Beginning:
Born Alone, Die Alone. That's how Axel's sperm donor raised him: a freak of nature, too damn slow and too damn stupid to do anything right. The sins of an abusive piece of shit almost always pass down to the children, and Axel got the brunt of it by being forced into a machine against his will, driving with two giant wheels beside him. There was nothing like getting fed food by hand, being fed through numerous tubes and all sorts of things he couldn't do without being able to remove himself. He was a slave to the machine's will, a slave to his former father all the same. Regardless, he had the strength to do what he had finally wanted to do for a long time regardless of the competition: stand up to that monster and show him that he couldn't control him anymore. Ironically, the survival of the fittest granted Axel his wish regardless of winning or losing, as by the end he had been through so much hell that he felt like he had little to lose. Like any struggle, it took a lot of pain and anguish before he could finally become the man he had always wanted. He triumphantly walked away into the cornfields away from his old farm, bleeding from the disheveled wrist where the top part of his arms and his hands used to be. All he could remember was getting off the road and collapsing, a smile on his face that he was finally free from the pain of expectation, the toxicity of the past before engaging in an eternal rest.
It's been many years since the previous Twisted Metal competition, many years since he's been seen by anyone. No one is sure if he had even won, not even Axel himself would have remembered. That's why it was strange when he woke up on a dirty mattress, hidden underneath an overturned train car. Axel proceeded to rise from the dead once more, placing the nubs where his arms used to be and placing his left leg down for momentum to rise. His wounds had healed, no sign of blood or even that it was amputated to begin with. He didn't understand how he got there, who had saved him, or where he even was. With no real goal in mind, Axel had begun to set his best foot forward and had moved on from his resting place, awaiting to see what the world has brought him now that he's made his peace. After all, everything had felt like a surreal dream, all a part of the past now.
Axel had wandered for hours, stepping through old and abandoned buildings and crossing roads that would contain the skeletons of former vehicles, the literal skeletons of its owners dead on the inside of it. He would see these landmarks multiple times, no matter which direction he went. It was as if Axel was losing his mind, trapped in his own personal hell as he had decided to keep walking. However sunny and peaceful it may have been, all he would see are the same things over and over again. "I have to be in hell" Axel would mutter to himself, believing that he had died on that road. Perhaps this was purgatory, a sort of punishment for his sins committing all sorts of crimes during his time in the previous Twisted Metal competition. How many times had he run over innocent civilians, destroying man's creations? Was this just insanity? After all, what is insanity except repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? How many times had he died, only to come back again afterwards? Has he ever died at all? It was a weird feeling that scratched at the back of his head, gnawing at him with questions. Things that kept repeating over and over, giving him a throbbing headache and igniting the phantom pain where his hands used to be.
That's when he had started to appear again. The old man, always watching him from a distance, far enough that he could never reach him but close enough that he could recognize him from anywhere. He would always smile devilishly, motioning with his finger for Axel to move closer to him before walking off and disappearing. The same damn train car with the same damn dirty mattress, burnt fields of corn, the orange sky turning into a bright blue nightfall filled with pretty stars. Everything had looked normal, but looking normal and feeling normal were two different things to Axel. Everything felt surreal as he stomped on the blacktop roads, past the same scarecrows and through every which direction that he could possibly think of. A thought had started to form in the back of his mind involuntarily, though which thought this would be was unclear to him at this moment. He saw the old man one last time, inching him to move closer to him before disappearing again, and this time he had arrived at the train car again. Tired from all the walking, he slowly crawled back underneath into the tunnel and closed his eyes, hoping that everything would pass and hoping that he would never see him again.
