Damien vs. Kyle - Part 1 tonywrestles2

"The first contest tonight will be one fall, to a pin or submission. Introducing first, from California, standing 6 feet even and weighing in at 210 pounds, the president of Gamma House, I give you......DAMIEN!!!!"

Gamma went nuts as Damien, clad in dark purple trunks, strode purposefully to the ring, slapping hands along the way. He climbed into the ring, tested the ropes for give, and then settled into a corner to await his adversary.

"And his opponent, standing 6'2 and tipping the scales at 210 pounds, the lion of Lambda and Texas' own, I give you......KYLE!!!!!"

The ovation for Kyle was even louder and longer than that for Damien. Kyle was local after all, and guys as pretty as Damien always have one strike against them anyway.

The announcer scurried for safety as Kyle climbed into the ring and glared at Damien.

And the bell rang!!!!!

The two men circled, and Damien, to Kyle's evident surprise, offered a handshake. The crowd roared at the gold-clad Texan, half warning him not to trust Damien, half urging to take the handshake.....and the sucker shot that would almost certainly go with it. Kyle opted for the better part of valor and slapped Damien's hand away. Damien shrugged, and went back to looking for an opening.

The wrestlers locked up in a collar and elbow, yanking and shoving at each other to try to gain some kind of advantage. Quick as a flash, Damien shoved Kyle's head down and applied a front facelock, then whirled over and executed a lightning-fast neckbreaker, then sprang up and backed away, allowing Kyle to recover. This early in the match, the normally devastating move didn't have much effect, but Kyle was decidedly warier as he climbed to his feet.

The two men circled again, feinting blows but not closing. Finally, they locked up again, and this time Kyle bulled Damien into the ropes. He released the tie-up, lifting his hands wide to show everyone that the break was clean. He backed into the center of the ring, and motioned for Damien to follow. Once more the two men locked up, and this time Kyle backed Damien into a corner, with a shove just hard enough to bounce him off the buckle.

Damien wasted no time in locking up with Kyle again, but it was clear to everyone in the room that the Lambdan was the stronger; once again, Damien found himself in a corner with turnbuckle impressions in his back. Furious, he charged Kyle, but the Texan was ready for him and easily hiptossed Damien down to the mat.

Damien climbed to his feet, angry more at himself for being suckered so easily. He and Kyle locked up once more, they grappled back and forth--and this time Damien sent Kyle over HIS hip to land, tailbone first, on the mat. Damien stepped back, smirked, as Kyle fought down the urge to rub his injured part.

Kyle rushed forward, trapped Damien in a corner, and planted a knee squarely in the California boy's stomach, doubling him over. A solid elbow to the back of the neck dropped Damien facedown to the mat, and Kyle drove his heel into Damien's lower back to help him along the way.

Kyle brought Damien up, underhooked both his arms, and brought Damien over in a suplex. Rolling on top of him, Kyle snarled, "You earned this, buddy!" and slammed his fist into Damien's jaw. "Let's see how pretty yo are tomorrow!" he added as he punched Damien again. Leaping to his feet, Kyle drove both feet into Damien's chest. Damien rolled onto his stomach in pain, and Kyle dropped a knee into Damien's back. He got to his feet and practically spat, "Get up! Get up and fight!"

Damien managed to get to all fours, but Kyle kicked him hard in the stomach and Damien went rolling across the mat. Damien hauled himself to his feet, and Kyle moved in. But Damien still had plenty in the tank, and nailed Kyle with a forearm right in the chops!Damien grabbed Kyle's left wrist, and twisted it into a hammerlock. Using his leverage, he drove Kyle to the mat, and hammerlocked Kyle's other arm! With both Kyle's wrist secured in his left hand, Damien drove his right elbow between Kyle's shoulder blades. "How's that feel?" he snapped as he did it again, and then again!

Releasing one wrist but holding the other in both his hands, Damien planted one foot in Kyle's armpit and another on his neck, and leaned back as far as he could. Kyle hollered in pain as Damien did his level best to pull Kyle's arm out of the socket. Kyle twisted to get his feet under him, and tried to stand.

He almost got there, but Damien yanked him back down to the mat. Kyle landed squarely on his shoulders, and Damien counted "One!" Kyle immediately brought his free shoulder up to avoid the pinfall. He gathered himself again, and slowly, slowly worked his way to his feet.

This time, Damien wasn't able to bring Kyle down quickly enough! Kyle dropped a knee into Damien's hamstring, and Damien released his grip on Kyle's arm, writhing in pain. Kyle dropped the knee again, landing on Damien's side, and then got to his feet to consider his next move.

It didn't take him long to decide. Kyle brought Damien up by the hair, scooped him up, and dropped him backfirst across his knee. Damien's back arched as the pain stabbed like white-hot needles up and down his back. Kyle stood and stomped on Damien's back again, then bent over, grabbed each of Damien's wrists in one hand, and growled, "Let's see how YOU like it....."

Kyle planted his foot in the small of Damien's back and leaned. The arena filled with Damien's cries as Kyle worked the surfboard for all it was worth. "You've had it, pretty boy!" Kyle told him. "Submit!!!"

