Click.
Static covers the screen as a Play ► symbol appears in the bottom right-hand corner.
Previously.
It’s a cold winter night and Halloween is fast approaching. It’s been a long day for Tag, who sits by a grave, looking close to tears. He’s dressed in a suit, something we’ve not seen before.
There’re lit pumpkins and candles dotted around the cemetery.
“You’d have loved all this,” he says looking around at the decorations. “I know how much you were looking forward to Halloween.”
He stops for a moment, taking a deep breath.
“You know, no-one is saying anything,” Tag says almost exacerbated, between gritted teeth. “Someone killed you both and no-one seems to give a fuck, man.”
The sound of crunching footsteps gives him a moment of pause.
“We’re supposed to just carry on and forget you. No-one is talking about how you died or who’s responsible. It’s just…”
“Business as usual?” A voice interrupts.
It belongs to Ether, who is likely dressed in a suit and for once, isn’t wearing skates.
“I thought I’d find you here,” Ether says, taking a seat next to him in the dirt. “Today was a tough day with the funeral and everything. I can’t believe they came.”
“We belong to them, what’d you expect?” Tag replies. “We fucked up, Eth. We should’ve never agreed to come here. Look at what we’ve lost.”
Ether shakes her head.
“How were we to know?” She questions. “Simon offered us a huge payday to work for him, Tag; more money than we’ve ever seen or will ever likely see again in our lives. That’s a lot of food vouchers, buddy. We took the job offered to us. This is the job.”
Tag, fed up, gets back to his feet and looks down at the grave before him.
“And what about them? What about him, huh?” He says pointing at the grave. “No-one gives a flying fuck about their deaths. Someone fucking killed them, Eth. Someone fucking killed them.”
“I care,” she interrupts. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, but first we’ve gotta survive.”
Ether joins him at her feet.
“Starboy,” she says pointing at the grave. “I know you guys fell in love and I know that’s a first for you, but you’re here at his grave when we buried one of our best friends today. We put Wiz in the ground, baby. What about him?”
Tag shakes his head.
“I haven’t forgotten,” he promises. “I haven’t.”
“Good, because we gotta survive The Blackharts before we can find out who killed our boys,” she reminds him. “You understand?”
As Tag and Ether embrace with a hug at the graveside of Starboy, we pan out to see Simon Black and Pyre Black-Hart watching from a distance.
“Can we trust them?” Pyre asks.
Simon folds his arms.
“Whether we can trust them or not may not matter, my dear,” he replies with a smirk. “As long as they’re afraid of what we might do to them, they’ll fall in line.”
Cut.
Somewhere else, away from the halls of the Slaughterhouse, at some point not long after High Voltage #282 last week, there’s a fracas. The noise is loud and constant, with shouts and whoops and the singing of shanties.
“YO HO, YO HO, A PIRATES LIFE FOR ME!” echoes around the room louder than the other chants, but it’s not exactly tuneful or to any particular rhythm.
Looking around it’s easy to see why. Flagons of ale at every turn, being served by the fair maidens behind the bar. Somewhere in the back corner of the room, an accordion plays.
“ANOTHER ROUND ON ME!” shouts one man, particularly gruff of voice, with just the two teeth missing. As if to hit the stereotype on the head, he is missing a leg, and although he doesn’t have a parrot with him, he does have one tattooed on his arm.
The camera pans over and Israel Grimwolf sits, content, at home with the surroundings. There’s almost a smile on his face, but not quite. He passes a golden doubloon over and under his knuckles for a while, then stops, places the doubloon edge down on the table, and spins it, leaving it twirling across the table, just as the room goes silent.
Cut.
The Shinigami, Author of Death, Deathnote squares off with the impressive newcomer, the Soul Demon Tureos. Tureos has a debut win under his belt… But can he continue his winning run against Death’s Own Son?
The match begins as both souls circle each other, sizing each other up for the first time before locking horns. BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX DROPS TUREOS! Deathnote mounts the first assault. Tureos sits up but DEATHNOTE PUNTS HIM IN THE BACK FOR HIS TROUBLES!
Deathnote drags the newcomer to his feet and hurls him up onto his shoulders, looking for an early end. But Tureos slips out the back door of the GTS… SHORT-ARMED CLOTHESLINE STOPS DEATHNOTE IN HIS TRACKS! Tureos scoops his foe up into a Powerslam position. HELL BOUND! THE RUNNING POWERSLAM! TUREOS PINS! ONE! TWO! NO!
