The crunch of loose pebbles and discarded candy bar wrappers drew Buck Tamberly's eyes downwards to twisting path ahead. Candles, likely placed by the target of Buck's consternation, dripped wax onto the road, and illuminated the hunched over, leather-speedo clad forms of Buck's peers. Eyes bewitch with ghostly glow, Sanjay and Blue Dragon moaned and looked up. The dark magi's magick had turned them into his puppets.
Fittingly, Buck found Deadboy Daemian--and his demon tag partner, Braxius, nestled on a throne made of skulls piled high. Deadboy munched down fiendishly on a Dracula Delight, one of Australia's ghoulish treats. The bright, cherry filling made it look like blood was dripping from his mouth. Deadboy's open mouth chewing was even more nauseating than the fact that he had turned almost all of Buck's employees into his zombie servants.
Caught in the act, Deadboy looked up and blinked at his new boss. "Oi!" he greeted, wiping cherry blood from his lips and giving Buck a mischievous, toothy grin. "Don't worry, the skulls are fake."
Behind him, Brax (whose enormous tail Daemian was using as a recline) turned the page of his self-help book (The Miraculous Power of Optimism) and yawned with a mouth full of fangs.
Buck looked down at the base of the throne. Tied in chains to a stake in the ground, was a leather-thong clad Spike, his head lolled to one side. He too had been bewitched.
Sighing, Buck greeted his wayward employee. "Happy birthday, Lachlan," he said, addressing Daemian by his real name. "Looks like Paris treated you mighty kind." He crossed his arms. Though Buck could only dream of becoming a Spellbreaking, of the lot, he was the least scared of the macabrely sexy, demonic sorcerer sitting before him. Then again, danger was one of Buck Tamberly's favorite turn-ons.
"Fuckin' oath," Daemian said, picking something out of his teeth and flicking it. He belched, loudly, lazily resting his angular jaw on his hand. "Those Alchemist c***ts thought they had a leg up on me. We might have lost the Chalice--which did alter my wicked plans--but I got something much better. Hehehe. A spell that us dark magi have been doin' our heads in tryin' to hunt for ages."
Buck scanned Daemian's face. This had already been a trying week before Deadboy and Icewolf showed up and bewitched half the staff, turning them into mindless ghouls. Fortunately, Buck--who didn't know much about magick, being unable to wield it himself--had help from some friends in high places (said 'high places' being the Ivory Tower of academia). "Yeah, Lily said they got their hands on some spooky tomes. You really were able to do all of this just by hearing an incantation just one time?"
"Always was a quick study," Deadboy said, grinning ever-so-innocently. Behind him, Brax gave Buck--the interim president of the GSA--the briefest of acknowledgments.
"You're smart, Lachlan. You hate to hear it, because it challenges your badboy personality, I'm sure. But it's true."
"What a sweet compliment," Deadboy said, though genuine or not, it was hard to tell. The demonic prince stood and stretched, showing off his rippling, sinewy arms, lined with muscles. He looked like a vampire turned Olypmic swimmer turned MMA fighter. "You know...Bucky, I can sniff out a fellow baddie. You're as sadistic as they can come. I can see the darkness inside you--definitely ain't your daddy's boy. Why not join up with me."
Buck cocked an eye. "Sniff me out?" He raised his armpit and bit his lip. "Shit, I knew I forgot something."
Deadboy licked his lips. "In addition to raising the dead..." Daemian leered, "I can be a bit of a pit pig. Whaddya say, mate? Join me. We can torture jobbers together. Do some really freaky shit."
Admittedly, it was tempting, Buck thought. Plus, it would show up his dad. Still, loyalty was loyalty.
Well, almost. "What have you done with Spike?"
"Mmmm. Blondie? Oh, he's totally my little slaveboy zombie now. So innocent. I told him he was my boyfriend. But I can be a bit...unfaithful." He winked.
Buck was not amused. "Hell, stud, you got good taste. But here's where you're wrong about blondie. You don't go around playing with a heart like that. He's something special. You might be right, boy. I got the heel streak in me--definitely do. But I break bones, not hearts. You're messin' with my friend. And I don't like that very much."
