In spring and summer of 2008, I had one of my strangest adventures.

One night, I was on my way to the secret maximum security prison near Groom Lake in my tekmobile. I'd intercepted a transmission about Dr. Shadow breaking out and all sorts of havoc being loosed within the underground facility. As soon I got to the hatch that leads into one of the service tunnels leading into the prison, it felt like there was a powerful subterranean explosion directly below me. The air around me began to blur, and I blacked out.

When I awoke, I found myself in an alleyway in an urban neighborhood I didn't recognize. There was a big advertisement board on top of a nearby building. It was for an upcoming movie called "Fist of the Dragon, Foot of the Hurricane" (written in Spanish), starring...Ken Masters. There was a picture of a caucasian looking man with long blonde hair in a cheesy pose...

Ken...from Street Fighter?! That's when I realized that either I was dreaming or somehow I'd been pulled into another dimension. The last time this had happened to me I met up with an alternate version of myself, or rather an alternate "Captain Commando". He had a strange looking crew of misfits and some really cool high tech gear. That was another of my strangest adventures.

Dr. Shadow probably had something to do with this. Fortunately, on our last encounter, I took the liberty of injecting him with a special nanite solution that would form a network of micro-transmitters inside his body. The transmitters were powered by his own internal electrical transmissions, higher than a normal human being's because of his cybernetic parts. I flipped up the cover of my armband gadget array that included a miniature computer panel. I typed in the appropriate set of commands, and bingo! On the small screen of the panel, there was a map showing my location and a blinking dot showing the location of Dr. Shadow. He was here too.

I immediately went after him. He was moving quickly but I was closing the distance easily. Dr. Shadow probably wasn't expecting my company.

When I reached within a few hundred yards of my target, I silently swore as I saw him boarding a cargo ship as it was leaving. I couldn't catch up in time. This was going to be more complicated than I thought.

Over the next couple of months, I spent many days researching everything I could about this world and the strange readings analyzed by my personal sensor array just before I blacked out. I participated in the local street fighter tournament circuit (actual fighting, not the video game) to keep myself fed with the cash prizes. I registered myself under the forged identity of Ryu Kasugano (Ryu's name and Sakura's family name just for laughs) This would lead to further complications.

Sakura Kasugano (from Street Fighter) had apparently come to this world's New York City (where I ended up) on the personal invitation of Ken whose latest film was premiering in the city. My registered identity in the street fighter circuit caught her attention. She tracked me down one night and started blasting me with questions when suddenly, my sensor array picked up Dr. Shadow! I ran as fast I could, with Sakura not far behind.

We made our way to the roof top of an apartment building in Brooklyn. There was a large apparatus that looked like two 10-foot wide mirrors pointed towards each other connected to a lot of cables and wiring. Dr. Shadow was standing next to a computer keyboard on a stand that was connected to the same cables and wiring. He seemed shocked to see me there. Dr. Shadow then pushed a button on the keyboard.

The sound of cracking electricity filled the air as the apparatus "turned on". The space between the two mirrors blurred and distorted. Dr. Shadow started to walk over to the blurred space, stating that this was the only way home, and I was welcome to share the exit. There wouldn't be a suitable revenge for Dr. Shadow if we were separated by dimensions...And then Sakura tripped on a cable, knocking it loose. Oops.

The apparatus went haywire, and the mirrors cracked. The blurry space started glowing with violet light. The light bolted up into the sky and burst, splitting into beams that shot out in many different directions. Then the apparatus exploded. When the smoke cleared, the "way home" was in pieces all over the roof, and there was a figure between the now shattered mirrors. It stepped out into the moonlight...

It was a 4 foot tall white furred humanoid creature with slanted eyes and a button nose. It's ears were like a cat's, a yellow pom pom was attached to its head by an antenna-like stalk, and it carried an elaborately decorated metal spear. The creature spoke.

"Kupo? Where am I?"

TO BE CONTINUED

Alright Final Fantasy fans! The legend begins! Which characters from Final Fantasy and Street Fighter series would you like to see matched against each other and why? New episodes will posted on new threads every other Sunday until the spectacular conclusion of this incredible saga.