Post by T-Marv on Aug 25, 2012 16:44:20 GMT -4
Dear Mrs. Noble,
Please allow me to be the first to offer my condolences on your recent termination from the ranks of the APW elite. Your dismissal was both unfair and unjust. I realize that the two of us have had our disagreements in the past, but what happened to you was the result of a psychotic presence, hell bent on eliminating you from the equation at all costs.
Every single thing that Kylie has done was to worm her way into Kurt’s life, and that included worming you out of it. Everything has gone her way during this entire process. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a damn thing you could have done about it. However, you can’t really place all the blame on that crazy bitch. After all, she could not have possibly done all of this if there wasn’t at least a small opening to allow it to creep up. Kurt’s not stupid, he knew what was going on and he LET IT!
We both know that Kurt wasn’t always the kind who would let himself be so easily dooped by a pair of pretty eyes and perky breasts. He wasn’t always the self centered arrogant ass who would do anything as long as it gave the tiniest bit of build to his ever growing ego. He was kind, and humble, and did whatever he could to truly defend the APW from the dangers that threatened it. But now, he has become one of those dangers. He is one of the villains he so proudly claims to battle.
Although all seems lost right now, I promise you that it isn’t. I know of a way to return the old Kurt Noble to you. I know of a way to make him forget about his own egomaniacal behavior. I know of a way to erase the name “Kylie Demens” forever from the archives in his brain. And I feel that it is my duty, my responsibility to give this gift to you as a way to make amends for the physical and mental anguish that I have delivered unto you recently. You see, I too am a man blinded by ambition and therefore often let it control my behavior.
But I am not the monster that everyone imagines me to be. I am not the monster your Husband has become. You see, ever since he won the Undisputed Title, Kurt has been possessed by the very spirit of one of the seven deadly sins: PRIDE! And that Pride will poison and destroy everything around him.
But, being the generous patron that I am, I will gladly take on that burden myself. I will risk my life, future, and happiness to allow the old Kurt Noble to return to you and once again rebuild his happy family. Amy, I swear to you and all that is holy that I will RIP that title out of his vice like clutches. I will not rest, will not stop, will not quit until I have removed that EVIL temptation from his being.
I will become the APW Undisputed Champion….. FOR YOU!
I will return the old Kurt Noble, who will no doubt need consoling after his epic defeat….. FOR YOU!
So dry your pretty little eyes, and rest your mind. Have a little faith in me and my desire to right this horrible wrong. In just one day… your Kurt Noble, empty handed and full of sorrow, will be right back where he belongs.
With all my Love,
Future APW Undisputed Champion TERRY MARVIN
1
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2
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THREE!
Winner and STILL APW UNDISPUTED CHAMPION - KURT NOBLE
“NO!!!”
Darkness consumes the world as his eyes flutter open flickering around for some semblance of reality. Suddenly, relief washes over him with the realization that he is safe and sound in his hotel room. Thoughts race over him as he tries to shake out the cobwebs wondering what day it was. Is Shockwave over? Did he really lose? He takes a deep breath to clear his head.
Shockwave is tomorrow. He hasn’t missed anything. But why was he so anxious, why was he so nervous. He’s had matches of this proportion before, and he’s handled them with grace and professionalism. So why is this one so different? Perhaps because more is on the line than a simple Title. But did Terry really believe that? After all, the prize and the glory are the only things that matter right?
Terry slides out of bed leaving the bare back of Faythe uncovered and resting peacefully on her side of the bed. He starts to make his way to the kitchen, but as he walks through the door, he finds himself in a strange and unusual place.
He’s walking through the city of Los Angeles, or what he assumed was the city of Los Angeles by the remains of the Hollywood Sign some distance in front of him. It seemed as if a Bomb had gone off and leveled the entire city as Buildings lie smoldering and wasted.
Suddenly, instead of the silk boxer shorts he was stumbling around in, he was wearing raggy and dirty clothing. He instantly thought that this MUST be a dream since he’d never be caught dead looking anything but spectacular, even during the end of the world.
He looks around at the total destruction with only one thought on his mind.
“What the hell happened?”
“You did, in a way.”
Terry looks to the right as a very familiar figure steps out of the rubble and approaches. He sees a sight that he never expected…..
Keaton Saint.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Keaton shrugs. “You got me, this is your dream. Perhaps you just can‘t seem to get me of your mind. Maybe you have a secret crush on me.” Keaton smiles with an uncharacteristic joke. “Maybe it‘s because you just got done putting my life through a living hell and you actually have a semblance of a conscience.” Terry muffles a laugh as Keaton shakes his head. “Or maybe it‘s because something I said actually stuck in your head once or twice.”
Terry raises his eyebrows trying to figure out what he was talking about. But a more pressing issue is probing through the front of his brain.
“So what happened here?”
Keaton smirks. “Isn‘t it obvious? It‘s the end of the world as we know it.” Keaton pauses inquisitively. “Or more likely, the worldly representation of the end of APW as we know it.”
Terry looks quisitively at Keaton waiting on an explanation.
“Do I really have to spell this out for you?” Keaton sighs and then clears his throat ready for the big speech. “For the past 5 months, I‘ve been desperately attempting to save APW from the most evil and vile fate imaginable.” He sighs again and shakes his head. “After Shockwave, it is more than apparent that I‘ve failed. And this is the result of that.”
Terry looks around and then suddenly a light bulb goes off in his head. His face scowls and he glares at Keaton.
“Ooohhhh, I get it. You‘re fucking hilarious. So since I won the Undisputed title at Shockwave…the world comes to an end. Very clever.”
Keaton looks up at him with humorless eyes and shakes his head. “No, you don‘t get it. Honestly, that‘s what I thought all along, that you would be the downfall, that you were the ultimate evil. But after the past events. I was wrong.”
