Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2015 15:50:59 GMT -6
Nathan sat in the hotel room NEW had paid for calmly sipping from his glass of whiskey and looking out at the beautiful desert sunrise. He had never understood why people chose to live out here, he had, after all been born and raised in the Emerald Isle that was Ireland, a land of lush green hills and land that was so beautiful you would think you were in the Garden of Eden. He had been around the world. He had been to Japan, he had been to the Vatican. Germany, Italy, Greece, The United Kingdom of Great Britain. Rio de Janeiro, Mexico and all through the United States. He had seen many forms of beauty.
But watching the sunrise on the desert, the city tucked away like an oasis of civilization in a sea of harsh and unforgiving landscape, drove home once more that beauty took many forms and that if one looked hard enough, one could find beauty in almost anything.
For example, one could find beauty in the irony that a Catholic priest that everyone dismissed and no one thought could stand against three legends of New Edge Wrestling was now the World Champion. There was beauty in the symmetry that Nathan’s warnings had gone unheeded by his opponents and, as predicted, led inevitably to the defeat of said opponents.
One could find beauty in the chaos that was exploding on social media as the New Guard and the old guard went at it. Valora and Blair may have tried to cast doubt on Nathan’s intentions, trying to turn the New Guard against each other, but it was an exercise in futility. Nathan wanted equal opportunity for everyone, veteran or rookie. If such competition had the side effect of making it slightly easier for him to maintain his influence and title, than it was a burden Nathan was happy to bear for the betterment of the fed. After all, in the month or so he had held this belt, he had done much to begin the long and arduous task of rebuilding it’s credibility. He had paid for a new belt out of his own pocket to replace the belt defiled by the blasphemy of Blair Buchannan. He had been visible in public and carried the title, pushing it and NEW events. He had done charity events that gave him no money, but aided the community and NEW.. he had done everything he could to improve the company. Obviously at some point, the title needed to be defended in the ring and Nathan was prepared to do that. He was more than ready to end the curse of Champions losing the belt in their first defense that hung over the belt like the sword of Damocles waiting to send champions to their doom.
No. For too long the belt had suffered and been passed around from one contender to another. It was time for a champion to emerge from the rabble. It was Nathan’s time.
And, just as when he won the belt, it seemed some sense of something - call it divine intervention, fate, karma, or whatever - had once again ensured that the stars aligned in a favorable way for him, for even in tragedy there is a silver lining.
And so Nathan sat, drinking calmly from his whiskey as he contemplated the news Tera had just delivered him. Davey Dynamo was dead. Ensuring that Austen Impact was nowhere near 100% focused on his match right now. Tera sat down and looked at him. “Nate? You hear me? You know what this means right?”
Nathan nods. “It means Austen Impact is vulnerable. Lord knows how I was after Amy, Fi and Patrick were taken…”
Nathan paused there as he let his mind wander back to that day. Valora had warned NEW earlier in the week that Nathan wasn’t a saint. The problem was Nathan never claimed to be one….
FLASHBACK: Belfast, Northern Ireland:
Nathan’s fist slammed into the jaw of the British soldier tied to a chair in the basement of the boxing gym where Nathan and Tera were to be ‘training’. Though today, training meant handling business for the IRA that meant getting one’s hands dirty and with a wife and children to care for, Nathan wanted Amy as far away from the...unpleasantness as possible.However, the business still needed tending to and today it was Tera and Nathan’s turn to get their hands bloody. Speaking of blood, Tera unleashed a vicious right hand that brought blood from the soldier’s mouth. Nathan calmly walked over and grabbed a hurley stick and twirled it around non-chalantly. “Ever hear of hurley, lad? Irish sport.. combination of hockey and murder… ‘nother interestin’ fact about us… “ Nathan says as he suddenly swings the club without warning, hitting the man in the kneecap shattering it and listening to the man cry out in agony before Tera cracks him with another right to the jaw. Nathan smirks. “We invented knee cappin’... pretty good at it, aren’t we? Now that’s one knee. Ya got one more.. and plenty of other bones to break,.. so why dun ya jus be a good lad and tell us what we wanna know?”
The soldier at first tried to play tough but that quickly wore off when Nathan came back towards him and raised the hurley stick and the man cried out. “Wait! Alright… bloody hell alright! We know there’s a cell in the area. Some big wig from London is in with troops.. Noblewoman, Lady Danielle Cornwallis.. She says she has a plan but I swear I don’t know what the bloody hell it is! She was supposed to unveil it at the morning briefing today and I’ve been here.”
Nathan and Tera glanced at each other and nodded, leaving the watch of their prisoner to one of the other IRA members as they walked up to the gym upstairs and out into the street to see if they could make anything out.
Just as they reached the street, that was when Nathan’s world fell apart. He caught sight of his wife and children. Apparently they had planned on surprising him today..
Then it happened. A shit out of nowhere which knocked the British Noblewoman back and to the ground. The troops around her panicked and fired… right into the crowd. Nathan watched helplessly as Tera grabbed him and pulled him behind cover. watching as his wife, children and countless innocent civilians were cut down. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the firing stopped and Nathan sprinted out to his family and knelt down, hoping for a miracle, hoping that somehow, they were still alive, that maybe Amy had simply pulled the kids down and stayed still, making themselves smaller targets and less likely to be hit. But as he knelt beside them and checked their bodies, the awful truth hit him. They weren’t moving… except for Amy, who gasped, choking on her own blood as she looked up… “N..Nate… dunnae… I love…” She choked again and the life left her eyes. Nathan knew what she meant.. she had seen the look in his eyes, the rage and wrath hidden behind his love and compassion for his wife and children. It was then he noticed his hurley stick.. he had totally forgotten he still had it. Picking it up, he stood up and looked at the soldiers as one advanced on him, pointing to the ground. “Drop the club! You deaf you stupid Mick! I said drop the bloody club!”
