Supreme Championship Wrestling

Full Version: The One vs. “Burned in Blood” Konrad Raab
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Underground Rules

2 RP Limit for singles

3500 word max per RP

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Wednesday, January 18, 2023
{PROMO}

The world witnessed its first complete surprise of the New Year, 2023, as Adam Allocco, Kimberly Williams, and The One, the collective group who referred to themselves as the "Strange Bedfellows" were able to put their differences and complete personality clashes aside to do something that nobody expected...

The threesome won the SCW 2023 Trios Tournament!

It was a moment that, going into the match, The One had many doubts about.  She had seen Adam and Kimberly, in her eyes, completely not taking what was ahead of them seriously and almost felt betrayed.  She felt that she had been used to hype up for their first match, and the same wasn't being done for the others in the subsequent matches.  But she was proven wrong.  She was shown that the pair she was teamed with, who are more "veteran" in SCW than she, were trustworthy to bring their A game, and do what was necessary to end up winning two cruicial matches in one night.

Now it brings on a lot of questions... What will The One do, as the renegade and apparent anarchist to SCW's top tier of talent, do with her contract?  Will she be quick, be maniacle, or decide to throw her opponent a curve ball and not alert them to her plans before they're already in play?  Regardless, she isn't someone who is predictable, and this level of "power" in her hands, creates an entire new level of unpredictability.

And moving forward, this is the feeling she wanted to instill in the entire locker room, as well as those who "call the shots," in Supreme Championship Wrestling...

Throughout my entire life, I have been doubted.  I have been looked at as an outcast, a weak link, and someone who didn't fit the mold that she was destined to fit.  I was also looked at as someone who was never going to be a "force" to be reckoned with in any forms of physical life.  I would never be able to win a fight.  I would never be able to step up and take control of a situation.  I was always the wallflower.  I was that person you forgot existed because I was standing in the corner, and easily forgettable.

The man I ook the title of The One from, he even thought it, and laughed at the idea that someone as "weak and feeble" as I, would ever amount to anything that could usurp his power.

Supreme Championship Wrestling looked at me, alongside Kimberly Williams and Adam Allocco, and again, thought that I would be the reason that the team came to a screeching halt, in achieving the goal of garnering the ultimate "Golden Ticket" in professional wrestling.  Nobody looked at me like someone who could contribute.  Nobody, even I believe my team, thought I would be even remotely beneficial to the success of the team...

I was, as always, expected to be the failure... The reason we didn't succeed... The walking eye-roll that talked a big game...

The One smirks.

The unpredictability of who I am, what I do, and everything I accomplish is EXACTLY what has made me the person I am today, and has given me the reputation that I carry with me as I walk through life day-in and day-out.  The idea that nobody knows what I am going to do, how I am going to do it, who I am going to do it to, it has defined who The One is both in SCW and outside as well.  It has been my trump card.  It has been my calling card.

It has been ME!

And right now, as I stand here with SCW's favorite term, an "Ultimate Opportunity," I know everyone is sitting there going, "What is The One going to do with this opportunity?"  And it's that question that makes this "Golden Ticket" so much more valuable than any championship, any singular accolade, any ANYTHING that most come into SCW with the goal of achieving.  This chance, this opportunity, to do as I did to that fucker in the past, who I took the title of The One from, is something that I get to make ALL of the decisions to.  I get the ability to decided the when, the where, the what, the how, and most importantly, the WHO, when it comes to the "cashing in" of my rightful contract for ANYTHING I want or desire.

But I'm going to be blunt...

I'm going to be honest...

I'm not going to be like others who think of this as a shortcut...

Because the truth is, right now, I have no idea what my plan is for this contract.  I have no idea how I am going to use it, and how it will benefit my ultimate goal here best.  Why don't I know?  Because I didn't think ahead.  I didn't plan like it was a foregone conclusion.  I waited until it was official to even let the TRUE idea enter my mind.  Sure I jokingly made references to outrageous matches I could make, but this is about more than just me.  This is about my goald, plans, desires, and LEGACY I want to leave on Supreme Championship Wrestling.  The implications for this are far greater than anything I could have imagined.  Hell, this is bigger than if I had won Taking Hold of the Flame and somehow been in the main event at Rise to Greatness.  This is a BLANK... FUCKING... CHECK... This is my chance to do ANYTHING... To let SCW, as a WHOLE, live at my whim, and whomever I choose to include, they're subject to whatever I think of as well...

So to just put an "ease" to the question floating... The One doesn't know what she plans to do with her Trios Contract... And if you want my mentality right now... It's not in the forefront of my mind, either...

Now I know that will make a lot of you cringe.  I know a lot of you out there will be annoyed that I didn't think ahead and come up with some grand idea, like a gauntlet match for every title, a pajama party, or a pillow fight for the World Title.  But the fact is, SCW doesn't stop existing once the Trios Tournament ends.  SCW doesn't stop acting when the winners are declared.  So I am not going to subject myself to putting the cart before the horse when I don't even know if the horse has been bridled up.  I don't know where this contract is going to provide me the most "value" yet.

So my goal is to wait...

My goal isn't to make the first move...

Because SCW doesn't stop for me, NOW management has to decide where they view The One...

Management has to decide if I am to be taken seriously...

So the fact is, because I have what I have, I now have a lot of power and now I can put it in the hands of others to help me see where they view my worthiness.  They could, outright, see this is as a big moment.  They could provide me with a path to things I don't have to use this contract for.  Or they could be scared for what I am going to do, and begin to make rash decisions.  Regardless, this contract is my desire to make the changes at the TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN that I have been CLEAR that has been my focus.  So the bosses... They get to make the next move in this game of chess...

And I won't lie... Heh... Their next move is quite intriguing...

The One runs her hands through her hair, pulling it back, as if she was going to put it in a ponytail, but not.

