E-Pro TV Episode #7

E-PRO returns live from the last break of the evening, “Something In The Way” erupts from the amplifiers, the strumming of guitar and the sound of Kurt Cobain’s voice reverberate through the RIMAC arena, sounding the entrance of the infamous Loaded Pistol.

Dick Morosi: And here comes Magnus Gunner Seth, and I’ve been dreading this moment of the show all night. This man, this man from LEGION, he might be getting what he wants in just a few short minutes.

Seth Ericson: And that’s the end of Fiona Rourke’s career. I’m not her biggest fan, but I’d hate to see her have to go. She just became the World Champion. She’s realized her dream. Just like that though the dream has become a nightmare.

Dick Morosi: What choice does she have Seth? This psycho has threatened the well-being of Jonathan Collins. Threatened to do what he did to Omar Wise. She doesn’t have any other option.

Seth Ericson: I don’t envy her position, that’s for sure.

Jeers and boos are mixed with the buzzing of whispers as Gunner marches down the ramp as usual. The damp, wavy black hair hangs over his face, while his steel chair hangs by his side, held tightly in his right hand. He slowly knees up onto the apron, taking a quick step to the outside turnbuckle to strike the LEGION crucifix pose, before stepping over the buckles and climbing into the ring. He is delivered a microphone from one of the ring attendants, and wastes no time in speaking as his music is cut off.

Magnus Gunner: For the benefit of those of you that have missed out on the festivities tonight, let me serve to remind you… let me get you up to speed. I am Magnus Gunner. I am the number one contender to the EXODUS World Championship. I will be the next man to hold that aforementioned trophy…. the next man to carry that distinction… that title. Tonight, Fiona Rourke is going to hand over what doesn’t belong to her, what she doesn’t deserve… as a consequence, and repercussion for her actions… and what are those actions? Simple. She’s lied to you all. She’s been carrying out the wishes of Jon Collins, the man that has lead you to believe he is a Saint… that he and his Fiona are heroes… that they’re noble. There is no honor, no nobility among frauds, and that’s what they are. Everything she’s said to you, they’re all lies. Only I know the truth. Only the LEGION knows the truth. And we’ve been telling the truth since day one.

Gunner paces back and forth a bit, the audience booing and jeering his every word. He places his chair in the nearest corner, rubbing a hand over his grizzled mug as he continues his sermon.

Magnus Gunner: And what is the truth? That we control the future… and the future of EXODUS… the future that we see… and that's a future with ME holding the EXODUS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP… with us holding all the power… with the masks of Fiona and Jonathan removed and their deceit, their lies, their true faces shown to you all. And right now, that image of the future will begin to manifest. I am the true Savior of the masses. I have to liberate you from her facade… by tearing down everything she’s built… pulling out the nails that hold up everything she’s known. Right now Fiona, it’s your time… you’ve been given my ultimatum, you’ve heard what I’ve had to say, you know the outcomes that await your decisions. You’ve had all night to deliberate, to contemplate… it’s enough. Come out here and face me… face these people, and show them who the REAL Fiona Rourke is!

Gunner outstretches an arm toward the entranceway, dropping his microphone as awaits the Seraph’s arrival.

Dick Morosi: The tension is palpable right now Seth. I’m sick to my stomach right now. Magnus, he’s a monster, in every sense of the word.

Seth Ericson: Yes but is he the monster Fiona Rourke is too afraid to face?

Fireflight’s “Unbreakable” hits the P.A. system, the masses of humanity packing the RIMAC arena roaring with cheers as the Strong Style Seraph steps out from behind the curtains. With the EXODUS World Championship draped over her shoulder she slowly makes her way down to the ring, her face a menagerie of disconsolation and despair. The arms of fans in the aisle touch up on her skin, Fiona usually one to slap those hands, ignores them, her mind in a million different places as she stares into the ring at the cause of her cheerlessness. The perpetrator was Magnus Gunner, the eloquent madman from LEGION who had given her a frightening ultimatum.

Fiona steps up the steel stairs and climbs into the ring, her music cutting off as she is handed a microphone. The audience immediately quiets down as the Seraph looks around the arena, before her vision is solely focused on her antagonist.

Fiona Rourke: Gunner, I don't know if you know my story. Not many people do. When I decided to get my start in the business, I came to California with absolutely nothing. I had the clothes on my back, a few clothes my father bought me, and I was homeless and without a dime to my name. It was then I met a girl named Spencer, my best friend and roommate to this day. She, my cousin, my roommate Piper, and Mandy Summers have stood by me and been my best friends through thick and thin. Through my trips to Japan, through my trips to Mexico, and everywhere in between. They stuck with me because they know that I had a goal to live this dream...and now I have.

