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“Strength doesn’t necessarily come from resisting fear, weakness, or any other feeling and overcoming it. Strength comes from looking at those things straight on—and accepting them as they really are.” – Kat Von D
December 6, 2017
Sunrise Hospital
Las Vegas, Nevada
5:20 PM
The bright lights cause his vision to become blurry. He looks around at the familiar surroundings of the hospital room. He sees the sheets covering his body as he takes a deep breath. He looks up to see local news playing. It has been a long time since he has seen the news, but he does not care. He looks to his left side to see Courtney Jones sitting next to him. She is wearing a blue tank top and leggings. Her hair is completely down coming to her mid back. She looks up at the TV with her right hand holding Eli’s left. He smiles a bit and grips her hand. She slightly looks over to see his eyes opening. A smile appears on her face.
“Eli, you’re awake. Oh, thank god.”
“Wha-what happened?”
She sighs trying to find the right words. She lowers her head and keeps her hand on his.
“You had a seizure. I reached your apartment the moment it happened, so I called the ambulance as soon as possible. The only problem was you didn’t stop. After ten minutes of seizing, you finally stopped, but you were constantly seizing again and again. The doctors told me they weren’t sure if you’d wake up after so much strain on your body.”
A small tear rolls down her left cheek. She quickly wipes it away. Her face is weathered, and her eyes have noticeable bags under them. This had taken a massive toll on her, but she did not leave his side. He looks at her with a slight frown trying to find the right words for her, but all he could think of was silence. She took a deep breath and continued with his condition.
“After the first week, the doctors told me that you’d wake up eventually, but they didn’t know when. Now, you’ve finally did it. And it took you too damn long.”
She fights to smile, but Eli notices more tears in her eye. He takes his hand off of hers and places it on her cheek. She releases a small chuckle as the tears begin to roll down her eyes again. He rubs her cheek as he tries to comfort her.
“Hey, I’m all right now. I’m just a bit groggy.”
“You should be. They’ve been pumping your medicine in your bloodstream to make sure that you don’t have another one. God Eli, what happened that night? Do you know what you could’ve done to prevent this?”
Silence fills up the room as he looks at her eyes. He can only think about the alcohol he had, and the Joker’s voice ringing in his head. He did not want to tell her the truth, but he knew he had to. He had done so much to get this relationship to work; he did not want it to end this way.
“Yeah, that night, I didn’t take my medication because I was just feeling too weak. I didn’t feel like I was worth anything, so I decided to drink. I drank a lot that night. All of my ambitions were gone, and all I could think about was giving up. I didn’t want to be anywhere close to the ring. I didn’t want to see James Ceno, and I didn’t want to see Jack. But, suddenly, I was visited by an old friend of mine.”
He looks away from her and takes his hand off of her face. He looks over to a mirror seeing him. He did not see who he thought would be there. He looks at her and simply taps his right temple.
“I saw the other side of me, the side that wants me to fight more often. It came to me as a reminder of who I was, and he was trying to rattle me to the point of wanting to fight whoever was in my way. He wanted me to ignore everyone I cared about. He wanted me to fell smaller than everyone around me, and it was working. He hand me in a metaphorical headlock. He was getting under my skin, and he succeeded.”
He looks down trying to avoid her gaze. He taps his fingers on his stomach trying to figure out what better way to explain himself.
“After that, I went to the white room to record my promo. I felt the fire that he created around me. I felt the anger that he put inside of me. I didn’t care for anyone I spoke about. I didn’t even care about my best friend. Kris was just an afterthought. All I cared about was hurting those people with my words, but I noticed something.”
He held up his left hand looking at it with mild fear. He gulps.
“My hand started to shake, and that was when I knew that it was going to happen. I felt the seizure building up, but I wasn’t done with the promo. I had to finish it, so I continued with it. After I finished, I knew it was too late. It was going to happen, and I couldn’t stop it. That’s all I can remember. Then, I’m waking up here. You filled me on the rest.”
He lowers his hand sighing.
“I failed you. I was supposed to be stronger, but I failed. I needed to be stronger, but all I did was succumb to my demons. I told myself to be different, but I couldn’t be. Now, I’m in this damn hospital bed seeming weaker than James Ceno or anyone else at Winter Survival. I just can’t do it anymore Courtney. I just can’t”
She stands up and gently places her hand on his cheek. He closes his eyes trying to hold back his own tears. She smiles at him and gently kisses him on his forehead.
