Okay so, I'm really excited about this chapter because Moontearz gave me permission to use his characters. I worked hard on this chapter. I hope you all like it and don't worry, the story will soon re-focus back to King. Right now, the emphasis is on Peter, but that will soon change. Do I smell death in the air? Hmm….
Chapter 16: Serious Fighters
Peter practiced his kicks and throws. While he felt tired, he felt confident. He knew that to win this fight, he would have to have a good strategy. Taking down Nina Williams, a professional assassin, wouldn't be easy.
"Done." Peter walked over to the nearby oak bench of the park and sat down. Being out in nature reminded him of his late friend Jun Kazama. 'She would have loved it this time of year.' he thought to himself.
Suddenly, sadness struck him. It was almost as if someone had turned on a depressing song, and it was beginning to drag him down. Over the past two years while searching for King, Peter had developed bad mood swings, often going into a depressed state for no apparent reason. This was just like all the others though. He would get over it in a few minutes.
"Are you okay?" a voice uttered. Peter looked up to see a young man, good looking, and probably right around his age. He had a good muscular build and his long blonde hair was tied into a ponytail. He wore baggy blue jean shorts, along with a black t-shirt saying 'I'm With The Band'. Peter stood up and offered his hand to the stranger. "I'm fine. My name is Peter." The man shook Peter's hand and replied "My name is Jaime. Jaime Parker."
"Wait a minute…" Peter said. "Is your brother Justin Parker? The Pro Skater!" Jaime nodded with a smile. Peter's face lit up. "Wow! I can't believe it, I'm meeting a famous person!"
"Heh, well I'M not famous, my brother is. And besides, shouldn't I be the one excited to meet YOU?" Jaime taunted. Peter kept his happiness in check and gave Jaime a questioning look. "You're Peter Antuma, one of the fighters from last year's tournament! I'm honored to meet you!"
"Well I guess you do have a point…" Peter said, causing the two boys to laugh afterwards. Suddenly, a question came to Peter's mind. "Say, do you know how to skate?" Jaime couldn't help but laugh. After all, how can the brother of a pro skater NOT know how to skate? "Uh sorry, guess that was a stupid question. Do you think you could teach me?"
Jaime smiled upon hearing Peter's request. "Tell you what, you become my sparring partner and I teach you how to skate. Deal?" Peter thought to himself before answering. Then, finally he said "Well I have to fight Nina Williams in an hour. I guess I got some time before I go."
"Alright, well then let's do this." Jaime said as he stood a fair distance from Peter.
Jaime noticed that the peacefulness of the sky reflected his attitude, for he felt completely at ease. He was the first to move. He jumped onto the park bench in front of him and hopped off, whipped towards Peter. Dodging his aerial spin kick, Peter put up his guard. He stepped back and waited for Jaime to do something else, not knowing his opponent well enough to attack.
Jaime launched into a handstand, and Peter took this as a sign to move in. Oh how he regretted it, as Jaime spun in a full 360, kicking him with both legs in the face. He stumbled backwards, trying eagerly not to let anger get the better of him. Peter remembered that from his uncle.
It is the past now as Peter stands against his uncle, preparing to attack. His uncle throws a punch, Peter blocking it with ease. What came next shocked Peter, as his uncle used his elbow to collide with his nose. Feeling blood begin to drip down his face, Peter runs forward at his uncle, growling as he does so. Without hesitation, his uncle grips his hand around his neck and slams him to the ground saying, "Never attack out of anger."
Peter snapped back to reality and avoided a roundhouse punch aimed at his midsection. Next, he ducked underneath Jaime's right leg as it came seeking his face. 'No more games.' Peter thought. It was time to attack. Running forward, Peter cart wheeled behind Jaime and ended in a spinning sweep kick, causing Jaime to fall to his backside. The two had begun to attract a crowd now, the park visitors being interested in what was going on.
As Peter backed away, Jaime angrily kicked up to his feet. Peter was highly evasive it seemed, and he noticed that he took no chances, but in a fight, sometimes that's what you have to do. Jaime charged at Peter, ready to attack. Jumping down on one hand, Jaime spun in a half circle, throwing his feet into Peter's shoulder. Peter cried out in pain and lowered his guard. Taking full advantage of the situation, Jaime reached his arms out and held Peter in a headlock. Peter jerked around, struggling to get free.
Then without warning, Peter spun his body around in a full 360, turning his body into a missile and spinning Jaime off of his feet. Landing on his back, Jaime was shocked at the last attack. It takes great strength and agility to do something like that. Jaime suddenly had a newfound respect for his opponent. The onlookers in the park started to consist of other fighters, King, Julia, Christie, Xiaoyu, and Miharu being among them.
