The camera pans in to Ricky's travel bus. A bus he once shared with his teammate, and friend Austin Reynolds, but now the bus is shared between Ricky, Austin, and on occasion Yoko, Ricky's translator. The bus was on the road on its way to the next show, and Ricky had closed himself into the bedroom in the back. While Yoko and Rob sat at the lounge sitting across from each other. Aside from the radio playing by the driver, there was a grim silence between them all, while Ricky sat alone in his pity and regret, Rob finally croaked to Yoko.
"He's really taking this whole thing with Izzy, hard..."
Yoko simply let out a sad sigh with her eyes looking over to the locked door. She then looked back over to Rob and said sadly.
"Well I can't really blame him, that poor girl. Rumor has it she might not be able to walk again..." She then looked down at the table, and croaks. "You should go talk to him. I mean, I've only known him for a few months, he's known you since you two were kids. Surely he'll listen."
Rob looks over to Yoko with a confused expression on his face and shakes his head.
"No no no, not a good idea, even in a good mood he would hardly listen to a single word I say. It is best just to give him some space and let him sort it out."
Yoko disagreed with Rob's assessment and says a little louder, but still dim enough not to be heard by the Daredevil.
"I hope you're joking Robert... I haven't known him for long, but from what I have seen, Ricky needs more than space, or quiet... he needs someone to dust him off and tell him it is alright." She then looks down and quiets herself a bit, worried Ricky would have heard her. "He told me, that he knew that he wasn't too good at much of anything other than being stupid. So he decided just to be good at being stupid. You know what that tells me, Robert?'
Rob sighs and shrugs his shoulders. "Hopefully it tells you he owes me a new bonsai tree."
Yoko's face closes together like she bit into a lemon, her eyes glared over to Rob. The agent could feel the glare burning through him and holds his hands up in defense. "Okay okay... but what do we tell him? Hey man, I'm sorry about that Izzy thing, but good news, you have another match against two girls for a match against Smith at All or Nothing. How does that feel champ?"
The irritated look on Yoko's face melts away back to more worry. She had forgotten that Robert got the news of Ricky's next match. The fact he had to compete against two women and a seemingly a Sociopathic Mister Alhazred did not bode well as news to break to the Daredevil too soon. Her hands cover her face before rolling down. She then stood up and started walking to the door. Rob's head tilts to the side and looks over confused, he didn't need to ask where she was going, Rob knew full well what her intentions were.
Yoko reached the door to the master bedroom, she knocked on the door and waited for some sort of response, or hopefully for the Daredevil to open the door with his signature smile. However that was not the case, the door remained closed. After enough waiting, Yoko after a bit of waiting decided against letting Ricky stew alone in his misery.
What Yoko saw when she opened the door was what she expected. Ricky was sitting on the bed alone, by his side was an opened laptop. Ricky's hands were in his long hair, his head dangling in front of him. Yoko made her way carefully next to Ricky, her hand stroking his back, his body was stoic as a statue. Ricky then muttered under his breath.
"I... I nearly killed her, Yoko. It was a mistake...I."
Ricky now frustrated goes and grabs the laptop by his side and pulls up a tab, pulling up a wrestling website, showing a thread that had the video of the incident on Ascension, trailing down to the comments below it. He pointed out each one and said to Yoko.
"Look at what this one guy named JAss wrote. I think Ricky got a hard-on after breaking Izzy's neck, and look at what this guy named Rainbow Fat wrote. Watch yourself in the match, Ricky may kill you or get an erection or both."
Ricky closed the laptop and threw it to the front of the bed and said frustrated. "What the hell do they think this is, a sick joke?"
The frustration caused the Daredevil to stand up and walk around the room taking in deep breaths with his hands balled up into fists. He laid his head against the wall and said more to himself than to his friend in the room.
"I didn't mean to do it, you gotta believe me."
Ricky was then slowly approached by Yoko, she kept a safe distance and said to Ricky, her voice more encouraging and far more braver than before.
"Ricky, I believe you. I know you wouldn't have done anything to hurt anyone like that, but you don't need to worry about what those people said about you on the computer. Accidents happen, and you of all people should know you can't let this accident haunt you."
Ricky turned around, he placed his back to the door and said to Yoko, his eyes filled with an odd mix of defeat and sadness.
