Post by maniac on Jan 8, 2006 14:04:52 GMT -5
[[[[SCENE]]]]
October 6th, 1995 - 10:17 AM
[When I think about the past, you know what I remember the most? How long everything took! Since I’ve become the man that I am I can almost do anything I want at whatever speed I want, but back then I wasn’t rich enough to afford luxuries like flights across the country, so everywhere I wanted or needed to go I’d have to drive myself there. Worse still, the only car I could afford was a tiny, third hand Ford Focus and if you went above sixty miles per hour the entire car would begin to shake. Normally I hated going anywhere in the piece of crap but that day I don’t even remember thinking about it nor do I remember it bothering me in the least because on that day I was actually happy, a rarity for me even today.]
[Noelle sat next to me playing with the ring on her finger with a huge smile on her face – I don’t think either of us had stopped smiling in the past twenty-four hours – and looking at it as though it was the most valuable item on the planet when in reality it was far from that. That was what I loved about her though, what I still love about her today, she had this ability to make even the worst situations imaginable so much better than they really were. She leant over and put her head on my shoulder and I took my eyes off the road for a second just to look at her. When she spoke it was with a concerned tone to her voice and an almost distant look in her eyes.]
Noelle Cusick: What do you think he’ll say?
Michael Thomas: [sighs] I honestly don’t know.
[She looked up at me again, a frown on her face.]
Noelle Cusick: Everything will be ok though, right? I mean he can’t exactly separate us or anything can he?
Michael Thomas: [reassuringly] Nothing will ever separate us, I promise.
[She seemed happier now as she looked down at her ring again, turning it around her finger for the hundredth time on this journey alone.]
Noelle Cusick: I still can’t believe this. [excited] I can’t wait to tell Candy and Max.
[Yes, they sound like pet names I know, but Candy and Max were Noelle’s two best friends. She’d been going to an all-girls school for years now and hated it, threatening to leave hundreds of times, but Candice and Maxine always somehow convinced her to stay. They were a major influence in her life, as everyone’s friends are when you’re a teenager, but luckily for me I didn’t know of any reason why either of them would disapprove of me, hell they’d both bailed me out of jail a few months earlier but that’s a different story for a different day. It hit me as I thought of that though, I was engaged to a teenager!]
[She didn’t act like your typical teenage girl though; she seemed mature and wise beyond her years. While most girls of her sort of age supposedly hung out at the mall and talked about boys Noelle had a job (that she’d recently given up to come and stay with me in Toronto), studied hard and partied like mad. Ok, so she wasn’t COMPLETELY different from your typical teenager – hell she even had a fake ID – but emotionally she was far more mature than most girls her age. At times I’d completely forget how young she was but I knew her father wouldn’t and as sure as I tried to be for both her sake and my own that he couldn’t and wouldn’t do anything to hurt her deep down I knew different.]
Noelle Cusick: [childishly] I love you.
Michael Thomas: [smiles] I love you more.
Noelle Cusick: [shakes head] No you don’t.
Michael Thomas: [laughs] Yes I do!
[That continued for a while…]
[It was early afternoon when we finally reached her father’s home in Kingston, Ontario, and parked the heap of junk down the road from his house. Moments later we were standing outside of the house and Noelle was still playing with her ring excitedly as her brother Paul opened the door. They’d been born just eight and a half months apart and had shared everything as they grew up so when she showed him the ring on her finger, jumping up and down excitedly his mouth dropped open and they hugged. He offered his hand out to me almost as if to welcome me to the family when he was pulled back from the front door and their father stood there in the shadows, almost a snarl on his lips.]
Vincent Cusick: What the hell are you doing back here; didn’t I tell you if you walked out that door never to come back?
Noelle Cusick: Daddy, I…
Vincent Cusick: I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses. {looks at her hand} What the hell is that?
Vincent Cusick: Are you proud of yourself? You come over here and corrupt my child, steal her away from me and for what? Some trophy wife that you can…
Noelle Cusick: [near tears] Daddy, it’s not like that!
Vincent Cusick: I told you once I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses, get inside this house now before I call the cops on your boyfriend here!
Noelle Cusick: But…
Vincent Cusick: Now!
