Post by MEZA on Mar 7, 2024 15:34:58 GMT
We slowly float down the center of a hallway of the dusty Hotel California before making a sharp right into an open room, and continue floating towards a teepee constructed from bed sheets turned brown from sweat and dirt. An invisible hand opens the makeshift door of the teepee. Inside sits an unkempt MEZA with the reddest of eyes staring back at us.
MEZA!
MEZA!
MEZA!
10 DAYS BEFORE THE FIRST PICK
Lynx’s voice jolts MEZA back to a reality where he’s sitting motionless, clutching a crushed water bottle. The young champion’s coach stands over him with a concerned curiosity while MEZA shoves his workout clothes into his workout bag, a task he was likely in the midst of before he went into a daze.
Lynx
You alright, man? I was hollering at you for like two minutes.
MEZA
Just tired, I think. Sorry.
Things haven’t been the same for MEZA since Kalidah began his theater of war on the beaches of the champion’s mind. Even his Patrimonios’ partner saw the slow transition to a dark disposition.
Lynx
Put any thought into your first pick, mijo?
MEZA just shakes his head.
Times like these require the irreplaceable skillset of a father who would know how to comfort a child awoken by nightmarish monsters. But Lynx is no father, and this is the closest he’ll ever come to being a dad. He’s identified an issue, but he’s unsure of how to broach the topic. Instead, he awkward pats his student’s shoulder and offers:
Lynx
Keep your options open, ya know.
5 DAYS BEFORE THE FIRST PICK
MEZA is sparring with Lynx in the gym. The student, like an infant scorpion, lets out all his venom with a string of elbows to the bag that Lynx is reinforcing. As soon as a moment avails itself, Lynx requests a break. He chugs his water while the younger of the two cracks a joke:
MEZA
So now the sparring partner gets to call break time?
Lynx
Well, I AM the coach. And I’m getting old, mijo.
MEZA
Me too, Coach. Me too.
Lynx
No, mijo, not like you. I can’t fly like I used to. I used to be able to roll off the pain, but I’m starting to feel things that cannot go away. You’d be estupido to use your first pick on an old man like me when you have Pulver, Newton, Knight–
MEZA
What?! Coach - why wouldn’t you be my first pick? You’re a veteran; a legend–
Lynx
–And a tired old man and wars are not won with old men on the frontlines. You don’t need legends–you need an army full of youth and strength.
MEZA
You’re not giving yourself enough credit here.
Lynx
Just listen to me, Alejandro. This Kalidah shit is bigger than you. Bigger than that championship. That man–that THING–is consuming everything and everyone around him, including you. I’ve watched you throw sportsmanship by the wayside and let anger fill every crevice of your soul. You’re a champion of honor; of lucha libre. You need to act like it and stop letting that monster dictate what type of champ you will be. There are enough losers in Hotel California – they don’t need another.
MEZA
Bull-shit, Coach! I AM a champion of--
Lynx grabs two handfuls of MEZA’s shirt and throws him against the wall. MEZA is so thrown off-guard, his intuition to defend himself hadn’t triggered. His coach grits out his response through clenched teeth:
Lynx
I made a promise to your father that I would protect you, Alejandro. You are one bad choice away–
MEZA rips Lynx’s loosening grip away from his collar and backs away from Lynx.
MEZA
You’re scared of him too. Aren’t you, Lynx?
Lynx
I’m not… I–
MEZA
You don’t get to play Dad just because I don’t have one anymore…
The two stare at each other in silence… digesting all that they’ve thrown in each other’s way.
10 SECONDS UNTIL THE FIRST PICK
Lynx, standing quite some distance from MEZA in their living room, and MEZA stare at a cell phone sitting on the coffee table. MEZA’s cell phone begins to frantically buzz while playing his ringtone, “We Are the Champions” by Queen. MEZA’s cell phone reads: Duke Womack.
♫We are the champions, my friends
And we'll keep on fighting till the end♫
MEZA reaches for it, but Lynx calls out to him with one last plea:
Lynx
I cannot save you from yourself, mijo.
MEZA beams angrily back at his tag partner and coach.
♫We are the champions
No time for losers♫
MEZA
I don’t need saving, Lynx.
MEZA unlocks his phone and answers the call from Womack. As MEZA is turned around, Lynx, disappointed, quietly leaves. We are unable to hear the commission since the champion elected to take the call privately.
