Let me explain how this works, the wrestling industry that is. No matter which way you look at it, having friends will always end up biting you in the ass. At first, having a posse behind you might seem like a good idea, but it never turns out quite the way you thought it would. Sooner or later, you're going to run out of people to beat, in which case you're going to have to eventually fight one another, especially if there is a title involved, particularly a title of prestige. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, but did that ever stop Alexander The Great? Hell no, and it won't stop anyone else.

In a tournament situation, the whole friends idea takes a devastating turn for the worse. No matter which way you spin it, you're going to end up against one of your friends, you're going to end up eliminating them, and you're going to end up making them look like a fool. Did Seifer win MOD twice because of the friendships he made? I don't think so, and it's more than likely that either he just didn't care about the people he stepped on along the way, or there was no one he particularly cared about that had entered. Let's face facts and say that there really is no use in holding onto friendships for awhile, due to the fact that they will always crumble. Don't even try, because it really is no use. Sooner or later, you will end up hurting each other.

That's why I chose the words that I did for Ruby to hear. It's obvious that she needs to take a Psychology of "Rasslin'" 101 class, because she knows nothing about the industry. Maybe she's yet to learn the lessons that can only be taught inside the ring. Though, due to her always imminent friends, I thought she might have learned by now. However, the way she constantly talks about former friends, I see that I'm going to have to teach her myself. I meant no harm by my choice of words, because when it comes down to it, this whole thing is just buisness. You can't keep friends in thiis buisness, and expect to never cross them. I have respect for Ruby, I've said that, but there's no way I'm going to let friendship come in the way of becoming Master of the Domain. She says she feels the same way, but if she's going to take words of criticism the wrong way, then she is obviously not ready for this type of match.

Lylah McQueen, a name brought up often when it comes to Ruby Lynn. Another broken relationship, obviously, that Ruby can't seem to let go of. It's buisness, as said before, but she still doesn't see it. They might have held a friendship once upon a time, but Lylah had another agenda, and it rhymed with mugs (You better realize I'm speaking about drugs). Something about Ruby got pissed and had a few choice words of her own towards Lylah. That's what started this whole broken friendship thing between them, and now Lylah wants Ruby's title. Lylah has learned it either. You can keep your respect for someone, acknowledge that you have to do what you have to do, and do it. No harm, no fowl. Apparently you can't do that anymore in the wrestling world.

That's all this is. A friendship that has apparently turned sour because the participants were put up against each other. If that all it takes in order to resort to petty insults, then that's sad. I mean nothing by my words. There's no hatred behind them, only truth, and hopefully one day Ruby will understand that. Until that day, if I need to put her spirit down in order to advance, then you best believe that it's going to happen, wether she likes it or not.

The feeling of Chicago never left me. GWE wasn't around back then, so we rarely went into Chicago, but when we did, it was always different then everywhere else. You always got the feeling that you were finally home, and the people here loved you just a little bit more than the rest. Maybe it was because Chicago is BUD's home, and being a BUD superstar, you felt it to be your home as well. I'm not sure, maybe it was just me. I never really had a steady home as a child, but ever since the end of 2006, I had always looked at Chicago has home sweet home. That's why I was so happy that my return match would be on Chaos Theory. There's nothing like returning to the ring in your hometown. You tend to fight a little better, push a little harder, and the feeling is always incomparable.

To go up against the likes of Ruby Lynn, I would need that feeling. Back when I was at my peak, in all honesty, she wouldn't have been a match for me. Back when I stood for something, and people knew my name. These days people associate my name with leaving, and I don't really blame them. They have a right too, and it's my own fault, but there's only so many times you can hear it before you explode. Even now, Ruby thought she was being original by acknowledging how many times he had left BUD in the past few months. If she only knew. Oh well, people are foolishg nowadays, what can you expect?

