[SenorVinnie]

 Senor Vinnie can be seen in his hotel room, he is drinking a glass of water while listening to some Santana on the sound system. He is humming to the lyrics of Black Magic Woman, one of the biggest classics that he has ever performed. On the ground next to him we see Cactus Pete with a tablet in front of him as he is doing a video call with Iris the British Bulldog from Bill Barnhart.

Iris: Bark!!!!

Pete shakes his head as if he is lip sinking to Santana as he has a bandana across his head, this causes Iris to jump up and down being ecstatic. This causes Vinnie to look over his shoulder towards Pete and his dog girlfriend with an odd look on his face.

Vinnie: Uhm Pete??? What are you doing???

Pete’s head turns towards Vinnie and does his mystical “talk” to him.

Pete: ….

Vinnie: So you are telling me that you and Iris want to do a duet together???

Pete: …..

Iris: Bark!!!!

Vinnie turns his attention towards Iris on the tablet and is really shocked, dropping the glass of water on the ground and puts his hands towards his head.

Vinnie: Oh My God…, I think I am going to lose my mind. I believe I just heard what Iris Was saying. But that can’t be right.

He takes a deep breath, shakes his head a few times before letting out a big time sigh. He then turns his attention back to Iris and Pete and smiles.

Vinnie: Now try to surprise me again Iris, you can’t fool me… I…,

Iris: Bark!!!

Vinnie jumps out of his chair, landing a few feet from his chair and almost knocks over the coffee table that stands in the middle of the room. He looks around in utter shock, looking around to see whether he is being filmed by a hidden camera show but sees nothing. He then turns his attention towards Pete and Iris, who are looking at him with a clueless look on their faces.

Vinnie: Pete?? Did you start a course being a ventriloquist??

Pete: ……

Vinnie scratches his head to the answer of Pete, looking around if he sees Bill or Bea somewhere.

Vinnie: What do you mean that it is Iris “talking” to me?? You have to understand that this is impossible right??

Pete: ….

Vinnie rolls his eyes and lifts his arms in the air annoyed.

Vinnie: No!!! You got that wrong Pete!! It’s quite normal for people to talk to their plants, I mean seriously. What else besides water and sun is the one thing besides talking that would make them grow??? It’s of course talking!! I mean seriously, who is talking to a dog these days???

Pete stares at Iris who starts to growl at Vinnie, not liking the disrespectful comment that he has placed about talking to dogs.

Iris: Bark!!!

Vinnie realizes that either he is in a dream and is imagining that he can hear Iris talk, or the fact that his ability to hear other living creatures besides humans has increased to animals.  This causes him to turn his back towards Iris and Pete and start to talk to himself.

Vinnie: Okay, so I guess I am having super inhuman strengths that apparently nobody else possesses. Was that cactus that stung me when I was seven radio active?? Or did that Wiley E Coyote really haunt me in real life instead of my dreams??? I mean sure, that coyote did not really talk like you and me. But those signs that he used must have triggered some lobe in my brain that makes me understand plants and dogs.

Vinnie is so busy talking to himself that he has not even noticed that Pete has begun to dance on Iris her rendition of I am too sexy from Right Said Fred. Causing Iris to bark loudly while Vinnie is rubbing his chin and continues to think.

Vinnie: I guess that movie from Mel Gibson to find out What Women Want is really an autobiography that should be watched by us men all over the world. I mean, I have too been hit once by lightning after that Softball tournament. I had warned the gardener that he had to water the cactuses or else we would get rain and thunder. But noooooooooo, senor Miguel told me that I should not interfere with his profession. As if he knows more about cactuses than me??

He huffs as he continues to talk, but the camera moves away from him for a few moments as we see Pete doing some sort of form of dancing as Iris is barking happily

Vinnie: I knew that when uncle Carlo told me that dogs were rather intelligent that I did not believe him, I mean why would I?? The only thing that came close to a dog was our neighbour. My father always told me that he was one mean dog of a man, never understood why. But my father for some reason was always telling me that the neighbour was seen with another senorita, but I only saw him hold hands. And now this??

He stares at the two love birds(!) that are enjoying each other’s company through the wonderful medium of tablets. He sees Pete doing a dance and quickly grabs a napkin and tosses it all over the screen of his tablet. This causes Pete to stop and turn around to him.

Vinnie: How can you!!! If you want to do the sacred Mariachi dance for that dog, then at least put on a sombrero you fool!!! You are doing it all wrong!!!!

Pete: ……

Vinnie: I could care less that you knew that I did not do that for my wife…, I….. Hey!! How did you know that???

