Post by Seth Evans on Nov 22, 2014 19:05:06 GMT
Sacrifice…
It was exhilarating, almost taking Angel’s head off with the Bulltrue—truth be told; I didn’t know how he was still standing… The roar that rang through the crowd only added to the intensity that was building inside of me. They knew as much as I did; this war was coming to an end and I was going to walk out as the brand new World Champion. I couldn’t let my mind get ahead of myself… he staggered toward the ropes and was able to avoid the encounter. I had to do more to end him.
Turn around, Angel.
Face me.
I calculated everything in my mind at this particular moment. Everything that had happened during the match—not everything went according to plan, but nothing ever does—but all that mattered was what would happen when he turned around. I watched the rope sway forward with his weight and watched it push him away… here it comes… just moments. My eyes met his and I didn’t hesitate from lunging forward and bringing him up onto my shoulders! I heard the crowd going crazy as they knew that I was going to end this with the Extermination! I can’t stop myself from making the cover, and can’t help but feel the joy cloud my mind with this finally coming to an end.
One.
I smile as I keep Angel covered, and hear the crowd chanting with the referee.
Two.
I release a sigh of relief, not feeling a single muscle in Angel’s body having the strength to move; I know that there’s no possible way that he can kick out of this… the sixth sense that becomes one with many of us did not even have enough time to kick in and save him from the inevitable. I was watching the referee bring his hand down and I felt the sound around me all fade away as if anticipating the sound of the bell, and the announcement of myself as the new World Champion of IWF—inches… inches…
And a twist of fate.
I felt numerous hands and arms grasp at me and pull me away from the cover… For how close I was to defeating Angel and bring him back to reality, and walking out as the new World Champion; I felt it all shatter right before my eyes. I felt myself go into a haze…
Present Day
The lights were dimmed down throughout most of the training gym that has become the second home to Seth Evans; the only light visible is over the ring where he has been seen training many times before. Inside of the ring are six wood dummies, and Seth Evans is standing in the middle of them wearing only MMA shorts—his graceful movement is connecting with chain punches, elbows, chops and everything in-between landing on each one of the dummies, as he goes back and forth with hitting each one.
I had my chance to end it… I had it within my grasp. And I failed. I failed to avenge Tara’s honor, I failed to end a war, and I even failed to live a dream. All of which could have been done if I had not failed.
He seemed to speed up with each strike that he landed on each dummy, and would always be moving forward for his next strike. His whole arm trembles as he reaches back and swings forward with everything inside of him—all of the hope, all of the anger; absolutely everything is put into a single strike that turns into an elbow strike that cracks one of the wood dummies in half… It’s at this strike that he does finally slow down.
GOD:
“I told you before that you cannot defeat me.”
I lowered my head and couldn’t help but smirk as I thought about what happened at Sacrifice. Mere moments away from having my arm not only raised, but the World Championship being held high over my head and the most important factor: GOD realizing that he’s not invincible. Angel realizing that he is not GOD. I shook my head at his presence but finally addressed him without turning to look at him.
Seth Evans:
“The record shows the opposite.”
GOD:
“But you didn’t leave with the belt.”
Despite my knowledge that this was merely a hallucination, I couldn’t stop myself from turning to it in anger and wanting to get directly into its face; I knew that I would have walked out with the championship if his goons had not gotten involved.
Seth Evans:
“I would have! In any case; you know the same thing that I do…”
GOD:
“And what is that?”
I smirked at him.
Seth Evans:
“That I can beat you.”
My words didn’t seem to please the hallucination in front of me, as he paced back and forth in front of me. The expression on his face, while annoyed with the fact that I stated, still had a confident and cocky expression hidden behind the annoyance.
GOD:
“You would not have won.”
Now I was the one that was confused… He wasn’t even moving when I had him covered; there was no possible way that he would have been able to lift his shoulder off of the ground far enough for the referee not to count the three, much less even open his eyes.
GOD
“Think about it all you want, but you know it to be true… You know that every single time that you came up to the plate the only thing you have been able to do was strike out. The one belt you did carry, you only did for a month. And how long have you been wrestling? You’re not a rookie anymore… People have come in after you and already been inducted into Hall of Fames around the world! While you faded off to do, and be, nothing… What makes you believe that Sacrifice was finally your time to break out of obscurity?”
I knew that it was nearly impossible for Angel to have kicked out at that situation, but he was right… I have witnessed people come in after me and become more than I have ever been. But I smiled with the knowledge that the championship meant little to me at this particular moment; defeating him was everything.
Seth Evans:
“I’m not going to be nothing, Angel. The day will come that I stand in the middle of the ring with that championship held over my head, and the announcer announcing me as the new World Heavyweight Champion. But that may or may not be against you; right now… it’s just about defeating you… and I know that I can.”
The image kept the smirk on his face but he began to fade away as a voice came calling in from the distance. It was the voice of my old friend and mentor; Tara. She walked into the training facility as her eyes wandered back and forth at the various tools that I kept in to assist me with my training.