"Nooooooooooo!!!" Damien yelled.

Some guys just don't know when they're beat, Kyle thought disgustedly. He released the surfboard, brought Damien up by the hair, and chopped him across the chest. Damien arched back from the force of the blow, leaving his midsection exposed. In a flash, Kyle had Damien in the air and over his shoulder. Kyle adjusted Damien in his arms, backed up, and took a running start.

The powerslam shook the mat to its foundations; even after Kyle, sitting on his haunches, had been enjoying his handiwork for a good fifteen seconds, the ropes were still quivering. "You ready to give it up now?" he asked Damien.

Weakly, Damien shook his head.

Kyle shrugged. He really didn't want to pin Damien; that crack about Brian demanded a submission. He bought Damien up again, kicked him in the stomach to double him over, and forced Damien's head between his own legs.

The crowd knew what was coming and roared their approval. Kyle took a moment to wave in acknowledgement, and with his attention distracted, he didn't notice the slight pressure on his hamstrings.....

Yanking desperately, Damien pulled Kyle's legs out from under him, and Kyle went ass over teakettle to the mat. Damien called on every reserve of energy he had to spring on the Texas. He lifted Kyle's legs in the air and kicked his hamstrings hard enough and long enough to feel the muscles weaken under his assault. That should keep Kyle off his feet for a while, he thought.

Sinking to his knees, Damien turned Kyle over, crossed his legs, trapped them beneat his own body, and leaned forward. Kyle howled as his shins and knees exploded in pain. Reaching forward, Damien grabbed a handful of Kyle's hair and slammed his face into the mat, then jumped to his feet and dropped and elbow between Kyle's shoulder blades.

Damien knew he had to end it quickly; Kyle wouldn't stay down long. He brought Kyle up, scooped him up, and dropped him backfirst over his knee. Damien brought him up again, lifted him, and then brought him down hard to the mat with a big bodyslam. Damien leaped onto his fallen foe, secured Kyle's limp arms over his own legs, and wrapped his hands under Kyle's chin. Dazed, Kyle was unable to stop him.

Damien leaned back, and Kyle, now fully awake with the pain, realized how much trouble he was in, and he fought wildly to escape. Damien poured on the pressure, risking it all on this camel clutch, knowing that if Kyle withstood this, the match was his. The audience watched, transfixed, as the match between these two sweat-soaked athletes came down to this final test of wills.

And it was Kyle who blinked first. Unable to withstand the punishment, he whispered, "You win, Damien. I submit."

Damien released the clutch and collapsed, exhausted, onto Kyle's prone body. He rolled off the Lambdan and onto his back, barely able to hear the announcer scream, "The winner......DAMIEN!!!!!!" Then hands were on him, lifting him to his feet and draping his arms over muscular shoulders, helping him from the ring.

Back in the showers, Damien stood under the spray and let the hot water ease his tormented muscles and joints. At this point, he didn't even care about how the other matches turned out. All he wanted was a month in the whirlpool.

He turned off the shower and padded slowly to the waiting pool, then sank into the hot water up to the neck. The warmth was sooo wonderful, but it made him drowsy and he began to doze. When a voice said, "Mind if I join you?" he nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise.

Damien blinked the sweat out of his eyes. Kyle was standing by the pool. Damien weakly lifted one hand out of the water and motioned for Kyle to come in. Kyle lowered his muscular body into the water with a low, "Ahhhhhhhhhh," and within moments, all that a passerby would have been able to see was two heads floating in the bubbling water.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither sure how to begin the conversation. Finally, Kyle said, "Good fight."

"Yeah," Damien agreed. "Could've gone either way."

"Didn't, though," Kyle pointed out.

"Almost did," Damien persisted. "If you'd gotten out of that last clutch, they'd have been cleaning me off the walls. I had nothing left."

"Don't matter," Kyle told him. "You had enough. And we gave the guys a good show."

"How come you're not out cheering for your brothers?" Damien asked.

"Buzz ordered me to come here instead," Kyle replied. "His exact words were, 'We got enough big mouths out here. Go get taken care of.'"

"Didn't argue with him very hard, did you?" Damien grinned.

"Well, no," Kyle said, "But I also wanted to talk to you alone. This seemed like a good time to do it."

"Look," Damien said, "I'm really sorry. You know, about the Brian thing. I know that Jake's really messed up because of what happened. I just want to get a title shot with Buzz, and I thought the best way to do that would be to get some wins against some high-profile guys like you."

Kyle leaned his head back to allow the bubbles to bounce and play across the back of his neck. "Trouble is, Damien," he said finally, "you DID say that you were following in Brian's footsteps. Just saying you're sorry doesn't change that. If I'd said something like that about Shane or Kaya, you'd go after my balls. Right?"

"Right," Damien sighed.

Mike looked him directly in the eye. "So here's a statement of fact. Not a warning, not shooting off. Just a fact: sometime this year, you and I are going to get in that ring again."

Mike stretched, then planted his hands on the floor and, with a grunt at the effort, hoisted himself out of the pool. "I think that's enough hot water for tonight. And I've said what I need to say. Goodnight, Damien."

Damien was alone in the shower room. And, despite the hot water, he was shivering.