MD76: Celeste Crimson/Chris K.O/Barbosa vs. James King/S.H.I.T/Barbosa

[Viola Moonlight]

Chris K.O continues to be punished this week as he has to take on James King and S.H.I.T in tag team competition but that's not the highlight of this match. Not only has Ty granted Chris the partner of Celeste Crimson to assist him but has managed to book Barbosa on both teams, essentially giving him the option to decide which team he'd like to side with on Meltdown. This could play out as an interesting dynamic because Barbosa can pin anyone in the match.

Deadline is Tuesday, July 10th at 11:59 PM Central Time.​

 

[Ty Burna]

Chris K.O. has been granted a 24 hour extension.

 

[Барбоса]

"And who are you, the proud lord said, that I must bow so low?

He had said.. no… sang those words to Ty in the in run up to their match last week.

While they had come as an unplanned surprise to him, they did seem to have a fitting underlying message to them - the destruction of a once proud lord and his regime by someone he had deemed unworthy.

But now that seeming poignance had been completely discounted.

He may have proven that his claws were as long and sharp as those of Ty Burna, but the walls of the Harbinger of Chaos' regime still stood high and proud, virtually untouched by his assault.

Outside the realm of metaphor, it had meant nothing; a popular concept in Barbosa's world.

What other evidence did he need that nothing had changed than the abomination of a match he had been placed in? Somehow he was on both teams at the same time.

Ty was mocking him. Demonstrating that it did not matter which side he came down upon.

Why did it not matter? Because from Barbosa's position, the result of the match was already determined… Barbosa would win. He would also lose.

The irony of that conundrum was not lost on him.

This match was something of a microcosm of his current situation; a replay of last week, where he had won but he had also lost.

However, while the nothingness of Barbosa's current existence was well established, Hell in a Cell had brought something worse to the surface; worse than the cold kiss of the steel licking his flesh; worse than the crashing thunder of the swinging door that had broken his nose, a fracture in all likelihood compounded by the sole of Ty's boot.

Hell in a Cell had brought victory.

To most, that kind of victory would be a blessed thing; something to cherish, treasure, esteem and celebrate.

But not to Barbosa.

Now, instead of just being nothing, Barbosa was nowhere.

His focus, his direction of the last 18 months was gone; extinguished by the force of his own Doppelganger.

He had achieved his ambitions of winning the world title and demonstrating to Ty Burna just who was the better competitor.

Getting what you wish for is not always the best

What was he supposed to do now?

Challenge Ty for control of WZCW? Join his Chaotic Regime? Go after Showtime and his World Title that he would not have won had Barbosa not pulverised Black Dragon?

None of that filled him with any anticipation.

Perhaps he could use this abomindable match to repay a few debts and teach a few lessons.

King and SHIT should be made to pay for interfering in his match and almost costing him his victory, as hollow as it now seemed.

The head chop that that corrugated cardboard, non-automated automaton had dished out would be repaid so violently that he will think that he has been guillotined.

Barbosa did not even know who James King was. Was he the computer nerd that had gotten him out of his nice comfy cell at the hospital? Or was he the one that had amnesia? Barbosa could not remember…

In the past, part of him would have chuckled at the irony of that thought and another part of him would claim that once King stepped in the ring with him, he would get a beating that he would never want to remember but could never forget.

Chris KO had already received some payback he owed him for interfering. However, now he realised that there was an added dimension to that attack; a dimension perhaps only revealed with the benefit of hindsight and succeeding events.

Chris KO had deserved that steel chair not just for getting in Barbosa's way inside the Cell but also for the combination of treachery and stupidity he had exhibited for months. He had turned his back on being groomed as the successor to the wielder and yielder of supreme executive power in WZCW in exchange for a vainglorious but utterly futile pursuit of victory over Lord Burna.

Maybe Barbosa should beat some sense into him. Maybe that should be his new goal. It might be too late for him but it was not too late for him to help others recognise their own folly.

