“That was quite the showing you had on Wednesday.”

“Now, I believe we must begin preparing for our future interests,” Theo Pryce's words fell off of his tongue effortlessly, a talent he had spent a virtual lifetime perfecting. Across from him sat Ned Kaye, one of his current clients in The Saga who still was a bit uncertain of why exactly he was called up to the office. Standing next to Ned was his companion, friend, and essentially emotional support person, Darcy Ellis. Theo poured a shot of whiskey in a chilled glass as he spoke, a foggy coating of frost obscured the flowing amber as it filled the container. He raised the cup, his fingers clutching above it, Darcy shooting him a displeased glare as the glass neared his lips. His expression shifted to a slight confusion before a supposed realization overcame him.

“Ah. How rude of me,” he said, placing his whiskey down and preparing to pour a glass for Ned, Darcy quickly hovering her hand between the spout of the bottle and the glass, prompting more confusion from Pryce. With a hint of bewilderment, Darcy stated the unspoken fact that had slipped Theo's mind.

“He's a recovering alcoholic, for God's sake,” she said, recoiling her hand while Theo placed the cap back on the bottle, “I know you used to get dropped on your head for a living, but that's a pretty important detail to forget.”

“Forgive me,” Theo responded with a sly bit of distaste, “I'm trying to run many operations here, miss..?”

“Darcy,” she spoke humorlessly.

“Miss Darcy, I simply don't have the time to remember each and every detail about every person under my employ,” while he sat down across from Ned, he kept his eyes on Darcy, his sheer cadence of speech retaining a level of power in the conversation, “besides, there are many complications and unexpected factors for me to keep up with.”

Almost on cue, Jason Cashe stepped out from the door to the restroom in Theo's office, his pinky in his ear trying to remove some water and his hair drenched with a towel laid over his shoulder.

“Well, now, didn't know we were gonna have guests so soon! I took a shower at a good time!”

The restroom connected to Pryce's office did not have a shower.

The three stared at Cashe, none absolutely sure how to proceed until Jason spoke once more.

“Hey,” he shrugged, “at least I'm clothed.”

“Case in point,”Pryce waved his hand as he took a sip from his glass, “surely you can forgive me for the minor error in these conditions.”

Darcy still seemed unpleased, but turned her head away. Ned knew she wasn't going to get along much with Theo, which might've been why he insisted on her tagging along here. Pryce might have had an eye for the industry, but Ellis knew Ned inside and out and that extra bit of reassurance went a long way for him. However, he was fully sure he wasn't going to hear the end of this favor after they left the office.

"It's no big deal," Ned finally spoke, doing his best to keep his eyes away from the amber liquid in Theo's glass, which, to the man's credit, he quickly hid the cup as Ned continued, "but I think we would like to know what exactly you're wanting to do."

Theo gave a look, trying to suss something out until tactfully approaching it, "We…? Does that mean that you two are an item?"

"An item..?" Ned asked, almost chuckling. He considered it clear that they were not, but the consideration of such a fact embarrassed him for a reason he couldn't place his finger on.

Jason chimed in, less tactfully, "He means to ask if you two are bumpin' uglies. You know? Fuckin'!"

Shouting, Darcy turned around her face somewhat flush as she did, "WE KNOW WHAT HE'S ASKING!"

Ned stammered a little as he answered Theo properly, "A-a-and no! We are not! We areeee-"

Kaye's words stretched out as he tried to think of a proper term. He looked to Darce, desperate for assistance. She picked up on his cue and did her best to finish the thought.

"Friends! But kinda more than friends, right?"

It was only once the sentence escaped her that she realized how thoroughly suspect it sounded.

"Well, not like- not like that, we're-"

"Part..ners…? Partners!"

Ellis's face scrunched a bit as the connotations of the term became a bit more apparent.

"How about… companions?"

"Yes! Yes, we're companions! That's all!" Ned declared with a finality that almost negated the half minute of uncertainty that preceded it.

Almost.

Jason stifled a laugh as Theo attempted to rescue the moment from being entirely awkward and uncomfortable.

"Well, your… unique interpersonal situation notwithstanding, I have some plans for Ned. He's currently in a prestigious position with a lot of opportunity ahead of him. So, I suggest we reveal him to the world at large. A coming out party, so to speak."

"Ha! Called it!" Cashe shouted triumphantly as he used his pinky to try and unlodge some water from his ear. Both Pryce and Ellis shot him a glare, but Ned knew better than to react at a Cashe-ism in such a way.

"My point being," Theo began once more, "that this is a golden opportunity to introduce the world to a bold, new Ned."

"I don't know," Darcy inserted her opinion on the matter swiftly, "it sounds like more of a crappy, tacky publicity stunt than anything that really suits Ned."