“Eli, you didn’t fail me. You could never fail me. I just wish you would’ve spoken to me about it. We could’ve worked this out together. We’re a team, and we needed to act like one. Eli, you’re stronger than you think. You just have to realize that.”
He smiles as he opens his eyes looking up at her. The lights are not as bright anymore. They radiate behind her as she appears to be like an angel from Heaven. He moves his hand up and caresses his hand on hers. A nurse walks into the room with a phone in hand. She notices the two close to each other mildly spooked.
“Oh, I’m sorry, but Mr. Goode has a phone call.”
“From who?”
“From a Mr. Jack Michaels.”
Courtney looks down at him with a hint of concern on her face. Eli nods to her. He looks at the nurse.
“Ok, I’ll take the call.”
He looks over to Courtney.
“I need to take this alone.”
She nods and walks out of the room. The nurse hands him the phone and exits behind Courtney. He takes a deep breath worried about what he might say to Jack. He closes his eyes and removes any form of anxiety from his mind. He places the phone next to his ear,
“Hello Jack.”
“Hey kid, I heard about what happened. Though we may not be on the same side, that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned for you. You’re the one I took a risk on, and I’m making sure that you’re feeling alright.”
“Are you asking as a business man or as a friend?”
There is a slight pause as Eli’s eyebrows furrow with anger.
“A friend. Eli, what I’m doing with Paragon has nothing to do with you. It has to do with what the wrestling industry is becoming. You should realize that it has lost the spirit it had in my day.”
“Jack, you may not have realized this, but your day is gone. People like Mizore and me are trying to reshape this industry, and you’re spitting on our hard work.”
Jack scoffs. If he could be seen, his head would be shaking.
“Hard work? Eli, your recent hard work has been nothing but losing. Ever since you failed at Summer BreakDown, you’ve shown that you haven’t been worthy of my ideals. You’ve shown that you were just someone that couldn’t reach Amber’s potential.”
“Oh, here we go bringing Amber back into the picture. Jack, you met her during a tag team tournament. You only got close to her because you saw her potential. You got close to me because of the exact same reason, and you did not once come to me about joining Paragon. You went have James; a guy who is nothing like you or me. Then, you added Leon just because he is a former student of yours, and then you brought in Christy because you thought it might be a shocking heel turn for the audience.”
Eli sits up in the bed finally feeling the rush of adrenaline he needed to wake himself up.
“Now, you better shut your goddamn mouth Eli. You don’t know why I picked any of them. You don’t know why I do the things I do, and don’t you ever say anything you don’t fully understand. I didn’t ask you to join Paragon because you still had that raw potential that needed to be fixed, and after Summer BreakDown, I wanted to see if you could focus that on wanting to the HSW Championship. However, it seemed like losing was all you could do. That raw potential was thrown away for nothing. Everything I saw was just a façade.”
“Now who’s the one not knowing what they’re talking about? Dammit Jack, I still respect you. I respect your ideals, but I think you’re going about it the wrong fucking way. You needed to do something different. You didn’t have to attack Mizore.”
“Yes I did. I needed to send a statement to the entire world that I meant business.”
“We already know that Jack. Look…”
He rubs his head trying to think about what he could say to Jack. Many thoughts run through his head: angry thoughts to reassuring thoughts. He finally sighs knowing what to say.
“Jack, you know that I’m still going to be backing you. I don’t care about what you’ve done. I just, I just want you to know that you don’t have to execute your plan in this way. You can do it differently, and if you ever want to, I’ll be by your side helping you. Paragon can mean something more than just bitter people against a changing industry. It can mean something more.”
A silence returns the room with Eli waiting for a response. He sits with the phone next to his ear. The dial tone has not started, so he knows Jack is still there. He hears sigh as Jack finally replies.
“Kid, if you’re not busy, I want you to come to a show that I’m working. You know that Paragon is all over the wrestling scene. I want you to see what Amber and I are doing at Carnage Wrestling. After that, I’ll let you decide what to do after. Trust me, you’ll understand what I’m doing after you watch the show.”
Eli looks around the room and rubs his head.
“Ok, I’ll come watch, but know that if what I see doesn’t change my mind, if you beat Mizore and I win Sole Survivor, I won’t be afraid to attack you.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way kid. Get well soon.”
Jack hangs up the phone as the dial tone starts. Eli looks at the phone and hangs up. He places the phone next to him as he puts his hands together. He looks at the wall trying to think about what to do. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes to calm himself down.
