Click.
Static covers the screen as a Play ► symbol appears in the bottom right-hand corner.
Our camera pans to the right, into darkness, shortly followed by the view of a large oak table. We’re in the middle of a darkened hall, lit by red coloured wall candles that illuminate only the table itself. A skull is finely carved into the centre, bold and beautiful.
Around it, four chairs sit.
Yet no-one occupies them.
Instead, a different colour skull mask hangs from the corner of each. One Red, one Yellow and one Green.
Someone slowly approaches in a long black robe, wearing a Black skull mask to match it. The figure walks around the table, running their hand across each mask in remembrance of those lost thanks to Sigil.
He carefully takes a seat on the only empty chair, grabbing the gavel before him and tapping the table.
Click.
The Butcher suddenly appears, looking utterly dumbstruck.
“Welcome back,” the voice emanating from the Black Skull mask wearing individual echoes throughout the hall.
The Butcher gulps, folding his arms.
“Why don’t you make yourself comfortable, Colin?” He offers, moving a seat with a mere flick of his hand. His power must be incredible.
Colin understandably edges towards the seat with discomfort, taking a moment to prop himself down into it.
“You remember the arrangement we made, do you not?” Black Skull asks with a tilt of his head. He goes on to explain with a telling sigh. “You asked me to contain the potentially apocalyptic war between Heaven and Hell inside The Slaughterhouse and I agreed, based upon the condition that you’d end Sigil and his quest.”
The Butcher nods in agreement.
“It’s all in hand, sir,” he says, clearly terrified. Colin runs a shaky hand over his head. He rarely calls anyone sir. “Voynich has assured me that tonight, he’ll kill Sigil.”
That brings about a rapturous laugh from Black Skull, who leans back in his chair with a chuckle.
“Do you have any fathomable idea how close The Collector is from his goal?” He says in humoured cheer. “And you’re banking on Voynich being the man to stop him?”
Suddenly, he clicks his fingers and The Butcher appears in chains.
He stands up, walking over to Colin. He places one hand on the shoulder of The Butcher – one that sends a shiver down his spine.
“Let’s hope you’re right,” he muses. “In the meantime, why don’t you remain in my company? We’ll watch this unfold together.”
The Butcher gulps.
Cut.
A life lost in the snow turns a heart dark with vengeance. Luke Storm has wanted…no needed to end the Sandman ever since the day he murdered his brother and he finally has the chance to get his hand on him. Can the Tempest bring Edward Newton’s killer to justice or will Luke Storm meet the same fate his dear brother did at the hands of the Dream Demon?
The bell sounds as the Sandman is inside the ring, but Luke Storm is nowhere to be seen. The Dream Demon cautiously scans the arena, looking for any signs of ambush but it looks like the Tempest is a no-show. Sandman looks furious as he turns to step out of the ring before a familiar voice high above
“Hey fucknuts, you looking for me?”
We look up as ten feet above the ring in the rafters, the Tempest is standing, sneering down on the Dream Demon on a scaffold before he backs up
AND DIVES GODDAMN OFF!
STORM FLIES THROUGH THE AIR WITH A MASSIVE SPEAR, NEARLY CUTTING THE SANDMAN IN HALF FROM THAT INSANE DIVE!
Luke gets to his feet slow, holding his ribs but it was bloody worth it as Sandman is clearly hurt, the sheer force from that mega spear doing some big damage to the Dream Demon and judging from the smirk on the Tempest’s face, he knows it.
The Sandman rushes forward, trying for a Big Boot but Storm slides underneath, pulling a chain from around his waist before wrapping it around the other leg of the Sandman and sending him face first to the mat. The Sandman gets up to one knee before he’s drilled in the jaw with a chain assisted right hand. Sandman tries for a right of his own but that’s slapped away before Storm continues to rain down heavy rights before a massive uppercut sends Sandman crashing to the canvas.
Storm mounts the fallen Sandman, drilling him with heavy rights and lefts, the chain wrapped around both hands now before he gets to his feet, kicking the Sandman over onto his back and gripping the chain in both hands
WRAPS IT AROUND THE DREAM DEMON’S THROAT!
Storm is trying to choke the damn life out of the Sandman but beating or not, the Dream Demon’s still damn too tough for that as he reaches up and breaks the damn chain in half before headbutting backwards and staggering Storm off him.
The Sandman tries to get to his feet but Storm kicks him as hard as he can in the mouth, an action that Sandman retaliates with a massive hand around the throat. The Dream Demon crushes Storm’s windpipe as Storm tries in vain to break the hold before Sandman lifts Storm up high
TO SA…TAZER TO THE NECK! 1200 volts of electricity to the goddamn neck drops the Sandman to his knees as Storm rolls backwards, caressing his neck for a moment before rushing forward
LIGHTNING STRIKE! The Superkick hits flush but the Sandman ain’t down. Storm ain’t done either as he springboards off the ropes
SECOND LIGHTNING STRIKE. Storm barely lets the Superkick hit before he rolls backwards, springboarding off once more
LIGHTNING STRIKE TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! TRIPLE STRIKE!
That has to be it there as the Sandman drops and Storm hooks the leg for the cover
ONE
………
……….
TWO
……..
….KICKOUT!
The Sandman kicks out of three consecutive lightning strikes, Storm shakes his head but he knew it was never gonna be this easy. He reaches inside his tights, pulling out two vicious looking knuckle dusters as he backs up, looking at the Dream Demon as he sits up before urging him to come get some.
The Sandman bounds to his feet, trying for a hard clothesline that Storm ducks under, delivering a trio of hard punches to the ribs that cause the Dream Demon to wince. The Sandman throws out wild punches that Storm ducks, pounding down on the Sandman with stiff brass enhanced punches before a massive right hook staggers the Dream Demon back.
Storm doesn’t waste time, ducking under another Big Boot before he damn runs up the turnbuckles, leaping off the top rope
STEEL ENHANCED SUPERMAN PUNCH! Looks like the Williams taught Storm something after all as that huge punch drops Sandman to the canvas, breaking a few dozen teeth in the process. Luke tosses away the dusters, quickly climbing up to the top rope
THUNDER…MISSES! The Sandman gets out of the way just in time but Luke rolls to his feet, leaping up high as the Sandman turns around
DOWNPOUR! The Codebreaker hits flush as The Sandman crashes to the canvas. Storm doesn’t cover him, looking for the punctuation mark, fury in his eyes
“This is for Eddie you bit…”
BLUE SAND TO THE FACE! THE SANDMAN JUST THREW A VARIATION OF HIS TRADEMARK SAND IN HIS FACE!
Gold puts you to sleep, purple causes sadness, red rage and black blinds you but what the hell does blue do? Storm staggers back, blinking as he looks in a daze for a moment before he freezes on the spot.
Storm tries to move himself but he’s goddamn frozen, only able to scowl as the Sandman fucking paralysed the Tempest here and now he’s absolutely helpless as the Dream Demon just smiles that half broken, twisted grin.
The Sandman begins pummeling down on Luke, lefts and rights that he can’t defend against before a massive Big Boot nearly takes his damn head off. Storm gets peeled off the mat and grabbed around the throat
TO SAND! STORM GETS GOOZLED AND DAMN NEAR BOUNCED OFF THE MAT! But the Sandman isn’t done as he pulls Luke up once more, spinning him around
DEEP SLEEP! The End of Days drives Storm face first into the mat, the Tempest still struggling to move but the Sandman is done playing as he kicks Storm over and descends those decrepit, bloodied fingernails down upon Luke.
40 WIN…LUKE CATCHES THE FINGERS! The Paralysis has worn off or Storm’s just too damn stubborn to die as he refuses to be blinded by this demonic assclown again. Screaming out a gutteral roar, Luke headbutts Sandman with massive force and saves himself from the 40 Winks.
Luke rushes to his feet, trying for a European Uppercut but the Sandman catches it, delivering a massive Lariat that turns the Tempest inside out but he keeps hold of Storm, lifting him up onto his shoulders
Could this be a repeat of Red Snow? The Sandman leaps up into the air
SLEEP
PARAL….
GALE FORCE!
Storm hits the Stunner out of nowhere, saving himself from the Kinniku Buster but he’s not done as he screams out in rage, pulling the Sandman up to his knees
“This is for Eddie you son of a bitch”
NEVERMIND
EVENFLOW DDT!
Luke Storm nails the finisher of the Riddler as he hooks the leg of the Sandman
ONE
……
………
TWO
………….
…………..
THREE….
………..
THREE!!!
The Tempest picks up the huge victory here tonight, avenging his loss at Red Snow and avenging the death of Edward Newton by putting down the bastard who ended his life in a cathartic as fuck finish.
With that gruelling match over, Luke Storm and The Sandman waste no time in getting back to their feet. The Dream Demon immediately grabs Storm by the throat, squeezing tightly.
“Where is he!?” The Sandman roars once more, choking the life out of The Tempest.
Flash.
What feels like a strike of lightning hits The Sandman like a bolt out of the heavens itself. It shocks him backwards, knocking him half way across the ring.
Luke smirks.
What the fuck is going on?
Darkness.
Static.
When the lights return, Sandy Rogers now kneels breathlessly on the canvas before a strange figure.
The Sandman looks utterly stunned – you can see it in his eyes as they dart back and forth between Sandy and the monster of a man stood beside him. He knows him.
“Looking for something?” The man growls ominously.
“Mordecai,” The Dream Demon mutters as he gets back to his feet. “Don’t do this,” he pleads.
Luke suddenly leaps forward with a right hand that stumbles Sandman backwards.
“Do you know what it took for me to get the truth out of dear Sandy here?” Storm angrily hisses. “And you won’t believe what I found out.”
Mordecai folds his arms, blocking any route to Rogers.
“Sandy Rogers was a dying man with no hope of survival,” Luke announces, pacing before us all. “So, after exploring the Dream Realm, he found a way to tether himself to something powerful that could save him; a spell that brought you out of the dreams you haunt and into the real world.”
The Tempest shakes his head in disgust.
“And worst yet, you’ve never known it. You’ve been haplessly doing the bidding of a man you think you love because he tethered your power to himself, so you could create Lucid Falls and keep him alive.”
The Sandman tilts his head.
“He made you kill my brother,” Storm roars angrily, spitting as he does – pointing down at a dishevelled and nearly dead Rogers. “He made you capture all those people. He’s responsible for everything.”
“Listen,” The Sandman interrupts. “You know not what you do. Give Alexander back to me and we will leave this place. Mordecai, you mustn’t do this.”
Mordecai steps forward, shaking his head. He goes toe to toe with The Sandman, looking him square in his eyes.
“This isn’t where you belong,” he states matter of factly. “You shouldn’t walk this realm.”
The Dream Demon reaches out, powerfully grabbing Mordecai by the throat – who instantly returns the gesture. They struggle, finally releasing.
LIGHTNING STRIKE BY LUKE STORM!
STORM SLAMS INTO THE SANDMAN WITH A SUPERKICK!
THAT STUMBLES HIM!
SWINGING COBRA CLUTCH!
SWEET DREAMS!
SWEET DREAMS BY MORDECAI TO THE DREAM DEMON!
Luke picks up his microphone, shaking his head.
“I wanted to kill him,” he admits, looking at Rogers. “I wanted so badly to end his life for what he did; but I can’t.”
He lowers his head in shame.
“I’m not a murderer,” he says defiantly. “So, I won’t be the one to sever the tether between you. I’ll leave that to him.”
The Sandman reaches up from the canvas in agony, watching as Mordecai walks over to Sandy Rogers and picks him up from the canvas.
“No, please,” The Dream Demon begs.
Snap.
With that single bone cracking snap, Sandy Rogers falls limp to the canvas in a heap. Luke Storm sighs, closing his eyes – relief having finally washed over him; his quest for vengeance complete.
The Tempest exits the ring, his match tonight with Voynich for the OSW Championship awaits.
As for The Sandman, there’s a guttural roar – he thought he loved Sandy Rogers. He thought he needed him. As Rogers lay deceased on the canvas, The Sandman crawls over to the body, looking up at Mordecai.
“You’ve made a mistake,” he screams angrily. “And you will pay.”
The emotion pouring out of Sandman is palpable, yet Mordecai simply nods stoically.
“I would expect no less.”
Who is Mordecai and what does he mean to The Sandman?
Cut.
What is dead should stay that way but the Forever Friends couldn’t live with their friends sacrifice. Ultimo died to take out the true villain now what’s left of the former foursome must do the hardest thing they ever have done and kill their best friend one more time.
Chunky, Miles and Stoner stand ready around Ultimo’s grave as the being formerly known as Sherman Dewey slowly steps forward, a furious scowl etched upon his undead face.
Stoner lifts up the shotgun to Sherman’s face as Chunky and Miles are quick to try and push it down. Sherman scowls at Stoner before pointing in the distance.
“Get out of here, this is between me and them. They have to pay for what they did”
Miles is trembling at the rage of his best friend as Chunk swallows hard before shaking his head.
“Pwease Shermey, we didn’t know. We just didn’t want to wose you. Don’t do this pwease, we wove you. ”
Sherman spits on the ground, fury in his eyes as he swings a massive punch that sends Chunk stumbling back.
“LOVE?! Is this what you call love? You turned me into a monster and now I’m going to enjoy what happens next”
Sherman rushes forward right into the butt of the shotgun right to the jaw that sends him crashing to the dirt. Stoner stares at Chunky who just nods, before rushing forward at a rising Sherman
HAHAHADOKEN! The spear nearly flattens Dewey but he barely hits the dirt before he’s back up to his feet, delivering a mammoth headbutt that drops the Chunkmeister before Miles is on him, peppering him with a flurry of punches that barely affect the resurrected Paladin as he turns to the Magical One, gripping him around the throat with one hand.
STRAWBERRY BASKET…DOES NOTHING!
The undead have no need for testicles as Sherman just stares at Miles, a mix of pity and disgust in his eyes before he lifts him up high, choking the life out of him with one hand. Miles struggles as his top hat hits the ground, something leaps out of it
DAVE THE RABBIT LEAPS UP ONTO SHERMAN’S FACE!
The rabbit’s scratching and clawing at Sherman’s eyes, causing the undead to yell out in pain as he drops Miles to the dirt. Sherman reaches up, pulling the rabbit off him as he throws it aside, just noticing Stoner leaping off the back of the choking Miles
THE BONG HIT!
Stoner nails Sherman with that massive Shining Wizard, locking in the Triangle Choke but as much as he cranks back, Dewey doesn’t need oxygen anymore so it ain’t doing shit. Stoner tries to drag him down with his bodyweight but Dewey powers him up before nearly driving Stoner through the earth with a modified Powerbomb.
Chunky is up as he batters down on Sherman with a series of lefts and rights but they barely seem to affect the undead Dewey, who delivers a stiff right to the throat that nearly crushes Chunky’s windpipe before backing up
SMITING HAND! The Shotei hits with incredible force as Chunky flies through the air, crashing hard onto the ground.
Miles staggers up to his feet as Sherman grabs him by the throat once more.
THE SHOWSTOPPER! Miles brings down all his weight on the foot of Sherman who just shakes his head before snapping Mile’s brain back into his skull with a brutal headbutt as he lifts him up high.
CRITICAL ROLL! BRAINBUSTER INTO THE DIRT!
Both Chunky and Miles are out cold as Sherman grabs them by the wrists and slowly drags them over to the ground, intending on burying them with Ultimo but a loud voice stops him in his tracks.
“Not so fast bitch”
BOOM!
Sherman takes a shotgun shell to the shoulder as he drops hold of Chunky and Miles before walking forward. ANOTHER BOOM! This hits Sherman in the gut as he stumbles for a moment but keeps on coming. Stoner raises the gun high, aimed for Dewey’s head.
CLICK
Stoner’s eyes go wide as he fumbles around, trying to find the spare shells, just barely getting to load them into the shotgun before Sherman is on him, lifting the gun high as a shot goes off before driving the butt down into Stoner’s jaw, sending him crashing to the dirt.
A stiff kick to the jaw reels Stoner as Sherman straddles him, grabbing the gun before forcing it slowly down onto Stoner, his finger wrapped around the trigger as he readies to end the Disposable Hero’s life.
SUPERKICK TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD!
Sherman crashes to the dirt, stunned by that blow from Magical Miles of all people as Dewey slowly stumbles up to his feet, Chunky gripping Miles around the waist before throwing him in the air
ASSISTED DDT! It wasn’t pretty but it hit damn hard as both Miles and Chunky pull Stoner to his feet, sharing a nod before the trio advance on the slowly rising Sherman Dewey.
Right after left after right, the trio lay into Dewey something fierce, Miles landing another Superkick before Stoner lifts him up into the air.
PUMP HONDO SLAM! Sherman is driven into the mat before stumbling backwards further towards the grave as he turns right into a kick to the gut from Chunky
QUICKSCOPE! The stunner hits flush as Sherman looks out on his feet, teetering over the grave before Miles grabs him by the throat
And so does Chunky.
And so does Stoner.
All three friends lift Sherman Dewey up high
THE HAND OF LADY LIBERTY INTO THE GRAVE!
The Forever Friends did it, using the power of friendship and the desire to make things right, they hopefully put their former friend back into his grave to finally rest in peace.
After that gruelling and violent battle, Sherman Dewey lays inside his grave.
Surely, it’s over.
Chunky, Miles and Stoner get back to their feet, staggering to the grave edge – all three looking at Dewey inside it.
Suddenly, he sits back up.
There’s an immediate panic as he rises, biting a chunk out of Miles’ leg as he tries to escape backwards.
Chunky rushes for a shovel and Dewey pulls himself out of the grave, looming over Miles.
Stoner tries to grab his Tag Team Partner, pushing him away.
“We have to go,” he demands. “We can’t save him!”
Chunky looks back at Miles, who’s scooting away on his butt as Dewey edges in for the kill. He’s absolutely terrified, crying and begging for his life.
“I can’t,” he says sorrowfully.
As Stoner watches on, Moses runs at Sherman, tackling him back into the grave with a thunderous spear.
They crash down inside it with a thud, followed by a terrifying scream.
It’s Sherman and he’s gnawing at the throat of poor Chunky Moses. One half of the Tag Team Champions is gargling and screaming in equal measure as his former best friend chews at his throat like some kind of fucking toy.
