Do I?

[mattknox]

He searched the witches out for their prophecies,

Which were again filled with many lies,

However, he again believed them fully,

Too late did he the truth see.

There’s something to be said about leaving the work to its tradesperson.

A baker ought to bake, a roofer ought to roof and an intern should keep his fucking trap shut and go on his ‘Boba runs’.

I like you, Cliff. I do. But holy God am I blown away by your wanton stupidity for booking this, son. It smacks of the same energy a petulant child spilling his toy box out and getting his grubby little hands on his favorites. Sure, the toys have no surface level relation but gosh are they his favorites.

A child’s mind. That’s how you get disasters such as these on the horizon. Where I am teamed with the insolent sprout off the tree I am trying to remove from this land. The disease-wridden promise of a future as destitute and dreary as the present has been made by this sickening fucking dynasty to the egos of a family so fucking small they don’t carry the cosmic weight of a speck of dust…

Against the man they just screwed to horde more gold, and a one eyed saint.

James, Nick…It’s good to see the two of you.

Especially you, James. Never had the pleasure personally but the news stories….your health, divorces…I pride myself on being a fucking trainwreck but my god, man. You’re the fucking Hindenberg. I can’t really drag you for it. I’ve been there. Body giving out, personal life going to shit.

Managed to keep both my eyes though, all the luck i’ve got.

They’ve certainly gone above and beyond with the caregiver they’ve found you though, haven’t they? Nick Danger, the actual World Television Champion of IWF. The most DANGERous show on TV. The fucking future World, Invictus, whatever goddamn champion he so desires. Maybe it won’t happen quite as quick for his as it does for the rest of us, but aside from myself? I’ve never seen someone get back up from so much.

Fall down 99 times, get up One Hundred eh Nicky? All you need to do is keep getting up, and get the right person down once and then everything changes. Finding lessons in every defeat, twice as many as you do in a victory? That’s how you win. That’s how you carve out a name for yourself in this broken husk of an industry.

Tou’re almost there, Nick. You’ve got the heart…but the brain…the mind? Is still untempered, unmoulded. Where a pen is needed you’re but a piece of graphite. Unruly, your message smudged and unclear. You speak so plainly, so beautifully through your violence. You just have to work on deception, on keeping your cards close to your chest.

You’d still be World Television Champion in more than just name then, Nick.

Honestly, I hope you’re having these talks with him as well James. Former World Champion, one of the old guard. A hero hallowed in the halls of the IWF.

A hero that fucking failed.

But don’t feel bad James, heroes often do that.

You live with that now. You live with being part of the group that couldn’t stop this fucking tree from taking root here. You failed to protect IWF just like your body is now Failing to keep you around.

I almost pity you, having to live with being in the audience and watching me do what i’m sure you thought you’d be able to do under your own power.

Well….you’re not a legendary genius, are you James?

Take heart though, friend. You will be put to pasture and you will be done so mercifully. I will make sure that you aren’t humiliated, but I will make sure that you leave Odyssey knowing the bitter truth.

It’s over, for you.

I am Raze. I am Ruin. I am The Raven.

I am Invictus Totalis.

And I will not fail.

---

“It’s bullshit is what it is.”

Matt Knox twisted the cap back onto the bottle of Jamesons before picking his glass up off the ancient wooden bar in his den. He turned to the incredulous look of Hope Knox, seated on the chaize lounge with Camryn who was babbling happily while slapping the screen of a tablet.

“Its booking is what it is, dad…”

Matthew grumbled a wordless response before taking a sip from his glass, throwing one hand up as he brought the glass away from his lips, face twisting slightly from the burn.

“It’s not even booking. They gave that fucking ginger coffee gopher a ‘Booker for a day’ pass, probably in place of an actual fucking paycheck and…” he blows a raspberry, dropping the hand in defeat before leaning further back into the sofa, his eyes falling to his granddaughter “She’d have booked a better match, wouldn’t you have Camryn?”

A babble in response that served to have Knox hold out an upturned hand, eyes shifting to Hope as if to say ‘See?’. Another eye roll from his daughter as she kissed the top of her daughter’s head.

“She will be nowhere near booking, or any other part of this business.”

“If she’s smart…which, you gave her a lead in that race but her daddy…” he hissed past clenched teeth, shaking his head “Sandbaggin’.”

“Dad…”

“Right, right. Sorry. We’re friends now.”

Matthew’s hand waved away the jab, settling in and taking a sip from his drink, face scrunching as he went into thought. He had made amends with Cameron Roth, somewhere in the maelstrom of his life. A peace forged with someone he had wronged, an apology that was held prisoner by little more than his fucking pride.

It nearly cost him this. His daughter, his granddaughter. He paid them a look, Hope’s attention pulled from him and to the wonder the couple had created, cooing as she talks about the toddler’s game, far too advanced for the one year old, as it plays out before the amused baby.

“It’s going to be different this time, Valor….real family thing. The right way. Not like..” he trailed off, shaking his head “The things this boy they’ve got me tagged with has done…” he trailed off again, eyes narrowing at the memories. The words and actions all the same.

“What boy? That Wraith guy?”

“Yeah…I was being a prick.”

“He seems like any of the rest of you…” her gaze returned to him, “Egocentric and ambitious, reckless, arrogant. I’m surprised you haven’t had him tested to see i–”

“That’s not even close to funny, young lady.”

“No it’s not, but i’m not going to apologize either..”

“Well at least some of the raising stuck.”

“Anyway…” she shook her head at her father, shifting as much as she could while being the chair for the baby “He’s young. You know what it’s like being that age, hell the way you train and adopt rookies? I always thought you’d be more empathetic to people like him.”

‘He doesn’t deserve empathy,” Matthew all but spat, a scoff escaping him as he leaned forward “ The kid is violent, ambitious, willing to break - not even stretch, break - rules, codes of honor, tradition. He’s the product of privilege and being surrounded by lesser competiti-.”

“And you’re the old guy that came into his home and started screaming about how much it sucks, how it’s his fault that it sucks, and also you’re gonna kick his dad’s ass….” she countered, cutting off his words and leaving him to answer in little more than a grunt and another sip of his drink.

He grimaced at the shot of pain that ran through his shoulder ,remembering his last match on Odyssey.

“I’d bet anything you don’t even remember what started it, the ‘beef’...” she shook her head, “You say he doesn’t deserve empathy…so let me ask you this..”

He lifted his gaze to meet hers, finding it as warm and frigid as it always was. Cerebral, his chosen daughter. The absolute apple of his eye and the one he could rely on.

“Go ahead.”

“Do you?”

He sat with that question, his drink sitting as still as him. Eventually, she’d gone to put Camryn down and the roaring fire burned to embers, barely glowing in the dark room.

Did He?