~We see before us a well-known circular design, commonly referred to as a bullseye. The camera stays focused on it, as Peter Vaughn's voice begins to be heard.~
Peter Vaughn: Sometimes you can't predict war.
~A hole appears slightly above the middle circle, the size of a bullet. No gunshot is heard, but it must be taking place, as a second round lands close to the first.~
Peter Vaughn: When I left my former company and entered into two organizations, I never expected to be immediately find myself confronted by a fierce, overriding team. A squad that seems to think they deserve everything, and will use their numerical advantage to try and take it all. Apex has forced me to begin to bring together my exiles, allies from the past, and the war has now spread to cover two federations. At Bad Medicine, I get my chance to put away Drew Archyle once and for all, in my own style of match. It's going to be brutal. It's going to be hell. It's going to be one of the best nights of my life.
~More bullets land in the target, sending out puffs of smoke and debris from the target behind the sheet. The camera begins to turn, rotating towards the shooter.~
Peter Vaughn: But before I can get to the war... I have to handle an embarrassment. A joke. A... gorilla. I have to remove this obstacle to my path, so that I can take the fight to those who deserve it. Best way to do that? Using whatever I can find to put the ape down...
~We see Peter Vaughn standing there, protective glasses across his eyes and headphones covering his ears. He fires his Glock again and again, expelling the clip. His expression is cold, not revealing the dark thoughts going through his mind.~
~As the sound comes in, allowing us to hear the various gun shots taking place on the shooting range, Vaughn clears his clip and backs off. He has to reload. As the wrestler moves to the side, beginning to click the bullets in, we see Jonathan Barrows' head poke around the corner. He takes a look at Vaughn, then seems to swallow, before steeling himself and coming around. He walks up to Vaughn, saying something, but it's covered up by the person at the far left who is firing what sounds like a cannon (but is likely much smaller). Vaughn shakes his head to signify he didn't hear him, so Barrows raises his voice... just as the shooting stops.~
Jonathan Barrows: I SAID HOW ARE... you...
Peter Vaughn: Feeling alive, Jonathan. Also, not deaf, so no need to shout.
Jonathan Barrows: I... umm... can we talk in the other room for a minute?
Peter Vaughn: I don't want to lose my spot. I still have a box of ammo to get through, to practice with this new Glock.
~Vaughn admires the weapon in his hands, a gun that he may or may not have forcefully taken from another person recently. It happened off-camera, so really, legally, it's a murky area. At any rate, Vaughn seems to enjoy the feel of the Glock, and his aim has definitely improved.~
Jonathan Barrows: It won't take that long. I just wanted to... well, offer you something...
~Barrows lifts up a bag at his side, which had gone unnoticed until now. Vaughn takes immediate interest, always willing to spare some time for a gift coming his way. They walk off the range to the 'relative' quiet next door.~
Peter Vaughn: So what do you have for me, Jonathan? Did you finally get my World Title back? I never lost it, you know.
Jonathan Barrows: You need to forget about that title, Peter. You're never getting it back.
Peter Vaughn: Never say never. I'm the World Champion in Exile until proven otherwise.
Jonathan Barrows: ... Sure. Anyway, what I have here is more for your future than your past.
~Barrows reaches into the bag and pulls out what appears to be a rifle at first glance. Vaughn's eyes light up, and he steps forward, but quickly he looks suspicious as he feels the different weight in the weapon. He examines it, realizing what it actually is.~
Peter Vaughn: This... this is a tranquilizer gun.
Jonathan Barrows: Yep. The same model you'll be using this Wednesday when you face off against that gorilla, Gilligan.
~Vaughn is glaring at Barrows as if he just handed him a bag of fresh fertilizer. You know what I mean.~
Peter Vaughn: Why'd you get me this? And bring it here? You know, in Texas, you can be lynched for using a tranquilizer dart instead of a bullet.
Jonathan Barrows: That's not true at all...
Peter Vaughn: It is if I think it is...
~Barrows uncomfortably rubs his neck as Vaughn meets him with a dangerous-looking glance.~
Jonathan Barrows: Look, hear me out on this. I've talked to XWF management. If you show up with that Glock, or your shotgun, or whatever, and try to shoot that gorilla, you'll likely be forfeiting your right to be in the company. The XWF is pretty forgiving, but firing weapons around a crowd of people while on camera? That would be pretty bad publicity, and they'd have to act.
~Vaughn shakes his head and looks downwards. He's still enraged by the thought of having to face a gorilla, but he's gotta admit, Barrows probably has a point.~
Peter Vaughn: I just... I want to teach them all a lesson, Jonathan.
Jonathan Barrows: And you will, Peter. You've got Archyle for that, right? Your team is going to destroy Apex in Thunder Pro, and now you're getting rid of them here in the XWF. You know what else is in the near future, too. So why risk throwing it all away because of a stupid sign-language waving gorilla?
~After a few more seconds of tension, Vaughn slowly nods. He lifts back up the tranquilizer gun, examining it once more.~
Peter Vaughn: Seems fairly easy to operate. I assume the gorilla will know how to use it?
Jonathan Barrows: Who cares about him? I want to make sure you're good with it.
Peter Vaughn: Me? Did you see my grouping of shots out there? I'm getting damn accurate.
Jonathan Barrows: Sure, with a Glock. A dart gun fires differently. C'mon, I brought enough of them for you to get plenty of shots in.
~Barrows heads into the shooting range again, oblivious of the reluctance Vaughn is showing. Actually, he probably sees it, he's just ignoring it, knowing him. Vaughn sighs.~
Peter Vaughn: Why the hell not...
