They say people are defined most by how they react to the event that forces them to hit rock bottom. The event that causes them to lose everything they have, and re-evaluate what little there is left in their lives. The event that causes them to feel the force and anguish in their hearts and souls, that stay with them for weeks, months, even years to come. This is the event I went through.
This is my story.
The moonlit sky shone down on my face, providing me with a dim light as I walked down the path to home. It was an uneventful night, to say the least - I had spent the night at the bar with my friend, downing our sorrows in beer and whiskey, providing each other with stories to pass the time. Of course... I hadn't wanted to get drunk - it was mostly a thing that was suggested to me as I happened to be in the neighborhood of the local bar with said friend. Yet I must confess, being able to get a lot off of my chest was certainly worthwhile. And of course, with inebriation came the sad realization that I would be forced to walk home instead of taking the much more expedient route of merely driving there.
This leads us to now.
Where the figure who literally turned the corner in front of me grabbed me by the collar and shoved me right into the wall of the brick building nearby.
I coughed in surprise, unaware of what was going on. My vision was hazy from the drinks, and not at all helped by the fact that my head banged against the hard wall. Needless to say, I was watching the ground come up and down in waves around me, and the more I focused on that fact, the more I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, the more I could feel my breath become shaky, and the more I wanted to vomit all over the floor.
"Wh-what is this...?" I managed to weakly sputter out.
An additional two pairs of footsteps came nearby, turning the corner as well and stopping in front of my assailant and I. They took opposing sides of the lumbering brute, his tall figure casting a shadow over both his face and the two figures - or perhaps that was just myself wanting to blackout and not being able to see their faces straight thanks to the alcohol. At this point, I couldn't even tell you what it was.
"You know exactly what this is about," the one on the right said as he crossed his arms. I could tell he was the leader of the group - the others didn't seem to dare talk at all. I shook my head in response, causing him to curse under his breath. He turned to the person grabbing me, nodding at him. "Please, enlighten our friend here as to what kind of business we're dealing with."
Without warning, the brute smashed his skull into mine, causing my head to crash back against the bricks. I winced in pain, already feeling my dull headache that was there before now beginning to intensify. I was trying to make out any features of these people I could try to identify and use to figure out just who they are. The leader's voice was definitely sporting a thick accent... German, perhaps? Hessian, to be more specific?
Before I could continue with my train of thought, the leader spoke again. "Now then, we're not playing games. You know exactly why we're here, Mat Boy."Mat Boy? They had to have found me from wrestling, evidently. Why else would they call me such a name?
"Thanks to you, we've had our operations found out by the Bullerei, and we've had to come scurrying like rats to here." The faint realization that he was speaking German - meaning my observation seemed to be correct - shone upon my glassy eyes as I could hear the leader giving a rejected "tch" in response. He turned back to the brute again. "It appears our friend is dozing off. Wake him up."
I could hardly even register the words being spoken before a set of hard knuckles met my face. I felt blood coming out of my face from the harsh impact, spitting out onto the ground as I was all out of sorts.
"Are you kidding?!" I heard the man on the left cry out. "This Arschloch just got blood all over my shoes!"
A smack across the face rang out into the night - but for once, it wasn't aimed towards me.
"Quiet, Dumpfbacke!" the leader spoke again. "Do you want the Bullerei on us AGAIN?"
The figure grumbled to himself as the leader turned back to me. "After you fell off the face of the Earth, we've had to go looking for you for a VERY long time. It seems your fame wasn't meant to last forever - even your former opponents realized just how much of a Klappspaten you really were." I could feel his smug aura from where I was, beaming brightly down upon me, and it made my blood start to boil in anger.
"Shut... the fuck... u-" My interruption was quickly cut off by another sharp headbutt to the skull by the brute. My head banged back against the wall once more, and I could feel blood beginning to trickle down the back of my head.
"Man, you really don't know the position you're in right no- OW!" the 'Dumpfbacke' tried to taunt, but was cut off with another firm smack to the back of the head.
"I said QUIET, fool!" the leader was clearly aggravated now, but his voice came out as nothing more than an absolutely sinister whisper.
"We're going to show you exactly just what happens when you cross us." the leader turned to the person who was just smacked. "Blindfold him." The grunt grumbled in response, digging into his pocket and pulling out a worn, ragged blindfold. The brute who held me brought me forward - from the sheer strength of his tug, I thought I was going to be going forward onto my face, but my perception was entirely skewed from the alcohol and the head bumps. In actuality, I only went forward a few inches. Just enough for the grunt to reach over and place the fabric over my eyes.
