Unscripted 2014 - Drake Callahan vs. ??? (Choose an Opponent!)

[Harthan]

Zeus and Beard revealed an unholy alliance at Meltdown 100 and Drake Callahan has become target number one. Mr. Banks has decided he will face one of the member of the new alliance one on one at Unscripted! Who will it be?

Deadline is Wednesday, February 19th at 11:59 PM CST.

 

[Theo Mays]

It is time my good friend.
Time for you to surrender to the end.
For she is alive, your precious wife.
Sweet, sweet Emily the love of your life.

Dr. Zeus turns his chair and see a look of fear on Beard’s face. Beard’s jaw nearly hits the floor of his partner’s office as Zeus stands up and sits aside his friend.

I’m sorry to have delivered that unruly news,
Tugging at your heart strings, such are bruised
For your daughter breaths life’s air.
And as you planned her name is Claire.

Beard has heard enough as he flips a desk side table to the floor, crashing a lamps to the floor, Shattering into pieces, Beard lifts the pieces and charges his partner.

They are dead Zeus. They are dead.

Beard has the shattered piece of glass against the throat of Zeus, who is unbothered by Beard’s erratic behavior. Beard suddenly pulls away before hitting the floor. Zeus sits with his partner, consoling him.

I am not Ezekiel nor your mother.
Trust is not an issue, we are brothers.
Destruction is coming, soon you’ll be the one.
There is only one thing left to be done.

Beard looks up at his teammate and nods his head, tears forming in his eyes.

I must move on and give them up.

With a solemn look on his face Zeus nods in agreement. Beard stands up and exits the room immediately. A smirk has come over Zeus’ face as he begins to sing as the familiar tune of Hallelujah begins to play. Zeus slightly alters the words to his liking,


He’s been here before
He’s seen this room and he’s walked this floor.
He used to live alone before he knew you
Hallelujah, hallelujah.

Zeus stops his singing as the music plays in the background. Zeus gets on the phone to pass on a message.

Chasity, you must follow Beard.
His emotions they must be feared.
He must be watched with every breath.
For we will bring to WZCW, war and death.

The street is dimly lit by feint street lights. The sky black and cloudy, rain drips slowly but steady as Beard walks at a brisk, nervous pace. Beard comes to a sudden halt as he has reached his old home He removes the hood from his head and rubs his fingers through his growing hair. His breathes are heavy as he begins to question everything that has brought him to this point. Suddenly a car pulls up across the street and shuts its lights. Beard notices the face as Chasity. Beard thinks nothing of it as he approaches the front door. He goes to knock, but quickly pulls back. His breaths become heavier as he tries again, but he can’t do it. Beard steps off the porch and exams his old home. The lights are all off, the lawn out of control, mail creeping out of the mailbox. Beard begins to worry and he panics as he runs away. Chasity begins chase as she pulls up beside the winded KFAD holder.

You must do this Beard. To achieve your ultimate goal you must first give up on everything you loved.

Beard is hesitant as he makes his way back to the house. This time as Beard approaches the door, he doesn’t knock but turns the handle. To his surprise the door is open. He roams the house, noticing that it hasn’t lost his homely feel. The pictures of Beard’s past remain all over the home. The trip to Disney with Le Gentleman Masque, a picture with The Local Talent from Beard’s first Kingdom Come, and a family portrait of Beard, Beardette, and Emily. Beard looks at the pictures as tears slowly roll down his cheek. Beard stops in his tracks as a noise comes from the upstairs. Beard quickly makes his way to his old office. He flicks on the desk lamp and notices everything is still in place. A picture of Claire’s ultrasound, his wine collection, and his journal. Beard opens the journal and turns to the next blank page but notices that Emily has been using it. Beard looks around and against his better judgment he reads her latest entry.

