The Herald Chronicles - Chapter 3 - A Very Herald Christmas

The soft melody of Jingle Bell jazz plays in the background, offering a temporary reprieve from the relentless rain pounding against the windows of the Seattle condo. Despite the lack of snow, Bryan Dawkins is grateful to spend Christmas with his family for the first time in over a decade.

The smell of sizzling breakfast casserole fills the air, mingling with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee. After returning from Osaka, Nico helped decorate the condo with festive lights and ornaments, including a massive ten-foot-tall tree adorned with Hawaiian leis and tinsel.

Eat your heart out, Clark Griswold.

It may not have been a white Christmas, but it’s certainly filled with love and laughter. And the tree is full too. A lotta sap!

“Dad! Next one’s for you!” Nico exclaims as he tosses a box Bryan’s way. Bryan snatches the box out of the air, surveying the room around him.

His son, surrounded by mountains of crumpled wrapping paper, sits treeside with a Tony Gamble-esque grin pasted across his face. Kai lounges on the couch, nursing a coffee and watching her son enjoy being spoiled by his father on Christmas.

Bryan glances at the name on the package.

From: Kai.

He tears into the package and unveils…a travel pillow.

“Oh, that’s cool! For all the travel you’re doing!” Nico oozes optimism.

Bryan makes eye contact with Kai before her eyes dart away. He can’t help but feel the resentment radiating from the gift. He smiles through the feeling.

“Oh Kai, this is great - thank you!”

Kill her with kindness.

He shakes the negative vibes from his brain and admires the gift.

“This will be great for that flight to Sydney in a few weeks!”

Nico beams.

He sets the travel pillow on the couch between himself and Kai. It might only be a travel pillow, but might as well be Mount Rainier.

Better start climbing…

“Actually about that–”

Before Bryan can finish his sentence, he’s interrupted.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

It’s seven-thirty on Christmas morning.

Either someone died or…

“HO HO HO, MERRY CHRISTMAS, THE BRYAN DAWKINS!”

Fuck…

Sighing, he opens the door.

“Dad, who’s that?” Bryan’s head snaps to the left, catching Nico out of the corner of his eye approaching the door.

In a panic, he slams the door in The Herald’s face.

“Oh, no one. Telemarketer. Renewal by Andersen. No one important!”

Smooth.

Nico glances out the window.

“Uh…so why is there a skinny guy dressed as Santa with two elves and a…horse with antlers outside?”

Fuck…

“Oh! That!” Bryan chuckles nervously. He opens the door.

Here we go.

“The Herald…” A sigh. “Merry Christmas.”

One by one, Santa Herald wielding a giant leather sack, Giuseppe and Charlie the Elves make their way into the house. Dawkins stops Secretariat at the door.

“You release any bodily fluids or substances in this rental and you’ll end up at the glue factory.”

*whinny*

Accepting the whinny as confirmation, Dawkins allows Secretariat to enter, for better or for worse.

Kai mouths “what the…?” as the Herald convoy enters the living room.

Suddenly, Dawkins’ new Alias title is removed from the mantle and strapped around Nico’s waist. It should also be noted that Nico is atop Secretariat. It all happens so fast.

“The Bryan Dawkins!” The Herald exclaims, “I come bearing gifts!”

He dives headfirst into the giant sack that presumably holds presents, rooting around. After a few moments, he emerges. He turns to Nico, still atop Secretariat.

“For you, dear Mister Nico!” He offers an old shoe box, beaten and battered, wrapped haphazardly to the boy. Nico examines it for a minute before tearing away the wrapping paper and popping open the lid. His eyes widen for a moment before removing a Bryan Dawkins action figure. He shoots a slightly confused look at The Herald. Bryan can’t help but crack a small smile at the gift.

“So you can spend time with your father!” The Herald states matter-of-factly before moving on to the next gift. Nico shrugs and further examines the figurine, which includes its own mini Alias title.

Cute.

Bryan’s smile quickly fades, especially when he realizes Charlie Armageddon is no longer in the living room. His eyes dart back and forth between the doorways, attempting to catch a glimpse of the Red Herald without alerting his family.

The Herald’s eyes lock onto his next target - Kai. “And you must be the missus!”

He hands a tattered envelope to Nico’s mother. He looks on, a stupid grin on his face, while she internally questions whether or not she should open the envelope.

“Go on!” he beckons. Still unsure, she tears open the envelope before pausing for a moment. She slides out a card, decorated with “Happy Anniversary!” and fails to hide her mixture of confusion and disgust.

“What is this?” she questions. She makes sure her son is still preoccupied with his gift and waves the greeting card in the slender man’s face.

