Post by James Nightingale on May 29, 2020 6:05:29 GMT -5
The scene opens with James Nightingale standing on top of a tall building, looking across a large city as the sun sets on a humid spring evening. He walks over to the ledge and crouches down, gazing into the distance, a storm is beginning to brew, the scent of the storm begins to evade the air, it won’t be long before the thunder and lightning crashes over the city. Nightingale’s trenchcoat begins to blow in the wind. He pulls out a cigarette and lights it, the exhaled smoke quickly blowing away as the wind continues to pick up.
“Kingdom Come, my PPV debut in Alpha Pro Wrestling. The Angel of Death has arrived and already has made an impact. Last week I showed the world that my inner demon is far more ferocious and aggressive than anything this roster has seen. I decimated The Demon Abaddon, left him drooling in a pile of his own shit, beaten so bad that the Pastor will be looking for a refund from Demons R’ Us. The pleads of the referee were not enough to save Abaddon from being eradicated from this promotion. Now that The Demon has been slain, my focus shifts to defending my kingdom. I might be a new face here in APW, but Kingdom Come takes place in my backyard.”
The camera pans around Nightingale, revealing London, England, the city illuminated with lights as the sunsets. Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, The London Eye, Tower Bridge, there is nothing quite like London, a diverse melting pot of culture forming one of the most beautiful, historic cities in the world.
Nightingale stands as he overlooks his city.
“This is my Kingdom, I will defend it.”
He flicks away his cigarette and turns and walks to the roof exit.
Nightingale marches down the street, the sunset complete, darkness has fallen upon the city. Rain begins to fall, the storm has arrived in London. Nightingale pushes his way through the crowds of people. He reaches Chinatown, and walks under the Chinatown Gate, the vibrant, ornamental gate with traditional Qing Dynasty designs in a bustling enclave. He continues walking until he approaches The Platinum Lace, a popular gentleman’s club. He takes refuge inside from the persistent rain. He slowly works his way around the club, surveying the high levels of sleaze inside. He pulls up a stool at the bar and sits down.
A barmaid serves Nightingale, “What are you drinking tonight sweetie?”
“Jack Daniels, double, on the rocks.”, replies Nightingale.
As the barmaid prepares his drink, Nightingale turns his head to the right, fixating on a group of Japanese businessmen in a VIP area. The disgusting, mature men throwing around their endless supply of money at the hardworking girls, who appear violated from the perverse nature of the men.
The barmaid hands Nightingale his drink, “Thank you.”
“Masuda Jubei, as I sit here watching over these disgusting old men, trying to force the blood flow to their puny little peckerwoods, it’s funny that all I can think about is you.”
“To be booked against the inaugural APW World Champion, in only my third match for this promotion, is truly an honour. It is also a testament to my continued hard work and dedication to my craft, the eradication of The Demon Abaddon showed Irina how good I really am, and that I will one day become the World Champion myself. But to continue my momentum, I have to prove myself against you Jubei.”
“You have cemented yourself in the history books, there will be many World Champions throughout the years here in APW, but there can only ever be one inaugural champion and that is yourself, so for that, I applaud you. But really there is an asterisk next to your title reign, and every title reign up until now. That asterisk reads title won pre the arrival of James Nightingale, because you can be damn sure that if I’d been in this company when the title was created, then I would have been the inaugural champion.”
“You were lucky enough to have that belt around your waist, the World title is sacred, you should have been willing to die for that title. When I win that title, they will have to prise it out of my cold, dead hands before I surrender it.”
“But you Jubei, this noble warrior from the orient, you faked your own death just to avoid the embarrassment of losing the title? Are you fucking kidding me? You are pathetic, your cowardness has already desecrated the lineage of the title to almost irreversible damage. It’s a good job that I have arrived in APW to mend the damage that you have caused. It figures though Jubei, after all, chickenshit runs in Japanese culture, the Samurai were famed for Seppuku, the act of killing themselves honourably rather than fall into enemy hands. So it actually is understandable why you would go to great lengths not to be embarrassed when you lost your belt, because you have been raised with such cowardness your whole life.”
“I am the polar opposite Jubei, I am a man with virtually nothing to lose anymore, my pride can’t be taken away in defeat. Although I wasn’t pinned in my debut match, I also wasn’t victorious. Most would have tuck tail and rage quit the promotion, me? Fuck that! I’m “The Angel of Death”, I come here with a reputation to uphold, I ain’t gonna run away after a defeat, or in your case, the prospect of defeat. I got up, dusted myself off and refocused, and we all saw what happened to Abaddon when I regained my focus.”
