(EAW intro plays.)
(As always, a video package begins to play featuring a recap of last week’s Voltage. The highlights are shown of the night, before the recap fades to black. The Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana is where the camera opens up following this, and pyro shoots from the stage before the camera cuts to the fans, who are all cheering and excited for the upcoming show. After this the camera fades to the commentary table, and as always Rich Russillo, Thadd Blazevich and Persephone are shown, ready for the coming show.)
Rich Russillo: Ladies and gentlemen… Welcome BACK to Sunday Night Voltage! This is the last time you all will be hearing this for the time being, as next week… It’s time! Territorial Invasion is nearly here!
Thadd Blazevich: I can’t wait, dude! The anticipation has been killing me, and I just know all the matches are gonna be totally awesome! TI is one of the most fun events of the year, and it’s not hard to guess why! All the brand versus brand chaos is nuts, not to mention everything going on here on Voltage!
Persephone: I’m just glad we have stipulations to look forward to. Not really feeling the whole “people from other brands appear on Voltage” thing. Voltage is bad enough as is.
(“Blood, Milk & Sky” by White Zombie kicks off the night with a loud, albeit negative, reception from the audience. The dark presence of Minerva emerges, juxtaposed by the bright Universal Women’s Championship sat over her shoulder, and the crowd’s noise dwindles. Minerva was undeniable. Dressed not to fight, but still prepared for anything, she takes moments to receive her rightful recognition, before making her way down the ramp.)
Bella Braxton: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Universal Women’s Champion, MINEEERVVVAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Thadd Blazevich: Aww dude last time we saw Minerva on Voltage, it was a real bitter affair with Veena Adams, one that Minerva’d get the best out of, but you could tell Veena had nevertheless gotten to her!
Persephone: Yeah then on Showdown a very important question was asked. “Can they co-exist?” 🙄
Rich Russillo: You could say they co-existed long enough to get the job done, but everything quickly melted down, and security had to keep the two from fighting!
Thadd Blazevich: Well bro, over here on Voltage security isn’t so tight, so who knows just what we may see go down if Veena Adams is in the building??
Persephone: Is she? Oh great. As if this night couldn’t have been worse.
Thadd Blazevich: The night just started!
(Minerva climbs the stairs and enters the ring with menacing patience behind her steps. As her music fades, she awaits to be given a microphone, and not long after, it would be placed in her hand.)
(She slowly paces around the ring, before facing the hardcam from under her eyelashes.)
Minerva: I could say many, many things about my parents. As could you all; you got to meet one of them. That said, nu am de gând să dau din casă, therefore I will remain concise and to the point: they are traumatized. Despite what many people say, I also believe trauma carries itself chronically and cannot be truly let go of, no matter how far one may progress. My parents are traumatized by the iron-fist rule of Romania’s communist dictatorship era. When you spent the most important years of your life developing under such conditions, you do not simply grow out of them. That way of living remains embedded in the brain.
(Her head then rises.)
Minerva: Thus, every day, with all the freedom in the world, feels like a fight for survival. Careful who you criticize. Careful who you are honest with. Careful who you let take care of your needs. Buy food below what is necessary. Learn to love your leadership, to devote yourself to such as if it was religion. Try at a kid multiple times over so you are given housing, and only succeed once the system had been dismantled. Then, despite your lack of love, keep going because protection is widely unavailable, unaffordable. Spread disease. Live in rundown trenches. Hell of a life.
Minerva: Despite being born many years after the revolution of 1989, despite moving across the ocean, the effects ripple. What I was robbed of… is what I find so irritating in women no better than children — Candice Blair Ava, Ashlynn Quinn, Veena Adams, and the likes — in a world where I was forced to mature, here I stand in complete dichotomy next to those who never grew up. Why do I loathe Veena Adams? Because she is a child. A mental midget. A narcissist. And a living, fucking reminder of all which has molded me through suffering.
Minerva: And yet, Veena Adams is beloved by this audience. Embraced. She has friendships. People by her side. Bonds as unnatural, as unbelievable as the silicones in her breasts, yet who bats an eye? The spotlight, instead, hangs on me and the family I have formed. Deserted girls I helped bring to glory and unleashed potential out of. There must be an ulterior motive, no!? But there is not. There is not. Because despite all this suffering given to me by loved ones, I cannot bear to do the same. For I must be better.
Minerva: This industry was in need of a revolution. I was that revolution. TOXXXIN was that revolution. When this company bled the plague of the Adams name and threw me to the side like filth, I harbinged a necessary change and carried out justice. Everywhere I look… I see Methuselah. I see Kassidy Heart. I see Veena Adams. These insufferable faces. And I cannot help but think about my mother’s stories. How life under Nicolae Ceaușescu was manageable, until his complex truly unraveled. When he coddled up to Kim Il Sung, admired North Korea’s VENERATION of their leader and came back with a mission. To act like God. To plaster his face everywhere. Attach his name to everything. Like a fucking God. And I didn’t get it until New Eden. I didn’t get how one could accept this until I did myself, until I paid the same price my mother and many other women did for “treason”. And no matter if you bring such people down, or if by luck natural selection just does them in, here come their offsprings to maintain that legacy. Offsprings both by blood, and offsprings nurtured by ideology.
Minerva: When Nicolae Ceaușescu died a coward’s death — asking a countryside peasant, desperately, to drive him away in a poor, cheap car he started manufacture of but didn’t drive himself, running away from his people until he no longer could, assassinated by just a common man… it was what he deserved. Many would say. Yet at the end of the story, my mother told me it is a tragedy for a people to kill their own leader. As a child, I was puzzled. And I still am. I still am, because time and time again I wanted to do what the Romanian people had done. I wanted to kill Kassidy Heart. I wanted to kill Methuselah. Yet after all this time, they remain in my mind. I *want* to kill Veena Adams. Will the third time be the charm? Will those irksome faces finally be ripped off every poster board?
Minerva: Who knows. What I do know is that she asked for this, and the best case scenario to pray for is not victory — but a valiant, admirable, highly respectable defeat. My goal is to make certain that is not achieved. The Dollhouse will not be a wrestling battle. It will be a test of psychological endurance, one of us will be stripped down to our core, our innermost humanity exposed, our vulnerability on display. Why am I so confident? Because I wear the vulnerability on my sleeve. To Veena Adams, I may as well be an open book.
Minerva: None of the physical violence I will unleash could match the unraveling of all the skeletons coming out of her closet. The “humble” story of Veena Adams crumbles come Territorial Invasion…
(Minerva slowly lowers her microphone… but the tune of “7 rings” would keep her on her feet. Prada purse over her shoulder — soon to be replaced by the championship, she hopes. Veena donned a confident, almost cocky smile. As she motioned to cut the music abruptly, she raised the microphone.)
Veena Adams: Blah, blah, blah. Look, I know I accidentally landed in Kimmy’s Korea instead of the other one before whooping your ass in War Games, and Uncle Ryan may have even given me his haircut when I was 6 as if it had anything to do with training, but O my gooosshhhh Minerva! Just because you can connect some things doesn’t mean I’m connected to that stupid trauma you carry!
Veena Adams: Babes I totally HATED having to cover these beautiful lips with the strongest shade of red ‘cause of what you’d done to me, but you’ve only given me more and more reason to just wanna shut you up and send you back to that hole of depression you’ve always been in. Look, a lotta people got it rough, and you deffo had it rough but I’m just not gunna sit here and pretend that’s an excuse for all the crap you’ve tried to pull.
(Veena enters the ring, face to face with Minerva. There was a faint staredown. Tense. It only motivated Veena further.)
Veena Adams: You’ve only upped the ante, but that’s a mistake girl. Maybe in that mind of yours I’m still that same old nepo baby running a crooked business and getting heart eyes each time I see Charlie Marr’s gawdly sculpture, but it’s been years! I worked on myself, I tossed away all my privileges, and I built myself from the ground up! I still come home to Charlie-Bear’s gawdly sculpture, but I come home as a damned World Champion in this company which is something YOU cannot deny me of, Minerva! And the fact I’ve done all this, I think that’s the part that scares you.
Minerva: Scares me? Seriously?
Veena Adams: Don’t pull this BS now. I’m not the type of girl you wanna get mad, and you’ve done one hell of a job making me mad. What do I have to do with Uncle Ryan, and what he did to your psyche?? What do I have to do with Kassidy Heart??? I hate that bitch more than you! Look, I’d think for someone who’s been “around the block” so to speak you’d be able to handle someone saying something rude to you, after all that’s literally just what happens every damn day of the week around this place, but clearly if anyone’s a mental midget… it’s you.
Veena Adams: And that is what’s gunna cut your reign short at Territorial Invasion. ‘Cause that Dollhouse doesn’t scare me! It’ll be YOUR nightmare, because after all you’ve done to Millz my eyes have long been set on you. THAT is made this personal, bitch! More than anything else in the world, I got a bestie to avenge, I got a bestie who you fucking hurt, and your payment will be in the form of the psychological toll that this match will have on you. You won’t be the same. You’ll be a shell. You’ll be broken. And maybe this time? I’ll injure you enough so that you cannot rely on your good-ass skills to keep you above water when your mind is all fucked and scorched earth is all that’s in there.
Minerva: Scorched earth… Save me your flattery, wretch. I’ve grown tiresome of your charade, this bombastic story you present to the world as if you have done something to make it. You decided to work for one day in your life and haven’t looked back since; good for you. But all of that does not nullify what you are, at your core — a brat. You were born one, and you will die one all the same. Because despite it all, Veena… you *truly* will forever be out of depth in your attempts to comprehend the “regular” struggle. Too much has been taken from me. I will not allow someone like you to bring me back to that cycle.
Veena Adams: That’s cute. Suuuper cute, but hey, I know that I have an advantage over everyone else. But I didn’t have a choice over the situation of my birth, now did I? I’ve embraced the cards I’ve been handed, the good and the bad. That is the part you cannot stand.
Minerva: No. It’s the pitch of your voice I cannot stand.
(Veena chuckles. The message had become clear, and she wasn’t one to back down. Especially not when she’s gotten to Minerva.)
Veena Adams: Then these fists can do the talking.
(Minerva smirks, indulgingly. Both women drop their microphones, and run towards collision.)
(Fists pour out in a frenzy, haphazardly striking whatever target they could find. Minerva drives Veena into a corner. A barrage of overhead blows unleash. Veena’s hands are up in defense.)
(Evasively, she swings her purse. It sends Minerva back, holding onto the side of her gut. Something heavy was inside. But what?)
(Veena quickly pounces onto Minerva. She throws strike after strike, which sends both down onto the mat… Minerva attempts to retaliate, but Veena’s strikes do not relent.)
(Minerva has no choice but to turn it around. Now, it’s Veena at the bottom of it.)
(Focused forearm strikes nail her. A drop of blood exits her nostrils.)
(Veena reaches out… Minerva sees.)
(But she is too late to react.)
*SPRAY!!*
(Sparkles and glitter… Minerva’s eyes burn, blinded. The sound of spraying continues.)
(Veena stands over Minerva, hand over her nose. It’s a bitter look… but that is all she had to spare.)
(She leaves. Behind is left a Minerva covered in hot pink spray paint.)
(She rubs her eyes, but the burning sensation becomes worse. Faintly, she opens her pupil.)
(All over her arm was that color pink.)
(She screams. Tears mix with the paint.)
(All she needed was the glance.)
(To seethe. To feel it all over again.)
(All that she was robbed of. A childhood she never had. Joy taken from her.)
(It felt humiliating.)
(She erratically ran her palm everywhere. Tightly grabbed the Universal Women’s Championship and neatly stuck it to her chest like a teddy bear.)
(She collapses onto the mat… Hell had never burned so fiercely before; Voltage fades.)
(Promotional ad for Territorial Invasion, where both the Universal Women’s Championship and EAW World Championship will be defended.)
(‘Rompe’ by Daddy Yankee hits as Carmen Sánchez makes her way out to a loud reaction, heading down the ramp and entering the ring before ‘The Best Damn Thing’ by Avril Lavigne takes over. Avril Williams comes out next, making her way to the ring and joining Carmen inside before ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ by KISS hits. Cynthia Valice makes her way out last and heads down to join her partners, with all three women spreading out around the ring and playing to the crowd as Cynthia’s music begins to fade.)
Rich Russillo: Carmen Sánchez, Avril Williams, and Cynthia Valice are just days away from representing Voltage in Divide and Conquer, and all three are looking forward to their first Territorial Invasion!
