Welcome To SALvation (The Ironman Scramble)

[Gravity]

Sal Karver stands among a landscape of boxes in the Karver estate. He sighs and shakes his head as he looks around his once-furnished home, now made of cardboard and packing tape. He finds a plastic tub in the corner labeled 'Bedding' and sits down on it slowly, making sure it will hold his weight. He coughs.

"This is it, this is what my life has become."

He coughs again, slightly choked up evidently.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saddened about any of what's going on in here. I could care less about this house, I've never had some powerful memory within it's walls that I'm going to treasure forever. I don't care about how many promos I've cut in that workout room or in this living room, my bedroom upstairs, those aren't memories I care for.

"It's the metaphor behind the whole thing."

Sal shakes his head again and stands up, unsure of what to do with his body. He nervously paces back and forth between boxes.

"Two weeks ago I told my daughter I would never leave her again. I looked her in the eyes, and with every bit of intent in my heart, I told her daddy was here to stay, she could count on her father for once in her life. I meant it, truly, I meant to be a good goddamn father."

Sal's eyes begin to well up, a tear falls.

"And then what? I get drafted? By some stupid miracle I get a chance to start my career anew, to get myself on the right track. I got a singles title in my first match, this is what elation feels like right?

"Except where is my promise now?"

He grips his hair tightly, frustrated.

"Paige isn't going to up and move to Europe, and even I can't afford to fly back here every week. When do I see my kid? When do I pick up my daughter from school? When can I go to her birthday parties, or hear her talk about her adventures with her friends? How do I watch my baby girl grow up?

"I've fucked up for six years now, leaving this kid without a father selfishly. And now? Now that I've decided to make up for it, I'm suddenly pulled away, not by my choice of course. What kind of sick karma is that?"

His fist finds a box positioned near the wall. His breathing increases as his eyes travel across the room and find the Ironman title, sitting atop the otherwise vacant dining room table. Sal walks slowly over to it and grips it in his hands.

"This is it, this is why I'm in Europe. Because my career is still important to me.

"Without this belt, what reason do I have to be here? If I don't have some kind of corporeal, physical success, can I in good conscience continue to abandon my daughter?"

Another tear falls from his eye. He sets down the belt and wipes his face clean.

"If I can't watch my daughter grow up, then by god, she's going to watch me become the greatest in the world.

"Because I need her to be proud of me.... somehow."

[Gravity]

Kayne Risen is the only thing in view on a bright, sunny day. He appears to be outside in some kind of suburban setting, but no further details can be made out. He exhales a stream of smoke and smiles through dark sunglasses, holding the lit cigarette up near his mouth.

"If years and years of being in the wrestling business have taught me anything, it's that everyone has a weakness.

"Even at our most powerful, we have a weakness, something that our enemies can expose.

"Every great man in this company has been vulnerable, even at the peak of their game. Maybe no one noticed JMC's fatal flaw during his dominance in WPW, maybe no one can quite figure out The Judge's right now, and it apparently took a hell of a long time to figure out Dan Murph's, but they all had one. Sal Karver has been kind enough to provide his just in time for our big match."

Kayne laughs a little bit, and leans back on what appears to be a mailbox, taking another puff before speaking again.

"I could care less about everyone else in this upcoming Scramble match, and it seems they hardly care either. No, in this situation, it's all about beating the top dog, and Karver is that dog.

"See, Sal and I have a history, we've run in the same circle for a while, and I've always kind of wondered what makes the man tick. He always seems to be all business, full of work ethic, full of desire and courage. It's admirable, and when it gets right down to it, it's hard to beat a man like that. He's got a hard shell, that no one can crack.

"Then some fucking guy did me a huge favor and we all learned about Karver's kid! A mini Karver!"

Kayne laughs and adjusts his sunglasses.

"And so for the last few weeks we've been exposed to the heartwarming tale of Sal Karver, and his willingness to be a better dad. I tell you what, I'm fucking touched. I'm so happy that Sal's found something to be proud of in his life, I'm so happy that he's honest and trying to better himself, I'm so glad he's got someone to fight for.

"More importantly, I'm so glad I've got the chance to fuck with his head now.

