HD: Leon segment

[King Cucaracha 0]

COLE
Two weeks ago, after regaining and then losing the OAOAST World Title in the space of 5 minutes, Leon Rodez was in a dejected and callous mood. And among those who felt the wrath of that mood was his own niece, Jade Rodez-Duncan...


[QUOTE=OAOAST HeldDOWN, 6/6]Leon trails off and his head sinks down into his shoulders. The reason being the appearance of Jade Rodez-Duncan, wearing a worried expression on her face. She kneels down next to her uncle, who flinches wishing she wasn't so close.

JADE
We need to talk.

LEON
No we don't.

JADE
Yes... yes we do Leon. This isn't right and I can't bear seeing you like this anymore, you have to talk to somebody about this. You're depressed and you need...

LEON
I don't need to talk. Least of all to you. You're the absolute [i]last[/i] person I want to see right now, so why don't you just leave me alone?

JADE
Because I'm worried about you!

Leon slowly looks up and chuckles under his breath.

LEON
Why the sudden change of heart?

JADE
What... Leon, please, stop this...

LEON
Why don't you just run along and go celebrate with Mommy? That's where you'd rather be. It's where you've been the past year, right? You didn't care about me then. I don't need you pretending to give a damn about me now, just to sooth your conscience.

Standing up, Leon walks off and leaves his niece behind close to tears.[/QUOTE]


COLE
Well one man who took exception to that was Bohemoth, former friend of and In Crowd member with Leon. He set out to confront Leon... until Jade intervened...


[QUOTE=OAOAST HeldDOWN, 6/6]In the hallways of the arena Jade Rodez-Duncan sits close to tears, being comforted by her burly boyfriend, Bohemoth.

JADE
I just hate seeing him so... so hurt and so broken up. I didn't go there for my sake, I went for him, honest. I just can't believe he'd [i]think[/i] that about me.

BOHEMOTH
I know, I know. I'm gonna go sort him out.

As Bo starts to march off, Jade jumps out of her seat and holds her arm out in his path to stop him.

JADE
NO!

BOHEMOTH
Jade, he needs sorting out. He can't talk the way he did to you and get away with it, he needs some sense beating into him.

JADE
No, please Bo, don't. He doesn't know what he's saying at the moment, he's just angry and he's suffering. This isn't Leon, it's just not him. It's not his fault. He needs our help. He doesn't need anymore problems. Please, don't do anything.

Relenting, Bo stands down.

BOHEMOTH
Fine. But something's gotta be said. First Zack and now you, it ain't right and you know it. I need to have it out with him sooner or later.

JADE
Promise me you won't hurt him.

BOHEMOTH
Listen, I can't promise anything.

JADE
You've got to. You don't understand, what we've got is one thing but... he's my family. Tell me you understand.

A little evasive Bo seems to shrug, but Jade is insistant and makes Bo look her in the eyes.

JADE
If you love me, you'll promise not to hurt him.

After a few seconds eye to eye, Bohemoth finally gives in and pecks Jade on the cheek.

BOHEMOTH
Fine.

JADE
Thank you.

Bohemoth wraps a comforting arm around Jade shoulder and walks her off, still not looking completely convinced.[/QUOTE]


COLE
Which all lead us to last week in Tokyo, Japan and a tense showdown. Bohemoth DID infact get some things off of his chest, confronting Leon moments after his victory over the bigman Jumbo. However it soon became clear that Leon didn't care what Bohemoth had to say. Infact, he seemed more intent on getting something else out of Bohemoth. Something more physical...


[QUOTE=OAOAST HeldDOWN, 6/12]As Bohemoth gets the microphone, Leon doesn't bother to wait around to hear what he has to say and starts to leave, which obviously doesn't sit well.

BOHEMOTH
HEY! Don't you go anywhere man, because I've got something to say!

Stopping halfway through the ropes, Leon slowly steps back inside, still not giving Bohemoth the courtesy of any eye contact.

BOHEMOTH
You know, I don't know what the hell is going on in your head lately. I don't know what's happening, to make you turn your back on Zack and on me the way you have. That's fine. I'm sure you've got your reasons, crazy as they might be. But I draw the line when you start going around and taking all this crap out on other people, innocent people. Especially when those people include Jade.

Leon finally looks over at Bohemoth at the mention of Jade's name, stood in a corner.

BOHEMOTH
Oh yeah. She told me what happened last week. And I'm sure as hell not going to sit back and accept that. I mean, come on man... that's your [i]niece[/i]. And you feel you can talk to her the way you did? Big man all of a sudden, taking your anger out on people who aren't gonna fight back. Well guess what, family or no family, when you mess with Jade, you mess with me. So if you've got something to say, how about you say it to my face if you've got the guts? Huh? How 'bout that?

Glancing up, Leon's face shows the hint of a smile as he takes the microphone away from Bohemoth, daring enough to stand right in his face as asked.

LEON
You're right about one thing. Jade [i]is[/i] my family. Which is why I think you aren't going to do a damn thing to me.

