Ascension 103: Flex Mussel vs. Kagura Daikonron (Gold Rush)

[Richard Blonoff]

Deadline is Tuesday, February 9th at 11:59PM CST. Extensions available according to the new rules.

 

[FlexAmerican Dynamite]

Flex Mussel can be sitting behind a computer screen sifting through multiple emails, tweets, and Youtube videos. There seems to be an even mix of congratulatory messages mixed in with vicious insults and rants about Flex retiring Showtime. Originally some of the comments concerned him but as the days passed since the Apocalypse PPV he became more and surer of himself and his victory. He set out to do exactly what he said he would and that was beat Showtime for a second time and prove that he deserved a shot at being the best in WZCW. Despite not signing a contract extension Flex is now working on a per appearance deal after refusing the terms of Bateman and Serra’s contract. After his outburst towards him he expected to just quietly be released from the company but after his victory and subsequent entry into the Gold Rush tournament Flex wasn’t surprised to receive an email from Becky to schedule an appointment for later that day.

Charles: What’s the plan for today boss?

One of the other things currently in the back of Flex’s mind was his newfound relationship with an overzealous fan named Charles “The Cheesecake” Chesterfield. After the fan won a pair of backstage tickets he’s accustom himself to following Flex around everywhere he goes, including Flex’s home in an unspecified part of the country.

Flex: Arm, leg, and everything else day as usual, and then I have a meeting.

Charles: Awesome, I can’t wait to receive some training from the illustrious Flex Mussel.

Flex: For the last time I’m not training you, I don’t even know why I’m letting you stay here.

??? : I think it’s a good thing he’s here actually, gives you a taste of how I felt back when I was training you.

Flex and Charles’ conversation is interrupted by the fitness trainer’s Russian fugitive lover Svetlana. Flex gets up from his seat and walks over to her and they passionate kiss with Charles looking on in jealousy, wishing he was in Svetlana’s place.

Svetlana: You’ve been so busy lately you don’t have time for yes?

Flex: I’m afraid it’s one of those days sweetheart.

Svetlana: So be it, you may want to watch how you spend your time though, if you don’t pay attention to me someone else may begin to.

Flex: Was that a threat?


Svetlana: A promise my love.

Svetlana walks out of the room leaving Flex and Charles once again to themselves.

Charles: Is it really a good idea to keep in contact with a known fugitive?

Flex: It’s complicated, and it’s no worse than letting a known stalker take residence in my home.

Charles: There’s a known stalker here?

Flex sighs and proceeds to exit the room and head down to the gym. Charles eagerly follows but struggles to keep up with his increasing weight. As Flex immediately began to push-ups upon entering his private gym various thoughts begin to enter his head: his increasing problems with upper management, how many fans may or may not be angry with him retiring Showtime, the fact that he really has no one on the active roster to confine in, and even more pressing than that, Kagura and the Gold Rush Tournament.

Masquer: You seem a bit stressed out.

The healthiest man alive continues his workout as his imaginary motivator talks to him in the corner.

Flex: A lot on my mind, a lot I need to prepare for.

Masquer: Indeed, no more distractions, now is finally the time for you to rise to the absolute top of WZCW.

Flex: I’m afraid it’s not that simple.

Masquer: Defeating all the competition in front of you seems pretty straight forward to me. You’ve defeated Kagura.

Flex: She was at a different point in her career, and so was I.

Masquer: Her new attitude may have brought her short term success as of late but you defeated her back when she was a champion and you were still a tag team competitor. You’ve only grown better while she’s stagnated.

Flex: Kagura has only gotten more vicious since our last encounter, and while I’d do anything to win I no longer take the same type of shortcuts I did during Cerberus.

Masquer: And maybe that has what led you to be unsuccessful while Eve and Ramparte have flourished.

Flex: Ramparte has once again flocked to a group of individuals to make himself feel better and Eve is another problem in and of herself. I will no longer compare myself to them and I will no longer let whatever success they have interfere with what I do. Should my paths cross with Ramparte in this tournament I will show him that I no longer need anyone watching my back, I can succeed on my own, and I’m going to start with beating Kagura and everyone else in the tournament the right way.

Masquer: What you may think is the “right way” may end up being a misguided sense of pride.

Charles: I agree, the right way is pointless if it gets you nowhere.

Flex immediately stops and is shocked to hear that Charles seemingly heard what Masquer said.

Flex: Excuse me?

Charles: I agree with the plastic mask over, the right way may not be the way to go.

Flex: You can hear him?

