The Road So Far:

Break From Insanity, Or Break From Reality - P1

Break From Insanity, Or Break From Reality - P2

Break From Insanity, Or Break From Reality - P3

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~The shot opens to a warming sky above the Dallas metroplex. It's been a pretty cold blast of winter as of late, but Dallas seems to have finally gotten past the chilling storms. The camera slowly pans down from the sky, focusing on the building that's standing directly in front of us.~



~As the crowds go forward, intent on enjoying the zoo, the police cars out front definitely catch your eye. The officers standing there seem to be checking out every visitor, as surreptitiously as they can. Their eyes quickly lock on the next man walking in, noting him as someone potentially worth following. Peter Vaughn looks back at them, raising a questioning eyebrow, which causes the younger officers to look away. Vaughn then turns and enters the zoo, showing off a pass to the attendant. He steps into the main zoo area, taking a second to look around. He then pulls out his cell phone, making a quick call.~

Bill Sykes: Hello, this is Bill!

Peter Vaughn: Hey, Bill. Got a question for you.

Bill Sykes: Oh, of course, sir! Anything for the Head Custodian!

Peter Vaughn: Yeah, yeah, dial back on the ass-kissing. I just wanted to ask you... why the hell am I at the Dallas Zoo again?

~There's silence on the other end for a few notable seconds.~

Bill Sykes: Uh, sir, as I told you, there have been multiple issues over the last few weeks there, and...

Peter Vaughn: I've heard all about that, Bill. They were talking about it on the radio as I drove over here. Animals cut out of their cages, a rare bird killed, I get all that. But they caught somebody today, didn't they? So why even bother having me come by?

Voice: Because the man they caught was just a patsy.

~Startled, Vaughn twists around, looking annoyed that someone was listening in on his phone conversation. The man, dressed in a Dallas Zoo polo shirt and jeans, quickly backs away, smiling as he raises his hands. Vaughn glares at him, then at the phone.~

Peter Vaughn: Gotta go, Bill. Just remember, this is all YOUR fault...

Bill Sykes: Oh, sir, I'm sure everything's going to be...

~The rest of the sentence doesn't make it through, as Vaughn's already hung up the phone and put it away. He turns towards the man, who is now offering a handshake. Reluctantly, Vaughn takes him up on it, if only to keep the man from staying in that position indefinitely.~

Waylon Anilius: Mr. Vaughn, my name is Waylon Anilius, and I'm a huge fan of yours! You've been amazing to watch for the last year!

Peter Vaughn: Uh huh. Sure. So, I take it, Wayne, you're the reason I'm down here?

Waylon Anilius: Oh, uh, that's Waylon, but, I get that a lot, so... yes, I put out the word to your... organization for help. If you've been following in the news, we've had quite the situation here at the Dallas Zoo recently.

Peter Vaughn: So I gathered. Why don't you think the chump they arrested did it?

Waylon Anilius: Mr. Irvin was a bit strange, and would ask some pretty wild questions, but I really don't think he was capable of harming any of our precious animals. No, he's been set up, I'm pretty sure of it.

Peter Vaughn: Okay. You tell the police that? Because if you're a fan of mine, you know I'm a wrestler, not some private dick you can jerk on when you need help.

Waylon Anilius: Okay, that's... a little strange the way you put that, but... anyway, look, I talked to our custodians, and they said that the best way to go would be to enlist your... connections.

~These "connections" are Vaughn being the Head Custodian of the Custodial Coalition, a powerful underground agency that few know of. Vaughn looks rather ticked off that someone told this guy about it, but he shakes it off.~

Peter Vaughn: Look... I can ask a few people, put the word out, but I can't say how much we'll hear back. Besides which, why did I need to be here in person for this? Couldn't you just go through Bill and we could have made it happen?

Waylon Anilius: Well... if we did that... I wouldn't be able to ask for your autograph...

~Waylon sheepishly pulls out an old promo picture from his back pocket, handing it over to Vaughn. It's a shot of Vaughn in mid-air, coming down for the Plunge. Vaughn sighs, thinking about how he's going to kick Sykes' ass for this. He looks at the expectant smile on Waylon's face, sighs, then signs the photo. Waylon takes it back, excited.~

Waylon Anilius: Thank you! Thank you so much!! Oh... "To Wayne, Watch Where You Step, Peter Vaughn"... uh...

~Vaughn's already walking away from Waylon, getting out his phone to figure out how to coordinate all of this. Waylon watches him leave without saying goodbye, frowning, but he still keeps the picture, putting it carefully into a protective sleeve. We cut away.~

---

Sometimes I feel like the world is out to get me.

Take the March Madness Tournament. I knew there was a fair chance that my partner, Mark Flynn, would be walking out of Snow Job with his championship, so I was already looking to the future. I signed up for this little shindig because they needed bodies, and because I wanted to have the chance to face a lot of wrestlers that I've never fought before. I wanted new faces that I could kick in, new talents that I could tear down, new heroes for me to add to the List of the Vanquished.

