An Unlucky Thirteen

The scene opens up on one Damon Warrens sitting in his room alone. The lights are out in the room; no music or noise of any sorts can be heard. The Nitemare rests upon his bed, head in his hands, quietly contemplating. A crack of light reaches into the room as the door is edged open. Damon doesn't even look up, knowing without sight that it is his boyfriend Jaime Cortez coming to check on him.





Jaime:Babe... I'm worried about you. You've stayed in here since your loss to Lucy and Spartan... please come out of your room.. I miss spending time with you.



Damon sits in silence for a few moments more before letting out a heavy sigh.





Damon:I let them all down Jaime... I let them down..


Jaime's face falls, feeling true sorrow at seeing his love beating himself up.



Jaime:But babe you didn't let them do-



Damon: YES I DID! I TOLD THEM I WOULD OVERCOME THE EDGELORD AND THE WARRIOR! I COULDN'T DO IT! I LIED TO THEM! I PROMISED I WOULD NEVER LIE!



Damon explodes with rage, his face turning a violent red. Jaime barely flinches at the outburst. He pushes past the verbal blockade to sit next to his boyfriend. Jaime rests on Damon's shoulder.



Jaime: I know that's how you feel, but I don't think it's true. You promised them to overcome their bullshit.. and right now you can decide whether you will or not. You can either allow this loss to define you in the crowd's eyes... or you can overcome this moment. You can take this as fuel to go back and fight the good fight.. So what are you going to do?



Damon: .... you know I hate you sometimes...



Jaime:Because I'm right?



Damon nods slowly.





Damon: Because you're right.... I love you.



Jaime: I love you too babe... now let's go film your promo. It seems like no one else has anything worth saying.. so it's about time someone breaks through the nonsense. And yes I've set up a nice little scene for you because I'm the best boyfriend ever.



Damon lets out a light chuckle and leans over to kiss Jaime quickly before the two get up and head downstairs to film Damon's thoughts heading into his huge PPV match.



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The scene fades into a lounge like room. A fire roars in the background in an immaculate fireplace. The camera pans to the left a bit where it reveals Damon Warrens sitting in a large blood red armchair. In his right hand he absent mindedly swings a kendo stick. The blonde looks up at the camera with disinterest.





Damon Warrens: Architect Pro Wrestling fans I am deeply sorry for the last time you all saw me almost two weeks ago... I failed you. I am so incredibly sorry... it has truly caused me to question if I can follow through on my promises for you all... and after some soul seeking... I decided I still can. Not only can I meet my promises, but I am apparently been offered the perfect opportunity to do so at Liberty or Death. I find myself in a battle royal... where the winner will go on to a World Heavyweight Championship match. A battle royal.... the perfect storm of chaos. Bodies everywhere... no one is safe... allies are at best short lived... it's chaos.... and so am I. This is exactly the kind of warfare I thrive on. And I have so many friends to play war with... an unlucky thirteen...



Damon stands up and walks to the other side of the room as the camera follows. The video shows a wall on which there are thirteen framed photos, one of each of Damon's pay-per-view opponents.





Damon: Thirteen men step into my playground with me... and thirteen men will find out that when you try to conquer your worst Nitemare that the scares your fear leave on you can be quite permanent... and that failing to overcome those Nitemares.. well the disappoint just multiplies that fear exponentially. Someone who should know that very well is a man whom was a part of my debut match here in APW. A man who despite calling himself "The Champ" has never held a championship... John... you watched me crack the skull of your friend Latoya... you couldn't save her from my Justifiable Homicide... you have already tasted the bitterness of defeat at my hands. Not only that, but John... you have tasted defeat quite a bit haven't you... you haven't done anything to earn the moniker you gave yourself... and at Liberty or Death it will be no different..



With that Damon swings the kendo stick and cracks the frame of the picture of John Blade.





