All I can remember from that night was the pain.

I can't even remember if I won or not, but I've been told I did.

I broke my 8 match losing streak. What a relief.

But the pain, that's killing me.

I remember being first attacked by some guy who wasn't Tommy Wish, but apparently it is but he's changed.

Changed his name to something like the Freak.

Well, he's insignificant to me now.

But what is significant to me now is..... coming back from these injuries. Back pain, sore head, and leg pain from apparently where I was attacked by shots from a chair.

All I want now
All I need now
All I'm willing to do now
All that I'm angry at doing now
is to give PAYBACK....

---

If you prick us do we not bleed?
If you tickle us do we not laugh?
If you poison us do we not die?
And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?
~William Shakespeare~

It is impossible to suffer
without making someone pay for it
Every complaint already contains
REVENGE
~Friedrich Nietzsche~

The best revenge
is to be unlike him
who performed the injury
~Marcus Aurelius~

---

All I can remember is being attacked. Like I said, I wasn't sure who attacked me because it was all a blur, after the first attack by the so-called Freak. But it wasn't The Freak I was concerned about, he no longer had my interest, but the person who had my interest was the one who had blatantly attacked me.

All I can remember was some whiney nasally voice, I think it was Paul Heyman, but who the fuck cares about Paul Heyman? No one cares about Paul Heyman, he once was a meaningful figure in the XWF, but he left, and that was that. He's so insignificant now, and he had the atrocity to call me out. But that was only because someone needed me to focused on the fat fucker Heyman, and that someone sneaked attacked me.

Like I said, I didn't know who did the sneak attack. I could barely hear that person whining about stuff whilst I was incapacitated lying on the floor of the ring. But then everything went dark.

I don't know how long I was in complete darkness. I could hear voices trying to pull me back to the light. But they couldn't. So then they decided to let me stay in the dark through something called an induced coma.

The next thing I knew I was opening up my eyes and feeling the warmth coming back into my body, and trying to focus. All I knew someone was sitting at my bedside holding my hand, and their head was resting on my bed.

"Where.... where am I?"

"'Mi?" came Maria's voice

"Maria?"

"Yes 'M' it's me,"

"Where am I?"

"You're back in New Zealand, babe."

"What's going on?"

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"You were viciously attacked and assaulted on Warfare!"

"By whom?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"I don't really want to tell you, yet."

"Please, Maria, I need to know."

"You haven't asked how the kids are yet?"

"I've just woken up by what you said was a vicious attack and you want me to ask about the kids?"

"They know you are here. They haven't seen you yet."

I tried to move, but all I could feel was pain. Pain in my legs, pain in my back, and also pain in the top of my head.

"You need to rest babe, the Doctors say that you need to stay in bed to recover from your injuries for at least a couple of weeks."

"A couple of weeks?"

"Yes!"

"But I need to prepare for Relentless my next PPV."

"Not in that condition you won't be," came another voice from across the room

I tried to focus across the room. All I could hear was his Australian accent.

"Outback Jack?"

Outback Jack was my earliest mentor. I've told you guys about him before. I don't need to go back into detail again as it will bore everyone who would have heard it.

---

Okay then I'll tell the back story then.

Hi my name is Outback Jack. I am a former Australian Wrestling Champion, and it was Mastermind who came to me early in his career after he was forced out of the New Zealand Wrestling Competition after a series of forced concussions, which almost ended his career before it got going.

He needed my tutelage. So I gave it to him, and after months of preparation I sent him into the New South Wales Wrestling Academy where that did wonders for him and then I sent him to Japan where he worked his magic there, and then I sent him back to New Zealand to show the old farts who wanted him gone in the first place how good he was. He carved up there and my job was done.

Over the years though I have been his confidant whenever he needed me. Once or twice, his wife Maria, has called me in to talk with him. This is now one of these times.

---

"Yes it is I, Outback Jack."

"What are you doing here?"

"I called him in," said Maria "Because I knew you might listen to you when you find out what has happened!"

"What did happen?"

Outback Jack came forward to the foot of the bed, and looked at Maria, who had tears started to roll down her face, and she nodded. I watched as Outback Jack pulled the covers back from my bed, and saw in horror that my both my legs were in casts.

"What the fuck?"

"Like Maria told you, you were viciously attacked."

"Tell me who the fuck attacked me?"

"Thaddeus Duke," sobbed Maria

I tried closing my fists, but they were even hurting. I felt anger welling up inside my body.

"Your legs are only in casts for your protection. The Doctor reckons you need to stay off your feet for at least a good two weeks. Then everything should be fine. The rest of your body will recover in that time too."

"So basically I'm bedridden for two weeks?"

"Yes," sobbed Maria "I don't even think I should let the kids see you, you're in such bad shape."

"What's the date now?"

"What do you mean?"

"How long have I been out? If I travelled unconsciously from Germany what's the date now?"

"It's Tuesday the 8th September. You've been in an induced coma since the end of Warfare, and Maria and I decided it was best to wake you this morning."

"You say I have to have these on for two weeks?" I said pointing at the casts

"Yes but what does that have to do with things?"

"And you say it's the 8th today?"

"Yes?"

"Two weeks from today will be the 22nd. I know I have a match at Relentless on Saturday which is the 26th, that gives me plenty of time to get from here to the States."

