Welcome to Stormtropolis [1]

[STORM]

Welcome to Stormtropolis  

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Chapter I: Visiting Old Friends
Characters: Mark Storm, Gretchen Lockhart, Rick the Ruler
Date: January 28th, 2016
Match: vs. Molly Reid

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She pressed her lips against his and everything became still, the room exasperated into complete silence as the two locked eyes, a familiarity between the two. He was leaned up against the wall and she pressed him against it, the kiss wasn't passionate, nor heartwarming but it was filled with anger and disappointment, Gretchen Lockhart couldn't bear it any longer. She couldn't kiss the man she once loved the same way anymore, she couldn't gaze into his vacant eyes with the same passion, the same fire that kindled their love in the first place. He watched her back away, playing with her hair before realizing what she done was a mistake, she quickly hurried to her bags and attempted to leave.

Mark wouldn't let her.

Rushing to the scene he placed his hand on the door frame, claiming that this isn't what he wants; protesting that it's only her that he wants, but she didn't believe him. She massaged her stomach; trying to comfort the bump of their unborn child, looking deep into the eyes of Mark almost questioningly; posing the questions - Wrestling or Us? Ultimately, she knew what the answer was going to be.

"You made your choice."

She said, disappointingly although Mark hadn't even answered, but this was enough for her.

"Gretchen, please."

Mark tried to control her placing his hands on both of her shoulders as she tried to look away, not wanting to look into the eyes that compelled her. The two fought, Gretchen trying to escape the grasp of Mark who tried to hold onto her with all of his power, tears beginning to overwhelm him, flooding his eyes.

"Gretchen you're all I want!"

Cried Mark, his body still covering the door as he pushed her back, not aggressively.

"But I'm not what you need! Am I?!"

Posing the question. Mark didn't answer.

"We're not what you need right now, are we?"

She massaged her stomach, indicating that their child wasn't what he needed in his life right now. Mark looked at her before looking at her stomach, his eyes fixated on it as she massaged it, tears beginning to flood her eyes. Of course Gretchen didn't want to leave, but she knew that she had to. She knew that Mark wasn't ready.


"You made a decision, Mark." She paused, approaching him. "You made a decision a long time ago that you wanted to pursue a career in professional wrestling globally, and I stupidly supported you! I suppoted you even though I knew what it would entail for me! I supported you even though I knew I'd have sleepless nights away from you. I supported you even though I knew that we'd hardly see each other! I supported you even though I knew that gradually, you were going to lose yourself in that ring and forget about me! Forget about us! You're so fixated on being the best in your profession you've forgot about being the best father, you've forgot about being the best boyfriend! You've forgot about me, Mark."

He shook his head sideways, not wanting to believe her.

"Thats not true!" He lied. "I never forgot about you! I'll never forget about you, how can you say that, Gretch? You are the person I want to spend the rest of my life with!"

"But that's not enough."

At his point they were both on their knees, with Mark running his fingers through her hair, trying to convince her that this is where she needed to be whilst Gretchen cried, knowing that whatever Mark said would always make her second guess. But this time round; she seemed persistent and rose from her knees to her feet and continued to try escape from the clutches of Mark, who grappled with her. This was done, violently.

"Mark let go of me."

She said calmly.

"Let go of me!"

She said angrily.

She pushed him backwards but Mark pushed her, not knowing his own strengths as her head connected with the wall, he hurried to her picking her up and repeatedly saying that he was sorry. Gretchen looked fragile and weak as Mark helped her to her feet and once she was up, she backed away from him, fear in her eyes.

"I didn't mean to - Gretch, I didn't know - I'm sorry - Gretchen, please.. just..."

"Mark I'm tired of all of this. I was a fool to believe that you and me would work happily ever after because we won't. Not when you're like this Mark. I don't know what's happened to you. We were in such a good place a few months ago but now, you're a completely different person again. I understand that work takes a toll on you but it never did in the past. God knows when you last took your medication Mark! And I don't know what you haven't been taking it, Mark! You can't control the voices in your head so stop believing you can! I'm worried for you Mark! I'm worried that they're going to get you killed! And I don't want to be there.. I don't want our child to be there."

Gretchen walked towards the door whilst Mark remained still.

"Gretchen, I can change. I'll start taking my medication, I'll go see a shrink or whatever."