You see, the bosses have thrown me into an Underground Rules match, and it's something I don't quite know how to interpret, and I'm not reading into.  I'm not stupid.  I know they heard my thoughts on the brutality of the Underground Division, and how I didn't see myself quite fitting with the mold.  But that was right after THE most brutal match of my entire, short, wrestling career.  Since then, I've had time to watch and reflect on what the Underground represents, and how it's not just about brutality, blood, guts, and violence.  Instead, it's about the purest form of unpredictability and how one...

The One pauses, and smirks.

Unpredictability... That seems like a term that has made its presence known several times tonight, am I right?  Maybe the Underground is somewhere that The One can thrive because of the simple fact that it's all about how unpredictable you can be with your opponent.  As I said, it's not defined by violence, unless that's your plan.  It's a place that opens its doors to WHATEVER you want to bring to it, in order to win.  It's about the psychology, and not just the brutality.  It's about who can benefit by being more unpredictable to their opposition, that defines the Underground.

There are no rules...

You don't have to be crazy...

You don't have to be evil...

You just have to outwit and pull out the stops your opponent didn't believe you would or could!

And going into Breakdown, going into my next DIRECT focal point, that is where I plan to put my focus.  It's with a man named Konrad Raab, who I put all of my decision making into, and not into a contract that, I have plenty of time, to make a move on.  Whereas, I have mere days before I walk into a match of unpredictability with someone who seems to love to refer to himself as "Burned in Blood."  Now on the surface, how?  How is anyone burned in blood?  I haven't seen blood to be flammable.  I haven't seen blood to be something people use to ignite a bonfire, when they don't have a quick starter.

So what is "Burned in Blood," Konrad?

I'll tell you what it is, sir.  And I won't mince words.  It's a lot like being The One.  It's a nomenclature.  It's a name.  It's something that you're known as, but in the grand scheme of things means nothing.  What is "Burned in Blood?"  What is "The One?"  They're names that hide our true identities, but unlike with me, you have your name that the world knows.  You have your identity BESTOWED upon you.  I don't have that.  But I have a title.  I have a nickname.  And it's one that sound menacing and sounds very impressive.  Much like "Burned in Blood."

You see, Konrad, you and I, we aren't much different from one another.  You and I, in fact, are more alike than you probably realize.  We have names that hide who we are.  You've always had a nickname.  You've always had something to be known as, besides just "Konrad Raab."  So people have looked at you as whatever the nickname you throw out there is.  It's a persona.  It's a moniker.  It's an identity.  But it's not who you are.  It's not who the real Konrad Raab actually is.  It's like me... I'm just "The One," to the world.  Nothing more, nothing less.  I'm a nickname.  A moniker.  A front.  And that's what you boast yourself to be as well.  And I get that, man... You, like me, keep the real you hidden.  So we use monikers.  We use them to drive our PRESENT, but that's where our differences come to pass...

When I became The One, it was in the past.  It was the past that left me how I am now.  The present, SCW, people, et cetera, none of that has changed the fact that I am The One.  You on the other hand, you let your present affect you like its a new pair of underwear you're putting on.  You're changing monikers, changing nicknames, changing personas, all to try and revamp who Konrad Raab is.  Rather than embracing who YOU are, you have tried to invent a new version of who you want people to THINK you are.  And to a degree, when I became The One, I had to do the same thing, but I stayed true to it.  I remained true to who I was before, who I was in the moment, and who I became.

I see through your changes...

I see through your reinventions...

You're still Konrad Raab...

You're no different than you were when you joined SCW, minus the fact that you are more experienced in the organization...

But I see your soul, Konrad.  I see your actual personality.  I see who you actually are.  I know that the past defines who you can be today, but you trend to your present defining your present, and you're moving goalposts, swerving to try to be in the "right lane" of whatever you think you're supposed to be today.  Yet... You're coming up short.  You're just trying to come up with a new name, a new persona, a new reason for people to take you serious, and I see this and am planning to use the rules of the Underground to exploit everything about this part of your personality!

You see, I don't fear blood.  I may not like it, but I don't fear it.  You may embrace it, but that's you, today.  Not you when you first got here.  So that means it's just who you are representing today.  So I don't fear a man who can't just be honest with who he is.  I will never fear a man who decides on different names to try and make them more believable.

Nothing is more beileievable than one's self!  And you fear that about yourself, Konrad...

With the rules of the Underground, I will do everything in my power to bring you back to the REAL reality.  Why?  Because right now you live in a false world, and I believe you have a lot of promise in who you could legitimately become.  So I am going to do anything I can fathom, because the Underground doesn't restrict me, to knock these false personas out of you and bring the real Konrad Raab to SCW, so maybe he becomes the future, and not just someone who everyone remembers as a different nickname.  You don't need a nickname... And if I have to beat that mentality into you, and do things that may be outside of my desired wheelhouse in order to make you accept that reality doesn't require a name.  It's the same reality I'm working to accept, but for me, I have to earn it.  I have to prove myself.  You... You've proven to be a mainstay in SCW.

So I hope that by beating you, within an inch of your life, if necessary, I will free you of that mental block you've created for yourself.  I will hopefully create the Konrad Raab who doesn't have to live in this self-inflicted destructive world, but grow and become something bigger, better, and superior to this nicknamed shell of a human being that he has defined himself as.

Face it... The One is going to re-enter the Underground.  She's going to go into a place she flat out said she didn't fit.  But what she is going to do is something for the greater good.  She's going to bring out an SCW staple, who could represent the future of SCW, as themselves, and not like the past has suggested is necessary.  By any means necessary, once the smoke clears, once the blood is out of your eyes long enough to see straight, not only will The One be standing tall, but SCW will see a new Konrad Raab, that could mark the future of its roster, and mark another phase in my ultimate goal of bring SCW back to its foundation, and its greatness, not governed by a caste system or elitism...

Instead it'll be governed by life... Death... Taxes... AND THE ONE!

