Home. The Astro Creeps were finally home. The Farmhouse had been rebuilt. While it wasn’t exactly how it had been before, they had what was important: an opening to their Labyrinth below the property. And that’s the first place Tempest went. He wandered through the dirt corridors aimlessly, humming a childhood nursery rhyme. It was an overused one, but he didn’t mind.
He wore the same red and green striped shirt he had on in Chicago that previous Monday. He had let his fingernails grow long, and filed them to a point. He held his arms out as he walked, slicing his fingernails into the dirt walls. He was wearing a mask on one half of his face, and his face paint on the other. It was as if he had fused two different former selves together. After some time, he found an old favorite spot.
The dirt floor had been disturbed when JC burned the place, and the steel grating was difficult to see through the dirt, but it was there. The metallic clang of his boots against it made it evident. He turned on a dime and sat down with his legs crossed in one fluid motion. He stopped humming abruptly and giggled.
“Hello, Konrad!”
The Cross-Hemisphere Championship was wrapped around his waist and seemed out of place with its surroundings. But it was there nonetheless. Tempest grinned hatefully.
“Boy, have we got a lot to talk about! And I can’t lie to you, I can’t even put into words how excited I am to be defending my newly won treasure against you!”
He laughed suddenly, bursting loudly, uncontrollably. Once it tapered off, his face turned grim.
“From the moment I stepped foot into this company, you’ve been very vocal on how much better you are than I am. Every time I turn around, Konrad Raab is running his filthy cocksucker about how Tempest doesn’t belong in this industry, that he isn’t a worthy champion, or that his reasonings for being here isn’t good enough for the Great Konrad Raab; a man who comes and goes as he pleases in this company, who didn’t even compete here at Wrestlestock. A man who instead whored himself out all over social media and used Wrestlestock only as a way to try to make himself look good by selling some shitty, handcrafted bracelets and overpricing them. All of that so that you could talk about yourself, over and over and over and over again going to Germany to donate toys, clothes, food, and probably your shitty handcrafted bracelets. Can I let you in on a little secret, Konrad? I couldn’t care less about Germany. Then again, tragedy thrills a man like me.”
He grinned again.
“And don’t go on about how despicable that is, because it’s even lower for you to capitalize on tragedy by self-promoting your ‘good’ deeds. Exactly zero people watching your self-promoting capitalization on tragedy are saying, ‘oh, fuck me, that Konrad Raab is such a great guy! Look how many times he’s tweeting about all of the wonderful things he’s doing for people that are going through tragedy!’ It’s kind of like, taking a camera out and recording yourself giving a homeless man some food, isn’t it? But you’re better than me, aren’t you Konrad?”
He spat on the dirt floor in front of him.
“Fuck you. You fucking part time piece of shit, do you see what this is!?”
He pointed to the championship around his waist.
“This is the Global Coalition’s Cross-Fucking-Hemisphere Championship. Look me dead in the eye, you fucking self-absorbed, self-righteous fake self-proclaimed hero. In fact, this entire division should be looking me dead in the eye right now. Do I have your attention? You think I was a pain in the ass when I was running rampant in the Coalition’s Chaos Division? Well, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The Cross-Hemisphere Championship is mine, and I’m willing to do anything to keep it. I will keep this title in my possession by any means necessary. Konrad, are you willing to take it from me, by any means necessary? If you’re not, then you’re going to fail. You can whine and bitch and complain all you want about how unfair it is for me to break the rules to keep this championship, and I’m going to tell you right now, that I’m going to do just that. You better have three fucking referees out in that ring making sure ol’ Tempest is playing nice, because the moment I get a chance to run my dirt-caked fingernails across your eyes, I’m going to do it. The first opportunity I get to use Koznar, Daedalus, or Pisces in my favor, I’m going to take it. And in the end, you can say anything you want. But you’ll be saying it without the championship in your possession.”
He paused, glancing down at his waist, and chuckling softly. He spoke in a much gentler tone, now.
