Post by HALE BLACK SATIN on Apr 26, 2015 7:45:49 GMT -6
Five empty chairs are situated around a round dark wood table. The tabletop was buffed to damn near a mirror shine as the soft lighting suspended overhead reflected gently off of the table. Each of the five chairs were carefully handcrafted from heavy mahogany with the cushions were constructed of red crush velvet fabric on the seat and the back of throne-like chair. Behind each chair, hangs a large picture frame, covered by off-white sheet. Out in the distance, the soft click of hard toed shoes hitting against the hardwood floor of the small study as older gentleman steps into study. His steps are slow and deliberate, almost careful not wanting to disturb the sanctity of the room. Slowly he reaches up for the sheet that covered the portrait, revealing the team of Aries Reed and GRENDEL…
...better known as the team of UNCENSORED by way of the REVOLUTION, standing side by side, defiant of those who dare stand in there way.
There was something to be said about the now defunct, two-time Tag Team Champions, despite if you wanted to believe in their of ‘Evolve or Die’, you couldn’t deny the tenacity and sheer power of GRENDEL or the technical prowess of Aries Reed. Seperately these two can beat anyone on the roster but you put them together, they were damn near unstoppable.
The elderly steward carefully folded the sheet, placing it over his forearm neatly before shuffling towards the next handpainted portrait. Pulling the sheet down it reveal the only man to not put his title on the line at Repetition of Hatred, Kevin Hardaway, standing over the beaten Black Jones.
After seeing him last week in Tokyo, winning and losing is never on the mind of this strange young man. He’s after beating people up and making a point, he wants to hurt them all and badly...the fact that he holds the San Diego Bay Title only makes him that much more dangerous.
Another sheet it pulled down by the silent stewart revealing the newest addition to the EXODUS PRO champions, the recently crowned Pacific Coast Champion, Shinji Uchikawa as he stands on the second turnbuckle holding the Pacific Coast Title in both hands with a joyous look on his face.
Once again, proving the (r)EVOLUTION Wrestling is the future of this business, he put on a clinic against three other hungry men only to be the last one standing on his own two feet at the end of the night. He was hungry, he was talented, and he could go as far as he wanted to go.
And with that, the next cover came down revealing the new EXODUS PRO World Champion in Chris Strike, capturing the moment he secured his second World title, leaning against the far ropes just after putting down Abby Park. The same Abby Park that refused to go until there was nothing left in the tank and her body finally gave out. The same Chris Strike, who toured through Knoxville so many years ago and found the same amount of success had once again found himself on top of the Mountain once again.
The last covered portrait was pulled down, folded up and draped over the arm of the stewart as he looked up at the newest portrait to be added to the study. Only completed a few days earlier, the painted portrait of the newly crowned EXODUS Pro International Champion...
...The Monster of the Bay…
...Justin Brooks.
The portrait captured the moment as D’Artis Johnson hands the EXODUS PRO International Title to Justin Brooks, with Kane’s blood smeared on his chest. For years, he’s been hunting, chasing, and doing whatever it took...regardless of the price, regardless of the sacrifice to finally put himself amongst the names that held the title before him. And now, he’s etched his name forever among some of the greats in the celebrated history of EXODUS.
For a moment, the steward looks up at the painted portrait and smiles to himself as he runs his finger over the eloquently crafted 11x14 picture frame before looking around at small study and nodding his head in approval before turning to make his way out of the room. Before reaching the door, he flicks the switch, shutting off the lights in the study only for a spotlight to shine to each large portrait as the camera settles on the painting of Justin Brooks before slowly fading to black...
[www.THEBIGBADBROOKS.com/promos]
[EXPRO on FX #32]
[Mission Statement to Make!]
[Justin Brooks (EXPRO Intl Champion) v. Devan Whitmore v. Abby Park]
[Hype Video I][/i]
They call him the Monster of the Bay.
And now as he stands in the middle of the empty wrestling ring, he adds another name to that list.
The EXODUS Pro International Champion.
The hood of his gray sleeveless sweatshirt is pulled up over his head loosely as he holds the championship belt in his heavily taped right hand.
“I can respect what you are all trying to do in REVOLUTION, I really can.”
“And honestly, I’d be lying if people weren’t taking notice in it.”
“You look at Aries Reed...you look at GRENDEL and you see it. When those two men step into the ring, you can see it in the way they fight. You can hear it in their voices when they speak, you can feel their conviction, there dedication…”
“And then there is Devan Whitmore.”
“Since we’re being real, I don’t see anything in you.”
Reaching up with his free left hand, he pulled back the hood as he lifts up his large short mohawked head to stare into the camera. Slowly he lifted the International title, draping it over his broad right shoulder as it sits perfectly perched there as if it was meant to be there all along.
