"I am the color red in a world full of black and white."
- Bray Wyatt


It was a dark and stormy night.


Only a single light loomed above the old train station, illuminating just part of the platform and railroad tracks.  The rest of the world was left in complete darkness, making this place truly seem to be in the middle of absolute nowhere.  Inside, a faint smell of sulfur would scratch at your senses, without a sign of any fire or anything previously burning.  Sitting by themselves, scattered throughout the small room across several benches were the few lost souls waiting to board the next train when it arrived.  They sat quietly, ticket-in-hand, with null, blank expressions painted on their faces, and their heads hung low.

The silence was deafening until the faint whistle of an oncoming locomotive interrupted it.  Looking confused like the sound had woken them up from a deep sleep, they began checking around their seats for something, perhaps luggage, but had nothing but the ticket in their grasp and the clothes on their back.

The whistle came again, twice this time, and much louder.  Those who seemed lost rose from their seats and slowly, one-by-one, began to head towards the exit to the platform.  Before they reached the door, it swung open and there stood the good doctor.  Chomping down on a cigar, he looked through the soon-to-be passengers and ignored them, as they did him, and walked by them all to the ticket booth.

One please.

Doc lifted a single finger signaling "one" and managed to squeeze out a faint grin.  The place felt dreadful and, even for him, it was hard to find a smile.  The man in the booth had no expression, just like the others who were lost, and leaned in to slide the ticket across the desktop.

"Running… late?"  He said in a low, drawn out, monotone voice.

Not at all.

The doctor reached for the ticket.

In fact, it appears I've arrived just in time.

He snatched it up and exited stage right out with the rest to the platform.  The whistle blew again and its large, round headlight could be seen approaching them.  A bright orb floating in the darkness coming closer and closer.  When the train finally came to a halt, it didn't look very long at all.  There was the engine, which steam rolled and hissed out the sides of when it stopped, just a single passenger car, and a caboose at the end.  It was a typical looking choo-choo, for sure, a little old-fashioned, but aside from that there was nothing particularly out of the ordinary about it.  Once aboard, the doctor took a seat in a booth by himself and stared out into the nothingness outside.

The trip already seemed like it was taking forever, but time meant nothing.  In this place, the clocks did not tick.  The sun did not rise.  The world did not turn.  None of this was news to the doctor.  This wasn't his first trip, after all, nor his second, or tenth.  It was once so routine that he's honestly lost count.  Was.  Lately, not so much.  He's visited the void aplenty, but hasn't crossed the plane as the train is taking him for quite some time.  Many years, in fact.

As the train trekked across this dark track, the doctor pondered deeply about his next session.  Not the one with Bobby Bourbon.  No.  Not yet.  This session is not with a patient, but with more of a business associate, for lack of a better term.  It wasn't long, or maybe it was, before the doctor took his gaze from the window and looked across from him to see that he'd been suddenly joined in the booth by someone else.

Mister B?  What a surprise!

Doc smiled and let out a quick chuckle.





Mister B sat with his hands together on the table, smiling back at the doctor.

"Is it?"

But, of course!  he chuckled again.  What brings you?  Were you perhaps sent as an escort?

"Eh.  Not quite."

Doc finally snuffed out the cigar he'd been gnawing on the entire trip.  He looked up to Mister B with a confused look.

You've come to…

"Think of this as a pre-meeting."

With you?

"With me."

Doc can't help but laugh out loud a little.  The Right-Hand-Man paying him a visit on his way there was amusing.  And annoying.

And what is it we're supposed to accomplish with this pre-meeting?

Mister B cracked his knuckles and sat back in the booth.

"First of all, find out what the fuck your deal is."

I beg your pardon?

"You've been in and out of existence for a long time now.  We know.  It's been the same thing.  You remember you made a deal, right?"

Doc thought about it for a moment.

What was it this was supposed to accomplish?

Mister B bit his lip and closed his eyes.

"Alright, we'll do it the hard way."

He snapped his fingers and all of the other passengers stood up and started screaming.  Doc looked at Mister B, who's eyes remained closed, and to the passengers in the car as their skin started burning off.

You missed.

Mister B's eyes opened and he smiled.  The passengers kept screaming, but all rushed the doctor at once.  He leapt out of the way from his seat as one leaped and crashed into the booth.  As another charged him Doc hit the ground and let another fly by.  Two others attacked him on the ground, but he easily weaseled his way out from under them.  As he reached his feet, another jumped on his back and tried to wrangle him back down.  Doc flipped the skinless passenger off of his back into another and kicked them across the train car.  There was a stand-off with three others, Mister B stood up and watched closely.

