No light enters here, this room is solitary and void. A single figure inhabits this place, consumed by the shadow, lit only by the dim glow of the street-light through a small window. The Jackrabbit is alone here, in a way that he has not been for a long time. For the last five years he has lived a sheltered life under the watchful eye of the man he knows as Stevie Guile. Always watched, always guarded. Before that was Talon, his friend and his mentor, always watching, always guarding. The Jackrabbit has had no time to be alone, not since the golden days of GWO. The Jackrabbit sits at a single desk, in the centre of this room. Silent, for the first time in a long time, and holding an object in his outstretched hand, allowing his gaze to wander over it. The dim light reflects off a glass surface. "This is� no laughing matter, Tal�" And he places the hourglass on the table. * * * "Skull Crushers" "I doesn't get it..." "Skull Crushers, man. That's what they're called." A place for the lost and the desolate, a place filled with those that consider themselves anti-authority and counter-culture. Where teenagers come to pretend they're important, and where adults come to pretend they're not. In this nightclub, those that serve can stop serving for one night; here they can serve themselves. The band on-stage are covered in ink and metal and holes in places where holes don't naturally occur; they've committed to their aspiration to never fit in. Sure enough the bass drum pronounces clearly "SKULL CRUSHERS" and sure enough, emblazoned beneath it, a skull being crushed by an oversized human hand. "So how many skulls does they crush in a daytime? Fourteen, nineteen, twenteen?" "Nah, JR.. it's just a name, like... like The Jackrabbit, actually.." "But that's different! I is The Jackrabbit, I thinks about being The Jackrabbit, I does Jackrabbity things every second of every day of every second�. I even has big floppy ears.." The Jackrabbit puts his hands on his head and wiggles them like the imaginary lagomorph that is his namesake. Vanilla laughs, and responds with a playful shove. She'd brought him to a nightclub for this very reason; something horrific had happened last month in that Arcade, though she knew little of the details. Stevie wouldn't tell, though something was clearly haunting him. And Doc Holloway.. well, Doc never said much of anything to begin with, and he certainly wasn't going to let this loosen his tongue. But The Jackrabbit... The Jackrabbit acted like nothing had happened. He recounted a game of Pacman, though Vanilla was sure it wasn't the version she'd played, and he'd held back an entire zombie horde, so he claimed. Nonetheless, she'd decided it was her duty to take Jackrabbit away from whatever had gone on that day. And besides, Skull Crushers were playing in Wyoming just two days after Addiction! So here they stand now, sandwiched between a mass of gyrating bodies as the bass-heavy noise blasts out around the club. "I reckons RedDeadEmption is a pretend name, whatchya think?" "Well, it's a pretty dumb name, I don't reckon his mama gave him it.. if he even had one. Strikes me as the kind of guy with major mommy issues..." "Maybes... maybes Mama Emption ranned away because of his ugly head? Maybes she didn't want a likkle baby with one eye so much bigger than the other?" "I don't think that's his..." "Besides, the only useful thing he's done in six centuries is bake cakes, and The Jackrabbit lovvvvves cakes� hm, that reminds me, can you call RedDeadEmption and ask him to bake me a cake? With butter icing and little chocolatey rabbits on top? That'll be the topping to my Brawltopping win! Oh hey, I thought of another silly name�. what about Plaque? That's absopositivelutely a make-believe name! And it doesn't even make sensicals! Plaque has wunnerful teeth! At least until Brawltoppings when I put my little rabbit paw in his face and do some correctifying surgery on them! Ahahaaaa! It's been a long long long time since we saw ol' Plaque hanging around a wrestlin' ring, so it's only fair that The Jackrabbit... that's me!... gets to introduce him to how things be in Oh-Dub-Eff now that he's back! And he may be Jack Gregson's likkle whipping boy now, but he'll be The Jackrabbit's likkle whipping boy at Brawl-" "Jesse Williams." "Where!? Where?! Did Black Berry send him here to punish him with awful music noises..?" She laughs, an uncharacteristically girly giggle. "No, silly� Zack's not here.. and Jesse neither. I mean that Jesse Williams is a