Stoner rushes forward picking up the shovel that he dropped. He looks inside, horrified by the sight before him.
He goes pale and stops.
Miles is back to his feet and peers inside, hobbling and in agony. He watches as Dewey tosses Moses prone body to one side and roars.
That’s enough for him. He snatches the shovel from the hands of Stoner and leaps ferociously into air!
HE DRIVES DOWN INTO THE GRAVE, STABBING THE SHOVEL THROUGH SHERMAN DEWEY’S HEART….
ONLY…
ONLY HE IMPALES HIMSELF AT THE SAME TIME.
JESUS CHRIST!
HE’S LED ON TOP OF DEWEY, BOTH OF THEM FUCKING IMPALED!
Stoner doesn’t know what to do. He looks on in horror, shortly realizing that with Miles’ death, Sherman Dewey finally succumbed.
He was attached to them.
This was never going to end until they did.
One Half of the Tag Team Champions falls back into a slump, his legs dangling over the edge of the grave. There’s carnage within it.
Magical Miles is dead.
Chunky Moses is dead.
Sherman Dewey is dead.
And Ultimo America is dead.
The Forever Friends are no more.
Stoner falls backwards, led flat on his back – his eyes roll back into his head in emotional an physical exhaustion.
It’s over.
Cut.
Deadly toys in all directions surround the men as they rush towards one another. Can Rune survive The Toybox?
Rune rushes Andy AND IS IMMEDIATELY CLOBBERED WITH A MASSIVE BIG BOOT BY ANDY!
The Toymaker looks around, the toys surrounding him terrifying him as he refuses to grab them at first! But Rune is to his feet and has a nail covered toy sword! He swings at Andy and buries it in his shoulder!
And he soon realizes he definitely shouldn’t’ve done that!
ANDY PULLS RUNE INTO A SAMOAN DROP! JACK ATTACK GROUNDS RUNE!
A kick to the back puts him on his gut and Andy has the sword! He swings down over and over onto the head of Rune, each hit drawing blood!
THE NAILS CATCH INTO THE SKIN AND STRIP IT OFF! RUNE’S GUSHING BLOOD! ONE MORE STRIKE BY ANDY AND THE FUCKING SWORD BREAKS IN HALF!
The Toymaker goes searching for something else to do damage with! And he finds just what he wants as he grabs hold of a hula-hoop with a razor edge! He turns around and Rune is somehow back to his feet!
WOKE LARIAT!
NO!
SUPERFINE TURBINE BLAST PRACTICALLY BREAKS RUNE IN HALF AS THE GORE SLAMS HIM STRAIGHT INTO THE FLOOR!
Andy gets to his feet, stomping and kicking at Rune as he grows increasingly more frustrated!
“WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BRING ME HERE!? WHY COULDN’T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!?”
Evil thoughts flow through his mind as he grabs that hula-hoop and places it around Rune’s neck! Foot to the back of Rune’s head!
ANDY IS TRYING TO SLICE RIGHT THROUGH RUNE’S FUCKING NECK! THE GLITCH IS FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE AS HE WRENCHES ON THE TOY WITH ALL HIS MIGHT!
Andy lets go of it, looking down at his own blood stained hands in terror and backing away, giving Rune the time to crawl to safety! He searches the tables and walls in need of a weapon to save himself! And he grabs a big box of Jacks! Not just any kind, either. SeeSaw brand thumbtack Jacks!
Rune throws them onto the ground as Mister Andy tries to approach him, stepping on them and shredding his own feet as he clothesline Rune and nearly sends him through the table behind him! But Andy grabs him!
AND LIFTS HIM OVERHEAD! POWERBOMB ONTO THE THUMBTACK JACKS! RUNE BOUNCES UP AND ANDY PICKS UP A HANDFUL OF JACKS!
He looks down at what he’s done, throwing the toys on top of Rune and looking to leave… before snarling as he glares back at the man who brought him here! Mister Andy looks at the wall and grabs a trampoline! He places it down and jumps on it as he flaps his arms!
FLIGHT OF THE ORNITHOPTERN! MASSIVE LEAPING SPLASH DRIVES RUNE FURTHER INTO THE TACKS AS ANDY SANDWHICHES HIM BETWEEN A ROCK AND A SHARP PLACE!
Andy rises, wiping the jacks from his chest and grabbing hold of Rune once more, flinging him right into the wall! Rune bounces off of it and gets buried beneath a pile of boxes and toys! But Andy fishes him out, dragging him to his feet by his beard!
“SEE WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!? THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”
RUNE SPITS BLOOD INTO ANDY’S EYES! MISTER ANDY DROPS HIM AND STUMBLES BACK AS RUNE GRABS A TOY FROM THE PILE!
A barbed wire slinky! Rune whips it around his head in a frenzy, slinging it towards Andy who catches it! He’s seeing red and it’s not just blood as he pulls Rune towards him and nails a harsh headbutt!
ANDY WRAPS THE SLINKY AROUND RUNE’S NECK! THEN AROUND HIS ARMS! RUNE HAS BEEN BOUND BY RUSTED BARBED WIRE!
He can’t move as Andy wrenches on the toy, cutting into his skin and spilling even more blood from Rune’s poor body! Andy grabs hold of him and pulls him on top of the nearby table!
PILEDRIVER! PILEDRIVER RIGHT THROUGH THE GOD DAMN TABLE!
MISTER ANDY HAS JUST PLANTED HIMSELF A DUMBASS TREE!
The slinky snaps back together, Andy yanking it off of Rune’s throat and tossing the bloody toy to the side! He wipes the blood across his face and grabs Rune once again! He’s huffing and puffing, looking more deranged by the second!
RUNE GETS LIFTED UP HIGH BY ANDY! HE DROPS HIM BACK FIRST OVER HIS KNEE!
WORKSHIP ROCKABYE!
KILLED!
WITH!
FIRE!
Andy finishes it off by flipping Rune face first onto the tacks! Rune can’t even move!
But Andy has been pushed too far.
He grabs one last toy.
A pogostick with needles on the bottom.
ANDY HOPS ON THE POGOSTICK HIGH IN THE AIR! HE PLUMMETS DEEP INTO RUNE’S CHEST!
Rune lets out a bloody cough as he loses consciousness!
And Andy stumbles back, collapsing into a ball in a corner.
Mister Andy is quiet in the corner, sitting completely still as the match comes to a close.
Mister Andy just sits there.
He doesn’t move.
His head is lowered, shamefully – almost.
Rune slowly crawls over, mustering as much strength as he possibly can, still spewing blood as he does.
That’s when it hits him.
Like a wave of clarity, the sound of cackling hits him in the face like a fucking sledgehammer.
Mister Andy looks up, his face contorted into this horrifying expression of equal parts anger, sadness and joy. He stands immediately up, grabbing Rune by his legs and dragging him away.
“What the fuck is this!?” The Glitch roars at him, being lifted into the air and slammed back first onto a metal hook.
Blood spews out of his mouth as he lets out a blood curdling womp, hanging there from a metal spike.
“Hang around,” Andy says – not joyfully, not gleefully – not even childlike.
Then he leaves.
Cut.
He’s matured.
With a very callous walk, he enters the room and walks straight back over to Rune – who to his credit is fighting death. He’s conscious, his head wavering in and out.
“I’ve got to give credit where it’s due,” SeeSaw says with a smile and a nod. “You were right.”
Rune looks up with blood shot eyes and smiles.
“I tried to fight it for so long and I was almost there, until you brought me back here,” he admits, searching his work bench for something. “And we all know what happens here, don’t we? You’ve seen; you’ve saw.”
In his hand is a large pair of thick scissors. As Rune tries to struggle, he reaches down into his mouth, opening his jaw wide and placing the scissors around his tongue.
“I used to be such an innocent fellow, didn’t I? I was living in a fairy-tale that simply didn’t exist. I was naïve and childlike – I see that now.”
Snap.
With a brutal, gut-crunching snap, he cuts Rune’s tongue out in one fell snap. The Glitch tries to scream but can’t, blood spewing down his throat and into his mouth. His eyes open wide…
And within moments, the light within them fades out.
SeeSaw smirks, slapping him happily on the face.
“But I’m no longer that SeeSaw, Rune; you were right about there being a conspiracy within me. I was pretending to be something I wasn’t. It’s just,” he says pondering it with a tilted head. “I’m not what I used to be, either.”
He chuckles to himself, grabbing the scissors and piercing them through the end of the tongue. He slams it into the chest of Rune, laughing.
“What am I saying? You’re dead. Only the insane have conversations with dead men.”
Backing up and looking at his latest Toybox victim, he dusts off his hands.
“Pin the tail on the donkey,” he muses. “And boy, you were an ass who liked to talk.”
SeeSaw chuckles at the statement, backing away whilst whistling a song to himself.
We close in on the tongue pinned to Rune’s chest.
The Glitch knew SeeSaw was there and wanted badly to meet him.
Well, he did.
And like everyone else who’s ever entered The Toybox, he won’t live to tell the tale.
Cut.
Bill Kirby’s family was killed by Corvus. Now the Crow must contend with an enraged Redwing. Will the Caped Crusader give in to vengeance and join Corvus and the Black Hand, or will he bring justice for his late wife and son?
It’s raining.
A flash of lightning cuts through the dark night.
As we left them last week, Corvus and Redwing are stood in an alley opposite one another, their eyes locked.
Redwing makes the first move, launching a flurry of barely controlled punches to the midsection of Corvus. The Crow absorbs the blows, grabbing Redwing by the cowl and scratching at his exposed face.
THROAT THRUST UPPERCUT!
PALM STRIKE!
JUMPING ELBOW STRIKE TO FINISH!
THE MURDER OF BLOWS ROCKS REDWING TO HIS KNEES!
Corvus circles Redwing, clinically examining the man he is trying to recruit.
“It’s futile to resist.” Corvus taunts. “All of your anger, your rage. What’s it done for you? Let us show you how to use it.”
The Crow backs up as Redwing tries to rise.
FLASH KICK! THE CORVUS KICK HITS FLUSH!
REDWING GOES BACK ONTO ALL FOURS!
“One of us dies tonight, Redwing.” The Hidden Blade continues. “Either you kill me and take my place, or I kill you and little Jason’s daddy never gets his revenge.”
With a roar, Redwing explodes up to a vertical base, grabbing Corvus’ arm.
RAIN TRIGGER!
GODWATCH LEVELS CORVUS!
THE CROW DOESN’T GET A CHANCE TO RECOVER AS REDWING GRABS HIM…
RED JUSTICE! BRAINBUSTER TO REDWING’S KNEE!
BLOOD IS RUNNING DOWN CORVUS’ FACE, COMING FROM SOMEWHERE UNDER HIS WET HOOD!
BUT REDWING LIFTS HIM UP.
DOUBLE UNDERHOOK DDT! RETURN TO ARKHAM!
Corvus is flat on the ground, as Redwing stares down at him, focused on the man who took everything away from him.
“You’re right, Corvus.” Red Justice mocks. “One of us will die tonight.”
Measuring him up, Redwing charges towards the rising Corvus.
CURB STOMP!
DARKNESS FALLS!
NO!
CORVUS DODGES!
HE DRIVES ONE OF HIS DAGGER’S INTO REDWING’S SIDE, PIERCING HIS ARMOR.
ANOTHER!
ANOTHER!
A COMPLETE MOVE OF DESPERATION FROM CORVUS!
With a grin, Corvus staggers to his feet, expecting to see a paralyzed Redwing.
But Redwing stands tall, pulling the daggers out of his side.
“You used your little paralytic on me before.” Redwing says. “And I’ll be damned if I get caught by the same trick twice.”
“It’s a matter of time now. Whatever antidote you concocted can’t fight it off forever.” Corvus replies, unshaken as more daggers glisten under the alley light.
Redwing smiles and the fight is back on.
CORVUS WITH A RIGHT!
REDWING WITH ONE IN RETURN!
HEADBUTT FROM REDWING!
HEADBUTT FROM CORVUS!
CORVUS GRABS HIS NECK, BUT REDWING SPINS HIM AROUND!
FOREARM TO THE CHEST! CORVUS GOES DOWN!
The Crow holds his chest, his fingers toying with the newly created holes in his shirt. Redwing’s eyes are red as he looks down at his gauntlets and the now-glistening blades coming off of them.
“The antidote may be weak, but I recreated your paralytic nicely, I think.” Redwing taunts. “You need a taste of your own medicine.”
Redwing charges in.
GODWATCH!
NO! CORVUS DUCKS UNDER!
R. K. O!!!
THE BLACK HAND’S BLADE STRIKE’S FLUSH TO TAKE REDWING DOWN! CORVUS WASTES NO TIME, TRYING TO SHAKE OFF SLUGGISHNESS.
IT’S A RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK BEFORE THESE TWO AREN’T ABLE TO MOVE!
THE CROW PICKS UP THE CAPED CRUSADER…
BUT REDWING WAS READY!
RUNNING BULLDOG ON A TRASHCAN! THE KILLING JOKE HAS BEEN TOLD!
“This is for Sarah.” Redwing yells.
CURB STOMP!
DARKNESS FALLS ON CORVUS!
BUT HE DIDN’T GET ALL OF IT! REDWING IS MOVING IN SLOW MOTION!
Even with the slowness in his joints, Redwing reaches down to lift up the still conscious Corvus, staring down into his bleeding eyes.
“Do it.” Corvus growls. “Become who you were meant to be.”
Clarity shows in the face of Redwing for the first time in this match.
“I was meant to be Jason’s daddy.” He responds. “And I’ll be damned if his daddy is a killer.”
Corvus rises quickly, quicker than Redwing is able to move.
His paralytic went into his blood stream later.
CORVUS KICK!
REDWING DODGES!
GODWATCH TO CORVUS!
THE CROW FALLS UP AGAINST THE BRICK ALLEY WALL!
REDWING CHARGES IN…
…AND FREEZES!
THE PARALYTIC HAS HIM!
CORVUS RUSHES IN, AS MUCH AS HE CAN!
CURB STOMP TO REDWING!
THE RED KNIGHT HAS FELT FATE’S FURY AS CORVUS KILLED HIM WITH FIRE!
Redwing is out as Corvus surveys the damage, drawing a new blade. But a voice comes out of the sky as a spotlight shines on Corvus.
“Initiating Capture Protocol”
The Crow is quickly held up against the alley wall by some kind of device. He struggles against it, but cannot move.
He may have won the war tonight, but Redwing isn’t done with Corvus yet.
Backstage
A duo of EMTs are fussing about Albert Shaw, removing his bandage from his stab wound.
“I can pull the blasted thing off myself, stop pussyfooting around.”
Alby pushes the EMTs out of the way and rips the rest of the bandage off his skin, revealing a well healed wound, scarred over nicely as a reminder of the asshole who put it there.
Alby runs his fingers over the wound, drawing in a deep breath as a commotion catches his attention. One of the EMTs comes sprawling backwards, falling almost at Shaw’s feet. The other drops like a sack of potatoes on the spot, a large knife blade sticking out of his back.
Stepping over the paramedic’s gasping carcass, CXDY marches himself over to where Alby stands with a sick grin on his face. He pulls the blade out of the paramedic’s back, and the second paramedic scrambles to put pressure on the wound while CXDY eyeballs Shaw.
“The time is finally here…”
CXDY begins, raising a knife still dripping blood up to Shaw’s face. Shaw doesn’t flinch even as the tip of the blade scratches his cheek.
“I hope you’ve put your affairs in order, because you’re leaving here in a fucking casket.”
Shaw smiles, despite the knife in his face.
“Cute…” CXDY is somewhat taken aback by the observation, but has no time to retort before Shaw continues.
“Bloke up the street when we were growing up had a dog. A real nasty looking fucker. All of us kids were afraid of it. It would snarl and bark as soon as it laid eyes on you. Well… When our ball went over the fence, guess who was chosen to go and get it back from the dog’s yard?”
CXDY blinks, not sure if the question is rhetorical or if Shaw is really asking him. Shaw answers his own question.
“Me. Well, I stepped foot into that property, shitting bricks I’ll tell ya’. But as soon as I opened the gate, the fucking mutt ran for the fucking porch. A whimpering fucking mess. All bark and no bite.”
Shaw presses his cheek into the blade, allowing the knife to cut deeper.
“So… Tell me, Mr Perfection… Are you really ready to spill blood, or are you all bark and no bite?”
A single trail of blood flows down Shaw’s cheek as he pulls away from the knife. CXDY responds without so much as words, but swiping the knife at his jugular, narrowly missing a fatal blow. Shaw smiles as he backs away, clapping his hands slowly.
“Good. Then I’ll see you in the ring old mate.”
Cut.
Fourteen months ago, Jessie Williams first stepped foot in OSW to save his father. He’s weathered demons, butted heads with twizted clowns and withstood the tempest of the storm but now he fights the one fight he never wanted but needs to step out of an all-encompassing shadow. Can the Prince shed anothers laurels to become a true hero or is his father right and he’s not ready?
The bell sounds as father and son stand nose to nose, no trace of emotion to be found in either man until Jessie rears back, quick as can be and slaps the ever loving piss out of Ash.
Ash holds his cheek for a moment, chuckling to himself before exploding forward with a clothesline that Jessie ducks. Ash quickly turning around into a flurry of punches before Jessie grabs the back of Ash’s head and begins leathering him with stiff forearms, the final shot almost an uppercut that snaps Ash’s head back and causes him to stagger back in pain.
Ash wipes away at his now busted open nose, looking down at the streak of blood on his hand and smiling.
With that, he shoots his right hand forward as the Boomstick detaches, gripping Jessie by the shoulder and pulling him forward into a mammoth Lariat that turns him inside out.
Jessie stumbles to his feet, the Boomstick still attached to his shoulder as Ash spins him around, peppering him with left jabs and hooks while the right hand constantly spins in a circle before letting go. Jessie’s dizzy as hell, walking right into a kick to the gut
GET A HELMET! DOUBLE ARM DDT!
