Natural Selection

[kaster]

Steel is cold. It has no thoughts. No emotions. No regard for anyone. It does not know forgiveness.

“And neither do we.”

In a dimly lit room, smoke passes through a chain link fence. Tyson Everest appears behind the fence and grabs onto it.

“So it’s official. Kings of Flight versus Savage by Nature. The rematch that I know I wanted. The rematch that y’all were afraid to let happen. But let’s put ourselves back to a few months ago. November 26th. Survival of the Fittest.”

Black-and-white footage of the pay-per view plays. The two teams wail on each other, cutting between the big moments of the match. A light tube gets smashed on the back of Tyson’s head. It cuts back to a view of his head from behind. With a hand brushing his hair away, a nasty scar is revealed.

Charlie Van Ruth walks up to the other side of the fence. He comes face to face with Everest, with only the steel coming between them.

“We got our asses kicked at Survival of the Fittest. I’m not afraid to admit that we got a little in over our heads.”

Cut to footage of Terrella slamming Van Ruth onto the concrete, with his arm taking most of the impact. The camera then jumps to Charlie’s elbow, showing a gruesome bruise normally covered up by pads.

“But we fought through the pain. Everything you threw at us, we just kept coming back for more.”

This time, a shot where Cvetkova stabs Everest in the head with a fork. Tyson is bloodied and has a look of shell shock in his eyes. That same look is almost present now, as he gazes at a bloody towel.

“We almost had it won. If it weren’t for one thing, it would have been a different story.”

What Charlie is referencing gets put on screen, as Portia ends up distracting Tyson long enough for The Black Widow to capitalize and put him down for the count.

ONE…

TWO…

THRE-

The fence rattles as Everest smacks it with his palms. His head hangs low while he mutters to himself.

“It’s bullshit. We had it…”

Van Ruth begins slowly pacing back and forth along the fence.

“You’re goddamn right we had it. And that bitch took it away from us. It would’ve been enough if that was the end of it.”



“January 16th.”

The aforementioned Odyssey begins to play, showing the triple threat tag match. The Kings are gaining momentum, but Terrella refuses to count any of their falls. Inevitably, the teams begin to brawl. A lasting moment of Terrella blowing his nose into the referee shirt and throwing it at Everest plays before cutting back to the Kings. Everest spits on the floor as he leans his forearms against the fence.

“Fuckin’ disgrace, man. And those motherfuckers wonder why we wanted this match so bad.”



“It’s not because we want our win back. It’s because we know you scumbags won’t learn a lesson until we beat it out of you.”



“And this time, there ain’t gonna be any bullshit with your little Portia. We got y’all in a cage!”

Charlie grips the fence and begins shaking it.

“You see this? This is going to lock all four of us in. Nobody gets in and we are going to make sure nobody gets out. That’s what you deserve.”



“And y’all are so confident in winning, but what happens when it’s just us in there? Are you gonna go crying, screaming, pissing your pants for Portia? Or are you actually gonna fight us?”



“It seems like you’re so used to these hit-and-run tactics.”



“January 23rd.”

Cut to that same Sacrifice, after Van Ruth and Nick Danger finish a hard-fought battle. Savage by Nature beat down the trio until it cuts to Cvetkova trying to jab a glass shard right into Charlie’s eyes. Now, the camera has an extreme close-up on those same eyeballs.

“LOOK INTO THESE FUCKING EYES! The same ones you tried to gouge out. And when you look at them, try and tell me that we’re losers. Try and make the people think that we’re worthless.”



“They chant our names everywhere we go, because they know we put our bodies on the line for them. They boo the shit out of you just for existing.”



“But this isn’t about the people, not anymore. This is our journey to being one of the top tag teams on the planet. We do not give up and run away! We do not attack people from behind and try to injure them! We are not cowards like Savage by Nature! This match is more personal than any other.”



“When you said that you would put us in the ground, you never got the job done. You want some violence? Y’all crave that shit, right? We are gonna give you violence. We will make you bleed like you made us bleed. There will be a moment when you step into the cage and you’ll realize something. We’re not locked in with you, you’re locked in with us, motherfuckers.”

Everest bashes the fence again, causing it to vibrate.

“You talked a lot about how you guys were on top. How we were crying about losing. We weren’t crying. We were wondering how a roided up gorilla with his balls in his girlfriend’s purse and a whiny goth girl, looking like she belongs on OnlyFans rather than a wrestling ring, couldn’t finish off two so-called ‘bottom bitches’.”



“At some point, nobody’s gonna be to blame but ourselves. We asked for this rematch. We wanted y’all to sign the contract. We have to prove that we can be better on Sunday.”



“We will prove that we’re better. If we don’t…”

The two men finally lock eyes after avoiding each other for so long. They stand on opposite sides, separated by the cold, unforgiving steel.