[That was the last I saw of her before the door was slammed in my face. Inside I heard three raised voices as her brother had obviously come to her defense – better late than never, I suppose – and I slowly walked back toward the car. From there I went to a hotel and booked in without even thinking about it and spent the next hour laying on the bed feeling completely lost. That’s what I was without her in those days and in many ways I still am today. During that hour there were three cries of “room service” from outside the door and I kept answering it and telling them I didn’t order anything. Finally when the fourth knock came I just screamed angrily at the door.]
Michael Thomas: I didn’t order anything you (BLEEP)ing morons!
[There was a second knock and I got off of the bed, stormed over to the door and pulled it open furiously, completely taken back by who stood outside the door. She was about 5’6” and had long, red hair that was tied high in a ponytail at the back of her head. I recognised her straight away and while we’d only met thrice before I didn’t hesitate to invite her in.]
Candice Simpson: Stressed, huh?
Michael Thomas: What are you doing here? Is Noelle...?
Candice Simpson: She’s fine. We need to talk.
[We spent the next few hours talking about my life, her life, Noelle’s life, what we had planned together for the future and everything we’d done in the past few months and by the end of it Candy smiled at me, happy that I would do what was right for her best friend. She took me down to the car park and insisted that I drive her home, inviting me in where I found Noelle sitting on the couch waiting.]
Michael Thomas: What are you doing here?
Noelle Cusick: [smiles] You didn’t think I’d let that keep us apart, did you?
Michael Thomas: Actually I…
Noelle Cusick: Mr Thomas, you’re not very smart are you?
[We hugged and kissed as Candy sat on the couch looking proud of herself.]
Michael Thomas: What now?
Noelle Cusick: We go home.
Michael Thomas: [worried] Are you sure? Walking out on your father again, your life here and…
Noelle Cusick: [nods] I’m sure. I agreed to marry you, right? And I will; the sooner the better! Who cares what he thinks; I don’t need him any more.
Michael Thomas: Don’t you think that’s a little irrational?
[She shook her head again and we kissed again as Candy twisted and turned on the couch.]
Candice Simpson: Jeez, get a room already!
[[[[END SCENE]]]]
January 7, 2006 - 10:01 PM
[I’d been walking around the grounds of my home, renamed Heaven, for almost an hour now thinking to myself and enjoying the time alone. I often found that I did my best thinking out here in the fresh air where there were no distractions and as I looked around the thick bushes that surrounded the perimeter of my home I saw movement in them, creatures of the night intimidated by my presence in their world. I turned to the camera with a grin.]
MANIAC: People assume that darkness means death or, worse still, means nothingness. Some people know better than that though, don’t they? When you’ve been in this business for long enough you come to realize that there’s a comfort in the darkness that the light just cannot provide. Some people have become so comfortable in the darkness however they’ve forgotten their way back to the light.
MANIAC: I don’t consider myself a child of the darkness like the likes of Evan Cartwright, Chris Casino, or any of the Rat Pack, but I do know how tempting the call can be. See they live their lives out there, wrapped in the darkness and using it to shield themselves from reality. Out there they can make all the over exaggerated claims they want and there’s nobody to challenge them, nobody to bring them back to reality. But they have a weakness; see, they don’t understand the light.
MANIAC: Then we’ve got children of the light, those who believe that even brief walks down the dark path is forbidden. They believe themselves superior because they never have to deal with the darkness; I find them inferior because they refuse to understand it and the benefits it can bring. I don’t consider myself a child of the light either, I walk the fine line between both the darkness and the light and it’s served me well.
MANIAC: It’s a line I know very well, a path I’ve traveled many times before and one that will lead me on Monday night to the promised land once again. Speaking of which, the reason I’m filming this tonight is that surprise, surprise, I’ve got some things I really need to get off my chest. You know what they say, it’s good to talk.
MANIAC: Over the past eleven years I’ve heard it all. Justin Tyler didn’t think I had the physical condition to beat him…two nights later, I kicked his ass. Jimmy Blast didn’t think I was smart enough to beat him…for seven years we battled back and forth in the most infamous feud in wrestling history. In the end, I emerged the victor. Stan Cremins thought his cronies in E.V.I.L. could protect him from me, could stop the inevitable. I plowed through every last one of them in some of the most ferocious wars of my career, until I got to Cremins and fought him for forty five minutes before earning the victory. Hell, those aren’t even the tales of my greatest battles…those aren’t even scratching the surface.
