STEVE JASON: Undeniable

Next Match:	[Speak No Evil PPV] Your Disclosure: Last Man Standing Steve Jason versus Giovianni Aries
Previous Match:	[Disclosure] Platinum Cup Round Two Steve Jason def. The Kingpin
Friends:	Angel Deveraux, the Royal Cartel, Julian Dark
Neutrals:	PDW at large, Blake Selters, the Benjamins
Enemies:	Nicholas Jaxx, Pete Ebdon, Giovianni Aries, Star Deveraux, Christy Matthews

You know, I have to hand one thing to you, Giovianni Aries- you're a pretty freakin' funny guy.

When I actually look at the Pantheon- and bear with me here- it almost seems to come across as a royal court of sorts. You've got Ebdon as the king, Star as the queen, you've got Joshua Payne as the megalomaniac former king who managed to get his arse assassinated by the plebs, Christy Matthews as the damsel in distress who locks herself in a tower and bitches out all the knights who try to rescue her, Nicholas Jaxx as the malformed dwarf prince who's not quite right in the head, and then you've got you, Giovianni Aries, as the court jester, who causes not only everyone in the court but also everyone in the land to collapse in hysterical laughter every time he opens his mouth and unleashes God knows what upon his unsuspecting audience. You're an absolute laugh riot, man! What in the hell are you doing here in professional wrestling, when you could be on the stand-up circuit making back all the billions you flushed down the toilet?

...wait a second. You... weren't trying to be funny? That entire promo was completely serious, and wasn't intended to be the greatest comedy since Britney Spears' attempted comeback? Um... oh dear. I'm... kinda speechless, man. I don't really know what to tell you. I mean, I don't want to say that the vast majority of what you said wasn't the most ludicrously stupid crap I've heard in my time here in Platinum Dynasty Wrestling, but.... well, it had about all the intimidatory power of a midget with two broken legs aiming his fingers at me and going 'bang bang!' If you honestly think I'm the slightest bit shaken by that little display you put on there, you might as well just give up now, cause you haven't a hope in Hades!

Of all the reasons you could possibly have thought up for me putting you on the plateglass express, you had to go with fear? Fear, Giovianni Aries? Of you? I didn't bat an eyelid from Joshua Payne when he threatened to murder me, I didn't blink at Pete Ebdon when he tried to intimidate me into surrendering, all of Jaxx's threats just got outright laughed at, and Christy Matthews' passive-aggressive attempts to intimidate me were just shrugged off as the delusions of an ignorant little girl... and you actually think you strike fear in my soul! Don't flatter yourself too much, Aries. It takes far, far more than anything you've done to put any kind of fear in me.

And no, it wasn't 'wrong place, wrong time' either. It was a deliberately calculated act of revenge and retribution- and warning. I didn't particularly like what you were doing continually joining in the attacks on me. Particularly after the crucifixion, heads were going to roll after that. I wasn't allowed to touch Payne, Ebdon hadn't really done enough to warrant me putting hands on him, and I allowed mercy to Christy Matthews- and unlike you scumbags, I'm true to my word. So that left you and that left Jaxx. That's all there was to it, Giovianni. Revenge... and a warning of what was to come if you kept coming after me. Unfortunately, your arse is apparently too stupid to realize a chance to back off when you see it, and so now we've gotta do this the hard way.

What else did you throw at me first off the bat- ah yes, the old clichéd 'hero' line. You honestly have no idea how many times I've heard that from a million different sources, Gio. Apparently I'm addicted to playing the hero. I've got to play the hero. If anybody else plays it, I feel that the limelight's been taken. Blah, blah, blah, insert various words from some nimrod who doesn't have a damn clue and is parroting the same old generic crap. Do you even know why I'm fighting the Pantheon, Aries? This didn't start by me wanting to be a hero and to save the PDW, although it did become that. This was outright self-defence and self-preservation at first. They sided with Jaxx and tried to stamp me down. I fought back. What's heroic about that? It's standard retaliatory tactics. Yes, it just so happens that I can save the day in the process- but even then, is it really a hero thing? I have to work here. I have a certain interest in this place not being monopolized by tyrants. Even there, there's self-interest. Fortunately, my interests align with PDW, so I suppose it's natural to see me as the hero, but really, I'm just a rebel. Against you and against your kind. Suppose the only thing heroic about it is until recently Angel and I were the only people with the guts to do it.

