Grave Concerns [PM ZS EOD EP7]

[mosler]

{{The sky.}}

{{The brightest of blues. Fluffy white clouds form the shapes of animals. Elephants, giraffes, even the tigers seem playful – smiling down with a protective warmth. The type of scene so kind and welcoming that it could easily be the wallpaper of an infant’s nursery. Looking up from one’s crib to discover that the world is a beautiful place, non-threatening, that just wants the best for you. Even if the cloud is definitely a zebra, the world itself is bursting with possibilities. Before you could articulate love, you knew what it meant to be...}}

{{Black edges start creeping in the sides.}}

{{The edge of the world? The bars of the crib? The cage. The prison. Freedom stripped away if you dared to roll outside of expectations. The threat hangs heavy. Paradise or hell? The bars of that crib teased one with a danger not fully understood. How to break free? How to beat the system? The typical thoughts that keep most newborns up at night. The first prison escape was so rewarding, what riches await the second one? So busy looking at the big picture, one misses it slipping away.}}

{{The gorgeous sky continues to shrink as the black edges of the screen push in.}}

{{Instant gratification. A baby so much as burps and twelve people are hovering around it, looming over the crib to tell it what a good job it did. The lengths an adult has to go for that kind of attention. To feel cared about, to feel like part of the community...}}

{{Sunlight beats down, illuminating the edges of the encroaching darkness.}}

{{The other end of the age spectrum. Not a crib, but a casket, slowly being lowered into the ground.}}

{{A lone mourner tosses a single rose into the open grave. The figure wanders off, leaving only the fleeing sky.}}

{{The corpse can't help but resent the poor turnout.  The want for revenge is very real. Oh, how he’ll make them pay. Torment them for sullying his good name. Pain them for not appreciating him when he was around. Hurt them for daring to act like the world could continue without his presence. How could it? That would be insane. The nerve. The audacity. As thoughts of violent retribution dance in a maggot infested brain, the eyes can’t help but notice the vanishing blue. The sky is escaping! Leaving behind only darkness...}}

{{Which religion did our dead friend land on in his final moments? Are the pearly gates smart to the business? Will “it’s only wrestling” get him into heaven? Does all the happiness the deceased inspired in fans mean anything on the scales of life? Yeah, he caused more anxiety and anger then technical happiness, but its seems a little late to be splitting hairs! There has to be a political angle to finagle his way into a better afterlife. If any stiff can guilt higher beings into bending the rules, its this one.}}

{{The blue stops. It’s small, but it’s still there. A beacon in the night.}}

{{Oblivion.}}

{{Dreams of a funeral retreat back into a showing.}}

{{Celebrating the life of Zoran Sainovic.}}

{{A large image of the wrestling great hangs over an open casket at the front of a quiet church. In the casket, The Final Boss has been laid out for his family and friends to pay their last respects. The final box is mahogany.}}

{{As the camera approaches for a closer look, viewers find that formaldehyde agrees with the former SWAT commissioner. One last attempt at getting colour. Looking nothing like his picture, the mortician has gussied Zoran up with so much make-up that he resembles a young Tony Danza. It would be absurdly comical if it wasn’t so offensive.}}

{{The cameraman kneels to offer Sainovic safe passage to the underworld, when Tony Danza’s eyes open. No sooner have they adjusted to the light, when Zoran’s gaze shift to the camera with a look that asks, “Who’s the final boss?”}}

Pepe Morales:
Since zese End of Days began, everyone has been telling me I look like a dead man. I zought zis was a lame insult, like, “a rookie taking on Pat the Postman? You’re dead meat!” Now zat I have fought against all odds to somehow realize my dream, I find myself in a casket match. Zose barbs were not pathetic, but prophetic. Everyone who said “Pepe, we don’t respect you enough to acknowledge you as a unique individual and will just compare you to a dead man,” have an amazing gift. Not for wrestling, or rational zought, but for seeing zings zat no one else can see? True visionaries! 

{{The Hurricane kid rolls over onto his side, leaning against the pillow to prop himself up. Morales looks ghoulishly comfortable in Zoran's coffin. He almost feels jealous of Jennings getting to spend so much more time in it.}}

Pepe Morales:
So if all zese psychics envisioned me performing in ze tournament like a former X*Crown champion; saw me standing over ze open grave of ze finals – perhaps I should pay heed to zeir clairvoyant hopes for my victory? Why keep fighting my destiny, and why not become ze Zuren Sonovavich zat I apparently resemble oh so closely?

