(( During HEW Television, the action goes to commercial break. The first commercial is of International Invasion. Clips are shown of Unholy Father, battling Apocalypse, and finally capturing the HEW World Title for a second time. The image quickly switches to individual scenes of Triple XXX, Blade, and Kevin Powers, each showing the desire in their eyes for the HEW World Title. Then, the image fades back into the scene of Unholy Father, sitting, with the World Title, as the International Invasion logo fades off.
After these images fade away, the screen dies away to black. Then, slowly, feedback can be heard in the background. From far off in the screen, a word can be seen slowly fading in. The word becomes a little clearer....
Until, suddenly, the drums and guitars come into full blast. The word slams against the screen...."Zero"....in dark red colors...as a bolt of lightning streaks through the logo. Then, as the music fades away, a green mist begins to rise off of the logo, covering the logo in the green clowd, as the whole screen becomes full of the cloud.
As the cloud fades away, the scene comes into a dark room. The ceiling is near twenty feet tall. Large, narrow windows adorn the walls. Through one window, a streak of moonlight shines through, cutting through the dark room, shining directly onto a corner of the room.
The view comes in closer to the corner. A figure sits in the corner. He has one knee propped up, as a hand rests over it, holding a cigarette that gives off a thin layer of smoke. His hair has bleached tips, with what appears to be a blue base color. He has a black Bad Religion t-shirt on, and a pair of worn down loose blue jeans on. His Converse Chuck Taylor's are becoming more worn down with each passing day, as one of them has been wrapped in ducktape around the toes. The moonlight reflects off of the ear rings in his left ear, and his eyebrow and lip ring. The man, this man, is the HEW Hardcore champion, the man known simply as Zero.
He raises his cigarette to his mouth, taking a deep drag. He then tilts his head back, blowing the smoke into the empty walls of the large room. He then tilts his head back forward, staring straight ahead. His eyes flicker slightly, passing back and forth from his left and right. He settles down, and slowly begins to speak. ))
" Jackson....Monday night, you acheived the impossible to many. You had your hand raised in victory against I, Zero. But, you didn't have your hand raised to show that you had WON the match...just mearly had friends in good places for you. Enjoy your moment while it lasted. For, it will be your last. No one has ever had the satisfaction of defeating me twice. For, once I am defeated by someone, they no longer have an advantage, for I am the one who is the advancer from there on. But, for now, you are not of any concern for me. "
Zero:
(( Zero takes a deep breath, looking to his cigarette. He raises it to his mouth, taking one small, quick drag, before flicking nearly half of a cigarette off into the desolate floors of the room. The light causes a flicker, interuppting the darkness which was prevalent. But, it does not disrtract Zero. ))
" Friday night, I will take action inside of the ring, in a battle which puts I against a whole list of men who would eagerly take me out if given half of a chance. Men who want what I could care less for. Men.....who have showed who they truly are in these past weeks.
Zero:
And, all of these will be in the ring, against me, I feel. Blade, who, with I, hold these tag-title belts that we will be competing for. But, it can no longer be Blade and Zero, HEW Tag-Team Champions. Blade has made his choices, he has decided that he can not be the second man, when I am in control over what he does. Instead, he would rather be led by HaVoC now.
The North American Express....two men, Will Cena Jr., and Ric Samson....who, in the past weeks, have made it their goal to think of themselves as better than what was Zero Tolerance. Two men, who do not the ring experience nesecarry to even be able to make those claims, but, made the claims they did. And, Friday, they will have to be able to back it up....for, now, they can no longer speak on what they will do. For now, it will be a matter of what they are allowed to do.
The Powers of Apocalypse.....Kevin Powers and Apocalypse...."Good God", the man who has always claimed he was hardcore, when, in truth, he was nothing more than a boy who held the Hardcore belt, keeping a name to it until someone else was able to come and show him how a true champion should carry the belt.
