Put Out The Fire

[David]

A tall, fit figure is seen from the back walking around a garden. It is unclear on who this person is, as it is early morning and, as such, the sun was rising, positioned behind the person. A very vague wire can be seen on each side of the person’s head. As he reaches a coffee shop, he stops and takes a seat inside in a booth. It is now clearly distinguishable that this person is Seth Rollins, who had blue and yellow workout gear on, and had headphones on, which were blasting Atreyu. He looked down at his phone before he was suddenly joined by a figure wearing a black “Kent State” hoodie.

“Seth” the figure said, while sitting down.

“Nope, not here. Out here, I’m Colby” Seth replied, as the figure sat down to reveal itself as Dolph Ziggler, or, in this case, Nick Nemeth. “Don’t tell me you use Dolph outside of work.”

“I like to change things up, you know. Nick, Nicky, Dolph, to keep things fresh. Also makes it easier to hide where I’m making a reservation.” Nick smiled. “So, I know you didn’t come all this way to ask me about name preferences…”

“Wow, straight to the point, come on, man, let’s chat. We go back a long time, our agent got us both in EBWF, remember? I debuted in one of your segments and everything.” Colby nudged Nick in the arm, but Nick stared a hole into Colby’s eyes.

“So you’re here to reminisce?”

“What are you doing here, man?”

“I’m having coffee, you’re paying…”

“No. You know what I mean. What are you doing here? You don’t belong here; they were pretty eager to tell you that last time, so why are you back?”

“The coffee’s pretty good.”

“Damn it, Nick. Why are you back here in Connecticut, your contract hasn’t even run out, do you know how dangerous this is? Dirt sheets would have a field day with this. First the live meltdown, and now this, Nick. Have you lost track of who you are?”

“Enough, Colby. I’ve never been more aware of who I am, if anyone here has lost track, it isn’t me. I just had the guts to say what most think, and it got me suspended. You, on the other hand, have gotten so carried away, you’re not yourself anymore, you’re a gimmick. You’ve adopted this weird new thing, and while it’s working out, it isn’t you, it isn’t real. I don’t have to sit here and hear from a guy who became whatever he needed to get over. If I get over, it’s gonna be on my terms, as me. Not some creepy Zodiac wannabe, or a pseudo-Heartbreak Kid. Thanks for the coffee.”

Nick suddenly got up and stormed out of the coffee shop, leaving Colby alone, who sighed and continued drinking his coffee.

-------- (Sunday, 25th September 2016) --------

Seth Rollins, wearing white pants, white shoes and a white buttoned up shirt was sitting somewhere in EBWF headquarters in a blue and black room. He sat with both championships on his lap, clearly working as a display, across from Michael Cole, who wore a generic suit, probably plucked out from an industrial warehouse of suits where he seems to keep a vast stock of very similar looking suits. The two men shook hands, before anything else happened, and after a brief exchange of words, the interviewer prompted the crew to start filming.

“Hello everybody, and welcome to a special interview exclusively on the EBWF Network to help the fans get ready for what is already set to be an amazing pay-per-view, EBWF Destiny. Now, on the card, there will be a total of five championship matches, and one of them will feature my guest at this time, Seth Rollins, who will be looking to make his first defense of the EBWF Intercontinental Championship. Seth, it’s a pleasure to have you here.”

“I would reciprocate the feeling, but you forgot some of my accolades, I’m not just the Intercontinental Champion, you know. Winning this was easy, I have also beaten Sami Zayn, I’ve won the Tag Team Classic, with my partner and good friend Jimmy Havoc, and then went on to beat The Dudleys to win the EBWF Tag Team Championships with Jimmy. I’m also a founding member of the strongest alliance in EBWF, and there’s loads of other stuff, but I guess mentioning just one achievement is alright too, not like I did all those things this year… Oh wait, I did.”

“That’s right, you did all of that within one year, and there seemed to be some development with the Broken and Blue Pants last week, you mentioned being a founding member… Are there more joining?”

