The end is the beginning...

[Cable Arcane]

He smiles at me. Sneering. Mocking me with every second...

My reflection grins as I hold the shot of whiskey in my hands...

I look away, I look back, I'm still sitting at this bar, surrounded by others trying to drown their dreams. Or Nightmares...

And always he's staring at me...

Waiting for me to fall even further down the hole...

Amber's words play on repeat in my head and I start to wonder. Can I fight with honor? Can I win with pride? Can I become the first Imperial Champion and still be a good man?

I told myself I could do it, that I could step back into the ring, put my demons behind me and become one of the best wrestlers on the planet. I told myself it was more than possible, it was going to happen...

But after the other night, how quickly I became who I was, how easy it was to slide back into the old mechanization...

I fight the questions...

The doubts...

{ Cable sits still, glaring at himself in the mirror across the bar from him, his hand hovering over a shot of whiskey. He looks at himself for a long time, replaying the same conversation in his head over and over and over again. Always coming back to the same question. }

Is there and good left in me?

{ He finally grips the shot and moves to throw it back when a hand comes down on top of it and slams the shot back down on the table. Cable looks to his right where a man with black hair sits down beside him, we can't see his face, but his voice is all too familiar. }

"Rei, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to stop you from making a mistake."

{ Cable turns away, his head slightly slumped. }

"What do you know about me?"

"I know more than you think I do. I know this right here-"

{ He motions toward the drink. }

"Has been a life long demon, one that has followed you since the moment you learned of your adoption."

{ As Cable turns his head, his eyes become like tiny slits in his face, his past angers him and Gjenrei knows this but it had to be said. }

"I know for the last 235 days you have defeated that demon. I know you to be a good man, Cable Arcane, one who can over come anything."

"Yeah, and one pretty face can bring it all down..."

"We all fall sometimes, you must have the strength to pick yourself back up."

{ Cable looks away again, toward his reflection. }

"I often wondered why Angel and Falcon were so persistent on us becoming a tag team, I now know it is because we both have something the other lacks."

"And what do I lack?"

"Faith."

{ Cable looks over to Gjenrei, puzzled. }

"You must believe in yourself the way I do, the way the people do, the way... The way Abby does."

"Abby?"

"She's worried, Cable, no one wants to see you walk down that road again, least of all her. You must believe in yourself. Think of all you have accomplished having cast aside the demons of your past. Think of how far you have come."

{ Gjenrei rests his hand on Cable's back. }

"Come on, let's get out of here."

{ Gjenrei slides the drink away from his partner as the both of them stand up from the bar, the masked man's face still hidden from everyone save for Cable. }

"Thanks..."

{ The two of them start to head toward the entrance when Gjenrei stops and turns to Cable. }

"So what do you think it is that I lack that you have?"

{ Cable doesn't say anything as he walks out of the bar, Gjenrei close behind him. }

Someone to fight for...

{ Fade... }

There is an old sang that fits this match perfectly, one I think bears repeating...

History is written by the victors.

And while Mike Laszlo wastes more of our time once again trying to rewrite history in the end everyone else already knows who the real victor was...

So the excuse need not be repeated...

Fact of the matter is, I don't care what happened in ncw between him and Roberto Verona and why he thinks he needs to bring it up yet again is beyond me...

This is IWF...

My name is Cable Arcane and I'm one of the three men Laszlo should be worried about defeating this Sunday because IF he is lucky enough to get past Lex Sense he WILL have to deal with me...

But he was right about something, each of us is fighting to build a legacy. A legacy that up until now hasn't yet been formed, which is why we were all chosen to be in the battle royal in the first place. Be it our relatively unknown status or the fact that we never quite reach the heights we should have somewhere else...

We were chosen for our un cemented legacy in this business...

Each of us has already made history, our four names will be written into the foundations of this company after sunday as the first four men to truly give the Imperial Championship some meaning. Regardless of who wins or who loses we will be remembered as the first to try and win or fail...

We are the first...

That in and of itself is something to be honored by, cherished, not brandished about like a stick to hit our fallen oppoenents over the head with. Without those opponents we'd have no one to beat to be here, without the fans to cheer us that gold belt would be meaningless...

It's important to remember who and what we fight for...

I don't cover my words with false bravado, I don't make more of my career than it is. I'm not going to stand here and look in the eyes and out right lie to you. There is a very real chance I won't walk out of Lineage the Imperial Champion, a one in four chance, the same chance everyone else in this tournament has at this point...

Laszlo may need to lie, he may need to build up his own hype, he may need all the false confidence he can muster and I can understand why, if I were him I wouldn't want to face Lex Sense either. Knowing what Sense is capable of and knowing how poorly Laszlo has performed up until this point, losing almost every match he's been in for two months straight...

I understand the fear...

Luckily I'm not you, Mike, luckily I don't allow my ego to become over inflated. I accept reality for what it is. I accept that I may not be considered the best among us and my chances may be as good as yours at beating Lex Sense...

But because I'm not you, because I'm not full of hot air, I also know that I have the ability to overcome the odds, the fear, the doubts and do something no one else has done yet and that's defeat Lex Sense and hold the Imperial Championship high over my head...

Whether you want it or not Laszlo, I wish you luck in your match...

You're going to need it.

Some would be foolish enough to feel sorry for Lex Sense...

They would look upon the life he leads and think that he has no choice in the matter. They would make excuses that it was poor genetics or faulty wiring but Lex and I know different...

We know the truth...

He's chosen this path. He's chosen to represent himself as some kind of unstoppable monster because that makes the reality of his life that much easier to deal with. If he is in fact the monster he tries to force us to believe he is then it explains away all the pain in his life...

