Constantine raises his head, his legs still writhing in agony. On the entrance ramp, a familiar looking man stands looking back at him. For a moment, The Power Trip struggles to put a face to the vision. But it cannot be who he thinks it is. The rumours, the entrance music playing? Could they all be true. And even after the talk of Constantine orchestrating such an event and ultimately using it for his own gain, could he be staring at the face of the man0mountain Wasabi Toyota?
Constantine: It can't be...
Like an approaching storm, soon enough Toyota is upon them; the wrath and anger of a hurricane powering through him. Constantine slowly pulls himself to his feet, his legs still aching from only seconds ago. He had never planned to tap out of any submission hold but to do so to S.H.I.T. was adding insult to the injury for sure.
But Constantine could not allow n opportunistic Wasabi Toyota to play him like a fool, he would not! Constantine knew exactly how dangerous the Japanese former super-heavyweight could be and he could not allow Toyota to build a head of steam. As Toyota enters the ring, Constantine senses his opportunity to wreak some destruction of his own. Running towards the slimline version of Toyota, Constantine aims a powerful lariat towards the throat of his enemy, hoping to strike any thought of rebellion clean from his shoulders. But it is not to be. Toyota ducks the strike, exposing a weary Elite X Champion not for the first time tonight. And within seconds The Power Trip is in trouble.
Constantine: Hrgh!
Constantine lets out a yell of agony as the long arms of the Japanese superstar clench around him, lifting him from his feet in the process. Immediately, Constantine begins to fade, oxygen not being allowed to pass through his lungs.
Constantine:
Stop...
The words of the Power Trip are little more than an uttered breath towards Toyota as breath continues to escape the Elite X Champion.
Constantine:
Please.
Fading
Fading
Fading
BLACK
* * *
Constantine shoots to his feet, his eyes still heavy from the sleep. Another night with broken sleep had left The Power Trip haunted by a loss. But not only a loss, a defeat; mentally and physically. Wasabi Toyota was Constantine's match, there could be no doubting it. His new lightweight physique could only serve to take Wasabi Toyota further in WZCW than he could ever have dreamed of before. Constantine had brought this defeat upon himself; this could also not be denied.
Constantine wipes the sweat from his brow. Constantine had never been one to doubt his abilities in the ring, or outside it for a matter of fact. But there was something more to the emergence of Wasabi Toyota. Something unpredictable at best and wholly destructive at worst. And now, it seems, the net has begun to close around Constantine. The tangents derived from Constantine's social circle had begun to close off his options. Kravinoff's relationship with Wasabi Toyota and his altogether more potentially damaging relationship with Barbosa; this is what had gotten Constantine into this mess.
And as Constantine lay in his bed pondering the implications of being such a social juggernaut in his own right, a thought struck the former politician... All of his chickens had come home to roost.
Constantine did not fear the silence though, he embraced it. It had been a long time since he had been alone with his thoughts. Pressure was everywhere, he had everything to lose heading into the biggest show of the WZCW calendar. Pressure to teach Kravinoff how good he could be; unlocking his true potential as an ally for the future, pressure to fend off the advances of Barbosa and S.H.I.T, and pressure to retain what is most important to him; The Elite X Championship.
But how could he begin preparing for the inevitable match at Kingdom Come Five when he did not know what match he would have? Surely this sort of treatment was not befitting someone of his talent? Surely not befitting of an Elite X Champion? But that was the bind that had presented itself to the Power Trip. And what's more, a six man tag team match was just on the horizon for WZCW's favourite politician. And on the eve of such a big, currently unknown match at Kingdom Come Five, how was it fair that he had to, once again, wrestle against the dangerous team known as Technosa and WZCW's all-time hero, Titus?
And to team with Wasabi Toyota after such a savage beating on Meltdown? How could he trust such a man? Even Chris KO, the lesser of two evils, had history with The Power Trip. After all, he contested a match with him not too long ago. A fact that Constantine was sure that Chris would not have forgotten. Nor would he have forgotten Constantine leaving the match early. More importantly, how could Chris KO and Wasabi Toyota trust Constantine?
As Constantine closed his eyes once more, he thought to himself a repeated thought.
Constantine: The net is closing in around me.
And as Constantine lay there in the dark, he realised that for all of his Empires, his allies and his friends. When it came to the 6 man match at the Supershow this week, he truly was alone. A thought enough to make any man lose sleep.
