Post by INFINITE PRO. on Aug 31, 2022 1:13:16 GMT
V.
“THE RECKONING”
THE RITZ-CARLTON SUITE.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.
SATURDAY, JULY 30th.
9:01 p.m.
“THE RECKONING”
THE RITZ-CARLTON SUITE.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.
SATURDAY, JULY 30th.
9:01 p.m.
We open on an elegant dining room with an ovular white marble table centering our frame. Of the six sleek black dining chairs surrounding the table, only one is filled: the one on the far side of the table. Sitting at the head of the table with two windows overlooking the night skyline of the 415 behind her is none other than INFINITE PRO WORLD CHAMPION ANA SOMNIA.
She is clad in leisurely attire of a sleeveless black W.C.A. FIGHT CLUB sweatshirt, a black IPW beanie, and a black pair of Reebok Russia compression shorts. Her platinum blonde hair is tied up in a messy bun. One tanned knee is visible over the edge of the dining table, the other either hanging below the table in a traditional way or curled under her left knee on the chair. Her left arm hooks around said visible knee and she looks contemplatively into the camera before speaking in a measured tone.
“We have adage in Russia,” explains Necessary Evil. “It says, ‘Без кота́ мыша́м раздо́лье’. Without cat... mice will feel free. For natural selection to cull herd, there must be apex predator to establish true order. False sense of security for mice should be game for cat to play, not mouse’s natural state.” Her eyes drift to the façade of the table, as if a cat and mouse are going toe-to-toe there as she speaks. “This was common lesson for me as little girl in Russia. When I was little girl, I was mouse. As I grew older and became decorated martial artist, I became cat. But tomorrow night, MYŌJIN? Tomorrow night I think you will find I am without which cat... will feel free.” Ana lowers her knee and leans forward, resting her forearms against the table. “I am not insulted you do not fear me, MYŌJIN. I can abide this because I have respect for you. If I am anything, I am amused. Because you do not fear me, you feel free. Free to say what you want, do what you want… free to take liberties… with my patience.” In hopes of maintaining her composure, Somnia takes a deep, slow breath in through her nose. “But worst is this— you feel free to stand in way of progress. This, I cannot abide. This, you will pay great cost for, place in future of sport I am building or not.”
“You should consider yourself… blessed, любимый.”
“You should know this,” she says. “It is not every day I allow someone with your delusions of loftier ambition to have my respect.” Shrugging, Ana continues. “If you were someone else, not fearing me would guarantee your death. If you were someone else, feeling free to say what you want and do what you want free of consequence would get you killed. Taking LIBERTIES with my patience would guarantee your EXTINCTION!” Somnia stabs an index finger into the table for emphasis. “But because you are not someone else, MYŌJIN, I have ALLOWED you to continue breathing. Instead of making you Example, I have studied and admired your devotion to sport, to violence.” The Huntress hisses as she speaks her scathing sentiments. “I have watched every single fight in your career, MYŌJIN, and in all of these fights, do you know what stands out most to me? I will give you hint...” Her voice trails off as she leans even more forward, her nefarious scowl growing more foreboding. “It isn’t... you.” She shakes her head, eyebrows slowly rising skyward. “What stands out most to me, ребенок? You have never faced test like ME. Even your greatest triumphs came against fighters who simply cannot and could never compete with Undisputed. In other words, MYŌJIN?”
“You do not fear me only because you have not been paying attention.”
“If you had paid attention?” she asks rhetorically. “You would not have been so inclined to pick fight with Devil Herself. But here we are! There is no turning back now, ребенок. You cannot change this anymore than I can change this, and I cannot. My hands are… tied, as they say.” A diabolical grin spreads across her lips. “You have exhausted... my patience. Because of this, I have begun to wonder, MYŌJIN… have I allowed you to live too long? I think I have.” Nodding emphatically, Somnia sucks through her teeth before continuing. “Your delusions of loftier ambition have grown into cancer, infecting every corner of your system.” Her upper lip twitches in contemptuous disgust. “To rip cancer out root and stem as I must, for Greater Good, I must cut it out of you: every last trace, down to atoms, of this disturbing delusion you will defeat me and take my Infinite Pro World Championship in process. What an unfortunate waste of potential... though it is like me— inevitable.” The ominous smirk slicing across Ana’s visage borders her expression on the Uncanny Valley. “So enjoy feeling free while you still can, little mouse. And pay closer attention... because tomorrow night you will understand what I mean when I say I am pound-for-pound most potent professional fighter on planet. Tomorrow night you will understand—intimately—why it is me responsible for building future of sport.” She slams her fist against her own chest to emphasize herself when she uses the previous personal pronoun. “Because when you step into ring with Devil Herself? When you step into ring with Infinite Pro World Champion? When you step into MY ring?”
She lowers the hand with which she has just pointed to herself before snickering with a sinister sneer. Soon, she offers her signature and final guttural threat.
“NO ONE SURVIVES!”
