Aries Armadaist [vs.] Storming Raven

Storming Raven squares off with the fiesty Aries Armadaist one on one!!!!

Chapter one: Some people just need killing.

This is no dream, it's a vision. I am standing in an old run down house on the outskirts of town. Some say it's haunted, even paranormal investigators are too afraid to step foot in this place. I sit down in the middle of the dusty floor in “Indian” fashion looking at the broken windows, and dried blood on the walls. I am scared, but then I hear two voices from my past. My father, Soaring Eagle, and my cousin Little Hawk.

“Lani is no rose, my son. She lies. She is just another snake in the grass.”

The ghostly shades of my father and cousin float into the room from the kitchen.

“That's right Cuz, she changed the results of the drug test. She wasn't even drunk. She willingly had sex with Ace, and allowed the sex tape. She has dishonored you, and all of our people. Do not worry about legal repercussion, no one cared about her but you. No one will ask questions when she's gone. You know what you must do.”

The shades of my dead father and cousin smile at me before disappearing. In my dream a blood curdling scream is heard.

I wake up startled, and gasping in a cold sweat. I look at Lani sleeping beside me with a serene smile on her face. I gently throw the covers back and slowly get out of bed, as to not wake her. I walk on tip toe, grab some black clothes out of the dresser, a sweater and jeans. I take a long hot shower, get dressed and walk to the kitchen grabbing some salt and knives. I then walk through the kitchen door leading to the garage. I grab some tools, rope, barbed wire,gas, matches,and an old battery operated CD player. I stuff all these things in a black duffel bag and head back to the bedroom Lani and I share, and sit on the edge of the bed waiting for the sun to rise. As the sun rises I look into the mirror, I notice my usually gray eyes are black. The change is starting already, odd.

A few hours later, Lani sits up in bed, and looks at me with the smile that used to warm my heart. Now I feel nothing. She rubs the sleep from her eyes, and stretches before getting a good look at me.

“Morning,baby. I'll take a shower and get ready to go to the air port. I can't wait to see New York....What's with the outfit. You look like you're going to a funeral...”

I look at her with a cold humorless grin. When I speak my voice is cold and emotionless, hollow.

“Maybe I am. Take your time. I have some business to take care of before we leave.”

She looks at me puzzled, as she gets up and grabs her own clothes.

“A surprise,love? I love surprises.”

I shoot that cold grin at her again.

“You'll see. Go get ready now, big day today.”

She walks off to the bathroom to take a shower. I walk over to the bed side cabinet, and pull out an old bottle of one hundred proof wild turkey whiskey I had forgotten was there. I finish it and hide the bottle just before she comes back in dressed and ready to go. She smiles and comes over and wraps her arms around me. I hesitate before putting my arms around her. As I look in the mirror I notice my black eyes show no emotion. I don't even really feel her arms around me. She looks at me concerned.

“Baby? Are you okay? Are you ready to go.”

I nod and release the embrace.

“I'm ready. Let's go.”

I let her walk ahead of me as I grab the duffel bag. We walk out to the garage, and get in my black 1969 GTO. I squeal the tires as we tear off down the road. After an hour of dead silence, we pull up into the gravel drive of the house from my dream. The roof is falling in, and ivy grows over it. She shudders as we get out of the car and walk to the house. I let her go in front of me.

“This place has always given me the creeps. They say it was built on a burial ground of our people, supposedly the spirits drove the last owner crazy, and he killed his wife, two kids, and himself. People say there are poltergeists here.”

I chuckle under my breath as she opens the door of the house and walks inside. I quietly unzip the duffel bag and take a claw hammer from it. Her back is turned to me. She eyes the house and I begin to speak.

“That's just an urban legend, my Cherokee Rose. All towns have them, but what happens to you here tonight will be all too real.”

Before she can turn around I swing the hammer and hit her in the back of the head knocking her out. I sit the duffel bag down with a thump on the hard wood floor, it kicks up dust and dirt into the air, The musty smell of the house is sickening. I can hear rats in the walls. I hope they're hungry.

