“PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!”
Aleksei Koji stands in front of a crowd of people cheering and chanting. It is a familiar scene for the man yet there is something different about this scene. First of all the crowd is huge. It has to be five hundred people waving signs, dancing and screaming for him. Also instead of a drink in his hand he is holding the Roulette Championship Belt. When we see his face it is hard to read his emotions. He is grinning but he also looks shocked that all these people showed up.
“PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!”
We fade back to many days earlier and a much more intimate setting. The chanting can still be heard but it is more distant now. Aleksei is in a small, simple dressing room in Puerto Rico. At the door stands Karina looking as displeased as always. Giani De Lucca is standing near where Aleksei is sitting with his eyes closed and Aria sits with him.
Giani punches Aleksei in the arm “You can do this bro. You hear that, they are chanting for you. They are changing for us! We can walk away from this night champions! You and me bro, think how sick that could be.”
Aleksei opens his eyes and takes a deep breath. He is dressed to wrestle and is wearing his patchwork coat. “This whole thing is getting so big. I know I can beat Casey most nights, but what if tonight is not one of those nights. I am entirely too sober for this shit.”
Karina responds in a surprisingly soft tone. “You won’t loose. Trust me. “
He looks over at his strange sister and smiles. Aria takes his hand and kisses it. It has only been two weeks since she was back in his life but they had become close. Closer than Aleksei got with most women. He stood up and started to move his feet a bit. He moved to the rhythm of the chanting. “Okay enough with the sentimental crap. Lets get fucked up!”
He turns towards the door and starts striding out. Aria slaps his ass on the way out and grins. He smiles back at her as Karina opens the door, the chanting gets louder.
“PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!”
We return to the current moment as Aleksei moves through the crowd. He moves stiffly, his injuries from his last match still showing. He has a bandage on his head where he got split open. As he moves through the crowd people pat him on the back, or hug him. Girls kiss his cheek. As he reaches the end of crowd it opens up to reveal they are on the docks in front of a massive cruise line. The Royal Monarch is an impressive sight and the Party Horde almost looks tiny compared to its massive scale.
“PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!”
We fade back to an open ambulance in the backstage area of Lord of the Rings. Two paramedics are working on Aleksei. He looks like he is near death, his head wood has painted his face in blood. A large section of his back and shoulders are burned. Aleksei himself looks out of it but he is smiling. On his lap is the Roulette Championship belt. Aria comes running over to him, thinking about hugging him but not knowing where to even touch him.
“You should see the other guy” Aleksei says with a weak laugh and she starts to laugh but it comes out more like crying. She shakes her head looking at him.
Then she speaks “This is crazy. This is like before. Finding you in some back alley nearly dead or beat up after some cage fight. Why do you do this?”
Aleksei coughs and then speaks. “Because its fun....and I get paid a lot better then the old days. You said...you did. You said this thing was bigger than me.”
Aria sighs “I didn’t mean get yourself set on fire. I don’t know if I can keep doing this.
Aleksei nods and looks up towards the chanting. “But they loved it. They are still chanting for us. Come on, go on a little cruise with me”
She follows his eyes and just rolls her eyes. She wipes away a few stray tears and sits there with him. “There are no fans cheering boyo, you just got your head knocked around.”
He looks at her confused but trying to figure it out seems to hurt his head. He groans a little bit and then promptly passes out.
“PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!”
We return to the present. A small stage has been built near the edge of the dock. Jamie Staggs is there with a bottle of beer leading the crowd in the chant. Gianni is also there shirtless and in shades. Aria is also up there holding a bottle of wine. He is screaming out as well. Aleksei stands on the edge of the stage. He takes off his coat revealing the bandages are still on his back, he then holds up his fist and the crowd goes wild. The sound is nearly deafening. He spun around once, soaking it all in before getting up on stage. He held up his hands for the audience to quiet themselves, to no avail. They are too damn excited to quiet down quick.
“PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!”
We fade back one more time and the chanting continues. This time we are at the Party Horde’s going away party. A few campers are set up on the beach and a huge party is raging. The Kojis, Aleksei and Karina, stand on the edge of it sharing a rare moment of solidarity. They are laughing about some family story as they watch people make fools of themselves.
Karina makes a face as a small group of streakers run though the Horde. “I will say one thing brother. I will not miss your parties”
Aleksei grins. “So your not sticking around?”
She looks at him as if he is crazy. “I told you I would help you train to win that belt. You have it and so I am done. I have my own battles to fight.”
He nods. “I am shocked to hear myself say this little wolf, but it has been nice having you around. Even if you are annoying.”
She does not say anything in response, but just watches the crowd dance around.
“And now is when you say thank you...or tell me I rock as an older brother. Maybe even just a grunt in my direction.” he says to her.
Karina looks at him sideways and just smiles.