normal name, right? I reckon he's not faking..." "Well d'uhhhh, he wouldn't fake such a booooooring name as that! Who'd wanna be called Willy Jessieams anyways!? With him and Jack Gregson and them two dudes with Berry as a surname, their little group should be called The Four Yawnmen, hahahaaa! The poor guys need nicknames! Like how The Jackrabbit is The Unorthodox One and Talon is The Enigma and Doc is.... uh... well, Doc. Goodness gracious, I does like my new Doc, it's gonna be a shame to eliminate his face at Brawltopping. But I reckons Docski understands the necessariment, necessarily. But fear not, Vanilly, Gold Rush will be leaving the Paper-Vision as STILL the Tag Team Champeenos� and we'll STILL be the bestest friends in the whole wide world, aaahahahahahaaaaaaa� Wait, where were we�?" "Uhhh, I think you were coming up with nicknames for Jesse and Zack�" "Oh yessums! Okay, so� they can be... Willy "The Stooge" Jessiams... and and.. Jack "Lost Boy" Gregson.. Gosh Vanilly, these dudes are so very very busy right now with their issues and tissues, do you think they even know about the Brawltoppings match? Shall I send them a text to remind them?" "Ooooooooh, I'll Blow Your Brains Out!" "But why, I thought we were getting along nicely, like peas in a barrel!" "We are! It's the song, silly, it's called 'I'll Blow Your Brains Out!'" Sure enough, the bald lead singer seems very intent that somebody in his life is going to get their brains blown out, and he screams this profound message in a near incomprehensible way into the microphone. The Jackrabbit jostles a couple of boisterous youths near them, though honestly nobody seems keen on getting into a mosh pit with the 6-foot man. "I thinks that guy be trying to eat his mic... he's as bad as Trent Metal, hahahaaaa.." Jackrabbit begins putting his fist into his throat, trying to mimic the overeager vocalist and the self-proclaimed Son Of A Bitch at once. Vanilla laughs as he begins to choke on his hand whilst doing his best Trent Steel impression, and she playfully tries to pull it from his mouth before circling around to give him a make-believe Heimlich Maneuver. "Frockety-frock frock frock you mama-frockers! Frock her, frock me, and frock you all! Hmm... why does Trent Metal like frocks so much? Do you think he wears frocks on the weekdays when he's not being a Sunnuva Witch?" "I don't think he's saying "frock", JR" and she circles back around him, jostling past gyrating bodies, laughing again at his genuinely confused expression. "Or "witch" for that matter.." "Well, all the sames, methinks him and his friends-come-enemies-come-friends-again need to calm down an awful lot, don'tchu? TaxiCar and Doody Blob have spent months-and-years not knowing whether they love Trent Metal or hates Trent Metal� when The Jackrabbit reckons they all just need a big big hug! So when Brawltoppings rolls around, we'll get all three of those dudes into the ring and The Jackrabbit will lead them in a big group hug and settle aside all their likkle problemos.. and then maybes they can all just be friends again! Then I'll dish out some complimentionary Last Laughs and they can all head on home holding hands and skippety skipping up the ramp, ha haa! Won't it be lovely, Vanilly, won't it be lovely?" "My Dad Is A Killer!" "Wows, really? Like Eatchips� her daddio, Darkmoon, I bets he killed lotsa people! But it's okay 'cos Eatchips decided to not follow in daddy's pawprints.. so she's a nice lovely person that only hurts people lots and lots when she's sticking sharp objects through them and throwing them off things. Come to thinks of it, I'm thinking maybes Eatchips actually doesn't be as nice as she pretends! She likes to fool all the ladies and gentlegirls into thinking that she's friendly and chilled, like all she does is sit around eating potato chips� but Detective Jackrabbit has uncovered the truth! Eatchips stole her World Title using blood and suffering and now she's ran away, presumptionally to find more potato chips� until Brawltoppings! Hahahaa! But The Jackrabbit knows your secret, Eatchips, and all the dirty little secrets Black Berry has been whispering in your ears.. I's knows the truths about you, and I's knows the truths about your friendship with Berry. I's knows that it's because� because you've both got scratchy faces! Haaaahahahahaha! But that won't makes The Jackrabbit go easy on you, Eatchips.. no sir-ee! You gots a killer's blood in you, just like your daddio, and just like Eeeee-Jay-Killer. He may be