Post by Ziggy Morgan on Jun 15, 2021 4:38:19 GMT -5
Bert could say he hated hospitals, but honestly who the fuck liked them? Even the people making a good living here probably hated it at the end of the day. Being the faceless, scrubbed messenger of the worst and best kind. No one ever remembered the nurse or the doctor, just the news. Your Husband has died, Congratulations it's a boy. Six months, on the outside. Congratulations you’re in remission..
He ran both his hands through his dirty blonde hair, letting out a sigh as he straightened up and looked around the lobby yet again. Knox had delivered just like he knew he would. Always so apt and ready to match brutality, even exceed it. He thought he was nuts, recruiting him for the little stunt with the signs and the lights..Hell, he almost chickened out with Nao being there.
God forbid she ever gets sucked into that storm..
By his side sat Nao, her usual demeanor softened to silence. It looked as if she kept going back and forth mentally from being there to being somewhere else, each time with her appearing more and more lost or confused. Soon enough her gaze made its way around the lobby again, followed by a small cough. “なぜこれはなじみがあるのになじみがないのですか？赤と白...私はこの場所が好きではありません...” Blinking a few times after, Nao looked to be back, however taking in the sights caused her to shrink into herself a bit, raising her feet up onto the chair and burying her face in her knees.
“I..have worries..” was all she could get out coherently. Her voice pulled Bert from his own little world, and now his eyes rested on her.
“What are you worried about, yo? Is this…” He cleared his throat and leaned in, lowering his voice before continuing. “This like..triggering something, yo?” he asked in a worried tone, shoving his own concern for his injured friend aside. “We can dip if you need to..”
Nao mulled over the questions for a moment before slowly shaking her head. “I.. I don’t know.. maybe. It is and it isn’t? I’m sorry.. but we should stay and be good friends. It would be bad to leave.” Keeping herself buried, it looked like she tightened her grip on herself, her voice becoming little more than a whisper. “This place, this place is bad.”
Bert sat back, looking past the nurse’s station a moment before letting out an exhausted breath. He stood up then, rolling his shoulders and turning his gaze back down to her. As he spoke he caught himself offering his hand but retracted it back halfway, clearing his throat.
“He’s breathin. If it was bad they’d have come with a priest or some sad story. C’mon, let's get some fresh air..this hospital air sucks, yo.” He put on a smile that he hoped would hide the concern and reinforce the half truth.
His words brought her head up slightly, Nao noticing that he was standing which led her to slowly do the same. Still her gaze ended up lowered, although she still tried her best to manage some sort of smile. “You are too good to me. We can get a little air for a minute.. but then come back. I feel bad..”
“You don’t need to. Knox is tough. He’s been through worse…” Distant memories of the fight with the Rat bit at him but he shoved them away. Without a second thought, he reached out and gently took her hand in his. Grasping onto her seemed to kill that ugly memory, even as the butterflies assaulted his stomach.
He took one last cautionary glance toward the nurse’s station, before walking toward the exit, giving her hand a small squeeze. The gesture snapped Nao back to the present reality as much as possible, her gaze making its way to their locked hands which caused a rosy smile to form. While most times she’d do her best to not let that be shown out of shyness, this time she simply whispered “とても甘い..” before giving a soft nod. As the two made their way out of the hospital, she struggled a bit more, the hallway bringing forth something she couldn’t understand. “Red and white.. have I? What happened?” Doing her best to piece the blank puzzle together, Nao formed a question aloud. “Was I in a place like this before Robert?”
Bert fought to keep the giddy smile from his own face as they walked. The night air was refreshing, and a lot lighter here than it had been at the Silver State Ballroom, or whatever the arena was called. He listened to her question, furrowing his brow before answering.
“I mean..We’ve all been to Hospitals. Born in them, mostly..” he trailed off, thinking about her words some more, “Red and white...like, I think that sounds like an Ambulance but that's me..those people who have you so scared, the stuff you can’t remember..maybe it started in a hospital?” His mind raced at the idea for a moment. Was she a medical experiment? Perish the thought but...nothing could surprise him anymore, after all the shit he’d seen in the past couple years.
“Maybe.. it’s dark. Three names, those colors, the cold, my head..” Taking a moment to clear her throat, Nao felt herself lose some nerve, but continued trying despite the pain. “There is a stage.. but I don’t know why. I don’t know which way things went, but I.. I have been in a place like this, I didn’t like it. Robert, I don’t want them to know.. to find me. We’ll stay like this no matter what, right?” Her breaths grew shorter, a hint of anxiety behind them, yet at the same time, her eyes showed a sense of knowing, defined want.