Inside the black abyss located behind his eyelids were images that he had long since repressed from his childhood. He couldn't recognize the woman's face but he certainly remembered her status in the family: his mom. She wasn't around much, but he remembered her being rather sheepish, or perhaps it was uncaring. He never raised his hands to her, but he certainly would verbally abuse her to know end. Skank. Cunt. Bitch. Useless. Whore. No wonder we have a pansy for a son. Those were the nicest things he would say, he didn't really remember much more as all of them had blended in together. He had dreamt before of having siblings, hoping for some company or people to talk to and relate to. His old man had grown up under a self made Great Depression farmer, and as such they had almost never left the farm outside of going to school. Maybe that was selfish, after all why subject someone else to the same abuse he had? Would they all be dragged violently by their arms? He remembered a solid metallic sound followed by a loud thud. A shovel, the irony of it digging up his past in his dreams. Waking up to find himself strapped down and trapped to two separate wheels, the pain increasing the more he moved. The smug look on his dad's face, the pride he felt as blood and tears had dripped onto the floor. His wish wasn't granted, if anything it was only made worse.
"Heh. We'll make a man out of you yet." his dad would declare.
Why now? Why was everything repeating again? It only made him think that he was still in hell, as only the devil would try to force him to relive his past, a past that he had once conquered. Then it came to him all the sudden, why everything was happening the way it happened. This wasn't just about his abusive father, or his mother who was either too afraid or didn't care enough. It was about the family he never had. The good times he never got to experience. The happiness that he wants to experience. An escape from the pain, the sadness, the loneliness. He had spent enough time being alone, spent enough time in the dysfunctional family that made him alone. Is it wrong to want to feel loved?
When he woke up, his eyes broke open violently and a feeling of overwhelming hopelessness flooded his chest. A tear had dripped from his eye as the feeling of victory finally came through, that while he acknowledged his victory, there were still a lot of repairs that needed to be done. Crawling around the rough soil and out of the hole, a piece of paper was taped to a nearby piece of rusty metal sheet.
Come Home.
Home. As if anything that he did made him feel like home. What was this, a forced plea for forgiveness? Was this the only way for Axel to leave this nightmare? A lure to force Axel back under his control. Actual regret? It's too late for that, as he was no longer his father. No. Never again. He'll go back, but only to remind him that he's not in control anymore. He ripped up the note again, goosebumps creeping up his back and making him shiver in furious anger. He headed down the same path as before, past the destroyed cars and through the destroyed remains of old sheds and houses and passing through burnt sections of dead corn. The same intrusive thought from before came across yet again, itching his brain and infuriating him even more, influenced by the emotional loneliness that Axel had felt all his life. However, this time he could tell where the paths would end, right at the front entrance of where he used to live. The mailbox was still there, but the flap was bent inwards with sheer force and barely hanging on, nor was the fence leading into the old property. Axel looked at his arms, smoothed over and healed but still feeling a tinge of pain. All he could do was stomp his feet over the crusty gravel road and further down the old uncomfortable feeling once again.
The old farmhouse where he used to live, a torturous reminder of decades of abuse. He had already moved on, made his peace with everything that happened. Why now? Why reach out now? He would proceed to trudge through decayed corn crops, as the sky had faded from a sunset orange to an alien red filled with blotchy gray and black spots in it. A light would flicker from beyond the frame where his farmhouse used to be. Down the path he spotted his old barn, the same old creaky windmill from his childhood peering over the barn like an Eagle looking for prey. Inside was the old man again; the same despicable old man who used to drag him down, beat him with the belt, withhold food from him for whatever excuse he could come up with. All roads would end here, back at the place where he left his past behind, except this time the place looked worse than before. The tractor had fallen apart, the family car had crashed into the roof of the main house, boards were thrown all over the place and snapped into pieces, it was a miracle that it survived at all with whatever went through here. The devil of the man that he used to know spoke up.
"Son". He seemed to struggle on how to go about speaking, as if this was a long time coming.
"You are not my father, I told you this." Axel interjected quickly. For the second time in a long time, he had no power over him. Not anymore, never again. The old man looked down for a second before looking back up again, seeming to hold back a tear.
"I don't blame you, ya know. You.. You deserved better from me. From your moms. You deserve to have a family. Happiness. Things I couldn't give you. That I can't give you even now…"
Silence had emerged from the outside wilderness and floated into the barn where the two stood face to face. It felt like sound itself had been smothered, blocked off from any chance of reflecting off of barriers. Regret replaced it in its stead. He spoke again, given a chance that Axel didn't feel like he deserved.
