Post by PerZag on Feb 15, 2022 9:52:12 GMT -5
Monday, January 31st, 2022
A light turns on, illuminating a small room. The light shines brightly over the man you all know as PerZag as he sits on a black steel chair. In front of him is a four-legged, silver steel table. The confusion taking over PerZag’s body shows as he darts his head around the small room, attempting to see something within the darkness. Finally, he calls out towards it.
“Where the fuck am I?................................. Who’s there?........................... What’s going on?”
A voice slips through the darkness, sounding eerily familiar.
“You’re okay. You’re in a safe space. Actually, you’re technically in your own safe space.”
PerZag’s head twitches from right to left as his eyes stare towards the darkness the voice is coming from.
“What do you mean……… Who………. Who are you?”
The voice through the darkness starts chuckling.
“Isn’t it obvious? We have the same voice after all.”
A light turns on, showing a man wearing a police uniform. PerZag stares at the man in front of him, his eyes bulging out of his head.
“Wait, your………………….”
“Yes, I’m you, and you’re me. In fact, I am Steve, actually. You remember me, don’t you?”
PerZag stares across at the man with the same face as he. After a few moments, he nods his head.
“I remember you.”
“Of course you do. How could you forget about me? I’m the man you once wanted to be. I’m the guy YOU once were. I’m also the version of you that had to deal with the death of your best friend. Of OUR best friend. Isn’t that confusing? You and me, we’re the same, but you are trying to forget about me. Trying to let me go. And why is that?”
PerZag’s eyes drop down to the table in front of him as ‘Steve’ stares across at him.
“So, I’m guessing you still don’t want to face these demons. That you don’t want to face the fact that your best friend came back from the dead and killed your sister. Well, that’s fine, push me back to the depths of your mind. Try and forget it all. Forget who you are. Forget who you will always be.”
PerZag continues to stare at the table in front of him as ‘Steve’ still stares daggers into PerZag across from him. Finally, ‘Steve’ rolls his eyes and gives a slight chuckle.
“You’re fucking pathetic………….”
“SHUT UP!”
PerZag’s head lifts up from the table as he slams his right fist into the table, leaving a slight dent.
“There he goes. Now he shows some balls. Come on, Zag, you’ve always been all talk and no go. Face me for what I truly am. Face me for who you truly are.”
PerZag returns the ‘stare of daggers’ at ‘Steve’ before unclenching his fist on the table and taking in a deep breath.
“The only reason I want to forget you, well, us, is because that part of our life was our biggest failure. We trusted a man who we thought was our best friend, but he shot our sister in the head. He killed her because of us. If we didn’t trust him, she would still be alive. Our baby sister would still be alive.”
The angry eyes from ‘Steve’ dissipated; he stared across at PerZag with a look of understanding.
“You know that I know how you feel. I am you; I am him. I am Steve. What you were before you changed your name and became WORTHY. You tried to start anew, and I am here to tell you that that is what you don’t need. You don’t need to start anew. You just need to continue on. Remember the good times, learn from the bad times and use it all to find the success we deserve. That’s why I brought them here as well.”
PerZag’s eyebrows furrowed as he stared across at ‘Steve’.
“Wait…………….. Who?”
‘Someone call an ambulance.’
PerZag looks around the room, confused.
“What was that voice?
‘Steve’ reaches across and whacks PerZag’s hand, who turns his head towards him.
“Don’t worry about that right now, Zag. You have two other people you must talk to first.”
Two lights come to life within the darkened room, one to the left side of the table from PerZag and one to the right. The blinding lights send a brief headache into PerZag’s brain, but it fades away as the lights dim down to show two more people who look precisely like PerZag.
“So, Zag, do you recognise these two?”
PerZag looks to his left, seeing himself in his own wrestling attire and then looks to his right, showing himself again, but he’s wearing a blue gown. Finally, PerZag turns his head back to ‘Steve’.
“Are you kidding me? Is he supposed to be the Worthy me and he the Sexy me?”
“I am WORTHY!”
“And I am SEXY!”
“You mean us, don’t you?”
