Post by Swindle Shelldrake on Apr 28, 2022 19:58:57 GMT -5
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---| Disputed Territory 2022 |---
---| Grand Championship |---
---| X-Factor Championship |---
∞
T h e K r a k e n
S w i n d l e S h e l l d r a k e
_____
T h e S w o r d O f D a m o c l e s:
C h a p t e r T w o
___
W r o n g S i d e O f H i s t o r y
Walk alone
It leads us to despair
This cuts of my arms
The constant cold
Dipping the skin in loving slime
Remember where you come from
Hope is a trap
Blinding mist of illusions
Hope is a trap
Blinding mist of illusions
Amen
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---| K E N J I |---
---| P e r s p e c t i v e: T h e S e c o n d |---
The former Golden Supernova shakes hands with Roland before taking a seat across from Tetran Kai’s head manager. Immediately, Raith interlocks his fingers as he leans forward, resting his elbows on the mahogany desk. There is a serious wrinkle to his expression, which draws little reaction from Kenji. But as always, the game at the table with Roland is one that he decides to tread carefully.
KENJI: “Didn’t quite expect you to be talking business so soon. Thought you might want to catch up”.
ROLAND RAITH: “It weighs too heavy on me, Kenji. Fact of the matter is that I have this gut feeling that I need to make changes. The way Tetran Kai has been going, it isn’t what I’ve expected, or desired”.
KENJI: “Is that down to their talent or your own expectation not measuring up?”
ROLAND RAITH: “Funny..."
"Look, you've been promoting and scouting for us, so I need your ear about this. In your eyes, is Tetran Kai a failure?
Kenji takes a needed pause to collect his thoughts on the matter.
KENJI: "Do your doubts run deep enough to really ask that? Jeez....Who are you having questions about?"
ROLAND RAITH: "You're not dense enough to not know by now. I think he's a liability at this point, no matter what successes he can scrape by with, it's....it's bad for business...."
KENJI: "But it's still part of it. We're not exactly in the position to pick and choose the greatest of all time on our books, Roland. We're still rinky-dink circus town over in Japan by comparison. We manage to fill Shinjuku FACE, then some spacious room on a blockbuster Korakuen Hall. What is it that you want Tetran Kai to be if not a place where the rough diamonds come to hone themselves before making it to the big time?
ROLAND RAITH: "That's still what I want it to be. And it still can, we just need the right people to make that happen in the ring. Maybe I was hedging my bets on the first recruits through these doors were going to be something. You, YOU were going to be something if it weren't for...."
"Is it not enough to get rid of him?"
Roland looks towards his former client with a mark of surprise
ROLAND RAITH: "I thought the two of you had gotten on good terms since then?
KENJI: "We have been. We are".
ROLAND RAITH: "Then why are you suggesting that we get rid of him?"
KENJI: "You wanted my opinion on this, then fine. Fly me all the way here to rebuild your empire. It's knowing that the only reasons I would have to come back to the United States are either sit here in a stuffy, dry conference about our quarterly targets and quotas across Tetran Kai....or to pretend...no, lie to my sister that I'm completely behind her decision to be here, and not wish that I were still able to do this day in day out".
"Every. Single. Time, Roland. It never goes away. I want to find my own happiness in this world somewhere, in a world where Swindle Shelldrake ended that to take the spot that would be mine. I sit here, and I have to let bygones be bygones, because what else am I going to do? It's either move on to something that only reminds me of what I could have been...or...I don't know, get found in the gutter..."
"It's painful as hell to keep that up. I don't want my shitty life to ruin what Yuriko has ahead of her. But at the same time, I never got to live the life I wanted to earn for myself".
"Don't you ever miss it, Roland?".
The Tetran Kai Manager listens intently, resting his chin on his interlocked fingers before swiveling around in his chair to look at the displayed accomplishments from his time in the ring through the late 2000s to mid 2010s.
ROLAND RAITH: "Every day"
KENJI: "I've forgiven him for what he did, for the sake of Yuriko....for the sake of my own sanity, I suppose. But, he's on the big stage now, and the same thing that happened to me, or to Mark Hunter...I can't say I'd sit by and let that happen again when you're opening up to suggestion".
"It's cold, but I say he goes. I don't always agree with you, but this time I do. Doesn't matter if it's confirmation bias for you, or if he really is what this place needs to become successful. it's the right thing to do".
.Roland slowly nods in acknowledgement as he ponders, watching as the usually laid-back Kenji Toyama lets out a sigh, having to drink from his glass and recompose himself after a more deep-seated emotion was brought out from this exchange.
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---| Y U R I K O |---
---| We R e a p W h a t W e S o w |---
The creaking of wooden boards and the crackling of wrestling ropes echo through the high-roofed Tetran Kai Dojo. Yuriko Toyama increases her pace as she avoids a clothesline, quickly transitioning into several pinfall attempts, all executed with sound fundamentals. Although she is having to pace herself, this time she is much more in-sync with her trainer to complete the sequence.
She would bow to her trainer as he was complimenting her improvement if she didn't notice the movement of a tall man through the gym area. She blocks out the conversation for a moment, only taking a moment to apologise after the fact
YURIKO: "I'm sorry! Five minute break! I'll be back!"
She sheepishly bows before rolling under the ropes and jogging over to the hallway, past the squat racks and CrossFit area. It was him.
YURIKO: "Hey! You!"
The man stops as he was motioning to press the elevator button. They were tall and lanky. Stringy as she would have described him. Like a spider. Dressed in a dark silver-ish black suit, the man turns to face her, greatly looming over her with his scarecrow like gangly height over the diminutive Toyama. The streak of pink across the fringe of his hair gave it away, which brought out a furrowed brow and held-back anger within Yuriko.
What made it worse for her, was the look on Swindle's face of recognition. Vaguely, but it was there.
YURIKO: "You're him. Aren't you?"
"....Why did you do it?"
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "I don't know what you're talking about"
YURIKO: "Don't...don't lie to me! I know it's you. You're the one my brother talks about".
Seeing the rage in her eyes, combined with her woeful inexperience with shouting up to...anyone before, and the bald-faced attempt to deny his knowledge being wholly destroyed, Swindle's frown softens for a moment, but still keeping the icy bite to his words.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "You're Yuriko, aren't you...."
"Listen, it wasn't personal. Ok?"
YURIKO: "That's not good enough!....I want to know why you did that to him! It has to be something, because you nearly ended his li-"
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Ok ok....sit down"
He takes a seat on one of the benches in the gym next to them. Yuriko takes a moment to pull back the raw emotion she was feeling, taking a seat on the bench opposite.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "A couple years ago, your brother and I were the upcoming prospects here. We didn't have anything anywhere near these kinds of facilities, or comforts of being in a big agency. We had a tiny as hell gym that we couldn't pay the rent for. Roland was the guy that picked us out from a sea of guys that could have made it. But, times weren't great, and we only had one position that could be retained. I say we, Roland only had one spot..."
"I didn't plan to...I...we had a match in some nowhere town..."
"And...so....you probably know the rest..."
Yuriko only seems more heartbroken to hear how detached the entire affair was that led to her brother's retirement from the ring.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "What has your brother told you about me? Truthfully".
