AN- So far... we have had only one or two reviewers for this GROUND BREAKING story. Yeah, we're kinda pissed. We are putting a lot of effort into this, and we are getting back zilch. If you guys could please remedy the situation and give us some feedback, it would be greatly appreciated. So see what you can do. Also, for a special treat, next chapter, another author will begin collaborating with us, and his character will make an introductory cameo in the next chapter, and will make for a third point of view when we start the sequel to this story, which we will begin work the minute we finish this one, which will probably end up being like, 18 chapters altogether. We'll see how that goes. Yes, folks, that means we are finally working our way towards the point of this story, and man do we have some shockers for you. All I'm willing to say is that Klyde's existence in this realm DRASTICALLY changes the Street Fighter world permanently, and will make for a really fantastic final showdown in Thailand. Interested yet? I friggin hope so. Well, enough teasers! On with the story!

Klyde walked around a small town in India. The world looked like a grim place for the people of the village, and Klyde was having trouble looking at it. He saw two children on a teeter totter, both looking as if food was something that happened to other people. The look on their faces evoked Klyde's pity, but the teeter totter brought back an old memory.

Klyde and Bryan were sitting on a teeter totter. Bryan was wearing a dunce cap, and his eyes were slightly crossed. "I'm the biggest idiot ever!" he exclaimed. Klyde rolled his eyes, neatly dressed with a grim expression on his face. "Bryan, you fool. I can't babysit you all day. I have to go and collect my Nobel Peace Prize. You enjoy your fulcrum balance mechanism." Klyde stepped off of the teeter totter, causing Bryan to slam harshly to the floor. "That would have hurt, but it's okay because I don't have any brain cells! Duh!"

Man, those were the times. Bryan's such a moron...hmmm... whats a fulcrum balance... thingy?... He continued to walk through the village, on the lookout for the master known as Dhalsim. However, the only thing he found was more starving children. After seeing the fifth child that looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks, Klyde had had enough. He walked to the nearest adult, and in very broken Indian, asked "Where can I go to buy cheeseburgers?"

The man looked at him strangely. "What is a cheeseburger?"

Klyde gasped. "A cheeseburger is the greatest thing in the world!!! You mean you don't have a burger joint here?"

"Burger... joint?"

Klyde groaned. "Well, where can I get something to eat?"

The man pointed to a small shack down the road. Klyde nodded and set off for the little shanty. He stepped inside and walked up to the man sitting at a desk.

"Excuse me! What do you serve here?"

The man jumped up, Klyde having obviously woke him. "Hmm?! Oh, good sir, all we have here is rice."

Klyde nodded. "Give me all that you have!"

The man appeared puzzled. Klyde grinned and dropped a handful of the gold coins on the table. The man's eyes lit up. "One moment, sir!"

Klyde had gathered all the children of the village, and now they were all sitting in a circle, digging into the huge mound of rice Klyde had purchased. Between gigantic mouthfuls of rice, Klyde managed to get out, "Cmon, kids! Eat up! Wow this rice is awesome!"

Some of the children merely stared at Klyde, whose hand was barely visible as it continued to shovel more and more rice down his throat. Klyde stopped and glared at them until they began eating themselves, then he smiled and went back to snarfing. (AN- snarfing- to engorge one's self with tasty food. From the dictionary of me).

Off in the distance, a man sat in the lotus meditation position. The only odd thing about it was that the man was that he was floating three feet off of the ground. He watched the spectacle before him with a slight smile. So foolhardy and gentle, yet behind him I sense a great potential. I wonder if he is here to visit me? Perhaps I should make myself known...

The man floated over to where the huge lunch was taking place.

"I hate to bother you, but may I ask why you have come to this village?"

Klyde looked up with rice stuffed in his mouth so tightly that some was falling out. He attempted to speak, and what came out was "Imph comphed hppph tmm mppppphhhhht wfth dhflalfm."

The man gave him a dumbfounded look. Klyde realized that he wasn't getting through, and in one gulp swallowed the entire mouthful of rice. Then he smiled. "I came here to meet with Dhalsim!"

The man grinned. "If you can pull yourself away from this grand meal, I could take you to him."

Klyde looked longingly at the food. Quickly he shoveled up several more handfuls of rice and downed them just as fast. Then he grinned at the kids and dropped a small sack with a sizable portion of his gold coins in it. "You kids take care of yourselves. Make sure you eat lots of yummy rice, okay?" The kids all nodded with big smiles on their faces. Klyde turned to the man. "Umm, I can't help but notice that you kinda... have a floating situation going on there.... Ummm, are you okay?"

The man nodded. "One who has mastered his ki can defeat anything... including gravity."

Klyde looked at the floating man with awe. "Ohhhhhh...."

