Post by XYZ on Sept 5, 2021 18:49:01 GMT -5
Cast
Xander Young Zaber (The Talent)
Amaya Torres (Girlfriend, sort of...)
Xander Young Zaber stood on the balcony of his private penthouse suite as the party raged below in his club, “The Honeypot”. The night had just set on the City of Angels as XYZ was capitalizing on the “Back to School” specials for all those college co-eds that needed to blow off some steam, not even a week into their scholastic courses. While the music dropped, the bubbly flowed, and the party raged on, Xander stood alone on his balcony, not in the partying mood.
“Am I interrupting?”
XYZ turned to see his on-again/off-again girlfriend, Amaya Torres, stepping out onto the landing. So lost deep in his own machinations, he never even heard her come in. Her hair was frazzled, her face was flushed, and her body glistened with a sheen-layer of sweet – a result of her enjoying the festivities in his club below.
“Of course not, it’s good to see you.”
Xander tried to put his phone away from view but not before Amaya was able to make out a few words from a text message conversation with Revo1 Owner, Kylie Moore.
“What’s that?”
“Just business babe, nothing to concern yourself with.”
“Developmental contract?”
XYZ heaved a sigh, remembering just how nosey and intrusive Amaya could be sometimes.
“Just a reminder. October 25th, 2021 will be six months since I signed my developmental contract.”
“So what does that mean? What happens after those six months are up?”
Xander shook his head, faked a smile, and placed a reassuring arm around Amaya.
“It means… you might be seeing a bit more of me than you like.”
“I’m sorry Xander; I know how much you wanted this to work out.”
“Won’t be the first setback I’ve faced, probably not the last. But I always find a way to bounce back, don’t I?”
Xander turned and placed his hands on her face, looking deep into her eyes. From an outside perspective, most probably would’ve taken this just as a show of affection. In truth, he was looking to see if her eyes were dilated.
“I’m fine, haven’t taken a bump in weeks.”
Xander knew all too well how dangerous the dance of remission can be, but he nodded his head in acknowledgement anyway.
“But enough about me… how are YOU doing?”
Amaya lifted her hand and touched the shiner on Xander’s eye, the bruise bleeding through his concealer, no matter how much he applied. It was a brutal reminder of his match with Jin Min-Jun, a night that could’ve really helped establish XYZ as a main-stay in the industry. Instead, it was just another glaring defeat to add to his record.
“I mean… I could do without the constant migraines. But I’m okay; I’m tougher than I look… I think. Besides, you should see the other guy.”
“The ‘Bruce-Lee’ guy? Yeah, he’s kinda cute.”
“Wait, you watched my match!?”
“That’s what you took away from my comment?”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I don’t know, I figured you wouldn’t want to really talk about it… considering the outcome and everything.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right… wait! You think he’s cute!?”
“There it is…”
Amaya placed her finger on Xander’s nose and booped him teasingly as he let out a slight chuckle. For whatever reason, whenever she was near, he always felt like his best self. Perhaps that was why he built himself up enough to believe that he could be in the same league as a main eventer such as Jin Min-Jun or Sierra Silver. His time was running out to make an impact on the industry. A year spent getting in the best physical condition he’s ever been in and learning from the greatest minds there were, only for six months to practically fly by; leaving him “bupkis” to show for it.
“So… it seems like the hen house is empty tonight. What say we go into the bedroom and you can show me some of those submission moves of yours?”
Amaya smiled seductively at Xander as he licked his lips in response, clearly “smelling what she was cooking”. And no, that’s not a shot at The Overbaker, calm down.
“Sure thing, just give me one sec.”
Amaya gave him a wink and playfully sashayed into the bedroom as Xander turned back to the city skyline, flipping open his phone. After a few presses of some buttons, he was on his private social media page – aptly titled “The Xclusive.” Making sure he was camera ready and trying to show only his best side, Xander’s lips twisted into his annoyingly stunning smile as he pressed record.
“Hello all my ‘Youngbloods’, XYZ back here with another exclusive just for you. Before I begin, I just want to thank all of my fans out there that sent their well-wishes, flowers, chocolates… the whole she-bang! I was overwhelmed by your enthusiastic compassion for me and my well-being but as you can clearly see, I’m back up on my feet and ready for what comes next. But before I get into that part of it and talk about my upcoming opponent, I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge a few things that happened the last time you saw me.”
Xander straightened up as he began to walk through the happenings of the last event.
