Post by Lord Hastings on Jun 18, 2022 23:01:31 GMT -5
Gnaw Bone, Indiana – Late in the night…
The humidity in the night was nothing out of the norm. Thunder clapped in the distance. The wind flowed like a raging river through the tall grass and the tree branches. Lightning strikes, revealing a figure.
As we move towards the figure, lightning strikes again, revealing a second figure crouched down behind him.
Lightning strikes a third time and we see the face of the King of Chaos, Tempest.
As he takes in the strong winds, Deadalus is behind him, crouched next to a gravestone. While this stone is not a usual stone, and very much so out of place, it was marked out with handmade engravings.
“A storm is coming, dear friend” said Tempest.
As he turns and faces the stone, he relishes in the joy as he reads the names. This stone, however, reads more than it should.
At the top of the list, it reads ‘Tempest.’
“Deadalus?” Tempest asks.
“Once you are dead to the world, you cannot die any further, dear King” Deadalus, replies.
Sound in this affirmation from his companion, Tempest looks down at the names. He looks back up at the night sky as the wind howls and the storm breeze rolls through.
“Ever since my return, I have made it very clear that I am a reckoning. Yet, I feel like something has been lost along the way. The edge of it all, so to speak. I am not taken as seriously as I should be. Not as seriously as I once was.” After pondering out loud, Tempest looks at Deadalus. “Dear friend, why must they not take me seriously?”
After moments of internal debate, Deadalus retorts “you are not who you once were, my King. You have not commanded the respect you once had. When you went down with a dastardly injury, you were a force to be reckoned with. The only reason Ragdoll has the coveted Cross-Hemisphere Title…is because you weren’t here to defend it. The crown, my King, was left unguarded.”
After his friends reply, Tempest took this time to ponder internally himself. Was it true? Had he become a shell of himself? Had he truly lost the edge after being injured shortly after facing Konrad Raab all those months ago? Does Konrad know he had nothing to do with the injury, and that it could have very well been a piece of IKEA furniture? It wasn’t, but it must be known that Konrad had nothing to do with it.
*internally*
“Someone of his skillset and balance in the world could do no harm to the King of Chaos.
Chaos. A world I know all too well. A world I am fully immersing myself into as it is a world that I ruled with an iron fist. It took only the greatest of greats to dethrone me. Sloane Taylor took me away from the world of Chaos the first time. How fitting that her beau now holds the Chaos crown. Shortly after I defeated the former World Champion to earn my crown back. Only to be bested by Lucy Wylde. That clever little sneak pulled one over on me just this last week.
Digressing. We are not here to live in the past, but we are here to live in the world of chaos. As I am it’s King, we move forward.”
Tempest snaps back to reality. “Come, Deadalus, we must prepare.” Confused, Deadalus rises to his feet, “my King?”
Tempest gives a cold look to his companion, “we must prepare for the Battleground.”
Elsewhere…
Tempest is alone, sitting peacefully near a dead tree. A storm has recently rolled through, leaving the sky broken with dark clouds. He stares at the tree, pondering many things through his mind. His eyes closed while he sits perfectly still.
Without warning, lightning strikes the dead tree. A branch falls to the ground with a loud thud. Tempest doesn’t flinch, rather he opens his eyes widely. It’s as if he had a revelation!
Tempest shoots to his feet and turns away from the broken tree. “I must find Deadalus”, he exclaims! He darts off with speed and furosity.
Gnaw Bone, Indiana
“What did the tree tell you?” Deadalus asked.
“It opened my eyes. I have spent so much time looking at just one piece of the puzzle, when I needed to look at the entire puzzle before putting it together.” Tempest replied.
“We are heading towards Battleground. There are many factors and I cannot just keep my focus on my nemesis, Sebastian Everett-Bryce III. I must ensure that I look at all pieces to the puzzle. As there are six pieces, to this particular puzzle, I can omit only one.”
“How do you mean?” asked Deadalus.
“I am a piece to this puzzle, dear boy.” Tempest replied.
Deadalus pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote the names down. He drew around them and handed the sheet to Tempest.
“This is the headstone we saw the other night.” Says Tempest.
“Indeed” replied Deadalus.
“My name is at the top of the list. Followed by Maggie Lockhart, Travis Pierce, Zane Scott, Dave Rydell, and my nemesis…Sebastian Everett-Bryce III” replied the King of Chaos.
