Okay, so I'm getting closer to closing this story. I'll take a brief break, but then I'll start my next one. This chapter is dedicated to Thunderxtw and Moontearz because they inspired me to unleash my creativity!

Chapter 18: Getting Help

The black man stood behind the hotel's gym. He listened to Peter's message. "I want you to kill Marduk…" The words echoed in Starcain's mind. It was time to finally end this game. No more fooling around, it was time to prevent Marduk from hurting King, or anybody else for that matter. Starcain cocked his shotgun as he made way towards the location of Marduk.

Elsewhere, King pushed open his room door violently. He was sick and tired of seeing innocent people being hurt by Marduk. Sure it was a fighting tournament, but Marduk was so violent with his opponents. He treated them without respect, often taunting them as he beat them senseless. "Soon, I'll be the one making jokes. I'll be the one doing the beating!" said King as he slammed his fist against the wall.

Julia Chang fixed herself up in the mirror of her room as she prepared for battle. Attaching her feathered earring to her left ear, she heard a knock on her door. Finishing what she was doing, Julia turned and walked over to the door. She looked out of the peephole on the door and realized that it was Peter. Right away she smiled. She felt neglected by her boyfriend, and now he was coming to her.

Happily, she opened the door with a smile. "Hey Pete!" Peter looked up at her slowly, forcing a smile. "What's wrong?" Julia asked. Peter looked back down, his eyes a bit teary. Julia didn't feel very comfortable with this uncomfortable silence looming in the air. "Come in." she said, holding the door open for Peter. Frowning, Peter walked past Julia into her room and sat on her bed.

After closing the door, Julia turned and sat on the floor in front of Peter. It was a good two minutes before anybody said anything, but Peter finally broke the silence. "Julia, I think I've made a horrible mistake…" Another thirty seconds of silence passed before he continued. "Remember that guy I told you about, the one who I hired to watch over King?" Julia looked up into her lover's eyes and nodded, fearing what he might say.

"I told him to…" he said. He looked into Julia's eyes, tears swelling up in his own. "I had to do it Julia."

Knock knock knock! Both Peter and Julia spun around at the sound of someone knocking at the door. "Julia! It's me Mina! I was just coming to pick you up for the fight!"

Peter wiped his tears out of his eyes and faked a smile. "We can talk after your fight okay?" he said as he stood up. Unsure of herself, Julia stood up and said "Are you sure? If you need to talk then I can be late." Peter wouldn't have it. "No Jules, don't do that. Who knows, they might disqualify you. Then who would we depend on to reforest your homeland?" Peter smiled at his girlfriend, causing her to forget about all her worries. With confidence, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Okay, so let's go see if all our training paid off!" Peter said as he followed Julia to her door. After opening the door, Julia smiled at Mina. Mina was kind of shocked to see Peter there as well, but she welcomed him with a friendly smile anyway. It had been just a few days since Peter and Julia met Jaime and Mina, but already they felt like close friends.

"Let's go do this girl! Are you nervous?" Mina said as she locked arms with Julia and took off down the hallway, Peter following in tow. Julia could do nothing but laugh her nervousness away. She was of course nervous. She was facing an opponent whom she'd not had the chance to study up on. All she knew was that Mina used some form of dance in her fighting style. Together, the three friends were heading to the mall nearby. This is where the fight would take place.

Starcain watched as Marduk walked along the sidewalk. He hid behind a few bushes as he set his target on Marduk's forehead. This was it. To prevent Marduk from getting any farther in the tournament, this had to be done. Peter had excellent timing. Starcain did some research and he found out that Marduk's next match was indeed against King. 'Alright, here we go.' Starcain thought to himself. 'You're finished!' He tightened his finger on the trigger and suddenly everything went black, Starcain could hear the shot ring out, as well as the screams of all in the area.

Julia stood in front of her new friend Mina. She wore her traditional Native American fighting outfit as Mina stuck to a black tube top with black jeans. Mina ran her right hand through her hair, the red streaks falling gently through her fingers. Techno music began to blast through the speakers of the underground arena, causing Mina to shake her hips as she smiled. Julia could feel her blood pumping to the beat. It was time to get this over with.

The two women walked a fair distance away from each other and got into their stances. The referee walked into the center and explained the rules for them. The two exchanged friendly glances as they prepared to battle. After he was done, the referee walked away and prepared to say his famous trademark line. Then, the moment hit the two girls like a punch in the face.

"Fight!"

