"Don't move, Mr. Ryan. You need to relax right now and heal."

Hunter closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to try and mask the pain on his face. He hadn't even been able to go through with the match on Anarchy because he and Cortez had destroyed each other before the match even got under way. But wait...he remembered someone else involved...

...Gary. The returning Grappling Gary. That sonofabitch...

Hunter shot straight up in bed and this time shook off the nurse trying to push him back down. He swung his feet off and immediately winced as he realized he was hooked up to a few monitors. He pulled out the IV's and attempted to stand on his own. He quickly felt dizzy and sat back down on the bed. The nurse stood in front of him and tried to put his feet back up.

"Mr. Ryan you really need to stay in bed. You're suffering from a severe concussion and you lost a bit of blood. You need to relax for a day or two and let us fix you."

Hunter leaned back against the bed and tried to relax his muscles to attempt another feat to stand on his own. No luck. The nurse was suddenly joined by a doctor who helped her keep Hunter at bay.

"Hunter, you need to stay here with us, at least for tonight. If you want any chance of competing again you'll not moved from this bed until we discharge you."

Hunter realized his throat was very dry. He saw a glass of water by his bed with a bendy straw and reached for it. The nurse helped him and he sipped quickly, wetting his throat to speak.

"You don't understand. I can't be laid up here. I have too much going on and too much -"

"You need to stay here or you'll never function normally, again, Hunter. I don't think you realize the severity of this concussion." The doctor checked over a clipboard and finally flipped it shut. He turns to the nurse and pulls her aside, says something to her Hunter could not hear, and walks back over to him. "I've instructed the nurse to sedate you if you try to get up again. So please, Mr. Ryan, just cooperate and we'll have you out of here in a day or two."

He pats Hunter on the arm and walks out of the room. The nurse slides herself back over to Hunter's bedside on her wheeled stool. She punches a few buttons on one of the monitors and stands up to leave. He grabs her arm, stopping her.

"What's your name?"

The nurse shakes him off and takes a step back out of his reach. "Please don't grab me, Mr. Ryan. That's not going to get you anywhere."

"I just think I should know my nurse's name in case I need to call on her." Hunter sipped his water feeling his throat drying up, again. "Just tell me your name, please."

"Naomi. My name is Naomi. Please only call on me if you absolutely need anything. Don't play games, Mr. Ryan."

He felt offended. "Why would I play games, Naomi?"

She leaned over and stared right into his eyes. "I've heard all about you, Hunter. I know every detail of what you've been through and what you've done. For all I know you're as unstable as they come. Especially considering all the shots to the head you've taken in your career. So I am warning you now, the first stunt you try to pull to trick me into letting you go, I'll sedate you so fast you'll wake up thinking you've gone to Never Never Land and fought pirates with the Lost Boys."

She pats him on the arm and walks out of the room.

Hunter tried to relax. He looked around his room and saw his cell phone on the table next to him. The message light was blinking indicating he had a text message. He reached for his phone and flipped it open to check. It was a text from a number he didn't recognize. But the message was quite strange. It simply said, "Look up."

Hunter did as instructed and looked up towards the door to his room. There, leaning against the door frame, was Jodi. She had a huge smile on her face as she strolled to his bedside and sat down on the stool. He began to feel his heart rate climb, and the monitors confirmed it.

"You really should calm down, Hunt. Those monitors will cause the nurse to come back in here and I really don't want us disturbed right now." She slides over and closes the door, locking it. "I heard you'd gotten admitted here. Cortez told me your room number and I figured I owed it to you to come by and see how you're doing." She examined him closely. "Cortez did a number on you."

"If memory serves, he's in a room right down the hall. So I imagine he's not in any great condition, either." Hunter tries not to make eye contact with his vixen of an ex-wife. Hell, she wasn't even officially his ex, yet.

"Oh he's pretty beat up, for sure. But I figured you wouldn't go easily. It was just a matter of time before the both of you wound up here. I hadn't doubted one second you'd beat the hell out of each other. I hired Cortez to send you a message, he just got a bit more into it than I thought he would. But knowing he'd most likely wind up in this situation, what I paid him should cover most of his medical bills." She took a piece of paper out of her purse and looked it over. "I have a few things to tell you. Figured you'd wanna know seeing as you won't have access to the outside world for a couple of days."

