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“I now pronounce you…”“God, it’s such a moving moment.”“He’s gotta be delighted, I would be too personally, but she didn’t pick us/”“… Sir Inferno.”Nate and I watch Her Majesty knight our friend as he kneels before her, a medal being placed around his neck as he proudly stands to attention.“She is fit though.”The moment is instantly broken by Nate whispering into my ear once more, and I really struggle to comprehend what he just said.“Don’t do this”“I’m not doing anything. She’s the one doing something.”“Please, stop, she’s like 90 man.”“And? Aged like a fine wine if you ask me.”There’s a pause after I recognise he won’t back down from his claim.“Would you tap?”There’s a sad sigh as Nate thinks over his reply. He’s genuinely thinking about it.“Yeah.”“Christ.”Sir Inferno walks back over to us looking very happy with himself, Her Majesty going to leave the room, and Nate promptly leaves us to go talk to her, Inferno looking slightly confused.“Why is Nate going over there?”“I kinda don’t want to talk about it.”“Right, and you forgot to add Sir on the end there.”“Sorry, Sir, now let’s go before Nate can do any more damage.”We hear a dull thud behind us and we whip around to see Her Majesty lying on the floor unmoving, a horrified Nate quickly running out of the room as he’s chased by guards. We’re forced to run after him as some other guards go to detain us and we traverse Buckingham Palace and out into the royal car park before we can be reached.“You know I was gonna run a show at Buckingham Palace?”“I remember that Atlas.”“Well not anymore, I guess. What did you even do Nate?”“I’m not even sure myself, I went to lean on her shoulder and she kinda just… collapsed.”“Oh okay that’s not bad then.”“Yeah she’ll be okay. Lizzy’s tough like that.”“Some say she’s invincible.”“As they say back home, she’ll be right.”https://ift.tt/i3FAzfR of the hill“What’s up, Doc.”He looks at me confused for a second and doesn’t say anything, waiting for an explanation of sorts.“Bugs Bunny. Anyway, what’s the verdict?”“Well, Mr Rogue, first off it’s a miracle you were able to get treated so fast in Japan, I’d be interested in what medical facility you went to for that type of recovery.”“Can I wrestle or not, Doc?”“Short answer: yes.”“Great that’s all I need, thanks for your time here, make sure to tune into me every week on Fridays at-“I’m halfway back towards the door when I’m cut off.“Long answer: you are very limited. Whilst, yes, you can wrestle, you probably won’t be able to do it at the same level as before.”“As in the same level of quantity or…”“Same level of performance, Atlas. I’m worried you’ll hurt yourself if you try to fight like you used to.”“So you expect me to just change up my whole style and technique?”“I don’t expect you to do so because I know you won’t. I can really only simply advise you to do so.”“Well lovely, I’ve heard your advice, I’ll take it into consideration, but regardless, you can still catch me every Friday evening on the FBE Network or-““I would also advise you not to wrestle every week.”As he cuts me off once more I slowly make my way back towards his desk, leaning over him as he sits cold in his chair.“Fuck your advice, Doc.”I made it to the door to leave only for him to leave one final message.“See you on Friday.”I leave the office and slam the door shut, reading three words printed on a plaque before exiting down the hallway: Doctor Logan Wright.“Hey kid, congrats on stepping up out there.”Logan Wright looks at me with a mix of frustration and confusion. Frustration, because it probably came out like an insult, not an appreciation of his effort. Confusion, because I’m not normally this nice to… anyone, really, but I guess it will take time for everyone to adjust to my new change of heart.“Thanks, I’m trying to take every opportunity I can to impress the fans and management”“Impressed me too. Looking forward to whatever you do next after Unbreakable.”“I appreciate it. That 15-Minute Time Limit is quite neat, isn’t it. I guess it also helps with your injury.”“Yeah, a bit. I’ve been sparring more often but really just doing these ‘Prestige Rules’ matches in training, I can barely feel the pain in my rib now.”“Glad to hear it.”“See you on Friday?”“Yeah, see you then.”