Thadd Blazevich: Yeah, bro, and these three have gotten pretty close over the last few weeks. They know they might have to fight each other eventually, but first they’ve gotta get through Dynasty and Showdown.
Persephone: Cute. Let’s see if they’re all still smiling by the time that match is over.
(Carmen, Avril, and Cynthia meet in the center of the ring, each with a microphone in hand as the crowd begins to settle down. Carmen looks between her two partners before turning toward the hard camera.)
Carmen Sánchez: Well, I don’t know about you two, but these last few weeks have been a hell of a ride. Cynthia and I survived the Walk of Death together at Bloodsport, Avril went through hell against Igon, then a week later Cynthia and I nearly killed each other trying to become Hardcore Champion. We’ve had some good nights since then and some we probably would’ve rather forgotten, but somewhere in the middle of all that, the three of us became friends. Now we’re only a few days away from our first Territorial Invasion, and we get to walk into it together representing Voltage.
Avril Williams: Yeah, dude, it’s kinda crazy when you put it like that. Things haven’t exactly gone perfectly for any of us, but I think that makes getting this opportunity even cooler. We’ve taken some hits, picked ourselves back up and kept moving, and now we get to see what we can do on one of the biggest shows of the season. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous, but mostly I’m just pretty freakin’ excited!
Cynthia Valice: Me too! I think being nervous is probably a good thing anyway, because this means a lot to us and we know it isn’t going to be easy. There are six other people in this match, and we’ve already gotten a pretty darn good look at what both teams can do. At the same time, knowing I’m walking into something this big with two people I trust makes me feel a lot more confident than I would’ve been a few months ago.
Carmen Sánchez: And I like our chances. Dynasty has AKIZA, Yanni and TFK, while Showdown has Clayton, Artemis and Adonis. We’ve crossed paths with some of them already, and I’m sure every single one has their own idea of how this ends. Fine by me. They can believe whatever the hell they want, because when that bell rings, we’re gonna make them earn every inch they get against us.
Avril Williams: Aye, that’s what makes this so cool! This is Territorial Invasion, dude. I’d be disappointed if we showed up and everybody made things easy for us. Six people from two other brands are trying to send us home, and eventually that field is gonna keep shrinking until there’s only one person left. Sounds a little nuts when I say it out loud, but I signed up for it, so bring it on.
Cynthia Valice: There is one thing we’ve known since Captain Charisma put us together, though. If we do everything right, there could come a point where we have to fight each other. I care about both of you, and I’m really happy we’ve gotten as close as we have, but if we’re the last three standing, I don’t want either of you holding back against me. I know I won’t hold back against you, because after everything we’ll have gone through to reach that point, we all deserve the chance to find out who can finish it.
(Carmen smiles as Avril nods in agreement.)
Carmen Sánchez: Damn right. If it comes down to us three, we beat the hell out of each other, hug it out afterward, and probably spend the next week complaining about how much everything hurts. :mjlol: That’s a problem I’d be more than happy to have, because it means Dynasty and Showdown are already gone and Voltage is guaranteed to walk away with the winner.
Avril Williams: Sounds good to me! Until we reach that point, I’ve got your backs and I know you’ve got mine. We came into this thing as three people who happened to be on the same brand, and now I’d say we make a pretty freakin’ good team. So whatever those other six have waiting for us, we’ll deal with it when it comes.
Cynthia Valice: And if we make it down to just the three of us, then we know we did our job for Voltage. After that, no hard feelings, no holding back and no worrying about what happens afterward. It’s every woman for herself, and may the best one win.
Carmen Sánchez: Damn straight. We know what’s waiting for us, and we know what we have to do. At Territorial Invasion, Divide and Conquer belongs to—
(‘Steel Haze (Where Truth Meets)’ by Kota Hoshino suddenly hits, cutting Carmen off as she, Avril, and Cynthia turn their attention toward the stage. AKIZA walks out alongside Yanni Killebrew and TFK, all three already holding microphones as Yanni and TFK take their places on either side of her.)
AKIZA: You seem rather certain of yourselves. I suppose becoming friends has given the three of you confidence, but do not mistake our lack of friendship for a disadvantage. We don’t need to like each other. We only need to understand what benefits us, and right now, that means getting rid of all six of you.
(AKIZA briefly looks toward her partners before Yanni raises his microphone.)
Yanni Killebrew: I prefer it that way. There is no illusion between us about what this is. Our paths have crossed because, for the moment, we share a destination. If we succeed and only Dynasty remains, that arrangement ends. Then we find out which of us is willing to go the furthest.
Avril Williams: Dude, you somehow make everything sound terrifying.
Yanni Killebrew: I find it fascinating. You three have grown attached knowing that, under the right circumstances, you will eventually have to hurt one another. Perhaps that bond carries you far. Perhaps it makes the end more painful. Either way, we will find out soon enough.
(TFK raises his microphone.)
TFK: Friendship or not, I’m here to represent Dynasty, just like I represent the Philippines every time I step into that ring. I’ve been knocked down before, and every time, I’ve gotten back up. Territorial Invasion is no different. Whatever gets put in front of me, I’ll keep fighting until I can’t anymore.
Carmen Sánchez: Nobody down here expects anything less. Just don’t expect us to move out of your way.
AKIZA: I wouldn’t want you to. There is no satisfaction in overcoming someone who refuses to give everything they have. Bring everything you can, and we will do the same.
(Before Carmen can respond, another voice suddenly echoes throughout the arena, drawing the attention of everyone on the stage and inside the ring.)
???: WHATUP LOSERS!!!!
(The camera cuts and we see Clayton Golde alongside Adonis and Artemis Jones making their way through the crowd as the fans are taken aback to see Showdown’s team here as well. They boo towards Clayton speaking as he continues on.)
Clayton Golde: You all just mindless idiots who don’t have any clue what it means to be a winner. Everyone in this match is new around even the guys behind me but don’t worry! I’m going to lead this team to victory because I’m Clayton Golde! I bring in the views, I bring in the attention, I bring in everything and everyone is going to have a taste of the golde before lying down on the mat and staring straight at the lights.
Adonis Jones: JUST REMEMBER UCE ONCE WE DONE DEALING WITH YALL WE GONNA MAKE SURE THE JONES GONNA BE THE ONES COMING OUT OF THIS MATCH AS THE WINNERS!!
Artemis Jones: SWAG!!!
Adonis Jones: YEET!!!
Clayton Golde: SHUT UP! As soon as we get rid of these losers you boys are going to be easy pickings.
Adonis Jones: We’ll see about that, Clayton but right now uce, we’re gonna be team players and be a dangerous trio to the rest of these bozos!!! YEAH YOU HEARD US!!!
(Dynaty’s Team tries to interrupt but Clayton, Artemis and Adonis are yelling and shouting so much that they overpower their voice as they continue to talk.)
Artemis Jones: YEAH THAT’S RIGHT!! CONSIDER THE FACTS HERE UCE!! WE GOT THE PLAYS!! WE GOT THE FORMULA!! WE KNOW HOW TO COOK THAT SHIT UP!! Doesn’t matter if it’s what’s Voltage offering or what Dynasty is offering uce… one way or another you gonna be toast once you dealing with us!
Adonis Jones: BOWWWWWWWWWW!!!! THAT’S A DEADSHOT CAUSE WE AIN’T GO NO MORE WARNING LEFT TO GIVE ANYONE IN DIVIDE AND CONQUER!! THE JONES AND GOLDE BOY GONNA RUN ALL OVER YOU AND THAT’S A FACT!!
AKIZA: Whatever you just shot, all three of you completely missed. Our team is deadset on winning this match no matter if a team has a former New Breed Champion in it or a team devised of friendships.
Yanni Killibrew: We know exactly what type of team we are and we certainly aren’t three individuals that have the collective IQ of 50 like Golde’s squadron.
Clayton Golde: HEY! I’m the smartest guy in this whole arena!!! I’m smarter than the fat pigs that are in these stands right now!!
TFK: Trust me, the fans here are WAY more smarter then you’ll ever be Clayton.
Adonis Jones: DAMN UCE!!! YOU GONNA LET HIM DISRESPECT YOU LIKE THAT???
Artemis Jones: I wouldn’t take that uce, that ain’t swag you know.
Clayton Golde: Just follow my lead!
(Soon enough both Dynasty and Showdown’s teams inch closer and closer towards the ring as this puts Girl Power on high alert. They check their surroundings as…)
Rich Russillo: AND CLAYTON GOLDE JUMPED THE BARRICADE AND SLIDE INTO THE RING AS SOON ENOUGH THE JONES, YANNI, AKIZA AND TFK FOLLOWED AS ITS A BRAWL BETWEEN ALL OF THESE TEAMS!!!
Thadd Blazevich: ARTEMIS IS FIGHTING YANNI AND CARMEN!!! CLAYTON IS FIGHTING WITH AKIZA AND CYNTHIA AND ADONIS IS FIGHTING WITH TFK AND AVRIL!!! LEFTS AND RIGHTS ARE BEING THROWN BY EVERYONE HERE!!!
Persephone: YES YES LIGHT THEM UP!!!! SET THEM ON FIRE DO SOMETHING!!!
Rich Russillo: YANNI LANDS A GOOD RIGHT ON ARTEMIS TO SEND HIM THROUGH THE ROPES, AND CARMEN CATCHES YANNI WITH A WHEELBARROW BULLDOG!!! CYNTHIA LANDS A KICK RIGHT TO AKIZA FACE– BUT CLAYTON TAKES THE OPPORTUNITY TO GRAB CYNTHIA, THROWING HER INTO AKIZA BEFORE KICKING THEM BOTH OUT OF THE RING!!
Thadd Blazevich: AND LOOK BRO TFK JUST KNOCKED OUT AVRIL AND ADONIS WITH A HANDSPRING LARIAT!!! EVERYONE IS DOWN AND OUT EXCEPT…
(Left standing in the ring are Clayton, Carmen and TFK as everyone else has rolled out of the ring. They are left nursing the bumps they have suffered thanks to this brawl that just occurred.)
Rich Russilli: Divide and Conquer could go in any direction given the fact that only one person can win this match, but perhaps this may be a preview of what’s to come!
Thadd Blazevich: There’s no telling, bro! Right now one member of every team is left standing, but who knows what we’ll see in the actual match? This is gonna be an exciting one, that’s for sure!
Persephone: As long as I see something really nasty, I will be fine. If not, this is just a huge waste of time.
(One more shot is shown of Carmen, Clayton and TFK as they have a tense staredown in the middle of the ring, all while the crowd is loud and excited for the upcoming Divide and Conquer match. The scene then fades off, as Voltage continues elsewhere in the arena.)
(The camera cuts backstage to Cosmo Goldworthy, who paces back and forth while rubbing his chin in thought. A rolling monitor displaying the Voltage logo can be seen in the background before Cosmo eventually stops as Sofia Clarke approaches him for an interview.)
Sofia Clarke: Cosmo, if I could get a few words with you. Last week, Captain Charisma made your match against Diamond Dixon official for Territorial Invasion, and not only will it be a Hardcore Warfare match, but the winner will become number one contender for the Hardcore Championship. We also saw Diamond attack you after that announcement, so after everything that has happened between you these last few weeks, where is your head at right now?
(Cosmo takes a moment before turning toward Sofia.)
Cosmo Goldworthy: Where do you think my head is at, Sofia? Huh? I’m pissed off. I’m tired of hearing Diamond tell everybody I held her back, I wasted her time, and she finally had to choose herself like she was doing me some favor by sticking around. Yeah, I had a few bad nights. I lost matches I should’ve won, and shit didn’t go the way either of us wanted, but that doesn’t suddenly make me dead weight. Diamond knows what I’m capable of. She knew it when she put her hand out to me in the first place, but the second things stopped working out, suddenly all that went out the window and I became the reason for everything wrong with her career.
Cosmo Goldworthy: That’s what pisses me off more than anything. She didn’t come to me and say we needed to figure some shit out. She kicked me between the legs, dropped me on my face and made it clear she was done with me like everything we’d been through together suddenly meant nothing. So yeah, I took that shit personally, and I wasn’t about to just let her walk away thinking that was the end of it.
Sofia Clarke: Instead, things have only gotten worse between the two of you. You retaliated the following week, cost Diamond her fatal four way match, and then she attacked you again last week. Does Hardcore Warfare finally give you the chance to put an end to this?
