Please Login or Register to get full access to the forums.

Lost Password?
Current time: 03-28-2024, 09:58 AM (time should display as Pacific time zone; please contact Admin if it appears to be wrong)                                                                


X-treme Wrestling Federation »   » Archives » Leap Of Faith 2021 RP Board
Nothing Beside Remains
Author Message
Ned Kaye Offline
per cogitabat, per facis
TITLE - Tag Champion



XWF FanBase:
The IWC

(gets varying reactions in the arenas, but will be worshiped like a god and defended until the end by internet fans; literally has thousands of online dorks logging on to complain anytime they lose a match or don't get pushed right)


#1
05-22-2021, 10:51 PM

OOC: Posting early. Formatting mostly after posting in case of site downtime.



From the desk of Dr. William Hallenbeck:

Notes and conclusion regarding Ned Kaye:


Today, I met with the most peculiar patient I have ever encountered.

That isn't to say I've not met odd fellows in my tenure, considering I have provided physical examinations as well as light mental exams for XWF athletes for a little over half a year. This one takes the proverbial cake.

As soon as the patient entered my office, I could sense there was something profoundly unique about him. Unnervingly so. We went over the basic paperwork, yet I found him wincing occasionally at mentions of his name. The patient would respond to “Ned,” but there was a clear begrudging attitude to each response. An active discomfort and disdain with his identity that is new to me. I questioned him to see if he had a preferred name. Dysphoria, dissociation, and schizophrenia is nothing new to a medical professional. But these abject rejections of self were far more complex and nuanced from even a passing glance. After speaking to him for a short while, I pressed on the matter of his identity further. To my surprise. He shared a dream he had this morning. I transcribed his description.

“It was a truly surreal experience, Doc. As if I’d been plunged back in the passenger’s seat of this body. See, Ned had this friend Ethan who mattered a great deal to him. And as Ned’s losing control, he rushes back to his best friend. The only person who’d ever given him the strength to get over any hurdles before him. Well, he’s just breaking down in front of Ethan, desperately hoping for everything to go back to normal. To stop losing control to me. And he has this brief moment of hope listening to Ethan speak and that clarity is so dense and tangible that I feel this sensation. Like a lightswitch in the back of my head or a gear shifting. And suddenly, click, I’m in the driver’s seat. So, I reach out and curl my fingers around Ethan’s neck and as my cold hands rest on his neck, I realize how alive I feel. And that scares Ned so thoroughly that he grabs the wheel and runs out with tears streaming down his face, shocked that his hands- our hands did something like that. Then I woke up.”

“I’m sorry you had a nightmare like that.”

“Nightmare? Doc, I’ve never slept better in my life!”

The patient passed his physical examination with flying colors. On a purely athletic basis, he is fully prepared to be conditioned for short term space travel. I would however recommend a prescription to treat some recent chronic headaches he has suffered. I feel the need to stress, however, that it is my professional opinion that this deeply disturbed individual is not allowed to perform in his current mental state. I would even go as far to say that no doctor worth their salt could in good conscious clear Mr. Ned Kaye mentally.



May 21st, 2021


Steven Cooper glanced around Avalanche HQ. Over in the common area sat Ned’s odd psychiatrist Urias Pheelanruff and Steve’s very own tag partner Eobard Stone. The doctor had been pulling up some of those dumb cards Stone taught him how to play with for a “mental examination.” Urias held up one of those cards that tapped for green mana(a sentence that made Coop question how much dork shit he had allowed Eobard to impart into his brain) and pointed at the symbol on it.

“Now, Mr. Stone, could you tell me what this is?”

“That’s a forest.”

“Wrong!” Urias shook his head dismissively, feeling a great deal of authority and validity with the response, “this is clearly a tree!”

“No, it’s no-”

“What’re you talking about? That is pretty plain as a day, a tree symbol if I ever saw one! A forest is multiple trees! You’ll really have to get past this if you wanna pass!”

“That’s what I was sayin’!” Piped in Steve, looking a tad smug at Stone having to deny every bit of lingo he had learned from that damn game to exist in reality for once.

“Oh, shut up, Coop!” Stone retorted, doing everything in his power to not have to call a forest card a “tree.” “I don’t even think I have a match on the moon, anywa-”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to get cleared! A good mental test is key to peak performance as an athlete!”

“Is THAT what this is?”

