ANCIENT HUNGERS ISSUE 5
ANCIENT HUNGERS
By: Kevin Tilsner
ISSUE 5:
SUNDAY NIGHT PAY-PER-VIEW
Chapter 1: Sunday’s Broadcast
A security guard stood outside FURY World Wrestling holding a foam chair.
The child in front of him held out both hands.
“It bends.”
“That is what you said about the first one.”
His mother took the chair, folded it in half, and let it spring open.
“It’s a birthday present.”
The guard examined the manufacturer’s tag. Behind the family, the queue stretched past a vendor selling foam horns and another selling flower crowns.
From inside the arena came a howl, a chant, and the first test of the entrance pyro.
The guard handed back the chair.
“Happy birthday. Please don’t demonstrate it on anybody.”
Inside, the east stands bristled with ears, tails, flags, and signs. PACK THE HOUSE hung above a banner reading BULLS ARE BULLIES. Across the arena, Juggalos and Juggalettes shook the west stands with a chant that had begun before the doors opened.
Between the sections, security inspected the barricade.
Someone had tied a bow around its repaired joint.
At the broadcast desk, Violent J leaned toward his microphone.
“Welcome to Sunday Night Pay-Per-View! Three title matches, two very unhappy Bulls, and forty thousand people who have already decided this is somebody else’s building!”
Shaggy 2 Dope adjusted his headset.
“I saw a man bring his own seat.”
“That’s preparation.”
“It was a toilet seat.”
“That’s confidence.”
Kumare Patel sat between them with three monitors, four sharpened pencils, and a running order secured beneath a clear plastic cover.
“Tonight, Bibi Yeongno defends the women’s Tag Team Championships with Blue Heron still hospitalized. Lycaon challenges the Brahma Bull for the Intercontinental Championship. Fenrir challenges Hunter Wentworth for the World Championship.”
“And you challenge your blood pressure,” Shaggy said.
Kumare checked the aisle camera.
“I have already lost the opening round.”
At a smaller station beside the desk, Vedren finished a report from the medical corridor. A producer counted her out with three fingers.
She lowered her microphone.
“No change?” Kumare asked quietly.
“Heron’s watching from the hospital.”
Vedren pulled on a headset and turned toward the entrance.
A scraping sound interrupted them.
Christopher Patriot was dragging a chair across the arena floor. PandaMonium followed with a headset stretched between his ears. Dr. Joe “The Lamb” jogged behind them carrying water bottles.
Christopher wedged his chair beside Kumare.
Kumare watched one of its legs settle over a cable.
“Lift.”
Christopher lifted it.
Kumare freed the cable.
“Now sit.”
“I have managed entrances on three continents.”
“And yet.”
Christopher sat and pulled a microphone toward him.
“As the manager responsible for the women’s tag champions, I believe the audience deserves informed analysis.”
Andy leaned across him.
“He brought himself.”
“I am the architect of their success.”
“He is not an architect.”
“You are on my payroll.”
“I am on the promotion’s payroll.”
“Details are the enemy of momentum.”
The entrance pyro detonated.
Christopher flinched hard enough to knock his chair against Kumare’s.
Andy waited for the last explosion.
“The architect would like someone to warn him before the building explodes.”
J slapped the desk.
“Now we got a broadcast!”
Chapter 2: Bibi’s Handicap Defense
Backstage, the championship committee official moved Lupin Fiasco’s boot off his filing cabinet.
Lupin put it on the floor.
“You have changed the opening contest,” the official said.
“I have added a defense.”
“You have changed the opening contest.”
“Then we agree.”
Lupin turned the paperwork toward him. The United States Championship rested over his shoulder.
“Bibi and Heron hold the women’s tag titles. Heron cannot compete. The Juggalettes are recognized challengers. Bibi has agreed to defend.”
“Two against one.”
“Yum Yum will take her seriously. Sherri knows how to fight beside Yum Yum.”
The official read the page again.
“And this?”
“Provision for a replacement partner.”
“You haven’t named one.”
“Vedren is in the building.”
“She is working.”
“So am I.”
The official removed his glasses.
“Does Vedren know you’re suggesting her?”
“She knows Heron is in the hospital.”
“That was not my question.”
Lupin waited.
The official put his glasses back on.
“Vedren is not entered. If she volunteers, you bring her request to me. She does not become a participant because you point at her.”
“Understood.”
The official signed the match sheet.
Lupin took it.
“I’ll keep you close.”
In the arena, Vedren watched Bibi enter alone.
Both tag championships rested over Bibi’s shoulders. Her red, yellow, and orange gear caught the entrance lights.
She stopped at the foot of the ramp and looked toward the empty space beside her.
Christopher had left the desk to meet her.
He spoke without the megaphone.
“You can still decline.”
Bibi handed him the belts.
“Watch the match.”
“I intend to.”
“All of it.”
He held her gaze.
“All of it.”
Across the ring, Sensational Sherri pointed at the empty corner.
“Where’s your bird?”
Yum Yum pushed her pointing hand down.
Bibi stepped through the ropes.
Christopher passed the championships to the referee and took his place on the floor beside her corner.
At the desk, Kumare checked the approved stipulation.
“One fall. Both challengers may engage throughout the handicap defense. Bibi must pin or submit one of them to retain.”
“Which means she needs eyes in the back of her head,” Shaggy said.
J watched Yum Yum crouch.
“Chris better keep moving.”
J: “There’s the bell. Yum Yum goes straight at her, shoulder into the stomach! Bibi catches her around the body, but Sherri hits from the side before she can turn. Yum Yum hooks behind the knee, and Bibi’s down on one leg.”
Kumare: “They’ve split her attention. Sherri’s staying outside the reach of her free arm.”
J: “They take a wrist each, haul her up, and send her into the ropes. Double shoulder block knocks her flat! Sherri covers. One, two, Bibi throws her off!”
Shaggy: “Yum Yum’s already got the wrist again. They ain’t giving her room to stand.”
Christopher: “KEEP YOUR ELBOW IN! MAKE THEM COME TO YOU!”
J: “Bibi pulls the arm against her chest. Yum Yum circles behind while Sherri comes around the other side.”
Christopher: “SHERRI, LEFT!”
J: “Bibi turns and blocks the forearm, but Yum Yum kicks behind her knee! Down again. Sherri takes her by the hair and pulls her toward the corner.”
Christopher: “REFEREE! THE HAIR!”
Referee: “Release it!”
J: “Sherri opens her hands. Yum Yum puts a boot into Bibi’s stomach while the referee’s talking.”
Kumare: “He can stop the hair pulling. Under this stipulation, he cannot order one challenger out.”
Christopher: “BACK TO THE CORNER! KEEP THEM IN FRONT!”
J: “Bibi catches Sherri’s next kick! She stands with the boot against her hip and turns Sherri sideways. Yum Yum charges.”
Christopher: “RIGHT!”
J: “Bibi lets Sherri go, catches Yum Yum coming past, and brings her over with a snapmare! Yum Yum rolls beneath the ropes to the floor. Bibi finally has one opponent in front of her!”
Shaggy: “Use it before she comes back.”
