Chapter 21: Illusions

Stone has a talk with one of his childhood idols about professional wrestling. Yeah, I have to confess that I was part of that generation of young adults who watched Hulk Hogan, André the Giant, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, and many other legends of the ring dominate professional wrestling on the television during the 1980s.

I've never been into so called pop music "boy bands" as they are often called, but many years ago One Direction came out with a good song titled "Illusion" which I feel sums up how Stone feels about Karen.

The sun was shining down on the beach and the sound of the ocean waves breaking on the sandy shoreline mingled with the happy voices of the beachgoers and the music from the nearby carousel ride in the Carnival. It was a perfect day to enjoy the sun, sand, and surf.

"And...and then the Iron Rhino charged at you, but you dodged him and elbowed him causing him to stumble into the ropes. You then grabbed him by the torso and threw him onto his back with a resounding crash! Everyone was cheering," the lean little fennec fox, dressed only in a pair of red and blue swim shorts, excitedly exclaimed as he frantically jumped up and down on the beach's sand while trying to mimic what he saw as a child on television. The fox's tail was swishing back and forth as he continued. "Then... then... then, you grabbed his iron horn with your hooves and tried to yank it out! Everyone was gasping and then booing when the Iron Rhino rolled out from under you and leapt onto your back, putting you in a headlock." The fox suddenly stopped and looked over at who he was talking to and asked, "Hey, if the Iron Rhino's horn was iron, why did you think you could have pulled it out?"

The large hippo sitting nearby in a lounge chair, grinned as he shook his head before he picked up his ice-cold drink from the nearby umbrella-covered table. The now retired professional wrestler, once known as Mvubu the Mangler, was still in fairly good shape, although he did have a bit of a belly paunch. After taking a sip of his drink, he explained, "Poor Phil came down onto his back wrong and was so jarred by the throw that the cheap aluminum cap covering his horn had worked loose. That's why I grabbed him by the horn, so I could push it back on."

"So you weren't trying to pry his horn off?" the fox softly asked.

"No, his horn wasn't really solid iron and I was just pushing his costume horn cover back on."

"Oh?"

"Stoney, you sound disappointed."

"Kind of. When I was a kit, I thought the whole thing was real. I would pretend that I was you while play wresting with Storm," the little surfer commented.

"You pretended to be me?"

"You were my favorite wrestler in the Zootopia Wrestling Federation."

"Aw, that's nice," the hippo chuckled.

"It really sucked when I found out it was all fake," Stone added. "It really was fake...right?" the fennec fox asked while he looked over at the retired wrestler with hope filled eyes as if he wanted to be told it was indeed real after all. His large ears were laying flat and his tail was now tucked next to his footpaws.

"I wouldn't call it exactly fake, it was just kayfabe."

"kayfabe?"

"A scripted web of illusion used to hide that the matches were…well, let's just say we were performers engaging in storylines, just like stage actors in a play. Only we were in a stadium ring with thousands of fanatically screaming fans watching."

"Oh?"

"You still sound disappointed."

"Well, to be honest, you putting it like that makes in even more disappointing."

"Sorry about that. One thing for sure, it was certainly still physically trying and sometimes dangerous despite it being scripted."

"How so?"

"We still had to perform all of the stunts, most of which were very physically demanding. One wrong move could result in injury to ourselves or others. We often experienced strained backs, pulled muscles, and in one instance, I even cracked a couple of ribs but had to continue performing."

"Ouch!"

"Hey, how did you do that stunt when Liu Wei leapt off of Po the Powerful Panda's shoulder and hit you with his mystical red panda energy punch? You were knocked off your foothoofs and across the ring."

"Yeah, that was real," Mister Mvubu teased and then broke out in laughter when the fennec fox just stood there with his mouth hanging open and his head cocked in a confused vulpine manner. "Just kidding!" the hippo quickly added. "I had on a wire harness, although one of the wires did snap and that is why I hit the ropes harder then planned."

"What about Timor the Terrible's tattoos? How did they magically change before every match?"

"He had them spray painted on. It's a good thing elephants have such thick hides because he really had to scrub hard with a mixture of olive oil and sea salt to remove them."

"Oh?" the small fox once again sounded disappointed.

"You know, maybe there is a simple wrestling trick I can teach you?" the hippo suddenly said. "Hey, son, come here for a moment," he called to his six year old calf who was building a sand castle nearby. The young hippo picked up his juice box before he plodded over to where his father sat. "Now just stand there for a moment while I teach Stone how to do a simple hip check throw."

"But, Daddy, I don't want to!"

"I'll buy you ice cream if you do."

"Okay!"

Turning back to the fennec fox, Mister Mvudu began his instructions. "Now, Stoney, grab his right arm and push it back while using your footpaw to sweep his legs from under him."

The small fox tried to do what he was told, but the calf, despite his young age, still towered over him and didn't budge. Stone grunted as he tried yet again, but his opponent stayed upright. Finally, the now bored wrestler's son lifted his arm to take a sip from the juice box's straw, leaving the frustrated fennec fox frantically kicking as he dangled there. "Yeah, that didn't work!" the older hippo chuckled, after Stone fell tail-first into the sand.

"Daddy, can I have my ice cream now?" the young hippo asked.

That evening, Stone strolled along the shoreline while holding Karen's paw as he recounted his conversation with Mister Mvudu. The sand cat suddenly stopped and asked, "Can you show me the wrestling move he taught you?"

"Why, it didn't work?" the fennec fox replied.

"Just show me!"

The fox slowly instructed the pretty cat how to do the basic move.

"Now, let me give it a try," she said. Grabbing his arm, she shoved him backwards while at the same time sweeping his footpaws from under him and sending the fox sprawling onto the sand.

"It worked!" Stone exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah, it worked just fine!" Karen growled before she pounced onto the prone fox and gave him a kiss.

He wrapped his arms around her as they playfully wrestled in the sand. Finally, he had her pinned under him. "I win," he huskily panted.

"Nope, I won," she giggled before she kissed him yet again. "Did he teach you any other moves?" she coyly asked after they finished kissing.

"No, but let's go someplace more private and I can make some up."

"I've got a few of my own moves that I'd like to show you too," she purred.