|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:00 pm
It was just around eight in the evening, but it got dark fast out in the wilderness and the sun had already hidden away until morning, not to be seen for another ten hours or so. Coincidentally, Salem expected to be "gone" in his own way until then, also - having ate the succulent his Uncle Blue-Sky gave him a few minutes ago, a curious green cactus that his ancestors had used for generations to awaken their inner selves and commune with the higher realms of nature and spirit.
It was Salem's first time, however, thus why Drako and his uncle were camped in sight distance away, there to ensure the young Croft didn't go on a journey to anywhere he didn't need to go. Still, as he sat cross-legged on a knitted blanket his grandmother had given him when he was young, looking around at the desert terrain, feeling the warm air and heat from the ground beneath him, Salem couldn't help but feel...bored.
"Haaah..." he sighed, his mood a mix of anxiousness and fatigue.
What WAS he doing this for? What did he hope to see, hope to learn? And when would it happen already? The thoughts swirled around in his mind like the clouds in the night sky, blotting out any stars or light from above as Salem laid back and closed his eyes...then immediately felt himself starting to tingle, his nerves starting to buzz as the ground felt strange beneath him, soft and wet, or maybe it was the blanket beneath him, but he couldn't open his eyes to look. They felt heavy, and now colors and shapes began filling the darkness behind his eyelids, a tunnel of lights that swallowed him and seemed to pull him down through the very earth itself!
It felt like he were on a rapidly descending platform, the ground was stable beneath him but he couldn't stop moving downward, rolling over onto his hands and knees to try and brace himself and balance! Cold sweat clung to his legs, arms, and forehead, Salem still not opening his eyes but seeing everything around him, walls making a relatively small square around him with no features or markings, knowing this even without a light in the earthen, cubicle-like place that continued to carry him deeper and deeper!
His stomach felt queasy from motion sickness, sensing he might get sick, but before he did he suddenly stopped moving - a gravelly rumble heralding a shift in one of the walls, the one nearest to his head. Trying to get his bearings, Salem didn't manage to lift his head before he heard a voice that made him immediately forget his bout of nausea and disorientation, feeling sick in a whole new way...
FREAKSHOW " Damn, kid. You look like ten pounds of s**t in a five pound bag, hehe."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 7:55 pm
Quote: "Damn, kid. You look like ten pounds of s**t in a five pound bag, hehe." A blue hologram projection of former WWFG grand slam champion Freakshow sprays across all sides of the pulsating membrane surrounding Salem Croft. On the northmost wall facing the traveler a crease forms horizontally along the middle of the substance spreading apart to reveal a clear observation room separated by glass behind which two slug like creatures sat in pods. One of them wore a fez and the other an ornamental green robe with hieroglyphics on it. Reaching towards the brightly flashing control panel one of the slugs mashes its nubs against the beeping console as the AOL start up noise pulses through the fleshy room.
EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!The radio signal harvest data directly from Salems brain. The slugs were able to sort the rest on their own, using the memories and internal experiences of their subject (Mr. Croft) to construct a facsimile of Freakshow based off his most basic reptilian needs rather than the extensive library of footage normally used for their programming. Quote: "Hey, uh, wow. Look at you kid. All grown up huh? Man, we really went through it didn't we? You know there's so many things I wanted to tell you but never got the chance to, kiddo. I hope you know all of that business back then was tough love. Hehe See my old- M-MAAAN --" The tone of Freakshows voice briefly clips into a mocking, withering drawl. Squealing one of the slugs slam his little fist on the console as the hologram flickers rapidly echoing, breaking into several different fragments before reforming as the radio signal pitches up drawing more data from the deepest reservoirs of Salems id. His need for approval, sexual frustrations, neurosis and other things men ought not to speak of swirling into the programming of the hologram through this process of radial extraction. The audio modulates until the warmth returns to his voice- Quote: "My old man, he never gave me much love. But I digress.. What can I say, I saw something in you. Did it always come out in the best way? Maybe not. But I knew one day you would be something, you just had to find a way to be a killer. And now look at you son! Wow, big and strong guy you are. Not like the greenhorn from back in the day. You know, I think in a way I felt threatened by you. Your boyish good looks. Sick, jacked body. You're all natural, right bro? I love how your lats are looking right now-- - A drop of sweat forms on the brow of the assistant slug as he furrows the slits in his eyes-- Am I laying it on too thick? Is he buying it? Maybe he's just hungry... Reaching towards on of the dials, he pushes the crank up to the highest possible frequency as the room starts to hum and a nozzle extends from opening of the membrane, what appeared to be a large scaled hamster feeding bottle gradually emerging towards the subjects mouth-- Quote: "You must have some many questions, huh? I mean, you always had an inkling there was more to me right? That I was more than just a flat, shallow anti-semitic caricature, never changing, never learning? That behind all my bluster and ego there was something real, something human. Well you were right. You were right and I was wrong. I want you to meet the real me. Go ahead, drink up, I know this is a lot to process right now...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 5:38 pm
