"Have you ever notice how there are no modern fables? No fanciful tales told around campfires or at bedside with the wee youngsters tucked in all safe and warm beneath their blankets, with their protective and beloved parents standing over them, weaving a tale from times that you or your recent ancestors lived in? There are little stories whispered from lips to ear at slumber parties and shared around the warm, crackling glow of a campfire to elicit the tingling chill of fear up the spine, but each of those tales originated from one far older, told far long ago in times long past and forgotten."
"Oh I do not mean those ridiculous stories crafted by the unimaginative, of psychotic escapees with a hook for a hand scratching at a car door, or the telephone call coming from upstairs. I mean true fables. true tales with a supernatural quality that bring myth and magic back into the lives of the wretched and give them hope against the darkness that watches from near and far."
"The first such tale that I can recall was the story of Pandora, and her jar of evils that got released into the world due to mere mortal curiosity. The latest were some of those told by the brothers of whom I took as a namesake. I think my favorite had to have been one where not a single mortal man nor woman appeared, but those of the animal kingdom took center stage. It is a story with a rather whimsical title named 'The Death Of the Little Hen'." Not familiar with it, you say? Well then, sit back and listen closely Kain, because one day you might wish to tell this tale to your own child as they lay in bed at night."</color>
"In times past, there was a cock, no, not the running joke of the male member, but a rooster. A rooster and his bride, a small hen. One bright day on an outing, the two decided go up to eat at the "nut-hill," a place the animals enjoyed amidst many a specie. However the happy times wished for were not meant to be, and fate, as in its infinite wisdom, would strike when least suspected. For you see, the hen, the rooster's loving little bride, choked to death on her meal, and perished on this small jaunt."
"So the rooster, stricken by grief over the sudden death of his true mate, piled her diminutive body onto a cart and a bunch of animals climbed up onto the back, as was the custom of the enchanted forest. And on they went to attend the services of the hen, and see her off into the afterlife. They went along the small dirt path until they came to a creek that ran with swift water and was a small distance across. Deciding then that the creek had to be forded, they asked for the help of the land, and the land answered. A rock rolled itself into the water as a footbridge. However, the cart was too heavy and it tipped over, sending all of the small, woodland animals into the river, where they gurgled out their last desperate breaths before succumbing to the hideous pain of drowning. Alone, the rooster buried the hen and then he too lay down upon her grave until he died as well."
"The End. That's the whole story. The last line is literally, '...and then everyone was dead.'</color>
"Such a whimsical tale, is it not? A story that begins with such hope, and ends as life itself ends. With death and despair. Now I understand that those that walk this earth do so with a mortal heart, yet they tend to believe themselves gods. They believe that nothing can bring them harm, and yet act so surprised when they are stricken down and forced to endure their own mortality."
"It's a role that you yourself will find yourself in, Kain. Life and death. Chicken and the egg. It all comes full circle, and such is the story that centers around you and I."
"This is why you watch but see none of what you imagine you are used to from me. You see no scary tales of the monster arriving at a slumber party or one whom stalks the traveler in the dense woodland realm. You see no retrospect of those vagabond Romanis who are yet an aching thorn in my side from the day they entrapped me, to this moment. My patron herself is not here with me."
"No. This time it is just me and my own. My words of which will ring true to your ears as I speak volumes on what was once, and what will be undone over the course of time."</color>
Suddenly, the lights go black in the venue and the fans groan in agony. The lights stay out for about ten seconds as wrestling is heard with one of the announcers headsets. Shortly after that, the lights come back on, and Grimm is nowhere to be seen. Kain is still hunched down on his knees as if he were still pinning Grimm, seeming surprised that he is no longer there. However, he doesn’t notice right away that Max is up from the announcers table with his arm around Ariel’s throat from behind. She struggles to break free as Max shouts out “HEY KAIN!” Kain looks over and sees this and all bets are off. He darts outside of the ring quicker than lightening, but Max holds Ariel between them, pointing to the Roulette title belt that is now around her waist. He then points to his face as if to say it is coming home with him. Kain darts at them, but Max laxes a bit as he pushes Ariel right into him but then he retracts her back into the light choke hold.