Deathnote gets the shoulder up, sweeping the legs of Tureos to take him down. Grabbing the Demon of Souls by the hair, Death’s Son flings him into the turnbuckle. HE PUMMELS TUREOS WITH LEFTS AND RIGHTS, SOFTENING HIM UP! Tureos tries to fight his way out but Deathnote grabs him by the head. DDT ONTO THE BOTTOM TURNBUCKLE!
The Author of Death scoops Tureos up and grabs him by the skull again. TURN THE PAGE… NO! THERE’S FIGHT IN TUREOS YET! The Soul Demon pushes Deathnote away. KAOS KICK! The shot hits only air as Deathnote ducks under, hoisting Tureos into his shoulders. GATHER THY SOUL! GTS! HE HITS IT SQUARE AND COVERS FOR THE PIN! ONE! TWO! THREE!
Deathnote takes this battle of death demons, proving that Death’s own Son trumps Soul Demons on this night.
[edgtf_highlight background_color=”#f9c703″ color=”#000000″] WINNER: DEATHNOTE [/edgtf_highlight]
The leather couch.
We all know what leather couch we’re talking about and right now it’s sitting pretty in the center of a large studio where the innovator of smug, also known as Luke Storm, sits back on it with a shit eating grin plastered on his face. He sprawls out on the furniture, checking his watch and looking towards the door as if on cue we see Zero bust it open! He looks ready to lunge at Storm but he stops, he’s learned better than to run in guns blazing.
“Xavier! You finally showed up, I was worried you were gonna skip out on another audition.”
Zero sneers hearing his name, slowly approaching Luke, absolutely seething as he begins to speak. “Get my name out your nasty fuckin’ mouth, Storm. You too much of a bitch to face me one on one, huh? Always pullin’ something outta your ass to stop you from getting your ass whooped. But I ain’t see shit around here now.”
Luke looks around himself, shrugging at the apparent lack of back up. “Only thing I see around here is an A-list star and a step stool. C’mon, Zero, how didn’t you see this coming? You’re whole time with me and Pyre was just you on the casting couch getting fucked for the cameras. Only issue is Pyre posted the vid online before I did. We used you. I used you. So now that you’re back at the couch what’re you gonna do? Here to collect a paycheck? An apology?”
Zero simply shakes his head, approaching Luke with ill-intent. “Only thing I’m here for is a corpse.”
ZERO LUNGES AT STORM!
TASER TO THE THROAT! STORM PULLED A TASER OUT FROM BEHIND A CUSHION AND GOT ZERO IN THE THROAT! HE CONVULSES AS HIS CYBERNETICS GO HAYWIRE!
Zero hits the ground and Storm looms over him, holding the taser to him and refusing to let go. “Know your role, Zero. Now wipe me off your lip and get out of my studio.” Luke lets go of the taser, making his exit as Zero recovers from the prolonged shock. Despite how quickly he gets up, Storm is long gone, leaving Zero once again to stew.
But just how long can Luke avoid his comeuppance?
Cut.
The crazed clown fights against the reformed Olympian. Will Seesaw win another game or can Sir Cael reform the broken Fish for Yahweh?
The bell sounds as Gable is caught off guard with a running open palm slap to the jaw, Seesaw immediately dropping down and driving him backwards with Surprise, You’re Dead and a beautiful right hand. Gable staggers forward, his back to Seesaw for a moment as the Cackling Madcap grabs him in a headlock, trying to rush forward but Gable slips out, GERMAN SUPLEX.
Gable delivers a second and then a third but a fourth is blocked by Seesaw slingling his head backwards into Gable’s noggin, stunning the Templar for a moment before he’s lifted up into the air and thrown down with a beautiful SUPERFINE TURBINE SPINEBUSTAH BLAST! Gable’s out on the mat, all the wind knocked out of him as Seesaw quickly climbs up to the top, flapping his arms like a complete loon before diving off.
But his flight is marked with nothing but mat as it’s Seesaw’s time to have all the wind taken from him, stumbling up right into Gable’s clutches and a brutal SOUL RUSH Spear! Gable slams him down to the mat, mounting Seesaw as he tries to ground and pound him but Seesaw’s just taking every punch with a smile on his face before he catches one of the fists in his mouth with his teeth. Seesaw bites down for a moment before Gable reels back, completely horrified as Seesaw nails him with a brutal kick to the jaw that nearly knocks him out.
The Toybox King grabs Gable, trying to plant himself a Templar Tree but Gable manages to backdrop his way out of the Piledriver attempt, nailing Seesaw with a kick to the jaw as he scrambles to his feet before lifting him high up into the air, HOLY PLEX! It hits flush as Gable floats over for the one…two…three!!!
