I awoke to hacking, wheezing, my throat and vocal cords writhing in agony, as I sat up inside my mind, only to be woken up by my father. And his fist... is wet. Oh God.

"Don't tell me you had to orally fist me to get me to wake up."

"I apologize, but you wouldn't wake up any other way."

"Seriously? What is it with people wanting to fist me? I mean, they see a clone of me get fisted, and then all of a sudden, either people want to fist me or see a reference to me getting fisted into my next promo."

"That... actually sounds very disturbing."

"You're telling me. Anyway, why'd you call me in here and disturb me from my peaceful nap? I AM flying to the next venue for the upcoming Madness, I am going to need all the sleep I can garner."

"I... just figured you'd need a talk. After all, your confidence and pride can't be holding up too well after losing the Tag straps."

"...You know... you were right. I shouldn't have underestimated them. They proved me wrong. And one day... when I get back... I'll get them for that."

"Get back? Get back from what?"

"A small sabbatical. It should only last a few months."

"A sabbatical? You never told me about this. Is your loss really getting to you that much?"

"Well... partially, really. If it was on it's own, just a standard match, no stable business and whatnot, I'd probably tough it out. But now, what with the whole Black Hand thing and how Pest decided to publicly root against me, well... I just got to thinking, I know his main reason was because I tried to get me and Scully out of the Tag Titles match, but then, I thought cropped up in my mind-"

"What if he thinks you're just a terrible wrestler?"

"Joshua, I hardly bet he thinks that you're not a talented wrestler. After all, he recruited you for his stable, the Black Hand, that for some reason the rest of Brick Squad think that's just the name you came up with when that's really what the name the rest of the members are rolling with. Anyway, the reason he denounced you and decided to root for Brick Squad was because he was dissapointed in you-"

"Nuh- uh," I interrupted, holding out my finger to silence Dad. "You didn't let me finish yet. I was really wondering to myself from there- are there any ways I can better myself? After all, no one can be too good. So, during these next few months to come, I'm thinking of traveling the world. Brushing up on my skills, maybe learn a few variants of a certain move I've been having trouble with in England, where technical greats await, or maybe brush up on my submission skills in Japan, and perhaps, considering the enormous amounts of federations in Japan, I might as well drop- in and maybe comepte in a few events for a federation."

"...I see. Though, considering your expression, and overall the general tone of your words... I get the feeling this won't be just a sabbatical to you."

My eyebrows perked up, and then the rest of myself caught on. "Oh, yeah. I'll be tying up a few loose ends here and there too. I do have some business to take care of."

"No, that's not all. I get the feeling... that you may be looking at a permanent leave."

My eyes popped open in surprise. Am I really THAT obvious? "Alright... fine. You win. I... kinda feel like I rushed forward too much, going straight from the independent scene, right to the hottest wrestling federation in the world. Also, note Lady Luck hasn't been on my side much, only jumping to me whenever I get a victory. I mean, come on. Even you had to admit, it was pure luck Sane decided to underestimate myself and Scully."

"Alright, I suppose I can see your point. Perhaps it would be good to just take a deep breath, and just go down by one notch. But still, you can't leave now. You've amassed quite the cult following. Haven't you heard on the rare occasion that people WILL indeed cheer for you?"

"Hmmmm... yeah. I can see you have a fair point." All of a sudden, my mind became locked into a stalemate. Abandon my friends, my fans that I have amassed here thus far, just because I'm salty over a few losses? Well... then again, months' worth can't be considered a 'few.' "I think... I think I've reached a decision."

"I'm still going to need a break from the XWF, no matter what. And I think you and I can both agree that there will be no point for me to stick around if I just be tossed around to people not on my skill level to nurture and grow. As such, I need to find if I can blossom, if there is a future for me. The point that I'm trying to make? If I win the Kirk MacClay Classic, then I'll go on my sabbatical, and after a few months time, I'll return, maybe get back into the groove with one or two matches, and then, I'm going to cash in my Hart Championship #1 Contendership. But if I lose..."

