This chapter is a crossover with Rex Locke's 'Beastman vs Humans' bara/furry wrestling series. Illustration by @beardrooler. You can learn more about Rex's characters here: https://twitter.com/wrestlecub and check out Beardrooler at https://twitter.com/beardrooler
"You're goin' in the dirt, boyo!"
The beefy, red-headed hunk grabbed the practice dummy around the waist and hoisted it up into the air. Cian Enbarr, the Faeblood Brawler, had been practicing this move for hours, trying to nail the perfect suplex.
The dummy's head collided into the mat. Cian bridged his body, back arched, wrestling boots planted on the ground. He smiled, satisfied and sweaty.
"Wish Gio were here to see that one," Cian said, grinning ear to ear. He turned around and patted the dummy on the head. "Sorry 'bout the brain damage, boyo. Too bad you weren't Spike. I'd love to crush that cutie."
Cian stood up, just about ready to hit the showers. He went for his water bottle, minding what his mentor had told him about hydrating. He threw it back and looked at himself in the mirror. Ever since the incident in Vegas, in which Cian's 'blood frenzy' had forced him back to the benches for a month and a half, he'd taken the time to practice his craft (magick and muscle) and be kinder to himself.
This included not beating himself about his body. The singlet he usually wore hid some of his tummy. He was a strong Irish lad, all meat and potatoes, and not shredded like some the pretty ones around here. However, it was Spike (the prettiest of the lot) who had managed to convince Cian to try out briefs. On a dare. That twink was a constant thorn in Cian's side, but as of late, he'd warmed up to the feminine (and absolutely jacked) New Yorker. Of course, it was easy for a cupcake beefcake like him to talk about embracing one's body. His was statuesque.
Still, though Spike was annoying as all get out, his compliments were genuine...if not sometimes aggressive. Cian smiled at himself. "Beefcake brawler has a good ring to it, huh?" he said to his reflection.
He noticed, then, that he wasn't alone. At first he thought he was seeing things. Maybe he was dehydrated. Standing at the back of the practice room, a tall (very tall) figured stood. He (at least, Cian suspected it was a 'he') was cloaked in gold, and wore a gold mask. It was hard to make much else of them out from where Cian stood. They were obscured by the shadows by that corner of the room.
Suddenly, Cian wished he had brought along a training buddy. He preferred to go it alone. Perhaps that had been unwise.
Cian glared at the intruder. He didn't recognize them. "Who the bloody fuck are ye?" Cian snarled back. "You with Firebird?" Then, it hit him. "Wait a minute...you ain't that weirdo who's been haunting backstage at our shows, are ye?"
The dark figure's eyes glowed, full of magickal intent. "Firebird! Ha, pity the thought," the deep voice said. "I mean you no harm, Faebrawler. I have merely come to issue you a challenge."
Cian looked the giant up and down. He was big. No doubt he was powerful in the magick department too. But Cian didn't back down from a challenge. "That so, boyo? You want to mess with the Faeblood, eh?"
But he didn't like how the man drew closer, nor that creepy, wide smile on his face. It glinted from beneath his mask.
Shit. Cian summoned his power. "You might not want to get closer, champ. Ain't your ma teach ye how to talk to a gentleman you fancy?"
The ground in front of the practice room suddenly came to life, writhing with green and black serpents. The snakes hissed and snarled at the newcomer.
But the man in the gold mask simply laughed. "Ah, the glyph of Mind! You are indeed a son of the Aos sí. But these are parlour tricks."
The gold figure swept his hand. In a moment, Cian's conjured snakes (a mirage) blinked. So did Cian.
And then, the man was behind him, arms wrapped around his throat.
"Fear not," the gold mask said, locking on a (rather comfortable) sleeper. "You're just going out for a few minutes. So I can get you to where you need to go.
"Where..." Cian began sputtering. He had been taught techniques to break out of a hold. But those techniques operated under the assumption his opponent was within their division. This man...well...he had to cap out. These weren't muscles in his arms, but boulders. It wasn't long before Cian felt his head swim, and the darkness come on. "Where are...you...taking...."
Was all he got out before he fell into the dark.
The man held him close to his body, and if Cian were conscious, he'd know how hard his muscles were beneath his robe. "To a place beyond your wildest dreams," the man said.
"Get ready to tap!"