"I pushed you too hard. In my way, I was trying to make you the man I wasn't. Strong. Able to handle what life could weather. A real man. You became that man when you tore yourself…" Axel's face had switched from disgust to sheer anger, an intense feeling that belched from deep in the pits of his chest.
"What you did didn't shape me for the better! You turned me into a monster, a killer. I made myself who I am, not you!" Axel roared at him. It echoed in the air, penetrating Axel's spine and making him shake as his skin started to wake from the sheer goosebumps. "You abused us! You beat me mercilessly and tore down my Mother! Locked me inside of a machine!" By then, Axel was exasperated as he cracked a bit, losing his cool at a time where he didn't want to. In his mind, this was a power game and the last thing he wants to do is give that man power. He didn't smile however, his head hanging lower even further than before. Axel took a deep breath before looking at the back of his neck.
"All I needed was guidance! Love! A fucking father". Axel said, looking away and shunning him further. "I don't know who you are, but you sure as hell wasn't that. You were a sociopath with no remorse. A real man wouldn't force his child into a deathtrap on wheels!" It felt nice to get it off his chest but he wanted to just skip to the end as quickly as possible, get it over with.
The old man spoke up again.
"I messed up real bad. You were desperate. You wanted out. You wanted to prove that you could get out from under my shadow, and you did. I pushed you too hard, I messed up and I'm sorry." the old man croaked out. It seemed he finally broke the shell of who he used to be.
"There's no excuse." the Old Man finally admitted.
Axel had to be in a nightmare, a nightmare that he couldn't escape from he thought. This isn't the man he knew. He didn't even think that he was capable of THINKING about his actions, let alone acknowledge the pain he had caused. For so long, he hadn't even remembered his name as much as he had remembered his abuse. In fact, he didn't even think that he ever had a name, an excuse from the old man to dehumanize him. Finally, confirmation that he was in for everything he did during Twisted Metal. The phantom pain flashed violently again, as Axel would look down at his arms to find that they reformed again. He didn't understand, and the old man didn't even acknowledge it.
"You'd be right, young man. You are in Hell. We both are." he pointed up at the clouds, a strange crimson color molded together with a freakish brown. "The world out there? It's gone now. Twisted Metal."
Twisted Metal huh? It's hard to believe that he had traveled all over the world to find the solution to his pain. It took many decades and tracking down leads, proving himself worthy to even be accepted into the competition and here he was, groveling about Twisted Metal.
"I can't give you what you want anymore as much as I would like to." he said disparagingly in his less eloquent sounding drawl; but in a strange, unfamiliar drawn out way. The movements were awkward and almost janky as his head jerked to look his former son straight into his eyes, almost into his soul. His lips began to pucker, almost as if he was about to cry before stopping itself.
"...the world around us is too far gone now. But Twisted Metal? You were BORN for this. I molded you into.."
"You molded me into a monster on wheels, always moving. I could never settle down because of you. I didn't need you then and I don't need you now." Axel declared coldly, unable to look away from his cold, dead eyes. The fact that he thought he could bring it up again was stupid, but Axel guessed that he didn't know how to say anything else.
"I know." the old man murmured, smiling off the reflection of the fire onto nearby metal. "But you need the world, and the world needs you. If you don't want to be alone anymore, you have to fight for it! Return to the machine one last time, claim what you deserve." The man who he used to know, his squarish and rugged face melted in with the light right next to him, still sitting down in that same spot as before. Axel had his eyes drawn to his skin, which looked like it had burn marks slowly growing to his skin.