"I just want you to leave."

"That's not going to happen, Hunter. So just sit back, relax, and listen to me."

He closed his eyes as if trying to make her disappear. No luck.

"First off, I'm assuming you haven't heard what's going on in the world of the XWF since you've been knocked out. Raven is back and he's jumping right in with a string of Hell Dome qualifying matches at the 10-10-10 super show."

"Fantastic." Hunter says still not making any eye contact with her.

"Well, just in case you give a damn and actually are cleared to wrestle – you're involved in a qualifying match at the super show. Against Dr. Emo." She stands up and tosses the paper on the side table. "Good luck, champ."

He was confused. "That's it?" He says finally turning to face her. "That's everything you wanted to come here and tell me?"

"Hunter, you don't give a damn about what I have to tell you. I can't say I blame you completely. Then again, I don't owe you anything, either. So yes, that's all I have to say to you right now."

"Please just leave." He says as he feels his will to fight with her any longer fade away. "Don't come back into my life, again, Jodi. Do you understand me?"

She grins a devilish grin he'd never seen until that moment. "My how the mighty Hunter Ryan has fallen. Stay on your knees, little boy. Begging for mercy suits you."

She walks out of the room and closes the door behind her. Hunter chucks his phone across the room, shattering it into pieces. He lays back and fights away tears as his heart monitor peaks. Naomi is at his side in seconds to check on his vitals.

"What the hell is going on, Hunter?"

"Don't let that woman in here, again, okay? I don't care if I'm here another hour or another day or two, she isn't to visit me, again."

"Okay. I'll let the front desk know. Please try to relax, Hunter. The medication we have you on needs to work and it won't if you don't relax."

