Theo gripped his chair as the reality around him stirred and the bookshelf shimmered for a moment before a book came out of one of its shelves and settled before him.
"Okay.", Theo said with a sigh, "Where am I going to go now?"
Cautiously, he reached for the book when a chill came to his side making him pause. He turned and through the warping reality outside, a dark presence clearly was out there, but what was it? He tried putting it out of his mind as he reached for the book again. After opening the cover, there was a flash of light and Theo found himself at the edge of a town that felt familiar before loud thumps almost made him fall over.
"What the devil?", he asked looking over his shoulder.
What he saw then made him pause and then chuckle. It was only Rayburn Jr. who was out doing some laps while near him, Theo noticed a familiar face of Winifred (Winnie) Coyle. He was back in the world of "Rumble". The world where monsters were actually star athletes who competed in something called Monster Wrestling.
"Well, better go over and say hi.", Theo stated as he got to his feet again.
Fortunately for him, Winnie saw him before Ray got too close.
"Hold it Ray!"
Ray came to a pause just before he accidentally stepped on Theo as Winnie came down on her hover bike.
"Theo?", she asked, "Is that you?"
Theo smiled and shrugged.
"Yep, I'm here again."
Ray looked surprised and confused as Winnie let Theo onto her bike and got on with Ray's training.
"Nice to see you again.", he commented, "Where did you go off to?"
"I've been going after a set of magical dice and helping a singing crocodile who had stage fright.", Theo stated recalling his previous adventures.
Winnie whistled.
"You must have been to a pretty crazy place."
"We really missed you.", Ray added, "Haven't seen you since that Christmas dance we did."
Theo decided to change the subject as they entered Stoker's city limits.
"So, how about you guys? Anything new?"
Winnie looked a bit unsure.
"Actually, I'll tell you before we get to the stadium."
/
By the time Ray had started going through Stoker, the attention clearly came from the locals.
"Hey Winnie, great match last week!"
"The way Rayburn missed the swing and the opponent got the upper hand, I was on edge!"
"Winnie, fro-yo sent to the stadium for you and Ray there!"
Theo felt a little embarrassed as he had forgotten what a big celebrity Rayburn Jr. was. By the time they got to the stadium, Ray got to the treadmill while Winnie had a talk with Theo.
"We've been getting calls left and right since we took down Tentacular.", she stated, "We had a match last week and it was pretty tough."
Theo looked impressed.
"Wow, you must have been pretty tense while it was going on."
Winnie sighed and looked up to the empty stands and imagined her father Jimbo Coyle and Rayburn Sr. back in their day. As Ray got off the treadmill, he came over and noticed her gaze.
"Coach?", he asked, "You okay?"
Winnie looked his way and came back to reality.
"Yeah, I'm fine Ray."
Theo then looked interested.
"So, anything else going on?", he asked.
Ray smiled.
"Well, we get visited by my old teammates from Pittsmore now and again, but Mayhen is clearly still staging matches."
Theo looked a bit shocked.
"Seriously?", he asked.
Ray shrugged.
"Hey, we have our way with paying the bills and she has hers.", he stated, "By the way Theo, you got a place to stay while you're here?"
Theo then realized it and then looked unsure.
"Oh yeah, I'm kind of at a loss there."
Winnie however didn't look worried.
"Hey, I'm sure Mom will have some room at home for you to use."
Theo brightened after that and after Winnie made a call, and after a short chat, she hung up and gave a smile.
"You can stay Theo."
Ray went back to training though Winnie gave some help and guidance. Theo helped out too and soon training was over. After a while, the trio were having fro-yo as they took a break in the middle of the training ring.
/
Once Theo and Winnie arrived at Winnie's home, it had already gotten late and they were heading in just in time to see Mrs. Coyle tidying up a little.
"Hi Winnie, how's Ray?", she asked before noticing Theo, "Oh, Theo's here also."
Theo grinned shyly.
"Yeah, I'm back in Stoker I guess. Is Ray going to be okay?"
