*The door opens to an interview room to admit Barbosa being escorted by two orderlies. However, Barbosa is not restrained by handcuffs or a straightjacket. As his escort waits by the door, he walks to the centre of the room where the only other occupant of the room is seated behind a desk.*
Dr Rivers: Mr Barbosa, it is so nice to see you again. I was worried that after you walked out of here last time thanks to your mystery benefactor that I would never see you again.
*The doctor gestures to an empty chair across from him.*
Dr Rivers: Please take a seat.
*As Barbosa moves to the seat, Doctor Rivers continues on.*
Dr Rivers: I am afraid that due to the suddenness of this meeting, Doctors Crawford and Harrigan will be unable to attend. I also hope you will forgive the presence of security but even though you have come here today by choice, you past behaviour provokes the need for such measures.
*Barbosa merely nods in consent.*
Dr Rivers: Now, while I have all of your records here in front of me from your previous 'visits' to us and some more information you provided before today, I am curious as to why you have asked for this meeting. The very notion that you have chosen to return here even for a meeting demonstrates that you are far more compos mentis than you were when you were whisked away in that limousine a few weeks ago.
Barbosa: I feel nothing.
Dr Rivers: Please explain.
Barbosa: No anger, depression, fear.
Dr Rivers: And you have not been experiencing any blackouts?
Barbosa: The intermittent spells of catatonia have also disappeared.
Dr Rivers: That is excellent news.
Barbosa: Is it? It is really?
Dr Rivers: How can it not be?
Barbosa: I told you, I feel nothing. Nothing at all. That is not normal.
Dr Rivers: You must understand that 'normal' is a subjective term but your lack of emotionally-fuelled outbursts suggest that mentally you are far more healthy than you were before. If this is truly the case, then it marks this is an almost miraculous recovery. Perhaps worthy of being published in a journal of some sort. It could even usher in a new era of treatment for the kind of illnesses you have been afflicted with.
Barbosa: But it has gotten me nowhere.
Dr Rivers: I do not understand. Are you not sleeping better? Thinking clearer? Even in your professional life, you said that since this breakthrough, you have been all the more successful in the ring. You even defeated this
*Dr Rivers looks down at his notes.*
Dr Rivers:
Ty Burna in a cage match and now have a world title match at Red Ensign.
*Barbosa does not answer this, staring blankly off into space.*
Dr Rivers: Mr Barbosa?
*No response.*
Dr Rivers: Mr Barbosa, are you okay?
Barbosa: I am directionless.
For more than a year, I had the dual ambition of being World Heavyweight Champion and getting a 1 on 1 match with Ty Burna.
And after climbing over the disgarded and mangled corpses of Hunter Kravinoff, Wasabi Toyota and Big Dave, at Meltdown 66 I realised the first of those ambitions. It may not have have lasted as long as I might have hoped but for those few short weeks, I was the World Heavyweight Champion.
That left one other Burna ambition and through numerous machinations from trying to win back the title, helping him get to Kingdom Come, butchering his allies, to just simply punching him in the face, I got that match. Inside Hell in a Cell no less.
People bandy about the phrase "be careful what you wish for; you might just get it." The act of getting what I want was not my problem. It is where it has left me afterward.
You mentioned that I had beaten Ty Burna. I did indeed pin him 1-2-3 despite realms of interference. But where has it got me since? A disgrace of a match in which no matter what I did, I would come out as both the winner and the loser.
Now others would baulk at my complaints seeing as how I have a shot at winning the World Heavyweight Title again at Redemption but this match is just another part of the problem. Another disgrace of a match.
No, I may have beaten Ty Burna but it has not extricated me from the web that our esteemed boss weaves to ensure that everyone under him remains a puppet.
I am directionless. Purposeless.
Dr Rivers: But surely a mere temporary lack of purpose or direction is worth the more stable mental health you are experiencing now?
Barbosa: Am I really that stable? Just last week, I walked straight into the ring and attacked the WZCW champion with no provocation; I stared at one of the interviewers backstage; I tried to join the commentary team during my own match; I even wondered about backstage at a show that I was not even on and attack two random men, all to find some purpose.