"This wasn't an accident, dude. An accident would be suggesting no one was at fault. I signed up for this match, so did Izzy, we both knew the risks, and now Izzy would be lucky if she could wiggle her toes, let alone return to wrestling. It just isn't fair... it isn't fair I can continue to make these mistakes, and survive them. A year ago at Unscripted, I got lucky and I survived what could have been a career ending injury at the hands of Showtime. At Kingdom Come it was a damn miracle I came out of it alive without breaking my neck from my jump off the ladder to the outside, and Unscripted this year, my vein almost popped like a balloon. Time and time again I survive while everyone around me either loses their careers or worse. It isn't fair!"
Ricky then crossed his arms over his chest and looked down and said with a depressed breath.
"It just isn't fair."
Yoko sighed and looked down before looking back up and saying to the Daredevil.
"You are looking at this all wrong Ricky. You can't look at this business and see what's fair, and what's not. You can't expect anything given to you by paying your dues or earning your keep, and you definitely can not hold yourself accountable for Izzy. You're a survivor, you're a scrapper, you have more tenacity, and more drive than anyone at anything. You don't let injury, or what anyone says stop you from accomplishing what you want. If I had half that edge you have, I would do everything, and anything to put that incident behind me, and focus on changing the entire image about you. You are Ricky Runn, you were one half of the longest reigning tag team ever, and if you win your match this week, you have a chance to add the Elite X title to your resume."
Ricky's eyebrow cocked up, curious to what she meant. Yoko took that as a code to follow it up.
"At Ascension next week, you're in a Fatal 4-Way for the number one Contendership for the Elite X title, and I'm not going to sugarcoat it, but along with Mister Alhazred you're facing both Celeste Crimson and Sandy Deserts."
The original shock that Ricky had got when he heard he was wrestled a girl had grown numb to the Daredevil, though hearing the names of the girls caused him to sigh and look up to the ceiling of the bus. Ricky looked back over to Yoko and said to her.
"Wow... that is unbelievable. Do the same people who made the boner jokes book the shows?"
Yoko was a bit quizzical at the comment and tilted her confused. Before Ricky continued.
"You know, most people would be scared about the idea about a tag team in a fatal 4-way match like this. They will want to work together, and try and take out Mister, or me before they can just focus on who is the better woman. It is a sound idea, and I can't blame them for doing it, because if I were in there shoes with a tag partner, I'm sure we would do the same thing. It works all the better considering that Alhazred is about as predictable as a headless chicken."
Ricky looked out the window of the bus, his eyes looking out to the darkness of the long stretch of road they were passing by. The Daredevil looked back over to his translator and spoke with a bit more pep in his voice, however still carrying the gloomy overtone.
"I'll do it, I'll win at Ascension, and I'll win because I have nothing to lose, I will win because in the end, Celeste and Sandy are not going to break up their team over a chance for the Elite X title, and I will win because while Alhazred is killing baby giraffes, I'm wrestling gorillas."
Yoko giggled a bit then asked.
"Didn't that gorilla knock you out and you ended up getting banned from every single Zoo in the country?"
Ricky's stoic expression finally broke into a chuckle and commented. "You know I'm still surprised that I wrestle a gorilla, and I get banned from Zoo's, Mister kills a giraffe and people think I am the one that went bananas."
Then, there was a bump in the road, a bump that made the unbalanced Yoko tumble into the hands of her employer. Ricky caught her and the distance between them was closed. However, instead of moving away, or composing herself, Yoko stayed in his arms, and looked into his eyes, the two shared a stare, a stare that was then broken up by Ricky with a clearing of his throat, his face turning a different shade of red and said softly.
"I think we should go back to the front and tell Rob I'm going to compete next week."
The petite girl blushed perhaps an ever darker shade of red than Ricky and backed away and headed out the door, with only a simple nod to Ricky, unable to speak from her bashfulness, and instead of heading into the middle of the bus to talk to Rob, she headed straight to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Ricky sighed and composed himself, wiping his face, hoping that maybe it would take away the color from his cheeks.
The camera pans out, and it returns to a WZCW houseshow in a small town in the Mid-West of the United States. The fans were previously treated to a match that had left them roaring with energy. With a mic in hand, Ricky heads out to the stage, his theme music plays over the PA system, and the crowd erupts in surprise. This would be the first time Ricky had spoken in public since the incident against Izzy Stone.
