FOR THE BROTHERHOOD!

[Kevin Bishop]

We open on the open road with Sean Craven behind the wheel of one of the buses, the loud noise coming from the Brotherhood in the back seems to really be getting to him. He clinches steering wheel tight and sweat pours down from his brow as if he’s driving the bus from the movie Speed. He finally snaps as he partially turns around.

“Cut it OUT BACK THERE OR I’LL TURN THIS BUS OVER!!!”

He stops talking for a second and everyone starts laughing.

“Around! Yeah, yeah you get the idea!”

Sean turns back around to focus on the road and we move back a few sections on the bus to notice Psychopomp has finally captured his cookie tin from Zander and the two seemed to of made peace.

“I wasn’t mad that you took my cookies, Zander… I was just disappointed…”

Zander fights to take a breath of air and sweat pumps out of him like a perfume bottle in the hot sun.

“I… uh… I’ve just been playing Pokemon Go so much, that my hunger has grown exponentially and your cookies… err… Mrs. Karma’s cookies are soooooo good.”

Pomp lightly laughs a little confused by Zander’s approach.

“For the record… She made the cookies for me… They don’t call me the WCF Cookie monster for nothing…”

Zander grabs a handful of cookies from the tin and raises his other massive hand to approach the bucket again. Pomp quickly slams the lid onto the tin, catching Zander’s fingers in the process. Zander lets out a loud roar and then a beaten puppy dog whimper.

“OWWWW! Why would you do that you baby back bitch?!”

Pomp doesn’t take kindly to Zander’s choice of words and he lunges at him in the very tight bus seat.

“You shut your mouth when you’re talking to ME!”

Pomp starts throwing body shots which seems to bounce right off, as if Zander was made of the same material as Baymax from Big Hero 6. Pomp actually stops and starts to laugh out loud uncontrollably.

“What the hell man?! You’re like a pillow case full of jello!”

Zander crams his handful of cookies into his giant buffet catcher and he smiles with crumbs falling from his mouth as he pats his boulder size belly.

“I know… Built like the great wall over here.”

Pomp just shakes his head.

“Built like an inflatable wall in a play house is more like it…”

The camera moves back another set of seats where Damian and Dion are sitting side by side. The two new recruits look a bit lost for words, but Damian finally speaks up to Dion.

“So, nice touch on the sword brother, I really think The Plague liked it.”

Dion nods slowly.

“Yes, my craftsmanship and eye for detail seemed to of really caught his attention… But the thing that I can’t help but get my head around…”

Damian tilts his head slightly looking at Dion.

“What’s that, man?”

Dion adjusts himself a bit in his seat to turn more toward Damian.

“This battle that we have on our hands… I saw what that jester, Gemini had to say about us and Pomp… Before we joined The Brotherhood, Bishop and Parish were honorary members of Gemini’s Battle Station… But with us coming along, we have our reasons for not trusting the clown… Do you believe Bishop shares that same feeling as us?”

Damian shrugs it off a bit.

“I don’t know… And frankly I don’t really care… We’ll watch Bishop’s back and he’ll watch ours… I just want to finish this shit with Archer once and for all… In WAR, it’ll be a definite cherry on the top of this fucked up cake, if I can bust his ego by eliminating him… Did you happen to see his tirade with Bishop on the internet?”

Dion shakes his head no slowly.

“Well, that bastard, and I use that word very purposefully… He basically thinks he’s the one running the forefront of the WCF, because his ego is big enough to propel him forward into the oncoming ‘INTRUDERS’ single handedly… I was his tag partner, so I know the way he thinks and all this bull shit of putting on a persona to tell everyone what he wanted them to think of him… That’s laughable at best…”

Dion just chuckles.

“I’m serious, man… Not sure if you had a chance catch my interview on ALPHA, but I spilled the beans… You do know The Purge was all Bishop’s idea, right? That’s why Archer is so butt hurt about things… He failed… Well truthfully, we failed at taking out ZT and the legends that we set out to defeat… We were suppose to help Bishop reset the scales here in the WCF, but it got to the point that Archer and I couldn’t see eye to eye on anything. Archer wanted to attach a rocket to himself so he could get to the top as fast as possible… Honestly I don’t see anyone being able to work with him, with how much into himself he is… Hell, we were watching TV one day and he saw one of those Dos Equis commercials and it wasn’t even a week later, The Magnificent Bastard showed up… So put two and two together there, chief…”

Dion rubs his chin and then puts his left index finger in the air.

“Ah ha, I thought he sounded familiar… But you know, he’s so self absorbed that he’d probably say, that guy stole HIS gimmick…”

The two start laughing together and the camera moves back another set of seats with Karma and Silver Goldstein sitting together. Silver is chugging a bottle of Pepto and Karma is just staring out the window.

“Ugh, my guts are killing me right now, I’m so nervous…”

Karma ignores Silver and he still grumbles out loud.

“Oooo, we are just days away from one of the biggest matches of the year and my head is spinning…”

Silver chugs more of his Pepto and Karma looks over to him, which is bad because she makes eye contact with him. Silver jumps to get the Pepto bottle from his mouth and Karma slowly rolls her eyes.

“Okay… What’s bothering you, Silver?”

Silver tries to play it off cool, as if he wasn’t trying to get Karma’s attention.

“Oh… Nothing… It’s just, I have started to campaign for more clients recently and it seems like I have some potential bites, but it all depends on how The Brotherhood does in the WAR match… You see, by attaching my name to The Brotherhood, the good things they do, make me look better…”

Karma’s mouth drops ajar a bit.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, right?”

Silver slowly shakes his head no.

“Why would I be kidding?”

Karma mockingly laughs.

