Afro's Fed (Gladiator update)

[Ringsyde]

Since I'm a school teacher with very little time to play during the school year, I tend to have a series of story arcs leading to a huge summer event every year. This year is no exception; in fact, this may be the biggest story arc I've ever done. Let me know what you think and if you're interested in hearing more.

Several months ago, I posted a few fed updates (I'm not a big fan of regularly posting updates because I'm not convinced that people are all that interested in what I happen to be doing with the dice, and I stray so far away from what Tom et al write that my feds may confuse the loyal GWF'er). One of those included news about Thunder, Overkill, Malice and Brute leaving the GWF (Overkill & Malice were the tag champs at the time) because someone destroyed the planet Aethra. Paralyze, Rage and Havoc replaced them in the GWF, and their excuses ranged from "this fed ALWAYS needs a Gladiator police force" to "We aren't well liked on Aethra (which they aren't in my history), so we're not about to cosmos-hop to find an enemy who may have done us a big favor".

Ever since I made the decision to destroy Aethra, I wondered how I would explain the arrival of new Gladiators and resolve the issue of these three boneheads sticking around. My extensive background in sci-fi provided me with an answer to the first problem. Aethrans could easily be perceived as a nomadic warrior race that sacks entire planets and claims them as part of Aethra. Thunder and others have done just that in my fed storyline; they've found a new star to overtake and re-christen Aethra (no, we're not naming it New Aethra, Aethra II or any other sequel-suggesting names . . . . yet). Brute,Mayhem, Overkill and Malice have sworn to train the next generations of Aethran warriors, and Spike will lead the Aethran people into the new world as they prepare to identify and destroy the genocidal culprits (whose race(s) is represented in the GWF).

But what of Thunder?

Enter the color Thunder Card. Thunder's always been one of my favorites, and this card will be my excuse to bring him back to the GWF - with the goal of leading the other new Gladiators (from 2124) into battle with Paralyze and his Aethran faction and the suspects who may be aligned with the destroyers of Aethra. The list includes Animen, American Guy, "The Fallen Aethran" (another mystery in my fed), and even Iron Hand himself. The Demon of Brymstone (I wrote a horror story about how Blazing Skull is the end result of the spirit of an undead, evil child who hunted and ate travelers to Brymstone - including an Aethran warlord) has also been implicated.

The answer will be brutally revealed throughout the summer.

[Avarice]

Wow, this is truly a unique spin off of the regular path, but I am interested. I love it when people really do a twisted version of the GWF in their own minds, just like this. I hope you do go forward with it and do post it for our reading, I'd love to see it. Thanks for sharing this, it sounds awesome already.

[Ringsyde]

After nearly a year of running roughshod over the GWF, Encubus completes his dominance by submitting GWF champion and legend, Wolf with the MASTERLOCK

His post-match celebration starts off well enough. Surrounded by his manager/mother, his tag team champion associates the Penthouse Punks, Sly Drury (the enforcer) and the mysterious and gracious Commissioner Iron Hand (accompanied by his new signee, Godsend), Encubus revels in the glory of having defeated the man who once ended his father's championship reign and who later retired Thantos.

His celebration is briefly interrupted when his brother Bloodline enters the ring. Having lost the Intergalactic title to Endgame earlier on the same card, Bloodline is immediately cast out of the group (Superiority Inc.), and beaten mercilessly by the tag champs and Godsend as Encubus looks on.

The violently bloody beating is abruptly stopped by an explosion and gunfire. At the top of the ramp stands four Aethran foot soldiers. Above them, the giant Galactitron Monitor flickers to life. It's GWF legend and former champion, Thunder. Flanked by a young Aethran warrior and a masked Aethran giant, Thunder moves forward and begins to speak:

"How appropriate that this collection stands in the ring celebrating their rise to power and the fall of an Aethran loyal. As your fallen former comrade shows, you know not the power and benfit of loyalty, and this will serve as your undoing. Already, you have turned on one brother, and you have allowed another to gain closeness - and that one has doomed you all."

Thunder leans closer to the monitor. "Pity that one among you is responsible for planning the destruction of Aethra."

