AF20: Bearded Gentlemen vs. The Empire

[Viola Moonlight]

The third and final tag team contest for this set of shows will be featuring the new WZCW World Tag Team Champions taking on two members of the Empire, Justin Cooper & Alex Bowen - two men who have been out for blood and bolts, especially more so since their loss to Barbosa & SHIT. The Gent & The Beard definitely have their work cut out for them as they take on these two driven individuals in tag team action, looking to prove why they were the team that won the Tag Team titles in the first place.

Deadline is Tuesday March 26, 2013 at 11:59 PM (Central). Extensions as per request thread.​

 

[Viola Moonlight]

Alex Bowen has been granted a 24 hour extension.

 

[Theo Mays]

The scene opens with a Emily standing in front of a dusty chalkboard as her students circle around her.

Alright class lets give a warm welcome to the Tag Team Champions of WZCW, Bearded Gentlemen!

The youngsters give a nice welcome to The Beard, while Le Gentleman Masque is missing in action.

Never fear, Beard is here! High five!

Beard throws up a hand towards a young blonde boy, who slouches in his chair in fear of the Beard actually striking him. The class seems to be in a state of shock and awe as they stare awkwardly at The Beard. Beard looks around the room, clearly uncomfortable before trying to rebreak the ice.

You guys are looking at me as if I farted. I swear I didn’t do it.

The class chuckles as Beard blocks his mouth and points a finger over at Emily, who is sitting at her desk filing some papers.

I must apologize for Gent, he is off somewhere doing something mysterious. For all I know he is standing on the rooftop scoping out the area for no particular reason. But that’s alright. I’m the fun one. Don’t listen to what Gent says, he’s a party pooper.

The class again chuckles before a young girl with jet black hair raises her hand address The Beard.

What’s up sista?

Has anything ever died in your beard before?

The class bursts out in laughter as Beard looks over at Emily and she shrugs her shoulders.

Actually yes. It’s gross yet kind of awesome at the same time. The scene, my mom’s living on a hot summer night. I’m watching TV, eating an apple. Always eat apples, they are delicious and make your beard grow. Ladies ignore that one. I’m enjoying said apple as it drips into my young beard and all of a sudden a mosquito is let in through the open door. The pesky insect flies around the room bother me as I swat it away and this leads to dropping my apple. I was not happy. As I got to grab my apple the mosquito takes a dive for the beard. I heard the buzzing as it got closer, but I couldn’t move as I was in a frozen stage and the mosquito crash landed into my beard and as I reach for it, the bug had passed on and become entangled in my youthful manhood.

My dad says your beard is weird.

Your dad’s face is weird. BOOM!

The children laugh again with Beard as the child bows his head in sadness as Beard high fives the kids.

My dad says The Empire is going to kick your guys ass on Aftershock. Cooper has your number and neither of you two can stand with Bowen’s toughness.

Jacob, watch your mouth.

I’m sorry.

Listen here sport.

Beard, keep cool.

I got this babe.

Listen here sport. Cooper has beaten me before in my darkest days. I’m a changed Beard, a new Beard. A Beard for the better you’d say. In the past few months I’ve chased away a therapist, I’ve found the woman of my dreams, I’m tag team champions, and my wrestling career is at its peak. And holy Mikey Stormrage I’ve been to Disney World! There is nothing that can hold me back. Not Action Saxton and Saboteur, not the Empire, and certainly not the lobster that Dustin Hunter pulled on me in the grocery store. Gent and I are on a mission to make the tag team division the best thing in WZCW and we are going to prove that and it started with our championship victory and it will continue with the Empire at Aftershock. You kids are part of history, just remember that.

And what history is that Mr. Beard?

It’s the day the Beard took a stand. A stand to make sure that tag team wrestling is the forefront of the WZCW program. Saxton and Saboteur took that stand last year and this year Gent and I will continue that. Children take a great piece of advice from Benjamin Disraeli, “What we anticipate seldom occurs, what we least expected generally happens.”

The children look around confused as Beard looks at Emily with a “are you serious” look.

Alright kids, let me make it a little simpler.

No I understand it Mr. Beard. You’re saying that the unexpected is what tends to happen despite what is believed to happen.

Emily, this one here . Yes her. Can we take her home? Please.

