Noblestein (or There's a Monster Inside All of Us)

[C.J. Gates]

"In every man's heart there is a devil, but we do not know the man as bad until the devil is roused."
--James Oliver Curwood

"Let's drive him out of town!"

The sound of agreement rises up from the small mob that has gathered in the town square. Each person is armed with a pitchfork, an axe or a torch, and are all standing in a circle. Inside of the circle stand four men, rallying the mob into a frenzy.

"Let's drive him out of town once and for all!" Mr. Biggs shouts as he raises his torch high in the air. "Let's take back out town once and for all and save it from the danger that lurks within!"

"Drive him out?" Mr. Marvin asks with a grin. "No, we need to do something more. After all that he has put us through, after everything that has happened, we can't just drive him out."

"We have to eliminate him!" Mr. Only, the tallest of the three, bellows. "We have to make sure he can never hurt anyone ever again!"

"We don't have to eliminate!" Mr. Biggs argues. "If we just drive him out then he won't be able to hurt us ever again."

Mr. Marvin and Mr. Only exchange a look and then stare across the circle at Mr. Biggs as tension fills the air.

It didn't start here, however.

It started months ago, back when Dr. Noblestein was on top of the world, and when he began to think that he was the most important and most powerful person in the town. He built himself up to be unstoppable, unbeatable, untouchable, and before he knew it, in one quick moment, all of that was taken away from him.

Once Dr. Noblestein was proven wrong by Mr. Marvin, who took away all of his power in one fell swoop, many questioned whether or not Mr. Marvin had taken his sanity as well. It was then that the landscape of the town began its change for the worse. After losing his power, Dr. Noblestein pushed himself deeper into his experiments, deeper into what he had been working on all along.

Dr. Noblestein created a monster.

The monster began to lash out, swinging its arms at anyone that got in its way. The monster didn't care who stood before him. Male, female, adult, child, it didn't discriminate. It began to wreck havoc on the town, striking when no one expected it to and boldly defying anyone who tried to get in its way to stop it. Many people tried to stand up to the monster on their own, but they always paid a price.

"Enough!" Mr. Marvin yells back in the present. "We can't be fighting amongst ourselves. We need to band together for them." Mr. Marvin turns in a circle, pointing at the people standing around. "For the people that this monster is threatening to hurt each and every time he shows his head!"

"Which is why we need to eliminate him!" Mr. Only shouts one more time. "To make sure no one else is hurt!"

"We need to keep these people safe!"

"You don't care about the people!" Mr. Gates shouts as he steps through the crowd and into the middle circle, holding a torch in his hand and wearing a cowboy hat. "You never have and I don't think you ever will, both of you. The majority of the time, you walk around with your heads held high thinking nothing can touch you. The only reason why you're being seen in a somewhat brighter light by some people is because you're using the current situation to your advantage. You're using Noblestein for your own God damn purposes and I'm sick and tired of hearing you go on about it."

"But you agreed with me," Mr. Marvin says, glaring at Mr. Gates. "You agreed!"

"I agreed that Noblestein was a danger to certain people, but those are also the people that wronged him."

"Even you?" Mr. Only fires in with a smirk.

"Even me," Mr. Gates answers. "I wronged him by stopping his attempts to take out the man that took out his friend. It seems justifiable to me, really. At least he knows that if I were to want to stop him, man to man, head to head, I'd be doing it for more than my own selfish purposes. I'd be doing it because I seem to be the only one that cares about the people of this town."

"I care more than Mayor Jeff!" Mr. Marvin shouts. Mr. Gates can only shake his head.

"Give him a break, he's doing the best he can with what he's got," Mr. Gates says. "It's not easy for him to have to put up with a lunatic and a brute and then a monster on top of that."

Mr. Marvin and Mr. Only share an angered look as Mr. Gates continues. "It also doesn't help that you're forcing your agenda down everyone's throats, about how you want to get rid of Noblestein so that he can't take back what was once his."

"You're lying!" Mr. Marvin shouts again. "We're trying to save everyone from his terror, and to put this town back into the good standing it used to be in. Noblestein is tearing us down brick by brick!"

"It's not like any of you helped it," Mr. Gates responds. "You spent weeks playing with his head and making him think that his own wife was against him, and now, now he's out for revenge. All of you have driven him to this point."

"All of us?" Mr. Biggs inquires. "But I didn't do anything!"

