AS 91: The Beard vs. elegANT - Elite X Title #1 Contender

[Kermit]

The Beard and elegANT both saw second round exits last round from the Gold Rush Tournament. However, management was so impressed by both competitors that they have designed a title contendership match for them on Ascension 91. The stakes are high as the two superstars will get a second chance to strike gold at the upcoming PPV.


Deadline is Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 11:59 PM (Central Time). Extensions are available upon request.​

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Deadline has been extended by 24 hours.

 

[Theo Mays]

Beard walks down an alley of storage containers, dragging his key across the steel doors. The sound echoes through the units until coming to a sudden stop as Beard reaches his pod. The former world champion looks around cautiously before opening up his pod. He takes a deep breath of fresh hair as he takes in the unit. Inside an exact replica of his old office before he left everything. He rolls out his office chair and sits at his desk and soaks in the comfort. An unusual sign for the mysterious Beard. A sudden look of happiness comes across his face. He opens up a drawer in his desk and pulls out a bottle of wine and a glass. He slowly swirls the wine around the glass before taking a sip. A smile comes across his face and a gleam in his eye. He opens up another drawer and pulls out a book.

Hello old friend.

He says as he blows dust off the book. He begins paging through and reads random pages as he finishes his wine and pours a new glass. A wave of emotions comes across Beard as he pages through the book. Happiness, anger, sadness. Tears begin to form in the monster’s eyes before he slams the book down on the desk. Beard stands up for his desk, wine in hand. He paces around the pod before coming to a sudden stop. Beard rushes back to his desk as he grabs a pen and turns to a blank page. He begins thinking out loud.

My dearest friend,

It has been so long, but yet I look back at our time apart and I still feel that connection. I look back at all the memories and it makes me realize that I’ve become a changed man. I always knew the change was coming, but I always believed that the change was for the better, but maybe that change was for the worse. All the stories in here. The time I won the tag titles with Gent and taking the trip to Disney. The insane adventures with Krypto, the long nights just talking to Talent about his family and his secrets. And Emily. All represent a time in my life that was filled with brightness. A time in which I can look back and smile. But I needed to change. I appeared happy professionally, but I wasn’t.

Beard leans back in his chair as he wipes sweat from his brow. He takes a gulp of wine before going back to his writings.

I needed that darkness, that mystery. I found the right associates to bring that dark side out. Ezekiel Hewitt, Dr. Zeus, my conscious. All very important elements. However I got lost in my character. I became this evil man, this monster that I always speak of. I did the unthinkable during this time. I defeated Ty Burna to become the World’s champion. And then it happen. I deserted everyone. Wrestling, my family, my friends. I became who I am today. A silent lost soul, depressed and in need of help. In need of a friend. Only I am to blame though.

Beard wipes his eyes and blows his nose as he now has abandoned the wine glass and is going straight from the bottle as he gets lost in his works.

I abandoned the company that gave me this platform in hopes that I’d destroy it. Without a champion, what good is the promotion. I was more feared while I was gone than when I’m present. At least that’s how I felt. I was portrayed as the face of fear, but the only thing I feared was what I was becoming. Many nights passed as I pondered leaving again. But not just leaving the company, leaving life. Why should they fear what fears themselves?

Beard closes the book as he rubs his eyes and throws the empty wine bottle to the ground, glass shatters across the pod. Beard yanks at his hair before getting back up. He begins digging through an assortment of box as he finds a bottle of tequila sitting in the corner. He pops it open and takes a sip and grimaces.

Yeah, that’s the stuff.

He coughs before returning to these unknown boxes. He begins sorting through an assortment of tokens, pictures, and other memorabilia. He stops suddenly as he finds a picture of Emily from their first day of moving into their new home. He takes a big gulp of tequila as he just gets lost in the photo. His eyes are stunned as if he is falling in love all over again. Vulnerability begins to set in as he reaches for the desk and his book. Again Beard takes to his writing.

She was perfect man and I fucked it up. I always told myself that regrets are the death of life and will bring you down. I lived life with no regrets, except this one and I feel death approaching me with every waking moment. She was the one dude and now I don’t even know anymore. I remember Zeus making me move on. Making me see her suffer. I could’ve went back. She still missed me. She needed me and like the coward I became, I walked away. Just like I did everything else in life. I took my ball and went home. I let her down. I let our child down. My child man. I’ve never met her. I’ve never even held her. Hopefully she looks like her mother. Help her if she looks like me.

Beard wipes a tear as he chuckles at his last remark. He takes another sip of tequila as the bottle is nearing halfway gone. He returns to his book.

