"Sheriff, when the man pulls that switch, sir…
And snaps my poor head back...
You make sure my pretty baby…
Is sittin’ right there on my lap.
They declared me...unfit to live.
...Said into that great void my soul'd be hurled.
They wanted to know why...I did what I did.
...Well, sir...I guess there's just a meanness in this world.”
(The scene opens to show Mack McKane sitting on his couch watching his brother Kenny sitting on the floor playing and joking with little Ashley as they’re sharing a coloring book together.)
Kenny McKane: Wot! Oh my stars, Mackers would ya look at that! A purple dinosaur!
Mack McKane: My gosh could you just imagine it!
Ashley: Dinosaws coulda been puhpuwl!
Mack McKane: Y’know Ms. Ashley? Too right you are!
Kenny McKane: Innit though! I mean, we’d have no way of knowin’, would we!?
Mack McKane: Y’know Ash, YOU’RE so smart, when you grow up I betcha YOU could make us a time machine what we could go back and FIND a purple dinosaur! D’you reckon!?
Ashley: *giggling* I can’t make a time machine!!!
Kenny McKane: What’s this now!?
Mack McKane: And just who says!? You tell Uncle Mack!
Ashley: I don’t know how to tell TIME, silly!
(Both Mack and Kenny overly exaggerate and throw their hands in the air and exclaim “OHHHH”)
Kenny McKane: Silly us then, innit Mack!
Mack McKane: Well why didn’t ya SAY so, love! Why you got two crackerjack teachers right ‘ERE, innit!
Ashley: ...why do you guys always say that?
Kenny McKane: Say what, love?
Ashley: “Innit”?
(Mack and Kenny look at each other in deep thought for a moment...they never actually thought about it that much. From the mouths of babes, amirite?)
Kenny McKane: ...I think...maybe…
Mack McKane: Well you’re older so you DEFINITELY started it.
Kenny McKane: Oi OI! I fink we both came across it what were the same time, inn-uhh...don’t you think?
Mack McKane: I’ve just always remembered saying it..I can’t…
Kenny McKane: Yeah I know, right? It’s just kinda…
(Both of the boys look back at little Ashley with concerned looks on their faces and concede.)
Mack & Kenny: We don’t really know, love!
Ashley: *giggling* It’s otay...I like it!
Kenny McKane: Awwww isn’t she just a lil’ peach, bruv!?
Mack McKane: A little China doll she is!
Ashley: You color the stelastorusus!
(Kenny’s eyes narrow and sharpen with fear as he looks desperately at Mack who mouths the word “stegosaurus” at Kenny who silently gets the “OHHHHH” look on his face and nods shooting Mack a wink before he starts to color. Mack gets up and walks over to the entrance way and leans against the doorframe looking into the studio watching the love of his life Mattie Cormier fluttering around the room dancing to her music but using that to create the most beautiful art he had ever seen...even if quite a bit of it WAS inspired by him and made him a bit...uncomfortable. Behind him he can hear the conversation…)
Kenny McKane: Right then, Ms. Ashley...I wantcha to think real, REAL hard on this one mmkay? Out of EVERY one ya seen...whassyer FAVORITE color?
Ashley: PINK!!!
Kenny McKane: Pink!? Well thassa FINE color, innit Mack!
Mack McKane: SUPER great choice! One of me Top 10 as well!
Ashley: What’s YOUR favorite color, Kenny!?
Kenny McKane: Oh I like BLACK!
Ashley: Ewww!
Kenny McKane: What's this now!? Why eww!? It goes with everything!?
Ashley: It’s so...dark! What about you, Uncle Mack?
Kenny McKane: Lemme guess...R-
Mack McKane: ...Rainbow.
(Kenny’s jaw hits the floor and Ashley’s eyes light up.)
Ashley: That’s not fair! That’s ALL of ‘em!
Mack McKane: Well I can’t pick just one, love!
Ashley: Well why not!?
Mack McKane: Well c’mere and I’ll show ya…
(Ashley gets up and runs over to Mack as he scoops her up in his arms and she rests her head on his shoulder as they both watch Mattie.)
Mack McKane: See? Every color on it’s own is alright...but when she uses ALL of them the way she does altogether...they’re all perfect, innit?
Ashley: Ooooh...I get it!
Mack McKane: Run on back to your coloring...we can’t disturb he-
“WOOF!!!”Ashley: DODGERRRRR!!!!
