[FADE IN. The screen is totally black, as some of the audio from the previous Aggression is piped in]
[CROWD: 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!]
[SFX: *BUZZ*]
DT: IT'S KARL BROWN! KARL BROWN IS THE NEXT ENTRANT! Brown striding PURPOSEFULLY down to the ring... slides in... walks right across and JUMPS OUT OVER THE TOP ROPE TO THE FLOOR?!?!
[SFX: *DING*]
TONY FATORA: KARL BROWN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!
MN: Uh, what the hell?
DT: I don't believe this! Karl Brown just eliminated himself and is walking to the back!
[the final words echo, as a candle is lit center screen, shedding some dim light. A figure is standing behind the flame, his face hidden in the darkness. His voice, however, is unmistakable]
Karl: They think I care that they didn’t believe it? The great “Dragon” walking away from a match, going against everything he’d said about hurting people, casually walking back to the lockerroom instead of trying to win a pointless match? How could this be the same person who fought tooth and nail for opportunities less than a month before?
Simple. It’s not the same man.
[two more candles are lit, one either side of the first, casting a little more light on the surroundings. We can barely see “The Dragon”’s face. It’s clear he’s not been sleeping, and he has a noticeable stubble growing]
Karl: The man that everyone has known since last October, when he fought against Andrew Dalton in his big debut… that man, he who spoke of honour, integrity, training… he was blind to the realities of this industry. The petty bickering, the harsh reality that skills alone don’t cut it… he was blind to them. Blind to the truth. But now, I have an opportunity to take on one of the best in this industry in his one on one debut for the company and send him back crying.
Yes, Hiroshi. I intend to make an example of you, like I did X before you.
[Several more flames shoot up as the camera pans back, showing Brown in a circle of flame, sitting cross legged, his eyes closed]
Karl: Ah, yes. My match with X a short while ago. How I reveled in that match. How I loved the pain, the blood… you could say that was the only thing missing before. The vicious streak, the knowledge that I needed to do whatever I had to to win. The fear I saw… the fear in X’s eyes and the eyes of Tiffany Marais in her little dancers cage when I threw X to the cold, hard cement floor. That’s what I was missing.
Hiroshi, I don’t care what you’ve done before, what you’re going to do, who you are or who you think you are. To me, you’re another body to be broken to the harsh realities of the ring. Even a veteran like yourself can and will be broken. I’ll be sure to have your headstone ready; “REST IN PEACE. YOUR HEAVEN’S A LIE”
[The candles flicker in a breeze, which picks up until the candles are all extinguished. All we hear now is Tony Fatora, announcing KARL BROWN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!.
FADE OUT]