Ultimo sta Incipit (The Last Stand Begins)

Ever been in one of those situations where if people knew the whole story, you’d still be characterized as something you’re not? No matter who you tell, no matter how loud you speak it, it won’t change what the perception of the story would be. No matter how you cut it, no matter how well you can spin it, their mind is made up. Project: Honor made their mind up as soon as that moment took place. As soon as the nightstick cracked into the head of another former champion, the fate was sealed. The man had become a pariah. He could donate all his money to no fanfare, to no understanding. Do you think that’s really fair?

Following the events that took place at the last Proving Grounds, the world of Colton Saint had spun out of control. He had lost not only his title, but every ounce of humanity from his colleagues. As soon as it was announced that he would not only be released from jail, but scheduled for the November 20th episode of Proving Grounds, fans and the entire Project: Honor roster argued against it. Some of the tweets cut to the bone, some of the voicemails on his phone were even worse. If they had a chance to see him firsthand, fights would have broken out.

The wrestling world had revolted, possible boycotts heading into the 20th in Orlando. Before anybody was even aware of the Commonwealth vs. Contessa Floran & Colton Saint contest, there were threats to #CancelProjectHonor unless they met the demands of the masses. Rock Johnson didn’t give in, even granting Colton an opportunity to compete was a risk. It was just another stupid hashtag movement that didn’t gain any traction. That happened far too often. Still, the thought was there, attendance hopefully wouldn’t be too low.

--Carson City Sheriff’s Office--
--Carson City, NV—

The legal system could be a very harsh thing. While charges were pending against him, he was locked up in the Sheriff’s Office. The uncomfortable cell could barely fit three people in there, but they found a way to squeeze in five. Due to the fact that he was a public figure, Colton was ensured that he would receive no special treatment compared to the common thieves or drunkards who might have exposed themselves in front of the public. Instead, it was an opportunity for someone to cash on the opportunity to take liberties with an abductor and possible attempted murderer. Jury was out on that one.

In a rather humorous situation, four of the men were on one side of the cell. They seemingly huddled together as if they were some cute little clique while Colton had sat across from them with nothing more than a pair of dead eyes and a near permanent scowl. He refused to make his one phone call, knowing that everyone was already aware of what transpired. The perception in this cell was so similar to how he had been treated in professional wrestling. The cliques, the tag teams, the alliances. They all had some bone to pick with the Last Breathing Outlaw. They all had a reason to dislike the guy to begin with. His antics with Kimberly Chase were on the minds and nerves of everybody on the roster.

The lifeless eyes glared at the disgusting floor below his feet. He didn’t have a word to say to anyone, much less having said much to begin with. It was his match with Zane that led to the lack of words, the lack of understanding of the position he was in. When the Grand Champion Dickie Watson won’t even look you in the eye to make some smart-ass remark, you know you got heat. Much less his trash talking buddy, Aiden Reynolds? Hard to remember off hand since he wasn’t known or even remotely relevant prior to going into custody. Still, people were going to run their mouth so long as he was outside of a specific distance. These men were no different.

“Is that him, do you think?”

“Who, him?”

“Yeah. Is that Colton Saint?”

“Hard to tell, big guy though. Looks like they got him though. He couldn’t get away with this one.”

Of course, he did not get away with this one. He didn’t get away with the fact that he kidnapped someone on live freakin’ television. How stupid can people be? These were probably the same men who saw the events, thought it was fake because it was something that took place on the idiot box. Surely, the world can rejoice.

“Did he really just surrender? He’s a murderer, isn’t he? I heard he’s killed like six people.”

“Six? No way. I heard he killed three, and that Kimberly chick said it was around ten. Breaking into people’s houses, shoving cell phones down people’s throats. I wonder how many times he actually did it.”

“Why don’t you go ask him?”

“I will...”

The conversation seemed to end pretty fast. None of the men even thought to move forward. Even the staff were amused by the situation. How uncomfortable people could be as long as one ‘bad guy’ was within their sights. They’ve seen a criminal before, have they not? Could you imagine what the people of Project: Honor are going to do when they see this guy? They’re going to freak right out, demanding that this man never see the inside of the ring ever again. It would be exactly what the doctor ordered for someone like Dickie Watson. Watson came away with a victory in the debut show for Proving Grounds. Evidently, in record time as well. By the way, that record had since been broken many times over, so many times by Colton himself.

Still, the cloud always hung over his head. How could he let a little punk like Dickie get one over him? Even in their second contest against each other, it wasn’t enough. A victory over Dickie and Jason Terrance looked like a redeeming match for the former X-Factor Champion. Even putting former in front of that term was disheartening. He lost the title in his first defense, right? So much so, that he found his way on the outside of the ‘Elite Five!’ Oh gasp! How would one ever recover from not being ranked highly off of one person’s delusional opinion anyways? Regardless, his record wasn’t the best in the company. That made people question him to begin with. The lack of title defenses to which the other wrestlers and even the bookers got on his case about. Sixty plus days without defending the title, sixty plus days holding the title, and people were talking so much about it. Even now, it’s a talking point amongst the mouth breathing fools who didn’t understand how a wrestling event worked. Colton had fought on every single show that Project: Honor produced, the only person to do that. He took on whoever was scheduled to face him. Not once did Rock Johnson tell him that the title was on the line. Blame ol Rocky for that one.

It was time for the rest of the world to join the real world. The fairytale mentality just wasn’t real. The same words were spoken, the same complaints were heard, Colton Saint was still employed. Deal with it, one would say.