I drag her body into the kitchen, and put her in an old wooden chair. I tie her hands behind her back, and her legs to the legs of the chair with barbed wire. I walk back into the other room and grab the duffel bag and unload it before walking back to the kitchen. I then pull out a chair of my own. I sit in it backwards waiting for her to come to. As she starts to come to, I turn on the CD player, hit play and “Cherokee rose” by Corey Smith begins to play.

Pinestraw on the ground around a fallen Cherokee rose 
It's got me wonderin' why those mighty winds of change must blow 
Once this land was free from fences and shotguns 
Back when the people killed here for food instead of fun...

That emotionless grin is back on my face as she starts to come to. I speak in a false cheerful voice.

“Good morning sunshine. The earth says hello!”

I flash a sadistic grin as she looks at me with fear in her eyes. The weird thing is...I'm enjoying this. She looks at me with those big doe eyes as she speaks to me, a slight tremble in her voice.

“Stormy...What are you doing? What happened? What's wrong, baby?”

I stand up and take a large hunting knife from the table. I pace around twirling the knife in my left hand .

“Did you think you could get away with it Lani? Did you really think the spirits wouldn't let me know? My father and cousin told me the truth, unlike you...”

Now she is really scared. Piss falls to the floor as she begins to cry, and tries to jerk her hands loose,her blood mingles on the floor with the piss.

“What are you talking about? Your father and cousin are long dead Stormy! It was just a dream.”

I walk up close to her, bend down and stick my face right an inch in front of hers as I whisper.

"There is no more Stormy, there is only Kalona, and it wasn't a dream. It was a vision. You forged the documents. You lied to me. You enjoyed every minute of it. Well you know what they say..There is no joy, without pain...”

I grab her hair and jerk her head back as I stick the knife to her scalp, blood pours down her face as I pull the scalp free from her skull. She pants like a bitch dog as I pick up the salt and pour it on her scalped head.

“Don't worry. The pain will go away in time...Just not anytime soon.”

I look at her as she begins to pass out from pain. I shake my head and back hand her.

“No no. I'm not done with you yet. You know how our people dealt with liars in the good old days? They cut out their tongues...”

I force open her mouth and pull out her tongue, slowly carving it off.

“There, now no more lies will come from that filthy mouth.”

I then shove the knife in her groin and slice upward, just enough to where her innards don't come completely out. I pull a foot of an unidentifiable organ out. She's in so much pain now, she can barely catch her breath to scream. I then pick up the gas can and pack of matches.

“You burned me Lani, but that will heal in time...”

I throw the gas in her face with a demented laugh, then strike a match and fling it at her face. The flames taking the last of her oxygen. Not much longer now...

“Unfortunately, you my fallen Cherokee rose will never heal. This isn't vengeance for I am not a vengeful person. This is punishment handed down from the great spirit,may the fire cleanse your filthy soul. I only hope you live long enough to feel the wild animals feast upon your flesh.”

I then look around the house with a smile.

“I bought this property, by the way. No one will trespass here and find whatever remains of you. I will now say a prayer for you. May the great spirit guide you justly.”

I now take a deep breath, just because I can, to mock her and say a favorite prayer of mine.

“And Shepherds we shall be
For thee, my Lord, for thee.
Power hath descended forth from Thy hand
Our feet may swiftly carry out Thy commands.
So we shall flow a river forth to Thee
And teeming with souls shall it ever be.
In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti.”

I begin to clean up my tools and walk out of the house, with a genuine smile on my face, the sounds of squeaking rats follows me out of the door. I feel better, freer than I have in a long time. Like the band once said, I am as free as a bird now, and this bird you can not change, great spirit help me, I can't change. I take my phone out of my pocket and make a call to a friend to take care of the body. I tell him to donate what's left of the meat to an orphanage. Next stop New York City.

Chapter 2: No more Mister nice guy.

Once people believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul cannot rest. And sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring the soul back to set things right.

As the camera comes on it shows the world famous wonder wheel at Coney Island. It then pans to the beach where a man can be seen by a bon fire in the distance. The waves of the ocean lap over the shoreline. Soon the camera pans in to reveal me. Storming Raven. I never take my eyes off the fire. From my forehead to just above my nose is covered in black paint, with a vertical red line down each eye. The wind begins to pick up, and the sound of an eerie female child's voice is heard, like the voice of a ghost surrounding the area.

