Last time we saw Justin Sane, he and the other members of Defiance were celebrating after CorVus managed to get Sane and Gator to patch things up. It was like the past two weeks had never happened as the three men threw back any alcoholic beverage they could get their hands on and turned the Good Dog Bar in Philadelphia into a menagerie. CorVus even managed to find himself some tail, though he did threaten to cut off Justin's nipple for misplacing one of CorVus' sticky notes which he hoped would seal the deal. The three members of Defiance are still at the Good Dog Bar in Philly, still drunk off their asses, and still looking to wreak havoc and have some fun before focusing on more pressing matters, such as Justin's defense of his Money In The Bank Briefcase against Frodo Smackins this Monday on Madness. That match is one that Justin can ill afford to lose, as his prized briefcase is his ticket to the Universal Championship. The other incentive is, of course, the fact that if Sane manages to defeat Smackins, then one member of the Asylum will be gone from the XWF forever. For all the talk Smackins has come out with this week, it has done him no favors, because when Justin finally hears what Frodo has had to say, you can rest assured it will do nothing but piss him off. We are on the home straight to Madness, but this finish line, will be Frodo's last.

"The best way to predict the future, is to create it. "
- Peter Drucker

[// END FORWARD \\]

P R E V I O U S L Y -O N -L O S T

A N D -N O W . . .

Tuesday, 3rd February 2015 - 6:47pm || Good Dog Bar || Philadelphia, PA

:: My head is spinning. Why am I doing this? Oh, right.. because Gator told me to. That's what I do, isn't it? Whatever Gator says. At least, according to Frodo that's the case. Ignorant fuck. Anyway, I could care less about Frodo and the Asylum right now. Let me just rewind a little bit and fill you in. It's been about an hour since I spewed in the bathroom.. for those running on alcoholic time, that's three beers ago. Gator had this idea of us having races, which I obviously had no clue what he was talking about. I found out soon enough though, for when we exited the bathroom, he made a beeline for Rodd and Todd, tipping what was left of his beer over the two men and snapping them awake. Turns out that Gator's idea of a "race" was for us to ride Rodd and Todd across the dance floor. Loser buys the next round. I sit there on Rodd's back, my t-shirt now tied around my head like some makeshift bandana. Gator sits on Todd's back, about six feet to my right. Both cameramen are panting wildly as the surrounding patrons take bets. The white line of salt that has been poured in front of the two grotesquely overweight men serves as a good starting line. Gator and I look at each other, but our sight is interrupted by the third party in this race - CorVus. He slowly moves into position between the two of us, a determined look on his face, as Gator and I both laugh. CorVus is squatting low, his fingers grasping at his crows spread wings as the bird pitter-patters forward. ::

"..."

"Dude, are you sure you want to do this again?"

"..."

"Cheating? How the hell are we.. [hic].. cheating?!"

"..."

"It was your choice to ride the damn crow!"

:: CorVus shot Gator a scathing look, then turned his gaze straight ahead to the finish line, about 40ft away. ::

"Ready.. and.. GO!"

:: Gator and I lift our feet off the ground and Rodd and Todd take off, straining under our weight but slowly moving forward. CorVus is lagging behind, squatting low over his crow and walking awkwardly with it as the bird moves forward. It's like watching a grown man trying to ride a bike designed for a four year old child, only funnier. After much slapping, whooping and cheering from the sidelines, Gator and Todd narrowly cross the line before Rodd and myself. There's lot's of laughter, and money switching hands, as Gator raises his arms triumphantly. We both climb off our respective donkeys backs as they collapse to the floor. ::

"Rodd, the fuck man? You are useless!"

"Monsieur, this is.. [puff].. torture."

"This round is coming out of your.. [hic].. your pay packet!"

"One, you do not pay me anysing.. two.. we 'ave not lost."

:: Rodd turns his gaze and I follow suit, watching as CorVus finally crosses the finish line with his crow. Gator and I begin laughing as CorVus furiously slams his hands on top of the jukebox. ::

"..."

"Dude, you almost had us? You never had your crow."