Naomi turns off his monitor's beeping and dims the lights before heading back out. In minutes, Hunter is asleep.

~~~ 24 Hours Later ~~~

Hunter stood in his room leaning up against the wall. His doctor sat on the stool looking over a few things on the clipboard. Dr. Yung was his name. The South Korean hospital had been a lot more accommodating than Hunter had figured. He watched as the doctor thumbed through the papers and felt himself becoming impatient.

"You don't need papers to tell you if I'm able to walk out of here, Doctor. Just look at me! I'm standing on my own. I'm able to do things on my own. Can I just get out of here?"

Doctor Yung stared over at Hunter and sighed – a bit defeated. "If I keep you hear any longer I have the feeling you're going to make life hard for my nurses. I'd heard you're the stubborn type. From your medical records, you've left the hospital early every time you've been admitted. It's a wonder you're still able to stand function with the knocks you've taken."

"It's the nature of my business, Doc. Trust me when I say, other guys have been through a lot more hell than I have and walked away from it. Now, say the words and I'm out of your hair. I'm sure someone else a lot more in need could use this room."

Doctor Yung stands up and slips the clipboard closed. He hands it to Hunter and opens the door for him to leave.

"I've signed off. You're free to go."

Hunter takes the clipboard and almost seems a bit shocked. "Okay, then. Thank you. Really. I appreciate everything you and your staff have done for me."

Doctor Yung motions for Hunter to leave. "I may change my mind if you don't leave now. You aren't 100% and I'm already upset with myself for signing off on those discharge papers."

Hunter takes that as his que and he's out the door and down the hall quickly. As he turns the corner, he stops just in front of the room where Cortez had been staying. He hears a sobbing from inside. Curiosity peaked, he peered in. Jodi was at Cortez's bedside in tears.

The man who'd been trying to take out Hunter for the last month...

...was dead.

**

Hell Dome. The one event I've yet to be involved with in my four years in this business. It's the most demonic, hellacious match any wrestler can compete in. It makes Hell in a Cell look like child's play and even the War of Independence matches I've been in don't match up. It was something that changed men's lives. All who have been fortunate enough to walk out of that match able to speak, have spoken nothing but horror stories about it. It's a match that just may be the end of me...

...if I make it there. This week, at 10-10-10, the Anarchy Super Show and return of James Raven to the reigns of the XWF marks my first step towards that brutal, gruesome night. To get there, I merely have to go through the master of masochism, himself...Dr. Emo. A man who, last time we faced off, was in an Xtreme Title match featuring the legendary John Gambino, himself. You walked away the victor of that one, Emo. Now we get to tango, one-on-one. Gotta admit I'm pretty stoked for this encounter.

You and I, we're quite similar. Two rising stars. Two guys who haven't quite made it to the top of the business, but have tasted it. We hunger for that sweet taste, again. Only this time, for the ultimate prize in this business. The Universal Title. Something that has evaded us both during our careers. You haven't been around nearly as long as I have, so if either of us know what hunger feels like, it'd be me. While my brother is off in another company winning a title that some say was handed to him, I'm here settling for mediocrity like us Ryans are so known for.

Well guess what? The time for mediocrity is over. The time for a Ryan to finally be taken seriously is upon this company. It starts with you, Emo. It starts at 10-10-10. It starts with me entering the Hell Dome and taking my best to each and every sonofabitch who enters with me. I don't care who it is. Jayzon, SJ, Dante, Kieran King...they'll all see a side of me they never thought possible. They'll all see a side of me they'll learn to respect. The time for Hunter Ryan being nothing but a flake is over.

I'm a former World Champion and a man who's beaten more legends than anyone else on this roster who ISN'T a legend! I'm a three-time United States Champion who's beaten the likes of Centurion and Big Shank in matches for that very belt. I'm a man who's talked about immortality in the Hall of Legends being something he isn't far away from...as long as he gets himself that belt. That ultimate prize. That Universal Title.

Reality says I don't stand a chance. No one usually bets on a Ryan to win much of anything in this business, let alone the Universal Title inside the Hell Dome. That's about the most far-fetched bet anyone could make. The Pirates winning the National League pennant has a better chance of occurring than Hunter Ryan beating this kind of talent in a Hell Dome match for the top title.

But here we are. Down under. Australia. Home to some of the most dangerous living things in this world! And then there's the XWF superstar. At any given moment capable of doing things to his fellow man that would make Hitler blush. Capable of conjuring might and passion unlike anything those in attendance will ever witness. Hell, we've seen Fred L win a Universal Title, haven't we? We've seen Pete Gilmour actually look like a serious competitor in that ring. We've even seen an emo kid win a World Title.

Haven't we, Doc?

Well that's what makes this match of ours so much more intriguing, eh? Two former World Champs going toe-to-toe. Two former World Champs looking to secure a spot in hell, all for the chance to become the man in this business. The top dog. Not just the top dog's sidekick. Are we that crazy, Doc? Do we really want to step foot inside that sadistic environment? Well, it might be just a normal day at the office for you...seeing as you've already got more cuts on you than Michael J Fox trying to cut his own hair. You sick fuck.

I guess I'm just as sick as you, though. It would mean everything to me just to qualify for that match. Just to step foot inside that ring and push every other man in there to their utmost limit. If I don't walk out champion...I can accept that. I'll have already done something no one expected a Ryan to do, and that's beat a man like you, Emo. The bets are already in your favor. You've already won the match as far as anyone outside of myself is concerned. I'm going to use that as ammunition, Emo. I'm going to use the critics as fuel for once...instead of proving them right. At the 10-10-10 Super Show, this Ryan steps out of the shadows of mediocrity and into the bright lights of respect.

I may not ever hold that Universal Title. I may not ever even become World Champion, again. But I know the twilight of my career isn't far away. I've been doing this for over four years now, and when you've been through the matches I have over the years, four feels like ten. So I may never reach the top of this mountain, again, Emo. But you still may. Eventually.

But not on this night. Not on this date.

10-10-10 will go down as one of my finest hours. I'll take you down and then march, proudly into Hell Dome and give that match every last bit of my soul. It's a match that demands that sort of passion, Emo. Do you have it? Prove it to me. Prove it to yourself. From where I'm standing, you're nothing more than an emo kid who's one slice away from realizing that true pain that never heals. You keep cutting at the vein, and eventually you'll bleed out.

See you in the Outback, Doc.