Building An Empire

[Deleted]

~# Prologue #~

When people think about an empire, they generally envisage an army commanded by but one man. One person who personifies what the empire stands for and what they aim to achieve.

Rome had Julius Caesar.

Russia had Tsar Peter The Great.

The Nazis had Fuehrer Adolf Hitler.

Those former three are often painted black and white in history. They were seen as dictators and tyrants who abused their positions of power for their own gain but the reality is that those men should all be admired. They shouldn't be look at as villains. If anything, they are the heroes of their generations and they all stand the test of time. These men were power hungry visionaries who would do anything to get what they so craved. Their attempts to achieve this made their legacies infinite.

Deep down, that's what everyone wants. Some people are just less honest about it than others.

Me? I'll do anything I have to if it means I get what I want because that's all that really matters to me.

~# Building An Empire: Part 1 #~

"Never again?" I had promised myself I wasn't going to smoke again, yet here I am: smoking again. "What a joke."

I take a long drag before blowing more smoke. This time, it's not coming out of my ass.

I often saw smoking as a means to an end. It acted as a way of easing excess tension within me. It was better than drinking myself into a coma which I almost did a few years ago.

3 cigarettes a day and I was fine.

Of course, giving up smoking cold was not the best idea in the world.

I was back to drinking immediately.

Talk about a vicious circle, right?

At least my smoking isn't going to kill me... well, not as quickly as my drinking anyway.

This particular cigarette is on its last legs. It doesn't have much life left in it.

That's disappointing. I was rather enjoying it.

I take a final drag from the cigarette before I step off my balcony and back into my apartment. I crush the finished cigarette down in a nearby ashtray when my cell phone begins to ring.

*Nobody likes me

Everybody hates me

Sitting in the garden

Eating worms*

Personalized ringtones are awesome.

I head across my living room and grab my phone from the side before answering it as I step into the kitchen.

"Aidan," I begin in the most monotonous manner imaginable. "What the fuck do you want?"

"What up, bitch?" He seems rather upbeat for such a douchebag. "I just wanted to catch up with my favourite whipping boy."

"Well, that's nice of you," I retort as I step across and open the fridge. "How is Cortinovis?"

"Oh zing!" He says this as he lets out a laugh at the expense of his old 'rival' if you would call a guy you're 11 and 0 against a rival. "That was actually a pretty good comeback Anglais. Color me impressed."

"I thank you for your appreciation of my quick wit," I continue in the same monotone manner I've carried throughout this call as I look through the fridge for the other half of the sandwich I bought yesterday. Unfortunately, I have no luck in finding it. I close the fridge door rather agitated before continuing. "So what do you actually want? I heard you were back in the XWF under the not Jon Brown one."

"That's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about actually," he says, the conversation now taking a slightly more serious turn. "I heard you were thinking about getting back in the game."

I shake my head but quickly realize that he doesn't know that.

"No."

"You're not getting back into the game?" He asks this in a puzzled tone. "So I was misinformed?"

"No, I'm getting back into the game but I'm not going back to the XWF," I explain, shaking my head. "Nor am I going back to the WGWF."

"Good," he says in a sharp manner. "Carver doesn't like you anyway."

"Somebody doesn't like me?" I gasp and clap my hand to my mouth due to the sheer shock of this revelation. "Did you also know that grass is green? And that the sky is blue?"

"Sarcasm is not your forte Dante," he says in a disappointed tone. It's almost like he's ashamed of me. "If you wanna go blow for blow with me when it comes to sarcasm, you're gonna lose."

"Aidan, I don't have time for this shit," I cut in sternly. "Just tell me what you want then fuck off."

"Wow," he says, audibly shocked. "Someone got sand in their vagina." And I'll be throwing sand in your eyes if you carry on with this dancing a merry dance shit. "Did someone shit in your breakfast cereal or something? Always such a sourpuss." He must really hate his nose. "So like I was saying, I heard you wanted to get back in the game but I don't care where you're going. I've heard it's somewhere you haven't been before though which helped pique my interest. It ties to a project I'm working and I thought that, given our rather intriguing history, it would be something you might be interested in." ...What is he talking about? "I've been a part of a lot of occurrences throughout the history of the industry, my spot in the history books is secured. That's something I don't doubt, but is my legacy really infinite?"

"You're talking in riddles," I respond. "Just get to the point."

"Alright," he says, finally getting from A to Z after a detour halfway around the alphabet and back. "I want to create a group that lasts forever."

Oh Jesus, he's been sniffing glue again.

'Forever?'

What is that supposed to mean? Well, I know what forever means but a group that lasts forever? Is he on something? It's not like it would be the first time...

"...Dante? You still there?"

I snap out of my almost hazy state and respond.