Jaime rose to his feet and the two began to circle each other. Side stepping behind a tree, Peter waited for Jaime to come to him. 'He's making this too easy' thought Jaime as he walked calmly up to the tree. Counting to three, Jaime spun around the tree with a low kick, followed by a two punch combo. "!" Jaime was shocked when he realized that his attack went into the empty air. He began to look around frantically.
Just then, a leaf fell down to the ground in front of him. Slowly, he looked up. "Yah!" cried Peter as he flew down towards Jaime with a kick. Catching him off guard, Peter nailed Jaime in the chest, kicking him and then back flipping off of him. Jaime caught himself before hitting the ground, looking towards Peter. He watched as Peter came close, lifting his right leg into the air. Jaime barely rolled out of the way of hell as the heel of Peter's sneaker came crashing down, ready to knick his head.
Jaime rose up and spun around, getting ready to grab Peter's throat. Surprisingly, both Peter and Jaime grabbed onto each other's throats. Slowly, the two let go at the same time. "Well, that was something!" Jaime said as he tried to catch his breath. Peter smiled and nodded, agreeing with him. "So, I guess this means we're equal?" asked Peter as he offered his hand once again. Jaime took it and said "Friends."
An Hour Later
Peter stood in a painful stretch, which didn't seem to bother him much at all. He seemed all the more prepared to fight. His practice earlier with his newfound friend Jaime had taken him to a higher mind level. Hopefully, his fighting skills would move along with it. Peter used to take notes on the many fighters, often plotting out what their weaknesses were. Today, he hoped that his information on Nina Williams would help him to defeat her.
Peter stood in the center of a lab space. Mist shot up from the floor, creating a spooky feeling. He was waiting for his opponent to arrive. She was late. However, women of her mentality often were. In the corners of the room were cameras. The fighters stood in a special room, where they would watch the battle. The fans had a special theater presentation room where they would be safe. Inside of the special room, Jaime stood with his girlfriend Kim Sueng Mina, but all who knew her just referred to her as Mina.
King was also present, and he was nervous. What would happen if his son lost? Nina wasn't exactly the type known to show mercy to her foes. Most likely, she would break bones even after the fight was over. Julia stood nearby, holding her hands together in front of her chest. "Please Peter, stay safe…"
As Peter finished his stretches, the two metallic doors of the laboratory slid open, creating a whizzing sound along with a small breeze. Mist flew out of the opening, like a dog being released into the wild. In came his opponent, Nina. She wore a purple bodysuit, weapon guards being seen. "Are you packing heat or what?" said Peter, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
"Enough with the small talk. Let's get this over with." replied Nina, her voice sounding cold as usual. "Ooookay then…" Peter said as he stood facing her. The doors slid shut and Peter felt a drop of sweat fall from his forehead. There just went his way out. He was on his own now, and without a referee to or anyone else in the room, he felt as if death was imminent.
On the wall, a red light signified that it was not yet time to fight. Both Peter and Nina stood in their respective stances, waiting for the beginning of the end.
The light shifted from red to green…
Nina moved into action, coming closer to Peter. She threw a three punch combo his way, but he side stepped each and every attack. He had a strategy in mind. He knew that Nina depended heavily on throws, so if he could just stay far enough away from her, she wouldn't get a chance to lay her hands on him. This wouldn't be easy, for she was quick. So Peter would basically stick to a hit-and-run routine, taking her down progressively.
Nina moved towards him again, this time lowering her body into a diagonal spin kick. Peter caught her leg and prepared to throw a punch into her unguarded belly. His plan was changed once she began to reach for his arm. Peter quickly threw her leg aside, making sure that she wouldn't grab hold of him. He felt like the girl in the situation, fearing that his opponent was far stronger. He wasn't going to let that get the best of him however. Quickly, he launched a series of kicks. Nina did her best to dodge the attacks, but fell victim to a few of them. The last kick that Peter threw was caught by her, and she prepared to strike his kneecap when suddenly, Peter dropped to the floor and rolled away.
Slowly, he circled around Nina, looking for an opening to attack. Once he got the chance, he ran in and delivered a punch to the shin, then to the hip. As soon as he hit, he jumped back, doing his best to avoid too much contact. Nina groaned as she held her hip, Peter knew that this was going to take time. Nina charged at him, taking full advantage of her speed. Peter was caught off guard, and Nina grabbed hold of his shoulders. Nina began to reach for his arm, but Peter rammed his knee into her stomach, followed by a kick to the groin area.