Steven snorted. The kid was getting more of that snark all of the time. That said, this whole moon thing had been a disaster from the start. Sure, he enjoyed the limelight he and his protege had received, but the constant reminders of how haphazard and idiotic the XWF was certainly didn’t bring confidence. Now they were about to ship off talent to the moon on a few months' notice and with the most lackluster medical care in the world. From behind Cooper, a small, digital chime rang and with it walked in the man he’d been waiting to speak to. The Nefarious Ned Kaye. He had been wearing the Hart belt around for the past couple of days, his arrogant gloating not coming at the best time for the rest of the group. Thias’s poor head had nearly been cracked like a walnut by a vengeful Doc, EXP hadn’t gotten a real match since the Turmoil, Dean and Sarah were doing whatever the hell they did, and Stone had come close to beating Andre Dixon, but fell just a bit short. Cooper didn’t feel a worry that they weren’t the threat they clearly were, just at the lack of retribution they’d been giving out after everyone realized that. As Ned walked up to him, Coop brought his voice down low, as to not be heard by the two in the other room.

“So, you wanna tell me why you blew smoke up this butterball’s ass? Do you just enjoy The Three Stooge shit that much?”

“Please,” The Nefarious One scoffed, “Urias is easily manipulated. He just wanted to feel like he still had a friendship with Ned in some capacity and by inflating his self-worth a bit, I get to run roughshod on the XWF roster. That’s a worthwhile trade to me.”

“How did your physical go?”

“I’m clear. Just as planned. I told you to just let me handle these sorts of things, Coop.”

“Is that what you tell the doc over there, Ned?” Steven’s frustration seeped out a little more blatantly than he had wished it to, but there was no better time to address this all.

“So, that’s what this is about. You’re afraid I’m using you and the group,” he rolled his eyes, turning away from Cooper, “well, I can assure you I’m not.”

“Really, huh? I suppose that’s why you’ve benefited the most from this group, right? Because you’re lookin’ out for us?”

Ned’s voice went cold as he twisted his body to stare at Coop, a sinister glare in his eyes.

“What do you want, Steven?”

“I want a match with Dixon.”

Ned hesitated.

“I had to watch him beat on Eobard and the kid told me not to help, Ne-... boss. I want to hurt the son of a bitch myself. Is that something you can afford me, Dear Leader?”

The Nefarious One walked forward, sending a chill down Cooper’s spine. There was something truly otherworldly about how he held himself. Something not right in a way indescribable to someone like Steven Cooper. Ned extended his arm and placed it on the veteran’s soldier, his intense glare turning to a smile.

“All you had to do was ask, Steve.”

Coop relaxed, the nerves in his body beginning to ease somewhat. He wasn’t certain what was going to happen there, but that was likely the best case outcome.

“Well, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. It may have to wait, though. I have been working to make sure you and Stone get a proper shot at the Tag Titles. I know that’s where your true fancy lies.”

“I-uh… I didn’t know. I ain’t a psychic, kid.”

Ned stepped away from Cooper, preparing to walk up to the roof of the facility, talking over his shoulder, “I’m aware. I may be The Devil, but I’m still you friend, old man. Maybe don’t take that for granted next time.”

Before Ned had departed, Cooper spoke up, remembering an important detail from earlier he needed to share.

“Wait up!” Steven called out, prompting Ned to approach him again, cocking his head. Steve thought about the phone call from earlier in the day and swallowed, deciding that news was best saved for a different time. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a strange scrap of newspaper that had been singed and written on with a dark blue marker. On it were the words: “I DIDN’T FORGET.”

“We found this in the facility. We think somebody’s getting past the security and this could be a big problem.”

Ned examined it closely, pocketing it himself after giving a quick shrug, “It’s likely just Morbid bitter over his humiliation to me. I wouldn’t put too much mind to it. You’re still going to accompany me when I go to get completely space ready, right?”

With a sigh, Cooper nodded, ‘Yeah. you can count on it.”

“Good to hear. Oh, and do send the doctor up when he’s done with Stone. I’d like to share a few words with him later.”

“Will do.”

Out in the common room, Eobard could be heard shouting at the top of his lungs.

“IT! IS NOT! A TREE!”

Steven barely held back his laughter as Ned smirked.

“It might take him a bit.”

“Noted.”



Later on the rooftop, The Nefarious One looked at the sunset, watching the light of a once bright day get consumed by a deep violet night. The sight was always welcome, a beautiful reminder of what he had achieved that no one else could come close to. He snuffed the brightest flame in the company with two frozen fingers and assisted in the complete chaos the XWF had been delved into and he finally was about to get another chance to drag another star and leave a vacant bleeding wound in the universe. A black hole where good had once been thought to exist.