As Tempest studies the list, he sits down, going over it again and again.
The returning Maggie Lockhart posed a large threat to this endeavor. But what does Battleground mean to Tempest? One would think it meant a chance at greatness, like it does to other involves. For Maggie Lockhart, it’s a chance at redemption after being absent for so long. For her it was the hope that she was still worthy of being at the top of the rest, as she once was. It didn’t matter her tactics, it didn’t matter the company she kept. All that mattered was that she was still worthy of greatness and this was her way to prove it.
Another name on the list; Travis Pierce. A man who has become nothing but a candy shell of his former self. A man who once held the entire world in the palm of his hand with his media empire and every single piece of gold that this company had to offer. What business did he even have being here, given that he has fallen from the greatest height imaginable, only to team with a large angry bear at a massive yearly event. Travis was a piece to keep an eye on, but not a piece to worry about.
Zane Scott was different, however. His recent slip into madness has not come as a shock to anyone. He has been paranoid to the point of losing to even the unlikeliest of foes. He is a man who; just like Travis Pierce; had the entire world in the palm of his hand. He let it slip away, and is clinging to that past glory as if he was a varsity high school jock who gained nothing after graduation. Zane Scott, however, is a man possessed. He feels like he has something to prove with nothing to lose.
Speaking of nothing to lose, we are on to Dave Rydell. Dave Rydell, a man who has seemingly lost absolutely everything from his unrealistic partnership with Donovan Hastings, to the love of his poor pitiful life, Mary Vaughn. He crawled right into the arms another lover and it has done nothing but cloud his judgement. While he preaches that he is on the path to the mountain top, he does nothing but pick the wrong rock to sling his axe into to climb upward. He keeps tumbling backwards. Yet that is also what makes this man dangerous. He and Zane Scott are the same. Both with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Zane is paranoid and will trust no one until he gets what he wants, and Dave…well, Dave Rydell is the most unpredictable of the bunch. He is most definitely a puzzle piece to watch out for.
And finally, my nemesis. Sebastian Everett-Bryce III. The current holder of my crown. And the most recent Battleground winner. Twice in a row… Some seem to forget what happened just a little over a year ago. I bested the imposter king of chaos. And I will come for him once more. It will not be all about him, on this night, however. This man is dangerous, much like the rest. This man is someone who will align himself with the nastiest of partners to ensure his desired place in the company. And while he may not be the World Champion, he does hold weight in this match. More weight than I care to admit. I know I cannot focus on just one puzzle piece, but this puzzle piece has the most of my attention. You will not have a three-peat.
Deadalus is watching Tempest as he goes through the list, silently mumbling to himself. “Tempest. How long are you going to stare at that list?” he asks.
“As long as it takes” Tempest replies.
“I don’t understand” replies Deadalus.
Tempest, once again, replies “You don’t have to, Deadalus. You just have to know that while I am not in the business of caring about being the “top guy” in this company, I am in the business of taking things away from those that I love. You know, the ones that I hate so much that I love them. Sebastian wants this more than anything in the world. This is his next clear path. Maggie Lockhart too, wants to be back on top. Travis Piece is looking for any reason to get out of bed in the morning. Zane Scott and Dave Rydell are both possessed men on missions. Unfortunately for us all, the same mission.”
“What none of them understand though, is that I am on a mission of my own. I may not care about the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the lore of the Battleground match. I may not care what spoils the victor receives. But what I do care about is hurting others in my way from my desired outcome. I am going into this alone, Deadalus. I must stop Sebastian at all costs. Even if that means I must stake my claim to the World Heavyweight Championship. Even if I must actually win the Battleground match, by any means necessary.
“In order to stop the inevitable doomsday that is certain people winning this… I must win it for myself. I must destroy those in my path. I must do what I do best, Deadalus.”
“What would that be, my King?” Deadalus replies.
Tempest stands up and looks right at his friend. “Cause chaos.”
Elsewhere…
I know that I appeared on the gravestone as well. I know that this gravestone represents the souls of those going into the Battleground match. However, I do not have a soul. I am the dead one within. That is why I am on the gravestone.
While these other souls are battling for their rightful place in history, I am here to take that away from them. Some of them fight for regained relevance. Some of them fight for the fame of it all. Some are fighting for pure passion. And others are fighting for sheer desire and need.
I fight for failure. I fight to ensure those around me fail. And I will stop at nothing until Battleground is mine.