"..."

"Hey, it's a.. [hic].. good movie! Tell you what, save your pennies, I'll grab.. [hic].. this round. I got something for you."

"Another wolf shot?"

:: I grimaced. felt my gut begin to churn at the mere thought of the vile concoction entering it once more. ::

"No no, Saney Baby! I got something better."

:: I watch as Gator collects three empty shot glasses from the bar, and then starts heading for the door. I go to yell out and question him, but that train of thought is interrupted as I hear a loud "CA-CAW!". I turn around to find Corvus staring at his crow. He point his right index finger at the bird, a look of annoyance on his face. ::

"..."

"CA-CAW!"

"..."

"Ca-Caw! CA-CAW!"

:: The little crow puffs it's chest out and looks sideways as CorVus' mouth drops open and he leans back in shock. I feel a bit of drool slide out of the corner of my mouth which makes me aware that it is hanging open in disbelief.. I've never seen an argument between a grown man and a crow before. CorVus folds his arms and looks away from the bird. ::

"..."

"....caw."

:: Just then, Gator comes back in brandishing three shot glasses full of a purple looking liquid. ::

"Hey guys, l..."

:: Before he can finish, CorVus swipes one of the glasses out of his hands and drains it before slamming the empty glass on the bar and heading outside to cool off. The young brunette from earlier on follows him outside. Who knows, maybe he did find that sticky note after all. The crow lets out what looks like a little sigh as his puffed out chest deflates and he trudges on outside in CorVus' wake. ::

"What I miss?"

"I uh.. [hic].. I'm not really sure. I think CorVus and his crow were.. [hic].. having a domestic."

:: Gator laughs; a drunk, goofy laugh. ::

"Haha whaaaaat? No way man, he.. [hic].. loves that bird."

"Yeah, kind of unnatural if you think about it."

"Justin, have you seen us? There is nothing.. [hic].. natural about Defiance!"

:: Gator offers me one of the glasses from his hand. I take it and begin examining the liquid inside. ::

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise, man."

"Gator..."

:: The fumes coming from the glass is almost enough to make me hurl, let alone drinking its contents. ::

"Oh come on, Justin! Don't tell me you're a.. [hic].. pussy, like Frodo said?"

:: My eyes snap to meet those of Gator's. I know he is just saying that to make me drink, but it works. In defiance of Frodo's words, I lift the shot to my mouth and throw it back in one swift motion. It burns instantly as it hits my tongue and begins to slide down my throat. I swallow, hard, forcing the liquid down. I close my eyes and grimace, fighting the urge to instantly bring it back up. I heard Gator begin the laugh. I open my eyes and see Gator's full shot sitting on the bar.. in fact, I see three of them. Gator's laughter becomes distorted. The hell did he just give me? I can't even process the foul taste in my mouth. I lunge forward to reach for Gator, but I fall short and instead end up on my knees, my hands barely finding the floor before my face. The room is spinning.. I lose all perception of what is happening as all the sounds around me become one agonizing melody of innate babble.. I'm done. ::

F A D E 2 B L A C K . . .

Wednesday, 4th February 2015 - 1:57pm || Sane Residence || Philadelphia, PA

:: Consciousness finds me, though it doesn't find me in a good way. My head is splitting, it feels as though somebody is taking to the back of my head with a meat cleaver. It takes me a moment, but I become aware very quickly that I am shivering, my body covered in thousands of goose bumps. I try to remember where I am, or how I got there, but my head hurts enough as it is. I drag my hands up beside my chest, feeling the blades of grass running through my fingers as I do so.. wait, what? Grass? I force myself to open my eyes as I push myself back up to a vertical base with great difficulty. Rubbing my head and squinting through my almost closed eyelids as I try to avoid the weak sunlight, I see a pool - my pool - with a pile of wet clothes beside it.. and Gator's suit. ::

"...the fuck?"

