We are far away.
We are far away from noise. Far away from distraction. Far away from society. Far away from work, from commutes, from traffic, from... life. Far, far away from the busy life that circles around us, surrounds us in it's hateful embrace as it slowly strangles us, suffocates us like a snake does it's prey, until we cannot take life... anymore.
From all of this... we are far away.
The endless night sky seems to reach all the way down as it gently engulfs the grassy cliff we find ourselves upon. A mother and child sit innocently near the edge overlooking the ocean far beneath them. They are illuminated only by the moon and the stars above them, and a few fireflies floating around them. The mother is looking up towards the stars, leaning backwards using her hands to keep her sitting up, in awe of the scene in front of her. The child, a young boy, has his head down, his eyes fixated on the blades of grass that caress his palm and fingers as he gently brushes his hand back and forth with a bored look on his face.
Look at them, Will.
What?
The stars. Aren't they beautiful?
Young Will looks up to see what his mother sees. His eyes, however, fail to look as wide and awe inspired as her eyes do. Neither one looks at the other, they just stare up at the stars.
All of those tiny sparkles of light in the sky, those stars, they've been there for millions of years. They're so far away from us, from this world, that it takes light years for the light to travel through space and reach our eyes at this very moment. This light that we see, it's older than both of us. Older than mankind itself.
So, it's kind of like looking into the past... ?
She chuckles, and replies with a subdued excitement in her tone.
Yeah, kind of. Funny, we all try to live in the present, but somehow always end up looking towards the past.
The child looks over to his mother.
What do you mean?
She breaks her stare down with the night sky and looks back over to her son.
You're too young to understand. You're only 7, Will. You're so lucky right now, you don't even have a past you can look back to. This right now, this is the past that you will remember. We all look forward to the future. Then, we want to live in the past.
But, you've always told me to live in the present. Live every day like it's my last, right?
I know.
Then why do you get mad when I help Dad?
Because when I say "live everyday like it's your last" I don't mean it in a go skydiving, running with bulls, swimming with sharks kind of way. Nor does it mean you can live life in anarchy, ignoring rules and devaluing the lives of others. Dying tomorrow doesn't excuse your actions today. It just means you don't have to live with them.
What?
She let's out an overwhelmed sigh as she looks down, upset at herself.
I'm sorry, honey. It's like I said... you're too young to understand all of this. You shouldn't fill your head with things like death and regrets.
She looks up towards the sky again.
Let's just look up at the stars.
The young boy looks at his mother as she leans back and stares up, losing herself in the sight. After a few moments, Will also leans back and looks up towards the sky alongside his mother. They sit there, silently, enjoying the view. Suddenly, the silence is broken.
Mom?
Yes, hun?
Do stars die?
She thinks for a moment, as she turns to look at her child again. She takes her time before finally responding.
Yes. Yes they do, son.
How?
Well... stars are basically large balls of fire in space. The sun, is a star. It's the closest star to earth. All those other tiny specks of light you see in the sky tonight, they're full of energy and held together by it's own gravity. Eventually, the star begins to burn out and it's own gravity forces all of the energy to collapse into itself. At this point, three things can happen. The first is the star simply burning out quietly, never to be seen from again. The second thins is called a supernova. A supernova is one of the most powerful, violent, and deadly forces in the history of the entire universe. If a super nova took place dozens of light years away from us, it could still cause enough damage to our planet to bring upon the extinction of all living things on earth. It's essentially a huge explosion, bigger than all of the planets in our solar system put together, a trillion times bigger than our sun, and it destroys everything around it. It blows everything up into an almost infinite amount of pieces. Everything becomes stardust. Everything, Will. Look around us. The grass, the dirt, the trees, the water, even us. You and me, our hands, our feet, our hearts... stardust. We are all made of stars. Supernovas, while initially one of the most destructive forces this universe has ever experienced, end up becoming the basis for all of life to even exist.
Both Will and his mother look back towards the stars. Will's eyes now resemble his mothers much more than they did at first, staring at the stars in awe.
Wow.
She smiles, and puts her arm around her son. He nestles his head against her while still looking up.