The sky was dark, and it was apparent the sky was seconds away from crying. The clouds looked to be filled with tar, and hung low to the ground. It was almost as if you could reach up into the cloud and touch it from the ground. However, I wasn't focused on the sky and what it was up to. Well, that's not entirely true. I was half hoping I wouldn't be outside, on top of this building, so long that it would begin to rain on me, but the other half of my brain was focused on keeping the weights above my head. I mentioned I had ring rust, and I planned on getting my stamina, and everything else, back up before the match. It was easier said than done, to say the very least. It sucks, being away for so long. It sucks even more trying to come back, and realzing you're not in the best shape anymore.

I pushed on the cement below me and yelled at, lifting the metal bar up, as well. There was sounds of thunder off in the distance. "Come on Zarek! If you even plan on making it past the first round, you're going to have to do better than this, you piece of shit. What the hell have you been up to these past couple of months?" Alex Deathcore. Fomer anouncer for my very first company, Deathcore Wrestling. He had a special way of talking to you sometimes, that made you feel like the smallest person on earth. No matter what he said, no matter how small you felt, it always made you want to push back harder, prove him wrong. I guess that's why I ended up calling him up, because I knew that nobody could get the job done like Alex.

I squatted again, and it felt like an elephant had just sat on me. I didn't know if I would be able to push up again. Somehow, through the pain, I started up, gritting my teeth, yet managing to say, "Shut up old man, I don't see you doing this. How about you try?" The anger was starting to boil inside of me, but I knew it was unnessecary. Maybe that's what gave you the strength to push up, even though the odds were impossible.

He grabbed the hose that previously lay next to him. Apparently, due to my backtalk, he wasn't willing to wait for the rain anymore. "Do I have something to prove? No I don't. Am I the one trying to make it through this Master of the Domain tournament? I didn't think so. So I'll allow you to do all the heavy lifting." He pressed towards him on the silver handle of the hose, causing a light stream of water to burst ouf of the end. I closed my eyes, and could feel the cold, wet, droplets hit my face and drip down. Luckily, he hadn't figured out how to turn up the water pressure. Either that, or he was just holding back.

Again, I sank down into the ground, and could almost feel my entire body colapse, but I kept my composure. "What's with the water?" Hopefully my questions wouldn't cause for for punishment. Although I didn't see the point of it, it wasn't really enjoyable. Chicago was cold, crazy cold in storms. Much different from California, where Zarek had hung his head for the past couple of months.

It was at this moment, as I was raising myself up again, that my hands began to slip. One hand let go of the metal bar above me for a split second, and I was tempted to let it fall altogether. Something told me to grab it though, so my hand clasped it again before it really went anywhere. "Don't let the bar slip now. It's going to get very slippery." He laughed. I suddenly knew what the water was for. What a jerk. Since he couldn't break me before, now he was trying to make the bar slip out of my hands. My hands were now almost a maroon color, but still, I held it tighter to keep from letting go.

He started spraying the rest of my body, as I slowly continued my squats. I could feel him getting bored. Maybe he would stop sometime soon. Unfortunantly, deep down I knew that he didn't plan on it anytime soon. "So Zarek, while we're out here, why don't you tell me why you left the industry. Not even I recieved a call or anything, and from what I hear, nobody else did either. What was so urgent that you needed to high-tail it out of BUD?" I grew quiet for a second, and he was probably happy that for once I had shut up.

I'm not sure what he expected to hear, but he wasn't going to get an answer. "Sorry Alex, not even you can get the information out of me, not yet anyways. Someone needed me to be somewhere, so I left. That's all." That's all he was going to get out of me, and he knew it, so he wasn't going to push any further. For a second, his hardcore coach look was let down, and a look of understanding replaced it. Only for a second though, and then it ran off to the other end of the world, probably never to be seen again.

He turned back to the situation at hand, "Alright then, let's talk about this MOD thing that you came back for. I'm not entirely sure what the hype is all about, but I'm glad I'll get to see what everyone is talking about. In less than twenty-four hours is your first round match, against some chick named White Trash. Some redneck gimmick, how original. I'm not from these parts. So who is she?" He continued spraying me, mostly on my face, though he wanted me to answer him. I guess he found a new way to torture me, spray water in my mouth while I was trying to talk.

