Subject: Zero

by **krzy** Fri Sep 13, 2019 7:43 pm

An anguished cry echoes in the halls.

"Where is she?" A voice shouts.

"WHERE IS SHE?" The voice cracks under the strain of emotion.

General Manager Ken Donahue bursts into the frame, racing down the hallways followed by a small team of guards in SWAT gear.

His dress shoes are so FRESH, that he slides as he takes a corner, but looks so slick with it that it looks intentional.

Donahue stops abruptly when he gets to the source of the screaming, his mouth open in horror.

French Pride, his opponents tonight -- beaten and battered.

Toxiera, his tag team partner tonight -- battered and brutalized.

Sage Autumn, whose entrance theme can be heard playing in the arena-- brutalized and broken.

Sitting in the middle of the four men is Nucleo, rocking back and forth in cadence with the harsh breaths that fly in and out of his lungs.

Donahue approaches him with careful, measured steps as though he were approaching a wild tiger.

"Nucleo?" He says on a voice that barely registers as a whisper, but Nucleo jolts to his feet as though it were barked in his ear.

"You did this!" Nucleo says, accusingly.

"YOU DID THIS!" Nucleo repeats, angrily.

He's in Donahue's face now, huffing through gritted teeth with such barely restrained fury, that spit shoots into the general manager's face with every other exhale. Donahue takes a step back.

"Nucleo, we absolutely cannot have this, even if I won't lose any sleep over Toxiera. I understand that you're upset, but we're going to find a way to resolve this peacefully or I'm going to have to punish you the same way I did Val."

Nucleo clenches his jaw.

"Where is she."

Not a question. A threat.

"She's fired, Nucleo. And if I have my way, she won't show her face here ever again."

Nucleo smiles, and it's somehow the most terrifying he's looked. Finally, he speaks.

"Then there will be no peace."

by **krzy** Mon Sep 23, 2019 2:26 pm

“TEEDLEDEHOO!”

“TEEDLEDEHOO!”

The poor intern Ken Dohahue tasked with keeping an eye on Nucleo throughout the show is making this weird sound into her walkie-talkie.

Seconds later, Donahue arrives on the scene flanked by security.

"What in the world is that noise, Sandy?" Donahue asks.

Sandy wipes a bead of sweat from her brow.

"You said holler when I see Nu...him doing something shady, " Sandy responds.

"Yeah, like my name, perhaps? Or help? I don't know, something that makes it clear you need assistance?”

"KEN! HELP!"

Donahue clenches his jaw.

"Okay. That's good practice for next time considering I'm already here."

"Sorry, it's just that…"

"You're scared. That's understandable. Look, just give me an update and I'll take over from here."

Sandy swallows hard. "Well, he was just standing in the same spot all night until two minutes ago."

"Where is he now?"

"He went that way, " she says without pointing in a specific direction.

Donahue goes to say something, but stops himself. She's been through enough. He looks down the three potential hallways Nucleo could have gone down then at the two guards with him.

"We're gonna have to split up, " he says. "Holler...my name, or help--something along those specific lines, if you run into him. Do not engage."

With instructions given, the three men walk their respective paths toward possible danger. As Donahue turns a corner, he hears a shout off in the distance.

That’s where he goes.

Donahue catches Nucleo about to step through the curtain into the arena, DC’s music blasting through the speakers.

“You weren’t about to go out there and make a statement at the expense of our champion, were you?” he asks.

Nucleo stops and turns around, eyes searching Donahue. When he offers no retort, Donahue continues.

“It would be foolish of me to not recognize that you’ll become a problem if left to your own devices, “ he says in an even tone. “It would be equally foolish to allow Val to run roughshod so soon after her last..adventure here. It looks like we’re going to have to meet in the middle. For eight long episodes of NGW programming and through two of our Checkpoint specials, Tailcoat Val held Ashley Rayne hostage. Ten is the magic number here, Nucleo. I propose--a challenge.”

Nucleo cocks his head to the side

“I’m going to put her fate in your hands. Win ten matches, and I’ll reinstate Tailcoat Val back into NGW. Whether that takes weeks, months, or--hopefully--years, is all up to you. But my hope is that by the time that happens, you’ll realize that you’re better off without her...and NGW, by proxy of that decision, will be better off as well.”

Donahue offers a hand so that they can shake on this gentleman’s agreement. Uncharacteristically, Nucleo has a huge smile on his face. He wraps his arms around Donahue in a tight hug then kisses him on the forehead.

Subject: Zero

Subject: Zero

Re: Subject: Zero