Post by skylerstriker on Dec 13, 2006 20:50:55 GMT -5
Bubbles pulsate up around Skyler Striker and his unconscious form. As if in a movie scene where a character has been encased in a scientific chamber of some sort, Skyler is locked inside one of these chambers, unconscious, surrounded by green liquid which has bubbles rising all through it. The chamber is painted white but chips are missing throughout, revealing the cold steel underneath. Jade Striker, Skyler’s daughter, is nearby, working at a control panel facing Skyler, rapidly pressing buttons with vast speed. For a brief second, Skyler’s eyes flash open, and he sees the room, but not enough to distinguish anything that stands out, and he fades back into unconsciousness as Jade monitors the slow, pulsing green line which displays Skyler’s heart rhythm. Skyler’s eyes flash open again four hours later and this time, they remain open. Skyler’s view of the room from inside the chamber is not particularly designed for surveying the room, but he can see many things. His daughter is still switching switches and pressing buttons at the control panel, little beeps and clicks emanating from the computer screen. The room is painted white, as if a medical room in a hospital, but the various gadgetry and gizmos lying around are evidence that it is not. Most look like they belong in an evil villain’s lair. Blueprints of new inventions and devices adorn the walls along with a framed certificate which, upon closer inspection, reads as a Nobel Prize awarded to Jade. As Skyler’s gaze lingers over it, Jade raises her own eyes and sees Skyler is awake, dropping her coffee in surprise. She moves out from behind the control panel and walks across the polished tiled floor of what looks to be Jade’s personal laboratory, stopping in front of Skyler’s chamber. Skyler is ‘dressed’ in white pants and nothing more, most likely for the purpose of the experiment, as there are many small wires attached to his torso, and a breathing apparatus covers his nose and mouth, which is also designed to help him speak from inside the chamber. The chamber is obviously not soundproof and Skyler’s eight year old genius of a daughter speaks to him through it as he looks around the room, still partially in shock, as this is definitely not something he has seen before. Skyler’s replies are distant at first.
JS: Skyler? Dad? Can you hear me?
SS: Yeah…
JS: I know you’re probably still in a state of semi-consciousness. You collapsed during one of your training sessions. I told you not to put the gravity enhancers on!
SS: I had to.
JS: You’re being stupid, father! No human was meant to stand that much of a force on themselves! You could have been seriously hurt! No more of it. The training regimen was hard enough on your body, but that was an unnecessary step and you know it.
SS: I had to.
JS: Well, since I know you’ll eventually ask, this is my laboratory. This is where I work. And from now on, this is where you are going to work too. This is where you will train for one whole day a week. The chamber you were just in is enhancing your mind and your muscles. Within a month, you’ll be stronger, faster, and a better thinker.
SS: That seems unnatural.
JS: No, this is necessary to stop you from killing yourself on that idiotic no-sleep-food-or-drink plan of yours.
Skyler closes his eyes, taking in the new situation, assessing his current position and opens them again, letting out a cry of some sort that seems almost animalistic.
SS: So let me get this straight. I’ll be faster, stronger and smarter. How is that helping me eliminate the one flaw I still have left?
JS: What’s that, father?
SS: Emotional control. Or a sense of personality. Vice says that I’m changing, Burton says I’m not. How am I supposed to know who I am? I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t KNOW!!!!
Skyler screams into his mouthpiece and bubbles burst from the bottom, indicating his anger.
JS: Emotional control is not something that can be enhanced, father. Not yet, anyway. Maybe next year. But for now, that’s something you’re going to have to deal with. As for other people telling you who you are, that’s ridiculous. You all call yourself this and that, the Revolution, the Sinner, the Fury Crusader, but underneath, it’s still the same people. Thunder and Burton aren’t the Revolution, they’re themselves. Thunder and Kurt Burton. Miguel Sanchez isn’t the Sinner. He’s Miguel Sanchez. And you aren’t the Fury Crusader. You’ve said it enough times to yourself to realise that by now. You’re Skyler Striker. And no-one can tell you otherwise. I think it’s time for the crusade to end, father. You’re not driven by anger, you’re driven by a passion to be the greatest, as are all men in this business. However, I have some good news for you. If you think you’re anyone else other than Skyler Striker, then I have discovered who you are.
Skyler absorbs all of this information with great attention and acknowledges it, finally realising that Jade is offering him a continuance of the conversation, and he replies.
SS: Who am I?
JS: Your emotions are what drive you. Other men are driven by passion, or lust, or a want for gold or money, none of which are truly emotions. You, on the other hand, are driven by what you feel, not what you want. You felt love while you searched for me, so technically it could have been called the love crusade, but the combination of that love and the fury and anger you felt when you fought to win your life back drove you to inevitably succeed. And so you did. Deep inside you, when it is necessary, and necessary only, there is another part of you that awakens and fights. When you erupted the other week at that autograph signing, that was the animal coming out, because you thought that person who touched your title belt was coming to take it away from you. That’s what needs to be your fuel, father. Necessity. When the occasion arises, that animal is likely to come back. That’s why you perform well when you’re backed into a corner. You have a drive to get out.
SS: So what do I do when I’m not backed into a corner? Lose?