Pete: …..

Vinnie: What do you mean you watched it on your laptop??

Pete: …..

Vinnie suddenly stops after hearing what Pete had said and thinks back to his wedding last year.

Vinnie: Oh my God, I did forget to turn off the laptop that you used to be my best man on my wedding on the boat!!! Are you telling me that you had witnessed it all???

Pete: ….

Vinnie: You are lying when you tell me that you saw that birth mark on my left shoulder!! Everyone knows that it is on my right… errr….

Quickly he remembers that there’s a camera watching him as he starts to smile and shakes his head to Pete.

Vinnie: You almost got me there Pete, but seriously. How did you get Iris so far to mess with my head Pete?? Did you attempt to once again hypnotize me??

Pete: …..

Vinnie: Then at least you have to admit that you did that ventroligist act

Pete: …..

Vinnie: No? What do you mean no?? Don’t tell me that I can honestly understand what Iris is barking???

Iris: Woof!!!

Vinnie turns his attention to the tablet with an annoyed look on his face

Vinnie: It’s un polite to interfere during a discussion that two adults are having iris. I…

Vinnie face palms himself, realizing that he understands her barking, there’s no denying it now as he starts to breathe heavy. Slowly he rolls his hand away from his face as his fingers pull down upon his lower lip in frustration.

Vinnie: Why me??

We can see Pete hobble off the hotel room with his tablet as iris is barking happily at him as Vinnie stands there silently.

Until….

Vinnie: NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have the shot towards Vinnie waking up from his bed, poured all in sweat as he has woken up from apparently a bad dream. He looks around, the bedroom of his hotel room is dark and quiet. We see Pete sleeping in his own little bed on the foot end of Vïnnie’s bed, causing him to sigh and shake his head in disbelief.

Vinnie: Good grief, I thought that this was real. It sounded real, it looked so real and I could have sworn that I have heard Iris bark as if she was in the room next to mine!!

He drops backwards into his pillow, his gaze is directed towards the ceiling as he is thinking back about what he has dreamt about just a few moments ago.

Vinnie: What could this mean???

Vinnie grabs the alarm clock next to his bed, looking at the time as it reads that it is only 2 am in the evening. He places it back on the nightstand as he puts both hands to his face.

Vinnie: Why do I get these weird dreams?? It’s like Pete is having some sort of control over me and I cannot stop it!!!

He breathes for a few moments before slowly dropping his hands away from his face, his gaze is directed towards Pete who is seemingly still sleeping.

Vinnie: Could it be true?? Is it really so what others say about me???

A tear is shed as he slowly moves his left side of his face into his pillow. Trying to hide the tear that he had shed a few moments, clearly hurt by comments about him made by others.

Vinnie: People always tell me that I am weird, that I am a freak. That I do not belong, that I cannot accomplish anything on my own. Hell even my title reign was a fluke, all because I talk to a cactus and they cannot.

Or is there more to this than meets the eye??

He tosses his head to the other side of his bed, trying to fall back to sleep. Wanting to forget the feelings that he is enduring right now, but he is too stressed to do so.

Vinnie: Fuck!!!!

He sits back up again, driving his knuckles into the side of his head. Trying to push away the thoughts that keep coming back inside his head.

Vinnie: Stop…, please stop… I’m not crazy!!!

Vinnie’s eyes turn towards his cactus, thoughts run through his mind as if why a cactus is even sleeping in a miniature bed on top of his own bed??? Why he keeps dragging a cactus along to begin with and why….

Vinnie: Why??

There’s a soft chuckle escaping his lips as he shakes his head while resuming to chuckle some more.

Vinnie: Are you seriously  asking yourself why Vinnie??? As if you are expecting to give yourself an answer that would make everything better?? Oh sure, look for an answer to hide behind as an excuse and make another fun promo to please these people….. or to make others shake their heads as if they are entitled to judge me as a freak?? Oh sure of course.., there’s nothing more than someone that wants to judge the outside of what I truly am huh??

So who should I blame??

He softly bites upon his lower lip, as if to quit himself for a few moments as if he does not want to spoil it right away.

Vinnie: Was it senora Martinez?? My kindergarten teacher?? Or was it perhaps nurse Viola?? The then twenty year old nun that told me that I should not care too much about what others think of me…. And I tried to do so!! Only because I cared what she thought of me, but she only cared of doing Good in the name of HIM….. But that wasn’t because she cared what I thought!! No it was onloy to get into the good side of HIM!!!

He looks upwards and smiles….

