"The Machine" Xavier Pendragon vs Brody Steele vs Fathi

[Bondic]

3 rps max

First rp must be in by the 17th
Last chance is the 19th

[machine]

: Hey dad

: Yo

: Sorry about your first loss

: Well, you win some, you lose some. Congrats on a successful debut though. I didn't have to get involved either.

: Though mom did suggest you come watch my match, I did insist that I handle it on my own.

: I thought you well.


The scene pans out to Xavier on the phone with Jeffrey Pendragon.


XAVIER: So, what's next for the Iceman?

JEFFREY: I await my next challenger. What say you?

XAVIER: Brody Steele and Fathi

JEFFREY: Fathi? Didn't you face him last time?

XAVIER: in a triple threat match, yes, which is the same format this time around. Just because I'm facing the same person does not mean the same result as the last time. Remember that.

JEFFREY: I got cha pops.

XAVIER: Not sure if I told you before but now ya know.

JEFFREY: Thanks for the pep talk.

XAVIER: No problem, son. Anything you need me or your momma to pick up before we head your way?

JEFFREY: I don't think we need anything but if you wanna pick up some more Mac & Cheese, that'll be great. My girls done went through all the mac we bought and we don't get out checks until next week.

XAVIER: I got ya. We'll see ya in a few hours.

Xavier then hangs up the phone and notices the cameraman.

XAVIER: Well s***. Should I have known that you were there I would've ended the convo with my son earlier. But yes, I am facing Brody Steele and Fathi this week. Nevertheless, I am in the ring with you two this week. Fathi, you and I have already tangoed in the ring once before and I am interested to see what you bring to the dance this go 'round. With Brody, I am interested to see what you bring to the dance as well. Maybe you and I could dance in singles action next time. Who knows? I will leave you with this- bring your A game. You will need it.

[thefathi]

<sup>if you can live amid injustice without anger, you are immoral as well as unjust
- Thomas Aquinas</sup>

Los Chingones
Denver, Colorado

The post match was a blur to Fathi. He remembers being helped up by several of the crowd surrounding the match and seeing Tyler being carried to a car. He knows he used a ‘low blow’ to win. But, the actual thought to use one he doesn’t remember. After going through the glass of the Los Chingones everything switched in his head.

People were hollering and shouting and cheering. The owner was knocked out. Several UHW staff were cleaning up the scene. An ambulance came to check on Fathi. He tried to wave them off but was informed he had to be checked out by someone before he was able to perform again. So, he let them check him.

February 14th



His youngest son was sitting on the floor wearing gray sweat pants and a blue superman logo shirt. The older son was laying down on the love seat wearing batman logo pants with a matching shirt. Fathi sat in a massive chair with his legs over the side. Across from them was a fifty inch television. They were watching a show called, ‘Raising Dion’.

Fathi was trying to encourage the boys to watch more shows reflective of their ethnic background. It was important for them to realize it was okay to not be white. In the episode there was an issue with the school principal picking on Dion and giving him a hard time. Dion was one of the only, if not the only, black student in the school. The older son looks at Fathi

“Why is he being so mean to Dion?”

Fathi takes in a deep breath. He was hoping he would have many more years to have this conversation. It was a discussion his family never really had to have with him. But, perhaps it was a conversation his family and other white families should have. He pauses the show.

“Boys come here”

Both boys turn around and face Fathi

“As you get older you are going to find that some people are going to dislike you because of the color of your skin”

“Why?”

“Some people are just really dumb and to them all people that don’t have skin like daddy is bad.”

“That is why the principal is being mean to Dion?”

“Yes son”

“That’s dumb”

Fathi laughs

“Yes it is son.”

He turns the show back on with relief. It wasn’t the actual talk. It was just a prelude to the real thing. He knew the real one would come eventually. But, he wasn’t in a hurry to have that conversation just yet. It would be especially harder for him than most. The black family can explain that many white people distrust people with skin different than theirs and they are afraid and act out of fear.

But, how does a white parent explain to his mixed children that same thing? How do you explain that to children without creating self hatred within them towards their own blood? How do you get them to understand that daddy is different? Fathi just shakes his head and keeps watching the show with his feet up.

As the show goes back to playing, Fathi's phone rings. Answering the phone Fathi gets up from the chair and walks down the hall.

“Yeah?” Fathi stops and looks at the phone “What the fuck for?”

A mumbled voice comes over the phone

“Yeah, I’ll do it but this is some seriously pointless bullshit.”

The oldest pipes in from the living room

“Who was that daddy?”

Fathi laughs

“It was daddy’s job letting him know when he has to go back”

“Can we go this time daddy?”

“No son, not this time. Don’t worry though. My friend Tot is going to watch you.”

The boys clap.

“Now go back to watching the show boys.”

{On Camera}

play this

Las Vegas, Nevada

The scene opens from inside of a car looking out the windshield from the driver's point of view.

A large sign can be seen out front but the wording can’t be made out because the sign is too far up. The car leaves the parking lot surrounded by white concrete walls and palm trees. Making a right turn it starts going down the road. As the car picks up speed the camera shifts view.

Turning the camera faces out of the passenger side

The car makes a U-turn.