"Yeah, I'm still here," I begin. "Just curious as to what the fuck you're talking about."

"Okay," he says before taking a deep breath. "What if a group existed that crossed barriers that very few other groups ever have? An inter-fed group that is built upon a foundation of some of the top talents in the industry, that will keep growing and growing and growing as long as it can."

"This sounds like a real sales pitch," I respond, feeling like I'm talking to a telemarketer. "So basically, you want me to run a group in another company for you while you take all the credit?"

"Do you always look at things glass half empty?" Yes. "I don't want you to be my bitch here, I want you to be my co-founder."

"Your what?!"

"I want this to be a joint venture," his serious tone removing any of my belief that he could be joking about this. "We'll both have a say in all the big decisions within the group and, if we fail to agree on an issue, we take it to the rest of the group. The power would be ours, 50-50."

An even share of the possession with Ego McGee over here? Somehow, I don't see it working out.

Then again... If we're in separate companies, it's not like we'll cross paths all that often. We won't come into hefty disputes about who should be challenging for what title. I won't end up slapping him in the face for thinking he's better than me and he won't end up getting too big for his breeches.

It's not like I don't already have plans of my own in motion and, if things go awry, they go awry. If they don't, I'll always have the added backing of someone like-minded, though far less interesting than me.

"Alright," I say nodding. "You'll open your big mouth and ruin shit for me if I say no. Saying yes gives me the benefit of saying no to you on numerous occasions and you'll just have to deal with it."

"Ever the asshole Anglais."

"I'm sure that's why you chose to come to me specifically," I smirk. "It's not like you came to me because we're best buddies. You came to because you heard something through the grapevine, you know we can work together, and there's a mutual respect between us. It was smart and a good call in the end, but don't think I'm going to let you push me around just cos we're partnering up. 50-50 means 50-50."

"I'm the one that said 50-50," he sighs. "I know what the fuck it means."

"I'm just making sure we both know where we stand," I explain. "Either way, did you have any other ideas in mind for this little group of ours?"

Aidan's an asshole, just like me, but he's also an ideas man, just like me.

"I was thinking about the name and wanted it to have something to do with infinity," he says, rather engrossed within his own belief as to which direction this should all take. I don't entirely disagree with him, but I'll do what I do and manipulate him into doing what I want to do. "An everlasting ideology works with my vision for the group. I also like the idea of this being an empire, an extensive group ruled by either a single monarch, a sovereign state or, in our case, an oligarchy. I was thinking maybe we're The Infinity Empire."

Ugh, that sounds horrible.

"You know," I begin as the wheels begin to turn inside my head. "Infinite Empire sounds better to me than Infinity Empire."

"..." The silence tells the story. "You're actually right."

"You sound surprised?" I soon realise I opened the door for him to be a sarcastic douchebag and quickly attempt to shut it. "And please don't ruin this with one of your lame quips."

"An Infinite Empire?" He muses over the name for a moment or two before continuing. "You know, that's exactly what I had in mind."

The Best In The World™

First impressions are important when stepping through the front door of any room. Even more so when you're in the sports industry. If you compete in your first game or enter your first fight and bomb, you'll quickly be forgotten. Lost in the annals of time to the clichéd "what could have been."

Fortunately for me, I've never made a bad first impression.

My debut in this industry saw me steal a title belt.

My debut in a new company saw me become a Tag Team Champion in my first match.

My debut in the FGA? It saw me and my comrades destroying everything that you thought you knew about this industry. We showed everyone that we do what we want, when we want. It wasn't a matter of waiting for the 'right moment', we just picked our spot and we struck because we could.

Nobody will forget the arrival of this Empire in a hurry.

We came, we saw, we conquered and we left a trail of devastation in our wake...

We made our mark and it showed when the entire roster were forced to band together to be able to even attempt to best us. What cowards you all are. A fair fight isn't enough for you? You need to outnumber us to even attempt to get the best of us?

I'd feel flattered if I wasn't so disappointed.

I expected people with balls to step up and face-up to me, to RJ, to Tomoko. What I got, instead, was a group of losers who knew they didn't stand a chance against this force when the fight was a fair one. People who don't deserve to share a country with me, let alone a ring with me. These people have spent however long competing against nobodies so when they see true stars arrive, the fear overcomes them and it showed.

So we did what was best for business, we walked away.

Why embarrass the entire roster on our second week as a part of the company? That would destroy any drawing power we have. If three people destroy an entire company single-handedly, what else is there for them to do? We'd lose money, the FGA would lose face and everyone would come out a loser.

We made a business decision and we left. We'd done what we set out to do, we got the attention of people who are seen as serious competitors within the company.

It all leads down a long winding road that can only end in one way and it's not with the fall of an Empire... 

~# Building An Empire: Part 2 #~

I fucking hate calling people.

