Second.

He walked the path...

The path that led far from his home. He walked the dark path that led into the trees, along the bubbling red river. He paused and looked around. The wind whistled through the trees, louder and louder and it very nearly screamed through the branches. But he didn't feel it's touch. So on he walked.

He ignored the faces in the trees, not because of any fear he held of them but because of contempt. The idea that they could hide from him, that they could peek out of the shadows and scare him disgusted him. It was a parlor trick. A parlor trick by week people he'd long left behind. He walked with confidence through this shadowed place ,naked and unafraid. Here in the dark he was king.

He saw her then, standing knee deep in the red river. She saw him too. They watched each other for a moment, circling each other slowly the way predators do. Her skin was golden, gleaming under the moonlight, and she held up a hand to entice him in. But he was smart. He had hunted under many of these bright moons and he knew better. You couldn't have her without taking her. So he attacked.

The screaming of the wind turned to the pounding drums of war. She fought him, but he was stronger. Her fighting was half hearted. She wanted to be his. She ached to belong to the one who would claim her. He wrapped his hand around her golden throat and drove her head into the red river. She reached up to touch his face, running her fingertips lightly along his cheek as he held her under.

He had conquered her. In darkness and in blood, and she would be his. He let her go and she floated to the surface. But it was not the face of gold that parted the water. It was her face. Alyssa's face.



Alex Kincaid opened his eyes.

The nightmares were common. He no longer bolted awake, sweaty and scared, the way he used to. Now he awoke with grim reservation and simple awareness of what his brain did when he wasn't forcing it to stay on task. He sat up in bed and took a deep breath, clearing the intruding thoughts as best he could. This was a familiar dream. One he'd had time and time again in the leadup to returning to wrestling. This one was certainly the most vivid, however. He wiped his messy black hair away from his face and rested his forehead in his hands.

Deep breaths. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Just like he'd been taught to do when things got bad. It didn't help.

He got up and headed outside. It was yet another freezing night at the tail end of an Alberta summer that had seen far too many of them. He liked the cold. Cold was clean. Cold was simple. Not at all like the sticky warmth of the dream. He walked down the driveway, knowing it would take him past the main house before he hit the road proper. A jog would do him good, even if it meant passing by the home he no longer lived in.

He was surprised when he saw her sitting on the porch, a cup of coffee in her hand. She didn't see him yet. She was looking into the woods. He stood still and studied her for a minute or two. She was beautiful in all the obvious ways that could fire a man up. But Kincaid had less obvious passions. Alyssa was an optimist in all things. When he walked through these woods at night he felt threats all around him. That was why he was so comfortable there. It reminded him of the work. She described living out in the woods the way someone would a blanket, surrounded and secure. That might have been what he loved most about her. The way she found perfection in everything.

A dog walked out of the woods. He raised an eyebrow and watched it lope it's way onto the path, wondering if it would notice him. It was a beast of an animal, a newfoundland with shaggy brown hair that had to be over a hundred fifty pounds. It stopped and slowly turned to face him. It sniffed the air, looking uncertainly about, and started moving toward him. He tensed up. Alyssa turned and he stepped toward the dog, taking him close enough that she could see him. He got down on one knee as the dog walked up to him and gave a little bark.

“You bought a dog.” He was scratching its neck by the time she made her way over to him “Seems nice.”

“I've never, ever met an animal that needs to go to the bathroom as much as he does.” She said “It's ridiculous. He's been here...maybe ten hours. Bathroom at least five times.”

“He's nervous. It'll pass.”

“Why are you awake?” She knelt beside him and the dog turned it's attention to her It nearly climbed up on her shoulders before she brushed it away “Still amped up from the win?”

They hadn't talked about his win over Slick Williams yet. His debut for VoW had been pretty much exactly how you'd want a debut to go. He'd dominated. He'd left the announcers talking him up, the audience cheering for more and an opponent laying beaten on the mat. For anyone else that would have been enough, but he'd promised not just an in ring victory but a moral one. He'd promised he'd be able to resist his urges and win things normally. But he'd held on to The Clutch until the referee had to insist he get off him. They drove back to the hotel in silence and hadn't spoken about it since.

