He ended up in a Motel 6 just outside Mobile, the night before the show. He had spent a long time in the local gym, making sure he was in top cardio shape. Making sure he was toned up, muscles warmed up and operating at the efficiency that Tom needed.

 

He was happy with his own body. He had gone for a long run. He had swam. He had stretched and flexed and bent and spindled and all sorts of other Sawyerish things.

 

He was sitting in his motel room, having moisturized his face and the visible flesh when wearing his spandex. He was watching videos on Youtube, trying to get his head in the game.

 

Old Savage promoes hadn't done it. Random cat videos hadn't done it. He had belly laughed at the slowed-down footage from the War Face scene of Full Metal Jacket. But...

 

Something popped up in his feeds. A new video in the "HarperSentry70" account. Lucas had made a video, despite being retired? Instaclick.

 

Lucas Harper was still in ringshape. He stands before a Canadian flag, in a blue-and-black "Foreshadowing" tee-shirt. 

 

"Tom, there's something important I needed to tell you, that I also wanted the whole world to hear."

 

Lucas brought a hand up, stroking his fingers over his moustache.

 

"I think you're right about this storm. And I know you're right about YAZ."

 

The Sentry reaches a hand out, gesturing to the camera.

 

"But he's good. He's great. Amazing, even. And he's a master of mindgames. We've seen that with how one promo, one single speech has rattled you. He's right about certain things. You've called the thunderstorm, and now you've got to weather its wrath."

 

"When you call the lightning, you get burnt. When you dare the ocean, the wave hits you."

 

Lucas pointed a finger, wagging it at the screen for extra emphasis.

 

"And YAZ, whoever or whatever he is, however he's planning on trying to ruin this show, this tournament, or this company... He's seen that there's someone who will stand in his way no matter what he's got with him."

 

"That makes you dangerous. That makes you a threat to him. And now, you've got your chance to get him. It's gonna be you versus him in the ring. At stake is more than just a win or a loss. Whatever he's planning... It's big enough to shake the windows and rattle the walls. It's a gamechanger."

 

And it's not gonna be some Palin flop. Lucas' eyes were serious, his face hard.

 

"This here is a test for you, Tom. The big test. You've made your star, twice over. Once as the greatest tag team of the past few years. Once as the kid who beat the odds and stood up when nobody else was willing to. After the monster Trendkiller fell, nobody was gonna stand in the way of the Watkins train. Nobody... Except you."

 

Lucas crossed his arms over his chest. All of the above was still quite ready for a fight. Lucas was probably ringready, physically. Mentally...

 

Another story entirely.

 

"But now, it's you versus everything in DEFIANCE, flyin' solo. You're some kid who came in, expecting everyone to flock to his side to back him up. And it doesn't look like it's happening."

 

"It's you versus the twisted scripture of Bronson Box."

 

"It's you versus the Casa Nostra of Alceo Dentari."

 

"It's you versus White's money, Jiles' cool, Sloan's experience... It's you versus all of that. You've got to win everybody's expectations back over, and you've got to make everyone believe in you again. In this business, the guy who takes a break to recharge and get his body back into shape is the weaker one. You've lost some of your luster."

 

"But all you've got to do is go out there. Pull your heart from your chest, veins and all, and drop it in the middle of the ring."

 

Lucas was doing the oldschool "stay still, stare down the camera". Very Harley Race.

 

"Like you do every time you lace up those boots."

 

He smiled weakly.

 

"I'm not worried about you getting people to believe in you again. But what I am worried about... This thing might be too big to stop. The wheels of the great machines, once rolling, are sometimes impossible to top."

 

"So what this is really gonna be is a test. Can you strike a harsh enough blow against Yoshikazu YAZ... Or whoever is really under that mask? Can you shake his confidence enough that he doesn't achieve the total victory he expects?"

 

"This match is gonna be a meeting of two possible endings. The wrestling world will keep spinning, even if you end up doing a stretcher job. Ending one is the good one. You unmask YAZ, you hit him with the Ode to Madness, and you pin him. His plan loses steam, his allies from jOlt or the old WfWA invaders or whoever else you thought it might be decide to eat some popcorn and watch the show to see Light versus Claira and whoever gets there."

 

Lucas purses his lips for a moment.

 

"That's the good ending."

 

"The bad ending is if YAZ slimes his way out of the ring, escapes, gets his friends or his lawyers or whatever this thing is gonna be, and comes right back at you with a spear in hand."

 

"And you won't know which it actually was until it all happens. So this isn't a question of whether you can win the match or not, Tom. You can win a match against anyone in this world, even a legend like Heidi Christenson, a god of grappling like Christian Light, a creep like Cancer Jiles..."

 

"The question is whether you're gonna be standing tall to meet the challenge. You've got the momentum to come into this thing with a head of steam, but you've got fear, doubt, worry, overanalyzation thundering at you like a runaway train."

 

"So if you can get some allies, that's great. But the only person you can count on never to let you down, the only person you can trust to not get hurt when your back is turned, the only person that will be there for you, every time, every event..."

 

"Is YOU."

 

"It's gonna be you versus them, Tom. You versus the fear. You versus the intimidation. You versus the gunpowder plot. You, against the odds. You against history! You against being that guy who got beaten down to spark the new stable dominance, you against being that guy who takes the traitorous leg drop!"

 

"And if there's anybody in this business with the strength of will to overcome. If there's anybody in this business with the HEART to take whatever they can throw at you and get back up. If there is a single man in that locker room willing to risk it all for an ideal he isn't even being supported by..."

 

"I believe it to be you, Tom."

 

"And I want you to show all those people that you don't need to be a giant or a monster or a three-time World Champion to stand up for what's right, and not let the wolves take your throat."

 

"Show them what you're made of, Tom. Prove to them, just like you proved to me. Prove to them that all a person needs to do is fight. Damn the torpedoes, kid."

 

"Go out there, full steam ahead. And we'll see it all through to the end."

 

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