“You’ve stepped into the ring with Angela Jamison...Adrien Cochrane...and while to anyone else that might be impressive, you’re talking to guy who’s stepped into the ring with both of them and beat them too. So you’re going to have to excuse me if I don't looked all that impressed by all of that because honestly…”
“...I’m not.”
“Who is Devan Whitmore...what has she done?”
“All I know is that this is chick that’s fuckin’ GRENDEL and after that, who knows?”
“Do I say this to show that I’m overlooking you?”
Justin slowly shakes his head.
“Oh no, I know better than that, I just hope that what I’m saying is seeping into that head of yours because while you’re still chasing after Vivienne, you need to realize that you are the on the Main Roster now and there are bigger Monsters who lurk in that darkness. You feel slighted that you were left off of the Repitition of Hatred and I want to feel your pain and I want to sympathize but I can’t and I won’t. Because I’ll turn back to my earlier question…”
“...what has she done?”
“You have all the fire and all the incentive in the world to make some waves and make a statement, make an impact. Hell, you can come out of this match as a potential contender for the International Championship...or you can just get beat and get sent back to Shozo and everyone else with your tail tucked between your legs as you get beat yet again.”
“I would say the choice is yours, but honestly...it isn’t, you never had a choice when these cards were dealt and sadly enough, you don't have what it takes to go all in or to even fold for that matter.”
“You’re looking at the man who going to make sure that these ‘woes’ that you’ve been experiencing continue on...at least for another two weeks that is.”
“Now I can say that with the utmost confidence because this has been a long time coming.”
He turns his head to look down at the EXODUS PRO International Championship that sits on his right shoulder.
“I’ve come too far in such a long amount of time to stop now and let the likes of you stand in between me and what I set out to accomplish. This isn’t about REVOLUTION...this is about your mantra ‘Evolve or Die’ but simply put this is about Justin Brooks beating the ever living hell out of the Devan Whitmore. You fought for the chance to make it to the main roster of EXODUS roster which is a feat in itself but there is one thing that you’re simply forgetting.”
“And that it’s a fight just to stay on the roster.”
“Every other week, it’s a battle just to stay on that EXODUS roster, to earn that spot and retain that spot. And this week, ain’t no different, you’re battling just to stay relevant just like I’m battling to make sure that when it’s all said and done, they’ll look upon the International Title…”
Rolling his large shoulders forward the light shines brightly upon the gold face plate.
“...they don’t say Christian Kane.”
“...they don’t say Lexy Chapel.”
“...they don’t say Zack Lifer or another else for that matter.”
“There’s only one word they mention and that’s Justin Brooks.”
“So I hope that GRENDEL is training you well, I hope that you’re taking pointers from Aries...I hope that the rest REVOLUTION is paying attention because I will make sure that the REVOLUTION will be no televised, it will not go out with a yell…”
“...but with a whimper.”
[Tuesday, March 31, 2015]
[Knoxville Tyson-McGhee Airport]
[Knoxville, Tennessee][/i]
From Tokyo to Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles to Knoxville.
It seemed as the past few weeks were spent in a indistinguishable blur of the inside of various airports and the inside of Delta jets, big and small. Yet feeling the tires of the planes landing gear hit the Knoxville Airport tarmac, I looked out the small port window and couldn’t help but let a smile spread over my lips as the plane leveled out and became to decrease its speed. As the large size Boeing jet began to taxi towards the gate, I sat back in the blue leather first class letting out a deep sigh of exhaustion. It’s been a crazy two months from touring all over Japan, visiting my old haunts with KJPW to having to come back to Knoxville for a few weeks at a time due to the news of me becoming a father again…
...times two.
Bing.
“This is your Captain speaking...uh...allow me to be the first to welcome you to Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s 12.34 in the afternoon with a beautiful sunny day, approximately 67 degrees outside. I want to thank you for flying Delta Airlines today, if Knoxville isn’t your final destination, I wish safe travels to where it may be.”
I watched the plane dock as the retractable terminal attached to the place as the flight attendants unbuckled their seat belts and reached out to open the cabin doors. The faint sound of the seat belt sign cutting off, only brought me closer to home as I rose from my seat to collect my only piece of luggage, a black Nike duffel bag that I’ve had since I first broke into the business.
I missed Kyra. I missed my boy Alistair. I missed my unborn twins, Kingston and Meko.
I couldn’t wait to see them again.
---
With his haircut in a similar mohawk, that just like his father, Alistair Brooks looks down at the single piece of posterboard in his small hands. A smile spread over his lips, looking up at Kyra with wide brown eyes as he showed it to her with pride pouring from him.
“You think Daddy will like it?”
The young boy of five years, had spent the following night writing ‘WELCOME DADDY!’ in large red letters and several drawings that only a father would love. Spending the past few weeks in school and having to wait for Justin to return home, Ali had become too grown fond of the woman that held his fathers heart in the palm of her hand. And when given the news that he was going to be a big brother, he took the newfound responsibility of being a protector to Kyra while Justin was away quite seriously.
