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X-treme Wrestling Federation »   » Archives » Leap of Faith 2020 PPV
Mastering My Own Mind
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thewizard Offline
Wizard, The



XWF FanBase:
Kids, disabled people, casual fans

(fighting the odds; helps others; disliked by most adult male fans)


#1
07-25-2020, 09:26 PM

“Okay, so he lost some matches…”

It was hard to believe. A professed truth without visual evidence always is. But Mof had never led me astray, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

“How...how many? A few? Ten, maybe?”

Mof hesitated. That wasn’t a good sign. I had a good feel for guessing. His reaction told me I wasn’t even close.

Sensing my gut becoming uneasy, I upped the number, “A third of his matches?”

Again, Mof’s tongue remained tied.

“Half?!” I was growing desperate. The unthinkable, my hero being a 50/50 competitor had suddenly devolved into the desired outcome. I was clinging to hope.

Edward couldn’t speak. His compassion for me held the words. So, he pulled out his phone and located a professional wrestling website with recorded wins and losses.

Trembling, he handed it over. I snared the phone away and looked. I blinked. I looked again. I shook my head. Surely this couldn’t be true...surely I was tripping.

No matter how hard I tried, the record remained the same.

“He’s under five hundred by, like, twenty matches?”

Mof nodded.

“SON OF A BITCH!!” I threw his phone across the room. It shattered into a wall. My foot kicked a giant dent into the nearest locker. Spinning around, I slammed my fist through the wall.

“Kid, please…”

Ripping my hand from the hole in the wall, I turned it toward Mof. He scattered. And then, I heard it.

“What a move by Mastermind! Once again, he’s mastered his opponent’s mind!”

What happened next I’d call a blackout...except all I recall seeing was red.

---

The kid was angry. I ran for cover. Peeking around the lockers, I watched him jump up, rip the TV from its base, and bash it into the ground. His hand instantly violated the VCR, ripping the previously ‘stuck’ VHS tape from its comfy haven. The act tore the top of the tape to shreds, rendering it unviewable.

While scared. I was somewhat impressed. If he could harness that kind of rage inside the ring, he’d have been a star. Sadly, he just wasn’t ready...not then.

---

When I came to, I had what remained of the Mastermind tape in my possession. I could have destroyed it but...something told me to hold on. A refresher over how foolish I was. A reminder to keep people from tricking me. From mastering my mind.

At that point, I was done. Reaching for my stuff, I marched out of the locker room. Emerging into the gym, I found snickering and stares soaked with derision. I moved to leave – but stopped. I dropped my bag. There was one item remaining.

The trainer. I headed his way. I blamed him for all of this. That tape. Putting me in that position.

“What? Are you gonna hit me?” he asked.

And, I did. Right in the face. He collapsed to the ground. The room was stunned. With the tape in one hand and fury in the other, I visually challenged anybody to step up. None would.

I made my exit, picking up my bag, and reaching for the door.

“I fucking quit!” I screamed as if they hadn’t already grasped the fact.

---

The water reached the halfway point. I wafted, rotating various degrees at random intervals hoping an escape would unveil itself. There was none. I was trapped.

“Say it.” That hideous voice announced. “Admit it.”

I know what he wanted. But I wasn’t going to give it to him.

“You’re gonna have to drown me before I admit anything!” my voice shouted back. I dove, submerged, swam around holding my breath, poking at the slick walls, trying to find a crevice, a crack...SOMETHING.

Hopelessly impenetrable. Feeling my breath all but exhausted, I resurfaced, gasping for air. It felt different. A sense of claustrophobia set in. I reached skyward and felt it – the ceiling.

“Oh shit.”

---

Slouched in a chair that had has seen way too much Mof-ass, Edward gazed at the clock. It was nearly six in the evening of the LONGEST DAY he’d ever experienced. Father Thyme messed with the television remote, trying to find something to watch. The Wizard remained in bed, looking a little green around the gills.

“I knew it was too good to be true,” Mof spoke to nobody in particular, “reconnected with the kid. Got him focused...ascending the ranks of the best promotion in the world and then...BAM. Gone. Dead. It’s all over – again.”

Father Thyme settled on a station for a moment. The clear cut voice of an entertainer spoke out, “So you’re adding some oregano to the dish?”