Deadboy scowled, and behind him, Brax let out a soft, concerned groan. "Huh. Sounds like the Bereft heir to the GSA has a crush. On my property."
"Forget it, Deadboy. I'm still your boss. And HR needs to have a word with you about your...behavior."
Daemian stuck out his tongue. "Aww, why can't you let me have fun!?"
"Deadboy, you know I like a nasty heel as much as anybody else, but your antics are really starting to stress me out. I'm doing my best to keep this ship in shape and you're..." he gestured broadly to the huddled zombies around them.
"What? You don't like what I've done with the place?"
Buck's eyes fell upon enslaved Spike, his muscular form barely constrained by chain and the six inch piece of leather holding back his immodesty. "I like some things you've done. But it's gotta' stop."
Deadboy glowered. "And what is someone without a glyph gonna do? I like ya, Buck. You're a sadist like me. But if you interfere in my fun, we're gonna have some problems, mate."
Don't tempt with a good time, Buck thought, his dad's warnings of 'not shitting where you eat' coming back to haunt him just as much as the specters swirling around the bewitched woodland on the GSA that Deadboy had turned into his hellish throne. "Yeah, I figured you'd be difficult."
"The only idiot who could even stand a chance against me now is White Tiger," Daemian said. "And he's busy with the tournament. Nobody is gonna save you, Bucky boy. This is MY kingdom now!"
From the shadowy bushes, a familiar, accented voice spoke. "Psss. Presidente, Is this where I come in?"
"I'm still doing the diplomacy thing," Buck whispered back. He re-addressed Damian. "So, I guess I'm gonna have HR speak to you after all...."
Deadboy rolled his heavily-lined eyes. "Ugh, and what pencil-necked little sap is the head of human resources? Besides, human resources doesn't apply to Brax."
"Inhuman resources does, but Brax is a model employee, so that's not a concern." Buck cleared his throat. "You can come now."
The branches parted. A statuesque figure, bulging with muscles (and with only a purple speedo to cover them up) stood tall and heroic, with hands posed on hips. The mask mine's smile lit up the dark. "It is I, El Amante Intoxico! Warrior of Love! Defender of the Heart! New appointed human resources manager!" He struck a new pose. "If there is a hatred in this world, then I shall put it to the sword! If there is terror in the night, then it stands no match for my might! If there is an OSHA violation, then the correct paperwork shall be filed in a timely and ORDERLY FASHION!" El Amante flexed. Around him, the zombified members of the GSAW moaned and swooned.
Deadboy, on his throne of skulls, stood tall and grit his teeth, spitting down at the imposing luchador. "Nobody makes my zombies moan and swoon but me! YOU!? The great masked himbo? YOU'RE Bucky's little lapdog?"
El Amante stared at the pile of skulls and put his finger to his chin in deep contemplation. "This is a fire hazard. It must go. And also," he pointed at Deadboy, "YOU need to be taken down a peg, amigo."
Buck shrugged. "Iggy said that the only way to take down a Scorpio was with another Scorpio." Buck pointed to the scorpion tattoo on El Amante's bulging shoulder. "As a Virgo, I don't believe in astrology, but Iggy has never been wrong."
"UGH, I thought that light magi was on my side! What about my nemsis. White Tiger. Where's HE? Afraid to fight his old lov--I mean RIVAL, I bet!"
"He's taking care of actual threats," Buck said through his teeth. "You know, like Firebird. Sounds like you and Rage were getting chummy, so I had him go hit the pavement and do a little recon." Buck nodded to the smiling, muscular, masked man at his side. "Fortunately, my dad has a thing for babyfaces, so we got some heroes to spare."
El Amante held up a finger. "Ah, ah, ah. Tecnico."
"Yeah, what he said."
Deadboy kicked a skull off his throne. It tumbled and fell at the masked man's feet. The dark magi's eyes went pure black, shining with dark and dreamy wickedness. "Well, fine. You want to lock up, Romeo? You'll make a fun plaything." He growled. "We'll do it your lucha libre way too. I'll wear a mask and put it on the line! All the better for when I rip yours off and cut open your handsome face."