“Ow, fuck!”Logan’s Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker crushes my back in half and I quickly roll out of the ring to avoid any more punishment, watching on as Steez launches himself at Wright with a Flatbush Forearm, Logan firing back with a Lariat that Steez counters with a vicious Babylon Suplex. Logan lands flat on his neck, and Steez calls for the end, setting up Logan for The Blueprint. Yet with his back conveniently turned to me, I fire up one more time and slide into the ring, grabbing Steez from behind and nailing him with an Antichrist before turning my attention to Logan, ducking a wild shot from Wright and retaining wrist-control to drop him on his head with an RX7. I didn’t even realise I had fallen into a cover until the ref hit the mat, but suddenly an arm wraps around my neck and painfully rips me upwards off of him, Steez going for an ALL CAPS as I fight against it. And as he lifts me into the Inverted Brainbuster, I manage to drop back down onto my feet before flipping back over into a Solace, this time unable to cover as my body pins me to the mat in exhaustion. I use the ropes above me as leverage to bring me to my feet and I size Steez up, the resilient World Champion getting to his knees as he clutches at his neck, and I nail him with one final Killshot to drop him cold, falling forward into the cover as the ref counted for 3.“Atlas Rogue advances into the Heatseekers Semi-Finals next week!”“More importantly, he’s just pinned the World Champion! All the momentum in the world here for Rogue as he prepares to take on his own stablemate, Inferno!”It takes me a while to fully process everything as I’m helped to my feet by the referee, but my victory quickly sinks in as PRONE! reverberates in my ears, the vicious guitar and relentless drums forcing a smile out of me as my hand is raised and the ring announcer reinforces my win. But as I roll to the outside to head to the back I notice Logan leaning against the barricade on the outside, and I offer him a fist-bump as I leave, the Doctor giving me one in a show of respect.As Logan hit me with his Last Shot finisher with less than 20 seconds left on the timer, Wright would have to muster up the energy to cover me from halfway across the ring, yet he remained unmoving as the seconds counted down, both men utterly exhausted after the absolute war they had been through. And the bell rang with no pin being made, the ring announcer revealing the 15-minute time limit had been reached to a chorus of boos from the crowd. I crawled to the ropes and slowly lifted myself to my feet in the corner, a frustrated Logan Wright looking disappointed in his corner, but I’d hate for him to think that he failed when in reality, with another minute or so, that could’ve been his match to win. As the ref handed me the Pure Title, I also asked to be handed a microphone, and addressed Logan as he caught his breath in the corner.“Logan, congrats man, that was an amazing performance you just put on, and it not only impressed me, but clearly impressed the crowd here tonight.”A large pop for Wright sounds throughout the arena, all in attendance for Blitz VI behind the rising star.“In fact, I’ve been similarly impressed in our past two encounters, and there’s no doubt you have more than enough potential. I can see you challenging for this very belt soon enough if you keep at your current rate.”Logan looks up. But his gaze doesn’t immediately meet mine, instead quickly drifting onto the title for a millisecond.“There’s an upcoming Tag Team Title Eliminator, and it seems that both of my teammates have already got partners, something we all agreed would be an interesting idea to execute. However, that leaves me solo, but I think I might have a proposal for you: Rogue and Wright, teaming up to capture the tag belts. What do you think?”He remains silent, thinking over the possibility with his eyes once again slightly drifting towards the belt before back at me.“What do you guys think? You want to see us team up?”The crowd responds with a roar of support, and I look towards Logan for an answer, extending my hand to him. And after some tense few moments soundtracked by chants from the audience, Wright shook it, accepting the offer with a confident smile.“See you on Friday, Doc.”“See you on Friday, champ.”“Are you fucking kidding me?”Logan looks up, furious and annoyed, directing all his anger towards me. I snap back.“You think I fucked us over? It was a team effort, Wright, we both messed up. But you’re really not gonna doubt your own actions? No, the veteran is the one that lost us the match, not the rising star whose greatest achievement here is the Jr Title.”