Vinnie: I’ll let it slide for now, before Father Shephard will judge me as a sinner. And we cannot have that now can we??

A sinister smile emerges upon his face before slowly sliding out of his bed and walking towards the balcony. He slowly opens the doors and walks over to the edge of the balcony and watches over the lights of Las Vegas….

Vinnie: But is HE the problem?? Or is he the solution to my situation?? But I doubt that it will be this easy to begin with…. Because if HE sends me on a mission, then be assured that I am not going to be persuaded to jump inside a whale for three days before changing my mind!!! But it is so much easier to point your finger to the ones that you do believe in instead of something that you cannot see. Like a man out there whom is the reason why I am the way I am right now???

And no, I’m not talking about Ben Jordan…, because he is the ultimate reaction to my problem… a problem that I have been trying to push away from me for quite some time… until I saw your interview this past Climax Control.

He gazes towards the seemingly endless lights in the horizon in front of him. Listening to the sounds of people talking, cars driving and any other sound that you could expect from Las Vegas.

Vinnie: I do not blame you for everything though…, it would be so wrong to stoop so low that I cannot believe that you have been kept away from me for so long my amigo…ànd we all are amigo’s aren’t we???

A sinister smile emerges further and further upon his mouth.

Vinnie: And amigo’s tell each other the truth don’t they?? Because that’s why you are amigo’s that the other would except the harsh reality that your opinionated mind works!!! Or at least as where you can give honest reasons behind your opinion in the hope to convince the other that you are right. And you are such a justified individual that it does not matter what you are saying isn’t it?? Because you are so close to HIM that everything you say is right no matter what!!! To the point that I am assured when Father and Mother Shephard create a little sheep herder that it would almost be a second you huh??? And do not worry mi amigo, you do not have to deny the truth that shall set you free….

He closes his eyes and spreads his arms for a few moments before slowly re opening them again and smile as he stares into the lights and the darkness past the city of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Vinnie: What was it that you told the world hm?? Over and over again telling.. no almost preaching like words that rolled from your mouth. Almost to the point of being so repetitive…. Hmm??? Oh yes, all Vinnie had to do was come up to you and ask….. isn’t that wonderful?? How easy it would seem like for all you fools out there that would prefer to be conservative like him. That wish to do the same thing over and over again… as if you would settle with eating a cheese sandwich every single day around 11 am…. To be what they want you to be…. What was it what the wise words of the singer of Rage Against The Machine often preached upon in his music??? What was it again??

Oh yes….,

Now you do what they want ya……

Remember that line my amigo???

A sinister smile comes over his lips.

Vinnie: Oh don’t worry, I know I am taking that line way out of contest of what it originally was destined to be. But isn’t it that what the written and spoken word can become for everyone out there in this world?? To get a deeper meaning behind another opinion…. One that I am sure you never wished to uphold… didn’t ya???

Oh of course you do not wish to be the spokes person of the common man?? Because you do not wish to be considered boring!! You just don’t accept anything that was different than what you are used to isn’t it??? Including to cactus speaking people like yours truly. Whom I to this very day remember taking THAT what you held so dear to your heart??? Something that you are trying to rekindle that burning flame that died off seemingly after I beat you huh Austin???

Whoops, I let the cat out of the bag on that one!!!

There’s a moment of silence

Vinnie: And still, how does that explain the nightmares of yours truly?? Good question… and unlike you I know the answer Austin… jealousy…, a word that I am sure that you will deny ever accentuating any part of your existence huh Austin?? Because you are everything that is pure… and I am a man that talks to a cactus….

And yet you are the one that ruined yourself mi amigo…. Remember??? Oh of course you do…, you just are too stubborn to admit it don’t ya???

But I am not Austin… remember?? December fifteenth 2019??? Elimination Chamber??? Oh I know you do amigo…. We all do right??? The night that you finally cheered over the fact that I was no longer the shame over your entire career. The blemish that has haunted you for six months…. All because you were too fucking selfish to reclaim your revenge upon the way Austin James Mercer always wanted the world to know…. To let them know how Austin James Mercer would extract HIS revenge upon those who has done wrong to him.

Het the words sink in for a few moments before continuing.

Vinnie: Strong words huh Austin? And yet I have not even started explaining myself…, oh no. I want you to foam from the mouth for a bit longer…. Because lets face it…, that’s what you did to me since that day Austin…. Pushing the seeds of your selfish life into mine…. Where you wanted to injure me permanently… hitting my head into the steel cage before hitting the Mercenary Kick while an official was checking on my health?? Is that how you do things Austin?? Or should I ask whether jealousy has risen his ugly head once more… And all you do is telling the world that I wanted to make a statement???

