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Post by vx on Feb 19, 2015 7:32:27 GMT -5
What had I gotten myself into?
As I listened to the entire tale, I couldn’t help but thing how easy my grandfather had it when he was running VX Promotions during the early GWF years. Sure, he had to deal with some unscrupulous characters. Thantos. Chaos. Thakur. He still had nightmares about what happened to Crossfire even though that occurred during a non-VX Promotions sanctioned match. Dreadnaught.
But this. This was so insane that it was nothing like he had ever seen in all his time as a wrestling promoter.
“Okay,” I said as to make sure I had it all down. “You want me to take this Essence thing, put it into championship belts, and then let you fight over these Essence belts with the fate of Centra at stake? Have you all lost your minds?”
Lance At-Las tried to give me a consoling pat on the shoulder. “You got to trust us. You have to trust me.”
I just stared at Lance. “Come on, man! That one dude has freaking zombies on his team! Seriously!”
Lance sighed. “I know. One of them was my friend.”
“I don’t like this at all. That Murdok can not be trusted to abide by the conditions of battle in the ring. And what of this Paganax thing. This is really, really bad.”
Lance nodded. “This is the way. The loss of life any other way would be far too great.”
I looked at the one-time GWF hero. “You know I can’t play favorites. If I do this and the wrong people … people…funny….if they win the belts, then we’re all going to regret this.”
Lance looked at the rest of his team. “We’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
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Post by Eliath on Feb 19, 2015 8:02:26 GMT -5
I'm looking forward to another take on the aCe.
Love the lead in - hopefully the dice deliver you a payoff.
Good luck with this project!
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Post by vx on Feb 19, 2015 8:28:52 GMT -5
I'm looking forward to another take on the aCe. Love the lead in - hopefully the dice deliver you a payoff. Good luck with this project! Thanks. I have had the ACE set online for a while but could never really find a way to begin it. Started looking into it again when I saw others using guys like Paganax, Jakyll, Krypt and others in their feds and revisited the characters and finally started putting together the idea of an independent party running the show. Hopefully, as you say, the dice will be kind and give me some good stories to tell. |
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Post by Pariah on Feb 19, 2015 9:34:19 GMT -5
If your other feds are any indication of what's to come, it's going to be a very fun ride!
Great start and good luck!
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Post by vx on Feb 21, 2015 7:25:26 GMT -5
ACE 2119 CARD #1
So, this was what The Essence was all about.
I held each championship belt up one at a time and could feel the Essence flow into every pore of my body. That was some overwhelming power rushing through my veins and into the very core of my being.
It was quite tempting to say the hell with it and keep The Essence for myself.
But I declined.
Not from some sense of duty or nobility. No. I declined out of self-preservation. These people and unpeople had killed before for this Essence and there was no doubt in my mind that they would kill again. I was not ready to go visit Vallah just yet.
I brought The Four together. Yeah, that was a very uncomfortable situation.
“This is how it is going to go down and none of you even try and pull some garbage on me or the deal is off and I will let you destroy your little universe. You four will compete in a tournament and the winner will be the ACE Essence Heavyweight Champion. You will also each choose one tag team to represent you in the ACE Essence Tag Team Championship Tournament.”
Aegis chose Scorch and Shepard as his tag team.
Nicodemus picked Flatliner and Warfare.
Murdok decided on Corporal Tek and Cremator.
And Paganax assigned Krypt and Jakyll.
“Very well,” I said. “The tournaments will start now!”
Murdok smirked and said to Aegis, “I hope I draw you tonight. I have something very special in store for you!”
Later that night, I stood in the ring, the first round draws in my hand.
“The first match of the ACE Essence Tag Team Championship Tournament will be between Darkness Falls and The SWAT Team!” And then I headed out of the ring but not before telling the referee, “unless absolutely necessary, do not call for a disqualification. Let them fight it out!”