Terry has to catch himself from almost falling on his ass from pure shock.
“But I wasn‘t wrong about you being a key player in the end of days. You see, you were the catalyst that pushed us to this point. You helped facilitate the EGO that would eventually ruin everything APW stood for. But somehow you weren‘t the big bad guy that pushed the proverbial button. Kurt Noble was.”
Terry raises one eyebrow on this and then chuckles.
“You‘re trying to tell me that Captain America over there was the cause for all this?”
Keaton scoffs.
“You act shocked. But wasn‘t it you all along who said that you weren‘t the bad guy here? Wasn‘t you all along that said that you were the true hero? Are you telling me that all along you were just saying that to mess with my head?”
“YES! That‘s exactly what I‘m saying. That‘s what I do, I fuck with people‘s heads. I play mind games, I make them lose their confidence, make them question their worth. It‘s part of my act.”
“But it‘s not an act, not this time. You could have prevented this, all of this. If you would have won the Undisputed Title, the cancer that is Kylie Demens would not have so venomously mixed with the poison that is Kurt Noble‘s ego and formed this nuclear reaction that destroyed everything! The people no longer had someone to believe in….and everything crumbled to dust. APW died!”
Terry crashes down on some nearby rubble. He runs his hands through his hair, tugging at the roots, trying to digest all of this information.
“Boy Keaton… I must have done a number on you, cause you‘ve gone even more batty than I could have imagined!”
“I‘m not crazy Terry, and deep down you know it. Deep down inside you realize that the dribble you‘ve been spewing for weeks has some merit to it. Sure, it may come from a selfish and dastardly place inside your soul, but you were right. Kurt Noble is not the good guy, not in this scenario. He has lost his way and is past the point of no return. It‘s time to do like you‘ve always preached…it‘s time to be the hero!”
“BUT I‘M NOT THE HERO! I‘m the bad guy, I like being the bad guy, I like antagonizing the fans and feeling their hatred rush through me.”
Keaton laughs and smiles at him. “Whatever helps you sleep at night Terry. But you know that deep down you want them to respect you, to worship you. Hell, that‘s why you try so hard to convince them that I was evil, to convince them that Kurt is evil.”
Terry tries to soak this all in, but can’t seem to get a grasp on it.
“Do it for the Title, do it for the glory, hell do it for your own Ego. Either way, the fate of APW is up to you. This is simply a glimpse of the future, a future that you can change. The question is, will you?”
“But why are YOU helping me?”
“As I said, this is your dream…I‘m merely a guide to open your eyes.”
Terry again tries to wrap his head around it. He has to play the hero? He has to be the one to save the world from destruction? That’s too much pressure. All he wanted to do was be the Undisputed Champion, to fulfill his destiny.
His Destiny! Perhaps it was something more, more than a strap of leather and gold. Perhaps it had more meaning.
“But what if I can‘t do it. What if I fail?”
Keaton just smirks at him. “I think we both know what you‘re capable of. You have more than a few tricks up your sleeve. After what you put me through, I know that the world is in good hands. However, if you still fail, then I guess I was right all the long: You will be the RUIN of APW.”
Terry bows his head. This is still too much, too much to take in.
“Everything you‘ve done this year has led you to this point. You‘re so close, you can taste it. Fight this fight with the same unyielding ferocity that you fought me. You‘ve gotten this far, only one more enemy to best…..”
Terry smirks a bit. “Kurt Noble….”
Keaton shakes his head and lets out a small laugh. “Is that really what you think?”
The skies darken as lightning flashes and thunder crashes in the distance. The sound of ominous music begins to ring out as Loud stomping footsteps can be heard coming from around the corner. Terry Braces to see the face of his most notorious opponent…..
However, the world literally dissolves right in front of his eyes, with the last thing he sees is Keaton Saint’s hopeful looking face….
Terry’s eyes fly open as we are looking directly into his face. He is standing there in just his boxers as he was when he first stepped out of bed. His eyes look directly into ours and a flash of fury comes across his face.
“YOU!”
Loud laughter and a voice seems to protrude right out of the camera.
“Of course it’s me… Who did you expect? I’m the one person you could never defeat, the one person you could never put in your past.”
“You‘re dead and gone! Burried deep down and erased from my history.”
More loud laugher as the camera pans out and we see Terry Marvin standing in his own bathroom staring into the Mirror. His reflection stares back laughing.
“What part of “never put in your past” do you not understand? It doesn’t matter how much you try to forget me, how much you try to deny my existence. I’ll always be there, always be a part of you. I’m that little sliver of doubt that creeps up in moments like this. I’m your failures that play over and over and over again when you look back to last year, when you look back at your last APW run that ended with utter disaster!”
“SHUT UP! I‘m a different person now, a better person. Look at all I‘ve accomplished, all that I‘ve done. I am the GREATEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO WRESTLING again. You‘re nothing but a ghost!”
The man in the mirror smiles.
“Yet here I am! I‘m here cause once again, you‘re faced with a massive challenge and opportunity. And once again your greatest fears and insecurities crop up.”
“I will NEVER go back to being you!”
“Won‘t you? One hiccup, one falter and BOOM that‘s all I need to creep back in!”
Terry pauses. He knew he was right, but didn’t want to admit it. Here he is on the cusp of accomplishing his greatest dreams and he’s facing off with the worst part of himself.
“You‘re right. You‘ll always be a part of me.”
His reflection laughs victoriously thinking that he’s accomplished his dark mission. But Terry just smiles.
“You‘re the part that pushes me to be better. You‘re the part that reminds me of my failures. You‘re the part that creeps up when I‘m bloody and exhausted and ready to give up, and keeps me moving, keeps me fighting. You‘re the motivation. The fear of becoming the disgusting, revolting part of myself that I see before me will be the one thing that contributes to my victory…to my claiming of the APW UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONSHIP!”