(Ashley almost dive bombs out of Mack’s arms tearing off towards the massive howl as all Mack sees is his behemoth of a mongrel lying on his back with his palm leaf sized tongue hanging out the side of his smiling mouth and Ashley viciously scratching his belly as Kenny continues coloring. Mack soaks in that vision with a warm smile on his face before he turns back to look at Mattie who has taken a break and is staring directly back at him with a shy smile on her face as she shoots him a wink that makes him blush until he feels his cell phone go off. He pulls it out and all the text reads is.)
“Wow...you and Bella at Riot, huh? -Jack”(Mack stares at the message and his blood runs cold...we surmise that Mattie can see the look of trepidation on his face because she suddenly swarms over to him and all he can do is hold out the phone to her, his hand trembling as she covers her face with her mouth and looks at him with concern as he starts trembling with rage. She looks at him with genuine concern as he grabs his mask off the wall and turns heading out the door.)
-THE RUSSOW ACADEMY-
(We can hear the bustling sound of grunt and bumps being taken in the all-too-familiar warehouse located just down the way from Russow Manor when a bright blood red Mustang roars to life in the parking lot. The loading bay doors are open to allow ventilation and sure enough the roar has gotten the attention of the lead trainers as Levi Russow leans against the top rope and looks towards his son’s best friend storming his way to the ring.)
Mack McKane: OI! RUSSOW!
(Levi rolls his eyes and turns around hopping up to sit on the top rope as Mack storms through the ropes and into the ring as one of the stupider meathead trainees tries to get in his face and gets his fingers snapped for it as Mack storms over to the corner as Levi holds his hand up.)
Levi Russow: Look I can explain...he-
Mack McKane: How could you fookin’ put me in the ring with Bella!? HOW!? I TOLD you them girls was off limits!?
Levi Russow: ...wait, THAT’S what you’re here about?
Mack McKane: ...what the fook ELSE would I be here about!?
Levi Russow: Mack I didn’t even know you had a MATCH against Bella!
Mack McKane: ...wait, wha-...what are you playing at, Russow?
Levi Russow: Dude you were LITERALLY standing next to me in the ring when I stepped down as the President of the company!
Mack McKane: Right but you made a lot o’ fookin’ shady moves before you rode off into the sunset though, innit! How’m I supposed to know this wasn’t one of ‘em!
(Levi gives Mack a look of both concern and condemnation...and almost constipation as he slinks down off the top of the rope and wipes his face with his hand before composing himself and closing his eyes pointing at Mack to accentuate every word.)
Levi Russow: Mack...lemme take you back...to the first night I met you.
Mack McKane: Didn’t work well for yas.
Levi Russow: No I shouldn’t say it fucking well didn’t! Even as lost as I was, I can recognize a cracked kneecap and a stab wound when I FEEL them. And then I have spent...ALL THIS TIME with you...you’re my son’s best friend. You’ve been around so much, Hell I might even say you feel like a son to ME at this point.
Mack McKane: ...bit fucked, but okay.
Levi Russow: I...have stood by you...I’ve stood against you...I’ve guided your knife...I’ve cuffed the hand that wields it...you and I have been on each and every possible outcome of the battlefield together. I have scars that still hurt to this day physically...and I have scars that cut deep because I watched someone MY family cares about so much...go through so much pain when Mattie was taken. You and I have this...twisted bond. We always will. We GET each other...that’s why I like you so much. That’s why even when I had to do the political thing and have you arrested, I’M the one that posted your bail. I have watched, WITH PRIDE, every obstacle placed in your way when it comes to the PWS World Heavyweight Championship I used to represent longer than anybody else used to back in the day. If anyone was going to take up the mantle and cement themselves as the new face of this company? I’m glad it’s you.
Mack McKane: I...I suppose I don’t know what to say...thank you.
Levi Russow: ...so that being said...and don’t you dare...EVER...let them find out I said this because “oh that’s sexist! I deserve it! You’re holding me back!” whatever...even if I had the power to MAKE matches still...do you THHHHHINK...in your TWISTED LITTLE MIND...I would EEEEEEVER...let ANY of my girls anywhere NEAR…
Y o u.Mack McKane: ...I was hopin’ not but honestly “Pops”...yer a bit of a hard one to get a read on sometimes, innit?