J: “Sherri grabs her for a suplex. She pulls, but Bibi drops her hips. Sherri tries again.”
Shaggy: “Bad purchase.”
J: “Bibi scoops her up instead! Slam in the center!”
Christopher: “COVER!”
J: “Leg hooked. One, two, Yum Yum slides back in and breaks it!”
Kumare: “That was Bibi’s first clear chance. Yum Yum knew exactly how long she had.”
J: “Bibi gets up with Yum Yum’s wrist, but Sherri catches her across the back. They’ve got her between them again. One arm each, setting for the double suplex.”
Christopher: “BREAK ONE GRIP! PICK ONE!”
J: “Bibi plants her boots. Neither challenger can lift her! She turns into Sherri, pulls her down, and drives a forearm into Yum Yum’s shoulder. Yum Yum staggers to the ropes and comes straight back with a dropkick!”
Shaggy: “Bibi hits the corner. Sherri’s following.”
J: “Knee to the ribs! Bibi’s hands slip from the top rope.”
Christopher: “BIBI! LOOK AT ME! STAY THERE. LET THEM REACH.”
J: “Sherri reaches, and Bibi catches the wrist! She pulls her into the turnbuckles, but Yum Yum gets the waist before Bibi can follow. Sherri recovers, takes the arm, and helps drag her out.”
Christopher: “TURN BACK! BIBI, TURN!”
J: “Yum Yum sweeps the leg! Sherri drops across the shoulders while Yum Yum holds the ankle. One, two, Bibi twists free!”
Shaggy: “She keeps escaping, but they keep making her do it.”
Kumare: “Vedren?”
J: “Her chair’s gone back. She’s standing up.”
Vedren: “That’s all I can stands, an’ I can’t stands no more!”
Shaggy: “Headset’s off.”
J: “Where you going?”
Kumare: “Toward the ring.”
Chapter 3: Vedren Enters and the Champions Prevail
J: “Vedren’s across the floor and sliding inside! The referee gets between her and the Juggalettes.”
Referee: “Hold the match! Timekeeper!”
Kumare: “The action is suspended. Vedren is not an approved participant yet.”
Sherri: “She’s not in this!”
Vedren: “Then put me in.”
J: “She’s standing beside Bibi. Lupin’s at the entrance with the championship official.”
Lupin: “You heard her. She’s volunteering.”
Kumare: “The official’s speaking into his phone. He has the replacement provision.”
Shaggy: “Sherri looks like she wants to eat the form.”
Sherri: “We agreed to a handicap match!”
Referee: “Stay in your corner.”
J: “The official’s lowered the phone. He’s giving the referee a signal.”
Lupin: “Let it ride. It’s legal now.”
Kumare: “Replacement approved. Vedren joins Bibi for this defense. Standard tag conditions from the restart.”
Shaggy: “Somebody found the correct form.”
Referee: “Vedren, are you starting?”
Vedren: “Yes.”
Referee: “Bibi, onto the apron. Yum Yum, you’re legal. Sherri, outside.”
J: “Bibi’s taking the corner. The referee checks her, and she nods. We’re ready.”
Referee: “Ring the bell!”
J: “Sherri rushes Vedren before she’s cleared the ring! Vedren catches her across the upper chest with a spinning kick and sends her back into the turnbuckles!”
Referee: “Sherri! Outside!”
J: “Yum Yum comes from the other side. Vedren ducks, catches the arm, and rolls her through! Shoulders down. One, two, Yum Yum kicks free and comes straight back up!”
Shaggy: “Don’t celebrate. Here she comes.”
J: “Vedren slips the next strike, but Yum Yum cuts her off from Bibi. She drives her toward the ropes. Vedren catches a leg and brings her down, trying to turn it into a hold.”
Kumare: “Yum Yum rolls with her. They’re too close to the bottom rope.”
Referee: “Break!”
J: “Vedren releases and backs away. Yum Yum gets up smiling.”
Shaggy: “Now she knows what she’s working with.”
J: “Bibi has her hand out. Vedren gets there and tags! Yum Yum brings Sherri in, and Bibi meets her in the center.”
Kumare: “Bibi has had a little recovery time. Sherri’s going straight back to the ribs.”
J: “First forearm lands. Bibi catches the second, folds the wrist inward, and takes Sherri toward Vedren.”
Christopher: “GET READY!”
J: “Vedren’s climbing while Bibi keeps the arm. Bibi turns Sherri onto the canvas and makes the tag.”
Kumare: “Vedren is legal. Bibi has five seconds to leave.”
J: “Yum Yum’s moving along the apron! She reaches for Vedren’s ankle, but Vedren jumps outward! Crossbody carries both of them to the floor!”
Shaggy: “They’re down beside the corner.”
Kumare: “The referee is sending Bibi onto the apron. Sherri remains legal inside.”
Christopher: “VEDREN! YOUR CORNER!”
J: “Vedren’s up on an elbow. She grabs the apron and pulls herself onto the edge. Bibi’s reaching down.”
Vedren: “GO!”
J: “Their hands meet! Bibi comes through as Sherri gets up, catches her around the body, and turns her back onto the mat.”
Kumare: “Legal tag. Bibi can make the cover.”
J: “She’s looking toward the turnbuckle instead.”
Christopher: “FEET FIRST. LOOK AT HER.”
Shaggy: “Vedren’s back on the floor. Yum Yum catches her wrist, but Vedren holds on to hers.”
J: “Bibi sets her boots on the top turnbuckle. Sherri’s rising. Bibi waits for her to turn. Now she launches! She turns in the air and opens across Sherri’s chest!”
Kumare: “She lands across the shoulders and reaches straight for the leg.”
J: “THAT’S HERON’S!”
Referee: “One!”
Shaggy: “Yum Yum pulls free!”
Referee: “Two!”
J: “She’s at the apron!”
Referee: “Three!”
J: “THE CHAMPIONS RETAIN! BIBI AND VEDREN HAVE WON IT!”
The bell rang.
Christopher slapped both hands against the canvas.
Bibi stayed beside Sherri until the referee touched her shoulder. Then she sat back and looked toward her corner.
Vedren climbed through the ropes, breathing hard.
At the hospital, Heron sat forward against her pillows.
On the television, the replay showed Bibi setting her boots and waiting for Sherri to turn.
Heron looked down at the bulky dressing around her leg, then back at the screen.
“Got your knees under you,” she murmured.
In the arena, Yum Yum stood on the floor.
Bibi met her eyes.
Yum Yum nodded once.
Bibi returned it.
The referee brought the belts. He handed one to Bibi and the other to Vedren.
Vedren stared at hers.
Bibi rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Thank you.”
Vedren looked up.
“You needed somebody.”
At the desk, Shaggy leaned toward his microphone.
“Does she still have to finish her shift?”
Kumare looked at the empty headset beside him.
“I’ll amend the running order.”
Chapter 4: PandaMonium and the Fall of Brahma
The Brahma Bull entered wearing sunglasses and the Intercontinental Championship.
Twice on the ramp, he looked back toward the entrance.
Lycaon waited in the opposite corner.
Christopher returned to the desk and found Andy holding his megaphone.
He reached for it.
Andy held up one finger.
“Work.”