“You’re an idiot… Why don’t you pick up Zero Tolerance while you’re at it? Sure they have representation, but you’re the sleaziest of the sleaziest… What would the master Jew think, right now? I think Buddy Roman would revoke your dreidel and your yamaka if he heard this the kind of undermining shit you are into…”

Silver shrugs.

“I’m looking to expand anyway… That’s how a business grows, sweet heart… There’s a fresh crop of talent over at UCI as well… Silver Goldstein loves wrestling bay bay!”

Silver laughs and Karma just elbows him in the side.

“I really don’t know why we keep you around… You’re like a damn roach that just won’t die…”

Silver stops laughing and kind of looks appalled.

“That hurts, Karma… Words hurt…”

Karma rolls her eyes and continues to look out the window which view is now taken up by the inside of a tunnel. The camera moves up the aisle and sitting in the back of the bus is Kevin Bishop. He sits with his headphones in his ears and he just lets the music rain over him as he writes in a journal.

This Means War
By: Avenged Sevenfold

Hide my face again, harbor in the shadows
Feel this weight of sin hammering away
Die, with the guilt of a thousand AWOL soldiers
Die, watch the scythe usher me astray
I can't go on this way
Not as I am today
The ugly side of me is strong
Take aim, a loaded gun.
Pull back on all who run.
A coward's truth inside the wrong.

This means war
This means war
This means war

Lash your tongue of bane
Carry me to nowhere
Mental holocaust
Battle never ends
Lie! Mask the pain
Of a child who's forsaken
Lie! To myself
Praise the new regime
I left me long ago
Reasons you'll never know
No one to miss me when I'm gone
With no more words to say
No argument to stay.
Another post I don't belong

This means war
This means war
This means war
This means war
This means war

No home to call my own
No finding someone new
No one to break the fall
No one to see me through
No name to carry on
No promise for today
No one to hear the call
No tattered flag to raise
Walk the razor's edge
Cut into the madness
Question all you trust
Buy into the fear
I see the man ripping at my soul now
I, I know the man
I know him all too well
There's nothing here for free
Lost who I want to be
My serpent blood can strike so cold
On any given day
I'll take it all away
Another thought I can't control

This means war
This means war
This means war
This means war
This means war

“The words of this song seep into my mind and they speak volumes of the world around us… The world outside of the ring and inside of it, especially how the landscape is looking to go through a facelift with the returning of the old guard… The boys in the back call it an invasion and they’re afraid their TV time is going to be taken or they’re title opportunities will no longer be coming their way… It’s sad really, to think they’re so afraid of these battle tested ring generals that they’re not seeing the opportunity that is truly at their feet. Hell one of the biggest pricks right now that is the loudest is Adrian Archer… A man who has tried his best to verbally joust with me, but all it did was cause him to throw a tantrum and create some poll to prove some kind of point… His one vote was that of his own accord, while me on the other hand wasn’t sweating it, because I’m not apart of some competition to be the leader of the anti-invasion team… I just want to wrestle which is what got me to this dance to begin with and I’m not leaning on my gift of gab to persuade the powers that be to hand deliver me unearned chances… The more I hear Archer complain on the internet about me or about anybody for that matter… Mostly champions, now that I think about it… I just see a poor attempt to rehash the same troll-esque feeling that we saw in The Baron of Butcherbay… And we all know where he wound up… It’s as if somebody told Archer that the squeakiest wheel got the grease, so he took that philosophy and ran with it… He truly believes if he pokes enough of the Champions or enough of the veterans, that someone is going to make his ass famous… Somehow I believe Archer would burn his own mother alive just for the chance to have his name at the top of the list of WCF… Just so his name could be apart of THEE conversation… I called him out on his lack of accomplishments and he rebuttal was that he only gave an example of his true potential… I retort with… It must’ve been a stool sample, because all the WCF Galaxy is seeing is pure shit… Adrian Archer doesn’t show up to wrestle in his matches, he believes his mouth will get him where he needs to go, but unless he’s the one pulling the strings under Seth’s desk… Which I do believe is occupied by Serujah or ‘Insert a Zero Tolerance members’ name here‘… Archer was so butt hurt that I didn’t mention him in my last promo that he went on the internet to blast me about it… Seriously? He sunk down to kindergarten playground tactics just to get noticed… Believe me, I noticed you, I just honestly didn’t have shit to say about you… But you did what you’re good at I suppose, you made yourself known and you got my attention… Grab a Cobra by the tail and await it’s poisonous bite, that’s your tactic in life it seems… But hey, if you’re able to walk afterward, I suppose you could say it’s worth it… Adrian Archer is going to stick to his guns, this much is true, but comparing himself to me… He’s never going to measure up… He claimed I invited him to join my Brotherhood, which, yes it’s the truth, because I did and do still see potential in him… When he first stepped foot in the WCF, I saw his true potential and his one downfall was his like of direction… He was so lost that he didn’t even know his own identity… He claimed he had goals and the ability to trail blaze his own path, but he’s never been able to gain the right footing… So I knew that the WCF needed a face lift long before the old guard was planning to come back, so I saw two men who wanted to make a change… I challenged them to prove themselves for the betterment of the company… The Purge was born… They had a purpose… They had a drive… But they couldn’t rely on one another and they couldn’t get the job done when it counted… Zero Tolerance was and still is a sickness for this industry… There’s nothing of any significance about the bunch that gives anything back to the wrestling community or to this company… The Purge was suppose to be able to step up to weed them out of their comfort zone… That’s where I’ll give ZT credit, they came in and they found that safe area that they could keep racking up the points that mattered… They sling shit from their mouths at every turn, but they did prove to be a unit… A unit like the one you’d find on the battlefield, so going into WAR they are more dangerous, even more dangerous than The Brotherhood… The difference though is The Brotherhood has The Plague… A man who climbed to the top with his own before he started piecing together this reincarnation of The Brotherhood…”

Kevin looks up and sees Pomp fall out of his seat into the middle of the aisle. He shoots a big smile back to Kevin before diving back into his seat with an elbow on Zander. Kevin shakes his head and returns to writing.

