act nine: an issue of trust
Inviting Isaac over turned out to be one of the better choices I've made in the NLCW, to be honest... it was something I think that the both of us needed in the end. As I said, there are a number of trust issues that could have surfaced between us: he and Bucky aren't on the best of terms-- far from it, in fact-- and Bucky and I had only just tagged together recently. With my own opinion of Bucky a lot better than it was a couple of years ago thanks to that tournament, it almost felt strange trying to make friends with a guy that was essentially a hated enemy of his... even if that enemy was my tag partner.
Moreover, another issue to be brought up would be my issue with teamwork in the past, and my individualistic nature in the early-goings of my career in the NLCW. It'd be hard for him to trust someone like me when all he really gets to see of me aside from my recent matches is the tapes from over two years ago, I wouldn't blame him for failing to trust me in the end becuase of what's displayed of me from my past. It's funny how much an attitude can change in time, though... who knew I'd wind up a tag champion after everything I'd gone through as a single competitor, after-all?
"I'm gunning for your ass, Percolator... got me my red shells and I-- WHAT?! HEY!"
"Haaahahaha, that was brilliant! Fucking Boo! Fucking Boo!"
"Fuck you, man! If this was the Wii one that shit'd never fly!"
Isaac smirked. It was an impressive move... me without any power-ups and Champion with the red shells, and Isaac swipes them right before Chris can even get a shot off thanks to his Boo. Of course, it still spelled trouble for me... Isaac launched off the first red shell when he returned from his ghost form and took Chris out in quick form, then let another loose that... turned back around and hit Chris again.
"Hey! Fuck you!"
The third one was his better shot, speeding off and smashing into the back of my kart. It nearly knocked me off the track, but I managed to maintain enough control to keep me in as Isaac sped by, Chris and I glancing at each other for a moment before turning back to the screen, a silent agreement for revenge against my tag partner for his decision to try and sabotage us. As we drove through Bowser's Castle, avoiding bats and aiming ourselves for more power-ups... Isaac sped off towards the bridge above a lava pit. As soon as Chris got his single red shell from the power-up he let it fly, and off Isaac went into the lava.
"Wh-- what?! I... hey! You--"
"GENIUS!" Champion roared with laughter, as he passed the bridge safely, "I am a fucking GENIUS!"
My own power-up was a little more effective than a red shell, however. With Isaac still recovering from the lava pit, I unleashed a lightning bolt that shrunk Chris down to size and nearly caused him to lean over and punch me in the arm for my troubles, all with him cursing up a storm. He tried to avoid me, tried not to let me run him over, but right before he could get back up to size again I plowed right over him and left him flat on the track.
"Percolator, you traitor!"
"Every man for himself, bitch!"
Mario Kart Wii had been a lot of fun earlier in the night, but with Chris craving the classics we'd wound up booting up Mario Kart 64 partway through the night. The results were fantastic, and it was all a hell of a lot of fun... we went through all three of his consoles, actually, but somehow came back to Mario Kart by the end of the night. At around one in the morning Isaac finally checked his watch and decided it was time for him to head back to his hotel, capping his own night off by winning on Luigi's Raceway but following up with a loss on Rainbow Road. It was fun, all things considered, since it was one of the first times Chris and I ever just stayed in and played games all night instead of going off somewhere to do something.
"Really hadn't planned on staying out this late," Isaac said, shaking his head and staring at the screen with a smirk, "I have to admit, this was fun. Thanks for the invitation Pericolo."
Champion raised his drink at Isaac and made a motion towards me with his free hand's thumb, a half-grin on his own face.
"You oughta come by more often kid, I start getting tired of this jackass after the first hour."
"Quit hitting on my tag partner, Chris."
Champion glanced at me with a raised eyebrow as I stood up and laughed, shaking hands with Isaac on his way towards the door. After breaking the handshake I turned towards Chris, figuring it was about time for me to head off as well. With the hour as it was, there was a good chance Suki and Georgina just decided to crash at our own hotel room for a little while, and I wanted to get back to the place as soon as I could. I figured Georgina would be on her way home shortly anyway, it was like them to have a quick nap before heading off and I highly doubted she planned on leaving Champ home alone for the night.