What. The. ******** has stopped in his earthen elevator to find himself confronted by membrane-like walls, slug-like aliens, and a life-like holographic depiction of one of his greatest rivals. As Freakshow talked right from Salem's subconscious, getting into the subtleties and nuances of his complicated relationship with the man, a metal feeding tube protruded from the slimy looking wall, like a hamster feeder. The simultaneous higher functioning monologue and primitive form of care was confusing, to say the least, but everything appeared and felt as real as the rest of his conscious life. Even the chill of the metal straw as it touched his cheek, prompting Salem to swat it away, felt real to his skin. The tube retracted at strange speed, almost as though a reflex from being struck, as Salem sat cross-legged in front of the odd projection of his old enemy.
"This...is really ******** weird." he started, making the understatement of the year. "I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't to be talking to myself through holograms for slugs treating me like a classroom pet. Maybe that peyote was a bad idea..." he mused, feeling like he'd gotten red-pilled out of the Matrix, standing up and walking towards the 'glass' dividing him and the aliens, stepping through the hologram that reformed itself as he passed to tap on the barrier.
"So you're not real, huh?" he said to his intangible companion, still intimately looking through the window at the strange aliens before him. "Some manifestation of my ego? Repressed feelings and stuff?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 7:37 pm
Quote: "Close! But no cigar. In 2017, The Midnight Marauders International board of directors sold the master tapes of all my matches to a Haitian sports management and analytics company. Using data collection, project managers constructed an artificial intelligence training program designed to create the athletes of the future! Unfortunately, the project folded and was sold to some public-private "human development" venture with ties to some governmental narcotics thing. But as for our friends behind the wall here well, they were able to intercept my signal --" As the hologram continues his monologue, a flashing light and siren goes off as the slugs begin the shake with visible excitement. Another slug in a necktie comes in with a clipboard, waving it wildly as another follows behind him with a bottle full of champagne, shaking it up and down before popping the bottle spraying it all over the glass wall squealing in delight. Freakshow pauses as the assistant twists the nob, feeding more information to the hologram as a loading screen pops up on his face. Speaking in a language unknown to man, it seemed like they had just come to some kind of breakthrough. A response from Salem the likes of which they had never received. Quote: "They've programmed me to try to create new neurological pathways in your mind. When you fought the real Freakshow his brain had degraded to the point of an 80 year old dementia patient, just like your hero! Unlike him, I remember every move and every move behind the move in all of our matches. I know every statistic, and based off these statistics have a full profile of your strengths and weaknesses. In the slugs models, we identified substantial psychological barriers that created issues in your encounters with Freakshow-- " A disco ball lowers over the ceiling and dry ice fills the membrane pod as the doors on the other side of the room slowly opening to reveal a gorilla position curtain obscuring a roaring crowd of slugs. A Pakistani bootleg version of Omen by Prodigy pounding as they all roar in encouragement and total acceptance of the M.W Deuce. The roar of approval was so loud, it almost sounded like a blow dryer. Descending from the wall, the fatherly hologram drapes his arm around the young mans shoulders as his complexion turns from electric blue to bright red, the death of all illusions.-- Quote: --Psychological barriers which according to the response we just recorded, have just been removed. You're too in your own head, kiddo! You telegraph everything, and get completely lost in unstructured environments! Plus your mentally soft, bro. I mean really, these guys have been searching for a response like that for ages, and all it took was for me to say some corny a** Hallmark s**t. Like a son to me. N****a please! No s**t I'm not real, what are you a mark?! The fact that this even worked is sad. I'm not your dad, ok? I don't know why they made me say that or why it worked but honestly I suggest that you talk to someone bro being champ is hard and it seriously it seems like you have some problems like I don't even know you and you have this weird Oedipal thing with me I mean how are you supposed to beat JBL like this?! He beat me in like 3 minutes and it took you like 20 dude. And how are you supposed to run a company like this bro? Are you sure you can handle this?!The roar of the crowd gradually drowns our the hologram as Salem gets closer and closer to the curtain the room shrinking, the crowd cheering him for who he was, unconditionally as he prepares to pass to the next plane..
