Prologue.

Ring-a-round the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down….

Do you hear those eerie voices echoing in the distant mist? Gloom surrounds us you see. Lightning strikes and the thunder booms in the suppressed crackling wood. Gusts fly past like a seagull on a beach. The lost wanderer followed those hypnotising voices and those sadistic cackles to a grand oak tree.

It could only have been crafted at a witch’s hand. That was not the work of god. Bare. Leafless. Naked. Moonlight shone through the gaps between the widened branches. Its roots were indented into the ground, veins in flesh. Each branch had cracks on them as clear as a wrinkle on a ninety year olds forehead. Where were those voices coming from though? The high pitched squealing was spine tingling as well as blood curdling. You could not withstand the intensity that glowed off of the elephantine tree like radiation. The wanderer’s shoes sink into the mud whilst twigs scratch against his feet. Then it was silent….. A crisp shiver tickles your back which forces you to shudder as a ghoul steps on your grave with torturous menace.

Your eyes shut and your body falls onto the wet mud. You began to dream a quiet dream. A dream of solemn that would yet turn into fear and chaos. As in life, you stood in front of the gallant oak tree yet this time you were not unparalleled. An ominous black shade faced the oak tree standing at a giant 7 feet high. And as the fiend began to speak with a frailness in his tone you were numb… Yet the words he spoke went through you like the blood in your veins…

Fiend
“Oh my dear wanderer, what would ever bring you to such a dark place? This is no place for the youthful and energetic. This is death’s door to those who seek it, yet it may be paradise to those who have earned it.”

You respond, with your voice edging higher as your fear grows. You squint your eyes and look into the blackness of the fiend’s cloak whilst the magnificent oak towers over you like the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

You
“I do not fear you… Fiend. So what is this place to you? Death’s door…. Or paradise?”
A cackle was the response… before the demon began to speak with evil in his tone once more.

Fiend
“Why is it not obvious? This is my home… For beyond these trees lie the dead. Those who bask in deceit and lies stay awake forever dreaming constant night mares on the left. Whilst those who have earned heaven bathe peacefully in their honour on the right… And which might you be?”

You
“I am neither. I am not dead, this is nothing but a nightmare and I wish to awaken from this torment. ENOUGH!”

Fiend
“I did not have you down as a fool. If oxygen still flows in your blood then what on earth are you doing at my mysterious door?”

Your worst nightmare had suddenly become a reality… You are death’s lost wanderer. And as the ghoul turned to face your poor soul nothing but emptiness stared back…. This fiend was no fiend at all. Death…..

“You will regret the lack of honour that you show for the rest of your days.”

There was silence for a brief moment before the echoes of the eerie girl could be heard relentlessly. A taster of the torture that was yet to come.

Ring-a-round the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down….

Yes we do all fall down. For all men must fall….. But how shall you fall?

End of Prologue

The tangy revolting taste of sweat lingered into the crowd’s mouths; the aroma of sweet popcorn into their nostrils. Linkin Park filled theirs ears as the bellowing ‘What I’ve Done’ filled the arena from the booming speakers whilst jeers murmured from the fans gaping mouths. Steve Davids suddenly emerged in front of the X-Tron. The bearded warrior grabbed his hair and pushed it back, exposing his cut forehead. His battle wounds from a match a couple of weeks ago against Peter Gilmour were still easy to see for the thousands of fans packed into the High Stakes arena. For the second week in a row he stood alone… His friends were evidently still nursing his injured uncle after the choke slam he suffered at the hands of Sebastian Duke a few weeks back. A scowl appeared on the Psychopath’s face. He was attired in his usual wrestling attire, yet he was looking sleeker than usual. He pondered down the ramp, ignoring the jeering crowd as usual. Nothing was on his mind as he did nothing other than look directly into the air, imagining where the X-Treme championship would hang later on in the night. Images of basking in glory flowed through his mind like a river. He chewed his saliva before grasping the middle rope and pulling himself onto the ring apron where he stood for a second and gaped upon the thousands of fans whilst shaking his head in disapproval and spitting on the ground below. Climbing over the middle rope with a sway of arrogance, he stood in the centre of the ring in silence for a brief moment. Allowing the abuse to be a hurled at him like a criminal at a stoning. The ring assistant handed him a microphone and he snatched it eagerly like a dog at a steak. He puckered his lips and was about to speak but was not satisfied with the levels of noise coming from the pumped yet angry crowd. He pouted slyly and lowered the mic whilst looking at his wrist signalling for the time. Eventually the crowd fell silent and the Psycho Sensation began to speak with a sad happiness in his voice.

Steve Davids
“Here I stand before you on this most precious night with nothing other than desperation inside me. The honour that was once so needed has evaporated from me like a puddle. Glory fills me as does impatience. I could not wait any longer to come out here and talk to my oh so beloved fans”

Jeers and boos begin to flood the arena once more like a scene from ‘The Impossible’

“I know you people oh so well…. The pain and the agony that will be inflicted onto this already damaged body is an experience that excites me. As one Stannis Baratheon once said ‘the darkness shall swallow them all, unless I save them’. Yes I am sure you people have seen the hit series Game of Thrones well that quote seemed relevant to me for many a reason….