“Hey, Hey..” He squeezed her hand gently, pulling her a step closer, “You can be wherever you want, Nao. As long as you want to be here, to stay here? You will. I’ll make sure of it..” He released her hand, running his own up her arm to rest on her shoulder. He smiles as warmly as he can at her, debating in his head a moment before asking.
“The three names...do you mean the ones you went by or other people?” Just as quick, he waved his free hand through the air “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want, hon--Nao. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, Nao.” He smiled as if trying to use his pearly whites to cover up the gaffe and the red creeping on his cheeks.
Yep, that’s the way Bert. Flirt when she’s toeing a mental breakdown. His brain mocked him.
“I do want to stay.. wherever you are, this would be nice.” There was a brief pause, however the air wasn’t as awkward of one as would be expected. Instead there was a smile returned in kind. She looked down at the distance which was closed a tiny bit, before looking back up at him, an even warmer expression greeting his.
“The names are what I see, what I use, but.. I think I’m only one of them. Then there was the one on the phone, new name. It confuses me.. she knows, but I don’t. I think.. I think something happened to make me forget. My head hurts a lot of the time and I leave so much. I want to be here more for you.” Nao couldn’t help the sigh that followed, the young woman having a strong feeling she isn’t making much sense anymore.
Bert runs over the statement a couple times, before half shrugging. He wasn’t quite sure how to decipher it, but even with his natural, THC infused denseness he could read her body language, how she seemed to strain to pluck these razor edged memories from the ether. He quietly shamed himself for forcing her to risk opening those wounds.
He dropped his hand down back to hers, pulling her right next to him with a gentle tug and wrapping that same arm around her shoulders, resting his chin on top of her head in the half hug. No one had to know he had to get on his tiptoes to do so.
“Don’t worry about it for now...whatever it was, whoever they are. I promise you, yo. This ain’t the hospital, and those people? Far away from you, far away from here yo..” he dropped back down, his gaze trying to find hers before he spoke again, “Far as staying with me..like I said, as long as you want. I mean, it’s like I said yo..…” he dived at the safety of humor, the warmth in his chest and stomach terrifying him.
“You got a friend in me.”
Those words, that phrase gave way to a bright smile, eyes widening at the same time. Quickly she let out an excited exclamation before moving beyond the usual barriers they put up. Closing the distance she grabbed hold of Bert, hugging him. It wasn’t too tight, it wasn’t too loose, it just worked. “Toy Story! You got a friend in me too.. I love this..”
It was as if all her pain melted away at that second, and even with a slight second of losing herself, she felt true ease. “You are the best. I hope you know that..”
The closeness took him aback. He almost lost her words in the fog. He felt his arms wrap around her, paying a great effort and mind to not let them drift below the small of her back. He stared down at her, the smile morphing into something equal parts nervous and overjoyed. “Can’t be, yo.” His voice barely above a whisper, “Best i can do with you around is the silver medal..”
“Nao, I….like..I..” he struggled for the words now. The closeness causing him to stumble as much as it grounded him to the moment, “Since you came around like..I...It’s better. I feel like I can do anything with you here, yo..like I mean I….”
“Mister McAlroy?” His head snapped to the medical assistant standing in the doorway then.
“Uh yeah, thats uh..thats me, yo.” He disentangled himself gently from her embrace, turning to face the worker.
“Mister Knox is awake, he’s asking for you.”
“Oh..shit yeah i’ll uh..I’ll be there just..” as the worker walked away, Bert turned back to Nao. His mouth hung agape, but no words came out as he felt himself being torn in two directions. Doing her best to offer some reassurance, Nao gave a nod and smile to follow. “Let’s go back over. I will sit and wait while you see him. You said I could stay.. so I will stay.. then we can talk more after. We have all the time, right?” Though her expression matched the nature of the question, the smile coming right back showed that the answer was known.
“All the time in the world, yo..”
“Was that Ahmya with you?”
It amazed me, how even loaded on morphine and beaten right to death’s doorstep, Knox was staring at me and trying to piece together some puzzle he had seen. I shift in the seat, and simply reply with a nod to the inquiry. He tilts his head, a small smirk forming on his tired face.
“When did that happen?”
“When d--what? Nothing like..HAPPENED, yo. I mean..” I scrambled for some kind of answer as that arrogant, prodding dry chuckle of Knox’s got my blood up for a moment. The man was insufferable, especially when he thought he had something figured out. I manage to clear my throat, and find my voice, “She was in a bad way yo...something is like..up with her.”
He quirked a brow at me once more, but said nothing. His stare said it for him. ‘Go on.’ This motherfucker had a “Go on” look.