It took some time, but eventually one of the inmates finally garnered the courage to walk toward Colton. He did it at such a slow pace, it was a wonder that one of them wasn’t released in the time it took to go over there. He sat himself down beside Colton, ever so slowly. No sudden movements. Do not want to upset the animal you’re trapped in a cage with.

“Colton Saint?”

What a backwards last name. The man is sitting in a jail cell with the last name Saint. It was so inappropriate, yet comedic at the same time. His eyes had yet to move upward, not even to acknowledge the fool that had sat down next to him. He was almost entranced by the view of gum on the floor mixed with some urine and bleach. Bleach... It made him think of Kimberly Chase. She always had a weird obsession with bleach, and with shoes. Fuckin’ shoes man. Every time she was at the arena, someone would throw something on her shoes, and she would throw the world’s worst tantrum. Surely, she would be under the scrutiny of the thirsty wrestlers in the company, well except for ol Dickie.

“I heard what you did. Why would you do something stupid like that on live television? You could have, you know, waited until the show was over and the cameras weren’t rolling. That must have been fake, why are you here since it’s so fake? Come on actor, say it.”

Buttons were being pushed. Sure, the set up looked nice. It would have been a much more entertaining story had the reality been stripped away from it, but it didn’t happen that way. People at Wrestleworld certainly didn’t think it, as they didn’t follow up with any kind of response other than a punchline. The reality was set in stone, the man was a prisoner of not only the legal system, but inside of his own mind.  

The three other inmates huddled together with shit eating grins on their faces. They relished the moment of someone attempting to get one over on an individual who was much bigger than the antagonist. Evidently it was more universal than one thought. He was always the bigger adversary inside of the ring. No matter who they put in front of him, he was always the stronger of the two. This was to be no different coming up in the tag team match. He was not as fast as the Grand Champion; he did not have to be. A guy could run a four-minute mile, but if he ran right into the Outlaw’s fist, it would be lights out. He knew that and took advantage of it constantly in his matches. It was the lack of motivation and sometimes skillset of the better technical wrestlers that would get the better of him. So much changed though over time. This would be a promising thought for Colton going into the match.

“Hey, I’m speaking to you. I’m asking you a damn simple question, boy. Why would you do something so stupid when the world was watching? They had your mug all over the news, footage of what you did. And your little whore sister decided to dime you out. I don’t blame the bitch one bit.”

Now the toes were being stepped on. It was one thing to criticize the thing that he did. He owned that one, that was for sure. He wouldn’t forgive himself for what he had done. How would he expect those in the company to feel? Simple, he put his acting chops on and went to another company for their show and put the best foot forward that he could. One company seemed more forgiving, aside from some skinny ‘knacker’ stealing his title belt he had there. Didn’t see him bragging about being ‘Colty Two Belts’ when he had them, but it was about what he could do for the division, not collecting trinkets. Most of these bums wouldn’t even know how to put the title on around their waist, no they need to put it over their shoulder. Could Dickie Watson even tighten the belt around his waist enough to not have it slide down his legs to his feet? Doubt we’d ever find out, since he loves that shoulder accessory.

Still, this idiot was running his mouth about his sister. Some of the information was skewed, but yes, it was indeed Lillie that made the call that led to his arrest. So much more could have been done. He had so much more conversations to have with little Emiko. He had so many more memories to share with her about how he became the way that he had. It wasn’t an act any more than it was a gimmick. Sure, Lillie made a selfish choice, would that warrant some loser’s antics though? Colton had every reason and right to smack the living shit out of the poor guy. Unfortunately, shit would tend to splatter, and everyone would ‘tell on him.’

“Quiet type, eh? Waiting for your rich boy attorney to come for you? You’re going to be gone for a long time, you won’t even have time to face the Commonwealth!”

Commonwealth? Fuck was that? So, there was a territory inside of Project: Honor where a community of certain types of people would hang out at? Maybe they didn’t know what the term meant, but that was a topic for another day. There might actually be a community of these types inside of the company. A lot of them shared the same views on life. With all the scumbags that have aligned themselves with the company, it was no wonder that at some point, a community of that would form. That wouldn’t discount people like Indy Darling however, he was a good guy. He took the title off of Colton and had the class to still extend his hand for a handshake. While Colton wouldn’t shake his hand, he did choose to pat him on the back before exiting. What a bad guy. Then again, remember what happened after, nobody will ever forget that.

Still, had this idiot continued to relent against Colton inside of the cell, there wouldn’t be a pat on the back. There certainly would not be one in the future for Dickie Watson or Aiden... Aiden…Aiden Monk? Was that a man a detective? Aiden Reynolds, that was the name. Did Aiden Monk have something to do with his apprehension? Certainly, Lillie could not do this all by herself, and undoubtably MYOJIN was too much of a coward to come look for his supposed girlfriend himself. Right? Wait, time out, who the fuck was Aiden Reynolds anyways? How did he wind up in the main event to begin with? Must have been the influence of the community, right? Had that not been the case, he would have opened the show against Jimmy Come-lately, or Boris Diaz the third. Maybe some other hobo they could bring in off the streets for an easy pay day and possible turkey dinner. After all, Thanksgiving was among us. What were you thankful for? Colton didn’t have a whole lot to be thankful for, but he knew that his time would come. He knew that he would be bailed out at some point, right?

“Are you hard of hearing? Come on, actor, you better speak up!”