Sir Gable does it tonight, nearly being overwhelmed by the madness of Seesaw but the light of Yahweh saw him through to victory.
[edgtf_highlight background_color=”#f9c703″ color=”#000000″] WINNER: SIR GABLE [/edgtf_highlight]
We cut backstage at High Voltage #282, where Sir Gable and Sir Renault have just left ringside.
“I’m telling you, Sir Gable,” starts Renault, “This is our best shot at finding him. This must be some sick game to him.”
Sir Gable looks at the wax seal on the envelope one last time. It is shaped like a compass, and around the edge are some jumbled numbers.
“You’re right,” responds Sir Gable. “These must be co-ordinates to a location we’ll find him at. We must prepare to leave at once if we are to find him in time.”
Static.
Somewhere outside days later and nearing twilight, Sir Gable and Sir Renault investigate a small town. It is not very lively, save for some sort of tavern ahead of them.
“ANOTHER ROUND ON ME!” comes a shout from inside. They check the map one last time.
“Well,” says Sir Gable, “This is the place.”
The Vayikra brethren push open the door and walk in. As those in the tavern see them, and who they are, the place falls silent, except for a faint metallic sound to their right.
They turn and see a table, empty, except for a doubloon twirling and skipping across the table. They can still smell the scent of Grimwolf, so they know they must barely have missed him.
With the stares of dozens of pirates boring into them from every angle, they sit at the table, and Sir Gable slams a palm down on the rotating coin, bringing it to a sudden stop.
“That’s that lead gone,” he says, an air of dismay in his tone. “He’ll know to cover his tracks better next t-“
Mid-sentence, he stops. The doubloon in his hand, he sighs.
“Well, it seems the pirate knows where and when he wants his audience with us, Sir Renault.”
“Oh?” Renault responds.
“Yes,” says Sir Gable, holding up the coin. On one side is a skull and crossbones, and as Gable turns it around, it becomes clear what he means. On the reverse, embossed into the gold, are the numbers ‘#284’, “I’d say we know exactly where to find him.”
And before the remaining pirates get any ideas, Vayikra leave the tavern as quickly as they entered it, taking the doubloon with them and preparing for High Voltage #284, where they presume they’ll meet their foe.
Cut.
“Who are you?
Sat alone in a darkened room, we find The Generation Kid.
A single tear rolls down his cheek while his eyes flicker back and forth, alternating between a white and blue glow. The light seems to be at war with the shadows threatening to cloak TGK in darkness.
Much like his heart, where a battle rages.
“He killed your friend…”
The man he wishes to be verses the machine that he is.
“…make him pay…”
The lights cease as TGK closes his eyes. He draws a deep breath.
A decision made?
Just as the darkness reaches out to swallow the Kid, a throat clears. As TGK’s eyes snap open, the shadows retreat.
“What do you want?” TGK says angrily, looking at the woman who has joined him.
Chronoa.
She regards him, silently.
“You still haven’t figured it out, yet?” She says, almost surprised.
Standing to his feet, the Kid looks her up and down.
“Figured out what?” He begins. “That your weapon did something he shouldn’t and now he has to pay the price?”
A look of something resembling pity flashes across the Harbinger’s face. If that’s an emotion she’s even capable of.
“You will not decide the fate of the Impaler.” She says after a moment. “Your journey follows a different path, even one you flail blindly down.”
Before TGK can retort, she continues.
“You were built as a weapon, made to do what all weapons do…”
She pauses.
“Fight. Kill. Destroy. Take your pick.”
“I don’t have to do any of that.” TGK says, shaking his head. “I get to choose my own fate.”
“You cannot fight fate.” Chronoa responds. “The one you are seeking has already found you. Yet all you hear is a fell voice on the wind.”
TGK looks behind him, regarding the shadows.
“I make my own decisions.”
He pushes past her to leave, but she calls out one more time.
“A time will come when you have Impaler by the throat. That’s when you must choose to embrace the darkness within or to become what you were made to be.”
The Kid just rolls his eyes, leaving Chronoa all alone. She scoffs at the shadows before turning and leaving herself.
Cut.
Even with a target on his back courtesy of Kaine Knightlord, Banzan looks determined and focused as he takes on Jensen Cussen tonight!
