Death Is Only The Beginning
A WWE wrestling fanfiction
By: Jay 2K Winger
Disclaimer Stuff: The characters herein are the property of World Wrestling Entertainment (and don't get me started on how much I dislike the fact that they Got The "F" Out), and are not used with the intention of making a profit. This story is written to explore a few little concepts I thought up in regards to the storyline in question.
Teaser: The Dead Man will not rest in peace after being buried alive by his brother. A fictionalized version of the current Taker/Kane storyline.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The Royal Rumble...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kane smiled a grim, malicious grin as he entered the ring. There was nothing to stop him from winning this match. There was nothing that could stop him, period. His past failures in the Rumble were all the result of other people. X-Pac, the man who eliminated him in 2000, was no longer with the company, no threat there. Stone Cold, the man who eliminated him in 2001, wasn't in the match, so no threat there either. Kurt Angle, while skilled, was not going to be able to capitalize on a Stunner, like he did in 2002. The only man who might be a threat to him would be the Big Show, but Kane had picked him up and dumped him over the top rope in 2002, and he was confident he could duplicate that feat of strength.
Oh, yes, and the man who'd eliminated him last year was dead. No threat there at all. Marvelous.
The Big Red Monster climbed into the ring and proceeded to unleash his rage. He did not see the men in the ring as opponents. No, they were mere ragdolls. Nothing was safe from his swath of destruction. Matt Morgan played it safe and waited for Kane to face him before charging for a big boot. Kane just laughed, catching the foot, then grabbing him about the throat, chokeslamming him hard into the mat. Matt Hardy also tried a safer tactic and went for a sneak attack, preparing to deliver a Side Effect, but the Monster all but caved his skull in with an elbow, then chokeslammed him as well.
Kane laughed as he surveyed the carnage. Benoit, Orton, Hardy, Morgan, and Booker T lay on the mat in numb pain. Nothing! They were nothing! Only Matt Morgan posed any sort of threat to him, being slightly bigger than him, and he'd easily destroyed him! Kane's mismatched eyes narrowed as he looked Booker in the face. "You suffer last," the Monster sneered as he picked Matt Hardy up and placed him in the corner. "Vee-One-ahh," he chuckled as he started to work on literally caving in Version One's head. "Hah! Mattitude! Right!" He was dimly aware of the crowd counting down the final seconds before the next entrant. He paid it no mind, even as they reached one and the buzzer sounded.
The lights went out. The Big Red Monster still didn't turn away from the bruised and battered Hardy.
Kane...
His head snapped up as he heard it. "No..." he whispered. "No!"
BONG...
"NO! IT CAN'T BE!" Kane screamed as he shoved Hardy away and whirled to face the ramp.
BONG...
"NO!" He screamed again as the lights returned. "NO! I BURIED YOU ALIIIIVE!"
Nex est tantum exordium, Kane...
He pushed against the ropes, face a tortured grimace as he prepared to bellow in anger at the disembodied voice in his head, when he heard someone rush up behind him. Before he could turn, Booker T grabbed him by the legs and threw him over the top rope and to the floor. Kane was on his feet in an instant, whipping around to face Booker, then back up the ramp.
The voice was gone. The gong had stopped, and instead some rather different music was playing. The man coming down the ramp was definitely not the owner of the voice. He was half Kane's size. "BROTHER!" Kane roared as he reached the pint-sized Spike Dudley, grabbing him by the throat. "GO BACK TO HELL!" He screamed wordlessly as he chokeslammed Spike into the steel ramp, then stormed off to the back, making a beeline for the production booth.
People hurried out of his way as he reached the truck, all but ripping the door off the hinges. "Where is he?!" Kane demanded, grabbing the nearest producer by the collar.
The producer was smart, a long-time employee of the company, and he had been witness to the blackout and gong as well. He didn't need to ask who Kane meant. "He-he's not here!" he gasped.
"Then where did that gong come from?!" He shook the man. "Where did it come from!?"
"I d-don't know!" the producer stammered. "My board locked up before I could hit Spike's music!"
Snarling, Kane threw the man aside and stomped out of the truck. He made for his dressing room. "It was a trick..." he muttered to himself. "That's all... some damn idiot thinks they can put one past me!" He managed to chuckle as he threw his gear and belongings into his bags. "It wasn't my brother... he's dead. I buried him." His chuckle sounded just slightly strained. "I buried him alive," he reiterated.
As he left the arena, however, the words he thought he'd heard from the voice (which couldn't have been there, of course), the words he must have imagined, came back to him. "Nex est tantum exordium," Kane murmurred to himself. "What the hell does that mean?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
He was still weak.