Cosmo Goldworthy: That’s exactly what it does. No rules, no excuses, and no more of this back and forth shit every week. Diamond gets me one-on-one, and if I’m really the weak link she keeps making me out to be, then she shouldn’t have anything to worry about. She can come prove every word she’s said about me.
(Cosmo cracks a small smile before shaking his head.)
Cosmo Goldworthy: But she knows better. A bad stretch doesn’t erase everything I’ve done or everything I can still do, and I’m sure as hell not gonna disappear because things got rough. Diamond’s walked away from this business before when shit wasn’t working out for her. I didn’t. I’m still right fucking here, and I plan on turning this around instead of running from it. Territorial Invasion is where that starts. I put Diamond behind me, become number one contender, then I go after the Hardcore Championship while she gets to live with the fact that she counted me out right before I proved her wrong.
???: Counted you out?
(Cosmo turns as Diamond Dixon walks into view, clearly having heard enough.)
Diamond Dixon: You really love telling that story, don’t you? Like I woke up one morning, decided poor Cosmo wasn’t winning enough for me and threw you away for no reason. Meanwhile, I’m the one who stuck my hand out to YOU in the first place.
Cosmo Goldworthy: And apparently I’m supposed to be grateful forever.
Diamond Dixon: Boy, shut the fuck up. I saw something in you, Cosmo. I thought we could help each other get somewhere, so I gave this shit a chance. Bloodsport didn’t go our way, and I still showed up the next week to stand in your corner. I gave you an opening against Sayuri, and you still couldn’t get it done. We had opportunities together, we had chances to actually capitalize and make this partnership worth something, and I kept watching them slip away. So yeah, eventually I started worrying about my own damn career.
Cosmo Goldworthy: And somehow you decided I was the reason yours wasn’t going anywhere.
Diamond Dixon: No, I decided I’d already spent enough time waiting. There’s a difference. I’ve wasted enough years of my career as it is, and I wasn’t about to waste any more hoping you’d finally become the guy I thought I was teaming with. I wanted us to accomplish something, but after a while it became pretty damn clear I wanted it more than you did.
(Cosmo’s expression immediately hardens.)
Cosmo Goldworthy: Don’t you EVER tell me how bad I want this shit.
Diamond Dixon: Then where the fuck was all this fire before?
Cosmo Goldworthy: Right fucking here! You think a couple losses mean I stopped caring? You think because shit wasn’t going my way, I suddenly didn’t need this anymore? You done left multiple times but I stayed and kept pushin’! I need this shit, Diamond. Fuck outta here with your nEeDs! You had the luxury of walking away whenever you decided this place wasn’t working for you, then coming back when you were ready. I stayed through every loss, every fuckup and every person telling me I wasn’t good enough, and I kept fucking pushing. So don’t stand there and tell me you wanted this more than I did because you got impatient when the results weren’t coming fast enough.
Diamond Dixon: And don’t use me leaving to dodge what I’m saying. I came back, didn’t I? Then I put my hand out to you when I could’ve focused on myself from day one. I’m not saying you don’t care about wrestling. I’m saying when the opportunities were sitting right in front of us, you didn’t do enough with them. Now that I finally stopped waiting on you, you wanna show me how much you need this? That fire would’ve been real useful when we were actually a team.
Cosmo Goldworthy: Maybe you would’ve seen more of it if you came to me instead of kicking me in the dick and dropping me on my face.
Diamond Dixon: Oh, please. You’re still crying about how I ended it?
Cosmo Goldworthy: Nah, I’m pissed about the disrespect. You didn’t just decide the partnership wasn’t working. You wanted to embarrass me and make sure everybody watching saw you toss me aside like I was some bum you’d been carrying.
Diamond Dixon: Nobody was carrying you. That was the whole fucking problem. I wanted a partner who could take advantage when the door opened, not somebody who kept making me wonder when the hell it was finally gonna happen.
Cosmo Goldworthy: And I never asked you to save me.
Diamond Dixon: Good, because I’m done trying.
(Cosmo and Diamond stare each other down as Sofia slowly steps away from them.)
Diamond Dixon: Territorial Invasion is about me getting something back for the time I put into this. I beat you, I become number one contender, and I move on to the Hardcore Championship. Whatever you decide to do after that isn’t my problem anymore.
Cosmo Goldworthy: You keep talking like beating me is already done. That’s where you fucked up. You got disappointed, decided I wasn’t worth your time, and now you’ve convinced yourself that means you’re better than me. So when I beat your ass and take that number one contender spot, don’t make excuses. Remember that the dude you gave up on is the same one who stopped you from getting what you wanted.
Diamond Dixon: You had your chances, Cosmo. We had ours together too. If losing me is what finally makes you do something with yours, good for you, but it’s too late to change anything between us now.
Cosmo Goldworthy: I ain’t trying to change it. I’m trying to end it.
Diamond Dixon: Then prove it.
(Diamond and Cosmo remain face-to-face for a few tense moments before Diamond slowly raises her hands and begins to back away, looking as if she’s finally willing to leave things alone.)
(SLAP!)
(DIAMOND SUDDENLY STEPS FORWARD AND SLAPS COSMO ACROSS THE FACE! Cosmo immediately responds by double-legging Diamond to the floor, unloading with right hands as she tries to cover up! Diamond manages to roll Cosmo onto his back before mounting him, NOW UNLOADING WITH RIGHTS OF HER OWN!)
(Two agents quickly rush in and pull Diamond off of Cosmo, grabbing both of her arms as she struggles to break free! Cosmo pushes himself back up and reaches into his pocket, slipping on a pair of brass knuckles before taking advantage of Diamond being restrained and BLASTING HER ACROSS THE HEAD!)
(Diamond immediately goes limp, FALLING BACK AND TAKING BOTH AGENTS DOWN WITH HER! Blood begins to run from Diamond’s forehead as the agents quickly rush back to their knees on either side of her, trying to wake her while Cosmo stands over his former partner with the brass knuckles still wrapped around his fist.)
(Cosmo removes the brass knuckles before crouching down in front of Diamond, staring directly at her.)
Cosmo Goldworthy: (off-mic) Still think I’m the weak link?
(Cosmo rises back to his feet and walks away, leaving the agents to tend to Diamond as the camera fades elsewhere.)
(The camera returns to ringside, fading towards the stage as ‘Pride and Arrogance’ by Takeru Kanazaki hits to loud boos. The crowd is as loud as possible, showing their hatred for Drake Armstrong, who despite last week’s events, appears calm and unbothered. Drake walks down the ramp, ignoring the loud boos as he makes his way to the ring.)
Bella Braxton: Ladies and gentlemen… Please welcome, DRAKE ARMSTRONG!!!
Rich Russillo: Drake Armstrong has a microphone after last week’s events, and I would imagine he’s not too happy after being taken out by Daniella Atlas and suffering a loss, but he doesn’t seem to be showing his anger if there is any.
Thadd Blazevich: Yeah, but that might be even worse with Drake Armstrong, bro. We know the kind of dude he is. I just don’t know what he’s cooking.
Persephone: And I don’t want to find out, either. Not if he’s here to run his mouth, which he does nearly every single time he’s out here.
(Drake Armstrong walks up the steel steps, stepping into the ring before entering, walking directly to the ropes towards the timekeeper’s area. He extends his arm, patiently waiting before having a microphone handed to him. His entrance music fades out during this, and finally Drake begins to speak.)
Drake Armstrong: In light of last week’s injustice, I’ve come to terms with the fact that the disdain my Territorial Invasion opponents hold for me has caused them to blind themselves to the reality in front of them. I knew this issue existed from the moment that worthless simpleton Bronson Daniels failed to acknowledge the damage our commissioner has done to this brand, instead blaming me for Matthieu’s own inadequacies. It’s to be expected from Bronson, to be frank. If he knew how to make proper decisions with his career he wouldn’t have begun his season distraught thanks to the actions of a turncoat Jon Kelton. He isn’t the only one who’s blind however, and that’s why I feel a conversation must be had before Territorial Invasion.
(The fans don’t boo, actually quieting down as they’re wondering where Drake plans to go with this. Drake just turns to the stage, continuing.)
Drake Armstrong: Daniella Atlas, I’d like a word with you.
(This causes a bit of mumbling to come from the crowd, and Drake Armstrong patiently waits.)
Persephone: What are we doing here, exactly?
Rich Russillo: I guess we’ll have to find out. For now, all we know is that Drake wants to have a chat.
(Drake continues to wait, finally ‘The Clincher’ by Chevelle begins to play. Daniella Atlas begins to walk out, but she stops for a moment, staring at Drake Armstrong as she waits for some sort of reaction. Drake however keeps his composure, inviting Daniella to the ring. Daniella chooses to go along with this for now as she walks to the ring, holding a microphone already as she keeps her eyes on Drake.)
Rich Russillo: Well Daniella Atlas answered the call, but I don’t really know where this is going.
Thadd Blazevich: Me neither. Let’s not forget, this whole beef with Drake and Daniella started ‘cause of Drake disrespecting her and Selina backstage, and Drake still has Bronson to worry about. I don’t know if this is the time to chat.
Persephone: Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Thadd! It’s not the time to talk! Let’s just pack it up and not try this again.
(Daniella walks up the steel steps, entering the ring as her entrance music fades out. She clearly doesn’t trust Drake and isn’t impressed by the gesture whatsoever, but before she could even say anything, Drake speaks.)
Drake Armstrong: Daniella! I feel you and I have gotten off on the wrong foot. Of course, you only have yourself to blame for this, but that is past the point. The truth is Daniella there are far greater matters for us to discuss, and I am more than willing to put such a trivial problem behind us for the time being so long as you’re willing to do what’s best for the both of us. I am not asking that you forget our past. Feel however you may. Just consider–
Daniella Atlas: Drake, I’d like for you to get to the point.
(Drake just stares at Daniella for a moment, with the expression on his face only momentarily changing as he looks past the interruption.)
Drake Armstrong: You wish to take a step towards the EAW World Championship, and I want the same. You also wish to settle your differences with myself, but in order for that to be accomplished there is a problem you and I need to rid ourselves of, and it’s the third participant of this match.
(Now the fans begin to boo, realizing what Drake is doing as he continues.)
Drake Armstrong: Bronson Daniels is standing in the way of both of our desires, and if he’s not disposed of he could very well be the reason you’re leaving Territorial Invasion empty handed, with the possibility ever present that your companions in ToXXXin find the success you were unable to. I understand who Bronson is. He’s a consistent failure who finds himself with the world at his fingertips only to drop it every chance he gets, and Territorial Invasion will be no different. He will fail, but who do you feel will be dragged down with him, Daniella? You, or the man who has already conquered Bronson Daniels in a match exactly like this just this year?
(Daniella is quiet for a moment, just staring at Drake as Armstrong waits for a response.)
Daniella Atlas: You want me to align with you… to take out Bronson?
Drake Armstrong: No, of course not. Don’t think of it as an alliance. Think of it as the disposal of garbage. Do not forget, Atlas. It was Bronson who cost us the match and allowed Candice to pin you. He started the fight between us.
Daniella Atlas: This only occurred after you had already knocked him off of the apron and refused a tag from me.
Drake Armstrong: Perhaps, but the fact remains. Bronson Daniels is a pest, and a nuisance like him is better to be dealt with sooner than later. Don’t allow him the chance to ruin this match. Should he remain a problem, you may be robbed of everything Matthieu shoved you into this match for to begin with. I’m certain I can handle Bronson Daniels just as I already have, but I am making an attempt to help you. Think about what’s best for you, Atlas. You entered this because of me, so surely it’d be the correct move to take care of the distraction so you and I can handle our business. Truly, it’d be in your best interest to consider who is standing in the way of what you want.
(The fans boo, but Drake Armstrong stops speaking, leaving the floor to Daniella. He waits for her to speak, and after some time, she does.)
Daniella Atlas: Drake, I am not sure if you take me for a fool, but I know what kind of man you are. A deplorable, manipulative coward who manipulates those around them, knowing that those who make the mistake of trusting you will be rewarded with betrayal. You use people, and once you’re finished with them you dispose of them. In a match such as this one it’s only to be expected, as alliances would serve as only a means to an end. Honor isn’t in your DNA, and neither is respect. This began with your disrespect, Drake. It was furthered by your lack of honor. If you expect me to ignore this for the sake of giving you what you desire in spite of your history of doing this, the greatest reason for your downfall may just be your delusion.
(After saying this Daniella steps closer towards Drake, making sure he hears what she’s about to say.)
