<center>Jimmy Richards vs Drako vs The Prophet
</center>

Drako, despite his recent defeat and removal from the Majestic Cup, seemed rather pleased. He came to his wooden home and pondered what he should do at the moment. Just when he was about to walk out the door the direct-line cell phone he received from Ivan started to ring. "Why would he call now..." Drako thought to himself. He unfolded the cell phone and answered reflexivly. "What is it, Ivan?", then was immediatly met with Ivan's response: "I had my informing officer check on your progress. You lost your first match, which is understandable and acceptable--" Drako interrupts, but before he could even say a word he gets interrupted by Ivan: "I'll get to the point. New match. Triple threat. Be ready.", and Ivan hangs up almost instantly afterwards.

Drako thinks: "Odd... but no matter.". He immediatly starts looking up this Triple Threat and discovers his opponents are Jimmy Richards and KID, which are completly unknown to him, and he then looks up KID first. He discovers where to look for him, and sets out.

After finding him, he immediatly starts howling to grab his attention, and then when he gets it, deals out a powerful knee to the startled and unexpecting KID, then proceeds to hurl him once before KID finally hits a roundhouse kick trying to make Drako back off, to no avail. He then DDTs a slightly unexpectant Drako and then they engage in a lock-up. Drako's superior size gives him the edge, but they still grapple each other.

Blood flows, its crimson color mixing with the stark white of his mask into a shade of pink. His head stung in random stabs of pain, clouding his vision and his judgment. Yet faith holds strong in the face of such adversity.

"Wrath....." he whispered silently, referring to the lumbering behemoth that had assaulted him without cause or care.

His thoughts jumped from idea to idea on how to face such a situation. His older self called for revenge, an attack to equal and surpass the one he received. Teach the attacker the dangerous consequences of such a foolish act. Yet his faith spoke louder. You cannot fight Wrath with Wrath and remain on the path of the righteous. Yet you cannot bend or bow before those that embrace sin. You must be like the oak in the wind, stand firm in the face of rage. Redemption of sin was his purpose, the Light willed it so. He must stand before the ignorant giant with his sling of truth and fell the brute to rescue the man beneath. Drako would be redeemed.

His purpose set, his devotion confirmed, he went out into the foul night to hunt attacker and save his soul. And should such a soul be beyond salvation, then the depths of Hell await.


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Her dreams were filled with visions of this masked stranger and the nightmares he fended away. His presence made her safe, the inner demons that tormented her nightly slumbers where banished when he was there. Yet when he was not around, they plagued and assaulted her night. In those nightmares she does what she always has, she runs. Running, her body becomes coated in sweat, her legs ache, and tears flow freely down her pale face.

A little farther... she tells herself.

Yet around every corner lurked faces from the past, faces that haunt her in dreams and out. They mock her, the betray her, the insult her. She keeps running, hoping to leave the horrid faces behind. And every turn reveals another, every breeze carries the pain.

But he eliminates the pain, the hate, the suffering. He warms her and comforts her. She feels safe with him near, a safety she has never felt before.

"Wake up child." He tells her. "And step into the Light."

"Who are you?"

"Very soon we will meet and you will know."

Her dreams end and she awakes, his words still echoing in her ears.


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"That motherfucker..." Richards groans as he picks himself up off the ground.

His bodyguard helps him get up, help that Jimmy refuses. The brothers JE and KID stand as well, looks of anger in their shared eyes. Realizing that he was standing face to face with one of his other opponents, KID takes a defensive posture towards Richards, one that JE echoes.

"Whoa whoa whoa there cowboy, no need to scuffle up here between us. In case you didn't notice, steroid head in there kind of punked us."

KID relaxes his stance a little.

"Okay, so let me get, he jumped you too?"

Richards nods.

"Got me bad. What's with this punk?" KID muses.

"I told you this kind of thing might happen bro." JE pipes in. "The guy I used to team with employed similar methods, albeit with henchmen most of the time."

