Post by skylerstriker on Jan 9, 2007 19:59:32 GMT -5
Take a look to the sky just before you die
It's the last time you will
-excerpt from “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Metallica
6:34 pm, December 31, 2006
The scene begins atop a mass of carefully placed steel girders and screws. Looking through the gaps in the girders, one would be able to see various different types of road underneath – cars, trams, bicycles, trains, footpaths among them. Looking to the left of the steel, you would see a city, and just below on the left, a strangely shaped white building which seems to jut out in all directions. Looking right, one would see a traffic jam, cars piled up for miles at the toll booth during rush hour. The breeze flows nicely over where we are, the warm dusk air bringing a calm atmosphere with it. Atop the steel are a man and a small girl. The man is dressed in maroon pants with a tear down each side and with an unbuttoned black shirt, which floats every time the breeze comes through. He wears a pair of sunglasses, which seem unnecessary in the dusk light, but nonetheless they cover his red eyes. The man is not startled when a loud boat horn comes and fills the whole harbour, as the iPod connected to his belt is turned up rather loud playing rock songs, and the altitude reduces the sound somewhat. The girl, on the other hand, is completely shocked by it, and were it not for the safety gear she is wearing, she would have more than likely taken a step in a section of the steel that would not have ended well for her. The sun is halfway below the horizon when the man finally speaks.
SS: So, Jade, what do you think?
JS: It’s the best birthday present ever. Thanks, dad.
SS: Are you coming to Hawaii to watch me next week?
Jade ponders this for a minute before replying, with eagerness in her eyes.
JS: Definitely. I want to be there when my father wins his first WFWF gold.
SS: If, Jade, if.
JS: What are you talking about, father?
SS: I’m just not sure at the moment. McGurk is above any other competitor I’ve faced here in the WFWF. Reverend Shadow still thinks I need to prove myself, and if I lose here, what then? If I can’t defeat the Revolution’s top player, how can Vice, Blaze and myself hope to defeat the Revolution?
JS: Willpower, father. You said once before that if a man has willpower, he cannot fail. You can take the band you’re listening to right now, for example. Metallica started off with a drive to succeed and went straight to the top. They didn’t begin losing their touch until they were in the Big Four. That meant they were the top. Once you get to the top, you can afford to start losing your touch. But not until then. That means you will get consistently better until you become World Champion, at which point you will get slightly worse with every match, except maybe one or two in which you might have a good showing.
SS: Thankyou for the confidence, Jade.
JS: No problem, father. Think about the animal’s presence, too. McGurk and Shadow have cornered you into a situation in which you cannot afford to lose. The animal is likely to be let out when you fight next week, providing it doesn’t escape when you play tonight.
SS: That might be a problem, too. There’s one part that I just can’t figure out how to work my fingers around.
JS: Here, where is it? I’ll show you how.
The scene fades out for now, as more and more people start coming up the bridge to join Skyler Striker and his daughter Jade.
11:58 pm
The scene atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge is frantic, wires running everywhere and pyrotechnicians making sure everything is in working order. Almost everyone deserts the top of the bridge by the last minute of 2006, save for Skyler, his daughter Jade, and his two best friends Jayden Sarek and Dylan Ryder. The scene is busy below the bridge, with thousands of people packing the harbour to see the new year countdown. A few select people are atop the Sydney Opera House as well, and one finishes his musical act right as the clock hits 11:59. All the lights dim around the Sydney Harbour Bridge so no one can see the top and the crowd begins counting down from sixty.
Jade: Ready, father?
SS: Every time.
Jade: Ready, Dylan, Jayden?
DR/JS: Ready!
The crowd reach ten and the numbers get louder every time.
10..
9..
8..
7..
6..
5..
4..
3..
2..
1..
Instead of everyone shouting ‘happy new year’, however, two helicopter guided spotlights point everyone’s attention to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the various pyro exploding around it as two massive guitar chords suddenly pound out, along with the sound of a large ringing bell. The spotlights show Skyler Striker standing at the front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, in front of over one hundred thousand Sydney dwellers, guitar strapped on and microphone in front as Jade provides bass guitar, Dylan provides drums, and Jayden does lead guitar. The guitar chords repeat themselves a few times before Skyler and his band delve into Metallica’s ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’. By the end of the song, the crowd are cheering wildly and Skyler’s band leave the bridge via the tour exit as another band takes their place.
Jade: See, father? You just played in front of over a hundred thousand people and did it well. What is any different about facing McGurk on Felo-De-Se?
SS: Nothing, I suppose. I’m confident I can beat him now.
Jade: Why now and not before?
SS: Because I realised something looking down at the crowd. McGurk is just a regular person, like every one of them. And I know from being able to play a world famous song at one of the biggest stages I could get to that I am not an ordinary person.
Skyler and Jade eventually reach the bottom of the bridge and are met by an eager camera crew.
Interviewer: Skyler Striker, hey! Great job up there. Any words for us on 2007?
Skyler thinks about it for a few seconds, and Jade can be heard muttering lightly ‘don’t say anything stupid’. Skyler looks up with the idea implanted in his mind.
SS: Yeah, I got something for you. Make sure you enjoy the year, because it’s going to be big. Before the first month is even over, I’m going to have played music to over a hundred thousand people and become a champion by defeating Wayne McGurk on Felo-De-Se next week.
Interviewer: Ah yes, your wrestling match. Any words for McGurk?
SS: Of course. McGurk, you’d better be ready to play. If the Reverend wants me to prove myself, then this is the last test. Nothing is going to stop my from my drive to win. That’s all it comes down to. I have the willpower to make it happen, and you don’t. Simple as that. See you next week, McGurk.
Skyler leaves the interviewing stage and Jade follows him leaving the camera crew happy they have actually got something from him. The scene ends with a shot of the new year’s partiers going wild in Sydney.
