Chapter 28 (Halloween Special)
Under the dead of night, the land is filled with shadows and the unknown part of the black forest. And in the middle of that darkness, a large crowd had gathered around a great event. The frightening decorations had filled the costume-wearing fans with the spirit of All Hallow's Eve. And at the very center of the event, the Xtrema CEO, Sayuri Rogue, stood on top of a wrestling ring with black ropes and a pumpkin-orange apron. Everyone knew it was her due to the demon mask she had on, the one she wore in all her entrances before her match. She held up a microphone and made her announcement.
"Happy Halloween, boys and ghouls. It is said that on this night, children wore costumes to scare the monsters back into the darkness they dwelled from. Well, if monsters do roam among us, then it is time to show them that not only are we scary, we are strong enough to sent them back to their cursed realm ourselves.
"Tonight, my selected competitors will face off against each other in a series of matches that will make this a Halloween they'll never forget. And when this is done, one of those winners will be chosen not only as MVP, but as the Queen of Halloween.
"To make this more interesting, I will add one special element to our matches. I call it Trick or Treat. Each match will have two jack-o-lanterns with something special inside. One of them will be Trick pumpkin, which will be no help to whoever finds it. The other, the Treat pumpkin, will hold something that will be a great assist.
"If everyone is clear on this event, let us get started. For our first match, it will be one with standard rules. Pins, submissions, count-out, knockout, or disqualification will result in a win. If you find something in their Trick or Treat pumpkins that can be used as a weapon, they are allowed. The competitors of this match will be… Carly X and La Calavera!"
*Carly X vs La Calavera*
Carly X made her entrance first. In the spirit of the holiday, instead of her usual attire, she had on a very special costume. She had on a short, black top with red stripes, a fedora, and a knived glove like Freddy Krueger. When she arrived in the ring, she removed the knives from her gloves and threw her fedora to the crowd. La Calavera came next. Most of her costume looked the same, but it had a neon theme and her hair was dyed bright purple. Her outfit also had a full-body skeleton design that connected to her sugar skull mask. They both stood in the ring waiting for the ball to sound.
DING-DING!
Carly and La Calavera started the match with a collar-and-elbow tie-up at the center of the ring. Carly X won the tie-up with a bearhug from behind. La Calavera drove herself forward and ran straight to the ropes. Carly bounced off, but Calavera still had ahold of the ropes. With Carly down, La Calavera was free to jump off the ropes and land an elbow drop on her opponent. She went for the pin at impact.
1… 2…
Carly X kicked out and crawled to the ropes. La Calavera attempted to get her with a tiger feint kick, but Carly jumped out of the way letting La Calavera fall to the mat. She quickly dragged the masked luchadora to the center and kneed her back before applying a headlock. La Calavera struggled left and right for a minute before standing back up and dropping her with a stunner.
Carly X held her head as she rolled out of the ring. It was there that she came face-to-face with a large jack-o-lantern smiling right at her.
"A pumpkin!" she gasped. "But is this a Trick or a Treat pumpkin. …Well, fifty-fifty."
Carly X removed the top and looked inside. She expected to see a weapon, but instead, a purple mist popped out covering Carly's face. Carly gasped as she realized it was a trick pumpkin.
At ringside, Sayuri chuckled. "Looks like Carly X made the wrong choice. Inside that Trick pumpkin, I've sealed a gas that, when inhaled, makes the wrestler groggy and slower. Should be bad news for someone who faces a lucha libre wrestler."
And she was right. La Calavera hopped out of the ring, grabbed Carly X, and threw her back into the ring. When the referee restarted her count, La Calavera looked around and found the other pumpkin. She opened it and reached inside. She pulled out a pair of brass knuckles.
"And inside the Treat pumpkin," Sayuri Rogue said, "As you can see, is a pair of brass knuckles. A little simple, I admit, but it can help with the match."
"It would, I suppose." La Calavera said, "But I'm pretty sure I've got enough of an advantage already." She dropped the knuckles and returned to the ring.
Carly struggled to stay up. La Calavera ran to hit her with a clothesline, but the Stylish Tiger ducked down and scurried to the outside. She found the brass knuckles and picked them up.
"Just because the bone-head doesn't want to use them, it doesn't mean that I shouldn't." Carly said. She slipped them on and waited for the luchadora. Carly X found her opportunity and struck her across her face. Carly grabbed onto La Calavera and threw her back in the ring. She followed and covered her.
1… 2…
Carly thought it was enough, but it wasn't. La Calavera kicked out. Carly was tired before, but now, she was plain exhausted. She picked up La Calavera and set her up for her signature DDT-X, but the luchadora escaped and kicked Carly's legs down. La Calavera took advantage of her speed and Carly's lack of speed to climb up the top turnbuckle. As soon as Carly stood back up on her feet, La Calavera leaped up and wrapped her legs around her head. She threw her down with a hurricarana and grabbed her legs holding her in a schoolgirl pin.
1… 2… 3!
DING-DING!