"Ms. Ellis," Theo stated in an unamused manner, "it is my duty to make decisions that benefit my clients' careers. As I imagine it is your duty to make Ned feel better when his feelings are a little scuffed. Please do us all a favor and let me do my part before you go on with… whatever function it is that you serve."

Looking over to Darcy, Kaye could tell she was on the verge of blowing up at Theo, so he chose his next words carefully and quickly.

"We'll do it," Ned declared.

"We will?"

Theo smiled, appreciating Ned's cooperation in the face of business. He picked up a few papers, scribbling down an address as he lifted the glass of whiskey to his mouth again, taking a triumphant sip.

"It sounds like a good idea… especially after all of the pain I caused during my breakdown. It would be good to get a proper, fresh start to the new year."

"I knew you'd see it that way," Theo added, taking a "pleasant" victory lap as he flicked the paper across the table and towards Kaye, "now I believe she mentioned something earlier about finding something that suits you?"

---

"OH MY GOD," Darcy almost screamed in the middle of public, still annoyed from earlier, "that guy is such a fucking tool!"

Ned shot a look at her, trying to  convey that she ought to calm down, but mostly just showcasing his deep discomfort at being fitted for a suit. He stood in place as one of the employees took his measurements, getting put different coats and ties on like a mannequin with a semi-scowl.

"Darce, I'm not gonna pretend I think Theo is spotless or anything, but he did basically give me the contract that allowed me to help your sister out," Kaye said with his chin awkwardly stuck up.

"I mean, I appreciate that, but don't remind me…" She sighed aggravatedly before returning her attention to Ned, snidely remarking on his current "abundance" of comfort.

"How's that good idea looking about now?"

"Fuck offf," he sighed, half-chuckling.

"I mean it though, judging on how your face is, it doesn't just look like you've never been fitted for a suit, it looks like clothes are a radical, new concept to you!"

He grunted slightly as he was forced to move his body into another less than ideal position.

"In my defense," he countered, "the last time I really had to think about a suit was over eight years ago."

It took Darcy a moment of pondering before she came to the answer. She attempted to approach the subject carefully as she realized it.

"Your engagement with your fiancee who passed away… right?" She said in her best attempt to sound a little softer given her mood.

"Mhm," Ned confirmed.

Darcy sighed, turning to the side before trying to change the subject to the matter at hand.

"I guess… if you have to go through all this and you don't even want to, I don't know why you're bothering. It's kinda felt like your mind has been somewhere else today anyway-"

"Look," Ned interrupted her thought, "I have a responsibility to people. That means family, you, Theo, Kido, Cashe, Saga, everyone. I can't just ignore that because it's not exactly what I want."

Suddenly, it clicked into place for Darcy.

"You're still upset about that fan of yours who got beat up in front of you. That's why you're so worried about letting people down right now.."

The employee finished measuring Ned, stepping away to go find another coat that would fit Kaye's look. As they departed, Ned gave a quiet nod.

"I tried finding him, but it's pretty hard to find a Mike in New York without knowing the last name. He didn't deserve to go through that."

"Well, how about you let me figure that out and you do this party for Dickhead McGee? We'll show him that I'm not just a pretty face," she inspected Ned as she straightened his collar.

"I don't remember him calling you that," Ned smirked as he spoke. She shot him a glare before responding, gesturing around his face.

"Y'know, remove all this and you're nearly cute!"

Ned rolled his eyes before giving her a big hug, ripping the suit coat as his arms reached around her.

"Well, shit."

"Hey, it's on his tab."

---

---

---

Ned leaned up against a large, silver wall, the matte surface attempting to reflect Kaye, but instead showed a blurred array of colors. A fuzzy mirroring of the man as he shifted his weight backwards, the shining Television Championship shining a clear gold in the muddy silver behind him. He shifted slightly in his suit, trying to find some configuration that felt more comfortable until conceding to himself that he wasn’t likely to discover it soon.

“Trust me, it feels about as natural to be in a suit as I look in one.”

He gave a shrug, running his fingers over the engravings on the title belt, the raised surface of each letter pressed against his fingertips as it waved across.

“There’s a part of me that still wonders if it’s real… despite knowing my capabilities and being aware that I did it, a piece of my mind is so used to setbacks- to despair, that it can be hard to process a prolonged moment without. Am I deserving of this honor? To rein in the New Year as the primary champion of the XWF's premier program? Of being The Saga's sole title holder at the beginning of our long journey ahead? Is it my right…? But then I look at the people I love and who have been here for me long before this moment, I take a deep breath and think of everyone who has ever cheered me on and reminded me that I can make it, and I feel the texture of this belt… it all falls into place. And that part of me disappears.”

