(OOC: I'm sorry this is late but I had a bad snow storm and it knocked out my internet. I got it back and was able to do a joint RP with Deas so have no fear, the Human Horror Reel is back in full swing. Happy reading!)

His entire body ached; every muscle, ligament, and bone hurt terribly all the way to their respective cores. It felt like the entire fiber of being was literally going to collapse in upon itself. On top of this, Maniac found he had an uncontrollable case of the shakes. So, there he lay, on the hotel bed that he so frequently used. Shaking uncontrollably and with unbelievable pain literally coursing through his body. He hadn't risked trying to move himself, unsure of how his body might react. The only thing that seemed like a good idea was to merely lay there and let his body work its problems out. That and the fact that he really had no clue what was going on with himself. Mainly due to the fact that he wasn't even sure how he'd gotten to the hotel. The last thing that he remembered was doing his usual routine after Havoc. He'd made his way through the back of the arena, a little bit lighter than he had entered it. Taken a shower. For once managed to not be disturbed by the interviewers. And from there it was nothing but a huge blank. Maniac wasn't sure if he'd had the blackouts that were becoming more routine than he liked. Whether he had slipped outside of the shower and been transported back to L.A. All he knew was that he was in the hotel at the current time, his entire body shaking, and completely filled with an incredible amount of pain.

"T-t-t-th-hi-s s-s-s-s-u-u-uc-ks."

With his body still shaking, his teeth were cracking together. Thus, his speech wasn't too great at the time.

I sound like my eyes are going to shake out of my head. What the #### happened to me?

After his try into speaking, Maniac merely let himself think through the ordeal he found himself in.

I've been pretty wasted before. Could be alcohol poisoning I guess...I mean drugs could make sense to being I had a coke problem in the past. Yeah, I've got to have a small case of alcohol poisoning.

He tried to nod his head just the slightest to reassure himself, but couldn't control it enough through the current goings on of his body. Of course, he still had doubt nagging in the back of his mind. Almost like the voice of his "other" part were being the balance to his thoughts.

But that doesn't explain how I don't remember anything after Havoc. I mean I wasn't exactly drinking in the shower. So why can't I remember anything after it?!

The last thought passed through his mind, as the shaking of his body finally subsided a small bit. Enough so that he found he could move his body at pretty much a snails pace. Slowly and painfully, he rolled himself over and off of the bed, slamming down onto the not so soft floor. The shock of hitting the carpet wasn't too bad, considering he had taken harder bumps in the ring. Maniac then slowly but surely drug himself across the carpet and to the bathroom. Once there, he was greeted by the cold tiled floor. Maniac very gently raised his right arm up to grasp the door knob, and slowly pulled himself to a vertical position. He then stood wavering as though he would quickly collapse back down to the floor any instant. But, he managed to slightly steady his body before taking his first uneasy step towards the shower tub combination. Very gently he made the journey, before plugging the drain and turning the water on. After which he made a half turn to face the mirror he'd found himself visiting quite a bit recently.

And there in the mirror, he found himself staring at his reflection, balancing himself very carefully with both arms. He looked like shit. There were bags underneath his eyes so large that Maniacs face literally drooped like a basset hounds. His eyes were bloodshot all to hell. Maniac very slowly withdrew one arm from the counter, bringing a hand up to his face. Maniac slowly ran a shaking finger diagonally up his left cheek. The mark that he had sported for many years still remained as strong as ever, even with his face in such disarray. He turned away disgusted with himself for letting whatever happen to him occur. As he did so, Maniac caught a glimpse of a new addition to his right arm that he hadn't noticed before. On his arm was a new tattoo, one that wrapped itself around the flag that already resided on his arm. A rather large green snake had been tattooed coiled around the length of the flag, with its fangs exposed as though protecting it. Maniac actually found himself rather happy with the way it looked, and continued the turn towards the tub. Maniac then shut the pouring water off, and slowly sank down into the warm water that had filled up the tub. Maniac laid his head back against the wall, relaxing as he did so, the shakes having finally subsided.

"Back to normal finally."