That’s why I find it so funny that Chris Casino believes he’s different than the rest of ‘em. The fact is, Chris…I’ve beaten men with a hundred times your talent. I’ve outsmarted men that would make you look like Joey from Friends. I am head and shoulders above the rest. I’m what Willis was talkin’ ‘bout. You can throw the Rat Pack at me, and I’ll mow them down one by one, starting with Cartwright on Monday night. The fact of the matter is, sooner or later there isn’t going to be anyone left to hide behind. There won’t be anywhere to run, anywhere to hide…I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, champ. You played with fire, and now you’re gonna get burnt.
But Casino isn’t a priority this week. No, this week it’s Evan Cartwright, one of his cronies. Fair enough…you’re one of the Ratpack, are you not? Last week I put the entire NAPW on notice that the Maniac era has begun…this week I’m going to hand deliver a message to Chris Casino in the form of a bloodied and battered Evan Cartwright. Imagine the look on his face when he sees me manhandling one of his bumbling idiot groupies. Maybe it’ll sink in then…maybe when he sees me scraping you off the mat, he’ll finally realize who the hell he’s dealing with.
See, Evan…just like Axle Jaxx last week, you’re nothing more than a stepping stone. You’re just a road block getting in the way of my path to the top. I don’t have time for road blocks, kid…nor do I have the patience for them. So rest assured, I’m going to put this place on notice once again…you stick me in the ring with losers like Evan Cartwright, and you’re not gonna have much of a roster left. I’m sure the local hospital will enjoy the business, but believe me, you’ll have a hell of a time filling out a card when every poor bastard you stuck in the ring with me is sucking up their dinner through a straw. Of course, that would mean more television time for the Lord of the Ring, so when you think about it I guess it isn’t all that bad.
But now the time for talking is done. The talk shows are over, the jig is up. The clock is ticking, and with each passing second, Evan Cartwright gets closer and closer to meeting his destiny. You will go one on one with the Lord of the Ring, the King of Kings, the most unpredictable son of a bitch in the game…
…and you won’t EVER forget it.
[Fade to black.]
October 6th, 1995 - 10:17 AM
[When I think about the past, you know what I remember the most? How long everything took! Since I’ve become the man that I am I can almost do anything I want at whatever speed I want, but back then I wasn’t rich enough to afford luxuries like flights across the country, so everywhere I wanted or needed to go I’d have to drive myself there. Worse still, the only car I could afford was a tiny, third hand Ford Focus and if you went above sixty miles per hour the entire car would begin to shake. Normally I hated going anywhere in the piece of crap but that day I don’t even remember thinking about it nor do I remember it bothering me in the least because on that day I was actually happy, a rarity for me even today.]
[Noelle sat next to me playing with the ring on her finger with a huge smile on her face – I don’t think either of us had stopped smiling in the past twenty-four hours – and looking at it as though it was the most valuable item on the planet when in reality it was far from that. That was what I loved about her though, what I still love about her today, she had this ability to make even the worst situations imaginable so much better than they really were. She leant over and put her head on my shoulder and I took my eyes off the road for a second just to look at her. When she spoke it was with a concerned tone to her voice and an almost distant look in her eyes.]
Noelle Cusick: What do you think he’ll say?
Michael Thomas: [sighs] I honestly don’t know.
[She looked up at me again, a frown on her face.]
Noelle Cusick: Everything will be ok though, right? I mean he can’t exactly separate us or anything can he?
Michael Thomas: [reassuringly] Nothing will ever separate us, I promise.
[She seemed happier now as she looked down at her ring again, turning it around her finger for the hundredth time on this journey alone.]
Noelle Cusick: I still can’t believe this. [excited] I can’t wait to tell Candy and Max.
[Yes, they sound like pet names I know, but Candy and Max were Noelle’s two best friends. She’d been going to an all-girls school for years now and hated it, threatening to leave hundreds of times, but Candice and Maxine always somehow convinced her to stay. They were a major influence in her life, as everyone’s friends are when you’re a teenager, but luckily for me I didn’t know of any reason why either of them would disapprove of me, hell they’d both bailed me out of jail a few months earlier but that’s a different story for a different day. It hit me as I thought of that though, I was engaged to a teenager!]
