Focus.

---

Through all the massive pain he endured in the tag team match at Ascension, Noris' recovery has been medically cleared the night after. The young child has made his mark but wasn't close to shooting the gun. Overnight, he's been thinking about his first loss within the corporation. APW's witnessed him not live up to the hype after they gunned him like praise from a victor's war. The let down was brutal but the comeback was going to be statistical and satisfying. It was the right thing to do. A loss means a lot but a win means more especially when the stakes are higher than ever. The prestigious result garnered a higher probability of entering into the main event picture which in layman's terms, a shot at the APW World Heavyweight Championship.

They called him 'Unstoppable' for a reason.

The binding cold of Milwaukee was underrated in the travel agent's comments. Noris ran under the sun's beaming rays which failed to keep him warm against the chilling breath of the winds. His adrenaline rush in his morning run provided the body heat to suffice him during the workout. The struggle of running in excessive clothing made it difficult to achieve maximum performance but he achieved it nonetheless. The cold breaths escaped his lips the more he thought about the opportunity against Jaice Wilds. Satisfying to meet a stronger competitor who also was hungry in his quest to be the champion. Management trusted him for a reason. It's about damn time.

"Come on!"

Cranley continued to push through the limits. He felt the fatigue of his chest and legs almost break him down but the thought of defeating Jaice was the motivation he needed to finish the run. The child made a commendable finish at the edge of the park where he stopped at a sidewalk at the city's exit gate. Noris pulled the hoodie from over his head to breathe. The deep breaths. Inhale, exhale. Yes, it was all coming together in his mind. The variations of his victory over Jaice. Hell, he could even hear the roar of the crowd over the twisting songs of the birds. Noris returned to the sidewalk with a slow walk after a fast run. He was pleasantly surprised to break through all the pain he felt. Hard work paid off.

"I'm going to win. I'm going to win. I'm going to win!"

Ah yes. The words repeated through his lips. The tightening of balled fists was the story to tell in much he truly desired it all. To many, a win is just a win but in the sport of professional wrestling, it's a statement that changes history. The entire world has that one man. Every eye in the world locked into his actions; Never missing a piece of the puzzle being put together to form a picture. In that minuscule moment, one has command over the entire world. At the age of nineteen, Noris having that power in the palm of his hands meant more than anything. His story was to be written in chapters and the world would witness the stroke of the penmanship before their very own eyes.

Bzzzz! Bzzzzz! Bzzzzz!

His iPhone alerted its own presence in the right pocket of his sweatpants. Noris held it and it was the name of a man he hated all his life. Noris never understood why things changed when he left. He held the device in his hand and couldn't move. Everything about him was frozen. Why was this bastard calling him after all this time? He wasn't exactly happy about talking to his father. As the phone continued to ringing, Noris fell back onto the warm seat of a wooden bench. The child buried his head into the palm of his free hand before answering the call.

"What?"

"Hey! Hey, there son. How's everything?"

God, he hated his pretentious voice of pleasantries. It's how it always started. The buttering up which led to the arguing and then the beatings. Fortunately for Noris, he wasn't going to allow this son of a bitch to ruin his life again.

"Stop. Just stop. We're not doing this again. I don't want to do this again. Do you hear me? It's done. Everything about us is done. You had your fun and it's over. Do you want to know something Dad? Do you want to know what happened to me? Is that why you called? Or is it because you couldn't handle letting me grow out of the usual mediocrity of a bullshit life you were forced to live in when you were a kid? Hmm? I get it, dad. You weren't happy what was going on in your life so you took it out on me where you took it out on me. It's the same thing you and man Jaice did because you had enough. You had enough of living in the shadows of someone else. You had to ruin everything to get out of the scramble; It's okay. It's okay to be afraid. I'm coming for him father. I'm going to break him.

See. He can say he's just like me. He was poorly abused by people who thought to be better than him and now, it's nothing more than a fight to the finish. The beginning of a brand new chapter of our lives to say the least. For even though we suffered a lot, it all meant to come to the crossing of our roads in my wrestling organization. It also admired him for facing off against the entirety of the Masuda Corporation. He had to build a lot off of it, ya know? Listen to them nearly strip him away from his entire core. It almost broke my heart because he had to share the abuse I had to from you. It ate away from our souls. Constant time but here we are with our paths crossed. Who would ever think we would have so much in common, no?

And then there's you. You had to be the wildcard to remind me where I had to come from Father. So in the end, I'm reminded why I should never look back. I don't even want to be looking back at when I lost my first match on the regards of my management putting me with the scraps. To be honest, it's hurting me on the inside to know what I would be if I lived under your roof. It would really scare me down to my living spirit to realize the horrors you'd put me through and in some sort of way, it wouldn't be anything equal to if I lost to Jaice Wilds. Do you want to know why?"

"Ugh...?"