“So then you make your return at Gods of Wrestling, this middle-aged, washed up Japanese businessman pretending to be a master of Strong Style. What have you done since you returned here pal? You spiked your previous business partner, Vincent Pryde’s head into the mat, you had your match against Osbourne stricken from the television feed, and then you abandon your tag team partners, leaving them to get dismantled by The Bloodline.”
“There isn’t really a lot there which is striking a large amount of fear into my heart, Master. Pryde isn’t a wrestler, nailing him with a Piledriver proves nothing, and trust me, during my dark years, I attacked my fair share of civilians, it only makes you look desperate, at least when I eradicated that prick on my opening night here, he was actually a trained wrestler, albeit not very talented for someone with such a big mouth.”
“You are just chicken shit to the bone, having the match taken off air? Seriously? Why do you even do this for your profession when you could just go run your business? This sport is all about the war between the ropes, it’s a blood sport dammit. If you are too scared to fight then just fuck off and leave the mat clear of your unworthy stench, leave it clear for stars like myself, who are willing to die on that mat for the cause. I fear no man Jubei, I sure as hell don’t fear you. I’ll stand on that mat, toe-to-toe with The Master and look you in the eye and I’d happily tell you how much of a piece of shit you are. You could try chopping me with your self proclaimed ‘hardest chops in the business”, guess what, I spent many weeks and months training in the dojos of Japan, so I can do Strong Style just as well as you. You can chop my chest until you’ve chopped away all my flesh, until my skin is riddled with haematomas, it won’t be enough. Pain is not an issue for me, I’ve caused more pain than you can imagine, to both myself and others. I don’t care what happens to my body, I would sacrifice every inch of it to eradicate the likes of you. So you try and chop me Sunday, I’ll chop you back, twice as hard, and then I’ll do it again, and again, and again until you're begging for the match to be taken off the air. But you won’t be able to speak, because my arm will already be around your throat, my legs grapevined around your body. You’ll be choked out even before you can mutter the words “Watashi wa teishutsu shimasu (I submit)”, just ask Abaddon how that feels, oh wait you can’t because he’s still sleeping it off.”
“And walking out on your partners, well it’s not really much of a surprise is it really? I think we have established by now that you’re a scared little Young Lion.”
Nightingale downs his drink, pays the barmaid, and stands up, ready to leave the bar. As he is starting to leave, he notices one of the Japanese businessmen taking liberties on one of the girls. Nightingale stops in his tracks, turns and marches over to the VIP section, the business mans protection, a six-foot-five, bold Japanese heavy with Yakuza tattoos tries to intercept Nightingale, he is quickly met with a palm thrust to the throat dropping him to his knees as he gasps for his breath, before finally slumping to the floor. The businessman quickly lets go of the girl in an attempt to stop what’s about to happen. He starts to talk Japanese to Nightingale with praying hands, but before he can finish his sentence, Nightingale headbutts him, flooring him instantly. The other men run away quickly, leaving their fallen comrade on the floor. Nightingale rummages through the man’s jacket pocket and pulls out a large roll of money, handing it to the girls, who are in shock. Nightingale then turns and walks to the exit.
“Oh and Jubei, I also forgot to say that this match against you is also personal for me. Your little prick of a nephew, Teijin, cost my wife the Action Wrestling United States title when he blasted her in the knee with his metal baseball bat. Now she hates my guts, and I don’t blame her for hating me, but I still love her, and he wronged the woman I love. So it’s going to be an eye for an eye, a tooth for a fucking tooth. I’m going to bring a bat with me to Kingdom Come, and I’m going to destroy your knee, just like Teijin did to Alice.”
“Do yourself a favour Jubei, fake your own death again before Sunday. Because if you step inside the ring with me at Kingdom Come, death for real, is guaranteed.”
Nightingale leaves the club and walks back into the street, lifting his face to the sky. Raindrops pour down on his face, washing away the sins of his past. He runs his hand through his wet hair and he refocuses. He walks away from the club as the loud engines of incoming Lexus can be heard in the distance, likely gang members affiliated with the Japanese businessmen.
After endlessly walking through the streets, through the ongoing storm, Nightingale stops on the north bank of the River Thames, looking over the Tower of London. He scales the outer wall, sitting on the edge whilst lighting up another cigarette, the rain has settled, yet the thunder and lightning continues to persist high above the city.
“Jake Karnes, The Revenant, a person who has returned, supposedly from the dead. You are an inspiration to the rest of us, most would have succumbed to a wound such as the one inflicted upon you all those years ago. Surviving a gunshot wound to the chest is almost unheard of, even despite the advances in modern medicine, it is almost always a death sentence. And I should know Jake, because I saw the same injuries time and time again when I was a nurse. Some poor schmuck was carried into my Emergency Department, a fatal gunshot wound to the chest, and they always met the big man upstairs.”