Levi Russow: That’s on purpose. A great man once said, “Just when they think they have all the answers, I change the questions!” and I live by that. Keep that in mind...it might save your life one day. But Mack I have seen you literally try and scar men twice your size with a Chelsea Grin...I’ve seen you slash, staple, gash, gouge, bite, scratch, and claw your way through whatever was in front of you...for the love of God, I watched you try to staple Heather Haze’s Cave of Wonders shut on live television! So why? WHY...would I EVER...put MY GIRLS through that kind of torment? That kind of twisted, sickening torture that I know you can dish out and you WILL dish out. You have to. It’s in your blood now. There IS no giving less than a hundred percent.
Mack McKane: I just can’t fathom why her mother would put her in this position…
Levi Russow: Laura...has a lot of faith in Bella. And don’t get me wrong! I do too! And by no means should you EVER take her lightly! Bella is tougher than Chinese trigonometry. But I know YOU. And so does Laura. And here, with the balance of power in question, Laura’s thinking to herself that if she books THIS caliber of a match...it’s gonna look damn good on her resume and she’s just gonna be handed full control again. She can’t see the forest from the trees, Mack. And I know you’re going to do what you have to do but...at least for my sake...consider MAYBE not scarring Bella for life? She IS getting married soon, y’know?
Mack McKane: I would never wish harm on Ms. Bella...or Ms. Alanah. And i”ve DREADED the day I would have to fight them. We all knew it would be coming eventually but...I just thought I’d have more time to PREPARE for it, y’know?
Levi Russow: That’s the nature of the game, “bruv”...adapt or die.
Mack McKane: ...speaking of which, why DID you think I was here?
Levi Russow: Uhhh...best to let you see for yourself…
(Levi points Mack to the ring at the back where Jesse Russow is working out with a rather scrawny young man with a tight bleached haircut and the upper half of his body and half of his face painted. He seems to be learning the ropes well enough but every now and then he gets too stiff and Jesse clocks him with a receipt which causes him to lose his temper. Mack slowly pulls his mask back over his face in a sort of security blanket as he doesn’t want his facial expressions to give away the myriad of emotions he’s feeling right now. The kid had shown...but why? This was a “piss in the bucket shitshow” wasn’t it? So why was he here?)
Levi Russow: That’s called a receipt Krash! Slow DOWN...you’re not trying to ACTUALLY hurt each other in these exchanges!
(Krash nods but then gets suddenly rigid as he sees Mack standing by Levi...they share an awkward moment as Krash suddenly slides out of the ring and darts out the back door.)
Levi Russow: ...he forgot his stuff.
Mack McKane: Ice...I’ll be honest...it most likely wasn’t HIS stuff. But if he comes back…
Levi Russow: I got you.
Mack McKane: You’re the best, Pops.
Levi Russow: D’aww you called me Pops!
Mack McKane: Don’t...don’t make it wei-
Levi Russow: GIMME A BEARHUG!!!
*SNAP*“OWW!!!”….
….
….
”I deserved that.”-CRITICAL DARLING-
“What is coming has begun...
It's something that you gotta see.
We lie and say that it's too late for some redemption.
What is coming has begun...
An ending I won't live to see.
...We tell ourselves it can't be Hell…
...If there's no Heaven.”
*Strike**BLAZE*(In the bleak darkness of a crisp Autumn night somewhere in a star-strung field aligned with happily singing crickets there’s suddenly a plume of fire…
...as a dollhouse erupts ablaze.Kneeling in the gentle glowing embers, a new mask adorning his face we see the battle-painted features of Mack McKane as he slowly takes his mask off looking directly into the smoldering, sweet silhouette of a silent sister’s sorrow. He begins to lament.)
Mack McKane: Dear Bella. You and I...in this crazy menagerie we call a family...dare I say, are not as close as I would like to be. We coexist well enough, for certain. And my Mattie just simply adores you. And don’t get me wrong, I love you to death just fine and I’d do anything for you. And if anyone else were to cross you they’d be pincushioned to the bleedin’ wall, innit. But you and I have never...really had much one on one contact, innit? You’ve always been “Mal’s girl” or “Jack’s best friend” and that’s fine! That’s your role in life, innit! I just think it’s a shame...see cause me and you, Bells? If ever there was ANYONE that could relate to what you been through. I mean think about it. Yeah, Jack was there for all of it and ya had each other but...think of what I done weathered alone! The tips and tricks of coping I coulda shared with you!
(He stands slowly and begins to pace around the fireplace lost in deep contemplation.)
