Post by Buck U on Jun 18, 2017 21:38:18 GMT -8
How do you fix something that's been broken? You put it back together one piece at a time. That seems obvious of course, but what if it was broken a second time, you you fix it a second time? What if it happened a third?
These thoughts had echoed through Tiger Mask Red's mind for almost a week. This wasn't the first time he been broken. No that had happened nearly fifteen years ago, his mind left shattered after witnessing his mother and twin die in a car accident. How he recovered from that would be called a medical if it wasn't illegal as well.
The second time had been in Japan when his body was broken in the ring and then his father had broken his heart. Again his mind had shattered and a six month rampage through several wrestling promotions soon followed... plus a small town in Mexico went up in flames but we shouldn't dwell on that. Ironically it was a fireball to his masked face that led to his recovery.
This time though, should he classify it as the third time or the fourth? The third, he was pretty sure of that. Many had assumed that he had lost his mind when he hung up the mask due to injury and begun managing. He acted absolutely crazy, but that had been the whole idea. People paid more money to throw trash at him than roses. More money in his pocket from wrestling meant more money to invest in his multimedia company, and perhaps more importantly, more money to pay off the debts to his father so he could get him out of their lives once and for all.
To that end he had accept "tasks" from the old man to complete, but this is not the time for that tale. What's important is that with each task he lost another piece of himself. Much like the frog who swims in the pot of water as it slowly comes to a boil, he didn't realize he was in trouble until it was too late. The act became real and the chains he had used in his mind to hold Castor had come undone.
Yes, this was the third time he had been broken. Ironically the shatter point came by the same hands that had helped him put his life back together the second time. The same person who had given him the first glimmer of hope that he might be fixed one more time.
***
He sat at his computer, looking into the most wonderful little set of eyes. His son, Haruto, through the power of Skype, told him of Uncle Brute doing something funny. The words were jumbled and often incoherent, but to the little boy's father it was the greatest story he had ever heard.
"Haruto," a feminine voice off screen called, "times up. Say bye bye to Papa for now."
"Bye bye, Papa," the little boy yelled, blowing him a kiss.
"Sayōnara," Tiger replied in Japanese, "watashi no chīsana tora."
His son disappeared from view and his heart began beating rapidly as the most beautiful creature in the world took the boy's place.
"Hello Charlie."
"Eli."
He noted the curtness in her voice and feared that the best hour he had in days was about to come undone. Her demeanour suddenly changed. Perhaps she hadn't meant to sound so cross or maybe she realized they were both hurting right now.
"It's good to see you," she finally said, offering him a smile.
It's good to see you too, he wanted to say, but instead all that came out, "I miss you."
He knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment it came out. He watched as Charlotte bit her lip. Was she biting back a harsh remark, or did she not want to tell him she felt the same.
"This was good for Haruto," she replied finally, "You two can do this again tomorrow after I've confirmed you've attended the appointment with the psychologist that Nirvana arranged."
"Charlie..."
"Eli, I've got to go. Lunch is ready and I need to make sure Haruto eats."
"Charlie..."
She placed a hand on the screen.
"Dammit, Eli, this is hard for me too," she snapped.
The anguish on her face hurt him. Instinctively he placed his hand on the computer screen. To his shock, she did so too, their fingers matching up overtop on one another.
The tender moment came to a sudden and abrupt end.
"I've got to go," she said, "Don't give up. Stay safe. I love you."
She said the last part just before cutting the signal, preventing him from being able to respond. Not that he could have, sitting too stunned in his chair there was little chance he could have answered her.
She still loved him!
Somewhere deep inside him he felt Castor grumbling in a corner, his voice gradually becoming less than a whisper.
A tug on his pant leg caused him to look down. PuppetTiger was staring up at him.
"Hey you, put your face back on," the puppet said, "I want you to take me to the Time Lord like you promised. We need answers."