ACE ESSENCE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
FIRST ROUND MATCH
DARKNESS FALLS VS THE SWAT TEAM
Flatliner gave Krypt a dose of SHOCK AND AWE and went for the cover and scored a 2 count. Darkness Falls came back with the KILLER INSTINCT on Flatliner and Jakyll made the cover but Warfare made the save. The Ravager team fought back and Flatliner gave Krypt another dose of SHOCK AND AWE and Jakyll had to make the save. Warfare tagged in and hit Krypt with a running spear takedown and went for the cover but only got a 1 count. Warfare would score a 2 count on Krypt with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Flatliner tagged in and hit a deathjump on Krypt for a 2 count. Warfare tagged in and hit a guillotine leg drop on Krypt and Jakyll made another save. The ref put Jakyll back in the corner as the SWAT Team gave Krypt a Double Ravager Spinebuster. Warfare then made the cover and the ref counted 1-2-3 shoulder up no it is a 3 count! And The SWAT Team had qualified for the championship match!
WINNERS OF THE MATCH: THE SWAT TEAM
Nicodemus was out to congratulate his team. Jakyll and Krypt disappeared with Paganax.
“He’s going to be even harder to beat,” Nicodemus said as I announced the next two teams.
What happened next very nearly derailed the entire affair.
As Murdok led Resurrection to the ring, he then announced that his team would have a second in their corner.
“And her name is Trisis, Queen of the Damned!”
As Trisis sort of walked towards the ring, Aegis could be heard screaming! “What have you done? You ….”
The words Aegis used to describe Murdok, who just laughed as he went back to his team’s tunnel, can not be written down here due to the laws that ban obscene vulgar profanity. But, we will say that there were things said that would have made an Aethran blush.
RESURRECTION W/TRISIS VS THE SPECIALISTS
Shepard hit Corporal Tek with the Nomad Knee Drop and scored a 1 count. Scorch tagged in and The Specialists went SPECIAL FORCES on Corporal Tek and Scorch covered to score a 1 count. Later, it was Cremator who felt the SPECIAL FORCES and Scorched made the cover and just missed scoring the 3 count. Cremator came back with skull knockers on Scorch and surprised everyone with a cover and 3 count as Corporal Tek cut off Shepard.
WINNERS OF THE MATCH: RESURRECTION
Murdok was in the ring and embraced Trisis and Aegis broke free and rushed the ring.
“Ageis, stop!” I quickly got into the ring and held up my hand.
“Give me Murdok, right now! We’re both in the tournament! Right now!”
“No, Aegis.” I shook my head. “The seedings have already been drawn and I will not play favorites for anybody.”
“He infected my wife!” Aegis was in tears at this point. He was already beaten before his match began. Murdok had struck a low blow and it had been the most effective blow of the tournament.
“Aegis, your match is next and your opponent is Paganax.”
AEGIS VS PAGANAX
(Paganax begins this match with a pin rating of 6(3))
Paganax gets a 2 count with the Face Smothering. The PAGAN VOID is only good enough for a 1 count. A Face Smothering on the floor outside the ring and Aegis has to beat the countout and get back into the ring. The Primal Scream scores another 2 count on Aegis. A bearhung backbreaker very nearly ends it but Aegis stays in the match. A guillotine lariat and cover but a determined Aegis kicks out at 1. Paganax follows up with a face-lock slam and cover and gets the 3 count.
WINNERS OF THE MATCH: PAGANAX
Paganax walked back to the Tribes tunnel while the Ramparts came out to help Aegis.
“It’s disgusting,” Lance At-Las said. “How can that be allowed to happen?”
I shrugged. “That did not happen in the ring. That’s out of my control.”
The look on his face told me he did not like that attitude. Tough!
“I told you, Lance. No favoritism!”
“Your grandfather would have…”
“What, Lance? What would he have done? I’ll tell you what he would have done! Everybody! See those cameras there? All this is being recorded and will be mass distributed and sold to the highest holonet bidder!”
“You slimy disgusting….”
“I never wanted this but, since you called me, I’ll be glad to make money off of you fools destroying your end of the universe! Nicodemus and Murdok! You’re next!”