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:42 pm
Salem had no ungodly idea what was happening here. There was a lot of talk of psyche and ego, but this was far from the kind of breakthrough the Native was interested in, what with champagne spilling slugs and disco balls. It might as well have been "Baker Street" playing as he took note of how excited the slugs seemed to be, taking note of the arrival of a nearby curtain, much like what he'd walked through heading to the ring across so many promotions and matches. It was instead, however, towards the observation window that Salem walked as Freakshow flickered away, glaring at the slugs celebrating behind the glass.
"You think this is a game?" he spat, not caring whether the creatures understood him, but getting their attention as he pounded a clenched fist into the window. "You think you can just toy with me, like some joke?!" he shouted, his anger starting to boil up as a second smack at the glass formed webbed like cracks that spanned out several inches from his ******** your projects! ******** your research! ******** Freakshow and whatever you think you ******** know about me!" he roared fiercely, the salt in his voice boiling up in his blood as he continued punching at the glass!
The slugs were no longer congratulating themselves, instead shuffling around and squelching at each other in a nervous panic. Seeing the shift in their attitude, Salem reared back and punched at the glass with both fists, splintering more and more of the observation window while "Omen" continued to play, smoke thick in the room up to his knees. Chips of glass fell out in places, Salem's untaped hands bleeding in places as his knuckles broke through the transparent material, big chunks coming away and giving Salem access inside!
Hurdling over the now-open divide, Salem jumped onto one of the slugs as it tried slipping away, punching with bloody fists at the creature! Each squishy blow made the alien squeal, Salem's blood sizzling on contact with its skin and bubbling like acid! The foreign creature let out a gurgle from what served as its face, Salem's wrists and fists covered in smoking purple ichor from the now-still slug!
The remaining slugs had been hastily trying to operate equipment inside the observation room in the meantime, unwilling to confront Salem directly but clearly attempting to stop or subdue him with their technology! Taking a nearby bottle of champagne, however, Salem slung the heavy bottle into one such console, shattering the container with shards of glass shrapnel peppering the slug operating it while smoke and sparks spilled up from the panels!
Electrical pops crackled in the room now, but Salem wasted no time in attacking the remaining pair of slugs, his adrenaline going hard and provoking more blood to pump from his wounded fists and bleed on the creatures with each blow! The acidic chemical reaction created a noxious smell as the monsters burned under his blows until a purple, mushy mess stained the interior walls of the observation room!
Once Salem was the only breathing being in the room, he huffed and caught his breath a bit, taking his shirt off and ripping the cotton fabric into strips he bandaged his hands and forearms with. Carefully getting back through the broken glass partition, the crunch of crystal cracked under his boots as Salem started towards the curtain, the doorway he could see in the membrane like room.
Hearing a crowd on the other side of the drapery, Salem passed through the threshold, finding himself on a stage in a stadium full of raucous fans, all of which wore masks of his face and cheered emphatically with approval upon seeing him, thousands of mask-wearing people waiting for Salem to come down the ramp connected to the stage and into the ring adjacent!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 7:00 pm
Salem was starting to feel a little like 'Alice in Wonderland' as Prodigy's "Omen" boomed through the speakers, barely heard over the thousands filling the open domed arena who cheered for Croft's appearance. It looked like a hundred WWFG rings he'd seen before, only the audience this time was more macabre, wearing rubber masks depicting Salem's face. Stepping cautiously down to the empty ring, Salem slid under the bottom rope and stood up, doing a circle to take in how many strange spectators there were.