Beard is down on his knees begging as the girl looks around flattered, yet a bit weirded out. The rest of the class bursts out in laughter at the Beard’s semantics. Emily smiles at Beard and gives him a wrap it up signal.

Alright kiddos, this big bad beard has to get going. I appreciate your time and your ears. And always remember, when in doubt, grow a beard. It is a life of passage. Believe me. Thank you!

Beard grabs his title and hugs Emily and high fives the children as if they were the live crowd at Aftershock as he makes his way out the door to a nice ovation from the young students.

We now see Beard in the hall where he whips his brow. Clearly getting over the nerves of his big audience Beard begins to whistle down the hall until a janitor jumps out from his closet and throws a bunch of stuffed lobsters at Beard. Beard freaks and lets out a shrill that would rival that of a scream queen from a vintage horror movie. A familiar chuckle is heard in the background as Beard nearly has a panic attack.

I haha can’t haha believe you haha fell for that hahahaa.

Beard grabs the man by the throat and holds him against the wall before realizing the victim is none other than his tag team partner and new best friend, Le Gentleman Masque. Beard drops Gent back to the floor before storming off angrily.

Beard! Come back, we need to talk strategy! It was all in good fun, don’t be a poor sport. At least they were fake. C’mon buddy, you know it is a bit humorous. Beard?

The last image we see is Gent chasing down his partner like that in the end of an 80’s comedy directed by John Hughes as Beard is fully intent on ignoring his teammate at that instance.

 

[Uncle Phatso]

[YOUTUBE]ID7cLHmI8qA[/YOUTUBE]​

The scene opens up, all that can be heard is music. Long gone, by Weedeater is playing, and Dixie Dave Collins is preaching to our good friend Mr. Bowen while he sleeps. Bowen is slumped over passed out, on what looks to be a very nice couch. Well was a very nice couch, just like the whole room. Everyone must have made it out alive, because the party is over. So much for a few friends staying the help clean up. Bags of chips, food, plates, beer cans, and bottles lay all over the floor. Cigarettes, along with a few other rolled party favors lay on the carpet, on the table, and someone even decided it would be OK to put one out right on the flat screen. Bowen could care less though, because he's had his fun for the weekend. A folding table is in front of Bowen's rented couch, a few cards are on it, the rest lay on the floor. More of the same from the party lays on it.

A small plate is sitting right about where Bowen could wake up and be staring at it. It's nothing unusual for the wrestling name now to have one of them around though. Four small white pills, and a rolled up dollar lay by the side of it. 54 262 is imprinted in the pills side, that number will forever be the Devil for Alex Bowen. It will Always be burnt into his memory.

Bowen stirs right before a thunderous bang is heard at the door, it sounds like someone is trying to take it down with a sledge hammer.

Voice- Listen up! I've called you like ten times, dude. If this doesn’t stop we are going to have problems.

Bowen quickly wakes up and wipes his eyes. Looking at what's in front of him, his eyes get wider. What other people did last night he couldn't control. So whatever is on the floor could matter less. But the voice at the door is his tag team partner, if he walked in, it would matter, a lot. Over the last few shows, the pay per view included, Bowen has done nothing but drag ass. He knows it, Cooper knows it, And King Constantine is becoming aware of it as well. An addict will always try to hide his addiction for as long as possible. So Bowen continues to hide it, in his head he still says he can just walk away from it. Pushing the table up, he pockets the dollar, along with the pills. Standing up, he walks over to the cd player and hits the top, stopping the music. He makes his way over to the door, opening it up, and putting on his best surprised face.

Alex- Buddy, what's wrong? My phone is dead, and I think someone walked off with my charger. I did what you said, I gave out about two hundred tickets last night.

Cooper- Good, at least you did that right. Look dude, your last match, lets just get over that, ok? I'm done screwing around, we have everything we need. A good leader, money, and we are both good wrestlers. I'm not trying to lay the blame on you.

Bowen puts up his hands.

Alex- Yeah, yeah. I've not been the best partner of late.

Cooper- Shit happens, Bro. They gave us a shot at the titles with the Battle Bowl, we messed up. But they are giving us the tag champs this week.

Alex- Too bad they wont put the titles on the line.