YURIKO: "He...he's not angry at you. But he should be. Ever since I started this he's gone above and beyond to help me through. He was always the best brother I could ask for...even more after he came back home. But, he would have never come back if it weren't because he was forced to....By you...."
"He doesn't hate you. But, I've seen him change since...he's not the same. I...I'm angry at you for that. You did that to him..."
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "I did".
"I won't ask you to forgive me, Yuriko. It was selfish of me...and I accept that. I have to accept that. If I didn't, then what would be the point?"
YURIKO: "Maybe my brother would be doing something he's actually happy with. He's got the rest of his life like this...."
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Not to sound morbid...but without it, would you be here living your dream? It's a selfish business, Yuriko. I am that way because I want to survive in it...whatever that might mean...."
A trickle of tears start to fall down Yuriko's cheeks as she wipes them away. The moment is awkward, before the Deathmatch Idol rallies herself with a determined glare to Swindle.
YURIKO: "I won't that to justify what you did..."
"I'm not like you".
"i don't want to be like you".
"Who decided that being a destructive, life-destroying person was needed to be a wrestler? Who said that? Did you? I don't believe that's the only way to make it here. You didn't have to do that to my brother. And you don't have to do it to anyone else. You're just bad on the inside and try to say you're not. Even when you're right, you'll ruin that with something else that you think you need".
"I can't, and won't become what you are to succeed".
Swindle sighs and hangs his head slightly looking down to the floor as Yuriko's fire withdraws to her more introverted, real self. His actions from long past had shaped this woman into who she is today, but that was hardly a good thing in her eyes. Not in the way it really impacted the lives of those he left in his wake
His gaze tracks over to the other side of the gym, to where the glass-doored trophy cabinet sits as sentry over the dojo. Its shelves bare, at least for now. He had to walk in here almost every day with that ghastly thing watching over him. Taunting him over his failed attempts to reach the top. Championships that were his...until they weren't. He pictures what could have been with his own titles hoisted on the shelves, a moment of spite on his lips as it curled into a scowl.
But, it soon recoils as he can also picture more. A championship belonging to someone else. Maybe not today, or even tomorrow, but he can see Yuriko playing her first wrestling title belt into the case. With more pride and glitter in her eyes than anything that would stir in his cold, jaded heart.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "You'll be alright, kid...."
He stands from the bench and goes to walk towards the elevator, before pausing. He looks behind his back to Yuriko sat there, a moment of regret in eyes. A moment of reality.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "I'm sorry, Yuriko..."
He hesitates as if he were going to say more, but holds himself before turning back to the elevator and pressing the button. He steps inside, and sees Yuriko look back up to him as the door closes. The look of pain and tears still on her face.
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---| S W I N D L E |---
---| G l i t t e r e d R o t |---
The scene of Swindle in the elevator plays out in a darkened box. The scrolling floors seemingly endless in this monolith of a building. Taking so long in fact, it almost doesn't feel real
The Kraken stands there as the box inexplicably blasts a blinding light of powder pink neon light behind him. He produces a cigarette and lighter from his jacket pocket, the crackle of burning tobacco simmering through as the wisp of smoke dances in the pink light. He remains silent as his own voice speaks over his own wordless ticks in the elevator. The waiting, clawing away at him. The time of his voice over and with the elevator all has a dream-like quality to it, making it uncertain when these inner thoughts are really being had.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE [V.O.]: "This life isn't anything that you know. It can't be. If I have to hear about your climb to the top one more time, while you're there basking it in all at my expense...."
"This isn't our first encounter anymore, MYOJIN. This will be THE encounter that defines everything you have built over your time clasping at straws to keep what I want away from me. There is only so long a star can shine in the sky before it consumes itself in a sad little explosion. The universe does not, and will never revolve around you...even if everyone and their mothers might think you to be something greater that what you already are".
"You certainly are something all right. But then again, I wouldn't have the time to truly accept your little facade. That's what it is. And our match, made me really see it...."
“All the falsities you're allowed to cast over everyone....for what? Two-hundred days of holding a piece of metal. Dropping to their feet to praise your brilliance for hitting your milestones….dump admiration for your performance while they sling daggers on any other night. This isn’t about formality, or wishing you well in your spotlight….”
“There is no such thing. Some of the most despicable people in this company are the first in line to spring from the woodwork, and sing your blessings for the passing of the day. Going out there to shake hands with people you would have never paid the time of day before they hold the gold around their waists. Like a fucking moth to the flame. Folding the latest champions into your fold, it's nothing for them...."
"You're selfish. Just like me".
"The key difference, I won't preface the benevolence. The triumphant, longest-reigning champion here to bring their touch of brilliance to the show. Your interest doesn't mean shit. How do they get your distinguished gaze, while the very man who had you defeated, is no more than an insect? I don’t hide behind that mask because I am your rival. I want your fucking title and that needs nothing less than clear glass to look through”.
"Soon enough everyone that you convince to stand beside you will turn their backs the second your flattering title is gone. Your little spell built on your records, your records...your fucking history-making records....will be broken"
"THAT is where you will fall to me, MYOJIN. I am the only person on this planet who will be honest with you, and won’t blow smoke up your ass just to be on the right side of history with you, while you're still worth something”.
“Don’t be out here shaking hands, trying to bolster the future while I am staring at you!”
“You are a rotting corpse of a champion behind the stardust, MYOJIN. The clock has been ticking ever since you slipped away out of my fingers. Hell, ever since you even picked up that title, it was never to last in your hands. I have to watch you proclaim a forever reign of greatness on your shoulders, while I am fighting for the slightest glimpse of what you have grown so fucking numb to".
"Disputed Territory is when you finally fall apart. The beautiful visage peels away into something far uglier and disgusting. You become closer and closer to me. With the Grand Title up for grabs, you won't make it past me to that either..."
"Any and all attempts for you to make something more for yourself, will be met with me. I have made that my goal. You won't be walking out of there with a replacement to balance your shoulders. I will not let you forget this night by exchanging your belt for another like it's a broken mirror...."
"No, you don't get to forget me".
For the first time in your record-setting little life, you will feel what it's like to really have nothing. To hear the bell ring not once, but TWICE, with nothing. To walk backstage, with nothing. To face your new friends that put so much faith in you to guide them, with nothing".
"To face the world...with nothing".
"Live in my shoes for one night, and we'll see your true colours".
"Take your time, Rot Prince. Your golden era stops here".
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---| S H R O U D |---
---| P e r s p e c t i v e: T h e T h i r d |---
The scene gets overwhelmed with the bright pink light before reemerging to the interior of a fancy, fine-dining restaurant. The waiter elegantly places the drinks down on the table two the two people sat at the table. Roland Raith, garbed in a form-fitting blue suit and smart black shirt. A pair of glasses with a sharp line of orange running through the browns and blacks of the frame. The other, dressed in a stylish black & white stripped pencil dress, and small sparkling studs in their ears, was Shroud.
WAITER: "One whiskey. Neat. One boilermaker. And two fillet mignon. If you need anything further, please let me know".
SHROUD: "Thank you, dear"
With little hesitation, Shroud takes a sip of their drink. A concoction they've been growing more accustomed to as of late.
