He took another drag.

After the previous week, after the "challenge" had been laid out, Zero had only briefly mentioned the upcoming match to Erica. Lord forbid her to know that something in wrestling was actually… getting to him. What happened to it being just a job, a place to earn a salary for the promise he had made to her? The slow reheating of who was known as Havoc put an end to it being "just a job." Zero still didn't want to be the fulltime wrestler that he now was, but he also wasn't going to let Havoc continue on with his dreams and quests. That feud, in Zero's head, wasn't even about wrestling. It wasn't about the titles, the fame, or the glory; throw the people out of the building and shut the arena power off. Zero knew that a battle with Mason Xavier -Havoc- would still be something that would transcend past the commercial marketing of wrestling angles.

Zero heard his music cue up. Taking a final drag from his cigarette, he tossed if off onto the empty concrete below. Exhaling the smoke, he stood and tuned towards the entrance. Same game, different arena name. All that mattered was, Zero's heart was back into the contest.

He took the step that led out onto the ramp, onward towards the ring…

The crowd craned their heads back to the ramp way when "Climbing Up the Walls" by Radiohead began to echo through the arena.

Behind the curtain Mason Xavier, the wrestler known as Havoc, leaned over - adjusting the straps on his knee brace, his right foot propped up on the steps ahead of him. This match had been literally years in the making... this would be the second time that Havoc had prepared for a 'final' match with Zero. The last time, Zero had done apparent irreparable harm to Havoc's knee... THIS time... Havoc sought retribution. Retribution and Closure.

As the song's lyrics started up, Havoc raised his head. He looked through the slit of the curtain, straight down the aisle and in the ring... and there he was. Zero. With a deep breath and a thoughtful tap of the hand to his slightly throbbing knee - he stepped through the curtain.

Havoc ignored the taunts and catcalls of the fans... he ignored the cheers he got, too. He didn't see the signs or feel the trash being thrown at him or slaps he got on the back. All he saw was Zero. And as he stepped in the ring, all he wanted to do... was tear him apart.

Havoc lunged first with his attack. He caught Zero from the ring of the bell, slamming his forearm across Zero's chest. The force of it knocked Zero to his back, but Havoc didn't let up. He grabbed hold of Zero's hair and raised him back up to his feet. With a closed right fist, Havoc swung whole-heartedly into Zero's face, glancing a punch off of Zero's jaw and finishing the swing down onto Zero's shoulder. One thing was certain… if there was a man who was intense about the match, it was Havoc over the two.

Zero stumbled across the ring, clutching his jaw from the sudden barrage of offense that Havoc had tore through to him. For Zero, he could instantly tell who contained the most hatred inside of them. But with each punch or slam that Havoc gave him, it only reminded Zero more of what the literal facts were. Turning back to face his nemesis, Zero looked into Havoc's eyes. They stood at a standstill for just a moment, before Zero raised up the left middle finger in spite of Havoc, then plunged straight into him with a shoulder spear.

Havoc was slammed straight to his back, feeling the oxygen rush from him at that split second. But getting back to his feet was his most immediate concern. The oxygen would come back in time. As soon as the two had crashed, Havoc slammed his forearm across Zero's back, then thrust his knee up as far as he could, catching Zero's thigh and throwing from off the top of him. Rolling on top of Zero, Havoc slammed the punches in, pushing Zero across the canvas and closer to the ropes.

Zero held his arms above his head for protection, but threw a punch at any opportune chance that he could. With each blow that landed on him, Zero tried that much harder to land a blow on Havoc. But with each punch he threw, he received a punch that contained twice the power and balance behind it. His only option at that moment was to reach for the bottom ropes, taking in a few more punches as he did, and quickly pull himself to the outside. Out there, it was more of his land… and Havoc would have to come for him.

Havoc slowly felt the oxygen return to his lungs as Zero retreated to the outside. Gagging for air, Havoc quickly shuffled to his feet. He felt his knee flinch as he did, but quickly threw those thoughts from his head in fear that they would overtake him in the match. Seeing Zero outside, Havoc only thought on impulse. Grabbing the tope-rope, he pulled himself over, launching his massive frame into a plancha. But as he went over and into Zero's direction, Havoc felt a solid punch and shove from midair, slamming him waist first on the mats outside. He rolled hard, slamming into the legs of the guardrails.

As Havoc went over the ropes, Zero had to think quick. As he saw Havoc coming over, a hard punch and shove was the first thing that came to mind. As he saw Havoc hit the guardrails, Zero knew that it was already time to break the match out open. Reaching under the ring, he pulled out the nearest table that he could find. Spotting a second one, he pulled the two out. He threw a look back over to Havoc, but Havoc was slowly getting to his feet. As Zero propped the first table onto both legs on the outside, he suddenly felt a piece of metal against his back.