Fiona sighs heavily, looking around as she rubs her tongue against the inside of her bottom lip. She breathes heavily, as if it's almost hard to say her words, yet she finds the strength to continue.

Fiona Rourke: You know, despite everything that I’ve been through in my life, in my career, I’ve always felt unbreakable, always felt invincible. Tonight, is the first night in my life that I’ve really felt vulnerable, felt helpless. I’ve listened to what you’ve said about me… in fact, I’ve been listening to you for almost a year now Magnus. It’s no secret our history, how far you and I go back, and honestly, it’s no stretch of the imagination that you’re my greatest opponent. And then I ask myself, why, why is Magnus Gunner such an important part of my story, and then I think, and think some more, and then I realize that you’ve changed me. The Seraph, the woman who doesn’t take anything from anybody, that’s who I am, and when I look at you, I’ve realized you’re the biggest reason why I’ve ascended to that status. Dealing with you, dealing with LEGION, I’m no longer the same person I was, I’m not the daughter my father raised, I’m not even the woman Jon knows at home. I think most of that has died in me. But I know where it lies though.

Fiona removes the championship from her shoulder, staring at it for a few seconds as the crowd buzzes from her statement.

Fiona Rourke: It’s in THIS title Gunner. It’s in THESE people. They’re the reason I do this. Every single time I come out here, every time I strap this championship around my waist, I feel it. I feel THEIR desire, THEIR determination, I feel THEIR emotions, THEIR hope, THEIR praise, THEIR love, THEIR support and THEIR will. Every time I share a ring with you, I realize what I’m not, and everything I’ve become. And you’re right Magnus, I’m not a hero. I’ve never said I was, and I’ve never tried to be. I’ve made mistakes in my life, and I’m still answering for things that I’ve done. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. All that I am is Fiona Rourke. I am what I believe in. I live by my rules, my doctrines, I do what I think is right. That’s what motivates me. These people, they motivate me. Tonight, when I came out to help out Heather, that was the right thing to do. So when I tell you that I’m NOT going to hand over THIS, the thing I’ve fought my entire life to have, the thing I hold and defend with pride and honor for THESE people, know it’s the right thing to do!

A faint smile comes across her face, only to vanish as quickly as it appeared. She gulps, slightly lowering her head as she thinks about the ramifications of her decision. Magnus shakes his head in disbelief, denied of the outcome he envisioned.

Fiona Rourke: And while I may not be a hero Magnus, I’m not a coward either. You and LEGION, I see your plans, you haven’t hidden them. You want to drive Jon and I out of EXODUS. That’s your dream, your desire, everything Daisuke has taught you, everything he’s telling you to do, it’s all to get rid of us. But we’re not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere. I’m the Seraph for a reason, Magnus. That’s not just a silly nickname I came up with, that’s the name these people call me. That’s the name I’ve earned, from never backing down from a fight. It's the name I earned when I stood toe to toe with Omar Wise and took everything he threw at me! It's the name I earned when I stopped running and started fighting! It’s the name I’ve earned by stepping up to every challenge, and never wilting under pressure or fleeing when the going gets tough. And it’s the name I’ll earn and the name you’ll fear when I retain THIS championship at Invincible, and show the entire world that I’m FIONA ROURKE and I’ll never SURRENDER!

Rourke suddenly drops the championship, charging forward at Gunner who is caught off guard, not yet ready for a physical altercation. She immediately tackles him to the canvas, and mounts him before unloading with shot after shot across his face. The Loaded Pistol struggles to cover up, Fiona landing a good amount of her punches across his lips and jaw as the RIMAC is a perfect pandemonium of noise. The Strong Style Seraph un-mounts her rival, leaving him sprawled as she turns to the crowd, playing up to them, feeding off of their cheers and support.

