The road to Hell is paved with good intentions [edited]
Sept 6, 2024 23:32:32 GMT -5
Lord Allton likes this
Post by zybala on Sept 6, 2024 23:32:32 GMT -5
: We open up in the living room of the Zybala household. Baby stuff litters the floor as the parents of now 5 month old Jackie Zybala have given up trying to clean anything that won't lead to a health hazard. Jackie is in a bouncy chair while Cathy is on the floor, playing with her daughter and smiling at the giggling baby. However, there is a deep sadness in Mrs. Zybala's eyes. She looks up as her husband walks in the room, cell phone in hand and face looking grim. :
Cathy: Well?
Zybala: It's done. You and Jackie won't be affected financially or legally by anything I do from this point forward.
Cathy: That's good, I guess. I don't see why you're doing all of this. You're a father now. You should be thinking about our baby.
Zybala: I am thinking about her. She's all I think about now. Feeding her, loving her, keeping her safe. She's my top priority!
Cathy: Then why do this at all??
Zybala: Because, the Curse is real. You've seen what it's done to others. What it's done to me! I've been screwed out of the world title so many times! I've been kidnapped and sent to a different timeline because of a magic port-o-potty and a bald doppelganger. You and I got stuck in a time loop watching Meteor 2. I was killed by a demon clown and somehow brought back! It all comes back to that fucking house and the curse the basement holds. I've had conversations with Melinda Rhodes!
Cathy: Then just quit the company! We have enough money so that even Jackie would never have to work and you have nothing left to prove in wrestling. You made the Hall of Fame, for Christ sake!
: Zybala ponders this a moment before hanging his head low. He looks at his baby girl, shuddering out a breath as he tries to hold back tears now. :
Zybala: We both know I can't quit. OCW and its Curse will always find a way to drag me back. OCW has closed several times, I went to other feds, owners have shifted, I even retired, but that curse always rears its head. I was in that house, honey. I could practically taste the bad juju in the air. You could have every and any priest, medicine man, witch doctor and voodoo priestess come and cleanse the place, that curse will linger and grow. I have to burn the place down.
Cathy: Can't you just let Rob handle it? He owns it now, right?
Zybala: Look, I love Rob. I do. But the house has its claws in him already. He might shake it off on his own, but I doubt it. To save him and everyone else; the house has to go.
: Cathy looks down at Jackie as well. Both parents smile at the happy, bouncing baby who remains blissfully unaware of the situation. :
Cathy: What about Jackie? She needs her daddy.
Zybala: She's why I'm doing this! As long as that house remains, there's always gonna be another Welsh, or Pablono or ZyBalda. It won't let anything good or pure stand. Look what it did to the Strader's dream of unification under the PWA banner. It destroys anything that doesn't feed its chaos.
Cathy: If you're that worried, why can't you do it now? Why do you have to wait until the stupid show? It's only an arson charge if you get caught now. Why risk attempted murder charges?
Zybala: Because it's too strong. That thing's like the Amityville house. I go now, and its energies focus squarely on me. But while everyone is fighting, it will be distracted by everything. Maybe if Mobley is there, I can distract the house more by talking to Derek about expanding Outsiders into that yard as an added distraction. Make it think I wanna feed the chaos. Lure it into a false sense of security before I strike. Hopefully, starting the fire in the basement will give everyone else time to leave. If not, well, at least I'd be getting rid of a revenant along with the curse.
Cathy: But isn't Zombie Marcus your Outsiders champ? Why burn him?
Zybala: I'm not talking about him. If I have to, I'm pushing him, Rob and Donnie Harris out of that house. I can't let my Yard stars burn. No, I was talking about Duce Jones. I buried that fucker alive and now he's walking around again? The Curse made him into another ghost or something. Good thing I know how to take care of those…
: Zybala looks thoughtfully as he picks up daughter, smiling again to match hers. His smile turns to a frown as he turns her slightly and sniffs her butt. An audible fart is heard as Mike groans. He takes Jackie over to the changing table as the scene fades out. :
: Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City is the place to be. At least for Zybala, it is. He is standing near a large backhoe and gaping hole in the ground. Zybala is holding a large duffle bag in one hand and a shovel in the other as he hops into the hole. A man leans out of the backhoe's cockpit and calls out a go ahead to Zybala. Zybala nods and hops in the hole. He puts the bag down and starts digging. And digging. And digging. Time passes and Zybala grows more frustrated. After digging down a few more feet, he throws the shovel out of the hole in frustration and starts digging with his hands. A growl escapes his throat as he grabs his bag and climbs out. He looks around the cemetery, a manic look creeping to his eyes. :
Zybala: Yeah… I'm sure this is where I buried Duce. Where are his bones?!