"That's fine and dandy kids." Richards interrupts. "But leaves us with a lot of nothing about what we are going to do about it?"

"We?" KID smirks.

"Yes WE. You and I can have it out in the ring, but I think this roid head needs to get on hell of a beat down today, and frankly, if we work together on this, we can show him he can't go beating the crap out of people like us with no recourse."

"Strength in numbers little brother." JE interjects.

KID thinks about the offer. No guarantee that Richards wouldn't attack him once Drako was bleeding on the ground, but KID was angry. And that anger can lead to strange bedfellows.

"Okay Jimmy, you got a deal."

Drako puts his barricade back up, slowly but surely. His thoughts race and pulse with what KID, JE, Richards and Jacque will do.

"They are opponents, not to mention they cant stand each other!"
"Yes, but they do have something in common that could unite them!"
"Fine. I'll just crush them, united or divided.".

He resets his goal, and dumps a box of lead pipes out, then 1 more. He starts melting them, then uses any and all things possible to supercool it fast and lays it out upon the ground like a carpet as a weapon against his opposition.
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KID, JE and Jimmy Richards converse a little. KID says:

"How do you suppose we enter? He's got 5 inch chains on his door and there are only 2 windows."

JE replys with:

"Lets just slowly enter through the windows then."

KID accepts this plan as does Jimmy Richards. They start climbing through the window and eventually make it through, but not before Drako notices them. It turns into an all-out battle. Drako is surrounded by JE, KID, Jacque and Jimmy Richards. They all attempt to crush him with right hands but Drako ducks and they all hit their hands against each other with a great deal of force. As Jacque rushs toward Drako he gets met with a forceful hold to the throat and a chokeslam on the lead carpet. JE rushs toward Drako with a clothsline only for it to miss and hit KID. JE is worried and that gives Drako time to punch JE in the back of his throat with a devestating haymaker. Drako says:

"This is fun."

Jimmy Richards eventually punches Drako and Drako gets lifted into a firemans carry by Jacque. Believing Drako is down, the foursome fight amongst themselves. Drako slowly emerges from the ground and hits the Sweet Dreams to the back of Jimmy Richards' head, which makes him fall over onto KID, slamming KID into the lead floor. Drako says:

"That hurt."

JE and Jacque immediatly start right handing Drako. Drako ducks them once and emerges grabbing them by the throat and chokeslamming them both at the same time. KID and Richards get up to try and flapjack him only to be met with a kick to their temples and them both being chokeslammed onto JE and Jacque. Drako dismantles his barricade and hurls them away from the building once more, this time stomping on them to make them stay down longer. They are all incapactitated for a little while.
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The Prophet, after arriving in Mexico, tries to find Drako and save him from himself. He finds Drako's hotel and the four men he took out still laid out. He enters Drako's home and is met with:

"It's about time you got here. I've been longing to hurt you some more."

The Prophet whispers again: "Wrath..." To which drako responds:

"Heh. Wrath is anger. I have none."

The Prophet is almost startled by his alarming words, implying that Drako is aware of his sadism and embraces it to its fullest. The Prophet immediatly attacks Drao with a hard knee only for Drako to dodge and hit the Backward Headsmash on the lead floor. While not actually severely injured, The Prophet is incapacitated temporarily from that attack and Drako dumps him with the other four. The other four wake up, Jimmy Richards grunting:

"Ugh. I can't believe he laid us out when all four of us attacked him at the same time!"

JE responds with:

"Dosen't look like our club is private..." Then shifts his eyes towards Prophet, now knocked out. "This guy got quite a beating himself."

Richards responds with:

"Well, as much as I want roid brains in there laid out and beaten, we outta prepare for our match some more before we go after him again. We'll beat him in the ring for what he's done to us."