The thing is, people like you find it easier to shrug me off as some goody-two-shoes super-hero type. Probably because stereotypes are easier to prepare for. Unfortunately, they're also a flawed template to be preparing for. If you assume I'm a stock-standard kitten-rescuing hero, you are going to be torn to shreds when you find out I'm anything but. Truth is, if I wanted to be seen as a hero, I'd just take beating after beating, never retaliate, and then finally defeat you when the time's right. That's the more admirable thing to do. After all, who gets more admiration as a hero- Nelson Mandela or some gun-toting rebel leader? If you think I'm a 'hero' and you're using some kind of 'heroic code' as my basis for this match, you have already lost. So please, spare me the 'you will fail your citizens, superman' crap. It ain't gonna work. It's not making me any more nervous, and it's not getting your head any further out of a noose, and you're just dooming yourself to failure with your moronic misconceptions about the way I think.

Speaking of which- you really need to go and talk to Christy Matthews again, because you're getting some really dodgy intel about the way I think regarding her. Did I ever try to be her knight in shining armor? Heh. For a while. I felt sorry for the kid, and felt bad about the way you pricks just let Payne knock her around like he had a right to do it. Was it a mistake? Probably, but not one I regret for a moment. But the way you're talking about it, you'd think I'm desperately in love with her. 'Making me feel like a confused teenager'? I don't want to marry her, Aries. Geez. She's not my type.

And you still think she has any kind of mental control over me? You obviously didn't get that intel from her, because she'd be the first to tell you I'm an arrogant, obstinate prick who doesn't do a thing she tells me. She's tried, mate, don't get me wrong, but she's tried everything to try to get me off all of your backs- tears, tantrums, insults, passive-aggressiveness, you name it. But I'm still standing. So please, forget all hopes you have of getting Christy to screw with my head and charm me into dropping my guard. It ain't gonna work- and I don't think she'd actually do it anyway, I annoy her that much. You really, really ought to talk with your allies more, Gio- if you don't know them, how do you hope to be able to know me enough to take advantages of my weaknesses?

DATE/TIME: 1:00 PM, Thursday July 16, 2008
LOCATION: Central Park, New York City

All things considered, Steve was actually glad to be back in New York City so soon.

It had been a good couple of months- nearly three- since Steve had been to the Big Apple. The last time he was over there had been back when he was still the Bloodshed Champion, defending at the Dishonorable Discharge Pay Per View. Usually once Steve went to a city for such an event, he wouldn't have been back for months, if not years. However, fortune had struck in the form of Speak No Evil taking place at none other than Newark, New Jersey. Sure, it was Newark he had to fight at and not NYC itself, but Newark was practically a suburb of the Big Apple, and the bustling megapolis was within easy reach of the site of the Pay Per View. Not only that, Philadelphia wasn't all that far away either, so Steve figured it couldn't be too hard to head on over to New York for a while and prepare there, flit back to Philly if he needed to conduct any business, and then come back and head straight into Newark for the main show. It was almost ridiculously convenient.

Today, Steve had gone to none other than the world-famous Central Park. The reasons for this were twofold- primarily, it made a particularly good setting to get some running in to boost the endurance part of his training regimen, and secondly, Talia Richards and Dougy McNamara really, really insisted on it for some reason. They were at a quieter section of the park- a narrow grassy area cut straight down the middle by a broad brick path, and surrounded on both the left and right sides by large clumps of trees. Steve himself had just finished running to the area, decked out in a black tank-top and blue shorts, hands on his knees as he struggled to recover his breath.

"Not a bad run, SJ, not a bad run at all..." Dougy, in contrast to Steve's exhaustion, lounged on a park bench with a beer in his hand, looking for all the world like he was completely comfortable just lounging around and doing nothing, "Coulda done a few jumping jacks on the way though."

"Pretty funny coming from somebody who's parked his arse on a bench for the better part of three hours..." Steve muttered.

"He's got you there, Dougy," Talia, on the other hand, was on her feet, standing to the side of the bench in a sugar pink tank top and jeans, nodding approvingly to Steve as she walked up to approach him, "Not bad. Looks like you've been pushing yourself hard, huh?"