Worker: Maybe he ain't dead? You wrestler types have buried each udder for years an’ come out alive an’ kickin’. Look at Kane an’ Undertaker.
Zybala: No… NO. He was here! I made sure there was no way he'd climb out alive! It's that Curse! Fucking thing is bringing the dead back! Duce was strong enough as is. I don't need him with added zombie strength. Marcus was bad enough. Ka'Derrion was a force before he died. A bona-fide legend anywhere he went. And somehow being dead made him better!! I don't look forward to fighting him, mostly because he's my main Outsider. But fighting a zombie is fucking hard.
: Zybala starts to fret and panic a little. :
Zybala: No, no, no, no, no …. This isn't good. This is NOT good. It took everything and then some to beat Duce the last time. I nearly got buried just to get my ONE win over him! And now, The Curse made him stronger as a pain-resistant revenant?! I need protection from this. I need help. I need HIM!! He'll help me burn that house down. Not only that, he'll help me win!
: Zybala storms off, leaving the confused Worker behind as we cut out once more. :
Zybala: You sure nobody has been here? Scavengers or the like?
Sherpa: Oh no. People avoid this place of mountain. Bad spirits linger in this place.
Zybala: You don't gotta tell me twice. This destruction has The Curse written all over it.
Sherpa: Yes. Area cursed. Pyramid ruined land.
: Zybala nods somberly before returning to the rubble. He moves what he can, moves around what he can't and sometimes crawls under spaces barely big enough as the sherpas watch. A loud “A-HA!” cuts through the relative silence of the mountain air. Zybala crawls back out of the rubble cradling something. He stands up and stares at his find, a small, almost manic smile on his face. :
Zybala: Found you! You were there for me when nobody else was when we were stranded on that island. You were the only one who seemed to be able to break The Curse's hold on me. With you, I was able to do sometimes The Curse wouldn't allow before; win OCW gold!
: Zybala extends his arms and holds out a human skull wearing a Rorschach mask. The sherpas visibly reach as Zybala doesn't notice. He seems to be losing some grip on reality as he converses with the skull. :
Zybala: Yeah. I know you were resting in peace. But I need your help again. The Curse is too strong for me to face alone…… I know you're just a head, but it's …. Can you just…. LOOK! I get you're dead and retired. You can at least be there for moral support….. because I helped you move all your shit into The Baby Sitters Club headquarters!..... Man, you're the only one who can help me. We won the tag titles together! We broke the Curse for a while! Us! With you by my side, I can finally win the World Title and burn that house down; ending The Curse forever!!.... What?... No, Grenier’s bad luck…. Because you and I defended the titles for months and the second I teamed up with, PTSD lost the belts. I need YOU!.... Yeah…. That COULD work…
: Zybala then peels the mask off of the skull. And we mean peel. A wet, sticky sound can be heard as the mask slowly comes loose. Small bits drip from the mask as Zybala puts in on. The sherpas retch and vomit at the sight as Zybala cradles the fleshy skull. :
Zybala: Wait ‘til they get a load of me.
: Zybala seems proud of his rip off of Jack Nicholson's Joker line as he stands there, bits of flesh falling from the skull now that the mask is off. He turns toward his guides, who back away in disgust. Zybala takes a step towards them and they take off running. Zybala chases after them, calling out how they need to get him down the mountain as the scene fades to black. :
“Shut up, Zybala. Stick to running your stupid Outsiders.” I can hear people say. To them, all I gotta say is fuck you. Half of you back out of bookings more than my daughter fills her diapers; while I've kept that “joke” fed running for 6 long years and God willing, much, much longer. Outsiders, like me, started off as a joke and became a fucking institution! I kept it going just on sheer will power and spite. And look at how many Outsiders are in this match. Allton, Donnie Harris, Zombie Marcus, and established OCW legend Bob Grenier. Even Duce was part of the roster for a show! Outsiders is almost as unstoppable as the Curse itself!