That was it. Something in Nathan snapped and he charged forward, swinging the hurley stick, knocking the rifle away and causing the man to fire into the ground. He then hit the man in the balls with his knee and cracked the man in back of the head with his hurley stick, dropping the man to the ground. More soldiers came at Nathan and he went at them. Somewhere along the line, his hurley stick broke and he drew his prized twin kukris, the wicked curved bladed knives and went to work, his vision was red, both from blood and the pure, unadulterated rage he felt. He caught a glance of the noblewoman getting to her feet and drawing a pistol, pointing it at him and firing. Pain burst through his shoulder as he growled and stumbled backwards. The soldiers wasted no time, beating him with their batons. The last thing Nathan saw before blacking out was an explosion from a molotov cocktail and Tera and other IRA and Irishmen rushing into the fray...
Nathan was jolted from his memories by Tera’s voice. She had clearly said something important, but Nathan had missed it, being lost in his memories as he was. Tera, giving him an understanding look, simply sighed and nodded. “Nate, I said we got word about small snag in our plan.”
Nathan nodded. “What is it?” He said absently, still coming back to the present. Tera nodded and handed Nathan a manilla envelope. “He didn’t do too badly, but he didn’t do good enough… in that envelope is a disc containing a video from the jet. Austen fell asleep and the whore on the plane was able to do her thing.”
Nathan raises an eyebrow. “Doesn’t do much good if he’s asleep.” Tera smirked. “He still moaned, groaned, moved a bit and came… it’s enough to make me wanna kill my husband were I married and he do something like that. The other snag is more serious…It’s Davey’s death.. you know what most likely caused it, right?”
Nathan sat and thought about that for a moment. There was, of course, a couple of ways of looking at this and handling it. The first was the simple way. Nathan had blood on his hands. While he may not have killed Davey Dynamo, he set in motion the chain of events that ultimately led to his death.
The other was much more simple and it was the one Nathan came to as he nodded and finished off his whiskey. “Davey Dynamo is ultimately responsible for his own actions. Last time I checked he was a grown man, capable of deciding what to do and what not to do. He gets no special exemption from the consequences of his actions. We cannae be held responsible for the inequalities of Davey Dynamo.” Tera looked at him and Nathan shrugged. “We dinnae force him to indulge. His own hedonistic, gluttonous nature did that. You said it yourself, Austen managed to resist. I’ve had struggles with drinking, yet I can still enjoy alcohol without becomin’ a drunk or having to cut myself off totally from it for fear of what might happen if I take a drink. My role as a priest? The only thing preventin’ me from havin’ sex with women is the same thing preventing Austen. Vows. Mine made to the Church, his made to his wife. And I know temptations of the flesh all too well… one doesn’t need to have actual sex to commit the sin. The thought is enough. As for Davey Dynamo.. It seems there’s a funeral to be had and thus a chance to close the book on both Davey Dynamo and Austen Impact once and for all.”
Tera nods. “What about the video? Also, I noticed on that twitter thing, he’s been flirting with Molaroni’s sister.” She says, handing Nathan his phone and letting him look at it. Nathan scrolls carefully through the archives and smirks, recognizing the telltale signs of a womanizer at work.. so the Deadly Sin of Gluttony killed Davey Dynamo and Austen decides to give into the Deadly Sin of Lust...He’s makin’ this too damned easy.”
Nathan stood up gritting his teeth a bit from the lingering pain in his knee as he thought about the situation before him. On one hand, he had once been a family man and hated to interfere with a man’s family, targeting them to help win a battle. On the other hand, Austen’s wife and daughter did deserve to know what was going on. Finally Nathan sighed and nodded. “Alright Tera. Give me a second alone please.”
Tera, knowing Nathan well enough to know what he had planned, simply nodded. “Aye, I’ll be in the hotel bar downstairs, just meet me there when you’re done.” With that, silence reigned, broken only by the sound of the door opening and closing as Tera left the room, leaving Nathan alone with his thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, Nathan walked over to his travel bags, opening it up and removing the one thing he treasured even more than the NEW World Title. It was a picture of Amy, along with the Claddagh ring that he had given her. It was an old Irish symbol, simple yet deeply meaningful. Two hands, clasped around a heart, with a crown on top. The hands meant friendship, the heart meant love, the crown stood for loyalty. A simple symbol, to be sure, but to the Irish, few things were more meaningful than the presentation of one of those rings, for the vows and promises that symbol carried. Nathan took another look at the picture as he set it down on the bed. He had pictures of her and the kids, of course. But right now, his words were for Amy.
“Sorry luv.. know it’s been awhile since we chatted. I’ve found myself in an interestin’ position.. got my football career back on track, I’ve also finally got my fightin’ career movin’ too. World Champion. I wish you and the kids could see it. Only lost one match this last stretch of fightin’ Valora.. with help of course, but end of the day I still lost. Valora… woman told me once when we were in Unstable havin’ a private chat between the two of us that she sometimes was sure she could see and hear her dead lover. Thought it was a curse. Or insanity. I’d give anything to be able to see and talk to you again. I could use your advice.. Got a big fight coming up. The man I’m facin’ is not a moral man.. in fact, he’s not too much removed from the man you met and decked on our first meeting, me when I was young, stupid and arrogant. You probably wouldn’t approve, but I’m a position where I have to do what’s best for a title. A company. It’s fans. I need to win this match and my opponent has already shown he’s not above taking shortcuts. I know you wanted me to try and be a better man and I’ve tried… you know how hard I’ve tried. But for better or for worse, I have certain skills. I have certain things that come natural to me and sometimes, the Shepherd must fight off the wolves. I just hope you won’t think any less of me for doin’ what I have to do to teach my opponent his place. You know from dealing with me, sometimes, you cannae improve a man.. until after his downfall.”
