The cruise ship, top deck by the pool. Micheal is sitting in a lounge chair wearing a pair of black and white swimming trunks, and an unbuttoned black dress shirt. He's not quite sure where the ship has docked. He doesn't really care, but it's warm enough out here, around 60 degrees or so, so we must not be near our destination yet.


“Thaddeus Duke, you claim that I have fallen for some sort of master plan that you came up with. OK sure, perhaps I did. You wanted an angry Micheal Graves, and you've gotten what you wanted, but ask yourself this question Thaddeus. I'm sure you consider yourself a military man. A general on the field of combat, correct? So is it really better military science to rile me up? Perhaps if you didn't explain your plan, and continued to ignore me. Maybe then I would have came into this match so frustrated by your apparent lack of respect that I would have made the mistakes that you seem to be counting on. However, any advantage that you may have gained by that strategy was lost the moment that you responded to me. See Thaddeus, while you were planning your next move, I was getting two moves ahead of you and you didn't even realize it. When you ignored me, and decided it best to not bother acknowledging that you were even scheduled for a match with me. You awoke something inside of me that hasn't been there for quite some time. You've noticed it, you even mentioned it as part of your master plan. So the fire is burning now, and it's burning bright my friend. You've pushed me to remember exactly who I am, even if you can't be bothered to look back a decade ago and find out. You claim that this is a new generation, and I agree, but then you go on to say that what ever accomplishments that I had ten or more years ago no longer matter in today's XWF. Are you dense? Everything that I've done still counts, it still matters. That's like saying if The Braid, or Steve Jason returned tomorrow that nobody would care about their past. Do you really think they would be treated like it was their first day in the XWF in that scenario? Of course not. Now don't misinterpret me, I realize that I have to earn my spot back. That's fine, I'm prepared to do just that, but make no mistake, my history matters. This isn't my first going around on this crazy ride we call XWF.

You know, when I came back. I knew I was going to kick the ever loving shit out of “The Franchise” Michael Graves. There was never any question about it. I never once stopped to wonder what my chances would be like against that guy. When I was booked to face you however, that's when I fell into a trap. Not some master plan that you had devised to gain an upper hand against me. No, this trap that I fell into was one that I had set up for myself. Like I have said previously, I've had an eye on you since I came back. I've seen what you are capable of in that ring, and I don't care if you wish to return the favor or not. I have no problem admitting how good I think you are. It truly does amaze me that you can possess the skill that you do when you are only a teenager. You still have your whole life ahead of you, and many years to only get better.

I on the other hand am not a teenager. My time as a competitor is possibly coming to an end. I figure I have 5 or so years left if I'm lucky and avoid any major injuries. Point is, I'm pretty well ripened. So where you have room to grow, I feel that I'm not only about the best that I'm going to get, but also that I'm beginning a journey on a downward slope towards retirement. Does that make me easy pickings for you? At first I thought maybe it did. I managed to get into my own head and psyche myself out, but then you lit that fire that you're so proud of. You awoke the competitor in me, and you made me realize that I'm not at the end of that journey just yet. There's still some mileage left on this body, and it just might be enough to put an over confident brat like you in his place. When you chose to dismiss me, It made me angry like you said, and while I was sitting there steaming over your lack of acknowledgment, I had a few shots and I realized something. I realized that even though you may process a lot of talent in that ring... Just who in the fuck is Thaddeus Duke to ignore Micheal Graves!? You wanna sit there are talk about how I've not done anything since returning to the XWF. How I've only beaten a man that you claim to have broken before I even got a shot at him. OK, I'll go with that, but what exactly have you done here that makes you feel like you are so God Damned superior to me? What have you done that justifies in your mind that you are somehow so far out of my league? You've won some matches sure, but who did you beat? The way I see it, according to you, everyone that you've beaten was some trash. You don't seem to have any respect for anybody that you've faced except for Doctor D'Ville, and despite any cockamamie bull shit that you come up with to try and somehow spin that loss into a win, you still lost! So you've beaten some trash, and lost to some talent? That's how I'm understanding it, again... according to what your saying. Well Thaddeus, I'm not some trash! I admittedly may have lost a step over the years, but I'm becoming more and more confident that I still have enough in the tank to whip your ass!

