Dear Rook

[GreggG]

(CUT TO: A concerned JJ DeVille sits in a chair, chessboard in front of him.)

JJ: "Rook Black, I pray tell you get this message. First -- and I don't do this often... or ever... but I'm going to say something heartfelt, earnest and true. Scout's honor. Even the gay scouts.

I'm sorry.

You see, Rook, I had the full intention of addressing our situation in the latest HFC missive. However, you're a smart person. There's the rule of three -- I had to address situations, as did my two cohorts. We excluded you from that promo for a reason. It was not to disrespect you. It was not to make you feel less important in our eyes.

It was because I wanted the public communication between yourself and myself to stand out. My message should come earlier, true, but the HFC has been a bit busy... oh... having the entire wrestling community coming after it.

As far as where we left off -- your title versus my membership... I'm still considering that. Yes, the HFC values your title, just as we value EVERY title here in NFW. And if that's what it takes to get a match for that title, then, yes, I will accept that wager. Because, Rook Black, you are one of the few men in this sport -- nay, this earth -- who truly understands what this whole thing is about. In fact, Rook Black, I am even willing to suggest that Rook Black IS INDEED YOUR REAL NAME.

(JJ purses his lips.)

So we can work out this match and I can say mean things about you and you can say mean things about me and we can do this. But, being a man of cold and unfeeling logic, also known as an adult, I think you should reconsider a few points before we go that route.

Your concerns about me are indeed legitimate. I did a lot of bad things to a lot of people here in NFW. I will not nor never will apologize for what I've done. The NFW wronged me many, many times as I've addressed. I was out of this sport, blackballed by the political game, largely because I used to beat Eddie Mayfield's ass in the CSWA and also because Troy Windham wanted me to become not the man who rode his coattails... but the man who would replace him as the biggest star in the world of professional wrestling. And, there's no doubt about it, NO ONE gets the reactions that I do. NO ONE gets hit with garbage quite like I do. I rather enjoy it, in fact.

That also ties into Dan Ryan. I did not sign up in the Windham Clan to help Dan Ryan win yet another world title. I signed up in the Windham Clan in order to steal the spotlight that comes with the name Windham. Dan Ryan winning the NFW World Title would be a threat to my quest for power. Dan Ryan winning the title means HE has a say in Windham Clan affairs. Well, he didn't win. And then he crossed me. And then I came back at him harder than anyone else ever has, in a way no one else ever has. I stood out on national television and told the world THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH about he and his dead daughter. And guess what?

I'm here. Dan Ryan's not. I'm here, Troy Windham's not. I'm here, Mike Randalls' not.

So, Rook Black -- again, indeed your real name -- that explains that.

But now I'd like YOU to address some points that I asked of you.

NUMBER UNO!

I have hurt the shareholder equity of NFW. But should you blame me for that or should you blame the fact that Il Duce Mayfield is a complete and total dumb dumb? It was my mission to do that. I succeeded. It's Eddie's mission to stop me. He has filed at every single turn.

NUMBER TWOOOOOO!

There was a 5 on 5 match where Eddie Mayfield picked the people he felt were most likely to defeat The Windham Clan. Was your name on that list? Or even considered?

NUMBRE TRES!

You were in an alliance of sorts with Impulse in the not too distant pass. Like any right-thinking human being would, you attacked him and left him laying in a pool of blood. Was there any quest of vengeance on his part? Hell, was there even a match between you two? If there was, pardon me for not noticing it, because it was no doubt the second opening match on a random Brawl.

QUATRO QUATRO QUATRO QUATRO!

You've held the Triple Crown Championship longer than any other title holder in NFW has currently held their title. Yet, how many times have YOU -- a man rightly concerned about NFW finances -- met with Fiona Love at a marketing meeting? You, Rook Black -- again, indeed your real name -- are a worldwide legend and true icon in this industry. Yet, curiously, there are no links to your Instagram or Tumblr or other of your myriad of social media platforms.

Thus, Rook, I ask you to analyze this.

NO ONE from NFW has ever dared embraced you as they should.

WE in the Hellfire Club have offered you a membership in our elite organization.

The offer still stands.

But it's up to you YOU YOU YOU!!!!

(JJ points at the camera and then holds up the black rook chess piece. FTB.)

 

[Ford]

(FADEIN: Jack Harmen standing in front of an NFW flag. Of course, the Everett strap remains wrapped around his waist.)

JACK HARMEN: JJ. You are wrong. If there's ONE man in NFW who has FULLY embraced Rook Black, it's FUCKING ME.

Rook and I've never seen eye to eye, but we've bonded over our most favorite of past times...

(Harmen smiles. XCU on his pearly whites.)

JACK HARMEN: Violence. Oh, and our own reflections in championship accolades.

(BACK to Medium shot as Harmen looks down at his Everett strap.)

JACK HARMEN: I'm pretty sure that's ALL Rook wants. WAR and GOLD. You JJ? Beyond a bunch of lackeys to replace Rook's National Guard, offer NOTHING of ANY concern to the ONLY Triple Crown Champion in NFW's history. Especially by being a leader who's a backstabbing douchechill, and who's entire family is so reviled their last name practically RHYMES with that word. What are you going to offer Rook besides a handshake and a knife in the back?

