Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Nothing Gold Can Stay - Robert Frost

Shane Jackson sits in the window of a greyhound bus as is rolls through the lower end of Ontario, heading toward it's Toronto destination. Outside the window a number of trees and rocks slide by, becoming a blur in the distance as the bus closes in on the city of Hamilton, a precursor to the much larger Toronto. A pair of earphones cover Shane's ears, in his hands is a silver discman. Music from Kill Bill plays to Shane's mind as he looks toward the upcoming Glory.

CD ~ Bill: If you had to guess why she left you alive. What would be your guess?

Words from the dialogue pass through Shane's ears though he's not actually hearing them, it's more of a way to block out the background sound of the other people on the bus.

CD ~ Sofie Fatale: Guess it wouldn't be necessary. She informed me... She said I could keep my wicked live for two reasons

Images of Kevin Williams begins creeping their way to the front of Shane's thoughts. Kevin is a threat, a major threat. Many of Shane's injuries are still unhealed. His forearms are heavily bandaged, his back is rug of partially healed cuts and wounds, his forehead bears a heavy band-aid covering a deep gash two inches above his right eyebrow. With unheald injuries Williams will have clear targets to work on.

CD ~ The Bride: As I said before.. I've allowed you to keep your wicked life for two reasons. And the second reason is, so you can tell him, in person everything that happened to you tonight. I want him to witness the extend of my mercy by witnessing your deformed body. I want you to tell him all the information you've just told me.

Something in Shane's mind suddenly clicked. He knew how to combat Williams. It was as much in the ring as it was outside it. Physically, Williams had an advantage, but mentally Shane could bring out the weaknesses he needed Williams to have.

CD ~ The Bride: I want him to know what I know. I want him to know what I want him to know. And I want them all to know, they'll all soon be as dead as already.

Seconds later the Greyhound passes through a tunnel. Everything inside the bus goes black. After a few moments the end of the tunnel appears. Oddly there's no road at the end of the tunnel. All that can be seen is a huge oak tree in a snowy backyard. Sun brightens the backyard to a near white blindness. Shane steps from behind the giant tree, he no longer wears the silver discman he had inside the bus.

Shane: I'm sure you know who this is Williams. It's your childhood friend, Rooter. I wanted to talk to him, I needed to find out a little bit about you.

Shane rests a hand against the trunk of Rooter. As Shane touches the tree it almost appears to warm up to his touch like it accepts him.

Shane: You'd be amazed at how much he likes people to talk to him. He's lonely Kevin. He wishes you were a kid again so you could play with him like you used to. He misses you Kev. He wants you to come home.

Shane's nods his head, slightly. It's as if the tree is speaking but only Shane's ears are picking it up.

Shane: He's been telling me about you Kevin. He's told me about your childhood. He told me about you growing up. I know about what happened on your first date, and about the first girl you had a crush on. I know about your troubles in High School and the problems you faced in College. I spend a few hours here, talking with you friend Kev, and I practically know your life story...in and out. Don't worry though, everything is in the strictest confidence, I promised Rooter that I'd tell nobody else what I've learned. In exchange I've let him in on a few sections of my life. He's loves to be told stories. He feels that what he was created to do was listen. Did you know that Kev? You loved your stories and it hurts him that you don't come and tell him more. He wants to know about what it's like for you to travel around North America. He wants to hear about your matches and your thoughts. He loves you, Kevin, and worries that you don't love him as much as you used to.

As Shane says this it almost appears that the great oak tree begins to droop, slightly, as if it's sad, as if a heavy weight is being placed in it's branches.

Shane: You know that you used to be Rooter's hero...did you know that Kevin? He asked me to bring you back to him. That's the thing though. If I beat you what's it going to change? Will you come to your dear friend more? Will you spend more days talking to him and telling him you goals and accomplishments?

Music begins playing somewhere in the distance, and a voice begins singing. Oddly the singing voice seems to be coming from the old oak tree, from deep inside it, from it's heart.

Hey, where have you gone?
You used to be the one
That we looked up to
Seemed like nothing
Could break you down
How high was your price?
Was it worth it?
Nothing in life is a sure bet anyway
You're gone
Guess you weren't here from the start
In the end
Its all a question of heart

Shane: If I beat you Kevin will you come running back to Rooter? What happens if you win? If you take the Pro Title from my waist you're likely to forget about 'him'

Hey, where have you gone?
You used to be the one
That we looked up to
Seemed like nothing
Could break you down
How high was the price?
And was it worth it?
Nothing in life is a sure bet anyway
You're gone
I guess you were here from the start
In the end
Its all a question of heart

Shane: Most people leave their childhood far behind them when they grow up. They forget about people they knew in elementary school. Faces from childhood are erased with time. You, Kevin, have been able to hold onto a piece of your youth, and that makes you a better person than most. You held onto it for a long time, but now you're letting it slip away and that's what's scary. As your grip with the past losens you're destroying a piece of yourself, you're wiping away who you are.

Hey, where did it go?
Everything we fought for
And everything it meant,
maybe we were just naive
But I still believe
There are only a few things
That really belong
To make who I am
Who I was
Who I wanna be
Who I wanna be

Shane: Do you remember your favorite childhood song Kevin? It was Puff the Magic Dragon, wasn't it. You used to sing it to Rooter all the time and do you remember what you did every time you sang it. You always left out the last two verses. Partly because you couldn't always remember them...and partly because you made a promise to your friend that you'd never leave him. Keep up the good work Kev, keep working hard and aiming for those title just keep in mind the last few lines of Puff. Without his lifelong friend, Puff could not be brave. So, Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave. Don't let your relationship with Rooter end like that.

Hey, where have I gone?
I used to be the one
Looking for a hero
In some far off place
Blindly ever forward
Never knowing all along
The truth was right here
In my own song

Shane: I want you to come to Glory and I want you to fight with everything you've got. If you beat me I want to know you beat me, and won the title, not for yourself but for your friend. If you beat me I want you to promise that the first thing you'll do is bring that title back here and show 'him'. Tell him about the match and about everything you were thinking and tell him how great it made you feel to be there doing what you love. Make 'him' the part of your life that he used to be.

Shane looks up into the branches of Rooter, taking in the towering sight of the powerful oak tree. A weak smile crosses his face and he gives Rooter a soft pat before removing his hand and stepping back behind the tree. For a second everything flashes to black then suddenly the bus comes out of the tunnel and Shane is sitting in his window seat again. Headphones in his ears as lyrics from the movie Kill Bill run through his brain.

- "Kill Bill" section taken directly off the Soundtrack CD

- Credit to the Bouncing Souls for the song "Kids and Heroes" which appeared in it's entirety in this RP

- For the full lyrics to "Puff the Magic Dragon" click here