I still love you like a daughter, Dolly.

Even after you stuck that knife into my back on Warfare.

All I ever wanted for you was a long life and an accomplished career.

And now, I have no choice but to take it all away…

I did everything in my power to avoid this moment.

I offered you a path to the top. I offered you a way into The Corporation.

I didn’t pull Geppetto’s Ladder up behind me: I offered it down to you.

And what did you do on Warfare?

You spat in my fuckin’ face.

That’s when I finally realized something about you, Dolly- you never valued our friendship. You never cared about me as a person. You only cared about the things I could do for you, about the belts I could add to your mantle.

I resurrected your career when I drafted you onto Charlie’s Carnies: I gave you the spotlight when you needed it most.

I still remember the summer of 21’ like it was yesterday, Dolly…don’t you?

You were about to walk away from wrestling altogether, until I convinced you to stay.

And now, you’re forcing me to end the very dream that I told you to never stop chasing. After all we’ve been through, after all I’ve done for you…you’d trade away our bond for one night in the main event. 

But thankfully, I’m prepared to meet this moment.

We both know I have what it takes to snuff out my daughter’s career.

I’ll cry for you just like I cried for Robyn…with the blood of whoever comes next.

What did I miss, Dolly?

Big fuckin’ Gold. It’s the shining center of the XWF Universe, and it’s filling up your entire screen with its gleaming elegance! The golden crown on the center plate, the elaborate side plates, and the signature nameplate: all polished to perfection. Far more than just a ‘belt’, this title is the axis around which the entire XWF spins. It doesn’t just crown a champion: it anoints a ruler.

As the camera zooms out, you see that ‘Big Gold’ is exactly where it belongs: upon The Nickleman’s shoulder. Then, you hear the soundtrack kick in! A custom rendition of Drake’s new hit song blares through your speakers as the camera continues zooming out on a shirtless Nickleman.





I don't give a fuck if you love me, I don't give a fuck if you like me!

When the camera zooms out some more, you see that Charlie’s also pants-less! But not in a “deranged hobo” sort of a manner, in fact, it’s quite the opposite! He’s dressed exclusively in a pair of black Gucci boxers with matching socks, as a Cuban cigar rests between his lips. Standing in the living room of a glamourous hotel penthouse, The Nickleman holds ‘Big Gold’ up on his bare shoulder while casually ashing his cigar right onto the carpet.

Rooms like this weren’t built for men like Charlie to enjoy, not until ‘Big Gold’ gave him the key. That’s why Charlie doesn’t give a damn about the destruction he leaves behind, because Peter Principal already pledged to pay for all the damage he causes!

Askin' me, "How did it feel?" Can't say it didn't surprise me!

Charlie stares down at the skyline of Minneapolis from 20 stories high, releasing a cloud of hot smoke against the double-wide windows of his suite. His gaze inevitably drifts towards the Target Center: the building where it all went wrong. An uncomfortable feeling swirls around The Nickleman’s gut, but he buries it with another thick cloud of sweet tobacco.

As Charlie looks down at the Target Center, his vision is distorted by the thick haze of bitter smoke. As he looks out at the arena from his suite of luxury, he sees tonight’s betrayal unfolding all over again. Inside the haze he sees the memory of his former tag-team partner, rolling alongside the smoke: taunting him, and threatening to steal the only comfort Charlie has ever known.

Last time I looked to my right, Dolly Waters was standing beside me!

Charlie bit his tongue and looked away, trying to keep those feelings of vulnerability at bay. The Nickleman never let anyone get close to him: because he knew, at the end of the day, he always destroyed the things he loved. Marriages. Friendships. Children. Nothing was immune to this bastard’s touch of decay…but sometimes, a few genuine relationships would slip through the cracks in Charlie’s facade.

How can some people I love, hang around pussies who try me?

Charlie’s heart pounded against his chest, feeling as if it were about to burst and shatter. His deep pain came from the fact that this time, it wasn’t -him- who had thrown it all away…but instead, it was his dearest friend. A friendship that should never have existed in the first place, was now coming back to haunt him at the apex of his power.

Let’s go!

Charlie grimaced at the memory of tonight’s betrayal, clutching ‘Big Gold’ against his broken heart like a shield. How could Dolly turn against him? This question clawed at his mind, over and over again.

What did I miss?

Charlie rolls a hand through his freshly cut hair, closing his eyes as he asks himself the all-important question.

When Charlie opens his eyes, he exhales another cloud of smoke: and sees another reminder of tonight’s setbacks. In the cloud of smoke, Charlie sees Peter Principal falling prey to a vicious attack from The Black Rainbow. With Peter Principal pushed out of the picture, the weight of ‘Big Gold’ felt heavier than ever. Now, the weight of The Corporation’s survival fell squarely upon Charlie’s shoulders: and he could sense the pressure building.