Dear journal,

Another day has passed without any hope. I can barely look at myself in the mirror knowing he is out there suffering. I won’t even try to turn to WZCW to see the pain it has caused him. Wrestling meant the world to him, but it made him sacrifice his life for it I miss him with every breath I take. Claire has taken a liking to him from the photographs she holds and his action figure that he had laying around. Deep down I know that she knows that this man is her father. He would’ve made a great father, but this company took that away from her. I just hope that one day that company suffers the same fate.[

A feeling of rage has come over Beard as he pops open and bottle of wine and grabs his pen. Beard wipes the sweat from his brow as his writes,

Dearest Emily,

My love for you has not weakened. For each time I walk out to that ring I do it in hopes to one day be back in your arms. I will never lose that feeling, but I must continue on my path. A path that I’m not proud of, but a path that I must take. Ezekiel Hewitt showed me the way and now the good doctor, Dr. Zeus has furthered it. WZCW will be destroyed and I will do it in your honor. Their future is in my hands whether they want to believe it or not. It has already begun and soon it will all crumble beneath their feet. At Unscripted I will rid them of one of their greatest stars in Drake Callahan. A man who has done it all for this company and I will break him at the knees and make him beg for his mercy. He is just another stepping stone in my path of destruction. Once I reach the promise land WZCW will bow before me as their king and as their champion. Know that I’m still out there thinking of you, but I can’t come home. Not just yet. The time is not right. Your forgiveness is something I must earn and your willingness to take me back is what will fuel me in my conquest. I love you, nothing will change that. The clock ticks with each creeping hour and the end draws near. Tick tock, tick tock.

Love always,
J

Beard seals the entry with a kiss before closing the book and exiting the room, He takes a deep breath before opening the door and leaving his family behind.

Babe, is that you?

Beard is startled by the very familiar voice of his wife, Emily. Beard stands his guard in the doorway, not turning around.

I can’t be here. I must go.

Please don’t go. You always have a home here.

I love you.

Beard mumbles before leaving the house. He heads towards Chasity, who is still parked across the street.

Come back!!

Emily screams out as Beard opens the passenger side door and sits down, his head buried in his hands.

Have you done as the doctor asked?

Beard nods his head in silence as Chasity starts the car. Beard is still deep in his hands as Chasity becomes worrisome.

Are you ok?

No.

Beard’s answer is quick and sudden as Chasity rubs her hand up and down his arm. Beard shies away from the contact. Chasity continues to attempt to counsel Zeus’s partner.

Know that we are here for you. Just tell us what must be done and we will do it.

Beard lifts his head from his hands as his eyes, an off pink from the tears. He rubs his hands through his Beard before looking Chasity square in the eyes will a look of intensity, Chasity remains calm as Beard doesn’t bat an eye.

We end Drake Callahan. At Unscripted we destroy his very being. What we did to Isabel Stone will be child’s play compared to what we must do to Drake. Callahan wants to throw caution to the wind and try to stop me dead in my tracks? He will learn just like the rest to stay out of my way. He must be used as an example and be destroyed.

 

[Harthan]

"Max wants to see you," Stoya said, as calmly as if she were announcing it was raining outside. We were sitting around in a restaurant, her messing with some paperwork, I on my phone. I glanced at her as my heartbeat raised.

"Has he got a reason for that?" I asked.

"Max doesn't need a reason to see his star client, does he?" she said, the sarcasm unmistakable.

"Maybe not his star client, but me? I'd like to know."

"He has some concerns," she replied, shrugging casually.

"What concerns could he possibly have? I've defeated Mikey Stormrage and Showtime in the last few weeks. I lost only to the world champion, like you could blame me. Things have been looking up."

"Do you think I wouldn't tell you if I knew? He wants to see you. That's all I know. We leave for New York in a few hours."

"I believe that's exactly the case. If you want to weave some trap for me -"

She interrupted. "I expect it's something to do with your ever increasing paranoia, but that's only speculation on my part."

I glared at her and stopped talking. The last thing I wanted to do right now was see Max. I was still trying to find some way to get out from under his thumb - returning to his base of power was hardly the way to accomplish that.

But, still. I didn't have much of a choice, did I?

----

"This latest conspiracy of yours is not the correct path," Max was saying from behind his desk. "It is causing me no end of trouble. I thought we were getting back on the right track, Drake, when you beat Mikey Stormrage, but you all but renounced any intention of ever going for the Eurasian championship. It would have been a nice stepping stone -"

"I don't need stepping stones. I deserve the world title that is still rightfully mine, Max."

"Open up your eyes, Drake. You haven't been champion in a long time, and you only held the belt from pay per view to pay per view. You need to earn your way back to the top. Your sense of entitlement is misplaced in the extreme."

"The belt was stolen from me by a conspiracy - "

"Was it, Drake? Even you seem to waver from week to week on what it is. This one's a monster, that one's okay, he's Ty Burna - what is it, Drake? Whatever's convenient for you to justify your ravings?"