Yeah... Wow.
The two admire the wondrous vision above them for a couple of moments. They bask in the moon's reflected light, and soak in the silence until finally, it is broken.
You said that three things can happen to a star; it burns out, it explodes into a supernova... what's the third?
His mother sits up straight and looks down towards her son as she raises her eyebrows almost cautiously.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. How could I forget about black holes.
Black holes?
Yeah.
What's a black hole?
Remember how I said that a supernova is one of the most powerful events in our universe?
Yeah...
Well, the black hole may be the most powerful event of all. When a dying star is in the stage where gravity forces it to collapse into itself, it can either burn out, explode, or become a black hole. Essentially what happens is, the force of gravity becomes so great, that it sucks anything and everything around it. The gravitational force is so massive that it sucks in other stars, entire planets, and even light itself cannot escape a black hole.
Whoa... what happens when you get sucked in?
Nobody really knows, son. Some people say that time no longer exists. Some say you are taken to a parallel universe. Other say you just fall through a dark abyss for the rest of existence. Truth is, nobody really know for sure. Not yet, at least.
They look at each other, showing the slightest hint of nerves from just picturing the powerful galactic event in their minds. Both of them slowly revert their attention back to the stars, and continue to sit in silence as the scene slowly fades to black.
--------------
31 Years Later
--------------
The door to Vega's downtown New York City apartment bursts open as a swarm of C.I.A. agents enter the premises, including Agent Fields, the agent in charge of the investigation. Soon after they walk in, they all stop in their tracks, confused at the sight. Alexis enters the penthouse shortly after. She walks passed all the other agents to continue in, until she too comes to a halt. Her eyebrows furrow as she stands there in the same confusion the agents find themselves in.
Are you just wasting our time, Alexis? Was this all a part of some grand scheme?
Alexis is dead silent as she looks around, stunned to find the penthouse completely empty. There is nothing left. No couches, no paintings, no pictures, no light bulbs... nothing. Everything was gone. Alexis walks into what used to be the living room while looking around, staggering three hundred sixty degrees trying to process what is happening.
That's it, you're under arrest for -
We live here, I swear!
Then where is everything!?
I don't know!
All the agents besides Agent Fields walk through out the penthouse to further investigate the premises. The manner in which they exit the various rooms seems to indicate that they're all empty. Alexis' eyes begin to widen, as if the light bulb in her head has just gone off. Instantly, a look of panic takes over her eyes. She puts her hands to her face and looks around in fear, afraid at every turn.
Oh my God!
What?
He knows.
Who knows?
Vega. He knows.
Knows what?
Alexis stops looking around at the empty room and looks back towards Agent Fields.
That I've turned.
How do you know that?
Because all my shit is gone!
Relax, dammit!
Relax!? Vega knows that I snitched on him. He knows I've turned. Do you know what that means!? Do you know what he's done to people he could care less about? Do you have any idea what he'll do to the person who stabbed him in the back!?
Don't worry, we'll find him.
And then what!? You have nothing to convict him on. No evidence. Just my word against his... and I don't even know his real name! I'm dead.
We'll protect you.
Alexis laughs.
How do you know he isn't watching us with a sniper rifle across the street atop that roof right now.
Agent Fields nervously looks through the window for signs of Vega.
Or that this entire building won't explode any minute. Or that some of your agents aren't already dead throughout this penthouse.
Fields begins looking throughout the penthouse, but sees all of his agents alive and moving which brings him a small ounce of relief during a stressful moment.
Dammit, Alexis! You better not be setting me up!
With a hopeless smile, she shakes her head in submission.
Oh Agent Fields... you don't understand. If you die... I die.
Nobody is going to die.
Maybe we're already dead.
Stop saying that. Where could he be right now?
Where could Vega be?
Yeah... where?
Alexis shrugs as she laughs nervously.
Vega is a master at creating new identities and the government documentation to prove it.
Well where would he go at a time like this?
