Working his way along the trail heading out of the compound, David could feel a cold sweat beginning to form along his brow. It was so humid from the rain, which continued to fall in a weak drizzle, blanketing The Promise Land in a dense fog. It was difficult to see where he was going, but David knew exactly where he must go. Out there. Into the wild. Into the dark.

As he trekked along, his footsteps became more difficult to assume, as the mud began sucking on his shoes like a desperate dog licking its master's heels. He had to keep moving; get away from where he was and delve into something else. Anything else. It was the goal of complete removal from his mental state. Everything was falling to tatters, even if he couldn't admit it to another person. The altercation with Becky had only been the catalyst. He'd been torturing himself for over a week now. He could see her gaze when he closed his eyes, like looking through a mirror to see himself on the other side. His hands trembled of their own accord, and he quickly folded his arms around himself, perhaps in an attempt to hold in the floodgates that were rampant and prepared to explode out from him. It was a pain that wreaked havoc throughout his entire body, from spine to toe, traveling like waves he had seen years ago at the shore. Cold beaches, cold fields, cold hearts.

As the path began to narrow, David finally managed to look up from his feet and realized he had reached the corner of the woods. His white pants had become spattered with marks of mud, drowning away their former pure beauty. He had soiled his own identity. As he continued along the path, the light from the gray sky began to dissipate, and he found himself suddenly quite lost, both metaphorically and literally. Wandering for a bit, he finally found his way back along a reasonable path, which led to a bit of a clearing. Before him stood a bridge over a babbling brook, now running much higher than usual from the rain. As he took a step on the rickety wooden bridge, there came a cough from behind him.

Turning slowly, David thought for a moment that he had turned to face a mirror. But the illogical concept of a mirror in the middle of the woods forced him to accept the impossible. He was staring at a carbon copy of himself, albeit with his dress colour scheme reversed. This alternate version of himself was adorned in black from head to toe, and had a bit more of a scruff to his face. In pure confusion, David tilted his head to the side, examining this odd sort of twin, who mirrored his move.

"Can't say you expected this, can you?" asked Mystica, chuckling.

"It's a new trick, yes," David replied, mopping the sweat from his forehead. "What exactly...is this?"

"Delusion, likely," the clone Mystica replied, smirking. "We're mad, remember?"

"We're not mad we're just...confused. Very disturbed in the head."

"Call it what you want, David." Mystica laughed. "We're mad. And perhaps it's not for the worse. Catch my drift, mate?"

"Not at all," David shrugged. "What's your point?"

"I think there's more to us than just a split personality and some fancy kicks," said Mystica, taking a few steps toward his lighter counterpart. "Everyone has secrets. But what if we've just forgotten ours?"

"Forgotten our own secrets?" David pondered. "What do you mean?"

"Let's put it all in perspective. Look around you. The Promise Land. This place has secrets. Eli has secrets, and we keep them; maybe ignore them. Do you smell that metallic tinge in the air? Can you?"

"Blood," David sighed. "Yes, the forest reeks of it. There's things out here that are...immoral, I should say."

"Every good has an evil. That's balance. The universe lies in balance. See what I'm getting at here?"

"We're divided. Good and evil. You, the evil. Me, the good."

"Atta boy," Mystica chuckled, ruffling the hair of his lighter side. A wave of fear spread throughout David's body. He felt Mystica touch him. It was a physical touch, that actually moved his hair around. What in the world...?

"Now, see...we're vital to the magic of this place. When we came here, we became part of the machine! Another gear! Tick tock in the clock, mate! See, our necessity is found in this split of our personas. I am the dark side of you. I am vital to your survival. Everyone has dark instincts -- the desire to do what enhances the mind's pleasure. I am your burning id, doing what I please to please us as a collective."

"A collective?" asked David, interrupting Mystica's rant. "What do you mean by collective?"

"Not sure. It just...came to mind, really. Wasn't quite sure what I was getting at."

Mystica paused for a moment, thinking, his chin resting carefully on his hand. After a moment, his eyes sparkled and he went back to his mad ramblings.

"So, way I look at it...let me take care of finding out what makes us tick. Eric Rex disappeared in these woods and he came back as...something else. What happened? What created the monster?"

"You're not afraid of what waits for you?" wondered David, stepping back from the bridge as Mystica passed him in a confidant stride, clearly focused on something innate. Something that could not be processed by David's more rational mind.

"I've already been turned into something nightmarish," Mystica replied, frowning. "There's nothing more I can become. There are some things I need to find out about me. About us. We're the same man, David. Just different in our mentalities. And, like I've said, every man harbours secrets in his heart. You have a mission to accomplish here, my friend. And so do I. You go about your business with that girl that has wrapped her hand around your fragile heart. And I...I will delve into what makes us...us. I want to find out what evils we've forgotten. Why have we forgotten who we are? What we once were is a fog now. You only remember when you need to. When it applies to your mindset. But why has it all been locked away otherwise? Who did this to us? Why have we forgotten?"

David stood and watched as Mystica trekked across the bridge, his footsteps echoing off the trees and disappearing somewhere in the leaves. He had a point. There was something holding them back. Something unspeakable -- something unknown. And David was not man enough to brave the horrors of the dark by himself. But Mystica, the ever-thinking, ever-plotting dark side of him...he knew exactly what needed to be done.

"So what's the plan, then?" asked David. Mystica turned back as he reached the other side of the bridge to glance at his counterpoint, a vile grin spreading across his stubbled face.

"I will face the darkness of memory. Find the answers out there in the dark. You...you do what the heart requires. Go to this Rose girl. Try your best. Create a connection. One of those fragile tissues that hold human life together. Do what you desire. Break free from the chains of your self-proclaimed oppression. Unleash yourself, David. I will take the burden this time. Consider this your first and only favour from me."

"I'd thank you, but..." David began, but Mystica was already off, jogging deeper into the dark of the woods. Above, the sky roared with a coming thunder. He had gone out in the eye of the storm. Only worse things to come.

Here comes the water. It comes to wash away the sins of--

Achievements

• 1x Tag Team Champion
  
• August 2013 Superstar of the Month (Thank you all so much!)
  
• 1x US Champion
  
• 1x X-treme Champion