Terry smiles, but his reflection scowls, seeming less than impressed by this display of confidence. Terry approaches the mirror closer and smirks.
“But I will NOT become you. I have ascended….evolved into a the highest version of myself. I AM UNSTOPABLE. And you will never again drag me down to the depths of mediocrity. Go back to hell you pathetic piece of shit!!!”
With that, Terry swings with all his might. His reflection’s face is one of great fear and surprise right before the fist connects and shatters the mirror into a thousand pieces.
Just then, Terry’s eyes fly open once again. He is there standing in front of the Mirror. But this time, he smiles, his reflection mimicking his actions.
“I’m Ready!”
August 25, 2012 - Los Angeles, California - Griffith Observatory
The scene is completely pitch black other than the small area illuminated by the light on the camera. It searches around the large domed room filled with stadium seating and other high tech equipment. The camera searches around until it lands on the one and only soul occupying the room…. The Real Show Terry Marvin.
“They say this town is packed with stars. Surely not the ones that shine in the night sky for they are invisible next to the innumerable amount of glare from the plethora of neon lights polluting the atmosphere of this city. No, I‘m refering stars of the walking, talking verity that pour out of Hollywood….Superstars with massively large egos to match their ridiculously large bank accounts.”
Terry smiles and stands.
“But I guess that‘s fitting. You see, this arrogant town will be host to this years rendition of SHOCKWAVE….and therefore will be subject to the largest collision of Egos that will ever occur until the events of the book of Revelations comes to pass. But God and Lucifer not withstanding, Kurt Noble vs. Terry Marvin will be the equivalent of a Supernova exploding for all to see. However, we won‘t make you wait eons and eons for our light to finally reach earthly viewing distance. You‘ll be able to see it immediately!”
Terry flips a switch on a projector and the room is filled with planets, stars, and constellations projected on the arched ceiling. In the very middle of the planetarium, a supernova outshines any other visible spot on the ceiling.
“The time is finally here Kurt. In just 24 hours, the two of us will colide in the middle of that ring in a spectacle for the ages. Both of us will stretch out beyond our means, reaching for the stars. But for you, the fingertips will come just a little short as I send you crashing back to earth, back to reality, popping this fantasy bubble that you‘ve been living in the past 4 months or so!”
“Oh, I know Kurt. It‘s not about the Title anymore. It‘s not about being a superstar anymore. It‘s about revenge, it‘s about getting your hands on me and ending my career. Yes, we‘ve all heard that speech. And I like the rest of the world know…. ITS ALL A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT!”
“You‘re Kurt Fucking Noble! You‘re the king of flaunting your hardware around, of telling everybody exactly HOW good you are. To tell me that the title now has no significance to you just goes to prove how big of a boldfaced liar you‘ve become!
But let‘s pretend for a second that all you truly want is some measure of revenge on me. WHY? Is it because of that incident with your wife?
Obviously not, as you don‘t give a damn about her. You let your new mistress dispose of everyone who meant a damn thing to you, let her do whatever she wanted to, and all so you could hold on to that title, which to you defines true success and superstardom. So it couldn‘t honestly be that.”
“No, the true motivation for your revenge is that I pose a bit of a PR problem for you. For the last four weeks, I‘ve been coming out here and telling them the truth about you, telling them what they don‘t want to hear, but what they HAVE to hear. And now they‘re finally beginning to believe me and that threatens the perfect long con you‘ve got going here, threatens your very lively hood.”
“Of course you can‘t have people ruining your prestine reputation can you Kurt? But it doesn‘t matter. One way or another, people will see you for what you already are. I‘ve ALREADY WON, but you‘re just too self absorbed to see it!”
“You‘re too busy trying to fool all these people yet again aren’t you Kurt. You come out acting like the underdog, acting like the world is out to get you, like nobody has any faith in you at all. PLEASE CUT THE BULLSHIT! There are plenty of people who put every single piece of stock they had in KURT NOBLE and you turned your back on each and every one of them.
You let Medea down!
You let Monkwood down!
You let Chris Hart down!
You let AMY down, again and again and again!
You can’t BITCH and whine and moan about being the underdog, about having the world turn their back on you because you turned your back on them FIRST!
Let’s face it Kurt…. The moment you won the Undisputed Championship, you thought you won it for the people, for the fans, for APW. But ever since that moment, ever since your ego got too big for your body, you’ve done one thing and one thing only….
YOU’VE LET YOUR FANS DOWN! ”
“You are not fooling anyone Kurt. You‘re not the underdog Kurt, not anymore. You‘re the evil empire who has fooled the people into thinking the way you do, fooled them into loving you. And at this very moment, they’re all beginning to wizen up. They‘re tired of being deceived. They‘re tired of having a champion who can‘t even get along with those who support him most, who turns his back on his very fundamentals. They are DONE with you Kurt.”
Terry clicks the projector again and the scene on the ceiling changes to just one BRIGHT shining star.
“When this whole thing between the two of us started out, it was about this one simple thing Kurt….It was about who shone the brightest, who stood out the most, about who was the biggest SUPERSTAR! It was a battle of one-ups-manship. It was two ridiculous egos in a screaming match trying to prove which one was superior in every single way! It was one giant pissing contest.
It got to the point that I lost touch with the very reason I was striving for this title, the very essence behind my destiny. I simply wanted to prove to myself and everybody else watching around the world that I was the best of the best, that I was the KING of the APW. I allowed you to seep into my mind and twist my goals and dreams into the unholy goal of making your life a living hell. I hated you Kurt and everything you stood for. All I wanted to do was hurt you.