“Even in Baltimore, she was kind of off, yknow? Like..she feels detached from things, yo. She loses her place in life like it was a book and she zoned out. When I got her in West Virginia, all she had was the clothes on her back and some odds and ends. No idea how she got there from Baltimore…”
“Drugs?” he asked but I shook my head.
“Nah, at least I don’t think so. She doesn’t got any signs of withdrawals..at least like, none that i’ve seen before…” At this, Matthew nodded. His eyes twitched toward the window. I could see the wheels spinning as he likely debated poking and prodding more. I felt a small twinge of dread as I saw his thumb push on the button to send more morphine into his veins, but chose to stay quiet.
At least the doctor cleared this high..
“Well...that aside, since it is your business and If there’s one thing I don’t have to worry about, its you and helping people..” he allowed a pause for me to smirk at him and nod, “You know how much of a son of a bitch you are, kid? Making me feel ancient. Gettin a world title match and shit..” He winced as he chuckled, no doubt tender even through the morphine fog.
“I know yo..its crazy but like..” a frowned, shaking my head as i smacked my teeth, “I can’t help but feel like I pissed someone off earning it, yo”
“Well, I hope you did. It’s the best way to gauge how much of an impact you’re making.”
“I guess so but...like. Whoever is booking if it aint the AI, they been throwing me at these giant human meat grinders yo. Isaac this past week and in a couple weeks I gotta fight Raab and Tact, yo. Meanwhile they let Ricci get a shot at the title before me, even though I beat him for a title shot to begin with...I don’t know man it just feels like they’re trying to get rid of me because I wasn’t supposed to be where I am.” I hadn’t meant to lay it all on him, but I never did.
“Then you’re doing something right.” His words were slurred slightly. I looked up, finding his gaze and noticing how glazed his eyes were. Probably pushed the button again.. “You’re what I knew you would be, kid. The wild card. The...fucking Enigma.” He yawned then, loud and over the top like any old dude’s yawn.
“You don’t make sense Bert. You’re like me, but different...I’m six and a half foot tall, I weigh two fifty, but I can fly like a man your size and you? You’re even scarier…” he smirked, and I bowed my head as the embarrassment from praise bit at me, “You’re the size of a random nerd smark on reddit but you take punishment like SuMa.”
The silence hung for a moment as I continued hiding my face for a moment. When I looked up, he was staring at me with a prideful smile and his eyes half closed. No doubt he was headed for a peaceful and well earned rest.
“I appreciate it, Matt. I do..”
“Who are you fighting, anyway?”
“I said..Raab and Tact”
A snort as he shifted, leaning his head back. His voice came, floating on the edge of consciousness.
“Big masked freak and some blonde pretty boy. Let them beat the hell out of each other...might need to take a few lumps first, enough to make them…..make them fight over pinning you. Then you…” a yawn, “Go on the attack and make them pay for bein stupid...go for the knees, kid..” and then he fell silent.
I stared at him silently, soaking in the strategy and filing it away for later. I stood from my seat, walking over and tugging his pillow into a more comfortable place. I stared down at the man who was my hero when my only other one was slowly dying. After everything we’d been through, even as he lay here with a hole in his shoulder and the knowledge that this would probably not be the end of his fight with SuMa?
He still put someone else first.
I shook my head once, briefly mulling on the people who had taken him for granted and written him off. Especially over the past year. With one last tug on the pillow, I back up and leave the room quietly. If I was honest, outside of his fight with SuMa, Knox hadn’t had great luck with giants and monsters. It always came down to execution, or stamina. The Rat had near a decade on him and was..you know...a lab experiment. JC caught him off guard with the boot. Hell, even in their first fight SuMa took advantage of his hubris and rage…
But that was him. He knew what happened, honestly I didn’t even know why I was hung up on it. Like he said, I was an enigma. Something the best couldn’t figure out, and Larry and Raab? They weren’t the best. Maybe the best dressed and best named move..I mean, come on, Chokeinator is dope as fuck. But in that ring? Nah man…
They were out of their depth.
“Man I swear to Christ on my mama that I really ain’t one of them conspiracy types, yo.”
The camera cuts on to find a more dishevelled looking Bert McAlroy sitting outside of a motel room somewhere in the middle of the Mojave desert. The sunrise brought an ethereal sort of purple haze to the sky, basking Bert and the world he lived in in a dim, spooky sort of light.
“See, I lost my mind this last show...I know some people ain’t too happy with me ruining that title match but you already know, I don’t give a fuck. I told the whole ass world I was gonna do somethin’. Like..” he shifts, biting his bottom lip a second before baring his teeth, “it don’t make sense man. How anyone can clear that kind of shit. I literally beat Ricci for a title shot, but he gets a title match...BEFORE me?? Nah fam that math don’t hunt...or something.”