He walked towards her, putting his hands on her face, their heads touching one another. He didn't want her to go, but he knew that this was something she had to do. For far too long he had been stringing Gretchen along on this adventure he embarked for himself, it wasn't fair that she had to watch him destroy himself, he knew that she couldn't bear it anymore. He knew that he had to let her go. He pressed his lips on her forehead and she looked up at him, nodding her head with pride, tears continuing to flood her eyes, but he wiped them away.

"This isn't goodbye."

She said, taking his hand and bringing it to her side, before placing her other hand on his face, wiping the tears away from his eyes. She then took his hands and placed them both on her stomach:

"We'll be back, when you're ready."

She then pressed her lips on his however only for a moment before turning away and walking out. He reached for her despite knowing that she wasn't going to turn back. This wasn't like the movies, where the girl decides to stay and the couple work on their problems, this wasn't like it at all. Mark knew that he had to let her go.

He closed the door, plagued with emotions He collapsed, curling up into a ball as he cornered himself in the room.

"Don't be a big baby. You know it had to be done."

A voice echoed through the household, gaining the attention of Mark who rose to his feet immediately and looked around, wiping the tears from his eyes. He walked into the living room and scanned the room, looking for his tormentor:

"She made you weak.
She made you vulnerable.
Too easy to expose.
You needed to get rid of her."

The living room was of reasonable size, not big however not too small. A modern contemporary design, glass tables, numerous paintings scattered along the walls, up to date technology, everything you'd expect a living room to look like I suppose. Mark walked around the room slowly, analyzing everything in the room, making sure that everything was where it was supposed to be.

"But now she's gone! And we can finally get to work!"

He turned around and there he was, seated in his usual arm chair with a cigarette clenched between his lips, dressed in his usual attire of a Dark Grey suit and tie with formal black shoes. Rick the Ruler; the figment of Mark's imagination, his former mentor turned tormentor had arrived. He exhaled the smoke from his cigarette, a cloud of smoke lingering in the air and Rick grinned from ear to ear, clasping his hands together before inviting Mark to seat.

"What are you doing here, Rick?"

Rick's face turned from a pleasant smile to disappointment.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? You wanted me here so here I am. You chose not to take your medication, so here I am! Don't ask questions you already know the answer to! We haven't got time for that Mark, our time is very bleak now that you've decided to embark on this voyage of Global domination. The Global Takeover tour, how exciting! Mark Storm coming to all televisions near you! And I thought you were just going to rot away in that half mediocre promotion Extreme Wrestling Corporation.. I'm glad that you've decided that you actually want to become something else."

Rick inhaled before exhaling again, a cloud of smoke once again appearing above him.

"Don't get me wrong, Extreme Wrestling Corp is alright, but you need to broaden your horizons. You've already done what you needed to do there, you've already accomplished what you set out to accomplish there. It's time we take it up a notch."

He rose from his seat and walked over to the counter, picking up the decanter and pouring a glass for himself before turning back towards Mark who was now seated on the sofa, his head bowed; obviously still sad about the recent going on's in the Mark Storm household.

"Don't be sad."

Rick played with his emotions like a puppeteer.

"We haven't got time to be sad. Now that you've chosen this way of life, we've got to be on the road again soon enough kid. You've got matches upon matches, destinations upon destinations, this isn't going to be easy for you. But I promise you that with my help, you're going to get through this, and you're going to find what you're looking for."

Mark rose from his seat, infuriated.

"That's the thing Rick! I don't even know what I'm doing anymore! I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I just lost the love my life who is carrying my unborn child! And for what? For global domination? That's not what I want!"

Rick nodded his head.

"Yeah it is. That's exactly what you want because deep down you know that you can't do it. You know that you're sick. You know that you're not a father! Look at you.. you're a schizophrenic sociopath who's addicted to fighting. You're not a father! Maybe in another life you will be but in this life, you're a fighter. This is what you want and you know it. You've wanted it ever since you were a little kid Mark, to be the best to ever grace the four sided ring. I know that because you know that. You've wanted this for so long and now you have the chance to claim it. What you gonna do? Bail? For some kid that you're just going to let down?! Get a hold of yourself. That kid's better off without you."

Mark shut his eyes and shook his head, not wanting to see, not wanting to believe - Rick the Ruler.

But the voices wouldn't stop, the voices never stop.

"Open your eyes, you pussy, stop trying to fight it! You need me! You need me now more than ever."

And like a puppet Mark opened his eyes.

"Take a seat."

Mark did as he was told, taking a seat on the sofa whilst Rick walked over to the window and looked out, extinguishing his cigarette with his finger tips before tossing it aside. He then turned towards Mark, leaning against the window sill. 