making a big comeback in the Oh Dub Eff, but The Jackrabbit has sussed out that when your name is Eeee-Jay-Killer, then your mission be to kill Eeeees, and to kill Jays� and The Jackrabbit is a� was a Jay once, so you'll be coming right for me, won't you Eeeee-Jay? Hahaaa! Well, that's okay, 'cos whatchya haven't realised is one thing� That The Jackrabbit's other name is actually Eeeee-Jay-Killer-Killer. Aaaaahahaaaaa! "Damn man, 'My Dad Is A Killer' is one of my favorites by far! I forgot how much I love this band� Come on JR, let's go get some drinks! First round's on me�" The Jackrabbit looks around like he's only just realized where they are, then smiles dumbly and nods, skipping on ahead of her. For a second, Vanilla looks like she might start skipping with him, but stops herself, adjusts her denim skirt over her intentionally-torn tights, and follows stoically. She arrives in time to overhear the bartender yelling at her companion over the noise. "No, man. We don't do Kool-Aid! Do you want a real drink or what?" "No Kool-Aid!? This is madness, go get your manager!" "I am the manager, now order a drink or fuck off�" "Oooooh noes, you said a naughty word! Get me your manager.." "Freedom of fucking speech, asshat.." And the manager, clearly having never needed to learn customer service skills in his present career, moves on to serve a pretty blonde with a pink streak in her hair. "Why's he have to bring those ThreeDumb Kids into this, huh? This was a battle of wits and wisdoms between The Jackrabbit and him� with the winner earning the grandest prize of all, a glass of smooth sugary Kool-Aidy goodness.. ThreeDumb Kids wouldn't help, they don't even have time to prepare for Brawltoppings since they're far too busy crying over where they left their pizza�" "You're talking about Piter, JR.. And Piter's dead�" "Pizza's dead!?! But I looooves pizza! This is tragic news, Vanilly! I must get the message across to the ThreeDumb Kids. I know they're dumb, but one of them needs to unnerstand this! Get my coat and my jacket, we must leave at once.." For the briefest of seconds, Vanilla actually looks around for Jackrabbit's coat, and for his jacket, then laughs at herself for doing so. The Jackrabbit has already began marching like an army cadet towards the door, screaming something about the "ThreeDumb Barmies" over the noise of Skull Crushers. As they reach the exit, the rock-metal becomes a distant thrum, and Vanilla throws her arm around The Jackrabbit's shoulder, which he instinctively reverses into a Hammerlock. She battles free, but he puts her in a headlock. Vanilla is laughing, but The Jackrabbit has a look on his face like he is unsure why he's being attacked. She pulls her head free, and gives him a nudge with her shoulder which he reciprocates.. nearly knocking her off her feet. Their antics are interrupted by the sound of an oriental gong; Vanilla's text message tone. She flicks it open and checks the screen, before looking back to her companion. "JR� can I� can I tell you summat?" "You cans always tell me lotsa things, Vanilly! I promises to listen to some, ignore some others, forget mostest of them, and Googleify the rest!" "Okay, well� I just thought you needed to know that�" She falters. "That� I had a great time, of course!... thanks, JR. This has meant a lot to me tonight�" And she leans in against his toned arm. "Oh and hey, you know you practically just mentioned all of your Brawltopia opponents, right?� oh, except Ray Lopes.." "Hmmmmmmm�.. Ray who?" Across the street, a car engine starts up. The paint job is black, the windows are too. The man inside wears an ill-fitting tank top and chino jeans, unkempt hair swept across to one side. Through the one-way glass, Tero Haber observes the OWF Tag Team Champion as he leaves the nightclub with his female companion. He has men at the ready, men that could swarm the club in seconds, could tazer them both and bag them before any bystanders had even got their camera phones out. Or his men would kill themselves again, for no obvious reason. There would be blood.. viscera.. even more men mutilated like cattle around him. Perhaps next time, Tero would even find his own gun at his head. "Pull out, pull out� leave them for now, the future can be patient." * * * The Jackrabbit is still alone, but now he feels alone.. for the first time in a long time he feels alone. He recalls the days of GWO, when he last felt this disconnected. He was a different animal back then; an animal that sought only blood, a