Voices: Rock. Paper. Scissors… SHOOT.
Voice One: Fuck.
Voices: Rock. Paper. Scissors… SHOOT.
Voice Two: Drat!
We see the Pop Punks, dressed in full regalia standing just behind the curtain leading to the ring as various ring technicians, producers, and other staff whisk by.
Pop Punks: Rock. Paper. Scissors… SHOOT.
Punky: HAH! My win!
Bubble Gum: Best 9 out of 11!
Punky: NO! We already did best 7 out of 9. I get to be the one who goes out first this time. We agreed.
Bubble Gum stamps her feet and crosses her arms.
Bubble Gum: FINE. But I get the pin tonight.
Punky: That’s the spirit! Let’s be the blister on the heel of the Sisters of Steel.
Bubble Gum closes her eyes.
Bubble Gum: Punky, no.
Punky: Let’s get real and deal with the Sisters of Steel?
Bubble Gum: No.
Punky: Let’s win and then go get a meal?
Bubble Gum smiles and gives a “thumbs up” gesture before running forward through the curtains.
Bubble Gum: Let’s go!!!!!
Punky huffs and then chases after her partner.
Punky: I WON! I GET TO GO OUT FIRST, DAMMIT!
The Pop Punks Vs. The Sisters of Steel
As the bell rings, Punky and Bubble Gum stagger together and embrace in a giant bear hug.
Eryk Masters: Even with the loss here tonight, it really has been an impressive run so far by these two – coming in from the former SHOOT satellite company in the UK.
Other Guy: Can’t argue with you there, Eryk. I’m pretty good at finding a reason to hate people and even I can’t come up with anything here – these are just two, good, competitive fighters who are having the time of their lives right now.
Eryk Masters: Oh; shit. Wait, OG. Are they going to say something?
Punky, breathing heavily, stands with a microphone in hand as the crowd reaction begins to die down.
Punky: SHOOT Project… you know this already, but we are known as the Pop Punks.
A small cheer arises from the crowd.
Punky: But what we really want to be known as is your next Tag Team Champions.
Even Bubble Gum takes a step back, shocked, at what Punky is saying. But she doesn’t back down as the roar of the crowd grows even stronger.
Punky: And though we may have stumbled tonight, it’s OUR time! And with YOUR support, we’ll be champions you can be proud of.
The crowd cheers as Punky grabs the shocked Bubble Gum’s hand and raises it up high, pumping her free hand in the air while Bubble Gum smiles nervously and waves.
Eryk Masters: Well, I’m even more of a mark than I was before. Hell yeah.
Two words are spoken. Their voices are familiar. Both have the edge of authority to them.
COWER…AND SUFFER.
The echo and bombast of powerful drums hit over a black screen. As they continue, and the guitar begins to take its place alongside them, the song becomes familiar: “When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin, pounding at full volume, as the black fades to an image of the SHOOT Project World Tag Team Titles.
The image holds for a moment before the light and exposure get ratcheted up to an extreme degree, until the screen is almost entirely white–then transitioning seamlessly to an image of a bonfire in the desert, which pops and jumps in the foreground before the focus changes and it shows the stern faces of CYBER Superbeast and CYBER Power Devil, illuminated by the flames.
The camera pans up to the black night’s sky, then pans back down, now showing Lindsay Troy and Pat Cassidy walking down the Strip at a slow motion pace, the neon wash of Vegas casting them in alternating pulses of blue, yellow, and electric purple.
The view cuts to the SHOOT Project Epicenter, as Robert Plant begins to croon…
♫ If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s going to break ♫
♫ If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s going to break ♫
♫ When the levee breaks, we’ll have no place to stay… ♫
Cut to an image of the Unholy Cyber Army backstage, their words a proclamation, a promise, a prophecy. Power Devil is speaking, his eyes crazed, body coated in a sheen of sweat.
Power Devil: If you set foot in this building then you are merely another competitor to destroy, kindling for the all encompassing blaze!! Watch the great Khans spread across this land and bow in supplication or meet the full fury of an unstoppable Empire!!