“Haven’t seen gold? Maybe it’s because old washed-up retirees like you are holding the belts and not giving the new guys a chance. Maybe that’s why I haven’t seen any gold.”“That’s been my goal ever since I came back, Logan. Working with guys like you, facing the younger Heavyweights, that’s been my entire objective thus far.”“Really? Then give me a shot at the title. Prove that you're giving the new guys opportunities by defending your title against the man who just drew with you.”“There’s an eliminator coming up, Brian mentioned, and you’re already in it. I haven’t got a challenger yet for BTE either, so if you win that then I guess I’ll see you at the big event.”“You better fucking believe I’m gonna win it.”“Sure, and if- when you don’t, I’m gonna find it hard to believe you’re a worthy challenger after that.”He walks off to the locker room before anything escalates, and I head back to the Infinite POWER room, Inferno and Nate still fighting in the ring. Honestly, I can’t be fucked to deal with Logan anymore. If he wins, he wins, and I’ll see him at BTE again. If he doesn’t, then he’s gonna have to work his way back up before we meet again. But we’ll see, maybe he will actually win the eliminator.“Here is your winner… DOCTOR LOGAN WRIGHT!”I lean back in my chair, watching the live feed from the backstage Infinite POWER locker room. Despite his attitude at the Heyman Finals, he still remains impressive in the ring, but I could tell there was an extra bit of fire in him tonight, presumably fuelled by his desire to challenge me at BTE like I told him he wouldn’t. Hate being wrong, and Logan’s small grin only reminds me that he proved himself right. As the camera follows him up the ramp commentary mention that you can catch Logan’s post-match interview in the press conference on the FBE Network after the show, and my ego takes over for a split second as I head towards the door. Wouldn’t it be nice for the press to see Logan come face to face with his BTE opponent ahead of the show? I’m sure they’d love that, right?Before I exit, I pick up my title, and walk through the hallways backstage towards the press conference. Wright’s already seated as I enter through the exit door, and the cameras and interviewers immediately turn their attention to me, delighted to snap some photos for the upcoming fight. Logan doesn’t look as delighted, and instead stands up to meet me eye to eye, but I raise my title up above him as a reminder, Logan looking even more annoyed as I smile. Oh God, I feel so shitty doing this but the old heel in me feels so good knowing I’ve stolen his moment. Oh well, I might as well enjoy it whilst I can.I sit down at an adjacent chair, and ask the press to fire away.“Mr Rogue, what is your reaction to Logan Wright becoming your challenger for BTE?”“Unsurprised. He’s easily one of the fastest-rising stars in the company right now, and I mean you all saw it at Blitz VI in our draw. I’d just be lying if I came up here and told you Logan isn’t a great performer, it’s just a shame he’s incredibly limited when it comes to me.”Logan looks up, having ignored what I had been saying until then, maybe taking it as sarcasm, but my last sentence clearly gained his attention, and I turned towards him as I readjusted my belt on my shoulder.“Limited in that in our previous encounters we’ve only ever had 15 minutes. I beat you once, then I beat you in a Triple Threat, and then we drew, yet all of these were under strict time conditions where victory had to be made as soon as possible. How about we try it with a 30-Minute Time Limit?”Whispers of intrigue from the press only added to the tension, their stupid little microphones leaning into what I had to say.“Could you remind me how many nights they are at BTE this year, Logan?”Logan doesn’t respond, staring a hole through me.“Two, correct. And so since we’ll be fighting on Night 2 for my Pure Title with a 15-Minute Time Limit, why don’t we meet before that on Night 1: 30-Minute Time Limit.”The buzz from the press reverberates around the room, notes being scribbled down and transcripts being hurriedly typed up as they await Logan’s response. Wright grabs his microphone after a moment, still keeping eye contact with me as I give him a smile back.“Sure, I’ll beat you twice on one show.”Logan gets up and walks out of the room past me, the interviewers all butting in to ask me the next question, but I walk out soon after, my job here done.