[Beep..]
[…Beep.]
[We find ourselves in a small hospital room where Ajax the Adonis has been kept.]
“What doesn’t kill us, only makes us stronger.”
[The voice of Damien Solus.]
[He stands at the bedside of a sleeping Ajax.]
“When I joined the family, I felt misunderstood even amongst freaks like myself.”
“You were the first person that reached out to me.”
[He slowly takes a seat, leaning his elbows on his knees as he speaks.]
“It was my first day at the circus. I had just completed my first act, and it was quite painful.”
“I could barely pull myself back together.”
“But you looked at me with a big smile and said those words to me.”
“Those words have never left the back of my mind.”
[Damien eyes all of the medical equipment, looking at Ajax’s vitals.]
“A few weeks ago, Gravedigger lost sight of his head and took it out on you.”
“He tried to weaken the family by taking you out when you wouldn’t join them.”
“But from where I’m sitting.. you’re still breathing.”
“And I’m feeling stronger than ever.”
[Solus looks deadpan into the camera.]
“It seems like you’ve been having a bit of a temper tantrum lately, Gravedigger.”
“Some may even say that you’ve been looking for a fight.”
[He chuckles.]
“At Ring King, I’ll bring that fight to you.”
“You may be able to blindside someone and get the best of a bigger man. You may be able to inflict enough pain on a normal man that ends with him laid up in a hospital bed.”
“But I’m no normal man.”
“I can’t be broken like a normal man. I thrive off of pain.”
“And by your actions a few weeks ago, you’ve already hurt me.”
“But more importantly, you’ve hurt my family.”
[Damien looks around the room at the rest of The Circus members.]
[Each of them seemingly in a state of mourning.]
“I will use all of the agony that you’ve caused my family against you.”
“I want you to bring that same energy to Ring King. I want the same reckless man that sent my best friend to the hospital to stand across from me in that ring.”
[Solus stands up and looks over Ajax’s sleeping body. He puts a hand gently on his shoulder.]
“You may have attacked my family. You may have tried to weaken the foundation of The Circus by taking out one of our own.”
“But the only thing you’ve truly accomplished is garnering my attention.”
“At Ring King, I will give you everything that you’ve been searching for.”
“I will use the pain that you’ve caused me and my family as my strength and I will push you past your limits.”
“And I will not stop until it’s you who’s lying in this hospital bed.”
[Solus takes another look over his best friend’s vitals With a very faint smile, he speaks, his voice barely over a whisper.]
“Because what doesn’t kill us..”
[Damien pats Ajax’s shoulder lightly and turns towards the door to take his leave.]
[Fade.]