I take a moment to compose myself before flipping my phone open, skimming through my contacts and picking out the number of one RJ Palmer. I hit the call button before placing the phone to my ear.

A few rings later, an Australian voice rings out from the other end of the phone.

"Hello?"

"Palmer!" I greet the sound of his voice in a rather positive manner. I don't really know why, but hey, might as well roll with it. "What's good?"

"Anglais," he says, sounding a mixture of confused and surprised. "Not a lot in this world. People are fucking morons."

"Yeah," I say in an almost inquisitive manner. "Is that a general sweeping statement, or has something specific occurred of late?

"This absolute asshole," he begins as the contempt that lies within his voice is clear. "So this guy came up to me and asked for my autograph. I'm not a people person when I'm in a good mood, and I wasn't in a good mood, but I was polite enough. I said sure, signed the guy's notebook or whatever, and when I hand it back to him, the dude says 'thanks you inbred fuckwit, you fucking suck'."

I immediately burst out laughing. I don't think about it, it just sort of... happens.

He's not impressed.

"It's not funny," he says, keeping a deadly serious tone to his voice. "Guy was lucky I didn't chase after him and beat the living shit out of him in the middle of the street. Some people are just cunts."

"Are you kidding me?" I respond as I struggle to stop myself from laughing, almost wiping a tear from my eye. "That's fucking hilarious! Man, people hate me, but I've never had that happen to me before."

"It is what it is," he says, sounding almost defeated at his attempt to deal with 'people'. "Americans are fucking stupid. Anyway, what are you calling for? I assume it's business."

"It is indeed," I nod before continuing. "So I got everything sorted regarding our next 'destination' but I received a rather interesting business proposition from someone that will most likely surprise you."

"Alright..." He seems almost hesitant. "Who and what?"

"Aidan Collins," I start and draw no response. Alright then... "Somehow, he heard that we were getting back into the swing of things and approached me with a cross-fed group idea. He's active in X-Dub and wants to work together to build the ultimate group. Basically, if push comes to shove, we have back-up if we need it. Plus we're all big names. Working together is only going to get us more money. It makes a lot of sense really and doesn't take all that much work. We can do our thing and they can do their thing."

"I'm assuming from the way you're pushing this that you've already said yes," he says, reading me like a book. Then again, I was about as subtle as a ton of bricks. "If that's the case, sure. I don't really care. As long as we don't have to deal with that jerk-off hanging around us like a bad smell everywhere we go, I'm cool."

"Duh," I retort in a sarcastic manner. "Good, glad I got that out of the way. Now I gotta call the schizo."

"The schizo?" He chuckles. "That's a new one."

"I know, right?" I smirk myself. "Just came up with it."

"Nice," he says, sounding almost proud of me. "Well, good luck with that."

"Thanks, catch you later bro."

"See you in a few."

I flip my phone shut and smirk.

That was a lot easier than I expected. I guess RJ knows how business works.

If RJ was that easy, maybe Tomoko will be easy too?

I press the phone to the side of my head, pondering what exactly I'm going to say to Tomoko. Flipping the phone open, I zoom through my contacts once again before finding her number and hitting the call button.

"Tomoko?"

"No," a child-like voice replies from the other end of the phone. "Tommy."

Oh great.

"Oh hey Tommy," I respond, rolling my eyes knowing that this is going to be 'one of those conversations'. "How are you today?"

"Meh," she groans. "Tommy is kind of sad. Elmo's being mean to me. Will you be my friend?"

"Ummm," I start hesitantly, pondering the question for a few moments before answering in a very unconvincing manner. "Sure?"

"Yay," she shouts out excitedly. "Tommy made a new friend! Who are you?"

"I'm not new," I say, shaking my head. "It's Dante."

"OH-EM-GEE," she says as she gasps, shocked at her own error of not realizing it was me she was talking to. "Tommy is sorry Dante, Tommy didn't realise it was you. Silly Tommy! Guess Tommy is not really focused cos of that mean, mean Elmo. He's just so mean for no reason sometimes. You know? You totally know, right? You've met Elmo. You know what he's like."

Uhhh, yeah. I met a talking Elmo Doll. I wasn't even on anything, I was stone cold sober.

That conversation still haunts me to this day...

"I met Elmo," I begin, hardly believing the words that are coming out of my mouth. "He was kind of a douche but Tommy, I need to talk to Tomoko. Could you get her for me?"

"Tommy doesn't know where Tomoko is right now," she says apologetically. "Sorry Dante. Tommy could take a message for her though? Yeah, Tommy will take a message."

Taking a message for one of her other personalities? Because that's not weird...

"Alright," I reply before continuing. "Could you tell her that Aidan Collins wants to work together. He wants to create an inter-federation group. It means more money, so I said yes, and I just wanted to check she was okay with it."

