Post by Mr. T on Aug 19, 2011 20:56:50 GMT -5
How does one overcome that which he has already faltered against? That which he has attempted and fallen up short trying on more than one occasion? Sometimes an objective can be just like banging your head against a brick wall, and at Scars and Stripes, Danny Tenfold will take on a man who suits such a metaphor perfectly: Brett Cross. A man who breaks his foes' will to fight as easily as their bones, how will our hero do what he has never been able to do before despite his best efforts? He has certainly come close, but what exactly is that missing ingredient? Does it even exist? And where does it hide? If Danny can discover that answer, he may finally unlock the code to defeated the godly legend that stands before him.
Perhaps it is as simple as one moment of inspiration...
~XXXXXXXXXX~
Perhaps it is as simple as one moment of inspiration...
~XXXXXXXXXX~
Seattle, Washington - January 30th, 2011...
It was a match that was the biggest challenge of Danny Tenfold's career yet. The underdog versus the one of a kind legend that is Brett Cross. Not many gave the young rookie a chance of victory, but what many wrote off as a throwaway contest turned out to be a Match of the Year contender. It was also the night those same people sat up and took note of the name Danny Tenfold...
Brett Cross lifts Danny up and tries for the Chariot, but Danny counters in mid-move and hits a tornado DDT! Cross hits hard, so Danny quickly sprints to the top rope and hits Killswitch Tengage!
This is it, thinks Danny as he crawls over to cover his seemingly lifeless opponent. I've actually done it!
1…
2…
Foot on the ropes!
2…
Foot on the ropes!
Just like the gasping fans standing in their seats, Danny can't believe it - and rightly so, as up until this point he had never witnessed an opponent kicking out of his trademark finishing maneuver.
Danny pleads his case to the referee for three, but it is clear that Cross got his leg on the ropes in time. Danny finally relents, waits for Cross to get up and again tries for a spinning heel kick, only for Cross to again dodge it. However, Danny is somehow able to adjust in mid-air and land on his feet! This turns out to be a negative however, as Cross throws the Hammer Mjollnir! The crowd gasps as Danny hits the mat hard with a thud. Cross covers quickly for the pin..
1..
2....
Three!!
Skye: Your winner... Brett Cross!
1..
2....
Three!!
Skye: Your winner... Brett Cross!
The fans erupt, not just in joy over their hero's victory, but also in appreciation of the brutal battle they just witnessed. There is but one man in the arena not on his feet, and that man is Danny Tenfold as he struggles to realise what just happened. One minute he believes he has his opponent defeated and a shock upset in the bag, the next he is lying on the canvass defeated, trying to work out where it all went wrong. Danny gave his all - even more than he thought possible - and yet it wasn't enough...
As Brett Cross leaves the ring victorious, Danny Tenfold closes his eyes and waits for the ground to swallow him up...
August 21st, 2011...
Danny opens his eyes.
He is sitting in a park which is situated near his Washington hotel, taking a well deserved break from his morning jog. Today is the day Danny will attempt to swoop two monumental accolades in one night. He should be nervous, excited and focused, yet he can't stop thinking of that night seven months ago.
Following the match Brett Cross had congratulated Danny backstage. "Ye fought well, lad! A battle to make even the mighty Thor proud!" had been The Bifrost Brawler's exact words; and in the following days so many had shared the exact same sentiments. But what good is a sweet pill if encased in a bitter coating? What were they congratulating Danny for? That his best wasn't good enough but at least he tried?
Sighing, Danny looks up and tries to lose himself in his surroundings. It truly is a beautiful morning - the sun is out, the birds are tweeting in beautiful harmony, all is well in the world; but sadly the same can not be said for the mindset of our young hero. This last week Danny has done well to convince himself he can complete the daunting task ahead of him, but he knows that if he can't pull his mind away from the past and back to the present, he will be inflicting some serious damage to his chances.
? ? ?: It's him, mom! I'm tellin' ya!
Danny's thoughts are suddenly interrupted by the sound of a young boy's voice. He turns his head to the right to see that same child practically dragging his mother across the park towards the bench Danny sits on. It's an amusing scene to say the least, and Danny can't help but chuckle as the boy and his blushing mother approach.
Kid: SEE!
Mom: Okay okay!
The mother does her best to calm the overexcited young boy. She looks to be in her early thirties, while the child himself can be no older than nine, maybe ten.
Mom: I'm sorry about this,
she attempts to apologise with a smile and a shake of the head, but Danny waves a hand dismissively.
Danny: Don't be.