The red panda in the green singlet locked the practice dummy in a tight chokehold. Jinja, one of the newer arrivals to the Beastman League, spread their legs out to secure the hold. Jinja, a wily and enthusiastic newcomer, was eager for their next bout.
"Impressive technique, Beastman."
Jinja blinked. "Coach?" He turned his head towards the direction of the deep voice. Golden eyes burned back at him in the dark...
"Spoiling for a match?" the ominous figure asked. "Well, I have your newest opponent, right here." The man in the robes held up their long-sleeved armed and motioned towards the end of the ring.
Jinja blinked. "Wh...what? How did he get here?"
Sitting on the stool perched in the blue corner, the beefy young man with the red hair came to. They groaned, gripping the bridge of their nose. "Damn. That was some sleeper..."
Jinja's head spun. What was going on here. He stood, making sure the creepy gold guy behind him wasn't about to get the jump. Was he with one of Killgore's fellow creeps.
"Hey, buddy," Jinja said, approaching the sweaty (and kinda sexy) man in the corner. "You alright? Have we met before."
The muscular ginger flitted their eyes open and looked up at the Jinja. They turned several shades lighter, paler than their normal skin color even! "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!" he screamed, pressing his back to the post as if he was looking at a giant spider. "Lady Leither and Mother Aethrin, what....what are you?"
Jinja drew back, confused...and a little shy. He pointed to himself. "Uh....I'm Jinja."
"YOU..." the man shook his head. "This has gotta be a mirage." He looked over at the man in gold, and then stood up, suddenly very angry. "Hey you FREAK. Quit the magick, will ya?" He pointed. "That's...not a guy in a suit, is it?"
Now, Jinja was starting to get mad. "Guy in a suit? Hey, buster, you ever seen a Beastman before?"
Cian looked over. "Are...you like a fairy creature?"
"A WHAT?" Jinja shook his head. "Hey, what's THAT supposed to mean! You wanna a scrap, or what?"
"Now, now," the gold figure said, suddenly on the complete opposite side of the ring. How had they moved so quickly!? "You wanted a fight, didn't you, panda? So, I brought you an opponent. And he's travelled a long, long way. As have you..."
"What do you mean?" Jinja asked. He blinked, and the figure in gold was now in a completely different part of the room. What was this power? "Hey, stop moving around so..."
But they stopped, as it dawned on them that they were no longer standing in a practice ring. Well, it was definitely "a" practice ring, but the rest of the training room was gone. A black, misty void stretched around them in all directions.
Cian looked around, wildly. "This is....strong magick."
"A proposal," the gold mask said. "A match, scheduled for one fall. The winner goes back to their home dimension. The loser, however, will remain here with me. What does that entail? Well, I suppose you'll just have to find out. Good luck!"
With that, the man in gold vanished, leaving both opponents (both clad in green and black) staring at each other.
Cian grunted, but a smile crossed his lips. "Well, I have no idea what's going on, but I never back down from a brawl." He stepped forward, extending his hand. "Cian Enbarr, the Faeblood Brawler. Not sure what you are, but you got muscles."
Jinja, liking this Cian's 'look', but not liking the stakes at hand, smiled likewise. "Jinja."
"Wow," Cian said, as he gripped the red panda's arm. He blushed. "It...feels like a dog with a human hand."
"A dog!?" Jinja said, sneering. "Oh, I'm gonna have to kick your ass harder for that, cutie!"
"Think so, boyo? Well, you heard the freak. Only the winner gets to go back home." He lowered his stare.
Suddenly, Jinja heard Cian inside his head. Don't worry. Nobody outsmarts a Fae. I have a plan. Let's give it our all.
Jinja played along. "Heh. Red Panda versus Red Head. I like the sound of this scrape. Bring it on, Cian!"
The bell rang and the two went at it. Both were stocky studs trained in freestyle grappling. Cian was bulky and strong, but Jinja knew how to counter.
Time to get tricksy, Cian thought, breaking free from Jinja's headlock (the furry dude was tough!). But as he tried to conjure up an illusion, his magick failed him.
"Should have mentioned," the gold freak's voice echoed from nowehere. "No magick, Cian. Beastman don't really have magick where Jinja is from. And you want a fair fight, right?"
Just as Cian went to curse, he found his thick legs being scooped up by Jinja's might! The raccoon, or whatever he was, had gone for a double leg, knocking Cian to the canvas!
