Was It Worth It?

The camera comes in to CMV interviewer Lisa Evans standing in front of a blue wall with a wall mounted flat screen on it. On this flat screen we see the logo for Battlescars 4. Lisa holds the microphone with a smile on her face.

“Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Lisa Evans. Please welcome my guest at this time, Shay Hoxton.”

The camera pans to the left to show Shay Hoxton, clearly worn down from his earlier match with veteran of the ring, Voice Vindy. He’s still in his tights, but his gloves and gauntlets are off. Most noticeably, his previously torn open forehead has been cleaned and heavily wrapped up. Nearing the bottom of the wrap is still stained with red.

“Shay, earlier tonight, you lost in your match against Voice Vindy. This marks not only your first pay per view defeat, but also your first defeat here in CMV. After seeing your ‘crusade’ come to an end so quickly, how are you feeling?”

Shay looks down, clearly frustrated. He shakes his head.

“Lisa, look at this.”

Shay points at his bandaged skull.

“Do you call this justice? Is this something you’re proud of? Liters of blood lost, the possibility of a concussion on the rise! Do you realize the damage that can cause to a man, the damage it could cause to his career?!”

Hoxton shakes his head.

“It’s not, it’s a crime against humanity. Ask anyone, ask me, ask yourself! Just don’t ask one man, don’t ask Voice Vindy. Vindy, he’s just like that rat Harvey Hastings, he doesn’t know when to stay down. No, instead, Voice, he tapped into his disgusting rotten core to try to injure another human being. And for what? Because his ego couldn’t handle the truth, the truth that he is a problem.”

Shay puts his hand on his heart and looks up.

“Voice Vindy, he lacks the integrity of a true man. Look at me! I looked into the eyes of a cold soulless abyss, yet I fought valiantly the whole time! Lisa, tonight, I was an example to the children of what to do against a bully. I didn’t run away, take a count out, change my mind and beg to have a second chance. No, I looked my bully in the eyes and told him, ‘No bully, I will not let you intimidate me!’ Lisa, I am a role model.”

Shay grabs his left pectoral and his sternum and spreads them apart, quote unquote spreading open his heart for the camera. He takes a deep breath.

“Look at me, Lisa, look at me. Look into the glittery pit of happiness I bring. The pure positivity I marinate the world in, even in the face of such a horrific tragedy. Let me ask you Lisa, a man like me, a man who inspires the world, a man who turns everything he touches into gold, is this a man you would call a loser? It certainly isn’t what I would class a ‘loser’. What would I dub a loser? What I would would dub a loser is a man with no passion, a man who is followed by a path of misery. A loser is a man who sees a glass half empty, and a man who would pour out the remains if anyone saw it as half full. A loser is a man who would unnecessarily assault another with no regards for that other’s safety. A loser is a man who attacks another from behind. A loser is a liar, a hypocrite, a villian. Voice Vindy, Lisa, he is a loser…”

Shay releases himself and pats his chest.

“...in here. Tonight, Voice Vindy may have had his hand raised, but inside he is nothing but a loser. The true winner, the man with the moral victory, that man is none other than Shay Hoxton. Tonight, I defeated Voice Vindy in his soul! Tonight, The 21 went head to head with the Vindication, and made the Vindication go bankrupt… on the inside. Tonight, I showed the world that sometimes, the bully doesn’t win. Tonight, two men stepped into that ring, a winner, and a loser. Both men fought hard, but at the end of the day winners win and losers lose. Lisa, tonight the darkness was cleared just a little bit, the world was cleansed deep down on the inside.”

Shay looks down at the reporter.

“I can see in your eyes that you are one of the good ones, Lisa. You aren’t like Voice Vindy, no, you still have some purity in your heart. I want to help you, I want to help you bring out that light, and I know just the way to do so.”

Shay reaches out his arm towards Lisa.

“Yes, you may have the honor.”

Lisa Evans, slightly confused, reaches out to Hoxton and raises his hand into the air. Shay stands there triumphintly, radiating in victory. He looks down into the camera.

“Ladies and lasses, boys and girls, I want you to know that heroes are real. Tonight, I celebrate in my third victory here in CMV, proving that if you do what is right, you can be undefeated forever and always. Follow in my footsteps, and you too may be able to reach similar victories in your life. Together, we stopped the lies and the cruelty of Voice Vindy, and we’re only going up from here! We can fix this place, we can make Fusion a place of pride! Piece by piece, brick by brick, our staircase of justice will finally bring dignity to this land, and we just took our third step.”

Shay lowers his arm, and his look changes to a more serious one.

“Unfortunately, the ‘we’ I speak of isn’t as big as it should be. You see, while we know of Voice Vindy’s lies, boys and girls, there are still many of his victims out there. You see, nobody can be known as a silver tongued snake without biting a few people. Look around you, look at your friends, look at your parents. There is a chance they are under this man’s venomous spell. I know what you’re thinking, ‘impossible!’ Right? After all, how could those close to you fall for such a trap? Trust me kids, it’s possible. After all, it was just last week when the same thing happened to me.”

Shay looks down, painfully remembering his past.

“Just last week when a man I thought I could trust, a man near and dear to my heart fell into Voice Vindy’s pit of lies. Drake Dunn and I, we were close. We never truly spoke to each other, but we could just sense a bond, a brotherhood between us, if you will. This was a man I could pour my heart out to, a man I could even call… a best friend.”

Shay looks up, his heartache clearly strung out for all to see. His tone is a serious one.

“Think about how hard it must have been for me when his boot pierced my heart, consumed by darkness. Boys and girls, he who was closest to me, he was one of them. If somebody I trusted could be convinced so easily, what does that say about the people you love? Remember kids, traitors are all around you, but it’s okay. Together we can bring them to light. Drake Dunn, he will soon see the error of his ways. Some of you may think it’s impossible to help a man so foolish, but you must remember.”

Shay Hoxton smiles into the camera, his teeth stained with red.

“As long as we have Hoxton, we have hope, and that is not a bet, it’s a guarantee!”

Shay brings up his hand and raises three fingers. He winks into the camera, and the scene fades to black.