Mr. Gates looks at Mr. Biggs. "The fact that you were in the middle of this circle with those two says differently." Mr. Gates turns to look at the crowd of people before turning back toward Mr. Marvin and Mr. Only. "Besides, it doesn't matter what Mayor Jeff does, because no matter what, the likes of you won't be happy. If he works hard to get rid of Noblestein, you'll just find something else to bitch about. Nothing will ever be perfect for you."

"Listen to him!" Mr. Marvin shouts to the crowd. "Listen how he is trying to stop us from eliminating this monster. Listen to how he defends the monster."

"Who's to say who the real monster is?" Mr. Gates questions. "After all, it was Mr. Only there who nearly killed Mr. Hart."

Mr. Only's eyes open wider with anger. "Mr. Hart is Noblestein's closest friend. He's as much to blame for all of this as Noblestein is. He should have stopped it all from happening, but he didn't. I have no qualms about what I did."

"But that's the point!" Mr. Gates says. "Are they the real monsters or is it the three of you who are trying to get this mob to eliminate someone."

"Or maybe it's you," Mr. Marvin says as he steps forward. "Since you're defending them so much, maybe you're the monster in all of this. The wolf in sheep's clothing."

"I could be. The point is there's a monster inside all of us it just depends how we handle it."

"And you're saying we're handling ours wrong?" Mr. Marvin and Mr. Only share a laugh. Mr. Marvin shakes his head as he looks back at Mr. Gates. "Listen, I don't care what kind of propaganda you want to spout out, I've never led these people wrong. Mayor Jeff refuses to do something about Noblestein, so I will."

Mr. Marvin turns and lets out a shout before he and Mr. Only begin to march up the hill toward Noblestein's home. The majority of the mob follow right away while a few, including Mr. Biggs, hesitate slightly. The remaining mob members eventually follow Mr. Marvin, disappearing farther up the hill, all except Mr. Biggs who drops his torch in the dirt, shakes his head, and walks in the opposite direction. Mr. Gates is left standing in the town square, watching them leave.

"Tough break," a familiar voice says and as Mr. Gates turns around he sees the somewhat large figure of Mr. Renshaw standing behind him. "Guess they didn't really want to listen to the ramblings of the hopefully sane."

"They just didn't understand what I was saying," Mr. Gates tries to reason. "They didn't understand that what they're doing is just as monstrous as what they are claiming Noblestein of doing."

"Oh, I think they understood just right. The thing is, they don't care. People like that? They never care."

"And what about the sheep?"

"They'll cheer for who they think is right to cheer for," Mr. Renshaw answers. "Mr. Marvin is doing a bang up job of brainwashing them against Noblestein and, while there is merit to that, it's not something he should be pushing as hard as he can. He's just nervous."

"Nervous?" Mr. Gates asks. "Nervous. Right. Mr. Marvin is rarely nervous. Ever since he took all of that power away from Noblestein, ever since he-"

"Stole the power away," Mr. Renshaw reminds him. "Don't you remember? He turned his wife against him!"

"She was only looking out for Noblestein." Mr. Gates pauses and raises his hands. "Listen, it doesn't matter how it all happened, what matters is that there are two monsters leading a whole flock of sheep up that hill toward another monster. They just don't want to understand." Mr. Gates shakes his head, but Mr. Renshaw cracks a smile.

"Why does it matter?"

"What do you mean?"

"So what if they're truly monsters on the inside," Mr. Renshaw begins, "why should it bother you? It's not like you joining them. It's not like you're leading the charge. Unlike some of the people in this town you don't need to follow blindly just because you're being told to by one of the men in power. You have your own mind."

"It doesn't really matter, I guess," Mr. Gates responds. "It's just that if they're leading a charge against Noblestein, they need to look in the mirror and see themselves first."

"They will."

"When?" Mr. Gates asks. "When it's too late? When they've already taken down Noblestein and destroyed everything else that he holds dear to him? By then it will be too late because there will already be a life lost at their hands."

"It might not make it that far," Mr. Renshaw says. "Look what happened with that Biggs fellow. He didn't follow them, because he had a change of mind. I'm sure that before they get to the top, those two mouthpieces are going to get in an argument and end up exchanging blows. Long before they get to Noblestein. So there's nothing to worry about. Unless..."

Mr. Renshaw turns Mr. Gates around, placing a hand on each shoulder, looking at him long and hard. "Unless you feel guilty. Like you contributed to the monster showing its ugly head." Mr. Gates looks away and Mr. Renshaw tries to shake him to. "Don't feel that way!"

"It's hard not to," Mr. Gates says. "He was already beginning to get a bit weird in the spring, and then when he and I were having our conflict, it just seemed to push him farther away from everything. And then it just spiraled out from there and now..."