“I used to think that championships were just… objects. I used to think they were insignificant pieces of leather and metal fused together, and nothing much more than that. But, I was wrong. I used to think the most fun in this business would be in playing with the minds of my enemies. And, that still holds true. But, I failed to realize that the best toy to use in those games was a championship. When you hold a championship, your enemies salivate at the opportunity to take it from you. Their desire grows… their hopes grow… their desperation grows. Their weaknesses become more exposed. They become more vulnerable… more breakable. A person is no more broken in this industry than when they try to take what’s yours because they think it belongs to them, and you cut them down. That’s what I’m going to do to you, Konrad. I’m going to be such an overwhelming, suffocating presence in that ring, you’ll be forced to tuck your tail between your legs and go back to making charity bracelets to feel better about yourself. I hope you’re listening to me closely. I hope you’re paying attention, and taking in every word, every pitch, every tone.”
He rolled his neck slowly, popping it as he did so.
“I’m going to do more than break you, Konrad. I’m going to desecrate you. Humiliate you. When I step into the ring with you on Monday, I’m going to erase you. This is different from my rivalries with some of the best in this company.”
He tilted his head, like a curious dog.
“And you’ve been researching one of my rivalries. Good on you!”
A high-pitched giggle escaped him.
“But, do you really think you’re going to be facing the same version of me that went toe-to-toe against Sebastian Everett-Bryce the third? The Arsonist? Or the version of me that burned down with his own farmhouse against JC? Or the version of me who passed on the Chaos Championship to the Bubblegum Princess a year ago in a cult-like fashion? I am an ever changing, everlasting evolution of horror. Someone like you could never properly prepare for someone like me.”
Another hateful grin spread on his face.
“I want you to do something on Monday, Konrad. I want you to listen to the response that you get from the beloved fans that you seem to think are all on your side. I want you to listen closely as they don’t respond to you at all, but give me every response that I command. Then, I want you to think about the things that you’ve said about me. And I want you to replace my name with yours. It’s you who doesn’t belong here. It’s you who doesn’t deserve this championship belt. It’s you who should get out of the business.”
He could hear Daedalus calling from the ground floor of the farmhouse. He sat for a moment in silence, and finally spoke again, his voice quiet and gentle, almost inviting.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. I’ve been waiting for you to be trapped alone with me, and my Creeps. And I assure you, you will have to worry about them. When I get my hands on you, Konrad…”
He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. He held it for several seconds, taking in the thought, and finally exhaled, opening his eyes again. Now he brought his voice down to a whisper.
“There will be nothing you can do. There will be no place to run. There will be no place to hide. I’m going to bury you… and then I’m going to go after your brother, too. I’m going to single-handedly bury the entire Raab family… and the industry will rejoice in my name.”
He smiled. He smiled because he was home. He smiled because he was comfortable. His smile was genuine and frightening.
“After I give you the worst beating you’ve ever endured in this industry on Monday, Konrad… I demand you apologize to me. I want an apology for the terrible things that you’ve said about me just because I’m different from you. I want you to admit that you were wrong about me. And I want you on your knees… begging my forgiveness for those hurtful things you said about me.”
He frowned and closed his eyes. A tear ran down his cheek. When he spoke again, it was a shaky whisper.
“On Monday… I’m going to slice your soul in pieces… you will eat my pain again.”
Daedalus called for him again. He could hear Pisces crawling down the stairs to fetch him. He sniffled and stood, running the back of his hand against his eyes to wipe his tears away.He took a deep, shaky breath and walked away, leaving the camera on and pointing directly at the dirt wall and floor. His footsteps could be heard shuffling away like a child. After a while, the light bulb began to flicker. The sound of a muffled conversation could be heard from upstairs.
For several minutes, nothing happened.
All that could be seen was the dirt Labyrinth.
All that could be heard was the heavy silence.
The light bulb flickered.
And Pisces’ face was suddenly there, grinning. Cheerfully, she spoke.
“Welcome to Prime Time, bitch!”
Then she screamed. Abruptly, the light bulb blew out, and the scene was left in darkness. The last thing that could be heard was Pisces giggling. Close at first, and then fading further and further away.