:: I look down.. yep, naked. Awesome. No wonder I am so damn cold. I make my way up to the back door, still racking my brain for answers unsuccessfully while becoming more aware than ever of my splitting headache. I slide the door open and close it behind me.. it's much warmer inside and I can feel the goose bumps. begin to disappear instantly. I make my way to the kitchen and retrieve a glass from the cabinet and some aspirin from atop the refrigerator. I flick the cold water tap on and start filling the glass as I noticed the bench top littered with chips, dips, cold pizza and just about everything else I had in the fridge. The sight of food almost makes me vomit there and then, but I look away and turn the cold water tap off. I pop a few aspirin and start drinking the water as I hear a soft tapping noise coming from the lounge room. ::

"...fuck!"

:: I move around the corner of the kitchen and see that the TV is on across the other side of the living room. I see a pair of legs with dirty socks hanging off the edge of the sofa. Walking forward and not taking my eyes off Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I see a controller go flying through my line of sight as CJ drops to the ground on the screen. The cord reaches it's limit and drags the ps2 on the floor with a crash. ::

"Fuck you Ryder! Stupid fucking game!"

"Gator?"

:: I finally reach the sofa and see Gator laying there in nothing but his underwear, and his mask, which is rolled up over his mouth. He grabs a beer of the coffee table and takes a swig. ::

"Saney baby, you're awake! Drink?"

:: I feel sick at the sight of Gator holding the beer up to me. ::

"What? Fuck no, man. What happened last night?"

"You don't remember?"

"I don.. I remember having those races.. CorVus arguing with his crow.. then.."

:: My eyes grow wide as I remember. ::

"Gator, what the fuck did you give me to drink last night?!"

:: Gator tries to keep a straight face but begins to snigger. ::

"Gator!"

"What?! Dude, it was just one drink, CorVus had the same thing! Besides, after you puked your guts up again, you were the life of the party!"

"What was it?!"

:: I spoke through clenched teeth, and Gator did his best to stop laughing and be serious. ::

"Unleaded."

"What?"

"You know, Unleaded. That's why I went out to the parking lot."

"The fuck?! Why would you do that?! Why are you not sick?!"

"Oh, I didn't drink it.. I just wanted you and CorVus too."

:: I went to respond, but in my hung over state, my brain couldn't process a response to do my anger justice. Instead, I drank the rest of the water and rubbed the back of my head with my left hand. ::

"Cold outside?"

"What? Why?"

:: Gator looks to my nether regions and chuckles. ::

"Oh, fuck off. Where is CorVus anyway?"

"No idea.. I think I heard him come home this morning.. or at least, his crow did."

"Ha. I'm going to get changed."

"Haha. Good idea."

:: Gator gets up to fix the ps2 back up as I turn and make my way towards the hallway, stepping over the lifeless bodies of Rodd and Todd. Gator calls over to me. ::

"By the way, Michelle called.. I told her you were busy with those two strippers you picked up. I didn't realize it was her until after I hung up.. makes sense now why she didn't seem happy."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Haha! Relax man, I'm joking! Wow, you are too easy. Seriously though, she did call, you should probably get back to her."

"You're a real prick sometimes, you know that?"

"You love me."

:: Ha, love is a strong word, and not the one I was thinking of. I continue to the hallway, but stop in the doorway. Partly because of the site of all the strewn clothes lining it, and partly because there is a giant rug blocking me from getting out. I turn to Gator. ::

"Man, the fuck is this?"

:: Gator sits the ps2 back in place, then looks up. ::

"Oh! I got that in India last week. It's how we got home last night."

"You went to India?"

"Yeah man, last week. I was going to invite you, but y'know, the whole you hating me thing..."

"Right, right..."

:: I pause for a moment, then finally process the second half of his initial statement. ::

"Wait, what do you mean it's how we got home?"

"Well.. Justin, it is a magic carpet."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You know, like Aladdin had.."

:: I consider telling Gator he is an idiot, but I know that will get me nowhere. Instead I grab the rug and drag it forcefully into the living room and out of the door way. ::

"OH! Be careful with it! You'll knock the magic dust off it!"

"........right. My bad."