"I've had to..." Steve shrugged, "It's probably not going to be fun on Sunday. I know I can do it, but I doubt it's going to be without its share of pain and suffering."

"Still, you're doing well. Guy probably won't know what hit him, and then we've gotta talk about what we're gonna do for your booking."

Steve opened his mouth to reply to that, but before he could, Dougy intervened.

"Hey, Talia?" he raised his voice, peering back along the path, "He's on his way. Better get SJ ready."

Steve blinked and raised an eyebrow at that, his eyes instinctively seeking out the source of what exactly Dougy was talking about. He had a split second glance at a figure emerging from the trees, a figure that even from a distance looked remarkably familiar before Talia cleverly placed herself directly in Steve's line of sight, cutting his vision off.

"Dougy and I have prepared something of a surprise for you..." Talia began, "It just so happens that there's somebody rather pivotal in your life here in New York right now. He actually got in touch with me to help him with some... business of his, but when he realized you were in the city, he felt he had to see you again. He's only got a very short amount of time here in the city, and he wanted to spend it seeing you again. That's why we got you down here." She shot a glance over her shoulder, then smirked and stepped aside, revealing a very familiar old man standing directly behind her.

Steve knew exactly who the man was, of course- he had been something of a pivotal figure in Steve's life. He was much older now, but a little over a decade ago, this man had been responsible for setting Steve Jason's career- and indeed, his current lifestyle- in motion. Platinum would never have even heard Steve's name were it not for the man in front of him. Despite that, he had a very unassuming stance about him- he was short, no more than five-seven or so, and very, very lean. His features very clearly indicated Asian origin. He had almost no hair now, except for a band of white around the back of his head. His skin was wrinkled now, and very visible signs of age were all over his face- but despite that, his eyes were still keen and alert, and there was a serene, almost relaxed look on his face. He was dressed rather simply in a long-sleeved blue shirt, black slacks and polished dress shoes- almost like an office worker or businessman.

It took Steve a good few seconds to react from the shock of seeing him here in the United States- so instead, the old man spoke for him in clear and unbroken English- in fact, he even had a clear British accent to accompany it.

"Hello, Steven," the man Steve knew as Kanetatsu greeted him with a short bow, "It's been too long, my boy."

"Konnichiwa, Kanetatsu-sensei," Steve replied in formal Japanese, returning the bow, "Ogenki desu ka?"

"Hai, genki desu." Kanetatsu replied, "But please, there is no need to speak in Japanese. Your friends do not understand us. It would be very rude to them to do such a thing. To answer your question again in English- yes, I am well."

"Well, now that this little reunion is underway..." Talia flashed a very proud-of-herself smile, "We're going to leave you two alone. It just so happens that I've got a very lucrative business offer taking place in the city right now, so I figure now's the ideal time to take advantage of it. You two have fun, 'kay?"

"And you have fun fleecing some poor bastard out of his wallet..." Steve began, then suddenly cut himself short as he realized what he'd just said in front of his former master, "Sorry, Kanetatsu-sensei."

"It's all right, Steven..." Kanetatsu shook his head and almost seemed amused by Steve's embarrassment, "You are not a student any more. You don't have to watch your mouth around me and you certainly don't have to defer to me. I don't think any less of it."

"Yeah, lighten up, SJ..." Talia rolled her eyes, "Kanny thinks highly of you no matter what you say, so don't feel like you're about to disappoint him if you breathe the wrong way. Have fun with the guy, geez! Anyway, I'd better go. Dougy, we're going."

"Wait... we're going?!?" Dougy seemed outraged at that, his eyes widening at that, "I thought I was gonna hang out with SJ and the Wise Old Geezer here!"

It caused Steve a great deal of internal amusement as Dougy was suddenly whipped straight into line by that phrase. For all of Dougy's boisterous, outspoken behavior, one word from Talia had pulled him straight into shape, and he was like putty in her hands. Steve had to admit, that was one... advantage of living the life of a perennial bachelor. Answering only to oneself was a lifestyle that Steve had definitely grown accustomed to, and he still lived in occasional fear of winding up in the kind of codependency that Dougy was in. Not that it was a bad thing, of course, Steve just... feared it for some reason. Like it didn't sit right with him. Like it intimidated him, made him nervous to be in that situation. Nevertheless, that didn't stop him flashing an outright impudent grin at Dougy, who merely scowled bloody murder back at Steve as Talia practically hauled him away from the scene, leaving Steve alone with his former master.