Cooper- DUDE! Our division has no number one contenders! HELLO!!! If we beat them they have to give us a shot at the belts at Lethal Lottery

Cooper and Bowen have made their way into the wrecked room. Bowen has re-claimed his former spot, and Cooper is standing just staring at Bowen.

Cooper- This is it, this is what we've been waiting for. This division has been a joke for what, like two years now? Everyone wants to talk about how wrestling got brought back with Reynolds and Ricky, or how Saxton and the Ninja made it fun to watch again. Screw that dude, when we got together what did you say you wanted to do?

Alex-I wanted to do something new, I wanted to take the tag division and turn it back into real wrestling? I got sick of seeing the whole comedy routine in this division.

Cooper- So if we get the belts away from all of the jokers we don't have to worry anymore. Saxton and company are gone, so the comedy jobbers aren't around. Strikeforce is gone, all of the garbage is gone dude. It's us and them, you need to bring your A game dude. I'm not gonna lie, both of these guys have been working their asses off as of late.

Alex- Yeah, before about a month ago, I had no clue who they were. Look at them now, dude. That's pretty crazy. We should be the tag team champs, not them.

Cooper- That's where we can be if we put our minds to it, Alex. What ever happened to that ruthless bastard you were, where did he end up to? If you brought that old Alex Bowen back here, without the weapons. That could be crazy, no one could beat us dude. If you brought that ruthless aggression back, and put it in the tag team division. No one would know what to do what you, you can cause Mayhem without weapons! I know you know that!!!!

Alex- I guess it really is time to start showing people that again, I got nice dude. What can I say?

Cooper- There is nothing to say, dude. Don't let Mr. Nice guy show up this week. Just because we think they are new, means nothing. They still have that hunger in them, they have to prove the are good enough. We know we are good enough. It's scary that we both know that fact, and we are still losing.

Alex- That's why we start winning, what ever happened to us starting an Empire.

Cooper- Ask yourself that, Bro. Weren’t you the one who was bitching at me for like 2 straight weeks to focus more, bro, maybe you need to slow down on the partying. You aren't twenty-one anymore, you know that right?

Alex- Oh dude, I was just trying to hand out a few more tickets. So I bought a few thirty cases, what's the big deal? A free ticket and a free beer, who could turn that down?

Cooper- If I saw you... offering me free beer. I would sprint the other way... Sprint, dude. You bought a few thirty cases, huh?

Cooper looks down in front of the couch, about ten empty cans lay at Bowen's feet.

Cooper- Did you end up drinking three of them on your own?

Alex- No dude, I didn't drink that much.

Alex laughs and shoots a sly grin at Cooper.

Cooper- Well dude, I just wanted to get hold of you, and see if we were still on the same page. I'm really thinking this is it, bro. They beat the best, now we have to beat the best. Haven't you wanted to show that bear who has the better beard for a while now?

Alex reaches up and runs his fingers through his massive black beard.

That's at the back of my mind right now, dude. Lets drop the nice act, why are we screwing around like this? I don't care if he's bigger than me, I've brought giants to their knees before. What does The Gent have over you? Nohing ...The Empire Stands above all. So Lets show The Mask, and The Beard what violence is all about. No one in WZCW has had the real chance to cause them pain yet.

Cooper- I'm pretty sure we know more about that than anyone. Are we going to let some basic rookies get one over on The Empire? They haven't even paid their dues yet, dude! Can you say fluke win, much?

Alex- Yeah, that's what I was thinking. But a fluke win, is a win. Lets show WZCW that we aren't puds anymore, lets show them a dominate victory, and prove it's not a fluke. We've let everyone walk all over us so far, I'm not letting two guys who've done nothing in this industry compared to either of us take this from us. They might be hungry to prove their reign as tag team champs. But I'm hungry for gold dude. I want to beat them now, and then stomp them at Lethal Lottery. They did earn their tag straps, bro. But so are we, by beating them.

Cooper- Exactly, bro!

Cooper goes in for a bro fist.

Cooper- But first, I forgot. You have to show up at the medical center by midnight tonight. We got slapped with a random piss test, dude.

Bowen's eyes get massive at Coopers last sentence. Ten thousand thoughts are running through his head at the moment.

Cooper- No big deal, I was in there for 10 minutes. I did happen to snag a number from a pretty nurse, maybe after we win I could shoot her a call before we leave.