"He'll be fine.", Mrs. Coyle said kindly, "So, we have a pull-out couch you can sleep on Theo. Bathroom is down the hall, and some spare blankets are in the closet in the hall if you need them."
"Thanks Mrs. Coyle.", Theo said before yawning, "I'd say it's time to hit the hay."
After getting the pull-out couch ready, Theo yawned and settled in as Winnie and Mrs. Coyle headed off to bed.
"Good-night Theo.", Winnie said cheerfully.
"Good-night Winnie.", Theo answered back.
Laying back on his pillow in the darkness, Theo then pulled out his mirror and set it beside his pillow before slipping off to sleep himself. Theo then found himself standing in the middle of an open field again with an open night sky.
"Now what?", he asked, "Where am I?"
As if to answer him, a tropical breeze came from behind him and made him turn to see a beach had formed in that area. Theo then noticed that the rest of the area had shifted into some kind of city near a beach. Then Theo heard something above him and looked up to see a crimson Rolls Royce car flying and climbing.
"Hmm, where have I seen that kind of car before?"
Then Theo felt a shift in the air that made him turn again to a castle across a large lake surrounded by woods. A memory of his came to him and he raised his hands to see some yellow, purple and red sparks fly off them and a large glass orb hovered slightly nearby.
"Wait, is this the worlds of those artifacts I've been storing?", he guessed.
That was when Theo turned yet again and saw Mr. Hyde with the rest of the crew from that realm of altered horrors only they were all in combat with the demogorgons, dogs, and bats.
"Well, nice to see the guys in that realm are handling things okay."
Then Theo started thinking. He could guess that the flying car had to do with the lamp back in his archives and seeing Hyde and the crew from that horror themed realm was a memory lingering in his mind. He then felt a pang and things went darker. Thick tentacles slithered out of the ground coiling in the air to reveal glowing orbs that formed eyes. The moment they locked on Theo, he woke up.
"What a nightmare.", he said quietly as he observed the room seeing he was still in the Coyle's living room on the pull-out couch, "I really must learn to keep my mind from wandering off."
He moved his mirror to under his pillow before laying back down and going back to sleep.
/
Theo heard what sounded like cooking and smelled something nice. His eyes fluttered open and he yawned to see Mrs. Coyle in the kitchen.
"Good morning Theo.", she said warmly, "How did you sleep?"
"I did okay.", Theo answered as he got up and started putting the bed away, "Is Winnie up yet?"
"She took Ray out for some early training.", Mrs. Coyle answered, "She sure wants to keep the champ in shape."
Theo took a moment to take a quick shower before dressing for the day and joining Mrs. Coyle back in the kitchen just in time to see pancakes stacked alongside some sausage and eggs. Just as Theo was about to help himself, the place shook every moment or so.
"Is that Ray?", Theo guessed as he helped Mrs. Coyle keep the room steady.
"You get used to it.", Mrs. Coyle answered, "Could you bring Winnie her breakfast?"
Theo smiled since he was wide awake now. Mrs. Coyle poured a couple thermoses of orange juice before handing them over as Theo prepared his and Winnie's plates. Once the food was set, Theo gave a nod of thanks before heading out into the early morning air. It was cold at first, but then it settled as Theo noticed that it was barely dawn and Ray was off in the distance clearly doing laps.
"Man, I'd make time if I had a hoverbike like Winnie does.", Theo thought to himself.
He started making his way to the stadium, but got lucky when a civilian was passing by and offered a lift to it. Inside, Theo found Winnie and Ray taking a breather.
"Nothing like early morning jogging to help with footwork.", Winnie commented.
Ray rolled his eyes comically.
"I think my legs are feeling cramped. I'll have to pass on training tomorrow."
Winnie and Theo both knew he was kidding by the way he was smiling as Theo made his way over.
"Hey coach, breakfast is up.", he said cheerfully.
Winnie looked a bit embarrassed as she got her food and thermos.
"I would've asked you to come, but you were sleeping."