Daniella Atlas: No. I won’t help you. I’ll win at Territorial Invasion, and I will do it by defeating the both of you.
(Drake Armstrong doesn’t respond to this, but despite his calm demeanor remaining intact in hopes of getting through to Daniella, it is clear Armstrong isn’t satisfied by this answer.)
Drake Armstrong: Daniella, I can assure you–
(Drake hoped to continue trying to get through to Daniella, but before he could even get his thoughts out, ‘Run Into Flowers’ by M83 hits. The crowd exploded with cheers, and Bronson Daniels begins walking out, already carrying a microphone. Bronson isn’t impressed whatsoever, and he immediately walks down the ramp, heading straight towards the ring.)
Rich Russillo: Bronson is on his way out here, and I can’t be shocked given Drake just asked Daniella to help him take Bronson out.
Thadd Blazevich: We can’t really be shocked with Drake Armstrong, I guess. That dude is just always scheming, but thankfully Daniella wasn’t going for it.
Persephone: Great… I guess. Seriously, how often does this actually work?
(Bronson climbs up the apron and enters the ring. From there, he just stares at Drake Armstrong for a while, before finally just shaking his head.)
Bronson Daniels: Honestly Drake, sometimes I have to ask myself if you’re even worth it.
(Drake doesn’t respond to this, and Bronson just sighs.)
Bronson Daniels: How many times are we going to do this? You end up in a match that doesn’t favor you, you walk out here and you try to pit your opponents against each other because for as much as you cry and complain about the treatment towards you not being fair– you actively refuse to get the job done without some sort of advantage. You brought up the last time you “overcame” my threat, and you know what, Drake? You’re right. You did defeat me, after working with Jon Kelton to try and take me out, failing, and proceeding to wait until the final stages of the match so you can take me out and pin Jon yourself. Anyone in their right mind could see what you’re trying to do, and Drake, I am tired of it. We all are, and I refuse to waste another match on these games.
(The fans loudly cheer hearing this, and Drake Armstrong still remains silent, but there is a slight twitch of his eye. Bronson turns towards Daniella after this.)
Bronson Daniels: I’m glad you know better than to listen to him– but this is where I find you confusing. How can you listen to what he has to say, see him in action and deal with him week after week, only to say that I am *anything* like him? You weren’t just comparing me to anyone, Daniella. You were comparing me to one of the worst people in the entirety of EAW, and even with the company you keep, you should still be able to understand that.
(Daniella doesn’t speak immediately, just giving a slight, slow nod. She turns, facing Bronson as she speaks.)
Daniella Atlas: I know who I compared you to Bronson, but certainly you understand why. It wasn’t out of disrespect, it was an observation given the current state of both of your careers. I may have my own business to take care of with Armstrong, but the feud between the two of you began of one mutual feeling. Emptiness. You two felt a void. Drake because of his lack of the success that followed his previous season, and you because of the passion you pour into this company, only to have more taken from you than given. I spoke the truth to you, and you may not see this but that fact has been responsible for your undoing just as frequently as his. Drake Armstrong is attempting to scheme as he always does. He hopes to form a plan that eliminates the threat you present– and what will you do, but run head first into it?
Bronson Daniels: Is that what you call it?
Daniella Atlas: You said it yourself… or rather, you say it often. You can’t stop. No matter what this industry does to you, you’re unable to help yourself. You and Drake are more than alike in that regard. One could even consider you two sides of the same coin, and I won’t be unprepared for what’s to come. I respect who you are more than I can say for Drake Armstrong, but I don’t plan to sacrifice my own future for either of you.
(Daniella stops after this, and Bronson just stares at her, taking in what was said, though not thrilled by her comparison whatsoever.)
Drake Armstrong: If I may…
(Immediately, both Bronson and Daniella shoot Drake a look.)
Drake Armstrong: I’d like to inquire on the reason behind this talk of our inner natures. I understand the sentiment. Just as avarice and ambition is in my blood, selflessness to the point of self destruction is in Bronson’s. I can understand why you’d say this, but I must ask. Can you truly call the qualities that have made this wretched brand mine a weakness, or is this the kind of projection that’s bound to come from a woman who can’t even embrace her own status as Minerva’s personal weapon?
(Daniella’s eyebrows drop, and she gives Drake a glare that demands further explanation, which Drake is more than happy to provide.)
Drake Armstrong: So badly you claim to wish to succeed on your own. You parade yourself as one who’d like to be her own woman, rather than merely the result of her own upbringing. However, you cannot commit. You can’t win the Championship Minerva has her eyes on. You can’t rip that title out of her hands when you’ve been absolved of the need to pin her, and now you can’t even bring yourself to challenge her. You’d rather attempt to steal victory from me, even if it means throwing yourself into an impossible scenario. A scenario I *tried* to help you with through *his* removal.
(Drake points towards Bronson.)
Drake Armstrong: This is what prevents either of you from ever amounting to my own greatness. You don’t get it. You squander every opportunity presented to you so long as you’re forced to sacrifice your own sense of morality for the sake of taking what you believe to be yours. Failure is a lifestyle for the former Elysian, and Daniella Atlas, you’ve chosen to walk down the same path out of nothing but a foolish sense of faith– one overriding the one part of your mind with sense. The part of you that knows the correct move is for us to–
Daniella Atlas: *No.*
(Despite her not being a fan favorite due to her ToXXXin affiliation, the fans cheer.)
Daniella Atlas: I won’t play your game, Drake. Stop expecting me to fall in line.
Drake Armstrong: You’d have done it at a moment’s notice for the Black Rose.
Daniella Atlas: You are not Minerva, and I have no reason to ally myself with you even for a moment.
Bronson Daniels: Haven’t you had enough yet, Drake?
Drake Armstrong: I–
(Before he could even continue, Bronson walks up to Drake, lowering his hand that holds the microphone before he speaks.)
Bronson Daniels: Just stop. I plan to win this match at Territorial Invasion and move on to Hans or Jay, and I know things won’t get any easier from there– but at least, I can say I’ll be done with you. You’re a cancer rotting this brand to the very core, infecting everyone you come across. You have done everything in your power to make me miserable and crush my spirit, but I’m not done. I’m still here, and I’m going to be here for as long as my body allows me– or rather, forces me to be. Maybe that makes me stubborn. Maybe it’s as Daniella says, and this trait of mine makes me predictable. However, I can promise you one thing. You can throw everything you’ve got at me, Drake. Go as low as low as you need to. Enlist as much help as you clearly need. You’re not going to be the one who gets rid of me.
(The crowd once again explodes with cheers, firmly behind Bronson Daniels. Drake rips his arm away from Bronson and stares at him, before Drake turns and glances at Daniella. He sees the expression on both of their faces, before finally he sighs.)
Drake Armstrong: So be it! I’ll leave the two of you to your unrealistic, empty hope-filled fantasies. We’ll see how long these dreams of yours last.
(Drake brushes past Bronson after this, walking out of the ring as he begins to storm up the ramp. Bronson and Daniella remain in the ring, taking note of the far more sharp tone in Drake’s voice as he said those final words.)
Daniella Atlas: About that, he *is* right.
(Bronson turns towards Daniella, to see a focused, but still calm look on her face as she continues.)
Daniella Atlas: Only one of us will stand tall at Territorial Invasion. We can bicker and argue amongst ourselves as much as we’d like, but reality will only favor one of us. Bronson, it doesn’t matter what Drake plans. I intend for that to be me.
(Bronson nods.)
Bronson Daniels: And I intend to become a three-time World Champion. You can bring everything you have, just as I know Drake will go as far as he can. I won’t have this opportunity ripped from me. Not that easily.
(These are the final words from Bronson, as he and Daniella have a staredown in the center of the ring, both ready for the triple threat at Territorial Invasion. By this point Drake Armstrong has already made his way to the back, not wanting to be part of the back and forth any longer. One more shot is shown of the two opponents staring in the center of the ring, before Voltage fades away from ringside.)
(Promotional ad for Territorial Invasion, where Bronson Daniels, Daniella Atlas and Drake Armstrong compete for number one contendership of the EAW World Championship.)
(Sunday Night Voltage returns to show the backstage area of The Smoothie King Center, where Sofia Clarke is seen standing by in a designated interview area. She has a smile on her face and a microphone in her hand, taking a moment before she begins to speak.)
Sofia Clarke: Welcome back to Sunday Night Voltage, and what a show it has been! We are just ONE WEEK away from Territorial Invasion, and it’s safe to say that the anticipation is through the roof for the first Marquee Event of the season. My guest tonight certainly shares that sentiment, so please welcome at this time-
(Suddenly, before Sofia can finish what she’s saying, someone storms into the scene, snatching away the microphone from her before she can even react.)
Jake Smith: Get out.
(The crowd inside the arena is heard booing loudly, with a tinge of confusion about what’s happening right now. Sofia doesn’t even put up a fight; she quickly turns on her heels and scurries away from the scene, and while she does, Jake raises the microphone.)
Jake Smith: We need to talk.
(There’s a murmur, and Jake is looking around, visibly antsy and inpatient as he paces around. After a moment of silence, seemingly not getting a response, he speaks again.)
Jake Smith: I SAID WE NEED TO TALK-
???: Did you mean what you said?
(It’s as if the world around him went on mute; all the sound around Jake completely dissipated, except for the voice that rang through his ear. As he glanced around, he came to the realization… that time had completely frozen around him. Everything was stuck in static, and as he turned around, he found what he was looking for.)
Caroline: Answer me.
(Jake stared at Caroline, who was a relative distance away from him, as if she was watching the entire time. While he expected an aggressive nature from her, something was off, almost as if there was a level of unease.)
Jake Smith: What do you mean?
Caroline: What you said last week… did you mean it?
Jake Smith: That this situation is a lose-lose and that you’re being manipulated? Yes.
(Jake rubbed his throat for a lingering moment, a reminder of their tense confrontation. Caroline continued to stare at him, a blank expression, hard to read as usual, but Jake was able to read it.)
Jake Smith: You found something. Tell me.
(Caroline said nothing. Jake started to walk towards her but she put her hand.)
Caroline: Stop. I can not stay long. Belial does not know that I am here. The last I saw of him… he was occupied.
Jake Smith: How were you able to leave?
Caroline: I have discovered that I am able to create my own path. I have always felt like there was something inside of me and now that I have had to stay at the side of Belial until this endeavor is finished, I have only felt stronger.
Jake Smith: Do you believe what I said about Belial?
(Caroline didn’t want to admit to anything, but she gave Jake a curt nod of her head.)
Caroline: I heard a conversation. He did not know I was listening. He thought I had gone to run his errand but I simply did not feel like going at that moment. He spoke of great plans for me and the fact he was going to ensure it is you who rose to power come Territorial Invasion. In fact, Belial plans to bestow a gift upon you.
Jake Smith: A gift?
(Caroline nodded her head slowly, as Jake glared at her, crossing his arms.)
Caroline: That’s all I know. It was for his ears only… not mine.
Jake Smith: How am I supposed to believe you? You followed blindly by his side and allowed him to get in the way of us and our goals. Who’s to say you’re not manipulating me right now to get what you want? I think it’s become abundantly clear to me that you value your freedom over anything that we had.
Caroline: If you still think that Belial caused this, then you have not learned anything. This was my decision because of YOU. How do you not understand that still?
Jake Smith: Then it’s YOUR mistake to make, not mine. I told you, you brought us both into this, and now both of us have to suffer because of it. None of what either of us has done is going to mean anything if we’re in the goddamn underbelly of hell. Can I tell you something?
(Jake tried to approach her, but no matter how far he walked, it seemed as though they maintained the same distance between the two of them.)
Jake Smith: You’ve been asking how much I truly care about you. But you should, at the very least, know I care enough to know how FUCKED both of us are, and that I would do anything to fix it.
(Caroline didn’t even blink.)
Caroline: You hurl accusations at me and dare to make a proclamation about your so-called feelings? Do not insult me, Jake. I am fully aware of the part I have played in this situation, though my reactions have been based on YOUR actions. None of this would be in motion if you had not been abusive towards me.
(Jake scowled and went to reply but Caroline shook her head.)
Caroline: What is done is done. I sought you out because I felt as if you deserved to know your suspicions are correct in terms of what Belial wishes to get out of this.
(Caroline had enough humility to look down at the ground.)
Caroline: (whispering) It’s me.
(Jake shook his head, as if his anger had subsided for a lingering moment.)