They leave. The Prophet wakes, his mask suddenly turning red from the crimson flowing from his forehead. His mission was to save Drako's soul, but it seems it is well past saving. He set his mission to making sure Drako spilt no more blood from anyone else, but at this point his mission would not be accomplished in Drako's home, where it's Drako's rules.

Pain re-enforces faith. The impulses of his nerves sent not only unpleasant feelings his body suffered, but each one carried with it The Light. He focused on the holiness of his calling, his purpose. Slowly, the pain faded from his mind, allowing him to rise. Wounds were still fresh, but they hurt him no longer. The brute moved with inhuman strength, in fact nothing The Prophet could do seemed to injury or effect the large man. It was as if The Prophet's blows landed upon the superhero creation of a child's mind. He mused silently if this man of wrath was immune to the fatal effects of bullets as well. But none can follow the path of the Righteous without dealing with the hardships inflicted by non-believers. And nobody is unbeatable. The mountain may stand firm against the wind, but the wind is persistent. And such persistence will wear down the mountain over thousands of years. Be as relentless as the wind when you walk with the Light, and none will halt you.

So he rose, blood falling in small droplets upon the floor. Ivan had left him earlier before, allowing the man of faith to examine his next move. The beast of wrath still roamed the world, no doubt inflicting others with his cruel anger. Normally, this type of person burns out very quickly until he is dead or insane. Such a fate awaited this harbinger. The Prophet would have his day to bring the brute to his knees, but that day was not today. A more pressing matter needed his direct attention. The girl would be ready very soon, and he had to be there to welcome her into the wonders of the Light.

The Sheppard must tend to his flock before the wolves attack.

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The commotion was clear, and the feeling of panic and anger were still fresh in the air as The Prophet arrived at Plaza de Toros Calafia. Whispers of an attack murmured throughout the corridors.

......barged in with a pipe......

.....she's hurt bad.....

.....he's fired that's for sure....

As much as he tried, The Prophet could not ignore whatever event had transpired earlier. While he knew he had to find his quarry, the curiosity inside beckoned him find out what happened. He was not a man to ask a person at random, the events might be fragmented in such explanation. No, he needed to find the source or somebody who would know the full story.

Stern.

The closer he got to her makeshift office, the more people there were, all in a state of shock. He peered over a small crowd blocking his path and was greeted with the sight of Valerie Stern being wheeled out of her office on a stretcher. Her face was covered with the sterile white of hospital bandages, yet spots of deep red had soaked through the fabric. Paramedics cleared the hallway to allow passage for their wounded patient. As the stretcher passed his spot, he clearly saw her bruised and battered body. Whoever did this was strong, violent, and filled with........wrath. He grabbed the arm of the person next to him.

"Who did this?"

"Drako. He just showed up and beat the holy hell out of Ms. Stern and Blackjack."

So it was the monster of anger again. No longer content with fulfilling his lust for pain and blood with his opponents, this brute decided a woman was a better target. No class, no intelligence, no redeeming qualities what so ever. This was not a man worth existing in any world or any time. Yet The Prophet could not exact revenge upon the cowardly beast, such an action was not wise at this stage. He needed guidance. Leaving the scene of the assault, he made his way to a payphone on the main floor of the arena.

"Alumno is there a problem?" the older man asked before any introduction could be made.

"I am in need of guidance Magister. Situations here have become difficult."

"How so?"

"My opponent Drako. He is a man of anger who sole purpose seems to be the infliction of pain upon anybody. He has assaulted me numerous times, same with my other opponents, and just earlier he attacked Valerie Stern in a brutal fashion. This man seems immune to all that I can throw at him to guide his steps into the Light."

"I see. Well, does such a man deserve redemption?"

"All deserve the chance to embrace the Light."

"And has he had his chance?"

"Yes. I see Magister."

"And since he has rejected the path, he must be removed lest he corrupt others."

"But such an act would jeopardize my purpose here."

"Only if you were careless. You say he assaulted Ms. Stern?"