From this, an immediate cut to Lindsay Troy and Pat Cassidy in the ring before the arena lights go dark. Then a hard cut to the two halves of the Cyber Army’s ring assault. Snippets cut fast: Lindsay Troy burying her boot into Superbeast’s midsection…Cassidy breaking Power Devil’s nose with one well placed haymaker…Superbeast crashing his forehead into Troy’s…Power Devil launching Cassidy directly into the corner with a snapping belly to belly…
Then, the music changes pace, and a holding shot of two violent acts back to back: Superbeast swinging a steel chair with all his might, the only thing stopping its full impact into the ring steps being Lindsay Troy’s head, and a slow motion shot that takes the fullest effect when they are midair being bathed in camera flashes…Superbeast flying from the turnbuckle and powerbombing Cassidy directly onto a laid out section of guardrail!
♫ Don’t it make you feel bad ♫
♫ When you’re tryin’ to find your way home ♫
♫ You don’t know which way to go? ♫
During this section of music, we see a number of things that we haven’t seen: Lindsay Troy sitting in a chair next to a hospital bed, where Cassidy lays hooked to IVs, EKG machines, his head held erect by a cervical collar. Troy early morning trail running at Red Rock Canyon and River Mountains Trail, before the heat of the day settles over Vegas. Next, flipping tractor tires outside the BRAZEN training facility in New Orleans, home of DEFIANCE Wrestling, and sparring with DEF’s blue chippers “Bantam” Ryan Batts, “DEC4L” Declan Alexander, Killjoy, and her son “The Heir Apparent” Kazuhiro Troy. Then, a hard cut to the Queen of the Ring backstage with Abigail Chase, her eyes full of fury and intent.
Lindsay Troy: There are few things I love more than the taste of revenge on my tongue and the broken bodies of the vanquished at my feet. And I’m not gonna stop until I shatter the faces of the UCA and rip their bodies in two…We’ll see who’ll be cowering and suffering at the end of this.
♫ Crying won’t help you, praying won’t do you no good. ♫
♫ No, crying won’t help you, praying won’t do you no good. ♫
♫ When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move, ooh… ♫
Rapid-fire clips dart across the screen: Troy charging into NEMESIS’ locker room and spinebustering Superbeast out of his boots. The two bedrocks of VALOR facing the Unholy Cyber Army in tag team battle…Troy rocking Power Devil with a Queen’s Gambit flying double knee strike, Judy-E kicking Superbeast with a devastating roundhouse, VALOR standing tall at the end. Lindsay defeating KIMO Apana for the Shut Up and Fight championship, with the UCA attacking her post-match and a returning Pat Cassidy waylaying the Demons of Cyber Roppongi with chairshots, forearms, and a GREEN MONSTAH BOMB~! to Superbeast!
♫ Sorry, but I can’t take you, ah… ♫
The woeful melody begins to soften, fading very slowly out, but not before three quick soundbites from Revolution 167 are heard…
Power Devil: Lindsay Troy. Pat Cassidy. If you dogs are ready to be vanquished in the one true gladiatorial arena, then at the pay per view, you will face us! The Demons of Cyber Roppongi!! The Lords of Hell!! The Unholy Cyber Army, for the Tag Team Championships!!
♫ Going down, going down now ♫
♫ Going down, I’m going down now ♫
♫ Going down, going down ♫
♫ Going down, going down ♫
Lindsay Troy: Superbeast and Power Devil, we very obviously accept the pay-per-view match, and we can have it wherever you two want. … I’ve already shaken up your foundation. The cracks are starting to show. At Master of the Mat, Pat and I are gonna write our names in SHOOT Project’s lore with your blood and take your ten pounds of gold in the process.
Pat Cassidy: God, this is gonna be so fun…
♫ Going down, going down now ♫
♫ Going down, going down now ♫
♫ Going down, going down now ♫
♫ Going down, going, dow-dow-dow-dow-down now ♫
♫ Ooh, ooh… ♫
Josh Conway Vs. Justin Moreno
POSSESSED
I FEEL A CONQUERING WILL DEEP INSIDE ME
STRENGTH
THE STRENGTH OF MANY TO CRUSH WHO MIGHT STOP ME!
The crowd in the Epicenter comes to their feet as “Mouth for War” starts blaring over the speakers, Lizzy Hale’s snarling scream accompanying the SHOOT Project World Heavyweight Champion as she steps out to the top of the ramp!
Eryk Masters: Judy-E DeMitri is HERE!
