Post by The Ace on Apr 23, 2009 15:54:09 GMT -6
*The scene opens in The Ace's hotel room where his wife, Kathleen Conway is sat beside her younger sister, Tiffany Jones on the bed. The two sisters are in mid conversation, and Solitaire is playing with some blocks on the floor...*
Tiffany: Do you think it's wise going out there again? Last time you went out there to try and help The Ace win a big match, Falcon attacked you and left you drifting in and out of a coma...
Kathy: Don't you think I know that?
*Kathy hated being reminded of such things, still she felt a certain duty as a wife to stand by her husband and risk the personal injury to herself...*
Tiffany: No, I'm just saying that when it comes to big matches, The Ace hasn't been that quick off the mark to save you...
*Kathy suddenly glared at her sister, how dare she say that?*
Kathy: Are you implying that he doesn't care about me? Are you implying that Adam was right?
Tiffany: That's not what I said, but if you wany my honest opinion, I think Jake feels trapped, you had his kid and now out of some sense of morality, he feels he had to fulfill his role as a father and a husband...
Kathy: That's not true!
*It couldn't be...he loved her and he loved Soli, that much she knew*
Tiffany: Then why did he marry you so quickly after he found out you were the mother to his daughter?
Kathy: Because he loves me!
Tiffany: Ha! Wake up sis, they all say that...hell Jake told me the same thing...he's a man, and as a man, he's driven by two things, his ego and his dick...
*Kathy couldn't believe her little sister's obviously jealousy*
Kathy: Oh now I know what this is about, you're still upset he left you and came back to me, aren't you?
Tiffany: Yeah, right, whatever...
Kathy: No, its always been like this, you would always compete with me for boyfriends and whine when they picked me over you...grow up Tiff, you're not a princess anymore!
*Tiffany rolls her eyes, laughing*
Tiffany: Are you listening to yourself? My god he's really got you believing you're the only Queen in his deck or whatever useless card puns he uses these days...
*The Ace used card puns, not Jake Conway and unlike most people, Kathy prided herself on being able to differentiate between the superstar and the man...*
Kathy: You don't know him like I know him!
Tiffany: Look, I get why you're being so defensive sis, I do. You want to get Kelly back for beating you a couple of weeks ago, and you want to see Adam fail in getting the World Championship, because in your mind that would be justice for the dirty trick he pulled with Solitaire. What I'm saying is, that is not the reason The Ace is fighting this Sunday. He's fighting to prove Adam wrong, but more importantly he's fighting to prove that his winning the title last month wasn't a fluke, that it was not simply a case of third time lucky. For The Ace, family doesn't even factor into it...
*Kathy wanted to tell her sister that she was wrong but instead a truth that she never had acknowledged before stole the words from her, she had nothing else to say...*
*The scene cuts to a bar somewhere in Ohio where The Ace is sat contemplating his second pint of the evening, he was still digesting Adam's words to him in his latest promo, and for the first time in months, he was forced to confront the fact that Adam may have been right, that he missed who he once was, he missed the carefree Ace he was before Jake had become a father, because deep down there was no differentiation between the superstar and the man he once was.
The Ace sighed, he really was in no mood to cut a promo. Maybe he should just admit defeat and not cut another one, after all what could The Ace say that would constitute to being a compelling counter argument to Adam's frankly rock solid case against him. Adam understood what drove The Ace to compete better than even he did, and The Ace knew that was why Adam had ended all of his title reigns.
Why should this Sunday be any different? Maybe he should just quit whilst he was ahead, maybe he should phone ahead and tell Leonard that he would not be needing his third airtime slot this week because right now he planned on pissing away the second one by just getting ratfaced.
Cheers nCw. Thanks for nothing. He had tried to be the noble Champion for the Resistance, but they didn't care. Nobody had as much faith in him to retain this Sunday as they did last month when he won the belt off Hammond. So why should he bother with cutting a promo, if deep down he already knew he was defeated?
Maybe at A Night To Remember this year, he would give Adam Knite an his Revolution what they wanted - his final performance, the cards had to fold one day, so why not retire at the most important PPV in the company's history?
Jake Conway was thirty-five now, he was getting too old to play these games. He no longer had the strength or the will to construct a promo in which he would counter everything with a chirpy mindless optimism that made him sound like a retard.
Retard, why not? After all he had married one, so maybe the retards should just dribble together in private until death did them part. Nobody else cared about them. Nobody cared about Jake and Kathy Conway as much as they cared about each other.
So much care. So much love, and nobody cared to understand them. What good was loving Kathy if he couldn't protect her when it mattered? Maybe he should just hand Adam the title that he was going to take anyway, maybe he should just pat the Demon of his dreams on the shoulder and wish him luck with the inevitable apocalypse of nCw, and just take his wife and daughter away from this place. A place in which The Conway Family had no place and even The Ace's place in this company was fleeting.
The Ace picks his pint up off the bar and drank heartily, looking to numb the self doubt and fear of the Knite that he felt deep inside, but like the crowd pleasing parrot Leonard paid him to be, he would put a brave face on it all and chat some more crap that ultimately would not change the fact that he was not good enough to repeat what Lance had done the year before. He could not shut out the Coliseum winner and retain a belt so fresh in his possession that it had yet to even bear his name.
The Ace had always aspired to be the next Lance Ryan, but now he realised that he was only kidding himself. He was nowhere near the iconic Ryan. True they were the only two men to win the Road To The Gold tournament, but Lance had managed to make it mean something by actually winning the title at the end of the tournament.
The Ace had won the tournament and had fallen at the final hurdle. He had bitched and made excuse after excuse about why he had failed, there was only so far that 'the two matches in one night' story could be stretched before people saw the failure you tried so desperately to conceal. The Ace was a simple man, driven by his ego. A big ego yes, and an ego that refused to be denied.
