Mark Kendrick: We’ve seen yet ANOTHER time limit draw between these two teams, and I’m for one, SHOCKED.

Maria Madden: I am too, Mark. The Willett Clan is really showing something here, taking the tag champs to the limit not just once… but twice. Will there be a third? 

Mark Kendrick: There has to be a third. This needs to be decisive, you know? So here’s what I’m thinking, Maria. Right now, I’m speaking to you as the General Manager of REIGN and not commentary, but what if we put these two teams together on the VERY FIRST REIGN PPV!? 

Both teams have walked near the announcer’s desk at this point, and both have now paused, hearing what Mark Kendrick is saying. Kendrick, seizing the moment, grabs a microphone so the whole crowd can hear.

Mark Kendrick: That’s right! We’re doing a pay per view, and YOU TWO TEAMS? You guys think you might be interested in locking horns one more time?

The crowd pops!

Tank Willett: The two of us, against the two of them on PPV? 

Skeeter Willett: Count us right the fuck on in.

Furia Inviernal are nearby as well and simply nod their agreement.

Mark Kendrick: That was easy! I guess now’s as good a time as any, as well, to announce the name and date of the very first REIGN pay-per-view! So, folks… on August the 4th, REIGN will present TOTAL ANNIHILATION! 

Maria Madden: That’s an aggressive name.

Mark Kendrick: And at Total Annihilation, we’ll see the Willett Clan challenge Furia Inviernal for the World Tag Team Championships, and THERE MUST BE A WINNER. NO TIME LIMIT. BAM!

Maria Madden: Bam indeed.

Johnny Brave: Don’t even THINK about playing his music! I don’t wanna hear it. I just want to hear this crowd show appreciation for what they just saw. Appreciate Rapture! Bow to him! 

The crowd boos at Johnny Brave, not pleased with being told what to do.

Johnny Brave: Boo me all you want, it doesn’t matter. What you’re going to see happen next is that Rapture is going to run ROUGHSHOD through this roster, and the only thing that will stop him is getting a shot at VIENTO HELADO. 

For that REIGN World Heavyweight Championship.

Hearing the name, the screen comes to life and the face of Viento Helado is shown. He gets a middling reaction from the crowd, not sure how to take him just yet.

Mark Kendrick: Not a surprising reaction.

Maria Madden: I like Viento, but I agree. Right now, it’s a matter of who the crowd prefers the least? 

Viento Helado: You see this, right here? 

The camera pans down to his waist, adorned by the REIGN World Championship.

Viento Helado: You’re not going to touch this. You’re not going to hold this. This is not yours to demand or challenge for, Johnny Brave. You think that a cowardly sneak attack is enough to bait me? 

To get under my skin? 

Nah man, this title, this company? 

It belongs to Viento Helado.

To Furia Inviernal.

He laughs a clearly disdained and annoyed laugh.

Viento Helado: Grow up, Johnny Brave. Get real, “Rapture”. You’ve got work to do before you can even think about existing in the same air as this championship. 

Johnny Brave: You say that now, Helado, but mark my words… you’re going to regret incensing this man. I’m going to make sure you eat your words. By the time we get to Total Annihilation, not only will you accept our challenge, but you? 

Think about this. This man just PLAYED WITH HIS FOOD for 15 minutes. He destroyed one of the longest REIGNing champions in not just THIS company’s history, but SHOOT Project at large. You think this is smart? Please…

You will lose.

You will walk out with nothing. 

You shouldn’t make plans for anything else, Viento. You should TRY to plan for Rapture, but really? You can’t plan for him. You can’t train for him. 

You’re done.

Mark Kendrick: Well you heard it, folks. Viento Helado is not interested in being bullied by Johnny Brave and Rapture. He’s right, they do need to earn it.

Maria Madden: You don’t think it’s a little dangerous to piss off a monster like that? 

Mark Kendrick: I didn’t say it wasn’t, but Viento is a smart man. There’s definitely a strategy here. 

Maria Madden: Guess we’ll see!

 

The ringside doctor attends to Brock Holloway on the ring apron as CICADA walks to the side of the ring nearest the ramp. The eyes of the faithful are fixated on the same place as CICADA: the SHOOTron. Everyone knows it’s coming, and yet…

The lights go out in the arena. The faithful are electric now, excited to see what’s next in the Battle of the Beasts here in REIGN. The SHOOTron lights up like a television set, snowy static lighting up the stage, a matching sound buzzing through the arena over the PA system. The screen cuts to a grayscale, grainy film of a central Mexican forest with lots of dust and video noise. There sounds like chanting off in the distance, but the language is indiscernible. Definitely not Spanish. 

