Mr. S£im Citrus 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2004 October 12, 1986 *CLICK* “C’mon, Nicky! Jus’ a few more steps!” Henri LeCroix smiles brightly, extending his arms warmly as his eldest son Dominic steps tenuously across a thin wire rope suspended roughly three feet off the ground towards him. His arms are raised up, swaying slightly as he makes his way, but he shows neither any signs of fear nor of falling. Henri runs roughly to the middle of the tightrope and snaps a quick picture of his son before darting back over to the end to wait on him. His younger brother Marius looks on in wide-eyed amazement along with his mother from the other end of the line. Diana, now in the last month of her third pregnancy, is holding a video camera over her bulging belly to capture the milestone. “You’re doin’ wonderfully, Nicky,” encourages his mother from behind the camera. “You’re almost there!” Dominic suddenly lurches forward clumsily and appears as though he may lose his balance. Henri rushes to his aid, but the young acrobat quickly rights himself without help. He takes the final few steps across the short length of wire and then leaps happily into his father’s waiting arms, wrapping his own tiny arms around his father’s neck. “I did it, Papa,” he says, babbling contentedly. “I made it!” “You sure did,” Henri replies proudly. “Dat was amazing! You’re a natural, son!” “WOW!” Marius runs past the tightrope towards his father and brother, looking up at his older sibling in adoration. “Dat was way cool, Nicky! You walked-eded all de way across’t de tightrope!” “He did at that,” agrees Diana, smiling as she waddles behind her younger son. Dominic then, in a move that he’s performed countless times, uses his father’s hips as a launching pad as he propels himself out of his grip, over his brother’s head, and into his bemused mother’s expecting arms, taking care to land high on her chest in order to avoid landing on the baby. “Oof!” Diana grunted as she caught her elder son, feigning more strain than she actually felt. “Take it easy, ye little wild child,” she says scoldingly, even though it’s all she can do to suppress a smile. “You’re gon’ hurt de baby if you’re not careful!” “I’m careful, Mama,” replies Nicky, looking worried. “I’m always careful… aren’t I?” Diana could no longer withhold her smile from the beseeching eyes of her son. “Of course, dove. You’re always careful. And you did very well on de tightrope; you have a gift, Nicky!” Henri walks up next to them, still beaming as he rubs his hand through Dominic’s hair. “I tol’ you he had de gift, Love… I’ll bet by next week, he’ll be doin’ backflips on dat t’ing!” “Well, I t’ink my little wild child deserves a special treat,” Diana says warmly. “How ‘bout some spaghetti an’ meatballs for supper?” “Oh boy,” Dominic says, beaming. “My favorite! Mama, may we have garlic bread, too?” Diana nods. “Anyt’ing for you, dove.” “YAY!” Dominic squirms out of his mother’s arms and lands gracefully on the grass, before grabbing her by the hand and practically pulling her towards the house… Johnny looked in front of him at a plaque on the wall. Strapped to the finished wood was a five foot length of ½-inch wire, beneath which was a small gold plate which read: Nicky’s first tightrope October 12, 1986 The Barracuda raises an eyebrow in bemused amazement. “1986?" he thought to himself. "He learned how to walk on a tightrope when he was FOUR? Man, this kid’s a freak and a half!” Having found Dominic’s room, Johnny began to look around for signs of his friend, in hopes that he’s not too late to prevent him from doing something tragic… July 7, 1993 “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages,” begins the ringmaster, “at this time I would like to call your attention to the very top of the big top, where you are about to be astounded and amazed by the finest acrobats in all the world… The Flying LeCroix!” As the spotlight rises up to focus on the two LeCroix brothers, Dominic waves enthusiastically at the crowd, smiling broadly. Marius, on the other hand, smiles weakly, trying his best to mask his shaking knees. “As you can see, ladies and gentlemen,” continues the ringmaster, “these fearless daredevils will be working from over a hundred feet in the air, dazzling you with their marvelous displays of aerial artistry as they…” Meanwhile, as the ringmaster is talking down below, Dominic and Marius are having a conversation of their own: “Marius? Are you okay, bro?” Marius shakes his head, blinking rapidly as he looks down. “I’m scared, Nicky!” “What’s there t’be scared of? You’ve done dis dozens of times!” “Maybe,” replies his younger brother, as the spotlight swings across the big top, to where their parents are stationed, “but not in front of hundreds of people! I’m so nervous, I t’ink I’m gon’ fall apart!” “Hey man,” Dominic says, rubbing his brother’s shoulders encouragingly. “We’re gon’ start out on de trapeze; dere’s nothin’ to it! We jus’ do a couple of flips over t’ Mama an’ Papa, an’ den we climb down an’ let dem to de hard stuff!” “Dat’s easy for you t’ say, Nicky,” replies Marius. “You’ve been performin’ for almos’ two years now, an’ dis is my first show!” “Nothin’ to it,” Dominic says assuringly. “Jus’ stick t’ me, an’ remember how we practiced. I’m not gon’ let you fall, Marius; an’ once I pass you over t’ Mama, you’re home free!” Marius sighs. “I wish I could be as brave as you, Nicky. You’ve never been scared of nothin’, but I am. I’m POWERFUL scared right now.” Dominic