Cooper is rambling on about nothing, and Bowen is trying to figure out how to pass this piss test. They are in a random city, about 12 hours away from home. Bowen knows no one here, this might get tricky. Bowen's been ignoring Cooper for a few minutes now, and he finally notices.

Cooper- I'm sorry, was my story about the nurse with the big rack not interesting enough for you?

Alex- No I was just trying to remember where my charger was, I gotta charge up my phone so I can call a cab to take me.

Cooper- Alright, dude. Just make sure you are there by midnight. You have to or, they will suspend you.

Alex- Alright man, I'll get there after I find this charger, and get something to eat.

Cooper shakes his head while reaching in his pocket. Pulling out a lit up phone, he puts it to his ear.

Cooper- Hey, what's up? Give me a second, I'm with a friend.

Cooper points a finger at Bowen.

Cooper-Dude, you better make sure you do this. Keep your head in the game, how are we supposed to beat The Bearded Gentlemen if you don't make it to your piss test on time.

Bowen waves away Cooper.

Alex- Don't worry dude, go take your call. I'll shoot you a call tomorrow, and we will get to the show together, OK?

Cooper- Sounds good.

Cooper makes his way to the door, Opening it, he gives Bowen a thumbs up. He disappears behind the closing door. Ten million pounds comes crashing down on Bowen. Shit just got real, and his addiction does matter now. The King of Mayhem needs to find a way to pass this drug screen. He runs a hand over his head, and starts to grit his teeth. Like every great addict, Alex Bowen will find his way out of this.

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After about an hour, Alex has a plan. He's found his charger, his wallet, and his phone is half way charged. With this Bowen can pass his drug screen. He's called the medical center, and has an appointment to go in, sent for a rental car, and sent a text to Cooper telling him he will make it on time. All that worry for basically nothing, Bowen can beat the system. After giving the Hotel owner Mr. Twist's number, Bowen makes his way out front. Through big glass windows we can see a new Honda Accord sitting in front, Waiting for Bowen. A man with a sign notices Alex as he walks out the front door, and approaches him with a pen and his rental contract. Quickly scratching his name down, Bowen gets in the car. A few seconds pass, his door opens again, and an arm shoots out. An open hand waits for the keys, the man just smiles and hands Bowen the lone key.

About ten minutes pass during a boring ride to the city, and a quick stop at the bank. Bowen is going back to the area where he handed out tickets last night. Hoping not to be noticed, but also hoping to talk someone into helping him. Slowly making his way up to the mall he visited last night, he stops by a group of kids. Five of them stand around, chatting and smoking cigarettes. None of them look old enough to buy them, let alone smoke them. But dumb kids are what Bowen is looking for. Getting out of the rental car, he approaches the group.

Alex- Hey guys, are there any good music stores in there? I'm not from here, just looking to get a new cd to blast in my ride.

Bowen points to his rental car, and winks at the kids. One of them opens up and laughs at Bowen. He holds up his Ipod.

Kid- Get with the times, gramps. Shave your beard, and Download some shit.

Bowen grits his teeth and reaches in his pocket and pulls out his wallet. Reaching in it, he pulls out a 50 dollar bill. He holds it up with two fingers.

Alex- Fifty Bucks to the person who points me in the direction of a music store.

The smallest kid in the group runs up to Bowen, trying to snatch the bill out of his hands.

Alex- Not today kid, give me some info, or beat it.

Kid 2- There's an FYE in there, give me it.

Alex- In where, I'm not from here, Kid. I'll give you this if you take me to the store. I'm not some creep, a couple hundred people are in the mall, and video cameras. So don't worry.

Kid 2- Alright, I guess I could do that.

The kid points to his friends.

Kid 2- Look, if I'm not out of there in like 10 minutes, come looking for me.

Alex- Do I really look like that kind of guy?

Kid 2- Pretty much.

The word sprint echoes in Alex's head. He smiles as the Kid escorts him into the mall.

Alex- So what's your name, Dude?

Kid 2- Mike, why?

Alex- I normally don't give out free money. Just wondering what I should call you.

Mike- You don't have to call me anything, dude. I'm just taking you to this store, and then I'm outta here.

Alex puts his hand on the kid's shoulder stopping him. Mike goes to slap it away, But notices the fifty dollar bill is in it. He takes his payment, and begins to leave.