The Herald smiles gleefully. “It says right on the card! It’s an anniversary gift, of course!”

Dawkins tries to stifle a nervous laugh. Kai's face remains stoic but the tension in her jaw gives it away. If looks could kill, both Bryan and the Herald would have one way tickets to a pine box in the ground right now.

“You do know we’re not, and will likely never be married, right?” All of a sudden, that travel pillow resembles Mount Everest.

Ouch, that one hurts…

Bryan glances over at Nico, still entranced by the combination of the action figure, Alias title, Giuseppe and Secretariat. He bites his tongue, deciding now’s not the time for that conversation with his son’s mother.

“Oh I do apologize! Maybe hold onto it for a later date?!”

Can you just shut up?

Kai seethes on the couch, shoving the card back into the envelope and tucking it in the couch.

“Nico? Gather your things. It’s about time we get ready to head to your grandparents’ house.”

He frowns.

“But mom, they just got here!” he whines as he gestures to the Heralds. He hops off of Secretariat and approaches Kai. He shares a glance with his father for a moment. “I’d like to stay here if that’s alright.”

Kai glares at Bryan, who offers a shrug of his shoulders in reply.

What? I had nothin’ to do with this!

“I think your father’s going to be busy. He’s got a big flight back to Japan that he needs to get ready for, remember?” She snipes “And then he’s gonna be gone until spring!”

Bryan aches with each word, no matter how true they might be. Nico’s response lifts his spirits a bit.

“And that’s why I want to stay!” he replies. “Plus, these guys are fun!” He gestures to the Heralds.

Bryan looks to The Herald and smiles. “You bruhs mind giving us a minute?”

The Herald plops down on the couch next to Kai. “Not at all!”

Dawkins glares. “Not in here - outside!”

“The Heralds! Assemble!” The Herald leads the other Heralds back outside into the pouring rain.

“Kai…Nico…before you guys leave. I have your gift.”

Nico's eyes light up but Kai doesn't stop gathering the presents behind him, making no attempt to slow their eventual exit.

He directs most of the conversation to Nico. “As your mother noted, I’ve got to go back overseas for the PRIME tour. My gift is that I’ve arranged for you both to join me!”

Nico is beaming. “Are you kidding? That’s awesome! I can’t wait!”

Then, and only then, does Kai stop packing up and direct her attention back to Bryan. "What? No. We can't do that."

“You always do this, Bryan. You don’t think about what is going on outside of wrestling. I have to work. Nico has school!”

“Those aren’t that important, Miss Kai!” The Herald chimes in to Bryan’s dismay.

“Didn’t he ask you to leave?”

“Indeed he did, but I thought I might be able to assist in this matter! You know, we Heralds are a very educated bunch. We would love to school young Nico here while we’re all abroad!”

Kai can’t believe the words she’s hearing. “This is all a joke, right? Bryan?”

“Well, yes and no? I’ve got everything covered…I’ll cover all of the cost. I’ve arranged for the best on the road home school and tutor that money can buy.”

“You can’t come into our lives and completely drop what we’re doing to go travel the world with you, Bryan. Surely you can understand that!” Kai spits in disgust. “What about Nico’s friends? His football? His wrestling? Do you have any idea how this can stop all that progress?!”

“But mom!”

This gift has driven a giant wedge between Bryan and Kai, with Nico balancing precariously on the wedge.

“Don’t ‘mom’ me, Nico. Get in the car. I’ll be out in a minute.”

With a mumble of derision, Nico gathers his things and opens the door. He gives one last look back at his father and waves, before slamming it and leaving Mom and Dad alone.

Bryan follows Kai into the kitchen.

“You see what my problem is, right Bryan?” she questions.

Bryan frowns.

Of course I know.

“I do, I do…but I thought this would be a great way for us to come together. I really did.” He leans against the countertop for support.

“And I know I should’ve talked to you about it first…but–”

She wheels around and points her finger in Bryan's face, embers of rage burning behind her pupils. "There's no but, Bryan. You can't say and do whatever you want." She spreads her arms and slaps them against her thighs. "How nice it must be to live a life here you can drop in and out and make life-altering changes at a whim. But guess what? We're not wrestlers." She shakes her head and tries to calm down. "I am happy you want to be more involved with Nico, but we need to talk about these things, Bryan. Please."

Her expression hardens..

“I know you want nothing more than joint custody of him. But look what keeps happening. How can I let you back in if you keep pulling shit like this?”

A shrug is all the answer she needs.

"And you see the position you've put me in now? Now I'm the bad guy if I say no. Now I can't say no to him." She shakes her head and shoves on her jacket. "God dammit!"