Dr Rivers: While I cannot condone violence against the innocent, dare I say, that to have such doubts about the future and harbouring resentment towards your boss is 'normal.' It bears all the hallmarks of a mid-life crisis.
*Barbosa fails to answer.*
Dr Rivers: Maybe you should focus on your big match as a way of distracting yourself from your current problems? Perhaps you will find some purpose in preparing for it by
Barbosa: Distract myself? Have you not been listening? Mental distraction might be possible if that big match did not remind me of everything that I would be trying to distract myself from.
Dr Rivers: How so?
*Despite the level of his voice staying the same, the language of Barbosa's answer betrays a level of emotion that has been missing for months.*
Barbosa: It is a complete clusterfuck; a clusterfuck that reminds me that despite beating the mighty Burna, I am still at his mercy to be made a fool of; whether it is ridiculous stipulations or making fun of me by messing with my entrance.
Kylie and Change might have played their part in the past but entrance music is meant to reflect he who is entering; it would be better if there was silence to reflect how my recent run of victories, regardless of their stature, has signally failed to extradite me from manipulation and cast me into the pit of nothingness.
*That grim view puts a damper on the positive attitude of earlier in the conversation. Desperate to dig his patient out of the funk he is clearly in, Dr Rivers returns to a technique that had worked with Barbosa in the past.*
Dr Rivers: Tell me about this disgrace of a match at Redemption. Tell me about those who you will be facing.
Barbosa: Why?
Dr Rivers: You were good at breaking down your opponents before. Do you still have that aptitude for critical thinking? Or is that a skill you seem to have lost during this
consolidation.
Barbosa: I am still as strategically and tactically astute as I always was. It is one of the few things that remain.
Dr Rivers: Well, could you tell me something about each of your next opponents?
Barbosa: How long have you got?
Dr Rivers: I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Barbosa: There are eight different names.
Dr Rivers: You have annoyed that many people?
Barbosa: No, just one.
Dr Rivers: Mr Burna?
*Barbosa only nods in the ascent. Dr Rivers then looks at his watch and deciding that hs has time for this impromptu counselling session, encourages Barbosa to continue.*
Dr Rivers: Well, tell me something about them all anyway.
Barbosa: Two of them we have spoken about before - Robert Morales Junior and Steven Kurtsey.
Dr Rivers: Ah, the good doctor. You have another match with him?
Barbosa: Yes, only since last time we spoke he has taken to calling himself 'Professor' - I do not know if it is a genuine title or not.
Dr Rivers: From what my colleague Dr Crawford stated last time, it sounds possible that he might has ascended to that lofty position. However, I will make a note of it and if he is practicing under an assumed title, I assure you he will be stripped of it.
Barbosa: It is not the only title he has taken for himself only to be stripped of it. Since we last spoke of him, 'Professor' Kurtsey has won and then lost the WZCW Championship.
Dr Rivers: Adding to an already impressive resume.
Barbosa: He still uses the attributes of his medical resume as his greatest assets in the ring - psychological control and strategising regarding his opponent. He has also been able to garner something of working relationship with one perhaps two of the other potential opponents. However, while I have yet to triumph over him one on one, I remain convinced that his reliance those same traits whilst juggling his two separate careers and now alliances with others will bring about his defeat in this match.
Dr Rivers: And Mr Morales
*Dr Rivers quickly flicks through his notes.*
Dr Rivers: He goes by the name Baez and wears a mask.
Barbosa: Not anymore.
Dr Rivers: Excuse me?
Barbosa: He gave up his mask and changed his name to Matt Tastic - ridiculous choice really - but not before trying his best to perpetuate the stereotype of the "thieving Mexican" by stealing something very important that belonged to me.
Dr Rivers: Isn't he Puerto Rican?
Barbosa: Stereotypes are not always correct, Doctor Rivers.
Dr Rivers: Perhaps he should be in here if he is having something of an identity crisis.
*Dr Rivers gives something of a s****** at his own 'joke;' Barbosa remains unmoved.*
Barbosa: Despite the loss of the mask and change of name, Matt Tastic is still the same man who for a time dominated the Mayhem division and has given many of the top names in the company as much as they can handle.
Dr Rivers: What of the other potential opponents that we have not spoken about before?