The ego was running rampant now, thick and prevalent in his blood, fuelled by the alcohol he now drowned his fears in. It made him feel good. It brought a smile to his face and a temporary sense of relief from his troubles. The alcohol that coursed through his veins right now made him forget that he had left the World Heavyweight Championship back at the hotel to get used to the naked feeling that he would once again feel after he lost it to Adam this Sunday.
It was an inevitable and irrefutable eventuality. The Ace was a student of the sciences, not of law. He could not construct a water tight case to demonstrate why this time would be any different from any of the other times he had faced Adam, but his stupid undeniable ego still tried.
It was time to face the camera and actually say something that sounded like he still believed he could win this match even when deep down he did not. The Ace swivelled in his bar stool and almost lost his balance as he turned to face the camera. He was on the verge of being ever so slightly drunk and like the pissed idiot he was on his way to becoming tonight, he grinned - a blank canvas of mindless optimism against adversity...*
Adam, please, that promo of yours sounded almost like a Biology lecture on Inheritance and Variation. You want to talk about differences to me like I'm an idiot. Fine, I can play your game, I can talk about Darwinian Evolution if you really insist. I don't care if it sends half the viewing audience to sleep, hell I've been told on more than one occassion that my promos generally have that effect anyway...
Idiot.
*The Ace grinned as that simple thought occurred to him, it was not about Knite, but rather about himself. He hoped to those who still bothered to watch himself talk himself into another burial at the hands of Adam perceived the grin that was plastered across his face at the moment as just Ace being Ace and not just a means to hide his true fear. A fear of the Knite...*
I'll keep it relatively simple for you Adam. Biological diversity not only ensures that things are never boring, but it also promotes survival against factors that would otherwise destroy us. Factors like disease, diseases like the Revolution that run rampant, or on an even simpler level, sexually transmitted diseases, you know like the ones that probably are turning Kelly's hoo-hah green and smelliing of mould as I speak....
Rimshot. But you're still a former man-whore yourself, you know Adam is just going to pick up on that right? I don't care, just keep smiling like a goofy idiot and hope for the best here.
*The Ace smirks as his alcohol inspired confidence argues with his most basic logic inside his head. It was a welcome distraction from his fear. A fear of the Knite...*
I suppose I shouldn't talk, the woman I married has slept with Jason and Reckoning as well as my fine self, and I'd like to think that I'm better than you...
But I'm not.
Or Trent...
But I'm not.
Or even Davey Ortega, the other guy who had a thing for your love Kelly, Adam...
But I'm not.
I realise that picking on Kelly's sexual promiscuity will probably leave me wide open in your eyes for jokes about me and my wife, but you know what? I don't care...
I'm lying to myself. I do care really, but as long as Adam thinks I don't, I can repress my fear. A fear of the Knite.
...because I know that my wife still loves me, you know the real kind of love, the one you've only dreamt of, not the kind you share with Kelly. Fixing the Coliseum win for you is not love, that's a business decision, or as they are more commonly known in this business a screwjob. I hope you enjoyed it, I hope the moment of glory, that one victory, the moment that you became the 2009 Gladiator was all worth it, because ultimately it will all be fleeting. You see Adam, even if you reach your goal this Sunday and take the title from me this Sunday, the cracks between the business and personal relationships with your fellow Revolutionaries will begin to show. Possessing the most coveted ten pounds of leather and gold in the business tends to inflate the ego, sometimes beyond friendship and love. If you win this Sunday Adam, you'll forget all about the people that helped you along the way. You'll forget about Angel throwing the match, you'll turn on your most devout follower Harold, but more than that you'll betray those that matter the most to you. When you have the World in the palm of your hands, everything else becomes expendible, and that includes your beloved Kelly Fox...
*The Ace pauses to nod to the barmaid for a refill before continuing. So far he was being rather convincing. God bless alcohol and its ability to make you feel inpenetrable to fear. A fear of the Knite...*
How do I know this? Simple, because I've seen it happen, and I don't mean in a prophetic sense, I mean in the very real sense of what happened to Steve. He forgot about me, he forgot about his best friend once he got the World Championship. Not only that but he forgot about his girlfriend at the time, Layla, and I know he loved her before he became the best. Still don't believe me, let's consider another former Champion, Lance Ryan. The most dominant Champion in the history of nCw, but his reigns came at the expense of his family and friends. It was only after he stepped away from the business and gave up the World Championship that he was able to refocus and rebuild those bridges. Think of the other noteworthy Champion, Spike Kane and all he lost in his quest, people like Nola...does it all still seem worth it? Because if it does, you should tell Kelly that and see how she reacts. If you can sit back and honestly tell me that getting the top belt from me is worth sacrificing your friends and family, then Adam you deserve it because you are a bigger man than I ever could be...
And I fear the Knite.
*The Ace sighs before he continues, shaking his head, more to dislodge the thought, but to the viewing audience he hoped it seemed a genuine emotional reaction of pity for Adam and not himself...*
So, at this point you're probably thinking how right you were when you said I'd sell my wife and daughter up the river to be World Champion forever, because I now have the title, and by my reasonung surely my family will disintegrate around me the longer I keep it, right? Perhaps. I couldn't honestly tell you, because I haven't held the title long enough to be corrupted by its power. I'd like to think my family and I were stronger than that, that the fact that Kathy and I are married and have a daughter together actually meant something. The foundation of our relationship should not be easily weathered by delusions of sustained glory, but I don't know for certain. Part of me actually wants you to take the gold from me at A Night to Remember because I honestly don't want to test the strength of my marriage right now...
And I fear the Knite.