It's love for my brothers and death to a traitor, let's go!

The Nickleman shakes his head with firm resolve, accepting the realization that he is all alone in this battle to preserve the XWF. With no one left to watch his back, Charlie takes one last drag of his cigar. When all that’s left is ash, The Nickleman drops the cigar before stomping it out with his designer socks.

“Now that I’m all alone in this fight, there’s no one left to hold me back!”

As a snarl spreads across Charlie’s face, two scantily clad call girls appear from the bedroom. Wearing matching lingerie sets, the only difference between the girls seems to be in their hair color. One of the women wears her purple hair all the way down to her waist, while the other woman is simply a ginger.

“Well, you’re not -all- alone, daddy!”

The call girls giggle as they approach The Nickleman in a playful manner. Charlie’s snarl turns to a smirk as he turns around to greet the escorts he’s been ‘wrestling’ with since Warfare went off the air.

“I love the energy, Lycana- but remember what I asked you to call me.”

The ginger giggles as she playfully elbows the other call-girl.

“We’re sorry Geppetto, we promise to be good girls from here on out!”

“That’s a good Betsy! Now, how about we all go back to the bedroom and I’ll show you ladies what a no-clothes Nelson looks like!”

Charlie places his arms atop the women’s shoulders as he guides them towards the bedroom. The musical track fades out, and the sound of mechanical whirring can be heard in its place. The women seem to hear it, too, because they turn around and look directly at the camera in shock!

The escorts push Charlie away as they scramble to pick up their clothes!

“What the hell is that thing!”

The ginger woman points directly at the camera as she tries to cover her immodest figure.

“Have you been filming us this whole time, you sick creep?!”

“Woah, ladies, calm down! It’s not what it looks like! That camera isn’t filming you, it’s just filming me! The XWF has drones that follow all the talent around, so that way it can always film promotional material for our matches!”

The girls look at Charlie with a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief.

“You’re telling me you guys don’t have regular camera-men? I call B.S.!”

“No, it’s true! I swear! It has been established in XWF media TIME and TIME again that there is an army of surveillance drones following the talent around to film their promos! I swear this isn’t going to wind up on Pornhub!”

The call-girls look at each other with disgust, both barely half-clothed. They make their way towards the door as they gather all their belongings.

“Yeah, well, call us back when you’re done working! We told you we don’t consent to being filmed!”

The women slam the door shut behind them, leaving Charlie all alone for real this time. The Nickleman snaps his fingers in cartoonish fashion as he watches the 10/10 babes leave the scene.

“Damn it! Peter paid for six hours, and I only got three!”

The Nickleman shakes his head with exasperated disappointment before turning back towards the drone’s camera. Charlie cocks his head to the side as he listens to the soft whirring of the drone’s propellors.

“The cameras…that follow all the talent around…”

A sinister grin spread across Charlie’s bearded lips as an idea starts forming in his head. Dolly’s great betrayal had taken Charlie completely by surprise, but in this moment, Charlie pledged that he would never let himself be vulnerable again. From here on out, Charlie promised to never be caught off-guard.

Because his eyes in the sky would always be watching.

What did I miss, Dolly?

I was always there for you when you needed me.

Don’t you remember the summer of 21’, when your career was falling apart? You had just turned 18, and you could no longer hang your hat on being a ‘child prodigy’. Instead, you were finally being treated like everyone else: and your fragile little ego couldn’t handle it.

When it came time for you to STEP UP, you STEPPED BACK! You were missing bookings, skipping shows, and tucking your tail. The year that I drafted you to Charlie’s Carnies with my second-round pick, you had only won a single match on Warfare.

One.

Match.

In seven months.

Your career was thrashing around like a rat caught in the XWF’s garbage disposal: half-dead, screaming, and circling the drain!

No wonder everyone ridiculed me for wasting a pick on you! You were bringing nothing to the table all year long, you were nothing but a risk when I picked you. But I saw something in you that no one else did, Dolly. I saw a young woman who was true and genuine, a troubled girl who loved wrestling just as much as I did.

And, even more so…

I saw the blue-eyed, blonde-haired daughter that I never had.

So I took a chance on you, even knowing that it could end up costing me in the end…and boy did it cost me!

But in the process of costing my team the win…I MADE YOU A STAR!

Charlie’s Carnies giftwrapped you the X-treme Championship, and you still couldn’t get the job done for us!

I helped you pin Jim Caedus. I helped you pin Bobby Bourbon. I put you in a position to blow the doors off the XWF and win it all! With my guiding hand pressed gently upon your back, I pushed you all the way to the finish line, with nothing but my grit and determination.

And then, of course, you laid down for Corey Smith and Alias like the dumb dog you are.

They’re your new best friends, right? I suppose you just couldn’t bring yourself to strike them! Or maybe you were just so dope-sick from all that meth you smoked before the match, that you ran out of gas?