Other Guy: After her attack on Breedlove where she removed her mask, and the match thereafter, she’s been unusually quiet, from what I was hearing she had locked herself away training, but other than that I’ve got nothing.
She stands at the top of the ramp for a few moments, looking out to the crowd before throwing her fist into the air, the World Heavyweight Championship being held up in it like a badge of honor, a testament to its glory before she slings it over her shoulder and makes her way down to the ring. She’s wearing a sleek, fashionable black suit with almost imperceptible red accents, almost like lightning until they become just slightly more bold at her wrists. Silver wrist cuffs match the motif that she usually wears into battle. Bold platinum hair in a freshly shorn undercut, combed and pulled clean to one side with tight braids, her face fully adorned in intricate black metal corpse paint, accents of red lightning-like streaks running past her eyes. Matte black patent leather boots carry her up to the steps, where she slinks between the top and middle rope to stand in the center of the ring, looking out at the crowd. Softly, without a mic, she looks to every side of the ring, wordlessly mouthing the words “Thank You” to everyone cheering before her eyes harden and she reaches for a mic from the outstretched hand of the tech at ringside. One more moment of silence before she inhales.
Judy-E: It is…so good to see y’all.
She lets a bit of a grin creep on her lips as that simple phrase elicits another round of cheers from the crowd, and she nods a bit before squaring her gaze into the camera that shares the ring with her.
Judy-E: I had all this stuff planned I was gonna say when I got out here, about where I’ve been…what I’ve been doing, but let’s be honest. Y’all don’t really care. I wouldn’t! Let’s be real. That ain’t a knock against all of ya, honestly I wouldn’t trade this crowd of fans for anything. The amount of support I’ve received from all of you since my first match? It’s more than any up n c-
She stops herself mid-sentence, looking down with a soft chuckle before continuing
Judy-E: …it’s more than any Champion has ever deserved.
The crowd roars out, and Judy-E nods, before casting a cooler gaze into the camera that she shares a ring with.
Judy-E: I’ve been training. Busting my ass. Working with everyone that’ll take me to be the champion Y’ALL deserve. That VALOR deserves. That I deserve to be. I decided not to film it, not to have the camera crew follow me because…quite frankly? There are some elements in this company that think it’s really cute to show up where they aren’t wanted…and I don’t want to have anyone else involved in my conclusion with Breedlove. Speaking of which!
Judy-E walks to the ropes, leaning into them as she stares at the top of the ramp at nothing in particular.
Judy-E: I wanna thank you, Joshua.
The crowd boos as a small smirk curls Judy-E’s lips, and she nods through them.
Judy-E: Really! Really. If it wasn’t for your bullshit antics, your constant back-biting and attacks…I don’t think I would’ve found myself like I have recently. I’d tell you to come out and accept a round of applause for that but let’s be honest nobody wants to hear you run your fuckin’ mouth anymore than you already have. No…Joshua, your constant self-fellating, ego building, gaslighting bullshit is tiresome enough on the ones and zeroes, but to hear you in person, saying that shit out loud like some kind of walking spitter shitpost is too much. Too much for me, too much for these fans…just too much. So I just wanna tell you that I’m so…
…So…
…excited to shut you up. At least for a little while. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking past you.
Her voice has this cool alto timbre, something that used to be relegated to something behind the mask, but her eyes seem to shine as a grin grows.
Judy-E: I’m looking THROUGH you. I always have. Your intentions, your motivations…everything about you is just so embarrassingly transparent. It’s a shame too because you really are a good wrestler under all of that said-embarrassing bullshit…but I guess that’s part of your ‘charm’.
She says the word like it’s under duress. She shakes her head.
Judy-E: So, nothing is guaranteed in this world. You could beat me, become SHOOT Project Heavyweight Champion. I…
She can’t even complete the sentence without the crowd booing out it’s dissatisfaction of the thought, and she chuckles a bit in response.
Judy-E: I know, I know. So let’s just walk down a path that’s been in my brain for a few weeks now. I win against Breedlove, and he fucks off to whatever bridge he trolls under in his spare time…what’s next? Well, as of right this second it looks like what’s next is going to be who wins Master of the Mat…
The mention of Master of the Mat brings the crowd to a murmur, then a fever pitch as people realize the possibilities…
Judy-E: I know, right? That’s where I am too. On one hand you have Lindsay Troy, a champion through and through, a warrior and a fellow VALOR stablemate. She’s busted her ass since day one in SHOOT, and obviously in other places far before I ever strapped on a pair of boots.