"You can't blame yourself," Mr. Renshaw says. "Trust me, if I thought you were to blame, I would have celebrated your willingness to actually take a chance on something that wasn't legal. But I didn't, because you didn't. You had nothing to do with this."

"Not even when he attacked me?"

Mr. Renshaw shrugs his shoulders. "He was too far gone by then."

"And what about those two?" Mr. Gates asks quickly. "Mr. Marvin and Mr. Only. I contributed to them being so hard-headed about Noblestein's guilt."

"No," Mr. Renshaw tries to say.

"If I would have believed them, they might not have needed to prove something," Mr. Gates says. "They might not have felt like they had to prove a point. Instead, they're trying to show me up by proving to this whole town that Noblestein is the threat. And if they're successful, then the town will turn against me." Mr. Gates looks back at the trail of people off in the distance, making their way up the hill. After a few moments he looks back at Mr. Renshaw. "I wouldn't have even done anything, and the town will want me to be exterminated next."

"Folly," Mr. Renshaw says.

"Is it?" Mr. Gates shouts. "Is it really?" He shakes his head but no words escape his mouth. Mr. Renshaw looks sternly at Mr. Gates.

"So what are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do?" Mr. Gates finally answers. "I'm going to stop them."

"You're not afraid about what they might do?" Mr. Renshaw asks. "You aren't worried that they're going to destroy you?"

Mr. Gates takes a step toward the hill. "Of course I am," he says. "Noblestein isn't the only threat around here, and those two are just as much a monster as he is, so I know that they're going to be a bit unchained. They both have the ability to do a lot of damage if they put their minds to it. Same with Mr. Biggs and Mr. Hart. Hell, even myself. We're all capable, just like we're all guilty because there's a monster inside each and every one of us."

"And that doesn't worry you?"

Mr. Gates shakes his head. "Sometimes you have to take chances, which is where I find myself right now. And no matter what happens, it will mean positive things in the long run one way or another."

"Especially if you save Noblestein."

"Saving Noblestein would be a result. I'm taking this chance to stop those two from accomplishing what they've set out to do. For weeks it was Noblestein this and Noblestein that and no one was looking at them because they've already got all the power and they're using it to their advantage. They've done enough so far and it's time someone put a stop to it."

"Maybe Noblestein will," Mr. Renshaw suggests.

"Maybe," Mr. Gates says. "But maybe not. I can't sit back anymore and let them do what they want."

"So you're going to play the hero now?"

"Now?" Mr. Gates says. "I'm always the hero. I'm always assuming the role of the savior because others choose to play on the wrong side. They've shown their monstrous sides, and now it's time to fight fire with fire."

"How is that possible?" Mr. Renshaw asks. "How can you be a monster and a hero?"

"Because I know how to control it," Mr. Gates says. "I know the difference between right and wrong, and I know what they mean. But if Mr. Marvin and Mr. Only continue to push the wrong buttons, then they're going to see my inner monster."

"Is that a promise?" Mr. Renshaw asks. Mr. Gates nods his head which causes Mr. Renshaw to smile. "Good, because that's the kind of attitude you're going to need it you want to stand up to those two. Or even to Noblestein. Hell, you're going to need that attitude if you're going to stand up to Mr. Biggs and Mr. Hart."

Mr. Gates nods. "I am going to have to show them that no matter how many times they knock me down, I'm always going to get back up. Their egos have grown too big, Mr. Marvin's especially. He thinks that he is unstoppable, he thinks that he is untouchable. Just like Noblestein, Mr. Marvin thinks that no one can stop him from doing what he wants. And just like Noblestein, he will fail in that quest. Someone will stop him.

"I will stop him."

-----------------------------------

"Up until two weeks ago, I questioned my participation in the Elimination Chamber. I wondered if there was some sort of mistake, if my name was incorrectly called when the participants were announced. After all, I'm not exactly wrapped up in the bitter battle between Terry Marvin and Kurt Noble, and I wasn't involved with anything that happened between Chris Hart and Level One. Sure, I've had my wars with Noble and Biggs, but aside from the two of them, the others seemed foreign to me. I felt like an outsider, a place filler that was just...there.
"But then it hit me. Or rather, Kurt Noble hit me. Over and over and over again with that damn steel chair, and I guess you could say I had a moment of clarity. I had a moment of realization as to why I was put into this match. I realize why President Jeff gave me the opportunity to reclaim the Undisputed title.

"Because I'm constant.