Banzan is blindsided by Jensen at the outset, as Vengeance looks to put a dent in the Indestructible Mountain with some hard strikes before hitting the ropes to build up momentum…but is caught with a massive shoulder tackle by Banzan instead, which sends Cussen dropping down hard to the canvas!
As he brings Cussen back to his feet, Banzan lays in some heavy-handed strikes of his own, sensing an opportunity to dull the Awakened Blade as he brings Cussen to a kneeling position after a chop…and gets into the Tiger Stance, powering up the five point palm strike! TIGER CLAW!
NO! Jensen narrowly avoids the final moment and certain disaster, rolling out of the ring to collect himself…much to Banzan’s annoyance as he follows Vengeance to the outside…only to get caught with a lightning-fast jawbreaker! CRASHING ON! Banzan is sent reeling as an amused Cussen rolls back into the ring.
Banzan collects himself enough to get back in the ring, but is once again caught off guard by Cussen, this time with a boot to the head that dazes Banzan as Cussen takes to the ropes…LEAPING OFF FOR A SPIKE CUTTER! EMPEROR’S BLADE CONNECTS! COVER BY CUSSEN! ONE! TWO! THREE!
Jensen Cussen picks up a win over Banzan tonight, as Vengeance prevails in the Slaughterhouse!
[edgtf_highlight background_color=”#f9c703″ color=”#000000″] WINNER: JENSEN CUSSEN [/edgtf_highlight]
We haven’t seen a lot of Sigil since he stole the Ring King crown. Now, when we see him, he stands alone in somewhat of a wasteland. Emptiness, nothing around. Instinctively, he reaches for his satchel, but it is not at his side.
“Looking for something?”
A voice calls from behind him. The voice of Deathnote, and he’s holding Edgar Nevermore’s pen in one hand, Excalibur in the other… with the satchel slung over his shoulder. Sigil turns, seething in anger.
“Give it back, asshole.”
Deathnote chuckles, amused at the sentiment.
“I could say the same thing, scavenger.”
Sigil takes a swipe for the satchel, but Deathnote steps back out of range. He holds up the pen, much to Sigil’s confusion.
“What do you want with the pen? It’s merely an artifact. It holds no power.”
Deathnote smirks.
“But it does. It, like all of your artifacts, holds the power of stolen death. I’ve discovered all of your pathetic secrets. Sure, the pen is just a pen. But it allowed me to see into you.”
He places the pen inside the satchel and points Excalibur at Sigil, the tip pointing right at his jugular.
“Now, I’ll ask nicely once. Where is the fucking crown, asshole?”
Sigil stands staunchly, unbinding. It is clear he does not have the crown in his possession. Deathnote exhales in frustration.
“Okay, a trade then. Your satchel returned to your possession in return for the crown.”
Sigil contemplates but stands still, defiantly staring at the blade still aimed at his throat. Deathnote chuckles again.
“Of course, I could just kill you and take the crown as well.”
But Sigil isn’t hanging around to continue the conversation. He draws a portal with his hand and steps through. Only, Deathnote leaps after him.
They both find themselves standing in a new realm, one of Sigil’s secret hiding places. And Deathnote has Sigil by the neck.
He’s pummeling the holy hell out of Sigil, till the Collector crumples to the ground. Deathnote continues his assault, kicking and stomping the living daylights out of his enemy.
“Where is the crown Sigil?! Where is it?”
Sigil pushes himself to his knees, wincing with the last of his energy. Deathnote has had enough.
STAB!
He takes the blade of Excalibur and runs Sigil through with it, piercing the side of his abdomen and pushing until the sword protrudes right through his back. Sigil slumps forward in agony, collapsing in a bloodied mess.
Deathnote leaves him, bleeding and breathing shallow, half-dead but alive enough to feel the pain. Deathnote still does not have the crown, and he knows in his heart is is not in this realm either.
From the satchel, he finds a silver journalist’s pad, using Nevermore’s pen to scrawl a note, which he leaves on Sigil’s bleeding but alive body.
‘Dead End’
Cut.
Hollywood Decadence meets Catholic Penance here tonight as Storm faces down Renault. Can Darth Jesus win another soul over for Yahweh or is the real fucking deal too much of a sinner for him?
The bell sounds as both men rush forward, Storm looking for a running knee that Renault deflects before kicking low into Storm’s knee. Storm drops one leg to the mat as Renault leaps up, driving both knees into Hollywood’s face before flipping over and slamming him down into the mat with a modified bulldog. Renault backs up, Hollywood slowly rising before Darth Jesus rushes forward, flipping over Luke with a crucifix before flipping around into the crossface PENTANGLE!