“No. I had a dream I didn't like. I went for a walk to try and clear my head.” He hesitated to bring the matter up, opening his mouth to speak and then going silent. But then he took a breath and decided it had to be said “I didn't do anything wrong with Slick. I wanted to be sure I'd won. That's all.”

“You're honestly going to try and convince me to believe that? Me of all people?”

“It's the-”

“It's not.” She said firmly, shaking her head “I know you better than anyone and I know that look in your eyes. I've seen you give it more times than I can count.”

“And what look is that?”

“Like you're sad it's over. Like you want it to go on and on.” The dog circled back behind her as she stood back up. She walked back toward the house. He followed her but stopped at the bottom of the step when she walked back onto the porch “This time has to be different.”

“It's going to be.”

She bit her lip and didn't look convinced. He turned away and moved to continue his walk when she spoke again “I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the dog.”

That stopped him in his tracks. He swallowed down the ugly emotions he was starting to feel and made himself responded with what he knew he should say instead of what he wanted to “It's fine. It's not my decision anymore anyway. I don't live with you, you can buy whatever pets you want. He does seem a little big for you.”

“Laurie had a few pups that...” Her best friends name. Someone she'd head into town to meet every once in a while, but who he'd never actually seen face to face. Alyssa frowned “Therapist says it's good for me. A way for me to make my own decisions. Part of taking my life back.”

He nodded.

“I hate when you do that. I'm trying to open up to you here. Just say something. Tell me you don't hate me.”

“Why would I hate you?” He shook his head “I don't know what to say. I know why you're feeling like this. And I've got no right to tell you not to.”

“I'm already compromising my recovery, you know? She keeps telling me that I have to leave. Completely. Get away from all the negative influences in my life. That's what she calls you. A negative influence.”

“I know.”

Alyssa sighed at another quick answer “Just...I need you to tell me that this is going to be worth it. I need you to promise me that this time we-”

“You what?”

“I'm scared to death that this is going to be a false start. That we're going to end up doing something worse than anything we've ever done and get driven totally out. Can you promise me that'll be okay?”

He stared at her, stunned. She shrugged and stared back.

“Promise you?” He cocked his head to the side, his voice a quiet little growl “You want me to promise you?”

He couldn't hold it in anymore. He sneered his next words with all the contempt for this situation he had “You forfeited the right to have me promise you anything. You left me. You understand that? You left me. You told me to move out of the house. You told me you didn't want us to be together anymore. I understand that. I know the things I've asked you to do. Believe me. But don't pretend like we're fine, don't put me in this situation where I have to act like we're best friends when you ripped my heart out.”

The dog ran around near his feet and he glared at it for a second. When he looked up, she'd walked back down the stairs and poked a finger into his chest. Alyssa stared down her husband, a man who'd made people bleed on multiple continents, without an ounce of fear “Don't talk to me like this is my fault. Because it isn't. I've never done anything else but follow you. I don't know any life that isn't fighting in your wars. And you know what that means? That means I don't have a ton of job prospects beyond managing wrestlers. I do this because I HAVE to. Don't you dare talk to me about having your heart ripped out, you know I would have done anything for you.”

“I didn't make you do anything you didn't want to do.”

“I was a scared to death kid who'd been beaten down her entire life. And you knew that. You were the first person to even try and tell me I could do some good.” She had tears in her eyes now, though she tried to fight them “Do you remember New York? You had that match against...god I don't even remember his name. That luchador. That luchador who you had a beef with because you hated him hiding his face. So you get into this big, bloody hardcore fight with him. And I try to help and end up going through an announce table. The first bullet I ever took for you. Yeah, I wanted to do it. Of course I did. Because I loved you. How are you going to tell me you can't promise me it's going to have a happy ending after everything I've done for you?”

“And how do you define a happy ending?”

“By leaving a legacy. By knowing that we..we did something right! We did something the way it's supposed to be done. You could be a champion. You really could.” She smiled a little, wiping away the tears “Do you know how proud I'd be? Of both of us. You love it. Everything you've done – even the stuff you hate – you did because you love wrestling so much. You deserve to be the standard, the star. You can't do that by just concentrating on your feelings. You need to be moving forward. And you know what I saw when I saw you hold that hold on Slick Williams? I saw you staying in place.”