Sayuri chuckled and entered the ring to raise La Calavera's hand. "Congratulations to La Calavera! This luchadora started us off with an unmistakable win. Carly X's luck could have been different if she chose the knuckles instead of the gas, but due to what actually happened, La Calavera took advantage of her speed to pull it off. And now, we move on to the next match!"
*Jasper Jones vs Eris*
When La Calavera and Carly X left, the apron opened up several nozzles across the apron. The first to the ring was Jasper Jones, who was wearing her usual costume. She flexed her biceps waiting for her opponent. Eris strutted to the stage dressed like a queen in purple robes and a golden crown-shaped headband around her head. When she entered the ring, she removed her robe revealing her purple brassier and trunks.
"You're wearing your usual outfit?" Eris asked with a mocking chuckle. "What, were all the good Wonder Woman costumes taken?"
"Laugh all you want, but I'm proud of this costume." Jasper Jones said. "I am proud to express my legacy as Barbaria the Savage Queen's latest incarnation!"
Eris paused for a moment before bursting out in laughter. "Stop! Please! Hahaha! What a perfect set up! What deadpan delivery!" She saw Jasper shooting a disapproving glare at her. "What? You just told me laugh all I want."
"This match is looking to be interesting, people." Sayuri said. "Now, to explain the rules. This is an inferno match. Flamethrowers were set up around the ring to surround the wrestlers with fire. Whoever is burned with the fires first loses! Now, let's watch them burn!"
DING-DING!
Suddenly, the nozzles burst out gas and fire surrounding the ring. Eris began with a knee strike, but Jasper countered slamming her to the ground. Upon impact, the flames grew bigger and hotter. Jasper picked her up and held her in a sleeper hold hoping to knock her out to make it easier to burn her.
Eris stomped her foot onto Jasper's and sent an elbow to her stomach. It was enough for the Goddess of Chaos to escape and trip Jasper onto her back. The flames burst once more. Eris straddled on Jasper's stomach and hit her with a series of slaps across her face.
With each slap, Eris kept making jokes. "That's for not doing the dishes! That's for the dumb outfit! That's for all the cute goddess worshippers out there! That's for making me love you! That's for making me hate you! That's for never taking me to the prom!"
Jasper stopped the slaps with a hard punch to Eris' stomach. She gets up, lifts Eris, and slams her down on the ground raising the fire.
"And that's for the unnecessary slaps." Jasper retorted.
Jasper picked Eris up again slamming her down on the mat. She did it again and again. Each slam made the fires rise higher. After the fifth slam, Eris gasped and closed her eyes. Jasper figured it was the perfect time to attempt to throw her out, but when she attempted it, Eris sprung back to life and landed Jasper with a spinebuster.
Sayuri shrugged, grinned under her mask, and pulled out a pumpkin. She tossed it over the flames and let it land in the ring. She picked up another pumpkin and threw it in afterward.
Eris saw one of the pumpkins and quickly ran to it. She opened it up and pulled out what was inside. It was a thick, wooden stick with a cloth wrapped around the end. Eris took a whiff.
"Is that kerosene?" she asked. She then lit up coming up with an idea.
As Eris went to the side of the ropes, Jasper recovered and discovered the other pumpkin without noticing Eris using the flames to make a torch. Jasper opened up the pumpkin and reached inside. However, as soon as her hand came into contact with something, it stuck. She lifted her hand only for the pumpkin to be carried along with it.
"Ooh!" Sayuri said. "Good news for Eris. Bad news for Jasper. Eris has a torch while Jasper is glued to the inside of her pumpkin. So far, this looks to be Eris' fight."
"Gotcha now!" Eris shouted as she was about to swing her torch.
Suddenly, Jasper surprised everyone with a punch from her pumpkin hand. It struck Eris like a boxing glove across her face. Eris dropped her torch as she fell to the mat. Jasper seized this opportunity to try and push Eris to the fire. She was so close on winning until Eris began to wiggle. Jasper leaned in to push harder, but suddenly, Eris raised her hips up and smacked Jasper back with her butt.
Eris got back up and rolled Jasper to her stomach. The Goddess got on top of her opponent and applied her Chaos Lock. Jasper couldn't handle the hold after the heated and tough match, so she tapped out on instinct, but it wouldn't do anything. Eventually, she passed out. Eris took the opportunity to pick up the torch, set fire on one of Jasper's tassels, and kicked her out of the ring. The staff were there with fire extinguishers to put out the flame.
DING-DING!
Sayuri clapped as the fires died down. "Not bad. It was a tough match between the two opponents, but in the end, Eris was the one who got out unscathed. Sure, Jasper had a shot when she surprised everyone by using her Trick pumpkin to her advantage, but Eris recovered from that with her own trick. Now, onto the next match!"
*Midnight vs Poison*
Right in front of the announcer's table, a black coffin was carried there. Not only that, but two very massive things were put on different sides of the ring covered with red blankets.