Ash drills his son with the trademark move of his brother from another mother before dropping down, looking for that dragonclutch but Jessie quickly scoots over to the ropes, knowing that submission far too well. Ash tries to pull Jessie back up but he slides through the ropes to the apron, snapshotting the King’s throat over the ropes with one fluid motion
Ash stumbles back while Jessie steadies himself on the apron before leaping off
SPRINGBOARD FOREARM! Ash crashes hard to the mat as Jessie rolls to his feet, leaping up to the top rope before flying off
CALL OF THE CHOSEN! SWANTON BOMBS AWAY! Jessie quickly hooks the leg for the cover
ONE
……..
……….
TWO
………
KICKOUT!
Ash gets to one knee as Jessie springboards off the ropes but he can’t get that low dropkick as the Chosen One rolls away at the last second before leaping up and popping a rising Jessie in the jaw with a huge knee before driving him between his legs and lifting him high up into the air
HAIL TO THE….
NO! Jessie slips out, slamming Ash face first to the mat as he does before drilling a rising Ash with a stiff roundhouse kick to the face. Jessie powers his dad up into the air with a stalling suplex
ALL FUCKING HAIL! ORANGE CRUSH POWERBOMB! That has to be it as Jessie rolls through for the cover
ONE
……..
………
TWO
……….
………..
THR…2.999!
Ash stumbles up to his feet as Jessie rushes forward
BOOMSTICK! Ash tries for his trademark but Jessie just bats it away, before unleashing one of his own.
Ash doesn’t go down as he spits blood on the mat and steadies himself for a moment before speaking in almost a whisper that Jessie barely hears
“Klaatu”
BOOMSTICK! Jessie has a furious look on his face, knowing exactly what Ash is about to do but Ash doesn’t go down.
“Barada”
Jessie sends the fist flying over Ash’s head as it bounces off the ropes before slamming hard into the back of the Chosen One’s skull
BOOYAH TO THE BACK OF THE SKULL! Jessie is just unloading on his dad here but something is keeping the King conscious. Blood spills down Ash’s mouth as he speaks once more.
“Nik…Nik…”
Jessie chuckles to himself, breathing a deep sigh of relief before shaking his head.
“You could never remember the word could you dad? One fucking word that ruins everything and you had to try it…dad just stay down please. I don’t want to hurt you anymore. ”
Ash laughs to himself, spitting out blood on the mat as he struggles to not collapse
“That’s the reason you ain’t ready kid, you don’t have the balls to finish the fight. Because you should know better then anyone Jessie…”
Ash stares directly at his son with that cocky ass grin of his
“I always knew the fucking words”
“NIKTO”
BOOYAH….ASH CATCHES IT!
The Chosen One stands up, black veins covering his face as his eyes have turned pure white. Deadite Ash grins a sadistic grin, gripping the other Boomstick in his hand before crushing it into a crumpled piece of metal with ease before staring down the terrified looking Jessie.
“My turn”
Ash rushes forward with tremendous speed, taking Jessie by surprise with a massive right hand that sends the Prince flying into the corner. Ash follows up with a huge spear to the midsection that nearly cuts the kid in half before he uppercuts him up high, sending Jessie flying into the air before Ash leaps up high
HAIL TO THE EMPEROR! FLYING SPINNING PILEDRIVER!
Jessie nearly gets his neck broken from that impact but Ash isn’t done, pulling his son up…KNEELING JAWBREAKER! Deadite Ash is temporarily stunned as Jessie rushes to the ropes, trying for that springboard Dropkick
BOOMSTICK!
Ash decimates Jessie in mid-air with that massive Superman Punch as the Prince collapses to the mat, Ash dropping down for the sure victory
ONE
……..
………
TWO
……….
…………
THRE….2.999! JESSIE SOMEHOW KICKS OUT!
Ash scowls to himself, shaking his head before he begins to power up the Boomstick. 110…150…300%. Jessie stumbles up to his feet right into a flurry of rights, lefts, hooks and overhands before a huge uppercut doesn’t send Jessie flying but sends him hard into the ropes.
Ash rushes forward to finish the job but stops mid-run from a kneeling, crying Jessie.
“Dad…stop please. I just want to go home”
The veins fade, Ash’s eyes go back to normal as he drops down to his knees, hugging Jessie to his side as a tear drops down his eye and he doesn’t notice Jessie grow a cocky smile
OKLAHOMA ROLL! JESSIE ROLLS ASH UP OUT OF NOWHERE
ONE
……..
……….
TWO
……….
………..
…………
THREE!!!
The Prince steals this victory out of nowhere, using his intelligence to snap Ash out of his serum boost as Jessie gets his hand raised, Ash just sitting on the mat dumbfounded but he cannot help but be proud.
Fremont County, Colorado
ADX Florence: Supermax Prison
It’s the middle of the night, and it’s storming in Colorado. But the real storm is in a tense situation at the front gate of the facility.
Several officers stand in the fog covered ground with their weapons locked and loaded at the two men stood before them.
Redwing and Corvus.
The Crow has been bound by the Red Knight, and is only keeping his head bowed. Several officers come forward to take Corvus and lead him into the facility.
As Corvus is lead in, a man comes out in a suit. He nods at the officers still aiming at Redwing.
“Dismissed.”
One of them refuses to stand down.
“Major Kane!” He yells through the storm. “This is a vigilante.”
Kane turns with a harsh stare.
“Dismissed!”
Finally, the officer stands down, leaving Kane with Redwing. There’s an awkward silence between the two of them.
Redwing nods, and begins to turn away when Kane speaks, his voice softer this time.
“Sarah would be proud of you.”
The Caped Crusader comes to a halt, turning to face the officer with a confused expression. Kane shrugs.
“Last time I saw you was at the burial, wasn’t it? I never thought I’d be burying my sister.”
Kane pauses, swallowing.
“But I saw that look in your eyes that day. It’s the same one I’m staring at now.”
Redwing lowers his head.
“Ben, I…” He stops.
Sarah Kirby’s (formerly Kane) brother, Bill’s brother-in-law, Ben Kane, smiles at him.
“No explanations.” Kane jerks his head away from the gate. “Get out of here before they decide to arrest you. Corvus won’t ever leave this place, I can assure you of that.”
Redwing smiles for the first time in a long time.
“The night’s always darkest just before the dawn, isn’t it?”
The words hang in the air as Ben processes them.
“Sun always comes up, Bill.”
They nod at one another as Redwing turns to vanish into the night just as the fog begins to lift.
Cut.
Welcome to Wonderland! It’s time for our throne match! Who will become the queen after all this? We find out next!
Pyre is waiting at the entrance and is flanked by the Red Knight and The Knave of Hearts. She’s tapping her foot in impatience.
A horn sounds!
Alice and her legion are here!
Pyre shouts, “lower the bridge!”
The drawbridge is lowered and the legion rush in!
WELCOME TO WONDERLAND!
Alice levels Pyre with the storybook!
DING! DING!
This match is on! Alice starts stomping away on Pyre! With every stomp she shouts! Stomp! “This is for Hatter!” Stomp! “This is for March Hare!” Stomp! “This is for…”
Thud!
BIG BOOT FROM THE RED KNIGHT!
HE PULLS ALICE UP!
DROP TOE HOLD FROM THE KNIGHT!
ALICE FALLS INTO A CODEBREAKER FROM THE KNAVE OF HEARTS!
Pyre pulls herself up and starts stomping away on Alice for revenge. She mocks Alice with every stomp. Stomp! “This is for that little coward hatter!” Stomp! “this is for the even sadder hare!” Stomp! “This is for me bitch!” Stomp!
PYRE TELLS THE KNIGHT TO CARRY HER!
HE HOISTS HER ON HIS SHOULDERS!
SHE STANDS ON THEM WAITING FOR ALICE TO GET UP!
THE WHITE KNIGHT SNEAKS BEHIND THE RED KNIGHT!
GERMAN SUPLEX!
HE TOSSES THE OTHER KNIGHT WHILE PYRE CRUMPLES INTO A HEAP!
PYRE PULLS HERSELF UP BUT THE BISHOP CHARGES FROM AN ANGLE!
CLAYMORE KICK!
Both Pyre and Alice are down but Alice is getting up first! She sees a plaque that says throne room and she is marching her way to it! A guard tries to stop her but she hits a jumping knee strike! She sees others coming to her and she starts running towards the door!
POUNCE!
THE KNAVE POUNCES HER INTO THE WALL BY THE THRONE ROOM!
HE PULLS HER UP AND GOES FOR A POWERBOMB!
HE HAS HER ON HIS SHOULDERS!
NO! SHE COUNTERS IT!
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE!
X FACTOR TO THE KNAVE!
She tries to pull herself up to go to the throne room but Pyre has caught up to her! Backstabber! Alice is down! Pyre laughs and marches to the throne room! The White Knight and The Bishop make their way to her!
FIRE BLAST BY PYRE!
SHE HITS THE BISHOP!
THE WHITE KNIGHT TRIES TO GRAB HER!
LOW BLOW!
STUNNER!
THE KNIGHT IS DOWN!
PYRE CHARGES THE FLAMING BISHOP AND HITS A SHINING WIZARD!
SHE TURNS AROUND INTO MAD TEA PARTY!
DISCUS LARIAT BY ALICE!
The Knights, the Knave, The Bishop, and Pyre are all down! Alice is marching her way to the throne room! She opens the door and she’s inside! This is her best chance to get to sit but she’s frozen in place! Pyre sits up laughing! What’s going on?
THE THRONE ROOM DOESN’T LOOK LIKE IT BELONGS TO THE QUEEN.
IT LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE THE TEA PARTY HATTER HELD ALL THOSE YEARS AGO.
SOMETHING IS COMPLETELY WRONG THOUGH.
IT’S COMPLETELY DARK.
THERE IS NO LAUGHING. THERE IS NO CHEER.
JUST A SILHOUETTE AT THE END OF THE TABLE IN THIS DARK ROOM.
PYRE SHOOTS FIRE AT THE CHANDELIER!
THE ROOM LIGHTS UP!
IN THE THRONE IS A HEADLESS HATTER. THE CHAIR NEXT TO HIM HOLDS HIS HEAD.
ALICE SMILES?
She’s laughing. Pyre looks shocked, “Why are you laughing? Why are you laughing?!” Alice shakes her head and looks at her. “Don’t you realize? He would have loved this, getting to party even in death. If that’s not Hatter, nothing is. The funny thing is you now know me more than most and you couldn’t figure this out.” Alice smirks.
PYRE HAS HEARD ENOUGH!
SHE SHATTERS A PLATE ON ALICE’S SKULL!
ALICE IS FALLING BUT PYRE CATCHES HER!
FLATLINER INTO THE TABLE!
ALICE SLUMPS AGAINST THE TABLE!
Pyre pulls herself up and is marching to the throne! She’s walking slowly to the throne! She knows it’s hers to lose! She mockly bows to the Mad Hatter before she starts to pull him off the throne!
“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!”
ALICE SPRINTS DOWN THE TABLE AND HITS A METEORA!
SHE PULLS PYRE UP ONTO THE TABLE!
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE!
X FACTOR ON THE TABLE!
Alice makes her way to the throne and instead of pulling her friend up, she gives him a hug. “I’m sorry, I never got the chance to say goodbye. I’m so sorry that this happened to you. It’s all my fault.”
“SAY IT TO HIS FACE!”
PYRE LEVELS ALICE WITH HATTER’S HEAD!
PYRE THROWS THE HATTER TO THE FLOOR!
PYRE IS ABOUT TO SIT ON THE THRONE!
ALICE TRIES TO GRAB PYRE’S LEG BUT PYRE PULLS HER IN!
SIT OUT PILEDRIVER ON THE THRONE!
ALICE FALLS AND PYRE STAYS SEATED!
PYRE REMAINS THE QUEEN!
What a win! Alice gave everything she had and then some but Pyre gets to rule all of Wonderland now!
No-one can quite believe.
Pyre rules Wonderland. She sits on her throne with a sinister smirk, waving over a couple of guards and pointing at Alice on the floor. They rush towards her, pulling her back to her feet.
“It’s mine,” she angrily says, tapping her chest. “I told you that it’d all be mine, didn’t I Alice?”
Alice tries to fight off the guards but can’t.
“I won’t let you get away with this,” she screams back. “For as long as there’s breath in my lungs, I’ll be your insurrection.”
Pyre stands up with a knowing nod.
“I figured you’d say that. It still makes me laugh that you think I give a fuckin’ shit about this place,” she says, looking out of a large window that overlooks Wonderland. “Bring her here.”
The guards drag her over to the window.
“You’ve forgotten who I am and what I want, Alice; all I really want is to watch the world burn.”
She clicks her fingers and explosions suddenly begin decimating Wonderland. For as far as the eye can see, everything begins blowing up – turning into monstrous fireballs. Sweet Alice screams in sorrow, but that just makes Pyre smile more.
“And before I leave this shit hole once and for good, I wanted nothing more than you to see me destroy it.”
Alice somehow breaks free of her guards, rushing towards Pyre angrily. She tackles her to the floor and starts throwing right hands at her.
“You’ve killed them all!!” She roars enraged.
The guards pull her off, dragging her away.
“You’re fuckin’ right I did,” she admits. “Every single God damn last one of them were sat on explosives and didn’t even know it. It didn’t matter if I won the throne or not, Alice; this was always the end. My very own gunpowder plot.”
She walks over to her enemy and grabs her by the face.
“I’m gonna make sure I burn this whole fucking place to the ground and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Pyre reminds her. “Now, off with her head.”
The guards drag Sweet Alice kicking and screaming outside of the castle and towards the guillotine as Pyre watches with a huge smile on her face. There’s smoke, fire and flame in every direction as they force Alice down into her restraints and prepare the guillotine.
“Any last words?” Pyre asks.
“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then; there’s no going back for you, Pyre. This is who you are now; the murderer of a civilisation, the destroyer of an entire universe. The blood of every person here is on your hands, including mine.”
She nods.
“How quaint and poetic,” she says nodding at the holder of the blade.
Just then, it womps down with great force across Sweet Alice’s neck, cutting it clean off. As her head rolls down the steps towards Pyre’s feet, the destroyer of this world chuckles maniacally.
With flames raging behind her, she picks up the head by the hair and smiles.
“Some women just want to watch the world burn, Dear Alice,” she remarks, peering over her shoulder into the flames. Wonderland is burning behind her. “And boy do I love the smell.”
Cut.
As the cage lowers Simon has nowhere to run. Can he once again find a way to outwit Deathnote?
The bell rings and Simon keep his distance from the approaching Deathnote, skirting around the edge of the ring! Deathnote gets tired of games and rushes Simon!
BUT HE GETS HIT WITH A DROP TOE HOLD! DEATHNOTE SLAMS FACE FIRST AGAINST THE CAGE!
Simon lays a boot to Deathnote’s skull and nails him into the cage! Another kick ends with him grabbing the ropes and forcing Deathnote face first against the cell wall! The Taskmaster only lets up once Deathnote slips out of the trap!
The Author of Death turns around and get nailed with a kick to the gut!
SIMONPLEX! FISHERMAN SUPLEX DOWNS HIM!
Simon is quick to get up, wiping his feet on Deathnote as he gets to the cage wall and begins to climb! He gets half way up-
BUT DEATHNOTE IS QUICK! HE’S ALREADY ON THE ROPES AND LAYS INTO SIMON WITH A MASSIVE SHORT ARM CLOTHESLINE THAT HITS HIM INTO THE CELL!
Deathnote headbutts Simon, relishing it after finally getting his hands on Simon! He hauls Simon onto his shoulders while standing on the ropes!
LEAPING GTS FROM THE ROPES! GATHER THY SOUL LANDS WITH DEVESTATING IMPACT AS SIMON IS BUSTED WIDE FUCKING OPEN ON DEATHNOTE’S KNEE!
Blood splatters across the mat as Simon hits the ground and Deathnote lays into Simon with a plethora of boots, stomping a mudhole in the Taskmaster without remorse!
He goes to the turnbuckle, rising to the top and looking down at Simon for a moment before leaping off!
KISS OF DEATH! LEAPING DOUBLE FOOTSTOMP!
NO!
SIMON ROLLS OUT OF THE WAY!
Deathnote rolls on landing and gets up- RIGHT INTO A SPINNING BACKFIST! GAMBIT BY SIMON!
The Taskmaster chuckles and grabs Deathnote by the legs!
CHECKMATE! SIMON LOCKS IN THE FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK AND DEMANDS THAT DEATHNOTE TAP OUT! BUT THE SHINIGAMI REFUSES TO QUIT!
He claws for the ropes and grabs hold! But there’s no rope breaks! Simon wrenches on the hold as hard as he can, Deathnote can’t hang on!
BUT DEATHNOTE GRABS THE CAGE! HE USES IT TO TURN THE FIGURE FOUR! HE’S REVERSING THE LEVERAGE! SIMON HOWLS IN PAIN AS HIS OWN MOVE IS TURNED ON HIM!
But Deathnote doesn’t stop there! He tries to climb the cage, increasing the pressure! Simon lets go and rolls away but gets clobbered as soon as he stands by a massive haymaker from Deathnote!
The Shinigami mounts Simon, laying into him with lefts and rights, each one harder than the last and drawing more blood from Simon’s already crimson masked face!
DOUBLE HAMMER FIST TO THE FACE BY DEATHNOTE!
Simon goes limp beneath Deathnote but he has no intentions of leaving as he goes to hook the leg! The referee begins the count!
ONE!
…
…
TWO!
…
…
THREE!
BANG!
BRIGHT LIGHT ERUPTS FROM THE PIN! THE REFEREE AND DEATHNOTE ARE BLINDED! SIMON JUST USED A FLASHBANG TO ESCAPE THE PIN!
He rolls to his feet and stalks Deathnote as he stumbles around the ring! Sleeper slam by Simon sends Deathnote into the ground! The Taskmaster looks confident as he reaches into his suit again!
HE’S GOT A PAIR OF HANDCUFFS! HE CUFFS ONE END AROUND DEATHNOTE’S WRIST AND GOES TO PLACE THE OTHER ON THE CAGE!
BUT DEATHNOTE FIGHTS BACK! HIS EARS ARE STILL RINGING BUT HE’S FIGHTING WITH ALL HE’S GOT! HE NAILS SIMON WITH A HAYMAKER! HE DIGS THE METAL OF THE HANDCUFF INTO SIMON’S FOREHEAD!
