Where to from here? This past week has seen plenty of words exchanged between Justin Sane and Frodo Smackins, as one would have expected. Indeed, the build up to their briefcase versus career ladder match and Monday Night Madness, has been worthy of the main event slot which they will occupy. For one man, perhaps his chance to become Universal Champion is at stake, while for the other it is his chance to ever compete again which is on the line. Two superstars with no love lost for each other, shall go toe to toe, one more time.. except this time, according to Justin Sane, the outcome will be far different. He needs this victory.. not only to retain his briefcase and to see to it that Frodo is no longer a member of the XWF roster, but for himself. Since his pin fall victory over Vinnie Lane almost a month ago, talk has crept in once again that Sane has beaten nobody of note. Well, at least that is the view of Frodo Smackins.. and what better way to erase that doubt and quash the chatter, than to annihilate the man himself. Set your affairs in order, gentlemen. Judgment Day, is upon you.

"Do not go gentle into that good night. --
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
- Dylan Thomas

[// END FORWARD \\]

Monday, 9th February 2015 - 12:32pm || Bal Harbor Beach || Miami, FL

:: I dig my right hand into the white sand that surrounds me, lifting it up and watching as thousands of fine grains run between my fingers and fall almost weightlessly back onto the beach. I lift my gaze and stare out at the horizon through my chromed out aviators, a mixture of thoughts running through my head. It's only hours away from my match with Frodo at Madness, but even that is not at the forefront of my mind, as a dark cloud passes by overhead and takes away the warm sunlight that was comforting on my bare torso. I guess they got the forecast right for once when they forecast storms today. With my knees pulled up to my chest and my forearms leaning on them, the only thing on my mind is Michelle. So far this week, I've patched things up with Gator, but I haven't even bothered to call Michelle back. It's not that I haven't wanted to, I just don't know what to say. I guess I've kind of been putting it off. As it draws nearer to Madness though, I know that I need to be completely focused on my defending my briefcase, and that means patching things up with Michelle. I pick my iPhone up off the towel beside me and begin twirling it around in my fingers, pondering what I might say. I offer a weak smile at a couple of girls that go jogging by and wave to me, then draw in a long, deep breath. I place my thumb on the home button, and the phone unlocks. I go into my phone book and scroll down to "Michelle <3".. yeah, she put it in there, okay? I click on her name and it begins to call. I brace myself, drawing in another breath and holding it, listening to the phone ring and waiting for her to answer. Ring ring.. ring ring.. ring ring - nothing. Figuring that at least I had tried, and thinking I might be able to back out now, I go to hang up when I hear the call connect and a soft voice answer. ::

".....hey."

:: The sound of her voice really is music to my ears. My mind goes blank, and I choke on my own words for a moment. Pulling myself together, I respond, trying to keep a casual tone in my voice. ::

"I.. Michelle, hey. Uh, how have you been?"

:: I roll my eyes at myself. Stupid question, and I'm sure it sounded even worse over the phone. ::

"Oh, you know.. okay I guess. You?"

"Yeah, you know, okay. How were your parents?"

"Yeah, they were fine. It took some explaining as to why you weren't there, but it's okay."

:: I let out a deep sigh. I can hear the pain and disappointment coming through in her voice. ::

"Yeah, uh, look.. Michelle, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me two weeks ago. I guess it was just all the pressure of being expected to win at Turning Point, you know? I didn't handle it well. I thought I was in a better place to deal with that sort of thing, but obviously I wasn't. You were right with everything you said, I was selfish."

"Yeah. You were."

:: I was hoping for more than that, she didn't really give me much to work with. ::

"It wasn't just you though Michelle, Gator and I had a fight, which.. well, that was probably also my fault. But, we're good now. We patched things up, and I was kind of hoping you and I could do the same..."

"Justin, you broke a promise. It may not seem like much to you, but visiting my family was really important to me, and I really wanted you there to meet them. Do you know how hard it was explaining to my mother, who I had almost driven insane by talking about you non-stop for the last month, that you couldn't make it because you had some stupid wrestling match six days later?"

:: I bite my tongue. It wasn't just 'some stupid wresting match', though I did see her point. ::

"Baby, I know, I'm sorry.. what else can I say? I fucked up. You have to understand, this whole relationship thing isn't something I'm used to. I'm not used to having people actually giving a shit about me or what I'm doing. It's something I'm still getting used to. Like I said, I know I was in the wrong, I admit that. You know that's something that is not easy for me to say, but it's the truth. Please, Michelle, let me make it up to you."

:: There's a pause. I feel awkward, I'm not good with feelings and shit. ::

"I don't know, Justin. You really hurt me the other day."

"Again, I was a dick, I realize that. Look, I've got this match tonight against Frodo, but after that I'm taking the week off. What's say we go back to your parents and spend the week there? No excuses this time, I prom... really, I mean it."

".....no excuses?"

"None."

:: Another pause. Even over the phone, I can almost hear the cogs turning inside her head. I wait with baited breath. ::

"....okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay. But if you make a fool out of me again, I swear to God.."

"Not gonna happen. Meet me at the airport later tonight?"

"I could. Or you could just meet me at the hotel after your match."

"What? Where are you?"

"Justin, you might be a jerk, but you're my jerk. I wasn't going to miss your match tonight."

:: A smile breaks across my face, I can't even help it. ::

"You're in Miami?! Where are you? I'll come get you now."

"No no, you just concentrate on your match tonight. Can't have you walking away empty handed two nights in a row now. Text me what hotel you're staying at, and the room number. When you get back there, you can start this whole making it up to me thing.."

"Haha. God, I've missed you."

"I'll bet you have. Good luck tonight."

"Thanks baby. I guess I'll talk to you soon."

"Mwah."