Havoc slowly got back to his feet. He could feel his knee screaming from the awkward landing. But seeing Zero setting up the table, he knew where the match was leading. A nearby chair was the first thing that came to mind. Grabbing it, he suddenly had to lean on it from an awkward step onto his leg. But composing himself, watching Zero set up that first table, Havoc clutched the back of the chair and just hurled it as Zero. He watched, as the back of the chair crashed against Zero's own back. As Zero fell to one knee from the awkward vicinity of the strike, Havoc felt a sense of gratification sweep over him. Taking a giant step forward, he clutched the back of Zero's head and slammed him into the ring apron edge, back first.

As Zero hit the apron, he looked up at Havoc. He saw the rage boiling inside of Havoc's eyes. He could feel the pain of the apron, but Zero was blocking that out with the sheer disgust for what Havoc could not bury. It was the things that would control Havoc -Mason Xavier- for the rest of his life: hate. Zero quickly ducked out of the way as Havoc slammed a repeated chair shot down. Zero kicked the back of Havoc's knee, not realizing that it was Havoc's bad knee, with his shin. Havoc fell to the mat. Zero looked at him, the knee ever present then in his mind. He came to a crossroads. Should he attack the knee? He was the man who had caused it. Or, should he leave the knee be, and just carry on elsewhere in the match? Seeing Havoc forced to show signs of his injured knee, Zero decided on the latter. Instead, he grabbed the second table and propped it against the setup table, forming a T design with the tables, with the extension being a 45-degree slope of a table.

Havoc fought the pain. He looked up at Zero. The man who had caused it wouldn't let it lie. That alone swelled the anger even more so. As he reached his feet, he grabbed the turned Zero with a full nelson. Zero fought the move, but Havoc only tightened the grip. Then, with a show of sheer overpowering, Havoc leapt forward, slamming Zero into the steel corner post of the ring. Zero wasn't able to cover himself or shield the blow, due to Havoc's positioning of his arms. As he toppled to the mat, Havoc kicked Zero with his good leg, then picked him back up again.

Zero could feel some blood begin to swell around his mouth. Taking a quick swipe at it, he saw his hand was coated with more blood than he had anticipated. But as Havoc picked him back up again, Zero fought it. He threw a blood-laced punch into Havoc's ribs, causing Havoc to buckle from the punch. Zero persisted with another punch, before Havoc fired back with a right hand of his own, connecting with Zero's jaw. As Zero hesitated for just that moment, Havoc threw him atop the announcer's table.

Havoc climbed onto the announcer's table, then threw a quick glance back at the T-shaped table setup that rested in the area of the announcer's setup. The announcer's were hollering and screaming at the action that had carried on to their table, but Havoc just scoffed at them. What did they even know? What did anyone in the CWL even know? It was all personal with Havoc, something that he hadn't cared to fully exploit in the CWL, just so he could maintain the personal gratification of what he done to Zero. Standing up on the announcer's table, he clutched Zero's throat. Zero threw another punch into Havoc's gut, but he no-sold it. Instead, with the anger inside of him, Havoc spat right into Zero's face. Then, with a leap, the two flew from the announcer's table. Havoc slammed Zero into the tables with the choke slam, but Havoc fell into the edge of the second table. His knee buckled on impact, and Havoc collapsed upon impact.

As Havoc spat into his face, Zero's eyes grew in size. Rage swelled inside of him. The thoughts of not attacking Mason's knee were over. Zero didn't even feel the leap from the table. It was all just a motion. As he hit the table -his waist landed on the propped table, with his back and head crashing down on the sloped table- the pain was just customary. But Havoc was about to receive the largest blow, as his knee would become permanently damaged after the conclusion of the match. If Zero had anything to do with it, the knee would. And Zero was Havoc's opponent for the match, so he had every chance… and right.

Havoc clutched at his right knee as if he feared it would disappear. The pain was excruciating, rippling up his entire leg. His eyes opened to the sight of the house lights high above him, hazing in and out of focus. Slowly, the screams of the fans and the frantic hollering of the announcers dawned on him, almost forgetting what they sounded like, his mind focused solely on his knee.

