"Only enemies speak the truth; friends
and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty."
Stephen King
I'm telling you Joe. This will make you
feel better.
He's riding shotgun in a car with his
brother, being taken to God knows where. It's his birthday.
He would have happily forgotten it, had it not been for his
meddlesome brother.
I think we're a little old to be
celebrating birthdays, don't you?
Nah, we're not going gray yet. Never too
old to have fun.
I'm thirty-six now. I don't feel like
having fun.
The car pulls up to a restaurant, a
non-descript little place that you wouldn't be able to tell
apart from any other. JC is not thrilled.
I'm telling you, this will be nice. Two
brothers, hanging out, eating some good food. You'll like it.
Let's get this over with.
That's the spirit! I...I think.
JC runs his fingers through his clean, but
unkempt hair. He sighs.
If wrestling's so important to you, why
do you even care that all this other stuff is going south?
Because I had everything and I'm slowly
losing it all.
You still have me.
For now.
With that cheery attitude you'll never
enjoy yourself. Give it a break, will you? It's your
birthday!
The two open the doors and inside is a big
group of people waiting. JC doesn't know what to think. The
group yells surprise, and Eric claps his brother on the
back. JC fakes a weak smile.
Wow Eric...you shouldn't have. I mean
it. You really shouldn't have.
He goes and sits down at the front table
and sees Eric's friend Jack sitting across from
him...looking sedated.
Did you drug Jack?
It was the only way I could keep him
from going crazy.
You could have just not brought him.
Okay, it was cute before Joe but this
"I'm angry" thing is getting a tad old.
No one asked you to drag me out of the
house to this. I don't even know any of these people.
They're all your friends.
Well maybe if you didn't scare everyone
else off I wouldn't be the only one lef...
It happens so suddenly JC doesn't even
realize he did it. He strikes his own brother with a punch
that staggers him. Eric knows how to take a punch from when
he was in the business, so the blow doesn't hurt as much
physically as emotionally. JC reaches out.
Eric, I'm sorry I just...
Eric rubs his jaw and moves it around.
It'll probably bruise.
It's...it's okay. But I think you need
to leave.
Yeah. Probably.
JC turns around and walks out the door,
leaving a group of people he doesn't know along with the
only person that still cares. For now.
Whatever you may feel about FTF groups in the past, I assure
you we are nothing like that. I've tried to say this from
the beginning. Maybe the acronym means nothing to you, but
"Free the fans" is a cause I stand firmly behind. I remove
the cunning, conniving filth from this federation, or at
least shunt it down the card where it can't hurt the
company. None of you people ever listen to me. I warned the
OWF about Jesse Williams and Chase Johnson. Look what
happened to that federation. It's in the ground because I
got there too late. I warned this place about Phoenix, and
now that Will's not getting his way any more he's lashing
out like an infant. He's used to having everything handed to
him. Ice Man's used to the same. I imagine that you, Draco,
are also in a similar position. How, exactly did you earn
this title shot anyway? You want to say I've had it handed
to me on a silver platter? No. I went undefeated and
unpinned in this company and clawed my way to the top. Who,
exactly, did you beat to put you in line for the top prize?
You know who I beat the very same night I won my World
title? Kevin Heat. In a grueling contest. Who got the title
shot? The Phoenix...for doing nothing. No, correction...he
got the shot for having his neck broken. I earned that belt,
and he stole my opportunity. I just stole it back.
Questioning my ability to fight makes me wonder if you've
watched a single damn match in my career. I won Wargames
with a grade three concussion. I retained my World title and
won the tag team titles in the same night. I am the
longest-reigning World Champion and I've done it with my own
sweat and hard work. All Trevor Kent did was give me the
opportunity that Jack Sullivan refused to do. Kent opened
the door just a little so I could kick it in. I then vowed
that nothing would remove me from my perch. Not Legacy and
certainly not you. I don't need FTF. I don't need Trent
Steel. The only thing I need is my size 16 boot and my
technical prowess. That's something you lack, isn't it?
You see Draco you might not have taken time to step down
from your pedestal and watch my return to the top, but I've
watched you. I've watched you hold that Anarchy X title and
go through some "hellacious" battles. But that's just it.