SHROUD: "I don't see what the big deal would be, Raith. The boy is making waves where he can. Sometimes you need to back the bad boy in the race"
ROLAND RAITH: "That might be the case, but I don't want that to be what we're known for. Not anymore".
SHROUD: "If you'd made that pass before we'd both be making ourselves unemployed"
"Look, I'm ultimately not a horse in the race if we're reaching what we need to reach, your broken toy wants him out, and the handsome one wants him to stay. No doubt to protect his own standing, but that's how it goes. It falls to you, Raith. You're the final hand to swing the axe"
"If you want to cut him, then cut him. Commit to what your vision wants to be"
ROLAND RAITH: "You're higher than me. You could swing this how you want and get it done your way. What's with the passivity?"
SHROUD: Ok, y'all don't want the agency, that's fine we'll hire the french aristocrat tag team kicking around to be our flagship then. Madame Sayuri whats-her-face pers-".
ROLAND RAITH: "Okokok, I see your point".
SHROUD: "If you want to be in control, Roland, Then be in damn control. Steer the ship how you best see fit. The man has been doing well, but if you want to see different for Tetran Kai on the talent front then he's just a poor little goose"
Shroud smirks at Roland with their unreadable grin before downing their drink in one go. The juxtaposition of their graceful and expensive taste of wardrobe with the chaotic way they consume their food and drink was always a good way to fish out the uneasy in conversation. And they could sense Roland was just that.
SHROUD: "Just think of it this way. You would be conceding someone that is contending for top championships, both at the same time, might I add. And with their own unequal share of winning. Also in losing but that's beside the point. You chose a fantastic time to have your little audit, Raith, you really did".
"He's been good for you. Got more eyes to Tetran Kai, elevated himself up to the top....sort of. He's done what you asked, just in his own way".
ROLAND RAITH: "He has.."
"Then again, he's just one man out of them all trying to be what we want. Plenty more out there to try".
ROLAND RAITH: "Do you want me to axe him or keep him on?"
SHROUD: "I'm just giving you the arguments in each corner, Raith dear.
Toying with him was so fun.
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---| S W I N D L E |---
---| R e g i c i d e |---
A return to the eerie pink elevator sees Swindle pull the coin from his trouser pocket. He twirls it around in his fingers while a small speck of ash falls from the cigarette in his mouth.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE [V.O.]: “The fact is, the second that three count hit the mat, and you dethroned The Butcher of Rheine…you became a made man. Your spot, that would be there forever no matter how disappointing, flat, or lackluster what followed was”.
“That privilege you’re afforded because of it….all the money, the prestige….it also takes. I may not know first-hand what it means to be a champion, to feel the weight of a championship that’s mine between my fingers. But I do know a lot about the hidden poisons of what we do. Something that I don’t think you’re so knowledgeable of”.
“It means you have the target on your back. An open invitation for anyone, and everyone to stake their claim to what you have. What you’ve fought for. Regardless which side of the bed you wake up on, the day is calling for you. Calling for your head”.
“Nobody gives a damn about your opinion. Nobody cares about what you have to say, just because you have some extra metal on your buckle. You might be the champion, but you don’t get to have your picture-esque title reign. That isn’t how this game works. You will face whoever the fuck is up next, and this time, it’s me. Everything else you feel about me, my tactics, be it business or personal, means fucking nothing”.
He flicks the coin up into the ear, with each revolution falling slower and slower, practically being able to count them in turn. As it falls into his hand he clasps the fingers shut tight.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE [V.O.}: “Because the prestige is not yours. There isn’t suddenly a mystique to the Grand title with it around the waist of Arata Asakura. With all the other titles that you've scraped together, it's one of your toys at best. Calling it your greatest prize, what bullshit. And you look down at me for committing the crime of WANTING to sit at the top....your embarrassment of riches is fucking sickening. Get some fucking perspective on yourself".
“We’ve ALL had to sit by and watch you fumble the title in your own hands for months now. The great crowning achievement of The Shogun never came, because you are not the Grand Champion that there should be, or the champion your ego wants you to be. Your very first challenger defeated you for it, you won’t ever have any grounds to deny me a chance to take the gold from you. Even before you got that belt, I defeated you. And after, you have had nothing but trying to elevate a win over Emmanuelle into your own lofty standards".
"Guess what? I did that too"
"Pin Ozymandias. I did that too".
"Win the Grand Championship....now, that is where we diverge...."
"All the little things, I have matched you in. The only thing missing from me..is the title you carry. The titles that you BOTH carry. Each and every time I walk out there on Proving Ground, I have to live under the Shadow of the Shogun, knowing that I can, and will fucking end your second run just as depressingly as the first one did".
"But, you take away my chance to call myself a champion once again. Getting involved in games that are none of your business. That is where you get the same treatment as MYOJIN from me".
"That's right. I'll treat you equal. You both deserve less than nothing, and need less. What you both need, is a compressed neck and some time to think about just what you've done to me".
His voice pauses for a moment to almost force out the next phrase from his lips.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE [V.O.]: “I shouldn’t have to be right about you...”
“Standing above everyone that sits on the thrones is what I’ve always dreamt of in this fucking industry. I bet this is funny from the top, looking down at me. How many times you...or ANYONE else want to deny me what I want.....I will still be there. In your face again and again until you both fucking die. I'll get to watch. You don’t get to take that from me, not now...but that's all a dream...."
“If we got to live our dreams I wouldn’t be standing here ready to end this all here”.
"You don’t get to edit this story how you see fit, you are not the author of this story...”
“Because no matter what you say….”
“I am here”.
“This is not, nor has it ever been a meritocracy. Many months ago I defeated you in the ring, in a singles match no less. To think I won’t do it again, to YOU of all people, you would be sorely mistaken. It has taken me this long for everything to align, when it’s all fighting against me. I've crossed the line in the past for far less than you keeping the Grand Championship from me. You saw it yourself with Hunter, and both our 'fighting' champions careening down into the table. And much, much less than you keeping the X-Factor Championship from me”.
“The tide might be starting to turn against you, Shogun….do you still want to see me lose again? I don't think you want to. For your own sake".
"You've wrapped up not one, but two pieces of gold into this dance. That's on you. This long road we've been walking ever since my first matches in Project: Honor, it's all coming down to this, and I will see you laid out for it. For everything that you have celebrated and achieved here and elsewhere, I will bring all of that into focus to end it. All that The Last Real Shogun is, will die".
The crown will slip from your head yet again"
"Join MYOJIN in finally seeing the darker side of need. It's the humbling you both fucking deserve".
"I am walking in as the only true challenger here. This is all or nothing. I've had everything taken away from me, and still with two champions coming for my head, I have everything to lose in this match. For the smallest gains I must move mountains to see a fraction of what you and MYOJIN have. That all goes away soon".
"This isn't about just one of you. It won't end, until I stop BOTH of you. The records of two-time champions, and longest reigning....you won't have any more".
"The double...that will not belong to either of you. Not this day....."