Celeste Crimson was in a similar situation. Even if she proclaimed to also be chasing after the world title, part of her focus was still on taking down Ty Burna. The loss of her once proud position as sole female competitor in WZCW will only further lead her towards the anti-crusaders once more and for not recognising the futility of that gesture, she has set herself up as the target of physical ridicule.

As appealing as such portions of revenge and teaching of lessons might seem, what use would they be to Barbosa in the long run? Even in the short run.

And once the bell rang on Meltdown, where would it all leave him? Where would delivering such punishment get him?

All evidence thus far suggested that it would be only farther down his current path.

But what else could he do?

Try his hand an interviewing, announcing or commentating? Try to become the next Johnny Klamour, Truman Harrys or Jack Cohen?

Defeat had brought him nothing. Violence had gotten him nowhere. Even victory had left him in limbo, but the combination of those three were all he knew now.

The anger, fear and depression were gone.

He almost missed them…

 

[Miko]

A puzzling development, S.H.I.T had expected no reward for helping Ty Burna gain control of the company, yet he had proved to be a surprisingly benevolent leader. Apart from giving Bowen the match he wanted against Steamboat Ricky, he had also put S.H.I.T in a number 1 contender ship match for the WZCW Title at Redemption, against Celeste Crimson, a foe S.H.I.T has pinned twice before. Once because Chris K.O had DDT'd her into the crowd barrier, once Ty had gifted it the pinfall. This is what had first set off S.H.I.T's curiousity about a reward, perhaps Ty wanted S.H.I.T to have an edge in this encounter?

That is for the future, it mutters to itself.

It stares ahead absently, these days when it is not around the other Apostles and taking orders from Ty Burna then it is without Human influence, without a purpose, Alhazred had handled the Machine for a while and before him there was someone else, S.H.I.T was certain of it, just not of the details.

It is looking at nothing, almost entirely contained in its own head, it has nothing to look at, nothing to do, it cant make friends, almost the entire roster hates it by now, plus it has all the social skills of a pot noodle, although possibly it doesn’t smell quite so bad.

Ty Burna has given S.H.I.T another chance to build an advantage over Celeste Crimson, while also another opportunity to destroy Chris K.O. James King was the Apostle who would aid it in this task. In the build up to Kingdom Come The Apostles faced off with their opponents in different situations many times, at least since S.H.I.T had joined they hadn’t come up short and it seemed to have the desired effect; The Apostles were victorious, even with the betrayal of Chris K.O they had won. S.H.I.T itself pinning the final two members. S.H.I.T wasn’t prone to boasting, it couldn’t really boast, but that was the achievement that had given it this opportunity. Now if it could gain the same kind of momentum heading into Redemption, bigger success could await.

That is for the future, it mutters to itself.

There was of course the wildcard, Barbosa, he had been thrown into this match as well. For what reason? Another power play by Ty Burna, S.H.I.T was growing used to them, it had taken part in most of them, but usually it understood the end result. Why throw in this person who had literally just beaten Burna in a Cell, in with two of his Apostles? Surely he would attack them?

Or would he? Now that he has been granted what he wished for? Perhaps he could be persuaded to join the Apostles. . .

Before Barbosa had many personalities, some people called him insane, S.H.I.T didn’t think of Barbosa as insane, instead it thought of Barbosa as four (later five) reasonably sane people inhabiting the same body. No one had told S.H.I.T that there was anything wrong with that, that that was a form of insanity. It didnt even know what insanity was, although someone had told it once that delusion was a form, the belief that you are something you are not, at least Robot's couldnt be insane.

But now, Barbosa was just one personality, an emotionless personality, not unlike S.H.I.T. and the Machine had been drafted in to fight for Chaos, an effective member of Chaos as well. Barbosa’s signature was called Duplicity, perhaps Duplicity is what Ty Burna had in mind. Two emotionless destroyers in his fold.

Unimportant, the plans do not concern S.H.I.T! The Machine does not get embaressed talking to empty rooms.

