Post by Niobe 'Nightmare' Martin on Oct 2, 2013 19:20:56 GMT -4
The hard pulsing beat of Metallica’s ‘Master of Puppets’ throbbed throughout the bar located somewhere within Los Angeles, the sounds of football coming from one of the flat screen TV’s can be heard as well. The clacking of pool balls from somewhere in the bar along with the cheers and laughter of a small group of people suddenly bursts from the music and regular noise of this place as we see Niobe standing with a group of people, laughing and smiling at them as she watches the pool game happen before her eyes, holding onto the bottle of beer in her hand as she chatted it up with her friends from around the area. Hanging out at a bar, playing and betting on a game of pool being played by a couple of their friends was never a bad thing, right?
At least it was better than sitting in front of a TV somewhere in her hotel room with some cheap food from the city in her lap. Not that there wasn’t anything wrong with it, she was just in the mood for some actual company instead of the TV. So she had made a few calls, gave an address and told the first person she got ahold of to meet her at this bar right in town. Whoever wasn’t working or just wanted to have an early lunch from work to meet up, drink, play a little pool, and bullshit about everything from life to who was dating who nowadays. Surprisingly a good amount of people showed up, not enough to close out the bar just for them but enough to keep her occupied for the time being, which made her happy nonetheless.
But like every good thing, it would have to come to an end. Early tomorrow her flight was calling her, and she would have to leave this place behind and all of the fun that she had while she was here. Niobe let out a sigh, tilting her head as she took another swig of her beer, watching a couple of her friends play out the rest of the game that they had. She had called out to be next in line to play, and called out anyone in the group to come and face her for a friendly game of pool. And by the look of things, it seemed this game was nearing its end. Shame for Jax however, Terry was kicking the shit out of him at the moment. Niobe turned her head when she heard a small roar of applause come from the bar, and she turned her head to see a few of the guys cheering something that had happened on the football game. She shook her head and turned back to the game to see it was wrapping itself up and people collecting their winnings. Jax walked over to Niobe and handed her the pool cue with a grin, shaking his head a bit. With her beer and the cue in hand, Niobe looked at the assembled group in front of her and grinned.
”So who’s the unlucky son of a bitch that’s going to lose their money to me?” Niobe grinned, scanning the group of people that were there, waiting for someone, anyone to step forward and take this challenge with her. As she had said so many times in the past, she would take on anyone that called her out or stepped to her looking for a fight. The whole fact that she had an opportunity to win a title tomorrow was weighing heavily on her mind and she had been rather distracted at this fact. That and she was going to have to face off against her own boyfriend in the ring for it. She wasn’t too happy at all because of it.
Eventually a small voice perked up from somewhere in the crowd, and one of her friends Monica stepped up with another pool cue in hand.
”Looks like I’ll have to take this challenge since no one wants to. You up for this chica?”
”I’m always up for it. Let’s do this.”
Niobe set to work putting the pool balls in the correct place within the triangle as she set it at the end of the table, placing the white cue ball on its marker, motioning for Monica to take the first hit. She pulled the wooden triangle from around the pool balls and set it aside, watching Monica bend slightly and get into position with her cue, rearing back with it and pushing forward, the balls flying everywhere on the table. She managed to get one of the solids in, giving her those while Niobe got the stripes. And so the game began for them both, the two exchanging conversation as they played the game.
”So where’s your boyfriend Tommy at? I thought he might of followed you out here.”
”He was going to come, but at the last minute got called away for some kind of club business. He wouldn’t tell me what it was, but that I should go on ahead of him to the next place and wait for him at the hotel. I just gotta text him when I get there.”
”Shame, I was hoping to see this man that’s got you all excited. Gotta make sure he’s treating you right.”
”He’s a good person, loving and kind. He makes me happy, and makes me feel safe and everything. That’s hard to find in this business you know. Someone like that.”
”Alright, I’ll take your word for it. So word is Mark couldn’t be here at all. Why’s that?”
”Work. But he passed the message onto other people that I knew and promised me that they would be there.”