[She didn’t act like your typical teenage girl though; she seemed mature and wise beyond her years. While most girls of her sort of age supposedly hung out at the mall and talked about boys Noelle had a job (that she’d recently given up to come and stay with me in Toronto), studied hard and partied like mad. Ok, so she wasn’t COMPLETELY different from your typical teenager – hell she even had a fake ID – but emotionally she was far more mature than most girls her age. At times I’d completely forget how young she was but I knew her father wouldn’t and as sure as I tried to be for both her sake and my own that he couldn’t and wouldn’t do anything to hurt her deep down I knew different.]
Noelle Cusick: [childishly] I love you.
Michael Thomas: [smiles] I love you more.
Noelle Cusick: [shakes head] No you don’t.
Michael Thomas: [laughs] Yes I do!
[That continued for a while…]
[It was early afternoon when we finally reached her father’s home in Kingston, Ontario, and parked the heap of junk down the road from his house. Moments later we were standing outside of the house and Noelle was still playing with her ring excitedly as her brother Paul opened the door. They’d been born just eight and a half months apart and had shared everything as they grew up so when she showed him the ring on her finger, jumping up and down excitedly his mouth dropped open and they hugged. He offered his hand out to me almost as if to welcome me to the family when he was pulled back from the front door and their father stood there in the shadows, almost a snarl on his lips.]
Vincent Cusick: What the hell are you doing back here; didn’t I tell you if you walked out that door never to come back?
Noelle Cusick: Daddy, I…
Vincent Cusick: I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses. {looks at her hand} What the hell is that?
Vincent Cusick: Are you proud of yourself? You come over here and corrupt my child, steal her away from me and for what? Some trophy wife that you can…
Noelle Cusick: [near tears] Daddy, it’s not like that!
Vincent Cusick: I told you once I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses, get inside this house now before I call the cops on your boyfriend here!
Noelle Cusick: But…
Vincent Cusick: Now!
[That was the last I saw of her before the door was slammed in my face. Inside I heard three raised voices as her brother had obviously come to her defense – better late than never, I suppose – and I slowly walked back toward the car. From there I went to a hotel and booked in without even thinking about it and spent the next hour laying on the bed feeling completely lost. That’s what I was without her in those days and in many ways I still am today. During that hour there were three cries of “room service” from outside the door and I kept answering it and telling them I didn’t order anything. Finally when the fourth knock came I just screamed angrily at the door.]
Michael Thomas: I didn’t order anything you (BLEEP)ing morons!
[There was a second knock and I got off of the bed, stormed over to the door and pulled it open furiously, completely taken back by who stood outside the door. She was about 5’6” and had long, red hair that was tied high in a ponytail at the back of her head. I recognised her straight away and while we’d only met thrice before I didn’t hesitate to invite her in.]
Candice Simpson: Stressed, huh?
Michael Thomas: What are you doing here? Is Noelle...?
Candice Simpson: She’s fine. We need to talk.
[We spent the next few hours talking about my life, her life, Noelle’s life, what we had planned together for the future and everything we’d done in the past few months and by the end of it Candy smiled at me, happy that I would do what was right for her best friend. She took me down to the car park and insisted that I drive her home, inviting me in where I found Noelle sitting on the couch waiting.]
Michael Thomas: What are you doing here?
Noelle Cusick: [smiles] You didn’t think I’d let that keep us apart, did you?
Michael Thomas: Actually I…
Noelle Cusick: Mr Thomas, you’re not very smart are you?
[We hugged and kissed as Candy sat on the couch looking proud of herself.]
Michael Thomas: What now?
Noelle Cusick: We go home.
Michael Thomas: [worried] Are you sure? Walking out on your father again, your life here and…
Noelle Cusick: [nods] I’m sure. I agreed to marry you, right? And I will; the sooner the better! Who cares what he thinks; I don’t need him any more.
Michael Thomas: Don’t you think that’s a little irrational?
[She shook her head again and we kissed again as Candy twisted and turned on the couch.]
Candice Simpson: Jeez, get a room already!
