Post by Ace on Jun 19, 2016 11:28:26 GMT -5
FRIDAY NIGHT
9:38PM
It was quiet night in the windy city of Chicago, Illinois. Milennium Park to be exact, directly in front of the famous Cloud Gate Sculpture. Ace had taken a seat on the steps in front of the exhibit. Upon taking a gander around the place, he took the last drag of his cigarette and flicked it to the ground, putting it out permanently with his shoe. As he stood up, he exhaled the last bit of smoke whilst turning around to face the sculpture. With his arms widened, he slowly approached it.
” Although many come here to this exhibit to see the glorious reflection of the city and pure beauty of it's surroundings, some people come here to see something else. Many believe if you concentrate hard enough you can catch a glimpse of your soul. But what does one see when all traces of that have seemingly vanished? Many say they see their future, their dreams, their aspirations. I say, it's all of load of crap. I visited this place a few hours ago, prior to the sun setting, and what I saw were a bunch of people pretending they were happy and content with their lives. Let me ask, is everyone around from here such pretentious douchebags or what? Take this guy, who ironically is my opponent this week, Tony Miranda, for example. This guy goes on a full ramble last week about how he came here to start new, “Return To Zero” as it labeled it. Which, by the way Miranda, doesn't make a lick of sense. You've clearly always been a zero. Oh, I'm sorry what was that? You were in death matches before? What? You have scars? Oh man, can we get a police escort here? Big man coming through. Make way. Tony Miranda everybody! ”
” Who? ” A bystander blurts out as he walks past Ace, seemingly annoyed. Ace chuckles as he begins clapping and pointing at the stranger.
” Ha, oh..Ha, oh man. That guy. See Miranda, it could be 1998, 2002, 2007, 2016, 2022, 2042, 2078, 3004, 7009, so on so on, and that will always be people's reply when your name is mentioned. You went on how you can never escape your past, how a certain incident changed you. You want to speak about this man, Scar, who apparently is the very definition of a monster. You want to know the truth about monsters Miranda?
The truth is this,
every monster
you have met
or will ever meet,
was once a human being
with a soul
that was as soft
and light
as silk.
Something stole
that silk from their soul
and turned them
into this.
So when you see
a monster next,
always remember this.
Do not fear
the thing before you.
Fear the thing
that created it
instead.
You feared the man, and trust me, compared to me, he's nothing. A monster in your eyes, an ant in my world. You may have been through some things in your lifetime, but I have been through things you couldn't even fathom. These things have shaped me, molded me, broken me, haunted me for years, but more importantly, they have altered my existence, re arranged the visions I have for my own future. I was different back then, but now, I've become something entirely new, and that is something you should fear Miranda. You can try to figure me out, but you'll never understand what has turned me into who I am today, and people always fear what they don't understand. You want to talk about cute little fantasies, picture this. Tony Miranda defeats Ace to move on for a chance to capture the United States championship. Seems to fit right into the fantasy category right? Because I sure as hell think so. Your so called war stories and scar background history is irrelevant to me. I've faced plenty of people like yourself, you're all the same. “You can't kill what just won't die. I'm already broken, what more can you do to me?” Cut the false intimidation gimmick. I've known people worth more than you, some were friends at one point, and I laid them out. You want to know how to stop someone who just won't quit? You knock them unconscious long enough for the referee to make the three count. You can get up as much as you want after, because by then, it will be too late. I'll be moving on, and you will remain in the same exact spot you started out in, the bottom. Talk about inevitable. Watching you waste a good ten minutes talking not only almost put me to sleep, but it made me realize something. You remind me of the typical kid in class who has finally had enough of the school bully. You yell angrily at him, telling him to bring all he has, you have nothing left. You're fighting just to survive now, nothing else matters.
Tell me Tony, and I want you to think long and hard about this, I know it'll be difficult for you, but I want you to do your best okay? Do you honestly believe that everyone else in this company hasn't at one point or another in their career, fought a battle like you have? The physicality of a match isn't the main part of testing a man. It's the mentality of what he goes through. You may have done this match and that match but have you ever brought yourself back to your feet from true suffering? You could hit me with a thousand chairs, put me through a hundred tables, you can take that very blade your Lion King named monster Scar had to your throat, and cut me with it, and it wouldn't even come close to the pain I went through of losing my friend, my brother, Drake Vandenhart. But I bounced back, and I moved on, and that my friend, is a true account of endurance regained from suffering. So don't talk to me about pain, don't try and showcase yourself as some incredibly tough individual, because you can't even hold a candle to me.”
