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Darkness.

What are these chains?

Doc's raspy voice whispers over the clanking and clinking and slithering of chains being drug about.

What is it that binds us, keeps us locked in so tight, makes us come back for more?

A match strikes and burns with a flicker, showing us the familiar sight of a cigar being lit and the glowing brightly. A few puffs are taken and the smoke takes over and dances in the dark. The match is tossed and creates a large ring of fire around the good doctor.

All of us have a mission in life. We all feel we have a purpose.

Doc paces with the chains bound to his neck, wrists, and ankles that reach out from the darkness.

What's your purpose?

Doc stands still and closes his eyes.

I know mine. I live it everyday. From the moment I walked through the doors of this FINE federation I've been and stood for the same thing. They KNEW when the first Lobotomy dropped that Doc was going to BE something.... very special.

We've all shared our beginning moments of super-stardom.

Chris Chaos.

Jim Caedus.

James Raven.

We all had that one moment.

Chris Chaos's moment was perhaps the first time he fought his IDOL, me, and walked away the victor. Which led to his Wild Card win and the UNIVERSAL Title. Which led to all of this stupid crap he continues to talk about to this day. All that stuff about how great he was. Good for him.

Jim Caedus's moment could have been his tyranny through the Television Title division, or perhaps, the moment when he cashed in on the UNI Champ. Everyone talks about how he's been SO unstoppable. I've hardly seen an obstacle in front of the guy. Well, the only time I can think of was last week, and yes, he failed.

James Raven... I'm not so sure. Somewhere within those hundred-some wins, maybe his two UNIVERSAL Title wins. Maybe his Tag Team Title reigns. Maybe his six Xtreme Title reigns. Even though there is no current record of that besides his own word, surely there's something.

Now what about my own?

He grins.

Well, to truly pick ONE moment that shot me to the high ranks of the XWF would be absurd. I dominated during my reign as the Xtreme Champion. I dominated as UNIVERSAL Champion. I dominated as your KING.

Unlike Raven's, mine are etched in stone for everyone to see. Unlike Chris Chaos's idea of my status, whatever soothes and eases his mind. But.... Is he blind? Is he ignorant? Is he stupid? All of the above?

Just because Chaos wasn't around to witness my reign, the words and warnings of his peers were enough to bring him to me. Yes, he managed a victory once, but that was MY mistake. He rode on that victory for... Hmm. He STILL rides on that victory. He STILL claims his dominance and greatness based off one, single night. He beat his hero.

Doc chuckles to himself.

He's about as pathetic as they come, my friends. If any of these claims we make are false, his stand out like a sore thumb. From this "new" generation jibber-jabber and gentlemen like Mister Raven and myself standing aside allowing him yet ANOTHER shot at Jim Caedus and the UNIVERSAL Championship to him taking credit for ANYTHING in regards to the big fight against the KINGS™. Does anyone recall Ax3's success rate against us? Anyone? I certainly do. We defeated them while Chaos was involved. We defeated the while he wasn't. Now, I WILL say that he was part of that stupid faction while it was at it's peak of, oh... for lack of a better term, "greatness". Of course, it didn't matter at all how great they seemed, they still failed when it came down to crunch time. Robbie Main couldn't hold onto his title against the JESTER. Then, after Ax3 redeemed one of their many mistakes and kicked Chaos from the group, they subbed a few fellas for a couple of guys that apparently had some unfinished business with us... "King Slayer" and Trax.... Well, that got you boys far didn't it? The Tag Team and Trios Titles are NOW unified and I STILL remain part of that picture, as I have for the past nine months when I first won the titles with Soldier back in September.

Now back to Chris Chaos and how pathetic he is. The guy's ego is so bloated. He's so obsessed with the spotlight that it's sickening. Spreading chaos? Ugh. You say chaos, I say annoying. He's like a fly that buzzes around your head on a hot day that just won't fuck off. Won't die. Just keeps buzzing and buzzing and buzzing around dodging the swats and coming back for more. Instead of shutting up and doing his job as the official of a match where both sides absolutely despise him, he couldn't.... just COULDN'T keep his filthy, slimy paws off the talent. What ever his agenda was there, what ever he was trying to prove, I hope he did it. Like Trax leading up to High Stakes when I couldn't take a piss without getting attacked. You all seen where that got him right? I shut Trax up and I'll shut Chaos up too. If I have to beat him a thousand more times, I'll get the job done. Just as I've done time and time and TIME again.... Has anyone else seen a change in the way I do things around here? My attitude? My essence? Mister Chaos claims I'm not the monster I once was. The unstoppable force that brought him to my threshold. Anyone?


..... Anyone?


I don't see much of a difference. I'm quite sure that everyone around here, besides HIM, sees the good ol' doc the same way they always have. When the card is announced and they see that they're up against me, their face grows pale. Their heart sinks into their gut. And their bowels release. All hope is gone. The desire and drive to win just cannot overcome the feeling of being absolutely fucked.

I know Jim Caedus feels that way. I could tell immediately following the battle royals at High Stakes when he stood mortified and cried out, "Jesus Christ...so either The Doc or Raven? Fanfuckingtastic..." That tells me that he knows exactly what is to come. It tells me that he doesn't just fear me, but he fears my partner this week, as well. At least he's honest, people. Unlike Chris Chaos. At least he can basically admit and recognize where he stands in the XWF. The rankings, whether Paul Heyman is an idiot or not, DO stand for something. Just because he weasled his way into a UNIVERSAL Title reign, does NOT make him the absolute best around here. It certainly says something about the boy, but the rankings DO NOT lie. I started in the middle when the first edition was released and climbed clear to the top in a matter of weeks. ONE week I dropped to #2 and it followed a victory of Michael McBride. That doesn't say a whole lot about the Irishman, does it?