“Sorry, Doc.”A second Killshot splits open Logan’s nose, blood pouring out from the dent made by my knee, and he collapses back as I roll into the cover, the ref counting the 3 to signal the end of the match. The ref raises my hand but I’m glued to Wright’s motionless figure, going over to him and kneeling beside medical officials as they wipe the blood off of his nose. I’m ushered away as he’s walked to the back and a painful feeling of guilt fills me as I watch him struggle up the ramp, the ref checking in on me as I stand there unmoving. FUCK! Why’d I have to be so hostile towards him before? God, I really should check in on him, but realistically I’m the last person he wants to see right now. There’s always tomorrow night too I guess…fair chanceI, personally, have never seen a ghost before. Maybe once or twice when I was a kid was I convinced by my older sister and father that our attic was haunted, but I had never seen a real-life ghost. Yet standing about 10 or so metres down the hallway stood one. A real-life ghost.“Are you alright, Atlas?”How was I supposed to feel? Should I feel alright? Should I feel melancholy? I mean, realistically, my best friend is back. The one man I knew more than anyone and the one man who always stood by me, was back. Why should I feel melancholy?“Uh, yeah.”I walk away from the producer I zoned out on and up the hallway, towards a dead man.“Receiver?”He turns around to face me, having just finished his conversation with another wrestler greeting him. He looks… healthy, but I can’t really see much behind his eyes. At least he’s smiling.“Atlas, great to see you.”He shakes my hand formally and looks down quickly before meeting my gaze once again. I don’t really know what to say.“I’ll see you around.”What.“Ah, Receiver!”Says some random cameraman in an FBE shirt, Receiver getting greetings from all down the hallway. But all I get is a ‘great to see you’? He’s probably just in a rush, I’ll get to talk to him more eventually. And hey, if he wins tonight, and if I win tonight, we’ll probably end up in the ring together. Like old times. Better hope we both win then.Logan slaps away my handshake as the bell rings and I start to recognise where his head is at right now. Clearly he wasn’t going to forget last night’s result over a handshake, and so if that’s where he stands, I guess that’s where I’ll stand too. The next 15 minutes are filled with rage and desperation, Wright firing at me with relentless offence, and I match him in intensity, Davey’s training really shining through as we go to war. The first third of the bout however is dominated by Logan, not letting me catch my breath and trying to finish me off as early as possible, yet I’m able to gain some room after getting hit with a Malpractice Sequence and countering his Guillotine into my own Basquiat’s Crown, sending him flying as he rebounds off of the ring post. The match kicks up into a new gear after I land a Solace DDT only for Logan to kick out, and I’m also able to duck a Last Shot and hit an Antichrist yet Wright kicks out at 1, springing to his feet and staring me down. It was at this exact moment that I realised I’m not wrestling a rising star, I’m wrestling the next FBE legend, and we both simultaneously understood that neither man was gonna back down until the other killed them, the last 5 minutes becoming a violent sprint to victory.But as the final minute closed in on us, I managed to dodge a Malignant Moonsault and land a Crucifixion, followed up with a Melt Your Eyez, before locking in the Blackout on him, remembering everything Davey taught me about the move and making sure he couldn’t escape. With 30 seconds left, Logan would either have to tap or endure the pain, and he chose the latter, refusing to give up and fighting through the agony, and the 15-Minute time limit buzzer sounded, signalling the end of the bout. I immediately let go of the hold and caught my breath on the mat, getting to my feet early and receiving my title once more. Across from me knelt Logan in the corner, clutching at his throat following the Gogoplata. Understanding that it would be futile, I still made my way over to his corner and extended my hand to him, wanting to see if I had gained his respect after our battle, but only received a conflicted stare from Wright as he stood up.“See you on Friday, Doc.”I exited the ring before Logan could make a decision, not looking back as Wright received a huge ovation from the crowd following his incredible performance. Before Brian even told me, I knew a rematch was inevitable considering the result, and it would only be a matter of time before we faced off again…“Sir.”Same spot, same cigarette, same Earl Gray. To my right sits ‘Sir’ Inferno, I Insist on exclusively referring to him by his full title. He doesn’t find it funny.