“I think that your daddy will absolutely love it, Allikat! But do you know what I think he will like more?” Kyra asked the boy that stood to her side with a beaming smile.
“What?” He asked emphatically.
“Seeing you standing right here waiting for him.”
Her smile played over her beautiful pregnant face as she ruffled the boy’s mohawk playfully.
“Mom….” He laughed and became a bit bashful as he reached up running a hand over the single strip of hair running down the middle of his head.
Kyra glanced up at the members of the airplane departing and there was only one soul who was aboard that her heart yearned for. When the Monster from the Bay stepped through the terminal and headed for them, Alistair was the second one to spot him. Kyra had let the boy “find” his father first as he stood heads and shoulders over everyone else.
“Mom! There he is!” He said and without much prompting, the boy ran straight for Justin, dropping his sign in the process.
Dropping to a single knee and dropping his bag at his side, Justin smile was large and genuine as scooped the boy up in his large arms.
“Dad! Dad! Dad! Daddy! I missed you!” The young Brooks said wrapping his arms around his father’s massive neck as Justin held him close, kissing the side of his head only like a father could. “I missed you too, Buddy...I missed you too. Where’s Mom at, kiddo?”
Alistair pulled away slightly pointing over to the Mother of his children as Justin rose to his feet with Ali in tow. “She’s over there!”
Kyra began to close the distance between Justin and their running son as he began to stand. The glowing and well swollen belly of his girlfriend made moving a lot slower than she used to. She would close the gap and she wrapped her own arms around the neck of Justin.
“Hey Bull. We missed you so much! Welcome home.” She would kiss him before the sight of their son who would make a soft ‘bleh’ sound to it.
“I missed you too, all four of you.” He chuckled softly as licked his lips slowly, loving the taste of her kiss upon his lips. “How have my little Monsters been treating you? No more sleepless nights, I hope?” He asked softly before setting Alistair down to his feet. “Hey, kiddo...how about you carry my bag for me? There’s a surprise in it for you.”
Alistairs eyes lit up at the mention of a surprise as he reached down and grabbed the black Nike bag before unzipping it to search its contents.
“They are doing really good. I have something in the car for you too. A bit of a surprise if you will.” She would grin happily as the five of them were together again. It always warmed her heart to have the Brooks Family together.
“Come on buddy, you can search in the car.” Kyra would laugh softly and loop her arm around the muscled bicep of Justin.
“Oh really, a surprise for me?” Justin looked over at Kyra with an arched brow of curiosity. Placing a hand on the back of his son’s head to keep him up with the pair of them, they were greeted by the warm Knoxville sun towards the large parking deck where the new Brooks’ family SUV waited.
“So do I get a hint towards this little surprise of mine or do I get be left in the dark?”
Alistair giggled as he looked up at the couple, obviously in on the secret. Justin looked down at his son in hopes of getting some sort of information from him but the young boy only shook his head...he wasn’t budging.
Kyra would pull from her Coach purse a very small piece of photo paper. She would hold it to her chest for a moment and she gave Justin a devious look. She would offer it to him with a crack of a smile. Alistair would reach up to the picture as the black and white grainy image came to life before his eyes.
“This one is the brother!” Allie said.
He pointed to a small alien looking being on the photo with another to match beside it. They were their two children inside of the belly of Kyra Kopus. As happy as Alistair was, it was pale in comparison to the smile that was on the face of the mother-to-be.
“Yep. That is Kingston and that there is our Meko. They have strong heartbeats and everything is as it should be.” Kyra would then let her smile falter a moment as she looked to Justin.
“I know that you wanted to be there, but they couldn’t schedule it any later. I tried so hard to wait for you baby, but I couldn’t.”
Justin silently nodded his head as he looked down at the small black and white photograph in his hand. Slowly he looked up at Kyra and eased the tension by reaching up and placing a hand on the back of her neck softly and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“It’s alright, I understand…” He whispered softly. “...I promise that I won’t miss another one. We’re in this together, remember?” He looked back at the photograph in his hands, before starting to laugh to himself and shake his head in the reality that were the two children that were growing in her womb.
“Kingston and Meko Brooks.” He said to himself, as if he was bringing their names to life.
“I like it.” Alistair said as he seemed to struggle with the duffel bag.
“Hey, kiddo...how about I help you with that, huh?”
A small spot of disappointment dropped on the child’s face as nodded his head in slight defeat. Slowly dropping to a knee, Justin unzipped the duffel bag and reached in pulling out the EXODUS PRO International Championship title at the complete shock and awe of his eldest son. The gold plate was polished and cleaned with its nameplate changed to read JUSTIN BROOKS in large bold black filled letters.
“Wooooow...Dad…” he said almost afraid to touch it as Justin looked up at Kyra with a proud smile before turning back to his son.