I was thinking all about what was required for me to heal within the next two weeks and get to Relentless and beat the hell out of Thaddeus because obviously that was my match for Relentless and that was why Thaddeus did a fucking cowards way of a sneak attack. I was payback mode but both Maria and Outback Jack were wanting me to relax. I couldn't.

I looked at their faces.

"What?"

Maria got up and backed away "You can't be serious? You are thinking about Relentless?"

"You can't see it, Maria," I said "This is about Payback. What Thad did to me is about Payback. I'm here in this state. This to me is shameful, he's shamed me. Again. He made me look bad. And so I need to make him look bad and I will. So if I need 2 weeks to rest so be it. I can make plans in that time. I can mentally prepare myself. I maybe weak physically but I won't be weak mentally. I REFUSED TO BE WEAK MENTALLY."

"i can't believe I'm hearing this."

"Where's my phone, I need to contact Antony."

Outback Jack walked over to Maria, and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You and I have both seen this before. We just have to let this happen. He's been made to look like a fool, he's injured, so he's obviously gone to a place where it makes him feel better. So we need to let him do this. If it's too hard for you to watch, I will understand. But he needs your love. If you need a bit of time out, I will stay here and keep an eye on him."

Maria shook her head still disbelieving the situation.

"That Thaddeus Duke has a lot to answer for. I think I need to do a promo while M's incapacitated, so I can get it out of my system."

"I'm sure if Mastermind was thinking clearly, he'd be appreciative of that. I know I would be."

"Hey," I said "Can someone get me my phone please?"

I saw tears in Maria's eyes as she came towards me, and grabbed my phone from a bag beside my bed, and gave it to me. She gave me a kiss.

"I'm going to be okay," I said

"You're going to kill yourself if you're not careful," she whispered in my ear "But if you need to get this done, then do it."

I watched her walk away and start crying even more as she reached the door. I knew then those weren't the tears of sadness they were the tears of anger. I have seen them before.

"Dude you have a good wife there, you're lucky she loves you so much," said Outback Jack walking towards me "Or she would be well gone by now."

"I'll make sure I'll fix it after Relentless."

"Oh you better, now what are you wanting to do with your phone?"

"I need to call Antony........"

---

---

SATURDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER 2020
MASTERMIND'S MANSION
MASTERMIND'S THINKING ROOM
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND

The XWF camera fades into the Thinking Room of Mastermind, and it focuses on the Thinking Chair of Mastermind, but there is no one sitting in it. There is silence for a few seconds before a 'whirring' noise comes out of nowhere. Then an electric wheelchair moves into the shot of the camera, and Mastermind is sitting in the wheelchair. He parks himself in front of his own Thinking Chair, and stares at the camera.

He keeps staring at the camera for at least a minute.

His face shows bruises. He has both his legs in casts, and his right arm is in a sling. He's trying to think of something to say, but he's trying to also play the silence out as long as he can.

Finally, he speaks.

"Harsh.......
Unforgiving........
Persistence......
Constant......
Grim......
Fierce........
Cruel........
Severe......
Strict.......
Punishing....
intense......
Remorseless.....
Merciless.....
Cold-blooded.......
Cold-hearted........
Unsympathetic........
Unbending........
Uncompromising........
Unyielding.......

"Do I need to go on?

"Those are most of the words to describe Relentless. To be in the process of being Relentless and the Pay Per View itself.

"But this isn't about Relentless per se, it's about what I am going to do when I meet Thaddeus Duke in the ring come Relentless."

Mastermind is trying not to get worked up by saying Thaddeus Duke's name. It takes him a few seconds to calm himself down, before speaking.

"To me, Relentless is about Pay back. But not just any form of Pay Back. The Ultimate Pay Back. You see, Thaddeus, I have reviewed the footage of what happened at the end of my match with Tommy Wish. I saw what happened when you attacked me. You see, Thaddeus, I had no recollection of that attack. It caused me to lose my memory. But even though I have no recollection of what you did to, I do feel the after-effects of it though, but I am not grateful for that. I'm down right angry."

Once again Mastermind has to compose himself by taking a few seconds to calm himself down. And then he speaks.

"My wife was right when she spoke a few days ago when she said that this is a continuous cycle that is going on between us Thad, and so this is what I am going to do. What I am going to propose. That this ends at Relentless. This ends in the stupid Heyman's House of Horrors match that you seemed to cook up with Heyman. Here's the thing. I'll deal with you inside your stupid fantasy world, while Fatman Heyman will get his just deserts at a later date. Chosen by me of course. But we end in the House of Horrors. And what I mean by that. Is I END YOU."

Mastermind brings his electric wheelchair closer to the camera and is almost looking into the camera a few meters away.

"Here's what is going to go down at Relentless Thad. You are going to lose, and I am going to WIN. Because I will make sure of it I will be Harsh and Unforgiving.. I will be Persistent in taking you down. I will be constantly at you. You will find the going grim, and you will find me at my fierce. I will try to be cruel
and I will definitely be Severe and Strict in my systematic takedown of you.

"I will be very punishing, it will be intense. I will be Remorseless, very Merciless on your hide. I will be cold-blooded as you were to me last Warfare. I will be cold-hearted as you were. I will be unsympathetic dishing out your punishment.

"I will also be Unbending and uncompromising, and unyielding. I will be all those adjectives when it comes to you Thad. But you know what word I will be the most in order to take you down and end you in the house of horrors? To finish you I will be........"

Mastermind sits even more forward until he was centermeters away from the camera. You could see he was in pain.



"RELENTLESS"


The camera fades out.