Inspired Jer.

::The End Is Here::
(on-camera)

Life is much like an odyssey; each loss, each gain, and every ounce of pure agony you are put through are but chapters in your own personal story. And death? Well.. death is finally finding your way home.

-----Katherine Anne Stryfe

A solemn scene is placed before the viewers at home as they are shown what appears to be a funeral home, it was devoid of any mourners, even though a preacher clad in his garb could be seen standing in front of an open casket; where a single wreath was sitting on a table beside it. There were no other flowers of condolences to be seen anywhere. And as the camera panned closed to the casket, it would find that the person inside was Katherine Stryfe herself, the Evolution Championship draped over her body with the utmost care in the world. It must be sad to realize that this was how it would be viewed; that not a single soul gave a damn.

The preacher coughed a bit to clear his throat as the camera went up to focus on him and him alone. He adjusted the collar on his garb, before he placed a pair of glasses over his eyes; coughing once more, the preacher slowly opened up a book; his eyes glancing down at it for but a brief second before turning his attention to the camera.

“Dearly beloveds we are gather here today to not mourn the passing of Katherine Anne Stryfe, but to celebrate her life. I could tell you many things about, Mrs. Stryfe and her many accomplishments in her storied career as a professional wrestler. I could tell you how she fought valiantly to defend the Intensity title, her very first title she had ever won in the EWC, setting a record reign that would stand until the company’s closing; a reign that saw her join that very company’s hall of fame. I could tell you how she along with her best friend, Emma MacNamara, formed Nightmare, Inc, a legendary tag team that would set the benchmark for other all women teams to be placed against; whether it was in EWC, CWC, or even for the short time they tagged together there in FFW; netting them back to back tag team of the year honors in the CWC itself. I could also tell you how she would then lead a rookie in Rebbecca Valentine as the Eternal Flame to a Unity reign, another one that would net her, her third tag team of the year honor. I could tell you how Mrs. Stryfe was as of this wake, the only FFW Grand Slam Champion in that company’s almost four year history. But I won’t...”