Alex- Hey, wait up, Kid. You wanna make some more money?

Mike- Yes, and no?

Alex- Well listen up, you don't do any dumb stuff like drugs do you.

Mike looks cross at Bowen, He shakes his head.

Mike- Nah man, if you want some dro you're gonna have to go up the street. The cops cleared all the dealers out of the mall years ago.

Alex- That's not what I'm looking for.

Mike- Well man, that's all I know around here. If you want anything harder, you'll have to ask someone else.

Bowen spots out a bench and motions for the kid to come over. He thinks about the idea, and turns to leave. But a whistle, and a hundred dollar bill in Bowen's hand changes his mind. Bowen hands over the picture of Ben Franklin, when Mike joins him on the bench.

Alex- Look kid, I've got a piss test in an hour. I'll cut to the chase, I'll give you five hundred more, if you go piss in this Excedrin bottle I have in my coat. You said you don't do drugs right?

Mike- Nah man, I'm not on any of that shit.

Alex- So what kid can't use this money? Do it, and you'll never see me again.

The young man sitting next to Bowen doesn’t waste a second, five hundred dollars!? Who would turn that down?

Mike- Yeah, I think I could do that. Hey, let me see the money first?

Bowen reaches back in his pocket and pulls out his wallet. Opening it up, the billfold is crammed with crisp new hundred dollar bills.

Mike- We're good, do you know where the bathroom is?

Alex- Nope.

Mike- Follow me

Bowen takes five bills out of his wallet, and puts them in his jeans pocket. The mall is pretty dead today, so they don't have to make their way through the usual hustle and bustle of an inner city mall during rush hour. They turn a few corners, and make it into the bathroom. Mike stops in front of a stall and holds out his hand. I want the money, and whatever I have to go in.

Alex- I'll give you one hundred now, and the rest when we get outside. How do I know you won't squeal on me, boy.

Mike- Look mister, I could care less what you have to do with this. Give me my money, and you'll never see me again.

Alex hands the kid the pill bottle and a hundred dollars, and before you know it, they are making their way out of the mall.

Alex- Thanks kid, just think of it. In a few seconds you'll have close to a thousand dollars in your hands.

Mike nods his head, and they make their way outside. Bowen has the bottle stashed away inside his coat, in a plastic bag. Mike has more money in his pocket than he ever thought possible. When they reach his car, Bowen gets in his pocket and hands the kid the rest of his money. Wasting no time, Bowen gets in his car and backs out of the parking lot. Speeding away.

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GPS is a rather nice thing to have when you're a pro wrestler. Hundreds of different citys every year, you never really know your way around. Well that wasn't the case for Alex Bowen, today. He needed that GPS to make sure his almost thousand dollar pee doesn’t get cold. Using the GPS it only took him about five minutes to make it to the Medical center. Bowen sighs as he makes it into the parking lot, putting the car in park he reaches in his jacket. He pulls out two plastic gloves he stole off the maids cleaning cart, and puts them on. Reaching back in his coat, he pulls out a small roll of duct tape and the bottle.

A few more minutes pass and Bowen makes his way out of the car and into the Medical center. He checks in, and waits, hoping to get in soon, so his purchase doesn’t get cold. Today seems to be his lucky day, it only takes a few minutes for the nurse to come back out and take him in.

Alex- Cooper really was right, you guys are fast.

Nurse- You're going to pee in a cup, Mr. Bowen. It isn't exactly rocket science. Your partner said you guys have some big match coming up?

Alex- Actually, yes we do.

Nurse- So you're wrestlers right? We've had a few more of you in here today.

Alex- Anyone I know?

Nurse- I can't tell you that, sorry.

Bowen goes to say something, but drops the thought instead. The nurse goes over a few rules with him, and hands him a pen, along with his test bottle. Bowen makes his way in, and back out in a rather short period of time. A smile is on his face, as the bottle he had with him had the right amount of pee in it. The nurse has gloves on when he comes out, and he hands her the cup. She breaks something on the side and shakes up the cup, showing it to Bowen, it has different colored strips on the back. All of them are white, he's passed.

Nurse- We'll send this into our labs, and have them go over it again. But that usually means you passed Mr. Bowen. It seems like your company is pretty clean!

Alex- Yeah, we try.