"Yes."

"Then she will most likely not be concerned with whatever....methods..... you use in your match to subdue and pin him?"

"I see. Use her desire for vengeance to justify his death."

"Not death, such a thing must be avoided except against those who truly deserve it, like your prime targets. No killing, but I am sure Ms. Stern would not shed a tear if this idiot Drako was crippled in your match. And such a brave action in her honor is bound to earn you favors you can use at a later date."

"Then my path is clear."

"Yes. Go with the Light my son."

"Praise to the Light."

He hung up the phone with a deep breath. The next few days would allow him the chance to steel himself for what he must do. Remove Drako from the picture, it felt so familiar to him, as if he had done similar before. But such things were the past, and all that matters is the future. And Drako's future was bleak.

Drako knew that someone as corparatly powerful as Valerie Stern would have friends... and most importantly, would not need them. While Drako couldn't care about contracts and papers and other things, he knew that he would need to be ready. Stern calls the shots, and anyone who's anyone would have a grudge against someone who did what Drako did to Stern. Surrender? No. In Sterns attempt at revenge, Drako could use that to bring pain and suffering to more and more. No, he would not fear the match and the "vengeance" Stern would bring down... Oh no... In all terms, any methods anyone else could use Drako could use... And therefore be on equal grounds once again. Despite this, however, The Prophet needed to be reminded who Drako worked for... In private.

Drako chuckled as he lifted up his direct line cell phone and called Ivan.

Ivan: "You don't usually start the conversation, Drako. Heh. What do you want?

Drako: "You do realize that The Prophet is still wandering? His "Light" may be strong, but maybe its time we introduced him to the dark prowess? And both of us know who would be the best for that right now."

Ivan: "I understand, but I'm very busy. Maybe I can convince somebody in high places to negotiate him and me to be between ropes for awhile. In the meantime, take this."

Ivan hangs up and arrives corporeal in Drako's home and imbues him with even greater knowlage of his draconic heritage. Before Ivan leaves Drako says:

"But how did you..."

Ivan: "Your books, your name. It lead me to believe that you were."

Drako: "Hmm..."

Ivan leaves, and Drako wastes no time in exiting his home: No doubt that Stern couldn't at least dial some numbers and put him in bars for assault.
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Meanwhile, Stern was wheeled to the nearest hospital. They are working under the assumption that Stern has completly lost conciousness, however she still remains aware, albiet only slightly so. She overhears various TCW personnel talking about how to respond to the situation, but she cant hear them too well because they're in the hallway.

"...But the show is only a few weeks..."
"...She's hurt quite badly..."
"...Chairs couldn't of..."
"...Wait, isn't..."
"...Yeah, I think..."
"...Who will greet..."
"...Hopefully she'll be ready..."
"...May... greet the winner..."

She couldn't discern it too well, but she got the general gist of it: The Majestic cup is airing and she isn't in great shape, so someone else may have to be there to greet and congradulate the winner at the show. She continues to try and hear them.

"...So far as..."
"...To his house..."
"...Sure this dosen't happen..."

Once again, she couldn't understand the entire sentences, but she knew the gist of it: How to remove Drako from the picture. As her mind cleared up, she pondered as well how to deal with these two pressing issues:

The Majestic Cup
Drako

Thankfully they're seperate so she dosen't have to worry about a monster like Drako having a belt around his waist... Yet. He's bound to get a title shot one day, even if it's by total accident. Yet another issue popped into her head. So many issues, so little time, and she has to deal with it all wrapped in bandages. Drako couldn't have picked a worse time for this attack. She might be able to simply fire Drako but what then? Will that simply open him up for worse attacks, damaging property and otherwise bringing ruin to shows? Will that cause Drako to have a grudge against Stern rather than just random attacks? Or she can leave him in TCW and run the risk of even worse publicity, and the possibilty of a monster like him one day having gold around his waist, whether its one of the smaller titles or the big one... Or even him just getting a shot at it... Could crush any good publicity the company still has... And with the committee coming the last thing TCW needs is a wrestler in their midst which holds no regard for anyone, even himself, getting a shot at gold or worse... actually getting it, even for a split second. Even beating a champion without titles on the line could generate bad publicity... Drako publicity = Bad publicity, plain and simple.

