Post by Lantlas on Mar 16, 2006 15:19:03 GMT -5
::The scene begins a short time after Game Over. Lantlas is seen, his eyes green, staring at the weapon in his hands. There's a certain glow, an eerie one, rising all around him.::
Lantlas- Sunday evening, the blood is on my hands. The two most powerful names in the PCW have been awakened by the force of the most dominant one in history. The Elven Warrior has risen from the shadows and left destruction in his path with no words, only action. Broken free of the chains of mediocrity, humanity can only hold you back.
::Lantlas arrives at his destination, and his brother Neovan is there.::
Neovan- Lantlas! Where have you been?
::Lantlas cockily smiles, and looks at the blood on the weapon he's carrying.::
Lantlas- Shopping.
Neovan- Right, a seven-foot blue elf goes shopping.
Lantlas- Shopping for victims, my weak-minded human excuse for a namesake sibling. A wrath has been felt, and the illusion that Ace Anderson is the highest on the throne around here has been thrashed with a harsh dose of reality.
Neovan- And in this rush of reality, did you happen to remember what you were supposed to do after your match at Game Over?
Lantlas- I'm sorry, did I miss the victory party planned for moi? I have a habit of arriving late.
Neovan- You're goddamned right you do! You were supposed to be there, Lantlas! I needed you! Now they're after me, and all you can worry about is your own damn career!
::Before Lantlas can respond, Neovan looks behind him, then takes off running. Lantlas shrugs his shoulders.::
Lantlas- Humans.
...
A few hours later.
I awaken, expecting to find myself within the confines of another false reality where I will undoubtedly be taught some metaphorical lesson. I look around, and it's my own locker room. The lights have been out for awhile, but what's that noise? I see an orange light glowing on the other side of the room. My cell phone, of course. I walk over and remove it from the charger, and I look down at the screen.
153 missed calls.
I look down at my watch... It's three in the morning. How could I have possibly slept through 153 phone calls? I click on the missed calls notifier, but I see only two things.
Neovan
000000000
All those calls came from two numbers? I guess a "congratulations on your Pay-Per-View victory" call is too much to ask for nowadays. Did they leave any voicemails? I dial the number up, put in the password, and listen.
"You have two new voice messages."
Two, that's all, huh? I set the phone on speaker, and let them play.
"Lantlas, I don't know where you are, but I need you. They've found me, and I don't know what they'll do if they catch me. I'm on Interstate 80, and they're tailing me. I try to slow down, and they slow down with me. I try to speed up, and they catch up. I tried passing a truck and then stopping right in front of him, but they still found a way to stay right behind me. Help me, Lantlas. Please!"
I felt a wave of disbelief. What did that boy get himself into now, and why is it that he sounds like I should know what he means? Did he get himself into trouble on my account and not inform me of it, or do I seem to be forgetting things left and right anymore. As if that message wasn't disturbing enough, I force myself to click the number to hear the second one. How much worse could it get, right?
"Broken Angel, listen to me. I know what troubles you. The desperate search for your cause of pain has led you down the wrong path, making decisions about changing the wrong things. Your major fault has been your decision to not make decisions, to mull over them so much that by the time you've made one, things have already been put in motion that cannot be undone. What you need to do is.... ::click::
"What I need to do is what?" I thought out loud. That voice wasn't any of recent familiarity, but I know damn well I've heard it before. What is it to mean, things that are already in motion? What is already in motion that I don't know about?
I decide that I need to go find my brother and help him out of whatever trouble he's gotten himself into this time. As I'm getting my street clothes on, I flip the television on, hoping to catch the result of the main event. You know, see if Ace Anderson is really as good as he's supposed to be. I'm reaching down to tie my shoes, and I hear Blake Smith's voice recapping the show for those of the former HHW still back up north.
"The world of PCW sure felt a new force tonight, my friends. You might remember him as the former HHW champion, but most of you probably associate him with the Elvish Tale, as I'm sure you've been taken down that road on more than one occasion."
I turn my head, slightly confused. I knew we had a match, but it was the curtain-jerking tag festival against a team we've defeated four times. I see... myself... swinging a steel chair on the head of... The Prophet? No! Why would I have done that?
"The challenger to the world title was shocked to see the Elven Warrior on the attack, and was knocked out cold by this devastating chair shot!"
"Tell me I didn't join Ace Anderson, tell me I didn't join Ace Anderson..." I feel myself praying.
"And as if that wasn't enough, Lantlas gives Ace Anderson a taste as well... FLAME OF THE WEST! The blue one has left PCW's main event in ruins, ultimately the cause of the double-countout decision."
I see the camera zoom into my face, and I see my glowing green eyes. "You son of a bitch," I mutter as I feel my inner rage boiling. I grab the medieval flail still sitting by the bedside and I chuck it through the television set, watching the glass fly everywhere and the sound of cut-off electricity sparking all over the place.
"You claim to know what is best for me, but what have you done? You've taken the two biggest names in the business, and given them a reason to hunt me down! This was supposed to come in due time, not with something like this! A man of honor does not attack his opponents in a title match!"
I suddenly feel a hand around my throat, and I get thrown into the brick wall. As I crumble, I feel something inside of me.
