Post by Ace on Jun 22, 2016 21:18:30 GMT -5
At first it was uncertain where Ace would end up following the passing of his best friend Drake Vandenhart. The hours withered away like the embers of a night fire. There were never any answers for the thousands of questioned he asked himself each day. Each day continued to blend into the next until one day he came a realization that he would be failing his friend by not moving on and living the life he didn't have a chance to. Fast forward time a few odd years and we find ourselves in the WCF, an ever growing community of talent in its rebirth. Two weeks have passed and two victories were earned, adding to the hundreds in Ace's career thus far. But now, a new opportunity has presented itself. The vacated United States championship has been dusted off, and with the new influx of talent, is being brought back to life. Last week, contenders matches were held, which resulted in Ace defeating Tony Miranda, and “The Plague” Kevin Bishop overcoming Psychopomp, resulting in a match between the two to be held at Blast to determine our new champion.
The old Nightdyne Incorporated training facility remained the same ever since it's closing some time ago. The dust had gathered across most of its possessions, and plastic sheets laid across a majority of the equipment. In the far corner of the room however, the punching bag swayed back and forth. Ace sat on the nearby wooden bench that was positioned against the wall. As he unwrapped the tape around his wrists, you can tell there was a lot on his mind. He was always thinking, planning, concentrating on the next step in his life. This time time though, you can tell by the look in his eyes, that the things weighing on his mind weren't the usual matters, but rather Sundays upcoming event. After a bit of coughing, Ace sat back, taking a deep breath before reaching to his bag. His pack of cigarettes were empty, which was probably for the better, but his small black flask was not. He opened up and took a quick swig of whiskey until placing it down on the bench. Upon standing up, he glanced over into the office, which had Kevin Bishops latest promo on repeat. Ace slightly laughed.
The problem with you Bishop is your looking too far ahead into the future. You focus on the then, when you should focus on the now. A legacy as you call it isn't going to be built over night, and I can guarantee you the big stepping stone is going to happen in our match. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that you should just give up now, no. You see, I enjoy a challenge, but I use that word loosely when referring to you. Granted, you're steps ahead of my first two opponents, but defeat able none the less. You say the WCF is going to learn rather quickly, and I say yes, they will. They will learn rather quickly that when it comes down to the big moment, it's a safe bet that you will blow your opportunity. Your vision will always be just that and nothing more. You say gold will build your ever growing foundation of greatness. You say the cards just keep falling into place. I say it's time to send a shock wave through this imaginary foundation of greatness you speak of, and destroy it before it's even built, because that's what I do best Bishop. I look for people with aspirations, and I rid them from the equation. It's ironic if you ask me, a King was stripped of the US championship, and now a bishop wishes to replace him. Ethan KING and Kevin BISHOP. A wolf hiding in sheep's clothing? No, I say the exact opposite. A bishop can be a powerful piece, but truth be told you're just a rook moving to the same beat as your so called followers. You have very few calculated movements. The only place you should truly focus on moving to however, is out of my way. You go on to say it doesn't matter what game is being played, every body is just a pawn. If you resort to calling people pawns, like their simple, then maybe chess isn't your best game to be referencing. But hey, nobody ever said you were the brightest.