***
Charlotte sighed as she shut the lap top and headed to the dining room. Should she have told him she still loved him? There was no doubt in her mind she did but unless he followed through with these appointments and did the other things she requested there was little chance of reconciliation between them. Was he strong enough to do it without her?
She walked into the kitchen and immediately noticed that her mother and Haruto where not at the table and her father and the giant, Brutus Smith were sitting there, staring at her.
"Did Eli enjoy his Father's Day gifts," her father asked, as she took a seat.
"I'd say he did," she replied, "He almost looked sane. Talking with Haruto was good for both of them. Speaking of which, where is he? I thought lunch was ready."
Her father and Brute looked at one another and then back at her.
"Your mother took him outside to gather dandelions. Charlotte, there's something we need to tell you. It's about Eli's father."
"He's not coming over," she asked, suddenly on edge.
The giant laughed and said, "I am Brute."
She nodded her understanding and eased back in her seat. Elijah Buchanan Sr and Brute had recently had a falling out. He wouldn't dare come near either her or Haruto as long as the masked walking mountain was around.
"So what's this all about then?"
Chuck O'Neal looked at the masked giant and Brute nodded back at him.
"Charlotte, it's time you learned the truth," he replied, "Eli Sr isn't your husband's father."
If the two of them had expected her to be surprised, they were mistaken.
"I knew it," she said, springing up and knocking her chair over, "Eli's been telling me that for years and the way that bastard treated him... how could any father do that to their son?"
She looked back and forth between them, noticing the surprise on their faces. This was the most animated she had been in days and at six months pregnant, something they probably would be a little concerned about.
Brute stood up and walked over. He picked up her chair and helped her sit back down. Charlotte complied but kept looking at both of them, looking back and forth at their faces, trying to read their emotions.
"It's Nirvana, isn't it," she said excitedly, "Dammit, Eli was right. This could change everything."
Brute laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. He shook his head as she looked up at him.
"What," she asked, surprised, "if it's neither of them, then who is it?"
"I am Brute."
She stared up at him for a moment, then turned to her father. He simply nodded his head and then looked down at the table. Silence filled the air as she digested this information. Finally she spoke up.
"HOW THE FUCK IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?"
These thoughts had echoed through Tiger Mask Red's mind for almost a week. This wasn't the first time he been broken. No that had happened nearly fifteen years ago, his mind left shattered after witnessing his mother and twin die in a car accident. How he recovered from that would be called a medical if it wasn't illegal as well.
The second time had been in Japan when his body was broken in the ring and then his father had broken his heart. Again his mind had shattered and a six month rampage through several wrestling promotions soon followed... plus a small town in Mexico went up in flames but we shouldn't dwell on that. Ironically it was a fireball to his masked face that led to his recovery.
This time though, should he classify it as the third time or the fourth? The third, he was pretty sure of that. Many had assumed that he had lost his mind when he hung up the mask due to injury and begun managing. He acted absolutely crazy, but that had been the whole idea. People paid more money to throw trash at him than roses. More money in his pocket from wrestling meant more money to invest in his multimedia company, and perhaps more importantly, more money to pay off the debts to his father so he could get him out of their lives once and for all.
To that end he had accept "tasks" from the old man to complete, but this is not the time for that tale. What's important is that with each task he lost another piece of himself. Much like the frog who swims in the pot of water as it slowly comes to a boil, he didn't realize he was in trouble until it was too late. The act became real and the chains he had used in his mind to hold Castor had come undone.
Yes, this was the third time he had been broken. Ironically the shatter point came by the same hands that had helped him put his life back together the second time. The same person who had given him the first glimmer of hope that he might be fixed one more time.
***
He sat at his computer, looking into the most wonderful little set of eyes. His son, Haruto, through the power of Skype, told him of Uncle Brute doing something funny. The words were jumbled and often incoherent, but to the little boy's father it was the greatest story he had ever heard.
"Haruto," a feminine voice off screen called, "times up. Say bye bye to Papa for now."
"Bye bye, Papa," the little boy yelled, blowing him a kiss.