“We have to face each other.”



“And that ain’t gonna happen. We are Kings of Flight. They can’t do anything to break us up. They won’t get the chance because we are fuckin’ dope. You remember what you told me when I first checked into the hospital last year?”



“I told you that this was ride or die. We were meant to be a team.”



“You’re goddamn right. Come on, man, what did we say back in Orlando?”



“Kings of Flight… never soar alone, nobody touches the-”



“The motherfuckin’ throne.”



“That’s what I’m sayin’! There ain’t nobody that is able to fuck with us!”



“Nobody fucks with us and gets away with it.”

Everest pushes the fence again, causing it to rattle inches away from Charlie’s face.

“That’s it, bro! We started this whole shit and we damn sure gonna finish it!”



“You’re right… YEAH!”

Charlie pushes back, causing Tyson to take a step away.

“Who’s the best?”

Another push from Everest, more forceful than the last.

“Kings of Flight!”

Van Ruth responds with his own shove. The fence is starting to wobble…

“Who’s the bitches?!”

One more push from Tyson.

“Savage by Nature!”

With a final push from Charlie, the fence comes crashing down. Everest backs up enough to get out of the way. The two lock eyes for a moment before rushing at each other. Once they meet, they embrace with a hug. The Kings of Flight pat each other on the back before breaking the hug. Both men nod simultaneously as they stare at the other.

“Let’s show ‘em what we came to do, C.”



“You got it, T.”

Steel can be broken. By sheer will, it will eventually bend to a stronger force. It cannot know forgiveness, as it must not be forgiven.

---

Open up on a room with a large Metamorphosis X poster on the back wall. The room is well-lit and has two empty chairs to the left. On the right sits Maria Iniesta! She is dressed in a dazzling black dress and waiting patiently for her guests.

“Ladies and gentlemen, days before Metamorphosis X, we are here in Long Island and today, I am interviewing two men who are looking to right some wrongs from the last few months. Please welcome Charlie Van Ruth and Tyson Everest, the Kings of Flight!”

On cue, the duo enter the room. Both men aren’t looking like their normal selves. They’re deadly serious and not jovial at all.

“What’s up, Maria?”



“Guys, there’s been a lot of talk about what this upcoming match means for Kings of Flight. Is this a grudge match, a way to move up the ranks or something else?”



“For us, Maria, it’s personal. It got personal when Terrella and Cvetkova decided to get involved in our business. As far as the ranks are concerned, we don’t really give a fuck. They say they don’t really care about us, but they’re the ones that decided to interfere in our matches and attack us over and over again. Let me ask you, Maria, have you ever seen us attack anyone unless it was out of self-defense?”



“No… not that I can remember!”



“So then there’s your reason. They say they don’t want to fight us, but they keep trying to ambush us every chance they get. Putting them in a cage is our way of getting Stephen and Brandy by themselves.”



“That leads into my next question. You guys wanted a steel cage match for your stipulation, but you also chose the stipulation for your last match. Is there any worry about your choices for Sunday?”



“We chose a cage match because we knew that Portia couldn’t get herself involved. Despite what Savage by Nature says, we know that their weapon of choice isn’t glass or barbed wire… it’s her. With Portia out of the equation, we have the advantage. We are the better team in that ring.”



“And they think that they’re gonna be comfortable in that cage. They’re all about the violence. They ain’t ready for what we got cookin’. People try to say that we’re all talk and we can’t get it done. Nah, that’s never been how we roll. Sunday is when everybody sees a different side of Kings of Flight. We are more focused than ever. We’ve got the motivation to destroy Savage by Nature in the cage.”



“We have to talk about, of course, the stipulation that if you two lose, you’ll have to face each other in a singles match. Has there been any talk about that potential match?”

Everest shakes his head while Van Ruth hesitates, though he shakes his head a second after.

“Nah, we ain’t concerned with that. It’s all mind games from dollar store daddy issues Brandy. She thinks it’ll make us lose focus. You know why they gotta play those games? Because they need every little chance they can get. They know what they’re signing up for. Shit don’t mean nothing to us.”



“They keep on trying to bully everyone in their path. It sounds like they want to make an example out of us. The tag division shouldn’t be scared to stand up to these two. In fact, we are going to make an example out of them once we are locked in there. It’s time to make a statement. They won’t get the chance to see Kings of Flight fight each other because we’re going in with one intention: beat Savage by Nature.”



“If you guys are to win on Sunday, what’s the plan moving forward for the Kings of Flight?”



“Our ambition of being tag team champions hasn’t died down. Sure, there have been some roadblocks in our way, but we still want a shot at those championships. Here’s a little fact for you, Maria. The Kings of Flight have never gotten a proper match for the tag team championships. At this point, it can only be a matter of time.”