Simon is floored and Deathnote places the other handcuff on the same wrist, stopping it from being used against him! He peels Simon off of the ground!
TURN THE PAGE! SISTER ABIGAIL RIGHT INTO THE GOD DAMN STEEL CAGE!
DEATHNOTE COVERS AGAIN!
ONE!
…
…
TWO!
…
…
THREE!
NO!
KICKOUT! SIMON JUST KICKED OUT OF THE STO!
Deathnote can’t believe it! He angrily tries to hook the leg again but Simon once again pushes out! Deathnote slams an elbow to Simon’s nose and heaves him up onto his shoulders!
DYING WISH! THE BURNING HAMMER FROM DEATHNOTE!
BUT SIMON SLIPS OFF HIS SHOULDERS!
LOWBLOW! LOWBLOW BY THE TASKMASTER TO DEATHNOTE! HE LEAPS OVER WITH A FLOAT OVER DDT AND PLANTS DEATHNOTE IN THE FUCKING DIRT!
Neither man is moving as both of them try to find it in them to keep fighting! Simon wipes the blood from his face, leaving a messy handprint on the mat as he slowly rises! Meanwhile Deathnote does the same behind him!
DEATHNOTE LEAPS! FLYING CLOTHESLINE TO SIMON!
Simon slams into the ground and Deathnote rolls to the corner! He’s calling for it! He wants it!
THE SHINIGAMI RUSHES FORWARDS! STROKE OF THE PEN!
MASSIVE SKULL CRACKING PUNT KICK! BLOOD ARCS THROUGH THE GOD DAMN AIR AS SIMON GETS FLATTENED!
KILL! IT! WITH! FIRE!
DEATHNOTE COLLAPSES ON TOP OF HIM!
ONE!
…
…
TWO!
…
…
THREE!
THERE’S NO KICKING OUT OF THAT! DEATHNOTE HAS DONE IT!
Both men have been through hell here tonight! Deathnote has just proven not even Simon can escape his grasp forever!
The match has finally come to an end, the cage slowly rising from around the two men as they struggle to their feet. However, Deathnote is up first, the Shinigami grabbing hold of Simon and wrenching him to his feet.
“Our match was a formality, Simon. Hand over the pages, allow me to set everything right.”
Simon merely laughs, an almost psychotic chuckle as Deathnote looks on in confusion.
“You truly believe those pages still exist, do you?”
“What?
Deathnote is incredulous, pushing the Taskmaster back and watching as he continues to chuckle.
“This little game of cat and mouse has been fun, Deathnote. But you truly believe I kept them in one piece, after all this time?”
Simon points at Deathnote mockingly, smiling despite the blood dripping down his face.
“I burned them. I set them alight mere days after I won them! Was it a gamble? Of course! But I sacrificed the Queen for a chance at immortality and succeeded!”
Deathnote looks on at Simon for a moment, but now? It was his turn to chuckle. A dark, menacing laugh rumbling from deep within his chest.
“Erased from history, your pages left to flutter in the wind? Simon, you’ve been dead for years.”
Confused, Simon approaches Deathnote, almost snarling at him!
“Dead? But you’ve been chasing me for centuries! Have you been following a ghost, you fool?”
“Of course not, Simon. I’ve been following a corpse. I know now why I truly can’t kill you, and it’s because the universe doesn’t recognize you as living.”
He pauses, opening his tome.
“You’ve been dead since you burned those pages. But now, you shall be born again in the pages of my book. You sacrificed the Queen, Simon. But now I’m taking the King.”
A few strokes of his pen across the parchment and Simon stumbles back, dazed and weary. Deathnote turns the page towards Simon as he collapses to a knee.
‘Simon.
Born at Ring of Dreams.’
The ink sinks into the page as Simon gasps for air. Deathnote turns to leave, chuckling.
“I don’t need to kill you. But now, you are mortal once more. Enjoy this new chapter in your life, Simon. The first chapter.”
Deathnote exits the ring, leaving Simon in shock as we fade to black.
Cut.
A man sits upon a Church pew, his head bowed in prayer. There’s an eerie silence within the building that indicates a true peacefulness as he concludes, slowly raising his head to meet us.
It’s then that someone clears their throat.
That person walks into frame wearing a robe – a robe we’ve seen before with D’von Chambers. He takes a seat next to the man, bowing his head.
“Your father fought to share the divine light of Yahweh with the world,” the person says carefully. “He made mistakes in misinterpreting the message, but his heart was true.”
The person doesn’t look towards him, he just stares forward.
“Christianity has long been abandoned by the masses who upon seeing the death of Yahweh, became hopeless and Godless. They need something to believe in, Sanctus; someone to show them the path to enlightenment.”
Sanctus Bellator.
The man we first met praying here is none other than Sanctus Bellator.
“After what I’ve been privy to, I don’t understand why you’re telling me this?” Sanctus replies. “I’ve made mistakes too.”
The hooded figure nods.
“No one man is without imperfections,” he says promisingly, placing an arm around his shoulder. “It is how that man perseveres that is important.”
Sanctus turns to look at him with a frown.
“What do you want from me?” He asks earnestly.
The hooded figure reaches inside his cloak and removes a pink and yellow mask; one that looks almost identical to something Lux Bellator himself would’ve worn.
He hands it to Sanctus – who just for a moment, looks confused.
“The world needs the message of our Lord and it needs to be delivered by someone special. Your father was Lux Bellator – a Light Warrior. You cannot be him; that is not your message.”
Sanctus frowns.
“You must be a different kind of hero; a Holy Warrior.”
The hooded figure stands up and slowly begins to walk away, leaving Sanctus behind, looking at the mask. He stops at the door before he leaves, making his final declaration.
“Take your destiny,” he says proudly. “Take Christianity back to the masses; educate, enlighten and illuminate. The world needs you, Sanctus Bellator. It’s time to rise.”
Cut.
The Beast of Slaughter was contained once, but he remains undefeated inside The Slaughterhouse! He’s hungry for power and wants to devour The Mountain. Can Banzan survive or will Leif Helvig drink from the Wellspring tonight?
As the pre-match formalities are completed Banzan and Helvig stand across from each other. DING! DING! They ran from their corners and centre ring a collision and a flurry of fists. Lefts and rights from both men, flesh flapping against flesh as these physical monstrosities exchange muscle, bone, perspiration and God knows what else. Helvig grabs Banzan….
VALKYRIE KALLAR!!!
FALLAWAY SLAM SHAKING THE RING WITH AN IMPACT FELT ON THE RICHTER SCALE!!!
Helvig is on his feet and he’s laying the boot into Banzan like a drunken rugby thug battering a hobo on a Saturday night. The Indestructible Mountain lives up to his name as he fights upwards through the onslaught, throwing in a flurry of strikes, the Viking is suddenly stunned.
FIVE POINT PALM STRIKES!
TIGER CLAW!!!
The final strike channels a devastating force and sends Helvig literally flying across the ring into a turnbuckle. The Beast of Slaughter looks a little bit shaken by that. But Banzan is already charging in like a runaway freight train
FRIGÖRA!!!!
HELVIG EXPLODED OUT OF THE CORNER!!!!
HE NEARLY BROKE THE MOUNTAIN IN HALF!!!
The referee is on the spot…
ONE!
But Helvig pushes him away. He’s not finished playing with his food yet.
The Beast of Slaughter drags Banzan to his feet and a stiff headbutt sends The Mountain stumbling onto the ropes. Helvig moves across and ties Banzan’s throat between the top and middle rope.
GLEIPNIR’S BOUND!!!
Helvig walks away from his quarry, leaving Banzan to choke, the ropes bound so tight around his throat he cannot free himself. The Mountain’s face is turning red, his lips and eyes bulging. The Viking has a wicked smile on his face.
FRIGÖRA!!!!
Another one of those sickening violent gores – this time through the ropes, tearing Banzan out of the choke and sending over 600lbs of flesh into a collision with the cold concrete of this cavern of combat, conjuring a cringed choral cry from the captivated crowd.
ONE!
The referee begins to count…
TWO!
THREE!
Movement from Helvig.
FOUR!
FIVE!
Banzan begins to stir.
SIX!
Leif is back on his feet.
SEV-
Helvig drags Banzan up and blasts him with a huge forearm.
NO!!!
THE MOUNTAIN DUCKS!!!
DUKKHA!!!!
SAITO SUPLEX INTO THE CONCRETE!!!!
The ref is there with the count again but before he reaches four The Viking is back on his feet, but what’s that on his face?
THE BEAST OF SLAUGHTER IS BLEEDING!!!
BANZAN HAS BROKEN THE FLESH OF HELVIG!!!
The Mountain runs down a dazed Helvig with a clothesline of his big, sweaty, ham hock of a bicep. Banzan goes under the ring and pulls out two items.
A KATANA SWORD!!!
AND A VIKING BATTLEAXE!!!
Helvig has no problem in beating the referee’s count with plenty to spare. Once back to a vertical base, Banzan tosses Helvig the battleaxe and unsheaths the sword.
There is a momentous pop from the crowd as these two creatures of war charge and then a deadly clang of steel on steel. They trade swipes and thrusts, parries and blocks – neither man gets the advantage, it’s like they are reading each other’s minds as this battle between sword and axe travels around the ring.
Eventually their combat spills into the ring. Banzan makes a tired looking lunge, which Helvig dodges like he’s stopped time and then with a devastating speed of reflex, The Beast of Slaughter shifts his weight and in one powerful downward thrust buries the battle axe deep into Banzan’s right shoulder…
…slicing through flesh, bone and muscle about six inches so that The Mountain’s arm is practically hanging off.
There is mournful silence, punctured by the sound of Banzan’s dropped sword hitting the mat. The Mountain slumps to his knees, blood pouring out of his mouth.
ONE!
The count begins…
TWO!
THREE!
FOUR!
A pool of blood is forming below The Mountain.
FIVE!
SIX!
A purple haze begins to form around Banzan.
SEVEN!
The purple haze begins to grow!
EIGHT!!
The ref spots the haze, his jaw drops and he stops the count.
Banzan rips the axe out of his body and drops into the Lotus position. The purple hue grows until it fully envelopes Banzan.
DRAWING FROM THE WELLSPRING!!!!
BANZAN IS HEALING HIMSELF!!!!
Helvig charges in and starts pounding away at Banzan, BUT IT’S HAVING NO IMPACT!!!
Banzan rises to his feet and GRABS Helvig by the throat.
The INDESTRUCTIBLE Mountain lifts Helvig into the air by the throat with an otherworldly force.
There is a faint whistle and out of nowhere come Hati and Skoll to attack Banzan. The Mountain drops Helvig and tries to contend with the wolves. Eventually he grabs each of them by the throat and subdues – but does not kill – the wolves.
Helvig is rising and he’s fucking pissed off. The Mountain draws the purple hue into a ball of energy between his hands and thrusts it towards The Beast of Slaughter.
ENLIGHTENMENT OF THE MOUNTAIN!!!
KILL
IT
WITH
F-
NO!!!!
BLOCKED!!!!
HELVIG GRABBED HIS BATTLEAXE AND DEFLECTED THE CHARGE!!!
FRIGÖRA!!!!
THE SQUELCH AND CRUNCH OF MUSCLE AND BONE OBLITERATED IS HEARD AROUND THE GLOBE!!!
HELVIG MOUNTS BANZAN…
THE BEAST OF SLAUGHTER POUNDS AWAY!!!
RASERI I SLAKTERIET!!!!
KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!
ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
FOUR!
FIVE!
SIX!
SEVEN!
EIGHT!
NINE!
Banzan is sparked out!
TEN!!!
The Beast Of Slaughter is THE LAST MAN STANDING and remains unbeaten inside The Slaughterhouse.
That fight was absolutely God damn brutal.
Both men are struggling to remain on or get back to their feet in the middle of the ring and who can blame them?
It’s The Mountain, however, that runs Helvig into the corner as he gets back up – getting some kind of second wind. He rolls to the outside and heads under the ring, returning with something special in his hands.
Handcuffs.
He slides back in and looks down at Helvig – a huge decision to make.
“Do it!” A voice bellows. It’s the very man Banzan has been talking to for weeks now and he’s storming down the entrance ramp. “Get them on him now, whilst you have the chance.”
Helvig looks entirely confused.
The Mountain reaches down, slapping the cuffs on as quickly as he can. Leif tries to stand, but he can’t move.
Whatever these cuffs are made of, they completely nullify him.
The man enters the ring, clapping – utterly thrilled that Banzan made what he’d call the right decision.
He walks over to Helvig, slamming him with a powerful right hand.
“You did it,” he says with surprise. “You conquered and captured him.”
“What happens now?” Banzan demands to know.
The man calls to the entrance ramp, watching as numerous others rush out with a gurney. They’re going to cart Helvig away.
“As I promised, I’m taking him far away from here; he won’t bother you any longer,” the man says, proud of himself. He watches as his minions load a completely nullified Leif Helvig onto the gurney and wheel him away.
As he turns to leave, Banzan grabs him by the arm – stopping him.
“I must be assured that not only will he never return, but that you can be trusted,” he says, looking him dead in the eyes.
The man whips his arm away.
“He’s gone,” he assures The Mountain. “And that means to you, he’s as good as dead.”
The Mountain watches as the unknown man walks away, leaving him stood in the middle of the ring with his hands on hips.
What happens to Leif Helvig now?
Cut.
LADDER MATCH
A friendship betrayed for the green as CXDY looks to ruin the life of the man he trusted starting with the Double Feature Championship. Can CXDY get his revenge against the Guv’nor or will his rage be his undoing?
The bell barely gets to sound as CXDY rushes forward, nearly taking Shaw’s head off with a massive Big Boot, nearly breaking his jaw in the process. Shaw rolls to his feet right into a flurry of lefts and rights before a stiff headbutt sends him back into the ropes. Shaw bounces off, delivering one of his own that just makes CXDY smirk before he spins around, delivering a brutal shotei to the jaw that sends Shaw staggering into the ropes
BIG IN JAPAN! Shaw gets sent tumbling to the outside from that huge Lariat but he barely gets back up to his feet before CXDY dives over the ropes
PESCADO!
CXDY lands hard on Shaw, mounting him and drilling him with hard lefts and rights, a furious onslaught that Shaw only gets away from after a thumb to the eye. Shaw backs up, trying to get some distance between him and the rampaging CXDY who springs up to his feet, rushing forward
DROP TOE HOLD ON THE STEEL STEPS!
Shaw suckered CXDY in there, the veteran’s head slamming against the steel before Shaw throws him back into the ring. Shaw grabs a steel chair from ringside before trying to get back inside. CXDY is up on his feet as he tries to leap up and kick the chair into Shaw’s head but he’s ready for it, ducking underneath the kick before nearly taking CXDY’s head off with a huge chair shot as the reflection of perfection rolls back to his feet.
Shaw tosses the chair back into the ring before climbing back in himself, pulling the dazed CXDY up to his feet and landing a stiff knee to the temple before picking him up like a sack of shit and dropping him onto the back of his head with a Backdrop Driver!
CXDY stumbles up to his feet, eyes glazed over as he’s picked up by the back of the head and damn near bowled into the turnbuckles. CXDY slowly pulls himself up right as Shaw rushes forward, crushing him with a huge Avalanche Splash before the Guv’nor climbs up top and begins to rain down the devastating elbow strikes
ONE…TWO…THREE..FOUR…FIVE…SIX…SEVEN
LOW BLOW!
CXDY stops the need for stitches with that devastating punch to the cock. Shaw stumbles backwards, holding his twig and berries as he’s lifted up off his feet with a Northern Lights Suplex before CXDY rolls through
DEADLIFT BRAINBUSTER! INSTANT REPLAY!
Shaw bounces off the canvas before he’s pulled up to his knees, CXDY slapping his elbow as he’s looking to show Albert the eye. He bounces off the ropes
EYE OF THE S…DROP TOE HOLD!
Shaw avoids the sprinting elbow at the last moment, tripping CXDY’s throat right onto the middle rope as the reflection stumbles out, choking right into a headlock from Shaw
HEADLOCK DRIVER!
Shaw just planted CXDY into the mat but he’s not done as he picks up the fallen steel chair, waiting for CXDY to slowly get to his feet before delivering a mighty swing
YOUR FORETOLD DESTINY TO THE STEEL CHAIR! CXDY kicks that bitch right back into Shaw’s face as he busts him wide open but CXDY isn’t done, picking Shaw up as he lifts him high into the air
PERFECT ENDING ON THE STEEL CHAIR! Shaw’s a bloody fucking mess here as all CXDY has to do is grab that ladder and he’s got this in the bag but he’s not moving out of the ring, he just looks at his side, putting one hand down into his boots before pulling out that switch blade.
He slices the knife down Shaw’s cheek, leaving a thin bloodied line before grabbing Shaw’s hand. HE’S GONNA TAKE A SOUVENIR FROM THE GUV’NOR HERE!
CXDY raises the knife high as he brings it down on Shaw’s finger
BLOOD TO THE EYES! Shaw just spat blood into CXDY’s eyes, blinding him for a moment as this allows Shaw to get to his feet, rolling back as CXDY wipes his eyes clean
GBH! THE CLAYMORE KICK HITS HARD AND CXDY MAY BE OUT!
Shaw stops for a moment, quickly kicking the knife out of the ring as he wipes the blood from his eyes before rolling out of the ring and grabbing a ladder from ringside. He rolls it back inside but he barely gets it set up before CXDY is stirring on the mat.
Shaw looks pissed as he tries to pull CXDY up, looking to deliver more damage but he’s tripped up on the mat as CXDY locks in a crossface, pulling back with all his might as Shaw screams out in pain.
The blood dripping down his face, Shaw taps out over and over but submissions don’t count for shit in this match as the Guv’nor slowly passes out from the pain, CXDY keeping the hold on just for a little while longer to be a dick before finally letting go.
The Reflection looks up high as he slowly climbs up the ladder, quickly reaching the top as the Double Feature title is in his grasp…but he takes one last look down at Albert Shaw and just scowls.
CXDY ain’t done with his bitch ass as he climbs up to the top of the ladder, perching up high before diving off
HUMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL…MISSES! Shaw moves out of the way just in time as the super Phoenix Splash hits nothing but canvas.
