Bobby had already talked excessively about his upcoming matches at Madfare but hey, they meant a lot to him, so why the hell not? He also happened to enjoy talking about business, it seemed to be when he was happiest. The week had continued and it was still a busy one... none of that had subsided. But as always, Bobby ZI needed to be able to just relax and rewind and what better way to do that right now than just hang out with his new friend He and Aerial knight were just hanging around backstage, talking business. Kinda standard, really.

"You know, I won't hesitate to pin yo' ass out in that ring. Seriously, I'll waste no time in eliminatin' you."

"Good job I'd say the exact same about you. I happen to think the two of us are going to be the last two standing at the end so it is going to come down to you and I. And may the best man win."

He extended his hand out to ZI, who wasted no time in shaking it.

"As long as one of us have got this, then we're all good."

"No doubt about it. Who else do you even think has a chance?"

Knight sat back and pondered over that momentarily.

"It's hard to say. even though I cant say i don't know every single person who is set to be in that match. I guess we'd have to watch out for... uh...Mastermind? He's gotta still have it in for you so you might wanna try to look out for him. Then Gator. He's a former champion in his own right and I know he's not got any personal issues with either of us but he wants this more than anybody..."

"No doubt. He's a good guy and we'll watch out for him but he won't win. I guess we've all just got to be stoked that kirky won't be in the match."

Knight let out a laugh.

"No doubt. If he was, we may as well all quit now."

ZI nodded in agreement.

"At least it's pretty much all an open field right now, it could honestly just go any way. It will come down to you and I though, right? So we don't have to fear anybody. Not overlookin' 'em... remember, that's not our style. Not my style, at least. But when you're confident, you're confident... y'know?"

knight nodded but it was clear he had something else to say on the matter.

"But dude, I have been confident before and we've seen how that has gone; I've been screwed over. I don't see that happening to either of us this week but just be aware of it. Trouble seems to follow me around so if you're sharing that ring with me, you never know how it's is gonna go. I'm sure you're right though. We both seem to have the most passion here and nothing is going to stop us... apart from each other."

"And even then, it's not gonna be easy."

"Exactly. I'm up for a fight and I know that the gator and MM are..."

"... which has been said hundreds of times but we're just gettin' repetitive now, aren't we?"

knight nodded.

"I mean, we can probably stand here and guess what most others are going to say ahead of this match. How many times do you think we're gonna hear the phrase 'now is my time to shine!'?"

"Hundreds."

"How about arrogant phrases about how someone has been waiting for this moment their entire life?"

"Hundreds."

"How about people ranting on about how much they deserve it?"

"Hundreds. Wait... you do realize I've said most of those things?"

"Yeh, but we all know you can back everything you say up. The others, not so much..."

ZI nodded.

"No matter what, we both got this... somehow."

aerial nodded as he held his hand out to ZI again; who shook it. The two were clearly there to watch each other's backs but when it came down to it, neither of these men where going to let the other take them down...


******************************


The table was inside a spartanly furnished enclosure at the back of the hotel restaurant where they had been staying. A dark male server came in often to check on them, but until now, all of them were having drinks.

"Should you be drinking that while on medication?" Xavier asked motioning towards the beer mug in Bobby's hand.

"Probably not." zi replied right before downing what was left in the glass. He motioned towards the waiter, and sent him to get another. "But thats a chance Im willing to take."

"Ever the daredevil, huh?" Joked Vinnie.

The four men were dressed in casual clothes. Xavier Swann in a pair of baggy fitting blue Polo jeans, and a black T-Shirt that featured a photograph of his own smiling face. Over that he wore a black cotton oxford, unbuttoned all the way, with the sleeves rolled up. TJ Wallace wore a khaki pair of flat-front chinos, brown leather shoes, complete with matching brown belt, and a black polo shirt. vinnie, never to be outdone in style, wore a pink colored long sleeved silk shirt, tucked into a black pair of corduroy slacks. On his wrist was a Rolex, ticking away the seconds. zi, never the best dressed, wore a pair of dark khaki cargo pants over a comfortable black pair of Vans. He wore a plain white t-shirt up top.

"So how's your head feeling Bob?" swann asked with smile. ZI wasnt wearing any bandages, but the question itself seemed to hurt.