Bert stretches his legs out in front of him bringing his hands behind his head and plastering on a bewildered look. He blows a raspberry before continuing.
“Like...it kinda points to a big picture that looks shitty yo...like. It LOOKS like the Developer wants Ricci to be their anointed douchefuck. And it makes sense. Dudes six and a half foot, two fifty, moves like a cheetah and strong as an ox. So you set up his path on “Easy” mode, yo. Infinite lives and all the enemies die from one shot...you book him against the guy he’s already beat down and defeated three times..”
A grin replaces the angry look on Bert’;s face, as he shakes his head “But nah...you fucked up. You put that bitch on ‘impossible’ and gave me a million hit points. I was the part of the equation you didn’t account for, Programmer or whatever we’re calling you this week. You fucked up, got lazy and I showed you that while you might theme us toward it, THIS AINT A FUCKING GAME!!” in the last part he spat with a venom wholly unlike the usually mellow stoner.
He ran a hand through his hair, grasping with a frantic energy spreading over him. He seemed to vibrate in the seat, leaning forward and bouncing an elbow on one of his knees. “I used to see myself how idiots like Mary DeSue see me now. I lucked out, I’m fun but I'm not a world beater. Everyone check out this dude! He’s eating edibles and doing flips!! Let's get the shirt….but oh no, he’ll never be champ. Look how small he is!!”
“And that leads me to this shit...Last EXP, before I went out there and did what I did? I’m fighting Isaac. A dude who is like, 2 and a half of me in muscle mass. And now, this EXP i’m fighting two other big motherfuckers in the Main Event. The Masked German Monster and the blonde guy who beat up Eli Goode. Also a big motherfucker. This two weeks before I’m in a three way for the Final Boss title.”
Bert stretches his arm out, as if putting the whole speech on display in front of him, before throwing his hands up in a defeated sort of disgust.
“Then they make that match somethin about a web...who knows what it is, but knowing the Developer? It’s gonna be some sick, heinous shit I got no business being a part of, let alone winning...just like this week, I got no business knocking you two big fucks out. Just like I had no business schooling Isaac, and i sure as fuck had no business knocking ouit the CHAMP and the GOLDEN GOOSE out in the span of ten seconds..” a chuckle.
“On god, Raab..Tact..you two should write the developer and demand a raise because he’s just set you both up to get got. Cuz...the two of you, losing to me? It shouldn’t happen. I know it’s not a handicap match but, the smart play is for you two to hoss up and smash me to a fine fucking powder then have somem fuckin faux-kaiju fight in the middle of the ring while i watch from the outside, balled up like a fuckin looney toon.”
“But nah.”
“See, the part that I keep going out there and proving? The part that the Developer, Ricci, Maggie, and all these other chucklefucks keep either forgetting, or willfully ignore? I. Don’t. Die. Whatever you can throw at me, I can take it. You might knock me down, lay me out flat and break me in half but I will never ,ever stay crumpled up to bleed out. Fuck no. If i’m going down, you’re coming with me bitch.”
“So Raab...masked german monster. Saw you lose to Mitch Heart at Chaos 100. Wild night, yo..you fought like a fucking animal. But you lost. Sure, you took Legion out and you knocked the fuck out of your opponent the other night here but you ain’t never, ever seen one like me, yo.” A smirk plays across his features then, as he plucks up half a blunt from a nearby ashtray and sparks up. He blows a small cloud of smoke into the camera, coughing once before continuing.
“See Raab, I am not afraid of monsters. You’re just a fucking circus act to me. Big dude in a mask. You’ll fall over and stay there, it just takes some effort on my part. I mean, hell, Larry. Larry, Larry, Larry how did you not win the Wisdom title, dude? You’re a fucking ring general. Six stars, with a tank kinda shit yo!” he laughs at his own joke, eyes going glassy as the THC takes hold. “Ah well. Maybe they’re conspiring against your fabio lookin ass too, who knows?”
He takes one more hit, before turning the blunt back out and exhaling the plume of smoke. His face goes sullen, serious as he speaks again.
“Point is, before this kicks in and I lose it? You’re set up to lose, the both of you. I said a couple weeks back I’m the fire here in Level Up, and i’[m still burning hot yo. I didn’t make that statement, turn off the lights I did just to fall at the feet of a couple oversized mid card t-shirt attractions.” a sneer, “fuck..i’m startin to get kinda heelish, huh boys? And i’m sorry. Like, I tried selling you both. You are good, Bigger than me, stronger, better ring work...but passion? Passion can make a feather into an anvil, yo. And destiny? She ain’t got any brakes or a fucking brake pedal.”