*The Ace sighs again as he receives his third pint from the cute brunette barmaid. The Ace feels parched, but he wasn't sure if it was out of genuine thirst or a fear drying out his mouth. A fear of the Knite. The Ace takes a drink before he continues...*
However, I digress. I agree with you on the fact that diversity breaks the monotony of life, and I also agree that for now at least we're entirely different people, but there is something that unites us. Something that makes us essentially the two sides of the same coin, and that is the gold coin itself. The nCw World Heavyweight Championship. You want it. I have it, but here's the dilemma, once you have it, you will become the very thing you say I am. The bad guy. See if I am capable of betraying my family to keep the belt around my waist, then you being able to betray those that believe in you - Harold and Kelly - is not that big a stretch of the imagination. Adam, we may be diverged and on separate paths right now, but one need only go back far enough down the road to find the common fork in our road. Every diversion has a common point of origin, and the differences between us are not so infinitesmal that they can never again unite and become similarities....
*At this point, The Ace reaches into his jean pocket and pulls out a quarter...*
The World Championship in this match is like a switch, as unbiased as the flip of a simple honest coin...
*The Ace flips the quarter and it lands in the palm of his hand on tails. The camera focuses on this for a moment...*
At the moment it rests with me. The guy you see as a gutless coward who would sell his own mother for a bag of chips, the guy who would run with his 'tails' tucked between his legs or more likely the guy who would ride the 'coat-tails' of others to achieve his success...at A Night To Remember, the coin could indeed flip...
*The Ace flips the coin and this time it lands heads. The camera again focuses on this*
And rest with you. Making you and Kelly the 'heads' of nCw. The true power couple that Kathy and I could never be, and for a while it will feel good, and all this will be fine as long as the only thing that happens to the coin is a simple flip...
*The Ace then places the quarter on the bar, balancing it on its edge, he sets the coin into a spin as the camera again focuses on it...*
But if you place the coin in the midst of a revolution, the heads and tails become indistinguishable, things are not that simple. Things are no longer simply black and white. It's no longer a case of who so definitely is 'heads' and who is so definitely 'tails', for as long as the coin revolve those sides merge and no one knows which side will win out. Heads may aswell be tails and tails may aswell be heads, it is only when the revolution stops that things start to clear up and one side emerges on top.
*The coin falls onto its side and lands clearly on heads, a sign of his fear. A fear of the Knite.*
In this case, it just happened to land on heads, and if I was Dark Prophet. or even Kristoff Liam Bates channeling Dark Prophet, I'd probably have an orgasm about the symbolism that's just been presented here and talk about how it will relate to the inevitable end of the match, but I'm not. I'm simply The Ace and the point I am trying to make is that until the end of the Pay Per View this Sunday, the coin will be up in the air and constantly revolving. During our match, the differences between us will become indistinguishable as you and Kelly seek to outdo me and Kat, and we in turn seek to outdo the two of you. During the match, you will not care about your principles as 'the good guy' enough not to borrow tactics from 'the bad guy' or 'the real Ace' if you prefer. Hell you've already done it on more than one occassion against me, the most notable instances that come to mind is that triple threat match where you clocked Reckless Jack in the head with my rake and won the match as a result, or how about Last Stand, where you did indeed take my title but you used Kelly to do it, in much the same way you know I'd use Kathleen?
*The Ace drinks from his pint before continuing...*
So please Adam, please don't talk to me like I'm stupid. I'm not as stupid as those sheep in your Revolution who are immediately taken in by your playing the moral superiority card. That's not gonna wash with me sunshine, oh I'm sorry...darkness...
*The Ace laughs, by now the alcohol had made him either forget or drown out his fear. A fear of the Knite - at least temporarily...*
This isn't going to be a battle between a humpback whale and a jungle sloth, it isn't even going to be a battle between a Stallion and a Raptor, because in the end, we're not so different, you and I as you would like me to believe. You are not the night and I am not the day. It's not that clear cut, it never has been. Were it so, I'd probably come up with some contrived bull**** about how daylight always outshines the darkness of the night, or how the sun is always present, at night it just lends its light to the moon, but I won't, because none of that matters to you or to me. The point is simple, I know that to be the man, you have to beat the man...
WOOOOOOOO! I shouldn't drink, I'm going to have to face my fear soon enough. A fear of the Knite - but right now I couldn't give a rat's ass...
*The Ace burps*
And right now I am the man! And to beat the man, you have to be prepared to do whatever it takes, and if you're not prepared to do whatever it takes to win, then quite frankly you do not deserve to be nCw World Heavyweight Champion. So which one of us has the 'holier than thou' attitude now, huh? ADAM KNITE!
Oh no, I'm yelling. But that's okay, it isn't really bad until I start slurring my speech and sounding like Sexy Jason. Haha, I stole Kathy and made him my bitch in that cage. Good times. Good times!
If you're not here to win, you don't deserve to be here. If you're not here to be the top dog, get the F***K OUT! I don't need to explain or justify my tactics to you Adam! You're not my mother! Just get the...out my face! Don't judge me! I'm not trash, you'll never phase me out! And another thing, who says I'm a joke? I'm not JOE EVERYMAN! I LOVE MY PSYCHO! I LOVE MY BUBBLE! I LOVE MY DAUGHTER! I DON'T BLAME EVERYONE FOR MY PROBLEMS, JUST YOU KNITE!
*The Ace belches loudly, the barmaid comes over*
Barmaid: I think you've had quite enough sir!
DAMN IT WHY CANT YOU LOVE ME? WHY DOESN'T ANYONE LOVE ME? ITS BECAUSE I'M A BAD FATHER ISN'T IT? ISN'T IT?
Barmaid: Calm down sir!
*The Ace gets up, knocking over what little was left of his third pint and stumbles out the door after leaving some money on the bar. He would walk back to the hotel, luckily it was only a short walk. He braved the chilly night air as it bit at his face...*
Oh God, what have I become? Adam was right!
*Tears start welling up in The Ace's eyes*
What am I teaching Soli? She doesn't need to see me clock people in the head with a rake, but damn it, it feels so good, and if I need to clock Adam in the head to successfully defend this Sunday, I will, why deny it, he'd see right through it anyway. Everybody thinks I'm a cancer on nCw, well fair enough, if that's what I am, that's what I'll be. When Adam beats me, I'll simply go into remission until I can strike again, Knite may put me down, but he'll never take me out. DO YOU HEAR ME ADAM KNITE?
