Post by Mason St. Croix on Nov 10, 2013 19:27:18 GMT
Two weeks ago I defeated an nCw Hall of Famer, one who said he was too intelligent to fall victim to the move that has seen my hand raised in victory four times now. He said it wouldn’t happen but it did, I dropped Davey Ortega on his head with The Ranger’s Way and he didn’t get back up. Now I’m faced with a true unknown to earn my spot into the Extinction Event match at Survival of the Fittest.
Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.
That’s what you are Redemption. With every opponent I’ve faced up until now I had something to look back on whether it was grainy footage of Eddie Black spilling the blood of countless men in tiny arenas across the world, or Jayson Matthews standing in the shadow of Steve Awesome and winning a few tag team matches, or even Davey Ortega forming the original Empire. I knew what to expect with them, but you truly are unknown.
The thing is, in the line of work I did before this every enemy was unknown. They could be hiding in the bushes ready to pick me off, or walking through a mall with explosives in the soles of their shoes. I never knew where they were at or which direction they were coming from. I just knew I had to be ready at all times to defend myself, and the rest of my unit. None of them were man enough to show their faces either.
Only a coward hides.
You’re not looking for Redemption behind that mask, you’re hiding. You’re not hiding to surprise anyone or to have any kind of advantage though, you’re hiding from failure. It’s much easier to accept the inevitable loss you’re going to suffer at Sacrifice if no one knows who you are. This way after you get your ass handed to you like you did last week against Laszlo and Nero and how you will again this week you can just disappear without doing any harm to the man you’re hiding. Everyone else who has had anything to say about you so far has said they don’t care who you are under the mask but I do.
I’d much rather face a man who’s not afraid of failure than a coward.
You were right last week in telling Nero that the fact that you wear that mask would take away from what you can do in the ring. No one is talking about your skills; they’re focused on the mask and who you are. It’s a distraction from the fact that you’re obviously a very capable competitor. You could very well beat me, you won’t, but if you did I’d live with it, learn from it, and come back stronger next week. What I won’t do is run away and hide like you.
I’ve done horrible things Redemption, things the average man wouldn’t be capable of doing but I don’t need to be saved. I know that the things I’ve done were for the good and I’m not seeking redemption. I can live with knowing that I’ve ended men’s lives with both weapons and my bare hands. I know that we all have sins and we’ll answer for them but not to you. You say you want to help people, to save them, but you’re nothing.
You’re a just a man in a mask.
A man in a mask who is standing between me and the chance to become a champion. I said day one in IWF that my goal was to one day be considered the best, and being a champion means you are the best. I was willing to wait for my opportunity and while I don’t feel like I’ve earned it yet I’ll gladly take it. I’ve done far more however to earn it than you have Red. A win over a one and done guy who thought he could hang in IWF and a loss to a guy who himself has lost far more than he’s won shouldn’t have earned you anything but a permanent home on the house shows.
You’re not even really a man though, you’re a coward. You’re a mask stuck on a pile of chicken shit. I hope the things I’ve said to you light a fire in you; I hope they make you realize that this path to redemption you’re currently on is getting you no where. You know how you can find true redemption?
Be a real man, before our match starts take that damn thing off so I can look into the eyes of the fallen star behind it before I drop him on his head.
A much younger looking Mason St. Croix dressed in Army fatigues paced the hallway of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Savannah. A darker haired clean shaven George St. Croix emerged from the waiting room and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder to stop the pacing.
George: Ya know wearing a hole in the floor ain’t going to make him get here any faster.
Mason: It’s been hours. I should be in there, Dad.
George: I know you wanted to be son, but the Doc said there were complications and you couldn’t be.
Mason exhaled and looked down at the floor.
Mason: That’s what I’m worried about, all the tests said we could expect a healthy baby.
George: Things happen in there that I’m not educated enough to understand, but I’m sure everything will be ok.
Mason: I hope so.
After a few moments of silence a doctor emerges from the delivery room and removes the surgical mask from his face.
Doctor: Congratulations, your wife and son are doing very well. The baby was seven pounds four ounces and nineteen and a half inches long. We’re running a few precautionary tests now but you should be able to see him soon.
A look of panic came over Mason’s face.
Mason: Precautionary tests? What kind of test?
Doctor: Just basic testing that all newborns go through. Calm down Mr. St. Croix, you’re the father of a beautiful, healthy baby boy.
Mason let out a sigh of relief as a huge smile formed on his face and he hugged his father. Their embrace was broken by a voice in the distance.
“Mason…are you listening? Mason?”
Mason eyes opened and he was lying back on a couch with his hands folded behind his head and starring up at the plain white ceiling of Dr. Phillip Brown’s office.
Mason: Sorry Doc, I must have drifted off. What were you saying?
Dr. Brown: Never mind that, what did you see?
Mason: Well it was the day my son, Jack, was born.
The doctor just nods his head and scribbles something onto the pad of paper he was holding.
Dr. Brown: Uh huh… so it was an actual moment that you have experienced. What about these other “dreams” you’ve been having? Now you said in the prescreening phone interview that they were horrific nightmares.