Both men slowly get to their feet, before beginning to pound down on one another. Lefts, rights, hooks and uppercuts are thrown before both men rock one another with a double headbutt. They stagger back before looking up at the title as Shaw and CXDY begin to race up the ladder to grab the championship. They get to the top and begin exchanging blows once more, CXDY lands a stiff right that stuns Shaw, dropping him down a rung.
CXDY tries to grab the championship, his fingertips scraping the belt
LOW BLOW!
Shaw nails that uppercut to the junk, CXDY doubling over the ladder as Shaw just reaches over him, pulling down the championship right in front of his former friend’s eyes.
The Guv’nor retains his Double Feature Championship here tonight, stealing the victory from the Reflection of Perfection as he survives this brutal war between former allies
Jessie Williams walks backstage, still showing the battle scars from the war with his father earlier in the night. As he gingerly makes his way towards his locker room, he’s stopped in his tracks.
“Can your old man have a minute of your time?” comes the gruff request. It’s Ash Williams, also looking worse for wear.
Jessie, tired of arguing, starts to remonstrate, but Ash holds his hands up.
“I might be set in my ways, son, but I know what just happened out there. I can see that you’re not the little boy you used to be. You’re right. There’s nothing that can prepare you any more for this place than you already are. No more training is needed.”
He puts a hand roughly on Jessies shoulder and looks him in the eye, father to son.
“I will never stop loving you. And I will never stop trying to keep you safe. But I don’t want to hurt you either, and I can see now that being here, in OSW, is hurting you. So I’ll do what you ask of me.”
He sighs.
“I’ll leave.”
“Really?” Jessie responds, slightly taken aback. He had expected it to be only the start of the battle.
“Really,” Ash responds. “But there is one thing I want you to understand, and you need to accept this. You won’t be alone.”
“I know,” Jessie responds, placing his hand on his father’s shoulder in reciprocation. “you’ll always be in my corner in spirit.”
“Well, yes,” Ash begins, removing his hand from his sons shoulder and starting to walk away towards the Slaughterhouse exit. “But I’ll be sending Joanna to keep you company, too.”
“Who?” Jessie reponds, confused. “I don’t know any Joanna”
“There’s a lot you don’t know, kid.”
Cut.
An inferno surrounds the ring and has both men locked within its walls. There is no escape. Two-Face seeks revenge for what Viper Roberts did to them at Red Snow VI. For The Head Snake this is about finishing what he started six months ago.
There’s no formalities from Two-Face as this blood feud blow-out begins. Tackling Viper to the canvas they begin a savage beating with fists, forearms and elbows. Viper’s head is bouncing off the canvas between blows like a basketball by a skilled dribbler. He’s very soon busted wide open by the assault!!!
Two-Face gets up and they watch as Viper crawls away.
BOOT TO THE RIBS!!!
ON YOUR BELLY LIKE THE SLITHERING CUNT YOU ARE!!!
Two-Face turns Viper Roberts onto his back and mounting The Head Snake, The Split begins choking the serpent until his eyes start to pop out. That gives Two-Face a new temptation and they start gouging the eyes of the Viper, blood soon starts trickling.
BUT WTF IS THIS!!!
THE REFEREE TAKES TWO-FACE INTO A SLEEPER HOLD!!!
VIPER HAS ONE OF HIS SNAKES PLANTED IN THERE AS A REFEREE!!!!
Two-Face fights back against the snake, turning the tables so that they’ve got the plant in a rear choke and quickly subduing the inside man.
OUT COMES THE COIN!
FLIPPED!!!
TWO-FACE SMILES AT THE OUTCOME!!!
THEY SNAP THE NECK OF THE SNAKE IN FRONT OF ROBERTS!!!
The carcass is dragged to the inferno by Two-Face, set alight and then like a sack of shit tossed out of the ring, left to burn on the concrete outside the ring.
There are never tears from Viper for one of his many and the serpent uses the distraction to his advantage.
ODE TO THE SNAKE!!!
THE TABLES ARE TURNED ON TWO-FACE!!!
His face a bloodied mess, Viper drags The Split off the mat and runs them face first into the nearest turnbuckle, following this up with a forearm across the throat as a choke. Two-Face slumps into a seated position and the Head Snake follows through with a running stomp to the good side.
The Head Snake backs up and removes his leather belt. As Two-Face starts to get to their feet, the serpent begins
TANNIN’ THE HIDE!!!
Viper brutalises Two-Face with half a dozen blows then holds the belt out to the inferno and is armed with a FLAMING leather strap.
The Head Snake with a big swing at The Dichotomy but they duck. Another missile launched by the serpent but Two-Face counters
DROP TOE HOLD!!!!
Viper gets quickly to his feet, but not for long
HEADS OR TAILS!!!!
The Swinging Reverse STO would almost have certainly finished this contest in ordinary circumstances but Two-Face still needs to bring the literal fire to his adversary. And that is exactly what Two-Face is trying to do, dragging Viper towards the ropes.
But The Head Snake fights back, the heat from that raging blaze searing the flesh of both men. Two-Face has one of Viper’s legs over the top rope so the serpent is straddling the rope but the snake hits back with a punch and then sandbags back to the relative safety of the canvas.
Two-Face hits the ropes and charges at Viper…
BASEBALL SLIDE!!!
BUT VIPER ROLLS AWAY!!!
TWO-FACE’S MOMENTUM TAKES THEM UNDER THE BOTTOM ROPE!!!
THEY ARE MILLIMETRES FROM BEING SET ALIGHT!!!
BUT JUST IN TIME PULL THEIR FEET AWAY!!!
But Viper is waiting and with a big overhand strike, The Split stumbles back onto the ropes. Seeing their vulnerable position Viper comes steaming in, looking to clothesline Two-Face over the top ropes but Divided sandbags and pulls one of Viper’s legs from under him, guillotining him on the rope.
FLIP THE COIN!!!!
OVERDRIVE NECKBREAKER!!!
NO!!!
VIPER COUNTERS!!!
SNAKE BITE!!!!
TWO-FACE SPASMS AS THE VENOM IN VIPER’S SIGNATURE FINISHER HITS HARD!!!!
With his opponent down, Viper heads to the corner and climbs to the top turnbuckle. Some Vipers are equally comfortable among the trees as they are on the ground. This one appears no different as he leaps into the air.
MACHO MAN FLYING ELBOW!!!
HE NAILS ALL OF IT!!!!
ELBOW RIGHT TO THE TWISTED HEART OF TWO-FACE!!!!
The Head Snake takes Two-Face by what remains of his hair and drags up to his feet. The Head Snake hoists The Split into the air in a position ready for a suplex. Viper slinks towards the turnbuckle.
ARE WE ABOUT TO SEE A POISON DART?
NO!!!
TWO-FACE DROPS BEHIND VIPER!!!
DROPKICK!!!
VIPER STUMBLES ONTO THE ROPES!!!
TWO-FACE IS LIFTING THE SERPENT OVER THE TOP ROPE!!!
THEY’VE DONE IT!!!!
VIPER FALLS TOWARDS THE FLAMES!!!
BUT HE ESCAPES!!!
VIPER LANDS ON THE APRON AND QUICKLY SLITHERS UNDER THE BOTTOM ROPE TO SAFETY!!!
But Two-Face tries again, lifting Viper onto the ropes.
SNAKE OIL!!!!
SPRAYED ALL OVER TWO-FACE!!!
The Split reels away, using the ropes for support but a lick of flames bursts out of the inferno and ignites the oil on Two-Face…
SETTING THEIR SHOULDERS ABLAZE!!!!!
TWO-FACE IS ON FIRE AND THIS CONTEST IS OVER!!!!!
Viper barbecues his prey with a little oil for basting. But what else is on the menu of this Michelin starred hatred?
Viper Roberts and Two-Face have went to war!
The two men are worse for wear as the bell ringing begins to fade away. Even with the match over, the fire dissipates, but the fire in these men’s eyes does not. As they begin to attempt to approach one another, Roberts smiles.
Darkness.
The video screen above the entrance way begins to flicker. First with static, then with a crystal clear image.
It’s some kind of commercial. A female voice begins to narrate over images.
“Alton Whitlock was a contender for the Presidency in 2020, but he disappeared after the election.”
Images of Whitlock at his finest scroll across the screen.
“Rumors persisted through his candidacy of abusive relationships. Several women came out to speak of the vile ways he treated them.”
A flash of the actress hired to speak out against Whitlock, all the way back in 2019.
“He made me believe he was a good man.” She says. “But he wasn’t. He was a snake charmer, playing me like a fiddle.”
“So who is Alton Whitlock?” The narrator says, returning.
Images play across the screen of Whitlock smiling.
“A noble man in an ignoble world?”
Cut to a room of broken bodies, the results of Two-Face’s assault on Viper Roberts’ snakes last week.
“Or a wolf in sheep’s clothing?”
We come to a rest on a split image. One of the Candidate stood behind his lectern. The other of a deranged Two-Face holding a bloody lead pipe.
“He abandoned me.” A new voice states. “I haven’t seen him in over six months.”
The narrator returns as the image changes to that of a woman sitting in a chair, interview style.
“Join me as a I sit down with Vivian Whitlock, the wife that Alton abandoned. It’s time for the truth to come out about this man.”
The video stops and the arena lights come back up. Two-Face is livid, but when he looks around Viper Roberts is nowhere to be found.
That snake.
Kirby Tower
It’s been a long dark night as the elevator finally reaches the top floor of the former Nygma Towers. Redwing steps out, taking a deep breath as he looks over the now-completed floor.
As he walks past the window, he enters a small chamber where the walls have been adorned with statues.
The Vindicators on one side. Shadowforce on the other.
Walking between the titans he once stood beside, Redwing comes to a closed door. He reaches out to press the button, letting it open for him.
Inside is a capsule, meant for removing his uniform. As Redwing steps into it, it closes behind him, but his voice begins to narrate as the screen goes to black.
Images begin to flash before us, dossier images of Redwing performing great feats.
When the night ends, we find new beginnings.
The images begin to shift into something more tangible, into things actually happening.
“Whether it’s the realization that the past cannot be undone, only learned from.”
In a typical suburban neighborhood, we see the old Kirby house under construction after it was burned down in 2018.
“Or a second chance being granted after you thought you’d lost everything.
Large metal doors open, and Jason Richards, formerly known as Darkwish, takes a breath of free air.
The rising sun shows us that darkness can’t last forever. Hatred only destroys, but love perseveres.
A little girl opens up a box revealing a handcrafted toy. She smiles at the note included.
From Uncle Eddie.
Just like the fresh morning dew, the darkness isn’t forgotten. We memorialize it every day, use it to push forward into the sunlight.
A sign is hammered onto a building, decreeing a building as the Axel Kahrs Home for Troubled Youth.
Redwing was meant to stop the darkness from spreading…
The images stop, and the capsule opens. Bill Kirby steps out, a lump in his throat.
..but as long as he patrolled the night, dawn could never come.
Kirby steps outside the room to the door, pressing a different button. Several layers of thick steel come down in front of the door, and a book case rises in front of it.
He turns around to see Arnold before him. They share a nod as Kirby walks out to the living area.
The long night is over. Dawn has come.
He takes the framed photo of his family he often stared at, and he places it up on the mantle. Then he walks out to overlook the city.
Redwing is no more.
Bill Kirby smiles.
He’s at peace.
Finally.
The biggest threat to the universe alligned with the baddest cyborg alive. Voynich needs to end Sigil to save the world but will his insistance of going it alone be his ultimate downfall?
The bell sounds as Voynich is all alone, staring down two of the most intimidating figures in OSW. He’s defeated both men in the past but can he do the same against both all alone? The World Champion rushes forward at Zero standing in the ring, catching him by surprise with a massive right hook to the gut before he leaps up with an enziguri to the back of the head.
Zero staggers back as Voynich rushes to the ropes, looking for Ishtar’s Gate…
FINITE! Sigil appears out of nowhere with that massive Roundhouse, nearly knocking Voynich out cold with one blow.
The referee tries to get him back onto the apron as Sigil just backs off casually, Zero pulling Voynich up as he begins to punish him with lefts and rights, before a series of knees to the midsection drive all the wind out of the best kept secret.
FIREWALL!
Zero doesn’t miss his clothesline, nearly decapitating Voynich with that massive clothesline before tagging out to Sigil.
The Collector hops over the ropes, a cocky smile visible even under the mask as he pulls Voynich up off the mat, forcing him over his knee before hammering down The Long Road Home with vicious elbows to the face. Sigil lays into Voynich over and over again, trying to bust open the world champion but the young man’s far too resilient and Sigil knows it.
Voynich manages to slip out of the hold, sweeping Sigil’s legs but as he tries for a leaping kneedrop, Sigil ports away before trying for a Merciful End
VOYNICH CATCHES THE CHOP! Flipping Sigil over onto his stomach, Voynich sits down, trapping Sigil as he begins to rain down elbows of his own to the unprotected head. Voynich barely starts his flurry of blows however before he’s thrown off Sigil with a dropkick to the side of the head from Zero.
Zero lifts Voynich up, grabbing him by the throat for a chokeslam but Voynich slips out, driving Zero into the mat with a stiff DDT. Voynich quickly pulls him back up to his feet, trying for the Monolith
CHOPBLOCK!
Sigil out of nowhere takes Voynich’s knee out before delivering a stiff roundhouse kick to the back of the head that nearly knocks the world champion out. Voynich is out on his feet as both Zero and Sigil back up, before rushing to the ropes
BULLHAMMER ELBOW
FINITE ROUNDHOUSE
STRIKE SANDWICH!
Voynich slumps to the mat, trickle of blood from that bullhammer as that may well be it, Sigil dropping down for the cover
ONE
………
………….
TWO
………..
…………..
THR…VOYNICH GETS THE SHOULDER UP!
Sigil just shakes his head, he knows better then anyone Voynich is near impossible to put down. The world champion slowly stumbles to his feet right into a pair of running knees to the jaw that leave him out on his feet as he staggers into the clutches of Zero
ABSOLUTE ZERO! BIONIC CHOKESLAM!
Voynich nearly bounces off the mat from the sheer force but the duo aren’t done as Zero pulls him back up to his feet, kicking Voynich in the gut
PUNK CITY FUCKING KILLER! The Stunner hits flush as Voynich tumbles on his feet
RIGHT INTO THE PLANESWALKER!
Voynich has to be done here, taking two finishers that would ko most normal men as the Collector drops down for the lackluster cover
ONE
………
………….
TWO
………..
…………..
…………….
………………
THREE……
SIGIL PULLS THE SHOULDER UP! WHAT THE FUCK COLLECTOR?
Sigil may have just made a massive mistake here as he pulls Voynich up off the mat, clearly not done with the world champion as he drops him with another massive Finite before rolling out of the ring and grabbing a steel chair. He throws it into the ring before grabbing another as he turns to Zero, signalling for him to set the first steel chair up around the throat of the near unconscious Voynich before raising the other chair high.
JESUS CHRIST, THEY COULD PARALYSE VOYNICH RIGHT HERE!
BONG! BONG!
The Lights go out as the opening chords of For Whom the Bell Tolls begins to play as we see the silhouette of a figure leaping up to the top rope as they quickly turn back on
SPRINGBOARD CLOTHESLINE!
Darby Sorrow out of nowhere with that massive clothesline to Sigil, saving Voynich in the nick of time. Zero rushes after Darby but gets a kick to the gut before he’s lifted up high
CRADLE TO THE GRAVE! GTS!
Both Zero and Sigil are down as Darby pulls the chair off Voynich’s neck and lifts him up to his feet only for Voynich to push him away in rage. The World Champion is furious that Darby is out here as Sorrow argues he just saved Voynich’s career.
Voynich ain’t having it as he points to the back, telling Darby to get the fuck out but as Sorrow ducks a Finite, drilling Sigil with a stiff roundhouse of his own, Sorrow just shakes his head, refusing to leave.
Voynich tries to force him but gets spun around by Zero who tries for another Absolute Zero but Voynich slips out, JAWBREAKER! Zero staggers back and as Voynich is down on his knees, Darby rushes forward, using Voynich as a stepping stone
FOR SORROWFUL LIFE! That huge clothesline sends Zero to the outside floor as Voynich is none too happy but before he can continue to argue with Sorrow, Darby leaps over the ropes to take Zero out with a Sucide Dive before Sigil delivers a massive Merciful Chop to the back of Voynich’s head, dropping him down to one knee.
Sigil rushes forward, looking for another Planeswalker but Voynich is ready for him
DROP TOE HOLD!
Sigil gets up to his feet, just avoiding an Ishtar’s Gate before he Cosmic Leaps away. Voynich looks all around him, ducking underneath the first Finite before rolling underneath another behind him. Sigil Cosmic Leaps all around, Voynich going dizzy trying to scan for him as Sigil fakes out leaping behind before leaping down from up high
FINIT…VOYNICH BLOCKS IT! He grabs Sigil, spinning him around
DRAGON SUPLEX! Voynich dropped Sigil on his dome with that hard Suplex as he quickly pulls him up, gripping him around the head but as he rushes up the ropes, Zero is on the apron as he lifts Voynich up high, allowing SIGIL TO THROW HIM OVER THE ROPES!
Sorrow rushes into the ring, stopping both men from continuing to hurt Voynich as he drills Zero with a huge Superkick before clipping Sigil in the back of the head with an enziguri. Darby quickly rushes to the top rope
COFFIN…PLANESWALKER!
Sigil dropkicks Sorrow right out of the air as Sorrow gets driven face first into the turnbuckles. The Collector pulls Sorrow into the middle of the ring, covering him quickly
ONE
………….
…………
TWO
……….
………….
…………..
……………
VOYNICH TRIES TO BREAK UP THE COVER BUT HE’S JUST TOO LATE!
THREE!!!
Sigil celebrates his victory as Voynich is furious, first Darby ignores his wishes and comes out for the match, now he bloody loses the thing. The champion is restraining himself but he looks ready to beat the shit out of the slowly rising Sorrow
Voynich isn’t happy. He didn’t want Darby Sorrow here and Sorrow can’t understand why. As the latter helps his team mate back to his feet, it’s the World Champion who violently pushes Darby backwards.
“Leave!” He screams, spitting with such rage and fury. “Get the hell out of here now.”