"It's..." I wavered in the face of Max's criticism. I knew. I knew all too well. The patterns changed, went back and forth. I knew it didn't lend me any credibility, but it always made sense in the moment. "It's complicated, Max."

"And now Zeus and Beard are the new public enemies. Tell me, which one is Ty - or are they both Ty? Maybe one of them is Serafina, is that it?"

Anger flashed in me at Max's mocking and I met his eye.

"It's more complicated than this, Max. They're just...darkness and the shadow of Ty. Like Califa was, like the Altar was..."

"Your job isn't to cleanse the darkness. It's to win a title. That's what we're here for. Every time I see you out there prattling on like an idiot about the darkness, I get a pain right here -" He put a hand over his heart "- and I have to take a deep breath to prevent myself from having Stoya call you back. I couldn't resist this time - you needed to be reminded of your purpose."

"Stop telling me what my purpose is. You work for me, Max, don't forget that. I pay you to negotiate contracts and open doors, nothing more and nothing less."

"That is bullshit, and you know it. Let's not forget how this started, Drake. I bailed you out. I signed you to a contract making you the face of this agency. I own you, Drake."

I stood up, trying to tower over Max for leverage. It didn't work - he was imposing no matter what.

"That's not the contract I signed and you know it, whatever delusions you have, old man."

"How the hell would you know? You were half drunk and had just beaten the shit of your loser girlfriend when you signed it! Did you even read it?"

That cut deep. I wasn't interested in being reminded of all of that right now.

"Don't go there, Max. That's not...that was a long time ago."

"Maybe you need to be reminded of what you are, Drake," Max said, standing up. "You are a drunk with just enough talent to cut it in this business. You got lucky and I took a flier on you, and I have spent every second since making sure you were looked at as the best in the business. Your crusades have derailed every attempt I've made, and if it weren't for the flash of luck you seem to manage every now and again I'd have cut you off months ago. I make you what you are, Drake."

"Think whatever you want, Max. I'm not interested in doing this anymore. This relationship is over."

I turned on my heel to walk out, knowing it wouldn't work, but if I could provoke him, get him off his game...

"You're an even bigger idiot than I thought. Our contract is ironclad, Drake. Walk out that door and I'll sue you into the ground."

"That's all you ever can manage, isn't it, Max? Threats instead of motivations, lies instead of helpful advice, all you ever seem to do for me is make me miserable instead of helping me. You're as useless as you say I am."

That got a reaction, at last. Max's nostrils flared and his face went a bit red.

"Do you have any idea what you're saying? I am the best agent in sports. I have clients in baseball, football, basketball, all of them superstars. Everyone who's not represented by me is begging to be, and you call me useless?"

"What do you do for them, Max? Do you sit around and tell them how to hit a home run, or how to throw a touchdown? Do you piss and moan at them as much as you do at me?"

"No, because they're not utter morons! I don't need to instruct them!"

"I won a world title without you. I don't need you to do it again. I don't need a fat old man telling me how to do my job."

"This fat old man could still kick your ass, Drake." Max was turning darker and darker with every word. "Watch what you say."

"What, you'd hit a client? I think I'd be the one entitled to sue at that point, Max. If that's what you want..."

Max stepped around his desk and came to stand in front of me. I looked up at him with hate in my eyes.

"You will watch your step and watch your words even closer. Do I make myself understood?"

"Say it again, will you? But first, go fuck yourself, Max."

Max inhaled to scream something at me, but before he could manage he clutched his hand over his heart again. He looked at me with a confused look in his eye.

"I...ugh..."

He fell to one knee before me.

"Max?"

He slipped further, to the ground.

"Max, what the hell? Are you alright?"

He was still clutching at his heart and the realization sank into me as to what was occurring.

"Drake...pills...top drawer..." Max managed to choke out. I nodded, all the anger gone as I ran over to his desk. I checked his drawers until I found the pills and then ran back to his side. I opened the bottle...

And reconsidered.

"Drake...what..."

I took a look at Max. He looked bad, and we were on the top floor of a skyscraper. By the time any help got here, he'd be gone. Without the pills, he'd be done for.

And I held them in my hand.

Was this the price of freedom? I could let Max die. No one could say I didn't do enough. I could take the pills and call 911 right now. By the time anyone got here, it would be over. I had been given what I wanted. I just had to reach out and take it.