“Hey buddy!” His thoughts were interrupted by the infamously loud Urias Pheelanruff.

“Hello, Urias. Stone finally pass?”

“You know it! I am a pretty great doctor, so it was no big worry. I mean, why else would you stick with me?”

“Yes, why else?”

“Hey-uh, I actually gotta get going home pretty quick, Ned, but I brought you a good luck gift for your match with Thaddeus!” Urias pulled out a present from behind his back that he had been poorly hiding: A Thaddeus Duke action figure, unboxed, of course. “Now, you can get a real up close and personal reading of him and he won’t have any surprises left for ya! Anyways, what did you want to talk to me about.”

The Nefarious One eyed the toy, smirking slightly, losing his train of thought as a sharp pain reverberated through his skull.

“You know, Urias. We can really discuss it later.”

“You sure? I can always make tim-”

“I’m sure.”

Urias looked down, a slight sadness overcoming his eyes as he began to walk towards the roof’s exit.

“Oh. Well, I guess I’ll just talk to you next time, space man.”

Urias sulked from the rooftop, the sight of his exit bringing Ned’s eyes towards his own hand.







Once sat upon the throne
What’s left, made of stone
Ravaged, left to erode
By the winds of the valley of the king

The Nefarious One inspected the Thaddeus Duke action figure handed to him, seemingly referencing the skewed details on the toy to the clear memory of his prey. With a passing whim, he loosened his grip and observed it tumbling down upon the rooftop beneath him, hitting the surface with a soft “clack!” Peering down, The Nefarious One lifted up a single foot and slowly pressed his weight upon the tiny recreation of his enemy, grinding the soft plastic against the leather of his heel. After finally completing the motion, only the figure’s mangled legs were recognizable. With a chuckle, the man standing upon the scraps speaks something from memory.

Look upon my Works, ye Mighty, and despair.”

He lifted his boot, stepping off the chunks of plastic, a smirk wide across his face.

“A quote from the poem Ozymandias, though even the common sort of idiot who watches the XWF is likely to know that. No, I don't say that to inform the viewers but rather my spectacularly stupid opponent whose greatest knowledge of poetry is "Wheels On The Bus." Turns out the “2nd” in his name also refers to his grade level! I mean, he convinced himself that him getting this match was all some major miscalculation on my part. He’s repeatedly tried to goad me into response, salivating at the thought of having someone pay attention to him. Don’t worry, everybody, it’s typical of emotionally stunted manchildren to act out when the world doesn’t bend to their whims. Hell, maybe I did miscalculate, boy. You’re clearly a kindergarten-level threat. I’ll try and keep my next analogies in your education range. Hell, if I’m going to put in effort to insult you, I’d like you to have the capacity to at least understand it!”

“But like those wheels you’re familiar with, these cycles do tend to go round and round. I find some jackass who thinks that they’re going to overcome me, I chuckle and let them try and in a few short minutes, I’m enjoying a drink with Mr. Cooper over the battered body of some hero who wanted to cut me down to size. And in this cycle, boy, you’ve easily been the most eager. You can’t shut up about me! Or rather, you can’t shut up about “Ned.” But we’ll get into that a bit later. The point is that you are so desperate to hear your name from my lips that you’re getting into spats with people on Twitter who are also “good guys.” I mean, what kind of botched job do-gooder did I land?! You constantly spout this self-important nonsense as if you’re some true crusader of truth and justice. You told Demos you had to beat me to get Edgar’s title back! Besides the fact that he took that off of Ned who was keeping it warm for me, what the hell do you think you are, child? Do you sincerely buy into the militant propaganda you’re surrounded with or are you just terrified to start peeling back the curtain to see your true colors? Did you really think I would hand you this match if there was a snowball’s chance in hell you had any effect on its outcome?”

“Boy, I won when I signed that contract. And I stopped uttering your name the second I was sure the ink was set and the match was ready. The thing is that people like Ned are tough to handle. People so thoroughly devoted to the idea of doing the right thing that failure to do so eats away at them until they succeed. Fighting them is messy and difficult. But you, kid?!”


The Nefarious One burst out laughing, shaking his head.