“Ring around the rosie,
Pocket full of posies.
Ashes,ashes,
we all fall doooown.”

I begin to speak, still looking in the fire. Ghostly shadows illuminating my face thanks to the flames.

“So a lot of things have held me back recently. Love, for lack of a better word, betrayal, disrespect. All of these things have kept me from my true purpose. No more, I have cut all dead ends from my life. It is time I focus on me for once,and what I want. What I want is simple. I want to hurt everyone I possibly can, the way I've been hurt. If I somehow get a title along the way so be it. Some may call me a monster, I enjoy hurting people. The time for fun and games is now over. I am a warrior, it is time I started acting like one.”
I look over my shoulder at the wonder wheel behind me.

“This place is the setting for one of my favorite movies. A movie I can really identify. The Warriors. In the movie a group of nine warriors have to fight their way back home, after being wrongly accused of a crime. It taught me that nothing is impossible, and you have to fight for what you want. My favorite line is 'It's all out there,we just have to find a way to go steal it'. I am now applying that to my life and career, metaphorically speaking of course. On battlegrounds, I begin my fight back home. My way home will be littered with blood and broken bodies.”

A large raven flies down from the sky and lands on my shoulder with a croak.

“Hello Azrael, did you have a nice meal? Here I have something for you.”

I take a bloody strip of unidentifiable meat from my pocket and feed it to the raven. I finally look in the camera.

“The winds of change are coming. How appropriate it is that my first opponent with the new me is Aries Amadaist. Aries, the Greek god of war. One half of the tag team champions. How does it feel Aries? How does it feel you have to face me one on one, without the help of your woman partner,whose coat tails you are riding on? I believe we met once in the past, and you beat me. That will NOT happen again, but just in case a miracle happens win or lose, I will hurt you. I will break every bone in your body, and turn your insides to liquid. This is war, like you've never known. Lately you've taken to fighting animals. That's a tad bit different than fighting me. I'm not quite as docile as the animals you've chosen to fight. On Battlegrounds, you, nor the world will EVER forget the day when you went to war with The pride of the Cherokee Nation. The spirits are calling for your flesh, blood, and bones. You have no chance in hell of walking out of this on your own two feet. Soon the world will feel my pain. It is known....”

I throw my face to the sky and shout a terrifying war cry as the dark clouds above me open up and it begins to storm.

Featuring the (un)glorious return of Barry the Camera Guy!

Scene One
Off Camera
Homecoming

He anxiously bounced from one foot to the other, back and forth, as he stood at the curtain. The roaring of the Boston crowd accompanied by the sounds of bodies hitting the ring were nothing more than background noise. Aries' mind wasn't with the match currently going on in the ring. It wasn't with the Boston crowd at the moment, either. It wasn't even with his upcoming title defense that he was scheduled to compete in later that evening as well, as his Tag Title sat adjacent to him in a chair, where it would leave it be for his following match up. No, Aries mind was solely on his second event Inter Species match up. He was focused on combating the rough beast that New York chose to represent itself as their state animal. Aries Armadaist's mind was purely on how he was going to combat the deadly Beaver.

He was broken from his concentration as he felt a hand on his shoulder, almost jumping as his head darted toward it's origin. He was met by an IWF referee. He never bothered to learn any of their names, but he would assume this official was assigned to call his upcoming match. His expression worried Aries, however. It was one of concern, if not a little annoyed as well. It was an expression he was use to people giving him, but this time it was more intense than usual.

Referee
Sorry kid, I'm just here to tell you, the match has been cancelled. Your, uh... Opponent, didn't make it.

Aries' heart immediately sunk, and his face read every bit of it. This was a match he was anticipating ever since he squared off against the red Deer in Ireland. The beaver is a very high caliber opponent in the Inter Species world. To face off against it would surely gain him some notoriety. The fact that this beaver didn't even bother to give him the time of day was almost...insulting. Aries didn't have long to stew though, as the official continued.

Referee
But, they want you to do a thing for the website over here. Ya know, one of the exclusive deals. Over here, common--

The man practically had to grab Armadaist by his arm and pull him in front of a camera, an interviewer immediately taking place beside him, practically shoulder to shoulder. The blinding lights clicked on as the camera began rolling. All of this seemed to happen so fast as Aries still appeared to be in a daze. His mouth slightly hanging open as he stared blankly down the lens of the camera.