Nathan sighed and spent a few more moments in silent contemplation before tucking the picture and ring away and letting out a sigh. When he became a priest, he had been chosen to work at the Vatican. There he had made his way into the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the modern day version of the Inquisition, where he was trained in many things, trained as an exorcist, trained in science, trained in investigation and detective work, mostly for the purposes of investigating claims of miracles, demonic possession and/or other supernatural phenomenon. However, the skills had other uses and the ultimate goal of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith was the same as the goal of the Inquisition had been. Protect the Church and the faithful from heresy, blasphemy and to draw a line against evil where possible. Of course, the definition of ‘evil’ could vary greatly based on the Cardinal currently in charge of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, a segment of the Church most people weren’t even aware existed but that held great influence over the Church. The bottom line was that Nathan ‘s role in the Church, his training combined with his past gave him both the conviction and the strength to do whatever he deemed necessary to handle this latest obstacle to his plans for rebuilding the World Title. Taking out his smartphone, he did the expected action of posting his condolences on the death of Davey Dynamo to social media, then he immediately pulled up Tera’s number and sent her a text message.
Be down in 15 minutes. Proceed with the plan
A simple text, but Tera would know what it meant. It meant Austen’s wife would be receiving a package from New Edge Wrestling showing Austen’s infidelity on the plane, a copy of the upgrades and everything. The fact that Austen hadn’t actually used the alcohol was irrelevant. Nathan knew how the world worked, alcoholic buys alcohol, especially in large quantities combined with escorts, private jets, first class hotel suites that cost $12-1400 a night, it paints all the picture most people need to see. Any pang of remorse Nathan might have felt was quickly replaced with anger. Nathan had been wild in his youth. He had been prideful, arrogant, he had never been a perfect man, but when he got married and had children, he had abandoned that life. He had grown up and become the man his family needed him to be. Austen evidently was content to mourn the death of his friend by falling back into old habits. He had heard the talk. Whispers about him flirting with some of the female talent around NEW and the sister of Ricky Molaroni.. Nathan would bury Austen figuratively before he buried the man literally at Demented.
Walking downstairs to the lobby, Nathan met up with Tera who greeted him by saying “Kronin called. You got a appearance at the Phoenix Coyotes game, making an appearance, help push the pay per view, sign autographs and the like. He also mentioned there is a funeral service for Davey Dynamo and you’re expected to attend to at least pay your respects.”
Nathan smirked. “Oh, I’ll do more than pay my respects.. this is perfect. Let’s get going..” He said as the two headed out. On the way there, Nathan made a few phone calls to set up his next surprise and as some of the talent from New Edge that was already in Arizona gathered for the funeral/memorial service, Tera was in the back with Kronin and Lilly, Nathan’s World Title slung over Tera’s shoulder. Kronin turning to her and sighing. “Where’s Nate?” Tera smirked. “He’s here. He wanted to pay his respects in a special way.”
Almost as soon as she finished, Nathan walked out in his priestly garments, holding a bible and took a position at the head of the congregation glancing at the casket as Kronin sighed. “This… is not going to end well, is it?”
Nathan waited for a few moments to let the shock and surprise of his appearance sink in before raising his hands and nodding. “Brothers and sisters, we are here to mourn the passing of Davey Dynamo. A man who, like so many, seems to be called before his time. Indeed, the man was only 38 years old. 38. And called to the side of His Lord and Creator. As some of you here may know, Brother Dynamo had a long and storied history in the wrestling business and with New Edge. He and Jesse Styles rarely saw eye to eye, but there was respect there. Now as so often happens when a tragedy like this befalls us, it is natural to ask why? We are usually taught that God has a plan, that everything happens for a reason and it is human nature to search for that reason. To seek greater understanding…”
Nathan takes a deep breath and then kicks into gear as he smirks. “But that is also our downfall as well. Lest we forget, it was the arrogance and greed of man that resulted in Adam and Eve being banished from Eden, that gave us Original Sin. So it is too with Davey Dynamo. We can ask why, but the answers are clearly laid out in front of us. Davey Dynamo was a man controlled by Vice. He struggled against them but ultimately he gave in. Too much sex, too much drugs, too much smoking, Truly, his life set into motion the events of his downfall. And now, Davey Dynamo has been called before his Lord to answer for his inequalities. His death might seem tragic, but I say it is a clear warning to those of us left behind who mourn him that following his path leads to only one place.. An early grave..”
Nathan smirks again and nods. “And.. speaking of early graves.. the protege of Davey Dynamo, Austen Impact, has chosen instead of being a better man, a repentant man, an honorable man, Austen has chosen to live the same life as Davey Dynamo. Rather than being Austen Impact, he has chosen to mourn the passing of his friend and mentor by seeking to become the man who has so tragically been taken from us. There is only one thing to say to that…”
Nathan walks to the coffin and rests his hand on it, inspecting it as he nods before turning back to the cameras and the people gathered.
“Look well, Austen. The path of Davey Dynamo leads only to one place. You say you’re going to bring it even more now, you cocky little shit? I say this, if you plan to bury me in the desert, you’d better focus more on fighting me than seeing how many women you can sleep with or how many drinks you can pack away… such tactics did not work for Davey Dynamo and they will not work for you. Today we bury Davey Dynamo, a flawed man who chose to ignore the path to salvation and was taken from us before he could properly atone for his sins and change his life. There is a lesson for many of us here. Come a few days time at Demented, I will break the Curse of the World Championship and we will lay to rest Austen Impact. The question is will Austen Impact heed the warnings of Davey Dynamo, or will he continue his path of self destruction? It is already too late to save him for his match.. he will pay the price of his sins, but it is not too late to save the man’s soul.. it is never too late to ask God for forgiveness.. unless, of course, you follow the path of Davey Dynamo and wait until you’re dead. But Austen… the fact that you think becoming Davey Dynamo 2.0 shows me even more than your actions at Ignite do, just how desperate and scared you are. Can you feel it? That pain in your chest? That cold shiver running up your spine. Take a good long look, lad, at least at the video since you are too busy defiling your sacred wedding vows to even show up for the funeral of a man you claimed was your best friend and that you claimed to love. How sad that your opponent shows more reverence for the memory Davey Dynamo than you do? It’s not enough for you to blatantly disrespect him and his memory, you add insult to injury by trying to become him? Repeating his mistakes and following the same path he did. Well again, we see where that path leads…”
Nathan glances back at the coffin and smirks. before looking back towards the camera. “Guess Demented is your last stop. Davey Dynamo is dead. He is not Christ, there will be no resurrection. If you’re bound and determined to be him, I guess I’ll bury Austen Impact aka Davey Dynamo at Demented and make sure he stays dead.”