It's the last time you will
-excerpt from “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Metallica
6:34 pm, December 31, 2006
The scene begins atop a mass of carefully placed steel girders and screws. Looking through the gaps in the girders, one would be able to see various different types of road underneath – cars, trams, bicycles, trains, footpaths among them. Looking to the left of the steel, you would see a city, and just below on the left, a strangely shaped white building which seems to jut out in all directions. Looking right, one would see a traffic jam, cars piled up for miles at the toll booth during rush hour. The breeze flows nicely over where we are, the warm dusk air bringing a calm atmosphere with it. Atop the steel are a man and a small girl. The man is dressed in maroon pants with a tear down each side and with an unbuttoned black shirt, which floats every time the breeze comes through. He wears a pair of sunglasses, which seem unnecessary in the dusk light, but nonetheless they cover his red eyes. The man is not startled when a loud boat horn comes and fills the whole harbour, as the iPod connected to his belt is turned up rather loud playing rock songs, and the altitude reduces the sound somewhat. The girl, on the other hand, is completely shocked by it, and were it not for the safety gear she is wearing, she would have more than likely taken a step in a section of the steel that would not have ended well for her. The sun is halfway below the horizon when the man finally speaks.
SS: So, Jade, what do you think?
JS: It’s the best birthday present ever. Thanks, dad.
SS: Are you coming to Hawaii to watch me next week?
Jade ponders this for a minute before replying, with eagerness in her eyes.
JS: Definitely. I want to be there when my father wins his first WFWF gold.
SS: If, Jade, if.
JS: What are you talking about, father?
SS: I’m just not sure at the moment. McGurk is above any other competitor I’ve faced here in the WFWF. Reverend Shadow still thinks I need to prove myself, and if I lose here, what then? If I can’t defeat the Revolution’s top player, how can Vice, Blaze and myself hope to defeat the Revolution?
JS: Willpower, father. You said once before that if a man has willpower, he cannot fail. You can take the band you’re listening to right now, for example. Metallica started off with a drive to succeed and went straight to the top. They didn’t begin losing their touch until they were in the Big Four. That meant they were the top. Once you get to the top, you can afford to start losing your touch. But not until then. That means you will get consistently better until you become World Champion, at which point you will get slightly worse with every match, except maybe one or two in which you might have a good showing.
SS: Thankyou for the confidence, Jade.
JS: No problem, father. Think about the animal’s presence, too. McGurk and Shadow have cornered you into a situation in which you cannot afford to lose. The animal is likely to be let out when you fight next week, providing it doesn’t escape when you play tonight.
SS: That might be a problem, too. There’s one part that I just can’t figure out how to work my fingers around.
JS: Here, where is it? I’ll show you how.
The scene fades out for now, as more and more people start coming up the bridge to join Skyler Striker and his daughter Jade.
11:58 pm
The scene atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge is frantic, wires running everywhere and pyrotechnicians making sure everything is in working order. Almost everyone deserts the top of the bridge by the last minute of 2006, save for Skyler, his daughter Jade, and his two best friends Jayden Sarek and Dylan Ryder. The scene is busy below the bridge, with thousands of people packing the harbour to see the new year countdown. A few select people are atop the Sydney Opera House as well, and one finishes his musical act right as the clock hits 11:59. All the lights dim around the Sydney Harbour Bridge so no one can see the top and the crowd begins counting down from sixty.
Jade: Ready, father?
SS: Every time.
Jade: Ready, Dylan, Jayden?
DR/JS: Ready!
The crowd reach ten and the numbers get louder every time.
10..
9..
8..
7..
6..
5..
4..
3..
2..
1..
Instead of everyone shouting ‘happy new year’, however, two helicopter guided spotlights point everyone’s attention to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the various pyro exploding around it as two massive guitar chords suddenly pound out, along with the sound of a large ringing bell. The spotlights show Skyler Striker standing at the front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, in front of over one hundred thousand Sydney dwellers, guitar strapped on and microphone in front as Jade provides bass guitar, Dylan provides drums, and Jayden does lead guitar. The guitar chords repeat themselves a few times before Skyler and his band delve into Metallica’s ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’. By the end of the song, the crowd are cheering wildly and Skyler’s band leave the bridge via the tour exit as another band takes their place.
Jade: See, father? You just played in front of over a hundred thousand people and did it well. What is any different about facing McGurk on Felo-De-Se?
SS: Nothing, I suppose. I’m confident I can beat him now.
Jade: Why now and not before?
SS: Because I realised something looking down at the crowd. McGurk is just a regular person, like every one of them. And I know from being able to play a world famous song at one of the biggest stages I could get to that I am not an ordinary person.
Skyler and Jade eventually reach the bottom of the bridge and are met by an eager camera crew.
Interviewer: Skyler Striker, hey! Great job up there. Any words for us on 2007?
Skyler thinks about it for a few seconds, and Jade can be heard muttering lightly ‘don’t say anything stupid’. Skyler looks up with the idea implanted in his mind.
SS: Yeah, I got something for you. Make sure you enjoy the year, because it’s going to be big. Before the first month is even over, I’m going to have played music to over a hundred thousand people and become a champion by defeating Wayne McGurk on Felo-De-Se next week.
Interviewer: Ah yes, your wrestling match. Any words for McGurk?
SS: Of course. McGurk, you’d better be ready to play. If the Reverend wants me to prove myself, then this is the last test. Nothing is going to stop my from my drive to win. That’s all it comes down to. I have the willpower to make it happen, and you don’t. Simple as that. See you next week, McGurk.
Skyler leaves the interviewing stage and Jade follows him leaving the camera crew happy they have actually got something from him. The scene ends with a shot of the new year’s partiers going wild in Sydney.
