- Otis Firefly
The truth was, he had been visiting her all along. But even JC, in his degraded mental state, was smart enough to know he wouldn't be welcome at that hospital.
It was, after all, his fault she was even there. Who invited her to Carnage? Who asked her to fight Paragon with him? And if we were really getting to the heart of the matter, friends and neighbors, who was it that inflicted all of this pain just by telling her how he felt?
If you guessed JC, you'd be right on all counts. And his condition was fairly under control at all of those points. So he had no one to blame but himself for the state she was in now. He egged Kyra on. He kept pushing Paragon. He let himself get to a point that they fought, then he kept his distance when she needed him the most.
Now, Lucy Wylde ended up in a hospital bed with a breathing tube in her throat.
As far as JC was concerned, he might as well have put her there himself. It wouldn't be the first woman half his size he put in a coma.
She looked fine now, of course. The worst was over. She was breathing on her own and at the moment, sleeping peacefully. He never wanted to stay too long. He didn't want to wake her. He couldn't bare to see her eyes look at him, accusing him silently.
Only one of two things would happen. Either she would finally kick him out of her life, something she should have done from the beginning...or she would beg him to give up his fight and he would have to leave her for good to accomplish his goals.
He wasn't willing to live with either option. Instead, he would be a shadow. Visiting her at night when the drugs had made her pass out. Watching over her, taking care of her as best he could. She would likely never know. She might even assume he didn't care. That was okay. If she thought he didn't care, then she could move on. She could find someone that would do the things for her that he couldn't.
Maybe she could find someone who wasn't broken and be happy with them. As long as she was happy, he thought he could accept that.
Joe took a seat next to her bed now, although he knew he wouldn't be here long. He scooped up her hand in his and leaned forward, kissing her on the forehead.
"I'm here Luce. I'm still here."
She murmured something in her sleep and turned her head to the side. A flash of panic cut through his chest like a knife, as he worried she might wake up, but that never happened. So instead he continued to sit, holding her hand, trying to give her what little comfort he still could.
"I thought I might find you here."
JC turned around and standing in the doorway was his brother, GI. Joe got up and followed him outside and gave him a confused look.
"What are you doing here? I don't think you're on the approved visitor list."
"Believe it or not, I actually like Lucy. But I came here for you."
JC scoffed and closed the door behind him. He didn't want to wake Lucy and ruin everything. His loudmouthed brother would likely do just that.
"What is wrong with you, Joe?"
"I'm fine, all things considered. A little sore."
"You know what I mean. You're not yourself."
JC scoffed again.
"What would you know about who I am? Last time I checked, you fucked off out of this business and haven't really talked since. You know how many times I've needed my brother and couldn't reach him?"
He turned around and started to walk down the hallway, towards the elevators. GI, undeterred, reached out and yanked him back around, drawing a sneer from his older brother.
"You're off your meds."
"You have no way of knowing that."
"I would if Lucy told me. Who do you think got me to be on your little team at WarGames? To save your ass at Season of the Witch?"
The news took Joe aback. He found himself speechless for the first time in a long time. Not even the voice in his head seemed to have much to say.
"Why...would she do that?"
"I don't know, Joe. Maybe because she cares? Because she knew her sister was going to hurt her and she wanted someone looking out for you?"
"I don't need anyone looking out for me. I'm fine."
"You were just on television breaking a man's fingers for having a different philosophy than you!"
Joe shoved his brother away for that. Not hard enough to hurt, just a reflex to get him away. GI simply brushed it off and stepped forward again.
"If you can't see how he's poisoned this company..."
"Who cares? It's just a company. It's not like it's ICW. It's not even OWF. It's just Carnage. Let them have it. Get yourself well. People care about you and want you better."
Another one that doesn't understand.
The voice was right. It seemed no one really understood just how bad Paragon was. How he had to be this way in order to get rid of them. Not a single person knew just how hard this was for him. Or maybe they knew and just didn't care. His girlfriend was preoccupied, his brother was self-righteous. And worse, his brother was going to get hurt because of him.
"If you feel that way, I'll be sure to find a suitable replacement on the team."
"The hell you will. I'm on this team. And I'll fight them, because fuck, they're all pretty annoying. But I'm still there for the same reason as before."
"And I told you..."
He shoved his finger and poked his brother hard in the shoulder to prove his point.
"That you're not wanted."
GI looked down at his brother's hand for a moment and shoved it aside. Joe reacted violently, now shoving his brother with the intent to hurt. GI was knocked a few steps back, and then turned around and punched Joe square in the jaw. Joe fell to a knee, before getting back up and hitting GI with a right of his own. Soon, a full-on brawl was happening right outside of Lucy Wylde's hospital room. Nurses quickly called for security as the two brothers began to scuffle and throw each other into things.
Finally, GI shoved Joe into the wall and with a surprising amount of force. He then shoved his forearm under his brother's throat.
"Listen here, Joe. Because I'm only going to say this once. I'm on the team. And you're not going to hurt anyone as long as I'm around to stop it. You want to get rid of Paragon? You get your ass back on the meds and win this match the right way. But you're not hurting them and I won't let you kill yourself."
"Fuck you."
GI reared back as if to punch his brother again, then stopped. Instead, he removed his forearm from his throat and stepped. Joe rubbed his neck, his pride wounded more than anything else.
"Get some fucking help, Joe. Before you lose what's really important. See you on the 15th."
With that, his brother walked away, hoping that he might have talked some sense into him. Joe, however, simply slide down to a seated position as security walked up. He waved them off, as the fight was over, and they let him stay there. Perhaps he looked as pathetic as he felt. Suddenly, he heard voices from the next room over.
Lucy's room.
"Are you okay, Miss?"
"I thought I heard noises outside."