"You put yourself in a position where you had to choose between her and wrestling, Mark. You widely decided that you wanted to embark on this adventure, signing yourself up with several promotions. This is what I wanted Mark, this is what we wanted. You can deny it all you want but deep down I know that you're happy, because I am you, Mark. If you want to become the best then the first thing you've got to do is sacrifice. Forget about all of those you love, all of your friends and your family because they become distractions, and if you want to be the best you can't have distractions. You have to devote yourself to an idea! And exclude yourself from the life you once lived, step one, check. You've signed yourself up with some of the biggest promotions in the world and some smaller promotions that are beginning to rise. New Gen Wrestling, Omega Combat, WARPED, Missouri State and now, Frontier Grappling Arts. Which is surprising from you considering the last spell you had at the promotion which was an epic fail. You and your misfit tag team partner, you remember? Signing up for the Dynamic Duo competition but you couldn't even make it passed the first round? And then you tried to sign up for the promotion individually but you couldn't even turn up at an en event.

How embarrassing.

Frontier Grappling Arts is a promotion which is rich in history despite only being around since 2011, it's managed to rise to the top of the wrestling industry due to it's originality. It's been the homage of numerous wrestling stars who are now competing at the top of the wrestling spectrum, guys and gals like Cordy Stevenson, Chandler Scott, Sean Sands to name a few. You're in a promotion that you should be taking seriously Mark, a promotion that you shouldn't shy away of but you should embrace the challenges that are thrown in your direction. A promotion you must be proud to associate with! A promotion that you must conquer!"

Rick paused, looking deep into the eyes of Mark who nodded his head acceptingly. 

"You've thrown yourself into the deep end, Mark. Frontier Grappling Arts doesn't have any mediocre competition. It doesn't have any half beats, each and everyone that is signed to that promotion is a fighter just like yourself and they're all looking to make a name for themselves, they're all looking to become the best. But unlike yourself, they're not willing to sacrifice. Unlike yourself, they're not willing to step up to the next level to achieve such a status; of legend. They'll say that they will when they cut their promos and pride themselves on how they started from nothing and now finding themselves in FGA but that's all they'll do. They lack the will to act! They all talk.. just like your opponent, Molly Reid."

Once again Rick paused.

"She doesn't know much about you but I managed to find out everything you need to know about your up and coming opponent, who's also debuting. A child plagued with loss, losing her mother soon after her both before her father was murdered during a financial crisis when she was seventeen. Poor soul, she's been through a lot. But she's put all of that anger, all of that hatred, all of that negativity into her arts. In the ring she's relentless with a never die attitude, she'd fight even if half her ear was off and she'd fight even if you knocked her down as hard as you possibly could. She's a fighter with a background in mixed martial arts just like yourself. But unlike yourself, Molly doesn't want to be the best; she doesn't care about whilst you, you've built a career on wanting to be the best. She just likes to tussle and get down with it. Which is admirable. This is her hobby and she doesn't want to take it seriously, understandable. Which unfortunately for her will be her downfall because that's exactly what I despise, it's what you despise. She's in this profession to have fun? She's in this profession because she likes to get hit? How idiotic. I'm sure the girl has taken a lot of hits and a lot of bruises in the day, but they will be nothing with what you've got in store for her. Punish her Mark, like she's been punished her whole life with all that has been lost, all that has occurred in her life, punish her and don't stop until she has no fight left in her.

You want to be the best? Then you have to beat the best and the worst. Molly Reid isn't the best but she knows that, but Molly Reid is far from being the worst. She's an obstacle that you have to overcome just like any other opponent. It doesn't matter what she's been through, it doesn't matter whether shes a nice person, nothing is going to get in our way. No one is going to get in our way. We've got this plan Mark and we've got to make sure that everything goes according to plan just like it did over in Extreme Corp, just like it did back in your independent days. Molly Reid is the first step. You know what has to be done."

Mark rose from his seat and clasped his hands together. It appeared that everything that had transpired earlier had now been cleared from the mind of Mark who was now focused on the task of defeating Molly Reid; it's like Rick the Ruler had completely taken over his mind, putting him in a trans and the emotional Mark that we had seen earlier was now gone. Appearing in front of Rick the Ruler was the Mark Storm who had conquered Extreme Wrestling Corporation for eight months, the Mark Storm who had gone undefeated for several months.. the Mark Storm who was ready to kill. He was vacant from emotion as he turned to Rick the Ruler who nodded his head approvingly, knowing that his work had been done; he grinned from ear to ear and his teeth glistened as he done so.