El Amante smirked. "You want to challenge ME to a masked fight? Silly, little Australian. Well, if that is the poison you wish to pick..." His eyes glowed pink. "Then prepare to taste my venom, chico. We settle this at midnight."
Next to him, Buck caught the brunt of El Amante's love magick. "Oh wow. This is hot."
"Do not make me file a harassment complaint," El Amante said, turning up his nose. "I have a Deadboy to wrangle."
"I can't believe this is the venue," Buck said to Icewolf (the only other GSA member not zombified), as he stared at the ring in the middle of the old cemetery.
Robbie was more sullen than usual. Ever since Paris, he and Deadboy had parted ways. "Scary Bro said I wasn't even worth zombifying," Robbie sniffed.
"Awww buddy. You're worth that and more." Buck winced. He wasn't very good at the whole 'cheering up' thing, but he was happy to have one less problem to worry about in Robbie, who was now on a self-proclaimed 'redemption arc' to try and win back Cian's heart (which he never had to begin with...)
A low mist crept along the ground, turning the ring into an island in a sea of craggy headstones. Hundreds of votive candles dotted the ground, adding a touch of ethereal beauty to the gloom. Next to Buck, Robbie, dressed as a teenage werewolf (complete with tufts of fur stuck to his handsome face) removed his letterman jacket and handed Buck a pumpkin spice flavored beer. "Well...Happy Day of the Dead, broski," Icewolf said to his friend and boss. "You think Daemian could really unmask El Amante?"
The dreadful thought hadn't actually occurred to Buck. He was supposed to be acting as a manager for these boys; watching out for any bad career moves. Granted, the only two 'conscious' spectators (besides the zombified GSA boys at ringside) were Buck and Icy. But Buck knew luchadors had very strict codes of honor. An unmasking was humiliating.
"Deadboy has way less to lose since he always shows his face," Buck pointed out, grimly. "El Amante must be really confident."
"Or cocky," Icewolf winked. "If his face gets unmasked. I'm totally gonna smooch the hell out of it."
"You'll have Iggy Astro to deal with then, bud."
Icewolf huffed. "Well, I'll smooch them too. Hey," Robbie said, nudging Buck, "Check out Spike in that skimpy little leather number, eh? You gonna have fun with him?"
"Not while he's a zombie!" Buck nodded to the aisle of candles leading to the ring. "Check it. It's starting."
"Cool, cool. So, who's the ref?"
Buck and Icewolf looked at each other. Buck's mouth dropped. "SHIT! I forgot to hire a ref!"
"Awww as if that would ever stop ME," came a malevolent, echoing voice. A green light shone down on the earth in front of the candle-lit aisle. The ground shook, lines in the Earth like breaks in skin, giving way to upturned soil. A black coffin emerged from the ground, swinging open to reveal its evil inhabitant with his hands cross his chest, leaning against plushy red velvet. Deadboy's outfit was his standard black briefs and half torn tights, but now he wore a fiendish, skull-printed black luchador mask across his head. Sharp plastic fins, like a razor mohawk, lined the top.
Even Buck and Icewolf shivered. "Damn, that's a creepy look," Buck said.
Flanked by his zombie followers, the malicious (and mischievous) Deadboy shuffled with a feral gait towards the ring. "What a beautiful night for a CURSE," he snarled, waving his hand over his hypnotised followers. Their eyes glowed bright red. He made them turn, about-face, towards the still 'unturned' spectators sitting in folding chairs. "You two c***ts are NEXT."
Icewolf pointed to himself, dumbly, and spat out his beer. "But...I was your bro! I HELPED you get this far!"
Buck whipped his head towards him. "I knew dad said you were trouble."
"I was BORED AND HORNY," Robbie grunted. "Deadboy, quit the shit! You're ruining my chances with Cian! Er...I mean, redeeming myself! Yeah!"
Climbing to the top rope, Deadboy leaned forward with a twist. His long tongue stuck out of his mask. "That's what you get for making a pact with a DEMON!" He pointed to Spike, chained to a rinside post, drooling onto his chest. "That himbo was your only hope. With all of you turned, and Iggy and El Amante to follow suit, I'll raise my zombie army against White Tiger! The Divine Chalices you collected will be mine. I'll be the one who takes down Firebird. And then, the WORLD will be mine! HAHAHAAHAHA!"