Bowen has to contain his smile

Nurse- OK, you're free to go. I'll give the front desk your papers. Good luck with your match Mr. Bowen.

Alex- I won't need luck, they will...

Alex makes his way back the same way he came in, going back out to his car he pats himself on the back. Getting in the car he lets out a long breath of air. The monkey is off his back, the weight is off his chest. He reaches in his pocket and grabs for his phone, but comes out with a small white pill and a lighter. 54 262, the demon that haunts Bowen every day. He pulls out his wallet, and grabs a bill, putting it on top of the pill he starts to crush it up on the dash. Pulling off the bill, a white sheet of powder is laying flat on the dashboard. Using his pinky he makes it into a line, he laughs and rolls up the bill. He puts it to his nose as the scene cuts.

 

[TBK]

We open up to, truly one of the ugliest locations to mankind, no matter where you are, a sewer. This particular sewer happens to be in London, England. It's here among the filth and waste, we find WZCW's Tag Team Champions, Le Gentleman Masque and Le Beard traveling through the sewers. We see The Gent in the front with a flashlight, followed not too far behind by his tag team partner carrying a duffel bag.

"There's absolutely no reason as to why we're going through the sewers. There's no way that this place doesn't have any exits within the building that we can fit in. Besides, even if we could get in, we'll smell disgusting from this sewer."

"Nonsense. We’re only going to be down here for a few seconds. So far as you don’t touch anything, there’s absolutely no way we’ll attract an odor any worse than majority of the patrons. As for getting in, I assure you that there is a location within the building in which we could fit in. I've been through it myself in order to enter the location, and if for some reason a man of your build can't fit through, not to worry, I can simply let you in after we pass through security."

"So you've broken into this place before?"

"Broken into is such a harsh word, however I have nothing but good intentions. Only a small fraction of this is for you and me."

"Oh yeah, what happened last time?"

"Before this building became what it was today, I helped a lady retrieve her stolen purse. After it was purchased, it became what you know it as today, 'Leon's Club', one of the most popular clubs in Britain."

"Wow. That' very noble of you, Gent."

"Why thank you, Beard, my friend."

Just as the two turn the corner, we see a mostly dark corridor, in the middle a beam of light, with a hole just large enough for The Beard to fit through. Turning off his flashlight, Gent puts it into the inside pocket of his suit.

"Huh. I’m surprised they didn’t put cement over that."

"It’s pure luck that they didn’t Now then, into the light."

Running up to the light, The Beard lifts his tag partner onto his shoulders. We see The Gent stare through the sewer vent, which is located in a restroom, as he scans the room for anyone who’s there. With very loud faded music in the background, there is no doubt they’re at the correct location.

"Oh shoot. Beard, to the right!"

Gent still on his shoulders, Beard slides to the right.

"What’s going on? Is there people there."

"No, I had to make sure we weren’t going into the Women’s restroom. Alright, move back to where you were."

Unamused, The Beard moves back to where the hatch is, for his tag team partner. Opening up the Vent, The Gent moves it to the side, and crawls his way onto the floor of the restroom.

"Alright. If you would be so kind, could you hand me the ‘duffel bag’"

Throwing it into the vent, The Masked Gentleman catches it, putting it off to the side.

"Excellent. Funny story, did you know the name ‘Duffel Bag’ originated from the Municipality of Duffel from Belgian? You see, the clo--"

"Gent, can you tell this to me after we’re already in?"

"Yes, of course. Pardon me."

Reaching into the sewers, we see The Gent pull with all of his might to lift up his partner. Holding on tightly, The Gent barely manages to lift up his partner enough so that he can pull himself up into the restroom. Putting the cover back on the vent, we see as The Gent reaches over, into the bag, to hand clothes to his tag team partner.

"Thankfully, that was the hardest part. Now then, change and we shall work on finding the owner of this establishment, ‘Leon’."

-A few minutes later-​

First out of the stall, we see the sharply dressed 'Beard', dressed in a black dress shirt, with grey pants and black dress shoes. Staring at himself in the mirror, he waits for his partner, until the slam of stall door startles Beard. Turning around, he sees The Gent, still wearing his mask, except this time with a dark red dress shirt, black pants and black dress shoes.

"I think this is the first time I've seen you not wearing a tuxedo or your in-ring gear."