"I'm gonna twist that pretty head right off ya!" mischievous Jinja said, grabbing Cian around the throat. "Wow, thick! You definitely do your neck exercises..."
Why is everyone going for my throat today! Cian squinted. Jinja was tough! What a grip! Can't lose. Some days, he wished he didn't have to deal with his crew of muscle idiots, Spike and the lot. They were annoying and cocky and preening. But they were still his family. Cian didn't want to lose that. Besides, he still needed to kick Spike's ass in a proper match someday.
Cian arched his back, executing a bridge out and throwing his hands into the crevices of Jinja's arms, breaking the space between them. Cian mustered his strength and pulled the panda off of him.
"Damn it," Jinja spat, rolling away. "You're strong!"
Dripping with sweat, Cian spat on the ground. "Ain't seen nothing yet!"
Cian roared and slammed his knee into Jinja's gut. The wind knocked out of him, the red panda in the tight singlet doubled over in pain. Cian pushed his head between his massive legs, clamping down hard to sap the stamina from the struggling creature.
It's like wrestling a giant stuffed animal, Cian thought, remembering how he used to practice moves on his poor stuffies when he was a kid. He scooped Jinja up onto his shoulders. "Sorry, Jinja. You seem like a good lad, but I'm not gettin' stuck here!"
"N-no-" the dazed Jinja, started, panicking.
Cian winced, hesitating. He hated to do this to a stranger, especially one who showed potential. In another life (or dimension, rather) maybe he and this panda lad could have been friends.
But this was a warrior's realm. And he needed to do what a warrior must. "Spear of Cullen, guide my hand!"
Which was all to say that Cian, who straddled the line between of tough face and sadistic heel, did enjoy bringing down the 'spear' on Jinja. It was a small mercy for the red pand that Cian couldn't conjure up a vision of a bed of nails or hard cement surface or broken glass, like he usually did during this move to ratchet up the psychological pain. It didn't matter, however. He SLAMMED the poor panda into the mat at high impact.
"UGH!" Jinja cried out.
Cian didn't waste time. He went for the package pin. "One...two..."
But Jinja wasn't going to lose so quickly. He wanted to go home just as bad, and even if Cian had promised him a solution, Jinja knew enough about the mysterious beings called the Fae that he didn't quite trust him. With all the strength left in him, he kicked out.
"Damn it," Cian snarled, knocked back. He wiped the sweat from his brow, and smirked. "Tough little bastard, are ye? Well. I got more moves than that. I was going to be nice about it, but I guess I gotta sacrifice ye now!"
Furry punk. Shoulda just staid down! Once you're knocked out, I can handle this gold bastard and get us both outta' trouble...
"Now I'm gonna have to hurt you," Cian said, spitting on the mat. He could take his time. Jinja, wincing and gripping their (probably broken) back, wasn't going anywhere. Cian patted the furry guy's thigh, tenderly, before siddling up behind him and slowly wrapping his massive legs around his neck.
"Wh...what..." was all Jinja got out, before his airflow was cut off.
"Yep," Cian sniffed. "My favorite thing, watching big guys like you slowly go out in my giant legs."
A perfect, painful, figure-four triangle choke. Jinja...and anybody else for that matter...didn't stand a chance. Cian was relatively new in the spellbreaking world, but nobody had ever gotten out of this move.
And Cian didn't accept taps.
From the shadows, the man in gold laughed under his breath. "Such a spectacular display of sadism. Cian, my warrior, well done..."
"Barely a struggle," Cian laughed, pulling Jinja's limp arm and letting it go down. "Haha. Look, his tongue's sticking out of his mouth. Poor bastard." He held up the arm again, just a little longer, cranking down the pressure a bit more. "Make sure you take a nice long nap, J man. Don't want you getting in the way of getting us out of here."
The final count. Cian held the panda's arm up. "The crowd goes wild!" Cian said. "But you can't hear them, can ya?" He let it drop. Taking his time, Cian positioned himself for the unnecessary pin, making sure to place his big bulge right over Jinja's open mouth.
"Hey, Spike was right," Cian said. "These trunks are good for some things. Sorry, J. I got that mischief in me. Can't let even a nice guy you walk away without a little humbling. And too bad for you, I haven't showered yet today."