It was probably the most clumsy, least intimidating, and plainly stupid villain monologue that Buck had ever heard. He was now more annoyed than concerned.
From the opposite 'aisle', the mists parted. El Amante's broad shouldered (and larged pectoral'd) shape was unmistakable, but even Buck did a double-take at his interesting choice of outfit. El Amante was prone to showing off his body in the tightest, skimpiest little briefs possible, to the point that even Colt bemoaned the masked fighter's 'lucky thong' always sticking out of his trunks. Tonight, on this strange and exciting occasion, the masked 'Warrior of Love' (and employee payroll) wore a tight fitting singlet. It didn't do anything to make the beefcake more modest--if anything, his pecs threatened to break the lycra straps at any minute, and his bulge was...obvious--but his overall look was truly something to behold. A colorful 'Day of the Dead' inspired outfit, complete with a sugar skull mask.
"Papi, this is art," Buck said, jaw dropping. He caught El Amante's eye. He looked serious. Buck almost wish he hadn't said anything.
But the jovial luchador was glad to attend to his audience. Hands on hip, he looked around. "Crowd's a bit...dead tonight, huh?"
Somewhere in the shadows, Brax laughed hollowly Deadboy shot him a dark look. "How DARE you laugh at my opponent's puns?"
Buck ignored his unruly employee. "Thank you for coming," Buck sighed, experiencing a momentary pang of relief. "Really...I wanted to handle this by myself."
El Amante put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, inadvertently causing Buck's neck hairs to stand up with.
"All you had to do was ask, pobrecito. Asking for help isn't tapping out. It's tagging in." He looked over his shoulder and glared at the sneering skeleton waiting for him in the red corner. "Don't worry. I know exactly what Deadboy needs..."
El Amante flipped over the top rope, landing with poise and shaking the ring. Deadboy responded with a loud belch.
"You know nothing of the honor of the mask," El Amante said with a sternly pointed finger (to which Deadboy yawned). "Guess I'll have to tear that ridiculous looking thing off of you, eh?"
This only pissed off the delicious demon even more! He wiped his nose and puffed out his chest, drawing closer to his foe. "Heh. You're like me, chook. I can smell the darkness in you."
"My name is Victor, NOT chook! And I know the darkness well enough. The difference is that I know how to tame it. Just like I'll tame you."
The two men, both in skeletal attire, demonic blood running in their veins, stared at each other with glowing eyes--pink and green. After a few seconds of stare down, chests pushed together, Daemian cocked his head to the side.
"Uh...bell?"
"Oh right!" Rex piped up. He ran over to the bell table and gave it a good strike with a conjured up icicle.
Deadboy and El Amante went for the lockup, teeth gritting and arms bulging. Midway through, Deadboy pulled back with a cheeky 'arms in the air' pose, with Daemian glaring in confusion. Then, El Amante went in for his signature 'male stripper' dance, swivelling his hips to imaginary bachata music, even turning to give Deadboy a good look at this butt wiggling in his tight singlet.
Daemian seethed. "I'll fuck you UP, mate!" He went for a deadly strike with his boot.
But El Amante had anticipated this. It was trap. He grabbed Deadboy by the ankle and spun him around, forcing him off his feet. Still, Deadboy was an expert gymnast, and was able to turn the stumble into a donkey kick, striking El Amante right where it hurt!
"UNGH!" El Amante said, clutching his nuts. From ringside, Buck and Icewolf winced and covered up their own tender areas out of sympathetic reflex.
"You needed to be neutered," Deadboy sneered. He didn't waste his larger opponent's stunned state, running up, wrapping his hands around El Amante's neck, and brinding him down for a snapmare.
It hit, but El Amante was made of sturdy stuff, and was able to roll out. Still dazed, and with a sore neck, he pivoted onto his feet from his back--a breath taking feat of athleticism. "You like kicks, eh, zombie boy?" He delivered a roundhouse to Deadboy's chest, hitting him hard. Then, he pulled the evil spellbreaker's head in-between his thighs, clamping down tightly.
