Mind Over Matter IV ~ All or Nothing
Nov 18, 2018 23:51:07 GMT -5
Bonnie Blue and Karlie Nash like this
Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2018 23:51:07 GMT -5
As Polonium, Maximus, and the ASU members fight these beings, I am in what some would call an “interrogation room” face to face with the one we were able to capture, with a barrier between us. It remains vague with its wording, so gathering intel has not been easy. It mostly wants to taunt and threaten me. Back on Earth, my night was bittersweet. Although I lost to Spencer Adams in Wrestler of the Year semifinals, the new General Manager Camila Gonzalez gave me the opportunity to face Sidney J. Warwick for the Action Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship at Turmoil this Sunday. This will be a triple threat match, as my old rival Karlie Nash is also in this match. That would explain why it is currently using Karlie's likeness.
L Verez: What do you mean? What's your endgame?
Mock Nash: Don't be a fool. The answer has been in front of you this whole time.
I have to see if I can get clearer answers from it.
Mock Nash: We are one and the same.
L Verez: Like-minded? Is that what you mean?
Mock Nash: None of what I say will save you. It is too late.
L Verez: I doubt that. So… why Karlie? Why are you using her form? I've already defeated her multiple times. What makes her an immediate threat?
Mock Nash: You understand our tactics.
L Verez: Yes. I understand your fear tactics, and I notice that you primary use them against me. I was your main target. Why?
Mock Nash: You are crucial to the plan. The plan was a success.
L Verez: Well… shooting you and blowing you up don't seem to be succeeding for us, so yes, I'd say you are currently “successful,” aside from the fact that you're here.
Mock Nash: Incorrect. We are most certainly succeeding.
It morphs into Sidney J. Warwick.
L Verez: You know of what he's done?
SJW Mock: From what we can read, he had a long term plan, and it was successful. That is all that matters. You have many threats at your doorstep, whether you're delaying the inevitable, or wasting time pleasing puny Earthlings.
L Verez: I will always have threats all around me. What I do on Earth means more than you'll ever understand.
SJW Mock: We understand plenty. More than Quasonics, Quarians, and Humans combined.
It knows our species. Even mine. It changed back into Karlie.
Nash Mock: You say you defeated her, yet she still remains a threat. I think that is a question you need to find your own answer to.
I can tell that this conversation is going nowhere. It's purposely testing my patience. I take a look at my Holo Sphere to see how the ground team are doing. The two that Auron used the molecular bombs on have multiplied to four. This situation is growing more dire than I'd like it to. Before I can try my hand at speaking to the being again, two images form from teleportation. Zima'Ion and Jaice appear, walking towards me. Jaice looks as if he's about to give me some bad news.
L Verez: Lovely. Go on.
Jaice: The new member you recruited? He's gone missing. I can't find him anywhere, so he can't help us with this mission.
L Verez: That would explain a lot. I have a feeling I know why he's disappeared, especially considering Wade's coincidental reappearance. I still have the other recruit in my back pocket. As of right now, I'm afraid we have a bigger situation in front of us to deal with.
I look at the chromatic form of Karlie Nash, which seems to have been staring a hole through me this entire time.
L Verez: It hasn't said.
Jaice: What has it said?
L Verez: Nothing that helps. Everything it says is very vague. It wants me to put all the pieces together.
Zima'Ion: What should we do?
L Verez: We need more people on the ground. We have to figure out how to take these beings out without them multiplying. That is why I called for you two. However, I also need someone to stay here with this thing and figure out their plans.
Jaice: I can stay and chat.
L Verez: No, Jaice, I need you on the ground. You're the unpredictable member. Zima, I need you down there as well. As much as I want to be down there… right now, this is where I must be.
Zima'Ion: Are you sure? If you need, I can stay here and take your place.
L Verez: No, this is your time to fight. You've been waiting for this. So go. Both of you. I'll be the diplomat. I'll keep an eye on you through the Holo.
Jaice: We'll figure this out, L. Don't worry.
Zima'Ion: Positive vibes, my love.
She gives me a reassuring smile. I smile back, although I sense worry in all of us. The being staring daggers at me included.
They both teleport to the ground, leaving me face to face with the chromatic Nash Mock once again. We sit for a while, nothing being said, so I take a look at the Holo again. There's no sign of ZiiX, but I take that with a grain of salt. Auron and Gideon seem to be biding their time, while Zima, Jaice, Polonium, and Maximus are holding off the mocks. Wait… I just realized something. The mocks have taken shape, but not as any sort of threat to anyone on the ground team, aside from maybe Zima or Jaice. Holmes, Pasternak, Lockhart… and Wade. They formed into #beachkrew.