He replies, before leaning forward to address the child.
Danny: What's your name, buddy?
Kid: JIMMY! And I'm your biggest fan, Danny!
Danny: Well it's a pleasure to meet you then, Jimmy.
Laughing, Danny turns to the boy's mother.
Danny: He's not shy, is he?
Mom: Not one little bit. Sometimes I almost wish he was... I'm Mary Jane by the way.
Danny: Pleased to meet you, Mary Jane. And don't worry about little Jimmy here, it's always great to be able to meet a fan. So are you guys by any chance going to the show tonight?
Jimmy: We sure are!
Jimmy answers before his mom has any chance to beat him to the punch.
Jimmy: We have front row tickets, so we have the best view to watch you win the Royal Rumble!
Danny laughs again, clearly caught up in his fan's infectious exuberance.
Danny: I hope I can do just that, buddy. But what about Brett Cross? Do you think I can beat him as well?
he asks teasingly, as Mary Jane stands back and watches the conversation between her son and his hero with amusement.
Jimmy: Well DUUUUHHH! Course ya will! Brett Cross is a big, ugly snotface! And the bad guys never win in the end, right Danny?
Danny's smile fades as he mentally digests that last sentence, but he nods all the same.
Danny: Right.
Noticing the shift in Danny's mood, Mary Jane now speaks up.
Mary Jane: Come on now, Jimmy. Today is a big day for Danny, I'm sure he has lots to do.
Jimmy: Awwwww but I have so much I wanna ask him!
Danny's smile returns as he gets an idea.
Danny: How about this: give me your names, and I'll hook you up with some backstage passes. You can pick them up at the arena tonight.
Jimmy: FOR REALZ!?
Chuckling, Danny nods.
Danny: For realz.
Mary Jane: That's very generous of you,
Mary Jane thanks Danny as she reaches into her bag and pulls out a pen and piece of paper. Danny just waves it off.
Danny: Don't mention it. Now go on, get outta here, kiddo - and go easy on your mom!
Danny says as he ruffles the hair of his young fan - who seems to have finally been silenced by Danny's act of kindness.
Mary Jane: Here are our names,
Mary Jane says as she hands the piece of paper to Danny.
Mary Jane: Thanks again. You don't know how much this means to him.
Danny: Oh I have a feeling I do. I was a fan myself once - in fact, I still am.
After nodding, Mary Jane puts an arm around her son's shoulders and they quickly say their goodbyes.
Jimmy: Good luck, Danny!
Jimmy calls back as his mom leads him back in the direction they came from.
Alone again, Danny folds the paper away and puts it in his pocket, before turning his head to watch the mother and son leave. Jimmy is right: Brett Cross is the bad guy. That means Danny is the hero of this piece, and there will be thousands of kids just like Jimmy depending on him tonight. It is up to Danny to slay the monster, and teach his fans that villains never win in the end.
With a look of determination, Danny stands and walks away from the bench as the scene fades away.
...
Later that day...
Morning has become afternoon, the big event is drawing ever closer, and now we rejoin Danny in the arena where it will all happen. He sits alone, high in the otherwise empty stands, looking down at the ring - the battlefield if you will. Nobody can predict what events will unfold tonight, but whatever they are they will do so between those ropes.
The squared circle has been Danny's workplace for a good few years now, and in it he has already experienced many different emotions. Perhaps the most confusing of them came two months ago at EUW's Retribution Pay-Per-View. On that night Danny walked in the company's Pure Champion, found himself on no wrong end of a submission or pin fall, yet left without it. Instead it was Brett Cross who walked away with the title, having defeated Danny and Roy Viper in a Triple Threat for the gold.
That was Danny's second failure. Tonight he hopes the old adage of "third time's a charm" will hold true.
? ? ?: Danny?
For the second time today, Danny finds his thoughts brought to an abrupt pause. He turns to see EUW backstage interviewer Sarah Thompson walking along the aisle towards him - with a camera man struggling behind her and a microphone in hand as ever.
Sarah: There you are!
Danny: Hey, Sarah. What's up?
he asks as she takes a seat next to him - the poor camera man enjoys no such comfort.
Sarah: I was told you were here in the building, I've been looking all over for you! Management want me to get an interview out of you for the Pay-Per-View pre-show.
Danny nods with a wry smile, he's still getting used to this promotion business.
Danny: Fair enough. I was just getting a feel for the place. It's a nice arena, as good a venue as any for making history in.
Sarah smiles.
Sarah: So you don't mind me throwing a couple of questions at you while we have the camera here.
Danny shakes his head.
