From the Ashes III vs Gordon Fury (IWF Title Match) - RP #2

Here I was. This was it. My time to shine.

The last three days had been spent preparing for this moment. Getting ready. Studying everything I could about everything. I was getting my wife and Anna back. I was going to kill Joaquin Guzman.

I was hiding outside of his hideout, in the middle of the Los Tuxtlas mountains. It was a small fenced in complex with guards standing out front. It wasn’t a big complex, but I knew that there were more tunnels and rooms hidden within the mountains. Plus, there were about 50 guards standing around at all times.

Luckily, I had a plan. I was hiding behind a tree, carrying a big thing of C4. I had watching the area for the last two days and knew when everything was going to happen. Right on cue, I heard a truck approaching. I gave the thumbs up to one of the two ex-marine’s current mercenaries that I had hired to snipe cover me while I broke in. We had gone over this plan for days while hiding out here in Mexico. I knew El Chapo was waiting for me. His guards patrolled 24 hours a day, and never once let up. I’m sure there were more inside too. I knew he hadn’t moved Anna and Karly though. El Chapo was scared, but he was also confident and proud. He wanted me to come to him, so that he could beat me. But I was going to beat him.

I watched as the truck drove closer to where I was hiding. I quickly signalled for one of my men, who shot down a tree branch in front of the truck. It quickly came to a stop as I rolled underneath it and stuck the C4 to the bottom of it. I held my breath as the truck started up again. I spun around, machine gun at the ready in case someone had seen me. But nothing happened. The truck continued to drive on.

I hopped up and ran into the forest beside the road. I ran beside the car, keeping a close distance behind it, but not enough that I could be seen. I hoped that my two men were sticking to the plan. If they weren’t, then this was all for naught.

The truck slowly approached the security booth at the front of the compound. I quickly pulled out the detonator and held it out. I kept a good distance as I watched as security began to check the van. I watched as they looked underneath it. As soon as they saw the explosive, and were about to signal help, I pressed the button.

BOOM

The entire van exploded, sending bodies flying in every direction. The guards on the guard towers began to scan around, but suddenly, both fell from the top of the towers and onto the ground. It seemed as though my snipers had done their job. I immediately loaded up and ran over to the compound entrance, gun blazing. I could see men running down the front lawn area towards me, but I was mowing them down. And everyone that I wasn’t was being taken out by my snipers. I dove behind the now burning truck as more men emerged from the building, one of them carrying a minigun. Fuck.

I couldn’t even hear myself think over the sound of the minigun going at full force. I could see bullets flying over the truck that I was hiding behind. Nothing was getting through it at least, so I was safe for now. I didn’t expect this, and now I had to think on my toes.

I reached down and grabbed a body of one of the dead guards beside me. I picked it up by the legs and threw it out beside the truck and watched as it immediately got destroyed by the minigun. I quickly grabbed another body and held it in front of me as I ran around the other side of the truck and aimed for the man with the minigun. A few shots later, and the minigun fell down to the ground still spinning, it’s carrier dead.

I dropped the body and looked around. Bodies were strewn everywhere. But nobody else was coming. I guess my plan had worked. It really wasn’t much of a plan, and it actually surprised me that there wasn’t more security. Maybe Chapo had more coming, and was waiting until he could see me and try to torture me before he had me killed. But for whatever reason, I was able to get to the door of the compound quite easily. I opened up the door and walked inside, carrying two handguns in anticipation.

However, there was nobody inside. All I could see was a dark room with something across the room from me. I looked around and found a small light hanging from the ceiling. I pulled on the chain as the light turned on and dimly lit the room. Across the way I could see three TV’s, and two doors behind them. I stood in front of the TV’s as they all turned on. In the middle sat El Chapo. On the other two TV’s, I could see both Anna and Karly, trapped in what looked like modern guillotine’s. I could only see their heads, stuck in this big contraptions, with a giant steel blade hanging over their heads. I could see two men beside each guillotine, holding a switch. What the fuck was this.