Fuckin tough guy.. Like Predator was before Colton ran him out of the company. Like Caden Young was before Colton ran him off to rehab. Like Jason Terrance was before Colton sent him to the unemployment line. This was common knowledge, every now and then, that Colton would scare away the weak minded. Would Aiden stick around? Or would he delegate himself to a desk job once his wife blew up in a car? Wrong Aiden, sorry. That show was awesome though.

The tension continued to rise as the idiot inmate continued to press the buttons. People have a habit of that these days. Still, calling someone’s little sister a whore may not have been the best idea yet. Also, referring to him as an actor when he was actually detained for the crime wasn’t much smarter. What would come next would shock nobody, surprise few, and entertain people to no end.

The remaining inmates continued to watch with intent as the eyes of the Outlaw had risen. He looked towards their direction without so much as a second of eye contact before resting his glance beyond the bars. He saw his savior, so to speak. Kind of ironic that the first sight he had seen in nearly two days was the guy who was going to rip him apart worse than any of these fuckers locked in with him would be able to do. All he could do was maintain a sense of relief.

“Hey, Rich boy! Coming to help me??”

That question never got answered, as a stray elbow from Colton caught him in the side of the head. Rather than getting into a fighting stance, Colton simply sat back, swung his leg over in relaxation.  The poor bastard simply melted to the ground, clutching his head in poor boy sadness. One would assume that the other gentlemen would choose to attempt an attack on such a devious man. They didn’t move a muscle, much like the locker room at Project: Honor. Did anybody really think someone would be ballsy enough to take a swing at him? Regardless, it was time to go, hopefully.

“Colton Saint... You should consider yourself extremely lucky. You’ve been bailed out, don’t leave town.”

What a tempting offer. He rose to his feet, stretching himself out before approaching the door of the cell. The deputy looked past him toward the man lying on the ground. The sudden sense of confusion overwhelmed the man before glaring at Colton. Like any warrior, the glare was returned in full force. Nobody could predict when the man would strike but could only prepare themselves for the moment when it did. How would one react? Noticing the men on the other side of the door, it was not just the man who paid his bail. It was the man that mentored him from the day he first got into the business. It was the man who kept him out of trouble for the most part, as well as the man that he would keep out of trouble. It was Banch Morgan. Not just any man in the business, he had done things that Colton could only dream of. When his father ditched town, it was Morgan who took him under his wing, raising the ambitious Texan to be the best he could be inside of that ring. Morgan saved the day, but he was not alone.

In a small distance was another protégé of Morgan, the young upstart, Theodor Pavel. Not a household name in professional wrestling by any means. He was a decorated amateur mixed martial artist by the time he was eighteen years old. There were even rumors of the ‘Hands of Ice’ joining Project: Honor at one point, but his hectic schedule made it nearly impossible. That, and the language barrier would have proven to make things difficult without a translator for the young Romanian.

As the door swung open, Mr. Morgan stepped off to the side. He glanced inside at the poor bastards who had to deal with the psychologically wounded Saint. One of them made the mistake in opening their mouth, one of them was left lying.

“You and I have a lot to discuss, my friend.”

Without even a thank you to his mentor, Colton walked past with intent.

“He better not leave town, sir. Charges are pending right now and I’m certain it will be enough to put your boy away for an exceptionally long time.”

Morgan had no interest in hearing what the Deputy had to say.  He knew what the situation was, and that there would not be a trial. He could take Colton Saint to Antarctica if he felt like it. Siberia was lovely this time of year as well, one would think. Speaking of cold, the glare coming from Theodor really told a story. His eye cold stare on the Outlaw was met with Colton simply walking past him. The three made their way to the desk, allowing him to retrieve his items that were not considered ‘evidence’. Why in the world would his expired Blockbuster Video card be considered evidence?

With that said, the three found themselves in Morgan’s Aston Martin DBS Superleggera. For a name like that, one would have hoped for a little bit of leg room for three men all over six feet, four inches tall. Unfortunately, that was not the case, but it carried enough muscle to match the ego of Colton’s mentor. They took off down the road. The tune of “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” by Johnny Cash felt so appropriate for the time. While Colton may no longer be in custody, he felt like he was going to need to walk the Green Mile at some point in life. Seated in the front passenger spot, The Outlaw glared out the window. It was the first sense of freedom that he experienced since that dreaded night in Paradise. How would he handle himself inside of that ring once again? One could only imagine the intensity that was building up in him. A desperate wolf was even more dangerous than one hunting for food.

With the music playing, there was no communication at first. Morgan at the wheel, he was focused on the long road ahead. In the back seat, Theodor had not taken his eyes off Colton. One would assume that the former X-Factor Champion would not notice, but a glance up at the rearview mirror changed that. Colton’s expression had not changed, there were so many ideas floating through his head.

“You know, you’re becoming one expensive son of a bitch. You know that, right?”

No verbal response. There were no words that could be said to explain his actions. Only two people knew the motivation for the abduction. Only one was in the car, and he was not going to open. This frustrated Morgan, driving down the lonely road. It was one hell of a long trip out to the greater Los Angeles area. He already set up a place for the criminal to stay at, well outside of the reach of Zane. All the precautions were being taken care of at Morgan’s expense, so the least Colton could do was to speak for his actions at some point. There had to be a reason he snapped the way that he did.