Maniac let out a deep sigh in relief, as he soaked in the water around him. Without realizing it, Maniacs eyes slowly closed themselves, and he found himself fast asleep in the tub. When he opened his eyelids once again, he found that the water that had started out being pretty warm had become relatively cool. Maniac quickly sat up in the bath, and pulled himself out of the tub dripping water everywhere. He then swiftly removed the plug from the drain, letting the complete bathtub full of water begin to drain away. Maniac then made his way back towards the main part of the hotel room. As he rounded out of the doorway from the bathroom, Maniac was met by the sight of HWA reporter Eddie Jelks and one single camera guy.

"Oh hey M-."

Maniac could see literally both Jelks and the camera operators jaw drop at the sight of him. He quickly sidestepped back into the bathroom, shaking his head a bit.

"Aw what the ####."

Maniac then casually raised a hand to up cover his face, leaving his fingers splayed apart so that he could see where he was going before stepping back out of the bathroom. The other two occupants of the room had turned their heads to face a wall, so the unmasked wrestler then quickly found the shirt and pants that he had apparently been wearing before. Maniac then hastily tossed the articles on, along with his mask before clearing his throat rather loudly. This caused the two to turn back and face where he was.

"Can I help you Eddie?"

"Oh um. Yeah. Yeah, as a matter of fact we came here hoping to get a couple words from you."

Maniac turned his head slightly and let out a deep breath, before turning it back again to face the other others.

"Wow. I can't believe they told you were I was staying first off. Secondly, what the hell would I have words about? How Eddie K & AC James walk around here like they are gods’ gift to wrestling? Or how they have been running their mouths about Deas and I about how bad they are going to beat us? Well let me fill you in on something, Eddie K & AC James may be the HWA Tag Team Champions but The Hardcore Icons have one thing they don’t, and that’s experience as a team."

As Maniac talks, Eddie merely nodded and smiled, seemingly always in a good mood. Up until the point where Maniac mentioned talked about tag team experience. Or what followed, but Eddie let him finish and then began to speak.

"No one ever told me you had such a deadpan sense of humor. But I gotta give it to ya Maniac; you can pull off a straight face pretty well."

Jelks grinned from ear to ear, thinking that he had gotten the joke that was supposedly just told. Maniac however stood up a little straighter at the comment, still not grinning.

"What are you talking about man? Deas and I have WAY more experience as a tag then Eddie K & AC James. When it comes time for Road to Ruin in a few days Deas and I will show them just how good we are and become the NEW HWA Tag Team Champions"

"What do you mean few days? Look, it was funny saying that you and Deas have more experience. But, that is only going to carry so far. Nate said he got ahold of you."

At this, Maniacs entire body felt like it literally froze in place.

"Eddie, I don't know what joke you're talking about. Or what you mean by didn't Nate get ahold of me, but just tell me something. What day is it?"

At the question, a very distinctive sheen of sweat quickly formed on the brow of Eddie Jelks. Obviously he didn't want to upset the much stronger man in front of him, but he also felt that the miscommunication they were having needed to be ended.

"Well, it's Tuesday. But you knew that."

"Tuesday morning? As in the day before Road to Ruin right? I'm back in L.A., and Deas and I just beat DNA earlier yes?"

The interviewer slowly shook his head back and forth. And, spoke just loud enough for Maniac to hear from where he was standing.

"No...as in Tuesday morning before Road to Ruin. You and Deas did beat DNA at Havoc but that has been awhile ago. No on had heard much from you since Havoc. So, Nate managed to pull some tickets together for you today. And, sent us to come check on you, and get a quick interview before the match."

Maniac nearly collapsed right on the spot, but quickly reached out and grasped the desk that seemed to reside in every hotel room ever. He hadn't known that. But, seeing as how he apparently had a match tomorrow, he didn't have much choice but to suck it up and roll with what he had been dealt.

"Yeah...yeah sure. Look, I forgot what I'm even doing tonight. So, what's the match again?"

"You and Deas taking on Eddie K & AC James for the Titles."

"The HWA Tag Team Titles?"

"Yeah..."

"####! How the ####?! I'm going to get my ass handed to me!"

Jelks merely stood where he was, letting Maniac vent for a bit.

"I don't think you will."

"What? Why?"

"When you talked to Nate, you assured him you were going to be training all week in preparation...."

At this, Maniac let out a nervous laugh, trying to had how freaked out he was.

