The Tall Grass [PM ZS EOD EP5]

[mosler]

A man and a boy are playing Pokémon Go near a forest...

Just the kind of enchanted forest where you might find a LEGENDARY Pokémon...

So they enter it, walking deeper and deeper into the woods...

The sun goes down, and it gets very dark and hard to see.

They aren’t finding anything but lousy Caterpies.

Disappointed at the lack of good Pokémon, the boy looks up at the man and says

“Gee mister, these woods sure are scary.”

The man responds, “You’re scared? I have to walk out of here alone.”

{{No doubt an ancient proverb passed down in his village. After relaying this anecdote for the camera, The Hurricane Kid thinks about it for a moment, before reflecting...}}

Pepe Morales <shrug>:

Alone. Perhaps ze man didn’t want to catch a Caterpie? Zis is a shame. It could have been a good friend for him. Plus it’s a video game... so it wouldn’t judge ze man for doing anything unsavoury to ze minor’s corpse. Whether you see yourself as ze dead boy or ze game character no one wants, I’m here to tell you, Adam, zat I see value in all zings. Even you.

{{Looking away from the camera, the Puerto Rican teenager that is the spitting image of an elderly Eastern European devil, turns his attention to a young boy. Long time viewers will recognize him as Oliver. Headphones keep Oliver from listening to the unpleasant introduction. Even if he could, the child is completely enthralled in his 3DS. Morales gestures for the boy to remove the earbuds.}}

Pepe Morales:

Ze tour is just starting, Oliver. ...Ouch, zat doesn’t look too sporting.

{{Looking down at the 3DS, Morales finds Oliver’s Rayquaza destroying a lesser species.}}

Pepe Morales:

Do me a favour Oliver; my work is going to take a few minutes. Please join your Mom for ze start, and I’ll catch up with you two shortly.

Oliver:

Okay, Dad.

{{Eyes still glued to his game’s screen, Oliver slowly wanders towards the main hub of activity. The camera pans around to find our scene set on a large boat, out on open waters. A few dozen passengers strap on scuba gear.}}

Pepe Morales:

As for your run of good fortune in zis End of Days tournament, Adam, stranger zings have happened. Speaking of impossible. My son. <raising hand in the general direction that Oliver has headed> “How is this possible, Pepe? There is only a five-year age difference between you and the small boy!” Crunching ze numbers would make my better half seem like a criminal, so I will clarify not to satiate your curiosity but for ze sake of her honour. Oliver is my wife's child by an earlier marriage, who I happily adopted when we tied ze knot. Zough we do not share ze same genes, Oliver is every bit MY son.

{{...And not a disappointment like Death Trap, is what Pepe would say if he was Zoran Sainovic.}}

Pepe Morales:

Ze people we choose in life are important. Which is why I understand how traumatic ze loss of Skye Walker is to you, Adam.

My heartfelt condolences to Eddie for zis tragic loss, and my deepest sympathies to ze rest of Skye’s family and friends.

If you need to be zere for your father figure in his time of grief, perhaps cancelling your future appearances in zis tournament, I will be disappointed but completely understand. Family comes first, Adam. Everyone will know zat you are pulling out for ze RIGHT REASONS, and not because you’re afraid of being set on fire. I imagine after everything zat Eddie has done for you, his wellbeing should be your priority, even if he tells you to compete for him.

{{The frame is a wide shot to take in the beautiful sea, the camera shifts slightly as the boat bobs against the waves. The focus shifts, is that a crucifix sitting out of the water?}}

Pepe Morales:

HEY-

{{Reaching out, The Hurricane Kid snatches the camera by the lens, forcing a close-up.}}

Pepe Morales:

Keep it tight. Background should be skyline. I mean it.

{{Morales stares daggers through the videographer, this is important. After a tense moment, The Hurricane Kid leans back against a railing. Flinching, Pepe decides to offer an explanation for his outburst.}}

Pepe Morales:

Knowing how homesick I am for... Puerto Rico... my family decided to join me. Great. Honestly, if I can let my son see ze world while international travel is still a possibility, why not? Ze only problem is, Fright Night is taking place in a cockfighting arena. Zat location isn’t appropriate for children. So my family have come all ze way out here, and cannot even witness my performance. Very disappointing. Everyone should share zat disappointment, as zey keep me on my BEST behaviour. It was a long journey. I am trying to make it up to zem, so we are taking in ze sights.