Jake Smith: There’s no real choice here, is there? Seems to me like we’re both fighting a losing battle. I don’t believe there’s a world where we’re both afforded our respective freedoms, and I see it in your eyes… You know that’s true as well. What happens next week is going to change our lives forever. But that’s what you wanted, right?
(Caroline didn’t respond; she simply nodded her head.)
Jake Smith: Are you happy?
(She rolled her eyes, almost dismissing the comment.)
Jake Smith: I’m serious.
Caroline: I do not owe you an answer to that, or to anything really. You did what you did. I reacted. This whole chain of events has fallen completely out of my control. I am capable of great things but defeating Belial? Defeating you? I have sealed my fate.
(Caroline raised her chin, stoic, but there was a slight slump to her shoulders.)
Caroline: I did not assume this was a battle that would be lost to me, but alas. I was outsmarted and out maneuvered. Eternity is forever, Jake, you damn sure better cherish your mortality after this is said and done.
Jake Smith: The way this is going, I don’t think either of us is going to have our morality by the end of this. Not that there was much of that in the first place, but if you truly do want my honesty…
(Jake lets out a begrudging sigh.)
Jake Smith: I’m scared as a bitch. And maybe it’s because I’ve never felt this vulnerable before. These past couple of weeks, I’ve been played like a fucking pawn, and I haven’t been able to do anything about it. Now I’m faced with what you just told me, and what am I supposed to do about it? Let it happen?
Caroline: Do you not get it? You have won, Jake. Perhaps this isn’t how you wished for it to be, but that is what has happened. There is nothing to be done but to face the fate we both had a hand in bestowing upon ourselves. You get to live and I get to serve. Even together we will not be able to defeat Belial.
(In an uncharacteristic motion, Caroline bit down on her bottom lip. Jake reached for her but he was frozen.)
Caroline: He’s here…
(Jake tried to break himself free, but Caroline continued to keep him in suspended motion, a solemn expression beginning to reside on her face.)
Caroline: I will handle this myself. Enjoy this next week, Jake. From here on out, *nothing* will be the same.
(Caroline disappears, and as she does… everything snaps back to normal. Jake stumbles forward, frantically looking around at an empty backstage hallway, realizing that everything has gone back to the way that it was.)
Jake Smith: No…
(Jake shakes his head rapidly, refusing to accept any of what has been said, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter.)
Jake Smith: FUCK!!!
(He let out one more defeated cry of frustration, running his hands through his hair as he stormed out of the scene, with that being the very last shot seen before Sunday Night Voltage begins to fade out to elsewhere.)
(“Life is Short, O Brave Girl” by Hanabie hits, and Miku Sakai steps through the curtain with Kiko Sakai beside her. Miku already has a microphone in hand, practically vibrating with smug satisfaction. Kiko carries one as well. They enter the ring, and Miku wastes no time.)
Miku Sakai: In case any of you acne faced, overweight cunts were wondering… I AM IN A GREAT FUCKING MOOD THIS WEEK!
(Miku laughs loudly as she continues her march to the ring. She and Kiko climb up and through the ropes.)
Miku Sakai: Last week Kai Rabeaux decided he wanted to stick his gigantic, miserable fucking nose into my business while all the bullshit was going on after my match got ruined, and apparently he thought that was going to be the end of it! He thought he could come down there, put his hands on me, go have his own match later, and Miku Sakai would just forget!
Miku Sakai: Wrong! Stupid! Fucking idiot!
Miku Sakai: You wanted my attention, Kai? Congratulations! You got it! Then I got yours right across your fucking face with your own Hardcore Championship!
(Miku mimics swinging the belt.)
Miku Sakai: BAM! Jay handled the rest, and suddenly the greatest Hardcore Champion who ever lived was staring at the lights! Beautiful.
Kiko Sakai: You seemed to enjoy it.
Miku Sakai: Every second! Maybe now Kai understands how this works. You mess with me, I mess with you. You involve yourself in my business, I involve myself in yours. Simple!
(Miku looks toward the entrance.)
Miku Sakai: So maybe now Kai thinks twice before sticking his nose into my business again. Or maybe he doesn’t. I’ll do it again.
(“The Promised Consort” by Shoi Miyazawa cuts her off. Kai Rabeaux steps onto the stage with the Hardcore Championship over his shoulder and a microphone in his opposite hand. There is no amused smirk. He looks at Miku with pure disdain. Kai enters the ring, stopping several feet away from the sisters.)
Miku Sakai: Awwww. You look upset.
Kai Rabeaux: I am disgusted.
Miku Sakai: Even better.
Kai Rabeaux: Not because you cost me a match. Results are temporary inconveniences. What disgusts me is watching you celebrate your own stupidity with such enthusiasm.
(Miku rolls her eyes.)
Kai Rabeaux: You believe striking me with my own championship made you more dangerous, perhaps even closer to taking this from me.
(Kai taps the Hardcore Championship.)
Kai Rabeaux: It did none of those things.
Miku Sakai: It made you lose.
Kai Rabeaux: And yet here it remains.
Miku Sakai: For now.
Kai Rabeaux: You needlessly dug your own grave deeper, Miku. Territorial Invasion was already destined to humiliate you. You have simply inspired me to make it memorable.
Miku Sakai: Oh, scary!
Kai Rabeaux: It should be.
(Kai steps closer.)
Kai Rabeaux: Have you forgotten what happened the last time you stood across from me? I dropped you with the Kingstone Piledriver. I pinned you.
Miku Sakai: Congratulations, you remember one fucking night. A tag match that doesn’t fucking matter.
Kai Rabeaux: I remember evidence.
Miku Sakai: You remember getting lucky.
Kai Rabeaux: There it is again. “Lucky.” The favorite word of the perennial underachiever. Every failure is an accident. Every loss is an anomaly. Every year without a championship is apparently someone else’s mistake.
Miku Sakai: And every time you open your mouth, you sound like somebody swallowed a fucking dictionary and got food poisoning.
Kai Rabeaux: Mock the vocabulary if it makes the truth easier to endure.
Miku Sakai: I don’t need anything made easier! Did you forget what happened the other week? Kiko kicked you in the balls, I beat the shit out of you, then you came after me because apparently that hurt your feelings, and I cracked you with your own title and watched you lose!
(Miku spreads her arms.)
Miku Sakai: I’ve come out on top every interaction since! Seems like I’m learning pretty fucking fast!
Kai Rabeaux: No. You are escalating because you are frightened.
Miku Sakai: Of YOU?!
Kai Rabeaux: Of what I represent. Finality. Proof. The possibility that after all of the screaming, excuses and people you blamed for leaving you behind, you may arrive at Territorial Invasion and discover that nothing has changed.
(Miku’s smile fades.)
Kai Rabeaux: That you are still the same woman who has spent years insisting she belongs at the summit while finding herself beneath everyone capable of reaching it.
Miku Sakai: Keep talking, shithead.
Kai Rabeaux: Gladly. You survived Bloodsport because your sister struck Bronson Daniels down while you were incapable of doing it yourself. You received your opportunity, then before Territorial Invasion could even arrive, I defeated you. You could not answer that failure, so you called it a fluke. Then you interfered in my match and convinced yourself that inconvenience is equivalence.
(Kai gestures toward Kiko.)
Kai Rabeaux: Every time reality becomes uncomfortable, you require someone else, something else, some new justification to reshape it into a story where Miku Sakai remains the victim of circumstance rather than the architect of her own mediocrity.
Miku Sakai: You wanna talk about how people get opportunities?
(Miku steps right into Kai’s space.)
Miku Sakai: You waited until two people had already destroyed each other, cashed in your little contract, and walked away with that championship. That’s your fucking origin story as Hardcore Champion, Kai. So spare me the lecture about earning things the right way!
Kai Rabeaux: And yet I have also retained this title ever since. I have never claimed purity. I claim superiority.
Miku Sakai: SAME FUCKING THING WHEN YOU SAY IT!
Kai Rabeaux: Not remotely.
Miku Sakai: You saw your opening and took it. Kiko took hers. I saw you trapped last week and took mine. That’s what this championship is! Opportunity, violence, whatever the fuck works!
(Miku pokes the faceplate of the Hardcore Championship.)
Miku Sakai: And at Territorial Invasion, what works is me taking that from you.
Kai Rabeaux: You are confusing lawlessness with equality. The absence of rules does not elevate you to my level. It merely removes the restrictions upon how severely I am permitted to demonstrate the difference between us.
(Miku stares at him, then smiles.)
Miku Sakai: GOOD.
Kai Rabeaux: Good?
Miku Sakai: Yeah! Stop threatening me with a fun fucking time!
(Miku begins pacing.)
Miku Sakai: You keep saying you’re gonna embarrass me, hurt me, make this worse for me, end my delusions, whatever dramatic royal bullshit you’re calling it this week. DO IT! Break my ribs! Bust my head open! Rip my fucking arm off and wave it around like your stupid little scepter!
(Miku stops directly in front of him.)
Miku Sakai: I survived glass. I survived being stabbed. I survived Bronson Daniels trying to beat me into nothing to get this title shot. I survived years of this place deciding I was finished, irrelevant, washed, whatever the insult of the fucking month happened to be!
(Miku points at the Hardcore Championship.)
Miku Sakai: So I guess you’ll have to actually kill a real human this time instead of some disgusting fetus if you plan to keep that Hardcore Championship!
(The reaction is immediate. Kai’s expression goes completely still.)
(Kiko glances toward Miku for only a moment. Miku never takes her eyes off Kai.)
Kai Rabeaux: You truly are vile.
Miku Sakai: Thank you.
Kai Rabeaux: That was not praise.
Miku Sakai: I know. Still taking it.
Kai Rabeaux: The death of that thing was irrelevant to me. An unforeseen consequence of my inevitable victory, brought about by circumstances I neither created nor had any obligation to account for. But you? You reach into another woman’s tragedy and drag it into this ring because shock is the only weapon you possess that has never required talent.
(Miku’s smile twitches.)
Kai Rabeaux: You speak of death because you believe surviving pain makes you exceptional. It does not. Cockroaches survive. Parasites survive.
Miku Sakai: And yet you can’t stop fucking noticing me.
(Kai’s jaw tightens.)
Miku Sakai: That’s the funniest part! I’m so beneath you, right? Such a failure. So fucking irrelevant that you had to come down during my match and put your hands on me because apparently the king couldn’t stand not being part of the Miku Sakai show for ten goddamn minutes!
Kai Rabeaux: I came down because sometimes a nuisance must be reminded of its place.
Miku Sakai: Then why’d you lose yours later?
Kai Rabeaux: Because you interfered.
(Miku’s grin widens.)
Miku Sakai: OH! So excuses are okay now?!
Kai Rabeaux: An explanation is not an excuse.
Miku Sakai: That’s exactly what people say when they want their excuse to sound smarter!
(Kiko almost smiles.)
Kai Rabeaux: Enjoy every fleeting second where you convince yourself that you have unsettled me. At Territorial Invasion, none of it will matter.
(Kai lifts the championship between them.)
Kai Rabeaux: You will stand across from the greatest Hardcore Champion this title has ever known. There will be no TLA. No Jay Jerry Johnson. No convenient chaos to exploit. And when your sister attempts to manufacture another miracle for you, I will be ready for her too.
(Kiko steps forward.)
Kiko Sakai: You should be.
(Kai slowly turns his head toward her.)
Kai Rabeaux: Last time you surprised me.
Kiko Sakai: I only need to help her win.
Kai Rabeaux: And you believe I will permit you to do so twice?
(A cold and calculated expression comes over Kiko’s face.)
Kiko Sakai: I don’t need your permission.
(Miku laughs.)
Miku Sakai: See? Useful.
(Kai looks between them.)
Kai Rabeaux: Then perhaps both sisters require the lesson.
Miku Sakai: Try it.
Kai Rabeaux: Gladly.
Rich Russillo: AND MIKU SAKAI SHOVES KAI RABEAUX!! KAI RETURNS THE SHOVE! MIKU CLAWS AT KAI’S FACE AND KAI DRIVES A KNEE INTO HER MIDSECTION!
Thadd Blazevich: MIKU SWINGS AT HIM BRO! BUT KAI CATCHES HER AT THE WAIST AND SHOVES HER BACK INTO THE ROPES!
Persephone: MIKU PUTS AN ELBOW INTO FETUS FATALITY’S JAW! AND BOTH GO TUMBLING THROUGH THE ROPES TOGETHER!
Rich Russillo: THEY ARE STILL BRAWLING AS THEY LAND! BOTH THROWING STRIKES AS THEY PUSH TO THEIR FEET!!
