Ruthless

[Sephiroth du Lac]

"This is a ruthless world and one must be ruthless to cope with it."
-Charlie Chaplin-

Victory
Victory at all cost
It is this ideal which drives us
This ideal of ruthless competition
This Darwinian ideology
has ended careers
taken lives
ruined entire families
but last night
it started something
it revitalized a long dormant feeling
it awoke the proverbial 'sleeping giant'
last night it brought me
one step closer to my aspirations
it reminded all who saw it
why I am considered
one of the greatest ever
I walked in that locker room
leaving the opponent laying
but no accolades
no waiting group of equals
seeking to bask in my glory
just my wife
my daughter
and my servant
it is for the best
I don't need sycophants
I don't need anyone
now they remember
why they feared the dark
I reminded them why
they dare not say my name
They thought they were safe
They thought they knew
what 'ruthless' meant...

They... were... wrong...

*The scene opens on the interior of the halls of the arena after the house show has ended. The halls are quiet save for the hum of electric lights. Few figures move in the dim light of the hallway but a massive figure walks and towers before all the others. A massive mountain of flesh and muscles. 6'10 easily, long greasy black hair unkempt and wild. A mask of iron bound upon his face. He says not a word but with heavy steps continues upon his path. In the ring he would be feared easily out powering any opponent but it is not the glory of the ring that this man is concerned with as he rounds the corner His large strong hands knuckle around the door handle as he opens the door to one of the rooms and in it sits the du Lac family. The massive figure stands unmoving for a moment before stepping to Maria who clings a small bundle in her arms kicking and squirming within a small blanket. With a single minded focus the silent monstrosity holds up a small baby bottle slightly warmed by the heat of a microwave. Maria only smiles taking it bringing it to the lips of the small young babe in her arms. She smiles softly as the figure squirms opening her tiny mouth to suckle at the plastic nipple. Maria turns gazing up at the hulk like monster.*

Maria: Thank you, Abel.

*The hulking brute shyfully drops his head a low guttaral growl unleashed for the mask as he looks to his massive booted feet. Seph sits silent nearby his head covered with a towel as he stares at the floor lost for a minute in silence before pulling it back. His face upturned to the now bashful beast.*

Seph; Was she good for you, Abel?

*The monster merely looks up and nods. Seph smiles gently as he looks over to his wife and child. They share a brief smile, the two lovers as the tiny figures drinks deeply. No words are said as they share the moment, the picture of a family a bit odd but no less in love than any other. Seph looks to Abel again who stands like a silent sentinel waiting word from it's owner.*

Seph: Have they posted the future matches, Abel?

*The figure nods walking to him. Reaching into his pocket, stretching black leather jeans he pulls out a small slip of paper. Sephiroth takes it his gloved hands opening it with quiet anticipation as two names sit in it's crumpled center...

Mac Bane
Shozan Okata

Sephiroth looks up and nods as the figure steps back. Seph reaches over grasping his cane leaning a bit upon it as Maria sits patiently. Her patience doesn't last however as she breaks the silence between them.*

Maria: WELL, mi amor? Don't keep us waiting. What does it say?

*He crumples the paper in his hands and tosses it to the side. Suppressing the rage within him. His anger is pertinent but subdued. More a tense feeling then anything visible. Like a spring wound too tight*

Seph: Shozan again, and Mac Bane. A triple threat match. Nothing significant. What spot was it, Abel?

*Abel holds up a single finger as Seph leans upon the cane swirling it a bit upon his hands as he leans.*

Seph: First on the Pay Per View?

*Hesitant for a moment Abel looks at maria then back to Seph shaking his head negatively. Seph's head lowers his hands grasping at the head of the cane. His eyes flutter open but his gaze is dark, the seething rage underneath bubbling upward. Stifling himself as he looks to his beloved he smiles gently. Feigning politeness.*

Seph: Darling, why don't you and Isabella have Abel take you to the hotel. I... need a moment.

Maria: As you wish, amado. Come, Abel...

