Chapter 1: Sins of the Father

As KnightMask got to the Slam Master's dojo, the parents and children were leaving from the evening youth freestyle wrestling class. Azzo was still there, writing something out a sheet of paper as one of the orphanage workers--a young 20-something girl stuffed inside a MSU sweatshirt whose blonde hair was gathered in a bun--stood over him, waiting. Azzo noticed him coming in and gave him a big wave and a smile.

KnightMask waved back and returned the smile, beneath his mask. Ever since he'd been bitten, he'd started wearing it more often. True enough, by the Grace of God he'd avoided--by the narrowest of margins--joining the ranks of the undead. But like any deadly disease, survivors suffered lingering side effects. He was still figuring out what those were...but one thing he did know, was that those instances, every so often, when his eyes felt as if they were being subsumed in fire, were instances where he'd just as soon have his face hidden from view.

Speaking of symptoms...so far, Azzo seemed to have been doing a pretty darned impressive job adjusting to life as...well...as a normal kid.

In spite of his parentage, he appeared to be able both to survive in the sunlight and without a constant intake of human blood. He seemed to have some sort of allergic reaction to the cross that KnightMask had insisted he wear about his neck, but he seemed almost as determined as KnightMask was to overcome it. And slowly, he seemed to be adjusting.

"Come on, Azzo, hurry up and finish the letter...so we can drop it off at the Post Office before it closes," KnightMask heard the orphanage employee say as he walked towards the locker rooms.

"Bye-bye, Mr. KnightMask," Azzo called after him. KnightMask turned back and waved. "I can't play right now...I have to finish this letter."

"He can't talk at all..." Azzo explained to the orphanage employee. "Shhhhh," the girl responded. KnightMask smiled. Writing a letter, huh? How was that for learning to socialize and interact? He was proud of the kid. Chalk another one up for freewill.

As he laced up his wrestling boots, he wondered absently who the little fellow was writing.


Chapter 2: Nobody kills you but me




He wondered if this was how the mongoose felt when it fought cobras.

Their supple curve, the ripples and contours in the smooth, thick honey brown skin that hinted at their power...her legs were mesmerizing in and of themselves. Combined with the balletic grace of her kicks, it was next to impossible to do anything other than watch them in appreciative awe.

It was lucky, KnightMask supposed, that fending off Natalia's kicks involved looking at her legs. With a rubbery elasticity, her leg lashed out in a middle kick, then twisted up mid-strike into a shin to the side of KnightMask's head. The Brazilian kick! The legendary feint was as well known in martial arts circles as the Pick and Roll in basketball. Sparks ignited like minefields before his eyes as he fell to the canvas.

In his stunned state, the instincts that had been trained into his body took over. He spun on his back even as he gripped the back of Natalia's knee, instantly encircling his legs around hers. She tripped to the canvas and KnightMask swiftly fastened on an Achilles lock. Keep her leg trap was like getting a grip on a wet eel and as soon as he'd set the hold, she'd slipped out. Back on their feet, he pressed forward to close the distance between them.

However, regardless of Natalia's stated goal of killing him to restore her family's honor, the fact was that KnightMask, well...he didn't find it easy to apply his submission-grappling expertise upon her. Not that he minded putting his arms around her, but--an elbow stabbed into his solar plexus, driving out both wind and any chivalric notions that he could treat Natalia with kid gloves.



She came towards him a whirlwind of spinning kicks. KnightMask changed levels and slid on his knees into a low-single leg at her ankle. Keeping her balance, she stepped around to the outside with her free leg so that it flanked KnightMask's arm. Immediately she rolled over into an arm-bar. KnightMask locked his hands together, bridged onto his neck and kicked over into a knee-bar. Natalia drove her heel into his backside, pushing his hips lower and lower on her endangered leg until she was finally free of the hold.

"You're going to have to be sharper than that if you plan handling Angelus' kicks," Natalia said in a chastising tone. "You didn't see that Brazilian kick coming..."

Actually, KnightMask mused, he did see it coming. That was the problem.

"Remember what happened last time you and Angelus fought? He nailed you with a roundhouse kick that sent you crashing into a taxicab! You could've been killed! You need to take your training for this seriously! I know you respect Angelus and think he's some great guy...but if you coming in playing nice...you're just going to get hurt!"

She was wagging her finger in KnightMask's face now. She seemed to...actually...be...fussing over him?

"That's your problem...you're always too nice! Too gentle! You're always trying to take care of everyone and be everyone's friend...well you can't be nice against Angelus and Sebastian Duke. That's great that you feel sympathy for what happened with Dukes' dad...but if you're going to step into the ring with him..."

As Natalia nagged away, he wondered at how much concern someone who's stated goal was to kill him in battle was showing towards him. Nodding his head in rhythm with the rise and fall of her finger and taking in her chiseled features and sleek, almond eyes, he zoned out her words. Eventually, the storm let up and she turned to walk away.

At the ring ropes, she paused and looked back.

"And Tyrone Gunder," she said, calling him by his full name, as the corners of her lips perked, "Nobody...nobody gets to kill you...except me."


Chapter 3: Fan Mail



Dear Mr. Sebastian Duke,

My name is Azzo and I'm six years old. I'm a wrestler, just like you! I'm just starting but my coaches said that if I stick with it and work hard that I could be a champion someday.

The next thing I say might make you want to stop reading my letter but I hope not.

The man who got me to start wrestling is Mr. KnightMask. He can't talk but I still like him. He's a nice man and he helped me a lot. He wants me to wrestle because he thinks that if I wrestle it will keep me out of trouble. He had someone explain to me that wrestling gets a lot of people out of trouble because it makes them into good people. I would to be a good person so I am going to stick with wrestling. Also I like it even if I am not very good yet. Sometimes I want to do bad things to people but when I wrestle I think it makes me want to do those things less.

He makes me go out in the sun a lot and hold a cross in my hand until it hurts a lot and I don't like that but I guess he thinks it is good for me. I don't know what it has to do with wrestling but maybe it does. I never wrestled before and he is a good wrestler so I trust him.

Anyway I like KnightMask but he also killed my Daddy. He told me that if I wanted to get him back for that to train hard in wrestling and do everything that he wants me to do and I will be able to kill him when I am older maybe. That sounds good to me but if you could kill him when you fight him on Wednesday that would be even better. Someone told me that your daddy got killed too so maybe you get why I would like him to get killed soon. You probably think that if you kill him for me I will stop training and doing the stuff he is making me do. And then I would become a bad person.

But I am not going to. I am going to keep training if he gets killed and I am going to do my best to be a good wrestler. I think that Angelus does not like to kill people and he is your helper on Wednesday. But if you show him my letter then maybe he will understand and not stop you from killing Mr. KnightMask.

Thank you for reading my letter, Mr. Duke. Maybe someday we can meet and we can be friends.

Sincerely,

Azzo