It was evident that Ace was beyond focused on the task ahead of him. His very second match in the company, and he was given a chance to move on to better opportunities. Granted, it was inevitable, whether he was given the opportunity now, and whether he earned it down the road. As he walked around the sculpture with a semi disgusted look on his face, you can tell the memories of his friend were running circles in his head again. For a man who has lost more than most in his lifetime, he sure knew how to always find control, ensuring he didn't lose his mind. A man can be beaten, like Tony Miranda has claimed he was. He can be broken, but when the mind goes, the chapters of the story your writing come to an end. Ace didn't care who he was facing, he never did. An opportunity like this they say only comes around every so often, but to Ace, it's more often than not. The WCF shows promise, a new light shining into a darkened world. He knew these people didn't know him from anywhere, but in time they will. Whether they recognize and learn the hard way, or the easy way, it didn't matter. The operation is still a go. It was getting late, and Ace knew this. He reached into his pocket to grab another Marlboro and sparked it up before walking off into the night. Tomorrow was another day, and it was another day closer to facing Miranda. Preparations were in order.
” I need some god damn pizza. ”
SUNDAY MORNING
7:12AM
For the first time in a long time, I woke up with a headache. I hate headaches. Could the alcohol have played a part in this? Probably. Could the stress? Wait, what stress? I have no stress. I also have no more alcohol. Good job Sunday, you still suck.
Ace remained seated on the edge of his bed, his hands pressed against his head. The throbbing was clearly a nuisance. He reached around and found a plain black tee shirt to toss on, as he slowly tried to stand up. He glanced around the room a bit before finding his phone partially buried in the blankets. There was a missed phone call and voicemail from Taelia last night. Ace mumbled to himself as he unlocked his phone to check it.
” Hey where are you? I thought we were supposed to meet today and go over stuff? I hope everything is alright. If I don't see or hear from you beforehand, good luck with your match against Miranda. I expect some good news. ”
” Fucking Miranda... ”
A FEW HOURS LATER
Backstage at the Slam arena, we open our view to Ace sitting in a dimly lit room, the light seems to be slowly swinging back and forth.
” Tony Miranda, your time has come. Time for you to pay for your sins. Time for you.....Ah alright I can't do this. Can someone please explain what is going on with the light here? And why is it so dark? Did someone request The Conjuring as a background theme? Hello does anyone even work here? ”
The light flickers for a moment before brightening. A graph chart is propped up next to Ace, with the whole circle being filled in red.
” Oh hey thanks Bruce! Good work. ”
” It's Brian. ”
” Yeah yeah. Names. So, for today's presentation I drew myself a little chart as you can see. In this circle chart the yellow portion represents Tony Mirandas chances of winning this match. The red portion represents my chances of winning this match. Any questions? ”
The cameraman murmurs something.
” What's that? There is no yellow portion? Oh hm, let me look this over. There must be a mistake. So you're saying...that I'm saying...Tony Miranda doesn't even have the tiniest bit of a chance? Well, that is correct! You know I had some huge speech about portions, and odds, and like some real in depth analysis of the whole situation, but, I figure why waste my time you know? Were a few hours away now. Everybody is getting excited, the only thing is some peoples expectations are going to get crushed. Shattered like a broken mirror. Let's face it, some people just come out of the womb with bad luck. Although I can tell you that this match is going to be a breeze for me, I can't tell you how exactly it's going to end yet. I mean, Tony Miranda, the guy that just won't stay down right? That's what he said? Makes himself sound like a Sylvester Stallone movie, but you know. Will it be via The Jest? A sleeper hold? The wiley alabama 450 moon flip? Who knows. Tony Miranda. Things are going to change tonight around here, and trust me, they aren't going to change in your favor. I'm dead set on fulfilling my goals. It's a straight forward path as far as I am concerned. There is no forks in the road, no questioning direction. I almost feel bad for you. You had a rough week last week, and now your given the opportunity some dream for, except, it's against me, someone you don't want to deal with right now. Life finds a way of fixing its mistakes, and throwing you forward into something better. Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will happen. I've had enough bad in my lifetime Tony, but unfortunately for you, there's more coming your way. That championship? It belongs to me. Tonight? I claim victory. Tomorrow? You re evaluate yourself, and I continue to be great. It's all about playing the hand life gives you. Play your cards right, and the Ace always wins. ”
This headache is killing me. Fuck you headache. I'm out of here.
