The scene opens, or so we think, because it
is very dark… it is pre morning, just when it is at it’s bleakness… and outside
of Madison Square Garden, against a brick wall, crouches Chamelion… already in
his wrestling gear, head bowed forward and a black towel hung loose around his
neck. His hands are folded together, and
he raises his eyes, the glint of the whites barely seen through his long coarse
hair.
“I sit
here alone, in the dark, contemplating every moment.. every aspect of my career
these last five years…
From the
mistakes I have made…
To the
achievements I have earned…
And in
all of that time, I’ve held firm to one belief… that I did it for me.”
Shifting his position just a little bit,
Chamelion continues undaunted.
“The HiC
has been fun… even when I went sailing through a glass window, or toppled from
the highest peak, crashing into a mesh net.
Winning
the Tempest title from Makaveli signaled that Chamelion had returned to the
level he once was at, when the PWA finally expired… but the culmination of all
I went through came on the night I won the HiC World title… “
Reaching up with one hand, he brushes his
hair away from his eyes, getting a clearer look at us.
“But
some have come to point out my flaws.. that for one world title win, I’d floundered
three times… that’s true… but what about winning it the first time? Like Lorenzo or any of the others… where is
the pain of loss, the feeling of helplessness that makes you a real person, and
not some flash in the pan? Answer me
this, Lorenzo… while you sit there thinking how great you are… have you
suffered enough to become more then the sum of your parts?
No…you
dig up bits and pieces of history, which is fine… you delve into visual facts
and you don’t see beyond that and into the realm of meaning. Did you beat Deacon Frost on your own..
perhaps.. but does that make you a champion in all regards? Again, the answer
is no.. for you see, while you question how my matches ended… I point out that
I went into each of them, when allowed.. giving my all, and putting on the line
the very thing I fought so hard to achieve.. each time…I risked more and I
survived far greater challenges then you…”
With the same hand, he reaches up and rubs
his own shoulder… no longer wincing from the burns of before.. he massages a
kink.
“I
admitted defeat by your hands… what more do you want? But the truth is, the bottom line as it were
is this… I accept the signs when I see them flashing before me, and one true
sign above all others is that if the Chamelion can not best an obstacle that
stands in his path… then it’s time to discover a new path.
You’re
new, kid… you worked months you say, to achieve the World Title.. but at what
cost? You’re sanctity? That one thin
strand of reality that suggests you could be more then you’d ever thought? Tough, kid… cause to reach that peak, I was
there pushing you forward… so I miscounted the number of times.. I’ll accept
that… but what you fail to accept is that as a world champion… you couldn’t
elevate that title where it was meant to be…”
He stands, using the wall as support…
“But
it’s kind of a dead horse now, to reflect on how you reached the pinnacle of
your career.. you’re there, and no matter what reason put you there, you have
it. I don’t think for one moment you
held any form of admiration for me… that would be the greatest insult you could
lay on me…
Why? Because it signifies above all else how much
of a lie you really are… your denial at my attempts for a rematch… my remarks I
had no personal hatred for you… and all you could do was live in the past for
the one little moment I sent a camera after you…
…They
say I’m not here for the fans, that I care about no one but myself… the funny
thing about that is I’ve heard it before… from a source closer to home then any
of you… Me! I care for what I can
achieve for me.. that’s never been in question.. and if the fans love me, or
hate me.. the end result is the same; they react to me… they did when I won the
title, they did when I lost the title.. and they will again later today, when I
win the title back.”
Pushing off of the wall, Chamelion moves down
the sidewalk.. aimlessly traveling, as he continues to air his thoughts.
“Oh, and
I will win it back… but don’t think it has anything to do with my threat… the
motivation is far greater then ever to recapture the HiC Championship… to prove
to myself… my family… that I can regain that coveted spot on the mountain… and
in total truth.. if I should fail.. there is no question about what my
capabilities are…..
… they
are, as you say, nothing.”
Does it entertain you to hear me say that? Do
you not chomp at the bit to explore those words and bring them against me… go
ahead… what can you possibly make some something that is so clearly spoken
of..? Chamelion wonders this as he walks
down towards the front of the arena.
“And
Chamelion isn’t a man to be content with nothing… it just isn’t in my nature…
I still
don’t believe you to be more then a paper champion… a faux pa of incredible
proportions. But not because you’re a
whim of a woman, in a man’s world… no, in that regard, you’ve proven yourself.
No, your
ill fitted as a champion because you don’t tell the story of one. You don’t have the failure to make your reign
all that more grand. You don’t have the
questions on your heels about what it took to overcome the odds… all you had,
all you have… is one moment in time.. three short seconds.. where you got the
only thing you seemed to have wanted all along… a win against me, for the
so-called redemption of a wrong that was made of you.”