Cathy: Well?
Zybala: It's done. You and Jackie won't be affected financially or legally by anything I do from this point forward.
Cathy: That's good, I guess. I don't see why you're doing all of this. You're a father now. You should be thinking about our baby.
Zybala: I am thinking about her. She's all I think about now. Feeding her, loving her, keeping her safe. She's my top priority!
Cathy: Then why do this at all??
Zybala: Because, the Curse is real. You've seen what it's done to others. What it's done to me! I've been screwed out of the world title so many times! I've been kidnapped and sent to a different timeline because of a magic port-o-potty and a bald doppelganger. You and I got stuck in a time loop watching Meteor 2. I was killed by a demon clown and somehow brought back! It all comes back to that fucking house and the curse the basement holds. I've had conversations with Melinda Rhodes!
Cathy: Then just quit the company! We have enough money so that even Jackie would never have to work and you have nothing left to prove in wrestling. You made the Hall of Fame, for Christ sake!
: Zybala ponders this a moment before hanging his head low. He looks at his baby girl, shuddering out a breath as he tries to hold back tears now. :
Zybala: We both know I can't quit. OCW and its Curse will always find a way to drag me back. OCW has closed several times, I went to other feds, owners have shifted, I even retired, but that curse always rears its head. I was in that house, honey. I could practically taste the bad juju in the air. You could have every and any priest, medicine man, witch doctor and voodoo priestess come and cleanse the place, that curse will linger and grow. I have to burn the place down.
Cathy: Can't you just let Rob handle it? He owns it now, right?
Zybala: Look, I love Rob. I do. But the house has its claws in him already. He might shake it off on his own, but I doubt it. To save him and everyone else; the house has to go.
: Cathy looks down at Jackie as well. Both parents smile at the happy, bouncing baby who remains blissfully unaware of the situation. :
Cathy: What about Jackie? She needs her daddy.
Zybala: She's why I'm doing this! As long as that house remains, there's always gonna be another Welsh, or Pablono or ZyBalda. It won't let anything good or pure stand. Look what it did to the Strader's dream of unification under the PWA banner. It destroys anything that doesn't feed its chaos.
Cathy: If you're that worried, why can't you do it now? Why do you have to wait until the stupid show? It's only an arson charge if you get caught now. Why risk attempted murder charges?
Zybala: Because it's too strong. That thing's like the Amityville house. I go now, and its energies focus squarely on me. But while everyone is fighting, it will be distracted by everything. Maybe if Mobley is there, I can distract the house more by talking to Derek about expanding Outsiders into that yard as an added distraction. Make it think I wanna feed the chaos. Lure it into a false sense of security before I strike. Hopefully, starting the fire in the basement will give everyone else time to leave. If not, well, at least I'd be getting rid of a revenant along with the curse.
Cathy: But isn't Zombie Marcus your Outsiders champ? Why burn him?
Zybala: I'm not talking about him. If I have to, I'm pushing him, Rob and Donnie Harris out of that house. I can't let my Yard stars burn. No, I was talking about Duce Jones. I buried that fucker alive and now he's walking around again? The Curse made him into another ghost or something. Good thing I know how to take care of those…
: Zybala looks thoughtfully as he picks up daughter, smiling again to match hers. His smile turns to a frown as he turns her slightly and sniffs her butt. An audible fart is heard as Mike groans. He takes Jackie over to the changing table as the scene fades out. :
________________________
That fucking curse. It’s been the bane of OCW for decades. Every screwy, horrible thing you can think of. Psychopaths just being awarded the World Title while every DESERVING person being screwed out of the title or having their reigns cut short by management. Casual Murders! Bifford’s cannibalistic restaurants and never facing any justice. Welsh’s obsession with pushing new talent at the expense of his established stars. Mac O'Connor getting too many segments at pay-per-views. Matt Knox gets an invite while SYNN gets the shaft. Josie Barnes!! The list of atrocities goes on and on. And what is Mobley's answer?