"No idea." Steve shrugged, "But if Talia says it's a business appointment, it's likely to take a very long time. And knowing her, it'll likely turn into a million other little things too. Dougy's in for a very long afternoon."

"I see. Some things never change..." The elderly master chuckled and shook his head, "Well, in that case, let's take a walk. It's been a long time since we've had the chance to talk- we haven't spoken in... what is it, three years now? That would have been the last time we met, and as I understand it, a lot has changed for you."

"Sure thing," Steve agreed with a polite nod, "Be good to catch up. And you're absolutely right, a lot has changed."

With that said, both men began to walk along the brick path ahead of them. Steve, still a lot younger and a lot more active than his fellow walker, had to restrain himself considerably to stop him breaking out into a stride while Kanetatsu moved along at a much slower pace. Steve raised an eyebrow in concern.

"You sure you're up for this, Kanetatsu-sensei? If you don't want to be dragged around Central Park..."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm happy to walk. I do apologize for my lack of speed- unfortunately, age has to catch up with one sooner or later. Unfortunately, I'm not the man who once trained you."

"That's not true," Steve smirked, "Sure, age might have caught up with you a bit, but the fact you're dragging yourself out here regardless tells me you are the man who trained me. Just hope I can be as defiant when I'm your age."

"Defiance was always your strongest suit, as I remember..." Kanetatsu chuckled quietly, "So I have no doubt you might do the same when you're old. I'm glad to see you've stayed true to so many of your lessons throughout the years- and I'm glad that you've improved upon them. I've been watching you in Platinum, and while you do still have that... confident streak, you seem to have grown a lot in the wisdom department, especially in the last few years."

"I didn't have a choice..." Steve shrugged nonchalantly, "I've been learning a lot of very hard lessons the last few years, and continue to learn them. That kind of thing gives you a certain kind of wisdom."

"Indeed- to the point where you can share it with others. I understand you've decided to try your hand at training upcoming fighters yourself."

"Yeah, it's kinda a side project for me," Steve answered as the two men continued to walk, "Drake Komodo- guy I used to work with from the XWF- asked me to help him prepare a couple of guys for the wrestling world. Two brothers. I figured it'd be an interesting thing to do- and maybe I'd learn a few things about my own abilities in the process. So I gave 'em a bit of background- some fighting, some technical. Komodo's given them the go-ahead, and it looks like they'll be joining me in Platinum. Gonna be interesting to see their progress."

"They've got skills. Once they get up and running, I'd say they've got the potential to do great things in Platinum. Just gotta get them through their first matches so they can hit the ground running. Christian's making his debut at the Pay Per View, and Alex probably won't be far behind. If all goes well, they'll get momentum pretty quickly."

Kanetatsu had unconsciously sped up gradually while they walked, as if the old man had been able to recover some of his lost vigor and energy that he'd lost throughout the years, and he was now able to keep up with Steve easily- even if Steve still had to subdue his stride a little. They'd now come up to one of the famous bridges in the Park- they were actually below this one, and they were instead walking towards an arch cut in the middle of the bridge. Pedestrian and bike traffic passed on the bridge ahead as Steve and Kanetatsu disappeared inside the arch, the light around them fading as they passed towards the other side.

"And what about your journey?" Kanetatsu inquired, "The trainees may just be beginning their journey, but I get the impression that yours is still going strong."

"More or less." Steve replied with a shallow sigh, "It's been hard the last few weeks, though. There've been a few people who have tried to stop the journey. It got to the point where I had to start taking serious action. Self-preservation, you know? Fortunately, there have been a couple of breakthroughs. I'm not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot, but I might just be on the verge of convincing people to back off. Unfortunately, I've gotta do some rather nasty things to at least one person before that."

"Probably. At this point in time, it's him or me. And I have to defeat him in order to take the steps necessary to end this quickly. If I don't, it could drag out for a while yet."

"Ah." Kanetatsu's eyes closed, and he nodded sagely, "Then you have no choice. Fair enough, I suppose." He paused, then as they emerged out from the tunnel back into the open air of the park, he spoke up in a much more serious tone, "I should probably tell you that there is another reason I have been here in the United States."