“I have heard all the promos leading up to this WAR and I have been called out for collecting the ‘WEAK’ minded to manipulate, blah blah blah… But the truth is, I chose those who had zero direction and wasted talent… Never once did I ever say I chose them because they were simply losers… They’re just the ones the rest of the world looks down on, just as I was looked down on. Psychopomp is a hell of a wrestler and he brings an energy to the ring that can’t be duplicated… He only lacked focus… He teams me against Bates and CJ… He already gets a pin fall on THE WORLD CHAMPION, that’s huge and I couldn’t be more prouder of him. I’m campaigning for him to get one more title match and that match should be against CJ Phoenix for the Alpha title… The Alpha title is a title that can’t be won by anyone who has held a title before, sounds like the perfect 1st title for Pomp. So ass holes like the Cowboy Clown Brigade can keep down playing my Brotherhood, but when it’s Zero Tolerance getting thrown out by the likes of Psychopomp, Dion Necurat, and Damian Kaine… Then it’ll be them walking away with their heads held low, looking to make as much noise as Adrian Archer to stay relevant.”

Kevin skips through his play list until he comes to “Cold Blood” by Apocalyptica.

“The landscape of WCF has been changing for a long time… Blood has been spilled in and out of the ring… Wrestlers have come to stand tall for a night and then disappear after one defeat… Men have gone on to stay undefeated and to win titles… While others can’t catch a break even if they fought a drunk Seth Lerch in a walk a straight line contest. The new comers to WCF are coming in at a very special time, just as I came in not long before The Ultimate Showdown… It’s all about going out there and maximizing your minutes… Do any of the WCF Galaxy look to JNJ, Little Tornado, Jaice Wilds, Jay West, Koola, Kidd Krazzy, Bruno Armstrong, Shay Mckay, Joe Smarts, Zoey Ryback, Brian Paine, El Fuego Del Infierno Eterno Silenciso, or even the very well spoken Steven Singh to move mountains at WAR? Are they even going to make a ripple in the ocean that is the WCF? Not a chance in hell, but damn is it going to be something to see them try. To test one’s might as such a crucial part of their career… It could skyrocket them if they actually had a chance to truly maximize their minutes… But sadly, the moment I saw New Roster listed on the card for WAR, I instantly read Cannon fodder… They’re the fall guys and they’re there to pad the list of combatants… Seth would dare tell them that to their faces, but after WAR, tell me how many of those new roster members stick around… They’ll lick their wounds and realize this isn’t the place for them… I’ve seen it too many times at other promotions and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see some of the old guard go back into hiding. My only comparison to think of is, Godzilla stepping out of the waters to lay waste to the movie monster of the week, just to return back to the dark mucky waters… Odin will step into the ring and lay waste… Jay Omega will do what he does best and dominate, just look at his record… Joey Flash will run through the jobbers like a berserker on the battlefield… Once the dust has settled and we have the guys who have kept the WCF alive while the old guard turned tail and ran… That’s when the true battles will start… I look to Adam Young who will be flying his rebel flag high and he has a giant bone to pick with all the returning ‘Intruders’… I’ve seen him blowing up the internet about them and if he ever had respect for any of them, it has surely left him by now. Adam Young is a fighter through and through… Sadly we haven’t actually stood across from each other before, but I have watched the way he carries himself in the ring and I can say, there’s not a chance in hell that he’d catch me resting on him. Adam Young will capitalize on an opportunity in the blink of an eye. He has plenty to prove… I see him jump up on the internet board to throw whatever he can at the old guard and they simply laugh him off. LOLZ and FGTZ tossed at him as if whatever he has accomplished for the WCF has been for nothing. It’s like the middle child trying to gain attention from his parents. I look at the returning to action Sarah Twilight, a woman who isn’t afraid to throw a punch at a man, which how could you not respect a strong independent woman like that. I was down for her running the shows instead of Seth, but you could tell in her eyes that it was the ring she wanted to be apart of not, not the behind the scenes political bull shit. Sarah Twilight is a warrior and she feels the most alive fighting in the ring. With a match like WAR, I have a feeling she’s going to get her fill and then some. Sarah is an ex World champion and a girl who knows what it takes to get the job done, no matter the opponent that’s placed in front of her… But with a Sarah Twilight, we will also get a Lilith… The two are easily seen as a duo, whether Sarah wants to openly admit it or not, but maybe that’s just Lilith’s warped mind rubbing off on the entire WCF Galaxy. The girl is infectious with her cute but deadly approach and I can see how many can be thrown off by her… I’m not going to take any of them lightly and I’m pretty sure Karma would bitch me out if I did, because if she was able to be out there with me, she would definitely go to WAR. But I digress… Competition is definitely coming to WCF and the men… and women who coming back into the fold, bring with them experience that our younger talents can really learn from… The moment we stop learning and growing, is the moment we are dead… If we really want to WCF grow bigger, then we have to go with the change… That’s the one thing all of these WCF faithfuls are failing to realize while they’re flipping out about the changes that are coming. I literally heard someone in the back, say they’re going to quit the company all together if the likes of Jeff Purse or Johnny Rabid or any of the Beach Krew won WAR… My reply to them would be, if you don’t want them to win it, then FIGHT… Don’t let them win… Hell, it’s the one thing I liked about Cam Newton from the Carolina Panthers… He went record saying, I’ll stop dancing in the end zone if you stop me… WAKE UP WCF… If you don’t want the so called ‘Intruders’ to win, then for fuck sake, beat them where it counts… Stop playing into their games on the internet, stand up and bring them a WAR they never thought possible. They turn their noses up at us, because of the idiots who run their mouths, who down play their past accomplishments, and try to build themselves up as something when they haven’t proven shit since they came to the company. In the beginning I stepped into WCF with accolades from yesteryear and I knew from the beginning that, they didn’t mean shit here… So I worked and earned what I got… I didn’t come in here like some millennial claiming that I was entitled whatever the hell I wanted, because damn it, I wipe my own ass or anything… We don’t hand out participation trophies in the WCF and you don’t get shit for just showing up…”

Kevin shakes head at all the shit talking he remembers from the internet board.