Nathan then turns to the gathered. “For the rest us, Let us observe a moment of silence for a Hall of Famer of New Edge Wrestler, called to eternal rest, and show him the respect he deserves.”
Nathan is silent for a few moments before nodding. “Thank you. And now, before we finally close the book on the life of the man that was Davey Dynamo, let us pray. Merciful Father, look with compassion and pity on your servant Davey Dynamo. He was an imperfect man, but all of us are imperfect and it was the blood of your only Son, Jesus Christ, that opened the path to redemption for us. We ask that you forgive Davey Dynamo of his sins and welcome him into your kingdom where he will be at peace. We ask this through your mercy, Amen.”
With that, Nathan closed his bible and nodded. “So passes Davey Dynamo. Let us learn what we can from his life and strive to make ourselves better and honor his memory by putting out the best show we can come Demented.”
Nathan walked to the back where Tera was still standing by Kronin and nodded at her as he took the World Title belt back. “Well, that closes the book on one problem. Now to handle Austen.”
Kronin glances at Nathan and sighs. “Well, I suppose Jesse and I should be happy… that was one hell of a way to build the main event match.”
Nathan shrugs. “The man has betrayed his wife, galavanting around with women here. Excuse me if I take offense to a man breakin’ his vows instead of honoring his family. Now, Tera mentioned you wanted me at a hockey game tonight.What’s the information, like what time and such?”
Kronin nods. “Lil and I will come by and pick you and Tera up.” Nathan nodded. “Sounds good, we’ll meet you at the hotel then. Tera, let’s go and get ready for the next appearance, shall we?” Tera shrugged and together, her and Nathan said their goodbyes and made their way out of the funeral home.
As they left, Tera turned to him and shook her head. “Speaking of violating vows.. wasn’t what you did there technically one? I’m sure the Lord never meant to have a promo cut durin’ a damned funeral.”
Nathan smirked. “A priest can say whatever he wants during his homily, which was essentially what I did there. I preached and lectured on the ways sin can destroy a person. if Davey Dynamo, I mean Austen Impact, took offense to it, that’s his damned problem, not mine. Now before tonight rolls around, we have to make our next field trip.”
A couple hours later, Nathan walked along the desert just outside of Courtland Arizona, looking over the abandoned town and he had to admit he was impressed at how well preserved the town was. It was like stepping back into time when things were completely different. When men stood up for their beliefs and the law was sometimes whatever the point of a gun said it was. Nathan walked down the main street of the town, unable to help the feeling of being in a wild west movie. Looking over at Tera, he smirked. “Look at this, this is probably almost untouched since the days of the so called Wild West. Too damn bad we’re comin’ into town. Demented might just destroy this town…”
Finding a good space, he turned to Tera and had her turn on the camera again and once more Nathan’s face was visible. He sported a giant grin. This time he sported a cowboy hat and what could pass as a gunfighter’s costume from the Wild West. Looking around, Nathan gestured to the street and took a deep breath, holding it in for a few seconds and letting it out.
“See this, Austen? This is roughly where we’ll be fighting in a few days to determine who is the World Champion of New Edge Wrestling. Where our duel will take place. Now, an interesting fact of American history, duels happened a lot in the Wild West. They’d come out and stand in the street, like this and draw. There was no running, You earned this title shot by running. Running down a building and leaving it. An impressive feat, sure. But I dunnae think for one bloody second it makes you worthy of bein’ a damned champion… the cowardly actions you took at Ignite, further proof of your inequality. You know I’m a better man, and a better fighter than you can ever hope to be and so, like so many others, you resort to shortcuts. But here… here there are no shortcuts. It’s man vs man. one on one. You have to find a way to beat me, lock me in a coffin and bury me six feet under. You quite literally have to pry my title from my cold, dead, hands.
Therein lies the problem Austen. I dunnae think you have it in you. You’re not man enough to care for your wife, not man enough to care for your daughter, you’re down here flirting with every woman you can and, if your little twitter feed is to be believed, you’re having sex with Dazielle Molaroni. Adultery. Story of your life isn’t it, coward? Going gets tough and little Austen Impact runs and hides. His manager dies and now, he seeks to become Davey Dynamo because he knows Austen Impact is not up to the task at hand. But dunnae worry lad. In fact, enjoy your fun while you can, cause come Demented, I’m layin; your arse to rest. There’s a saying in the Bible, always been one of my favorites...JOB 38:11 Hereto Thou Shalt Come, but no further.’ It is meant as a stand against evil. But it works in our world as welll..”
Nathan lifts up the World Title to the view and nods. “Take a good look lad. Hereto Thou Shalt come, but no further. This as close as you will ever get to the World Title. Rest in Peace Austen Impact.. because at Demented… I close the book on you.”
With that, the camera was turned off and Nathan and Tera headed back to the hotel to get in a few rounds of sparring and training while waiting for their meeting with Kronin. When the time came, Tera and Nathan met Kronin and Lilly and headed out for the hockey game. Before the game, Nathan was there signing autographs, promoting the upcoming pay per view event and doing meet and greets with the fans. The New NEW World Title made an appearance as well, giving the belt more exposure as the build up for the big match continued.