“You’re no Ned Kaye, I’ll tell you that! Hell, despite all of your pretense to “care” about Ned, you sure didn’t care back at War Games 2019, did ya? You were his second pick after a current champion and yet you didn’t show. Then you just popped back up later with not so much as an apology to little ol’ Ned. He trusted you. He put faith in you. But let’s stop this little charade, shall we? You’re not one of these do-gooders. You’re a long shot away from a Ruby. No, no. You’re like me. Not Ned. Me. How about some confession, kid? They say it’s good for the soul and I think there’s no better time to confess your sins than now.”

“Of course, we both know you’d never do so willingly, so I’ll start, you can add onto your list of atrocities and by the end of this we’ll both have said many things that you’re going to answer for.”

“Firstly, that whole affair at War Games. Let’s not mince words about why you didn’t show for that man you started respecting around the time he had a title you wanted. It’s about your ego. You can try to pretend otherwise, but you’re not really fooling anyone. The only time you ever felt amicable with Ned was when you felt you were standing over him, so having to work under him must’ve stirred you up inside. Why should you, little warlord, have to serve instead of having those serve under you? Feeling like a king all your life has turned you into quite the little Joffery- Oh, look at me going again with a reference above your reading level! Muffy from Arthur? I think that’s more your speed. The point is, little tyrant, that you never would work under someone like Ned, despite all the pageantry in public. You always saw yourself as above him despite being, well, the leader of a militia. Speaking of, I think it’s so easy for people to forget that you’re a child soldier playing cowboy at these shows. The same people who got all up in arms about Joseph Kony a decade ago are now buying his Caucasian counterpart’s merch. How many people your age have you stood side-by-side, boy? How many did you send to death before putting on a happy face and smiling for the cameras because daddy said so? How much blood is on those hands you mindlessly slap against fans, hoping they don’t really give an ounce of analysis towards the atrocities you’ve committed and subsequently omitted? You want to know a little secret, kiddo?"

“Ned worked with the FBI for a few months after swearing off the XWF because of a vow he made. Do you know one of the things he learned working for the feds? Something I got to witness firsthand? He got a dossier on you. He knew what you did and he tried to keep it off his mind, convincing himself you weren’t the same person who killed a man with his own gun. That’s pretty goddamn coldblooded, even for me! Say what you will about Ned and myself, but we don’t shed blood. Ned was too much of a pussy and I just enjoy more creative outlets of torment. You though? You’re all business. You barbarian. You’re not a good man. Certainly not a hero or even trying. Hell, you keep Paul Heyman on a leash despite him having a heart as large as the Grinch’s at the end of his tale that is as black as the Grinch’s at the beginning. See, I’m finally starting to speak your language, soldier boy! But the point is that you lug around Heyman, a man who bankrupts everything he puts serious work into, be it his company, his wrestlers, or his morals! You drag him behind you and you know what, kid? He’s scared of you. A human being filled with almost as much vile material as myself looks at you, who gallivants as some sort of savior, and sees the real you. The veil has been shattered for him and what he sees chills this wicked man to his core. Hero? You? Never have been. For God's sake, you chose a House of Horrors match! Need I say much more about your morality? But as truly evil as you are, you're no villain like me. You spend all your time looking for ways to distract the world from your true self. That's your cowardice at play. You wanted so hard to be like the Ned Kayes of the world, but that was just too much work, so you thought you'd just pretend until everybody forgot that if you were just a little more honest with yourself, you'd potentially have a spot right next to me in Avalanche. That's why I wanted this match, boy. Because I want to do what armies and Universal Champions couldn't. I want to kill you."

"Not literally, of course! Please! My standards of villainy are far higher than yours! No, I want to take your brand, your carefully curated image and leave it as a pile of embers buried beneath a thin layer of frost none would bother to uncover. That idolized version of you has numbered days, kid. I want Harry- wasn't that his name? You know, the innocent man you murdered? Well, while you want to grab the Hart Title off of me for Edgar, a know-nothing hick who lost fair and square, I want ol' Harry's family to see his murderer exposed and defamed. To have comfort in the fact that the boy that did him in will have to look at every judging face from every stadium for the rest of his life. Hey, that's a bit of a nobler cause, don't ya think? Maybe we got this whole dynamic wrong! Do you think I'm the Superman to your Lex Luthor? Perhaps I'm the white knight and you're the guy who's been violating the Geneva Conventions! Is The Nefarious One turning face?!"


The man put on a shocked face, seemingly gasping before laughing it off.