He was not yet strong enough to assert himself more obviously. He'd cast aside these powers years ago, when they threatened to consume him utterly. Cast them aside when the Corporate Ministry had fallen apart. Cast them aside when he'd shed the mantle of 'Lord of Darkness.'
Why, then, could he touch the Dark Side again? Why could he tap into the powers of the Dead again? It had to be because of that night, when he'd fought McMahon. The billionaire, full of self-righteousness and arrogance, had pushed him too far. In his zest to destroy McMahon and smooth his path to the WWE Championship, he'd gone too close to the edge.
How else could he have done what he did to the chairman? McMahon had started bleeding all over the mat after the very first punch. He'd never had that sort of power before. He hadn't realized how close he'd come until his blood had betrayed him. His brother, striving to escape his shadow, had joined forces with the chairman to send him to the grave.
But, soon...
Soon... he would be strong enough to assert himself. Strong enough to bring his fist of vengeance down upon his mad sibling.
Soon...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Raw, the following night...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kane emerged in the back, the stagehands and officials giving him their usual wide berth. He managed a grim smile at this. Good, at least the embarrassment he'd suffered last night hadn't tarnished the fear everyone gave him. He passed by the General Manager's office, and from within came the command, "Kane, get in here!"
Kane scowled, dropping his bags and barging into the office. Eric Bischoff was right there, and promptly got his larynx squeezed. "Since when do you order me around like that?" he growled. "I was having a good day until you turned up."
"Uncle, uncle!" Bischoff wheezed until the monster let him go. He massaged his throat. "Look, I don't know what went on last night, but I assure you, we've double checked all the cables and boards. There's no way anybody's going to hack the TitanTron again."
"Why should that matter?" Kane sneered. "My brother's dead." For a brief moment, he wondered who he was trying to reassure.
Bischoff played it smooth. "Of course he is! You buried him alive!"
"That's right," Kane snapped. "Now what do you want?"
The former WCW president sighed. "The Dudleys have been raising hell all day about what you did to Spike last night, so, I've booked you in a match against Bubba Ray tonight."
The monster grinned. "Good. I need to let out some steam." And without waiting for Bischoff to say anything else, he stalked out of the office.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Bubba brought the fight to him, starting off aggressive and unloading blow after blow, staggering him and actually forcing him to vacate the ring to regroup. Kane was almost impressed.
Almost.
Bubba stood in the ring, beckoning him to come back in. Kane grinned up at him. "Last night, I could hear Spike's spine rattle from the chokeslam," he said to him. "I liked how it sounded." He reentered the ring and was surprised at how much the taunt seemed to only add to Bubba's fury.
"Son of a bitch!" the heavyset Dudley growled as he pounded on him. "You put Spike in the hospital!"
Kane chuckled a bit as he was pummeled. "Would you have liked me to have put him in the grave?" He laughed in Bubba's face before the Dudley walloped him hard across the face, sending him into the ropes. Snarling, Kane bailed out of the ring, apparently buying himself some time, apparently furious at how Bubba was manhandling him. He tore the ring steps from their moorings and turned to face the pursuing Dudley.
The sound of steel against flesh made a pleasing clang off Bubba's skull, sending him into oblivion. Kane hurled the steps aside, laughing down at him. "You're not worth my time," he chuckled, turning to face the charging D-Von, who came running down the ramp. He blocked his swing, kneed him in the stomach, then said to him, "Neither are you!" He swung D-Von upside down and Tombstoned him on the floor. Sneering and laughing in sadistic delight, Kane rolled into the ring and started to raise his hands to set the ring corners aflame.
But then he heard it again.
BONG...
Kane froze, eyes bulging, turning to look at the TitanTron. "No..." he growled.
BONG...
The lights went out with the second gong, and the screen went dark. The air around Kane grew chill as the screen lit up with mutlicolored static-snow. "No!" he said, louder this time.
Yes...
There it was! The voice again! "You're not real!" he shouted, as ominous and fear-inducing images rolled on the screen, like something out of a psychotropic nightmare.
I am very real... Kane.
"I buried you alive!" he shouted.
You burned me alive once... did I stay dead?
Kane was shocked into silence with that retort from the disembodied voice in his head. The footage on the screen flashed with an image of his brother's face, eyes rolled back in his head. A flash of a dark cross, an ancient throne.
Soon, Kane... soon...
"You're DEAD!" Kane screamed.
Nex est tantum exordium, Kane...