As per her usual, she flips her hood up on her hoodie, with the breath creating steam in the light of the night, and disappears into the shadows, making a bold statement about her opponent, who has become one of SCW's staples over the years.
Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Sunday 13th November. (Off-Camera)

Today, I saw the bridge broken in pieces; half of it got broken, preventing many people from going to the other side to get to specific destinations. Over the last few days, I've been busy building a lot of tents and talking to more residents about the situation that happened over the previous three months in Sindh. Still, I arrived in Gilgit-Baltistan to fix a bridge known as Hassanabad. It makes me sick that I'm the only person outside of Pakistan willing to help, more so how much there is to be fixed.

I've already decided to come back here during the Christmas holidays because things are so bad here. I wish I could've come earlier, but Wrestling and NASCAR got in the way of that. I'm here now, so that's what matters. I have rescued a few more people since I came here and provided them with the food they are receiving from America because it's all from me. Of course, they get fresh water supplies as well.

That's how much I take climate change seriously and for me to take part along with five hundred other workers and helpers who spoke English of Ajimal and Mohammed, mainly when translating the Pakistani language from the homeless people in Sindh city. I had to go to other areas of the flooded parts of Pakistan for the next few days.

But this was a big task as everyone huddled around and went into a big team meeting with Ajimal and Mohammed, translating everything the leader of the project going by the name of Hashim, said. It would be a lot of work, especially when we needed to use moving cranes, floating cranes, bridge booms and hydro platforms to get under the bridge. Hashim told people to stay at certain ends, but regarding me, Mohammed and Ajimal, Hashim told us to go to the other side.

We had to go on the boat to the other side and start to work on the build. The equipment to build it was on the other side already, steel metal pipes for constructing the bridge that will never be broken as glaciers that held the bridge completely collapsed and wasn't doable. Many of us went on a large boat to the other side, and we started building.

Mohammed: "It takes a huge amount of guts to do a lot of work you've done back in Sindh, but to do this as well, we can't admire that enough."

Ajimal: "I still can't believe you're here from Germany to take this massive job."

Konrad Raab: "Beats being at home and only caring about myself, that's for sure. I can't do this in the wrestling world. I got trashed and not cared about when I thought of others and disliked them."

I had to be careful with words. I was always angry with wrestlers for treating me like a piece of shit, but I nearly swore, and I had to keep that under control, considering how difficult it was for me to do that due to my Tourette's Syndrome that I couldn't stop swearing. I had to take deep breaths to avoid using it because I showed respect to the Muslim community. So we all got a piece of metal pipes and placed them at the start of the bridge.

Mohammed: "It shows you want to help. I understand it must not be easy to be a professional wrestler to be nice to everyone, but I think something triggers you to be nasty, and from what I've seen, you're not a bad guy."

Konrad Raab: "I'm only an asshole to wrestlers, not non-wrestlers outside the ring. I can't stand wrestlers. Especially they would find me helping you guys build a bridge, one big joke like wrestlers take about Climate Change. I'd do anything to help more than give you guys money. I decided something last night about what I'm going to do for Christmas."

Ajimal: "What's that?"

Konrad Raab: "I'm coming back here during Christmas to help you guys because you need it."

Mohammed: "Wow, you're a nice guy. If only wrestlers saw that in you."

Konrad Raab: "Yeah, but they don't get it. I have nothing in common with them. It's hard to say words because I have to respect this country. So, not using swear words is hard; I got Tourette's Syndrome. I'm always angry, but instead of angry, I felt sad when I came here and cried my eyes out on Thursday at the hotel."

I knew I had to continue working, and I did for a bit, even if I was emotionally torn up by the damage the weather had caused. Although this case was the heat, Pakistan has gone through such hard times lately and being here to rebuild this bridge means more than many people go through. I have played with kids here for an hour a day, but I wish there were more hours to play with them and build things.

I was sweating a lot with this heat, and I could understand why the glaciers fell apart. I need to withstand the heat just for the sake of the people and get this bridge done so people can walk across the bridge to get to and from places. The project's leader saw that the number of metal pipes we placed on the bridge was arduous to hold into place and construct. It was a hard job, but one needed doing. I couldn't imagine how America, when the bridge collapsed in the flooding, could do this such hard work.

Ajimal: "I never thought you were an emotional guy; you don't seem like it."

Konrad Raab: "I'm very emotional, especially regarding things like this. I never built bridges in my life, so I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing it to benefit the country, to help Pakistanis get across the bridge to get to and from places."

Mohammed: "Along with getting to buy food and drink as well. Where we are, many shops would benefit a lot of people."

Ajimal: "I feel people don't understand you because of your strong German accent. We know that feeling when it comes to speaking in English. Nobody understands us and what we need help with."

Konrad Raab: "That's most likely why you don't get help. Sickens me, to be honest."

I wanted to tell them what I had planned back in Germany regarding other nationalities in wrestling getting ignored. I've noticed that only Americans, Canadians, British, Japanese and Australians get into the sport. I'm going to tell them that we had floating cranes, bridge booms and hydro platforms that just arrived to start from the bottom of the bridge building.

Konrad Raab: "Even when I noticed the nationality of wrestlers coming in, it's all from the English-speaking countries. You barely get countries like here, Germany, France, Italy, and China, just countries that would benefit the sport that no wrestler can be bothered to get things going in those countries to inspire. But that's changing sooner than later; everyone, but UK, American, Canadian, Australian and Japanese wrestlers, can come to my and my twin brother's wrestling and racing school. We will give a chance to wrestlers and even car racers from countries that wrestling and car racing aren't well known in."

Ajimal: "If I didn't lose the strength, I would love to be a professional wrestler, but it's so much money, and we'd have to go to Saudi or India to get there."

Konrad Raab: "We will cater to Pakistan. I mean, a few kids here did want to be wrestlers. Anyway, I hope my being here will inspire people to be wrestlers because of the work I've done here."

Mohammed: "You're a NASCAR driver, too, from my discovery."

Konrad Raab: "That I am, and that's going to go farther than what I've done this year. I'm going to be a NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season title contender. Won a few races this year. But my job now is getting this bridge fixed."