Raising his eyebrows as if to say "oh yeah?", Bohemoth sure looks ready to do something. Until Leon laughs under his breath.

LEON
You know what, 'Bo', save the tough man act. You don't scare me. Not one bit. The fact is, you're pathetic. Just like I once was. Look at you. All angry, pent up, on somebody's else's behalf. Always somebody's else's man. Standing in Zack's shadow, just like I was. Before that, standing in Wright's shadow. And now, fighting your girlfriend's battles. I always second guessed whether you really had a brain of your own in that head of yours and I guess we're finding out now, you don't. Well, I do have a mind of my own now. And my mind is telling me things that it should have months ago. If you, or Zack, or Jade don't like it, that's too bad. Sometimes you need to hear those things you don't want to listen to. I mean, we could go into the real story behind why a jacked up 32 year old man is sleeping with a tiny 19 year old girl and what that says about him...

Bohemoth's eyes widen, about ready to kill after that cheapshot. But somehow, he doesn't.

LEON
...but the fact is, you aren't worth a second of my time. I don't owe you an explanation. I don't owe you any gratitude. And I don't owe you an apology.

Leon turns his back on Bohemoth and goes to walk off, but stops, looking over his shoulder.

LEON
If you've got a problem with that, then go ahead and do your worst.

Leaving himself wide open to a sneak attack Leon stands and waits for Bohemoth to make a move. Those in the crowd that understand what's going on urge Bohemoth to take Leon out. But Bohemoth, strangely, can't bring himself to attack Leon and just stands fuming, glaring a hole in the back of his head.

LEON
That's what I thought.

Throwing the microphone back at Bohemoth's feet Leon leaves the ring, a contemptful look on his face as he walks off. Bohemoth stands in the middle of the ring still seething as he watches Leon leave.

COACH
Wow. Leon called Bo's bluff... and he's walking away in one piece.[/QUOTE]


COLE
Bohemoth kept his word and we understand that right now, Leon Rodez is standing by backstage ready to talk to us...

We cut to split-screen, finding a darkened space where Leon stands miserably staring down at the floor. Boos sound out in the arena, whether Leon can hear them or not isn't clear as they have no effect.

COLE
...and Leon, we've just seen the confrontation between yourself and Bohemoth that took place last week. Now it seemed to me that you were trying to goad Bohemoth into attacking you. And later that night, we heard you telling Jade, you were privy to that conversation she and Bo had and that Bohemoth would "break his promise". Are you really risking infuriating The Monster and putting yourself on the wrong end of his anger to try and prove a point to Jade?

LEON
Well... that really doesn't matter now, does it? Because if Bohemoth really [i]loves[/i] Jade like he says, he won't lay a finger on me.

A faintest hint of a smile can be seen as Leon lowers his head.

LEON
Of course... if it turns that it's all a lie, that would be a shame. It would be a bad thing to happen to such a [i]good[/i] person like Jade, don't you agree? It's just lucky that bad things don't happen to good people.

COLE
Well, we understand from OAOAST upper management that a contract has been drawn up for a match between yourself and Bohemoth at The Great Angle Bash, by request. So far, the match hasn't been signed, but I'm guessing you're behind this request?

LEON
Let me make this as simple as possible. Sooner or later, Bohemoth [i]will[/i] break that promise that he made. No matter how much he insists that he has Jade's best interests in mind. Sooner or later, he will hurt me. And I don't want to get hurt, but I'm resigned to the fact, because if it's something I don't want, you can be sure it'll happen to me. So why the cherade? Why pretend like it won't happen? Why not just get it over with?

Leon wipes a hand across his face.

LEON
Jade needs to realise a couple of things. Things I've realised. She's naive. She still sees the world as this beautiful miracle, she's so full of positivity. She needs to see the world for the cruel, harsh, unforgiving struggle that it really is. And by finding out that the man she believes in won't keep such an important promise, she'll find that out. Because the simple fact is... blood is thicker than water. No matter what Bohemoth says, no matter how many times he says it, he doesn't have her best interests in mind like I do. She is my flesh and my blood. When tested, blood is thicker than water. And the bond that ties me and Jade is a bond that will never break. The bond that ties her and Bohemoth is fragile. It's not built to last. It's only a matter of time... before it snaps. And when it does, I will be there for Jade. And she'll finally understand where I'm coming from and what I'm feeling.

Leon raises his eyebrows.

LEON
Of course, if I'm wrong, Bohemoth won't lay a finger on me and he won't sign that contract to wrestle me at The Great Angle Bash.

Shaking his head, that faint smile appears again.

LEON
I guess we'll see, won't we?

COLE
Well, uhm, Leon we thank you for joining us.

No response from Leon as we go to full screen.

COLE
That was very ominous, wouldn't you agree?

COACH
Bohemoth's a hothead. That's what's ominous to me. You think he won't lose his cool and go after Leon? I know where I'd be putting my money.

COLE
If Leon is as manipulative and scheming as he seems, I'm afraid you may well be right.