Damon: Worry not John for you are not alone... see Jaice Wilds also finds himself staring across from me in the ring for the second time. Last time we met Jaice I think I got into your head... you didn't even muster a word against me. I already have gripped my claws into your self doubt... I have already twisted your own mind so that it sees that you are simply destined to fade into obscurity... Jaice do you truly think that after your dreadful showing against me that you can rise above? Do you really think you have changed enough within the span of weeks to be close to my level?



Damon leaves the question unanswered although he is confident in his own unspoken answer. As with the first picture he fractures the glass of Jaice's picture with a swift shot.



Damon: Beyond some familiar foes from my short run so far there seems to be an influx of newcomers trying to make their first major statement in this battle royal. The first man to try and verbally stake his claim is one Marko Rask... now... I'm not sure man is the appropriate word because not only is he apparently seventeen years old... but his actions and words are those of a spoiled petulant child. You talk about all the dollars you have accumulated, but dear young Marko... there isn't enough money in the world to save you... Bratty rookies like you are partly why the Architects felt the need to come together... and I plan on making an example of you, but you shouldn't worry... you can probably afford the medical bills when I'm done maiming you.



Marko Rask's picture meets the same fate as those previous as the photo of his cocky grin lands with a crash on the ground.





Damon: From one overly cocky imbecile to another... Andre Aquarius.. Andre calls himself the "Whole Fuckin' Bidness"... which beyond being a terrible example of his vocabulary... is just pure fiction. A man who is the "Whole Bidness"... wouldn't have just been terminated from his last company. You're just another cookie cutter loud mouth egomaniac who has done absolutely nothing to back up his claims. I plan on giving you a thorough reality check that you desperately need.





Damon looks with disgust at Andre's picture before grabbing it off the wall and tossing it onto the ground. He follows up by stomping on it to crack the glass.





Damon: We also have... Old Man..? Is that it? That's his name? Jaime ... this can't be right.



Off camera Jaime Cortez nods to his partner.





Damon: Well Old Man no amount of socks and sandals, nor dad jokes, nor loosely true stories about experiences you may or may not have actually had will help at all in this ring. I will promise you that I'll make sure you're in a cozy retirement home though post match. And I'll even give you company... perhaps Arrow Zane who will most definitely share with you his unintelligible rants about the fans looking like rotten apples! Arrow you clearly have missed the target and if I were you I'd just quit now and save yourself the embarrassment...



Damon grabs the two pictures of Old Man and Arrow Zane and smashes them together. He pauses to wipe some stray glass shards off his arm before continuing his opinionated take down of his many opponents.



Damon: Eilich Fjéll... another newcomer to APW... another fairly unknown element.. but again being the researcher that I am.. I do know that you used to be a talk show host. You were the man sitting in a chair talking about mindless drivel who decided...hey why not let's try pro wrestling... Now I get it you have this deep connection to your grandfather and you want to grow up to be JUST LIKE HIM! And you will. Because I have been in this business for over a decade and I've never heard of your grandfather. He is a nobody. And don't worry you will be too.



Damon grabs Eilich's photo and just tosses it without a care. It is heard smashing against the wall in the background.



Damon: That brings me to the "Merciful One" Gunner. You came here to rule over the kingdom of APW... I worry though... how capable are you of ruling? Are you going to fall back down the rabbit hole of addiction? You returned to the ring because of a love for this business and a love for yourself... how sweet. Do you know why I am here Gunner? Because THIS. IS. MY. ADDICTION. I don't have a choice. When I am not in a ring inflicting pain it's like I go into a withdrawal.. and this is an addiction I don't plan on ever giving up. Love fades... but addiction is forever as you know very well.



Damon pauses with disgust at Gunner's picture. He just drops the photo to the ground with no pomp or circumstance.



Damon: You don't even deserve to be broken by my hands... drugs have already done that to you. Someone who isn't yet broken is an APW veteran.. Alex Scott. Alex you aren't broken... but you are lost... you are purposeless.. You seem to have this chip on your shoulder that is unwarranted. You praise yourself far beyond any level of truth.. you're a man who lost his championship to a woman who just learned what a wrist lock is two months ago.. You've lost all of your credibility..



