"I was wrong."

"What do you mean you were wrong? You weren't wrong, just a little misguided."

Madeline Krenshaw. She had been following me around ever since I had left the arena in which the 4:20 even took place. I knew that there would be people that would try to replace Abram, but I think one would appear right away. Abram had been buried for almost two hours before someone was already trying to take his place. She was definitely different than Abram though. Abram was more of a confidence builder, more laid-back, whereas this woman was more on the corporate side. She wore a black work outfit, and kept talking about image and PR and whatnot. I didn't plan on keeping her around, because I didn't need another manager to attempt to replace Abram, but she was someone to talk to.

Zarek took a breath and continued with his statement. "No, I was wrong about her. All wrong. Can you believe I fell for that honor crap? Ha. I had thought, maybe, just maybe I'd meet a competitor that was worth something, but I haven't done so yet. Manic's arrogance was his own downfall, Leaky Format was hardly a match, Pierce can't get into a ring without his buddies by his side, and everyone knew I had high hopes for Emerald. I'm pretty sure I made quite clear what I expected from her, and I didn't recieve it. I understood she had talent, and could very well take the BUDvision title off my shoulder, but I had also understood that it'd be atleast somewhat of a fair match. It's funny that some people will bold face lie to the fans, just to get them on her side. Ha, well, I was a fool to believe I could expect anything more from her. Hell, she's dating Nova, what the hell was I thinking?"

With a very gleeful cheer. "Well you see, that's your probelm, you weren't prepared for Emerald to take on the same virtues as Nova himself. With me by your side, I'll be able to prepare you for anything that can come your way. That title will be yours again in no time."

A look of frustration crossed Zarek's eyes. "Don't you understand? I'm not looking for someone to replace Abram. I kept him around because he grew on me, who was I to tell this kid that he couldn't follow his dreams? And look how well that went for him. Look, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I'm not taking another manager, wether that be you, anyone else, or Abram himself. Got it?"

"I understand you loud and clear Mr. Lyle, but you need someone to manage your career. I mean you can't come up with the ideas and execute them, that's silly. You need someone in your corner. I had this idea to send a message to Emerald by breaking her wrist..."

He took a deep breath before answering. "No! As I said before, I don't plan on taking on any managers, which includes you. I already have someone in my corner, her name is Jade, my girlfriend if you remember, and she'll probably kick your ass if you keep pushing it. Besides, I would never stoop so low as to injure someone just to gain a win. When I win back my BUDvision Championship, I will do it my way, the right way. Unlike Emerald, I won't need to blind my opponent to gain the win. I'll simply beat them fair and square, it's the ultimate insult."

Madison looked almost offended. "Fine, fine, jeez. I was just trying to help your career from being flushed down the toilet."

Madison walked off, leaving Zarek alone, the first time he had been so since just before his match with Emerald. He needed some alone time, some time to think. There had been so much that he wanted to do. He wanted to kill every single member of The Tide for kidnapping Abram, he still wanted to make Pierce rot in hell, he wanted to make a shot at Emerald's pride the way she had done to him, and he wanted to kick Nova's ass for handing Emerald the powder. For someone who didn't like making enemies, he sure had a lot nowadays. It seemed the whole world had joined forces just to get the BUDvision Championship off of Zarek's waist. Well, it had worked, it had worked very well, and now Zarek had to begin his ascent back to his prize.

Zarek lifted himself up off the couch that he was sitting on, he needed to get out, needed to find some way to express himself. First, there was something he had to do. He opened his door and walked out into the long corridor. He had walked it many times before, but this was the first time in two and a half monthes that he didn't have that piece of gold on his shoulder. It was a different feeling than he had felt so many other times.  He felt like just another superstar backstage, because without the BUDvision Championship, it's exactly what he was.

A distant voice began running at him, "Zarek, Zarek, I've been dying to speak to you. Can I just have a few words? It'll only take a minute."

A laugh, "And why would anyone want to speak to Zarek Lyle?"

"Well you see Mr. Lyle, everyone's been dying to get a word with the former champion. No disrespect at all, but we've been dying to hear what you think about the whole situation at 4:20. Please Mr. Lyle, it won't take any time at all."

He stopped for a second, former champion didn't sound very great, "Okay, I'll spare you a couple of minutes to get my word out. So, what is it that you want to know? I've got nothing but words."