The crowd audibly conveys their shock as Encubus and the Punks look on in fear, Drury stares in disgust at the others in the ring, Iron Hand stands invariably stone stiff and Godsend smiles.

"Because we are warriors, we are powerful and resourceful. Even as I speak to you our surviving culture and remaining armies are paving the way for a new Aethran age. So efficient have they been in their success that I am no longer needed to command troops. I will, however, honor my promise to avenge this act of war by spilling the blood of the offenders, and I intend to do that by starting with the one person who had the most to gain from planning the destruction of our world."

Thunder leans forward into the camera, the look on his face sends cold fear through virtually every attendant at the sold-out arena.

"Each of you claims superiority, and one of you attempted superiority over the greatest fighting force in the history of the universe. You will soon know just what superiority is. Thunder is coming back to the GWF - not for titles or for wrestling supremacy, but for cold, unconditional revenge. I will not come alone, and I will not be stopped. EVERY AETHRAN will stand together. Let the Aethran who does not join this cause know that his fate is the same as our attacker's, and let those who have dared to challenge Aethra feel the awesome might of the new Gladiator resolve."

The Galactitron sparks and crackles, then it explodes. The Aethran foot soldiers exit the arena, and for long minutes afterwards the hissing sound of electrical fire is the only thing that can be heard in the packed-to-capacity arena.

[Ringsyde]

Fearing an intensifying war with potentially two camps of Aethrans, Malkuth, the White Lion of Andromeda has attempted to fortify the new Animen by forming a working alliance with hated foe, Hanuman. The latter's presence has caused more than a bit of concern in the camp. His legacy in the GWF includes ending the career of Vigilante (an Animan ally in his last few years of action), bringing the Animen's hated adversary the Bounty Hunter back to the GWF and joining Dr. Barnabus and the Beastmen (Hadrion and Nero) in their attempts to crush this group of Animen.

Malkuth has explained to the others that while he teams with Panther Warrior to challenge the Punks for the tag belts, Swarm and Ram are woefully outnumbered against the Aethrans. Further, Badger's decision not to come out of retirement and Wolf's refusal to join either side of this war (for the umpteenth time) left him no choice but to recruit the simian powerhouse. Plus, the timing was just right; Hanuman had fallen out of favor with his own team when Bounty Hunter moved Kill Prey ahead of him in the singles titles hunt, and he sees a decisive string of victories over the fabled toughest competitors in the galaxy as a way of reclaiming a place in the Universal Championship line.

More than a little skeptical about the addition of the one time most hated man in the GWF, Swarm warns, "He'll turn on us - screw us all the first chance he gets."

"You got that right, bug." replied Hanuman. "I'm here to crush Aethrans, and I personally don't care what happens to the Animen or Andromeda five seconds after the Aethran menace is over. Until that day comes, rest easy knowing that as long as the Gladiators - and recently Encubus' Superiority Inc - have a target on your backs, I'll be the best weapon you got."

The always humble and unquestionably dedicated Son of Ram often serves as moderator between Swarm and Hanuman. While he wants the same harmony with this group that led the original Animen to the top of the GWF so many years ago, he can't help but think that Malkuth's deal will ultimately lead to a split or worse. Even more unsettling are the rumors that GWF commissioner Iron Hand has planted spies in each of the major GWF factions with the plan of either monitoring or disrupting all of them in an attempt to gain total control of a fed growing more suspicious of him with each day. What if the war of words is a sign that Hanuman -or Swarm - is the infidel?

[Avarice]

Awesome...an animen/aethran civil uprising could be in the works and I love it. I enjoy very much how you use your dialogue and describe stuff making it very surreal. You're doing a great job, keep it up. For more great action, check out my GWF: FUSION fed where I have Disaster feuding with Paralyze and Rage going against Havoc.

[Ringsyde]

Jul 2, 2009 20:08:30 GMT -5 Avarice said:

Awesome...an animen/aethran civil uprising could be in the works and I love it. I enjoy very much how you use your dialogue and describe stuff making it very surreal. You're doing a great job, keep it up. For more great action, check out my GWF: FUSION fed where I have Disaster feuding with Paralyze and Rage going against Havoc.

Will do, Avarice. And thanks for the compliments.