He nods sheepishly. "I'm sorry..."

"I'm not sure you are," she spits. A couple of deep breaths later, she continues. “We’ve gotta get to my parents’. I’ll be in touch once I figure out how to deal with this.”

Without giving Bryan a chance to respond, she turns on a dime with her sights set on the door. “Merry Christmas, Bryan…” is the last thing he hears before the door slams behind her.

🎄🍍🎄🍍🎄

“The Bryan Dawkins?” The Herald pokes his head in the door, hoping that he and his fellow Heralds would be permitted back inside. It was still raining after all.

“Hello, The Bryan Dawkins? It’s The Heralds. Hoping to bring more holiday cheer to you and yours!” Santa Herald slips in the doorway and makes his way down the hall into the kitchen, where he finds Bryan seated at the table, staring at the Alias Title. He sips a cold cup of coffee and his gaze doesn’t stray from the title.

“Merry Christmas, The Bryan Dawkins!” The Herald presents a crimson red envelope. “Your gift!”

The gift doesn’t register with Bryan, whose mind drifts in and out of the present. In the past ten minutes, he’s replayed the events of the morning at least a hundred times over.

Second guessing.

Reconsidering.

Regretting.

CRASH

The sound of a Christmas tree falling to the ground jerks Bryan to life.

“What the hell?” Without waiting for a response from The Herald, Dawkins springs from the table and makes his way to the living room.

Gone is the beautiful Christmas display. His picture perfect tree is knocked over, leaving thousands upon thousands of pine needles in its wake. Secretariat stands over the tree, chewing broken limbs and hoovering any pine needles he can find.

Charlie sits innocently on the couch picking pine needles and sap from his fingernails.

“YOU!”

He charges the much smaller Armageddon but is stopped by the bowling ball of a man that is Giuseppe.

“STOP IT, KID. GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF.” He plays referee between Dawkins and the Red Herald. As Bryan backs away, Giuseppe pulls Secretariat’s reins to lead him away from the downed tree.

“I do hope you’ve enjoyed your Christmas, The Bryan Dawkins!” The Herald’s ability to be unapologetically (and possibly blindly) enthusiastic is remarkable, if not a little annoying.

“I have not, thanks bruh.” Dawkins falls onto the couch opposite Charlie. He rubs his temples, squinting his eyes and praying for relief he knows will not come.

“I could use some alone time.” He shields his eyes from the light.

“Well..don’t forget about your present! Heralds out!” The procession of Heralds makes their way down the hall and out the same door from which they entered, slamming the door on their way out. A little bit of insult to injury.

After wallowing in self pity, Bryan peels himself off the couch and returns to the kitchen for another cup of coffee.

And then he sees it.

The crimson envelope.

He knows what’s inside but can’t help himself.

He tears it open.

🎄🍍🎄🍍🎄

The terminal at Sydney International Airport is abuzz with travelers. Although the traffic is much slower than it was weeks ago during the holiday season, the airport is jam packed on this mid-January day.

Maybe the kickoff of PRIME’s 2025 international tour has something to do with that.

Kai and Nico weave their way through a maze of travelers, each of whom are searching for either their terminal or ride away from the airport.

“There mom!” Nico exclaims as he points to a man holding a sign that simply says “DAWKINS”. He drags his mother to the driver whose tanned complexion rivals Kai’s. He smiles widely at the pair before assisting with their baggage and whisking them away to their vehicle.

After a few moments, the pair is loaded into the SUV and en route to their destination.

The 18 hour flight to get from Seattle to Sydney was nothing compared to the journey Kai had to take in order to agree to this trip.

As the driver zips in and out of Sydney traffic, Kai can’t help but wonder if she made the right choice. She looks to Nico, who marvels at the sights of downtown Sydney. If it wasn’t for him, Kai wouldn’t be in Australia right now.

The decision wasn’t easy.

The biggest concern was schooling. How could she take her son out of school for nearly three months? What self respecting parent would do that to a child? Bryan has it covered with daily home schooling and tutoring sessions to make sure Nico won’t fall behind during the trip.

She also thought Nico would have more of a problem with missing his wrestling season. A fine amateur grappler, he was poised to play a major part in Washington’s state wrestling picture. Then again, he’ll always have his senior year to make an impact. It’s not every day that he’ll have the chance to travel abroad for three months. Bryan’s got that covered too - he’s committed to train with Nico daily to make sure he doesn’t see a physical drop off during the trip.

She looks toward Nico, waiting for some kind of assurance that she’s made the right decision.

