Post by Alex Jones on Jul 17, 2008 17:39:36 GMT -6
Part I:: Prologue
The sweet strains of Opeths "Coil"can be heard as the scene comes into view. In the middle of the desert, the sun beats down onto the harsh landscape. The unforgiving harshness apparent. The music seems to echo throughout this place, the soundwaves bouncing off the rock formations, then sitting cross legged in what looks to be a circle with his eyes closed is AJ Phoenix. He sighs deeply but stays in his meditative state. His eyes slowly open, the brightness of the sun shines off of his pupils. AJ's face however does not show any emotion like it used to, instead we just see a blank slate. A clean canvas if you will. He takes a deep breathe in as the wind whips past, his hair flows out to the side. AJ pushes up off of his legs getting to his feet as the song keeps playing. The acoustic guitar strains moving through his body, keeping him calm, centered. On the nearby highway a car whips by, this doesn't deter AJ who stands in a pain of black boots and torn black jeans. He reaches up and holds a silver cross that hangs from a black strand of rubber around his neck.
AJ the next song comes on, it seems to be coming from AJ's sterio in his car. This time the music is very different. It is "Heir Apparent" also by Opeth. The sweet guitar tones now replaces by dark riffs and the sound of a demented nursery rhyme. The vocals have gone from a woman and a man trading sweet dulcet tones back and forth to the sound of Satan himself. AJ's eyes seem to change as does his demeanor. His eyes no longer a bright blue go to the steely grey color many of his enemies have seen. AJ's fists clench, memories flood through his mind about failure. The feeling of wanting something so bad but never being able to hold it. He lets out a small growl, his muscles tense up, the veins under his paper thin skin ripple and course with his blood. AJ looks up to the sky with an asking look, and then he smirks in his arrogant way and nods, then for the first time we hear words escape his troubled lips....
"I Understand..."
Part II:: The argument and a resistance of change...
Meanwhile, inside AJ's home gym Samantha Noble sits and waits for her client/ friend/ crush. She hears the door open and turns excited, only to see Chris Mercury walk in, she tries not to look disappointed and stands walking to him.
CM: "Hey Sammy, where's AJ?..."
Sam: "I'm not sure, he should be here training, getting ready for this match but when I got here this morning his car was gone and he wasn't here, his bed was still made so I don't even know if he slept...."
CM: "I'm getting worried about him, this obsession with the X-Division title is unhealthy....it's changing him...."
Chris sighs and notices that Sam doesn't argue, she just lowers her head giving an air of understanding and slight annoyance. Then with perfect timing a loud engine rumbles into the parking lot, after a few moments the door opens and in walks AJ, in the same black boots and torn black jeans as before but now he's covered his upper body with a tight white shirt that has a cross and some japanese lettering that roughly translates to "death before dishonor".
Sam: "Nice of you to join us AJ.."
AJ: "What?..I'm here..it's only 12 and I can train whenever I want, it's not like this place closes Sam..."
The annoyance in AJ's voice causes Sam to slink back like a wounded animal, AJ looks at Chris and smiles happy to see his friend, this seems to be the first face to face they've had since collision a few weeks ago, AJ walks up and shakes his friends hand before embracing him like a brother
AJ: "Chris..it's good to see you my friend.....what brings you here?..."
Chris goes to answer but stops, he sighs and turns walking away from Sam
CM: "I need to talk to you AJ...."
AJ nods and follows, they sit on a bench over the other side of the cavern-like room. Mercury stares straight ahead not knowing quite what to say to his teacher, friend and brother.
CM: "AJ, over the last few weeks I can't help but noticed you've slowly been changing....and not for the better..."
AJ: "What?..."
CM: "A few weeks ago I watched as you got in the ring with "Maniac" Chris Diamond, and after a competitive match you two shock hands. You're on different sides but you showed true respect to a man who took you to your limits...."
Chris pauses not wanting to go on, but knowing he has to.
