[An empty school hallway.]

[Darkwish walks slowly down the corridor.]

“Every school’s got one.”

[He stops beside a locker, running his thumb across a deep dent in the metal.]

“One kid who figures something out real early:

That nobody stops him.

Maybe he’s just the biggest kid in the building.

Probably not the smartest one.

Just the one who learns how fear works.”

[He shrugs.]

“You shove the smallest kid. You make sure everybody sees it.

And you do it loud enough that nobody wants to be next.”

[Darkwish tilts his head slightly.]

“Sound familiar, Mars?”

[He starts walking again.]

“Backstage at Slam… you weren’t in one of your wars.

But you did have your hand around Pixelshift’s throat.”

[His voice hardens.]

“And everyone else just watched.”

[He gestures down the empty hallway.]

“That’s the rule bullies count on.

Crowds.

Witnesses.

People who don’t want trouble.”

[A pause.]

“But sometimes somebody steps in.”

[Darkwish stops beneath a flickering light.]

“And when they do… the bully has to prove something.

So you swung.”

[Beat.]

“And yeah… you knocked me out.”

[He shrugs.]

“Makes sense.

You’re big, Mars.

Bigger than most men in this place.

Stronger too.

You stomp through these halls like a tank, smashing anything smaller than you and calling it war.”

[Darkwish shakes his head.]

“But that ain’t war.

That’s bullying.”

[He begins walking again.]

“And here’s the funny thing about bullies.

They think the first punch decides everything.”

[He taps a locker as he passes.]

“But the first punch don’t end the story.

It just tells everyone watching what kind of man you are.”

[Darkwish pauses at the end of the hallway.]

“And what kind of man they’re dealing with.”

[He glances back down the corridor.]

“At Slam, I dealt with the mind behind your little War Machine.”

[He cracks his knuckles.]

“But you?”

[He nods slightly.]

“You’re simpler.

The muscle.

The intimidation.

The monster they send when they want people to stay afraid.”

[Darkwish steps closer to the camera.]

“And for a long time… that worked.”

[Another step.]

“Because nobody stood up to you.”

[Beat.]

“But last week?

Something changed.

Because when I stepped in…

You knocked the shit out of me…”

[He tilts his head.]

“But that’s not the part that matters.”

[A pause.]

“The part that matters is everybody saw it.

They saw someone step in.

They saw someone stand in front of you.”

[His voice drops lower.]

“And they saw something else too.”

[Beat.]

“They saw that you can get back up.”

[Darkwish leans closer to the camera.]

“That’s the thing about bullies, Mars.

They look unstoppable…

Right up until the moment somebody stands their ground.”

[He gestures down the empty hallway.]

“And once one person does it?

Everybody else realizes they can too.”

[He steps forward again.]

“So next week you’re not choking a kid who can’t fight back.

You’re standing across from the man who already stepped in once…

And got back up.”

[A pause. Then slowly:]

“You’re big.

You’re strong.

But you’re still just a bully.”

[Darkwish stares directly into the camera.]

“And bullies only rule the hallway…

Until somebody decides they’re not moving.”