"You see, wizard…  Your numbers have been down for quite some time now and it's noticeable to say the least.  It's important to know that your time is worth His these days."

Doc quick glanced over to Mister B and with a scoff.

And He sent you to be the judge, did he?  With them?  Puppets?

Mister B walked between them waving his hand.  The three skinless passengers left standing fell lifeless to the ground.

"I could find out for myself."

He wasted no time and attacked Doc.  He started with a couple of high kicks which the first caught Doc, but he blocked the rest.  Mister B went with spin kicks and front kicks and all kinds of kicks like some crazy Karate mofo, but Doc's defense managed to block most of the blows.  And, of course, in a big fight scene they have a big conversation about everything, too.

"You've got a lot to prove these days, wizard."

Doc dodged a punch and tried one of his own which was dodged, as well.

Haven't I proven myself enough?  Was my stranglehold so long ago that no one remembers?

Mister B went for a strike which landed him in just that.  A stranglehold.  Doc, with his hand tightly wrapped around Mister B's throat, lifted him and threw him across the car.

Mister B landed on his feet and charged again with a leaping high kick which landed in Doc's chest sending him flying the other way.  He crashed against the wall and slumped down onto the floor.

"Ha!  Defeated?"

Doc quickly got to his feet and shook it off.  The two met in the middle again and began exchanging and blocking blows.  Mister B began to land a couple more than old Doc.

"You've gotten weak with your old age, you know."

Doc blocked another high kick and this time grabbed a hold of Mister B's leg and held it

I'm as strong as I ever was, Mister B.

then slung him into a booth!

And you're older than I am, pissant.

"Peasant?!"

Mister B flipped back up to his feet and charged the doctor, but Doc met him with his own double front donkey kick to the face which sent him flying right back where he came from.  Doc jumped back to his feet and shot a snot from his nose and approached the downed Mister B.

I said PISS–

Before Doc could finish, Mister B shot a fire blast that sent down flying and crashing into an adjacent window!  It smashed and created a vacuum in the car, sucking out loose papers and appliances that were lying around!  It was so loud that they had to scream at each other.

"I'm a Prince you fucking asshole!"

It wasn't so strong to keep Doc from fighting it.  He dug in his heels and pushed himself across the car to where Mister B was sliding across the floor towards him.

I SAID PISSAAAAAAANT!!!

Doc opened up, ready to catch him and probably kill him, when he *POOFED* out of existence!  Something hard or somewhat heavy must've made its way towards the window, because the window smashed again causing the vacuum to go a lot harder!  Doc grabbed hold of one of the benches just as he started to be taken away!  He floated in the air for a few moments before the train whistle blew again.  The vacuum became less and less until his feet were on the ground again and the train felt it was coming to a stop.

What a jerk.

Doc thought out loud.  It wasn't so much the intrusion of his trip, but that bastard's nonsense.  If he wanted to fight, it wouldn't have been the first time.  Doc and He met a long, long time ago and Mister B was kind of a package deal with the whole thing.

This "meeting" that Mister B was taunting him about wasn't exactly an appointment.  Nothing was set up if that's what we're talking about.  It's been a long time, but after all this time why wouldn't he be welcome?  And these facts made Mister B's case even more bullshit.  He'll hear about it, for sure.  The doctor didn't have time for these interruptions.

As the train finally came to a halt, the side doors opened up into a bustling lobby connected to a large office area.  He approached the first open kiosk and found a cheerful gremlin looking creature behind it.

Good day.

"Good day to you!  Welcome!"

I have a meeting to attend to and I was hoping you could assist me.[doc]

"Oh, that's not really my department…  This is the check-in…  What are you exactly up to and maybe I can steer you the right way?"

[doc]Well, I have a meeting upstairs.

"Enough said!  Follow that yellow painted line there to the Main Desk.  They'll take care of you."

Why thank-you!  You've been extremely helpful!

"Go to Hell!  Hehe!  Get it?"

Doc shot a finger gun and winked at the goblin thing before heading the other direction, following the yellow line to the main desk.  When he arrived, he waited in line until his turn when he found another goblin-looking creature behind the desk through a small window.

"What do you want?"

It said without looking up.  Doc could barely understand its raspy, nasty, gargling voice.

Hm?

Doc cupped his ear and leaned in.  The mean little creature rolled some papers around and let the same mess leave his mouth a second time.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

Doc chuckled and leaned on the desk.

I have–

"Hands off the desk!"

You're a mean little bugger, aren't you?

The goblin stared up at Doc with a snarl, emphasizing his underbite.

I have an appointment.

The thing zips around on the computer real quick.  So quick it seemed like he was faking it.

"I don't see anything here.  Was it the 2 o'clock?"