The video came to a close, and the voice faded. The lights remained on over the ring, but were a dark, forboding blue. Kane stared at the screen, then looked around wildly. The fans were staring at him, many were cheering as they saw his dumbfounded expression and shock. Most seemed about as confused as he was. They couldn't see him like this! He had to get out of here!
Kane slipped out of the ring and, without even being aware of what he was doing, ran off through the crowd. When he got backstage, his fury caught up with him. "It's not real! It's not REAL!" he snarled, lurching off toward the production booth again. As he rounded the corner, he almost bowled over Eric Bischoff. Seething, he grabbed him around the neck with both hands. "You told me it wasn't going to happen!"
"I... I ... d-don't know how ... it h-happened!" the GM managed to croak around the vice-like grip on his throat. "None of the cables were tampered with!"
"Someone's trying to make a fool out of me!" Kane growled. "They're making fun of me!" He squeezed a little tighter. "Do you know what happens to people who make fun of me!? Ask J.R.! He made fun of me, and I set him on FIRE!" He pulled Bischoff up to stare him in the eyes. "Do you want me to set you on fire, Eric?"
"No! No!" Bischoff pleaded. "Please, let me go, Kane, and I'll find out who's doing this to you! I'll personally oversee it!"
Kane thrust him aside. "You'd better do it," he muttered, glaring at him with his mismatched eyes. He turned away and returned to his dressing room, throwing equipment boxes out of his path as he did so. "It's all in my head," he murmurred to himself in the privacy of his room. "I'm only imagining it..."
Let yourself believe that, Kane... he thought he heard the voice whisper. The truth will soon be clear...
"Shut up!" he hissed.
And, thankfully, it did.
~*~*~*~*~*~
He was getting stronger now. He knew it. The power of the Dead was flowing back to him.
He had to be careful. If he drank to deep of the power again, he might not be able to go back. He would be gradually giving up his humanity. He didn't want to do that. He craved his revenge, this was true, but not at the expense of his humanity.
He had a wife and a child to return to. He had to hold onto that memory. He had to remain human for their sakes, not just his own.
He wasn't sure yet when he'd be able to manifest himself properly, but he knew it was soon. There was a time approaching when his powers would be at their peak. He would aim for that time.
He would have his vengeance. In this life or the next, he would have it.
A WWE wrestling fanfiction
By: Jay 2K Winger
Disclaimer Stuff: The characters herein are the property of World Wrestling Entertainment (and don't get me started on how much I dislike the fact that they Got The "F" Out), and are not used with the intention of making a profit. This story is written to explore a few little concepts I thought up in regards to the storyline in question.
Teaser: The Dead Man will not rest in peace after being buried alive by his brother. A fictionalized version of the current Taker/Kane storyline.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The Royal Rumble...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kane smiled a grim, malicious grin as he entered the ring. There was nothing to stop him from winning this match. There was nothing that could stop him, period. His past failures in the Rumble were all the result of other people. X-Pac, the man who eliminated him in 2000, was no longer with the company, no threat there. Stone Cold, the man who eliminated him in 2001, wasn't in the match, so no threat there either. Kurt Angle, while skilled, was not going to be able to capitalize on a Stunner, like he did in 2002. The only man who might be a threat to him would be the Big Show, but Kane had picked him up and dumped him over the top rope in 2002, and he was confident he could duplicate that feat of strength.
Oh, yes, and the man who'd eliminated him last year was dead. No threat there at all. Marvelous.
The Big Red Monster climbed into the ring and proceeded to unleash his rage. He did not see the men in the ring as opponents. No, they were mere ragdolls. Nothing was safe from his swath of destruction. Matt Morgan played it safe and waited for Kane to face him before charging for a big boot. Kane just laughed, catching the foot, then grabbing him about the throat, chokeslamming him hard into the mat. Matt Hardy also tried a safer tactic and went for a sneak attack, preparing to deliver a Side Effect, but the Monster all but caved his skull in with an elbow, then chokeslammed him as well.
Kane laughed as he surveyed the carnage. Benoit, Orton, Hardy, Morgan, and Booker T lay on the mat in numb pain. Nothing! They were nothing! Only Matt Morgan posed any sort of threat to him, being slightly bigger than him, and he'd easily destroyed him! Kane's mismatched eyes narrowed as he looked Booker in the face. "You suffer last," the Monster sneered as he picked Matt Hardy up and placed him in the corner. "Vee-One-ahh," he chuckled as he started to work on literally caving in Version One's head. "Hah! Mattitude! Right!" He was dimly aware of the crowd counting down the final seconds before the next entrant. He paid it no mind, even as they reached one and the buzzer sounded.