”You seem disappointed.”
”A little bit. We’re good friends, so yeah a part of me wanted him to come but I also understand that work comes first. He made me promise to have a good time and try not to get too drunk at the bar.”
”So we don’t need to call sober driver for you?”
”Haha, no. I’ve gotta leave early tomorrow morning anyway so being hungover isn’t the way I want to start the day. I gotta be clear headed for this championship title match you know. Gotta be focused.”
”You sound so enthused about the whole prospect. What’s really bothering you about it, besides the fact that you have to sit in a metal tube for hours on end.”
”Tommy’s putting up his Overdrive belt in this fatal fourway match, Monica. I’m not happy about this, I’m not. I’ve been stressing out about this all week long, trying to figure out how to go about this without…hurting him you know? I mean I know I’m going have to step into the ring with three other people, but it’s like the suits are just bound and determined to rip The Black Hand apart. Madison is in that match too. God damn it’s like destiny is kicking everyone of us in the ass.”
”Sounds like a tough situation. Maybe it’s the suits way of testing you three to see how well you function when your pitted against each other. A test of strength maybe, I dunno. Just throwing it out there. Have you talked to Tommy about all of this though?”
Niobe let out a sigh and nodded her head, aiming for another striped ball. ”Yeah, at great length. He’s just as distracted by this whole thing as I am. He doesn’t want to go through with it but if he doesn’t they’ll strip him of the title so…yeah, you can see why this is a sticky situation. I told him I’m not comfortable getting in that ring with either him or Madison and having to face them for some title that my man holds. And then there’s that damn wild card Gates in the mix too. I’m pretty sure that he’s leaning back in some chair and laughing because The Black Hand is going to have to face off against one another. As I said to Tommy, this is fucking ridiculous.”
”It is, but you also have to think of it as an opportunity for one of you to step up and sell yourself as the next champion. Prove that you have what it takes to carry the Overdrive championship belt and be the champ that this company needs. Everyone of you has that same drive to be champion, it’s just you have to sell yourself to the fans, and to the suits on why you should be. This isn’t to tear you guys apart but make you stronger in the long run.”
”Yeah I know right? Now it’s all a matter of selling yourself as the next champion, and proving yourself worthy of holding gold. Against this kind of competition, you really have to. I want to sell myself as the next champion of Overdrive, and follow in the footsteps of the previous champions. No offense to my other competitors, but I want this title bad because it would cram a sock into the mouths of every person who ever called me nothing, a nobody, and all of this junk. Winning this would prove myself to a lot of people back there.”
”You are coming into this with a bit of a winning streak. What was with that object you pulled out of your top last time? What else are you hiding in there?”
”Ahh, those brass knuckles you mean? A little something Tommy had made for me back in Long Beach. I keep that on me all the time, and I don’t have anything else in my top mind you because it would just look silly. But yes….I did knock out that poor sap last week and picked up a win, tainted as it might be. A win is a win, but I promise not to use the knucks in this match. Won’t need them. All I need is my fists and my feet. That’s it.”
”Right, just don’t get all crazy with the knucks okay? Leave those things behind for this match. You don’t need a tainted title win on your first day. You’ve got these other people who have just as much right to that belt as you do. What do you say to them?”
”I don’t like the fact that I have to get in there with Madison and Tommy, I really don’t. It’s been bothering me for a long while since I got the word about this match. But I think about the implications behind this and I get a sense of pride and energy flowing through me. I could be the next champion of Overdrive. I could be walking around with that golden belt around my waist. And it would be the best thing ever, because people would look at me and respect me finally. Winning that belt would shut a lot of people up around there who don’t think much of me. They think I need Tommy in my corner to do things, or anyone else from our little group. Well this time I don’t have that option. Because they’ll be in there with me. This time I am going at it alone, all by myself like I have done so many times in the past. I’ve got to march in there with my head held high and a passion to win in my heart. I can’t look at these people, at Madison…Tommy…or even Gates as friends. I have to look at them as my opponents, people I have to beat in order to win the belt. And if I have to pin Tommy for that belt, then…so be it. There’s going to be a new champ after the day is done, and it’s gonna be me.”