N-

"Gotcha!  Time doesn't mean shit here.  Take a number and we'll call it when it's time."

I–

Before Doc had any chance for rebuttal, the goblin slammed the window in his face.  To his right, he saw the ticket dispenser and pulled one out.

2238

He looked up at the ticker above the desk and watched it just tick up to 238.  Sighing, he pulled a cigar out from his pocket and went to light it when the window opened again.

"And no smoking!"

The window slammed shut again.

Hell, indeed.

Doc shoved the cigar back into his pocket for later.  He shoved his ticket into another pocket and left the area, thinking he had some time to burn.  The train had gone, not that there was any other place to go at this time, so he strolled away from the lobby area and towards a small resting area with a bar.

This all better be worth it in the end.  I didn't just come here for this obviously; there's big XWF business to attend to!  And this better actually be where it's supposed to be this time, unlike that moon BS for Leap of Faith…  Anyway…  Bobby Bourbon and I finally have a chance for our Magnum Opus.  After years of being in the same room together, Bobby finally decides to come over and talk to me.  How charming.  It won't be the first time we've been in the ring together, though, not at all.  Twice we've met in tag team combat, maybe more..  two stick out to me… with different partners, in far different times.  But!  We've never actually had the opportunity to lock horns, one-on-one.  Mono e mono.  Doctor to patient.

I suppose it's the best time for Bobby Bourbon to take his shot.  Some people would call this kicking a man when he's down, but I don't see it that way.  Bobby Bourbon has been an opportunist for as long as I can remember…  He's just not very good at it.  We've all seen enough things blow up in his face and he look the fool in the end.  You can't blame him for seeing another opportunity and trying to grab it.  What all of you see is someone that's supposed to be ruling the roost take a loss, after a loss, after another loss.  Old Doc just isn't the same as he used to be.  And EACH time I've told you all that things are the same as they've always been.  I'm just as strong, just as dangerous, and just as good.

There's downsides to being a legend, ya know?  You become a threshold.  A ceiling.  A rite of passage.  Everyone looks up to you in their own little way…  Whether that way being undying hatred, loads of respect, or simply fear.  You become something of folklore while you're away.  A story passed around and down over and over and told around campfires.  Then, when you make a grand return…  If you're not up to your own standard, people simply turn their backs on you.  You're taken for granted, where anyone with a speckly of ego wants a piece of you to, at the very least, catapult their career from mediocrity.

Take my most significant downfalls, as of late.  ALIAS.  Mark Flynn.  Burn me at the stake, why don't you?  Two men that went on, one that's still, holding this fine federation nearly under their thumb…  Just as I did once.  But I know that this isn't happening because Bobby Bourbon thinks he smells blood.  I know that he didn't go all-in on this because he thinks that I'm in a weakened state.  That's why I've always been a Bourbon-man.  Bobby Bourbon always did things for the better of the XWF.  Whether it was finally taking off his mask and letting the world see that beautiful, plump face of his.  Whether it was winning the Universal Championship and losing it to the new Lady King of the XWF moments later.  If we're following any type of precedence here, I know Bobby Bourbon chose it this way for the betterment of the XWF once again.

The 24/7 Briefcase hasn't meant much to me in a while, but this is exactly how it should be.  I was against the thought at first...  Why ruin our perfectly good battle with something more than our own pride and respect in the pot?  When I out-fight Bobby Bourbon, when I rise up after taking a dozen of his beloved Bobby-Bombs, when I defeat him…  I will climb the ladder and claim the prize that he's left for me.  Because this will be for the betterment of the XWF.  As much of a glutton Bobby Bourbon seems,, he's extremely wasteful with all of the opportunities.  For the first time in a while, he's passing the bomb before it blows up in his face.  That's all the briefcase is in his hands, a ticking time bomb...  The second he gets a hair up his ass he'll be getting kicked in the head by Corey Smith and wasting the damn thing.

This isn't about that though, right?  This is about Bobby Bourbon versus Doctor Louis D'Ville...  A headline all on its own.  A battle that hasn't even happened, yet has somehow already leaked on into the world.  Even if Bobby's a screw up, even if he's picking himself up more than he's not, even if him and Ned Kaye keep going back and forth when he should mop the floor with him every time...  The Universe is going to shudder when we lock-up.  Buildings will crumble.  Babies will cry.  This is a contest that will forever change the landscape of the XWF and will be MY ladder back to the peak....  I've never fallen too far from the top, you know, so it won't take much for me to pull myself back up there again.  Everyone should just consider themselves on notice and look forward to another session very soon... 


And...  I just want Bobby Bourbon to remember, when this is all said and done, he wanted this.  Not me.