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---| S W I N D L E |---
---| S u r r e n d e r: |---
---| T h e T r i a l o f |---
---| S w i n d l e S h e l l d r a k e |---
Swindle emerges from the elevator to the familiar front desk of the Tetran Kai offices. The lights of the elevator now nowhere to be seen, only leaving the wood-furnished box as he strides out on his long legs. He can't recall what the receptionist said to him, only that he wasn't going to the usual office for this meeting. She led him with the clacks of her stilettos on the shiny floor down another hallway, and down a small fight of steps through to a larger set of double doors.
RECEPTIONIST: "Mr. Roland will see you now".
He says nothing, entering the room.
It is dimely lit. Almost feeling that only their bodies would be visible in the overly shrouded cavern of a room. Or at least that's what it felt like. Maybe he was just thinking it, as he naturally came to a stop at the leather backed chair, placed at the end of a large, charcoal black table. The room comes alive with a blast of neon red light from some of the walls, still leaving most of their forms in darkness. He can now see Roland Raith sat at the other end of the table.
ROLAND RAITH: "Take a seat, Mr. Shelldrake"
He does so after a labored stare at his manager. He looks around at the now much larger auditorium, with a small mark of golden yellow light up in one of the viewing boxes. Their backlit silhouette obscures their image. But Virgil Barrick watches on. Swindle takes his seat and sits in the silence of the moment as he and Roland say nothing, only sharing the glare that they have both been piercing at each other for what seems like years now. A dagger to the heart for them both.
ROLAND RAITH: "I think you know why I've called you here".
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "....Yeah, I think so too...."
ROLAND RAITH: "I'd like to firstly express that you have been an instrumental part of Tetran Kai's development into what we are today. On behalf of the Tetran Kai Group we are all appreciative of your efforts with our name at your back"
Lies.
"However....It has been decided that Tetran Kai will be heading in a new direction going forward. Which means...that changes need to be made in order for us to grow and improve....".
More lies.
ROLAND RAITH: "And so, there is no other way to say this....We will be terminating your contract with immediate effect".
There it was. Roland's face eases slightly as he pushes the words from his mouth, a weight lifted from his shoulders, and put onto Shelldrake's. The Kraken remains motionless for a few seconds, but his eyes still burning a hole through Roland's skull.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "That's not the reason. That's not it. If you're going to fire then at least admit you never wanted me to succeed. Even if I did everything you asked of me".
ROLAND RAITH: “Because I don’t believe you can be anything but what you are now. The self-destruction that comes to you is like an addiction….that need for it all. I thought that was a sign of your strength at first, and someone that I could call my flagship. In anyone else that would be a shining example of what you could be".
"But you....it's all a toxic mix of hate, deceit, betrayal and greed. It's everything we could want in all the wrong places".
"Ever since you came to us I've seen the risk I took in signing you backfire in my face time and time again. To the point where you winning any gold will not be able to patch that hole. All the bad press, the unprofessionalism, the no-shows, the career-ending actions you've taken to countless people in the ring is now too much for even me to vouch for you".
"And judging from what I've gathered about you, I don't think winning a championship will even be able to satiate your need for that violence. It'll just be on to the next one, and I can't have that affecting something that is built to last".
The words somehow hurt more than if he were shouting them right down his ear. The quietness of their conversation makes every word stand. And every word hits home. Swindle merely shakes his head, looking down at the coin still clutched in his fist.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "...That's what this is all about. Building to last, huh? All because you didn't get to live our your dreams of growing old in the ring, because you can never let anything like that go and move on? Lucky for some that they can operate on that scale, kick back and coast on through to the elder years. I do all of this because I CAN'T! All the slights, and the cheating, and the blood, sweat and tears has been to even the playing field when I have no right to be where I am. It is MY crutch. It is all I have to make my dream".
"It's never been about you and your vicarious living through me. Your day is done, Kenji's day is done. Hold all the spite you want against me, at least I'm getting a fucking reaction out of you".
"I've had to listen to you demand more, and more, and more from me while I am barely hanging on by a thread to deliver far and beyond ANYONE that you deserve to be managing. You've wanted me out of here for ages, and now you finally get the guts to pull the trigger because you knew you won't be getting anything like me for a long time soon. And you haven't found that replacement. You just want me out of here because of your vendetta. Don't frame this as anyone's wish but yours, and yours alone".
"I don't need you anymore, clearly. I have never needed you to hold me back from moving too fast for your vision to keep up. And you don't need me..."
Roland sits there stunned, before he slides over an official looking letter over to Swindle's side of the table. It simply reads of his termination, with immediate effect. No longer under the liability, tutorship, or benefit of The Tetran Kai Group. he takes several moments to absorb every word. Every curve of the letters. The signature of Roland Raith. Head Talent Manager of Tetran Kai Group.
Lies.
In days that have gone by
I strived to keep up appearances
of a pretend one.
And then, almost in vain,
I started slandering my feelings,
my inner self.
Now, with even less(success)
try to resemble myself,
till my own image, that gleamed like a coin in the rain,
winds up being lost to me and falls into unconsciousness.
Or into the hands of someone else.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "I should say you're making a mistake. You would be if there was anything for me in your corrupted egofest anymore. Watch whatever happens rest on your head, Roland...."
A habit to deny
it's struggling for appearance
just a way out.
You hold tight your portrait
but don't perceive its features,
so hollow and pale.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "This fucking place..."
Now, with even less(success)
try to resemble myself,
till my own image, that gleamed like a coin in the rain,
winds up being lost to me and falls into unconsciousness.
Or into the hands of someone else.
ROLAND RAITH: "I shouldn't have to be right about you".
The words ring in Swindle's mind as he leaves the paperwork on the table, standing to look over Roland. No words leave his lips, only the moment sinking in around him in the dark room. The pink of his hair begins to bleed down into a flowing river as the entire scene falls to a black screen, only Swindle's face remaining, covered by his hair and the weeping tears of pink. His head leans forward slowly. The grim bow of a man who would be put to the axe. The Guillotine. The Executioner's justice.
It's time to surrender
To yourself
Lay down your head now.
It's time to surrender
To yourself
Lay down your head now.
It's time to surrender
to yourself
Lay down your head now.
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---| P e r s p e c t i v e: T h e F i n a l |---
The dream-like, inky darkness fades and the bright river withdraw into the sound of a lone bird chirping, and the sunrise kissing over the cityscape. Now dressed with the leather jacket over his shoulders, Swindle faces away from the camera and climbs the steps up to the Prudential Center. Above him over the entrances is a long banner displaying the Project: Honor event.
Ether side is the stalwart defending champions. Arata and the Grand Championship on the left. MYOJIN with the X-Factor title on the right. Flashed with Gold and silver respectively behind them, the middle sees the pink backdrop of his own face between them. No gold to speak of.
He fiddles with something on his jacket, taking off one of the many pins that adorn the front side. Be it Proving Ground, a kraken, an infinity logo, an old JORMUNGANDR insignia...he removes one emblazoned with TETRAN KAI written upon it. Just as with the coin, he flicks it up into the air, and catches it in his grasp.