"It's no secret. Everywhere you look, there is evil and corruption lurking. You've got the Terry Marvin's of the world trying their hardest to manipulate every situation to fit their own needs, you have Level One asserting his dominance by pushing everyone around, you've got Kurt Noble slowly taking out every single person alive in APW, and that's just in our match. You've got the newly signed Azrael Goeren, who is evil incarnate, sticking his nose into everyone's business. Looking around APW, there is so much more corruption that it's almost impossible to fathom.

"Almost.

"But in a world where the good is losing to evil, I have stayed the course, always trying to do the right thing, always making sure to fight for the fans, to give them someone to cheer for. Something to believe in. While others are losing their minds, trying to end lives, cheating at every turn and manipulating everyone, I have been true to the words I said the first day I walked into APW. Words that I will never break. And I am in this match for those very reasons, to prove that they are words I will never break, to show that I am a man of integrity, a man that is going to do all that he can to save the fans from having to constantly put up with the bullshit evil that is slowly taking over.

"Yet that doesn't seem to be enough for everyone. Even though I have figured out why I am in the match, there are still people out there that question my involvement and doubt Jeff's choice. There are people who question whether or not my heart and my mind are still in this, whether my body is still in this, whether I can actually compete at the top levels like I once did. They don't think I deserve this opportunity because I haven't exactly been showing signs of great success lately. They say that I don't qualify for the chamber because I haven't done enough to prove it.

"And on the surface, they'd be right. I haven't won a lot of matches, but sometimes it's not all about wins and losses. Sometimes it's about integrity and maintaining it. Sometimes it's about standing up against all of this corruption, all of this evil and trying to end it all. Trying to restore some semblance of order to a world that has started to spiral into chaos. And as a man who has had to put up with enough of it in his career, I think I'm capable enough to stand against all of it.

"To stand against me like Marvin, men like Biggs, men like Level One and, now, men like Noble. To give them everything I have to show that no matter what kind of tricks they try and pull, they won't pull the wool over my eyes. To show that there are still people out there who see them for what they truly are.

"Monsters.

"That's all they really are. They are men that prey on others. They are villains that use others for their own personal gain. They can deny it all they want and they can play it off as if they are trying to save everyone, but they really aren't. In my gut I feel that once One Night in Hell wraps up, Terry Marvin will go back to his egotistical ways while Level One will pick on someone else who is smaller and weaker than he is. I can assume that Noble will either return to his normal self or continue down his spiral slide of madness. I can probably also assume that Biggs will go back to pulling on tights, grabbing ropes, and making sure that no one gets a leg up on him. It's in their DNA.

"They're monsters.

"They do what they can to screw people over, and I should know. I've been victim of each of them since day one.

"In the Test for the Best qualifying match against Terry Marvin, Biggs screwed me over.

"In the tag team title match, Terry Marvin screwed me over.

"In the Overdrive title match, Terry Marvin once again screwed me over.

"Three weeks ago when I faced Level One, Lester Only cheated to obtain victory.

"Two weeks ago, after the tag team match, Kurt Noble tried to kill me.

"And if each of them were given a second opportunity, I have no doubt that each and every one of them would look to do the exact same thing. It's in their nature. It's what they were raised to believe in, or what they've come to accept when pushed over the edge.

"In fact, the only man that hasn't done anything to catch my ire has been Chris Hart. If there was anyone else in this match that could be considered a constant it would be him, though I question where his head will be at going into this chamber. After all, everyone has a monster lurking inside of them, it's just a matter of letting it go, and I think it's safe to say that his began to come out at Overdrive. The look in his eyes, the way he wanted a piece of every single person, there's no doubt that there is a monster just waiting to get out. And after what Level One did to him, I wouldn't blame him.

"I just wonder if he's comfortable stopping when he gets what he's looking for, or if he feels like he needs to go above and beyond. I wonder if he is going to release a full blown ogre, or just a small troll. After all, his real beef lies with only half the chamber. Of course, all of that will change when the match begins, but for now, his eyes must be set on Level One. I'd think it only appropriate.

"Is he working with Noble? It's hard to say. It might be that Hart is working with Noble as much as Marvin is working with Lester and Biggs is working with me. Enough to get by but once they've done that much, all hell will break loose between them. Though, that is something that I could see happening since day one. Ever since Biggs mentioned it, I could tell that partnerships will only last until the we all step into that structure of hell.