Through mouthfulls of water, I answered him. "Honestly, I have all the respect for her in the world, but if she truley thinks she's a better champion than Dannica, then she is sorely mistaken. Dannica was a way better champion, and while Ruby has had her fair share of contenders, I doubt she's ever had anyone like Samantha Carmen or Mandy Manson. Midnight and Karime Atora don't measure up to the caliber of opponents Dannica had to indure. She might have won MOD in a controversal way, but she was one hell of a Bytch Champion. Until Ruby's reached that level, I suggest she stop acting like she's the best thing since sliced bread. I never once said MOD is going to be easy, and I never once underestimated her. My words switched back and fowarth between I might win, and I was going too. Obviously at times I gave her the benefit of the doubt, despite the facts. I don't really care who she is, she could be Seifer for all I care, I will get past her, and I will move on to the next round. I know she's a fighter, but I hope she knows that I am the original fighter. I'm used to being the underdog. Just because she never saw any of it, doesn't mean it never happened. I had a snowball's chance in hell at winning the BUDvision title three weeks after my debut, in an eleven person battle royal. However, I pulled out all the stops, and I was underestimated like a mother fucker. It didn't stop me, and do you know who walked away with the title? I did. I pray to God that she doesn't take me lightly just because I've been away for a few months. Stevenson was away for quite awhile, and won the Heavyweight title his first match back. It's done before, and it will be done again." I thrusted upwards with the bar as I said the last part. I'm not sure how I did it, maybe the determination. I don't even know, because I seriously had no strength left.

He turned the knob at the top, he had obviously found the water pressure, and it sprayed me even more. It gave me a kind of tickling sensation, and almost made me want to drop the bar, but I didn't. "I heard all the crap she's been talking about you, and how she's going to make it in the men's division. We both know that she's no Rielle Hawke, so what do you think of her words?" I didn't answer at first. Not because I didn't know what to say, but because I knew he was waiting for me to speak. He began spaying the rest of my body again, feeling I wouldn't open my mouth.

However, as soon as I did, he went right back to my face with the hose. A dirty trick played by a dirty man. "Ruby is a woman and she belongs in the woman's division. I'm not about to play the mesagonist card, this is truth. While people like Mandy Manson, Rebecca Rancid, Angelique Devine, and I'll even throw Jade into that category, can make it in the guys division, Ruby simply can't. Rielle proved all the boys wrong and captured the Deathcore title in DW, but as you said, Ruby is no Rielle. She's beaten the likes of Leaky Format, and Taiokian, and already she's talking about being better than the boys. It really doesn't make any sense. I applaud her for trying though. I'll applaud anyone taken out of their element, and trying to make it in a world bigger than their own. That's what Ruby is doing, and I'm sorry I have to knock her on her ass. She's a good competitor, but if she really wanted to make it in the men's division, maybe she should start somewhere lower. Maybe after she starts attacking her competition. Wether Rosie ran her mouth or not, she still felt the need to attack her competition and that is unacceptable. Many competitors tried to put me down that way, for example, Leaky. But you can't keep me down, and Ruby will have to find that out the hard way. This is a warm-up match, no matter what Ruby wants to say. It's a warm-up match, for both of us. Whoever wins this match will go on to face bigger and better competitors, so why wouldn't this be considered a warm-up match? It's plan and simple. The person who advances will have had a taste of the competition, and be ready for whoever is next."

He turned the water pressure up again, and now it gave me a sort of stinging feeling. I knew that if he kept it to long in one spot, it would leave a red mark. It was like if you left your hand to long on a heater, it kind of stings at first, and then hurts like hell. "She seems to doubt your ability Zarek, and makes fun of you because you've been away. Supposily, the ring rust has set in. You're not what you used to be." On top of the pressurized water, he was getting closer, and his voice was raising. I couldn't tell if he was mad, or if this was some idea to get my blood boiling.

The water hitting my face made a loud sound, and I could barely hear anything. Because of this, I was now screaming without even realzing it. "The rust from a couple months, isn't as thick as a couple of years, and that's what she faced, isn't I? Everyone knows that Ruby has been in BUD times before, and to come back, she had to face years of ring rust. She did it though, and now she's the Bytch champion, yet she doubts my abilitiy to shake off months of rust? Now who is underestimating who?"

