Darkness; Quartz' Inner Turmoil After Turmoil

Quartz · August 9

The faint sound of the final wave of humanity exiting the Barclay's Center grows quieter with each passing minute. In the backstage area, many crew members and OCW staff begin shutting down production and preparing to leave the arena for the final time before Road 2 Glory in Atlanta, Georgia.

As more and more arena and OCW staff begin leaving, the silence grows even more present.

The secluded area where The Frontline had been meeting for the past several months, now void of the comradery and brotherhood that occupied it mere hours ago. In its place, seated on the floor, the picture of defeat. Despite standing on his own two feet at the end of the show, surrounded by his allies, Inness Quartz now sits alone.

His head rests against the concrete wall behind him, desperately trying to stop from sliding to the floor. Next to the former World Champion's husk, his white hooded sweatshirt. Quartz' dead eyes slowly peer over to it, seemingly to read the words on the back, the same words that he has championed since Certified Greatness...

"Again. And Again. And Again. Forever."

Quartz says nothing, simply opting to toss it off of the balcony, watching the shame and sweat covered top fall quickly to the level below.

Ding

His head turns slowly, watching the elevator in front of him as the doors slowly pry open.

Inside... Nobody. Nothing.

Quartz stares straight ahead as the doors close back again.

The quiet surrounding the foolish man becomes deafening.

Alone in his shame. The buffoon who believed Rust Cohle's façade. The imbecile who put his faith in the faithless. The coward who sat by and watched an innocent man framed. The egomaniac that risked the careers of 3 men to chase his own goals. The broken down washout who passed his prime years ago. The dipshit meathead who has been embarrassed at every turn. The disgraced hypocrite who viscously ended his former mentor. The disingenuous crybaby who pinned his failures on B17.

The remnants of what used to be a respected champion.

They're all right. They always have been.

The words that once echoed throughout the Toyko Dome at Red Sun Rising begin playing again in his mind.

"A soldier is a political tool, nothing more."

No tears are shed, not so much as a blink dare interrupt Quartz' loathing.

"That's doubly true if he's a career soldier. Right and wrong have no place in his mission."

Lights begin to shut off in sections in the backstage area, the clank of the industrial lighting rigs provide the only auditory escape to the silence.

"He has no enemies and no friends. Only the mission."

Another rig shuts off.

"Sooner or later, your conscience is going to bother you."

The powered off fixtures begin enveloping Quartz in darkness.

"In the end, you have to choose whether you're going to live as a soldier, or just another man with a gun."

The overwhelming pride he took in what was CQC, in what was his first and closest ally, now a haze of uncertainty 8 days before he is scheduled to compete inside the Wargames cages.

"There's a saying in the Orient..."

Quartz eyes peer up to the final lighting fixture above him. The lights shut off with a loud clank, leaving him broken and alone in the darkness. Darkness that caused him to miss everything that was playing out in front of him. Darkness that could cost a man his career. Darkness that could render him an utter failure in the eyes of his allies, his peers, and himself.

"'Loyalty to the end'... Do you know what it means?"