You’re standing behind the door you just closed, as you dig inside of your pocket and pull out a pair of earbuds. Sliding them in as you take your first steps towards the front gate. Your hand trembles as you reach for the handle. You take a deep breath and steady your hand as you grasp the handle. A warmth consumes you, as the battlefield lights up from the roaring fire of the Sanctuary. You take your first step onto the battlefield.
To your left an approaching battalion pays no attention to you and clashes with the warriors from your right. You continue your march towards the north. As music begins to fill the earbuds.
Bodies begin to fall at an alarming rate. You slowly make your way over the fallen combatants. Talking to yourself as you pass each of them.
**Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high**
“This is what man has driven all of us towards. Pure chaos. All of this for what? For the right to say we are better than everyone else? What good is that title if there is no one to lord it over? Look at these pathetic masses that all fought for nothing. Quinn thinks that anyone cares that she flaunts her assets as if it was some sort of thing to be proud of. I’d rather be known as the elephant man and have respect rather than prying eyes. As for your assets you’re not even the one with the most to claim in this very battle. That designation goes to Ms. Themis. Truly a snake in the grass, using her notoriety to get all the praise she could ever want. Unlike you Quinn she’s accomplished things before, something you cannot claim. Unfortunately the both of you are nothing more than speed bumps in the road. Just there to annoy the sports cars that actually have a shot of winning the race.”
Your path to the North is littered with more bodies as you continue to press through.
**Though my eyes could see, I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think, I still was a mad man**
“Look at all of these fools. That’s exactly what they are. Fools. Baphomet, leading his ACTUAL cult and bringing them to this battle. He doesn’t have the numbers to even sway anyone. He will fall on his own blade, like it was meant to be. Barney. The one from the past who holds one thing near to his heart. That’s all he has in this. Heart. He has all the best intentions, but like the rest of his career…. the joke is done. Stop while you’re ahead. You never had a chance and you know it. You’ve said this will be your last hurrah, I’ll gladly be the one to fucking end your pathetic existence. No one embodies pathetic as much as Barney, but there is one who is close, come on down Marf. While I do appreciate the effort, it’s all in vain. This isn’t the place for you. This is where real men are born, crushed and destroyed. Once you’re looking from the outside, keep your head up. It was inevitable that you were going to lose. There can only be one man standing at the end, and that’s not you.”
Slowly you approach an opening in the field. You are surrounded on all sides. The war rages on as you watch the fights before you.
**I hear the voices when I'm dreaming
I can hear them say**
“This is what I was destined for. This was all a tale leading to me ascension. An outsider climbing to the top of the totem pole. An unknown commodity sitting at the head of the table, all eyes on me. Wondering what I’m going to do next. Wondering if I will stay or forsake this land and leave with my prize. Let me be the first to quell all of those rumors now. When I’m the last one standing, you can bet your ass that I will stay. I will be here to show everyone what a real champion looks like. No someone who cowers at the sight of a little chaos. Someone who will get themselves fired in order to no longer have the fear of a fight that surely would never come. When I win, this is my promise to you…. I’m not going anywhere.”
**Carry on, my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more**
“I want to say something about Geri or Graves or even Robbie, but they will be left to tears. BoB wanted to make their presence known. They just simply cannot get over themselves. Every show doesn’t need them. I will personally end each and everyone of them. From Anarchy all the way to Savage. They are a poor man’s Black Order, except people actually feared the Black Order. They were a true force to be reckoned with, BoB and everyone associated with them are just seen as fucking pathetic sheep. Unlike a kind herdsmen, I’ll set your wool coats on fire and watch you wallow in misery. As for Geri, why did you even bother? Is a second? Third chance not enough? We all know how this is going to play out, might as well call you Atara version 2.0, except I don’t know who that actually hits….”
The approaching forces from the North finally come into view. Just like yourself they walk with conviction.