"Of course not! Except the thing about your human rights violations, that's accurate. I'm sure you'll have some excuse, though. You always do, just like a real hero. Or your papa will just run up to your defense and tell everyone that junior just didn't know any better and that his Continuum friends were probably a bad influence retroactively. Daddy X-Bux can't have his favorite source of income go dry because of just one match. Hell, if you had more siblings, he would've had you all singing and dancing on Letterman for a nice retirement home. You think you're his son? His accomplishment? Bullshit, your Sebastian's retirement plan. At least you were before I showed up. Now he'll have to start all over and hope his next kid is easier to cover up for, so get used to them Continuum friends of yours, because you'll be reaaaaal acquainted with their couches in your thirties. By the way, good choice on selecting suitably infamous and bloodthirsty companionship! But even amongst them, you're not really the pacifist. Say what you will about D'Ville, but he's mostly a deluded psychopath with delusions of grandeur. Wait a second, I guess you two are more alike than you give yourselves credit for, though Doc isn't so cowards as to send other people off to fight his battles. And Corey? Sure, he killed someone while cosplaying as his ex, but that person was as innocent as you are intelligent. Not like Howie or Harry or Harmon or whatever the name of that poor guy you knocked off was. I bet you'll have to check your old diary for his name, because there's no room in your head for any names besides your own. I'd say you live rent free inside there, but you might be the only person I've met dumb enough to make payments on your own headspace. Hell, you'll squabble with nameless men on Twitter to remember your name, but only because you can't force everyone to think about you all the time. I'd call you a cunt for that, but the truth is that you haven't the warmth nor depth to deserve it."

"Poor, poor boy. So desperate for fame at any cost, even infamy. That said, little king, you've existed above your consequences for far too long. You put on your cape and tights and you do a little dance on the stage, like a cover band of nobler creatures that came before you. All performance, no creation. Playing the part of Ned or your father or a normal rich kid without ever being any of them. What a tragedy, my Hallmark Hamlet. Don't worry, though, regicide isn't in the cards. Yet, your castle is slowly beginning to crumble. When I'm through with you, you'll be longing for the days when you were a toddler playing tin-pot dictator in the woods. You'll be reminiscing over the sounds and gunfire and air raid sirens. Hell, you'll be wishing you were still jobbing to Big D! You're not a "good guy," nor a champion! Hell, you're not even good enough at committing world terror to get on the no-fly list! When I wave the Hart Belt around and I call it trash, everyone listens and grits their teeth. Some convince themselves it's because I'm sullying the legacy of a long honored title! But that's shit. The reality is that people hate knowing that my garbage is more valuable than any gold you'll ever touch, Midas. You bought your hype so easily that I didn't even have to say the command for you to bark on Twitter. Hubris wears a lion T-shirt and thinks the Universe spins around and around him, just like those wheels, and his crossdressing buddy thinks I'm the conceited egomaniac? Please, Continuum. I'm not some drooling numbnuts who can only get an erection under stage lighting. I'm not the center of the universe…"


The Nefarious One dropped his smirk, staring deep into the camera with cruel eyes.

"I'm the end of it."

TO BE CONTINUED




"You can't run from yourself."
[Image: riNkNZw.png]
XWF
Wins | Losses | Draws
52 | 37 | 4


Indie Darling Eternal

#33 on The XWF Top 50(2021)
1x Tag Team Champion[with Isaiah King](Current)
2x [Image: CbviDqC.png] (Former)
1x X-Treme Champion(Former)
The Final Supercontinental Champion
1x Television Champion(Former)
Star of the Month - April 2019 | March 2021 | December 2022
RP of the Month - March 2021 (Void of the Mind)
Winner - Leap Of Faith Rafter Match 2019
1x 24/7 Briefcase Holder
Winner - War Games 2023(With Mark Flynn, Isaiah King, & Crash Rodriguez as G00D-B01)


All Time Career(Interfed)
Wins | Losses | Draws
52 | 38 | 4
Edit Hate Post Like Post
[-] The following 8 users Like Ned Kaye's post:
"Loverboy" Vinnie Lane (05-28-2021), Doctor Louis D'Ville (05-23-2021), Dolly Waters (05-23-2021), JimCaedus (05-28-2021), Lycana (05-23-2021), Morbid Angel (05-30-2021), Theo Pryce (05-27-2021), Thunder Knuckles™ (05-22-2021)
[-] Oh shit! Hater alert! The following 1 user Hates Ned Kaye's post!
Steven Cooper (05-31-2021)




Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)