Propped up in the rubble by a shard of one of the tables, Zero took a deep breath, exhaling large gobs of blood, which now speckled the ground. His head rang from the impact, but his anger and the adrenaline now pumping through his veins acted as it's own equilibrium as Zero struggled to get to his feet. He felt the crowd surge as he stood, more than he heard their cheers... all he saw before him was the crumpled body of Havoc. And Havoc's hands wrapped around his knee-brace.

Gritting his teeth, Zero reached back down to the shattered tables. Pulling free what appeared to be the bottom portion of the table leg, he kicked aside some of the tables other pieces and slowly walked towards Havoc's stirring body. This was something Havoc had brought upon himself... from day one... it had been Havoc that had been the aggressor. It had been Havoc that had hounded Zero... Havoc that did all he could to hold Zero back... it was Havoc that put himself in front of Zero. And today, it would be Zero that put the final touches on what had been a bloody, arduous, and hate-filled story.

Havoc wiped the fatigue and pain from his face and slowly rolled over, putting his weight on his elbow. Swiping the hair from his eyes, he was shocked to see Zero on his feet, walking towards him, so soon after choke slamming him through a table. But then again, Havoc reminded himself... This was Zero he was dealing with.

As Havoc rolled onto his side, Zero got a firm grip on the table leg he held in his hand. With every step towards Havoc, Zero felt his anger rise. Just as Zero got into range, Havoc shot an arm out, grabbing a hold of one of Zero's boots. Zero didn't even think when he swung the table leg down, cracking Havoc sideways on the bicep. Havoc immediately released his grip with a grunt of pain, pulling his arms in for protection. Zero reared back and kicked Havoc hard in the ribs, which rolled Havoc almost under the ring apron. Zero slid the table leg into the ring without looking, and grabbed a hold of Havoc's right leg. he slowly lifted it off the ground and looked up in time to see Havoc's eyes meet his, wide open and alert. Havoc knew exactly what was coming.

With both hands, Zero wrenched back on Havoc's leg, pulling him free and clear of the ring while at the same time, stretching his badly injured limb to it's limit. The referee in the ring waved his arms manically in order to get Zero's attention, to get the fight back in the squared circle. Zero had seen him out of the corner of his eye, but chose to pull Havoc up by his hair before meeting eyes with him. As Zero pulled up, it was apparent that Havoc was having a hard time obliging.

Havoc felt Zero's hand yanking him upwards by his long hair and immediately knew that the LAST thing he needed was to put weight on that knee. If he had to lose a clump or two of hair to save his career? So be it. But Zero had other plans. He positioned both arms under Havoc and almost lifted him up onto the apron, using his chest to roll him under the rope... realizing what was going on, however slowly, Havoc shoved Zero away from him and clawed further into the ring towards the opposite turnbuckle. He had to get away from Zero... catch his breath... regroup.

Zero cracked a small smile as he pulled himself under the bottom rope, sliding back into the ring. He remained in a crouching position for a moment, watching on as Havoc used the ropes to get to one knee. With a burst of speed, Zero sprang to his feet and charged across the ring. He dove towards Havoc's legs, grabbing a hold of Havoc's right leg, and slid UNDER the opposite ropes, dragging Havoc by the leg almost out of the ring once more with one jolting motion.

The momentum had brought Zero crashing into the guard rails after he had lost his grip on Havoc's slippery knee brace, but he felt no pain. Only satisfaction as he saw the agony etched across Havoc's face.

As Havoc lied, writhing on the mat, using his other foot to push himself as far away as the ring ropes as he could, he could only think that this would be his last chance. His FINAL chance to put Zero 'in his place'... to end things HIS way. He had to focus. Propping himself up on his elbows, gasping for air, he caught sight of Zero getting back to his feet outside the ring, blood still trailing down his face. Havoc would only have a few moments to get back up, regain some semblance of balance, and think up some sort of plan of attack given his current situation. As he pushed himself closer to the corner, he felt his hand grab onto something cold... something metal.

Zero's eyes searched in the ring for the table leg he knew he had tossed inside... not seeing it, he opted for the steel chair lying at his feet. Zero tossed the chair over the top rope to the corner furthest from Havoc and quickly slid back in after it. Springing back to his feet, Zero quickly, yet nonchalantly set the chair up near the center of the ring then turned towards Havoc - who was now readying himself to get back to his feet.

Steadying himself slightly with the table leg behind him, Havoc lifted himself up, using his upper body just as much as his lower. He slowly distributed weight evenly to both legs, ignoring the physical-alarms blaring in his ears and, as he watched Zero approach, adjusted his grip on the hidden table leg.