“So Raab, Larry...Lets get this done and dusted, yo. One way, Two way, Three way? My way. Your way, that way, out the door and in the middle of a B title hunt. I won't shit down the ladder at y'all, but lemme tell you..hard as this climb has been for me?”
“For y'all...i’m gonna make it a bitch.”
He ran both his hands through his dirty blonde hair, letting out a sigh as he straightened up and looked around the lobby yet again. Knox had delivered just like he knew he would. Always so apt and ready to match brutality, even exceed it. He thought he was nuts, recruiting him for the little stunt with the signs and the lights..Hell, he almost chickened out with Nao being there.
God forbid she ever gets sucked into that storm..
By his side sat Nao, her usual demeanor softened to silence. It looked as if she kept going back and forth mentally from being there to being somewhere else, each time with her appearing more and more lost or confused. Soon enough her gaze made its way around the lobby again, followed by a small cough. “なぜこれはなじみがあるのになじみがないのですか？赤と白...私はこの場所が好きではありません...” Blinking a few times after, Nao looked to be back, however taking in the sights caused her to shrink into herself a bit, raising her feet up onto the chair and burying her face in her knees.
“I..have worries..” was all she could get out coherently. Her voice pulled Bert from his own little world, and now his eyes rested on her.
“What are you worried about, yo? Is this…” He cleared his throat and leaned in, lowering his voice before continuing. “This like..triggering something, yo?” he asked in a worried tone, shoving his own concern for his injured friend aside. “We can dip if you need to..”
Nao mulled over the questions for a moment before slowly shaking her head. “I.. I don’t know.. maybe. It is and it isn’t? I’m sorry.. but we should stay and be good friends. It would be bad to leave.” Keeping herself buried, it looked like she tightened her grip on herself, her voice becoming little more than a whisper. “This place, this place is bad.”
Bert sat back, looking past the nurse’s station a moment before letting out an exhausted breath. He stood up then, rolling his shoulders and turning his gaze back down to her. As he spoke he caught himself offering his hand but retracted it back halfway, clearing his throat.
“He’s breathin. If it was bad they’d have come with a priest or some sad story. C’mon, let's get some fresh air..this hospital air sucks, yo.” He put on a smile that he hoped would hide the concern and reinforce the half truth.
His words brought her head up slightly, Nao noticing that he was standing which led her to slowly do the same. Still her gaze ended up lowered, although she still tried her best to manage some sort of smile. “You are too good to me. We can get a little air for a minute.. but then come back. I feel bad..”
“You don’t need to. Knox is tough. He’s been through worse…” Distant memories of the fight with the Rat bit at him but he shoved them away. Without a second thought, he reached out and gently took her hand in his. Grasping onto her seemed to kill that ugly memory, even as the butterflies assaulted his stomach.
He took one last cautionary glance toward the nurse’s station, before walking toward the exit, giving her hand a small squeeze. The gesture snapped Nao back to the present reality as much as possible, her gaze making its way to their locked hands which caused a rosy smile to form. While most times she’d do her best to not let that be shown out of shyness, this time she simply whispered “とても甘い..” before giving a soft nod. As the two made their way out of the hospital, she struggled a bit more, the hallway bringing forth something she couldn’t understand. “Red and white.. have I? What happened?” Doing her best to piece the blank puzzle together, Nao formed a question aloud. “Was I in a place like this before Robert?”
Bert fought to keep the giddy smile from his own face as they walked. The night air was refreshing, and a lot lighter here than it had been at the Silver State Ballroom, or whatever the arena was called. He listened to her question, furrowing his brow before answering.
“I mean..We’ve all been to Hospitals. Born in them, mostly..” he trailed off, thinking about her words some more, “Red and white...like, I think that sounds like an Ambulance but that's me..those people who have you so scared, the stuff you can’t remember..maybe it started in a hospital?” His mind raced at the idea for a moment. Was she a medical experiment? Perish the thought but...nothing could surprise him anymore, after all the shit he’d seen in the past couple years.
“Maybe.. it’s dark. Three names, those colors, the cold, my head..” Taking a moment to clear her throat, Nao felt herself lose some nerve, but continued trying despite the pain. “There is a stage.. but I don’t know why. I don’t know which way things went, but I.. I have been in a place like this, I didn’t like it. Robert, I don’t want them to know.. to find me. We’ll stay like this no matter what, right?” Her breaths grew shorter, a hint of anxiety behind them, yet at the same time, her eyes showed a sense of knowing, defined want.
“Hey, Hey..” He squeezed her hand gently, pulling her a step closer, “You can be wherever you want, Nao. As long as you want to be here, to stay here? You will. I’ll make sure of it..” He released her hand, running his own up her arm to rest on her shoulder. He smiles as warmly as he can at her, debating in his head a moment before asking.