“Why do you do this to yourself, Colton? Have things really been that shitty for you? You have every opportunity come your way, and you just find a new and exciting way to fuck it all up. I had to get on the horn with Rock Johnson and explain to him that you were not causing ANOTHER international incident!! You kidnapped a Japanese national, they do not exactly think very highly of you. What possible good is it going to be for you to not talk to me right now? Tell me.”

The reminder of the hostilities between Colton and the country of Japan was unpleasant. He had gotten into a tremendous amount of trouble over there and had to bring his talents back to America following the incident. That was not even the question he had in mind. He was still interested in who the hell the Commonwealth was. Still, that sat on his mind after the loudmouth in the jail cell spilled the beans. He was booked to wrestle again for Project: Honor against these guys. Was it a handicap match? What was really going on here?

“I don’t know how you even expect to get into the arena. I do not know how the city of Orlando feels about a guy who decided to do such a stupid thing in front of the whole world! You basically ended your own career by doing that, kid. Why would you do that to yourself? After all the time we spent trying to get you to become such an amazing wrestler, you piss it away and for what? Opportunities in this business are not exactly sprouting in your direction, buddy. You got two companies; the rest want NOTHING to do with you. Thank GOD for contracts, and even those are coming up quick. I know Rock Johnson is going to talk to you before the show. Just be careful, alright? You are tiptoeing down a dangerous path. You got a lot coming up in Project: Honor alone, and honestly, I am not certain you will even be allowed inside of the arena! Fucking talk to me!”

Still, nothing was being said. He could feel the eyes of ‘Mâinile de gheață’ glaring at him. It felt like Theodor was trying to get him to burst into flames. While it did not work, the glare had gotten onto the last nerve of Colton. His head leaned near the window, staring outside of the car at the road. With that intense feeling building up, Colton finally spoke up.

“Who are the Commonwealth?”

“What? The Commonwealth? Well, I am glad you heard of them because that is who you are facing on Proving Grounds coming up soon. First you must handle some little blonde chick in Wrestleworld, but after that, you need to fight those two. You might even have to do this one single handedly. I do not know if you have noticed, but you have kind of a target on your back. I thought maybe being the X-Factor Champion would have done it, but you have found a way to piss every single person on that roster with your stupid deed. Do you understand that? People don’t want you there anymore. Hell, they may have never wanted you there to begin with. Now you’re just giving them ammo to work with, alright?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I’ll tell you what. Tit for Tat. I answer your question, you answer mine. Got it? If you must know. You got Adrian… Wait, no it’s Aiden Reynolds.”

“Tell me about him.”

“I’ve looked around, and don’t have a whole lot of information on the guy. It is his first match with Project: Honor and he has jumped right into the main event. From what I have gathered, he certainly does not have a confidence problem.  He might be thinking ahead of you, just a little bit. Thing is, Colton, he seems like the type of guy who is going to try and exploit your weaknesses early and often in the match. All he needs is to go off of your past matches. Like damn near every other person who has gotten inside of the ring with you, he will try and get under your skin. That is what these guys do in the ring these days. I do not expect you to hit the ground running too hard, but if you have any intention of winning against the guy, you are going to have to stop him early on. I would not do the long game against him because he had the chance to scout you and damn if he will not take the advice of his partner along with it. So, when you get to your place, you need to look the guy up. I found a tape of his tryout with Project: Honor, not hard to find. He is a little flashy from what I saw, but he does not really carry much on terms of talent compared to some of the others you have been in there with. He is not MYOJIN, he is not even really a Jason Terrance type. This guy is going to be the weak link in the match on that team. So, with that said, I need you to be as sharp as you can because you are going to have to fight these guys, blow for blow. I do not trust the crowd, you got booed before, but you never caused a riot. I am afraid you will cause one in this match. It’s bad news for you, man. It might get even worse for you once you find out who the other guy is. “

That was an interesting piece on a guy who had not been in the company for more than a week or two. Interesting to say the least. Still, there had to be a reason he was in the match outside of the fact that he was part of this Commonwealth group. Could it be connections of some kind to the tag team partner? One would have to guess that it was the case.

“Who?”

“Your best friend, Dickie Watson.”

Sure, our beloved Narrator knew about the opponents, but Colton… He did not like that one bit. There was something about Dickie Watson that always made his skin crawl. Maybe it was the fluke victory that got Watson elevated into main event status. That punk had not looked back and was perched high on the top of the food chain.

“Watson..”

“That’s right. That guy. He has no problem telling the entire world about how he defeated you and is now the King of Project: Honor. He has gone so far as to say he will most likely take liberties with you in that match you two are in. Now here is the thing about Dickie Watson. I know you dislike that guy, and every single time his name is mentioned, you roll your eyes. You know why you roll your eyes, Colton? Because you know you can beat him. You know that his undefeated streak should not have gotten past one. It did though, and unfortunately for the rest of the company, he will stop at nothing in order to elevate himself even further. What would it mean for a guy like you, who has fought tooth and nail to make himself better, to defeat the Grand Champion following your loss to Indy Darling? If it were up to me, personally, I would kick Indy’s ass first. However, that is not where we are at. Indy set you off, buddy. That title leaving your waist and going to a guy you know you can beat is just as bad as losing to a guy that you know in your heart you can obliterate. Hell, you do hold a win over Dickie, just you pinned the wrong guy. Everybody knows you can beat both guys. It is just up to you to prove that you can do it without Kimberly interfering all the time, and you can stand on your own two feet.  You have to make this happen, it can’t be me.”