I looked in Max's eyes as he laid dying at my feet. They were full of...fear. For the first time ever, the proudest man I ever knew looked afraid.

I almost knelt beside him then. I almost took the pills out and gave him one. I almost saved his life.

But I made another choice instead.

"I'm sorry, Max," I said, placing the pills in the inside pocket of my jacket. "You haven't left me any better choice."

He reached up with all the strength he could manage at that moment, a weak hand extending forth, looking for help. Help that I couldn't deliver. Help meant tying myself down to him. Help meant this whole arrangement closing in around me like a vice. Help meant I would just keep on subsisting in this pattern of failure.

For all my struggles to break free, how ironic that in the end all I needed to do was...nothing. Simply to let this happen.

I watched Max Powers die at my feet. I felt everything - rage, fear, sadness, elation. It felt like I would burst as surely as his heart.

I called 911 numbly. An accident. Top floor. Powers building. Come quickly. All the usual.

It was over.

I wouldn't be here when the paramedics came. I turned to leave.

The door opened before I could reach it, and in walked Stoya.

"Are you two nearly done?" she started. She was texting something to someone. She looked up and saw the situation.

Her phone dropped out of her hand. She looked at Max, and then back to me.

"Drake...what the hell happened here? Did you..."

"I'm sorry, Stoya. I just called an ambulance. He dropped in front of me and....there was nothing I could do," I lied. Did she see the lie? Did I care?

"No, no, no, there were pills in his desk, didn't he tell you? Max! Max!" She ran to the desk and ripped open the drawer, rummaging through it.

"Damn it, where are they?" She looked at me plaintively, but I only shrugged. She ran to Max's side and tried to rouse him. It was far too late. Kneeling beside him, a tear ran down her face.

"Max..." she said, weakly, as if trying to call him back.

"Stoya, I..." At the sound of my voice, she turned back to me. I saw terror and sorrow go to bitter anger in a second.

"You did this," she said, clearly hysterical. She was right, of course, but how could she know?

"Stoya, he had a heart attack. I'm not a doctor."

"You...do you have any idea how much stress you caused him? Every week it was a new annoyance from you, causing him more and more pain until...you drove him to this! Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I didn't ask for any of that, Stoya."

"Do you think it was all business to him, you idiot? Why do you think he was so hard on you? He cared about you, Drake, and you threw it in his face. You drove him to his death. You selfish son of a bitch."

She stood then and took a step toward me. It was oddly menacing.

"It's over, Stoya. He's gone. You can say whatever you want, it won't change that."

"No," she agreed miserably. "Because you killed him, you piece of shit."

She lowered her head and her shoulders shuddered violently as she burst into tears. I wanted to go to her, even if she would only knock me away. I should have. But I was already committed to this course of action. I couldn't afford to turn back now.

So I turned my back on all of them. On the dead man who tried to mentor me and failed. On the woman I loved, once, mourning and in tears. On all the ties that bound me.

I walked toward a pair of monsters, WZCW's latest rising darkness. An endless war that I was now free to fight. Lucky me. This is what freedom got me - a war to fight. Was it worth it? Was it worth letting Max die to combat Zeus and the Beard? Was it worth becoming a worse monster myself?

It didn't matter. This was all I had left. I could tolerate no other distractions. This was all there was.

Forever.

 

[Con T.]

Deep in the caverns of the still new office of Dr. Zeus, Zeus sits in his office chair, gently rocking back and forth. His face is cast in shadow; half covered in darkness, and yet the other half hit with the light of the lamp that stands on Dr. Zeus desk. Zeus rocks back and forth, with a smirk on his face; for the first time in weeks, Dr. Zeus seems at a calm. Chastity sits in an easy chair, nearby from the couch that is currently being occupied by Dr. Zeus' new charge, The Beard. Today marks the second of therapy appointments for The Beard. And while the first provided some very rudimentary information, now it was time to mold The Beard. Now was the time for Beard to become the weapon God intended; now, Dr. Zeus work truly began. Dr. Zeus thumbed through a book, as his burly client lay on his couch. After the events of the 100th Meltdown, Beard almost seemed relieved.

"I never had a chance to thank you," Beard finally chimed in, during a particular moment of calm. "For breaking me from Ezekial; he was fine, but there was something about him that... How do I put it?"