Then he was gone. The old man's face had abruptly disappeared, the scratching on his brain had finally receded to wherever it came from. Intense relief flushed down Axel's face, but questions had come up. He still didn't understand how he survived. It's clear that Twisted Metal had impacted the world, brought it to its knees somehow. But why did the old man beg him to join Twisted Metal, grovel about how he deserved family and happiness? This wasn't the man he knew at all. Something felt suspicious, like someone was using the old man as a sort of flesh puppet, hoping to manipulate him. Dark shadows replaced where he once was, the old fire that reflected off of the old man was no more. HE was finally gone, at least he hoped so. In the corner, previously covered with a giant blanket that had sprinkles of dust scattered all over it. While it was a machine of the old world, it looked well kept after with specks of shine reflecting off of the nearby mirror, absolutely no scuff marks attached to the main platform. The wheels themselves looked firm and sturdy as if it never even participated in the Twisted Metal competition all those years ago. The twelfth Twisted Metal competition huh? Why not? He already lost everything. What else did he have to lose if he died?
Axel limped over to the relic of the past, the two giant wheels and the platform strapped to the bottom. How long has it been since the last Twisted Metal competition? He really disappeared for that long? Was there any hope of finding anyone in the apocalypse? For Axel, it didn't really matter anymore. Maybe he could repopulate the world, bring everyone back? Find the family he truly deserved. "If I can pull this off, think about how to word the wish, this'll be the last time I would ever have to struggle" Axel thought, reinvigorated by the man he knew he could be. He floated to the platform and slowly pushed his hands in, fitting his arms perfectly inside and removing the phantom pain. The missile launchers had slowly pulled out from the machine and right up next to his shoulders with a metallic support beam that didn't drill into his shoulder. It felt nice not being burdened with the pain of the missile launcher being drilled into his body, the lack of tinnitus from repetitively loud gunshots, his arms not twisting with extreme pain as he was making his turns. A smile appeared on his face, confident that he shook off the old man's ghost once and for all. Crashing through the old barn, he raced out into the old cornfield pieces of wheat and corn flew up right behind as Axel's body floated with glee out into the distance.
Diary Entries:
The Zone- Deja Vu once again, fighting in the same old contest against some of the same old people for the same old reason: one wish at the end to do whatever we would like with. I don't remember if I even won last time, but if it means I can fully attain some semblance of happiness in my life? I'll do anything to win.
Savior's Point or Scorched Earth- Shooting out in the open, the old missiles attached to my shoulders. The machine guns attached to the platform. If there's one thing I didn't miss, it was the Tinnitus.
The Arctic or Niagara Falls- It's surreal you know. Being the part of the problem that ended life as we know it. There are survivors sure, but the blood of everyone is on my hands just as much as they are on others. I may have wanted to escape my problems, but I created worse in doing so.
Boss: The Junkyard (Auger & Mr. Slam) or Old Orleans (The Redneck Trio)- I thought I was going crazy, but the shared madness between all of these guys is rather sad to see. Hopefully they'll find peace once I put an end to them.
The Belfast Exclusion Zone or London Point- I wonder about my mother sometimes. I feel that she was just as much a victim as I was. I haven't heard from her much at all. She's just been gone for god knows how long, slipped away without anyone realizing it. The old man was a bastard to me but didn't lay hands on her as far as I know. Maybe when this is all over, I'll inquire about her.
Venice or Transylvania- Nothing scares me anymore, let alone the darkness that bathes this place. If I could face down the Old Man, I can face down anything.
Boss: North Korea (Apocalypse 9 Trio) or Mount Rushmore (The Government Duo)- I've had enough of people looking down on me as if I have to do everything they say. I've been under one dictator and one is enough, time to die!
Chichen Itza Or The Oasis- The last bastions of safety on Earth, free from the likes of Twisted Metal until now. Brings me back to last time. All the people that died due to our actions. This won't be for nothing, I WILL find peace again no matter what I have to do.
Kowloon Karnage or Johannesburg- I just don't want to be alone anymore. I've been by myself for so long, the only one who I've talked to in years being the old man and Calypso. I need better….I deserve better. It's hard when the only things you hear are the echoes of your own voice or the screams of others.