Perhaps it would be prudent to attack Barbosa as early as possible and try to take him out of the match completely. S.H.I.T however did have a capacity for learning, and something was telling it that that wasnt a plan that the master of Chaos would approve of. S.H.I.T didnt have Barbosa's capacity to break away from Chaos, it wondered if things would be different if it had. It couldnt now of course, everyone would be gunning for it, S.H.I.T may be a fighting machine, but it was a solid tactitian, it had already proven that it knows when to pick its battles. Its face a mask of terror, its actions unrelenting, everything about it cold.

Serving Ty has its rewards, a possible number one contender ship for the WZCW Title, that was what he had said wasn’t it? Celeste had the opportunity, was it being handed to S.H.I.T as well?

That is for the future, it mutters to itself.

It couldn’t overlook this current match, Chris K.O and Celeste Crimson are dangerous foes, it knew James King would be ready, although it had also known that Alhazred had been ready. It tilts its head on the side, Alhazred, where has he gone? It seems that any Human that gets close to S.H.I.T disappears strangely, there had been that other one before. . . hadn’t there?

It looked around, almost forlornly, it was still in the old Church, it had meant to leave this place, but it had come back after helping its allies destroy Chris K.O, the idea that something that served someone who served Chaos could be an insult to a Religious institution lost on the Machine, although if it knew it probably would've carried on anyway.
But someone had found it here, someone had known it was here, someone that wasn’t an evil lunatic, or just a nasty piece of work like Alex Bowen, or an indoctrinated fool like James King. But it seems that no one was coming this time.
It looks around at the walls, there are some old religious decorations on them, Human madness of course, not unlike the Chaos. The Chaos at least was having benefits for S.H.I.T though, an opportunity for the number 1 contender ship for the WZCW Heavyweight Title.

S.H.I.T was built for fighting, an un-avenged loss was not something it computed (for lack of a better word) well, because it was built to fight, built to win, built to destroy. It was a Weapon, it was being used like a Weapon. The biggest prize in its field of competition would prove its success as a fighting machine, it was pointless ornamentation, but it was something the Humans respected, the pathetic Humans would respect and fear the one with the Golden Belt.

It could get that belt. Provided it did actually have the opportunity.

That is for the future, it mutters to itself.

It stood up, there had been a rare moment of uncertainty before, uncertainty was a Human weakness, this was merely a case of a lack of information leading to the Machine being slower to work out the correct answer, the correct course of action.

The correct course of action, is to destroy Celeste Crimson and Chris K.O!

It looked at the dropped Bible from the last time it was here.

Barbosa will be dealt with according to his own actions!

 

[MMSoldier]

Sometimes, it seems like there is someone granting my every whim.

James is sitting in a black armchair, his cloak resting on the back of it. He looks up, and chuckles at his statement.

This week, not only do I get to destroy the one who turn away from the strongest force this company has ever seen, I also get one who tried to stop us.

The Apostle glares at the camera, a statue in reflection to the accident seen last time.

Mr. KO, you think you can ride in with your special little mask, threatening us with the Ouija Scroll, thinking that this will slow us down and let you stop the Chaos.

James laughs as he rises from his chair, his face somewhat changed from what is normal for him.

Chris, this will only quicken your demise. This week, your personal hell is opened and you will be brought down until you are forced to return the Scroll to Lord Burna.

He turns and looks back at the chair, the cloak waving some from his movement.

Mrs. Crimson, I did approve of the new attitude you had, but the second change I disapprove of. You tried once before, but now, you need to aid the betrayer.

James' face returns to the stone glare that was there before.

You two may think that you can stop us, but the reality is that nothing can! The Chaos will ravage all until there is none left that oppose us! And that is truth!

James knocks the camera down as he returns to his chair.

Thus was written in the Gospel of Chaos.

 

[Bernkastel]

I’m not sure how I managed to find myself standing inside of a white room of a pristine lobby of an upscale hotel. Meltdown 76 was looming on the horizon, and here I was following rabbits down magical holes and staring at my reflection through parallel mirrors. WZCW was becoming a madhouse, and to keep myself from losing my sanity, I keep my enemies close, but my comrades, friends, and allies I hug them even closer.

