Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2013 18:46:33 GMT -6
OOC: Sorry I took so long, Rob. Didn't want to sandbag you. My apologies. Good luck.
There Will Be Punishment
There Will Be Punishment
Open your eyes.
Groggily, the eyes of one Paxar Vega slowly open to a darkened room. Almost immediately, she attempts to move one of her arms but to no avail as she realizes it is bound by a rope. Turning to the other side, she notices the same of her other arm.
“Where am I?” she asks herself aloud. “What am I doing here?”
Looking at her surroundings and coming to the realization that she is tied to what appears to be a cross with a crown of thorns on her head and that this is not a daydream on her way to get a can of Mountain Dew at the arena, Vega begins to struggle with the ropes attempting to squirm her way out of them.
“Just wait until Reya finds out about this, you sick Jesus weirdo!” Paxar shouts loudly into the darkness. “She might look all sweet and innocent, but she’s fiercely loyal to the people she cares about...almost to a fault. Don’t think she won’t go all Michonne on you now that you’ve gone and pissed her off!”
As she continues to writhe, the ropes begin marking her arms with burns up to the point to where she begins bleeding slightly as a result. After awhile of attempting to escape futilely, Paxar stops her movements.
Maybe that’s Father Nate’s end game. Maybe that’s exactly what he wants Reya to do, to get angry at him for crucifying me or whatever it is that he’s trying to do to me. Maybe he wants to break her, to crush her faith by his hands. If I know Reya like I do, Priesty McPriest won’t be successful. There’s a reason I refer to Reya’s faith as unbreakable, after all. Many have tried, including her own twin sister for crying out loud, but they have all failed. Each and every one of them. This time will be no different...
Letting out a heavy sigh she hangs her head, closing her eyes once more and descending back into darkness...
“This...this should not have happened,” I mutter softly as I hold a crown of thorns in my hands, staring at my friend lying in the hospital bed in front of me. “This punishment was meant for me Paxar, not for you, and for that I apologize...”
As a tear slowly falls from my cheek while I expel a deeply sorrowful sigh, suddenly Paxar begins to stir in her bed very slowly moving her weakened arms and opening her eyes. Surprised by this, I almost immediately stand to my feet moving closer to her in doing so. Paxar peers around for a few moments, silently taking in her hospital surroundings. “Praise the Lord,” I proclaim gladly.
Almost immediately, Paxar shoots an icy glare aimed directly at me. “Praise the Lord? Don’t tell me that you just said that.”
Gazing back at her curiously, I reply. “Paxar...”
“Don’t Paxar me, Reya Serra Janason!” she shouts back at me in anger as she sits up in the bed. “You’re the reason I’m even here in the first place!”
“I...” I try to interrupt, but to no avail.
“I told you Father Nathan didn’t want your help!” she reminds me, continuing to shout as I notice out of the corner of my eye a few of the health indicators beginning to rise. “ I told you bad things were going to happen, Reya! But did you listen? No, of course you didn’t! Now look at where we are! I’m laying here in a hospital bed after that Jesus freak tried to crucify me! CRUCIFY ME! I could have DIED! And it wouldn’t have been one of those dying and I could be regenerated things like The Doctor or resurrected like your buddy J.C. or come back as a zombie like in The Walking Dead, either! I mean dead...D-E-A-D dead!”
“Paxar, I really truthfully am sorry for what has happened,” I tell her apologetically.
“You’re sorry?” Paxar snaps back before beginning to laugh. “You’re sorry...Well that’s just super flipping duper, Reya. Let’s just cue the sunshine and rainbows and everything will just be all better and like nothing ever happened.”
Paxar sarcastically rolls her eyes at me as I let out a deep sigh. “If there was any way I could have prevented this Paxar, you know that I would have.”
“There WAS a way you could’ve prevented this,” Paxar interjects. “You could have minded your own business and tried to focus on winning the TA Title from Al Envy or something. But no, you didn’t do that. You decided you’d stick your nose where it didn’t belong with Father Nathan and trying to bring him back to the flock or whatever you want to call it instead.”
“I can help him,” I state to her, appearing slightly dismayed.
“When are you going to learn that you can’t help someone that doesn’t want to help themselves?” Paxar questions lividly, moving to get up out of the bed and standing to her feet. “When some whack job actually DOES kill me? When they do something to your boy toy Timmy or one of your sisters? When will you learn, Reya? When you’re the one tied to a frakking cross!?”
Suddenly, Paxar stumbles as several monitors begin to blare various noises. Almost immediately nurses rush in to assist Paxar, helping her calm her down and put her back into the bed before one of them turns their attention to me.
“Miss, I’m sorry but we’re going to have to ask you to leave,” one of the nurses says to me.
Curiously, I glare back at her. “She is just a little upset, and rightfully so, but I see no reason for me to have to leave.”