”Spoken like a true warrior, a true future champion. You are more than ready for the challenge ahead. Just go out there, dominate and tear them apart. Make them fear you, even before you get there. We’ll all be watching and rooting for you, no matter the outcome.”
Niobe grinned and continued to play the game until it came to its eventual end with Niobe winning the small pot of money, as people cheered and the scene slowly faded away.
The scene faded back in again to Gabriella standing by a pond somewhere in this country. It’s dark out, but with just enough moonlight to provide a good amount of light to see what’s going on. She’s tying a string around a plastic bag that has a stone attached at the end of it. Inside of the bag you can see various objects within; a pair of gloves, a patch from a bikers jacket, and a small piece of metal gate, among other things. She stops and looks up at the sky, starting to talk with a small smile on her face.
”So it’s finally here, the day when I have to crawl into that ring with my fellow Black Hand members, and Gates as well. I wasn’t looking forward to any of this, I really wasn’t. To have to face off against your own…family….against your own boyfriend for some title belt is a bit of a shock to the system. I’m sure other people that are looking in on this are laughing their asses off to see our little group plopped into this ring and being forced to face one another. Yeah get a good laugh out of it, because none of us like it either.
I’ve had to do a lot of soul searching on this, and talking with people to set myself right about going into this big match.
Am I ready for it? You better believe it.
This is a chance for me to truly shine, for the Nightmare to take center stage finally. No more running around in the shadows, standing by while others get the credit. It’s time for me to step forward and be who I was meant to be. A champion.
Winning this belt will put to rest a lot of doubt about me. People think I can’t get anything done without Tommy or anyone else from The Black Hand in my corner, that I have to have *someone* hold my hand each time when I go out there. Well sorry to say, I won’t have that option this time. They won’t be outside the ring, they’ll be inside the ring with me, facing off against me. It isn’t going to be an easy thing facing off against them, but it has to be done.
I’ve realized that I’m going to have to step in there and do what has to be done in order to win that belt. I’m going to have to beat on people that I consider family, and someone that is very near and dear to my heart. I have to put those feelings aside for my own sake and go in there for me and me alone. I have to go in there with the intention of winning a championship belt, to be the next face of Overdrive. I’m selling myself to everyone as the next face of this brand, the next champion. I mean don’t get me wrong, I think Madison or even Gates would be good champions but I need this even more than them because it will prove all the nay sayers wrong.
All of the people in the back that ever had a bad word to say about me, won’t be saying anything bad about me when I win the title. I can shove it in their face and say ‘See? Look what I did all on my own without help. Now what are you gonna do?’
I’m going to be a fighting champion, someone that will carry that belt with pride, remembering the champions that came before me and honoring them by doing…the best that I can with it around my waist. It’s time for the doubters to take a back seat and let the real driver of this ride take control. And that’s me.
To Tommy and to Madison, I’m sorry guys, I really am. But I gotta look at you two as opponents, not as family. I’m getting in that ring and it’s going to be all business with me. I don’t want you to be sloppy and not be at your top with me, I want it all and I want you to bring it all you hear? And Tommy, I’m sorry baby if…things come down to what they do. Don’t be mad. I want to win that belt from you, and wrap it around my waist for real. This isn’t some romp in the bed, this is getting down and dirty in the ring for some strap of gold that will solidify my place in this company. I can’t hide by your side forever, I have to show myself as a true dominant bitch that I am.
And Gates, you’re still all up in arms because I beat you a couple of weeks ago? All with help of course, but who’s counting? You’re still mad about it because someone like me beat you. And now your wondering what exactly is going to happen with me in this match. I could ask Madison to step aside and let me have that belt, I could ask Tommy to lay down and let me have it but why do that and cheapen the win? I don’t play those stupid games. I’m not going to ask anyone those kinds of things. I’m kicking everyone’s ass in that ring, including you and afterwards….you can shake my hand and congratulate me on a job well done at winning the belt.