But, he then simply loosens his fingers, letting it fall to the ground
Swindle walks on towards the arena. While the camera pans down to see the now discarded pin on the ground, as a morning overcast looks to be rolling in.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[6,388 words]
---| Disputed Territory 2022 |---
---| Grand Championship |---
---| X-Factor Championship |---
∞
T h e K r a k e n
S w i n d l e S h e l l d r a k e
_____
T h e S w o r d O f D a m o c l e s:
C h a p t e r T w o
___
W r o n g S i d e O f H i s t o r y
Walk alone
It leads us to despair
This cuts of my arms
The constant cold
Dipping the skin in loving slime
Remember where you come from
Hope is a trap
Blinding mist of illusions
Hope is a trap
Blinding mist of illusions
Amen
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---| K E N J I |---
---| P e r s p e c t i v e: T h e S e c o n d |---
The former Golden Supernova shakes hands with Roland before taking a seat across from Tetran Kai’s head manager. Immediately, Raith interlocks his fingers as he leans forward, resting his elbows on the mahogany desk. There is a serious wrinkle to his expression, which draws little reaction from Kenji. But as always, the game at the table with Roland is one that he decides to tread carefully.
KENJI: “Didn’t quite expect you to be talking business so soon. Thought you might want to catch up”.
ROLAND RAITH: “It weighs too heavy on me, Kenji. Fact of the matter is that I have this gut feeling that I need to make changes. The way Tetran Kai has been going, it isn’t what I’ve expected, or desired”.
KENJI: “Is that down to their talent or your own expectation not measuring up?”
ROLAND RAITH: “Funny..."
"Look, you've been promoting and scouting for us, so I need your ear about this. In your eyes, is Tetran Kai a failure?
Kenji takes a needed pause to collect his thoughts on the matter.
KENJI: "Do your doubts run deep enough to really ask that? Jeez....Who are you having questions about?"
ROLAND RAITH: "You're not dense enough to not know by now. I think he's a liability at this point, no matter what successes he can scrape by with, it's....it's bad for business...."
KENJI: "But it's still part of it. We're not exactly in the position to pick and choose the greatest of all time on our books, Roland. We're still rinky-dink circus town over in Japan by comparison. We manage to fill Shinjuku FACE, then some spacious room on a blockbuster Korakuen Hall. What is it that you want Tetran Kai to be if not a place where the rough diamonds come to hone themselves before making it to the big time?
ROLAND RAITH: "That's still what I want it to be. And it still can, we just need the right people to make that happen in the ring. Maybe I was hedging my bets on the first recruits through these doors were going to be something. You, YOU were going to be something if it weren't for...."
"Is it not enough to get rid of him?"
Roland looks towards his former client with a mark of surprise
ROLAND RAITH: "I thought the two of you had gotten on good terms since then?
KENJI: "We have been. We are".
ROLAND RAITH: "Then why are you suggesting that we get rid of him?"
KENJI: "You wanted my opinion on this, then fine. Fly me all the way here to rebuild your empire. It's knowing that the only reasons I would have to come back to the United States are either sit here in a stuffy, dry conference about our quarterly targets and quotas across Tetran Kai....or to pretend...no, lie to my sister that I'm completely behind her decision to be here, and not wish that I were still able to do this day in day out".
"Every. Single. Time, Roland. It never goes away. I want to find my own happiness in this world somewhere, in a world where Swindle Shelldrake ended that to take the spot that would be mine. I sit here, and I have to let bygones be bygones, because what else am I going to do? It's either move on to something that only reminds me of what I could have been...or...I don't know, get found in the gutter..."
"It's painful as hell to keep that up. I don't want my shitty life to ruin what Yuriko has ahead of her. But at the same time, I never got to live the life I wanted to earn for myself".
"Don't you ever miss it, Roland?".
The Tetran Kai Manager listens intently, resting his chin on his interlocked fingers before swiveling around in his chair to look at the displayed accomplishments from his time in the ring through the late 2000s to mid 2010s.
ROLAND RAITH: "Every day"
KENJI: "I've forgiven him for what he did, for the sake of Yuriko....for the sake of my own sanity, I suppose. But, he's on the big stage now, and the same thing that happened to me, or to Mark Hunter...I can't say I'd sit by and let that happen again when you're opening up to suggestion".
"It's cold, but I say he goes. I don't always agree with you, but this time I do. Doesn't matter if it's confirmation bias for you, or if he really is what this place needs to become successful. it's the right thing to do".
.Roland slowly nods in acknowledgement as he ponders, watching as the usually laid-back Kenji Toyama lets out a sigh, having to drink from his glass and recompose himself after a more deep-seated emotion was brought out from this exchange.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---| Y U R I K O |---
---| We R e a p W h a t W e S o w |---
The creaking of wooden boards and the crackling of wrestling ropes echo through the high-roofed Tetran Kai Dojo. Yuriko Toyama increases her pace as she avoids a clothesline, quickly transitioning into several pinfall attempts, all executed with sound fundamentals. Although she is having to pace herself, this time she is much more in-sync with her trainer to complete the sequence.
She would bow to her trainer as he was complimenting her improvement if she didn't notice the movement of a tall man through the gym area. She blocks out the conversation for a moment, only taking a moment to apologise after the fact
YURIKO: "I'm sorry! Five minute break! I'll be back!"
She sheepishly bows before rolling under the ropes and jogging over to the hallway, past the squat racks and CrossFit area. It was him.
YURIKO: "Hey! You!"
The man stops as he was motioning to press the elevator button. They were tall and lanky. Stringy as she would have described him. Like a spider. Dressed in a dark silver-ish black suit, the man turns to face her, greatly looming over her with his scarecrow like gangly height over the diminutive Toyama. The streak of pink across the fringe of his hair gave it away, which brought out a furrowed brow and held-back anger within Yuriko.
What made it worse for her, was the look on Swindle's face of recognition. Vaguely, but it was there.
YURIKO: "You're him. Aren't you?"
"....Why did you do it?"
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "I don't know what you're talking about"
YURIKO: "Don't...don't lie to me! I know it's you. You're the one my brother talks about".
Seeing the rage in her eyes, combined with her woeful inexperience with shouting up to...anyone before, and the bald-faced attempt to deny his knowledge being wholly destroyed, Swindle's frown softens for a moment, but still keeping the icy bite to his words.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "You're Yuriko, aren't you...."
"Listen, it wasn't personal. Ok?"
YURIKO: "That's not good enough!....I want to know why you did that to him! It has to be something, because you nearly ended his li-"
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Ok ok....sit down"
He takes a seat on one of the benches in the gym next to them. Yuriko takes a moment to pull back the raw emotion she was feeling, taking a seat on the bench opposite.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "A couple years ago, your brother and I were the upcoming prospects here. We didn't have anything anywhere near these kinds of facilities, or comforts of being in a big agency. We had a tiny as hell gym that we couldn't pay the rent for. Roland was the guy that picked us out from a sea of guys that could have made it. But, times weren't great, and we only had one position that could be retained. I say we, Roland only had one spot..."
"I didn't plan to...I...we had a match in some nowhere town..."
"And...so....you probably know the rest..."
Yuriko only seems more heartbroken to hear how detached the entire affair was that led to her brother's retirement from the ring.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "What has your brother told you about me? Truthfully".