:: I hang up the phone feeling like a teenage boy again. With a smile on my face, I climb to my feet.. not even the darkening sky can sour my mood right now. I dust the excess sand off my legs, and collect my towel from the ground, shaking the sand out of it. I start heading back to the car, now fully focused on my match with Frodo. I'm two from two this week and feeling good. Gator? Check. Michelle? Check. Frodo? Ha, nothing but a damn formality. Check. ::

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

Monday, 9th February 2015 - 6:36pm || Sun Life Stadium || Miami, FL

:: I stand there, in front of the XWF set backstage, waiting for my cue to speak. The lighting is set low, casting shadows over my face. I grab my left wrist with my right hand, holding it up to my chest; opening and closing my left hand. I stare downward, but out of the top of my eyes I can see the red light on the wall, indication that the camera is not rolling. It snaps to green, and a smirk breaks across my face. I begin to speak, still staring downward. ::

"Do not go gentle, into that good night.. Rage, rage.. Against the dying of the light."

:: I lift my gaze and stare down the camera lens, the smirk disappearing and being replaced with a very serious look. ::

"Poetic for so many reasons, Frodo. Not least of which, is the fact that it describes your final hours perfectly. For on this night, you can ill afford to go gently.. to take your finger off the button, not even for an instant. I am the rage that awaits you, lurking against the dying light of your career. When you falter, and believe me, you will falter.. I will be waiting. I've been waiting all week long, in fact, and I grow tired of doing so. Judgment Day is upon you, and like it or not, I will be the one wielding the hammer that drops the final blow. This was written long before you and I crossed paths, Smackins, and there are two scripts stained with the same ink. For yours truly, it is but another chapter in a career that will be littered with accolades and achievements, but for you.. oh, it is the ending that everybody has been praying for. You see, after I am done annihilating you in that very ring.. after I am done atoning for my loss to you at the King of the Ring, I will climb that ladder.. I will retrieve my briefcase.. and I will END your career!

Now don't get it twisted Frodo, it's not all bad. See, I'm doing you a favor. I'm putting you out of your damn misery. Strutting around here like you own the damn place and calling out anybody within earshot has done you no favors, as you are still the same talentless hack you've always been. Throwing your name into the hat with mine, does not put you on my level. Please don't think that it does, because it doesn't, and it would be foolish for you to think otherwise. But hey, why should that stop you? Just about every god damn thing you've said this week has either been misinformed or an out and out lie. You did such a good job of showing the world what an idiotic moron you were, that I almost felt stupid for pointing out the obvious.

But that's beside the point. The fact is, I've humored you this week. I've let you say your piece, and I have responded in kind, but we both know this road we are on leads us to but one destination. There's no pot of gold for you at the end of this rainbow, just like in reality there is no briefcase at the end of that ladder, because you'll never make it that far. I mean, really, just how much bullshit has this higher power been feeding you? What, you think because you beat me at King of the Ring when my head was all over the place, you can do it again? Hell, I might as well not have even showed up at King of the Ring, I wasn't right to compete. But now? Oh yeah, now you get the real deal Smackins. You get the beast at the top of the food chain, and I dare you to try and take my place. Tonight, I promise you, you are going to get the absolute best of Justin Sane."

:: I stop, holding my right hand up, a smirk appearing on my face once more. ::

"Oh, that's right.. why don't you make fun of my name one more time? Since you're Mr. Original and all that. Better yet, call me a pussy. No, wait, better yet, how about we talk about Gator and CorVus for the next five minutes? Fact is, you can talk about whatever the hell you want, because I've heard it a hundred times this week. You really are pathetic, you know that? After tonight, you're going to be two things: A statistic and a name I cross off my list, and that's it. You're a nobody. Always have been, and always will be. What, you think people will actually care when you're no longer around this place? Fuck man, wake up and take a look around. Ninety percent of this locker room will be rejoicing the second I unhook my briefcase and claim victory. Nobody is going to miss you interrupting their promos. Nobody is going to miss you getting involved in shit that has nothing to do with you, and nobody is going to miss your stupid fucking stipulations, you sick fuck.

Here's a huge dose of reality for you Frodo, because I think it's been a while since you had one. I am one half of the XWF Tag Team Champions. I am a Money in the Bank Briefcase holder. And I am, simply put, that much better than you could ever hope to be. You wanna talk about the King of the Ring tournament, talk about Turning Point, and the reality of it is, none of it matters. I told you once, he who holds onto the past, has no hand free with which to grasp the future. That case is my future, and I fully intend to grasp it. Call it a prediction Frodo, but we all know that the best way to predict the future, is to create it yourself.. and that's what I intend on doing.

You've played your part well thus far, Frodo. You have forced yourself onto our screens so often that we had no option but to take notice of you and your.. shortcomings. However, it is time for your part in this tale to come to an end. You challenged me, remember that. I would say that it was admirable, but the truth is, it was just plain fucking stupid. Clearly you knew nothing of the slaughter you were walking into. Whoever filled your head with the notion that you could beat me, they are truly to blame. You've had this coming for a long time, however, so I feel no pity.. in fact, I am ecstatic that I will be the one who silences you for good. [I pause momentarily, pretending to listen] Ssshhh. Do you hear that, Frodo? The clock is ticking. Days into hours. Hours into minutes. Minutes into seconds."

:: I pause once more as I take a step backward, plunging myself into further darkness, my face barely visible under a few bars of light. I lower my head before reciting Dylan Thomas once more. ::

"Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight. Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay. Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

:: I lift my head and smirk wickedly once more. ::

"Be sure to make your last night in the XWF a good one, Frodo. Do not go gentle.. into that good night."

:: Chuckling softly, I stare down the lens of the camera until the green light turns red. The time for talking is over. Judgment Day, is now. ::

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