"Bye bye. Hasta la vista. See ya. I'm going to be stepping away from this federation for good."

"So, what you're saying is... you're putting your XWF career on the line here? Against a two- time Universal Champion, along with against a former two- time Xtreme Champion, AND a former Tag Team Champion, AND a man who has beaten you SIX TIMES?!"

"More or less. Either that, or een if I lose, if something major happens to me, like say... someone punking me out of the win and such, then I'll stay, only to exact my revenge on said person who punked me out. Or people, should it be."

"It seems as though you've... got this planned out. In that case, I won't attempt to dissuade you."

"In that case, I thank you for respecting my decision to take this choice." As soon as I was about to leave my mind to go to the real world to quickly cut a promo, I was cut off by my father.

"Oh, and Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"If this is to be your... last match in the XWF, please. Do me a favor. I want you to go out there and kick some ass."

With a cocky grin, I chuckled. "That's a can- do, Dad."

---

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---

The camera pans to Maverick, looking out the window. The camera goes to the window right next to the one Maverick is sitting at. When the camera peera into the window, they find the lush and expansive Blackstone River Valley peeking right back at them, the airplane beginning to go low as they near Providence, Rhode Island, the sight for this upcoming Madness.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The camera swings back around to Maverick. "The river valley. It looks goregous. At times, I almost find myself inside a national park myself at my job, an animal inside a gigantic food chain. Some people might compare me to a wounded elk. A timid herbivore, leaning onto the brink of death. Then the wolves come in. This is what my opponents like to think of themselves as. They sense the blood, they start to come in for the kill. And maybe, just maybe, if that is the case..." A small chuckle can be heard from Maverick. "Then this little elk isn't going to go down without a fight."

Maverick now turns to the camera, a cocky, cheeky smile being sported. "With that little anecdote about the XWF out of the way, I might as well turn my attention to the rest of the competitors in my match. Most people, I am not going to mention, since they haven't mentioned me. You people know who you are, I'm not going to namedrop you and give you more attention than you deserve."

"Oh... wait. That's nearly everyone in this match. Jesus, you people are lazy. Well then, it's time I get to the one person who actually mentioned me that I didn't already get to. Yes, Mister Aerial Knight. I'm talking about you."

"I should really find it as no surprise that the entirety of you talking about me was complete bullshit. I mean, shitting on my fake replica belt? I mean, granted, having a replica belt is actually a new insult, and for that, I must say, well done. Still bullshit though. And the shitting? Really? This is a tried and failed attempt to rustle my jimmies. The shitting happened, in what, September? October? And even still, there is NO evidence whatsoever that supports I really did shit on the title. There has been no video evidence submitted, no DNA analyzing of who's feces that was, wheras I actually brought video evidence to light, and for that, what did they call me? A liar. Tch, You people wouldn't know the truth if it bit you on your ass."

"And Photoshop? Really? It really says something about you, Heartsford, to go ahead and PURPOSELY make fun of me from an outright lie. Like I said, you people wouldn't know truth if it bit you on your ass."

"Moving on here, the last possible moments? Heartsford, you wound me. I mean, it wounds me to see you showing such STUPIDITY. I published my promo faster than you did this time, and you have the GALL to say I just put that up at the last possible moment? You repulsiuve ingrate, how dare you say such a thing, you goddamned hypocrite. You and Mastermind would be perfect for each other. The hypocrite and the weasel. You want to go on about how you'd crush my dreams? Let me give you a little rundown on how the match will start off. Bell rings. Everyone goes after someone until you and I are the only two left remaining. You get an 'Oh shit' look as I charge forward and kick your goddamned head off with an enizigiri. Then, Age of Perfection. After that, Pure Perfection. This is going to be my favorite part, I'll enjoy relishing the screams you'll make as I wrench the move back farther and farther and farther. And I won't stop until you tap out six times, once for each match that I'm going to avenge. And after that? I'll throw you over the top rope, squashing you like the gnat you are."

"Now, normally this promo would continue and mention any of the others in this match, but considering I gave you people time to make the first move on me, and you never did, well... you lazy goddamned fucks."