"Bet you wanted to be caught inside these," El Amante laughed, mockingly. "Let's dance!"
He gyrated his hips, in the process grinding Deadboy's sensitive neck between his monster muscle quads. It was humiliating as it was painful, even more when El Amante jumped up and planted Deadboy's face into the mat.
He went for the roll up pin. "One...two..."
Deadboy kicked out and flipped over, flipping off El Amante in the process. El Amante rose, smirking, to face him. He gave him the "come on" wave with his hands.
Buck turned to Icewolf. "This is goooood. I wish Dad could see this!"
Robbie gave Buck a rare, thoughtful response. "He'd be real proud, eh, bro?" His watery eyes trembled. "But bro, I'm proud, bro."
The nightmarish Aussie surveyed El Amante's mask and its iconography. "A bleeding heart," Deadboy sneered, forming his hand into a claw. "I think it needs more blood!" Tendrils of shadow formed on Deadboy's black-polished fingernails, turning his hand into a claw of cold darkness. He took a swipe at the masked man.
El Amante pivoted back and stepped away with the grace of a dancer. Deadboy went again, and again, earning him a bored 'tsk tsk' from the colorful fighter. He scooped him up by the crotch and threw Deadboy into the canvas without breaking a sweat.
And he wouldn't give him the luxury of getting back onto his feet so quickly either. El Amante yanked Deadboy up by his skull-mask (though his tecnico code prevented him from ripping it off until the match was won). Into position, El Amante pressed his knee into the sensitive part between Deadboy's shoulders, wrapped his hands around his chin, and yanked the zombie stud back into a a cavernaria.
"Oooh," Buck, impressed, said. "Classic lucha libre move right there." He didn't realize he had become an impromptu commentator. It came natural to him, a lover of a the sport. "I think I see what El Amante is going for. Defeating Deadboy with traditional moves."
Deadboy grunted but did not submit.
"You bring people pain because it gives you pleasure," El Amante said, with his mix of brash heroism and gentle cordiality--even whilst trying to seperate a man's shoulder blades from his body. "I bring them pain because it gives them pleasure. Here. Looks like you need a taste."
El Amante's eyes glowed a soft pink, and the sinister lighting over the arena became a gentle, rosy haze.
For a moment, Deadboy's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he began drooling like a hound getting his belly rubbed. "Fuckin'...oath."
"Hehe. You like it?" El Amante dug in further with his knee, pulling Deadboy's neck back slower. "The goal is not to crank on the move, but go slow. Pain and pleasure light up similar parts of the brain. Eventually, the sensory overload will make you pass out...in a way that may be embarrassing to you, calaverito. You should save yourself the trouble and give, and then I can kiss you all over when that mask is off."
"Blegh!" Deadbopy spat, snapping out of it. His eyes grew dark, solid black, and the gentle aura around the ring faded. "You're gonna' give me diabetes, sugar skull. You want some traditional moves? I'll show you how we do it down under!"
El Amante didn't notice the conjured up, dark fist behind his back, until the last second. He tried to dodge, but it whapped him on the cheek, knocking him sideways and forcing him to break the hold.
Deadboy snapped up and struck El Amante in the chin. While he was dazed, he jumped up to the top rope with a vampiric, fluid motion, perching on top of the chord like a dark carrion bird. With no time for snark (what a pity) Deadboy jumped into the air and aimed his steel-toed boots right for El Amante's face.
The luchador dodged by a fraction of an inch, his skull nearly knocked off by what would have been a match-ending manoeuvre. Deadboy landed on his feet, shaking the ring and no worse for wear, but he had left himself open.
Forget defeating him with classic techniques, El Amante thought, leaping onto his opponent, I gotta' put this sick dog down quick!"
El Amante went for a simple, but effective, sitting arm bar. Deadboy's pale, skeletal arm, knotted with muscles, bent behind his back. El Amante's long, luscious hair stuck to his pectorals, now slick with sweat. He put the hold on tighter. There would be no nice, 'romance' for Deadboy now. Only pain.