-------------------
“After so long, it has finally come to this. All of our bickering, all of our fighting, all of our taunts have finally come to this match. The winner walks out of Winter Survival as the HSW North American Champion. The loser walks out with nothing. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long James. I’ve wanted to shut you damn mouth up since the moment you won that title. Now, I can finally do what I’ve wanted to do for so long. I can finally show the world the coward you are.”
“James, I don’t need to hear what you said about me for me to tell you what type of person you are. We know what type of person I am. I’m the type of guy that will fight on and on and on until I’m on the ground dead. Death is the only thing that can stop me. I know you won’t kill me. No matter how angry you get, you won’t kill me. You have a daughter to go back home to. You don’t want to leave her alone. So, you’re going to just fight me and beat me down, but you’re not going to continue on. That’s going to be your mistake.”
“You see, I can’t be stopped. You knock me down; I get back up. I’ve been doing this for years, and no one has ever kept me down. You won’t keep me down. I know this because I’m going to enter in the Sole Survivor match. And I’m going to be walking into that match as the North American Champion.”
“James, you are the weak link in Paragon. A team is only as strong as its weakest link, and because of you, you’re going to bring Paragon down to its knees. You see, we’ve fought each too many times. I can’t think of anything different to say to you. It’s not because I’m losing ideas. It’s because you’re a one trick pony. You do the same thing over and over and over again. You’re like Brock Lesnar in the WWE. You suplex people, hit your finisher, and pin them. You don’t have variety in your matches. The only reason you have good matches is because of your opponents. Without us, you’re nothing special. I’m going to make sure you stay that way too.”
“After Winter Survival, you’re going to be nothing. You’re going to be the guy that people think back as a paper champion. You’re the guy that people won’t care about in ten years from now. I’m the one they’ll look at as the prime member of HSW. That North American Championship is being wasted on you, and after Winter Survival, it’ll finally be worn by someone that actually gives a damn about this company and its championships.”
“James, you’re fire has been burning for too long, and I’m going to snuff it out at Winter Survival. A storm is coming, but it’s not your storm. It’s my storm. James, that belt won’t be yours. That belt is going to be mine for one reason and one reason alone: it’s because I’m… That Damn Goode!”
December 6, 2017
Sunrise Hospital
Las Vegas, Nevada
5:20 PM
The bright lights cause his vision to become blurry. He looks around at the familiar surroundings of the hospital room. He sees the sheets covering his body as he takes a deep breath. He looks up to see local news playing. It has been a long time since he has seen the news, but he does not care. He looks to his left side to see Courtney Jones sitting next to him. She is wearing a blue tank top and leggings. Her hair is completely down coming to her mid back. She looks up at the TV with her right hand holding Eli’s left. He smiles a bit and grips her hand. She slightly looks over to see his eyes opening. A smile appears on her face.
“Eli, you’re awake. Oh, thank god.”
“Wha-what happened?”
She sighs trying to find the right words. She lowers her head and keeps her hand on his.
“You had a seizure. I reached your apartment the moment it happened, so I called the ambulance as soon as possible. The only problem was you didn’t stop. After ten minutes of seizing, you finally stopped, but you were constantly seizing again and again. The doctors told me they weren’t sure if you’d wake up after so much strain on your body.”
A small tear rolls down her left cheek. She quickly wipes it away. Her face is weathered, and her eyes have noticeable bags under them. This had taken a massive toll on her, but she did not leave his side. He looks at her with a slight frown trying to find the right words for her, but all he could think of was silence. She took a deep breath and continued with his condition.
“After the first week, the doctors told me that you’d wake up eventually, but they didn’t know when. Now, you’ve finally did it. And it took you too damn long.”
She fights to smile, but Eli notices more tears in her eye. He takes his hand off of hers and places it on her cheek. She releases a small chuckle as the tears begin to roll down her eyes again. He rubs her cheek as he tries to comfort her.
“Hey, I’m all right now. I’m just a bit groggy.”
“You should be. They’ve been pumping your medicine in your bloodstream to make sure that you don’t have another one. God Eli, what happened that night? Do you know what you could’ve done to prevent this?”
Silence fills up the room as he looks at her eyes. He can only think about the alcohol he had, and the Joker’s voice ringing in his head. He did not want to tell her the truth, but he knew he had to. He had done so much to get this relationship to work; he did not want it to end this way.