Final Boss: Hell on Earth (Minion) or Mexico City (Minion)- Minion. This confirms it! We have to be trapped in hell on Earth if you're coming back for another round all these years later. It's too bad, neither you nor my father or anyone else will haunt me ever again once I stomp you back to hell where you belong!
Ending:
Axel had done it once again, or maybe it was the first time he won Twisted Metal; he didn't really remember what had happened but it didn't matter. Minion had been wiped off the face of the planet once more and sent back again, perhaps this time it was permanent. Relief came in the form of a lighter chest, a tear in his eye and peace in his heart once again…almost. Sure, he had killed everyone else in the competition, but effectively he had killed a whole lot of people in order to bring back even more. A gamble of sorts that while perhaps selfish, made him feel at peace with himself. He could finally have the family he wanted, people that he could love and that would love him with the same investment on their mind. He didn't really know what he wanted to do after all this, all he knew most of his life was being trapped behind the wheel and murder. There was only one obstacle that could possibly get in his way though, and that was finally acquiring his wish. Deep in his mind, he had slowly realized over the course of Twisted Metal that he was guided back into the fold. Sure, the man talking to him had the looks of his father but was it really? He had the gut feeling that it was Calypso himself, but why? How even? He didn't know, but he didn't care. All he knew was that he had his wish, and he knew where to get it again.
City Streets and Gravel Roads crunched and blended in together as Axel drove through the consequences of his actions, the road to victory that he had struggled to accomplish. Dead bodies, toppled structures, ruined cars and fog in the air. It wasn't anything new for Twisted Metal, but it felt a whole lot worse, in fact a lot more empty.
"Perhaps I should bring everyone back?" He thought to himself. "How do we rebuild from this? Maybe we would just go back to killing each other, joining Twisted Metal just for everything to happen all over again?" Axel had been pondering a lot as he had driven through the cities of old America, abandoned routes and highways filled to the brim with the same looking cars over and over again. Repetition was at the forefront of Axel's mind, everything just kept repeating itself all over again. His father, the competition, the killings. A well worn quote had once said that "the definition of insanity is doing the same over and over again and expecting different results", so perhaps this was a part of the acceptance. Maybe he should just worry about him. The last thing he wants to do is bring everyone back so they can fight over the same territory, bring about the same conclusion and the same wars, the same serial killer clowns and the decrepit hearse driving old man. All he did throughout his life was fight for other people's approval, for himself to escape his pain and earn his old man's love when really, all he needed was his own self approval. He wasn't a savior by any means, he was just a survivor doing what he had to do for him.
Soon his old farm popped up again, somehow looking even worse than before he left. The barn was decapitated in nature, the only remains being the bottom layout of the structure with the upper jaw and above having been flown off into the wind somewhere. The windmill had fallen nearby, digging itself into the ground to look for a safe place and the crops? It was a mass funeral of corpses just left out in the sun to decay, just like what humanity had done. Axel knew how to word his wish now, knew what he wanted to say and knew deep in his heart that it was right for him. Most of the old house was in shambles, a single light on past the front door. Axel removed his arms from the machine, confident that he didn't need it anymore. The adrenaline had finally cut off, wearing him out as he collapsed onto the dirt nearby. All he could see was the light, and he crawled towards it as it was the only purpose he had left. Inside was a familiar shape, slowly opening the door with a beer in his hand. He slowly walked over with a hunch to a nearby rocking chair, slowly placing himself down on it and looking straight into the clouds as Axel's fingers would claw its way deep into the soil. The old man himself again, looking more presentable in a black suit but with the same burnt face as before. He smiled as father and son reunited once more, Axel finally gaining movement of his legs to stand up once more unto the deck and into a nearby rocking chair. From there, they both looked up into the sky, a cold and misshapen batch of gray shapes. He began to speak.