The preacher adjusts his glasses, his eyes blinking a few times before he coughed once more.
“Because to many of her peers, she’s un-deserving of this praise; that she should not be honored for these accolades, and instead she should be mocked at any turn they can get. That she is not to be praised, nor to be respected because in their eyes, she was a rotten human being devoid of any talent, of any redeeming qualities. They hath judged her of this and they are ever vigilant in reminding the masses of this. The likes of Wendy Briese, a woman who calls herself a good Christian woman with wholesome values verbally berated and judged Mrs. Stryfe not too long ago; before they were set to have a match. But what Mrs. Briese did not know was that Mrs. Stryfe WAS a good woman with a kind heart to those who called her friend or family. She would give the shirt off her back for a friend in need; going so far as to extend the Olive Branch to rebuild her friendship with Miss. MacNamara after over a year of the two of them not being on speaking terms; for she knew it was the right thing to do.”
He looked around the empty room as if he had an actual audience; even though there was none to be seen. He glanced back down at his book, adjusting the glasses once more before he continued on.
“We all know that Mrs. Stryfe was opinionated but who isn’t? Who deep down inside can honestly claim they agree with every decision by anyone at any time? Surely those who called into question, Mrs. Stryfe’s own opinions cannot claim this because that right there shows they did not agree with something she had made a decision on. Mrs. Stryfe for all her faults which there were many, because she was but a human and all humans fall short before the grace of God; she still lived her life to the best of her abilities, doing all she could to provide for her son, Matthew. To ensure he had food in his stomach, warm clothes on his back, and a roof over his head. I could tell you what her son meant to her, but again I fear many of you simply do not care; nor will you ever care. I want to leave you all with this poem written by Emily Bronte.”
The preacher turns the page in his book and finds the poem he was going to read as the camera pans on to the body of Katherine Stryfe, her eyes closed. The preacher’s voice soon bellow the following.
“No coward soul is mine,No trembler in the worlds storm-troubled sphere:I see Heavens glories shine,And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.
O God within my breast.Almighty, ever-present Deity!Life -- that in me has rest,As I -- Undying Life -- have power in Thee!
Vain are the thousand creedsThat move mens hearts: unutterably vain;Worthless as withered weeds,Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,
To waken doubt in oneHolding so fast by Thine infinity;So surely anchored onThe steadfast Rock of immortality.
With wide-embracing loveThy Spirit animates eternal years,Pervades and broods above,Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.
Though earth and man were gone,And suns and universes ceased to be,And Thou wert left alone,Every existence would exist in Thee.
There is not room for Death,Nor atom that his might could render void:Thou -- Thou art Being and Breath,And what Thou art may never be destroyed.”
And as the preacher said the final line, Katherine’s eyes opened up and she slowly raised her body out of the casket, clutching onto the Evolution Championship with pride. She showed no emotion on her face as she turned her body to the side to look directly at the camera.
“I figured as much as you all bury me, I’d give you a reason to finally do so for a change. With that being said, I want to get this out of the way and it’s going to be very quick and very provoking and more than likely piss the intended target off but who cares? This is MY time and MY promotional video so I can say whatever I bloody feel like saying. Fuck you, Ryan Mackenzie. Fuck you for making what happened to my husband seem like I was out for a pity party; fuck you for well… being you. You are a disgrace to the human race and I hope… no I PRAY that the day YOU die, I can do the same to whomever you may or may not be married to. On second thought, actually I wouldn’t do that because UNLIKE you, I have class!”
Katherine adjusted the Evolution Title over her shoulder, slowly removing the make-up she had applied to her face for the mock funeral; showing her bare natural pale skin, and the outlining of the scar that had crawled up the right side of her neck line.
“With that out of the way, I can finally get to the more important matters at hand. Relentless it’s going to be Eileen Amaro going one on one with me in an I Quit match for my Evolution Championship. I don’t think many of you realize what that actually entails do you? The actual meaning, the ideal, or the little nuances surrounding this very match. Here you have Amaro, the girl that just doesn’t stop! The girl that had a panic attack on live TV and against the doctor’s wishes, went out on Byte This and wrestled against three other women to secure a victory… Amaro is a terminator, let’s not mince words here, I respect her enough to call her for what she truly is… a living breathing terminator come to life. And on the opposite side of the spectrum you have me, a woman who has NEVER uttered the words “I Quit” in her entire life. A woman despite the world’s best efforts to put her down has kept rising up from the ashes to be born anew, unwilling to relent, unwilling to give it up… UNWILLING TO BE STOPPED! I have had career threatening injuries to both my neck and my shoulder and still here I stand tall as YOUR Evolution Champion and whether you like hearing it or not, because frankly I don’t give a toss… YOUR ONLY Grand Slam Champion in FFW History! That’s not being a hack, that’s not lucking into it… that’s called hard work and sacrifice. That’s called never saying I Quit!”