"There is?" Steve raised an eyebrow, "I didn't think there was really anything here for you any more."

"Usually there would not be, but things have changed. Do you remember Temujin?"

"Of course I do. One of the other guys you were training in addition to myself. Mongolian guy. Quiet guy, kept to himself and seemed to have his head in the clouds half the time. Good guy, though. Almost a natural at what you were training us in."

"Indeed." Kanetatsu sighed then- a melancholy, almost worried sigh, "What I am about to tell you will likely trouble you, and I apologize in advance for that. As you know, when you and the fellow students completed your training, you all went out into the world to seek your fortunes. All of the students have kept in touch with me regularly as they continued their travels. Temujin did more or less the same- but he did not return home- nor did he use his skills to acquire a fitting profession. Instead he travelled the world. While he was there, he did a number of good deeds- spent time in monasteries, helped refugees- generally took on the role of a travelling hero. Only recently, he revealed his intentions to travel to America- he even spoke of wanting to meet you while he was there. That was two months ago, and I have not heard a word since. It's like he vanished."

"Well..." Steve gritted his teeth, knowing that Kanetatsu wouldn't have mentioned it if it wasn't a real concern, carefully measuring his words, "Are you sure he's in trouble? Temujin's a grown man now, maybe he just hasn't had time to get to a PC or a phone."

"It's true. Temujin is not a child. He is more than capable of looking after himself. But he is all alone, and if he were to disappear or something were to happen to him, nobody would know. Given how regularly he kept in contact with me, and that contact suddenly stopping, I have to assume the worst. I do not know exactly where he is, but I know he was headed here."

"This is a very big country, Kanetatsu..." Steve frowned, cupping a hand to his chin, "I don't want to sound like a pessimist here, but Temujin could be anywhere in it. We could look for years and not find him."

"I know, and I am not asking you to comb the country. I couldn't. You have too much to do. But I am getting too old to search, and I cannot stay in America forever. What I am asking you to do is simply to keep your eyes open, see what you can find out. I know you have eyes in a lot of places. You have a greater chance of finding him than I have. Do not concern yourself until you have taken care of your business here, but when you have dealt with it..." Kanetatsu stared at Steve with a level look- one that Steve knew was the closest the master could come to imploring him, "...I humbly ask for your help. Just your help. There's no need for it to go any further if your commitments prevent you."

In all seriousness, Steve was probably never going to tell him 'no'. Steve owed Kanetatsu so much that he'd have walked into fire for the old man if he'd asked him to. Even Steve's negative talk had been to try not to disappoint him if they failed to locate him. And at the same time, even though Steve hadn't seen his Mongolian co-pupil in over a decade, Steve still felt a certain affinity with the quiet, contemplative man Steve remembered him as. While he didn't outright say it, Kanetatsu made it sound like Temujin was in danger- and Steve wanted to make sure he was all right just as much as his former master had. So with that, he nodded solemnly.

"Of course I'll look, Kanetatsu. If there's anything I can do to help find him, I'll do it. You've got my word that I'll get started on the search as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Steven." A sigh of relief escaped Kanetatsu as he looked up at Steve with a newfound surge of respect, "You have remained true to what I've taught you. I will be in touch with you after you have completed your business with this Aries character, and we will begin the search then."

The part of the path they were on had now reached a diverging point, branching out into a 'Y' shape- one path going further into the park, and the other leading out towards what would eventually become the street. As they reached the fork, Steve and Kanetatsu both came to a stop, turning to face each other.

"Amusingly, this is where we part ways..." Kanetatsu remarked in a wise tone- to the point where Steve had to wonder if he hadn't timed that absolutely perfectly, "I have a flight to catch back to Japan in a matter of hours. It was only through sheer luck that I was able to catch you when I did, but I feel it was fitting that we met once more- both so that you can begin the search for Temujin, and also so that I can give you some advice and wish you good luck for your battle. I know, Steven, that this is a match that you feel a lot of pressure for. I also know that this is an emotional time for you, with a person you don't know if you're friend or foe with, and another woman you do not know what to do about or how to feel about."

That drew Steve up short. How in the hell did he know?!? Obviously Talia had told him about Christy... and she'd even made an educated guess about Angel, for that matter. Steve opened his mouth, but Kanetatsu held a hand up for silence.