Maybe then you won’t doubt me anymore and look at me as the threat that I truly am.
That’s how everyone else is doing it.
The weak link in this could be you, for all I know, and if it is, I’ll find it and exploit it. For all of our dealings in this past this is going to be the big one. Can you handle yourself in there against us?
Good luck to you and everyone else, you’re going to need it.”
At least it was better than sitting in front of a TV somewhere in her hotel room with some cheap food from the city in her lap. Not that there wasn’t anything wrong with it, she was just in the mood for some actual company instead of the TV. So she had made a few calls, gave an address and told the first person she got ahold of to meet her at this bar right in town. Whoever wasn’t working or just wanted to have an early lunch from work to meet up, drink, play a little pool, and bullshit about everything from life to who was dating who nowadays. Surprisingly a good amount of people showed up, not enough to close out the bar just for them but enough to keep her occupied for the time being, which made her happy nonetheless.
But like every good thing, it would have to come to an end. Early tomorrow her flight was calling her, and she would have to leave this place behind and all of the fun that she had while she was here. Niobe let out a sigh, tilting her head as she took another swig of her beer, watching a couple of her friends play out the rest of the game that they had. She had called out to be next in line to play, and called out anyone in the group to come and face her for a friendly game of pool. And by the look of things, it seemed this game was nearing its end. Shame for Jax however, Terry was kicking the shit out of him at the moment. Niobe turned her head when she heard a small roar of applause come from the bar, and she turned her head to see a few of the guys cheering something that had happened on the football game. She shook her head and turned back to the game to see it was wrapping itself up and people collecting their winnings. Jax walked over to Niobe and handed her the pool cue with a grin, shaking his head a bit. With her beer and the cue in hand, Niobe looked at the assembled group in front of her and grinned.
”So who’s the unlucky son of a bitch that’s going to lose their money to me?” Niobe grinned, scanning the group of people that were there, waiting for someone, anyone to step forward and take this challenge with her. As she had said so many times in the past, she would take on anyone that called her out or stepped to her looking for a fight. The whole fact that she had an opportunity to win a title tomorrow was weighing heavily on her mind and she had been rather distracted at this fact. That and she was going to have to face off against her own boyfriend in the ring for it. She wasn’t too happy at all because of it.
Eventually a small voice perked up from somewhere in the crowd, and one of her friends Monica stepped up with another pool cue in hand.
”Looks like I’ll have to take this challenge since no one wants to. You up for this chica?”
”I’m always up for it. Let’s do this.”
Niobe set to work putting the pool balls in the correct place within the triangle as she set it at the end of the table, placing the white cue ball on its marker, motioning for Monica to take the first hit. She pulled the wooden triangle from around the pool balls and set it aside, watching Monica bend slightly and get into position with her cue, rearing back with it and pushing forward, the balls flying everywhere on the table. She managed to get one of the solids in, giving her those while Niobe got the stripes. And so the game began for them both, the two exchanging conversation as they played the game.
”So where’s your boyfriend Tommy at? I thought he might of followed you out here.”
”He was going to come, but at the last minute got called away for some kind of club business. He wouldn’t tell me what it was, but that I should go on ahead of him to the next place and wait for him at the hotel. I just gotta text him when I get there.”
”Shame, I was hoping to see this man that’s got you all excited. Gotta make sure he’s treating you right.”
”He’s a good person, loving and kind. He makes me happy, and makes me feel safe and everything. That’s hard to find in this business you know. Someone like that.”
”Alright, I’ll take your word for it. So word is Mark couldn’t be here at all. Why’s that?”
”Work. But he passed the message onto other people that I knew and promised me that they would be there.”
”You seem disappointed.”
”A little bit. We’re good friends, so yeah a part of me wanted him to come but I also understand that work comes first. He made me promise to have a good time and try not to get too drunk at the bar.”
”So we don’t need to call sober driver for you?”
”Haha, no. I’ve gotta leave early tomorrow morning anyway so being hungover isn’t the way I want to start the day. I gotta be clear headed for this championship title match you know. Gotta be focused.”