But, his partner, Apocalypse....a former HEW World Champion....a man who is hungry for the tag titles, I am sure, but someone who can not be trusted. For, who is it that is Blade's mentor? None other than Apocalypse. And, I know that the student doesn't trail very far from the teacher. And, this leaves me to think that maybe the student has branched out first, leading the way, now, in order for the teacher to follow. "
(( Zero looks off into one of the long, narrow windows that surround this room. He gazes off, loosing his focus momentarily. But, slowly, he regains it, bringing his gaze back forward. ))
" But, who are the mystery partners? For Blade? It can be only a matter of a few people....a few select people who he has NOT crossed yet. Bobby Jackson, a man of minimal skills, who is can never take a win without having help. Blade wouldn't use him in such a magnitude of this match. No, for Jackson is merely the man who serves to do the dirty work for Blade...and Havoc. Havoc? Blade's new leader. A man who has been to the top, and has shown he can deliver...which is exactly what Blade will need.
Zero:
For me, why would a partner be needed? Why should I have to depend on yet another person who will merely fall at his greatest moment? For, I can depend on no one, and can trust fewer than that. No one...no one...in the HEW, right now....can be trusted. "
(( Zero lowers his knee, and raises himself against the wall. He stands up, and reaches into his pocket, retreiving another cigarette. Lighting it, he props himself against the wall, gazing off into the ceiling.
He takes a long, deep drag from the cigarette, and slowly exhales the smoke. He closes his eyes, breathing in the dry, stale air of the room. ))
" But, even with the magnitude that the tag team title match holds, nothing will be able to compare with what Havoc must go through, AGAIN. "
Zero:
(( Zero slowly opens his eyes, staring off into a non-committal gaze at the ceiling. His facial expression bears no happiness, as a deep sorrow look graces his face. ))
" Havoc has came, and stolen what I beat him cleanly for. The HEW Hardcore title. Even, when it was so close to once again, after so long, being once again in my grasp, he pulls it further away.
Zero:
But, it doesn't begin there. No, this is merely an adventure in the path that Havoc has taken. This isn't the first thing that he has stolen. It started when he started taking away my freedom....when he was trying to control me. But, even with the power that he held, he could not hold me back. No, far from. I would bounce back from him, and he knew he couldn't hold me down. Not then, nor could he ever.
When his immediate power was stripped from him, he decided to start stealing my past. My past that I had worked so hard on, and was finally able to be proud of, what little I had. He stole the only person who I had ever cared for, and used that to infuriate me more. He thought it would drive me over the edge. He knew he couldn't destroy me, so he had hopes that I would self destruct.
But, it hasn't happened. It has merely backfired on him, once again. Yes, Havoc, I am over Karen. I have come to terms with the demons inside of me. I know that she is yours, and will no longer be associated with me. It is her choice, and is not something that I can force her to do. So, Havoc, your wild card was destroyed...once again.
Now, you have dropped to the level of actually stealing a title that I beat you for. A title that I won, with no help from anyone, because, there is no one availible who I would trust, and like-wise.
Havoc, still, you haven't defeated me in a match. You won at the PPV, but it obviously took help from a man who has yet to re-appear in the HEW. And, you know this. It has now, caused you to fall into self destruct warning mode. You could sense the end coming near for you. What could you do to stop it? You stole my Hardcore title.
But, what you still don't understand, is that it is not THAT title which I want. I want that title back, because, there is a certain change that I have felt needed to be done for quite some time. A belt, much different than the one you illegally have right now. And, a belt that I, and only I, will carry once I regain that FALSE Hardcore title that you hold.
It comes down to this. Havoc, you have tried to avoid me, you have tried to control me, you have tried to oppress me, and you have tried to eliminate me. But, every time, you fail, and it only makes me stronger. And now, I have come against a wall, and I have no where to go but back forward. No longer can you, or anyone else, have control over me, or, for that matter, have an association, because, no one is trust worthy.
It all starts with Havoc, this Friday. I will be coming after what is rightfully mine, this time, as the champion, and you as the challenger. And, for Friday, I will walk away with what is rightfully mine....the most prized title in the HEW, the Hardcore Championship. "
(( Zero flicks the cigarette to the ground, stomping it out with the heel of his shoe. He then puts his hands in his pockets, and begins a slow walk out of the room. He walks...as he slowly walks out of view....
Then, suddenly, the green mist comes across the screen, as the music of "Infected" by Bad Religion kicks in right where it had left off, and the logo of "Zero" rests on the screen for a few moments, before slowly fading off, and returning to HEW television. ))
midi: "Infected" by Bad Religion