A smile crossed her face and she looked up into the camera. "Thank you Mr. Lyle, you won't regret it. Alright, we're going live in 5...4...3...2...1! Angela Jackson here with the former BUDvision Champion Zarek Lyle. Nobody's really seen or heard from him since the controversal end to his title defense at 4:20. I'm here with him now to get his thoughts on the whole idea. Zarek, did you expect your match with Emerald to end the way it did?"

Another laugh, but more sarcastic. "Did I expect my match with Emerald to end the way it did? Ha, hardly. Infact, I expected anything but the ending that occured. Although Emerald's been dating Nova, I'm sure nobody expected she would go as far as to throw powder in an opponents eyes to get the win. I mean, she went so far as to make an example of me, saying she's never had to have help in a match before. I suppose there's got to be something wrong with Nova's lady. I just don't think anyone expected it, least of all me."

"So you don't think that Emerald's way of winning was justified?"

A small smile. Ha. Justified, that's funny. "Jusitifed? No, I don't think it was. True, I've had my times, but the times that I came even close to be considered 'cheating', I was justified in my actions. Leaky had five or six guys out to the ring, to have two people on my side is less than fair, and I still came out on top. Abram came out once, but that wasn't even during the match, it was afterwards and only because Pierce was taking things to far. Emerald had no right to do what she did. Jade did get involved, but that wasn't my decision, it was hers. When Nova slipped that crap into Emerald's hand, it became her decision. It was her decision, and her decision only to cheat to get the win. Don't get me wrong, Emerald is one tough competitor, and she might have even been able to pull one over on me, fairly. We didn't get to find that out at 4:20 because Emerald, and not I, was the one that stooped so low as to cheat her way to a victory."

An eager Angela pressed forward. "Speaking of Nova, what are your feelings towards him?"

Zarek brushed his hair from out of his face. "You know, I never felt anything towards NovaCaine except respect. I respected him because he definitely has talent, he's a former World Heavyweight Champion, and he's a legend. I had no reason to feel anything but respect for him. He's a legend for god sakes, and I'm still considered a rookie in this industy, why would I ever feel anything otherwise? I never once thought that I'd be crossing Nova's path, and I never had a reason too. Until now, of course. I get that Nova has a specific nature, that obviously, when he feels threatened, or rather when he feels someone he cares for is threatened, than he resorts to a certain behavior. We saw that at 4:20. Not only did he slip that powder into Emerald's hand, but he also hit Jade with a chair. I don't blame him, because if Jade was in trouble, than I would probably do the same, it's just the matter of who you do it to that you have to watch out for."

 Suprised, "Is that a threat from Zarek Lyle to Andrew Caine?"

Another smile. If only it was that easy. "Take it in what sense thou wilt."

"Moving away from the dangerous territory, what do you plan on doing for the rematch? You do know you have a rematch clause, right?"

As straight-faced as ever. "Of course I know, I've known ever since the day that I set Manic on fire. It's said that if a champion can retain their championship atleast once, then thier rematch clause is activated. I didn't just defend the BUDvision title once, but twice, so I would believe that I am entitled to my rematch. Some may think I should take it right away, let her have her fun for a week as champion, and then snatch the bitch by the hair, take it right back. I have other plans in mind though. I'll let Emerald play around, let her gloat as champion, let her say that she beats me, I'll let her bask in the glory of being champion for a whole month. I'm not a greedy person. and she did technically beat me, so I'll give her the due, but at Vendetta III, I'm taking it back. "

Very pleased with her findings. "So we can expect a rematch at Vendetta II, for sure?"

Zarek knodded in agreement "Definitely. Besides, I have some other things to deal with before I head back into the title hunt straight away. My number one priority is taking out members of the Tide. That shouldn't take very long, so after that I'll make my run at MY title. Actually, technically she is the champion, so I'll leave it out to her. I'm issuing a challenge to get my title back. If Emerald doesn't take it, then maybe Nova will. Hell, a challenge to both of them, it doesn't really matter. Maybe the second time around, you won't need to break out the cheap shots in order to win?"

Turning back to Angela. "Now, if you don't mind, I have buisness to take care of."

With that, Angela knodded and Zarek returned a knod of his own. With a small smile, he walked away. He was no longer feeling the dread of losing the BUDvision Championship, because he knew it was as good as his. Emerald would have her fun as champion, and he had no problem of letting her burrow it. He had a plan, and would execute it when the time was right.