El Chapo: “I see you can see what I’ve got planned for you”

Brandon: “What the fuck is this”

El Chapo: “You think you would be able to get into my secret hideout so easily? You and only two other men, able to take down 50 of my best security? And then you’d be able to just waltz in here and save both of the women in your life? Forget about it. I said I would make you suffer, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

I watched as the two men on the two side TV’s put large black bags over the heads of Anna and Karly. They smacked them both in the face hard, before moving back to their positions beside the guillotines.

Brandon: “What are you doing to them?”

El Chapo: “I’m giving you a choice Brandon”

Brandon: “What the fuck choice?”

El Chapo: “I’m giving you the chance to save one of the two women in your life. Behind the door on your right is Anna. Behind the door on your left is Karly. You can save one of them from that machine. The other one dies. Then you’re free to leave.”

Brandon: “You’re sick. I’m not going to fucking choose between them”

El Chapo: “Fine. I’ll just kill both of them then”

Brandon: “Wait! Fuck”

El Chapo: “They can hear you now. You can talk to them. Say your final words. Make your choice. You have five minutes”

The middle screen cut off. All that was left were the two screens with Anna and Karly on them. I looked at both of them, not sure of what to say. But I was wasting time. I didn’t want to choose. I couldn’t choose. This was the love of my life, and my best friend, my longest friend, one who I would never stop loving. This wasn’t something that I could do.

Brandon: “Karly?”

Karly: “Brandon! What is happening?! Help me!”

Brandon: “Anna?”

Anna: “Brandon, I’m sorry. They jumped me as soon as I got home. There was nothing I could do”

Karly: “Brandon what is happening?!”

I took a deep breath. I had to explain this to them. I couldn’t make this choice alone.

Brandon: “I have to choose”

Karly: “What?”

Anna: “What?”

Brandon: “Chapo says you two are behind one of each of these doors. I have to pick one door. I can only save one of you. The other one dies.”

Silence. Neither Anna nor Karly said anything for what seemed like an hour. Eventually, Anna was the first to speak.

Anna: “Shit”

Karly: “Brandon, I don’t want to die! There must be a way to save us both!”

Brandon: “There’s not, I can only pick one. What the fuck, I don’t know what to do. I can’t pick. I just can’t choose. Chapo! Kill me for fuck’s sake. Kill me and let the two of them go. I don’t care, just fucking take me instead. Don’t make me choose”

Anna: “Brandon!”

Brandon: “What Anna?!”

Anna: “Look. Brandon. I got myself into this. I joined this cartel and I brought you into this. It’s my fault that you’re here. It’s my fault that Karly is here. I should have just left the two of you alone. I chose that place in LA because it was close to you. I wanted you to find me, I wanted you back in my life Brandon. But I never wanted this. I fucked up. I deserve this.”

Brandon: “No you don’t. Nobody deserves this”

I could tell Anna was crying. I was dreading hearing what I knew I was about to hear. I could feel tears running down my face too. Karly was trying to get my attention, but I was focused on Anna right now.

Anna: “Maybe not. But between me and Karly, I deserve this way more. You have to pick Karly Brandon. You love her. She’s your wife. The two of you have a child. She had nothing to do with this. Let me die. As long as the two of you are living happy, my conscience will be clean, and I’ll die happy. Do this for me Brandon. I lost my husband. I lost my best friend. My life has no meaning anymore.  I have no reason to live. Just let me do this one last good thing for you and Karly. It’s the least I could do for getting you involved in all this.”

Anna was crying now, I was crying now. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Anna, but I had to. She was right. I had to save Karly. I had known Anna all of my life. I loved her so much. But she wasn’t the love of my life like Karly. I needed Karly more than I needed Anna. And it killed me to admit that.

Brandon: “Anna. I love you so much.”

Anna: “I love you too Brandon. More than you’ll ever know”

I walked over to the screen where Anna was and kissed it gently.

Brandon: “Anna if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be alive today. You’re the reason I was still going all these years. And now, thanks to Karly, I finally found something worth living for. I never stopped loving you. And I never will. But thank you for making this choice for me. Because you know I never could”

Anna: “Brandon, just go. Save her. You don’t need to explain this to me. I understand.”