Mason removes his hands from behind his head and crosses his arms in front of his chest.
Mason: Yeah. When I woke up on the beach, which was the first thing I can remember since 2011, I was dreaming about a huge explosion and a burning building. At least I think it was a dream, for all I know I could have actually been there.
Dr. Brown: You very well could have. Sometimes we suppress memories in our subconscious. What was the next thing you saw?
Mason: That night I had been drinking and I dreamed that I was inside one of those burning buildings but no one could see me. When my father woke me up I was screaming that I wasn’t dead.
Again the doctor nods and writes something down.
Dr. Brown: Very interesting, you were to put it in layman’s term, invisible.
Mason: I guess so. What’s that mean Doc?
Dr. Brown: It could mean a variety of things, and I’ll explore all the possibilities but for now I’m not looking for any kind of diagnosis, just gathering information for my research. I will tell you I’m fairly certain there is no such thing as an invisible man. Were there any others?
Mason: Yeah, the worst one in my opinion. It was when I blacked out driving. In the daydream I guess you’d call it, I had went to see my children who I haven’t seen since I’ve been back and my daughter didn’t remember me. It was horrible.
The doctor attempts to speak again but Mason cuts him off.
Mason: You don’t think that will really happen do you?
Dr. Brown: Since you haven’t actually done it, I wouldn’t think so. This is a strange case indeed Mr. St. Croix but I don’t think you can see the future. I’m sure your daughter would love to see you.
Mason: I hope so. That was the last one though, well except for just now. This one was different though, all the others were really bad but this one was a happy moment and a real momery.
Dr. Brown: Well this could mean that you feel calm here.
Mason nods his head in agreement.
Mason: I kinda do. It’s like I’m relaxed, because I know you’re trying to help me figure out what’s going on in my head.
Dr. Brown: That’s exactly what I’m here to do, I’d also like to try help bring back the two years worth of memories you’ve lost. Have you ever thought about hypnosis Mason?
Mason: I’ll try anything, I just want things to be back to normal.
Dr. Brown: I can’t promise anything but I will do my best. I’ll schedule you for a hypnosis session soon, but in the mean time don’t stress yourself out but try to surround yourself with as many familiar people and things as you can that may spark a memory. Maybe start by actually visiting your children.
Mason: I’m planning on it.
The doctor gets up from behind his desk and walks over to Mason and extends his hand to serve as a handshake as well as to help Mason to his feet and they walk towards the office door.
Dr. Brown: Good. Well I’ll be in touch with you about the hypnosis session. I really want to do everything I can to help you.
Mason: Thank you Dr. Brown, I appreciate it.
Mason leaves the office and as the door closes behind him the scene fades.
Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.
That’s what you are Redemption. With every opponent I’ve faced up until now I had something to look back on whether it was grainy footage of Eddie Black spilling the blood of countless men in tiny arenas across the world, or Jayson Matthews standing in the shadow of Steve Awesome and winning a few tag team matches, or even Davey Ortega forming the original Empire. I knew what to expect with them, but you truly are unknown.
The thing is, in the line of work I did before this every enemy was unknown. They could be hiding in the bushes ready to pick me off, or walking through a mall with explosives in the soles of their shoes. I never knew where they were at or which direction they were coming from. I just knew I had to be ready at all times to defend myself, and the rest of my unit. None of them were man enough to show their faces either.
Only a coward hides.
You’re not looking for Redemption behind that mask, you’re hiding. You’re not hiding to surprise anyone or to have any kind of advantage though, you’re hiding from failure. It’s much easier to accept the inevitable loss you’re going to suffer at Sacrifice if no one knows who you are. This way after you get your ass handed to you like you did last week against Laszlo and Nero and how you will again this week you can just disappear without doing any harm to the man you’re hiding. Everyone else who has had anything to say about you so far has said they don’t care who you are under the mask but I do.
I’d much rather face a man who’s not afraid of failure than a coward.
You were right last week in telling Nero that the fact that you wear that mask would take away from what you can do in the ring. No one is talking about your skills; they’re focused on the mask and who you are. It’s a distraction from the fact that you’re obviously a very capable competitor. You could very well beat me, you won’t, but if you did I’d live with it, learn from it, and come back stronger next week. What I won’t do is run away and hide like you.
I’ve done horrible things Redemption, things the average man wouldn’t be capable of doing but I don’t need to be saved. I know that the things I’ve done were for the good and I’m not seeking redemption. I can live with knowing that I’ve ended men’s lives with both weapons and my bare hands. I know that we all have sins and we’ll answer for them but not to you. You say you want to help people, to save them, but you’re nothing.
You’re a just a man in a mask.
A man in a mask who is standing between me and the chance to become a champion. I said day one in IWF that my goal was to one day be considered the best, and being a champion means you are the best. I was willing to wait for my opportunity and while I don’t feel like I’ve earned it yet I’ll gladly take it. I’ve done far more however to earn it than you have Red. A win over a one and done guy who thought he could hang in IWF and a loss to a guy who himself has lost far more than he’s won shouldn’t have earned you anything but a permanent home on the house shows.
