A/N: Here it is, in all its glory. The sequel to I Want You Bad.
Rating will be going up to R, mainly because of the violence factor – we all know how vicious Kevin Mask turns during the Chojin Crown tournament – but also for bad language, and some terrible, trouserial, toilet-based British jokes.
In my screwed up timeline, it's been 3 years since Kid Muscle beat Mars, and at some point during those 3 years, the Gruesome Threesome Saga and the Poison Six Pack Saga have happened (the Six Pack one wasn't related to the Chojin Crown as it was in the series).
I would like to also point out that I have only seen 4 episodes of Ultimate Muscle beyond the Gen X Saga (the one when D-Struction fights Photo Pat, the one when Kid fights Hollywood Bowl, the one when Kevin Mask defeats Turbinski, and the one when Kevin nearly removes Kid's Mask in the final match of the Chojin Crown – all of which are episodes from the Chojin Crown Saga, hence why I am missing out the Gruesome Threesome and Poison Six Pack Sagas) so I am relying on AKIA episode summaries for the accuracy of this story. Obviously, my account of the Chojin Crown will not be identical to the one in the show, mainly because I've chopped and changed some of the entrants and matches, so if there are any major, obvious errors, let's just put it down to the fact that this is Lucretia Decoy's universe of UM, and not Yudetamago's…
Otherwise, this will be continuing on the story as told in I Want You Bad and I Walk Alone.
Read. Enjoy. Review.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Ultimate Muscle or any of the characters contained in this fanfic. That's why it's a fanfic!
Recap: In I Walk Alone we saw that Mars was lost. He was neither DMP nor Muscle League. He admitted he was in love with Kiki, but that he was too scared to stay with her. And Dik Dik had a lot to answer for, the sneaky, cheeky, sly wee devil that he is!
Prologue
Kid tried to remain calm, tried to keep his face straight, tried to ignore the fact that his heart was racing, that there were goosepimples spreading over his body, that there was sweat along his brow beneath the tight-fitting mask he wore. He tried to remember that this was the most important moment of his life, and, as much as he wanted to, he could not just grin like a complete goof and blow the whole affair.
Kid drew in a deep breath as Broken Junior appeared at his side, his arm linked through Roxanne's. Broken and Roxanne turned to face each other, and Broken lifted back Roxanne's veil, then leaned forwards to kiss her on the cheek, before stepping back to join the others in the pews.
Kid allowed himself for the first time that day to look fully at Roxanne. His mouth quivered as the urge to grin became overbearing. He had never imagined she could look so beautiful. Her long, soft, treacle-coloured hair was swept up on top of her head, held in place by her veil. Her cheeks were pink, and her big brown eyes were glistening with what looked like restrained tears of joy. Her dress was simple yet stunning, cut from perfectly white silk.
Roxanne smiled a little, her hands clutching tightly onto her small bouquet of yellow roses. Kid returned her smile, having to bite his tongue hard to stop himself from grinning and gushing over her. Roxanne, perhaps sensing his nervousness, turned to the robed man standing at the head of the altar, ready to marry them. Kid copied her action, facing Meat.
Meat glanced between the two smiling and nodding his head at each of them in turn.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony," Meat said, his rough voice sounding strangely sweet to Kid's ears as he spoke the words Kid had waited so long to hear. "If anyone here has any reason why these two should not be wed, may you speak now, or forever hold your piece."
There was a brief pause, but no-one spoke.
"Alright then," Meat continued. "Do you, Kid Muscle, take Roxanne to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, through sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, so help you God?"
"I do," Kid answered breathlessly.
Kid turned to his best man, Terry Kenyon, who handed him Roxanne's wedding ring. Kid glanced up at Terry, who winked at him reassuringly. Kid nodded his head, and then turned to slip the ring onto Roxanne's finger, a rush of joy filling his chest as he saw the gold band rest on her finger.
"And you, Roxanne Nikaidou, do you take Kid to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, through sickness and in health, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, so help you God?" Meat asked.