[[[[END SCENE]]]]
January 7, 2006 - 10:01 PM
[I’d been walking around the grounds of my home, renamed Heaven, for almost an hour now thinking to myself and enjoying the time alone. I often found that I did my best thinking out here in the fresh air where there were no distractions and as I looked around the thick bushes that surrounded the perimeter of my home I saw movement in them, creatures of the night intimidated by my presence in their world. I turned to the camera with a grin.]
MANIAC: People assume that darkness means death or, worse still, means nothingness. Some people know better than that though, don’t they? When you’ve been in this business for long enough you come to realize that there’s a comfort in the darkness that the light just cannot provide. Some people have become so comfortable in the darkness however they’ve forgotten their way back to the light.
MANIAC: I don’t consider myself a child of the darkness like the likes of Evan Cartwright, Chris Casino, or any of the Rat Pack, but I do know how tempting the call can be. See they live their lives out there, wrapped in the darkness and using it to shield themselves from reality. Out there they can make all the over exaggerated claims they want and there’s nobody to challenge them, nobody to bring them back to reality. But they have a weakness; see, they don’t understand the light.
MANIAC: Then we’ve got children of the light, those who believe that even brief walks down the dark path is forbidden. They believe themselves superior because they never have to deal with the darkness; I find them inferior because they refuse to understand it and the benefits it can bring. I don’t consider myself a child of the light either, I walk the fine line between both the darkness and the light and it’s served me well.
MANIAC: It’s a line I know very well, a path I’ve traveled many times before and one that will lead me on Monday night to the promised land once again. Speaking of which, the reason I’m filming this tonight is that surprise, surprise, I’ve got some things I really need to get off my chest. You know what they say, it’s good to talk.
MANIAC: Over the past eleven years I’ve heard it all. Justin Tyler didn’t think I had the physical condition to beat him…two nights later, I kicked his ass. Jimmy Blast didn’t think I was smart enough to beat him…for seven years we battled back and forth in the most infamous feud in wrestling history. In the end, I emerged the victor. Stan Cremins thought his cronies in E.V.I.L. could protect him from me, could stop the inevitable. I plowed through every last one of them in some of the most ferocious wars of my career, until I got to Cremins and fought him for forty five minutes before earning the victory. Hell, those aren’t even the tales of my greatest battles…those aren’t even scratching the surface.
That’s why I find it so funny that Chris Casino believes he’s different than the rest of ‘em. The fact is, Chris…I’ve beaten men with a hundred times your talent. I’ve outsmarted men that would make you look like Joey from Friends. I am head and shoulders above the rest. I’m what Willis was talkin’ ‘bout. You can throw the Rat Pack at me, and I’ll mow them down one by one, starting with Cartwright on Monday night. The fact of the matter is, sooner or later there isn’t going to be anyone left to hide behind. There won’t be anywhere to run, anywhere to hide…I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, champ. You played with fire, and now you’re gonna get burnt.
But Casino isn’t a priority this week. No, this week it’s Evan Cartwright, one of his cronies. Fair enough…you’re one of the Ratpack, are you not? Last week I put the entire NAPW on notice that the Maniac era has begun…this week I’m going to hand deliver a message to Chris Casino in the form of a bloodied and battered Evan Cartwright. Imagine the look on his face when he sees me manhandling one of his bumbling idiot groupies. Maybe it’ll sink in then…maybe when he sees me scraping you off the mat, he’ll finally realize who the hell he’s dealing with.
See, Evan…just like Axle Jaxx last week, you’re nothing more than a stepping stone. You’re just a road block getting in the way of my path to the top. I don’t have time for road blocks, kid…nor do I have the patience for them. So rest assured, I’m going to put this place on notice once again…you stick me in the ring with losers like Evan Cartwright, and you’re not gonna have much of a roster left. I’m sure the local hospital will enjoy the business, but believe me, you’ll have a hell of a time filling out a card when every poor bastard you stuck in the ring with me is sucking up their dinner through a straw. Of course, that would mean more television time for the Lord of the Ring, so when you think about it I guess it isn’t all that bad.
But now the time for talking is done. The talk shows are over, the jig is up. The clock is ticking, and with each passing second, Evan Cartwright gets closer and closer to meeting his destiny. You will go one on one with the Lord of the Ring, the King of Kings, the most unpredictable son of a bitch in the game…
…and you won’t EVER forget it.
[Fade to black.]