This business isn't a game, at all. If I looked at it the way you do, then I would tell you I hope you have an adequate amount of continues, you'll need one come Sunday. To me, you're easy to read, yet you complain about someone taking away your element of surprise. Tell me Bishop, what kind of surprises could you possibly have when you follow a “blue print”. Your plan on attack is laid out for you on a hypothetical piece of paper, where my plan of attack is just that, attack. You're not going to know what's coming, or what I'll do next, and you think this blue print of yours has the answers like some cheat sheet? Keep thinking that bud, we will see how well it works out for you. Your contradicting blabbering is hard to listen to. Like last week, you go on about how you will leave no survivors, yet you want to open the eyes to new followers. If you're leaving no survivors, then who will be left to follow you? Better question is why would any one follow you? You're about a bearded lady away from helter skelter my friend. Your “brotherhood” is a joke. You try and lead anyone who will listen, and to what? What are you leading them to? To see the cruel truths of the world? If people can't already see that, then their blind. You want them to give you their backing, so you can give them some kind of “freedom” from this ugly world. Not much of a bargain if you ask me, after all, an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. Isn't that what you're trying to prevent the world from being? Why don't you do us both a favor, and lead yourself to open your own eyes. This pain and suffering you think has derailed me from what I was meant for in this world, it has placed me on a new path, the complete opposite of what you think you see. My greatness will be remembered for years to come, that I can guarantee you. But you're right Bishop, not all men were created equal, and you will see that first hand when you fail to capture this championship and it falls into the hands of the BETTER man, me. There is no inevitable plan set in motion for you Kevin, it's all in your head. You've come out thinking this was a battle to start. Bad news my friend, this was a war from the start. The Plague this, the Plague that. The Plague will leave no survivors and your brotherhood will stay on the rise! I used to think that hearing Donald Trump's words were bullshit, but then, your mouth opened. Fun fact for you Bishop, The actual Plague, that started out initially destroying millions, eventually subsided and disappeared. Consider me your own personal quarantine, because your run has come to an end. And trust me Bishop, I don't need a pedestal and frat boy one liners to end you. All I need is these two fists.
Which brings me to yours. As you stated, with your hands cupped together, one was filled with hope, and the other with light right? They shine the brightest through those hands and that with holding the US title, they will shine ever brighter. I say, take those two cupped hands and reach down and cup those tiny little things you call balls, because those will be the only thing you will be holding when were through with, and that my friend, is your real beacon of truth for ya. That's your brotherhoods whole world. Two tiny little balls, with a failure of a man attached. The world can continue to become more and more chaotic, because I adapt quite well to my surroundings, and chaos? It fuels me. Those demons were brought out when my friend was taken from me, that part you had right Bishop, but you see, not only did I conquer them and set myself straight, but I became friends with them. I understand now what I did wrong in the past, and what caused my failures, and now there is no more room for error. One day, you will run into things that will drag you down as well, except, unlike me, you will succumb to those things, and whatever is left of you after Sunday, those things will be the things to bury you, and then where do you go? Who do you go to then? Your brotherhood? You're supposed to be leading them, but how do you lead people to a better understanding of the world when you are brought to your knees? How do you proceed to pick yourself up? The answer, you don/t, because you are weaker then you care to admit, but I see through you Kevin. You surround yourself with so many others, an growing community of misfits because you need them all to be your crutch. You are not a man that can stand on his own, and once I break you, I will break them all, and you will have nothing because you are nothing, and you will always be nothing. Your foundation WILL be altered, it will fall to pieces, and the vision of the viewer will revert to me. Their attention will be on me, and me alone. That is when they will all realize, that although I crack a joke here and there, you don't know me, and since you don't know me Kevin, my advice to you is tread lightly.
We all want championships, some more than others. The thing is, championships don't make you a man. Not like it's going to happen, but if I was to lose this Sunday, I'd still be more a man than you ever were. You're not ready for the burden the belt brings with it Bishop. You're not ready for the pressure. In your mind, you very well may be, but the strength of someone isn't determined by how many people he has with him, it's determined by how well that person can stand on their own, and continue fighting. You look to others for your strength, I look inside me. I take a good long look in the mirror each morning before venturing out for the day, and every time I do that I see a fire. A fire which continues to burn brighter and brighter and brighter. You know how the old saying goes, if you play with fire, you're going to get burned. That's what you have to look forward to Kevin. That is what you're stepping into, and aren't you the one that says people waste their free will on self destruction? Isn't that what you're setting yourself up here for? Or is there something in between the lines I seem to be missing? You openly admit your into your own hype, and that's all your are, is hype. When it comes down to it, you fight to succeed, I fight to survive. You're so obsessed with capturing a championship to get attention, you fail to realize that obsession is going to ultimately be your down fall. A woman passes in front of you, and afterwards all you can do is have a man fantasy about Bates. Seems like you don't really have your priorities in check. But hey, as your friend said “this is the first time I've seen you beyond focused.” Yeah, about that. I think you need to double check what the definition of focus is sir. I will always bet on myself until the day I die, because if I don't, nobody else will. But that's the thing Bishop. I don't need anybody to bet on me when I have myself. That's all I need in this world. Maybe if you pay keen attention, you will learn a thing or two on Sunday. Whether you do or don't though, really doesn't matter to me to be honest, because soon, I'll move on up the ranks, and you'll continue to be a mindless hype train bottom feeder, talk about falling into place huh?