Thadd Blazevich: BUT KAI FINALLY MUSCLES HER OFF AND DRIVES MIKU SPINE FIRST INTO THE BARRICADE!
Persephone: BUT HERE COMES KIKO SAKAI WITH CLUBBING SHOTS TO THE BACK OF KAI’S HEAD! SHE ATTACKS HIM FROM BEHIND!
Thadd Blazevich: KAI FENDING KIKO OFF! Kiko moves— KIKO RUSHES BACK IN WITH A MASSIVE KICK!!
Rich Russillo: KAI SIDESTEPS IT! AND HE TAKES KIKO DOWN WITH BLADE OF BABYLON! THE HIDDEN BLADE ELBOW!
Thadd Blazevich: Kai looking down at Kiko on the floor, bro! She’s barely moving after that shot—
Persephone: BUT NOW MIKU WITH A LEAPING KNEE TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! SHE TAKES ADVANTAGE AND NOW SHE’S CLUBBING AWAY AT BABY KILLER!
Rich Russillo: MIKU SMASHES KAI AGAINST THE RING APRON! DRIVING ELBOWS INTO HIS FACE!
Thadd Blazevich: KAI FINALLY SHOVES MIKU OFF OF HIM! BUT MIKU DRIVES RIGHT BACK IN AND HEADBUTT’S KAI RIGHT IN THE NOSE!
(Security pours down the ramp.)
Persephone: Looks like someone finally decided to do their job around here.
(Several officials grab Kai while another group pulls Miku away. Miku kicks and twists against them, still trying to reach him.)
Miku Sakai: (Off Mic) COME ON! YOU WANTED TO EMBARRASS ME!
(Kai fights against the security holding him.)
Kai Rabeaux: (Off Mic) AT TERRITORIAL INVASION, YOU WILL REGRET EVERY WORD!
Miku Sakai: (Off Mic) I DON’T REGRET SHIT!
(Kiko begins stirring near the barricade as an official kneels beside her, but Miku remains entirely focused on Kai. Kai retrieves the Hardcore Championship from the floor and raises it over his head.)
Kai Rabeaux: (Off Mic) THIS IS AS CLOSE AS YOU WILL EVER COME!
(Miku laughs and reaches toward the championship.)
Miku Sakai: (Off Mic) KEEP HOLDING IT FOR ME!
(Security continues forcing them apart.)
Miku Sakai: (Off Mic) ONE MORE WEEK, KAI! THAT’S IT!
Kai Rabeaux: (Off Mic) YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT AWAITS YOU!
Miku Sakai: (Off Mic) THEN SURPRISE ME LIKE YOUR MOM DID WHEN SHE HAD YOU INSTEAD OF SWALLOWING!
(Kai lunges again, forcing security to swarm him as Miku laughs. Kiko is helped toward her feet behind Miku. Miku glances back only long enough to register that her sister is standing, then immediately turns back toward Kai and points at the Hardcore Championship.)
Miku Sakai: (Off Mic) THAT’S MINE!
(Kai clutches the title against his chest, glaring across the sea of officials.)
(Security finally creates real distance. Kai is forced up the ramp with the Hardcore Championship while Miku continues shouting after him, smiling like someone who got exactly the reaction she wanted. Kiko steadies herself against the barricade behind her as the scene ends.)
(Commercial for Territorial Invasion where Miku Sakai will challenge Kai Rebeaux for the Hardcore Championship.)
(Moments later, Voltage began to fade back to the ringside area; the hardcam fading out to reveal more of the New Orleans crowd inside of The Smoothie King Center. Seconds later…)
(‘Once Then We’ll Be Free’ by Wisp began to play through the PA System. Jay Jerry Johnson walked through the curtains, fitted in a Thomas ‘Wefster’ Tauchi branded tracksuit — Jay’s mentor. A microphone was already in his hand, and after all that had happened these last few weeks between Champion and Challenger, it was obvious tonight was going to be the near-culmination of everything that had been brewing. Though the main event between these two was next week, tonight would be their final encounter before the bell would ring.)
(Jay marched up the steel steps, slowly entering the ring, waiting for his theme song to fade out. He had a lot to say, no doubt a veteran at this point in his career; Jay evidently had a lot to get off his chest.)
(Slowly, he raised his microphone…)
Jay Jerry Johnson: Earlier this week, I celebrated my fifth year as an active competitor in Elite Answers Wrestling. August 9th 2021, the day I signed pen-to-paper; it was this very brand that I found myself on in my first season. I remember fighting atop ladders, both at King of Elite for ‘Unique Opportunities’ as well as in Cash in the Vault within my first year. I remember the Elimination Chamber on Dynasty, the Interwire Championship victory at Pain for Pride, the brief hiatus and the eventual return to claim the Interwire Championship for a record-tying second time at Road To Redemption almost two years ago. Beating Brian Daniels at Pain For Pride last year, and starting my charge towards the top prize. I’ve experienced nearly everything there is to experience. The highs and the much guaranteed lows, and through every single second of my career I have given it my all. I’ve never phoned it in, always given everything that I had, and in spite of that effort the one thing that has evaded me from beginning to present is the EAW World Championship. I’ve tied history, forever cemented myself in the history books and I’ve done more than most ever will — but I have yet to achieve the ultimate prize. That stops at Territorial Invasion.
Jay Jerry Johnson: Last week, I showed just how much my promises mean. I did something that Hans Grayson never could and that’s defeat Kai Rabeaux. Further proving that no matter how good Hans Grayson is, no matter how accomplished he is, no matter how confident he is — in a game where confidence matters the most — I looked him dead in the eye and told him exactly what I was going to do, then did it. Whether he likes it or not the ball is in my court, I have all the chips and I’m cashing them in at Territorial Invasion. Hans and I have had our battles of philosophies and deep down he knows that I’m right. He spent all of that time with the Cash in the Vault briefcase trying to do things the quote unquote “right way;” his way, the honourable way. But what does that matter when the bell rings, we’re 30 minutes deep and nothing he’s trying works? Deep into the match, and the thoughts in the back of your head start telling you to do absolutely anything to get the job done…
Jay Jerry Johnson: He’ll crumble.
(Jay pauses, pacing around the ring. Last week we saw Hans fired up, passionate and roaring to go. This was completely juxtaposed by Jay Jerry Johnson’s cold and calm demeanor. It was no doubt that the words they spoke, they spoke from the heart — the way they both claimed to want victory reflected perfectly with their mannerisms. The Dragon vs. The Artist; a fire-breathing beast vs. a slow, matriculate scientific wrestler. Jay really did believe he would do absolutely anything to get to the top. Perhaps he would.)
Jay Jerry Johnson: Hans has done well to get here, he’s done nothing wrong except run into the wrong man. And—
(Jay Jerry Johnson would soon be interrupted by a roar of cheers, enough to deafen any track playing through the PA System. That track just so happened to be ‘The Leaving Song Pt. II’ by AFI. The EAW World Champion walked through the curtains; in one hand, a microphone, and in the other was the Championship he had rested over his shoulder. Jay’s eyes rolled as he was cut off, but he maintained his calm demeanor. The Champion began to walk down the ramp, making his way up the steel steps and entering the ring. Once again, he comes face-to-face with his challenger.)
(His theme song begins to fade, as he adjusted the Championship that rested on his fleece-lined vintage suede leather jacket. Eye-to-eye with Jay Jerry Johnson, the Fire-Breathing Dragon raised his microphone.)
Hans Grayson: I’m gonna stop you right there before you get way too ahead of yourself, Jay. I get it, I get what you’re trying to do, I’m not gonna act like I wouldn’t do the same thing in your position — provoking the Champion, trying to get under their skin, trying to force them into making a mistake, that’s what you do, that’s how Champions lose the gold in any sport, I’m just as guilty of it as you are with the way I was constantly provoking Drake Armstrong. You want to get under my skin because you NEED this opportunity to be different than the last. I’ve got a lot of respect for how far you’ve come, how dedicated you are to making the next step, I can relate. I can relate to holding the secondary Championships, carrying them as far as you possibly can just to prove that you’re worthy enough for the top billing, only to fall when it matters most. You’ve accomplished so much, you’ve tied records, you’ve proven that you can be a Champion multiple times over, and you’ve no doubt earned this opportunity that you’re going to get at Territorial Invasion. But that’s where our similarities start and end, Jay. That’s where we met the crossroads that has now sent us on two completely different trajectories, and that’s where my respect for you ends.
Hans Grayson: You’ve swung for the best and they’ve knocked you down before, you took those learning curves and instead of developing a healthy fighting mentality you’ve started to lash out on guys like me for doing things the right way — not just because the right way is moral, but because the right way proves that I’m just as good as I say I am. Nobody can deny me, nobody can say that I’m not the rightful World Champion and nobody can say that my title victory was just because I had the contract in my hands and took advantage of somebody’s misfortune. I won that Cash in the Vault contract an entire year before I ever cashed it in, and when I did, I looked Drake Armstrong in the eye and gave him as much preparation as he needed just so I could take it from him and leave him with absolutely no excuses. I’ve failed, but I learned from those failures. It’s just part of wrestling, hell, it’s part of life. You get knocked down, you get back up, you wonder exactly WHY you got knocked down in the first place and make sure that when it comes back around you’re ready and find yourself on top.
Hans Grayson: Instead of pushing yourself forward, and learning from those mistakes? You’ve decided to be a little bitch and do everything in your power to worm your way back into this spotlight.
(Hans steps back, once again getting fired up all the while Jay stands in front of him with his arms behind his back.)
Hans Grayson: I didn’t have it easy, Jay. I’ve come face-to-face with many people who are just like you, many people who would rather slice my ankles and watch me fall than come for my throat and fight me like a worthy Champion. They’ve tried to change me, they’ve tried to make me just like you, but I’m never going to go down your path because I’m better than that, and this Championship represents it. This Championship represents the journey that I’ve been on and how far I’ve come, and I don’t need to convince myself that I need to do “wHaTeVeR iT tAkEs” to become Champion; I already have everything in my arsenal to hold onto this, because I know that I’m good enough to do so.
(…But it wasn’t long before they came face-to-face once more, as Hans stepped back into Jay’s personal space, and reignited that staredown. Jay shook his head, clenching his jaw with a slight smirk appearing on his face.)
Jay Jerry Johnson: Do you think that’ll be the case after Territorial Invasion, hm?
(Jay stepped back.)
Jay Jerry Johnson: It’s easy to say that when you’re at the top and everything has gone your way, it’s easy to say that you’ve been able to manifest your failures into victories, all because you’ve “learned” from them but you haven’t had it like me quite yet. Everybody’s journey is different, people make it to the top sooner than others and come crashing down harder than the rest but everybody ends up in this exact same position; desperate, needy for that Championship, willing to do whatever it takes. Some are scared, some embrace it. As I said, you’ll crumble.
Hans Grayson: Give it a rest, Jay.
(Hans interrupted…)
Hans Grayson: I’m tired of this idea that I’m just going to fall into desperation like you; I know this reign won’t last forever, this company has existed for 20 years and everybody knows that sooner or later my reign will come to an end, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to get desperate. I’ve made it here once and I’ll do it again; what makes you believe you can be that change?
Jay Jerry Johnson: Because after all of that fighting you did to get here, you’re going out with a whimper rather than a bang; and everybody will know exactly what you are. What we’re all thinking.
Jay Jerry Johnson: You’re not a fighting Champion…
(Jay once again got in closer…)
Jay Jerry Johnson: You’re a weak Champion.
(And Hans shook his head.)
(…Before…)
(***THUD!***)
(Hans Grayson threw a wild overhand, sending Jay stumbling backwards! He was completely caught off guard, and now everything was going wild! They dropped their microphones, Hans even dropped his Championship, as he continued to rush forward!)
(***THUD!***)
(***THUD!***)
(***THUD!***)
(Haymaker, after haymaker, after haymaker! He sent Jay stumbling into the ropes! Hans would grab his wrist, and send him forward with an Irish Whip…)
(***THUD!!!!!!!!!!!***)
(A huge lariat sends Jay to the floor! Hans uses his momentum to rush forward and leap over the top rope; now out onto the apron! He has Jay exactly where he wants him!)
(He would push himself back and forth on the ropes, keeping the blood flowing through his veins as he waited for Jay to return to his feet… and then… HE LEAPED!)
(BURNING SHOT LARIAT!!!!!!!!!!)