"Robert…" the old man croaked, his mouth not moving but his voice still moving along as if it was. He jostled his head back and looked Axel in the eyes once more, the voice changing pitch as it moved to the all familiar host that he knew. "As you are the winner of Twisted Metal, you now have an audience with the founder of the contest for the ultimate prize!" the flesh puppet had declared. Axel was right all along about the flesh puppet and Calypso knew it. Maybe it was a matter of respect that he addressed the winner with his real name, or maybe it was one final taunt as he was never called Robert before. How he even remembered it now was a mystery as he figured he'd only be "son" and "boy" for the rest of his life. It didn't matter, it was just one last fleeting moment as they both looked into that dull and cloud filled ocean up above. Axel pursed his lips for a moment, thinking of how to word everything, knowing that while Calypso might have granted his last wish that he might not do so again.
"Calypso…" Axel began to speak, confused yet determined to grab ahold of his wish once and for all. "...I don't want to be alone anymore." Axel had looked at the flesh puppet of the old man in disgust. Not at Calypso mind you, but the skin that he was wearing, a cruel reminder of his past and what the man who used to be his father was capable of doing. He spoke up again: "All my life I've only ever felt alone, even around people who called me "family" who either abused me or said nothing. Please Calypso, I…." Axel stuttered, before the other man's eyes sparked up.
"Your wish…." Calypso had started to declare before a devilish intent gave birth to a wicked smile. "...IS GRANTED!" he finished with the shit-eating grin clearly. The old man had gotten out of his chair and thrusted his hands into the air, purple lightning striking down nearby and hitting his hands before Axel was even able to finish off his sentence. The flash from the lightning turned white before surrounding the area around them. The next place that Axel woke up was in a black void, surrounded by shambling husks and frightened faces, as if they recognized him from somewhere. They began to back away, clearly terrified and covered with gaping flesh wounds, burns and missing body parts. Clear ahead of him was an extremely long series of lines, all single file and going into a zig zag for what appeared to be a bright light ahead, one white and one red.
"I don't understand!" Axel had bellowed out in confusion, sheer panic on his face. "Where am I?! Calypso! Answer me!" he screeched as a person in front of him turned around and rolled its eyes…whatever it was. All he saw were rows upon rows of husks and whatever was going on, time wasn't rolling along on the same frequency that he was used to. It was as if whatever time truly was, it moved differently here. The husk that was staring at him opened its mouth, though was unable to move it seemingly before turning around and facing forward again. Calypso gave him his wish, he was surrounded by people but they couldn't even talk nor move. That bastard didn't even let him finish his wish.
Axel looked forwards and saw some familiar figures in the line ahead of him, figures that made him quiver with intense discomfort. Patrolling the lines was Mr. Grimm, or at least the one he fought in the previous tournament. He was inspecting and smelling all of the husks as if he was processing them and while Axel knew that he wasn't exactly panicking now, he could somehow figure out that once all the billions of people are processed that he wouldn't have any left. Way in front of him he saw Minion, the demon he had faced twice before towards the red gates, smiling devilishly and strangely enough finishing paperwork. The lines were splitting into two separate directions and Axel didn't know which one. He was lost like a child without his mother, and in a sense he was having literally seen her around ten rows ahead of him. Everyone else seemed to have it figured out so easy, he didn't know where to go or what his instincts would be telling him. He collapsed on the ground and screamed, shouting Calypso's name into the void as it faded away, having only realized where he was…his own personal hell.
Axel's corpse had been laid out on that farm deck, charred with black dust and severe burns as the old man looked over him with a sick smile. Axel had suffered his whole life to get to this point, to overcome the pain and trauma that his father had caused. In a sick case of irony, he had failed as the flesh puppet of the old man piloted by Calypso had smote him down due to his desperate wish. Calypso had looked over the dead man once more, smiling as a twinge of satisfaction popped in his head over the memories of the last Twisted Metal competition. Axel had said that he didn't want to be alone anymore, and Calypso made sure of it by trapping him in Purgatory where he belonged with everyone else he helped kill in the competition. Where would he go? Who knows. All he knows is that Axel had gotten his wish. The old man's head jerked to the camera and opened his mouth, spewing out words but not moving an inch as one last smile finally carved out its place.
"I AM CALYPSO, AND I THANK YOU FOR PLAYING….TWISTED METAL!"