{{A goodwill gesture that gets him around the loopholes of SWAT litigation? Score. Raising the arm he isn’t leaning against, the Puerto Rican teenage sensation gestures to the giant photograph of his doppelganger.}}

Pepe Morales:
I could become ze second generation of Zarun Saneovok. 

{{And unlike the LAST second generation of Zoran Sainovic, this EOD winner would actually make the most of his shot. Is what Pepe would jab Death Trap with, if he really was Zoran.}}

Pepe Morales:
His image has acted as a guardian angel for me. Yet for all ze goodwill I received in his honour, it struck me zat I knew nothing about Ziram. So I decided to do a little research into ze man. Discover what you had all been implying about me...

{{Sitting up with the energy of a man many years his senior, Pepe carefully raises the bottom half of the casket. The viewing room is covered in flowers, but lacks people. Perhaps it has just ended? Or it has yet to begin?}} 

{{In the large, empty church, Pepe Morales climbs out of Zoran Sainovic’s casket.}}

Pepe Morales:
It turns out; zey should have been saying it behind my back. Ze more footage I saw of Zoran threatening peoples' livelihoods, intimidating children, taking advantage of ze weak, and delighting in unspeakable acts of cruelty... ze more I realized, zat when people accused me of being Zoran, zey weren’t complimenting me on wrestling like an X*Crown champion. Zey were denigrating my morals. Words zat I took in kindness were actually spiteful insults!

I am not saying zat Zoran Sainovic was a bad man...

But you said it, XHF.

And in doing zat, and comparing us, you labelled me ze villain of zis piece.

Zat was vicious, and unfair.

I am ze hurricane. No more. No less. People die. Homes are swept away. I leave agony and suffering in my wake.

But if you believe a force of nature can be defined by your morality?

{{Pepe shakes his head. Pulling cue cards out of his breast pocket, Morales begins to cross the room towards the pulpit, only to stop.}}

Pepe Morales:
Discovering all ze praise was actually poison, wounded me. Yet rather zan stop at ze superficial boogeyman zat ze XHF made Zoran out to be, I decided to dig deeper. Learning more about ze man, I found him to be surrounded by idiots, and to be deeply misunderstood. I took it upon myself to write a eulogy, which I shall read for you now.

{{What a thoughtful gesture. The kindest soul in the XHF ascends the pulpit to pay tribute to a man he was never fortunate enough to meet.}}

Pepe Morales:
My name is Pepe Morales, and contrary to popular opinion, I am not Zoran Sainovic.

{{The Hurricane Kid flips the card. Yes, much like Adam Sander, Pepe had the name written down.}}

Pepe Morales:
Like many of you, I never had ze pleasure of knowing Zoran in life.

{{The church is empty. Tough crowd.}}

Pepe Morales:
Ze term super genius sexy god is thrown around so flippantly zese days... but it was a description zat Zoran lived every day he was on zis planet. Zere isn’t a man, woman or child zat isn’t a better person for having known him. His business acumen was without equal – keeping ze roster at SWAT employed zroughout ze pandemic. He always wanted zem to know zat zey would never have to worry about keeping a roof over zeir heads. No matter how bad ze storm, zey would ALWAYS have a glass ceiling looming over zem.

Zat would be enough of an accomplishment for lesser men, but not our Zoran, he continued to stride like a giant with acts of untold generosity. Why Zoran captured ze X*Crown, which finally brought SWAT properly into ze fold, while simultaneously destabilizing ze AWF’s stranglehold over ze championships - so zat everyone from J-ROK to GUNS to MCCW could feel like zey too belonged to ze XHF. He was too modest to point zis out, but we were all aware of it. What a great man! Zoran Sainovic was our very own Saint Anne, zough he might have pronounced it differently.

I have no doubt zat Zoran is not only in a better place, but given his amazing track record of management skills, he is probably running it! Yeah, I bet we all wish we’d told him how great he is before he had final say about us getting into heaven. Zose are ze breaks.


Wherever Zoran is, we can all be sure of one thing - he is most likely having sex with Skye Walker.