(HARMEN slaps the championship strap around his waist.)

JACK HARMEN: These titles aren't ever coming off AGAIN. I will SCORCH THE EARTH before I let this gold slip through my fingertips. And I think I'd do the same to make sure the Entitled never lay a finger on Rook's triforce, turning this great land into the dark world...

(Harmen shakes his head.)

JACK HARMEN: So Rook, please. I know us being on opposite sides would lead to some epic moments of splattering bloodshed... And I know most of the NFW doesn't trust you. But no one in NFW trusted me until Nova gave me the chance.

(HARMEN grabs the sides of the camera, and leans in really close.)

JACK HARMEN: I trust you Rook. I trust you to make the right decision. Just know, whatever your decision, I'm always here to smash your face in with a chair.

(Harmen smiles.)

JACK HARMEN: As a friend, of course.

(Jack DROPS the camera, as we CUTTO: STATIC.)

 

[brusch]

(Fade in to Leyenda de Ocho in front of an NFW backdrop.)

Ocho: "Seems like you've all forgotten about something...

Rook Black is the Final Boss, and the Triforce Championship is the ultimate prize. I will go through any Grand Prix, any two-bit imitator who thinks that all it takes to become me is 'vidja games vidja games vidja games', any Club, any THING to see this mission to its conclusion. I am in this for the long haul.

Maybe you don't see me as a threat, maybe you don't see me as the real deal, maybe you don't even know who I am yet. So go ahead - throw your weight around, puff out your chest, say how great you are and what a flyspeck I am in the big bad NFW. I beg you. You'll find out what kind of mistake that would be.

There's nothing I prefer more than to be the overlooked underdog, because while you're all out there posturing for no-one-in-particular, I'm busy working. Training. Getting better. Getting hungier. And soon...soon...

It's Game Over."

(Fade to black.)

 

[fugginVOSS]

JACK HARMEN: These titles aren't ever coming off AGAIN. I will SCORCH THE EARTH before I let this gold slip through my fingertips.

[FADE IN: on a hotel room, which clearly isn't costing the earth for it's rental. It's being filmed from the perspective of a laptop camera and filling the screen is TEDDY ALEXANDER.]

TEDDY ALEXANDER:
"I guess I must've missed da memo, Jack. Good luck keepin' 'em wrapped round ya waist.

"You'll NEED it."

[TEDDY reaches forward and shuts the laptop as he laughs arrogantly.]

[CUT to BLACK!]

 

[Rook Black]

ROOK: "Some salient points have been raised."

(FADE IN: ROOK BLACK turning his desk back over, and sitting down upon it.)

ROOK: "Jack, thanks for chiming in. But you've gone down a path that isn't for me. I can admit to being jealous of you in this regard. Friendship, camaraderie, cupcakes. They have appeal. But I am very aware of what kinds of normal human behavior I can approximate through studied imitation, and what kind I cannot. But you've got me dead to rights. War. Gold."

ROOK: "Player One, the GPX is never far from my mind. I can promise you that I'm not ignoring you guys, which will be covered in just a bit."

ROOK: "JJ."

(ROOK squares himself toward the camera on the desk, and shuffles the Triple Crown Championship from his waist to his shoulder.)

ROOK: "I'd like to address your four points. But first, apology accepted. You've given me back Rook Black Christmas, and I most certainly appreciate that. Now, let's look at those points you made."

ROOK: "One. Damaging the company's assets to discredit Mayfield would be a viable plan of attack, if you did not work for the same company. As Jack Bryant would say, you're shitting where you eat. Sinking the ship you're standing on. The prize of control is only valuable when you have something worthwhile to rule. And folks like you prefer to tear things down rather than build them up. It's pathological. You do it because you get a win/win scenario in your broken minds: you get to rule the scrap heap if you win, and you've left the enemy nothing valuable to claim if you lose. It's a distinctive factor why you are dangerous to your allies."

ROOK: "Two. It's true that I was not part of the tag match against the Windham Clan. The reason is simple; I was not one of the President's Men. Mayfield viewed me as a holdover from the Miles era. He felt his team had to be his guys. I felt that the President had made a mistake in this matter, but it was the President's prerogative and his mistake to make. But don't imagine that I do not respect Eddie Mayfield. He was building something, JJ. He was creating in an environment that always makes things easier for the side of the destroyers. And I think you need to consider how much Mayfield likes you. You slapped him, and that cigarette did not go in your eye. That's the equivalent of a fucking hug."

ROOK: "Three. Impulse is a pretty stubborn kid. He took that love tap after the match to heart, and still holds a grudge over it. He's refused to acknowledge me as an enemy, but he's also young, and I am a very patient individual. And I think, given time, he'll find that he needs an enemy like me more than he needs one like you."

(ROOK squints.)

ROOK: "Four."

(He resumes a neutral facial expression.)