“You good?” She questions. “It’s not too late to turn around and head back to the airport.”

Nico quickly retorts. “Are you kidding me? This is awesome!” He continues to gawk at the spectacle that is downtown Sydney.

To his credit, Bryan has put the effort in and made every attempt to ensure this is a worry-free trip for both Kai and Nico.

The vehicle slows. “Ma’am, your hotel is up ahead!” the driver announces.

🎄🍍🎄🍍🎄

Bruh, look at you now.

Bryan is in his element. Clear skies allow the sun’s rays to make it feel much warmer than 82 degrees on Swanbourne Beach. Bryan, Kai and Nico flew into Perth the day after ReVival 61 and now enjoy a relaxing day on the beach.

Six months ago you were ready to walk away.

Now you’re Alias Champion.

You’re on your way to get your son back.

You’re aligning yourself with the most powerful group in wrestling.

What could be better?

Nico wades in the warm water of the Indian Ocean. Kai sunbathes a few feet away from Bryan. All is right.

DING

Bryan reads the text - an update to the card for ReVival 62. His opponent is no longer Black Sheep Baez, rather fellow youngster Sebastian Gold is taking his place. Dawkins grins.

That’s great.

First defense of the Alias title under my rules.

Unlike other Alias Champions, I’m choosin’ to keep this under wraps for a while. Let you all stew on it for a minute.

ReVival 62 - a familiar opponent.

I said it the first time I faced him back on ReVival 58 - I know the kid better than he knows himself.

I was doin’ the high flyin’, risk takin’ thing on the world’s biggest stage when little Bash was tryin’ to pass his driver’s exam.

Last time, it was a heel hook. Bruh’s lucky I took pity on him, otherwise he’d be comin’ into this match with one leg.

Nico emerges from the water, jogging to where his parents are still soaking up the rays.

“This is killer! I was texting my buddy - it’s in the forties back home right now!” He looks at his mother. “Thanks for making this happen!”

Bryan smiles from ear to ear…Kai offers a more subdued smile to her first born. Nico pops in ear buds and begins to soak in his own rays.

“Kai…this is great.”

“Not now, Bryan.”

“What?” He questions. “I can’t say this is great?”

“This isn’t the time” she snaps while turning her face away.

Heh, that went well.

As the challenger, I’m sure Bash thinks he’s got everything to gain and nothing to lose. That usually makes you dangerous.

I don’t think he understands that the inverse is as, if not more dangerous.

If I don’t hold on to the Alias Title, what do you think happens, Bash?

My son’s gonna see me as a failure - and after all I’ve been through to get this far? I can’t have that.

Ivan doesn’t need me anymore - I’m no use to the Red Army.

We’re all a product of our surroundings, bruh. Look at who you surround yourself with…

Crash Jackson, certified loser.

Rob Williams, certified psychopath.

Sounds like you need better taste in friends.

Hey, I’m a prime example, pardon the pun…I ditched Chandler Tsonda and now look at me!

Maybe after I defeat you for the second time you’ll realize the error of your ways and start to see the value in aligning yourself with the right people.

People who know how to get things done.

Like the Red Army.

Like reigning Alias Champion Bryan fucking Dawkins.

🎄🍍🎄🍍🎄

The last few days have been absolute heaven in Perth.

Sunny, beautiful days spent hanging out at the beach and sightseeing the many attractions. Bryan has started to wind things down in an attempt to conserve some energy for the upcoming Alias Title defense on Friday. He returns from a long walk on the beach to find Nico lounging on the deck of their rental.

He doesn’t bother disturbing the young man, instead stopping by the fridge for a sparkling water, making his way down the hall toward the bedrooms.

“Hey dad…” Nico beckons. Bryan didn’t hear him slide the door open.

“Yeah?”

“You seen mom?”

Odd.

“I thought she was here with you?” Bryan responds.

Probably on a run. It’s a beautiful day.

“Nope. I figured she was with you.” The calmness in Nico’s voice only spurs more unease in his father.

Probably taking a nap.

Quick paces down the hallway. Heart rate building. He opens the door.

Nothing.

Back to the kitchen. No note. No text. No voice mail.

Nothing.

His son laughs as he watches a TikTok.

Where did she go? Don’t show him you’re afraid.

He decides to double back to her room when he sees it out of the corner of his eye.

A crimson envelope sitting upon her pillow.

No Heralds.

No fuckery.

A simple letter.

He dives onto the bed and tears the envelope open swiftly. The words chill his very soul.

I told you before, I’m a man who almost always keeps his promises! You wanted custody of the fuckin’ kid, now you got him. You can thank me later, heh-heh…

-MK