"If you do not tap, then I am afraid I may have to break your arm," El Amante said, annoyed. "But don't worry. I'll fix it after." Though he may have to fill out an incident report. Dios mio, is that ethical if I'm the one who caused the injury!? I'll have to check the manual when I get back.
Instead of crying out in pain from his arm second from being snapped off, Deadboy cackled maniaclly, filling the air with sharp laughter, and making his entranced zombie co-workers at ringside bristle. "Do it, you masked clown!"
"Tch." El Amante looked down and bit his lip. He could. He'd done it before. But...
"Heh, I fuckin' knew it. Because you're weak, possum! Fine. I'll do it myself."
CRACK
Smiling all the while, Deadboy jerked back and didn't just fracture his own arm, but broke it off cleanly, wrenching it from from a shocked and horrified El Amante in the process.
Buck and Robbie looked at each other once, before turning in seperate directions and spilling their guts all over the graveyard lawn.
"Hahahah! Oh, that tickles," Deadboy said, grinning all the while and watching El Amante draw back in horror. He snapped his own arm back onto his shoulder, healing in rapid time with his dark powers. "See? That's not so bad. Not as bad as what I'm about to do to you."
Deadboy snapped his fingers.
El Amante looked side to side, detecting the sharp spike in magickal energy. From the shadows of the ring corners, four chains of violet-black darkness shot out, wrapping themselves around El Amante's limbs, and binding him to the spot.
"Agh!" He cried out. The chains weren't just impossibly strong, but they burned pain into his chest. El Amante bent forward, his hair dangling pendulously in front of his face. He tugged on the chains, his muscles bulging, sweat pouring off his body in drops of dew. Nothing worked. He was bound.
"This is what I like to see," Deadboy said, biting his lip. He drew closer to El Amante, stabbing his finger into his opponent's chin and lifting up his head to look at him. "All that meat-head muscle, and still....so helpless. I think I'll take my time as I remove your mask, cutie. And then, I'm gonna cut a nice long gash into your pretty face. Give you a NEW, better mask! A crimson one! HAHAHAHAAHAHA!"
El Amante glared at him. "Poor Deadboy."
"Huh? WHAT!? Don't try that hero shit, mate. I know you're scared. Just like you can detect all those sickly sweet vibes, I can smell fear. You're quaking in that little thong of yours."
"Scared? Oh, yes. For you. You hurt yourself just to hurt others." El Amante looked to his glassy-eyed coworkers, some of who he had trained, all of whom he loved, slumped at the side of the ring. "You do all of this. Why?"
Deadboy shivered. "B-because it's fun!"
"I see it, chico. A lonely childhood. Just like mine. Scared. You've been scared all your life. So, you fight back by trying to be more terrifying. You fear people will hurt you, or leave you, so you enslave them with your dark magick. Your loss to White Tiger must have really been the last straw, eh? Imagine, going from champion to disgraced. Completely loved for all your wickedness, to being bound and having your gear taken as trophy by a hero."
The temperature in the arena suddenly dropped. The clouds in the sky draped themselves over the moon, casting the already dark arena into deeper darkness. Deadboy's head drooped, his face hidden further beneath his mask. Without noise, more chains and tendrils of darkness sprouted from the ring, the Earth. The zombies of the GSA moaned and shuddered, drawing back.
Behind them, peering from around a mausoleum, the demon Brax, Deadboy's tag partner, growled low. "Not...again," he said. "I will...have to....intervene." The hulking beast stepped forward, ready to enter the fray and disrupt the match (for all their sakes), but a chain of darkness shot out from beneath his clawed foot, grabbing him by the ankle.
"GRRRR!" Eyes red, Brax looked towards the ring and shouted. "LACHLAN! STOP THIS MADNESS."
"...Stop..." Daemian said, softly. A green glow appeared in his eyes. Then, the smile, manic and raw. "STOP!? YOU WANT ME TO STOP? WE'RE NOT GONNA STOP! WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED! HAHAHAHAHAHA! SCARED!? I'LL SHOW YOU ALL WHAT SCARED LOOKS LIKE!!" Heaving like a beast from the underworld, and head bent backwards, Daemian made a motion with his hands. "I...bring...HELL."