Darby just stands there – shocked. There’re tears welling in the eyes of Voynich, who can’t put into words his emotions.
“J-just go,” he stammers.
Suddenly, Zero and Sigil attack from behind. Zero clobbers Voynich with a steel chair, sending him barrelling to the canvas with a thud.
The Gravedigger backs up, his fists up and ready to fight.
Only Zero and Sigil stop.
They don’t attack.
“You should’ve listened to your friend,” Sigil says with an ominous shrug.
There’s suddenly a flash inside the ring.
Followed by a second almost explosive barrage of white light. Sigil, Zero and Voynich block their eyes, blinded by whatever just occurred in front of them.
It’s Nightstick.
The Archangel…
And he’s thrusted his right arm – his archangel blade of a weapon, straight through the chest of Darby Sorrow. What the fuck is going on?
Sorrow looks at him in utter shock. His eyes are wide and the pain is a deep agony, unlike anything he’s ever felt before.
Then he disintegrates.
Voynich roars with emotion – heaving at his soul with sorrow.
Darby Sorrow turns to dust before our very eyes – the immortal, immortal no more.
And what remains, what drops into the waiting hand of Sigil is something none of us expected.
The Life crystal.
Nightstick looks back at The Collector and nods stoically.
“You held up your end of the bargain with The Chief and we’ve held up ours,” he confirms, walking towards the ropes.
Voynich cries – bellows on the canvas, roaring with equal parts rage and sadness. He didn’t want Darby Sorrow here and Lord knows he tried to stop him.
This is why.
This is what he learnt in the document that Corvus provided him with. This is what Zero tracked down for Sigil.
This was everything.
Darby Sorrow has been brutally destroyed, but his immortality all this time came from the crystal of life.
Cut.
Winner takes all, as old money fights blood money!
A down-on-his-luck BEG stares daggers at a chipper Nigel Royal.
DING, DING, DING!
Berkshire swings for Nigel.
He wouldn’t normally make the first move, but Royal has royally pissed him off and cost him a lot of money!
The sadist grabs him by the throat. Shoving him in the corner, he chokes him!
“You—ruined—everything!” He spits through gritted teeth.
The referee quickly intervenes with a 5-count—
ONE!
TWO!
THREE!
FOUR!
Green lets go, mouthing off at the referee. He almost got himself DQ’d – and banished!
He turns back—ROYAL GRABS HIM BY THE SCRUFF!
Trading places, the Bloodline to Greatness tees off on BEG with knife-edge chops heard around The Slaughterhouse!
He sends him into the far corner with authority—
BIIIG BACK BODY DROP!
BEG pulls himself up with the ropes…
CLOTHESLINE OVER THE TOP!
He splats onto the floor mats! Nigel rolls under and picks him up—
DROP TOE-HOLD INTO THE STAIRS!
Royal’s fortunes change for the worse, as Green turns the tables. Both men slowly recover; fortunately, there are no countouts here.
First to his feet, BEG pull’s Nigel’s hair—
CRACK!
HE BOUNCES HIS SKULL OFF THE RINGPOST!
Rolling a possibly concussed Royal back in, Berkshire covers him—
ONE!
…
WILL NIGEL LEAVE OSW!?
…
TWO!!
…
IS THE BLOODLINE ABOUT TO DIE OUT!?
…
…
NOOO!!!
Nigel Royal isn’t filing for bankruptcy yet!
BEG slaps the mat. He stalks his foe as he rises…
HE KICKS HIS LEG OUT—
BULLDOG – CHIP OFF THE OL’ BLOCK!
COUNTERED!
BELLY-TO-BACK BY ROYAL!
Nigel keeps hold of Green, swinging his hips to pick him up—
FOUR BELLY-TO-BACK SUPLEXES – ROYAL FLUSH!
He climbs to the top rope…
FROG SPLASH – SPITFIIIRE!
Royal covers him—
ONE!
…
WILL GREEN HAVE TO LEAVE OSW!?
…
TWO!!
…
IS BEG GOING TO BE BEGGING ON THE STREETS!?
…
…
TWO-POINT-NINE!!!
Berkshire still has money in the bank!
Nigel can’t believe it. He peels him off the mat and grabs his arm—
HE’S TAKING HIM TO THE DUNGEONS!
CROSSFA—SANDBAGGED!
BEG GRIPS THE TOP ROPE, BLOCKING ROYAL!
HE KICKS HIS KNEE OUT…
BULLDOG – CHIP OFF THE OL’ BLOCK!
Green hooks the leg—
ONE!
…
PACK YOUR BAGS, NIGEL!
…
TWO!!
…
YOU’RE DONE!
…
…
THR—NOOO!!!
Don’t send the repo men yet!
Green mouths off at the referee furiously, slapping his hand three times. He stands over Royal—nursing his knee—and jams his hand into his pocket, taking out a fat wallet. Snatching a fistful of banknotes out of it, he kneels down…
BERKSHIRE STUFFS THE MONEY INTO NIGEL’S MOUTH!
“Put your money where your mouth is and get the fuck outta here!” He screams.
The official pulls him away, then tends to Royal. BEG, however, takes the opportunity to retrieve his signature cane. He kisses the silver topper, which he unscrews—
THERE’S THAT DEADLY CONCEALED BLADE!
BEG HAS EVIL INTENTIONS FOR NIGEL!
The shank goes unnoticed by the official, who helps Royal to his feet…
BERKSHIRE LUNGES WITH THE SHIV!
NIGEL SIDE-STEPS HIM—RIGHT HAND!
GREEN… GOES DOWN!?
ROYAL JUST KNOCKED HIM RIGHT THE FUCK OUT!
The referee now checks on BEG, while Nigel discreetly tosses something out of the ring—
IT’S A ROLL OF QUARTERS!
HE MUST’VE CONCEALED THEM IN HIS KNEEPAD!
NIGEL HAD A LOADED FIST!
He crawls over to Green and lies back in a cover—
ONE!
…
HE’S OUT COLD!
…
TWO!!
…
WILL IT BE!?
…
…
THREEEE!!!
HE’S DONE IT!
Nigel Royal takes all the chips, and BEG must leave OSW!
Royal throws his arms in the air, dollar signs in his eyes—
Wait, the official is frantically pointing at something…
BEG GOT HIS FOOT ON THE ROPES!
GODDAMMIT – ROPE BREAK!
THIS AIN’T OVER YET!
Nigel runs his hands through his hair. He pulls BEG to his feet, then grabs his arm—
ENTER THE DUNGEONS OF LONDON!
GREEN IS IN THE CROSSFACE, AND HE’S IN AGONY!
Royal pulls back on the hold, wrenching BEG’s neck.
WILL HE THROW IN THE TOWEL!?
…
HE FREES HIS ARM FROM THE LEG SCISSOR!
NIGEL’S INJURED KNEE PREVENTED HIM FROM SECURING IT PROPERLY!
They scramble to their feet, exchanging blows. BEG takes some lumps and grabs Royal’s arm—
FINANCIAL CRISIS!
THE FILTHY STINKIN’ RICH GREEN HAS HIS OWN CROSSFACE LOCKED IN!
NIGEL SCREAMS IN PAIN!
WILL HE TAP OUT!?
…
HE GRABS BEG’S CLASPED HANDS—
HE’S GOT THE MUTILATED FINGER!
HE SQUEEZES THE STUMP LEFT BEHIND BY ALBERT SHAW!
BEG howls in agony—
HE BREAKS HIS GRIP!
Royal takes his turn in escaping the crossface, and both men once again race to their feet.
It’s anyone’s game now!
Left, right, left, right – SLUGFEST!
…
CROSSFACE, CROSSFACE, CROSSFACE!
BEG TAKES HIS SECOND TOUR OF THE DUNGEONS OF LONDON!
NIGEL RAMPS UP THE TORQUE…
BEG TAPS OUT!
ROYAL WINS RICHES, AND BEG MUST LEAVE OSW!
BEG lays on the mat holding his arm and neck. The realization begins to sink in as the bell sounds. Nigel stands in the corner, a smile over his face as he waves at BEG.
“Na na na na!”
BEG looks around, fear written over his face as he realizes what has happened to him.
Fans begin that all so familiar chant!
“Na na na na!”
BEG gets to his knees, crawling desperately over to Nigel who is laughing to himself.
“HEY! HEY HEY!”
BEG wraps his arms around the waist of Royal, begging!
“GOODBYE!”
The fans keep chanting as Royal pushes BEG off of him getting on the mic.
“You signed that contract. You knew what it meant!”
You can hear BEG screaming to not be forced out. Everything he’s ever fought for, everything he’s built is now in the hands of Nigel Royal. He clings to Nigel again, pleading. Nigel decides to amuse himself with this for a moment.
“PLEASE! I’ll do anything! Don’t take my money!”
Nigel laughs as he signals for security to come get him.
BEG shakes his head. He’s not willing to part with the very thing that gives his life meaning.
“Berkshire. Ellison. Greene. You now, truly are, a cunt of a peasant. The fact you thought you were on my level is a joke! Say goodbye to Blood Money Inc.! Say goodbye to all of your accounts, every last one. By the time this night is through, Greene, you’ll be living on the streets where you belong!”
Nigel laughs as security begins to enter the ring and grab BEG. Berkshire begins swinging, punching several security guards in the head until the numbers become too much. They swarm him, dragging him from the ring. The fans are rattling the building with their cheering, their song as BEG is forced out.
As BEG is being carried off like an advocate whose invasion failed, he struggles but the guards have full control of his limbs. Nigel stands against the ropes waving and singing along.
“Na na na na! Na na na na! HEY HEY HEY! GOODBYE!”
BEG and the security guards disappear behind the curtain as the fans applaud and cheer this moment!
Cut
1915.
Darby Sorrow lays in a bed unconscious, a Doctor stood over him with a sincere look of sadness on his face. He shakes his head, his eyes darting towards a man that we remember from a long time ago.
Stephen Henstridge.
“I’m sorry Stephen, his temperature is rising and there’s nothing we can do. This fever is going to take him,” he says sorrowfully. “It’s but a matter of time, dear boy.”
Three Months Later.
Stephen stands in the Hall of Skulls, looking at the skull carved table we’ve come to know. Sat behind it, a man wearing a Black Skull Mask sits, contemplating something.
“I’ve helped you piece together this society,” Stephen announces proudly, slamming his finger down pointedly into the table. “You wanted to keep the crystals safe and I’ve helped you do that.”
“You have,” Black Mask admits.
“I’ve given you the blueprint to move through time and secure these crystals. I’ve told you what you’ve needed and without me, you’d know nothing,” he says almost in demand of something.
“What is it you want?” The Black Masked individual asks, cutting straight to the point.
“Darby’s going to die,” Stephen says with a frog in his throat. “I need you to give me the Life crystal. I can tether it to him without him ever knowing it – it’ll be the safest place for it. He’ll be able to carry it for eternity.”
There’s an eerie silence for a moment.
“Do you understand what you’re forcing him to sacrifice?” He asks.
“I do,” he admits, undeterred.
The Black Masked person stands up, walking around the table.
“I know what’ll happen, Stephen,” he says with a shrug. “You’ll save Darby’s life and grant him immortality; but the guilt will eat you alive until you do something dangerous to free him from his curse.”
Stephen shakes his head as if to say no.
But we all know how that worked out – The Timepiece, something he stole from The Skull Order.
“And it is then that I’ll take your life,” he sternly and powerfully announces. “Do you still want it?”
Stephen nods.
This is what it was all about. Darby Sorrow’s immortality came from the Skull Order – protecting the very crystal that Yahweh hid all that time ago. Stephen found a way to save his love from certain death, sacrificing his own life in the process to try and fix what he caused.
Darby Sorrow is finally at peace, over a hundred years of living long behind him.
May he now finally rest.
Although, you can be assured that there’s no rest for Voynich.
A vigilante that seeks an eye for an eye, a magistrate trying to maintain the balance, and a TV show host looking to keep the cameras rolling. In this reality show the hits are hard but who will leave The Slaughterhouse tonight with the critics’ acclaim?
Inside the ring Monty Straight finds himself caught between The Judge and The Reaper. He’s shifting his head from side to side, then over his shoulder looking for an escape route.
SHOTGUN BLAST!!!!
THE HARVESTER JUST CLOCKED THE HOST!!!
MONTY SPINS…
STRAIGHT INTO THE VERDICT FROM THE JUDGE!!!!
Now The Judge and The Reaper are staring holes into one another. They run at each other.
TRADING BLOWS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RING!!!
It’s hard rights and lefts from both men but not an inch is given up until Order aims a big haymaker at The Harvester, but the latter ducks.
REAPER OFF THE ROPES…
SHOTGUN BLAST!!!
MISSES!!!
The Judge grabs Reaper…
HE’S BITING HIM LIKE A BLOOD-SUCKING FIEND FROM HELL!!!
Blood begins to spray out of the the wound on The Reaper’s head. The Judge swivels, grabbing The Harvester’s head,
CUTTER!!!
YOUR PAST MAY COME BACK TO BITE YOU!!!!
The Judge stands over the fallen bodies of Monty Straight and The Reaper, his persistent foes over six long months. Has the balance finally been restored in the Universe?
The Judge turns to the turnbuckle and rips away the covering, exposing the steel ring below. Order grabs The Reaper and hoists him onto his shoulders.
BUCKLE BOMB!!!
THE FINAL JUDGEMENT-
.
.
.
IS NOT DELIVERED!!!!
The Harvester slides off The Judge’s shoulders…
SWIFT REVENGE!!!
THE DDT SPIKES ORDER!!!
Ever the opportunist, Monty Straight blindsides The Reaper with a double axe handle smash to the back of the head.
INVERTED RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP!!!
INTO THE CROSSFACE!!!
TERMS AND CONDITIONS!!!
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL AND THE REAPER FAILED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SMALLPRINT!!!!
Monty is cranking the neck of The Reaper, trying to rip his head clean off his shoulders with the brutality of that submission.
THE REAPER IS IN DIRE STRAIGHTS!!!
WILL HE BE FORCED TO PAY THE PIPER?
HE CAN’T HOLD ON!!!
THE REAPER CAN FEEL FLESH, BONE AND TENDON TEARING!!!
HE TAPS!!!!
THE HARVESTER IS TAPPING LIKE A MORSE CODE ENTHUSIAST!!!!
BUT WAIT!!!!
THERE IS NO BELL!!!
THE JUDGE HAS PLACED MONTY’S FOOT ON THE ROPES!!!
THE OFFICIAL THROWS OUT THE ILLEGAL MOVE AND VOIDS THE SUBMISSION!!!
The Deal Maker gets to his feet and confronts The Judge.
BAD FUCKING IDEA!!!!!
THE JUDGE GRABS MONTY BY THE THROAT!!!
HOISTS THE DEAL MAKER HIGH INTO THE AIR!!!
AND CHOKESLAMS THAT SON OF BITCH OVER THE TOP ROPE!!!!
MONTY’S BODY BOUNCES OFF THE UNFORGIVING CONCRETE!!!
THE SHOW IS WELL AND TRULY OVER FOR THE DEAL MAKER!!!
The Judge displays now emotion, there is just a stoic nod to acknowledge his work has been done. The magistrate turns…
INTO A SAMOAN DROP!!!!
JUSTICE BROUGHT!!!
BY THE VIGILANTE!!!
The Harvester mounts Order and begins a ground and pound full of fevered fury. But he’s just gassing himself out because with his frame and his uniform, The Judge has defence locked in tight. In fact, Order simply presses The Vigilante up and tosses him across the ring.
Reaper is quickly to his feet but The Judge has hold of him and Biel tosses him right onto the exposed steel turnbuckle. A blood stained Reaper bounces off and he’s flattened.
THE VERDICT!!!!
Order lifts Reaper onto his shoulders and
RESTORATION!!!!
THE POWERBOMB HAS BLOWN AWAY PUMP ACTION!!!
ONE!!!
As Judge covers and hooks the legs…
TWO!
.
.
.
THREE-
IT’S SHORT!!!
MONTY STRAIGHT WITH THE SAVE!!!
HOW ON EARTH IS THE DEAL MAKER STILL STANDING?!
Better yet, Monty is on the attack, locking The Judge into a sleeper hold. Order initially fights to a vertical base, Monty holds on to his back, but The Judge quickly collapses to his knees. Monty wraps his legs around The Judge’s body and drags him down to the mat.
The Judge is fading fast.
ONE!
Comes the count as The Judge’s arm is lifted and drops lifelessly to the canvas.
TWO!!!
The arm flops quicker than your dick after a night on the sauce!!
THREE!!!
Has Monty done it?
NOT A CHANCE YET!!!
THe Judge’s arm powers into the air and Order holds it up for a few seconds for effect. The Adjudicator powers back to his feet, Monty is trying to lock in the sleeper again, but a snapmare takedown from The Judge.
SHOTGUN BLAST!!!!
OUTTA NO-FUCKING-WHERE!!!
THE REAPER JUST KO’D THE JUDGE!!!
AND NOW HE’S GOT HIS EYES FIXED ON MONTY STRAIGHT!!!
The Deal Maker is back on his feet, he’s trying to subdue The Reaper but there’s a focus and a dark energy about The Harvester as he closes down the page.
MONTY STRAIGHT THROWS A SURPRISE JAB!!!
REAPER BLOCKS!!!
AND A RUNNING HEADBUTT!!!
The Harvester flips Straight up into a Muay Thai clinch and
HE’S FUCKING PUMMELLING HIM WITH A SUCCESSION OF KNEES TO THE FACE!!!
THERE MUST HAVE BEEN 15 OR MORE STRIKES IN THAT BARRAGE!!!
AND A SWIFT REVENGE TO FINISH!!!!!
Monty Straight is totally incapacitated. The Harvester drags him to a corner and leans him against the turnbuckle. Reaper pulls something out of his pants.
A PAIR OF HANDCUFFS!!!
THE HARVESTER HANDCUFFS THE DEAL MAKER TO THE ROPES!!!
The Reaper slides out of the ring and from under the ring he pulls out a shotgun. Sliding into the ring, The Harvester pumps it and discharges a cartridge towards the roof of The Slaughterhouse. The boom awakes Monty Straight and now he sees before him not The Reaper but Adam Rook, the man from whom he stole a family, with a shotgun pressed against The Deal Maker’s chest.
