Post by Bryan Williams on Jan 20, 2020 19:28:36 GMT -5
”Do you like hurting other people?”
Bryan sat in the chair, once again. He had been here before, once out of an attempt to make things right. Now he was back, almost a year later to try again.
Therapy hadn’t worked before, why would it work this time?
”It’s a simple question, really. One that pertains to the kind of business you’re involved in. Do you take pleasure in hurting other people?”
“I can’t say for sure, anymore. It’s not like it used to be, at least.”
This cold attempt at breaking through had reminded him why he chose not to return in the first place. It was all a waste of time.
Bryan sat in the uncomfortable office chair, looking down at his phone. Persephone had sent him another meme, she knew he was here.
“Say, can I ask you something? Is that allowed?”
”Sure, go ahead.”
“Why do these places always have uncomfortable chairs?”
The therapist looked back at him, confused by the question. She wasn’t quite sure what Bryan was getting at if he was even attempting to get at anything. She looked at the chair in question, and then back to him.
”Is the chair uncomfortable?”
Bryan tried to suppress a chuckle.
“I wouldn’t just bring it up out of the blue. Feels like every place I go to has the worst chair I’ve ever sat in before. You can congratulate yourself for that honor this time.”
Unamused the therapist wrote something down, choosing to ignore the question and plow right ahead.
”This business you’re in, it requires a lot from you doesn’t it?”
Bryan nodded.
”Would you say that you’ve put more in than you’ve been able to get back in return?”
“That would be up to anyone’s discretion, I suppose.”
”Yes, but I asked you.”
“Maybe, sometimes.”
Placing her pen down, Bryan watched as she folded her hands into her lap. His phone chimed again, another picture from Persephone.
His attention was already gone, he could feel the tension the moment he walked in the door.
Another failed attempt.
Bryan watched as the woman in front of him tried to keep a veil of professionalism about herself. She had put herself into a place she rarely seemed to find herself in. Bryan couldn’t place the blame on her today, at least she was trying.
After a few more moments of silence, it was finally broken.
”Do you always choose to not answer the questions right in front of you?”
Perplexed, Bryan didn’t answer immediately.
”You see, there it is again. I wonder if you’re doing that on purpose. Maybe this is some kind of test.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
She scoffed, he still was confused as ever.
”You walk back into my office, after a year of inactivity, pretending that everything is still the same. Nothing has changed, Bryan. Time doesn’t make this better, and you know that. You still choose to ignore the problems facing you.”
Bryan shrugs.
“I still don’t know what you’re getting at. I don’t even know why I bothered coming back here in the first place.”
”Because you want answers.”
Annoyed, Bryan stands up. He grabs his jacket, heading towards the door. There’s still plenty of time left, and he knows that.
”Why do you wear the mask, Bryan?”
He stops.
”It’s been a year now, you think you would have moved on by now. You’re in a completely different company, so why hold on to that? What about that still draws you to it?”
He doesn’t answer, not at first. He’s quiet as he turns back around, making his way back towards the uncomfortable seat. She watches him as he sinks back into the chair, it’s like a different person sitting in front of her now.
“You really want to know?”
She nods.
“It’s who I am. I wear it so I don’t have to hide anymore.”
She allows herself to be quiet, and he knows it. There’s a moment of silence, she hopes that there would be more but that’s all he is allowing right now.
”You really believe that, don’t you?”
Bryan looks up, and she’s just as shocked. She tries to stammer out an apology, but it’s too late. He’s gone, headed out the door and out of her office.
The door shuts behind him, and she curses under her breath.
Maybe she’ll try again next year.
We’ve been here before.
This dark place where Bryan takes center stage.
It’s common for us now, something changes and we’re not quite sure just how it fits into everything. The picture looks off, it’s grainy and it just won’t settle. The audio doesn’t work, distorted beyond anything recognizable. A pain to even get correct.
But we stick with it, and eventually, it all comes together.
This time we’re in New York City, or at least I think it’s that. Hard to tell by the angle of the buildings, but I don’t know a city that could match the scope and size of everything around it.
It’s almost beautiful, sweeping shots of the many buildings that populate this town. Manhattan in all it’s glory.
This is not where we end up, though.
Because like before, it all goes to shit. The picture cuts in and out, and the beauty we were seeing is now long gone.
Replaced by an empty room.
A light appears, shining down on Bryan Williams. Eventually, the picture normalizes, and we can see that he’s holding his rooster mask.
WILLIAMS: "This is the mask I put on to be myself again." He smiles, looking deeply at the mask in his hands.
Some of the paint has chipped, and it’s showing its sign of age. Nearly a year of use, there’s no telling the amount of blood and sweat on that thing.
WILLIAMS: "You know, to James this might just be some weird thing he doesn’t get. I wouldn’t expect him to get it. I wouldn’t expect him to get me either. But I understand starting all over. I've been there, so I can't blame James for wanting to pull himself back up into this business. I don't hate him for it, I relate with him. I don’t hate him for trying to make something of himself again using my name. He’s in a tough spot now, and he’s done the only thing he could think of."
Bryan sighs, still holding the mask in his hands.
WILLIAMS: "Hell, I don't even hate Indi."
