Quote:Rain & Snow start in the ring, they were there when we opened the show and the pyro went off but nobody noticed. Ready To Go by Republica hits the speakers and Olive Pendershore, emerges from the entrance, to be greeted by an alluring, transcendent mixture of lights, smoke and explosions, combined. The crowd gives a generous pop of enthusiasm. However, Olive is unfazed. She simply walks steely-eyed to the ring, barely noticing or engaging anyone or anything, she eventually climbs the steel steps and enters the ring, via stepping through the middle and top ropes. From there, she takes her position within the ring and awaits the start of the match. Comes in riding a clydesdale with a corncob pipe in his mouth, twirling a lasso high above his head. He rides the horse down the ramp and around the ring, back to the end of the ramp, jumps off, smacks the horse in the ass and the horse runs up the ramp, returning to its place backstage. Then Brian tosses his lasso in a corner and rolls into the ring under the bottom rope, gets up and waits for the fight to start. The goes to sound, but the ref is interrupted by Rain who askes if this could be a tornado tag match instead. The ref raises an eyebrow, looks to Pendershore and Storm who nod and the ref allows it. He goes to sound bell once more but is stopped by Rain and Snow again who ask if the match could instead be turned into a cage match! With barbwire along the top and weapons lining the cage walls. The ref simply says no and goes to sound the bell. BUT is interrupted once more! Storm and Pendershore groan as the crowd begin to boo.

Rain and Snow start to say the ref is doing a great job and understand that he has a job to do but ask instead if they could be replaced by another duo of wrestlers, most likely friends of theirs. This is the point where the referee headbutts Rain and stunners Snow to a large pop from the crowd, he signals the bell. Brian Storm and Olive Pendershore laugh as Rain and Snow bumble around already dazed. Storm goes under the ring to retrieve his lasso; Olive springs into action with a double clothesline knocking down the pair. Storm re-enters the ring and places his lasso onto the top turnbuckle. Olive picks up Rain and throws his towards Brian who greets him with a 'howdy' before throwing him back down with a belly to belly suplex! Olive grabs Snow's hair and... GREAT EXPECTATIONS! Slamming Snow hard into the mat, on the other side of the ring Storm with... SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY! Foot stomp, followed by an uppercut, then a spinning backfist, that goes into a mule kick. Opponent is on all fours by now. Brian looks to the audience, nodding his head and laughing. He then puts his ass by the opponent's face, releasing the nastiest fart of the day. Which causes the opponent to flop over and fall on his back. Presenting the opportunity for the Yokozuna sitting pin. The team of Pendershore and Storm pin the others. 1... 2... 3!!! Winners - Olive Pendshore & Brian Storm! A strong debut from Brian Storm and another good match from Pendershore. The crowd pop huge as the two celebrate in the ring, but Storm isn't done! He grabs his lasso and brings Rain & Snow to the center of the ring before hog-tieing them, slinging them over his shoulder and placing them onto the back of his horse. Strom then slaps the horse's caboose and The Perfect Storm and carried out of the arena at speed hopefully to the nearest glue factory.

Hicksville, Alabama, 04-26-19, 04:20pm


Kid Kool was gone. Dead. Nothing but a memory. Snow and Rain had planted a bullet in his head and heart and FINALLY the person who'd been bringing the XWF down had been buried. The brother/sister tandem of The Perfect Storm were now truly ready to battle Luna & BigD. There was no chance in hell they would lose now, no one weighing them down, no excuses if they won... this was the moment they'd been waiting for for quite some time. Finally, Rain & Snow would be taken seriously. And with all of the murders that had taken place on live XWF tv, they knew this was just another step in the right direction. Snow was in her double-wide trailer, feet propped up on her messy, bug-infested coffee table. Snow lifts a can of beer off the tarnished table, gulping it down in one drink, before crushing it on her head and tossing it back on the table. She's watching BigD's latest piece on the XWF Network; "My First Impression". She watches as the industry vet mocks her, Rain, and the recently deceased 'Kid Fool'. She watches as D ridicules her and her bro, calling them 'The Imperfect Storm' and 'Mortal Kombat Characters'. The redneck lezzie shakes her head, face-palming, before turning her attention to the camera.