During the game, Nathan, Tera, Kronin and Lilly were in one of the VIP boxes, watching the game, as Kronin explained to Nathan and Tera a few times how ice hockey worked and how fighting could be allowed, yet still a penalty and other such intricacies of the game. During intermissions between the periods, Nathan went down and did more PR work. After the game, was the final push and then it was enjoying the ride back to the hotel..
Then would come the work of continuing to train. Nathan had a man to bury and a title to defend.
But watching the sunrise on the desert, the city tucked away like an oasis of civilization in a sea of harsh and unforgiving landscape, drove home once more that beauty took many forms and that if one looked hard enough, one could find beauty in almost anything.
For example, one could find beauty in the irony that a Catholic priest that everyone dismissed and no one thought could stand against three legends of New Edge Wrestling was now the World Champion. There was beauty in the symmetry that Nathan’s warnings had gone unheeded by his opponents and, as predicted, led inevitably to the defeat of said opponents.
One could find beauty in the chaos that was exploding on social media as the New Guard and the old guard went at it. Valora and Blair may have tried to cast doubt on Nathan’s intentions, trying to turn the New Guard against each other, but it was an exercise in futility. Nathan wanted equal opportunity for everyone, veteran or rookie. If such competition had the side effect of making it slightly easier for him to maintain his influence and title, than it was a burden Nathan was happy to bear for the betterment of the fed. After all, in the month or so he had held this belt, he had done much to begin the long and arduous task of rebuilding it’s credibility. He had paid for a new belt out of his own pocket to replace the belt defiled by the blasphemy of Blair Buchannan. He had been visible in public and carried the title, pushing it and NEW events. He had done charity events that gave him no money, but aided the community and NEW.. he had done everything he could to improve the company. Obviously at some point, the title needed to be defended in the ring and Nathan was prepared to do that. He was more than ready to end the curse of Champions losing the belt in their first defense that hung over the belt like the sword of Damocles waiting to send champions to their doom.
No. For too long the belt had suffered and been passed around from one contender to another. It was time for a champion to emerge from the rabble. It was Nathan’s time.
And, just as when he won the belt, it seemed some sense of something - call it divine intervention, fate, karma, or whatever - had once again ensured that the stars aligned in a favorable way for him, for even in tragedy there is a silver lining.
And so Nathan sat, drinking calmly from his whiskey as he contemplated the news Tera had just delivered him. Davey Dynamo was dead. Ensuring that Austen Impact was nowhere near 100% focused on his match right now. Tera sat down and looked at him. “Nate? You hear me? You know what this means right?”
Nathan nods. “It means Austen Impact is vulnerable. Lord knows how I was after Amy, Fi and Patrick were taken…”
Nathan paused there as he let his mind wander back to that day. Valora had warned NEW earlier in the week that Nathan wasn’t a saint. The problem was Nathan never claimed to be one….
FLASHBACK: Belfast, Northern Ireland:
Nathan’s fist slammed into the jaw of the British soldier tied to a chair in the basement of the boxing gym where Nathan and Tera were to be ‘training’. Though today, training meant handling business for the IRA that meant getting one’s hands dirty and with a wife and children to care for, Nathan wanted Amy as far away from the...unpleasantness as possible.However, the business still needed tending to and today it was Tera and Nathan’s turn to get their hands bloody. Speaking of blood, Tera unleashed a vicious right hand that brought blood from the soldier’s mouth. Nathan calmly walked over and grabbed a hurley stick and twirled it around non-chalantly. “Ever hear of hurley, lad? Irish sport.. combination of hockey and murder… ‘nother interestin’ fact about us… “ Nathan says as he suddenly swings the club without warning, hitting the man in the kneecap shattering it and listening to the man cry out in agony before Tera cracks him with another right to the jaw. Nathan smirks. “We invented knee cappin’... pretty good at it, aren’t we? Now that’s one knee. Ya got one more.. and plenty of other bones to break,.. so why dun ya jus be a good lad and tell us what we wanna know?”
The soldier at first tried to play tough but that quickly wore off when Nathan came back towards him and raised the hurley stick and the man cried out. “Wait! Alright… bloody hell alright! We know there’s a cell in the area. Some big wig from London is in with troops.. Noblewoman, Lady Danielle Cornwallis.. She says she has a plan but I swear I don’t know what the bloody hell it is! She was supposed to unveil it at the morning briefing today and I’ve been here.”
Nathan and Tera glanced at each other and nodded, leaving the watch of their prisoner to one of the other IRA members as they walked up to the gym upstairs and out into the street to see if they could make anything out.
Just as they reached the street, that was when Nathan’s world fell apart. He caught sight of his wife and children. Apparently they had planned on surprising him today..
Then it happened. A shit out of nowhere which knocked the British Noblewoman back and to the ground. The troops around her panicked and fired… right into the crowd. Nathan watched helplessly as Tera grabbed him and pulled him behind cover. watching as his wife, children and countless innocent civilians were cut down. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the firing stopped and Nathan sprinted out to his family and knelt down, hoping for a miracle, hoping that somehow, they were still alive, that maybe Amy had simply pulled the kids down and stayed still, making themselves smaller targets and less likely to be hit. But as he knelt beside them and checked their bodies, the awful truth hit him. They weren’t moving… except for Amy, who gasped, choking on her own blood as she looked up… “N..Nate… dunnae… I love…” She choked again and the life left her eyes. Nathan knew what she meant.. she had seen the look in his eyes, the rage and wrath hidden behind his love and compassion for his wife and children. It was then he noticed his hurley stick.. he had totally forgotten he still had it. Picking it up, he stood up and looked at the soldiers as one advanced on him, pointing to the ground. “Drop the club! You deaf you stupid Mick! I said drop the bloody club!”
