Post by kaster on May 20, 2024 3:58:49 GMT
April 31st, the day after Sacrifice
The door to the hotel room creaks open. It’s dark. No lights, blinds are shut, the room is still. A hand reaches to flick the light switch on. Once the switch goes up, the lamps and overhead lights kick in. The room barely looks touched, as if no one was in there. The only indication is over by the desk where Tyson Everest resides. He is sitting down in a chair, hunched over the desk. Charlie Van Ruth, the culprit of the lights, approaches his partner.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m writin’ to myself. Helps me think and shit.”
“...what are you writing about?”
Tyson sits up straight before leaning back in the chair. Underneath the hoodie lies a dejected expression.
“Everything I’m pissed about. I got a lot to get down on this paper.”
Charlie takes a moment to set down his gym bag. He sits on the foot of the bed closest to Tyson.
“I know how you’re feeling. It’s… it isn’t right.”
Tyson continues to jot down line after line on the loose leaf while Charlie idly watches on.
“They didn’t earn it. We’ve been fighting our asses off for months so that people would recognize us as top-level talent. We-”
“They beat us. Twice.”
Charlie tilts his head. His confused expression says it all while Tyson’s nonchalant face says even more.
“Ty, I know that’s not where your mind is at right now. You know damn well they didn’t deserve-”
Tyson pushes himself away from the desk, toppling his chair over in the process. He turns around to Charlie and flips his hood back.
“AND WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?! HUH?! We… we gonna ask them for a shot? Are we gonna march up and demand they give us another match?! You know they ain’t gonna do that! No matter what we do, no matter how much WE GIVE… it ain’t enough!”
“Ty-”
“IT AIN’T ENOUGH, CHARLIE! You wanna sit there and act like we can play this game! I can’t do it no more, man! Gettin’ sent to the hospital, havin’ to wonder if I’m gonna walk the next day, all ‘cause they are playin’ the game better than us. They got the numbers, they got the people to get it done! We only got it done once and now, look at where we’re at! Is this a living to you?”
Tyson throws his hands up in exasperation. Charlie looks up at him before rising to match his height.
“I never thought this would be a living. We will get those titles because… god fucking damnit, we DESERVE those titles! Those losses, they weren’t our fault. We have it in us, T, we can beat them. We KNOW we can. Do you think this was my fucking ideal world? No! No, Tyson, it wasn’t! But you know what? We move on and we live with it. They never won a match for those titles! It was handed to them on a silver platter! We could be those champions if we stand up for ourselves. Our careers weren’t built on worrying about the odds, they were built on not caring about any sort of danger in our way! You think I cared about the fucking odds when I left a cozy office job at my family’s company and went to be a pro wrestler? Did you care about the odds when you were grinding, paycheck to paycheck, just to have enough gas to get to wrestling school? Did we care about the odds when we got signed? Did you care about the odds when your knee got torn up and you laid in that hospital bed? Did we care about the odds when we came back? No! Because we’re the fucking Kings of Flight! We’re risk takers, it’s something deep inside of us that makes it happen. We can’t worry about playing their game, we should worry about changing the game itself! I would take a trip to the hospital every fucking day if it meant just one chance at proving we are the best at what we do.”
Tyson’s cold stare runs right through Charlie, who returns with a fiery look of his own.
“So what? What are we gonna do then?”
“Do you got my back? Because I’ve known you for years, T. You know damn well that if you really want to give up on this, I’ll be right with you. Is that what you want? Do you want to give up?”
“Do we even got a choice? They outnumber us even more now! If we marched right up to them, we’re getting whooped! Look, you know I got your back, bro, but you gotta be thinking with this-”
Tyson taps at his temple.
“And not this.”
Then, he moves his hand down to his heart. Charlie slowly nods.
“We need somebody to back us up. Someone who can be there and fight right along with us.”
“Charlie… god damn, man. Do you really think we can do this? We’ve been fuckin’ chasing these titles for so long that people are getting them like it’s a birthday card! How are we gonna bring that down?”
“We stand our ground. We’ve come too far to walk away. I can only do this… if you’re right there with me. Do you understand? I can’t do this alone. Neither of us can. That’s why we’re a team. We work best as a team. And I’m not going to leave you in the dust. I just hope you’ll do the same for me.”
Tyson locks eyes with Charlie for a moment, then turns away. He glances down at the paper on the desk. Reaching out, he takes the paper and crumples it in his hand.
“You know I’m with you. We just gotta find someone who hates Madjinn as much as we hate Savage by Nature. That’s our golden ticket.”
“We need someone who’s a risk taker. A guy who will throw caution to the wind and not care what happens next. Somebody that can get knocked down and keep going.”
“Somebody like us.”
“Yeah, somebody like us.”
Tyson tosses the crumpled piece of paper into the wastebasket. He then looks at Charlie.
“Hey, yo, I didn’t mean to snap on you but-”
“It’s all good, man. It means you’ve got a passion for it. You… express it differently, that’s all.”
No more words are uttered as Tyson goes in for a friendly hug. Charle reciprocates the gesture before the two pull away from each other.
“I think it’s time to make some calls.”
A car strolls into the parking lot of the Paris La Defense venue. Once the car comes to a complete stop, the Kings of Flight exit in matching dress shirts, pants and sunglasses. Maria Iniesta is already on the scene for an interview!
“I am now standing here with the Kings of Flight for an exclusive interview before tonight’s Sacrifice. Guys, how are you feeling about tonight’s match-up?”
The partners look at each other before simultaneously tilting down their sunglasses.
“Well, Maria, I’m actually feeling… great! Tonight, we test the waters for a new partnership. Tyson and I are obviously no stranger to tag teams, but Nick Danger has something to prove. We want him to show that he’s ready to keep up with us. We know he has the heart of a true warrior, but we also know that he’s been focused on Madjinn for a while now.”
“And as for that little punk, I hope he had a good time with that Television title around his waist. But now he’s gone and found himself a couple of new partners too! And we know ‘em all too well. He even gave ‘em some presents! You saw it, Maria. He gave Terrella and Widow some shiny new tag belts. But… if I’m remembering correctly… they never actually won those, did they?”
“Right now, those two might as well have replicas because those championships don’t belong with them. And if Madjinn thinks we forgot about his little incident, we’ve got news for you, buddy. The Kings of Flight have got a Kingdom to conquer.”
“Because we are gonna be the only Kings around here, ya heard? Wraith, Sabin, Madjinn, whatever you wanna call yourself, you change names so fast I’d think you were under witness protection!”
“Anyways, I think we’re up against Solomon, Hellscream and Mr. Happy? I’m not losing sleep over that trio and I doubt Nick is either. We’re ready to take them on and that’s all we need to say about that.”
“And we’re ready for these next couple of weeks because… it’s gonna be our FIRST official Night of the Immortals!”
“What better way to commemorate a first Night of the Immortals appearance than by winning our first IWF Tag Team championships?”
“Ooh, I like the sound of that! Put me on that!”
“Sorry to leave you so soon, Maria, but Nick is waiting on us. If Madjinn, Terrella and the Widow think they run roughshod over the tag division, they’ve got another thing coming.”
“Kings, bowin’ out.”
Tyson flashes a peace sign to the camera before the duo walk off with their bags. The camera cuts to black shortly after.
Well howdy there pardner.