“Yeah, that night, I didn’t take my medication because I was just feeling too weak. I didn’t feel like I was worth anything, so I decided to drink. I drank a lot that night. All of my ambitions were gone, and all I could think about was giving up. I didn’t want to be anywhere close to the ring. I didn’t want to see James Ceno, and I didn’t want to see Jack. But, suddenly, I was visited by an old friend of mine.”
He looks away from her and takes his hand off of her face. He looks over to a mirror seeing him. He did not see who he thought would be there. He looks at her and simply taps his right temple.
“I saw the other side of me, the side that wants me to fight more often. It came to me as a reminder of who I was, and he was trying to rattle me to the point of wanting to fight whoever was in my way. He wanted me to ignore everyone I cared about. He wanted me to fell smaller than everyone around me, and it was working. He hand me in a metaphorical headlock. He was getting under my skin, and he succeeded.”
He looks down trying to avoid her gaze. He taps his fingers on his stomach trying to figure out what better way to explain himself.
“After that, I went to the white room to record my promo. I felt the fire that he created around me. I felt the anger that he put inside of me. I didn’t care for anyone I spoke about. I didn’t even care about my best friend. Kris was just an afterthought. All I cared about was hurting those people with my words, but I noticed something.”
He held up his left hand looking at it with mild fear. He gulps.
“My hand started to shake, and that was when I knew that it was going to happen. I felt the seizure building up, but I wasn’t done with the promo. I had to finish it, so I continued with it. After I finished, I knew it was too late. It was going to happen, and I couldn’t stop it. That’s all I can remember. Then, I’m waking up here. You filled me on the rest.”
He lowers his hand sighing.
“I failed you. I was supposed to be stronger, but I failed. I needed to be stronger, but all I did was succumb to my demons. I told myself to be different, but I couldn’t be. Now, I’m in this damn hospital bed seeming weaker than James Ceno or anyone else at Winter Survival. I just can’t do it anymore Courtney. I just can’t”
She stands up and gently places her hand on his cheek. He closes his eyes trying to hold back his own tears. She smiles at him and gently kisses him on his forehead.
“Eli, you didn’t fail me. You could never fail me. I just wish you would’ve spoken to me about it. We could’ve worked this out together. We’re a team, and we needed to act like one. Eli, you’re stronger than you think. You just have to realize that.”
He smiles as he opens his eyes looking up at her. The lights are not as bright anymore. They radiate behind her as she appears to be like an angel from Heaven. He moves his hand up and caresses his hand on hers. A nurse walks into the room with a phone in hand. She notices the two close to each other mildly spooked.
“Oh, I’m sorry, but Mr. Goode has a phone call.”
“From who?”
“From a Mr. Jack Michaels.”
Courtney looks down at him with a hint of concern on her face. Eli nods to her. He looks at the nurse.
“Ok, I’ll take the call.”
He looks over to Courtney.
“I need to take this alone.”
She nods and walks out of the room. The nurse hands him the phone and exits behind Courtney. He takes a deep breath worried about what he might say to Jack. He closes his eyes and removes any form of anxiety from his mind. He places the phone next to his ear,
“Hello Jack.”
“Hey kid, I heard about what happened. Though we may not be on the same side, that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned for you. You’re the one I took a risk on, and I’m making sure that you’re feeling alright.”
“Are you asking as a business man or as a friend?”
There is a slight pause as Eli’s eyebrows furrow with anger.
“A friend. Eli, what I’m doing with Paragon has nothing to do with you. It has to do with what the wrestling industry is becoming. You should realize that it has lost the spirit it had in my day.”
“Jack, you may not have realized this, but your day is gone. People like Mizore and me are trying to reshape this industry, and you’re spitting on our hard work.”
Jack scoffs. If he could be seen, his head would be shaking.
“Hard work? Eli, your recent hard work has been nothing but losing. Ever since you failed at Summer BreakDown, you’ve shown that you haven’t been worthy of my ideals. You’ve shown that you were just someone that couldn’t reach Amber’s potential.”
“Oh, here we go bringing Amber back into the picture. Jack, you met her during a tag team tournament. You only got close to her because you saw her potential. You got close to me because of the exact same reason, and you did not once come to me about joining Paragon. You went have James; a guy who is nothing like you or me. Then, you added Leon just because he is a former student of yours, and then you brought in Christy because you thought it might be a shocking heel turn for the audience.”