Simone: This is just… sickening. I can’t think of another way to describe this. I know Max wants to play mind games with Kain, but this is a whole new low.
Adams: I have to agree with you here. Using a man’s wife against him over a piece of leather and gold is just… despicable in my opinion.
Jasmine has initiated a count, but the drama on the outside drowns it out. 4! 5! 6! Max slides Ariel into the ring, quickly following her as Kain grips onto Max’s ankle! He tries to yank, but Max holds onto Ariel tightly as he fights to pull Kain into the ring apron hard. Jasmine shouts at him to get out of the ring, but he simply follows Ariel, bringing her up as Kain quickly gets inside. Max methodically moves around the ring, feeling his steps as he goes. Finally, he takes a good four steps back against the ropes as Kain steps around, getting his hands ready as Max tightens the choke a bit. Kain moves in quickly, grabbing onto Max’s head, ready to swing at him when Grimm rises up from the canvas out of nowhere! He stalks Kain from behind as he tries to set him up perfectly. Grimm finally rolls over his shoulders with a Sunset Flip pin attempt, but Kain keeps it rolling over, hooking onto Grimm’s legs tightly.
1!
2!
3!
Justin Decent: Your winner via pinfall… KAAAAAAAAIN!!!</color>
"There! That moment right there is where you fate became as on with my own, Kain. I will admit I had nothing to do with the actions of Max Burke, but I had no qualms what so ever at using them to my advantage. The thing is, it did not quite work out as I had intended, and you became one of the very few who had ever put my shoulders down for the fateful count of three."
"That was then the moment that I knew that we ourselves would come full circle, and we would meet once again. Your victory at Blaze of Glory III in the Battle Royal clinched the fact, and here we are! Are you nervous about making the vain attempt to defeat me for the second time? I would think you should be, considering that this time, there is more than just mere pride on the line. There is power! There is prestige! And it all comes in the form of a silly golden trinket on a scrap of black leather. Such a trifle thing to wage war over and risk the foundations of your soul, one might think, and yet here we are. Ready to do battle for the second time, and this time I hope that there will be no excuses. No distractions, and nothing to get between us, save for the fountain of crimson that flows in your veins, and will erupt like the most dazzling of purebred society fountains for my own personal amusement."
"I must admit that for such a hyped tour, this has been somewhat dismal, even by my own standards. This continent, for all of its rumored tales and social misunderstandings, the peoples here are surprisingly acute when it comes to dealing with forces of nature such as myself. And yet, for all their wisdom, there are relatively few tales in this nation of Morocco to call their own. Legend abound from near and far, but few have ever originated here. It is a wonder, is it not, because this continent itself is massive and filled with tales of horror and woe from the shadows deep, but this little scrap of land? Virtually nothing."
"I say virtually, because there is something: a little something, that caught my ear in an age ago, long before my own capture and imprisonment. It was in that time so very long ago, in Morocco, that there lived a young African girl by the name of Beijeita. Her mother, Cressidina, lay on her bed coughing and wheezing, an illness having taken hold of her body and it slowly wilted her insides and did away with her will to live through pain and suffering when there was not a cure to be had. Knowing that she was going to die, Cressidina gave Beijeita a locket. The only treasure she possessed that she saw fit and need to pass on into the ownership of her descendants."
"A few days later after her mother had drifted away into the sky to live a new life as a god as was their belief, Beijeita put on her locket and went for a walk. She did this to clear her mind of grief and be one with nature. She happened upon a path that slunk down into shadows, and never before had she been willing to go down in the past. Something in that darkness frightened her, and a part of her knew that fear gave her just cause to be safe. Still, her will had grown strong since her mother's death, and she wished to prove herself brave like her mother before her. Down the path she went, yet unbeknownst to her, the locket started to grow heavy with each foot fall on the beaten path she took. Why? What Beijeita and Cressidina didn't know was that the locket was full of dark souls and spirits."