She stomps down in hers for a second as a visual play on words before shaking her head.
Judy-E: She’s an incredibly dangerous competitor, one I’ve been fortunate enough to have as a tag partner. The thought of having to beat a fellow VALOR member clean in the middle of this ring..obviously it’s got me split a bit.
…but on the other hand…
The crowd hushes as Judy-E looks back up at the entrance ramp, staring at someone that’s obviously only in her head. There’s several moments of silence as Judy-E’s hand reaches to grab the top rope in front of her.
Judy-E: We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
The crowd claps at that, and Judy-E nods.
Judy-E: But hey, that’s all in the future! The present, as much as this entire sentence makes me wanna gag, is Joshua Breedlove. I might not know what’s in front of me, but I sure as fuck know what’s in front of him.
The ass-kicking of his fucking life.
After all…
She grins, holding up the championship in one hand.
Judy-E: It’s What’s Due.
The crowd ROARS as “Mouth For War” picks up again, Judy-E climbing the turnbuckles to raise the championship high.
Eryk Masters: Judy-E with her thoughts on this go-home show!
Other Guy: I’m glad she talked about Breedlove, but obviously her thoughts are on that Master of the Mat final, I can only IMAGINE what’s how she’s weighing that!
X-Calibur, Arthur Pleasant, Jacob Mephisto, Void Vs. Albert Martin, Jamie Johnson, Ayumi Seppuku, Buck Dresden
A who’s who of SHOOT Project talent each remain in or near the ring, exhausted from the brawl having just ensued, eyeing each other – waiting for another shoe to drop.
Eryk Masters: It was a hell of a match, OG, with a lot of bad blood and a lot of personal feelings turning into violence.
Other Guy: And it looks like it may not be over just yet…
X-Calibur, holding his chest, holds a recently-acquired microphone in his hand; he breathes heavily as he points towards the other side of the ring.
X-Calibur: No. You don’t get to go anywhere, not until we talk… AYUMI.
The crowd buzzes as the Ronin Wraith turns from her march up the ramp and crosses her arms, meeting the Iron God’s gaze.
walks over to Ayumi Seppuku with a cold look on his face.
Eryk Masters: Of course X-Calibur would use this as an opportunity to stroke his own ego. He’s been taking pot shots at Ayumi from behind her back ever since she made her big announcement. He’s clearly up to something.
X-Calibur looks at Ayumi and motions for her to come back to the ring; Ayumi hesitates until X walks over to the ramp side of the ring and sits down, his legs hanging over the side under the bottom rope and his arms laying over the middle rope – patting the empty canvas next to him.
X-Calibur: We just killed ourselves out there; even if I wanted to hurt you – I don’t have the energy. I just want to talk.
Other Guy: You were saying, Eryk?
Eryk Masters: It’s gotta be a trick…
Ayumi lowers her guard and begins walking back down the ring, getting the crowd more excited. Rather than sit down next to X-Calbur, she stands, cross-armed, just out of his reach if he were to take a swipe.
X shrugs and smiles a bit.
X-Calibur: Ayumi… fuck. I still can’t get used to that. You… I can’t believe you came back after all these years and thought that we – this company – wouldn’t accept you. I get why you left all those years ago – I do… but… damn. I wish I had known. I wish we had more opportunities to face each other like we did here tonight.
Eryk Masters: Where is this going?
X-Calibur: You know… you were the bastard that ended my very first World Championship reign. All those years ago. And…. then you left. I’ve been able to excise all the other ghosts of my past over these past 15 years, but that one? That one has been gnawing at me … like a sore that just won’t heal.
X-Calibur gestures with his arms.
X-Calibur: And now? Here you are. Here WE are.
The crowd begins to get excited, buzzing with where this is headed.
X-Calibur: Ayumi – I’m too old, too tired, and too fed up with all the bullshit to stalk you, to threaten you, to attack you when no one is looking… so I’ll just ask you this once.
Are you strong enough? Confident enough – to face me at Master of the Mat – one more time?
The crowd explodes as X-Calibur reaches his arm – not in an attack, but for a handshake. Ayumi takes in everything he’s just said before taking one more step forward so she’s face to face with X-Calibur, thrusting her own hand into his – staring him down with eyes of fire as she does.