Storm cries out in pain but no man’s made him tap and that won’t change as he slowly drags himself towards the ropes, quickly breaking the hold but the damage to his neck has been done as Renault stuns him with another knee to the forehead before lifting him up high, YAHAWESOME BOMB! POWERBOMB TO THE FLOOR! Storm crashes hard as Renault looks on pleased for a moment before he waits for Hollywood to slowly rise to his feet. Luke stumbles up, placing one hand on the apron for balance as Renault reaches over, trying to bring Luke back into the ring
MODIFIED STUNNER! Hollywood uses the ropes to chin-check Darth Jesus as he leaps up onto the apron, sizing up Renault for a moment before slingshotting forward with a brutal Spear. Renault staggers up to his feet into a high T-Bone Suplex from Storm before he rushes forward as Renault slowly gets to one knee, and lands a brutal knee to the side of the head.
Storm rolls back to his feet, cracking his neck as he looks for that killer blow, Darth Jesus slowly getting to his feet as Storm rushes forward with a picture perfect LIGHTNING STRIKE! That has to be all she wrote as Storm rolls through for the cover and the one…two…three!!!
Hollywood reigns supreme tonight as the templar couldn’t withstand the brutal Storm once it began.
[edgtf_highlight background_color=”#f9c703″ color=”#000000″] WINNER: LUKE STORM [/edgtf_highlight]
Before.
As he stares into the eyes of the Shadow Bat, Banzan starts to feel something coming over him…but the trance is cut short by the sound of a voice calling to him from behind. Banzan doesn’t look away from those eyes, but we recognize that voice instantly.
The Dead.
“Let’s take a walk.”
After a moment, Banzan finally breaks eye contact long enough to get a glimpse of the one grabbing his attention verbally…but all we see is the back of The Dead, as he is already looking to flee the scene.
Feeling confused by this, Banzan directs his attention back in the direction of the shadows…but those eyes, and the HellBat they belong to, have seemingly vanished as well. Banzan turns back, immediately in pursuit of a possible ally in the Watcher. As he finally closes the gap between them, Banzan feels safe enough to inquire about the situation.
“Do you have any clue what’s happening here?”
This gets no response…not from the figure Banzan is walking behind, anyway. No, this figure turns around to face the Mountain…revealing someone else entirely, a young woman looking confused by the line of questioning from the monk.
Now.
Days after this incident, Banzan finds himself coming back to The Rack some time after his match against Jensen Cussen.
What brings him back here, after what he went through the previous week?
His pursuit of answers, of course.
As he makes his pursuit amongst the crowd, he hears it again…he hears him again.
The Dead.
Only he chooses to remain hidden amongst the flowing river of people passing by as he finally responds to the inquiry raised before.
“I know about as much as you, Banzan. I’ve been watching Kaine for some time now, and that monster is up to something…and by the looks of it, you might be cursed with his persistence.”
Banzan looks around, trying to find the source of the voice amongst the crowd of people surrounding him…but is frustrated to hear it even further off in the distance, even if the message itself is reassuring.
“I will help you, though, if it means putting a stop to it.”
The voice trails off, indicating that The Dead has left…but, as the crowd disperses from the area, Banzan can’t help but feel alone despite the promise given to him.
A promise he can only hope this Watcher will keep.
Cut.
The scene opens in the back alleys of the city where one Chip Montana sneaks from place to place, gingerly touching his face where a slew of cuts still remain from last week.
“Fuckin’ mirrors. Who decided to glue a thousand knives together and look at it? Where the fuck did he even get that many mirrors? The fuckin’… cunt store?” He pauses before sighing. “Dave would’ve loved that.”
The show host sits in silence for a bit before continuing his journey. It is now that we see he’s following a trail of destruction from SeeHulk who appears to be ‘playing’ in the streets! Cars are flipped over, benches are smashed, and a few unlucky bystanders who didn’t hide inside found themselves thrown against the scenery! Meanwhile SeeHulk simply skips in glee!
“SEEHULK BREAK TOYS! BROTHER FIND TOYS!”
His joy would be almost cute if not for the evil behind it. Meanwhile, following him with the same big smile is SeeSaw! The Toymaker chuckles at his brother, calling for him. “Just wait until we get to play in my big Toy Box!”
SeeHulk nods excitedly at this notion, stopping as he notices Chip in the distance, Montana walking slowly from his hiding place with his hands up in the air. Before SeeHulk can say anything SeeSaw merely claps his hands together expectantly.