**Masquerading as a man with a reason**
“Finally there is Page. The weary veteran. I’m not going to sugar coat it. You’re fucking pathetic. You haven’t been good since 2006, and even then meh. You don’t know this but you and I have stood across from each other many times before. Well not really. Just men like me. Men that you quickly overlook because you’ve never heard of them. You never look deeper than the surface. You are a victim of your own pride. You think that because of what you once were you have the right to say anything to anyone. Let me let you in on a little secret… you are nothing. Sure you’ve made the Hall of Legends, but so have many more… and all of them better than you in every way. That’s why you’re so desperate to show something, anything of merit. You’ve won some titles, but never THE title. You see unlike you I know what I am. I’ve come to love and adore what I am. I don’t need to create three different personalities just to make myself more palatable to the masses. The problem is all of them are still inherently you, so we all know that they are going to fail, time and time again. Just as you have.”
With every step you take towards them, they follow suit. Your eyes don’t leave them, and theirs don’t leave you.
**My charade is the event of the season**
“Corey, dear Corey. So young. So naive, and yet somehow filled with so much braggadocio. I said it already, where you once were isn’t who you are now, but surprise, surprise you are already falling down that rabbit hole again aren’t you? Just can’t help it? The smoke tricks. The Engineer, always right there on the fringe. You can’t get away from anything that would remotely be interesting. Let me tell you how I see this ending for you.”
“Thad I Love you.”
“I know and I love yo…”
“Boom Corey shows his true colors, but wait… it’s not really Corey. It’s something else. You just can’t be content being yourself can you? You’re not that interesting, and you know it. I know that you’re going to do a stupid list, because of course you are, you’re not smart enough to think of anything else. You’re a retread of an idea that didn’t work the first time, you’re realizing that right now. This wasn’t the route for you to take to get back to the top. So keep holding onto the past, knowing that it is as good as you’ll ever be.”
The men from the North are bearing down, but just as it was said, the forces from the East and West begin to get involved. Causing them to break concentration, as you continue forward.
**And if I claim to be a wise man, well
It surely means that I don't know**
“And lastly, Thad. The lionheart himself. The king of pride. The man is so broken, so distraught that he himself doesn’t know which way is up. For a man so quick with the one liners, he doesn’t see the joke in all of this. The numbers are against all of us. The ability to walk out the winner is slim. Do I really want the top of the mountain to be Thad? No. Corey? Nope. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure neither of you walk out victorious. Even if that means allowing Page to finally achieve his greatest failure. I’m willing to make the sacrifices necessary to make sure the status quo stays in place. This was never about coming out and winning. This was always just a message. A message that no one truly dictates what is going to happen, but that doesn’t mean I can’t sway the balance to a way that is a bit more favorable for everyone.”
One by one the North slaughters everything moving in their path. Not a single one of them seemingly takes a bit of damage, but you press on.
**On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about, I'm like a ship on the ocean**
“This isn’t a moment for self reflection. Right now we are fast approaching the end. I can see it in everyone’s eyes. That thirst.”
**I set a course for winds of fortune
But I hear the voices say**
“The want to finally be recognized for something. The bright lights finally thrust upon you. We are all going into this battle with one thing on our minds, Victory. Anything else and you’ve already lost and placed yourself at the bottom of the list. We all know what is truly at stake here. The good versus the bad. The holy against those who would rather be empty. It is time we all realize…. we are all destined to lose in the end.”
**Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more**
The North finally makes their way towards you. They circle around. As you just put your head down.
**Carry on, you will always remember
Carry on, nothing equals the splendor**
“Unlike the rest of you, I’m not naive enough to think I could win this battle single handedly. And I see as people will team up just for the night. Watch as those bonds are broken when push comes to shove. Ego. Greed. And being human will all show their faces. Each of us will have to put it all out of our minds, and hope for the best. That’s just what we are doing. Hoping. All of us want that prize, and for most of us it isn’t going to happen. The difference between all of you and myself. I know what’s waiting for me on the other side.”
As the North steps closer and closer, you fall to your knees. Spreading your arms wide and tilting your head backwards.