"Two men got into a fight over something. Not sure what. It's over now."
"I see. Has my boyfriend showed up to see me?"
"No...his name is not on the visitor log."
"Oh..."
Joe got up, feeling very small, and walked to the elevators. He was beginning to wonder if any of this was worth it.
It will be, once Paragon is done. Don't lose sight of the goal.
"Shut up."
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I've never met God.
I've been told that I'll meet him when I die. Or someone representing Him. He'll judge me for my time on Earth and based on that, I'll either get to live with Him or spent an eternity in torment. Quite a steep price for such a short time, but then I guess whoever creates the universe makes the rules.
Why would I bring up such a thing?
Why wouldn't I? I've been a very bad boy this past month.
That's what Paragon would have you believe. The Carnage Legion have turned on me and it's all thanks to Jack Michaels and his gaslighting.
But that's okay. I know you don't mean it when you boo. And if you do, it's because you don't know what's good for you. That's why I'm here. I'm ready to educate you all and lead Carnage into its new golden age.
We just have one more obstacle. The cancer that needs to be cut out. And in spite of my setback at the PPV, I am closer than ever to eliminating it. Maybe I didn't get to cut the head off the snake, but if I fuck up the body enough I won't need to.
I put my career on the line, at WARGAMES no less, because that's how much I believe that Paragon has to go. They are terrible for this industry, for this company especially. They don't care about Carnage and have no desire to lift it up. They want to bury what it was and everything it stands for so only Paragon remains. Rather, Jack does. As none of this business even started until he showed his face here.
The fact that he refuses to fight me again is evidence that he doesn't practice what he preaches. Not that it matters, because at Ultimate Carnage 5 he will lose everything he's worked for. Paragon will be history and if Crucifix is as dedicated to change as he says he is, so will that world title reign. It's time for the old man to step aside and welcome the future.
I don't blame Paragon for wanting to prove themselves by taking the fight directly to me. Fuck, I don't even blame you for believing the shit Jack spews on a daily basis. You're in a cult. And cult leaders, charismatic as they are, have a way about manipulating people. Look at how quickly he turned the Legion on me, in my home state, no less.
My methods may have been extreme, but it was his fault it ended the way it did.
So no, I don't blame you for anything that you've said or done. You're sick. You're trapped and you aren't even aware of it. But just like our home, I will free you at Ultimate Carnage 5. I will drag you kicking and screaming out of Paragon and raise you from perdition. Only then will you truly realize your full potential.
I could go through the team one by one, but what's the point? You're all faces in the crowd to me. You're spokes on the wheel that I intend to break. You'll remain that way until the stink of Paragon has been removed. Trust me, you will thank me when this is over.
Amber Ryan was a former Carnage World Champion. She was going places. Then Jack gets the belt and...she doesn't sniff the main event again. She's perhaps the most delusional of the five, because she's perfectly sane and still buys everything Jack Jones is selling. Either that or the fact that she flamed out spectacularly and still thinks she's the greatest thing going.
Eli Goode and TJ Adams are Paragon's best and brightest, yet they're always going to be kept under Jack's thumb as long as the group exists. How many World title shots have either of you had? Has Jack once afforded you that opportunity? No? Because he knows you'd beat him. He throws his loyal dog Eli enough bones to keep him satisfied, and judging from the way TJ's been treated, that guy just has Stockholm Syndrome.
Kyra, well, she's clearly not all there. Look at what she did to her own sister, all for perceived slights. Even after Lucy explained herself. Not that it would matter. Jack fed her insanity and refused to consider any other viewpoint because it polluted his narrative. Lucy stood against him, so why even consider her side of the story? Trust me, Kyra, I have no doubt that Jack cares about you in some form, but he cares about himself more. I blame him more than I blame you for what you've done. Of course, that doesn't mean you won't pay for it.
And I almost forgot Clown! Don't worry, so did the rest of Carnage.
Until you are free. I'm going to hurt you. As it turns out kids, if you put yourself in the way of a moving train, you're going to get hit. And when you get hit, you aren't coming out if unscathed.
You can blame me if you want. Maybe you can even blame whatever creator would dare put something like me together and unleash me upon the world. You can even attack me and try to hurt me back. I expect as much. But don't be naive. Don't assume you're going to fight this war and win. Don't believe you're going to come out of this just as healthy and hopeful as you were going in. A war with me is a war you can't win. It's a war you can't come away from with your health and sanity intact.
Ask your dear leader. Ask him about how his hand aches after I dislocated his fingers. Ask him about the concussion and blood loss after I split his head open like a melon. Ask him about the pain. Then, because Jack always lies, watch him and learn the truth.
He will live with what I did to him for the rest of his life, however long he still has left. And so will you.
I have The Override with me. It's not exactly the group I wanted, but it's a strong group nonetheless. All former World champions. Decades of experience. Who cares if we don't get along? You think my brother is just there to play bodyguard? You think he's entering something like Wargames and not expecting to fight? Don't be naive. None of us like Paragon and once in that cage, all of us will be committed to ending it.
How will I be judged when I die? Will I be rewarded or will I be eternally punished? I'm not sure. I'd like to think that if God is up there, then He knows that sometimes cruel things must be done for the greater good. He should know better than anyone.
Then again, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Maybe that's where I'll end up. But if I'm going...I'm taking Paragon with me.
You want something new, Amber? You want a bombshell? How's this? I'm leaving Carnage regardless of how this match ends. That's right. My contract was up anyway and Jason Bridges has refused to renew it. So I'm sacrificing absolutely nothing and all so I can take away the little group you hold dear. I've got absolutely nothing left to lose and whether you want to admit it or not, that makes me more dangerous than I've ever been.
This doesn't end until I stop breathing. You all may be unwilling to do the job, but I'm perfectly willing to end all of you.
