- Event: Refueled XXV
As the scene opens we find ourselves in what appears to be a dark tent based out of the familiar traveling carnival which we saw last week, there is not much visible to us due to the obvious lack of light coming from the tent, a single flicker of a candle shows that Lucian Santangel is laid down on a makeshift bed from old clothes and suitcases laid across the floor. As we pan closer we can see that Lucian’s eyes are closed and he appears to be in a deep sleep.
“Father” Lucian mutters softly as he shakes his head from side to side still in a very deep sleep.
“No, don’t do it” are the next words to come out of Lucian’s mouth.
A small droplet of sweat begins to form on the forehead slowly dripping down his face making his trademark face-paint run from under his mask, it is clear to see that whatever Lucian is dreaming of its putting him in discomfort.
“Stop!”
Lucian’s body jumps as if he just suffered an electric shock, suddenly he opens his eyes and starts to hyperventilate. After a few moments of starting to breathe slowly to gain his composure, he wipes the sweat off his face.
Lucian – “It will never end until I find you”
Lucian sits upon his makeshift bed and looks upwards to the roof of the tent, hanging aloft we now see that the tent is filled with jester and clown masks, he has been sleeping in a tent that showcases the carnival of horrors.
He suddenly looks over to where there is a gap in the tent as he notices a hand holding the tent door open. Slowly pulling himself up he walks over to the opening to grab the hand, pulling it towards him nothing follows just a prosthetic arm. He smiles to himself and opens the other curtain to reveal a small dwarf smiling up at Lucian.
Lucian – “Maximillion, what are you doing here?”
Lucian invites the dwarf into the tent. However, the dwarf just stands there, somewhat afraid to enter the tent.
Maximillion – “I came to tell you that the carousel has arrived!”
A look of joy creeps over the sadistic resting face of Lucian. Upon telling him the news he quickly picks up his prosthetic arm off the floor, turns around, and quickly leaves Lucian alone in the tent.
As Lucian walks out of the tent with a huge smile gleaming from each side of his cheeks he slowly starts to skip towards the bright lights of a carousel which is built in front of his eyes.
Lucian – “Oh, look at this!”
Enjoyment has come over his face like a little boy in a sweet shop, his eyes are now wider than they have ever been, he skips up to the railing protecting the would-be crowd and softly touches the metal with his hands.
Lucian – “This is perfect”
He looks over to some fellow workers who also stand in awe at the carousel in front of them
Lucian –” Get your hands off it! This is Mine”
He suddenly becomes filled with rage that others are wanting to touch what is his. Of course, anyone can ride when they are open to the public but right now at this moment this belongs to Lucian and he wants everyone to know that they must not touch what us his.
Ringmaster – “Lucian, what is it with you today?”
Lucian turns around to see the Ringmaster dressed in his showman outfit with a cane in hand standing next to him.
Lucian – “Look at the lights, look how they twinkle in the night sky, look how every light flashes in its unique separate way like it is trying to talk to you.”
The ringmaster smiles as he believes the words coming out of Lucian’s mouth.
Ringmaster – “Yes, the lights have found their new home, are you starting to feel at home?”
Lucian – “In HOW or Here at the Carnival?”
Ringmaster – “I guess both, we cannot have an unhappy Lucian, I mean we searched the lands high and low for you, now that we have you, we wouldn’t want you to leave us now”
The ringmaster’s voice becomes stern, as in a tone that makes us feel some of the workers are not allowed to leave the carnival even if they wanted to. He is a man with a lot of power so I doubt they would want to feel the consequences of trying to leave.
Lucian – “This is all I have ever wanted. To make a name for me, to see my name up in lights. I want the people to go ‘oh look its Lucian’. And you make that possible for me. HOW, Well that is different, you see a long time ago, well it started with a tale from my mother. Do you have time for me to explain?”
The ringmaster motions to Lucian to follow him and takes a seat watching the carousel spin around.
Ringmaster – “Tell me what’s on your mind, I always have time for you Lucian,”
Lucian sits down and takes a deep breath before continuing his story.
Lucian – “you see a long time ago when my mother told me that to find answers for my father I needed to find Lee Best I thought I was on to a great start when I ended up Finding him in HOW however truth be told I am no closer at all.
You see my father was also a wrestler, however, he did this great trick that he never used his real name, he would use a stage name, another persona, a whole new identity to travel the lands, federation to federation, so the likely hood of finding my father is literally one in a million.
All I know is that in two thousand and eight he was once in HOW himself, he had the total of three matches, he won his first in a very convincing way, and then he went on to lose the next two before once again being fired from another federation and disappearing into the darkness.”
A Rare emotion crosses Lucian’s face, for he is always bitter however his face now starts to show a sad face, one filled with guilt, sorry and regret
Ringmaster – “How many matches are you In now?”
Lucian – “This week will be my third”
Ringmaster – “But who says you will suffer the same fate? who do you face this week?”