“Since when?”
The referee raised the championship.
Andy turned toward the ring.
J: “There’s the bell. Brahma drives forward, but Lycaon slips the shoulder block and catches the arm. Wristlock in the center. Brahma’s pulling him toward the corner.”
Kumare: “Lycaon has the leverage. Brahma has enough weight to move them both.”
J: “Brahma tears free and catches him with a clothesline! Lycaon hits hard.”
Andy: “HEY, BRAHMA! TWO HORNS AND STILL NO POINT!”
Shaggy: “He heard that.”
Andy: “THEY CALL YOU PRIME BEEF? YOU’RE A PARTICIPATION STEAK!”
J: “Brahma’s turned toward us. Lycaon’s getting onto one knee behind him.”
Christopher: “Your opponent’s behind you.”
J: “Brahma turns back into a dropkick to the knee! Lycaon follows with a kick to the stomach, but Brahma catches the next one and shoves him away.”
Shaggy: “He heard you too, Chris.”
Christopher: “I was helping.”
J: “Brahma comes swinging. Lycaon ducks beneath the arm and gets clear.”
Andy: “LOOK AT THAT LIP! SOMEBODY GET THE BIG FELLA A JUICE BOX BEFORE HE TURNS INTO CRY-ROAST!”
Kumare: “Brahma has stopped.”
Shaggy: “Andy. He’s looking at you.”
Andy: “I noticed.”
J: “Brahma steps through the ropes. He’s coming toward the desk!”
Kumare: “The count has started.”
Andy: “Your department.”
Christopher: “Why are you handing me this?”
J: “Because Brahma’s right in front of you! Both hands on the desk!”
Christopher: “I want to make clear that I did not say that. That was Andy. He took the megaphone.”
Andy: “You’re doing very well, Christopher. Maintain eye contact.”
Referee: “Five!”
Christopher: “Your championship is currently in a wrestling match.”
Referee: “Six!”
J: “Brahma looks back. Lycaon’s waiting inside.”
Referee: “Seven!”
Kumare: “Please take your hands off the desk.”
J: “Brahma slaps the tabletop! There go Kumare’s pencils. Now he’s turning toward the ring.”
Andy: “THAT’S RIGHT! TAKE YOUR BEEF BACK TO THE KITCHEN!”
Shaggy: “You couldn’t let him go?”
Referee: “Eight!”
J: “Brahma spins around, hears the count, and scrambles beneath the ropes! Lycaon meets him with a forearm and drives him back toward the center.”
Shaggy: “Andy, you keep that up, you’re gonna need a manager and a will.”
Andy: “I have one of those.”
Christopher: “You cannot afford the other.”
J: “Brahma blocks the next forearm and answers with one of his own. He has Lycaon against the ropes now, driving his shoulder into the ribs. Lycaon turns sideways, but Brahma catches him and forces him through to the floor.”
Kumare: “Brahma’s following. The referee has started another count.”
J: “He shoves Lycaon against the apron. Lycaon braces there, but Brahma’s reaching past the timekeeper. He has a chair!”
Referee: “Put it down!”
J: “BRAHMA SWINGS! Lycaon ducks, and the chair hits the ring post!”
Shaggy: “That shook his hands.”
Andy: “HE’S GOT A CHAIR, BUT HE STILL AIN’T GOT A CLUE!”
Referee: “Drop it! Now!”
J: “Brahma throws it aside. He grabs Lycaon and shoves him beneath the ropes, then climbs after him.”
Kumare: “Lycaon’s pulling himself up. Brahma is still looking toward this desk.”
Christopher: “Andy, put the megaphone down.”
Andy: “I have his attention.”
Kumare: “Turn around.”
J: “Brahma turns! LYCAON CATCHES HIM WITH THE RUNNING CUTTER! Face into the canvas! Lycaon rolls him over and hooks the leg!”
Referee: “One! Two! Three!”
J: “NEW INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION! LYCAON HAS BEATEN BRAHMA!”
The bell rang.
Andy set the megaphone gently in front of Christopher.
“Your equipment.”
Christopher looked at Brahma lying on the mat.
“I shall be billing you for its use.”
Lycaon stayed on one knee while the referee brought the championship.
He accepted it, tested its weight in both hands, and stood.
At the entrance, Fenrir struck a fist against his own chest.
Lycaon raised the belt toward him.
“Brahma gave him openings,” Kumare said. “Lycaon still had to stay in the match long enough to use them.”
J looked toward Andy.
“You planning to do that during the World Championship match?”
Christopher moved the megaphone beneath his chair.
“He is not.”
Andy watched him put it away.
“We’ll discuss it at the next commercial.”
Chapter 5: Fuck you, fuck me, fuck us…
During the interval, the broadcast cut to a camera in the loading area.
Kumare stood beside Vermina and a production crate.
At the desk, J leaned toward the monitor.
“There’s our man. Somebody tell him we’re back in three.”
Shaggy pressed a hand against his headset.
“He’s talking to Vermina.”
Christopher reached for his coffee.
“Oh, this will be productive.”
On the screen, Kumare stopped in front of her.
“You pushed Heron.”
Vermina glanced toward the arena doors.
“Friday was two days ago.”
“She’s still in the hospital.”
“I know.”
Shaggy lowered his hand.
“That’s a rough opening.”
“He’s come prepared,” J said. “Let’s see if she answers the question.”
Vermina folded her arms.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Start with why.”
“Because I wanted the match to go a certain way.”
“You could have ended her career.”
“I didn’t.”
“You don’t know that yet.”
Christopher set down his cup.
“Good. Don’t let her walk past that.”
Vermina looked toward the doors.
“I have to get back.”
Kumare stayed where he was.
“I defended you.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
J recoiled.
“OHH! BOOT THROUGH THE BREASTBONE!”
“He wasn’t ready for that,” Shaggy said. “Nobody’s ready for that.”
“You let me,” Kumare said.
J pointed at the monitor.
“HE’S ANSWERING BACK!”
Vermina dropped her arms.
“I cannot have this conversation every time you dislike something I do.”
“Someone’s in a hospital bed.”
“And Bibi won. Everybody got their big moment.”
Andy leaned toward his microphone.
“I would rather get hit with the chair.”
Christopher nodded.
“The chair might apologize.”
Vermina reached for the door handle.
“Are you ending this?” Kumare asked.
She stopped.
J gripped the desk.
“He’s asked for the finish.”
“Are you ending us?”
Vermina looked at him.
She said nothing.
Shaggy rose halfway from his chair.
“SHE’S REACHED INTO HIS CHEST!”
J put both hands on his head.
“SHE’S GOT THE HEART! SOMEBODY STOP THIS!”
Kumare nodded once.
“You could have told me.”
“I am telling you now.”
J struck the desk.
“RIPPED IT CLEAN OUT!” J shouted.
“Onto the concrete!” Shaggy said. “She’s looking him in the face while she does it!”
“REFEREE! THERE’S A WHOLE RELATIONSHIP ON THE FLOOR!”
Andy leaned toward his microphone.
“Somebody get the little spatula.”
Christopher looked at him.
“The what?”
“The little spatula. We can still get most of it.”
