- Scene: Forest of Disillusion / Nowhere, Oklahoma -
[The screen... black as midnight.]
[Black as the cold, blank, hollow residing in so many of our chests...]
[... The same place where a warm, beating heart should reside.]
[But there is none.]
[For we choose not to see what truly lie ahead of us... behind us... to our sides. And instead, we choose to see something false...]
[An illusion.]
[We are fed lies... Served a golden platter of false hope with a side of false greatness... Drinking deeply from a flowing goblet of false dreams to lead us to believe in false idols.]
[Through the so-called "morality" of Christian television... Christian music... Christian-themed holidays, where hordes of misled Christian souls spend their time worshipping a face-less, voice-less entity. And for what reason?]
[So they may believe.]
[So they may believe, for one, brief moment, that there is something out there... Something... UP there.]
[Some sort of divine spirit... with divine powers. The power to heal... the power to create. The power to change.]
[They want to... desperately... believe in new life... a second life... and they wish to believe that for everything that happens...]
[Every disease.]
[Every death.]
[Every tragedy.]
[That there is some sort of... circle of life, some sort of... calling, and that for every horrible, terrible event... there is a divine reason.]
[...]
"But my friends... there isn't."
"There is no divine reason behind the teenage girl that dates her 'loving' boyfriend for four years... almost worshipping him... as he tells her every day how much he cares, how he would do anything for her... but then leaves as soon as he discovers she's carrying his child."
"There is no divine reason behind the man that works for years to make it to the top of his company... only to be replaced with someone far younger, and far more willing to kiss ass to get ahead."
"There is no divine reason for the torment that surrounds us. There is no divine reason..."
"... For there is no God."
"There is no holy being... no Allah, no Buddah... no afterlife."
"Why do these things occur? Why, you can look no further than the cheerful fellow that lives next door... that wears a smile on his face, trimming his garden, waving to you and your family... while he secretly dreams of bedding your 5 year old daughter."
"The Truth lies in the soul-less inner sanctum of the footbal quarterback, that acts so cheerful, so out-going... till he finds that one girl that doesn't wish to become another notch in his 'been there, done that' tally. He finds her... he rapes her... he kills her, so she won't have the chance to tell."
"There is no divine reason."
"And the owner of the succesful company... the succesful wrestling promotion."
"He promises chances. Opportunities. Just as our imaginary friend named 'God', this man... this... Sebastian Rutherford."
"He tells the world that he has brought back a company, and that he will revolutionize the business."
"Just as the 'Lord' above, this false prophet brings false hope to so many... only to renig on these claims."
"And why? Why did AWE close, you may ask? Go ahead. Ask. I know you wonder it so... I know it eats at you, thinking... Thinking why did a company with so much promise... so much going for it... simply wither and die... not once... but twice?"
"The first time, I can not attest for. Lousy decisions... trust in poor talent. But the second time? Both of these played a factor."
"For the second time, there was but one reason... And that reason?"
"It's as clear as the whites of my eyes..."
- suddenly, the previously pitch black screen fills with static... -
- before cutting to one image... the vision of two eyes... set behind pure white contacts, hiding the pupils and irises as if they didn't even exist. -
"Humanity. Humanity is the reason... for humanity is flawed. Humanity lies to itself, to get it through its miserable existence. Humanity holds so many pointless aspirations, and dreams, and hopes, and wishes... and beliefs."
"And humanity lies to eachother. Man lies to his fellow man, so he may receive what he so desires... so he may live the life of riches and power."
"Seb... he believed that he could trust the roster. He believed he could trust them to do what needed to be done to make this company prosper."
"Seb was wrong."
"The entire roster was flawed. And the entire roster played him for a fool."
"Jen Blackhart... a poser. So false inside AND outside she made Avril Lavigne look like a member of Kitty. And really, how can you expect a person who doesn't even stay true to themselves to stay true to the company? Jen, face it sister. You're nothing more than a bleache blonde bimbo, deep down inside your heart. Face the Truth... and you may just reach my level of greatness someday."
"Suicide... nothing more than a talentless stunt monkey. He lied every day... About being a true athlete. About being a REAL wrestler. He never belonged in a real wrestling ring. A man like him belongs in a backyard, trampoline federation... or a circus. He knows NOTHING about the sport of professional wrestling, and has always had to risk his body, night in, night out, just to reach mediocrity. He couldn't apply a proper wrestling hold if he had a gun pointed at his head. Not even worth my time."
"Duff Cote d'Ivoire. Ah, the Canadian Revolution. More like the Canadian Black Sheep, if you ask me. Whereas great men like Bret Hart, Lance Storm, and Chris Jericho have proved Canada is the epoch of the wrestling world... this man has proven to be nothing more than an embarrasment. If I were to ever to step into the ring with a legend such as Hart, I would consider it a great honor. To step into the ring with Duff would only flaw my stunning career."
"Love! Love! Kamikaze / Kaminari KICHI / Whatever he chooses to call himself in this company's fourth iteration. This man does for Japan what Duff d'Ivoitre does for Canada. Namely, blemish the country's near stainless name in proffesional wrestling. LLK has always been a laughinstock, and always WILL be a laughinstock. He doesn't have his mind set squarely on competing. He'd rather crack tasteless jokes on a weak, defenseless country such as America. He's the kind of guy that makes one long for the days of Hayabusa..."