A time like this? Trust me, Fields... he's never gone through a time like this before. Vega has marked me as an enemy. His enemies rarely know what he will do. They rarely understand what he is capable of. The Vega that I knew yesterday, is no longer the Vega we are dealing with today. I was his only friend in this world. The only friend he's ever had in his entire life, and in his eyes, I've firmly jammed a jagged dagger directly into his back. Vega has put bullets through people's heads while donning sinister smiles just because he could. Now, Vega has a purpose. Now, he has a reason to kill. Truth be told, I have no idea what Vega will do next... but I wouldn't want to be around him when he does it.
And to answer your question, Agent Fields, he could be anywhere.
-----------------
"This program was brought to you by the Australian Broadcasting Corpor-"
Before the line is finished, the television is turned off. There, sitting in his living room with the remote in his hand, is Steven Kurtesy. He looks to his watch as he stretches out his other hand and lets out a long yawn. He looks outside to see that the moon and stars are out, and it's getting late. Kurtesy gets up from his couch and begins walking through the halls of his home towards the bedroom. On his way there, he sees something that catches his eye. The door to his home office is opened. He squints as he looks in it's direction as he slowly approaches.
Hmm...
Kurtesy looks into the small open space that the door is cracked open, but can only see that the lights are off. A creaking noise is heard as he slowly opens the door. As he walks inside, he instinctively reaches for the light switch, but for some reason, he freezes. It isn't until the sound of the hammer being pulled back and the bullet being loaded into the chamber that Steven realizes a gun is aimed directly at the side of his head. Everyone is motionless, in the dark, and in silence.
Hello Professor.
Vega turns on the light to reveal himself, standing there aiming his Desert Eagle at Kurtesy's temple. At the sides of "The Professor's" office are a number of large bookcases all filled with different texts. There is also a large mahogany desk specially carved sitting in front of an open window. This window, has an impressive looking telescope pointing out of it. Kurtesy nonchalantly walks over to his desk and leans against it to face Vega. Vega stares back at him with a confused look on his face as he continues to aim the gun at his head. Steven puts his hands out to the sides as if he's giving himself up.
What are you doing?
So this is how it ends, huh?
What are you talking about?
One week I retire, the next week I'm murdered by someone trying to make a name for himself. The legacy of Steven Kurtesy... Alright, have at it.
He continues to stretch his arms out, sacrificing himself to Vega, who only stares back in silence, not knowing how to react. Kurtesy begins to chuckle to himself before lowering his arms and walking towards Vega. He walks so close that the barrel of the gun is now pressing up against his chest. Steven stares Vega in the eyes with a smile on his face. Vega sigh as he looks to he ground, and lowers the gun. Kurtesy turns his back to Vega and walks back towards his desk.
You knew.
Knew what?
That I had no intention of shooting you.
Kurtesy walks around the desk and sits at his chair. He looks towards Vega, who is holstering his Desert Eagle.
I took a shot in the dark.
He smiles at his own pun. Vega, however, does not seem amused.
I suppose I didn't know for certain. I just didn't believe, at that moment, you were going to pull the trigger. And here we are.
Vega doesn't seem satisfied with that answer, but accepts it for now.
Here we are.
Vega walks around as he observes the different books along the shelves. Kurtesy watches him for a couple of moments before asking the obvious question.
So, Vega... why are you here?
Vega smiles as he looks along the shelves and reads the titles along the book ends up close and carefully, as if searching for something specific.
Why am I here? You know Steve, I've been wondering that my entire flight over here. Didn't they used to send all the criminals from Europe down here or something?
Something like that.
Seems fitting for me to be here then, doesn't it?
I suppose.
After a couple of silent moments, Kurtesy speaks up.
You know, just because I told you that you needed to be the old Vega to have a chance at "Unscripted" doesn't mean I thought you should go out and start shooting people. But, you're smart enough to know that. So why are you here? Why travel so far just to come here and see me?
Vega stops as he comes across a book entitled "The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Schizophrenia." He slides it out from the shelf on the book case and casually begins to flip through it as he slowly paces around the room.
To be quite honest with you, Steve... there aren't many places I can go at the moment. I don't exactly have a home right now. So, until "Unscripted," I've got nowhere I need to be.
And where's your little partner in crime there, Alexis?