You’re not even really a man though, you’re a coward. You’re a mask stuck on a pile of chicken shit. I hope the things I’ve said to you light a fire in you; I hope they make you realize that this path to redemption you’re currently on is getting you no where. You know how you can find true redemption?
Be a real man, before our match starts take that damn thing off so I can look into the eyes of the fallen star behind it before I drop him on his head.
A much younger looking Mason St. Croix dressed in Army fatigues paced the hallway of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Savannah. A darker haired clean shaven George St. Croix emerged from the waiting room and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder to stop the pacing.
George: Ya know wearing a hole in the floor ain’t going to make him get here any faster.
Mason: It’s been hours. I should be in there, Dad.
George: I know you wanted to be son, but the Doc said there were complications and you couldn’t be.
Mason exhaled and looked down at the floor.
Mason: That’s what I’m worried about, all the tests said we could expect a healthy baby.
George: Things happen in there that I’m not educated enough to understand, but I’m sure everything will be ok.
Mason: I hope so.
After a few moments of silence a doctor emerges from the delivery room and removes the surgical mask from his face.
Doctor: Congratulations, your wife and son are doing very well. The baby was seven pounds four ounces and nineteen and a half inches long. We’re running a few precautionary tests now but you should be able to see him soon.
A look of panic came over Mason’s face.
Mason: Precautionary tests? What kind of test?
Doctor: Just basic testing that all newborns go through. Calm down Mr. St. Croix, you’re the father of a beautiful, healthy baby boy.
Mason let out a sigh of relief as a huge smile formed on his face and he hugged his father. Their embrace was broken by a voice in the distance.
“Mason…are you listening? Mason?”
Mason eyes opened and he was lying back on a couch with his hands folded behind his head and starring up at the plain white ceiling of Dr. Phillip Brown’s office.
Mason: Sorry Doc, I must have drifted off. What were you saying?
Dr. Brown: Never mind that, what did you see?
Mason: Well it was the day my son, Jack, was born.
The doctor just nods his head and scribbles something onto the pad of paper he was holding.
Dr. Brown: Uh huh… so it was an actual moment that you have experienced. What about these other “dreams” you’ve been having? Now you said in the prescreening phone interview that they were horrific nightmares.
Mason removes his hands from behind his head and crosses his arms in front of his chest.
Mason: Yeah. When I woke up on the beach, which was the first thing I can remember since 2011, I was dreaming about a huge explosion and a burning building. At least I think it was a dream, for all I know I could have actually been there.
Dr. Brown: You very well could have. Sometimes we suppress memories in our subconscious. What was the next thing you saw?
Mason: That night I had been drinking and I dreamed that I was inside one of those burning buildings but no one could see me. When my father woke me up I was screaming that I wasn’t dead.
Again the doctor nods and writes something down.
Dr. Brown: Very interesting, you were to put it in layman’s term, invisible.
Mason: I guess so. What’s that mean Doc?
Dr. Brown: It could mean a variety of things, and I’ll explore all the possibilities but for now I’m not looking for any kind of diagnosis, just gathering information for my research. I will tell you I’m fairly certain there is no such thing as an invisible man. Were there any others?
Mason: Yeah, the worst one in my opinion. It was when I blacked out driving. In the daydream I guess you’d call it, I had went to see my children who I haven’t seen since I’ve been back and my daughter didn’t remember me. It was horrible.
The doctor attempts to speak again but Mason cuts him off.
Mason: You don’t think that will really happen do you?
Dr. Brown: Since you haven’t actually done it, I wouldn’t think so. This is a strange case indeed Mr. St. Croix but I don’t think you can see the future. I’m sure your daughter would love to see you.
Mason: I hope so. That was the last one though, well except for just now. This one was different though, all the others were really bad but this one was a happy moment and a real momery.
Dr. Brown: Well this could mean that you feel calm here.
Mason nods his head in agreement.
Mason: I kinda do. It’s like I’m relaxed, because I know you’re trying to help me figure out what’s going on in my head.
Dr. Brown: That’s exactly what I’m here to do, I’d also like to try help bring back the two years worth of memories you’ve lost. Have you ever thought about hypnosis Mason?
Mason: I’ll try anything, I just want things to be back to normal.
Dr. Brown: I can’t promise anything but I will do my best. I’ll schedule you for a hypnosis session soon, but in the mean time don’t stress yourself out but try to surround yourself with as many familiar people and things as you can that may spark a memory. Maybe start by actually visiting your children.
Mason: I’m planning on it.
The doctor gets up from behind his desk and walks over to Mason and extends his hand to serve as a handshake as well as to help Mason to his feet and they walk towards the office door.
Dr. Brown: Good. Well I’ll be in touch with you about the hypnosis session. I really want to do everything I can to help you.
Mason: Thank you Dr. Brown, I appreciate it.
Mason leaves the office and as the door closes behind him the scene fades.
Well howdy there pardner.