*The night had no answers for him as he tried to absolve himself of his fear. A fear of the Knite. The Ace continues walking alone in the cold, lonely, unforgiving night...*
I'm selfish, I only care about myself. That may indeed be true, all throughout this pointless civil war, I've never denied it, and I've never pretended to be anything I'm not. The Resistance is Steve Awesome and Overdrive, not me. I'm simply their Champion because I brought Leonard back to nCw and because I'm not part of the Revolution. I am simply on a side because I was forced to pick one, and now you're just mad that I didn't side with you - the great Adam Knite. Truth be told, I grow weary of this fight, I welcome the Pay Per View because it'll all end one way or another and then...then I won't have to worry about who is good and who is bad or why I'm fighting who I am fighting. Finally wrestling will become a pleasure again, rather than a chore. It will be about attaining personal glory again and not about saving a company that doesn't give a rat's ass about you no matter who you side with or what you try to do. I thought finally winning the World Championship would earn me the respect of my peers, but ever since I qon it, its just been a noose around my neck, and now Adam wants to hang me by it...
Hang me. Crucify me. Burn me. I forgive you Adam because you know not what you do.
Do what you must Adam, for you know that when it comes down to it, I will do no less than what needs to be done this Sunday. I will stand and face my destiny, whatever it may be. If I am doomed to fall by your hand for a third time, I will face it. I don't hate you, there's nothing left in me to burn at the thought of you. I grow tired of you Knite, I grow weary, we've faced each other so many times now. You've been the good guy. I've been the bad guy. And vice versa, or not. I don't care. I don't care about you as much as you seem to think I do, Adam. When you won the Coliseum, I did not flinch at the irony. I did however flinch at the hypocrisy. You say you're not one to dwell on the past, and yet your entire promo has been based around dwelling on my past. Kelly did whatever was necessary to make sure you won. Angel did whatever was necessary to make sure you won, and yet you talk to me like you played a fair game. Everybody knows you went into that Coliseum with the deck stacked in your favour, I may be a cheating, selfish bastard but at least I have the balls to admit it. Kathy may help me out now and then, but she does not keep my balls in her purse like Kelly apparently does yours. No, if anyone should be having restless nights about your victory, its you Adam, not me!
I just fear the Knite.
*The Ace shakes his head to dislodge the thought as it started to creep back in, but also to keep his hair from being blown around by the chilly yet surprisingly sobering night wind. The Ace was surprised he could compose himself enough not to slur his words, even if he could no longer focus or walk in a straight line. The Ace reasoned that it must be the thought he spent so long trying to shut out, driving him now. Stronger even than the three pints which poisoned him on his walk home...*
But what do I know, right? I'm pissed out of my head. I don't know what the hell I'm saying. You're a hypocrite Adam, because whilst you may not dwell on the past as much as I do, you still use it to justify such asinine statements as 'you're better than me', and why do you feel that way? Because you've taken my title twice now, and you want this to be a third time - a clean sweep. I could mention how the number three has shaped my destiny so far, after all it took me three shots to win the nCw World Heavyweight Championship, and on the third I pulled it off. So why shouldn't it take me three shots to finally beat you and keep my title? But I'm dwelling on the past again, aren't I?
Only because I don't want to face my fear. A fear of the Knite.
I'm sorry. I'm just a paper champion, I'm just keeping the title warm for you, and you've always beaten me when it matters, right? I'm nothing to you, right? I never have been. Why are you lying Adam? If what if I did to 'ruin your life' still didn't matter to you, why, oh why do you mention it every time we have to face off? I don't hate you Adam, I hate your hypocrisy. That is what I'm fighting against, in the end, this is just another title match to me. Nothing more. Nothing less. Congratulations, I guess you were right. I don't care about nCw. Do you want a medal? No, you just want the title. Come take it from me then, come take your place atop the mountain. Come hither night, my sun is setting. Rule over the World in my stead. Till the time comes for me to rise again. Daylight has to give way to night, and it does so without resistance, it does nothing to try and stop or slow nightfall, but in the end, night and day are not that different.
*A fear of the Knite suddenly gave way to a truth that The Ace could not deny. The truth of himself and who he was. Who he had always been...*
To fear one is to fear the other.
Come day break, my sun will rise again. It will rise again over the World in your stead. Night has to give way to day, and it does so with a constant revolution, it does nothing to try and stop or slow daaybreak, and in the end, night and day are not that different. No. Not that different at all.
*The Ace has reached the front of the hotel at this point...*
*The scene cuts to inside the hotel where The Ace knocks on his hotel room door, but in his inebriation, he hasn't realised that it is not his, but the one next door. Tiffany answers the door and The Ace just falls into her arms, and kisses her passionately. Tiffany breaks it...*
Tiffany: Jake! Have you been drinking?
Maybeeee...a lit...little...OH GOD I'M SLUR- *hick* SLURRING MY WORDSSS!
*The Ace tries to kiss her again*
I've missed you...
*Tiffany just takes a step forward and takes him under her arm and guides him into her room...*
Tiffany: Kathy's going to kill me...
*Tiffany sits him down on the bed and closes the door. She could not deny that she had missed him too. The Ace flops backwards on the bed and as Tiffany comes back over to him, he reaches up and pulls her on top of him.
Tiffany: Jake...
*The Ace puts a finger to her lips before kissing her. Initially she resists but it doesn't last. Resistance be damned....*
Yes, I fear the Knite. But that isn't going to stop me from enjoying this.
*The scene fades on your selfish, womanizing World Champion. The Ace was always a bastard and you all hate him. Now you have a reason to. This was going to be A Night To Remember and it was all Adam's fault. Destiny had completed its cruel revolution and Adam had won. The Ace had no resistance left, only his selfish desire.