Well see, that's just it. Alexis, is now out of the picture.
What do you mean?
Vega smirks.
Relax, Steven... she's alive. Alive and talking. But she's dead to me.
I see. So, she's decided to finally turn you in.
Well, she's trying. Truth is they have nothing on me. Not a shred of evidence. No fingerprints, not DNA, no video, no record of me ever committing a crime. Just hearsay from an ex-Interpol agent gone rogue. Even if they do find me, they can't do a thing to me. In fact, I hope they have a front row seat to my match.
Ah yes, your match. Are you even ready for it?
Vega laughs to himself.
Ready for the Hell in a Cell match... I don't think anyone is ever truly ready for one of those matches. I mean, I've never been in one. I don't know if I'm ready. I don't even know if I should be in this match in the first place.
This is Vega, I'm talking to, right?
Vega stares at Steven, unsure how to respond.
Because, this doesn't sound like the Vega that I saw tearing up the company as Mayhem Champion.
Yeah, you're right. I'm not. I'm not even the same Vega I was last week. I used to think that people like Saboteur and Ricky Runn were beneath me, and that the world just hadn't yet realized that was on Barbosa's level, or maybe even better. But a lot has changed. Ricky Runn is the Champion. Normally, I'd be sick to my stomach... but lately, I don't know what to feel anymore. Ricky Runn took advantage of every opportunity he was given. He won the damn tournament, and although it took him two tries and a dive of the tron, he did it. He became WZCW World Heavyweight Champion in the same week that I was literally bitch slapped by a God damn bear, and verbally bitch slapped by the likes of you. Normally, that would make me sick to my stomach... but not today. Not this Vega.
This is the Vega that loses twice in a row to Saboteur and somehow ends up in a match with him for the World Title anyway. Not that I'm complaining, but the damn goofball has every right to believe he can defeat me in this match... and dammit, lately, he's looked like he could defeat anybody. The old Vega wouldn't have cared. Hell, the old Vega probably wouldn't have ever lost in the first place. He certainly wouldn't have lost to Theron Daggershield. But now? Now people like Runn and Saboteur have my number. And the world remembers when Barbosa defeated me. The week after Kingdom Come V. Why should anybody believe that I am walking out of there Champion? The old Vega would have known he's be victorious... but dammit...
So... who is this new Vega?
Vega shakes his head, unable to answer the question. He just continues to flip through the book.
Why do you think Alexis decided to turn on you?
What is this, one of your therapy sessions?
Kurtesy chuckles.
Old habit I suppose.
Vega thinks about the question for a moment before looking up form the textbook.
I think she lost faith in me.
Meaning?
This entire time that we've known each other, she's always believed that there was good in me because of that one day I showed compassion. That one day I decided to go against direct orders.
And your orders were to...
To eliminate Interpol Agent Alexis Escobar.
And why didn't you?
That's the same question she's always asked me. I told her, I saw the situation. Her own government put out a hit on her through an American agency. I was pawn taking out another pawn for a cause I didn't believe in. So, instead of killing her, we both decided to run. And we have. We've created new identities, new lives... until now. She's always kept faith that there was always good inside of me, and that it would come back out once again. I guess after all this time, she just lost faith in me.
So what about you, Vega? Do you believe she was right? Do you believe there is good in you?
Vega looks down at the ground as he paces around Kurtesy's desk and approaches his open window, and telescope. He slaps the textbook down on Kurtesy's desk and leans in to take a look through the telescope, aiming it up towards the stars in the night sky. He speaks up, while continuing to look through it.
I don't know.
If there is... I haven't felt it in a long, long time. I've done a lot of bad things in my life, Steven. A lot of terrible things. The blood on my hands, it... it can weigh a man down. It's a boulder that would shatter the shoulders of most normal men in this world forced to carry it.
But you're no normal man.
Yeah, I used to think so.
So, you're saying you've begun to feel remorse?
Remorse for the lives I've taken? The life I've lived? Not really. Remorse that it lead to Alexis losing faith in me? Well...
Vega looks up from the telescope and back towards Kurtesy for a moment.