“The three names...do you mean the ones you went by or other people?” Just as quick, he waved his free hand through the air “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want, hon--Nao. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, Nao.” He smiled as if trying to use his pearly whites to cover up the gaffe and the red creeping on his cheeks.
Yep, that’s the way Bert. Flirt when she’s toeing a mental breakdown. His brain mocked him.
“I do want to stay.. wherever you are, this would be nice.” There was a brief pause, however the air wasn’t as awkward of one as would be expected. Instead there was a smile returned in kind. She looked down at the distance which was closed a tiny bit, before looking back up at him, an even warmer expression greeting his.
“The names are what I see, what I use, but.. I think I’m only one of them. Then there was the one on the phone, new name. It confuses me.. she knows, but I don’t. I think.. I think something happened to make me forget. My head hurts a lot of the time and I leave so much. I want to be here more for you.” Nao couldn’t help the sigh that followed, the young woman having a strong feeling she isn’t making much sense anymore.
Bert runs over the statement a couple times, before half shrugging. He wasn’t quite sure how to decipher it, but even with his natural, THC infused denseness he could read her body language, how she seemed to strain to pluck these razor edged memories from the ether. He quietly shamed himself for forcing her to risk opening those wounds.
He dropped his hand down back to hers, pulling her right next to him with a gentle tug and wrapping that same arm around her shoulders, resting his chin on top of her head in the half hug. No one had to know he had to get on his tiptoes to do so.
“Don’t worry about it for now...whatever it was, whoever they are. I promise you, yo. This ain’t the hospital, and those people? Far away from you, far away from here yo..” he dropped back down, his gaze trying to find hers before he spoke again, “Far as staying with me..like I said, as long as you want. I mean, it’s like I said yo..…” he dived at the safety of humor, the warmth in his chest and stomach terrifying him.
“You got a friend in me.”
Those words, that phrase gave way to a bright smile, eyes widening at the same time. Quickly she let out an excited exclamation before moving beyond the usual barriers they put up. Closing the distance she grabbed hold of Bert, hugging him. It wasn’t too tight, it wasn’t too loose, it just worked. “Toy Story! You got a friend in me too.. I love this..”
It was as if all her pain melted away at that second, and even with a slight second of losing herself, she felt true ease. “You are the best. I hope you know that..”
The closeness took him aback. He almost lost her words in the fog. He felt his arms wrap around her, paying a great effort and mind to not let them drift below the small of her back. He stared down at her, the smile morphing into something equal parts nervous and overjoyed. “Can’t be, yo.” His voice barely above a whisper, “Best i can do with you around is the silver medal..”
“Nao, I….like..I..” he struggled for the words now. The closeness causing him to stumble as much as it grounded him to the moment, “Since you came around like..I...It’s better. I feel like I can do anything with you here, yo..like I mean I….”
“Mister McAlroy?” His head snapped to the medical assistant standing in the doorway then.
“Uh yeah, thats uh..thats me, yo.” He disentangled himself gently from her embrace, turning to face the worker.
“Mister Knox is awake, he’s asking for you.”
“Oh..shit yeah i’ll uh..I’ll be there just..” as the worker walked away, Bert turned back to Nao. His mouth hung agape, but no words came out as he felt himself being torn in two directions. Doing her best to offer some reassurance, Nao gave a nod and smile to follow. “Let’s go back over. I will sit and wait while you see him. You said I could stay.. so I will stay.. then we can talk more after. We have all the time, right?” Though her expression matched the nature of the question, the smile coming right back showed that the answer was known.
“All the time in the world, yo..”
“Was that Ahmya with you?”
It amazed me, how even loaded on morphine and beaten right to death’s doorstep, Knox was staring at me and trying to piece together some puzzle he had seen. I shift in the seat, and simply reply with a nod to the inquiry. He tilts his head, a small smirk forming on his tired face.
“When did that happen?”
“When d--what? Nothing like..HAPPENED, yo. I mean..” I scrambled for some kind of answer as that arrogant, prodding dry chuckle of Knox’s got my blood up for a moment. The man was insufferable, especially when he thought he had something figured out. I manage to clear my throat, and find my voice, “She was in a bad way yo...something is like..up with her.”
He quirked a brow at me once more, but said nothing. His stare said it for him. ‘Go on.’ This motherfucker had a “Go on” look.
“Even in Baltimore, she was kind of off, yknow? Like..she feels detached from things, yo. She loses her place in life like it was a book and she zoned out. When I got her in West Virginia, all she had was the clothes on her back and some odds and ends. No idea how she got there from Baltimore…”
“Drugs?” he asked but I shook my head.
