The scene opens in The Drunken Fish in St. Louis, Missouri, as Tony continues his road trip to seemingly nowhere in particular as he awaits the Lethal Lottery Pay Per View later in the week. A fairly upscale establishment in the Westport Plaza section of St. Louis, it's nonetheless bare, with the exception of some couples enjoying their quiet sushi dinners with a martini or two on a Sunday night.

Tony, a bit worn out from the eight hour drive from Pratt, Kansas to St. Louis, sits in the corner of the restaurant, his head resting against the beige wall, some Japanese paintings resting above him. Tony sits in his typical black, button-down shirt and jeans, but with some classy, new, black dress shoes that he bought at a local tailor in the city. An odd shoe/pant combination, for sure, but Tony liked to pretend that he was upscale, despite the reality of it all.

An XWF cameraman sits across from Tony, filming his every move. Considering the fact that Tony wasn't doing much of anything for the past ten minutes, this clearly wasn't the most exciting of spots to be in. A nice, young Caucasian waitress in her early 20s makes her way over to Tony's table, setting down a dirty martini with three olives. Tony's eyes become unglued from the ceiling as he peeks over to the glass being set down. His eyes then move up to the waitress, then down her slender body, then back up to her face. Tony winks, and the waitress pretends that he didn't just do that, and turns back toward the bar. Tony vaguely hears her whisper the word "pig" under her breath, but it makes no difference. There was a liver to kill and a camera to speak to!

Tony rises from his seat so that his back his upright. He grabs the toothpick with his left hand, stirring the drink. He lifts the toothpick from the martini and pulls the first olive off with his teeth, slowly chewing and swallowing it. He lets out a brief, moderately euphoric grin, then turns to the camera.

Santos: Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for taking the time to let me speak to each of you. See, I have a big night coming up. I'm not only going for the European Championship, which just so happens to be one of the biggest titles in this little profession of mine, but I'm also fighting in a match that's named after the event itself against two fine competitors, as well as quite the partner, even though he happens to be affiliated with the group whose name need not be mentioned here.

This is huge, and there's so much to say. There's so much to do in preparation for what will be a night that will challenge me in every way imaginable. An opportunity unlike any other that I've had before, and will be unlikely to have again. And this opportunity, for what it's worth, is thanks to one person in particular. This person has, time and time again, shown her worth, her ability, and her persistence. But, above everything else, this person has shown her... generosity.

That person is none other than Egyptian Snow Pharaoh. One of our Trios champions. Our naked monster. A woman who wasn't afraid to take on Sebastian Duke and John Madison soon after her own debut in this company. Hell, she's managed to inject the fear of God in to each and every person in this company. Most any person in this company would rather spend a night at the palace of the Crimson Dong than even look ESP in the eye. She's been that convincing and that terrifying in quite a short bit of time.

However, what most people don't see is the charitable side of ESP. The little bit of Salvation Army inside of her soul. But I do. So let me tell you how we've gotten to this point. To Round Five. To the finals of Lethal Lottery.

Tony pauses to take a sip of his dirty martini. Letting the liquid touch his lips, Tony savors the taste before... cringing. Tony was never much of a "fancy drinks" type. Nonetheless, he takes another sip, letting the slight buzz puncture his brain, before setting the glass down on the table.

Santos: Round One. Draft day. What a day it was. I was named a captain, despite the company's knowledge that I could potentially end up passed out at my table after too many glasses of champagne. It was an honor and a privilege. So much talent in front of me; so many choices to make. The obvious first choice was none other than Sebastian Duke. A true force in this company. That made it easy to make that choice. Also, he was my brother at the time. We were bonded by the forces of The Brotherhood, so I'd be foolish to pass on my own leader. It was a fantastic first choice, and things only looked up from there...

Tony pauses, looks down at his table, and shakes his head. He looks back at the camera.

Santos: Unfortunately, the draft pool was quickly depleted. But hey, no worries, I thought, give me Andrew Morrison. We'll make this work. He's a hell of a competitor, and someone that, with his sheer size, could make the likes of Shawn Steele shake in his boots. A solid second choice. Sure, he may be a bit whiny... a bit child molesty, but as long as he's taking out that pent up sexual frustration on his opponents, then fucking hell, go for it, you mean son of a bitch!