"Glacier... the epitome of egotism. This man calls himself a 'legend', despite the fact that, had he ever faced myself inside an AWE ring, he would have been choking on his teeth faster than one can say 'delusional'. This man is EXACTLY what I seek to destroy. The illusions of this company... of this country... of the entire planet. I am the Disillusionment of Our Society. And it has to begin somewhere..."
"Ryan Ford... Now here's a woman I can respect. But simply for the fact that she turned down Aidan's proposition to appear on the first Spectacle of the third era. That showed just how far this ship has sunk. I applaud her for that... but NOT for her claim of being the 'Only AWE World Champion in history'. This is perhaps the biggest lie of them all. Everyone should know, without exception, that had AWE not closed as it did, there would have been a second... and far more notable... World's Champion. One that would have led this company to prosperity unparraleled. To status unmatched. His name?"
"raYne."
"But raYne... he held a few... albeit tiny... flaws himself. Mainly, raYne was unable to seperate fact from fantasy."
"The man Believed just too damn much."
"He Believed that things could change... and that men could receive second chances. He Believed in second-lives..."
"But the Truth is? There is but one life to live."
"And from this day forward... I choose to use MY life... to bring pain and suffering to the lives of others."
"To help them see the Truth... and if they wish not to see?"
"Then I shall force them."
- The camera slowly zooms out, revealing first the head of this man... before finally revealing his entire body... -
- The man kneels upon the splinter-laden, wooden floor, of an old log cabin... somewhere along the dead trees and crab grass of the Forest of Disillusion. The night sky looms outside, the moon glistening through the open window... the lightbulb attached to the ceiling is dimly lit... -
"Sebastian Rutherford knew... HE KNEW... that had raYne walked away with the IronMan title, that it wouldn't be that long before The Storm took the belt from around the pretty blonde waist of Miss Ford. Thing is... Sebby couldn't handle it. He didn't want raYne to hold the belt... he didn't want his company to be represented by raYne. And you wanna know why? YOU WANNA KNOW WHY?!"
"I'll tell you why..."
"It's because the man was afraid."
"He preached change. He preached difference. He preached equality."
"What he DIDN'T preach... was the Truth."
"He didn't believe one iota of the shit he was spewing. He spoke so others would believe... and so they would follow."
"The man was a rotten, greedy, despicable, selfish, self-centered, hypocritical, jealous BASTARD."
"..."
[The man slowly looks down at the floor... till his hair causes his face to no longer be visible.]
"And he wanted me to fail."
[The man lifts his head... but something very odd has happened. In the split second he removed his face from visibility, his once pure white eyes were replaced by hot pink irises... his lips, now glossed ice blue... and his face, now covered with makeup...]
"Seriously, babe, I mean, it's NOT rocket science! Sebby was afraid... *the man begins to smile... quite seductively... with his eyes gleaming* ... he was afraid of attracting the 'wrong' demographic, if ya know what I'm sayin'. And he was afraid that if my people began to flock to the arenas in droves, that he would be surrounded by so many steaming hot stud-muffins, that he'd have no choice but to give into his inner urges! Like, the dude was sooo in the closet, it wasn't even funny! I saw the way he'd look at me with my shirt off... he wanted me, I could JUST tell... but it was totally fine with me, ya know? Cuz, well... *the man slowly slides his tounge across his upper lip...* Everybody wants a drop of raYne. ;-)"
[Suddenly, the man's head begins shaking violently... he quickly grabs his head, and tries to calm himself down... When he's finally able to stop shaking, it's apparent that his eyes have returned to their pure white former selves... and there are no traces of make-up or lipstick. And the smile that was once on his face has been replaced with a stone, solemn look...]
"Yes... the Storm continues to reside within. But he is now trapped within a body... a body filled with many souls... many spirits..."
"Many forms of the same man... Reeve Gordon."
"I am that man, Reeve Gordon. But I am so much more."
"We are Legion..."
"And at Dead End, I shall unleash all that I have to give... and begin proving to the world... and proving to that bastard that robbed me of my second shot at greatness... That when a man takes all the hate... all the betrayal... all the dissapointment... all the backstabbing, all the pain, all the sorrow... All the jealousy of so many people that WISH they could be who I'm destined TO be..."
"I shall prove to them that when a man takes as much as he can stand, til he can take no more..."
"That the time comes... to give."
"All the anguish I've endured... all the times I've felt screwed over and stepped on and left for dead..."
"... They shall return to bite each and every one of you mother fuckers in the ass."
"..."
"Each and everyone..."
"...but one."
[The man stops... and looks downward... he slowly stands, and walks toward the door...]
[Outside, rain is now falling from the sky... a shower befitting the spring... though it is still winter. The man lifts his head to the sky... Gazing out upon the endless field of shining stars... He lets out a sigh...]
"There is but one man in the entire AWE that I have my eye set upon... as the future of this business. A man that could very well walk within my footsteps. A man with a spark of hope... a glimmer of potential. And with my help, he could be molded into something brilliant."
"Xoquon Upnell."
"You, my friend... speak the Truth."
"A New Horizon is approaching. I am as sure of this as the fact that I am here, breathing, standing before you today..."
"I'll be watching you this Monday, dear Xoquon..."
"... don't let me down."
[The man walks out into the rain... lifting his hands high into the air... Throwing his head back, and basking in the storm...]
[Thunder booms... light engulfs the sky as a tidal wave engulfs the beach... As though in this, the darkest of nights, it is still but day...]
[... The blinding light illuminates the figure of this man... casting an image... a bone-chilling, powerful image...]
[Before the light has once again slipped away...]
[... Consumed by Darkness.]
- black.2.1.20. -