"Aidan Collins," she repeats back to me as I assume she notes it all down. "Working together. Inter-federation. More money. Okay with it. Okay, Tommy's got it! Tommy will make sure she gets it."

"Great," I respond. That was less painful than I expected. "Just make sure she gets that message. I'll talk to you some other time Tommy."

"WAIT!" She yells down the phone at me before I have a chance to hang up. "You're just gonna go? I thought you were Tommy's friend."

It's almost like I can hear her frown down the phone.

Me and my big brain...

"I am your friend," I sigh. "But what do you expect me to do? I'm a busy man Tommy."

"But..." She pauses and, again, I can almost hear the frown appear on her face. "But Tommy is sad. Elmo, mean. Tommy doesn't have many friends. Will you talk to Tommy for a little bit Dante? Please?"

"I'll stay on the phone..."

"YAY!!"

"But only under one condition."

"Okay," she says curiously. "What's the condition?"

"That you're talking non-stop for the next..." I quickly check the time on my phone before continuing. "45 minutes straight and if you stop talking at all during those 45 minutes, I won't be your friend anymore.."

"Oh, oh, oh," she says, seeming rather excited by the prospect of facing this challenge. "Okay! Tommy can do that!"

"If you think you're up to it," and she's reeled in completely. "Are you ready?"

"Tommy is ready," she counters. "Tommy is 100% ready. Bring it!"

"Starting in 3, 2, 1... GO!"

I immediately place my phone down on the counter and shake my head.

"Man, Tomoko is freaking crazy. She should seriously see someone about that multiple personality shit."

Leaving my phone on the side, I head off to have a shower knowing I just tricked a '12 year old' into thinking I was actually listening to her.

I'm not sure if I should feel bad for being a douche or coming across as a bit of a pervert.

Meh. Who gives a shit?

(Still) The Best In The World™

War: that's what was started when Dan Herrera actually had the guts to stand up to my Infinite Empire.

I have to give him credit, though. It's a cliché to be the superhero but to get a group together to stand up against us is no easy task. It's a shame that such a brave soul made such a big lapse in judgement by challenging us.

I guess you live and learn... hopefully, right?

I mean, I can't make any promises. If I get the opportunity to snap his neck, I won't think twice but he only has himself to blame for that.

Of course, it was Dan Herrera who was named the man to lead the FGA in this six-person tag team contest at Final Frontier so I will get my hands on him. I'm more than comfortable with exchanging blows with Herrera, a former FGA World Champion, in an attempt to shut down this war before it ever truly kicks off.

Unfortunately, I know that taking out Dan Herrera would not end things. It would only lead to somebody else stepping up into Herrera's place and taking the reigns of this "FIGHT FOR THE FGA" campaign they're gathering together.

They don't get it though. They don't understand.

This Empire has been years in the making. It was structured, moulded and developed over several years, not a few weeks like this FGA team seems to be. You can't create the perfect coalition of world class professional wrestlers in days so for Herrera to think that it's even plausible that any team he attempts to put together stands a chance against us?

Well, he's kidding himself.

I guess that brings me on to the 3RD Anniversary Show and on to my punching bag for the night, Noelle Smith.

I have never understood why they let "pretty girls" into wrestling rings. They belong in two places: the kitchen and the bedroom. Stepping outside of one of those two rooms only leads to bad things but you'll have discover this the hard way.

You see, I'm a misogynistic pig. I don't hide this fact, I embrace it. It's a part of who I am and, without that fact, I wouldn't be so at ease with punching a woman's face in.

That's one of the biggest differences between us Noelle.

You? You want to play nice and be friends with everyone.

Me? I want everyone to hate me.

I don't make a concerted effort to draw in bile and hatred, I wouldn't waste my time with such semantics. My actions, however, are those of a man who just doesn't care.

If you looked at me the wrong way walking down the street, I wouldn't hesitate to punch you in the face for it.

I'm Dante fucking Anglais, you don't disrespect me and get away with it. In this case, I am disrespected by you being in this company. It's bad enough that we're running building the size of my bedroom but to have someone like you, someone so undeserving and untalented getting the opportunity to go up against me? It's a joke. I'd actually pity you if... well, no I wouldn't. I don't waste my time with feeling emotions regarding people like you, my inferiors, and, much like everyone else who ever faced me, you were doomed the second you agreed to partake in this mauling.

It's not a contest. It's not a match. Both of those things suggest even a slight chance that the result is in doubt. The result is not in doubt.

You're just a blameless victim caught up in all of this. Unfortunately, that doesn't change a thing. I need to send a message to the rest of this company and you're going to be the scapegoat. You will be the first but you can at least take some solace in the fact that you won't be the last.