“Let's do a show at the place where all the Curse resonates from.” Fucking brilliant, jackasses. Why not just say you don't give a shit about us living and call it a day? “But you get the world championship if you outlast everyone else.” Managementese for “if you outlive everyone else. Enjoy the Pizza Party.” New leader, same disregard for life. The curse lives on. This is why I gotta burn that damned house; basement and all.
I know, I know. I’m being a bit hypocritical putting others at risk of burning alive. At least I can lessen the casualties by eliminating people on my way to the basement. Easy targets like Toussaint who will be so focused on his hate crush of Donnie that a well timed sneak attack will do the trick. Even if he manages to eliminate Donnie, Toussaint will be too busy playing with his Tous-taint over the win to notice anyone else. Maybe Vhodka can even loan him her vibrating hair brush.
Hopefully the smell of smoke and me yelling “fire” will get anyone remaining to leave. If not, I can always ask them if they wanna be on a Dystopia. That should at least make some walk away with some lame excuse. Mack will probably be drunk and only agree to show if I beat him. Way easier said than done. Mack is a tough sonofabitch. He is a former world champion after all. Not that you'll remember that. Most boring reigns ever. Hopefully, he'll be surrounded by empty booze bottles that I can keep smashing over his old ass knees, his weakest points, and then make him submit.
The others, well they know me well enough that when I cry fire, shit is gonna burn. Speaking of burning….
Hopefully the smell of smoke and me yelling “fire” will get anyone remaining to leave. If not, I can always ask them if they wanna be on a Dystopia. That should at least make some walk away with some lame excuse. Mack will probably be drunk and only agree to show if I beat him. Way easier said than done. Mack is a tough sonofabitch. He is a former world champion after all. Not that you'll remember that. Most boring reigns ever. Hopefully, he'll be surrounded by empty booze bottles that I can keep smashing over his old ass knees, his weakest points, and then make him submit.
The others, well they know me well enough that when I cry fire, shit is gonna burn. Speaking of burning….
________________________
: Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City is the place to be. At least for Zybala, it is. He is standing near a large backhoe and gaping hole in the ground. Zybala is holding a large duffle bag in one hand and a shovel in the other as he hops into the hole. A man leans out of the backhoe's cockpit and calls out a go ahead to Zybala. Zybala nods and hops in the hole. He puts the bag down and starts digging. And digging. And digging. Time passes and Zybala grows more frustrated. After digging down a few more feet, he throws the shovel out of the hole in frustration and starts digging with his hands. A growl escapes his throat as he grabs his bag and climbs out. He looks around the cemetery, a manic look creeping to his eyes. :
Zybala: Yeah… I'm sure this is where I buried Duce. Where are his bones?!
Worker: Maybe he ain't dead? You wrestler types have buried each udder for years an’ come out alive an’ kickin’. Look at Kane an’ Undertaker.
Zybala: No… NO. He was here! I made sure there was no way he'd climb out alive! It's that Curse! Fucking thing is bringing the dead back! Duce was strong enough as is. I don't need him with added zombie strength. Marcus was bad enough. Ka'Derrion was a force before he died. A bona-fide legend anywhere he went. And somehow being dead made him better!! I don't look forward to fighting him, mostly because he's my main Outsider. But fighting a zombie is fucking hard.
: Zybala starts to fret and panic a little. :
Zybala: No, no, no, no, no …. This isn't good. This is NOT good. It took everything and then some to beat Duce the last time. I nearly got buried just to get my ONE win over him! And now, The Curse made him stronger as a pain-resistant revenant?! I need protection from this. I need help. I need HIM!! He'll help me burn that house down. Not only that, he'll help me win!