Once inside the ring, Ricky looks around the crowd, his sunglasses covered his eyes and his lips remained a tight poker face, not wanting to get offtrack or drift off Ricky began speaking into the mic.
"At Ascension, not only did I see one of the more serious sides of this business, but the rest of the world saw what happens in the ring is very, very real, and I know that Izzy wasn't the most liked character, or the most beloved by the fans, but in the end, she was out here doing what she loved to do, as a fellow wrestler, I respect that, and Izzy, if this finds you someway, I just want you to know personally. I'm sorry, and I hope you return to full health soon."
The crowd cheers and applauds Ricky's apology to Izzy, he waited for the crowd to quiet down before he continued.
"That night, that night after Ascension, it left me thinking. It made me think about my career, it made me think about what I have done, how far I have came, and how far I need to go if I want to ever have my name listed with the greats that been in this ring in the past, and present. If I stopped here, what would I be known as? The sidekick to Austin Reynolds? The man who rode the coattails of a fading Main-Eventer? Or the man who's dangerous do or die style lead to hurting someone far more than I could have ever imagined I was capable of doing? No, I told myself, I yelled to myself that I wasn't going to do that to myself. I wasn't going to let one mistake ruin my future, ruin the way you guys saw me. Mark my words, Ricky Runn has learned how precious, and how important it is that I make the time I have in this ring count. Because no one can know when your time will be over."
The crowd then starts to chant Ricky's name boldly. He gave the crowd a few moments to let out the energy before continuing. He removed the sunglasses from his face, revealing the intense look in the light blue eyes of the Daredevil.
"Next week on Ascension, despite the incident with Izzy, I was given an opportunity to face Smith for the Elite X Title at All or Nothing. However, if I want it, I will need to go through three other superstars that want the chance to make history just as much as I do."
A more amped up Ricky now removes the stoic look on his face, now looking more intense, and focused.
"At Ascension, you will see a new Ricky Runn, at Ascension, you won't see me as the "Tag Team Specialist" or the "Sidekick" or even the "Reckless Monkey." You will see me as the winner of a Fatal-4-Way match between the Fairy Glitter Armageddon and Mister Alhazred. Alhazred and I come from two completely different worlds. Yet in this ring, we have accomplished much of the same, granted our methods may have been a bit... different. Regardless, he and I were both Tag Team Champions at one point in time. Since then, neither one of us are able to get our teeth into the singles division. He's used his wits, and his smarts to gain an edge to make up for a lack of size. I made up my lack of actual wrestling experience with a relentless barrage of aerial attacks. Wit's and smarts can only work for so long until everything you try, and every little scheme you can think of comes crashing down on you."
Ricky's eyes looked around the arena, and they found a Fairy Glitter Armageddon sign in the crowd. Ricky points to the sign and continues.
"Sandy Desserts and Celeste Crimson, two names I never thought I would be sharing a ring with. Both Desserts, and Crimson have had to do whatever it took to carve their name into this business. They have paved the way and blazed the trails for future female wrestlers in this business. Desserts wanted revenge for what Izzy had done to their mentor, Kurtesy. Sadly it seems her plan for revenge is short-lived. Then we have Crimson, Celeste, who is pretty much my polar opposite. She has a family, she has worked hard her entire life, and earned a nasty reputation for her submissions and her ring work. Yet, despite this, she has had little success when it came to winning a title, any title. When these two joined, I had them as underdogs to win the Tag-Team Tournament, and even though they lost, the boys in the back saw something in them to give them a match for the Elite X Title. Something that I can not underestimate. Because if I let those two out of my sight, I will be tapping out faster than pet animals when they see Alhazred at the petting zoo."
The crowd gets behind Ricky now, cheering loudly. Now the intensity in the arena was palpable, he climbed onto the turnbuckle and shouted into the mic.
"Look out WZCW, Ricky Runn is no longer the curtain jerker, or the Tag Team Has Been! I'm bringing a whole new energy, and a new focus that you have never seen before! Alhazred, Desserts, Crimson, not even the freaking Grim Reaper will stop me from getting to Sam Smith and his title!"
The camera began to zoom out, and fade out, the chants the crowd was making become dimmer and dimmer, before the scene ended.