The scene fades out on the betrayal of a sister and the betrayal of a husband, all whilst the sister, wife and mother and daughter slept next door. Oblivious to the downfall of their once noble Champion...*
Tiffany: Do you think it's wise going out there again? Last time you went out there to try and help The Ace win a big match, Falcon attacked you and left you drifting in and out of a coma...
Kathy: Don't you think I know that?
*Kathy hated being reminded of such things, still she felt a certain duty as a wife to stand by her husband and risk the personal injury to herself...*
Tiffany: No, I'm just saying that when it comes to big matches, The Ace hasn't been that quick off the mark to save you...
*Kathy suddenly glared at her sister, how dare she say that?*
Kathy: Are you implying that he doesn't care about me? Are you implying that Adam was right?
Tiffany: That's not what I said, but if you wany my honest opinion, I think Jake feels trapped, you had his kid and now out of some sense of morality, he feels he had to fulfill his role as a father and a husband...
Kathy: That's not true!
*It couldn't be...he loved her and he loved Soli, that much she knew*
Tiffany: Then why did he marry you so quickly after he found out you were the mother to his daughter?
Kathy: Because he loves me!
Tiffany: Ha! Wake up sis, they all say that...hell Jake told me the same thing...he's a man, and as a man, he's driven by two things, his ego and his dick...
*Kathy couldn't believe her little sister's obviously jealousy*
Kathy: Oh now I know what this is about, you're still upset he left you and came back to me, aren't you?
Tiffany: Yeah, right, whatever...
Kathy: No, its always been like this, you would always compete with me for boyfriends and whine when they picked me over you...grow up Tiff, you're not a princess anymore!
*Tiffany rolls her eyes, laughing*
Tiffany: Are you listening to yourself? My god he's really got you believing you're the only Queen in his deck or whatever useless card puns he uses these days...
*The Ace used card puns, not Jake Conway and unlike most people, Kathy prided herself on being able to differentiate between the superstar and the man...*
Kathy: You don't know him like I know him!
Tiffany: Look, I get why you're being so defensive sis, I do. You want to get Kelly back for beating you a couple of weeks ago, and you want to see Adam fail in getting the World Championship, because in your mind that would be justice for the dirty trick he pulled with Solitaire. What I'm saying is, that is not the reason The Ace is fighting this Sunday. He's fighting to prove Adam wrong, but more importantly he's fighting to prove that his winning the title last month wasn't a fluke, that it was not simply a case of third time lucky. For The Ace, family doesn't even factor into it...
*Kathy wanted to tell her sister that she was wrong but instead a truth that she never had acknowledged before stole the words from her, she had nothing else to say...*
*The scene cuts to a bar somewhere in Ohio where The Ace is sat contemplating his second pint of the evening, he was still digesting Adam's words to him in his latest promo, and for the first time in months, he was forced to confront the fact that Adam may have been right, that he missed who he once was, he missed the carefree Ace he was before Jake had become a father, because deep down there was no differentiation between the superstar and the man he once was.
The Ace sighed, he really was in no mood to cut a promo. Maybe he should just admit defeat and not cut another one, after all what could The Ace say that would constitute to being a compelling counter argument to Adam's frankly rock solid case against him. Adam understood what drove The Ace to compete better than even he did, and The Ace knew that was why Adam had ended all of his title reigns.
Why should this Sunday be any different? Maybe he should just quit whilst he was ahead, maybe he should phone ahead and tell Leonard that he would not be needing his third airtime slot this week because right now he planned on pissing away the second one by just getting ratfaced.
Cheers nCw. Thanks for nothing. He had tried to be the noble Champion for the Resistance, but they didn't care. Nobody had as much faith in him to retain this Sunday as they did last month when he won the belt off Hammond. So why should he bother with cutting a promo, if deep down he already knew he was defeated?
Maybe at A Night To Remember this year, he would give Adam Knite an his Revolution what they wanted - his final performance, the cards had to fold one day, so why not retire at the most important PPV in the company's history?
Jake Conway was thirty-five now, he was getting too old to play these games. He no longer had the strength or the will to construct a promo in which he would counter everything with a chirpy mindless optimism that made him sound like a retard.
Retard, why not? After all he had married one, so maybe the retards should just dribble together in private until death did them part. Nobody else cared about them. Nobody cared about Jake and Kathy Conway as much as they cared about each other.
So much care. So much love, and nobody cared to understand them. What good was loving Kathy if he couldn't protect her when it mattered? Maybe he should just hand Adam the title that he was going to take anyway, maybe he should just pat the Demon of his dreams on the shoulder and wish him luck with the inevitable apocalypse of nCw, and just take his wife and daughter away from this place. A place in which The Conway Family had no place and even The Ace's place in this company was fleeting.
The Ace picks his pint up off the bar and drank heartily, looking to numb the self doubt and fear of the Knite that he felt deep inside, but like the crowd pleasing parrot Leonard paid him to be, he would put a brave face on it all and chat some more crap that ultimately would not change the fact that he was not good enough to repeat what Lance had done the year before. He could not shut out the Coliseum winner and retain a belt so fresh in his possession that it had yet to even bear his name.
The Ace had always aspired to be the next Lance Ryan, but now he realised that he was only kidding himself. He was nowhere near the iconic Ryan. True they were the only two men to win the Road To The Gold tournament, but Lance had managed to make it mean something by actually winning the title at the end of the tournament.
The Ace had won the tournament and had fallen at the final hurdle. He had bitched and made excuse after excuse about why he had failed, there was only so far that 'the two matches in one night' story could be stretched before people saw the failure you tried so desperately to conceal. The Ace was a simple man, driven by his ego. A big ego yes, and an ego that refused to be denied.
The ego was running rampant now, thick and prevalent in his blood, fuelled by the alcohol he now drowned his fears in. It made him feel good. It brought a smile to his face and a temporary sense of relief from his troubles. The alcohol that coursed through his veins right now made him forget that he had left the World Heavyweight Championship back at the hotel to get used to the naked feeling that he would once again feel after he lost it to Adam this Sunday.