I didn’t forget, Dolly: that your fiendish habits cost us both in the end. But it was okay, Dolly…I didn’t mind. Because your dark addictions just reminded me of home. They reminded me of myself.

I resurrected your career when I drafted you to ‘Charlie’s Carnies’. I gave you the spotlight when you needed it most. You can deny it now, four years down the line, but we both know the truth:

I saved your career!

And I never even asked for a thank you. I never demanded your obedience. All I asked for was your friendship, and maybe some damn respect!

But I guess that was just too much for you to give.

Now that I think of it…this is just like the Summer of 21’ playing out all over again, ain’t it?

Dolly’s career is spiraling fast, she hasn’t won a real match in MONTHS, and she’s been avoiding TV tapings like the plague!

But still, she comes sauntering down that ramp on Warfare, expecting Charlie Nickles to make her star shine again. She hasn’t put the work in, she hasn’t captivated the audience, she hasn’t done anything but disappear for weeks on-end!

So this time, Dolly?

I won’t play along with your little ego-trip.

It’s true Dolly, the things you said last Warfare broke my heart...but I’m going to pay the favor back to you a thousand times over when we meet inside that ring.

I’ve already pinned you once before…

So this time, Dolly?

I’m zipping the fuckin’ body bag!

We cut to a shot of the XWF corporate boardroom, the morning after the attack on Peter Principal. 

Charlie Nickles sits at the head of the table with his feet up on the desk and ‘Big Gold’ proudly positioned in front of him. Across from the comically large table sits Elon Musk and Nadine, Peter Principle's personal secretary. Elon Musk is burying his face in a laptop computer as Nadine is stuck on hold with the local emergency room. Charlie stares down his corporate partners with a grizzled look of disdain.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me Dolly Waters was in the building?”

“W-well, ehrm, we didn’t know she was in the building!”

The Nickleman rolls his eyes at Elon’s answer, clearly finding it inadequate. He refixes his gaze upon Nadine, who is still waiting on hold with the hospital.

“Is that your answer, too?”

“That’s what happened, Charlie! No one knew she was coming back, we had no idea until she was standing there in front of us!”

The Nickleman leans back in his chair as he considers his next move.

“The XWF has an army of video surveillance drones that film every promo, but you’re telling me no one knew where Dolly Waters was?”

Elon and Nadine look betwixt each other nervously.

“We have hundreds of drones, we have blood samples from everyone on the roster, we have social security numbers, birth certificates, and home addresses- but we can’t keep track of one little hussy?!”

Elon looks up from his laptop and coughs into his hands before trying to appease The Nickleman.

“Erhm, well Charlie, the drones record everything, but it’s not monitored live! All the footage gets dumped into one giant data bank, and the XWF producers comb through it manually to build the vignettes. Real-time tracking would take a full AI-powered rebuild!”

“So rebuild it.”

The Nickleman slides his feet off the desk, throwing them against the floor with a decisive finality. Nadine shoots a look of exasperated disbelief towards Elon, but Musk doesn’t even notice her subtle dissent. Elon just slams his laptop shut as his eyes go wide with excitement. 

“Oh my god, yes.

YES!

You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to implement threat-based behavioral monitoring and constant surveillance in the XWF! We can film all talent 24/7, and have our proprietary AI software constantly analyze their level of loyalty to The Corporation!”

Nadine waves her hands in the air, trying to get everyone’s attention.

“Now hold on guys, we can’t do anything like that! That would be a huge violation of privacy, and not to mention, we don’t have anything close to the budget for a complete rebuild!

Charlie lets her comments linger in the air for an uncomfortable amount of time. Then, he stands up from his chair and makes a beeline towards Nadine. The secretary looks incredibly uncomfortable as The Nickleman kneels right next to her.

“Wait a second…did you just tell me that I *can’t* do something?”

The Nickleman cocks his head to the side as he measures Nadine’s nervous response. He taps the nameplate on his championship belt exactly three times.

“You see this right here? This means I can do whatever the fuck I want, and -you- can’t tell me shit.

Got it?”

Nadine leans away from Charlie as she stumbles through her response. Elon pipes up nervously, trying to defuse the situation.

“Ehrm well, hold on now Charlie…she does make a good point about the budget! We will have to look for creative ways to free up funding, perhaps by routing it through one of my shell companies!”

The Nickleman shoots a chilling glare in Elon’s direction.

“Zip it, Muskrat!”

Elon’s eyes go wide before Charlie shoots his gaze back towards Nadine.

“I’m just saying, I can’t greenlight any new expenditures without Peter here! I really want to Charlie, I really do! But I just don’t have the authorization to rebuild our drone program, only the General Manager does!”

A snarl curls across Charlie’s lips.

“Really? Is that so?”

