Post by 'The Shine' Brent Alpine on Aug 7, 2016 16:39:09 GMT -5
Grainy, black and white footage is shot by a hand held camera. Shaky and blurred, it initially appears as a Blair Witch/Paranormal Activity hybrid but soon settles somewhat to reveal Brent Alpine sitting upright on his bed. Jittery, he looks from side to side and only dares to whisper.
Brent Alpine: Good evening. Percy Micro hasn't uttered a word to me since Ultimate Showdown and I can only speculate that this bodes very badly for me.
Alpine briefly turns the camera onto the miniature pig, trembling throughout the motion. Micro's headset light is uncharacteristically off.
Brent Alpine: Needless to say, they are watching me as we speak. The man behind Percy Micro, whoever he is, knows something very terrible and it seems that ghosts from the past are about to torment me. He... or his team... have been briefing the dirt sheets that he is about to dispense of me as a client. With no further use for me and considering I always represent a threat by virtue of my sheer talent, Percy Macro will not hesitate in revealing what happened in Cairns as a final nail in my coffin. And that it will be. The Shine is effervescent but the events of that night are enough to send everything to darkness. I fear for the irreversible impact this revelation will have on the world. The children who love and idolise me will have their hopes crushed and anyone who dared to believe in my light will lose all faith in anything good.
Tears coat his eyes and he places the camcorder down on the bed. It stares at the sheets as we hear muffled sobs. After a loud cough, Alpine picks the camera up again. He gets out of bed and approaches the door. As he starts to open it, Percy Micro's light suddenly radiates a sinister red, as if reminding him he was there. In response, Alpine carries the pig in his arms and slowly walks down the stairs in total darkness. The camera shakes carelessly. He goes through another couple of doors and sits out on the patio. The moon is still and sparkling. It illuminates the small lake in Alpine's garden. Brent gazes sombrely at what looks like flowing crystal. There's a tinge of apocalyptic resignation in the air as he places the camera down on the garden table and directs it towards himself.
Brent Alpine: There have also been rumours that my United States championship is about to be made defunct and that Seth Lerch will fire me on Slam. If these rumours are indeed true, they will pale into insignificance if Percy does open up the Pandora's box of my past. Although it will be a small mercy to not have to face my deserved retribution while in a WCF ring, the truth will linger over my head like a noose wherever I go.
It is strange to have something, or someone, grip me so tightly in an unbreakable stranglehold. It is like a death sentence. Although I have shined every day for the 27 years of my life, there was one night where I became only darkness. I could not explain it then and I can't explain it now but, no matter how brightly I beam, I will never suffer enough penance to take away that night. Nothing will make things OK. They say all sins can be forgiven but THIS?! I doubt it...
This message may be futile but I might not have the chance to say it after I'm fired and everyone jumps on the lynch mob. Just please know that I'm sorry and I wasn't in my right mind. I would give anything to go back to Cairns that hellish evening and put everything right, but I can't...
From his pocket, Alpine pulls out a cigarette. He lights it and holds the flame over the tip with a sense of masochism. For the first time ever, we see Brent Alpine smoking. His hands shake while trying to hold it but he sucks as if capturing every last puff of calming smoke.
Brent Alpine: Is this befitting a US Champion? A WCF superstar? Probably not. But with the threat of my termination and the mistreatment I received at Ultimate Showdown, I ask you... why bother?
This US Title is scant consolation. I hate the United States of America. It's a vile country of moral decay and I am ashamed to represent it. I have thought about remaining it the Australian Title but my home country is equally filthy.
Esther would tell me off right now if she saw me smoking. But she won't because she's too busy romancing that fraud, Stuart Slane. They deserve each other. Bitch.
I was a dead cert to win the World Title last week. Everyone knew it. Especially THEM. The Spiderweb. People think I'm crazy over Twitter but anyone with even the faintest of discernment knows that there is a secret network of power in the WCF that are in hidden collusion to suppress my SHINE. It all started back in 2014 as soon as I got on the main roster. The main eventers wouldn't stop hazing me, calling me 'Sandbag' and other idiocy. They turned many people against me and did everything to ensure that my meteoric ascent would be halted.
Many of the key protagonists of this conspiracy are no longer here but the spirit of oppression remains. I wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Cairo, Balfore, Price and company are still in Seth's ear from afar. They are still pulling strings somewhere. I can feel it in the very fibres of my being.
He is getting more and more animated, a total contrast from the meek Alpine that started this promo.