And then her other pressing issue: The Majestic Cup. Two issue groups... Wait... the issue groups are:

The Majestic Cup
Bad Wrestlers

She got so caught up with Drako, she forgot about the publicity that her champions are giving off by the minute. She has Drako, a monster who attacks anyone, anywhere, and some of her champions are drawing bad publicity. She can't win from a hospital bed: In order to face all these problems, she'd have to get back into her base, TCW. She has to be able to control TCW. With her away from her offices like this, she, no, TCW, has no control. She has to get back to call the shots and get wrestlers who draw bad publicity away from main event status. She begins to rise, but falls immediatly afterward. She must rest at this point.
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Jimmy Richards is spending a cozy night when he gets called by a security personnel who has already heard the news. Richards picks it up and says:

"Hi."

Security: "Stern was attacked a few hours ago."

Jimmy Richards shakes his head twice before saying:

"WHAT?"

Security: "I found out that Commissioner Valerie Stern was assaulted by Drako, one of your fellow wrestlers."

Richards: "A wrestler did this? You said his name was Drako?"

Securiy: "Yeah. 7'2", red clothing and striped mask, barged in Stern's offices and attacked her and her dog with a lead pipe."

Richards: "..."

Richards gets ready and tells Jacque the news.

Jacque: "What?!

Richards: "Yeah. The same maniac who did us a number broke into her offices with a lead pipe.

Jacque: "And you're going after him or checking on Stern?"

Richards ponders the question.

Richards finally responds:

"Checking on Stern."

Drako was still sitting quietly in his barricaded room, pondering what to do now. While he had done everything worth doing, he didn't seem pleased. Something was missing, it seemed. Something he hadn't done... Something... Out of place? His mind was racing, trying to think of something he had not done yet... He had brutalized:

Stern
KID
Richards
JE

He had done everything he could think of but something was missing...

"Ah..."

He thought. He still had some random stuff to do. He was immediatly bent on tracking Richards. After a long drive, he found Richards' limo parking near the hospital holding Stern. As he was parking, Drako started spinning his cars back into the front of Richards' limo. Richards was screaming to the driver:

"Reverse! REVERSE! REVERSE!

Drako smashed into Richards' limo, giving all the people inside quite a bump on their heads. Richards exited the limo to find Drakos energetic figure, and shouts:

"YOU'VE DONE IT NOW, REDHEAD!"

As Richards lunges toward Drako, he tears a door off the limo and does an upward strike on Richards with it, spinning him into the concrete. Jacque immediatly gets Richards in the limo despite Richards protests to be let out and Jacque charges at him, but gets a limo door window broken on his skull and tossed into one of Drakos car windows. Richards immediatly charges toward Drako, enraged. He tried again but this time got his face plummeted into the floor by Drako. Drako however was staggered by a low blow from Richards. As he was running toward Drako however he got whirled into the air by a hard shot from the limo door, spinning him onto and off the top of a car that was passing by. Richards unconcious form was immediatly picked up and put into medical. His injurys weren't extreme, but treat-worthy. His bloody, unconcious figure was rushed to the hospital. The medical examination said that he was gonna be in bed for a little while but not to worry.

Jacque emerged from the floor to find Drako gone and Richards hospitalized for a little bit. Jacque was upset to find Richards unconcious with a bloody face. Drako returned to his home and re-established the barricade.

Meanwhile...
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Stern was able to stand, albiet barely. She was able to leave but the doctors recommended otherwise. Stern left for her offices and tried to re-organize everything. As she was setting everything up her blood got on the paper numerous times.