smiles warmly. “You’ll be fine, bro. Trust me!” Marius could feel himself gaining confidence from his older brother. Even though he was still scared, he knew that Nicky would never let anything bad happen to him. “Okay,” he says finally. “Le’s do dis, bro!” Johnny couldn’t help but notice how strong Dominic’s presence was in the room. Despite having been gone for most of the past five years, between school and the SWF, it was as if he’d never left. With a weak smile, Johnny gently returns the photograph of the LeCroix family to the spot on the desk where it had been before he picked it up. Sliding his hand absentmindedly across the desk as he continues looking around, he stops in front of another picture. Johnny smiles wistfully as he remembers the events preceding this particular picture: December 22, 2002 *SPLAT!* Dace Night, still wearing the reindeer suit he was forced to don for Wrath, whips his snowball-covered head around, searching for the source of the offending party. Clenched in his large hand is a fresh snowball of his own. He grins as he sees Wildchild about twenty feet behind him, still dressed in his green elf suit, practically trembling with excitement. “You’re dead now, kid!” The High Priest of Horrorcore runs after his fellow stable member, arm cocked back to fling his snowball, when the Bahama Bomber takes off running in the opposite direction. “Come back, you bloody hummingbird,” pants Dace, tossing the snowball towards Wildchild’s retreating form. “You’re not keeping in the spirit of this thing! Come back and take your punishment like a man! Besides… I can’t run in this bloody thing!” Ignoring Dace’s pleas, the elfin-clad Caribbean continues to race through the snow, laughing in merriment at pasting his friend with a snowball… SPLAT! … When suddenly, Johnny Dangerous, dressed in a Santa Claus outfit, leaps out from behind a tree and drills him between the eyes with a snowball! “Gotcha,” Johnny shouts gleefully. “Right between the eyes!” His smile soon fades, however, as Dub Cee remains motionless on the ground. “Nic,” Johnny calls out uncertainly as he walks towards his friend. “Are you okay?” He leans over to look at Wildchild’s face, not noticing the Bahama Bomber grabbing two handfuls of snow… WHACK! … And slamming them into the Barracuda’s face! Catching his friend by surprise, Wildchild grabs Johnny by the collar and pulls him into the snow, before quickly getting to his feet and trying to bury him underneath the cold white powder! “Who got who,” Wildchild asks mockingly as he continues covering his partner up… WHAM! … Only to be gotten from behind by Dace, who practically slams a giant snowball on his head! Wildchild pitches forward, caught off-balance by the weight of the snowball… SPLAT! … And trips over Johnny as he lands face-first in the snow! Wildchild rolls onto his back and sits up, snow clinging to his face… SPLAT! … Only to be plastered by another snowball from the Brummie Goth, knocking the elf cap off of his head! As Wildchild falls backwards, the rum balls that Dace consumed all throughout Wrath finally catch up with him, and he falls to his knees in uncontrollable laughter. PAFF! … With the accuracy of an AEGIS cruiser, Johnny pops up to a sitting position, locking on Dace’s laughter as he whips a snowball at his face! Recovering from his previous attack, Wildchild gets back into the act himself, whipping snowballs gleefully at his friends, his laughter ringing into the clear Alaskan sky… Johnny smiles again as he remembers that night. “We kept that up all through the night,” he thinks to himself. “I’m still amazed that none of us caught frostbite!” Johnny puts the picture back, his shoulders shaking with mirth. “I can’t believe he talked Dace into leaving the reindeer suit on for that picture…” The Barracuda continues on, looking at various mementos that obviously had a significant meaning to his friend. Splayed open on a table was an Audubon Society book, and next to it, a stack of drawings held in place by a paperweight. It was an orchid encased in crystal, shaped to resemble a stone. Johnny glances at the drawings with a raised eyebrow before moving on, glancing at a mask hanging on the wall. “Heh,” thinks Johnny. “I remember him wearing that when he brought me down here for Junkanoo; now THAT was a party!” Once again, Johnny moves on, before stopping in front of a photograph of Dominic standing atop a ladder in the center of the ring; every face and cruiserweight wrestler in the SWF signed the picture. Johnny smiles as he remembers how happy his friend was that night: February 1, 2004 *POP* Champagne flies through the air in Wild and Dangerous’ locker room, most of it dripping over the head of the new Cruiserweight Champion. Every face on the payroll, as well as every cruiserweight wrestler, with the exception of Landon Maddix, who was busy facing Sacred in the ring, was stuffed into the locker room. “AHEM!” Mark Stevens raises his voice to be heard over the cacophonous roar inside the locker room. Everyone lowers their voices in deference to the Heavy Hitter. “Your attention, please,” continues Mark. “You know, for over a year, Wildchild begged me to re-instate the Cruiserweight division.” Mark pauses to allow murmured laughter. “Well now, you’ve finally got what you wished for. And make no mistake about it, you earned that belt tonight, kid!” The locker room echoes with a litany of affirmative chants and “HELL YEAH’S.” Tom Flesher stands besides Stevens. “A toast,” he says, raising