Midnight arrived first. She had on her usual outfit, but it was a lot thicker and she had on make-up that resembled a member of KISS. She had on black wristcuffs that looked like they were spiked. Poison arrived too. She had on dead-green make up with some of her clothes torn like a zombie. They stood on opposite ends of the ring waiting for their CEO to announce the match.
"This contest is a casket match! The only way to win will be to throw your opponent into this coffin in front of me and seal it shut! Will it be the vampire or the zombie to wins? And just to make it more interesting…"
She motioned to her staff, who removed the red blankets off of what they were covering. They were revealed to be very large cages able to hold elephants, only this time, they were holding people that both competitors recognized. Behind Midnight were two men and two women wearing white makeup and black outfits. They were her brides. Behind Poison were four men in gangster clothes. They her old contacts in the Mad Gear gang.
"You can call them your special seconds." Sayuri continued. "Of course, I don't plan on letting them out to help you girls myself. Now, are both girls ready." Midnight and Poison both nodded. "BEGIN!"
DING-DING!
Midnight immediately started the match with a quick headlock on Poison. Poison escaped and struck Midnight with the ezuigiri. She then lifts her from the ground for an Irish whip, but Midnight reversed it slamming Poison to the corner. She capitalized it by sending a knee to her stomach.
While Poison tended to her chest, Midnight turned to her brides. She blew them each a kiss which they accepted. She lifted Poison from the floor and hit a dropkick which sent her over the ropes.
Luckily for her, Poison fell right in front of the cage which held her former gang members. They seemed to still show respect for her. Midnight followed and attempted a clothesline, but Poison stopped it and pushed her to the cage door. The Mad Gear members grabbed onto her arms and legs holding her back. Poison slipped into the ring and found her signature horsewhip.
"Prepare to feel the sting!" Poison shouted. She swung her whip which was struck across Midnight's chest. The gang let go of her and let her fall forward to tend to her stung area. Poison got behind her and sent three other whip strike across her butt. "Now that you're stunned for now, I got a Treat pumpkin to find." She kicked Midnight's stomach to add in on the stun and searched around the ring.
Just then, the vampire saw a glimmer of orange underneath the ring apron. She reached in and pulled out a pumpkin. Cautiously, she removed its top and placed her hand inside. She pulled out a small, silver key with the word "Poison" engraved on it.
"What?" Midnight asked herself. "How is this dumb key supposed to be a trick or a treat? Unless…" She gazed at the Mad Gear cage and the bride cage. "Of course. This key must be able to free those Mad Gear goons. There must also be a key that can release my brides. If either of them are free, they can be used against one of us. So for my sake…" She slipped the key into her corset before getting back up.
Poison figured her best chance would come from finding the Treat pumpkin, so that's why she kicked Midnight down before and left her there. Eventually, she found a pumpkin placed on the opposite end of where she left her opponent. But before she could lean down and examine it, Midnight appeared behind her and pushed her into the steel steps.
The vampire took the pumpkin and swiped the contents inside. As she suspected, it was a silver key with her name on it. She ran to her brides' cage and turned th key inside the lock. After the clicking sound, the door opened and all the brides took turns kissing their mistress. They all surrounded Poison as she got up.
"Got you surrounded now." Midnight said. "If you decide you don't want to get hurt, the coffin's over there."
"Get stuffed, cow!" Poison responded.
"Your loss." Midnight said. "My beautiful brides… get her!"
Poison made short work of one of the men by kicking him in the face. That however left her open for a bearhug from behind by the other man. He squeezed her while the girls got in front of Poison and took turns punching her.
Ryuji got to Sayuri, still creeped out by the mask. "Uh, are you sure this is allowed?"
"Of course. That's why I gave those keys." Sayuri explained. "It's not my fault Midnight decided to be sneaky."
Midnight got behind the coffin and pushed it to her brides' direction. "Bruce, you know what to do."
The man holding Poison nodded before holding her up above his head. He slowly made his way to the coffin. Right before he was about to toss her in, the pink-haired woman slipped out of his hold and threw Bruce to the two girls with a Frankensteiner.
Poison got up, but was caught by surprise when Midnight kicked her in the stomach and dropped her with her signature Darkest Hour onto the floor. Poison was out like a light after that, which made it easy for the vampire to lift Poison into the coffin and close the door on top of her.
"Game over." Midnight said.
DING-DING!
The crowd cheered as Midnight picked her brides back to their feet. She then walked with them backstage to "celebrate" while Sayuri Rogue entered the ring.
"Well, that was certainly interesting. Midnight and Poison looked neck-and-neck at the beginning of the match, but then Poison got the advantage when her old friends in Mad Gear interfered from inside of their cell. Midnight got even by freeing her brides and sicking them on her opponent. In the end, Midnight got the best of Poison and the latter can now—to quote the Undertaker—rest in peace." The crowd clapped at the Undertaker reference. "Now, onto the next match."
Author's Note: That ends part one of the 2020 Halloween Special. More on the way.
Any and all comments are welcome.