Zis is ze Sunken Cemetery of Catarman.

Beautiful. Tranquil. Spiritual.

It should be an amazing sight to see. I have been really looking forwards to ze experience, and will be diving in, when we finish here. Ze reason ze videographer is encroaching on my personal time is not because its appropriate to spend half an interview exposing unrelated family business to ze fans...

{{...Morales stares up at the sky.}}

Pepe Morales:

...which I incidentally apologize for. <looking back> Not for ze window into my private life, but because our holiday schedule is so tight, zat zis was ze only possible time to record one. I appreciate zat ze setting is not ideal, but I am trying to make ze most of it. I would rather we didn’t show ze water itself... 

...Because we’re floating over a cemetery.

And even if it has found a second life zrough tourism.

It’s a cemetery.

People were laid to rest down zere. EXPLOITING DEATH... using zat loss to promote a wrestling event... would be extremely unethical.

{{For those keeping score, the guy who started his interview with a pedo joke is judging the morals of his opponent. Talk about awkward.}}

Pepe Morale:

If you can keep ze frame tight, shall we begin?

{{Centering himself, Morales runs a hand through his faux Tony Danza hair before forcing a big smile.}}

Pepe Morales:

XHF! It’s ME, Pepe Morales!

What am I still doing here? I somehow managed to get zrough ze second round of ze End of Days!

It must be ze Halloween Season, because zere HAS TO BE Black Magic afoot! Against all odds, Pepe Morales inexplicable shocks ze world by defeating Destiny Wrestling All-Star Pat ze Postman? I bring a lot of heart to ze ring, but am still a teenager with little experience under my belt. Ze main zing getting me zrough ze tournament is my PASSION for wrestling, and my Puerto Rican PRIDE! Zese are powerful tools – but so is a mailbag! First Nathan Parker, zen Pat ze Postman? NO ONE has ZAT MUCH pride, or is ZAT passionate! It has to be some Faustian curse. I don’t remember selling my soul to ze devil, but cannot zink of another rational explanation for me still being here.

Pray for me, XHF!

Not for my victory against Adam SandLer, who is too great a man for God himself to have a say in ze results. Zis is not about winning.

Pray for my soul, as getting past ze second round may have damned me for all eternity.

{{Overly dramatic, Morales again looks to the heavens, this time drapping an arm across his forehead.}}

Pepe Morales:

An inferno match?

I already feel ze blaze reaching for me, a burning promise to drag me down to ze depths of hell. Ze flickering flame calls out my name... Zo- Pepe! Pepe! I am not a stranger to its cackling sizzle. It knows me. It was as zough I had snuck out of ze underworld, and Cerberus itself was dragging me back. A dead man who had put off his retribution for a week, but just a week...

One cannot avoid consequences forever...

But one can dream.

It is a nice dream.

{{Dispensing with the theatrics, Pepe starts to gear up for his own dive.}}

Pepe Morales:
I'm a big fan, Adam.  I know its awkward wrestling a fan, but I can’t tell you what an inspiration you have been for me. Why I remember you when you were nothing. Zree years ago. Heck, I remember when you were less zan nothing. Four years ago. Seeing everything zat someone like you has accomplished in zat short time, Adam? It gives me chills.  


You sure do owe Eddie a lot. So it would make sense to be zere for him. But if travelling to ze Philippines to set me on fire is how you process grief? You do you. I can zink of no better way to celebrate All Saints Day zan by letting you exercise my demons with a cleansing Inferno.

If you have set your mind to ze bonfire, I will welcome you with open arms, delighted to be locking up with ze hottest star in Ascension. What a treat it will be to watch you in action. Your talent burning so brightly. Almost hard to look at, you are so blindingly radiant! Zose kinds of flames don’t last forever, Adam. With limited time to enjoy your blazing brilliance, I am touched zat you would spend even a fraction of it on me - Pepe Morales. Before you burnout, I will do my best to turn zis into a showcase for your potential. Let all ze Ascension fans see ze sparks of greatness in you, zat I do.