predator out for vengeance and suffering. But he was alone back then, alone as he is now. Alone now because Stevie Guile has avoided him; avoided him since that day in the Arcade. But they all think he's forgotten. "I forgets nothing. You all thinks I's so stupid.. crazy Jackrabbit doesn't know what he's doing, crazy Jackrabbit barely remembers his own name. You thinks I don't remember my name, is that it? You think I don't remembers Jay!? I remembers. I remember how it felt to fall. I remembers how it felt to not know who I be.. to run, to cry, to scream. I met a lady after I fell, Tal. A nice nice lady, she dressed well.. did you know that? She asked me if I was hurt. Was I hurt!? She said I's looked scared� Was I scared!? Would you be's scared if you'd been betrayed, if you's only friend left you for dead, if you woke up on the sidewalk and you forgots who you were? But you have forgotten, haven't you Tal? Or.. should I say Saul? You forgot who you be, Saul... and you forgot who I be, too. I BECAME YOUR PREY! You hunted me, Tal. You hunted like you always do� the 'hunted turned hunter', isn't that right? And oh how you hunted.. the eagle in the sky, lording over all, and I was your rabbit, your prey on the ground, looking everywhere and everywhere else for some place to hide my likkle head. Oh, I was afraid Tal. We came to Oh-Dub-Eff to hide.. To hide from them, to hide from you� Oh-Dub-Eff was our rabbit hole. If we could just stay alive, get in, get out.. but you were never far behind, were you Tal? Never far behind! Bathblood came around.. And oh Tal, I didn't know why, not then. The look in your eyeses on top of the Pool of Blood� don't you unnerstand, Enigma!? I feared you� wasn't that what you wanted!? And you made The Jackrabbit fall. Just like Jay fell." And he turns the hourglass over. * * *   Vanilla used to come to the Nelson Market playground a lot as a little girl growing up. Of course, her parents would have preferred she stay home and practice her flute, or her poetry, or her dancing. That's what her sister Cassie would have been doing. The playground was simple enough, some swings and a slide and a merry-go-round. She remembered sneaking out here with her cousin once, he was older than her by a few years, and so he was big enough to push her on the swing, and strong enough to get the merry-go-round spinning before jumping on. Cassie always said the merry-go-round made her feel sick, which Vanilla found ridiculous considering how many pirouettes she could do. Nelson Market had aged badly in the last twenty years, Vanilla noted now. The swings were gone, and the slides too. The merry-go-round remained however, rusted though it was. Vanilla placed a hand on the coppery railing, and felt a chill through her thin leather glove. She'd come here again, many years later, after Cassie had left the country and her cousin was long dead. She'd been a teenager then, and this was a meeting place for the gang, where they'd light up and get blazed. No surprise that the little kids had long abandoned Nelson Market by then. "Hey cupcake.." The voice made Vanilla start, as though come to life from out of her memories. That calm drawl, and that pet name.. "Spyke.." She turned around to face him, expecting to see the same man she'd walked away from years ago, the long leather jacket with metal studs, the chains hanging from his hip, the ponytail down his back and the thick New Rock boots. She expected him to be drunk, to be high, to be� "It's just Andrew now.." Sure enough Spyke was approaching the merry-go-round, but wearing a pale blue shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, and jeans. His hair was trimmed, and waxed into a neat fauxhawk. It was Spyke, for sure, but not how he once looked. "Andrew?.. I didn't realise.." They'd always called him Spyke. "No, I didn't really say�. So hey, how you been?" "Good," she answered dismissively, before quickly adding, "No, no.. real good� You've changed.." "And you.. haven't, actually. That's cool.." He smiled, and Vanilla wondered if she'd ever seen him smile before. She had, she assured herself, but perhaps never like this. "Oh, I dunno�" It was a lame response, she knew. But she didn't expect Spyke to understand how different she was now. How could she explain that underneath the multicolored hair, underneath the Criminal Damage t-shirt and the skinny fit jeans, she was a very different person than the Vanilla he had known. "Still 'Vanilla' then?" as though he had read her mind. "Only in name.." the