“So what makes you different? You’re not ‘Just Kidding’ around anymore, the injuries you sustained have given you a new lease on life, a second chance at climbing to the top of our business, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
“Like you Jake, I have a second chance at life, I turned to the darkness long ago, I was so far lost in the darkness that I almost lost myself forever, almost. I’m clawing myself back to humanity, inch by inch, eradicating Abaddon last week was the first step, at Kingdom Come, I eradicate The Master and The Revenant.”
“I need this win more than you Jake, you are coming into my territory, my town, I cannot be embarrassed by a scared, middle-aged Japanese businessman, nor can I be embarrassed by a former comedy act turned journeyman seeking a second chance at success, sadly for you, that success will have to wait until after we compete at Kingdom Come.”
“I know how it feels Jake when you are desperate to make up for lost time, I was gone from the business I love for over fifteen years, it makes your time away look like a summer vacation. In that time Jake I dreamt of climbing to the top of our business, being handed a World Championship title and hoisting it in the air, that day has never come for me, yet.”
“You’ve achieved that feat in New Blood Wrestling, you climbed to the top of the mountain and basked in the glory of becoming the top guy in the company, yet you dropped the ball. You got yourself into the situation, you got yourself mixed within the wrong circles, and you got yourself shot. And because of your stupidity, you were unable to defend that title, and it was stripped away from you. You were lucky enough to get that opportunity to fight for the title, to win the title, yet that opportunity continues to elude me, although not for much longer.”
“Times are changing in Alpha Pro Wrestling, The Architects are no more, Warrens days as champion are numbered, The Angel of Death is rising up through this promotion and our match this Sunday will be yet another opportunity for myself to show the world that I am the one true World Champion this company both needs and deserves.”
Nightingale looks up to the famous Tower of London, famously known for its use as a prison for hundreds of years, the walls bearing witness to endless torture. He then looks down to the Tower green, the block still in place where execution after execution was committed via beheading.
“Jake, your survival instincts are commendable, but I could say for certain that you would not have survived the horrors of this place, not many could. But I am different, I have become a whole different kind of monster over my years of both the seduction and through the teachings of The Matriarch. I would stand against a whole armada and not flinch, nor would I back down from any fight. These are not the words of a madman, nor are they words of an arrogant, cocky newcomer to a promotion. Like you, I have surpassed to the brink of my own destruction, and I am finding my way back to the top, there is no chance in hell that Jubei nor yourself will be able to clip The Angel of Death’s wings this Sunday.”
“I hope the thought of facing me is giving you sleepless nights Jake, you already might be scared of Jubei’s chops? Trust me, I chop harder than him. You can sit in the diner till the end of time chomping down on as many hamburgers as you want, you can’t outrun me.”
“A gun couldn’t get it done last time, you showed your tough, I’ll make you a promise, I’ll give you my best shot, but trust me, I DON’T MISS!”
“I told Jubei to fake his own death before Sunday to avoid facing me. For you I suggest you get that gun, turn it to your temple and blow out your brains to save yourself the embarrassment of falling to a resounding defeat.”
Nightingale climbs down from the wall and continues on his way.
He makes his final stop, he arrives at the Greenwich Peninsula in East London, The O2 Arena, the location of Kingdom Come on Sunday. He looks up at the large domed arena, lightning continues to flash throughout the skies, followed by the large crash of thunder.
“I spent many hours in this place, the old Millennium Dome, watching American wrestling promotions bring their shows here on tour. I would dream that one day I would perform here, on Sunday my dream comes true.”
“Jake and Jubei, London is my Kingdom, and this is my fucking palace. Do you think you can come to my home and defeat me? No chance! I will not stop fighting on Sunday whilst blood is pumping in my veins, whilst oxygen still enters my body. I have fallen too far and climbed up again to blow this opportunity. I have a goal in sight, I am destined to become APW World Champion, it’s the one reason I have been given a second chance in life, I will not let my campaign be derailed at the first stop.”
“This great city has burned to the ground, this great city has been bombed, yet it still stands tall, stronger than ever. The Angel of Death has been torn down, dragged into the darkness, yet he has arisen like a phoenix, ready to conquer this promotion and take my seat as the chosen one, as the World Champion”
“Jake and Jubei, this Sunday at Kingdom Come, The Angel of Death comes for both of you, pray for mercy!”
Nightingale looks to the skies, raising his arms out wide in his signature pose, the camera panning away, from the arena, flashes of lightning continue, again followed by the large crashing of thunder.