:: I drop the rug and head into the hallway. Among the clothes strewn across the floor there is women's underwear, along with a black t-shirt and a black jacket covered in yellow sticky notes. I begin to catch onto what is happening, and my suspicions are confirmed as I reach my bedroom door only to find CorVus' crow perched upon the door handle. It tilts its head to the side as it considers me, offering up a soft "caw". I look to the door and find a sticky note stuck to the middle of it. I peel it off with my right hand and examine it. ::

:: I immediately start laughing, which causes the back of my head to start aching again. I turn and head back down the hallway, stopping by the hallway to grab a towel, which I wrap around my waist. I enter the living room to see Gator playing GTA again. ::

"Haha, man, check this out! It was on my door."

:: Gator pauses the game and grabs his beer, taking a swig as he turns to look at the picture. He sits up and spits the beer out, bursting into laughter. ::

"Haha! No way! CorVus got his dick wet?!"

"Apparently."

"That stallion! Ah, Sane, they grow up so fast."

:: I chuckle as I toss the piece of paper onto the table. I turn around and kick the lifeless body of Rodd.. he grunts as he snaps awake. ::

"Get up, you and Todd have got work to do.. I want this place spotless and then I need you to help me go through the pile of shit I'm sure Frodo has been spewing since yesterday."

"Justin, come on man, you can't make Todd clean up! Rodd, sure, but Todd? He's my camera man!"

"Do you want to clean this mess yourself?"

:: Gator pauses for a moment, then looks at his almost empty beer bottle. He drains the remainder and tosses the empty at Todd, hitting him in the shoulder. ::

"Todd! Get your lazy ass up and help Rodd clean!"

"Thought so."

"Hey Justin, don't worry man, once they've cleaned up I'll grab CorVus and we'll split, give you some time to respond to Frodo."

"Sure man, whenever, no rush. You want me to call you a cab?"

:: Gator laughs at me like I'm nuts. ::

"Pft.. dude.. I have a perfectly good magic carpet, the hell would I take a cab for?"

"I..."

:: Forget it, Justin.. just let it go. I turn and walk back to the kitchen as Gator scoffs and shakes his head before slumping back down in the sofa and un-pausing his game. I heard Rodd and Todd dragging themselves to their feet as I pour myself another glass of water. I need to get rid of this headache before I start dealing with an even bigger one. ::

F A D E 2 B L A C K . . .

Thursday, 5th February 2015 - 3:36pm || Sane Residence || Philadelphia, PA

:: I sit there on my black leather sofa, the TV to my right and Rodd directly opposite me with his camera set up. On the Television screen is the face of Frodo Smackins, as I had Rodd crop his promo to certain issues that I felt I should respond to. I feel much better than I did yesterday, and I was finally able to eat something today, which was a bonus. Yesterday was possibly one of the worst days of my life, what with being hung over and having to listen to the nails being dragged across the chalkboard that was Frodo's voice. Anyway, as per contractual obligation, I'll film this stupid promo, not that Frodo deserves it. I stare down the lens of the camera and a look of disdain crawls across my face. ::

"Ugh, I don't know what was more painful yesterday, the insane hangover thanks to Gator fueling me up on Unleaded, or having to listen to the sound of your voice. You know, you really should apologize to Rodd, Frodo. Poor guy copped a serve because I could have sworn he dragged up the first promo I'd already responded to. Turns out, he had the right one, it's just that you mentioned the same shit so much I couldn't tell the difference. Everything I had expected was there.. from mentioning Gator and CorVus in a bid to give yourself something to talk about, to talking like you were a eight year old in the school yard who just learned how to curse for the first time, right down to bringing up the past and other irrelevant Shove It bullshit that everybody knows I don't care about.

Face it, Frodo.. you're done and you know it. You're clutching at the very last straw, and that's going to be the one that breaks the camels back. This mess you call a career? It's over. You might as well tell the execs to cue the music now and not even bother showing up on Monday night because, to flip a script, you'll only be adding injury to insult."