For a start, the other contenders in my match will be suffocated by the glory that comes with the belt as Luca Arzegotti already has been. I will shine brighter than any star in the sky when gold accompanies me. You see I am not so easily engulfed as Unknown Soldier and Franklin Fresh…. Really awesome names by the way… Like really? But more on those peasants later….

The second reason is the phrase can also be a reference to you people. You see if I do not climb the mountain to greatness and hold the fort at the top of that mountain strong then you will continue to cheer men without honour. You will continue to cheer false men. Men who lie to themselves in order to convince you that they are worthy of your appreciation. Well none of these men are, for if you jeer me you should jeer yourselves and every last one of the competitors in this business for I am the only one who stands true. Yes I hear you people, sure you have heard it all before…. Well I am different… I am the man whose fate has led to this moment. I am the man who is destined for perfection. And I am the man who when that sun fades will bring the light back into this world once more…. I am Steve Davids! AND YOU WILL APPRECIATE ME….”

His words fade as his breaths grow heavier. A trickle of sweat drops off of his forehead like a drop from an icicle. He stops ranting and drops the microphone for a moment. He drops to the mat and rolls out of the ring briefly, the fans begin to gain puzzled looks. Then it all becomes crystal clear as Steve lifts the ring apron up and pulls a 20 foot high ladder out from under the ring and slides it into the ring. He looks and points to the heavens as darkness suddenly fills the arena. A beam of light shines from the top of the arena pointing down at Steve Davids who has placed a ladder in the direct centre of the beam of light. It was as if he were an angel. He grasped the microphone from the floor and began to speak once more. After each sentence he moved a foot closer and closer to the top of the ladder.

“Now whilst my opponents sit in the back and consider their chances in tonight’s fatal four way ladder match I want them to listen to these harsh truths. Every step that I take is a step of my dreams becoming reality. This ladder is the mountain of success and I climb it with every breath I take…. There is nothing that any of you can do to stop me from becoming a champion for the first time within this company… Everyone has heard whispers of my previous success in multiple other businesses but this is different. This business is one of true prestige and it shall not be long until, I sit at the top like a hawk searching for its prey….”

Steve reaches the top of the ladder and calmly sits at the top of it, with a sense of power like one of a tennis umpire.

“There comes a moment where I must discuss my opponents for tonight at the extraordinary pay per view that is High Stakes! …..

I will start with the champion, he deserves that respect I guess…. Luca Arzegotti, the X-Treme champion…. You really have proved yourself haven’t you Luca? It will be such an awful shame when your world comes crumbling down like Oklahoma. (Mass jeers from the crowd follow this comment)…. Sorry, too soon? My bad. You have held that belt in spite and glory for long enough and I cannot deny that you have deserved that title reign. Let the burden be lifted though my friend for there comes a time when the torch must be passed. That time has come…. Get off your high horse and pull your finger out because I have been desperate for the match of my life and tonight is the night that I pull out all the stops to walk away with the belt held high. You saw the pain I am willing to put myself through, well Peter Gilmour received a small glint of that…. Tonight will be a whole new level of torture.

Next I come to you….. Unknown Soldier. A man of great credibility, great respect. A lunatic none the less. I can’t help but enjoy you. Your presence, your creepiness, your violence, you brutality. You remind me of an older, rustier, worse version of myself. If Sebastian Duke holds a victory over you highly then you must have done something right… You do have a faith however, if Satan counts as a faith. Well I have news for you pal…. Faith is something that the weak use to give themselves false hope. There will be no hope for you tonight. The flames of Satan and the rains of God cannot save you now. Agony awaits………..

Finally, last but certainly least…. Franklin Fresh. Who the hell even came up with the idea of putting you in this match? A peasant with a pathetic excuse for a personality, a low level of intelligence, and the bravery of a goldfish. You are truly putting a downer on the excellence that this match will contain. I have looked forward to competing in the ranks of this company for my whole life yet somehow I remain stuck in a match against Franklin Fresh? The only thing fresh about you is your surname. Even that horrendous alliteration is just revolting. Hopefully after this match you can go back to performing as a backing dancer for Justin Bieber so that the real men can continue to compete…..

My last problem is the fact that this match is not the main event. I know for a fact that this match will be twice as entertaining as the charade of a match between Duke and Satellite. What a farce. All the build-up. All the drama. For a match that will be nothing other than second best. Welcome to reality folks…. This is how it works now days. Two champions will go to head to head in a mediocre match whilst our match is overlooked. Well we are here tonight to prove that we are the greatest wrestlers in this company. And by walking out the champion tonight I shall do this……Now as you know all know, I do love a good statement....”

Ring-a-round the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down….

Plays on the X-Tron as Steve raises the microphone and just after ‘we all fall down is said’ he begins to swing the ladder...

“All men must fall…”

Steve tips the ladder right over, throwing his helpless body out of the ring and onto the floor outside. He holds himself in pain….The doctors look on for many moments as after about 3 or 4 minutes Steve struggles to his feet and grasps another microphone from the ring assistant and bellows some final words.

“When all is said and done only I will make a real sacrifice…..


Those four words will always be true you know…..

All Men Must Fall.”

Steve begins to cackle down the microphone as the shot cuts for a commercial break.

3x Xtreme Champion
1x Briefcase Holder
1x Television Champion
1x Universal Champion