To the Summit

[Pax Stormcrow]

Pax stared out into the clear blue sky from the highest point in Japan. Well, at least the highest point that most people were allowed to go to anyways. Certainly the highest point he felt comfortable going. While he was in great shape and an accomplished hiker, mountain climbing wasn’t something he had a lot of experience with. Hell, he was from the land of Prairies and woodlands. He didn’t have a lot of experience with mountains to begin with. So whenever he had the chance to see them, or see from them they always tended to take his breath away.

He looked down at the land spread out below him, lifting a water bottle and taking a long drink from it as he did. Taking in the view, and the sights that the two of them saw on the way up, he could easily understand the spiritual significance of the mountain that Charlotte had told him about as they made their ascent. And during dinner. And before bed. A small smile crossed his face and he turned back to look at her as she wrapped up her promo. He walked over towards her and offered her a hand..

“Sounded good, Una. I liked what ya did with it. Do ya need any help with getting things put away?”

Charlotte smiled broadly at him as she finished with the camera bag. “Please,” she responded, and promptly started untying her hakama. As soon as she stepped out of the pale blue folds, she picked the garment up and handed it to him. He draped the pants over his arm while she untied the kosode and folded it in the air deftly. “Could you stow that in my pack?” she asked as she traded the folded kosode for the hakama. She sighed, eyeing the pleats with a mix of annoyance and hesitation.

He dutifully held out his arm for her, watching curiously as she handled the delicate fabric of her outfit. He traded garments with her and moved over to carefully and gently place it away in her pack. “No problem at all. Anything else? Gonna keep your hair down?”

Charlotte shook her head, her hair swinging around her with the motion and the stiff breeze. “I’ll pull it back once I figure out how to deal with these.” As if to illustrate her point, she held still held the hakama by their ties. Annoyance seemed to win and she folded them lengthwise then rolled them up, tucking the ties in so they wouldn’t twist too badly. As soon as that was done, she pressed the roll into his hands with a fast “Put that in too please?” before she dove for where she had left her jacket. He took it from her and carefully added it to her bag. She pulled her coat on with a shiver and a sigh, then grimaced as she tried to pull her hair out from the collar.

Once he finished stowing her clothing away and closing up her back he went back over to her and helped to gently gather her hair and free it from her coat with a soft chuckle. “It’s not even that cold up here.” A mischievous grin crossed his face before he slipped a comb from his pocket to help him divide her hair into three equal portions.

“I look forward to returning all your sympathy once we’re in New Mexico, hon,” she quipped with a teasing smile as she offered him the tie for her hair.

He took the tie from her hand and slipped it over his wrist before his fingers deftly moved through her hair as he twisted it around into a braid. “Look, I been down there. I know how it is. At least it’s dry.” He finished up the simple twist, using the tie to secure her hair before he pulled a stocking cap from his coat pocket and carefully slipped it onto her head. “There. That’ll help.” That settled, he reached down to grab her bag and held it out for her to slip into.

She smiled up at him as the pack settled on her shoulders. “So… You decide if we wanna wade through the crowds on our way down? Or go back the way we came?”

He reached down and pulled his own pack onto his shoulders and tightened the straps so that it fit snug on his back. “You know me. I’m easy. But I know you aren’t a fan of the crowds so we can head back down the way we came.” He turned to face her with a smile before he looked around. Seeing nobody nearby he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. “Whatever works best for you.”

“Goof!” Charlotte said with a playful shove at his shoulder. She was still blushing. “If I minded crowds, do you think Rini would’ve ever gotten me into some of the malls they have here? My problem with crowds is when they’re fans… People here? They’re fans of Fujiyama-sama…” She shrugged. “Besides, the better shops are down the Yoshida trail and we’ll get to walk around the rim of the crater to get to it.”

“Ya?” He looked around the mountain for a moment. “I’d like to see that… Well, if you’re fine with it, then let's do it then.” He lightly bumped his side against hers with a chuckle. “Thanks for taking me up here. It’s been really cool.”

“Well where else should we go?” Charlotte asked, a hint of her ring-persona showing. “What better way to show where we are in life than by getting to the top of one of the best mountains in the world?”

“I mean, I can certainly appreciate the metaphor and it’s a hell of workout in its own right.” He looked at her and grinned. “But still, I had fun. Thanks for sharing this with me.” He looked around for a moment, doing his best to try and keep his excitement contained. “Now let’s go check out this crater. I don’t think I’ve seen a crater before.”

They took each other’s hand as they laughed before they set back on their hike down the mountain and towards their Legacy.

—------------------

The vlog opens up with Pax seated on the ground in a local park. He’s dressed comfortably in a pair of jeans and a ‘No Damn Brakes’ t-shirt. He beams at the camera as he rests his hands on his knees.

“What up neechies, it’s ya boi! We just a couple days removed from Legacy. It sure as hell is shaping up to be a hell of a show, ain’t it? The TDH travel household be coming to fuckin play this week. Let’s run it through the card, ya? We got Ishikawa, the tiniest powerhouse throwing it down for a chance to be the first ever Gladiatrix champion. You love to see it. She got a hell of a field to go up against but ya know she comes to play. Easy favorite to take the whole thing. Trust on that.

Ya got ma boi, throwing it down with a spooky white devil to prove why he’s the best damn Gladiator Champion this company has seen so far. You know he’s gonna handle his work, cleanse that fucking monster with some good old fashion ass whoopins and look damn good doing it.