”You sound so enthused about the whole prospect. What’s really bothering you about it, besides the fact that you have to sit in a metal tube for hours on end.”
”Tommy’s putting up his Overdrive belt in this fatal fourway match, Monica. I’m not happy about this, I’m not. I’ve been stressing out about this all week long, trying to figure out how to go about this without…hurting him you know? I mean I know I’m going have to step into the ring with three other people, but it’s like the suits are just bound and determined to rip The Black Hand apart. Madison is in that match too. God damn it’s like destiny is kicking everyone of us in the ass.”
”Sounds like a tough situation. Maybe it’s the suits way of testing you three to see how well you function when your pitted against each other. A test of strength maybe, I dunno. Just throwing it out there. Have you talked to Tommy about all of this though?”
Niobe let out a sigh and nodded her head, aiming for another striped ball. ”Yeah, at great length. He’s just as distracted by this whole thing as I am. He doesn’t want to go through with it but if he doesn’t they’ll strip him of the title so…yeah, you can see why this is a sticky situation. I told him I’m not comfortable getting in that ring with either him or Madison and having to face them for some title that my man holds. And then there’s that damn wild card Gates in the mix too. I’m pretty sure that he’s leaning back in some chair and laughing because The Black Hand is going to have to face off against one another. As I said to Tommy, this is fucking ridiculous.”
”It is, but you also have to think of it as an opportunity for one of you to step up and sell yourself as the next champion. Prove that you have what it takes to carry the Overdrive championship belt and be the champ that this company needs. Everyone of you has that same drive to be champion, it’s just you have to sell yourself to the fans, and to the suits on why you should be. This isn’t to tear you guys apart but make you stronger in the long run.”
”Yeah I know right? Now it’s all a matter of selling yourself as the next champion, and proving yourself worthy of holding gold. Against this kind of competition, you really have to. I want to sell myself as the next champion of Overdrive, and follow in the footsteps of the previous champions. No offense to my other competitors, but I want this title bad because it would cram a sock into the mouths of every person who ever called me nothing, a nobody, and all of this junk. Winning this would prove myself to a lot of people back there.”
”You are coming into this with a bit of a winning streak. What was with that object you pulled out of your top last time? What else are you hiding in there?”
”Ahh, those brass knuckles you mean? A little something Tommy had made for me back in Long Beach. I keep that on me all the time, and I don’t have anything else in my top mind you because it would just look silly. But yes….I did knock out that poor sap last week and picked up a win, tainted as it might be. A win is a win, but I promise not to use the knucks in this match. Won’t need them. All I need is my fists and my feet. That’s it.”
”Right, just don’t get all crazy with the knucks okay? Leave those things behind for this match. You don’t need a tainted title win on your first day. You’ve got these other people who have just as much right to that belt as you do. What do you say to them?”
”I don’t like the fact that I have to get in there with Madison and Tommy, I really don’t. It’s been bothering me for a long while since I got the word about this match. But I think about the implications behind this and I get a sense of pride and energy flowing through me. I could be the next champion of Overdrive. I could be walking around with that golden belt around my waist. And it would be the best thing ever, because people would look at me and respect me finally. Winning that belt would shut a lot of people up around there who don’t think much of me. They think I need Tommy in my corner to do things, or anyone else from our little group. Well this time I don’t have that option. Because they’ll be in there with me. This time I am going at it alone, all by myself like I have done so many times in the past. I’ve got to march in there with my head held high and a passion to win in my heart. I can’t look at these people, at Madison…Tommy…or even Gates as friends. I have to look at them as my opponents, people I have to beat in order to win the belt. And if I have to pin Tommy for that belt, then…so be it. There’s going to be a new champ after the day is done, and it’s gonna be me.”
”Spoken like a true warrior, a true future champion. You are more than ready for the challenge ahead. Just go out there, dominate and tear them apart. Make them fear you, even before you get there. We’ll all be watching and rooting for you, no matter the outcome.”