I guess it's nice knowing somebody has faith in you. After I spared Alexis' life, I never killed another person again. I've lived off stealing from museums and the rich mostly for the past 20 years, and haven'g got caught once. Although I've lived a terrible life in the past, since I've met Alexis, I had at least shown signs of light in a life of darkness. She always had that faith. But, something happened to me when I joined WZCW. That killer instinct that Alexis had been mostly responsible for taming had begun to run wild again. I was given an entire roster to feast on, and a belt that removed all restrictions.
At first, Alexis was all for it. She thought that focusing myself in wrestling would be a good outlet for me. But everyone saw the side of me the came out once I got my hands on that Mayhem Title. I changed. I became a man possessed. Back was the Vega that pulled triggers with a smile on his face. He thrived in that environment. The night I defeated Red Mask was the greatest moment of my WZCW career... it's the night that Vega was supposed to become a star... but I don't think Alexis was proud of me. She was happy I was happy, but not proud... and I felt that. From then on out, I haven't won a match since.
Her approval means a lot to you.
She's always disapproved of me on some level... but she's always had faith. And I've let her down. She's the only other person in my life who's opinion of me actually mattered.
Other person?
Vega looks back down to the telescope.
Who is this other person, Vega?
He looks through the telescope and continues to observe the stars in the sky.
Some star I turned out to be, huh?
Steven Kurtesy doesn't respond to Vega's rhetorical sounding question. Instead, he watches as Vega handles the telescope like someone who is well experienced with the machinery.
My mother once told me that a stars die one of three ways. They either quietly burn out, never to be seen again. They explode into huge white explosions that can destroy everything in it's path, but ultimately provide the basis for new life throughout the entire universe. Or, finally, the gravitational pull of the very own star could cause it to collapse into itself with so much force that it creates a black hole... and black holes? Those will suck anything that comes near it, into a dark abyss, never to be seen from again. They are so powerful that light itself cannot escape. I went on to learn that black holes can be responsible for swallowing entire galaxies. In fact, astronomers have discovered that at the center of most galaxies throughout the universe is a black hole in which is seems to be rotating slowy towards... including out very own Milky Way galaxy.
So, you see... black holes are not only responsible for shaping the galaxies in our universe some how, but they also mark the inevitable end of not just our world, but all the worlds that ever existed. The gravitational pull is just to great, and people are afraid of the darkness, afraid of the unknown. I can understand why somebody wouldn't want to be around that kind of presence. Light is meant to shine, but within the black hole, it can't. So light does it's best to stay away. To no get sucked in by the black hole's evil gravitational pull.
Ever since I learned about the way stars died... I knew one thing. I didn't care which way I went out, as long as I didn't simply burn out in silence. Whatever I did, I wanted my presence to be felt for generations to come. I didn't care how, I just needed to be remembered. But in the process, I lost Alexis. For the first time in 20 years, I've actually questioned my ways. My mother, the way she looked at the stars at night... she was amazed by supernovas and the stardust it produced.. and terrified of black holes and the destruction they were capable of.
"We are all made of stars," as she would always say.
Kurtesy absorbs what Vega has just said, somewhat impressed by his candor. After thinking over his words, Kurtesy finally replies.
So, Vega... on the verge of the most important moment of your career... I suppose you've just one question to ask yourself. Are you a supernova, or a black hole?
Vega looks up from the telescope and shares the first sincere look with Kurtesy he's had all night. We can see it in Vega's eyes, he's searching for words, searching for answers, but can't find them. He can only lower his head, lost in his own thoughts.
----------------
We find Vega on a grassy cliff overlooking the ocean in the middle of the night. He stares up at the stars in the sky before looking down in his hands. He's holding his Desert Eagle handgun. He studies it for a couple of moments... takes a deep breath, and tosses it over the cliff. He leans over the edge, watching it fall for what feels like minutes. It seems to float all the way down until it crashes into the jagged rocks and giant waves below. Finally, Vega exhales.
He looks up at the stars as the most genuine smile we've ever seen from Vega flashes across his moonlit face as the scene slowly fades to black.