It would take a lot of hours to get this fixed, especially since we would have to get breaks here and there, but I didn't want to break, not even to eat lunch. I came to help, and sure, I talked about wrestling, but I had to tell them my plan, and they liked it. I would welcome any Pakistani person, male or female, if they ever wanted to become professional wrestlers. However, I got quite a bit of attention from other workers, well, ones who could understand English which was few.

Hashim told me to go on the floating crane by Hashim via Ajimal translation. We stopped and let the other workers build the bridge on land. We climbed up, and Ajimal took the controls while I was the guy because they saw I could be better at climbing; while wearing a hard hat, I put the metal pieces together with Ajimal's help. I got right under, seeing the damage of how the bridge broke into pieces.

Three hours into the job, some parts were coming together, and some bits were built, but still had a long way to go, and part of me thought that it would take more than just today to reconstruct this critical bridge. Hashim saw I was better off being on the crane ladder to put pieces together; it wasn't anything different from climbing wrestling ladders; only the machine on the crane moves for you. Of course, I was given equipment to put things together, but this was an excellent job for me.

Ajimal: "Hashim said you've done a lot for us today with the bridge and knew you would be good going on the crane on a ladder to fix things."

Konrad Raab: "He must've known about me being a wrestler then. It's no different from climbing ladders, just a lot taller, is all."

We did this all day, and even if I didn't eat lunch, I didn't care because I wanted to help and always felt better after I had. It got dark at five in the evening when Hashim told us to get off the crane, and it was half done. It took eight long hours to get where we are with the bridge, knowing we couldn't complete it today as much as I wanted to. Hashim praised us, or it seemed like it was, as he patted my shoulder when we returned to where we needed to be.

Mohammed: "I agree; you've done a great job with the bridge building. We love your being a part of the team and being able to know you and doing this job."

Konrad Raab: "Climate Change is my passion, and I can go without food in a good cause like this to improve lives. I quite enjoyed the hard work of rebuilding this incredible bridge. It's a shame I have to go to other parts of Pakistan tomorrow, but if the bridge isn't built when I come back here for Christmas, I will be back to help."

Ajimal: "We'd love that, and Hashim said you're more than welcome anytime to come back and help finish off the bridge if we don't get it done in time."

Konrad Raab: "Hopefully, with help from all of us and the workers here and on the other side, it will get rebuilt quickly, and you won't need me for the task. I'm exhausted; better get back to the hotel in Islamabad to get some rest and something to eat."

Mohammed: "Thank you once again for helping these guys. We'll come to other places in Pakistan with you tomorrow to help because we're inspired to help more parts of Pakistan cos of you. See you tomorrow."

I nodded as the boat picked me up since everything was flooded entirely to go by car to go halfway and then get the car straight back to Islamabad to get something to eat and honestly, think how hard it was for me not to swear today. Still, I had to go by the laws here and saying bad words could land me in trouble. I was sweaty from the work I had to do with the bridge rebuilding, so I got in the shower before ordering some food and then headed straight to bed.

------------------------------------------------------------

Austin, Texas. Monday 16th January (Off-Camera)

It's been a long damn time since I got into a NASCAR car again, but it was a request from Brad, who wanted me to get comfortable with doing road courses, although I had one more day to test and then doing NASCAR photo shoots and a video for the match on Wednesday. It was one busy week, so I got the chance to relax in my motorhome after doing so many laps. Brad said I did slightly better but still need more time on road course racing. Luckily I have tomorrow for that. However, as I ate pasta with vegan chicken, I watched a film called Backdraft, where people burn homes on fire. It's something I've gotten addicted to the last few weeks now.

I may end up going with Burned In Blood nickname for life because I didn't want to be associated with Selena and Deanna Frost with the Ice nickname anymore. I smirked as I got the mace I always carry, but with a few modifications. Instead of a grey steel metal pipe, I got in a red steel pipe shaped like a fire. I loved the backdraft film, and as I watched it, I cleared my throat, not wanting to take my eye off the TV.

Konrad Raab: "Nobody in SCW knows what's coming for them, especially that fucking bitch, Kandis. She has no clue whatsoever about me wanting to fucking burn her. But what I said on Breakdown last week, I fucking meant it. I'm now dreaming about burning things down and seeing people drip with blood and burns all over the place."

I smirked as I talked to myself since I rarely ever got alone time. It was a nice change as my loved one was at college, studying for the NASCAR engineering and spotter course, and everyone else was busy. But I had intense dreams of blood and fire of buildings being burnt down, especially watching an arsonist doing so.

Konrad Raab: "That guy is what I will end up being. What Kayla or Kim did was the best part of the show; I loved seeing CHBK's house on fire. How I masturbated on the excitement I got from watching it burn to the ground. How I dream of trapping Kandis in her own home and getting her to be fucking burnt. Or even better, I lock down the Nationwide arena and burn everyone in it, even myself, since I embrace that shit, just like this dude who starts fires and causes arson."

I licked my lips as I got excited about the idea last week I made in my mind, although I wish I were facing Kandis instead of Lucy One, which I called her recently because I don't buy the name The One when it's full of bullshit when nobody believes in her fucking crap. I certainly don't believe it's the only name she has. But it should be Kandis, not The One, who isn't at the top of my targets. I banged my fist on the table.

Konrad Raab: "I want everyone to feel the pain I go through every fucking day of the flames and the blood; it's a terrible combination to have, but at the same time, a much stronger and deadly version of me and my vision for what I deemed to be hell. I want to burn Nationwide arena on Thursday to send a goddamn message and maybe burn Kandis too. Of course, that fucking idiot Reginald Dampshaw had no business with me, but I'll burn his ass too, leaving him and Kandis in their blood with their bodies of burns too."

I laughed like a maniac as the mace wasn't the only weapon I'll have with me anymore. I pulled out of my bag a specially designed fire and blood lighter, and I've not tested it yet, but that will come later on, how deadly the thing will be. I enjoyed every minute as I rocked back and forth on the sofa, playing with my hands, pretending my hands were on fire.