If it were only that easy. The lack of rest recently had made the Last Breathing Outlaw just a little bit stir crazy. He was cooped up in that damn cell long enough. The musty air, the stink of a nearby bum when he was attempting to sleep. Barely any food, had to pee in front of people. Not quite the Ritz, as if he had ever been to one.

“I don’t know, Morgan. Just something doesn’t feel right about this match. I’m burned right out, there is going to be so many issues just getting to Orlando. Should I hold off on this match? I mean I want to face Dickie Watson again, and get that win. Just if I lose, I feel like in my mind, it’ll be because I’m not ready.”

The disgusted look on Morgan’s face was bad, but the silence grew worse. Colton’s head went back against the window as he watched the road. They had finally crossed into California. Now the longer end of the trip had begun. Why didn’t he just take Zane to Fresno? At least he would have wound up getting arrested closer to Los Angeles than where he did.  All those thoughts were not helping his cause, he could feel the intensity coming from his mentor. Perhaps the wrong words were spoken.

“You seriously didn’t say that. YOU, of all people, should have never uttered those words. What the hell happened to you? Even when things were at their worst in Project: Honor. All those things you did to people, you only saw darkness. Hell, maybe you still do, I do not know. Despite all that, you found a way to get in the ring every single night and fight. You had one match where you looked rough, and that was against Predator. That was also the same night that you saved your sister from getting attacked by the thugs. You had a rough one there. You got in there every single week though against people who wanted your blood. Dickie Watson wants your blood, kid. He wants to put you down for the count and end your career. That is not something to magically turn your back towards. I figure, if it were me, I would use that against him. We do not know shit about Aiden Reynolds. Not like that matters, he will not be the guy beats you. Contessa will not be the one who wins the match for you guys either. It is going to come down to you and Dickie. Dickie is the guy who got one over you. You wanted a piece of him so badly the next time you fought that you made sure to use your body as a weapon. You made sure to use MYOJIN’s body as a weapon as well. You are a little tougher now than you were then, you just do not realize it yet.”

“Okay, I get it. I know I can beat Dickie Watson. I never thought I couldn’t, but if I go down, it’s not going to be in the way it should. It won’t be because he’s better than me, it’s because he knows I’m not at one hundre…”

“ENOUGH!”

“Can you let me finish?”

“Are you going to say something stupid?”

“No! Not at all.”

“Alright, fine. What is it?”

“Hundred percent.”

Infuriated by his response, Morgan sped up in the car. Saint felt the car moving much faster with no end in sight. Even Theodor had developed an uneasy feeling from the backseat of the car while the speed continued to rise.

“Morgan, what are you doing?”

“I am so sick and tired of having you feel sorry for yourself every time you take a loss. You lose enough in Project: Honor, and it is not because of your skill. That is what is driving me crazy right now! Every single time you lose a damn match, it is always someone else’s fault! It is always this person holding you down. Oh, Kimberly wanted me to do this, so I did that, and it backfired! Oh, I wanted to end MYOJIN’s career! Indy Darling got lucky, there’s NO WAY he could outwrestle me. God damn it, kid. I swear. Do you know WHY Dickie Watson beat you in the debut show? I will tell you right now why you lost. You lost to Dickie Watson because you walked into the company thinking you were going to run the table. Nobody could ever touch the great Colton Saint. You are too busy breaking into people’s homes, attacking homeless people. You destroy property, you do all this shit for mind games, but the only mind that is getting played is yours! She played your mind, kid. She played you. So, now you are in this situation where you KNOW that it is not about you coming away with a nonsensical victory, but instead you are getting every single match as possibly your last. Let’s say something happens in Orlando. Guess what happens? They are going to fire your ass. You got it finally?

That is all we hear about is the nonsense about how you have been betrayed by the system. Ever since you came to this place, it is you and her against the world. Turns out she does not need you very much, does she? You are off in the pokey, and she is getting rounds on television where you were not invited. You lost sight of this whole thing, and it is because you decided to try to be the little lap dog that collects titles. That is not the Colton Saint that I trained. It isn’t the one that I stuck my neck out for all this time.”

“Okay, fine, whatever. So, since you have this grand plan of what I’m supposed to do in order to have a career, tell me then. Tell me what it is I’m supposed to even do. Can you give me SOMETHING to work with here?”

More silence between the two. The tension continued to build. Good points were made all around in regards to how to force the Last Breathing Outlaw to find himself in a mode of recovery. They were hitting a cross roads though with no correct answer. A different voice decided to speak up finally.

“Domnule Morgan. Amintește-mi, trebuie să mă întorc în sala de gimnastică când ajungem acasă. Am nevoie pentru a lovi covorașe și de a lucra la unele noi mutări de prezentare rubrica în meciurile viitoare. M-am gândit la una foarte bună.”

“Not now, Theodor…”

Something was clicking in the mind of Morgan. It wasn’t even a remote understanding of what young Theodor had to say, but Theodor himself. Normally the young man had an idea to get into the gym as often as possible. Call it a Eureka moment, but Morgan’s eyes began to light up in excitement.

“Son of a bitch, Theodor!! You genius!!”

With a huge grin on his face, Morgan looked over at a confused Colton. Something big was about to happen, at least in the eyes of Morgan it was a big thing.

“It’s time to go home!”