How pathetic you are amigo…, how selfish and low you have fallen. A man that wants to take pride into giving the Internet championship the prestige that it deserves?? Oh sure… hide behind Austin 2.0 and repeat everything that you ever wanted to do what you have done before… only trying to wipe out the one part of history that you could not forget…. And yet you made one mistake amgio… instead of giving me bad dreams… you should have finished what you had started….

Now it is my turn amigo…., I will be the nightmare that you cannot and will not ever forget…

With that Vinnie’s eyes close as the shot fades

That next morning

We see Vinnie downstairs in the restaurant, serving himself some fresh bread and some orange juice. Looking over what more he could eat for breakfast as Bill Barnhart walks up to him.

Bill: Hey Vinnie, do you know what Iris and Pete have been up to lately???

Vinnie looks up at him with a questionable look on his face.

Vinnie: What do you mean??

Bill: Well for some reason I have seen Pete dancing on iris her rendition of I am too Sexy, they Skype a lot and for some reason it seems that Pete is telling her secret messages.

Vinnie rolls his eyes and sighs.

Vinnie: I will talk to Pete about it Bill…., I…

Bill: No that’s just it Vinnie, whatever that he is doing it seems to be helping.

Vinnie looks up at Bill with a questionable look on his face.

Vinnie: Helping???

Bill: For some reason she has not eaten Nacho’s since the last Climax Control.

Vinnie: So?

Bill shakes his head

Bill: You don’t get it do you?? She has been eating fruit for the last two days.

Now Vinnie understands what Bill is trying to tell him

Vinnie: Are you trying to tell me that Iris is going healthy???

Bill is nodding his head, he continues to ramble on and on about it. But Vinnie has dozed his mind into something completely different and is ignoring Bill like he has done before.

Vinnie: He is a miracle.

Bill: That’s what I told Bea also… I..,

He continues to ramble on and on as Vinnie repeats that sentence in a soft whisper, so soft that Bill did not hear it as Vinnie walks over to his table and is staring into the void while forgetting his breakfast.

Bill: Are you going to eat that Vinnie???

Vinnie: Yes…….,

Bill: Ah that’s a shame, I really love that garlic bread that you picked up earlier. But maybe I should follow what Iris is doing. I….

Vinnie: Garlic bread……

Bill looks up at Vinnie and scratches his head.

Bill: Are you okay?

Vinnie: Yes….,.

Bill: Good, I was worried whether you had the same dreams as I was having?? Like that I could actually understand Pete and Iris!!! Isn’t that weird?

Vinnie: Yes…..,.

His gaze is still stuck somewhere in front of him, Bill looks at the same direction not sure what Vinnie is looking at.

Bill: You okay man???

Vinnie: Yes…., I just had an idea….

Bill: Good, well I guess I will let you be and think over that idea that you apparently have on your mind and I don’t want to be part of it in any way or shape. See ya!!!

Bill takes off, grabbing the bread of Vinnie’s plate to see whether he would notice it or not and shrugs as he notices that Vinnie has not moved yet.

Bill: Oh well, at least I got what I came for…

With that Bill walks off and leaves Vinnie alone….he gazes into the void until…

Vinnie: Is he gone???

The camera man nods the camera up and down, signalling a yes.

Vinnie: Good, Bill is a nice guy and all. But sometimes…., well often he gets under my skin. I mean seriously, as if he can hear cactuses talk.

As if I need more at this moment to think about than my quest for Internet Gold and getting back into the ring with Jack Washington. The man that won the right to become the King for a Day…. Congrats Jack…, how have you been feeling as of late amgio? Did you have a fiesta?? Hold a siesta?? Drank your way to the bar in the hotel and try to buy everyone a drink that you meet??? Or do I not need to show my amusement in this matter?? Like you care amigo, like I care what you care about to be honest I mean lets face it, it apprrently is successful not to care these days…., right???

He chuckles, while looking at his plate and realizes that there’s not much left to eat as he grabs the glass of orange juice

Vinnie: I will not make excuses amigo, you beat me and the others to host a show. I just hope you are doing so much a better job than what our Queen for the past day has attempted to portray. Clearly wanting to show the world what she wanted to see as that gets her worked up no??? I have to admit, I really wanted to make a show like you will be in the foreseeable future… but I am sure that it will not be as Mariachi like in the way I had envisioned. A kick the pinata…, a Taco Bell food fight…and who knows?? Who knows I would have demanded an Internet title match to end up the night. Just like I did at last years Summer XXXtreme… but I have heard you and the others quite enough about that fluke win no???

