Untouchable
(FADEIN: CASTOR STRIFE sits on a patio chair in the backyard of his rental home in Burbank, CA. It's around 6:00, and the sky is becoming dim. Castor opens up a book - The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers - and places his index finger on the first page. One of his eyes are black, and now he leans forward with his black LA Kings hat pulled low over his head, and begins to read)
CASTOR: "You, sir, should unmask - says Camilla. Indeed? - replies the Stranger. Indeed - she says back - we have all laid aside disguise but you."
"I wear no mask - says the Stranger. And Camilla replies - No mask? No mask!"
"Act 1, Scene 2d, from The King in Yellow. As the story goes, reading from the play causes insanity. Acting out the play summons Hastur, He Who Shall Not Be Described."
(He closes the book and places it on a table next to him, then leans forward again, looking up from below the rim of his black and silver LA Kings hat)
CASTOR: "I warned you not to fuck with me, Impostor. The fans, commentators, analysts, and even Eddie himself can all question the validity of my win at Reloaded 20, but this is not the business of choking men, and bloodying men, and savaging men. This is the business of WINNING. For a man so obsessed with my image that he wears it, and for someone who begrudges everything I have, tell me...how does it feel to know that even after fighting the best match of your life and damn near killing me, you still could not BEAT ME? Isn't that the most severe punishment?"
"When this is all over, go home and congratulate yourself on a job well done. This was not supposed to happen. In a rational world, you do not walk into NFW and demand matches with the champion; you do not get that match granted; you do not lose the match and earn an immediate rematch on television; and you do not go on to the Random Rumble win or lose."
"But we don't live in a rational world. NFW could do the intelligent thing, allow me to regain my title, and let me go back to selling out arenas all over the planet. I am the greatest talent this business has ever seen - a star the world over - and all they have to do is ride the wave and count the money. Instead, I am locked in a perpetual loop of matches with YOU, and can't seem to escape."
"They give air time to Stan Vick, a washed up legend who has taken MORE than his fair share of credit for my career, and who now uses my name to reignite his own. I see a pattern here, between both you and him. You're doing the smart thing - the thing Eddie Mayfield should be doing - using my name to maximize your profit."
"That's what it's about, right? Money. Fame. Getting what's owed to you. There was never any slight, was there? You don't know me from Adam. You ARE nobody. The mask hides NOTHING. This is all a scheme, and it's working."
(smiles)
CASTOR: "Well I won't see the best years of my career wasted in a series of high risk matches with a man who, literally, has no name. There are no more matches after Chicago. This street fight is the final resolution, and that will have to satisfy your obsessive needs. I may never find out who you are, but you can wallow in an unmarked grave for all I care, because you are not in my long term plans."
"I won't allow the New Frontier to anoint Jack Bryant its golden boy, no matter how badly the marketing department wants it. Nor will I watch Jack Harmen turn the belt into a swan-song memento of his farewell tour. Those men FEAR ME, Impostor. Understand that. Impulse...FEARED ME. Because they all know from first-hand experience that I am flawless in that ring, and virtually unbeatable."
"What you saw at Reloaded was the very worst version of Castor Strife. That was the man who beat you, Impostor. When I bury you beneath the streets of Chicago, that will be moderate version of me."
"At Random Rumble, the Ultratitle and World Champion returns to full form. On that night, I am Elliot Ness - untouchable."
(FADEOUT)