"HEY CHAMP! HOW YA DOING?"
Salem was started by the sudden appearance of a man in the ring with him, right next to him where but a moment ago there'd been no one. He looked like a generic ring announcer, dressed nicely but nothing outstanding about his features. A microphone in his hand, his words echoed about the open stadium.
"SALEM CROFT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! HE'S HERE, AFTER ACCOMPLISHING HIS GOAL AT LONG LAST! THE BOYHOOD DREAM HAS COME TRUE! HE TOOK HIS TWO CENTS ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK, SIGNED THE CHECKS, NOW HE'S WEARING THE GOLD! DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS FOR THE SALEMANIACS HERE AND AT HOME, CHAMP?"
As the ring announcer passed the microphone to Salem, he awkwardly began to speak, but found he couldn't. His mouth was moving, but nothing was coming out, words or breath. Confused, Salem became startled, the crowd growing impatient with his silence and heckling a bit as the ring announcer appeared chafed. Finally, the man took the microphone back from Salem, addressing those in attendance once more.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE APOLOGIZE! THIS ISN'T SALEM CROFT, THIS IS JUST A NOBODY!"
With that, the man reached for Salem's face, literally peeling it off and showing it to the crowd to be another rubber mask like those worn across the arena. Salem, however, screamed inside, his vision leaving with his speech as the mask was removed! Now, for everyone to see, Salem's face was featureless, bearing no eyes or mouth, the man feeling nothing but smooth skin as his screaming lungs could only vibrate where his lips once were!
The crowd, however, was far from sympathetic - instead tipping the barricades as the masked individuals of all ages started to swarm the ring and claw for Salem! At least a dozen people were now on the mat, trying to stomp and strike at the defenseless man as they brought him down to the canvas and began attacking him without remorse or regret!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 7:22 pm
Quote: "You never struck me as a man to let others define you, you know." The voice whispered through the percussion of boot after boot raining down on the defenseless Croft, eerily crisp and clear despite the cacophony of the beatdown. Was it the peyote talking or was it someone else? With vision and speech gone, had this trip enhanced one of the few senses Salem had left? Sighing with exasperation, Croft could almost hear the speaker shaking their head as they spoke again. Quote: "So it baffles me why you're lying here and taking this beating like a b***h now." There was a skip in the rhythm of stomps that fell on the defenseless man, almost as if his attackers had become distracted by something... or someone... else. The Speaker grew impatient, irritated almost as Salem continued to lay there on the mat, curled into a ball like a coward. Quote: "Stand up when I'm speaking to you, Salem!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 7:29 pm
The waves of bludgeoning pain crashed over Salem, a tide of boots and shoes stomping at him with wanton abandon! But in a momentary break from the beating, the Gypsy Savage heard a voice in his head - familiar, a friendly face coming to mind that he hadn't seen in a long time. The realization of its owner was almost as stunning as he blows he'd suffered, but the voice grew impatient, demanding Salem address them properly.
"Muh...fie...gibbow...alib...wombe...ommanis..." he struggled to say, getting to his fours as his mouth struggled to tear the skin like silly putty where it'd once been, garbled attempts at words barely audible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 7:44 pm
Quote: "So the Most Wanted Man in Wrestling hasn't forgotten who I am after all these years. Impressive." The voice chuckled with mild amusement at the reference hidden in the gibberish as Croft continued to fight to stand and find his voice, his hands scrambling to where his lips were beginning to reappear on his face. He had begun to try to scratch at the skin of his lips to force his mouth open to speak more clearly. Quote: "Yet here you are on your knees, Salem. Can't you see?" There was a brief silence in between words, almost as if the voice has vanished before raucous coughs assaulted his ears. Quote: "It smells like a** in here, Croft. What the hell did you kill? It's godawful... like so bad I can taste it... aren't you going to say anything or has the cat still got your tongue? You know I am... address me."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 7:54 pm
Salem coughed, fighting to get words through his waxy, drippy mouth, the mat now visible in a fuzzy fashion where it hadn't been before. He could sense his attackers weren't far by, but Salem was more focused on finding his voice again, struggling to speak to his unseen addresser.