Natasha gonna step to ole Ren Ren and show her that it doesn’t matter how much she kisses up to the boss, that don’t fly for very long in the ring. I got to team with Nat a couple weeks back and we got to see what happens when she puts hands to Serenity so you can bet your ass that she’s gonna be walking out of Legacy with some new hardware.”

Pax leans back in his seat and a small smile crosses his face as he glances down for a moment before looking back up at the camera.

“Course then we got Una. Your Iron Heiress coming so hard for Jennie Fennix that the champ be running scared. Ain’t heard nothing from her other than some medical issue? Really Jennie? Why so quiet now all of a sudden? I think we all know why. She knows she barely escaped Night of the Immortals the last time Charlie squared up on her and she got no chance of doing it a second time.

Our shit gonna shine like diamonds. Only Jack is left out, cause of some bullshit about TDH not getting the shot at Savage Kingdom like we deserve. But it’s cool. We’ll get Jack something nice real soon. Bet.”

Pax winks at the camera and lets out another laugh.


“Oh ya, it’s also where I finally get to put my hands on Warren. Kidd had plenty to say about that at Odyssey, didn’t he? Apparently I have ‘Lofty Ideals’ about friendship.”

Pax rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

“Apparently it’s too much to expect someone not to associate with backstabbers and racist homophobes. How dare I judge someone for surrounding themselves with bigots and people willing to throw away their ideals at the slightest provocation, am I right? Apparently expecting someone who tries to present themselves as a good person to not hang around with trash human beings is being ‘Sanctimonious’. He says I should instead focus on this match and hyping it up. But let’s face facts Warren. I’m bigger than you, I’m stronger than you. I can go longer than you can. I’ve been out here wrestling while you’ve been sitting on your ass on the sidelines. You couldn’t hope to match my training regime, or my skill. The only reason this match is going to be something to watch is cause you’ve gotten so used to getting your ass kicked up and down the ring that it’s gonna take a lot to put you down. That might help you with some people, but I got the gas tank to give you the beating that you need to make sure you don’t get back up. You said that we were two of the best to ever do it? Please, spare me. You aren’t one of the best. You aren’t even in the top ten. You had to sit around and fuck with Dean’s head to get an edge over him and damn if it ain’t convenient that the moment he was eliminated from the tournament that you served him the papers. Fuck man, you even asked Dean to take out Madjinn cause you were scared to face him. That sound like someone at the top of the game to you?”

He chuckles as he pushes his hair back from his face.

“Doesn’t to me. A real champ would be ready and willing to face anyone on any day. You hide in board rooms with Roberto’s goons to protect you. I mean I got corporate sponsors. They control the things I can say and what I do. But do you see any security around me? Have you ever? You won’t.

Speaking of, real quick to take Berto’s help. Sure you had your excuse of ‘Pax will judge me regardless’ but I mean, if ya cared about being better, like you say, then you wouldn’t care. That’s what it means to better yourself. It means doing the hard thing, not for any praise or glory. But because it’s the right fucking thing to do. If you truly wanted to be a better man, then you’d be trying. But you aren’t about trying, are ya?”

Pax leans forward and looks into the camera.

“You haven’t tried a moment in your life. You find something or someone to latch onto and you define yourself by that. Like some child slamming puzzle pieces into place because they are rushing to get it done. You don’t actually make anything of yourself, you just bounce around from ideal to ideal, person to person. Just a parasite that latches onto whoever happens to walk on by you. Anyone you think that you can use on your path to trying to make a name for yourself. I’ll grant ya, right now it looks like you are trying to make a name for yourself now. But the one ya chose was ‘The Better Man’ which… I mean. Fucking cringe, man.”

Pax snorts and rolls his eyes once more.

“Leaving aside what kind of person you gotta be to start calling yourself, are you really gonna act surprised when people decide to read you for filth when you pick a nickname that is so readily disproven? For fuck’s sake, Warren. The one standard you had is not hitting women. But you had no issue with Dean laying out anyone until it happened to your friend. You hang out with an abuser. Fuck man, you said you ‘Cut him more slack then anyone else’. Ya wear hypocrisy better than the shitty eurotrash outfits you’ve taken too.

So what else do you stand for, Warren? Cause fuck if I can see it. You tried to have your husband take out an opponent that you were scared to face. You hang out with someone that hates you and people like you. You refuse to fight a consenting female opponent in a sanctioned match but don’t appear to give a shit if someone hospitalizes a woman just cause they’re mad at them. So what is it? Cause from where I’m standing you are just a fucking worm that uses everyone that comes in contact with you. Not exactly a ‘Better Man’”

He shakes his head and pushes his hair back from his face with a sigh.

“Look, I know I ain’t perfect. I am well fucking aware of that fact. I fuck up. I make mistakes. I’ve got my own demons that I face every day. I’ve never once said that I’m perfect. But I fucking try. I try my hardest and will continue to do so every day. That’s my point, that you don’t even try. It’s just another mask that you put on as you struggle to find meaning for yourself. Truthfully, I hope ya find that one day. I really do. I’d like to see the best in people. But right now ain’t it Warren. It’s far from it. This company needs a champion to believe in. The fans need a champion to believe in. That sure as hell isn’t you and until you get your shit together it will never be you. I’ll see you at Legacy. Gonna show you what a Better Man actually looks like.”

He thumps his fist into his chest and flashes two fingers.

“Peace Out.”

The feed cuts out on the final image.