"Please, allow me to finish. Your problem right now is that you're allowing your uncertainty to eat at you and become a problem. I know you like to be in control of every situation and I know you like to know exactly what is going on... but sometimes, Steven, you may accept uncertainty. This is one of those times. You will not sort out your problems with Christina or your situation with Angelique in your fight, so they are of little consequence. For that fight, just let the problems... be. Worry all you want before, worry all you want after, but during the fight... let them be and let them fade into inconsequentiality."

Now that was the Kanetatsu Steve knew a decade ago. The old man obviously hadn't run out of wise old sayings after all. And it did make sense. Yes, he had a world of problems weighing down on his shoulders right now- problems Giovianni was going to try to take advantage of and work to his whims. The only way to neutralize those problems would be to do exactly what Kanetatsu said- for the twenty-odd minutes it would require to put Aries away, he'd have to just let them fade away to nothing. Before and after, he could stress all he wanted, but for the fight, it would have to mean absolutely nothing. Thus it was that he nodded to Kanetatsu.

"Good. Now, I've never been a man for long goodbyes, and to prolong this will only cause both of us to delay. We both have a long way to go- I literally, you metaphorically. So we'll just let it go here." He performed a small, perfunctory bow in way of farewell, "Sayonara, Jason-san. Good hunting."

Without another word, the old man turned away from Steve and took the left fork- the one that led him deeper into the park. Steve didn't know why he chose to go deeper- maybe he had some contemplating to do or something similar- but it wasn't long before his former master melted into the trees surrounding the path and disappeared from sight, leaving him alone once again. It had been... refreshing to see him again. It had put a lot into perspective, and it had given Steve a certain sense of mental preparation for the match up ahead. It also put him on course for finding Temujin... which more and more, Steve seemed to feel was a good idea, as if it was something he was intended to do. Not quite content to emerge into New York City proper yet, he simply stood in the middle of the path, eyes closed and air filling his lungs...

...then suddenly, the familiar two beeps of an incoming text message echoed from Steve's pocked. He reached in and pulled out his phone, unflipping it to read the message on-screen.

[Got u a sweet deal for the PPV. Practice ur speaking skills, u'll need them. -Tals]

But of course, Christy's not the only girl you want to use against me, is she? What exactly are you hoping to achieve with it, anyway? You think if you voice a few pretty faces, it'll somehow confuse me or weaken my resolve? I mean, the way you tried to drag Angelique Deveraux into our little problem here screams 'desperation' to me. Do you really think I'm that easy to manipulate emotionally? Calling Angel a 'dumb twat' isn't gonna make me lost my head in a blind rage. And trying to make out like I'm to blame for her getting hurt isn't going to paralyze me with guilt. Everything you say, I've been told otherwise by the only person whose opinion on the subject matters. And to be quite frank, Aries- who am I gonna believe, her or you? Sure, I could listen to you try to make me angry and guilty simultaneously, knowing that it's in your best interests to try to screw me up mentally to weaken me... or I could listen to what she says, which I have far, far more reason to believe is the truth.

What I don't understand is how you're trying to somehow intimidate me by claiming I'll let her down if I lose- by claiming what Payne did to her means nothing if I lose to you. Like I'm just going let a nimrod like you end the war... but I digress. I don't get it, Gio. Are you trying to give me motivation for winning this now? All you've done by saying all that is given me all the more reason to try that much harder, to make absolutely certain that I avoid all the hits I can and dish out ten times the damage, and to try with every last cell in my body to keep on my feet. The more motivation I have to do something, the harder I will push myself. You've basically given me one more, very big reason to hit with everything I have- because you punks will act like you've beaten her if I go down. That will fuel my fists, my body, my mind and my resolve. It will boost my dedication. When I feel exhausted, when I feel battered, when I wish I was somewhere else, I'll remember that girl, I'll remember her sacrifice, and I'll remember you spitting on it, and I will rise up refreshed, and I will do my very best to annihilate you. Thanks for the motivation, Aries.