NICODEMUS VS MURDOK W/TRISIS
Nicodemus scored a 1 count with the Fusion Bomb and a 2 count with the Commander Clothesline. Nicodemus got the +1 NUCLEAR WINTER and had the win but Trisis made the distraction. Another +1 NUCLEAR WINTER but Trisis grabbed Nicodemus’ arm and bit him. Nicodemus shook it off and nailed Murdok with a savatte kick and got the 3 count.
WINNER OF THE MATCH: NICODEMUS
Nicodemus glared at me while his hand was raised. I walked into the ring with the ACE Essence Tag Team Championship belts in my possession and announced the participants of the next match.
ACE ESSENCE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
RESURRECTION W/TRISIS VS THE SWAT TEAM
Murdok is this close to having the Essence Tag Champs as Flatliner barely kicks out before 3 following the ANTILIAN RUINS. Cremator gets a 2 count on Flatliner with a face lock suplex. Flatliner comes back with the SHOCK AND AWE on Corporal Tek for a 2 count. Tek rallies with a pump handle slam and cover on Flatliner but Warfare makes the save. Another SHOCK AND AWE from Flatliner gets a 1 count on Tek. Flatliner gives Tek another taste of SHOCK AND AWE but Cremator comes in and locks Flatliner in the Straightjacket Hold which could have caused a disqualification but the ref instead let the match go and Tek gave Flatliner the CORPORAL PUNISHMENT but Warfare came in for the save. The ref put Warfare back in the corner and the zombie team gave Flatliner a double elbow drop and Tek made the cover for the 1-2-3.
WINNERS OF THE MATCH AND INAUGURAL ACE ESSENCE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: RESURRECTION
Murdok rushed to the ring and grabbed the ACE Essence Tag Team Title belts from my hand.
“The Essence! It’s mine!”
I yanked the belts back from him and was quickly surrounded by zombies.
“These are the property of Corporal Tek and Cremator,” I said and then strapped them around the new tag team champions’ waists. “If anyone else on your team tries to use the Essence, Resurrection will be stripped of the titles and the belts will be awarded to the SWAT Team!”
Murdok snarled. “This isn’t over! You are making a big mistake!”
One thing for sure. I wasn’t making any friends in ACE.
ACE ESSENCE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
NICODEMUS VS PAGANAX
(Paganx begins the match with a pin rating of 6(3))
Nicodemus went for a deathjump but Paganax caught him in the air and powerslammed him but barely even scored a 1 count. Paganax followed up with the PAGAN VOID and scored the 3 count.
WINNER OF THE MATCH AND INAUGURAL ACE ESSENCE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: PAGANAX
Paganax stood still in the ring and allowed me to wrap the ACE Essence Galaxian Heavyweight Championship belt around his waist as his followers all gathered in the ring and bowed at his feet. Slowly the rest of the teams began to go their separate ways, emptying the arena. The Tribes of Primus were the last to leave. Eerily silent considering they had scored the biggest triumph of the night.
Leaving me alone.
But not so alone.
“When do I make my presence known?” the voice asked me.
“Not yet,” I said. “Let them weaken each other first.”
“One of them is going to make me an offer, you know,” he said.
“And? Don’t you see what they have done? It doesn’t matter anymore! I own the Essence. I control it! I am the one who determines who wins this war!”
I laughed at the empty arena as I turned out the final light.
“This is going to be fun!”
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Post by Pariah on Feb 21, 2015 13:14:26 GMT -5
Your unique take in the saga of the Essence is completely brilliant thus far... Loving the first person perspective... Very vivid!
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Post by vx on Feb 22, 2015 7:19:01 GMT -5
The Ramparts and Ravagers were regretting getting me involved in their war.
So sad.
Their war was making for great holovision programming and if they didn’t like it then we could shit the whole thing down and let Paganax and Murdok have their share of the Essence and be done with it.
Nicodemus and Aegis were the two who were my biggest headaches.
Nicodemus wanted a rematch. I didn’t know if he should get one. Paganax had kicked his butt. Would it really make for good holovision programming to allow that to happen again?