My relationship with Steven Kurtsey was steadfast; I was by Sandy’s side to catch him when he fell. Him losing the WZCW title a week ago, causing the end of an era of hope and happiness brought tears to my eyes. Ty Burna’s darkness split the company down the middle, and those of us looking to dethrone him were slowly banding together.
My head jerks up as I hear someone call my name. I was staring at my rabbit, and his name was Chris KO. I stand and follow him into his suite, which was much cleaner than I thought it was going to be.

“Can I get you anything? Water? Soda? Beer?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

It was awkward; just a few months ago we were enemies fighting on the opposite side of the same cause. I still remember the attack he orchestrated against me at the orders of Ty Burna; my revenge went unfulfilled as I was taken out of the Lethal Lottery. Instead of punishing the man that tried to hurt me, I rewarded him by giving him my number… and a shot at the WZCW title.

“I am glad you came, Celeste,” he says taking a beer from the mini fridge.

“I’ve come realize that allies are an invaluable treasure, worth more than any sum of money-”

“Which you seem to have a lot of,” I respond.

“It’s Ty’s right?”

He shot me a silent smile, after the appalling attack he suffered last week on Ascension, I knew there was a deeper reason besides a secret affair as to why Ty would go so far to hurt a former ally and friend. I hear the bedroom door open as my looking glass, Serafina, greets me.

The raven haired beauty and I rarely spoke; we didn’t hate each other, as we rarely saw each other. I sit down at the kitchen table as Chris and Serafina join me. It was awkward considering her loose white blouse was hinting that it was merely thrown on seconds ago. Considering that he made me wait, and now smelling like fresh cologne, I figure the reason had to be lovemaking.

I wonder what hurt Ty Burna more, the loss of part of his money, or the thought of his concubine in the arms of another man?

“It’s good to see you, Celeste,” she says. “It means a lot to both Chris and I that you’ll be allying with us this week.”

“And I hope it’s not just this week. The main reason why I called you here is to talk to you about joining forces-”

“Look Chris-,” this was all happening a bit fast for me. Steven and I were friends when we forged our alliance, and even though I was acting like a real bitch two weeks ago, he still found the heart to forgive me. I didn’t know if I could trust Chris like that, and more importantly, I didn’t know if he thought that I was trustworthy.

Would he have forgiven me, if he were in Steven’s shoes?

“I understand the alliance you have with Steven Kurtesy, but I want to join forces with you guys,” he says.

“The three of us are a threat to Ty, the Apostles, and their empire. They can all see it; and they fear us. Week after week they continue to try and get us to turn on each other, but it never works. You wanted to end your partnership with Kurtesy, but you didn’t because you need him-”

I remained silent; I knew what he was trying to say. I could understand needing people; I found of the hard way that I would never be able to take Ty Burna down single handedly no matter what I tried. I wasn’t the juggernaut that I was years ago; I may have been wiser and more mature, but my body was older and not as strong.

“I need you, Celeste.” He finishes. He places his hand over mine and stares into my eyes, making the situation even more awkward. I jerk my hand away as being bit by a sudden cold. He apologizes; it wasn’t his intention to make me feel uncomfortable.

“Honestly Chris, I don’t know if I can trust you yet,” I explain. “I’ll need some time.”

“I understand how you feel; we were enemies not too long ago. I organized that attack on you months ago, and for that I am sorry,” He says somberly.

“We all deserve a chance to change and become genuine; you did, a so do I."

I sigh; he had me there.

“You’re a good person Celeste. I feel like you’re one of the few people in the company I can really open up to.”

“Why?” I ask attentively.

He scratches his nose, and laughs. “A few months ago I developed a crush on you, I never told anyone, aside from Steven Kurtesy-”

“I know,” I explain, “Sandy told me.”

