Checkmate

[Deleted]

I'm finally able to get a chess game going backstage, albeit it isn't the game I dreamed of. I'm dressed in a black t-shirt that has a 1-Up mushroom on it, a pair of jeans, and a trucker hat that depicts "Duke Nukem Forever" on the front of it. Figure this'll be enough, since I don't even know if I want to even bother showing up to this match, to begin with.

At first glance, the game looks to be about wrapped up, as the opposing king to him is cornered and its forces have been depleted. I say to the cameraman...

Me: You don't play chess very often, do you?

Cameraman: I never get the chance. Most of the roster are a bunch of muscle-headed jerks. Even the few that seem to have half a brain are still kind of mean, so I generally don't ask them for a game. You?

Me: Eh, Susan doesn't have the patience. Sammy isn't exactly the sharpest guy, though he has challenged me a few times. As for the roster, I wouldn't even know where to begin. Maybe Bates, if he didn't want my head.

Cameraman: I played him once, and he is a ringer, indeed. But yeah, he does seem to have something against you. Probably has to do with the first round of the Classic.

Me: Your insight serves you well. Check.

I'd moved my knight within striking distance of his king, which was stuck behind a wall of pawns acting as a wall between himself and Checkmate. He moves a pawn diagonal from the position to strike down the knight, as I say again...

Me: Check.

Cameraman: Damned bishop. I guess I'll just have to move the king. So you got what match tonight?

Me: Six-man tag match against Zombie, Burn, and del Sol.

Cameraman: Blaze. Teddy Blaze, to be precise.

Me: Yeah, whatever works for him. I mean, his name change will not hide the fact that I already beat him once during the Trios tournament that will never be. I kinda wish that didn't get canned...

Cameraman: To be fair, it's not so tense around here with some of the people who, well... But on the other hand, the new guys? Wow! Those guys are so clueless...

Me: Shit, I'm afraid to ask you what you thought of me when I first got here...

Cameraman: When I heard your name, I thought you were going to just be a rip-off of an old gimmick. Then I saw you, and almost laughed out loud when I figured out that your gimmick is more about games, and not being some overhyped asshat with muscles.

Me: Check.

I had slipped my queen into the row where his king had been sitting. He maneuvered his rook in between himself and his king. As in, right next to the king, which made me think twice about killing said rook. I instead moved the knight once again, and said...

Me: Check.

He moved the rook to kill the knight, but that just left a kill shot for the queen. He then maneuvered the king backwards, and says...

Cameraman: I know what's coming next...

I kill the rook with the queen, and with the spacing between the king and queen, I say to him...

Me: Checkmate.

Cameraman: Yep. So who's your teammates for tonight?

Me: My upcoming opponents at Blast. Truth be told, I don't really care to be in this match. It's just fluff, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, does it really matter if I can work with these guys as a team now, since we're to cave each other's heads in for the World Title in a few weeks? Especially considering one of my partners is Nathan Chambers...

Cameraman: Oh, that guy is up his own ass! I had to shoot some stuff for him, and Jesus Christ, that couldn't have ended fast enough! He's a real douchebag! I'm sorry for your plight...

Me: Eh, I've worked with some jerks in my time, but yeah, he's one of the bigger ones. But if he thinks he can take on all three of our opponents tonight, I'm more than inclined to let him try. I think it would be funny to watch him get his ass handed to him. My other partner is Stuart Slane...

Cameraman: Oh God, that guy is a sadist. I don't care that he's been a nicer guy since his last time here, I don't trust him. This guy used to traumatize kids whenever they weren't able to meet his standards, which was never.

Me: I haven't had a problem with him, but I know of him and his past. Again, not like I would trust him to have my back this close to Blast. About the only benefit to being in this match would be to see them work up close and in person. Monitors only do so much in regards to seeing how they really work.

Cameraman: True. Though as a cameraman, I only get one perspective, so I miss a ton, usually. So your opponents, are you worried about them?

I don't answer right away. I think about it for a few moments, before I say...

Me: Teddy might want to avenge his loss to myself or Chambers. He has a ton to prove to everyone that this losing streak is due to be broken soon. He wants to break it, and I don't blame him. Zombie is always dangerous. You never know which Zombie you're going to get. The slow, dumb, and shitty Zombie, or the fast, smart, and exceptional Zombie. I hope he's not at his best, but hopes and dreams go only so far. As for Freezer Burn, well, I honestly don't know much about him.

Cameraman: Oh, that guy is a miserable old bastard! He once shot Hank up with a bunch of rock salt for some implied issue with his daughter, or granddaughter. Not sure, but yeah. He's pretty shitty to everyone, but he's also old as fuck. He may have been born during World War 2, if what he's implied in the past has any weight to it.

Me: Wow. With that team across from him, it seems they may have an issue working together. Zombie's a known shit to most people. Honestly, if it wasn't for certain people, he probably would've been shitcanned a long time ago. Most people think he's an asshole, from what I've gathered. Then you got this old guy, Freezer Burn. And Teddy Blaze. It honestly hurt my feelings to put him into the mat for the pinfall. I'd have rather planted the other two jerk-asses in that match instead of him. And that was a team that was trying to work together. It would say a lot about Teddy's skills as a leader if he was able to put something forth for his team. But something tells me he's not exactly leadership material.