Ace turns around and begins walking towards a large corridor past where the punching bag is hung. Along the way he grabs a nearby towel and wipes his face, tossing it into a basket nearby. As we get into the center of the corridor we see an entire gallery of past championship belts lining the walls, sectioned off between Nightdyne members, Ace, Zero, Rayn, Enigma, Drake Vandenhart, Taelia Evans, Quintino Jaxson, and Chris Michaels.
The WCF United States Championship, or as I like to call it, a Kings lost gold. Ethan King may have not been defeated for the title, but it's only right that it goes to some one of higher status. You see throughout each period of time, there is always some form of a king who tries to take over, who gathers an army, or, yes, a brotherhood to rule wherever he may roam. Although, many requirements missing, Kevin Bishop fits the description to some extent. But what happens to Kings when they become to full of themselves? What happens when they must serve the consequences? Somebody with more power, and better representation comes along, and dethrones them. But rather than simply taking over, and continuing a kingdom of followers, this person disbands the army, and solely rules by himself. That higher power just so happens to be me. There will always be that one person that comes a long and takes away everything you worked for. Kevin, last week I told Tony Miranda that you shouldn't fear the monster before you, but rather the thing that created it. But what happens when you realize you actually were the sole responsibility for the creation? I use to believe the world was uglier than I imagined, that around every corner was some sort of monster, no matter what form it was in. Kids are still afraid of monsters under their beds. They believe in them. I stopped looking for the monster under my bed when I realized it was inside of me, just waiting to get out, and it did. That's when I went down my darkest path. But that was just one of many tests in my life. I came back from it. Now, I stand here, and I look at this gallery of gold, and I see, what almost never was. I've held plenty of gold before Bishop. I've been there. The pressure in these matches? Non existent. It's nothing new to me. So as I stand here, looking at this wall, I ask you, what do you have to show for yourself, as an individual? As a man? Have you ever achieved anything in your life aside from being a glorified leader of mind ridden sheep? Leaders don't just win Kevin, they conquer. The proverbial sword you speak of, that we cling to? Mine is strength, because strength is salvation, and I vowed to never be among the weak. So many people set themselves a goal, and once they reach that said goal, they not only feel accomplished, but they feel a sense of completion. You strive to be the perfect leader, to reach out to these fools, and get them to follow you as you walk your path. This is why people like you fail. I say, never be complete, stop being perfect. I say let's evolve and let the chips fall where they may. You say you have lost people just like I have, but your problem is, you remain emotionless. You fail to take the grief bestowed on you, and manifest some good out of it, some purpose, some motivation. A fictional wise man once said, it's only after you've lost everything, are you free to do anything. No boundaries, no limits, just do. Venture into the world and take it for your own. I will not only physically dismantle you on Sunday, but I will continue to do as I please around here, and take what I choose. Your mind set for Sunday is that you need this championship to continue your growth. My mind is I'm just going to beat you, and take the title, not necessarily because I want to, but rather because I CAN.
Ace stares at the many championships for a moment that have been placed on the wall underneath his named plaque. He puts his hand on the glass and smirks.
This is my brotherhood. Sunday, I welcome another with open arms. There will be no code of conduct, nothing I won't do. Kevin Bishop, somewhere in that twisted little mind of yours, you may believe that fate has somehow brought you to this moment in your life, to this exact opportunity. But, I'm afraid to be the bearer of bad news, but all fate has brought you is no tolerance, no mercy, and no escape.
In my mind, I know, Nightdyne may never live again. In fact, it never will. But, in my heart, the corporation lives on. Those last words were words people feared. Maybe the WCF doesn't know them now, but they will.