Danny: Go ahead. Hell, I'm thinking so much right now I might as well get some of it on record.
Sarah: Okay... so like many others tonight is a big night for you, as you compete in not one but two huge matches. Is it even possible to be completely ready?
After mulling this over for a moment, Danny shrugs.
Danny: I guess I don't know to be honest. I've made peace with the position I'm in in the Rumble, and I've planned my strategy thoroughly, so I'm as ready as I can be for that. With that said, I'm doing my best to push it to the back of my mind for now. I don't plan on giving it a second thought until after my title shot, because I'm well aware I need to be one-hundred percent focused on Brett Cross if I'm to beat him.
Sarah: But do you feel you can beat the Lionheart Champion? Having come up short against him in your previous two matches?
Danny: Why not?
With a look of steely determination, Danny answers Sarah's question with one of his own - be it rhetorical.
Danny: Sure I have tried and failed before, but some of the greatest sportsmen in the world have failed on the biggest stage only to bounce back and put it right. It's all about having that desire to avenge past failures. It's about having that drive, heart, and courage to never give up and never accept a task as impossible.
Pausing briefly, Danny looks down at the ring again, and then back at Sarah.
Danny: I may not be as big as Brett Cross, I may not possess his destructive power, or even the formidable amount of experience he has to call upon... but there is one thing I have in my favour: humanity. While I enter that ring to compete with pride, honour, and dignity, Brett does so only to protect his ego. It is for that reason the Lionheart Championship will never mean as much to him as it does to me. Y'see, to Brett it is nothing but a prop - just a convenient method of proving his dominance; but to me that title is the physical representation of everything I stand for, and right now capturing it and building it's prestige is what I strive to do.
Not allowing Sarah the chance to ask another question, Danny is in full flow and stops briefly only to gather his thoughts before continuing.
Danny: "The Norse Hammer" may claim to be a warrior, but he no longer possesses the heart of one. He is a shell of the man who twice defeated me. Title belt or not, in the chest of that man beat the heart of a champion. But now? Now he is nothing but a deluded mess - a man broken by the sudden onset of a monstrous ego.
I, however, do have the heart of a warrior. Unlike Brett, I fight for a cause: every single fan who looks up to me. I fight for those who live their dreams through me, who believe in me through thick and thin. Tonight it is time to repay their loyalty, and I will do so by giving them a champion they can be proud of - because right now Brett Cross sure as hell doesn't qualify. I mean, we've always known Brett is a little, how shall I put this, eccentric? He's always had that little fantasy world he goes to in his head, right? But we looked passed that and accepted him because, strange or not, he was a good man. However, the behaviour that was once "eccentric" is now bordering on psychotic. Brett Cross has completely lost the plot. He's deluded, unpredictable, violent... and what's more he now cares about nobody but himself. He's cast aside not only the colleagues who looked up to him and regarded him as a friend - men such as myself - but also the fans whose support made him the legend he is today. He's lost their respect, and in the process of convincing himself he is the "Self-appointed King," all Brett has truly achieved is tainting his once flawless legacy.
Danny shakes his head, displaying more disappointment than any other emotion.
Danny: I will never do that. I am everything Brett Cross claims to be but isn't, and that is why tonight it will be third time lucky; and I will prove to the world that it is Danny Tenfold who possesses the Lionheart needed to carry that championship.
With that said, Danny suddenly stands.
Danny: Now if you'll excuse me, I have a match to go get ready for.
Making sure Sarah can make no attempt to prolong the interview, Danny only stops to nod a goodbye at her, before making his way towards the aisle as the scene slowly fades to black.
~XXXXXXXXXX~
Last time Danny looked to find a way to defeat Brett Cross, he went all the way across the world and still found no answer, seemingly leaving him with nowhere to turn. What Danny never considered was that the answer would be right under his nose. It has been by his side all along, cheering him throughout every high and low he has experienced in EUW: his fans. They are the ones who inspire him to be the warrior he is, and tonight it is the mutual love he shares with them that will propel Danny to victory against all odds.
Third time's a charm? You can bet your damn life it is!
Last time Danny looked to find a way to defeat Brett Cross, he went all the way across the world and still found no answer, seemingly leaving him with nowhere to turn. What Danny never considered was that the answer would be right under his nose. It has been by his side all along, cheering him throughout every high and low he has experienced in EUW: his fans. They are the ones who inspire him to be the warrior he is, and tonight it is the mutual love he shares with them that will propel Danny to victory against all odds.
Third time's a charm? You can bet your damn life it is!