(COUNTERED! JAY LIFTED HIM UP, AND DROVE HIM DOWN ONTO HIS HEAD; HEAVEN’S FEEL!!!!!!!!!)
(Jay soon after began to roll out of the ring, leaving Hans Grayson down but not out! Hans was clearly hurt, but not unconscious; barely moving and unable to get back to his feet for the time being!)
(Jay Jerry Johnson got the better of him, but it begged the question; what would happen if that was hit in the middle of a match? Hans Grayson was hurt now, but perhaps Jay was right. 30 minutes deep into a match, Jay Jerry Johnson finding a way to dig deep…)
(Could we see a new World Champion?)
(The broadcast would begin to fade elsewhere…)
(Promotional ad for Territorial Invasion, where the War Games match will take place.)
(Sunday Night Voltage returns from the final commercial break of the night as the camera goes over to show Thadd Blazevich standing at the center of the ring. The scene has been completely transformed, with there being three tables in the ring and the ropes having been removed; everything looking official. As the crowd settles down, Thadd raises his microphone and begins to speak.)
Thadd Blazevich: Bros, what a rad episode of Sunday Night Voltage we’ve had tonight! We are on the road to Territorial Invasion, and with one week remaining, everything is coming to a head, and how exciting is that?! So, with that being said, what better way to close this than with the match that EVERYONE has been waiting for! War Games!
(The crowd goes absolutely batshit at this, Thadd nodding his head in agreement.)
Thadd Blazevich: All three teams are going to meet in the ring for the last time to have a discussion. I don’t know how this is going to go, bro, but needless to say… this is going to be something that you’re not going to miss! So let’s not waste any time, and let’s welcome out the home team… put your hands together for TEAM VOLTAGE!
(‘Until It Sleeps’ by Metallica begins to play through the speakers of the arena, as the camera goes over to the stage to reveal Team Captain Damon Lazarus as he’s seen making his way out from the backstage area. He has a stern expression on his face as he’s followed by his teammates, Auburn Ware and Saori Aizen. Both of them are standing confidently *together* as they begin to make their way down the ramp and toward the ring.)
Persephone: Okay, who the fuck let THADD officiate this?! What type of officiating does this idiot know how to do?!
Rich Russillo: Well, I think regardless of who it was going to be, this was never going to be as cordial as it was chalked up to be, especially with a variable like that making their way to the ring. Last week we got a bold preview of War Games as Auburn Ware picked up the win for her team on Dynasty thanks to help from Damon Lazarus in the process, and while Saori Aizen wasn’t able to say the same for herself on Showdown, they ended Voltage united in a way that they weren’t before. Which might pay dividends in a match like this.
(Team Voltage makes their way into the ring as they head over to the table situated for them. They take their seats, and their microphones are prepared for them as ‘Until It Sleeps’ begins to come to a close. After a moment, Thadd begins to speak.)
Thadd Blazevich: Thank you for joining us, bros.
(Damon leans forward, a glare on his face.)
Damon Lazarus: Wouldn’t miss this for the world. I’m sure Dynasty and Showdown would like to see firsthand the type of threat that they’re up against… isn’t that right?
(He looks backward and glances at both Auburn and Saori, who don’t have any complaints about this.)
Auburn Ware: It’s safe to say that we’re far past the point of proving whether or not we’re on the same page; right now, we’re just looking to take. And when it comes to that… I’m more than inclined to agree that everyone who stands in our way is fucked.
Saori Aizen: I am in agreement. It took some growing pains to get here, unfortunately, but Damon proved to have a plan that worked perfectly in execution. In hindsight… I must admit that it took that struggle in order to reach our full potential. So I am quite interested to see how the rest of the teams look to respond to such a task ahead of them.
Thadd Blazevich: Wait no longer, bros! Because up next is another team with some strong competitors to look toward in this match… TEAM DYNASTY!
(‘ULTRA INSTINCT (Epic Version)’ follows, bringing out Dynasty’s Team Captain BRAE, as well as Cy Henderson and Kirk Redwood. BRAE looks calm despite last week’s events, but it’s clear neither Cy Henderson nor Kirk Redwood are thrilled about the events that have transpired recently. Still, the trio begin to walk down the ramp, all while Team Voltage waits inside of the ring, already seated at one of the tables.)
Rich Russillo: These three didn’t have the greatest two weeks for them. They ended up leaving the triple threats without any of the victories– but when you look at a team like this, I don’t think you can let that take away from how much of a threat they are. BRAE and Kirk Redwood are both extremely tough competitors who’ve excelled during their time on Dynasty, and Cy is a Hall of Famer for a reason.
Persephone: A lot of words to say they’re losers. Whatever, let’s just get this over with.
(The three Elitists make their way into the ring and towards the tables, and Cy Henderson and Kirk Redwood both stare directly at Team Voltage as they take their seats, all while Thadd speaks.)
Thadd Blazevich: Dynasty bros, you may not be on my brand but it’s good to see ya!
BRAE: Of course. I must admit, there was truth to what Damon Lazarus said. I believe it is only right we have the chance to observe our opponents up close as a team. After all, I was prepared for war on home turf. What I was *not* prepared for was the chaos of Team Showdown and the combined effort of Team Voltage, in spite of their personal drama, to be what causes defeat. A mistake I don’t intend to make twice.
(BRAE glares at Team Voltage as he says this, though maintaining his composure. The members of Voltage don’t say anything to this just yet, but Kirk Redwood speaks after this.)
Kirk Redwood: I don’t give a shit about what condition Team Voltage is in. Whether you two wanna keep fighting over some asshole or not doesn’t matter to me. What matters is getting that victory so we can all move on to better things– and last week wasn’t that, and it pisses me off. You three can do what you want. You want to prove you’re on the same page. You want to prove there’s nothing going on– but I don’t care. I don’t need to hide how I feel about my team. All we need to do is show up.
(Cy Henderson just shakes his head after this.)
Thadd Blazevich: Cy?
Cy Henderson: Look who’s in front of us. What are we doing? Last week’s losses were embarrassing and not because of the losses Team Dynasty took– but who the losses were against. Team Showdown has no business even joining us out here as abysmal as that team is, and every time I look at Team Voltage I question why Damon Lazarus is employed to this company, or if Voltage’s Commissioner has any idea what’s happening right under his nose. This is a waste of time, because there is no real world where I leave Territorial Invasion in defeat. Not against this group.
(These words are left to sink in as nobody speaks right away. Thadd Blazevich just takes a deep breath, looking to move on as he turns away.)
Thadd Blazevich: Alright… Well, let’s get the final team out here! We only have one team left to bring out, and it’s the blue brand. Ladies and gents, please welcome TEAM SHOWDOWN!
Thadd Blazevich: Alright, bros, everybody’s here! We’ve heard a lot over these last few weeks about who can work together, who can’t stand each other, and who thinks they’ve got the strongest team, but this is the last chance you’re all gonna have to say it face-to-face before War Games. I’m gonna try to keep this thing under control, so let’s hear everybody out and maybe keep the tables standing while we’re at it.
(Damien looks down at the table in front of him for a moment before looking back at Thadd.)
Damien Kutcher: You really think that table making it through this shit?
Thadd Blazevich: Bro, I’m trying to be optimistic.
Damien Kutcher: Then Kutcher respects the hustle.
(Pandora lets out a small laugh before leaning forward and taking her microphone, looking first toward Team Dynasty and then Team Voltage.)
Pandora Paisley: I think what I find most amusing about all of this is how much time everyone has spent talking about Team Showdown as though we’re the ones with something to prove. Cy just called us abysmal, Kirk apparently doesn’t give a shit about anybody, and Voltage spent weeks trying to convince themselves they could sit beside each other without tearing one another apart. Meanwhile, the three of us have never had that problem.
(Pandora glances toward Jon and Damien before turning her attention back across the ring.)
Pandora Paisley: I trust these two, and they trust me. That doesn’t mean we’re coming into War Games holding hands and singing bloody songs together, it means when that cage closes and everything goes to hell, I know exactly who is standing beside me. I don’t have to wonder whether Jon is going to have me back, and I don’t have to wonder whether Damien is going to do his part. You lot can say whatever you want about us, but that is something neither of your teams can pretend you’ve had from the beginning.
Jon Kelton: And that matters more than any of you want to admit. You can dismiss us, call us the weakest team here, or keep pointing toward whatever failures make that easier to believe, but none of that changes what happens when the bell rings. I know what War Games can take from someone, and I know exactly what I’m willing to give to make sure Showdown wins. I’m not walking into that cage because I enjoy putting my career at risk. I’m doing it because winning this match means something to me, and because Showdown is my home. If defending it means going through every person sitting across from us, then that’s exactly what I intend to do.
(Damien nods along before raising his own microphone.)
Damien Kutcher: See, that’s why Kutcher fucks with these two. Everybody else got a whole damn soap opera going on, meanwhile Team Showdown came here with one simple plan. Get in that cage, beat six asses, win War Games, and go the fuck home. Kutcher don’t care if you’re a Hall of Famer, a champion, some unkillable motherfucker, or whatever the hell Damon got going on over there. Next week, all that shit goes out the window.
(Damien leans back in his chair as Pandora keeps her eyes on the other two teams, leaving the floor open for either of them to respond.)
Cy Henderson: This isn’t serious.
Jon Kelton: What?
Cy Henderson: You. All three of you. The fact that Showdown sent the three of you into what’s supposed to be the most important match of Territorial Invasion is either a bad joke or a greater indictment of Kennedy Street’s ability to run a show than anything else, and the worse joke is the fact that the three of you seem to genuinely believe you’re the ones who walk away with this. As mediocre as you are.
Pandora Paisley: And yet here we are, love. You can insult Kennedy, you can insult us, but none of that changes the fact that we earned our places in this match. If you’re expecting me to sit here offended because Cy Henderson doesn’t think we’re good enough, you’ll be waiting all bloody night. I’d much rather let Territorial Invasion decide that.
Damien Kutcher: Yeah, what she said! Besides, if we’re so damn mediocre, then why is you so pressed? Kutcher figured a Hall of Famer would have bigger shit to worry about than three people who apparently don’t belong here. Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than us.
Kirk Redwood: Nah. Much as I don’t like him, Cy’s right about one thing. This is a fucking joke. Sitting here and talking’s not gonna accomplish anything, ‘cause none of you are gonna say anything we weren’t already expecting. None of us wants to do this. What we want is to fight. To tear each other to shreds and get to the actual point of these teams existing. You think I want to be stuck here with Cy like we’re friends? I don’t. This is all just a means to an end and right now we’re wasting our time hearing promise after promise knowing that once it’s time to stop talking and start swinging– only one team’s getting what they want.
(Thadd cautiously observes the area as tensions rise, but he calms down as nobody gets out of their seats. However, Kirk turns to Damon.)
Kirk Redwood: Be honest with yourself. You really think this shit’s gonna last? They stop fighting and say what they want under their breath, so what?
Damon Lazarus: Interesting how your egos allow you to perceive this match. Contradictory to you proclaiming that this match is yours to win.
Auburn Ware: Listen, I think anyone can see how Dynasty’s holding up and it’s not great. Cy and Kirk are just going to betray one another, and despite everything BRAE’s done he basically already proved he’s not good enough to carry a team on his shoulders, and he knows it.
(BRAE doesn’t respond to this, keeping his composure despite the jab at him.)
Saori Aizen: Not a single threat that has left any of your mouths has held any meaning. Defeat is simply not going to happen for us, and the one thing I will agree with is that this conversation is a waste of time if its only use is for fools to attempt to convince me otherwise. Do not waste your breath trying to convince us of anything.
(Finally, BRAE sighs.)
BRAE: I have been in War Games before. I understand what an environment like that looks like, and it isn’t for the fragile. I believe it’s too soon to make any assumptions of teams imploding. To be honest, I’d assume the three of you would know better than to rely on such an idea given your issues are far more personal than what our team has faced.
Damon Lazarus: Our “issues” are none of your concern. We made a promise last week that we stand united, and most importantly, we come for the victory. You already fell to us when it mattered, so you don’t need to doubt that. Just wait and see, kid.
Pandora Paisley: Then keep your promise. I’d rather beat Voltage at its best than spend the next week hoping you lot fall apart before we get there. Just don’t mistake one night of peace for proof that everything’s suddenly fixed, because we’ve all seen enough to know better.
Kirk Redwood: Heh. Just ridiculous all around.