Chris sighs and continues, “The love I was feeling for you wasn’t romantic love; it wasn’t like the love I share with Serafina. I… I guess you can say that I have mother issues. When I first saw you it brought up a lot of repressed feelings that I had buried. When I look at you, I feel like I’m looking at my mother again.”

I laugh lightly, “Oddly enough you aren’t the first to do this. Steven and I were talking a while back how many look at me like the WZCW mom, not because I have a child, but because it’s the way I protect others, carry myself backstage, and discipline those that step out of line.”

I pause, “it’s funny that you say you have mother issues,” he raises an eyebrow. “I had mother issues when I was younger too. When my son was born many of the insecurities that I had disappeared, but not all of them; however, if you say that you’ll never betray me because I remind you of your mother, I respect that.”

He smiles, “If you say you respect me, then that’s all the reassurance I need to know that you’ll be by my side. Now onto the match; what do you think about our opponents?”

“I’m not too worried about James King, I’ve pinned his partner Alhazred before so I don’t think he’ll give us too much trouble,” I explain.

“SHIT on the other hand is an enigma that I can’t figure out, and I’m not too sure that I should be. Ty placed me in a match with him at Redemption, and while I have nothing against SHIT, he’s still an Apostle and should not be taken lightly. Whatever happens this week we can settle our differences at the pay per view.”

“King and SHIT don’t concern me though,” says Chris. “It’s the wildcard in the match.”

“Barbosa,” I say with a scowl.

“I don’t fear Barbosa at all, putting him into this match was just a way for Ty to mess with us; he has no business in the match at all, and if he tries to interfere with us, next week I’ll take him out myself.”

“You actually want to fight Barbosa? Are you crazy?”

“Not crazy, just passionate. Even if he chooses to fight with us, who’s to say that Ty won’t just manipulate him into doing his bidding again? Barbosa is nothing more than a spoiled child that needs to be punished. He needs to know his place in the company.”

I continue to talk to Chris some more; we talk about the company, our favorite up and coming rookies, the Apostles, Steven and Sandy, and most importantly, our mothers.

 

[Kermit]

Some questions are easier to answer than others.
-Anonymous​

A small table, covered with a slick black cloth, operates as the metaphoric Berlin Wall between Chris K.O. and the full crew of WZCW Interviewers. For most of his tenure, Chris had tried to separate himself from the leeches of the business. He operated as the East Germany in this symbolic representation. Evil things went on behind the wall and it seemed like it would never come down, until recent events provided the perfect destruction of such wall. Finally, Ian Crawford claimed boldly, "Mr. K.O., tear down that wall!" That, combined with a single phone call, brought every WZCW interviewer to this spacious conference room located on the third floor of The Marigold.

We see a bouquet of microphones in front of Chris as he rests a single hand upon the top of his newly acquired helmet, which sits proudly on the table veiled in black. The sound of clicking and the beautiful image of flashing lights fill the room and we now know that the press conference has begun.

Leon Kensworth, Rebecca Serra, Johnny Klamor, and Stacey Madison sit in a line of blue-steel chairs with silver padding. Rebecca quickly stands up with a notebook in hand and a pen raised in the air.

Chris: Yes, Miss Serra?

Rebecca blushes at Chris mentioning her name, but regains her focus with a quick glance at her notebook and then a shooting stare at Chris.

Becca: Chris, everyone wants to know how you have been dealing with your two recent losses. You are scheduled to face the infamous Ty Burna at Redemption. He is the longest reigning World Heavyweight Champion in our company's history, but yet you cannot even beat the likes of Barbosa, Alex Bowen, James King, or S.H.I.T.

Chris has a blank look on his face as he rubs his chin vigorously and begins to recollect a past moment.

We suddenly get a flashback and we see Chris inside of what appears to be a weight room. Chris is caught in the blue hue of the room as he is seen jogging on a treadmill. He begins to think of the last two sets of shows that he has been apart of.