“So you think there is any chance I am going to hold on to this thing.” he asked, just like he asked her before every match if she thought he would win. She chuckled a little bit and turned to leave.
“Not a chance big wolf.” was all she said as she started to leave the beach. Aleksei laughed at this and listened to the music for a while. He stared down at the belt and shook his head.
“Its a crazy world.” he said to himself and then walked to the edge of the Hoard. The group parted ways for him as he started to dance, then it swallowed him in as the party continued all around him.
“PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!” “PARTY HORDE!”
The crowd finally calms down enough so that Aleksei can be heard over him. He has a wild smile on his face as he takes the bottle of wine. The crowd gets even quieter as it appears he is about to speak. “So you know that moment in old movies where they have the big ship and they break a bottle over it for its maiden voyage?”
The crowd responds with an exaggerated “YEAH” like they are some depended grade school class and Aleksei nods with approval.
“Well,” he continues “I got some wine so we could do this shit right, but then Aria told me that this was not this ships maiden voyage and some official looking people had already done this. And I thought about it, then I decided I am going to do it anyway. But first I wanted to say some things.”
Aleksei then unhooks his belt and holds it above his head. The crowd stops being quiet, and starts screaming. Jamie pats Aleksei on the part of his back that is not burned. Aleksei again lets the crowd has their moment before speaking again. “Now nearly a week ago I walked into my own little hell. A ring that was on fire and inside was Casey Williams. I worked my ass off getting ready for this match, which is to say that I went to the gym twice. But I broke a sweat both times. Not to mention I let my crazy sister train me, which is kind of like being hunted all the time.”
“I told everyone that I would go into the ring and win this belt for the Horde. I was pretty sure I could do it too, then I hit those ropes for the first time. And then I thought....well fuck I thought I should be less sober right now. And to be honest I am not sure how I did it. I am not sure how I survived that inferno and became a champion....but I think..yeah I think you guys had something to do with that.”
Aleksei looks at the bottle of wine and frowns. “Wait a minute, this is really good wine...umm Jamie look an eagle.” He points up and then snatches Jamie’s beer bottle. He then sets the bottle down, opens the wine bottle and takes a sip.
“Now I have a match coming up in a week on this very ship. I should be worried, you know. I mean its a battle royal for this very belt. I could be the first to be eliminated and this baby would be gone. I am facing three former Roulette champions. NOT TO MENTION...ummm well I am still kind of fucked up. But look at this face, is this the face of a man that is scared?” Aleksei says and then smiles. He takes another swig of wine.
“Hell no I am not scared. Casey Williams tried to literally set me on fire last week. I bled so much that I was a cheap drunk for days. We gave the world the best Roulette rules match of all time. We were true warriors in that ring. Neither of us were going to quit and neither of us are going to be the same after that match. I will tell you all something. Right now I respect Casey Williams as much as the men on this stage. He is a true warrior and I will gladly face him any day. We did battle and I became a champion. And I don’t fucking mean they gave me a belt at the end. I mean that I proved to the world and myself, that I am more then just some goofy Romani brawler. Unless they plan on setting the fucking ring on fire in a week and clone Casey Williams five more times, I know I can survive that match. I know I can win. This belt belongs to the Party Horde now and I intend to keep it that way.”
The crowd cheers him on and he holds the belt up for them. Giani pats him on the back this time and Jamie steals the wine bottle away taking a big drink himself. He quips “You’re right man, this is good shit. Now finish your talky talk so we can get on board.”
Aleksei motions to kick Jamie but instead just flips him off. “I am going to save my energy for the ring. I am going to need it. I don’t want you all to think this match is going to be easy. It is going to be an epic battle and I need you all to help me win. If I was just a guy on my own, Casey would have crushed me. When I was burnt and bleeding I could hear you all cheering me on. Thats how I know I will win next week, because all of you are coming with me.”
“But its still going to be a fucking war. I still have to face that weasel Matty Kennedy who I am sure has come up with a million ways to not really fight in there but still pull of a win. Then I got Hangman and Blaque Hart who are no jokes in the ring either. These are men who have won difficult matches. Men with something to prove. But neither of those guys have proven they can win at Roulette and all Kennedy has proven is that he is an excellent mud wrestler.” he says with a laugh and picks up the beer bottle.
“But I do have face Frost. Now there we have a man who has proven himself and a man that I call friend. A man that I will call friend even after I kick his ass next Sunday. It won’t be personal. Hell I like Casey Williams as well but that didn’t stop me from taking this belt away from him. Frost is going to be hard to beat. I think if I was on my own, he could beat me...but am I going to be alone?” he asked the crowd who screams their response.
He nods and now he holds his beer bottle up. He turns to the ship and tosses the bottle at it. It shatters and her spins back around. “Now lets get on board and take this ship over.” he says and puts his arm around Aria who looks uneasy. He kisses her cheeks and they move to get on board. The chants and cheers starting up again as they reach the main ramp.