Tara:
“What’s going on? I heard you talking to someone…”
I felt embarrassed about the situation, not knowing that someone was watching at this time. Sure, Andrew Jacobsen has almost been on the receiving end of the anger that I felt toward Angel and his hallucination quite a few times; but I don’t believe that he has heard me communicating with this hallucination.
Seth Evans:
“It’s nothing. Just thinking a lot…”
Tara:
“About the World title?”
Seth Evans:
“About defeating Angel.”
She seemed surprised to hear me say those words… for someone who has only ever exemplified greatness and success within the industry to hear the words that a title did not matter was like a foreign language to her. When she stepped into the ring every night, there would only be one thing on her mind: that one thing was a title.
Tara:
“You could have done both.”
I walked over to the side of the ring that she was approaching and leaned over the top rope as her hand caressed the bottom rope, as if re-familiarizing herself with the ring that she had been away from for so long.
Seth Evans:
“It’s not about the title right now, Tara.”
Tara:
“Then why did you bother coming back? Why not just meet Angel in the parking lot if all you cared about was beating him up?”
Those were fair questions. The logical answer was that I could legally beat Angel within an inch of his life—that was a fair point… but for me to think about legal precautions, could it have been that I also coveted the championship that has been around his waist for far too long? No doubt that it was possible… but I couldn’t help but feel that the belt was taking the backseat to what I came here to do.
Tara:
“I don’t need you to defend my honor… I will make Angel pay for what he’s done. I will make everybody involved… pay… for what he has done.”
I could sense the anger that filled her voice, and felt that… perhaps… Angel was right about her. Regardless, she was my first friend in this industry and the one that took me under her wing when everybody else said that I should give up… I looked at her a moment longer, and could see the evil that filled her eyes. I wanted to calm her.
Seth Evans:
“Tara, I understand that you want to be the one to make them pay… but you’ve left this part of your life behind you. You have two kids that you need to get back to. You have a life that you deserve to live. This life has already taken so much from you, and you have given so much to it.”
Her face was expressionless; the anger was even erased.
Seth Evans:
“Let me fight for you.”
She looked up at me momentarily before we both heard the door swing open, and I saw Andrew Jacobsen standing in the doorway. He looked a little shocked to see me already awake and already hard at work, but he took a few steps in and looked more puzzled as he looked around.
Andrew Jacobsen:
“…who are you talking to?”
I returned the puzzled look, and looked in front of me to see Tara standing there. A smile formed on her face, the same smile that GOD had always left me with—before she faded right in front of me, leaving just Andrew Jacobsen and I. I felt my hands clench the ropes tight in frustration with my own mind. I had to keep it together.
“I was mere seconds away from bringing an end to this war that is being waged with the Age of X. Mere seconds away from capturing the World Championship and forcing Angel to realize that he is not a god among men… he is just very good at what he does. I may have walked out of the ring with the victory, but I didn’t accomplish what my goal was: to make Angel realize his own mortality. He is not invincible; he is not the god that he proclaims himself to be.
He is a man.
And he can be beaten.
The Age of X knows this which is why they scurry down to that ring and save him every single time that they see he is in trouble… I pointed out over one month ago that there was no way that we could defeat Angel and the Age of X without us working together. I explained this to Alex Jones, Renee Pleasant, and Kyle Mason.
All of them laughed.
All of them had the impression that they would be able to step into the ring with Angel in a one-on-one encounter and fend off the wolves while beheading the pack leader. It does not always work like that.
That’s why I was proud to find an ally in my old friend, Andrew Jacobsen. That’s why I was proud to find a new ally in Cliff Clinton. That’ why I’m even prouder to have a former World Champion who has been in the ring with GOD and knows what he is capable of doing as a new ally in Malaki Toala!”
With Andrew Jacobsen currently refusing to sign his name to a contract, and Cliff Clinton having to fight the Age of X from another front; it meant that I had to fight alone until Malaki returned to fight by my side.
“These are people that know we are fighting for something more than just ourselves… Sure, all of us want to be able to march down to that ring and capture the belts. We would love to see Cliff walk out as the new Man of Steel Champion! We would love to see Mike Laszlo walk out with the World Championship around his waist after so many failed attempts. These are the people that understand the importance of our victory, and understand that it’s not even about a belt… or belts… anymore.
It’s about the control that Angel has on this company.
You can take the belt away from him, but he’s still going to have control… he’s still going to force everybody in this company to fear the power that he has. And that’s where we all come in; that’s where we all stand together. We don’t want to rip that belt away from him, although it is a bonus; we want to rip that power away from him so that he is not on a pedestal above any of us.
Wars are fought in a series of battles.
And that’s the battle that Malaki and I are marching into this week against The Brothers Black… While the lackeys of The Age of X, the people that are always sent in for the slaughter; don’t believe that Malaki and I are going to underestimate what you two are capable of doing. You two hold an honor of your own.