Javier Sanchez
Aries, tonight, you and Jaci go against GrandSlam once again. This time, you're the reigning champions in your first defense as a team. Tell us, what are your feelings going in?

The interviewer immediately shoved the microphone to Aries' lips, who remaining silent for several moments before finally uttering:

Aries Armadaist
I don't care...

The cast immediately seemed taken back as Aries started to stir from his catatonic state, his expression gradually growing angrier with every passing second.

Aries Armadaist
I don't care about any of that right now! I've been robbed.. ROBBED! By some measly rodent, of MY OPPORTUNITY! MY CHANCE TO SHOW THE WORLD WHAT I CAN DO! And you think you're took good for Aries Armadaist? YOU THINK YOU'RE TOO GOOD FOR BOSTON?! Well, now I'm gonna take a page out of Boston's book! You've fuckd with me, Beaver, and now I'm stopping everything! I'm locking everything down and I-AM-GOING-TO-FIND-YOU! Next week, Battle Grounds is in New York, YOUR HOME TURF, BEAVER! THAT'S WHEN IT WILL BE MY TIME! ARIES O' CLOCK! JUST YOU AND ME! BEAVER, I'M COMING FOR N--DON'T TOUCH ME, I'LL EAT YOUR CHILDREN!!

Suddenly, the Canadian found himself getting rushed by off screen personnel who now battled to remove the manic competitor from the scene, Aries now practically foaming at the mouth as his ranted and raved, fighting every bit of the way before the feed was forced to cut to black.

Scene Two
On Camera
Battle Grounds


The scene opened in a surprisingly mundane setting. No grand stages on which he would make his point known. Not even putting forth the effort to even stand up at this point. Instead, the world would find Aries Armadaist simply stretched out across what appeared to be a lobby couch in some forgotten hallway of the arena. Barely even changed into his ring gear, he laid with a bowl of Cheesy Poofs resting on his stomach, sporadically picking one out and lazily tossing it toward his open jowls in hopes of actually catching it so he could enjoy its artificial cheesy goodness. Sadly, he seemed to be having a low success rate as his surroundings seemed to be covered in the junk food as yet another piece bounced off his face as he clapped his jaws shut in vein.

This is the very sight that Aries' part time partner in crime Barry stumbled upon as he approached the competitor, camera in tow. Aries barely gave him a passing glance, only being alerted to his presence when Barry crushed one of his fallen Cheesy Poofs under his foot. The expression on Barry's face seemed to read nothing but excitement. Something the Canadian had to arch an eyebrow at before turning his attention back to his bowl attempting to ingest another snack.

Barry
Aries! Promo time! S'go!

Aries Armadaist
Mm... Nah.

Barry seemed immediately taken back by his response, as another one of Aries' failed attempts at eating bounced off his shoe as it fell wayside.

Barry
Nah? What is nah?

Aries Armadaist
Just...nah.

He narrowed his brow at his Canadian comrade, obviously more excited about Aries' promo than Aries seemed to be himself.

Barry
Common, man. What kind of crazy set up we got this week? Gonna like....raise out of an Indian Burial ground and... Elbow drop a... Buffalo or something?

Aries Armadaist
Nah...

Barry
Ok well... What about some crazy overblown story? Something insane like fighting a Totem Pole Monster to get ready to take on the wrath of the Cherokees or..?

Aries Armadaist
Sssss...nnnaaaaahhhh. Just not feeling it this week, Barry.

His excitement was quickly turning to frustration as Aries' first look of genuine interest in anything was when he finally managed to catch a Cheesy Poof into his mouth, now munching happily as he leaned his head over just enough to give the Camera Man his attention

Barry
Man, you just came off of one of the biggest matches of your career, and this is how you bounce back? Moping? I expected you to be jazzed! Pumped full of enough electricity to power a city block, something, man, common!

Aries Armadaist
Yeah, and I expected to have a match worth talking about. Welcome to Disappointed Town, population--

He now motioned his index finger between himself and Barry, even mouthing the words "You, and me." The cameraman's ever growing frustration only lead to him replying with a heavy sigh as he mounted his camera onto his shoulder.