"Firstly, you ignorant little fuck, I have one case. Which I will still have after Monday night. I bought then? When is then? And shit man, I didn't buy this case anyway, I earned it. Star of the Month for December, baby, look it up. Or maybe you did and you were actually referring to the Tag Team Titles that are currently held by myself and CorVus? Ah, that must be it. Understandable, that you would be too retarded to even convey your own research properly. And you say I'm dumb? Wow. Those in glasses houses shouldn't throw stones."

"Hmm. I gotta' admit, this one cut me deep. I mean, I've never had anyone comment on my name before.. must have taken you ages to come up with that insult. Seriously though Frodo, is that how desperate you have become? Taking aim at my ring name? Good stuff man, really. How very original from the guy who struts around thinking he is one of the best trash talkers in the game. Fact is, you ain't shit, and you prove it to me every single time you open your god damn mouth."

"For fuck's sake, would you stop trying to justify yourself? That's like admitting defeat, and honestly, it's actually quite pathetic. All you are doing is acknowledging that your attention is somewhere other than it needs to be. Either that or you're looking for something else to talk about because you know talking directly to me is going to do you no favors, as I will just tear you apart. Whichever of those it may be, it doesn't bode well for you. This Monday night, as I have already mentioned, is about you and me.. one on one. I can't speak for your buddies in the Asylum, but I promise you, there will be no outside interference from Defiance. I don't want there to be any question marks when I ascend that ladder and retrieve my Money In The Bank briefcase! Go ahead and talk about King of the Ring one more time, talk about history repeating itself. Talk about your stupid Shove-It shows, the world knows I couldn't give a fuck what happens on those. Hell, I turn up tanked to them 95% of the time, so there is no prestige in beating me there. No, when I want something.. when a match means something to me, you'll know. Foolish of you to bank on those past glories and think I wouldn't come prepared for this match Frodo, because now you have sealed your own fate. It's like I said, you took the bait hook.. line.. and sinker."

"Hmm, Rodd, did we....? Oh, yeah, we did."

"Haha. You stupid fuck. You're so fucking out of it you can't even remember what you said three days ago. Face it, I called you on briefcases being like titles, and you went into meltdown because you knew that you were just talking shit all along. Hell, even in trying to save face you contradicted yourself! One minute it's yes, they are like titles.. then it's no, they're not. Make up your damn mind, Smackins! If you're going to be wrong about almost everything you say, at least believe it yourself. I seriously can't believe I am wasting my time on somebody as retarded as yourself. Honestly, you have no idea how long it took Rodd and I to unlock Da Vinci's code - which was your incomprehensible promo, and draw out anything worth using. Still, if I have to defend my title against you in order to prove that I deserve it, so be it. I'm not sure exactly who needs convincing, since the world knows exactly how good Justin Sane is, but whatever.. I'll do it for kicks."

"Honestly, at this point, I feel as though I should start bashing my on the damn table. I think you joined the wrong kind of Asylum, pal. Really, I can feel my brain cells dying every time I have to listen to anything that comes out of your mouth, and honestly, I'm actually getting tired of calling you stupid, but it is what it is. You're half right, once again, it isn't any danger to me. I am that good. But the fact that my case is on the line is still a risk, dipshit. Fuck me, why the hell do I even need to respond to this crap? Contractual obligation or not, it's just ridiculous. I could quite easily have sat back and said nothing, because you have done all the work for me. You've made yourself seem far more dimwitted than I could have ever hoped to achieve. I'm actually done with talking right now, because I feel that to continue to pick apart what you consider a promo would only fuel that notion that I actually give a damn about anything you have to say, which I clearly don't. The fact of the matter is this Frodo, I've humored you enough. I've allowed you to make the most of your last week under the XWF banner as a shit-talking midget, but in just over three days time, I will put an end to it for good. My briefcase is going nowhere until I say so. At Madness, bring everything you've got. Bring the Asylum. Bring the butter sock. None of it will matter, because when it is all said and done.. and oh yeah, I'm making sure to use this line just because you love it so much.. Frodo, I promise.. you will take the pledge.. of insanity!"

:: I stand up and motion for Rodd to cut the camera off, which he does. ::

F A D E 2 B L A C K . . .