PerZag’s head goes from left to right to straight in front of him as he sees each version of himself speak.
“I don’t know if they’re us. Or if they’re me. Actually, this shit is really confusing. You, I know to be the past me, but aren’t these two still me.”
“Well, yes and no. See, you still call yourself Worthy, but you still choose to forget about the parts where you didn’t feel so Worthy. Where you failed. Same as when you called yourself Sexy. The parts where you had success, you would preach to the world, but the failures. Well, they’re a different story. You see, if WE want to be successful, you must bring it all back together. Bring us all back together. Without every last bit of US, there is no hope for the success you wish to achieve. Without ALL OF US, we won’t make it far up that pyramid we have to climb.”
PerZag looks at ‘Worthy’ to his left and then at ‘Sexy’ to his right before returning his gaze to ‘Steve’.
“You’re doing all this because of the OCW Championship. Because of that Pyramid Scheme Match. I wasn’t even going to bother risking myself in that match.”
“WE KNOW!”
The three versions of PerZag say those two words in unison, making PerZag’s head dart around the table.
“Why should I risk my health and safety when I have a championship already? Especially when I just won the Crave Championship last night against Ed Houston. I don’t need that belt anymore.”
“That’s just not true.”
PerZag turns his head to his left, staring at ‘Worthy’ Zag.
‘There’s a code blue in the emergency department. Code blue’
PerZag looks above him.
“Look at me, Zag.”
PerZag brings his head back down and stares at ‘Worthy’.
“We all know that that isn’t true. We all know that you want to taste the glory of holding that championship again. We all know that because we all want it. You remember it, don’t you? You remember the moment we defeated MJ Bell and won the OCW Championship. You remember that feeling of finally getting to the top of the mountain. I know you do because we all do.”
A smile crosses PerZag’s lips.
“There was no feeling like it.”
“Exactly. It was the best moment we ever had. That was OUR greatest triumph.”
“And it was the same as the moment we won the GCWA North American Championship.”
PerZag turns his head, looking to his right at ‘Sexy’ Zag.
“The moment we defeated Tony Savage in the middle of the GCWA ring was like no other. After years of having no success, we finally tasted it again. Success.”
PerZag turns his head straight and looks at the table in front of him, a smile still plastered across his face.
“They are the best memories we’ve got.”
“They are………………….”
PerZag lifts his head up, staring towards ‘Steve’.
“.............but, the problem is, we will always remember those memories. Those sensational moments, but they don’t teach us anything. It’s the ones that we don’t think about that does. It’s the ones that we want to forget, that do. Or, more importantly, the ones that YOU want to forget.”
‘Steve’ points directly at PerZag as he looks at ‘Steve’s’ index finger pointing directly into his soul. Then, he drops his head, staring at the table again.
‘PerZag, if you can hear me, please wake up.’
Frustration building up within him, PerZag slams his two fists on the steel table, creating two more dents.
“TELL ME, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON? WHAT ARE THOSE VOICES?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
PerZag stares a hole through ‘Steve’.
“You were involved in a hit and run. Someone hit you with a vehicle and sped off. That’s why you’re here. I told you that you are in your own safe space. That’s what this place is.”
“My mind.”
“Exactly.”
PerZag slumps in his chair, staring down at the darkness below the table.
“I’m in a coma, aren’t I?”
“Yes, that appears to be the case.”
“Will I wake up?”
“That depends on you.”
PerZag looks up.
“What do you mean?”
“The only way you are getting out of here is if you listen to us. If you let us all back in. Every single last one of us.”
“What do I have to do?”
“Good. What you need to do is remember the bad times. The times you want to forget. Our worst moments. All of ours. Just like how we were remembering Don and Diana. You’re best friend and your sister. You have to remember the others.”
‘Steve’ looks across at ‘Worthy’ and nods.
“Remember ours. Remember the year 2017. Remember the OCW Championship. Close your eyes; what do you see?”
PerZag closes his eyes.
“I see Survivor. I see the moment we got voted off, I see…………………..”
“NO!”