“The moment I saw FPV jotting notes down during my matches recently, I gained some respect for him and I look to CJ Phoenix who picked up on it too… CJ learned from the vet and he too started taking notes, he started doing his homework… But that’s CJ Phoenix. The man is calculating and he breaks down each match like a coach on the football field. He watches the tapes and he plans his attacks… I just have to say… That’s how you get a head CJ, it’s what winners like us do to gain the gold we put around our waste… Guys like us set goals and we put the work in to get where we need to be… The foot race is still a go and WAR is where I slingshot past you, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see each other again down the road… Even when Pomp takes your Alpha title, I don’t see you giving up that easily, because you’re a fighter… That’s the cloth that we are cut from and that’s why it’s so easy to compare the two of us… You see, you’re doing it right, as in Archer is falling flat on his face. You have injected your name into the conversation for be the best damn WARkHorse you can be and it shows brother. You put your name out there in a positive light, by piecing together your very own SportsCenter-esque weekly show, which in turn puts a positive outlook on the WCF… Believe me, with the damage that Zero Tolerance does for our image, it could use all the good publicity it can get… Besides WCF being known for its murders and crazy amount of bloodshed… Thanks Oblivion for your years of service… Another man who is a living legend of the industry… He’s every bit of a monster, but as we know of monsters in history… They get this reputation due to lesser men who were ignorant and uneducated… Stories would be woven together to build up these figment of their imaginations… You’re every bit of a man, deranged, but still a man all the same… You bleed and if you bleed then you can be hurt… IT believes The Plague is some guy who speaks well and enjoys playing the game… I know this isn’t some GAME Obi and from what I can see, you’re just a psychopath who loves getting off on pain, be it yours or others… I’ve fought men like you before and you’re making the same exact mistake they’ve made in the past… You’re not seeing me as a viable threat, you believe all I can do is just speak about the things I’ll do in that ring, but if you look at my path to this moment… You’ll know that I’m more than just a talker, Obi, so maybe you should stop stalking little girls in the dark and actually watch some tape… Do your damn homework and maybe you’ll actually have a chance against this so called speaker… I’ve seen what you’ve done in the past, I know of your title accomplishments… I know of your deranged sick fuck side and I know of your AoD which is just a shell now… You’ve fought many a man and you have even gone to battle with Lester Parish, my Teacher of Worlds, who shows you, that you can DO and TEACH… Sorry Cliff for you having the poor decision making of choking out a child… No matter what you say, perception is reality and that is why you were released from the school… The one thing that really come out loud and clear from that whole ordeal is how much the wrestling world has affected you… You can’t juggle your life at all and it’s only a matter of time before you crack even more under the pressure of it all… I truly do commend you for your career path so far, you’ve made short work of the Seth Lerch gauntlet of battle royal cluster fucks… Only to be thrown into WAR, which I have no doubt you’re going to prove your name in the time giving… So leave the school teaching behind and focus on the thing you have the opportunity to really take care of your family… A happy wife equals a happy life, they say… Wrestling can give you the funds you need to be a provider, hell I provide for my entire Brotherhood by this job and with Parish’s mindful thinking of living off the land, that definitely helps… Speaking of your battle royal cluster fucks… Wow, the soul survivors who still chose to stay instead of turning tail like so many before them… The likes of Alex Winterz and Jason O’Neal… The two should just form a team already, because they’re not gaining any footing anytime soon, doing what they’re doing solo. Looking at their lack of steam going into WAR, I can only imagine they’re going to flounder just like the rest of their career so far. O’Neal can speak a big game, I give him credit there, but he lacks substance where it counts. He’s all balls and no shaft, lacking the pay off. Alex Winterz is riding along with him, might as well throw him down with the rest of the cannon fodder new faces who will be fall guys in WAR…”

Kevin skips a couple of songs and lands on Hail To The King by Avenged Sevenfold.

“So many promising talents though that have stepped foot in the WCF, one who has made some ripples in Jordan Ciserano… He just beat out Mikey eXtreme, he sent Brent Alpine packing, and he’s eyeing CJ Phoenix for that Alpha title… I’m going to continue to push for Psychopomp, but I wouldn’t be surprised if soon after Pomp claims his prize, that Jordan Ciserano will be lining up for his shot as well. Jordan came in like a bat out of hell swinging for the fences and not taking no for an answer. Mikey may be in a funk right now and he’s digging himself a giant ditch, even after losing out against myself and CJ. I’ve watched Mikey’s promos and I see the darkness creeping up on him… He’s starting to become a man who has nothing to lose… And truthfully, that makes him more dangerous. eXtremely dangerous for lack of a better word. We already don’t see eye to eye and even though we have a mutual friend in the honey badger, I don’t ever see Mikey and I becoming ol’ drinking buddies by no means. I wish the best for Mikey, because the moment you hit rock bottom is the moment vices rear their ugly heads and that’s when it becomes even harder to climb back out. Mikey has his opportunity with being the last entrant in WAR, so he’s going to give it his all to capitalize on that, but once he comes face to face with The Plague… He’ll still be at a disadvantage… If you go back and count it off, we both have one up on each other, but when we meet in WAR, that’s where I turn the scales back my direction… Mikey isn’t getting out of his pit at my expense, because I’m going to continue my climb to the top come hell or high water… The man I feel the worst for is the man that Mikey put as entrant number one… Henry Spearman… The guy has been at a cross roads a lot since coming to WCF, he’s reverted back to his true nature and now he’s looking to make the most out of being out first. The only thing I see Spearman doing in the near future is delivering a ton of spears and possibly earning the spot of longest entrant… As for winning… Not so much… You see, I’ve been in the ring with Henry and when he goes, he definitely goes… But I’ve also noticed him starting to get gassed… He slows down and when he slows down, he leaves himself open… Mistakes happen easiest when you take your eyes off the prize… Sure Spearman can go on record and claim he wants that number one contender spot at One… He can claim that he’ll stop at nothing until the opportunity is his, but the truth of the matter is… What you going to do if you do make it to the final entrant comes in to WAR? What are you going to do when Mikey eXtreme comes out to finish you off, just to put that final nail in your coffin? You chose to battle Mikey and as I mentioned… Mikey is at the end of his rope… He’s a hungry dog that has been left in his cage for FAR too long and he’s ready to strike… You helped put him in that cage, Henry… If you survive until he enters, you’re going to be the first one he takes out, plain and simple…”