Peter knelt down and attempted a sweep kick, but Nina jumped over it. Using this opening, Nina stomped Peter in the side, causing him to wince in pain as she dug her heel into him. Catching her foot, Peter tossed her off her balance and met her with a fierce kick to the back. Nina landed in a heap, but Peter could tell that she was furious. She was already sick of Peter's games. To tell the truth, he was beginning to get tired himself. Rising to her feet, Nina charged him again, this time landed an elbow in his face and a kick to the thigh. Peter let his guard down for a second and this proved to be a mistake as Nina grabbed hold of him by the shoulders and rammed her knee into his stomach.
Peter fell to his knee, groaning in pain. Nina smiled before kicking him in the face, sending him to his back. He exhaled loudly, doing a half sit-up to feel his stomach.
"Finished already? Please!" said Nina as she made a gesture into the air. Back in the room, Jaime and King yelled for him to get up. Almost as if he heard them, Peter hopped to his feet and charged Nina this time at full speed, chopping the side of her neck. She moaned out and slouched over, giving Peter enough time to kick her down.
She wasn't finished yet, for she pulled on Peter's leg until he fell to his back. From there, Nina slipped underneath his leg and started to twist it. Peter yelled out, but retaliated with a punch to the face. Nina let go and he quickly stood up, avoiding her deadly grasp. Peter thought of his own attack. He grabbed hold of Nina's feet and flipped her onto her stomach. Then, Peter stepped on the center of her back and pushed, causing her to moan out in pain, at the same time he pulled on her legs. The count began to start and Nina couldn't get out of the grip. Just when the count reached six, she used a spin to throw Peter off balance and kicked his shins. He fell to his knees and looked as if he would lose. All this was an act however and as Nina ran forward to attack him, Peter rose up and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up, and throwing her over his shoulder.
Nina hit the floor like a brick. The sound of her exhaling was like music to Peter's ears. She fell unconscious. The light went back over to red and the doors slid open. In came the paramedics and a tournament official, congratulating him on his victory. Peter collapsed to his knees, this caused a paramedic to come over to him. "I'm fine." he said. Slowly and with the help of the paramedic, he rose to his feet. Walking out of the lab, Peter began to feel sorry for what he did to Nina. But after all, it was a fighting tournament. As soon as he walked out, King greeted him as well as Julia. He hugged the two and smiled. "I almost lost back there. It felt so weird."
Jaime arrived as well saying, "So I guess you've earned some skating time. After you rest of course." Just as he finished speaking, a young woman around his age walked past him. She had black hair up to her mid back and in her hair, were blood red streaks mixed in. She had small eyes and by Peter's guess, she had to be Korean. "Hi!" she said with a beautiful smile. Peter had to admit that she was beautiful. Julia saw his reaction to her and out of worry, began to walk away.
"Julia!" he called after her. Faking a smile, she turned back around. "It's okay Pete, you deserve some time alone." After saying this, she left, leaving Peter to wonder what was wrong. He would find out later. He turned his attention back to Jaime and the beautiful woman. She spoke again, much to Peter's delight. "My name is Mina. I'm Jaime's girlfriend. I'll be fighting yours tomorrow. You two make such a good couple." Peter blushed as she offered her hand.
Peter shook it gently, afraid to ruin her pretty hands. "It's nice to meet you. You're a fighter too?" Mina smiled and curtsied. "That I am." she said. King watched on and noticed that Peter had seemed different. But it wasn't just now, it was lately in general. Maybe it was time for a talk. King decided to interrupt. "Hey Pete, Marduk is fighting a guy named Vincent DeMarco tomorrow. Will you come with me for moral support. Peter smiled and replied "Sure!" Deep down inside, he knew that he wanted King to stay away, but hey, he didn't own the man.
Peter knew that soon, he would have to talk to Starcain and ask him for information. Not only that, but he had to pay him as well. King left after waving goodbye and so Peter decided that he would get to know his two friends better. "So guys, want to go hang out at that new mall that opened up around here?" he asked. Mina's eyes lit up and Jaime laughed replying, "Definitely, it would give us a chance to get to know each other better."
Author's Note": Okay peeps, I'm so tired! That chapter really took a lot out of me but I've never had more fun writing it! Oh and Nina fans please don't be mad at meL I will update as soon as I can and thank you Moontearz for letting me explore your characters! I just realized how hard it is to write about so many different characters! The story is supposed to be written about the adventures of King, Peter, and Julia, but now I have the honor of writing Jaime and Mina! This is good because it gives me fresh new ideas and new concepts that I can bring to the table. Also, Starcain is a side character as well as other fanfic cameos such as Ghoul and Sean Helspiere. Then of course there were some original character appearances like Sasha Abhaya, and guest characters like Dead Or Alive's Lei-Fang. I wanted to write about Christie and Steve, but that would be too many. If you notice earlier, Christie seemed to have a lot of focus, but then she kind of disappeared into the cast. Hopefully I can get another chapter out about her but I have to give King and Julia some attention first. Review if you can and I'll see you all later!