"Oh yeah! Now I remember. I've been training all week, that's it."

Maniac then made his way over to the rather large bed, and flopped down on the end of it.

"Well then, before we get this underway. Any chance you've got a tape of what the other two have been up to while I've been training?"

This caused Eddie to perk up a bit before nodding emphatically and motioning for the camera guy to hook the device up to the television. As he did so, the interviewer spoke a bit.

"Of course, of course! Wouldn't want you to go into this thing blindly. It's not too bad of stuff either."

As Eddie finished his sentence, the television flickered on as if cued. Maniac stared blankly at the glass, taking in everything that he saw. The very first thing that flashed onto the screen was that of AC James.

"What the #### does that loudmouth have to s-?"

Before he can even finish the sentence AC James goes on his little rant about how he and Eddie K are going to beat Deas and Maniac.

"Seriously? I wonder if this guy believes his own hype."

Maniac’s demeanor is quickly darkened however; as AC James says a line that Maniac expected to hear from the ego-maniac.

“You two can say, do and dream all you want, but fact is.......you're not walking out of Road to Ruin with OUR belts. We will retain them, no-matter the means or method. Whether we have to lie, cheat or steal the victory, both Eddie and I will be walking out of Road to Ruin and onto my home-turf over in Australia as the Tag-Team Champions.”

Maniac merely sat on the bed, his face projecting more than a look of anger. It has the look of someone out for blood. A person who would stop at nothing to right the wrong that had just taken place. The entire rest of the tape of AC James passes, without Maniac looking away from the television. But as it did, his entire sense felt numb, he didn't hear anything that was said. Nor did he care to. Of course, Jelks was oblivious to the look that Maniac had etched into his face, and was merely his upbeat self.

"And that's only what AC James had to say!"

After the sentence, the sound of the tape clicking around could be heard before the screen shows the current events of Eddie K. This causes Maniacs mood to lighten a bit once again, as he cracks a big grin.

"Some ####in' stud he looks like there."

As Eddie K speaks, Maniac finds himself nodding a bit. Other than that, all that was done was a lot of b###hing and moaning, the one thing Eddie K was good at. Until the final sentence of his first rant, Maniac remained silent.

"I know, but guys have to be put in their place, For to long I have watched as guys have taken freedom with anything and everything. they just run a muck, no respect for anything or anyone."

" Jesus, go cry on your own time."

"Besides the the countless titles,charisma,swagger,fan base,and size of penis...i also got something you ain't got..(TAKES A DEEP WIFF OF THE PANTIES)....i got a wiff, have you gotten one....LOGAN until we meet again, sometime in the far but forceable future when we meet again, I will gladly hand you these if you still haven't ..how do you say...entered the garden ...*laughs as he takes a drink of tequila*"

"HAHA! Shit! Was he more drugged than me during his matches? Why don’t you worry about your upcoming match at Road to Ruin, stupid."

Maniac gets another laugh, as the terrible looking Eddie K is made fun of by Dexter. But, like the trend seemed to be going, his good mood is quickly shattered once again.

"See, but as we all know, Talon doesn't want a fight, he wants a wrestling match, what he doesn’t realize is that in the Ring Master tournament."

"You ####ing wish."

The rest of the Eddie K part turns out to be more of the same, promises that would have no results whatsoever. Once again, the machine is heard making clicking noises.

"That it?"

"Hmm...no one more Eddie K piece. Then, we can get your rebuttals done with."

"Damn, he may love the way his voice sounds, but I don't."

The screen is lit up once again with the face of Eddie K. Apparently; he is pretty much doing the same thing he was before. The entire tape is nothing more than the same bullshit Eddie K is known for lately. The only interesting part being that Eddie K has been watching his former lover on David Letterman. The entire screen goes black once again, the camera guy detaching everything and holding the device, ready to record.

"Wow. He really is an idiot. Let me get a beer real fast."

Maniac walks over to the fridge and grabs a cold beer, turning back towards the camera. He then opens it and takes a drink.

"No reason to do this sitting down."

"Oh! Yeah, on my way!"

Jelks quickly makes his way over to Maniac, and nods at the camera man before lifting a mic up to his face.

"Hey there everybody! It's me EJ, here with one half of The Hardcore Icons the Human Horror Reel....Maniac! It's great to get this interview with you just a day before your match."