Kevin starts to sway along to the music a bit and really getting into what he’s writing.

“Teddy Blaze is a man I’m not a stranger to and definitely not a stranger to winning against… But there’s going to be a different drive in Teddy this time around… He’s going to battle Gemini the same night as WAR… He’s going to lose to Gemini and that means, going into WAR he’s going to be coming full speed for that World title shot… The proof is right there… At Ultimate Showdown, he chose to pin me to relinquish his People’s Championship, just for the CHANCE to claim the World title… He left the PEOPLE high and dry just for the chance to be in the Ultimate Showdown… Teddy Blaze will do ANYTHING to get a shot at the World title… I’ve been in the ring with him as well and I know the moment you think you have him down and out… Teddy lights the fires and kicks it into desperation mode… It’d be too easy to say Teddy would be seeing red, so it’d be easy to take advantage, but the man sees red all the time… He revived himself to become Teddy Blaze, so he knows how to evolve… He’s not coming into WAR as the same man who put his title on the line the same night… No matter what happens, Teddy is coming in as a man on a mission… Just the same as all of us, but still it’s not going to be enough to simply want it… Gemini, a man I accepted as an Honorary member of The Brotherhood and I returned the favor of accepting his offer to allow me into The Battle Station… His inner circle… When you do battle on the same side with another person, it’s easy to gain respect for them and it makes you want to continue to look out for them… If our paths cross at WAR which is simply inevitable, I will watch your back if you outnumbered, just as I know you’ll watch mine… But if and when it’s you and me in that ring alone, don’t think for a second I won’t be looking for the upper hand. You’re crafty Gem and you’re extremely unpredictable… I know you got that taste… That bump just as Ol’ Z would do…”

Kevin smirks.

“That most precious gold there is in this industry… You held it… You bathed with it… You probably took some inappropriate selfies with it… You know what it’s like to have that title and no matter how you spin it… You can claim that your goal next is to gain that grand slam, but this is an opportunity I know you’re not going to simply turn away from… It’s like asking Golem to throw the ring into the volcano… We all remember how hard that was for him… But you’re that crazy, Gem… And you’re just enough crazy that I know you’re going to stop at nothing until you’re headed to ONE as the number ONE contender…”

Kevin skips the songs on his phone to Shadowmaker by Apocalyptica.

“Speaking of Champions… How could I not mention Cap’n’Hawk… The mishap that seems to be gelling in a weird way… I’m not going to take that away from you, you aren’t giving those titles up without a fight. You toppled Zero Tolerance who if you believe all of their self hype, they’re the greatest thing to happen to tag team wrestling since Jason Cash’s chin met Crazy J’s balls. But honestly, Cap’n… Sorry about the neck, sometimes when you get in that ring and you’re slapping on submission holds… The red vision takes over and you blank out for a bit… Blood was in the water and I couldn’t hold back… As for WAR, anything goes… So if I slap on the Iron Maiden on Cap again… I can hold it until you’re completely unconscious… The same goes for you Tommy… You’re a strong native of these lands and you carry with you a lot of hate for the other races… Mainly white… I can see the distain in your eyes when I stand across the ring from you or when I see you back in catering… You really think I was the kind of guy who’d give you small pox blankets? What kind of monster do you think I am? I think your people are about to finally bounce back and you may even use those Indian casinos to over throw the white man… I’m sure after your peace pipe drum circles, you hallucinate about all kinds of pipe dreams… The same as if you’re imaging Cap’n’Hawk or even Tommy himself is going to walk out of WAR with that World title shot…”

Kevin notices the bus about to come to a stop and closes his journal, then takes his headphones off. The bus stops in front of an old ran down building, that resembles an old boxing gym. Kevin makes his way to the front of the bus and he stands next to Sean as he looks back to all his Brotherhood members.

“Alright my brothers! I know, you’re probably wondering why we are stopped in front of this ran down building… We came to New York to look at some run down building? Not exactly, but there is something here that I want to show my wrestling brothers… So Dion, Damian, and Pomp, if you boys could follow me, I’m pretty sure you’re going to like this…”

The three shuffle down the aisle toward Kevin and he walks them all out to the sidewalk in front of the building. Pomp is the first one to speak.

“It’s kind of nice… A little run down, but it’s all about location, location, location…”

Pomp chuckles and Damian smacks his own forehead.

“So what’s the deal with the old boxing gym, Kev?”

Kevin pats Damian on the shoulder and waves his other hand in front of the building.