Barbosa: There are two others that I have had trouble with in recent times: Titus Avison and Drake Callahan.
Dr Rivers: Wait, Titus Avison? Titus Avison the Oscar-winning actor? He is a wrestler now? I had wondered where he had gone. I loved him in
*Barbosa interrupts the fawning doctor.*
Barbosa: Good, so I do not need to go into any detail regarding the potential melodrama that is a Hollywood actor. However, Titus is far from just an actor. Not only is a two time champion, including taking that title from me, in the past he has shown an uncanny ability to put himself in my shoes. I believe that that positive has dissipated somewhat since my
consolidation but that does not diminished the threat he poses.
Dr Rivers: And who is this Drake Callahan?
Barbosa: A threat; someone who has gotten the better of me on two separate occasions; however, his threat has waned now that he has decided that the reason for his lack of advancement is due to some kind of conspiracy.
Now, in the past I too have cried 'conspiracy' and with our current leader I might inclined to believe that ulterior motives determine who moves up and down the ladder but that is not the case with Callahan.
Dr Rivers: And why is that?
Barbosa: He's a drunk who, when he is not off mentally torturing some young lady with his lack of social graces, exhibits the confusion, mood swings and paranoia associated with alcohol abuse.
Dr Rivers: And he is still cleared to wrestle?
*At the suggestion that someone's mental state might prevent them from performing in WZCW, Barbosa gestures towards himself. Rivers gets his meaning and drops this line of enquiry. However, Barbosa's next utterance seems to suggest that the bringing up of mental deficiencies has stirred something in him.*
Barbosa: Now SHIT, it is most like me.
*Rivers is taken aback by this sudden personal attack.*
Dr Rivers: Mr Barbosa, I thought you had a much higher opinion of yourself. Are we seeing a recurrence of some of your passed depression?
Barbosa: SHIT is one of the competitors.
Dr Rivers: But you said "it"
Barbosa: Yes, he is a robot. Scale Humanoid Industrial Technology.
Dr Rivers:
And why is someone thinking he is a robot like you?
Barbosa: He lacks emotion.
Dr Rivers: He too sounds like he could do with some counselling.
Barbosa: SHIT is still only really developing his own style as a wrestler. Since his debut he used his opponents' own techniques against them. However, he has gradually begun to put his own moveset togther. This development of his own style has coincided with a marked improvement in his performance. Hence this opportunity to become champion.
He might also have an ally in James King. They are
or should I say were members of the aforementioned Ty Burna's Apostles; that chaotic house of cards appears to caving in on itself.
Dr Rivers: And does that misfortune of Mr Burna bring you pleasure?
Barbosa: It will only mean something to me should it affect my current position. Ty Burna losing his position as head of the company may give me direction as a new regime comes in but his suffering and disappointment mean nothing.
*Dr Rivers makes a few notes before encouraging his interviewee to once again continue with his dissection of his opponents.*
Dr Rivers: And what about this Mr King?
Barbosa: While he has had success in the tag team division, he is largely untested as a singles competitor, particularly in the upper echelons of the company. Indeed, a real cynic might suggest that King is only in this position of potentially challenging for the world title as he has gotten caught in the slipstream of SHIT's rise to prominence and in the chaos of Ty Burna's regime.
Personality wise, there is very little else to say about James King, except that that might not even be his real name. He is an amnesiac and in some way that lack of knowledge makes him more of a threat than his stature might suggest. And before you ask , Doctor, I am sure he is receiving medical help in recovering his past and if he is not, I am not going to give him your number.
*Dr Rivers, who was clearly going to ask those exact questions, clears his throat.*
Barbosa: Then there is David Cougar: the current WZCW Champion; a title he would not have had it not been for me. On two occasions I have beaten him to a pulp only for him to leech off my destruction of others, most obviously at Kingdom Come where he stole what should have been my #1 Contendership.
Dr Rivers: But he went on to win the title by himself?
Barbosa: He does have some positive qualities as a performer, whether it be his technical abilities, high-flying prowess or general charisma.
However, there is just one factor that negates much of this.
Dr Rivers: Which is?
Barbosa: He is a talkshow host.