“No...no...NO!” Father Thyme lamented, angrily changing the channel. “Always oregano. Where’s the thyme? These cooking shows aren’t worth the time it takes to find them.”

Noticing the passion in Father Thyme’s voice, Mof sat up. “Say...you wouldn’t be interested in perhaps attaining my services as your wrestling manager slash dating coach? You see what I’ve done for The Wizard.”

There was an awkward pause. They both looked at the shape the Wizard was in, currently. “Err, well, before the LARPing debacle...which totally wasn’t my idea, by the way.”

Father Thyme eyed Mof. Edward stood and reached, removing the remote from his grasp. He flipped through the stations like a pro, landing on another cooking show.

“And what’s that you’re adding into the dish?” another professional voice sounded out an inquiry.

“Why it’s thyme!”

“Thyme, you say?”

“Yes, a spice that often goes overlooked. It’s great for just about anything.”

Father Thyme turned, eyeing Mof. Edward ‘pipe bomb’ dropped the remote and returned to his chair, extending both arms, “What do you say?”

“I think we can work something out,” the impressed Father Thyme replied.

Meanwhile, The Wizard lay dying a few feet away as they struck a deal.

---

My head was pressed against the top of the incoming ceiling. I felt a sense of treachery. I couldn’t explain it but the vibe of someone doing dealings behind my back to my face was prevalent.

The aura of my own Mastermind fought against my other feelings.

“Forget about treachery. It means nothing. Your mind is mine!”

“Fuck you, Mastermind!” my voice screamed, the top of my head now pressed against the ceiling. The water was right beneath my chin. Soon, I’d be gone.

Anger swelled within. Anger over my plight. Anger over my inability to fight back. Anger aimed at the notion I was about to die via drowning at the hands of my nemesis before our epic bout – my chance at revenge.

“Ahh!” My voice echoed. I threw my fist upward as hard as I could

CRACK.

Did that fucking thing just crack?

Looking up, I noticed it had, in fact, cracked. So, I did it again, and again...and again. More cracks. More cracks. Even more cracks.

So many cracks that it turned into – The Crackening!

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

A $5 whore’s delight.

“What...what are you doing?” My Own Mastermind’s voice rang out, for the first time exhibiting a lack of control.

“I’m getting the FUCK out of here!”

I shoved upward with both hands as hard as I could. The water surpassed my chin and invaded both nostrils. One final shove and BOOM! I broke through, climbing as quickly as I could from the cube full of water.

Standing atop the previous room I raised both arms in jubilation.

“Hell yea!” my voice shouted. “Fuck you, Mastermind! FUCK! YOU!” I fired off double birds.

His aura diminished...but lingered, slightly.

The celebration stopped. Atop the cube, I looked around...more darkness.

I felt his aura begin to re-assemble. A terrible idea formed within.

Was it over?

Unable to trust my memory, my own mind, I rushed over and felt around for the hole I’d recently made. It was gone.

“What the fuck…” my voice trailed off.

His aura came over me...I could feel it grasping my shoulders before tightening around my neck. Slowly turning, tears formed in my eyes.

“No...you have got to be kidding me…”

I didn’t want to open them. Not like it would have mattered. I knew what I was facing.

“But, I beat you...I used my anger to escape your final challenge…”

His voice didn’t have to speak. His aura informed me anger was not the way. It had merely weighted the plight.

Opening my eyes...I saw it. THAT STUPID FUCKING THINKING CHAIR.

[Image: chairfirst.jpg]

Dropping to both knees, I pounded the slick floor beneath me. “No...no...NO!!!” my voice cried. I was trapped in a loop. The shittiest loop in the history of loops. I’d tried everything I could to escape...but I kept winding back at the same spot.

Was this my eternity?

Had my mind been forever mastered?

[Image: chair1.jpg]

“Yes,” his voice answered as his stare gazed upon me.

My body went limp. I allowed it to sprawl on the ground, ready for My Own Mastermind to take me. I was spent.

---

Returning home upon finding the truth, I hadn’t given thought to anything other than happiness awaiting my depressing existence.

I was wrong.

Shawna burst from the door before I had a chance to reach it. Nonplussed, I watched her march past me with a bag of her belongings slung over her shoulder. She’d removed all her Mastermind items.

“Shawna?” My voice followed her, “where are you going?”

She paused, measuring her words. Sharpening them. “I’m sorry. But I can’t be in a relationship with a guy who worships a fucking loser.”