CICADA’s entire being remains entranced by the screen. As the footage draws nearer and the chanting louder, the aisles of the arena start to glow yellow, as if candlelit. 

The chanting is now a loud yell. Two dozen or so barely clad women of varying adult ages sway around one, older woman: the High Brujah. The woman who has been commanding Ultimo Muerte from her compound in Mexico. The witch wears a black ritualistic dress with a black veil over her face, though her body is facing away from the camera. As the camera rolls over her shoulder we see she is performing some sort of ritual. On an altar, next to a golden ritual plate covered in some forest-dwelling animal’s bones, is a stack of tarot cards.

The High Brujah’s hand snaps over to the pile of cards. The women surrounding her all immediately stop chanting, stop swaying, and freeze. The High Brujah turns the top tarot card over slowly. She finally snaps the card over.

The Ten of Swords.

The lights and the SHOOTron go out again. 

A female fan in the arena screams out in fear.

The faithful buzz.

Lights come back up.

Dummy laying in the middle of the ring.

It wears a CICADA mask.

Ten swords in its back, blood seeping through the wood of the dummy to pool on the mat.

Maria Madden: WHAT THE FU–

Maria’s mic gets cut. CICADA looks down at the dummy, then back to the top of the ramp. He steps over the top rope, and slowly walks to the curtain.

Everyone is silent.

Except for the High Brujah’s maniacal laugh.

Mark Kendrick: …Avalanche Anderson takes on Ultimo Muerte for a shot at his Horizon Championship match in our main event…next…

Maria Madden: What is HAPPENING HERE, MARK?!

Ultimo Muerte stands triumphant over Avalanche Anderson in the ring. His breathing is controlled and, despite having just defeated a giant of a man, he seems to be in perfect shape and completely calm. Pandora joins him in the ring, holding the Horizon Title high. They begin to walk towards the ropes until the lights go out again for the second time tonight. There is a buzz in the crowd, a frenetic energy circulating amongst the REIGN faithful.

Maria Madden: I’m going to have a heart attack and I really don’t want to do any of this.

 Camera phone lights start popping up all across the arena as the SHOOTron comes to life. There is a fade-in of disembodied hands, solid white hands on a blue background, clapping. The sound of applause fades in, starting off incredibly quiet but getting louder and louder. A text-to-speech voice, one that is higher pitched than what the Speaker usually sounds like, comes in over the PA.

ToS Voice: You did it you did it you did it great job you did it. 

The applause continues to grow in volume, reaching a volume where the clipping begins to make it sound less and less like applause.

ToS Voice: What a good job we are so happy for you what a great job. Hooray. Hooray. Hooooooooooooooraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

As the voice begins to glitch out, the ring is illuminated by multiple large monitors that have appeared at ringside. We can faintly see Ultimo Muerte and Pandora, fixated on the screens and checking their backs for any kind of attack, but still largely unphased. 

Mark Kendrick: Who is allowing this applause to get so damn loud?

ToS Voice: Hoooooora-ra-ra-ra-ra-ra-raaaaaaaaaay for you we are so happ-pp-pp-pp-pp-pp-pp-ppyyyyyyy for you-you-you.

The volume of the applause has reached a fever pitch, a volume bordering on the painful. Suddenly, though, everything goes quiet and dark again, with the exception of the REIGN faithfuls’ cellphone lights. The SHOOTron and the monitors surrounding the ring come to life. The speaker is on camera. There is a zoom-in on his eyes, which are wide, far too wide too be normal, and hyper-realistic.

The Speaker: We are more ancient than you could possibly understand, Muerte. Life ends in a flash of white, darkness, and-

The entire arena lights flash on, insanely bright, before going completely dark again. After a few moments, the entire arena is bathed in-

The Speaker: 

Ẹ̳͕̬̋̌Ǹ̳̼̦͚͈̻̝̂̒͝͠D̵̻͉̤̈̔̆̄L̠̪͔͎̭̲̈́̊̈̕͢͜È̵̷̗̰͙̭̔͗̉̕͜S̸̡̧̮͕͈̗̉͟S̷̝̗̥͔̭̞̾̑̀͒ ͏̲̮̄̀͑̈́́̄B̨̤͓͍̽̑́̿̽̚L̼̳̖̥̟̦̫͆̐U̴̹̗͚͍̲͖̫̕Ê̵̷͇̼͇̣̖͍̜͠

The ring monitors have disappeared. The SHOOTron is blank. As REIGN ends, all that is left is Pandora, the Horizon Championship, and Ultimo Muerte, bathed in blue.