a champagne glass. “To Wildchild: it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy!” The other wrestlers raise their glasses and bottles, shouting “DUB CEE! DUB CEE!” “Thanks, fellas,” Wildchild says, grinning sheepishly. “I can’t tell you all how much dis means to me! I thought that, when this day finally came, dat I’d feel like I’d reached the end of my journey, but now I realize dat my journey’s jus’ beginning. I hope t’ represent you all well as de Cruiserweight Champion; I promise t’ always do right by dis belt, an’ by de fellas I’m fortunate enough t’ have a chance t’ defend dis title against. T’ank all of you for your support…” HUH-HUH-HUH! Johnny is suddenly snapped out of his reverie by a sharp sobbing sound that appeared to be coming from behind the door besides the picture. Cautiously, Johnny pushed it open, peering into the darkened room, and is astonished to see the silhouette of his friend, seemingly suspended by his neck by a length of rope! “Dear God, no,” pleads Johnny. His heart seems to stop, and his breath catches in his throat until he hears the sobbing once more: HUH-HUH-HUH! Quickly realizing that the sobbing sound means that Dominic was still alive, Johnny slowly released a breath that he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. Sweeping his arm behind him, the Barracuda located the light switch on the wall, revealing Dominic perched treacherously on a rickety old chair in the center of the room, his neck bound by a thick manila rope hanging overhead. “Dominic,” Johnny gasps. “No…” Startled by the light and the sudden noise, Dominic turns around to face the source of the offending sound. As his tear-stained face lands upon his erstwhile tag team partner, it is now his turn to be astonished. “Johnny?” Dominic turns his body around to face his friend. “What are you doing…” SNAP! … When suddenly, the worn out old chair, a chair that Dominic had selected specifically for this reason, collapses beneath him, leaving Dominic with nowhere to support his weight, as gravity demands that he relinquish his position in the middle of the air. And so he begins to fall… Unfortunately for Dominic, someone forgot to tell gravity about the rope… “NO!” END PART THREE Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace309 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2004 All evidence aside, I HAVE been reading these, and they've been very well-written. Considering that the story isn't over, I'll refrain from commenting on that aside from saying that I like the way it's developing and I really enjoyed the "story-behind" snippets in the pictures that you've written for this promo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toxxic 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2004 Whilst slightly over-wrought i must agree that they have been very good. And I certainly had no idea that Dace ever pranced around in a reindeer costume throwing snowballs. Remind me to throw that into a promo if he ever returns. I eagerly await the return of Wild and Dangerous, as it will give Revolution Zero another dominant tag team to eventually kick the crap out of Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. S£im Citrus 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2004 Well, the reindeer suit actually happened, as CC decided to book all three members of our stable against each other in a Triple Threat "Snow Bowl" match in the JL... and all THREE of us no-showed... so we got the "treatment." The snowball fight was just creative license, more or less; trying to turn what was, at the time, a humiliating experience into a positive. EDIT - What do you mean, "over-wrought?" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace309 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2004 (edited) The story behind Dace the Reindeer, as written by yours truly. I wasn't trying to be humiliating, actually, but just have some fun. Edited November 27, 2004 by Ace309 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. S£im Citrus 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2004 Yep, that's the one. I'll overlook the fact that you totally butchered my accent, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace309 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2004 At that point, I was just writing you as Paul Prudhomme. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. S£im Citrus 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2004 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toxxic 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2004 EDIT - What do you mean, "over-wrought?" The whole 'suicide' thing, I guess. And I find it odd that Johnny stops to look at photos when he thinks his long-time friend and tag-team partner is about to or already has committed suicide. Still, I've no doubt we'll see how it turns out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. S£im Citrus 0 Report post Posted November 29, 2004 EDIT - What do you mean, "over-wrought?" The whole 'suicide' thing, I guess. And I find it odd that Johnny stops to look at photos when he thinks his long-time friend and tag-team partner is about to or already has committed suicide. Still, I've no doubt we'll see how it turns out. He was looking for clues; he didn't know that WC was in the next room... And besides, if it is over-wrought... :: shrugs :: I never said that I was any good at writing promos, anyway; that's why I hardly ever do it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