--House of Paine Academy--
--Culver City, CA--



Okay, so maybe it wasn’t exactly immediate. The rest of the night was dedicated to getting home. Colton was dropped off at his undisclosed location while Morgan and Theodor made their way back to Beverly Hills. It was the strangest sensation for the former Champion to sleep in a bed again. Even if the bed was a bit crappy, it was a hell of a lot nicer than fifteen minutes of sleep on a wooden bench. He would be up and down with so much on his mind. He opted out of making any phone calls, even to the point where he simply turned his phone off completely. Still, his mind was locked on the match. It wasn’t so much the redemption for the things he had done, but to prove to the entire world that he is not only as good as these punks in the ring, but reclaim his throne as the most dominant wrestler in Project: Honor and across the rest of the globe.

His back was stiff and his shoulder had been aching so badly by the time he woke up that he had begun to already second guess himself. He wasn’t entering the ring against just anybody. He was in there with the Champion, and the guy who was teaming with the Champion. He couldn’t count necessarily on his tag team partner, having little knowledge on who this person was. Hopefully Morgan had a plan for that as well. Rocking a pair of blue Under Armour shorts and a sleeveless charcoal grey hooded sweatshirt, Colton remained indoors as instructed until the car pulled into the driveway. Seeing his chance, he threw his hood up over his head and exited the building before locking the door behind him. A quick jog to the car and upon entering, it was time to go.

Some time passed before they arrived at the Academy. Upon their arrival, they were off to the races. Some quick warm up drills got the blood flowing before Theodor and Colton entered the ring. Morgan watched on intently as Colton was moving around the ring slowly. He was walking gingerly while testing the ropes. Still, it was time to get moving, the big match was coming up and he needed to be ready. Having seen enough already, Morgan climbed onto the ring apron, watching the Outlaw struggle.

“I get it. You have been beating the piss out of yourself mentally for a long time, bud. I could not even bring the others into the gym because of you. It was too risky, and I am not going to sit back and let people stare at you like you have eaten the last ribeye, got it? There is not time for that. No, we gotta keep ourselves moving and working a hell of a lot harder than what you have been doing. You want redemption? You want the opportunity to prove everyone wrong? Project:Honor thinks Colton Saint is dead in the water. Dickie Watson and Aiden what is his name are going to have a shot to completely demolish you if you’re not focused. I need you to focus. You do not focus on this match, dude you are dead in the water. Alright?”

Giving an intense shrug before slapping himself across the face, Colton circled the ring quickly before locking up with Theodor. The two struggled through their collar and elbow tie up, but Theodor wanted the advantage more, promptly shoving Colton back.

“What is your problem?! Get it together. I am not going to sit here and wait for you to become a professional wrestler all over again. You are not going to screw with me like that, alright? What if I told you that Aiden Johnson Pumpernickel was a world class boxer? Would you be ready for him to knock your lights out? All it takes would be one good punch and you would be counting your teeth once you wake up. Come on. Let’s try this again.”

Frustrated from the lack of fire, Morgan climbed up onto the ring apron to watch them. Again, they locked up. This time, Colton was able to outmaneuver Theodor with a front facelock. A strong punch to the chest of Colton caught him off guard, forcing him to immediately release. Theodor looked ready to finish the job early with a high roundhouse kick, but Morgan shouted for everything to stop again. He entered the ring with such fury that he nearly tripped over the second rope. He stepped in between the two, pointing at the corner for Theodor.

“Theodor, back up. I need time to talk to this kid. Colton, hey... Look at me. Come on. I am not going to bullshit you. You must stop this, okay? You must quit playing the victim and you have to get over the fact that you’re out of shape. Your body has taken one hell of a beating and I know it sucks for somebody to tell you this, but it is your fault that you lost to Indy Darling. Alright, I am going to be real, it’s your fault you lost. It is not his fault, he outwrestled you in the end and he beat you. He did the same shit to you that Dickie did a long time ago. How are you plan on fixing that if you are going to mope around that ring and look like a complete bitch?

I do not need you to pretend that this match is fair. I do not care if it is or is not. I only care about the fact that one of the best students in the business today is going to go in there, representing MY school, only to get their ass kicked unless they get their shit together. I do not care what Kimberly told you, I do not care what you heard on the internet. Fuck the internet for a second. Every single loss you have had no matter where you went, it has always been because YOU lost. You are listening to all these people who don’t know what you’re doing inside of that ring. Dickie Watson is the Champion, you have to get over it. He defeated MYOJIN who defeated you. You have to move on from this idiotic concept that a Colton Saint at twenty five percent is going to be a Dickie Watson who’s at one hundred percent. You are just going to have to make it happen. You can completely forget about Aiden JoeNamath or Harvey Weinstein or any of these other fuckers roaming around. You do not worry about that. You worry about winning.

Truth is about Dickie Watson that I think you gloss over constantly is the fact that he is a guy who is willing to sacrifice his body and his life to keep that title. He is a guy that is going to push anyone in front of him to new limits. You need to push yourself before you can even think of letting him push your limits. At this rate, your glass ceiling is pretty damn low. You held a title that nobody really cared about, and you lost it to a guy that you SHOULD have beaten. Move on. You are going to have more problems in this match than you have had your entire career, possibly your entire life. If you do not believe me, I want you to consider the truth about what you are up against.  If you fuck this next part up, and show no aggression, you are going to deal with a terribly angry and old Modern Day Goliath. Good?”