What? How did she know?

Turning, I saw the pure, raw condescension in her eyes. “Only losers worship losers. No wonder you’re not getting anywhere in life. Don’t contact me, ever.”

My voice crawled up my throat. I attempted to put some words together but mental malfunctions prevented a final plea. She was gone before I had a chance to gather the pieces forming the situation.

Crushed, I entered my apartment. A place once teeming with life, now dreadfully empty.

That’s when I saw it.

The envelope Eddie left. Shawna opened it. She filtered its contents.

Without boring you on every item within, I’ll sum it up in one, laconic statement – it was filled with the truth behind Mastermind’s wrestling career.’

“What the fuck, Eddie,” I asked, rhetorically.

“I’m sorry, kid,” he replied, unexpectedly. Worried over my mental state, Mof followed me home.

Turning, holding the contents up, I pleaded through a melancholic gaze.

“I didn’t have the heart to tell you. I thought this would be easier…” his head dropped after the words left his mouth, realizing he had chosen the absolute worst path.

Laughter. The only suitable reaction for the day. Followed by rage. I threw the contents at Mof’s head, trying to decapitate him.

Wouldn’t have worked, really. They were just papers. But the intent was there.

He remained statuesque. Until I charged at him, threatening real damage. Then, he took off, scurrying out the door.

Shawna was gone.

Edward was gone.

I was alone. My life, ruined because of some shitty wrestler named Mastermind.

---

Upon striking a deal, Mof and Father Thyme heard a buzz outside. A buzz that started incoherent, barely discernible but soon turned into “WIZARD!” chants. They peeked outside The Wizard’s hospital room window and saw Fanny leading the charge.

Standing atop a car, Fanny, with a megaphone, encouraged dozens of people around her to cheer The Wizard on, hoping it might aid in his recovery.

Mof and Father Thyme shared incredulous looks.

“Come on, guys! WIZARD! WIZARD! He needs you!” Fanny had proven to be a pretty capable rally leader.

The cheers and chants grew in volume.

One female broke rank and yelled, “I LOVE YOU, WIZARD!’

Fanny’s eyes bugged. She hopped off the car and slugged the woman in the face. She’d marked her territory.

The crowd went silent. Fanny climbed back atop the car and urged the crowd to continue. But, the rally had been altered. The chanters grew louder and more active.

Chants of “WIZARD” descended into chants of “FUCK YEA, WIZARD!”

Fanny looked around, growing a little nervous.

Back inside the hospital room, Mof looked toward Father Thyme, “This could get out of control.”

“I’m reminded of a passage from Corinthians that states…”

“Now’s not the time for bible class, Father. I think we should go down there and take control.”

Father Thyme agreed.

The rally, however, had already grown dangerous. A bald man in a wife-beater suddenly appeared, carrying a chair. He charged forward and THREW THE CHAIR THROUGH A WINDOW!! CRASH! Fanny dove from the car, tumbling to the ground for cover.

The rest of the crowd went wild. They followed suit, throwing heavy items through windows, charging the hospital doors. A molotov cocktail made an appearance...it was thrown into a broken window, followed by several more.

Within moments, what started as a peaceful rally to help The Wizard had turned into a fiery riot resulting in the hospital catching fire.

Father Thyme and Mof dodged fireballs and rocks, locating Fanny.

“What the heck happened?” Mof asked.

“I don’t know,” Fanny scratched her dirty hair, “things just kinda got out of hand.”

Edward surveyed the ongoing situation. Rioting. A hospital on fire. People looting. “Boy, I’ll say.”

The trio stood around, trying to figure out what...or, rather, IF anything could be done.

---

Flat on my back, ready to give up...I heard it.

“Wizard. Wizard.”

It grew louder.

“WIZARD! WIZARD!”

My eyes shot open. I sat up and turned toward My Own Personal Mastermind.

Smiling, my voice rallied, “You hear that? That’s for me, Mastermind. FOR ME.”

His chair disappeared. Was this the end? Nope, it was only the beginning.

Floating, he began to shake before splitting into five equal and menacing copies of one, devastating Mastermind. Four assembled, taking each side. The fifth, which I assumed to be the original, hovered near the fireplace in front of the now missing chair.

“You’re delusional, Wizard. Those cheers are mine. Because I own you.”

He kicked some burning embers from the fire...they instantly took hold.