Brandon: “Goodbye Anna. I’ll never forget you”

Anna: “I’ll never forget you either Brandon. And I’ll be there to meet you when it’s your time”

I took a deep breath and took one last look at the screen that Anna was on. I wiped the tears from my face and walked to the door on the left. I kicked it open. Sure enough, I could see Karly across the room where the guillotine was. I started to move towards it, but was stopped as a big man in a mask walked in front of it and cracked his knuckles. I could see a timer begin to count down from a minute behind him. I really didn’t have time for this.

I ran at the man and tackled him to the ground. I began to throw fists and elbows to his head as he tried to roll me over. Eventually he threw me off of him and stood back to his feet. I tried to run for the guillotine, but I was met with a kick to the back of the head by the man. I fell to the ground as he jumped on top of me and began to throw elbows and punches to the back and side of my head. I looked at the clock as the man picked me up. Under thirty seconds.

The man wrapped his arms around my neck, trying to choke me out. I tried to fight it, but I was weak, and he had me good. I could feel myself fading. But I couldn’t. I had to save my wife. I used what was left of my strength to jump and backflip over the man, causing him to fall on his ass and release the hold around my neck. I grabbed the large man’s head with my arms and twisted with all of my strength, snapping the man’s neck and killing him instantly.

I ran over to the guillotine and grabbed the large metal blade. I used all of my strength and ripped it off of its hinges and threw it aside, just as the timer hit zero. I fell to my knees, exhausted. I released Karly from the machine and hugged her tightly.

Brandon: “Thank god I got you”

No response. That was weird. Come to think of it, she hadn’t said anything the entire time. Almost as if she was gagged. I quickly ripped off the mask and immediately fell backwards in shock. As soon as I did it, I heard a voice echo throughout the room.

El Chapo: “You know, I always get my right and left mixed up”

I looked up at the tied, gagged Anna Stone, sitting in front of me, in the place that Karly was supposed to be. I had saved Anna by accident. I wanted to save Karly, but Chapo lied to me. He tricked me. Anna was alive, but Karly was in the next room.

I immediately stood up, without even bothering to untie or ungag Anna. She would understand. I wasn’t even thinking about her. All I could think about was Karly. I ran out of the room I was in, and shoulder blocked my way through the other door. The light was on in the room. As soon as I entered, I looked and saw Karly across from me, no mask, no gag, just trapped in the guillotine. As I looked at her, she looked up at me. We made eye contact for about a second.

Karly: “Brandon”

And then, the blade fell.

I fell to the ground screaming as Karly’s head bounced onto the ground and rolled over to the corner of the room. Blood was everywhere. The world began to spin around me. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear, I couldn’t think. My world was crashing down around me as I lay here, on the floor, while my wife’s dead body lay yards away from me.

All the times I had spent with Karly immediately flashed before my eyes. The time we first met. The time we first hooked up. Our wedding, our honeymoon, our first child. All of that was gone. Everything. My whole life was gone. I felt nothing. Every tiny bit of my soul that was left was gone. I was a shell. Nothing mattered anymore. My wife was dead, my life was worthless. How could I live my life without Karly. Chapo had taken her away from me, even after I had chosen her. He had destroyed me. Everything he had wanted had happened. He was the winner. He had beaten me.

El Chapo: “Get up”

I looked up as El Chapo and a man in a mask walked over to me. The man who had pulled the switch that killed my wife. My mind was filled with a haze of red and rage as it overcame me, and I ran at El Chapo. I wanted to rip his spine out of his throat with my bare hands. As I sprinted towards Chapo, I was tackled to the ground by the man in the mask. As I rolled on the floor in pain, I looked at the man, who pulled his mask off.

Of all the things that had happened to me, my parents dying, Keagan dying, Anna and Karly being kidnapped, Karly dying. All of those things had happened, and none of them were as surprising as the man that I saw was underneath that mask. That face. That shit-eating grin. That fucking red Mohawk.

Nick Ridicule.

Nick: “Did you miss me Brandon?”

I didn’t even have words. I was speechless. I had absolutely no idea what to say. Nick was my old friend turned enemy. A man who I had spent months, almost years trying to forget. I hadn’t heard from him in two years. Nick used to be my best friend, but then he showed his true colours over and over again. The man cared for nobody but himself. It took me a long time to realize that. But when I did, I realized that I didn’t need him in my life. So I just stopped all contact with him. I never knew what had happened to him, and I never cared. Nick Ridicule was essentially dead to me. And now he was the man who had killed my wife.