Usually so cool and calm, Monty Straight is a picture of terror.
THE VERDICT!!!!
CONNECTS WITH MONTY STRAIGHT!!!
THE REAPER SAW IT COMING!!!
SHOTGUN BUTT!!!!
TO THE FACE OF THE JUDGE!!!
THEN A STOMACH PUNCH!!!!!
REAPER LIFTS JUDGE…
…AND SPIKES HIM WITH THE BRAINBUSTER!!!!
IT’S A DEATH SENTENCE FOR THE JUDGE!!!!
THE REAPER HAS KILLED IT WITH FIRE!!!!
ONE!
.
.
.
TWO!
.
.
.
.
THREE!!!!!
Monty Straight slips out of his bonds but he can’t make the save this time and The Reaper comes away with the most vital win of his career – but is this enough justice for The Harvester?
Click.
The match is over but we’re immediately transported away to the Show That Never Ends. As The Reaper and The Judge get back to their feet, they’re met by a weary and somewhat pained looking Monty Straight.
His eyes are wide and bloodshot.
His suit is crumpled and his usually immaculate hair is all over the place. There’s a nervous twitch of an expression on his face, repeating.
“No,” he proclaims angrily. “It doesn’t end that way.”
“What’s the matter, fuckhead?” Reaper growls angrily. “That beating not enough for ya?” He beckons with a right hand as if to say ‘come get some’.
“One of you is choosing a door,” he barks back.
Two doors suddenly materialize.
One before Reaper and one before Judge.
Both of them stand firm, refusing.
“There’s something else,” Judge muses.
Monty grins.
“Neither of you can leave. Don’t you understand? This whole plot has been part of the Show That Never Ends. Everything. From the minute I allowed Adam’s wife to take part in the show, I carefully plotted every aspect of this entire extravaganza – except that ending.”
He shakes his head vehemently.
“That was not by my design,” he admits. “Hence my somewhat uncomposed and dishevelled appearance. You changed the script, Reaper.”
The Reaper smirks.
“So now what?” He angrily asks, looking at both doors. “You think you can force one of us to sacrifice our lives and play your fucking game?”
Monty nods gleefully.
“You will. Neither of you can leave here until one of you plays; don’t you understand? Every part of his entire story has been scripted by The Show That Never Ends. You think you’ve left here and lived your mediocre little lives, but you never truly did. The whole world is a stage, as they say.”
Reaper and Judge look at each other in shock. All this time they’ve been playing this game and had absolutely no idea. What happens now? Do they fight? Who goes through the door?
“The deal is simple gentlemen; one of you will willingly walk through your door, saving the life of your opposition. You will become the ultimate sacrifice and join my audience forever, so that the other can live.”
There’s a look of absolute disgust on Reaper’s face.
“Fine,” he grumbles. “I’ll do it.”
That surprises Straight who expected more of a fight.
“You took everything from me Straight,” he announces angrily. “You took everything I loved. Everything. Do you think walking through that door and sacrificing my life to finally see my family again is a punishment? Fuck you. I’ll do it gladly.”
He reaches for the door handle and grabs it, only The Judge steps in, pushing him away.
“That’s what he wants,” Judge announces. “But that isn’t how balance is restored here, Adam. You deserve to leave this place and have your life returned to you. You deserve better.”
The Judge opens the door and is about to step through when he stops, whispering something to Reaper. The Reaper looks shocked, watching as The Judge steps through and vanishes into thin air.
Within seconds, a new figure appears in the audience – an older white gentleman, with a bald head and goatee. He winks at Reaper, nodding.
Monty meanwhile has been renewed – his visage back to that of a pristine host.
“Unfortunately,” he says grinning at Reaper. “I may not have told you the truth, exactly. I’m afraid that whilst I could let you leave this place-”
Reaper puts a hand up to stop him.
“He thought you’d say that.”
Flash.
Suddenly, The Judge appears.
Only it isn’t quite how we remember him.
His attire is red and although he holds his axe, there’s small changes to his gear.
“The universe always requires balance,” Reaper says whilst approaching a stunned Straight. “When one Judge dies or retires, someone new is drafted in their place.”
The new Judge rushes forward with his axe, swiping it towards Monty’s head, slapping it straight off his shoulders in one fell swoop.
As his head rolls across the floor, the stage, set and crowd begin to fall away. Those trapped souls escape into the ether, making their way to Heaven as everything else returns to normal – revealing them to be trapped into an old abandoned warehouse.
The Reaper looks down at Straight’s head, smirking.
“You’ve been cancelled, dickhead,” he growls.
The new Judge walks over, offering Reaper a handshake.
“It’s over,” he announces. “Balance has been restored. My predecessor told me everything upon handover. Monty Straight is no more. You’re free to go.”
The Reaper nods.
“What will you do now?” Judge asks.
He thinks about it.
“Go home,” he says stoically. “Leave Old School Wrestling and never return. You?”
The Judge folds his arms.
“My predecessor advised me to steer clear of such a place. I’ll be maintaining balance from afar.”
With a knowing nod, both of them walk in different directions.
This saga coming to a conclusive end.
Cut.
FLAMING CAGE
Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory wage war in an apocalyptic ménage à trois!
Inside the flaming, satanic prison, six otherworldly beings prepare for damnation in their pursuit of paradise.
DING, DING, DING!
Total chaos!
NOCTURNE DROPKICKS NIGHTSTICK INTO FIERY STEEL!
CROWLEY BITES TROY’S NOSE!
Driven by revenge for Heaven’s attack, Hell’s army turns its back on Purgatory…
SANDMAN BOOTS SHADOW’S HEAD OFF HIS SHOULDERS!
SCARECROW YEETS LEE INTO THE FLAMING MESH!
Nightstick and Crowley’s eyes meet.
They nod.
Nightstick unsheathes his namesake weapon.
The King of the Underworld takes his crowbar, Smiley Jr., from his beltloop.
THEY CHARGE!
EXCESSIVE, HELLISH FORCE AGAINST SANDMAN AND SCARECROW!
WE DON’T NEED BODYCAM FOOTAGE TO PROVE THIS POLICE BRUTALITY!
Solveig joins in.
FULL NELSON TO SCARECROW – HELL’S EMBRACE!
Nocturne stomps his foot—
DARKNESS FALLS – SUPERKICK TO THE ABDOMEN!
The bird ward goes down, nursing his Fury wounds, as they focus on Sandman.
BULLHAMMER x2 – SMITH & WESSON BY NIGHTSTICK!
SPINNING HOOK KICK—CHELSEA GRIN—BY CROWLEY!
Heaven & Hell subdue Purgatory.
Sneaky pin—
ONE!
…
…
TWO!!
…
…
NIGHTSTICK NARROWLY BREAKS IT UP!
He and Crowley square off, weapons raised.
SMILEY JR. VERSUS NIGHTSTICK!
THEY PARRY AND LUNGE LIKE DUELLING JEDI AND SITH!
“You have the right to burn in Hell!” Nightstick roars.
“I waive my rights, Officer.” Crowley retorts sarcastically.
Nearby, Solveig snapmares Nocturne off of him.
“Waive this, Lucy!” Solveig quips.
HE SWINGS VǪLSUNGR!
CROWLEY BARELY DUCKS THE WARHAMMER—
IT CLATTERS OFF THE CAGE!
TROY REARS BACK…
BUT STOPS!
What’s wrong with Lee!?
The Deranged One cradles his head, groaning…
SCARECROW RAMS HIS SKULL INTO THE CAGE!
THE MONSTERS HAVE RISEN!
SOLVEIG SWINGS FOR THE HAYMAN—
GOOZLE!
NIGHTSTICK TO THE RESCUE—
GOOZLE BY SANDMAN!
TO SAAAND!
BYE BYE BIRDIE!
STEREO CHOKESLAMS!
Nocturne runs in—
HAYMAKER!
DEEP SLEEP – END OF DAYS!
Cover—
ONE!
…
…
TWO!!
…
…
…
LEE MAKES THE SAVE!
SANDMAN JAMS HIS THUMBS INTO HIS EYES!
40 FREAKIN’ WINKS!
CROWLEY HOWLS LIKE A WOUNDED ANIMAL…
NO – THAT SICK SON OF A BITCH IS LAUGHING MANIACALLY!
THE MAD KING IS IN HYSTERICS AS BLOOD TRICKLES DOWN HIS CHEEKS—
CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL!
NIGHTSTICK EXECUTES HARD JUSTICE ON SANDMAN!
Lee escapes…
FISH HOOKS!
REVERSE CODEBREAKER – HIDEOUS LAUGHTER!
SANDMAN’S TEETH LITTER THE GODDAMN CANVAS!
LEE, THAT SICK PUPPY, STOMPS ON THEM, BREAKING THEM!
The laughter stops, however, as he falls to his knees, shaking his head frantically.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH CROWLEY!?
NIGHTSTICK GRABS HIM—
SPINNING SIDE SLAM – ODE TO BOSSMAN!
Cover—
ONE!
…
…
TWO!!
…
…
…
THR—SCARECROW DRAGS HIM OFF!!!
HE HURLS HIM INTO THE CAGE!
TROY CLUBS SCARECROW ACROSS THE BACK!
THE CROP GUARDIAN, HOWEVER, HOISTS HIM INTO A CRUCIFIX!
PERCH—
TROY ESCAPES!
LANDING BEHIND ‘CROW, HE SCOOPS HIM UP…
Nightstick and Nocturne brutalise Sandman, whilst a troubled Crowley rocks back and forth—
SOLVEIG CRUSHES ‘CROW AGAINST THE CAGE!!
HE TRAPS HIM IN THE TREE OF WOE – ODIN’S WISDOM!
SUSPENDED, FLAMES WRAP AROUND SCARECROW’S LIMBS LIKE LIGATURES!
HE’S ON FIRE!
THE SCARECROW HAS SET A-FUCKING-LIGHT!
Nobody can believe it!
Wait…
A CHARRED ‘CROW UNHITCHES HIMSELF!
FIRE ENGULFS HIS FIST…
JESUS ON A SPIT – A FLAMING HAYMAKER TO SOLVEIG!
LOKI’S AVATAR GOES DOWN – AS DOES SCARECROW!
SMOKE FILLS THE RING, OBSCURING THE ACTION!
…
…
…
THE SMOKE CLEARS…
SCARECROW IS NO MORE!?
His hat sits atop ashes.
Everyone’s jaws hang open on the mat – except Sandman.
Scooping the ashes into his hands, A SINISTER LAUGH ERUPTS FROM THE DREAM DEMON!
Those remaining—especially Troy—look wary.
DARKNESS!
…
…
…
FLUTTER!
WAIT, WHAT!?
…
…
…
LIGHTS—
HOLY SHIT!
THE CORNFIELD COLOSSUS IS RESURRECTED!
HEAD DOWN, ARMS SPREAD, HE STANDS BEHIND TROY—
SANDMAN THROWS THE ASHES INTO SOLVEIG’S FACE!
SCARECROW HOISTS HIM UP WITH ONE HAND—
BYE.
BYE.
BIRDIE!
CHOKESLAAAM!
He wheels round to face the others.
NIGHTSTICK SHOVES NOCTURNE INTO HIM!
THE SCARECROW LIFTS NOCTURNE INTO A CRUCIFIX!
PERCH!?
SHADOW ESCAPES, STANDING ON HIS SHOULDERS…
HE LOOKS DOWN AT THE FALLEN TROY!
“Remember me, Solveig!?” He screams—
NOCTURNE LEAPS OFF…
DOUBLE FOOT STOMP OF THE BEHEMOTH!
COCKBLOCKED!
NIGHTSTICK CATCHES HIM!
…
…
POWERBOMB INTO THE FLAMING CAGE!
SOMEBODY CALL 9-1-FUCKING-1, THERE’S BEEN A HOMICIDE!
Nocturne rolls on the mat, his flesh bubbling and peeling.
Pin—
ONE!
…
LUCIFER FORCES HIS MEATPUPPET, CROWLEY, TO CLIMB THE ROPES!
…
TWO!!
…
HE SCREAMS AS HIS SKIN BURNS AND BLISTERS!
…
…
THREEEEE!!!
NOOO!!!
TRAUMAAAAA!!!
TOP-ROPE LEG DROP BY CROWLEY!
The Deranged One curls into the fetal position on the mat.
SCARECROW MOVES ON HIM—
VALKYRIE!
TROY CLOBBERS THE HAYMAN WITH THE SUPERMAN PUNCH!
ENTER SANDMAN…
VALKYRIE FOR YOU TOO, BITCH!
SOLVEIG GRABS A FRONT FACELOCK…
NO WAY—
THE TRICKSTER HEAVES THAT HEAVY MOTHERFUCKER UP!
HAMMER OF THE GODDAMN GODS!
360-POUND JACKHAMMER!
He hooks the leg—
ONE!
…
…
TWO!!
…
…
…
SCARECROW STOPS IT!
…
WOOOOSH!
WHAT THE HELL?
WHY IS HE HERE!?
…
THE REALM WALKER – SIGIL!
Amidst the carnage, Sigil leans out of his portal…
AND GRABS LEE!
NOCTURNE REACHES FOR HIS PARTNER—
WOOOOSH!
TOO LATE – SIGIL AND CROWLEY ARE GONE!
What does The Collector want with the vessel possessed by Lucifer!?
SCARECROW & SANDMAN GRAB TROY BY THE THROAT—
TO SAND, BIRDIE, TO SAND – DOUBLE CHOKESLAM!
NIGHTSTICK RUSHES THEM—
ANOTHER DOUBLE CHOKESLAM!
FLYING SOLO, NOCTURNE RACES IN—
BYE BYE TO YOU, TOO – DOUBLE CHOKESLAM!
PURGATORY CANNOT BE STOPPED!
Sandman leers with his remaining teeth, while Scarecrow surveys the destruction.
“Oh, how I look forward to tormenting your souls for all eternity. It’ll be Paradise.”
Scarecrow lowers his head as The Night Terror looms over their fallen adversaries.
“There, there.” Sandman soothes them. “Close your eyes…”
“Go to sleep.” Scarecrow finishes.
…
THE SCARECROW SPINS HIM ROUND!
KICK TO THE GUT…
CRUCIFIX—
THE HAYMAN HAS HIS OWN TEAMMATE—HIS KIN—IN THE PERCH!
LIGHTS OUT, LIGHTS OUT!
…
…
…
THEY COME BACK ON, AND SANDMAN IS DOWN!
SCARECROW HITS THE PERCH!
WHAT IN THE SHIT IS HE DOING!?
“Brent was right.” He says. “Purgatory is the way it is because of monsters like us… Like him. I can change that; I can fix it – but not by taking Paradise. Seizing Heaven would merely condemn it to Hell. That is not my intent, not my desire.”
He steps over Sandman, dragging Nightstick on top of Nocturne.
ONE!
…
…
TWO!!
…
…
…
THREEEE?
…
…
…
THREEEEE!!!
SCARECROW THROWS THE MATCH FOR PURGATORY!
HELL HAS FALLEN!
HEAVEN WINS!
With Lee Crowley having vanished and The Scarecrow having turned on his team mate, no-one can quite believe what’s happened.
Troy Solveig and Nightstick are back to their feet, looking across at The Hayman, who has his head lowered almost shamefully.
“I wanted it,” he says stoically. His head slowly rises to meet the gaze of those before him. “I wanted it for me and the monsters who didn’t ask to be created; the monsters who became what they were always supposed to be.”
“Then why?” Solveig queries with a confused shrug. “Why did you grant us victory?”
“Brent Kersh was right,” The Scarecrow admits with a knowing nod. “Monsters will always be monsters. They’d destroy paradise, even if I won it for them.”
“What happens now?” Nightstick asks curiously.
“We all go home,” Solveig responds.
There are multiple flashes.
First, Nightstick is gone.
Troy Solveig follows.
That leaves The Scarecrow, who helps The Sandman back to his feet.
“Where your eyes don’t go…”
Flash.
The Scarecrow goes back to purgatory.
Cut.
A portal.
A blue portal zaps open, Lee Crowley falling out of it and onto his knees, coughing. The Collector shortly follows through after, waiting for a moment.
He surveys his surroundings, making himself shiver.
The Underworld.
They’re at the Gates of Hell.
Suddenly, The Chief appears.
“Our deal is complete,” Sigil says, stepping towards the portal. “You gave me Sorrow and I’ve given you Hell.”
The Chief nods and Sigil steps through the portal.
It vanishes.
Crowley stands up, a fire burning in his eyes.
“You cheated me,” he growls.
“You don’t deserve Heaven, Lucifer,” The Chief says sternly. “This is where you belong.”
Lee steps forward, grabbing him by the throat.
“You can’t make me step back inside,” he roars, squeezing tightly. “I’m too powerful to be stopped by the likes of you, Angel.”
Despite struggling, The Chief nods in agreement.
“I can’t stop you, but he can.”
“He!?” Lee says with a grimace.
Suddenly, Lucifer doubles over, holding his head in agony – he releases The Chief, who backs away, but doesn’t stop talking.
“Remember what he took from you, Lee!” The Chief pleads. “Remember Jonathan; remember how he stole your love and your life.”
There’s a sudden and rapturous roar that pours out of Lee Crowley, who stands up, bleeding from his eyes.
“I’ve got him,” he replies between gritted teeth. “I’ve got him.”
He stumbles forward towards the Gates of Hell, watching as they open before him. Lee Crowley has risen from within himself to capture Lucifer inside.
“Take him home,” The Chief says calmly.
Lee Crowley steps through the gates of hell, looking behind him at The Chief as they slowly close over, locking both himself and Lucifer inside.
The Chief sighs, taking a deep breath – Lee Crowley made his sacrifice and Lucifer is exactly where he belongs.
It’s over.
There’s a wink from The Chief…
And then he vanishes.
It’s finally over.
The lights begin to flash like a paparazzi’s camera as Deep Purple’s “Stormbringer” hits the Slaughterhouse. Smoke fills the entrance tube as the lyrics kick in.
Comin’ out of nowhere
Drivin’ like rain
There he is. Luke Storm walks through the clouds like a lightning bolt to stand at the head of the ramp. He removes his sunglasses as he takes in the crowd, his eyes full of rage.
