Chapter 3: Allies And Reunions
King awoke to the gentle caress of a cool breeze. Slowly, his eyes opened to see a wooden ceiling. An open window was in his view as well. The air was perfect, not too hot or cold. He looked down his body to see that he was lying in a bed underneath a cover. His ribs had white bandages wrapped around them. Next to him was a tray of food. 'Where am I?' he thought. On the tray was a large plate of sunny side eggs.
On top of the eggs was something shocking. A cherry. King always loved to eat his eggs with a cherry on top, something that Armor King and Peter had often scolded him for. 'Who else would know…?' he thought. Suddenly, the wooden door cracked open slightly. King looked over to see a brown eye behind glass in the door's opening. The door opened further to reveal Julia Chang. Wearing jeans and a yellow t-shirt, Julia entered the room and smiled at King.
"Julia? It's been so long!"
"Yeah, it's been two years now. It's great to see you. How are you feeling?" Julia asked. King felt the bandages on his ribs and said "Okay, I guess. How did I get like this?" Julia heard the phone ring. She turned her head and looked to where the phone was ringing. After holding her hand up to King in a "hold on a sec" motion, she darted to the phone and glanced over at the caller-id. She quickly picked the phone off the hook and returned to King.
"I'm sorry, I'll explain everything later. This call may take awhile. You should eat and then rest a little bit more. If you need anything, just call me okay?" King nodded as he smelled the wonderful aroma of his breakfast whiff into his nose. He was pretty hungry. Julia closed King's door as he started to devour the tray of food. Quickly, she turned her attention to the phone again. "Hi Petey."
"Hey Jules, I have to tell you what's going on. I'm keeping a close eye on Marduk. If he should get anywhere near King, I'll deal with him myself." Julia was shocked at Peter's reply. "Well, what are you stalking him or something?" She asked.
"I hired a spy. He's good at what he does Jules, don't worry. His name is Starcain Fireheart and he never fails. He's the best and he'll tell me where Marduk is 24/7. I'm on my way to see him now. I should be home in an hour. I'm bringing lunch, so what do you want?"
Julia played with the phone cord as she replied "How about Taco Bell?" Peter replied "Nah, King doesn't like that. He says that it's 'Bootleg Mexican Food', so anything else?" Julia shrugged and said "Fine, how about Wendy's?" Peter agreed and said that he had to go. "Julia, hang tight for a few minutes and don't tell any of this to King." Julia agreed and hung up the phone quietly. She knew that for King's sake, she couldn't mention any of this to him.
Elsewhere, Peter stepped out of his emerald colored Jaguar. After locking the door, he looked to a building in front of him. "Starcain is supposed to meet me on the roof…" Without further ado, Peter stepped inside of the building and swiftly opened the door that lead to the roof. As he jogged up the stairs, his all black outfit complimented the determined look on his face. Once he reached the top, he opened the door and looked forward. The man named Starcain was indeed on time, something that made Peter happy. Starcain looked into the sky, it was gray and cloudy. He was a black medium built male, with a black sweat suit on with a black bandana. Peter approached slowly.
"Starcain?" Peter called out. The man named Starcain turned around slowly and gazed his silvery eyes into Peter's brown ones. Peter stepped back for he felt slightly threatened and intimidated by Starcain. Starcain reached his hand out to Peter and said "Peter right? Nice to finally meet you in person." Peter took Starcain's hand and shook it firmly. Little to Starcain's knowledge, Peter had a surprise waiting for him. His eyes suddenly glazed over into Hell Mode as he smiled slightly. He pulled Starcain in to him and spun around, landing a firm kick into his face. Starcain looked shocked and he wasn't about to take that. Peter dodged Starcain's fists as he rolled to the side.