That was it. Something in Nathan snapped and he charged forward, swinging the hurley stick, knocking the rifle away and causing the man to fire into the ground. He then hit the man in the balls with his knee and cracked the man in back of the head with his hurley stick, dropping the man to the ground. More soldiers came at Nathan and he went at them. Somewhere along the line, his hurley stick broke and he drew his prized twin kukris, the wicked curved bladed knives and went to work, his vision was red, both from blood and the pure, unadulterated rage he felt. He caught a glance of the noblewoman getting to her feet and drawing a pistol, pointing it at him and firing. Pain burst through his shoulder as he growled and stumbled backwards. The soldiers wasted no time, beating him with their batons. The last thing Nathan saw before blacking out was an explosion from a molotov cocktail and Tera and other IRA and Irishmen rushing into the fray...
Nathan was jolted from his memories by Tera’s voice. She had clearly said something important, but Nathan had missed it, being lost in his memories as he was. Tera, giving him an understanding look, simply sighed and nodded. “Nate, I said we got word about small snag in our plan.”
Nathan nodded. “What is it?” He said absently, still coming back to the present. Tera nodded and handed Nathan a manilla envelope. “He didn’t do too badly, but he didn’t do good enough… in that envelope is a disc containing a video from the jet. Austen fell asleep and the whore on the plane was able to do her thing.”
Nathan raises an eyebrow. “Doesn’t do much good if he’s asleep.” Tera smirked. “He still moaned, groaned, moved a bit and came… it’s enough to make me wanna kill my husband were I married and he do something like that. The other snag is more serious…It’s Davey’s death.. you know what most likely caused it, right?”
Nathan sat and thought about that for a moment. There was, of course, a couple of ways of looking at this and handling it. The first was the simple way. Nathan had blood on his hands. While he may not have killed Davey Dynamo, he set in motion the chain of events that ultimately led to his death.
The other was much more simple and it was the one Nathan came to as he nodded and finished off his whiskey. “Davey Dynamo is ultimately responsible for his own actions. Last time I checked he was a grown man, capable of deciding what to do and what not to do. He gets no special exemption from the consequences of his actions. We cannae be held responsible for the inequalities of Davey Dynamo.” Tera looked at him and Nathan shrugged. “We dinnae force him to indulge. His own hedonistic, gluttonous nature did that. You said it yourself, Austen managed to resist. I’ve had struggles with drinking, yet I can still enjoy alcohol without becomin’ a drunk or having to cut myself off totally from it for fear of what might happen if I take a drink. My role as a priest? The only thing preventin’ me from havin’ sex with women is the same thing preventing Austen. Vows. Mine made to the Church, his made to his wife. And I know temptations of the flesh all too well… one doesn’t need to have actual sex to commit the sin. The thought is enough. As for Davey Dynamo.. It seems there’s a funeral to be had and thus a chance to close the book on both Davey Dynamo and Austen Impact once and for all.”
Tera nods. “What about the video? Also, I noticed on that twitter thing, he’s been flirting with Molaroni’s sister.” She says, handing Nathan his phone and letting him look at it. Nathan scrolls carefully through the archives and smirks, recognizing the telltale signs of a womanizer at work.. so the Deadly Sin of Gluttony killed Davey Dynamo and Austen decides to give into the Deadly Sin of Lust...He’s makin’ this too damned easy.”
Nathan stood up gritting his teeth a bit from the lingering pain in his knee as he thought about the situation before him. On one hand, he had once been a family man and hated to interfere with a man’s family, targeting them to help win a battle. On the other hand, Austen’s wife and daughter did deserve to know what was going on. Finally Nathan sighed and nodded. “Alright Tera. Give me a second alone please.”
Tera, knowing Nathan well enough to know what he had planned, simply nodded. “Aye, I’ll be in the hotel bar downstairs, just meet me there when you’re done.” With that, silence reigned, broken only by the sound of the door opening and closing as Tera left the room, leaving Nathan alone with his thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, Nathan walked over to his travel bags, opening it up and removing the one thing he treasured even more than the NEW World Title. It was a picture of Amy, along with the Claddagh ring that he had given her. It was an old Irish symbol, simple yet deeply meaningful. Two hands, clasped around a heart, with a crown on top. The hands meant friendship, the heart meant love, the crown stood for loyalty. A simple symbol, to be sure, but to the Irish, few things were more meaningful than the presentation of one of those rings, for the vows and promises that symbol carried. Nathan took another look at the picture as he set it down on the bed. He had pictures of her and the kids, of course. But right now, his words were for Amy.
“Sorry luv.. know it’s been awhile since we chatted. I’ve found myself in an interestin’ position.. got my football career back on track, I’ve also finally got my fightin’ career movin’ too. World Champion. I wish you and the kids could see it. Only lost one match this last stretch of fightin’ Valora.. with help of course, but end of the day I still lost. Valora… woman told me once when we were in Unstable havin’ a private chat between the two of us that she sometimes was sure she could see and hear her dead lover. Thought it was a curse. Or insanity. I’d give anything to be able to see and talk to you again. I could use your advice.. Got a big fight coming up. The man I’m facin’ is not a moral man.. in fact, he’s not too much removed from the man you met and decked on our first meeting, me when I was young, stupid and arrogant. You probably wouldn’t approve, but I’m a position where I have to do what’s best for a title. A company. It’s fans. I need to win this match and my opponent has already shown he’s not above taking shortcuts. I know you wanted me to try and be a better man and I’ve tried… you know how hard I’ve tried. But for better or for worse, I have certain skills. I have certain things that come natural to me and sometimes, the Shepherd must fight off the wolves. I just hope you won’t think any less of me for doin’ what I have to do to teach my opponent his place. You know from dealing with me, sometimes, you cannae improve a man.. until after his downfall.”
