Wakey wakey, �Rabbit. That was an impressive victory, buddy. You�re on a roll. �Guess the doctor was right, eh? Maybe there is something special in that head of yours, after all. A method to the madness, some�d call it. Well, you overcame those obstacles, but you�re not home and dry yet, man. But I reckon you already know that. You�ve accepted that life. Last week was the trial, this time the stakes have raised. Wakey wakey, �Rabbit. Flicker. Flicker flicker. Darkness. A cell. Darkness. A cell. Like a nauseating headache upon waking, the camera spins wildly around. Getting its bearings, eventually, it shows the stark whitewashed walls that have been his home now for the longest fortnight he has experienced- at least within his conscious memory. Where once these walls and floors had been unforgiving concrete, the camera now acknowledges the soft padding, that he knows was added after his last outburst, but does not make the connection. Arising from his much-needed slumber, his black boot, still bearing the blood and sweat of his previous battle, prods around, hopping from foam square to foam square, testing the springiness in the ground underneath. Despite his fatigue, he is energetic; despite his aches, he is nimble. Inside his mind though, a million Shooting Star Presses, Kip-up Hurracanranas and Last Laughs are performed, ferocious battles wage on and one man stands tall. All this on the backdrop of a tremendous fall, storeys and storeys, to an abyss somewhere below. An eagle flies, always to catch that which falls, and where it flies a rabbit laughs. And the foam floor is squidgy, indeed. On the other side of the portal to this cell, a one-way window on the physical machinations of this man, The Jackrabbit, stand another two men with entirely different perspective, entirely more complex concerns and motives, and their multitude of material and digital observations. Always concerned with business is Libor Radnik, his white overcoat swirling around him like the torrent of paperwork almost doing the same. His counterpart, far more relaxed in posture and manner and his attire of unkempt suit and yellow tie and baseball cap combo showing just that, is Stevie Sol, leaning against one of Radnik�s computer stations as though it was placed there for that very purpose. The doctor absently nudges Sol away from the station in order to position himself in front of it, and begins typing. STEVIE SOL: �Are you really typin� up information about how he sleeps? Is that really going to benefit me, Doctor?� DR. RADNIK: �A sleeping person is far more, how do you say, subconscious than an awake one, Mr. Sol. You find a man who is not consciously putting up their� protective barriers could tell us much more.� STEVIE SOL: �And did you learn anything, then?� DR. RADNIK: �Well, no.� STEVIE SOL: �Right. Did you see his match?� DR. RADNIK: �Yes, Mr. Sol, I saw the competition he had with this Aphrodisia and Phoenix. I must say, I am not a wrestling fan, however�� STEVIE SOL: �However, it proved useful to our work, right?� DR. RADNIK: �Yes, yes. My theory did indeed prove correct, did you see?� STEVIE SOL: �I saw, Doctor. He won the match.� DR. RADNIK: �Yes, and he showed that despite all the instabilities� despite all the�� STEVIE SOL: �Insanity? Madness? Off-his-head bat-shit-craziness?� DR. RADNIK: �I do not know this last word you use, but yes.. despite all these things, he is still incredibly focused on his wrestling. I am beginning to, shall we say, beginning to theorise that professional wrestling is his� outlet.� STEVIE SOL: �Outlet? Like an escape? From what? His ice cream, hah!?� DR. RADNIK: �No, Mr. Sol. We have been giving him a ready supply of ice cream. I mean to say, his outlet from reality. For so many years now, Jay has hidden from what you and I would call a� �normal life.� He has lived this absurd life of The Jackrabbit, focused all around his wrestling career.� STEVIE SOL: �Okay, so the whackjob starts acting like a prepubescent kid, bounces around a wrestling ring in a pair of longshorts for six years� but why?