After the Glitter Fades

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All white sterile room.

White vanity with mirror. Matching white cushioned stool.

Covered furniture has been added to the space. Placed upright in a chair blanketed by a sheet, a butchered pig wears a Lord Dominicus mask. Next to the swine is a tape recorder that has had the play button pressed. On a covered table beside the chair is an ashtray as well as an unlit cigar. An open bottle of whiskey is on the other side of the seat. Placed atop the vanity is a CD player hooked up to a sound system.

Sporting an all white suit, the Great White Terror steps into the picture holding a CD version of the Bella Donna album.

Keith Williams: "Do you like Stevie Nicks?"

Lord Dominicus: "They're okay."

Originating from the tape recorder, Jeff Noon's voice is heard reciting Dominicus' lines.

Keith Williams: "If by slithered you mean earned my way into this title match, then I'm guilty as charged. Why am I a snake for speaking the truth, knowing my worth, and being unrepentant about who I am? Me, me, me. That's all I hear when you speak. Coyly implying that NPW was completely built off of your work alone, now suggesting that I'll inherit nothing because you and the XHF will no longer be involved. That's a thigh slapper, really. Maybe, just maybe... NPW and SWAT distancing themselves from the influence of the XHF is the best thing they've ever done. They'll probably both thrive, become more successful than ever imagined. Is that what worries you? Or that you won't be able to state how much you've "helped"? Possibly the idea of the CWA surpassing the XHF and having to watch your precious contract crumble like the Network?"

Referring again to the discography of Stevie Nicks, Williams mentions a favorite album.

Keith Williams: "Some of her later work was a little too soft rock for my tastes, but when Wild Heart came out in '83, I think she really came into her own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. She's been compared to Sheryl Crow, but I think Stevie has a far more sweet, mystical vibe."

Changing the topic, Keith returns the conversation to one of his opponents at the next NPW show.

Keith Williams: "Don't take this the wrong way, Dominicus, but you, the XHF, and every piss poor X*Crown Champion of the last year and a half should be taken to a national forest and forgotten like Gabby Petito. Sorry not sorry. Once I've left a company, it's not my responsibility to keep them afloat after I've given them countless chances to showcase my superior skills. When you put your world title on an effeminate man, a gender neutral anomaly, or a cyborg drama queen, you've justified the disaster that's sure to follow. It's not brain surgery; this isn't an unsolvable problem. The ReVenants are the answer, we've always been the answer. Garbage human being? Keith Williams? You've lent your ear to the jackals for so long they've gnawed it off. Don't believe everything you hear, because most of it is fabricated hogwash. My obsessive nature is going to ensure that I leave the Scotiabank Arena as the NEW NPW North American Double Crown Champion, something that should've happened sooner. October 7th, there is no option that entails you winning. Personally, I won't be shedding any tears for you on your last night in NPW, feel free to let the door hit you on the way out."

Walking outside of the camera's view, Keith returns wearing a see through button up raincoat, carrying an axe. Unmistakably a clean square of newspaper has been taped to the floor underneath the new furniture where the fake Dominicus is.

Lord Dominicus: "Hey, Williams."

Keith Williams: "Yes, Dominicus?"

Lord Dominicus: "Why are there copies of the style section all over the place, d-do you have a dog? A little Corgi or something?"

Straining his face to resemble something similar to a smile, Williams laughs and replies.

Keith Williams: "No, Dominicus."

Lord Dominicus: "Is that a raincoat?"

Strolling back to the vanity where the CD player is, the Great White Terror hits a button and music starts to play loudly. Taking hold of the axe, Williams gives Dominicus a lesson on the song.

Keith Williams: "Yes it is! In '81, Stevie released this, Bella Donna, her most accomplished album. I think her undisputed masterpiece is "After the Glitter Fades", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself."

His attention solely on the masked pig, KW shouts out a name.

Keith Williams: "Hey, Dominicus!"

Keith raises the axe high and clobbers fraudulent LD in the head with the edge of it as blood splatters over him.

Keith Williams: "TRY GETTING A RESERVATION AT DORSIA NOW, YOU FUCKING STUPID BASTARD! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

As the music continues to play, Williams sets down the axe and picks up the unlit cigar, putting it in his mouth. Lighting the stogie, the scene freezes on the bloodstained face of the Great White Terror as he exhales a plume of smoke.

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