Mack McKane: ‘Course then again, maybe you an’ I wouldn’t have ANYTHING in common, eh? We could be complete polar opposites and never know. Because I, the darling yet bashful bladesmith would never dare instigate a decent conversation and YOU...the upstart, well-to-do second generation firecracker have never had need to mingle with the slums and the skids of the world like me! What would we have in common besides our mutual tragedies? Would we spend hours just swapping trauma? Constantly one upping each other with stories of “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours” with our scars? Where does THAT get anyone? Can I pretend to know what it’s like to go shopping on Rodeo Drive with your girls in tow? D’you reckon I even know what the fuck a “Starbucks” tastes like?
(Mack chuckles to himself as the dollhouse rages on and he stops to warm his hand on the flames.)
Mack McKane: ...I AM in your debt for helping me save my Mattie though. And as much as you mean to her...even if we hated each other, that will always make you alright in my book. But why? Why would we hate each other? We’re both cheeky bastards, innit? We both love takin’ the piss outta ol’ Jackie boy, don’t we! Mal’s an...alright sorta guy, I suppose! We can find...a way...to make it through side by side in this world.
...so why...WHY...do you want me...to hurt you?(Mack’s demeanor suddenly shifts as he throws more memorabilia a little girl would have into the fire before sauntering over and picking up the PWS World Heavyweight Championship and clutching it to his chest sitting down in a nearby chair.)
Mack McKane: You will call me barbaric...you will call me a neanderthal...you will call me sexist. You will call me...whatever you will. You will accuse me of taking you lightly, you will accuse me of disrespecting you, you will accuse me of being an arsehole and I can surely see where it seems that way. And I know that there’s no amount of words I can say in any right order that will make it justified to you but I’m going to put them out there anyway in the hopes that they get through SOMEONE’S skull.
...I said...NO Alanah...and NO Bella.Mack McKane: “Oh he doesn’t think they’re worthy of title shots! Oh he thinks he’s better than them! Oh he doesn’t think they can be the face of PWS! Oh he’s a sexist pig that wants to hold them back! Oh he’s afraid of what people will say if the great, dark, violent Mack McKane loses to *GIRLS*” I can hear you...already. You fink that’ll fookin’ bother me? Mate I’ve had people screamin’ ignorant bullshit in my face my entire life. I KNOW these girls, I KNOW what they can do, I would put them up against the BEST in the WORLD. In fact, MAKE them the faces of this company! DO IT! PUT THEM...ON EVERYTHING! Because they are the two BEST United Champions this company has EVER seen! I’m not SAYING they can’t be the PWS World Heavyweight Champion! They can do it! They WILL do it! And they’ll do it BIGGER and BETTER than the world has ever seen BEFORE! But I’m FOOKIN’ MACK MCKANE!!!
(Mack suddenly kicks up out of the chair and launches it across the land as he doubles over clutching the title almost in pain as he screams bloody murder.)
Mack McKane: How many? HOW. MANY? HOW MANY people have I left broken, bloodied, DIFFERENT in my wake? How many people have crossed my path and been changed...FOREVER? How many pints of BLOOD have I painted across that canvas? How many cuts? How many perforations? How many contusions? Concussions? Lacerations? HOW MANY PEOPLE...HAVE I BROKEN!? Mate, d’you not think I KNOW who I am? What I DO? Bruv, I’m Mack...FFFFFFFUCKIN’...McKane!!! I will shiv your Gran and go grab a pint while she turns blue in the middle of your Church, I don’t CARE! And this title? From the day this title found its way into my cold, decrepit hands it became damned along my putrid black soul for all eternity for all the sins I’VE yet to commit! See it’s a PART of me now! I hurt people and GODS am I good at it and you want ME...to turn my trade on sweet BELLA. You FOOKIN’...GOBSHITES!!!
(Mack runs his fingers through his hair and finally faces the camera in one last attempt to appeal to reason.)
Mack McKane: Bella...my sweet Bella...I know you see this as a huge opportunity for you, and it is. It really is. And I’ve heard it...I know you’ve said you’ve always wondered just what would happen if you got this. And I get it! I get why the curiosity is there! But please...love. PLEASE...I am BEGGING you...for ME...for MAL...for ALL of us!!! Don’t come. Don’t show up. You’re back in your beloved New York now. You and Mal just stay in, order a pie, binge a show...I hear that Lucifer is popular, I’ll tell him you said hi! Just...put your pride...and your ego aside...put your rebel heart away and clip your wild hair for ONE night...just please…
...DON’T...make...me do this.
(Mack looks almost heartbroken as he slides his mask on and slings the title over his shoulder as he walks off as the camera focuses on the collapsing dollhouse burning to ash as we fade to black.)