Christopher looked toward the producer.
“We have no jurisdiction over this match.”
Kumare stepped aside.
Vermina opened the door and walked toward the arena.
She did not look back.
Shaggy sank into his chair.
“She’s leaving.”
J watched Kumare remain beside the crate.
“No cover. Doesn’t even stay for the count.”
Andy folded his arms.
“Leaves him to carry his own organs.”
Christopher picked up his headset.
“Joe, check the loading area.”
A stagehand approached Kumare carrying one end of a long lighting case.
Kumare moved left.
The other end swung across his path.
He moved right.
The stagehand corrected in the same direction.
They stopped.
Shaggy pointed at the screen.
“Now he’s getting double-teamed by a lighting case.”
“Let him through!” J shouted.
Kumare pressed himself against the wall.
The case passed.
He took one step forward, stopped, and sat on a road case behind him.
The wheels began moving.
Andy leaned closer.
“He’s leaving under his own power.”
Christopher watched the monitor.
“That is a slope.”
“Gravity’s in his corner.”
Kumare rolled slowly down the loading ramp, hands resting on his knees.
A stagehand looked up from his sandwich.
J lowered his voice.
“He lost the girl.”
“Lost the match,” Shaggy said.
“But he’s kept his dignity.”
Kumare rolled past a stack of folded barriers.
“Look at that posture,” J continued. “Head up. Hands on his knees. He’s still got his self-respect.”
The road case bumped over a joint in the concrete.
Kumare rose an inch from the lid and settled back onto it.
Shaggy nodded.
“Still got his pride.”
One wheel caught in a drainage channel.
The case stopped beside a folding table.
Andy pointed.
“And ringside parking.”
Kumare reached over and took a tissue from the box on the table.
He blew his nose.
Christopher looked toward the producer.
“All right. Give him some privacy.”
The broadcast returned to the desk.
J straightened Kumare’s empty headset.
“No girl,” he said. “But he stood up for somebody who couldn’t stand up for herself tonight.”
Shaggy nodded.
“He can walk back in here with his head up.”
Andy pushed a clean napkin toward Kumare’s chair.
“After somebody goes down there and gets him.”
Chapter 6: The Final Match
Kumare returned to the desk carrying a fresh cup of water.
J moved his headset within reach.
Nobody spoke while he sat down.
Kumare straightened his notes, found the main-event sheet, and laid it over the others.
Andy pushed a clean napkin toward him.
“Your pencils survived.”
Kumare looked at the four pencils lined up beside his monitor.
“Thank you.”
Christopher checked beneath his chair.
The megaphone was still there.
The entrance music began.
Hunter Wentworth paused beneath the lights with the World Championship against his black coat.
He looked toward the skybox.
Empty.
“Hunter Wentworth lost the Tag Team Championship to Rayo and Trueno on Friday,” Kumare said. “Tonight, Lycaon took Brahma’s Intercontinental title. Fenrir now has the opportunity to complete the Pack’s sweep of the men’s championships.”
Hunter started down the ramp.
A fan held up a sign showing a bull beneath a row of crossed-out belts.
Hunter stopped long enough to point at the championship he still wore.
“Still got one!” the fan shouted.
Hunter continued toward the ring.
“He heard that,” Shaggy said.
“He can count,” J replied.
Hunter handed his coat to an attendant and climbed the steps. Inside, he unfastened the championship and held it toward the entrance.
“Come and take it!”
Fenrir emerged.
Lupin stood beside the curtain with the United States Championship over his shoulder. He touched the faceplate and nodded toward the ring.
Farther down the aisle, Lycaon waited with Rayo and Trueno. The three Furies stood behind them, their own championships catching the entrance lights.
Fenrir stopped beside Lycaon.
They touched fists.
Then he continued alone.
“The Pack has stayed at the entrance,” Kumare said. “Fenrir qualified without their interference. He intends to win the same way.”
Hunter watched him climb onto the apron.
Fenrir stepped over the top rope and approached the center.
Hunter was taller.
Neither looked away.
The ring announcer stood between them long enough to complete the introductions, then moved aside.
The referee displayed the World Championship.
Hunter kept his eyes on Fenrir.
Christopher leaned toward his microphone.
“Watch Hunter’s hands when they break.”
J: “There’s the bell. Hunter drives a shoulder into Fenrir’s chest! Fenrir gives him one step. Hunter backs up and hits him again, follows with two forearms, and gets him moving toward the corner.”
Kumare: “Hunter has the height and reach. He’s using both before Fenrir can close around his waist.”
J: “Fenrir hits the turnbuckles and turns into the charge! Knee to the stomach stops Hunter. Fenrir catches the waist, lifts, and drives him onto his back!”
Shaggy: “First time Hunter’s looked up at anybody tonight.”
J: “Fenrir stays with him and reaches for another lift. Hunter gets a hoof beneath the bottom rope.”
Referee: “Break! He has the rope.”
J: “Fenrir opens his hands. Hunter kicks backward into the knee as they separate!”
Shaggy: “Cheap.”
Christopher: “Watch the other hand.”
J: “Hunter rakes the eyes! Fenrir turns away with a hand over his face.”
Kumare: “The referee was looking down at the rope. Hunter kept him there until he had the opening.”
J: “Hunter goes behind the knee again and brings Fenrir down. He drags him into the corner, pulls him upright, and presses a forearm across the throat.”
Referee: “One! Two! Three!”
J: “Fenrir catches the wrist. Hunter leans harder, then releases at four.”
Christopher: “He knows precisely where the referee is looking.”
J: “Sounds like you admire it.”
Christopher: “I recognize it. There is a difference.”
J: “Hunter backs away with his hands up. Fenrir’s trying to clear his eyes. Hunter comes in again, but Fenrir catches him around the waist!”
Kumare: “He has both feet beneath him this time.”
J: “Fenrir drives him across the ring! Hunter hits the opposite turnbuckles hard enough to shake the ropes. Fenrir pulls him out, turns him, and puts him down in the center. Cover! One, two, Hunter gets the shoulder up!”
Shaggy: “Now he knows Fenrir can hold him there.”
J: “Fenrir reaches for the arm. Hunter strikes him across the mouth and gets onto one knee. Another forearm, but Fenrir stays over him.”
Kumare: “Hunter is trying to make enough room to stand.”
J: “He gets it with a shoulder into the stomach. Hunter’s up, driving Fenrir toward the ropes again. He tries the whip, but Fenrir holds the wrist and pulls him back! Short forearm catches Hunter across the chest!”
Shaggy: “That took the argument out of him.”
J: “Fenrir keeps the arm. Hunter’s reaching for the ropes with the other hand, but they’re too far away.”
Kumare: “Brahma has appeared at ringside.”
J: “No championship. No sunglasses. Hunter sees him.”
Hunter: “Get him!”
Christopher: “There it is.”
J: “Brahma climbs onto the apron. Fenrir turns toward him, and the referee moves across to order him down.”
Referee: “Off the apron! Now!”
Shaggy: “Yum Yum’s on the barricade.”
Kumare: “Across from Brahma. He’s looking straight at her.”
J: “Brahma had his arm raised toward Fenrir. He’s stopped. Yum Yum’s sitting there with her elbows on her knees.”