L Verez: Is that emotion that I am hearing? What else should I call a being of which I know not the name of? A being that is causing such terror and discord?
Nash Mock: The beings that you cannot “protect the universe” from.
L Verez: I beg to differ.
Nash Mock: Tch. You don't even know how to destroy us. We do not die. We only grow.
L Verez: Nothing in the Universe can be created, nor destroyed. There is something that is sacrificed in order for more of you to appear. I refuse to believe that you are multiplying.
It sneers at me.
L Verez: Then the “mock” name is fitting. All I know so far is that your kind has been causing havoc to the planet, and now that I have been called to handle this situation, you have targeted me. I do not know why, or what your endgame is, but I will figure it out, and I will put a stop to it.
Nash Mock: Impossible. You've already lost.
L Verez: Yes, you've said that, but I have a hard time believing you.
Nash Mock: For a supposed intelligent species, you sure are dense. You will believe me soon enough.
I look back at the Holo. They're struggling. I notice the Lockhart Mock being especially sly, yet vicious. I look back at the Mock, and I notice something.
As I look at it, I quickly contact Zima through the Holo.
Zima'Ion: Understood. That helps a lot.
I switch back to view the battle. They look to mainly be targeting Zima, but the others are valiantly protecting her at all costs. The Lockhart and Wade mocks are extra vicious towards her.
L Verez: Are you? Before, all you made were clanking and gear shifting sounds. Now, all of a sudden, you speak in human tongue, and you show emotion.
Nash Mock: Yes… your kind have good ears, from what we were told from the Crotias.
L Verez: Told? Why would they tell you anything?
Nash Mock: Naïve, Protector. Very naïve.
L Verez: Wait… what if… this is a set up!?
The mock morphs back into a chromatic form of SJW with the Max Masked mask, placing it on the floor in front of the barrier. He puts his index finger, and taps the side of his head.
Somehow, the mask is able to break through the barrier! I hit a sonic wave as soon as the Warwick Mock gets past the barrier, but I can't hold it for long.
I can't… hold the wave any longer… oof! … It knocked me down. I gotta keep hold of it though. I can't let it escape. Aggh! That punch was hard… I couldn't grab it. It's running throughout the ship. I have to go after it. I hear the sounds of teleportation. All of them are back, but they brought company.
Maximus: How!? You said it was secure!
L Verez: I don't know, but we cannot allow them to run amok within our ship!
We're chasing down creatures disguised as #beachkrew and SJW… and they're winning. They've split off to different sections of the ship. I'm mainly going after SJW, but the Lockhart mock seems to have stuck with him. They're going… oh no.
Zima'Ion, Jaice and Polonium capture two of the mocks, the ASU members capture the other one. Maximus and I go after the other two, but they're faster than the rest.
Lockhart Mock: Like we said… we've already won.
SJW Mock: We've reached our endgame.
L Verez: NO!!!
They teleport away… I… I wasn't fast enough.
Maximus: We should never have taken this damn mission! Those two could be anywhere by now!
L Verez: I'm not letting them win. Their shift shaping isn't perfect, as they stay chromatic. I have records of each coordinates from each teleporter belt. We just need to figure out which teleporter they used, and…
Maximus: And what? We start a Universal goose chase?
L Verez: If that's what it takes, then yes.
Polonium: THEY MAY BE LIMITED TO CERTAIN PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES, IF THEY ARE SENTIENT.
L Verez: Jaice…
Jaice: Yes, ma'am?
L Verez: That back pocket member? I'm going to need her.
~~~~~~~
A new broadcast is displayed via Holo Sphere. 3D like images of my battles against Karlie Nash are displayed around me.
L Verez: Last week was quite bitter sweet, honestly. I have to admit that Spencer proved me wrong. He had more in him than I expected. I gave him everything I could, but he was the better competitor that day. I was bested… but now I have a new opportunity. One I've been waiting for. The Action Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship. An opportunity awarded to me by the new general manager, Camila Gonzalez. This is my ultimate chance to prove that I am the best in Action Wrestling today. That probably sounds silly after losing against Spencer. Would that not make him better than me. Sure… on that night. However, it took him everything he had to defeat me. I'll face him again, and I will defeat him. That isn't my goal right now. My goal is to defeat the two people in my way to becoming champion. The first one is a familiar one. Karlie Nash.