"Come, I will take you to meet with the one you seek."

Klyde followed the man out of the village, being led to a small clearing on the side of the dirt road. The man stopped there and smiled.

Klyde looked around, confused. "So where's this Dhalsim?"

"Who has sent you to meet with him?"

"I met this sumo dude, E. Honda. He told me that if I wanted to build up my ki power, I would need to find him."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Honda sent you? You must have impressed him."

"Well, I did alright... but he really showed me a thing or two..."

"You fought with him and are still standing? You must be exceptional indeed!"

Klyde blushed. "My only real hit was my Gadoken. Everything else he kinda shrugged off."

"Gadoken?... self taught strike?.. hmmm.. I have heard of another fighter who uses this, but I have never seen the move. A warrior by the name of...."

"Dan?"

The man nodded. "Of course. A strange fellow, really.... He isn't quite as capable as some of the other fighters I have met over the years... but he has some promise. Can you show me this ' Gadoken' of yours?"

Klyde nodded and closed his eyes. He pulled his hand back and down to his hip, as to build up his ki. The man's eyebrow raised once again as he felt the boy's ki raising slightly. Finally Klyde threw his hand forward, screaming out "Gadoken!!!" and releasing his small projectile a full six inches.

The man floated silently for a moment, unsure of whether to be impressed at the show of energy, or to laugh at it's simplicity. He realized that it must have taken a lot to teach one's self to perform such an accomplishment with no instruction. But at the same time, after some of the feats of energy warfare he had witnessed over the years, the attack was nothing more than a bad joke. The man decided that it was not his place to judge harshly.

"Your attack shows skill, but could use some work. You will sit here in meditation for five days."

"Five days?!!!"

"Do you think you can handle it?"

"But... but what about eating and stuff?"

"The body can be shut off if it is willed to do so. I will aid you in that respect and shut off your functions."

"Your gonna kill me?"

"Not exactly. I will put you into torpor."

Klyde gave the man a puzzled look.

The man sighed. "Torpor is like a kind of stasis."

The look of confusion did not budge.

"Look, it's a special fancy magick, okay? I'm gonna make you sleep for five days, but you will still be conscious inside of your mind. It is there that you will build the power in which you seek."

"Oh.... I guess. What if people like, throw rocks at me while I sleep?"

"I will stand guard over you until your awakening."

"For five days?"

"I have already mastered the art of extended meditation. Five days is like a passing moment to me."

Klyde looked slightly unsure, but decided the experience might be good. He nodded to the man.

"Good, now , sit and close your eyes. When you awaken, you will be a new person."

Klyde complied, sitting in the lotus position with his eyes closed. The man touched Klyde's forehead with a single finger, and Klyde felt everything slip away.

Klyde stood alone in the darkness.

"What's going on here?"

There was nothing to respond to him. Shrugging, he walked forward, deciding he would try to find something cool to do. There was a slight urging in the back of his mind, as if there was something really important going on, but he brushed it off.

"First things first, I have to find a light switch or something."

As he said the words, a blinding light spread, revealing a snowy road in the middle of nowhere. The light died down, and the sky took on the tone of night. On either side of the road, snow was pushed up several feet higher than Klyde's head, as if the road itself was carved out of a mountain of snow. Klyde continued walking, following the seemingly endless path.

"Klyde."

The name echoed throughout the silence. Klyde jumped at the sound and spun around. Standing before him was Bryan. Klyde gave him a estranged look.

"Bryan? What's going on? Why are we on this road?"

Bryan's eyes seemed empty, and his voice wasn't one hundred percent. The voice seemed to Klyde to be more of an image of Bryan's true personality than his actual voice. The effect was extremely eerie. "This is the road of yourself..."

"Ummmmm... okay. That's definitely good to know. So this is Klyde street?"

"I suppose you could say that."

"Yeah, I just did."

"This is the road that leads to the center of your being. Follow it, and it will take you to your goal."

"Is there food at my goal?"

"No, dipshit. It will lead you to your true self, and your true power."

"Yeah, but my true self is hungry. This sucks."

The strange Bryan ignored Klyde's last comment. "If you can keep up with me, I am leaving now." Without another moment, Bryan began moving down the path. His feet were not moving, and the snow was not disturbed, but Bryan rapidly disappeared down the path into the snow.

"Wait, dude!!!!!" Klyde began running as fast as he could after his friend, but the distance grew larger and larger with each step. Bryan's strange voice echoed from far off in the distance.

"You cannot keep up.... You aren't concentrating.. you cannot catch me...."

And with that, the voice was gone.

Klyde stopped running after a while, and began slowly walking while catching his breath. Suddenly, another voice, this one much different rang out through the snowy night.

"You!"