Speaking of The Doc, and how losing to him was some honor and has propelled you to the top of the rankings for one of the most prestigious titles in the XWF... I never said that you didn't look good in your showing against Dr. D'Ville. Those words never once passed through my lips. The fact is you did look good, and you know it. That showing is also indeed what seems to have inspired he almighty Paul Heyman to rank you as the number one contender to the X-Treme Title as well. However, you need to realize two things Thaddeus. Firstly, you had 4 straight victories prior to that match, and secondly beating Louis D'Ville would have done so much more for you than that loss ever would. Heh, I know... Duh right?.. but you see, the point that I made earlier wasn't that you had nothing to gain from losing to D'Ville in an admittedly hard fought match. The point was this, if you focused a little less of your energy on then Illumenatus business, and a little more on your career in the XWF, then you could achieve far more. See Thaddeus? That makes sense right? You're able to comprehend that logic, and you know full well that you have too many distractions to fully focus your attention on the task at hand. Or perhaps you don't comprehend that. I can almost see you right now trying to justify how you are so well versed in the squared circle, that you can handle your business in Connecticut and still out perform everyone here. It would be hard for me to argue that too, seeing has you did beat everyone here... until you didn't. As far as your precious number one contender-ship. Check those rankings again son. I'm trailing behind you at number 3, and all I did was beat some scrub that you broke for me right? Well after our match at Warfare, when you drop down the rankings and I take your spot as the number 1 contender, I'll get to enjoy watching you try and explain to everyone hoe even though you lost, and even though I left you a bloody mess, you still somehow won. Participation awards were created for kids like you!

I'm focused on our match. Nothing else matters to me. Right now, in this moment, there is only one thing that keeps running through my mind day in and day out, finding a way to defeat you. You said that neither God nor Satan could stop your victory march. Well Thaddeus Duke, I want you to realize something right now. I am neither God nor Satan, I am Micheal Graves and I'm real. I'm real, and I'm standing right here offering up proof of that existence. So you play your games with the Illumenatus, negotiate your peace with the Catholic Church, and plan your war with the Islamic State. While you are doing all of that, I'm going to be plotting my war with Thaddeus Duke. I'm going to expose your weaknesses, and then capitalize on them to secure a victory over you. I'm not going to do that just to ensure my victory. I'm going to do it as an act of friend ship as well. Just as you did me the favor of snapping me out of that dark cesspool of self pity that I had fallen into. I am going to do this to force you to wake up and see that my words bring truth. Winners become champions after first tasting defeat. That's what should have happened with you when the Doctor beat you, but you found a way to rationalize that defeat into a sort of victory. So since you have such a low opinion of me, I'll hand you a loss that even you wouldn't be able to justify. Maybe then you will awaken to the real world, and become the Champion that you should be.”

Micheal Smiles as he raises a glass of champagne in a toasting motion towards the camera.


“Here's to friendship Thaddeus.”

Micheal brings the glass to his mouth, taking a small sip as the scene fades to black.

.


..


…


Or at least the cameras quit filming. Micheal sits the glass of champagne down on the bar and pulls his cell phone out of his pocket. It's been a few days since he has last spoken to his wife. Out at sea, there isn't any cell reception. So Micheal thinks to himself that it may be a good idea to check in before we pull anchor. Micheal pulls up his contacts and scrolls down to Stephanie's name.

:Ring Ring:


:Ring Ring:


:Ring Ring:


:Ring Ring:


:Ring Ring:


“Hello”

Oh she picked up! Micheal was beginning to worry.

“Hey babe, what are you doing?”

“Just tending to our kids while daddy plays wrestler.”

Micheal lets out a short breathed chuckle. He loves this girl, but she can be a smart ass sometimes.

“How are the kids anyway?”

“Darren's suspended from school for fighting.”

Micheal's shocked to hear this. Darren is only ten, and up until now has never been in trouble at school, much less been in a fight. As a father though, he has to ask...

“Did he win?”

“I don't know, I didn't ask. Going by the black eye that he's sporting I'd say no though.”

