Post by Dune on Sept 25, 2021 20:27:20 GMT -5
TEMPLE OF DUNE - MIDNIGHT
The light of the moon shines down on the Mojave, though it’s drowned out by the countless fires that litter the landscape. Soldier Dream tears a hole in that ass as Dune looks on from atop the veranda of his great Temple - a true wonder of the Wasteland. The smell of smoke and death is all around as his deep voice sounds from behind his mask.
Dune: The Wastes are on fire tonight. They’re burning like the soul in me. Am I to feel ashamed at my utter collapse just a few weeks ago? Am I to wonder how I’ve plunged from the highest peak to the lowest valley in a matter of a single match? My failure has torn a hole in the earth, a great chasm - a great rift - across which I’ve been flung. The last time I was in the ring, the World Champion was across from me. So was Odin, Corey Black, and Spencer Adams...
He lets the last name linger, an expression of tempered rage somehow showing through his mask before he continues.
Dune: I was in the ring with capable fighters. Come Monday night, that won’t be the case. I’m starting over from the bottom, being fed an innocent goat tied up by its neck to a post. It’s criminal, truly. The suits running this three-ring circus have surely taken into account all Diego Tesoro has to lose if he gets put in there and finds himself in over his head. The man may well end up like the rest of the dead men whose bones are too numerous to count here in the City of Dune. Whether he lives or dies, Diego’s blood is on their hands this week...but they know that. They know this business all too well - they know the depravity of man all too well.
The AW Faithful are drooling over this. It’s sickening. This Monday night, the interest level of these Heathens will be directly associated with the percentage of the ring that’s covered in the blood of Diego Tesoro. In a perfect world, I’d hit 100% coverage, but I’ve always been merciful to a fault. I’ve issued a public statement allowing Diego a choice in the matter. It’s simple. Come to my home and bow at my feet, give praise and thanks to the GOD KING as he stands before you, then take your leave. Call it a gesture of good will, one so uncalled for it’s almost funny. This isn’t my doing. I didn’t ask for this. And yet, it’s what I’ve been given - a limp noodle of a man who, deep in his heart, would rather be anywhere else in the world than inside a ring with me. I don’t deserve this, and neither does he.
Looks like we’re in this together, Diego.
Soldier Dream continues to play as Dune looks out over the hellish scene before him.
Dune: Don’t be a fool. If you’re not a coward, you’ll do what’s right. You’ll do what’s best for you - you’ll come to my City. The punishment for entrance is death, but you are free to enter. Come bow in reverence, Diego. Come kneel before the altar and thank me for my generosity. It’s the only hope you have of not winding up like a swatted fly on the mat come Monday night. Don’t look to the people as inspiration. To feed their deep-seeded lust for savagery is to enslave yourself to the worst kind of master. Walk the path I’ve laid for you. Take the freedom I’ve allowed. Don’t be a fool, Diego. Do the ring thing, or live to regret it.
This is not a learning experience. This is not a chance to ascend the ranks. This is not a chance to come closer to carving your name into the annals of AW lore. It’s a chance to eat shit and die by the hands of GOD KING DUNE, and it’s the only chance you’re going to have on Monday night. If that’s something you’re interested in, then I’ll see you there.
Either way - whatever path you choose - I’ll be waiting.
See you around.
Dune turns and exits the screen before we CUT.