"My good friend, it's as the saying goes, 'When in Rome. Now then, to find Leon."

Exiting the restroom, the two make their way through the crowded dance area, to the bar. Among the many bartenders in the establishment, they pull up to a thin, young blonde man, cleaning out glasses from behind the counter.

"Excuse me, sir."

Staying silent, the young man looks to Beard to show he has his attention.

"Excuse me, we're looking for Leon. You wouldn't happen to be him, would you?"

Laughing at Beard's question, the young man replies in a smooth, deep british accent.

"Sorry 'ere, big guy. I'm just the bartender 'ere. Leon's in the buildin', but the boss is busy. If ya got any complaints, I can take care of 'em for ya."

"Pardon me, but I happen to be a very close to the owner, are you sure we can't go speak to them? Tell Leon that 'Alexandre' is here."

Sighing, the man, takes out his phone to send a text message. Within a few seconds, a reply tone is heard, and he turns his attention back to the tag team champions.

"Alright, follow me."

Leaving his position, the young bartender leaves off the side of the bartending area, to lead the two to a room in the far back of the club. Unlocking the door and letting the two inside. Inside, we see a long narrow hallway with only one door at the end. As the two make their way down the hallway, we see the bartender close the door behind the WZCW Champions, to return to his shift. Afterwards, Beard looks towards his partner in confusion.

"Alexandre?"

"My birth name. Personally, I try to avoid bringing up my name, due to the negative connotation that comes with it, however, in this situation, I feel as if it was needed."

"What do you mean?"

Entering the door at the very end of the hallway, we see a quiet red room, with a fireplace. In the middle of the room, sitting down on a couch, we see an older lady, around mid 40s to early 50s, with golden hair, wearing pearls and a blue dress. Turning her head towards the two men, she jumps at the door to The Gent, giving him a welcoming hug.

"Alexandre...it's been a while."

"That it has, mother."

In awe of the situation, The Beard's eyes start to open wide.

"I'm sorry what was that?"

Turning around to face his partner, The Gent has his arms around the shoulder of his mom.

"Sorry, I didn't give a proper introduction. This is Eleonore 'Leon' Perrot, my mother. Mother, this is my tag team partner, The Beard."

"Pleased to meet you, miss."

"Same to you, 'Beard'. You certainly live up to your name."

Pulling her son to face her, Leon looks up at her son.

"You and I need to catch up."

"Exactly why I came here."

"Then you and your friend better have a seat, because this is going to be a long talk."

 

[Da Prophet]

2053 – Prisoner of War

A small child is huddled in the corner of a rusted steel cell. The cell has been eroded over time and now the metal is a rusty brown that can be chipped away with a fingernail. Its cold and moist floor echoes that message of despair and lifelessness. The child refuses to look at his surroundings. Small tears run down his face while his entire body is shaking. It’s clear that this child is not in a situation he finds comfortable. Fear is a powerful thing.

Just opposite the child’s cell is another that looks very similar. It has a few small differences but you could stand next to them and struggle to tell the difference. Inside this one is an old man with a large grey beard. He’s wearing a long robe and holds a pipe in his right hand. The sound of the child crying is clearly distracting the old man, who of course is just trying to enjoy his pipe.

Old Man: I’d stop that if I were you. You can’t let them hear you crying like that.

The old man takes a long hit of his pipe. He looks back at the child who has lifted his head just a little.

Old Man: If the guards hear you crying like that they’ll only make it worse. Tuck your chin in and toughen up. I’ve been here nearly forty years and it’s rather enjoyable now.

Suddenly a grin appears on the old man’s face that looks identical to Justin Cooper. Upon further investigation we can identify the old man to be Justin Cooper. It’s rather incredible when you think about it.

Cooper: The Empire is a treacherous bunch. I should know… I was once one of them. Fought alongside Alexander Bowen in the great battle of All or Nothing against S.H.I.T and Barbosa. You study that in school?

The child does not answer.

Cooper: Probably not. I always wondered why Constantine never ended school once he took over the world. Made perfect sense to me seeing as his revolution was based off the minds of children. You remember when Constantine stormed the White House and took over America?

Once again the child does not answer.