El Chapo: “I knew this might surprise you Brandon. You see, when I asked around all the scum of the earth, seeing who would want a chance to get revenge on Brandon Macdonald, I didn’t get a lot of support. But there was one man who was eager. One man who hated you as much as I do. Nick Ridicule was that man. So I hired him as my personal bodyguard. We planned this whole thing together. A real life Live or Die choice, wasn’t it? I was a huge fan of the switching rooms idea of Nick’s. He knew you’d pick Karly, and what better than to get your hopes up, and then crush them in just minutes?”

I got to my hands and knees, and was punt kicked in the head by Nick Ridicule, which sent me flying across the room. I slowly got back to my knees, shaking my head. I still had a hard time understanding any of this.

Brandon: “Why Nick? Why?”

Nick: “You stole everything from me Brandon! Everything! You stole my fucking girlfriend, my future wife. You stole my job, my career, my company. Everything I had was lost all thanks to you. I should be where you are right now. I should be the face of the biggest company in the world. IWF is my company. It’s NLWF version two. I made NLWF, without me, there would be no IWF. And you stole it all from me! You said you were my friend, and then you turned your back on me”

Brandon: “Nick, I turned my back on you because you were fucking insane. You were a drug addict, you treated me like shit, and you betrayed me over and over again. I just wanted to get away from you”

Nick: “Well that’s too fucking bad isn’t it?! I’m here now, and I’m going to fucking kill you, just like I killed your parents. Just like I killed Keagan. And just like I killed your wife.”

Nick ran at me and went to kick me in the skull again. I dodged it this time, and slowly got back to my feet. I ran at Nick Ridicule, trying to punch him in the face, but he dodged each and every one. As I got closer, he kneed me hard in the stomach, doubling me over. Another knee was thrown and connected directly with my face. I stumbled backwards as Nick ran and jumped, throwing a spinning back kick to my head. I got my hands up just in time, but the force of the kick still sent me stumbling backwards.

I ran at Nick and tried to spear tackle him to the ground, but he just flipped me over and powerbombed me hard onto the ground. I slowly got to my feet, and he kicked me in the stomach as hard as he could.

Nick: “Just stay down Brandon. It’ll make this so much easier”

I wasn’t going to let him beat me like this. I waited for Nick to go for another kick, and this time I grabbed his leg and stood up, taking him down to the ground with a clothesline. I jumped on him and started to punch away at his face as hard and fast as I could. I wanted to rip Nick’s face off from what he did to my wife.

Nick eventually threw me off of him and stood back up to his feet.

Nick: “You’ve still got some fight left in you. How cute”

Nick ran and dodged all of my weakly thrown punches. He ran and me and connected with a flying knee to the jaw, sending me falling to the ground. I tried to get back up again, but I was kicked in the head once more, knocking me to the ground. Nick continued to stomp on my head over and over again, repeatedly preventing me from getting to my feet.

Nick: “You’re going to die just like your little bitch wife”

Nick reached down and grabbed me by the neck. He hooked his arm underneath my throat and began to squeeze. I tried to run towards a wall like I did before, but Nick jumped up and wrapped his legs around my body, preventing me from doing anything to fight it by pulling me down to the ground.

Nick: “Shhh….don’t fight it Brandon. It’ll all be over soon.”

I could feel myself fading. There was nothing that I could do. Nick’s grip was too strong, and he wasn’t going to release me until I was dead. I closed my eyes and tried to accept it. At least I would be seeing Karly soon. As I thought about her, a little bit of peace fell over me and I waited for the end.

Only the end was interrupted by a gunshot, and then my life rushing back to me.

I looked up at the doorway, and saw Anna standing there, her face stone-cold and expressionless. She held my handgun in front of her with a death grip, and it was aimed right at Nick Ridicule, who was rolling around on the ground, clutching his side.

Anna: “That’s for Karly you piece of shit”

I turned to see El Chapo reach for something, but Anna quickly pulled the trigger, shooting him twice in the knees, causing him to fall to the ground, screaming in pain.