I will be the King of Chaos and… the King of Battleground…
The humidity in the night was nothing out of the norm. Thunder clapped in the distance. The wind flowed like a raging river through the tall grass and the tree branches. Lightning strikes, revealing a figure.
As we move towards the figure, lightning strikes again, revealing a second figure crouched down behind him.
Lightning strikes a third time and we see the face of the King of Chaos, Tempest.
As he takes in the strong winds, Deadalus is behind him, crouched next to a gravestone. While this stone is not a usual stone, and very much so out of place, it was marked out with handmade engravings.
“A storm is coming, dear friend” said Tempest.
As he turns and faces the stone, he relishes in the joy as he reads the names. This stone, however, reads more than it should.
At the top of the list, it reads ‘Tempest.’
“Deadalus?” Tempest asks.
“Once you are dead to the world, you cannot die any further, dear King” Deadalus, replies.
Sound in this affirmation from his companion, Tempest looks down at the names. He looks back up at the night sky as the wind howls and the storm breeze rolls through.
“Ever since my return, I have made it very clear that I am a reckoning. Yet, I feel like something has been lost along the way. The edge of it all, so to speak. I am not taken as seriously as I should be. Not as seriously as I once was.” After pondering out loud, Tempest looks at Deadalus. “Dear friend, why must they not take me seriously?”
After moments of internal debate, Deadalus retorts “you are not who you once were, my King. You have not commanded the respect you once had. When you went down with a dastardly injury, you were a force to be reckoned with. The only reason Ragdoll has the coveted Cross-Hemisphere Title…is because you weren’t here to defend it. The crown, my King, was left unguarded.”
After his friends reply, Tempest took this time to ponder internally himself. Was it true? Had he become a shell of himself? Had he truly lost the edge after being injured shortly after facing Konrad Raab all those months ago? Does Konrad know he had nothing to do with the injury, and that it could have very well been a piece of IKEA furniture? It wasn’t, but it must be known that Konrad had nothing to do with it.
*internally*
“Someone of his skillset and balance in the world could do no harm to the King of Chaos.
Chaos. A world I know all too well. A world I am fully immersing myself into as it is a world that I ruled with an iron fist. It took only the greatest of greats to dethrone me. Sloane Taylor took me away from the world of Chaos the first time. How fitting that her beau now holds the Chaos crown. Shortly after I defeated the former World Champion to earn my crown back. Only to be bested by Lucy Wylde. That clever little sneak pulled one over on me just this last week.
Digressing. We are not here to live in the past, but we are here to live in the world of chaos. As I am it’s King, we move forward.”
Tempest snaps back to reality. “Come, Deadalus, we must prepare.” Confused, Deadalus rises to his feet, “my King?”
Tempest gives a cold look to his companion, “we must prepare for the Battleground.”
Elsewhere…
Tempest is alone, sitting peacefully near a dead tree. A storm has recently rolled through, leaving the sky broken with dark clouds. He stares at the tree, pondering many things through his mind. His eyes closed while he sits perfectly still.
Without warning, lightning strikes the dead tree. A branch falls to the ground with a loud thud. Tempest doesn’t flinch, rather he opens his eyes widely. It’s as if he had a revelation!
Tempest shoots to his feet and turns away from the broken tree. “I must find Deadalus”, he exclaims! He darts off with speed and furosity.
Gnaw Bone, Indiana
“What did the tree tell you?” Deadalus asked.
“It opened my eyes. I have spent so much time looking at just one piece of the puzzle, when I needed to look at the entire puzzle before putting it together.” Tempest replied.
“We are heading towards Battleground. There are many factors and I cannot just keep my focus on my nemesis, Sebastian Everett-Bryce III. I must ensure that I look at all pieces to the puzzle. As there are six pieces, to this particular puzzle, I can omit only one.”
“How do you mean?” asked Deadalus.
“I am a piece to this puzzle, dear boy.” Tempest replied.
Deadalus pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote the names down. He drew around them and handed the sheet to Tempest.
“This is the headstone we saw the other night.” Says Tempest.
“Indeed” replied Deadalus.
“My name is at the top of the list. Followed by Maggie Lockhart, Travis Pierce, Zane Scott, Dave Rydell, and my nemesis…Sebastian Everett-Bryce III” replied the King of Chaos.
As Tempest studies the list, he sits down, going over it again and again.
