~ The world is crumbling...

~ The air is poisoned...

~ The people are dying...

~ ...And nobody gives a fuck.

"We all turn the other cheek and focus on what we can reap from the planet for ourselves. The love in our hearts is slowly fading away... we have forgotten how to treat one another. We have forgotten how to treat the globe we call home. The populous needs a guiding light... people that know what is right for the world, and what is wrong... allow us to introduce ourselves. We are two people, with one objective -- to restore order to XWF. You people don't know what you truly want or need, you don't know what's right for business.... and neither does the locker room. Nor do those in charge... which is why we stand here now, the Realm of Xtreme stained and dented. The two of us, aka The Perfect Storm, shall restore XWF back to the level it once stood at, with all other companies trailing far behind.

"Hello XWF. Thy name be Rain, formerly Reeve, aka raYne. I've returned with a message, a mission, a meaning... a purpose, and I preach to you all; heed the word. The billions of people that inhabit this world amount to a pile of dust and dirt. Drunken miserable bastards, looking out for number one and tossing each other to the wolves for a profit. Beyond the beauty of earth there rests the ugliness of deceit, murder, theft and everything else you could possibly think of... Follow us, believe in us, trust in us... join us. For at the end of road, you're either with us... Or you're against us. Allow us in... or forever remain in the dark. Help obliterate the void which consumes you, replacing the void with a bright, shining light... We are the prophets of a new generation. The riders of the reckoning. Two souls bound together in the interest of one shared goal-- to bring glory and prestige back to the XWF. This is a new horizon in the wrestling business.

"We will go down in the history books as the ones that brought XWF back to its pique. The Saviors of Xtreme. Let's ride!!"

||=÷=||

Reeve:

Jenny. Dear, sweet Jenny... twice we've met, and twice I've failed miserably. Honestly, as I mentioned before, loss and dissapointment have shrouded my career... one more in the line of many, right? Wrong. I'm looking to begin again, reinvigorated , and Jenny? Hate to break it to you kid, but you're step one on the staircase to my redemption.....thank you. We're meeting a third time... and you know what they say about the third time. Be prepared little girl, for when the two of us step into the ring with our peers? I will be bringing all I have. Believe it.

And Jessy, darling little thing. You mention how Miss Myst must have been around this place when I wasn't. Mayhapz. However, I hold tenure. I know far more than the two of you how brutal this promotion can be. I first signed on the Xtreme dotted line back in September of 2013. Unfortunately, I was beheaded a month later for pissing off everyone, from the wrestlers to the staff to the fans in the stands. However, in 2014, I returned from the depths of hell as a demon. A changeling to be exact. I made a bit better of a showing. Around 2016 I took a rest to focus on my relationship between myself and my boyfriend Tony Santiani, who had proposed to me... and I couldn't possibly say no.

I've been in this industry for 18 years, kiddo. And trust me, sweetie. I'm only beginning. I've FINALLY found the incentive I've needed to make a impact in the XWF, and having held that Xtreme title for a cup of coffee, that motivation is whirling through my system... I HAVE to win it again, it's simply a must. There's no way around it!! From the first time I stepped foot in XWF, to this return, I've been brought down for being different, despite the fact that so many of you are even more fucked up than I am! There's been so many integral points in my life that would bring a lesser person down, whereas I've used those moments to fuel me. For years I've dealt with hate that would keep lesser people down, possibly even ending with suicide. So many people keep bashing me for my makeup, my nails, my lipstick, flamboyance and pushing the envelope, but in a company that's long been known to destroy political correct bullshit, I take it upon myself to fight for those that have been cast aside. I will be the champion of the underbelly, the outcasts, the downtrodden and the damned. I AM, Xtreme. I AM, harcore, I AM... Reeve. Fucking. Gordon.

I am RAIN.

...and don't you forget it.

||=÷=||

Hi. My name is Shane, and I was born in a Manger on Christmas day.