I slowly stood up and stumbled over towards Anna, who was staring at Karly’s head in the corner of the room, her arms locked out in front of her with the gun in her hand. I slowly pried the gun from her hand and took it myself, as I walked towards Nick, who was trying to crawl away slowly. I grabbed him by the mohawk and lifted him up in the air.

I grabbed Nick by the head and lifted him in the air vertically, before dropping him onto my shoulder and slamming him backfirst onto the concrete floor with a Purifier move. Just what a certain someone would have wanted me to do.

I grabbed Nick by the head and held him up in a sitting position. I held my gun up to the side of his head. I looked him in the eyes as he looked back at me. I could see that he was already dead inside. He had no remorse for anything that he had done. He wasn’t going to apologize to me. And killing Nick wasn’t going to bring back Karly, Keagan or my parents. But it was damn sure going to help me deal. I looked Nick right in the eyes.

Brandon: “May the Lord be with you”

I pulled the trigger and watched as Nick Ridicule’s head exploded in front of me. Bits of his face and brain and skull flew all over the room, some of it getting on my face. I was covered in his blood. I looked down at the mess that used to be Nick Ridicule. There was no faking this. There was no coming back from this. Nick Ridicule was dead, and there was nothing that was going to bring him back.

I slowly looked up at El Chapo, who, for the first time, looked scared. He tried to crawl away, but his kneecaps were preventing him from doing anything. I slowly stood up and walked over to him, stepping on his knees as he screamed out in pain. I looked down at him and held his face close to mine.

Brandon: “You tried to destroy everything good in my life. You missed one”

I looked over at Anna, who had walked over to a closet and opened it up, where she was currently looking through it. Without saying a word, Anna pulled out a chainsaw and walked back over to us as I lifted El Chapo into a chair and tied him up to it.

El Chapo: “Please. You can have anything. I have more money than you need. You can have it all. Just have mercy”

Brandon: “Funny how the weak always beg when it’s all over. You know you have no chance Guzman. Quit wasting your breath.”

El Chapo: “Fuck you Brandon. If you just followed orders, none of this would have had to happen. You killed all of them. Not me”

I punched Chapo as hard as I could in the face.

Brandon: “You killed them. And now, we’re going to kill you.”

I looked at Anna, and nodded. I didn’t want to talk anymore. I just held El Chapo’s head in front of me and never broke eye contact as Anna got the chainsaw going, and slowly roughly cut El Chapo’s head off. Blood splattered everywhere, coating both myself and Anna. But I never broke eye contact. I actually watched the moment where the life left his body. Once Anna had cut all the way through his head, and it fell from its body, I finally broke eye contact and looked at Anna, who dropped the chainsaw and hugged me tightly. I stood up and hugged her back. We both looked at each other, covered in blood and brains and guts, made eye contact for a few moments, as time seemed to slow around us.

At that moment, I tried to find any sort of feelings left inside of me, but there was only one. My love for Anna. I felt no sadness, no anger, no peace, no nothing. Just the burning desire to love Anna. I immediately kissed her, and she kissed me back. It was long, it was passionate, it was meaningful. In a sense, I think it was what was always meant to be. Anna and I, together, with absolutely nothing left in our lives but each other. We were all we had, and we were all we were ever going to have now.

Brandon: “Anna, I think I love you”

Anna: “I know I love you”

I looked around the room, and saw a TV in the corner of the room. I walked over to it and turned it on. It was playing a clip from CNN. They were showing a picture of me. I turned on the volume and listened. They were saying that there was a country-wide manhunt for me. There was a warrant out for my arrest. I was wanted for multiple murders in association with the Sinaloa Cartel. They were calling me the second-in-command of the cartel. Boy if only they knew the truth.

Anna: “We can’t go back”

I looked back at Anna. God even when she was covered in other human remains, she looked beautiful. I didn’t know why I was feeling this. I had just lost my wife, who I had loved more than anything in this world, but somehow, for some reason, I felt more attracted to and more love for Anna than I had ever felt in my entire life.

Brandon: “Is there anything to even go back to?”

Anna: “I just never want to leave you again”

We had lost everything in our lives. But we still had each other. And this cartel.

Brandon: “They’re going to need a new leader.”