“It’s yours...I won this for you...you and Mom. You gotta take care of this now.”
The young boy’s mouth dropped as Justin held the large title out for him as he looked past Justin towards Kyra for what to do next.
Kyra was also surprised to see the title that he carried with him. She had no idea that he had won because of the time differences and the lack of honest communication while he was working. Kyra would look to Alistair and she nodded to him.
“If Daddy says that you can have it, you can. Maybe we can put it on your wall until Daddy needs it back.”
Kyra said with a cheeky wink to the boy. She turned to Justin and she would hug him against her side again.
“Congratulations baby. I didn’t know that you were our champion!”
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he nodded his head slowly as he watched Alistair simply admire the championship that he held tightly in his hands.
“Yeah, I had to keep things a on the hush until the show airs tonight. But you know that I couldn’t keep that away from you two. Besides, look at him...we don’t even exist right now.” He laughed to himself as turned towards Kyra and placed his free hand on top of her swelling belly.
“I missed you, K...I wanted to give you a Championship...you’re giving me two children, the best of both of us. It’s been a crazy few days and all I want to do is go home and curl up with my lady and our kid, how’s that sound?”
“It sounds perfectly fine with me. Allie, come on buddy.” Kyra would take his hand in hers after it fell from her belly and they all walked towards the SUV awaiting them in the short-term parking lot.
[www.THEBIGBADBROOKS.com/promos]
[EXPRO on FX #32]
[Mission Statement to Make!]
[Justin Brooks (EXPRO Intl Champion) v. Devan Whitmore v. Abby Park]
[Hype Video II][/i]
Still standing in the middle of the ring, Justin holds the International Title in his large hands, looking down at the gold faceplate. The afternoon sun shines through the glass ceiling of the warehouse providing the perfect natural spotlight for the Monster of the Bay.
"It's been a very long time since we've both been in the same ring with one another."
"If I remember correctly, it was Abby Park who got her shoulders pinned to mat while all I could do was watch from the outside helplessly."
"Then I got the pleasure of watching you defy all the odds and step up to Chris Strike and take away the one thing...the only thing that meant something to him in the EXODUS PRO World Championship and made it your own."
"And I'm a big enough man to admit that I didn't see it coming and if I was a betting man, I'd be dead broke right now. You proved a lot of people wrong, myself included and during that reign as World Champion, that and your accomplishments deserve to be applauded because not many of competitor can say that stood toe to toe with Chris Strike..."
Slowly he lifts his head up, ripping his gaze from the International Title.
"...and won."
"I can only wish that one day I can say that I accomplished such a feat but in due time, Abby, in due time."
"Until then, I hold the International Championship with such a prestige and such an enthusiasm that it'll make what Lexy Chapel did pale in comparison. And while I can only image how it feels to hold that World Title in your hands, I can tell you that beating Kane...putting him on my shoulders and driving him with down to the mat.."
"The count of three."
"The roar of the fans."
"The sound of my music."
"The title being placed in my hands."
For a moment Justin closed his eyes and let the moment from Repitition of Hatred wash over him. With his free hand, he runs his calloused hand over the exquisitely crafted face of the International title.
"Its a feeling that I won't be forgetting anytime soon. And now I find myself on the opposite side of the Sith of the REVOLUTION and the former World Champion in Abby Park. While my opinion on Devan Whitmore hasn't been anything less than secret, I must say that when it comes to you Abby.. "
"...it's the complete opposite."
"The respect for you Abby, is well, abundant."
"And because of that is why I'm going to be the second coming of Chris Strike when we step into that ring once again."
“..because where you are right now, I know how that feels.”
“To go back to that locker room with so many unanswered questions about your career.”
“Where do we go from here?”
“What’s next?”
“It’s real easy to just sit back and dust your hands off and go ‘Well, I guess we go back to the grind’. Because honestly, it’s not going to be that simple. You’ve been in a place that most people would kill to be at, you sat upon the mountaintop of EXODUS PRO Wrestling and even if it was for just a short amount of time the fact of the matter is...you were there.”
“It’s a spot that I know Devan wants to get to.”
“And it’s sure as shit a place I want to get to...and honestly, it means going through you. It means going through the Former World Champion and set in a motion a chain of events that leads to Chris Strike...or whoever holds that title at the time.”
“I respect you and your ability inside of that ring.”
“But this business...careers aren’t built on respect. They built on destruction of the person set in front of you, paved in the broken bones and shattered dreams of your competitors because you and I both know that if given the opportunity they’d do it to you too. “
“And while holding the International Title is great, it’s an achievement that I do not look upon lightly, I realize that this is just the first step of many...I realize that I’ve taken my first step and there so many more in front of me.”
“And that next step is Abby Park and Devan Whitmore.”
“I don’t say this lightly but I have bad intentions on Monday.”