With a nod and smile, the Real Deal marches down to the ring, ready for war. He slides in, going to the opposite turnbuckle to raise his fists in the air in defiance.
Ride the rainbow
Crack the sky
Stormbringer coming
Time to die
It’s time for war as he drops down to wait for his opponent.
The slow sound of a guitar trickles throughout the speakers as the lights dim to show but a spotlight on the stage. “Shadow on the Sun” by Audio Slave soon begins to kick in.
“Once upon a time
I was of the mind
To lay your burden down.”
As the next lyric begins, Voynich steps out onto the stage with a look of focus on his face. There’s a different air about The Best Kept Secret tonight. After what he’s been through once again, his eyes are red, his face is angry – this isn’t the Voynich we know and love.
This is something else.
“Leave you where you stood
You believed I could
You’d seen it done before.”
He stops for a moment to soak in the atmosphere, waiting for the music to kick in with the chorus before making a fast-paced walk towards the ring.
“And I can tell you why
People die alone
I can tell you I’m
The shadow on the sun.”
As the crowd roar, The Best Kept Secret hops up the ring steps, wipes his feet on the ring apron and steps through the ropes.
The Champion enters the ring and stands opposite the Challenger, handing off his OSW World Championship to the referee, who parades around the ring with it for just a moment.
This is the battle we’ve all been waiting for.
Can Luke Storm break The Curse?
The bell sounds and he offers a cocky handshake to Voynich, only The Best Kept Secret dives forward with a kick to the mid-section instead. He saw the interview and he’s fucking pissed.
Voynich slams him with a right hand, another, another, another, he beats The Challenger back into the ropes and sends him across the ring.
Storm comes barrelling back, ducking under a Clothesline attempt.
Only Voynich spins quickly, leaping up into the air!
NECKBREAKER!
Leaping Neckbreaker!
He covers with a stiff forearm to the face.
ONE…
KICK OUT!
The Champion immediately swivels into a Headlock, kneeling behind Luke and applying pressure around his throat. He squeezes, standing up to drop a knee into his back.
Another.
Another.
Another!
Luke roars in agony as every knee crunches off his spine, telling the referee that he refuses to quit with every question.
The World Champion tries to hold on but it’s Storm that battles back to his feet, running him backwards into the corner to break the hold. Luke can’t believe how aggressive his opponent is being, but remember what he’s lost.
Tonight alone, Voynich lost Darby Sorrow to Sigil – after weeks of trying to avoid it, he lost his friend.
The emotion is running high.
Luke runs at him with a Big Boot, but Voynich ducks underneath and rolls expertly forward. He pops up, turns and catches Storm running at him.
SNAP POWERSLAM!
That drove all the air of out The Tempest.
Voynich immediately slides to the outside and grabs Storm by the legs, dragging him under the bottom rope. He tosses him as hard as he can into the barricade, then into the ring apron.
The Tempest is being beaten from pillar to post.
He stumbles away, but Voynich lifts him up.
CHEST FIRST ACROSS THE STEEL STEPS!
Storm bounces off and hits the floor in a heap, leaving The Best Kept Secret to kick the steel stairs apart. He picks up one end and stands over Luke.
WHAM!
HE SLAMS THE STEPS DOWN!
NO!
STORM MOVES!
LUKE ROLLS AWAY JUST IN THE KNICK OF TIME!
The force of the impact stumbles Voynich, who see’s Luke Storm running towards him! The Tempest leaps onto the side of the steps, bouncing off with…
FLYING KICK TO THE JAW!
DOWN GOES THE WORLD CHAMPION!
Luke runs expertly at the steps, uses them as a springboard and dives off with a kick that almost takes Voynich’s head off.
The Challenger grabs The Champion by the head and nails him with a Forearm, stumbling him backwards towards the ramp. He follows, nailing him with right hands, each one pushing Voynich backwards up the ramp towards the ring entrance.
Storm grabs him by the head, dragging him down the tunnel.
And we lose them for a moment.
Seconds later and they’re backstage. Storm is dragging Voynich along, only a knee gets driven into his mid-section that breaks it up. This is turning into a fucking brawl. Voynich grabs Luke and slams him into a stack of pallets, sending them everywhere.
He quickly starts grabbing them, stacking them up about four high on the floor as Luke gets back to his feet.
Another couple of right hands and he places Storm on the pallets, mounting him with more rights for good measure, with a plan to keep him there.
The Best Kept Secret pulls Storm up on the pallets.
What’s he going for?
BRAAAAIIINNNNBUSSSSSTTTEERR!!
MONOLITH ON THE FUCKING WOODEN PALLETS!
OH MY GOD!
HOLY SHIT!
LUKE STORM’S HEAD IS DRIVEN INTO THE WOOD AND HE’S BUSTED WIDE THE FUCK OPEN!
Voynich angrily rolls him off the pallets and gets back to his feet, looking furious. This is a different side of The Best Kept Secret, folks. This is a man who’s lost far too much.
He can’t cover back here and pulls a bloodied Storm back to his feet, grabbing at the wound on his forehead, pulling and yanking at the skin. Jesus Christ, he’s opening him up as much as he can.
The Tempest roars in pain, stumbling away towards a small room. It’s the same one that Brent Kersh and The Scarecrow fought through last week because it’s boarded up with wooden planks.
Storm leans against the wood boarded window, receiving a kick to the mid-section for his troubles. Voynich grabs him by the head, leads him away, spins…
AND RUNS LUKE STORM STRAIGHT THROUGH THE FUCKING BOARDED WINDOW!
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!
THERE’S WOOD EVERYWHERE AND LUKE STORM HANGS HALF IN HALF OUT OF A GOD DAMN WOOD BOARD WINDOW!
Voynich angrily pulls him out…
WOOD BOARD TO THE FUCKING SKULL!
STORM WITH THE BOARD OF WOOD! AS HE WENT THROUGH, HE GRABBED A PIECE OFF AND WHEN VOYNICH PULLED HIM OUT, HE SMACKED HIM ACROSS THE FUCKING HEAD WITH IT!
The World Champion stumbles.
ANOTHER WOOD BOARD SHOT TO THE FUCKING HEAD!
VOYNICH GOES DOWN!
Storm tosses the board away and turns around to find a catering table. He clears it off and grabs a couple of wooden pallets, stacking them on the catering table.
The Best Kept Secret is slowly back to his feet, being dragged over to the table combination. Luke hoists him up onto the pallets, nailing him with a leaping forearm to lay him out.
Where’s he going now?
It’s a few moments but Luke Storm returns to the action with a ladder, setting it up opposite the table and pallet combination that Voynich now lays across. He begins climbing, reaching the top of this ten foot ladder.
What’s he gonna do?
Oh God.
MOOOOOOOOOOOOONSAULT!
MOOOOOONSAULT!!
THUNDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRR!! HEAR HIM ROAR!
MOONSAULT THROUGH VOYNICH, THE PALLETS AND THE FUCKING TABLE!
THERE’S CARNAGE EVERYWHERE!
“HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!” ROAR THE FANS INSIDE THE ARENA!
THESE TWO GUYS ARE DESTROYING THEMSELVES!
The referee checks on them both, but neither are willing to give up. This means just too damn much to them both.
Luke Storm is the first back to his feet, holding his mid-section. He grabs Voynich by the head and begins dragging him back towards the ring.
We await at Ringside, watching as both men trundle back through the entrance tunnel – beat to shit.
As they come back out to ringside, Luke Storm is in control, rolling Voynich back into the ring.
Instead of covering, he heads to the corner and waits for his opponent to get back up.
You know what he’s waiting for.
It’s The Lightning Strike!
Voynich stumbles back to his feet.
LIGHTNING STRIKE!
SUPERKICK!
NO!
VOYNICH CATCHES THE LEG AND FLIPS LUKE OVER!
THE STORM BRINGER LANDS ON HIS FUCKING FEET!
CLOTHESLINE BY VOYNICH!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
STORM GOES UNDER…
SPRINGBOARD OFF THE BOTTOM ROPE!
CODEBREAKER!
SPRINGBOARD INTO THE DOWNPOUR!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
VOYNICH CATCHES HIM, HOLDING HIM THERE…
He pushes Luke forward so that he’s hanging down, keeping a hold of his legs and stepping through…
THE WALLS OF JERICHO!
HIGH ANGLE WALLS!
LUKE STORM IS FUCKING SCREAMING IN AGONY!
THERE’S NO-WHERE FOR THE CHALLENGER TO GO!
The referee wants to know if he’ll tap, but Luke refuses. He pulls himself under so that the high angle has been escaped…
HE TURNS OVER, FLIPPING VOYNICH AND SPINNING HIM OUT!
JESUS CHRIST!
Both men are slowly back to their feet after that insane sequence!
ISHTAR GATE!
RUNNING LARIAT!
STORM DUCKS IT!
KICK TO THE GUT!
STUNNER!
GALE FORCE! GALE FORCE!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
VOYNICH PUSHES HIM OUT!
LUKE TURNS…
SLICED BREAD NUMBER 2!
THE EIGHTH WONDER!
NAILED IT!
HE FUCKING NAILED IT!
VOYNICH INTO THE COVER…
SURELY THIS IS IT!
ONE….
…….
…….
TWO….
…….
…….
THREE!!
VOYNICH HAS DONE IT! THE MATCH IS OVER!
WAIT…
NO!
THE REFEREE SPOTS STORM’S LEG ON THE ROPES! HIS LEG IS ON THE FUCKING ROPES!
The Best Kept Secret gets back to his feet in disbelief. He thought he’d done it. He really did. He rolls to the outside and grabs a ringside technician, demanding that he does something.
What the fuck is he up to?
He rolls back into the ring with a device in his hand – it’s a button of some kind and he’s pressing it.
OH NO…
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?
THIS IS…
THIS HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF OLD SCHOOL FUCKING WRESTLING.
THE STEEL CAGE FROM EARLIER TONIGHT IS BEING LOWERED!
VOYNICH IS LOWERING THE GOD DAMN CAGE USED EARLIER TONIGHT BETWEEN DEATHNOTE AND SIMON.
Luke Storm gets back to his feet just in time to see the cage half lowered, covering the middle rope and runs at Voynich, tackling him to the canvas.
He starts pounding away at him, knocking the button out of the ring in the process.
The Tempest gets back to his feet and pulls Voynich up, running him towards the cage.
HE BOUNCES THE WORLD CHAMPION OFF THE STEEL!
BUT NO!
VOYNICH HOLDS ON!
WHAT THE FUCK!
THE BEST KEPT SECRET HOLDS ONTO THE STEEL LIKE A FUCKING CAT AND STARTS CLIMBING!
WHAT’S HE DOING!?
Storm inevitably follows.
The cage isn’t even fully lowered folks. They’re not fifteen feet above the ground – they’re closer to twenty.
Both of them ascend to the top, swinging legs over.
RIGHT AND LEFT HANDS ENSUE.
GET DOWN BOYS…
GET DOWN BEFORE SOMEONE FUCKING DIES!
LEFTS…
RIGHTS…
LEFTS…
VOYNICH IS WOBBLING…
STORM IS WOBBLING…
THIS IS DANGEROUS. THIS IS FUCKING DANGEROUS!
Suddenly, Voynich edges himself backwards towards the corner – he was close enough to that side to be able to do it. He pulls up at the support and gets himself back to his feet.
HE’S STANDING ATOP THE CAGE!
STORM IS HELPLESS.
Luke looks at him and then looks down, shaking his head.
WHAT THE FUCK IS VOYNICH GONNA DO!?
HE WALKS THE FUCKING CAGE LIKE A TIGHTROPE! HE RUNS FROM THE FUCKING CORNER ACROSS THE STEEL BAR INTO A LEAPING DROPKICK!
BOTH MEN TUMBLE FROM THE FUCKING TOP OF THE CAGE TO THE FUCKING RING!
HOLY SHIT!
OH MY GOD! OH MY FUCKING GOD!
WHO SAID VOYNICH DOESN’T HAVE WHAT IT FUCKING TAKES!?
WHO DARED FUCKING SAY IT!?
HE JUST RAN LIKE A CAT ACROSS THAT CAGE BAR AND LEAPT INTO A DROPKICK THAT KNOCKED BOTH HIMSELF AND LUKE STORM OFF THE FUCKING CAGE TO THE CANVAS BELOW!
The fans are going wild.
It’s insanity inside The Slaughterhouse.
No-one can believe this.
Voynich crawls across the ring, placing an arm over Storm…
ONE….
…….
…….
TWO….
…….
…….
THREE!!
…….
…….
…….
…….
KICK OUT!
LUKE STORM…. KICKS… THE FUCK…. OUT!
HOW!?
HOW THE FUCK IS HE EMBODYING THE SPIRIT OF EDWARD GOD DAMN NEWTON AFTER THAT SHIT!?
Both men are done.
Both men are broken.
The referee has to count it. Neither man are moving…
ONE….
…….
…….
TWO….
…….
…….
THREE….
…….
…….
FOUR….
…….
…….
FIVE….
…….
…….
SIX…
…….
…….
SEVEN…
BUT HERE COMES VOYNICH…
…….
…….
EIGHT…
HE’S USING THE ROPES…
…….
…….
NINE!
VOYNICH IS BACK TO HIS FEET!
He breaks the count and dives back into the cover…
ONE….
…….
…….
TWO….
…….
…….
THREE!!
…….
…….
…….
…….
KICK OUT!
LUKE STORM KICKS OUT AGAIN!
THIS… IS… UNREAL.
Voynich slowly gets back to his feet, pulling Luke Storm back to his as well.
The World Champion grabs him by the head and runs towards the corner…
SLICED BREAD #2!
THE EIGHTH WONDER!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
LUKE STORM PUSHES HIM OFF INTO THE TURNBUCKLES!
Voynich bounces off and turns around…
KICK TO THE GUT!
GALE FORCE!
STUNNER OUT OF NO-WHERE!
STUNNER! STUNNER! STUNNER!
The Pandemonium Curse be damned, he’s winning this fucking match.
Luke though doesn’t cover…
HE DEMANDS THAT THE CHAMPION GET BACK TO HIS FEET!
HE RUSHES FORWARD…
LIGHTNING STRIKE!
SUPERKICK!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
VOYNICH DUCKS!
ISHTAR GATE!
RUNNING LARIAT THAT SPINS LUKE STORM AROUND WITH THE GOD DAMN FORCE!
THE WORLD CHAMPIOPN IS SENDING THE CROWD INTO FUCKING RAPTURES! HE SCREAMS AT STORM TO GET BACK TO HIS FEET BUT THE CHALLENGER IS BROKEN IN GOD DAMN HALF…
YET…
YET…
THERE’S MORE FIGHT IN HIM. HE’S DOING IT… HE USES THE ROPES AND PULLS HIMSELF BACK UP…
HE STUMBLES…
TURNS…
KICK TO THE GUT!
IMPLANT DDT! HIGH IMPACT IMPLANT DDT!
VOYNICH HITS THE NEVERMIND! HE NAILS EDWARD NEWTON’S FUCKING FINISHER!
BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT HE’S CALLING IT TONIGHT!
IT’S THE PANDEMONIUM CURSE! HE NAILS THE PANDEMONIUM CURSE!
HE COVERS…
ONE….
…….
…….
TWO….
…….
…….
THREE!!
…….
…….
…….
…….
IT’S OVER! THE PANDEMONIUM CURSE IS A-FUCKING-LIVE! VOYNICH HAS DEFENDED THE OSW CHAMPIONSHIP AT RING OF DREAMS AGAINST THE LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER WINNER!
THE GOD DAMNED… CURSE… LIVES!
Luke Storm was insanely game here tonight; The Tempest almost had it and unleashed everything he had, but it wasn’t enough.
Voynich is the Old School Wrestling World Champion and the curse…
Is…
ALIVE.
The Butcher remains bound, sat on a chair behind the large oak table in the Main Hall of the Hall of Skulls. He looks terrified.
His eyes are wide open and waiting for Black Skull.
Though you can tell he’d be thrilled to never see him again.
When the footsteps begin clapping against the floor behind him, he knows what’s coming. The Black Skull stops just beside him, kneeling down. He clicks his finger, disengaging the chains.
That surprises Colin.
“I can’t really describe how frustrated I am,” Black Skull says, standing up to meet Colin who wisely rises as well. “I told you to kill Sigil and instead, he found the Life Crystal.”
Colin stutters and stammers, looking for his excuses.
“I’m sor-“
Another click of the fingers and The Butcher’s mouth is sown shut.
“I don’t want to hear your apologies,” he growls angrily. “I put this order together to stop exactly what’s happening and you were brought in to fulfil a purpose. Your daughter sacrificed her life to hold one of our crystals; yet you still failed to kill the man who slaughtered her.”
Black Skull walks over to a large black book that sits on his side of the table, flicking through until he finds the page he was looking for.
“And now desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Colin murmurs, trying to get his mouth unsown. He mumbles and talks, so much so that Black Skull clicks his fingers, allowing him to speak.
“Please,” he says through breathlessness. “Give me another chance. I can promise you; I can promise you that I’ll finish this.”
He thinks about it.
“I thought you understood who I was and what I was capable of,” he groans with dissatisfaction. “Even knowing that, you failed.”
There’re a hundred thousand thoughts running through the mind of The Butcher, who’s desperate to win whoever this is back on side.
“What’re you going to do?” Colin nervously asks.
“I have to buy myself some time before the grand finale,” he admits casually, looking at the book. “And I have just the thing.”
He beckons Colin over – who wastes no time in rushing to his side. He peers into the book at Black Skull’s nodding instruction.
His face goes white.
“Please don’t, please,” The Butcher begs and pleads.
“What’re you so afraid of, Colin?” He asks with a shrug. “It isn’t like you’ll be here to see it.”
With that, he clicks his fingers and The Butcher’s neck does a 180, facing the entirely wrong direction.
Like a tree falling in the forest, The Butcher tumbles to the floor, crashing into the wood with such a ginormous thud that dust particles fly up into the air.
“It’s time to unleash the Terrors upon Old School Wrestling,” he muses with a growling pleasure.
He picks up the book and runs a hand across it.
“Hello darkness, my old friend.”
Cut.