Zero took one more step before Havoc wildly swung the table leg squarely for Zero's head... luckily for Zero, he had seen it coming a ways away, and had ducked just low enough for it to breeze angrily over his head. Using his low-position, Zero rocketed forward using his shoulder to drive into Havoc's knee. It should have been a crushing blow, that was it's intention, and it probably would have been had it not been for Havoc's knee brace. Instead, Havoc fell forward, rolling off of Zero's back. Trying to regain his wits, Havoc swept the hair from his eyes and with his right arm, pulled himself back upright. He leveled his gaze across the ring.

Trying to regain his wits, Havoc swept the hair from his eyes and with his right arm, pulled himself back upright. He leveled his gaze across the ring.

The object of his glare knelt near the edge of the ring, his arms leaning against the ropes for support. Spitting the taste of copper from his mouth, Zero slowly got to his feet, surveying the crowd almost with indifference. He slowly turned towards his fallen enemy... to see that Havoc was very much on his feet. That, to Zero, could only mean that he still had a job to do... and a score to settle. For a split second, his eyes darted to the steel chair still waiting patiently near the center of the ring, then flit back to Havoc, narrowed. Havoc steadied himself and took a step away from the ropes. He and Zero stared at each other for a long moment until Zero hit the ropes and charged towards the chair. He ran up on it and launched himself high through the air, flipping forwards towards Havoc.

Havoc considered ducking under the ropes when he saw Zero start to charge, but thought better of it and stood his ground. But the moment he saw Zero's foot touch the steel of the folding chair, he knew he had made the wrong decision. There was nowhere to go. Zero came crashing down onto Havoc back first, sending both of them hurtling towards the ring ropes. Havoc hit them hard, snapping the back of his head on the cable while Zero landed mainly on top of Havoc. Sliding free of the carnage, Zero got to his feet with Havoc's right leg in tow... Havoc clawed at the air, swearing under his breath as he was dragged to the center of the ring.

Before Havoc had a moment to move, roll, slide, or just plain take a breath, Zero had already picked up the table leg from earlier. He hit the ropes and come streaking through the air with a running leg drop... in mid-air, he placed the table leg under both of his outstretched legs... when Zero landed, the table leg came crushing down across the top of Havoc's right knee.

Fighting the intense impulse to scream at the top of his lungs, Havoc rolled on the mat in pain. As badly as he wanted to look at Zero, to see where he was, what he was doing, what was coming next… Havoc simply stared straight ahead, doing all he could to put the pain aside and get up one more time. That was about the time that he caught that metallic glint in the corner of his eye.

Zero had not yet gone for a pin on Havoc, even though, judging by the expression on Havoc's face, and the damage dealt to him, Zero probably could have won it right then and there. But that wasn't what this was about. It was with near-regret that Zero got back to his feet, crossed the ring and retrieved the steel chair. It had come down to this. A simple rivalry had become... this. He took two steps and, with all of his remaining strength, brought the steel chair down onto Havoc's knee. The chair clanged loudly on the brace, but a vibration like that couldn't be shielded by such a brace.

Havoc's eyes bolted open. He glared up at Zero, his eyes full of rage and hatred.

Zero reared back once more and again brought the chair down hard onto Havoc's knee. This time, Havoc rolled in agony, his hands clutching for the brace. But as Havoc leaned forward to grip at it, Zero quickly cocked back once more and nailed Havoc in the forehead with the dented steel chair. By this point, the referee was pleading with Zero to put the chair down... Zero stared at him for a moment with a blank look on his face, then dropped the chair in front of the referee. He turned and slid under the bottom rope, hunching over to look under the ring once more.

Havoc sucked air into his lungs, barely conscious in the center of the ring as Zero slid a table in under the rope with a low hiss. He quickly followed it inside and began to set it up, the fans cheering loudly unbeknownst to him. The only sound Zero heard was his own heart pounding in his chest. He set the table up just above Havoc's legs, then charged across the ring leaping to the middle turnbuckle, then turning as he stepped to the top.

Before he could really, truly, measure the distance in his head, Zero launched himself off the top rope with a variation of a frog splash. He hit the table with a crash, feeling it explode underneath him as it came crumbling on top of Havoc's knee.

The referee held onto his earpiece, his eyes looking towards the curtain, away from the mess in the ring. With a confused look on his face, the referee glanced first from Zero and Havoc amidst their rubble, then towards the curtain, to the announcers, then the wrestlers once more. Finally, he leaned over the top rope, gesturing to the timekeeper to call the match.

The timekeeper, confused himself, reluctantly rang the bell. While the referee explained the situation to the timekeeper and ring announcer, the commentators speculated and, in the ring... Zero and Havoc fought for air.