His brother died because he's a monster...

His wife left him because he's a monster...

His kids are scared of him because he's a monster...

But it's all a lie, we know that Lex, you and I. We know you're just lying to yourself to make the pain go away, to forget that you have chosen the path that has lead you to this point, no because you really enjoy the pain you bring but because you're too afraid to face the pain you carry within...

It would take nothing more than a choice to to mend the fence with your forgotten family but instead of taking the road less traveled, instead of seeking redemption and fighting to fix the one family you have left in this world, you take the easy road. You chose to continue to be what you think you are because it's easy. It doesn't take any effort to crush the lives of the men in the ring before you. Beating them senseless is easy, but actually choosing to be a better man? 

Fighting for a cause greater than yourself?

That's too hard...

You mock us for what we fight for but the fact of the matter is you haven't the slightest clue of what you're talking about. It's all just words covered in a thin glaze of threats to try and get inside our heads. Well this time it failed, Lex...

I don't pity you...

I don't feel sorry for you...

And I sure as hell don't fear you...

All I feel when I look at you is an overwhelming desire to beat you because I feel it would do this company a great dishonor to crown you anything...

You chose your path, you dug your grave, time to stop pretending to be a monster and face the reality of the situation...

I'm everything you're too afraid to try and become and Sunday you will lose because what I fight for, who I fight for, is greater than anything you could ever dish out.

If there is one man I pity in this match it is you, Joe Everyman...

I pit you for your delusions of grandeur. Out of one side of your mouth you tell us that you cannot assure victory in this match because you have always failed in the past but from the other side? You tell us you are the best of the best and excel in situations like this. That there is nothing that can stop you this time...

I'm sorry Joe but I can think of one thing that can stop you, two if you include me...

That's yourself.

The only one who has consistently beaten you over the course of your seven years in this profession is you. At every corner, every trial, every hurdle you have beaten yourself past the point of recognition. You've beaten yourself into a legend killer, a court jester and a total failure. You've beaten yourself into every spectrum of professional wrestling trying desperately to cling to one thing, to be one thing, to accomplish one thing people will remember you for...

You always beat yourself...

And I pity that, Joe, I do...

You don't need to lose yourself to become the man you want to be, you simply need to fight with everything you've got and be content with the result. If you lose, you lose as yourself and if you win? Well the victory is all the sweeter...

The fact is Joe, we believe in the man you can become, not the scatter brained legend killer you'd like us to believe you are...

But that doesn't matter to you anymore, all that matters to you is finally winning the big one, finally validating everything you've fought for your whole career. I can relate, Joe, but I fear you are going to lose yourself for nothing. Because before you win that big one you have to go through me, you have to beat me. I know you want to, I see the determination in your eyes but I also hear the doubt in your words...

I feel the pressure on your shoulders that is about to crush you and I ask you what happens when your best isn't good enough?

What happens when I beat you?

Will you crumble once more or rise from the jaws of defeat to fight another day?

Because unlike yourself I do not doubt my ability to win this match, to beat you in the center of the ring. I know I can. I know I will. Because I know that you are afraid of what happens next. What becomes of Joe Everyman when he loses this match? When he fails again? When he comes so close to greatness only to fall by the way side once more?

What happens when you lose, Joe?

That thought alone will ruin you...

That fear is already your undoing...

I don't want to be the one to expose it, I'd love nothing more than to face the legend killer that you claim to be but I know what I'm getting. I'm getting the Joe Everyman we've seen countless times, the one backed into a corner, the one afraid of what happens next, the one somehow always finds a way to steal failure from victory...

I want your best, because I do believe in you but it's already painfully clear that all we're getting is man fighting out of desperation...

I'm sorry to say your heart, while unquestionable, is unquestionably dead.

Wish it weren't, I'd of loved to see you win.

But while failure isn't an option for you this week, mercy isn't one for me, which is why despite my pity I will still be forced to be the cause, the catalyst, that ends your dreams once more and for that...

I am not sorry...

No Mercy.

{ For a long time Cable just sits in the locker room. There is no one there to bother him. No one to break his concentration. He thinks about the other night with Amber, about everything that happened. He thinks about his partner Gjenrei and how greatful he is to have him by his side. He thinks about Angel and all his lies. Finally he thinks about Abby. Cable looks up and sees the camera that has been watching him this whole time, waiting for him to speak. }

"Abby, I know you're out there, watching and listening..."

{ He breaks off for a second, ashamed at how he allowed things to get out of control. }

"I know I've hurt you. I know I've caused you more pain than..."

{ He looks away. }

"Too much pain."

{ Then he looks back. }

"I'm a good man, Abby, I can be a better man. I can be better than the person you've seen... I don't know if I can earn your trust back or not, I don't know if we can ever be together again or not... But I can't live the rest of my life with you thinking I'm a monster... I'm not."

{ The look on his face is one of absolute resolution. }

"I'm not."

{ His words carry with them the weight of man who knows he has something to prove. }

"And I want you to know that this Sunday, what I do inside that ring, I'm doing it for you. To show you what I can be. I'm going to step into the ring as an honorable man and I am going to leave as an honorable man. I'm not going to let insults or mind games break me from my path. I'm not going to let anyone get in between me and my destiny... We always talked about this Abby, back when things were good... We thought we'd be standing here together... Well... I'm here... I'm going to be the Imperial Champion... And I know that won't even come close to making up for what I've done... I just want you to know that it's all for you.. That I'm here..."

{ He breaks off again as the emotion of his words is getting to him, he looks down. }

"Because of you."

{ Without looking up, Cable stands and cups the camera with his hand, sending us to black. }