He turned the hose up again, and this was the part where the heater starts to hurt like hell. It felt like someone was punching me in the face, but a constant punch in the face. It didn't hurt that much at first, but when he left the hose pointed at one spot, it sure as hell did. "But you've been away for so long Zarek, how do you expect to just fit right back in with the rest of them?" His tone had changed as well, and he almost appeared to be mocking Ruby Lynn, yet saying it in a demeaning tone.

By this point, I was pissed, but I kept doing these stupid squats and answering these stupid questions. I somehow felt they could still prepare me. "Unfortunantly for her, she's proven that she doesn't have a life outside of this buisness. When it comes down to it, at the end of the way, I love BUD but it's just my job. I have a life outside these walls, and people that I care about. I'm sorry Ruby doesn't have that, and she can afford to keep wrestling for long periods of time. Some of us don't have that luxury and some of us have people to take care of. Even Roxy has skeletons in her closet, and Ruby talks about it like it's uncommon. No matter what was going on, I always payed attention to the company. Roxy knows this, the people backstage know this, and even Drew knows this considering he was a victim of one of my surprise showings. The game hasn't changed so much that it can't be tracked. She's stacking so much up against me, trying to bring me down, trying to make me believe I can't do it. It's to bad she doesn't know who she's talking too. I invented the 'think I can', so I know what it is all about. This underestimation bit, it's old, it's been done before, and frankly, I'm tired of it. Even with what I've done for this company, the accomplishments on my resume, people still think I can't do it. What Ruby doesn't know is that she doesn't have me by my balls, and quite frankly, she never will. I'm a lot better, a lot more skilled than she obviously thinks I am, and I will have no problem showing her. Ruby's just another stepping stone."

The hose was on full blast, so instead of stopping, he inched forward. "You left Zarek. Straight-up left, and didn't tell anyone. Now you walk back in and expect to advance, but not only that, but be able to face legends in this tournament..." He didn't get to finish his sentence. I jumped up from my position, thrusting the bar upwards, but letting go as well. I could have held on, but my anger combined with detemination and adreneline, and I ended up throwing it off the side of the building. I think I hit a car down below, but it didn't matter.

He stopped spraying, and looked at me, amazed. His coach look had gone again, but this time, his look was blank. Like he didn't know what to think. I stood there, drenched, and looked at him, who was also a bit wet, and answered the question. "There's certain things you need to keep to yourself, and you have to do on your own. Bobby Johnson has left before, Novacaine has bailed out, Dante Cross has walked out those front doors. I wasn't even the Heavyweight champion when I did it, and all three of these men were. Ruby doesn't understand that sometimes you have to get your priorities in check, and then just jump. What I love, is that she twists my words around like nothing. I never expected to move on just like that, I even said IF I move on to the next round. I said I owed Bobby a great match, considering I flaked out on our title match months ago, and MAYBE I could repay him in this tournament. I said if I get passed Ruby, I would have a chance at redemption. She needs to stop making me seem like the bad guy, because I'm not, nor have I ever been. Ask anyone. If this is how she plays the game, then she's right, I know nothing about her, but I'm also sorry to inform her that her strategy will not work. Especially when all she has Lylah on her mind, as well, while she critisizes me for speaking about others.I don't even know if they're going to advance, having opponents like Sparrow and Jimmy Stryker. What she needs to do is get her facts straight, and realize that she just can't win this."

I never said an entire month, I believe it was said to be a year straight. Who said I wasn't enjoying it? I came back because she needed help, and then I was out. Did I say I was back for good? No. Did I say I would stick around forever? Hell no, because I knew I wouldn't. Was I involved in a huge storyline? I wouldn't have time for it, so why would I be? She might have had the Bytch title for five months, which by the way is wrong thanks to Midnight, but that still doesn't compare to Dannica. Nice try though.

Alex looked down at his student, and his blank looked slowly but surely spread into a smile. "That'll do..."