With disappointment on his face Damon holds Scott's frame and shakes his head. He gently places it down and crushes it beneath his feet. As he does so it seems there he is let down by Scott.. that Damon was once impressed, but lost his faith in the man.



Damon: Now finally someone who I can relate to.. Aaron Osmosis. See it seems we have a fair bit in common Aaron... both call ourselves a Nightmare of sorts.. both in the ring for over a decade... but that's where the buck stops. I would find myself relating to you if it weren't for the fact you are just so god damned obnoxious. Your verbal diarrhea is mind numbing... I feel myself losing brain cells.. beyond that you just came back after taking your ball and going home from the business for a while.. you lack dedication.. but you don't lack rust... and that... that is what I plan to exploit. Some of us have never stopped being the hero the fans didn't know they needed.. some of us have never 'taken time off'. You're weak.



Now there is fury in the eyes of the Nitemare. As far as he is concerned Osmosis is a spit in the face of anyone who calls themselves a Nightmare and Damon takes out every moment of anger on the man's picture with his trust kendo stick. After a few moments he regains his composure and falls to an eerie calmness.



Damon: Now I reach death.. El Muertos. I know you are an orphan.. that's tough... I'm truly sorry for your loss...



Damon pauses in a moment of silence.



Damon: Not that of your parents.... I mean at Liberty or Death.. I have no sympathy for you... you're a murderer. I don't have any respect for you. You say you took on the persona of death itself to feel closer to lost souls... but I think it's for a very different reason. I think you took on this persona of death to justify your terrible deeds. I may be the Devil Himself Muertos... but I'm no murderer. I have morals. And I shall punish you and drag you into my pit of hell come Liberty or Death... you may be Death.. but I dear tortured boy.. I am the Liberty.. I shall liberate you from your crimes and your guilt through pain. You're welcome.



Muertos' picture is cast down among all of the broken and damaged pictures. His is currently untouched.. for his damage is to be saved for in person.



Damon: Patrick.. Kay.. Anthony.. an Ultraviolent Perfectionist. I like the ring of that.. sounds fun. I also happen to be a fan of ultraviolence. I say PKA let's go to war. Let's get violent. Let's maim each other. This could be a perfect first date. Really romantic isn't it? Unfortunately for you..this is going to be a verrrry disappointing date for you. I can imagine it's much like most of your romantic life... you walked out with little pay off.. zero glory.. and someone else ends up on top. See you there Patrick.



Damon carefully takes down Patrick's picture holding it momentarily before kissing the glass. He then with both hands slams it against his knee cracking it in half.



Damon: Finally we have the " Guru of Glee" Cray Mitchell. Beyond just being nauseated by your whole person.. what eats away at me is just how fucking pretentious you are. First of all anyone who uses a Justin Bieber song as an entrance theme deserves to be beat up. Just plain facts. Makes you seem so douchey. On top of that you act as if you were the highest of intellectual bourgeoisie looking down upon some sort of educational plebeians. You will find that you have met your cerebral match, and honestly your better, in one Damon Warrens. Sure the ultraviolence thing is fun.. and I'm still looking forward to my date with PKA... but intellectually breaking down my opponents... psychologically destroying them... that's where the real Glee is. Now my brain knows no boundaries... but even I cannot wrap my head around why you seemingly praised teenagers for "Actually being able to follow through" with mass shootings... fuck ... I'm a twisted son of a bitch Mitchell, but that's just messed up... and aren't you supposed to be the good guy.. the knight in shining armor?



Damon for the first time seems bewildered to the APW audience.



Damon: APW... when your chosen heroes are far more vile than a villain like myself... you must eventually wake up and realize that I was your hero all along. I am here alongside my Architect brethren to lead you all into a New Era of professional wrestling. An era where mediocrity and idiocy have NO PLACE. An era where bloodsport and trial by combat are revered and false gurus.. and murderers.. and spoiled brats are all rightfully demonized. I am here to save you all. You're welcome.



With that Damon cracks the last photo, that of Cray Mitchell, and the scene fades to black.