ROOK: "It is not Fiona's fault that I'm hard to market. I've made it hard for her. I'm uncooperative, and contrary, and I adamantly refused her initial suggestions on how to make Rook Black more accessible to everyone. No more complicated concepts, no more over-analyzing, wear a cowboy hat, these things weren't acceptable to me. She and I strongly disagreed on what kind of things our audience could grasp intuitively. Just the same, the people love guys like Jack Bryant in ways that they'll never love me. I accept this. Fiona's job responsibility is to market for the best return on investment, which make this company more money, which means a stronger company, which means more competitors: the things that I want most. Not the royalties."

ROOK: "Besides-"

(ROOK lifts the belt from his shoulder and holds it out, appraising the Triple Crown Championship with affection.)

ROOK: "The people do seem to love the Triple Crown Championship. Sure, folks criticize President Mayfield for his obsession with the game industry. But they don't understand it's simple genius. Our audience loves their games too, just like he does."

ROOK: "And those who love their games, they also love a compelling, complicated, villain. And that role, I have found, is one I can embody effortlessly. The shirt with the pixelated version of me holding the prize? Outsold all other merch of mine combined."

ROOK: "It works. Games are responsible for an entirely new mythology in this modern era. And I can access that mythology. Where my actions were incomprehensible before, and our fans were merely confused by my elaborate plans, they've now got context."

ROOK: "Shall I demonstrate?"

ROOK: "I certainly want to defeat you to oust you from the Hellfire Club. You certainly want to defeat me to claim the very prestigious Triple Crown championship, and hold a win over the last unbeatable champion in NFW."

ROOK: "But Player One raises a good point, the GPX will have a conclusion soon, and I just don't feel right about making that winner wait for their shot."

ROOK: "Triple Threat Match. Rook Black, the Triple Crown Champion, against JJ DeVille, against our GPX Challenger."

ROOK: "You may have observed that I have a preference for Triple Threat matches. I assure you that this, like my streak, is not statistically significant."

ROOK: "Think it over."

 

[JBorchard]

CUTTO: The shrugging herd of NFWites upon hearing the name, Orange Dragon II. These 'smartfans' in mass wanting to see legitimate challengers not percieved fodder.The Grand Prix has been his first introduction to the world outside of Kobe, Japan. So why would his more-experienced opposition sweat the unknown? For what lurks in the mist of one-ups too cloud-covered to fly through, this one hunter of newfound success must stay grounded for once. Cue the orangest of modern-era NFW arrivees, standing in front of a huge monitor. Technologies abundant in this room yet Dragon II seems uninterested by its lure.

Dragon II:

Surely there is more substancial conversation than that of gaming as we move forward.--Hai, Mr. Leyenda, in a few tongue-in-cheek moments you have shown us the true folly of assumption. For it is deemed in the New Frontier that the 'OtherWorldly'-- the true 'Flightmaster'-- is among the Grand Prix Fatal Fourway and henceforth all assumptions coming hereinafter will be shattered. And make no assumption in my polite forewarning, I am not here to publically seek your ire. I simply request that you keep your wit about you as the coming Ragnarok Tour will not be one of finality. Whatever your percieved 'endgame' means to you, know in the course of your assuming that it will be much different than a simple tune-up.

Hai.-- Much.

CUTTO: Orange Dragon II, rubbing the point of his chin.

Dragon II:
All long-term hallucinations aside, -- Hai, Leyenda, you are the favorite seemingly unquestioned. Yet, have you truly been in this for the long haul?-- Such a Western World gung-ho statement. We are all in present day affairs, Hai, so please do focus on one second of time before the clock springs from your apparent tight-wind, breathe. Just advice to digest Leyenda de Ocho. As non-consequential as you made the Grand Prix be based on your slight of glance toward me,-- I still hold you in high account. I am not muddled by taking Rook Black to task, yet. I recognize your talent. I applaud your drive. -- however distorted the windows in your vehicle has affected your vision.--Perhaps the device behind me has too much pull of your vision?--A shame, hai. No disrespect, Leyenda-san.

I am accepting the task to fulfill my present destination by humbling the clutter of God-made atrocities besides the aforementioned, however. -- Such drivel unapplicably driven by their mouths. I am Orange Dragon II, the successor to Puresoru Brilliance. I will not be filthed at, -Hai.-- I will not be viled.-- Hai.---I will not be looked over. The New Frontier has only seen the surface burbling of greatness. In several weeks, the heaven that houses the sick and depraved will decipate like drizzle. A fear will be qualmed, as contendership to the Triple Crown Championship will be bestowed. Rather one or plenty, the fallen angels of The New Frontier will be lit aflame and ash will blow aimlessly around. Let it be said, Hai, I will accumulate the gifts so many others have failed to pluck. -- A feather in my cap, of which will be joined by thousands more. HAI. Thousands of feathers in my cap. AUGHHAA-HAAhA HA. -- So make Orange Chicken jokes, each of you! -- Does not change my destiny of present day. To ascend past and through the vapor of children. AUGHHAA-HAAAHaHA.--

A FADE-OUT, as Orange Dragon II is living the dream as an International Free Agent.