� DR. RADNIK: �Why is what we need to find out, Mr. Sol. Why is the reason he is here with us. Mr. Sol, the main cause of these� mental repressions� are traumatic events. I suspect�� STEVIE SOL: �The fall�� The sound of an eagle claws its way through the camera, as it spins and crashes thunderously through the one-way glass, leaving it entirely unharmed, but allowing access to the temporary sanctuary of one Jackrabbit. Examining the tub of ice cream that has been left to carelessly melt on a tray under his door, The Jackrabbit does not hesitate to feverishly begin devouring the sweet offering. Melted or not, ice cream is ice cream. He begins to talk, in his usual high-pitched voice, stopping every few sentences for another generous helping of his dessert. THE JACKRABBIT: �Howdy �Rabbit Fans here, there and everywhere! So nice of you to join me on this most joyous of joyful occasions! I says it�s joyous, but really� it is! You see, it wasn�t all that long ago that one Friendly Neighborhood Jackrabbit� that�s me!� was stood inside that En-El-Dub ring, Last Laugh-ing the chubbiest of chubba-chubs, Mr. Felix, Leglessly Champeeeno, and pinning him one two six to win the match with him and Aphywhatsit, oh my golly this ice cream is scrumptious! I gets the impression that for some reason or other or other or other that not all that many peoples expected me to go winning that likkle three-way match. I think they thinked I was an �underdog.� Well, firstly, it�s underrabbit sillies, get it right! And secondly, I wasn�t under nothing, �cos I was too busy being on top to get the pin. So, I guess that makes me the overrabbit. Well, this overrabbit just proved all the doubterers wrong, and pinned the champ. Mmmm this is yummy! I guess that probsably makes me better than the champ, right? Wrong! Well, right, actually. Hahahaha! But I understand that Felix still gots him the Leglessly Champeeeeno, which means he�s got six hundred percent less legs than everyone else, but one day, mark my words Mr. Felix, this here overrabbit will strive to have less legs than you! Mark my words. Aahahahhahahaa!!� There is a rattling at the door as it is unlocked, and inexplicably The Jackrabbit bounces to his feet and raises his hand into a solid salute. The door opens and Dr. Libor Radnik enters, his white overcoat billowing around him as always. He regards his patient�s unexpected greeting posture with only a brief moment of surprise, before readying his notes. Immediately, The Jackrabbit falls back to his table, continuing to scoff the ice cream that is increasingly covering his face and T-shirt. Libor takes a seat opposite The Jackrabbit. DR. RADNIK: �I see you�re enjoying the treats I send your way, Jackrabbit.� THE JACKRABBIT: �Yes, Doc, it�s yummy, Doc, thank you Doc!� DR. RADNIK: �You are most welcome. You did well at Uprising, Jackrabbit. Congratulations are in order, yes?� THE JACKRABBIT: �Sorta, Doc, I did win extra special like, but there was nothing on the line, y�see? No reason for it really, �cept that Sully couldn�t bear to deprive the wonderful En-El-Dub fans of their Jackrabbit. It�s a shame ol� Tal lost to Jacko, but as Tal says, you win some you lose some. I guess he decided to lose some this week?� DR. RADNIK: �Perhaps so, my friend. Talon is having a rough time right now, is he not?� THE JACKRABBIT: �Oh yes, he�s got mummy problems and such. Not like the mummies all wrapped in toilet roll, of course, that�d be crazy, hahahaha! I�m sure he�ll be fine though, Doc, he�s got a nice week off so�s he can go sunbathe and drink lemonades and do some paddling and suchlikes�� DR. RADNIK: �Does he do these things a lot?� THE JACKRABBIT: �Oh yes, most probsably.� DR. RADNIK: �I see�� The doctor scratches the aging hair atop his head, pondering whether to take a note but seemingly choosing not to. The Jackrabbit seems to have finished his ice cream, and having licked the spoon and dish completely dry, he now looks forlorn. The doctor signals towards the one-way window that to The Jackrabbit is only a mirror, and almost immediately a second dish of vanilla dessert is delivered to The Jackrabbit. THE JACKRABBIT: �Mmmmmm yummy, more ice creams for me!� DR. RADNIK: �Yes, yes, and while you eat it, Jackrabbit, perhaps you could tell me a little about your past. Where were you born?� THE JACKRABBIT: �Oh oh, I know this one! I was billed from Pittsberg, Pennysilvia once, but nowadays people aren�t really sure so I come out all �From Parts Unknown!� It�s funny, don�tchya think? Arhahahaha!� DR. RADNIK: �Quite. Alright, tell me a little about your background?