Fragility of Life

This fic starts out in WCW and a WCW feud, so if you don't like to read about this company, at least in the beginning, stop reading now.

TITLE: Fragility of Life Prologue?

AUTHOR: Juliet3:16

EMAIL: PG - 13

CONTENT: VIOLENCE, ADULT LANGUAGE

CATEGORY: ADULT, DRAMA, ANGST

SPOILERS: Around WCW in October 1999, just before Russo shows up, after that it's uncertain just how much from the 'regular' wrestling universe I'll use. If you remember the brief Revolution angle from right before Russo showed up, you should be okay.

SUMMARY: A tragic accident causes Chris Benoit to leave the sport and push away all he loves. Years later, he's reluctantly drawn back into the sport.

DISCLAIMER: Vince McMahon either owns them or he doesn't. That's all I can say at this point. All I know is they ain't mine.

DISTRIBUTION: WWOMB, anybody else, please ask.

Fragility of Life

Prologue

October 1999

Chris Benoit stood in the ring, awaiting his former friend and opponent for the evening, Dean Malenko. A large part of Chris wanted this match more than anything. The degradation and insults heaped on him by Revolution ever since being cast out for not committing to the gang's ruthless methods had almost gotten to be too much on him. Beating Dean would get Chris a step closer to the group's ringleader, Shane Douglas.

There was also a part of Chris that didn't want this match; that couldn't discount the years of friendship with Dean that included stints in Japan, ECW, and in WCW with the Four Horseman and Revolution. The sad fact was that even the closest of friends, as Chris thought him and Dean had been, turned on each other and fought each other all the time in wrestling, and Dean's voluntary complicity in almost burning a Canadian flag had been the last straw for Chris. The sooner this was over, the better.

That didn't mean Chris could shake the feeling of foreboding about the match about to start.

Dean came to the ring without the other members of Revolution. That had been Chris' lone stipulation for the match up. He didn't want to take the chance of Shane sticking his nose in it, so Chris had everybody banned from ringside. The look of hate in his former friend's eyes affected him more than Chris wanted to admit.

The fight went back and forth for most of the match; Chris and Dean knew each other so well, they knew how to counter the other's moves before the other even thought to use them. Finally, Chris managed to get Dean in a vulnerable enough position to execute his submission Crippler Crossface.

Chris cinched it in as hard as he could and pulled back on Dean's head. He became totally detached, focusing only on the Crossface. His brain registered a small popping sound, but dismissed it as a cracking of one of his knuckles. He heard the bell ring, but thought he was hearing things. Dean hadn't tapped yet.

It took the refs trying to pull him off Dean to make Chris come back to reality. As he disengaged the Crossface and stood up, the refs and trainer came to check on Dean. It was then that Chris got a good look at his former friend.

Dean Malenko was lying prone, clearly unconscious with his eyes closed. He was unmoving, appearing completely lifeless. His neck was turned slightly at an odd angle.

As the trainers called for the EMTs to work on Dean, Chris realized that he'd done to Dean what he'd done all those years ago to Sabu in ECW: Went too far, and broke Dean's neck. Now he was facing the possibility that he could've seriously injured Dean to the point of it being career ending, or worse with Dean not moving and not responding to medical attention, killed him.

Chris knew right then again he would never be involved in wrestling again.

Okay, hopefully more to come.