Aegis was a different problem. Sure, the drama over his wife would be great for ratings but he had been a shell of himself in his match against Paganax. Him getting squashed by Murdok because his mind was all messed up would kill ratings.
Viewers needed to see the hero win this battle. I could not trust Aegis to do that at this time.
“You realize you are playing with fire, right?”
The executive committee of VX Promotions had decided to send me an advisory board to assist with this ACE mess. Of course, being how VX Promotions was still a family business, I got to pick my top advisors to join me.
Pariah was, as always, eager to get involved with the project and ready to follow along for the ride. Eliath was more subdued and intrigued but acted more as the voice of reason. They were the perfect complementary pair of advisors to draw inspiration from.
“Eliath, my friend, we have been playing with fire since the day Lance At-Las called. That’s the fun part!”
“Do you really trust Murdok to uphold the treaty and only do battle inside the ACE?”
“In a word…no. You already saw what he did to Trisis. But, that we can’t solve. We can only regulate what goes on inside the ACE. If they kill each other outside the ring, well, we can only hope our cameras catch it so we can make money off of it.”
“So, what should we do from here?” Pariah was ready to book the next fight card.
“What I was thinking is this. First, we stick to At-Las.”
“What? Why? How?”
“Listen,” I said. “He brought us in here and now he is whining about how we are running the show. So, we let him watch his old buddy Noxious face Grovel. Also, we stick it to Nicodemus by feeding poor Rouser to Murdok.”
“Ouch!”
“I’m not done!” Yeah, I was ticked off. The Ramparts and Ravagers were acting like they were supposed to get better treatment because they were the alleged good guys in this war. I had told them from the beginning that there would be no preferential treatment given to them and now it was time to hammer that point home.
“We’re going to make the Ramparts and Ravagers face each other as well.”
Eliath raised an eyebrow and then nodded. “I like it. What do you have in mind?”
“Tag team match. The Specialists against Mass Destruction.”
“But who will the fans cheer for?” Pariah asked.
“Who cares? The point is to make sure that we keep the two factions from becoming one.”
“But what about title matches?” Eliath asked.
“No title matches on this card. But I do have an idea for a main event. A nontitle match involving Nicodemus.”
“Against Paganax?”
“No.” I grinned wickedly. “Against Corporal Tek and Cremator. And his partner will be Nemean.”
“Oh, he is not going to like that.”
“Good!”
So the first post-tournament fight card was set. But, for counting purposes it was actually fight card #2.
ACE FIGHT CARD #2
NOXIOUS VS GROVEL
THE SPECIALISTS VS MASS DESTRUCTION
MURDOK VS ROUSER
GENERAL RANKOR VS FLATLINER
RESURRECTION VS NICODEMUS AND NEMEAN
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Post by Eliath on Feb 22, 2015 11:27:01 GMT -5
I agree with Pariah on his opinion - your take on things is completely brilliant. The first person perspective of things really puts the reader into the action. So far, I am enthralled by this show. The ending was incredible - I think I know what is going on, but truly have no idea what is in store. Great storytelling sir! Keep up the great work! |
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Post by Pariah on Feb 22, 2015 11:51:12 GMT -5
Superb introduction for the next card... Really like how you're booking the show as a true fight between factions, rather than giving it the typical face vs heel treatment... Don't have a clue what your endgame in all of this might be... And I love it!
Someone did an absolutely AWESOME job picking out your advisors too! Nice work! Haha!
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Post by vx on Feb 23, 2015 18:38:31 GMT -5
I have had this trilogy set for several years but I just never could find my story in it.
Until now.
Reading some of the other feds and seeing the Ravagers and others showing up, I revisited the ACE characters and finally this starting taking shape in my head.
The one thing I did not want to happen, though, is making some overly-used jumped-the-shark heel-as-commissioner angle. My guy is a jerk but he is a jerk to everyone. Hero. Villain. Everyone. And, yes, the 4-way war for the Essence is something that was a stumbling block in the past but something I really like having with this story angle.
Thanks for comments and following. I will have the next segment ready real soon.
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