"I do," Roxanne answered, flashing her teeth at Kid as she briefly broke into a joy-filled grin of delight.
Terry handed Roxanne Kid's ring, and she gently pushed it onto Kid's finger, closing her hands over his once she had finished.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," Meat declared. "You may kiss the bride."
Kid could no longer contain himself. He grinned like a complete dork, no longer caring how stupid he may have looked. As he locked eyes with Roxanne, he saw her grin was almost as gormless as his, easing away what little remaining concerns he had. He closed his eyes, moving closer to Roxanne, preparing himself for a sweet kiss to seal their vows.
Through his mask, Kid's lips made contact with something; but it did not feel like Roxanne's mouth. Kid opened his eyes, freezing in terror at what he saw.
Kid screamed, leaping back to confirm his suspicions. Where Roxanne had once stood, now stood Wally Tusket, in Roxanne's dress, and wearing pink lipstick and long, fake eyelashes.
"C'mon, Kid, I won't be your wife until ya kiss me properly!" Wally said.
"No!" Kid wailed, grabbing at his head in despair.
"Kid!" Meat yelled, grabbing Kid's elbow. "Kid, are you okay?"
"No!" Kid yelled.
"Kid, snap out of it!"
"No!"
"Kid, you've wet yourself again!"
"No!"
"Kid!"
"Ow!"
Kid rubbed his head, scowling up at the broom hovering above him. He slowly ran his eyes down the length of the handle to where his miniscule trainer stood, no longer dressed in the ceremonial robes Kid had seen him in only moments ago. Meat was frowning solemnly at Kid, gripping onto the broom with both hands.
"What was that for?" Kid whimpered.
"You were havin' a bad dream, and I couldn't wake ya," Meat plainly replied. "Now get up, you've wet the bed again."
"But Meat, it was awful!" Kid moaned as he rolled off his bed.
"Lemme guess," Meat groaned, replacing the broom to its rightful place in the corner of the room. "You had that dream where you're marryin' Wally Tusket again, right?"
"Yeah, how did you know, Meat?"
"It's all you ever dream about, Kid. That or beef teriyaki."
"Oh. I guess so…"
"C'mon Kid, I'm gonna need to change those sheets."
"Right…"
Kid pushed himself to his feet, staggering away from his bed and rubbing at his head as he crossed the room, dragging his feet as he went. He headed straight for the door, walking out of it, squinting against the bright sun outside. In his bright yellow pyjamas and nightcap, he probably looked highly ridiculous; but Kid was beyond caring how he looked. He had far more pressing things on his mind.
Kid sat down onto a swing, hanging onto the chains at either side of his head, looking out across the houses forlornly. From where he sat, he could see the roof of Marie's house.
Kid sighed, his face drooping further as he watched the familiar rooftop.
"Aw, Kid, I know it's been hard for ya, but you gotta understand that sometimes life is hard," Meat offered, patting him on the shoulder.
"Push me," Kid asked weakly. "But not too high."
Meat screwed up his face at Kid's childish request; but another sigh from the deeply depressed Chojin quickly snapped him out of his daze. Meat walked around to Kid's back, and grabbed the chains of the swing, pulling him back, and then gently releasing him.
"Why, Meat?" Kid asked, as he swung slowly back and forth.
"I dunno, Kid," Meat replied, shaking his head, and giving Kid another gentle push.
"I love her, Meat, it's not fair! She was gonna be my wife! She was gonna cook me cow and rice every day, and we were gonna have five handsome children… And then oneday, we were gonna be king and queen of Muscle Planet."
"I know Kid."
"I hate my father."
"You don't mean that, Kid."
"Yes I do! He never even told me why!"
"He did tell you why, Kid. He told you he wanted you to marry a girl who was a bit more like your mother."
"But that's just sick! Why would I want to marry a girl that's like my own mother? I want to marry Roxanne!"
"Well, your father has forbidden it. As hard as this has been for you, you're gonna just have to learn to deal with this, Kid."
"But I miss her so much, Meat!"