Charlie leans in closer.

“Because I don’t remember anyone authorizing you as the arbiter of the 24/7 hallways.”

Charlie pauses, considering his next words carefully as Nadine remains frozen in fear.

“You screwed Dickie Watson out of his championship…

Are you trying to do the same fucking thing to me, Nadine?”

Charlie stared into Nadine’s eyes with an unmatched intensity. As he cocked his to the side, he considered where Nadine’s allegiances may truly lie. Was she a revolutionary asset, put in place to stall his agenda? Or even worse, could she have been bought off by remnants of Gorgo’s Rainbow?

As Charlie considered the possibilities, Nadine did her best to clear the air of suspicion between them!

“No, Charlie, of course not! I LOVE what you’re doing as champion! I’m totally behind this project 100%! We just need the General Manager to sign off on it, and that’s why I’m on the line with the hospital right now trying to get a hold of him!”

Charlie finally stepped away from Nadine as Elon started drawing seemingly complex, yet absolutely simplistic diagrams all over the whiteboard on the wall.

“With a new fleet of drones powered by my propriety AI software, we will be able to cross-reference promos, backstage cam feeds, and even crowd reactions! You want 24/7 operations? You’ll know who needs watching before they even know they’re a problem!”

Charlie grins, his eyes glittering as he steps up to the whiteboard.

“Now that’s the kind of paranoia I’m talking about!”

Nadine cuts in one last time, trying to hold the line.

“I totally love this, all of it! I couldn’t agree more!...Buuuuuut we can’t do any of this without Peter here! And he’s still in the emergency room at the Hennepin County Medical Center!”

Charlie and Elon share a groan of disdain as they look back at Nadine with frustration. Charlie shakes his head with a snarl before making his way towards the exit, with ‘Big Gold’ slung over shoulder.

“Fine then. I’ll go get the son of a bitch!”

The door to the boardroom slams shut behind Charlie Nickles, quietly rattling on its hinges as Nadine slumps down in her chair.

“He’s really going to do this, isn’t he?”

I'll be asking the questions around here!

So tell me Dolly...just who the fuck do you think you are?

I know who you’re acting like.

You’re acting just like Lycana, just like Betsy Granger, just like that Latina Submission Machina…

3 women who tempted fate with The Nickleman, and were never seen in the XWF again.

You’re making the exact same mistake every one of them made, and you don’t even realize it. You’re walking in the footsteps of women who are far more talented than you’ll ever be: and you can’t even recognize their shadows on the road!

But that’s the hubris of youth. That’s the unabashed arrogance of Dolly Waters. Since Rebellion went off the air, you’ve done nothing but sit on your couch and diddle your bean…until all of a sudden you decide to come out and demand a shot at MY title?

How about you try EARNING something for once in your life, Dolly?

Now that I’ve climbed the proverbial mountain, the XWF’s resident socialist thinks she’s just entitled to the things I work so fucking hard for! The things which I bleed so very much for. She wants it for herself: my myth, my legend, my glory. But she couldn’t bear my pain. She doesn’t want my scars, my chains.

She wants my gold, but she doesn’t want my sacrifice.

How typical.

Dolly’s never earned a damn thing in her life! She’s just made a career out of standing beside people who did! Holy fuck, no wonder I couldn’t win a War Games until I got you off my team! All you ever wanted was the spotlight, not the sacrifice. You were nothing but deadweight, being dragged along on mine and Robert Main’s coattails.

But riding coattails is your specialty, ain’t it, Dolly?

Carrying someone else’s gold, that’s peak Dolly Waters!  She learned early on in her career that it’s easier to win gold when someone else does the wrestling, and bam-voila a tag-team star was born!

She’ll team with anyone, so long as they can drag her sorry ass across the finish line. They can be a “Revolutionary” like Schism, or a “Cunt-servative” like Dyson: so long as they’re willing to do the hard work for her, she’ll happily tag along! But as soon as her partner needs even a little bit of help, she’ll drop em’ on a dime and swap em’ right out!

Don’t ask me how I know…

So is that why they call you one of the greatest “tag” champions of all time, Dolly? Because all you ever do is “tag” along for the reigns?

You cost Madison Dyson the belts at Rebellion, and then you disappeared from the XWF for an entire month! Why the fuck should that qualify you for the main event at Leap of Faith? I mean, think about it! You haven’t been leading a revolution. You’ve been sitting at home, crying into your blankie ever since Peter Principal put you in time-out!

What kind of revolutionary sits at home for weeks on-end, simply because their boss told them to?

An obedient one, that’s for damn sure!

Is Dolly Waters a revolutionary, or is she a golden fucking retriever?

When Peter tells that bitch to stay, she stays her ass at home! Peter said ‘sit’, and Dolly sat her ass on the couch for a whole damn month!