Hunter: “BRAHMA!”
Christopher: “Fenrir, watch Hunter.”
J: “Hunter charges from behind! Fenrir steps aside, and Hunter hits the ropes beside Brahma!”
Shaggy: “Brahma’s turning!”
J: “THE CLOTHESLINE CATCHES HUNTER! HE HIT HUNTER!”
Kumare: “Brahma swung as he turned back toward the ring. Hunter ran into the arm. The referee saw the contact.”
Referee: “Brahma! Out! Get down!”
J: “Hunter’s flat on the canvas. Brahma’s staring at him.”
Referee: “Now!”
Shaggy: “He’s climbing down. Looking for Yum Yum again.”
Kumare: “She has left the barricade.”
J: “Fenrir’s waiting for Hunter to rise. Hunter gets onto his knees, and Fenrir takes hold of him.”
Hunter: “Get off!”
J: “Hunter swings! Fenrir blocks it and traps the arm against his side.”
Christopher: “He has him.”
J: “Fenrir gets beneath the weight. Hunter’s hooves leave the canvas! Fenrir turns and drives him down!”
Kumare: “Center of the ring. Both shoulders flat.”
J: “Fenrir hooks the leg!”
Referee: “One! Two! Three!”
J: “FENRIR WINS! WE HAVE A NEW WORLD CHAMPION!”
The bell rang.
Fenrir released the leg and stayed on one knee.
Hunter rolled onto his side, one arm across his chest.
The referee brought the World Championship.
Fenrir looked at it before taking it in both hands.
At the foot of the ramp, Lycaon waited.
Behind him came Lupin and the cousins.
Fenrir stood.
He raised the belt.
The arena rose with it.
“Brahma’s mistake gave Fenrir an opening,” Kumare said. “Hunter still had a chance to fight out. Fenrir blocked the strike and finished him.”
Christopher watched the replay.
“He kept the arm trapped through the turn. Hunter couldn’t catch himself.”
At ringside, Brahma reached toward the bottom rope.
Hunter looked at him.
“Go.”
Brahma lowered his hand.
Across the ring, Lycaon climbed onto the apron. Fenrir reached over the ropes and caught his forearm.
Lupin entered behind him. Rayo and Trueno followed, bringing their championships into the center.
For a moment, Fenrir disappeared among shoulders, masks, and raised belts.
Then the cousins moved aside.
Fenrir stood between Lupin and Lycaon with the World Championship above his head.
At the desk, Shaggy counted on his fingers.
“World. Intercontinental. United States. Two tag belts.”
J grinned.
“Pack the house.”
Chapter 7: Hunter’s Rant and the Riot
Hunter remained on the mat after the wolves left.
The referee offered a hand.
Hunter slapped it away.
He looked toward the skybox.
Then he pointed at the timekeeper’s microphone.
The production assistant holding it glanced toward the desk.
Christopher leaned forward.
“Give him the microphone! Nothing improves a defeated man like immediate access to amplification!”
“Chris,” Kumare said.
“What? He asked.”
The microphone reached the ring.
Hunter hauled himself upright.
“You think this is a victory?”
The crowd answered him.
He waited until the noise dipped.
“You think the audience has chosen you?”
A foam horn bounced off the barricade.
Hunter pointed toward the east stands.
“You dress up like pets and call it identity.”
The boos deepened.
He turned toward the west.
“You paint your faces and pretend noise is a culture.”
J stood.
Hunter walked toward the ropes.
“You came here to cheer thieves, freaks, clowns, and…”
He spotted Bibi near the entrance.
“Whatever that thing is!”
Bibi stopped.
The tag belt rested at her waist.
“A costume and a lucky night!” Hunter shouted. “That’s all any of you are!”
A foam claw flew from the east stands.
Security moved into the aisle.
On the west side, somebody climbed onto a seat.
Then three more.
Kumare pulled off his headset.
“Open the cross aisle.”
His radio crackled.
“The cross aisle is blocked.”
J vaulted the desk.
Shaggy followed.
“EVERYBODY STOP!” J shouted.
The west stands answered with a chant.
J pointed at them.
“You are not going to let one angry Minotaur turn this into a family reunion at the county jail!”
Shaggy took a megaphone from a security supervisor.
“BACK UP! PUT THE CHAIRS DOWN! CHAIRS ARE FOR SITTING, NOT FOR DISCUSSING POLITICS!”
A man lifted a chair.
Shaggy pointed.
“I SEE YOU, MELVIN!”
“I AM NOT MELVIN!”
“THEN DO NOT ACT LIKE MELVIN!”
Along the west barricade, the Clown Army began chanting.
“SIT DOWN! SIT DOWN!”
On the east side, Vedren climbed onto the barrier.
A blue-feathered fan was wedged against an usher. Another fan was trying to pull him free while the people behind continued pushing.
“Stop moving forward!” Vedren called.
Kumare reached Shaggy and took the offered megaphone.
Christopher retrieved his own from the desk.
They approached the same opening from opposite sides.
Christopher raised his.
“EVERYBODY WILL—”
Kumare turned.
The two megaphones swung almost mouth to mouth.
Feedback shrieked across the aisle.
Both men jerked apart.
A fan dropped his chair and clapped his hands over his ears.
Christopher looked at Kumare.
Kumare looked at the chair.
“Again!” Christopher said.
They brought the megaphones together.
“FEEDBACK POWERS ACTIVATE!” Kumare shouted as the screech ripped out.
Fans ducked.
The pressure against the barricade eased.
A security guard pulled the trapped usher through.
Kumare turned his megaphone toward the stands.
“THREE STEPS BACK! GIVE THEM ROOM!”
Several people moved.
Vedren pointed at the opening.
“You in the blue vest. Help him turn sideways. There. Now bring your wing through.”
Christopher caught Kumare’s eye and tilted his megaphone.
One more short blast stopped a fresh surge.
“THANK YOU!” Christopher boomed. “YOU MAY NOW COMPLAIN FROM WHERE YOU ARE!”
“Keep that lane open!” Kumare called.
Christopher lowered his megaphone.
“You could have asked me to get their attention.”
“I’ve heard you try.”
Vedren moved along the barricade.
Kumare followed below her.
“If your tail is trapped, raise your hand!” he called. “If your wing is trapped, raise both hands! If you are holding a chair, put it on the floor!”
A wolf-masked fan raised one hand.
A rabbit-eared woman raised both.
A bear lowered a chair.
Across the aisle, J saw the movement.
“That’s what I’m talking about!”
Shaggy pointed at Kumare.
“He has the voice!”
J pointed at Vedren.
“She has the ears!”
“I CAN HEAR YOU!” Vedren shouted.
“THAT’S WHAT I SAID!”
A steel chair skidded across the floor.
Andy caught it against his leg.
He lifted it.
“THE PANDA HAS A STEEL CHAIR!”
Heads turned.
Andy looked at the chair.
Then at the crowd.
“I am putting it down.”
He did.
Somebody laughed.
The next chair stayed on the floor.
Chapter 8: Elder Wentworth Flees
The elder Wentworth entered the skybox through a private corridor.