But, lo, the damned Wheel betrayed me.

It decided out of 31 possible choices, it would make me fight someone that I've fought WAY too damn much over the last year. It decided on the masked goof, Calypso. The moron who I crushed TWICE as he tried to find a way to get the Supercontinental Championship away from me. The imbecile who I squashed so hard, he immediately fell out of contention for every conceivable championship.

Actually, I think he fell off the map. I remember him fighting and submitting to Old Man Centurion a few weeks later, then he disappeared. It was so nice, having Caly-boy gone. It was so much quieter. I went on to fight actual, deserving talent for the belt, and I like to think I elevated it for the time I had it. Meanwhile, Cal could go off an enjoy a nice vacation in the mental hospital, or wherever he ended up. So why couldn't he have just stayed there?? I mean, I broke the guy! I rid the XWF of him... and now he decides to put his name on a contract, and the fucking Wheel points him right at me.

Sometimes life likes to mess with you.

Well, Kelp, looks like you and I are destined to have me twist your spine into a pretzel every year. Honestly, you're probably cursing the wheel more than I am, because while I'm pissed to be wasting my opening contest, your self-confidence is probably set for a run through the blender again. You likely decided to enter March Madness thinking, "Hey, this is a way for me to finally put the past behind me and not worry about how much of a super-doormat that Peter Vaughn made me out to be". But looks like you don't even get to have that first round wimp you were hoping for.

You got the favorite of the tournament.

Okay, I hear the naysayers bringing up Kido or Nickles, two very strong names, I'm sure. Maybe some are talking about Bourbon or Kaye making a run through the brackets. I can see their points of view. They're wrong, but I can still see it. But you know who NOBODY is saying will be willing this tournament?

You, Calypso. Nobody gives you a chance in hell of doing anything here.

And why should they? Any good reasons why anyone would bet on you winning even one match? I know, you're going to talk about how your War Games team was able to take down my War Games team, once again leaving out the fact that it ended up 4-on-1 against me and I still beat one of your boys before NKWC took me out. But what did you do with that "monumental" victory? You got squashed by me, choked out to Centurion, and sat on the bench for months and months.

You had your opportunity to become something, and you blew it.

You could have taken your ass to Anarchy, where the talent is a little lower on the totem pole. Maybe it was even possible that you could have made something of yourself there. Just look at Tommy Wish! Or maybe you could have gone to the minor leagues, wrestling in some of the smaller wrestling federations out there to try and actually better yourself. I mean, I think anything's possible, and you set the bar pretty low right now. But you didn't do any of that. You quit and went home, and as far as I can tell, you're coming back the same pathetic loser you were then.

You WASTED anything you could have gained by your fights with me, and it's damn sad to see.

That being said, I still want to see more. I want to see your face, crying, devastated, as I've once again pulverized you into oblivion. I want to see you sobbing as you realize that things haven't changed: that you don't belong in the squared circle with a talent such as myself. I want to see that realization hit, and see where you end up afterwards.

You're facing the wrestler that's only gotten better since we last faced off. The man who won the WGWF West Coast Rumble. The top superstar in TPW. The man who took Mark Flynn to his limits at the top of the XWF just a short time ago. There's no possible way of comparing us now, Calp. You're just not in my league. Not even in the one or two below me.

Maybe it's time to hang it back up, Caly. Maybe it's time to realize that you should have never come back to the XWF.

Because now you're going to take the Plunge... for a third time.

---

~The picture comes up on one of the enclosures at the Dallas Zoo. We see some Emperor Tamarin monkeys jumping around through the trees, paying no attention to the outside world. Peter Vaughn is off to the side, studying where the cage was clearly cut and mended back together. He focuses on the cuts, shaking his head.~

Peter Vaughn: Definitely amateur hour.

~Vaughn stands up, again wondering why he's even there. After a second, though, his eyes narrow, and he twists around, staring... at absolutely no one. He glances in both directions, before scoffing to himself.~

Peter Vaughn: Could've sworn I sensed somebody watching...

~Vaughn goes back to looking at the cage, as we suddenly move backwards, a good distance away. We're now peering around a corner, apparently well-hidden, as the sound of deep laughter can be heard.~

Voice: Yessss... you keep your attention that way, Mechanic... you'll never sssssee me coming... and you'll pay... you'll pay for mocking the mask wearers... the true rulers of thissss world... so says... The Sssinissster Ssserpant!!!!

~The camera turns, showing us a cloaked figure, with his face obscured from view. Suddenly, the figure steps into the light... showing a green snake-like mask, complete with the tongue sticking out. There's another heavy laugh, followed by darkness.~

CWF Paramount Champion
GCWA Hardcore Champion
Outsiders Champion (x3)
OCW Craze Champion
OCW World Champion
TPW International Champion (First-Ever) (x2)
PW Valor World Heavyweight Champion
XWF Universal Champion
Level Up Game Genie Winner
XWF Supercontinental Champion

WGWF West Coast Rumble Winner

WGWF World Heavyweight Champion

SCW (Sin City) Roulette Champion