You told Peter that you will “risk your career” against me for this match, Dolly?

You stupid bitch.

How did you not stop and realize, that as soon as you dared to stand against me…your career was already on the line!

You’re no better than Granger, than Caedus, than Lycana, than Lynx, than Marshall, than each and every name I already have hanging on my mantle!

I’ll put you out to pasture along with the rest of em’, you ungrateful little shit.

This is how you treat me, after all I’ve done for you?

Go ahead, Dolly: I already know what you’re going to say. You’re going to condemn me for ending that young woman’s XWF career. You’re going to say exactly what Aurora already said, exactly what Mark Flynn already said…because that’s what Dolly Waters is known for! It’s what makes you such a legend in the tag division…the fact that you work best when someone else is pulling the strings.

But please, remind me again: which young woman’s career are Aurora and Mark talking about? 

Lycana’s?

Betsy’s?

…Or yours, Dolly?

Come Leap of Faith, you won’t have anyone left in your corner to bail you out. All your “revolutionary” sidekicks, all those tag-team partners you’ve cut loose- they won’t be around to save you this time.

Because there’s only one kind of ‘tag’ in the XWF main event:

The fuckin’ toe-tag on all my challengers!

An ambulance idles outside Hennepin County Medical Center, just blocks away from the Target Center. The back doors swing open as paramedics wheel out a patient on a gurney. The ER doors slide apart, and a wave of screams rush out: the cries of the dying. Two unbothered security guards stand off to the side, chatting into their radios as they share a smoke break.

The camera zooms in as the guards puff on their cigarettes. As the black trails rise, the smoke slowly curls into one cloud. The faint outline of the reaper appears in the smoke just before it dissipates.

Or at least, that’s what The Nickleman sees as he pulls up to the hospital’s curb!

Rolling in a red hummer limousine, The Nickleman steps out of the backseat with his championship belt, but only once his driver finally opens the door. Dressed in a pin-striped suit and wearing a pair of Louis Vuitton’s on his feet, The Nickleman gives his chauffeur a smile and a patronizing pat on the head as he steps out.

“Thanks for the lift, Jack.

And here, for your troubles…”

The Nickleman reaches into his wallet and pulls out exactly 1 X-bux, shoving it into his driver’s tuxedo pocket.

“Wow, thanks, Mr. Nickleman!”

“Hey, it’s the least I can do!”

Charlie turns to walk away…then stops, and starts patting his pockets like he’s lost something! He immediately turns around and fishes the X-bux right out of the driver’s pocket!

“Actually… no. That was the least I could do.

Now get your ass back in the limo and wait for me like a good little bitch!”

Charlie tucks the X-bux into his wallet with a cheap laugh before strolling off towards the hospital. The driver watches him walk away with slumped shoulders, but that didn’t bother Charlie one bit: because now, it was finally his turn to push people around and call the shots!  And Charlie planned on cherishing every moment of malice.

The sliding doors open with a hiss as the Universal Champion steps through the hospital’s front gate.

The Nickleman came to the ER to find Peter Principal, so that he could get authorization to launch his new drone surveillance program- but inside the maze of Hennepin’s hallways, that would be anything but easy!

As Charlie moved through the hospital, he could barely hear himself think over the cries of the screaming junkies and gunshot victims filling up the emergency room!  The ER staff moved fast, speaking in hushed tones as they rushed from patient to patient, from flatline to flatline. Monotone monitors beeped in rhythm with the ticking clocks posted outside every room.

Each tick was like a judge’s gavel, counting down the seconds of borrowed time.

Tick—

The ventilator in Room 134 hisses out its last breath.

Tick—

A father screams as his daughter’s pulse vanishes from the screen in Room 182.

Tick—

A doctor closes the eyes of a young blonde woman as he places the toe-tag on her foot.

The whole ward runs like clockwork: efficient, mechanical, and indifferent to the winds of death. As the cold air drifted between rooms, the ER staff moved with it, gliding from patient to patient dressed like pale horsemen in white coats. Charlie walks through this downtown valley of death like a man untouchable, ‘Big Gold’ slung over his shoulder like a badge of impunity.

Charlie wanders around the emergency room, but he can’t find Peter’s room anywhere. He can’t even find a nurse’s station! He’s completely lost in the innards of Hennepin’s labyrinth, wandering through corridors he was never meant to find.

Closed doors lined both walls, muffling the moans of mortal misery behind them. The air grew thick with the smell of rusted iron, seeping in through the cracks in the walls. Charlie plugs one of his nostrils and snorts hard, letting that familiar scent of scarlet fill his nose.  When he blinks, the hallway seemingly shifts. Almost as if he had stolen a random pill off the nurse’s cart and stuffed it up his nose, right then and there!