Below him, security was opening gaps in the crowd.
His son stood in the ring, still shouting.
Wentworth ignored the sound and looked at the monitor.
The camera found Bibi near the entrance.
He stepped closer.
A woman in bright wrestling gear.
The same face beneath fluorescent lights.
He remembered a paramedic’s coat, an empty ward corridor, guards who had stopped answering their radios.
He took out his phone.
His thumb hovered above Hunter’s name.
On the monitor, Bibi turned toward the ring.
Wentworth put the phone away.
He left through the private corridor.
Downstairs, his driver hurried to open the car door.
“The others, sir?”
“Drive.”
Hunter looked up in time to see the skybox door close.
He waited.
No one came back.
Chapter 9: The Televised Feast
“You leave?”
Hunter’s voice broke through the arena speakers.
He faced the empty skybox.
“You leave me in front of them?”
A light flashed.
Bibi stood at ringside.
The lighting operator stared at his console. He pulled one fader down.
The strobes continued.
Hunter turned toward the entrance.
“Bring security! Bring the board! Bring my father back!”
Bibi stepped through the ropes.
At the desk, Andy slowly lowered his headset.
Hunter pointed at the crowd.
“They are nothing! The wolves are nothing! The furries are nothing! The Juggalos are nothing!”
Bibi stood behind him.
“You are all things my family permits to exist because we are generous!”
Her shadow spread across the canvas.
The next flash caught her shoulders broadening.
Her red, yellow, and orange gear strained, then tore at the seams.
Christopher stood.
“Bibi?”
Her spine rose. Her arms lengthened. Claws opened where her taped hands had been.
The canvas sank beneath her.
Hunter kept shouting.
“My father built this company! I am the heir!”
Bibi’s face pushed forward into an enormous Yeongno head.
Six tongues uncoiled from one open mouth.
The audience fell silent.
“I am the champion! I am the only reason any of you have a job!”
Hunter saw the front rows.
Their eyes were raised above him.
He turned.
The lights flashed white.
His microphone struck the canvas.
The Yeongno lowered her head.
Hunter backed into the ropes.
“No.”
One clawed hand closed around him.
He kicked as she lifted him.
“Put me down.”
He struck her jaw.
“Do you know who I am?”
One tongue curled around his armored shoulder.
He looked toward the skybox.
“Father!”
Bibi brought him to her mouth.
Christopher’s megaphone hung at his side.
Andy leaned toward him.
“That is going to be difficult to explain.”
The ring shook.
The six tongues drew Hunter inward.
His hooves disappeared.
Bibi swallowed.
No blood touched the canvas.
The bell rang once when the timekeeper’s hand slipped against it.
The strobes flashed again.
The enormous head lowered. The claws contracted. Bibi’s shoulders narrowed.
She stood human in the remnants of her wrestling gear.
Her championship belt lay where its fastening had broken.
A production assistant approached the ropes with a microphone.
He extended it as far as his arm would reach.
Bibi took it.
She looked into the nearest camera.
Then she burped.
The sound came through every speaker in the building.
Andy stared at her.
A laugh escaped him.
He tried to close his mouth.
It came out again.
J bent over the desk.
Shaggy grabbed his shoulder and began laughing too.
Kumare covered his mouth.
Vedren sat down on the barricade, shaking.
A laugh rose from the east stands.
Another answered from the west.
The camera tilted toward the ceiling as its operator lost his grip.
People lowered chairs because they needed their hands to hold their stomachs. A security guard leaned against the barrier beside the man he had been trying to restrain.
Both were laughing.
Bibi walked toward Vedren.
Vedren climbed onto the apron and reached between the ropes.
Bibi placed the microphone in her hand.
Vedren looked at it, then at her.
Bibi stepped out.
She left the belt on the canvas.
Past the timekeeper’s table, a guard moved aside.
Bibi continued through the service passage and pushed open the back door.
Cold air entered the corridor.
The door closed behind her.
Chapter 10: Christopher Recovers His Voice
Christopher stood beside the desk.
His hands were shaking.
He lifted his microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen.”
His voice cracked.
He swallowed.
“Please remain calm.”
Shaggy made a helpless noise against J’s shoulder.
Christopher looked toward the ring.
Vedren stood inside it with the microphone Bibi had given her.
Hunter’s microphone lay near the ropes.
The championship belt lay in the center.
Christopher gripped the edge of the desk until his fingers stopped trembling.
Then he raised his head.
“FURY World Wrestling,” he said, “where the championships are real, the competition is real, the consequences are real, and the catering is not responsible for what just happened!”
Andy picked up the megaphone.
“WE ATE THE COMPETITION!”
Christopher reached for it.
“That is my line.”
“You did not write it.”
“I was going to.”
“You were going to say something about customer passion.”
“I was building toward it.”
J wiped his face.
“Chris, you might want to check your talent’s meal allowance.”
Christopher looked at the abandoned belt.
Then at the service passage.
“No increase.”
In the ring, Vedren bent and picked up Bibi’s championship.
Chapter 11: Brahma and the Flower
Brahma found Yum Yum sitting on the hood of a production van.
One boot swung above the pavement.
Behind him, the arena doors opened and closed on bursts of laughter.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
Yum Yum tapped a thorn nail against the van.
“I’m not alone. I have me.”
He looked back toward the building.
“I can get you somewhere safe.”
“Safe from what?”
“From this.”
She slid off the hood.
“Why?”
“Because I owe you.”
“You owe me a match.”
“I owe you more than that.”
She studied his face.
“Lead.”
They drove beyond the hotels and service roads.
Brahma kept both hands on the wheel.
Yum Yum watched the city lights disappear from the side mirror.
The road became gravel.
He stopped beside a field of winter grass.
“This is where I bring people when I need to think.”
“Who else have you brought?”
“No one.”
They got out.
Brahma walked several paces into the grass.
“I was never like Hunter.”
Yum Yum followed.
“No?”
“I played the game. I made alliances. I used the company. I used people.”
He looked back at her.
“That is wrestling.”
“That is not wrestling.”
“It’s survival.”
“Sometimes.”
He held out a hand.
“I protected you tonight.”
“You hit Hunter.”
“By accident.”
“You came for me in the parking lot.”
“I’m here now.”
A faint gold radiance gathered beneath his skin.
Yum Yum watched it move across his fingers.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He withdrew his hand.
“I was loyal to Hunter because he had power.”
The glow brightened.
“I was loyal to the board because it had money.”
Light moved up his throat.
“I was loyal to myself because I thought that was what strength meant.”
Yum Yum stood still.
Brahma looked down at his hands.
“I called it loyalty when I wanted the rewards. I called it strategy when I wanted forgiveness.”
He pulled at a fastening on his wrestling gear.
“I called it survival when I wanted to hurt somebody first.”
The fastening broke.
He dropped to his knees.
A strap snapped between his fingers.
He tore away the fabric and flung it into the grass.
“I am a fraud.”
Gold light flooded his face.
He reached toward Yum Yum.
“Tell me I’m not.”
She stepped closer.
“Please.”
She looked into his glowing face.
“Yeah, I know you have always been a poser.”
Her mouth opened.
The light went out.