Well, that still hasn‘t changed. I still hate you. I still hate what you stand for. You can call me jealous….cause it‘s the fucking truth. You have what I want. I‘m not talking about the adoration of the fans. I‘m not talking about the love of the people. You have the status as the PINACLE of APW! I want that so badly that my blood boils every single time that thought creeps into my mind.”
“You feel the same way Kurt… I can see that look in your eyes. Every time you step out to that ring, you just adore being the center of attention, having everyone‘s eyes on you and knowing by grace of that belt over your shoulder that there is nobody better in the world, nobody above you in rank….
That is until you look at me. When you look at me Kurt, you see somebody with passion and desire that blows yours out of the water. When you look at me, you see an entity that will stop at nothing to possess the one thing that he cares more about than even his very life. I see that look in your eyes too Kurt, and I recognize it. I saw it in Level One‘s right before I defeated him in the middle of the ring. I saw it in Keaton Saint‘s right before my feet reached the floor and he realized that he was beaten. I saw it in Sally Talfourd’s the millisecond before the referee‘s hand slapped the mat for the third time!
IT IS FEAR!
You are scared to death of me Kurt! You‘re scared that I can and will be the one man to take everything from you. You‘re scared that I will be the one to expose you for what you really are, a fake and a fraud. Your scared that THIS will be the greatest fall of your career, that I will be the final chapter in the tragedy that is Kurt Noble‘s life story!
And you should be Kurt, cause I will be the END of NobleDrive, and I will be the beginning of the end of your illustrious CAREER!
You can fight it all you want, but nobody can run from fate, nobody can run from destiny and NOBODY can hide from the inevitable. ”
Terry climbs up on the platform near the projector and pulls a lever that propels him slowly toward the ceiling.
“I know how much you hate me Kurt. I know you want to see me suffer, want to see me scream and cry in anguish. I know you want to break every single bone in my body, want to end my career, to send me to oblivion. I know you desperately need to erase the very memory of my existence from the planet. I know, because I made you that way Kurt.
Every single thing I’ve done up until this point, I’ve done with one thing in mind….PISSING YOU OFF! I’ve drilled down deep inside your head, and flicked every switch I possibly could to make you into the Angriest version of yourself. It didn’t take much! You were already so delusional, so overcome by your own greatness that it was the simplest MINDFUCK I’ve ever had to inflict. But I’m sure the world is asking itself…why? Why would I want to make you want to kill me, make you want to end my very life? What would I get out of that. ”
Terry laughs as the platform continues to rise.
“It‘s easy Kurt….people who give in to rage are consumed by it. They let it rule them, let it overtake them. They forget even the very basic of principals and focus only on the subject of their fury. They‘re not careful. They‘re not cautious. They become their anger. And you‘ve fallen into every single trap I‘ve set for you Kurt. The only thing on your mind is making me pay for my imaginary crimes. So much so that when the time is right, and your blind hatred for me causes you to make even the TINIEST of mistakes…... ”
Terry claps his hands together loudly!
“ITS OVER!
Just like that Kurt, and there isn‘t a DAMN thing you can do about it!
So you come to take my career, to inflict all the pain on me that you pretend I deserve. I‘ll come to take your title, to win the match. And we‘ll just see who comes out on top!”
The platform rises to the very top and comes to a stop.
“Tomorrow Night….we will both reach for our goals, both reach for the proverbial stars. However, you will be trapped in an eternal punishment of forever being an inch away, whereas I will wrap my hand around greatness and NEVER let go!”
Terry reaches up and puts his hand over the one single star on the ceiling. He then smiles as he turns to the camera.
“You see, Kurt. It‘s no longer about who the biggest superstar is. It‘s no longer about egos. It‘s about doing the right thing.
Your title reign has been one FULL of malicious behavior. It has turned you into somebody that not even your own wife can stand any longer. If you listen closely to those fans tomorrow night, the cheers aren‘t quite as loud, aren‘t quite as heartfelt.
That‘s because there‘s been a shift in the natural order of things. You‘re no longer the savior of APW, no longer the hero Kurt. The tides have changed and you are now and will FOREVER be the VILLIAN!
Tomorrow night, I partake on a new journey, one that I never quite thought I‘d be on. You see the fans, the world needs the old Kurt Noble back. They need the man they can turn to, that they can count on. But that Kurt Noble can no longer exist, not while his ego obstructs his vision!
So it is up to me to be the Hero! It‘s up to me to give the fans back the one thing that they cannot live without. It‘s time for me to serve my purpose and truly be GOD‘S GIFT TO WRESTLING! I will take on the burden of the Undisputed Championship. I will give you all back the Kurt Noble that you know and love. I will return to you the glimmer of hope that you all so desperately want.
And I will continue to be your lightning rod of Hate, to be the figure of all you despise.
Because when it comes right down to it, this world needs heroes and this world needs villains. They need someone to love. They need someone to Hate. I will play my part, fulfill my role.
But by doing so… I will complete my goal, I will fulfill my destiny. And it all happens when these stars come out.”
The stars once again light up the planetarium.
“When the Stars Come Out, Kurt Noble and Terry Marvin will not be putting on a show, we will be waging a war: A war not just for the title, but for the souls of every fan of APW.
When the Stars Come Out, my victory won‘t just provide me with the Undisputed Championship.
When the Stars Come Out, my victory won‘t just thrust me into the grandest spotlight the APW has to offer.
When the Stars Come Out, I will restore the natural order of things.
When the Stars Come Out, I WILL SAVE THE WORLD!”
The Stars disappear. The full lights come on in the planetarium as we see Terry up on the platform hovering above a hologram of the planet earth on which the initials APW have been scribed, with his arms held out wide. He smiles.