Ok, you got me. I was born in some backwater, shit hole city in the south. The people there despised me, either due to how I looked so differently, or because I've never been one to hide the real me. I'm open about every part that makes me into the person I am today.

From birth my parents could tell I was different from the others. Halloween was my favorite holiday, as it was the one day of the year I could walk the streets, hiding nothing. The one time I could be as weird and wild as i wished, with no worries. I also loved walking through the neighborhood during that season, feeling the rain fall upon me... raising my hands in the air, the brilliant aura resonating within.

Every Friday, I looked forward to watching pro wrestling after a long week of harassment and bullying from the other kids. I dreamed of one day becoming a pro wrestler, like my hero Javex Valerius. Then I could look back at all of those bullies with a smile and a laugh.

I went to school with no fear. But, being an open book, I constantly got into fights. My mom constantly had to comfort me, as the kids at school dragged me down. I could always count on her to be the one to pick me back up... while on the other side of the spectrum, my father would beat her each night for giving birth to a "", till finally, one day, she'd had enough and walked out.

They were hollering louder than ever before, from the very second I stepped through the door. Age eight, I held my jack-o-lantern, dressed in my favorite costume, a vampire, the eternal being of the night... I saw dad go to swing at mom, but somehow she was able to evade the strike. Dad, drunk beyond compare, stumbled and fell to the floor... mom took me aside and kissed me upon my forehead, tears flowing down her cheek.

"Shane, I'm sorry, but I have to leave. We have family in a far off place called Ireland. I will keep my eyes cast upon you, protecting you, guiding you... One day, I will travel the lands, till we forge together, combining our abilities... Together we will destroy this monster and his vile family. I will love you forever, my dear. Believe in yourself, and you will always triumph in the end. Blessed be, my child."

She kissed me on the cheek, before she took off into the night... Leaving me gazing out through the door, feeling as if this could be my final time to see the woman I'd loved with all my heart since the day I was born. The woman that made me proud to call her mom. This was the night my world began to slowly tear apart.

Dad quickly brought in my babysitter as his "roommate". He stopped paying attention to me entirely, which I suppose was a miracle because it meant the torture had come to an end... As a teen, I asked my child hood sweet heart (Alexis) out to the prom. She was a pure beauty, gorgeous from head to toe... She didn't pause before she let me know how 'radical' she thought I was. We were an instant item.

Alexis and I moved from Oklahoma to Ohio, where I began training to enter the world of wrestling. After a decent display I was picked up by an agent from XAW, the infamously extreme company that called my hero, Javex, its Chairman. I could already see the future I'd be bringing in for myself and Alexis, and it was gorgeous.

In my mind, at least.

Every night I'd step into the ring and bust my ass, learning from the best in the biz... A tournament was eventually held for the vacant world title, and somehow, some way, I ended up in the finals, the main event, biggest show of the year... opposite "The Deities Dragon", JVX. We took it to eachother hardcore, from bottom to the very top of the treacherous triple cage.

Toward the end of the battle, Javex was passed out on the ceiling of the second cell. I reached out to grab the title... when a dark crimson light fell over the arena. A face appeared on The Tron; JVX's running buddy in the Underground, The Blood God, The Dhampir, Vlad...

"Shane... I'd just like to let you know I heard something backstage that you may want to be known. I know you're too shy, so here goes: when you were a little snot nosed brat you had a crush, an OBSESSION, with the Dragon.

"It must feel wonderful to touch and caress your hero after all those years of lust. Shane.... congrats on fulfilling your childhood dream of touching your hero's body. Now... I'd watch out if I were you."

My face turned as pale as Vlad's flesh. The announcement left the XAW universe laughing at me, my secret revealed. I turned around, right into Javex's superkick, aka the Gloria Por Dolor. I stumbled back a few steps, before toppling off the cage...

As the Deities Dragon pulled down the title, I dropped a good 60 feet or so, colliding with the steel ramp. My spine was cracked in six places, and I was carried out on a gourny. Inside, I made an oath to myself that I would return and seek my revenge.

