Post by Travis Pierce on Dec 1, 2012 17:05:31 GMT -5
Travis sits in the Piercing Truth green room, staring at a camera in his hands, with the lens newly painted black.
There is a gentle knock on the door, mere moments before Rob Cartwright enters.
Cartwright: You okay, Trav?
Pierce: It's over.
Cartwright: What is?
Pierce: The Network.
Cartwright: What are you talking about?
Pierce: You remember when we started, Rob? You were just a backstage interviewer. I had my start-up show, the original TPT, and it was small-time back then, I can admit that. I had a lot of potential. You were mediocre at best.
Cartwright: Hey!
Pierce: But then we came to UGWC, we joined forces, and you've really come into your own as a producer. We really had something special here, didn't we? Not only The Piercing Truth, but The Piercing Life, Piercing Reports, the entirety of the Piercing Media Network. We got so big that we had to bring in other people. The Human Resources Department. The Stars of Tomorrow. I loved it all, I did, but all these supports, none of it was like having a true collaborative partner, a ying to my yang.
Cartwright: I liked Jet too.
Pierce: He didn't stab YOU in the back, though, did he? Think about the headlines we would have made had I destroyed the Chaos Championship? How would that have been as a solution to the "no-win" scenario? It would have put us back in the spotlight where we belonged. The ratings would have been through the roof! Now look what we're reduced to. My latest attempt to file a report, and we haven't even faded to black. It's been spilled all over.
Travis hurls the camera into the wall, shattering it into pieces and making Rob jump.
Pierce: Now they expect me to team with him again. Another notch taken from me. I've become my own man, standing alone, after being abandoned. I reestablish my own identity, take on the burden of saving this world from the devastation and darkness of the Chaos division, because for once, I had something to stand for. I wouldn't let it destroy everyone else like it destroyed me, made me a monster that I'm not. Now we're pushing the reset button. Put me back with Jet. Act like it never happened. After all, Travis Pierce was always the weak link, wasn't he? Well, I'm not, and I'm not going to stand for it. Nobody remembers Colt Colby or Chance Chesney, but they have something in common with Jet Somers. They were my championship partners. John Russo was a championship partner, nearly forgotten. I am the one that carried on and made a career for myself. Me. Why? Because it wasn't Travis Pierce that "got carried" through those reigns. Not four separate times by four separate people. I am the strong link. I'm a better cooperative partner than Colt Colby, Chance Chesney, John Russo, and even Jet Somers. I was a better World Heavyweight Champion than Jet Somers. I've given more to the world than Jet Somers.
Cartwright: He's given a lot to you.
Pierce: Wow. Okay. That was supportive.
Cartwright: He's always pushed you to be better. I know you think you've "evolved" these past few months, but focus groups show you're coming across as unhinged, and not in the Charlie Sheen, drive up ratings type of unhinged. Maybe Jet has just been trying to help you.
Pierce: Maybe. Maybe not. You're right about one thing, though. I need to be better. Better than Jet. I'll show everyone just who was the reason that the Piercing Weapons were Cooperative Champions when we win those titles again, and I'm the reason why, unequivibly and undeniably. After that, I'll show Jet the true meaning...of fade to black.
There is a gentle knock on the door, mere moments before Rob Cartwright enters.
Cartwright: You okay, Trav?
Pierce: It's over.
Cartwright: What is?
Pierce: The Network.
Cartwright: What are you talking about?
Pierce: You remember when we started, Rob? You were just a backstage interviewer. I had my start-up show, the original TPT, and it was small-time back then, I can admit that. I had a lot of potential. You were mediocre at best.
Cartwright: Hey!
Pierce: But then we came to UGWC, we joined forces, and you've really come into your own as a producer. We really had something special here, didn't we? Not only The Piercing Truth, but The Piercing Life, Piercing Reports, the entirety of the Piercing Media Network. We got so big that we had to bring in other people. The Human Resources Department. The Stars of Tomorrow. I loved it all, I did, but all these supports, none of it was like having a true collaborative partner, a ying to my yang.
Cartwright: I liked Jet too.
Pierce: He didn't stab YOU in the back, though, did he? Think about the headlines we would have made had I destroyed the Chaos Championship? How would that have been as a solution to the "no-win" scenario? It would have put us back in the spotlight where we belonged. The ratings would have been through the roof! Now look what we're reduced to. My latest attempt to file a report, and we haven't even faded to black. It's been spilled all over.
Travis hurls the camera into the wall, shattering it into pieces and making Rob jump.
Pierce: Now they expect me to team with him again. Another notch taken from me. I've become my own man, standing alone, after being abandoned. I reestablish my own identity, take on the burden of saving this world from the devastation and darkness of the Chaos division, because for once, I had something to stand for. I wouldn't let it destroy everyone else like it destroyed me, made me a monster that I'm not. Now we're pushing the reset button. Put me back with Jet. Act like it never happened. After all, Travis Pierce was always the weak link, wasn't he? Well, I'm not, and I'm not going to stand for it. Nobody remembers Colt Colby or Chance Chesney, but they have something in common with Jet Somers. They were my championship partners. John Russo was a championship partner, nearly forgotten. I am the one that carried on and made a career for myself. Me. Why? Because it wasn't Travis Pierce that "got carried" through those reigns. Not four separate times by four separate people. I am the strong link. I'm a better cooperative partner than Colt Colby, Chance Chesney, John Russo, and even Jet Somers. I was a better World Heavyweight Champion than Jet Somers. I've given more to the world than Jet Somers.
Cartwright: He's given a lot to you.
Pierce: Wow. Okay. That was supportive.
Cartwright: He's always pushed you to be better. I know you think you've "evolved" these past few months, but focus groups show you're coming across as unhinged, and not in the Charlie Sheen, drive up ratings type of unhinged. Maybe Jet has just been trying to help you.
Pierce: Maybe. Maybe not. You're right about one thing, though. I need to be better. Better than Jet. I'll show everyone just who was the reason that the Piercing Weapons were Cooperative Champions when we win those titles again, and I'm the reason why, unequivibly and undeniably. After that, I'll show Jet the true meaning...of fade to black.