Nathan sighed and spent a few more moments in silent contemplation before tucking the picture and ring away and letting out a sigh. When he became a priest, he had been chosen to work at the Vatican. There he had made his way into the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the modern day version of the Inquisition, where he was trained in many things, trained as an exorcist, trained in science, trained in investigation and detective work, mostly for the purposes of investigating claims of miracles, demonic possession and/or other supernatural phenomenon. However, the skills had other uses and the ultimate goal of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith was the same as the goal of the Inquisition had been. Protect the Church and the faithful from heresy, blasphemy and to draw a line against evil where possible. Of course, the definition of ‘evil’ could vary greatly based on the Cardinal currently in charge of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, a segment of the Church most people weren’t even aware existed but that held great influence over the Church. The bottom line was that Nathan ‘s role in the Church, his training combined with his past gave him both the conviction and the strength to do whatever he deemed necessary to handle this latest obstacle to his plans for rebuilding the World Title. Taking out his smartphone, he did the expected action of posting his condolences on the death of Davey Dynamo to social media, then he immediately pulled up Tera’s number and sent her a text message.
Be down in 15 minutes. Proceed with the plan
A simple text, but Tera would know what it meant. It meant Austen’s wife would be receiving a package from New Edge Wrestling showing Austen’s infidelity on the plane, a copy of the upgrades and everything. The fact that Austen hadn’t actually used the alcohol was irrelevant. Nathan knew how the world worked, alcoholic buys alcohol, especially in large quantities combined with escorts, private jets, first class hotel suites that cost $12-1400 a night, it paints all the picture most people need to see. Any pang of remorse Nathan might have felt was quickly replaced with anger. Nathan had been wild in his youth. He had been prideful, arrogant, he had never been a perfect man, but when he got married and had children, he had abandoned that life. He had grown up and become the man his family needed him to be. Austen evidently was content to mourn the death of his friend by falling back into old habits. He had heard the talk. Whispers about him flirting with some of the female talent around NEW and the sister of Ricky Molaroni.. Nathan would bury Austen figuratively before he buried the man literally at Demented.
Walking downstairs to the lobby, Nathan met up with Tera who greeted him by saying “Kronin called. You got a appearance at the Phoenix Coyotes game, making an appearance, help push the pay per view, sign autographs and the like. He also mentioned there is a funeral service for Davey Dynamo and you’re expected to attend to at least pay your respects.”
Nathan smirked. “Oh, I’ll do more than pay my respects.. this is perfect. Let’s get going..” He said as the two headed out. On the way there, Nathan made a few phone calls to set up his next surprise and as some of the talent from New Edge that was already in Arizona gathered for the funeral/memorial service, Tera was in the back with Kronin and Lilly, Nathan’s World Title slung over Tera’s shoulder. Kronin turning to her and sighing. “Where’s Nate?” Tera smirked. “He’s here. He wanted to pay his respects in a special way.”
Almost as soon as she finished, Nathan walked out in his priestly garments, holding a bible and took a position at the head of the congregation glancing at the casket as Kronin sighed. “This… is not going to end well, is it?”
Nathan waited for a few moments to let the shock and surprise of his appearance sink in before raising his hands and nodding. “Brothers and sisters, we are here to mourn the passing of Davey Dynamo. A man who, like so many, seems to be called before his time. Indeed, the man was only 38 years old. 38. And called to the side of His Lord and Creator. As some of you here may know, Brother Dynamo had a long and storied history in the wrestling business and with New Edge. He and Jesse Styles rarely saw eye to eye, but there was respect there. Now as so often happens when a tragedy like this befalls us, it is natural to ask why? We are usually taught that God has a plan, that everything happens for a reason and it is human nature to search for that reason. To seek greater understanding…”
Nathan takes a deep breath and then kicks into gear as he smirks. “But that is also our downfall as well. Lest we forget, it was the arrogance and greed of man that resulted in Adam and Eve being banished from Eden, that gave us Original Sin. So it is too with Davey Dynamo. We can ask why, but the answers are clearly laid out in front of us. Davey Dynamo was a man controlled by Vice. He struggled against them but ultimately he gave in. Too much sex, too much drugs, too much smoking, Truly, his life set into motion the events of his downfall. And now, Davey Dynamo has been called before his Lord to answer for his inequalities. His death might seem tragic, but I say it is a clear warning to those of us left behind who mourn him that following his path leads to only one place.. An early grave..”
Nathan smirks again and nods. “And.. speaking of early graves.. the protege of Davey Dynamo, Austen Impact, has chosen instead of being a better man, a repentant man, an honorable man, Austen has chosen to live the same life as Davey Dynamo. Rather than being Austen Impact, he has chosen to mourn the passing of his friend and mentor by seeking to become the man who has so tragically been taken from us. There is only one thing to say to that…”
Nathan walks to the coffin and rests his hand on it, inspecting it as he nods before turning back to the cameras and the people gathered.
“Look well, Austen. The path of Davey Dynamo leads only to one place. You say you’re going to bring it even more now, you cocky little shit? I say this, if you plan to bury me in the desert, you’d better focus more on fighting me than seeing how many women you can sleep with or how many drinks you can pack away… such tactics did not work for Davey Dynamo and they will not work for you. Today we bury Davey Dynamo, a flawed man who chose to ignore the path to salvation and was taken from us before he could properly atone for his sins and change his life. There is a lesson for many of us here. Come a few days time at Demented, I will break the Curse of the World Championship and we will lay to rest Austen Impact. The question is will Austen Impact heed the warnings of Davey Dynamo, or will he continue his path of self destruction? It is already too late to save him for his match.. he will pay the price of his sins, but it is not too late to save the man’s soul.. it is never too late to ask God for forgiveness.. unless, of course, you follow the path of Davey Dynamo and wait until you’re dead. But Austen… the fact that you think becoming Davey Dynamo 2.0 shows me even more than your actions at Ignite do, just how desperate and scared you are. Can you feel it? That pain in your chest? That cold shiver running up your spine. Take a good long look, lad, at least at the video since you are too busy defiling your sacred wedding vows to even show up for the funeral of a man you claimed was your best friend and that you claimed to love. How sad that your opponent shows more reverence for the memory Davey Dynamo than you do? It’s not enough for you to blatantly disrespect him and his memory, you add insult to injury by trying to become him? Repeating his mistakes and following the same path he did. Well again, we see where that path leads…”
Nathan glances back at the coffin and smirks. before looking back towards the camera. “Guess Demented is your last stop. Davey Dynamo is dead. He is not Christ, there will be no resurrection. If you’re bound and determined to be him, I guess I’ll bury Austen Impact aka Davey Dynamo at Demented and make sure he stays dead.”
