sadly."
"Ken!"said Eliza. "You can't be fighting now! We're about to go to sea here. The day's only got so many hours you know!"
"Now now,Eliza."said Ken. "No need to get your panties in a twist...again. I know I could've just sicked the local law on this guy for harassment and all that.
But...I also figure that if I don't take this guy out now..he'll obviously come back for more."
Eliza sighed in irritation.
"Alright then."she said. "Just please...be careful there and keep on your toes. He looks like the type to fight dirty there,I can see it in his eyes."
"Hey,no prob."said Ken. "I've faced Shadowloo goons worse than this guy."
"Yeah!"said Mel. "Daddy's gonna kick some can some more,yeah!"
"Oh,dear."thought Eliza. "Some influence he's going to be on our boy...or Sean."
A few minutes later,Ken came out on the dock with his famed red karate gi with black belt and yellow grip gloves that matched his blonde hair.
Fred came out wearing a set of black karate gi pants.
His feet were covered with foot glove wraps and he also wore a set of red boxing gloves and he was even shirtless this time.
"Getting in your element I see."said Ken.
"I just want this to look as good as it feels Masters."said Fred. "If I beat you...everyone will know that i'm still the #1 fighter in all of the US of A!"
"Ha!"said Ken. "Others like you have claimed and tried that! But I prove them wrong every time!
Now..choose your location around here...and we'll fight it out!"
"Gladly."said Fred as he pointed over to a large Pier that was in front of a warehouse.
"We'll keep a safe distance from your family...at least that much I can offer,that cool?"said Fred.
"Cool with me."said Ken.
He then turned back to his family.
"Hang loose said. "This shouldn't take too long."
Sean giggled.
Fred just snorted in anger.
The two fighters then walked over to the pier while Sean and the Masters family stayed on deck.
"Hmmm..."said Sean. "...so this Fred guy wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt huh? Maybe some thugs ain't so bad after all."
"Ken told me that some fighters have a real sense of honor,Sean."said Eliza. "Some good,some bad,there's always some people who draw the line somewhere."
"Yeah,I guess so."said Sean. "It's also a good thing it's pretty early right now. The rest of the locals are on the other side of the docks...so hopefully Ken's fight won't attract too much attention."
"I'll say."said Eliza. "The last thing my hubby needs are hardcore fans and autograph and selfie seekers right now."
Ken and Fred stepped up the large docks and stood across from each other.
"Ready?"said Ken as he took up his fight stance.
"And how!"said Fred as he took up his own.
Fred made the first move as he rushed at Ken and unleashed a series of punches at his enemy.
Ken gradually blocks the first few off with his arms crossed up over his chest,but is suddenly decked in the ribs by a fast and hard and rather lucky laiden punch by Fred.
Ken winces in pain,but shrugs it off.
Fred then follows it up with a turn roundhouse kick,but Ken ducks it and then unleashes a hard Shoryuken Punch to Fred's very chin.
The kick boxer falls backwards,but skids on his feet and keeps his balance.
"You're gonna have to do better than that if you wanna beat me,carrot top."said Ken grinning.
Fred growled in anger.
"If...YOU INSIST!"raged Fred as he thrust forward again at Ken.
Fred lunged a pair of punches at Ken,but he managed to block one and swat away the other.
Ken then did a fast turn kick and clocked Fred in the abdomen,knocking him a few feet away.
Fred shook it off and was about to attack again,but before he could Ken unleashed a Hadouken straight at him.
The kickboxer saw it coming and simply ducked and slid very quickly on his very knees.
"What th-?"was all Ken could get out before Fred shot up at him and slammed a hard punch into his very abdomen.
Ken was in turn knocked a few inches away,which gave Fred a rather large opening.
"GOT YOU!"cried Fred as he unleahsed another attack.
"RISING KNEE STRIKE!"he cried as he slammed Ken in the chin with an uppercut knee attack.
"KEN!"cried Eliza seeing the whole act unfold.
"MASTER!"said Sean.
"DADDY!"said Mel.
Ken completely fell backwards,but just as it looked as if he was about to crash to the floor,he sommersaulted backwards and rolled a few feet away from Fred.
He then managed to land back on his feet,and his on his very face he had a truly savage smile on it.
"What the hell are you smiling about?"said Fred.
"You used your best moves there,Wilson!"said Ken. "Well...now it's my turn!"
Ken then rushed at Fred and fired another Hadouken at him,this time hitting him in the chest with it.
It gave an opening as he then unleashed his Hurrican Kick and slammed Fred several times in the head with it.
Fred was dazed,he was about to lose it,and victory was well within Ken's grasp.
Suddenly,the double front doors opened and a tall and plump man came walking out.
"Hey!"he said. "What the hell's all that noise?"
"Woop!"said Ken. "Hey man,you'd better get back inside there dude!"
Fred shook it off and saw another opening that he was about use.
"KEN!"cried Eliza. "LOOK OUT!"
Ken saw Fred about to come at him with a fast and hard punch,but Ken blocked it off.
"I..think we've had just about enough out of you."said Ken. "STARTING NOW!"
Ken shoved Fred away and then he unleashed his Fiery Shoryuken upon the villian.
The impact was so great that it sent Fred completely falling backwards,as well as crashing through the nearby railing of the dock.
Fred hit the water with a sickening splash and went under.
"YOW!"cried the worker. "What was that all about..and...hey waitaminute-you're Ken Masters!"
"Uh,yeah that's me...OOP-that guy just went under..i'd better fish him off! Be right back!"
Ken then leapt over the railing and dove into the water.
Minutes later,Ken got Fred out of the water,he was alive but completely unconscious.