Niobe grinned and continued to play the game until it came to its eventual end with Niobe winning the small pot of money, as people cheered and the scene slowly faded away.
The scene faded back in again to Gabriella standing by a pond somewhere in this country. It’s dark out, but with just enough moonlight to provide a good amount of light to see what’s going on. She’s tying a string around a plastic bag that has a stone attached at the end of it. Inside of the bag you can see various objects within; a pair of gloves, a patch from a bikers jacket, and a small piece of metal gate, among other things. She stops and looks up at the sky, starting to talk with a small smile on her face.
”So it’s finally here, the day when I have to crawl into that ring with my fellow Black Hand members, and Gates as well. I wasn’t looking forward to any of this, I really wasn’t. To have to face off against your own…family….against your own boyfriend for some title belt is a bit of a shock to the system. I’m sure other people that are looking in on this are laughing their asses off to see our little group plopped into this ring and being forced to face one another. Yeah get a good laugh out of it, because none of us like it either.
I’ve had to do a lot of soul searching on this, and talking with people to set myself right about going into this big match.
Am I ready for it? You better believe it.
This is a chance for me to truly shine, for the Nightmare to take center stage finally. No more running around in the shadows, standing by while others get the credit. It’s time for me to step forward and be who I was meant to be. A champion.
Winning this belt will put to rest a lot of doubt about me. People think I can’t get anything done without Tommy or anyone else from The Black Hand in my corner, that I have to have *someone* hold my hand each time when I go out there. Well sorry to say, I won’t have that option this time. They won’t be outside the ring, they’ll be inside the ring with me, facing off against me. It isn’t going to be an easy thing facing off against them, but it has to be done.
I’ve realized that I’m going to have to step in there and do what has to be done in order to win that belt. I’m going to have to beat on people that I consider family, and someone that is very near and dear to my heart. I have to put those feelings aside for my own sake and go in there for me and me alone. I have to go in there with the intention of winning a championship belt, to be the next face of Overdrive. I’m selling myself to everyone as the next face of this brand, the next champion. I mean don’t get me wrong, I think Madison or even Gates would be good champions but I need this even more than them because it will prove all the nay sayers wrong.
All of the people in the back that ever had a bad word to say about me, won’t be saying anything bad about me when I win the title. I can shove it in their face and say ‘See? Look what I did all on my own without help. Now what are you gonna do?’
I’m going to be a fighting champion, someone that will carry that belt with pride, remembering the champions that came before me and honoring them by doing…the best that I can with it around my waist. It’s time for the doubters to take a back seat and let the real driver of this ride take control. And that’s me.
To Tommy and to Madison, I’m sorry guys, I really am. But I gotta look at you two as opponents, not as family. I’m getting in that ring and it’s going to be all business with me. I don’t want you to be sloppy and not be at your top with me, I want it all and I want you to bring it all you hear? And Tommy, I’m sorry baby if…things come down to what they do. Don’t be mad. I want to win that belt from you, and wrap it around my waist for real. This isn’t some romp in the bed, this is getting down and dirty in the ring for some strap of gold that will solidify my place in this company. I can’t hide by your side forever, I have to show myself as a true dominant bitch that I am.
And Gates, you’re still all up in arms because I beat you a couple of weeks ago? All with help of course, but who’s counting? You’re still mad about it because someone like me beat you. And now your wondering what exactly is going to happen with me in this match. I could ask Madison to step aside and let me have that belt, I could ask Tommy to lay down and let me have it but why do that and cheapen the win? I don’t play those stupid games. I’m not going to ask anyone those kinds of things. I’m kicking everyone’s ass in that ring, including you and afterwards….you can shake my hand and congratulate me on a job well done at winning the belt.
Maybe then you won’t doubt me anymore and look at me as the threat that I truly am.
That’s how everyone else is doing it.
The weak link in this could be you, for all I know, and if it is, I’ll find it and exploit it. For all of our dealings in this past this is going to be the big one. Can you handle yourself in there against us?
Good luck to you and everyone else, you’re going to need it.”