The Beautiful Nightmare slowly made her way out of the casket as the preacher had long since made his exit to give her the floor so to speak. Katherine made her way behind where he once stood and placed the Evolution Championship over the pulpit and eyed the camera with a conviction not seen in her eyes for many, many months.
“So, what happens when a Terminator meets an unstoppable Nightmare in a match type that truly benefits neither competitor? Chaos is what happens, uncontrollable chaos the likes this company has never seen before and I promise you this, the likes you’ll never see again. Because this match is not about ego, it’s not about ‘pride’… it’s about two women who respect one another enough to look each other in the eye and DARE the other to make them utter those words but knowing full well, they’re going to need to damn near kill the other to make them do it. It’s about fighting our hearts out, clawing tooth and nail for just that ONE brief second of immortality in this business. For that one brief moment in time where we will have that audience captivated by what we are doing to each other and all in the name of being called Evolution Champion… it’s going to be like a train wreck that you know you shouldn’t be looking at, but you just can’t help but do it.”
Katherine looked at her Evolution title and just blinked her eyes, patting the belt gently before she continued on with her speech.
“I have all the respect in the world for Amaro, if I didn’t, I’d have said it by now. She has talent, she can scrape with the best of them; and she has this attitude of never giving it up, despite never winning a championship here in FFW, despite not being able to get over that one small hump, that one little hurdle. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, mind you; and I don’t say this to mock her. I say this because it’s the truth… it’s cold and it’s bitter, but it’s the truth. Much like I can say that for the longest time when I first got into this business; I thought I’d never win a title either, because when one loses to Bryan Deas in their debut match, one starts to REALLY doubt themselves. But here I am now; I’ve made one hell of a legendary career for myself and I have no doubts that Amaro will too… just not tonight.”
There was no mocking tone in The Beautiful Nightmare’s voice, it was almost a somber one, the kind often reserved for close friends or relatives when one must give them bad news. Katherine was getting no enjoyment out of this and it was obvious by her body language alone.
“No tonight I am going to do everything in my power to ensure that I walk in Evolution Champion and I LEAVE Relentless still your Evolution Champion. I want you to take note that I did not say walk out, because I have no doubt in my mind that I won’t be walking out after my match with Amaro… I’ll be lucky if I remember much of it after it’s all said and done. But like any wrestler worth their weight in salt, I’m expecting to win tonight. No matter the cost, no matter the pain, the agony, and the blood loss, I’m expecting to still be the Evolution Champion when its all said and done. I know it’s going to take everything in my bag of tricks and THEN some to get her to say those two words; much like she knows the same with me. But I will not go down without a fight! My defiance shall be a roar, not a whimper and if Amaro lets up for even a second, I’m going to take over and never look back. I will do whatever it takes, Amaro, I hope you understand that… and respect that. I am not going to pull any punches and I’m not going to take you lightly, because that is stupid and foolish and all those who have done so have fallen victim to you.”
Katherine Stryfe almost smiled as she said the words; it was unlike her to be like this. Respectful to anyone not named Valerie or even Emma… but here she was, doing just that for Eileen Amaro. Her eyes blinked as a free hand gently traced across the necklace that hung from her neck.
“I know tonight is going to be hell for the both of us. Tonight it all ends one way or another… either my reign as FFW Evolution Champion ends; or you being able to challenge for a singles title ends… at least for a year. Those are high stakes for the both of us, Amaro, those are stakes that lesser women would crumble under the pressure of having to deal with. But we are not lesser women are we? We know, the both of us know that tonight we are going to put it all on the line; our very bodies will be battered, our careers further shortened and all because this is what we want to do… it’s all we know HOW to do. To be wrestlers… to be warriors. And for me, to be a champion. I respect you, Amaro, but I don’t fear you. For to fear is to show weakness and I am FAR from weak; I told you flat out that I would have but one regret in this business and that was denying you your first gold here in FFW… well that all changed when Saint added her little stipulation… now I’ll have two; denying you the chance to challenge for a title for a year. I will take no pleasure in this, Amaro, but business is business and I will not be stopped now.”
Katherine stepped away from the pulpit, grabbing the Evolution title as she did so and when she reached the casket, she looked at it and got back inside, laying down; her eyes looking straight at the camera.
“Amaro… I told you, you have but one rule to follow tonight… if I live, you lose. I meant that, Amaro.; you are going to have to damn near leave me lifeless if you want the Evolution Championship… you’ll need to pry it from COLD….DEAD….HANDS! Tonight the end is here but for now… I have but one final request should I not make it out of here tonight.”
The camera panned in closer as Katherine closed her eyes, a smile finally forming on her lips as she caressed her Evolution Championship with pride and joy.
“Let Me Rest In Peace!”
SLAM! 
The casket slams shut and a louder thump is heard as the preacher’s hand is seen on the casket and he coughs.
“Amen…”
Fade to black…