It was jumping on his nerves that Morgan wouldn’t let him wrestle. Finally, Morgan stepped away for a moment to allow the two to get back to business. Colton charged Theodor, swinging high, only for the Romanian to duck under the punch. Upon turning around Theodor went for a stiff leg kick, but Colton checked it quickly. He bearhugged Theodor promptly, spinning him around and delivered an overhead belly to belly suplex. Theodor crashed to the mat, but quickly sprung to his feet, faster than Colton could. Theodor was next to move on, charging at Colton, only to eat a hard dropkick from the Outlaw. Again, Colton was slow to get up.

This drove Banch Morgan crazy, who decided to take matters into his own hands. He promptly took Colton down and laid into him with hard rights to the head.

“WAKE UP!!”

The flurry of rights across the head of Colton got his attention once a cut opened up on his forehead. The dreaded finale, a devastating elbow across the skull knocked his head to the canvas. Blood pouring from his head, Colton pulled Morgan to the canvas, snapping his head up into his mentor’s with a stiff headbutt across the nose. Both bloodied, they began to brawl. The wild punches fired from both men before Theodor stepped in with an attempt to stop them.

“Alright.. ALRIGHT..Stop.”

Gripping his nose from the impact of the hits, Morgan looked over at the Colton Saint we used to know. He had a certain hunger about him that was unstoppable during his early days. This was a slight return to form, but something was still missing. The words weren’t quite there yet, but they needed to be.”

“Morgan, man I get it. I understand that you really want me to go out there and be twenty two years old again. It’s fine. I can’t match their speed, you know that. I can’t go into the match thinking that it’s going to be a sixty minute broadway, because it won’t be. I can’t let it be that way. I have to end the match faster than what Dickie has in mind. There are some limits, and those are limits I have to face. I have to face them head on BY myself. Thank you, but I really need to take care of this.”

Wiping the pouring blood from the top of his forehead, Colton leaned against the turnbuckles. He didn’t know if there was another way to put it, but he knew that something had to be done. He nearly fell to the canvas from shaking so much, but he kept his composure as he stared out of the ring at the pictures and banners all over the walls. There were some amazing names out there. The most ominous one was a picture of Colton and Platinum II posing. They were such an amazing team in their day.. The Gaijin Playboys.

“We took a crazy risk when we took you in. Ricky thought I was crazy to want to train a guy who had a career ending shoulder injury that took him out of being the greatest starting pitcher to ever come out of Texas. He laughed at me. I thought there was something there, and there was. You were a cheap tag team wrestler when you started, then you broke off on your own and you did your thing. You held two singles titles at one time, and it didn’t shake you. That’s the Colton Saint that I trained. The Colton Saint that this business needs is ready to take on everything that comes his way and will fight it with a heart that is as hard as iron. You mentally checked out, and I’m going to tell you, kid. It’s time for you to check back in. I know you can do this. I know deep down you are aware that there are bad men in this business, but you are THEE bad man. You don’t come away with this win, I don’t know what to tell you.

I will never forget the night you toppled Ozymandias. You gave everything you had left, you saved all that energy up for that match and when you tapped that son of a bitch out, you became one of the greatest wrestlers in this generation. Nobody will change my mind on that. When you took Zane to the limit.. I’m sorry kid, I know you could have won that match somehow. You didn’t, but you could have. Whatever is on your mind going in there with the Grand Champion and his new pal, get it out of there. You’re Colton Fuckin’ Saint. You are the guy that’s going to force the best match out of Dickie Watson that the boy ever had. You are going to go down in history in Project: Honor as the guy who brought the fight to the so called unbeatable. Ozymandias was unbeatable, you got him. You took me to the limit in your tenth match, and I’m going to tell you this, I knew a star when I saw it.

I keep glossing over the fact that you have a tag team partner. Contessa Floran. I’m going to tell you this, not to make you comfortable, but to make you aware of something. Contessa is your tag team partner, yeah. She’s a tough young lady who has a lot of fire to her and is definitely considered to be a threat. When I say that Contessa is going to be a threat, it could work one of two ways. One, she could be a complete threat to the opponents. She could get in there and take down Aiden Monkerton or whatever his name is. She could get in there and take down the Champion. Not the worst thing in the world to have a partner who is more than capable of handling her own. She has the pedigree, she has the track record in the company alone as being able to go toe to toe with the absolute best in the business. She can do that. Does that mean she will? Not up to me to decide, but she could very well take your moment from you. Not something that the Last Breathing Outlaw would enjoy, right? Nah, that’s not good enough for you. You want that moment and you’re going to fight just as hard as she does, and if she brings the fight and you bring the fight… They’re going down.

On the other side of that token though.. She is a threat alright, but she could be a threat to you in a way that you never would expect. She went on record as to say that she felt unsafe in Project: Honor. She felt unsafe because of you. So, why on God’s green earth is she going to team with a scumbag like you? Why would she ever team with a guy who made her safety a concern? I’m thinking that while it’s good to have a tag team partner, sometimes it might be a little bit better if you didn’t at all. If she attacks you, don’t let her get away with that. Don’t let her believe that somebody like you is going to stay down for no reason. Be the guy who gets back up and fights. They knock you down, you stand taller each time. That is how you’re going to prove to the world and to the business that there nobody on the planet tougher than Colton fuckin’ Saint. Make them eat the words. If she fights with you and tries to take you down a notch, make an example out of her too. Whatever you have to do.”

There was something about the fine speech that Mr. Morgan gave that really woke him up. He didn’t quite know how to react to the idea that this match was the fight of his life. This was the opportunity that he had been searching for. Colton Saint wasn’t just fighting for a win, he was fighting for his job and so much more. Finally dropping to a knee in the corner, he watched his coach, his mentor, his friend. He watched the man circle the ring with a busted nose without any indication that the man would bother touching it to reset it. Morgan was as much of a fighter as anyone he came across. A beast of a man. One would think though that he may not be done yet.