Barry
Yeah, well, you're contractually obligated to cut at least one promo whenever you're booked, so for the sake of your job, I suggest you start running that mouth like you always do when this little red light comes on.

The light activated, just as Barry promised, and Aries simply greeted the audience with a grumpy frown, smacking his bowl off of his stomach, sending a hail of orange cheese snacks hurdling toward the camera. Luckily, they harmlessly bounce off as Aries forced himself to sit up with a more-than-necessary loud groan.

Aries Armadaist
Sorry, I don't have any fancy, over the top scenario to use as a metaphor for what my promo will be about. All I got is this blank wall this week.

He moved his hand up to smack the wall behind the couch, leaving his orange dust covered hand print plastered on the wall

Aries Armadaist
I know that's gotta be kind of jarring compared to a mad scientist's lab or... shooting a bazooka at an orc, but I just couldn't motivate myself enough to even put together a real decent message. Honestly, after seeing who I was facing this week, every bit of wind was taken out of my sails coming off from Jaci and I successfully defending the tag titles. On Pay-Per-View no less. I expected some sort of fanfare. Or at least a match of some sort of interest to, not only me, but anyone who would be watching this week. Actually, you know what, this wall is the metaphor for my promo this week. It's exactly how I feel. Just blah. Blank. Vanilla. Wouldn't give this wall the time of day to even glance at it if I were walking by. Could anyone honestly blame me? I went from the upper card on Homecoming, defending an actual Championship against two of the finest to ever grace an IWF ring. Two guys who were GrandSlam Champions. You know what that means? That mean they both won every championship in the company at some point in time. I had the distinct privilege to test my merit against Parker Wayde and Steel Angel, and came out with my hand held high. How many people can honestly say that? So you'll have to excuse me if I'm a little blase about following that up with Storming Raven. That's a name that doesn't exactly make me quake in my boots.

Aries Armadaist
"But, Aries," you say in my voice because I don't know what any of you sound like, "Storming Raven had a Championship match at Homecoming too." Oh, you mean his match for the Queen of...Phoenixes... Belt hing match. Oh, yeah, that's cool and all, and good for him. But, ya know what the difference between me and Raven was at that event? I managed to actually succeed. I got me a big ole fat "W" when it comes to Homecoming. Raven left that event beltless. Just like he always has. Probably just like he always will. Maybe that's what's really grinding me about this match. I feel like I should be facing higher profile matches, with names that are actually... Ya know, names. Now, being in this match, I can't help but feel like I did something wrong. Like, I'm being punished. Is it because I basically got monkey flipped through--not one, but TWO tables? Is it cause I got eliminated? Am I being frowned upon for allowing myself to suffer such humility? Honestly I figured the whole "crashing through the tables" part would have been punishment enough, if that's the case. That shit hurts. A lot. I don't need to be reminded that my body managed to break through two solid wooden tables, my janked up spine does a good enough job of that, k? Thanks. But, then again, maybe I'm looking at this all wrong. Maybe, instead of punishment for me, this is some sort of opportunity for ole Stormy Ray. Just coming off a big loss, so the higher ups throw him a bone and maybe give him a chance at redemption. Failing to defeat one Champion, so he gets to try his hand at facing off against another. I can understand that, I've been in that same position. Actually, when I think about it that way, now I just feel bad for the guy. I'm sure he's going into this match all bright eye'd and hopeful. Thinking "Wow wee, maybe if I can beet that slob Aries Armadaist, everyone will finally start to take me seriously! Then i can finally win my own Championship! Or as the Cherokee people call it: Maize." I almost don't have the heart to tell the little guy what the cold sad reality is... Luckily, there's enough of me that doesn't feel bad at all to say--spoiler warnings--nether of those things will ever happen. You will never beat Aries Armadaist. You will never be taken seriously, by anyone, and you will certainly never be holding any sort of leather and gold.

Aries now let out another audible groan as he forced himself out of his seat, several bones heard popping as he staggered to his feet, smacking his lips together as he lazily dusted off any snack residue from his belly, as if he had just woken up. Unfortunately, he just ended up leaving another orange handprint now smudged across his stomach.