“Sol.”“Is this like, your spot? Anytime we have one of these talks it’s always Lake Trüsbee. I’m not complaining though, the view is great.”“Yeah, this is my spot. Or at least I think it is. Sometimes you just gotta ditch everything new and return to places like these.”“So,”It takes me a while to arrange the words in my head that I want to say but we both know each other’s intentions and I’d be trying to avoid the inevitable if I didn’t just ask it.“We’re done?”“Yeah, but not in a bad way. Nate’s gonna be gone for a while. A very long time. They’ve already moved all of his stuff out of the manor. Did you ever even like that house?”“Fuck no, thought you’d never ask. I lived in the underground level for a reason. Did you?”“Well, between me and you, I think Berhtwald's the only one who got to take full advantage of it. I'd just be waiting to get back home to here after every tour, and with the baby not long out, I'm glad to be spending more time by the lake again. What about you? Where are you headed once you move out of Marbella?”“If you asked me a couple months ago, my default answer would be back to Tokyo. Up at the top of my apartment, cycling through vinyls, drawing, smoking, fighting, that was what kept me going after my overdose. But now? I think I’ve made it back you know. Ever since that night when you guys saved me from getting beat up by the fucking Marbella mafia, and you gave me that ultimatum, things started changing up. And then training with Davey too. Like yeah it helped me improve a ton in the ring, but also the conversations we had really helped me process everything. I’m becoming more confident again too and a lot of the general toxicity I had before has kinda gone now. Like I’m not a dick backstage or in the ring anymore, or at least, I hope. I’m working with the newer guys now and I see my role on the roster to build those breakout stars up. I think I’m in a good place now. So, maybe I should move away from my old apartment, somewhere where I’m more connected, I don’t know. And on splitting up, I presume you’re gonna continue with Desmond for now?”“With that guy? Who knows, honestly. We've got our eyes on them Tag belts for now though that's for sure. But after that... well alliances are constantly being made and broken in FBE, aren't they?”“Kinda like now.”“Yeah, but you’ll always have me if you need someone to talk to, however it legally has to be at this lake. I don’t care. And I’ll see you backstage anyway, we just won’t be in our own separate locker room.”“Yeah, apparently you can’t smoke in the main locker room.”“Heavens.”“But I’ll see you at Firestorm 100. Match or not you’ll be there, right?”“Most likely, yes. See you then, Atlas.”“See you then, Sir.”I go to leave but forgot the most important question I had on my mind.“Did you see what happened with Lizzie?”He leans in, whispering, making sure no one else can hear us. I look around. There’s no one here.“You think that was us?”“I don’t know to be honest, Nate did kinda just… fall onto her. Looked pretty lethal.“Never hit on a queen.”“Have you seen who’s replacing her though?”“Yeah, The Monarch. Used to be signed a while back. He’ll be a great… monarch.”“And the new Prime Minister?”“Berhtwald. When he wasn’t required to be silent he wouldn’t shut up about his political aspirations. I’m happy for him.”“I’ll make sure to swing by next time I’m in London.”“I’ll meet you there.”I make my way back up the hill towards the cable car that brought me here and take out a cigarette, reluctantly pulling out my lighter almost instinctively. Guess I’m not 100%, then.“ATLAS FLOATS OVER WITH THE SOLACE DDT! AND STRAIGHT INTO THE FRIOLENTO! WITH NO ROPE BREAKS LEFT, RECEIVER HAS GOT TO TAP! AND HE DOES! THE GODFATHER OF PURE RULES REMAINS CHAMPION!”Another year, another war with Receiver. That was great. God, how I missed being in the ring with him. I swear he always brings the best out of me. I manage to my feet and am handed my belt to celebrate, but afterwards as I notice Receiver getting up, I go over to him in the centre of the ring and extend my hand, the crowd electric after our bout. Once again he looks down at our hands as he shakes it for an extended period of time, turning over mine to observe his own face-up, and he looks back up at me, smile slowly fading.“I missed you man.”“I didn’t.”phantoms
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