We said our goodbyes to Chris and made our way to our respective vehicles, talking about the night that had passed. It had been fun, a lot of fun... but of course, before we could part ways, we'd need to at least talk a little on our match at Avulsion. After-all, we were a tag team... going against Skyler and Jones wasn't going to be an easy task, but it was far from impossible.
"So, what're you thinking about Sunday?"
Isaac surprised me with his answer to my question, turning towards me as he leaned back against his car and crossed his arms over his chest. He seemed confident in his answer, and as simple as it was, it was a hell of an answer regardless.
"I'm thinking they don't stand a chance, really."
It would be our first tag match together but, to be fair, it would be Bucky and Stacy's first match together as well. Their group dynamic didn't seem to have the potential that ours did, with Stacy generally out for herself moreso than anything else, it'd probably turn into two skilled individuals against two skilled individuals that are also a fairly skilled team as well. In the end, it... it really was true, wasn't it? They didn't stand a chance.
The issue with tag teams, for me, is that it's always so hard to anticipate the variables. You're at the mercy of your partner's limits, and having to function as a team means you only have 50% control over what's going on in how you handle the match. To be a truly competant tag-team, the partners have to work together in synchronization, and for me... that's never been easy. In this case, too, I was placing trust in a man I'd never teamed with before to help me keep this new run of mine strong, and to work well enough with me that we might began to advance as a team that might be remembered rather than a team that was, well, basically just hastily thrown together through a little competition.
"I'll be honest with you," Isaac said, pushing himself off of his car, "At first, this was more of an issue of trust for me... I had to know if you'd be a good partner for me in the end or not. Let's face facts here, Dominic... I've not had the best history with tag partners, okay, I've been screwed before. Knowing whether or not you'd be the same was important, and I think tonight's at least helped me make a judgment call."
He opened his door, glancing at me for a moment and nodding his head, a smirk on his face.
"As individuals we're the best the NLCW has to offer, and we can be the same as a team. I honestly think this could work. Anyway, we'll see how things go... be ready for Sunday though, and I'm thinking we've got this pretty easily."
I nodded my head, smirking right back at him as he finished speaking and lowered himself into the car to turn it on. As the vehicle fired up and his radio kicked on, Isaac seemed to contemplate something for a moment before switching his radio off and resurfacing from inside the car, pointing a finger at me with a dead serious look on his face.
"That being said... leave Skyler to me. I know you two tagged recently, and I'm sure you've got your eye on that belt of his... but you leave that son of a bitch to me, alright?"
I nodded my head, understanding the seriousness of what he was requesting. Fact of the matter was, regardless of the team Bucky and I made in that tournament, we were still wrestlers... and wrestlers build grudges for a reason. In this case, he'd made history with Reynolds and Reynolds was ready to repay him the favor, and there would be no reason for me to come between the two of them. It was something Reynolds felt necessary, and it was something I simply couldn't argue against.
"Noted, Isaac. You have a safe trip back."
He nodded and ducked back into his car... in a few moments, he was driving off down the road and I was left to stare through the windshield of my own car, lost deep in thought. I'd studied as much as I could, the tapes on Bucky's recent style changes... I could get down a pattern on the guy really easily-- especially after tagging with him-- but there was still something about him that was unexpected. With Stacy Jones, I could see the patterns and I could predict the moves and know her game long before she'd even begin to play it, but with Bucky there was something that stopped me from doing the same.
With Stacy, it's big words and small action, despite the fact that that same small action still packed a hell of a punch. Yet with Buck... it was big words, big action, and then something unidentifiable along the way. A drive not unlike my own, a desire not unlike my own, but seemingly for all the wrong reasons... was there something that fueled Buck's fire in the ring in a negative direction? As vicious out there as he is, I've always been a step ahead of him... but something in him has changed since those days. Something about the man I once called Enigma has made me unsure of what to expect from him anymore, and that very idea made me both nervous and excited all the same.
I'd honestly love to have a serious challenger once again, I'd love to take on someone I know could push me to my limits like I once was... but I'm not looking for someone who'd try to kill me along the way, either. When we tagged together, Bucky was incredibly skilled at adapting to the tag scene with me, and he caught on to the trends of our opponents remarkably fast. He could do the same in singles competition now... what would that spell for me against him, the man who'd nearly destroyed my partners career at one point in time?
"Heh... that's something else," I muttered, "For the first time in ages, my vision of the future's gone just a little blurry."
And it's all thanks to Bucky Skyler.