Cooper: Hahahaha! I’ve been smoking this pipe for so long I can barely remember it. I do remember a couple of months before it though. It was Alex, John and I all sitting around his round table in the great hall. We had just come off All or Nothing. You listening kid? I’m about to tell you a story you’ll be telling the rats in your cell about.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Inside the great hall of Constantine the group known as The Empire sit around the round table. This time the wine glasses are gone and it’s all business. No celebrations this time and no time for messing around. Constantine, as always, is at the top of the table while Bowen and Cooper are placed opposite each other.

Constantine: I asked you two for just one thing. It wasn’t anything to hard or anything that was extreme. I just asked that you guys win your match with the two crazy guys! Why are we sitting here with our heads down and the spirit of The Empire crumbling? Does anyone have an answer?

Bowen goes to say something.

Constantine: That was a rhetorical question! You don’t need to answer it Alex. What I need from you two is to focus on the task at hand. Next time you face off against S.H.I.T and Barbosa we can’t make the same mistakes. We need to crush them and end this run of luck they’re having over The Empire. Understand?

Bowen nods his head in agreement but the other member of The Empire isn’t as easy to win over after the recent run.

Cooper: What we need to do? How about you need to start winning. It’s not all on our shoulders to do the heavy lifting. Last time I checked you had a shot to be World Champion and give us the kick we needed but you failed just like we did.

Constantine: You’ve been talking back to me the last couple of days and it’s starting to piss me off. Instead of focusing on fighting within our unit you should be focused on taking down the opponents you two have this week.

Bowen: Someone should have demanded the titles be on the line.

A disgruntled Cooper stands up from his chair and begins to circle the table.

Cooper: We started this thing to bring forth our demands to professional wrestling. We worked hard to get into a position of power and now we’re pissing it down the drain. The time for losing and watching tape is finished. Just look at the match we have this week Alex. It’s a match against the champions of the tag division and we’re ranked as the underdogs.

Cooper burst out in laughter.

Bowen: How in the world are we the underdogs? I’ve beaten every man that ever tried to take my title and I’ve beaten any legend that has come after me.

Cooper: Who the hell have they beaten? Sure they got past The New Church but they’re not exactly the top of the division. They beat Saboteur and Sacton but they are well past their prime. It’s become a running joke that they had the easiest path to the titles since the ever so popular Runn Reynolds Runn.

A small pause from Cooper.

Cooper: We can look at this match in two different ways my friends. Firstly we can call it what those guys in the power positions want it to be, a warm up match for the champions. If we want to be honest this match is about us losing. They don't want us to win. They want us to lose so they can push us down further and further. We can't let that happen. We need to screw their plans up just like we did at Unscripted. We need to cause change for people like us and stop guys like Showtime taking all the spotlight from others. It's time for us to cause the change we have spoken about.

Bowen: He’s got a point. These people all doubt us. Not one of them think we're going to beat the so called champions of this division. If we win we'll be the number one contenders and get our shot at the gold. It'll screw with the top guys and send a message that we can break the wall put up before us.

Constantine slams his fist against the table causing a thunderous bang that echoes over the hall. These are terrible times for The Empire and the frustration has reached a boiling point.

Constantine: Talk is only as valuable as the people who speak it. How valuable are you two? I’ve spoken to everyone that will listen about how we are going to take this place over and create a new society. I’ve talked all about us coming together and bringing down the evils of this corporation. If we’re divided this cannot work! We need to put all our efforts into the one goal of bringing forth a new day for The Empire.

Cooper: That’s what I’ve been saying. If we're together than nobody can stop us. Well probably not nobody but it would take a good couple of months.

Constantine: I’d suggest you two run along and get ready for your match with the champions. A loss is not acceptable this week.

With a smirk on his face Bowen slaps Cooper on the shoulder and yells.

Bowen: Losing isn’t our style. We call it winning without a pin.

A smiliar strike from Cooper lands on the back of Bowen’s head. Cooper laughs and taps his hand three times just like the referees do when counting a pin.

Cooper: Just make sure you don’t get pinned again… buddy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We return to the cells of 2053 where the old version of Justin Cooper sits smoking his pipe.

Cooper: And then…

A door flings open and several guards rush through. They go straight for Cooper, grabbing him by the legs and pulling him out of the cell.

Cooper: Save me kid! They’re taking me to the showers!

The kid doesn’t do a thing as he watches the screaming old man try and claw his way to freedom. Without warning we go black.