"Sayōnara," Tiger replied in Japanese, "watashi no chīsana tora."
His son disappeared from view and his heart began beating rapidly as the most beautiful creature in the world took the boy's place.
"Hello Charlie."
"Eli."
He noted the curtness in her voice and feared that the best hour he had in days was about to come undone. Her demeanour suddenly changed. Perhaps she hadn't meant to sound so cross or maybe she realized they were both hurting right now.
"It's good to see you," she finally said, offering him a smile.
It's good to see you too, he wanted to say, but instead all that came out, "I miss you."
He knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment it came out. He watched as Charlotte bit her lip. Was she biting back a harsh remark, or did she not want to tell him she felt the same.
"This was good for Haruto," she replied finally, "You two can do this again tomorrow after I've confirmed you've attended the appointment with the psychologist that Nirvana arranged."
"Charlie..."
"Eli, I've got to go. Lunch is ready and I need to make sure Haruto eats."
"Charlie..."
She placed a hand on the screen.
"Dammit, Eli, this is hard for me too," she snapped.
The anguish on her face hurt him. Instinctively he placed his hand on the computer screen. To his shock, she did so too, their fingers matching up overtop on one another.
The tender moment came to a sudden and abrupt end.
"I've got to go," she said, "Don't give up. Stay safe. I love you."
She said the last part just before cutting the signal, preventing him from being able to respond. Not that he could have, sitting too stunned in his chair there was little chance he could have answered her.
She still loved him!
Somewhere deep inside him he felt Castor grumbling in a corner, his voice gradually becoming less than a whisper.
A tug on his pant leg caused him to look down. PuppetTiger was staring up at him.
"Hey you, put your face back on," the puppet said, "I want you to take me to the Time Lord like you promised. We need answers."
***
Charlotte sighed as she shut the lap top and headed to the dining room. Should she have told him she still loved him? There was no doubt in her mind she did but unless he followed through with these appointments and did the other things she requested there was little chance of reconciliation between them. Was he strong enough to do it without her?
She walked into the kitchen and immediately noticed that her mother and Haruto where not at the table and her father and the giant, Brutus Smith were sitting there, staring at her.
"Did Eli enjoy his Father's Day gifts," her father asked, as she took a seat.
"I'd say he did," she replied, "He almost looked sane. Talking with Haruto was good for both of them. Speaking of which, where is he? I thought lunch was ready."
Her father and Brute looked at one another and then back at her.
"Your mother took him outside to gather dandelions. Charlotte, there's something we need to tell you. It's about Eli's father."
"He's not coming over," she asked, suddenly on edge.
The giant laughed and said, "I am Brute."
She nodded her understanding and eased back in her seat. Elijah Buchanan Sr and Brute had recently had a falling out. He wouldn't dare come near either her or Haruto as long as the masked walking mountain was around.
"So what's this all about then?"
Chuck O'Neal looked at the masked giant and Brute nodded back at him.
"Charlotte, it's time you learned the truth," he replied, "Eli Sr isn't your husband's father."
If the two of them had expected her to be surprised, they were mistaken.
"I knew it," she said, springing up and knocking her chair over, "Eli's been telling me that for years and the way that bastard treated him... how could any father do that to their son?"
She looked back and forth between them, noticing the surprise on their faces. This was the most animated she had been in days and at six months pregnant, something they probably would be a little concerned about.
Brute stood up and walked over. He picked up her chair and helped her sit back down. Charlotte complied but kept looking at both of them, looking back and forth at their faces, trying to read their emotions.
"It's Nirvana, isn't it," she said excitedly, "Dammit, Eli was right. This could change everything."
Brute laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. He shook his head as she looked up at him.
"What," she asked, surprised, "if it's neither of them, then who is it?"
"I am Brute."
She stared up at him for a moment, then turned to her father. He simply nodded his head and then looked down at the table. Silence filled the air as she digested this information. Finally she spoke up.
"HOW THE FUCK IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?"