“ITS SHOWTIME!”
Please allow me to be the first to offer my condolences on your recent termination from the ranks of the APW elite. Your dismissal was both unfair and unjust. I realize that the two of us have had our disagreements in the past, but what happened to you was the result of a psychotic presence, hell bent on eliminating you from the equation at all costs.
Every single thing that Kylie has done was to worm her way into Kurt’s life, and that included worming you out of it. Everything has gone her way during this entire process. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a damn thing you could have done about it. However, you can’t really place all the blame on that crazy bitch. After all, she could not have possibly done all of this if there wasn’t at least a small opening to allow it to creep up. Kurt’s not stupid, he knew what was going on and he LET IT!
We both know that Kurt wasn’t always the kind who would let himself be so easily dooped by a pair of pretty eyes and perky breasts. He wasn’t always the self centered arrogant ass who would do anything as long as it gave the tiniest bit of build to his ever growing ego. He was kind, and humble, and did whatever he could to truly defend the APW from the dangers that threatened it. But now, he has become one of those dangers. He is one of the villains he so proudly claims to battle.
Although all seems lost right now, I promise you that it isn’t. I know of a way to return the old Kurt Noble to you. I know of a way to make him forget about his own egomaniacal behavior. I know of a way to erase the name “Kylie Demens” forever from the archives in his brain. And I feel that it is my duty, my responsibility to give this gift to you as a way to make amends for the physical and mental anguish that I have delivered unto you recently. You see, I too am a man blinded by ambition and therefore often let it control my behavior.
But I am not the monster that everyone imagines me to be. I am not the monster your Husband has become. You see, ever since he won the Undisputed Title, Kurt has been possessed by the very spirit of one of the seven deadly sins: PRIDE! And that Pride will poison and destroy everything around him.
But, being the generous patron that I am, I will gladly take on that burden myself. I will risk my life, future, and happiness to allow the old Kurt Noble to return to you and once again rebuild his happy family. Amy, I swear to you and all that is holy that I will RIP that title out of his vice like clutches. I will not rest, will not stop, will not quit until I have removed that EVIL temptation from his being.
I will become the APW Undisputed Champion….. FOR YOU!
I will return the old Kurt Noble, who will no doubt need consoling after his epic defeat….. FOR YOU!
So dry your pretty little eyes, and rest your mind. Have a little faith in me and my desire to right this horrible wrong. In just one day… your Kurt Noble, empty handed and full of sorrow, will be right back where he belongs.
With all my Love,
Future APW Undisputed Champion TERRY MARVIN
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1
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2
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THREE!
Winner and STILL APW UNDISPUTED CHAMPION - KURT NOBLE
“NO!!!”
Darkness consumes the world as his eyes flutter open flickering around for some semblance of reality. Suddenly, relief washes over him with the realization that he is safe and sound in his hotel room. Thoughts race over him as he tries to shake out the cobwebs wondering what day it was. Is Shockwave over? Did he really lose? He takes a deep breath to clear his head.
Shockwave is tomorrow. He hasn’t missed anything. But why was he so anxious, why was he so nervous. He’s had matches of this proportion before, and he’s handled them with grace and professionalism. So why is this one so different? Perhaps because more is on the line than a simple Title. But did Terry really believe that? After all, the prize and the glory are the only things that matter right?
Terry slides out of bed leaving the bare back of Faythe uncovered and resting peacefully on her side of the bed. He starts to make his way to the kitchen, but as he walks through the door, he finds himself in a strange and unusual place.
He’s walking through the city of Los Angeles, or what he assumed was the city of Los Angeles by the remains of the Hollywood Sign some distance in front of him. It seemed as if a Bomb had gone off and leveled the entire city as Buildings lie smoldering and wasted.
Suddenly, instead of the silk boxer shorts he was stumbling around in, he was wearing raggy and dirty clothing. He instantly thought that this MUST be a dream since he’d never be caught dead looking anything but spectacular, even during the end of the world.
He looks around at the total destruction with only one thought on his mind.
“What the hell happened?”
“You did, in a way.”
Terry looks to the right as a very familiar figure steps out of the rubble and approaches. He sees a sight that he never expected…..
Keaton Saint.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Keaton shrugs. “You got me, this is your dream. Perhaps you just can‘t seem to get me of your mind. Maybe you have a secret crush on me.” Keaton smiles with an uncharacteristic joke. “Maybe it‘s because you just got done putting my life through a living hell and you actually have a semblance of a conscience.” Terry muffles a laugh as Keaton shakes his head. “Or maybe it‘s because something I said actually stuck in your head once or twice.”
Terry raises his eyebrows trying to figure out what he was talking about. But a more pressing issue is probing through the front of his brain.
“So what happened here?”
Keaton smirks. “Isn‘t it obvious? It‘s the end of the world as we know it.” Keaton pauses inquisitively. “Or more likely, the worldly representation of the end of APW as we know it.”
Terry looks quisitively at Keaton waiting on an explanation.
“Do I really have to spell this out for you?” Keaton sighs and then clears his throat ready for the big speech. “For the past 5 months, I‘ve been desperately attempting to save APW from the most evil and vile fate imaginable.” He sighs again and shakes his head. “After Shockwave, it is more than apparent that I‘ve failed. And this is the result of that.”
Terry looks around and then suddenly a light bulb goes off in his head. His face scowls and he glares at Keaton.
“Ooohhhh, I get it. You‘re fucking hilarious. So since I won the Undisputed title at Shockwave…the world comes to an end. Very clever.”
Keaton looks up at him with humorless eyes and shakes his head. “No, you don‘t get it. Honestly, that‘s what I thought all along, that you would be the downfall, that you were the ultimate evil. But after the past events. I was wrong.”