YURIKO: "He...he's not angry at you. But he should be. Ever since I started this he's gone above and beyond to help me through. He was always the best brother I could ask for...even more after he came back home. But, he would have never come back if it weren't because he was forced to....By you...."
"He doesn't hate you. But, I've seen him change since...he's not the same. I...I'm angry at you for that. You did that to him..."
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "I did".
"I won't ask you to forgive me, Yuriko. It was selfish of me...and I accept that. I have to accept that. If I didn't, then what would be the point?"
YURIKO: "Maybe my brother would be doing something he's actually happy with. He's got the rest of his life like this...."
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "Not to sound morbid...but without it, would you be here living your dream? It's a selfish business, Yuriko. I am that way because I want to survive in it...whatever that might mean...."
A trickle of tears start to fall down Yuriko's cheeks as she wipes them away. The moment is awkward, before the Deathmatch Idol rallies herself with a determined glare to Swindle.
YURIKO: "I won't that to justify what you did..."
"I'm not like you".
"i don't want to be like you".
"Who decided that being a destructive, life-destroying person was needed to be a wrestler? Who said that? Did you? I don't believe that's the only way to make it here. You didn't have to do that to my brother. And you don't have to do it to anyone else. You're just bad on the inside and try to say you're not. Even when you're right, you'll ruin that with something else that you think you need".
"I can't, and won't become what you are to succeed".
Swindle sighs and hangs his head slightly looking down to the floor as Yuriko's fire withdraws to her more introverted, real self. His actions from long past had shaped this woman into who she is today, but that was hardly a good thing in her eyes. Not in the way it really impacted the lives of those he left in his wake
His gaze tracks over to the other side of the gym, to where the glass-doored trophy cabinet sits as sentry over the dojo. Its shelves bare, at least for now. He had to walk in here almost every day with that ghastly thing watching over him. Taunting him over his failed attempts to reach the top. Championships that were his...until they weren't. He pictures what could have been with his own titles hoisted on the shelves, a moment of spite on his lips as it curled into a scowl.
But, it soon recoils as he can also picture more. A championship belonging to someone else. Maybe not today, or even tomorrow, but he can see Yuriko playing her first wrestling title belt into the case. With more pride and glitter in her eyes than anything that would stir in his cold, jaded heart.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "You'll be alright, kid...."
He stands from the bench and goes to walk towards the elevator, before pausing. He looks behind his back to Yuriko sat there, a moment of regret in eyes. A moment of reality.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "I'm sorry, Yuriko..."
He hesitates as if he were going to say more, but holds himself before turning back to the elevator and pressing the button. He steps inside, and sees Yuriko look back up to him as the door closes. The look of pain and tears still on her face.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---| S W I N D L E |---
---| G l i t t e r e d R o t |---
The scene of Swindle in the elevator plays out in a darkened box. The scrolling floors seemingly endless in this monolith of a building. Taking so long in fact, it almost doesn't feel real
The Kraken stands there as the box inexplicably blasts a blinding light of powder pink neon light behind him. He produces a cigarette and lighter from his jacket pocket, the crackle of burning tobacco simmering through as the wisp of smoke dances in the pink light. He remains silent as his own voice speaks over his own wordless ticks in the elevator. The waiting, clawing away at him. The time of his voice over and with the elevator all has a dream-like quality to it, making it uncertain when these inner thoughts are really being had.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE [V.O.]: "This life isn't anything that you know. It can't be. If I have to hear about your climb to the top one more time, while you're there basking it in all at my expense...."
"This isn't our first encounter anymore, MYOJIN. This will be THE encounter that defines everything you have built over your time clasping at straws to keep what I want away from me. There is only so long a star can shine in the sky before it consumes itself in a sad little explosion. The universe does not, and will never revolve around you...even if everyone and their mothers might think you to be something greater that what you already are".
"You certainly are something all right. But then again, I wouldn't have the time to truly accept your little facade. That's what it is. And our match, made me really see it...."
“All the falsities you're allowed to cast over everyone....for what? Two-hundred days of holding a piece of metal. Dropping to their feet to praise your brilliance for hitting your milestones….dump admiration for your performance while they sling daggers on any other night. This isn’t about formality, or wishing you well in your spotlight….”
“There is no such thing. Some of the most despicable people in this company are the first in line to spring from the woodwork, and sing your blessings for the passing of the day. Going out there to shake hands with people you would have never paid the time of day before they hold the gold around their waists. Like a fucking moth to the flame. Folding the latest champions into your fold, it's nothing for them...."
"You're selfish. Just like me".
"The key difference, I won't preface the benevolence. The triumphant, longest-reigning champion here to bring their touch of brilliance to the show. Your interest doesn't mean shit. How do they get your distinguished gaze, while the very man who had you defeated, is no more than an insect? I don’t hide behind that mask because I am your rival. I want your fucking title and that needs nothing less than clear glass to look through”.
"Soon enough everyone that you convince to stand beside you will turn their backs the second your flattering title is gone. Your little spell built on your records, your records...your fucking history-making records....will be broken"
"THAT is where you will fall to me, MYOJIN. I am the only person on this planet who will be honest with you, and won’t blow smoke up your ass just to be on the right side of history with you, while you're still worth something”.
“Don’t be out here shaking hands, trying to bolster the future while I am staring at you!”
“You are a rotting corpse of a champion behind the stardust, MYOJIN. The clock has been ticking ever since you slipped away out of my fingers. Hell, ever since you even picked up that title, it was never to last in your hands. I have to watch you proclaim a forever reign of greatness on your shoulders, while I am fighting for the slightest glimpse of what you have grown so fucking numb to".
"Disputed Territory is when you finally fall apart. The beautiful visage peels away into something far uglier and disgusting. You become closer and closer to me. With the Grand Title up for grabs, you won't make it past me to that either..."
"Any and all attempts for you to make something more for yourself, will be met with me. I have made that my goal. You won't be walking out of there with a replacement to balance your shoulders. I will not let you forget this night by exchanging your belt for another like it's a broken mirror...."
"No, you don't get to forget me".
For the first time in your record-setting little life, you will feel what it's like to really have nothing. To hear the bell ring not once, but TWICE, with nothing. To walk backstage, with nothing. To face your new friends that put so much faith in you to guide them, with nothing".
"To face the world...with nothing".
"Live in my shoes for one night, and we'll see your true colours".
"Take your time, Rot Prince. Your golden era stops here".
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---| S H R O U D |---
---| P e r s p e c t i v e: T h e T h i r d |---
The scene gets overwhelmed with the bright pink light before reemerging to the interior of a fancy, fine-dining restaurant. The waiter elegantly places the drinks down on the table two the two people sat at the table. Roland Raith, garbed in a form-fitting blue suit and smart black shirt. A pair of glasses with a sharp line of orange running through the browns and blacks of the frame. The other, dressed in a stylish black & white stripped pencil dress, and small sparkling studs in their ears, was Shroud.
WAITER: "One whiskey. Neat. One boilermaker. And two fillet mignon. If you need anything further, please let me know".
SHROUD: "Thank you, dear"
With little hesitation, Shroud takes a sip of their drink. A concoction they've been growing more accustomed to as of late.