It was an inevitable and irrefutable eventuality. The Ace was a student of the sciences, not of law. He could not construct a water tight case to demonstrate why this time would be any different from any of the other times he had faced Adam, but his stupid undeniable ego still tried.
It was time to face the camera and actually say something that sounded like he still believed he could win this match even when deep down he did not. The Ace swivelled in his bar stool and almost lost his balance as he turned to face the camera. He was on the verge of being ever so slightly drunk and like the pissed idiot he was on his way to becoming tonight, he grinned - a blank canvas of mindless optimism against adversity...*
Adam, please, that promo of yours sounded almost like a Biology lecture on Inheritance and Variation. You want to talk about differences to me like I'm an idiot. Fine, I can play your game, I can talk about Darwinian Evolution if you really insist. I don't care if it sends half the viewing audience to sleep, hell I've been told on more than one occassion that my promos generally have that effect anyway...
Idiot.
*The Ace grinned as that simple thought occurred to him, it was not about Knite, but rather about himself. He hoped to those who still bothered to watch himself talk himself into another burial at the hands of Adam perceived the grin that was plastered across his face at the moment as just Ace being Ace and not just a means to hide his true fear. A fear of the Knite...*
I'll keep it relatively simple for you Adam. Biological diversity not only ensures that things are never boring, but it also promotes survival against factors that would otherwise destroy us. Factors like disease, diseases like the Revolution that run rampant, or on an even simpler level, sexually transmitted diseases, you know like the ones that probably are turning Kelly's hoo-hah green and smelliing of mould as I speak....
Rimshot. But you're still a former man-whore yourself, you know Adam is just going to pick up on that right? I don't care, just keep smiling like a goofy idiot and hope for the best here.
*The Ace smirks as his alcohol inspired confidence argues with his most basic logic inside his head. It was a welcome distraction from his fear. A fear of the Knite...*
I suppose I shouldn't talk, the woman I married has slept with Jason and Reckoning as well as my fine self, and I'd like to think that I'm better than you...
But I'm not.
Or Trent...
But I'm not.
Or even Davey Ortega, the other guy who had a thing for your love Kelly, Adam...
But I'm not.
I realise that picking on Kelly's sexual promiscuity will probably leave me wide open in your eyes for jokes about me and my wife, but you know what? I don't care...
I'm lying to myself. I do care really, but as long as Adam thinks I don't, I can repress my fear. A fear of the Knite.
...because I know that my wife still loves me, you know the real kind of love, the one you've only dreamt of, not the kind you share with Kelly. Fixing the Coliseum win for you is not love, that's a business decision, or as they are more commonly known in this business a screwjob. I hope you enjoyed it, I hope the moment of glory, that one victory, the moment that you became the 2009 Gladiator was all worth it, because ultimately it will all be fleeting. You see Adam, even if you reach your goal this Sunday and take the title from me this Sunday, the cracks between the business and personal relationships with your fellow Revolutionaries will begin to show. Possessing the most coveted ten pounds of leather and gold in the business tends to inflate the ego, sometimes beyond friendship and love. If you win this Sunday Adam, you'll forget all about the people that helped you along the way. You'll forget about Angel throwing the match, you'll turn on your most devout follower Harold, but more than that you'll betray those that matter the most to you. When you have the World in the palm of your hands, everything else becomes expendible, and that includes your beloved Kelly Fox...
*The Ace pauses to nod to the barmaid for a refill before continuing. So far he was being rather convincing. God bless alcohol and its ability to make you feel inpenetrable to fear. A fear of the Knite...*
How do I know this? Simple, because I've seen it happen, and I don't mean in a prophetic sense, I mean in the very real sense of what happened to Steve. He forgot about me, he forgot about his best friend once he got the World Championship. Not only that but he forgot about his girlfriend at the time, Layla, and I know he loved her before he became the best. Still don't believe me, let's consider another former Champion, Lance Ryan. The most dominant Champion in the history of nCw, but his reigns came at the expense of his family and friends. It was only after he stepped away from the business and gave up the World Championship that he was able to refocus and rebuild those bridges. Think of the other noteworthy Champion, Spike Kane and all he lost in his quest, people like Nola...does it all still seem worth it? Because if it does, you should tell Kelly that and see how she reacts. If you can sit back and honestly tell me that getting the top belt from me is worth sacrificing your friends and family, then Adam you deserve it because you are a bigger man than I ever could be...
And I fear the Knite.
*The Ace sighs before he continues, shaking his head, more to dislodge the thought, but to the viewing audience he hoped it seemed a genuine emotional reaction of pity for Adam and not himself...*
So, at this point you're probably thinking how right you were when you said I'd sell my wife and daughter up the river to be World Champion forever, because I now have the title, and by my reasonung surely my family will disintegrate around me the longer I keep it, right? Perhaps. I couldn't honestly tell you, because I haven't held the title long enough to be corrupted by its power. I'd like to think my family and I were stronger than that, that the fact that Kathy and I are married and have a daughter together actually meant something. The foundation of our relationship should not be easily weathered by delusions of sustained glory, but I don't know for certain. Part of me actually wants you to take the gold from me at A Night to Remember because I honestly don't want to test the strength of my marriage right now...
And I fear the Knite.
*The Ace sighs again as he receives his third pint from the cute brunette barmaid. The Ace feels parched, but he wasn't sure if it was out of genuine thirst or a fear drying out his mouth. A fear of the Knite. The Ace takes a drink before he continues...*
However, I digress. I agree with you on the fact that diversity breaks the monotony of life, and I also agree that for now at least we're entirely different people, but there is something that unites us. Something that makes us essentially the two sides of the same coin, and that is the gold coin itself. The nCw World Heavyweight Championship. You want it. I have it, but here's the dilemma, once you have it, you will become the very thing you say I am. The bad guy. See if I am capable of betraying my family to keep the belt around my waist, then you being able to betray those that believe in you - Harold and Kelly - is not that big a stretch of the imagination. Adam, we may be diverged and on separate paths right now, but one need only go back far enough down the road to find the common fork in our road. Every diversion has a common point of origin, and the differences between us are not so infinitesmal that they can never again unite and become similarities....