"As Beijeita walked down the bumpy road, she stumbled and fell onto her knees. The locket went flying, until it came down onto the rocky road and the clasp broke and the golden locket flew open. The spirits flew out of the locket and soared into the sky. Beijeita didn't notice that her locket had gone and smashed, but she thought that falling was a bad sign from her mother, a warning against the shadows if you will, so she headed back to the hut that she lived in and remained there."
"The now freed spirits flew around Morocco for many days until one of their so-called gods Rattele found a black lantern. The lantern was black with patterns and etchings of magical protection, and it had red and green lights that made it shine to give a traveler aid at night. The godling Rattele knew that this would be safe, and he told the other spirits to fly into the lantern and that they would live there for all eternity. But what the spirits didn't know is that the mystic lantern was owned my a mystic Moroccan Genie
The genie was forced to sell the lantern to an antiques shop to get money for clothes and food. That lantern was his most prized possession and he wasn't happy with selling up but some choices you don't want to make but you have to do the right thing."</color>
"You might not think this story means anything or pertains to you, but your feeble mind needs to but expand and think outside the proverbial box to get the true meaning behind the fanciful words. It is a lesson to be well learned. There is a darkness waiting for you and those you love, and you believe it your given right to confront the shadows themselves to benefit you and your own. You think by besting me, and taking the lure of gold and prestige, that your own legend will ascend with the rewards of riches and notoriety. And yet, in making the attempt, you know nothing of what threats are within your grasp that you just might unleash on those nearest and dearest to you."
"You are a father, after all, are you not? Did you use to take on that paternal role at your children's bedtime, reading to them from those colorful pages, the raped stories of princesses being carried away by the handsome prince to live happily ever after? Is that the sort of lies that became the foundation of your fatherhood, and the image that the children that you sired formed of their beloved 'hero', the man that they would look up to and seek protection from until the day that final bit of dirt would be tossed onto your grave?"
"I feel for you, and I feel for them, because such stories are but preludes to times of joy that soon darken into misery and despair. The tales weaved on the big screen and in those very same books, are those weakened by writer and businessman for marketability, because they know, they all know, that if the truth of those very same tales were to be heard by a children's ear, then they would be no more."
"A man by the name of Disney raped and butchered many a dark story so that it might be more inclined toward a child's fancy. Why else do you think I took on this very name that I have? So that I might educate, and let the world be aware that the one that they live in is not filled with 'happy ever afters' and not every princess gets her handsome prince. Life, if you sad little eels wish to call it that, is filled with death and despair; with fear and loathing."
"It is a world that I wish to remind them of, and return to its darker glory. To a time when the sad mud monkeys that God crafted in his own image would shake and tremble around the circle of fire, fearing to so much as glance over their shoulders into thee darkness beyond that threatened to engulf them and swallow them whole."
"I miss those times so. The return to what once was, begins with you Kain. It begins when you seek to bask in the fervor of the past and do again what you once managed. It begins when you look across the ring from me and see that I am anything but a mere opponent for you to toy with. Hunters the world over have sought out to deal the death blow to the Bogey Man, and thus far none have succeeded. I am beyond their meager tricks and accomplishments. I am beyond their hunts and feeble traps. Only one had ever managed to accomplish something against me, and oh it cost them so very much."
"The question is, to defeat me, are you willing to risk as much as those in the past? Are you prepared to tell your little ones that the monster in the closet is real? Are you willing to admit to that lovely wife of yours that there is something lurking in the shadows beneath her bed? I long to pay them each a visit over the course of time, and savor every tender moment of fear they gift me with when they come to understand that their mighty father and husband is not the protector they thought he once was. That last, slow and lingering moment of terror, when they find themselves alone."
"You, Kain, are my Happily Ever After -- and I am your Grimm reality."</color>