Brent Alpine: You don't believe me? You think I'm being paranoid? Well, how can you explain this? The night before Ultimate Showdown, the fire alarm went off in my hotel at 4am! It completely interrupted my precious sleep cycle, thereby putting me at a major disadvantage for the main event.
Suddenly, we hear a familiar voice.
Percy Micro: I can explain it, Mr. Alpine.
Alpine moves the camera further back on the table to record both himself and Percy Micro. Micro's headset light is now on.
Brent Alpine: Oh, so you're talking to me now?
Percy Micro: My master has been deliberating whether to dispense of your services...
Brent Alpine: And...?
Percy Micro: He's undecided.
Brent Alpine: Is he... err, planning to... you know?
Percy Micro: Undecided.
Alpine sighs in mild relief and continues to take a drag on his cigarette.
Brent Alpine: So how can you explain what happened in the hotel?
Percy Micro: It's very simple, Mr. Alpine, and the fact that you have neglected to consider it has done nothing to dampen my master's doubts about you.
Brent Alpine: What?
Percy Micro: The reason your hotel fire alarm went off at 4am was nothing to do with Bobby Cairo or Corey Black or Gemini Battle or anyone sneaking in and lighting a match, as you seem to speculate. It was a result of you cooking yourself a sausage sandwich before bed and not turning the hotplate off. A drop of fat on the side of the pan slowly caught fire. I tried to warn you but you were fast asleep the moment your head hit the pillow. The hotel staff put it out for you but you refused to believe their explanation.
Brent Alpine: Let's say that's true... How can you explain me getting food poisoning in the canteen later in the day? Everyone else who ate seemed fine.
Percy Micro: The same explanation applies. You made your sausage sandwich when half asleep and didn't cook it well enough. It was nothing to do with the canteen. It's really rather straight forward, although your delusional mind rushes yet again to the conspiracy theory! The only 'Spiderweb' in the WCF is between your ears, Mr. Alpine. Your paranoia is really just your mind's inability to accept that you aren't as good as you think you are. You were nothing but a disappointment at Ultimate Showdown.
Brent Alpine: But... but... everyone in the match was teaming up against me! They were out to stop me!
Percy Micro: Of course they were. That's competition. Yet I didn't notice that you received any worse treatment than anyone else in the match. And even if that was so, you needed to be strong enough to overcome such challenges. But you were not. You continue to spit on the investment my master has made in you.
Brent Alpine: It's not an investment I ever asked for.
Percy Micro: Yes it was. The moment you did what you did in Cairns, the devil has been at your door! You invited this, Mr. Alpine, and you will endure it until your demise.
Brent Alpine: But you said that you'd take me to glory in the WCF?!
Percy Micro: Your disobedience is ruining any possibility of glory. In fact, going by Seth's 'invitation', it looks like your time in the WCF is dwindling by the minute. They are clearly as sick of you as my master is.
Alpine kicks the table hard. The camera rocks and lands on its side but retains view of Alpine and Micro.
Brent Alpine: What can I do to fix this?
Percy Micro: It may be too late. My master will decide your fate after Seth's announcement on Slam. If you are indeed fired, the truth about what you did in Cairns will be exposed. In the meantime, you must make sure you annihilate Captain WCF convincingly and make a statement to everyone who doubts your World Title credentials.
Brent Alpine: Captain WCF is a joke. Defeating him won't change a thing. He's a distraction. He's a bit of light relief to distract the people from the sinister underbelly in the WCF. He's the magician's assistant. While he's running around like a mongrel super hero, the spiders are weaving their web more and more intricately. Percy, you have to believe me, I am not a disappointment. I have just been suppressed. It's time for me to SHINE the Spiderweb down. I will unravel it and kill all those predators that lie in wait.
Percy Micro: You seem confident... but so did Lilith and Sarah Twilight and look what Captain WCF did to them! Neither have been seen since.
Brent Alpine: Lilith's pride got in the way and she stumbled. As for Sarah Twilight, everyone knows she has been a victim of the Spiderweb in the WCF from the moment she started her career. She was bullied and ridiculed for simply being a woman with ability. The main eventers couldn't handle that a girl could beat them so they tried to wear her down for years and years. By the time she faced Captain WCF, it was clear that her spirit was broken.
Captain's hero is Kira Sakazaki but where is Kira now? Last I saw, that loser was dominated by my old friend Caliban at Fifteen. He's now an accountant, struggling to count after all the blows to the head that Caliban inflicted on him. This is Captain's destiny too. After I'm done with him, he will surpass the horror that befell Sakazaki.
There are no such things as super heroes. There are only villains in this world except for me. I am the only source of light in this fucked up world. I will defeat Captain WCF and punish him like the villain he really is.