SHROUD: "I don't see what the big deal would be, Raith. The boy is making waves where he can. Sometimes you need to back the bad boy in the race"
ROLAND RAITH: "That might be the case, but I don't want that to be what we're known for. Not anymore".
SHROUD: "If you'd made that pass before we'd both be making ourselves unemployed"
"Look, I'm ultimately not a horse in the race if we're reaching what we need to reach, your broken toy wants him out, and the handsome one wants him to stay. No doubt to protect his own standing, but that's how it goes. It falls to you, Raith. You're the final hand to swing the axe"
"If you want to cut him, then cut him. Commit to what your vision wants to be"
ROLAND RAITH: "You're higher than me. You could swing this how you want and get it done your way. What's with the passivity?"
SHROUD: Ok, y'all don't want the agency, that's fine we'll hire the french aristocrat tag team kicking around to be our flagship then. Madame Sayuri whats-her-face pers-".
ROLAND RAITH: "Okokok, I see your point".
SHROUD: "If you want to be in control, Roland, Then be in damn control. Steer the ship how you best see fit. The man has been doing well, but if you want to see different for Tetran Kai on the talent front then he's just a poor little goose"
Shroud smirks at Roland with their unreadable grin before downing their drink in one go. The juxtaposition of their graceful and expensive taste of wardrobe with the chaotic way they consume their food and drink was always a good way to fish out the uneasy in conversation. And they could sense Roland was just that.
SHROUD: "Just think of it this way. You would be conceding someone that is contending for top championships, both at the same time, might I add. And with their own unequal share of winning. Also in losing but that's beside the point. You chose a fantastic time to have your little audit, Raith, you really did".
"He's been good for you. Got more eyes to Tetran Kai, elevated himself up to the top....sort of. He's done what you asked, just in his own way".
ROLAND RAITH: "He has.."
"Then again, he's just one man out of them all trying to be what we want. Plenty more out there to try".
ROLAND RAITH: "Do you want me to axe him or keep him on?"
SHROUD: "I'm just giving you the arguments in each corner, Raith dear.
Toying with him was so fun.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---| S W I N D L E |---
---| R e g i c i d e |---
A return to the eerie pink elevator sees Swindle pull the coin from his trouser pocket. He twirls it around in his fingers while a small speck of ash falls from the cigarette in his mouth.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE [V.O.]: “The fact is, the second that three count hit the mat, and you dethroned The Butcher of Rheine…you became a made man. Your spot, that would be there forever no matter how disappointing, flat, or lackluster what followed was”.
“That privilege you’re afforded because of it….all the money, the prestige….it also takes. I may not know first-hand what it means to be a champion, to feel the weight of a championship that’s mine between my fingers. But I do know a lot about the hidden poisons of what we do. Something that I don’t think you’re so knowledgeable of”.
“It means you have the target on your back. An open invitation for anyone, and everyone to stake their claim to what you have. What you’ve fought for. Regardless which side of the bed you wake up on, the day is calling for you. Calling for your head”.
“Nobody gives a damn about your opinion. Nobody cares about what you have to say, just because you have some extra metal on your buckle. You might be the champion, but you don’t get to have your picture-esque title reign. That isn’t how this game works. You will face whoever the fuck is up next, and this time, it’s me. Everything else you feel about me, my tactics, be it business or personal, means fucking nothing”.
He flicks the coin up into the ear, with each revolution falling slower and slower, practically being able to count them in turn. As it falls into his hand he clasps the fingers shut tight.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE [V.O.}: “Because the prestige is not yours. There isn’t suddenly a mystique to the Grand title with it around the waist of Arata Asakura. With all the other titles that you've scraped together, it's one of your toys at best. Calling it your greatest prize, what bullshit. And you look down at me for committing the crime of WANTING to sit at the top....your embarrassment of riches is fucking sickening. Get some fucking perspective on yourself".
“We’ve ALL had to sit by and watch you fumble the title in your own hands for months now. The great crowning achievement of The Shogun never came, because you are not the Grand Champion that there should be, or the champion your ego wants you to be. Your very first challenger defeated you for it, you won’t ever have any grounds to deny me a chance to take the gold from you. Even before you got that belt, I defeated you. And after, you have had nothing but trying to elevate a win over Emmanuelle into your own lofty standards".
"Guess what? I did that too"
"Pin Ozymandias. I did that too".
"Win the Grand Championship....now, that is where we diverge...."
"All the little things, I have matched you in. The only thing missing from me..is the title you carry. The titles that you BOTH carry. Each and every time I walk out there on Proving Ground, I have to live under the Shadow of the Shogun, knowing that I can, and will fucking end your second run just as depressingly as the first one did".
"But, you take away my chance to call myself a champion once again. Getting involved in games that are none of your business. That is where you get the same treatment as MYOJIN from me".
"That's right. I'll treat you equal. You both deserve less than nothing, and need less. What you both need, is a compressed neck and some time to think about just what you've done to me".
His voice pauses for a moment to almost force out the next phrase from his lips.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE [V.O.]: “I shouldn’t have to be right about you...”
“Standing above everyone that sits on the thrones is what I’ve always dreamt of in this fucking industry. I bet this is funny from the top, looking down at me. How many times you...or ANYONE else want to deny me what I want.....I will still be there. In your face again and again until you both fucking die. I'll get to watch. You don’t get to take that from me, not now...but that's all a dream...."
“If we got to live our dreams I wouldn’t be standing here ready to end this all here”.
"You don’t get to edit this story how you see fit, you are not the author of this story...”
“Because no matter what you say….”
“I am here”.
“This is not, nor has it ever been a meritocracy. Many months ago I defeated you in the ring, in a singles match no less. To think I won’t do it again, to YOU of all people, you would be sorely mistaken. It has taken me this long for everything to align, when it’s all fighting against me. I've crossed the line in the past for far less than you keeping the Grand Championship from me. You saw it yourself with Hunter, and both our 'fighting' champions careening down into the table. And much, much less than you keeping the X-Factor Championship from me”.
“The tide might be starting to turn against you, Shogun….do you still want to see me lose again? I don't think you want to. For your own sake".
"You've wrapped up not one, but two pieces of gold into this dance. That's on you. This long road we've been walking ever since my first matches in Project: Honor, it's all coming down to this, and I will see you laid out for it. For everything that you have celebrated and achieved here and elsewhere, I will bring all of that into focus to end it. All that The Last Real Shogun is, will die".
The crown will slip from your head yet again"
"Join MYOJIN in finally seeing the darker side of need. It's the humbling you both fucking deserve".
"I am walking in as the only true challenger here. This is all or nothing. I've had everything taken away from me, and still with two champions coming for my head, I have everything to lose in this match. For the smallest gains I must move mountains to see a fraction of what you and MYOJIN have. That all goes away soon".
"This isn't about just one of you. It won't end, until I stop BOTH of you. The records of two-time champions, and longest reigning....you won't have any more".
"The double...that will not belong to either of you. Not this day....."