“Nah, at least I don’t think so. She doesn’t got any signs of withdrawals..at least like, none that i’ve seen before…” At this, Matthew nodded. His eyes twitched toward the window. I could see the wheels spinning as he likely debated poking and prodding more. I felt a small twinge of dread as I saw his thumb push on the button to send more morphine into his veins, but chose to stay quiet.
At least the doctor cleared this high..
“Well...that aside, since it is your business and If there’s one thing I don’t have to worry about, its you and helping people..” he allowed a pause for me to smirk at him and nod, “You know how much of a son of a bitch you are, kid? Making me feel ancient. Gettin a world title match and shit..” He winced as he chuckled, no doubt tender even through the morphine fog.
“I know yo..its crazy but like..” a frowned, shaking my head as i smacked my teeth, “I can’t help but feel like I pissed someone off earning it, yo”
“Well, I hope you did. It’s the best way to gauge how much of an impact you’re making.”
“I guess so but...like. Whoever is booking if it aint the AI, they been throwing me at these giant human meat grinders yo. Isaac this past week and in a couple weeks I gotta fight Raab and Tact, yo. Meanwhile they let Ricci get a shot at the title before me, even though I beat him for a title shot to begin with...I don’t know man it just feels like they’re trying to get rid of me because I wasn’t supposed to be where I am.” I hadn’t meant to lay it all on him, but I never did.
“Then you’re doing something right.” His words were slurred slightly. I looked up, finding his gaze and noticing how glazed his eyes were. Probably pushed the button again.. “You’re what I knew you would be, kid. The wild card. The...fucking Enigma.” He yawned then, loud and over the top like any old dude’s yawn.
“You don’t make sense Bert. You’re like me, but different...I’m six and a half foot tall, I weigh two fifty, but I can fly like a man your size and you? You’re even scarier…” he smirked, and I bowed my head as the embarrassment from praise bit at me, “You’re the size of a random nerd smark on reddit but you take punishment like SuMa.”
The silence hung for a moment as I continued hiding my face for a moment. When I looked up, he was staring at me with a prideful smile and his eyes half closed. No doubt he was headed for a peaceful and well earned rest.
“I appreciate it, Matt. I do..”
“Who are you fighting, anyway?”
“I said..Raab and Tact”
A snort as he shifted, leaning his head back. His voice came, floating on the edge of consciousness.
“Big masked freak and some blonde pretty boy. Let them beat the hell out of each other...might need to take a few lumps first, enough to make them…..make them fight over pinning you. Then you…” a yawn, “Go on the attack and make them pay for bein stupid...go for the knees, kid..” and then he fell silent.
I stared at him silently, soaking in the strategy and filing it away for later. I stood from my seat, walking over and tugging his pillow into a more comfortable place. I stared down at the man who was my hero when my only other one was slowly dying. After everything we’d been through, even as he lay here with a hole in his shoulder and the knowledge that this would probably not be the end of his fight with SuMa?
He still put someone else first.
I shook my head once, briefly mulling on the people who had taken him for granted and written him off. Especially over the past year. With one last tug on the pillow, I back up and leave the room quietly. If I was honest, outside of his fight with SuMa, Knox hadn’t had great luck with giants and monsters. It always came down to execution, or stamina. The Rat had near a decade on him and was..you know...a lab experiment. JC caught him off guard with the boot. Hell, even in their first fight SuMa took advantage of his hubris and rage…
But that was him. He knew what happened, honestly I didn’t even know why I was hung up on it. Like he said, I was an enigma. Something the best couldn’t figure out, and Larry and Raab? They weren’t the best. Maybe the best dressed and best named move..I mean, come on, Chokeinator is dope as fuck. But in that ring? Nah man…
They were out of their depth.
[O REC]
“Man I swear to Christ on my mama that I really ain’t one of them conspiracy types, yo.”
The camera cuts on to find a more dishevelled looking Bert McAlroy sitting outside of a motel room somewhere in the middle of the Mojave desert. The sunrise brought an ethereal sort of purple haze to the sky, basking Bert and the world he lived in in a dim, spooky sort of light.
“See, I lost my mind this last show...I know some people ain’t too happy with me ruining that title match but you already know, I don’t give a fuck. I told the whole ass world I was gonna do somethin’. Like..” he shifts, biting his bottom lip a second before baring his teeth, “it don’t make sense man. How anyone can clear that kind of shit. I literally beat Ricci for a title shot, but he gets a title match...BEFORE me?? Nah fam that math don’t hunt...or something.”
Bert stretches his legs out in front of him bringing his hands behind his head and plastering on a bewildered look. He blows a raspberry before continuing.