"He'll get his..."

Stern was filing when Bruce and other TCW personnel arrived, to make sure the office was totally secure.

"Please leave..."

They left the office and were right outside making sure no one came by again. Meanwhile
Stern pondered how to deal with this. Maybe arrest him? Would that work? Probably not. Fire him? Maybe that would deal with him. But he could always wreak destruction upon PPV shows, tarnish the name of TCW, and send into the poorhouse. No, that wouldn't work either. But what would? Maybe having his match be super-risky? That wouldn't work either. He could defeat his opponents nontheless. Rig the match? How would that be possible? Her entire security staff was wiped, so there is no sure-fire way to lock Drako's defeat. But if none of those work, what will? She was in a very bad mood anyway, and now she can't find a way to ensure Drako's demise, espicially since other preperations for the show have to be made. She decided to wait until the show to find a way to finish this.

She organized as best she could. Every paper filed, stapled, and in it's assigned bin brought a little comfort to her. Despite outward appearances, the vicious assault by Drako had shook her to the core. She was always safe and protected, either by her sheer presence or by Blackjack, or even by Bruce. But in a single instant her secure view on her life was shattered by one man. His face was burned into her mind and no matter how much she tried to push him aside, he would re-appear. Her blood called for revenge, every fiber of her being screamed for her to strike back in kind. Make him bleed, make him hurt.

Make him be as afraid as she was.

Silent tears appeared in small numbers across her eyes. Each one filled with the fear she know felt and tinted with desire for vengeance. She mocked herself for such weak thoughts, for daring to let a single man affect her so. And onward she continued to work to try to regain that lost feeling of security.

A note caught her wet eye amongst the stacks of paperwork. Carefully written with deep black ink, the words seemed put to paper in masterful strokes of a professional. Her name, her proper name, was clear on the cover. Curious, she opened and read the contents.


Ms. Valerie Stern,

First allow me to extend my condolences in regards to your injuries. I pray for a speedy recovery of both you and your loyal hound. The attack was one of a coward and as such is unforgivable. Which of course leads to the second part of this letter. As I am to face this brute in the ring soon, that is of course if he still has employment, I wish to extend the following offer. Allow me the chance to pay this beast back in kind for what he has done to you. A few well placed accesories under the ring, a well timed distraction, whatever you wish to do, please feel free to do so. I shall be ready to strike the monster and make him bleed as he sadly did to you. I ask for nothing in return, just the chance to avenge an innocent and intelligent woman such as yourself. That is all the reward I seek. Again, me you recover quickly.

By the Light,

The Prophet.

She read the letter several times, each time more caerfully than the last. The offer was tempting.

Very tempting.

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The girl's dreams continued and did not subside. Each night was the same, and each night when the worst appeared to happen, he arrived. Like a knight in shining armor he strode forth and warmth surrounded her every being. This was the only peace she felt, and she feared waking. To wake meant to leave such warmth and return to a cold and cruel world. One that never understood and fought against her with blows of words and stares. A world that hated her.

And again, like the replay of a sport's show, the dream followed it's predictable course. She runs again down familar streets and hears the cries of her betrayers behind her. Their words lash her and cut down to her bone. Fear and anxiety take hold as she flees from these nightmarish voices. And when all hope seems lost, he appears again. She grips him and holds tight, tears streaming down her pale face.

"Do not cry my child. " he tells her again. "I am here."

"But you will leave, like the others left."

He gently strokes her long black hair.

"No dear one. I will not leave you. In fact, today we meet."

He tear soaked face looks up towards his, some disbelief present in her eyes.

"Today?"

"Yes child, today. Now wake up and be ready."

The scene fades and blends back to that of her hotel room. Sunlight is beginning to shine through her window and beneath her quarters she hears the streets coming alive with a new morning. Yet in her mind she hears his voice on final time.

"Today we meet. Myra."