Konrad Raab: "I would love if my hands not only cause people to bleed but to start fires too. I guess I've always thrown punches like I was on fire. I thought about putting red as my hair dye colour to make it as seem I'm in love with flames. Besides, as I said, it will make people see the new me. Not the idiot people step up to, but one who they will fear, one they will never want to mess with. I've ended multiple careers of professional wrestlers, but I want more than that. Do I want the power of SCW? Yes, the more I thought about it, honestly. Because no top guy wants to face me, and if I do what I plan to do, maybe they'll beat the shit out of me, cause me to bleed and cause burns."

I loved being on my own and talking about things I couldn't say, considering The One will be my focus when I quickly go to Chicago on Wednesday and do a video for the match. I closed my eyes for a bit, envisioning the dream I had last night of seeing flames at Nationwide arena with me using gasoline all over the building before lighting it on fire.

Konrad Raab: "I hate every single person in that damn arena, and nobody is going to stop me, and that's the thing that makes me so deadly, even more so than Xander, who always had a manager with him to stop him from doing shit, but no one will stop me. I will trigger fires on my own with Reginald Dampshaw and Kandis in the same fucking room. After the match against The One, SCW can say goodbye to their stupid boring wrestling, where I will be the talk of the town, where everyone will fear me and see me for what I truly am, a psychotic, evil, fire-loving bastard. An arsonist. Just like my dad planned to do with me when I was ten years old, to burn me alive in his home, only I will do it much bigger, even more effectively than when Giovanni did it. You wait and see motherfuckers."

I laughed again evilly as I flickered the lighter more than once, even placing the flame on my skin as I loved the pain I felt. I loved that burns can make anyone bleed, even myself. If someone were to burn me, I wouldn't be screaming; I would laugh and enjoy it. Everyone else, however, especially that big ass bitch and an unknown overrated bastard, will cry and hate me more than ever. I will make sure I will face Kandis next time I wrestle in the ring, whether she's champion or not. The film finished, and I turned the TV off and went straight to sleep for the next day of NASCAR testing work to improve road course racing.
{NUMBERS: Chapter 1}

Well, she's still gone.  Still out of my grasp and protection.  Once again under the presumed rule of The Prophets, and there isn't anything I know what or how to do immediately to change it.  I can't barge in.  I can't go to her quarters.  I know she's not where she was when I ran the place.

The fact is, I know nothing...

Since finding out that she had been taken hostage, again, by The Compound, and most likely by the man who preceeded me, I have been feeling completely lost.  I have felt like a failure.  I have felt like I don't know what to do or where to turn, and it led me to going in a direction I never would have thought to be right or trustworthy.  More importantly, It led me down a path that could lead me to a life that I end up leading the rest of my life, all for the safety of another.

And it makes me question, is she worth it?  Is The Oracle truly that being in life where I am sworn to protect at all costs, including anything selfish or beneficial to myself?  It's where I stand nowadays, wandering aimlessly, still thinking about that night.  I think about the fact that my one confidant, the one person, the one FRIEND, the one person who I felt loved me like family, felt like she turned on me because it was her parents who allowed The Oracle to be captured and taken from, what I was to believe, was our safe haven.  Was Hailey in on it?  Was she truly part of the bigger picture to make me look like the horse's ass of everything?  Did she set me up?  Or was it truly just her parents, and their selfishness, like mine, to live on the proverbial "high horse" at The Compound, and be so easily bribed and manipulated?

None of this, not one little iota, did I know an answer to...

It's why I went to that airport... It's why my shoulders brushed with APPARENT strangers... It's why I was willing to sell my soul that day, for the hopeful safety of The Oracle, and in that moment, nobody knew, nobody was aware, but the fields ere being tilled so the seeds could be planted.

This whole nightmare of a situation, which I had hoped to avoid, was playing out piece by piece in front of me, moment by moment, and lingering in every thought and memory that that I had.  Nobody could stop it.  Nobody could change it.  Nobody even KNEW about it, but yet it was there.  I had sold my soul, given up everything, and all for The Oracle.  But was I some hero?  Was I some antihero?  Was I some villain turned good guy?  I didn't know nor did I care.  I knew what I had done and I knew it was right at the time and in the moment.  I knew that it had gotten to the point where things needed to be elevated to a level that I, alone, could not reach, and thankfully, someone took me as a credible enough source to accept it as a real lead, and run with it.

But like I said... It all lingered...

I didn't know where to go next.  I didn't have anywhere to turn to.  Everywhere that I would have normally searched for answers, and everywhere I would have turned for guidance was apparently gone in the blink of an eye.  I was alone.  I was on a journey where all that was in front of me, or behind me was the sound of the wind and nature, and not a soul in sight.  But with that feeling, I was still on MY PATH, MY JOURNEY, MY GOAL, MY COMMITMENT, and honestly, MY FUCKING PURPOSE, to finding The Oracle, saving her, and hoping that it led to the discovery of who I was, and righting the personal ship of life that I had, effectively, laid aground, on a deserted island, in the middle of only God knows where.


The border is obvious to The One.  A river that marked the spot she drove across, thinking she was freeing The Oracle from the grasp of The Prophets.  But in reality, it's just that, a river.  Something made by nature, and given a "border" by humanity.  Something that, in reality, is just there because of how the Earth formed.

This reality hasn't stopped The One, however.  She looks at the river, effectively dividing the Midwestern town into halves by county, as her 43rd Parallel... Her "Line of Demarcation..." Her personal DMZ...

It's this river that marks the spot where The Oracle was under her parents thumb, and free.  One simple river, yet marking freedom for a young girl who had been abused for so long.