The lights went out. The Big Red Monster still didn't turn away from the bruised and battered Hardy.
Kane...
His head snapped up as he heard it. "No..." he whispered. "No!"
BONG...
"NO! IT CAN'T BE!" Kane screamed as he shoved Hardy away and whirled to face the ramp.
BONG...
"NO!" He screamed again as the lights returned. "NO! I BURIED YOU ALIIIIVE!"
Nex est tantum exordium, Kane...
He pushed against the ropes, face a tortured grimace as he prepared to bellow in anger at the disembodied voice in his head, when he heard someone rush up behind him. Before he could turn, Booker T grabbed him by the legs and threw him over the top rope and to the floor. Kane was on his feet in an instant, whipping around to face Booker, then back up the ramp.
The voice was gone. The gong had stopped, and instead some rather different music was playing. The man coming down the ramp was definitely not the owner of the voice. He was half Kane's size. "BROTHER!" Kane roared as he reached the pint-sized Spike Dudley, grabbing him by the throat. "GO BACK TO HELL!" He screamed wordlessly as he chokeslammed Spike into the steel ramp, then stormed off to the back, making a beeline for the production booth.
People hurried out of his way as he reached the truck, all but ripping the door off the hinges. "Where is he?!" Kane demanded, grabbing the nearest producer by the collar.
The producer was smart, a long-time employee of the company, and he had been witness to the blackout and gong as well. He didn't need to ask who Kane meant. "He-he's not here!" he gasped.
"Then where did that gong come from?!" He shook the man. "Where did it come from!?"
"I d-don't know!" the producer stammered. "My board locked up before I could hit Spike's music!"
Snarling, Kane threw the man aside and stomped out of the truck. He made for his dressing room. "It was a trick..." he muttered to himself. "That's all... some damn idiot thinks they can put one past me!" He managed to chuckle as he threw his gear and belongings into his bags. "It wasn't my brother... he's dead. I buried him." His chuckle sounded just slightly strained. "I buried him alive," he reiterated.
As he left the arena, however, the words he thought he'd heard from the voice (which couldn't have been there, of course), the words he must have imagined, came back to him. "Nex est tantum exordium," Kane murmurred to himself. "What the hell does that mean?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
He was still weak.
He was not yet strong enough to assert himself more obviously. He'd cast aside these powers years ago, when they threatened to consume him utterly. Cast them aside when the Corporate Ministry had fallen apart. Cast them aside when he'd shed the mantle of 'Lord of Darkness.'
Why, then, could he touch the Dark Side again? Why could he tap into the powers of the Dead again? It had to be because of that night, when he'd fought McMahon. The billionaire, full of self-righteousness and arrogance, had pushed him too far. In his zest to destroy McMahon and smooth his path to the WWE Championship, he'd gone too close to the edge.
How else could he have done what he did to the chairman? McMahon had started bleeding all over the mat after the very first punch. He'd never had that sort of power before. He hadn't realized how close he'd come until his blood had betrayed him. His brother, striving to escape his shadow, had joined forces with the chairman to send him to the grave.
But, soon...
Soon... he would be strong enough to assert himself. Strong enough to bring his fist of vengeance down upon his mad sibling.
Soon...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Raw, the following night...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kane emerged in the back, the stagehands and officials giving him their usual wide berth. He managed a grim smile at this. Good, at least the embarrassment he'd suffered last night hadn't tarnished the fear everyone gave him. He passed by the General Manager's office, and from within came the command, "Kane, get in here!"
Kane scowled, dropping his bags and barging into the office. Eric Bischoff was right there, and promptly got his larynx squeezed. "Since when do you order me around like that?" he growled. "I was having a good day until you turned up."
"Uncle, uncle!" Bischoff wheezed until the monster let him go. He massaged his throat. "Look, I don't know what went on last night, but I assure you, we've double checked all the cables and boards. There's no way anybody's going to hack the TitanTron again."
"Why should that matter?" Kane sneered. "My brother's dead." For a brief moment, he wondered who he was trying to reassure.
Bischoff played it smooth. "Of course he is! You buried him alive!"
"That's right," Kane snapped. "Now what do you want?"
The former WCW president sighed. "The Dudleys have been raising hell all day about what you did to Spike last night, so, I've booked you in a match against Bubba Ray tonight."