The grass bent beneath them.
When Yum Yum straightened, the field was quiet.
No camera had followed them.
Chapter 12: Employee-Owned FWW
At 2:17 in the morning, Christopher sat at the end of a conference table with his jacket still on.
Andy occupied two chairs.
Joe had a bandage on one ear.
J and Shaggy held paper cups of coffee. Kumare stood beside the window.
Across from them sat the remaining executives.
One had a split lip.
Another was wearing one shoe.
The third had stopped speaking when the attorney put EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP on the screen.
Christopher looked at the document.
“Read that again.”
The attorney adjusted his glasses.
“The controlling executive’s death under strange circumstances or wicked conditions activates the employee-ownership provision.”
J looked toward Shaggy.
Shaggy nodded.
“Think we covered both.”
The attorney continued.
“Administrative authority passes to the lowest-ranking active manager recognized under the operations charter.”
Christopher pointed at himself.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
The attorney turned the document so he could read it.
“Your demotion placed you below every other active manager.”
Christopher stared at Hunter’s signature.
“I manage two women.”
“You are also listed as operations supervisor, talent liaison, training director, and emergency broadcast officer.”
Andy leaned forward.
“What qualifies him for the last one?”
Kumare looked at the megaphone.
“Volume.”
Christopher reached for it.
Andy lowered it before he could switch it on.
“Let him finish.”
“The employees hold the ownership stake,” the attorney said. “You administer operations subject to the employee council. The charter requires medical coverage, recognition of valid championships, and council approval for major executive decisions.”
Christopher stood.
“Employee council?”
“Everyone with a qualifying stake,” Kumare said.
“The wrestlers?”
“Yes.”
“The crew?”
“Yes.”
“The medical department?”
Joe raised his clipboard.
“I vote for better tape.”
Christopher looked around the table.
“I am in charge.”
“Administratively,” Kumare said.
“I am in charge administratively.”
“Subject to the council.”
Christopher breathed through his nose.
“I am in charge administratively subject to the council.”
Andy raised a paw.
“Does the council get to tell you to sit down?”
Christopher sat.
J smiled into his coffee.
Christopher picked up the megaphone.
“FURY WORLD WRESTLING IS NOW EMPLOYEE-OWNED!”
Andy stood.
“Does this mean we get raises?”
Christopher froze.
“First, we will establish a committee.”
Everyone groaned.
Chapter 13: Faygo for Funfetti
By the time they reached the bar, somebody had pushed three tables together for the Pack.
The championships covered most of the surface.
La Bestia moved her National belt so a server could put down a tray.
Rayo reached across Trueno for a drink.
“You have one on your side.”
“This one’s closer.”
“That is what you said about my hand.”
Across the room, J waved Kumare away from the wall.
“Come here.”
Kumare approached with a drink.
Vedren followed, carrying both tag belts in a bag. She put it beneath her chair before sitting.
J held a black and white bandana.
Shaggy had a marker.
Kumare looked from one to the other.
“What is this?”
“Recognition,” J said.
“Is there a form?”
Shaggy held up the marker.
“We can make one.”
Kumare considered that.
J shook his head.
“No form. You kept people standing tonight. You got the aisle open. You and Vedren got them listening.”
“Chris helped.”
From the bar, Christopher lifted his glass.
“Documented.”
“He did,” Vedren said. “It was very loud.”
J unfolded the bandana.
“We’re calling you Funfetti.”
Kumare blinked.
“Why Funfetti?”
“Because you got the clowns and the furries working together, and somehow everybody’s still here to have a drink.”
Shaggy leaned closer.
“Also, Kumare sounds like the guy who tells us the party’s over.”
“I am often that guy.”
“See? You need another name.”
J held out the bandana.
“You want it?”
Kumare looked at Vedren.
She was smiling.
He looked back.
“I want it.”
J tied the bandana around his head.
Shaggy uncapped a bottle of Faygo.
Kumare watched him.
“Is that for the toast?”
“Baptism.”
The soda poured over his head.
Kumare closed his eyes.
Faygo ran down his face, soaked the bandana, and dripped from his chin.
Shaggy emptied the last of it and set the bottle down.
“FUNFETTI!” J shouted.
Confetti and glitter flew from every side of the room.
The wolves threw it above their championship table. Andy hurled a double handful and sneezed into the next. Joe scattered his over Kumare’s head.
Christopher tossed his with the solemn concentration of a man participating in a ceremony he intended to put on an expense report.
At the far end of the bar, Vermina released a small handful.
She stayed where she was.
Everyone threw except Vedren and Funfetti.
Glitter caught in Vedren’s purple fur. Confetti stuck to Kumare’s wet forehead.
She started laughing.
He opened one eye.
A piece of yellow paper slid down his nose.
“I should have insisted on a form.”
Vedren laughed harder.
Shaggy wrote FUNFETTI on a napkin and stuck it to the bar.
J raised his cup.
“To Funfetti!”
The room answered him.
Kumare lifted his drink.
“To all of you.”
Vedren touched her cup to his.
“You’ve got something on your face.”
“How much?”
She looked him over.
“Yes.”
He took a napkin.
She caught his wrist before he could wipe glitter into his eyes.
“Hold still.”
At the bar, Christopher cleared his throat.
“As the new administrator, I would like to acknowledge the value of this gathering as an organizational asset—”
“No,” J said.
Christopher stopped.
“Try again.”
Christopher looked at Andy.
Andy folded his arms.
Christopher raised his glass.
“To the people who kept the building standing.”
They drank.
Chapter 14: The New Era
The following week, Christopher stood in the ring with a blue folder and his megaphone.
Beside him, Kumare wore fur-trimmed pants bearing a Hatchetman emblem, a fur vest, and a yellow jacket covered in rainbow polka dots.
He checked that the microphone cable was clear of his boots.
Christopher opened the folder.
“FURY World Wrestling formally recognizes the professional designation of Funfetti!”
J shouted from ringside.
“YOU GOT A WRESTLING NAME!”
The audience took it up.
“FUN-FET-TI! FUN-FET-TI!”
Kumare looked down at the jacket.
“You made this official.”
“The council approved it.”
“I accepted it first.”
“That is why it is official.”
Christopher held out the microphone.
Kumare took it.
The chant continued.
He waited until he could speak.
“If I am Funfetti, then every event gets a safety plan.”
The crowd cheered louder.
Christopher leaned toward his megaphone.
“WITHIN BUDGET!”
Kumare looked at him.
The cheering became laughter.
Weeks later, Blue “The Macha Woman” Heron reached the entrance curtain on crutches.
She could hear the crowd before she stepped through.
Then they saw her.
She stopped at the top of the ramp.
A sign rose near the front.
WELCOME BACK, HERON.
Vedren waited at the foot of the steps.
She offered an arm.
Heron looked at it, then let her help.
Christopher stood inside the ring.
Heron made it through the ropes and rested one crutch against her hip.
She looked at the championship around Vedren’s waist.
“You kept it.”
“I had help.”
Heron glanced toward the entrance.
No one followed.
Vedren shook her head.
Heron looked back at the belt.
Christopher raised his megaphone.
“Bibi Yeongno remains unavailable for regular tag competition.”