Saori Aizen: You have no reason to speak. You’ve already put your incompetence on display. Quite frankly, I doubt you’ll be the center of anyone’s attention in War Games.
Pandora Paisley: Maybe you should’ve focused on me a little more last Saturday then, flower. I stepped into the ring with you and Kirk, and when it was all said and done, I was the one who walked away with the victory. You can dismiss me again if you’d like, but we’ve already seen what that can get you.
(Kirk just shakes his head, not thrilled by what happened on Showdown last week but not responding, either. Saori Aizen, on the other hand, quickly responds.)
Saori Aizen: That does not dictate anything. It was a faltering moment, but it did not assure that your victory at Territorial Invasion that you assume will come is going to become a reality. No, it doesn’t work like that.
Damien Kutcher: Nobody said it does, but these matches still mean something. We’ve all had the chance to see what the other teams can do, and whether you won or lost, you better learn from that shit before War Games.
Auburn Ware: Meanwhile, I beat you… AND I beat the Team Dynasty Captain. What does that say about your chances in this match? I think it says that you’re severely outwrestled and outmanned here.
BRAE: You did get the victory, though I can’t ignore the circumstances that led to it. I have much to prepare for– but that’s true for all of us. I’m sure you understand why what happened last week won’t be repeated so easily. You’re talented, Auburn. As is Damon and Saori, but the last few weeks have been tainted by the chaos that comes with this time of the year, and I know all too well just how different this chaos can look from what occurs within that cage. Our match was the result of tension that had already been built between our three teams, ignoring the triple threat rules to take matters into each other’s hands. Who will interfere with War Games that was not already in the match?
Auburn Ware: I didn’t expect the heart and soul of Dynasty to be the type to make excuses for what happened. Nothing is off the table, and if you think that what’s been happening these past couple of weeks is something that you consider tainted then maybe you’re not prepared to lead your team into the most unpredictable match that this brand has to offer.
BRAE: You can think what you’d like Auburn, but this isn’t about last week’s result. This is about War Games, because nothing that has happened so far compares to a match like that and I know this from experience. I intend to give this one hundred percent no matter the circumstances and I expect all of you to do the same, but you won’t understand what you’re truly in for until you’ve entered that cage.
(Auburn doesn’t respond to this, but she doesn’t even have much of a chance to, as Damon Lazarus cuts in.)
Damon Lazarus: No, I don’t think *you* understand, kid. None of you do, so let me dumb this down so it’s easier for the likes of you to understand. We know what’s coming, and I wouldn’t have made this team if I thought it’d be a waste of my time. Both of you think you’ve got it all figured out, but look at yourselves. Your wrestling capabilities don’t mean shit when you don’t have the teamwork to back it up, and your teamwork doesn’t mean shit when you don’t have the wrestling capabilities to back it up. Not a single one of your teams are built to last– and the more I look at you, the more pathetic it gets.
Jon Kelton: You’ve got a lot of confidence for someone whose entire argument depends on everyone else falling apart, Damon. Maybe worry less about what you think is wrong with us and start asking yourself what happens when none of it goes according to your plan. You won’t be able to control everything once that cage closes.
Pandora Paisley: That’s what gets me, love. You sit there speaking to everyone like we’re beneath you, as if putting this team together suddenly made you the smartest man in the room. Keep believing that if you want, but don’t confuse being the loudest cunt at the table with being the most dangerous one.
(There is a stone cold stare on the face of Damon Lazarus, but after some time, Voltage’s Captain just lets out a slight chuckle.)
Damon Lazarus: You really–
Cy Henderson: No, don’t do this. What do you think you’re accomplishing Damon? You have a hold over Auburn and Saori, but nobody here with a shred of self respect is going to be intimidated by a man that got here only months ago and chose to make his claim to fame in this new stage of his career… *this*. You’re not a real Captain, Damon. The only thing you built is a bomb, and when it goes off you’ll be the first one to fall.
(At this point, Damon has already had enough, briefly startling everyone around him, he stands up and pushes over the table. All the other teams immediately get on alert, and they know exactly where this is going.)
Thadd Blazevich: Let’s calm down here, dude-
Damon Lazarus: You shut your damn mouth.
(Damon turns and immediately points over to Team Dynasty.)
Damon Lazarus: If only the team you had was even HALF the team you guys chalked yourselves up to be. A bomb..? Look at you– no, look at all of you. Showdown, Dynasty, every single one of you is running on borrowed time, and I don’t need to wait to drive in the final nail in the coffin. We can make that point however we choose just as we already have, and we’ll spend War Games spitting on your grave.
(After this, Damon turns to BRAE.)
Damon Lazarus: You have some sense. Get your team under control, while you still have the chance.
(Immediately, BRAE gets out of his seat, staring at Damon Lazarus.)
BRAE: Are you sure you want to do this?
(Meanwhile, Pandora Paisley gets out of her own seat.)
Pandora Paisley: No, go ahead.
(Damon Lazarus slowly nods as he observes his six opponents. Thadd slowly begins to back off, before just getting out of the ring and heading to the commentary table. Everyone starts to get their guard up, getting out of their seats–)
Rich Russillo: DAMON JUST GRABBED BRAE!!
Thadd Blazevich: DUDE! HE JUST– HE PULLS BRAE OVER THE TABLE– BEFORE THROWING HIM INTO PANDORA!!! KELTON AND KIRK ARE SPRINGING INTO ACTION, BUT SO IS SAORI AIZEN!!!
Persephone: And here we go.
Rich Russillo: SAORI INTERCEPTS KIRK WITH A DROPKICK, SENDING HIM OUT OF THE RING– BEFORE CY GRABS SAORI AND KNEES HER! Auburn Ware runs in while Kelton goes after Damon, AND AUBURN ELBOWS KELTON IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD! KELTON DROPS TO A KNEE AND AUBURN STARTS CLUBBING AT HIM, BUT KELTON SHOVES HER OFF!
Thadd Blazevich: DAMIEN MEANWHILE JUST HIT CY WITH A CORNER CLOTHESLINE! Saori meanwhile charges in– BUT DAMIEN LANDS A BACK ELBOW! Bro turns and lifts Saori, AND BRO WANTED A POWERBOMB, BUT SAORI COUNTERS WITH A HURRICANRANA TO SEND HIM OUT OF THE RING! Damien rolls to his feet by Kirk–
Rich Russillo: AND CY MEANWHILE GRABS THE SPECIALISTS CHAMPION, BEFORE THROWING HER OVER THE TOP ROPE AND INTO DAMIEN AND KIRK!!!!
Thadd Blazevich: BRAE MEANWHILE GOT UP, AND HE LEAPED OVER THE TABLE AND INTO DAMON!!! THOSE TWO HAVE BEEN GOING AT IT EVER SINCE DAMON THREW BRAE INTO PANDORA– BUT PANDORA PICKED UP ONE OF THE CHAIRS, BEFORE SLAMMING IT INTO DAMON’S BACK! DAMON STUMBLES OFF, AND PANDORA HITS BRAE IN THE HEAD WITH THE CHAIR! PANDORA TURNS, AND NOW THERE’S A SHOT TO THE BACK OF DAMON’S HEAD!
Persephone: AUBURN GOES FOR PANDORA–
Rich Russillo: BUT KELTON CATCHES HER, BEFORE THROWING HER INTO THE TURNBUCKLES! AUBURN STUMBLES, BEFORE FALLING THROUGH THE ROPES!!!
Thadd Blazevich: CY MEANWHILE GOES FOR DAMON, WHILE BRAE KICKS PANDORA IN THE MIDSECTION AND STARTS TO BRAWL WITH HER! THOSE TWO ARE GOING AT IT– AND BRAE LANDS A HEADBUTT ON PANDORA!
Persephone: KELTON RUSHES IN TO SWING AT BRAE– BUT BRAE DUCKS UNDER BEFORE GRABBING KELTON!
Rich Russillo: AND BRAE SENDS KELTON THROUGH ONE OF THE TABLES WITH A GERMAN SUPLEX!!! KELTON ROLLS OUT OF THE RING, AND THIS HAS JUST BEEN A HUGE OUT OF CONTROL BRAWL!!
Thadd Blazevich: DAMON IS ABLE TO KICK CY– AND ONE OF THE FALLEN TABLES CAUSES HIM TO STUMBLE A BIT, BACKPEDALING TO THE ROPES! PANDORA SEES THIS AND TAKES THE OPPORTUNITY, CLOTHESLINING HIM OVER THE TOP ROPE!
Rich Russillo: Cy lands on his feet– BUT DAMON SENDS CY INTO THE RING POST! Damien walks in as Cy stumbles, BUT CY LANDS A RIGHT! DAMIEN NOW FIRES ONE BACK! THOSE TWO ARE GOING AT IT, MEANWHILE KIRK REDWOOD AND SAORI AIZEN ARE FIGHTING THEIR WAY TO THE RAMP! Auburn Ware has recovered at ringside, and she’s near the steps picking up Kelton!
Thadd Blazevich: KELTON LANDS AN ELBOW– BUT AUBURN FIRES ONE BACK! NOW LOOK, BRO! THE THREE CAPTAINS ARE STARTING TO GO AT IT!!
(Security guards suddenly begin rushing down the ramp, but that’s not all. Cy Henderson and Damien Lazarus take each other over the barricade, and here more security guards are shown as they attempt to restrain the two men.)
Rich Russillo: SECURITY IS HERE, AND NEEDLESS TO SAY THEY HAVE THEIR WORK CUT OUT FOR THEM!! CY AND DAMIEN FOUND THEIR WAY INTO THE CROWD AND ARE BEING SPLIT UP THERE, MEANWHILE SECURITY GUARDS DRAG SAORI AND KIRK AWAY FROM EACH OTHER, AS WELL AS AUBURN AND KELTON AT RINGSIDE!!!!
Thadd Blazevich: EVERYONE IS SLOWLY BUT SURELY GETTING CLEARED OUT, AND NOW THE GUARDS RUSH INTO THE RING!! BRAE WAS TAKING THE FIGHT TO DAMON IN THE CORNER– BUT JUST AS PANDORA WENT IN FOR A FOREARM TO THE BACK OF BRAE’S HEADS, THE GUARDS WERE ABLE TO PULL HER AWAY!!!
Persephone: UGH, NOW THEY’RE PULLING BRAE AWAY, AND KEEPING DAMON IN THE CORNER!! WE DIDN’T EVEN SEE ANY BLOOD, WHAT KIND OF RIPOFF IS THIS!?
Rich Russillo: I THINK IT’S CLEAR WHAT THIS IS! IT’S A PREVIEW, THAT’S WHAT! THE ELITISTS AT RINGSIDE ARE TRYING TO FIGHT THEIR WAY OUT OF THE SECURITY GUARDS’ GRASP USING WHATEVER THEY CAN, MEANWHILE MORE GUARDS ARE POURING IN TO TAKE CARE OF THEM ALL!! THIS HAS BEEN ONE EXPLOSIVE END TO VOLTAGE!
Thadd Blazevich: DUDE, YOU’RE TELLIN’ ME?? I WOULDA BEEN CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE IF I DIDN’T GET OUT OF THERE!!
Rich Russillo: THE SECURITY GUARDS ARE STARTING TO HAVE THIS ONE WRAPPED UNDER CONTROL, BUT DON’T FORGET!! TERRITORIAL INVASION IS ONLY A WEEK AWAY, AND THERE, ALL NINE OF THESE COMPETITORS WILL MEET ONCE MORE, IN WAR GAMES!!
(Slowly but surely the carnage is subdued, as the security guards massively outnumber the War Games participants, needing as many bodies as possible to actually stop the fight. Inside of the ring the Captains continue to struggle, but they never take their eyes off of each other, just saying a few words that they know their opponents can hear.)
Damon Lazarus: (off-mic) I’m winning that War Games match, and not a single one of you will stop me.
BRAE: (off-mic) No, you won’t take this from us.
Pandora Paisley: (off-mic) It was never either of yours! It’s ours!
(The three Captains let out these last statements as they struggled in the hands of security, still staring directly at each other– as at this point, that was all they could do. Damien Kutcher and Cy Henderson are being pulled away in the crowd, as chairs, drinks and more have been knocked over during the commotion. Saori Aizen and Kirk Redwood are both being dragged up the ramp, while Jon Kelton and Auburn Ware are separated at ringside, with guards surrounding them so nobody gets in the ring. Inside of the ring, the three Captains stare each other down as they’re held back by security, while Voltage fades to black.)
(EAW logo buzzes.)