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---| S W I N D L E |---
---| S u r r e n d e r: |---
---| T h e T r i a l o f |---
---| S w i n d l e S h e l l d r a k e |---
Swindle emerges from the elevator to the familiar front desk of the Tetran Kai offices. The lights of the elevator now nowhere to be seen, only leaving the wood-furnished box as he strides out on his long legs. He can't recall what the receptionist said to him, only that he wasn't going to the usual office for this meeting. She led him with the clacks of her stilettos on the shiny floor down another hallway, and down a small fight of steps through to a larger set of double doors.
RECEPTIONIST: "Mr. Roland will see you now".
He says nothing, entering the room.
It is dimely lit. Almost feeling that only their bodies would be visible in the overly shrouded cavern of a room. Or at least that's what it felt like. Maybe he was just thinking it, as he naturally came to a stop at the leather backed chair, placed at the end of a large, charcoal black table. The room comes alive with a blast of neon red light from some of the walls, still leaving most of their forms in darkness. He can now see Roland Raith sat at the other end of the table.
ROLAND RAITH: "Take a seat, Mr. Shelldrake"
He does so after a labored stare at his manager. He looks around at the now much larger auditorium, with a small mark of golden yellow light up in one of the viewing boxes. Their backlit silhouette obscures their image. But Virgil Barrick watches on. Swindle takes his seat and sits in the silence of the moment as he and Roland say nothing, only sharing the glare that they have both been piercing at each other for what seems like years now. A dagger to the heart for them both.
ROLAND RAITH: "I think you know why I've called you here".
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "....Yeah, I think so too...."
ROLAND RAITH: "I'd like to firstly express that you have been an instrumental part of Tetran Kai's development into what we are today. On behalf of the Tetran Kai Group we are all appreciative of your efforts with our name at your back"
Lies.
"However....It has been decided that Tetran Kai will be heading in a new direction going forward. Which means...that changes need to be made in order for us to grow and improve....".
More lies.
ROLAND RAITH: "And so, there is no other way to say this....We will be terminating your contract with immediate effect".
There it was. Roland's face eases slightly as he pushes the words from his mouth, a weight lifted from his shoulders, and put onto Shelldrake's. The Kraken remains motionless for a few seconds, but his eyes still burning a hole through Roland's skull.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "That's not the reason. That's not it. If you're going to fire then at least admit you never wanted me to succeed. Even if I did everything you asked of me".
ROLAND RAITH: “Because I don’t believe you can be anything but what you are now. The self-destruction that comes to you is like an addiction….that need for it all. I thought that was a sign of your strength at first, and someone that I could call my flagship. In anyone else that would be a shining example of what you could be".
"But you....it's all a toxic mix of hate, deceit, betrayal and greed. It's everything we could want in all the wrong places".
"Ever since you came to us I've seen the risk I took in signing you backfire in my face time and time again. To the point where you winning any gold will not be able to patch that hole. All the bad press, the unprofessionalism, the no-shows, the career-ending actions you've taken to countless people in the ring is now too much for even me to vouch for you".
"And judging from what I've gathered about you, I don't think winning a championship will even be able to satiate your need for that violence. It'll just be on to the next one, and I can't have that affecting something that is built to last".
The words somehow hurt more than if he were shouting them right down his ear. The quietness of their conversation makes every word stand. And every word hits home. Swindle merely shakes his head, looking down at the coin still clutched in his fist.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "...That's what this is all about. Building to last, huh? All because you didn't get to live our your dreams of growing old in the ring, because you can never let anything like that go and move on? Lucky for some that they can operate on that scale, kick back and coast on through to the elder years. I do all of this because I CAN'T! All the slights, and the cheating, and the blood, sweat and tears has been to even the playing field when I have no right to be where I am. It is MY crutch. It is all I have to make my dream".
"It's never been about you and your vicarious living through me. Your day is done, Kenji's day is done. Hold all the spite you want against me, at least I'm getting a fucking reaction out of you".
"I've had to listen to you demand more, and more, and more from me while I am barely hanging on by a thread to deliver far and beyond ANYONE that you deserve to be managing. You've wanted me out of here for ages, and now you finally get the guts to pull the trigger because you knew you won't be getting anything like me for a long time soon. And you haven't found that replacement. You just want me out of here because of your vendetta. Don't frame this as anyone's wish but yours, and yours alone".
"I don't need you anymore, clearly. I have never needed you to hold me back from moving too fast for your vision to keep up. And you don't need me..."
Roland sits there stunned, before he slides over an official looking letter over to Swindle's side of the table. It simply reads of his termination, with immediate effect. No longer under the liability, tutorship, or benefit of The Tetran Kai Group. he takes several moments to absorb every word. Every curve of the letters. The signature of Roland Raith. Head Talent Manager of Tetran Kai Group.
Lies.
In days that have gone by
I strived to keep up appearances
of a pretend one.
And then, almost in vain,
I started slandering my feelings,
my inner self.
Now, with even less(success)
try to resemble myself,
till my own image, that gleamed like a coin in the rain,
winds up being lost to me and falls into unconsciousness.
Or into the hands of someone else.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "I should say you're making a mistake. You would be if there was anything for me in your corrupted egofest anymore. Watch whatever happens rest on your head, Roland...."
A habit to deny
it's struggling for appearance
just a way out.
You hold tight your portrait
but don't perceive its features,
so hollow and pale.
SWINDLE SHELLDRAKE: "This fucking place..."
Now, with even less(success)
try to resemble myself,
till my own image, that gleamed like a coin in the rain,
winds up being lost to me and falls into unconsciousness.
Or into the hands of someone else.
ROLAND RAITH: "I shouldn't have to be right about you".
The words ring in Swindle's mind as he leaves the paperwork on the table, standing to look over Roland. No words leave his lips, only the moment sinking in around him in the dark room. The pink of his hair begins to bleed down into a flowing river as the entire scene falls to a black screen, only Swindle's face remaining, covered by his hair and the weeping tears of pink. His head leans forward slowly. The grim bow of a man who would be put to the axe. The Guillotine. The Executioner's justice.
It's time to surrender
To yourself
Lay down your head now.
It's time to surrender
To yourself
Lay down your head now.
It's time to surrender
to yourself
Lay down your head now.
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---| P e r s p e c t i v e: T h e F i n a l |---
The dream-like, inky darkness fades and the bright river withdraw into the sound of a lone bird chirping, and the sunrise kissing over the cityscape. Now dressed with the leather jacket over his shoulders, Swindle faces away from the camera and climbs the steps up to the Prudential Center. Above him over the entrances is a long banner displaying the Project: Honor event.
Ether side is the stalwart defending champions. Arata and the Grand Championship on the left. MYOJIN with the X-Factor title on the right. Flashed with Gold and silver respectively behind them, the middle sees the pink backdrop of his own face between them. No gold to speak of.
He fiddles with something on his jacket, taking off one of the many pins that adorn the front side. Be it Proving Ground, a kraken, an infinity logo, an old JORMUNGANDR insignia...he removes one emblazoned with TETRAN KAI written upon it. Just as with the coin, he flicks it up into the air, and catches it in his grasp.
But, he then simply loosens his fingers, letting it fall to the ground
Swindle walks on towards the arena. While the camera pans down to see the now discarded pin on the ground, as a morning overcast looks to be rolling in.
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[6,388 words]