Aries Armadaist
Ya know, usually when I'm facing an opponent, no matter how minute or mundane, I usually try and dig up at least a smidgin of dirty on em.Ya know, just to try and know something about them before I square off with them. At the very least, to give me something to talk about when I step in front of the camera. I didn't bother to do that this week. At all. Why would I? But, then I got an interesting little tid bit of information. Someone passed the word down to me that apparently I've beaten Storming Raven before. I have not one bit of recollection of this event. Honestly, this isn't me being an asshole, or trying to get Raven all riled up. I honestly don't even remember facing off against Storming Raven before. That, in of itself, could make me pee myself laughing. I can't help but wonder if that's solely on Raven's mind going into this match. Like, maybe it's even more than just an opportunity, this is his chance at revenge. Good ole fashioned vengeance. Getting a chance at avenging a loss from so long ago. To show the world, and myself, that Storming Raven and Aries Armadaist are in fact, equals. But, while all that's going on in his head; when me pinning Raven's shoulders to the mat for a 3 count was absolutely devastating for him, it was just another Monday for me. That's what really gets a good belly laugh out of me. I'd say that's your real talent, Raven. Getting people to just laugh the hardest they have in ages. The Joke of the Cherokee Nation.

Aries Armadaist
Seriously though, how many times can I say this? How many different ways can I try and communicate it? The fact that this match is taking place almost insults me. I've tried to look at it objectively, and it doesn't help. I even tried to look at it as a way of IWF management cutting me some slack. Like "Hey, Aries, you did a bang up job at the Pay-Per-View." Like, maybe this match is just suppose to be an easy week for yours truly. But, even that just gets under my skin. If they wanted to give me an easy week, just let me take the week off then. This isn't even worth the effort of getting into the ring. Not to mention, this isn't even my only match this week. I still have my Inter Species match up against the no-good Homecoming no-showing Beaver tonight as well. That's right, I'm fighting a beaver and a Raven tonight. I'm more intimidated by the beaver, in all honesty. Beavers are practically nature's lions. Kinda like how Storming Raven is practically wrestling's lemming. You're not even fun to make fun of. If you really are the pride of your people. If you truly are the best that the Cherokees have to offer in the wrestling world, then it's no wonder those bastards aren't around anymore. On that note, I can't help but wonder how Stormy and his people feel about my conquest of the animal kingdom. Handily defeating all their wacky spirit animals. Disrespecting the beasts that mother Earth have bestowed upon us with complete disregard. Does that get that red man skin boiling inside you Stormy? Are you going to avenge the honorable deer I suplexed into submission a few weeks ago?

There seemed to finally be a rising sense of interest in Aries' voice as he spoke now. Maybe not so much interest in actually facing Raven, but the mixture of his bad temper and his venting frustration finally beginning to wake him up somewhat.

Aries Armadaist
In fact, that's my challenge to you, Raven. Give me something in this match. Win or lose, at least leave an impact. Not only on me, but everyone watching. Show the world that Storming Raven isn't a name to be snickered at. I don't want to get angry at the fact that I'm wasting my time with some undercard never-will-be if we ever end up squaring off again. I wanna at least be entertained at the thought that the match will be fun. Make me remember your name, Raven. At least give me something to remember. Don't just be another Monday this time. But, in all honesty, even as I say that, I don't believe it'll honestly happen. I'm sure you'll harp on how this faithful encounter will differ much greatly from our last. I'm sure you'll prittle and prattle on about how much you've changed since our last match. You may even honestly believe you hace a chance at coming out on top this time. But, at the end of the day, even if that same shit has a different smell, it'll still get flushed down all the same. You may be the Pride of the Cherokee Nation, but it's always a good day to b-- Ya know what, no. You don't even get the catchphrase.

Aries simply waved the camera off as he plopped back down onto his seat, falling over onto his side as he began to pick his failed attempts at eating Cheesy Poofs off of the ground, and shooting for success once again, this time much more aggressively, orange junk food now seeming to bounce off his face at an accelerated rate, staring down the barrel of the camera with a narrowed brow the entire time. Barry, only groaning in disgust as he shut off the camera's feed, letting the scene cut to black.