Cian stood, flexing over his broken opponent, and pointing to himself. He placed a boot atop the passed out panda's chest. "That's right! He's feckin' done." For emphasis, Cian dragged his thumb across his neck in a slit cut motion, gathering sweat, and then swatting it down on the knocked out Beastman.
Now, to get us out of here.
Cian walked over to the ropes, placing his hand over them for leverage. He hoisted himself up to the top and glared out into the darkness. "Why don't you step into my ring next, gold boyo. Feckin' bastard."
"Language, Faeblood," came the laughter from the dark. "You proved victorious."
A discordant bell rang out in the dark. The match was over.
"So, you shall be sent home. That was the promise."
"Wait a damn minute," Cian spat. He looked over at Jinja, twitching in his sleep. "New deal. Send both of us home to where we long. Champ's orders."
"THAT was your power play?" the mocking voice shot back. "Make a demand from someone far more powerful than you? No, Cian. You won. You get to go back."
Cian bit his lip. He hopped off the ropes. "What happens to him?"
"That is not your concern."
"It is my feckin' concern, actually," Cian snarled back. "Fine. Then send him home. I'm the winner. I get to decide that much."
"This...stranger, this creature who is unlike yourself, who you have just met and beat in battle. You would take his place, not knowing what fate would befall you in this realm?"
Cian closed his eyes. He was overwhelmed with emotion, but didn't show it. Connor. The GSA. Buck. Spike. Rosa. Kengo. Gio. Victor. Iggy. Colt. And so many others. He would never see them again.
But this wasn't right, leaving this Jinja here alone. He probably had friends too. And even though he was tough, he'd still lost. Cian, at least, would hold out against whatever gold mask threw his way.
"Keep me here," Cian said, arms out wide. "Send your biggest bastard my way. I'll put all of them in the dirt." He gave the darkness a 'thumbs down' just to prove a point.
Silence followed. For a moment, Cian wondered if he'd finally put his foot in it and done something stupid, forced this gold freak to abandon them to Gods-knows-where...
Then, the laughter came. Only, this time, it wasn't mocking. It was amused. Even, gentle. "Well, would you look at that, Cian? You proved my experiment a success."
Cian blinked. On the ground, Jinja was starting to come to. "Hell, they usually stay down longer than that! Must be because he's not a human..." Still don't know what the hell that's about, either...
"I hate to break kayfabe," the voice said from the ark. "But, you've put on a fine show for me, Faeblood. I thought Spike was going to be my champion! And maybe, just maybe, a tag team might be in the works after all. But Cian...you've shown yourself to be just the hero we're going to need in this fight..."
Enough of this spooky secrecy. Cian was tired. He sure as hell knew he was afraid. Shaking with adrenaline and dripping with sweat, Cian balled up his fists. "What the bloody hell are you talking about! I swear, if I could activate my blood frenzy and break your stupid neck..."
"And I'm sure you would! So much anger, Cian. Directed at yourself and others. But what you have just shown here today...that is the emotion and reason you should be putting behind your powers."
Cian's shoulders slacked, but he didn't stand down. "What the hell are you talking about, ye bloody bastard!"
"Anger can be harnessed, in the right measure Cian." Now, the voice was gentle, assuring. Honest. "For now, I will grant your wish."
The man in gold appeared in the center of the ring, by Cian's side. Before Cian could jump back, he grabbed his arm.
Fuck...what happens now?
But the gold one merely held Cian's arm up, signalling his triumph. However, he gestured to the panda on the canvas. "Jinja. You fought well. You have earned your rest. You will be delivered back to your home realm. As for you, Cian...continue to fight proudly, Child of the Shining Ones. We'll meet again..."
Green eyes opened in the darkness.
Cian, in his single dorm, look around the small room. Moonlight flowed through the window. He was alone. No gold mask. He sat up and looked around his reality, just a little more unsure of it than usual...
"Weird, fecking dream," Cian mumbled, groggy and exhausted. Felt like he really had just been wrestling a beast. He needed a moment to breathe. As he settled down, ready to lay his head down and rest, he noticed the small, furry object nestled against him. He looked down at the red panda stuffy, dressed in its wrestling singlet, unsure of what he was seeing was real.
"What? When did I get that?"
Confused, he nevertheless smiled. "Cute little thing," Cian mumbled, as he felt his eyes grow heavy again. "I think I'll name it...Jinja."
Next Chapter!
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