With that simple gesture, the crowd in the Epicenter goes wild, making it hard for the commentators to get a word in.
Other Guy: Holy shit, Eryk! These two haven’t seen singles competition together in more than a decade and NOW we get a certified grudge match between two icons of this company. What a treat for these fans!
Eryk Masters: I’m excited, for sure, OG, but I’m more blown away at how the match came about. Since when does The Iron God ASK anyone for anything?
Other Guy: I know, right? THAT is how you know these two have respect for each other in the ring. Ayumi sparked the fire with her big announcement, this match was kindling, and at Master of the Mat we’re going to have a five-alarm fire of a match and I. CAN’T. WAIT.
X-Calibur and Ayumi remain looking at each other until they are each ushered away by a referee. As they each make their way up the ramp, neither lets the other out of their sight for a second.
Jamie Johnson gets himself to his feet and turns to exit the ring.
Eryk Masters: LOOK OUT!
Jamie is mowed down from behind by an absolutely VICIOUS lariat! He hits the canvas hard as Jacob Mephisto stands over him, staring down at the second generation Soldier with absolute disdain etched into a sneer.
Eryk Masters: What a cowardly cheap shot! What the hell, man?
Other Guy: You just KNOW Jacob Mephisto has had this planned all along, E. He doesn’t do anything at random.
Jamie shakes the cobwebs out and starts to push himself up again, but Mephisto STOMPS down onto his hands, causing him to drop flat again and clutch his fingers in pain. Mephisto shouts down at Jamie loud enough for a nearby camera to pick up the audio.
Jacob Mephisto: LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!
Mephisto STOMPS down across Jamie’s abdomen just as he rolls around on the canvas, causing an audible exhalation from “The Realness.”
Eryk Masters: This is… this is bad. Mephisto’s gone off the deep end here. Somebody get out here. Like, now!
Mephisto reaches down and drags Jamie up, but IMMEDIATELY flattens him again with his patented short-arm clothesline.
Jacob Mephisto: You think you’re BETTER than me!?
Another stomp, this time to the upper back of Jamie, punctuates his statement.
He grabs Jamie again and pulls him up. BUT JAMIE FIRES BACK with a quick salvo of forearms and kicks that stagger Mephisto back!
Other Guy: ‘Atta boy, kid! Give him hell!
Mephisto catches one of the kicks and SNATCHES Jamie into a t-bone position before LAUNCHING him up, over, and into the turnbuckles! Jamie lands with a nasty thud as Mephisto sits up with a look of pure vitriol.
Eryk Masters: OH! That was… that was just a bad landing. Seriously, where the hell is security?
Other Guy: Honestly, E? Probably dealing with any number of issues going on back there right now.
Mephisto gets to his feet, turning to face Jamie, who is STILL trying to pull himself back up again. Mephisto shakes his head.
Jacob Mephisto: You MADE me do this.
Mephisto rushes forward and BURIES a knee into Jamie’s sternum JUST as he’s pulling himself up. Mephisto doesn’t hesitate. He SNATCHES Jamie before he can fall and pulls him up into a fireman’s carry, walks to the center of the ring, and shrugs Jamie up and over, falling back into a lungblower.
The crowd audible gasps as the sound of air leaving Jamie’s lungs is loud enough to hear from the front row.
Mephisto rolls over and pushes himself up. He sits Jamie up and stalks to a corner.
Erik Masters: No! That’s enough!
Mephisto DARTS forward, looking for the Godless kick! But… he stops short, staring down at a practically helpless Jamie Johnson.
Other Guy: Thank god.
Eryk Masters: I don’t like the look of this, OG.
Mephisto shakes his head and grabs at his hair. He stalks over to the ring apron and grabs a cameraman by the camera, staring directly into the lense.
Jacob Mephisto: Are you watching, Sandman? You MADE me do this. LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!
A smile worthy of Lucifer creeps across Mephisto’s face. He almost sings into the camera.
Jacob Mephisto: Anything you can do, I can do better…
Mephisto releases the camera and moves back over to Jamie. He SNATCHES him up, and puts him in a piledriver position. Mephisto snatches Jamie’s arms in a double underhook , LIFTING him up and DRIVING him down with a double underhook piledriver!