Terry has to catch himself from almost falling on his ass from pure shock.
“But I wasn‘t wrong about you being a key player in the end of days. You see, you were the catalyst that pushed us to this point. You helped facilitate the EGO that would eventually ruin everything APW stood for. But somehow you weren‘t the big bad guy that pushed the proverbial button. Kurt Noble was.”
Terry raises one eyebrow on this and then chuckles.
“You‘re trying to tell me that Captain America over there was the cause for all this?”
Keaton scoffs.
“You act shocked. But wasn‘t it you all along who said that you weren‘t the bad guy here? Wasn‘t you all along that said that you were the true hero? Are you telling me that all along you were just saying that to mess with my head?”
“YES! That‘s exactly what I‘m saying. That‘s what I do, I fuck with people‘s heads. I play mind games, I make them lose their confidence, make them question their worth. It‘s part of my act.”
“But it‘s not an act, not this time. You could have prevented this, all of this. If you would have won the Undisputed Title, the cancer that is Kylie Demens would not have so venomously mixed with the poison that is Kurt Noble‘s ego and formed this nuclear reaction that destroyed everything! The people no longer had someone to believe in….and everything crumbled to dust. APW died!”
Terry crashes down on some nearby rubble. He runs his hands through his hair, tugging at the roots, trying to digest all of this information.
“Boy Keaton… I must have done a number on you, cause you‘ve gone even more batty than I could have imagined!”
“I‘m not crazy Terry, and deep down you know it. Deep down inside you realize that the dribble you‘ve been spewing for weeks has some merit to it. Sure, it may come from a selfish and dastardly place inside your soul, but you were right. Kurt Noble is not the good guy, not in this scenario. He has lost his way and is past the point of no return. It‘s time to do like you‘ve always preached…it‘s time to be the hero!”
“BUT I‘M NOT THE HERO! I‘m the bad guy, I like being the bad guy, I like antagonizing the fans and feeling their hatred rush through me.”
Keaton laughs and smiles at him. “Whatever helps you sleep at night Terry. But you know that deep down you want them to respect you, to worship you. Hell, that‘s why you try so hard to convince them that I was evil, to convince them that Kurt is evil.”
Terry tries to soak this all in, but can’t seem to get a grasp on it.
“Do it for the Title, do it for the glory, hell do it for your own Ego. Either way, the fate of APW is up to you. This is simply a glimpse of the future, a future that you can change. The question is, will you?”
“But why are YOU helping me?”
“As I said, this is your dream…I‘m merely a guide to open your eyes.”
Terry again tries to wrap his head around it. He has to play the hero? He has to be the one to save the world from destruction? That’s too much pressure. All he wanted to do was be the Undisputed Champion, to fulfill his destiny.
His Destiny! Perhaps it was something more, more than a strap of leather and gold. Perhaps it had more meaning.
“But what if I can‘t do it. What if I fail?”
Keaton just smirks at him. “I think we both know what you‘re capable of. You have more than a few tricks up your sleeve. After what you put me through, I know that the world is in good hands. However, if you still fail, then I guess I was right all the long: You will be the RUIN of APW.”
Terry bows his head. This is still too much, too much to take in.
“Everything you‘ve done this year has led you to this point. You‘re so close, you can taste it. Fight this fight with the same unyielding ferocity that you fought me. You‘ve gotten this far, only one more enemy to best…..”
Terry smirks a bit. “Kurt Noble….”
Keaton shakes his head and lets out a small laugh. “Is that really what you think?”
The skies darken as lightning flashes and thunder crashes in the distance. The sound of ominous music begins to ring out as Loud stomping footsteps can be heard coming from around the corner. Terry Braces to see the face of his most notorious opponent…..
However, the world literally dissolves right in front of his eyes, with the last thing he sees is Keaton Saint’s hopeful looking face….
---------------------------------------------------------------
Terry’s eyes fly open as we are looking directly into his face. He is standing there in just his boxers as he was when he first stepped out of bed. His eyes look directly into ours and a flash of fury comes across his face.
“YOU!”
Loud laughter and a voice seems to protrude right out of the camera.
“Of course it’s me… Who did you expect? I’m the one person you could never defeat, the one person you could never put in your past.”
“You‘re dead and gone! Burried deep down and erased from my history.”
More loud laugher as the camera pans out and we see Terry Marvin standing in his own bathroom staring into the Mirror. His reflection stares back laughing.
“What part of “never put in your past” do you not understand? It doesn’t matter how much you try to forget me, how much you try to deny my existence. I’ll always be there, always be a part of you. I’m that little sliver of doubt that creeps up in moments like this. I’m your failures that play over and over and over again when you look back to last year, when you look back at your last APW run that ended with utter disaster!”
“SHUT UP! I‘m a different person now, a better person. Look at all I‘ve accomplished, all that I‘ve done. I am the GREATEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO WRESTLING again. You‘re nothing but a ghost!”
The man in the mirror smiles.
“Yet here I am! I‘m here cause once again, you‘re faced with a massive challenge and opportunity. And once again your greatest fears and insecurities crop up.”
“I will NEVER go back to being you!”
“Won‘t you? One hiccup, one falter and BOOM that‘s all I need to creep back in!”
Terry pauses. He knew he was right, but didn’t want to admit it. Here he is on the cusp of accomplishing his greatest dreams and he’s facing off with the worst part of himself.
“You‘re right. You‘ll always be a part of me.”
His reflection laughs victoriously thinking that he’s accomplished his dark mission. But Terry just smiles.
“You‘re the part that pushes me to be better. You‘re the part that reminds me of my failures. You‘re the part that creeps up when I‘m bloody and exhausted and ready to give up, and keeps me moving, keeps me fighting. You‘re the motivation. The fear of becoming the disgusting, revolting part of myself that I see before me will be the one thing that contributes to my victory…to my claiming of the APW UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONSHIP!”