"I'm fine. Just a couple of stitches." He replied.

Vinnie patted him on his shoulder. "Damn right it fine, and it's going to feel even better after I take out every superstar on my next match like so much garbage." He looked around the table, at wallace and swann who nodded their consent. [color=red]"Its a shame at what's happening to the federation these days. Guys like mastermind who think that they can mouth off at anybody and everybody without putting in their dues. I mean, it's mastermind! It's not like he's any one of us! He disrespects us at every turn, and he blasts zi with a word like he is a king or something! THAT is completely uncalled for." said walace

ZI nods before saying, " No shit. I've been wrestling for monthes now. I've paid my dues, and I deserve to be treated with respect. But not only that, I've even tried my best to help mastermind out in the past. you know i give him some direction. i give him a beating of his life for free for That little ungrateful shit. If he thinks that he is going to get away with this, he's got another thing coming!"

"Oh, he's got something coming alright." swann said

"Well no shit swann, It's called "Bobbster Punishment!" Even I've done what I could to help the little bastard out. You know give him some pointers here and there, and whats he do? He flushes his career down the toilet. Again and again and again. I've spent a good deal of time preparing for this match, and what am I going to have to show for it??

"A win??" wallace asked rhetorically.

"Nothing. Wins just don't seem to count very much around here any more. It's just another thankless match in which I, Bobby Zi, get to come out, and show a bunch of ungrateful fans and an ungrateful wrestler, just how good I can be. But then, it's not all that hard to look good in front of MM, now is it. It;s like comparing my truck to mastermind's Pinto..."

"Mastermind has a Pinto" Vinnie asks just to be annoying.

ZI sighs, and throws his hands up in the air. "Come on, man! I am like a shiny new truck straight off of the lot, and mastermind is like a rusty, broken down pea green Ford Pinto.

"I know? I know I'm just busting your balls a bit. Man! " Vinnie quickly replied.

"Well, what about the other oponents Bob? Gator and our hommie Aerial?? " wallace asked.

Bobby smiled, took a swig of the beer that the waiter had replaced, and let out a satisfied sigh. "gator doesn't have a chance in hell at coming out the victor tomorrow night. He's about to get the beating of a lifetime, and somehow I dont think it will be entirely at my hands." He smirked at his friends, as they all smiled broadly back at him. "It doesn't matter that this is a title match. gator cant be a threat for me ! not even his so called "finisher"...it can knock the wind out of you for a minute or so, but they lack seriously in the pain and agony department. THE DREAM CRUSHER, on the other hand has sent MANY people into the hospital. I've hurt some guys with it, and some I actually liked.

"This could be ANY kind of match, guys. Hell in the Cell, Buried Alive, Electro Shock Therapy, Open Piranha Pit--- any match at all. It doesn't change the simple fact that I am a better wrestler than Geezer."

"Gator." Wallace corrected.

"I know, dude. It was a joke. Obviously a poor one since none of you are laughing." zi did get a laugh at that response. "I mean, what on earth could give gator the idea that he could actually tackle me? I'm a marquee status wrestler, that means that I got paid seven million bucks last year. That doesn't include title bonuses. gator on the other hand is what is known as a 'Class C' wrestler. Not a Class A. Not a Class B. He makes about as much as the average school teacher does. And thats if he wins more matches than he loses." zi explained. "Monday night he's only going to pull in about a buck fifty. The best he could hope for is maybe three hundred, but THAT is he can somehow manage a draw..."

"Well, that isn't fucking going to happen." Vinnie stated bluntly.

"Well, no it fucking isnt." zi replied. [color=lime]"Like my little car analogy, he just doesn't come close, and the Executives know it. There isn't going to be a soul on earth who will put money on gato to win monday night. Not even members of his family, if he's got one."

'if he got one though' haha "

"i know that's a bit vague. That and I'm calling it quits with the booze. I know when Ive had my limit. The last thing I need is to get drunk the night before a match." Bobby said.

"Never stopped you before." Swann ripped.

"Whatever. So are we gonna order or what " Zi asked."Oh-- and Wallace, weren't you going to tell us about the promo you asked to film earlier today? "

END

Former 2× X-treme ChampIon