"For instance, one man could be stuck inside one of those pods, watching as his ally gets the shit beat out of him. Watching as everything they had planned begins to crumble because there's a chance that by the time he gets into the match officially, his ally will be eliminated. That is, if Goeren is going to play by the rules and not favor the patrons of evil. That's one reason why I'm looking out for myself before the partnership.

"It's nothing against Biggs, though the man hasn't exactly done a whole lot to earn my trust save for stopping that chair from taking off my head. I know what that man is capable of, and I know that if he's given an inch he'll take a God damn mile. He'll make sure that the Spaceman gets the first opportunity so that he can watch his own hide. And, truly, if there's anyone in this match that understands that more than he does, it's me. We've been through hell, more specifically, at this time last year. He gave me everything that he had and he tried to make sure I never walked again, but I persevered and I know that no matter what I'm hit with, I'll be able to get up from it. After all, it's what Biggs taught me when we took each other to our limits and made sure that we had to go that extra mile. It's like it was a tryout for this years chamber.

"And it's because of all of that, I know that to succeed, I need to make sure that I watch out for myself first and foremost, and Biggs secondly if I want to honor the agreement. And I only say if because there's the legitimate possibility that Biggs will stab me in the back, just like all monsters do at some point in time.

"Just like everyone seems to do.

"Kurt Noble did it. Just when I thought that he and I were going to be able to co-exist, just when I thought that we would be working together to take out all of the corruption, his vision was blurred by gold. His success became more important than anything else, and I think that was when his downfall began. People can look elsewhere, but that moment when he saw the possibility of having gold around his waist, he did everything that he could to get it.

"He threw away a friendship, he ruined an alliance, and he turned himself into a beast thanks to the green monster of jealousy. In the end I lost to him, but I think that he is the one that lost the most in the battle. Who knows, if he and I were still on equal ground, on speaking terms, things might not have gone so poorly for Noble. Though, hindsight is always twenty-twenty.

"Level One's done it, though, admittedly, not as bad as Noble did. Or at least, not as bad in my time here. His game easily enough since he was able to throw Johnny Rebel to the ditch, to make sure that his dead weight was gone once they lost the titles. Sure, it might not be the same, but it's still there. He still blames Rebel. He still makes it seem like he was not at fault here and, I guess, that's good enough to see him as the same sort of man. The sort of man, the sort of monster, that solves his problems with violence. The sort of man who would sell anyone out if it helped his cause, and it just might have helped his cause with the Sindicate.

"A group that would also be able to help the cause of Terry Marvin. After all, it's no surprise that he had his hand in that cookie jar at some point. The real surprise to me is that no one is talking about the what if factor with Terry Marvin. People just see that he won the title and that's that. They don't look back to that qualifying match, where Marvin may not have won. If it weren't for Stan Everdeen, Marvin might have been on the outside looking in.

"But no one seems to care.

"No one cares because Marvin has made sure that no one does. He's made sure that he's brainwashed anyone who might have thought that, and with what has happened to Noble, it's given Marvin a perfect opportunity. He's used it to his advantage to get the fans on his side, but what he seems to have forgotten is at some point this whole facade will come crashing down. At some point, he is going to realize that those fans turn. He is going to realize that once that wall comes down, he's going to be public enemy number one yet again.

"And I am going to make sure that it happens at One Night in Hell. I am going to make sure that he is shown to be the true monster that he is, shown that everything he has done since Shockwave has been a lie to the fans. He isn't here to save anyone, he is here to tear APW down from the inside out.

"Case in point, if he really wanted to save everyone from Kurt Noble, he would have done something more substantial. He wouldn't have held President Jeff hostage or tried to stage some intervention to get himself seen as someone that cares. Seen as the white knight.

"But the truth is that the real white knight is wearing the cowboy hat. The real white knight is the one that constantly stands up against everything, the one that is constantly getting back up each and every time I have been knocked down. But they will see. They will all see. Because at One Night in Hell, when everyone is inside of that structure and when Marvin tries to pull in the cheers, he'll get none. He'll find no one looking to give him that extra push to retain his title.

"Because each and every one of them will be looking at me. Waiting for me. Wanting to cheer for me.

"Out of everyone here, even including the special guest referee Azrael Goeren, I am the least like a monster. I do have one inside of me, and it will come out when provoked, but compared to the others, it's nothing. Compared to everyone else, I'm a God damn saint.

"And at One Night in Hell, I am going to prove that I am better than each and every one of those men inside of that structure.

"Chris Hart.

"Biggs.

"Level One.

"Kurt Noble.

"Terry Marvin.

"Azrael Goeren.

"It's time to go big or go home."