First, he recollects his first match after Kingdom Come IV, and how he failed to start off on a winning-foot against Barbosa. He also remembers the pain and the suffering that Serafina and him had to endure. His mind pukes at the thought of that night, and he quickly jumps to the next round and how he aided Barbosa in his cell match against Ty. He also remembers the chair shot that Barbosa sent straight into his back. Most importantly, he remembers the handicap match that he failed to overcome. He failed the WZCW Roster, and failed the WZCW fans.

Suddenly, Chris reaches up on the treadmill's operating panel and presses a button. The track begins to slow down as Chris steps off of the treadmill. He places his hands on his hips as he seems to be contemplating something. Every thought of his recent failures continue to erode his mind. Before he can catch himself, he now has two hands on the side of a weight stand. Chris screams in anger as he pushes the weight stand over and on to the ground. A loud crashing noise harks back at Chris' scream as the heavy metal weights hit the ground. We see Chris pushing his palm up from his chin to his forehead in order to wipe away the sweat on his face.

We fashblack to the conference room and we see Chris smile softly.

Chris: I am taking it... surprisingly well.

Stacey: Ahem!

Stacey Madison bolts up from her seat and pushes down on Becky's shoulder in order to re-seat her. Stacey pats Becky on her head and then turns to Chris.

Stacey: Chris, let's cut to the chase! No one cares about that stuff, what everyone wants to know is about your steamy hot romance with Serafina!

Chris: Arianna.

Stacey: Hmm?

Chris: Her name is Arianna.

All four of the WZCW Interviewers looked confused, but jot down on their notepad as we cut to another flashback.

Chris is laying in a bed with a black blanket coming up to his stomach. His torso remains unclothed as he rests his arm upon his forehead. His eyes are heavy with thought as he stares into the skyward ceiling above. The quiet moment is perturbed by the scuffling of tiny feet.
Serafina enters the room wearing a milky-silk set of pajamas. She carefully lifts the black blanket on the bed and slips into the bed with Chris. Chris barely notices her entrance because of his thoughts, but he is gleefully surprised by a hand walking up his chest. Like a pair of tiny legs, Serafina uses her index finger and middle finger to walk her hand up Chris' chest.

He quickly seizes the hand with his own and pulls it in for a greeting kiss, and then he catches her lips. It is delightful for both of them, but she pulls away and plays the piano on his chest.

Serafina: I need a change.

Chris: What do you mean?

Serafina: You have changed the entire way you present yourself. You no longer want to be known as the old Chris K.O., but as The White Knight, Chris K.O. I am afraid that I have no such option.

Chris: That's not true.

Chris pulls her chin up to look at her, but she calms him down with her hand on his chest.

Serafina: Now, hold on. What I am saying is that I can't just put on a helmet and say that I am something different. I am not in the ring like you are. My name... The name Serafina has long been attached to Ty Burna. Serafina is salt, and he is the pepper. I cannot escape that.

Chris: You can atone for that time.

Serafina: No, "Serafina" is soiled. It is soiled because Ty created her.

Chris: What do you mean?

Serafina: ... Serafina is not my name, my name is-

Chris: Arianna.

Serafina looks at Chris with a startled look.

Serafina: How did you know?

Chris: I came across it whenever I was digging up information on Ty.

The room is silent as both of them try to decipher who should say the next words.

Chris: It is a beautiful name.

Serafina looks at Chris and is comforted by the glowing smile on his face. She slowly begins to bare a grin as she lays her head against his chest.

Arianna: I think I love you-

The flashback ends as we return to the conference room. Chris puts his mouth up to the microphones.

Chris: She is definitely lovely, and I could not do any of this without her.

Stacey rolls her eyes as she knows that Chris is not going to divulge anymore into their private lives than his polished-up response. She sits down in disappointment, but a ruckus pulls away the attention of the camera as several flashes begin going off as a man barges into the conference room.

Johnny Klamor leans over to Stacey and whispers into her ear.

Johnny: What the hell is he doing here?

We see that the man who barged in is Saboteur with a stereotypical newd reporter outfit with a brown raincoat, brown hat, and fake brown mustache on his costume.