PerZag jumps in his seat, opening his eyes and staring at ‘Worthy’.
“That’s not our biggest failure. February 20th, 2017.”
“NO! NO! That was not a FUCKING failure. I did not get pinned; I did not lose that match.”
“But you did.”
PerZag turns his head to look at ‘Steve’.
“No, I didn’t. Bob Grenier took the pin. Bob Grenier lost the match. Bob failed.”
PerZag looks around the table as the three faces of himself shake their heads. He then starts staring at the table blankly.
“I failed, didn’t I. I was the only person who could have won that match, and I didn’t. Bob never had a chance, did he? I let Alice Knight become World Champion; I allowed that travesty to occur. I did that. I gave her the chance to win, and she did. She became OCW World Champion because I failed.”
PerZag turns to his right and looks at ‘Sexy’.
“And it’s Tommy, isn’t it?”
‘Sexy’ nods his head.
“I was meant to be the one taking care of him that day. I was the one that needed to protect him. And he got kidnapped because I didn’t do a good enough job. I didn’t protect him.”
“Look at me, Zag.”
PerZag looks across the table at ‘Steve’.
“As heartbreaking as it is to think back on these moments, we have to remember that they have happened. There is nothing we can do about it now. Don and Diana are gone; Tommy was found and is safe again. And Alice Knight shall never be OCW Champion again. There is no way God will allow such a mockery to occur twice. So you see now, don’t you.”
“I do. This Pyramid Scheme match is going to be brutal. It will be the most difficult match I, no WE, have ever had to face. It will be filled with weapons, brutality, Alice Knight, Bob Grenier, Outcast, and anything else that the depths of hell have to offer. But, if we are going all the way to the top of the pyramid and becoming OCW Champion, we need every last part of us that we have. We need us all.”
“Including him.”
A light flashes on in the distance showing what appears to be a prison cell. You can only see the bars; darkness waits within. The sound of a ROAR is made, which makes the four Zag’s jump a little.
“I don’t know about this.”
“Do you remember my theme song?”
PerZag turns his head around to look at ‘Sexy’.
“Whatever It Takes…………..”
“Exactly.”
PerZag stands up from his chair and walks away from it, heading towards the cell. Another ROAR is heard as he makes it halfway.
‘PERZAG!’
The headache returns to PerZag’s brain as a light above him blinds him. He closes his eyes and then tries to open them again, slowly, so that the light doesn’t hurt his eyes so much.
“PerZag! PerZag! You’re awake!”
The scenery starts to clear up a bit as PerZag searches around through his foggy eyes for the sound of the recognisable voice. Then, finally, he spots red hair through the fogginess and realises who it is.
“Rhiannon?”
“Yes, Zag, it’s me.”
“Where am I?”
“You’re in hospital, Zag; you were involved in a hit and run. You’ve been out for a couple of days.”
PerZag’s eyes start to focus up more as he notices the interior of the room.
“I’m in the hospital.”
“Yes, you are.”
PerZag turns his head towards the beautiful sight of Rhiannon Clarkson.
“Why are you here?”
Rhiannon rolls her eyes and gives a slight smirk.
“Well, it seems that someone didn’t change their emergency contact. And knowing you, you would hate to see any of your family when you woke up. So, I thought I would just sit here and wait for you to wake up. I couldn’t leave you here alone.”
Rhiannon looks off towards the door to the room as a nurse walks in. PerZag stares at the back of Rhiannon’s head, smiling.
“He’s awake, is he? Alright, I will go and get the doctor so that we can run some tests.”
The nurse turns around and leaves the room as Rhiannon turns back to see PerZag smiling at her.
“What are you smiling at?”
“I don’t know. I guess waking up to you just makes me want to smile.”
Rhiannon starts smiling at PerZag, but PerZag doesn’t get to see her smile as his vision starts fading to black.
‘PERZAG!’
He stands before the cell, the ROARING returning to his mind. The rest of his ‘safe space’ is darkened other than PerZag and the cell. PerZag walks up to the cell, and a tiger paw strikes out at him, between the bars. The paw drags back into the darkness as two bright yellow eyes appear within the dark. PerZag stares straight into them, a voice echoing in the darkness, sounding like PerZag’s.