Ever ze gentleman, Zoran will be zinking of Dakota Jennings ze WHOLE TIME he's with Skye. Because he respects Dakota as an opponent, and also because having sex with a corpse is a bit of a turnoff.

{{Morales has no doubt that this call back to Skye Walker will illicit thunderous applause from a live audience. It’s just a shame that COVID is negatively affecting the turnout from reaching Princess Diana mourner numbers. Or everyone killed themselves rather than live in a world without Zoran?}}

Pepe Morales:
Zat sounds about right. In conclusion, I would like to dedicate my End of Days victory to Zoran Sainovic’s memory. You can even use Zoran’s name in ze history books about who almost survived ze tournament. I’ll take ze X*Crown shot, it seems only fair – but his name can rest on ze EOD bauble. A tribute to ze legacy of a great man.

{{Putting his cue cards away, Pepe Morales approaches the camera with a welcoming smile, as if only just registering it.}}

Pepe Morales:

Hola XHF, it is I, Pepe Morales!

Gracias for your zoughts and prayers amigos, unfortunately despite your best efforts, I now suffer eternal damnation! Ze malevolent spirits have taken hold of my Puerto Rican pride and lucha passion to see me zrough to ze End of Days finals! I would call it a miracle, if it didn’t feel like a curse. How did I arrive here? How on earth was I able to stand toe to toe with ze best and brightest zat RRW, RFW, Destiny and ze AWF had to throw at me! Your humble rookie is sweating bullets zinking about what zis tournament has cost my soul.

Even ze devil can’t get me past zis last hurdle.

Dakota Jennings!

Wow!

I am such a huge fan. Of all ze AWF superstars to win ze United States championship, and zen immediately lose it on zeir first defense, you are easily my favourite. I know a lot of folks will say you were nothing more zan a transitional champion to keep Bloody Fox from having to make Neo James Carner look good...

{Long pause.)

Pepe Morales:

But you two stole ze show! It’s not like Carner could have had a five star match with just any Cross Recoba sidepiece. You are fantastic, Dakota! Even a dead man could see, zat ze only zing zat you have in common with ze Iron Sheik are really nice shoes. If you can stand tall against all ze ReVanants by yourself, I can only imagine what little chance I will have against you. I will do my best to pull my weight to put on a tournament final worthy of your victory.

I had no idea zat I would be here at zis stage, but you, Dakota? You were always a shoe-in.

Why, looking back to your first round win against Ognom, I remember zinking – zis SHOULD be ze finals! Whoever wins zis match is definitely winning ze tournament.

Zen, ze second was even harsher. You against Maverick! If ze bracket had lined up any differently, zat should have been it. Zere was no doubt in anyone’s mind zat you two should have been ze finals, and whoever picked it up was just a formality.

Which-

{{Beat.}}

Pepe Morales:

...I’m zinking of Brad Swann. Sorry. Very sorry, Dakota. Honest mistake. You both have zat regal presence. Ze whole beard zing. You both had incredibly disappointing Fright Nights. Some would even say you were both robbed. Not me zough. ...Ze ReVenants are cool.

{{Fiendish smirk.}}

Pepe Morales:

Ze point is Dakota, even when you’re not Brad Swann, I still respect you! It is going to be an honour losing to you...

...in a casket match.

{{Cringing, Morales turns his attention back to Zoran Sainovic’s coffin.}}

Pepe Morales:

Zat doesn’t seem quite right. I spend a month being compared to a corpse. I win matches I shouldn’t, possibly with ze assistance of ze dead man’s spirit. Everything about zis End of Days run seems to point towards a man who does not want to be put six feet under. Yet zis final encounter slams ze lid on his final chapter?

Would you willingly deny Zoran Sainovic his dignity, Dakota?

Is zat ze kind of person you are?

Have I misjudged you, Dakota? Are you really Brad Swann?

To attempt to put me in ze ground? To close zis chapter?

...You don’t strike me as ze kind of person I want to see win, Dakota.

Perhaps your eulogy won’t be as pleasant.

{{On that note, Pepe Morales climbs back into Zoran Sainovic’s casket.}}

{{As the Hurricane Kid closes his eyes, we once again see the image of the distant sky surrounded by darkened earth. It’s little more than a pinpoint, but still a vibrant enough blue that it leaves an impression.}}

{{Then darkness overtakes it.}}

{{Oblivion.}}

{{The End of Days.}}