The monster grinned. "Good. I need to let out some steam." And without waiting for Bischoff to say anything else, he stalked out of the office.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Bubba brought the fight to him, starting off aggressive and unloading blow after blow, staggering him and actually forcing him to vacate the ring to regroup. Kane was almost impressed.
Almost.
Bubba stood in the ring, beckoning him to come back in. Kane grinned up at him. "Last night, I could hear Spike's spine rattle from the chokeslam," he said to him. "I liked how it sounded." He reentered the ring and was surprised at how much the taunt seemed to only add to Bubba's fury.
"Son of a bitch!" the heavyset Dudley growled as he pounded on him. "You put Spike in the hospital!"
Kane chuckled a bit as he was pummeled. "Would you have liked me to have put him in the grave?" He laughed in Bubba's face before the Dudley walloped him hard across the face, sending him into the ropes. Snarling, Kane bailed out of the ring, apparently buying himself some time, apparently furious at how Bubba was manhandling him. He tore the ring steps from their moorings and turned to face the pursuing Dudley.
The sound of steel against flesh made a pleasing clang off Bubba's skull, sending him into oblivion. Kane hurled the steps aside, laughing down at him. "You're not worth my time," he chuckled, turning to face the charging D-Von, who came running down the ramp. He blocked his swing, kneed him in the stomach, then said to him, "Neither are you!" He swung D-Von upside down and Tombstoned him on the floor. Sneering and laughing in sadistic delight, Kane rolled into the ring and started to raise his hands to set the ring corners aflame.
But then he heard it again.
BONG...
Kane froze, eyes bulging, turning to look at the TitanTron. "No..." he growled.
BONG...
The lights went out with the second gong, and the screen went dark. The air around Kane grew chill as the screen lit up with mutlicolored static-snow. "No!" he said, louder this time.
Yes...
There it was! The voice again! "You're not real!" he shouted, as ominous and fear-inducing images rolled on the screen, like something out of a psychotropic nightmare.
I am very real... Kane.
"I buried you alive!" he shouted.
You burned me alive once... did I stay dead?
Kane was shocked into silence with that retort from the disembodied voice in his head. The footage on the screen flashed with an image of his brother's face, eyes rolled back in his head. A flash of a dark cross, an ancient throne.
Soon, Kane... soon...
"You're DEAD!" Kane screamed.
Nex est tantum exordium, Kane...
The video came to a close, and the voice faded. The lights remained on over the ring, but were a dark, forboding blue. Kane stared at the screen, then looked around wildly. The fans were staring at him, many were cheering as they saw his dumbfounded expression and shock. Most seemed about as confused as he was. They couldn't see him like this! He had to get out of here!
Kane slipped out of the ring and, without even being aware of what he was doing, ran off through the crowd. When he got backstage, his fury caught up with him. "It's not real! It's not REAL!" he snarled, lurching off toward the production booth again. As he rounded the corner, he almost bowled over Eric Bischoff. Seething, he grabbed him around the neck with both hands. "You told me it wasn't going to happen!"
"I... I ... d-don't know how ... it h-happened!" the GM managed to croak around the vice-like grip on his throat. "None of the cables were tampered with!"
"Someone's trying to make a fool out of me!" Kane growled. "They're making fun of me!" He squeezed a little tighter. "Do you know what happens to people who make fun of me!? Ask J.R.! He made fun of me, and I set him on FIRE!" He pulled Bischoff up to stare him in the eyes. "Do you want me to set you on fire, Eric?"
"No! No!" Bischoff pleaded. "Please, let me go, Kane, and I'll find out who's doing this to you! I'll personally oversee it!"
Kane thrust him aside. "You'd better do it," he muttered, glaring at him with his mismatched eyes. He turned away and returned to his dressing room, throwing equipment boxes out of his path as he did so. "It's all in my head," he murmurred to himself in the privacy of his room. "I'm only imagining it..."
Let yourself believe that, Kane... he thought he heard the voice whisper. The truth will soon be clear...
"Shut up!" he hissed.
And, thankfully, it did.
~*~*~*~*~*~
He was getting stronger now. He knew it. The power of the Dead was flowing back to him.
He had to be careful. If he drank to deep of the power again, he might not be able to go back. He would be gradually giving up his humanity. He didn't want to do that. He craved his revenge, this was true, but not at the expense of his humanity.
He had a wife and a child to return to. He had to hold onto that memory. He had to remain human for their sakes, not just his own.
He wasn't sure yet when he'd be able to manifest himself properly, but he knew it was soon. There was a time approaching when his powers would be at their peak. He would aim for that time.
He would have his vengeance. In this life or the next, he would have it.