With Gunner down Fiona takes a glance at the donation that sits in the center of the ring, being it her rival’s namesake. Rourke’s eyes are a mixture of apathy and interest, as she pans over the steel chair and then the face of the slowly recovering Gunner. His brow furrowed, his teeth gritted and bared, the maniacal Michigander climbs to a knee, kneeling as he watches the Strong Style Seraph acquaint herself with his weapon. Fiona brandishes the chair, a charge of power surging through her body as she weilds the instrument of destruction, a feeling she’d never really felt before in her life. The roles had shifted for the two foes – not it was Fiona who had all the leverage. Fiona had all the power. She was the one holding a steel chair, with the power to punish Gunner for his transgressions, and to exact revenge and retribution for the infamous chairshot that concussed her a few months back. The aggression on Fiona’s face brings a smile to Gunner’s, as the Loaded Pistol raises his hand tower her, waving it, as if trying to convince the EXODUS Champion to capitalize on her situation. The chair remains eye-level to the Seraph’s tight grip, Rourke visibly confused with Gunner’s disposition, and conflicted within herself with the decision of striking him or not.

Dick Morosi: He’s begging for it? Am I really seeing this? Magnus wants her to hit him with the chair Seth!

Seth Ericson: He’s either a masochist or he has a plan up his sleeve. Could be both. Regardless, if you’re Fiona, you’ve gotta blast him. This your best chance to weaken him, your best chance to get revenge.

Gunner groans as Fiona’s stalling begins to frustrate him. Rourke’s arm begins to tremble, the hesitation eating away at her as she glances out at the crowd, half the patrons buzzing and cheering for her to wail on him, the other half silent with anticipation. Magnus continues to wave, his face now maddened and frenzied as he continues to plead and beg. She takes another glace, and finally cocks the chair back, Gunner not even wincing or closing his eyes as he happily welcomes what comes next. For Rourke, she hadn’t been on the other side of this, but she had played this out in her mind millions of times, and she knew at this moment, that this is what she wanted to do.

*CRACK*

The chair plummets from it’s apex over the Seraph, and cuts through the electricity in the air to careen across the Michigander’s shoulder blade, whilst catching some of head with a resounding, audible ruckus that reverberates through the RIMAC. The spectators erupt, showing no sympathy for the man on the receiving end of the sick chairshot, but in response to his attacker. Magnus finally cringes from the sensation of pain filling his nerves, turning his head the other way while a twisted smirk remains etched on his face. He slowly looks back at Fiona, begging her for another, the EXODUS World Champion merely glaring at him in return. Gunner maintains his grin, again, and again waving for a second shot as the chair loosely hangs over Rourke’s shoulder. Raising the chair again, she lets out a fiendish war-cry, much to the delight of her deranged victim.

*CRACK*

Fiona beans him for a second consecutive time, the steel clashing against his left arm, leaving Gunner wilting as he drops his head to the canvas. Magnus springs back up with a groan and grimace, still kneeling. Fiona shakes her head in confusion and disbelief, stunned by the Michigander’s resiliency, Gunner groggily rising to his feet, still grinning. Appearing to have snapped, she quickly lunges forward with the chair, maliciously driving it into his solarplexus and forcing him to double over. She quickly raises the chair overhead, before swinging it down and bending it over his lower back. Gunner arches in pain as the steel impacts his flesh once more, the force dropping him back down to a knee. With adrenaline pumping in her veins, Fiona drives the chair into his lower back, dropping him to the canvas before unloading on his unprotected body. At this point, her boyfriend and EXODUS Pro Director Jonathan Collins has come down to the ring to pull her from Gunner and hold her back from doing much more.

*CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK*

Unable to withstand the punishment any longer and forced to submit to the overwhelming sensation, Magnus finally retreats, receiving a few more shots for good measure as he rolls out of the ring. Fiona tosses the dented chair onto the canvas, beginning to pace back and fourth in the ring as the crowd continues to cheer her own. At this point, she is screaming, practically roaring and daring Gunner to come back and fight her.

Dick Morosi: Fiona seems to have lost it, Seth. All that pent up rage and hatred for Magnus Gunner, it was all on display just now. It was in every single chairshot.

Seth Ericson: Hate is like a drug, Dick, and the Strong Style Seraph looks like she’s hooked on it now.

LEGION’s madman slowly backtracks up the ramp, tending to whatever limb Fiona hit the hardest with the chair, yet continuing to smile. At the top of the ramp now, Gunner takes a deep breath, flexing his shoulders, before outstretching his arms in the crucifix pose – albeit it gingerly. In the ring Fiona leans over the ropes, staring down the aisle at him, her face a mixture of rage and bewilderment. Cheers and jeers continue to fill the RIMAC as those in attendance continue to look on, the EXODUS copyright information flashing at the bottom of the feed as E- PRO TV #7 finally comes to an end.