“I’m going to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that I’m the better athlete.”
“I will leave no shred of doubt that I’m the better wrestler.”
“I will leave nothing but destruction and devastation in my wake not because I have to...but it’s because it’s what I want to do to.”
He hoists the International Championship up and onto his right shoulder.
“And sadly ladies...there isn’t a damn thing you two can do about it.”
[End.][/i]
...better known as the team of UNCENSORED by way of the REVOLUTION, standing side by side, defiant of those who dare stand in there way.
There was something to be said about the now defunct, two-time Tag Team Champions, despite if you wanted to believe in their of ‘Evolve or Die’, you couldn’t deny the tenacity and sheer power of GRENDEL or the technical prowess of Aries Reed. Seperately these two can beat anyone on the roster but you put them together, they were damn near unstoppable.
The elderly steward carefully folded the sheet, placing it over his forearm neatly before shuffling towards the next handpainted portrait. Pulling the sheet down it reveal the only man to not put his title on the line at Repetition of Hatred, Kevin Hardaway, standing over the beaten Black Jones.
After seeing him last week in Tokyo, winning and losing is never on the mind of this strange young man. He’s after beating people up and making a point, he wants to hurt them all and badly...the fact that he holds the San Diego Bay Title only makes him that much more dangerous.
Another sheet it pulled down by the silent stewart revealing the newest addition to the EXODUS PRO champions, the recently crowned Pacific Coast Champion, Shinji Uchikawa as he stands on the second turnbuckle holding the Pacific Coast Title in both hands with a joyous look on his face.
Once again, proving the (r)EVOLUTION Wrestling is the future of this business, he put on a clinic against three other hungry men only to be the last one standing on his own two feet at the end of the night. He was hungry, he was talented, and he could go as far as he wanted to go.
And with that, the next cover came down revealing the new EXODUS PRO World Champion in Chris Strike, capturing the moment he secured his second World title, leaning against the far ropes just after putting down Abby Park. The same Abby Park that refused to go until there was nothing left in the tank and her body finally gave out. The same Chris Strike, who toured through Knoxville so many years ago and found the same amount of success had once again found himself on top of the Mountain once again.
The last covered portrait was pulled down, folded up and draped over the arm of the stewart as he looked up at the newest portrait to be added to the study. Only completed a few days earlier, the painted portrait of the newly crowned EXODUS Pro International Champion...
...The Monster of the Bay…
...Justin Brooks.
The portrait captured the moment as D’Artis Johnson hands the EXODUS PRO International Title to Justin Brooks, with Kane’s blood smeared on his chest. For years, he’s been hunting, chasing, and doing whatever it took...regardless of the price, regardless of the sacrifice to finally put himself amongst the names that held the title before him. And now, he’s etched his name forever among some of the greats in the celebrated history of EXODUS.
For a moment, the steward looks up at the painted portrait and smiles to himself as he runs his finger over the eloquently crafted 11x14 picture frame before looking around at small study and nodding his head in approval before turning to make his way out of the room. Before reaching the door, he flicks the switch, shutting off the lights in the study only for a spotlight to shine to each large portrait as the camera settles on the painting of Justin Brooks before slowly fading to black...
[www.THEBIGBADBROOKS.com/promos]
[EXPRO on FX #32]
[Mission Statement to Make!]
[Justin Brooks (EXPRO Intl Champion) v. Devan Whitmore v. Abby Park]
[Hype Video I][/i]
They call him the Monster of the Bay.
And now as he stands in the middle of the empty wrestling ring, he adds another name to that list.
The EXODUS Pro International Champion.
The hood of his gray sleeveless sweatshirt is pulled up over his head loosely as he holds the championship belt in his heavily taped right hand.
“I can respect what you are all trying to do in REVOLUTION, I really can.”
“And honestly, I’d be lying if people weren’t taking notice in it.”
“You look at Aries Reed...you look at GRENDEL and you see it. When those two men step into the ring, you can see it in the way they fight. You can hear it in their voices when they speak, you can feel their conviction, there dedication…”
“And then there is Devan Whitmore.”
“Since we’re being real, I don’t see anything in you.”
Reaching up with his free left hand, he pulled back the hood as he lifts up his large short mohawked head to stare into the camera. Slowly he lifted the International title, draping it over his broad right shoulder as it sits perfectly perched there as if it was meant to be there all along.
“You’ve stepped into the ring with Angela Jamison...Adrien Cochrane...and while to anyone else that might be impressive, you’re talking to guy who’s stepped into the ring with both of them and beat them too. So you’re going to have to excuse me if I don't looked all that impressed by all of that because honestly…”
“...I’m not.”
“Who is Devan Whitmore...what has she done?”
“All I know is that this is chick that’s fuckin’ GRENDEL and after that, who knows?”
“Do I say this to show that I’m overlooking you?”