This river has been a staging point for The One for several days.  She knows her presence is known on the other banks.  She knows that The Prophets are aware she is standing opposition to them, pacing back and forth, nightly, trying to come up with her next steps.  She knows that she's being watched and she doesn't care.  She also knows they don't dare to do anything because of the jurisdiction differences, and the fact she stands in a place where The Prophets and The Compound hold no power.  But it doesn't stop her mind from racing.  It doesn't prevent her from trying to figure out what she needs to do next.

The One, her mind is fixated on the idea of getting to the other side, getting back to The Compound, and saving The Oracle once again, but she realizes that it will only come with a plan, and one that can be executed with surveillance far greater than it's ever been.

So she paces...

Night after night...

She doesn't hide her existence from those who watch her because she wants them to know her mind is plotting her next move, and to have them constantly guessing what it could be.  So she paces in plain sight.  She makes her presence felt.  She will sit and stare across the river, seeing reflections of scopes and headlights turning off, and wanting to be sure they know they are as well known to her, as she is to them.

But the reality of being this "open" to those watching creates another potential flaw in the planning stage.  Because one night, as she paces, staring down the cavalry that is awaiting her attempt to cross the bridge, there is rustling in the grass and bushes behind her, an uncommon occurrence for this part of the river's edge.  And as she turns around, it's a face she didn't expect making the noise, as a disheveled Hailey appears in the moonlight, looking The One dead in the eye.

The One: You...

Hailey: Before you say anything, I...

The One cuts her off.

The One: Shut up... Why are you here?

Hailey: I'm here because you were right.  This was all my fault.  This was me making the biggest fucking mistake, and me doing, like you said, and handling it... My parents, they don't know where I am.  My brother, he doesn't know where I am.  My phone, it's in a ditch by my house, and I'be been walking, this whole way, trying to find you... I figured you wouldn't crossover until you had a plan, and I hoped I could make it here before you did.

The One: You knew...

Hailey: I didn't... I didn't know anything from them.  My brother, he didn't either, it's why he called us.  He believed in her safety.  I believed in it, and I was FUCKING wrong, ok?!  I get it!

The One looks away, snarling.

Hailey: I promise... I took you under my wing for a reason...

The One snaps back.

The One: YEAH YOUR REASON!  WHAT ABOUT MINE?!  I TOOK THE OATH, AND DAMMIT YOU'RE THE ONE WHO MADE ME BELIEVE AN OATH WAS WORTH STICKING BY!

Hailey is quick to fire back.

Hailey: WHICH IS WHY I WILL MAINTAIN MY FUCKING INNOCENCE UNTIL THE DAY I DIE!  BECAUSE I WAS NOT A PART OF THEIR FUCKING PLAN!  WE... WE rushed and it left too many breadcrumbs for that motherfuker to find her, and my parents only fucking care about themselves.  They don't care about my brother or me.  They want their sexcapades... So FUCK YOU for thinking I'm one of them!  You and I bonded because we both saw the fucking TRUTH.  And if you can't believe in me, if you can't love me like I love you like family, then fuck this, The Oracle can deal with it and I'll walk away...

The One clinches her fists, and begins to pace heavily.

The One: ... B... But how?!  How did you not know this was going to fucking happen?!  They're YOU'RE FAMILY!  Why should I believe a fucking WORD you are saying right now?  Huh?  Seriously?!

It's at this point The Oracle's brother steps out from the same shadows as Hailey did.

Brother of The Oracle: Because I'm here, too...

The One freezes.

Brother of The Oracle: I'll be honest... You can trust her.  I trust her, too.  Over all of this time, I saw what my sister meant to you both.  I saw what you did to keep safe.  I didn't believe it at the time, but I believe you are the only ones who can save her now.

The One: But... You were captured, too?!

Brother of The Oracle: They tried to get me, but I fought back.  Once they realized I wasn't an easy target, they just took my sister.  That's when I went ino hiding, and saw you both come back, saw the whole encounter with her parents, and then when you left, I saw how Hailey handled her parents.  That's when her brother came out and stood by her side, and they were cornered.  It brought me out of hiding to side with them, and her family caved.  They gave us money, they gave us information, they gave us everything, and that's when I told Hailey we needed to find you ASAP.  You proved yourself... You saved US once, and I believe you can save my sister again.  If you pulled what you did with us at The Compound, I can't believe that you don't have something...

Hailey steps forward.

Hailey: He's right.  We know you have to have something up your sleeve...

The One: Yeah, and that's neither here, nor there.  He just said your parents gave y'all everything, including money.  Money can sure buy a lot, and because of that it buys the fact I don't know WHO I trust anymore...

Brother of The Oracle: Then believe the fact I'd throw it all at your feet.  Hailey has nothing.  I have it all right here...

The brother pulls out the wad of cash used to bribe Hailey's parents into giving up The Oracle, and he throws it down at The One's feet.

Brother of The Oracle: That's more money than I've ever held, even with those two being my parents.  You want money to prove it... Hailey doesn't have any of it... And you can look at that bundle and tell it's from them...

The One sees the bundle, and recognizes it as how The Prophets used to payoff people, rather than in bricks of bills.  They would do it in rolls of cash and make the person count it out to ensure there was no dye packets inside.  The One growls.

The One: Man... I don't know who to believe anymore!  Fuck I don't know why I should believe ANYONE and not just go on my own?  I mean, why shouldn't I just believe you're both scamming me like everyone else has used me in the past, huh?

The brother approaches The One.

Brother of The Oracle: You remember when you sprung us?  I didn't believe you.  I was against you.  I thoguht you were only there to abuse my sister and take her life slowly like my parents.  You freed us.  You gave us a place you legitimately felt we were safe.  Greed makes people do dumb things.  Hailey, she wasn't greedy.  Her parents were.  I wasn't greedy, either.  I just want my sister safe and free of everyone who wants to harm her.  And that's you're fight as well, isn't it?

The One looks down, right as her phone begins to ring.  Seeing the caller ID she turns away from the two and walks further away before answering.

The One: Talk to me...

Voice: We;ve verified it's legitimate...

The One: Was there a doubt?

Voice: Of course there was.  The deal is officially on the table, now...