"So... Biggie. I hope you enjoyed yer victory over VV and Apoc. Should cushion the blow when me an' my big bro drop you on yer fuckin' neck like the bag ah trash ya are. See... ya ain't lookin' at the same 'Snow'. This here's the ral-fuckin'-deal, Sarah Gordon, The Snow Storm herself. The death of Big Dan, in the flesh. Ya wanna run yer jaw 'bout how we ain't gunna be nothin' but a couple roadkill sammiches on the street, but bitch, this chick right here gunna take yer throat, squeeze it till the purple and red fills yer fat fuckin' face, and I'mma make sure you join KK, not breathin' out one more gasp of air till they dig a hole in the dirt an' bury ya there, till yer nothin; more than a pile ah dust an' bones. BigBitch, I got you locked in my sights an' I ain't gunna let go till yer name is on the list ah people the Snow Storm has crushed intah the ground. I'm gunna take muh arm, blast ya with a few forearms to the face, knock yer teeth back with a couple pairs a knuckles to the mush, an' I'm gonna make sure you remember who the hell I am. I ain't no damn joke, and neither is Reeve. You've got one day from now tah get ready, tah prepare for the worst damn beatin' ah yer life. I'm gunna take my size 13 boots and shove 'em so far up yer ass you'll be fartin' out snowflakes till Santy Claus visits yer shack. I don't care how big you think you are, I don't care how powerful or strong, or how long it's been since you kickstarted yer career in this here industry. Rain and I will be the end of you. We'll be the final note for you AND yer lilly-livered tag partner Luna Hightower. And THAT's the Cold Snow Truth, BAM!!! XD "


Meanwhile, nearby in Auburn [where Savage takes place], Rain is hanging in his motel room with his newly reunited lover, Tony Santiani. Rain sits cross-legged on Tony's lap, as he rests his head on Tony's shoulder. Tony speaks;

Tony: I can't believe what happened in you and Snow's match, Reevie. That jerk Brian Storm let out a big ol' blast ah gas in yer face, Olive woman-handled Sarah.... what'cha gonna do tah get back on the right path??

Rain: Well hun, I feel like I'm getting closer to squashing the fear and ring-rust... I feel like I'm FINALLY ready to step into that ring with my gorgeous, dazzling boots and stomp BigD and Luna into the CANVAS!!!! Snow and I are gonna storm on those chumps like thunder and lightning!!!

Tony: Ya been listenin' tah to that John Cena album I got'cha last Christmas, haven't cha Reevie-kins??

Rain: ....Yeah. >.<

Tony: Luna an' D seem tah be an even bigg-ah threat then them otha' two chump-stains... ya sure ya can handle this, mi amore??

Rain: I don't know.... I'm just glad we offed that bitch Kid Kool, he was soooo holding us back, like, ohmigaw, y'know?? >__<

Tony: Totally, I think the Exx-Dubbya-Eff saw him as a bigg-ah joke than they did you!! XD

Rain: ... That is so NOT funny!!! >:^(

Tony: Heheh, just bustin' ya balls, Reevie.:P

Rain: I'll bust YOUR balls.... ;)

Tony: ....meet me in the bedroom.

Rain: I'm there. ^___^ <333


Tony heads to the bedroom, while Rain pulls out his cellphone and begins speaking into the tiny camera.