“The Plague is going to show you where he learned his craft…”

Kevin opens the front door of the building and everybody walks in single filed. On the inside the lack of light and the dust build up shows that the building hasn’t been used for some time. The building is pretty simply built, open rafters above and white dry wall below with old promotional posters hung up of random boxing events and some local wrestling promotions. On the far side of the room is a trophy case that holds boxing trophies and some other wrestling memorabilia with dust build up on the glass. Pomp walks over to the trophy case and he quickly swipes a bunch of dust off the glass, causing a dust cloud to attack him. He starts coughing and throwing his arms around to fan the dust away.

“ACK, DEATH!”

Kevin pulls Pomp away and as the dust settles Dion is pointing at a black lucha mask with a giant white gothic cross on the front of it.

“A brilliant warrior's mask…”

Kevin smiles.

“Say hello to Plague Jr…”

Kevin chuckles and Pomp gets close to the glass, like a bug hitting a windshield of an on coming car on the highway.

“You use to wear a mask???”

Kevin nods.

“Yup, promotions weren’t suppose to allow younger children to wrestle, so I was a bit taller for a 13 year old when I started and when I wore the mask, I fit in with some of the younger adult wrestlers… My mentor Darren Knight allowed me to use his Plague name and I started my career… In this very building actually… A shifty promoter by the name Vincent Pryde… Yeah I’m sure it was a made up name, but that man was surely full of pride, thinking he was running the best promotion in New York City… We put on what we believed were five star matches every weekend, but when you’re caught in the moment, it’s hard not to believe the work you’re putting in is top notch. I wrestled for Vincent for 4 years before Darren and I ventured down to Mexico. We spent a year or two down there before we made our way to Canada for a couple years, then a year in Japan, a year in the U.K., and finally when I returned to the U.S., I started working the Indies here harder than I ever did before. Wrestling around the world helped me hone my craft and learn so many different styles… If you haven’t wrestled in Japan, I tell you this right now, it is an experience to just say you did it. Here in the states we thrive on that fan interaction while we perform… But there, it’s an art form that they must stay silent during! It’s insane, but yet beautiful at the same time…”

Kevin smiles at the wide six eyes staring back at him.

“But it all wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t learn the fundamentals here… I cut my teeth in this awful establishment and I learned what it was like to put it all on the line for mere pennies… That’s how you stay hungry, boys… That’s how you know what it’s like to work your way from the bottom… I just really wanted you guys to look around here and to take it all in. Breathe in that dust, Pomp.”

Kevin pats Pomp on the back.

“Damian and Pomp, go take some bounds off those ropes and tell me what it feels like. Dion…”

Kevin looks around and sees a punching bag, then shrugs.

“Go cut the hell out of that thing with your sword or something… Work the place in… This is merely a short stop, before we go to our final destination…”

Pomp and Damian both run to the ring, as Dion walks over to the punching bag. Dion bows to it before he starts to strike it with boxer-esque punches. Pomp and Damian start running the ropes and Kevin stares at the mask in the trophy case.

“Plague Jr… So many years ago… But it was such an honor to be able to wear that mask at such a young age… Just so I could start THIS path that lead me to here… To think it all started with this…”

Kevin slides the case open and he picks up the mask. He places his left hand in it and he holds up in a Hamlet skull like fashion.

“I remember the day Darren told me that I got to design my own mask… A geeked out 13 year old who fell in love with wrestling… Yeah, definitely a moment I’d never forget…”

Kevin turns and notices Damian and Pomp are taking turns hitting the ropes and leap frogging one another. Dion seems to have cut the punching bag in half and sand rests at his feet.

“Dion… You are a man who follows direction to the letter, thank you for that, just take that same mind set into the ring at WAR and The Brotherhood will rack up the points.”

Kevin looks to Damian and Pomp in the ring.

“Real nice speed in there guys, but what do you say we hit up the bus and head to our last stop?”

Pomp crosses his arms and shakes his head no.

“No, no, no… How about you step in the ring and you hit the ropes, just like we did? This mat is harder than Jason Cash’s thick inbred skull.”

Damian slaps his knee and laughs.

“Ha, yeah come on, Kev, run the ropes with us.”

Kevin tucks his mask in his pant’s back pocket and he rolls into the ring. Pomp and Damian move back to opposite corners and Kevin stands in the middle of the ring.

“Alright, so what now?”

Damian steps into the middle.

“I irish whip you and you come back to leap frog up over me and then I hit the mat as y ou come back… The chain ends with me drop kicking you.”

Kevin scratches the back of his head.

“Um, why are you drop kicking me? Why can’t I end the chain?”

Damian laughs.

“Aww, come on, man, I need this… It’s like one of those team building exercises after all…”

Kevin just shrugs it off.

“Okay, fine!”

Damian grabs Kevin by the right hand and he irish whips Kevin across the ring. Kevin comes back and Damian drops a shoulder as Kevin leap frogs up over him. As Kevin is coming back Damian drops down to allow Kevin to leap over him. Kevin bounces off the ropes and as he comes back Damian kips up with one quick motion, landing a drop kick right under The Plague’s chin. Damian spins around and he stares down at The Plague.

“Kev, are you okay?”

Kevin’s eyes open and he quickly sweeps the legs out from under Damian, then he kips up to his feet.

“Your first mistake, D, you should’ve finished the job.”

Kevin laughs and he grabs Damian’s hand to pull him up to his feet. Damian just shakes his head as he rubs the back of it.

“Lesson learned it seems… A little bit of WAR strategy games?”

Kevin shrugs with a smile on his face.

“What can I say, teachable moments are all around us… As we gather together to venture into WAR, I want you boys to be as sharp as you can be out there… We have targets on our backs because we are a formidable unit… Just like Zero Tolerance has that same target… That means while we are out there, we have to stay on the same page… We have to keep each other out of the danger zone, so to speak… Are you with me?”