The One: Don't act yet...

Voice: Why?

The One: I may be able to make this easier on you and your team, and everyone else as well..

Voice: How?

The One: I'll explain later, but the deal is accepted...

Voice: No... There is no deal until you divulge everything...

The One: You have what you need.  I've shown you I'm willing to cooperate.  Now let me organize the rest because it'll just make our lives a little easier, OK?

Voice: Answer me, or no deal...

The One: Trust me, or I can have everything erased, that you have.  I'm not stupid, and I have self-destruct mechanisms built in...

Voice: You don't get to drive the bargain, here...

The One: You're right.  I don't DRIVE, the bargain.  I AM the bargain.  I'll be in touch soon...

She hangs her phone up and turns back, approaching Hailey and the brother of The Oracle.

The One: So... Be honest with me... Are you guys being honest, and are you in?

Both Hailey and The Oracle's brother nod.

The One: Then you both do EXACTLY as I say going forward.  And both of you understand that there WILL be repercussions for ALL of us in this, not just one or two of us.  We aren't going to be fucking heroes.  But we're doing what is right, and getting what we want done, done.  We will end up being in the crosshairs of a lot of really pissed off people when all is said and done.  But... We do this all right, then we will bring the "Walls of Jericho" down with a blaze of hellfire and brimstone, the likes of which they would never imagine.  But the truth is, we have to sacrifice ourselves to achieve what we ultimately want...

The Oracle's Brother and Hailey look at one another, effectively considering the prospect without saying words.  The Brother nods without hesitation.  Hailey takes a deep breath, and slowly begins to nod herself, as they both turn back toward The One and affirm their intent to proceed.

The One: Good, because you had better be.  If not, a lot of lives will be far worse off than just mine or yours if The Oracle isn't freed.

Hailey: My only goal in this is finishing what I started, and earning my place in the annals of what is right...

Brother of The Oracle: And my only goal is saving my sister.  I'd die for her safety and freedom from our parents...

The One: Then that requires you trust WHAT I say and WHEN I say it.  What is going to happen will make us look, to some, like we sold our soul, but in the end history will write our final chapter...

The One turns back and stares across the river, again looking out toward the destination that she feels is where they will be headed next, while Hailey and the brother of the Oracle stand behind her, joining in looking in that direction.

Reluctance.  That is what I feel knowing Hailey and The Oracle's brother are back in the mix.  I don't know how much they can be trusted, but their adamant nature gives me a gut feeling it is legitimate.  I also know that, thankfully, I hold the cards.  I am the one who knows what the plan is, and what is going to happen.  And that's why I called the man back, and I told him the plans I had made, and finalized my "deal with the Devil."  My plans, involving Hailey and the brother, should make things even more decisive once finally executed.

Because one way or another... Help or no help... By hook or by crook... I will free The Oracle once and for all.  Not for my sake.  Not for my sanity.  To own up to a word I gave, and swore I would always, ALWAYS, uphold.
Barberville, Florida. Wednesday 18th January. (On-Camera.)

At the last minute, I knew with the testing I had the last two days, and with the NASCAR press conference and photo shoot stuff I had to do for the upcoming Cup and especially the Xfinity Series season, I had no time to go home and do a quick video. So I've decided to do it here at the race track instead. Well, after the sign-up for the DIRTcar racing Pro Late Models races over the weekend. 

I'm in my Pro Late Models car garage with a quick set up of flame wallpaper all over the garage and put a unique cover on my Pro Late Model car and my overalls to prevent them from having red paint covered on them. I had a wooden red-painted chair I brought with me. I had my mace and camera in front of me in a tight space, in the darkness, with my wrestling clothes on. There wouldn't be any cars going out on the track until six in the evening.

Konrad Raab: "Let me address something to Alexis Quinne first. First of all, you inspiring wrestlers are nothing but full of shit. Because nobody has said, you inspired them to be a wrestler. That's fake symphony friendship points. Everything she has ever said has been a lie. Even her Voyagers event is total shit as well. She's so fucking fake, and she's not as strong as she claims to be; she's weak, as I stated on the show. I'll leave things there because let's talk about someone who can't fucking decide who she wants to be, Lucy One."

Yes, I refuse to call this bitch The One because she isn't the one to beat, and even if I took the time to listen to her bullshit lost identity story, I wouldn't believe it, and she looked like a Lucy, so I went down that fucking road on this useless bitch.

Konrad Raab: "I fucking hate to do this, but you want to call me out for not being honest. You're not honest because I don't buy into you hiding your real name. After all, you're scared of people exposing the fake person you are. It's why I call you Lucy, so you can admit to the world that one day, you will have a real fucking name. Everyone does, even on your cards; you're not The One. You're certainly not the one wrestler anyone fears or feels they are a threat to the roster. I'm calling you Lucy One because at least everyone can make that believable than your stupid The One name you got everyone to convince that's who you are. It's not. You're the last to talk about you not needing a nickname since The One is just that, a nickname, so you shut your fucking mouth regarding that."

I had a smirk on my face as I looked at the car and the leathers behind me that weren't relevant to talk about, but it was to me when I got to drive the car in a few hours. I still had plenty of time to address this fake bitch. More so, I had to laugh about a specific loss she had recently.

Konrad Raab: "Fact is you were only a shadow to the Trio's win, Kim carried the team all the way through, and you did nothing; you barely put in the work. You'd slid by, even if you had a lucky pinfall over Selena. How come you could pin Selena when you couldn't fucking beat Polly, of all people, for the TV title? It must be embarrassing to lose to a lesser wrestler in those circumstances. What I've done is I've beaten legends and I've ended their careers. Nobody has seen the wrestlers I ended return, or I got into their fucking head. You've done nothing other than win a TV title. You've been complacent, and you're not such a violent girl as I saw. You're a disappointment of an opponent in an Underground match that you're not suited for."

It made me sick that she barely did anything to me in that Underground match we had for the TV title. It was a boring title I held for a week and only cared for defending it if it was in the Underground division.