Rain: Soooo... first off, D? I see you tried to pick up the pieces after I dropped MasterMind... but did you win? No. Nope, you lost honey, and you're still without a golden strap, but in only a few days, I'll have gold around my lovely waist, and so will Snow, as we DESTROY Apex for those tag titles. You can boast all you want, hun, but it still won't do you any good. And it won't get you anywhere except for a burial plot right next to Kid 'Fool' as you call him. My dear, I don't want to dissapoint you, but you're about to be woken from ths dream you have of being atop the XWF mountain. I am the RULER of the Realm of Xtreme, no matter what the dick sucker Peter Gilmour may have you believe. And Luna?? I'm not just the Queer of the Stone Age, I'm the Queer of the NEW Age, the Enigmatic Anomaly, the person your girlfriends AND boyfriends wanna be with!! The Queer that's sooo kyoot and hawt that I melt ice caps with my prescence!!! ....#bJealous ^__^

Rain: Oh, and D? I saw your little pep talk to Ned Flanderz, telling him how much you believe in him when everyone else doesn't... but dude? I can see right through you, all you want is to hope this kid will eek out a victory and hand-deliever the title to you. It's as simple as that brain in ur skull. And speaking of... I'm bout to take my stilletos and BASH your skull in!!! XD .... Seeya soon boiz and gurlz!!! ^____^ <333


|cut|






.................



.........



...





.......Your screen is black...before--


*STATIC*


Static slices through the screen. And then? Nothingness. For a brief moment, the vision is left in the dark... before music slowly sifts through the speakers, playing over a field of black --





A whirring sound can be heard, as the screen flashes momentarily, intercut with static. The whirring slowly intensifies, a faint buzzing reverberates, the static and flashing begin to dissipate. As the sounds continue to echo, a face can almost be seen forming in the static. A face covered in a long mane of hair...seemingly smiling. The pace slowly, but surely begins to intensify...before a loud beat drops. The screen insantly goes black, as the song truly kicks in.

Images of gears in an old, rusty clock are displayed. Turning, and keeping The Machine churning... A countdown then begins, ticking down with every beat...

10...
9...
8...
7...
6...
5...
4...
3...
2...

As the '2' flashes before the screen, static rips through, and we find ourselves gazing into a mirror. A mirror into the past few years... every scene depicting the slow, painful destruction of the XWF from within.

"Hours...
Spiral and coil into black.
Some remembered, some forever gone..."

We watch as the most memorable matches from over the past twenty years are shown... mixed in with some of the worst.

"Tragic...
We never get them all back.
The relentless march of time must still go on..."

We then see someone once again appearing through the static..... someone VERY familiar....

"XWF… Welcome to The FUTURE! What you are looking at is the man who will be the money maker, the top dog, the marquee name for eons to come. All of you sitting in the crowd at Savage right now are going to pay your hard earned money to buy tickets to Warfare and every other XWF event, just HOPING to see me, to cheer ME, filling my pockets full of your hard-earned cash and making me into the super-fuckin'-star I DESERVE to be!!! Believe in me... or be left behind. The choice is yours..."

More visions flash across the screen. Titles won. People injured...even killed. A man leaves his two brothers... many unworthy men and women steal the world title that once meant so much..... everyone resorts to petty, childish, elementary school name-calling. Because they lack the ability to truly get under their opponent's skin without mocking gender, sexuality, race.... etc. They lack substance. This generation lacks skill, creativity, ability..... simply, they flat out suck dick. And that's why we NEED a new torchbearer.....

"The tide is turning.
Horizon's burning..."

Slowly? Change becomes clear. A New Horizon is upon us. And a coffin is begging for a nail to be driven in.

"Your days are numbered.
Your Future has crumbled."

The mirror shatters. The shards pour down in a crystal clear, 3D, HD effect...before they begin to swirl as if they were being spun in a tornado. They then scatter, and appear to rain down upon a shadow-encased roof. Early morning. The dawning of a new day.