The returning Maggie Lockhart posed a large threat to this endeavor. But what does Battleground mean to Tempest? One would think it meant a chance at greatness, like it does to other involves. For Maggie Lockhart, it’s a chance at redemption after being absent for so long. For her it was the hope that she was still worthy of being at the top of the rest, as she once was. It didn’t matter her tactics, it didn’t matter the company she kept. All that mattered was that she was still worthy of greatness and this was her way to prove it.
Another name on the list; Travis Pierce. A man who has become nothing but a candy shell of his former self. A man who once held the entire world in the palm of his hand with his media empire and every single piece of gold that this company had to offer. What business did he even have being here, given that he has fallen from the greatest height imaginable, only to team with a large angry bear at a massive yearly event. Travis was a piece to keep an eye on, but not a piece to worry about.
Zane Scott was different, however. His recent slip into madness has not come as a shock to anyone. He has been paranoid to the point of losing to even the unlikeliest of foes. He is a man who; just like Travis Pierce; had the entire world in the palm of his hand. He let it slip away, and is clinging to that past glory as if he was a varsity high school jock who gained nothing after graduation. Zane Scott, however, is a man possessed. He feels like he has something to prove with nothing to lose.
Speaking of nothing to lose, we are on to Dave Rydell. Dave Rydell, a man who has seemingly lost absolutely everything from his unrealistic partnership with Donovan Hastings, to the love of his poor pitiful life, Mary Vaughn. He crawled right into the arms another lover and it has done nothing but cloud his judgement. While he preaches that he is on the path to the mountain top, he does nothing but pick the wrong rock to sling his axe into to climb upward. He keeps tumbling backwards. Yet that is also what makes this man dangerous. He and Zane Scott are the same. Both with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Zane is paranoid and will trust no one until he gets what he wants, and Dave…well, Dave Rydell is the most unpredictable of the bunch. He is most definitely a puzzle piece to watch out for.
And finally, my nemesis. Sebastian Everett-Bryce III. The current holder of my crown. And the most recent Battleground winner. Twice in a row… Some seem to forget what happened just a little over a year ago. I bested the imposter king of chaos. And I will come for him once more. It will not be all about him, on this night, however. This man is dangerous, much like the rest. This man is someone who will align himself with the nastiest of partners to ensure his desired place in the company. And while he may not be the World Champion, he does hold weight in this match. More weight than I care to admit. I know I cannot focus on just one puzzle piece, but this puzzle piece has the most of my attention. You will not have a three-peat.
Deadalus is watching Tempest as he goes through the list, silently mumbling to himself. “Tempest. How long are you going to stare at that list?” he asks.
“As long as it takes” Tempest replies.
“I don’t understand” replies Deadalus.
Tempest, once again, replies “You don’t have to, Deadalus. You just have to know that while I am not in the business of caring about being the “top guy” in this company, I am in the business of taking things away from those that I love. You know, the ones that I hate so much that I love them. Sebastian wants this more than anything in the world. This is his next clear path. Maggie Lockhart too, wants to be back on top. Travis Piece is looking for any reason to get out of bed in the morning. Zane Scott and Dave Rydell are both possessed men on missions. Unfortunately for us all, the same mission.”
“What none of them understand though, is that I am on a mission of my own. I may not care about the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the lore of the Battleground match. I may not care what spoils the victor receives. But what I do care about is hurting others in my way from my desired outcome. I am going into this alone, Deadalus. I must stop Sebastian at all costs. Even if that means I must stake my claim to the World Heavyweight Championship. Even if I must actually win the Battleground match, by any means necessary.
“In order to stop the inevitable doomsday that is certain people winning this… I must win it for myself. I must destroy those in my path. I must do what I do best, Deadalus.”
“What would that be, my King?” Deadalus replies.
Tempest stands up and looks right at his friend. “Cause chaos.”
Elsewhere…
I know that I appeared on the gravestone as well. I know that this gravestone represents the souls of those going into the Battleground match. However, I do not have a soul. I am the dead one within. That is why I am on the gravestone.
While these other souls are battling for their rightful place in history, I am here to take that away from them. Some of them fight for regained relevance. Some of them fight for the fame of it all. Some are fighting for pure passion. And others are fighting for sheer desire and need.
I fight for failure. I fight to ensure those around me fail. And I will stop at nothing until Battleground is mine.
I will be the King of Chaos and… the King of Battleground…