The fluorescent lights overhead now flicker in rhythm with the clocks, with each ‘tick’ shrouding the corridor in intermittent darkness. The linoleum tiles are suddenly covered with oozing ichor, leaking out from the cracking walls. The doors to the patient’s rooms are no longer made of cold metal, instead, they’ve turned into old wood: scorched from the bottom up as if the fires of hell had raged behind them.

“What the…”

That’s when Charlie spots a janitor at the end of the hall, slowly dragging his mop back and forth across the same oozing spot. The janitor’s strokes are jagged yet deliberate, like a puppet whose strings are being pulled by an unseen hand.

“Hey! Can you tell me where Peter’s room is?”

As the janitor lifts his head to reply, Charlie is frozen in shock. The man has a pale, leathery face that’s been pulled gaunt across his cheekbones. Thin strands of dead hair hang down to the man’s shoulders, but what troubled Charlie most was the man’s eyes.

Or lack thereof!

Two empty holes stared back at Charlie where eye sockets used to be. Yet somehow, Charlie feels the man staring not just at him, but through him!

“Peter? Oh, Peter hasn’t been a janitor here in years…not since you drove him off. Not since that night in the cage.”

Charlie stiffens. He tries to sniff again, but the hallway doesn’t return to normal.

“That stuff with Peter was just business.”

“Business is blood, Mr. Nickles. You spilled his… and then you spilled everyone else’s too. That’s why it never stops. It stains deeper the more you pour.”

Charlie’s jaw drops as he looks down and realizes that he’s standing in a pool of blood.

“You’re talking like I made this mess!”

The janitor drags the mop again. A wet shlick, like a slit throat. The ooze swirls, but it never goes away. New ichor constantly bleeds in through the edges.

“You keep adding names to the list. Bodies to the pile. I’m mopping blood that ain’t even finished falling.”

Charlie takes a half-step back, clutching ‘Big Gold’ as the janitor keeps sloshing blood across the floor.

“You don’t know what you’re seeing, you freak! You don’t even have any fuckin’ eyes!”

“But…you’re the one who stole my eyes. After you and your friend leave here today, you’re taking everyone’s eyes. How else could you keep watch over the entire XWF?”

That’s when Charlie Nickles feels something spherical sliding around in his pockets. He reaches in hesitantly, grabbing ahold of the slippery orbs. When Charlie opens his palms to look at his new possessions, he sees a pair of eyeballs staring back at him: his own!

The world suddenly goes black as the muscle’s holding Charlie’s eyes in place are severed.

“Just keep mopping, just keep mopping…”

“Tell me where Peter Principal is, god damn it!”

Charlie demands, trying desperately to assert some kind of control over the apparition. Suddenly, Charlie’s vision returns as the janitor points to the left with a bony finger. His arm creaks as it moves, the sleeve soaked in fresh blood, flowing down freely from his empty eye sockets.

“Down that hall, to the left. Past the screams you drowned. You’ll find him waiting.”

“Waiting?”

“For Geppetto to pull his strings.”

Charlie doesn’t wait for it to make sense. He just takes off, headed in the direction the apparition pointed. It's not long until he finally finds the room where Peter Principle is laying still upon a soiled mattress. Peter's limbs are sickly thin, and his skin has gone ghostly pale. Drool hangs down from Peter’s motionless lips. A silver bell sits on the tray next to him.

"Jesus fucking Christ Peter! All they did was throw you into a vending machine and make you gargle SmartWater…how the fuck could you end up this bad?"

Peter didn’t look, he didn’t even blink as Charlie approached the bed…as if he didn’t have eyes at all.

“For fucks sake, I’ve seen better-looking corpses in the trunk of my car!”

Charlie leaned in with apparent shock, clearly taken aback by Peter’s frail condition.

“Can you even talk, Peter? What the fuck happened to you, man?”

DING!

The Nickleman raised his eyebrow as his eyes darted over towards the silver bell. Peter’s finger tapped it once more for good measure.

DING!

Charlie smirked as he looked back up at the disintegrating body of Warfare’s General Manager.

“Good. That means you can still say ‘yes’ to me.”

DING!

Peter’s head lolled slightly, maybe on purpose, but maybe not. Regardless, Charlie pulled a folded piece of paper out from his blazer, placing it next to Peter’s bell. 

“Here’s the deal, Peter: the days of peaceful coexistence with these fucking rebels is over. They tried to scratch you out of the picture, and now they’re gunning for me next.

I’m not gonna’ let that happen.

This paper right here, it makes me your legal proxy. It gives me full authority to act as Warfare’s General Manager in your stead, at least until you can walk again.

And my first order of business?

Is destroying this fucking Revolution at Leap of Faith!

DING!

DING!

DING!

An excessive amount of drool slips out of Peter’s mouth as he taps his bell an excessive amount of times. Charlie grabs hold of Peter’s wrist, forcing him to stop playing with the bell.