: Zybala storms off, leaving the confused Worker behind as we cut out once more. :
________________________
It's funny. This whole event is supposed to be about breaking the cycle and making OCW different and better, but it's still the same CURSED-ASS booking. They say they care about us but book us in what basically equates to a Ten Little Indians match. Movie or nursery rhyme, take your pick. We're gonna be thrown in that house, and have to fight whoever we get stuck in a room with. And fight. And fight until only one is left standing. And if the curse gets its way, the eliminated get thrown in the basement.
The Curse thrives on stuff like that. It knows the fuckery and hate of OCW makes it stronger. It affects people differently. For some, it makes it so their evil never gets punished. For others, anything good gets ripped apart. For me, it's that damn World Title. The Curse, working through various bosses, uses it like a carrot and I'm the dumb horse trying to get a bite before it gets pulled away. Every time I come close to winning the belt, the Curse strikes.
There were many instances, tournaments and number one contender matches where outside interference, usually Duce, screwed me. But the two hardest pills to swallow had to be Meyhu and Outcast. If you know, you know. Lets just say that The Curse doesn't want me to be champion.
But it's not impossible to beat. Some shines of light make it through the dark. There was the time when I managed to sneak past the hateful gaze of The Curse and win tag team gold. Granted, I was in disguise the whole time and I had help. Maybe for Cursed Countdown, I could get by with a little help from my friend….
________________________
: The Himalayas. A majestic mountain range and a natural wonder. Also the site of the last Illuminatus Pyramid. A structure that collapsed, killing several people. The Curse followed Welsh to TRIAD, it seems. It also seems that no one bothered to come and clean up the destruction. Remains of the structure are strewn about the area; remains that a dirty and bruised looking Zybala is sifting through. A few Sherpas stand nearby, watching and talking amongst themselves. Zybala stops his rummaging to address them. :Zybala: You sure nobody has been here? Scavengers or the like?
Sherpa: Oh no. People avoid this place of mountain. Bad spirits linger in this place.
Zybala: You don't gotta tell me twice. This destruction has The Curse written all over it.
Sherpa: Yes. Area cursed. Pyramid ruined land.
: Zybala nods somberly before returning to the rubble. He moves what he can, moves around what he can't and sometimes crawls under spaces barely big enough as the sherpas watch. A loud “A-HA!” cuts through the relative silence of the mountain air. Zybala crawls back out of the rubble cradling something. He stands up and stares at his find, a small, almost manic smile on his face. :
Zybala: Found you! You were there for me when nobody else was when we were stranded on that island. You were the only one who seemed to be able to break The Curse's hold on me. With you, I was able to do sometimes The Curse wouldn't allow before; win OCW gold!
: Zybala extends his arms and holds out a human skull wearing a Rorschach mask. The sherpas visibly reach as Zybala doesn't notice. He seems to be losing some grip on reality as he converses with the skull. :
Zybala: Yeah. I know you were resting in peace. But I need your help again. The Curse is too strong for me to face alone…… I know you're just a head, but it's …. Can you just…. LOOK! I get you're dead and retired. You can at least be there for moral support….. because I helped you move all your shit into The Baby Sitters Club headquarters!..... Man, you're the only one who can help me. We won the tag titles together! We broke the Curse for a while! Us! With you by my side, I can finally win the World Title and burn that house down; ending The Curse forever!!.... What?... No, Grenier’s bad luck…. Because you and I defended the titles for months and the second I teamed up with, PTSD lost the belts. I need YOU!.... Yeah…. That COULD work…
: Zybala then peels the mask off of the skull. And we mean peel. A wet, sticky sound can be heard as the mask slowly comes loose. Small bits drip from the mask as Zybala puts in on. The sherpas retch and vomit at the sight as Zybala cradles the fleshy skull. :
Zybala: Wait ‘til they get a load of me.
: Zybala seems proud of his rip off of Jack Nicholson's Joker line as he stands there, bits of flesh falling from the skull now that the mask is off. He turns toward his guides, who back away in disgust. Zybala takes a step towards them and they take off running. Zybala chases after them, calling out how they need to get him down the mountain as the scene fades to black. :
________________________
Okay. Before y'all judge me, hear me out. I AM that desperate to win the World Championship. I will use any and every talisman, rabbit's foot, dead friend's mask that I can get to finally get a belt that I should have held so many times. So what if it grosses people out. We're in a company that's seen sicker shit. Me wearing a dead man's mask doesn't even break the top twenty. If it will help me win the belt, I'll wear TLS's whole outfit and dance a waltz with his skeleton while using his skull as a weapon.
