"So, what do you think was the highlight of the show?"
"...Everything?"
"Everything."
"What an amazing main event..."
"Man, that Xander LeBelle guy is really off his game."
"Well, Xander probably isn't even going to fight at Apocalypse, right? It's going to be that Adonis guy again. So who do you think has that Elite Openweight Championship?"
"Batti's got that title in the bag. Vis Imperium is going down."
"You know it."
"And I almost forgot, The Beard is back! What a night!"
Like a fly,
Xander LeBelle stuck his back to the wall, listening in on the merchandise buyers after last episode's Ascension, his Elite Openweight Championship still held dignified on his shoulder, although it felt much heavier today. He had half a mind to barge into the lobby and yell at the dolts that were in the crowd, but he had to speak to
his manager. Apocalypse was slowly approaching, and that name would have a whole different meaning if Adonis were to lose this next match for him. It would mean an end to the most elite of Elite Openweight Championship runs, and for his second title reign to wind up like his run as a Tag Team Champion...simply wasn't fair.
He looked side to side for any clue as to where that Hollywood handler had ran off to. His mind told him left, and he was never wrong, so he walked left through the hallways backstage. On the way to where Andrew was, he saw an unfortunate sight to his left, the presence of the very man he had come back to crush. Xander may have been the one to look different now, but it was Beard who had changed.
...and there he went, Xander walked right past him. He didn't deserve a hello. His past tried to come back to haunt him, but he would have his time. Right now, that man only served as a distraction from the leech who was draining Xander's energy and patience by the second.
As expected (or, more accurately, known), Xander found his manager right by the arena entrance finishing up a phone call and anxiously grabbing at his golden locks at the back of his head. Adonis hung up and slid his phone in his pocket, turning to his client with a weary expression.
"Gotta be level with you," he said, not bothering with any form of preamble. "
This is bad, kid. Real bad."
Adonis didn't have to tell him twice. Hell, he didn't have to tell Xander once. After all, this was The World's Greatest Mind he was speaking to. But Xander let him continue on.
"First, they shove a title match right into Batti's fingertips because she got lucky. Not a word of this was told to me until I saw it happen, mind you, and it takes a lot of balls to try and pull this one on us when we just went through a court case that should have been open and shut. Batti. Otaku. Is. Not. Supposed. To. Hit. Xander. LeBelle. But it looks like everyone's gone blind, deaf and stupid all at the same time...not you, obviously." Adonis said.
He chuckled, not wanting to upset his number one client, after all.
"Oh, but it got worse. Bigfoot's brother, that guy who replaced you shows up right before your match to cause a disturbance. I mean, why else would he show up now other than to get under your feathers? And right before your match? If he and I didn't have matches we had to get ready for at Apocalypse already - thanks again, Becky - I'd hit him so hard, all that'd be left of him would be the kind of stuff they vacuum up on the barbershop floor."
Adonis took off his sunglasses to have a heart to heart with his client.
"I know things didn't go so hot last night, but you've seen me take her on before. She got the upper hand on me, but I can win. I WILL win. That title is yours, and if I have to personally defend your belt every week, I will. You got principles, I do, too. When someone says they don't want to do something, they shouldn't have to do it. I'm sick of this game we gotta play, as two of the hardest workers in WZCW. It's disgusting, kid. Absolutely disgusting."
"When exactly do you see this ending?" Xander asked him.
"...Soon. It's gotta be soon, guy. I mean they have to stop some time, right?" Even Adonis didn't sound too sure.
Xander took a deep breath. He didn't want to fight it, but that thing followed him like a stray. No matter what he said, no matter what he did, it just kept walking behind him. Xander gripped at his cane, perplexed. Would it have been too much to have his cake and eat it too? It never stopped him in the past.
It couldn't let him go, though. Xander was a victim of harassment, and in spite of Adonis' best efforts, no one had done anything to stop the illegal antics of Batti Otaku. It was time that harassment ended.