CM: "Then you faced me and it was an honor man really. It was a great match and I have no hard feelings about it. You beat me fair and square, but then when you went to face Ortega something changed in you....."
AJ looks down and sighs as Chris continues
CM: "You got personal, reminding the world that Ortega chokes, reminding him that his career although long is nowhere near as great as it should be. Then in the match you cheated to win, what the hell is that all about?. Then here you are facing Xavier Cross. a guy who lost most of the important people in his life, a man who's beaten drug addiction, a man who's trying to get his life back together and you verbally destroy it all......you-"
AJ finally explodes standing up turning to Chris
AJ: "WHATS YOUR POINT?......."
Mercury gets to his feet and gets in AJ's face
CM: "My point is you don't know who you are anymore, you've lost yourself man, you're completely gone. Where's the AJ I knew and respected?. Where's the guy who would shake a mans hand if they put up a fight?, where's the guy who would sympathize with people who've had loss, you know you've lost people to AJ, but you keep it inside for yourself. Cross is living his nightmare infront of the world....an-"
AJ interrupts again, raising his voice to a loud growl
AJ: "And who's fault is that Chris?. He lives it in front of the world and shows us how much of a pathetic good for nothing father he is?. It's his choice to show us these things, and as I told Ortega I'll do whatever it takes to get that X-Division title shot, It's all mind games man. I know it's getting in his head. But what's worse is that he keeps doing it. There he is talking on the phone to little Landon and Isabella and then Chris, like he's trying to prove something. And that's all it is Chris. He did that to try and prove something to me, that he's not a bad father. And the whole thing with his cousin?, he's trying to make me understand why he got so angry. See all this stuff he could do off camera, but instead he flaunts it in front of the world and he says it's cause he wants me to understand he has nothing to lose.....which is a big pile of ****..."
AJ smirks and shakes his head
CM: "LISTEN TO YOU. The guy has two little kids man, two little kids and a wife he still loves and wants to be with, and you're tearing it away with your rants. It's too personal, you need to stop AJ, you need to back down before you lose yourself completely and turn into something else...."
AJ: "Something else?. Like what?."
CM: "I don't know, all I know is that I'm losing my best friend and I'm scared..."
AJ scoffs and shakes his head
AJ: "Drama queen..."
Mercury clenches his jaw and closes his fist like he's about to take a swing at AJ
CM: "...whatever man..I'm out...."
Mercury turns and walks away, AJ looks up at his friend and shakes his head, as Mercury leave AJ lashes out and picks up a nearby medicine ball and throws it against a window breaking it.
Part III:: "No remorse, no mercy"
We return a short time later and AJ is sitting on the end of the bench thinking,m he looks up and sighs. He shakes his head and gets to his feet
"Xavier. Sometimes, I regret things I've said. Sometimes, I feel I've gone to far. Sometimes I see someone like you and I realize that you are a great man, that you are a guy who has some serious in ring skill and that should be respected. But....this is not one of those times. See I look at you, and I see the biggest and worst type of hypocrite and selfishness. And not to mention stupidity. Your first little snippet that you said to me recently was that the only thing that echo's in my life is my "many" failed attempts to achieve my destiny....many failed attempts?. are you blind as well as deaf and dumb?. I have NEVER had an X-Division shot. I'm "new" here. And while I'm not some fresh out of school rookie I'm a young man who hasn't even hit his prime. Sure I could go on about former world titles and other belts I've acquired, but I wont. Cause this is the NCW and in the NCW I'm a new force, a force to be reckoned with, a force to be respected. So when I start to have a glimmer of respect for you, you say something that takes it all away, like implying I've failed in anything. How have a failed Xavier Cross?. Come on, you seem to be such a master of your own life and times tell me how I failed?..."