Terry smiles, but his reflection scowls, seeming less than impressed by this display of confidence. Terry approaches the mirror closer and smirks.
“But I will NOT become you. I have ascended….evolved into a the highest version of myself. I AM UNSTOPABLE. And you will never again drag me down to the depths of mediocrity. Go back to hell you pathetic piece of shit!!!”
With that, Terry swings with all his might. His reflection’s face is one of great fear and surprise right before the fist connects and shatters the mirror into a thousand pieces.
Just then, Terry’s eyes fly open once again. He is there standing in front of the Mirror. But this time, he smiles, his reflection mimicking his actions.
“I’m Ready!”
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August 25, 2012 - Los Angeles, California - Griffith Observatory
The scene is completely pitch black other than the small area illuminated by the light on the camera. It searches around the large domed room filled with stadium seating and other high tech equipment. The camera searches around until it lands on the one and only soul occupying the room…. The Real Show Terry Marvin.
“They say this town is packed with stars. Surely not the ones that shine in the night sky for they are invisible next to the innumerable amount of glare from the plethora of neon lights polluting the atmosphere of this city. No, I‘m refering stars of the walking, talking verity that pour out of Hollywood….Superstars with massively large egos to match their ridiculously large bank accounts.”
Terry smiles and stands.
“But I guess that‘s fitting. You see, this arrogant town will be host to this years rendition of SHOCKWAVE….and therefore will be subject to the largest collision of Egos that will ever occur until the events of the book of Revelations comes to pass. But God and Lucifer not withstanding, Kurt Noble vs. Terry Marvin will be the equivalent of a Supernova exploding for all to see. However, we won‘t make you wait eons and eons for our light to finally reach earthly viewing distance. You‘ll be able to see it immediately!”
Terry flips a switch on a projector and the room is filled with planets, stars, and constellations projected on the arched ceiling. In the very middle of the planetarium, a supernova outshines any other visible spot on the ceiling.
“The time is finally here Kurt. In just 24 hours, the two of us will colide in the middle of that ring in a spectacle for the ages. Both of us will stretch out beyond our means, reaching for the stars. But for you, the fingertips will come just a little short as I send you crashing back to earth, back to reality, popping this fantasy bubble that you‘ve been living in the past 4 months or so!”
“Oh, I know Kurt. It‘s not about the Title anymore. It‘s not about being a superstar anymore. It‘s about revenge, it‘s about getting your hands on me and ending my career. Yes, we‘ve all heard that speech. And I like the rest of the world know…. ITS ALL A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT!”
“You‘re Kurt Fucking Noble! You‘re the king of flaunting your hardware around, of telling everybody exactly HOW good you are. To tell me that the title now has no significance to you just goes to prove how big of a boldfaced liar you‘ve become!
But let‘s pretend for a second that all you truly want is some measure of revenge on me. WHY? Is it because of that incident with your wife?
Obviously not, as you don‘t give a damn about her. You let your new mistress dispose of everyone who meant a damn thing to you, let her do whatever she wanted to, and all so you could hold on to that title, which to you defines true success and superstardom. So it couldn‘t honestly be that.”
“No, the true motivation for your revenge is that I pose a bit of a PR problem for you. For the last four weeks, I‘ve been coming out here and telling them the truth about you, telling them what they don‘t want to hear, but what they HAVE to hear. And now they‘re finally beginning to believe me and that threatens the perfect long con you‘ve got going here, threatens your very lively hood.”
“Of course you can‘t have people ruining your prestine reputation can you Kurt? But it doesn‘t matter. One way or another, people will see you for what you already are. I‘ve ALREADY WON, but you‘re just too self absorbed to see it!”
“You‘re too busy trying to fool all these people yet again aren’t you Kurt. You come out acting like the underdog, acting like the world is out to get you, like nobody has any faith in you at all. PLEASE CUT THE BULLSHIT! There are plenty of people who put every single piece of stock they had in KURT NOBLE and you turned your back on each and every one of them.
You let Medea down!
You let Monkwood down!
You let Chris Hart down!
You let AMY down, again and again and again!
You can’t BITCH and whine and moan about being the underdog, about having the world turn their back on you because you turned your back on them FIRST!
Let’s face it Kurt…. The moment you won the Undisputed Championship, you thought you won it for the people, for the fans, for APW. But ever since that moment, ever since your ego got too big for your body, you’ve done one thing and one thing only….
YOU’VE LET YOUR FANS DOWN! ”
“You are not fooling anyone Kurt. You‘re not the underdog Kurt, not anymore. You‘re the evil empire who has fooled the people into thinking the way you do, fooled them into loving you. And at this very moment, they’re all beginning to wizen up. They‘re tired of being deceived. They‘re tired of having a champion who can‘t even get along with those who support him most, who turns his back on his very fundamentals. They are DONE with you Kurt.”
Terry clicks the projector again and the scene on the ceiling changes to just one BRIGHT shining star.
“When this whole thing between the two of us started out, it was about this one simple thing Kurt….It was about who shone the brightest, who stood out the most, about who was the biggest SUPERSTAR! It was a battle of one-ups-manship. It was two ridiculous egos in a screaming match trying to prove which one was superior in every single way! It was one giant pissing contest.
It got to the point that I lost touch with the very reason I was striving for this title, the very essence behind my destiny. I simply wanted to prove to myself and everybody else watching around the world that I was the best of the best, that I was the KING of the APW. I allowed you to seep into my mind and twist my goals and dreams into the unholy goal of making your life a living hell. I hated you Kurt and everything you stood for. All I wanted to do was hurt you.