He glances up, his gaze no longer focused on the Television Title securely around his waist, but forward.

“I earned this right and I am certain of it. And that fact is very dangerous for you as an opponent, Ring Master. You might think that because of history in The Notorious Alliance at War Games that I might cut you some slack, but the truth is far different: I expect a lot from people I consider allies and friends RM, and, if you remember how that ended, you left me wanting. I’m not going to stand here and pretend that you’re not a nice guy, but that’s really all you aspire to be. Nice. Pleasant. A smooth, perfectly manufactured product for people to root for while taking every blemish and bump and wiping it off you. You’re a man of plastic, Ring Master, more product than person and you are perfectly content with that. And that disappoints me more than you will ever understand. You should want more than that, you should be more than that, yet you’d rather be a facsimile of a human being than one at all. I’m not a perfect role model. I don’t have a carefully curated persona because what you are getting out there every night is me. I’m rough at the edges, scarred from countless situations, and I’ve been dragged against the concrete again and again over the years, but it gave me grit. Texture. All of my struggles and failures to be perfect did not weaken me, they made me stronger and the kind of threat that someone like Isaiah King couldn’t withstand!”

Ned smacked his chest, causing the suit to become somewhat unkempt. As he glanced down, he sighed, feeling somewhat constricted in it as he adjusted the coat to be more presentable again, his words flowing as he did.

“People can believe in me, RM, because I might not have a spotless record with being a good person, but everything I do is real. It’s sincere. I walk a winding path, but it is mine and I do it in earnest. But you walk the paths of some famous franchise or a few celebrities. Your road is decided by others, hell you operate on how you think a role model should act without wondering why they act that way. If someone looks at Ring Master, all he’ll find is a smiling face that can reassure him in one, flat way. But that same person seeing Ned Kaye? They know if I made it through everything life threw at me, so can they! I am a beacon in an oftentimes cruel world, and you are merely a cereal mascot! Every time I go out there, I lift up my fist and watch the crowd do the same because at that moment… I can feel it. Their hearts beating as one, their hopes and support giving me strength! I am their belief and they are mine, Ring Master! That’s something a million celebrity appearances can’t bestow upon you.”

Ned leaned forward, asking the question that had been on both his mind and the mind of the XWF at large, the inquiry at the tip of the world's tongue.

“Where’s the fire? Where’s the passion? For a guy who chose the name “Ring Master,” you do more on film sets than you do in wrestling rings. You might as well draw outlines on you and put horns in your shoes to become the cartoon character you so desperately want to be. Ever since your defeat by the hands of Thunder Knuckles, you’ve tried desperately to become some sort of Toys R’ Us version of him: lacking sharp edges, rough corners, and a single open door. I was defeated by TK in 2022, as well, but I didn’t restructure my personality or how I present myself. There’s no victory worth losing yourself to grab, a lesson I had to learn the hard way. So when I’m standing here, watching a man like yourself, I just see you resisting any spec of Johnny Ice, the man underneath the smiling face and Hollywood sets. And I have to wonder why you’re so hesitant to show him. Is it fear? Are you worried that embracing your humanity will make you harder to root for or perhaps you’re worried that without the “Ring Master” name and brand, there’s nothing underneath. Take it from someone who knows a thing or two about it, but if you are nothing without your nickname, you’re nothing with it. I threw away a moniker because I did not need it defining who I was and at the inaugural Weekend Warfare, I am going to drag out the man underneath for good or for ill. I said it before, I’ll say it again: I am the spirit of Warfare, the bright flames that will force you to improve and mold the warrior you can become.”

The glimmering reflection of the Unified Television Championship seemed to glow orange as his words intensified, a physical symbol of the fire burning within him. He took a deep breath and looked forward, feeling the undeniable strength that pushed him further.

“One day, you’ll attain that grit and the plastic shell you wear will break so that you can be something more, something greater than just a pleasant face on an advertisement. But the first ever Weekend Warfare will not be that day. It won’t even be close. I’ve pushed myself more and more, week after week and that won’t be interrupted anytime soon. As the new era kicks in, the flame of the past will be carried by me, and I will defend its embers with a passion you cannot even begin to comprehend! The XWF has a soul that has laid long dormant through an era of vile leaders and continued villainy- and those responsible will pay soon enough. For me to represent the good of this company and to bring righteous vengeance on those who cast it to the hands of corrupt organizations, I must beat you, RM. I must run through you and show the world how far you have yet to come. And it’s a shame because I do like you. You are nice, after all. But as we’ve established, nice is not good.”

“And you are not good enough.”

"You can't run from yourself."