Lantlas- Who would notice one who sits back and waits for things to come to him? What can the booker do if he has this specimen with all this talent, but does just enough to get by with the victories every week? I put you in the spotlight where you belong, and before long, those supposed powerful men will realize that's what they are... men. Mortal, weak men. You speak of yourself as a man of honor, but you still do not seem to grasp this concept that you are not one of them. You are like no other, and that will never change. No matter how much you try to supress me, I will always come through in a time like that, because I'll be damned if I let your selfless pity for these creatures interfere with your ability to be the most dominant performer in the history of this business."
When he said it like that, it's almost like he was actually on my side for once. Where's all the mockery? Where's all the weak human jokes? Come on, how about a Seth Sinn threat? I know you got it in you, you Elven bitch!
"Looking for a reason to be angry with me? Do not bother, for I am the one making you the most talked about superstar PCW has ever seen. Who else has had the gall to not only attack one main-eventer, but both of them... at the same time... in the same match. Any of these slightly more intelligent humans can surely see that championship belt is only a figment until the real champion competes for it."
"Where's Neovan?" Family is more important than some stupid championship belt.
"I don't know, you're the one who abandoned that fool in his hour of need."
No, I couldn't have. I didn't make our meeting?!
"He was going on and on about not being there for him, and how they were after him."
They! It began to trigger. Shit, this can't be good. With my shoes still halfway tied, I sprint out of the locker room. "Interstate 80," I thought, "that's not too far from here."
...
Interstate 80, roughly fourteen miles away.
Frantically searching for my brother's car, I begin to feel a sense of panic. "What have I done?" For all the times he's been there for me, how could I miss the one where I was supposed to be there for him? What is this Elven side doing to me? Why can't I remember him saying something?
My thoughts come to a rushing stop as I see flames on the side of the road. My heart skips a beat. I slam on the breaks and jump out of the car. There's four figures standing near it, and when they see me running up, they jump back in theirs and take off. I start to run after them, but I hear the piercing scream of my brother. I look over and I start to run towards the car, but I hear the loudest noise I've ever experienced, and I see the car explode. I drop to the ground and cover my head, as I hear the twisted metal bouncing all over the place. I feel my soul crack. My irresponsibility has cost my brother his life.
I stand up, my heart tearing as I scream, "is this what you wanted? If this is a product of your awesome plan, I'd rather die before I hurt anyone else!"
I hear nothing. Of course he won't show up. Why would he?
"Goddamn you! How could you let this happen?"
I feel a vibrating in my pocket. What the hell could that be? I look down at my phone.
000000000
I pick it up, and I hear her voice.
"So frantic trying to find one thing to be, failing to realize you cannot ever fully lose your true self, but you do not have to fulfill your darkest desires."
Who is that? I know that voice!
"This was meant to happen, Lantlas. Do not let guilt devour your soul as it has so many times before. As hard as it is to believe, not everything that happens is your fault. What you must learn from this, as I told you earlier, isn't the decisions you make, but the fact that you must learn to make them."
I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I turn around. I see her. It can't be her. Am I dreaming again?
She sets down the cell phone, and looks me in the eyes. "My Lantlas, tragedy has consumed you your entire life, but how far can you turn back time? To your birth? Do you really want to start over again and experience everything the second time?"
I shake my head.
"You can't, my Lantlas. No matter how far you try to turn back time, things will still unfold the same way. It was his destiny to die here, and no matter how many times you go back, that will never change."
The tears stream down my cheek, probably freezing in the ice cold wind.
"Everyone has their angels and devils, and they each provide what they're supposed to. You can't have one or the other, no matter how hard you try, Lantlas."
"I'm falling to a stranger nightmare. How can I live with myself after this," I find myself asking.
"The same way you have after everything else that has happened," she replies. "Take the serenity you've been blessed with by your Elven forefathers, and let go of the past by looking to the future. Understand that while you must learn from the things you've done, you can never change them."
"So what do I do now?"
"In all of this, you don't seem to realize that you've become a sensation in the wrestling world. You're like no other anyone has ever seen, and it is unlikely there will ever be one like you again. Enjoy it, my Lantlas. Nothing will last forever."
"Except for me," I reply, knowing full well what the Elven life brings.
"Accept that time has left its scar," she continues. "It will heal in time."
"Is this another dream?" I know full well that's the only way I could be seeing her right now.
"No, Lantlas. The dreams are over. You have seen what destruction can be done by trying to supress one side of you... either side of you. You've learned your lesson of the decisions you make, and the ultimate consequence you will face. Now it is time for you to rediscover the only thing that has ever made you feel infinite."
Performing in that ring at the highest level did give me the rush like no other. Perhaps it is my destiny, and perhaps it is time to let the past be just that.
"We used to swim the same moonlight waters." The words escaping my lips, ones I'm not even conjuring myself. "Oceans away from the wakeful day. My fall will be for you, my love will be in you. If you be the one to cut me, I'll bleed forever."
I see her look down at the ground. "It is time for me to go, my Lantlas." She looks back at me, and I can't help but drown in those eyes. She reaches forward, and touches my chest with her hand.
"I will always be with you... right here."
I look down at her hand, and I feel an overwhelming sensation. I look back up, and she has vanished. I feel something new, something different as I head back to my car. Something has been lifted. I remember what was woefully caused me so much pain for the last year... Terry...
...
Nothing. It has passed like rain on the mountain. I will never forget it, but thankfully, it wounds my soul no longer. I'm finally free.
"Thank you.... Christine."