Doc chuckles.

I'm not much for reruns, but I think this match kind of had to happen. By rerun, I mean I JUST got done showing Caedus what the good doctor is capable of. I don't mind doing it again and again until I finally claim my UNIVERSAL Title and bring it back to where it belongs. Did Caedus bring everything he had against the KINGS™? For his sake a certainly hope not, but I'm not sure if the guy has a low setting. He seems to be the type that brings it all to the table no matter the situation. Whether he's fighting a gentleman like McBride or in a triple threat against Baby Duke and Chris Chaos. The guy just can't shut it off. So where is there hope for him? Where is there hope when he's already brought everything he had and it failed? Granted, we may not have had a chance to truly test each other during the Tag Title match... The weakest link surely stood out, but these silly excuses will only get us so far, hm?

I can tell Jim knows his days are numbered. I could tell by everything he said last week leading up to the tag team match. He has NOTHING to come at the doctor with. Nothing. Deep down, past that facade of being some kind of bad ass, he's soft. He respects me far too much to get anything further than picking at my former tag team name with Unknown Soldier. Oh, and the age jokes. No one ever forgets those. Claims of the old man just not being able to hack it anymore, but what happens? I show up. I destroy. I walk away. You don't. The time is ticking for him and after this week whether it's Chris Chaos or Jim Caedus taking the fall, he's going to know that there's nothing he can do when the clock strikes just right and he's finally standing across the ring, one on one, with me. He needs to place James Raven in the back of his mind right now. He needs to forget all about it. Because I believe his road is going to end long before the #1 contender gets his shot at the next big XWF show. I believe that someone is going to knock him off his garbage throne sooner than he expects. He knows it's bound to happen some day and I'm pretty sure he knows who it's going to be.

The fires around the doctor rise and burn brighter than ever. The chains bound to him are rusty and old, providing no reflection from the flames. He takes one last puff from the cigar before flicking it high into the air over the circle of flame.

Ya know.... I think these two men have more in common than they like to admit.

They're like twins and if it wasn't for Jim Caedus being so damn ugly, I don't think I could tell the two apart.

The perfect team.

I think if Jim Caedus didn't have that UNIVERSAL Title that Chris Chaos was soooo obsessed with, they could actually work something out and be something. Not that they would get far with the KINGS™ holding the titles, but I'm talking about all these fellows in this little Tag Team Tournament going on. I mean, it would be better than teaming with Jenny Myst, right? Right. That bitch doesn't have a clue.

Alright, let me elaborate a bit more.

They both have the amazing ability to put these blinders on and not see the truth even though it's smacking them both across their stupid faces. They both stand there and repeat the same ridiculous attacks and can't truly take their focus from all the little things. How many times do I have to hear that "I'm using the KINGS™" or vice-versa? Chris Chaos acts like he knows everything about me. He studied all of my matches, he learned all of my moves, and memorized all of my tactics. Well if he did, how did he miss the FACT that I was the last recorded crowned KING in the XWF? I believe I missed the last tournament they had for it, I see no record of it, but even so.... Who claimed the throne? I don't see a single person around here claiming that prize. So......... Here I am. To say that I don't mesh well with the KINGS™ is like saying peanut butter doesn't mix with jelly. Or ketchup and mustard. Cheezy? You know it. But it's the truth. The reason we didn't join forces and do this a year ago was because we just didn't want to. Morons. It wasn't because they didn't want me. It wasn't because I didn't want them. The time just wasn't right, my friends. Looking back, I'm glad we waited as long as we did because I had my chance to work with another legend in his own right, Unknown Soldier, where Chaos ACTUALLY managed to squeak out a bit of truth behind his statements about us. We were the most relentless, unstoppable, powerful duo to EVER grace the XWF. If he didn't flake, we'd still be champs. Would the KINGS™ have returned anyway? Perhaps. Would I have aligned myself with them then? Perhaps. Shit happens and I did what I had to do to keep my precious titles within my grasp. We're not friends. We're not homies. We're not brothers. We're KINGS™ with common interests. We're business associates with the same mission. We're partners and stand as champions. Domination.

Where does Caedus fall into this then besides sharing the same ideals about the KINGS™? Well, after witnessing all of the back and forth bullshit with Theo about each other's wife.... Ha!! See? No focus, no aim. Not that it would matter because the guy shoots blanks. Let me make this clear right away, my friends, I don't give one happy crap about Jim OR his personal life. He went from rags to riches.... Wow. What a Cinderella story. Yaaaaaaawn. His family is dead? Yaaaaaaawn. What ever it is he's fighting for, whether it's just stewed up anger from his past or he's out to prove something... Maybe out to redeem his life-long mistakes by spreading his good name across the UNIVERSE. Regardless, his story ends when I drop him on his head. It may not be today. It may not be Saturday. It may not be next week. It's inevitable.

Doc looks down at the chains that he's been bound in and raises his arms. The chain around his neck is the first to fall to the floor, followed by the ones around his wrists... He then walks out of the ones wrapped around his ankles.

Speaking of inevitable, when Mister Raven and I do what we do best and take out the trash, those two boys can go back to their little "feud" that Chris was talking about. He can have ANOTHER shot at the gold if need be. It's not going to matter because as much as those two are alike, JC is definitely the better of the two. Once they're done though? The darkness will come and consume them.

Cadryn?

A soft voice can heard and echoes throughout the space.

What are you doing?! You're not talking to that sock puppet again, are you?!

The light flicks on and Cadryn Tiberius is standing in front of the mirror in a restroom. He combs back his hair and reaches for the door beside him and opens it. His wife, Natalie, stands there surprised at the sight. Not just the suit, but the devilish smile on her husband's face.

Nonsense, my dear. Just sprucing up. I have an appointment to attend to.

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