**Now your life's no longer empty**
“When I am delivered from this world, I’ll walk up to the pearly gates and smile. Knowing that I did everything within my power to show the world something great. To show them something different. To show them the fallacy of man. Not just any singular man, but mankind as a whole. From the weak willed people of the Southern front. To the mistaken miscreants of the East and West, and to the brazen egotistical god complex having people of the North. I will show them all where they went wrong. I will show everyone the way.”
**Surely heaven waits for you**
“I’m willing to sacrifice myself. Now all of you will bear Witness.”
**Carry on, my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry, don't you cry no more**
A large scuffle between the North breaks out all around you. Grunts are heard as bodies begin to fall to the ground. You are still kneeling with your eyes closed. Each breath you take the smell of iron gets stronger.
A flailing limb smacks against your mask, but you don’t budge. Slowly you hear the chaos go from loud and rambunctious, to slowly dwindling down to a low murmur.
You slowly open your eyes to see a man standing there. Which one of the North doesn’t matter, but they are still standing. You let out a small laugh as you lift yourself to your feet.
“And just like that, the creator has protected me yet again. He has a plan for all of us, it just so happens that my plan is a bit grander than most.”
The last remaining man from the North leaps towards you, as you quickly dodge to the left and a quick thrust you jam them in the throat. Their face turns bright red, as they struggle to breathe. They fall to a knee.
“Stand up. Go out like a warrior.”
You take a step backwards to allow the person to get to their feet. They are hobbling a bit but their ire for you never wavered. A fire burning behind their eyes as they take a labored step towards you. They throw a punch that lands softly on your left shoulder. You just shake your head in disgust.
“Come on. If you want the keys to the kingdom, you’re going to need to dig deeper than that. If you want the throne you have to be willing to die for it….”
You quickly kick the left kneecap out from under the man, but before he falls to the ground you grab him by the hair and hold his head up face to face with your mask.
“Because I am. I’m willing to fight for what I love.”
You reach back high in the air and in one singular thrust come down. With a sickening thud the man’s body goes lifeless as you release your grasp on his hair.
You look over the battlefield and there isn’t a single soul moving. You walk right through the chaos and back to the front gate of the still burning Sanctuary. Slowly you sit down facing the open field, as the sun begins to rise showing the true chaos that has gone down.
A shadow of a man way off in the distance stares as you just smile and laugh, before leaning your back against the gate.
“And on the Seventh Day, the Creator rested.”
Fade Out
———————————————
Fade In
You look up from the leather bound and slightly charred book in your hand and glance over to a young boy sitting on your lap. He’s wearing pajamas, as his feet dangle off of your leg and kick back and forth.
“And that’s why we are here today.” You say with a loving smile. The small boy looks up and smiles before engulfing you with a hug.
“I love you, Grandpa.” The boy says as he pulls away from the hug. “I don’t want you to do that stuff anymore.”
“Don’t worry….” You smile at the boy. “I won’t. Now go to bed, you’re mother is going to kill me if she knew I told you this story.”
The boy hops off of your knee and with the tiniest pitter patter runs off. Lifting the book you smile as there’s a knock on the door. The door opens as a man peers his head through the crack.
“Sir…. there’s someone approaching the podium.”
“Very well. I’ll be there in a moment.”
The man leaves just as quickly as he arrived. Slowly you stand up. It’s harder to stand up quickly these days as age comes to us all. You cough lightly as you open the armoire next to the door. A sly smile comes across your face as you reach in and tuck something inside of your robe.
Walking down the long hall, portraits of men in masks line the limestone walls. The candles are dancing as they illuminate the hall. The last painting, before the door at the end of the hallway, is that of The Man. You take a deep breath and smile as you pull the hood up over your face.
Standing there at the podium is a man probably around his mid thirties. Disheveled hair and clothes that look like they haven’t been laundered in a few days or weeks. He is nervous and looking around the room with a shaky eye. He hasn’t noticed you yet. Each step you take draws the attention of everyone in the congregation. As you reach him, you place a hand on his shoulder. You can feel the tension in his shoulder relax. You lean over and whisper.
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