"You see Sal, you fucked up. Wrestling, this is a business, and you can't expect every goody two-shoes like The Judge to play by the rules.

"For a while you've been tangling with Dan Murph, but Murph's got nothing on me. Sure he's angry, sure he's a big and mean, but is he willing to get crazy? To cross the line that others dare not? I don't think so.

"Karver, you've never tangled with anyone like me, and right now, with my career in dire need of something big, let's just say I'm even more desperate than usual. So desperate, that I might end up doing something crazy if I don't win at Salvation."

Kayne laughs and stands back up straight then takes a few steps back to reveal the mailbox. On the side, in big black letters, is the word 'Roberts'.

"It is Roberts, right Sal? Paige Roberts? Parker Roberts?"

Kayne laughs louder this time, stifling himself with another puff of his cigarette.

"Think about that during our match on Monday Sal. How far will I go to get what I want? How fucking crazy is Kayne Risen?

"And how far do you want to push your luck?"

Kayne grins and walks away, tossing the cigarette aside, burning away at a small patch of grass in front of the Roberts' residence, before flickering and dying.

[omgajawa]

“Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.” – Buddha

The scene opens to Raelis Shy in her same hotel room. She is sitting on the bed with her hands resting gently in her lap, head down and eyes closed. She begins to speak.

“It wasn’t good enough.”

“My quality of work in the last match with Spaz was poor. Even though I came away with the win, I was left feeling disappointed. Winning by a distraction? I can do better. I can’t let external influences determine my fight. I had to find out what was wrong internally.”

“After much searching, I found what I was grasping to.”

She then relaxes from her meditations. Her eyes open and her posture eases. She looks to the camera and continues with her explanation.

“The thing that bothered me the most was trying to figure out which of the two places I belonged. In one I’m brand new, going to be entered into a tournament for a belt I do not desire. In the other, it seems like I should be gone already and all this is just an after thought.”

“I came to two conclusions. I could just leave EWE behind like they seem to have pretty much done with me, and embrace WPW. I could try to hold onto EWE so I don’t have to leave Europe for bus rides and sponsorships. Tossing the two in my head, I found my patience wearing thin. It would keep affecting my matches, make me weak and hold me back from the way I fought before. I simply cannot have that.”

She quickly moves to the edge of her bed, closing in on the camera. Excitement lights her eyes as she imparts her solution to her problem quietly.

“Then I realized it isn’t for me to decide which I wanted to be in or which I wanted to fight for. Why should I decide anyway? If I was in both, then it is obvious that both are the place I am supposed to be. Where I am is an external influence! It was clear I was making this harder than it needed to be. With that, I found my new peace for this week.”

“With this new knowledge, I know I can do better than I have been, and what better chance to show this than this match for the Ironman Championship.”

The phone on the table rings, and she answers it and thanks the caller. She gets up and starts to gather her bags.

“I and five other men go into the ring to fight for the belt. Sal is the champion, and seems angry with his new glory. I don’t blame him really, and maybe I can help him choose his daughter by taking that belt off him. Kayne thinks he can focus on Sal and blind himself to everyone else but that is probably a foolish thing to do, because I’m pretty sure everyone else won’t care much for threats against Sal’s daughter, including me. Edwards I’ve also beaten before, and the other two are men I don’t know much about and while I will not underestimate them or Sal or Kayne they are not what matters in this match.”

“The condition to win is not in my opponents or even in the fact that this match is for a title. It’s in my self, and it has been for the past several weeks, and so it will remain-“

As she was walking to the door, she halts and turns back to the table. She walks to it, and grabs the bowl from the last time we saw her. She flips it over and holds it in her hand, tracing the wheel on the bottom.

“I will make this my time. All my work, what I’ve learned, my patience with the switches in feds led me to this. While others may not appreciate what their actions and karma have brought to them, I know that I have earned this opportunity. I’m not there to win a belt- as far as I’m concerned that would just be a bonus. I’m here to defend my places, and I’m going to fulfill whatever destiny they each will bring.”

“Now forgive me please, but I have to get to the airport.”

She walks to the door of the room and double checks to see if she has everything in the two bags she carries. Satisfied, she walks out the door.