My first true rival. I remember the wars that Karlie and I went through, back in UCI. I remember facing her in a Last Woman Standing match, and defeating her. I remember the progress that we both made as we progressed from promotion to promotion. Then I also remember facing her once again in Action Wrestling. What happened then? I defeated her again. At one point, we were on the same level. Our first match was a draw. A double countout. Since then, she has never been able to surpass me. So why should I see her as a threat? Why should I be remotely intimidated by Karlie Nash? I'm still wary of her. More so now than I ever have been. I've seen her almost win countless opportunities, only to get the tables turned on her in the worst way. I'm not the only wary one. Others are catching on, and they're afraid. They're doing anything they can to keep her from the top. Camila saw this, and took advantage, putting her in this match. I wasn't even a thought before my match against Spencer happened. It was supposed to be Karlie vs Sidney for the world title, one on one. For the umpteenth time, I go in as the underdog. I go in as the afterthought. Now, more than ever, I have to prove that I am worth more than that.
I have to be more than someone's second guess. The only reason Camila put me in this match was because of how well I did against Spencer Adams. She saw my potential, and she heard the reaction from all of you. That is what brought me to this point. You know what else I remember?
I have to be more than someone's second guess. The only reason Camila put me in this match was because of how well I did against Spencer Adams. She saw my potential, and she heard the reaction from all of you. That is what brought me to this point. You know what else I remember?
I switch the display to broadcast my match against Felix Stapleton.
I remember almost not being qualified for All In. I remember Jayson Stasiak making my match against Felix Stapleton a qualifying match at the last second, just to try and get Felix to face me. The coward couldn't make the ten count, so I qualified, and I gave everyone there everything I had, every ounce of fight I had in me. Who else was in that match? Sidney J. Warwick, previously known as Max Masked. Sidney is most likely reveling in this match up. The fact that this is a contest between two trans persons and a lesbian woman, and that we're all fighting for the World Heavyweight Championship. This is an amazing feat for the LGBT community. Although… we're booked as the co-main event, because Wade Moor and Spencer Adams are facing each other in the finals of the Wrestler of the Year tournament. The top prize of the company is second to some tournament that won't even matter by next year. Does it have anything to do with the fact that the higher ups would rather see two straight men in the main event than three LGBT figures? I'm unsure, but it is rather suspect.
I switch the imagery to the All In match at Uprising.
That isn't my main concern, at the moment. My main concern is the match itself, and Sidney, just as he was at Uprising, is the most unpredictable person in this match. No one expected him to be the man under the Max mask. No one expected him to take Action Wrestling by storm, and turn on his #FightSmart comrades. No one especially expected him to fight and defeat Roy Speede to become the first trans person to become Action Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion. It was one of the biggest shocks in the history of the company. However… with Sidney seeming so untouchable, it was rather surprising to see him lose to Wade Moor in the first round of the Wrestler of the Year tournament. I went further ahead in the tournament than the World Champion. I think that speaks volumes for the possibility of this match. I may not be the biggest winner in this company. I'm sure I'm not the favorite to win, but that doesn't mean I won't catch anyone by surprise. I've done it before, and I can do it again. I may be down one after my match last week. I may not be going in with a wave of fiery momentum, but I still plan on coming out the victor. I respect these two immensely, but there's someone I have a hard time respecting…
The broadcast switches to that of “Mr. All In” Ryan Lockhart.
I didn't come out the victor at Uprising… that went to Ryan Lockhart, who, at the time, seemed like a mostly honest competitor. If I win this match, which I more than plan to, then there's I will have a target on my back twenty-four/seven in Ryan Lockhart. The worst part? He's joined the ranks of Wade Moor and the rest of #beachkrew. I didn't think Lockhart would join the likes of them. I didn't think he would stoop that low. Sidney at least left #FightSmart after revealing his true identity. What Lockhart doesn't realize is that Wade isn't the pure demigod he wishes to be. He's a snake. He's a backstabber, and he will turn on each and every one of them once he's done using them. Lockhart has the briefcase now, but who knows if Wade will want to fight to get it in his grasp instead? Only time will tell, but until then, title or not, I won't only have one target on my back… I'll have four.
My Holo Sphere once more switches to display Sidney as champion.
I have to admit that I admire the current champion. As I mentioned earlier, he is a figure for the LGBT community, like I am. He doesn't exactly go about it subtly, though, does he? He isn't the best public figure. He tends to make a lot of claims that blow back on him. Could that have been what drove him out of WCF? Could that have lead him to his severe head injury, causing the creation of Max Masked? He's an extremely strong competitor, but he isn't without weakness. I aim to find that weakness, as I have already discovered Karlie's weaknesses time and time again. As always, I'm going in as the underdog, so I must take what I have and work with it. What I have on Sidney is his known head injury. You never know when Max Masked could spark back up. I don't plan on doing so purposely… unless I have no other choice. I will do whatever it takes to win this championship. This is what I've been aiming for. This is my chance to become the champion that I know I can be. It's time to be the ultimate opportunist, and more than that…
It's time to be the Champion!