I was happy with that pick. But then, the third round of picks came. Oh, the third round of picks. The choices, by the time that I was up, were fucking vapid. So, I thought, fuck it, let's bring Salman Van Dam on board? I'd promised him earlier in the week that, should he be drafted to my team, I'd take any and all opportunities to beat him senseless, to embarrass him, so, it was time to have some fun. Come along for the ride, SVD, while I take my first squash in this company and let him fulfill a deja vu moment that I'd been longing to have! And, it was perfect.

Van Dam fell apart, as expected. He couldn't capitalize on The Brotherhood's attack on ESP's team prior to the match, and he soon found himself covered by Cam fucking Lang, with me having to save him. However, ESP came through. She made that bastard SVD tap. I wasn't able to fulfill my own fantasy of pummeling that dirty Palestinian, so she was nice enough to embarrass him for me by using his own finisher! I was utterly grateful, especially once I was able to teabag that man like I had promised. Her kind nature was showing. I could already begin to see through that rugged skin of hers. All had gone to plan, even in the loss. Why?

Because Shane , head of this company, head of The Black Circle, let me back in. He let me back in because I was the best in this god damn place for September, and he knew that he needed me in this event. So he put me in for Round Two.

Tony takes another sip of his martini, then chomps down olive number two, as he conjures up memories that are a bit more recent.

Santos: Round Two. I once again was able to get the rules to bend to my whim. Once again, expectations were defied. I tossed aside Dean and took a controversial decision, making myself the winner with an impressive Mystica. Once again, I was able to leave my partner on the sidelines.

And there I was, in Round Three, drawn with... ESP. This was a dream come true. A chance to repay the debt that I owed to her for doing what needed to be done to Salman. For humiliating him to the point that the XWF barely heard from him since then. I wanted to pay her back; to make things right. But, by god, ESP was having none of it. She was too kind to let me reciprocate. Hell, she took on Kinwrathi and Kimmy K with no less than her greatest effort. She took on Barbie with the ferocity meant for a bear, and she left Kinwrathi babbling in the corner. While I...

...rested. Relaxed. Watched ESP give everything she had in that ring, beating Kimmy K to a pulp, exerting every bit of effort that she could possibly muster, giving it everything she had. ESP was gracious enough to have me in her corner that she took it upon herself to get the job done, happy to carry me through to the next round. And it felt good. After that match, after ESP unfortunately failed to notice a very basic and obvious pin counter tactic from Kimmy K, I felt like a million dollars. I'd once again made my way to the next round, and I barely had a bump or bruise on my body. I was refreshed! Rejuvenated! Ready to compete.

Then...

I got the best news I could've ever received. Thanks to Ms. Alexandra Callaway, I was once again paired up with ESP. I was again given the honor of partnering with such a monster. Our soon-to-be October Star of the Month. The only person that could possibly keep me from reclaiming my crown for the second month in a row, if only because our dear judges didn't want to seem biased toward my greatness. This time... this time, I would repay ESP for her acts of kindness. This time!

But, ESP surprised me with just how strong, just how unselfish she really was. She, once again, seeing me panting heavily in the ring, she once again took the opportunity to tag herself in to the match and fight for me. She knew how important it was for me to be well rested in order to claim that briefcase, so she did the right thing. She got the win.

Oh! And that Egyptian Snow Fall! What a work of art! Sure, ESP still doesn't quite understand the climate of Egypt, but that's okay! What a beautiful name for a finisher!

Everything ESP does is poetic.

Tony smiles, whisks his hair back, and eats the final olive on the toothpick. He places the toothpick back in the drink, stirring it slightly, watching the liquid rock from side to side. He taps the toothpick against the bottom of the glass, smiles, and looks up at the camera.

Santos: And that's how we find ourselves here today. Tony Santos and NAZI vs. Egyptian Snow Pharaoh and Dr. Zero. One ring, for a shot at the Lethal Lottery briefcase. ESP's generosity, her selflessness, has put me in this position. I'm in the final four, for Christ's sake! And all of my gratitude goes to her.

Now?

Now it's time for ESP to make the ultimate sacrifice, which, considering how much she appreciates my ability, how much of a good, submissive soul she is, I know she'll do. Like the good kid that she is, she'll lay down and watch me advance to the final two. Watch me beat the utter Hitler out of NAZI and not only become the European Champion, but hell, maybe even become the US Champion, all in one night.

Because, she's just that damn generous.

The scene fades to black.

September 2013 and May 2019 Star of the Month
1x Hart Champion
1x Television Champion
1x Xtreme Champion