“Mr. Montana! Are you here to join us on our stroll?”
Chip shakes his head, trying poorly to hide his disdain as he speaks. “I’m just here for Dave. Would you… please give me back my rabbit.”
“Oh,” SeeSaw says, tilting his head. “You’re being so much kinder today, aren’t you? Did you learn your lesson from your little time out?”
“Please,” Chip practically spits out through his teeth. “Just give me back Dave. That’s it.”
SeeSaw tilts his head around, as though rolling the thought around in his head gleefully shaking his head no. “Nope! But, I can make a deal! We play a game! You call it hide and seek, but I think we should call it Predator and Prey. We give you a head start, you hide. If we don’t find you? Maybe you get Dave back.”
“And if you do-” Chip says before being swiftly interrupted.
“We take you on a playdate. My brother wants to badly to play in my Toy Box. So you better get running, Mr. Montana. SeeHulk may not even count to ten.”
And like that SeeHulk begins to count.
Poorly.
“ONE! TWO! THREE…”
He looks to SeeSaw who begins to help him, but by then Chip has already taken off down the road, quickly dipping back into another Alleyway.
Cut.
Friends, enemies, and frienemies collide here in tonight’s main event! Which fractured team will emerge victorious? Your guess is as good as mine!
The bell rings and there’s uneasiness in each opposing corner of the ring.
In one corner The Generation Kid and Vigour, normally best buds and the remains of the Rainbow Party, barely acknowledge one another, the mounting tension apparent from the get-go here.
Adjacent to them stand the Disciples of Fate. Chronoa is irritatingly close to her weapon, her pet, The Impaler, who simultaneously ignores and obeys her commands.
In the opposite corner Pyre sips an aged Cabernet from her goblet as her husband Simon stands next to her, sternly directing Ether and Tag of Jet Set Radio, who were taught an unfortunate lesson by their king last week.
Tag steps into the ring across from a very game TGK—
BUT SIMON BARKS AT TAG TO TAG ETHER IN!
Tag thinks better than to put up a fight, and complies, tagging in Ether who is immediately rushed by TGK—
SPEAR RIGHT OFF THE BAT!!
DOC BROWN’S DELOREAN!!
TGK follows up with a flurry of lefts and rights as Ether covers her head with her forearms! TGK lifts Ether to her feet by the hair and whips her into the ropes and on the rebound she skates right into a snap overhead belly-to-belly suplex—
NOBODY CALLS ME YELLOW!!
TGK covers—
ONE!
.
.
.
TW—
TAG STOMPS ON TGK TO BREAK THE COUNT!!
The ref directs Tag back to his corner where Simon is barking at Ether to get up, as TGK drags Ether to his corner and tags in Vigour. Vigour climbs up to the top rope as TGK lifts Ether into a fireman’s carry… and drops her into a neckbreaker—
SHADES OF STARBOY, AN USHIGOROSHI!!
TASTE THE RAINBOW!!
…Just as Vigor leaps off the top rope—
FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH!!
A SPLASH OF COLOUR!!
THEY CALL THAT SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW!!!
TGK flashes Impaler a mean look before exiting to the apron as Vigour logrolls Ether onto her sad, empty belly and hooks a leg—
ONE!
.
.
.
TWO!!
..
..
..
..
..
..
STAR FADE ONTO VIGOUR BY TAG!!
HE BROKE UP THE PIN WITH A SHOOTING STAR PRESS OFF THE TOP ROPE!!
Simon calls Tag a good boy as the red physically pushes him back to his corner. Pyre raises his glass to Tag in cheers as he crawls back through the ropes to the apron.
Vigour lifts Ether up from behind in a back suplex—
VIM AND VIGOUR???
NO! ETHER BACKFLIPS OUT OF DANGER!
Her momentum wheels her back into her corner and Simon demands that Tag tag himself in, to which he obliges by slapping Ether on the shoulder and hopping through the ropes.
Tag springboards off the bottom rope at the oncoming Vigour—
FIVE STAR FACIAL!!
VIGOUR IS DROPPED BY THE BICYCLE KICK!!
Simon barks an order at Tag, and Tag nods his head and lifts Vigour up into a powerbomb position—
SPRAY BACK???
NO— POKE TO THE EYES OF TAG!!
Vigour narrowly avoids the single leg lungblower, slipping out of Sexy Dynamite’s grasp and leaping to his corner, tagging in the big, long outstretched arm of Legion!
Tag doesn’t sense Impaler sprinting full speed at him from the corner—
ADAM SMASHER!!
