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CONTINUED FROM "Ignorance is Bliss"

Mastermind gains his footing and stumbles towards the front of the helicopter. Doc charges towards him and grabs a hold of him as he dives out. The chopper was just soaring past the cliff side when the dove out and managed to land in a large group of bushes which managed to somewhat break their short, yet hard fall. The aircraft nose dived towards the water but clipped the side of the cliff causing it to spin and crash into it. Flaming pieces of it fell into the sea after it exploded in an instant.

Doc and the Master of Minds rolled out of the bush together and lied there to catch their breath for a moment. Mastermind is seriously injured, a possible broken arm, leg, or even back. The doctor looks over to his pursuer with a grin.

Long time no see?

Mastermind huffs and puffs, doing everything to possibly shake off the pain from the fall.

I don't know what you're trying to do, but I told you, I will have no part of it.

Doc laughs.

And you won't! You're the one involving yourself.

You've manipulated and abused my cherished items once before. Your lies and deception hold true through the words of everyone that's spoken ill of you before.

Oh, you're breaking my heart.

Doc says sarcastically.

This ends here doctor. I will not submit. I will not give up until I've stopped you.

Doc rises up, stiff as a board, like a vampire from it's coffin. He shoots down a look to Mastermind who meets the doctor's gaze with wide eyes.

You fool.

Doc smiles and chuckles to himself.

What makes you think you have what it takes to stop me? If you've failed to see, my recruitment of the Master of Minds all that time ago did NOT revolve around your skill nor abilities. Hence the mirror. Hence the mansion. Hence the---

Doc feels around in his pockets for the watch. It's not there. He feels around several times more, over and over again. He notices Mastermind sneak out a chuckle of his own and sees the pocket watch gripped tightly within his fist. It seems to be his only working limb though and, even so, he barely has the strength to maintain his grip on it.

You won't win.

Mastermind manages to gasp out. The doctor laughs and approaches his downed foe. He reaches down and grabs a hold of the Throat of Mastermind and lifts him straight up into the air. Mastermind lets go of the watch as he reaches up to try and break Doc's grasp and it falls to the ground.

Oh, my friend.

Doc begins walking towards the edge of the cliff.

But I already have.

He reaches the edge and holds the Master of Minds over it.

I've squashed much bigger bugs than you, you pathetic little fly. You made a mistake getting involved in my business. You could have easily sat back and just handed over what I desired, but I knew you were far to noble for that, am I right?

Mastermind continues to dangle and struggle at the grip of the doctor. He swings his arm, attempting to hit the doc and break the hold. He barely scathes him though, as Doc's arm has seemed to have grown a few feet longer that what it should be.

Now, you've managed to sacrifice everything for nothing.

He squeezes his grip on Mastermind's throat with a sinister look in his one good eye.

Hey Doc!

Doc's head whips around to see Trevor standing in the middle of the road holding the pocket watch. The sinister look leads to a more confused one.

What?!

Trevor smiles and reaches for the knob on the top of the watch.

Fuck you.

Doc's eyes light up and he throws Mastermind back to the ground. He begins to approach Trevor and every stomp seemed to vibrate the ground. Trevor starts winding the watch backwards what seemed like a thousand times.

NOOOO!!!!!!!!!

The world around them becomes even more flaky and wavy than before. Mastermind manages to look up and see what is happening. He closes his eyes and manages to form a smile and a sigh of relief, even without knowing his fate after Trevor's actions.

Stop you fool!

Doc's image begins to fade back and forth from himself to static. He staggers backwards as Trevor disappears into thin air and the watch drops to the ground. He turns to face Mastermind, who is also flashing back and forth from static then eventually vanishes.

Fawwk.

Several chains one by one burst out of the pavement and wrap around Doc's arms and neck. They pull him down but he fights back, breaking a couple in the process, but more fly up and tangle around him and pull him to the ground. He continues to fight, but more and more and more wrap around him and eventually pull him down through the ground.

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Trevor bounces up from his couch like he was hit with a defibrillator. He falls from it onto the floor, but shoots right backup to his feet. He looks around and realizes he's in his old apartment before his first encounter with the good doctor. It's trashed with liquor bottles and the table by the couch is covered with empty stamp bags and remnants of heroin, among other things. Beside them is his police badge, which looks like he was using to cut some of the other drugs up. He picks it up from the table and looks upon it in admiration. He then does his best to clean it off with his shirt and shoves it into his pocket.

He stands in awe for a moment, feels the side of his head and his abdomen, and rushes into the kitchen a few feet away. He goes straight for the garbage can and pulls the bag from it then rushes back into the living room throwing the drugs, needles, bottles of liquor, full or not, all into the garbage bag. He rushes out the door with it and nearly falls down every step on his way down the three floors to the ground level. When he reaches the bottom, he goes out the double doors at the front of the building and out across the street to the small Thai restaurant and throws the bag into the dumpster and slams it shut. He slams his back against it and slides down to the ground and nearly sobs to himself.... Swearing that if it's a real second chance, he would not fuck it up at any cost.

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Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

The old brick walls of this prison have never kept the water out like it should have. Every time it rains, he ceiling, the walls, even the floor leaks with water from the outside. It's a dark, damp, lonely hell inside of this place, even filled to it's capacity with prisoners.

The doctor stands alone at the end of the long cell block, with a dead gaze he pulls a cigar up to his lips and takes a puff.

As I've said before.

He exhales and fills the air with his pollutant like the smog over Beijing.

I have fought relentlessly.

He begins to walk.

I have faced countless foes that have staked their own ground and claimed their riches and fame.

