Last week - XXXVI’s compound in Western Australia
“I need to prepare,” says XXXVI. “Things as we know them are about to change.”
He looks over at CIX, who is seated in a chair in his bedroom. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve been eating well. I have not wanted for anything since I took the Director up on his offer to join his cause here. I am eternally grateful, but I can no longer stand idly by and be complicit.”
She stands and moves closer to him. “No one is asking you to join The Corporation. We don’t even know what he’s planning. Perhaps…”
“Cierra.” He says, interrupting her. “I know his plans. I am not naive. I also know that he won’t simply give up this estate. I never wanted any of this. I was living a simple life. I am so glad I came back to wrestling and to have already won two titles and to still be Revolution champion. If it all ended tomorrow, it would be worth it. It’s time for me to stand on my own.”
He sits on the edge of his bed. She looks concerned. “So, you don’t want me to come to ringside anymore? Do you not want me around?”
He stands. “It’s not about my desires! You know what the Director is capable of doing. He gave us both masks and numbered us. He surrounds himself with little sycophants who do everything he asks without question. This is my family’s estate and he treats it like his own personal headquarters for his nefarious deeds. Do you think he’ll allow me to keep you by my side and stay here if I defy him? The moment I decide to fight back, to say no, the shit hits the fan. I’ve made my choice. I am sorry if you are collateral damage.”
She starts to tear up. “Wa-”
“Shh!” He says, putting his index finger to her lips. “Don’t speak my true name. Not here. Not yet. I know he’s listening. He will try to use it against me.”
She gently pushes his hand away from her face. “So that’s it, then? You’re giving up, Thirty-six? You’ve decided you had enough and you’re no longer associating with the Director. If I told you right now that I’d rather go with you in the divorce, would that change anything? Your grandparents’ estate, legally willed to you and you’re just going to let the Director have it? Quite frankly, pardon my french, but what the fuck?”
He stews on her words for a moment, lets them marinate. “So we fight, then. First, I’ll head to Warfare to declare my intentions to the Director, draw the battle lines. Then, I take on Abel Gracie, with you by my side. We’ll fight to stay here, to make it the best version of the place.”
She hugs him. He takes a moment and hugs her back. “I love…that you listened. I believe in you. In us.”
“Two sides of the same coin are we, Abel. You, someone who believes in a god and uses it as an excuse to punish. You, like the Director, are a sadist. You invoke the name of a father without having an earthly one to speak of. You come from a place of moral superiority, thinking you are doing your opponent a favor when you step into the ring. You disguise domination for personal gratification as absolution.”
“Me, I was raised with religion. I thought I knew your god well. I believed from inside the safety of my bubble. But when the bubble popped and I was naked, god was silent. I spiraled. When I came to my senses, I asked. I sought. I knocked. It opened doors indeed. Doors to other ideas, other spiritual practices. Ultimately, I found peace despite seeing through all the bull shit that is each and every organized religion. I tried to find meaning and I found myself. I enter the ring with respect for it and those standing across from me. I don’t go in with the notion that I am superior. I go in with the confidence that I did my research. I trained for every possible outcome and then kept going past that perceived wall. Being a champion means being vigilant, even in a non-title encounter.”
“I know the threat you pose, but I also know my worth. I know that no one has been able to take this from me and that losing a match to a relative newcomer with no established streak is going to sow seeds of doubt, not just in the audience, but in myself. If I let every Abel Gracie come in and take down the champion simply because I let my guard down, I set a precedent that should not be. So I refuse. I refuse to promise victory, yet I refuse to back down. I refuse the notion that any champion is unbeatable, yet I refuse to let you use me as a stepping stone. People already whisper about Betsy Granger. They think that my reign ends when I meet her in the ring. You may be new, but I see the prowess you possess. You may hide behind a hokey gimmick and a left hand of god complex, (super original by the way), but the talent is there. I refuse the notion that I am the underdog in this fight and yet I also refuse to underestimate the man who leveled the great Safari Stu in his debut. Most of all, I refuse to lose to someone who claims he can survive a night in the lion’s den and yet when faced with an understudy from the cast of Wicked Off-Broadway inside the fiery furnace’ all you said was ‘I’m melting.’”
“I came here six months ago without a name or a face. I had no reputation, no family name to carry me. I conquered. So pray, Abel. Pray and when god ignores you, let’s talk.”
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