The corner of her mouth curls into a venomous smirk as she cackles maniacally, the laughter growing louder and louder until we finally, mercifully fade to black.
Fade.
“Like a reckoning, you never saw it coming. I'm the reaper outside your door… I'm getting what I came for. Like the sound of falling stars crashing in the dark, I said a prayer and buried your name, and up through the ashes I rose like wildfire.”
— Halestorm
She is clad in leisurely attire of a sleeveless black W.C.A. FIGHT CLUB sweatshirt, a black IPW beanie, and a black pair of Reebok Russia compression shorts. Her platinum blonde hair is tied up in a messy bun. One tanned knee is visible over the edge of the dining table, the other either hanging below the table in a traditional way or curled under her left knee on the chair. Her left arm hooks around said visible knee and she looks contemplatively into the camera before speaking in a measured tone.
“We have adage in Russia,” explains Necessary Evil. “It says, ‘Без кота́ мыша́м раздо́лье’. Without cat... mice will feel free. For natural selection to cull herd, there must be apex predator to establish true order. False sense of security for mice should be game for cat to play, not mouse’s natural state.” Her eyes drift to the façade of the table, as if a cat and mouse are going toe-to-toe there as she speaks. “This was common lesson for me as little girl in Russia. When I was little girl, I was mouse. As I grew older and became decorated martial artist, I became cat. But tomorrow night, MYŌJIN? Tomorrow night I think you will find I am without which cat... will feel free.” Ana lowers her knee and leans forward, resting her forearms against the table. “I am not insulted you do not fear me, MYŌJIN. I can abide this because I have respect for you. If I am anything, I am amused. Because you do not fear me, you feel free. Free to say what you want, do what you want… free to take liberties… with my patience.” In hopes of maintaining her composure, Somnia takes a deep, slow breath in through her nose. “But worst is this— you feel free to stand in way of progress. This, I cannot abide. This, you will pay great cost for, place in future of sport I am building or not.”
“You should consider yourself… blessed, любимый.”
“You should know this,” she says. “It is not every day I allow someone with your delusions of loftier ambition to have my respect.” Shrugging, Ana continues. “If you were someone else, not fearing me would guarantee your death. If you were someone else, feeling free to say what you want and do what you want free of consequence would get you killed. Taking LIBERTIES with my patience would guarantee your EXTINCTION!” Somnia stabs an index finger into the table for emphasis. “But because you are not someone else, MYŌJIN, I have ALLOWED you to continue breathing. Instead of making you Example, I have studied and admired your devotion to sport, to violence.” The Huntress hisses as she speaks her scathing sentiments. “I have watched every single fight in your career, MYŌJIN, and in all of these fights, do you know what stands out most to me? I will give you hint...” Her voice trails off as she leans even more forward, her nefarious scowl growing more foreboding. “It isn’t... you.” She shakes her head, eyebrows slowly rising skyward. “What stands out most to me, ребенок? You have never faced test like ME. Even your greatest triumphs came against fighters who simply cannot and could never compete with Undisputed. In other words, MYŌJIN?”
“You do not fear me only because you have not been paying attention.”
“If you had paid attention?” she asks rhetorically. “You would not have been so inclined to pick fight with Devil Herself. But here we are! There is no turning back now, ребенок. You cannot change this anymore than I can change this, and I cannot. My hands are… tied, as they say.” A diabolical grin spreads across her lips. “You have exhausted... my patience. Because of this, I have begun to wonder, MYŌJIN… have I allowed you to live too long? I think I have.” Nodding emphatically, Somnia sucks through her teeth before continuing. “Your delusions of loftier ambition have grown into cancer, infecting every corner of your system.” Her upper lip twitches in contemptuous disgust. “To rip cancer out root and stem as I must, for Greater Good, I must cut it out of you: every last trace, down to atoms, of this disturbing delusion you will defeat me and take my Infinite Pro World Championship in process. What an unfortunate waste of potential... though it is like me— inevitable.” The ominous smirk slicing across Ana’s visage borders her expression on the Uncanny Valley. “So enjoy feeling free while you still can, little mouse. And pay closer attention... because tomorrow night you will understand what I mean when I say I am pound-for-pound most potent professional fighter on planet. Tomorrow night you will understand—intimately—why it is me responsible for building future of sport.” She slams her fist against her own chest to emphasize herself when she uses the previous personal pronoun. “Because when you step into ring with Devil Herself? When you step into ring with Infinite Pro World Champion? When you step into MY ring?”
She lowers the hand with which she has just pointed to herself before snickering with a sinister sneer. Soon, she offers her signature and final guttural threat.
“NO ONE SURVIVES!”
The corner of her mouth curls into a venomous smirk as she cackles maniacally, the laughter growing louder and louder until we finally, mercifully fade to black.
Fade.
“Like a reckoning, you never saw it coming. I'm the reaper outside your door… I'm getting what I came for. Like the sound of falling stars crashing in the dark, I said a prayer and buried your name, and up through the ashes I rose like wildfire.”
— Halestorm