“Your friend’s blood pressure has risen extremely since she has woken up, which can only be attributed to your presence, not to mention we have heard a lot of shouting over the last several minutes,” the nurse informs me. “Your friend needs to recover after the traumatic ordeal she was just put through and you being here will only hinder the recovery process.”
Letting out a heavy sigh, I nod in agreement with the nurse. “Perhaps you are right. However, may I say one last thing to her before I leave?”
“Just try to make it brief and try not to upset her further,” the nurse warns, stepping aside to allow me to get closer to Paxar once more.
Peering at her lying in the bed, Paxar tries to talk once more but I raise my hand to stop her. “Please, do not speak. Just listen. I really am truthfully sorry for what happened. It should have been me tied to that cross, not you. I was the one that failed the challenge of Father Nathan and I should have been the one to bear the punishment for that failure. I cannot take back what has already taken place, but I can ensure that Father Nathan will not do such a thing again. I promise you that.”
Smiling weakly at her, I turn away starting to make my way to the exit before stopping to say one final thing to my friend. “I must leave you now, for not only do you need your rest but I must make my way to Tokyo for Kamikaze. However, I will be praying for your swift recovery. Get well soon, mi amiga.”
With that I depart from the room, the crown of thorns still held in my hands, making my way down the hospital hallway to a small waiting room, in which I see Timothy sitting reading a small book. Stepping into the room, I glare at him curiously.
“Have you been here this entire time?” I inquire curiously as he looks up to notice me, closing the book and setting it down on the nearby table.
“Yes, I have,” Timothy responds. “Why would I not be?”
“Every person gets tired or hungry sometime, Timothy,” I tell him. “Though I do appreciate you staying here both in support of me and of Paxar as well.”
“Anything for you, my dear,” he replies, smiling as he stands up and steps towards me. “How is she doing?”
“Paxar has regained consciousness, which is good,” I inform him. “However, she still needs time to recover. Not to mention that she appears to be quite upset with me, and understandably so.”
“Oh dear,” Timothy remarks, frowning slightly. “Do not worry, Reya. I am sure that her anger will only be temporary.”
“I pray that you are right,” I say to him.
“Besides, you are not the one to blame for this. Father Nathan is the one that crucified Paxar,” Timothy states.
“Father Nathan also seeks to do the same to me in our Crucifixion Match that is slated to take place at Kamikaze,” I declare. “He believes that I am arrogant rather than helpful in trying to lead him back to his faith which he has lost and seeks to punish me for that supposed arrogance.”
“You are the farthest from arrogant of anyone that I know,” Timothy responds. “In any case, when you step into the ring with him for this match he is going to do whatever he can to put you up on that cross, to crucify you for all to see. To show the fall of The Herald of Holiness.”
“I do not fall,” I tell him defiantly. “Not previously, not now, nor in my upcoming match or any time in the future. Mark my words, Timothy. I will not be crucified at Kamikaze.”
“Then you intend on crucifying Father Nathan?” Timothy questions curiously. “That is the only way you can win this match, after all.”
Tightening the grip on the crown of thorns in my hand, I gaze seriously into the eyes of Timothy. “Do you know how crucifixion first came about, Timothy?”
Glaring back, Timothy shakes his head. “The only crucifixion that I am aware of is that of Jesus.”
“In addition to the crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion has existed for thousands of years, as a punishment for various crimes,” I inform him. “It was also used as a punishment in Japan for a time during its period of persecution of Christianity. Even in the history of New Edge there have been crucifixions, with there having been Crucifix Matches at the first two Justice events. Father Nathan reintroduced crucifixion as a punishment when he took Paxar and tied her to that cross last week, and when we step into the ring at Kamikaze it will be him who will be punished for the transgressions he has committed.”
Pausing for a moment, I glance down at the watch on my wrist before a surprised look comes over my face. “Oh dear...it appears that all of this time we have spent here has led me to lose track of time. Come, we must get back to the hotel and get ready for our flight to Tokyo.”
Nodding in agreement, the two of us start walking out of the waiting room on our way out of the hospital, blood slowly dripping from my hands as we go...
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
Under normal circumstances, that is my viewpoint on a person being vengeful and it is a viewpoint I do not take lightly.
However, I do not step into the ring at Kamikaze under normal circumstances.
See, I tried to help Father Nathan. I tried to bring him back to his faith, to bring him back before his faith was lost for good. Yet his response was to not only not accept my help, but to punish those around me for even trying. He tied my best friend Paxar to a cross, crucified her for the world to see, and nearly killed her as a result. If I had not come to her aid when I had, she very well may have died because of his actions.
Father Nathan is the one that went too far. He is the one that crossed the line.
He made this personal.
For that, Father Nathan O’Connell will be punished. Not swiftly and severely, but slowly and painfully just as he made Paxar suffer. He will be crucified by my hands, just as my friend was by his.
I know what I am about to do, am fully aware of what the repercussions could be, and I take no pleasure in doing this, but it must be done.
Lord, please forgive me.