Dr Rivers: And why is that important?
Barbosa: Aside from the parasitic nature of his success that I have already alluded to, it means that on the outside he can be benevolent and personable but his deep core is a self-centred one of superficiality and selfishness. The world revolved around him long before he garnered the title of World Heavyweight Champion. His recent turn around in attitude is a perfect example of that. Months of berating the fans gone and forgotten in an instant for the gratification of adulation.
Dr Rivers: So you think he is a beatable champion?
Barbosa: David Cougar is always vulnerable - vulnerable to what exactly is another question. In an instant he could pull off a dramatic and devastating move that takes out several men but in the next he has crashed and burned so hard that he leaves himself and his title reign in pieces.
Dr Rivers: Interesting. You said there were eight potential opponents. Who is the last man?
Barbosa: There is no last man.
Dr Rivers: So there are just seven
er
six men and a robot?
Barbosa: No, there are six men, a robot and a woman. A dangerous one at that.
Dr Rivers: Aren't all women dangerous?
Barbosa: Not like this one, doctor. Celeste Crimson was born into a world of fighting, with both her parents being prevalent martial artists in the Soviet Union. Besides her mental and physical training, she has the added 'benefits' of a genetic defect that allows her a high pain threshold.
She is also an idealistic crusader against all that ills WZCW, at least that is what she claims. The fact that she is still after the world title despite it not being around the waist of Ty Burna or any of his former flunkies suggests that while she may see the world in black and white, she is not being completely truthful with her fans, friends and allies.
Dr Rivers: Why do you think she is deceiving those closest to her, perhaps even herself?
Barbosa: Diamonds might be a girls best friend, but gold is a close second.
*The seeming poignance of that final statement lingers in the air as Dr Rivers slowly nods and makes a few more notes, while Barbosa muses about how, in the past, part of him would have rebelled at such a feeble phrase.
Where was the anger? The hate? The cynical derision?
Barbosa is snapped out of his musings by Dr Rivers clearing his throat once more.*
Dr Rivers: Mr Barbosa, between robots, talkshow hosts, amnesiacs, Oscar-winning movie stars, conspiracy-spouting drunks, a doctor posing as a professor, an identily confused Puerto Rican and a Russian female with a 1 in 25,000 genetic mutation, I can see why you might think that this match is nothing but a sideshow brought together to amuse some higher power and denigrate those involved. With such a hostile and eclectic working environment, I am surprised that you have made any mental progress at all.
However, as to your complaint about a lack of direction, I am afraid that there is nothing I can do to help you, but advise you that rather than see this as a detriment, you should see it as
*Dr Rivers continues to wax lyrical about Barbosa's 'recovery' and suggest that he accept this new consolidation as a giant step towards the normality of others. However, despite continuing to give the occasional knowing nod, Barbosa has zoned out; retreating into his own mind; focusing on just one word of Dr Rivers' prognosis.
Nothing.
How apt.
Nothing can be done for such a violent case of nothingness.
The same kind of nothing that was within his mind, before his eyes and in his future.
However, suddenly, from that nothingness a flicker of something awakens in him.
What was it he had said?
Not that blethering idiot, Rivers, who clearly liked to hear himself speak.
What had Barbosa himself said about gold
?
Perhaps winning some gold could bring back some purpose.
Better than that, perhaps becoming WZCW champion again could provide him with the mental stimulation of happiness to reverse this horrid consolidation.
It had happened before. On several occasions, severe emotions, whether they be anger, disappointment and even happiness, had sparked a change in his crippled psyche.
Perhaps once more
Barbosa stands and moves to leave. He has gotten to the door when he is stopped by a shout from the doctor.*
Dr Rivers: Wait!
*One of the orderlies places a hand on Barbosa's shoulder, who immediately turns to stare at it, as if trying to burn it with laserbeams from his eyes.*
Dr Rivers: What about our paper? Your progress needs to be documented!
*As the orderly realises that Dr Rivers only wants Barbosa to stay for his own selfish ends, he removes his hand from Barbosa's shoulder, perhaps not realising what he has avoided. Without looking back towards River, Barbosa stalks out of the room.
He had purpose to find; nothingness to fill; Redemption to obtain.*