“We got beef with the champions. They injured me and I was on the shelf forever. But, you know, we haven’t seen either of them in a while! So our focus has been on Savage by Nature. And that’s where our focus is gonna be until the champions finally decide to show their painted faces around this joint.”



“When we beat them on Sunday, that will be a huge notch in our belt. It has to put us up for contention. Terrella already challenged for the titles once before and you know what? His original partner ended up leaving him! So he went and got himself a new partner. I wonder how that makes Brandy feel, knowing that she ended up playing understudy to a person who isn’t even in the company anymore. I know I’d feel like shit.”



“Maybe she’ll go runnin’ to her pops about it. Seems like they don’t like him hanging around.”



“And with all that tension around, it’s any wonder how they’re still a team in the first place. Tyson and I have been teaming for basically our entire careers. We made it as a team and we will stay as a team. The idea that they will break us up is one that only dumbfucks online could come up with. There’s no tension between us. Never has been, never will be.”



“We get motivated by all the doubters. Because for every doubter of ours, there’s at least ten more supporters. Fans come up to us all the time and tell us that we inspire them. Kids, adults, people from everywhere. It’s super humbling, man. To know that there are so many people out there who believe in us, it pushes us to that extra level. That’s something Cvetkova, Terrella and Portia will never have. That support pushes me to keep going when I'm at my lowest.”



“The fans are what gives us the chance to do what we love, so we will always be grateful. There will be a lot of eyes watching us on Sunday. They believed in us at Survival of the Fittest and we couldn’t deliver. At Metamorphosis X, we are going to fucking deliver.”



“We’re gonna deliver the fattest L that Savage by Nature has ever seen! We’re gonna deliver that goth bitch’s skull into the mat! And personally, I can’t wait for the look on Terrella’s face when I beat his ass again. Y’all didn’t think I forgot about that, did you?”



“I don’t think he forgot. That’s probably why he looks so pissed whenever he sees you. Or maybe it’s because he can’t find whichever strip club his girl is working at for the night?”

Van Ruth says this while Everest is taking a sip of water. Tyson almost does a spit take, but manages to cup his hand over his mouth before it gets anywhere. Maria gasps and puts a hand over her mouth in shock.

“Ay, yo! I didn’t know you had that in you!”



“If she wants to parade around and talk shit about us, it’s only right that we do it back. Besides, she’s not going to be in that cage with us.”



“And she can thank us for that, too. We were gonna have her ass inside her own cage before he pitched the idea of just one cage for us. I like the idea of her having to watch as we beat her team into the ground. Anyways, the point is that we are down for this cage match. It’s our first ever cage match, but it ain’t anything we’re scared of. Can’t put fear in the fearless, right?”



“So… there’s no worries about this match on Sunday? I mean, guys, you’re going in against one of the most violent teams in the IWF! This time, you are trapped inside a steel cage with them! Aren’t you at least nervous?”

Both men shake their heads.

“Let’s understand something. The only way we’ll be nervous is if we knew the world was ending right after. Other than that, there’s nothing that can phase us. No trash talk, no mind games, no stupid stipulations, nothing. We are ready to fucking GO!”



“This is the most intense and the most focused we’ve ever been. It ain’t because it’s a pay-per-view. It ain’t because we’re gonna be in a cage. It’s ‘cause there’s two motherfuckers that need an ass beating and we are the only guys that can do it. Savage by Nature wants to talk all tough and sure, they know their way around weapons. My mom always said that my heart will always be the greatest weapon in a fight. And as long as this heart has got a beat, there ain’t no fuckin’ way you can keep me down!”

Instead of talking to Iniesta, the two focus on the camera in front of them.

“We know that we need this victory more than anything. But we want to punish you two even more. Try and break my arm.”

“Stab a fork in my head.”

“Bash me with a chair.”

“Break light tubes off of my body.”

“That will not help you at Metamorphosis. Imagine your bodies being slammed and driven against cold, heartless steel. Then, imagine it again. And again and again and again AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!”

Van Ruth stands up as he shouts, surprising Maria. Tyson follows his lead and also stands up.

“And then I want y’all to imagine us standing over you! Picture it in your head and dream of it at night! Because when the door is locked and we’re surrounded by four walls of steel… you won’t have to imagine it. It’ll become reality, because WE are the KINGS OF FLIGHT! We never soar alone-”



“And nobody touches the motherfuckin’ throne!”

Pumped up on adrenaline, the partners tear off their mics and walk off. Off camera, Tyson can be heard screaming, “LET’S FUCKING GO!”. The shot lingers on the room before going to Maria.

“There you have it! At Metamorphosis X, the Kings of Flight are looking for some steely revenge against Savage by Nature!”

The camera fades to black.