Cameraman: Seth and his clusterfuck matches. Nobody on any of the teams care to work together, and he expects everyone in the match to shit solid gold, or something. Speaking of him, is The Family...

Me: I don't know. All I know is Logan is missing, Seth is freaking, Dag somehow survived last week, and everything is up in the air right now. I'd rather talk about something else, to be honest. Care to start another game?

Cameraman: Getting my ass kicked three times in a row is enough for me. Besides, I'm supposed to be shooting your shoot. You know, where you talk trash about your opponents?

Me: Oh yeah... I guess we got wrapped up in the games for a minute or two longer than we anticipated, did we?

Cameraman: Well, at least it wasn't boring, or scary. Some of these guys, man... Needless to say, I got stories...

Me: I bet you do, and I'd like to hear a few of them. But maybe we do get on this shoot, before Seth comes in screaming and wanting to fire people. You know what a nutbag he's been as of late.

Cameraman: Yeah. Surprised he didn't fire the support staff on top of it. Glad he didn't, since I've been here since the beginning. A few more years, and I can retire.

Me: Nice! Well, I'm ready whenever you are...

He sets up his camera while sitting at the table. He indicates he's rolling, as the scene begins with him shooting the chessboard, right where I had planted Checkmate on the cameraman. He then raises the camera up, and I look at it, saying...

Me: Checkmate. Your king is dead. I am the king, and long live the king!

I've had the pleasure to say these words to a laundry list of individuals in the WCF after each and every match that I've competed in since I've first laced up my Adidas Sambas and set foot inside of that ring. And tonight will be no different than any other night thus far.

Teddy Blaze, you've already felt the agonizing pain of what Game Over really means. Hell, the sting of that has probably helped prompt your little shift from being an all around nice guy luchador from Houston, to a guy with a little extra bite to your fastball these days. Good, because the faster you toss it, the harder it gets hit, and the farther it goes with little to no effort on my part. And just like last time, I can promise you that this game will probably end no differently for you this time around.

I mean, let's be honest. Last time, you had a fighting chance. A team that actually wanted to advance and work as a team in Corey Black and Jayson Price. But when we were too much, what happened? YOU got hung out to dry! This time, you have Zombie McMorris, the shittiest guy in the locker room, and Freezer Burn, the guy vying for the title of shittiest guy in the locker room, as your partners. How do you think this is going to end for you? You know how, but I know your pride will carry you to the ring. This might be the time for you to let your new found attitude shine, and let one of these shit-heels take the fall instead of you. Or at least, that's what I hope for you. Because you're the last guy in the match I want to plant into the mat again.

Then we've got Zombie McMorris. Yeah, I'm not even going to talk about this delusional asshole. That's all I need to say about him. Let him rant and rave about people I don't even fucking know, but he draws forth some bullshit about whoever for his own amusement. Fuck him, he's worth about as much as that shitbag title he carries about as if it means something. Because it means nothing, other than you're a guy who can talk a ton of shit. Good for you. Wouldn't your Mommy be proud? Because nobody else gives a shit.

And who can forget the other old guy who basically shits on everything because it isn't the way it used to be anymore? Father Time has all but forgotten about you, Wayne, and is probably just a vag hair away from calling the Grim Reaper to collect your soul, as polluted as I think it is. Will this be the match that puts the proverbial nail in the coffin for you? Or are you hoping and praying for the worst to happen to us? Too late, it's already happened, but it still won't stop us from putting you out on Social Security and Disability.

Yes, I admit that I have little to no trust in my so-called "partners". I mean, it wasn't long ago that Slane would amuse himself by practicing his knots on little kids and leaving them for the bears to find and mutilate at their leisure. Or leading them on expeditions and leaving them in the middle of the desert with no food or water. God knows what else he's done with his scouts over the years for his own amusement. But at least he hasn't proved himself as of late to be the insufferable asshat that Nathan Chambers has proven himself to be.

Speaking of Imperfection, he claims he can defeat all three men? I'm certain he will try, but it will be amusing to see at least one of you three put him on his ass and make him cry. It would almost be worth losing this match if one of you three could do that, but I highly doubt it. Just like I highly doubt that The Imperfect One could win this match all by himself. Hence why, despite my better judgement and ability to find something more fun to do, I will be out there to bail his ass out when he does get himself in hot water. Sorry about your luck, but that's the way this cookie crumbles.

So with that, I leave you with a few words to contemplate. You may think this is not a game, but if life proves anything, life is nothing but the biggest game of all. And you just stepped into my game. I wish you the best of luck, but I foresee a Checkmate, Game Over, or even a Rage Quit in your team's future. Either way, the game is afoot. I'll see you all out there come Slam.

Let the Games begin!

He cuts the feed, and sets the camera down. I then offer him once more...

Me: You sure you don't want to play another game?

Cameraman: I got to record for Nathan soon... You know what? One more game. That asshole can wait.

Me: Sweet!

We set up the board for "one more game", as the scene ends...