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AerialKnight · **02-22-2015, 12:56 AM**

We fade in on the Aerial Knight laying down on a spiked yoga mat at the top of a building somewhere. He's in a supine position, looking up at the sky with a blank expression on his face, as if deep in thought about something. I'm not a mind reader, so I can't tell you exactly what he's thinking unless it's absolutely crucial to the plot. Somehow, he's manages to lay so still, several birds, such as pigeons and finches, start to land by and walk towards him, which says a lot about how Johnathan can tolerate pain or is really good at playing dead. The chirping and cooing from the stray birds manages to attract the feral cats that linger on the roof for prey. Not wanting to startle any of the animals, he only watches as they continue to creep towards the doomed avian creatures that walk about aimlessly. Also amazingly, the Cambot doesn't startle the birds either, as if it knows when to shut up and be silent as well.

Just then, the cats pounce and the birds try to fly away. Some manage to do so. Others, however, aren't so lucky, as the felines manage to bite off their heads and start chewing on their flesh, feathers, and bones for food. It takes a few seconds of bird eating before Johnathan manages to push himself off the mat and to a standing position. There are dents in his back, palms, and soles to show the viewer at home just how long he's been lying up there for.

"What exactly is extreme?"

Johnathan turns back to the cats, who are still eating the bird corpses.

"Some people might tell you that it's facing your fears straight in the face and tempting to overcome death with every stupid stunt they pull. The people who say that and enjoy the feeling, like me, might get lucky and live to tell the tale and their experiences with the skeletal entity. Others, also like me, might find themselves in a horrible predicament and suffer terrible pain, or die an admittedly horrifying way. Luckily, while I was still instructing new guys and jumping out of airplanes for the fun of it, I only managed to fracture my skull and not suffer from paralysis. I don't know if it was because of divine intervention or dumb luck, but I survived, and now I'm wrestling for you all because of it."

The knight then puts on a backpack and harnesses himself in.

"Now what is considered extreme in wrestling? If you're Paul Heyman, Zandig, or anyone else that was or is promoting hardcore wrestling, they'd tell you that involves weaponry and making people suffer in the worst way imaginable. It's violent, but not exactly extreme, you know?"

He rolls up the spiked yoga mat that he was laying on before. After picking it up, he walks over to a nearby door and rolls the mat down the stairs. Not wasting time, he walks over to a nearby building ledge and looks down at the ground below him.

"To me, extreme in wrestling is not about weapons, bleeding, street fighting, what have you. It's all about how some men are willing to go all the way in order to prove their worth."

"Such a bold claim."

Johnathan rolls his eyes as the familiar voice ringing out behind him.

"But if that were the case, even your attempts at being extreme haven't worked for you or your teammates. You'll have to try harder than that if you want to take them down."

Johnathan says nothing as he continues to stare at the ground below him.

"It doesn't help that you're fighting Justin Sane, a man who has accomplished so much within his first year here."

"Yes, because buying a title for 30K more than it's really worth is more extreme than my efforts to take down opponents I'm pitted against. Sure, I was sponsored in a match where people had to pay money to face off, but he might forget that he was one of the other four competitors to hop on up and get his ass kicked by Gator."

"You were a part of that match as well."

"At least I fucking did shit! What did he do in that match? Stand there and take a brutal beating? And that fucker makes up a third of Defiance? What a joke."

Doubt chortles at Johnathan's bold words.

"Are you claiming his Superstar of the Month award to be bullshit as well?"

"Saying that would be like saying MLK was a terrible person. The kid's an excellent fighter and he didn't get the award for sucking up to management, that's for sure. Sure he was destined for greatness when he first picked up the award and defeated amazingly prolific names, but what has he done now that he's settled in? He bought titles off of the kings, as I said earlier, he managed to make the midget retire, which everyone was thankful for, even if it took him three fucking tries to do it."

Johnathan chuckles to himself.

"Once was in a tournament that the Doc ended up winning anyways and the other one was in the set of a game show. Watch him bitch about how he didn't like the show either because it took too fucking long to get airing. Fuck, the dude might as well tape his mouth shut and let Gator speak for him because he's the only Defiance member that was stuck with me long enough to really get something right."

"Calling Defiance weak isn't going to help you in this match, Johnathan."

"Defiance haven't done a damn thing ever since they stepped on the scene. There was supposed to be this huge battle between the Asylum and the trio that they were hinting at until both parties said fuck it and decided to go bar hopping."

"Only Defiance went to a bar, and they never hopped. Besides, that's not how things went down, dear Johnathan, if you were to go back and read exactly what happened-"

"The man had a shot at greatness, and he blew it. He made allies with Evertrust, the God of reality who loved to fuck with the minds of humans to make them submit and follow the order of the Crimson Face. Once Trust left, everything started zig-zagging for him. He had his ups from beating amazing talents, be he also had his downs by losing to quite a few of the very same talents he beat before. It's just sad, really. Hell, I'm surprised I could even remember that after watching what goes on in his life. I mean, he freaks out his therapist and argues with his girlfriend. Engaging. CorVus is a cop turned vigilante while Gator's fucking about with Todd, Scarlet, and Better Todd in adventures that would make a great television series. Sane? Domestic disputes. Lovely."

Nothing happens for a while as silence spreads on the roof of the building.

"I've been thinking to myself after the beating you three put down on me. I've been wondering how a man like me could stand a chance against one of the better names in the XWF."

Johnathan turns around to meet Doubt eye to hole for the first time today.

"I'd have to break my moral code in order to defeat any of the men in this tournament. In order to do that, I'd have to find out what it really feels like to be extreme."

Doubt giggles in amusement of Johnathan's musings.

"Here I thought you gave up trying to be extreme ever since your parachute failed to open. Exactly how will you get back into the groove of things after you've sworn off fighting death every time you dream about kissing the ground."

The knight tugs on his backpack, as if to tell Doubt that he knows something the masked being doesn't.

"I've got my parachute all strapped in and harnessed, if that tells you anything. I'm ready to get back on the road to extreme, even if it manages to kill me."

Johnathan smiles as Doubt stares at him for the longest while, unsure of what to make of all of this.

"How confident are you about that parachute of yours? Will it open once you pull the cord, or will it snap, making you face an early grave at the hand of faulty equipment?

He scoffs at Doubt's attempts of making him second guess himself.

"I'm 95% certain that it will open for me after I perform a halo jump off the roof of this building. If it doesn't, then the tournament will have one less entrant now, won't it?"

The knight turns back towards the ledge and takes a deep breath to calm himself down before leaping.

"Johnathan, if you really want to win this match, I won't stop you. A winner will pull off the most daring shit in order to prove their opponent that, even in their old age, they still got it. Whether it be diving off a building like you're doing or if they resort to vampirism, they resort to extremes in order to justify their being here. If this is how you think you'll climb through this tournament, knock yourself out."

Doubt then fades away as Johnathan leaps off the building. He does a midair somersault and spreads out his arms and legs to slow his fall.

"Just remember this, Johnathan. Some people know when it's time to hang up the boots for good. You just have to know when yours is coming."

He pulls the cord as the chute flies open, lifting the knight into the air a little more as he comes close to the ground. Before we could see if he manages to make a smooth landing, the scene fades out.

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