"She didn't want to wake you up cause she had to make sure I was up and by the time she woke me up, you'd probably fall asleep again.", Ray joked as he got out what looked like a huge metal crate with a handle and noticed Theo's confused expression, "What? It's my breakfast."
Soon the trio was eating and deep in conversation.
"So Winnie, any new wresters trying their luck?", Theo asked.
Winnie rolled her eyes while sighing.
"Not much these days. Guess Ray's victory over Tentacular left quite a mark."
Ray chuckled.
"Did she mention that guy who once had a newcomer that almost won?"
Theo looked uneasy.
"Really?"
Winnie nodded.
"Yeah, a real go-getter and the coach was new too. Put up a good fight, but we took them down in the third round."
/
Theo felt a bit nervous.
"Who was the coach?", he asked.
Winnie shrugged.
"No idea.", she answered before smiling, "But that's then and this is now. We just train and hold on to the belt until the next challenger."
Theo then noticed the huge television screen and Winnie clicked it on to show an announcement on the news.
"In related news, with Rayburn still holding the belt, it seems like nobody is willing to step up to the plate. Is there anyone out there with the drive and determination to take on Rayburn Jr. and his coach Winnie Coyle?"
Ray started on the treadmill as Winnie clicked off the television.
"Well, it looks like you guys make a splash.", Theo stated, "Any idea where the next match is going to be?"
As if to answer him, Winnie's cell phone rang and she answered it.
"Winnie Coyle speaking.", she stated, "Really? He's asking us to wrestle here in Stoker?"
Ray looked her way as a smile came to his face and she hung up.
"Ray, you know how we had a match scheduled to take on King Gorge?", she asked.
"Is it for real this time?", Ray asked hoping it was.
Winnie nodded.
"Yep, it seems Gorge got his confidence back after we took down Tentacular."
Theo looked interested.
"So there's going to be a match here?"
Winnie then looked mischievous.
"Are we ready to train to go out and look ridiculous?", she asked smiling.
Ray nodded eagerly.
"Heck yeah."
Theo looked his way smiling.
"I can't hear you."
Ray stood up and still looked eager.
"Heck yeah!", he roared.
/
As the trio came out, it seemed all of Stoker had heard the news and more than on board to show support.
"Feel the burn! The Rayburn!"
"You got this Winnie!"
"Show Gorge what we got!"
Winnie and Theo sat on her hoverbike as they made their laps around Stoker with Ray running to keep up with them. Soon, it wasn't long before Ray was done doing laps so the trio took a break to talk about Gorge.
"Okay, we know that Gorge has a tell.", Winnie stated.
"What's that?", Theo asked.
"He would do something before he makes a move.", Winnie explained, "He did it with Tentacular and would have won if I hadn't told his coach."
Ray chuckled as he recalled reminding Tentacular before their big bout. Theo however looked a bit thoughtful.
"Do you think Gorge could have tried to develop a new kind of strategy?"
Ray looked a bit nervous, but Winnie just smiled and looked eager.
"Well, guess we roll with the punches and do our best to trust one another.", she said supportively.
Theo looked interested.
"Hey, you think we could invite some of Ray's old teammates to come watch?"
Ray rolled his eyes comically.
"Oh, they'll see it alright. Lady Mahen told me they saw my match with Tentacular so I'm sure they'll see this match too."
At that moment, a huge ball of hair came rolling down the street and paused in front of the trio and it bounced up to reveal it was actually a monster with purple and white fur with a letter while looking Ray's way.
"Special letter for Ste-", he started before looking apologetic, "Sorry, I ment Rayburn Jr."
He handed the letter to Ray who took it and the monster rolled up again and was soon speeding off.
"Who was that?", Theo asked.
"Denise.", Ray answered as he unfurled his letter to read, "He's one of many that Mayhen has working for her."
After a paused to read his letter, Ray turned to his coach and Theo.
"Well, Mayhen sends her greetings and wishes us luck.", he reported.