Eli sits up in the bed finally feeling the rush of adrenaline he needed to wake himself up.
“Now, you better shut your goddamn mouth Eli. You don’t know why I picked any of them. You don’t know why I do the things I do, and don’t you ever say anything you don’t fully understand. I didn’t ask you to join Paragon because you still had that raw potential that needed to be fixed, and after Summer BreakDown, I wanted to see if you could focus that on wanting to the HSW Championship. However, it seemed like losing was all you could do. That raw potential was thrown away for nothing. Everything I saw was just a façade.”
“Now who’s the one not knowing what they’re talking about? Dammit Jack, I still respect you. I respect your ideals, but I think you’re going about it the wrong fucking way. You needed to do something different. You didn’t have to attack Mizore.”
“Yes I did. I needed to send a statement to the entire world that I meant business.”
“We already know that Jack. Look…”
He rubs his head trying to think about what he could say to Jack. Many thoughts run through his head: angry thoughts to reassuring thoughts. He finally sighs knowing what to say.
“Jack, you know that I’m still going to be backing you. I don’t care about what you’ve done. I just, I just want you to know that you don’t have to execute your plan in this way. You can do it differently, and if you ever want to, I’ll be by your side helping you. Paragon can mean something more than just bitter people against a changing industry. It can mean something more.”
A silence returns the room with Eli waiting for a response. He sits with the phone next to his ear. The dial tone has not started, so he knows Jack is still there. He hears sigh as Jack finally replies.
“Kid, if you’re not busy, I want you to come to a show that I’m working. You know that Paragon is all over the wrestling scene. I want you to see what Amber and I are doing at Carnage Wrestling. After that, I’ll let you decide what to do after. Trust me, you’ll understand what I’m doing after you watch the show.”
Eli looks around the room and rubs his head.
“Ok, I’ll come watch, but know that if what I see doesn’t change my mind, if you beat Mizore and I win Sole Survivor, I won’t be afraid to attack you.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way kid. Get well soon.”
Jack hangs up the phone as the dial tone starts. Eli looks at the phone and hangs up. He places the phone next to him as he puts his hands together. He looks at the wall trying to think about what to do. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes to calm himself down.
-------------------
“After so long, it has finally come to this. All of our bickering, all of our fighting, all of our taunts have finally come to this match. The winner walks out of Winter Survival as the HSW North American Champion. The loser walks out with nothing. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long James. I’ve wanted to shut you damn mouth up since the moment you won that title. Now, I can finally do what I’ve wanted to do for so long. I can finally show the world the coward you are.”
“James, I don’t need to hear what you said about me for me to tell you what type of person you are. We know what type of person I am. I’m the type of guy that will fight on and on and on until I’m on the ground dead. Death is the only thing that can stop me. I know you won’t kill me. No matter how angry you get, you won’t kill me. You have a daughter to go back home to. You don’t want to leave her alone. So, you’re going to just fight me and beat me down, but you’re not going to continue on. That’s going to be your mistake.”
“You see, I can’t be stopped. You knock me down; I get back up. I’ve been doing this for years, and no one has ever kept me down. You won’t keep me down. I know this because I’m going to enter in the Sole Survivor match. And I’m going to be walking into that match as the North American Champion.”
“James, you are the weak link in Paragon. A team is only as strong as its weakest link, and because of you, you’re going to bring Paragon down to its knees. You see, we’ve fought each too many times. I can’t think of anything different to say to you. It’s not because I’m losing ideas. It’s because you’re a one trick pony. You do the same thing over and over and over again. You’re like Brock Lesnar in the WWE. You suplex people, hit your finisher, and pin them. You don’t have variety in your matches. The only reason you have good matches is because of your opponents. Without us, you’re nothing special. I’m going to make sure you stay that way too.”
“After Winter Survival, you’re going to be nothing. You’re going to be the guy that people think back as a paper champion. You’re the guy that people won’t care about in ten years from now. I’m the one they’ll look at as the prime member of HSW. That North American Championship is being wasted on you, and after Winter Survival, it’ll finally be worn by someone that actually gives a damn about this company and its championships.”
“James, you’re fire has been burning for too long, and I’m going to snuff it out at Winter Survival. A storm is coming, but it’s not your storm. It’s my storm. James, that belt won’t be yours. That belt is going to be mine for one reason and one reason alone: it’s because I’m… That Damn Goode!”