12:30am. Saturday, April 27th, 2019
"The Awakening"


The camera slowly emerges upon a scene... the rooftop of an arena that soon would play host to one of the biggest events in XWF history, thanks to one of the most tragic yet monumental occurences in history... live and in living color. He stood there, upon the roof's side, the camera a few feet away. He gazed over the edge, at the city below... Aubern, Alabama. A city corrupted by greed, money, power, ego, jealousy and many people that think far too highly of themselves... and not highly enough of others. Much like the XWF of today..... He speaks. "...I've watched from the shadows for far too long. The past few months, I looked on. I was gone, but I KNEW...what was goin' on. Every step along my journey to a new beginning, I watched. Watching, from rooftops just like this one. Looking down from my perch, gazing upon a laptop at the action that transpired below. Just as I will tonight. But on this night? I will not be content with merely being a spectator. No, for tonight..."

The figure then turns toward the camera. Eyes hidden behind darkness and the strands of hair that sweep over his face. But a gleaming light can almost be seen, bathing him in golden rays. He steps forward, shadow still encompassing his features. But a flowing trenchcoat can be made out...a long mane of hair... And a smile. He speaks... "Tonight? Tonight calls for ACTION. 4...27...19. Remember this date, for it will be the first date in the history of a revolution... A movement that will either save...or destroy... this company. It's all up to you, the fans, the wrestlers, management...." ......He reaches into a pocket and brings out an old, worn-down pocket watch, dangling it in the air as it gleams in the moonlight. "...time only moves forward. How funny it is then, that this federation that prides itself for being so 'hardcore' and 'original' is SOOO backward and lost. All of you rely on b.s. to get your points across..."

The figure glances up at the camera with a smirk. He pockets the antique watch, before pressing onward. "My return was foretold in the stars. Not in some gossip rag, not some dirt sheet. They always twist the facts, ALWAYS get things wrong. Just like the lot of you... Never trust the words of small minds and closed hearts. XWF... I'm sure you Believe you already have a good grasp on my identity. Good for you all. You believe you have me pegged down, that the man returning is the man that lost his head once again last time he was here..... but the Truth, however? Is that when I return, I will be an entirely different man... as will those who align with me. When you speak down to me, is it your heart speaking...or a veil? A screen behind the mirror. A mask.... Only time will tell. But if you do believe in me, if you believe in us? If this IS the XWF I loved... the right people will be on board.... and the wrong? Well, as Eric Bischoff once said....... what were you thinking??"

The man runs his fingers through his hair, ala Edge... "....Thank you all. Some of us are slow learners. Some of us, slower than others. Myself included. But they say a tiger can't change his stripes? ...they're wrong. Thank you all for giving me a reason to change. Thank you ALL for pushing me to the brink of insanity, leaving me with no choice but to destroy the old me.... and to rebuild. To create a better me." With these words, he chuckles lightly to himself, before pacing a bit upon the rooftop. "A handful of days ago, you all witnessed a promo on the XWF Network detailing a new group on the Horizon. Together, we will either destroy, or save the Xtreme Wrestling Federation. It's all up to you wonderful ladies and gentlemen. We told the world, via video, that we're coming to take over. And right here, right now? I make another announcement. Tonight, LIVE, at Saturday Night Savage??..." He reaches into his trench, procuring a ticket to tonight's ppv. He holds it up to the camera... he smiles, before shoving it back in his pocket. "Right here in Aubern, in only a few moments, I will be sitting ringside, front row, best seat in the house... watching, taking in the events that go down on this night. Seated next to the men and women that will prove to be the FUTURE of this biz."


The figure steps forth....





Broken Hart appears, flanked by his four anonymous friends--





BH reaches to his mask, before removing it, revealing the face of the man who pretty much everyone had guessed hid behind the mask...