Saboteur: Mr. Chris K.O., Jim Jimmerson here with the Daily Buzz newspaper.

Chris scratches his ear as he looks at the other WZCW Interviewers. Leon and Rebecca shrug as Johnny just looks highly annoyed.

Saboteur: Please, the people want to know. Investigators have recently opened up the cold case from one year ago. I'll just be frank with you sir, did you steal Saboteur's animal crackers?

Johnny jumps up from his seat.

Johnny: Alright, enough of this. This is a WZCW exclusive press conference. Get this buffoon out of here!

Two security guards step up and grab Saboteur by the arms and begin pulling him away. His feet drag on the floor as he yells out.

Saboteur: The truth must be revealed!

Everyone watches as Saboteur vanishes from the room. Johnny rubs the anger out of his face as he turns to Chris.

Johnny: Chris, please. I think we all know what we need to talk about here. Two rounds ago you were beat by Barbosa in a one-on-one match. Last week you were blind-sighted by a chair shot from him, and now he is the "wild-card" in your match this week. What are your comments on him and your other two opponents?

A flashback occurs again and we now find our self in a small room that appears to be a study. We see Chris pin up a paper on a wall. He steps back, and it is revealed that he is standing front of a wall that is littered with several different photos, charts, and newspaper articles. Chris examines the wall fully as he reaches out to his side and finds a coffee cup sitting on an oak desk. He pulls the cup up to his lips and lets the hot liquid pour into his mouth. As the warm stream of java spreads through the ecosystem of his body, he welcomes a familiar friend to his hand.

In-between his index finger and middle finger, a perfect fit. A cigarette sits patiently as Chris pulls her to his lips and gives her a good puff.

Arianna: Working hard?

Chris quickly pulls out the cigarette and coughs. By the way he is reacting, you would think that he was cheating on Arianna with the cigarette. Chris smiles as Arianna grins and takes the stick from him and enjoys the cigarette herself. He responds back with a smile.

Chris: You know, this is what I use to do all the time. I would gather information on my opponents and pull it all together. I would spend hours watching tapes and reading articles. I would study graphs about their most common moves and examine key matches that they lost in. I once spent three days straight watching wrestling matches with Everest in them.

Arianna: I'm sorry.

She gives a small laugh as Chris leans in to kiss her on the cheek.

Chris: S.H.I.T.

Chris walks over the wall and points at a picture of S.H.I.T.

Chris: This guy, I mean "robot", has been the underrated thorn in my side these last several weeks. He won the match at Kingdom Come IV and pinned me last round. To be honest, he is carrying all of the Apostles, besides Ty. He bases all of his strategy off of statistics and facts. So how do you throw off a robot who bases his strategy off of pattern?

Arianna takes a puff of the cigarette as she thinks.

Arianna: Go off the pattern?


Chris: Exactly. I need to spice it up. He is going to be thinking about my moves one step ahead of me, but I need to think about my moves two-steps ahead of me. S.H.I.T. is difficult to fight against because it is not him that you must study. You have to study yourself and discipline yourself to not do the same things that you always do. In other words, you have to change it up.

Chris walks a few feet along the wall and points at another photo.

Chris: James King. Confused, lost, and full of hate. He is like S.H.I.T. as far as being easily influenced, but not as smart or deadly. I made the mistake of treating him as friend in our last bout, and I have to realize that the James King that I am fighting now, is not the one that I know that he can be. If there is any hope left in any of the Apostles, I know that it is in James.

Arianna: What about Ty?

Chris stops and doesn't know if she is serious or delirious. She knows that she has said something wrong so she quickly changes the subject.

Arianna: What about him?

She points at a photograph that is perched high above all of the research. Chris steps back and sees that she is pointing at a photograph of Barbosa.

Chris: The match's wild card. Has there even been a more appropriate title for such a man?

Chris walks over to Arianna and takes the cigarette from her. She gives it up freely as she wraps her arms around his chest. Chris takes a drag from the cigarette and exhales as he thinks.

