Tyler Cross vs Fathi

[Bondic]

3 RP max. Please post RPs here

[thefathi]

                     CULMINATION 

Culmination - the point at which an event or series of events ends, having developed until it reaches this point

Memphis, Tennessee 

Looking at the email Fathi shook his head. August 19th from Royal Farms Arena he would be facing Tyler Cross…again. This time it would be in UHW but still. Putting his phone in his pocket Fathi sighed. 

    Pushing the last bit of clothing down he brought the holes over the clip one by one before closing the army style duffel bag. Placing the straps over his shoulders he stepped out of the bedroom. Heading down the hall a smile crept across his face. Waiting by the front door were two little kids.

  The child on the right was slightly taller with thin dark hair cut low. Next to him was his brother with extremely curly hair that bordered on afro. Both kids had an almost Arab complexion with a dark brown caramel pigment. Neither were even part Arab, though. Their mother had been African American and their father was Fathi, who was cliche white blood wise. 

Taking a moment to fix his black and yellow Batman pajama shirt the taller one walked over to Fathi and put his arms around him as Fathi had kneeled down. 

"I'll miss you daddy"

"I know son but I swear by Allah I will be back soon and we will have lots of fun."

Before he could release Fathi his brother came over and hugged Fathi from the other side. 

"I love you daddy."

"I love you too son."

Getting back up he went around the boys to the door. Turning back around he looked at both of them.

"You two behave and listen to Khadija while I am gone. Tayib?"

"Tayib" they replied in unison

"I love you both. Salaam alaiykum"

Both boys looked pouty in the face with rounded eyes and bottom lips stuck out, as they replied: "salaam alaiykum"

Quickly and without giving himself the chance to turn around Fathi closed the door behind him as he left. The uber was already waiting. As he got in, his mind was scattered. It always wore on his mind. 

He knew logically he shouldn't be as upset as he was. His wrestling career afforded them opportunities he never dreamed. They never had to eat at a soup kitchen or go to bed hungry. That was something that non autistic people never really understood.

On the outside autistic people like Fathi seemed uncaring or apathetic. He had been told so many times by various people. It wasn't a lack of emotion. They just had a different value to emotion ratio. Logic places before emotion and many times even when emotion is there it is difficult to know the appropriate response.

Fathi looked out the window as the uber made its way to the Memphis Airport. 

Five Hours Later

Baltimore, Maryland

    Thank Allah he had gotten the Chevy Spark. The Residence Inn on Light Street apparently has no parking of its own. Instead Fathi had to go to the parking garage across from the Dunkin Donuts. The car was going to run him $600, give or take. 

       

     The hotel room was going to run $159 a night plus the $300 round trip air plane ticket. Altogether he was looking at a few hundred over $2,000. Thankfully with this being the reopening show and his prior history with UHW, he was looking at a nice payday. Of course, there were additional costs like the parking garage, food, vehicle gas and gym. 

       The hotel was the perfect location. It was like ten minutes from the arena. The John Hopkins hospital was next door. A gym was a few minutes south and there were a few different halal restaurants if he didn't want to just eat at the hotel. 

  Fathi parked the car and began his trek to the hotel for check in. It was going to be a long week. Fathi had a plan. He was going to fast on the days he wasn't training, Monday and Thursday. Even if he went out to eat he was going to restrict his diet to baked fish, green vegetables and beans for protein. Of course, he would limit all his liquid intake to water. Between the diet, exercising at the gym, morning run in the neighborhood and the intermittent fasting he should make a quick cut. 

{On Camera}

The scene opens to a metal pole with a school crossing yield sign and two street signs. 

  Camera zooms in on the street signs:

<800 N Chester St, 

 and the cross one reads: 

 2100 E Madison St

The camera pans back to show a brick building that wraps around the corner. 

On the Chester street side of the building is a sign that says, 'new restaurant coming soon!!' Underneath the sign are two windows with no glass and iron bars. Below that is what appears to be an abandoned storefront. A box fan sits over where the front door would be. In place of a door are two cheap pieces of plywood.  

Beyond the plywood and door area is a concrete stoop. Wearing Southpole black jeans, a white Hanes shirt, white socks pulled up to the calf and white men's classic leather Reebok sneakers Fathi comes walking from the East Madison Street side towards the camera. 

The camera pulls back and repositions in front of the plywood door area.

Fathi steps on the stoop and leans in the doorway

"Welcome to the hood!" He says while opening his arms out.

Some locals start walking towards him. Fathi's eyes dart towards them quickly and he rests his hand behind his shirt as he continues. 

"Now I know I ain't from Baltimore. But, I did grow up in neighborhoods just like this. When I went to preschool I was living in a for real project in Anniston Alabama."

The locals keep coming. But, as they gather around it becomes clear they are just wanting to watch. Fathi pulls his hand from his shirt.

"I never forgot all the hoods I was in or what it was like. I remember being told not to play with the syringes while going to the store to buy my mom cigarettes with food stamp bills."

People in the crowd are nodding and elbowing each other. 

"This fight between us Tyler Cross is coming to an end, a culmination. It is almost poetic that it should be in the very company that I started with. So, not only is this the culmination of our war but could be the culmination of my career as this will likely be the last wrestling company I ever work for."

Fathi walks closer to the camera.

"So, given the magnitude of this match and the arguably questionable ends to the matches I propose something never before done to my knowledge. I propose a …"

He looks around with a smile allowing the tension to mount a bit.

"...GHETTO BRAWL!"

The whole crowd is overcome with silence. Many seem confused. All seem very intrigued.

"We will meet here at this cross section. The neighborhood will act as lumberjacks keeping anyone from getting into the match but us. There will be no pin falls, no submissions. The only way to win will be by a ten count by special guest referee and Baltimore native…Felicia Pearson!"

The crowd erupts into cheers. Fathi waits for the cheering to die down before he continues

"The question Taylor is do you have the guts to step out to the world I know? See you say time and again time cascades and back before N-C-W closed your knees were less than ideal."

A smile creeps across his face. A look of near evil creeps upon his face.

"I remember…"

He taps his finger on his head.

"EVERYTHING…you said."

Fathi lowers his head and sneers as he continues. His voice alters 

"You wanted to end me? You wanted to break me? You wanted to end my career? I'm still HERE bitch!"

A couple guys whoop in the crowd. Fathi keeps going without missing a step.

"I'm a rabid mother fucking cur and I will break through hells gate. Everyone has some suicidal tendencies Tyler but you have CROSSed me one too many times so I am going to commit manslaughter on live television. See out here in the hood, the projects we don't buy no energizer or Duracell unless it's tax refund. We run off them Rayovac and while Rayovac might be cheap and not as fancy it still gets the job done and I guaran fucking tee you will be caught slipping and I will lay your ass out and prove that all your prior wins were only because you had have others involved."

The camera pulls back from the face of Fathi.

"I ain't a prophet but I am the doomsayer and the calamity that is coming to you Tyler is you going to get tore up from the floor up. I'm going to beat your ass until my hands are numb. You didn't just cheat me out of wins. No you had to go and threaten my livelihood and diss me."

Fathi takes a breath

"When I started this business they had another nickname for me, the kid. They didn't call me that because of my age. They called me that because I reminded them of Billy the kid. Now whether we fight man to man in this Ghetto Brawl or you decline my challenge and show the world what a snoball you really are you are going to be regulated. When you talked about ending me, ending my career you put a green light on yourself and I am dropping the pedal."

He spits a wad on the camera before walking off into the crowd.

[Bondic]

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Tyler Cross promo