The four walls were swallowed by flames. The heat was on. Standing in the middle...I turned every which way, unable to locate a perceptible escape. The original Mastermind hovered above, staring down on me.

“This is it, Wizard. The end.”

The walls began to slide inward, decreasing the room I had to maneuver. The heat grew hotter and hotter. The space, less and less.

It was his fourth and greatest trap.

Five Personal Mastermind’s surrounding me. I felt violated.

[Image: Created-with-GIMP.jpg]

Soon, my aura would be irrevocably ravaged and raped. I’d cease to exist.

---

“The kid,” Mof’s concern riddled voice uttered as he looked toward the flame-filled hospital. Patients were removed left and right. None of them were The Wizard.

Fanny tried running in, but Father Thyme stopped her. “As the good book says in Ecclesiastes…”

“Let me go!” Fanny yelled.

Mof tried running in, himself. But the staff halted his progress. It was unsafe. Nobody was allowed inside. Looking around at the tumult. Edward Mof suddenly realized the precariousness of the situation.

They needed a miracle.

They needed the Wizard to wake the fuck up.

---

Curled in the fetal position, feeling the heat...all I could hear was the combination of five personal Mastermind’s laughing at me.

I closed my eyes. Retreating within myself.

An unfamiliar voice spoke out:

All your life you’ve blamed others for your failings. Mof for Shawna. Mastermind for your wrestling career failing and your life derailing. It’s pathetic. You will never fulfill your destiny, your true potential until YOU take responsibility and control of your own actions. Nobody owns you. Nobody controls your mind. You are the TRUE master of your own mind and until you understand that, you’ll always be someone’s bitch.

As quickly as the voice came, it vanished.

My eyes flew open.

I don’t know who that was, but they were right.

All this time I’d been the bringer of pain. I was the reason things kept failing.

True correction had to originate within.

And, it had to start right here...right now. I had to banish my own personal Mastermind from my head, where it claimed residence, once and for all.

“Mastermind!” my lips moved, finally doing their task – releasing words.

The walls stopped. He looked down at me above, showing some concern.

“I’m tired of this shit. It’s over. GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”

The display of nerves from my tormentor told me I was on the right path. His voice bellowed, “Ridiculous. You’re mine. Quit resisting!”

He picked up the pace and intensity. The fire grew hotter. The walls moved faster. The finish line was near.

Clinching my fists, I lowered my head and summoned all the internal strength I had.

Fire consumed me, the walls were on top of me. Horrid cackling surrounded.

But it wasn’t enough.

I had suddenly mastered my own mind.

“MASTERMIND!”

His eyes bugged. “Impossible,” his voice uttered. I felt his aura waning. Soon, it was gone.

“Bask in my AURA!” I flexed the hardest flex in the history of flexes.

Everything EXPLODED! The five personal Masterminds were sucked back into one. My inner light shot out, infecting him. It began to shoot from every orifice of my personal Mastermind...cracks appeared...light shot out and soon...he, like the room, exploded into a thousand pieces.

And then, silence.

Dropping to one knee, I panted, sucking in as much oxygen as my lungs would allow.

I’d done it.

For the first time in what felt like weeks, I felt light shining from above. I looked up, it grew greater and greater. I did what I’d always been told to do...I followed it.

And then…

---

I woke up in a fucking hospital bed.

“What the fuck?!”

Jolted, I took me a second to put things together. The LARPing. Preparing for Leap of Faith. Ah, that’s right, I must have been rushed to the hospital.

Looking at the clock, it was nine in the evening.

I felt lighter. Like something terminal had been removed. Carefree. Unattached.

Leaning back in bed, I folded my arms and laughed.

Surveying the room, I noticed I was alone, “Ha, figures.” A fact that would have bothered me before. But at that point, I was content. I had me and that was all I needed.

Turning toward the door I saw what appeared to be smoke sliding underneath.

“The hell?”

The smoke intensified. I felt the heat. Pausing, I had to make sure this wasn’t a dream. So, I pinched my left arm.

“OWWW!” I yelled. That really fucking hurt. But, yep, I was awake.

Hustling out of bed I searched for clothing. I didn’t want to die. But I REALLY didn’t want to run out with my ass exposed to the world. PLUS, my identity.

Then, I hesitated.

For the first time, I didn’t CARE if my identity was found out. Whatever insecurity and fear I harbored had left port.