While both of you have been able to shine as formidable singles competitors, there’s one honor that stands above that that I, personally, highly recognize and respect.
Tag Team Champions.
That means that both of you are able to go down to that ring and face Malaki and I with the experience edge over both of us! Both of you know exactly what the other is going to do, while Malaki and I—this is the first time that we are going to ever be in the ring with each other.
We have never fought in a singles match with each other. We have never teamed together. This is the first experience that Malaki and I are ever going to have with each other! We are brought together by our common goal, and to achieve our common goal, that means that we must win this battle that is directly in front of us.
That’s where your downfall comes.
Because of this allegiance we have for this common goal we seek, that makes us stronger… that makes us hungrier… we’re not going to let you two, despite being Tag Team Champions, stop us from burning a hole through anyone that stands in front of us on our way to the ringleader of the circus known as the Age of X!
We are the true saviors of the IWF… and we will stop the Age of X. One battle at a time. We may not know each other but this Sunday, you’re stepping into the ring with a unit—not two individuals. A unit that sees both of you for what you are: an obstacle. Something that has been placed in our path to attempt to derail our momentum and stop us from accomplishing what we sought out to do.
We cannot be stopped.
We will not be stopped.
We will walk out of Survival of the Fittest with our arms raised as the winners… and furthermore… we will prevent both of you from being able to even get up to attempt to make a presence in the main event. We can’t do anything about the remaining members of the Age of X, but we will do what we can with those that we have the opportunity to stop, and that means the Brothers Black.
If Angel is supposed to lose the World Championship this Sunday, it will happen.
Unless some sort of divine intervention saves him.
After we eliminate both of you from the equation… our path toward GOD will resume. And the Age of X will be no more."
Back inside the training facility, Seth Evans is still looming over the top rope as Andrew Jacobsen is walking further into the facility still confused as to who Seth was talking to and still searching for the being that he was talking to.
I… it… it felt so real. This brought the concern back to me; I wondered whether Tara was safe or not because it was clear that I was losing grip with what was real. I couldn’t bear to lift my head to look at Andrew Jacobsen, one of the only people who knew what I was going through—I had not told Malaki, Cliff, or even Jennie or Doc what I was going through. All of these people who were on my side.
Andrew Jacobsen:
“I’m surprise you’re here this early…”
Seth Evans:
“I couldn’t do it.”
I heard him chuckle about my comment, but I was serious. And I was trying to keep the topic of my hallucinations from coming to the topic of choice. At Sacrifice, I couldn’t defeat Angel.
Andrew Jacobsen:
“You had him. You had the World title… the Age of X robbed you of it.”
Seth Evans:
“But how will I know whether he would have kicked out or not?”
Andrew Jacobsen:
“If he would have kicked out on his own ability… then perhaps it is time that we start bowing down because that man would have to be God.”
The idea disgusted me.
Andrew Jacobsen:
“Nothing worth having ever came easy. Remember that, Seth; remember what you’re fighting for… remember who you’re fighting for. You’re not out there fighting for only Tara and her honor; you’re out there fighting for anybody that is, has, or will ever sign a contract with the IWF and anybody throughout the industry for that matter! Do you think that his plague that The Age of X is will stop here? You’re fighting for everybody, Seth. You are opening the eyes of many people by what you’re doing and that’s what is making them join you! Cliff! Malaki! If they didn’t believe in your fight, they would not be standing with you.”
I drew in a deep breath and gave him a quick nod of acknowledgment. He was now standing on the apron of the ring.
Andrew Jacobsen:
“You’ve said it yourself, Seth… you’re not free from the sin that has taken almost everybody that has ever marched down to the ring. Greed. Selfish acts. The majority of the people are here for their own reasons—not for anybody else. You are here for more.”
Seth Evans:
“How do you know? How do you know that this isn’t just a big charade being played by me as a means to capture the World Championship?”
He patted my shoulder and I lifted my head. He wore a sincere smile as he spoke.
Andrew Jacobsen:
“Because of why you first stepped into the ring… you let the greed corrupt you, but you never stepped into the ring for your own means of success. You stepped into the ring to be better. I remember the other kid on the playground with me when I first walked into nCw: you were wanting to shake hands with everybody that you stepped into the ring with… you wanted to do something different. You wanted to be someone different.”
He nodded to me.
Andrew Jacobsen:
“You are. You’re not a bad guy anymore, Seth; you’re back to your roots. Be the hero. Lead this cause to save the IWF from the tyrant.”
The words stung deep. From being a child, always wanting to be the hero… the Batman that merely wanted justice, the Superman that wanted to protect the world and all of its citizens; I felt it was my time to do what I needed to do. And I would. Andrew dropped down from the apron of the ring and headed to the locker room.
Andrew Jacobsen:
“You have a big match coming up… and a lot of pain that is going to be inflicted on both ends. I brought some barbed wire. Long day ahead! Be ready!”
Scene ends.
Well howdy there pardner.