“You saw me winning!” He pointed at the ground to emphasize his point “Champion? Champion? You think I'm ever going to matter to that place? Ever? I'm a curiosity. That's it. The best thing I can hope to get near in that company is being the monster they pull out of the mothballs whenever somebody manages to piss off management. Guys like me don't get anywhere near titles. Not after what I did.”

She shook her head “Not here. VoW's different. Do you know what the Zero Gravity championship is?”

He snorted dismissively and shook his head “What? You want me going after some high flyers belt? I can't even remember the last time I threw a damn dropkick.”

“It's not that kind of championship. That belt is entirely about no one being told they can't have it. It's a sign that you're a rising star. Anyone can win that thing and break the mold. Doesn't matter if you're popular, doesn't matter if you sell t-shirts or if the office likes you. All you have to do is get in the ring and win. They're already thinking of you heading in that direction, if you read the little card blurb they have up on the website they specifically mention the four way at the pay per view is likely to get you into that title picture.”

That gave him pause. He was still fuming a bit, but he took a breath and paced around a bit to try and contain himself “So what? You think sending me after gold is going to make me act any better? Beating Slick was just about establishing myself. Having an actual goal, an actual title to chase? It's going to take the gloves off. It's going to-”

“Stop cutting wrestling promos on me.” Alyssa said flatly, shaking her head “Listen. I told you. Your problem isn't what you feel. Your problem is that you're so ashamed of feeling it. You let go of that, you start succeeding. You're a wrestler. Take those urges you have, put them on other wrestlers and no one's going to hate you. That's what the people want.”

“How is that you still fight me on this? It isn't about what the people want.” He stopped and wiped a hand over his mouth, clearing some spittle that had flew out in his anger “I'm tired of it. I'm tired of feeling disgusted at myself. I'm tired of sacrificing things. You know how this goes. It escalates. And sooner or later other people get caught in the crossfire. Every time I close my eyes all I can see is-”

She interrupted again, less bombastic than the first time with a sigh “Don't make this about me. Or anything else. The way I succeed is by helping you succeed, whether that's healthy for me or not. We're in this together. I'm your manager now.”

And that was it. He heard it, though she didn't say it.

He went to pet the dog again but she sighed “Let go of my dog. I'll see you tomorrow. Nassau, come on.”

He raised an eyebrow at the dog's name. She didn't give him a second look as she turned and walked into the house.


“One down, countless more to go.”

The Kincaid's are on the drive to Thunder Bay where Alex Kincaid will face off against three other men in the Preshow Special. Their pickup is pulled off to the side of the highway and he was sitting on the bed of the truck to send in a final video before the sun sets. He's cleaned up a little bit from last week, trimming up his wild beard and tying his long black hair up into a knot. When the camera comes to life, he's picking a bit of dirt out from under his nails and staring down at the ground. Alyssa walks past him and back into the passenger seat of the truck, having set up and turned the camera on for him.

“There are no easy victories in a company like Visionaries of Wrestling. Even when it looks like their are. That match against Slick Williams last week? You might think that I wrecked him. Certainly seems like that on the surface doesn't it? Kick, Devil Trigger, Pop Up Powerbomb, Clutch, Win. I bet you loved it. Lord knows Ruby did, I watched the tape. You can't imagine how good it feels to get that first win after months and months of being out of wrestling. It's that itch you can't quite scratch finally getting touched. I sat there on the mat for a minute with The Clutch locked in and...I just didn't want it to be over. I wanted that feeling to go on forever. The ref had to kind of push me to get off of him. So I won. The match anyway. But I think I might have lost the battle that mattered.”

He scratches his beard and mulls that thought over, still not looking up from his boots.

“The worst of it is, I know what it's going to lead to. Slick Williams is going to come looking for revenge. You never want to undersell your own accomplishments. You never want to call your own wins a fluke. But there was something weird about last week. Honestly, I know how good Slick Williams is. Slick knows how good he is too. Maybe he just got overwhelmed right from the jump. Whatever it was, I didn't feel like I was getting the best of him. Hell, it was like he didn't even show up. Not really. So a guy like that goes back home and if he's anything like me he starts running that match through his head. He starts thinking of all the things that he should have done to get the job done. And he comes back meaner. He comes back more dangerous. Me? I've gotten run through like that a few matches. But I always come back to get some blood on my hands when it matters.”