THE LARIAT TURNS TAG INSIDE OUT AND ALMOST KNOCKS HIS HEAD OFF!!
Tag, who’s still worse for wear after Simon’s beat down last week, is slow to get up, and Impaler stalks him until he just about gets to his feet…
BUT WHAT’S THIS??
ETHER IS IN THE RING!!
She surprises Impaler, yanking his arm down as she sticks her roller skate into his face—
SOLE FOOD!!
Just as Tag leapfrogs Legion from behind—
FAMEASSER!!
NO COMPLY—
FUCK YA FACE—
IMPALER JUST GOT POP SHOVED IT!!!
Tag goes for the cover—
BUT SIMON WHISTLES AT HIM LIKE A DOG FROM THE APRON!!
HE’S HOLDING HIS HAND OUT FOR A TAG, POINTING AT IT AND DEMANDING TAG’S COMPLIANCE!!
Tag and Ether share a look, then look to the Slaughterhouse crowd, who are chanting:
“NO! NO! NO!”
Tag and Ether look back at each other and shake their heads…
AND TAG STEPS TO THE CORNER AND TAGS SIMON IN!!
“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”
The crowd let’s them know what they think about that, but Simon ignores them and pats Tag on the back before stepping on Impaler’s chest for the most arrogant of covers—
ONE!
.
.
.
TW—
…
IMPALER LAUNCHES SIMON UP INTO THE AIR—
…
AND DOWN SIMON CRASHES ONTO THE MAT!!
Now Simon has disrespected the Impaler, and this angered this sleeping giant. Simon is on his knees as Impaler slowly advances towards him.
Step by step, Simon begs Impaler to stop, his hands are up and the fear on Simon’s face only gets worse as the lights in the Slaughterhouse begin to flicker!
Legion wraps his hand around Simon’s neck…
AND LIFTS HIM UP HIGH—
…
BUT IN COME JET SET RADIO TO HAMMER ON IMPALER!
He drops Simon, him having been saved in the nick of time, but now here comes The Rainbow Party into the ring! They take it to Tag and Ether, who give it right back to TGK and Vigour, and suddenly it’s a massive brawl that the ref can’t gain control of no matter how much he hollers at them!
TGK SPEARS TAG TO THE OUTSIDE!!
VIGOUR SLIDES UNDER ETHER TO THE OUTSIDE AND TRIPS HER BEFORE DRAGGING GER OUT AS WELL!!
ALL HELL HAS BROKEN LOOSE!!!
But now into the ring steps Chronoa, with a big smirk on her face. She steps next to Impaler and points at Simon, who is up against the ropes, as Impaler takes a step forward—
ECLIPSE OUTTA NOWHERE!!!
DANCING FLAMES FROM PYRE TO IMPALER!!!
Legion drops like a redwood and we’re left with the Fire Bitch and Eversor standing toe to toe.
Two strong women who took one another to the limit mere months ago, staring each other in the face, are about to get it on again!
ELBOW TO THE FACE OF CHRONOA!
PUNCH TO THE FACE OF PYRE!
JUMPING KNEE CATCHES CHRONOA ON THE CHIN—
CHRONOA ANSWERS WITH A STIFF KNEE TO PYRE’S GUT!!
Chronoa whips Pyre into the ropes and on the rebound connects with a—
BIG BOOT!!
THE CHAMP GOES DOWN!!
Chronoa shrieks out and stuffs Pyre between her legs. She hooks one arm, and then the other—
TIGER BOMB??
YES!!
HOLY RETRIBUTION!!
But Simon is up—
KICK TO THE GUT!
Simon hooks one arm—
HE HOOKS TWO—
PEDIGREE!!!
THE MASTERSTROKE!!!
Meanwhile on the outside, Vigour and TGK have been beaten to the point of unconsciousness by Jet Set Radio, and Simon whistles for them to return to the ring.
They slide in, and Simon barks in their faces to end the Impaler!
They again look to the crowd… but then immediately begin beating the rising giant down as Simon laughs and claps his hands to a chorus of boos!
Ether climbs to the top rope as Tag attempts to lift Impaler up into a powerbomb, to no avail obviously, until Pyre joins him. The two lock eyes for a second before they work together to lift Impaler up with all their might as Ether leaps…
DOUBLE SPRAY BACK!!
MACH FIVE BY ETHER!!
JET—
SET—
LIFE!!!
Simon shouts for the three of them to clear the premise as he takes the pinfall for himself—
ONE!
…
ETHER AND TAG TACKLE CHRONOA!