Justin slowly shakes his head.
“Oh no, I know better than that, I just hope that what I’m saying is seeping into that head of yours because while you’re still chasing after Vivienne, you need to realize that you are the on the Main Roster now and there are bigger Monsters who lurk in that darkness. You feel slighted that you were left off of the Repitition of Hatred and I want to feel your pain and I want to sympathize but I can’t and I won’t. Because I’ll turn back to my earlier question…”
“...what has she done?”
“You have all the fire and all the incentive in the world to make some waves and make a statement, make an impact. Hell, you can come out of this match as a potential contender for the International Championship...or you can just get beat and get sent back to Shozo and everyone else with your tail tucked between your legs as you get beat yet again.”
“I would say the choice is yours, but honestly...it isn’t, you never had a choice when these cards were dealt and sadly enough, you don't have what it takes to go all in or to even fold for that matter.”
“You’re looking at the man who going to make sure that these ‘woes’ that you’ve been experiencing continue on...at least for another two weeks that is.”
“Now I can say that with the utmost confidence because this has been a long time coming.”
He turns his head to look down at the EXODUS PRO International Championship that sits on his right shoulder.
“I’ve come too far in such a long amount of time to stop now and let the likes of you stand in between me and what I set out to accomplish. This isn’t about REVOLUTION...this is about your mantra ‘Evolve or Die’ but simply put this is about Justin Brooks beating the ever living hell out of the Devan Whitmore. You fought for the chance to make it to the main roster of EXODUS roster which is a feat in itself but there is one thing that you’re simply forgetting.”
“And that it’s a fight just to stay on the roster.”
“Every other week, it’s a battle just to stay on that EXODUS roster, to earn that spot and retain that spot. And this week, ain’t no different, you’re battling just to stay relevant just like I’m battling to make sure that when it’s all said and done, they’ll look upon the International Title…”
Rolling his large shoulders forward the light shines brightly upon the gold face plate.
“...they don’t say Christian Kane.”
“...they don’t say Lexy Chapel.”
“...they don’t say Zack Lifer or another else for that matter.”
“There’s only one word they mention and that’s Justin Brooks.”
“So I hope that GRENDEL is training you well, I hope that you’re taking pointers from Aries...I hope that the rest REVOLUTION is paying attention because I will make sure that the REVOLUTION will be no televised, it will not go out with a yell…”
“...but with a whimper.”
[Tuesday, March 31, 2015]
[Knoxville Tyson-McGhee Airport]
[Knoxville, Tennessee][/i]
From Tokyo to Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles to Knoxville.
It seemed as the past few weeks were spent in a indistinguishable blur of the inside of various airports and the inside of Delta jets, big and small. Yet feeling the tires of the planes landing gear hit the Knoxville Airport tarmac, I looked out the small port window and couldn’t help but let a smile spread over my lips as the plane leveled out and became to decrease its speed. As the large size Boeing jet began to taxi towards the gate, I sat back in the blue leather first class letting out a deep sigh of exhaustion. It’s been a crazy two months from touring all over Japan, visiting my old haunts with KJPW to having to come back to Knoxville for a few weeks at a time due to the news of me becoming a father again…
...times two.
Bing.
“This is your Captain speaking...uh...allow me to be the first to welcome you to Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s 12.34 in the afternoon with a beautiful sunny day, approximately 67 degrees outside. I want to thank you for flying Delta Airlines today, if Knoxville isn’t your final destination, I wish safe travels to where it may be.”
I watched the plane dock as the retractable terminal attached to the place as the flight attendants unbuckled their seat belts and reached out to open the cabin doors. The faint sound of the seat belt sign cutting off, only brought me closer to home as I rose from my seat to collect my only piece of luggage, a black Nike duffel bag that I’ve had since I first broke into the business.
I missed Kyra. I missed my boy Alistair. I missed my unborn twins, Kingston and Meko.
I couldn’t wait to see them again.
---
With his haircut in a similar mohawk, that just like his father, Alistair Brooks looks down at the single piece of posterboard in his small hands. A smile spread over his lips, looking up at Kyra with wide brown eyes as he showed it to her with pride pouring from him.
“You think Daddy will like it?”
The young boy of five years, had spent the following night writing ‘WELCOME DADDY!’ in large red letters and several drawings that only a father would love. Spending the past few weeks in school and having to wait for Justin to return home, Ali had become too grown fond of the woman that held his fathers heart in the palm of her hand. And when given the news that he was going to be a big brother, he took the newfound responsibility of being a protector to Kyra while Justin was away quite seriously.
“I think that your daddy will absolutely love it, Allikat! But do you know what I think he will like more?” Kyra asked the boy that stood to her side with a beaming smile.
“What?” He asked emphatically.
“Seeing you standing right here waiting for him.”
Her smile played over her beautiful pregnant face as she ruffled the boy’s mohawk playfully.