same response she'd been giving for years, yet he laughed. Perhaps that was why he laughed. "I've missed you, cupcake.." the old name again, the same calm drawl, almost tearing the years away, almost as though they'd never fallen apart, as though those whores had never existed. "Don't�" "Just want you to know, s'all. I done a lot of soul searching�" "Yeah, that's what you used to call it.." "No, not that.. I'm clean, hundred percent! Have been for months now.." "Months?" "It's a start." She nodded. He didn't seem like the Spyke she remembered, she couldn't deny that. Sure, he had the same pointed jaw line, the same bushy eyebrows, the tattoo of a skull on his tricep. But even the words he spoke felt� different, somehow. He stepped closer, his hand laying next to hers on the railing. "It's a start," she repeated, before quickly finding her resolve, "but it's been a long-ass time." "Yeah.." Spyke agreed, "but I still remember the last time we were here, don't you? You lay there.." and he pointed to where the slide once was, "and I.." "I remember," she cut in, but couldn't help the little giggle that escaped afterwards. "Are you seeing anyone?" The question was abrupt, and she reflexively jumped back, the mirth disappeared from her face. "Ye� no. No, I'm not." "Yeah, I am", she'd wanted to say. "He treats me well, he's funny and interesting, he's driven and successful." But then, The Jackrabbit probably didn't even know what a relationship was. "That's cool." If Spyke had noticed her falter, he'd ignored it. He stepped forward, and his hand fell resting on hers. "Yeah, I guess." * * * The grains of sand are tumbling over each other in their race to the bottom. The time falls away. Still there is no light, still there is no sound but the pitter patter of sand and the beating of one heart. "For a while we disappeareded. Stevieo took me away, Tal. Took me far away from Oh-Dub-Eff. I think he hoped you'd leave after that. You gots what you wanted, after all. The Jackrabbit fell. But in all that time we's was away, Tal, for all the questions, for all the wordses I said and said and said to Stevieo, to Vanilly, to Doc� They were all directed at you, Tal. You betrayed me.. you betrayed us, YOU BETRAYED FUSION. Actually, Tal� actually you just betrayed yourself. I stopped fearing The Enigma, y'see. I's felt it all coming back, Tal, all those thingys in my head when Gee-Dub-Oh let me in� you remember the World Title match with Titan 3 don't you, my bestest friend? I'd let it go for so so so long, sometimes I even stopped believing it myself; did The Jackrabbit really destroy Talon? Did The Jackrabbit set fire to Talon's bird, did The Jackrabbit free The Dread-Beast Talanacao? Yes, Tal. I DID IT! I did it for Jay. Because you forced me to! You've never just left well enough alone, all the times you try to fix things, try to put things how you thinks they fit.. they don't fit, Tal, they never did� NONE OF THIS FITS! You didn't end The Jackrabbit at Pool of Blood, Tal, and when I looked in your eyes at Fall Or Rise, do you knows what I saw? WEAKNESS! And I dropped you on your stupid head, and I walked away with the Tag Team Champeenoships! Lemme tell you summink� Doc looks at these shiny belts as Tag Team titles. But I look at these and I see one thing. I see that all the times we had shiny belts like these, they weren't about Fusion. They were never about Fusion! I held those belts, Tal, me me me me me me! You don't deserve to hold this belt! You won't hold this belt! This belt, this belongs to the new greatest tag team in all of wrestling, Tal, these belts belong to Fool's Gold� Doc and The Jackrabbit know what it means to work as a unit, Tal.. that's how we beat you and your new toy at Shocking Terror� Doc knows that The Jackrabbit is his equal, whilst all the time you just treated me like you treat The Savory now, like a puppet! All those years we pretended to be friends, all those Tag Team Titles we winned as friends.. FRIENDS!? Would a friend do these things to me, Talon!? WOULD THEY!? You won't hold this belt Tal, because Fusion doesn't deserve to hold these belts. BECAUSE FUSION WAS A LIE!" And he turns the hourglass over again.   * * * Stevie checked the street, first to his left, and then to his right. It was late, dark, and the street was deserted, but all the same he could not afford to assume. He counted the doors as he went, one, two, three, past the pawn shop, past the Laundromat... A hand grabbed his shoulder and he jumped, spun around.. no, it was just the branch of a tree. He straightened his tie, for all the good that did, and continued his search. Cross the street, and past an alleyway.. he was sure he saw someone in there crawling towards him, their head a mangled mess of viscera.. but no, it was just a cat. Two more buildings, and on his left. The door was as described, blue, the paint chipped at the top corner. Stevie didn't ring a bell or clatter the mail slot. He checked his surroundings once more before lifting up the mat and locating the key. Hands trembling, he passed into a hallway. The hallway was small, barely two people would fit between one room and the other. He checked the corners anyway, but nobody was lying in wait. The stairs creaked as he moved up them, and from that point on he was careful to test each one with his foot. At the top of the stairs was a larger corridor, with a choice of three doors. The smaller one he assumed was the lavatory or a closet, the other seemed to lead up to the roof. He selected the third. The door had only opened an inch when he heard the sudden barking, and felt the pushing against him from the other side of the door. A pair of canine jaws snapped at the opening. Stevie struggled to hold the door in place. Struggled to stop the ferocious hounds from reaching him. "The fuck you doin' sneakin' around?" A large, grizzled black man stepped in from behind him, and shoved the door open, releasing the dogs. Two pitbulls burst out into the corridor. "You remembah Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, boy?" Stevie looked down at the two canines, petting them on their heads as they licked his hands. "They were a lot smaller back then�" he replied. Guildenstern growled, rolling over to expose his tummy for further petting. Rosencrantz was less keen. "Ahh, ol' Rosey remembahs ya, Stevie-boy. You still remembah him?" "How could I forget him?" and he rolled back his jacket sleeve to reveal the scar, a distinct canine jaw-shape. Jed Kingsley seemed to find the whole thing amusing, leaning casually against the doorframe in a simple wife-beater and sweatpants. Jed was looking well-built for his age, though his hair was notably more gray than Stevie remembered. "Hahaaaa, that's hardly a scratch! Sign of affection, all it is! What's up wit' yah.. you look like a sack o' horse shit.." Stevie shook his head, dismissively. He wouldn't talk about the Arcade again. Couldn't bring himself to mention those men, grown men just doing their jobs.. dead. Brutally. Violently. And why? "It was bullshit, man. I've never seen so much� so much�" "There's lots you ain't seen, Stevie-boy. Yah knew the score�" "Don't give me that crap about 'the score', Jed� nothing was said about men dying, you couldn't even imagine.." "You think I nevah killed a man?" "That's not what I meant� fuck, I need to sit down." Jed opened the door behind him, and the pitbulls lead the way into the sitting room. Stevie dropped himself into a cozy looking seat. A deep growl arose from the floor. "That's his seat, Stevie-boy.." Stevie muttered as he relinquished the seat to Rosencrantz. He could have sworn the dog muttered something back in retort. Jed shoved a plain wooden chair across to him before circling around to the kitchen, and Stevie finally sat. The room was cluttered, books lined one entire wall, and a plethora of laptops and computers were set up along a bar-style workbench with other electronic pieces, ranging from old style LCD monitors and IDE drives, to flat screen LCDs and SSD flash devices. One monitor is alive, untended but blinking. WE ARE WATCHING. In the corner, next to two dog's bowls, was a punch bag, MMA gloves abandoned on the floor beside it. "Yah gotta get your act togethah, you can't stay here. We can't have yah losin' it now, boy.." Stevie hastily averted his eyes from the room, and found Jed holding out a mug of freshly boiled herbal tea. He shook his head to decline, but apparently the offer wasn't optional. He took the mug, and for a second Jed rested a muscled arm on his shoulder. He was reassuring him, Stevie realized, but he wouldn't pamper him. Jed never had. He took a sip of the drink, and instantly felt it calming his nerves. "I know, I know.. I just don�t� I don't feel safe anymore." "Dis was nevah bout being safe. 