Mina moved first, bringing her right foot up to Julia's face. Ever ready, Julia blocked the attack and countered with one of her own. She launched her right fist into Mina's chest. Staggering backwards, Mina forced herself into action. She grabbed Julia around the waist and used her other hand to grab Julia's. Extending both their arms before her, Mina swung up her arm up and then down violently, causing Julia to flip over, hitting the ground on her back. This was Mina's 'Deadly Tango' move. Julia spun around and kicked at Mina's ankles, but she was already expecting this. Mina jumped up over Julia's leg and retaliated with a roundhouse kick and punch to Julia's side. This was her '1, 2 Step' move.

Julia groaned as she backed away from her opponent. Then, anger flushed through her body and she suddenly attacked. Using her patented 'Lashing Arrow' move, Julia jumped forward, using her fist as a deadly arrow. Mina couldn't react fast enough and she was unfortunately thrown off her feet. She landed on her backside and looked up to see Julia coming down at her with a strong kick. Rolling out of the way, Mina stood up as fast as she could. Some jerk from the crowd pushed Mina forward towards Julia, who was waiting with a fist ready. Using her momentum, Mina went into three fast spins, ending with an axe kick which hit Julia across the chest. This was her 'A-Town Stomp' attack.

Julia stepped sideways, throwing herself into the air with two kicks. Both kicks hit Mina in the face, stunning her. Julia followed up with a kick to Mina's stomach. Mina coughed for air as she did a back hand spring to give herself some room. Then she came up with a plan. She was going to use her 'Death Ballet' move. Most times, fighters were instantly K.O.'ed by this attack. If she timed it right, then she could win. She twirled around and around in a ballet-like stance. Before long, she was spinning rapidly, waiting for Julia to come after her. Julia saw this as a chance to attack, not knowing that she was doing everything Mina had hoped for.

Screaming, Julia jumped forward to attack Mina. Mina saw this and as Julia came in front of her, she let her right leg fly loose into Julia's temple. "Arghhh!" Julia cried out as she spun in spirals to the ground. Mina had won. "K.O.!" the announcer yelled, raising Mina's arm into the air. Another victory. Mina was now closer to winning the tournament. Her only fear was that she would eventually have to face her boyfriend in combat. She was not looking forward to this at all. 'Better not worry about it now!' Mina thought as she walked over to Julia and helped her up.

"Excuse me? Can we get an ice pack for my friend?" Mina said as she gently touched the bump on Julia's head. Julia frowned saying, "I really should have studied up on you Mina. You're tougher than you look by far." Mina laughed as she received the ice pack, placing it on her friend's temple. "Don't worry. You'll have another chance next tournament!"

Julia was disappointed, but she would live on. Peter had told her that if he won, he would help fund her research. King said the same, as did Xiaoyu, so her dream wasn't necessarily over yet. Peter pushed past all the crowd members and ran to Julia saying, "Are you okay!" Julia laughed and replied "Don't worry Pete, I'm fine, just really REALLY dizzy!" Seeing that his girlfriend was okay, he hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. Suddenly, his cell phone went off.

Looking down at the caller ID, he realized that it was Starcain. Quickly, he excused himself and went to a more quiet area. "It's done?" Peter asked as his heart raced. Starcain answered in a grave voice.

"I couldn't do it."

"What! Why not!" Peter yelled into the phone, causing some bystanders to look his way.

"I've killed a lot of people in my life. But it's time for me to stop. I have to choose a new life. I couldn't kill another man in cold blood." Starcain said. Peter was outraged.

"Look, this is what I'm paying you to do! How could you decide this so suddenly! What am I supposed to do!" Peter yelled.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't do this. I think you should try to bust him, get him arrested. Catch him doing something wrong. Lei-Wulong can help with that." Starcain said.

"Forget it. I'll send you your last check." Peter hung up his phone and threw it against the wall. Several people looked his way, causing him to ask "Is there something I can do for you folks!" They all looked away. Peter knew what he had to do. He couldn't let his father and best-friend be bloody guilty. He had to do this on his own, without any help.

A few minutes later, Marduk stood in the empty Rec Room. He sighed as he changed through the channels, looking desperately for something to catch his interest. Nothing. Suddenly, the door slammed open, revealing Peter wearing an outfit of all black. Marduk laughed saying, "What, just finished watching The Matrix?" That's when Peter pulled a knife on Marduk saying, "He wasn't strong enough to do it, but I'm determined. Tonight, you will die."

Author's Note: So what did you guys think? I tried to put a lot of suspense into the chapter but I don't know how well it came out. The story is nearing it's final chapter, but so far, this story had been one fun ride for me. Review please:)