Anna: “We’ve got nothing left”

Brandon: “This is what we were meant to do”

I walked over to the head of Karly, which was laying there in the corner, separated from her body, totally lifeless. I looked at it. I didn’t feel sad, or upset or anything. Just more emptiness. This is what it felt like to be dead inside. And you truly did have to be dead inside to be in this business. I picked up Karly’s head and closed her eyes. I walked over to her body and set the head with it, and crossed her arms. I left it there for the moment. I would come back later to have a proper funeral for her, but right now I just wanted to make sure the mess was somewhat clean.

I reached down and grabbed the head of El Chapo. I walked hand in hand with Anna towards the main room. We walked outside where hundreds of men stood, as if waiting for something to happen. Perhaps El Chapo had ordered them to do this. But nobody shot me when I walked out. I lifted El Chapo’s head up in the air.

Brandon: “El Chapo está muerto! Tu líder está muerto! Yo soy tu jefe de gobiern!. Ustedes trabajan para mí ahora!”

I looked around and got nothing but nods from the crowd of men. Whether they were scared of me, or maybe just didn’t care as long as they got paid. But nobody seemed to disagree, and in fact, everyone began to go back to their usual posts. I stood there, still holding Anna’s hand and El Chapo’s lifeless head, as someone approached me and spoke to me in heavily accented English.

Hector: “I am Hector Leyva. I was El Chapo’s second in command until recently. If you wish to take over this cartel, there is much that I must teach you.”

Brandon: “Whatever I need to know, you tell me. You work for me now”

I looked over at Anna who smiled weakly at me. I looked around at everything that was happening. This was all mine now. I had lost almost everything, but I had gained so much in the process. I was empty, and I would always be empty. But this was going to be my life now. I was the new leader of the biggest drug cartel in the world. And I still had Anna by my side. I guess there was a little bit of luck on my side. But there was still one thing that I had to do.






I lay perfectly still in the hidden compartment underneath the floor of the truck that Anna was driving into the arena. It was almost time for my match, and the entire arena was crawling with FBI, DEA, and SWAT team officers. Alex Dillinger had managed to stall them with bullshit talks about how my contract prevented me from being arrested before I fulfilled my obligations, as in this final match with Gordon. But I had to get to that ring first before I was safe. If they caught me before my match, it was game over.

So Anna and I had devised yet another plan. Not to mention a plan for how to break out after I was arrested, but that was a whole different story. I was hiding under the truck, as Anna was delivering food to all of the tired wrestlers for after From the Ashes. As the agents searched it, I made sure to hold my breath and not move. We had blocked the compartment with a sealant that prevented any of my smell from getting out, so no dog would find me. I was safe. Nothing was going to stop me now.

After a few minutes, I felt the van start to move again. I waited until it stopped again, and then heard someone walking around the back of the van and opening up my compartment. I looked up and saw Anna grinning back down at me as she helped me out of the van.

Anna: “Piece of cake”

Brandon: “Have I ever let you down before?”

Anna and I wrapped ourselves in a huge embrace and long make out session. Fuck I loved her. How could I have been so blind before. Anna was the only person in this world that I cared about, and I knew that for a fact now.

Anna: “It’s time. Ready to do this?”

Brandon: “Everything has gone perfectly. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be”

Anna kissed me again and hopped back into the driver’s seat of the van. She turned on the car and drove it up a ramp and into the hallway of the arena. She drove through the hallways towards the entrance curtain, as people dove out of the way, yelling at her. As Anna made it to the gorilla position, and spun around, I turned back towards her and smiled.

Brandon: “I’ll see you soon”

Anna: “Good luck babe”

I threw open the back doors of the truck and slammed them shut as Anna drove off back down the hallway. I immediately walked through the curtain as my music played over the loudspeakers, signalling my arrival to the fans. They all knew by now what I was. I expected the boos that I got. But I loved it. I was the most powerful man in the world, and I was with the most powerful woman in the world. And I couldn’t have asked for a happier ending to my story. Anna and I back together again. It just made sense. Everything ended up back to the way it was, the way it always should have been. After this match was over, after I took away Gordon’s IWF title, after I was arrested for my crimes, I would vanish.

And I would never return.