Post by Swarm on May 27, 2011 0:10:31 GMT -5
::: Reparations :::
::: Like a Prayer :::
We begin in total blackness. Very death metal. After a few moments pass, the click of a metal string powers the round lightbulb in the ceiling, bringing about a small spotlight of illumination amidst the darkness. To our far left and right, we can now see hints of wood panel, and in the center, illuminated by the bulb, sits Alex Sean who is looking down, the contours of his face lit like a Rorschach painting. Several moments pass, then, in a low, somewhat gravelly tone, Sean begins to speak.
Alex Sean: I wonder sometimes if anything ever really changes. I s’pose if you look at the world… Look at people as a whole, the culture and everything, things have changed, but one’s character is decided by the actions they choose to and not to repeat throughout their life. I think of EBR, who betrayed me over seven years ago with the only difference then from now is the level of sophistication in his execution of it, something that comes naturally through experience. I think about when I first met DGX nine years ago, and despite countless opportunities and chances to learn and grow, from his early in-ring success to his Profound failure in Hollywood, relationships and life lesions, he’s virtually the same guy. Had you brought this up a few months ago, I would have told you that I changed. But… as humbling as it is to say, that’s just not accurate. The truth is, my career… my entire life, has followed the same path, the same pattern for years.
He exhales deeply, then continues.
Alex Sean: I came into this business coldhearted and calculating, ruthless and seeking something that I couldn’t even define. Then, I learned to love the sport, learned to respect the proving ground the squared circle served to be, and covet the symbols of excellence. But every time I’ve felt targeted, I’ve reverted back to the same kid from Baltimore. You could call it survival instincts, that’s what Matthew believes… But it’s more than that. See, it’s like the old proverb, if you’ve had enough failed relationships you eventually gotta ask yourself if maybe you’re the problem. I mean, at this point I’ve fought more authority figures than I haven’t. From MadDog in 2002 to Rupert Jee in 2003 to Johnny Michaels to Reverend Shadow and all the way up to King Kraig, as much as I can say about their treachery, the fact of the matter is, I live for conflict. In my life, I’ve felt true, passionate love, I’ve felt financial freedom, I’ve accrued enough accolades and accomplishments in this sport to where I will be placed at the very highest level in the annals of this sport. Time and time again I’ve had chances to walk away, to leave this all behind, but all of it, from love to legacy, it just doesn’t compare to a win. It doesn’t compare to knowing you have completely and unquestionably beating someone, especially those that make themselves your enemy. And it’s really sort of ironic because… For all their plotting and scheming, had E or Jason, maybe even Clav, had they faced the Alex Sean of six months ago straight-up, one-on-one in the ring… They probably would have beaten that guy. A lot of guys could’ve. Probably not Shawn Malakai, but a bunch of guys regardless. And instead, in trying to weaken me further, they made me stronger, put me back in touch with the fact that I’m capable of doing anything to win. It’s very Oedipus-like.
Taking a moment to scratch his cheek, Sean goes on.
Alex Sean: But unlike all of the times before, being in the same situation over and over, ever since this whole thing went down, I’ve felt like Bill Murray in the scene of “Groundhog’s Day” when he wakes up to the same song on the clock radio and the same people are outside his window from the day before. Each step of the way, from Clavin turnin’ on me to Jason’s attacks, to beating him and E for the tag belts… It’s Ned Ryerson, it’s the dropping of change, it’s the plates falling in the diner. And truth be told because of that, despite their actions, I owe them all, EBR, Kraig, Jason, a great deal of gratitude. I remember just a few days before Indy 5 I stood on the rooftops of my old city and questioned if I was still relevant. I was weak and indecisive… My vision was clouded. And like a prayer, at my most uncertain, the three of you came in and gave me true, shining clarity. You put me back in touch with who I truly am. Still, it doesn’t really change anything. The only real difference is that I no longer see this as vengeance. I don’t think, in all of these times with all of these different people, it ever really was. I think it’s the same thing I couldn’t define when I was a kid. I don’t see this as vengeance… This is reparations. It always has been. And the only thing truly different about now as compared to then… Sean smirks. … Is the level of sophistication in my execution of it. All time has really done is make me better at what I do best, and that’s really the thing… Jason… You might want to start considering.
Speaking his words directly to Jason, Sean looks down and off to his side, obscuring his eyes in the darkness.
Alex Sean: See, because Jason, I beat you five years ago, and I beat you again just two months ago. In the time since our first match, I’ve gone on to win multiple World Championships, breaking every record as a tag team with DGX, and beating the best the world had to offer in three leagues under three completely different sets of rules against three ground of completely different opponents. I’ve proven that I’m not only on-par with who I was then, but truth be told, even better. And what have you done, Jason? In these past five years what exactly have you accomplished? Who have you beaten? Because it wasn’t EBR, and it wasn’t DGX. Alongside DGX I’ve unified three World Tag Team Titles and you lost to Yukio Blaze. And to make matters even worse, when I am vulnerable and, let’s be honest, pretty beatable, instead of just facing me then, you take part in some elaborate scheme as King Kraig’s flunkie and not only do you fail in making me more vulnerable, but you created a monster instead. I used to hold you in pretty high regard, Jason. I really considered you to be different from your peers. But for all of your biblical verbiage and your apocalyptic speeches, you’re no more or less short-sighted and narrow-minded than the rest of these clowns who have sought me at as their enemy.
Sean nods his head, his face shifting to a look of disappointment.
Alex Sean: Are you really so delusional as to belief that you could truly best me at my strongest? I think so. I really do. Because Jason, I understand you far more than you could ever understand me. I hear you speak of legacy, of cementing your status, and I can only think back to the days where I felt the same way. See because for all of our differences, from you to E to D to myself, at our core, none of us are truly that different from one another. It’s an addiction. The only thing in my life that could ever fill the void aside from it is heroin. Jason, I’ve been exactly where you are and I know exactly what you seek. And you probably think that… If you come in here and you beat the great Alex Sean, that somehow, you will be free but take it from someone who’s been around long enough to know; The hunger never goes away. No matter how much you accomplish, no matter how many people you beat, the thirst for being the best can never be quenched. But nonetheless, I hope you believe. I hope when you step through that curtain at “Attack of the Little Green Men 2”, that you’re more confident, have more faith in your abilities than you ever have before. Because I want to be the one who shatters your faith. As symbolic to your own beliefs as the dead sea scrolls were to the Hebrew Bible. Because in this life, Jason, we all have our role to play, and I am a conqueror of weak men. I’m going to expose you, Jason, and more than that, for the gratitude I owe to you, I will repay you with an invaluable lesson, one that you can take to the grave; Don’t hunt what you can’t kill.
With his last words echoing in the bare, near-pitch plack room, Sean leans back, fading into the darkness.
Apologies on the lateness ya'll. I'll leave it up to the owners and Rev whether they want to count this. Hope ya'll dig!