Micheal is saddened the hear this. He feels like it's his fault because he has never really shown his son how to defend himself. He never really thought about it. Darren doesn't get into fights.

“So what was this fight over anyway, a girl?”

“Micheal, he's only ten, I don't think he'll be fighting over girls for a few years yet.”

Micheal thinks to himself how he was fighting over a girl at that age.

“He said that a boy at school was taunting him about how you're a... how did he put it? Sucky wrestler, and you wear gay makeup.”

Micheal sighs long and hard as he rest his forehead in his hand.

“Kids will be kids. They can be nasty little insensitive bastards, but Darren should have known better than to start a fight over something like that.”

There is a long silence on the line. It's now that Micheal realizes that Stephanie may be blaming him for their son getting suspended.

“Let me talk to him.”

Micheal can barely hear his wife call for their son to come answer the phone. About 20 or 30 seconds pass before there is a voice on the other end of the line again.

“Daddy?”

Micheal perks up at the sound of his sons voice.

“Hey buddy, how are you doing?”

“I got in a fight yesterday, moms pretty mad about it.”

Micheal smirks while nodding his head in agreement. He's fully aware how mad mommy is.

“I heard about that. Why did you start a fight?

“I didn't start it! Bobby Evans Started it when he said that you suck!”

Micheal's feeling mixed emotions right now. On one hand he's happy that his son loves and respects him enough to try and defend his honor from a school mate, but on the other hand he also hasn't raised his kids to fight. They've always been taught to walk away from situation like that, because no good ever comes from fighting. Micheal realizes the hypocrisy of teaching a child those values when their father has spent a life time making his career as a fighter.

“Darren, what have we told you to do when someone tries to pick a fight with you?”

“But dad, I couldn't let him talk about you like that!”

Micheal remains firm in his tone. Not mean, but firm.

“Darren, what have we told you to do?”

Darren suddenly sounds defeated in his response.

“Walk away and find an adult.”

This has a hard impact on Micheal. Micheal was never raised this way. His mother always told him that if someone tries to start some shit with you, you better be the one who finishes it. Micheal's mother was loving, but a bit harsh with her wording sometimes. Once Micheal fell and skinned his knee. He was crying and looking to his mother for comfort. Her response was, “Stop crying before I give you something to cry about, I'm not raising a .” Obviously not the type of parent that Micheal wants to be. At the same time however...

“Forget that....”

Darren sounds shocked as he replies.

“Huh?”

Forget all of that walk away nonsense right now son. If somebody is picking a fight with you, you have to stand up to them. If you don't, they will never let up.”

“So I'm not in trouble?”

“No son, your not in trouble.”

“Micheal! What are you telling him!?”

Micheal deduces that Stephanie must have taken the phone from Darren. Probably right when he asked if he wasn't in trouble.

“Stephanie calm down...”

But she cuts him off.

“Micheal Alexander Graves, don't tell me to calm down! We've agreed that we don't want our kids fighting, and now you are on the phone telling him that it's okay!?”

“I agreed with you at the time, but I'm not sure that I really agree with now.”

“So you just want him going to school and punching kids in the face over stupid meaningless insults?”

Micheal, a little frustrated, shakes his head disagreeing with what she just said.

“No, but I also don't want him to become a target to bullying because he thinks that he will get in trouble if he does stand up for himself.”

“Micheal, he wasn't in any danger, some kid just made a discouraging remark about you as a wrestler.”

“Yes and if he did nothing it would have continued. More insults and and making fun of him at first. Then, after he proved to be an easy target, things would have gotten worse. Even if it never escalated into physical violence, the emotional scarring would have been awful. So yes, he was in danger, and yes I am proud of him for standing up for himself, and NO he is not in any trouble! If we need to hash this out together when I come back home, then we will, but until then show our son a little support for deciding not to become a victim.”

There's silence now on the line for what feels like an eternity.

“Okay, we'll talk about this when you're home.”

“Okay, I have to get off here. We'll be setting sail again soon enough... I love you.”

“... I love you too.”

Stephanie hangs up first, and very quickly I might add. Micheal knows that this conversation is far from over, but it's a future Micheal problem. For now he only has to focus on defeating Thaddeus.