Dion puts a fist straight out and Kevin nods to him. Damian and Pomp both put their fists out and Kevin nods to them as well.

“Okay, fellas, I think it’s time we go to ground zero…”

Kevin leads them all back out of the building and onto the bus. Kevin heads straight back to the back of the bus and pulls out his head phones with his notebook. He scrolls through his music and he puts “Become The Bull” by Atreyu on. He puts pen back to paper and continues where he left off.

“Doc Henry… The Southerner Socialite… Accomplished for sure and he seems to have set his sights on my Peoples Title… The rest of the ass holes around here would be flipping out at the sheer thought that a living legend such as Doc Henry would be even pondering the idea of challenging them… Not ME, not The Plague, because the only way to actually prove your worth is to actually COMPETE… A lost idea on some, probably looking more at Adrian Archer than anything on that remark… But yes I openly accepted Doc Henry’s challenge, because that’s what a true champion does, he actually puts his title on the line. Teddy Blaze made the title mean something more than just a simple title for The People and I’m going to continue that same feat. I don’t see The People’s title as something that holds me back, oh no, it’s simply a way to extend my victories over to them as well. Everytime I win in the ring, it builds on that connection I have with my fans… The way I see it… The Southerner vs. The Yankee for The People’s title, sounds like the perfect heading for the marquee. He claims I should watch my back at WAR, which isn’t surprising, he’s back in the WCF for a reason… He watched the company from a close distance and he saw an opportunity to swoop in to stand tall once again. Honestly it’s the old guard way if you really break it down…”

Kevin sways to the music for a second before writing again.

“Joey Flash is leading the charge on that front too… Gone for whatever hell reason he chose and now he swoops back in just because it’s WAR season… He wants to come back to lay waste to the company that has been held together by guys like ME, who as he claims is favored by creative and fans… I’m something new for the fans to cling to or I’m the leader of the weak… That’s the difference between you and I Joey, I want our company to get better and the only way to do that is to better the god damn talent. You think you can rebuild the company and lead them by destroying every single person here? You think casting off my brothers because they’re still working on what drives them, is what’s best for business? You’re not undefeated Joey, but you do cast a pretty damn big shadow… Forty four victories is nothing to take lightly and as you say, that was against the best of the best competition in the industry right there… Where’d most of that talent go? You all left the WCF and you thought why the hell not build this new regime… That’s fine, you left a big hole for Seth Lerch to fill and with you gone, it was a chance for Seth to hire talent he would’ve over looked before. I get it, Psychopomp is a funny name and yes I too made fun of it when I faced off against him in our first match together… But you see his diehard ability in the ring and yes it may be because of the memory lose or some other head trauma that makes him keep pushing ahead in adversity… But damn, the kid can GO and when you think you have him down, he bounces back swinging. That’s the diehard never give up skill set that Pomp brings to The Brotherhood. I see his true abilities where others see a simple goof ball, the same thing I see in all my brothers. Damian Kaine came into the company looking to prove himself and he’s willing to put it all on the line just to do that very thing. The kid is nuts, but when it truly counts, I know he’s finally going to stand and deliver for The Brotherhood. The same goes for Dion Necurat, an Urban Gladiator, a man who is in search of the biggest challenger to simply battle. He’s been in all kinds of battles and he has lost all of them, this is true… But with every defeat, Dion learns a take away that makes him better for the next fight… That’s the life of a true warrior and he’s going to turn things around sooner rather than later. Just as I said about Mikey eXtreme, Dion also has nothing else to lose, so that makes him just as dangerous, especially going into WAR, with the ability to use whatever weapon he chooses to… I wouldn’t put anything past my brothers, they’re going to do whatever they can to dismantle the entire battlefield they see before them… ONE, The Brotherhood is coming…”

Kevin shuts his notebook and turns his music off as the bus comes to a stop. He stands up and makes his way to the front of the bus. Sean looks to be pleased that they’re finally at their last stop. Kevin raises his hands in the air.

“Alright everybody, here we are, at Madison Square Garden… The Ground Zero for WAR this Sunday and if you look out the window, there’s already people camping out ready for the big time event… I am going to stand front and center to address the entire WCF Galaxy, any New Yorker in ear shot, and ALL OF YOU, MY BROTHERHOOD! So come with me and let’s take New York back, for THE BROTHERHOOD!”

The bus starts to light up and get loud as everyone starts to pile off the bus. Kevin makes his way toward the front of the arena and as he approaches, he is met by Fat Fuck Carl with his camera guy who is some how more obese than he is.

“KEVIN! Old friend! Can I get a close up?!”

Kevin simply raises his hand to the camera and points to his own face.

“You can record all of this, because I’m about to do this shit like Patton!”

Kevin shoves past Fat Fuck Carl and his entire Brotherhood follows like a bunch of mindless lemurs.

“What the hell, Kev? I thought we were cool?”

Karma pats Carl on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Fat Fuck, my husband has a speech to give to the masses, just keep the camera rolling!”

Silver walks past in a zombie fashion still chugging away at his Pepto and Carl chuckles a bit. The Plague walks past a large group of New Yorkers and WCF faithfuls as he stands in front of the arena main entrance. As he stands there he motions to Sean Craven, who runs over with a bull horn in hand. The Plague raises it up to his mouth and there’s a bit of feedback that causes a bit of cringing.

“Sorry about that… Haven’t used one of these things before…”

Kevin shrugs it off though and the fans in attendance turn to look at him, so it must’ve done the trick.

“So WAR is UPON US!!!”

The fans yell a bit and this isn’t enough for The Plague.

“I SAID! WAR IS UPON US!!!”

The fans give a tad bit more this time and Kevin nods along.