Charles: Of course, can’t you?

Flex: Yeah I can, because you know…he’s not real.

Masquer: I’m very real thank you very much!!!!

Charles: Well he sounds real me.

It was at that moment that Flex came to the conclusion that either Charles had the same mental psychosis that he did or maybe they had more in common. The sad upbringing, being incredibly obese, and wanting to be a professional wrestler were all the same things that encompassed Flex. He knew at that moment that whatever actions he took to make it to the top would impact this young man immensely. He decided that he wanted to positively influence the future and show that pure talent and skill was what made you the best. He realized that he was going to beat Kagura not only for his own needs, his inescapable desire to do better than his former friends, but also be a good influence on Charles regardless of the fact that he finds him annoying. Flex knew this in his mind but he decided to keep it to himself and go back to doing thousands of push-ups while Charles and Masquer got more acquainted.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that Day….



Flex can be seen in Becky Serra’s office to discuss negotiations. The meeting was conducted through a single typed list of personal demands by Flex. Serra quickly agreed and provided a contract that Flex’s lawyer looked through and approved. Flex signs the list and attempts to leave but before he even gets out of his chair Serra stops him.

Serra: I hope you know the next few months of your life are going to be hell.

Flex: And why is that?

Serra: You retired Showtime, you’ve alienated the entire locker room, and you’ve pissed off upper management. You think you’re in the Gold Rush tournament based off fan support and one victory alone? You’re there because we’re going to dangle carrots in front of your face and just when you think you’ve got them we’re going to snatch them away. So it doesn’t matter how far you get in this tournament. Whether you beat Kagura and get to the finals you will never win simply because we refuse to let an insolent prick like you succeed. Enjoy your match on Ascension, it marks the beginning of your endless suffering.

Immediately after that Serra struts out of the room leaving Flex confused….yet motivated more than ever to prove his corporate superiors wrong.

 

[Bernkastel]

My grandfather had once taught me that no matter what, we as human had to live with the consequences of our actions. I wanted to be something perfect. I wanted to become something that I wasn’t, and in order to achieve the ability to become the person that I wanted I concentrated the powers of the chaotic spirits around me.

I hadn’t known this at first. The spirits presented themselves as trustworthy and kind and I grew to trust them. And with their help I managed to become something far greater than I once was. But yet in an instant, everything was beginning to fall apart.

---​

It all started about a week ago. I was sitting in a hotel room with my lover, Dr. Derrick Housman. He was still accompanying me as we courted each other. He taught me many things about the Western world. And now that I was done with my tour of Europe, WZCW had returned to the United States. I had missed it there. I had longed to see my old mentor, Sasuke Gozaburo, who had since recover, but had retired from the wrestling game.

Most of my efforts of late had been concentrated into short term goals. I had partnered with the mighty Constantine to take on Mikey Stormrage and his nuisance of a team. My partners and I were all on the same page, and I thought for sure that we could win, so I was both shocked and angered when the match was considered a draw.
It was more like a blow to my pride. But it the end it did not really matter. I had other opportunities…

I set my sights back on winning gold as I found myself placed in the Gold Rush tournament. This was more like my cup of green tea. The winner would eventually receive a world title shot, but I had to outlast sixteen other competitors. I wondered if my heart was ready. Sure it was. My body was steeled and my mind tempered. But my heart…

…I wondered if this was what I really wanted. Or was I still clinging to the past and the dreams of a Kagura long forgotten.

I meditated and listened. And soon I found my answer.

Yes.

I groaned at this realization. I had to make a decision; did I try and plow forward and vanquish all the foes in my path in my attempt to capture gold once more, or would I continue my search for absolute perfection?

It became my justification that perfection in this industry was bound to wearing the strap of the world title, so I quickly made up my mind on what path I wanted to take. My heart became steeled like my body and mind. My first opponent was Flex Mussel. I had faced him once before in combat, coming up short. But Ascension would be a different time and a different night. And Flex would be facing a different Kagura than he had before, for I was constantly evolving. There was no way I was going to lose to him this time, with so much at stake.

However, I soon found myself facing a disaster most unprecedented…

---​

I woke to find myself staring into the closed eyes of my lover. For the briefest moment I laid there, listening to the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing. It was reassuring to know that I had someone like Derrick around. He had mellowed out since the ordeal surrounding the book and had taken a leave from his research. I had come to view our relation as being something more genuine. It wasn’t just all about the sex anymore like it had been.