*She rises clutching their child so tenderly as her dress shimmies and moves as she walks. Her hips sensual as she sashays to and fro. Abel simply follows his steps deliberate and Seph stands in polite gentlemanly fashion. As Abel silently closes the door Seph's smile fades. His hair falls about his face as he paces a bit in slow steps. he grips the head of his trademark cane tightly as he does fighting frustration rising in his throat. With a sudden violent burst he brings it up smashing the locker nearest him. The snake head almost embedding in the steel as he grips the door afterward practically ripping it off it's hinges. It hangs limply bent and twisted as he tosses the cane to the side. he grabs the bench he was sitting on just moments ago and tosses it against the wall with a loud bang as he screams a guttural growl in frustration. He stands in the center of this destruction gripping his hair and pulling back in frustration as he tries to breath deep. For a moment of madness his eyes glaze over and we see the dangerous psychosis of a madman then just as sudden he stops slowly he refines himself. Stroking a hand through his hair and adjusting his clothes again as if he had simply taken a bad fall on ice or stepped in a mud puddle. The shocking if confusing display is only furthered as he adjusts his throat a bit and speaks directly toward the camera.*

Seph: Once more I find myself snubbed by my lessers. But I shall endeavor to remain the consummate professional you all have come to love and idolize. Once more I am denied that which is my right. To demonstrate to the world my superiority. This is what happens when you have fools and idiots sitting on the tree. It's decidedly American, really. The ones without any sense of the business running the business. One cannot truly fault them. Merely pity they're short-sidedness. Still to those who know. To those who are loyal. To those who seek the true face of this sport, I remain humbly yours. And I vow, above all else, to give you that which you anticipate whenever you watch me. Now, as for the task at hand it remains straight forward. To continue this arduous climb to return to the greatness I once possessed. So...

*He moves forward with a wicked grin tapping on the lens of the camera with a loud glass sound almost as if tapping on one's monitor or tv set from the inside out.*

Seph: ... is everyone paying attention, now? Good. Cause much like any man of greatness I hate to repeat myself. And yet I am forced to by the so-called...

*He gazes upward in mocking fashion as he speaks the unofficial name of those who shall not be named*

Seph: ... 'Powers that be'...

*Dropping his head back rolling his eyes as he says it only to continue.*

Seph: To once more defeat an opponent which to nobodies great surprise I thoroughly and soundly broke beneath my heel. This Shozan is at worst a distraction and at best a nuisance. My victory was an inevitability. Like the rising of the sun, or death or taxes. It was to be expected. Alas, they felt that the embarassment that I delivered unto him wasn't enough. So they toss this fool in a match against two accomplished ring veterans desperate to get this fool "over" on the fans. All you will do in the end however will be to end this poor fools career. You see this last battle no more sated me as that fools defeat sated the bloodlust of the fans. I shall not make the same mistake again. If you so called 'great leaders' wish to see a massacre so be it but do not forget the blood that this man shall shed will be on your hands, not mine. Though make no mistake... I will be the vessel of his undoing.

*He breathes deep for a moment and paces softly rubbing his face as he plants hands on hips looking up to the camera with a more gentile look*

Seph: But that is not the addition to the match I care about nor the opponent I respect, but there is one with which I feel a sort of kinship with. Mac Bane, truly of all the men I see in this federation I see myself in you the most. Similar style, similar aggression, the knowledge. The experience. It's all there. You and I are the last of us. The end of an era. I truly respect you and what you do for this craft I do. But, respect is not given freely. It is earned. Now the two of us are cut from similar molds but we are far from the same. We have similar moves but are not mirror images. What you think of as 'ruthless aggression' I call second nature. What you may know as 'excessive violence' I call a common occurrence. You have never faced a man such as I. Someone with such ambition. Someone willing to do anything and everything to further his own goals. You like to think of yourself as... well... as your theme song states, a bad ass. Well, I am much worse than any 'bad ass'. I am much much worse...

*He smiles wickedly as he gazes up. His fangs showing in his grin as he moves his body softly twisting back and forth maniacally.*

Seph: I am a monster. I am the thing that shouldn't be. I am the name you fear to speak. The shadow that fills your heart with dread. I am the sword of Damocles that dangles above you waiting vicariously to drop upon you. You say your ruthless... well if that is the case. I will redefine the word. For I am... the fallen one!

*He raises his face to the sky breathing deeply in as Seph smiles in a sort of perverse pleasure.*

Seph:THE CHOSEN ONE!

*He drops his head once more staring into the camera intently, eyes focused as he stares into the very soul of the viewer.*

Seph: THE ONLY ONE... Sephiroth du Lac. See you soon, gentlemen.

*With that he simply steps out of view as the camera falls on the hanging locker door swinging gently as the sound of a shutting door resounds from behind the camera as the scene fades to black.*