“That’s more like it! Now I stand before you as YOUR PEOPLE’S CHAMPION and a SON of New York, looking to come home to WIN for all of you! Ever since I started carrying my People’s Championship, people have scratched their heads, trying to figure out how it’s possible to be a Plague of The People… And how that can actually be a good thing…”

Kevin lightly laughs.

“I know, I get it… But you gotta understand this… Just because I’m not flooding this world physically to bring us all back to a better state of mind, doesn’t mean I’m not flooding this world with promise… If you look at any of the my brothers and sisters, you’ll see men and women… and children who are waiting to do one thing the same as everyone else here right now… That is STRIVE for Excellence! They want to be somebody, just like the rest of the world and the best part is, they have someone who believes in them more than they could even imagine… I have my critics and I have those who will fight against me… But the truth is there folks, I’m not coming into this as a wolf in sheeps clothing… I don’t just paint a smile on and wipe it off when I’m ready to turn… I am the man I am and I don’t hold anything back from my people… Or any of you for that matter… So many wrestlers going into War look at my Brotherhood and my choice of members as weak and inferior… That’s sad that they must think that, but that mistake will be on them… Each and every member of mine brings something special to the group and I don’t look at any roster with a mind set that I want the weakest on the list… No, not at all, I look and see who could actually use my help to succeed. You won’t see me walking into a law firm or fucking wall street to tell them how to do their jobs, because that’s not the man I am… Now if they came to me and asked me how to stay focused and stay motivated… Then yeah, I’ll probably throw a few words their way, but I’m not one to try to teach old dogs new tricks… So Joey Flash can say he would rather place strong partners next to him, but the only problem with that Joey and I’m sure it’s happened many times with an ego like yours… You’ll ultimately butt heads and that’s when you wind up on your own not helping a damn soul… I lead by an example and my Brotherhood knows the type of man I am… I doubt any partner of yours could ever say they know the real Joey Flash… Down deep inside of you, you’re a different person than the image you put out, but that was built out of necessity… As you said, it was a different landscape back then and you had to be a certain way to be the BEST… You say I’m a throw back, but if I was around when you were I wouldn’t be shit… Ha, you must not have followed my career too well, which is fine, I’d much rather show you what I’m capable of in the ring, then you read some dirt sheets or watch some old footage… I may be a throwback, but just as a fish will grow larger in a big tank, I get better when the competition is top notch… Sunday, you’re going to learn first hand of how much fight is in The Plague and the entire Brotherhood that you seem to easily just cast aside…”

Kevin shakes his head slowly.

“WAR is about more than just a number one contenders spot and you can look around the entire roster to see the change that is in the air… Some of the guys in the back feel disgruntled because the idiocracy of Seth Lerch and the feeling that he’d do anything to get ratings… Anything in fact that he’d inject a cancer like most of the OLD GUARD back into the roster depth… Well, I don’t speak for the entire roster, because well, I know Adrian Archer would shit himself before he let me speak for him… But this is our stand at WAR… There’s going to be a changing of the guard… It’s going to happen whether you’re for it or not, because I’ve been against the past repeating itself since I stepped foot in this company and Bates was up in arms over how Seth was running the show… Bates wants the past revived, but with a more of a revolutionary war type feel to it… He wants a damn declaration of independents signed and put in place… Honestly, I just want some god damn wrestling and I want a product that the fans can really enjoy… Look around the world and tell me what your favorite promotion is? Be it Progress, PWG, Chikara, ROH, The E, TNA, NJPW, Dragons Gate, or even Evolve… But I can’t help but keep tabs of UCI and their tournament that’s about to take place… An open challenge was mentioned by Spencer Adams…”

Kevin pauses for a second and looks around the crowd at the fans hanging onto every word.

“I stand here before you right now… I’m focused 100% on WAR, but for the sake of competition… I have put my name in the ring for UCI’s Killing Floor Tournament… I honestly don’t see them as the enemy and neither should the rest of the WCF… It’s wrestling folks and when it comes down to the purity of it all… Each and every one of us want to witness the best wrestling possible… You want to see us put it all on the line for you and the more companies there are, the better the industry is for YOU and ALL of us… I accept the challenge in the name of my Brotherhood… In the name of the WCF, whether the other guys respect that or not or even see why I’m doing it… And most importantly… I’m DOING IT FOR ALL OF YOU!!! As your People’s Champion, I want you to have as many chances you possibly can to cheer your champion on and to see him put on the best damn matches he possibly can…”

The fans start to cheer.

“First WAR and when it comes to WAR, you know damn well The Brotherhood is coming with a full head of steam! With Pomp and Myself exiting the last Slam as your victors over Bates and Phoenix… Then the weeks before that, yours truly has stood tall to end the show… We are getting a good pace going and there’s no one that’s going to slow us down… I say it and I mean it every time… They can’t stop us, they can only hope to contain US! I stand up here making each of you a promise… The Brotherhood isn’t going to be taken out very easily and I am going to DO everything in my power to make sure we stand out in this match. You all deserve a fighting champion and a man who stands by his word… Look no further, because The Plague of The People is going to leave WAR, The People’s Number ONE contender! Bates and Bishop will finally have that one on one… And it WILL be for the WORLD title!”

Kevin puts a fist up in the air just like all the athletes who are trying to gain attention on the field during the national anthem. He nods as he watches others follow suit.

“FOR THE BROTHERHOOD!!!!”

The crowd says the same thing in unison.

“FOR THE PEOPLE!!!”

Again the crowd repeats him.

“FOR THE WCF GALAXY!!!”

Kevin lowers his fist and the fans start chanting Plague over and over again. Kevin smiles from ear to ear as he looks out and he makes eye contact with each of his brothers and then ending with Karma. She mouths, I LOVE YOU to him and he returns the words himself and then nods. The camera fades out to black with New Yorkers, the WCF Galaxy, and The Brotherhood cheering for The Plague.