“Leva is a work in progress, Jimmy’s new project, so to speak. As for new members joining, well, I can’t confirm anything, but I will say that The Broken are a force to be reckoned with, Michael. The Broken are the evolution, The Broken would crush any horseman and shatter any shield. The Broken are not a fad or a thing, we are the new status quo. We lay waste to anyone who stands in our way, and create a new reality, with our own heroes.”

“Earlier, you brought up your partner Jimmy, who will have a match as well at Destiny, against Timothy Thatcher, have you discussed game plans or strategies for your matches together?”

“Michael… You’ve seen what The Broken do, we are methodical, strategic. Would we ever march into battle without a plan? Would an army strike without knowing the opposing force? Michael, there’s a difference between senseless violence and targeted strikes. It may not always seem that way but there’s a reason to everything we do. We don’t shoot in the dark. When we shoot, we make sure our aim is true, and our targets are taken down.”

“You talk about a strategy, and a reason for every attack… What was the reason for attacking Sami Zayn after your loss a few weeks ago?”

Seth’s usual cocky grin faded away to a more sombre look, as he looked down. When his gaze met Michael’s again, it had changed, it became more serious, as if Seth was trying to kill Michael by just staring.

“That… Was a mistake. Sami won the match cleanly, and attacking him without provocation wasn’t supposed to happen. I lashed out, and lost control. I should have known that while he won a battle, at the end of the day, the Broken will win the war. So Sami deserves an apology, I attacked without thinking. I can guarantee that the next time we strike Sami, it will be more methodical, it’ll make for a better story. Sadly, after we strike, there won’t be any Sami Zayn left to tell that story. History, as we all know, is written by the winners, and The Broken are writing new pages every day, as Jimmy, Leva, Baron and myself grow stronger.”

“Now that you mention it, Baron Corbin earned the right to face you for that championship last month. Do you feel like fighting a stablemate will cause some friction in the group?”

“No. Jimmy, Baron and I have agreed that this is an all-out fight. I won’t pull any punches, and if he’s smart, he won’t either. I will do everything in my power to kick Baron’s ass around the arena, stomp his skull six feet under and pin him, that’s what’s going to happen. Then, I’ll help him up, and we’ll go to the back to working as a cohesive unit to fulfil our goals. Because that’s how an army works, we settle this matter like grown-ups and then move on to take down everyone else.”

“You seem pretty confident that you will beat Baron, why are you so sure the opposite won’t happen?”

“I’ve said it before, Michael. As good as Baron may one day be, he’s no Seth Rollins. Baron’s a pretty good guy, he’s better than most people I see walking around like they own this place, he’s close to his potential, but that just isn’t enough. He got past some undeserving contenders, and suddenly wants to take one of my championships? This isn’t kindergarten, you don’t get consolation prizes, only winners get the gold. Winners like myself, and Jimmy Havoc who have worked to get to the top. Don’t get me wrong, he’s got a bright future ahead of me… It’s just not even as bright as my present. His day will come, but not on Sunday.”

“What if it does?”

“What?”

“What if his day is on Sunday, and Baron Corbin beats you for the Intercontinental Championship?”

Seth hesitated for a while, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his golden knife. He toyed with it as he spoke.

“In the off chance that all planets align, and I break a mirror after walking under a ladder and past a black cat…Then maybe Baron will have a shot, that is, if he’s hungry enough to steal a championship from a dead man’s hands. THAT’S what it will take to beat me for my championship. He will have to come at me with everything he’s got, bring his old pal Brookside too, bring his old football team, bring anyone… Just don’t bring anyone he might want back. I see right through him, and I know all about him, he likes to start little fires right, thinks they’re so cool… Well, Sunday, I will put out his fire if he even thinks he’ll ever be half as good as me. This Sunday, The Broken will continue their dominance and find new targets. Baron, you can try to burn me down all you want, but you’ll find out on Sunday that not even The Broken can break The Broken.”

Seth draped his championships over his shoulders and removed his microphone before walking away and out of the shot to end the segment.