*At this point, The Ace reaches into his jean pocket and pulls out a quarter...*
The World Championship in this match is like a switch, as unbiased as the flip of a simple honest coin...
*The Ace flips the quarter and it lands in the palm of his hand on tails. The camera focuses on this for a moment...*
At the moment it rests with me. The guy you see as a gutless coward who would sell his own mother for a bag of chips, the guy who would run with his 'tails' tucked between his legs or more likely the guy who would ride the 'coat-tails' of others to achieve his success...at A Night To Remember, the coin could indeed flip...
*The Ace flips the coin and this time it lands heads. The camera again focuses on this*
And rest with you. Making you and Kelly the 'heads' of nCw. The true power couple that Kathy and I could never be, and for a while it will feel good, and all this will be fine as long as the only thing that happens to the coin is a simple flip...
*The Ace then places the quarter on the bar, balancing it on its edge, he sets the coin into a spin as the camera again focuses on it...*
But if you place the coin in the midst of a revolution, the heads and tails become indistinguishable, things are not that simple. Things are no longer simply black and white. It's no longer a case of who so definitely is 'heads' and who is so definitely 'tails', for as long as the coin revolve those sides merge and no one knows which side will win out. Heads may aswell be tails and tails may aswell be heads, it is only when the revolution stops that things start to clear up and one side emerges on top.
*The coin falls onto its side and lands clearly on heads, a sign of his fear. A fear of the Knite.*
In this case, it just happened to land on heads, and if I was Dark Prophet. or even Kristoff Liam Bates channeling Dark Prophet, I'd probably have an orgasm about the symbolism that's just been presented here and talk about how it will relate to the inevitable end of the match, but I'm not. I'm simply The Ace and the point I am trying to make is that until the end of the Pay Per View this Sunday, the coin will be up in the air and constantly revolving. During our match, the differences between us will become indistinguishable as you and Kelly seek to outdo me and Kat, and we in turn seek to outdo the two of you. During the match, you will not care about your principles as 'the good guy' enough not to borrow tactics from 'the bad guy' or 'the real Ace' if you prefer. Hell you've already done it on more than one occassion against me, the most notable instances that come to mind is that triple threat match where you clocked Reckless Jack in the head with my rake and won the match as a result, or how about Last Stand, where you did indeed take my title but you used Kelly to do it, in much the same way you know I'd use Kathleen?
*The Ace drinks from his pint before continuing...*
So please Adam, please don't talk to me like I'm stupid. I'm not as stupid as those sheep in your Revolution who are immediately taken in by your playing the moral superiority card. That's not gonna wash with me sunshine, oh I'm sorry...darkness...
*The Ace laughs, by now the alcohol had made him either forget or drown out his fear. A fear of the Knite - at least temporarily...*
This isn't going to be a battle between a humpback whale and a jungle sloth, it isn't even going to be a battle between a Stallion and a Raptor, because in the end, we're not so different, you and I as you would like me to believe. You are not the night and I am not the day. It's not that clear cut, it never has been. Were it so, I'd probably come up with some contrived bull**** about how daylight always outshines the darkness of the night, or how the sun is always present, at night it just lends its light to the moon, but I won't, because none of that matters to you or to me. The point is simple, I know that to be the man, you have to beat the man...
WOOOOOOOO! I shouldn't drink, I'm going to have to face my fear soon enough. A fear of the Knite - but right now I couldn't give a rat's ass...
*The Ace burps*
And right now I am the man! And to beat the man, you have to be prepared to do whatever it takes, and if you're not prepared to do whatever it takes to win, then quite frankly you do not deserve to be nCw World Heavyweight Champion. So which one of us has the 'holier than thou' attitude now, huh? ADAM KNITE!
Oh no, I'm yelling. But that's okay, it isn't really bad until I start slurring my speech and sounding like Sexy Jason. Haha, I stole Kathy and made him my bitch in that cage. Good times. Good times!
If you're not here to win, you don't deserve to be here. If you're not here to be the top dog, get the F***K OUT! I don't need to explain or justify my tactics to you Adam! You're not my mother! Just get the...out my face! Don't judge me! I'm not trash, you'll never phase me out! And another thing, who says I'm a joke? I'm not JOE EVERYMAN! I LOVE MY PSYCHO! I LOVE MY BUBBLE! I LOVE MY DAUGHTER! I DON'T BLAME EVERYONE FOR MY PROBLEMS, JUST YOU KNITE!
*The Ace belches loudly, the barmaid comes over*
Barmaid: I think you've had quite enough sir!
DAMN IT WHY CANT YOU LOVE ME? WHY DOESN'T ANYONE LOVE ME? ITS BECAUSE I'M A BAD FATHER ISN'T IT? ISN'T IT?
Barmaid: Calm down sir!
*The Ace gets up, knocking over what little was left of his third pint and stumbles out the door after leaving some money on the bar. He would walk back to the hotel, luckily it was only a short walk. He braved the chilly night air as it bit at his face...*
Oh God, what have I become? Adam was right!
*Tears start welling up in The Ace's eyes*
What am I teaching Soli? She doesn't need to see me clock people in the head with a rake, but damn it, it feels so good, and if I need to clock Adam in the head to successfully defend this Sunday, I will, why deny it, he'd see right through it anyway. Everybody thinks I'm a cancer on nCw, well fair enough, if that's what I am, that's what I'll be. When Adam beats me, I'll simply go into remission until I can strike again, Knite may put me down, but he'll never take me out. DO YOU HEAR ME ADAM KNITE?