Konrad Raab: "You won't do shit to me to change me because at least I'm fucking capable of change; you're too scared to change, Lucy. You're too scared of being exposed to your real name, which everyone in life has. The win you got me last time in a solo match was worth it because the title was on the line. I think you're a liar and a piece of shit. Everything about you and your violence is nothing but a lie. Why would you, of all people, admit that your shit stinks? I'll wait because to act like you're The One to beat with the nickname you had is fucking arrogant shit, and you are shit in underground matches, at least against a violent pyromaniac bastard like myself. With my nickname, it has a fucking purpose. It has the purpose of making people bleed, but more than that, it's going to make me fucking powerful. No more will I be the guy people will step up to face. I will fucking break you down. I will destroy you with an inch of your life since I can in Underground rules situation because you're not defined to be dangerous as you bullshit claim to be. I'm that definition perfectly."

I poured some red paint on my body, which I always had two tins of red paint in front of me, as nothing was going to get on my overalls or my Pro Late Model car for racing later today. I had way more to say.

Konrad Raab: "I've seen no evidence of you being dangerous in wrestling because I don't recall you even wanting to be violent anymore. You've gone off the whole idea. How do you feel when you're put into it once again? How do you feel about someone who is at least not afraid to make changes, which you're afraid to do? You're fucking soft as a baby's ass. Oh, sure, you beat me, but that's the only thing you got against me. That's the only thing I fucking praise you for, along with you doing shit yourself. However, you've done nothing; nobody is amazed by your skills. You've never made me taste my blood. I've done everything to cause you hell, and I'll continue to do so. I preferred if I faced Kandis, the number one enemy I want to face, because she made my life a living hell. But I use you as a battering ramp; I use you to send another message to Kandis. But I won't be just using blood this time."

I pulled a lighter from my pocket and flicked it to see the flame coming out of the lighter, and I did it multiple times as I rubbed my hands and laughed evilly.

Konrad Raab: "I've had multiple dreams of doing what either Kim or Kayla did, and that was the best thing I've seen in months, to see CHBK's house burn down. I've watched it over one hundred times because it's exactly what I feel about SCW and you, Lucy. I want to make sure you feel the burns you'll get. I've dreamed of being an arsonist, burning a building to the ground. Because I'm sick of this company and everyone in it. Because I'm in pain every fucking day, and that's not going away at any point. Why? Because being so fucking evil has gotten me farther than the pathetic old Konrad ever got. I will never return to that guy because I refuse to be treated like a doormat. Now I treat people like you like a piece of shit. I use my emotions in videos, but my emotions also come out in the ring. My emotions are so fucking intense that it feels like I'm burning. My body is red, and the worst is yet to come."

If only they knew my past with my dad, wanting to do something that he couldn't do with me, I would be able to do it sooner than later. It didn't fucking matter if I was going to get suspended, I got NASCAR and DIRTcar racing events to do anyway, and I doubt I'd even feel broken bones because I'm immune to psychical pain. I poured one last red paint all over myself.

Konrad Raab: "If you don't believe the word I say, I make it a reality by starting with you to burn you before you get blood from the burns you'll receive. I can't wait to batter the shit out of you with this new modified mace that's still sharp, but with a flame attached to it, that's in metal that's unbreakable that I'll batter you over and over again everywhere on your body. I will be done with you for many months. I'm a psychopathic, blood addict and pyromaniac bastard. I can't wait to use weapons to see you bleed, and I beg for you to make me fucking bleed because if you don't, I will use the lighter to burn you, and nobody, not even the officials, can stop me. Violence and weapon matches are why I do wrestling because I enjoy violence and being fucking chaotic since every guy around here is too fucking gutless to be violent."

I took a break as I opened the metal water bottle and took a few sips before putting the lid back on, but I also wanted to feel the heat as I flicked the lighter and put the flame onto my arm as I let it burn away in my skin and I licked my lips, showing Lucy One what I meant. I put it out and showed Lucy what I meant by burned in blood.

Konrad Raab: "See the burn I inflicted on myself? I'm not afraid of fire anymore and if you think what Kim or Kayla did was evil, wait until what I have planned this week because I have a special treat to inflict on all of you. I wouldn't fucking care what I do to all of you because the flame has always been in me. Still, the difference is I'm deciding to show the fire I have inside of me, and the fire of Underground matches and wrestling as a whole is going to be so deadly that you have to do everything to put it out. That's fucking why you won't win against me. That's why you'll fail because you're a fake, and I will stop Lucy One once and for all after the match; wait for the inevitable, and it will be the worst thing I've ever done in this company. 

I paused for a bit longer as I did need to take a break, and in a way, talking so much shit about Lucy One only made me pump up for the practice sessions later on. I'm not going to stay in Columbus, Ohio, because once I have done the match, and what my plans are, I'm coming back to Florida to race.

Konrad Raab: "But you'll be way too badly fucking beaten to do anything about my idea, and I'm not telling you, but watch out for fire because I will take shit down after I've viciously beaten a soft bitch in the ring. Prepare to be Flaminated by Burned In Blood tomorrow night because you will be in a world of pain and suffering from the brutal beatings I'll do to you. I will hear you crawl because you won't be able to move and won't be able to stop me from burning shit down because you're incapable of being violent if your piss poor performance against me in the Underground match last time was anything to go by. Feel the burn bitch."

I stopped before I ended up repeating myself since I wasn't going to do a fucking hour's worth of video on someone I didn't rank as my enemy number one, not even with Reginald, either. Only with Kandis, who should've been someone I'm facing in the ring tomorrow night in a towering inferno cage match so I could burn that bitch's body. 

I turned the camera off before I removed the paint cover of my car and overalls and washed my face to get the paint off it. I got out of my wrestling clothes to see myself in jeans and a regular shirt, walking around the paddock before it was six in the evening for me to go back to my garage, change into my overalls, and put my helmet on to do some practice laps.