"I'm glad you asked. Jaice Wilds has momentum. He's loving the rallying cry of the entire world on his side. He recently overcame Allen Anderson who is a major player in the Masuda Corporation. A two-out-of-three falls match against a very high ranked opponent who almost seemed unstoppable in his career. Not to mention, unhinged for he even kidnapped a woman to please his own ego. So when everything looked dim, he overcame the odds and won. Now he truly believes he's the one to dethrone Masuda Jubei for the world heavyweight championship due to the bandwagon of being on cloud nine. Unfortunately for him, it's not going to be the fairytale ending he hoped it was going to be for he's going to meet someone who is now enticingly furious from his recent performances.

I am very happy you called. You've given me a new perspective on what I need to do to prove why I should be the best wrestler in the company. You've shown me that when your past can come back to haunt you, you erase it by creating a better future. A future where anyone who tried to tell you or remind you of the pain you went through will be subjected to a temporal display of humiliation. For the world will disregard them as a peasant in my kingdom now that I have proven to be unstoppable as I always fought to be. Jaice may think he's on the path to the top but we both know when I demand attention for the better, I stop at nothing. We both know how durable I am. Especially you when you tried your best to sway me from my path and tell me it was never worth entering the business father. All the abuse. The years which passed and here I am sitting on this bench with you begging to enter my life again.

But worry not. There is good news on the horizon. I want you to watch what I will do to Jaice Wilds with all my breath. Picture yourself on that ruined and disgusting old couch you always slept on because you're going to be fascinated. Jaice will be an example of when things can come crashing down by someone worse than you. For every villain is believed to be the hero of their own story, Jaice is not a villain. He's an actual hero. One who fought for the belief you could do anything you want and that's what makes him someone to be pushed to the top. I am not looking to be a hero, I am looking to be a champion. While he's enjoying the spotlight and reveling in the victory of battle, I am focusing to bring the end of the war. So Jaice will understand that although life does has its positive moments, there's always the trials and tribulations to strike him out of the glory hounding position he is.

In other words father, I am going to beat him. Out of the sheer respect for his competitive side but the more purpose to send a message. And that message is to you. No one nor nothing will deter my focus or distract from my path to becoming World Champion. All the years of being told no or pushed aside by a bigger face will after I hang up the phone. Jaice will be a great wrestler but he will not be a champion. He doesn't know the meaning of sacrifice. What is sacrifice to him when the entire world is on your side? They're ready to bring him the main course just to say a job well done on defeating Allen who was merely a tool in the game of Jubei's chess piece. I'm not looking to beat the tool, I want to decapitate the head of the puppeteer. Jaice is stepping stone and a difficult barricade in accomplishing that but needless to say, I have every desire to fulfilling that role of being victorious when our match is over. "

"Son?"

Noris slowly stood up and walked towards the edge of the park again. He stood before the cold metallic fence that separated him from a local lake. The waters moving silently. He always admired the sparkling reflection of the sun. Like diamonds sinking to the bottom, Noris smiled at the beauty. However, his right eyebrow perched at the mention of being called son. The demeanor resisting the urge to be loved and he clamped his grip on the phone's manufactured durability.

"I am not your son and I'm no one's afterthought. I'm a different breed. A new generation of a young wolf looking to kill the alpha of the pack. You taught me that. You taught me to be ruthless against those who would dare even pretend I never existed. Jaice thinks he can see me as a child with no experience who needs to be roughed up but let's be honest, no one roughed me up harder than you did and I personally thank you for teaching me that over the years. It's what made me earn a contract faster than anyone at my wrestling school, it's what made me develop a huge impact where I'm co-main eventing twice in consecutive weeks. Now? I'm not going to waste it anymore. I'm going to use this opportunity to showcase just how lethal I can be when I want to desire the taste of freedom.

Jaice Wilds? He doesn't desire anything but glory. Glory without the cost of blood and sacrifice. I'm going to remind him what that cost truly means. Unlike you, I seek out to fight the very best and not use the weak to further my agenda. Jaice has never faced the best until now for I am the best. I am an uncrowned champion father. I'm the best damn wrestler in APW and I'm better than Jaice. So from now on, you will never call me again. You will never speak to me again, you will never think of me again. We are done and I am done with you!"

Before his own father could even respond, Noris threw his phone like a rocket. He watched the device plummet through the surface of the waters before sinking out of his sight. His hands buried deep into the skirts of pocket and all that remained was his presence. The child marched down the path to go back to his hotel but the anger was brewing inside him. All the memories of his abuse were slowly fading away as if he found the key to erase them from his memory banks. It was a delightful feeling to know the strength he resolved to face his father was fulfilling the purpose of creating a better future. Now all was left to present that same energy into Monday Night Metal.

Noris was ready. The distractions were long gone and he was focused upon taking down Jaice. This match was more than a match. It was a symbolism of hope. Cranley felt it deep in his soul he was ready to take upon the challenge of defeating Masuda Jubei but also dominating Jaice in his momentum from his win at Aftermath. No matter how challenging the task was, he ready to best it at hand. That's why Noris was deemed to be unstoppable. He would never quit. Never. And as time passed, Milwaukee would experience yet another stroke of his penmanship. The beginning of a new chapter in his life. The chapter of the road to becoming a world champion. God bless his soul.