MEZA
Hi, Mr. Womack–yes…My first pick is Lynx…Yeah…Thanks, bye.
FIRST PICK: Lynx
MEZA!
MEZA!
MEZA!
10 DAYS BEFORE THE FIRST PICK
Lynx’s voice jolts MEZA back to a reality where he’s sitting motionless, clutching a crushed water bottle. The young champion’s coach stands over him with a concerned curiosity while MEZA shoves his workout clothes into his workout bag, a task he was likely in the midst of before he went into a daze.
Lynx
You alright, man? I was hollering at you for like two minutes.
MEZA
Just tired, I think. Sorry.
Things haven’t been the same for MEZA since Kalidah began his theater of war on the beaches of the champion’s mind. Even his Patrimonios’ partner saw the slow transition to a dark disposition.
Lynx
Put any thought into your first pick, mijo?
MEZA just shakes his head.
Times like these require the irreplaceable skillset of a father who would know how to comfort a child awoken by nightmarish monsters. But Lynx is no father, and this is the closest he’ll ever come to being a dad. He’s identified an issue, but he’s unsure of how to broach the topic. Instead, he awkward pats his student’s shoulder and offers:
Lynx
Keep your options open, ya know.
5 DAYS BEFORE THE FIRST PICK
MEZA is sparring with Lynx in the gym. The student, like an infant scorpion, lets out all his venom with a string of elbows to the bag that Lynx is reinforcing. As soon as a moment avails itself, Lynx requests a break. He chugs his water while the younger of the two cracks a joke:
MEZA
So now the sparring partner gets to call break time?
Lynx
Well, I AM the coach. And I’m getting old, mijo.
MEZA
Me too, Coach. Me too.
Lynx
No, mijo, not like you. I can’t fly like I used to. I used to be able to roll off the pain, but I’m starting to feel things that cannot go away. You’d be estupido to use your first pick on an old man like me when you have Pulver, Newton, Knight–
MEZA
What?! Coach - why wouldn’t you be my first pick? You’re a veteran; a legend–
Lynx
–And a tired old man and wars are not won with old men on the frontlines. You don’t need legends–you need an army full of youth and strength.
MEZA
You’re not giving yourself enough credit here.
Lynx
Just listen to me, Alejandro. This Kalidah shit is bigger than you. Bigger than that championship. That man–that THING–is consuming everything and everyone around him, including you. I’ve watched you throw sportsmanship by the wayside and let anger fill every crevice of your soul. You’re a champion of honor; of lucha libre. You need to act like it and stop letting that monster dictate what type of champ you will be. There are enough losers in Hotel California – they don’t need another.
MEZA
Bull-shit, Coach! I AM a champion of--
Lynx grabs two handfuls of MEZA’s shirt and throws him against the wall. MEZA is so thrown off-guard, his intuition to defend himself hadn’t triggered. His coach grits out his response through clenched teeth:
Lynx
I made a promise to your father that I would protect you, Alejandro. You are one bad choice away–
MEZA rips Lynx’s loosening grip away from his collar and backs away from Lynx.
MEZA
You’re scared of him too. Aren’t you, Lynx?
Lynx
I’m not… I–
MEZA
You don’t get to play Dad just because I don’t have one anymore…
The two stare at each other in silence… digesting all that they’ve thrown in each other’s way.
10 SECONDS UNTIL THE FIRST PICK
Lynx, standing quite some distance from MEZA in their living room, and MEZA stare at a cell phone sitting on the coffee table. MEZA’s cell phone begins to frantically buzz while playing his ringtone, “We Are the Champions” by Queen. MEZA’s cell phone reads: Duke Womack.
♫We are the champions, my friends
And we'll keep on fighting till the end♫
MEZA reaches for it, but Lynx calls out to him with one last plea:
Lynx
I cannot save you from yourself, mijo.
MEZA beams angrily back at his tag partner and coach.
♫We are the champions
No time for losers♫
MEZA
I don’t need saving, Lynx.
MEZA unlocks his phone and answers the call from Womack. As MEZA is turned around, Lynx, disappointed, quietly leaves. We are unable to hear the commission since the champion elected to take the call privately.
MEZA
Hi, Mr. Womack–yes…My first pick is Lynx…Yeah…Thanks, bye.
FIRST PICK: Lynx