“If we are to climb the pyramid and win it all, we need everybody. Every single last part of us. That includes you. The OCW Championship is up for grabs, and no matter what prizes come in between, WE will not stop. WE are going for the top prize; nothing else matters. No forfeits can exist, and that means we need you. We need the part of us that can never give up. We all have our breaking point, but you never have. So it’s time to unleash the evil within us.”
PerZag pulls a cell key out of thin air and places it in the cell door lock. He turns the key, unlocking it, pulling the cell door across. The eyes from within the darkness inch closer as a form of PerZag steps out from the cell, but he’s dissimilar. His right hand is a tiger’s paw, his eyes are yellow like a tiger, and his hair is dark black. He shows a maniacal grin as he stares at the normal PerZag in front of him.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been allowed control, but if it’s the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ you want, then you will have it.”
PerZag stares at his opposite self, up and down.
“You don’t have full control, but you will be given it when we need it. We want the glory, and we need to do ‘Whatever It Takes’. Unleashing you is a one-time thing.”
The other Zag walks up to PerZag and bumps into him with his right shoulder as he walks past him towards the darkness.
“We’ll see about that.”
The evil Zag walks into the darkness and disappears. We return to the hospital room as the time of day is night. PerZag awakens in his hospital bed and looks around the room. He notices that Rhiannon is gone, presumably returning home for some sleep. A voice is heard from the other side of a sheet to the additional bed within the hospital room. It’s the voice of a man.
“Sweetheart, you always do everything you can to screw me, and I just want your fucking money. So why won’t you just die?”
Upon hearing this, PerZag lifts himself up from his hospital bed and peeks his head around the corner of the sheet. He sees a man staring down at a woman on life support. The man holds a pillow above the woman’s face.
“I wish I could just end this now, but…………..”
Before he can finish his sentence, his head is slammed into the wall next to him with all the force PerZag can muster. The man slumps to the ground, holding his head, but PerZag grabs him by the collar and drags him towards an open window. He lifts the man to his feet and stares into his eyes, the maniacal grin across his face.
“Oh, I missed this.”
The man stares at him with terror in his eyes as he starts to beg to PerZag to stop.
“Please, don’t…………….”
And before he can finish his sentence again, PerZag throws the man through the open window. A scream is heard and a large thud when the man hits the ground. PerZag walks back towards his hospital bed and lays back down in it, returning to his slumber.
Two Weeks Later
Las Vegas, Nevada
We open just outside a hotel room with the number ‘42’ written on it. The same hotel room from the recent Monday Night Massacre. We go inside the hotel room to see PerZag and Rhiannon Clarkson.
“Thanks for coming with me, Rhi. You didn’t have to.”
Rhiannon smiles at him.
“After the hit and run, I couldn’t let you go alone. Plus, I always liked travelling with you to these shows.”
PerZag smiles back at Rhiannon.
“And I never feel more confident than when you’re with me. If you’re with me for Carpe Noctem, then I am more confident than ever that I will become OCW Champion again.”
A knock is heard from the door as PerZag looks towards it.
“That’s going to be the reporter. I will be back shortly.”
PerZag walks towards the door of hotel room 42 as a voice echoes within his mind.
If WE have to go through a pyramid to claim the prize WE never lost, WE must achieve it. So no matter who’s in this match, WE must………………
PROVE OUR WORTH!
OOC: Word Count is 3224, which is under the 250 word buffer which I am hoping there is one. Had to erase some stuff to get it to fit under. To those that have read this, thank you, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this piece. I mentioned quite a few different things from my near eight years of roleplaying as this character, so it was fantastic going back and seeing what I did in 2014 when I first started to 2017 and till my time in GCWA. Tried to fit in as much as I could and I hope it was an enjoyable read for you all. Either way, I cannot wait to sit back and read some other roleplays now that I have gotten mine out of the way. Again, thank you all, I really loved this. Cannot wait to continue on throughout this entire year.