"It will be me, delievering to you, my FAITHFUL Storm-Chaserz, a moment in the XWF that will never be forgotten...." He stops in his tracks, locking his eyes on the camera. "....and it'll only be the beginning." With that, he once again chuckles softly. He returns to pacing for a moment...... "XWF, you've made me out to be a joke, time and again. But tonight? The joke is on you, and we will not stop till you FEEL the punchline... smack dab in the middle of your ugly face." He stops once more, setting his eyes dead-on with the camera. But this time, not a trace of sarcasm could be found. He glared, intently. Focused. Furious.... "Luna Hightower, BigD, tonight, you both face myself, as well as Snow and Kid Kool. I suppose that's supposed to leave me quaking in my boots. But in my eyes? Neither of you deserve to face me. I SHOULD have been main eventing this place years ago, but you people don't know true talent when you see it. These two small-timers are being treated like big-timers in a company that deserves better, dragging me into the role of curtain-jerker while rookies like Ned Gaye get undeserved title shots.... but soon? I will receive the gifts and rewards I should have had long ago. The two of you step into that ring on this night, and it will be the last time... you realize you don't belong at the top, neither of you do. But in the end? The result will be the same... and trust me. Neither of you will be happy with it."

Rain walks further into the light... as his accomplices continue glaring into the camera, their grinning masks conceilng their true emotions. "You defend a championship with honor, with respect, with pride? You prove to the WORLD you deserve what you hold within your hands. You prove the doubters wrong, the haters... you prove me wrong. You prove you belong." He then breathed in heavily. Before letting out slowly... and continuing. "...Ned, Robert? One, a joke of a contender, the other, a joke of a champion. And that pretty much goes for my 'opponents' tonight... I am a man who strays from the norm. I am a man who is confident in who I am, and if I were the two of you? I'd watch my back.... cuz I'm CONFIDENT that tonight will forever change the course of the XWF.... I am stronger and more determined than the two of you could ever hope to be. You toss the dice. Snake eyes. You're S.O.L....and you know what that means." He laughs once again to himself...before pacing a bit. "And then, we got the March Madness winner Sarah McLacklan. Boys and girls..." He stops pacing, and turns an eye to the camera. Face covered beneath long strands of hair, but eyes that pierce through. Dead-locked. "...ladies and gentlemen. This chick is another joke in a field of many, willing to cast stones but not to have them cast back. This 'woman' climbed through round after round, finally picking up the crown, and what does she do? Does she go after the Universal title? No. The Hart or TV? Nope. Maybe even the Xtreme title? No way... she went after the title she KNEW she could actually win, and that is the Anarchy title, even lower on the ladder than the Federweight or HeavyMetalWeight. Sara... keep driving people bonkers with your twitter bullshit, and watch as I shut you down too, along with all the other wastes of space in this company."

Rain smirks just a tad...

"Let's set one thing straight. Let's make ONE THING, perfectly clear. Clear as crystal. Despite what you may believe. Despite what you've been led to expect. The man that was ran into the ground before? The man that was dismantled, piece by piece, bit by bit? He is not the man that stands on this roof. He is NOT the man that will be in this arena, on this night, watching the show with ticket in hand before I CRUSH Luna and Daniel. Because this man? Is more than a man. In more ways than one. And this person, ME? The Storm?....I will be praying to Goddess. That soon, the joke we call XWF, will find the heart to return to its glory days and KILL those that have brought it down, sinking into the abyss. We will bring you all to your knees. Break you. HOBBLE you. Leave you torn assunder and strewn about...

"...because if my men don't?

"I will. Believe it."

He glares intently into the camera...before cracking a smile.

"Annnd... I thank you, also. For driving The Storm. For pushing The Storm's buttons. For degrading him. Running him down...Why, you may ask?

"You reawoke me.
iAm-- ReBorn.





"ONE Drop. That's all it will take. To leave you LAYING in a pool of your own blood. You underestimate me, you doubt me. You hold me down, while you raise inferiors like Ned to the top of the totem pole... The Truth is? You're all delusional. You are hell BENT on making me and my brethren look like fools, when YOU'RE the fools. Belittling me, making me feel as if things will always remain the same. You think I and my army won't fight back, and if they do? You'll have their number.

"Boys and girls...
You are sadly mistaken."