I smiled and rolled over and got out of bed. I heard him stir behind me and turned to see him sit up. I greeted him, but it wasn’t in the way that I had planned.

“Ohayou Derrick-kun.”

I lifted an eyebrow. I hadn’t spoken Japanese in so long that my speech pattern was broken. I suddenly felt rather silly.

“Did you sleep well?”

It was Japanese again, this time more formal.

‘Well…’ I thought to myself.

He showered while I made breakfast. The hotel room was modest, but that was the norm. We had to pay for everything and with the money I made I couldn’t afford to live lavishly like some of the other bigger stars. If I became world champion, then I was sure that would change.

Soon he joined me and we begin to converse with some small talk like we normally did, but something was wrong. We were only conversing in Japanese, which was a problem since the two of us normally spoke only English ever since I had gained the power to speak it fluently. My head suddenly began to hurt, like I had developed a splitting migraine. I grabbed the sides of my temples as Derrick looked concerned.

“Are you okay,” he asked in English.

I nodded, “I-I’m fine. It’s just a headache. It’s nothing to worry about.”

There it was. My speech had returned to normal. Perhaps it had been a temporary slip. It was weird. I took some medicine and after showering myself we left the hotel.

---​

This part of the United States was a frozen wasteland this time of year. It was extremely cold. Snow dusted the landscaped as the mountainous landscape stretched out before us. Derrick had explained that most of the US was like this right now, so I had better get used to the snow.

Not that I minded. I liked the snow.

Derrick and I separated before I headed to the arena to film a short promo for the Gold Rush special. I messaged my temples as my headache flared back up.
Once I got to the arena I was immediately ambushed by Stacey Madison. The girl had become a bit more approachable to me since my transformation, and I had come to view her sassy and brash attitude as commendable. Stacey Madison was definitely a force to be reckoned with. The women in this company all had to be in order to compete in the male dominated company. And because of that there was a mutual respect between the two of us.

And unbeknownst to Kagura, Stacy had stopped viewing the woman as a foreigner like she had been doing a year before. Even though Kagura looked like a foreigner and dressed like a foreigner, she certainly didn’t speak like one. Nor act like one.
In fact her speech was more eloquent than many of the most intelligent males. She really wondered if she had just simply acted like she couldn’t speak English and year ago.

Stacey got the introductions out of the way and placed the microphone up to my face. She only needed a few short phrases for me to hype myself up with. It was only the first round of the Gold Rush tournament after all.

I grabbed the microphone and began to talk…

“-I was champion once before. But it has been so long since I last held gold that I crave it once again. The best competitors in this industry are defined by their accomplishments.”

Stacey stopped me.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that last part. Could you maybe repeat it in English, please?”

I raised an eyebrow. I hadn’t even realized that my speech had changed. I started again…

“-And at Ascension I will show Flex Mussel no mercy. I have the spirits of chaos all at my beckoned call.”

Stacey stopped me again, and quickly spoke to me off camera.

“You okay?”

“Yeah…” I replied.

I lied. My head was throbbing. The pain faded in and out in short bursts. I finished the promo as quickly as I could. Once finished Stacey approached me.

“Are you sure you’re alright Kagura? Maybe you should go see the doctor----------“

‘What the hell?’ Her words faded out mid sentence.

I held up my hand to silence her, “I’m fine. Really…”

“Well okay then. I’ll see you later on then.”

I watched her go, silently wondering what the hell was going on. I turned and read a sign that was nearby.

‘All concessions stand to the right of the venue must have a validated permit…’

My head throbbed and the words became blurred. What was a concession? What was validated? Everything suddenly became confusing.

As I walked I noticed that every time I tried to read something the words became blurred. It was like I was losing my ability to read all of the sudden.

‘What is this!’ I thought in horror.

I tried to calm myself down but I suddenly became surrounded by a sea of voices that made no sense. In an instant everyone around me started speaking gibberish. I couldn’t understand anyone. The pain in my head suddenly became worse. I just stood there, in the corridor holding the sides of my head until I finally broke down and screamed.

The shrill sounds of my voice echoed down the arena hallway until everyone in the vicinity suddenly turned towards me. Embarrassed I quickly ran away and threw open the doors outside. I stood in the cold winter air, trying to make sense of everything. I closed my eyes and listened. Listened to the sprits around me…

My head throbbed. I grit my teeth in pain. My cheeks flare up. My eyes shot open. And I suddenly knew what the problem was.

Silently I began crying tears of frustration. I was losing my ability to read and speak English. And I didn’t know why.