“Just one time for ‘yes’, and two times for ‘no’.”

Peter could tell that it wasn’t a request. Charlie pulled a pen out of his blazer and nestled it inside of Peter’s limp hand. Then, Charlie guided Peter’s hand across the signature line. Charlie’s eyes went wide as the faint mark made it’s way onto the paper.

“Now that’s what I call consent! We’re going to clean house at Leap of Faither, Peter. Revolutionaries. Rainbow freaks. Every last one of em’. You and me: we’re bringing law and order back to the XWF.”

DING!

“But mostly me.

In fact, damn near exclusively me!”

Charlie threw his head back with a victorious guffaw before stuffing the signed authorization form back into his blazer. Charlie quickly stepped away from Peter, determined to get the hell out of this hospital now that he had gotten what he wanted…but Peter’s incessant ringing of the bell caused Charlie to pause.

DING!

DING!

DING!

DING!

Charlie looked back at Peter, laying there motionless on the bed, and he felt something tugging at his heart…was this, sympathy?

Charlie looked around the lonely hospital room, and reflected on everything he had seen so far inside the Hennepin County Medical Center. Patients were dying left and right, the hospital staff moved between rooms like ghosts, and the janitors left the place so dirty, it was like they didn’t even have eyes!

As Charlie looked around the room, his gaze fell upon a suspiciously shiny plaque hanging in the corner of the room. It was a medical degree, and when Charlie squinted at it, he could finally read the name on it:

Dr. Emilia Glazkov


Charlie’s jaw dropped as he finally put two and two together…or so he thought! But then again, reading never was Charlie’s strong suite. Nevertheless, Charlie turned back towards Peter Principal with a look of alarm.

“Are those Rainbow freaks running this E.R.?! Is that why everyone’s fucking dying and shit?!”

DING!

DING!

“Just one ding for ‘yes’, Peter, god damn it!”

The Nickleman rushed the hospital bed, and for a moment Peter was terrified: until he realized that Charlie wasn’t attacking him. Instead, The Nickleman picked Peter Principal up and placed him on his shoulder opposite the universal championship. Charlie pocketed the silver bell before his eyes darted towards the exit.

“Those Rainbow freaks almost killed you, but I’ll be damned if I let them finish the job on my watch! We’re breaking you out of here!”

With Peter on his shoulder and the signed permission forms in his pocket, Charlie took off through the exit! Dashing past the terrified nurses, Charlie wasted no time in escaping from the treacherous maze of Hennepin Hospital; he didn’t slow down until he reached that stretch hummer limousine, still patiently waiting for him alongside the curb.

The revolution just happened, Dolly- and you’re late.

Nobody thought I would ever be the Universal Champion, but here I stand, the one man in charge of the whole fuckin’ show! Nobody believed in me. No one from the Old Guard, and none of the New Bloods- not a damn soul besides myself ever believed. But I didn’t rest on my laurels and complain about it. Instead, I grabbed the entire XWF Universe by it’s damn throat!

The revolution just happened, Dolly- and Peter’s signature is the proof!

The XWF wouldn’t just “give” me the crown…so I had to steal it for myself. And now, there’s not a damn one of you who can take it off me! I never had to ‘sell out’ to make it this far. I just needed XWF Management to finally ‘buy in’!

So welcome to my new regime, Dolly- now get ready for me to take full control, not just of the XWF: but also the narrative around your phony little revolution!

Dolly always craved the spotlight, this bullshit is just her latest ploy to get it. Seriously, what does this chick think she’s going to do? Rebuild the USSR, but with her as Stalin? Rebuild China, but with her as Mao?

Get a fucking grip, girly!

I’M ALREADY DOING THAT!

Revolution or Corporation: it’s all just smoke and mirrors for control. Me and Dolly are two peas in a pod: always have been, always will be. We might come in different shapes and sizes, but at the end of the day, we’re both just clinging to power however we can grab it!

So what kind of Universal Champion would Dolly Waters be?

Look at her track record: whenever she gets a singles belt, she slips up. She doesn’t STEP UP, she only ever STEPS BACK! But not me…when I get my hands on gold, I don’t make mistakes. I only make history!

I’ve been on every show since March Madness, my influence stretched across the entire universe long before my head was ever crowned. My reign of terror stretched across two divisions for months; there was no one who could stop me. And now, there’s nowhere left for my enemies to hide.

The entire Universe is before my eyes! And I won’t stop setting my sights higher and higher, until I find God himself and steal his crown!

After I put Dolly’s career out of it’s misery, I’m going to take out the remnants of The Rainbow. Then, I’m going to behead Kieran King and show everyone that the era of monarchs is over! Now, it’s the age of The Corporation.

Anything you try to accomplish with this belt will pale in comparison, Dolly, because you’ve already hitched your wagon to a dead horse.