~He follows Barrows back in, as we cut away for a few moments for a promo in the dark.~
I don't really know what I expected. It's not like I thought a gorilla would step in front of the camera and sign out how they're going to defeat me. A gorilla cutting a promo, ridiculous. Maybe I thought they'd at least show the great ape pretending to be King Kong or something. Maybe having the trainers come forward and talk about how skilled Gilligan is with a tranquilizer gun. Who the hell knows.
The silence has been pretty deafening. Hell, I haven't even seen this supposed "literal" gorilla I'm supposed to shoot sharp darts into. Maybe this is all a publicity stunt, and XWF management decided not to tell me about it in case I wouldn't go along with it. But even if it's a man in a costume, hopping around pretending to be a beast, I'll still shoot his ass and feel pleased with myself. He'll deserve it, for putting me through all this crap.
I guess I'll keep going by the assumption that a real gorilla is going to be there. Surely the XWF wouldn't lie to its fans like that, right? Still, that means it's going to be a pretty boring 'match'. Maybe I'll come up with a few things that might liven it up. I've got a few ideas, ways that I can prolong it before I finally shoot that damn monkey down. I'd still like to bring my Glock just in case, but I have to admit, Jonathan's probably not wrong. I don't want to jeopardize my quest for more gold just because of a stupid ape.
There's so much potential here in the XWF for my advancement. Friends I see out there who could use allies. Enemies that could use a good ass-kicking to put them back in their place. I'm no longer settling for anything down the card. "The Friendly Neighborhood Janitor" is long gone. Now it's just about Peter Vaughn, a superstar, a future Hall of Famer... maybe even the next GOAT. Wouldn't that be something?
So if I have to 'play nice' and not kill ol' Gilligan, then fine. I can adjust. There are plenty of other places I can use my newly honed shooting skills. I mean, there's a reason I just bought an old ranch house far away from the city. Maybe after our match, I can invite Gilligan out there. He can watch the sunset across the beautiful Texas landscape. I'll even let him watch all of it before it's over.
Until then... I'll follow the rules. I'll be a good little soldier. And I'll do exactly what I said I would do when I came to the XWF: win.
~The camera is focused once again on the bullseye. You can see the grouping of bullets from earlier, a nice spread. As the camera slowly zooms backwards, we see a dart come flying into the picture. It hits the target... barely. It's hanging on the lower left of the paper, not in any of the red circles. Most would call that a miss. The camera turns to show Peter Vaughn, who looks up at the target, astonished. Jonathan Barrows is nodding behind him, having expected it.~
Jonathan Barrows: You see? This weapon doesn't have the same push as your other weapons. It's going to take some adjustment. And, as you can tell, if you're further away, you need to aim higher, as those darts don't fly as far as you'd expect.
Peter Vaughn: I don't plan on being that far away from my target, so that might not be a problem.
Jonathan Barrows: Are you sure? Wouldn't it be better just to shoot him from far away and be done with it? I mean, I get it, you might hit a ref or something, but they'd deserve it for being part of this match.
~The tranquilizer gun is aimed again. Vaughn lets out a breath, aims high, and fires. This time, the dart's inside the target, although it's still lower left. Barrows nods in approval.~
Peter Vaughn: I'm still not convinced that I shouldn't just knock the gorilla out, THEN dart him. But, either way, I don't want it to be too easy for him. They put him in this match. He deserves to suffer at least a little bit.
Jonathan Barrows: Well, the other part is to be ready with that gun in case Archyle or the rest of Apex shows up. They'll be moving faster than a gorilla, that's guaranteed.
Peter Vaughn: Oh, I'll be ready for them, Jonathan. It'll just take some practice... and planning...
~Another dart flies out. It's even closer to the center of the target. Vaughn's adjusting quickly, showing once again that he's learned to adapt to any situation. It likely comes from his janitorial training. After all, you never knew what to expect when you went into a wrestling rest room, did you? Might be a wrestler laying in there, unconscious.~
Jonathan Barrows: I think, by Wednesday, you're going to be ready to put a dart right between Gilligan's eyes.
Peter Vaughn: Between them? Sure, I guess. Whatever it takes.
~Vaughn loads up another round of darts, prepared to keep practicing. To the side, we see another man come in to do some shooting. He doesn't look around at the other participants in the room. Vaughn notices him, though, and smiles.~
Peter Vaughn: So how quickly do these darts work? Will I have to worry about dodging that gorilla for several minutes afterwards?
Jonathan Barrows: I believe they work pretty quickly, especially if multiple darts are involved.
Peter Vaughn: Maybe we can do a quick experiment...
~Vaughn lets the tranquilizer gun drift to the left. Barrows quickly steps away, not realizing what Vaughn is thinking. A single dart flies off to the side, hitting the nearby man in the leg. He turns, reacting to the hit, and stares at Vaughn.~
Billy Parker: Oh, come... on.... Vaughn.....
~Parker collapses to the ground, shaking for a moment before passing out. Vaughn smirks over at him.~
Jonathan Barrows: PETER!
Peter Vaughn: ... Whoops?
Jonathan Barrows: What have you done??
Peter Vaughn: Don't worry about it, Jonathan. Billy and I came to... an agreement last week. I'm sure he won't complain. Maybe give him a few extra bucks, just in case...
~Barrows is shaking his head as he goes over, quickly removing the dart from Parker's leg. He checks on Parker, trying to rouse him, while Vaughn goes back to aiming at the target. In his mind, though, he just seems something big, furry, and stupid.~
Peter Vaughn: Prepare yourself for a new sort of Plunge, Gilligan. Hope they let you sleep for a long, long time...
~Vaughn releases his breath once more and fires a final dart towards the target. It hits dead center. Bullseye. We slowly fade out.~
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