All I could see was darkness, and once the grunt made sure the blindfold was tied tight, the brute sent me back into the wall. Before I could even ask what they planned on doing, I heard the brandishing of a knife.
And I soon felt steel cut through my flesh.
"That was... a few months ago, now. That knife tore through my face, digging into my mouth and adorning me with a new scar on my face. Laughable, really, in hindsight. I let myself be taken by surprise, and I was taken advantage of. Now I have a scar on my face that makes me look like the fucking Joker. Unbelievable."
"But I won't let that stop me. That was then. I've spent what feels like ages living in fear and darkness, afraid and in constant paranoia. Every night I go to sleep, I see those three faceless figures haunting me inside of my head, plunging their knives into me again and again, leaving me for dead just as they had those many moons ago."
"I'm tired of feeling weak and helpless. I'm ready to take back my life. Some might ask me if this is a mistake. If coming back will just put me back in harm's way and put myself at risk for an attack. The answer? I don't know. But what I do know is this - sneak attacks only work one time. They won't get me when I'm like how I was again. I'm going to get myself ready for payback. And the first step to getting myself back in shape comes this Warfare."
"Felix Jones and Rebel Star. I suppose the three of us are alike, aren't we? Down on our luck... former bearers of success... the two of you right now, at... 10:12 PM as I'm saying this in PST, are current no-shows when it comes to talking about this match, quite like how I was with some of my own matches once upon a time. Life truly does work in mysterious ways, doesn't it? To try and surpass my current limits to be ready for what comes in the future, I must first face myself to begin with. It's truly poetic, isn't it?"
"Felix Jones, former bearer of the Xtreme Championship. You're quite the wild card, aren't you? You've been gone for a long time after you lost that precious silver title, and you had such favor with management, that when you come back, you manage to slide in right to a Number One Contenders' match for the Hart Championship at High Stakes. You had a magnificent opportunity placed before you, yet with this chance in your grasp, you... proceeded to be pinned by Thunder Knuckles."
"Tell me, Felix, how does it feel to know that the path you walk down right now is only riddled with thorns and failures, pricking into you with every fiber of your being - choking you, and corroding your very state of mind? It's a sensation I know all too well, and right now it's lingering in the back of your mind, I'm sure. If we're as alike as we are - and believe me, I'm sure of it - you're going to try to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and come at me with bluster, telling me how you're going to take me off of my game, and you're going to walk in there and pin me for the three-count - it's a nice story, sure. But I've seen many people, not just me, try and claim that and be knocked down."
"One can even say that saying such a thing is just such a repetitious pattern across the entire roster. They come in, guns blazing and proclaiming themselves to be the best. They either have a meteoric rise to the top or quickly get humbled by someone else. That someone could be more powerful, more intelligent, more talented all-around, or perhaps... they just have a better work ethic. Which is the case with you, Felix? Am I more talented? Or am I going to walk in with the superior work ethic? Tell me, Felix - what are you really capable of? Is one-time Xtreme Champion really all you can pull out in your bag of tricks? Or are you simply what those others referred to me? A 'Klappspaten'? I look forward to seeing if you have more up your sleeve as we face off next Wednesday."
"And now we come to Rebel Star. We both know the story here, just how talented you truly are. You've had more time to shine unlike dear Felix, and it shows - you are, after all, a former Queen of the Ring. And yet, you've been quite the flaky girl yourself, haven't you? You've let your own fair share of opportunities slip through the cracks of your fingers. I know it bothers you, deep down, that you know and I know that when we both put our minds to it, we're destined stars in this company - but we become our own worst enemy and we force ourselves to slip and fall, fall, fall."
"You let yourself be taken off-guard by Jenny Myst, but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. After all, how were you supposed to know that your dear friend would backstab you like that? You see, Rebel, this goes back to what I was saying before. We're all too alike. You, and I, and Felix. All three of us. Just like myself, you let Jenny caught you wide-eyed. Just like those three wonderful men sinking their knife into me, you suffered because you were caught in a moment of weakness, and you paid the price."
"But there's something that separates the two of you from me. You're stuck in your ways, refusing to come out of your hole to make things right. Me, on the other hand? This is just merely the first step I'm taking to right the ship. I'm going to bring myself back to the prime of my career. Back when people knew I was a threat when I could bring myself to it. The former Star of the Month that took legends in this company to their limits."
"I'm going to show the two of you why I was one of the brightest prospects in the XWF."
"But that leaves you with a question, doesn't it? Just who AM I?"
"I left quite a few hints for people in here, and I'm sure the people at home watching this can rub their brain cells together to figure out an answer. But, since I know this company adores hiring people with the mental fortitude of kindergartners, I'll make it clear."
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