Let’s be frank, sweetheart: nobody is held back unfairly in the XWF. If the ‘Thugz’ wanted a pay raise, they would just start wrestling better! If Tatiana Jolee deserved a championship belt, she’d have one!

You get exactly what you give in this company, and that’s why hard-working men like me get EVERYTHING, and entitled brats like you get NOTHING!

This company wasn’t built for people like me, but still I scratched and clawed my way to the top! I don’t have a family legacy. I wasn’t born with the “right” last name. I didn’t come into this industry with connections and guidance.

I’ve got no ‘Uncle Edgar.’

No ‘Sugar Daddy Duke.’

No ‘Waters Family Legacy’.

I had to EARN my place in this company, by climbing Geppetto’s Ladder one rung, one body, one soul at a time! The suffering, the agony, the pain: I had to make it my home. I had to learn to live with my anguish, to THRIVE with it, to climb the ranks. I had to fight my way across TWO divisions at ONCE just to earn my shot at the big one!

Dolly can’t even understand the sacrifices I made to get here!

Dolly doesn’t know how to climb, not like I do.

All she can do is chirp, moan, and bitch while she waits for someone else to come and save the day. Like a damn crack whore in distress, Dolly can never fight her own battles: all she can do is trade away her dignity for one night’s sugar rush.

Dolly Waters didn’t EARN this match at Leap of Faith. Losing Madison Dyson’s spare belt doesn’t qualify you for a shot at ‘Big Gold’. Disappearing from TV for months at a time doesn’t qualify you. And just blatantly stealing Bacchus’ gimmick after he leaves certainly doesn’t earn you a shot!

Dolly got this match for one reason and one reason only:

Because she begged for it.

And the kicker?

Dolly isn’t even serious about retiring! She already has herself booked for the Smashed Supershow! She’s just throwing a tempter tantrum, and threatening to leave the XWF if we don’t give her what she wants.

But all I’m fixin’ to give this bitch is a knuckle-fuckin’-sandwich!

What a whiney brat you’ve turned into, Dolly. Threatening to take your ball and go to York’s house if Daddy Duke doesn’t give in to your hysterics. You’re just pulling this stunt so you can pull on the heartstrings of the XWF’s dumbest, and most gullible fans.

But I didn’t raise you to be a liar, Dolly.  So when we meet in that ring at Leap of Faith, I’m going to end your career for real.

You want to stick up for Robyn so badly?

Then you can rot beside her, for good.

I already forgave myself for what I did wrong, Dolly…but I will never forgive you for this betrayal.

We cut to a wide shot of Kroger Field, on the eve of Leap of Faith. Waiting just outside of an XWF-branded video truck, we see Charlie Nickles and his corporate crew standing in a cordoned off section of the parking lot. Charlie, Elon, Nadine and Peter are all in attendance.

“I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long, long time.”

The Nickleman bares a sadistic smile as he repositions ‘Big Gold’ upon his shoulder. Nadine attends to Peter’s drooling mouth as Elon steps forward to hype up his newest invention.

“You’re going to love it Charlie, I promise! I built it all according to your exact specifications! Erm, well, my engineers technically designed it and day laborers technically constructed it, but my point still stands!

This is the panopticon of the 21st century. A mobile surveillance headquarters, able to tap into any feed, at any time! With live action behavior monitoring and constant AI-powered analysis, my invention ensures that The Corporation will never be taken by surprise again!”

DING!

Peter excitedly rings his bell as The Nickleman nods along with Elon’s words. Nadine is the only who shows any hesitation at all, but she’s doing her best to hide it, lest Charlie see!

“It is my pleasure to introduce you to….The NickleNet!”

The door to the truck finally opens when Elon bangs loudly on the side of the vehicle. The Corporation stands outside the truck in bewilderment, just staring in at all the fancy lights and monitors. Elon gestures for Charlie to step aboard.

“Be my guest, Charlie. We built it for you, after all!”

Charlie grins as he ascends the stairs into The NickleNet’s mobile HQ. As the champion looks around, he can’t help but be impressed by the size and scope of it all. Inside this mobile HQ, dozens of monitors display dozens of live video feeds. All of your favorite XWF Superstars flash across a screen in real time, being constantly monitored by The Corporation’s own AI software.

Seated in a metal chair in the middle of the truck, “The Grok” remains perfectly still, hooked up to a super-computer that empowers him to analyze the loyalty of any XWF wrestler at a moment’s notice.

“It’s…beautiful.”

As “The Grok” constantly analyzes the live footage being captured by drones, Charlie can’t help but feel a wave of relaxation washing over him. No longer trapped in a world of deception and betrayal, The Nickleman would now know the truth long before it could ever be used to stab him in the back again.

From this moment on, The Nickleman’s eyes would finally stretch across the entire XWF Universe!