More importantly than that, I will show Seth and your master that I can be counted on.
Please just promise you'll give me another chance.
Micro's light cuts to black. Disheartened, Alpine turns the camcorder off.
Brent Alpine: Good evening. Percy Micro hasn't uttered a word to me since Ultimate Showdown and I can only speculate that this bodes very badly for me.
Alpine briefly turns the camera onto the miniature pig, trembling throughout the motion. Micro's headset light is uncharacteristically off.
Brent Alpine: Needless to say, they are watching me as we speak. The man behind Percy Micro, whoever he is, knows something very terrible and it seems that ghosts from the past are about to torment me. He... or his team... have been briefing the dirt sheets that he is about to dispense of me as a client. With no further use for me and considering I always represent a threat by virtue of my sheer talent, Percy Macro will not hesitate in revealing what happened in Cairns as a final nail in my coffin. And that it will be. The Shine is effervescent but the events of that night are enough to send everything to darkness. I fear for the irreversible impact this revelation will have on the world. The children who love and idolise me will have their hopes crushed and anyone who dared to believe in my light will lose all faith in anything good.
Tears coat his eyes and he places the camcorder down on the bed. It stares at the sheets as we hear muffled sobs. After a loud cough, Alpine picks the camera up again. He gets out of bed and approaches the door. As he starts to open it, Percy Micro's light suddenly radiates a sinister red, as if reminding him he was there. In response, Alpine carries the pig in his arms and slowly walks down the stairs in total darkness. The camera shakes carelessly. He goes through another couple of doors and sits out on the patio. The moon is still and sparkling. It illuminates the small lake in Alpine's garden. Brent gazes sombrely at what looks like flowing crystal. There's a tinge of apocalyptic resignation in the air as he places the camera down on the garden table and directs it towards himself.
Brent Alpine: There have also been rumours that my United States championship is about to be made defunct and that Seth Lerch will fire me on Slam. If these rumours are indeed true, they will pale into insignificance if Percy does open up the Pandora's box of my past. Although it will be a small mercy to not have to face my deserved retribution while in a WCF ring, the truth will linger over my head like a noose wherever I go.
It is strange to have something, or someone, grip me so tightly in an unbreakable stranglehold. It is like a death sentence. Although I have shined every day for the 27 years of my life, there was one night where I became only darkness. I could not explain it then and I can't explain it now but, no matter how brightly I beam, I will never suffer enough penance to take away that night. Nothing will make things OK. They say all sins can be forgiven but THIS?! I doubt it...
This message may be futile but I might not have the chance to say it after I'm fired and everyone jumps on the lynch mob. Just please know that I'm sorry and I wasn't in my right mind. I would give anything to go back to Cairns that hellish evening and put everything right, but I can't...
From his pocket, Alpine pulls out a cigarette. He lights it and holds the flame over the tip with a sense of masochism. For the first time ever, we see Brent Alpine smoking. His hands shake while trying to hold it but he sucks as if capturing every last puff of calming smoke.
Brent Alpine: Is this befitting a US Champion? A WCF superstar? Probably not. But with the threat of my termination and the mistreatment I received at Ultimate Showdown, I ask you... why bother?
This US Title is scant consolation. I hate the United States of America. It's a vile country of moral decay and I am ashamed to represent it. I have thought about remaining it the Australian Title but my home country is equally filthy.
Esther would tell me off right now if she saw me smoking. But she won't because she's too busy romancing that fraud, Stuart Slane. They deserve each other. Bitch.
I was a dead cert to win the World Title last week. Everyone knew it. Especially THEM. The Spiderweb. People think I'm crazy over Twitter but anyone with even the faintest of discernment knows that there is a secret network of power in the WCF that are in hidden collusion to suppress my SHINE. It all started back in 2014 as soon as I got on the main roster. The main eventers wouldn't stop hazing me, calling me 'Sandbag' and other idiocy. They turned many people against me and did everything to ensure that my meteoric ascent would be halted.
Many of the key protagonists of this conspiracy are no longer here but the spirit of oppression remains. I wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Cairo, Balfore, Price and company are still in Seth's ear from afar. They are still pulling strings somewhere. I can feel it in the very fibres of my being.
He is getting more and more animated, a total contrast from the meek Alpine that started this promo.
Brent Alpine: You don't believe me? You think I'm being paranoid? Well, how can you explain this? The night before Ultimate Showdown, the fire alarm went off in my hotel at 4am! It completely interrupted my precious sleep cycle, thereby putting me at a major disadvantage for the main event.
Suddenly, we hear a familiar voice.