Eryk Masters: OH! Jamie is out! This place is a fucking madhouse right now! First the Ayumi and X-Cal thing and now THIS. Jesus!
Mephisto gets back to his feet and the crowd ROARS as Mephisto whirls around in time to see Nate Robideau hurtling toward the ring with murder in his eyes followed closely by a furious Azraith DeMitri!
Eryk Masters: Here come both halves of tonight’s main event! And right now they’ve got a common cause!
Just as both men hit the ring, Mephisto bails. Mephisto backs up the ramp with speed as Nate checks on Jamie and Azraith FUMES in the ring.
Mephisto locks eyes with Azraith and the camera picks up a few words being sung.
Jacob Mephisto: I can do anything better than you.
Mephisto smiles, and that awful sight is the last one we see before we cut away.
Other Guy: We’ve gotta restore some order here, holy shit. We’ll be right back and then it’s MAIN EVENT time!
Backstage, Nate Robideau paces in front of the camera. His brows are already vaselined, his gloves on, his ankles taped. He paces, sometimes dropping to a knee in a sliding motion, sometimes pausing to do some manner of deep, trigger point stretch. He pauses, then looks at the camera.
Robideau: Here we find ourselves again, Azraith.
His chuckle is mirthless, but at least warm. His smile genuine.
Robideau: If it’s not you, it’s your daughter. Seems it’s my destiny to bash my head up against a DeMitri until I can no longer do much in the way of bashing. Y’know, SHOOT faithful, this may be lost on a few of you, but Azraith was my first big, big match after I landed here. For a belt.
His smile fades slightly. Softens. His great brow furrows, if briefly, and he eyes the floor nodding.
Robideau: There was a time, Azraith, when I thought for sure I could win a strap and that would be all I needed to do. I would have proven everything I ever wanted to prove. That I could show up after so long in Hell, that I could climb and achieve and make it, really make it. That’s all I needed to do. Just so I could die one day knowing that I had pulled it off. Without regret. Without a ‘what if’ as my final thought into the afterlife.
His eyes rise to the camera. His face stern once again.
Robideau: They never tell you about the hunger, though. Look at me, man. I’m on the wrong side of a number of injuries since I got here, and more than a few attempts on my life before I ever showed up. I train with an obsessive mindset because I know that I lack the gifts that most of you have. Buck is carved out of granite. Jamie has a gear of agility and twitch reaction that seems to come naturally. That Martin kid? He didn’t even have to try to gas me. Your daughter? She’s as naturally stonefisted a striker as I’ve ever faced. And you…well, you’re a legend. It comes naturally to so many of you. And I know my gifts aren’t there. I know I don’t have that in me. The only thing I can ever say I have above the lot of you is right here.
Nate taps his temple.
Robideau: Because I have nothing else…but fight. No romance, no family, no joy except what I found in that ring and training my students. Which makes me lean, hungry, and lonely. But you want to know what the most screwed up part is, Azraith?
He shakes his boulder of a head.
Robideau: When I’m laying in bed at night–alone, like I am every night–my loneliness doesn’t get the worst of me. Not having a family who wants anything to do with me doesn’t hurt the most. Hemorrhaging money every day in this building in the absolute worst neighborhood in the city? Does not gnaw at me.
He smirks.
Robideau: The table does.
Nate crosses his arms
Robideau: When I opened the gym up, I bought a table. Nothing special. And on that table, I put the World Heavyweight Championship. When I lost it, I briefly considered…I don’t know. Throwing the table in the dumpster. Selling it. Putting it in a storage closet. But no, I left it. A sore tooth. A reminder of that hunger.
A pause. A crack of both slides of his neck. Then he pops his fingers. Rolls his wrists. Begins shifting his weight from left food to right.
Robideau: That hunger that never leaves me. So I keep plugging along. Keep pushing. Keep ripping myself into better and better shape because that hunger is still there. Because my table is still empty. Because sometimes management throws a bone to a beaten gladiator like me. And because sometimes you face someone–who has beaten you to paste a number of other times–and you just know you’re due for a win. So we’re going to do this again, Azraith.
His grin is easy. He socks punches into his palm with the staccato impact of leather to flesh.
Robideau: And we’ll probably do it again later on down the line.
He nods and begins to stalk down the hallway to the gorilla position. Rolling his shoulders, swinging his arms. Once more into the fray.
