A quiet yet frantic sobbing.

Steel digs through soil.

Steel digs through soil.

A loud 'thunk.'

Jubilant laughter.

"Oh mother dear! Would you mind explaining to me how you call out so?"
"I hear you. Laughing. Crying. Mocking."
"How?"
"How?"
"How?"

"Mother! I removed that filthy head of yours from that dainty little neck myself!"
"With my own two hands!"

"I felt the muscles rip and tear"
"We shared a laugh! Don't you remember!?"
"How I laughed, as I watched the life slowly fade from your eyes."
"It was the grandest moment you've ever given me."
"Dear, sweet mother."
"Your death was my gift."

"Yet still you torment me?"

"STOP!"

"STOP!"

"STOP!"

"What did I do wrong, mother? I'm sure your vocal chords separated cleanly."
"I've done this plenty of times. They never survive. No, not ever."
"What is your secret, mother?"
"Does your hatred for me continue even into the afterlife?"
"I understand your disappointment in my role in father's unfortunate 'accident.'"
"You never did quite regain your sanity after witnessing his entrails strewn about."
"But to hold such a grudge, well past your expiration date?"
"Now we're just being petty, mother dear."

"Or perhaps this is my fault?"
"I did fail to carry Brother Tank to a victory against CorVus at Turning Point."
"A divine punishment perhaps? Recompense for failed promises? Has the Higher Power forsaken me for failing to deliver CorVus to the Asylum?"
"Taking the most joyous moment of my existence, twisting and contorting it into a vile perversion that haunts me. Is that the price I am to pay for my failure?"

"No. No. No. NO. NO. NO. NO.NO.NO. No. No. No."

"I cannot accept that."
"I worked so hard. Planned meticulously. I picked the perfect blade. The perfect wine pairing. I made the most precise cuts."
"To have all that undone on a whim? On a failure which does not even rest solely on my shoulders?"


"You've had your laugh mother."
"One final laugh."
"But now it's time for you to return to your slumber."
"I've brought along the most perfect bottle of wine, one that I can enjoy while i reduce your corpse to a fine paste."
"Knives sharp enough to separate flesh from bone with the slightest of movements."

Muffled screams escapes the newly excavated coffin.

"Oh mother, now you wish to change your tone?"
"Where's the laughter mother?"
"Is there no comic value in your imminent destruction?"
"Sadly, you're too late. The wine has been poured. The blades have been sharpened. Your resurrection ends here, mother."

An excited hand flings the coffin open. An exasperated mouth gasps at the contents.

Inside lies the decapitated corpse of the mother.

Along with a bound, gagged, and very much alive elderly woman.

"Mrs. Bernthal? What are you doing here?" A puzzled scratch of the head.
"Did I...?"
"Well how rude of me! Here I was thinking it was mother calling out to me, and like an ignoramus I completely forgot that I arranged for you to catch up with mother."
"You did miss her so."
"Ah the memories have come flooding back to me!"
"Perhaps that taser that CorVus used on me prior, temporarily disrupted my synapses."
"Why did you fight?"
"I merely wished to do you a favor and reacquaint you with a dear friend. But you just wouldn't go silently."
"Restraints are such a nasty business, I do apologize that we had to resort to that."
"You did catch me at somewhat of an inopportune time, however, so perhaps my haste is partially to blame."
"You see, I have begun quite the exciting new venture."
"I have taken up the mantle of disciple to the Higher Power."
"And to spread such a magnificent word to such magnificently simple creatures is quite the task."
"Such responsibility should never be taken lightly."
"Therefore, this weekend, I shall enter a venue with the opportunity to spread the word of the Higher Power to nearly the entire stable of simpletons who plague the halls of the Xtreme Wrestling Federation."

"Weep if you must children, for the path to glory is no longer as simple as originally perceived. This so-called 'rumble' has been a pathetic sham from the beginning. A guaranteed opportunity to claim the top prize offered by the XWF is on the line and who competes for it? Outside of Brother Frodo, not a single individual capable of claiming the Universal title. That is, capable of winning without a significant advantage offered to them by one of the many inept general managers that continue to temper their own company's growth."

"This title that is constantly clamored over bears no importance to my calling. Golden trinkets mean as much to me as intellectual stimulation means to the entirety of the XWF roster. No, I have made the decision to interject myself into this match merely to eradicate the hope of the rest of the participants. Extinguished like a candle wick in a windstorm, so too will be the dreams of each competitors dreams of becoming champion of the XWF. And then, when these poor souls have come to the realization that their trivial pursuits of money and fame have failed them, left them as nothing more than worthless husks, will come the time for their salvation. At their lowest, they can be rejuvenated by the Higher Power, for only he can save them. And those battered, bloody carcasses who lift up their arms in acceptance of his benevolence, they will find a new purpose. They will find a calling greater than themselves which no longer leads to a path of pity and self destruction. They can be reborn."



"Oh forgive me! Was I rambling?"
"Passion often leads to ranting."
"I'm glad we could have this talk, it's been very enlightening."
"I can see now why mother enjoyed your company so, back in the days where her head was still connected to her body."
"I should like to come visit you again in the near future, would that be alright with you?"



"Why, I shall take that as a yes!"
"How very exciting!"
"Mother did you hear that?"
"I've made a new friend, one that you would actually approve of this time."
"We shall talk later, the three of us. But for now, I must take my leave."
"I fear this wine has gotten to my head and it pains me to admit this, I tend to have violent tendencies when the alcohol takes control."
"Which would be an absolute shave, considering our newly found friendship."
"Please do take care."


"And if mother does, by chance, start talking, please will you do me the courtesy of biting off her tongue and swallowing it."
"I can't be bothered to return for a few days and I fear she would just talk your ear off, that ol' gossip."
"Good day, madame."