� THE JACKRABBIT: �Ah, this one is easy too, Doc. �Little is known about The Jackrabbit�s background, except that he has overcome a jaded past with tag partner Talon to become one of the dominate forces in both the tag team and singles divisions.� Nifty, huh? DR. RADNIK: �Jackrabbit� that was a quote from your official NLW collectable trading card. It is in my files�� THE JACKRABBIT: �Yes, and its available from all good game retailers!� DR. RADNIK: �Seemingly� perhaps though, I could get more intimate answers from you, Jackrabbit?� THE JACKRABBIT: �Well I don�t really like you that way, Doc� You�re lovely �n� all�� DR. RADNIK: �Well, what about family? Tell me about them�� THE JACKRABBIT: �Oh, Talon and me are very close. He�s like my brother, without actually being my brother. Bestestest friends, some might say! It�s always been that way really Doc, us looking out for each other. He helps me with my matches, I help him with his. When I can, of course� I couldn�t help with Jacko and Triple X, and he was far too busy to help me with Felix and Aphycakes, but not to worry, he�ll help me with my next match against Pizza Sfallover. I might need his help, see, �cos that guy confuses me� how can a pizza fall over, Doc? And with Pizza, you never really know where you�re going next. It�s one journey after the next. He�s crazy, all like, click click click. Next, next, next. He comes into En-El-Dub just to win this tournie thing that Sully set up� and then gets matched with The Jackrabbit� that�s me!� in the second round? Well that�s just silly, �cos I thought he was supposed to be winning the tournie? You know my only worry, Doc? Do ya?� DR. RADNIK: �Tell me your worries, Jackrabbit, yes�� THE JACKRABBIT: �I worry that Mr. Sully will be super mad when he finds out that I took his Pizza out of the tournie. No matter, I�m sure Tal will show me how to handle Pizza and� I will get to see Tal before Uprisening, won�t I, Doc?� DR. RADNIK: �I� can not imagine we will stop all visitors, though of course there is a screening process�� The door creaks open and into the room walks Stevie Sol, his baseball cap pulled low. Libor Radnik turns to inquisitively watch his counterpart enter, but The Jackrabbit barely looks up from his ice cream. THE JACKRABBIT: �Oh, howdy Stevieo!� DR. RADNIK: �I�m afraid there is interview undergoing here, Mr. Sol..� STEVIE SOL: �Your interview is going slow, Doctor. Any more patience on these matters and I�ll be falling asleep behind that window� mind if I?� And Stevie Sol helps himself to a chair beside Libor Radnik, looking The Jackrabbit in the sunshades, almost as though to stare a hole into him for just a moment. The Jackrabbit is oblivious, though his second helping of ice cream is coming to a near finish. STEVIE SOL: ��Rabbit� do you really think you�re going to the next round of Gold Rush? You got a by into this round, man, you didn�t even beat anybody to get there. Seriously, do you really think you can beat such an established star as Piter Svoboda? I�m thinkin� you might just fail this time, buddy.� THE JACKRABBIT: �Oh Stevieo, you do say the funniest things! Haha! But no, I really does think I�m going to be beating this Pizza guy this time around� I knows he got past the first round, and I know that I got special pushed up into second round all because I only beated the most unstoppableist team in En-El-Dub, the Sauces City people. And I know that beating Jacko and Jugganaut Vinnie isn�t a massively big deal, but I also beat Plague and I beat Felix and Aphrododah and I�m not about to stop just �cos some Pizza guy comes in here with his to-to-toppings! Pizza Sfallover shoulda never agreed to be Sully�s ringer� whatever that�s supposed to mean. Come Uprisening, Stevieo, I will be running rings about the ringer. It�s a crying shame, but Pizza will do the Job. And he will go crawling back to wherever Sully found him� methinks I heard he lived in a cave at the end of Felix�s gardens or summat� and then we probsably won�t hear much about Pizza Sfallover anymore. I won�t fail like you think, Stevieo, because this Gold Russian tournie thingywhatsit is important to me, just like it�s important to Tal. We both wants to get to the finals, and we both wants to fight for the biggest title of them all to match our prettiful Tag Team Titles of the Woooorld� we wants that World Title of the Woooorld, and whether it be Frosty or Aphyspanglemajig, one of the other of us will meet this so-called Gold Russian and he will help us beat them for the belt. That is how why when and where The Jackrabbit is beating Pizza Sfallover, Stevieo, and that is why The Jackrabbit will get The Last Laugh! Ahahahahahahahahaaaaa!