AJ pauses for a moment and takes a step forward
"Oh right, you can't. Cause I haven't. I beat Mercury, I beat Ortega, I got to the finals to face you. Now that doesn't sound like failure does it Cross?. It sounds like victory to me. It sounds like I won two tough matches to get to the finals against you, and if....when I win, I'll go on to face either Xavier Williams, or Angel for the X-Division belt. Not to mention you seem to get confused easy. I mean, listening to you talk can be an endurance exercise. Like you talking about being thrust into "hell" at a young age and how you found a saving grace and it was taken from me...wait what?. Oh right yeah you got confused. For those who don't know, go back and watch his last promo, right after he starts speaking while still watching the television...but moving on from his vocal confusions I have to say his attempts to prove to me he has nothing to lose is pathetic. It doesn't intimidate me, cause I know it's bull****. He has his pride to lose, his family to lose, and most importantly he has that big ol paycheck to lose."
AJ laughs to himself and continues
"But on a personal note, you don't know anything about my personal life or where I'm from, so don't you dare sit there and talk about your life with an overblown importance like you're better than me, because while I know about your drug addictions and your spats with your wife, you know nothing about me because I've chosen to keep it separate. If you don't want people throwing commentary at your life then stop shoving it down our throats. I could sit here and bring up personal things of my own private hell to shut you up but I wont cause honestly, it's none of your business. So take your recollections about your troubled little teenage years and go talk to a shrink, cause they get paid to listen to your memories and your incessant whining, I don't, I get paid to go to that ring, and beat the living hell out of you for the fans, that's what I get paid to do, and trust me Cross, I'm very very good at it...."
AJ smiles in his own arrogant way again, something we're used to
"You on the other hand only seem to be good at three things One, talking to your family on the phone, Two, making long winded confusing speeches, now I'm aware I go on and on sometimes but atleast what I say makes sence....half the time. And three lip syncing to stupid rap songs. I'm good at other things though Xavier, see I'm good at everything I do min the ring. I'm far from full of hot air my friend and it's nice of you to offer yourself up as my messiah but I have my religeon sorted out thank you. But with all your talk about glass hopes and glass jaws I wonder if you even realise you're going to be stuck under a glass ceiling. See you mention me being a rung on a ladder but the ladder ypour climbing just leads to that ceiling, a ceiling I'm allready standing ontop of staring down at you struggling to break through it...."
"And please Cross don't you lecture me on grammer, cause while "badder" isn't a word it is a sentence fragment. One that is generally excepted in society. But it's ok, we wont keep going on about that will we Xavier?. Not like you keep going on about who each of us have faced. Well, you haven't faced any big names yet you still harp on about your "great" start. And then you say you "just" got here, and that you've "done your research". Well did you do your research and find out that I've been here maybe a MONTH longer than you, if that?. And in my second match I faced and beat Joe Everyman, a guy who's in the main event for the NCW title at Last Stand, so the way I see it, you not facing any big names isn't my problem, it's yours. So you can't hid behind being here for a small time cause I have't exactly been here for months hjave I?. The difference between us is that the NCW managment obviously knew I could handle a superstar like Joe. Where as they obviously know your limits, pity isn't it, even the managment knows you're just going to be fed to me....."
"But then again, you think it has to do with "style". You know what my "style" is Xavier?, cause I don't. I went to Canada and learnt hoiw to mat wrestle with the best, then I went England and learnt a little more, I went to Japan and Mexico to learn different styles from the best and I took all I've learnt and put it inside myself. I'm the ultimate competitor and you my friend will find out just what I can do when I'm pushed to my limits, when I'm in the zone and when I'm so determined to win. These are things you'll find out. You have to ask yourself, can you handle it?....Cause I really doubt you can.....prove me wrong Cross....I DARE YOU....."
Part IV:: "The end"
The scene reopens inside a dark house. The door opens as footsteps are heard on the hardwood floor, the lights are off. No one is home. AJ walks in and throws his keys on the table. He turns as we see kids toys on the ground. He walks through the house and into the kitchen, he opens the fridge and grabs a beer, he opens it and sits down at the table, he stares at the ambher liquid contemplating something. His thoughts race through his mind before drinking the beer down. He closes his eyes and sighs deep before a realisation hits him like a bullet in the head, he smirks and utters some final words.....
"I understand"