I know when a person hits ze majors, ze AWFs of ze XHF; zey can become so paranoid in keeping zeir position, zat zey stop believing others. No longer taking what zey say at face value. Constantly looking for lies, gimmicks, and angles...

Adam... It meant a lot to me, zat you referred to me by my name – Pepe Morales – instead of comparing me to zat old saint, Sainovic.

Zis good turn deserves another. So please believe me when I say, zat regardless of victory, I am going to do everything in my power for ze Ascension fan base to see you as an X*Crown worthy performer, Adam.

How?

Let me answer zat with another question...

“Where were you the night that Mike Lio lost his head?”

{{Not his literal head, but certainly his sanity. The question echoes in your mind as the image cuts to the distant past. The year is 2020. A small Puerto Rican boy, no older than seven – stands on a crate, peaking through a broken window. On the other side of the glass, the adults of his village are busy watching XHF’s Supremacy event. It has reached that all-important moment as countless LEGO tables are set up around the ring. Unable to deal with the excitement, the child frequently looks away.}} 

{{There is a reason the child wasn’t allowed to view this violent sporting event.}}

{{When the child finally musters the courage to peek back in, the Tower of Doom collapses. What he sees next will haunt him for the rest of his life.}}

{{Zoran makes the pin.}}

{{NO! The child’s world ends. How could that old man win the X*Crown? Forgetting his stealth skills, the boy runs into the main house to cry about this outrage. Staying up after bedtime to watch something he was told not to? His mother soon gives him something to cry about it.}}

{{The punishment is nothing compared to the anguish in his heart over poor Maverick being robbed. And not even by Death Trap or Mike Lio.}}

{{Bitter tears flow like a river, and faced with the harsh realities of life, the child grows up overnight. This might explain why over the course of a year, the seven-year-old is now nineteen going on fifty. Or perhaps it’s just that the Final Boss’ lies are based more on self-serving convenience than rational thought?}}

{{Regardless of the surreal sensibilities and puckish drive of their creator, the images continue to show the boy obsessing over Sainovic’s X*Crown reign. One of his AWF heroes will avenge Maverick! Spoiler alert.  The child is increasingly disappointed.}}

{{A match dissolve slowly transitions the seven-year-old to the present image of Pepe Morales. Sitting on the boat’s railing, the Hurricane Kid is now decked out in scuba gear to go exploring the cemetery.}}

Pepe Morales:

AWF. You are ze most active federation in ze XHF. When Zoran STOLE ze title from Maverick, I knew it was only a matter of time before you hunted him down like ze dog he is. Yet only Bloody Fox seems to have taken exception to his outrageous behaviour. Worse zan making Zoran pay, is zat it has been almost a year since you reclaimed ze Crown. How is zat possible? I figure ze Rumble was definitely your chance; almost sixty percent of ze participants belonged to you... yet here we are, zree champions removed, and ze belt still hasn’t come home.

So I am going to do what ze AWF could not.

I am going to WIN ze End of Days, and WIN ze X*Crown, zen get a contract with AWF, so I can return ze championship to fans of Ascension! 

What Zoran Sainovic TOOK from you...

...Pepe Morales will GIVE back!

{{The thought of Ascension fans reaction to this good news, warms the Hurricane Kid's heart.}}

Pepe Morales:

Less pressure on you now, Adam... what with us BOTH working for Ascension’s best interests.

I know my holy mission might put a few more eyes on our encounter, ze AWF faithful wanting you to rise to ze occasion and put my delusions of grandeur to bed, Adam.

I hope it will provide you with ze stage you need to show everyone what you can do. You might look out at all of zem, chanting your name, and wonder if you’re in over your head. 

…Like a child who didn’t take his parents advice and saw something he shouldn’t.

...You are SO BIG, and I am SO SMALL.

It might feel like a Caterpie taking on Rayquaza at times, but don’t sell me short.

And when ze flames start rising, I know you will rise to ze occasion. 

Don’t give into ze fear, Adam!

After all... if you zink you’re scared...

I have to walk out of ze inferno alone.

{{The contempt in his eyes are obscured by goggles, as Pepe Morales falls back into the cemetery.  Finding Morales to be a genuinely terrifying wraith, the videographer stays away from the water, panning up to the clouds as the picture fades.}}