July 29th, 2019

OOC: Posted with writing finished and unfinished formatting. This was suggested by Theo prior, but hopefully next time I'll just finish it early like I want to.

The scene opens in an unknown bar in the UK. It's late at night and the camera pans over the bar stools to show them empty before twisting and revealing Robert Main, Drew Archyle, James Raven, Ned Kaye, his brother Nate, and his father David. They all sit roughly equidistant to each other in a circle, an ongoing game of Texas Hold Em' seen on the table in front of them. Drew has a large bandage wrapped around his head and barely seems cognizant.

"Hit me."

"That's not this game, Drew."

"Ohhhhh... all in..?"

Everyone groans as Drew shoves his chips to the middle of the table.

"No way."

"I'm out."

"Same."

David Kaye runs a hand over his chin, taking a quick shot of whisky before speaking.

"Call."

"Out."

Drew smiles, revealing a two and a seven.

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Military. We served together, Drew."

Drew smiles absentmindedly.

"...Is he gonna be okay?"

"Well, he ain't dead."

Ned picks up everyone's cards and shuffles them together, preparing to deal out another hand.

"So, Nate, how did you manage to get Dad out of the hospital in time? I doubt they woulda just let him walk out."

Nathaniel smiles, scratching his chin.

"Welllllllll, we had a l'il help."

Suddenly, the door to the bar swings open and Ethan walks through.

"Hey! Sorry, I'm so late! Congrats on that win, Ned! And to think just a week or so ago, you couldn't walk off a diving board!"

The table shares a laugh at Ned's expense. Kaye rolls his eyes, still excited to see his friend.

"I'm so glad you could make it! Did you seriously break my Dad out of the hospital?"

"Hey, I learned from the best!"

Ethan sits down across from Ned, in between Raven and Robert.

"Let me deal you in, buddy."

"Sure."

Ned takes a second to enjoy the moment, breathing softly.

"Y'know, we'll never be able to do this again, so I'm glad we could do it this once."

"Cheers to that!"

-------------

"24/7."

"See, before last night, I assumed it just referred to the idea of being the X-Treme Champion. The willingness to defend a belt around the clock. But it's occurred to me that it means something far more than that. It's how often you need to be at your personal best to make good use of it. The ability to personify the greatest version of yourself you can be every second of every day."

"Now, to be honest, before this month I would go as far to say I was near incapable of that. I was falling to pieces; uncertain to what the future had in store. I was hardly even able to my best in a given match. It was as if I had finally grabbed the reins on my life and in the next moment..."

Ned snaps his fingers.

"It was gone."

Ned inhales, taking a moment to let the silence speak for itself, appearing contemplative.

"Y'know, I don't always agree with Centurion, but he once said something that resonated with me. It was to the effect of, "working hard in the XWF isn't an accomplishment; it's a prerequisite." And he was absolutely right. And the second you take that into account and you ruminate on it, you realize that the key to your success lies beyond wins and losses. Triumph and defeat. It's about character. About what you do when your future is shrowded in darkness and the control is out of your hands. And that's when this reemergence started. When I placed pride aside and embraced uncertainty. A lot of people have referred to me as the future of the XWF and I had allowed it to haunt me. But from now on, I look forward. Come hell or high water; win or loss; months of struggle or success I will strive to be the best damn Ned Kaye I can be. That's why I've been admitted to the prestigious brotherhood of the APEX Prophecy and I have no intention of slowing down from this point on."

Ned cracks his knuckles, smiling a bit afterwards.

"With that aside..."

"Let's talk a little bit about Hanari Carnes and Peter Gilmour. See, I respect them both quite a bit, but I have no intention of allowing them to get one over on me. Carnes is an interesting case. He's a well rounded fighter who has returned after a hiatus to profound success against numerous opponents. But he had his chance with Santos. He can protest about needing another second or bringing the war to Tony's doorstep, but even if he had an extra second, he would've tied. Hanari, for all your expertise and talent, you didn't get the job done. Now, what did I say as I burst from the water before my Leap of Faith match? "I can do it.""

Ned reaches down out of frame and pulls up, revealing his 24/7 briefcase in his hand.

"I think it's fair to say I wasn't exaggerating. You had your chance, Hanari and you came up just short. It's time that Tony faced the man who can give him the challenge of a lifetime. After all my months here, it's time he and I went head to head in the ring once and for all. As for Peter, I've been waiting for a chance to get in the ring with you again since our confrontation at War Games. It'll be an honor to face off against you again, but don't mistake my respect for a lack of ferocity. Case or no case, I was going to come here to win. I suggest you do the same, Peter, lest I outlast you again."

"And so the first trip into an unsure future awaits. My destiny is subject only to the persistence of my will and my desire to improve. Wave goodbye to the past and prepare for horizons yet to be charted. And I ask that all of you in the XWF Galaxy who have followed me so far and those just tuning in join me in this journey into the unknown. Let's see what lies ahead for "Notorious" ol' me."

With a satisfied smile, Ned Kaye waves. The picture fades out.

"You can't run from yourself."