"People like me? People like Snow, people like Tony Santiani, we have something in common. Perhaps even moreso than she realizes. We buck the stereotype. We do what it takes to be heard. By any means necessary.

"We ARE...The Voices of the Voiceless. I step between the ropes in the name of more than the person I see in the mirror... I battle in the name of a community. MY community. My people. OUR people.

"And tonight, we are more than words. More than protests and picket signs. More than disposable commodities. MORE...than flies in your web.

"We...are...ONE. And we will rise.

"In a world of bodybuilders, Hollywood-wannabes, supermodels and carbon copied plastic mannequins?"

"...We are the exception to the rule."

"You wanna play 'king' and reign over this business? We CARE about this business. The business that gave us hope in our youths. The business that made us Believe. When we do something for this industry, for this company? We do it for them. When we say something, we MEAN IT. And while people like Sarah Lacklan and Tommy Wish would sell their own mothers down the river if it'd mean one more title in their collecton?

"...I wouldn't sell my soul for all the gold in Fort Knox..."

He then began to inch closer and closer to the camera, his fierce gaze piercing the lens, as he glared through his flowing locks.

"My court is a roundtable of men and women who don't serve me. They don't serve Vinne Lane, they don't serve Shane . They serve this industry. You can think of us as you will, but know this. What we do? We do for YOUR own good. That's right, Luna, Biggie...YOUR own good. Because you don't know what's best for business. You THINK you do, you SAY you do. But you don't. We fight so that this business may persevere. We grew UP...on this business. We didn't have a THING handed to us, we grew up on streets just like those I stand above right now. We fought every day of our lives, scraped, clawed, busted our ASSES. And when we got home from school? We had to find a solace. We found wrestling, we found a world we could escape into and out of the hell we called reality.

"We fought Valiantly. We were Warriors. And we still are."

The figure paused for a moment, before turning his sight toward the night sky. The stars shone brightly upon him, illuminating his features and casting him in the light piercing through the dark... his four peers encircle him, gazing into the camera's lens...

"...doubt us. Go on. Doubt us, overlook us, look DOWN on us. Spit on us, kick us aside, USE US. Tell us to play by YOUR rules, YOUR list of demands. Try to conform us. Try to confine us into your little box. Try to break us down and fit us into YOUR mold. Try to assimilate us, and when we refuse? Cast us aside like garbage. Tell us how futile our battle is...

"TRY...and hold us down."

He then breathed in deep, once more...before letting it out.

"For if you do?
We...will...rise.
Beat us down,
Knock us to the ground?
And we will rise.

"BEG for us to pack our bags and go home.
We won't.
We. WILL. Rise.

Stack the odds against us,
Chew us up, spit us out,
Leave us for DEAD?"

As that last word left his mouth, the figure turned his eye sharply to the camera. Despite the cover of hair and shadow, an unbridled fury visibly resided in his eyes. Rain stared through a veil of darkness, directly into the camera...


"We.
Will.
Rise.


"Just call us The Iron Bank.
Because we WILL have our due.

...Bring an umbrella."


*STATIC*


















This is the main frame

5...

From here survival is up to you

4...

Choose your decisions wisely

3....

Change starts with us

2....

Remember, if you don't stand for something? You might fall for anything, because...

1...

"His End. Is Where iBegin."


.....

"It only takes one drop.
The preceding announcement has been brought to you by... The Storm.
Ladies and gentlemen of the Xtreme Wrestling Federation....

"It's Showtime."


“Some people are afraid of what they might find if they try to analyze themselves too much,
But you have to crawl into your wounds to discover where your fears are. Once the bleeding starts, the cleansing can begin.”

~ + ~

“It’s the Iron Bank. … You can’t run from them, you can’t cheat them, you can’t sway them with excuses.

"If you owe them money, and you don't want to crumble yourself? You pay them back.”

~ T¥WiN


C://_2.B.Continued







"...it's always darkest before the dawn..."