You fight in hardcore matches. You fight with weapons. You
break the rules without abandon. Do you even know how to
wrestle? That's the name of the game. I question Trevor
Kent's sanity to even put on this match. He probably thinks
he's helping me by allowing me to be more violent but in
reality he's putting you in your element. One would think
I'd be at a distinct disadvantage. I'm not. I broke my neck
in a cage match. I broke my jaw diving off a ladder. I've
bled several times fighting in these types of matches early
in my career. I know how the game works. But I'm not playing
his game and I'm certainly not playing yours. You want to
use weapons. Try it. I'm going to break you down with my own
bare hands. Because that's all I need. Can you say the same?
If I were a joke, if I were such a non-challenge, someone
would have pinned me by now. My only losses since NLW
reopened have been in tag matches...tag matches where
someone else had to be pinned because they couldn't take me
down. If your friends couldn't put me down for a three
count, couldn't make me submit, how do you, Draco, someone
who has never been to the top, plan to succeed where they
failed? The answer is simple: You won't. Draco, you're going
to see just how hard I hit. I am the best of all my fellow
FTF members without any of their weaknesses. That's why I'm
the World champ and they are not. That's why I'm at the top
and you are not. I am just simply better.
If I am getting soft, it's time to put an end to it.
I'll start by putting an end to your career.
Mom, that's JC! Hey JC! Draco's
gonna beat you!
He kicks some gravel at JC who just throws
up his arms in exasperation.
I'm sorry...I tell him not to watch the
stuff, it makes him violent.
He's not the only one.
She leads her child away and they head
inside. Eric comes out and sits next to his brother on the
bench.
Listen..
Okay. Maybe I shouldn't have dragged you
out into this situation and expected you to play nice.
What?
Eric is apologizing to JC. He feels the
moment is unreal.
I hit you harder than I thought.
Just trying to maintain the peace, bro.
Look, I've been down and my personal
life is as bad as my professional life is good. I'm reaching
a breaking point here.
I get that. And instead of being
supportive, I've just been trying to get my old brother
back. I remember when we used to party Joe. I remember when
we used to have fun. Heck man, the only way I'd ever get
back into the ring is for a run at the tag titles with you.
But ever since your neck injury and your time away back in
2006...you changed a lot.
I know. And I'm sorry...
Don't apologize. I'm starting to think
it's not even your fault. You've clearly got some
psychological issues and all of this stuff falling down on
your head now is just making it worse.
Probably, but I don't see how much I can
help that.
Well, I have an idea. But you're not
going to like it.
I'm not leaving the business. I still
have things to do.
That's not what I was going to say,
although that would probably help. Here.
Eric pulls a card from his wallet and
hands it to JC.
One of my friends in there goes to a
therapist to talk out issues. Maybe you should look her up.
You're joking, right?
I think you need someone to talk to, and
clearly I'm not it. You don't even know why you hit me, do
you?
Not really, no. I just...did it.
I rest my case. Call her tomorrow.
Shouldn't I call her now?
No. Because there's a cake in there
that's going to put our "pie vs cake" debate to rest and
make me the winner. Come on.
This time JC gets up and decides to go in.
Whether he knows the people or not, he still has his
brother. And maybe that's all he needs right now.
Draco, I don't care whether you worry about me or not.
Your concerns are inconsequential. You see the only thing
that I wonder is how much of an example to make you. Do I
simply beat you and leave it at that, or do I stage a live
massacre for the world to see? These are the things I think
about. Because this title is everything to me, and you're
trying to steal it. You want to steal my belt, steal my
glory, steal my time. You want to ruin what I've created.
This paradise. This organization that I have saved. You're
trying to ruin all that I've worked for. That's why an
example has to be made. Challenges are fun. I love
competition. I always have. We could have had an epic
encounter in that ring. But you didn't want it that way, did
you? No, you're on some holier-than-thou, self-righteous
crusade to punish us FTF sinners for our crimes against the
NLW, is that right? Look around you, Draco. I have cured the
NLW of its disease, its cancer. With JC at the top, the NLW
will thrive in ways it never has before. Phoenix couldn't
see it, Ice Man couldn't see it, and Jack Sullivan couldn't
see it. Look what has happened to them. They stood in the
way of progress. They stood in the way of change.
JC sits outside the restaurant, sitting
down on a bench. A woman walks by with a child, a boy not
much older than four.