There's a little bit of a smirk that manages to escape before he catches himself. He stuffs it down and looks up at the camera.

“Why do I bring this up? Maybe it's this dream I keep having. I won't get too into it – this isn't therapy – but I keep running it over in my head. Near as I can tell, it's about sacrifice. It's my own mind warning me that the next few months are going to be bloody. That it might be my destiny to be stuck in the wars no matter how much I try to go in the other direction. When the four way was announced, I didn't see it as a chance to immediately get myself into the Zero Gravity title picture. I saw Slick Williams' name on the board and felt a chill down my spine. Because it's a chance for him to turn this into something bigger than it needs to be. They didn't put him in that match for a fun, athletic little contest. He's in there in the hopes that he and I will kick this into something bigger. Let me say this in no uncertain terms: On your best day, Williams you'd still have trouble with me. Maybe you'd win, maybe you'd lose. But if you push this, if you take this any further than just a wrestling match at Armed and Dangerous I will beat you so badly you'll spend the rest of your career trying to add a little asterisk to your place in the history books as 'The guy Kincaid nearly annihilated on live pay per view.' You don't want me as an enemy.”

There's a mania in his eyes, but just like the smirk he catches it quickly. He takes a deep breath and looks away for a second. He licks his lips and closes his eyes, calming himself.

“I...that's probably not fair. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Maybe I want there to be some big, grand battle when all it's going to be is you just being another guy in the ring. I don't know how to do this, I don't know what it's like to just approach this like any other match. Maybe that's another of my endless problems. Nothing can be normal. Everything has to mean something. Maybe, just maybe you prove me wrong. Maybe you show up and you come to wrestle. That's fine. That'd surprise me. Someone actually taking the damn high road in wrestling? Wouldn't that be a nice change of pace.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

One way or another, I expect that this is going to be a war at Armed and Dangerous. Not just because of you Slick. There's also the other Williams in this match. Yeah, Heath, a lot of the talk right now is what's going to happen when you put me and you in the ring together. After all, you're The Hardcore Hero. The crazier things are the better. You put four of the hungriest up and coming talent in wrestling against each other and it's going to be absolutely mad. The consensus seems to be that you and I are the two favorites to win this thing and immediately stamp our names on this company. If I want a challenge, if I want my first victories here to mean something than certainly a match with a dangerous wrestler like you should be exactly what I wanted. You'd figure this would make me happy.”

He hops down off the bed of the truck and shakes his head.

“Unfortunately, you annoy the ever loving shit out of me.

You're just my least favorite kind of wrestler. Someone who's too cool for it all. Someone who acts like they're so above it, someone who wants to be the coolest guy in the room and just comes across like a total jackass for it. I don't think you treat this with the seriousness that you should, I think you care more about having a beer than you do about getting ready for me. That bothers me. Deep down in my gut. Because I don't get to feel that way, I don't get that easy sense of contentment you have. Like I said, everything has to mean something. I'm consumed by it. This..this constant search for significance is tearing me up. You're just about the exact opposite of me and I cannot let you go on the way you have.”

He looks over his shoulder to the truck. Alyssa turns and we can just see her turning back to look at him herself through the tiny rear window of the truck cab. He frowns and turns back around.

“I wish I could come into this the way you do. It's petty, and it's jealous, and it's so small and stupid but every time someone compares you and I going into this match it just makes me furious. Because you and I are nothing alike. I talked last week a lot about will, about how the need to change things is the most powerful force in the world. And you don't have the will I have. You don't need this the way that I do. How could you? You lose this match and you go have yourself a beer, you put on some tunes and everything is fine. I lose this match and...and it drives me mad.

Between the dreams, and a bunch of personal crap going on all I want to do is let go. I just wanted to wrestle without any doubt at Armed and Dangerous. The problem is, of course, that we both know I can't. Because whatever you've seen before 'Hardcore Hero', it isn't me. I know that's what everyone wants...I know that's what she wants. She thinks I can control it. She thinks I can moderate. I know better. I know what I am. I-”

Kincaid catches himself on that last word. He pauses, wipes a hand over his mouth the way he does when he's nervous.

“I know what I am.”

With that, he walks over to the camera and turns it off. We see a burst of snow, then static.