Chris: You know what I feel when I think about Barbosa?

Arianna snuggles against Chris' chest as she speaks.

Arianna: Anger?

Chris: Sympathy.

Arianna looks up at Chris and smiles as if she is thinking, "are you serious?"

Chris: Don't give me that look. I am being serious.

Chris smiles at her as she returns her head to Chris' chest.

Chris: I played on the fence during my entire stint in the Apostles. I was severely tormented, and I can only imagine what torture he must endure in his mind if he has been like this his entire life. I use to fight an inner demon long ago, the darkness... He mentored me and led me to the apostles. I wonder if Barobsa fights with inner demons as well. I wonder...

Chris presses his lips to Arianna's soft forehead and then whispers.

if he is savable?

The flashback ends and we are back to the press conference once again. Everyone is staring at Chris, as he appears to be waking out of an inner-thought.

Chris: Sorry, that was a really long flash back.

Chris rubs his head as Johnny begins to fume.

Johnny: Are you going to even answer the question?

Chris: ...Sorry, what was the question again?

Johnny: Forget it!

Johnny plops down on his seat as Leon Kensworth timidly stands up from his seat. Chris smiles weakly at Leon's shy nature.

Leon: Chris, final question. How do you plan to coincide with Celeste Crimson in your upcoming match?

Instantly, we cut to a flashback and see Chris, Celeste, and Ian Crawford sitting in the situation room. Chris and Ian are sitting next to each other as Celeste seems to be examining the Ouija Scroll in front of her on the otherside of the table.

Celeste: Ty would really stake the company for this?

Chris: Yes, but I think we are just avoiding the question that I asked you ten minutes ago, arn't we?

Celeste sighs as she releases the Ouija Scroll and sets it on the table in front of her.

Celeste: Yes, your offer. An Allianc?. Didn't we already go over this other day?

Ian: Mr. Crimson, we are not simply talking about an alliance here. We are talking about a coaltion. An unbreakable bond that would form together the top minds of WZCW under one unifying cause, to rid evil from the WZCW.

Celeste smiles as she puts her hands together and looks at Ian.

Celeste: Ian, may I call you Ian?

Ian nods and she continues.

Celeste: What you are speaking of has never been done in the WZCW. The idea is unprecedented, but there is a key reason why. This "unbreakable" bond that you speak of, does not exist. There is no such thing as a pure-good wrestler. There is no such thing as an all-standing bond that can never break. Forming this group will only lead to future problems. Forming this group might lead to an even greater evil than the one you wish to banish from WZCW now.

Chris: You do not know that for sure.

Celeste and Chris share a tense stare as Ian calmly pushes his glasses up his nose.

Chris: Never before has evil been so abundant in the WZCW, but never before has there been such a group as which we speak of. No one has ever had the resources that I can provide with my funds. This can work, if only we try. So, I pose this question to you again. Will you join me and become one of the first members in this coalition that I hope to create?

Celeste reexamines the question and takes another look at Chris in full perspective. She notices something that she didn't notice before. He has his right hand resting on the top of his White Knight helmet in front of him.

Celeste: I cannot give you the answer you seek right now. Gaining wealth to advance your cause, and donning a new look will not guarantee you the purity that you proclaim. In fact, these things make it even more vulnerable. You are now a bigger target, and evil always goes after the bigger target.

Celeste stands from her seat and begins to leave the room, but stops to look back.

Celeste: I can give you this answer, though. I will be your teammate on the upcoming Meltdown, and we will unify our minds for at least one battle. But for now... that is all I can guarantee you..

We return to the conference room as Chris pulls into the microphones once more.

Chris: Celeste and I will team up this weekend, and while we may not be an official tag team or be in the tag team division, we will unify our efforts for a common purpose. S.H.I.T., James King, and Barbosa, whether on our side or not, all represent the evil that plague this company. We both acknowledge that this problem must be dealt with. Celeste and I are on the same page. Thank you.