A short laugh escapes his lips, and he shakes
his head.
“Get
over it, Lorenzo… move forward… if you survive tonight and walk out champion..
make something of it… but don’t degrade the title by taking time off,
disappearing for weeks on end, forgetting how you got there and what it takes
to be champion… be something more then a shadow on the wall…..that’s what it
takes to be a real champion…
..That’s
something Chamelion always had… and always will. So if I’m hunted because I’m champion,
fine. If my name appears more because of
it, fine… if I’m ‘loved’ only because of the belt.. fine. I seek redemption now… just like you did……for
a loss that should not have been… I’ll fight, struggle and claw my way out of the
darkness one breath at a time… through you, through Protean….”
He pauses, the smile grows on his face.
“Oh,
yeah, hey Protean… didn’t see you there…. Just a moment, okay?”
Chuckling, he resumes on the path of Lorenzo.
“And
I’ll do exactly what I set out to do…. Fulfill a promise made… and end this little
charade of yours, once and for all… but don’t worry, I won’t ignore some of the
things you said to me….
For
instance, Payton walking out world champion in our match… from a title he’d
only won a week before… fate played a cruel hand to keep Chamelion a hair
breath shy of that mark… but it took three Dream Stings to do it… because I’m not one to stay down to
easily…
Did
Chamelion strike the fatal blow upon himself by declaring his career ended if I
fail to achieve my goal? No, I didn’t. You see, I’ll be leaving the HiC not as a
coward running, but as a man who understands when his time has come… for along
time now many have chided me for the length of my career, which in truth is
only a blink of an eye compared to life itself… but I denied them that… but
when it comes to you, Lorenzo… if you can out maneuver me twice… then I’ll have
seen in action, the words laid upon my ears for a while now…
It’s a
huge risk, indeed, but a worthy one… and I’m not worried about a legend status,
or how I’m looked upon…. I’ve never cared before the opinions of others, and
it’s not about to start now… the risk is just another obstacle for me to
overcome… and truly I feel quite ready to face it… “
“Though
part of me would have liked the respect I could have garnered from you during
our time in the VDP… I’d come to realize that as long as you hold onto the
grief and pain of an injustice so long since passed… your type of respect I can
do with out… but it matters not now.. I made it clear that you will hold the
deciding vote… and I mean to keep my word.”
“Nightmare
makes more threats, more warnings.. but he can talk out of his ass all he
wants…for no matter what move he makes… for the sake of the paper champion,
Lorenzo.. it will fall short of success… and Protean… do you know why you’ve
been all but ignored since the beginning of this?
First
the obvious; getting your ass handed to you by the Chamelion last week… prone
on your back and out cold… a hair shy of the 1-2-3 that would catapult
Chamelion into a one on one battle with Miss Lorenzo…
Second,
your self-induced verbal coma since that night, as you struggled to come to
terms with how close you came to losing out on
your world title bid… the only words to come forth from you would be on
the eve of the event to which you struggled so hard to reach.”
“And
what finally did you sprout from your flapping lips, but to question my
creativity? News flash kiddo.. never did
see your promo about the Lisa dolls and shit… cause frankly, you didn’t matter
much then, and you don’t matter much now… I’m just sort of obligated to oblige
in your existence since you happen to be legally included in the match too.
I mean,
take a look at Lisa? She feels the same way… for you don’t appear much at all
in her vignette’s either… is this a sign of how quickly you’re to fade to
obscurity? Or is it just that you don’t
matter shit to us?
As for
the Muppet thing… there’s hundreds of thousands of performers in the world… are
all of them perverts? To properly use a
doll in such a fashion… well, not to go into specifics.. one must utilize the
right location for animation purposes…
But the
little doll scenario was to illustrate how I’d manipulated Lisa Lorenzo all
month… and when you read into her promos all month, how she demoralized her own
self worth… the common person could understand the meaning and context of my
promo… I question why you could not?”
“Undermine
her abilities and question herself? Kiddo, she did that all her own.. it’s
called weakness, and part of the game is to exploit that weakness… like showing
parts of other’s promos in your own to fill up time… you could have used a
simple quote.. people saw all that already..but no matter.. what’s done is
done…
I found
it interesting how you blatantly forgot to include Miss Lorenzo in your last..
I mean, first interview… and focused only on me……….
See,
it’s always about the Chamelion.. I’m the one they want, I’m the one they want
to beat… always in your mind, always on the tip of your tongue…
Always
the one to bite you in the ass and take what’s mine… GOT IT?”
Finally he reaches the front of
The survival of his very career.
End