With hollowing, echoing words, Deadboy incanted the spell muttered by the Alchemist in the dank catacombs.
"P̶͖͉͠à̵̳̮ř̶͖̮g̴̋͗ͅo̴̢̡̚͝n̴̰͚͑͒ ̷̙͐t̸̨̧̾͊í̶̡͖̃e̶̡͘ř̸͇̗͘ ̵̯̠̀̾ă̴̜r̶̨̳̾e̵̠͑̑t̷̨͇͝e̶̫̿͠k̶̟̈!̴͈̠̋̓"
The ground beneath the ring trembled. Deadboy's zombies moaned in anguish. El Amante, whose binds had not tightened, but remained fastened, tried to break free again. Nothing. He locked eyes with Deadboy. He would show no fear.
The soil in front of the faded and eroded tombstones fell away. Dirty, skeletal hands, burst out from the ground.
Buck jumped out of his eat, looking to Robbie. "Shit, what's going on?"
The hunky Canadian tried to make sense of the surroundings. "T-this is evil. Pure, dark magic." He gulped. "Necromancy, bro!"
The dead, in droves, crawled from their graves. Some of them still wore their funeral attire. The older of their lot were nothing but bones, their clothing long since rotted away. From their hollow orbitals, a sinister green glow sprouted, and cast the arena in an evil light.
Deadboy beckoned to his army of darkness. Bones rattled, coming closer to the arena. Buck and Robbie cowered, hugging each other for security.
"Bucky," Robbie panicked, "It's bones."
"Behold, youse cunts," Deadboy proclaimed, hands stretching out towards his 'children'. "My army of darkness. I was just going to bloody you up, El Amante. But look what you made me do? I'm going to have my army of the dead RIP you to shreds and feast on that hunky body of yours! Right in front of the eyes of your helpless coworkers. And then? I'm gonna do the same to White Tiger, and THEN Firebird! I'll be the champion of the damn world, and I will turn into my own hellscape!"
"Hehehe."
"Huh?" Deadboy's eyes shifted back to normal. He blinked. "WHAT? You're...laughing? You're not honestly laughing, are you? Didn't you just hear what I was about to bloody do?"
El Amante smiled. "Oh, little Lachie. You make the dead your playthings. But they are not puppets. They are people. And they are loved."
Around the ring, the skeletons suddenly froze in their tracks.
Deadboy looked around, wildly, tearing at his own mask. "What?!"
"Your birthday is over, Daemian. It's now Día De Los Muertos. The day when the dead come back...not to harm, but to celebrate!"
The green glow from the skeletons faded. Instead of drawing closer, the masses of the dead stopped at ringside. The air filled with a rattling, percussive sound.
Buck looked around. "What's...They're...clapping? Robbie, they're applauding."
"Silly Deadboy. You didn't raise an army. You gave us a crowd!"
Now, it was time for Deadboy to be afraid. Mouth agape, he put his back against the ropes. But there was nowhere for him to run. He was surrounded. Without fear to wield against others, he lost control on his magick.
El Amante grunted, and flexed, his muscles tearing through the chains as if they were made of smoke. He brushed his shoulders and tossed back his hair, giving Buck and Robbie a flirty wink.
"Ohhh," the two spectators sighed in unisons, falling back into their chairs. "He's sooooo dreamy."
"These treats and tricks of yours might scare other people, Lachlan. But I am not 'people'." The big stud smiled. "For I am the god of love!" He flashed another grin at the crowd. "Tricks and treats. Because it was just Halloween. Get it?"
Deadboy was beside himself. But he wasn't done yet. "Grrr! There IS no Aztec god of love!" With his dark powers dampered from the ego blow, he would have to rely on his skill now. He charged forward.
"There is NOW!" El Amante shouted, running the ropes and bouncing off for momentum. "And for your information, I'm Mayan." He jumped, catching Deadboy by the neck. "And YOU are history." With his thighs around Deadboy's beck, he flipped the main over in the air, and slammed him down, headfirst, into the mat, with a flawless and elegant hurricanrana.