He laughs, looking up into the camera. There’s nothing we can tell about the room he’s in, it all seems to be shrouded in darkness. Cast in shadow, Bryan is the only thing that stands out. Wearing the same letter jacket and jeans we’ve seen him in before.
Everything about this is familiar.
WILLIAMS: "I appreciate these two because I needed to be tested. I needed to know where I was. And I do, I know now. Guerilla Warfare tested me, and I appreciate them for that."
Bryan pauses.
WILLIAMS: "But I also know that they are not ready for what is next."
Bryan’s tone grows more somber, the light even seems to fade a bit.
WILLIAMS: "Dakota is…"
Bryan shakes his head.
WILLIAMS: "He's the thing you don't want life to become. The twisted, charred remains of what was once prosperous. He is a drain on everything good and wonderful."
He looks back down at the mask in his hands, Bryan keeps his focus on that as he speaks.
WILLIAMS: "Slowly he will poison Union, and he will kill it."
His words come at a hush, even he doesn’t want to admit what is happening before him.
WILLIAMS: "And because of that I know that James and Indi will fail in stopping him. Not on their own faults, but just because that’s how it is. So I stand here, ready to oppose them. Not out of spite, and not for my own personal gain."
Bryan stands up, almost shooting up to his feet. The chair behind him crashes to the ground.
WILLIAMS: "I am the antithesis of Dakota Smith." He says, looking into the camera again.
WILLIAMS: "For too long I spent trying to better myself, trying to improve my state in order to be something I'm not. I'm not Bryan Laughlin, or Ana Hayden. I will never be 4CW Champion like Dakota was. I was fooled into thinking I could be like that, I was never going to be them. That was my mistake, but it’s a mistake I cannot make any more."
There is a passion in Bryan’s eyes, as he continues to speak.
WILLIAMS: "I will be Bryan Williams, and that is what I needed to figure out."
The light in the room grows a little bigger, as Bryan paces back and forth.
WILLIAMS: "I’m proclaiming it now, this is going to be a big year for me. Not just because I’m making my “comeback”, but because I feel like I’m finally going to grow in this sport. I’ve always understood my talent and my ability in the ring. I just could never put it where I really needed it to be. Trying my hardest but always coming up short, that’s what it felt like my role was for the longest time."
He shakes his head in defiance. WILLIAMS: "Not anymore."
WILLIAMS: "I feel alive. I feel like there’s a purpose for me now in this business, and I’m not letting go of it. It felt good to be in that ring, and watch the destruction I laid out to unfold in front of me. It felt good to subvert everyone’s expectations and put everything into question. It’s like finally figuring out a really tough puzzle, it all just clicked for me.
I know it felt good for you, Indi. You got real close, closer than you possibly thought you could ever reach. When you smashed that helmet into my face, I knew you were flying into unknown territory." He says, with a grin.
That grin quickly fades away.
WILLIAMS: "Maybe I feel a little proud of that, I’m not quite sure yet. Either way, it was nice to see that. Unfortunately, Dakota was the last man standing, Maybe if it was anybody else you would be standing here as the new Union Battleground Champion. But he was, and you’re not.
Yeah, this isn’t just your average containership match. Normally I would see a man looking for redemption, and a woman trying to cement her place at the top of this company. Of course, nothing is normal. James is just a man trying to get back to the past, and Indi is naive and optimistic in her approach here. I couldn’t blame either of them for trying if I really wanted to. These are two great people who could accomplish any goal they put their minds to. But this isn’t a goal."
He shakes his head again.
WILLIAMS: "This isn’t a prize to capture."
Bryan pauses.
WILLIAMS: "This is a duty, and I have to be the one to step in to stop them both. They just don’t have what it takes right now.
It would be terrible of me to not try and stop you, to prevent the slaughter you’re going to try and willingly walk into. That’s something I just can’t watch and know that I have the ability to prevent that from happening?" Bryan stares into the camera.
The picture jumps and cuts for a moment, Bryan is wearing his mask.
Has it been like that for a while?
I can’t tell.
WILLIAMS: "What kind of person would I be?
I’ve been thinking about that a lot, trying to find out just exactly who I am. Who is Bryan Williams when you really boil him down to his bare-bones? Does he just like the chaos? Is he in it for the fame and glory? You’d think by now if I haven’t gotten to where I needed to be I would just hang it up. Get out while I’m still alive, but I could tell you that I haven’t felt alive in a long time.
Not until recently."
Bryan stands there in the light, it shines down around him.
Protecting him from the darkness.
WILLIAMS: "It’s been a re-awakening. I’m here now, and my eyes are open to everything I see that is wrong."
The picture cuts again, and the room is fully visible now. We can finally see it all.
The bodies around his feet, the people Bryan could have protected.
They lay there, motionless and silent.
WILLIAMS: "I’m here to prevent the one thing that could go wrong for everyone here in Union Battleground. I will be the man to stop it from happening." Bryan says, pointing to himself as he gets closer and closer to the camera.
WILLIAMS: "I will be the one to save us from Dakota Smith. This is the burden I carry, and the mask I wear."
With that, the lights go out again.
They come back on, revealing his mask to be laying on the floor. The only thing left in this room.
Eventually, the picture begins to distort. The sound goes out, and we cut to black.