Nathan then turns to the gathered. “For the rest us, Let us observe a moment of silence for a Hall of Famer of New Edge Wrestler, called to eternal rest, and show him the respect he deserves.”
Nathan is silent for a few moments before nodding. “Thank you. And now, before we finally close the book on the life of the man that was Davey Dynamo, let us pray. Merciful Father, look with compassion and pity on your servant Davey Dynamo. He was an imperfect man, but all of us are imperfect and it was the blood of your only Son, Jesus Christ, that opened the path to redemption for us. We ask that you forgive Davey Dynamo of his sins and welcome him into your kingdom where he will be at peace. We ask this through your mercy, Amen.”
With that, Nathan closed his bible and nodded. “So passes Davey Dynamo. Let us learn what we can from his life and strive to make ourselves better and honor his memory by putting out the best show we can come Demented.”
Nathan walked to the back where Tera was still standing by Kronin and nodded at her as he took the World Title belt back. “Well, that closes the book on one problem. Now to handle Austen.”
Kronin glances at Nathan and sighs. “Well, I suppose Jesse and I should be happy… that was one hell of a way to build the main event match.”
Nathan shrugs. “The man has betrayed his wife, galavanting around with women here. Excuse me if I take offense to a man breakin’ his vows instead of honoring his family. Now, Tera mentioned you wanted me at a hockey game tonight.What’s the information, like what time and such?”
Kronin nods. “Lil and I will come by and pick you and Tera up.” Nathan nodded. “Sounds good, we’ll meet you at the hotel then. Tera, let’s go and get ready for the next appearance, shall we?” Tera shrugged and together, her and Nathan said their goodbyes and made their way out of the funeral home.
As they left, Tera turned to him and shook her head. “Speaking of violating vows.. wasn’t what you did there technically one? I’m sure the Lord never meant to have a promo cut durin’ a damned funeral.”
Nathan smirked. “A priest can say whatever he wants during his homily, which was essentially what I did there. I preached and lectured on the ways sin can destroy a person. if Davey Dynamo, I mean Austen Impact, took offense to it, that’s his damned problem, not mine. Now before tonight rolls around, we have to make our next field trip.”
A couple hours later, Nathan walked along the desert just outside of Courtland Arizona, looking over the abandoned town and he had to admit he was impressed at how well preserved the town was. It was like stepping back into time when things were completely different. When men stood up for their beliefs and the law was sometimes whatever the point of a gun said it was. Nathan walked down the main street of the town, unable to help the feeling of being in a wild west movie. Looking over at Tera, he smirked. “Look at this, this is probably almost untouched since the days of the so called Wild West. Too damn bad we’re comin’ into town. Demented might just destroy this town…”
Finding a good space, he turned to Tera and had her turn on the camera again and once more Nathan’s face was visible. He sported a giant grin. This time he sported a cowboy hat and what could pass as a gunfighter’s costume from the Wild West. Looking around, Nathan gestured to the street and took a deep breath, holding it in for a few seconds and letting it out.
“See this, Austen? This is roughly where we’ll be fighting in a few days to determine who is the World Champion of New Edge Wrestling. Where our duel will take place. Now, an interesting fact of American history, duels happened a lot in the Wild West. They’d come out and stand in the street, like this and draw. There was no running, You earned this title shot by running. Running down a building and leaving it. An impressive feat, sure. But I dunnae think for one bloody second it makes you worthy of bein’ a damned champion… the cowardly actions you took at Ignite, further proof of your inequality. You know I’m a better man, and a better fighter than you can ever hope to be and so, like so many others, you resort to shortcuts. But here… here there are no shortcuts. It’s man vs man. one on one. You have to find a way to beat me, lock me in a coffin and bury me six feet under. You quite literally have to pry my title from my cold, dead, hands.
Therein lies the problem Austen. I dunnae think you have it in you. You’re not man enough to care for your wife, not man enough to care for your daughter, you’re down here flirting with every woman you can and, if your little twitter feed is to be believed, you’re having sex with Dazielle Molaroni. Adultery. Story of your life isn’t it, coward? Going gets tough and little Austen Impact runs and hides. His manager dies and now, he seeks to become Davey Dynamo because he knows Austen Impact is not up to the task at hand. But dunnae worry lad. In fact, enjoy your fun while you can, cause come Demented, I’m layin; your arse to rest. There’s a saying in the Bible, always been one of my favorites...JOB 38:11 Hereto Thou Shalt Come, but no further.’ It is meant as a stand against evil. But it works in our world as welll..”
Nathan lifts up the World Title to the view and nods. “Take a good look lad. Hereto Thou Shalt come, but no further. This as close as you will ever get to the World Title. Rest in Peace Austen Impact.. because at Demented… I close the book on you.”
With that, the camera was turned off and Nathan and Tera headed back to the hotel to get in a few rounds of sparring and training while waiting for their meeting with Kronin. When the time came, Tera and Nathan met Kronin and Lilly and headed out for the hockey game. Before the game, Nathan was there signing autographs, promoting the upcoming pay per view event and doing meet and greets with the fans. The New NEW World Title made an appearance as well, giving the belt more exposure as the build up for the big match continued.
During the game, Nathan, Tera, Kronin and Lilly were in one of the VIP boxes, watching the game, as Kronin explained to Nathan and Tera a few times how ice hockey worked and how fighting could be allowed, yet still a penalty and other such intricacies of the game. During intermissions between the periods, Nathan went down and did more PR work. After the game, was the final push and then it was enjoying the ride back to the hotel..
Then would come the work of continuing to train. Nathan had a man to bury and a title to defend.