The plump and fat man talking to Ken was actually the factory buillding's boss and Ken had to explain to him what had happened.
"Oh,so...this guy was from that recent Las Vegas contest."said the boss. "He just plain wanted revenge,how stinkin'petty can ya get?"
"Tell me about it."said Ken. "Some guys like him are just sore losers that's all."
Some of the warehouse workers came out and gathered towards their boss.
"Hey boss!"said one of the workers. "What's goin'on?"
"Would you believe it boys?"said the boss. "Our country's greatest fighter Ken Masters just had a local street fight...and just our luck,we missed it!"
"Actually,we didn't boss."said one of the workers. "We've got a few security cameras atop the front entrance...so there's a good chance the fight might've been recorded."
"Oh yeah?"said the boss. "Well..this is just great!"
"It is?"said Ken. "Yeah,it happens me and my team of workers are fans of your work, ! And if we download the video onto Youtube and other social media sites.
Well...there's no telling how much business and publicity we'll get just from that local event!"
The fat boss man then looked over at the damaged railing.
"Hell..we could even place a plaque over the railing where that Fred jerk went through. We could place the words...KEN MASTERS FOUGHT HERE!"
"That's a great idea boss!"said another worker. "It'll make a great tourist site and we could charge tourists to see the actual video in our factory!"
"Yeah,now that's making some good money on the side!"said the boss. He then shook both of Ken's hands. "I tell ya ...I coudn't thank you enough for this! You and your eh..friend there just brought me some good tourist business here!"
"Uh,sure thing."said Ken. "No problem. Now..if you'll excuse me..I have to get back to my family at once..we're supposed to go fishing."
"Hey,no problem."said the boss. "But before you do."
He then pulled out a small notebook from his overalls. "Would ya mind signing me an autograph?"
Ken sweatdropped.
"Heh,sure why not?"said Ken.
After Ken signed the notebook.
"And don't worry about Wilson there."said the boss. "We'll call the cops and take him downtown for disturbing the peace and a celebrity like you."
"Thanks."said Ken. "I sure appreciate it."
After that,Ken regrouped with Eliza and the others.
She embraced him.
"Oh,the things I go through after marrying a fighter like you."she said. "Hey,you wanna marry a boring accountant or something?"said Ken.
"Heh,he's got a point there ."said Sean.
"Oh,I suppose so."said Eliza.
"Yeah!"said Mel. "Daddy kicked can again!"
"That's right!"said Ken. "You mess with Ken..you mess with the best!"
Suddenly...
"Master!"said Sean. "Looks like we got another visitor."
"What..so soon?"said Ken. "Who the-?"
Standing on the deck of the boat was a black garbed and hooded stranger,
"What is that?"said Eliza. "A ninja?"
"No..I know a girl named Ibuki."said Sean. "Ninjas look nothing like that."
"Alright pal."said Ken. "State your business..or get the hell off my boat with you..darkly dorkiness!"
The stranger said nothing,instead he thrust his left arm forward and a single object flew straight at him.
Ken managed to catch the object in his very hand.
"What?"saod Ken as he looked up,and the hooded man was gone.
"Who...or what was that?"said Sean.
Ken looked down at the object,it was a single white envelope with a red stamp on it.
"Who..indeed."he said.
FLASHBACK ENDS.
"And so."said Ken as he took out his envelope,the same as Ryu's. "That's also how I got here as well."
"Hmm..that local workers and boss part sounds a bit of a stretch."said Chun-Li.
"Actually no it isn't."said Cammy as she was looking at her smart phone.
"Look,here's a picture of it."
Cammy showed Li her phone and there on it was a chrome and blue plaque that read the words.
"KEN MASTERS FOUGHT A GREAT MATCH HERE."
"Huh,well imagine that."said Li.
Cody and Guy were listening.
"Man,that pretty boy gets all the publicity!"thought Cody. "While i'm on the run from the law..you just can't win!"
"Hmmm...fame is still fleeting in the end."thought Ken. "Ken had best enjoy that and his family while he still can."
Ryu shook his head while grinning. "I guess trouble comes for either of us no matter where we are." he said.
"You said it."said Ken. "And by the way...if that Fred creep comes by me again..i'm definitely calling the cops on his ass the next time!"
"Well,I admit."said Cammy. "That was quite a good recount of what you went through before you got here,Ken.
But...tell me...what did your wife say about you going to this?"
Ken sighed and grumbled.
"Well...it wasn't easy."said Ken. "But I promised to clean out the garage and do various acts of..spring cleaning with her when I got back."
Plus..I promised to take Mel to Six Flags as well. And..I gotta start traning Sean again as well."
"Oh I see."said Ryu. Cody,Guy as well as the Lee Twins all giggled in the background.
"Man,you just can't keep anything secret anymore."said Ken.
"It's okay Ken."said Li. "We know we all have hardships to go through and tasks in life that go with our lifestyles."
"Well..that's enough about me,Chun-Li."said Ken. "How about you and/or Cammy there relate to how you got here for this...tournament?"
Li leaned back in the sofa she sat in.
"Gladly."she said. "I'll go first. But remember..it has an awful lot to do with my line of work,Interpol."
"We're aware of that."said Ryu. "So...what happened exactly?"
NEXT IN CHAPTER 4: CHUN-LI TELLS OF HER TALE OF A BATTLE WITH A DRUG CARTEL AND CAMMY RELATES HER OWN RECENT BATTLE EXPERIENCE IN HER HOMETOWN OF LONDON! ALL THIS AND MORE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF...STREET FIGHTER:UNCHAINED!