I fled to a beautiful, lush jungle to fully recover my health, a jungle I referred to as the raYne Forest. I adopted a new name, editing my birthname (Shane) to raYne, truly embracing my sexuality and putting together an assortment of flashy clothes, sparkly makeup, nail polish and lipstick. I finally not only felt comfortable, but proud of the person I was, inside and out.

I was ready to return. raYne was ready to shine...


...that is, until the day I returned home from my comeback match. I came home to find Alexis's clothes strewn about... along with those of my best friend and on again, off again tag partner, Bass Monsoon. I found the trail of underwear leading into our bedroom... and as I arrived, I found Alexis in bed, Bass on top, the two going at it like a XXX vid. I began to yell at the top of my lungs and the two were startled beyond belief. Alexis glared at me, yelling furiously, with a monstrous look in her eyes.

Alexis screamed, "Shane... I'm sick and tired of waiting for you to get home every night!! Waiting and waiting, just for you to be too worked out from wrestling to spend time with me. Shane, or should I say 'raYne', why don't you go suck the boss's dick so you can win a title or two. Get out!"

"But this is my house!"

"This is OUR house!! Shane, I'm sorry, but it just seems like you care more about wrestling and traveling here and there than you do me! Not to mention your best friend right here is more of a man than you could ever DREAM to be!! Now grab your things and get the fuck outta my house!"

"YOUR house? Bitch, this is OUR house, we share everything here, or have you forgotten? And here I come, hoping to curl up next to my beautiful wife after a long, hard night, and I see you here, with my best friend?! I think YOU should grab your junk and get the FUCK out. Take that turncoat with ya!!"

The two dressed and were about to exit, when Bass stood up to me and spoke. "Ya know, we don't really have to follow your orders but we'll just let you have your dream of living in this beautiful home for one last day. Then you can just collect your things and troddle off to some roach-infested motel, making your life on the road. Oh, and by the way? Don't worry about this little lady right here... I'll tell ya 'friend', she won't be missing ANYTHING. Dude, you've been a loser since you were born! Your mother left you, your father abandoned you, you almost died in a match. And right before that match, your opponent, your childhood object of lust... he along with the world discovered your little secret!"

He was right. Javex Valerius was my childhood crush... and now I was forced out of the closet thanks to him and his running buddy, Vlad. In the end, my hero was no better than the bullies that tormented me in middle school. Another one of the worst nights of my life... Bass continued, "Bottom line? Come tomorrow, you'll be traveling the streets alone, arena to arena, hoping one of the other wrestlers or management members will give you a ride to another loss. Reeve... I'm glad to have had you as a best friend. But both I & your gf have found someone better than you, in eachother. That's just the way things go, pal... sorry about yer damn luck!!!"

Alexis and Bass walked up to the door, swung it open, and slammed it in my face. My life up to this point was littered with misery. Bass ended up joining the Underground alongside Vlad & JVX, and the group I called family, Apollo Kaytor and Trikzta, Made In America, were sunk. My destiny in XAW was all but dashed.

I spent the night alone in bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about my life... all the trials and tribulations I've weathered. All the hell I've been through to find my happiness. The joy within had been extinguished. I would no longer be adorned with colorful, vibrant, flamboyant threads...

...But instead, I adopted the name 'Reeve Gordon', an edit of the real name of one of my other fave wrestlers: Steve Borden, aka, Sting. I covered my face in black and white paint, slicked back my hair, wore a pair of shredded jeans and a red tee displaying "iAm" in black. I wore a black, leather vest with metal spikes pointing out from its shoulders...

And I always wore a necklace with a shimmering, crystal Dragon pendant, referring to myself as the so called "New Dragon". JVX could only laugh at the notion of this punk kid trying to grab his torch... Though, every time I made my entrance, the legend couldn't help but notice something...

Some kind of fire burning within my soul. And it grew brighter each day.

|tbc|