“Like...it kinda points to a big picture that looks shitty yo...like. It LOOKS like the Developer wants Ricci to be their anointed douchefuck. And it makes sense. Dudes six and a half foot, two fifty, moves like a cheetah and strong as an ox. So you set up his path on “Easy” mode, yo. Infinite lives and all the enemies die from one shot...you book him against the guy he’s already beat down and defeated three times..”
A grin replaces the angry look on Bert’;s face, as he shakes his head “But nah...you fucked up. You put that bitch on ‘impossible’ and gave me a million hit points. I was the part of the equation you didn’t account for, Programmer or whatever we’re calling you this week. You fucked up, got lazy and I showed you that while you might theme us toward it, THIS AINT A FUCKING GAME!!” in the last part he spat with a venom wholly unlike the usually mellow stoner.
He ran a hand through his hair, grasping with a frantic energy spreading over him. He seemed to vibrate in the seat, leaning forward and bouncing an elbow on one of his knees. “I used to see myself how idiots like Mary DeSue see me now. I lucked out, I’m fun but I'm not a world beater. Everyone check out this dude! He’s eating edibles and doing flips!! Let's get the shirt….but oh no, he’ll never be champ. Look how small he is!!”
“And that leads me to this shit...Last EXP, before I went out there and did what I did? I’m fighting Isaac. A dude who is like, 2 and a half of me in muscle mass. And now, this EXP i’m fighting two other big motherfuckers in the Main Event. The Masked German Monster and the blonde guy who beat up Eli Goode. Also a big motherfucker. This two weeks before I’m in a three way for the Final Boss title.”
Bert stretches his arm out, as if putting the whole speech on display in front of him, before throwing his hands up in a defeated sort of disgust.
“Then they make that match somethin about a web...who knows what it is, but knowing the Developer? It’s gonna be some sick, heinous shit I got no business being a part of, let alone winning...just like this week, I got no business knocking you two big fucks out. Just like I had no business schooling Isaac, and i sure as fuck had no business knocking ouit the CHAMP and the GOLDEN GOOSE out in the span of ten seconds..” a chuckle.
“On god, Raab..Tact..you two should write the developer and demand a raise because he’s just set you both up to get got. Cuz...the two of you, losing to me? It shouldn’t happen. I know it’s not a handicap match but, the smart play is for you two to hoss up and smash me to a fine fucking powder then have somem fuckin faux-kaiju fight in the middle of the ring while i watch from the outside, balled up like a fuckin looney toon.”
“But nah.”
“See, the part that I keep going out there and proving? The part that the Developer, Ricci, Maggie, and all these other chucklefucks keep either forgetting, or willfully ignore? I. Don’t. Die. Whatever you can throw at me, I can take it. You might knock me down, lay me out flat and break me in half but I will never ,ever stay crumpled up to bleed out. Fuck no. If i’m going down, you’re coming with me bitch.”
“So Raab...masked german monster. Saw you lose to Mitch Heart at Chaos 100. Wild night, yo..you fought like a fucking animal. But you lost. Sure, you took Legion out and you knocked the fuck out of your opponent the other night here but you ain’t never, ever seen one like me, yo.” A smirk plays across his features then, as he plucks up half a blunt from a nearby ashtray and sparks up. He blows a small cloud of smoke into the camera, coughing once before continuing.
“See Raab, I am not afraid of monsters. You’re just a fucking circus act to me. Big dude in a mask. You’ll fall over and stay there, it just takes some effort on my part. I mean, hell, Larry. Larry, Larry, Larry how did you not win the Wisdom title, dude? You’re a fucking ring general. Six stars, with a tank kinda shit yo!” he laughs at his own joke, eyes going glassy as the THC takes hold. “Ah well. Maybe they’re conspiring against your fabio lookin ass too, who knows?”
He takes one more hit, before turning the blunt back out and exhaling the plume of smoke. His face goes sullen, serious as he speaks again.
“Point is, before this kicks in and I lose it? You’re set up to lose, the both of you. I said a couple weeks back I’m the fire here in Level Up, and i’[m still burning hot yo. I didn’t make that statement, turn off the lights I did just to fall at the feet of a couple oversized mid card t-shirt attractions.” a sneer, “fuck..i’m startin to get kinda heelish, huh boys? And i’m sorry. Like, I tried selling you both. You are good, Bigger than me, stronger, better ring work...but passion? Passion can make a feather into an anvil, yo. And destiny? She ain’t got any brakes or a fucking brake pedal.”
“So Raab, Larry...Lets get this done and dusted, yo. One way, Two way, Three way? My way. Your way, that way, out the door and in the middle of a B title hunt. I won't shit down the ladder at y'all, but lemme tell you..hard as this climb has been for me?”
“For y'all...i’m gonna make it a bitch.”