Now, I'm going to address something else here. It seems you're something of an archivist around here, Giovianni. That's right, there's actually a name for a style of argument you use- reaching into the past for a loss an opponent suffered that doesn't even involve you, and twisting it to make it look like it's an advantage of your own. You seem to have this theory that because Nicholas Jaxx managed to beat me once, it means I can't beat anyone in the Pantheon, including yourself. Ignoring, of course, the fact that I've taken down Payne himself in matches, whereas he has yet to do that to me. What I don't get, Aries, is how you can claim I can't stand the pressure of certain matches when you can't even stand the pressure of the Cyber Championship. You can make all the excuses you want, Hannah St. John owned you! And guess who's undefeated against Hannah St. John, pal? That's right, yours truly. I may have lost to Nicholas Jaxx, but at least I've never lost to somebody you beat. Oh, and for the record- it took me three months to get as many losses as you have in three weeks. Food for thought.

But seriously- I think you need to examine your obsession with my one loss to Jaxx a bit more carefully. Jaxx had to almost kill himself to actually win that match- the so-called Hardcore Whateveritwas had to nearly snap himself in half to beat somebody who had no background in hardcore whatsoever. His arrogant little mouth won't admit it, but deep in his heart he knew that could have easily gone my way too. And secondly, I've beaten him too, Giovianni! To the point where he almost retired. Does your archiving stop at Aversion Therapy? Or do you just gloss over and ignore the bits that aren't convenient for you?

Thirdly and most importantly- you are not Nicholas Jaxx, and this is not the reverse ladder match you seem so obsessed with. You are not a hardcore king in a match that you excel at. I know that you're not exactly a hardcore god yourself. In fact, at least I was forced into gaining experience in that field during my title with the title. Also, I don't quite see why Jaxx's advantage was so important when he himself will not be there to help you. It's just going to be you, Giovianni- I promise that. You need to stop blinding yourself to your own weaknesses and compensating them with your friends' strengths, and you need to start waking up to reality, or you will not even get a chance to defend yourself. But thank you for reminding me about my failure at Aversion Therapy, because there are elements in that match that may carry over to this one. Perhaps I need to fix up those weaknesses so you can't exploit them. Thanks for the reminder, buddy!

But anyway, I'm curious about this talk about pressure, like I'm the only one with it on me. You go on about how I have the hopes of the PDW on my shoulders, how if I fail you'll be unstoppable, how it'll all be over if I lose to an Apostle, and how Angel will have suffered for nothing. But the pressure's not just on me, you know. If you really think my win over you has no event or bearing, then you really need to think again. Allow me to explain-

I am not the only one who stands to let somebody down here. Cause in the very likely event I beat you to a pulp and you lose, your pain doesn't end at my hands, sadly. I then have the power to book an entire show. At least one. It is a serious advantage to have. If I have it, you guys are in serious trouble, believe that. And if I win, then you have to drag your shell of a body backstage and tell everybody that you had the Pantheon's one chance to really get complete and undisputed control of all things Platinum, right up to and including the ability to control an entire show riding on your shoulders, and you cocked it up. You'll have to tell them that you failed them, and you'll also have to tell them that they are all completely at Steve Jason's mercy because you weren't good enough.

Do you think they're going to forgive you, Giovianni? Do you really? I acknowledge you might be more of a threat than Jason Stone... but he was kicked out of the Apostles for less, you know. All he did was get fat, lazy and sloppy. He didn't actually blow any major opportunities and he didn't ruin the Pantheon's plans and goals because of his failure. He didn't leave his allies at the mercy of the enemy. He got humiliated and booted out for less than you're gonna do. I would be very worried if I were you, Giovianni, because I might just give you what you want. I might just give you the end of your time as an Apostle of the Pantheon.

But if I have it my way, it won't be the way you want it to be. Oh, no. It'll be in disgrace, humiliation, and shame. And even if through some miracle they do forgive you, you'll see the accusation and anger in their eyes for a long time. They'll say one thing to you, but their eyes will say- 'you're a failure.' You'll be confronted day in, day out with the knowledge that you let your team down and you could have very well paved the way for their end.

You should have left me alone, Giovianni. You should have just stayed as a piping voice in the background, and you should have just lent your pals moral support instead of making yourself complicit and instead of trying vainly to become more than you actually are at my expense. You should have picked somebody else- anybody else- to become your ticket into the Pantheon proper. Unfortunately, now it's too late, and now you're going to get splattered by the cold, hard fist of irony. Irony because once again, like so many times before, you selfishly tried to gain more than what you already had at somebody's expense... and once again, you lost everything through your own stupidity and incompetence.