“I never really looked at it this way, Coach. I can’t get over the fact that I know these guys hate me. They hated me before it but it was always that tongue in cheek kind of hate. They’d still have a wrestling match with me, but they hated me. Now, I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Truly, I have no idea what to expect. The fact that you’re telling me to watch my six at all times, I’m beginning to think that this is indeed a don’t trust a soul type of philosophy that I’m going to need to adopt for the match.”

With a moment of silence between the two, it became apparent of the respect that the two had for one another. Morgan had to spill common sense into the mind of this kid, it was no easy task. Regardless, he was not quite finished yet. Morgan approached Saint, kneeling by him as well before taking a seat as he laid his upper back against the bottom rope. He gave a bit of a smirk towards the man who needed to become the lone wolf for himself.  

“I’m going to tell you a quick story, kid. We were in Baltimore back in 2008. I turned against my best friend, Marcus Payton. Hell of a fighter, you know that. When I took the steel chair and I cracked it right across the back of his head, every single person stood up in the crowd. The ringing of that chair as that dented object fell to the mat, it was almost like a bell sounded to bring everyone to me. I did not like the fans at all, I wanted them to hate me. I wanted them to feel every bit of anger that I had towards them. They turned against me, I thought. I was gone for months and lost every opportunity because of them and you know what happened? They forgot about me. They moved on from the guy who just was not good enough to be on the t-shirts, the programs, the video games. When they stood and they slowly walked towards the rail, I saw bodies falling over the rail to the mat. I turned around and I saw that exact same thing happening from the other side. Before I knew it, there were nearly two hundred people clamoring to get into the ring.  Security didn’t do shit, they were mad at me too.

Next thing I knew, they were piling into the ring. I knew one against two hundred was suicide, but I fought. I fought for everything I had, and they got the better of me. Eventually the locker room cleared out and I had my backup. Fans were getting torn apart by these wrestlers. Still, the numbers were too much. We had to get out of there. I was punched, kicked, I had bite marks all over my body. Surprised nobody stabbed me. I was lucky to get out of that building alive. I want to emphasize that to you, Colton. I was LUCKY to leave that building in one piece. It was not me being super tough, it was luck. Luck is what got me to the next town. Luck also got me to move on with my career and eventually win a World title.

The point I am trying to make to you is something that I know will cross your mind when you get to Orlando. I hit a wrestler with a chair and a riot started. I hit my best friend in the middle of the ring, and all Hell broke loose. The media did not cover me, wanting my head on a platter. We did not have shit like that back then to really bounce off of. I had nuclear war at my doorstep just for hitting a man in the head. This is where things are going to be different.

You took the most popular wrestler in Project:Honor, hit her with a nightstick. You drove off with her. You were seen on a video stream drugging her and tying her up. You got arrested. You had mainstream media on this. You had social media wanting you to rot in prison forever for what you did. You did something that is unforgivable in the eyes of the fans. They will never look at you the same way again, no matter the outcome of this match. No matter how good it will feel if you come away by pinning the Grand Champion, they will remember. You have an arena full of angry fans, wanting your head. You have one hell of a tall order in front of you. As good as you are, as tough as you are, you will not be able to withstand the onslaught of thousands of people.

The very fact that you are on the card and are going to be ready to go in a match in front of all of those people, it’s like no feeling you could ever describe. Imagine the Roman Colosseum. Thousands of fans wanting Dickie Watson and Aiden Reynolds to come put you out of your misery. If they can’t do it, they’ll do it. If those two can’t make you suffer, the fans will. They will have your head and your heart in their hands by the time the police even think of getting there. Contessa might join in and help them for all we know. I’m not saying not to trust your tag team partner, but I am saying for you to be ready in case she decides to go rogue on your ass and try to kill you. I’m telling you the truth, kid. There won’t be a wrestler backstage that will help you. There won’t be enough security to keep the fans at bay. There won’t be anything in between you and them but space and time. Both of those things will disappear very quickly. Protect yourself by any means, get out of that building as fast as you can. Even if this is the match of your life, don’t let it be the last breath you take.”

The words were cutting him deeper than those punches and elbows ever could. He needed to beat Dickie Watson and Aiden Reynolds at this show. He needed it more than anything on the planet. Colton knew that, that there might be a fate worse than a loss. The story that he was told gave him even more concern heading into Orlando for Proving Grounds. A lot of risk involved in this contest.

“Thank you.”

Morgan pulled in Colton for a hug, talking to him while hanging onto his prodigy of a student. He didn’t know exactly how to say it, but knew it had to be said.

“If you have to burn ‘em all, burn ‘em all.. Okay? Don’t you die on me.. Slay these fuckers for me.”

While in the hug, Colton’s eyes slowly opened, revealing a fire that he hadn’t had in some time. His icy stare was directed at Theodor before a slow smirk arrived on his face.

“To the ground.. I’ll cover Orlando in ashes if I have to.”

“God, I hope you’re kidding..”

The intently focused stare remained on Colton Saint’s face as he snapped out of it briefly. A genuine smile arrived on his face as he nodded to Morgan before rolling out of the ring. He knew what he was up against, and knew what had to be done.

Get ready for the headlines… It’s about to get far worse.