Maniac nodded a bit, his face completely stoic.

"It's nice to get to do this as well Eddie. I've been itching to reply to what's been said about me this past week."

"And that's why I'm here! To let those words be heard! But first, any words about the match last week where Eddie K & AC James won the HWA Tag Titles?"

Maniac stretches his neck out a bit, popping it.

"I've only got a few. And those are; congratulations to the new champions. You two beat a nobody team for those belts and you run around here like you are the best tag team there ever was. Don’t get to comfortable with those belts though fellas because come Road to Ruin the Hardcore Icons will be taking those HWA Tag Titles and bringing some prestige back to them."

Maniac stops himself after the last sentence, obviously waiting.

"Oh yes! Well, I highly doubt they will take that as an insult, as it is very clear that it will happen that way. I’m sure Eddie K & AC James will have a different opinion but nobody ever listens to those two windbags."

Maniac chuckles a bit at the last sentence.

"Nice one with that Jelks."

The seemingly always happy Eddie nods and waits for the response.

"But, like you said onto the match. The Hardcore Icons versus AC James, and that other guy for the HWA Tag Team Championship."

"Eddie K?"

Maniac straightens up a bit at the correction, his face already getting a dark look over it.

"Yes Eddie K. First off, before we get to him let's talk about AC James. You say that you and your life partner are going to walk away with the belts?! Well, YOU have got another thing damn well coming! I see the fear in your eyes, I see the doubt that you and your boy toy have what it takes to beat Deas and I and you know that you aren’t going to win at Road to Ruin. So, you keep taking those hallucinogens, and dreaming that you're going to be hanging onto those Tag Titles”
He then points a finger at his well tanned and muscular chest before letting his arm fall back down and continuing.

"Now onto my favorite person in the entire world, Eddie K. I've been watching you and your little mis-adventures and I have to say that I’m disappointed. You are so focused on Ally and Talon and everything and everyone else that you don’t realize that you are going into this HWA Tag Titles match completely unprepared. Don't make me and everybody else have to laugh at you. Because Eddie, that's what's happening. Everyone is laughing at your failure. Your failure to admit you can’t handle the pressure, and the fact that you will fail to accomplish your goal. You slipped?

Maniac pauses a bit, letting his words sink in.

"I’m telling you right now Eddie, you better get your head in the game because if you don’t the Hardcore Icons are going to walk in and rip the carpet from right under your feet! I don’t know or care what you have going on in your life but do you realize that you are letting down your tag team partner? Do you even care? Apparently not Eddie but your loss is the Hardcore Icons gain."

Maniac stops himself a bit, breathing rather heavily, his anger and pride becoming very apparent.

"So go ahead, focus on Talon, and continue on your little perverted mission with Ally because all you are doing is ensuring that Deas and I walk away as the NEW HWA Tag Team Champions! Or maybe it’s pressure, pressure of being a Tag Team Champion. The pressure to be successful is getting to you and you know that at Road to Ruin you are going to fall on your face."

Once again, Maniac stops his rant taking in deep breaths. Poor interviewer Eddie, of course is terrified of Maniac at this point. He gives Eddie a quick wink with one of his eyes, to show that he is still just very much in character.
"You and AC James are going to step in the ring with two hungry competitors that will give it their all to win those belts. We are going to take you to your limits and beyond to make sure the Hardcore Icons win the HWA Tag Team Titles, even if it means sacrificing our own bodies in the process. Do I think you're sitting there talking shit you can't back up?.....####ING RIGHT I DO! You haven't been able to back it up against anyone yet and you sure as hell won't start now! You two ####s couldn’t even beat Logan Neilson and Talon Wilkinson at Havoc so what do you think your chances are of beating Deas and I at Road to Ruin? Eddie K & AC James we are putting you on final notice, your time as HWA Tag Team Champions is coming to and end and there isn’t a DAMN thing you two can do about it."

After finishing his sentence, Maniac very visibly spits down onto the carpet, the camera clicking off. Once it does, Maniac lets out a seemingly endless breath, his pulse almost returning to normal before looking back up.

"Think that was good?"

Eddie Jelks merely nods a bit, quite literally dumbfounded out how easily Maniac can go in and out of character.