Steadily the camera holds as the vehicle passes by, slowing down. The camera zooms in

A telephone pole riddled with graffiti. People passing by, lowering their head. One man stops and pours out a little of some alcohol. The car speeds up.

The camera switches back to facing out the windshield.

Pulling into a parking lot the car comes to a stop in a parking space facing the renowned MGM Grand hotel and casino. Briefly the camera goes dark, the sound of shuffling around can be heard and footsteps before the camera comes back on

Facing a white nineteen eighty four Oldsmobile Cutlass the camera pulls back slightly as Fathi stands in front of the cutlass in black Southpole jeans with a FB County Charlie Brown short sleeve striped shirt with navy blue, sky blue and white and white reeboks wearing LOC sunglasses. Pushing the sunglasses back on his forehead Fathi leans back against the car before pushing himself off and walking towards the camera.

“September seventh nineteen ninety six…”

He pauses and looks off in the distance, shaking his head before continuing

“...a musician playing gangster and started believing his own hype when he jumped a banger right here behind me at the MGM Grand after the Tyson fight.”

Reaching into his pocket Fathi pulls out a cigarette, puts the pack back, grabs a lighter, lights the cigarette, takes a hit before blowing smoke at the camera.

“Too many fools think they want the smoke but dont bother to think it through. They don’t seem to understand what smoke they asking. I’ll give you an example…”

He takes another drag

“I am no coward and I will stand toe to toe with any man. But, I am not dumb enough to go jumping a southside crip or a piru. I rolled with some cats in my youth that were about that life and I grew up with plenty that were about that kind of life. But, I knew enough to know that whether you in the set or not, if you roll with them in the thick and shit pops off you might be the one got popped and that is what happened to Pac.”

He flicks the cigarette to the ground

“Tupac was making it big and hanging with a lot of hype men. I think maybe that is what is going on with Xavier. He didn’t learn the last time he went toe to toe with the autistic assassin…”

Fathi grins

“I told you before Xavier you may talk a big game about how well you work in that ring like a well oiled machine but I am the engineer. You couldn’t even remember that our match was one on one at the Bloodzone 4 show where you were caught slipping.”

The camera zooms in on Fathi’s face

“With the exception of Urakih, I have not tasted defeat since returning to U-H-W. You, Xavier, have only tasted defeat…”

Moving to the right the camera faces a different angle

“...don’t think I have forgotten our other opponent Brody Steele. Brody, the man who beat Tyler Cross by holding his trunks and won a tag match because his partner was in cahoots with one of the other team. Shit, you didn’t even get the pin.”

Fathi moves quickly towards the camera

play this

“See Brody you can try your bank deposit but I am from the streets so the second I even think that shit is fixing to deposit I am hacking the account and stealing the funds. Ya feel me? No? Go for a royal decree with me and this match is going to be like the French revolution as I overthrow the rebel son.”

He winks at the camera with a smirk before the camera pulls back some. Fathi turns from the camera and walks back to the white nineteen eighty four Oldsmobile cutlass. Grabbing the handle of the passenger door he pushes the bench seat back and grabs something out of the back. Turning around the camera zooms in

Fathi is holding a red gas can. Smiling he walks away from the car a couple yards before stopping. He pours the gasoline in a line before sitting the can down and looking up at the camera

“Do you two know what gasoline is? Gasoline is fuel. See in the modern combustion engine the gasoline goes into a special part of the engine where it mixes with air and then later is ignited by the spark supplied by the spark plug.”

The camera zooms in on the face of Fathi

“In my life I have TONS of FUEL just waiting for the right SPARK. When we enter that ring one of you will hit me just the right way and when that happens the fire will lite…”

Fathi pulls out a small box of matches, strikes one and tosses it to the line of gasoline

“You two know me as the rabid cur, the engineer and even the autistic assassin but some have called me the doomsayer. Well I am going to make a prediction of disaster now.”

The camera pulls back just slightly

“Our threeway match will be a knuckle busting drag out until Brody or Xavier make the wrong move. I will remove turnbuckle pads. I will toss out ringside mats. I will bust your fucking heads wide open and not because of anything to do with either of you. But, see I have a lot of fuel. I do not fight for my own pride, or ego. I fight for those that come from the bottom. I fight for the parents that have to have the talk and explain the hate in this country!”

Fathi’s face is turning red, the veins in his neck are showing. He starts pacing trying to calm down as he continues

“I will smash my head into your noses. I will stretch your body and right as you are fixing to tap out I will let go, only to DO IT AGAIN! Both of you will learn as will the wrestling world the ferocious wildfires of passion that persists among the lowest levels of neo feudalist America under the yolk of the mega corporations. My internally suppressed righteous indignation will be unsheathed and Xavier and Brody will feel the blade of my wrath cut and tear them apart at the T-Mobile Arena.”

The redness has faded, the veins have returned to place

“February twenty fourth fifteen eighty two Pope Gregory the thirteenth announced a new calendar, a calendar that we use today but February twenty fourth twenty twenty three will mark an event to place on the calendar….”

Fathi walks face up to the camera

“...the day that Xavier and Brody tasted Fathi’s FURY!”

The scene fades to black