Klyde turned to see a man standing behind him. The man was taller than Klyde, wearing a blackish purple gi and sandals. Around his neck was a bead necklace, and his face was twisted into a scowl. His hair defied physics, standing nearly straight up. He walked menacingly towards Klyde.

"Boy. Why have you slowed?"

"Ummm... who are you?"

"My name is immaterial."

"What a pretty name."

"Silence! I have asked you a question! Why have you slowed?" You are on a quest, are you not?"

"Well, yeah, but it's not that big of a deal. My dumbass friend just left me behind. I'll get there eventually."

"You are still unaware as to the true nature of this place, aren't you?"

"It's a friggin snowy road. Not much to misinterpret, dude."

There was a silence. "...." And then, "But the goal is unmistakable, is it not?"

"I guess so. Bryan said my true self and power were at the end of this road."

"So why are you not rushing?"

Klyde pondered for a moment. "Well, first things first, I was told there was no food at this place. No big rush there. Second, it will still be there when I get to it. Third, I might miss something along the way, ya know?"

This seemed to shake the man. He growled and brushed it off, however. "As long as you reach your goal, then anything you miss is unimportant."

"Well, what good is power without meaning?"

If the first comment had affected this strange warrior, than this one downright smacked him. He repeated the words soundlessly, merely moving his lips. Then he looked at the young fighter again. "That is why you don't rush?"

"Well, not just that. The goal isn't everything, ya know?"

"Of course it is!! How could it not be? The whole purpose of existence is to reach the goal!"

"Nope. The road is every bit as important as the end. I'll take my time, and I'll get there when I'm ready."

This was the final strike for the warrior. He shook his head. "This one will not do... His words... they make no sense at all. I must seek the other. This one will not fit our needs..." and with those words.. the man in the dark gi vanished, leaving Klyde to continue walking the path alone.

"I wonder who that guy was..... oh well...."

Klyde continued walking along at his slow pace. "Some weird people on this road...."

"And it has only begun...."

Klyde jumped back as the man who put him to sleep appeared in front of him.

"Tell me. Why do you wear your mask?"

Klyde looked at the man. Empty eyes. He thought for a moment before responding.

"What do you mean, my mask?"

"You put on a façade for everyone, even those close to you. You use the same mask for dear friends as the one you use for complete strangers. Why is that?"

Klyde narrowed his eyes. "I don't wear a mask!"

The man laughed. The laugh sounded incredibly strange to Klyde, and seemed to burrow down into the pit of his stomach. "I see. You even wear the mask for yourself. How amusing!"

Now Klyde was getting angry. "Dude! Who do you think you are?"

"That is unimportant. One day you will see that your mask will not always hold, and you cannot be a child forever. Soon, you will be placed in a situation that requires wisdom and clarity. I only hope you can remove your mask before that happens. Now, go! You are close to your goal!"

The man disappeared, and Klyde sighed. "Like I said, some weird people on this road...."

Several hours passed by uneventfully. Finally Klyde came to a dead end. On the ground was a small pearl, barely noticeable in the snow. Klyde bent down and scopped it into his hand, blowing all the excess ice off of it. It began to glow in his hands, and the glow spread wider and wider, until it appeared to be daytime. Klyde looked around, now finally seeing just how far the snow was spread. There was no end to it, and Klyde felt very small. For the first time since he had begun walking the path, a wind began to blow. Small snowflakes began to fall with the wind. Klyde felt something prickle the back of his neck and jerked his head forward, blinking as he did so.

"Ah. You're back."

Klyde looked around wildly. He was sitting on the ground on the side of the dirt path. He could still feel the chill of the snow, and it was harshly contradicting the dry heat of India. He looked around, trying to adjust to the sudden change. The man was still floating next to him, laughing at his discomfort. "Welcome back. Did you find what you seek?"

"Umm.. I'm not sure."

"I see. Let me check." The man closed his eyes and concentrated, reading Klyde's ki. What he found was not what he had expected. Surely this was not the same boy he had put to sleep five days ago? While it was expected that his power would rise, this was a dramatic change. With all of his wisdom, he could not have foreseen how much power this young warrior would have. Hopefully he will use it well... But from what I have observed from him, I do not doubt it. His soul is as white as a field of snow... He paused for a moment as he wondered why he thought of snow. Shrugging it off, he turned to Klyde.

"Do you not feel your power, child?"

Klyde relaxed his shoulders and breathed in deeply. "Yea... I definitely feel something..."

The man nodded. "Try your Gadoken again."

Klyde brought his hand down to his hip to charge the needed energy again. The power built up much faster this time, and he threw his hand up, surprised at his speed. When the ki ball came out, it was much more forceful than it had been previously. However, it still traveled no more than six or seven inches. The man gave Klyde a funny look. "Your power increase is phenomenal... but why can you not achieve any extra range?"