� STEVIE SOL: �Very nice, �Rabbit� very nice. You wrestlers have a habit of finding ways to slip your promos into any situation. But tell me this, �Rabbit� what happens if you and Talon both get to the Gold Rush finals? Will you fight him?� THE JACKRABBIT: �We�re friends. We�ll just play paper-scissor-rock! We don�t fight�� STEVIE SOL: �But you did, �Rabbit. Have you forgotten GWO?� THE JACKRABBIT: �We didn�t fight, Stevieo. Bestest friends, always and forever�� STEVIE SOL: �Do you not remember your wrestling debut, �Rabbit? I�ve seen it. Do you not remember your first match for the Golden Wrestling Organisation? I�ve seen that, too. Do you not remember Talon beating you, one� two� three? Do you not remember bringing out Talanacao?� THE JACKRABBIT: �I not know what you�re talking about, Stevi..� STEVIE SOL: �You can�t deny the tapes. We saw the attacks, �Rabbit. We saw the burning falcon, we saw the kidnappings�� DR. RADNIK: �That�s enough, Mr. Sol! He�s not ready for this�� THE JACKRABBIT: �I doesn�t�� STEVIE SOL: �Do you not remember the fall, Jay?� THE JACKRABBIT: �Don�t say that!� STEVIE SOL: �Or is something, someone, blocking your memory perhaps?� THE JACKRABBIT: �SHUT UP!!� The Jackrabbit lunges across the table at Stevie Sol; this time, he has not been cuffed. The over 6-foot wrestler collides with the smaller man, knocking him backwards off his chair and onto the soft padded ground beneath. Their bodies entangled, Stevie Sol gasps for breath as he tries desperately to escape The Jackrabbit�s throttling grasp. DR. RADNIK: �Jay!� In a blind rage, The Jackrabbit pays no heed to the doctor, nor to Stevie Sol�s hastily reddening face as he flails unsuccessfully to escape. Inexplicably, The Jackrabbit seems to be laughing, an incensed cackle of hysteria that overbears all else around him. For just the briefest of moments he is free, and he sees the building one more time, becoming smaller and smaller as he falls further and further, and he sees the eagle watching overhead, protecting, or perhaps imposing. Dr. Radnik tries desperately to pull his patient off of the suited man, but his old, feeble hands are no use against the bulk of the wrestler. Instead, DR. RADNIK: �More ice cream, Jackrabbit!� And the grip is loosened enough for Stevie Sol to clamber to freedom, coughing and spluttering for air but looking more shocked than anything else, as The Jackrabbit raises off him and harmlessly, as though entirely unaware of what he just did, seeks out the source of this promised treat. The doctor�s assistants are quick to fulfil his desire. The Jackrabbit sits himself down, adjusting his sunshades, and muttering something about the Gold Russian tournament sounding �ever so fun.� STEVIE SOL: �What the heck was that?!� DR. RADNIK: �That, Mr. Sol, was you acting like a fool. Have I not warned you against such a bullheaded attempt?� Alone again in the confines of Libor Radnik�s offices behind what The Jackrabbit considers to be just his own reflection, Stevie Sol is adjusting the grey suit and yellow tie combo that looks now the worse for wear after the momentary assault on it. Dr. Radnik is uncharacteristically not sorting through notes and records, instead confronting his counterpart head-on. STEVIE SOL: �Well your approach wasn�t �sactly getting anything out of him, was it?!� DR. RADNIK: �I disagree. My approach was teasing what we need from him, gently. Your approach was looking to undo all of our work.� STEVIE SOL: �Well, bullheaded or not bullheaded, did I get ya� any answers?� DR. RADNIK: �Yes, as it happens, that whole episode was interesting to my studies, yes. Though I still advise against any repeat performances.� STEVIE SOL: �My throat couldn�t handle it. So are you going to ban him from going to Uprising this week, then? After that, I mean�� DR. RADNIK: �Certainly not. After that, you have just inspired him more. To deprive him of his chance in this tournament would be very unwise. No no, whatever else will come to be taken from him, Mr. Sol� his wrestling is one thing he will retain.