The Champion and the Contender

[Deleted]

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Friday Night Mayhem – June 13th, 2014

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Pain…

The feel the wind being knocked out of me, coupled with the sharp, agonizing pain in my ribs, is enough to have me roll to my side in pain on the mat. From my position on the mat I can hear the loud thumping noise of the referee’s hand slapping against the mat.

1…

2…

3!!!

Patricia Downs
”Here are you winners…The EHWF Champion, David Smith and Silver Kazama!”

Some more loud, thumping and shuffling noises are heard around me as I push myself up to my hands and knees. With a grunt of strain I push myself up to my feet and take in my surroundings. TQ and another man drag David Arnold out of the ring and throw him into the steel steps. For a moment I think about going out there…helping him. It would be the right thing to do. But…something stops me.

’There is no power to be drawn from others.’

My eyes turn away to the cause of the nagging thought in the back of my mind…David.

’You will never have what it takes to defeat me.’

That voice. That damnable nagging voice in the back of my head.

I turn my back to David Arnold, TQ, and the unknown assailant. Now, I find myself standing face to face with the man I will be facing at Trial of Tears. Our eyes lock. That same look of arrogance...

’No. Not arrogance.’

Power. It is radiating off of him in waves. It’s…unnerving, but I hold my ground. Slowly, I step towards the center of the ring. My eyes narrow and never waver from his as my fists clench at my sides. He steps towards me. We are now inches apart. The crowd is going wild at the prospect of a brawl, but for once, I pay them no mind. No…now there are only two important pieces to this puzzle…David…and myself.

The only question is…who’s piece is going into place first?



( ( TBC: David – I figured we could have some fun with the way Mayhem ended. If you don’t feel like it, we can just leave this here and nothing happens haha. ) )

[Deleted]

One. Two. Three.

David exhaled, rising first to one knee, then two, and at last to his feet as the bell rang and Patricia Downs announced he and Kazama as the winners. He watched blithely for a moment as T.Q. Smooth and his unnamed and irrelevant ally dragged David Arnold from the ring and proceeded to lay into him, then turned to the man who would be his opponent at Trial of Tears. Kazama was watching the altercation between Arnold, Smooth, and who-cares on the outside as well, but there was something in his face - something new, something hitherto-unseen - that brought a flicker of a smile to David's face.

He had seen. Adam DePaolo had thrown three men at them in the expectation that it would take them both to find victory, and as David had proved that he alone could get the job done, with help from nothing and no one, Matthew Kazama had at last glimpsed the difference between them, even if he did not yet comprehend it.

Kazama at last turned, catching his gaze and holding it. He walked up to the number-one contender, staying silent until, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the hard camera's "On-Air" light go from green to red. It was only then, amidst the din of the crowd and the dull roar of his own entrance music, that David spoke.

David: Now do you see? Now do you understand?

TBC: Silver

[Deleted]

'Do I see...Oh yes...I see a great many things...'

I stand in the face of David Gideon Smith. Our eyes locked on each other...peering into the others soul...testing each others merit. In this moment...this moment alone...I can truly see for the first time. I give David the briefest of nods.

Silver Kazama
"I...understand. All of this...is meaningless. You say there is now 'power' to draw from these people...from my friends...perhaps you are right."

The roar of the mans from seconds earlier is still encompassing the arena. The cameras are no longer rolling. In this moment...this...crucial moment...there are only two: David Gideon Smith and Silver Kazama. I look down to the EHWF Championship for a fraction of a second before looking back into David's eyes.

Silver Kazama
"Perhaps I've been looking in the wrong places. We have been in this ring together five times...and each time...I have had a taste of the power you possess. You call yourself Sovereign...in two weeks...at Trial of Tears...two men are walking into that C4 Match...and for the last time...I shall see the power of David Gideon Smith before me."

I stop for a moment. My eyes narrow slightly as I continue, however.

Silver Kazama
"But...for the first time. You will come face to face with the power of Silver Kazama. Not Silver Kazama the hero. Not Silver Kazama the brother. Not Silver Kazama the friend. No. At Trial of Tears, David Gideon Smith, you will do battle for one final time, and for the first time, against Silver Kazama as a man. A man who has everything to gain and nothing left to lose. You are the symbol of power in EHWF currently. You, whether you know it or not, have been giving that belt you hold meaning."

I point to the EHWF Championship for a moment, but my eyes never waver from David's.

Silver Kazama
"That belt has become the very thing you didn't want it to be. It is a symbol...a symbol that shows you are the best that this business has to offer. Right now, David, that's you. You've been saying it. You've been proving it. At Trial of Tears...you've gotta prove it one more time...or lose it all."

(TBC: David)

[Deleted]

David dropped his gaze, pondering Silver's words. The EHWF Championship suddenly felt a few pounds heavier in his right hand. After a moment, though, he lifted his eyes back up to the number-one contender's, the corners of his mouth wrinkling as a smile - not one of malevolence or contempt, but of rare humor - cracked into being on his face.

David: You really oughta know by now...

He leaned in close, so that not a word would be lost over the noise of the crowd and music.

David: I don't lose.

With that he turned, handstanding over the top rope onto the ring apron and agilely vaulting down to the outside floor. Not breaking stride, or even turning around to gauge his Trial of Tears opponent's reaction, he made his way up the ramp, across the stage, and through the curtain, and was gone.

TBC: Silver

[Deleted]

Silver stands there...watching as David walks his way out of the ring and up the ramp. As David disappears behind the black curtain, his final statement echoes repeatedly in Silver's mind.

'I don't lose...'

Despite himself, Silver finds himself smiling lightly.

Silver Kazama
"Yet..."

Silver stops and looks around the arena for a moment. The crowd noise floods his ears as he looks around. A ghost of a smile spreads to his face once more as he drops down to the mat and rolls out of the ring. He lands outside the ring on his feet and heads up the ramp.

'You don't lose...and I won't lose...soon...we will see who stands along among the rubble that will be Trial of Tears...'