Zeus continued to thumb through his book, a smile crossing his face. The Beard looked around, almost confused.

"Really, I don't know how to put it... It's hard to ex-"

"I know the answer that lies deep in your soul,
Ezekial Hewitt never let you have control."

"Exactly!" Exclaimed the Beard, as he rose from his couch. "Like, I was never the man in control.... And I never got treated like it, by anyone."

The Beard rested his head again, as he eased back onto the couch. He folded his hands near his stomach, and sat quietly in thought for a second. Dr. Zeus continued to thumb through, as Chastity got up from her easy chair. She walked towards Zeus, who quietly nodded to her. He went back to reading his back, as all was quiet once again.

"It's just.... I finally feel I'm in control. That you'll teach me how to take control... You know... How to cope..."

Dr. Zeus broke his fixation from his book, and shot a glare at The Beard. Beard had sat up, and looked at Dr. Zeus. He scratched the back of his head, with a look of uncertainty. For the first time all session, The Beard's words came out a little quivery... His knees started to shake. Zeus looks down, and sighs... Almost disappointed with his new client. He begins to speak, with a somber note in his voice.

"You've always been the weapon at God's call
The one who will prepare the demons for their tragic fall.
The one who will reap the souls that we must reap,
The one who will return God's flock of sheep.
Your strength makes all of the demons cower,
at the very sight of your Holy power!"

Dr. Zeus is far more impassioned at this point, and has The Beard hanging on his every word. The Beard listens intently, as Zeus gets out of his chair, and kneels before The King. He lowers his head in reverence of The Beard, and silently releases his epiphany on The Beard.

"Look deep in yourself... In there, you shall find,
Your obsessions are the chains that draw you deeper, and bind."

The Beard sits up again, and looks at the good doctor.

" My.... My obsessions?" Beard asks, in a very puzzled tone.

Dr. Zeus looks up to his partner, and puts a hand on his shoulder. He walked back to his desk, and opened his book once more. He began to speak, a calming authority to his voice.

"Let me tell you the story of a pitiful man.
A lost soul you know well, by the name of Drake Callahan.
Drake has been the heart of the demon's cause,
and gives even the most ready fighter's a moment of pause.
His accolades are storied, and has countless battles won,
But when Drake becomes obsessed... Poor Drake is undone."

Dr. Zeus smiled a sneer at this, as The Beard listened on.

"His obsession with alcohol sent him to Hell,
where in the fiery pits, the demon did dwell.
Drake was nearly undone by his ravenous greed,
But those that escape hell become great fighters, indeed."

Dr. Zeus showed the pages of the book to The Beard; The Beard saw an image of Drake Callahan, surrounded by fire, tormented by those that dragged him down to Hell. But The Beard noticed the hardened eyes of Drake Callahan; defiant, and yet ready to take the charge.

"His obsession with gold, and his lust and his pride
Would yield him great success... Before being denied.
His lust nearly swallowed Drake Callahan alive,
And that was even before Ty Burna arrived..."

Dr. Zeus laughed to himself, before revealing the next picture:

"Ty Burna ate away at Drake Callahan's mind
And ate away at his body, only leaving the rind.
But perhaps the most important toll,
Was the one paid on Drake Callahan's soul.
As great a fighter as we've ever known,
Drake Callahan's obsessions will scar him, to the bone."


The Beard looked on, though perplexed. A moment paused, before The Beard spoke up.

"Doctor... I don't quite understand. Doctor... What does this have to do with me? And what obsessions?"

Dr. Zeus closed the book, and stood up. He paced around his charge, who looked on in bewilderment. Zeus stood behind Beard, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Once again, he began to speak.

"Your wife, Emily... She's in your every thought.
And if you came for my pity... Your trip was for naught.
Instead, I'll tell you a plan,
To help you avoid becoming a hollow mess, like Drake Callahan.
To break free from your obsessive spell,
you must finally bid Emily farewell.
All you must do is follow and comply....
And soon, the world shall wish Drake Callahan, bye bye..."

The Beard's eyes grow wide at this... He's left with mouth agape, completely speechless. "Doctor," he begins, in a huff, "Doctor, she's gone! I... I can't! They're not here, I-"

Dr. Zeus calmly silenced his charge, and explained.

"Emily is still with you, in your mind;
to become what God calls on you for, you must leave her behind...