BUT, The Wizard was getting over. Financially, it made sense.

So, I searched and searched. Opening the closet – there it was. My Wizard outfit...robe, hat, beard...everything.

Adept in transforming from pedestrian to wizard in a moment’s notice, I was ready to go within the blink of two eyes.

I spotted an herb on the tray near my bed. For some reason, I found it important. So, I snared it before making my exit.

Opening the door, flames and smoke surrounded. A lesser man may have folded, but not me – I’d come too far. I dashed out, avoiding flames, heading for the stairs. I would survive. This would not be the end of me.

---

Father Thyme, Edward Mof, and Fanny all watched, huddled together. Their worst fears were rapidly congealing into reality with every passing moment, every new flame.

“WHAT IS THAT?!” a voice cried.

“Is that?” another voice yelled.

“A FUCKING WIZARD?” A third and final voice added a defined subject.

Emerging from the flames with a strut that would make a couple of road warriors envious, THE WIZARD emerged from the flames, through the hospital doors.

Fanny screamed with joy. Father Thyme performed the sign of the cross. Edward Mof gasped.

The trio rushed over, hugging The Wizard. He nodded, his face covered. His beard a little singed, but still intact.

Mof looked up, “You ready to go, ki...err, I mean, man?”

The Wizard remained silent. Giving an affirmative nod. He was escorted into a plain white van. Mof took the wheel. Fanny rode shotgun. Thyme sat in the back with The Wizard.

Onlookers, all of them, were taken by how stoic and unmolested The Wizard was by the flames and smoke. He emerged a fucking legend.

---

Words cannot describe how relieved I was when they shut that door. I’d been holding all that smoke in for so long...felt like I was gonna burst.

Cough and cough and cough...I nearly hacked up a lung. Father Thyme asked if I was gonna be okay. I assured him I was.

At the end of the coughing fit, I leaned back, removing my hood, looking at my three companions. I felt my wallet wedged against my ass. Removing it, I dug through the contents in search of an item.

A picture.

Of her.

My constant reminder of what I’d lost. A photo of Shawna.

“What’s that?” Father Thyme inquired.

“A picture of my girl...or, former girl. I used to blame others for her leaving me, but, truth is...it was my fault all along. She ripped my heart out. It has been broken ever since. Her beautiful image has haunted my dreams. I’ll never find another like her...she was one of a kind. Here, look.”

I showed her photo to Father Thyme.

[Image: Created-with-GIMP.jpg]

There was a long pause. I looked up, awaiting some type of reaction.

His eyes caught mine, “Uhh, yea, she sure is something.”

“You can say that again.” I shoved open a back window, preparing to toss it away...second thoughts invaded. I sat back down. “Maybe I’ll hold onto it just - “

Fanny snatched it away, ripped it into several pieces, and threw them out the passenger’s window.

“Nevermind,” I cited, sinking back down into my seat. “Oh!” I revealed the herb. “Saw this, thought someone might need it.”

Father Thyme lit up, “Well look at you. You continue to surprised, Wizard. Saving my thyme like a true hero. Ya know, I’m reminded of a passage from Exodus that states…”

“Thyme? I thought that was oregano.”

Silence. Father Thyme leaned back, folding both arms.

While abrupt, the quiet turned out to be a welcomed break allowing me to slip further into my chair...closing my eyes and drifting into a much needed, peaceful bit of respite surrounded by the safety of what appeared to be a new family.

---

Mastermind. Hello.

I know you haven’t heard much from me, not directly anyway, these past few weeks.

It’s not a slight on you.

Sometimes, in life, in order to defeat an enemy, you must defeat the one within. The virus inside. That’s been my plan all along.

Before I can master you in the ring...I had to eliminate you from my mind.

Done.

You are no longer a plague infecting my every thought, movement...action.

Whatever voodoo you held over me is forever removed.

You’re just another guy, Mastermind. Another guy with a shitty win/loss record.

A gangster without his gun.

Vulnerable in anticipation of what’s heading your way.

I’m coming for you, Mastermind. I’m coming to finish you off.

At Leap of Faith, I take a giant step forward.

Get ready, Mastermind.

Because you will BASK IN MY AURA

BASK IN MY AURA

Released from Prison. Currently residing in Hell aka mentoring troubled teens.

[Image: o92j5tuA.jpg]
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