Chapter 9: To Confide Is To Hide

The early morning air was cold and moist. All were asleep, all except for one. The masked wrestler named King. He worked on a wrestling dummy to ensure his attack maneuvers would be successful against Marduk. Inside of him, there was so much hatred. This caused King to often feel guilty about himself.

The orientation was today. King and the others spent most of the time posing for character pictures and headshots, signing pictures, and hanging around with Peter and the gang. While it was a time of peace, King couldn't keep something off his mind.

His growls and roars echoed throughout the gym as he practiced without rest. The smell of his own perspiration rose up into his nostrils, causing him to fight harder, more intense. Grabbing on to the dummy, King swirled around it in a complete circle before landing the dummy abruptly on the floor in a messy heap. King looked behind him and saw that the dummy had broken open.

"I wouldn't want that to happen to me." a voice said. King, shocked and surprised, looked up to see Peter standing there.

"Easy, it's just me." Peter said as he raised his hands in an 'I surrender' like manner. "By the looks of things, it kinda looks like you're ready to…kill…"

King looked down before wiping his face off with a wet rag. Then, he looked up at Peter and said "Never know, it IS a fighting tournament after all." Peter was stunned at the way he answered the question, so he sat down in front of King on the floor. He knew that it was time to talk.

"The King I knew would never say that." King looked down, not even thinking to look up as he said "People change Pete." With that, King began to rise. He was surprised to see that Peter had grabbed hold of his arm to stop him.

Quietly, but in a voice that demanded respect, Peter said "Let's talk about it." King felt remorse for what he was thinking to do. He wanted to kill Marduk, and he didn't want anybody to get in his way. 'I have to avenge Armor King, no matter what.' he thought to himself. But there was something else, like a part of his inner self that cried out for help. Deep down inside, he really didn't want to kill anyone.

Peter began to speak. "Revenge is such a evil feeling. It feels like your best friend, when it's actually your worst enemy…"

Thinking about his options, King sat down to listen to Peter. He was surprised that Peter spoke this way, given the rage he had against himself and against Ogre during the last tournament. King felt the guilt weigh him down. Peter had lost his whole family to a monster. Now here he was, trying to be there for somebody else.

"I guess the two years that we spent apart really changed you too." King replied, trying to make the air carry less tension then it already had. Peter continued.

"So…what are you feeling right now?" King looked up for a brief moment as he replied "I feel hurt. I feel like it's not fair, and I feel stupid for letting this all happen."

"Letting what happen?" Peter asked.

"Peter…Marduk didn't go a free man by himself. I…I paid for his release…" Peter was shocked to hear what King was telling him. "…so that I could kill him during this tournament…"

A few moments of silence passed by the two. Peter finally looked up and said "Well, you don't have to do anything. Just think of it all. If you kill him, you'll be in jail. And will you look any better than him? Don't go down to his level."

King looked up and replied "You don't understand. I vowed to kill him. I can't just back down now, not when I'm so close. And he's already free from jail, I can't put him back. How can I let him walk away free now?"

"Let God take care of it. A man like Marduk won't get away with his crimes forever. Eventually, he'll get what he deserves. Listen. You have a lot of people that look up to you, myself included. How will you look if you kill him in front of all those people?"

King took a minute to think about it. It all made sense, maybe he didn't have to kill him. Maybe everything would take care of itself. So he would beat him in the tournament and that would be it. No murderous intent. "Thanks Pete, you really helped me to see what's right." He looked up to Peter and smiled.

Peter smiled and replied "No problem, that's what I'm here for. Let's all try our best to win the tournament so that we can change the world with the help of the zaibatsu."

The two of them stood up and shook hands. "C'mon King, let's go hang out with the others."

Later…

The rooftop was dark and cold. Peter stepped out of the door on the rooftop to meet his friend. "Starcain…" he said into the air. Within seconds, Starcain dropped to the roof and looked to his friend. Peter, in a frantic rage, began to rant on to Starcain.

"Starcain, I don't know what to do. King's thinking about killing Marduk and while I was able to talk him out of it today, who knows what he'll do when the time comes. I want you to kill Marduk if King ever has to fight him. I think he could lose control and I don't want to see him behind bars because of a mistake like that."

Starcain took in all that Peter had to say. "Don't worry Peter, Marduk will never reach King in the tournament. You have my word." With a smile and sigh of relief, Peter turned around to make his exit. "I've got to go meet my girlfriend, so I'll see you later?"

Starcain nodded and then Peter waved goodbye as he exited the hotel's rooftop.

Later…

Julia took in the night air as she waited for Peter. Sighing, she laid back down on her bed, closing her window as she did so. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Julia rose up to open the door.

When she opened it, she realized that Peter had looked a little worried. "Hey, anything wrong?" she asked as she kissed him. Peter shook his head and replied "No everything is okay. You know how it is. Pre tournament jitters. It starts tomorrow and I feel so ready. How about you? Everything okay?"

Julia twirled around in a circle as she answered "Yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking about our future. I love you…do you know that?" Peter smiled while taking his coat off. "Of course I do, and I love you too." Feeling a bit more at ease, Peter lie on the bed next to Julia. The day had brought many stresses to the both of them, and tomorrow was going to be unforgivable. The beginning of the tournament.

"Let's sleep. We're gonna need it Jules. Goodnight." Peter said as he kissed Julia on the forehead. "Goodnight Pete, I love you."