…
TWO!!
…
….
…
SIMON DEMANDS PYRE COME OVER TO HIM!!
…
….
…
THEY START MAKING OUT ONTOP OF IMPALER AS THE REF COUNTS—
THREE!!!
All of Jet Set Radio’s studying paid off, playing a game of “Simon Says” to perfection, and handing the King and his Queen the victory!
[edgtf_highlight background_color=”#f9c703″ color=”#000000″] WINNER: THE BLACKHARTS [/edgtf_highlight]
What a match! What a clusterfuck!
As their opponents leave the ringside area, Vigour and TGK are speaking in the corner.
Chronoa has taken her place in the center of the ring, facing away from them.
The Impaler is facing her down.
“Kneel.” Chronoa says.
Shaking his head, Impaler takes a step forward.
But behind them, TGK charges out of the corner, getting a boost from Vigour OVER CHRONOA’S HEAD!
KARATE KID TO IMPALER!
Legions falls into the corner, where TGK begins battering him. The Kid gets him by the throat. As soon as he sees this, Vigour charges in.
BLACK MIST FROM IMPALER!
TGK DUCKS! VIGOUR TAKES IT FULL ON IN THE FACE!
Was Vigour going to stop TGK or help him?
We’ll never know as Legion rushes out at the Prince of Party.
ADAM SMASHER TO VIGOUR!
The Kid has fire in his eyes as he goes back at Impaler, but he forgot about the Harbinger of Fate.
SHADDDDDOOOOOWWW KIIIICCCKKK TO TGK!
Chronoa kneels down over the fallen Kid.
“The shadow always endures, doesn’t it?” She taunts.
Standing to her feet, Chronoa looks over at the fallen Vigour with a grin. The Impaler stands before her, rage in his eyes.
“Kneel.” She says.
Legion takes a step forward, but he stops. As if being forced by an unseen power, the Dread Pirate Roberts of Pro Wrestling goes to one knee, his head bowed before Chronoa.
“Let’s get out of here, weapon.” She charges. “I believe it’s about to rain.”
She leads Impaler away from the ring, like he’s a cowed dog. Vigour and TGK manage to roll to the outside and make their way up the aisle.
Beaten, battered, but still standing.
Cut.
Ringside.
Darkness.
It’s sometime after everyone has left and Rain now stands in the middle of the ring – only this time, he isn’t alone.
Vayikra, Deathnote and Jensen Cussen all surround him.
“Son, did you succeed?” Death asks, looking at Deathnote, who shakes his head.
“I beat him bloody, but he refuses to hand it over, father,” The Author of Death angrily replies.
Death shakes his head.
“I want to apologize in advance,” he says carefully. “That’s why I’ve gathered you all here today.”
The group share looks, confused.
“I’ve broken the bonds of time and reality here in The Slaughterhouse and Sigil’s time to hand over the crown is up,” he growls. “I will now turn this place into everyone’s worst nightmare.”
Jensen Cussen doesn’t like the sound of that.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asks, annoyed. “You told me to soften up Lux Bellator – that’s what I’m here to do.”
“You’re going to turn The Slaughterhouse into the Paradox Hotel, aren’t you?” Deathnote queries with a smirk. “That’s why you’ve broken the bonds of time and reality that this place protects.”
His father nods.
“That doesn’t sound like a good idea,” Rhodes chimes in.
“You don’t understand, do you Rhodes?” Death says, looking at him with a deathly stare. “Sigil has the Ring King crown which holds more significance than you could ever know. We need to retrieve it, or else.”
Death starts using his hands to twist time and reality, with whisps of green and yellow converging between his fingertips.
“நேரம் மற்றும் யதார்த்தத்தின் பிணைப்புகளை உடைக்கவும். ஹோட்டலின் திகில் எங்களை அழைத்துச் செல்லுங்கள், அங்கு ஒவ்வொரு கதவுக்குப் பின்னாலும், ஒரு புதிய திகில் காத்திருக்கிறது.”
Suddenly and abruptly, The Slaughterhouse begins disintegrating around us – turning to dust and fading away. Before long, the entire building is gone and replaced by a lobby. Rain, Vayikra, Deathnote and Jensen Cussen now stand in this lobby, looking at their surroundings.
“I’m sorry for what you’ll suffer here tonight,” Death says solemnly. “But we must find Sigil and we must retrieve that crown.”
He begins walking away.
“Welcome to the Paradox Hotel,” he says with a charming chuckle. “Where behind every door, a new horror awaits.”
Click.