The Weight of the Past

by **krzy** Mon May 17, 2021 9:02 pm

Your reigning International Champion steps into the shot with a curious look on his face. He was in the wrestling-match equivalent of burning a candle at both ends--it was quick, and it was ugly, neither he nor Hunter Quinn seemingly are being paid by the hour. Angel has the International Championship draped across his shoulder as he idly rubs the back of his head where Hunter Quinn nailed him in a rather aggressive beginning to their highly-anticipated clash.

ANGEL:You hear what they're sayin' about you Hunter? You're a kid caught in the middle of two armies, a lone wolf standing his ground--wounded, battered, broken--ready and willing to fight with every ounce of his soul. But that's not all true, is it? Well...I suppose it depends on just how sorry they want the masses to feel for you. Can't say that I don't pity you myself, and don't take that as a sign of disrespect...or maybe you should, because I say that since I see so much of myself in you.

Angel takes a moment to reflect on what he's said, letting himself be immersed by the paths he's walked in life that's brought him to this moment. And then he chuckles.

ANGEL:Then again, I see so much of myself in ol' Jordan Nicholson too.

That chuckle swells into a sharp, bitter laugh.

ANGEL:If there's anyone stuck in the middle of anything...it's me. At different points in my career, I've been a Jordan Nicholson, and I've been a Hunter Quinn, and there have been aspects of each that left a rotten taste in my mouth.

Angel's expression darkens.

ANGEL:Yeah, I've been where you stand, Jordan, even if we didn't walk the same path to get there. There was a man I once cared for, a brother...his name is Dulé Zaire, and he was a good man who wanted to save a broken soul, and I abandoned him. Just like you did when you attacked your tag team partner, Jordan, I made the self-serving, selfish decision to put my career first. Just like you did, Jordan, I chose to be a piece of shit, because I was too much of a coward to face the reality that life put in front of me and make the difficult choices. Of all the things I've endured inside of that ring, the guilt of knowing that I can never truly attone for what I did is one of the greatest pains I've dealt with...just like you will, one day, Jordan.

There's an intensity burning in Angel's eyes as he lays his soul bare.

ANGEL:And Hunter Quinn, you wanna know the reason I'm not pissed at what you pulled out there tonight? It ain't because I won, though that certainly eased the sting of it...it's because I've been in your shoes too, and I've walked down the path you're on right now until the soles on those shoes wore out. I've been filled with that same dark, ugly hatred that's welling up in you right now, banging on the walls that you put up, threatening to unleash upon the world the same pain that's gnawing at you so much that you can't eat, you can't sleep, you can't even fucking breathe without wanting to scream until your throat is raw.

Just like you, Hunter, I hated a man so much that I was willing to do whatever it took to get my hands on him, even if it meant beating senseless a man who ain't never done me any harm. How dare I be mad at you for even a second when I put Matsuda Tanaka through a table because he was in the way of me getting to Xander Slate? The first time I won the International Championship was one of the proudest moments of my career, until I remember the path I took to get there.

Angel holds up the International Championship and looks at his name etched into it...the pride is certainly there, and no ounce of shame to dilute it.

ANGEL:That's why the second time around holding this title means so much to me, because I got to do it the right way...or as a right of a way as you can get. But there's not always a second time, Hunter. You don't always get to fix your wrongs. There's not always someone to slap some sense into after you take a dive off the cliff without looking at what's waiting for you on the bottom. But like I said last week...don't let the name 'angel' fool you, because I am not here to save you. There's only one person I'll ever put above myself, and it sure as hell ain't you. I can only tell you that I've been where you are, but that doesn't mean you're good enough to get to where I am.

Angel smirks.

ANGEL: Or maybe you are.

I suppose we'll see at CyberSlam.

I can give you both all the advice in the world, but I'm not in that match to be a mediator. With that Anarchy Championship, I'll continue to build my legacy.

And in the process, through you two, I get to lay my past to rest once and for all.