Monster's Dance [Birthday Show 1/2]
Jun 29, 2021 22:53:34 GMT -5
Mongo the Destroyer, Spike Kane, and 2 more like this
Post by Dylan on Jun 29, 2021 22:53:34 GMT -5
06/18/2021
Philidelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
FIRESIDE Home Forge
We open on Dylan Black being helped backstage at Battle of the Best. His eyes are a bit glazed over and he definitely doesn't know where he is. He's helped past the backstage interview booth as someone has just finished up an interview. The reporters all see Dylan and like a mob, they surround him. Microphones in his face, cameras snapping pics, and recording footage. It's all a blur to the Battle of the Best runner-up, and the doctors try to clear the way. But Dylan has just enough consciousness to gravitate towards his favorite position, behind the table. He slumps forward, his arms barely holding him up straight.
Dylan: You... ya know, it's not often that I ever go back on my word. When I spew out praise, it's meant genuinely and when I spit venom, it's spoken from the pits of my cold, black heart. But it seems that I have been proven wrong just... just moments ago.
He slumps over, holding his head in his hands. A soft groan escapes his lips as his thumbs push into his eyes.
Dylan: Can someone find a clip of what I said a few weeks back, before this shitshow?
There is a bit of a murmur before someone can pull the audio he desires.
Dylan: The bright lights of FIRESIDE were where my destiny was to keep unfolding, where I was to conquer like I had many times before. But my blind arrogance led me down the same path that Napoleon's did. Fallen from grace, all but exiled from J-ROK. So that brings me to Battle of the Best...
A pause, as he closes his eyes.
Dylan: Let's be real, I've already proven myself as one of the very best that the XHF will ever be able to say they had, and there are very few people who are at my level. So why would I drop down below the global level to play in the minor leagues?
He
Dylan: Maybe... those minor leagues proved something that no one else could. Maybe FIRESIDE proved something that NLW, NPW, SWAT, J-ROK, DW, almost the entire damn network couldn't do! ... FIRESIDE proved that they can hang with the big boys.
Dylan: Yeeeeeeeah, that's the one.
He pushes himself back into a sitting-up position.
Dylan: Now I'd sung FIRESIDE's praises for a few weeks now. How they were some of the best wrestlers in the world, and there are no companies that compare. Well, I guess my line of vision has been... you could say, adjusted.
Glares into the crowd.
Dylan: Now I thought that I'd have a fair match, we'd get to see two rested-but-bloodied stars go all-out for the right to be called The Best. What nobody expected to happen, was a Philadelphia Screwjob.
Pause.
Dylan: I meant when I said this, Evan Valentine cannot win without help. He had a full hour to rest, in which I just fought a bloody war and got beat down by Spike Kane. Whatever that bullshit was, it was a fluke and I guarantee Caffrey had that planned from the start! He knew that his boys could never beat me on my worst day, and gave Marcus some extra allowance to sign a deal with the devil.
He leans in, the conspiracy strings weaving a canvas in his mind. Or this is the concussed delusions talking.
Dylan: Maybe I was wrong earlier. Maybe FIRESIDE has one or two decent people that can steer the ship, but the rest are just no more than lowly petty officers. FIRESIDE may be the current flag bearers of the XHF, but they're coursing off the luck of the Irish.
His fists ball up on the table as the Belfast Revenant seeps into his mind, poisoning his thoughts.
Dylan: Let me tell you, these folks here have some balls for thinking they'd be crossing the Messiah and getting away with it. Especially Spike Kane, a man who I'm going to give a warm welcome-back to the land of the living. By the way, can someone remind me what the main event of the XHF Birthday Show is?
A reporter blurts out.
Reporter: Spike Kane vs Jesse Jamester vs Dylan Black, in a deathmatch!
Dylan nods.
Dylan: Convenient. I do believe people see what happens when you unleash me in a fight where the rules are no longer defined. I was seconds away from killing Daisuke Tokugawa before they deemed him unfit to continue. Darlene and I damn near destroyed J-ROK when we got our hands on one another. But the difference between Dar or Daisuke and you, Spike? They didn't take the time to intricately plot out their own deaths.
He leans forward.
Dylan: But Spike, you've scorned the Messiah of Mayhem. And hell hath no fury as the Messiah scorned. I'm sure you're familiar with hell's fury, but what you've unleashed is going to be something far more dangerous than anyone has seen yet. For I was just inches away from locking in an opportunity for another X*Crown and you just had to run in.
Dylan's upper lip curls up into a snarl.
Dylan: Now you see what you've done, Spike? You jumped at the opportunity to take out one of the most talented, unorthodox, dangerous men to walk the hallowed halls of the XHF Network? Bud, you just put the biggest of targets on the back of your head. Now, you'll have to PRAY!...
The shouting hurts him. Dylan takes a moment to recover from whatever headache he just gave himself. He speaks softly to not trigger more pain.
Dylan: You'll have to pray to the Gods of Violence that I let you live long enough to claim the X*Crown for yourself. At the XHF Birthday Show, I'm coming to kill.
And with that, the doctors drag him away to the infirmary with little resistance.
06/28/21
Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan
House of Violence
We fade into the gym/training area of E.V.E, ten days removed from the events of Battle of the Best. Dylan Black is sitting on a chair in the middle of the ring, a small tripod set up in front of him recording footage. He doesn't acknowledge the second camera filming him, staring directly into the one in front of him.
Dylan: Let me make one thing very clear. I am a huge fan of Jesse Jamester. I know that when I walked out into the XHF Rumble two months ago, he would be the biggest threat in that match. I knew that taking out Jesse was going to be a necessity if I even wanted to consider walking out of the Rumble a two-time X*Crown Champion. And as a competitor, I respect Jesse. He's one of the toughest, hardest-hitting dudes I've shared a ring with.
He holds a fist out to the tripod as a sign of respect.
Dylan: It's going to be a pleasure to share a ring with you again. Opportunities to fight you have been far and few between, yet always to toss you over the ropes. This will be a chance to see what you're truly made of. But we do not fight alone, for a bastard graces our presence.
He bows his head.
Dylan: See, Jesse and I have a common enemy. A shared goal. For far too long, Mongo's let one of his precious rudos run roughshod across the Network, taking on anyone and anything en route to some goal aimed to get him out of Hell. Personally, I don't give a damn what that jackass does until he crosses me. Seems Jesse felt the same way when his own spawn felt the wrath of the Blood God.
Dylan shakes his head in disappointment.
Dylan: My condolences go out to your kid. I know that laying your hands on one's family is a whole step beyond just laying your hands on a trained fighter. It's disrespectful and despicable what happened. But now you've got a purpose - destroy the God of Extreme.
Sigh.
Dylan: It's not often someone so brash and arrogant tries to piss off multiple monsters but here we are. Spike has taken shots at us and we'll be able to fire back soon. I believe it'd be in our best interests to team up and put Kane back in the ground. I'd be honored to fight by your side, but when that dust has settled I've just one thing to say - stay out of my way.
Dylan looks into the camera, a look of rage upon his face.
Dylan: Just because Spike Kane has hell to pay with me does not mean I'm going to let you get in the way of me exacting justice. Of course, you'll have your own justice to exact and our paths may clash. The bottom line is, Spike must die. Doesn't matter by who's hand, although we both would prefer ourselves wouldn't we? Regardless, that doesn't mean you need to be a casualty of this bloodbath. You stand in my way, the Firing Squad will aim. That is your only warning. So get with it, or get out of the fucking way.
Finger gun. Shots fired.
End scene.