'Was always bout balance, yah know that." "I know that.. god, I know that, five years man. Five damn years I've been travelling around the globe with him.." "Nobody evah gave you any timeframes, Stevie-boy. Before dis Jackrabbit, you was a lonely kid with daddy issues, hacking into government mainframes, playing little boy games." "I realise that.." "Well now you playin' a more important game! An' if you lose yah shit, if that wrestler of yours gets wind o' all dis.. if he finds out about us� then shit, we done. They take him away, and the balance we been fightin' ta keep.. that goes out the windah, you get me?" Stevie nodded once more, placing his mug down and idly scratching underneath Guildenstern's chin. The dog growled softly in response. "What do I do?" "Get yah bitch ass back out on tha field, play nice with The Jackrabbit, and make damned sure he don't know what you're about, tha's what I think! And for god's sake, ditch the girl. What's that 'bout, she givin' ya some?" "What? No! 'Rabbit� The Jackrabbit insisted." "Whatevah, just don't let 'er get too close to it. I keep tellin' yah, the only things in life that yah can't predict are tornados and women. And they has about the same effect, too!" "Yeah.." Guildenstern whined as Stevie stood, making his way to the door, and hung close at the heels in the hopes that he'd stay. Without even seeing him out, Jed returned to the punching bag, and began strapping the leather gloves around his oversized fists. "I'll drop in on ya soon, Stevie-boy, how 'bout that? Yah can tell him I'm yah long-lost black uncle, or summat, haaa.." "He'd believe it, too.." "Ha! Just remember, I don't care what he goes and does next, boy.. you nevah let him know that you're workin' with the Zero People.." "I know, Jed.. I know.." * * * The last of the sand grains are filtered to the bottom of the hourglass now. The sun is coming up, the orange tint just barely visible through the small window in the lonely room. Still he watches the hourglass, watches the sand ticking away; he has lost count of how many times he has turned it over. Truly, he was never really counting. His shades lie abandoned on the ground, his head in his hands. "I know why you needs to end me, Tal. Oh shush, surely you of all peoples don't think I's stupid too? Surely you of all peoples can see beneath the surface� that's what you do after all, isn't it philosophiser? You sit in your tower, you read your dustyful pages, and you cast your big scary eye over everyone outside. You wanna know something, Tal? Let me tells you! I never liked your tower. And I never liked your pages. And I definitely never liked your big scary eyeses! I'm not stupid, Tal. And I don't forget like they think I forgets. I know they're all in here, Tal, all the shiny silver orbs.. all I has to do is reach out� reach out and I can feel them, Tal, all of them. They talk to me, they whisper things that don't always makes sense, but I still understand them. I see people, y'know.. people that shouldn't be there no more. I see Mom, I see Dad.. They loved me once, didn't they Tal? Why do you never tell me those things? I see Greg Newman, the suited man that would use us like animals.. but you didn't hurt him, did you Tal? Why did you have to hurt me?! I saw the crazy doctor, Radnik.. He would have destroyed me once, but you stepped in. You showed him things to make him run away� but why didn't you show me, Tal? Were you afraid The Jackrabbit would run away too? You're a coward, Talon! A COWARD! You play like you can't be touched, but you fear� you fear more than� more than a rabbit, a rabbit cornered by a bird of prey. That's why you avoided The Jackrabbit at Shocking Terror, isn't it!? You fear you'll lose touch, don't you Tal? Isn't that what scares you most? That you'll LOSE CONTROL! I've got a sad story for you, old friend.. old ENEMY� The sad story is called Brawltoppi-� Brawl..topia. BRAWLTOPIA! Remember the word, Talon, if you ignore everything else I've told you here, remember this! At Brawltopia The Jackrabbit stops playing your stupid games. At Brawltopia The Jackrabbit makes this MY game! Hahahahaaaaaa! Do you hear that noise, Talon? Let me play it to you again.. for old ha ha time's ha ha sake�. hah hahahahahahh hahaahahahaaaaaaaa hahahahaaaaaa.. ..aaaahahahhahahahahaaa� It's the sound of laughter! But when we fight� haahahahaa� The Jackrabbit isn't looking for the Last Laugh, Talon� hahahaa� The Jackrabbit is going to end this. Because I� I hate you." And he stands, launching the hourglass against the wall so that it smashes into fragments, scattering glass and sand into the darkness. Closing his eyes, the laughter dead, he reaches inside and removes a single solitary silver orb, discarding it to the ground.