JS: Certainly not. That’s why we’re going through this extra chamber work. So you can be at top level performance even when you’re not the animal.
SS: I think I understand.
JS: Good. Because we’ve had this conversation, your brain is going to need a little time to absorb all of the information, so I’m going to release a sleeping drug into the chamber, father. You’ll wake up in about a day or so, ready to fight at Felo-De-Se.
Skyler nods and closes his eyes as Jade walks back behind the control panel. She presses three buttons and Skyler’s head lowers, signifying that he has gone to sleep. Jade sighs and rubs her hand over her face, having just discovered Skyler’s problem that may be unsolvable even for her. She goes back to pressing buttons and Skyler’s heart rate monitor beeps quietly behind her.
[[Skyler’s Mind]]
So, the animal is inside me. Who am I? Do I change or not? Do I become a monster totally or do I learn to control it? Is it worth learning? So many questions. I’m not the Fatebringer, I’m not the Fury Crusader. I don’t need a name for now. I’m content to be Skyler Striker. That will suffice.
[[End]]
JS: Skyler? Dad? Can you hear me?
SS: Yeah…
JS: I know you’re probably still in a state of semi-consciousness. You collapsed during one of your training sessions. I told you not to put the gravity enhancers on!
SS: I had to.
JS: You’re being stupid, father! No human was meant to stand that much of a force on themselves! You could have been seriously hurt! No more of it. The training regimen was hard enough on your body, but that was an unnecessary step and you know it.
SS: I had to.
JS: Well, since I know you’ll eventually ask, this is my laboratory. This is where I work. And from now on, this is where you are going to work too. This is where you will train for one whole day a week. The chamber you were just in is enhancing your mind and your muscles. Within a month, you’ll be stronger, faster, and a better thinker.
SS: That seems unnatural.
JS: No, this is necessary to stop you from killing yourself on that idiotic no-sleep-food-or-drink plan of yours.
Skyler closes his eyes, taking in the new situation, assessing his current position and opens them again, letting out a cry of some sort that seems almost animalistic.
SS: So let me get this straight. I’ll be faster, stronger and smarter. How is that helping me eliminate the one flaw I still have left?
JS: What’s that, father?
SS: Emotional control. Or a sense of personality. Vice says that I’m changing, Burton says I’m not. How am I supposed to know who I am? I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t KNOW!!!!
Skyler screams into his mouthpiece and bubbles burst from the bottom, indicating his anger.
JS: Emotional control is not something that can be enhanced, father. Not yet, anyway. Maybe next year. But for now, that’s something you’re going to have to deal with. As for other people telling you who you are, that’s ridiculous. You all call yourself this and that, the Revolution, the Sinner, the Fury Crusader, but underneath, it’s still the same people. Thunder and Burton aren’t the Revolution, they’re themselves. Thunder and Kurt Burton. Miguel Sanchez isn’t the Sinner. He’s Miguel Sanchez. And you aren’t the Fury Crusader. You’ve said it enough times to yourself to realise that by now. You’re Skyler Striker. And no-one can tell you otherwise. I think it’s time for the crusade to end, father. You’re not driven by anger, you’re driven by a passion to be the greatest, as are all men in this business. However, I have some good news for you. If you think you’re anyone else other than Skyler Striker, then I have discovered who you are.
Skyler absorbs all of this information with great attention and acknowledges it, finally realising that Jade is offering him a continuance of the conversation, and he replies.
SS: Who am I?
JS: Your emotions are what drive you. Other men are driven by passion, or lust, or a want for gold or money, none of which are truly emotions. You, on the other hand, are driven by what you feel, not what you want. You felt love while you searched for me, so technically it could have been called the love crusade, but the combination of that love and the fury and anger you felt when you fought to win your life back drove you to inevitably succeed. And so you did. Deep inside you, when it is necessary, and necessary only, there is another part of you that awakens and fights. When you erupted the other week at that autograph signing, that was the animal coming out, because you thought that person who touched your title belt was coming to take it away from you. That’s what needs to be your fuel, father. Necessity. When the occasion arises, that animal is likely to come back. That’s why you perform well when you’re backed into a corner. You have a drive to get out.
SS: So what do I do when I’m not backed into a corner? Lose?
JS: Certainly not. That’s why we’re going through this extra chamber work. So you can be at top level performance even when you’re not the animal.
SS: I think I understand.
JS: Good. Because we’ve had this conversation, your brain is going to need a little time to absorb all of the information, so I’m going to release a sleeping drug into the chamber, father. You’ll wake up in about a day or so, ready to fight at Felo-De-Se.
Skyler nods and closes his eyes as Jade walks back behind the control panel. She presses three buttons and Skyler’s head lowers, signifying that he has gone to sleep. Jade sighs and rubs her hand over her face, having just discovered Skyler’s problem that may be unsolvable even for her. She goes back to pressing buttons and Skyler’s heart rate monitor beeps quietly behind her.
[[Skyler’s Mind]]
So, the animal is inside me. Who am I? Do I change or not? Do I become a monster totally or do I learn to control it? Is it worth learning? So many questions. I’m not the Fatebringer, I’m not the Fury Crusader. I don’t need a name for now. I’m content to be Skyler Striker. That will suffice.
[[End]]