“Mom….” He laughed and became a bit bashful as he reached up running a hand over the single strip of hair running down the middle of his head.
Kyra glanced up at the members of the airplane departing and there was only one soul who was aboard that her heart yearned for. When the Monster from the Bay stepped through the terminal and headed for them, Alistair was the second one to spot him. Kyra had let the boy “find” his father first as he stood heads and shoulders over everyone else.
“Mom! There he is!” He said and without much prompting, the boy ran straight for Justin, dropping his sign in the process.
Dropping to a single knee and dropping his bag at his side, Justin smile was large and genuine as scooped the boy up in his large arms.
“Dad! Dad! Dad! Daddy! I missed you!” The young Brooks said wrapping his arms around his father’s massive neck as Justin held him close, kissing the side of his head only like a father could. “I missed you too, Buddy...I missed you too. Where’s Mom at, kiddo?”
Alistair pulled away slightly pointing over to the Mother of his children as Justin rose to his feet with Ali in tow. “She’s over there!”
Kyra began to close the distance between Justin and their running son as he began to stand. The glowing and well swollen belly of his girlfriend made moving a lot slower than she used to. She would close the gap and she wrapped her own arms around the neck of Justin.
“Hey Bull. We missed you so much! Welcome home.” She would kiss him before the sight of their son who would make a soft ‘bleh’ sound to it.
“I missed you too, all four of you.” He chuckled softly as licked his lips slowly, loving the taste of her kiss upon his lips. “How have my little Monsters been treating you? No more sleepless nights, I hope?” He asked softly before setting Alistair down to his feet. “Hey, kiddo...how about you carry my bag for me? There’s a surprise in it for you.”
Alistairs eyes lit up at the mention of a surprise as he reached down and grabbed the black Nike bag before unzipping it to search its contents.
“They are doing really good. I have something in the car for you too. A bit of a surprise if you will.” She would grin happily as the five of them were together again. It always warmed her heart to have the Brooks Family together.
“Come on buddy, you can search in the car.” Kyra would laugh softly and loop her arm around the muscled bicep of Justin.
“Oh really, a surprise for me?” Justin looked over at Kyra with an arched brow of curiosity. Placing a hand on the back of his son’s head to keep him up with the pair of them, they were greeted by the warm Knoxville sun towards the large parking deck where the new Brooks’ family SUV waited.
“So do I get a hint towards this little surprise of mine or do I get be left in the dark?”
Alistair giggled as he looked up at the couple, obviously in on the secret. Justin looked down at his son in hopes of getting some sort of information from him but the young boy only shook his head...he wasn’t budging.
Kyra would pull from her Coach purse a very small piece of photo paper. She would hold it to her chest for a moment and she gave Justin a devious look. She would offer it to him with a crack of a smile. Alistair would reach up to the picture as the black and white grainy image came to life before his eyes.
“This one is the brother!” Allie said.
He pointed to a small alien looking being on the photo with another to match beside it. They were their two children inside of the belly of Kyra Kopus. As happy as Alistair was, it was pale in comparison to the smile that was on the face of the mother-to-be.
“Yep. That is Kingston and that there is our Meko. They have strong heartbeats and everything is as it should be.” Kyra would then let her smile falter a moment as she looked to Justin.
“I know that you wanted to be there, but they couldn’t schedule it any later. I tried so hard to wait for you baby, but I couldn’t.”
Justin silently nodded his head as he looked down at the small black and white photograph in his hand. Slowly he looked up at Kyra and eased the tension by reaching up and placing a hand on the back of her neck softly and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“It’s alright, I understand…” He whispered softly. “...I promise that I won’t miss another one. We’re in this together, remember?” He looked back at the photograph in his hands, before starting to laugh to himself and shake his head in the reality that were the two children that were growing in her womb.
“Kingston and Meko Brooks.” He said to himself, as if he was bringing their names to life.
“I like it.” Alistair said as he seemed to struggle with the duffel bag.
“Hey, kiddo...how about I help you with that, huh?”
A small spot of disappointment dropped on the child’s face as nodded his head in slight defeat. Slowly dropping to a knee, Justin unzipped the duffel bag and reached in pulling out the EXODUS PRO International Championship title at the complete shock and awe of his eldest son. The gold plate was polished and cleaned with its nameplate changed to read JUSTIN BROOKS in large bold black filled letters.
“Wooooow...Dad…” he said almost afraid to touch it as Justin looked up at Kyra with a proud smile before turning back to his son.
“It’s yours...I won this for you...you and Mom. You gotta take care of this now.”
The young boy’s mouth dropped as Justin held the large title out for him as he looked past Justin towards Kyra for what to do next.
Kyra was also surprised to see the title that he carried with him. She had no idea that he had won because of the time differences and the lack of honest communication while he was working. Kyra would look to Alistair and she nodded to him.