Starcain kicked at Peter's head as he rose from the floor. Peter caught Starcain's leg and rested it on his shoulder. Peter's right fist plunged deep into Starcain's stomach. As Starcain stepped back, Peter stood up and launched a high kick at his face. Starcain grabbed the kick and held Peter's foot to the side of his face. Suddenly, Starcain spun around and tripped Peter by kicking his other leg. As Peter fell to the ground, he felt Starcain's other foot kick across his face. Peter hit the ground with a loud thud. Starcain stood in his stance and stared at Peter's body. Slowly, Peter stood up and dusted himself off. All was quiet for a second before…
Peter laughed. "Sorry Starcain, I just had to make sure that I wasn't hiring a fake." Starcain sighed with relief and answered "No fake. Are you okay?" He asked as he noticed Peter wiping some blood from his nose. Starcain always cared about other people. Especially those younger than him. He had a tough childhood and knew what it was like to be young and restless. Peter smiled and said "Yeah, I'm actually relieved. Now I know that we'll be able to work together. Good moves." Starcain laughed and said "I could say the same for you."
"So, any word on Marduk?" Peter asked. Starcain replied, "Marduk is training for the upcoming tournament. He hasn't showed any interest in going after King, so far." Peter sighed with relief as he heard this. "Thank God. King's almost all that I have left in this world. I can't let him die." Starcain frowned slightly. "Don't worry, I won't let any harm come to him or anyone else you care about." Peter turned around and smiled at Starcain. And so, a friendship was formed.
"Well, I gotta get home. Thanks for all your help Starcain; I can see that you're not only helping me for the paycheck." Peter said. Starcain nodded as Peter turned and walked back to the stairs. After a few minutes, Peter was outside and re-entering his car. Little did he know that Starcain was still watching. He wanted to make sure that Peter wasn't followed. As soon as Peter left, Starcain directed his attention back to tracking Marduk. "I've got some work to do." He said as he soon exited the rooftop.
Later, Peter arrived home with the Wendy's. As he entered the front door, he kicked off his shoes and was warmly welcomed by his pet black cat named Lucifer. After a few seconds of playfully attacking the cat, Peter looked up to see Julia smiling at him. "Hey Julia." With that, the two kissed each other on the lips for about four seconds. "Is King awake?" Peter asked. Julia nodded towards the door and Peter slowly walked over. After opening the door, Peter saw that King was indeed awake. He was staring idly out the window. Peter smiled from ear to ear as he knocked slightly.
King looked over and made eye contact with Peter. A giant smile with tears came across King's mask. "Peter!" he cried out as he tried to jump out of the bed. King quickly stopped and cried out in pain. Peter ran over and asked "Are you okay!" King looked up and replied "C'Mere you." before grabbing him in a hug. Peter felt as if he was going to suffocate. Soon, King let go and moved over enough for Peter to sit down next to him. Peter did so as King asked "How did you survive! I mean, you couldn't have faked it, you were…" he stopped and tried to be happy for once. Peter nodded and said "It's a long story, but you'll get to hear it. I was glad to find you last night. Do you remember what happened?"
King thought and soon, flashbacks came into his mind. Pictures of terrible people attacking him, a few beers, two people fighting off the others, and a familiar kid. "You saved me last night?" King asked. Peter smiled and nodded. "Julia too." Peter said as he pointed to Julia. "You almost got killed." Peter said. Suddenly, another flash appeared in his mind. A body on the floor in front of him, a pool of blood, and someone standing over it.
"Did someone else die?" King asked. Peter looked down and answered "Well, you're alive and that's all that matters." Peter cheered up by smiling up at King. Now King felt horrible. He had gotten drunk and now Peter most likely had blood on his hands because of it. But right now, he was still highly interested in how Peter was still alive. "I still can't believe it's you!" King said as he hugged Peter once again, his now long black hair falling against Peter's shoulder. Julia smiled as she closed the door.
King took this opportunity to ask Peter again. "So, tell me. How did you survive that night?" Peter looked up to the ceiling and began to speak. "It was a gift, which I know I didn't deserve at all…" King sat still and began to listen to how Peter walked away alive.