What should I do? I can’t go back now, it’s too late. I burned that bridge. Maybe there’s still hope, but I’ll need more than just flowers and a random appearance to fix this. I need to prove my worth, I need to prove my loyalty.

Another big gulp of tequila, as the bottle nears empty. Beard’s eyes are heavy, barely staying open. He stumbles a bit as he returns to his chair.

I must start my quest towards redemption. A quest I once promised would bring an apocalypse, but now it will bring to my true calling. Finding me. Ascension I have a chance to once again prove my worth. I must take out elegANT. Quite the interesting catch that guy is. His mustache is pretty cool. I’m kind of jealous, but don’t you spoil that. Kid is a fighter, but my whole career has been a fight. That’s never gonna change.

Beard finishes the tequila as he stares oddly at the worm before shrugging and eating it.

No harm no foul, am I right?

Beard looks around for a high five before realizing he is alone and a hand five with himself will have to suffice.

Where was I? Oh yes. Being a fighter, taking out elegANT. Yeah yeah.

Beard’s words are nearly whispers at this point, clearly drunk. He returns to finish his thoughts in his book.

My guns will be blazing and elegANT will go up in smoke and then that Elite Championship will be mine. I need it more than anything right now. If I don’t win that championship my career is finished. I’ll do what I do best. I’ll leave.

Beard slams the book shut and throws it in the air out of excitement. As the book lands, it knocks Beard from his office chair. The drunken star falls to the ground and falls into a deep slumber on the floor of the storage pod. A small pile of drool forming below his head, he reaches for an old newspaper and covers himself up for a good night’s rest, certainly not remembering this in the morning.

 

[Thriller Ant]

The scene opens with a limo pulling up to the front gate of elegANT’s estate, about 24 hours after the end of Ascension 90. The street and security lights glow in the night, illuminating the puddles from an earlier rain. The gate slowly opens, allowing the car to head up the winding road toward the manor. Meeting the limo near the front door is Antfred, waiting to help carry elegANT’s bags in. The back door opens and elegANT climbs out. Typically, he would greet Antfred and offer to carry some of the luggage, no matter how exhausting the day of travel. Tonight, however, he walks past the head worker ant, into the house, and up to his bedroom without saying a word. Antfred and the driver both look worryingly at each other as the scene fades out.

It is now late in the afternoon the following day. Antfred is pacing up and down the hall outside elegANT’s bedroom, just as he has been since shortly after the gentlemanly insect arrived home. elegANT has been known to partake in the occasional late morning, but he has never been one to spend the entire day locked in his room. Every few laps Antfred pauses in front of the door, and maybe even reaches out for the handle, but chooses to continue waiting. And pacing.

On the other side of the door, elegANT hasn’t slept either. Instead, he’s been trying to piece together what happened in the match after the first DDT from Slaughter. He remembers some, such as kicking out and attempting to hit Good Day, Sir, but the first thing he remembers clearly is receiving an envelope backstage telling him what his match would be next week. After hours unsuccessfully attempting to access his memories, elegANT finally opens the envelope to find that after facing the monstrous Dorian Slaughter, he will be facing the monstrous Beard in a match to determine the number one contender to the Elite X Championship. Before any thoughts about the upcoming match can enter his head, Antfred bursts into the room.

Sir, I’m so sorry but I had to make sure that you are okay. Please, what can I do to make you okay?

elegANT doesn’t answer immediately. After staring at the card listing his upcoming match for a few more moments, he responds.

Antfred, do you remember why I decided to join WZCW?

You said it was so you could bring joy to more people; ones that didn’t live anywhere near you and you would never meet otherwise.

That’s absolutely correct.

I’m not sure what you’re getting at, sir.

elegANT waves the piece of paper in the air before he speaks again.

I’m facing The Beard this week on Ascension. When he first came to WZCW, his goal was to make people happy. Eventually, he became more and more obsessed with winning and turned into the monster that we see today. When I decided to go through with my match with Dorian, it’s because I was excited to potentially make it to the Gold Rush finals. For the first time in my life, winning was more important than making the people happy. It scared me, Antfred. I needed to be alone with my thoughts, which is why I came straight up here.

Antfred’s voice can’t hide how hurt he is by that last sentence.

I would’ve been more than willing to help talk you through it, sir.

I know that, Antfred, but I needed to do it for myself, by myself. I will always exist to make people happy. But now that I’ve gotten the hunger for victory, I’ll need to balance that. On Ascension, I get an opportunity to become the number one contender for the Elite X Championship. Past that, though, I get to face a man that couldn’t overcome the darkness that I’m fighting off right now. I will go out there and smile and have fun. I will be myself. And because of that, I will defeat The Beard and show that making the fans happy can lead to success.

The scene fades to black.