He passes the first cell, inside it a man paces back and forth. When he notices the doctor passing he lashes out like a rabid dog, snarling and reaching through the bars after him. It's a familiar face to the doc, his very first patient, long before Doctor Louis D'Ville was a household name. None other than Luke Gunnar. Doc snickers and continues to walk past.

Others that haven't.

The next few cells contain a few more randoms. Tony Santos, Kristen Silver, Chris Fame...

When I first opened my doors, friends, my job was simple. No one took the doctor seriously. No one accepted the fact that I was actually here to help them. They all laughed, carried on, and went as far as to point fun at the good doctor. Of course they would. As nonthreatening as I appear, why wouldn't they? An old man such as myself has NO business stepping into the squared circle and fighting for respect, recognition, and gold which we wear upon our waists.

A few more steps and Doc is past those few names of old. He passes a few more and sees familiar faces like the "Aerial Knight" Jonathon Heartsford, Maverick, and Mason Prince.

Even the lightest steps leave a couple footprints, my friends. I've not forgotten where I came from. Even I had to blossom into the undeniably unstoppable wrecking ball that I am today.

He then turns the corner and reaches a new hallway filled with cells. He walked with his eyes straight forward, but stopped in front of the first cell he came to. He looked off to the side into it, seeing the red costumed man staring through the bars at him. If his face was visible, it would surely be covered with the ugliest British scowl you could imagine.

Some made their disdain for my presence here perfectly clear.

Gator stands behind the bars, gripping one with one hand and flipping the good doctor off with the other. Doc smiles and continues to the next one. The ones in this hallway were a bit more separated than the ones in the last.

Some fought harder than others.

He passes another which contained the entire Havok stable, Ronnie Cage, David Stone, and Brandon Moore, all cooped up together behind the same set of bars... Staring like dogs in a kennel as a potential friend ignored them as they strolled by. Michael McBride is the same was as Doc passes him next.

Every single person that has come to see the good doctor left my graces with a new sight of reality. Regardless of when I first started out or yesterday, I've always stood by my word and I've never changed my ways.

In the next cell, Thaddeus Duke stands silently, noble-like, as he should staring deeply into the doc as he passed. The next one, Chris Chaos struggled and pulled at the bars like an animal much like Luke Gunnar did at the beginning.

Some of you still insist that I'm not what I claim to be. Some of you claim that there's still a speckle of hope left in the jar that you could possibly lean on when I come back around.

Doc spits at Chris Chaos who continues reacting like a caged beast. He passes a few more, where the likes of Peter Gilmour, Frodo Smackins, Pest, and a few other former patients of the doctor now reside. The end of the cell block approaches and Doc's steps become shorter and shorter.

It's time to wake up those that still haven't realized that fact that Doctor Louis D'Ville IS the XWF. It's time to slap some sense into the fools that refuse to accept that they will never be the greatest to ever grace this UNIVERSE. Even without a crown, I am still a KING™ in this place, you see, because when you become one... You don't stop being one until your dead. I am alive and well, my friends.

He passes and stop at another and the King Slayer steps forward from the shadows. He gives the doc his own dead look in his eyes before turning his back and heading back into the shadows.

Sticks and stones, my friends. Sticks and stones. You all have words, you all have your threats, but they have never, ever pulled through for you. The good doctor has always stuck to his word though. Whether there were King Slayers, Loverboys, princes, queens, bitches, gods.... I've always stuck to my word and I've always walked away with the grin on my face eventually.

Doc finds himself standing near the end and approaches the last closed cell. Vinnie Lane stands there now, frizzy hair, tight leather pants and all... He leans out from the inside casually as if waiting for his release, which was never going to happen. Doc doesn't bother looking at Vinnie on his way by and continues to the very end of the hallway where one last cell remained. It was empty and the door was open.

Guess who we're missing?

Doc snuffs out his cigar on the wall and tosses the remains into the cell.

High Stakes is just around the corner, my friends. Allow me to put your minds to rest in the suspense of this upcoming event. The entire roster is going to get a shot at greatness that evening, where it's every man for the themselves until the very end. What awaits? Familiar territory for the good doctor and something I've sought to regain since my leave from this fine federation. After I kill the buzzing annoyance that's been pestering me since his arrival, I will do what needs to be done to be the last man standing in the ring I'm assigned to. As for the gentleman across the way from me? Best of luck, my friend. I can beat Trax twice in one night. I can beat Robbie Bourbon. I can beat any member of AX3 and the rest are just filler if you ask me. There isn't a more deserving individual in this place than the doctor and YOU all just are late to admitting it.

I have fought relentlessly.

I have carried this company from the pits of nothing and praised it and raised it until it was one of the brightest shining stars in the sky above. I have the capabilities of doing so, so much more. And I most certainly will. This pay-per-view will mark not the beginning of a new era, but the ressurection of an old one. The black cloud is sailing in and the darkness is settling in over all of you. That gut feeling you have right now? That's your nerves scraping and crawling inside of you, forcing you into contemplating whether or not it's even worth the attempt because you KNOW you're going to fail. It's fear of not just getting hurt but never being able to return or show your ugly faces again because of the shame you've brought onto yourself. I am the reaper that's going to break the records, the seams which hold this ridiculous reality that's going on around here now. Trax was right, maybe he and I deserved the title match more than the folks involved now. No matter. I'm willing to earn my place and VERY willing to shove my boot down the throat of a prince once more if I have to. I've kicked around plenty of bums in my day too and Chris Chaos isn't even worth mentioning anymore. I'm going into High Stakes as surely a favorite for this whole thing, and I will not disappoint. The odds are in my favor and I'm taking home all the winnings folks.

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