“Ancient obligations?” Heron asked.
Christopher consulted the folder.
“Undisclosed.”
Vedren smiled.
Heron tapped a crutch against the canvas.
“Then find us a match.”
“You have one month to defend the titles as a recognized active team or forfeit them.”
Heron looked at Vedren.
Vedren held out her hand.
Heron took it.
“Start with standing control?” Vedren asked.
“Start by getting me off these things.”
Chapter 15: The DoomSayers
At the next major broadcast, Christopher entered wearing a jacket with more gold trim than the last one.
Andy followed him carrying a sign.
HE HAS A BUDGET NOW.
Christopher turned.
Andy turned the sign around.
The reverse read:
WE HAVE QUESTIONS.
Christopher faced the crowd.
“The employee-owned era of FURY World Wrestling continues to expand its roster!”
Near the entrance, Fenrir stood with the World Championship over his shoulder.
Lycaon held the Intercontinental belt.
Rayo and Trueno wore the Tag Team Championships.
Lupin stood beside them with the United States Championship.
Farther along the aisle, the three Furies watched the ring.
Christopher raised his megaphone.
“Introducing the DoomSayers!”
The lights dimmed.
Plague and Pestilence emerged together.
Their dark gear bore pale symbols. Plague carried a microphone at his side. Pestilence’s hands were empty.
They passed the wolves.
Neither slowed.
They climbed into the ring and stopped beneath the championship board.
Christopher stepped aside.
Plague looked from the board to the belts in the aisle.
Pestilence followed his gaze.
The lights came up.
Rayo moved closer to Trueno.
Lycaon settled the Intercontinental Championship against his shoulder.
Fenrir stepped forward.
The wolves tightened their formation.
Epilogue
Bibi sat at the counter of an all-American diner.
A small flag stood beside the register. Chrome stools lined the counter, and a waitress in a blue uniform carried a coffeepot past the red vinyl booths.
Above the pie case, a television showed a man settling into a studio chair.
Bibi reached for her coffee.
A caption appeared beneath his face.
GERRY PHAGE, GOGGLES
“Just a few short months ago, you were the third-richest person in the world,” the interviewer said. “Now you’re number one.”
Bibi paused with the cup halfway to her mouth.
Phage smiled.
“It’s been an extraordinary few months.”
“The two men ahead of you have both disappeared. Does that give you any pause?”
“Of course. We all hope their families get answers.”
He adjusted his cuff.
“But I remain focused on the future.”
The waitress stopped beside Bibi.
“Warm that up?”
Bibi lowered her cup.
“Please.”
The waitress poured.
On the television, the interviewer leaned forward.
“What does the richest man in the world want next?”
Phage laughed.
“Well, I’m certainly not finished.”
The waitress followed Bibi’s gaze.
“Never heard of him before now. Runs that Goggles thing, apparently. Funny how much you hear about the company and how little you hear about him.”
She wiped the counter in front of Bibi.
“I hadn’t thought about it either,” Bibi said. “Thank you for putting him on my radar.”
She took a sip.
“Would you mind changing the channel?”
“To what?”
“Tuesday Night Beatdown.”
The waitress stopped wiping.
“Tuesday Night Beatdown? I wouldn’t have taken you for the type.”
From behind the serving hatch, the cook called, “Leave her alone, Maggie. Put the show on for the customer. Besides, I want to see who’s wrestling for the championship tonight.”
The busboy approached with a tray balanced against his hip.
“Did you see that lady fly at the last pay-per-view? Before all that stuff with the Minotaur?”
The cook leaned into the hatch.
“What stuff?”
“He disappeared. And I’m saying she ate him. For real.”
“How high were you when you watched it?”
“Probably as high as he is when he’s doing the dishes,” the waitress said.
Her gum popped.
The busboy shook his head and turned to Bibi.
“Are you finished with that plate, miss?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
He lifted it, then looked at her again.
“Hey. You look just like that Yeongno lady too. Wild.”
Bibi smiled.
“I’ve been told there’s a resemblance.”
The waitress found the remote beneath the register.
Phage’s face vanished.
Rayo and Trueno appeared in a wrestling ring with the Tag Team Championships around their waists. Morrgain stood below their corner.
Bibi set down her cup.
“Tonight, the cousins defend against the DoomSayers!” Grant McKinnon announced.
Across the ring, Plague and Pestilence watched the champions surrender their belts to the referee.
“Morrgain is managing the cousins herself tonight,” John Kwan said.
“For a defense like this, she wants to be close,” Maggie Doyle replied. “Look at Pestilence. He’s been studying their corner since they came out.”
Morrgain stepped onto the bottom stair and called Rayo and Trueno toward her.
They leaned over the ropes.
She spoke briefly, pointing across the ring.
Both nodded.
The waitress lowered the remote.
“You watch this a lot?”
“When I can.”
On the screen, Morrgain checked Rayo’s mask strap, then caught Trueno’s wrist before he turned away.
He bent closer to hear her.
Whatever she said wiped the grin from his face.
“That got through,” the cook said from the hatch.
Bibi placed a folded bill beside her cup and picked up her case.
“Who’re you rooting for?” the waitress asked.
“I am rooting for the cousins, but I would not put any money on them.”
The busboy held the door for her.
“Have a good night, Yeongno lady.”
“You too.”
The diner bell chimed as she stepped outside.
On the television above her empty stool, the referee raised both championships.
The cook came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel.
“Move over. I can’t see.”
The waitress leaned against the counter.
The busboy stood beside him with the tray still in his hands.
The bell rang.
“Trueno starts for the champions,” John said. “Plague for the challengers.”
“Watch Pestilence,” Maggie Doyle said. “He’s moving along the apron.”
Morrgain walked around the corner post to meet him.
“Rayo sees him,” Grant called. “And so does Morrgain!”
The television flickered against the chrome counter.
ANCIENT HUNGERS
ISSUES 3 TO 5: THE FURY WORLD WRESTLING ARC
Issue 3: Yeongno Hears the Wolf's Call
Issue 4: Friday Night FURY
Issue 5: Sunday Night Pay-Per-View, or The Feast
Story, Creative Direction & Final Editing
KEVIN TILSNER
Creative Collaborators
DeepSeek: Story development, idea integration & continuity assistance
ChatGPT: Idea integration, prose drafting & adaptation assistance
Claude: Manuscript review, continuity checks & comic beats
MUSE: Illustration bible & visual development
Acknowledgments
"With gratitude to the Tongyeong Ogwangdae Preservation Association. Without their preservation of the performance tradition and its folklore, Ancient Hungers would not exist."
"To my wife. Thank you for giving this story its sky."
"With gratitude to Flutterwhat (@flutterwhat on Twitter) for mentorship, encouragement, and constructive criticism."
"To Chris Spigel, whose love of professional wrestling, and whose unique way of watching it, helped this story find its heart. This arc would not be what it is without you."
"With thanks to Prideful Creations of Threads (@MzSkittleDreads on Twitter). If I had not met them online and gone on a trip down memory lane, this story would have a different shape."
"With thanks to Robin Wall Kimmerer and Never Whistle at Night, Volumes One and Two."
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