It’s okay, as amigo’s we can tell each other the truth amigo… it’s what separates us from the others no??? Or at least from the liars and the thieves in our lives.

He takes another sip from the orange juice before walking over to the table and grab some more bread and some cheese and other food to eat before returning to his spot.

Vinnie: I know you are feeling one step closer to your dream of becoming World champion. I remember that near ending words of your promo so well, it fueled your desire like no other amigo. As you believed it what you had said, believing that you had to do whatever it took to climb that ladder and grab that figuratively crown that was inside that briefcase that you needed.

I wonder, wijll you be wearing the crown?? And the cape?? The scepter?? Or are you just going out there like you have done every single moment of your life??? Of course you are, why change a broken record when it is successful? I compliment you, as a former champion of the world to one that I am sure will be one in the near or far future. And yet…, one day the broken record will crumble and you will have to find another vinyl record to replace the biggest hit that you were in love with before the next. Its like hearing Stairway to Heaven for the very first time after being used to listen to garbage for the entirety of your stinking life is it not?? Hmm? I know a way or two about letting you whistle a different tune when it comes down to wrestling inside that six sided ring Jack… no more ladders, no more briefcases. Just you and me, how much more simpler could it very well be hmm?? And yet the simplicity of it all is just merely being aware of what is out there…

Just like I have attempted to reveal an alternate universe out there to Austin James Mercer on what the future holds and reality could very well be. Only to allow your heart and soul to reform to the existence of that what you wish to ignore or even dare to hate. The same thing I am oing to be asking you Jack… will it be the night where you once again climb the emotional ladder of success and reach for the heavens?? As you had already climbed the Stairway to Heaven that Robert Plant has been singing about since day one of the band that mad him famous??

And yet it’s only directions in life that we are able to pick for ourselves isn’t it?? The path that you had picked is the fasted track to glory and becoming world heavyweight champion. And even though I am more than willing to applaud you for your direction in life.. The one that you are apparently too stubborn to relinquish from your rear view mirror. Only to realise that it has been me all along that has been staring youd own since merely a few weeks ago. Being the one that is the hunter for gllry that you have been so far. Because you were the one that sat back in the passengers seat in the back. Being able to overlook everyone’s move and spoken word that have been uttered. As it made you the one that stands in the shadows, waiting for that one moment glorious moment that would set you out of the shadows and into the spotlights.

The only question that needs to be answered… is what is next Jack??

He is quiet for a few moments, whispering the same question about what is next for him.

Vinnie: It would be so like you to say that a match with Vinnie is next… and even though in reality you are absolutely right…, you are farther away from the truth and you don’t even know half of it. Because it is not the night where you give your glorious victory a follow up in your tale of success. Oh no Jac,k it is the night where you have to scratch and claw, where you have to fight and grind your teeth to succeed once more. The very same night that you will realize that this wasn’t just a stepping stone to something far more greater goal in life. It is the night where you have to claw, where you have to fight and scratch and whatever it is that simplifies the struggle that you will have. The struggle of keeping your hop alive before I will stomp you back into the figuratively ground before wiping my boots off on you and walk them dry.

I do tend to forgive, yet I do not tend to forget. And whereas I am willing forgive you unlike our current Internet Champion. I would urge you not to ruin that special moment that we may have this coming Climax Control amigo. Because that special moment comes only once in a lifetime and has faded away way before you would even know it.

I warn you Jack… it’s nothing like you have never seen and experienced before. But it is the life lesson that you and everyone out there needs to be educated by. The lesson of simplifying the reality, the reality that should not be stuck and broken down because you are opiniated. Because unlike your hope and dreams that you are having…, I hold YOUR future in the palms of my hands so that I can squeeze the life out of you and enjoy every single moment of it.

I warn you though, don’t become like Austin though?? Because he has ruined his life in a way that the after effect still needs to be felt at a later date. Some people will understand right away when their lives will turn for the worse… whereas others may need time and a helping hand to graduately understand that their lives were wrong… So don’t be foolish Jack, do not decide against better judgment to become an Austin James Mercer.

Because lets face it Jack, just like his string of successes will come to an end to yours truly when I snatch that belt away from him. But the same could very well happen if you do what you should not be doing at all…. Look me in the eyes and realize that you may have been very fortunate the last time we were in that same ring…. ;But now??? Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Mano a mano…., the one true definition of being a king and remaining a king… even if your price is worth nothing more than a mere day….

With that the shot fades to darkness