Klyde shrugged. "It must be a mental thing. It's okay. I like having a short range fireball."

The man shrugged. "If you insist. But there is something else you should have noticed."

Klyde looked puzzled for a few moments, and then it hit him. "Hey! Normally, when I do a Gadoken, I feel winded. Now I feel like I could do a million more!"

"That is my point. I will now teach you a new technique. When you focus your energy for your attack, hold it in, and let it build even further."

"But I'll blow my hand off."

"You must learn to release it in several bursts. Let it flow through both of your hands, and keep throwing it out in chunks. This is the technique of the Messatsu Gou, the deadly great surge. Let your power build to the point of overwhelming you, and right before that happens, let it overwhelm your opponent instead. But you must take great care with this technique. Another fighter uses this ability. He goes by the name of Akuma. He has let his power completely overwhelm him, and now it rules him. Always maintain control over your energy."

Klyde nodded. "Can do, chief."

The man nodded. "While you may feel that you are insufficient now, you must understand something. Even the smallest stone can cause a great ripple in the ocean. I predict such will happen with you. You must be ready to face this task, and make sure the ripple is a positive one."

Klyde gave the man a sideways look. "So I have to throw a stone?..."

The man sighed. "Nevermind. Is there anything else I can do?"

"Well, you said you'd heard of Dan. There's no chance you know where I can find him, do you?"

The man closed his eyes in concentration. Trying to find a single ki signature in a world filled with billions upon billions of faint ones was fairly tough. Several minutes later, he had accomplished his goal. With his eyes still shut, he murmured, "The man you seek is in Brazil."

Klyde grinned. "Then that's where I'm headed! Thanks, dude! I'm gonna..."

The man's eyes shot wide open. "No!...."

Klyde gave the man a strange look. "Everything alright?"

The man shook his head, sweat appearing on his face. "No... a terrible thing has happened. I must leave immediately. Heed all that I have told you." And without another word, he teleported from sight. Klyde stood still for a moment, wondering what had happened. Then he realized something. "Hey! That guy lied!! He never introduced me to Dhalsim!!!"

AN- Okay, kind of a long chapter, but I'm pleased with the results. If you don't get the whole "teeter totter flashback" joke, it's because you haven't seen the Clerks anime. You should. It's hilarious. It's just a joke about how each of us have distorted memories, in which we always tend to place ourselves higher than we truly were. Just a playful jab at humanity, if you will. Anyway. In case I lost anyone with the whole road scene and the empty eyes thing, Bryan and "the floating man" (if you haven't figured out that was Dhalsim yet, please.... Start paying attention) were merely parts of Klyde's personality taking shape, which is why their eyes were empty. I didn't mention Akuma's eyes as empty because he wasn't just another apparition. He was the manifestation of the "Sestu no hado" (I think that's what they call it), which is the evil energy which enslaved Akuma. That power resides in all fighters with ki control (in my fic) and the fighter has to do what he or she can to fight it. Klyde used blind stupidity. It took Akuma's shape because that is it's current form. (A minute to explain how my universe works... the Sestu no hado powers are like a kind of highlander thing. It can possess any number of people, which explains capcom's evil ryu.... And the possessed fighters are all attracted to each other, attempting to leave only one alive, focusing all of the evil energy into one body. The fighting process determines which body is strongest. It's like Akuma survivor or sumthin. Heh. Just thought you should know so no one screams out blasphemy about how I'm doing things. Deal with it.) Hopefully, that clears things up. Hope everyone is getting excited, because we are reaching the halfway point in the next few chapters! Make sure to check up on what Bryan is doing in his "Breaking Chains" story (remember, this chapter correlates to his chapter 2) so you stay informed, because you will miss some key events if you don't. And then the story won't make any sense! Remember, we want feedback! Please take the time to review!

And if anyone is keeping track of this sort of thing, here is Klyde's movelist thus far.

Gadoken (Self taught strike)- Small, low range fireball

Jinrai Ken (Storm Strike)- Forward dash uppercut with a spinning elbow on the end.

Spinning scythe kick- Spinning jump kick, followed by a backward mule kick, finished with a lunging upward knee.

Gut hammer- Throw (only used on Fei Long so far) where Klyde grabs opponent by the shoulder, and pulls them towards him as hard as he can while driving his fist into their stomach.

Recoil Kick- Klyde's auto counter learned from E Honda. He balances on one foot, focusing his defense. When attacked, he catches the attacking limb, pulls the opponent towards him, and falls backwards, throwing his foot into them with all the momentum.

Messastu Gou Gadoken (Deadly Great Surge Self Taught Strike)- Eight rapid quick Gadokens fired from both hands in succession.