“What started out as a fair fight between myself and Jin Min-Jun quickly turned out to be anything but. Now I know a lot of you have questioned some of my tactics in the past but I’ve really been trying to embrace this new and improved version of me. I promised Jin that my bodyguard, CJ, would simply serve as a corner man for me and not get involved in the match. And as you all saw, I was a man of my word. Even when Jin’s ‘slag’ of a partner, Jessie Lee, decided to get involved, my man stood his ground. Still, I’d be lying if I didn’t express my disappointment in Jin. After all, did you not tell the Revolution audience that you ‘don't NEED her (Jessie) to check the chin of XYZ on #TuesdayNightJin’. So I have to try and dissect this bit of information Jin, because either this was your way of trying to psyche me out – make me believe that you were actually a decent and honorable person – or you were lying to your loyal fans.”
Xander smirked into the camera, pleased with his interpretation of events thus far.
“You see Jin, I consider you a walking contradiction. You judge me because I didn’t grow up in poverty, like you… because I didn’t have to scratch and claw my way through life, like you. So, because I am different than you – that somehow makes me ‘less than’. Seems like you’re speaking from some tough experiences there ‘mate’, maybe even dealing with some deep psychological issues buried deep within that tiny little cortex of yours. I never once took you lightly, Jin. Just because my parents were successful in their lives; that they could apply that success into a better living situation for themselves and for myself, doesn’t mean that I’m so ignorant to the plight of the ‘common man’. Much like you, I’ve worked to carve out my own legacy in this world. Maybe this allowed me more opportunities than you. Maybe this meant that I could try and fail at something more times without it completely destroying me, the way that it might someone like you. I’m an enigma of entertainment Jin, I’ve been doing this for years. And now I’m here in Revo, giving the people what they want – whether that’s to cheer and support me or to boo and hope to see me fail. But the funny thing is Jin, that even though I lost to you… I still feel like I won. You see, this whole time I’ve been here, I’ve been searching for ways to exploit the truth – to shed light on this industry and all the falsities that come with it. You are playing a character, Jin. You want the people to love you, to respect you. And yet, you resort to needing outside interference to beat someone ‘like me’. And even then Jin, it wasn’t enough. I wonder, have you gone back and watched the tape? I know I have. My favorite part in our match, aside from watching Maggie Lockheart cave in Jessie Lee’s skull with a ‘Black Legacy’, is when I lock you in the Armbar and your hand goes like this…”
XYZ pantomimes Jin tapping out as his lips twist into a familiar sneer.
“Despite everything else up until that point, the outside interference, the attempted use of weapons, I had you beat. You… tapped… out…
Xander laughed to himself as he wiped a fake tear from his eye.
“The record will show that you beat me, sure… but how tainted of a victory that must be for you, Jin. Needing to rely on so much in order to simply beat someone as ‘inconsequential’ as me. I’ll be watching your match with Sierra Silver with vested interest, Jin.”
Xander rolled his neck as his smiled faded away.
“Now then, on to Jalen Prince. Congratulations on your Futures Championship. I see you took a page out of Jin’s playbook and capitalized on whatever advantage you could find in the moment. I get you harboring a little bit of a hard-on for me after I inadvertently cost you your match with Sierra, so I’m not too surprised to see you come after me like that. But since that title’s creation, I’ve held it on three different occasions. It makes you paranoid, keeps your head on a swivel. You never know when or where the next attack will come. So all I have to say to you is… good luck.”
Xander cleared his throat and looked over his shoulder, hearing his girlfriend’s voice in the background to “hurry up”.
“Last, but not least, is my upcoming opponent… Alex Kincaid. It seems the self-proclaimed ‘King of the North’ gets the privilege of stepping across the ring from me in his debut match. However, this isn’t your first rodeo, is it Alex? It seems like you’ve been around the block a few times… and in a few different countries no less. I suppose I should be impressed by that, but I’m not. See, there’s an insurgence of ‘Youngblood’ talent in Revo1 right now; many of us fighting our way through the ranks, hungry for that brass ring, chomping at the bit to make a name for ourselves. But you… you’ve apparently done all that. And in some mid-life crisis, decided that now is the time for you to lace up those old boots, dust off those old trunks, and have one more go at it for the Gipper. Whatever your reasons are for getting back in the ring – whether it’s for the nostalgia, the thrill of the fight, the desire to be in the spotlight once more, I’m afraid to be the one to tell you that this isn’t going to end the way that you hope it will, Alex. See, you’ve had your chance in the limelight. You’ve made your impact in the industry. And now it’s time for you to ride off into the sunset. Please know that I take no pleasure in doing what I have to do to you this Tuesday Night on Sin, Alex. But this isn’t the same world that you left behind. And if I have to be the one to open your eyes to this harsh reality, then so be it. On Tuesday, I’m going to leave you lying on your back, staring up at the lights. If you’re unfamiliar with this position, I’d recommend consulting your wife; I’m sure she knows exactly how that feels.”
Xander winked at the camera as he turned the device off.