Well, that still hasn‘t changed. I still hate you. I still hate what you stand for. You can call me jealous….cause it‘s the fucking truth. You have what I want. I‘m not talking about the adoration of the fans. I‘m not talking about the love of the people. You have the status as the PINACLE of APW! I want that so badly that my blood boils every single time that thought creeps into my mind.”
“You feel the same way Kurt… I can see that look in your eyes. Every time you step out to that ring, you just adore being the center of attention, having everyone‘s eyes on you and knowing by grace of that belt over your shoulder that there is nobody better in the world, nobody above you in rank….
That is until you look at me. When you look at me Kurt, you see somebody with passion and desire that blows yours out of the water. When you look at me, you see an entity that will stop at nothing to possess the one thing that he cares more about than even his very life. I see that look in your eyes too Kurt, and I recognize it. I saw it in Level One‘s right before I defeated him in the middle of the ring. I saw it in Keaton Saint‘s right before my feet reached the floor and he realized that he was beaten. I saw it in Sally Talfourd’s the millisecond before the referee‘s hand slapped the mat for the third time!
IT IS FEAR!
You are scared to death of me Kurt! You‘re scared that I can and will be the one man to take everything from you. You‘re scared that I will be the one to expose you for what you really are, a fake and a fraud. Your scared that THIS will be the greatest fall of your career, that I will be the final chapter in the tragedy that is Kurt Noble‘s life story!
And you should be Kurt, cause I will be the END of NobleDrive, and I will be the beginning of the end of your illustrious CAREER!
You can fight it all you want, but nobody can run from fate, nobody can run from destiny and NOBODY can hide from the inevitable. ”
Terry climbs up on the platform near the projector and pulls a lever that propels him slowly toward the ceiling.
“I know how much you hate me Kurt. I know you want to see me suffer, want to see me scream and cry in anguish. I know you want to break every single bone in my body, want to end my career, to send me to oblivion. I know you desperately need to erase the very memory of my existence from the planet. I know, because I made you that way Kurt.
Every single thing I’ve done up until this point, I’ve done with one thing in mind….PISSING YOU OFF! I’ve drilled down deep inside your head, and flicked every switch I possibly could to make you into the Angriest version of yourself. It didn’t take much! You were already so delusional, so overcome by your own greatness that it was the simplest MINDFUCK I’ve ever had to inflict. But I’m sure the world is asking itself…why? Why would I want to make you want to kill me, make you want to end my very life? What would I get out of that. ”
Terry laughs as the platform continues to rise.
“It‘s easy Kurt….people who give in to rage are consumed by it. They let it rule them, let it overtake them. They forget even the very basic of principals and focus only on the subject of their fury. They‘re not careful. They‘re not cautious. They become their anger. And you‘ve fallen into every single trap I‘ve set for you Kurt. The only thing on your mind is making me pay for my imaginary crimes. So much so that when the time is right, and your blind hatred for me causes you to make even the TINIEST of mistakes…... ”
Terry claps his hands together loudly!
“ITS OVER!
Just like that Kurt, and there isn‘t a DAMN thing you can do about it!
So you come to take my career, to inflict all the pain on me that you pretend I deserve. I‘ll come to take your title, to win the match. And we‘ll just see who comes out on top!”
The platform rises to the very top and comes to a stop.
“Tomorrow Night….we will both reach for our goals, both reach for the proverbial stars. However, you will be trapped in an eternal punishment of forever being an inch away, whereas I will wrap my hand around greatness and NEVER let go!”
Terry reaches up and puts his hand over the one single star on the ceiling. He then smiles as he turns to the camera.
“You see, Kurt. It‘s no longer about who the biggest superstar is. It‘s no longer about egos. It‘s about doing the right thing.
Your title reign has been one FULL of malicious behavior. It has turned you into somebody that not even your own wife can stand any longer. If you listen closely to those fans tomorrow night, the cheers aren‘t quite as loud, aren‘t quite as heartfelt.
That‘s because there‘s been a shift in the natural order of things. You‘re no longer the savior of APW, no longer the hero Kurt. The tides have changed and you are now and will FOREVER be the VILLIAN!
Tomorrow night, I partake on a new journey, one that I never quite thought I‘d be on. You see the fans, the world needs the old Kurt Noble back. They need the man they can turn to, that they can count on. But that Kurt Noble can no longer exist, not while his ego obstructs his vision!
So it is up to me to be the Hero! It‘s up to me to give the fans back the one thing that they cannot live without. It‘s time for me to serve my purpose and truly be GOD‘S GIFT TO WRESTLING! I will take on the burden of the Undisputed Championship. I will give you all back the Kurt Noble that you know and love. I will return to you the glimmer of hope that you all so desperately want.
And I will continue to be your lightning rod of Hate, to be the figure of all you despise.
Because when it comes right down to it, this world needs heroes and this world needs villains. They need someone to love. They need someone to Hate. I will play my part, fulfill my role.
But by doing so… I will complete my goal, I will fulfill my destiny. And it all happens when these stars come out.”
The stars once again light up the planetarium.
“When the Stars Come Out, Kurt Noble and Terry Marvin will not be putting on a show, we will be waging a war: A war not just for the title, but for the souls of every fan of APW.
When the Stars Come Out, my victory won‘t just provide me with the Undisputed Championship.
When the Stars Come Out, my victory won‘t just thrust me into the grandest spotlight the APW has to offer.
When the Stars Come Out, I will restore the natural order of things.
When the Stars Come Out, I WILL SAVE THE WORLD!”
The Stars disappear. The full lights come on in the planetarium as we see Terry up on the platform hovering above a hologram of the planet earth on which the initials APW have been scribed, with his arms held out wide. He smiles.
“ITS SHOWTIME!”