Lucian – “Max Stryker”
Lucian Sighs as its not a man who is going to get him any closer to the true identity of his father
Ringmaster – “Who?”
Lucian – “A man who has held championships all over the world, a veteran much like my father, I think he’s the same age as my father too, so its another match where the person stood opposite me could be my father.”
Ringmaster – Does he have a record like your father?
Lucian – “Not so much, he lost last week to Brian Hollywood, I think he took his eye off the prize, he wanted the big grand debut, but it didn’t go well for him. This week I hope he keeps his eye on the prize. Otherwise, he will go the same route as my father and be another lost soul searching for that all elusive first win.”
The Ringmaster notices that Lucian has his fists clenched talking about the hatred towards his father, so he tries to calm the psychopath by changing the subject
Ringmaster – “I don’t think you should worry my child about other people’s futures, think about your own. Why do you like the Sparkling lights so much on a Carousel anyways?”
Lucian – “Why wouldn’t I, they are so shiny and they bring out people hiding in the shadows. I mean look at that there. It is simply amazing don’t you think?”
Mission successful, the Ringmaster manages to switch Lucian’s attention.
Lucian smiles with a sadistic look across his face, he holds his hand up to the sky looking through the gaps of his fingers.
Lucian – “Everyone is drawn to the light, they are like fireflies lighting up the sky, you see when people sit on the carousel they are not only taken to another land, but they are given a dream-like state of mind. They spin around and for that second nobody means anything to them anymore. Their souls become so pure and then they become mine for the taking.”
Ringmaster – “So what you are saying is when someone gets on a carousel then they lose all feeling of reality? is that why you like them? Because you let go?”
Lucian quickly snaps with a snarl on his face.
Lucian – “No matter how much I want to let go I cannot, I cannot stand the fact that my father abandoned me, I cannot stand the fact that no matter what I tell people they never believe me. I need to make people start to realize that I am no lie teller, I am the dream seller.”
Lucian has a sinister look in his eyes.
Lucian – “I am the dream seller because I sell dreams and false hopes to everyone around me, Take my past opponents, I told the world that at the lethal lottery that I would make a name for myself, I told everyone who listened that I would be the next star to break out, not because of a name but because I am like no other, and what happened?”
Ringmaster – “You won.”
Lucian – “Of course I won, I sold dreams to my opponents that I was inexperienced, they thought they could take advantage of this, and what happened I stood on the apron unhurt, not fatigued at all and watched my so-called partner do all the work like the good minion he was.”
Lucian waves his hand down from the sky and brushes the hair out of his face which has fallen in front of his eyes
Lucian – “Then last week, I told you all again that I would beat Zeb and no-one gave me any chance of winning against the great Zeb, and what happened?”
Ringmaster – “You Won again, but that’s nothing new with you, Lucian, You are a born winner, you are the future of this Carnival”
The Ringmaster praises Lucian in another attempt to switch his attention as he still has his fists clenched.
Lucian – “In less than five minutes I made my way down to the ring and got the victory, people need to realize that I can back my words up, it is like I am telling you all that all you need to do is draft me in war games because I will win it all for your team.”
Ringmaster – “What about Max Stryker?”
The ringmaster takes a large gulp as he realized he just dropped a name he never wanted to say, he made a mistake making Lucian focus on the real topic in hand.
Lucian – “What about him? he’s won championships in every federation that he has been in, so what. That’s the past, And I am the future. Max stands little to no chance against me, that’s not me bragging but it is me telling the truth. You see the dream I sold to Max is that I am just a smaller guy who is standing in his way to his first win in HOW. Well, I am sorry Stryker, I may be smaller but I am sure as hell smarter. I know his weakness, and it wouldn’t be wise to tell you what it is, because I am going to leave that a surprise.”
Ringmaster – “You seem worked up other nothing, maybe you should go fight now to let all your anger out.”
Lucian – “We both know that no-one is around for me to fight.”
Ringmaster – “Oh you never got told?”
Lucian suddenly stares with a look of fire in his eyes from the words coming out of the ringmaster’s mouth.
Lucian – “What?”
Ringmaster – “We have a new guy, he joined the carnival this week”
Lucian – “What?”
Lucian looks a mix of puzzled and also angry that nobody informed him of a new arrival.
Ringmaster – “Yeah, some Irish Guy, always looking for a fight.”
Lucian – “Interesting, maybe he likes to get cut up with knives too?”
Ringmaster – “Doubtful, however, I feel that you two will share some of the same views and you may even get along, why don’t you go see him.”
Lucian – “Yes, that is exactly what I will do, Maybe then I can think more clearly.”
With that Lucian starts to walk off in another direction before turning back and looking once more at the carousel which slowly starts to spin to some different old-style gypsy music over the carnivals PA system, as the horses slowly go up and down as it spins around Lucian smiles to himself before continuing his walk to find the new arrival.
–FIN–