"Well, y'know Kid, there's more to life than just finding love."
"Like what?"
"Like wrestling!"
"Wrestling blows!"
"Hey, watch it there, Kid!"
"Well it does. And there's not even anyone to wrestle now. We beat Generation X, I beat the Gruesome Threesome, we beat the Poison Six Pack… Say Meat, do you remember that Poison Six Pack match I was in? When I rescued Roxanne?"
"Sure I do, Kid! You did great!"
"I wish Roxanne was here right now."
"She's at college in the city, Kid."
"She should be here with me."
"Well, she graduates this summer, maybe she'll stop by and see you sometime."
"You think so?"
Meat paused, suddenly regretting what he had just said. He had merely intended to alleviate Kid's anguish, not to give him false hope of an event that was certain never to take place. Ever since King Muscle had refused to allow his son to marry Roxanne, Kid had been inconsolable. Roxanne, on the other hand, had handled things very well.
But, Meat silently reminded himself, through Marie, Roxanne had known long before Kid that King Muscle was intending to refuse the union, and so it had been less of a shock to her.
"I'm gonna go see Trixie today, Meat," Kid said decisively.
"Oh yeah?" Meat asked, pushing Kid forwards again. "You needin' a manicure?"
Kid sighed, rolling his eyes.
"No, stupid!" he groaned. "I'm gonna ask her if Roxanne is coming home again soon."
"Well, y'know, I'm sure Trixie will be glad to see you," Meat finished.
"Meat, can I ask you a question about Roxanne?"
"Sure Kid."
"Well, I was just thinking, maybe the reason my dad didn't want me to marry Roxanne has got something to do with the fact that Roxanne's mum wanted to marry my dad."
Meat stopped again, raising his eyes to the protruding rooftop of Marie's house. He let out a long, soft sigh, wondering what Marie was doing right then. Unfortunately, Meat did not wonder for long; Kid came swinging back, and the base of the swing smacked into Meat's chin, knocking him down onto his back in the sand.
"Argh!" he growled, sitting up again quickly in an attempt to recover his dignity.
"Meat, are you okay?" Kid asked, leaping off the swing and hurrying to his manager's side.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Kid," he lied, getting to his feet. "Y'know Kid, some of us never get to be with the ones we love, but we manage to live without 'em."
"You mean like how Marie managed to live without my dad?" Kid asked innocently.
"Yeah, just like that," Meat darkly replied, dusting the sand from himself.
"I guess so… But I still say it's not fair!"
Kid kicked up a cloud of sand, folding his arms tightly in a huff.
"I'll tell ya what Kid, why don't you go clean yourself up, get dressed, and run along and see Trixie at the beauty salon," Meat suggested, hoping the distraction would brighten Kid's spirits. "You know she loves to see you guys, she hardly sees Roxanne or Kiki since she dropped outta college."
"Okay," Kid agreed with another mournful sigh. "And maybe she'll give me some more of that stuff for my fingernails!"
"The anti-biting serum? Kid, it didn't work! You bit your nails more than ever, remember?"
"I know. The anti-biting serum tastes so good… It's like strappleberry flavour. Mmmm, strappleberry!"
"Strapple… What does… Actually, I don't even wanna know what strappleberry is. Just get outta my sight, Kid."
"Okay."
Meat watched Kid disappear back into the hut, before turning back to watch Marie's rooftop. Gentle wisps of grey smoke were swirling out of the chimney, and Meat quietly wondered if Marie was sitting around the fireplace with the children, reading stories to them as he had often seen her do.
Meat smiled to himself, trying to push Marie to the back of his mind. At the end of the day, Marie was still in love with King Muscle, no matter how fervently she denied it. And King Muscle did nothing to discourage the attention; he flirted with her and lured her on as much as he had done before he had even heard of his wife Belinda.
"Sometimes life is hard," he muttered to himself. "Real hard…"
Next Chapter: Kid goes to see Trixie at the beauty salon, where he unexpectedly bumps into two old friends. Chapter 1 – An Uneventful Summer.