Semi-finals standings

Ryu vs Akuma

Cassie Cage vs Kisara

Hours after everyone gathered around the arena, a Minotaur (with a green imp on its back) stormed to the arena.

"Is green-shrimp-man rider too?" Ferra asked Erron Black, who shrugged his shoulders while replying with, "Beats me,"

As soon as the Minotaur reached the center of the stage, the imp hopped on its head.

"Hello there, ladies and gents," the imp announced in a voice reminiscent of SpongeBob Squarepants, only slightly lower pitched. "Welcome to the semi-finals. The name's Migrandus, and this is my buddy, Bromes." Bromes grunted in response. "Right... Sorry to break this to ya, but Belial was supposed to announce this fight, and Quan Chi the next fight after this, but they're dealin' with circumstances beyond their control. That's why we're here.

"So without any further ado, let's get to this shit: Ryu..."

Ryu, with a pat on the back from Ken, walked onto the arena.

"...vs Akuma!"

"What?!" Ryu exclaimed, surprised that Akuma was even in the tournament to begin with. Akuma then fell from the sky and landed perfectly. He was pleasantly surprised to see Ryu, since it had been years since they last fought.

"Ah, Gouken's favorite pupil," Akuma taunted. "Still haven't accepted your true power, I see."

"I'm not like you, Akuma," Ryu countered. "You cannot make me give into the Satsui no Hado. You cannot make me become a mindless monster."

"AAAAAAAAND... fight!" Migrandus yelled. Ryu and Akuma clashed fists and feet with every punch and kick that came their way. Ryu managed to grab Akuma, get on his back, and use his leg toss Akuma behind him. After both fighters got on their feet, they each fired a Shakunetsu Hadoken. When they clashed, there was smoke that appeared, and Ryu and Akuma jumped high into the air. As Ryu did an aerial Hurricane Kick, Akuma parried all hits, did a front flip in mid-air, and did a swift palm thrust that was strong enough to make Ryu crash down to Earth.

After Akuma landed, he picked Ryu up, did a few knees and punches, and tossed Ryu behind him like a ragdoll. "Now... prepare yourself!" Akuma shouted as he darted for the kneeling Ryu and grabbed him. "DIE ONE THOUSAND DEATHS!" All that could be seen next was a barrage of purple hitsparks accompanied by an agonizing scream from Ryu. When the smoke cleared, Ryu lie on the ground flat on his belly while Akuma has his back turned to him.

What happened next surprised everyone; as Akuma went to walk away, Ryu slowly started to stand up as a blue aura surrounded him.

"Hado..." Ryu whispered. Akuma heard this and, when he turned around, was surprised to see that Ryu had survived his Wrath of the Raging Demon. "KAKUSEI!" After Ryu shouted this, his eyes began to turn blue, and this blue aura surrounded him. He went to his fighting position soon after.

Akuma gave off a wicked chuckle, pleased that he would finally get a true fight to the death at last. The two fighters charged at each other and clashed their punches and kicks yet again. However, Ryu had the upper hand once again as he hit Akuma with an overhead right punch that hit him so hard, he began to get dazed. This gave Ryu the chance to charge up an electrical Hadoken, a legendary move that only Gouken could also do. "Denjin..." Ryu said as he charged this Hadoken. "HADOOOOOOKEN!" He unleashed this electrical projectile, severely damaging Akuma and knocking him down to the ground, unable to continue the fight.

"Winner: Ryu!" Migrandus announced. "Now be a doll and finish him off."

For once, Ryu didn't hesitate. He walked over to where the battered Akuma was and stood him up.

"Please..." Akuma said feebly. "Have... mercy..."

"For you, mercy is far from the solution," Ryu shot back in a menacing tone. "If you want me to be like you, then let me start... by purging you from this planet!" He then did a hard left uppercut to the stomach followed by an extremely painful right uppercut underneath the chin. "SHOOOOOOOOOORYUUUUUUKEEEEEN!" he shouted as he transitioned into a Shoryuken that knocked Akuma's head clean off, an action that surprised absolutely everyone.

After Akuma's severed head fell onto the ground, the aura that surrounded Ryu had disappeared, and his eyes returned to normal. He kneeled on the ground, exhausted from dealing that finishing blow.

"Ryu!" Ken shouted as he ran towards his friend, only to be stopped by the barrel of Jackie's pistol.

"Sorry, pretty boy," Jackie taunted, "but Johnny's got some use for this poor wittle guy. After all, he is a finalist, and Johnny wants him to be as powerful as he can be." Ken watched in frustration as Jackie grabbed Ryu and dragged him to the castle.

to be continued...