“Shut up, Zybala. Stick to running your stupid Outsiders.” I can hear people say. To them, all I gotta say is fuck you. Half of you back out of bookings more than my daughter fills her diapers; while I've kept that “joke” fed running for 6 long years and God willing, much, much longer. Outsiders, like me, started off as a joke and became a fucking institution! I kept it going just on sheer will power and spite. And look at how many Outsiders are in this match. Allton, Donnie Harris, Zombie Marcus, and established OCW legend Bob Grenier. Even Duce was part of the roster for a show! Outsiders is almost as unstoppable as the Curse itself!
Which is why it's an Outsider who's winning this whole fucking thing. Not Henri, who calls me a stain people can't get rid of. Son, that's called determination. I have no quit in me, no matter what's thrown at me and that should scare you. I've already buried Duce alive. I don't mind digging more holes and burying even more trash. Keep running your mouth and I'll make sure you meet Papa Gede sooner than you thought.
Not LCP, who seems to at least appreciate Outsiders enough to consider us a threat. He’s right to be worried. He may be the dark horse pick to win the whole thing, that's not gonna stop me from taking him on a trip to the glue factory if you catch my drift. Those who've watched Outsiders know I'm the king of beating a dead horse.
Not the other hardluck case that is Vhodka Black. She's been close to winning the belt only to have the moment taken away from her. Sadly, this is gonna be a repeat of the last time. Online, Outcast, it doesn't matter. The result will be the same, especially if you end up in a room with me. Even if you make it to the last two, you still won't make it out with the belt. I plan on drinking your tears of failure and defeat as if they were your namesake.
The other non-Outsiders? I just might lock them in the basement myself when I set it on fire to ensure an Outsiders win. While I want an Outsider to win, I want THE Outsider to win the most. I may have talked a bit too much about myself in this, but this is the Mike Zybala Show! I've fought too damn long and hard to play second fiddle to anyone else in this house. I've been screwed seven ways to Sunday, and been denied this title more times than anyone. Despite being a team player, the good guy in the locker room, everybody's buddy, I've always been made fun of and shat on. Never taken seriously.
Not LCP, who seems to at least appreciate Outsiders enough to consider us a threat. He’s right to be worried. He may be the dark horse pick to win the whole thing, that's not gonna stop me from taking him on a trip to the glue factory if you catch my drift. Those who've watched Outsiders know I'm the king of beating a dead horse.
Not the other hardluck case that is Vhodka Black. She's been close to winning the belt only to have the moment taken away from her. Sadly, this is gonna be a repeat of the last time. Online, Outcast, it doesn't matter. The result will be the same, especially if you end up in a room with me. Even if you make it to the last two, you still won't make it out with the belt. I plan on drinking your tears of failure and defeat as if they were your namesake.
The other non-Outsiders? I just might lock them in the basement myself when I set it on fire to ensure an Outsiders win. While I want an Outsider to win, I want THE Outsider to win the most. I may have talked a bit too much about myself in this, but this is the Mike Zybala Show! I've fought too damn long and hard to play second fiddle to anyone else in this house. I've been screwed seven ways to Sunday, and been denied this title more times than anyone. Despite being a team player, the good guy in the locker room, everybody's buddy, I've always been made fun of and shat on. Never taken seriously.
Well, that ends now. I plan on walking out of Cursed Countdown with the gold. I'm gonna take all that disrespect I've been given and shove back down everyone's throat. Friends will be given a chance to walk away. Foes will either be burned or buried. Regardless, I AM walking out of Countdown as OCW champion, no matter how many bodies I leave in my wake! And then, I'll do the most disrespectful thing you assholes can think of to the OCW World Title that anyone has ever done, including Syren jizzing all over it. I'm going to defend it in Outsiders and there's not a fucking thing any of you can do about it.