“If Daddy says that you can have it, you can. Maybe we can put it on your wall until Daddy needs it back.”
Kyra said with a cheeky wink to the boy. She turned to Justin and she would hug him against her side again.
“Congratulations baby. I didn’t know that you were our champion!”
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he nodded his head slowly as he watched Alistair simply admire the championship that he held tightly in his hands.
“Yeah, I had to keep things a on the hush until the show airs tonight. But you know that I couldn’t keep that away from you two. Besides, look at him...we don’t even exist right now.” He laughed to himself as turned towards Kyra and placed his free hand on top of her swelling belly.
“I missed you, K...I wanted to give you a Championship...you’re giving me two children, the best of both of us. It’s been a crazy few days and all I want to do is go home and curl up with my lady and our kid, how’s that sound?”
“It sounds perfectly fine with me. Allie, come on buddy.” Kyra would take his hand in hers after it fell from her belly and they all walked towards the SUV awaiting them in the short-term parking lot.
[www.THEBIGBADBROOKS.com/promos]
[EXPRO on FX #32]
[Mission Statement to Make!]
[Justin Brooks (EXPRO Intl Champion) v. Devan Whitmore v. Abby Park]
[Hype Video II][/i]
Still standing in the middle of the ring, Justin holds the International Title in his large hands, looking down at the gold faceplate. The afternoon sun shines through the glass ceiling of the warehouse providing the perfect natural spotlight for the Monster of the Bay.
"It's been a very long time since we've both been in the same ring with one another."
"If I remember correctly, it was Abby Park who got her shoulders pinned to mat while all I could do was watch from the outside helplessly."
"Then I got the pleasure of watching you defy all the odds and step up to Chris Strike and take away the one thing...the only thing that meant something to him in the EXODUS PRO World Championship and made it your own."
"And I'm a big enough man to admit that I didn't see it coming and if I was a betting man, I'd be dead broke right now. You proved a lot of people wrong, myself included and during that reign as World Champion, that and your accomplishments deserve to be applauded because not many of competitor can say that stood toe to toe with Chris Strike..."
Slowly he lifts his head up, ripping his gaze from the International Title.
"...and won."
"I can only wish that one day I can say that I accomplished such a feat but in due time, Abby, in due time."
"Until then, I hold the International Championship with such a prestige and such an enthusiasm that it'll make what Lexy Chapel did pale in comparison. And while I can only image how it feels to hold that World Title in your hands, I can tell you that beating Kane...putting him on my shoulders and driving him with down to the mat.."
"The count of three."
"The roar of the fans."
"The sound of my music."
"The title being placed in my hands."
For a moment Justin closed his eyes and let the moment from Repitition of Hatred wash over him. With his free hand, he runs his calloused hand over the exquisitely crafted face of the International title.
"Its a feeling that I won't be forgetting anytime soon. And now I find myself on the opposite side of the Sith of the REVOLUTION and the former World Champion in Abby Park. While my opinion on Devan Whitmore hasn't been anything less than secret, I must say that when it comes to you Abby.. "
"...it's the complete opposite."
"The respect for you Abby, is well, abundant."
"And because of that is why I'm going to be the second coming of Chris Strike when we step into that ring once again."
“..because where you are right now, I know how that feels.”
“To go back to that locker room with so many unanswered questions about your career.”
“Where do we go from here?”
“What’s next?”
“It’s real easy to just sit back and dust your hands off and go ‘Well, I guess we go back to the grind’. Because honestly, it’s not going to be that simple. You’ve been in a place that most people would kill to be at, you sat upon the mountaintop of EXODUS PRO Wrestling and even if it was for just a short amount of time the fact of the matter is...you were there.”
“It’s a spot that I know Devan wants to get to.”
“And it’s sure as shit a place I want to get to...and honestly, it means going through you. It means going through the Former World Champion and set in a motion a chain of events that leads to Chris Strike...or whoever holds that title at the time.”
“I respect you and your ability inside of that ring.”
“But this business...careers aren’t built on respect. They built on destruction of the person set in front of you, paved in the broken bones and shattered dreams of your competitors because you and I both know that if given the opportunity they’d do it to you too. “
“And while holding the International Title is great, it’s an achievement that I do not look upon lightly, I realize that this is just the first step of many...I realize that I’ve taken my first step and there so many more in front of me.”
“And that next step is Abby Park and Devan Whitmore.”
“I don’t say this lightly but I have bad intentions on Monday.”
“I’m going to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that I’m the better athlete.”
“I will leave no shred of doubt that I’m the better wrestler.”
“I will leave nothing but destruction and devastation in my wake not because I have to...but it’s because it’s what I want to do to.”
He hoists the International Championship up and onto his right shoulder.
“And sadly ladies...there isn’t a damn thing you two can do about it.”
[End.][/i]