Deadboy's skull was rocked. "Unnnnnggg..." he moaned, just like one of his zombies.
"This is it!" Buck said. "He's gonna do his finisher. I used to play this one back on tape all the time." He blushed. "It was totally my awakening."
El Amante didn't have to worry about Deadboy getting up after that. Still, he needed to be put down. El Amante, smiling warmly, leaned down and positioned himself against Deadboy, hosting him up to face him. He looked lovingly into his eyes, still darting around post-concussive strike.
"Time to end this nightmare. Only sweet dreams for you..."
Smooch.
The masked hunk grabbed Deadboy around the neck in a reverse nelson, practically driving the defeated heel's chin into his sternum. As Deadboy grunted and moaned, El Amante slide his hand down and compressed his hands around Deadboy's carotid artery, depriving his head oxygenhelped, of course, by the suffocating and relentless kiss the masked fighter piled onto him.
"Mmmnggg!" Deadboy struggled and wined, his eyes watering. His seizing eventually ceased, and he fell forward, limp, and drooling.
El Amante wiped his mouth and let Deadboy's hands drop slowly. "Uno...dos...tres! That is it! LOVE WINS!"
The skeletons and zombies at ringside applauded El Amante, who did a little dance for the crowd. Meanwhile, the GSA team snapped out of their zombie state. The enchantment was shattered.
Spike, chained to the post still, blinked. "Huh?" He looked down at himself. The chain. The leather thong. He smiled. "Looks like I had a fun night. What's going on?" He glanced over at the strange, skinny audience. "Wow, those are some awesome Halloween outfits! I didn't know we were set to have a home Halloween match. The last thing I remember was..." He noticed El Amante flexing over Deadboy. "Victor? And...who's the dummy in the skeleton mask. No. WAIT!? DEADBOY!?"
"It WAS Deadboy," El Amante laughed, hands on hips, tapping the drooling, white-eyed and unconscious fiend with the front of his shoe. "I don't think he'll be doing any spellbreaking matches for awhile. Though, perhaps he will change his ways."
The skeletons slunk back into their earthly abodes, happy to have seen such an exciting match. Unseen, but perhaps present, the spirits of the dead enjoyed their return to the world of the living, leaving the once-ensorcelled spellbreakers standing around the ring more than a little bit confused.
"Now..." El Amante leaned forward and grabbed at Deadboy's mask, peeling it off of him in strips of cheap fabric. "Wow, that craftsmanship on this is shoddy. I will have to take you to my guy in Juarez if you ever want to do this againe. You have much to learn before you can become a real, masked spellbreaker, little boy."
Deadboy's head lolled out of the torn mask and onto the canvas, revealing the handsome, pale, slumbering face of a hardly intimidating punk with messy, black hair.
"I like you better this way," El Amante said, ruffling his defeated opponent's head. "You look sweeter and you don't cause trouble. Now, let me give you a wakeup kiss." And let's see what we can do to make you a bit more happier...for all our sakes.
El Amante straddled Daemian and leaned in for a long kiss, pumping him full of good energy. The two beefcakes took on a pink aura.
Deadboy's eyes fluttered open. Stripped of his dark designs, he looked remarkably innocent. "Fuck, mate, I just had the best nap of my...huh?" He spat. "Ew! Himbo drool."
El Amante reeled back, shocked, but not because of his opponent's reaction. He cocked his head to the side, and, making sure nobody could read his lips, whispered to Daemian. "So, White Tiger. All for him?"
The cockiness and mania in Deadboy's eyes faded. He looked away, pouting. "Please...don't say anything."
"Cariño, your secret is safe with me."El Amante smiled, and kissed Deadboy's bare cheek. "We can talk about it later, stud."
"Blegh! No we won't." Deadboy tried to push the big man off him, but it was like trying to get out from beneath a ton of bricks. "Get your sweaty hands....Ooohhh. Fuck."
El Amante had placed his palms to Deadboy's bare chest, injecting him with a heavy dose of love venom. Deadboy's brain burst with endorphins and positive energy.
"There we go!" El Amante. "Just relax, Deadboy. I know what you need." He winked. "A bit of love."
To Be Continued!
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