Percy Micro: I can explain it, Mr. Alpine.
Alpine moves the camera further back on the table to record both himself and Percy Micro. Micro's headset light is now on.
Brent Alpine: Oh, so you're talking to me now?
Percy Micro: My master has been deliberating whether to dispense of your services...
Brent Alpine: And...?
Percy Micro: He's undecided.
Brent Alpine: Is he... err, planning to... you know?
Percy Micro: Undecided.
Alpine sighs in mild relief and continues to take a drag on his cigarette.
Brent Alpine: So how can you explain what happened in the hotel?
Percy Micro: It's very simple, Mr. Alpine, and the fact that you have neglected to consider it has done nothing to dampen my master's doubts about you.
Brent Alpine: What?
Percy Micro: The reason your hotel fire alarm went off at 4am was nothing to do with Bobby Cairo or Corey Black or Gemini Battle or anyone sneaking in and lighting a match, as you seem to speculate. It was a result of you cooking yourself a sausage sandwich before bed and not turning the hotplate off. A drop of fat on the side of the pan slowly caught fire. I tried to warn you but you were fast asleep the moment your head hit the pillow. The hotel staff put it out for you but you refused to believe their explanation.
Brent Alpine: Let's say that's true... How can you explain me getting food poisoning in the canteen later in the day? Everyone else who ate seemed fine.
Percy Micro: The same explanation applies. You made your sausage sandwich when half asleep and didn't cook it well enough. It was nothing to do with the canteen. It's really rather straight forward, although your delusional mind rushes yet again to the conspiracy theory! The only 'Spiderweb' in the WCF is between your ears, Mr. Alpine. Your paranoia is really just your mind's inability to accept that you aren't as good as you think you are. You were nothing but a disappointment at Ultimate Showdown.
Brent Alpine: But... but... everyone in the match was teaming up against me! They were out to stop me!
Percy Micro: Of course they were. That's competition. Yet I didn't notice that you received any worse treatment than anyone else in the match. And even if that was so, you needed to be strong enough to overcome such challenges. But you were not. You continue to spit on the investment my master has made in you.
Brent Alpine: It's not an investment I ever asked for.
Percy Micro: Yes it was. The moment you did what you did in Cairns, the devil has been at your door! You invited this, Mr. Alpine, and you will endure it until your demise.
Brent Alpine: But you said that you'd take me to glory in the WCF?!
Percy Micro: Your disobedience is ruining any possibility of glory. In fact, going by Seth's 'invitation', it looks like your time in the WCF is dwindling by the minute. They are clearly as sick of you as my master is.
Alpine kicks the table hard. The camera rocks and lands on its side but retains view of Alpine and Micro.
Brent Alpine: What can I do to fix this?
Percy Micro: It may be too late. My master will decide your fate after Seth's announcement on Slam. If you are indeed fired, the truth about what you did in Cairns will be exposed. In the meantime, you must make sure you annihilate Captain WCF convincingly and make a statement to everyone who doubts your World Title credentials.
Brent Alpine: Captain WCF is a joke. Defeating him won't change a thing. He's a distraction. He's a bit of light relief to distract the people from the sinister underbelly in the WCF. He's the magician's assistant. While he's running around like a mongrel super hero, the spiders are weaving their web more and more intricately. Percy, you have to believe me, I am not a disappointment. I have just been suppressed. It's time for me to SHINE the Spiderweb down. I will unravel it and kill all those predators that lie in wait.
Percy Micro: You seem confident... but so did Lilith and Sarah Twilight and look what Captain WCF did to them! Neither have been seen since.
Brent Alpine: Lilith's pride got in the way and she stumbled. As for Sarah Twilight, everyone knows she has been a victim of the Spiderweb in the WCF from the moment she started her career. She was bullied and ridiculed for simply being a woman with ability. The main eventers couldn't handle that a girl could beat them so they tried to wear her down for years and years. By the time she faced Captain WCF, it was clear that her spirit was broken.
Captain's hero is Kira Sakazaki but where is Kira now? Last I saw, that loser was dominated by my old friend Caliban at Fifteen. He's now an accountant, struggling to count after all the blows to the head that Caliban inflicted on him. This is Captain's destiny too. After I'm done with him, he will surpass the horror that befell Sakazaki.
There are no such things as super heroes. There are only villains in this world except for me. I am the only source of light in this fucked up world. I will defeat Captain WCF and punish him like the villain he really is.
More importantly than that, I will show Seth and your master that I can be counted on.
Please just promise you'll give me another chance.
Micro's light cuts to black. Disheartened, Alpine turns the camcorder off.