*The night had no answers for him as he tried to absolve himself of his fear. A fear of the Knite. The Ace continues walking alone in the cold, lonely, unforgiving night...*
I'm selfish, I only care about myself. That may indeed be true, all throughout this pointless civil war, I've never denied it, and I've never pretended to be anything I'm not. The Resistance is Steve Awesome and Overdrive, not me. I'm simply their Champion because I brought Leonard back to nCw and because I'm not part of the Revolution. I am simply on a side because I was forced to pick one, and now you're just mad that I didn't side with you - the great Adam Knite. Truth be told, I grow weary of this fight, I welcome the Pay Per View because it'll all end one way or another and then...then I won't have to worry about who is good and who is bad or why I'm fighting who I am fighting. Finally wrestling will become a pleasure again, rather than a chore. It will be about attaining personal glory again and not about saving a company that doesn't give a rat's ass about you no matter who you side with or what you try to do. I thought finally winning the World Championship would earn me the respect of my peers, but ever since I qon it, its just been a noose around my neck, and now Adam wants to hang me by it...
Hang me. Crucify me. Burn me. I forgive you Adam because you know not what you do.
Do what you must Adam, for you know that when it comes down to it, I will do no less than what needs to be done this Sunday. I will stand and face my destiny, whatever it may be. If I am doomed to fall by your hand for a third time, I will face it. I don't hate you, there's nothing left in me to burn at the thought of you. I grow tired of you Knite, I grow weary, we've faced each other so many times now. You've been the good guy. I've been the bad guy. And vice versa, or not. I don't care. I don't care about you as much as you seem to think I do, Adam. When you won the Coliseum, I did not flinch at the irony. I did however flinch at the hypocrisy. You say you're not one to dwell on the past, and yet your entire promo has been based around dwelling on my past. Kelly did whatever was necessary to make sure you won. Angel did whatever was necessary to make sure you won, and yet you talk to me like you played a fair game. Everybody knows you went into that Coliseum with the deck stacked in your favour, I may be a cheating, selfish bastard but at least I have the balls to admit it. Kathy may help me out now and then, but she does not keep my balls in her purse like Kelly apparently does yours. No, if anyone should be having restless nights about your victory, its you Adam, not me!
I just fear the Knite.
*The Ace shakes his head to dislodge the thought as it started to creep back in, but also to keep his hair from being blown around by the chilly yet surprisingly sobering night wind. The Ace was surprised he could compose himself enough not to slur his words, even if he could no longer focus or walk in a straight line. The Ace reasoned that it must be the thought he spent so long trying to shut out, driving him now. Stronger even than the three pints which poisoned him on his walk home...*
But what do I know, right? I'm pissed out of my head. I don't know what the hell I'm saying. You're a hypocrite Adam, because whilst you may not dwell on the past as much as I do, you still use it to justify such asinine statements as 'you're better than me', and why do you feel that way? Because you've taken my title twice now, and you want this to be a third time - a clean sweep. I could mention how the number three has shaped my destiny so far, after all it took me three shots to win the nCw World Heavyweight Championship, and on the third I pulled it off. So why shouldn't it take me three shots to finally beat you and keep my title? But I'm dwelling on the past again, aren't I?
Only because I don't want to face my fear. A fear of the Knite.
I'm sorry. I'm just a paper champion, I'm just keeping the title warm for you, and you've always beaten me when it matters, right? I'm nothing to you, right? I never have been. Why are you lying Adam? If what if I did to 'ruin your life' still didn't matter to you, why, oh why do you mention it every time we have to face off? I don't hate you Adam, I hate your hypocrisy. That is what I'm fighting against, in the end, this is just another title match to me. Nothing more. Nothing less. Congratulations, I guess you were right. I don't care about nCw. Do you want a medal? No, you just want the title. Come take it from me then, come take your place atop the mountain. Come hither night, my sun is setting. Rule over the World in my stead. Till the time comes for me to rise again. Daylight has to give way to night, and it does so without resistance, it does nothing to try and stop or slow nightfall, but in the end, night and day are not that different.
*A fear of the Knite suddenly gave way to a truth that The Ace could not deny. The truth of himself and who he was. Who he had always been...*
To fear one is to fear the other.
Come day break, my sun will rise again. It will rise again over the World in your stead. Night has to give way to day, and it does so with a constant revolution, it does nothing to try and stop or slow daaybreak, and in the end, night and day are not that different. No. Not that different at all.
*The Ace has reached the front of the hotel at this point...*
*The scene cuts to inside the hotel where The Ace knocks on his hotel room door, but in his inebriation, he hasn't realised that it is not his, but the one next door. Tiffany answers the door and The Ace just falls into her arms, and kisses her passionately. Tiffany breaks it...*
Tiffany: Jake! Have you been drinking?
Maybeeee...a lit...little...OH GOD I'M SLUR- *hick* SLURRING MY WORDSSS!
*The Ace tries to kiss her again*
I've missed you...
*Tiffany just takes a step forward and takes him under her arm and guides him into her room...*
Tiffany: Kathy's going to kill me...
*Tiffany sits him down on the bed and closes the door. She could not deny that she had missed him too. The Ace flops backwards on the bed and as Tiffany comes back over to him, he reaches up and pulls her on top of him.
Tiffany: Jake...
*The Ace puts a finger to her lips before kissing her. Initially she resists but it doesn't last. Resistance be damned....*
Yes, I fear the Knite. But that isn't going to stop me from enjoying this.
*The scene fades on your selfish, womanizing World Champion. The Ace was always a bastard and you all hate him. Now you have a reason to. This was going to be A Night To Remember and it was all Adam's fault. Destiny had completed its cruel revolution and Adam had won. The Ace had no resistance left, only his selfish desire.
The scene fades out on the betrayal of a sister and the betrayal of a husband, all whilst the sister, wife and mother and daughter slept next door. Oblivious to the downfall of their once noble Champion...*