"I said...if I get out alive...I won't be...on my knees..." he managed, his voice raspy and quiet as he started trying to push himself back up to a vertical base, his legs and balance shaky.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 8:01 pm
Quote: "I'm sorry, I could hardly hear you, Croft... couldn't you speak up just a little?" You could almost hear the voice's owner crossing their arms across their chest, tapping their foot restlessly in the interim. Quote: "I believe I told you to stand up when I'm talking to you, Salem... like you're so close, you've almost got it... and I wanna hear you address me by name."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2022 8:13 pm
The voice was trying to put Salem through his paces, but knowing who it belonged to, that was hardly a surprise for the "M.W. Deuce". He coughed out a chuckle, feeling his lips and tongue once more where they should be, his vision clearing up as hands from around the ring grew impatient, reaching and grasping at him like zombies. Shaking them off, Salem got back to his feet and stood up, shouting loudly.
"I SAID...IF I GET OUT ALIVE, I WON'T BE ON MY KNEES, PHOENIX!"
At the mention of the woman's name, a blinding light erupted right in front of Salem at the center of the canvas, the intense heat and electricity leaving a smell of ozone in the air, forcing Croft's freshly opened eyes back closed while those itching to scratch at Salem cowered in terror from the outburst of energy!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 1:33 pm
Lightning had arced from the center of the dome above the ring, its course headed straight for the mat below instead of for the titantron like it usually did for the woman it heralded. The hands that had scratched and clawed to hold Salem down scrambled for the ropes with an indescribable panic as the odor of petrichor and electricity hung heavy in the air, a voice beginning to boom from ringside as house lights were panned toward the rafters. "I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT MY EYES ARE SEEING! COULD IT BE, WWFG UNIVERSE? IS IT..."A sliver of vermillion locks appeared from the darkness that saturated the rafters before the infamous phoenix goddess placed one leather boot on her perch, looking down at the ring before descending in another flash of lightning. When the smoke had cleared, Athena Augustine stood in the ring a vision of the sixteenth President of the United States a la Electric Six's Gay Bar with a fake beard clad to her chin and a stovetop hat atop her head, looking in confusion at her new attire before she spoke again. "Jesus, Salem... how ******** high are you right now? I look like a gay Abe Lincoln."Athena furrowed her brow as she stared daggers at Croft, shaking her head before she pulled the hat off and sent it flying out of the ring with a toss. "You know what? It's probably best if we just skip straight to the getting out alive. Right, Salem?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 1:54 pm
The lights played tricks on Salem's eyes as they adjusted after the lightning bolt, his pupils dilating and focusing on the visage now standing before him, separating him from hordes of hungry fans! But as "The Copperhead" stood and collected himself, he couldn't help but cackle upon seeing what his old compatriot was clothed in! Phoenix, his dear friend Athena, a woman he respected as one of the top five baddest bitches (not that he'd use that word) on the planet ...dressed up in full top hat and beard like she just left a Nick Nackery.
"BUHAHAHAHAHA!" he bellowed, laughing with gutteral vigor as he collapsed back to the canvas, clutching his abdomen! "PHY, IS THAT YOU?! OLE HONEST ATHENA, HAHAHA!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2022 2:13 pm
Athena pressed her hands to her forehead before dragging them down the length of her face in exasperation, the fake beard on her chin pulling against her fingers before snapping back to her face hard enough to make her wince.
"Yes, it's me, you dingbat. You've really got to eat something before you get higher than horse s**t, Croft. This is embarrassing... now get your a** up before I leave."
The former ten-time women's champion rolled her eyes, shaking her head before she spoke again and stepped forward with her hand outstretched, offering her old colleague help to his feet again.
"Or are you going to let these two-bit hacks keep you on your knees?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
